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#they go back home and talk to their friends and the ones who've been to gotham before are just like
werewolf-witchboy · 1 year
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Druig X Eternal! Reader
✨ (Gender Neutral) ✨
No Warnings.
After many years of being split up, the Eternals must come together as a team again. Nobody seems to know where you've been all these years, so they've gone to the one person who might know of your whereabouts...
Little did they know that you're a lot closer than they thought.
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"You have given me a lot of bad news in one go, my lady." Druig's tone is a lot less welcoming after he's been told the horrible truth.
"You and (Y/n) are the main parts of our big plan. We need you both to get through this." Sersi explained again. "Will you help us?"
"We can't find (Y/n)." Ikaris cut to the chase, obviously not ecstatic about needing Druig.
"All of us have searched across almost the whole planet." Sersi subtly encouraged Ikaris away from Druig, sensing the tension already rising between them. "All of (Y/n)'s favorite countries, every area we've had somekind of special or significant moment, we've even asked elders who've written many books about (Y/n). Found not a trace of where they could possibly be."
Drugs arms stayed crossed. "I don't think it's my business to just give out personal information like that." Once his fellow Eternals showed up, his peace was interrupted and he now has a headache.
He knows he told them to "make themselves at home," but he didn't expect them to drop all of this shocking news on him about their true purpose as Eternals, and then interrogate him about your location.
"Do you all remember this forest? Beautiful." Druig walked around the room with his hands clasped behind his back, trying to make small talk and steer the topic away from (Y/n). "It was the last place that we all lived together." His tone held some sorrow at the memories.
"I've protected these people for 20 generations now. From the outside world, and from themselves."
Druig towered over Kingo's valete, Karun. "Your kind, my friend, you will be responsible for your own extinction one day. Don't you think?"
Karun looked a little intimidated, but he answered honestly.
"I think that we must learn from our mistakes and do better, sir. You must not give up hope."
Druig did not seem to like his answer, expressing so by possessing Kingo's valet and proceeding to throw his camera against a wall, thoroughly frightening Karun and pissing off Kingo.
"Oh, where is your sense of humor Kingo?"
"You are not a god. You know that right?"
"How ironic. Kingo, the movie star."
"I've directed some things too."
"Oh yeah? Like what?"
"Some internet content..."
"How many views?"
"I don't do it for the views-"
"Let's go. He's waisting our time." Ikaris started heading towards the door.
"We need him and (Y/n)." Sersi tried to reason.
"Ikaris!" Druig stepped in front of the taller man's path. "I missed you."
Druig was really pushing it right now. "Are you not gonna charm me or threaten me?"
"There's a third option if you'd prefer that."
"It must be heartbreaking to find out that you're not mothers favorite." Druig taunted about Ikaris not being the next chosen leader.
"I'm sure she'd be real proud about what you've been up to." Ikaris always seemed to fall for the psychic's taunting.
"Druig, this is serious." Sersi tried to butt in once more.
"I'll tell you what's serious." Druig's voice got louder as he seemed to get more annoyed.
"I've just been told that I was sent on a suicide mission for the past 7,000 years, and that my entire existence is a lie." He looked Sersi in the eyes. "So excuse me for not giving a shit about your plan right now."
Athena stepped forward, brushing away Gilgamesh's hand that attempted to stop her from engaging in the conflict. She'd been quiet this whole time, but nobody else seemed to be getting anywhere with the stubborn psychic.
"This is very important. Everything will be lost if we can't stop the celestial birth. You have to admit that we've all gained somekind of admiration for humanity. Not only will the humans be gone, but so will all of the memories we've shared on Earth. Our memories with each other." Athena turned away from the rest of the Eternals, only addressing Druig when she said her next line, hoping that she'll strike a chord in him. "Your memories with (Y/n)."
Everyone was silent.
Druig let out a heavy sigh, but before he could even open his mouth to say anything, the large wooden door creeked open slowly.
"Hey Druig, I-"
Silence still hung heavy in the room amongst the Eternals, but this time it was shock.
There you stood, slightly different from the last time they've seen you many years ago, but still you. It all made sense now, why you were nowhere they searched, even though they've literally checked everywhere.
Your voice got caught in your throat as soon as you entered the cabin filled with your old friends, whom you may also have been technically hiding from.
"Uh...bad timing." Druig's voice rang in your head. Your panicked eyes met his from across the room.
"Holy shit." Kingo was the first to speak up. "(Y/n) has been here with Druig the whole time?!"
You let out an awkward chuckle, not knowing how to reply.
"What have the two of you even been doing here together for all of these years?!" Kingo's arms flailed in the air dramatically, obviously annoyed that all of their searching was for nothing.
"Actually, don't answer that question." Sprite put her hands up when she saw the look you and Druig exchanged.
"Ohmygosh-" Ikaris pinched the bridge of his nose in disgust.
Confused, Kingo looked back and fourth between everyone. "Wha- I wasn't even aware the two of them are a thing."
Everyone turned to look at the man in purple with expressions that read "really?"
"Are you telling me that I'm the only one who didn't know?!" Kingo was still going on about it. "(Y/n) is too kind and cute for Druig!"
You couldn't help but laugh behind your hand as Druig rolled his eyes, fighting a small smirk.
You had to admit that you missed your family.
"Well I for one honestly don't care where (Y/n) has been this whole time. I'm just glad to see them again!" Gilgamesh stomped up to you and scooped you into a big bear hug, fits of giggles escaping you as he squeezed your breath away.
Laughter eventually erupts from everyone, the atmosphere a stark contrast from how it was only 5 minutes ago.
When all was settled down again, Sersi sat you down and told you everything...
The tragic death of Ajak, your wise leader and mother figure.
How your purpose is to keep a planet happy and thriving just to destroy it by creating a celestial.
How all of your memories have been erased countless times, because you've killed planets and birthed celestials countless times.
By the end of it, you were a sobbing mess. You've always been a little more sensitive than the others, so this obviously deeply soured the peppy family reunion mood you were in.
There was no question that you were going along with Phastos's plan. You wanted to keep these memories that you've spent centuries cherishing, and you wanted to watch humanity grow so much more.
When you declared your certainty about going with them, Druig was dragged in by default.
Wherever you went, he went.
You did the same for him when shit hit the fan in Tenochtitlan and he left.
You knew you'd miss the little civilization that you and Druig have helped create, but it'll still be there after you've saved the planet. When it's all over, you can go back with Druig and continue waking up next to him every morning to start a busy day of harvesting crops and handwashing laundry.
For now though, it's back to Olympia.
....................
"Well, look who it is!"
"Didn't think you'd be so glad to see me Phastos." Druig remarked with a smirk.
"I'm not. I was talking about (Y/n)." He brushed past the raven haired Eternal to embrace you.
Makkari elbowed the psychic, who had been grinning like an idiot while watching (Y/n).
"You look like a lovesick puppy." She signed.
Druig rolled his eyes, but his grin never faltered.
"Well, I for one, still can't believe it!" Kingo's appeared on the other side of Druig.
"I've never seen this man smile bigger than that annoying smirk." Kingo playfully leaned an arm on Druig's shoulder.
"I've also had the displeasure of seeing them kiss like 50 times during the time spand of getting here from the Amazon."
"You're just jealous." Makkari joked.
"What?! No! I get tons of babes! I just don't have the time for a committed relationship." Kingo stuck his nose in the air.
You tried not to smile while listening to your friends tease Druig. You continued pretending to pay attention to Phastos's rambling about a new invention idea.
Druig's eyes caught yours.
"Get me outta here!" He pleaded in your head.
"We just got here baby." Your voice is always so gentle and soothing in his brain. Even though he's begging to leave, he doesn't mind staying as long as you're here.
"Alright. You definitely owe me one, love." A smug look dawned his features as he affectively ignored the two Eternals babbling next to him.
You felt your ears and cheeks blush, going thankfully unnoticed by Phastos.
You are going to do absolutely anything to make sure that you both come out of all of this alive and well. There's no way you could possibly imagine a lifetime without Druig.
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ladykailitha · 4 months
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Grief ( A Friend Indeed) Part 11
Here we finally get the singing love songs at each other, a misunderstanding, and it's resolution. The next chapter is the last one. Thank you all who've come along with me on this journey.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10
****
Steve woke up the next morning feeling like the world had been taken off his shoulders for the first time since he ran back into the Byers’ house and throw his lot in with would-be monster killers.
Yeah, the thing with Hopper still hadn’t been resolved and maybe never would be, but he had someone who understood. Eddie understood.
The next few days went without incident. Steve still talked to Robin whenever he could, but now he had someone else to talk to, too. He called Percy as well.
But that was reserved for when Eddie wasn’t around. He wanted to talk to someone about being in an gay relationship. And even without knowing Eddie’s romantic history, there was still no doubt that Percy had way more experience than his friend.
It felt good.
Soon it was their last night in Ashland and they were all at Hal’s Bar. Penny, Danny, Wayne, too. Oliver was watching Gale while everyone else went out.
Granted he had only agreed to babysit if Penny and Danny bought him a Nintendo system for his birthday, but it was still nice.
Danny got up and sang Donovan’s Sunshine Superman to Penny, who laughed.
“I’ll tell you right now,” Danny sang, “Any trick in the book now, baby, all that I can find!”
Steve laughed along with her but he couldn’t help but think of Eddie when he heard the lyrics “A you-you-you can just sit there a-thinking on your velvet throne, Bout all the rainbows a-you can a-have for your own, when you make your mind up forever to be mine!”
That silly little throne he insisted on having at every D&D game, that finally Steve got Dustin and Lucas to help him steal it from the drama department when Eddie graduated and install it in Steve’s basement so that he could continue to be King of the Freaks.
Eddie had nearly cried when he saw it. As far as graduation presents go, it really couldn’t be topped.
Steve shared a glance with Eddie who blushed. And maybe they were thinking of the same thing.
They even got Wayne up there to sing House of the Rising Sun.
Steve nudged Eddie with his elbow. “And you said he couldn’t carry a tune. I think he did a bang up job with that one,” he teased.
Eddie grumbled something about hiding talents under bushes or some such shit.
Steve got up and sang “Head Over Heels”.
Just belted his heart out.
*
Eddie and Lauren were sitting there sipping their drinks, Hal, having gave Eddie a bottle of beer since his birthday was so close and Lauren sipping on her Dr Pepper.
“So did you hear that Steve turned down Beth of all people?” Lauren said with derision.
Eddie smiled around his beer. “Oh yeah, but Steve was never gonna tap that, even under more ideal circumstances than attending a funeral.”
“Yeah, why’s that?” she asked.
“His type is leggy brunettes with soulful eyes and curly brown hair,” he said with a smirk.
Lauren turned to Eddie in shock. “So he really would have changed the pronouns that first night if he hadn’t thought that the crowd would shank him outside the bar after.”
“Yup!”
“Holy shit!” She downed the rest of her soda. “Which means the person he has chance with...”
“Is from home, but not at home at the moment?” he teased. “Oh yeah. No doubt he was talking about me.”
“Wait,” Lauren hissed. “How did you know that’s what he said?”
“I may have overheard the conversation on my way to the bathroom,” he admitted with a wince.
She smacked his arm. “You sly dog! You’ve known this whole time and didn’t tell me!”
“It wasn’t my place to tell,” Eddie defended. “He hasn’t even told me she was the reason he wanted to get out of town in the first place.”
She eyed him warily. “Fine.” Lauren crossed her arms over her chest.
“Fine?” he asked, unsure.
“Yeah, it sucks,” she said. “But I get it.”
She looked up at Steve who was finishing the song. “That song is also about you.”
“In my mind’s eye, one little boy, one little man. Funny how time flies,” Steve crooned.
Eddie grinned. “Yeah, I know that too.”
“Go get ‘em, tiger,” Lauren said.
Eddie got up and gave Steve a hug as they passed each other. Hal had already hooked up the amp so Eddie could play.
He grabbed the guitar and put the strap over his shoulder. “Hey, guys! I have one more song for you before I go back to Indiana.”
“Mh-hm-hmm, yeah, yeah,” Eddie began. “Holy Diver. You’ve been down too long in the midnight sea. Oh what’s be coming of me?”
Steve blushed.
Lauren tilted her head to look at him and then back at Eddie on stage. There was something about the song Eddie was singing that got Steve embarrassed.
Well, maybe that wasn’t the right word. Flustered? That might be closer to the mark.
“Holy diver!” Eddie continued to sing. “You’re the star of the masquerade. No need to look afraid!”
A few minutes later the song was over with and was absolutely star struck.
When Eddie loped back over to their table Steve said, “Dude, you really should be famous for your playing.”
Eddie grinned. “But not my singing, right?”
Steve pushed him playfully. “For that too, drama queen.”
Eddie cackled and sat back down.
Steve watched as other patrons got up and sang too. None were as good as Eddie. But then he was pretty sure he was bias.
Eddie walked out with Steve and Lauren at ten despite being told he was welcome to stay.
“So what’s the deal with Wayne and Hal?” Steve asked. “They spent the whole night huddled in that corner booth.”
Eddie laughed. “Hal and Wayne go way back. Since Uncle Danny and Aunt Penny got married. They’ve been inseparable.”
Steve just hummed.
Lauren looked at him. “What’s up?”
Steve scratched his cheek. “It’s just that if either of them had been a woman, it would have looked they were trying to change their last name.”
Lauren and Eddie frowned unsure of what he meant but Lauren caught on first.
“You thought they were flirting?” she gasped.
Steve shrugged. “One of my uncles is gay and if I hadn’t seen them act the same way as Wayne and Hal...”
Eddie stopped in his tracks and then burst out laughing.
“That sly dog!” Eddie crowed. “That’s what he meant when he said that he understood me better than I thought he did when I came out to him when I was sixteen.”
Lauren’s eyes went wide. “I have two gay uncles?”
Steve laughed too. “I didn’t mean to rock your world.”
Lauren looked back at the bar. “I think I know how to get Hal to bend the rules for me.”
Eddie smacked her hand. “No blackmailing Uncle Wayne’s boyfriend. That’s mean.”
Lauren pouted. “Fiiinnnne.” She grinned. “Does that mean I can blackmail Uncle Wayne?”
“No!” Steve protested. “Absolutely not!”
Eddie giggled. “Uh-huh, you got him to use his mom no. You’re in so much trouble now.”
“I do not have a mom no,” Steve protested. “Don’t listen to him he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
Eddie cackled. “It’s the same no you used with Red in her trailer.”
Steve’s jaw dropped. “Well, shit.” He turned to Lauren. “Apparently I have a mom no.”
She laughed.
Steve was really going to miss her. Maybe he could convince her to come out later this summer, too.
*
Eddie was not having a good morning. He couldn’t find his Metallica shirt, tore up the whole room looking for it, only for Wayne to point out he was wearing it.
And then he spilled hot coffee on his pants and to change them.
Then the tarp they were going to use to cover the furniture they got was ripped in three places. So Danny had too take Wayne to buy a new one, because the one he had was too small.
So they were late getting out. The skies were darkening and a huge storm was rolling in.
Cue one very grumpy Eddie.
Steve wasn’t fairing much better but that was more that he wasn’t fully awake yet.
“I’ve got to go with Wayne,” Eddie grumbled. “I see you at the truck station we stopped on the way down, k?”
Steve nodded, his lips pursed. “Got it. See you then.”
Eddie nodded and trudged back to the truck.
Wayne wisely said nothing and they both slid into the cab of the truck.
“Your boy going to find the truck stop okay?” he asked to break the oppressive silence.
“He’s not my boy,” Eddie grumbled. “Not yet anyway.”
They started driving and Wayne looked in the review mirror to make sure Steve was following him.
He frowned. “Is he okay?”
Eddie looked back at the Bimmer and saw that Steve was hitting the steering wheel, waving his arms about and he couldn’t be sure. Not at this distance. But it looked like he was crying.
“Shit!” he cursed. “Stop the truck!”
Wayne slammed on his breaks and Eddie threw open the door and ran back.
About half way to Steve’s car the skies opened up and just pummeled the earth with rain.
Eddie picked up speed and yanked the passenger side door open. He hurried in and slammed the door.
“Eds?” Steve croaked confirming the crying as easily as the tears on his face. “What–how–I mean...”
Eddie grabbed his face and gently wiped away his tears. “You seem to be laboring under some misconceptions out here. So I’m going to clue you in.”
Steve blinked. “Huh?”
“One, I have go with Wayne to keep an on the tarp over the heavy furniture,” Eddie explained, hands never leaving Steve’s cheeks. “He needs a second person as a spotter to make sure nothing flies into traffic.”
Steve gulped. “Yeah?”
“Yes,” Eddie said firmly. “Two, I would much rather be in this car with you. Getting to spend this week with you have been amazing because I got to know you better and I loved that. I love just being with you.”
“Oh,” Steve said, his breath stuttering in his chest.
“Yeah, oh,” Eddie said. “And you better listen up to this bit, Steve Harrington, because I’m going to make this a clear to you as I can. I am absolutely head over heels in love you.”
“Oh.”
“So what’s going to happen,” Eddie finished, “is this. I’m going to kiss you senseless, then I’m going to run back to Wayne’s truck in the fucking rain because the weather decided to be a bigger dramatic bitch then I am, and then I will meet you at the truck stop to repeat step one a lot.”
Steve face shivered into something like happiness. It wasn’t a smile, not yet, but Eddie could feel the change of mood.
“That okay with you?” Eddie confirmed.
Steve smiled at last banishing the last of the gloomy thoughts. “Yeah.”
“Good,” Eddie said and proceeded to kiss Steve senseless.
“Wow,” Steve murmured when they broke of the kiss.
Eddie cackled. “Back 'atcha, Stevie.”
“You better get back to Wayne, before you flood the cab of his truck because you left your door open.”
Eddie turned in front of him. “Oops! See you, sweetheart!” He kissed Steve’s cheek and was dashing back into the rain, jacket pulled over his head.
He got to the truck and slipped back in. The seat was wet, but so was his pants so it really didn’t fucking matter at that point.
“So you still wanna argue he’s not your boy?” Wayne asked with a smile.
“Nope.” Eddie just crossed his arms and hunkered down on the bench.
“You not going to tell me about what just happened?”
Eddie looked at him, grinning from ear to ear. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
Wayne shook his head and started driving again. This time Steve immediately followed.
****
Pt 12
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frenchiereading · 11 months
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Chapter 6
Chapter summary: Frankie and you actually talk about Saturday night and figure out your situation.
Word count: 9.4k (this was supposed to be a filler, help me!)
Chapter warnings: miscommunications, jealousy, a bit of angst, this one ends on a cliffhanger (sorry) and as always: 18+ MDNI, yearning, dad!Frankie, fluff
A/N: No beta, not a native speaker, only a Frankie lover :)
Some of your comments inspired some lines in this one, so you know, I always want to hear what you think :)
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This chapter spans from early February to the first half of April
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The kiss you've shared with Mr Morales last night is the only image your brain can focus on for the rest of the morning. You try otherwise, though.
To wonder what you're going to wear for brunch with your friends. How you should take your coffee. Only to remember the warmth of his lips on yours and you find yourself tracing the edge of them instead of drinking from your mug. You try to concentrate on how long your shower should last. If you should wash your hair and which shampoo you should use. Only to be brought back to the way you woke up, hands washing your body, skin tingling and breath quickening.  
Trying to think of anything else when you're by yourself is a hopeless endeavor so you give up. It brings a smile to your face, remembering how he held you and how desperately you want to be in his arms again. You'd forgotten what it felt like to be touched so carefully yet hungrily and you're craving this more than you crave the food you know you're going to inhale soon.
It's a tradition between the three of you, brunch on the weekend close to your birthday when you're all in town. Extra points if the birthday is actually on the day you're having brunch. Like it is today. The girls are holding gifts that you almost want to berate them for since they've already paid for dinner and are paying for brunch but you know it's pointless.
Far away from your real home, it's been a blessing to meet people who've woven their way into your life so tightly. You've met Ashley the first day of orientation for new teachers in the area and Jess was her roommate. A bit more extrovert than you but opposite attract, even in frienships. You like living on your own, more time to breathe and focus in the evening after hectic work days, yet it's nice to know there's always someone a text away to hang out with. Not as much as you'd like, work can be so time-consuming.
They shout happy birthday when they spot you down the street, then again when you enter the restaurant, more for the staff this time so they know free mimosas wouldn't be turned down if they ever made it to your table.
“How was the club?” you ask. They've changed from last night so you suspect they didn't end the night at someone else's place. Neither did you. They both shrug.
“Meh. Way too hyped. At least we didn't have to pay to get in.”
“Are you going to see those guys again?”
Another shrug, perfect coordination. They hardly look up from the menu.
“Probably not. But it was a fun night.”
“Enough about us, though.” Ashley decides, setting everything down, both hands flat on the table, eyes resolutely set on you and there's no point trying to hide from her prying. “How was your night?”
“Pretty great,” you eventually admit, a smile tugging at your lips at the memories. Apparently too powerful to be kept at bay even in public.
They both squeal, the perfect audience and it'd be lying to say you haven't been dying to tell someone about the fantastic time you've had at the bar.
“Spill.”
“There was some....kissing,” you confess slyly.
“Atta girl! You deserve it.”
“How was it?”
“Honestly? The best first kiss I've ever had?”
No competition. No question. You'd been wanting it for so long, longing for it, fantasizing about it that there was a risk you'd imagined it too much. But it did live up to your expectations. That and more. You briefly close your eyes, fingers tingling from the memory of Mr Morales' hair when you were playing with it and how it had made him groan in your mouth. You smoothe the tablecloth by your plate.
“And?” Jess presses, leaning over the table, almost bumping into the waiter bringing you your drinks. She ignores the glass for now, and that's a rare enough occurrence that you know how invested she is in your story. It's not often you're on this side of conversations about men.
“And that's it. We kissed.”
They both deflate under your very eyes, clearly expecting more. You'd have loved for the night to continue but your circumstances are what they are and you hope, you burn for what you want to happen between you and Mr Morales to happen down the line. All these months from now. If only you had a time machine.
“That's it? From the way he looked at you, like you know, like he wanted to eat you up, I thought for sure you'd end up in his bed. Did you at least get his number?”
“He was practically drooling over you,” Ashley agrees.
“What can I say? He's a gentleman.”
Another thing you can only praise him for, how attentive and how determined he is to do the right thing. You don't think you'd have minded if he'd decided to be a gentleman another time instead of last night. If it had been the only obstacle to him getting in the car with you, you suppose it wouldn't have been one and the dream you woke up to wouldn't have been a dream at all.
You sigh in your drink, reclining in your chair. Not the time to think of the way you woke up.
“Oh, does that mean you're going to see him again?”
“Yeah and what was up with you already knowing him?”
“Well, here's the thing,” That you didn't want to have to think too much about. Easier, better to curl yourself up in the little fantasy corner of Frankie being a great guy you've met at the library. At the bar. No other connection. Him being just Frankie. But he can't just be that. Not yet at least, regardless of how much you desire it. He's Mr Morales first. He's a parent.
“But you can't tell people,” you warn them, voice dropping so low they both inch closer, ears open to the secret you are about to share. “I've been seeing quite a lot of him. I've been seeing him almost every day for some months. And I didn't have to get his number last night because I've had it since August.”
You fidget with your hands, curling, uncurling one around your glass. It's almost gone, your cocktail. You pick at the nails you had done yesterday.
“Is he...a parent?” Ashley hisses, as if it were a dirty secret.
“Is he married?”
“No! No!” you say hastily, hands waving the thought away. You'd never. “He is a parent but he's single. He's the single father I've been telling you guys about.”
“The crush?” You nod to confirm and they both look at each other before nodding their approval. “Impeccable taste. He looks yummy.”
You can only agree with them. You've only gotten a small sample last night, barely enough to sate your cravings for more. You have no idea how you're going to function whenever you see him at school now. How can you look him in the eye with people around and not think of the ghost feeling of his hands and his tongue overwhelming your senses? Heat starts to awaken between your legs and you will your brain to think of something else. Anything else. How small should you cut the asparagus in your plate?
“Are you allowed to date parents?” Ashley asks because she works for another school in the district and she assumed for sure both had the same set of rules.
That's when you grimace, hating having to voice all the problems your feelings and wants have brought upon you. Jess pauses in what would almost be a comical gesture, fork frozen between the table and her mouth. Scrambled eggs fall back in her plate. She closes her mouth at the realization.
“Oh fuck, girl.”
“I know.” It comes out as a whine.
“At least you know he also likes you,” she tries to reassure you, putting her fork down and shuffling her chair until she's sitting closer to you. She rubs your back.
There's this crushing weight on your heart that Mr Morales and you must talk tomorrow. Somehow, a nagging thought in your brain keeps whispering that he might regret the kiss, that it may not have been up to what he expected and there's no need to wait until June to see if the two of you together would work because you don't. The thought makes it almost impossible for you to breathe. Until you think of how eager and excited the simple fact of kissing you had made him and you're reassured. A little. Maybe it was just biology.
But no. He said you were hot. And he'd looked as sincere as he could be, wrapped up in your arms. There's no reason for him to regret kissing you. You certainly don't regret it.
“What are you going to do?” Ashley asks and you've been wondering the same thing.
“We talked last week. We said we'd wait until the end of the school year to go out, exactly because of the rules. We have a date planned in June.”
“Oh, you sneaky. Good for you!” Her words do draw another smile from you, a small chuckle, invigorated by her kind eyes and how much they both want this to work for you. So do you. So much. So much it untangles some of the anguish in your stomach while also creating some more knots. This is an impossible situation.
“But I couldn't even last a week so,” you throw your hands in the air, “I'm screwed.”
It's another whine before your forehead comes to rest on the table with a little thunk. Then you're engulfed in a bear hug from the both of them. Kisses are dropped to your hairline and hands pat your back.
“Soon you'll be screwing him for real and you know it'll be worth the wait. I mean, have you seen the size of his hands? You'll be seeing fireworks.”
You snigger, because you know for sure she's right. What you felt against your thigh is the stuff dreams are made of. Literally. You almost tell them just that.
“I want him now,” you pout petulantly instead. Aware that it sounds childish. But it's your birthday and you're allowed.
“Best we can do are regular birthday presents,” they offer instead. One sound kiss to your temple before they reach for the wrapped gifts. “That and you can finally tell us everything about your man. We want details.”
A few mimosas later, you do tell them the effect you had on Mr Morales and they squeal so loudly the couple of elder patrons one table down cast a judging look at all of you that would have annoyed you under other circumstances.
How can you be annoyed when you're talking and thinking about Mr Morales so much that it seems your entire weekend has been devoted to him. You're barely nervous about having to face him at school the following day when you go to bed. A birthday weekend to remember indeed.
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On Monday afternoon, after class, you're sitting at your desk, putting the final touches to a worksheet for the next day before printing it, music playing from your phone when there's a knock on the open door.
“Hi, Miss,” Mr Morales rumbles his greetings, an effortless smile on his face meeting your expecting eyes. You've been hoping he'd come to you. You've been wanting him to all day.
“Hi!”
“Can I bother you?”
“You could never, please.”
He sets the high pile of copies on the only other regular chair in the classroom you'd pointed to on the floor. No space left on your desk. He sits by the side of your desk, waiting for you to save your work, fingers drumming on his thigh.
“Are we talking about Cassie?” you have to ask, turning back to him, meeting beautiful, brown eyes which don't break eye contact. It's not as inappropriate now as it was a few weeks ago.
“Should we?”
“Not as far as I'm concerned.”
“Good. I figured...I wanted to talk to you this morning but I figured now would be better. Less rushed.”
“Good thinking.”
Mr Morales beams a little at the compliment, something you've noticed him do a few times in the past. His fingers still on his leg and he rubs his jeans. Silence settles in the empty classroom, a little awkward. You feel like a schoolgirl, not knowing how to talk to boys anymore. Not that you've ever really known how to talk to men but this is even more special. It wasn't a random kiss with a stranger. It's not even a conversation you should be having in your classroom where his daughter was studying not even an hour ago.
But here you are. Everything about the two of you is out of the ordinary. Always has been.
Frankie sees you fidget, fingers restless, playing with a pen. His eyes catch yours when you look up from it to him again. He's been playing the conversation in his head on the way from work but nothing had prepared him for seeing you again. As beautiful as you were in his memories. He flushes a little at the thoughts he's had about you during the weekend. Not much different from some he'd had these past months but they were within his reach now. They will be. You will be. He can't wait.
“Were your friends angry with you?” you end up asking first, dancing around the subject. Frankie shakes his head.
“Angry, nah? They've been insufferable.”
From even before Frankie woke up on Sunday morning. Because he sent a message to the group chat letting them know he was home, alone, and please don't mention anything when Cassie is around, and of course Santiago had woken up before him. Demanding to know what had happened, texts so confusing after he'd left the bar. His own texts unhinged when he'd learned Frankie had met with you, his own behavior only reigned in when he'd barged in for breakfast because Cassie was there as well. And Abby who'd slept over. Not that she would have helped Frankie. She's as invested as the guys in his love life.
Frankie had never been more grateful to have his daughter hanging on to his arm all Sunday long so he could avoid his friends pestering him. That and the fact that she helped him not think constantly back on the kiss you'd shared and that he was desperate to re-enact. That and more. He had to take another shower in the morning just to cool off.
“Apparently,” he scowls, “I owe them drinks for the rest of their lives, that's the only way they'll forgive me, these motherfu...,” he stops himself then, makes a sheepish face that makes you snort. Enough to break whatever weird unease had settled over the both of you. You're no longer a teacher and a parent at school. You're with Frankie again. Like you were on Saturday night.
“I'll pay for some of those, it is after all, my fault. That is, if I ever meet your friends.”
“I'd love for you to,” Frankie assures, hand reaching for yours, stopping short when he does remember where he is. He rests it on a folder instead, your nails painted the same pretty colors and patterns he'd observed at the bar. He remembers how they'd glided against his jaw and the skin of his neck and these are not appropriate thoughts for a classroom.
“Down the line, when we can, I want you to meet them,” he repeats, soothing your worries. “Properly. I know you know Ben already, but that's not the same. And, you should know he might, oh hell, I know he will, that little shit, he'll tease you about it. About Saturday. Don't let it get to you.”
“I'll try not to.”
Deep down, you're aware that if his friend feels comfortable enough to act this way with you, it's because you're more than Cassie's teacher, you will be more. It's all you ever want. If you could already be more, you'd say yes without hesitation.
“About Saturday, you know, when we...,” Frankie tries to lean closer, the desk a hindrance so you also shuffle your chair closer. He's hesitant to say anything more out loud, in case someone overhears the conversation. His fingers have resumed their drumming on the folder.
“Yes?”
“I just wanted to check that you were ok.”
“I've never been better. It was perfect.”
“Yeah? I thought so, too.” Frankie grins in response to your bright, genuine smile. Too close. Your lips are chapped from too much talking and not drinking enough water today and he zeroes in on them, wants to lick them again. Your eyes drop to his tongue darting between his parted lips. Your hand twitches on the desk, itching to hold his again.
Your brain was stupid, imagining any part of Mr Morales would reject you after kissing you. His entire behavior is him fighting to stay away from you right now.
“You don't regret it?” he has to ask. He can easily guess you don't, from how you wanted him to come home with you. How he's kicked himself for having to say no, while also knowing it was the right thing to say. But sometimes the right thing feels so wrong.
“I only regret that we can't do it again,” you confess. “Not now anyway. But at least I know what I have waiting for me. You're a pretty damn good kisser, Mr Morales,” you whisper, the air sparkling with want between the two of you. Faces so close no one else can hear the words. Faces too close.
“Takes one to know one, Miss.”
Frankie inhales, exhales, minty breath against your cheeks and his knee bangs against the sharp corner of the desk. He curses. Pain spreading under the skin and bones but nonetheless grateful it's broken the spell. There's a sort of magic surrounding you that he can never repel. It's sucking him in.
He clears his throat, rubs where it hurts, stands up to go fix the frame by the board that has been askew every time he's come in the classroom. It has bothered him each time and now it's the perfect excuse to put much needed distance between him and how tempting you are. You twist in your chair to follow his every move.
“I didn't want you to think I was giving you the cold shoulder or that I regret what happened, because I don't, it's been... it's been hard to think of anything else,” Frankie admits, feeling your eyes strained on his back, they don't drop when he turns around. You keep looking, because you know you can and that's the only thing you can do for now. That and dream, and you don't want to admit your dreams to him. You certainly aren't there yet and it makes you hot under your cardigan just thinking back on it.
“I don't think I'll be stopping by your classroom much more, Miss. It's... you're too...I mean, you know.”
“Yes. You, too.”
“Fuck.” Frankie drags a hand over his face, closes his eyes to gather his thoughts. “Saturday was fantastic but reality sucks, doesn't it. I don't want to jeopardize your job.”
Always so considerate, making you ache for him. He might have put more thought into how to handle the rest of the school year than you but you can plainly see how weak he is when it comes to his desires. As weak as you are. Because meeting in an empty classroom is testing your thin resolved. His lips are a megnetic pull. You urgently need to feel his sturdy arms caging you to his chest again.
Only conversations with him in the courtyard from now on. With plenty of children and adults around. Chaperoning without knowing it.
“Thank you. And maybe next time we randomly run into each other, I should just ignore you,” you joke, although that would probably also make things easier. Less chance to slip up once again. You do want to slip up again, that's the problem. Maybe you just shouldn't leave your appartment except to go to work.
Frankie chuckles at the idea, not a bad one actually. He doesn't think he could control himself. He's gotten a taste of your skin and your body and he wants to kiss every inch of it. See which part is the softest. He wants to warm you up with his hands until you're burning with desire and he wants to hear you sigh against him again.
He clears his throat once more, shifting on his legs, willing the inappropriate thoughts away. Knowing full well they'll be back tonight when he'll be lying in his bed. Alone. Like they did the night before and the one before that.
“With all your superpowers, don't you have one to just magically make it be the end of the school year already?”
Mr Morales goofily waves his hand around, frustrated, and in the seconds it takes you to understand what he's talking about, you're giggling like an idiot. The weekend, the lack of sleep, the early morning to make up the work you couldn't do while you were enjoying quality time with your friends, it's all catching up on you.
You smoothe your clothes as you stand up, dabbing the corner of your eye with the back of your hand. Mr Morales' laughter is a pleasant sound to have around. Comfortable. Easing how precarious your situation is. Making you forget this is likely one of the last times you two are alone for months.
“I wish,” you groan. “See, that's the wish I should have made on Saturday! Wasted opportunity!”
“What did you wish for?”
“Now, I can't tell you, can I? Or it won't come true. And I really, really want it to come true.”
You dip your head, voice lower and lower and there's the glint of mischief in your eyes that Frankie wants to swallow and worship until night comes. Your eyeslashes batting up at him, not even hiding the fact that you are flirting and Frankie raises his arm, drawn to you. His fingertips graze your clothes. Only for a second before a loud voice echoes in the hallway and you both jump apart so fast.
Frankie cocks his head, curious, while the mother, obviously upset, stomps away from your colleague's classroom towards the exit. He frowns when you give him a shrug.
“That used to be my lot last year. I don't miss it,” you mumble behind the privacy of your hand, your moment gone, but the ease sipping in your new relationship, whatever it is, settling in. There to stay, you're sure of it.
Frankie scowls, shakes his head. He thinks you must be an angel to be able to endure conflicts with all the calm and diplomacy that you do. He thinks you're from heaven for other reasons, too, but he can't dwell on those right now.
“You have the patience of a saint,” he praises instead, waiting for you to gather your things after you've said you better go check on your colleague. Probably bitch about the mother but that was implied only. He wouldn't blame you. He can still hear her and she's so far away already.
Some parents can be a handful, he's learned that from the groupchat he's in with the parents of Cassie's classmates and from some interactions he's witnessed in the courtyard.
“Oh, by the way,” he suddenly remembers the other thing he wanted to talk to you about before he got distracted by your looks, your voice, your scent. “Speaking of superpowers. You know your magic file?”
“Yes?”
“It should give you my phone number, right?”
“Correct.”
If Saturday had been a random night when he'd met a beautiful stranger, Frankie would have given her his phone number. In the daze of your kiss, and knowing he was going to see you again at school, it never occurred to him to ask for yours. Or else he'd have called yesterday to make sure you were all right. If he can't stop by your classroom, for both your sakes, at least he's hoping you can text.
“If you wanted to use it, and not in case of a Cassie-related emergency, I wouldn't object.”
“Yes? I didn't want to assume. I have all this information on you and you have nothing on me.”
“That's not true,” he corrects. He remembers so much that you told him. He can't help but lean closer to you on his way out. His fingers brush against your back. On purpose. Pausing for a second longer than he should. “But I want to know more about you, hermosa. I really do. You should use that phone number to tell me.”
Frankie throws one last pointed look behind his shoulder before he strides down the hallway, leaving you breathless. Motionless. It's your colleague who comes to you to bitch about the mother, finding you rooted on your spot, the pet name echoing in your ears.
You deem it a win when you can wait until much later in the evening, after dinner, to send Mr Morales a text and give him your phone number.
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It's only a couple of shy texts during the week, toying with this new idea, squirting the edges of what is allowed. When Frankie's phone buzzes on Cassie's nightstand on Friday night, he still finds himself hoping it's you replying to him wishing you a good weekend. It's been a long time since he's been so looking forward to someone texting him.
It'll have to wait, though, the bedtime story not yet finished and Cassie snuggling under his arm from where Frankie is precariously sitting in a bed way too small to accommodate him. She yawns when he reads the last sentence, her comment lost as she rubs her eye and then rubs her face against him.
“Papá?”
“¿Si, mi vida?”
“Te amo, Papá.”
Sometimes, she'd make him cry because he never thought that would be his life and she really does give him all her love, that little girl. Frankie doesn't know how he deserves it all.
Frankie hugs her closer to his chest, her clean pjs smelling of home and the bubblegum smell of her body wash all he yearns for. This is where his heart feels the most at peace. When it's quiet and Cassie is close, solid and warm by his side. He kisses her forehead, brushes stray hair out of her sleepy eyes.
“Te amo muchísimo.”
“I'm making you a Valentine's card,” she adds after a while, eyes closed and Frankie sees how the grasp she has on his tee-shirt is loosening.
“You are? Thank you.”
“But it's a surprise.”
“Ok,” he tries not to chuckle.
“I'm making one for Benny, too. I asked Abby and she said yes.”
“Isn't she the nicest. Good job asking her.”
Cassie gives a little nod, the hand steadily brushing her hair lulling her to sleep. Frankie can feel her little body growing heavier and heavier by his side.
“She said Miss was nice, too.”
“That she is. Time to sleep, sweetie.”
Frankie hears no word of protest as he lies her down completely, tucks her in, eyes firmly closed as he turns off the light, turns on the night one and closes the door quietly.
Benny is sprawled on the couch, flicking through the sports channels.
“Abby came with you to the school today?”
“Yup. She wanted to meet the woman who made you leave her boyfriend stranded.”
Frankie groans, sinking in the couch next to his friend. The first time he can truly relax today. He props his legs on the coffee table. Almost a week since the bar and Benny keeps finding ways to remind him of it.
“You're never going to let that go, are you?”
“Nope.” Benny pops his “p”, throwing a devilish grin at his friend and Frankie crosses his arms over his chest, huffing. “She liked her by the way.”
“I know, Cassie told me.”
“I like her, too. Even more than before coz she said she'll buy us drinks to make up for it next chance she gets.”
“What did you say to her? You better not have embarassed her too much,” Frankie grumbles, narrowing his eyes. He knows you can handle yourself and he did warn you it was going to happen but still, he'll have to remember to check in with you. Another excuse to text you.
That reminds him of the text he got earlier, indeed from you, wishing him a good weekend, asking if he'll be watching the Superbowl because you will. Not that you have any interest in football but it's another excuse to get together with the friends he's met and to experiment new recipes. A longer text that the ones you've exchanged so far. Frankie has to take advantage of it and ask what you're cooking. Baking? Is it something you enjoy doing?
Packaged snacks fly by his head, landing on the coffee table. When did Benny stand up? When did he settle on a replay neither of them has watched before? Frankie loses track of time whenever you're involved.
“It's cute,” Benny remarks.
“What is?”
“You.” Frankie scowls but his friend presses on. “How you claim you're not dating but you go all protective for her.”
“Coz I know you. And it's her workplace.”
“Not to mention how you apparently had your tongue down her throat last weekend.”
“Jesus Fuck. They're not wrong when they say to never kiss and tell,” Frankie mutters, flipping Benny off wherever he is rummaging in the kitchen. “That was one slip-up. Not going out till June.”
“And the constant texting helps your case how?”
“That could be anyone.”
You do betray him then, involuntarily, your name illuminating the screen of his phone with your reply. Benny gives him a pointed look, rather pleased with himself.
“Almost making me regret living with you, you fucking fishwife,” Frankie grunts, which makes Benny guffaw until he catches himself when he remembers the child sleeping down the hall. The coffee table rattles when he kicks Frankie's shin in retaliation.
A cold beer bottle taps Frankie on the arm as a peace offering mere seconds later.
“For all the shit I give you, it's nice to see you happy about something that is not Cassie-related,” Benny is all serious tone now, giving his friend's shoulder a rough pat. “I hope it works out for you. You deserve it.”
Frankie hopes so, too. So much it hurts sometimes. Maybe you really shouldn't be texting, it blurs the lines so much more but it's not that much. And something that makes his heart sing enough to ignore how his friend mockingly complains that this is it, he's lost his buddy to some girl, it's something Frankie wants to cherish with all his might.
You're no just some girl. Not when you gush over the cake you're baking this weekend and the few cocktail options you haven't settled on yet. Not when you dare ask about his opinion to make the final decision. Not when he sees the dots come and go as you must try to come up with a clever reply after he's sent that maybe he should just come over and try them all to really decide.
I wish you could.
Frankie is aware he's screwed. So gone for you. Waiting is his personal hell for the next months so if he can keep a semblance of closeness to you as a woman and not just his kid's teacher, he'll hang on to it. Nothing wrong with texting. Even if it's often borderline flirting.
He's never really been one for Valentine's Day, he could count on one hand the times he was in an actual relationship on the day. You're not one for it, either, the memory branded in his mind. Everything about that fated Saturday at the library is so he doesn't even consider it a bold move to send you a picture of a cupcake on the very day the following week. With a winking emoji. Nerves nonetheless make him fidget waiting for your answer.
What Mr Morales doesn't know is how you stare at the screen for a solid minute. It's been years since you got anything Valentine's related which wasn't from your friends, your family or your students. There's a couple of fresh cards on display in the kitchen island staring at you right now.
It takes you a while that night to function properly again, grin splitting your face. You don't know if the text is deliberate or a typo mistake on the comma but you don't even care. And you choose to belive it's intentional.
Happy Valentine's Day, cupcake.
It's not. Intentional. Frankie's finger must have slipped and when he notices the phrasing, his eyes bulge out and he feels uncomfortable for a second, pulling the bill of his cap lower to hide his embarassment, even though Benny is too busy shouting at the TV to notice anything out of the ordinary. When you don't mention it to him, Frankie decides he's safe and tucks the information away for later.
In your reply, you keep to yourself how you cradled the phone to your chest, a poor substitute for Mr Morales but the closest you get to be to him. Contentment washes over you as you sink in the couch after you've sent back flower bouquet emojis and he admits it's the first time someone offers him flowers, how ever virtual they might be.
What Benny notices is what he describes as the silliest smile on his friend's face and Frankie can't make him shut up for the rest of the night.
There's no real pattern to your texting. Some days there's none, other days only a quick I hope you have a good day. A good spring break when mid-March rolls around. Finally.
You know Cassie has a birthday party that first weekend, you've had all the pain in the world making the kids concentrate the day the invitations were handed out.
Not your problem anymore because you've driven to the beach for a few days with Ashley. To relax, soak in the sun and not talk or even think about school work for a while. What you do think about is Mr Morales and there's no more hesitation to send him a few texts when he's stayed back in town.
The texts are mostly innocent, the water's really nice, Ashley tried to get me to surf and now I have a bruise on my hip, but you at the beach means you in a swimming suit and that drives Frankie to new heights. He'd never ask for photos, his imagination enough to keep him company. But he's so hungry for you, it's eating at him.
Frankie has never been more jealous either. What wouldn't he give to also have a few days off away from responsibilities and kids. But he has one to entertain, thankful for some of the other parents he's gotten close to, the ones who suggest play dates, or even to take Cassie to the community center when his schedule and Benny don't really align. A full week is hard when it's just him and burdening his friends isn't always the answer. Planning the summer break is already giving him a headache.
More than Cassie badgering him, relentless, about the birthday party she also wants to have. She's 7 in that many days, she insists, finger tapping on the calendar.
Cassie does get her own birthday party, the first you hear of it a few days after you're all back at school and she clutches bright yellow enveloppes to her chest, asking for your help.
“But there's not one for you, Miss,” she apologizes. “Papá said people under 8 only and parents. You're more than 8, right?”
“I'm afraid I am.”
It's not the first time you've been almost invited to one of your kids' birthday party and you're always thankful when you don't have to come up with your own excuses.
It's too good an opportunity to tease Mr Morales over.
You Crushed to hear I'm not invited to Cassie's birthday party
F. Morales Sorry :( I'll invite you to mine
You But will there be balloons??
F. Morales For you? Anything
F. Morales Even cupcakes
You bite your cheek, book forgotten by your side as you wiggle in your bed, sighing at how happy any of his texts make you. Fire simmering in your stomach, a familiar sensation which has been making your life more worth living lately.
It's easy, easier to talk with him. Usually when you count the days till the end of the school year, it's because you can't wait for a longer break without kids demanding your constant attention and supervision. Your countdown this year has turned into one till Mr Morales can finally take you out on your date.
Seeing him from afar, a nod of acknowledgement across the courtyard, it's killing you inside but then, often, he texts you in the evening and you rest assured that all the things you can't talk about in person, he texts them instead.
Books, movies, that meme his friend uses all the time that he doesn't really understand. His gratefulness when you explain it to him. His pride when you send him a picture of the crossword puzzle you're currently stuck on. Related to helicopters and his reply comes in literal seconds. Saving you.
Texts telling him a little about your family, growing up in the woods, breaking your arm climbing trees, the dogs you've always had around the house. Little facts about your childhood. Recommendations for hiking trails. Here and there. Waterfalls and wildlife. Making plans without really admitting it. Perhaps you're getting too far ahead of yourself but whatever you have going on with Mr Morales, it's been weeks since you've thought of him solely as a parent. He's so much more.
Until the field trip to the aquarium in April.
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It started before that, you have to admit. Small things you've seen from across the courtyard. Mrs Ortega resting her hand on his arm while talking to him and Mr Morales barely stepping away from it. Another day, them walking away together, kids in tow but still together and you remember the next day how Cassie and her friend raved about the great time they had at the park that afternoon together.
It should be nice to see them making acquaintances in the neighborhood, you remember how nervous Cassie was in August to know no one. It should be. There's that lingering belief weaving its way through you that it's more than what you'd like it to be and the first time you realize what you're doing, you chastise yourself for it. Mr Morales doesn't belong to you, what you have is nice, the promise of more comforting but it's nothing concrete yet.
And it's not like just because he can't talk to you, he shouldn't talk to anyone. There's no denying that you miss hearing his voice directed to you exclusively and not his daughter or other parents. And not just for hello and good bye said hastily whenever you do get close enough to him at school. It hasn't happened a lot lately, and it's always about Cassie. He's only been in your classroom twice since February. Once when she forgot her jacket and once when he'd come to tell you that she had a band-aid on her elbow and could you please make sure she doesn't pick at it?
The Tuesday before the field trip marks the third time and you can hardly claim you are alone. He's at the back of the classroom, surrounded by all the other parents while you give last minute details about the organisation, what kids can bring or not, when you remind them of times and hand out the paper you've put all the vital information on.
You don't blame him for trying not to look you in the eye when he takes his, fingers brushing on accident, the touch sending you back to happier, more carefree memories and you smile to yourself as you walk back up to your desk. You've missed him. You've missed his laughter that you can hear now behind you.
Talking with Mrs Ortega. She touches his arm again and you ball your hand by your side, annoyed. You stutter a bit at how he doesn't immediately shrug it away. How it doesn't seem to faze him that much. Instead he nods and tilts his head towards her to reply to her.
You're used to parents talking over you. People even. It's a first from Mr Morales, though, and it stings, needles pricking your lungs, burning air constricting your chest. Making you lose your train of thought.
Not even the small smile he quickly offers you before leaving the classroom, stirred that he is by the flow in another direction, no time to stop and talk more, not even that smile is enough to settle the unease dripping down your spine. You don't like it, you don't like the notions your brain is conjuring up, mind spiraling.
You admonish yourself for it when without fail, you get a text later that night.
You looked good today.
It's after a successful outing at the aquarium that it all comes crashing down. The kids had fun, you hope they learned something, you didn't lose any of them, both hands gripping those of the little running rascals who could have caused trouble. It's hot in the bus back to school. A different heat than the one in the tropical section of the aquarium but even less breathable. What you wouldn't give for some air conditioning.
At least you planned it for a Friday so you have the entire weekend to look forward to recharge your batteries. There's shrieking and loud talking behind you, the beginning of a headache. Your blouse sticks to your skin, sweaty. But it's a chill that drenches you when you can't help but overhear some of the conversation on the other side of aisle. Between the two mothers who kindly accompanied you.
Mrs Harvey, whose third child is in your class and that has come on every field trip you have ever planned. And Mrs Ortega. The freshly divorced mom that you've been trying not to be jealous of for all the time she apparently gets to spend with Mr Morales, thanks to her daughter.
You're not trying to eavesdrop, but it's a closed space, and they did talk about Frankie, a name your mind has started to be tuned to. And Mrs Ortega isn't practiculary quiet in her bragging. Because it sounds like it.
The countless afternoons they've spent together, when he took her to the restaurant, the lovely time they had there, the time he came over with his daughter and how she hopes soon he can come over just by himself. When her own child is with her father.
Your body goes rigid, head heavy on your shoulders, jaw clenched and your heart sinks low in your stomach. The bus is barely moving in traffic but you feel like you're going to be sick. Her words like daggers, never letting up. No matter how much you will your ears to concentrate on the two children arguing about the best name for a turtle behind you, there's buzzing instead, the mothers' voices praising everything that you like about Mr Morales, about his looks, piercing through your frail defenses.
You snap your eyes close, overwhelmed, willing with all your might the tears threatening to spill to stay hidden for now. It's not the place. Home later that night is. Dinner forgotten, no food that you could swallow and you ignore the text you're sure is coming from him. You were so foolish to think anyone would wait months for you.
You're angry, too. To learn about it like this. Not that Mr Morales owes you anything. He owes you honesty, though, and that's what makes it so upsetting. He can go out with anyone he wants but you at least deserve to know about it. But again, you never said you were exclusive. You're not even anything and it makes you want to scream in your pillow when you can't find sleep. How stupid of you to get tangled in such a ridiculous situation.
How infuriating of him to still send texts as if nothing was wrong. Not that you reply to any of them during the weekend. Just the sight of his name on your phone makes you sick. You mute the conversation. If only to give you peace of mind. Unsuccessfully.
You unmute it on Sunday night, when the prospect of having to see either him or Mrs Ortega or maybe, probably, both at school becomes too unbearable. But that's not a conversation you should have over texts. It's not even one for a phone call, not that you ever call each other. That's a level you never reached and never will, apparently.
Monday is hell, with all the angry tears you've shed crying yourself to sleep, you would have thought you'd be drained but all day, your mind is elsewhere and everyone has bad days but today tops them all. You're too short-tempered, voice too snappy and no one deserves to endure this so you even eat lunch by yourself in your classroom. This is what you get for trying to be involved with someone.
With a parent. You knew that rule was there for a good reason.
“Can you tell your dad to come see me when he gets here?” you ask Cassie after class, really, really hoping that's not one of those days when it's Mr Miller coming to pick her up. One day was dreadful, you don't want to have to wait until tomorrow to talk to him.
Then it dawns on you that you are going to have to see him for the rest of the year, a little less than two months. An uncomfortable eternity. You should have followed the rules.
“You wanted to see me, Miss?” His knuckles rasp against the door of the classroom. A melody you would have enjoyed under better circumstances. It only grates you now. You don't even pause in what you are doing, tidying up.
“Can you close the door?”
And this has never happened before. Frankie is immediately on high alert, doing as he's told.
“Is something wrong with Cassie?”
“No. Not with her. Listen.” You wring your hands, turning to look at him looking unsure in the middle of the little desks, far, too far away but that's for the best. “I knew it was a long shot when I asked you to wait until June and we never made any promises so...”
“Oh.” Frankie clenches his fist, unable to hide how disappointed he is when he realizes what you're trying to say. “You've met someone.”
“No.” You have. He's standing in front of you. Out of reach. “You have.”
“I....? I've met you.”
“I'm talking about Mrs Ortega.”
“What about her?”
“Are you really going to make me say it out loud? I thought you were better than that.”
Frankie is so confused. Between whatever you're trying to say and the anger he's never witnessed in you threatening to overflow. How you grit your teeth as you spit the words and the furious look in your eyes.
“I don't follow. I don't understand.”
“I thought I was beginning to know you but I guess I was wrong. I heard her on Friday. On the bus. Talking about your dates and how you came to 'fix her downstairs sink' and we all know what that's code for!”
You throw your hands up in rage, boiling. Hissing as you try not to attract too much attention. Even with the door closed you can't shout. You tried, really you tried for it not to get to you but he's infuriating, lying to your face and you've worked yourself up. Your vision is blurry when he takes a step closer.
“Oh, no, Miss. Hey, listen to me. Please, listen.” He says your name, much more softly than you expected, stepping closer again. You take a step back, your back bumping into the set of drawers against the wall. Mr Morales makes to grab your hand to calm you down, to stop the flailing but you won't let him.
“We have been spending time together. For the girls. And she did help me shop for Cassie's birthday party but I don't know if that would qualify as a date. It wasn't one for me.”
“She said you went to a restaurant.”
“Again, with the girls. To thank her for looking after Cassie when I was working. I don't know about you but Chuck E. Cheese isn't my definition of a romantic time.” His tone is soothing, gentle, patient. Not an ounce of anger when you look up to see him gazing at you.
“If you'll still let me, I'm not taking you there,” Frankie presses, encouraged by your little nod, the attempt at a smile. This time you don't stop him when he traces the edge of your hand with his finger. Your body is slowly starting to relax, still shaking a bit with the hollow breaths you're taking.
He takes one step closer still and the next time you breathe, deeply, you smell him more than you smell the markers left open on the table next to you. A healing smell.
“And when she says I fixed her sink, that's literally what I did.” Frankie would laugh if the situation wasn't so serious. He has no idea what Rosa's mom has been telling the other mothers, but he warrants an unpleasant conversation with her is happening in the near future. He scowls. Pushes the thought away. Focuses on you again. “I also replaced a couple of lightbulbs. Because Cassie had a playdate there and I could do it for free. No point getting robbed by professionals.”
He doesn't have to give you so many details but with each new one, your shoulders unclench, muscles loosening, tension disappearing and you sink against the furniture. Mr Morales so close, body practically flushed to yours, hand strong on your arm, rubbing.
“Sorry,” you can only mumble as an apology, feeling more and more foolish. Your outburst ridiculous in the quiet aftermath.
“I'm not interested in her. She's very nice but she's not my type. Thanks for letting me know, though. I guess I'm going to have to let her down easy.”
As easy as he can without mentioning how he's heard about what she's been implying, without antagonizing her so much that she doesn't want her daughter to see Cassie anymore. Man, that's not the afternoon Frankie thought he was going to have. He was so scared for a second when Cassie told him you wanted to talk with him.
Mrs Ortega is a problem for later, though. You're what he needs to focus on right now. The slight trembling in your limbs against him. The tears glistening on your eyelashes. The strong grip you have on his hand, holding on for dear life even though you are so embarassed.
“And if I had been interested, I'd have told you. I wouldn't have led you on. You deserve honesty.”
“Gosh, you must think I'm so stupid.”
“I don't. Never. It's the situation that's fucked up.”
His thumb brushes a lone tear falling down your cheek, warm against your skin. You lean into the touch, eyes closing briefly, whispers bringing you to the safe place that Mr Morales is.
“Is that why you didn't reply to my texts?” he suddenly has to wonder. It's not unusual for you to not reply instantly but it is when you don't at least answer his question. Or wish him a good week on Monday mornings. He's getting too used to this texting routine.
You nod weakly against him.
“Did you spend the entire weekend thinking I didn't want you anymore?”
You hate how he's figured you out. Later when you've calmed down from the events of the day, you'll realize he's got you so figured out it can only bode well for whatever future you may have.
Now, though, you can only nod to answer his question.
“Oh, hermosa, no. Come here.”
The door is closed, you're bound to hear if someone decides to intrude on your moment. So you let him pull you to his chest, his arm sneaking around your shoulders to hug you closer. You try to contain your sobs but you're so relieved, they choke you up instead.
“Next time something bothers you, don't wait so long. You call me, okay?”
Frankie feels you nod again against his chest, too focused on comforting your troubles to realize that he's hugging you again after long weeks of longing for it. Of barely interacting with you in person. How he's missed you.
“I'm an idiot,” you mutter, drying your eyes with the back of one hand, the other one still clasped in his. He rubs soothing circles on your back, waiting for your breathing to even out.
“You have to stop doing that,” he says briskly, tone resolute and you effectively let your hand drop from your face. Frankie shakes his head at your surprised gaze. “Belittling yourself like that. You do it often and there's no reason for it. You're so smart, so clever. So witty. You know so much, I can barely keep up with everything Cassie brings back home.”
“It's my job,” you shrug but he's having none of it.
“See? You're doing it again. Don't. You're so bright. So perceptive. So cultured. I watched that movie you recommended the other day and you're going to have to explain it to me once more.”
“Interstellar?”
“Yeah. Will you? Explain it to me?”
“I'll watch it again with you,” you promise, even if you're almost sure he's saying all this to make you feel better.
“Thanks. You're a wonderful person, you know that, right?”
His finger brushes your temple, down the side of your jaw, leaving comfortable tingles in its wake. When he says it, you believe him.
“You're so beautiful,” Frankie whispers, the words washing any discomfort as they settle in your heart. You'd scoff because you have puffy eyes right this instant and you won't stop sniffing. But his forehead rests gently against yours and how ever precarious your situation may be, there's no other place you'd rather be.
“There's no reason to be jealous, hermosa. You're the only one I want to take on dates. You hear me?”
How can you not, his lips are so close to yours it's almost as if you're the one speaking the words.
“We shouldn't,” you manage to breathe out, head tilting towards his telling a different story. Lips almost brushing. Facial hair against your cheek shouldn't feel so good.
“I know.”
“I want to, Frankie.”
You can't hear what he replies because then there's a loud crash by the open door of your classroom and as if struck by lightning, Mr Morales jumps away from you.
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thewulf · 9 months
Text
Time is a Gift || Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw
Summary: Can I request a Bradley x Reader where they are really good friends (can be stationed anywhere idc) and reader just lost a really important family member to her (mom/dad/brother/sister) and only Bradley really knows her pain of losing somebody you love so young... Read Rest Here
A/N: Very sad but sweet. Goes out to those who've lost somebody close too soon. Thank you for the request!
Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Y/N
Word Count: 2.7k +
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It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She was supposed to be here for the rest of your life. You still had so much to learn from her. She was supposed to be there for your wedding, if that was ever going to happen, for the birth of your children. She was supposed to be the world’s best grandma. But she never even got the chance.
 An aneurysm took her from the world two weeks ago. Your life changed entirely in those two weeks since you got the dreaded call.
One night you hung the phone up with an “I love you.” Then the next morning you got the call from your dad. She was gone. Just like that. At least it was painless. At least it was in her sleep. That’s the only thing that gave you any sort of solace. She didn’t suffer. But she was gone. Your mom. Momma. Mommy. Your rock. Just gone. Off into the night and never coming home.
Sure, you’d had your blow out fights with her when you were younger. But as you got older you got closer with her. She was your best friend. Your biggest cheerleader. Your number one confidant. The person you went to when you needed just about anything. Just gone. Poof. Like the wind.
It felt like you couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Merely going through the motions. A zombie of your former self. You didn’t even remember the funeral. You didn’t remember hugging your brother goodbye at the airport. You didn’t remember a damn thing that first week. Fragile. Broken. A shell of your former self.
Your dad dropped you off back in San Diego after the two weeks of leave you’ve been given. It all felt so pointless. So helpless. Your favorite thing in the world, flying, didn’t even spark an interest. The thought of going back to work in a few days made you physically ill. You couldn’t anymore. There wasn’t a point. This devastation of the reality of the situation hit you the hardest. She’d never got to meet the man you’d marry (or so you thought). She was robbed of so much. Her life cut impossibly short.
You and Bradley were normally tied at the hip. You all but ignored him for the last two weeks. Only giving him a few responses in your absence. It was hard to feel bad. It was hard to feel anything. It’s like she took a chunk of your soul when she departed the earth.
Bradley couldn’t stand it. Couldn’t stand not being able to talk to you. Talk you through it. He knew how it all felt. He knew better than anybody what it was like. His mom passed not that long ago. He could help you. But you wouldn’t take it. You refused it. Only giving him enough to know you were fucking alive.
He’d seen you at the funeral. But you were just a ghost of your former yourself. A body without it’s host. Something going through the motions. He’d tried in the small amount of time he got with you. It wasn’t enough. You were too far gone to hear anybody at that point.
He knew you were coming back today. When you didn’t answer his text, then the phone call, then another text he knew what he needed to do. He had to come to you. As your best friend. As the man who loved you more than anything in the world. As the man who was so enamored with you he couldn’t possibly imagine a life without you in it. Without your bright smile that made your eyes crinkle up in the corners. Without your infectious laughs that’d bring any sane man down to his knees. You’d helped him as much as he hoped he could help you. If you’d let him in.
He knocked on your door only to be met with utter silence. You had to be back though. Your car was moved into the driveway. You were home and you were isolating yourself. It broke his heart thinking how lost you must’ve been. Lost without somebody to guide you through the unimaginable.
The tears dried up after a week of crying. But the numbness… the numbness didn’t ever seem to fade. Not even when you slept. It only seemed to grow stronger. Take your over inch by inch day after day. You’d screamed and cried and let it all out, but she was still gone. You would never be able to talk to her again. Get her advice on a boy or an outfit. You’d never be able to cry into her shoulder when you got your heart broken again. She just didn’t exist anymore.
You heard the knocking. Oh, you heard it loud and clear. But you couldn’t get up. The bed was swallowing you, consuming your entirety. Not that you were upset about it. You wanted it to. What was the point? She was stripped right from you. A sick twist of fate.
You also heard the lock click open. The front door opened and closed softly. It was Bradley. You could tell just by the steps he took. By the sounds he made. He’d always had a spare key. For as long as you’d lived close to him he had a key to yours and you to his. For emergencies of course.
“Y/N?” He called from down the hall. Even if you wanted to there was no sound that came from your mouth. You pulled the comforter over your head. Maybe he wouldn’t see you. Maybe.
It didn’t work. He’d spotted you almost instantly. Because he was Bradley.
“Y/N?” It was a whisper now. He didn’t turn the light on as he walked into your bedroom. His heart shattering as he inched closer. He pulled the comforter down only to see your sallow face. Had you been eating? Were you even taking care of yourself?
“Hey, sweetheart.” He whispered bringing a comforting hand to your head. Softly, he brushed the tangled hair out of your face. Face contorting seeing you so… broken. You were usually so polished and poised. A brilliant smile always adorning your precious face. He was a sucker. A sucker so hopelessly in love it hurt. Seeing you like this made his sucker heart implode in itself.
You still hadn’t said a word. It made him more than nervous. He walked to the other side of the bed taking a seat in the spot next to you, “I’m here Y/N. I’m here.” He watched as you slowly rolled yourself to face him. Flicking your eyes up to his more than concerned face. It made you feel something. Something for the first time in two fucking weeks.
“Bradley…” You managed to croak out after not speaking for what felt like two weeks. The conversations were kept short between you and your grieving father.
His eyes softened even more as he witnessed the tears falling down your face, “Hey, I’m here.”
“I’m so tired.” The tears the seemed to have dried up were now freely falling from your face once again. He’d brough you back from the dead just by being there for you.
He nodded scooting a bit closer. Brushing the tears out of your face with his thumbs, “I know. Time doesn’t heal all wounds Y/N. You’ll miss her every damn day. Some days more than others. But there is a gift time gives us.” Gently, he palmed your chin to look in his direction, “Time softens the pain and blurs the painful memories.”
More tears raced down your cheek. Bradley opened the floodgate that seemed to be stuck closed. Your heart ached for him. Not even realizing how much you’d shut him out over the last few weeks. It hit you how bad you needed him right then and there as he inched his was closer and closer towards you.
He knew it too. He saw the flash come across your face. He saw the way your eyes downturned. He knew you through and through, “Come here.” He sat up on the bed so you could cuddle into him. Knowing exactly what you needed in that moment.
Immediately you pushed the comforter aside in favor of him, “Bradley.” A sob escaped your throat as you clung to his chest. Clung to something that was alive and breathing.
“I know sweetheart, I know.” He ran a few fingers through your hair after he pulled you all the way into his lap squeezing you tight. You were falling apart right in front of him. He had to be strong for you. Had to be the rock that was suddenly take from you.
“It hurts.” Your voice raised an octave. You felt like a six your old child having a meltdown. Your eyes were bloodshot from the salty tears that sprung back to life. Your nose was running like a faucet. You felt like you couldn’t breathe from the sobs that wracked your chest. You felt broken. Broken beyond repair. Not even sure if Bradley could help.
“Shh.” He pulled your head into the crevice of his neck and rocked you back and forth in his arms, “Remember that summer that was hotter than beyond belief? God what was that? Twenty some odd years ago now?” He knew he had to get you thinking about something else. Pull your pretty little head out of the deep dark spiral it was in.
You nodded into him. You were eight and he was ten. Your family had just moved in across the street the winter prior. Your parents had tried to get the two of you to play but neither of you were having it. Afterall girls had cooties and boys were disgusting. That was until you were playing outside one day. You’d caught a rogue football with ease. Bradley invited you to join him and some of his friends. Thank God you did because the rest was history.
“It was so hot. Over 100 degrees and mom wouldn’t let me come inside.” He smiled remembering how he felt like she was torturing him.
You hummed letting his talking take over, letting it completely distract you from reality. It felt good to be cuddled up in his arms. Like you were meant to be there.
“And your mom let me come inside for a freeze pop. A blue one.” Bradley grinned remembering. He always thought it was so funny how your brain held onto the seemingly most random memories. Little did he know why his brain held onto it. To help you right now. He understood why all the sudden.
“I remember thinking how lucky I was then. To have found you as a friend. Your mom treated me like her own son. I’d never felt so loved by somebody other than my mom.” He squeezed you just a bit tighter recalling that memory so vividly.
It made you smile. Somehow someway he’d done it. But then the tears started flowing again. Both happy and sad as you relished the memory. Happy you’d gotten to experience it but so sad you’d never get to make new ones with her.
“What is it?” He asked seeing the tears break free once more.
You sniffled for a moment trying to find the will to talk, “Bradley…” Another sob escaped you as you kept grabbing at his shirt. Feeling the material fist between your palms. It kept you grounded as you tried to come back to life.
“You can talk. You can cry. You can scream. You can punch me for all I care Y/N. Let it out sweetheart. I’m here for you. I’ll be here for you through it all.” He kept running his hand through your hair. He knew how much it normally soothed you just hoping it’d help a bit.
You held onto him. Held onto him like your life was dependent on it, “I wish it was me instead of her.”
He shook his head quickly before pulling you back. Looking you right in the eye and pleading with you, “Please don’t ever say that again. Please Y/N. You have to know how loved you are. How cherished you are by everyone you meet. You’re a light and we can’t live without you.” He paused a moment before adding, “I can’t live without you.”
It brought on another fresh set of tears. Ones you couldn’t pinpoint the emotions of. A mix of love, anguish, hurt, comfort, and everything in between seemed to roll down your cheeks once more. You’d wished you could stop. It never seemed like this would end. The world seemed to be showing you a much darker place lately.
He wrapped you back up. The worst is that he knew exactly how you felt. How your world was falling apart. Your person ripped fresh away from you. He wished he could take all the pain away from you. He wished and prayed. It wasn’t fair. But then again, when was it?
“I love you.” He whispered as he continued rocking you back and forth in his arms, “You are so adored.” He continued holding you.
“I’m so sorry.” You sounded a mess as you buried your face in his chest. You didn’t really wish your time on earth to be cut short. It was the sadness talking through you. Your mom would be so pissed you’d even say that.
He brought his hand up to cradle the side of your face into his chest. Almost as if you were a newborn baby. The overwhelming sense of comfort it brought on you was not lost. He was more than a best friend and you knew it. He knew it. But neither of you did anything about it. Comfortable in the state the two of you operated in. Nearly lovers but not quite. Tiptoeing on an invisible line.
“It’s okay.” He held you so close you found solace in the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Slow and steady, here to calm you. Everything about him seemed to relax you just a bit. He allowed you to breakdown so fully in front of him. He was prepared and ready to pick up the crumbling pieces of the delicately built house that was now toppling down on top of you. He was ready though. Ready to be there for you. Always waiting in the wings ready to catch you if you needed it.
“Time is a curse.” He kissed the top of your forehead as he’d done hundreds of times, “Time is a gift. A beautiful gift.” He let you soak that in before continuing. He wanted you to really process the words.
You sighed feeling utterly relaxed under the gentle rocking and his light touch. His all-encompassing grip he had on you. You breathed in the sweet scent of Bradley A mixture of soap, leather, and single malt scotch. A scent that soothed you more than you realized.
“Thank you Bradley.” It came out so faint, but he heard it. Gently, he gave your sides a squeeze.
He nodded his head to the rhythm of the rocking motion he had you in. You were slowly succumbing to the effects of it all. His heartbeat, his smell, him. You were on the brink of falling asleep on him, “You got it sweetheart.” He placed another gentle kiss to your forehead, “I was told that grief is just the absence of love. A place where love can’t flow. Redirect that love into something new.”
You nodded into him feeling the weight of the world slowly being lifted off your shoulders. Your eyes drooped as you held onto him like your life depended on it.
He had thought you might’ve fallen asleep before you spoke again, “I love you. You know.” Your eyes shuttered closed for what felt like the final time that night as sleep threatened to take over.
Bradley smiled. His grip on you only getting a little tighter as his fingers squeezed just a bit harder, “I know sweetheart.”
You hummed a sweet sound. A soft smile caressed your fast before your breathing slowed. He watched you as your slept on him. Making a few maneuvers in the bed he laid your head in his side pulling you close again. Still letting you hear his heartbeat but laying down this time.
“I love you too. More than you’ll ever know.” He placed one last kiss on your forehead before closing his eyes hoping to join you in a dreamless sleep.
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aphroditness · 4 months
Note
OMG UR WRITING FOR MONKIE KID NOW?!!?!!!!?11/1//1/ AAAA IVE ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT UR FANFICS WOULD BE LIKE WITH THE FANDOMM
Could I like.. request a fic where Wukong and Macaque both have a really strong crush on Model F!y/n and they're always arguing with eachother/fighting for her? but she's already getting so many love confessions so they both dont have the guts to tell her. Thank youu!!
YESSS I AMM </33 And omg I love the fandom sm bro im already obsessed. And no, we are not gonna talk abt how Im in love with both wukong and macaque.. im not a furry I swear..
I will be making this a series since I have no originality, consider this part one ;)
There are ships included like Shadowpeach and Chimera (but mostly Dragonfruit.)
Reader is in her early 20's
Some parts of the story may shift from different pov's, aka; point of view(s). Being first, second and third person.
Reader is a closeted bisexual/biquestioning so if you cant handle that then I politely advise you to close this fanfic.
You were new to megapolis, reason; your modelling career being there, but mostly because you wanted to try something new, and since you had family who lived in megapolis, why not give it a go? You were sad to be leaving your parents and your friends from back home, but they respected your decision overall.
It was early morning. You found an apartment close by a restaurant that your mother loved, Pigsy's noodles. Although you've never tried them before, you always took your mama's word for it. But you had to unpack your bags first. The food would have to wait. Your luggage's were overflowing with clothes, makeup, decorations, video games, posters.. and so. many. magazines. It took about 3 hours to zip open all of them, arrange, and sweep the apartment floors so you could be ready to go. By the time you checked your phone it was 10:37 AM and you needed to get your outfit on. You only had a week off until you had to meet up with your supervisor.
You got ready and took out your heatless curls before you brushed the last of your silky hair. Again, checking the time it was 12:00 PM. A perfect time to go out and finally check out the place you've always been dying to go to. Funny, right? How you've been all around the world but the place you've wanted to see the most was a fast food restaurant. Heck, if things really did work out for you, you'd consider actually.. Staying. You grabbed your juicy couture bag which contained your wallet, hairbrush, lip-gloss, phone and your charger. Then exited out your apartment door, being greeted by the chill breeze of air and crowds of people walking by. First step you made, and you could already feel the excitement rushing through you like adrenaline. Cruising through teenagers and overworked business' employees like it was another catwalk.
15 minutes of people stepping on your shoes and shoving you in multiple directions came to an end once you reached Pigsy's noodles, which there were no other people in sight, oddly strange. You wondered if this was the correct place your mother had been talking about for years since you were a toddler. But there were no other places similar to this, it had a nostalgic aroma even to those who've never visited. Making the place seem homey and welcoming. You were about to step inside until the sounds of pots and pans clattering came out from the other side of the door while you heard people yelling at each other.
"WHERE'S MY STAFF?!" was what you got out of the muffled screams. It seemed like they needed help, so you wanted to see what you could help out with. You twisted the knob and opened the door, instantly walking inside and closing it behind you so there would be no distractions to the ones outdoors.
You froze as you widened your eyes, looking to see a staff similar to a legend you heard before, the monkey king? Makes it even more confusing to see him literally RIGHT. BESIDE. IT.
You were already freaking out as what seemed like the owner of the store was also panicking, trying to calm you down while a boy holding the staff looked like he was about to faint.
Pigsy: DID YOU NOT LOCK THE DOORS MK?!
Mk: I THOUGHT I DID! OH MY GOD.. THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE.
Wukong: ...is it too late to disappear?
Y/n: "Okay! OKAY- Uhm.. I don't even know you.. so i'm just gonna get- going- now-"
But "STOP!" was the only thing you heard before you could barely even turn to leave. You froze again and slowly turned your head, taking the time to look at everyone around you.
Mei: There's no point in not to tell her, she may not know us. like literally, she's a complete stranger! But we can't let her leave nowww! Plus I kinda wanna keep her.. she's wayyy tooo prettyyyy..
A girl in a green jacket and two ponytails said. Your cheeks noticeably turned a subtle shade of red as you smiled in flattery.
Tang: Although I do agree, she's not a doll Mei, you can't just keep her. Plus, how do we even start.. I'm usually good at explaining things..
Wukong: Hey, hey! Guysssuhh!! I'm pretty sure this is where I come in!
You looked at the monkey up and down as you blinked in surprise, him stepping forward to start from the beginning of how he technically wasn't a myth, bragged a bit about his immortality and how a super-cool mentor he was, and continued to introduce himself and the rest of the people in the store. It normally would've taken you some time to memorize the names of so many people, but the shock had the names engraved into your memory. But you finally calmed down significantly after you sat down and allowed Pigsy to let you eat a bowl of noodles, surprisingly on the house. Which Tang didn't think was fair because he said you had "pretty privilege" and started nagging, but you laughed and took the last sip of your bowl. You stayed in honor of having a new person (that person being you.) into the Lmk squad. Mk grabbed your hand and decided to bring you upstairs to show off his room ignoring as Pigsy screamed after him, telling him to quick slacking off and to finish his shift first.
I was being dragged off into Mk's room, which was a bit messy, but he seemed happy to show it off anyway. He invited me to sit on the carpet as he sat beside me. I had to admit, I found it funny how interested he was in finding out more about me. His childlike behavior and excitement was similar to having a little brother, yes, I was aware that I was only a year or two older than him, But I was more than happy to answer any questions he had for me.
It was fun, we stayed upstairs for about 40 minutes playing his favorite video game of the monkey king. I guess you could say ... he was a bit of a fanboy, huh? But hearing him ramble on and on about something he was so passionate about made me feel useful that I could listen to someone. Did this mean we were friends now?
Mk: Hey Y/n!
Y/n: Yeah? What happened Mk?
Mk: Do you have Snapchat or something? Since we're friends I wanna add you on my socials so we can talk more.
Y/n *Caught off guard a bit*: O-oh. I- uh.. Sure!
It's not like I was trying to be awkward, but to be honest, as far as the compliments go, I don't have any friends.. Wow. Uh. That sounded way more desperate than I intended it to be.. I've been so busy with travelling but now that I'm permanently staying in ONE PLACE, I actually have the opportunity to make some. And be friendly, y'know? I guess I zoned out while playing video games with MK because I didn't notice how Pigsy slammed his door open and started to scold him.
Pigsy: DID I GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO GO BACK UPSTAIRS? GET DOWN HERE, AND. GET. DELIVERING. OR IM CUTTING YOUR PAYCHECK !!
Mk: Okay okay!! I'm coming down, jeez.. Sorry Y/n, but I have a job to take care of, you can hang with Mei, or just stay here if you want to in the meantime!
Y/n *Smiles*: It's all good, do your best. Oh, and don't get fired!
Mk smiled at me one more time before heading back downstairs while Pigsy chased him with a frying pan, I giggled and turned off the controllers, as well as the game before turning around and seeing a specific monkey ..
Y/n: Monkey king? Where did you come from? Wait. Your not-
...
"Wukong? I know, the names Macaque. Six eared Macaque if you've ever heard of me, have you?"
Y/n: ..Actually I haven't, how come the others never told me about you? Are you one of their friends or something?
Macaque: *Mumbling; well you ask a lot of questions now don't you?* Well.. Yeah! Uhm... I haven't really spoken to them for some time. We have our cons, I guess. That's probably why they haven't mentioned me so far.
His hand on the back of his head, smiling with lowered eyes waiting for my response, this seemed kind of fishy.. Fishier than whatever the hell was under Mk's bed. He looked a bit similar to Wukong, and i've read a lot of wattpad to think that "Macaque" was either enemies, best friends with him, his boyfriend, ex boyfriend, or soon-to-be-boyfriend or- okay I'll stop
Y/n: Well, why are you here?
Macaque: Hm?
Y/n: So why did you feel the need to appear all of a sudden? And why in front of me, couldn't you have said hello to the others first?
Macaque: Well, I would. But like I said, we aren't on the best of terms right now. And I wanted to introduce myself since they'd probably not let me near you.
Y/n: Ah .. I see..
Macaque: You wanna get out of here?
Y/n *Shocked as she holds her breath for a moment*: I.. I don't think I should.
Macaque: Pft. Your no fun. If you can't make up your mind, your probably just as indecisive as I though.
He looked at me up and down, like he was mocking me or something. Not the greatest first impression for someone who wanted to avoid talking to their friends. I can tell why they don't like him, what a creep.
Y/n: What is that supposed to mean? Jerk..
Macaque: Well you sure think your on top of the world, huh? If you need something, give me a call will ya? When your less petty.
With shadowy figures surrounding the room, and a purple cloud of smoke making it hard to see, I closed my eyes for just a few seconds. I let out a cough before I opened them and he was just.. Gone? Talk about a dramatic disappearance. I probably should tell the others. He seemed so threatening, so dramatic too. I was no fun? Me? HE'S the boring one! THAT SHIDBCJFKBVKGDBGDZKNJ BITCH.
I should've yanked his beautiful hair out before he left, but I don't wanna cause a fuss in someone else's house, store? "I don't want to be a bother while I'm in here" I thought. I walked out of the room and went downstairs being greeted by Mei, who took my hand and went out the store. Where was she taking me?
Okay, I know I shouldn't have taken her somewhere without her permission, but I was bored alright? Without Mk, I had someone else to join me and Red for our hang-out! Although it was quite loud up there. Did Mk force her to play that Monkey king fangame the whole time? I giggled when she asked me where I was taking her.
Y/n: So where are we going?
Mei: Only to the best freaking place in the freaking universe! THEEE ARCADEEEE!
Y/n: Ohh! You must really love that place, seems you and Mk are kind of alike.
Mei: That's why we're best friends! And you are too now!
Y/n: Huh? I am?
Mei: Yeah! You seem cool, and with the whole awkward introduction thing, I figure why not get to know each other to make it less forced.
Y/n: I mean.. I guess we could get to know each other. Is there anyone else coming?
Mei: Ohh.. Just a nuisance..
Y/n: Wait wha-
Mei: A friend, I mean. Just a really ANNNNNOYINGG one who I had to beg for HOURS to meet up with! I didn't wanna go alone since Mk was busy, but now I want to bring you with, so you two could introduce each other!
Y/n: Oh.. so like an enemies to lo- I mean.. Frenemies thing? Don't worry, I'm pretty chill with ignorant people, I work with them all the time!
I let out a laugh when y/n made that joke, I never got to know what her job was though. But it seemed like she was well off, her skincare routine must've costed a lott cause GODDD she was glowing frfr
I walked with her as we listened to girl in red, and spotted red son in front of the arcade, he looked at me and gave me the biggest mf side eye I've ever seen smh. He turned to y/n and raised a brow as we went up to him.
Mei: HEYY WHAT'S COOKING GOOD LOOKING 😏
Red son: Oh my god- Hello, Mei. And Who's this?
Mei: Her name's Y/n, she sort of found out about the monkey king and..
Red son: Wait, WHAT?!
Mei: Ahahaha.. Yeah she walked in on us.
Red son: So now your just going around letting strangers find out? How could you and Mk be so stupid..
Y/n: It was an accident, and no. They are not letting random people find out, it's just me. Stop being so dramatic, and over what? If your gonna insult Mei AND Mk for one small thing than maybe you shouldn't have came, if your gonna be such a jerk at that too.
Mei: Y/n I-
Red son: Hmph. I'd normally not take comments like this from a peasant like you, but you'd seem like an exception, loud mouth.
Red son walked away as he turned around, asking if we were coming with him to the arcade, I mean. At that point I was gonna ask Y/n If she wanted to leave.. But she followed him anyway, I think I just made them get into some sort of rivalry.. Oops.
Nobody talked to each other until we got there, cause like- it's the FREAKING ARCADE??? I dragged y/n's hand and brought her to every gaming station. I. Could. Find. She seemed to enjoy it too but Red son was just wandering around like a lost 3-year-old. Soo I dragged him along too. And soon both y/n and red son were having this major competition on .. just .. dance? What the-??
Red son: YOU STUPID PEASANT- YOU SUCK AT DANCING!!
Y/n: SAYS THE GUY WHO'S LOSING TO ME!!
Yeah.. uh.. Anyway, while they were having their dance-off, I decided to play some of the racing games that were ACTUALLY working, I may or may not have broken a few from rage..
It was probably an hour or two before red son used his teleporting fire majiggy powers to attend his "Royal matters".. What a sore loser! But whatever, he most likely just came to hang out with his little cruuuushhh~
I was heading back to Pigsy's, dropping Mei back home safely first before going on my phone and checking the time. I wasnt too sure if Mk would be done his shift at 7, but why not check anyway?
Walking down the partially empty sidewalks, You stopped by a little shop nearby and grabbed a boba before heading a few blocks down to open the door to Pigsy's. You heard the door creak before stepping inside and sighing as you closed it, turning the knob.
You heard a voice, and it wasn't Mk's.
Wukong: Hey, Uh.. Bud? We need to talk.
This was gonna take a weird turn, huh..?
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grumelot123 · 2 months
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Crowley x Aziraphale Season 3 "Rejoice" (but it's really sad and angst, will be making a happy ending at some point though)
PART 1
"No but Crowley please I do love you"
(This whole thing is set like I don't know...a couple months after season 2 ending?? They haven't spoken, and Crowley is feeling pissy and petty, Aziraphale is feeling sad and sorry. And whatever her name is, the girl who is supposed to be guarding the bookshop just isn't there at that time i guess.) Sorry not sorry for spelling mistakes (AND I SWITCH THROUGH MULTIPLE POINT OF VIEWS THROUGH THE STORY??), and I'm going to repeat again this is ANGST and ,FOR. NOW. does not have a happy ending, I will make one if asked.
AZIRAPHALE'S POV!!
It was a late afternoon, let's say on a Sunday? I sit in my office doing absolutely nothing, for once. The rest of my day is cleared, although there may be problems in the upcoming hours, none now. What shall I do? Check on my dear Crowley of course. I've been "checking in" (not stalking or anything) on Crowley since day 1. As the days continued I've gathered a few bits of information. 1. Crowley hates me (Was spoken in a drunken spiel weeks ago) 2. Crowley has oddly drove past the bookshop everyday. 3. As soon as Crowley got home after the whole "i forgive you" deal, he burned all of the books inside of his household.
Now I get why he's done all this, I mean I would to I he were him. I mean. I hurt him. The one person who've I've never even been very cross with in my whole life I've hurt. Has I really lost mu best friend? I mean for somebody's sake, the man I LOVE? I think, with my free time today, maybe I should pay my dear Crowley a visit....
At first, I decided to go back to my beloved bookshop, it was almost the time that Crowley drove by everyday so maybe I'd catch him there? Get him to come in for a cup of tea? A cup of tea? I'll be lucky if he listens to me for 5 seconds. Or even at all. Well not to worry about that now, I have about 30 minutes till he..arrives? Drives past? Well.
CROWLEY'S POV NOW BITCHES
Its er been a month since my confession to Aziraphale. For the first time I have no idea what to do with my day. It was easy at first, distracting myself. I went to the movies, tried to do a few things humans enjoy, drove past the godforsaken bookshop everyday. I don't even know why I do that last one. I mean really what are the odds Aziraphale shows up out of the blue and invites me in for a cup of tea? Well they aren't very good....but I still have hope, hope that one day this angel will come to his senses. Come to me. I may be pissed but I don't hate him, and I've missed him a lot. But I'm not ready to forgive him yet. So I don't even know what I want from him.
Well would you look at the time. Even though I don't have anything to do, guess I'll do my daily "maintenance" drive past Azi's shop. Nothin else to do anyways.
AZIRAPHALE POV NOWWWW! (dw they will have their exchange soon)
What will I even do if Crowley does come in? Apologize? Confess? Confess what? That I liked him when he first told me his thoughts, that I was just a coward? I mean I chose Heaven over him. I tried to get him to come with me but I understand why not. Why he couldn't. It'd have physically and mentally pained him to come with me. He thought I wanted to change him but I didn't. right? No I didn't, I love Crowley the way he is.
Even if this plan fully backfires. At least I'll get to tell him how I feel. How I've felt.
UHHH CROWLEY POV MFS
Left, Right, Straight. Only 2 more turns till I drive past the bookshop. What am I even hoping for?
AZI POV
I'm just going to sit out front. It's a nice day anyways. Even if he doesn't come by this time, at least I have enjoyed being here.
CROWLEY POV
Turning the corner. And for sata- hea- somebody's sake is that? No. It can't be.
I slow down and roll down the window. "Azir- aziraphale?"
"Hello Crowley, I think..no. I know, you don't want to talk to me but, can you just come inside? For a cup of tea? Like old times? We need to talk "
Old times? I don't understand this angel, how much has really changed? How much have, I changed? But, I'm intrigued to see what this is about. "I'm not sure how much time I have, I have an uh very VERY busy? Yes. Busy schedule today..but I'm sure I can come inside for a few let me just park the car"
Busy schedule? He has the same schedule everyda- Well at least he's coming in and didn't just ignore me.
INSIDE THE BOOKSHOP (WARNING ANGST UP-AHEAD)
"Hello, Crowley, err, tea?" aziraphale asks hands shaking slightly. "Uh yea sure, but uh why did you want to talk?"
Want to talk? I sound like a school boy who's just gotten in trouble at the headmasters office. PULL YOUR SHIT TOGETHER CROWLEY
"Well..I mean, we..ended on a rather depressing note the last time we spoke and I just wanted to t-" Aziraphale was cut off by a rather loud snort from Crowley. "Wanted to what? Try to convince me to come to Heaven with you again? Wanted me to forgive you and everything be just fine between us?" Crowley remarked rather annoyed like. "No, no? No! None of that where would you even get the idea that I would? No. That's not what I wanted to say. I wanted to explain how I felt." Aziraphale said, rather breathlessly like he'd just ran a marathon. "How you felt? Well there isn't much more to it is there? I mean you obviously don't like me. Love me back?" Crowley said letting more hurt in than meant. "No. No Crowley you've got it all wrong I do. I do Love you. I love you. I loved you when you asked me to stay with you I just did'n-" Azi was cut off by a rather loud. Growl? from Crowley. "You just loved Heaven more. If you loved me so much you would've stayed with me. You would've chose ME."
"No, but Crowley please, I do love you. Just let me explain."
As Aziraphale waited for a reply, for a nod, a yes, to keep going. Time went silent. It was like these next words could make or break them. After what felt like hours, years, decades. All that Crowley said was.
"I forgive you."
Then he left. Turned around and walked away. Then he slammed the door shut.
(PART 2/2 IS OUT ON MY TUMBLR PAGE!!!! HAPPY READING EVERYONE)
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genderkoolaid · 2 years
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In the workshop the Lesbian Avengers so eloquently held at Camp Trans, I was asked why I was there, since I was a man, and what did I care for womyn-only space? I told them that for forty-five years I lived as a lesbian. I went to jail countless times in the 60s and 70s for 'appearing in public disguised,' for wearing the clothes of the opposite sex, which all us dykes did back then. We were the ones along with the nellie fags getting our asses kicked and going to jail while all the white collar business and professional people who are here enjoying this festival were staying home and hiding behind a guise of heterosexuality. I was an activist in the lesbian community when we didn't like being called lesbian and everyone was 'gay' (such a nice word). I put out a newsletter in New Orleans, called AWARE, for women only. I was the first female co-chair of the Louisiana Gay Political Action Coalition (LAGPAC), which is still in existence and whose current Executive Director sits on the Board of Governors or Regents or Directors (whichever) of HRC. I was an openly gay student at Louisiana State Medical School in 1970 when that wasn't as easy thing to be. When I wasn't getting beaten up and thrown out of police cars I was helping my friend Pat, who later died of breast cancer, make dildoes on the black market because all the dykes were too scared to go into sex shops to buy them. Then, on to Europe, where I started another rendition of AWARE in three different languages and sent it all over the continent and Great Britain. I helped join the womyn's movement to the men's because I knew that united we stand and divided we fall, a realization we evidently still haven't come to here. I did radio and TV shows and talked to anyone who would listen. Amazingly people listened. I can tell you that Belgium and a lot of the places that weren't so tolerant before my lover BJ Scott and I got there will never be the same. And speaking of womyn's festivals, I played in an all-female band for years called Original Bleus, and we played Gay Prides all over the place. We played at the San Francisco Womyn's Center in 1980 in front of I can't remember how many beautiful womyn and then onto Market Street for about half a million. I marched in the first Gay Pride March in Washington, the first Womyn's March with NOW, and on and on. So please, please don't tell me I don't belong at the MWMF just because I had surgery on my body. I have paid my dues. I have gone to jail and paid with the same body I had surgery on and, by God, I have paid with my blood and my soul and with all too many friends who've been lost because womyn didn't have control over their bodies. Don't tell me I don't belong in a womyn's-only space. I lived the fear and the tragedy and the pain, the ecstasy, the joy, and the beauty of it all and you can never take that away from me.
— Tony Barreto-Neto, from "Statement from Tony Barreto-Neto, Camp Trans FTM or... THE SHOWERING PENIS S-P-E-A-K-S!!!"
Note: "womyn" here is the language of the festival, and it was used by trans people as well as cis people. In modern contexts it's almost entirely TERFs who use alternative versions of "women", but Tony is very clearly not a TERF and was targeted by lesbian separatists himself (which is what his statement is about).
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sizzlingpatrolfox · 5 months
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how is it possible to be this delusional about a ship? And that too so confidently? I really hope jks relationship gets revealed. This useless cult needs to die.
https://www.tumblr.com/bookscandlesnbts/731816881332387840/i-really-dont-get-it-he-just-arrived-yesterday?source=share
People keep forgetting about late August last year when Jimin went back to Korea after spending a couple of weeks in NYC. He arrived in Korea and a couple of hours later Jungkook was having dinner, alone. It was that time Jungkook went out to eat literally everyday, I think trying out different meat restaurants. Well, Jimin arrived back in Korea after weeks and they didn't even get dinner together lol.
Once or twice might be a coincidence, but if it keeps happening every single time... Wake tf up!!!
It's also so deranged to think two people who are, on the record, FRIENDS have to hide and can't hang out like normal friends do. Literally anyone who's ever been in a gay relationship can tell you that you go out and have a normal life like everyone else does. I get livid everytime I have to see cis straight women talking about being gay and making it sound like it's a Tarantino movie. Newsflash: gay people live normal lives!! The two females friends next to you at that restaurant last week? Probably lesbians! Probably bisexual! The guy bagging your groceries yesterday? Probably gay!! Was there a sign over their heads? It's not like Jimin and Jungkook or any gay person has to go and sit on "Reserved For Gay People" part of a public space.
I think very confidently that Jimin is gay, and that several people around him know that. Did that stop Jimin from having men hug him in his choreography or is it stopping him from getting on all fours and showing his butt to the camera? Is there a flashing sing on his head because of it? No. He just lives his life normally.
"They see each other at home" ALL THE TIME? Girl.... Nobody survives a relationship like that. Even couples have to go out and do regular stuff, regularly. That's what healthy is.
And that's allegedly people who've been married since 1950. Yeah, anyone can survive a relationship when you have jobs and children and you go out and live your life like any normal human being. Now I'd like to see them try to survive a relationship like the one they've made up in their heads about jikook. Scared, lonely, secluded, constantly lying to the point they can't even talk about food. Let's see how long they last.
Even more so, months passed and Jimin said Jungkook didn't cook that meal for him. If they spend SOOOO much time together at home, they would've had time to have a meal together.
Somehow they spent so much time together at home with nothing to do, but Jimin was just informing Jungkook about letter when he arrived at the studio. So much time together in private and somehow Jungkook was wondering who wrote the second verse in SMF2. He didn't know Jimin was doing fan calls. He didn't know when would Jimin be recording for music shows.
Forget about seeing each other. That's all stuff you can literally know by texting someone.
Anyways. This is so boring and I can't keep making lists of all the times they didn't see each other for weeks or probably months.
From here on to two years there'll be more Jungkook once again filmed with women and people will still be acting insane. Larries still act like nothing has changed between Louis and Harry and they've been hiding a gay relationship since 2011. That's exactly the kind of life taekookers and jikookers are headed to.
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druidx · 8 days
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The Tragedy of Elo & Merri's Unrequited Love
Hello dear readers. People who've been perusing my blog for some time now should be familiar with my OC, Elowyn O'Toreguarde, and that of my freind @aquadestinyswriting, Meredith Gruksdottir, Clan Bloodvein (née Ironforge). These two characters were ones we roleplayed in a D&D campaign set in the Fighting Fantasy World of Titan. And as much as we've talked about them and shared their stories, neither of us have explicitly spelled out the Tragedy of their Unrequited Love.
So without further ado I would like share a condensed version of the Destiny's New Servants Campaign, focusing on their not-love story. (Note, this is from my POV and is not impartial)
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Elo & Merri hit it off as friends right from the start. They meet because of a ghoul situation, take one look at each other and decide – yes, I need you on my side. These are two women who were often overlooked, not least because of their heights, both strong proponents of justice with a go-getter attitude and a penchant for running head-first into trouble.
So, of course, off they go adventuring. They pulled each other through many trials, though most often it's Elo supporting Merri – Merri was the holy one at that time, she was the one with the special powers that no one else had, she was devout and tough and steadfast. They drew close after an incident where three of their party drowned, and closer still when the last reminding character of the originals, a Monk, drops off the face of the planet¹. They get new party members, but it takes a while for them to warm up and mesh in etc, especially as the new characters are younger and more inexperienced compared to our girls. So for a long while they feel like they can only rely on each other. Then Elowyn died, was made a vassal of Kurtulmak, a whole lot of shit went down, and they're kicked off to the other side of the world for Plot reasons.
Two very important things happened not long after this.
The first was that an insane half demon robot from a different plane mistook Elo for her Aunt and tried to attack her…. And Merri was the first to step in front of the woodling to defend her. As an aside, dear reader, I need you to understand that, out of game, I was going through A Time, and my feelings of abandonment, isolation and depression were feeding through into my gameplay. So Elo was also having Some Problems. She'd been ripped out of her life, away from the city and everyone who knew her and everything she'd known. She was feeling lost, abandoned, and suddenly burdened with the knowledge she'd become de facto leader of their group. She was holding together spectacularly². Anyway. She's facing off with this demented thing and fully expecting the party to kinda fuck off and make her deal with it on her own. And she's gearing up to do just that, when this woman, filled with righteous wrath, steps in front of her and says, "You'll have t'go through me if you want her." And, fuck me, if that didn't hit me right in the godsdamned chest.
Bear in mind that this was such a slow burn that us Players, let alone our characters, did not figure out anything until way later in the campaign. That said, I think that might have been the start of Elo falling in love.
Anyway. Elo's made a Paladin, a gold dragon drops out of the sky to be her mount³, they're sent back to the other side of the world for more Plot reasons, dear pain-in-the-ass Felix starts the rumours Elo's some kind of messiah or prophet⁴.
And the second important thing happens.
So they're at this village in the mountains, Felix has convinced half the population Elo's some kind of Saviour, and these random bandits rock up. One of them was a horny bard, who took one look at the pair of us womenfolk and announced that he's gonna take one of us home. And Merri goes, "Well it ain't gonna be me sunshine, I'm taken." We're in the middle of combat when this happens, probably got some better things to be focusing on, but Elo looks at Merri with a face like a slapped puppy and says, "What? You never told me that?" Like, this woman is her best friend, maybe her only true friend at that point⁵, they were close as anything, and not once has Merri mentioned she was engaged. So Elo's hurt because Merri didn't share this. But she's got a deeper hurt and she doesn't know why⁶.
Fast forward, we were conscripted to resurrect a god, Deep Sashelas. Merri is grievously injured by the required ritual. The others in the party are concerned, of course they are, but Elo is next level. Full on fretting by the bedside etc. And as they move on, Elo finds herself shielding Merri more and more. Which is, in game mechanics, frankly unnecessary, because Clerics are as tanky as Pallies are. But if I'm honest, Elo might have done this even as a pure rogue because, of course she would. Elo thinks she's just being a Friend. Merri thinks Elo is being a Friend. The rest of the party are picking up on Something, but no one knows what so no one says anything. Only the on-and-off Monk⁷ thinks he understand what's going on, but he's not around enough to do anything about it.
So now we come to a switch point. Out of game, Urbanvoodoman was tired of GMing and wanted to play so Aqua was going to take over from him. But we had a BBEG to fight first.
Before the fight Elo was contacted by the BBEG, saying she could either hand over Merri or he was going to destroy Toreguard. So Elo now has this horrible predicament. Does she sacrifice the person she's slowly realising might be the love of her life and save her home, or does she allow millions to be slaughtered for the love of one woman?
Elo told the BBEG she'd sacrifice Merri. Only then she didn't. The BBEG fight was a mess, and frankly not important to this story.
What is important, is that to transition Aqua over to GM, Merri had to be retired as a Player Character. So the morning after the BBEG fight Elo and co wake up… and Merri is not there. In her place are letters, apologising for having to leave for her home, Fangthane, and explaining why. Elo's letter contained apology after apology, and Merri's holy symbol to remember her by. It broke Elo's heart. Because now, of all possible times, Elo realises she's in love. Merri is many hours down the road by this point, Elo has no hope of finding her. And even if she did, Elo can't confess her feelings because Merri is already happily engaged to someone else. And Elo is never going to see Merri again because of the ban in Fangthane preventing non-dwarves from entering the city. Then, the world came knocking at the door, and Elo had to suck it all up and get on with her job.
You'd be forgiven, dear reader, for thinking that was the end of the tale. But it's not.
Rumour has made its way to Toreguarde that a young dwarven woman has been imprisoned in Fangthane for the crime of blasphemy. It doesn't take a genius to guess that young woman is Merri. She's due to be executed, unless someone can provide compelling evidence to the contrary. The main issue is that Fangthane still holds a grudge against Toreguard and her citizens. As a representative of Toreguard, Elo (who is still very much In Love with her unattainable dwarf, but Repressing with great success) refuses to break the line, once again putting her duty before her love. This leads one of the other Party members to accuse Elo of not caring about Merri, and, my gods, did I pitch a fit. Elo would have decked him if she thought she wouldn't accidentally kill him.
So the Party receives special dispensation from the Crown to enter Fangthane with evidence showing Merri is, of course, innocent. Elo is Not Allowed to see Merri while she's incarcerated for obscure legal reasons which escape me now, which just kills Elo. But she does her job, Merri is exonerated, everyone is joyful. And then Merri wants everyone to meet her fiance. Elo wants to hate him, wants him to be a bastard of epic proportions. But he's not. He's lovely, a cinnamon roll too good for this world, too pure etc. Yoruk is also a paladin, a decent, principled, loyal and devoted up-standing young gentleman of fine birth. Elo is, in a word, gutted. But she puts her big-girl pants on, pulls Yoruk outside and threatens to end his life if he ever hurts Merri and swears this on her power. He goes back to the party, suitably fearing for his life and his manhood, and Elo thinks she's just going to walk away and go have a cry in her beer, but Merri stops her. They share some words, embrace, and Elo parts from her saying, "With all the love in my heart, I wish you and Yoruk the best luck in the world."
I suppose the girls get a bit of a happy ending, inasmuch that after the Final BBEG is defeated and a little time passes, they grow close again in other ways. For that, please see Aqua's explanation of a Cridhe-dàime.
––– ¹ His player stopped being able to make sessions. ² I was not. ³ Because though the GM, UrbanVoodooman, can be a spectacular bastard for angst, he does love the fluffy stuff too. ⁴ Bless Felix's player, but he'd gotten a completely incorrect read on the situation, vis a vis Kurtulmak, St Cuthbert and Paladinship, which mean he – and therefore his Character – was convinced I was some kind of, IDK, minor deity? This never went away despite how many times we explained it. IDK if it makes it more or less funny to reveal Felix's Player is a very devout Anglican. ⁵ I don't think we'd managed to make it back to Toreguard by this point, and if we had, things were still on rocky ground, so Elo really didn't have many people on her side. ⁶ She was an idiot in love. Relatedly, IIRC, Aqua had only decided Merri was engaged prior to the session where this happened, so it was a bit difficult to retcon that fact in. ⁷ The Player who had previously dipped (See point 1) could now make intermittent sessions.
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starry-blue-echoes · 5 months
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I had another ideaaaaaaarrrgghhhhhh
It's an idea for Rose Gold. The first iteration of Paisley Park's public body is... almost right. There's something subtly off about it, be it behavior or some visual difference or a difference in motion that sends the whole thing into the uncanny valley.
Over time, Paisley Park gets better about this, acts more human, moves more fluidly. But for those first few months, Paisley Park does draw the attention of the Rock Humans living in Morioh who... come to the wrong conclusion. After all, moving stiffly? Not quite acting like a human? Appearing out of nowhere? That all sounds a bit like a Rock Human who just integrated into society. They don't make contact with Paisley Park yet, but they do keep this info in mind. Just in case.
(One of the groups later tries to blackmail Paisley Park. They think it works. It Doesn't.)
Y e s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s
maybe the first time Paisley went out, she did it by herself. The kids were of course watching, but they did it from afar. If they were with her when she appeared out of "nowhere" people would ask questions. Questions a pair of pre-teens weren't in any way prepared to answer
she wears very covering, baggy clothing, but it does little to fully hide the slight jerk of her movements or how her face is a little too blank and neutral, almost like she has to think before expressing. She simply walks around and tries to blend in
(despite all of Yasuho's offers and attempts, Paisley doesn't speak. She'll text, she'll write, she'll even sign, but she never talks and Yasuho doesn't force her to. That's just how Paisley is to her, and she doesn't want to make her friend uncomfortable)
there are a few more excursions after that alongside more tests, during and after which Yasuho takes notes on what can be improved upon. There are rumors about Paisley, Morioh is a small town afterall, but eventually Paisley can mostly pass as a person without too many stares and that makes all three of them happy. Paisley also gets rather excited because it means she can go out into the world and do things with Yasuho and not have to worry about keeping secret. She does find it upsetting how long it takes to build up a socially acceptable bond before the two can interact without people talking and implying things, but she's willing to wait
they also craft a story for her. Her name didn't need changing, and legal documentation were practically child's play for her to forge. Soon, one Miss Paisley Park exists. She's a woman in her early 20s from overseas who moved to Japan for a fresh start. She lives alone a decent ways outside the town limits but visits Morioh as a bus stop is close to her home. She works in technology and coding, usually from home, and has no relatives nearby
For most people it's good enough. Most people barely think twice. Most people accept it without too many questions
But to Rock Humans? Rock Humans who've had to make their own stories to blend in? this is practically a flashing neon sign
the final nail in the coffin is when Miss Paisley doesn't visit for over a month without warning and when asked why, she responds that she'd gone on a business trip. Hibernation, they think. What else could it have been?
(the answer is an accident. The kids and Paisley had made the mistake of testing her Combat Suit in the lab and her Human Suit was an unforutnate casualty. It wasnt bad enough that it needed to be scrapped, but repairs took time)
a couple Rock Humans approach her, mostly out of curiosity. No one's ever seen or heard of her before, so she's obviously young and this is likely her first time in a human settlement. They never talk about anything incriminating or too specific, afterall they are in public and despite attempts, no one's been able to follow her back home. Eventually they start building up this idea of who she is and her goals here
Paisley is naturally completely oblivious and just thinks she's gotten attention, which in her mind isn't too good
for shits and giggles, I honestly think it'd be so funny for all the Rock Humans to think they've gotten Paisley nailed down only to be further off then they expected
and for further chaos, maybe after the aformentioned failed blackmailing, one Rock Human makes the mistake of targeting Yasuho and gets sorta..... haunted for a bit, ie: Miss Paisley disappears for a couple weeks and spends the entire time following this guy around and terrorizing him
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rainintheevening · 6 months
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63 - “Cross my heart and hope to die” - for Anakin and Ashoka?
From 100 ways to say I love you
Thanks for the ask!
This is set in my Promises of Fools AU, and Ahsoka is Obi-Wan’s padawan; he found her working in the Service Corps about a year into the war. Anakin left the Order to marry Padmé at the beginning of the war, but still leads the 501st and everything.
63. "Cross my heart, and hope to die."
Anakin and Obi-Wan were both in the port hanger, when Ahsoka walked in, and she hung back, watching them talk beside the Twilight.
Anakin didn't look like a padawan anymore, she thought suddenly. His hair was grown out, and he moved like a knight, like a man in charge. Even if he wasn't officially a Jedi anymore.
And yet... the way he tilted his head toward Obi-Wan, the way he looked at him and listened to him and ducked his head when Obi-Wan said something that was either admonition or compliment—there was so much love and respect in it.
Master Obi-Wan and Anakin had something she would never be able to match, but the weird thing was, Ahsoka didn't mind. She was just grateful Obi-Wan was giving her the chance she'd given up on.
"Master?" she called, as she walked closer. "Hey, Skyguy, are you reminding him of everything that's wrong with your bucket of bolts?"
Anakin swung around with a scowl. "Hey, kid, this 'bucket of bolts' has saved your life too many times for such disrespect."
"She can't hear me." Ahsoka rolled her eyes, even as she moved to pat the old light freighter's hull. She didn't think she was afraid of Skywalker’s glare, but she also didn't actually hate the Twilight.
"Yeah, but she can feel you. Master, don't let her fly."
Obi-Wan sighed. "Ahsoka? Do you have everything you need?"
"Yes, Master." She looked down, fiddled with the strap on her carry-bag. She wanted to be respectful, she knew obedience was important, but the years out on Ryloth had made her even more independent, and he didn't seem to mind her questions. "But wouldn't it be better for me to stay?" She risked a glance at Master Kenobi. "To watch your back? Waxer told me this is gonna be a dangerous campaign–"
"Which is why I don't want you to stay," Master Obi-Wan’s voice was kind, but firm. "Besides, it will do you good to focus on your academic studies for a few months."
"But I've only been with you for a few months!" Ahsoka bit her lip, and Master Kenobi put his hand on her shoulder.
"I know it isn't ideal," he said quietly, "but such is war. For now I need to know you're safe. And learning."
Ahsoka sighed, glanced up at him. "Yes, Master."
He smiled. "Now, we should go, the Justice is waiting. Master Rancis wants to get home."
Funny how Ahsoka still thought of the Temple as 'home' even if she hadn't lived there in two years. She missed her friends and mentors on Ryloth, but she'd seized Master Kenobi's offer with both hands, and she didn't want to make him regret it.
She gave Obi-Wan a little smile. "You go ahead, Master, I'll be there in a moment."
He raised one eyebrow, but turned and headed up the ramp to fire up the Twilight, and run the pre-flights.
Ahsoka turned quickly to Anakin, looked up at him, pleading. "Take care of him? Please?"
Anakin’s smile was good-natured. "What do you take me for, Snips? I've been doing that for years now."
"But..." She looked down at her boots, swallowed hard. "There are so many padawans who've lost their masters." Her voice cracked, and she shook her head. "I know you love him–" She looked up, not caring if Anakin saw the tears in her eyes. "But I've had him for such a short time, and I just... You promise you'll watch his back?"
"Ahsoka." Anakin touched her shoulder, his eyes intense again. "Of course I promise. Cross my heart, and hope to die. If you kids still say that."
Ahsoka couldn't help a little giggle. "But don't you die either," she added hastily. "That would break Master Kenobi's heart."
Anakin’s smile was crooked, like he was pleased and sad at the same time. He flicked her padawan beads gently with a finger. "Okay, Snips, we'll both try to live. And if it makes you feel better? I think you and my master have a long partnership ahead."
"Thanks," Ahsoka said softly. "That does make me feel better." She lunged suddenly to wrap her arms around Anakin’s waist in a hug.
"Okay, kid." Anakin hugged her back. "Tell Qui-Gon I miss him, okay? Try to spend some time with him. And I'll let Padmé know you're back on Coruscant. I know she wants to get to know you better."
"Okay!" Ahsoka pulled back, and had to raise her voice over the Twilight's engines. "Bye, Skyguy!"
She ran up the boarding ramp, throwing a wave over her shoulder.
"See you later, Snips," he called back. "And don’t try to talk Obi-Wan into letting you fly her!"
"No promises!"
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afoxnamedmulder · 5 months
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hey, ive been watching a bunch of bodyswap fims in preparation for writing bodyswap fic , and was wondering if you had any recommendations ? Thanks
oh boy do I!! I'll just throw some of my favourites out and hope it covers enough genres for you to find some inspiration in there somewhere
All of Me (1984) - Lily Tomlin intends to transfer her soul into the body of a young woman while she's dying; it instead goes into her lawyer Steve Martin. this is more bodysharing/bodyjumping but it's very much at home in this trope
The Change-Up - two friends (family man + carefree bachelor) swap. it's got that rough 2010s adult humour but if you can endure that there's a good bit of heart
Dating the Enemy - boyfriend and girlfriend break up and THEN swap. aussie bodyswap romcom of my bisexual heart <3
Face/Off - terrorist + FBI agent swap (or more precisely, they swap faces via plastic surgery). RARE bodyswap action film + also possibly my favourite use of mirror imagery in any swap media
Freaky (2020) - serial killer + teen girl swap. rare comedy horror
Freaky Friday (2003) - mother + daughter swap but I'm sure I don't need to tell you this it's THE bodyswap film for a reason
It's a Boy/Girl Thing - teen boy + teen girl neighbours who hate each other swap. perhaps my personal favourite bodyswap film if merely for nostalgia reasons
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle + The Next Level - group of kids wind up in the bodies of video game characters, the Next Level has Official trope shenanigans
Kimi No Na Wa - teen boy from the city + teen girl from the country who've never met before swap. THE most beautiful bodyswap film out there it's been seven years and I still can't believe this exists
Le Sens de la Famille - entire family (dad, mum, three kids + others as film goes on) rotates bodies multiple times
Les Dissociés - SO much bodyswapping going on here I wouldn't know where to begin. it's on youtube and only 75 mins long
The Swap (2016) - teen girl + teen boy who are working through school issues and personal griefs swap. it's a fluffy dcom but there's a surprising amount of heart there.
Vice Versa (1988) - father + son swap. the 80s had a few takes on this this one is by /far/ the best mainly due to the lead actors (except for Big but that's not like. an official swap film)
Bonus Other Content that might be worth checking out:
Body Swap on youtube - short skit where two guys return to their original bodies after being swapped and talk out how weird the experience was. BIG fan of this one
The 7 Lives of Lea - French miniseries about a girl who wakes up in various bodies from the 90s, replaying events which happened to her parents and their friends.
Crosswind - comic series about a hitman and a housewife who've never met who swap, there's six issues
The Avengers episode Who's Who 5x16: secret agents swap with two enemy secret agents. A classic.
Farscape episode Out of Their Minds 2x09: the entire crew of a spaceship swap. perhaps singlehandedly THE best use of the bodyswap trope. To Me.
Futurama episode The Prisoner of Benda 6x10: SO many swaps. they literally invented a mathematical formula for this episode to calculate how to get everyone back in their right bodies at the end.
I Dream of Jeannie episode Haven't I Seen Me Someplace Before? 3x26: the two main guy friends swap. just a fun classic example of the trope and there's a bonus as they keep their normal voices and have to work around it. Bewitched episode Samantha Loses Her Voice does a similar thing where the bodies don't swap but the voices do, also recommended!
Lost Girl episode Original Skin 2x09: bottle episode where a group of the cast goes on lockdown in a bar and they all swap. I think the swap starts about 10-15 mins in, you can skip to whenever it does or just watch a clip online.
i'm gonna stop there or I'll be here all night, but if you're looking for anything more specific you're more than welcome to let me know! happy writing! <3
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bruhbenton · 1 year
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PIZZAHEAD BRAINROT!!!! [this gets updated regularly]
HI GUYS I'VE BECOME OBSESSED WITH PIZZAHEAD FROM PIZZA TOWER SO I'VE SORT OF CREATED A HEADCANON/AU STORY OF HIM
OK SO PIZZAHEAD ISN'T ACTUALLY PIZZAHEAD'S FULL LEGAL NAME IS "Totino Pagliaccio Enzo" (Totally did not take the name "Enzo" from @very-normal-pizza-tower-askblog)
Totino is from a dimension where people and creatures are made from pizza-like ingredients. Ex: Himself, Cheese-slimes, Toppins, Pizza Granny, etc...
Totino specifically lives in a country called Gaetacione.
His dad is Pizzaface, who've I've given the name Giorgio, and he has a younger brother, whose name is Tonio, or Tony for short, and he has a mom who I haven't made any type of design or name for yet.
The country of Gaetacione, Giorgio is the ruler, which would make Totino next in line when Giorgio dies or something, however, Totino [along with his brother] is stuck in Peppino's dimension, and Totino probably doesn't wanna deal with that shit, so someone else in the Enzo family will probably take Giorgio's place
Totino and his dad don't really get along. His dad really only cares about his reputation and is obsessed with making Totino and Tonio be perfect and proper and shit like that. Totino has a very small circle of friends because of it, and would frequently sneak out of the estate when he was living there because his dad is honestly a fucking prick. That and Giorgio literally sent him to a dimension where people eat pizzas, made him build a whole-ass tower AND death ray AND a robot of himself with no outside help, THEN Totino got the shit kicked out of him for it and nearly died in the tower collapse.
One day Giorgio learned about the dimension that Peppino is from, and learned out that pizza chefs like Peppino create pizzas, and sell them for people to eat. Giorgio thought that these pizzas were sentient like him and Totino, so Giorgio informed his immediate family about it, and basically left Totino alone in Peppino's dimension to build the Pizza Tower and blow up his pizza place. Totino created the robot based off of Giorgio's face as a way to just say "fuck you" to him.
So, Totino basically got the shit kicked out of him, tower got destroyed, and Totino basically got really fucking injured from the wreckage/debris from the tower, fled to the woods to try to avoid being noticed by others, Gustavo eventually found him and took him in because he felt bad for Totino.
Peppino feels that Totino's already got what he deserved (cause he got the everloving shit got beaten out of him, and probably had a few chunks bitten out of him by wild animals), so they're on speaking terms. Totino and Peppino generally get along, they're sort of neutral.
Totino stays in the dimension that Peppino is in, because he doesn't really know how to get back. His brother, Tonio, ran away from home a few years after Totino went to build the tower, due to family conflict. Tonio and Totino have now (as I'm writing this, April 22nd, 2023) have been reunited [yippie!!!] Totino is probably scared to go back to his home dimension because he would have to tell Giorgio [his dad] that he failed, and the fact that he didn't beat Peppino lol, that and as mentioned above, he doesn't know how to get back. He doesn't really feel a necessity or urgency to get back because he's back in contact with his brother.
Pizzahead just sort of hangs out with the Pizza Tower crew (Peppino, Gustavo, Mr. Stick, Noise, etc...), and Peppino just simply tolerates his goofy shenanigans.
Fun fact headcanons:
Pizzahead's home dimension is permanently just stuck in the mid 1930s lol
Pizzahead's home dimension is a monarchy. Giorgio (Pizzaface) is the current ruler.
Pizzahead sounds like Gene Wilder while talking and singing. [specifically his role in Willy Wonka]
Pizzahead is childhood friends with Pepperman and Vigilante. I haven't given them real names yet because I can't think of any rn lol!!!!!
Pizzahead is probably around 25-30 years old, his birthday is June 2nd.
Pizzahead doesn't mind being called Pizzahead. He actually thinks it's a funny nickname.
Pizzahead mostly listens to older music, stuff like The Chordettes and Al Bowly, Vera Lynn, Irving Berlin, stuff like that.
Pizzahead will get mad and nauseous if someone eats pizza in his vicinity.
Pizzahead is scared of humans, mostly because some humans will try to eat his fucking limbs most of the time.
Pizzahead isn't very durable. His skin (cheese) will start melting off at temperatures above 95-100 degrees. His limbs will also easily break or dislocate because they're literally made of baked dough. He can technically be eaten, but he can regenerate over time, or be fixed quickly by being put in an oven. If he is damaged too much, like a large portion of his limbs getting removed, or his head being decapitated, he will have to be re-made, probably by a pizza chef like Peppino. He also bleeds pizza sauce.
Pizzahead is literally a walking cartoon character. He can make random things appear, like comically large wooden mallets or a stick of dynamite. He also moves like a rubber-hose animation character.
Pizza people (such as Pizzahead) are vegetarians. They won't eat anything that is on pizza, like bread, cheese, tomatos, etc. They mostly eat random houseplants, and random plants in the wild. They technically can just eat wood from trees, too, which is a really fucking funny image to me.
Pizzahead is VERY tall. He is 8'5. His younger brother, Tonio, is 7'8. Giorgio is 10'2.
Peppino and Pizzahead somewhat get along. Pizzahead just likes to annoy him and play pranks on him.
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love-islike-abomb · 5 months
Text
Renegade: part 2
Roman reigns x OC scarlet
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Gif credit: @romanreigns
I'm posting the first 2 parts today and then I'll do 3 and 4 tomorrow. I don't wanna post it all at once and tumblrs algorithm decide to be a giant douche canoe.
Warnings: more flirting, errors I may have missed,
Tag list: @angelreigns444 @acknowledge-reigns
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The next morning I woke up thinking the night before had been a dream but when I looked at my phone there was a text from a number i didn't know.
??: hey beautiful! I can't wait to see you again❤️
Scarlet: who's this?
??: oh I'm sorry. It's Joe.
Joe: what are you doing later tonight?
Scarlet: oh hey! Yeah I'd like to see you again. I'm actually off the day after tomorrow.
Joe: yeah that works perfectly! I'll see you then.
I don't even know this guy and somehow I find myself smiling like a fool whenever I talk to him! And why does he look so familiar?
Oh well i've got to get ready. just then my phone rang. It was my sister
"Hey Claire!"
"Scarlet! How have you been?"
"Good still working at the same boring job! Well it was boring until last night. A very handsome stranger saved me from the town drunk! He looks so familiar though! He did his name was Joe and i gave him my number and we're supposed to go on a date the day after tomorrow!"
"Well at least he was handsome and not some old fart!" She laughed
"Be nice Claire! I've gotta get going! I'm gonna be late. I'll tell you all about it later!"
"See ya"
I sighed and finished getting ready for work. I put my apron on and grabbed my keys and phone and headed out the door. When I got to work it was strangely quiet for this time of day. I clocked in and happened to look up at the corner. There he was, smiling at me. I blushed "why you blushing Scarlet?" My co worker liz asked.
She looked over at the corner and smiled "ooh someone has their eye on you! You lucky girl! Out of the thousands of women who've come in here you're the only one he's paid any attention to!" She said
I looked back at her "really? That's weird! Wonder why? There's much prettier women then me out there!" I shrugged.
"Scarlet look in the mirror sweetheart! You're gorgeous!! Its no wonder he took a liking to you"
"Pfft! Please! I mean he's very handsome and might I say a damn good kisser bu-"
"You didn't?" Liz exclaimed
"What no he just kissed me after he took me home. There was a rowdy drunk in here a few nights ago and he handled it. Was kinda hot honestly" I giggled
Joe's POV
Hearing her take about me to her friend was cute! I smiled watching her be herself. Her friend wasn't wrong! She absolutely beautiful! I shouldnt be falling for her. Who knows what she'll do when she finds out.
I watched her Everytime He came near my table she'd be sure to smile At me and I'd smile back. It became a game. A cute little game. She didn't take it to far which was kind of a turn on. She left a lot to the imagination but her curves were clearly visible Through that outfit and her ass was round just begging to be smacked! Snap out of it Joe! Fuck I can't keep my eyes off her watching that ass bounce like that. I liked my lips and she must've noticed cause she had a school girl smile and was blushing.
I would kill to be inside her right now! Making her scream my name!! Fuck Joe settle down!! Oh shit here she comes!
"Hey! How've you been?" She smiled.
"I'm alright. I wanted to ask you where you wanted to go for dinner tomorrow"
"Oh I don't care where. I'm not picky" she smiled.
"We can go anywhere you want! My treat" I smiled.
She looked down "I was thinking of cooking at home actually. I work at a Restraunt so I'd like to have a change up"
"That actually sounds good! Tell you what I'll get what we need and I'll surprise you with what we're gonna have" I smiled.
"I'd like that! I have to get back to work though. I'll see you later!" She smiled and walked behind the counter.
I didn't know how she did it but the more I saw her the more I fell for her but the question was when she found out what I was would she feel the same?
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queerauntie · 1 year
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An Alice Oseman Celebration
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They're iconic, they're exponentially blowing up, and they have an adorable tv show based on their comic book series, people of tumblr we gotta talk about Alice Oseman!
Alice Oseman is an impeccable writer and a beautiful artist. I have followed Alice as an author for some years now, my best friend had me read Radio Silence years ago, maybe 2016, so I have always known about Oseman's works and supported them from a distance. Now that books are calling my name, it only felt right to finally read their collection!
A major reason why I got through so many books in October was that I had accepted a full-time job with a huge commute. So at 2x speed. I was getting through hours of stories a day. Another reason why I read so much was because of the level of stress this job provided, my brain was desperate for distraction and to focus on anything other than what I was facing. Oseman was truly a safe space to get away from all of those stressors and root for these adorable protagonists.
So as I mentioned, I had read Radio Silence years ago, but because of ADHD memory, I couldn't remember any of it. So jumping in was like deja vu but without any of the spoilers, it was awesome! I fell in love with Frances all over again, the friendship between her and Aled was so magical. Finding your bestie just when you need them is such a gift. We don't see enough romances like this, falling in love with your bestie and being able to experience that intimacy free of judgment and cishet norms. Radio Silence really was that book. I love my nerd babies!!
This Winter was so precious, Nick and Charlie are angels and I knew them well at this point. I haven't included Heartstopper on my books read mostly because I can't remember when I read it, but also because I did see the show before I read the comic. But when I saw this in Libby and available now instead of a huge hold, I was so excited for a whole novel on Nick and Charlie! Well, that's what I get for not checking the length because I was not prepared for a short story. I started it on the way home and the timing couldn't have been funnier, the audible credits started going as soon as I pulled into the driveway. I thought surely it was an error that skipped forward but nope, it was a teasing little taste and that is all. It was very adorable though, and I love how Nick and Charlie get to be spread out throughout Oseman's works.
Loveless!!! I don't know how one picks a favorite Oseman book, but Loveless might win for mine. It's a beautiful story of a young woman off at university, who begins to struggle with the idea of relationships and the definition of "Love". Like many people who've attended college or uni, her story is one we can all relate to. Being in a new environment where even the familiar feel strange, and being forced to navigate a million new variables all at once. It's a scary time and Alice Oseman does a great job sharing those emotions through their characters and their respective journeys. This book helped me figure out some things about myself even, looking back on it now. Anyone looking to feel a little less lost in the chaos of the world, I recommend this book!
Solitaire! Oh, how it gave me muscle aches in my eyebrows from all my concern for Tori. It was kind of perfect, reading this book as a late twenty-something, a decade away from my teenage experience. I was able to read the story from a true third party and not feel caught up in Tori's spirals, but have empathy and hold space for that part of me that felt just as helpless, just as unlovable, just as stupid. The story is really fun, there's a big mystery and a really kind boy who simply won't let her push him away. Persistent love is exactly what Tori needs in her life, and this story is her journey to figuring out that she deserves it. I really enjoyed this book, but mostly, I just really really love Tori Spring.
The timing of when I read these books in October could not have been better because "I Was Born For This" came out in the US right at the end of October! This was not a book I could wait for through the library either, so luckily I still had credits from an earlier audible subscription I forgot to cancel! The day it came out was the day I started it and it only took a couple days to finish, it was amazing. At it's core, it's a perfect Oseman book. The characters are beautifully thought out, the conflict is masterfully constructed, and the stakes are just perfectly measured. I absolutely loved this story and I can't imagine a more relevant story for the times. With parasocial relationships on the rise, a story like this is really important for young people and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a taught text someday. I would certainly recommend it to any young person I know!
That wraps up my Alice Oseman appreciation post! I know I didn't mention a couple books, but that's because I haven't read them yet! So if you're a fan of "Heartstoppers" or "Nick and Charlie" keep an eye out because I'll definitely be getting back around to them this year!
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stormyoceans · 1 year
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have you done a top 5 unhinged puentalay list?? 👀
SFJKSGFJSGDKGS I DID NOT AND IM MORE THAN HAPPY TO FIX THIS TERRIBLE SHORTCOMING ON MY PART. i do think two of their most unhinged moments are the bucket hat scene in episode 1 and the entire shirt scene in episode 7, but since i already used them for talay's list, i tried to pick other moments where puen's and talay's insanity matched!!!
1. the date-not-date culminating in the nivea bathtub scene my beloved in episode 3. two men have to write a script for a romantic movie. they have no experience when it comes to love so they decide to follow a man and a woman to establish if they are a couple or not. in doing so, they end up doing all the typical activities people do on a date: going to a cafe, watching a movie, eating together and feeding each other.... the night ends with the two men going home together. one of them goes to take a bath. after a while the other follows and climb into the bathtub with him. the words "if this can be used to wipe away dust, i should use it with your heart" are uttered. the next day they go on like nothing happened, fully convinced they are just friends. im losing braincells just typing this out. they are insane and i want to throw myself in front of a moving train.
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2. the lay's marriage proposal in episode 12. puen proposed with a bouquet of lotus in one hand and a bag of lay's in the other. talay still said yes. i don't even know what else to add they're just lucky they suffer from the same brand of derangement tbh (one might argue that it was just a product placement so it doesn't count. FOOL. their proposal was always going to involve food in some way, shape or form: we got a potato chip, could have easily been a shrimp)
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3. the nom nom scene in episode 10. we focus so much on jimmysea improvising it that i think we don't talk enough about the intrinsic unhinged quality of this scene. after episodes upon episodes of puen saying that talay smells good and that he would eat cake right from talay's face, the mad man does exactly as he promised. the other mad man goes along with it and does it right back. couples who've been married for years are gagging in the background because WHO EVEN DOES THAT (unless you're into it, which it's perfectly fine, we're very accepting in this house. but this also brings me to the next point...) JUST GET A ROOM JESUS CHRIST.
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4. the "morning after" in episode 2. talay and puen meet. talay gets drunk and kisses puen twice. talay then passes out, so puen brings him home, strips him and puts him in bed. he then decides that the best course of action is to take his shirt off (but not his shoes) and also get into the same bed. talay wakes up the next day to find puen asleep next to him and after a moment of (mild) surprise he checks that puen still has his pants on. they didn't sleep together, and yet they're able to make at least three different kind of sexual innuendos in the time it takes them to have breakfast. they've known each other for less than 24 hours.
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5. the mirroring in episode 8. admittedly not as unhinged as the other moments and it's mostly just a cute and funny scene, however this is the proof (along with counting the minutes and seconds in which they're apart) that they do indeed share one single deranged braincell. and i do love that they can be silly together but they really started to do that out of nowhere and almost had their first kiss like that. thank god this is a PG-13 show or idk where else this could have gone.
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