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ekkurea · 1 year

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Your art is so beautiful. May I please have tips for doing digital art and maybe drawing. I’m trying to improve my art skills, both pencil and paper ☺️

Hello! Thank you so much! I don't even know what I can do to help. But I will try to tell you everything I can remember and maybe some of it will be useful to you. Although, you've probably already heard/read it all or experienced it yourself.

Progress in drawing (and not only) rests on "several pillars"

STABILITY, ANALYSIS, INSPIRATION (Continued 👇🏻 And some of my old drawings)

Perhaps we should start with the last one, inspiration. Do what you love, love what you do. In addition, I advise you to clearly define for yourself what the rational purpose of your work is. I spent a lot of time wondering why I should create my own art if there are already millions of cool artists. Find your benefit to yourself, others, and the world. This will help in difficult times when the wave of emotions subsides.

Lack of stable practice. For various reasons, I often quit drawing and had to go back to the beginning every time. Drawing is about knowledge and skills. So even if you remember the structure of the skull and the process of drawing, your hands and brain still need time to adjust technically.

If you wanted to hear some practical step-by-step actions, then unfortunately I won't be able to help you with that. You need to visually show the process (and there are endless topics to study) with explanatory support and feedback on the final result. Perhaps someday I will be able to open my courses or share quality tutorials with you.

Maybe this quick tip will help you. If you are just starting out, I would advise you to draw more quick sketches, small finished drawings. I also like an old saying. "Your work should look complete at any stage." Whether it's a sketch, working with color or whatever. It doesn't mean that you have to dwell on each of them. It means that you need to have a basic understanding, and even if it's not perfect, you should be able to do each stage. I hope I was able to make that clear.

But also don't be afraid of full-fledged illustrations that require a lot of sweat. Why do my words contradict? For example. At the institute, we hardly ever made quick sketches or small illustrations. We painted few pictures and spent several weeks on each one. This is not good. Because while we were trying to perfect the coloring of the picture, we were already "forgetting" how to work with composition. And as I said, regularity plays an important role and it is a great exercise for the brain. So take breaks, alternate your workload, and always learn something new to see progress.

I was able to test how much better it works on my own students (I started teaching at a private art school in my final year of university). Children who refused to do quick exercises quickly burned out on long, full-fledged drawings. Children who drew only quick sketches were afraid of difficulties and as a result drew worse and worse. It was only when I had to insist on maintaining a balance that they started without enthusiasm at first, but later said how great it was and were grateful. We also alternated topics, from free choice of anime or anything to classic still lifes. They learned to love both.

By the way, it was while teaching that I realized how important it is to structure information and drawing stages in your head. To check if you have learned everything well, try explaining and teaching others. You will immediately notice if you have any gaps.

Since we're on the subject, I'll tell you about my path, which is quite typical. But I promised to show you some of my old drawings. Unfortunately, most of the photos have not survived, but here is what I found. And while some of the drawings are still at home in my hometown, the drawings from the university were successfully sold to junior students (haha, does it work like that for you too?).

Beginning. Art school (5-11 years old). Most of the time fooling around with peers, the rest of the time being forced to draw something you don't like. Complicating factors: the complete absence of a learning process (teachers did not show or explain anything at all and everything was done at the level of children's intuition). A few high-quality tutorials on the Internet would have given me more than all the training there (we can talk separately about how difficult it is to find high-quality drawing courses even now. I had no luck with that at all. Pay attention not only to how the courses advertise themselves, but also to what their students can do, what they study, how the material is presented, what teaching methods are used... Don't waste your money). The result: I hated drawing. I didn't even want to think about a sheet of paper and a pencil. And I say this with all the love for the memories of those times. And yet, I'm still grateful for my childhood.

Still lifes and nature are interesting! I realized this when I became an adult, gained experience and saw the meaning and beauty in them, and then I became sincerely interested in the process. If they tell you that by painting still lifes you will learn to paint anything, they are not lying. It is a good base for understanding shapes, textures, colors and space.

By the way, an additional problem of motivation at that time was that at that time, becoming an artist, designer, illustrator, animator, drawing anime or something similar was on the level of "becoming an astronaut". At the time, I didn't even think about the possibility of this. "You just have to find a normal job." Do you know what I mean? It's good that times are changing.

Already at the construction college (I was planning to become an architect) (I was 14-15 years old), I started drawing in class out of boredom. I drew what I was interested in. I was surprised myself, but this accident (or was it?) marked the beginning of everything. I still consider those times to be the best for my mental health and my creativity. I still can't get back the "wings" of inspiration and carefree spirit I had. Ah, youth (ha ha). Unfortunately, then I had to give up everything again and go to work alongside my studies.

The idea that I could really become an illustrator was also a matter of fate. I saw one artist from my city who "made it". I looked at her path and thought that I wanted to do it too. So, to try and not lose what I already have, I entered two universities at the same time (to study engineering and graphic design). I like to be autonomous and set an example for myself, but it's also good to be inspired and learn from others.

By the way. Looking at others too much became my big problem during my university years. I faced the problem of analyzing my work and other artists. I couldn't see myself, felt incredible pressure and was torn looking at professionals of different styles and directions. There were too many of them. It was killing me morally. It's better to drop the fear. Easy to say, but sometimes hard to do, I know.

Write down a few areas (fanart, book illustration, character development) and try each one. Choose a few top authors in each area. You can analyze what is currently relevant and for which audience and publications. The current style and color scheme in the industry may even depend on the country. For example, in Asia, children's book illustration has its own favorites, which are significantly different from Europe. Think about who you are working for.

If you choose to go your own way, focusing only on yourself, I also want to reassure you. Each of us already has a style. It is the way we draw now and what we will add during practice (colors we like, techniques we may have seen from someone else, etc.). It's like a snowball that gets bigger as it travels. Only in practice will you realize what is truly yours. Besides, we don't know where life will take us. I honestly could not even imagine that I would be lucky enough to paint fanarts. So you shouldn't choose one narrow direction for the rest of your life. We change and so does our path, which indicates our development. Focus on what you can try right now. This will give you the first impetus.

It's quite interesting that one artist can have a radically different style depending on whether they work with traditional materials or digital. I know an illustrator who likes to draw nature in classic realism, but on a tablet she draws bright stylized drawings. You can be different and that's okay. And I was the person who couldn't get used to drawing on a tablet for years. It can be difficult to find your tools and re-adjust, to get used to other feelings.

About the process. Before you start, make sure you have all the information you need (if you are not just painting for yourself, for relaxation). Sometimes it happens that you have a task, but without clear requirements. It's better to ask the customer (or if you're drawing for yourself, ask yourself) about the idea of the drawing, the format, the technical requirements, the audience it's for, what should be emphasized, what color scheme, what is the reason for it... The more details you know and the clearer you imagine what the result should be, the less likely you are to have to redo everything. This is an opportunity to thank all my customers who provide me with great quality references! Some of them even write a whole story about the characters and the idea and atmosphere the illustration should have. Thank you so much! Thanks to this, I understand your thoughts better and the illustrations become more "alive".

#askekurea

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saw-dusts · 1 year

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“Is this the life that you want?”

Yes. I answered in a firm nod to that question. If anyone ever asked me that question again one more time, I swear that would be the best trigger for an explosion.

I always hate the way she questioned my life choices. Ever since I chose to learn carpentry with Grandpops, she seemed to lost her role as my mother. She didn’t even reach the bare minimum at the very first place, now she is in the lower bar.

It’s not that I am not grateful for her. I am thankful that she brought me into this life as it gave me a chance to know a lot of wonderful people, to live my wonderful youth, and to grow into a person like.. me, today. Only for the chance, the rests were not coming from her.

On the age 12, I realized that my growing up process is nowhere near okay. After Mother decided to move out from Grandpops’ house, I was devastated. The studio at the corner of his yard was my favorite playground, ever since I was 5, he told me. I would always be the first person who tried on the chairs he just finished. The first person who puts on my coloring pencils when he just finished an order for stationery holder.

I enjoyed every little details Grandpops told me about woods and the process of crafting them into something useful. It’s obvious that the tools a carpenter used would affect the result of the product, but let’s talk more about the feeling more. Woods, strangely, could know when a carpenter is not in the perfect mood for crafting them. There are times when Grandpops made silly mistakes, whether while measuring the length, or while adding the details on the design. The mistakes were just.. real silly, as if the woods are refusing to be crafted by him.

On the age of 18, I was on the last year of my vocational school. I took a specialized high school in carpentry because I know, this is what I love and this is what I want to pursue in life. Of course, Mother was objecting. She wanted me to learn something more useful in her dictionary, like accounting. Or just went to a high school so the chance for me to be accepted in a university is higher. But I know what I want to do and I am sure of that.

Six days after my 18th birthday, Grandpops passed away.

And I graduated from school with a neatly crafted memorial made out of Iroko woods, neatly varnished with the highest quality oil that could preserve the presence of the best Carpenter ever in this world.

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dzpenumbra · 2 years

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3/20/23

Today didn't feel like much, but I actually got quite a bit done. I finished another 5 runs in the desire path project, the path is now pretty much done, actually. It's crazy how quickly it came together, I really wasn't expecting it to be that fast. 15 trips back and forth was all it took. Visual markers made a huge difference, which... I guess... is what trail blaze is about, so... makes sense. But it was crazy how quickly that turned into just... barely wandering at all.

I spent pretty much the rest of the day working on my hoodie. This was the result... I am now actually kinda regretting having bought so many of these fabric pens. Because the fabric paint that I bought? I'm basically using exclusively that. And it was kind of an impulse buy. I did a lot of area fills with silver and white today, and... I actually ran out of silver. Halfway through a ring section. And the silver paint I have does not match that pen paint at all, so I actually had to paint over the progress I had made. But transitioning into the paints unlocked some doors for me. I don't know why I've been so averse to using paint brushes... stubbornness, I guess? Pencil/pen has been my primary medium for ages, but I was forced to major in Painting and painted a ton because of it. Haven't really painted much since, now that I think of it... maybe that's why it's so foreign... just never really made the time for it, I guess.

But painting is actually working pretty well. It takes a bit longer to get solid lines because you don't have a solid sturdy applicator(? I don't know what word to use there) of color. The paint brush bends, basically, and pens are sturdy, that's what I'm trying to say. That has its advantages and disadvantages. But painting came back super quick, and very naturally, I'm having no real problems with it. Except... buyer's remorse... I got a ton of these pens, all different colors.

They aren't bad pens, I mean that. The color is very opaque, they don't really smell at all... which is nice... good flow... They just don't have a lot of ink in them. And the ink is basically paint, so... I might as well buy paint and get... more paint for my buck... right? And the paint, ultimately, is better quality. The silver is very vibrant, very impressive. So yeah. I'll definitely use the pens. I have lots of uses for them. But, in the future, I'm opting towards these paints instead, especially for large-scale pieces.

I did laundry, that was a win. But that... was basically my day.

For real. I did yoga, I ate cereal and did the desire path thing, I showered, I worked on the hoodie, I did laundry, I ate dinner, I worked on the hoodie, I played Noita for like... 15 minutes... until it crashed... and here I am. That's all, that was my day.

I was considering going skating, but I got sucked into... Civilization-style "one more turn" mode. I was making the desire path, and went... "yeah, I just have a few more sections to do, I'll wrap that up real quick, shower, then I'll go skate a bit." Then when I finally wrap up and look at the clock? 6:50PM.

I honestly... I have no idea how the sidewalk conditions even are. I haven't left the building since I skated during the storm, that was almost a week ago. If the sidewalks are good, I really should put this plan into effect: reserve the shared car, ride my hybrid board over there, drive to the skatepark, buy a new skateboard and a helmet, skate for a bit to break it in. That sounds like a good way to spend an afternoon. It's just... something I have to plan a little in advance (I think) due to the car reserving thing, and... hasn't been synergizing well with this PTSD going-to-bed-at-dawn bullshit. I'm sure writing this at 4AM is doing me favors...

I will get there, I mean it. I mean... on weekdays, the park is open until 8PM... That's easy as fuck to make work. The only caveat there is... skating back to my apartment in the dark after dropping off the car. I have no lights at all, I usually wear pretty much all black, I need to get that figured out ASAP before I take that thing out at night, that's unbelievably unsafe.

So yeah, I guess I'll gauge that as I go.

I had that kinda stuff lingering in my mind today. What do I even go and do to meet people? Where do I even go? I mean... eating out is so goddamn expensive. Like... I'm trying to envision it. Do I go to this American cuisine/bar place nearby and get dessert there for like a $12 slice of cheesecake that could fit in my palm, and just sit at the bar and eat that and hope the people nearby are even remotely similar to me? Do I go to this boardgame cafe and pay a $6 entry fee to... just kinda lurk around because it's supposed to be a place you bring a date or your friends to to play games together? Do I go to a trivia night at the bar up the street and sit in the corner and play by myself because I don't know anyone? Every one of these options sounds awkward as hell, and not worth the effort. At least with the skatepark, I have something I can actively do. I can embarrass myself in skating ways, instead of awkward loitering ways.

Since I was 17, I had a tool to smoothly escape awkward social situations, and to meet new people. It was called a cigarette. Not sure if you've heard of them, they're pretty rare nowadays. They're basically leaves from the tobacco plant that are dried, shredded and rolled in a tube of paper, with a synthetic fiber filter at the end. Like a joint, but with tobacco. Um... god, I feel like I'm losing the reader here... um... OH! Like a vape pen, but like... using the actual natural plant that the concentrated liquid is extracted from. Those things.

Last night, I was writing a comment to someone who was posting in an online smoking cessation support group I had been a part of off-and-on for like... 10 years. They had severe anxiety and panic disorder, they wanted to know if quitting was going to make their anxiety more severe. First... duh. Second... bro, there are much bigger things you need to worry about than 2 weeks of being super stressed out. I wrote a bunch and then deleted it, because... I've just been doing that a lot lately. I just... ugh. I feel like I'm going to get pounced on if I post anything at all on Reddit, it's such a fucking cesspool lately. Also, PTSD.

But I was writing about exactly this. How that person who has been smoking since they were 16 really needs to talk to their therapist pronto about developing some kinds of tools for a) stress management, b) getting out of social situations (stepping outside regularly), c) meeting new people (approaching and smoking with people), d) getting up and periodically moving throughout the day. If they are anything like me, these will be dramatic changes, and cigarettes become completely entwined with your life that way. The only way you get up and step outside? To smoke. Your reward for accomplishing something? Cigarette. Overwhelmed by a group event? Step outside and smoke. Wanna go somewhere more quiet? So does your cigarette. Hey look, some people smoking, I can casually approach them and ask them what they're up to, I fit in there.

Being crammed into "smoking areas" built a sense of comradery, which... for those of us who have an aversion towards extroversion... and try to respect peoples' boundaries to a paranoid degree... became a bit of a dependency for socializing. So... yeah. I'm feeling it big time. And I really, really wish weed could fill that void for me. I really do. And maybe someday it might. But right now? It just makes me feel like I'm sitting and chatting with a bunch of Russian spies or reptilians or organ harvesters, or whatever sci-fi bullshit my imagination is on that day.

But here's the sad part - which, I guess, is kind of a good part? I guess? I don't know anymore... - even if I said fuck it and picked up that insanely expensive habit again... I really don't think anyone around here fucking smokes anymore. I really don't see a lot of people out smoking, not even outside of bars. Not like it used to be. I smell tons of people smoking weed in their apartments, like... at least half of the apartments out of the 11 apartments between me and the mail room door. But I don't think people really smoke cigarettes as much anymore. Which, to me... honestly... is weird... since alcohol is like... clearly a much more dangerous substance, in pretty much every aspect I can think of, really. People just... don't like smoked substances. Kinda like they think skateboarding is dangerous when it's "loud", and then a bicycle flies by at twice the speed, with half the wheels, and is a giant pretzel of metal that could severely fuck up anyone it hits, and they barely bat an eye. That whole Karen syndrome, where science is simply a tool used to push an agenda.

But hey, after what happened last time they tried to get rid of booze? I don't blame them for never trying again. I guess smokers are bigger pushovers. It's easier to push around chronically depressed, anxious messes than it is to push around raging alcoholics. They are literally some of the most dangerous people on the planet, imo.

Have I made my case? XD

I honestly am not even sure I'd want to smoke again even if I did get those advantages back. I don't miss the shortness of breath. I don't miss the dizziness. I don't miss stinking all the time, despite it "covering up" other smells and providing me a sense of anti-anxious security. I just need to develop a habit similar to it.

What am I going to do? Go out to the parking lot and just... stand there for 5 minutes and look at my phone? Every 2 hours? Just approach people who are smoking and just sit with them and not smoke, just go "hi, I came out here to try to meet people the only way I remember how." Any options there that don't make me look creepy as shit?

Everywhere I look, every option is awkward as fuck!

Except for going to the skatepark. So... that's bumped to the top of the list. But now, it's 4:30, so I really gotta wrap things up here if I have any chance of making it tomorrow.

Lots of good work done today, and my orchid got watered, so no worries there. I'm so glad it's still doing well, I feel like I've had that thing for like... 2 months or so now. Still looks healthy, too!

#diary #journal #online journal #stream of consciousness #stream of thoughts

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denim-mixtapes · 2 years

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" Drawing small doodles in each other’s notebooks, when one day your friend writes ‘I like you’ " with Eddie?

I. Love. This. And I was hoping someone would ask for this one!!

Title: Written Confession Pairing: Eddie Munson/GN!Reader Word Count: 982 (Once again, LMAO)

The library is so quiet you can hear a pin drop, the silence encouraged and endorsed by the absolutely stereotypical woman behind the desk. She’s already shushed you and Eddie twice, and you fear that if she has to do so a third time she may actually drag you out by your ears, so you’ve resorted to scrawling notes in each other’s notebooks.

You’re at the community library working on the newest campaign for Hellfire, a homebrew campaign that Eddie admitted to biting off a little more than he can chew, so he recruited your help. You’ve been friends for a while, but only grew closer over the last year, after he cornered you after the school play and convinced you to join Hellfire.

“It’s practically the same as Drama!” He pleaded, “except you can write your own script! Come on, we need a Rogue!”

Something about his puppy dog eyes and the hopeful smile he sent you, tongue poking out between his teeth earnestly, made you agree. So here you are a year later, helping him write the backstory to his big bad evil vampire man. Granted, the writing came to a grinding halt about a half hour ago. Now you’re passing your designated DnD journal back and forth adding onto the same doodle line by line.

It started off as a mountain that you tried to draw to depict the vampire’s lair, but Eddie turned the squiggly line into an angry unibrow on the villain’s face, and you both kept adding onto it from there. The giggling from that is what resulted in your first violent shush-ing.

Eddie dramatically held a finger to his lips, holding back a snicker and pretending to shush you further.

Then, when you added a cape to the paper man, an addition that Eddie clearly did not agree with, he smacked the table, his heavy metal rings clattering loudly against the wood and his hair whipping around him as he shook his head and wagged a finger at you in disapproval.

This earns you another shush, and you giggle, whispering, “what? Capes are cool!”

Passing the book back and forth again, you scoot your chair closer to Eddie’s so you can both hunch over it at the same time. He flips to a new page, starting another collaborative doodle. You lean into each other, shaking with silent laughter at each new line or squiggle, and soon enough, your head is resting on his shoulder as you watch him color in the…pirate hat? Sure, the pirate hat on this current drawing.

He holds out the pencil to you, and you take it with a smile, unsure of what to add to the piece. You decide to write a message instead.

I like this…

Passing it back, you can practically hear the sarcasm in his voice when he writes out his own and draws an arrow pointing to the pirate.

yeah - hes a pretty cool dude

You roll your eyes and lift your head to look at him, scrunching your nose and shaking your head. He hasn’t offered the pencil back yet, so you reach out to pluck it from his fingers. He holds his hands up in defense, then motions to the paper with a ‘by all means…’ gesture.

Sure, but he’s cooler.

Your own arrow points to Eddie.

He puts on the dramatics, puffing his chest and faking a deep bow, his tongue poking between his teeth as he smiles and you try to hold back more laughter.

But he isn’t getting the hint. To be fair, you could be more forward, and maybe deciding to admit that your feelings are a little more than ‘friendly’ in a setting where you can’t speak wasn’t the best idea on your part, but now that you’ve started you really don’t want to stop or you’ll lose the nerve.

Eddie holds his hand out for the pencil, but you shake your head and scrawl out another note, punctuated with a little heart at the end.

I like YOU, Ed. Lots.

He stares at the paper for a minute too long, and you start to get nervous. Maybe you’ve read into things wrong, maybe he hugs everyone a little too long and lays his head in your lap at Hellfire in a totally platonic way…but then again, there’s color creeping up his neck, a redness touching the tips of his ears when he tucks his hair back, and he swallows thickly as he looks at the paper. His eyes flick up to meet yours, and you smile meekly, almost apologetically, and shrug.

He smiles back. It’s soft and unsure, but there’s an excitement in his eyes and he reaches out for the pencil.

Underneath your admission he draws two little letters, his initial and your own, and draws a heart around them. He taps the paper with the eraser with a note of finality, and the smile he was holding back breaks out fully across his face, wrinkling the corners of his eyes and baring his teeth.

You giggle out loud this time, unable to stop the loud, “for real?” from coming out of your mouth.

“For a while now, yeah.” He nods, his hand falling to your knee and squeezing with a laugh of his own. The sound of it is music to your ears, but its far too loud in the quiet room.

The librarian appears over his shoulder, her arms crossed and foot tapping. Eddie closes the book with a slam and throws it in his backpack. “Sorry ma’am,” he says, turning up the charm and holding a hand over his heart. He stands, reaching out to take your hand and pull you up with him, “We were just leaving!” He drags you out into the cool night air by your hand, both of you spouting excited laughter and a very annoyed librarian in your wake.

#drabble #eddie munson/reader #eddie munson/you #stranger things imagine #eddie munson imagine #stranger things reader insert #eddie munson reader insert #fluff #eddie drabble

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donaidk · 3 years

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Baby Badger Sequel - Daniel Ricciardo & Lando Norris

Final part to Baby Badger - at least until I have a big enough idea to get another done. It is about the heartbreak of Sochi, but with a happier ending? In a way? Thank you so much for the love on the 'second part' 🥺 Once again, you guys made my week/month with your reaction to the Prequel 🧡 Have a lovely US GP weekend, everyone!

🧡 Header by @x-lipstickstain-x 🧡

Baby Badger & Prequel & Hide&Seek

Masterlist | Taglist/Queue | Request

Taglist: @landhoe, @thinemineours, @chanandlersstuff

After we managed to fly out to the Monza GP and seemed to time our race visits perfectly to watch Dan win after so many years, there weren’t any questions about us attending Sochi as well. We got to enjoy the bliss of the Italian weekend for a whole week before we had to pack up again and travel to Russia. Of course no one was actually grumpy about travelling again, knowing well that the inconvenience of taking so many flights usually were worth it in the end. Even Ava seemed to understand that we had to get through a long flight to get to the enjoyable part of the weekend, letting us mostly rest on the plane and in the hotel afterwards. However, the minute we mentioned getting down to the paddock she always seemed to perk up, watching us argus-eyed until it was finally time to leave the boring room.

I mostly tried to contain her excitement in Dan’s driver room or our seat and to keep her calm every time we visited the garage. Fortunately, luck for once was on my side and she was tired enough to just stay with me or accompany Dan to a few team meetings and PR tasks, behaving like an angel every time. She turned out to be pretty camera shy, baffling both of us and everyone else around us. Probably all of us thought she would take up more of Dan’s personality, and even though there was a lot of him in her, somehow confidence in front of a camera wasn’t part of it. However, Ava was just as social as his Dad towards any and every person that we came across. Her current target of affection turned out to be Lando somehow, causing a few uncomfortable moments for the boy, as he didn’t really know how to react to the random leg hugs or act around her at first. Time seemed to fix their friendship, Lando slowly warmed up to her and even tried to sometimes play with her a little or at least anticipate her outbursts of love both towards him and her dad. As I think about, probably towards everyone in the team, though they were the main receivers.

The first two days in Sochi turned out to be close second to our weekend in Monza already, with Lando catching Pole in the last second and Dan keeping consistent with a P5 start for race day. The second the results were official the whole garage started buzzing with all the celebratory hugs going around while the TVs were still playing the last few seconds of Quali. The night seemed to fly by in a blink with everyone trying to celebrate another great team performance, but still kept it down and relaxed for the early start of Sunday. Ava seemed to pick up all the energy as well, either jumping around or being plastered to Dan’s side as he held her on his hip. We even had to pry her off of Lando’s leg a few times, although the Brit's smile gave it away that he didn’t really mind.

On race day we tried to let Daniel and the whole team concentrate, going to the track later than usual after a walk close to our hotel and a quick lunch. We still had enough time for a hug with Dan and high fives with the mechanics, before we had to go up to our seats. Even though she had her colourful pencils and coloring book, Ava was either bouncing on her chair or my lap until the cars finally appeared on the grid. Her focus seemed to shift immediately, standing as close to the glass wall as possible to see everything that happened. The McLaren colours were always easy to spot, even on an overcast day, as the papaya stood out from all the darker colours, helping Ava to spot both Dan and Lando easier. It was harder to tell which one of them was in the cars, the numbers on them much smaller, but usually it was enough to tell her if Dan was in the first or second orange machine.

We did the same for this race as well, discussing who was leading from the two of them every time they crossed the line. Although we would have loved to see Dan in the front I could still see excitement in Ava’s eyes as she watched Lando zip past every lap, fighting Carlos for the lead of the whole race. For the last 10 laps she managed to convince me to walk down to the garage, and watch the ending with the team, although we didn’t know what was awaiting us. By the time we got down they were already talking about rain, and looking outside we could easily spot the few droplets. I stood right next to Charlotte with a sigh, lifting Ava as well so she could see the screens over the mechanics’ heads.

I could feel the understandable tension in everyone as the cars started sliding while no one seemed to be pitting. Even by time Dan and Lewis decided to try their chances with a tyre change, Lando still stayed out and struggled the car around the track. As much as we were all happy for Daniel getting a well deserved 4th place, it didn’t cure the bitter aftertaste Lando’s misfortune left in us as he lost the lead and had to pit after almost finding the barrier a few times during one lap. Though the race ended, no one seemed able to really wrap their heads around the real outcome, stuck in their places as we all stared at the screen without a movement. Slowly everyone had to get ready to get on with the day while I just watched as the cameramen filmed mostly Lewis and everyone congratulating him.

I wanted to wait for Dan in the garage, knowing he would come to us first, giving us enough time to watch Lando go up to Lewis as well. Even though he accepted the hug and seemed happy for his colleague, everyone would have been able to tell it wasn’t with his whole heart. It probably wasn’t in one piece anymore either and I was pretty sure he was only looking forward to hiding away from all the eyes in his room. That’s exactly why we never got surprised that he didn’t show up in the garage with his team mate, rather choosing the hospitality building as his first destination.

While Ava asked to be held by Dan, in order to give him a hug finally, as soon as he showed up in the garage without his helmet, we both could see her eyes were searching for Lando as well. She usually got to share a quick hug with him as well, even though at first he was uncomfortable with being touched by anyone, and she seemed surprised by the change in their routine. We could only tell her that Lando is busy and she will have to wait to meet up with him as well. Luckily getting to watch the interviews from the sideline distracted Ava enough to stop asking questions every second, her eyes stuck on all the media workers and the drivers who answered their questions. I kept Ava off the ground, prefering to hold her than try and hold her back by her little hand. However, when she kept on wiggling and kicking me in the side continuously, I made the decision to finally set her down next to me.

She was just settling down when I could see Charlotte entering the media pen, Lando following her close behind with his head hanging low. My brain was way too slow to react in time, and by the second I reached out for Ava’s hand she already took off and was running towards the boy. The one person who probably needed time to settle and calm himself down. Not a toddler hanging onto him full force and throwing a fit at getting pulled away. I saw Dan popping up next to her, misunderstanding the situation and thinking Ava was running towards him, but he soon realised the plan was nowhere near his idea. He turned towards me confused, standing up from his crouching position, as I could only shake my head as well, seeing the determination in her steps. I didn’t even try to stop her, knowing it would just cause a meltdown and end up with her reaching the official goal anyways, but I stayed close to her making sure she was safe.

We both watched in half awe as Ava found her target and reached up a tiny hand, tugging on the usual black jean like pants that most of the McLaren employees wore on weekends. She was nowhere near using adult force but it was perfectly enough to make Lando break his conversation with Charlotte and look down at his legs. For a split second I thought he would be way too emotionally crushed by the events of the day to deal with Ava’s nonsense, my legs twitching to make me move closer and bring her away. However, the second Lando decided to crouch down to her level and force a smile onto his face I knew they would be fine. I couldn’t help my smile widening as Lando’s turned into a real one, his hand lifting up for a high five. A chuckle easily left my lips when I could see Ava’s much smaller palm meet his bigger one as they shared one last smile, Lando sending her back to me as they had to get on with the interviews.

" Do I deserve my hug now? " Dan asked her, leaning down to lift Ava up when she finally got back to us. She considered her answer for a second before shaking her head making us both gasp.

" Sad, hug. Happy, no hug. " She explained plainly, her finger playing with the team logo on Daniel's hoodie. My eyes were even wider after her answer as my hand flew in front of my mouth to keep my laughter down at Dan's smile fading away.It always felt amazing to watch such a tiny human match her dad's energy and give him a hard time for a few minutes. It felt like he was finally getting a taste of his own medicine.

" But I will be sad too if I don’t get a hug. " He exclaimed, a pout forming on his lips but never really representing his mood. As much as he was living for all the affection coming from Ava, we both knew she was the one deciding if she wanted to give it to us in the moment or not. She may be a kid but she could still decide if she felt like hugging another person. " Thank you. I'm now the happiest person here. " Daniel let out a chuckle as Ava's arms flew up around his neck and he even got a kiss on his cheek as compensation for the big wait.

In the end Daniel decided to take Ava with himself for the debrief as the little girl didn’t seem ready to let go of him any time soon. It wasn’t her first appearance during a debrief and knew quite well how she couldn’t distract her dad while they were that. I usually still went with them as a precaution to get her settled if she started distracting people, but we never had to take her out of the room before. This occasion wasn’t any different as she seemed to settle down right next to Dan with some paper and pencils, drawing something while the team discussed every aspect of the race. Seeing how she behaved I could also concentrate on the book I brought with myself, only looking up when Lando entered the room as well. I watched as he plopped down in a chair, putting the headset onto his ears and just trying to concentrate as best as he could.

Just a few minutes later Ava left her own place, coming to me asking for some scissors while showing me the drawing she has worked on for the past half an hour. I couldn’t help the smile that got onto my face the moment I saw the medal she made and could only hope no one was paying attention or realising what was going on. It wasn’t even a question that we went to search the hospitality for the scissors we needed and pretty soon succeeded. By the time Ava entered the room again she already had the cut out paper medal in her hands as she ran to the empty chair right next to Lando. He was pretty engrossed by all the printed out data and the computer screens but Ava waited patiently until people focused on Dan and he could finally look down at her.

It took a few seconds for his reaction to arrive but the smile we could see appear on his face was worth the time I held my breath for. Without a moment of hesitation he let Ava jankily put it around his neck and immediately looked down at it. The drawing was pretty similar to Dan’s Sprint Race medal, the one she probably got the idea from, but Lando didn’t seem to mind one bit. It may have not healed all the scars today caused, but I was glad we could see Lando smile once again and got to witness him loosening up for the first time since he exited his car. It was a step towards getting over the heartbreak and looking forward to the following chances, rather than eating himself up about one race that went wrong. The first step towards the right way of going about it all.

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jediken0bi · 4 years

Text

The Lucky One

Spencer Reid x Reader

Summary:

Spencer has always been good at keeping secrets. This secret just so happens to walk into the BAU to bring him his lunch. The team, supportive as ever, decides to tease him a little and Derek learns a little lesson about making assumptions.

word count: 2763

You and Spencer have only been officially dating for about 3 Months.

3 Months, 4 days and 13 hours you hear a voice inside your head. One that sounds suspiciously like Spencers.

You let out a small giggle before shaking your head slightly.

Things couldn't be better between the two of you. You guys had spare keys to the other persons apartment and while that might seem like a rush move for a lot of people you two have agreed that this is the easiest way to maximize your time together. So more often than not, you were staying over at each other's apartment.

You were currently on your way to bring him his lunch since he was in a rush this morning and forgot to take it.

Nothing new to either of you. He often tends to leave his lunch at home only to realize it when he's already on his break resulting in him usually buying himself a cheap sandwich or skipping lunch all together. You decided that, for once, he deserved to have a proper meal. He's been working a lot of overtime lately and it's starting to take a toll on him. On both of you really. He was constantly exhausted and you had to watch him work himself into over drive. Ever since the Hankle case, he's been scared to let even the smallest details go unnoticed which meant that he often spend much longer than the rest of the team on studying the files and trying to solve cases at the speed of light. It's something the team has noticed too over the last couple of weeks. They've been trying to get him to go out with them more often to take his mind off things but he usually rejects them by coming up with some fake excuse.

The reality was that he usually wanted to come straight home to you. He told you the reason he hasn't told the team about you two yet is their constant meddling and involvement in his life. He loves them all dearly and he wouldn't change a thing about either of them, but this was his and his only. He wasn't quite ready to give up the only thing he didn't have to share with anyone. He wanted you all to himself for as long as possible and while you can admit that you were skeptical at first, it's fair to say that you've come to understand Spencers point of view a lot better since then.

So, while you knew all about his team, they knew nothing about you. It didn't offend you though. You are confident that you and Spencer are in this for the long run.

Of course you were slightly worried about running into one of them while bringing him his lunch but that's a risk you were willing to take if it meant that Spencer didn't have to spend another day hungry and exhausted. It's not likely for him to get mad at you if it were to happen anyway. He keeps making small remarks to test the waters.

At this point, he might be scared you don't want to meet his team by the way he's tip toeing around the subject.

Finally arriving at the big scary FBI building you walk inside with caution.

Logically speaking the FBI is the last place you should feel scared to be at, but you can't help but think that this is probably the most intimidating place in the U.S. All those important people in their suits and pencil skirts and their stone cold expressions made you question how Spencer could be so different.

Before you could finish that thought you pass the security check and run straight into someone else on your way to the elevator.

You couldn't get a word out before said person started talking.

"Oh my god i am so sorry, gorgeous! I'm usually more coordinated than this i swear. It's just been a very stressful morning and now i've made yours worse by bumping into you-"

You smile widely as you realize who you must be talking to.

Tech Genius Penelope Garcia

"It's completely fine honestly! It was totally my fault anyway. It's my first time here and i'm a bit nervous"

You felt a bit rude interrupting her but based on the things Spencer told you about her this apology would've went on for at least another two minutes and you would much rather spend that elevator ride having a conversation with her.

After all, she was the BAU sunshine.

And bright she is with her colorful clothes and awesome glasses you think to yourself in that very moment.

It was a nice change of scenery after hushing around serious looking people before.

"Well, looks like we were both a bit dazzled just then! First time huh? Yeah there's definitely something scary about this place. What's a pretty gal like you doing here on a saturday morning? Oh! Are you visiting someone special?", Garcia says in a excited tone before quickly pressing the button taking you two up to the BAU floor.

You were grateful for that because it meant you didn't have to explain why you had to go to that floor too. Of course Penelope was way too hyper to realize i hadn't pressed another button in that moment so i quickly answered her to draw her attention to something else.

"Yeah, i am. I'm bringing my boyfriend his lunch. He hasn't been taking care of himself recently and i want him to at least have a proper meal in his stomach"

Garcia smiled at you with a small nod.

"That's so cute! He is lucky to have you, sweetie. I'm Penelope Garcia by the way!"

She extends her hand and you immediately shake it with a small smile playing on your lips

"I'm Y/N. Very nice to meet you, Penelope"

Not 3 seconds later the elevator doors open and you follow Garcia out of it and straight into the bullpen.

You didn't make it very far before a guy you strongly assume to be the infamous Derek Morgan approached Garcia and, by proximity, you.

"Now that's what you wanna see first thing in the morning! How is my Babygirl?"

Yep, definitely Morgan

"Infinitely better now that i've seen you, hot stuff" says Penelope without even having to think about it.

You can't help but snort at how adorable their friendship is. They're so comfortable with each other.

Derek looks past Garcia and straight at you with curious eyes.

"Well hello mamas. Who do we have here?"

Garcia turns around and has a surprised look on her face when she finally notices you behind her.

"Y/N! I thought you were on your way to meet your boyfriend for lunch?"

I opened my mouth to explain why exactly i was there but Derek beat me to it.

"Now why don't we just forget about that boyfriend and you let me take you out for lunch instead?"

Penelope hits him in the shoulder and i just laugh. Derek looks at me smugly and raises his eyebrows as a way of asking 'What do you say?'

You're tempted to just straight up tell him who you're here for to save everyone from a potentially awkward situation but just as you start talking you see Spencer sitting at his desk focused on his paperwork.

You make the quick decision to simply show Derek instead.

Without saying another word you simply walk past him with a big smile and head towards your destination.

"Hey handsome"

Spencers head shoots up as soon as he hears the familiar sound of your voice. He stares at you with wide eyes. He's clearly shocked to see you and you don't blame him. You just hope he's happy to see you.

"Y/N! What are you doing here?"

Now, if it had been anyone else you're sure this would've sounded rude, but you know Spencer so you know he doesn't mean for it to sound accusing. He's genuinely wondering.

You put on a playful pout.

"Is that a way to talk to the wonderful person who came all the way to the fbi to bring you lunch?"

Spencer finally stands up and looks down on the bag in your hand. He smiles and suddenly it's like he's at home with you. No one else around.

He walks up to you and wraps his arms around your waist.

"No, of course not. Thank you, beautiful"

He presses a small but firm kiss to your waiting lips and you smile up at him.

"You're welcome. I know work has been rough and i thought maybe a proper lunch could make up for some of it. I know it's not a lot and it doesn't cure the bad thoughts but you should know that i made today's lunch with an extra amount of love"

You joke.

You push one of his curls out of his eyes so you can properly look at him. He was already gone by the time you woke up so this is the first you're seeing of him today. He looks tired. Exhausted. And it's breaking your heart.

He gives you a smile that reaches his eyes. The first one in days. There's a feeling of pride blooming inside of you.

"How could i say no to some extra lovin'?"

Your eyes immediately widen and a blush creeps up your face.

"Spence!" You hit his shoulder and he tumbles back a tiny bit, laughing.

"I'm sorry, love. I really am grateful for this. You didn't have to do this"

It's only then that you realize you're not in the confide space of your apartments. You're in the bullpen of the BAU surrounded by Spencers friends and second family.

Spencer seems to realize that too because he suddenly let's go of you and clears his throat.

Confused about what just happened you turn around to spot Derek, Penelope and two women who you assume must be JJ and Emily staring at you with wide unbelieving eyes.

"There ain't no way. Pretty boy!! My man!"

Derek breaks out of his shock first and proudly points between the two of you.

Garcia doesn't waste a second following his example

"Reid is the boyfriend who hasn't been taking care of himself?!"

"What?" JJ, Emily and Spencer all ask at the time.

You can't help but laugh out loud at the absurd situation you got yourself in.

You turn around to look at Spencer. One hand grabbing his chin so he looks at you.

"Yeah, that would be him"

Spencer goes beet red immediately and the team goes wild.

You only smile wider at him and he pulls you back against his chest, wrapping one of his arms back around your waist. He goes to hide his embarrassment by burying his face in your shoulder.

He hates being the center of attention especially when it comes to his team.

"Spence, i didn't know you were seeing someone! How come you hid her from us?"

JJ asks him all excited. She was clearly happy her best friend has finally found someone he loves and trusts.

Spencer grumbles and lifts his head to look at his team.

"I wasn't hiding her! I just wanted something for myself for a little while. We're all up in each others business all the time and i love you guys but it was nice not having to share this part of my life with everyone for a bit. JJ, you did the same when you started dating Will!"

The team looks at each other for a moment and suddenly they all nod understandingly

"Fair enough" they all say.

Spencer hums approvingly and you just smile at the scene before you.

That wasn't that bad! I don't even know what i was afraid of

You were about to bid your goodbyes to the team and Spence so they could get back to work when Dereks next comment urges you to stay for a little while longer.

"Now Reid don't get me wrong but how the hell did you land a smoke show like this? No disrespect kid but i admittedly tried to flirt with her before i knew who she was"

Spencer smiles uncomfortably and shifts from one foot to the other.

"I don't know i guess i was just being myself? I saw her in my favorite book store one day and i just asked her out. Unusual for me, sure, but it's like i didn't have to be afraid with her. I don't know that probably sounds weird"

Your eyes soften and you lay your hand on top of Spencers on your waist. You turn your head a little to press a small kiss to his cheek.

"It doesn't sound weird, Spence. I'm glad you asked me out. I wanted to ask you but i couldn't bring myself to build up the courage. I think you're brave for taking a risk but trust me there was no way i was going to say no to you"

Emily, JJ and Penelope all seemed to melt over the cute interaction between you two but Dereks focus was somewhere else.

He didn't mean any harm you're absolutely sure about that. Maybe it's your instinct to protect Spencer or maybe it's your way of showing him exactly what he's worth but you can't find yourself feeling sorry for what happens next.

"Hold on, you were scared to ask him out? Pretty Ricky over here intimidated you? That's got to be a first"

He laughs with no real malice behind his voice. He's just joking around after all.

Spencer looks down in slight embarrassment at his friends teasing and you decide that now is the time to show them exactly what kind of girlfriend you are.

"I'm not sure we're looking at the same person here Derek because when i was at that bookstore creepily drooling over this hot as hell 6'3 doctor with great taste in literature i knew i had to ask him out. He's the kind of man you want to spend your life with. Not some cheap fling or meaningless 2 week dating experiment. I knew that, once i had him, i was going to hold on to him. So yeah, i was intimidated. It was like staring into your future and i was scared of messing it up. I've never been happier than i am now with Spencer"

Spencer stayed silent the entire time only pressing you closer to him. Once you're finished talking he presses a long firm kiss to your head.

"It's okay. I know, love. Me too"

He whispers loud enough so you could hear it but not loud enough for the rest of the team to hear.

"Woah little mama i meant no offense! I don't call him pretty boy for nothing. I'm just playing with y'all. I love the kid and i'm happy you two have found each other"

He smiles warmly at you and you give him a smile in return.

"I know you didn't. Spence told me all about you guys. I just don't like it when people make assumptions about my relationship with him. Because if anything, i'm the lucky one.

Spencer snorts and you lightly elbow him in the stomach with a grin on your face. You both look at each other with a glint in your eyes

"Agree to disagree" you both say at the same time. It's kind of become your thing. This isn't the first time that debate has been discussed between you two.

"Oh my god they're total nerds in love. Love Nerds!"

Penelope says in a squeaky voice.

You all laugh at her enthusiasm and you turn around to look at your boyfriend once more.

"I better get going. I didn't mean to stay this long anyway. I'll see you tonight? Your place? I'll order us some chinese"

Spencer takes your hand in his and nods with a smile.

"Yeah i'll be there"

You grin and lean up to kiss him goodbye. Seconds before your lips meet you whisper

"You better be. I'm planning on cashing in that promise for some extra lovin' tonight"

You finally press a kiss to lips and turn around as he turns bright red.

"Y/N!!"

You laugh loudly.

"Two can play this game baby!"

You're practically running out of there to avoid any further questioning from his team. All you hear is a chorus of laughter and Spencers embarrassed voice as he tells them to shut up

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid imagines #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid #criminal minds #criminal minds imagines #criminal minds imagine #reader insert

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forrests-waterfall · 3 years

Note

Hello! Ik someone’s asked you before but I reallyyyy liked the Dynamic between them both sooooo I’d like to request regressor Tommy and caregiver Technoblade oneshot please ! Maybe something like he hasn’t regressed in a month and techno is worried about him and baby’s him! :3 thank ya <3

Little!Tommy and CG!Technoblade

A/N ;; To be honest, I’m not a fan of how I wrote this. I don’t know what it is about it that needs to be fixed either pfft. So I hope this is at least alright!!

CW/TW ;; Small mentions of Tommy’s exile, the pet names bubs, baby boy, and Toms being used. Also very very small mentions of pushing back headspace.

"Tech I'm home!" Tommy shivered from the outside cold as the door shut behind him. He had gone out to get some materials but had forgotten his jacket (aside from the one he was wearing already), so the trip was a short one.

He didn't need a lot anyway, pretty much anything he needed the other had. After taking his sweater off due to the now warm temperature in the house, he looked up the latter. Techno hadn't replied to his--you could say announcement of him being home.

He raised an eyebrow in confusion, sure the other didn't say a lot when Tommy got home but there was at least an "alright" or a hum of acknowledgment. And it wasn't a big deal of course, he was just used to it he supposed.

He placed himself on the latter and climbed up quickly, wanting to see what the other was doing. Maybe Techno was just making potions again and was too concentrated in doing so. That would make sense, Techno was almost always doing something work related.

He hopped onto the next floor and looked at the other. Techno wasn't making potions but he was sitting on a table reading a book. Must be another history book, what was it that Techno liked? Greek mythology? "Hey, Tommy"

The younger smiled at the greeting, "what you readin'? Nerd stuff again I assume?" Tommy hopped onto the table and sat next to the other with his legs crossed.

Tommy actually enjoyed listening to Techno talk about stories and all kinds of other stuff, though knowing Tommy he'd never admit to it. It was just something about the way Techno spoke about it all, it had him intrigued him and he couldn't help but listen.

"Yes Tommy, nerd stuff" he turned the page and began reading along the lines of words again. Silence went between the two, Tommy sometimes peeking over Techno's shoulder to look at the page he was on.

It was obviously an old book as some parts of the pages were stained though not enough to make it illegible. Tommy sighed as he looked away from the nonfiction/fiction (depends on what the person believed).

He hadn't realized how tired he was until he sat down, not only from the trip but he also didn't get much sleep the past week or two. It had only been around one to two months since Tommy moved in with Techno, which meant it was only one to two months since he got away from Dream.

Just thinking about it made him want to curl up and go into his safe place. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't regressed in quite a bit. He either didn't have time to do it or just got scared about doing so. He didn't get to regress much at all during exile unless it was right before bed. Dream was just always there which made it a whole lot more difficult.

The blond knew that this was a safe place for him, Techno wouldn't judge him. Hell, Techno was his caregiver. Though Tommy didn't need anyone to take care of him--he was a big man, not a child!

He hadn't even noticed he was chewing on his fingers while thinking, though the other had seen a bit ago but didn't want to question it right away. "Toms?" Tommy internally smiled at the simple nickname, Techno had started calling him that in little space originally but it became an all the time thing.

Honestly, tommy didn't mind. "Mm?" Tommy hummed in response, wanting to know what the other's question was.

Tommy's legs dropped from the edge of the table and began to swing, Tommy couldn't stand sitting still, and it didn't help he was starting to feel small. Techno stopped what he was doing and placed the book down.

"Are you little right now, Toms?" Techno's voice became much softer than earlier, Tommy immediately noticed that the other was using the tone he typically used when Tommy was in little space.

"No" Tommy shook his head in response. He wasn't little, he was just quiet. That's all.

Techno didn't believe the response he got, Tommy never really liked admitting that he was feeling small and the caregiver was more than aware of that.

"You don't have to lie to me, baby boy. It's okay to be little, I've noticed you haven't been for quite some time now" Techno knew how to make Tommy feel smaller, and Tommy wasn't necessarily complaining.

The blond huffed as he crossed his arms, looking a different direction rather than at Techno. The older hopped off the desk and took a step away, "whatever, I guess I'll just go color by myself in these new coloring books I bought" the pinkette's playfully added as he began to take a few steps away.

Tommy perked up, new coloring books? He wanted to color! Plus they were new, maybe he'd give in to Techno. "I wan color!" Techno went back over to the little, "oh really?" Tommy nodded excitedly, he wanted to see the new coloring books! He wanted to try and color inside the lines! Techno picked the little up and sat him on his waist, "okay fine, if you say so!"

————————

"What color pencil do you want?" "Blue!" he handed the blue pencil to Tommy and watched him color whatever he was coloring.

It had been a good hour since Tommy got home, which was around 10pm. Techno checked the time to see it was now 11, which was pretty late for the other. Tommy's usual bed time when in little space was usually 9pm, though today was a bit of an exception.

Even if an exception, again it was still late and he couldn't let the little stay up much longer. He could tell Tommy wasn't getting enough sleep anyway by the purple bags under the blond's eyes. Not to mention the little has been acting tired the past few days now.

"Wha you thinkin' about, Tech?" Tommy stopped Techno from thinking any further into it, "nothing Toms, you don't have to worry about it" Techno ruffled the other's hair which resulted in a pout. "Otay" he extended his Y as he went back to coloring, "need red p'ease".

Techno handed him the wooden coloring tool, "Tha purple!" Tommy giggled--the hybrid looking at the pencil and sighed, he handed Tommy the correct one this time.

Looking back at the time, it was now 11:13pm. Techno could also tell that the other was getting sleepier, with the constant rubbing of his eyes and yawns coming from him.

"Maybe we should head to bed, bubs" Tommy surprisingly didn't refute against it, he was done with his coloring page and couldn't think of anything to do.

He sat himself up and made grabby hands at his caregiver. This resulted in the hybrid cooing as he lifted the little and rested him on his waist like earlier. He carefully went down the latter, making sure not to drop the little just in case he decided to move.

Once in Tommy's room, he set him down on his bed and covered him with the red blanket the little had. Tommy grabbed ahold of a sheep plush he owned and hugged it to his chest, "Ghost!" he giggled while continuing to cuddle with the stuffed animal.

"Sippy or baba today, Toms?" the little responded by lifting up a single finger, which silently told techno he wanted a sippy cup.

Techno went back up a couple rooms, fetched a red and white sippy cup and filled it with apple juice. Tommy had preferred to drink some type of juice before bed rather than milk.

The hybrid went back to the little's room and handed him the cup filled with juice. Tommy smiled and took ahold of the cup and began drinking it.

"You want me to read you a bedtime story, bubs?" the other took the top of the cup out of his mouth and nodded excitedly. Techno had many and many stories memorized, so usually a book wasn't needed. He sat down beside the little and began thinking. "A'tena!" Tommy smiled and set his plush down beside himself. "You want to hear about a Greek God?" Techno was double checking just in case they weren't talking about the same person.

The little clapped excitedly with a couple nods, "okay settle down," Tommy nodded one last time before he stopped and began to listen. "where do I begin.." The caregiver began to think, not wanting to make this boring for the other. "Wha she do?" Tommy tilted his head slightly to the side while letting out a yawn. Techno believed he understood was Tommy had asked and cleared out his throat as Tommy snuggled into his caregiver's side.

"Well, Athena protected a city long long ago called..."

#ohhh I hate how this turned out ack #well what can you do #age regression #agere #mcyt agere #mcyt age regression #sfw agere #dream smp #dream smp age regression #dream smp agere #mcyt #caregiver technoblade #CG Technoblade #little tommy #DSMP agere #dsmp age regression

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viastro · 4 years

Text

euphoria | yoon jeonghan

ミ★ synopsis: in which you fail to greet your best friend happy birthday right at the stroke of midnight.

ミ★ genre: best friends to lovers!au, slice of life, fluff, some humor

ミ★ warnings: none !

ミ★ word count: 3,324

ミ★ pairings: jeonghan x female reader

ミ★ notes: this is a bit late !! but i wrote this fluffy oneshot in honor of our angel’s birthday, yoon jeonghan! i hope you guys enjoy it <3

Jeonghan’s been your best friend from the moment the two of you entered high school and got paired up to introduce each other to your class. He was still losing the baby fat in his face, and you were both around the same height. It was just the two of you against the world at that time, you’re unsure of what you would do if Jeonghan wasn’t in your life. You blossomed earlier than Jeonghan, growing into your features and knowing what flatters you and what doesn’t.

Things changed once the two of you entered university. Jeonghan had a growth spurt, now a whole head taller than you. The baby fat in his cheeks now long gone, sharp cheekbones now replacing it. Sometimes you miss his bread cheeks, you used to just spend your time squishing his face to tease him. His fashion sense improved immensely as well, perhaps it’s because of the kdramas you forced him to watch with you. His long hair was also cut short and dyed a beautiful shade of lavender. It was blonde at first, but one night you told him that your favorite color was lavender.

He showed up at your house a week later with lavender hair.

That happened to be the week that you realized you were in love with him as well.

Jeonghan gained a lot of attention at your university, getting multiple confessions and handmade chocolates whenever it was Valentine’s day. You would walk across campus and see your lavender haired best friend surrounded by men and women attempting to get the pretty boy’s attention.

You learned to steer clear of Jeonghan on Valentine’s day for the sake of you not losing an arm. He understood though, as he would later come to your dorm and the two of you would eat the chocolates together. One time in your guys’ second year of uni he asked you why you never made him chocolates on Valentine’s day.

“When will you confess your love for me, mm?” Jeonghan asks you with a hint of a smirk on his face. You have come to realize that Jeonghan dying his hair black made him look more intimidating rather than soft. So the warmth rushing to your cheeks isn’t that surprising to you based on this discovery. However, you’re still silently cursing the Gods for making your best friend incredibly handsome. You decide to play along with Jeonghan, because two can play at this game. Leaning in closer to his face, his eyes widen slightly at the sudden close proximity, “Yn?”

You smile at the fact that you were able to make him flustered, popping one of the chocolates into your mouth before leaning back. The sweetness of the chocolate floods your taste buds, and you send a wink to a now flabbergasted Jeonghan.

“I can’t cook, Jeonghan.”

You and Jeonghan never thought that your duo would later become a group of fourteen people. However, you meet a lot of new people in college. So you and Jeonghan expanding your friend group in your second year of uni should not be this surprising, but it was. Considering the fact that you’re now surrounded by thirteen handsome men on campus.

It’s more of a pain on Valentine’s day now.

However, you strongly believe that Jeonghan’s birthday might be one of the worst days to spend on campus. With gift, after gift being thrown at him and almost everyone wanting his attention. It’s exhausting, which is why you typically avoid him on campus on his birthday as well.

Today is that cursed day.

“Happy birthday, Jeonghan!”

“Jeonghan I got you this sweater!”

“Jeonghan!”

You glance up from your journal to see your recently dyed blonde haired best friend getting crowded around by everyone, and you squint at the sight. Turning away from the view, you attempt to try and continue drawing a photo of the fruit your art class was assigned to draw. You’re not even an art major, but you wanted to take the class for the sake of having a calming course among your STEM classes.

However, as you continue to try and draw the apple, you realize that art class isn’t as calming as you originally thought it would be. You set down your pencil and tilt your head at the fact that your apple looks more like a grotesque raccoon. “How the fuck-”

Mingyu walks down the stairs and into the square in plans of going to visit Jeonghan. Only to pause and grimace at the sight of Jeonghan trying to move past the crowd with Joshua at his side, and soon decides that he’d much rather greet his friend a happy birthday! later.

Mingyu looks around until he finds you sitting at one of the tables in the square, and he lets out a chuckle at the disgusted look on your face. He walks up and settles down beside you, causing you to glance up and immediately let out a smile.

“Mingyu!”

“Yn! Have you greeted Jeonghan yet?” Mingyu asks, and you shake your head as you close your journal and place it back into your backpack. You turn your head and look over to see Jeonghan and Joshua finally escaping through the crowd and running out of the square, gifts in hand as they do so.

“Where do we go?!” Joshua asks hurriedly as they sprint, and Jeonghan gasps for air before responding with,

“Up your ass!”

“The FUCK!”

You chuckle at the duo once they’re now out of sight, “Ah, they finally escaped.”

“Can’t believe he gets that many gifts on his birthday from people he’s only spoken a word to.” Mingyu says with an amused smile on your face, and you lean back, squinting at the tall man. He turns and glances at you, eyes widening slightly at the expression on your face. “What?”

You reach out and bonk his head, and Mingyu lets out a whine, patting the area you hit him. He pouts at you, “Why did you hit me!?”

“Cause you also get that many gifts on your birthday! Must I remind you that the thirteen of you are literal heart throbs on campus?” You exclaim, and Mingyu lets out a giggle. “Ah, right.”

Rolling your eyes, you open your mouth to scold him some more, only to pause when your phone vibrates on the table. Turning your head you glance at the screen, seeing a text message from the man of the hour.

jeongjeongie: you didn’t greet me today D:<

shiT THEY’RE GONNA GET M

“Ooo~ someone’s in trouble. You always greet him at midnight, what happened?” Mingyu asks, and you roll your eyes at the message. You turn off your phone before letting out a sigh, looking up at the blue sky.

“I wanted to change it up this year. We’re going to hangout tonight anyways, he’s just being a big baby.” You mutter, a hint of a smile on your face when you turn back towards Mingyu. He chuckles, nodding his head in agreement with the last part of your sentence. He tilts his head at you after a moment, and you mimic the action. “Mm?”

Mingyu shrugs, resting his chin in the palm of his hand, “You finally gonna confess as a 22nd birthday present?”

You sputter and immediately bonk Mingyu’s head again, resulting in a lot of whines and you having to pat his head in apology for hitting him too hard. You shoot him a glare after making sure he’s okay, and Mingyu squints back at you.

“Based on your reaction, I think I was right.” Mingyu grumbles, and he watches as your eyes turn into slits. You pout and look away, muttering to yourself, “Was it that obvious?”

The two of you sit in silence for a moment, before Mingyu’s eyes widen and he gasps, turning back towards you. You glance at the latter, seeing him gaping at you.

“What?”

“DEADASS?!” Mingyu asks loudly, and you raise a finger to your mouth, shushing him for being so loud. You’re sure that you must’ve gained the attention of some of Jeonghan’s admirers based on Mingyu’s volume. “Shut up!”

“I was just joking! I knew that you loved him but I didn’t think you were ever going to confess!” Mingyu whisper-shouts and you cover your face with your hands. You peek at him through your fingers to see him still staring at you in shock, and before you know it, the blush takes over your features.

“Were my feelings that obvious?” You ask, and Mingyu nods his head as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. “Based on the fact that the two of you stare at each other as if you’re the only ones in the room, I’d say it’s obvious to us. Maybe not to you guys though.”

You purse your lips, letting out a tired sigh at the fact that maybe, just maybe, Mingyu is right. He lets out a laugh at your defeated expression, reaching out and patting the top of your head fondly.

“It’s cute, yn. Don’t worry. It’ll be better than any gift Jeonghan could’ve received from his admirers.”

“Can’t believe she didn’t greet me.” Jeonghan grumbles as he walks up to his apartment, putting in his password into the doorknob. It’s now 10 pm at night, and he’s just now getting back from his birthday dinner with his friends. His arms are tired from holding all the gifts he received, and he’s also petty at the fact that you haven’t greeted him.

Once the door unlocks, he steps in and turns on the lights, only to get blasted in the face with confetti.

“What the fu-”

“Happy birthday, Hannie!” You greet with a big smile on your face, and Jeonghan squints at you once all the confetti falls to the floor. You tilt your head to the side, and he reaches out, flicking your forehead before stepping past you. You let out a whine and follow after him, “Bitch! That hurt!”

“My heart hurts, ya know? Cause my best friend in the whole wide world didn’t greet me with a happy birthday at midnight!” Jeonghan exclaims as he sets the numerous gifts onto the floor. You giggle as you follow after him, finding satisfaction in his reaction. He glares when he hears your giggle, putting up his overcoat onto a hanger and shoving it into the coat closet. He turns back towards you, finding that endearing smile on your face again. “You think my pain is funny?”

“Let me show you what I prepared for your birthday.” You tell him, reaching your hand out towards the blonde. Jeonghan purses his lips, letting out a sigh in defeat when you pout at him. He intertwines his fingers with yours, and you grin excitedly, pulling him out towards his balcony. Jeonghan lets out a whine in protest, “Yn! It’s cold and I just took off my coat-”

You push the curtains away and open the sliding door, the rest of Jeonghan’s complaint dying in his throat once he sees what you’ve prepared. You’ve essentially created a pillow fort on his balcony, with a lantern underneath the blanket and numerous pillows and snacks. You smile, gesturing towards your creation, “Tada!”

Jeonghan glances down at his feet, feeling a bit emotional at the fact that you prepared this for his birthday. He didn’t think that you remembered the time he sleepily told you that he misses when the two of you made pillow forts, but he should’ve known that you would.

“Look! I even brought my laptop so that we can watch movies like before too. Am I great, or am I great?” You ask excitedly, and Jeonghan finally smiles softly at you. You open your mouth to explain all the snacks you bought as well, only to get cut off when Jeonghan pulls you to him in a warm embrace, nuzzling his head into your hair. You close your eyes, wrapping your arms around his waist with a smile gracing your features.

“Thank you, it almost makes up for you not greeting me first this year.” Jeonghan mutters after a moment, and you laugh, pushing him away as he giggles. You point towards the pillow fort, “Are we gonna go in and watch movies or what?”

Jeonghan smiles, nodding his head and stepping out of his apartment and onto the balcony. He crawls into the makeshift fort, looking around at the materials you used to make the comforter stay in position. He raises an eyebrow at the sight of the fairy lights above him that are not turned on, and you grin.

“Oh yeah, this is gonna be magical.” You tell Jeonghan, and he glances down at you right as you press the switch that turns on the lights. His breath gets caught in his throat when you turn and smile at him, the fairy lights casting a glow over your features that make you look absolutely ethereal.

You begin to explain how much of a pain it was for you to set up the fort as you open up the snacks and turn on your laptop. However, Jeonghan is hardly listening due to the numerous thoughts running through his head. You take note of his silence after you ask what movie he wants to watch, and turn your head to see Jeonghan just staring at you as if he saw a ghost.

You raise an eyebrow at the blonde, reaching out and waving your hand across his face. He finally blinks and you let out a laugh at the expression on your face, “Are you okay? You froze for a second, it was as if I was in a zoom call.”

“Oh! Yeah, sorry. I just spaced out for a sec.” Jeonghan says as an excuse, and you nod your head, not questioning it. However, the hint of a smile graces your features at the fact that you caught him staring at you. You point to your laptop screen to change the subject, “What movie do you wanna watch, birthday boy?”

Jeonghan purses his lips as he scrolls through the numerous options, before finally deciding on The Greatest Showman. You clap your hands, obviously pleased with the choice as you turn it on. Settling back into the pillows, you pull one of the blankets over both you and Jeonghan’s legs. You hand him the chips you bought, and the two of you eat quietly and make some commentary as you watch the movie.

It’s halfway through when you begin to feel tired, having stayed up the night before unable to sleep due to the thought that Jeonghan could possibly reject your kiss. Jeonghan notices as you’ve become more quiet, and he turns his head to see you struggling to keep your eyes open. He smiles at this, reaching out and patting your head.

“Yn.” Jeonghan begins causing you to wake up a bit. You turn your head to see the blonde staring at you, and you feel heat rush to your cheeks at how pretty he looks. With his blonde hair soft and curly, framing his face nicely.

You’ve decided that blonde makes Jeonghan look like an angel, even though he’s anything but.

“Why did you not greet me at midnight?” Jeonghan asks, and you smile sleepily at him. You reach out and pat his cheek, closing your eyes, “I just wanted to be the last one to greet you this year. Best for last, am I right?”

Jeonghan stares at you in silence for a moment, before letting out a laugh. He shakes his head, realizing just how you that is. You let out a yawn, gesturing for him to lean over towards you. Jeonghan raises an eyebrow at the action, seeing that your eyes are still closed. “Mm?”

You mutter quietly, “Come closer, I need to give you your gift before I fall asleep.”

Jeonghan chuckles fondly when you open your eyes. He finds your sleepy expression to be incredibly endearing. He leans close towards you, ignoring the way heat is rushing to his cheeks at the close proximity between your faces. “Why did I need to come close to get my gift-”

You press your lips to his quickly before pulling away, blush prominent on your cheeks as you try and avoid looking at Jeonghan’s face. You turn away and close your eyes, cuddling the pillow close to your chest.

Jeonghan gawks at you, and he slowly raises a hand to his lips. He watches your shoulders rise and fall, and he internally screams at the fact that you just kissed him. You, his best friend, his person. The one who he dreamt of marrying. After a moment of going feral, he reaches out and rests a hand on your shoulder. “Yn, how long have you had feelings for me?”

You turn back over and see Jeonghan staring at you with a furious blush to his cheeks. He turns his head when he realizes the movie is still playing and presses the spacebar, promptly pausing the movie. He turns back towards you, noticing the bright blush to your cheeks that match his.

“Since you dyed your hair lavender after I told you it was my favorite color.” You mutter, and Jeonghan bites the inside of his cheek. He attempts to fight back the smile, but it fails. Your heart slowly calms down when you realize that Jeonghan is smiling, and you take it as a good sign.

“Do you like me?” You ask quietly, and Jeonghan shakes his head. He leans his face closer to yours, and your eyes widen significantly at the close proximity. “I love you. I thought you would’ve noticed when I dyed my hair lavender just for you.”

You find yourself smiling back at Jeonghan, and he giggles happily. He shakes his head at you, heart warm at the events of his birthday. He opens his arms towards you, and you reach out and wrap your arms around his waist, sending the two of you backwards onto the snacks. You immediately scream when you hear the crunch of the chips and candies the two of you probably crushed, releasing your hold on Jeonghan and shoving him off the food.

“God damn it.” You mumble in disappointment as you lift up a few snacks, noticing how depleted the bag seems now that they’re smushed. While Jeonghan just stares at you, obviously flabbergasted at how quickly you shoved him in order to protect the food. You pout, placing the crushed up food onto the blanket before turning to glance at the blonde, who is now squinting at you.

“... what?”

“So basically,” Jeonghan begins as he sits back up, running a hand through his hair. You raise an eyebrow at him, and he lets out a breath before continuing. “You don’t greet me first, you avoid me on campus, and then after kissing me, you shove me off of you in order to protect the snacks.”

The two of you sit in silence for a moment, before you nod your head, reaching out to take a crushed up potato chip and place it into your mouth. You flash Jeonghan a cheeky smile, “Of course.”

Jeonghan rolls his eyes and cracks his knuckles. You raise an eyebrow at him and he takes in a deep breath, “I guess I gotta do this then.”

“Do wha-”

You don’t get the chance to finish your question before you’re tackled backwards onto the comforter. Jeonghan attacks your waist with his hands, causing you to laugh loudly underneath the makeshift pillow fort you spent an hour making.

“I’m SORRY!”

“Tell it to the JUDGE!” Jeonghan replies with a loud laugh, no malice in his words as the two of you giggle together.

The sound of your guys’ laughs echoes out into the night, a faint reminder of the euphoria in the air on your angel, Yoon Jeonghan’s birthday.

#caratwritersclub #seventeen scenarios #seventeen x reader #jeonghan scenarios #jeonghan x reader #seventeen fluff #seventeen crack #seventeen jeonghan #jeonghan fluff #jeonghan crack #jeonghan angst #yoon jeonghan scenarios #yoon jeonghan x reader #yoon jeonghan fluff #yoon jeonghan angst #yoon jeonghan crack #yoon jeonghan #seventeen oneshot #seventeen oneshots

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even-after-a-millennia · 3 years

Text

look out with me at this beauty

For @nilefreemanweek2021 and the prompt Childhood. While protesting a pipeline, Nile sees something in the distance that reminds her of a family vacation she took as a child. You can read it below or over on my ao3 account here. Gen | Rated G | 1.7k

“You would think,” Nile said in disgust, “that after how many times these things have broken, we wouldn’t have to be right here, protesting them making yet another pipeline.”

“Profits before the people,” Andy said drily from where she was standing next to Nile.

“Ughhhhhhhh,” Nile groaned.

Nicky and Joe returned from giving out water and food to the other protestors and handed over the remaining bottles and granola bars. Nile ripped one open and tore a bite off viciously.

She looked out, past the line of police officers that were attempting to intimidate her and the other protestors standing in the path of the pipeline. In the distance, she could see a piece of higher land going up into the sky. She squinted, but it didn’t become any clearer.

“Hey, guys, what’s that?” she asked, pointing at it.

Andy looked over. “Oh. I remember that place. We were here in the… uh, late 1800s? Trying to push back the expansion of settlers onto the native people’s land. The tribes in the area had many names for it, but the one I remember is Bear Mountain.”

“Bear Mountain…” Nile muttered, pulling out her phone. She typed “Bear Mountain South Dakota” into the search bar and started reading the results. “Oh,” she said quietly.

“What is it, Nile?” Nicky asked.

“It’s also called Bear Butte.”

She swallowed, then said, “My family and I went there when I was a kid.”

“Would you like to tell us about it?” Nicky asked. He kept one eye on the police, but turned most of his attention to Nile.

The others did the same, settling in for the long haul.

_____________________________________

The field of sunflowers whipped past Nile’s window and to her ten-year-old brain, they seemed to go on forever. Jordan was kicking the back of her mom’s seat and she turned to look at him and said, “Child, if you don’t want to walk there, you will stop that right now.”

He stopped, pouting.

“I’m bored,” he said.

“Look outside, Jordan! You can see forever!” Nile said, trying to distract him.

It worked for a few minutes, but then he was kicking again. Nile’s mom looked at the ceiling of the van, and Nile knew that her patience was being tested.

“Hey Jordan, I spy with my little eye, something that starts with the letter S,” Nile said.

Nile’s mom sent her a smile, which Nile returned.

He looked around, taking in the options. “Sky?” he asked.

“Nope!”

“Street?”

“This is a highway, dummy.”

He frowned and opened his mouth to retaliate, but she just said, “C’mon, you can get it! It starts with S!”

Jordan looked out the window and brightened. “SUNFLOWERS!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Nile nodded as her parents took deep breaths, then let them out.

“Your turn!” she said.

Their game lasted another hour, then they stopped at a rest area to go to the bathroom. Jordan climbed on the playground while Nile swung on a swing in the kid’s area, as their parents watched from one of the nearby park benches.

They had been driving since early that morning, but her parents had warned that they wouldn’t arrive at the hotel until late.

“So no swimming?” Nile had asked, trying not to pout.

Her dad had laughed. “Maybe not the first night, but I promise we will swim before we come home.”

She nodded, satisfied.

They were going to Bear Butte in South Dakota. Jordan had giggled when he had seen how close butte was to butt. That had started a conversation about how this was a sacred place for the Native Americans in the area, and while the Freeman’s were there, they were to treat the place with respect.

“Dad, if it’s for Native Americans, why are we going there?” Nile had asked, brow furrowed.

“A few guys in my division went there when they were in Sturgis for a big motorcycle rally. Said that it was a beautiful area and that you could feel the history and spirit of the place in the air. I want to see it for myself,” he explained.

Nile didn’t really get it, but she nodded anyway.

Luckily, Jordan had tired himself out on the playground, so he crashed for a while after they got back in the van. Nile pulled out Maniac Magee, the book one of her teachers had recommended at the end of the school year, and began to lose herself in between its pages.

They stopped for food somewhere in South Dakota, but still had a few hours to go. It was getting dark, the sun setting over the fields as they flashed by, and Nile was entranced by the colors streaking across the sky. She pulled out her folder of paper and tried to recreate it with her colored pencils, but the road was bumpy and the colors didn’t do it justice.

Her dad insisted on putting it on the dash anyway.

“Anyone looking at this vehicle will know that there is an artist on board,” he said, smiling at her.

Even Nile was dozing by the time that they pulled into the hotel parking lot. She dragged Jordan behind her, holding onto his hand, until they could get up in the room.

“Whoa…” she said, looking around.

There were two queen sized beds, a giant tv, a microwave, and a fridge in the room. She went to get on the bed, but her mom said, “Wait a minute.”

She took the covers off and put them to the side.

“Alright, now you can get on. But no jumping. There are people below us,” she said.

Nile frowned. Well, that stopped what she was going to do.

Jordan and Nile got one bed and her mom and dad took the other. They had waffles for breakfast and Jordan thought the machine that made them was the coolest thing. Her dad had actually made the waffles, but he had let Jordan flip the griddle, which he did with glee.

They drove a little bit out of town and parked. Nile’s dad shouldered the backpack that Nile’s mom had packed full of water, sunscreen, and snacks.

“Remember, you two, do not touch the pieces of cloth on the trees. They are prayer cloths and they are not to be disturbed. Do not go off the path. And try to be respectful and quiet. Okay?” their dad said.

They nodded, and set off.

It was a gentle slope upwards at first, and then they were pushing themselves up the hills. There were a lot of trees right by the trail, and Nile watched as the pieces of fabric tied to the trees swayed in the breeze. They were pretty.

Then they reached a flatter area with a wooden railing and looked out to see down the hill and out into the fields beyond.

“Cool…” Nile breathed, taking it all in.

They kept going, and Nile eventually stopped looking ahead and just kept looking around, taking in all the trees and grass and fields around her. They crested a hill and Nile looked down the hill and suddenly stopped.

“Dad, why do the trees look like that?” she asked.

There were many trees that were on their sides, barkless and white against the grass.

“There was a fire here in the late 90’s that burnt up a lot of the trees. The grass has grown back, but the trees couldn’t be saved,” he explained.

“Oh,” she said, feeling a sadness she couldn’t really explain. This was all so beautiful. It hurt to see the remnants of destruction here.

“Hey,” he said gently, kneeling beside her. “Look at it this way. All of this,” he said, gesturing to all the nature around them, “went through something terrible, and it managed to come back from that. I think that’s inspiring more than anything. What do you think?”

Nile thought about it, then nodded.

“Good,” he said. “C’mon, Nile. I hear the view from the top is incredible.”

It took a long time for them to get there. They had to stop for water breaks a bunch and a snack break too. But then they finally took the steps to the wooden platform at the top of the Butte and Nile and Jordan ran to the railing to look out over everything.

“Whoa…”

Nile had thought that she could see for miles before. But it was nothing compared to how far she could see now! She and Jordan ran from one side of the platform to the next, looking out at the different angles and what they could see from each.

Eventually, the novelty wore off, and they settled on one of the benches for a few more snacks and some water.

Nile’s dad was still standing at the railing, and Nile joined him after she finished eating.

They didn’t say anything for a while, just looked out together as the wind rushed over them. She leaned into his side and his arm came around her, holding her there. Any chill she would have felt from the breeze was lost in the warmth from her dad’s body.

“This is the kind of thing that I fight to protect,” he said softly.

If Nile wasn’t so close to him, she might not have heard him.

“It’s really pretty,” she agreed.

He blinked, and looked down at her. “I fight to protect you too, my little river,” he said, pulling one of her braids lightly.

They grinned at one another, the moment broken, then left the railing and its beautiful view behind them.

__________________________________

They had done more on the trip, had even gone swimming in the pool at the hotel. But that first day was the thing that stuck most in Nile’s brain, years later.

“Turns out, that was the last time my dad was home before he was killed in action,” Nile finished. “So I’m glad we got to have that time.”

“I am glad we are here,” Nicky said thoughtfully. “Protecting this view the two of you looked out on.”

Nile’s heart clenched, but she nodded.

“He died fighting for places like this,” she said. She turned to the police officers who were closing in. “Let’s make sure none of these people do the same.”

#nile freeman #nileweek2021 #andromache the scythian #andy #yusuf al kaysani #aka joe #nicolò di genova #aka nicky #childhood #family vacation #fanfic #my fic

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mourntheantagonist · 3 years

Text

#HarringroveApril Day 4: Rollerskates

***

At Hawkins Middle School, when you hit the fifth grade, you have to write an essay on where you see yourself in ten years. Little Steve, who sat in the front row of Mrs. French’s home room wrote his in blue colored pencil, declaring proudly in that essay that he’d be an astronaut. He later learned that was very unrealistic, and space freaked him out so he wasn’t too bummed about it, he’d chosen it based off of the poster hanging above the chalkboard, so it was fine. But despite not knowing who he wanted to be then, he never expected that in his “ten years from now” he’d be working at a roller rink in California, making minimum wage helping little kids up off the ground when they fell.

That’s what he did for forty hours a week, every week, paying low rent only because Robin was generous enough to let him stay with her, insisting that one hundred dollars a month and help cleaning up was plenty to float the bill. He followed her to California thinking there’d be more for him there. More than just the Family Video that was getting ready to be converted into a Blockbuster Video by the time he got out.

But after job searching in the booming city proved to be unsuccessful, and learning that being picky was not a privilege he had, he settled on the run down roller rink on the outskirts of town where the red carpet on the walls was peeling off and there were dips in the skating floor that made Steve’s job as the designated savior to all the kids, and occasionally adults, who couldn’t hold a vertical position.

He wore the ridiculous referee style shirt with the black and white lines that almost made him look like he’d just escaped from prison, and he circled around the rink, over and over again, for hours on end while open skate was alive and amateurs were in desperate need for his assistance. It wasn’t all bad. Steve had no problem helping up the crying five year old girl who hit her knee hard enough that he could already see bruising, and escorting her off the rink and getting her ice and a bandage, he had no problem with the twelve year old boy who had at least one hand in contact with the wall at all times who was knocked over by some high school jerks.

He hated when the mother’s who came with their kids would purposely fall over with a snicker as soon as Steve switched in on the floor. Very dramatic with their execution, sure to always trip over some nonexistent hole in the floor when Steve was close by just so he’d reach out his hand and lift her from the ground, likely the most action she’d seen in a while. He hated being used like that, he despised when he would turn to leave and they’d gawk at his ass as he skated away, some very drunk and very brave women had even gone as far to steal themselves a squeeze.

When Steve first got the job, he figured it would just be the thing he did to get by before he found a real job. But after the tenth interview resulted in a call beginning with the line “we regret to inform you” he decided to invest in more than one black and white striped shirt. He was going on five years now and his hourly pay had only raised by a dollar in that time, only after taking up extra duties behind the concession stand and skate rental. He worked there long enough to know the regulars. He knew the kids that he needed to look out for, the ones with the wobbly knees that did less than skate and more so stomp around, the teens on rollerblades who were just begging to get themselves kicked out by going the wrong direction, and he definitely steered clear of the women who definitely hit the bar before their Friday night roller skating escapades. He also watched as little kids who fell over every thirty seconds who spent the bulk of their time sitting out and watching improve and grow into solid skaters who could go an entire night staying up on their feet without issue. He knew almost everyone by name, there were rarely ever newcomers, so when the little girl in her little white skates with purple laces rolled out onto the floor by herself, he was not only shocked to see a new face, but shocked at how a kid looking to be barely four was outskating kids ten years older than her. She wasn’t doing any flips or tricks or anything extravagant, but she was smooth with her movements, she was fast, and she had a balance that could compete with his own.

So Steve had to do some investigating. He exercised his privilege of being the only adult employee and sent the new seventeen year old out on the floor while he looked around the seating area for a second unfamiliar face.

Except he doesn’t find an unfamiliar face. Every face in the crowd of skaters in the rink and parents watching from the side is a face he’s seen before.

But one face stands out amongst the rest.

“Billy?”

It had to be him. His hair was short and he'd grown a short beard, but Steve knew that skull tattoo and those blue eyes anywhere.

“Steve?” Billy said back, looking at him in shock. Steve was just glad he was still recognizable.

“Hey man, what are you doing here?”

Billy just pointed out at the floor. “No other rinks in town would let her skate because she’s “too young” so we came here.” He said, and Steve’s eyes found the little girl with the white and purple skates and instantly saw the resemblance. With her blonde curly hair and blue eyes and freckled cheeks, she was the spitting image of Billy. “How long have you been in Cali?”

“Robin and I moved over in ‘86, she just graduated from UCLA.”

Billy looked at him quizzically. “Buckley? The two of you a thing?”

Steve couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “I think her girlfriend would take issue with that.”

And Billy just matched his laughter. “You know what? That actually makes a lot of sense.”

“What about you? Wow you got a kid now! You got a wife too?”

Billy shook his head. “No, no. I love Bridgettes mom, but uh… we weren’t exactly compatible.”

“Well it looks like the two of you made one hell of a kid, that’s for sure.”

“We sure did.” Billy says as he looks out at the rink fondly, and Steve sees an entirely different person from the mullet wearing asshole who beat the living shit out of him once, the guy who had a lot more going on than people knew about, the guy who was in pain and never had an authentic smile. He saw into those deep blue eyes and was able to forget about the guy he was, because somehow after only minutes after crossing paths for the first time in five years, he was falling for him, for this new and happy Billy Hargrove.

And Steve says fuck it. He’s spent years having middle aged women literally fall for him, and it was time he took a page out of their book. He doesn’t go as far as to grab his ass, but he makes the bold move.

“Would you maybe want to go out for coffee sometime to like, catch up?”

Billy looks at Steve for a second too long and Steve instantly regrets it as Billy looks him up and down. He wants to take it all back right there but he watches Billy smile and silence his thoughts by saying “Sure. Meet here same time next Friday?”

And Steve doesn’t know what to do next. He’d avoided the dating scene entirely after one bad encounter with a guy he met in ‘87 and it was suffice to say he was out of practice. “Yeah! Great! It’s a uhh…” he paused, not knowing how to finish that sentence.

But fortunately, this version of Billy still had the same amount of game that he did when he was seventeen.

“Steve?” He says, catching Steve mid blush and breath caught in his throat. “It’s a date.”

#harringrove #steve harrington #billy hargrove #stranger things #mandi writes tresh #ficlet #harringroveapril

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desertdollranch · 3 years

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Sariah's 1984 Video Game Arcade

On Saturdays when she doesn't have gymnastics or soccer practice, Sariah likes to hang out with her friends at the roller skating rink! When they're feeling ready to take a break from skating, they like to hit the snack stand and then stop by the arcade to play some video games.

Roller rinks were massively popular in the 1980's and beyond, much more so than they are today. I skated at my local rink a lot when I was a kid in the 90's, and that one had an arcade attached, to bring in a little extra money and regular customers. For a lot of kids in the early 80's, arcades were the only way to play video games. There were very few choices of handheld and play-at-home platforms, and the technology was still low quality, not to mention expensive. Courtney Moore in 1986 had her own Nintendo at home, but even she preferred the brighter lights and louder sounds of the arcade games!

Replicating an arcade for my 80′s girl, Sariah, was pretty easy. I got the idea from the craft and activity book Doll Decades.

The book has instructions for making game consoles from shoeboxes, but I knew that would end up making them way too small for an 18 inch doll. So I used black foam board instead to construct each console. I didn't use any plans; I sort of just eyeballed it. I looked at images of arcade games from the 80's to give me an idea of where to start.

The game screens and logo stickers are from the book's craft kit. Sariah has a choice of three games: Cosmo Crusader, Samantha Spree, and Chow Down.

Sariah's favorite is Cosmo Crusader. She's almost got the highest score!

The joystick is made from an upside-down wooden candle cup that I painted. The buttons are translucent plastic beads. To embed them in the console, I pressed the tip of my glue gun into the foam board to melt it and carve holes in it. Then I put a dot of hot glue in the hole and placed the beads inside half way. The back of the console is open, so I can stick a flashlight inside and underneath the buttons to make them light up!

The games cost 25 cents to play, so Sariah always brings a few quarters. If you look closely, these have the year 1972 stamped on them--the year Sariah was born! My mom found these little coins in the bead and charm section of her local craft store, and she sent me some. They are just as detailed as the real thing.

I made the coin slots by printing out a picture I found from an image search. The coin return buttons are circles of craft foam sheet with pencil erasers glued on top. I then painted them with metallic silver acrylic paint.

During the week, Sariah wears a uniform to school, but she likes to dress up in trendy clothes when she goes to the rink. She's wearing a tank top under an oversized off-the-shoulder shirt, an acid-washed denim skirt, leggings, legwarmers, dangly silver earrings, and a watch. I made her denim skirt, and gave it a bleached look by sponge painting it with white paint. I initially tried using bleach to get the denim the right color, but I wasn't happy with the results. Using paint made it a little easier to have control of the final outcome. The rest of her outfit is American Girl brand items, minus her pink shirt, which is Build-a-Bear brand.

Sariah changed her mind. Samantha Spree is now her favorite game. It's the only game in the arcade that is for two players! The objective of the game is to help Samantha sneak Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny out of an orphanage, and.... well, you probably know the rest of the story.

That's enough gaming for the day! Sariah skates back to the rink as fast as she can when she hears her favorite song being played--Ghostbusters!

#american girl dolls #doll decades #activity books #historicaloc #sariah solomon #handmade doll clothes #1984 #doll crafts #diy

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amazingmsme · 3 years

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Would You Be Ever So Kind?

AN: Wow this took ages but I finally finished my first Twin Peaks fic! I can’t recommend this show enough, it’s suspenseful, funny, eerie, & just all around a great time! My man Cooper is adorable okay, I just know he’s a huge lee don’t judge me. This is a heftier one shot (just over 5k) cause I added some plot! Hope you enjoy the fic!

Cooper was stressed, there was no doubt about it. Windom Earle was always one step ahead it seemed, and closing in. His dreams weren't providing much help and it felt like he kept running into dead ends.

Since Major Briggs's return, he'd been enamored with the White Lodge. He could feel it's influence, though barely so. It was like he was standing on a beach, barefoot, information and enlightenment lapping at the tips of his toes. So close, yet it pulled back before it even reached his ankles. Teasing him. Dangling the answers right in front of him, but just out of reach. He needed to know what he needed to do to take that final step into the pool of knowledge that laid before him.

Right now, he sat in the conference room with Hawk. He stared at the other man with his usual perceptive gaze.

"If one were to... connect with the White Lodge somehow, how would they go about it?" he asked.

Hawk shifted in his seat as he thought for a moment. He tilted his head, pondering the question. Finally, he spoke. "It is rare to do so without being invited. But not impossible. I believe if you tried, someone with your unique sensibilities might be able to manage it."

Cooper's brows raised and he leaned forward in his seat. "How?"

Hawk shrugged. "The few I've heard of said they had experienced great joy. A mother who found out that she would soon have a grandchild. A man who proposed to his girlfriend. A boy who rode his first roller coaster. They had all experienced intense, positive emotions and the following night, had strange, yet peaceful dreams. Dreams that held answers to certain questions they had."

Cooper nodded, hanging on every word. "And how would I go about triggering these- positive emotions?"

Hawk smirked and shook his head. "I don't know, why don't you propose to someone?"

It took him a second, but his own lips quirked into a smile. He wagged a finger at him, "That was a joke, wasn't it?" Hawk chuckled softly.

"Yeah, it was. But I don't know Cooper, try and do things that make you happy. Take a break, maybe go on a walk to clear your head. Maybe go have some of that pie you love so much," he suggested. Cooper made to stand, grabbing his things.

"Will do Hawk, I shall try these methods as I brainstorm other activities that might induce such happiness." He gave him a tight lipped smile and a quick thumbs up before heading out.

He did end up trying Hawk's suggestions, but with little success. He had even eaten as many slices of pie as he could until he felt like he would burst. All it resulted in was a belly ache that plagued him the rest of the night until he fell asleep. With no strange peaceful dreams, he might add.

The next day he had started jotting down every positive emotion he could think of.

Joy Excitement Happiness Fun Funny Love...

Upon second thought, he marked that last one out. It had only brought him heartache and agony that still plagued him.

Hm. That was a shorter list than he thought it would be. Now was the matter of finding ways to trigger said emotions... He started to think that perhaps this wouldn't be as easy as he had thought. He pulled out his tape recorder.

"In my efforts to reach out to the White Lodge, I have discovered that intense feelings of happiness can bring about interesting dreams. In doing so I have also come to realize that such levels of joy are... unattainable with conventional methods. As it turns out Diane, it will take a lot more than eating five pieces of pie and petting a rather cute dog. I plan to stop by the library and pick up some literature on the psyche of happiness." He clicked the recorder off.

He'd spent the first half of the day doing as he'd said. It was much more boring than he'd anticipated. But at least he'd gleamed some information from his impromptu study session. Joy was triggered by certain chemicals in the brain, and certain stimuli releases them. Exercise was a common method, but it wouldn't be enough for the level of happiness he needed to reach. One thing that might prove to be more effective was laughter.

Laughter seemed to really be the best medicine, or at least that's how the books made it seem. Though just laughing for no reason wouldn't cut it. He needed a reason to laugh: something to make him happy. For him, that was enough to go on.

He arrived at the sheriff's station, pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee and stepped into the foyer where Andy was hopelessly trying to flirt with Lucy. She'd humor him occasionally, but Cooper knew she liked watching him struggle for her affections. She'd even told him so.

"Yes?"

"Well Andy, to be honest I believe you're the happiest one in here," he started. He lit up like a Christmas tree at the

"You really think so? Well that's awful kind of you to say."

"How do you do it? What keeps you in such a good mood all the time?" he asked. Andy shrugged.

"Well gee, I don't know. I guess I've always been this way. I try not to overthink things, my mama said people who do aren't very happy," he said. Cooper hummed in thought and nodded. "I just try to appreciated the little things in life, like the woods and all of you," he said honestly. Cooper wasn't expecting that and felt a warmth grow in his chest Hmm. He supposed he meant something to these people, after working together for so long, but hearing it aloud was nice to hear. Within his work, he was rarely shown appreciation least of all open affection. It felt nice.

His expression softened and he gave him a small but genuine smile. "Thank you. I appreciate you too," he made sure to let him know the feeling was mutual. He went into the empty conference room and grabbed one of the stacked donuts. He took a moment to admire the organized arrangement, noting how a few stacks of two were short one or were gone completely. He pulled out the tape recorder, pressing the button down and talked into it.

"After studying at the library, I now find myself at the sheriff's office. I briefly spoke with Andy about what makes him happy, and he gave the the sage advice of appreciating the little things in life. I know people often say to do so, but people rarely follow through. I'm trying to be better. I stand here looking down at the conference table that has donuts laid out on sheets of paper towels. Donuts are stacked two atop each other, and there are two rows of twelve. Lucy sets this up for us every night before she leaves. I never really gave much thought about how much time she puts into doing this... I find my talk with Andy was rather helpful. I will continue to try and do as he suggested."

He clicked it off and grabbed a donut, taking a bite. He took out his note pad and tapped his pencil against his chin. He started writing down things he liked or that made him happy. He started by listing off names, followed by animals and food. He even wrote down his favorite kinds of trees. Surprisingly, he found he felt lighter after doing so. A soft smile graced his features as Harry walked in.

"Hey Coop, what's got you all smiley?" he asked, his own lips quirking up upon seeing the other man in a good mood. He held up the page.

"Oh nothing, just listing down some things that make me happy. Hawk told me a few instances of people who were able to connect with the White Lodge after experiencing immense joy. I did some reading and found that certain chemicals can cause such emotions. I just need to find a way to trigger them," he explained. Harry hummed in thought, and gestured to the list.

"May I?" Cooper nodded and handed it to him. He skimmed through it, a soft smile of his own appearing on his lips.

"I make you happy?" he asked, dimples shining.

He nodded, tilting his head down shyly. "You all do. You each have such unique and charming qualities."

"Well, uh, thanks. That means a lot coming from you. I don't know anyone else who's more unique and charming," Harry said. Then he cleared his throat and looked back down at the list. "Nature seems to really make you happy. You get a chance to try out that lure yet?" he asked to change the subject.

Cooper shook his head. "No, I've been so busy I haven't had the time," he admits.

"Well, it's a pretty slow day for once. I figure I can take some time to help in your efforts," Harry said, as though he didn't just want to leave work and go fishing. Cooper smiled brightly at him.

"I'd love that," he said earnestly. "Allow me to swing by my room and change." The sheriff nodded.

"Sure thing. I'll meet you by the trail just past the waterfall," he said. After jotting a few more things down, Cooper leaves for the Great Northern. He changed into his jeans and pulled on a flannel. He talked into the recorder as he buttoned his shirt.

"Don't get me wrong Diane, I do enjoy my suit. But sometimes it just feels better to wear something more comfortable." He clicked it off and went to the mentioned trailhead. Harry was already waiting for him, fishing gear in tow.

Cooper furrowed his brows as a smile pulled at his lips as he looked at the sheriff. What was that God awful thing on his head? He let a few snickers slip out as he parked.

"Interesting hat ya got there," he mused, making Harry grin.

"You like it? My lucky fishing hat," he said, pointing up at it. He nodded, not bothering to hide his grin.

"Lucky huh? We'll see about that," he said, taking a pole from his grasp.

"What you don't like it?" he asked teasingly.

"Aú contraire. I find it quite amusing," he said with a wide grin. He reached up and flicked one of the dangly rubber tassels from a lure.

It was a floppy bucket hat, tan in color and adorned in tacky bright lures. Harry was grinning ear to ear, adding to the goofiness of his look. It was impossible not to smile at him. He swatted Cooper's hand away with a short laugh.

"Let's just get down there while the fish are still biting," he joked, punching him in the arm lightly. Cooper beamed as he followed him down the dirt trail. It didn't take too long before they were at the water's edge and found a fallen tree to sit on. Harry opened his tackle box, pulling out a folded throwing net to catch some live bait. Cooper watched as he tossed the net into the water over a school of minnows, pulling it back to them and dumping them in the bait bucket. They each reached in and grabbed a fish, piercing it on the hook to cast it back into the water. Now, they wait.

They exchanged fishing stories, going back and forth as they waited for a bite. Harry's line was the first to go taught and he snatched up his rod to start reeling. Just as his fish was getting close to the bank, Cooper's own fishing pole began to dip slightly from a few tentative nibbles. Just as Harry reeled it in all the way, Cooper's line shot off and he quickly started reeling as well.

He unhooked the big mouth bass, inspecting it with a proud gaze. "Hell yeah, this'll cook up nicely," he said, placing it in the cooler he brought. Cooper's fish was putting up more of a struggle. He leaned back with all his body weight, biceps flexed and straining as he fought the fish. "Seems like you caught a lively one," Harry said. Cooper spared him a glance and a tight lipped smile; he would've definitely flashed him one of his signature thumbs up if he wasn't preoccupied.

After about 20 minutes he managed to bring the river monster in. It was a large male salmon, easily identifiable by the bright red coloring and large back hump that occurs during mating season. It was well over three feet and flopping on the bank. It seemed that trout weren't the only ones attracted to a green butt skunk.

At first, Cooper didn't know what to do with a fish this size. He placed his hands on it to lessen its flopping before straddling it. Placing one hand on its head to keep it pinned, he held his other out to Harry. "Pliers," he asked for the tool and he gifted it to him. Just as Cooper wrapped his hand around it, the salmon raised its ugly head up and bit his hand. When it flopped back down it yanked his arm down with it.

"Ow-hey!" Cooper exclaimed, steadying himself and smacking the top of its jaw until it released him. He pulled back his slightly bloody hand and removed the hook. He looked to his side and saw Harry stifling his laughter. "Yes I'm fine, thanks for your concern," he sassed, but the amused grin on his face let him know he was only teasing.

Harry was just short of cracking up. "Ihi'm sohorry, you okay?" he asked, grabbing some bandages.

"Yeah, just a few puncture wounds. Nothing I can't handle." He managed to pick up the still struggling fish and brought it back to the water's edge.

"After all that trouble, you're not keeping it?" he asked. Cooper shook his head and released it, watching it leave with a splash.

"Nope. Anything that puts up that hard of a fight deserves to live another day. Besides, I don't really have anywhere to cook it, and I'm not real big on salmon," he explained. He rinsed his wound and accepted the clean bandages, wrapping it up nice and tight.

"How very sporting of you," Harry said, and he meant it. He recast his rod as Cooper pulled out his recorder.

"Thank you," he said, flashing him a smile. "Update on the fishing. I just caught a large salmon and in the process of unhooking it, it bit me. Despite my tired arms and punctures, I found the experience enjoyable. It was... thrilling but not in the sense that I'm accustomed. It was a mundane excitement. Perhaps this feeling is what will help me contact the White Lodge."

He clicked it off and found Harry studying him. "Mundane excitement, huh?"

He nodded. "My line of work is often exciting, but the stakes are always higher. I find it refreshing to feel a rush of adrenaline when mine or someone else's life isn't on the line."

Harry shifted a little closer. "You really think this feeling might be what gets you to the White Lodge?" he questioned.

"I do. But I don't think it's one particular event or emotion that will get me there. From what I've read the optimal amount of endorphins and serotonin come from a range of feelings. Based on my study session at the library, I'd say that a mixture of excitement and laughter would be my best bet," he mused aloud.

"Too bad there's no comedians in town, I bet that would do the job," Harry mused. Cooper allowed himself to smirk.

"I suppose if I stare at that hat long enough, I just might burst into giggles," he said in a teasing manner. Harry's jaw dropped at the playful insult.

"Hey don't dis the hat!" he exclaimed, a hand flying up to cover the top of it protectively.

"Don't worry, it was more of a jab at your taste in fashion," he said good naturedly.

"I'll have you know that's worse. When did you get so sassy anyway?" Harry asked. He chuckled and poked his side in retaliation. The corner's of Cooper's mouth twitched as he flinched away.

"I can have my moments. I do spend a lot of time with Albert," he mused, rubbing the slight tingles from his side when suddenly it hit him. There really was no easier or faster way to pump his body full of adrenaline and endorphins, even if the reaction was more forced than voluntary. The results would be the same, wouldn't they? His eyes widened at the realization.

He clapped his hands together loudly, making Harry jump. "That's it!" he exclaimed, excitement showing on his face from his revelation.

Harry furrowed his brows in confusion. "What- Albert?" he questioned, not following Cooper's train of thought. He shook his head, smiling now that he finally had an answer to his dilemma.

"No, tickling," he clarified. Harry cocked his head, a smirk on his lips. He was intrigued.

"Didn't know you were ticklish Coop." If Harry squinted, he thought he could see the hint of a blush on his cheeks.

"I am, and it's a good thing because right now, it's the only thing I can think of that might work to get me to the White Lodge. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy fishing, but the bite did put a damper on my mood," he grumbled, glaring at his bandaged hand. You could start to see blood seep through the white cloth.

"So a last resort kinda thing?" Harry asked. And was Cooper crazy, or was he a little closer? Cooper nodded.

"Exactly. So uh, would you be so kind as to..." he trailed off, and in lieu of finishing his sentence he wiggled his fingers in the air, hoping he got the message. Oh he got it all right. Sheriff Truman was grinning like the cat who ate the canary.

"To tickle you?" he asked for clarification. The ghost of a blush on Cooper's cheeks darkened. "Yes that." Suddenly Harry was straddling his legs, pushing him down the rest of the way.

"Ya don't have to tell me twice!" he exclaimed.

"You don't have to seem so eager," Cooper said, already squirming. It was the last coherent thing he said before Truman's fingers began prodding his sides. He gasped and soft snickers began to fill the air. There was no point in trying to hold back; he'd be laughing soon enough regardless, and the whole point of this was to create the right concoction of emotions and chemicals in his brain to reach the White Lodge.

Harry kneaded his sides and Cooper yelped, hands instinctively shooting down to protect his sides. You'd think with all his special training that he'd be defending himself better, but he was only weakly slapping at his hands. To be fair, he was practicing a lot of self restraint by not just crawling into the river to save himself.

"You got a nice laugh Coop, ya know that?" Harry asked with a genuine smile. Cooper nodded, mouth open in a wide grin as laughter flowed freely from his mouth. "Ihihihi've been tohohold!"

"Whoa now, I can't have you going all cocky on me like that. Guess I'll just have to knock you down a peg," he teased, walking up his ribs. He shook his head and snorted, nose scrunched as Harry scratched between each rib. The higher his fingers climbed, the louder and more frantic his giggling became.

Just as Harry reached the top of his ribs, he stopped. Cooper sighed in relief, thinking he might be done. He wasn't so lucky.

"Do me a favor and lift your arms up," Harry said, not even trying to hide his mischievous smirk anymore. He curled in on himself, chuckling nervously and shook his head.

"Nohoho," he giggled, wrapping his arms around himself. Harry cocked his head, arching a brow.

"No?" he asked in amusement. Cooper shook his head again to confirm.

"And why not?" he asked, hands on his hips. The sight alone made Cooper feel giddy with anticipation.

"Ihi'm not supid Harry, I know you'll just tickle me more," he answered with a wide smile. Harry snorted out a short laugh.

"I know you're not. And I promise I won't," he said, hiding his crossed fingers behind his back. Cooper gave him a skeptical look. "That's a lie."

"Hey I said I'd promise! Have you ever known me to break a promise?" he tried to convince him. He eyed the sheriff up and down and decided there was a 50/50 chance he'd just attack again, and this little game of theirs was fun, he had to admit. So he took that chance, already knowing the outcome.

He lifted his arms slowly, tentatively as he watched the other carefully. His arms were halfway above his head when Harry smirked down at him, flashing his crossed fingers out from behind his back. Cooper's eyes widened and he moved to bring his arms back down, but alas, it was too late. He immediately darted for his exposed hollows, scribbling over the shirt clad skin. His flannel didn't offer much protection and he was soon thrown into deep hysterics.

His arms came crashing down, laughter freely escaping his smiling mouth. He only succeeded in trapping his hands, however he knew better than to try raising his arms a second time. "You lihihihahar!" he squealed. Harry smirked and picked up the pace, grinning wider when the agent's high pitched giggling turned more frantic.

"If you cross your fingers it's a freebie," he claimed. Cooper shook his head, grappling to shove his friend's hands away.

"Thahahat's such bullshihihit!" he called him out. And yeah, it was bullshit, but Harry couldn't let him get away with saying it was.

"Think you just sealed your fate Coop," he teased, kneading his belly and sending him into a steadier stream of giggles.

"Nohoho dohohon't!" he whined, legs kicking weakly, or rather, weakly for a special agent like himself. Harry scoffed, not even trying to hide how much fun he was having.

"Don't? Don't what?" he asked, drumming his fingers. Cooper's giggles sputtered out as he shook his head, fist pounding against the ground.

"Ihihi'm nohohot falling for thahat one," he forced out through his laughter.

"Falling for what? I can't know what not to do if you won't tell me," he said, sounding so innocent that you almost wanted to believe him. Almost. Cooper wouldn't make that mistake again.

"Dohohon't mahake it wohohorse!" he pleaded. Harry shook his head in "defeat" and clicked his tongue.

"Damn, I was really hoping you'd fall for that," he lamented, hands moving down to squeeze his hips. Cooper convulsed, jolting up slightly and trapping his wrists. They held each other's gaze for a moment, Cooper's eyes full of an excited kind of fear while Harry's shone with an evil sort of mischief.

"Bad spot?" he taunted, giving another squeeze. He evoked the same reaction as before, but this time with an added squeak. Cooper went completely still, cheeks rosy as he gasped for breath. There was no use in lying, he'd be proven wrong anyway. He nodded shyly, looking anywhere but Harry's smug face.

"Good." He immediately drilled his thumbs into the divots of his hips as he gently squeezed them with the rest of his hand. Cooper instantly burst into a tidal wave of cackles that drowned out the sounds of nature around them. Even when thrown in hysterics, it was still a joyous, beautiful sound. It was smooth and had a deep tenor to it that made you feel warm inside. His nose crinkled adorably, and his mouth was open wide in a constant smile, allowing his melodious laugh to ring through the air.

“How ya holdin’ up?” Harry asked just to check in. Cooper was too busy laughing his heart out to answer with words, so he flashed him a thumbs up instead. He shook his head and chuckled at his signature gesture.

Encouraged by his reassurance, he continued his journey downward by squeezing his thighs. Cooper snorted loudly and his blush darkened.

"Aw Coop, I didn't know you snorted! Do it again," he taunted, pinching and scribbling his thighs until he snorted again.

"Nohohooo," he whined in embarrassment, hiding his face in his hands. Harry was having the time of his life.

"Remember bud, you asked for this," he reminded smugly.

"Ihihi knohohow! Shuhut up!"

"I don't think I will. In fact, I think teasing makes it better, don't you agree?" he asked, scratching along his inner thighs. Cooper squealed and clamped his legs together to protect himself.

"Ihihihi said shuhuhut uhuhup!"

"I'll take that as a yes then," he smirked, and even winked at him. Oh he would never live this down. Not if Harry could help it.

He started skittering his fingers atop his knees, and Cooper shrieked, legs kicking out frantically. "Nohohot thehehere!"

Sheriff Truman didn't listen and instead squeezed around his kneecaps. Cooper tried to curl in on himself, laying back on the ground when he failed due to laughing too hard. Though when Harry went to scratch the backs of his knees, he barely laid a finger on him before a fist connected with his face.

Harry recoiled and grabbed his bleeding nose, letting out a pained chuckle. "Damn, ya got me good Coop," he said, still managing a smile. A hand covered Cooper's mouth from shock.

"I am so sorry Harry! I tried to refrain from hurting you, but my instincts took over," he quickly apologized. Harry shook his head, grabbing his other hand and pulling him up to a sitting position.

"Heh, it's okay. Guess I got what I deserve," he mused. His nose had already stopped bleeding, but it left a thin trickle above his upper lip that he wiped away.

"You were just helping me out," he said, patting his shoulder. "Thanks by the way," he said, cheeks still tinged pink.

"Any time," he said with a warm smile. "So, did you have as much fun as I did?" he asked teasingly.

"I'm not answering that," Cooper said, looking away. Harry barked out a laugh.

"I think you did." The FBI agent only hummed. Harry spotted his tape recorder and nabbed it.

"Hey give it!" Harry held him back by placing a hand on his chest and pushing him away as he pressed the record button.

"Hi Diane, Sheriff Truman here. I think it's safe to say Agent Cooper will be successful in his resilient efforts to reach the White Lodge. That's all." He turned it off, wearing a smug grin.

"Proud of yourself?" Cooper asked in amusement.

"Oh very. It's not every day that I get to reduce the famous Agent Cooper to a giggly mess," he said, wiggling his fingers at him. He subtly curled in on himself, chuckling nervously.

"R-right. And it won't be a daily occurrence, unless you want retaliation," he warned.

"We'll see about that," he smirked. They were both distracted by a tug on Cooper's line. He grabbed his fishing rod and started reeling it in.

When they returned to the sheriff’s office, Andy gasped seeing Truman’s swollen, bruised nose and Cooper’s wrapped hand.

“Good lord you two did you get in a fight or somethin’?” he asked with concern. Harry smirked and nodded, casting a glance towards the agent.

“You could say that.”

Cooper quickly stepped in before he could reveal anything too embarrassing. “Nonsense, I got bit by a fish and his line broke when he was reeling one in and he smacked himself in the face with the fishing rod,” he easily lied. Harry’s smirk grew as he hummed in “agreement.”

~~~~

That night, Cooper had a peaceful yet strange dream. He opened his eyes to find he was laying on a white fainting couch. At first he thought he was in a room, but upon inspecting his surroundings, he realized he was in a vast open plain. The floor was marble tile and the empty space around him looked to be white at first glance, but was in fact an extremely pale pink.

Out of the nothingness walked Laura Palmer. Instead of the low cut black dress she normally wore in his visions and dreams, she wore a white flowing gown. It billowed behind her even though there was no wind. Cooper sat up on the chaise lounge and stared at her as she approached.

"Windom Earle is not the biggest threat," she spoke softly and clearly, her voice like a bell. It was strikingly different than her Black Lodge counterpart. "The other you is." He leaned forward in his seat.

"The other me?" he asked. She nodded, a halo of light illuminating her from behind.

"In another world he escapes. Use your second chance wisely and leave the Black Lodge before he does," she advised.

"How can I do that?" he asked, soaking in every piece of knowledge she offered up.

"The Black Lodge is disorienting. You must not show even an ounce of fear or self doubt. In that other world, you did not leave until 20 years later. In another, the Lodge annihilated your soul." Cooper stared at her intently.

"And how do you know these things won't happen again?" he asked.

"Because infinite universes bring infinite possibilities. Use the tools I gave you and you will receive a different outcome," she said. Laura walked up to him and cupped his face in her hands, placing a kiss on his forehead. She leaned in and whispered, "Thank you for giving me justice."

"You're welcome," he said back. His vision faded to white, then to pitch darkness. He jolted awake with a gasp, reeling from everything he had learned. His chest heaved and he reached for the recorder on his bedside table.

"Diane you won't believe it, but I just had the strangest dream..."

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