#no but fr why was she just. posed like that casually

[jflxwr]

[the-acid-pear]

I just can't get enough it seems, time to start the next Baki the Grappler book!

It seems that this one will take on the saga i saw on the anime (at least by the end) so that's exciting

Chapter 1

First off quality is SHIT lmao

Yesss i remember this. I still think that shit about everyone trembling is a lil... Mmmm bullshit.

Baki be like <:] but in a smug way

Look at Tokugawa my man

OH RIGHT HE LEFT THE TOURNAMENT WITH A CAST

This feels so random

Oh right the synchronicity shit

Baki is so -_- in this manga

Look at the old timer go

YEAH FR TOKUGAWA JUST BROUGHT EXPLOSIVES TO A SCHOOL FULL OF CHILDREN TO MAKE A SHITTY ANALOGY SHSHWKWGGE FREAK OLD MAN

Chapter 2

Ahegao

Epic grandpa

HO NICE

Mf really swam thru the Pacific ocean

Chapter 3

Huh i thought he was Scottish

This random guy was pretty interesting looking, the one executing Doyle

Fucked up shit how they still do this stuff

King, i can somehow still remember his voice in particular fsr

Also since no one reads this i will say it: Doyle does NOT look white ahagdbafhsdbc

I like that he didn't bother killing the doctor

Is that Strydum? 🥺👉👈

Chapter 4

Shagddjd i was going to say that, this dude could have easily taken a different path from violence

GAARN? MY MAN? MY BELOVED GARLAND? IS HE ALIVE STILL?!

FFS NOT FOR LONG HHH LOOK HOW THEY MASSACRED MY BOY...

I mean it's fair, Sirkosky uses weapons, but man, Garland... :'/

This all hits so different once you know the characters :]]]

Chapter 5

That pic is still so brutal

What an absolute troll shsshwgxgd

Also fun fact when i watched the anime i didn't pay much attention at first so I assumed the Russian was Spec (i didn't even know Sirkosky's name)

I love how that was unnecessary shagdhsr

ADAGDFAGAFAD this guy was also great

Spec was fucking insane man aggsggahsfg

I love he's full of tattoos

The absolutely king

OH RIGHT Spec is sus *laugh track*

Chapter 6

Oh hell yeah, grandpa's ex

Baki tf you doing there in the cover you madlad

...bottom storage.

THEY ARE SO MEAN LEAVE HIS SHORT ASS ALONE SHSGJSGS

He's my size btw

Was there a motive for him to be naked or was he just a freak btw?

I love the shape of his eyes ngl

I love how scared the guards are while he just calmly rambles

I don't wanna call yanagi my grandpa because i think yanagi can get it and it would be like calling him daddy but the Gilf™ is Dorian man life is so hard when you are me

I love Yanagi's face lol he's handsome

Chapter 7

Poor Baki lmao he just got better from the maximum tournament and now this

Lmao Baki has a point

Unnecessary, Doyle

Chapter 8

I love how they were recruiting dangerous mfs to beat up this random guy bc his vibes are fucked up

This guy looked a lot like jack

You gotta be brave to shove a knife that sharp into your pants

I love how Baki literally did nothing to em

Baki's face just looks wrong this isn't my beloved child

Imagine you are about to fight this mf and he just shoves his hand inside his pants

Chapter 9

This dude really looks like, fully japanese jack hanma

JWGWKEGWKSGE I LOVE HIM

I love how Spec just showed up dressed up as a fucking monk or something

Chapter 10

You guys know, Dorian reminds me of my now dead great grandfather, with the moustache look even more.

Not impressed, 15 yo Hanayama did the same when throwing a tantrum

He's so insane i luv him

Okay but look at the cut of that outfit look at how well it hugs his chest and waist but flows bellow... Spec my dude you could have been a mad good model 😐 he's even giving me gender envy! 🥺

I love how Baki used both his hands for the handshake

Chapter 11

Ho, speak of the devil, i was just talking of this fucker with Blood

Mf got so old

I like how there was no motive for him to be naked he literally is just Like That

Also it's from here that he got that wasp waist lmao

Mf just flexing at this point lmao

GRANDPA!! <3

Yanagi got cake

That's so unnecessary rude, obsessed. Also, as if you weren't old Yanagi. I see why they broke up now ;/

Chapter 12

11 and 12 are the same fsr

Chapter 13

I honestly wonder where these prisoners got their clothes, like, aside from Doyle that one time everyone else is never shown shopping or even owning money

Also i love the fact that on a daily basis i dress the same as Spec, that definitely says something bout me jagsjsgwhwfwg 😭

To be honest, considering the size of Spec's body, they should definitely feed him more

He didn't wash his hands 😢

Dick and balls too strong ajgshsgsg

I love how fucking, polite he is.

Oh i see, i thought he might have stolen a wallet or something but nah

Btw i genuinely don't remember shit JAGSKSGWJGS even if it watched the anime i forgot most of this

Chapter 14

GOD the way the anime butchered Katsumi, he's so handsome in the manga in comparison 😐

Also i like how they aren't explaining this like, Katsumi was the one who lost, did he wait until Retsu was okay to fight again in HIS ("") dojo?!

RETSU STOP DOING THESE SORT OF TRICKS THAT'S PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE AJDGSJSG

HE'S JUST BUILT DIFFERENT

Okay he actually explained, oddly nice of Retsu to accept tho

Hoho this scene hits different now that i know and like Katsumi

Also I'm not even gonna question where Doppo is, dude is never just around skdgksgd

Chapter 15

I love this genre of cover

WHITE BOY SJDGSJGSHS-

I love that retsu is just watching, he's still an asshole QJGSJSGWH

If i didn't know Katsumi I would say he died

I did actually think he had died when watching the anime

Retsu still has his thicc ass i see

Chapter 16

See all this makes sense now that i know retsu and the shit he has seen and been thru!

Angry lad, lucky his hair didn't burn

I DIDNT EVEN REALIZE HE EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE WITH HIS SCREAM

Chapter 17

Ahegao in the cover

I'm looking at the pages and I'm obsessed with Doppo being described as a "bold, badass karate master", it's so accurate <3

Also Igari being called eccentric, and the mention he defeated Mount Toba!! <3

Baki is slowly looking more like Baki

"my mother is dying"

Tasks keep failing successfully

Chapter 18

mAh boy...

That happens and it's the worst

Musashi you good boy 🥺

Chapter 19

Igari <33

That's insane

Chapter 20

I love that Igari looks legitimately worried and sad, not sweating tho

I love how he didn't have any serious damage until the punches like, okay.

Poor Igari tho

DID HE CHEW EM OFF OR SOMETHING? SHSHWGEGCH

Was anybody going to tell me is Sikorsky and not Sirkosky?

Also i love how legitimately scared Tokugawa is, probably more than when Yujiro picked him up

Chapter 21

The heights are so off in this saga

Oh my fucking god i didn't know Spec was 221

Either heights are all over the place or Yanagi is not 160

Either way HOW CAN YOU BE THAT SMALL? 🤣

GAFSFWEAD Tokugawa like "i own this place 😐"

Doyle is still the most decent one of the bunch

URSURSUTSUSTSRU

LOOK AT YANAGI DORIAN AND SIKORSKY ALREADY GETTING THEIR HANDS READY SBDGSHW

I googled how big Andreas from the tournament was and like, 2.40 😦

LET'S GOOOOO EVEN WITH A BEARD OMFG 😳😳😳

I see Hanayama descended into alcoholism after losing in the tournament. Also tf is with that bag? Was he hiking or something?

Jsgsjsgd Shibukawa is so excited too

I think this is chronically the first time Doppo appears with fully casual clothes, usually he either was in a suit or in his karate uniform

I'm straight up simping to the public now sgsjsgwhw

Chapter 22

LOOK AT THESE DUDES..... 💞

FUCK I WAS GONNA SAY THERE WERE MORE BAD THAN GOOD GUYS THEN LOOKED DOWN AND REALIZED THAT NO, SHIBUKAWA WAS JUST NEARLY OUT OF FRAME 😭

They all look so upset about that information

SIKORSKY NAME GOT SPELLED AS SILCOSKI...

Looking at them drives me insane i developed such a bond with all these fighters

I haven't seen Doppo this excited since last time his wife showed up

BAKI SWEARING?! 😰

How did Tokugawa grab Baki's shoulder?

ALSO WHY TF IS BAKI SO SURPRISED AS IF HE DIDNT GO AROUND BEATING UP PEOPLE WHEN HE WAS 13...

Don't worry Baki y'all will, Tokyo is not that big it seems

Shibukawa swearing 😨

"Imagine being mid but and Spec pulls up on you" "imagine having sex and she takes the mask and it's fucking Spec"

To be fair i would fuck a 2.21 muscular lady without going "hmmm this doesn't seem like a good idea..." in any moment

Chapter 23

I love how Dorian is just looking up

ACTUALLY ALL THEIR STANCES, Yanagi making dead eye contact with Gouki, Sikorsky with a firm pose just as Hanayama, Doyle with hiss chest up but eyes down giving a sense of pride, and, well, then there's Spec being Spec.

I like seeing Sikorsky having fun

I love Spec he played so smart SGSGSGS

😳 love wins!

Oh i had already forgotten about the dojo

Old man Dorian just has that effect on people

Threesome i see /j

He really was just fucking hiking i would love if they ever explained that ough 🥺

Did his facial hair just disappear?? STSGSFSD

BWHEKEGWJG THEY REALLY JUST FORGOT TO ADD IT FOR ONE PANEL IM OBSESSED

Such a good kick tho

The relationship these men can have is so oddly nice like not Doppo and Retsu specifically but all of the fighters in general. Like many of them barely know each other, but they all know their fighting styles and respect each other, plus have no reason to be in bad terms with one another and specially not now that they are all fighting for the same cause. It's just so nice to see em idk JAGSHS

Hey Igari.

Chapter 24

Thank God Doppo went <3 again it had been so long

Babe are you okay? You hadn't put a lil heart in your speech bubble for a while...

King really punched the fire

I will chose to believe that's true bc it's impressive 😍

You know it's funny like, Katsumi is mad good but he doesn't has as much experience as his dad and that leaves him in disvantage

Hehe i remember that guy

The manga is so much better than the anime ffs

I love that he didn't even realize

Chapter 25

Manga i don't think that's science

Also Baki just chilling with some doves lmao

I'm looking thru old messages see how my og reaction to this was

Huh i found nothing, that's odd. Well my reaction would have probably been like NOOOOO anyway so, y'all can imagine it

You left my dilf handless you fucking asshole good thing he has a wife

Imagine this dude cuts your hand and then just flexes his knowledge about science or whatever

HSSGGSFS THEY FIXED THE NO BEARD ERROR

Illiterate king <3

A guy did this to me once btw!!! Obviously in way smaller scale but he just touched something and the bleeding soon stopped!!!!

Honestly that's the most huge dick energy thing Doppo has ever done

Pfff I'm starting to remember why i liked Doppo so much 🥴

Bitches confused over him running away, tf was he supposed to do? He played it smart since there are no rules

Though yeah an eye and NOW a hand, insane

Chapter 26

Sjshhdhsn tanuki?

Oh, fox, he was calling him slick

Manga is pretty faster than the anime

Chapter 27

Where's your honor, Igari...

He is right sadly enough 😔

Oh i keep forgetting Igari's nature, he was probably trying to pull his silly little tricks again

This is just brutal honestly

Hehe this time i didn't get scared ☺️

I like that at least I'm not the only one who needs their mind off the gutter

Chapter 28

Love seeing em datin <3

He's so aggressive accidentally i love these dorks sm 😍🥺💞

SPEC FFS SJGDHWGW

Chapter 29

SPEC FOR FUCKS SAKE SJSVSJWGSH

Hanayama is such a real bro man

I LOVE THAT HE WAS JUST STALKING BAKI TOO BTW SJDGJDGDHSBDGDGS

To think i will still love hanayama but for entirely different reasons 😌

Chapter 30

Kaoru looks different but idk how

What the fuck is Spec even saying?

The fact that that makes no sense, i still love it a lot tho.

ALSO I ADORE HOW QUIET HANAYAMA IS WHEN FIGHTING

Okay Spec really has a point it really is beautiful

GOD I'M STARTING TO UNDERSTAND THESE CHARACTERS TOO MUCH I NEED HELP AJDGSJSGSHS 😭

But it's beautiful in the sense like, look how built he is! Look at all those scars!!! It IS beautiful it's a masterpiece!!!!!!!

"i choose to believe this is how hanayama always undresses" KSHSKDGSJ THE AMOUNT OF SUITS THIS MAN DESTROYS.. OBSESSED

Though yeah Hanayama in general is also beautiful isn't he?

Chapter 31

I would sob man look at him. Look at Shiba.

NO ONE RISKS HIS LIFE MORE THAN SHIBA YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE I STILL HOLD A LOT OF RESPECT FOR HIM!

A BENCH...

I really don't get why he's letting himself get hit, is he just flexing?

I cannot way to see him do his Technique ™

Chapter 32

Manga is so much superior to the anime, like, i haven't complained about Spec even once bc he isn't annoying anyone, in the anime he was so infuriating!!

I love when they just steal their standing poses sjsgjssgsh

That distortion effect so good

Chapter 33

I still think it's weird they used humans and not machines, though it was effective

I love how Spec managed to punch that statue without calling the attention of much people that's impressive

And i love that he keeps saying man he sounds like me with bro

Hanayama my beloved

Chapter 34

Yeah I'm not reading all that 😐

Oh this explains the holes in his clothes

[phoebehalliwell]

Ok so like I know it won’t happen but how would Sheridan and Warren feel about meeting their younger twin cousins Tam & Kat? Because then they wouldn’t be the only twin in the family plus the chaos of having mutiole sets of twins in one place would be amazingly hilarious! Like everyone is like Tam/Kat/Sheridan/Warren NOOO and they’re like >:3c ✨

[who tf are these kids so glad you asked warren & sheridan and tam & kat]

i feel like that would be a really wild ride bc i feel like as sets of twitches one would think they are very similar but they are indeed actually like. very different. i mean a there’s this age delta of like 7 years so that’s one thing so you’d have two grown as dudes and two teenagers but then there’s also differences like. tam and kat each have their own unique set of powers while warren and sheridan have identical powers. tam and kat were raised within magic by a charmed one in a happy could with a younger brother and a boatload of cousins they’re insanely close to warren and sheridan were raised by jack. tam and kat know how to preserve sea slugs warren and sheridan don’t even know why you would need to know this. and, of course, the major difference between the two is tamora and kat have a psychic link and warren and sheridan definitely do not nor do they want one. like for starters if they had the ability to be in each others head the odds of them just using that skill to annoy the other is like through the roof but also it’s like. tamora and kat’s subconsciousness are linked like their dreams border each other and like overlap and i think warren and sheridan would genuinely rather be lobotomized than let the other take a stroll around their dreams. but i mean like beyond that just like their dynamics with the other are insanely different like kat literally ran off to italy and tamora stayed behind in sf and they’re just like. fine with that. whereas warren and sheridan have never ever actually like. lived apart. and in the back of their minds they know at some point that’s gonna happen but like hey man that’s my twin brother i know him i know he’s a fucking idiot and i don’t trust him not to get himself killed. like both tam and kat have done solo vanquishes where they didn’t even like mention anything to their twin bc like. they were busy doing this vanquish. warren and sheridan are a lot more attached at the hip when it comes to magic i mean they also have a lot less experience but like if kat every mentioned casually that she’s currently living on the other side of the globe from her twin w&s would short circuit (and if that didn’t do the trick tam and kat being like yeah i mean it’s never like we’re cut off from each other bc u know like the psychic link would Definitely send warren and sheridan over the edge).

that being said similarities i mean for starters both are twin sets where they’re identical but one twin has short hair and the other long so if they ever met i feel like someone has to comment on that bc like. hey does the author have some weird need to visually distinguish identical twins in an easy-to-read way? yes. also it’s a spilt where one twin’s gay and the other’s straight (kat being a lesbian, warren being bisexual, and tamora and sheridan both being like the lone heterosexuals out of everyone they know) but like. beyond that i think both twins definitely have this stubbornness and like. a tendency not to involve parental figures in their work bc they want to prove that they can do it on their own. there’s also like. a sense of impulsivity to them all in varying degrees ranking sheridan kat warren tam but like. in a wstk team up a battle plan probably will not be drawn they’ll say the vibes of the situation and then like. go time.

if i were to spin a yarn for a tamora kat warren sheridan team up i would set it in warren and sheridan’s world and simply for convenience i’m keeping them both at the ages they are in their respective stories so 18 and 22 and i’m not entirely sure of the circumstances which would land tamora and kat anywhere but the sets would id each other when someone freezes somewhere and they hey who’s that moving over there there’d be introductions where tamora and kat are like hi we’re tamora and kat mitchell and they’re like a lil confused when that gets no reaction bc quite frankly like they are the daughters of a charmed one and where they’re from the majority of witches & other magical beings know their name bc like. they do. and this only gets weirder where warren and sheridan are like we’re warren and sheridan halliwell and kat’s like no ur not. and they’re like excuse me? and she’s like ur last name. and they’re like yeah?? halliwell???? and tamora and kat are like yeah??? bc again where they’re from this name carries insane weight to pose as a halliwell w/o having the last name would be fucking insane but where warren and sheridan are from the charmed ones died in a basement in 2005 halliwell name going with it and also they really don’t know that much about their mom’s side of the family anyways so their like i don’t get what you’re not getting here our last name legally is like halliwell it’s from our mom’s side and tamora and kat are like Who is your mom????? and they’re like her name was prue and tam and kat are like !!!!!!!! what the fuck. what the fuck? and warren and sheridan are like okay. what. and tamora and kat are like hi thrilled to meet u we’re ur cousins. and warren and sheridan are like cool and immediately try to freeze them to talk amongst themselves but then realizes that Doesn’t Work bc they’re Also Witches and they’re like well fuck. new plan we take them back to the house and we hold swizzlesticks in their face (the house cat, a familiar) and go off the cat’s reaction. so blah blah blah tamora and kat are like trying to explain no no no see your mom was a part of the charmed ones right and warren and sheridan are like okay i think that was mentioned in passing idk what that means tho and kat and tam are like fr? whatever we don’t have time the point is in our world prue died and they’re like oh no don’t worry she died in our world too and tam and kat are like oh. my condolences the point is the charmed ones were reconstituted when piper and phoebe (your aunts) found our mom, who was their half sister, an illegitimate child patty had with her whitelighter. and warren and sheridan are like okay cool. the fuck is a whitelighter? and tam and kat are like !!!! bc how tf can you be a halliwell and be so far removed from magic next stop obvi would be the manor which was been magically secured to the nines debatable whether or not they break in warren and sheridan might have like a couple memories i mean less like memories and more like vibes from when they were raised in the manor for 90 seconds and um. they’re definitely getting a premonition of prue’s death, and then also the reconstitution of the po3 with paige for good measure confirming tk’s story. then the mission is obviously find whatever it was that sent tam and kat here and get them back and uhh breaking into the manor was of no use bc when piper phoebe and paige completely remade their identities and faked their death like they took the book with them. they’re not just gonna leave it in the house lmao. and so tam and kat are like okay magic school? and warren and sheridan are like What Down and the girls open a door into magic school to find it totally decimated and almost entirely deteriorated after the death of the charmed ones evil tried to claim it which ate away at the core of magic school until it was uninhabitable. so that’s a no go. okay warren and sheridan what do you do. and they’re like um okay so there’s the school library. and there’s google. and we have some friends who are witches. and tam and kat are like you have friends who are witches but still have never heard of like. the charmed ones. and warren and sheridan are like hey man they’re not Witches Witches they’re like. witch practitioner. but they’re good and they like. know plants and stuff. and of course worse comes to worse fun fact most demons aren’t expecting you to punch them so like. that also works. and tamora and kat are like okay cool what i’m hearing is we’re gonna be trapped in this world forever. but i think it would be a really nice blend of warren and sheridan learning the craft (these lads don’t even know how to scry 💀) and tamora and kat really taking a step back bc they were raised in a world immersed in magic and really have never like. seen the craft done in this way. and i think like they can definitely learn some lessons here. also debatable whether or not kat brings her sword but if she does warren and sheridan would Totally lose their shit. and would probably buy swords 4 themselves.

[softspiderling]

will you find me (afterlife) | t.h.

Summary: the five stages of grief start with denial and it didn’t seem like Tom was going leave that stage anytime soon.

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Song I listened to while writing: Afterlife by Hailee Steinfeld

Author’s Note: it’s not my first time writing something supernatural, but it is my first time doing so for Tom, so we’ll see how that went, huh? This went incredibly well with the spooky month and I was hella inspired by Hailee Steinfeld’s new song, so, enjoy it!!

Warnings: mention of character’s death, supernatural elements

Word Count: 3,2k

Tom stepped out of the door and quickly pulled the hood over his head to protect himself from the rain that was falling from the clouds. Even though it was only four pm in the afternoon, the sky was dark and it was pouring rain; the weather matched his mood.

It was his first time leaving the house since you’ve died and honestly he couldn’t have brought it over his heart to even get out of bed if it wasn’t for the thing he desperately needed answers to. If his family or Harrison knew that Tom had managed to get dressed by himself, let alone get a shower they would have been ecstatic.

But no, Tom couldn’t tell anyone where he was going, not yet. Not before he could confirm anything.

He quickly walked to the next tube station, painfully keeping his eyes away from the empty parking space in his drive way. Head kept low and eyes trained on the ground, Tom got on the tube and leaned his forehead on the cold window as the darkness flashed past him, while the people around him were chattering excitedly about whatever dull topic, he couldn’t care less.

It was their laughter that made his ears perk up, that one person that giggled just like you did and he curled his hands into fists, squeezing his eyes shut.

It wasn’t you.

Tom bolted the moment the tube stopped at his station and jogged up the stairs, his head turning to find the way. He pulled out his phone to look at the address of his destination, your face smiling at him from the screen. With a bitter smile, he wiped the rain drops from your face and followed the directions to the address he was given.

He’s been walking for fifteen minutes in the freezing rain when he took a left turn and knew that he was at the right place.

The smell inside was musky and dingy when he entered the shop, he barely had space to turn his body; the small room was packed with shelves and tables, which had varying kinds of antiquities on them, ranging from small candle holders up to an intricate looking lamp in the far corner.

Tom was moving carefully between the furniture, pulling his hood down as he dodged a particular bulky coat rack, when a nasally voice sounded next to him.

“You’re not here to buy antiquities, are you.”

It wasn’t posed as a question, but he nodded either way as he took in the appearance of the woman that was standing to his left side.

Her back was hunched, draped with several layers of scarfs and cardigans, her hair curling wildly around her face. Even though she had deep wrinkles in her face, she somehow looked young and old at the same time, Tom couldn’t exactly pinpoint why.

“The thing you came here for involves a highly dangerous ritual, boy. It is not something a mere mortal like you can play with,” she told him and he bristled, his eyebrows furrowing.

“How do you even know why I’m here?”

The woman gave him a condescending look. “If you don’t know that, I’m not sure if you’re in the right place after all.”

“I’m in the right place,” he argued. “And if you know why I’m here, you also know that I’m not leaving until you’re giving me the answers that I need.”

She let out a dry laugh and disappears behind a shelf, with Tom following her hot on her heels.

��You have a big mouth for someone who needs something only I can give you.”

“Please,” Tom croaked out and she turned to look at him. “I need to know if anything that was written in the book was true. I need to know if I can bring her back-“ he cut off, letting out a harsh breath.

“I can’t live with her.”

“Aren’t you alive right now?”

“Just barely,” he whispered and the woman eyed him skeptically.

His eyes were blood shot and sunken in, his cheeks bony. He looked like he hasn’t eaten in a week and the way his hands were shaking, it seemed like he desperately needed it.

“How did you even find me?” she asked, her voice softer.

 “Someone gave me a book and the address was written on the back. His name was John Huntley.”

Tom leaned his head into his hands, the tears falling on the squeaky white floor below him. He knew that he shouldn’t have let you go to the store by yourself, he should have gone with you instead of staying at home, but would that have made matters better? Maybe he’d be dead, too.

That certainly beat having to live without you.

“Excuse me, Tom Holland? May I have a word?”

“Can’t you just give me some fucking privacy?” Tom snapped at him, lifting his eyes to glare at the man who was standing over him, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black coat. Even though he probably looked like a crazy person right now, he couldn’t care less. You weren’t even dead for half an hour and this man wouldn’t even let Tom mourn in peace. 

 “I’m not here to bother you, I swear,” he said, raising his hands in defense. ”I just- My name is John Huntley and I think I can help you.”

John reached into his coat and pulled a small leather bound book out, handing it to Tom. The book looked old and honestly, Tom wasn’t sure if it would survive the trip home.

“What the fuck is this?”

“Something that is going to help you,” John answered, sticking his hands into the pockets of his coat. “I am only here to help, if you accept my help or not is up to you.”

He turned to leave, but before he took any step away from Tom, he looked over his shoulder one last time.

“I am sorry for your loss, Tom.”

Tom narrowed his eyes, staring after the retreating form of the man, so distracted that he didn’t notice Harrison walking up to him to lay a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey man, who was that?” Harrison asked, his eyebrows furrowed in concern as he eyed his best friend.

“No one important,” Tom said absentmindedly, still looking at the back of John Huntley’s head while his hand slipped the book into the pocket of his hoodie.

How did he know that you’ve died?

It was later that day when Tom returned to an eerily quiet house that he remembered about John Huntley and the book in the pocket of his coat. Grabbing himself a bottle of beer, he sat down at the kitchen counter and opened the book, skipping through the pages.

“Love potion, binding spell, what the fuck is this supposed to be, some kind of witch book?” he muttered to himself, throwing the book across the counter, before opening his beer to take a big sip, his eyes brimming with tears. Placing the beer bottle back on the counter with more force than needed, he glanced back to the book and on the page it was opened on.

His eyes glazed over when he read the title of the page, his hands starting to shake when he reached out to pick the book back up, his lip trembling.

“John should stop putting his nose where it doesn’t belong.” She said courtly and Tom pulled out the book to show it to her, skipping to the part that was relevant to him.

“He was trying to help me. He knew that it wasn’t Y/N’s time yet, this is him telling me to bring her back!” he said hotly, his voice rising.

The woman merely blinked at him. “You don’t strike me as someone who believes in things like these.”

Tom slumped, his arms falling numbly to the side.

“I didn’t use to. Y/N was the one who believes- believed in magic and the supernatural, always whispering about witches and vampires living among us. I humored her. I thought it was cute of her to believe in things. It makes you appreciate life so much more when you believe.”

“So are you saying you believe in magic?” the woman asked and Tom looked her straight in the eyes and he swore a look of familiarity passed her face before he gave her an answer.

“I believe in Y/N.”

“Very well. But do be warned, this is a ritual even highly skilled witches and warlocks fail at and I can’t promise you that a mere mortal like you can perform it.”

Tom nodded, the comment indicating that there were more than one witch and even warlocks completely went over his head, he had one goal only and that was the only thing that he could focus on right now.

“Now listen carefully because I’m only going to tell you this once,” the woman warned him and Tom quickly pulled up his phone to take notes.

“This ritual only works during the full moon, so you’ll have to do it tomorrow, because by the next it’ll be too late. Now, for the ingredients you’ll need…”

Shouldering the backpack, Tom had the hood pulled deep into his face as he casually walked along the hospital building, the darkness engulfing his figure. He waited a split second as a nurse left through the back door, as to not look suspicious before he snuck into the building, heading the stairwell down to the morgue.

The basement was dark, and Tom was searching for the light switch to bring some light into the hallway, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was coming down the stairs. But just to be safe, he shut the door of the morgue behind him when he stepped foot into the room and locked it, blocking the door with a heavy cabinet for good measure. He didn’t need anyone to come in and put him in the psych ward.

Tom took a few cautious steps towards the mortuary chamber he knew your body was stored in and a chill ran down his spine. He didn’t know if it was caused by the low temperatures or the fact that he was about to come face to face with your dead body. Squaring his shoulders, he checked the labels on the chambers before he finally found your name, unlatching the bolt and pulling your chamber out, his breath hitching in his throat.

You looked so peaceful; your eyelids a faint purple, scratches scattered across your face and he could see bruises on your shoulders, from which he knew went down to your chest. Tom reached out to take your hand in his and it felt ice cold, against his warm skin. Swallowing thickly, he wiped the tears that were starting to fall with the sleeve of his sweatshirt before he brought his backpack forward to unpack the ingredients for the ritual.

Tom stroke the hair out of your face gently before applying the paste he had stirred together beforehand on your forehead and cheeks. As he slowly worked his way down your body, the doubts started clouding his mind and the breath stocked in his throat, his hand trembling.

What was he supposed to do if this wasn’t going to work?

When he told the old woman at the shop that he wasn’t able to live without you, he wasn’t exaggerating. The only thing that kept him going and the blood pumping through his veins was the fact that he had a chance of bringing you back, there was no plan B, this was it, it had to work.

He pushed back the stray curls out of his forehead with his elbow, his fingers slowly running down your pale arm, before he wiped his hands on a towel. Tom glanced on the watch that was wrapped around his wrist before he removed the small pendant that rested on his chest, the small heart glinting in the light.

“If what you’re thinking is true, that it wasn’t her time to go yet, it is possible that her soul is still around and latched onto something else when her body died. The object is something she held dear, something important to her. You have to find that object for the ritual, otherwise it won’t work.”

He had taken the necklace when he had looked at your body after your accident. Your cuts were still fresh then and there was still a glow on your face that made you look like you were just asleep. Tom had wanted to keep a part of you close to him and he never realized how he was literally keeping a part of you around his neck.

It wasn’t even a gift from him, you had been wearing the necklace long before you met. It was a gift from your grandmother when you were little and you had never taken it off, usually playing with it when you were nervous. In all of the time you were dating, Tom had never even thought of buying you a necklace as a gift because he knew you’d never take off your grandmother’s necklace.

He hoped he was right about this.

Tom pulled the book out of his backpack and turned the pages until he reached the chapter of resurrecting the dead. He straightened the page and when a small alarm went off on his phone, he read the three small verses that were written below the instructions.

With longing and passion you are missed, as your body slowly starts to wither. With life again you shall be kissed, interrupting your path with her.

Bring your soul back to its rightful place, your time has not yet come. Return to the living with all your grace, bring life to what is numb.

I call you here and now, with a power holier than thou.

As Tom finished reading he expected something to glow or maybe a blinding light, but nothing. It was silent, the only thing that made a sounds was the light flickering above him. Everything looked scarily normal and you still looked dead.

You still were dead.

The tears he was trying so hard to hold back sprang into his eyes and he turned away from your body, angrily hitting his open palm against the wall. It was over, it didn’t work. He was out of options and he just didn’t know how he was supposed to keep going. A strangled sob escaped his lips as he leaned his forehead against the wall, the tears running down his face.

With his hand curled into a fist, he squeezed his eyes shut and wiped his wet cheeks. His body tensed and the hairs on the nape of his neck stood straight when he heard rustling behind him, almost giving himself whiplash with how fast he turned his head.

You were groaning out in pain, your body still showing a few splotches of the purple paste on your skin. While Tom was staring at you shell-shocked, your hands gripping the side of the metallic stretcher you were laying on, you pushed yourself up in a sitting position, before he finally shook himself out of his trance and rushed over to help you, supporting your back.

“Easy,” he hissed, his hands carefully holding you as if he was scared of breaking you. “Your body’s been through a lot in the past few days, don’t push yourself.”

“Holy shit,” you cursed. “Fuck, why does everything hurt so much? I feel like I’ve been hit with a truck.”

Tom winced and one hand came up to stroke the hair out of your face lovingly, the smile on his face was so bright it hurt your eyes. He couldn’t believe his luck.

“Well, you got hit by something, but it wasn’t exactly a truck,” he said softly and you narrowed your eyes at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

You then glanced around the room and down your body, confusion written all over your face. Tom wasn’t sure how he was supposed to explain this to you, he didn’t even know what you remembered.

“Where am I? Why am I naked? Wait-“ you squinted your eyes at the mortuary chamber in front of you and all the color drained from your face.

“Tom, why am I lying in a mortuary chamber?”

He quickly pulled out the spare clothes out of the backpack and helped you to get dressed, before cupping your face gently.

“Do you trust me?” Tom asked quietly and you stared wide-eyed at him, nodding. You were scared, he could see that in your eyes, but right now he just needed you to trust him before he could answer any questions.

“Good, then put some shoes on and I will explain everything to you at home okay?”

You nodded obediently and he wrapped a jacket around your shoulders before he helped you off the stretcher. Eyeing the blocked door suspiciously while Tom pushed the cabinet away and returned to your side with a strong grip around your waist.

It wasn’t easy to get up the stairs and out of the hospital with you limping and him having to dodge your questioning looks and the hospital staff, but you managed to get to his car.

“I can buckle up by myself Tommy,” you told him with an amused grin on your face while he was leaning over your lap to put your seatbelt on, but judged by the concerned expression he was wearing, he wasn’t in the mood to joke around.

“I just want my girl to be safe,” Tom told you with a gentle kiss on the cheek and after making sure the seatbelt was on tight, he got into the driver’s seat, pulling out of the parking lot to drive home.

Two figures were watching the car drive off to the distance from the roof of the hospital building, one casually sitting on the edge with her legs dangling in the air.

“I still think it’s a bad idea John,” the girl said, wrapping her scarf tighter around her neck. “How do you think he’s going to explain this to his family, or the public?”

John was still focused on the car growing smaller in the distance, only turning away when he couldn’t see the lights anymore, smiling at the sitting girl.  

“They’ll be fine, Mya. We both know that it wasn’t her time to go yet,” he reminded her, plopping down on the ground next to her.

“And they reminded me of us, you know how much I went through to get you back, he at least should have gotten the chance to do so, too.”

Mya sighed and waggled her feet, though a smile was playing on her lips. “You’re right. He was very determined to find a way to bring her back, even though he didn’t 100% believe in us. But that’s what love can do, right?”

“Right,” John answered with a smile on his own, reaching over to grasp Mya’s hand. “Love’s even more powerful than death herself.”

He leaned in to give her a small kiss and the moments their lips touched, they vanished into thin air, a hint of vanilla being the only thing they’ve left behind.

A/N: Let me know what you think of this!

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[heystuckstuck]

doll parts part one

eridan ampora x reader

part one ==> HERE

part two ==> coming soon!!! <3

YOU ==> WAKE UP

You do. You are sprawled out on your own bed, which is soft, softer than anything you’ve slept on in awhile. You are lying on your stomach, your arms crooked under your pillow to support your head. This is the way you almost always sleep. Your phone dings to the left side of your head, and you blearily shift to your side to check it. It would appear that someone is trying to get ahold of you.

cuttlefishCuller [CC] began trollling chumHandle [CH]

CC: )(-Ey t)(-Er-E, Y/N!

CC: )(ow ar-E you f-E-Eling today?

CH: im feeling fairly pleasant atm

CH: just woke up

CH: you?

CC: I’m FINTASTIC!!!

CC: )(-E-E )(-E-E

CH: cute

CH: glad to see youre still doing the fish pun thing

CH: why exactly do you do it?

CC: I lik-E fish

CC: SO!!!

CH: :?

CC: ar-E you coming to my party tonight?

CC: I r-E-Elly hope so!

CH: shore

CH: ;)

CC: Aww )(-E-E )( -E-E!

CC: You us-Ed a fish pun

CC: )(ow glubbing cut-E!

CH: thank you, fef

CC: And don’t fr-Et!

CC: W-E’ll have som-Ebody watch out for you!

CC: So what )(app-En-Ed last tim-E won’t )(app-En again!

CH: …

CC: I’m sorry!

CC: I shouldn’t )(av-E brought it up

CC: 38(

CH: no, that’s ok

CH: it happened

CH: it’s okay to talk about it

CC: )(ow was it?

CH: how was what?

CC: T)(-E )(ospital?

CH: it was ok

CH: im totally better

CC: I’m sure as s)(-Ell glad to )(-Ear it!

CC: Sollux and the cr-Ew will b-E t)(-Er-E to pick you up

CH: the crew?

CC: I’m not shor-E who it’ll b-E but Sollux is driving a bunch of our fri-Ends ov-Er

CC: I asked )(im to pick you up too!

CC: 38)

CH: thanks feferi

CH: youre the best

CC: I c-Ertainly try

CC: T)(-Er-E’s no way to wink at you wit)( my -Emoticon

CC: So just picture t)(at in your )(-Ead

CH: ;)

chumHandle [CH] ceased trolling cuttlefishCuller [CC]

twinArmageddons [TA] began trolling chumHandle [CH]

TA: y/n

CH: sollux

TA: thii2 ii2 gonna be a really weiird que2tiion

TA: plea2e don’t get mad

TA: but

TA: would you fuck ed

CH: what why

TA: becau2e seniior year is almo2t here and iif he doe2nt lo2e hii2 viirgiiniity before hii2 biirthday ii can’t be hii2 friiend anymore

CH: what makes you so sure he’s a virgin

TA: y/n

CH: fair point

TA: ii ju2t know that you have 2ome pretty lax 2tandard2

CH: are you calling me a “2lut”

CH: is that what’s happening right now

TA: god no

TA: ii ju2t wanna get the ba2tard laiid

CH: fine, i’ll do it

TA: y/n you are a 2aiint

TA: 2eriiou2ly

TA: nobody el2e would touch that ugly fucker with a ten foot pole

CH: you and i both know that eridan isn’t ugly

CH: he’s actually quite handsome

TA: god gro22

TA: ju2t thank you

TA: you’re doiing u2 all a favor really

TA: ed fuck2 you and then he’ll 2hut hiis fuckiing iidiiot mouth about not fuckiing anythiing

CH: how many times are you gonna say fuck

TA: fuck

CH: that’s fair

CH: yeah i’ll do it

TA: cool

TA: fiinger gun2

TA: ii’ll piick you up at 6

twinArmageddons [TA] ceased trolling chumHandle [CH]

Sollux is there for you promptly at six o’clock. You’re standing on the curb, waiting for him, when his familiarly tiny rusty red car pulls up alongside you. The music is so loud you can hear it through the closed doors and when you glance in the passenger’s side window, Aradia gestures her thumb back behind her. She must’ve called shotgun, or maybe Sollux got her first. You open the door to the backseat and clamber inside.

Karkat is on the far end, smushed into the door. He looks as disagreeable as always but he offers you a softer-than-usual smile as he adjusts his traditional black t-shirt. Eridan, in between the two of you, looks far more uncomfortable. You notice the way he is desperately trying not to look at you and in retaliation, you put a soft hand on his thigh. He looks as though he might faint, cheeks flushed and forehead beaded with sweat. He doesn’t say anything to you, but Karkat does.

“Alright, Y/N?”

Yes. Why wouldn’t you be?

“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”

Karkat shrugs although from the hunch of his shoulders, you can tell he wants to argue. Everyone knows that he’s lying. You know he’s lying. You know why everybody wants to know if you’re alright. And frankly, it’s nobody’s fucking business.

Not even if they stroked your hair and whispered soft little nothings to you all the way to the emergency room. Not even then.

As you walk into the party, you notice a tall, slim figure posed at the front of the grand entrance hall. He’s smoking a cigarette and he has sunglasses on indoors. Dave Strider. He greets your friends casually but when he gets to you he falters and peers at you over the top of his shades.

“All better, Y/N?”

“Yes, I’m totally better. I eat almonds and yogurt and soup.” He nods curtly, but you can see the tension in his face. It would be difficult to miss, as difficult to miss as those reddish brown eyes of his. You remember the last time you saw them.

You were lying on your back with the left side of your face caked in vomit. Your limbs were seizing up and you wanted to scream but it was like your voice was invisible. Dave knelt over you, eyes as wide as saucers as he begged you to stay awake, please stay awake, oh god, what did you do, why did you do this, god no, please no, no no no no no nonononononononononono.

And you put your hand on his face and said, “Hello David.” Or tried to. You’re sure that what came out was a flubbed version.

“What did you take?” He’s begging you please tell him, tell him so he can get you to the hospital and they can pump your stomach, god please.

“13 valiums and a bottle of gin.” You try to tell him that you were just trying to float and stop your misery and stop the not eating and stop stop stop stop stop. But he can’t hear you. He screams out a feeble and watery Karkat and then you’re in a car with Karkat petting you and his mouth was moving but all you could hear were sirens. You wanted to sleep more than anything but Karkat kept shoving you awake and talking to you and telling you stories and begging you don’t go to sleep, no.

So you suppose if anyone has the right to ask you if you’re okay, it’s Dave, and you’d better tell him too. So you do, but you can tell that he doesn’t fully believe you, but to your relief, he leaves it.

The music is loud. It makes your ears numb. You see Feferi but you don’t go and say hi because she’s kissing Sollux on his mouth and tracing her fingers up his arm and you know you shouldn’t interrupt, so you don’t and push your way further through Feferi’s house. The lights are all pink and blue and hazy and you can’t see through the smoke in the air and you can taste the acrid tang of cigarettes in the back of your mouth, which makes it feel like cotton. You stumble and trip over something-someone lying on a beanbag on the floor, who doesn’t try to catch you when you fall into his bony chest.

“Well hey there, little sis, how’s it motherfuckin’ hangin’?” It’s Gamzee, with his dark, splotchy face and lazy looking eyes and dopey grin. He doesn’t help you up, the idea doesn’t even seem to occur to him. His eyes are bloodshot and his left hand’s slender fingers grip a short, lit blunt, which he offers to you.

“You want a hit?” Nobody except him in your friend group smokes pot. They drink and snort crushed up pills but they don’t smoke weed. You’ve tried it before, but only a few times. You didn’t like how it stung your throat and made you cough.

“Nah, that stuff makes you hungry.” That was your least favorite thing about it. The last time you smoked pot, you’d woken up naked on John’s couch with your hands and chest smeared in food goop and no memory of how it got there. You didn’t need that again. Gamzee doesn’t seem to mind, and just takes another drag.

“It’s no problem sis, more for me.” You watch him as he puffs on it again, noting the way the slight orange glow offsets the neon lights in the room.

“Anyway, chica, long time no see. How’s it been?” You shrug and Gamzee laughs.

“That’s so motherfuckin’ righteous, sister. Seriously, be all up and motherfuckin’ careful. Don’t want anything bad happening to you or anything.” You’re dumbstruck by the fact that Gamzee of all people, slow-witted, slow-reacting, oblivious, with a brain half-ruined y marijuana knows. God, how does Gamzee know?

“I saw you, all up and covered in that puke. Shit, y’know, it fuckin’ scared me. I love you and I don’t want you to die or anything. You were shaking and crying and everyone was all just sitting there, not knowing what to up and do. It was the opposite of a miracle. But maybe the fact that you’re not dead is a miracle and whatever god exists kept you alive for us. I’m motherfuckin’ happy about that. I’d miss you if you were dead. I think everybody would, even if they pretend they wouldn’t.”

Gamzee then punctuates his profound statement with a soft belch and he gives you a watery, peaceful smile, close-lipped, with his eyes shut. You return the smile, though yours is more strained than his because god just stop fucking talking about it.You get it. You don’t really want to be dead anymore but you wish everyone would stop reminding you of it. You want to forget as much as anybody else. You never wanted everyone to see you, shaking on the floor, eyes rolled up into the back of your head with foam oozing from between your lips all over your white tanktop, staining it pink. You want to forget. You want to forget Feferi screaming and and Sollux saying, hush, hush, FF, it’s okay, and Dave’s tears dribbling onto your face and getting into your mouth. They were salty on your numb tongue.

Gamzee’s hand begins to snake down the front of his sweatpants and you decide to leave before this gets awkward. You abandon Gamzee and trip on your way to the stairs, which you clamber up, on your way to Feferi’s second story bathroom. You don’t have to go, you just want to inspect Feferi’s mom’s medicine cabinet, see if she’s gotten anything new since the last time you were here, before. Before. Before you took John’s grandmother’s pills out of the kitchen and fell on the floor and Feferi screamed and Dave cried and Karkat crooned in your ear and you felt more loved than you ever had before, which was bullshit because of course everyone loves you when you try to die.

She doesn’t have anything new, you note with mild disappointment, pocketing some old pills that haven’t been touched since the last time you were here. You read the label before hiding them. Oxytocin. Pain pills. You shove it, along with your hands into your oversized maroon jacket, and just in time too, because the door you were certain you locked opens to your right. You turn and meet an abashed-looking Tavros, his face alcohol and embarrassment-flushed.

“Oh, I didn’t realize that anybody would be in here. I just needed to, um, well, yeah, you know.” He stumbles over his words and looks flustered, so you smile at him.

“Oh, that’s alright, I was just leaving.” You grab a tiny white paper cup, designed for mouthwash and fill it with water before exiting the bathroom, brushing past Tavros’s shoulder. He closes the door and you pull out the pills and take two with the shot of water you have. You aren’t addicted to popping pills, but it is an outstanding interest of yours. You wait a few minutes and then you feel fuzzy and it’s a bit like you’re walking on the ceiling as you trample down the hallway. You walk back down the stairs on watery legs, trying admirably not to fall on your face, which you don’t.

You walk to the kitchen, where Vriska is leaning with her back and elbows resting against the counter. Terezi and John are with her and you notice them eye you suspiciously as you open up all of the cabinets and count the cans inside.

“Hungry?” John asks, voice shaking a little bit. You remember seeing him, driving the car, speeding down the freeway, pedal to the metal. He kept frantically glancing back at you, blue eyes enormous, even more so than usual. Hs too-large front teeth were worrying his bottom lip and his knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. You know why his voice is shaking. You’re starting to get tired of this.

“No.”

“What’re you doing then?”

“Counting.”

“Okay,” he says, sounding uneasy. God, why can’t people just stop being fucking worried about you? Why does John have to quirk his perfectly arched and adorable eyebrows at you like that? Why does he have to bite his lip and why does goddamn Vriska of all people look worried about you? You know perfectly well the reason why, but you don’t care. You don’t care that they all saw you. That everyone knows. You couldn’t care less.

You exist through the backdoor in the kitchen because you need some air, jesus. You can’t stand the way they all look at you, with such pity and fear. It was a mistake and you’ll never live it down because you scared everybody shitless. You take a deep breath of untainted air and somebody sighs right after you exhale. What the hell?

“What the hell?” You glance around and huddled at your feet is Eridan, his floral short-sleeve button down too tight in the arms. He’s wearing slacks too, which is such an Eridan thing to do and you are filled with an overwhelming surge of affection toward your friend. This is all he is, your friend. Your friend that might fuck you later, according to Sollux.

You flop down next to him. He doesn’t react, just takes a long sip from his red plastic cup. It’s probably beer, which you’re sure upsets his sensitive palette but he’s actively not complaining in dramatic, emotional theatrics for once so you don’t question it.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“What’re you doing out here, ‘Dan?”

“Everywhere else was full.” It’s true. All of your friends are rambunctiously partying in every corner of Feferi’s party. Except the bedrooms, you suppose. But maybe Feferi and Sollux have already made their way there, you know they will eventually and Feferi will call you tomorrow and tell you all about it. You know every detail of her sex life. She knows every detail of yours and while you are always supportive, sometimes she frowns at you and shakes her head.

“Ah.”

You’re both silent for awhile, the only sounds being of your breath and Eridan sipping his beer solemnly and yet, delicately. Feferi has a trampoline in her backyard and you haven’t jumped around and just had fun in god knows how long so you get up and offer your hand to Eridan. He accepts, although with a cocked eyebrow, and his hand still firmly in yours, you guide him to the trampoline.

“Really, Y/N? You wanna play on the goddamn trampoline? That’s fairly, just, it’s juvenile, don’t you think?”

“Yes, absolutely.” And you take off your shoes and fling your body onto the black netting and bounce a few times. Eridan hesitantly follows you.

“What if someone sees us?”

“Let them. We’re young and you’re drunk and I want to fly,” you say, leaping into the air and coming down with a spring. Eridan doesn’t jump at first, not until you grab his sleeve and tug on it and oh, Danny, I’m having so much fun, I’m flying, this is like the fucking Notebook, I’m a fucking bird, tell me I’m a bird like the Notebook. You’re laughing hysterically at yourself and Eridan is fucking giggling at you and then he starts jumping too and you dance in circles with only the soundtrack of summer cicadas to keep a melody. You grab his hands and his fingers twine with yours and suddenly he’s falling and you’re bouncing your back against the trampoline, narrowly avoiding hitting your head as Eridan lands on top of you and bounces off but only after squishing the life out of you.

You’re laughing so hard no sound is coming out and you’re gasping and so is he and you grab his hand from where he’s laying beside you.

You look up at the stars. You haven’t seen the stars in over six weeks. You missed them.

“So, how are you, Y/N? I’m sure sorry that I couldn’t come an’ visit you.” You do the best shrug you can while lying down.

“Nobody was allowed to visit me, except in the ER.”

“Still, I should’ve come. Fef went. John went.”

“They’re the only ones that did.”

“Really?” His voice is incredulous.

“Everyone texted. Until I had to go to the psych ward. Then I wasn’t allowed texts anymore.”

“Yeah, I know.”

You don’t want to be sad anymore so you change the subject.

“Eridan?”

“Hm?”

“Are you going to fuck me later?” He chokes, a loud spluttering cough, and jerks up to lay on his arm, staring down at you.

“What?!”

“Sollux told me that you were going to.”

“God, oh fuck, he told me-he-he said-he told me you didn’t know!”

“I know.”

“Well, I know that now!”

“It’s okay. If you want to, I’m okay with it.”

“Okay with what?”

“You fucking me.”

His face flared red, which was a feat in and of itself because his skin was soft brown. He looked beautiful in the starlight: his eyes, a gorgeous golden-hazel with long, dark lashes, his nose sturdy and strong, his lips fairly thick and soft and most especially the freckle he had, on the left corner of his bottom lip. His hair fell in his face, dark brown and highlighted by a thick bleached streak in the front. He wasn’t just pretty, not just beautiful, he was gorgeous. You wouldn’t mind snagging his virginity. Not one bit.

“I don’t think-I mean-well-I-I-I want to but I just think that maybe we should wait on that.”

“Okay,” you say, staring into his eyes, fighting down a pang of disappointment, “But if Sollux asks, you can say you did.”

His eyes narrow a bit and then he’s nervously looking at anything but you.

“But I wanted to know. Could you, maybe-I don’t-just-kiss me?” You smile, a full grin with teeth showing an everything.

“Yes, Eridan.”

And then you get up to your knees and pull him up to meet you and your lips are together and his lips are soft, a bit firmer than you imagined, and they’re clumsy and he accidentally clips your teeth together. You wrap an arm over his shoulder and he puts his hands at your small waist, pressing on your hips with his fingertips. You reach your other hand down and take his. You guide it over your breast and his whole body stiffens. His fingers begin to itch around and grope at the soft flesh under his hand and you slip your lips down to his neck. He makes a noise that is a cross between a purr and a croon and you push him down beneath you. The two of you break apart and he stares up at you, fingers touching his swollen bottom lip like he can’t believe what just happened. You realize suddenly that you just bagged his first kiss. You gently kiss his cheek and roll off of his abdomen.

When you wake up in the morning, you’re inside on the couch with Eridan spooned up behind you. A shirtless Equius lays across the floor with Nepeta’s head on his belly. Terezi’s legs are sprawled across her chest. Everyone else is still asleep but you can feel Eridan start to stir behind you. He nuzzles into the crook of your neck and mumbles a quiet good morning into the skin.

“Morning.”

“Mm.”

“Eridan?”

“Hm?”

“Your stiffy’s digging into my back.”

“M’sorry.”

“S’okay.”

[dramarising-replacement]

blocked me for tracing? i'll spam your art thread

hello! i'm kind of upset about this so i want to know if it's a valid thing to be upset about or if i'm just being idiotic orz about 2 and a half months ago i shared a drawing of mine in a discord server i was in with C, it wasn't anything good, frankly it was super stiff but I really wanted to draw casually, and i kind of enjoyed how the face turned out. less than a week later C posted a picture that was blatantly traced off of my piece- same body proportions, same head tilt, same stiff post, the only difference being one of the hands was moved up with a lasso and move tool. i didn't want to think it suspicious, but it was eerily similar to my piece, so i went to get some other opinions i went to 2 different places, one was one of my best friends, who i sent the finished piece to because she loves my work, and i really love sharing it with others, and of course said it did look traced and i should tell C off. the second place was a discord server where i only really post art in the art channel of, and so the opinions would be unbiased since i'd be asking near complete strangers.. every single person said it was traced, even one of the people who's a known grade school art teacher confirmed that the proportions and poses were identical (excluding the moved hand mentioned earlier) and that my piece was traced i'm a very non-confrontational person. i get anxious and panicky far too easily, so i did the best thing i could think of at the time, which was simply blocking them. not interacting would make them realize i knew what was up, right? i had messaged them the screenshot showing them my piece put on top of their traced sketch so they had to have known that i knew what was going on, yeah? that's what i thought at least not too long after i blocked them on discord and flight rising, i closed my art shop for a bit, just to reset, and tidy it up, as well as get it so i stopped underpricing myself, and that was great! so many lovely people wished me luck and that they were glad they got the update, i was happy everyone seemed to be in mutual understanding! until i saw : 'C has been blocked. Their profile and posts cannot be viewed. If you blocked this player in error or would like to unblock them, please see your Block List in Account Settings'

twice. two times in a row without another person in between, rather than going to see what they wanted i ignored it, the situation with them stressed me out still and i just wanted my little vacation from commission work to be peaceful and casual when i finally reopened my shop i had usual business, limiting myself to 3 pieces a week so that there wasn't too much weight on my shoulders and then C posted on my thread again, this is when i asked my friends to check what they were saying, i didnt want to risk unblocking them and then have them leap onto my profile for whatever reason '@op could i be added to the pinglist, please?' because i didn't want someone who traced my artwork on my pinglist or able to even think they could be commissioned by me, i kept them blocked and didn't respond! because if i said 'hey, you traced my art and i blocked you, please take the hint and back off!' that could've been considered harassment according to fr tos they then proceeded to do this 4 more times. in less than a month. i recently went down memory lane through old deviantart accounts and other website accounts i had, and every single account she knew i had, she posted publicly and in dm : 'Hi OP, I'd like to know how you're doing and perhaps why you blocked me on both Discord and FR, have a good day!' which according to my family, is considered stalking, since I've blocked her which is a way of saying 'leave me alone' and she's gone around to all my different accounts and ex-accounts trying to get to me at this point i've started reporting her posts on my art thread as harassment and spamming, as at this point thats where their behavior has filed into i want to know if after this experience's information is laid out, it seems logical to be reporting them and if this is a valid reason to be as upset as i am

tl;dr : a person traced my artwork and i don't like confronting people, after blocking them on discord and flight rising they began to repeatedly ask to be put on my art shop pinglist and publicly comment on media platform accounts i dont use anymore why i blocked them, i've started to report them for spam and harassment am i getting anxious and upset over nothing? or is their validity in getting upset over this?

[nicolewrites]

canvas hearts

so i was supposed to read freud for class this weekend. instead, take almost 10k of blackstairs fluff since i just read the dark artifices series.

Rating: T Genre: Romance/Friendship Characters: [Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn], Cristina R., Divya J. Words: 9,663

“Julian didn’t want to know if Emma was or wasn’t his soulmate. He was completely fine with the friendship that they shared, even if it wasn’t as strong at school as it was outside of school. He had never looked at any girl like he looked at Emma and even the idea that she wouldn’t be his soulmate made his insides twist” / blackstairs modern soulmate au

AO3 | FFN

“Hey, Emma, isn’t that Julian Blackthorn staring in this direction?” Divya asked suddenly, glancing over Emma’s shoulder.

Emma paused, her sandwich halfway to her mouth. She placed it back on her tray and gave Divya a disbelieving look. “I highly doubt it,” she said. Divya shrugged and tipped her chin outwards. Emma rolled her eyes and finally turned around.

She almost immediately made eye contact with a boy sitting halfway across the cafeteria. His lips flicked upwards into a tiny smile before he drew his blue-green eyes away and Emma was left staring at him. He looked as he always did with beautiful, sharp features and curly dark brown hair.

She spun quickly back to face Divya and the other girl was smirking. “Told you so,” she bragged.

Emma shrugged. “I’m sure it’s nothing. He was probably looking for his siblings. Jules and I have known each other for a long time. Our parents are friends so we’re family friends.”

Divya shrugged and bit into one of her french fries. “He looks like he’s pining.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Almost the entire school has determined that we’re going to meet our soulmates in high school, and I’ll be the first to admit I don’t share that belief, but maybe Julian does.”

Before Divya could reply, a third girl plunked herself down at the table, next to Emma. She was fuming visibly and Emma quirked an eyebrow at her best friend. Cristina flipped her long dark hair over her shoulder and began winding it up into a bun to tame it. She was muttering in Spanish under her breath and Emma and Divya glanced at each other with matching apprehensive looks.

“Ay, dios mío, I hate her,” Cristina finally grumbled.

Emma turned and looked in the direction that Cristina had come from and instantly knew the source of the girl’s agitation. Zara Dearborn was clinging to the arm of Diego Rosales, smirking wickedly. Zara’s brown hair was pulled into an impossibly tight, smooth ponytail and she had on red lipstick that was far too dramatic for a casual day at school along with enormous silver hoop earrings.

Divya frowned, poking a fry angrily into her ketchup. “Tina, what did the bitch do this time?” Cristina huffed. “Just look at her clinging to Diego. She turned eighteen two days ago and apparently she’s going to get a tattoo today so she can prove Diego and her are soulmates.”

Emma studied her friend. Cristina looked annoyed, but as pretty as she always did, with a few dark hairs escaping her bun to frame her tanned face like a princess. “I thought you were over Diego. You guys broke up last year,” Emma pointed out. Divya’s face tightened a little at the mention of Cristina dating Diego, but Cristina just waved off the question. “Come on, Diego and were basically just friends, I just hate the idea that Zara of all people could be his soulmate. Plus, it’s not like I have any reason to still like Diego.” She held up her wrist and Emma’s eyes landed on the rose tattoo that decorated Cristina’s wrist.

Divya’s shoulders relaxed a little and Emma had to bite her lip to keep from giggling. Divya liked Diego, a lot, but couldn’t really do anything about it because he’d started dating Zara almost as soon as Cristina had broken up with him.

“It’s Zara though,” Emma pointed out, “there is no possible way someone as nice as Perfect Diego could be soulmates with someone as vile as Zara.”

Cristina shrugged and leaned across the table to steal one of Divya’s fries. “The bigger the hoops, the bigger the hoe,” she said sarcastically. “We can only hope that he dumps her soon.”

Emma laughed. She returned to eating her lunch as Divya and Cristina made easy conversation overtop of her. When she finished her lunch she fished her phone out of her pocket and opened her Instagram feed. Cristina slid an inch closer and looked over her shoulder at the phone.

The first photo that came up was a picture of a trio of tenth graders. It was a girl tucked in between two boys and the three of them were all grinning widely. The girl and the boy on her left had matching bone structures and similar smiles, marking them easily as siblings. The other boy had wild, curly blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes.

Divya leaned forwards to see what had captured the attention of her friends and she plucked the phone out of Emma’s hand. She studied the photo briefly before glancing over Emma’s shoulder. She shook her head and handed it back to Emma.

“Those Blackthorns and their jawlines, I mean what is it with them?”

Cristina laughed. “Well, most of them anyways. Livvy’s is softer, obviously, but she’s got the cheekbones.”

Emma glanced at the username of the photo: lvvyblckbrn. It clicked in her head. This was Livvy Blackburn, her twin brother Ty Blackburn, and their best friend Kit Herondale. Cristina was right in that Ty shared Julian’s cutting jawline and Livvy had the sharp, elegant cheekbones and blue-green eyes. The three of them were certainly more mature than Emma remembered them as.

She scrolled down her feed, skimming over boring landscape photos and pictures of her classmates. She was still swiping down when Cristina let out a half-screech and snatched the phone. She spun it face Divya and shoved it towards Emma’s face. Emma blinked and refocused on the photo in front of her.

It was a guy probably a year or two older than them, posing on a park bench. He was very pretty, with shockingly blonde hair and blue-green eyes. It wasn’t the attractiveness of the face though, that had caught Cristina’s attention, instead it was the curling rose tattoo that was displayed on his wrist. Emma grinned.

“Tina! That’s your tattoo!” she said excitedly. She grabbed the phone back and studied the caption, “And look at this: “My dearest wild rose, won’t you come out to play”. Wow, that’s romantic.” She took another look at the photo and laughed as she realized she knew who it was. “Also, that’s Mark Blackthorn. He’s the oldest boy and he graduated last year.” Cristina buried her face in her hands. “Wild rose?” she muttered. “What kind of madness is that?” Divya rolled her eyes and threw a fry at her. “It’s romantic. He’s obviously looking to meet you, so you should message him.” Cristina glared at Divya. “No way. I’m not just going to follow him out of nowhere and say, ‘hey dude I got that rose tattoo so you should totally be in love with me’, yeah, no way.”

Divya shrugged. “Then make Emma introduce you to Julian Blackthorn and get Julian to introduce you and Mark.”

Emma narrowed her eyes. “I do know Mark, too, I could just directly introduce you to him. Why do you seem so interested in Julian Blackthorn today, Div?” “I just think he likes you, Em.” She sighed. “No, he doesn’t, I promise. Jules and I basically grew up together. He’s a romantic anyways so I’m sure he’s waiting to meet his soulmate.”

Cristina nudged her. “Getting off the subject of how pretty all the Blackthorns are, have you given any more thought to what you’re going to get tattooed? And that question is for both of you.” Divya grinned and pulled out her own phone. She pulled up a photo of a silhouette of a tiger. “This, or something as close to it as possible,” she explained.

Cristina nodded in approval and turned to Emma. Emma slid her phone back into her pocket and shrugged. “I don’t know yet. I have some vague ideas, but no clue how to really pursue anything.”

Divya picked up her now empty tray. “Well, you had better decide soon, because we’re going this weekend.”

Emma tensed. “What?”

“I’ve been eighteen for a week and a half, but you’re not eighteen for another three months, but Cristina and I have graciously found a place that doesn’t care about the age limit. So you and I are going this weekend and Cristina is coming for moral support.” She stepped away from the table with one last smile. “See you later.” As Divya strode off, Emma whirled on her best friend. “My parents will kill me! I can’t get my tattoo before eighteen.” Cristina just laughed and laid her head on Emma’s shoulders. “You could put it so many places that your parents would never see, so yes, we are doing this. No more arguing.”

He had just been looking for Ty. Or at least, that’s what he was insisting to himself even as his eyes skimmed for long, vibrant blonde hair that definitely did not belong to his little brother. His eyes rested on the back of Emma Carstairs’s head and he sighed. He never intended to look for her, and yet he always seemed to be able to find her.

A second later, Emma was turning in her seat and looked at him curiously. Julian felt his pulse quicken but he forced himself not to blush and he gave her a small smile as they made eye contact. Emma’s lips curled into a matching smile before Julian forced himself to look away, back down at the sketchbook on the table in front of him.

He picked up his graphite and was about to go back to his drawing, but he was quickly startled into dropping it by two hands that covered his eyes. His heart jumped and he tensed. There was some laughter before the hands drew away and Julian craned his neck around to see his attacker.

His little sister Livvy was standing directly behind him, grinning. Kit and Ty were flanking her, as usual, and Julian rolled his eyes. “What do you need, Liv?”

“A ride home after school?” she said, smiling brightly at him.

Julian sighed. “No can do, I have to finish a project for my portfolio.” Livvy frowned and folded her arms. She didn’t reply though and Julian let his eyes skim over Ty and Kit. Ty had his headphones on and was studying something on his phone, not really paying attention. Kit, on the other hand, was frowning at the table of boys to Julian’s left, many of whom were looking appreciatively at his little sister. Julian sighed. He knew his sister was pretty and he was eternally grateful for Ty’s protectiveness of his twin and for Kit’s good looks. They chased off most of Livvy’s suitors, even if Kit was clearly interested in the other twin.

Livvy pursed her lips. “Did you at least invite Emma for dinner this weekend? Dad seems to be under the impression she’s coming, even if you haven’t told her yet.”

Julian turned away from his sister. “No, I haven’t talked to Emma yet, and I wasn’t planning on it.”

“Why not?” Kit asked curiously. “I’m going to be there so it’s not like she’s interrupting a family dinner.”

Julian’s shoulders tensed, as they always did when his family grilled him about Emma Carstairs. “I’m just not, okay? So let it go.” Ty’s gaze lifted and he narrowed his eyes. “If you just get your tattoo, it would answer all of your questions.” Julian felt his cheeks finally get hot. His brother always seemed to give the bluntest, and possibly the best, advice of any of the Blackthorns, but that didn’t mean Julian was eager to follow it. Ty viewed soulmates as a simple concept: get a tattoo when you turn 18. If your partner gets the same one, then you’re soulmates. If they don’t, you’re not, and you just move on.

Julian didn’t want to know if Emma was or wasn’t his soulmate. He was completely fine with the friendship that they shared, even if it wasn’t as strong at school as it was outside of school. He had never looked at any girl like he looked at Emma and even the idea that she wouldn’t be his soulmate made his insides twist. She was ridiculously pretty with golden blonde hair and warm brown eyes and a smile that made all of Julian’s insides melt and his fingers ache for something to draw with.

Finally, his siblings and their friend seemed to get that he wasn’t interested in talking about Emma and they shuffled away, drawing the prying eyes with them. Julian looked back down at his sketchbook. He was working on a small design: a trio of stars that looked a bit like breaking waves on the ocean if you looked at it the right way. There were a couple other small designs on the page, but the star idea had resonated with him the most.

As much as he didn’t want to get a tattoo, he did like drawing them. He had designed Jamie’s and had offered to do Mark’s and he knew that his two little sisters, Livvy and Drusilla, would both ask for him to do theirs when they were old enough.

He picked up his graphite and went back to work creating appropriate shading around the image and out of his peripheral vision he spotted someone slip into the chair across from him. He glanced up, expecting Jamie or maybe Diego, but instead it was Emma. He blinked at her, startled.

She smiled. “Hey Jules, Div ditched me and Tina had Spanish club so I thought I’d hang with you. I’m not bothering you, am I?” “No,” Julian replied quickly. Never, his brain added silently.

“Cool,” she said. She leaned her elbows on the table and one of her braids fell over her shoulder as she leaned forward to study his book. With most people, Julian might have slammed it shut on his designs, but he never felt that way about Emma.

Her eyes brightened as she realized what he was working on. “Soulmate tattoos?” she asked eagerly.

“Yeah,” Julian admitted.

Emma flipped her braid back down over her back and held out a hand. “May I?”

He passed her the sketchbook without protesting and watched her face as she studied each design carefully. Her eyebrows creased with concentration as her eyes darted across the page. Her lips formed a tiny ‘o’ as she studied the star design.

“This one is my favourite,” she said, touching it gently, careful not to smudge the graphite.

Julian smiled. “Mine too,” he agreed.

Emma passed him the sketchbook back, but a thoughtful expression flitted across her features. “Julian,” she began slowly. “Do you think you could design me one?”

At first, confusion wiped his mind blank and Julian looked between Emma and the sketchbook in confusion. Emma was still seventeen and wouldn’t be eighteen for another three months, so she shouldn’t be getting a tattoo anytime soon. “A tattoo?” he asked carefully.

Emma flushed a little. “Yeah,” she paused awkwardly. “I’ve just been thinking about it more and more since Cristina got hers and Div’s eighteen now too. There are places that do them before eighteen and I’ve thought about it.”

Julian’s eyes widened. He hadn’t even considered that Emma might be considering getting a mark earlier than eighteen. Probably because he was eighteen and was still in denial about the fact that he could get one if he wanted to. “Yeah, I can draw you something right now, if you want?” he offered carefully. He was internally terrified about the idea of Emma getting a tattoo and almost hated himself for offering.

Emma smiled. “Thanks, Julian, you are the best. I’d give you some suggestions, but I honestly have no idea what I want.”

Julian studied her face for a second longer before he looked down at his page. He picked up the graphite and began a small sketch. It was almost without thought, but the image came to focus quickly. It was a small drawing of the moon, with a radiant-looking halo behind it, almost like an eclipse. He touched his fingertip to one part and smudged a little and studied it for a second.

Satisfied, he spun the book back to Emma who’s eyes landed on it immediately. She inhaled sharply before looking back at him. “Julian, this is perfect! Thank you!”

She basically jumped from her seat and stepped around the table so that she was at his side. She hugged him tightly and Julian tensed before relaxing just as Emma drew away from him. He pulled the sketchbook back to himself and gently ripped around the design so that it detached cleanly from the page and presented it to her.

She folded it carefully and tucked it into her pocket, smiling at him. She stiffened suddenly and a grin spread across her face that Julian recognized as her mischievous look. “What?” he prompted. “I saw Mark’s post on Instagram,” she declared as if it explained everything. Julian just raised an eyebrow and Emma’s expression deadpanned. “But, of course, you haven’t.” She laughed and pulled out her phone. After fiddling for a second, she turned it towards Julian and he studied the photo of his older brother.

“Oh, he’s showing that off publically, is he?” Julian noted as he observed the rose tattoo on Mark’s wrist. His brother had decided not to get his own tattoo, but just recently the rose had etched itself onto his wrist anyways: his soulmate had gotten a tattoo.

“Yes,” Emma agreed. “But, lucky for him, I actually know who has the matching tattoo!”

Surprise rippled through him. “Really?” “It’s Cristina, funnily enough! She saw the photo on my phone and is mildly freaking out, but I swear I’m going to introduce them if its the last thing I do.” Something heavy knotted itself in Julian’s stomach. “So, you’re in favour of soulmates now?” The Emma he remembered had declared that soulmates were silly and that you should just love whoever you wanted.

She shrugged. “I want my friends to be happy and I know that Mark and Tina would love each other. For myself, I’m kind of just getting the mark to see what happens.” Julian felt a small smile tug at his lips. “Big earth-shattering revelations, and the like,” he joked. Emma grinned. “And this is why you are the absolute dad friend: crazy artistic talent, insane compassion and leadership, and dad jokes.” “Pretty sure you’re the one with the jokes,” he disagreed. Emma smiled again but didn’t argue.

She sat down beside him and nudged his shoulder playfully. “So, you’ve designed my tattoo, is there anything I can do in return for you?”

Come to dinner with me on Saturday, his mind blurted, but his lips stayed sealed. “Actually,” he said, “is there a chance you could drive Livvy, Ty, and possibly Kit home today? I have a project to do after school.” Emma touched her lip and furrowed her brow as she thought for a second. “Yeah, actually, I’ll just bum Cristina with Divya and then all is good.”

Julian smiled warmly. “Great, I’ll let her know.” He pulled out his phone and sent Livvy a text. Just as he was putting it down, Emma rose from the table. “I’ll see you later, Jules,” she said warmly. She gave him a little wave and walked off. Julian watched her go, his insides both twisted and warm.

“Emma, your friends are here!” her mom called up the stairs.

Emma jolted, dropping her phone onto her bed. She glanced at the clock on the wall and bit her lip. It was five minutes before Cristina said she would pick her up, but that wasn’t too big of a surprise. She grabbed her phone from the bed and swung herself up to her feet. She slung her purse over her shoulder on the way out of her room. She got halfway down the stairs before she realized she had forgotten the thing that she needed to bring today.

She ran back upstairs and grabbed the tiny scrap of paper that had been on her desk and shoved it into her pocket. She needed Julian’s sketch–it was by far the best of any ideas that she’d had and she certainly didn’t trust anyone to attempt to replicate his artistry. She pulled her shoes on, and with a brief glance at her mother, pulled her ponytail out so her long hair spilled over her shoulders. It would help to hide the tattoo when she came home.

She smiled one last time at her mom before ducking out the door and jogging down the drive to Cristina’s car. Cristina was driving and Divya was seated shotgun, so Emma climbed in the back, sliding into the middle seat so she was between her friends.

Divya twisted to look at her excitedly as Cristina pulled away from the curb. “So, are you ready?”

Emma shrugged. “I finally decided on a design so that’s good, at least. Not sure what else I should be feeling.”

Cristina laughed but kept her eyes on the road. “Honestly, everything will be fine. They don’t really hurt and they’re easy enough to take care of.”

“I’m getting mine on my arm,” Divya declared. “I’m eighteen so there’s no reason I can’t show it off.” Emma nodded, it made sense to her.

“And you’re going with the tiger silhouette?”

Divya grinned. “Of course. It’s my spirit animal after all.”

“And you don’t think your soulmate will mind?”

Divya shrugged. “They can deal with it. Besides, I’m kind of more in love with the idea of getting a tattoo than I am with finding my soulmate at this point.”

Emma smiled. Something nervous and heavy was twisting mildly in her stomach. She wanted this tattoo, she’d wanted it since she was seven years old and had first learned about soulmates from her mother. She’d wanted to know her soulmate since she was nine years old and she realized that Julian Blackthorn’s graceful shape and protective personality were very pretty.

She touched her pocket where Julian’s drawing was protected. Julian was almost unbearably pretty, but he was also one of her best friends and had been for a long time, even if they didn’t hang out that much at school. Julian’s friendship was too important to risk over anything and Emma knew that he was a romantic who would love his soulmate wholeheartedly. Idly, she wondered if he’d gotten a tattoo yet. He turned eighteen a month ago, but she had never thought to ask, even when she had spied him drawing tattoo designs.

Cristina pulled into a small complex. It had a kid’s toy store, a small grocery market, an optometrist, and a tiny little tattoo parlour. Cristina parked the car and turned to look at both Divya and Emma.

“So, Miranda won’t ask for proof of age, she’ll just do it, and she’ll do a great job. She’s clean and a good artist so she can tackle whatever you throw at her.”

Divya nodded. “I trust you, Tina, now let’s do this!”

Cristina led the way into the parlour which, true to her word, was clean, and presently empty. Cristina rang the little bell on the welcome desk and a woman poked her head out of a back room. She smiled at the sight of her guests and welcomed them in. The woman had a couple tattoos on her arms and one peeking out of her shirt collar, but otherwise, she looked like every normal person Emma had ever met.

“Welcome to Ink Search!” she greeted as she walked up. “Who am I helping today?” “Myself,” Divya said, “and my friend Emma.”

“Great! Is this the first time?” Miranda asked. Emma nodded and the artist waved to a couple of chairs. “I’m sure you’re here because you’ve heard I don’t care for the age restriction, so whoever wants to go first can come over and the others can take a seat.”

Divya quickly strode over, pulling up a picture of her desired image on her phone.

“Oh, how interesting! A wild heart, you have then,” Miranda said cheerfully.

“Yup!” Divya agreed. She slipped her jean jacket off, leaving her in a simple tank top, and passed the coat to Cristina, who folded it and held it in her lap. “If possible, I want it to go right here.” She outlined a patch of skin on the underside of her bicep.

Miranda nodded. “Great, I’ll get to work then!”

Emma scrolled through her phone and made casual conversation with Cristina as Divya got her tattoo. She cast her friend a couple glances, but Divya was smiling basically the whole time. When the process was nearly finished, Cristina’s phone rang and she excused herself to take the call.

Emma pulled Julian’s sketch out of her pocket and studied it carefully. She was going to be marking this on her body as well as on her potential soulmate’s body for the rest of their lives. She wanted this.

Cristina came back into the shop, looking like she was about to die of laughter. “Well, that was Diego. After two days of Zara insisting the tattoo would show up on him, it hasn’t, but instead, he’s actively having one drawn on while lying on his bed at home! He broke up with Zara and called me because he wants to know if I know anything that’s currently getting a tattoo of a tiger! I had to hang up on him so I could laugh!”

Divya looked startled. “Wait, I’m Diego’s soulmate?”

Emma laughed. “Apparently, you are.”

She laughed. “Cool, at least that solves my problem.” Cristina looked over at Emma. “And you promised to introduce me to Mark Blackthorn, so that will solve my problem as well.”

“And then it’s just little old me,” Emma drawled.

Miranda laughed. “Honey, you could not be a day over nineteen if you tried.” After another couple flourishes, she stepped away from Divya. “Alright, you’re all done! Just a few more last minute instructions and we’ll be good to go!”

Cristina and Emma both rose from their seats to take in Divya’s tattoo. It looked good: clean sharp edges and exactly the pattern that she had wanted. Emma suddenly felt much more reassured about handing over Julian’s sketch.

Once she was done helping Divya, Miranda turned to her and smiled. “So, what are you getting and where would you like it?”

Shyly, Emma handed over the slip of paper with Julian’s drawing on it. Miranda studied it and smiled.

“Your boyfriend is quite the artist. This is gorgeous,” she complimented, lifted it closer to her eyes so she could get a more detailed look.

“Boyfriend?” Emma questioned, suddenly taken aback.

Miranda glanced at her. “Or girlfriend, but this is clearly the work done by someone who cares a lot about you. And considering you’ve come to me, I’m assuming you’re not eighteen yet and you just really want to confirm that this person you’re with is going to be your soulmate.” Emma felt heat fill her cheeks. “What if I had drawn that?” Miranda waved a hand. “You don’t look like much of an artist yourself, no offence, and artists would usually bring an entire book and be unable to choose a design right to the last second.” “Well, yeah okay, but Julian’s my friend, not my boyfriend. He drew that for me as a favour.”

Miranda gave her a knowing smile. “Alright, hon, whatever you say. Now, where am I putting this?”

Emma snapped the hair elastic on her wrist and pulled her hair into a bun at the top of her head. She twisted slightly and tapped just above one of the bumps of her spine. “Right here.”

“Perfect, so let’s get to work!”

Julian woke up on Sunday feeling like someone had pressed pins to the back of his neck when he was sleeping. He rubbed it awkwardly and stretched. He must have just slept on it funny. He rose from his bed and made his way downstairs.

Livvy was already mixing a big bowl of pancake mix and she grinned when he reached the kitchen. Ty was setting the table and Drusilla and Tavvy were seated in their seats, having a conversation about some book that Tavvy was holding tightly. Mark was nowhere to be seen and Julian almost expected Helen too, except for the fact that Helen had moved out to be with her wife and soulmate, Aline.

“Ready to make some pancakes, big brother?” Livvy asked brightly.

Julian smiled and took the bowl from her. “I guess if I have to. Where’s Dad?” “Out with John, it’s Sunday,” Ty answered from across the room. Julian nodded. John Carstairs was Emma’s dad and one of his dad’s best friends. They always went for breakfast on Sunday mornings, Julian had just momentarily forgotten.

“You are Dad today,” Drusilla said cheerfully from the table.

Julian shrugged and pulled out a frying pan, turning on the stove heat to medium. He had his back to the rest of his family and didn’t think anything of it until Drusilla jumped up from the table and ran over. He glanced at her, but she waved him off so he turned back to the stove. She giggled loudly and he turned around, but she scampered back to her seat at the table without a word. Livvy looked as if she was trying and failing to smother a smile, while Ty and Tavvy were both blissfully unaware of whatever the two sisters were teasing Julian about. Julian sighed but turned back to his pancakes. It couldn’t be that important.

They got halfway through breakfast before the doorbell rang. Julian rose from the table and walked to the front door. He opened it and was surprised to see Emma standing there, smiling. She was wearing a yellow shirt with absolutely no sleeves or straps and white shorts. Her blond hair fell loosely around her shoulders and she looked so beautiful Julian nearly forgot how to breathe. He immediately felt self-conscious at his plain shorts and paint-spattered t-shirt.

His alarm faded a little when he saw that Emma wasn’t alone. Cristina Rosales was accompanying Emma, with her dark hair pulled back into to braids. Cristina was wearing a simple white dress and she looked considerably more nervous than Emma. For a moment Julian was confused; then he remembered that Emma had said that Cristina was definitely Mark’s soulmate.

“Is Mark home? I figured Sunday breakfast was as good as time as ever to catch all the Blackthorns together.” Julian glanced over his shoulder, about to say that he hadn’t seen Mark all morning when his brother appeared at the top of the staircase, shirtless and sleep dishevelled. He turned back to Emma and Cristina with a wry smile. “Speak of the devil and he shall appear.” He stepped into the house, inviting both of the girls in, and stepped towards the stairs. “Mark, put a shirt on, we have guests.”

Cristina flushed at his words and Emma laughed. “He would,” she teased. Julian shrugged and invited the girls into the kitchen. Livvy and Dru were both ecstatic to see Emma and Ty smiled at her over his neatly cut pancakes. A couple of minutes later Mark joined them in the kitchen, still looking slightly rumpled and tired. He brightened a little when he saw Emma and gave Cristina an appreciative look.

“Mark,” Emma greeted, “this is my friend Cristina Rosales. I think you two should talk.” She grabbed them both by their right wrists and dragged them towards the backyard.

Livvy raised an eyebrow at Julian as the three disappeared. “What’s that about?” Emma popped back into the kitchen and leaned on Julian with her arm like he was a wall. “They’re soulmates. Cristina got the rose tattoo, that’s how we know.”

Julian was surprised to see Emma acting so free and casual around him. Things hadn’t been this easy between them for a couple of years, but it made something in his chest swell and warm at the familiarity between them.

Livvy and Dru exchanged a secretive look that had Julian narrowing his eyes, but the girls just turned back to Emma easily and asked her some inconsequential question. With Emma sufficiently distracted, Julian studied her carefully. His fingers itched in a familiar way, but he wasn’t sure whether the desire to draw her or to touch her was stronger.

Emma had gotten used to wearing her hair down a lot more often now. Around her parents she couldn’t wear it up otherwise she would be baring her tattoo for them to see clear as day. She’d seen photos of it and its reflection in the mirror and she really liked how it had turned out. It was small and simple, but perfect for what she wanted.

She parted her hair with her brush neatly and pulled back the twin braids at the front of her hair into a braided crown. It looked nice, she thought, with a smile. She adjusted her shirt, made sure it wasn’t falling down as off the shoulder tops could. It was a shimmering metallic silver and she’d paired it with a white denim skirt and black boots. She turned to study her reflection in the mirror one last time and adjusted her hair so that her tattoo was fully covered.

She picked up her phone, forgoing her purse for the evening, and headed downstairs. Her father looked up from the couch as she came down the stairs. He smiled at her.

“Very pretty dear. Be safe tonight and I’ll see you tomorrow.” “Yeah, will do, Dad. Love you!” Emma blew him a kiss and slipped out the front door. The red car of the Blackthorns was idling at the bottom of the driveway. It wasn’t exactly what she had been expecting when Cristina said she had their ride to the party organized. As she got closer Emma realized Divya was in the backseat and Cristina was riding shotgun.

She opened the door and saw that Mark was in the driver’s seat, his blonde hair appropriately mussed and Cristina was holding his hand. The two had started dating almost immediately after meeting since they were indeed soulmates and had hit it off so well. Divya grinned at Emma’s appearance.

“Looking sharp, babe,” she teased. Emma winked. “Right back at you.” Divya offered her a bottle of vodka and Emma pursed her lips before accepting it and taking three hearty sips. Cristina giggled.

“Always the party girl, aren’t you, Em?” Emma blew her a kiss as the alcohol burned on the way down, warming her stomach. “You know it. And I’m assuming Tina talked you into driving, so thank you, Mark.” Mark smiled at her in the rearview mirror. “My pleasure, now where are we going?”

“Cameron Ashdown’s,” Divya supplied. Mark nodded and pulled out onto the road.

“Are you staying to join us, Mark?” Emma asked after a moment. Divya passed her the bottle again and Emma took another few swigs before handing it up to Cristina.

He shook his head. “Nah, I promised Ty and Dru I’d watch something with them tonight.”

The alcohol was already buzzing in Emma’s system by the time they got to the party. Divya pulled Emma out of the car quickly and Cristina lagged behind briefly to kiss Mark goodbye, but joined them shortly. As soon as they were in the front door, the music hit them as did the low lights with the bright flashes of colour for effect. Divya disappeared quickly, off to find Diego, and Emma was left with Cristina.

“Let’s go find something to drink,” Cristina suggested, dragging Emma towards where they knew Cameron’s kitchen to be. Cristina grabbed two clean shot glasses and poured them each a shot of tequila, grinning.

Emma clinked their glasses together and took the shot. She shivered after as the alcohol burned going down, but Cristina was already pouring herself a second one. Emma placed her glass off to the side and picked up a cider from an open cooler instead. Cristina handled her tequila much better than Emma did and Emma didn’t even like hard liquor which was a bit unfortunate with her friends since Tina loved tequila and Divya liked vodka.

Emma was about to say something to Cristina before she felt a warm hand on her elbow. She turned and saw Cameron staring down at her, smiling. He took in her outfit appreciatively.

“Hey Emma,” he greeted. She smiled at him politely. Cameron was attractive by stereotypical standards with short red hair and a nice body and a pretty smile. “Do you want to dance?” She nodded. She had no reason to say no and she and Cam had had a thing in the past and he wasn’t a bad guy by a long shot. Cristina downed her second shot and winked before wandering off, probably to bother Diego or Jamie Rosales. Emma took Cam’s hand and escorted him into the living room where most of the dancing was taking place.

The alcohol was already hitting her as she and Cam danced. The rest of the party was mostly a blur, with sharper memories around a couple drinking games that she handily destroyed the competition in. She and Jamie partnered up for beer pong against Diego and Divya and had beaten them so badly that Diego had escorted his girlfriend away quickly with a wink to heal her wounded pride.

Several hours later, Emma found herself dancing with Cameron again. His hands were on her hips and her arms were twisting in the air as she moved to the beat. She shut her eyes and her fogged mind briefly transported her to a different place where she was being held by a different pair of hands with long, elegant painter’s fingers. Her eyes snapped open and Cam gave her a quizzical look.

She ignored the feeling and kept dancing, but she couldn’t deny that Cam kept trying to kiss her. After one more attempt, Emma stepped way too close into his personal space and stepped up on her tiptoes to see the back of Cameron’s neck. The nape of his neck was bare and that was the last straw. Emma stepped out of Cam’s reach and wobbled. She was drunker than she thought.

Cam reached out and steadied her elbow. “I need to go home now,” she told him. Her tone was strong, but she could hear the slur behind her words. She was definitely drunker than she had intended to be.

She spun away from Cam without another word and headed for the front door. She ran smack into Jamie Rosales who let out a string of curses in Spanish as he stumbled into the wall. He raised an eyebrow at her as she was clearly on her way to the front door.

“Ay, chica, where are you going?”

Emma stumbled on a fold in the carpet and Jamie laughed, steadying her. “Home,” she answered.

Jamie looked pensive for a moment. “Weren’t you supposed to stay at Tina’s?” Emma frowned. “Yeah, I think so. I’m not supposed to go home anyway.” Jamie grimaced. “Yikes, well Tina left already. Mark apparently walked here and they walked back to her place already. And Divya and Diego left and I’m walking, but I’m sure you don’t want to stay at our place or here, so what are you going to do?”

Emma pulled out her phone. “Jules will pick me up. Julian is the best. He always looks after me and takes care of me. He’s going to be such a good boyfriend when he finally meets his soulmate. She’ll be so lucky,” Emma said. The words spilled out of her without thought and her cheeks flushed. She stepped past Jamie and tried to dial Julian’s number. Unfortunately, she also stepped directly onto someone’s discarded shoe and nearly tumbled straight to the ground.

Julian’s phone woke him up rudely. He groaned and rolled over, blindly reaching for it. Jamie’s picture lit up the screen in the darkness and Julian frowned. He swiped to answer the call and lifted it to his ear. “Jamie? It’s like two thirty in the morning, what do you want?” “Hey! Julian! Your girlfriend is drunk out of her mind and wants you to pick her up because all her friends ditched her. Come relieve me of this, my man!” Jamie’s voice filtered through the speaker. He was yelling over loud background music and Julian flinched away reflexively.

It took him a second to process all of what Jamie had said. “My girlfriend?” “Yeah, Emma Carstairs? Hot blonde? You’ve been in love with her for forever?” Jamie prompted. Julian flushed and hoped that either Emma hadn’t been listening or she was too drunk to remember.

“Okay, okay!” he urged quickly. “I’m coming, I’ll be there in like 10 minutes. It’s at Cam Ashdown’s right?” “Yeah, so hurry up dude otherwise I think Emma is going to take me apart!”

Julian shook his head and hung up the call. He grabbed the first shirt out of his drawer which turned out to be just a plain grey v-neck and he pulled on a pair of dark sweatpants. He quietly left his room and went downstairs. Mark had left him the keys to the car when he had walked over to pick up Cristina earlier and Julian grabbed them now, shoving a pair of sneakers onto his feet before he ducked out the door.

He drove to Cameron’s house in complete silence, his heart pounding loudly in his ears. He pulled up outside the house and parked the car. He got out and immediately saw Emma and Jamie on the porch. Emma was leaning against the railing, giving a drunk lecture to a significantly less drunk Jamie who looked thoroughly amused.

Jamie spotted Julian and waved him over. “Hey, Emma, there’s Prince Charming!” Emma turned and nearly fell down the steps of the porch as she tried to walk towards him. Julian surged forwards and caught her, his arms wrapping around her tightly.

“Jules! I knew you’d come! You always come and you’re the best!” Emma was a bubbly, happy drunk. Julian smiled softly.

“Come on, Em, let’s get you home.” “No, not home! I’m supposed to be at Tina’s! But, she brought Mark home so I can’t go there.” “Then we’ll go to my place,” Julian said as he helped Emma back to her feet. He glanced at Jamie who was just grinning at him slyly. Julian rolled his eyes. “Thanks for the call, Jamie.”

Julian managed to get Emma into the car without too much trouble and she didn’t say anything on the drive back to his house, just stared at him with wide brown eyes. She was clearly intoxicated, but she was Emma and still beautiful. Julian knew it wouldn’t be too weird for her to sleep over because they’d done it a lot as kids and it was certainly a lot better than leaving her at Cameron Ashdown’s house because Cameron definitely still had a thing for her, despite how he denied it.

He parked the car in the driveway and got out and walked around it to the passenger side. He opened Emma’s door and she scowled at him. Julian blinked at her.

“Emma, come on, just get out of the car.”

“Nope!” she said brightly. “You’ll have to drag me out!”

Julian sighed before he leaned in and undid her seatbelt. Then he scooped her up, one arm under her knees and the other along her back. She squealed and threw her arms around his neck to support herself and he lifted her out of the car.

“Jules, what are you doing?” she demanded.

He laughed and nudged the car door shut. “Dragging you, apparently,” he supplied.

Emma complained until they got to the house, but as soon as they went inside she fell silent as if she could tell how important it was for her not to wake up Julian’s siblings. Julian carried her up the stairs and brought her into his room. He deposited her on the floor. Emma stumbled a little but looked around his room with soft eyes. “It’s just like it used to be,” she commented softly. “So Julian.” He smiled a little. Now that she was standing, drunk, in his room, he wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do. Emma, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly what to do. She removed her shoes and stripped off her shirt, depositing it on the floor and her skirt followed it quickly. Julian immediately flushed. Emma was now just standing in his room in a bra and underwear.

She turned towards him and frowned. “I don’t have anything to sleep in.” Julian mentally stumbled for a second before his brain restarted. She was drunk so this obviously meant nothing to her. “One second,” he said. He went to his dresser and pulled out an old, faded art camp shirt and passed it to her.

He watched as she gathered her hair and threaded it through the hole in the shirt as she pulled it on. It fell to her upper thigh and something in Julian’s stomach clenched. Somehow, seeing her in his shirt was almost worse than seeing her in basically nothing.

Instead, he steeled his nerves and stepped towards her. He turned her towards his half-made bed and pushed her toward it. Emma glanced back at him.

“Where are you going to sleep?” she asked quietly.

“Couch, downstairs, or here on the floor,” he answered quickly. They had used to share beds as kids, but that was much before Julian realized how pretty Emma was and how much he really liked her.

Emma frowned at him again and fell down towards his bed. She landed on it and in the process, grabbed Julian by the arm and yanked him down with her. He fell, unprepared and landed on top of her, barely catching himself by the arms as he hovered above her. They were so close and in the darkness of his room he could just barely make out the freckles on her cheeks and the wispy eyelashes that fluttered against her cheeks.

“Stay here,” she ordered.

“Em,” Julian breathed, not trusting himself to move.

Her brow creased. “Everyone thinks you like me, but now that I’m here and I’m literally telling you I want to sleep with you, you’re not kissing me,” she complained.

Julian’s arms went rigid as he processed her words. “Em,” he whispered, “what are you saying?”

Instead of an answer, she put her hands on either side of his face and pulled him down to her lips. Julian’s brain was frying and he knew it. Emma was kissing him and she was wearing nothing but his shirt and they were lying in his bed. His body responded to her touch eagerly as he kissed her back. Her lips were warm and smooth against his and her hands quickly reached for the hem of his shirt, pushing it up so that she could appreciatively run her hands along his chest and stomach.

She tugged the shirt up again and made a whining sound that twisted Julian’s brain horribly. He pulled back from her lips and let her pull his shirt up and over his head before she flung it away. In that instant, his racing mind caught up with his body and he remembered the alcohol on Emma’s breath and the fog in her eyes. She tried to pull him back down and he resisted, rolling off of her and standing next to the bed, breathing heavily. Emma sat up after him, looking disappointed. “Julian?” her voice was quiet and tentative. “Do you not want to?”

He exhaled slowly and turned back towards her. “More than anything,” he answered honestly. “I just,” he paused. “You’re drunk, Ems. I don’t want you to regret anything.” “I won’t!” she argued, the familiar stubborn edge glinting in her eyes.

Julian leaned forward and cupped her face. “You might, and I’m not taking that chance. Now, you should sleep.”

Emma sighed. “Fine, but we’re sharing the bed. That’s not a big deal at all.”

Julian really didn’t see a way to argue with that statement, so as Emma slid over, he scanned for the shirt she had basically ripped off of him. It was on the other side of the bed, partway across the room, but before he could move towards it, Emma had grabbed his wrist.

“Don’t need it,” she murmured sleepily. “Come on, Jules.” Sighing deeply, Julian lowered himself to the bed beside her. As soon as he was settled, Emma rolled towards him, tucking an arm across his chest. Her eyes slid shut and her lips curled up just the tiniest bit. Her blonde hair was strewn across her back, but Julian caught a peek of something beneath the curtain of hair.

He gently brushed away a few strands and saw his drawing inked into her skin. The moon with its radiant halo was in a small circle at the nape of her neck. He was surprised. Emma had mentioned considering a tattoo, but he didn’t think she would have actually done it before she was eighteen. He looked from it to her peaceful face as she was now fully asleep. It suited her.

Julian let his arms curl around her protectively and he shut his eyes, letting sleep take him.

Emma woke up warm, comfortable, and securely tucked against something even warmer than she was. She curled more tightly against it, letting out a contented sigh. A warm hand on her hip brushed against her gently through the shirt she was wearing.

Emma’s eyes shot open. Her head was aching, but to her surprise, she remembered everything that had transpired including trying to call Julian only for her phone to die and getting Jamie to call for her. Then Julian had picked her up and brought her home. As she recalled Drunk Emma’s activities, she flushed violently.

She had stripped in front of Julian and he’d given her an old shirt. Then he had tried to put her to bed and she’d pulled him down and kissed him. She wasn’t stupid, she remembered the warm and electric feeling she’d felt when she kissed Julian. It wasn’t like anything she’d felt before. But, he’d stopped her because she’d been drunk and he was perfect and wouldn’t take advantage of her, no matter if she’d wanted it or not.

Now, she blinked again and realized she was lying half on top of Julian and his arms were around her waist as he turned towards her. Their legs were a little intertwined, but her awakening did not seem to have woken Julian. His eyes were still shut and Emma took a moment to admire his peaceful sleeping face. He was beautiful and she was so stupid to think that she’d felt anything but love for him before. She’d crushed on other guys, but she’d never felt for them like she felt for Julian.

She looked down at her hands which were pressed against his warm, bare chest. Emma remembered pulling it up and feeling the firm lines of his stomach, but as she studied him in the dim morning light, she was able to appreciate him even more. She didn’t remember when Julian had gotten so fit, but he was painstakingly attractive and Emma praised her drunk self briefly for forcing Julian to sleep without his shirt.

She looked back up at his face and the curly dark hair that fell across his forehead. She reached up to brush it aside and some of her own hair brushed against Julian’s chest as it spilled over her shoulder. A cold realization gripped her suddenly and she slid her fingers carefully towards his neck. She just wanted to see if he had a mark because she wanted so desperately for him to have one.

As she reached for the side of his neck, Julian stirred and his blue-green eyes flickered open. He looked drowsy and temporarily content, but at seeing Emma awake and so close to him, he tensed under her touch. She carefully drew her hand back to the neutral area of his chest and smiled tentatively.

“Good morning,” she offered awkwardly.

“How’s your head?” he asked immediately.

Emma blinked. She had a headache, but it was low on her list of priorities. She hadn’t really acknowledged much past the half-naked, attractive boy she was lying with. “Hurts a bit,” she admitted.

Julian carefully drew away from her, letting her lying alone, as he moved to stand. “I’ll go get you some ibuprofen and water.”

As he turned his back to her to try and stand off the edge of the bed, something small and dark caught her eye at the base of his neck and her heart skipped.

“Julian, you have a tattoo,” she breathed.

He froze. “What?” he exclaimed, twisting to face her, clearly surprised.

Emma smiled brightly and sat up, crawling across the bed towards him. She reached up and pressed against it. It was small and circular, but it was undoubtedly a perfect match to the one that sat at the base of her neck. “Right here,” she said softly.

Julian reached and touched over her fingers, his brow knit in confusion. “I never got my tattoo,” he breathed.

Emma withdrew her hand and touched his cheek. “But I did.” She turned, drawing her hair over one shoulder to expose the matching mark on her neck.

“I saw that last night,” Julian admitted quietly. He stood up from the bed and Emma followed him with her eyes. “So what does this mean?” he asked.

“We’re soulmates. We share tattoos, that’s what it means,” Emma said.

Julian exhaled shakily and looked at her. His eyes were dark with emotion. “All this time I was so sure you felt nothing towards me. You dated Cameron, and you had a crush on Mark, and I thought you’d never fall for me.”

Emma’s stomach twisted unpleasantly. “Julian, no, I think I have always felt this way about you, I just didn’t figure it out until recently.” She stood from the bed and moved towards him. She raised a hand to touch his cheek.

He turned out of her touch and picked up a sketchbook from his desk. He turned back and curled her hands around it. “Look at it,” he urged.

She blinked, but opened it. The first was a charcoal sketch of her, smiling at what was probably a camera. She flipped through and saw more sketches of her face, her hair, her whole self and there were even a few watercolours or oil paintings tucked in between the pages but the book was undeniably her. She felt tears prick at her eyes. It was the most precious and wonderful thing she’d ever seen and Julian had spilled his heart into these pieces and they were all of her.

“This is my heart,” Julian said firmly. “Everything I feel for you is there and I am an artist. My feelings bleed onto paper and I could never show you before because I was so afraid you didn’t feel the same way about me.” He leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers. His eyes shut. “You brought colour into my world and let me paint out my heart on canvas.”

“Julian, I love you,” she breathed.

“And I love you more than I know how to express,” he replied softly.

Emma pulled away from him just enough to put the sketchbook back on the desk. There was a momentary flash of disappointment in his eyes before she threw her arms around his neck and raised her lips to his. She kissed him fiercely and without restraint and he responded to her touch immediately.

The lips moulded together like a perfect fit as Julian kissed the air from her lungs. It was as if a fire had been lit in her stomach and a hot coil was roasting her insides to mush. She pressed herself closer to him, drawing him in and Julian’s hands anchored on her waist and her back, hot through the material of the shirt he’d lent her.

Finally, Emma ran out of air and she broke away, gasping, but Julian’s arms kept her flush against him, with just a breath’s width between their lips. She slid her arms down from his neck down across his chest and his stomach. Julian shivered under her touch.

“I think Drunk Emma should have thrown away all of your shirts, not just the one,” she breathed slyly.

Julian’s laugh was breathy and his eyes were dark with wanting. “Don’t steal all my fun,” he replied.

Before Emma could process exactly what he meant he was kissing her hotly again. After a brief second his hands slid down, finding the hem of the shirt she was wearing and guiding it upwards. She gasped as he tugged it over her head and threw it away. The meaning of his sentence was made suddenly clear and Emma was about to seal their lips back together when Julian nudged her back towards the bed.

He dipped his head lower, pressing hot kisses to her jawline and down her throat and she made a squeaking noise she didn’t even know she could make as the backs of her knees bumped against the edge of the bed.

“Julian,” she gasped out. “Your siblings,” she reminded desperately.

He pulled away from her briefly, locking their eyes. “Everyone sleeps in on Saturday,” he replied.

Emma was the one who smirked this time as she wrapped her arms around his neck and fell back against the bed, her fingers just grazing the edge of the moon tattoo that bound them together as she pulled him down.

“No time to waste then.”

[kentonramsey]

The Kamala Harris Vogue Cover Has Issues

Kamala Harris’s position as the first Black woman Vice President-elect of the United States  comes with an invisible tightrope. We’ve seen her walk it carefully, with nary a stumble, since she and Joe Biden were elected. Harris and her team know she will be heavily scrutinised for everything she does — that’s the burden of being Black, the first, and an elected official — so when her January 2021 Vogue cover leaked over the weekend, it wasn’t surprising that social media had thoughts. It also shouldn’t be shocking that the word I would use to sum up the VP elect’s look is safe. It’s  even more predictable that a Vogue cover starring a Black woman is being viewed as a disappointment. The magazine doesn’t have the greatest track record of photographing Black cover stars (see: Simone Biles). 

It’s what happened after the cover dropped that has created an unforeseen conversation about the expectations Harris will be up against, her inclination to cater to those standards, and how much control American institutions will afford her to do so. 

Yes, I got all of that from a pair of Chucks. 

Vice President-elect @KamalaHarris is our February cover star! Making history was the first step. Now Harris has an even more monumental task: to help heal a fractured America—and lead it out of crisis. Read the full profile: https://t.co/W5BQPTH7AU pic.twitter.com/OCFvVqTlOk

— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) January 10, 2021

Let’s start with what Harris could and did control: the clothes. I’m convinced Harris chose to wear a casual blazer by Donald Deal, simple black pants, and her signature worn-in Converse sneakers for the shoot (Vogue confirmed Harris styled herself) because of what people would say. After Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was subjected to unfairly harsh scrutiny for wearing a borrowed $14,000 white Aliétte suit on the December 2020 cover of Vanity Fair, it was clear that Harris was going for an “of the people” look (on the print cover with this image, she’s flanked by the words “By The People, For The People” so yeah, it’s not subtle). It is definitively un-fancy. It’s purposefully unintimidating. Like a true politician, it’s as if she was trying to be as least divisive as possible. But the outfit is what sparked several tweets and takes dragging the casual cover. 

Kamala Harris is about as light skinned as women of color come and Vogue still fvcked up her lighting. WTF is this washed out mess of a cover? pic.twitter.com/5O2q0axA0G

— E. Vaughan (@HypeVaughan) January 10, 2021

Vogue has Kamala Harris in some fucking Converse. Someone needs to throw a cinderblock at Anna Wintour fr

— miss mullet (@simplyIemonade) January 10, 2021

In the print Vogue cover image that leaked on Saturday, and was officially unveiled by the magazine on Sunday, Harris seems to have wandered onto a half-finished photoshoot set (I’ll come back to the backdrop) in between campaign stops. Even her expression feels incomplete, like the flash went off right before she could finish smiling. I understand the backlash. It is not the pomp, circumstance, or glamor we’ve come to expect from Vogue covers, especially with someone who will soon hold the highest office in this country a Black and South Asian woman ever has. But it is an outfit Harris is known for; one you could imagine her throwing on like it’s second nature. So, why does it look like she doesn’t know what to do with her hands? For me, the issue isn’t just with what she’s wearing, it’s that the final shot chosen for the COVER of Vogue with the incoming VICE PRESIDENT of the United States is one in which Kamala Harris doesn’t even seem comfortable in a look she clearly chose for comfort. 

Vogue attempted to capture a historic figure in the midst of a country crumbling around her, and they failed to meet the moment.

Harris is barely even posing. There is no reverence, but also zero playfulness. Vogue attempted to capture a historic figure in the midst of a country crumbling around her, and they failed to meet the moment. In the Washington Post, Robin Givhan wrote, “It was a cover image that, in effect, called Harris by her first name without invitation.”

The thing is, it was never supposed to be the cover. 

On Sunday, a second Vogue image started circulating. Although he shot both images, photographer Tyler Mitchell (best known as the first Black photographer to shoot a Vogue cover — Beyoncé in 2018) chose to share the image of a beatifically smiling Harris in a powder blue Michael Kors suit with her arms folded across her chest on his social accounts. There’s an American flag pin on her lapel. It’s a far better image — much more presidential — and if it were the print version, instead of a digital cover that will not be on newsstands, the discourse would probably have been very different. The blue suit shot is still pretty boring, but it’s very pretty (which we know is a prerequisite for female politicians). Harris looks confident. On Monday morning, the Associated Press confirmed this was actually the image Harris’s camp was expecting to be the cover. (Yashar Ali had tweeted the same on Saturday night.)

Ali claims that the Harris camp was “blindsided” by the more casual cover (it was intended to be an inside image in the magazine), which the AP noted as well. They approved the blue look and were just as disappointed as the rest of us when the more casual shot leaked as the official cover. The blue suit image is still safe, soft, and seemingly another attempt to come across as approachable. It says, “Call me Madam Veep” in a way a professor would try to appeal to their younger students without losing a sense of authority. I’m still not sure I agree with this direction — it’s okay to put a strong, powerful woman in something other than a power suit — but it’s what Harris wanted. Vogue released a statement to the AP confirming that they chose the cover to represent an “authentic, approachable nature, which we feel is one of the hallmarks of the Biden-Harris administration.” Vogue decided to tell on itself with this interpretation of what is deemed “authentic” and “approachable.”

Celebrities don’t always get to approve cover images, but we all know a white man of Harris’s stature would never have been played like this, even by an institution as storied and respected as Vogue. If Harris and her camp were blindsided by Vogue, that shows more disrespect than the styling, the lighting, or the backdrop.

If Harris and her camp were blindsided by Vogue, that shows more disrespect than the styling, the lighting, or the backdrop.

Though the lighting of the shoot has been called into question (one tweet called it a “washed out mess”), we know Mitchell can properly light and shoot Black women. The blue suit image is proof of that. The prom-like backdrop drapery of both images has also been critiqued, but Mitchell says he chose the set design and colours “to pay homage to [the rich history of… sororities and their significance], to her status as an [Alpha Kappa Alpha], and Black sororities and sisterhoods worldwide.” That explanation makes me appreciate the backdrop more. Plus, the editorial lead on the shoot was Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, a Black woman. 

Having Black people behind the scenes when photographing Black people is a new thing for Vogue, but Anna Wintour — who was recently appointed chief content officer at Condé Nast — is ultimately still in charge. And if the mess of this rollout is to be believed, she still hasn’t figured out how to hire Black people and trust and respect their vision. It’s clear that Harris had a strong one. 

Harris is not the First Lady (Michelle Obama actually got to have some fun with fashion on her Vogue covers and shockingly, the magazine managed not to mess up her images). There is no precedent when it comes to women’s fashion and the vice presidency. She’s setting the VP style standard on her own, and through these images — intentionally or not — she’s telling us to manage our expectations. For Black women, that’s a letdown. I get that Harris is treading a thin line, but these photos don’t seem to have us in mind at all. And they aren’t reflective of Black writer Alexis Okeowo’s feature, a solid attempt to speak to the excitement and trepidation Black women feel about Harris’s upcoming term in office. Okeowo writes about Harris’s “natural charisma and relatability” (this shoot is devoid of both), but also about her history as a DA and whether she’s progressive enough to really be excited about. But no one is talking about Okeowo’s words. Instead, we’re focused on Vogue fumbling the chance to honour a Black woman. Again.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Harry Styles Wore A Dress On Vogue's Cover

Kamala Harris' All-White Look Was Meaningful

In Vogue, Simone Biles Speaks Candidly About Abuse

The Kamala Harris Vogue Cover Has Issues published first on https://mariakistler.tumblr.com/

[terraclae]

Fracture, Part 1

lore pings: @yuushanoah-fr @cityofinoue

Arodan puts the last pieces together, a bit of a long one. All dragons are in bipedal forms as usually. 

He was back in a familiar dream. Yet, it didn’t immediately hit Arodan where he was or what he was looking at. The first thing that registered and solidified for him was that he was standing by someone’s bedside. The bed was occupied by two. From that thought it occurred to him he was watching tails intertwine, claws raking trenches in skin, bare skin, entangling further.

It then occurred to him what he was looking at, and that he wasn’t an invisible bystander. One golden and dilated eye turned to look at him, and Arodan’s head split.

He woke up with a harsh and staggering start, bolting upright in his bed. The first thing that registered to him was that he was sweating buckets and that his heart felt as if it was about to come crawling out his throat.

‘Have you ever heard of the concept of privacy?’

The second thing he noticed was Sachairi. The man sat on a crate in a dark corner of the room, fading into the shadows. Arodan swallowed his heart and righted himself. This was an opportunity to speak to him or the Shade in him. ‘That wasn’t exactly a thing I wanted to see either.’ He grunted, rubbing the back of his head. ‘This whole Shade thing is kind of new for me alright?’

‘So you just happen to fall into my personal dreams, seriously?’ Sachairi responded harshly, leaning back with his arms folded. He seemed to flicker lightly. ‘Just because we have one personal conversation doesn’t mean you can walk into my head.’

‘I wasn’t exactly curious about what you dream up about your sweetheart as nice as he might be, thank you.’ Arodan snapped and he could feel his face had grown hot. ‘Instead of getting angry at me for this happening teach me then how to control it.’

‘No. Do I look like I have time for that?’

‘Yes.’

Sachairi huffed and he averted his stare elsewhere. ‘Yeah, you're probably right.’ He sucked in a breath and looked in again, looking visibly agitated by the way his shoulders tensed. ‘... What do you want to know about this whole Shade ordeal?’

‘How do I control-’ Arodan gestured at himself. ‘This? Why can I see what you dream and think?’

‘Fuck if I know.’ Sachairi said. He shrugged and held up his hand to Arodan. ‘I’m guessing it might be your particular talent. That’s what your Shade allows you to do.’ He turned his hand and Arodan swore it was trailing versions of itself behind, afterimages that soon faded. ‘It’s maybe not as dormant as you think. Maybe it needs a specific trigger, maybe it acts on its own.’

‘Dormant this, dormant that, when am I going to get a straight answer?’ Arodan groaned. He buried his head in his hands and found the pressure soothed the upcoming headache. ‘How did you come to this theory?’

‘Kassa’s Shade is merged to their hands and they want to be able to control situations.’ Sachairi held up one finger and raised another. ‘Yours is inside you, possibly stuck to your brain and you’re a snooping bastard so you get mindwalking.’

‘Hey!’

‘Can it, I’m not done speaking yet.’ Sachairi growled. He looked angrier than he felt, and with a sigh he continued. ‘Altair-‘ and the mention of this name visibly shook Arodan. ‘Has advanced Shade as far as I’ve seen. It is tied to his hands, but also in his wings and very well could be in his blood. His Shade manifests as butterflies.’

‘Right.’ Arodan muttered. He searched the room and found there really wasn’t anyone besides Sachairi despite having the distinct feeling there were more people. ‘So what does that make you?’

Sachairi looked pensive momentarily and scowled once he found his answer. ‘I don’t know.’ Sachairi started. He sounded as if two people were speaking at once and Arodan was slightly thrown off by it. ‘Before I came to Paramo, I was like this, before the Shifting Expanse, I told you. Some days are easy. Some aren’t… And something might be wrong with me.’ His form flickered yet again and briefly, Arodan Swore he could see Sachairi’s face shift from confusion, to fear, to neutrality within the span of a second. It had been as if he had shed his skin involuntarily and now someone else spoke who no longer hid in the shadows but looked perfectly ordinary. Dark hair, golden eyes, a scar over his eye and the hint of a burn scar in his neck.

‘Dan, tell me something. Something I meant to ask you.’ Sachairi now spoke in a voice Arodan didn’t recognize at all and yet this didn’t surprise him. Something changed in Sachairi's eyes and he groaned which alarmed Arodan further. ‘Do you ever feel like you are someone you’re not?’ The question has been spoken quietly and remarkably hesitant.

Arodan’s tired eyes momentarily drifted to the floor, then back to Sachairi. He was if not a little freaked out yet it left him as quickly as it came. He scooted to the side and pat the bed besides him. ‘I feel like I’ve been dreaming before I came to Paramo. Like I’ve been stagnant.’ He managed to smile. ‘So tell me more about it.’ Somewhere inside him there was a version of him telling he really should be more worried and yet he detached in the face of something he didn’t quite understand yet.

Sachairi shot Arodan a bewildered look and soon paced over quietly to where Arodan sat. He settled down fairly gently with his hands folded. ‘You know, some days I… I have memories of places I can’t remember having been to, things I don’t remember doing. Some days it doesn’t even feel like this is my own body.’

'What is it you remember?' Arodan asked and it was like he was watching a psychological metamorphosis before his eyes. He understood what the others had meant with that something was off in his character now that he saw it up close. 'Tell me about that.'

'... Sunlight. Long rivers in deserts. I remember being in the fighting pits and then...' He made a small outward movement with his hands. 'Nothing. Until you, to be fair.' He looked up pensively. 'I remember wealth and gold and riches. A woman that resembled me. That was… Home.'

'So, what were you before you were a gladiator?'

His brow furrowed as he thought. The way he did it it almost hid his eyes and they glowed faintly in the dark. ‘I’m not sure. A merchant maybe.’ He looked up and sighed. ‘I remember having to handle a lot of expensive wares and travelling along on a caravan. So it’s likely.’

‘Likely, huh?’ Arodan scanned over Sachairi. He sat with his arms close to him and he met his eye. A befuddled stare scanned over him in similar manner and he felt a little embarrassed by it. ‘Okay. When did you meet Raz?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘You don’t know?’

That seemed to strike Sachairi and he rubbed the side of his head in an attempt to think of anything. ‘That memory… Wait… Isn’t mine. But we met at some festival. But that wasn’t me who was the one to meet him.’

He definitely was speaking to someone else now, Arodan felt. 'Where were you then?' He wanted to reach out and touch him, get info as quickly as he could. 'Who… Who are you?'

He paused then. Whoever was speaking searched the memory that was his. Before he could speak Arodan dared and whispered. 'Are you… Could it be that you're a Shade manifestation?'

'No.' He shook his head and buried it in his hands. 'I can't be. He has to be.' He looked up, panicked and Arodan watched his expression closely. 'My name is… I think my name is Dmitri, that woman called me that. I was…’

‘Okay, Dmitri.’ Arodan responded. He stopped himself from staring too closely at Dmitri. ‘That’s really what you call yourself?’

‘It’s my name, jerk.’ He snapped and slid away from Arodan. ‘... Dima. Dima is also what people called me once.’

‘I’m not trying to make fun of your name.’ Arodan responded. Dima was an easier name to speak for him. ‘But please forgive me for being wary with you. You have to be honest, this is a little odd.’ Well, this was magnitudes of weird Arodan couldn't quite make sense of but he was getting information.

‘... I guess you’re right.’ He looked at his hand, then Arodan’s. ‘But what am I supposed to do about it?’

‘What you can do is tell me if you pose a threat to the people on this boat.’ Arodan sternly asked. ‘That is what we’re worried about.’

‘No. I won’t. I barely know any of you.’ Dmitri answered without any doubt to his voice. It wavered only a little at the end out of an abject nervousness that seemed to plague him momentarily. ‘Sachairi is loyal to these people, he cares about them, I… I don’t know what that’s like.’

They sat there in silence for a moment then. Arodan has to ponder upon the words being truth because Dmitri could be a very good liar all the same. His hands slowly slid into his bag that sat by his bed and he retrieved his journal, flipping through Mimir’s decorated pages. ‘Is it you that wanted to speak to me?’

‘Yes- What’s that?’ Dmitri shot up and kept an unflinching stare on Mimir. ‘Is that a tome of magic?’

‘What, no, it’s my journal- Look-‘ Arodan took a sharp deep breath that uncomfortably prickled in his chest. He held Mimir out to Dmitri. ‘Look, Sachairi has already read through this thing so probably you have too. My point is, talk to it.’

‘Um… Hello?’ Dmitri held the book on a cautious distance. When golden letters popped up that spelled out a cheerful “hello” he near jumped. ‘That’s witchcraft.’

‘Witchcraft? Have you never seen magic before or something?’ Arodan was a little taken aback and frankly offended by Dmitri calling whatever Mimir was witchcraft. ‘She’s a talking book, nothing scary about that.’

‘She?’ His stare darted between Arodan and Mimir And he took shaky breaths. ‘Okay. Sorry. I’ve seen magic, I just am not used to it being in near proximity or so casually practiced.’ He held up Mimir again, to speak to her instead. ‘What’s your name?’

Mimir! Yours is Dmitri right?

‘Woah.’ He glanced back at Arodan again, then at Mimir with a more relaxed attitude. ‘That’s…. Genuinely cool.’

Thank you!

‘How did you get this?’ Dmitri asked Arodan, turning Mimir around for a bit in his hands. ‘I hadn’t seen sentient books yet.’

‘Bought the journal, her being able to talk was an accident.’ He thought of Altair and he felt as if he was going to start sounding like he was constantly repeating himself. ‘I got blasted with some sort of bad magic and I guess it rubbed off on her.’

'Huh.' Dmitri hummed. His golden eyes narrowed and focused deeply on a dent in Mimir's binding, 'Why does she look waterlogged?'

'Fell into the ocean.'

'I… I see.' Dmitri saw Mimir was waiting for him to ask her something, just by the way gentle little dots appeared on the paper. He was still focused on her cover however. 'You didn't exactly take care of her very well.'

'I tried but I can't be skilled at every little thing like intense bookbinding.' Arodan gestured at himself then at Mimir in awkward and just mildly offended fashion.  His tone had grown more sarcastic now. 'What would you suggest then?'

'... Repairing it?' Dmitri turned his head as if he didn't understand Arodan's sentiment. He pored over Mimir yet again and traced a clawed digit along the spine. 'Give me some materials and I could repair it for you.'

'Yeah, sure- Wait, you can do that?' Arodan glanced over Dmitri cautiously. He reminded himself he wasn't talking to Sachairi, but he hadn't thought of a potential shade monster to be particularly well versed in the art of book restoration. 'How-'

'I just need extra leather, thread, and maybe I need to straighten out a few pages.' He turned the book in his hands until Mimir wrote that she wanted Dmitri to stop shaking her already. He then chose to lay her down on his lap instead. 'How would you like that Mimir?'

I don’t think I’d mind. Can Arodan be around though?

‘Yeah, of course!’ He responded and looked up expectantly at Arodan. ‘I mean, if you don’t mind that either. This is your friend right?’

‘... Yeah. Mimir’s my friend.’ He said, a fond note punctuating the word friend. ‘So, you can understand I’d prefer to be present and that you’re careful with her. Can you even be present for that?’

That seemed to hit Dmitri closely in a sense. His eyes fell and his shoulders sank for a moment before he raised them again. ‘I want to try.’ He inhaled sharply yet somehow made no sound. ‘I know that that is something I loved.’

‘Good, that’s… Good.’ Arodan nodded awkwardly and looked over Dmitri once more. Who exactly was this? There had to be a logical explanation for him yet he came to no answer. ‘You really… Don’t mean these people harm?’

'No. Not at all.' He shook his head and looked almost mournful. 'I don't want to cause them grief so I try my best at pretending I'm… Well, their friend. Who they want to see.' He shivered lightly, and quickly pushed Mimir back into Arodan's hands. He stashed her safely back into his bag. 'They suspect me so it really isn't working out for me, isn't it?' He said, managing to awkwardly smile. It looked nice on him, Arodan thought.

'No, not really.' Arodan said. No use dancing around the truth, everybody was on edge ever since he woke up the way he did. They knew this wasn't him. 'They're worried and rightfully scared, so you need to clear it up somehow. If you just go on pretending to be someone you're not it's going to get worse.' Arodan took a deep breath. 'Even if you happen to turn out a shade monster or something along those lines.'

'You have my word.’ Dmitri said, jolting up. He nervously looked off to the side searching for what else to say. ‘I don’t know how to give you a true symbol of it but just know I really don’t know how I got here and who I am.’ He held up His hand. ‘Hell, we can shake on it if that eases your mind.’ Dmitri smiled uncertainly.

Arodan warily eyed the hand, which looked normal by all means. He had half a thought that he was about to be eaten alive by a Shade monster somehow and he blamed it on a lack of sleep and his own mild paranoia. Yet, he reached. 'Fine, we'll shake on it.'

The moment his hand wrapped around Dmitri's it was as if the floor dropped out from under him. He didn't see it, only felt it, how his skin raised and imploded in painlessly. Arodan didn't have time to fear what was happening, he thought he was dying. Then he wasn't. He saw white, endless white, and a child with dark hair and golden eyes briefly ran past him. They disappeared, and he split again into ribbons and for just a moment his thoughts fragmented into a thousand. One fragment saw a woman in gold with dark hair that told him he was going to see the world while another showed him a group of raiders on the horizon. New sets showed him distant figures without love, others a figure with many hands Arodan for just a moment could feel on his skin. Evil beings danced in his mind as equally as forces of good and a life spanned before him. He couldn't possibly scream now and wouldn't know where that sound would begin and where it would end.

Finally once he reassembled and felt all feeling return to his body, he was in an arena. Two men, one tall and imposing, one quick and swift. He was no spectator, he was among them. He was like them. The large man fell and he did not recognize him, but the sensation that then gripped him he knew. Not ordinary, imposing, once trusted. Sachairi.

He saw his body, the body he had borrowed that had fallen as he hovered above it.

And everything made sense.

Everything returned to white and he saw a familiar man. Pink eyes, tall, someone he had met on a doomed ship.

'Finally making use of that ability I gave you?'

That moment, Arodan did scream.

'Dan, please calm down, it's okay!'

He was still in his room, he realized. Not in the white space, not in one thousand pieces, but just on the floor, by his bed, in Atlas' arms. There was no sign of Dmitri.

Had any of that been real?

Atlas was shaking him a little now. 'Dan, please say something, did he hurt you?' He looked desperate and mortified all the same and now that Arodan looked around he could see Carmen was present too. She looked equally frightened by it all. 'What happened?'

Within the span of a few seconds the situation around him confirmed that all had been real. That begged the question then, why did that happen and where did Sachairi or Dmitri go? Who was piloting the body? Slowly his eyes slid around the room and he still didn't find him lurking in a corner somewhere. He finally spoke, rough and out of breath. 'Where did he go?'

'Balam went after him.' Carmen answered. She knelt down besides Arodan and Atlas and reached to gently hold on to Arodan's shoulder. 'Once he gets him we're going to question him, you were in a catatonic state with him holding on to you. Atlas came to check on you and saw it.'

'Yeah, that...' Arodan recollected his thoughts swiftly and scrambled to get out of Atlas' arms and past Carmen, bouncing on one leg as he ran to the door. 'I have to get to him.'

'Wait, Dan, that's unsafe-'

He barely looked behind him as he ran out of the door and gods, he hoped Atlas forgave him for it. He could hear both Carmen and Atlas calling after him and judging by the heavy footsteps the latter figure had started chasing him. He bolted up the stairs and it occurred to him this was familiar, if only for a moment. He didn't have time to humor the thought and raced for the deck before Atlas would stop him. A crash rang through the ship and shook it and Arodan knew what that meant. 'Stop!'

He reached the deck before Atlas did and slammed the hatch to it behind him. It wasn't going to lock but considering the weight it gave him a second or two at the very least. He reeled around, and in the dim light of the moon he could see Balam and Dmitri. Balam had already pinned the man, on of his hands holding Dmitri's arms behind his back, while the other pressed his head to the floor. He looked disoriented and his head bled and Arodan could guess Balam must have jumped onto Dmitri with his full weight. 'Sir-'

'Arodan.' Balam slowly looked up and his face looked haunting in the dim light. His eyes glowed a bright white and on his fingertips ice was slowly spreading, on his skin and Dmitri's. 'Are you alright?' He didn't ask it in any sense that sounded concerned. If anything it sounded like a rhetorical question that didn't have a right answer. Balam was frighteningly angry and he looked ready to explode.

'I'm fine sir.' Well, his head spun and he felt queasy but he could handle that. The developing situation, not so much. 'Sir, I need you to listen to me.'

'I'd prefer that he'd explain himself.'

'That's not going to happen if you hold him down.' Arodan glanced down at Dmitri and he doubted. If he was wrong about this, then nothing might change, they could be in danger, or he would be seen as completely mad. If he was right, then nothing might equally change or it could change perspectives. 'That person isn't your friend… But he isn't your enemy either.' His eyes shot down yet again to Dmitri and he was on the verge of passing out. The hatch behind him flew open and he knew Atlas was right behind him. He must have been pausing to assess the situation. ‘He isn’t here because he wishes to do us harm. He’s just as hurt as any of us.’

‘I know that.’ Balam growled. His hand tightened on Dmitri’s skull subconsciously and loosened once a whimper escaped from the man he seemingly had suppressed. ‘But I don’t want to make a mistake that could endanger us.’

‘I don’t think he is a danger to us.' Arodan quietly continued. He slowly shuffled towards Balam who looked more on edge with the second. 'Balam, that isn't Sachairi.'

'Then who is it?' Balam sharply responded, raising his head. He now looked like he was ready to pounce on Arodan and he could see the tiredness in his eyes. Balam was paranoid and he couldn't stop to think about his paranoia getting the better of him. Arodan knew that achingly well and he wished he knew what to do to soothe his thoughts. 'Answer me.'

'The man you're pinning is called Dmitri.' His eye darted towards Dmitri once more and he could see he looked up at him fearfully, like a man whose life was in his hands. Slowly, Dmitri mouthed something at him and Arodan hardened himself for what he was about to say. 'That man isn’t the friend you know… Because Sachairi is dead, and had never been alive in the time you knew him.’

The moment Arodan spoke and saw Dmitri’s expression changed to that of an angrier soul, he knew that he could very well be next.

[dragon-of-fire-and-passion]

Casual Nudity Memes

I know you had a long day and tomorrow is even longer so.... I love you @lanyard09 I madee this like PAst/Present scenarios???

My muse: Nyx and Jabb

Past

🙅‍♂️ - Walk in my muse and see them covering up their naked body

Nyx had woken up from her sleep in an unknown bed. Blue sheets, sored body and blue-purpleish marks on her. Ah, she remembered what had happened last night but for some reason she was alone in there. Half of her clothes were out in the living room so...she just couldn’t get up and walked around the house like she owned it... After some time she stretched and sit on bed looking the door. She was tired of waiting, she walked to the closet and grabbed a hoodie, long enough to look like a dress. She was about to put it when the door opened and Leo came in with some food and looked at her with the hoodie in her hand. “Stealing from my closet, lil demon?”

Jabberwock was used to be naked. He was a demon of lust after all. So he gave literally no fucks about who could see him or not. He knew he was beautiful. Not to be narcissistic. He smiled to Lori in her bed and decided to take a shower as she was still asleep. After a quick one he dressed looking fr his cothes on the edge of the bed, as he was pulling his jeans up he heard her groan and movement. “Leaving me already?”

✋️ - See my muse naked and have your muse cover their eyes 🖐 - Have your muse peek through their fingers at seeing my muse naked

It was a reflex. They’ve been having ...sex for two weeks now. But she was still shy about it. Yeah shyness dissapeared when clothes did but hey, she was an introvert after all. “Why are you covering your eyes? “ Leo smirked pulling her to his naked body, “It’s not like you haven’t seen me more than once like this.”  She looked up through her fingers to see his eyes. They were playful and burning her with such passion... Jerk... but god he made her crazy.

Jabb smirked as he watched her, consumed and eat her noticeably with his eyes before covering them out of “respect and decency”. But let’s be honest, he was a demon. He got nothing about that and was peeking through his fingers. He was enjoying too much his time with the hel princess, he was enjoying not only her body but his mind though watching her naked and squealing while he was there was definitely a plus.

😍 - See my muse naked accidentally and say “damn” without meaning it

Actually that was her first thought and word when she saw him for the first time naked and it wasn’t an accident. It was her first word the next day when she woke up on his bed and caught a glimpse of his body pressed to hers when the sheets left him uncovered and naked.

Lori had decided to swim late, Jabb having a meeting with some lords. Dean was asleep and she decided to be naught. She peeled off her swimsuit and decided to skinny dip. After a few laps, she was pulled into a strong chest. “Damn” Jabb said in a low voice.

👙 - Catch my muse half naked accidentally

Let’s face it “accidentally naked” it’s not happening with these two. If Leo and Lori see them, it’s because they planned it. And of course, teasing and flirting are in hand.

🍺 - Get drunk and wake up completely naked cuddled up to my muse

She holds her liquor pretty good, ater all she was taught how to rave in hell. But sometimes... The party is too much, and the alcohol in system too. She stumbles to the front foor of a well known house that isn’t hers and knocks it 3 am. The leader in Blue opens the door just out of bed and looks surprised of seeing her there. “Mmmmm Nyx? You know what time is...” He can’t even end his sentence that she takes his hand and pulls him in a kiss. She mumbles something he can’t understand at all except one word. “Cuddles?” He couldn’t say no to her, not when she was looking at him with such puppy drunk eyes.

It’s really hard to get the red haired demon drunk. The guy had had almost everything and in quantity all his eternity, only demon liquor is able to get him tipsy. And he likes drinking. He is a demon, he lives for all kind of excess. So he doesn’t even get surprised when he wakes up in Lori’s room, after a party night in hell... and cuddling her even if she wasn’t even there in the party. Mhmmm... Feelings... He was feeling something for her. But he couldn’t process it with a hungover.

😧 - Accidentally walk into a changing stall that my muse was in

After  Leo’s little performance in the Hell ball, rumors of LEo’s abilities as a lover spreaded (to Nyx’s disgrace) faster thn a lightining. And so, all ladies looked at him, stalked him like he was a piece of meat. She decided to go to buy some lingerie and feel pretty, maybe even disolve that need of killing every woman that looked at him. He joined her of course. But soon one girl recognized her and he ran into the shop looking for a hiding spot, he ended in the same changing stall pressing his hand over her mouth when she was about to talk and waited. When he was safe and sure they were gone, he looked down to her choice. “... Are you tying to seduce me, vixen?” She smirked. “Maybe~”

“Go shopping with Kira, it will be totally fun.” That was the last time Lori trusted Nyx. For real. Her half sister was so excited and perfectionist of Nÿx’s maid of honor dresses that was making her nuts. “Lori, can you please go and check the next room if the shoes we pointed are left?” Kira smiled to her and she was eager to leave her behind even if it was the men’s changing room where she walked in without reading the sign. She stopped in her tracks when she saw her newly husband trying a suit for Nyx’s wedding. “Oh god..” He turned to look at her as surprised as she was and smiled. “Not god, just Jabb”.

Present

💧- Go skinny dipping with my muse

It wasn’t the first time she and Leo sneak into the pool i the middle of the night naked. Actually it was one of their favourite couple activities; swimming+sex. He was in his element and she got to enjoy him naked and wet. Sometimes she could even feel like the water was heating up from their activities... and she loved it.

Being a Lord had his advantages for sure. And that 90% of demons were terrified about him too. He loved swimming, even when he was a dragon. And he loved watching Lori in water too. He had even water fights and water guns to have fun with her.... But it’s a rule with him to be without clothes when they are alone ;)

☀️ - Go to a nudist beach with my muse

NO. Nyx would rather die or drink acid before letting any other woman look at Leo. She would be actually in a real bad mood if they decided to go to a nudist beach. Leo would sleep on the couch that night and she would be pouting killing other demonesses all day.

Jabb is not an exhibisionist and give fucks about what people see or not about him. But there are few things he would deny to Lori and this is one of this. He would be on fire... and the bad kind. He can’t tolerate people looking what is his.

🍃 - Have my muse pose tastefully for your muse’s art project

Nyx was used to be the artist, not the model. So she was extremely nervous as she stood still in the middle of the room with Leo’s eyes fixed in her as he worked in his sculture. “Vixen, don’t be shy...” He teased her when he caught her gaze. “Easy to say...” She blushed covering her breasts with hugging herself. “You ain’t the one naked.” “I can fixe that...” He smiles pulling his pants down.

Photographs... Ah, Jabberwock kinda hated them, since humans invented it, they had to be more careful on how, when they would appear, or if they should be invisible to the lenght of light. But when it was about Lori, he couldn’t deny her anything. And here he was being the one being taken pictures for her photography lessons. ���Just a bit to the right, my dragon” She smiles over the camera and he nodded to her.

💳 - Play strip poker with my muse

Nyx didn’t like bets for money so when playing with Leo she would use another kind of... reward. And well, she knew how to lose without decency. She smirked as she threw her bra being still in pant. “Y-you could have take off your pants.”He growled looking at her flesh bouncing. “I know.” She giggled looking her cards. Ah, Jabb was a jerk in games. He loved winning specially in strip poker. Lori wouldn’t have a chance and he would rise the bet. “How about you do whatever i ask for in thi round, my love?” He smirks looking at her completely naked and losing again.

🛁 - Shower with my muse

Again water. Washing and scrubbing Leo’s shellw as one of her favourite activities. She loved making him churring, even more when he didn’t want to and it would just slip from his mouth as she touches a sensible spot. “Vixen...”He would blushed embarassed as she touched him again.”That’s... not...*churrs*”  “Say that again, Leo?*giggles*” 

Jabb could barely be decent in the shower. Itwas the way the drops would fall in his wife’s body that riled him up so intensely that he would be pounding her so hard against the wall in that tiny space... And they would need a shower again and again...

[ricandhaiz]

Blindsided, Chapter 8

“Are you ready to go?” Allie asked and lifted a spoonful of cereal to her mouth. It was a little after eight o’clock in the morning on the day before Thanksgiving.

“Yes,” Nic replied, hoping she wouldn’t ask many more questions about his short trip to Los Angeles to visit is padre. “He’s a very busy man and travels a lot to promote the family’s wine business.”

Allie looked thoughtful as she picked up her glass and drank some orange juice. “How long did you say he’s going to be in the United States?”

He replied, “A few days. But his schedule is going to be packed with meetings and social events with friends who are in the area.”

“Are you going to stay with him the whole time he’s here?”

“It depends,” he said, eyeing her curiously. Where was he getting at with these questions? “At least a day or two, which is fine since school’s out this week for Thanksgiving.”

“Oh, okay,” she replied in a feeble attempt to sound casual and unconcerned.

Nic felt her anxiety growing with each question she posed to him. And so he asked, “What is it? I can tell that something’s bothering you.”

Allie made a face as she tore pieces off the paper napkin in her hand but said nothing at first. Nic waited. Finally, she said, “Are you embarrassed to introduce me to your dad? Is that why you’re not taking me with you to see him?”

Nic was stunned. “Of course not. How can you say such a thing, or even think it?”

“It’s just that you’ve been so evasive about this whole trip,” Allie replied, biting her lip. “Every time I’ve asked you about it, you always try to change the subject. It feels like you’re keeping something from me. Am I wrong?”

No, you’re not, he thought, but said, “There are a lot of personal matters that I need to discuss with him in private. You can understand that, can’t you?”

“I do, but…” She huffed in frustration as her voice trailed off.

Nic knelt beside Allie and took her hand in his. He wanted to reassure her that all was well. “Te quiero mucho. Eres mi chica. You know that, don’t you?” She nodded. “Like I said before, his schedule’s pretty tight, and I actually feel kind of lucky that he was able to fit me in. Besides, if you went with me to L.A., you’d miss Thanksgiving with your family.”

“I guess you’re right,” Allie reluctantly conceded. “And I do have a term paper to work on. I suppose I won’t see you until this weekend then.”

He said yes and asked, “Do you have any big plans aside from school work and going to your aunt and uncle’s house for Thanksgiving?”

Allie shook her head. “Thanksgiving at the Welch’s is an all-day event. We basically eat from sunrise to sunset so don’t be surprised if there’s a lot more of me to love when you get back.”

He laughed. “I’m sorry that I’m going to miss the fun. Maybe next time.” He took his cell phone from his back pocket to check how close his uber driver was to the apartment. He said, “I better wait outside. The uber app is telling me that my driver is less than two blocks away now.”

“Have fun.”

“I will,” he replied as he stood up and then kissed her on the forehead before picking up his backpack on the way out the door.

 Three hours later, the uber driver dropped Nic off in front of the Hyatt Regency near Los Angeles International Airport at around noon. It had been a long and uneventful drive. He’d spent much of the time either surfing the internet on his phone or napping as the car sped southward. Once there, he entered the hotel and followed the signs to the unity la restaurant and found his padre, a distinguished-looking man in a custom-tailored black suit with wisps of gray hair sitting at a square-shaped wooden table closest to the entrance. They greeted one another with a hug and kisses on each cheek before sitting down in light gray padded seats.

“How are you?” his padre asked.

“I’m doing well. I’m getting high marks in my classes so far and my English is much improved.”

“Excellent,” his father said with a smile. “I’ve ordered a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon for us. Go on and take a minute to look over the menu.”

Nic took a sip of water and perused the menu while his padre checked his cell phone for messages. Once he’d decided on ordering the rib eye steak, he asked, “How is everyone back home?”

“Good,” his padre replied as he dipped a piece of bread into a small bowl of seasoned olive oil. “Everyone sends their regards. Your abuelas want to know if you’ll be coming home for Christmas.”

Nic shook his head. “It takes over twelve hours to fly from California to Spain without stopovers. It took me at least two days to recover from jet lag and so the idea of flying back and forth like that for just a two-week trip wouldn’t make sense.”

“Have you driven at all since you’ve been here?”

Nic stiffened and said, “No. My apartment is fairly close to the business school and Allie’s aunt drives us to the grocery store whenever we start running low on food.”

“Do you plan to?”

He hadn’t since the night of the accident and had no desire to do so anytime soon but knew better than to say that outright to his padre. So instead, he replied, “At some point, I suppose. Luckily for me, the rideshare companies and mass transportation system in Hilton City are quite good. I rarely have a problem getting where I need to go.”

His padre nodded, then asked, “Have you gone out much since you’ve been here?”

“Yes. I like to take walks around the park near my apartment to clear my head after class. I also go out with my friend Matt to local sporting events or meet him for a drink at a bar on occasion.  But it’s Allie who’s really had the biggest impact on me since I’ve been here.”

His padre sat back in his seat, looking thoughtful. “She seems to have had a very beneficial effect on you. You look happier and more content.”

“She’s a wonderful girl. I’m lucky to have her in my life.”

“I look forward to meeting her at some point.”

His padre’s words triggered thoughts of the somewhat tense conversation he’d recently had with Allie before leaving for L.A. Although he could have confided this to his padre, he chose not to. Instead, he asked, “How are Monica and Alejandro?”

“They’re well,” he replied. “Your hermano took his first steps last week. He’s growing fast. You probably won’t be able to recognize him the next time you see him.”

“Are you and Monica going to have more?”

His padre shook his head. “I’m getting too old to be running after little ones. Monica understands that.” Their conversation took a brief pause when their waiter, Jose, arrived with the bottle of wine his padre had ordered.

As their glasses were being filled, Nic asked, “Have you visited Mamá’s grave recently?”

“I went there last week and put a huge bouquet of red roses on her gravestone,” his padre replied. “Those were her favorite.” A brief silence ensued. After Jose had taken their orders and departed, he raised his wine glass and said, “To Elena, until we meet again.”

Nic clinked his glass against his padre’s and took a sip. They then spent some time reminiscing and exchanging stories about his madre while scrupulously avoiding any mention of her illness or the heartbreaking months leading up to her death.

“Do you miss her?” Nic asked.

His padre looked pensive as he swirled the wine in his glass and stared at its contents. “I miss her every day. She left us far too soon.”

“Did you know at once that she was the one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with?”

He snorted and said, “Yes, I did. I was at a bar in Madrid with a few of my friends when she walked in with another man. Not that I let that stop me. I was already a fairly well-known goalkeeper for Real Madrid so she and her companion were only too happy to have me join them at their table. I slipped her my number before I left them to rejoin my friends. She called me later that same day. The rest, as they say, is history.”

“What happened to the man she came with?”

“She left him. He was a few years older than she was and rather plain looking. I don’t mean to sound boastful but I think that I was clearly the better choice, don’t you agree?”  

Nic laughed as they clinked their glasses together once again. “I miss her too. I think she would have liked Allie.”

His padre leaned forward and asked, “Tell me more about her. Do you have a picture of her on your phone?”

He nodded and pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket. He tapped the photos app, scrolled through his album and brought up a picture he took of Allie in the park with Charlie. He then handed his phone over to his padre, who took out his reading glasses and studied it carefully.

“She’s very pretty…and that’s quite a dog she has there. What was his name?”

“Charlie. Losing him was very hard on her. They were very close. It’s hard to believe that he’s been gone almost a month.”

“She has you,” his padre replied just as the waiter arrived with their meals. The conversation continued as they ate. His padre talked about his itinerary and invited Nic to join him for a few of his non-work-related events. Nic agreed to some but demurred to others. “I made arrangements to come and see you as soon as I got your text. I apologize that it took me as long as it did to get here. As you well know, my work schedule is fairly hectic and I usually book my business appointments weeks in advance. My secretary had to clear my calendar and reschedule everything this week in order for me to make this trip.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Nic replied. “We could’ve just handled this over the phone.”

“Nonsense,” his padre replied with a dismissive waive of his hand. “So, how do you propose to pay for this retinal implant surgery without Allie knowing about it?”

“If you agree to help me, I plan on going to her aunt and uncle and asking them for their assistance in making some kind of arrangement with her eye doctor so that she will think that the money came from an anonymous benefactor.”

“$150,000.00 is a lot of money.”

“I have more than half of that amount in liquid accounts and easily convertible assets. I just need some help from you to come up with the rest of it. But don’t worry, I fully intend to pay back every penny that I borrow.”

“But Niki, if you do that, how would you live?”

“Papá, you don’t understand. This surgery could change her life. Weren’t you the one who always told me that there’s no better way to spend your money than on those that you love?”

“I did say that, didn’t I?” His padre leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin. “Do you see yourself having a future with her?”

“For my part, yes,” Nic replied without hesitation.

“What about Allie? Do you think she feels the same way about you?”

Nic replied, “She’s told me that she loves me often enough and, in my heart, I know that she’s being sincere when she says it. But…”

“But what?”

“Look at me Papá. I’m hideous.”

His padre raised his eyebrows in indignation. “Are you telling me that you think she might leave you because of the way you look?”

“She’s never done or said anything that would lead me to think that she would,” Nic replied in Allie’s defense. “In fact, she’s made it quite clear to me that he could care less what I look like now. In all honesty, my deformities are probably more of an issue for me than they are for her.”

His father shook his head. “I’ve never understood your need to punish yourself again and again over something you had no control over.”

“Even you must admit that what happened to Diego and me was at least partially my fault. I’m the one who encouraged him to go drinking with me after we lost the game. Neither of us should have been behind the wheel after all the alcohol we consumed.”

He pointed his finger at Nic and said, “It was an accident. You were a passenger in the car. It was Diego who chose to drive while he was impaired and run that red light, not you.”

“I should have stopped him. We could have called a cab or uber.”

“Niki, there’s nothing to be gained by constantly rehashing mistakes that you made in the past and have no way of remedying now. What’s done is done. You’ve suffered enough. It’s time to move on.”

Although his padre’s view of what had happened was shared by his abuelos and Monica, he knew that was not necessarily true of others. “Then why did so many people turn away from me? I lost everything and nearly everyone around me.”

“Many of those people weren’t your real friends to begin with. Others tried to be supportive, but you shut them out.”

“And Lourdes?”

His padre snorted in disgust. “I never liked her. Neither did Monica or your abuelos. She was a social climber and an attention whore. Consider yourself lucky that she left you.”

Although his words stung, Nic found could find no fault in his padre’s assessment of his ex-girlfriend. But rather than dwell on her, he pivoted, saying, “I felt so alone and angry before I met Allie. I hated going out in public. I thought that I had to cover up and wear a mask wherever I went to avoid being ridiculed and stared at. Being with her changed all that. She’s given me a whole new outlook on life and a reason to be hopeful about the future.”

“It’s good to see you smile again and in such high spirits. For that, I owe her a great debt.”

Nic nodded. “I need to do this for her. I know it’s the right thing to do. But still, there’s a part of me that’s afraid she might—”

His padre raised his hand and cut in. “If Allie is even half the person that you say she is, then you should have absolutely nothing to worry about.”

Just then, Jose walked by their table and asked them if they were enjoying their meals. Nic’s padre smiled and told him to give his compliments to the chef. As soon as the waiter moved on, Nic asked, “Will you help me?”

Instead of providing him with a direct response, his padre asked, “How soon will you need the money?”

“The sooner the better. From what Allie has told me, these procedures are scheduled weeks if not months in advance, so I’d like to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible.”

His padre reached for the wine bottle and poured it into his wine glass, nearly filling it to the rim. He asked, “Would you like more?”

“Yes,” Nic replied and held out his glass to be refilled, his pulse quickening with nervousness as he waited for a definitive response.

His padre said little for the next minute or two as he took another bite of his steak and sipped his wine.  Nic did likewise and did he best to appear outwardly calm even though the suspense was killing him. Finally, his padre said, “I’ll transfer the funds directly into your checking account. $150,000.00. Is that the right amount?”

Nic’s eyes widened in shock. “No, not that much. As I said before, I only need to borrow the difference between what I have and—”

His father raised his hand and shook his head. “I won’t have you emptying all your accounts when we both know that I can cover the amount of money that you need to pay for Allie’s eye surgery.”

“I can’t ask you to do that. What would Monica say?”

“I’ve already discussed this with her at length. She agreed that it would be best to do it this way. And don’t try to talk me out of it. The issue is settled as far as I’m concerned and nothing you can do or say will change my decision.”

Knowing that once his padre had made up his mind about something that he was unlikely to alter it, he simply replied, “Thank you, Papá.”

“You’re welcome, and don’t even think of trying to pay me back. Think of it as an early Christmas present.”

Nic smiled. “Do you think Mamá would approve?”

His padre nodded. “She loved you with all her heart, as I do. If this makes you happy and will significantly improve the life of the woman you love, I have no doubt that she would have given me her blessing to do this.” He paused, then asked, “Do you think that you’ll be able to keep what you’re about to do from her indefinitely?”

“The only people I plan on talking to directly about this are her aunt, uncle and her doctors. The fewer people that know the better. I don’t think they’ll have a problem with keeping this bit of information from her if I ask them to.”

“But what if she finds out later? Will you tell her the truth or try to deny it?”

Nic shrugged and said, “I’ll deal with it if and when that eventuality comes to pass. But for now, all that matters to me is that she be given this chance to see again.”

“I wish you well,” his padre replied. “Rest assured that both you and Allie will be in my prayers.”

 Late that evening, Nic lay on one of the queen sized beds in his padre’s studio suite thinking about Allie. He’d declined his padre’s invitation to join him for dinner and had instead opted to stay in and have room service bring him his meal. He thought about the part of the conversation he’d had with him about what he’d do if she ever found out that he’d paid for her surgery. He guessed that she’d be upset and disappointed, maybe even angry that he’d defied her express wishes. But, in the end, she’d forgive him, wouldn’t she?

He dialed her number. She picked up on the second ring and said, “Hey baby. Are you having a good time with your dad?”

“Yes, we had a couple of hours to catch up before he went out to dinner with some friends. I was tired so I decided to stay in. What did you do today?”

“My aunt picked me up not long after you left. I’m staying with her and Uncle Mike through Thanksgiving. The apartment’s just too quiet without you and Charlie there.” After a brief pause, she said, “I miss you.”

“I miss you more.”

“I doubt that,” she replied, giggling. “Te quiero. Did I say that right?”

“Music to my ears, mi amor,” he replied, grinning. “I love you, too.”

“Come back soon. Things just aren’t the same here without you.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he replied as he thought about how radically different and much improved Allie’s life might soon be after his return.

[toanewthing-blog]

I Was A Lonely Soul (SL with @JustCantExplain)

Callie: ~I was nervous about this dinner. I didn’t know what Kadin had in mind for this shoot. But I wanted to get together with him to just catch up. It had been a while since the two of us were in the same city. And I needed him to understand that I wasn’t willing to do much of anything if there was a guy involved in the shoot.

I knew he wasn’t going to understand. It wasn’t going to be that simple. But I could only hope that things would work out the way I needed them to. Kadin was a guy that tried to understand what I was going through. But I wasn’t sure if he was going to understand all of this. And I was taking a chance on coming down here. I didn’t even know where Kadin called home. I just know that he stayed somewhere when he wasn’t travelling.

I knew I was running a little late. But we were just doing a casual dinner. I couldn’t deal with going anywhere high class. I just wanted to be in a pair of ripped jeans and a pair of converse. I needed to be comfortable. And that was another good thing about having dinner with Kadin. He wasn’t the type of guy that wanted to go out to a fancy place just because he had a girl on his arm. At least, not me. I was never going to be that girl for him. And he knew that. It was something I think he appreciated with me. I didn’t expect him to bend over backwards to make me happy.

But at the same time, I had asked him out to dinner tonight. Maybe I should have been taking him out to some swanky place. But I knew that wasn’t the relationship we had. We never had to pretend with the other person. We just were. And it was refreshing. I didn’t have to pretend I wanted a relationship with him. I didn’t have to do anything that would compromise our friendship. We could just exist.

Tying my plaid shirt around my hips, I looked at myself in the mirror one more time. Dinner was going to be simple. Just two friends catching up at a burger joint. The problem was going to be the drive. It was a 20 minute drive to The Counter in Santa Monica from my hotel. But Kadin had gotten me hooked on these burgers on one of my first visits out here.

After making sure I had all of my keys, I grabbed my bag and started out towards my car. I wasn’t sure what traffic was going to be like on the 405, but it didn’t matter. I just needed a few minutes to clear my head. I needed the courage to tell Kadin what had happened. I had to figure out a way to beg him to help me find a place to stay.~

Kadin: -I wasn’t certain why Callie had asked me out to dinner with her, but it wasn’t as if this were the first time that had happened. We’d worked together for a very long time, and we’d been friends almost the entire time. Heading out for burgers with her was something we always did every time she was in the city. I was grabbing a taxi out to The Counter to meet her. It was one of her favorite spots here in the city. She insisted we go there whenever she visited.

I could tell this wasn’t one of those normal times when she’d called, though. There was something in her voice that made me think that things weren’t just her normal social call, and that was alright too. I was her friend far more than I was just her photographer. We worked together a lot, but the relationship wasn’t just professional. That’s not to say that it was romantic either. Callie was gorgeous. There was a reason she was a model, but I saw her as more of a sister than anything else. It was kind of important to me that she was alright, though.

I was just looking forward to seeing her again and finding out what had been up in her life. It was always good to catch up with her. Never mind that I had an idea about a photoshoot that involved both her and Sin. Since I’d met Sin, I’d had a lot more ideas bouncing around in my head than normal. I was serious when I told her she was my muse, and having her work with my friend and favorite model was just a natural fit.

The ride out there was short. It was the time of day there wasn’t insane traffic, and Shaun and Elle lived on the same side of town as the restaurant. Staying with them when I was in town was a pretty natural fit, too. They were the two people who had taken me and made me feel like family since I’d arrived here in Los Angeles. It seemed like my makeshift family of people here in the states was growing by leaps and bounds lately. It was a good feeling to have. It meant I didn’t feel so alone here in a big world, half a planet away from where I’d grown up.-

Callie: ~I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face as Kadin got out of the car. This was the way it needed to be. I needed someone that I could just talk to. And Kadin was that person. I didn’t hesitate in wrapping my arms around his stomach and hugging him close to me. I needed to feel this. I had to know that there was someone there for me. Kadin might not have known what was actually going on, but he was there for me regardless. Telling him was going to be easy.

We didn’t say a word as we walked into the burger joint and ordered. We took a seat at a small booth while we waited for our food to come. I was nervous about what was going on. There was no doubt about that. But I needed to open up to him. But it wasn’t something I could just throw on his plate. Besides, I was curious about what I was doing down here.~ So you requested me as Han Solo. That’s a first, Kade. You never ask to photograph me in specific costumes. Normally, it’s just whatever I have finished.

~I gave him a smile as I raised a brow at him. I was genuinely curious about what was going on. But it also put me on edge. People liked the idea of gender bending. It was something I, obviously, did. But I wasn’t sure if I was ready to pose with a male Leia. There would be a certain amount of trust needed to jump into that photoshoot, and I wasn’t sure I could give that amount of trust in the time I had. And once Kadin had the information I was holding back, he’d understand why it was something I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do.~

I trust you, Kadin. But even I’m a little concerned about what I’m doing down here. And if you tell me it’s because you have a whole big scheme, I’m going to kick you in the shins. No schemes.

Kadin: -It was always good to see Callie. She pulled me in for a hug, and I finished it off with an extra squeeze. I could tell from the look on her face that she needed it. I was expecting the next thing that came out of her mouth. I had been cryptic on the phone when I’d made my request. Requests usually weren’t our thing. I’d call her up and find out what she had ready or what she wanted to try out and we’d go for a photoshoot on that. This was a bit different.-

Well, I always have a scheme, Callie. That’s not something, but this one kind of is. I have a model I wanted you to work with, someone I thought you’d get along famously with as a matter of fact. The two of you have a lot in common. Besides, I figured you’d like to meet my new girlfriend, anyway. She makes a hell of a Leia.

-I could tell from the expression on her face that hadn’t been what she was expecting me to say. I wasn’t certain what she was looking for. She was good at changing the sex of a character. She could play it off to a T. She was good at playing a female as well. Callie was just sort of a natural born actress when it came to costumes and photography. Why she hadn’t tried her hand at being in a movie or one of the thousand television pilots that got shot around here every day was beyond me, but she liked what she did. I understood that kind of passion.

Giving up something that could make you famous or rich for something that made you happy wasn’t always the easiest road, but it lead to the best kind of satisfaction in the end. That was something I wanted for my friend in spades, and something she most certainly deserved.-

Something’s up with you. Isn’t it? Just tell me to shut up if I’m being too nosy.

-I knew there was something she wasn’t saying. I could see it written all over her face, but I wasn’t trying to push her. She was free not to answer me, but something told me she was ready to have it out in the air between the two of us.-

Callie: ~I could only shake my head as Kadin brought up modelling with his girlfriend. Good for him. I was happy he had someone who made him happy. It made it even better when he said she made a hell of a Leia. That meant it was just the two of us doing the shoot. It made my nerves calm a little bit. I didn’t have to worry about a guy hitting on me the entire time. I wasn’t entirely ready to make that move.

But Kadin was right. I was hiding something from him. And it was something I needed to just come out with. I wasn’t sure how much of the story I was going to be able to tell him, but I needed him to know some of it. I needed him to know that I was seriously considering LA as a new home.~ How did you decide to stay in LA? I know England is where you’re really from. But you stick around LA. There has to be a reason for that. And if I’m going to make the decision to call Los Angeles home, than I need to know why you did it.

~I gave the man across from me a sad smile. There was still so much to the story. But I wasn’t sure how much to tell him. For now, I could just get the information I needed from him. I needed to know that I wasn’t going to be here alone. I needed to figure out if I had a family here that would help me if I needed it. I was suddenly completely unsure of what I was doing. I was second guessing everything, but I needed someone to tell me that this was a good idea. And maybe Kadin was meant to be that person.~

Kadin: -I didn’t know what to make of the questions Callie was asking. How did I decide to stay in LA? This place hadn’t been home for me at first. It was the people here who made it home. I was born in England, but I’d come here for work. It was the second family I’d built here that made me feel like I needed to stay. She was part of that second family, even if she wasn’t from Los Angeles. She worked here just like I did, the only difference was that she stayed in a hotel when she was in the city, and I stayed with friends. Something was up. She was talking about calling Los Angeles home, and I had a million questions. I just wasn’t sure that right now was the best moment to ask.

I took a long drink from the cup of water in front of me as I thought over my response to her question. I wanted to say something real to her. She deserved that much.-

I mean… I came here to work. You know that. This is where all the photography and modelling jobs, so when I came here from England, it was either here or New York. New York and the east coast are too much like back home. I would have been homesick, and to be honest, I just wanted to see California. You hear all kinds of things about Los Angeles growing up in England, believe it or not. That’s why I came, but that’s not why I stayed.

I stayed because I found a family here. I found a place that made me feel like I belonged. I found work that made me feel like I was doing something I was good at and something that I loved. I found friends like you and Shaun and Elle. Shaun and Elle gave me a place to live in their home so I wasn’t in and out of hotel rooms every time I was in the city. It turned into a second home. And now, I’ve found Jaysin. She’s amazing, and just another thing on the growing list of things that makes me want to stay here. I’m going to have a godchild soon. I wanted to stay here and build a life, even though it’s half a world away from where I started life.

Callie: ~I could only nod my head as Kadin spoke. I had heard nothing but good things from him about Shaun and Elle. They were the two he was closest to. They always had been. He held them up on a pedestal because they took care of him. But it was something I loved for him. He needed it. And he confirmed what I had always thought. Him and I were very close friends. More like siblings. It was the way it had always been with us. It was something I was content with.

But I knew he was wondering what was going on. He needed to know why I was asking these questions. And he knew how I felt about Napa. He knew I loved it up there. And, for a time, there was nothing that could pull me away from that place.

I could only play with the fries on my plate as I tried to think about what was going on in my head. I needed to figure out what was happening. I needed to put all of this out on the table for Kadin. I needed his help.~

There was an accident at the vineyard. Mom and Dad died, and I realized that I couldn’t stay there. I couldn’t be haunted by what had happened. And I wanted to start fresh. San Francisco is too close to Napa to be of any help. And I knew you were based down here. So I was considering moving down here. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing. I don’t know what steps I’m supposed to be taking. I don’t know anyone except you. And I have nowhere else to go.

~My shoulders rose and fell in a shrug as I tore my eyes away from the man across from me. I wasn’t sure what else I was supposed to do. But I was baring my soul to him. I just wasn’t ready to tell him exactly what the accident was. I wasn’t entirely sure I was ready to explain how that was all my fault. That was a blame I wasn’t ready to let go of.~

Kadin: -I hadn’t known anything had happened to Callie’s parents. Part of me wanted to ask her why, but I understood that sometimes there were things you just couldn’t bring yourself to tell everyone. She’d gotten through it on her own, though I’d wished I could have been there for her. I didn’t even want to think about what that situation felt like.

Callie loved Napa, but I knew that it probably felt like she didn’t have anything left for her there. I understood the urge to get away from everything you’d known and dive into a whole new world. I didn’t want her to be alone in the decision to move, and I didn’t want her to feel like she had no one left to lean on. I may not have had a place to offer her to move into, but I did have a support system I could call into play here.-

Listen, Callie. I live with Elle and Shaun here in the city, but I know a ton of people. I’m sure the girls can figure something out. I just don’t want you alone. If you want a change of scenery, we can make that happen. I’ve got you. I promise.

Callie: ~I let out a sigh of relief. I needed to take a breath. I had no reason to think that Kadin wouldn’t help me. I knew, for a fact, that he was going to absolutely move heaven and Earth to get me in a comfortable place. I just didn’t know what else to say to him about what happened. But that was the beauty of having Kade as a friend. I didn’t have to come out with everything right then. It could come out with time.

But I was interested in his tiny family here in Los Angeles. I wanted to be prepared in case I was going to become a permanent fixture down here. But the one person I wanted to know more about was the girl. She put a smile on his face. And it was something I had been hoping he would find. I wanted him to be happy. I think most people would have wanted that for their friends.~

So tell me about Jaysin. Am I going to be the one that has to play big sister? Do I need to give her a warning about breaking your heart? ~I wanted to lighten up the mood. I knew that bringing up my parents was going to bring everything down. But I needed to bring everything back to a happy place. And if that meant bringing up Kade’s girlfriend, then I was going to do it.~ Tell me about her, Kadin. I need to know about her before we work together.

Kadin: -I knew Callie was changing the subject, but it was something she clearly needed to do. If she was going to move here to Los Angeles, then I was going to do everything I was capable of to make her feel welcome here. I’d already told Sin about her, even before I’d gotten the idea for the two of them to do a photoshoot together, but I didn’t get to talk to Callie as often as I would like, so I hadn’t had the chance to talk to her about Sin or any of the rest.-

So, I know you remember how I got the job at ComicCon awhile back. I was photographing cosplayers, and I saw her there. She was Princess Leia there too actually… Which is how I know her costume is amazing. She was the first person I ran into, and I couldn’t stop myself from asking her out to dinner afterwards. I just got lucky that she lived here in Los Angeles, and I also happened to find out she might be Elle’s oldest friend as well.

-I laughed, shaking my head as I ran a hand over my eyes. It had been an interesting coincidence, but it was more than that. It had always felt like fate to me, like we were meant to have met each other. I wasn’t normally the kind of guy who believed in destiny, but when something was right, it was right. And I knew that Sin and I were right.-

Callie: ~I couldn’t help the laugh that spilled out as he told me he met his girl at ComicCon. I had told him on more than one occasion that I refused to be surprised by the fact that he would meet a cosplayer her was in love with. And if his girl was the one I was thinking of, I wasn’t entirely surprised. Jaysin Bankcroft was a name that was steadily getting bigger in the cosplay world. She was good at what she did. Even if her builds tended to be on the smaller side.

I felt a rush of energy roll through me as I realized what that meant for tomorrow. I was going to be shooting with her. And I felt the nerves. I knew I was good at shooting by myself. But introducing someone else into the mix could be a disaster. And the fact that it was someone like Jaysin almost scared me a little.~

Of course. You ended up with the next big thing in cosplay. Gotta tell you, Kade. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about shooting with her. She makes me nervous as hell. Am I going to be able to hold a flame next to her?

~I knew Kadin had his personal opinion. No one was as beautiful as his girlfriend. But he was a photographer. I was mildly interested to see how his work came out after the two of us were in a shot together. Would his feelings get the better of him, or would he absolutely remain professional about it all?~ Just don’t screw me over, Kadin. I know she’s your girlfriend, but I need you to focus on me, too.

Kadin: -As much as I was into photography and all of that world, I sometimes found myself oblivious to the trends in the way things were going. I wasn’t surprised that Callie knew Jaysin’s name, exactly. For as many cosplayers as there were, the world of professional cosplay was tiny. If someone was good at what they did, word got around, and I was very certain that Sin was very good at what she did.

I also understood her concern that my focus was going to be on Sin. I could have shot her alone for the rest of my life and been content, but shooting her with someone I considered family was an exciting prospect.

I held up one hand and grinned over at my friend from across the table.-  Scouts honor. I’ll give you as much film space as her. I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I didn’t make you both look good. Besides, I wouldn’t screw over family, Callie. You know me, and if you think I’m not putting enough focus on you, then you have my permission to kick me in the shins.  

-laughing as the waitress stopped by to put our food down on the table between the two of us as I playfully nudged her shin with my foot under the table.-

Callie: ~I could only roll my eyes as the food was placed in front of us. I nodded my thanks to the waitress before I went back to paying attention to the man across from me. There was still so much to talk about. I needed him to know what was going through my mind, though. He may not have the full story, but I needed him to understand some things.~

No trying to hook me up with anyone, Kadin. I’m fucking serious. I just want to get myself settled before I think about the next step. And I don’t even have a place to settle into. So no trying to hook me up. Just let me hang out with your family. Let me get to know them. Let me figure out why you picked the family that you did.

~I shook my head before looking down at the burger on my plate. I still wasn’t entirely sure what the hell I was doing here. I didn’t know if this was the right move for me to be making. But there was only so much I could do. And I needed a fresh start. I didn’t need to be haunted by what had happened up north.~

Kadin: -I understood why Callie was asking what she was asking. I hadn’t thought about setting her up with anyone, but I didn’t know how the girls were going to be once they got to know her. As much as I loved them all in their own ways, I never quite understood them all. Maybe it was a side effect of being a guy. I just wasn’t ever going to fully understand them. I was glad Callie wanted to get to know all of them, but the first step to things was going to be to introduce her to everyone and work on trying to find her a place to live-

Alright, I promise. No set ups. We’ll figure out the living situation. I don’t want you staying in a hotel longer than you have to, so I’ll ask around and see if anyone knows of anything for you. Maybe Elle or Sin know something. They’re more familiar with things around here than I am.

-I leaned in with a grin and lowered my voice- It’s going to be good to have you around. It’s like having more family here. I could always use more family. I’m going to make sure this works out for you, Cal.

Callie: ~I could only give Kadin a smile as he said he’d make sure it all worked out. That was part of the reason I loved him the way that I did. We were both willing to make moves for the other one. But I needed to remember that he was just as new to LA as I was. Even if he had lived here longer, he was always away doing work.

But it was easy to fall back into this relationship. He was the one person I knew I could depend on. And I trusted in that. I wanted him to be happy. And I wanted him to have a family. Having us all in one place would give him more of a reason to finally settle in one spot.~

Why haven’t you put down roots yet, Dude? I mean, you have a girl that seems to want you around. You could just settle in with her. It would probably make Shaun and Elle happy. They could have their house back to themselves.

Kadin: -it was funny that she asked me that just now. Moving in together was something that Sin and I had discussed. She’d asked me to come live with her last week as a matter of fact. It was definitely something I had considered. Shaun and Elle had a baby on the way, they were married, and they were going to need their space with everything they had coming.

I hadn’t put down roots because it felt weird making a home so far from where I’d started, but with Sin in the picture it was feeling more and more right every day-

I mean, I’ve definitely thought it over. She’s asked me to come live with her. There are a few things to consider. I don’t want to hurt Shaun’s feelings, but I think it’s going to happen sooner rather than later. You’re right about them needing their space back. They have a baby on the way soon so I’m pretty sure at least one of the rooms is turning into a nursery. And as much as Uncle Kadin is going to be around making their lives interesting, I think maybe it’s better it happen from a little more distance. I travel a lot, but so does she. Sometimes it’s weeks before we’re in the same city at the same time. Even then, it still works.

Callie: ~That was an odd way of saying things. Kadin was afraid of hurting Shaun’s feelings. That made him a better friend than I could have imagined. But there was something going on there. There had to be. Kadin was holding off from making a move that he wanted to do because he was afraid of hurting his best friend. I could only tilt my head to the side as I thought about that.~

What’s going on, Kadin? Are you using Shaun as an excuse to not let yourself do something, or is there a problem with you leaving Shaun behind? ~The only thing I could do was wait for him to answer. If I tried to analyze the situation, I was going to be too critical. And this was something that Kadin didn’t need. He needed support. He needed to be able to talk to someone. Someone that wasn’t going to judge. And here I was.

It seemed like Kadin had no one to talk to about this. It was bothering him. Regardless of what the situation was, it almost seemed he felt trapped. And that was something that I hated. I didn’t want him to be trapped. I didn’t want him second guessing what he wanted to do. If he needed someone to sit here and listen to what was going on in his life, I was going to do it. After all, he had been doing the same thing for me since we had gotten here.~

Kadin: -I hadn’t had much of anyone to talk to about what was going on between Shaun and Sin since all of this began. I couldn’t talk to Shaun without him shutting down, and if I brought his name up to Sin it ruined her mood completely. I couldn’t blame her. He’d been a right twat since the two of us had gotten together and he figured out who my date had been at ComicCon. I hadn’t spoken to Callie enough since all of this happened to even tell her I had a girlfriend, but I knew I could confide in her.-

He’s scared he’s going to lose his best friend. And it doesn’t help that it’s to the only person who could possibly talk Elle out of being with him in spite of the fact that she’s head over heels in love with him. Of all the people on earth, Sin scares him the most. And he’s the kind of person who lashes out at their fears. Usually it makes him endearing, right now it makes him an asshole. The two of them are in a spiral I don’t think they know how to stop. I certainly don’t have any idea how to make it better, and I’m pretty sure Elle is at the end of her rope too. It’s making for a pretty tense situation. I was hoping that some time would make everything better, that he would see that nothing is changing between the two of us, but it hasn’t done much. Mostly I think he doesn’t know how to stop.

-I looked across the table with her and shrugged. I didn’t know any more succinct way to put all of this that was happening. Callie didn’t know how stubborn Shaun could be. I did. It was just a matter getting him out of being an absolute bullheaded prat. -

Callie:  ~Now I could understand why he was hesitating to leave Shaun. And there were some ideas rolling through my head about how to fix that. But I didn’t want to be the person that just rushed into everything just to fix it and leave. I wanted Kadin to understand that this could stay between the two of us.~

So Shaun is being an asshole. And it doesn’t sound like Sin is being much better. I know she’s your girlfriend, Kade. But you need to look at it objectively. If you can’t bring up Sin to Shaun or Shaun to Sin, then you need to force them into a room together. One of them may not come out alive, but something good could happen. It’s a matter of do you want to take that chance? And with the predicament you’re in, I don’t think you can afford to have them at each other’s throat.

Kadin: -She was right, and the two of them had been avoiding any mention of each other since all this had happened. If we let them cocoon up like that, pretty soon there was going to be no way of getting them out of that mode and living with each other. It wasn’t fair to Elle to be stuck in the middle of their argument. I felt worse about that as the days went on. I knew deep down Shaun felt bad about it too. He just wasn’t good with things that involved feelings especially when he felt insecure. He was just going to have to get over it though. The time for the two of them to have a real serious talk was here-

You’ve got a point. And I think I’ve got an idea. I know Elle’s ready for all of this to be over. Truth be told we all are. It’s just that some of us are more honest about it than the rest.

-Hanging out with Callie was always nice. She was a good sounding board and she had a good head on her shoulders even when she thought she didn’t.-

Callie: ~I nodded my head. That was exactly what Kadin needed to do. He needed to force them into a space together. They had to talk about what was going on. Everyone around them could probably see it. And I wasn’t even around them yet. I was almost afraid for what would happen the first time I walked into the same space as the two of them.

Rolling my eyes at the man that was my brother for all intents and purposes, I nodded down to the empty plates in front of us. The night was just beginning in LA, but we both knew we had an early morning. Even if the shoot wasn’t planned until the middle of the day, there was still a lot that needed to be done.~ You ready to go home? You’re not catching a cab. I brought my car. I’ll just drive you home.

~Kadin gave me that easy smile as we both stood from the table. We both had an understanding. This was a fresh beginning for both of us. I’d be here to help him with the entire Sin and Shaun situation, and he was going to help me set up roots. I wasn’t entirely sure what was about to happen, but this was something that we both needed. He needed a friend that wasn’t in the inner circle, and I needed a family. And eventually, we’d blend everything together. But it was going to take time. And time was something I had. For once, time wasn’t choking me.~

#IWasALonelySoul

[ricandhaiz]

Blindsided, Chapter 7

“Are you ready to go?” Allie asked and lifted a spoonful of cereal to her mouth. It was a little after eight o’clock in the morning on the day before Thanksgiving.

“Yes,” Nic replied, hoping she wouldn’t ask many more questions about his short trip to Los Angeles to visit is padre. “He’s a very busy man and travels a lot to promote the family’s wine business.”

Allie looked thoughtful as she picked up her glass and drank some orange juice. “How long did you say he’s going to be in the United States?”

He replied, “A few days. But his schedule is going to be packed with meetings and social events with friends who are in the area.”

“Are you going to stay with him the whole time he’s here?”

“It depends,” he said, eyeing her curiously. Where was he getting at with these questions? “At least a day or two, which is fine since school’s out this week for Thanksgiving.”

“Oh, okay,” she replied in a feeble attempt to sound casual and unconcerned.

Nic felt her anxiety growing with each question she posed to him. And so he asked, “What is it? I can tell that something’s bothering you.”

Allie made a face as she tore pieces off the paper napkin in her hand but said nothing at first. Nic waited. Finally, she said, “Are you embarrassed to introduce me to your dad? Is that why you’re not taking me with you to see him?”

Nic was stunned. “Of course not. How can you say such a thing, or even think it?”

“It’s just that you’ve been so evasive about this whole trip,” Allie replied, biting her lip. “Every time I’ve asked you about it, you always try to change the subject. It feels like you’re keeping something from me. Am I wrong?”

No, you’re not, he thought, but said, “There are a lot of personal matters that I need to discuss with him in private. You can understand that, can’t you?”

“I do, but…” She huffed in frustration as her voice trailed off.

Nic knelt beside Allie and took her hand in his. He wanted to reassure her that all was well. “Te quiero mucho. Eres mi chica. You know that, don’t you?” She nodded. “Like I said before, his schedule’s pretty tight, and I actually feel kind of lucky that he was able to fit me in. Besides, if you went with me to L.A., you’d miss Thanksgiving with your family.”

“I guess you’re right,” Allie reluctantly conceded. “And I do have a term paper to work on. I suppose I won’t see you until this weekend then.”

He said yes and asked, “Do you have any big plans aside from school work and going to your aunt and uncle’s house for Thanksgiving?”

Allie shook her head. “Thanksgiving at the Welch’s is an all-day event. We basically eat from sunrise to sunset so don’t be surprised if there’s a lot more of me to love when you get back.”

He laughed. “I’m sorry that I’m going to miss the fun. Maybe next time.” He took his cell phone from his back pocket to check how close his uber driver was to the apartment. He said, “I better wait outside. The uber app is telling me that my driver is less than two blocks away now.”

“Have fun.”

“I will,” he replied as he stood up and then kissed her on the forehead before picking up his backpack on the way out the door.

 Three hours later, the uber driver dropped Nic off in front of the Hyatt Regency near Los Angeles International Airport at around noon. It had been a long and uneventful drive. He’d spent much of the time either surfing the internet on his phone or napping as the car sped southward. Once there, he entered the hotel and followed the signs to the unity la restaurant and found his padre, a distinguished-looking man in a custom-tailored black suit with wisps of gray hair sitting at a square-shaped wooden table closest to the entrance. They greeted one another with a hug and kisses on each cheek before sitting down in light gray padded seats.

“How are you?” his padre asked.

“I’m doing well. I’m getting high marks in my classes so far and my English is much improved.”

“Excellent,” his father said with a smile. “I’ve ordered a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon for us. Go on and take a minute to look over the menu.”

Nic took a sip of water and perused the menu while his padre checked his cell phone for messages. Once he’d decided on ordering the rib eye steak, he asked, “How is everyone back home?”

“Good,” his padre replied as he dipped a piece of bread into a small bowl of seasoned olive oil. “Everyone sends their regards. Your abuelas want to know if you’ll be coming home for Christmas.”

Nic shook his head. “It takes over twelve hours to fly from California to Spain without stopovers. It took me at least two days to recover from jet lag and so the idea of flying back and forth like that for just a two-week trip wouldn’t make sense.”

“Have you driven at all since you’ve been here?”

Nic stiffened and said, “No. My apartment is fairly close to the business school and Allie’s aunt drives us to the grocery store whenever we start running low on food.”

“Do you plan to?”

He hadn’t since the night of the accident and had no desire to do so anytime soon but knew better than to say that outright to his padre. So instead, he replied, “At some point, I suppose. Luckily for me, the rideshare companies and mass transportation system in Hilton City are quite good. I rarely have a problem getting where I need to go.”

His padre nodded, then asked, “Have you gone out much since you’ve been here?”

“Yes. I like to take walks around the park near my apartment to clear my head after class. I also go out with my friend Matt to local sporting events or meet him for a drink at a bar on occasion.  But it’s Allie who’s really had the biggest impact on me since I’ve been here.”

His padre sat back in his seat, looking thoughtful. “She seems to have had a very beneficial effect on you. You look happier and more content.”

“She’s a wonderful girl. I’m lucky to have her in my life.”

“I look forward to meeting her at some point.”

His padre’s words triggered thoughts of the somewhat tense conversation he’d recently had with Allie before leaving for L.A. Although he could have confided this to his padre, he chose not to. Instead, he asked, “How are Monica and Alejandro?”

“They’re well,” he replied. “Your hermano took his first steps last week. He’s growing fast. You probably won’t be able to recognize him the next time you see him.”

“Are you and Monica going to have more?”

His padre shook his head. “I’m getting too old to be running after little ones. Monica understands that.” Their conversation took a brief pause when their waiter, Jose, arrived with the bottle of wine his padre had ordered.

As their glasses were being filled, Nic asked, “Have you visited Mamá’s grave recently?”

“I went there last week and put a huge bouquet of red roses on her gravestone,” his padre replied. “Those were her favorite.” A brief silence ensued. After Jose had taken their orders and departed, he raised his wine glass and said, “To Elena, until we meet again.”

Nic clinked his glass against his padre’s and took a sip. They then spent some time reminiscing and exchanging stories about his madre while scrupulously avoiding any mention of her illness or the heartbreaking months leading up to her death.

“Do you miss her?” Nic asked.

His padre looked pensive as he swirled the wine in his glass and stared at its contents. “I miss her every day. She left us far too soon.”

“Did you know at once that she was the one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with?”

He snorted and said, “Yes, I did. I was at a bar in Madrid with a few of my friends when she walked in with another man. Not that I let that stop me. I was already a fairly well-known goalkeeper for Real Madrid so she and her companion were only too happy to have me join them at their table. I slipped her my number before I left them to rejoin my friends. She called me later that same day. The rest, as they say, is history.”

“What happened to the man she came with?”

“She left him. He was a few years older than she was and rather plain looking. I don’t mean to sound boastful but I think that I was clearly the better choice, don’t you agree?”  

Nic laughed as they clinked their glasses together once again. “I miss her too. I think she would have liked Allie.”

His padre leaned forward and asked, “Tell me more about her. Do you have a picture of her on your phone?”

He nodded and pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket. He tapped the photos app, scrolled through his album and brought up a picture he took of Allie in the park with Charlie. He then handed his phone over to his padre, who took out his reading glasses and studied it carefully.

“She’s very pretty…and that’s quite a dog she has there. What was his name?”

“Charlie. Losing him was very hard on her. They were very close. It’s hard to believe that he’s been gone almost a month.”

“She has you,” his padre replied just as the waiter arrived with their meals. The conversation continued as they ate. His padre talked about his itinerary and invited Nic to join him for a few of his non-work-related events. Nic agreed to some but demurred to others. “I made arrangements to come and see you as soon as I got your text. I apologize that it took me as long as it did to get here. As you well know, my work schedule is fairly hectic and I usually book my business appointments weeks in advance. My secretary had to clear my calendar and reschedule everything this week in order for me to make this trip.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Nic replied. “We could’ve just handled this over the phone.”

“Nonsense,” his padre replied with a dismissive waive of his hand. “So, how do you propose to pay for this retinal implant surgery without Allie knowing about it?”

“If you agree to help me, I plan on going to her aunt and uncle and asking them for their assistance in making some kind of arrangement with her eye doctor so that she will think that the money came from an anonymous benefactor.”

“$150,000.00 is a lot of money.”

“I have more than half of that amount in liquid accounts and easily convertible assets. I just need some help from you to come up with the rest of it. But don’t worry, I fully intend to pay back every penny that I borrow.”

“But Niki, if you do that, how would you live?”

“Papá, you don’t understand. This surgery could change her life. Weren’t you the one who always told me that there’s no better way to spend your money than on those that you love?”

“I did say that, didn’t I?” His padre leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin. “Do you see yourself having a future with her?”

“For my part, yes,” Nic replied without hesitation.

“What about Allie? Do you think she feels the same way about you?”

Nic replied, “She’s told me that she loves me often enough and, in my heart, I know that she’s being sincere when she says it. But…”

“But what?”

“Look at me Papá. I’m hideous.”

His padre raised his eyebrows in indignation. “Are you telling me that you think she might leave you because of the way you look?”

“She’s never done or said anything that would lead me to think that she would,” Nic replied in Allie’s defense. “In fact, she’s made it quite clear to me that he could care less what I look like now. In all honesty, my deformities are probably more of an issue for me than they are for her.”

His father shook his head. “I’ve never understood your need to punish yourself again and again over something you had no control over.”

“Even you must admit that what happened to Diego and me was at least partially my fault. I’m the one who encouraged him to go drinking with me after we lost the game. Neither of us should have been behind the wheel after all the alcohol we consumed.”

He pointed his finger at Nic and said, “It was an accident. You were a passenger in the car. It was Diego who chose to drive while he was impaired and run that red light, not you.”

“I should have stopped him. We could have called a cab or uber.”

“Niki, there’s nothing to be gained by constantly rehashing mistakes that you made in the past and have no way of remedying now. What’s done is done. You’ve suffered enough. It’s time to move on.”

Although his padre’s view of what had happened was shared by his abuelos and Monica, he knew that was not necessarily true of others. “Then why did so many people turn away from me? I lost everything and nearly everyone around me.”

“Many of those people weren’t your real friends to begin with. Others tried to be supportive, but you shut them out.”

“And Lourdes?”

His padre snorted in disgust. “I never liked her. Neither did Monica or your abuelos. She was a social climber and an attention whore. Consider yourself lucky that she left you.”

Although his words stung, Nic found could find no fault in his padre’s assessment of his ex-girlfriend. But rather than dwell on her, he pivoted, saying, “I felt so alone and angry before I met Allie. I hated going out in public. I thought that I had to cover up and wear a mask wherever I went to avoid being ridiculed and stared at. Being with her changed all that. She’s given me a whole new outlook on life and a reason to be hopeful about the future.”

“It’s good to see you smile again and in such high spirits. For that, I owe her a great debt.”

Nic nodded. “I need to do this for her. I know it’s the right thing to do. But still, there’s a part of me that’s afraid she might—”

His padre raised his hand and cut in. “If Allie is even half the person that you say she is, then you should have absolutely nothing to worry about.”

Just then, Jose walked by their table and asked them if they were enjoying their meals. Nic’s padre smiled and told him to give his compliments to the chef. As soon as the waiter moved on, Nic asked, “Will you help me?”

Instead of providing him with a direct response, his padre asked, “How soon will you need the money?”

“The sooner the better. From what Allie has told me, these procedures are scheduled weeks if not months in advance, so I’d like to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible.”

His padre reached for the wine bottle and poured it into his wine glass, nearly filling it to the rim. He asked, “Would you like more?”

“Yes,” Nic replied and held out his glass to be refilled, his pulse quickening with nervousness as he waited for a definitive response.

His padre said little for the next minute or two as he took another bite of his steak and sipped his wine.  Nic did likewise and did he best to appear outwardly calm even though the suspense was killing him. Finally, his padre said, “I’ll transfer the funds directly into your checking account. $150,000.00. Is that the right amount?”

Nic’s eyes widened in shock. “No, not that much. As I said before, I only need to borrow the difference between what I have and—”

His father raised his hand and shook his head. “I won’t have you emptying all your accounts when we both know that I can cover the amount of money that you need to pay for Allie’s eye surgery.”

“I can’t ask you to do that. What would Monica say?”

“I’ve already discussed this with her at length. She agreed that it would be best to do it this way. And don’t try to talk me out of it. The issue is settled as far as I’m concerned and nothing you can do or say will change my decision.”

Knowing that once his padre had made up his mind about something that he was unlikely to alter it, he simply replied, “Thank you, Papá.”

“You’re welcome, and don’t even think of trying to pay me back. Think of it as an early Christmas present.”

Nic smiled. “Do you think Mamá would approve?”

His padre nodded. “She loved you with all her heart, as I do. If this makes you happy and will significantly improve the life of the woman you love, I have no doubt that she would have given me her blessing to do this.” He paused, then asked, “Do you think that you’ll be able to keep what you’re about to do from her indefinitely?”

“The only people I plan on talking to directly about this are her aunt, uncle and her doctors. The fewer people that know the better. I don’t think they’ll have a problem with keeping this bit of information from her if I ask them to.”

“But what if she finds out later? Will you tell her the truth or try to deny it?”

Nic shrugged and said, “I’ll deal with it if and when that eventuality comes to pass. But for now, all that matters to me is that she be given this chance to see again.”

“I wish you well,” his padre replied. “Rest assured that both you and Allie will be in my prayers.”

 Late that evening, Nic lay on one of the queen sized beds in his padre’s studio suite thinking about Allie. He’d declined his padre’s invitation to join him for dinner and had instead opted to stay in and have room service bring him his meal. He thought about the part of the conversation he’d had with him about what he’d do if she ever found out that he’d paid for her surgery. He guessed that she’d be upset and disappointed, maybe even angry that he’d defied her express wishes. But, in the end, she’d forgive him, wouldn’t she?

He dialed her number. She picked up on the second ring and said, “Hey baby. Are you having a good time with your dad?”

“Yes, we had a couple of hours to catch up before he went out to dinner with some friends. I was tired so I decided to stay in. What did you do today?”

“My aunt picked me up not long after you left. I’m staying with her and Uncle Mike through Thanksgiving. The apartment’s just too quiet without you and Charlie there.” After a brief pause, she said, “I miss you.”

“I miss you more.”

“I doubt that,” she replied, giggling. “Te quiero. Did I say that right?”

“Music to my ears, mi amor,” he replied, grinning. “I love you, too.”

“Come back soon. Things just aren’t the same here without you.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he replied as he thought about how radically different and much improved Allie’s life might soon be after his return.