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jerzwriter · 3 years

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Delaying the Inevitable - Chapter 18 - Crossroads

Book: Open Heart 3 (Post Series)

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC Tobias Carrick x F!MC

Rating: Chapter: Teen

Summary: Extended Series WIP – Love Triangle. In this chapter: Casey & the girls enjoy a special girl’s night out, while Tobias & Bryce enjoy a boy’s night in; Tobias has a field day when Casey slips up; after an unusual encounter, Ethan reaches out to a loved one; Tobias’s mother arrives unexpectedly, and boy does she have a lot to say; Casey has a lightbulb moment.

Category: Extended Series (WIP)

Warnings: Drinking, language

A/N: Hello! I’m putting this out a little early because, well, it’s done and I’m impatient. 😊 After a lot of angst, this chapter offers some fun. Ethan is only in one scene, but he will be back more next week. Tobias’s mom Vivian visits. I’m curious to see what you think of her. This is an OC and I adored creating and writing for her.

A/N 2: A reminder, it’s a love triangle folks, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.

A/N 3: It's another mammoth length chapter. Break it up into several small reads if necessary. But I’m getting feedback that a lot of people like them, which leads me to….

AN/4: I’m starting a new position on Monday & my time will be more limited. I am still committed to putting out one chapter per week, I promise. But I may need to make adjustments. Chapters may be shorter and, if so, the story would go on a little longer than expected. It takes A LOT of time to get a chapter of this length together and I don’t know if I’ll have that luxury anymore. But I will continue, you won't see it on hiatus or incomplete next to this outside of a tragic event (and I wish to avoid those).

A/N 5: Final (but most important) note, thank you so much to @kachrisberry pre-reading, editing, and giving me ideas for some of the funniest parts in this chapter (that breakfast scene tho….). You rock LLS! 😊 Thanks to all of you for reading & your feedback – you are the best.

CHARACTERS BELONG TO PIXELBERRY STUDIOS

If you wish to be added or removed from tags, please let me know. Comments and reblogs are always appreciated. 😊

“Hey, it’s me, do you have everything set for the night? Do you need anything more from me?”

“Nope, reservations confirmed, VIP passes for The Grand are in my hand and, Tobias, you sent us a freaking limo! I nearly fainted!”

“It was a last-minute idea. I told you, I want this to be an epic girl’s night out for all of you. I know Casey has really been missing you, and I hope this will life her spirits.”

“Post residency life has been hard on getting together, and it sucks. But don’t worry, we will make sure that it is a night to remember.”

“That’s what I’m counting on! Oh, I hear her coming in the door now. What time will you be here? … OK 7:30 PM it is… Yes, Sienna, the dress is in her closet. … I told you that you could trust me. See you soon.”

“Hey, T.”

“Hey, you! How was your day off?”

“It was great, and I don’t know how I scored having a late shift tomorrow. It’s like a mini-vacation!”

“It’s funny how that worked out,” he smiled, knowing damn well he was behind the scheduling change. “Now, before you go getting too comfortable, I have a surprise for you.”

“Oh my God! Is it edible? Did you get me bagels?”

He chuckled, “No, Casey. It’s not edible. Although, food is part of the evening’s itinerary.”

“Itinerary?”

“Go to your room…”

“Uh, am I being punished?”

“No! Now if you’d let me finish…there is a new dress hanging in your closet. According to Sienna, it was one that you were eyeing in Macy’s last week.”

“Wait, the black sequin dress? The one I tried on?”

“That’s the one.”

“How… Why is it in my closet?”

“Because you’re going to wear it. You’re going to fix your hair and do your make up… not that you don’t look amazing exactly as you are… you do… but you may want to be a little more dressed up tonight.”

“For what?”

“For your girl’s night out, of course.”

“T… have you been smoking some funny stuff that I’m unaware of? My only plans for this evening involve that couch and Grey’s Anatomy reruns.”

“No,” he laughed, “no funny stuff. And, dear God, you cannot get enough of Dr. Avery, can you?”

“Truthfully, no I can’t. But let’s control the ADHD, Carrick. What the heck were you talking about?”

“Sienna, Aurora and Jackie are on their way over here.”

Casey looked perplexed. “I’m still… what?”

“I know you’ve been missing them a lot lately. So, I worked with Sienna and planned a special night. Dinner…a club or two, whatever you want to do really. Just go and be with your friends, forget about everything for a night.”

“Wait… you’re saying youplanned a girl’s night out for us?”

“Well, mostly for you, but I still want everyone to have fun. Now, stop asking questions and go get ready. They’ll be here soon.”

Casey shook her head before running over and wrapping Tobias in a hug.

“Oh my God, T! You are like my fairy godmother… or fairy godfather, or something like that! Why did you do this?”

“Case,” he said, pulling back to look at her, “there is very little I wouldn’t do to see you happy. But come on… stop talking, stop hugging… get dressed.”

“Well, OK!” She let out a little squeal and ran off to her room.

Tobias face lit up, he loved seeing her so joyful, especially after all she has been through. He grabbed a bowl of chips off the counter and headed to the couch. Maybe he’d watch the Grey’s reruns, this way he could do more than nod and stare blankly when Casey rambled aimlessly about it.

Thirty minutes later the doorbell rang. He laughed listening to the commotion out in the hall. When he opened the door, three exuberant ladies stood before him, dressed to kill, and, by the looks of things, at least one bottle of champagne into the night already.

“Tobias!” Jackie yelled giving him a big hug. “If I haven’t told you recently, please let me tell you… you are THE MAN! I don’t care what Scalpel Jockey says about you.”

“Well, I’m sure that’s all bad. Come in, Casey should be done in a minute. Would you ladies like an adult beverage while you wait.”

“Oh, hell yeah,” Sienna said, “it’s time to get this night started. WOO-HOO!”

Aurora looked at Tobias and rolled her eyes.

“It looks like I’m the designated driver tonight.”

“Designated what? Aurora, you did take the limo here, right?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s not about driving. It’s about making sure these two… about to be three… don’t do something regrettable.”

Tobias handed Aurora a large glass of red wine.

“That’s all well and good, Aurora. But you should relax too. They are all reasonable, no one is going to do something that outlandish.” He paused, “Well, except maybe for Jackie.”

“I HEARD THAT!” Jackie yelled from the living room.

Casey walked out to join her friends and blushed slightly when she saw everyone’s jaw drop. Sienna and Jackie whistled, and Tobias suddenly found it hard to breathe. The new dress didn’t look that short, that snug or that WOW on the hanger, and he had no idea the effect it would have on him. Her blonde hair was pinned up with delicate tendrils framing her face, and those legs… damn, those long legs were beyond belief any day of the week, but paired with those black stilettos? Holy shit!

Everyone stared at first, but when Casey realized that Tobias’s gaze was lingering, and she felt her cheeks starting to burn.

“Tobias, do I look ok?”

Do you look ok? OK? No OK doesn’t cover it. I’m dying here.

“Oh,” he said removing himself from his reverie. “Oh, yeah, you look amazing. I’m uh… I’m just glad the dress was the right size.”

“Casey!” Sienna yelled, “Tobias got us a limo!”

“Yeah, so we can drink, make asses out of ourself and get safely home!”

“Jackie, I think my job is to get you all safely home, right Case?” Aurora smiled.

But Casey didn’t acknowledge her, it was how her turn to spontaneously gape at Tobias.

“Case, what are you looking at. I’m not all dressed up, nothing to see here,” he joked.

“You got us a limo? Why… you are entirely too good to me.”

“Hey! Stop right there, Casey. NOTHING is too good for you. Do you understand? Manifest that shit and don’t forget it. You deserve it all and more.” Jackie said as she raised her glass.

Tobias and Casey smiled at each other, before she bashfully turned her eyes away.

“OK, would any of you like another glass of wine before I kick you out to go have fun?”

“Yes, to the wine!” Sienna screamed.

“And double yes to the fun!” Jackie toasted. “Don’t worry, Case, we are going to make sure you have an A-MA-ZING night!”

“Well, I think we have all the ingredients.”

“You have more than the ingredients girl,” she circled Casey, staring in a lascivious manner. “Girl, I thought I looked good but you… if you don’t get lucky tonight… there is something seriously wrong.”

Standing to the side, Tobias quietly choked on his wine.

“Yeah, Casey.” Aurora laughed, “What’s the old saying, the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.”

Jackie clinked her glass against Aurora’s. “See, and that’s what I’m talking about right there.”

“Uh, I don’t know… I mean… I just want to enjoy my night with you guys, I’m not looking to.…”

“You won’t have to look, Casey! Stepping out like that, they are all going to come flocking to you.”

“Well, be that as it may.…” Casey stammered.

“Well, I mean… I hope you have a good time… but, you know, I don’t think… I mean, if you’re not ready and.…” Tobias stuttered.

“No one is ready until it happens, T! Don’t worry, we’ll make sure she is safe. I think there were even condoms in the limo.” Jackie laughed.

Tobias choked again, a little more obviously this time. He put his glass down and rubbed his face. Jesus, he hadn’t factored this in, had he? He knew he should have just gotten them all a spa day.

“Well, I think we should all get going. There is fun and debauchery to be had.”

“Not too much though, there is one of me and three of you!” Aurora protested.

“Don’t wait up, T!” Jackie said, running out the door.

Tobias had gone back to the kitchen, not realizing Casey lingered behind. He turned at the sound of her heels clicking on the marble floor as she made her way to him. She stared at him silently for a moment before placing a sweet peck on his cheek.

“Tobias, I don’t even know what to say.”

“Don’t have to say anything, kid, just go… go and have fun! You know… within reason…”

“I will,” She smiled and gave little wave as she left.

Tobias smiled back, but as soon as the door locked behind her, it faded. He grabbed his head and began pacing.

You fucking idiot. How did you not think of this? Did you see her? I mean, did you see her. Jesus Christ everyone in Boston is going to want to have a chance with her tonight… but you know… she didn’t seem interested. And Sienna, she looked uncomfortable, so… but what if some jackass is putting the moves on her, and she’s drunk, and she is with Jackie, not Sienna, and she’s all encouraging and… OK stop. Casey isn’t going to do anything she doesn’t want to do. You know that. But… holy shit, what if she wants to.

This was going to be a very long night.

The doorbell rang.

She must have forgotten something. Or maybe she just decided to stay home, yeah that would be… that would be horrible. You did this for her to have fun not for… not for her to change her mind and sit home with you.

“Well, hello my friend,” Bryce grinned, holding up a six-pack. “A little birdie told me that the ladies are out having an epic GNO. So, I thought we’d have a less epic, but just as fun, BNI right here.”

“BN I?”

“Yes! Boys’ night in.”

He plopped the six pack on the island in the center of the kitchen.

“Hope you don’t mind me dropping in unexpectedly. I assumed you’d be thrilled to see me. So, here is the beer, pizza is ordered, let boys’ night in commence!” he lifted his hand for a high five, but Tobias was distracted, so Bryce was left hanging.

“OK, let me try this again… let boy’s night in commence!” he raised his hand once more. This time Tobias hit it before giving him a bro hug.

“You’re an idiot you know. But you tolerate me, so I have to keep you around.”

“Now, if that’s not true friendship, I don’t know what is,” Bryce said, pouring two beers. “Where the hell are we taking this party T?”

“Sofa, I guess, it’s too chilly for the balcony.”

“Sienna and Jackie filled me in on what you did for Casey. T, I’ve gotta tell you… I know I’ve given you a lot of shit in the past, and rightly so, but I have to say… you have gone above and beyond helping Case get through all this bullshit.” He raised his glass, “I’m glad she has you.”

Tobias hit his glass against Bryce’s, a smile formed on his lips but it quickly faltered.

“OK, you just received praise, from me of all people. Normally your huge ego would have you parading around like a peacock. What gives?”

“What gives is I am a fucking idiot.”

“Normally, I’d agree, but, oddly enough, tonight I don’t. So, I’ll bite. Why are you a fucking idiot?”

“You should have seen her tonight, Bryce.”

“I did. Jackie had pictures on Picta before they hit the lobby. She looked… pretty fucking awesome. They all did.”

“Yeah. Too awesome. Jackie and Aurora were up here talking about the only way of getting over someone is getting under someone and … now she’s out there… looking like that… and… how did I not think of this? I mean, I bought her that damn dress!”

“Hmmm. Poor planning, you should have discussed this with me. Given your infatuation, not bright T.”

“First, it’s not an infatuation, Bryce, you know it goes far beyond an infatuation. Second, thanks bud, you’re making me feel so much better.”

“That’s why I’m here,” he said, tapping Tobias’s shoulder.

“Look, for what it’s worth. I don’t think Casey is interested in picking up some boy toy. I’d take that off your list of worries… I mean… I’d say the odds are 90/10. Maybe 80/20. 70/30 if she really drinks a lot…60/40 if Jackie is involved…”

“NOT HELPING! You know, I never thought about this. I never thought she and I would have a chance. Even after the split with Ethan. Then, at the bar, Laura tells me she sees something, I should let Casey heal, she thinks there is a chance… I mean, haven’t done anything inappropriate… and I don’t intend to. I figured wait and see. But I forgot, there are other guys out there, and they don’t know her situation. They won’t know or care if she just broke up. She could end up with them because, they don’t have to wait… but I do… and I mean… Ramsey was one thing… but bro, I can’t watch her if she ends up with someone else now.”

“T.,” Bryce said snapping his fingers, “come back to me. I think you’re OK for now.”

Tobias shook his head. “But we don’t know.

“OK I don’t want to say I told you so when you’re down, but this is why I said her living here may not be the best choice. You took it the wrong way, but this is what worried me. If she wants to start dating, you can’t stop her, you can’t say no.”

“I understand. But she’s happy here, she feels safe here, and I want that for her. Plus, I’d feel the same way even if she lived elsewhere.”

“Yeah, but you wouldn’t have a front row seat to it. But I wouldn’t worry for now.”

“Oh, I’m going to worry. Especially tonight. Until she’s home, I assure you, I’m worrying.”

“You do you, T. You know, I always told you to put your feelings for her aside, but… things have changed and I wanted to ask, do you think, you’ll tell her how you feel?”

“Tell her? I don’t know. Show her? I try to do that every day, not that she understands. What do you think I should do?”

“Jesus, I’ve only had one beer. I can’t possibly be drunk but, I swore I just heard you ask me for advice.”

“I did jackass.”

“Wow, I’m glad you have those big windows. I can see the fire and brimstone, pigs flying, the end of days.”

“Bryce…”

“Sorry. I don’t know T. The thing is, you wouldn’t be some boy toy she picks up to make herself feel better. Anything happening between you two, it would mean so much more. But, given the turn of events, I almost hope you do end up together in time.”

“You do?”

“Casey deserves the world, especially after all the shit with Ramsey. I want to see her with someone who will worship her the way she deserves to be, and, honestly, I don’t think anyone could do that better than you. But I don’t want to see you become a rebound, and I don’t want to see your friendship dissipate if things don’t work out.”

“You think I’d be good for her?”

“Look, you guys wouldn’t come with your own set of unique… circumstances. But, yeah, I think you would.”

Tobias let out a loud sigh. “Look, do you think we could change the subject? I think getting my mind off this may be a good idea.”

“Not a problem.”

“OK. Want to put on the game? The Pats are playing.”

“You hate football, T.”

“It’s that or Grey’s Anatomy.”

“So, we’re watching football…”

____________________

The ladies were having the time of their lives. The first stop was dinner and drinks at the Lookout Rooftop. It may have been cold, but they didn’t mind; maybe it was the outdoor heaters, maybe it was consumption of copious amounts of alcohol. They ate, drank, laughed, and danced. Three men flirted were flirting relentlessly with Casey. They ranged from (Jackie’s words) “tabasco sauce level” to “Da Bomb and Beyond Hot Sauce”. Jackie made a point of getting three numbers, but to Jackie’s consternation, Casey remained uninterested.

Next up was more drinking and dancing at The Grand. Aurora decided to rebuff Tobias’s advice and stay sober. She needed to make sure her friends did not end up needing bail money. With Sienna attempting to dance on tables, Jackie telling everyone how fabulous their asses looked, and Casey hugging everyone she met, insisting they were all old friends… Aurora felt she needed to step up her game.

When they returned to the limo, Jackie instructed the driver to bring them to Alibi. Aurora put her foot down.

“OK, look, Alibi is within walking distance of Edenbrook and, right now, none of you need to be seen by anyonefrom Edenbrook.”

“Oh, don’t be such a party pooper!” Sienna yelled.

“How about a compromise? Let’s drive around until you sober up… a little… that way my job is easier when we get there. Deal?”

“Aurora!” Casey slurred, “Come on… T did this for me to have fun….”

“For all of us to have fun, Casey,” Sienna added.

Jackie laughed obnoxiously.

“Oh Jesus, guys, stop your bullshit already! I’m happy to get a free night of fabulous, but we all know Tobias did this for Casey.”

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Casey yelled.

She wanted to come across as more annoyed than she was, but that would have required lifting her head… and that may have caused vomiting… so she passed.

“Oh my God, Case! How you're like the diagnostics prodigy child? The guy has it so bad for you.”

“Jackie! That’s not true! He’s just… he’s my friend, like you are.”

Casey pulled Jackie into a drunken hug.

“Not exactly like me, because right now I am not going to try to grope you in this condition… on the other hand…”

“OK, as the only sober one here, I need to interrupt. That’s totally unfair Jackie, I have never seen T do anything inappropriate with Casey.”

“Thank you, Aurora.”

“Of course,” Aurora continued, “I have noticed some lingering stares…”

“MMM HMMM! Like the one he gave her when she came out in that dress tonight.”

Sienna sobered up enough to engage in some damage control.

“In all fairness, we alllooked at Casey like that when she came out tonight.”

“Oh, you’re all being so damn sensitive,” Jackie said jerking forward.

“Jackie! Please! No sudden moves like that! I don’t mind cleaning up your messes tonight, but I don’t mean literally!”

“Aurora, hush, I wasn’t done! Casey, so what if he has a crush on you. I mean, you’re single, he’s single, who freaking cares?”

“And they’re both hella hot…” Aurora added.

“See! And she’s the sober one!”

“Guys, stop! Really. It’s not like that, I don’t want you thinking that it is.”

“Well, why not? He’s nice right?”

“Of course, he’s nice…but…”

“He treats you good, right?”

“He treats me like a queen, but…”

“He even looks a little like Dr. Avery…”

“Now that you mention it…”

“So, he IS hot as fuck, right?”

“Of course, he is …”

“HA! I got you to admit it!” Jackie laughed.

“Jackie, just because I think he’s nice, and a good guy, and hot as fuck doesn’t mean...”

“Yeah, because that’s not what anyone looks for.…” Jackie said rolling her eyes.

Sienna pulled the wet paper towel she placed on her head off and sat up… slowly…

“Jackie, leave Casey alone. She’ll date who she wants, when she wants, and she doesn’t need our help, right Casey.”

“Thank you, Si.”

“Sienna is right,” Aurora said, “but in all reality… Casey… you could do worse.”

“Aurora always makes so much sense,” Jackie sighed.

“Yeah, but let’s not forget he works on her team. So does her recent ex, who may or may not have been Tobias’s nemesis for the last decade, who…”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake Sienna, like any of that matters. Ethan is the one that thought it would be so brilliant to have my aunt on the team, while he also had the new woman he was boinking on it.”

“So, precedent has been established,” Jackie pointed out, “no one gives a shit at Edenbrook. So, Casey, I say go for it. Casey? Case? Casey?”

“Hmmm,” Casey said lifting her head off the side. “I’m sorry I fell…. are we at Alibi’s yet?”

“I’m fairly sober now, we may as well go; I will help you babysit.”

“OK, but you are cut off for the night!” Aurora added.

“At least until I’m back in the limo after!” Sienna smiled.

____________________

Two hours, one club, and approximately four drinks later, Aurora assisted a very wobbly Casey into the elevator.

“55th floor, please,” Aurora instructed the operator.

“She’s my friend….” Casey slurred.

“I can see that. She looks like a very good friend,” he laughed.

“I know. But can I tell you a secret, she thinks I’m drunk.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I’m so sorry about this,” Aurora cringed.

“I’ve seen much worse,” he chuckled.

“I’m sure you have.”

“I’m not drunk, I am just… OK, so I might be drunk. But it’s OK! I’m over 21.”

“Oh, I know her boyfriend. He is going to have a field day with this.”

“Oh, it’s not her…”

“He’s not my boyfriend …. Silly…. But he is hot, right?”

Aurora shook her head as they reached the floor…. “Let me get her home.”

Tobias was still wide awake, so what if it was 3:30 AM? Sure, he had to be at work in five-hours, but he was waiting until she was home. And he really hoped she would come home. The bell rang. Thank fuck!

When he opened the door, Casey was slumped over Aurora’s shoulder, giggling relentlessly.

“Hi, T!” Aurora grinned.

“Oh, my….”

“Mmmm- hmmm and you told me I should kick back too? I have two more of these in the car.”

“OK, I admit it. You were right. Thank you, Aurora.”

“Hey, this is what friends do. But can you handle…. this… from here? I have to get downstairs to make sure Jackie and Sienna haven’t commandeered the limo. They could be a danger to the citizens of Boston.”

“Go ahead,” he laughed. “I’ve got her from here. I owe you.”

Aurora watched how tenderly Tobias was looking at Casey and smiled.

“You don’t owe me, T. Just… be good to her.”

“I try.”

“I know. I’ll see you soon.”

Tobias helped Casey to the couch and she promptly sprawled across it.

“OK I’m getting you some water, kid. We have to sober you up.”

“I am sober…” she demanded, “Tobias, I live here now right?”

“Yeah, you do…”

He helped her lift her head and take a few sips before moving to the other end of the couch. Casey scootched down and put feet, still in stilettos, on his lap.

“So, I guess you had a good time?”

“Soooooooooo good. We had soooooooo much fun.”

“Uh that’s good. You didn’t get into any trouble.”

“Trouble?”

“Yeah. Trouble?”

“No… DAD… we didn’t get into trouble…” she slurred.

Tobias laughed. This. Was. Hysterical.

“Well, you broke curfew, young lady. And I better not hear that you were hanging out with strange boys.”.

Casey rolled her eyes exaggeratedly.

“I already told you, DADDY, we we’re all good little girls tonight.”

Oh, Jesus H Christ.

“Yeah, uh, sweetheart, I’m not your dad… or daddy. Or anything like that so, uhm, lets change that up.”

“Oh my God! You’re embarrassed….”

“I’m not embarrassed, I just….”

“Yes, you are! Look,” she attempted to grab her phone and put it in selfie mode to show him his face. Tobias removed it from her hands before she accidentally drunk dialed someone in Guam.

“You’re all red, T!”

“Casey, I’m not red, I….”

“OK, Daddy! That’s it... that’s your new nickname foreva Daddy.”

Flustered, he rubbed his head. “No… it is not. Why am I arguing with you? You won't even remember this in the morning.”

“What day is tomorrow?”

“That’s not important right now.”

“Well, I’m gonna remember!”

“No, you’re not. But I am going to tease the hell out of you for the next twenty or thirty years.”

“I want coffee,” she pouted.

“Yes, your highness. I’ll be right back.”

“LOTS of milk and sugar.”

“Not this time!”

He returned with a cup of black coffee in his hand, but Casey was already gently snoring on the couch.

He smiled tenderly and kneeled beside her.

“Oh, sweetie. I love seeing you so happy. I just hope you won’t feel too miserable tomorrow.”

Casey opened her eyes; not having heard what he had said.

“T, I wanna go to bed.”

“OK, let me help you.”

She tried standing and fell right back into the couch. The second attempt yielded the same results.

“Yeah, let’s try something different.”

Scooping her up, he carried her to her room and gently placed her on her bed. She was already sound asleep. He took off both of her shoes, put them on the floor and pulled a blanket over her, tucking it in around her.

“Sweet dreams, kid,” he said as he placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

He turned around to take one last look at her and smiled tenderly before turning out the light.

____________________

Tobias was eating breakfast in the kitchen the next morning when Casey stumbled out, horribly hung over.

“Hey there, tiger. I’m shocked to see you up so early. How are you feeling?”

“Mmmmmmm,” she groaned.

“Can I get you anything?”

“Common sense? Better judgement? A sense of dignity? So I have the sense to never do anything like that again?”

“Can’t help you with any of those, but I can make your special hangover cure.”

He stood up and began to gather the ingredients.

“According to Aurora, you guys didn’t do too much damage. But, you should thank her, God knows what you would have done if she hadn’t been there.”

“Aurora is amazing.”

“She is. Now, as far as your dignity being restored… define dignity?”

“Oh no! What, what did I do? Was it terrible? Could my job be in jeopardy? Did anyone post it online?”

“Relax kid, it wasn’t that serious, you’re ok.”

“What did I do?”

“Nothing really. Except call me Daddy several times when you got home.”

Casey dropped her glass, “I DID NOT!”

“Yeah, you DID.”

“STOP IT,” she said, hitting him, then wincing because the sudden movement hurt her head.

“You know, Case. I never knew you were into that. It came as quite a shock.”

She grabbed a dishtowel from the table and threw it at him.

Ducking he laughed, “You know I thought we were close, if you felt that way about me….”

“Oh, stop!!”

“I’ll lay off right now, only because you feel like shit. But, sweetheart, you are never going to live this down.”

“You’re supposed to be my friend!”

“I am your friend. If I wasn’t your friend, you’d be waking up to 300 comments in a group chat. This is just going to be our little thing,” he grinned.

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t. Look, I need to get to work now, but you don’t have to be in for hours. Why don’t you go sleep for a bit? you’ll feel better soon.”

“Sleep? Yes. Feeling better? Debatable. But, if I do, I’m going to go to the farmer’s market. Leave a note on the table by my door if you need anything.”

“I will, now go sleep.”

He began writing a list: oranges, basil, and avocados. A mischievous look came across his face, he wrote, “Love, Daddy.” At the bottom of the list.

She is going to freaking kill me.

____________________

Tobias grinned when he saw Sienna leaning across a counter outside the diagnostic office.

“Well look at you in all early! If you were in anywhere near the shape Casey was, well, I’m surprised you’re even standing.”

“Well, standing is a bit of an overstatement, surviving would be a better term!”

“So, you had fun.”

“Oh my God, we had the most unbelievable time! I have to say, I don’t remember all of it, but by Alibi I was sober. Until I drank more in the limo after….”

“Woah, I didn’t even know Alibi was on the agenda. Did you hit all the other places?”

“Sure did!”

“You guys know how to do it! I’m glad you had fun.”

Sienna turned her head around to make sure they were alone.

“Tobias, just so you know, outside of some dancing, nothing untoward happened last night. Not with anyone.”

He tilted his head and looked down at her, “Well Sienna, if anything… untoward… had happened, it really wouldn’t be any of my business, would it?”

“I guess not. But it could still hurt.”

Tobias turned his eyes toward her.

“Si, what are you…”

“Tobias,” she said softly touching his hand, “I’ve known for a while. I have eyes, I can see how you feel about her.”

He inhaled. “Well, I guess I’m more obvious than I think.”

“She isn’t aware of how you feel, is she?”

“No, and I don’t plan on telling her. At least not for now.”

“Why not?”

He turned his head toward her, eyebrows raised.

“You want me to tell her?”

Sienna sighed, looking straight ahead, gathering her thoughts before speaking.

“Yeah. I think you should. Not right now, but eventually.”

“I’m frankly a little shocked. It’s not the popular consensus.”

“Well, consensuses change. I see how much you care for her, yet you’ve never acted on it. Even when you could have easily taken advantage. Honestly, I think it’s beautiful. It shows you truly want what is best for her and, well, that’s what I want for my best friend.”

Sienna stopped talking and her eyes widened. She nodded down the hall when she saw Ethan approaching the office.

She continued in a whisper. “I don’t think you’d ever hurt her”

Tobias turned to make sure Ethan was still far enough away before continuing.

“Sienna, I’d rather die than hurt her.”

She smiled. “You’ll know when the time is right, T. I know you will.”

She patted his arm and began to walk away.

“Sienna, wait…” he said running after her.

“Do you… do you think she feels the same way about me? Wait... no, don’t answer that. We’re grown adults, not middle-schoolers. I’m sorry.…”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I can’t say with certainty, but I think it’s possible.”

She smiled as she walked away. He leaned back on the wall, his head spinning and he didn’t come out of his stupor until he heard a voice calling him.

“Tobias. Tobias. Are you with me?”

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, sorry Ethan, I uh, just have some things on my mind. What’s up?”

“Our meeting’s been delayed until ten, so I’m heading down to the cafeteria to have breakfast. Care to join me?”

“I’d love to but, our meeting was delayed because Dr. Reynolds needs to consult with me on the Lawrence case. But hey, can we make plans to do it another day? Just say when.”

“We’ll do that,” he nodded.

Tobias sunk against the wall again as Ethan retreated, he had a lot to think about.

____________________

Ethan was seated in the cafeteria, his head buried in a medical journal. This was one way he avoided conversation. That, combined with his gruff reputation, ensured that no one ever dared to interrupt him. The only exceptions were Naveen or Harper. Then Tobias when he came to Edenbrook. And, of course, Casey.

She was the most unique because she hadn’t been a friend, they had no relationship when she began doing so. An intern breezing up to him and grabbing a chair as if it was the most natural thing in the world. No other had ever dared. At first, he found it maddening, but also intriguing. Eventually, he realized it was one of the things that led to him falling for her. She was fearless, and she was not going to be intimidated by his bullshit and that allowed her to crack his shell. He sighed. But now he wished the shell had not been cracked, or so he thought.

A few colleagues glanced his way, but all sharply turned away when he made eye contact. This was a game to Ethan, and on some days, he enjoyed playing it, but not today. He was in no mood and unwelcome company was the last thing he desired.

When a cheerful (too cheerful) voice broke the silence, he was craving, he nearly growled.

“Hi. Is this seat taken?”

Ethan looked up, clearly vexed, and when he saw who it was, he was further vexed.

“What do you want, Floria?”

“I thought I made that clear. I want that seat.”

He looked back at her and engaging in a stare-down until he finally broke.

“I truly can’t stop you now, can I?”

“I mean, you’re Ethan Ramsey,” she said sitting down, “I’m sure you could manage a way if you really wanted to.”

He had turned his head back into his journal. Floria gently grabbed it from his hands.

Ethan bit his cheek attempting to contain his anger.

“I really don’t appreciate…”

“Ethan, take a moment to relax. I’m trying to be your friend, or at least show you that someone cares, OK? I know so much bad shit has happened to you lately, and I worry about you.”

“What’s happened to me, Floria?”

“Louise for one, and… Casey.”

“How do you know about Casey?”

“Ethan, the whole hospital knows. It’s been common knowledge for over a week.”

Ethan lowered his head into his hands and shook his head.

“Wonderful…”

“Don’t worry. It will blow over soon as soon as the next news happens. It happens every time.”

He lifted his head, pain evident in his eyes.

“Ethan… how are you doing with all of this?”

“I’m doing.”

“I know breakups are difficult under any circumstances, but when you…”

“Floria, I don’t mean to interrupt. I know you’re trying to be kind, but the last thing I want to do is discuss the end of my relationship. Casey was the love of my life, and I will not discuss her with anyone.”

Ethan covered, but he was taken aback by his own words and how easily they came out. He instantly regretted saying them, especially to Floria. Normally he maintained such control of his personal life, no one in the hospital ever knew anything about it. So this lapse was difficult for him to comprehend.

“The love of your life? God, Ethan, I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t know how serious things were between you… that’s got to be…” she sighed, frustrated “but then Ethan, why the hell did you break up with her then?”

He shook his head in annoyance, “And how did you know that?”

“Everyone knows Ethan. I don’t get it. If you finally found what you always wanted, why would you do this?”

“Because I didn’t find what I always wanted. I found a woman I loved, I didn’t find the life I had planned.”

Floria shook her head.

“But you could have, Ethan. People change. Why don’t you consider…”

“Floria, please…”

“OK, fine. Look, just stay here a second. I’ll be right back.”

“My lucky day.”

“I heart that,” she said turning around as he shrugged.

A moment later she returned and placed a small bag in front of him.

“Here.”

“What’s this.”

“It’s a Napoleon, take it and have it later. I saw them baking them, it’s the desert special today and, believe it or not, they’re pretty good. I remember they were your favorite and, well, I think you could use a little pick me up.”

The corners of his lips raised, very slightly. “Well, thank you. They were once my favorite, but I try to eat healthier these days.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake Ethan! I’m not suggesting you make this your breakfast every day. But it is alright to treat yourself occasionally. And right now, you could use a little treat.”

His mind immediately flickered back to the day he met Casey. They were standing near the vending machine when she tossed a chocolate bar his way.

“Saw you kept staring at it. You know, it’s OK to treat yourself sometimes.”

How can you feel your heart warm and stomach churn from the very same memory? Because that’s exactly what happened.

“Ethan, did I say something wrong?”

“No. No, I’m sorry. You’re right, I should treat myself every now and again.”

She smiled at him. “I know right now a lot of lines have been drawn against you, even though some is your own doing, but that doesn’t make it less lonely. Ethan, if people are offering you kindness, take it. Including me because I do care. But for now, I’ll leave you in peace. I know that’s what you want.”

“Floria,” he called as she walked away.

“Yes?”

“Thank you for the pastry.”

She smiled over her shoulder, “You’re welcome.”

If people are offering you kindness, take it. It kept replaying in his head.

He picked up his phone and looked at his text messages. He only saved messages from select people who mattered to him, all others were immediately deleted. Currently, there were only four people saved. Most recently, there were texts from Alan and Naveen. Tobias’s message from the other night remained. Then there were Casey’s. He nearly deleted the night he ended things, the reminders too painful. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Even if the life they shared no longer remained, he wanted something to prove that it had happened. He swallowed as he felt tears stinging his eyes. He knew he hurt her terribly, and she was not the only one.

He opened the messages from Alan. For every ten sent to him, he replied once. Even then, it was a short, curt response. He rubbed his face and tossed the phone in his pocket. He began to stand but promptly fell back into his seat. Taking out the phone, he rapidly dialed, as if he wanted to complete the task before his mind changed.

“Hey, Dad. It’s me. Yeah, I was wondering, do you have any time free on Saturday? I’m off and I thought maybe we could have dinner together.”

____________________

Casey was lounging around, catching up on Grey’s Anatomy. A vague recollection of her conversation with Jackie came into her head.

Wow, he does look a little like Dr. Avery. How did I never see this before? Humph.

She was faring better than she expected. Her hangover remedy still worked! She decided to take a long shower before heading to the farmer’s market. As she walked to her bathroom, she remembered Tobias told her she could always use his bathtub. The incredible freestanding tub is next to a glass wall with incomparable views of Boston. If there was ever a day to luxuriate there, this was it. She grabbed her phone:

Casey picked out a favorite bath bomb then retreated to the tub for a good hour. She could never understand how that man never used this; it was perfection. When she finally convinced herself to step out of it, she wrapped herself in Tobias’s big, white terry bathrobe. Well, it was hers now, she commandeered it a few days after she moved in. He said he never used it anyway, and it looked like it cost half of her paycheck, so she was all too happy to accept it. Once the belt was tied, she wrapped her head in a fluffy white towel and headed to the kitchen to make lunch.

She was standing at the island making tuna salad when she heard a key in the door.

See, he does pop in during the day! And he said I shouldn’t text about the bath!

“Hey T!” She yelled, “I’m making tuna salad for lunch, want some?”

“Well, I don’t know about him, but I might like to?”

Casey’s eyes darted up to find an elegantly dressed, attractive woman standing before her. Perfectly accessorized in her expensive white suit, she looked more put together than Casey had ever looked in her entire life.

“Who are you? And what are you doing here?”

“Uhm, I live here. Who are you, and why are you here?”

“Just a moment… are you saying you live with my son?”

Casey gasped as a look of horror spread across her face.

“You’re... you’re Tobias’s mother?”

“Yes. And you are?”

“Oh, I’m Casey,” she said wiping her hand off on her robe before extending it.

“I’m Vivian,” she replied looking at her hand, slightly appalled, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Now I’ll ask again. You’re living with my son?”

“Oh, I mean, yes, I live here. Like in this apartment. But, no I’m not living with Tobias, in that way.”

“And, why not? Are you implying that there is something wrong with my son?”

“Oh... no... no not at all. Tobias is wonderful… he’s a wonderful man… I mean, I adore him… but, but we’re just, we’re just friends.”

Vivian coolly eyed Casey from head to toe, then back again. Casey found herself wishing that the floor would open up and swallow her whole.

“Hmmm. Well, Tobias’s father and I were just friends once too. Things can change, you know.”

Vivian walked into the apartment with her suitcase in hand. She headed down the hallway to the large guest room, now Casey’s room. Vivian observed that its door was shut, but the door to Tobias’s bedroom was open, what’s more, there were a few wet footprints leading out from it.

“Casey, dear, can you come here a moment?”

“Of course,” she said running over.

“You said that you and Tobias are not together… in the biblical sense. Correct?”

“Correct. We’re not. He’s just my good friend.”

“Yet you’re standing here, in what appears to be his bathrobe…”

“Oh, he gave it to me when I moved in, he didn’t use it and… with all due respect, where is this going?”

“Patience, child, I’m getting there. Are you staying in the large guest room?”

“Yes. But if that’s where you usually stay, I can….”

“Relax, dear. I have no problem taking the other guest room. But… why are there wet footprints coming from my son’s room, and not yours?”

She eyed Casey suspiciously.

“Oh, because he’s not here. He told me I could use his tub, because I like the view and I had a rough night last night, and he said I could…”

“Mmmm hmmm, go on….”

“Well, that’s really all there is to it.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Casey spied the farmer’s market list Tobias had left for her this morning. Her eyes bulged when she saw he signed it “Daddy.” That asshole. Casey quickly grabbed the note, crumbling it and placing it behind her back.

Vivian turned immediately.

“Are you OK?”

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

“You seem awfully, skittish… what are you hiding behind your back?”

“It’s, it’s just a note. I was writing it to my… friend… uhm, and it’s private.”

“You’re friend?”

“Yes.”

“Like my son is a friend?”

“Yes, but… oh, no, this wasn’t for Tobias. It’s another friend. I have another friend, I mean, Tobias is not my only friend.” Casey was turning red, “They’re both friends.”

“Sweetheart,” Vivian said placing her hand on Casey’s elbow, “you should calm down, I don’t bite you know. What on earth has my son told you about me?”

“Oh, only good things.”

Vivian stared at her pointedly.

“I’m serious, he never said anything bad. Only that he’s afraid to introduce you to his female friends. And here I am… his female friend… in his bathrobe… living in his house… and meeting you… without the benefit of him being here.”

“Don’t be frightened, Casey. Now, moving along, do you know where my son is?"

"Yes, he's working."

"Excellent. I'll call him. Oh, and I'll let him know that the three of us will be having dinner together this evening."

"Oh, that's very sweet of you, but I work a late shift tonight."

"Dear, they do give you a dinner break, now, don't they?"

"Well... yes..."

"Well, then there you go. Just let Tobias know what time he should pick you up at the hospital. We won't keep you too long."

"But you haven't talked to him yet. Maybe he doesn't want to..."

She wordlessly stared at Casey, slightly tilting her head to the side.

"On second thought, I have no doubt in my mind that he will want to."

"Exactly! I like you, Casey. I am looking forward to dinner tonight. I am certain it will be delightful."

“Oh, uhm, where are you going?”

“I’m going to see about getting a hotel room. I came unexpectedly and I don’t want to…. intrude… on you and Tobias, so…”

“No, Vivian. You’re not intruding, seriously, I mean, seriously Tobias and I are just friends. I mean, if you normally take the larger guest room, and you want that, I’ll gladly sleep in the smaller one while you’re here…”

Vivian sighed, disappointed. “So, you really are sleeping in the guestroom?”

“Yes.”

Vivian shook her head woefully.

“That’s too bad. It’s OK, dear, you stay in your room. The smaller one is fine, for now. But next time, perhaps I can stay in the big one again.”

“Well, I mean, I could be living someplace else, so maybe…”

“That’s not what I meant,” she said winking.

Dear God, now I know where Tobias gets all his bravado from!

Casey ran to her room and text Tobias:

T!!! 911!!! Your MOM is here!! Did you know she was coming?!

Her phone rang immediately.

“WHAT?”

“T! Why aren’t you texting me? I don’t want to talk, what if she hears me?! Ugh, let me go to my bathroom!”

“Run the water while you’re at it…”

“OK, OK… so I’m in the kitchen making lunch, in my, well, in your, bathrobe and she walks in. I thought it was you, so I offered lunch and… she introduced herself.”

“Case, she’s calling me on the other line. I’m going to take it; I’ll call you right back.”

Casey quickly got dressed and brushed her hair. If she was going to see Vivian again, she thought it would be best for her to be clothed.

Her phone rang.

“T?”

“So, apparently the three of us are having dinner tonight?”

“She wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

Tobias laughed, “What else did she put you through?”

“Well, she seems to be quite disappointed that I’m not sleeping with you.”

Tobias snorted, “She what?”

“I mean, she didn’t come right out and say it, but it was highly implied.”

“Oh, dinner is going to be amusing. You can save yourself and fake a work emergency.”

“First, I think your mom would show up at Edenbrook and demand to speak to Naveen insisting he find a replacement for me. Second, are you kidding? And miss out on all this fun?

“Fun you say?”

“Yeah, fun.”

He started roaring, “Oh, sweetheart, you are in for a very interesting evening. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

____________________

Tobias’s shift ended at 7:30 and Casey’s dinner break was at 8:00. To make things easier, he arranged for a taxi to bring his mother to the hospital, instructing her to meet them in the lobby. This way they could all leave together. Casey insisted on meeting her with Tobias. She was a little scared about Vivian’s line of questioning could be, especially within earshot of coworkers. When they exited the elevator together laughing, Vivian beamed.

“Tobias! Darling!” she said rushing to her son. “Let me get a look at you dear!”

“Mom,” he said pulling her into a warm embrace, “please, don’t make me spin around to see how much I have grown in front of my professional associates.”

“Oh, stop it now! I am just so happy to see you!”

“You’re a week early!”

“I text you last night, you never answered.”

Tobias thought back. He had been too preoccupied worrying about Casey last night, so he never opened the message from his mother.

“Casey! Lovely seeing you again, dear.”

“Likewise.”

As Casey and Tobias stood next to each other, Vivian moved to stand before them. She sighed placing her right arm on Tobias and her left on Casey.

“You do realize that the two of you would make an absolutely striking couple, don’t you?”

“Oh, God!” Casey gasped.

“MA!” Tobias yelled, both turning bright red.

“I warned you,” Tobias whispered to Casey.

“I heard that.”

“I intended for you to.”

Casey cleared her throat, “So, where are we going to eat?”

“Great way to change the conversation dear. She’s not only beautiful and intelligent, but she also has social graces. You could do worse, son.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Tobias muttered.

“Eating? Eating? Where are we eating?” Casey asked nervously.

“Oh, yeah. Scampo. It’s right around the corner, we can walk, and Case you can leave early if you must. Plus, it will meet my mother’s standards.”

“There is nothing wrong with high standards, my son.”

“T, how did you score a table at Scampo at the last moment?”

“Hey, I know people. If I am having dinner with my two favorite ladies, I’m going to make things happen.”

Vivian raised an eyebrow at his statement, while Casey did not bat a lash.

____________________

Both Casey and Tobias appeared relieved when the host sat them at a table in a far corner of the room. With Vivian along, privacy would be a good thing.

“So, Casey, darling, tell me, how did you and my Tobias meet? Was it at work?”

“Mom…”

“Tobias, for heaven’s sake, she’s living with you. I’m sure it’s not an imposition to ask her how you met!”

Casey eyed neighboring tables; she didn’t see anyone from Edenbrook… phew.

“I met him while he was still at Kenmore.”

“Oh, so it’s been some time now. Continue….”

Casey shot Tobias a cunning glance. He narrowed his eyes looking back at her. She put her wine glass to her lips coquettishly.

“We met at a local diner. I was having breakfast with a friend, and he happened to be there. Quite by design though, as he was trying to poach her to work at Kenmore. Essentially he hoped it would help him lure her Aunt, a top surgeon at Edenbrook, over as well. In the long run, it didn’t work.”

“Really, Casey?” Tobias looked equally amused and annoyed, as he smirked at her.

Vivian smacked Tobias’s arm. “Did I not raise you better than that?”

“Ow! Hey, Mom, I was a different person back then. I wouldn’t do that now. I promise I’ve changed.”

“Care to explain.”

“Gladly, but not here with Casey. We can talk offline.”

Casey giggled as she took a spoon of her soup.

Tobias met her eyes and smiling wryly. “I’ll be talking to you offline too.”

Vivian lifted her glass of water. “Hmmm, I bet he will,” she said under her breath.

“Mom! And thank you for this, Casey. It’s much appreciated.”

“I hope this doesn’t mean that I have to live off of Bryce’s couch now.”

“Oh, heavens no!” Vivian exclaimed, “Oh, you are not going anywhere young lady. I mean unless it is to the main bedroom.”

Casey spit out her wine.

“MOM!!!!”

“Oh, stop it. I’m jesting. I jest. That’s what I do.”

“You know, Vivian, my father always says that many a truth is said in jest.”

“Your father sounds like a wise man, one who clearly raised a lovely daughter. I simply can’t wait to meet him.”

Tobias ran his hands down his very reddened face.

“Mom, there is no reason for you to meet him.”

“Whatever Tobias.” She turns to look at Casey. “So, how did you become such good… friends… after such a dismal meeting?”

Without looking at him, she hit Tobias’s arm again.

“OW!”

Casey giggled, “We ran into each other a few times, and then, well, then he helped save my life. I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now if not for Tobias.”

“Case, I was just part of a team. I can’t take credit… though I’d love to because I couldn’t be happier that you are here.”

“Wait, I’m lost. He did what now?”

“Mom, Casey was the doctor I told you about when there was the...” he looked at Casey who nodded her consent, “… when there was the attack at Edenbrook.”

Vivian gasped, “Casey, that was you? Oh, darling, I had no idea. I’m, I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you, but… that’s in the past now.”

“So, beautiful, intelligent, social graces and strong. My dear, do you have any bad qualities?”

“I’m a lousy cook,” she said with a nervous laugh.

“Well, you more than make up for it. Besides, my son can cook, and he can afford to pay someone to do it if need be.”

Casey burst out laughing, and now it was Tobias wishing the floor of the restaurant would swallow him whole.

“Tobias, this begs the question. If you were instrumental in saving her life, why did you not take the opportunity to ask her out then?”

“Mom, even if I wanted to, we were both with other people at that time.”

“Who were you with? I do not recall you being with anyone.”

“You didn’t know her, Mom. It wasn’t anything serious and, well, she wasn’t worthy of being introduced to you,” he grinned.

“Hmm. And this is why you’re nearly forty years old without a wife. This is why I have no grandchildren.” She shook her head, mildly disgusted while continuing to eat her food, “Wasting time on all those unworthy to meet you mother types.”

Casey covered her mouth to suppress a grin while looking at Tobias out of the corner of her eye.

“If this, unworthy woman, was so unimportant, then that would have been the perfect moment to cast her out in order to be with the love of your life.”

“OHMYGOD!” Casey said leaning forward and placing her head in her hands.

Tobias threw his head back, roaring with laughter.

“I warned you! I warned you! But no, you insisted I was joking. Keep egging her on, MacTavish, see where it gets you.”

“So, he has told you bad things about me then?”

“No! No, not really bad per… oh, just give me more wine.”

“Don’t worry, Mom has informed me she has a new boyfriend, so she won’t be around much this holiday season. We can get all this pain out of the way now.”

“We will be in Tahiti for Christmas and New Year’s. I tried to get Tobias to join us, but he wanted to remain close to home. Now I understand why.”

“It’s not going to stop, is it?” Casey asked Tobias.

“For you? Yeah, as soon as she leaves, for me... no, never. This is the rest of my life.”

“Now stop that Tobias, I have every intention of asking this lovely young woman for her phone number before I leave. I will be encouraging her as well.”

“Tobias,” Casey asked, “is three glasses of wine too much for me to drink before heading back to work?”

“Not tonight.”

“Anyway, none of that matters. I will be hosting a holiday celebration at my townhome in DC in January; that would be the perfect time to introduce you two to our family and friends.”

“Mom, for the fiftieth time, Casey is not my girlfriend.”

She looked at Casey and lightly tapped her arm, “Excuse me, darling, he is a little slow.”

“I am talking about JanuaryTobias. That gives you plenty of time to get your life together and do the right thing. In fact, if you could do it by December, we could send your Christmas card to everyone in advance.”

Casey returned her face to her hands on the table.

“Mom, if there was any remote chance of Casey and I being together one day, I think you probably ruined it over this dinner.”

“Casey, is that true?”

“Uhm, uh… Vivian… all I can say is that anyone would be fortunate to have you as a mother-in-law… as long as you like them, that is.”

Vivian turned smugly toward Tobias. “I like her.”

“I knew you would, Mom. I knew you would.”

Casey laughed, “Well, as enjoyable as this has been, I am already late for work. Vivian, how long are you staying? Will I see you tomorrow?”

“I leave tomorrow night, but I’ll make other arrangements if need be. I would simply love to spend more time with you.”

“Oh, Joy,” Tobias sighed.

“I look forward to it! Now, duty calls.”

The table remained quiet for several minutes after Casey left.

“You know, Mom, sometimes when you hit me… it hurts.”

“You know, son, sometimes when you need some sense knocked into you, I am going to do it.”

He laughed, “I’ve missed you. It’s been too long.

“It has, but I will be staying in DC more after the holidays, so it will be easier for us to see each other. So, now that we are alone, tell me, how long have you been in love with Casey? And pick your jaw up off the floor, Tobias, I’m your mother, I can read you like a book.”

Tobias inhaled. “Mom, Casey… she means… I.…”

“Tell me you don’t love her.”

Tobias thought back to the day he told Bryce about Harper confronting him about his feelings for Casey:

I wanted to deny it, I tried to deny it, and that is when I knew I was so screwed because, as much as I wanted to, I could not deny what I felt for her any more than I could will myself to stop breathing.

If he couldn’t bring himself to lie to Harper, he certainly couldn’t do it to his mother. Besides, she’d see right through it. He looked around the restaurant, they were mostly alone

“Mom, I… I do love her. Deeply, as a matter of fact, but… it’s not important. I don’t plan on acting on it and you will need to respect that.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Tobias. You’re 37 years old and this is the first time you have ever told me you love a woman. Why on earth wouldn’t you pursue it?”

“She was heartbroken recently. She was essentially dumped by the man who is, likely, the love of her life.”

“Hmm, and you could change that designation. As far as I see, they are no longer together, and she’s living with you.”

“It was Ethan, Mom.”

“Ethan? Ethan Ramsey?”

“Yes.”

“As in your former best friend and current boss, Ethan Ramsey?”

“Yes, and we’re sort of friends again too.”

“Oh, son…”

“Now do you understand?”

“Understand? Oh, hell no. I mean, I see the complications, for sure, but resigning yourself to not even try to be with the woman you love? No, don’t ask me to understand that foolishness.”

“The timing is just. It’s…”

“When we get back to your place, we’re going to talk. You’re aware that your father and I experienced difficulty with our families when we were first together. But you don’t know is that complications between he and I almost led us to never being together. If we hadn’t taken a chance, I would have missed out on the love of my life, and on you.”

“Mom…”

“Tobias, one day we all reach the end, my love, it’s unavoidable. And, when we do, it will be the chances that we didn’t take that we will regret the most.”

Tobias remained silent, trying to absorb his mother’s message and reconcile it with his own thoughts.

“I love you, Mom.”

“Of course, you do, dear. I’m extraordinary.”

“That you are.”

“I love you too son, now, let's go home. I have more talk for you.”

“And I have more wine.”

______________________

The next day Tobias was about to leave for work when he noticed a crumpled piece of paper under a table in the hall. He picked it up, it was the farmer’s market list he left for Casey yesterday. He chuckled to himself and looked at his watch. Casey said not to let her sleep later than this anyway. He decided to get her back for outing his bad behavior with Aurora in front of his mother last night. Besides, this was going to be fun.

She answered her bedroom door, her eyes barely opened. “Hmmm…”

“Hey, you said not to let you sleep later than this, but we also have an issue.”

“An issue?”

“Can I come in?”

“Sure.”

He handed her the note. “Why on earth did you leave this laying around?”

She took it in her hands and woke up in an instant.

“Oh my God, tell me you found this? Right now! Tell me you were the one that found this!”

“I’d love to, but my mom handed it to me fifteen minutes ago. It was on the floor in the hall.”

Casey started pacing in circles.

“Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. No. No. No. No. Oh, God… T what did you tell her?”

“I told her it’s just a sex thing. That’s all it is between us and she shouldn’t get her hopes up beyond that.”

Casey’s face fell, then relaxed. “Ha, ha. You’re funny. What did you really say?”

“That’s what I really said, Case. I mean, this way she’ll get off our backs. Besides, you’ve met her now, do you think she would have believed the truth?”

Casey smacked Tobias in the chest.

“OW! What is it with you two?”

“Don’t you OW me! You… T… I mean… UGH! How could you?”

“Well, actually I’m only….”

The word “joking” was left hanging as Casey grabbed the door handle and ran out of the room before Tobias could stop her.

“WAIT! Case! Don’t!”

He ran after her, but she was already in the kitchen where Vivian was reading the morning paper.

“Vivian,” she yelled, causing her to lift her head from the paper.

Tobias rushed in and tried to talk, but Casey wouldn’t have it.

“Oh no, you!” She said holding an admonishing finger in his direction, “You’ve done enough already! Vivian, there is no sex thing between Tobias and me! The note said Daddy because of an inside joke that originated with me being super drunk one night, that’s all. Oh, and your son is an idiot.”

Tobias stood behind Casey making a poor attempt to stifle his laughter, as Vivian looked on astonished.

“Now, Casey dear, why on earth would you volunteer this information to me?”

Casey turned beet red and turned to Tobias who was now doubled over laughing.

“TOBIAS!”

“Oh, my… Case, I wanted to… oh, God…” he was laughing too hard to speak.

“TOBIAS?”

“Case,” he said with tears on his cheeks, “Oh my God, Case… this… this was priceless. I was about to tell you that I was joking with, but you had to go all Road Runner down the hall and….” he stopped, laughing hysterically again.

“I am going to freaking KILL you!” Casey said smacking him.

“Stop, stop!” he yelled while still laughing.

“UUUGGHH!” I’m never speaking to you again.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Vivian, I’m so sorry, I’m going to my room to… to die of embarrassment!”

She glared at Tobias, “I hate you!” she said stomping off.

“No, you don’t!”

“Yes, I do!” she said as she slammed the door.

Tobias looked at his mom, still unable to stop laughing.

“That was all a joke, mom. All of it.”

Vivian peered at him from over her glasses.

“Not a word from you,” he said smirking.

“Mmmm-hmmm, I’ve got nothing to say about any of this nonsense. Now you two just get your business together before my party in January.”

___________________

Casey emerged from her room after Tobias departed to work.

“Vivian?” she said uncomfortably, “I just wanted to say…”

“Dear, come sit with me. You don’t have to say a thing. Remember, I birthed that clown and I have been putting up with his crazy for a long time. You have nothing to be worried about.”

Casey let out a deep sigh. “Thank God, thank you. I feel much better. I was mortified.”

“But you can you please explain why he signed, Daddy?”

“Oh, you see, Tobias arranged for me and my friends to have this awesome girl’s night out, you know because he was trying to cheer me up because I’ve been going through a lot. So, we go out and had a great time, but I had entirely too much to drink, which isn’t normal for me, mind you, but like I said it’s been a rough time, so we were just cutting loose. Which was OK because T got us a limo, so no driving, no trains, he made sure we were all safe. Anyway… I got home, and I don’t even remember this because, oh my God, I’m so embarrassed, he was being all … ‘well you didn’t do anything to get in trouble right’ … ‘I mean you broke curfew hahaha’ … and ‘were you hanging out with boys hahaha’, So I wanted to say YES DAD, but in my drunken stupor… I’m sorry… I swear I haven’t been in a drunken stupor since college… but anyway I said Yes DADDY instead and your son is never, ever, ever, ever going to let me live that down, and now I hate him.”

Vivian had been leaning on her elbows staring at Casey bewilderingly.

“Dear, do you always ramble incoherently like that?”

“Only when I’m really scared or embarrassed. T finds it endearing.”

“I’m sure he does. You are endearing. I really do like you Casey.”

“Thank you. But are you going to torture Tobias now? I mean, it’s funny and all, but in time, I don’t want it to lead to anything that will make him uncomfortable with me.”

“Sweetheart, the way I know my son is sometimes a complete ass, he knows I am always going to be relentless with him. Trust me, it won’t impact you.”

“Are you sure?”

“I promise you that.”

Casey smiled, “Thank you because I really never want anything to come between me and Tobias. I hope you know, I am only joking when I say I hate him now. I don’t hate him… I could never possibly hate him.”

“I didn’t think you could.”

“He… he means too much to me. He… he’s too good to me and I don’t ever want anything to come between that.”

“I see.”

“Thank you.”

“Casey?”

“Yes.”

“Is there anything you want to say?”

“No. Nothing. There isn’t anything I want to say.”

“OK, then.”

Casey sighed. “Vivian?”

“Yes”

“I feel like… I feel like I can trust you.”

“You can. I may be pushy, but I have never broken anyone’s trust, and I never will.”

“That’s good.”

Casey remained silent, looking nervous.

“Casey. I know I jest, that’s what I do, but I am asking this in all seriousness. I sense… I sense that you do have feelings for Tobias, am I correct?”

“Uh, I don’t know what you mean.”

“I am very good at reading people, so I am going to ask you to please not lie to me, but more importantly, please don’t lie to yourself. I mean it, you can trust me.”

Casey looked out the window silently, she turned around and looked at Vivian.

“I believe that I do.”

As soon as she said it, she let out a deep sigh, as if she just let the world slip off her shoulders. It felt good to say it, even though she was trembling.

“I’ve loved him as a friend for a long time, we’re very close. But lately, I find myself… I am figuring it all out and, I don’t want to hurt what we already have. I never want to lose him. I don’t know if he feels the same way. I mean, he’s been really hung up on some woman for some time now… plus, I’m just out of a relationship that broke my heart into a million pieces, and it’s not mended yet. I am having trouble understanding myself these days. How am I not fully out of love with one person but, I think, I think I’m beginning to fall for another. See, I can’t… I don’t’ want to let anyone know because I’d never want to hurt Tobias.”

“Then don’t.”

Casey chuckled ruefully, “But it doesn’t always work that way, it’s not always that simple.”

“Casey, I’m going to talk to you as if you were my daughter. Life is all about choices. Now, if you believe that there is a chance that you would return to your life as it was. If you still feel like you would say yes if your ex wanted you back, then, yes, by all means, don’t say or do anything about your feelings. It wouldn’t be fair to anyone. But if you’re confident that it is all in the past. If you can honestly say that you would never take him back, then the only direction to travel is forward. If that’s the case, why wait if you have found something good?”

She took Casey’s hand, “I want to tell you about me and my late husband. When we met, I was recently out of a relationship as well, and I had a lot of the same concerns you do. But I also knew that if I waited too long, I could lose my chance, and I didn't want to because I knew there was something special between us. And from that grew a wonderful marriage, a wonderful family, that lasted decades and I thank God for it every day. I’m not saying that’s everyone’s experience, and I can’t guarantee that it would be yours. But sometimes, in life, you have to take a risk to get a reward.”

Casey sat silently.

“I hope I haven’t upset you…”

“No, not at all. In fact, it feels so good to have said it. I have not told a soul, not even my therapist… although she is certainly going to hear about it this week. I know I’m not ready right now, Vivian, I’m not. So, please, please don’t push it. Maybe we could have something in the future, but I don’t want to ruin it by jumping into it now.”

“That’s wise. If the time comes where it is right, you will know it. Now, this conversation will never go further than you and me. I promise you; I will tone down my rhetoric a little, but I won’t completely cease. If I did, Tobias would be beyond suspicious trust me. I’ve been watching you both. I think you’d be good for each other; I certainly won’t do anything that could ruin its chances.”

“Thank you, Vivian.”

“Besides, I do want you together for other reasons. What my grandbabies would look like if the two of you… mmmm.”

“You’re relentless,” Casey laughed.

“Tobias did warn you about me, now, come here and give me a hug.”

Casey was amazed at how much Vivian’s hug felt just like one from her own mother, and she was surprised by how good it felt, how much she needed it. The women did exchange numbers, but Vivian never tortured Casey, only Tobias. But Casey smiled when Vivian stepped into her taxi, not because she was leaving because she was blessed to have yet another wonderful person in her life.

Casey laid on her bed staring at the ceiling. When does a person fall in love? Out of love? Do they overlap? She knew a part of her would love Ethan forever, regardless of his feelings for her. But after everything that had happened, a future together seemed almost impossible. She acknowledged that something was drawing her to Tobias, and now, looking back, was it always there? Was their bond so strong because it was something beyond friendship, but she just didn’t see it? Why would she have? She was so in love with Ethan she would never have seen it. Regardless, she knew she needed some time, but she also had to start giving this thought. Because she didn’t want to risk losing something that could be wonderful because of fear. Her therapist appointment was five days away. That was too long, she needed to talk to someone sooner. She picked up her phone.

“Hey, Sienna… do you think we could get together sometime in the next couple of days? Not here at my place, someplace private. I really need to talk.”

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#delaying the inevitable #tobias carrick #tobias carrick x mc #ethan ramsey #ethan x mc #choices fanfiction #choices fanfic writers creations #fics of the week #cfwc fics of the week

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nanasparadise · 3 years

Text

“Dream Invader” Yan! Abbacchio x gender-neutral reader (Soulmate AU)

Hello everyone! I hope you are doing fine. I don’t know if you have read my previous post, that talks about a dream I had, but I decided to turn some elements of it into this piece of writing. This fanfiction is set in the soulmate universe. I really hope you enjoy it, because I decided to write this instead of studying for my French essay I have tomorrow (please wish me luck, God knows I need it) :D. And for the requests: I haven’t forgotten you, please remain patient. T-T I’ll write my last test on Thursday, after that I have holidays, so I’ll definitely catch up on them!! Thank you for sticking around. <3

Summary: Your soulmate keeps visiting you in your dreams, but you don’t feel comfortable around them…

TW: noncon touching, toxic relationship, angst, reader gets hurt physically, MATURE AUDIENCE ONLY/MINORS DNI

I do not condone any yandere behaviour in real life.

Word count: 2626

It had happened yet again. You had dreamt again of this man, one of many countless dreams. Breathing heavily, you abruptly opened your eyes and wiped away the sweat that was accumulating on your forehead with the back of your hand. “Does that really mean…?”, you mumbled softly. Most people would be happy to find out they had a soulmate and finally had met them. But most people’s match certainly wasn’t someone, who conveyed a deep obsession and possessiveness towards their beloved. Still mentally in your dream, your body started to tremble slightly. What were you going to do now? At first, you had brushed off the dreams, convincing yourself that they didn’t mean anything. But you knew the gist of it. You knew that when a certain person kept infiltrating your dreams, that they were your soulmate.

Sighing deeply, you turned around in your bed, your left cheek resting on the soft pillow. The clock on your bedside table revealed that it was 4:30 a.m. You certainly couldn’t fall asleep again, but it was still too early to wake up for work. So you remained there in the quiet, your shallow breaths being the only sound in the dark room. Despite your efforts, your racing thoughts kept returning to your dream. “Who is this man?”, you whispered as you looked down on your fingers, which seemed to still hurt.

Every time he had shown up, he had never revealed his name to you, wanting to keep it to himself. “I‘ll tell it to you once we see us in real life, amore”, he had told you, a certain spark igniting his admittedly gorgeous yellow and purple eyes. Truth be told, your soulmate was nothing short of beautiful. Long white hair with a purple hue graced his stoic face. His athletic body was adorned with a dark bodysuit, accentuating his muscles. All in all, he reminded you of a vengeful Greek god, breathtaking but dangerous. Dangerous… You began to feel threatened by the presence of your mysterious dream visiter. Since he had never offered you his name, you hadn’t given him yours either, sensing there might be something off about him.

Still, he had found it out. This night in your dream, you two had been on the flower field you had met for the first time. You had felt dizzy, as if your head had been caught in the clouds. This light atmosphere had convinced you that this had been truly a dream, since a sense of haziness always accompanied your nocturnal adventures. The summer sun had been setting, turning the sky into a colourful spectacle of orange and pink. This would have been a picturesque and maybe even romantic moment if it hadn’t been for the feeling of dread building in your stomach. A small smile had formed on his purple lips when he had perceived your form. Quietly, nearly inaudibly, the stranger had murmured your name into the warm summer breeze: “Y/N.” Immediately, goosebumps had formed on your arms.

“How do you know my name?”, you had replied, visibly shaken. Had he somehow managed to get some information on you?

“It’s such a fitting name”, he had mused contemplatively, ignoring your question. “Y/N…” His unique eyes had been fixed on you the whole time, analysing every detail of your face. Fear had started to take over your body. The slight shivers had transformed into noticeable trembling. Your breath had shortened as you had desperately searched for a way to get out of that dream.

„Why are you doing this?”, you had shouted out, panic manifesting in your voice. “Why do you keep entering my dreams, just to behave like a creep? How should I trust you when you don’t even tell me anything about yourself, yet you somehow know my personal information?” The man in front of you had sighed at your outburst. Sparks of sympathy had danced in his eyes, making them appear even brighter. Slowly, he had reached for your hands, holding them in his larger ones. You had tried to pull off from his grasp, but your fighting had been futile against his stronger form. So you had been forced to remain there, listening to the dream man’s words.

“I know this is confusing for you,” he had said while rubbing circles on the back of your hands with his thumbs, “but I can’t give you any information yet, my job makes it hard. I need to see you in real life and I promise, I’ll tell you everything then.” Tears had pricked in your eyes, clouding your vision. Why had he assumed you two would meet? The thought of the stranger knowing your address had turned your initial dread into hot anger. No matter if he was your soulmate, you were still your own, independent person! He couldn’t just stalk you, talk to you as if you were a couple and leave you in the dark about his own identity. The dream man still had held your hands, expecting some kind of reaction from you.

“No”, you had simply answered, refusing to meet his intense gaze.

“No what?”, he had replied, impatience swinging in his voice. He had been in your dreams endless times, reassuring you of his love and loyalty for you. Why hadn’t you been reciprocating his feelings? He was your soulmate after all!

“No,” you had repeated while your eyebrows had furrowed, illustrating your resistance,”we’re not going to see each other.” The grip on your hands had suddenly become stronger and hurtful, nearly crushing your fingers. For a second time, you had tried to take away your hands from him but without success. The stranger’s orbs had fixated you, darkness swirling in the iris of the same colour as the flowers on the field. Terror had made itself visible again in your body and mind, amplified by the man’s sombre look on his handsome face. Yes, he looked just like a statue of Ares, so enchanting and yet so enraged. And dangerous…

“So you don’t want to meet your soulmate?”, he had stated calmy, which only had increased your anxiety.

“Please, let go, you’re hurting me”, you had pleaded despairingly. The man had squeezed harshly one last time your hands before he had eventually released them. Protectively, you had cradled them against your chest, trying to soothe the pain by softly rubbing your fingers. “What kind of person would do this to their soulmate?” you had thought in disgust and fear. Hesitantly, you had looked up to him, his face remaining a stoic façade.

“You still haven’t answered my question, Y/N”, the dream man had said coolly. The fact that he had addressed you with your name again had put you in a state of fear once more. Nevertheless, you had gathered all your courage to reply to him.

“No, I don’t. Someone who hurts and stalks me can’t be my soulmate, no matter if they enter my dreams. And even if you are, I still don’t want to be with you. Please, I’m begging you to respect and accept that.”

The Italian – you had guessed that this was probably his nationality since he called you Italian pet names – man’s gaze had immediately softened at your words. He had known he’d got carried away with his rage. Of course, your words had pained him more than any weapons ever could, but he had to be patient with you. He could only imagine how he had come across to you, especially now that he had hurt you. No, he couldn’t pain a loved one again, not you…

“I’m sorry, cuore mio,” he had said remorsefully, regret manifesting itself, “I really shouldn‘t have hurt you. I promise it won’t happen again. I just want to see you, really see you, and hold you in my arms. I know, I might not be the best man to have existed.” His face had abruptly twisted into a pained grimace. This had been the first time he had ever been that sincere to you. Your feelings had begun to transform into a mix of sympathy, fear and confusion. He had really appeared to feel bad about his actions, maybe he had lived through a trauma to react that way? Your pondering had quickly come to a halt. No, you really couldn’t start to show empathy for the man. After all, he had stalked you, hurt you, crossed too many lines. Nonetheless, your dream invader had kept up with his speech. “I don’t know if I deserve your love, but I really want to believe in it. You are my soulmate and I am yours, we can make it work out if we try. Please, give me a chance and I will do everything in my power to show you I am worthy of you. Just don’t reject me already.” He had paused for a moment, a slight tremble in his voice making itself visible. You had stared at him with big eyes, not knowing what to do or how to feel about this situation. “I’ll be truthful with you. I’ll tell you everything you want to hear.” The man had tried to grasp your hands again but had immediately stopped when he had seen, how you had flinched away. His lips had formed into a thin, bitter line while seeing your reaction. Was he a monster? “I see that my words don’t seem to get through you” he said stoically. “I’ll show you what I mean, that might help. We’ll be seeing each other soon enough.” His last sentence had sent you a cold shiver down your spine. You had had the feeling that he hadn’t referred to another dream… An expression of horror had slowly crept on your face.

“What do you mean?”, you had blurted out loudly, “you mean in our dreams, right? You don’t know where I live, do you?” But the stranger had cruelly decided to stay silent, staring at you ominously instead. Suddenly, the light atmosphere around you had changed. Heaviness had taken over you, the scenic landscape had turned black as you had woken up.

You took another look at your clock. 5:15 a.m. Did you really spend so much time recalling that dream? Deciding that you already wasted too many thoughts on that man, you stood up from your bed and took a shower, even if it still was early. “Some distraction will do me good”, you sighed, exhaustion manifesting in your voice. Your dreams involving the stranger were always so vivid that the next morning you woke up completely tired and drained. As you entered the shower and felt the warm water hitting your skin, you finally managed to relax a little, even if that tiny voice of fear kept reminding you of the dream man’s words…

Weeks had passed since your last encounter in the dream world with your so called soulmate. A sense of hope blossomed in your chest. Maybe he had finally come to his senses and realised that it would be best to leave you alone? That was at least what your friends had told you. They had reassured you that it happened often, that your soulmate could be invasive, they had heard that before from other acquaintances. But in those cases, it had always ended well, none of the people had been harmed. You had chosen to blindly accept that explanation. Truth be told, you did need comfort right now. Because, what your friends didn’t know was, that you felt a pair of eyes burning holes into your back every time you left your home. Yet, you never saw the person behind the gaze. Foolishly, you clung onto the sense of security your friends provided you with, even if it was but wishful thinking…

As you returned home one evening after your work, you already perceived intuitively that something was wrong. Why was there a light on? You always did turn them off… Cautiously, you entered your bedroom, as that was where the light source came from, with your phone in your hand with the emergency number already typed in. Your palms grew sweaty and your breath heavy as fear flooded through your veins. Only now, you thought that you should have maybe taken a knife from the kitchen as protection. But alas, it was already too late. When you saw the person sitting on your bed, you were surprised to see a familiar face.

The man from your dreams quickly stood up when he glanced at your form. His eyes first landed on your horrified face, then on your phone. Without a second thought, you quickly tapped on the call button and placed the device next to your ear. The man knew exactly who you were planning on phoning. “Please, take the phone away Y/N, I’m not going to harm you”, he said lowly. Even though he promised to not hurt you, his dark expression on his face made you think otherwise. Of course you weren’t going to hang up now. You heard the Italian sigh at your act of defiance. After the second beep sound, a voice appeared on the line.

“How can I help you?”, the person on the other side of the phone asked politely. Before you could reply, an to you invisible force ripped the device out of your grasp and slammed it onto your wall. The screen of your smartphone turned black and cracked into thousand pieces. With eyes as big as saucers you stared incredulously at it.

“I’m sorry for that”, the man simply uttered. Though you couldn’t hear a hint of actual remorse in his voice. “I’m gonna buy you a new one.”

“What do you want?”, you managed to voice, “I thought you had left me in peace.”

“I’ve told you at our last encounter that we would see each other again, fiore mio”, the man replied with softness. “I can’t believe you’re really here physically”, he kept on musing in a dreamy tone, eyes lighting up. He took a few steps towards you, a hand reaching out to you. You instinctively took a few steps back until your back hit the door.

“Please, don’t come near me”, you begged, feeling completely helpless and exposed.

“It’s fine Y/N, really. I promised I’d you show that I won’t ever hurt you again.” He was now in front of you, your faces so close, you could feel his breath fan over your nose. Tears welled up in your eyes and threatened to stream over your face. What were you going to do now? You were scared to react in a sudden way, scared it would trigger the Italian and his dangerous invisible force. Gently, the man shushed you and placed a hand on your cheek. A calloused thumb brushed away the tears that had finally escaped. “I know that I have done bad things in the past,” he whispered quietly to you, “but I, Leone Abbacchio, swear I will fix it. I will be a better person for you, Y/N.” Your eyes widened at the revelation of his name. Abbacchio basked in your innocent reaction. He took a mental note to replay it with Moody Blues later. While one hand kept caressing your cheek, the other one grabbed into his pocket to take out a yellow flower, matching perfectly with the man’s eyes. Your gaze fell upon the plant, recognising it from the flower field of your dreams. Abbacchio softly tucked it behind your left ear while admiring your face. You hiccupped anxiously at his obsessive staring. “We will have a beautiful future ahead of us, I’ll make sure of it” the Italian murmured in your ear.

“After all, we are soulmates.”

#JJBA #JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #jojo #Jojo Part 5 #jojo golden wind #jojo vento aureo #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere jjba #yandere abbacchio #yandere abbacchio x reader #minors dni #goth tiddy man #tw: yandere #tw: noncon touching #tw: injury #tw: implied kidnapping #tw: angst #tw: stalking

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burning-omen · 3 years

Text

Punishment and how good the X-men are with it headcanons(part 1?????maybe)

With: Kurt Wagner, Scott Summers, Warren Worthington III, and Peter Maximoff

Warning: overstimulation, spanking, edging, semi-public play, s*x machine, bondage, cages

(A/n: started writing this at like, 3 am, went to sleep then finished writing it when I woke up. This was originally meant to be just for Scotty but I got ✨distracted ✨ by an ✨involuntary daydream✨ so now you have this. You’re welcome.)

Kurt Wagner:

Oh lord this man right here is so bad at taking physical punishment

But he acts like he’s not

Before the act he’s a bit arrogant, saying that it won’t affect him

And the next day he’ll act like he hadn’t had the reaction that he did, like he took his punishment and came out with his dignity intact

But you knew otherwise

The moment you bend him over your knee he’s a mess

“Y/n, please, I’ll be good from now on, just-”

“Shh, the faster we get this over with the faster you can prove to me that you’re going to be good.”

He’s...impatient. He likes things fast, so the worst form of punishment for him would be A) chastity or B) edging.

He’s got a love hate relationship with them both. One one hand, he deserves it for being bad, on the other hand, he wants you to fuck him hard and fast until he’s cumming everywhere, which you can’t really do with either of those.

He struggles more with edging.

Because you're there and you’re your touching him and whispering all these things in his ear that make him want to lose control

But then you stop

You tell him to calm down and just accept his punishment

He physically can’t

He’s not above screaming and begging for you to keep going

But you don’t

Only when he’s relaxed enough you will start again

Going faster and being rougher with him after every break

And you did this over and over again

For hours until finally when he was getting close to the edge you didn’t stop. You kept going and the orgasm that followed nearly fucking killed him.

It hurt, it did but it felt so good at the same time

He doesn’t say much when it’s over, anything he said came out as nothing but incoherent mumbles and soft hums

Kurts probably the least experienced subs so he usually needs more time to calm down and more care once your done

All the kisses

Overall, 6/10 when taking punishment. He’ll behave, but not for long

Scott Summers:

Scotty is a masochist, so he takes very punishment well.

He’ll intentionally break rules just to be punished.

He’s done it many, many times before

You’d have to be rougher with him than you would with some other subs because a lot of the things that are considered punishment are things you and him do normally in sex

Your go to punishment for him? Overstimulation

Yes he liked pain but putting him on his hands and knees, keeping him tied up with a fuck mechine(or you, if you’ve got the stamina) pounding into him for hours and hours. His cock having been suspended long ago and a puddle of cum beneath him. Another orgasm is forced out of him but he can’t cum anymore. You don’t let him go until he’s in tears, begging for your forgiveness.

“Y-y/n- Ah, fuck, y/n I’m sorry! I’ll be- I’ll be good just, please make it stop! I-I can’t take anymore!”

“There’s my good boy..”

Let him take short water breaks so he doesn’t fucking die.

Sometimes walking past and giving him a nice, hard snack on the ass, watching him wither as he came once again.

He’d get loud

Very, very loud

You’d probably have to gag him to keep people from coming to see what the hells going on

You’ve been walked in on before, luckily for both of you, it was Warren, who did nothing but glance a Scott, then to you before giving you a thumbs up before walking out of the room with a comment about locking the door

Now your door has two locks and Warren is your official Sex Talk Buddy

The longest Scott’s gone was 9 fucking hours

He was being stubborn that day, he couldn’t sit right for the next week

It was hilarious

He didn’t find it so amusing

He just wants to be taken care of when it's all over.

Hold him, give him a bath, give him hundreds of kisses and tell him how good he’s been

9/10 when taking punishment, he’ll have a relatively long streak of good behavior after.

Warren Worthington III:

Brat

Little bratty boy

It’s un-fucking-believable

Warren doesn’t get seriously punished often, but he fucking hates it when he does

The way you punish him is relatively simple.

He knows what he did and he knows that he’ll be punished for it, he just doesn’t know how

You’d work him up, getting him ready to be fucked and then you’d leave for a moment .

You’d tell him to wait a moment when you went and got your box of toys.

When you came back he’d be so fucking ready and needy.

You got back down there, sticking a finger in his loosened hole before sticking not one, not two but five wireless bullet vibrators in him, then to top it all off, a relatively small buttplug just to keep them in place.

These bullet vibes weren’t all identical, they had different shapes and sizes, different ridges and textures and different vibration patterns.

Then you told him to get dressed, he refused at first, demanding to know what you were going to do to him.

He doesn’t really care, he just knows him being incomplient pissed you off

You basically had to force his clothes back onto him.

You had all of the vibes connected to your phone. Despite the fact that they weren’t the same type of vibrator they were the same brand, so you just needed one app to control them all.

The very sudden intercity of you turning them all on at once hit Warren like a stack of bricks. His knees buckled under him and he held onto the bed post for dear life as his entire body shook.

Then you told him that you’re taking him on a little walk and that he was free to cum all he wanted, he just couldn’t let anyone else find out.

Of course you asked him if it was okay because it was something you’d only done a few times and you didn’t want him to be uncomfortable.

But he fully accepted it.

So you took him on a nice walk and he was thanking god that he could hide himself in his wings because he came twice on your little walk around, and there were so. Many. Fucking. People.

He came in front of like, 30 people

They didn’t know, of course but he was still embarrassed.

When you got back to his room you could tell he was done for the night.

“Sweetheart, oh god, that was the worst.”

“So you’re going to be good from now on?”

“Yes just please get these things out of me”

7/10, he takes it well but never really learns his lesson.

Peter Maximoff:

Okay, you’d sometimes punish Peter sexually for his non-sexual wrong doings

And he was okay with that.

But he doesn’t like punishment, he accepts it but doesn’t like it.

Okay so we all know that Peter’s fast, he liked to move around and basically do whatever he pleased, so your way of punishing him is a tad more extreme than the other.

You’d make him strip completely, making him do it at a normal pace.

Then you made him get on his knees

So far, he’d been enjoying this

All the way up until you pulled out The Punishment Cage

Peter hated it with a passion.

An unbridled passion that would never die.

He knew this was supposed to be his punishment but he was really, really hoping you’d forget about it.

He didn’t forget, no, it kept him up for nights as he wondered when you were going to punish him.

He messed up, he knows and he knows he deserves to be put in the cage.

But he hates it so much

It’s humiliating and restrictive

But he moved past his humiliation and climbed in.

He watched as you picked up the cage and put it, along with him, in the corner of your bedroom.

“You know the rules, right sweetheart?”

“Y-yeah, but can you not put the blanket over it, just this once?”

“Alright baby, only because you asked so nicely.”

You knew he hated it so you never kept him there long, only for about 30 minutes to an hour. The longest you’d ever left him in there was 3 hours.

Worst decision you’ve ever made.

He cried and not in the sexy way

You considered setting the damn cage on fire that day but you both decided against it.

So here he was, naked, sitting in a cage 2 times his size, staring at you with the biggest puppy dog eyes you’d ever seen.

You’d sometimes put him in a futamomo tie and make sit on his knees, but only for shorter periods of time or if he’d done something very, very bad

Despite this being a punishment you still checked on him every few minutes.

When it was over he wanted nothing more than to cuddle with you and watch movies.

“You did good Peter, you’re forgiven..”

7/10, he’s baby, and you're considering a different kind of punishment for him. He tends to try and be good for you after this, but if he slips up he’ll go rolling down a hill of increasingly worse behavior until you punish him again.

#scott summers #warren worthington iii #peter maximoff #kurt wagner #X male reader #cyclops #archangel #quicksilver #nightcrawler #Warren worthington x male!reader #Kurt Wagner x male!reader #Peter Maximoff x male!reader #Scott summers x male!reader #X-men x male!reader #male reader #marvel headcanons #cinnamon

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makeste · 3 years

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BnHA 6th Popularity Poll Reaction Post - Risky Spoiler-Dodging Edition

hey guys, so seeing as the results from the 6th popularity poll were leaked today, I figured I would do a separate reaction + analysis post this year, rather than piling it in as an extra on top of the chapter reaction post tomorrow. I figure this makes more sense anyway, since they’re really two completely different things. also this way I can write as much as I want lol.

also, just fyi, I am still completely unspoiled for chapter 293. and probably the smart thing to do to keep it that way would be to log off tumblr and hold off posting this until tomorrow, but I apparently have no impulse control today so oh well. anyway, so I’m hoping you guys will keep this spoiler-free if you don’t mind! as always, I would prefer to just jump right in completely unaware tomorrow like Troy returning to the study room with the pizza boxes lol.

okay so this first part is just going to be my predictions. fyi I am writing this part on Wednesday night, and then I’ll add on the results part on Thursday or Friday (ETA: Thursday, apparently, since I am impatient.)

okay so first of all, just as a refresher, this poll was open to Japanese voters from Aug 3 to Sep 30. meaning chapters 279 through 285. meanwhile last year’s poll took place around the tail end of the MVA arc. so between then and now we had Heroes Rising, the Endeavor Agency arc, and the War arc up to the part where the 1-A kids took on Gigantomachia in Gunga, and started battling Tomura in Jakku. so technically only a couple of arcs, but a LOT of stuff going down in them. oh and season 4 of the anime as well

so! firstly, I predict that my truculent africanized honeybee son will hold on to his crown at #1, coming off a year in which he did some internship-boosted soul searching, borrowed OFA in movie canon, and finished out the voting period as the my-body-moved-on-its-own character development MVP. like CALL ME CRAZY lol, but I’m pretty sure his title is safe. and then after him will be Deku and Shouto as usual

Aizawa should hopefully also have a strong showing because the dude had a banner fucking year. reunited with his old dead friend, took on Tomura with his hopelessly inept hero pals, and then chopped his fucking leg off. he had better be in the top 10. his fucking leg died for this, idk what else he has to do

Endeavor also stands a decent chance of doing well given the internship arc and the final episode of season 4. which I’m sure will go down just swimmingly if that does happen lmao. especially if he somehow manages to rank higher than...

Dabi, which I don’t think he will btw, but you never know. anyways though, but I’m thinking Dabi’s going to have a stronger showing than in past years (in the last poll he only got 367 votes and was ranked 19th). mostly because of his fight in the Gunga mansion, and his cheekily censored name reveal to...

Hawks, who is also going to rank pretty high here, I think. might be he loses some points for killing off Twice, but his back was basically to the wall there. and he has always been very popular, and I think season 4 will also give him a boost, along with his heavy involvement in the first half of the War arc

Tomura was already in 6th place last year and I think he cracks the top 5 this year. he’s gotten exponentially more popular since the MVA arc, and got a boost in the last poll even though his flashback had only just barely happened, and he hadn’t finished Awakening yet and all that stuff. anyway, so he’s only gotten cooler and more tragic since then so I think he makes a big play here

Kirishima, Momo, Tokoyami, and Mina should also hopefully do well, since the poll opened right in the middle of all that Gigantomachia action, and Toko had just got done being an absolute badass and protecting his birb dad. I don’t think he’ll quite make it to the top ten, but he should

and last but not least, I’m hoping that Mirko will come out and take the polls by storm, although I have no clue how popular she is in Japan lol. she’s clearly Horikoshi’s favorite though. she SHOULD be everyone’s favorite, but I mean, we’ll see how it goes

anyway that’s it as far as predictions! and so now, through the magic of writing stuff at different times, we will fast-forward to the part where we actually find out the results!

OH MY GOD YES, STEAMPUNK KHLKSLLKL. HERE FOR IT. JOLLY GOOD SHOW. 5 STARS

Kacchan looks SO COCKY and SO HAPPY and SO ADORABLE, YES I SAID IT. he is adorable as FUCK. I don’t quite know what it is about this particular Kacchan that just screams “LOOK HOW FUCKING CUTE MY STUPID, LOUD SON IS WITH HIS BIZARRE WINDOWPANE-LOOKING CONVERTIBLE SUNGLASS GOGGLES and his POORLY TIED CRAVAT”, but I think it’s because he looks like if a Digimon character and a FMA character had a baby

anyway, so it looks like most of the people present here are more or less who we expected to see. except that I can’t tell for sure if that’s Dabi or Shindou, and if it’s Shindou I’m going to punch somebody in the face so you will have to excuse me

Iida wearing a TRENCHCOAT and a TOP HAT with ENGINE EXHAUST GOGGLE ACCENTS is my new favorite Iida of all time. take note how there is no possible way he can wear those goggles with them sitting on top of his hat like that. plus he’s already got glasses on. these are just purely for aesthetic and IF THAT AIN’T JUST THE STEAMPUNK WAY

Deku out here speaking softly and carrying a lead pipe. Kacchan you best look out. seems like he’s done watching you take first place year after year while he languishes in the number two spot. your only hope is that he trips while attacking you because his boots are unbuckled

Shouto’s standing over there with the rest of the non-first-and-second-place characters, but what are the odds his results are actually within spitting distance of Deku’s same as always. anyway he doesn’t mind, though. also his outfit is by far the most sensible one here, but if you look closely he’s got some sort of fire extinguisher/jet pack thing strapped to his back that’s got a control switch on his belt. Shouto are you jetpacking or putting out fires

Kirishima out here all “I’m not sure what steampunk is so I’m just going to take off my shirt and pose”

AIZAWA WITH THE EYEPATCH SKLKSDLKFJLSKJLDFKJSLDFFJLDKSJFL:KS. SIR. SIR. also, lowkey furious that Horikoshi refuses to show us the automail leg that he is clearly sporting here but which we just can’t see, SHOUTO MOVE GODDAMMIT

Endeavor has TWO fire extinguisher-slash-jetpacks. THE BETTER TO... WHATEVER. look at you here in the top ten again. you really live for that controversy

HAWKS OUT HERE WITH HIS STEAMPUNK BEATS BY DRE AND HIS WEARING A RING ON EVERY FINGER. nice to see you’ve still got your wings there, kiddo. then again Deku still has both of his arms too so who even knows what is going on

BUT SERIOUSLY THOUGH, IS THIS DABI OR SHINDOU. as if I don’t know the truth deep down in my heart. y’all I am gonna flip lmao. it’s not that I dislike Shindou, strictly speaking. but just... I can’t explain what it is, but if you put him and AFO next to each other and told me “you can only punch one”, I would be having a serious crisis. just, THIS FUCKING GUY, idek. STOP SMILING

Tomura looks like he just wandered onto the set here by mistake and has no idea where he is or what is going on. it’s because you’re wearing a bigass severed hand that’s blocking your entire view, Tomura. just take the hand off your face my sweet murder dumpling

anyway! so I managed to also find a link to the full poll results while somehow managing to avoid spoilers, and then I wanted to compare the results to last year’s poll, and so I made... this

hopefully you can all see this. if you’re on desktop you might be screwed, but on mobile you should be able to click and enlarge it. I mean, assuming you actually give a fuck about boring poll analysis spreadsheets lmao

anyway, so there were actually 13k fewer votes cast this year which is a bit of a surprise. is the series not still growing in popularity? do people apparently have better things to do during their quarantine lol

anyways but despite this, and despite getting 8k fewer votes overall, Kacchan still managed almost twice as many as his closest competitor. well fought, Deku. please put down that pipe

I somehow always underestimate the power of ship popularity to influence these things. but for example, it looks like Present Mic got that Vigilantes Trio bump. ride that wave for all it’s worth my man! hell, you got me on board

Iida fucking Tenya somehow got some sort of POWER BOOST out of NOWHERE which I can’t explain at all lmao, but I’m here for it. NOT BAD FOR AN OLD MAN

Sero managed to get the exact same number of votes in both 2019 and 2020. clearly the most loyal fans in the business

Mirko being all the way down at #20 is, of course, a travesty, and I hereby nominate her to be the one to punch Shindou in the face

ngl though, the lack of a single female character in the top ten hurts just a bit. it’s not overly surprising, but still. the worst part of it is that even if you kicked Shindou to the curb and moved everyone else up one slot, it would still be all dudes since Mic beat out Momo by a margin of a little more than a hundred votes. hard to stay mad at Mic for too long, though. ah well

Tomura actually lost a bunch of votes which is a genuine surprise to me. I know the villain standom isn’t as dominant in Japan as it is in Western fandom, but still. you can go ahead and punch Shindou too I guess

Tokoyami lowkey doubled his vote count over the past year while hiding down there at #18. he is slowly becoming more powerful. biding his time

anyway so I think that’s it! I mean not really, but I’m getting kind of tired lol. so just, you know, insert the usual gripes at Overhaul’s ranking here, although we can be happy about Magne making her way onto the list (r.i.p.), and Mineta and AFO taking a very satisfying slide down (all the way out, in AFO’s case; good riddance you bum). Hadou also got a huge boost which is awesome. Mustard’s persistent ownership of the #36 spot will forever remain a mystery to me, but oh well

anyways, this was fun. and I really do feel like everyone is looking away on purpose so that when Deku brains Kacchan with that pipe in about two seconds from now, there will be no witnesses, oh my fucking god

#bnha 293 #bnha popularity poll #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #todoroki shouto #aizawa shouta #shigaraki tomura #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha

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ynsrg · 3 years

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PRETENDING

CHAPTER 1

**Disclaimer: Hey, it’s an ‘actor meets actor and gets horny for them’ fic! I’m sorry for writing this but I’m down bad. Bo is just a character, I apologise profusely if this ever gets read by the wrong people, etc. etc. I also have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about – this fic is stupid, makes very little sense, and has a very thin plot from which I have dangled smut, like a garden trellis. I have another, much longer, fic in the works (25,000 words and counting) but I very much doubt it’ll see the light of day because my OC is American in it, and I’m legitimately terrible at writing American dialogue, so I wrote this about a scouse bird instead (it’s what I know) and did my best to make it work. This fic will include no family members because that’s really weird. Sorry in advance!**

Chapter 2: https://ynsrg.tumblr.com/post/660912110046429184/pretending

Chapter 3: https://ynsrg.tumblr.com/post/660912269314670593/pretending

Chapter 4: https://ynsrg.tumblr.com/post/660912544504004608/pretending

She misses Liverpool. It sounds ridiculous, and as the Californian sun beams down, making everyone and everything it touches look somehow glamorous, she feels ridiculous. This – here – is everything she’s ever wanted, everything she dreamed of, everything she’s worked for; but she misses her city, her home town, her Liverpool. L.A. is too sprawling, too lacking in soul, and takes itself entirely too seriously. She doesn’t really want to be here so much as a second longer than she absolutely has to.

Maybe acting isn’t the career for you, Catherine.

She sighs heavily and swirls the straw around in her drink. She doesn’t even particularly like iced coffee, the entire concept seems… off to her, but here she is with her iced coffee all the same.

“Am I boring you?” The sardonic voice from across the table interrupts her moping, and she responds with an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, mate. I’m a little…” she grimaces, “… homesick.”

“Ah, yes. Because there is, somehow, an entire city full of people with accents like yours. It is a real place,” he smirks, “somehow.”

Catherine rolls her eyes and flicks her straw at him, pleased to note that she’s got some of the coffee on his white tee. “Gobshite.”

He snorts. “And just what the hell is a ‘gobshite’?”

“Look in the mirror and you’ll have your answer,” she replies flatly, leaning back and tilting her chin up in defiance.

He raises an eyebrow at her. “I’m assuming I should be offended?”

“Probably,” Catherine shrugs. “But you seem quite hard to offend.”

“I’m actually very sensitive, Cath.”

“Uh-huh.”

Silence falls between them again, and Catherine shifts in her seat, a little uncomfortably. He notices.

“So, tomorrow.” He runs a hand through his dirty blonde hair, which is something she’s noticed he does quite a bit when he’s anxious or nervous about something. Given the context of their current situation, the fact that he’s doing it now makes her anxious and nervous.

“Yes, Bo?” She responds wearily, and he eyes her like she’s a wounded, cornered animal that could lash out at any moment.

“Uh…” he taps his fingers on the table, searching for his words, which is quite unlike him. “So, I know we’re like, friends.”

“We are?” Catherine raises an eyebrow, working hard to keep a straight face.

Is he blushing?

“I mean, I think so?” He frowns at her, a little furrow between his brows, and her face cracks into a smile. “Ah, you’re fucking with me.”

“I am,” she says proudly, and he rolls his eyes.

“Anyway. So, friends means tomorrow might be, ah… weird,” he pinches the bridge of his nose and she fidgets in her seat again.

“This isn’t my first rodeo, Bo,” she says cautiously, trying to ignore the knot in her stomach.

“I know, I know,” he replies quickly, picking up on her defensive tone. “Just, um… if anything feels… if you’re uncomfortable, just say the word, okay?”

Okay.

He’s avoiding Catherine’s eyes, fiddling with the bracelet on his wrist. “That’s sweet,” the words leave her mouth seemingly without any input from her brain and shit, she didn’t mean to say that out loud.

He huffs out a laugh. “Jesus, I can’t believe I’ve met someone more sarcastic than me.”

Thank fuck for that.

“Aye, I’m a proper cunt,” she nods, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she squints at him across the table.

“A fucking horror,” he agrees, trying and failing miserably to imitate her accent.

Catherine recoils. “What the fuck was that, Bo?!”

“Um…” he pulls a face, “scouse?”

She shakes her head slowly. “Never, ever do that again. Promise me.”

He laughs again, and there’s a bit of her that’s proud that she makes that happen as often as she does. Guy’s one of the biggest comedians on the planet and she makes him laugh on a regular basis. Bit mad, that.

“Catherine Mary McHale, I promise I will never, ever do that again.” He extends his hand across the table. Large. What a ridiculously large man, who remembers your middle name, for some reason.

She narrows her eyes at him. “I don’t believe you, but okay.”

She extends her much, much smaller hand and meets him in a firm handshake. The knot in her stomach returns immediately, but when he releases her hand, it doesn’t make her feel any better.

“Alright then,” he shifts his chair back and picks up his phone. “I’d better get back.”

Catherine nods a little dumbly, head feeling a bit fuzzy.

He rises to his feet – large, huge, why is this fella a giant – and cocks his head to one side, peering down at her with a weird expression written across his features.

“What is it?” Catherine frowns up at him. “Have I got shite on my face?”

Bo laughs again, loudly and his eyes are crinkled at the corners and he has a dimple on his right side, she noticed that within about 30 seconds of meeting him for the first time. “No, Cath, you haven’t got ‘shite’ on your face.”

Air quotes, seriously?

She keeps looking up at him, eyebrows raised, foot tapping impatiently. “So, why are you staring?”

He slips his phone into his pocket and folds his arms across his chest. “I’m not staring.”

“You literally are. Here, you look like this.” She widens her eyes as much as physically possible and pulls a creepy face which she’s sure looks absolutely disgusting.

“You are a very attractive woman, Catherine,” he drawls, straight-faced, and he’s clearly and obviously being sarcastic, so she has absolutely no idea why her face is heating up.

“Fuck you, Bo,” she smiles up at him sweetly and he raises an eyebrow.

Weird.

“I’ll see you later?”

“Well, yes, pal. We’re acting in a movie together.”

He smirks. “Right.”

She nods. “Right.”

“Bye.”

“Ta-ra.”

Catherine watches his retreating form until he’s out of sight, and then she releases a shaky breath that she didn’t realise she’d been holding.

#bo burnham fic #bo burnham smut

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feralnumberfive · 3 years

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The Rewatch Academy: Episode 3 of Season 1

“Extra Ordinary”

I am in no way a good analyst so my little analysis and speculations probably sound a bit goofy or pretty wild and probably mean nothing at all. Everything I put into this post about each episode is purely what I noticed or thought, whether it's funny or serious. I will be making jokes, so please just leave it at that (in no way am I trying to make fun of an actor and or character!) I am also in no way saying I noticed this stuff first. This is just what I noticed while rewatching these episodes

☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂

1x01 | 1x02 | 1x03 | 1x04 |

☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂

☂ First off I’d like to say that this is one of my favorite episodes of this season. It’s just soooo good

☂ The second comic book in the window features the Televator from the actual comics, so that has to be canon in the show! Also at the time that that second comic came out, Five had already left since we don’t see him on the cover

☂ It’d be cool if they actually printed Vanya’s book for fans to read

☂ Well Diego isn’t wrong when he called Hazel and Cha Cha animals because of their masks

☂ Honestly I feel Vanya’s struggle with chair placement. I’ve fortunately had the luck of playing in all three clarinet chair placements, but 1st chair is challenging. I personally found each placement very fun to play, especially 3rd, and I hope Vanya does too! (why am I talking like she’s real)

☂ Hazel talks about people living ordinary lives, but didn’t he live like that too at one point? How does The Commission recruit people? If they get ordinary people, do they wipe their memories of their previous lives?

☂ “Let’s see’em get out from behind their desks, get their hands dirty for once.” Well Hazel, Five does indeed do this even though he only had a desk job for a day. Still, he got to experience both worlds

☂ My mind is blanking on this, but how did Five get that cut on his arm? Was it from a bullet wound at Gimbel’s?

☂ Five must have a high pain tolerance to stitch his own wound but his bandaid probably wouldn’t stick due to the wet blood he slapped it over. Five sweetie you need a cotton pad and gauze for that one

☂ Wait, you’re telling me that The Umbrella Academy boys’ top uniform consists of a tank top, a white dress shirt, a tie, a sweater vest, and then the blazer? Someone asked Reginald what he wanted for the uniforms and he just said “Yes.”

☂ Five: *puts hands in pockets only to immediately take them out*

☂ Aidan almost sounds like he has an accent when he says “I'm done funding your drug habit.”

☂ Five’s so soft talking to his wife

☂ No Leonard, your bread and butter is being a creep

☂ Also, he thinks wood carving is embarrassing? If someone came up to me and showed me something they carved out of wood I would be so jealous cause it’s such a neat form of art

☂ Leonard saying that he carved wood, and in that case wooden figures, when he was a kid is a slight foreshadow of all of his tampering with his Umbrella Academy figures. He can make wooden figures but he’s also destroyed a handful of the Hargreeves figures

☂ “Never really did like The Beatles.” Well sir you’ve made me dislike you even more

☂ Vanya asking Allison if her siblings wanted her at the family meeting bugs me a bit. I absolutely get that she was literally left out of anything and everything that had to do with her siblings when she was younger, but Allison just asked her to come back home for a family meeting. Allison wouldn't have walked around looking for Vanya only to tell her that they were having a family meeting and that she wasn’t actually invited. Allison is including her in on a family meeting but Vanya is just in a bit of disbelief that she’s being included

☂ Ah yes, the only PTSD flashback for Five we see in the show! He looks so scared when he snaps out of it. I believe it was somehow triggered by the kids (I could be wrong) but do you think Five sometimes panics when he looks at himself in the mirror now since his body is the same age it was when he got stuck? Also it’s very subtle but when Luther opens the door, Five slightly jerks/flinches back. I wish we would see more of this in the show since it’s one of his major traumas

☂ “Does it matter? It’s Klaus.” Ouch! Well Five I hope you know that your siblings are somewhat thinking the same thing since they believe that you’ve lost your mind and are practically an old man crying “Apocalypse!”

☂ Five does an ever so slight huff and smirk when Luther tells him that the meeting at the Academy is important. He finds it a little funny but so frustrating in his mind that Luther doesn’t know what’s truly important

☂ Also I love that Aidan has to turn to the side so that he can keep it together after Klaus talks about his chocolate pudding waxing. Either that or he’s portraying Five as being frustrated and in disbelief. Also this is the first time I’ve noticed that he says “Ay, ay ay...”

☂ “We’re all you have. And you know it.” Oh Luther, you’re failing to see that that’s why he’s acting like this right now. He’s all frantic and crazed about trying to stop the apocalypse so that he can protect and save all that he has

☂ Five certainly is mad at Luther during his mini lecture. He’s clenching his jaw tightly and when he first speaks he hisses out the words through gritted teeth. He even called Luther by his number. He’s very impatient at this point and doesn’t care for Luther’s act of attempting to be a leader

☂ This is their first, and certainly not last, time watching Klaus go by in front of them doing something he shouldn’t be doing

☂ “You haven’t been home in a long time, Vanya.” Sir you were also just on the moon for four years. Yeah Vanya was away for a long time but Grace easily could have changed too during the four years you were gone

☂ How sweet, even though Five hasn’t really been home they want to include him in on the family vote :]

☂ I’ve noticed that in S1 that David really mumbles his lines. A lot

☂ I wish we got more flashbacks of the younger Umbrellas

☂ Diego my beloved mama’s boy ♥️

☂ It’s confusing as to which country TUA takes place in, but it’s really not supposed to be a specific one. It’s portrayed as being in North America, but you can see behind Cha Cha when she gets out of the car at the Academy the flag of the RAF, which Canada would have at a monument since it’s a Commonwealth country. At the same time though Delores came from Gimbels, which was a department store chain across the U.S

☂ The light above Five’s portrait is slightly crooked, which probably means no one has really been paying attention to it

☂ It makes me nervous that Klaus wipes bubbles onto his face. It looks like he got some in his eyes

☂ Ugh I love the whole scene of Hazel and Cha Cha walking around the Academy with “We’re Through” playing

☂ Diego: *has knives but instead chooses to punch and hit Hazel to try to make him let go of Allison”

☂ A rope-a-dope is a boxing tactic of pretending to be trapped against the ropes, goading an opponent to throw tiring ineffective punches. Diego sweetie Hazel wasn’t even trying to get you off of him all he was doing was choking Allison. The only person who got tired was probably you

☂ What’s the point in Diego yelling “Luther, go!” if he’s already going 💀

☂ Luther was there immediately when Hazel attacked Vanya. That means that Luther heard Vanya and was going to go get her to safety

☂ I will never stop signing my praise for the entirety of the “Sinnerman” fight scene(s). It gives me chills every single time. Easily one of the best scenes in all of the show

☂ Klaus must really have his music blasting if he can’t hear the gun shots right next to him

☂ I’ve always wondered if Allison actually registered in her mind that “The boy” is Five when Cha Cha says that’s who they’re looking for. Either she does realize that’s Five, is simply just angry that those two are looking for a boy, or registers in her mind that it’s Five through his superhero codename even though Cha Cha’s not referring to him in that way

☂ Diego is full on just standing in the background watching Allison get beat up by Cha Cha 🕴

☂ I love Diego’s little hand flap when he gets hit in the hand fighting Cha Cha

☂ Okay so I make everything about Five, but the whole Cha Cha fight scene with Allison and then Diego kind of scares me. Cha Cha and Hazel are both amazing assassins (they’re both probably right below Five) and neither Allison nor Diego could stop her by themselves. Could you imagine Five fighting one of his siblings? Especially with his spatial jumps? We already got a glimpse of his true combat skills when he fights Lila in S2. What a scary little old man

☂ “Vanya, get out of here!” Again, wanting to make sure that Vanya is safe and gets away. He even tried to go look for her

☂ Something I don’t really get about the Hazel and Luther fight is why doesn’t Luther just overpower him? Luther has super strength and on top of that he has giant muscles due to the gorilla DNA. Shouldn’t he be able to beat Hazel to a pulp? Maybe we have to consider that Hazel might have been altered by The Commission to be stronger and more durable, but they haven’t mentioned that in the show

☂ “Ah, you gotta cut down on that fast food, soldier.” What are you talking about Diego he literally just got off the moon two days ago aflksjfdk

☂ So Luther was too injured to jump out of the way of the chandelier but was able to push it up off of himself? 🤔

☂ I personally think that Luther’s body design adaptation for the show is really cool and that they gave him the perfect amount of bulk without making him look ridiculous

☂ This has been pointed out before, but cross-stitch foreshadowing, baby

☂ Again, Diego my beloved mama’s boy ♥️

☂ Well at least Diego thought about Vanya dying before thinking about his siblings dying because of her. The latter is ironic!

☂ The clock above Luther’s mirror reads approximately 1:30 am. Hazel and Cha Cha didn’t want to wait until morning

☂ I wonder how different it would be if Five was present at the Academy when Hazel and Cha Cha attacked. He probably would have surrendered himself to them, but it's fun to entertain the idea that he would go apeshit if he knew that they were harming his family in order to find him

☂☂☂☂☂☂☂

Feel free to comment or reblog with things you have noticed too!

#tra #the rewatch academy #tua #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #number five #five hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #hazel and cha cha

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genevievemd · 3 years

Text

Taking The Next Step

A/N: So I posted a bit of dialogue the other day and asked if you wanted a fic from it and you said yes so here we are.

Not my best work but I wanted to get it out before the new chapter incase this no longer works after its out. It’s really more of a wordy headcanon/written scene than an actual fic. So bear that in mind as your reading. But whatever yolo right? (is yolo still a thing?) Enjoy these two idiots in love

This is set in the future, post book 2 and we’re going to assume that either Leland Bloom helps save the hospital or something magical happens with the state budget and Edenbrook ends up not closing and everything is fine.

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x MC (Geneveive McClure)

It’s been a day from hell, the new interns nearly killed a patient, Ethan’s hit a wall with his own case, and to make it worse barely seen Genevieve since they left his apartment that morning.

Though a small part of him is grateful for their conflicting schedules. He plans on asking her to move in with him tonight and his nerves are getting the best of him. His mind running with a million different ways to ask her, with both his own ideas and those given to him by Dr. Trinh.

Ethan wanders the halls until he finds Genevieve. Finally finding her at the nurses station, talking animatedly with Marlene. She looks exhausted, and if Ethan wasn’t positive that he’d lose his nerve if he didn’t ask her tonight, he would wait.

He comes up behind her, kissing her head only half aware of the smirk they get from Marlene as she leaves the desk.

“Hi,” Genevieve leans back just the slightest bit before turning around and wrapping her arms around his waist.

“Long day?” Ethan brushes a few pieces of hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger on her cheek.

“The longest and I still have 3 more hours.” Her head falls against his chest, sighing heavily.

“If you’re feeling up to it, I thought perhaps you’d let me take you to dinner tonight. I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

She pulls back suddenly, eyes filled with confusion and worry. “Why does that statement make me feel like you’re about to take me to dinner only to then tell me you want to break up.”

“I assure you, G, it’s nothing of the sort.”

“Mhm,” Genevieve narrows her eyes, still suspicious “The last time you called me ‘G’ was right before you told me you had to go to Dallas for two weeks to help with a patient and subsequently miss my parents visit.”

He remembers now, why he hasn’t used that nickname in months. Because every time he does, she brings that particular situation up. Ethan pinches the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “Is it a yes or no to dinner?”

“It’s a yes, obviously.” She smiles. “Just know, I’m still suspicious of your intentions.”

“For Christ’s sake.”

“You know you love me.”

“Sometimes I question why.”

She leans up to kiss his cheek, “Meet you out front or do I have time to go home and change before dinner?”

“I’ll pick you up at your place. 7:30?” His eyes soften the slightest bit.

“Perfect.” Genevieve leans up to give him a quick kiss before turning to walk away “I’ll wear that gold dress you love.”

He hums with approval, grabbing a chart from the desk.

Genevieve turns around when she’s half way down the hall, giving him a playful smirk “Just incase you do break up with me I want you to remember what you’ll miss.” She laughs loudly as Ethan rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

“You’re impossible, you know that, Rookie?”

“Another reason why love me, Dr. Ramsey.” She blows him a kiss from down the hall and he can’t help but laugh.

-------------------------

They make it to the restaurant on time, seated at a table in the back. She kept her promise of wearing the gold dress, the one that shows just enough skin to drive him wild. She’s radiant under the dim lighting of the restaurant.

They share stories of their day, make jokes over the appetizers. He can see that she’s itching to know what it is that he wants to discuss, her impatience bubbling to the surface with every passing minute. Ethan finds it quite cute.

His nerves are getting the better of him, though. His foot taping every so slightly on the restaurant floor. She’s the only thing that could ever make him this nervous, no patient or case has ever made him feel as uneasy as Genevieve.

Once the dinner plates have been cleared and he’s had enough glasses of scotch to soothe his nerves, Ethan slides a velvet box across the table towards Genevieve.

She looks at him with a tilt of her head, picking up the small box. “What’s this?”

“Open it.”

She gives him a playful smile as she pulls out a small key and holds it up. “Is this supposed to be, like, the key to your heart?” She sing songs, eyes twinkling in the candle light.

“No.” Ethan clears his throat, wishing he had asked for a refill of scotch when he had the chance. “You don’t need a key to that.”

Genevieve gives him a sweet smile then looks back at the key. “Okay so then what is it?”

“A key to my apartment.”

“I already have a key to your apartment”

“Right, well, it’s- a symbolic gesture.”

She gives him a questioning look, he can see the wheels turning in her head. He wonders for a long moment if maybe he should’ve gone with his simple idea of just asking her outright instead of using Sienna’s idea of a, quite possibly, overly romantic gesture.

He sees the moment it clicks, her mouth falling open just the slightest bit. Looking quickly between him and the key. A look of pure adoration engulfs her gorgeous face. And if nothing else, all the hassle of tonight was worth it just to see that look on her face.

“Wait, Ethan, are you trying to ask me to move in with you?”

“Yes.”

She’s looking at him like he’s a puppy that just brought the newspaper in for the first time. It’s entirely too cute and mildly infuriating.

“Stop.”

“You’re adorable.” Her giggle is infectious, making it hard for him to keep a straight face.

“I am not.”

Genevieve gets up from her chair, walking quickly around the table to Ethan. He moves his own chair back as she sits in his lap, placing a hand on her thigh as she drapes her arm around his neck. “You did all this just to ask me to move in with you?”

“It was Sienna’s idea. I hadn’t intended to make it such a grand affair, but she told me it had to be romantic.”

She brings her hand up to caress his face, eye’s shining even brighter than before. “You really love me, don’t you?”

“Unfortunately.”

She smacks his arm playfully before bending to kiss him. He holds her there for bit longer than he should, cradling the back of her head.

Genevieve gets up from his lap once they’re both aware that their little display is attracting an audience.

“So is that a yes to moving in with me?” He asks her once she’s back in her seat.

“Of course it is.” They share a look, Genevieve takes a sip of wine before smiling teasingly “It seems only logical, I’m there most nights anyway. I already have a drawer and a shelf in the bathroom. Might as well make it official.”

“That was my thinking.”

“Nothing romantic about it, strictly for practical reasons.”

“Exactly.” He sees her smirk over her wine glass, eyes filled with mirth. “I do love you, Genevieve.”

“I know.” She reaches across the table to take his hand. “I love you too.” They stare at each other lovingly before Genevieve lets out a small giggle. “Wait till Naveen hears about this.”

“Christ, I’m never going to hear the end of his ‘I told you so’s”

“Oh, Never.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

a/n: i’m sorry this is trash, i really tried to give you guys a legit fic but I just could not for the life of me get it out. So Sorry fam jam, I hope this is enough for you.

Taglist:

@queencarb, @overwhelminglyaquarius, @me-and-my-choices, @schnitzelbutterfingers, @crazy-loca-blog, @a-crepusculo, @drakewalkerfantasy, @ohchoices, @adrex04, @udishaman, @drariellevalentine, @custaroonie, @archxxronrookie, @terrm9, @maurine07

I promise to make it up to you all with an actual fluffy and cute fic soon.

#ethan ramsey x mc #open heart #open heart second year #open heart fanfiction #ethan x gen #oh headcanon

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snickiebear · 3 years

Note

yo nadia <3333 i'm bored in my online classes and u reblogged the questions thingy at the right time lmao, so get ready: 1, 4, 5, 9, 10, 17, 23, 24, 28, 30!!!, 34, 38, 39, 40 (the intimacy of being understood) (imma stop here lol) (also i'm sorry u're not feeling well, ily and hope u'll feel better soon!! <33333)

ELE ILY. (and thank you, i’m stayin home today cause,,, yeah. i appreciate you sm.) you’re the literal best, i adore you.

1. How long ago did you start reading fanfiction? Writing fanfiction?

The first fanfiction i read was for The Lunar Chronicles when I was like 11?? and it was 100% on accident and it scarred me because it was a hardcore porn one with a period kink and i was like WHAT IS THIS??? OH MY GOD???? LMAOOOOO i didn’t pick it back up until i was 13-14 and really got into the Fairy Tail fandom. I still reread my favorites on ff.net cause i love them.

As for writing, I wrote a horrible, terrible x-men fanfiction when I was twelve. (my friend still brings it up and REFUSES to delete it so it still gets comments and views, that shit HAUNTS ME ELE.) then tried again for Fairy Tail, posted like two chapters before taking it down cause i wasn’t really feeling it. And then I posted The Intimacy Of Being Understood and here we are.

4. Link your three favorite fics right now.

OMGG okok

@murd3rm1ttens ‘s The Problem How Time Works IF YOU HAVENT READ THIS YOU GUYS NEED TO HOP ON IT ASAP. MITTEN’S WRITING SO SO SO SO GOOD. SAKURA AND INO ARE TOTAL BADASSES. KAKASHI IS A SIMPPPP. ITS SO FUCKING GOOD.

@mouseymightymarvellous ‘s We Were Screaming In Color (Only A Possibility) yes, yes I KNOW. i always point into mousey’s direction but i WILL always advocate that everyone reads her fics, they’re literally so beautiful???? i just happen to be rereading WWSIN rn

@safelycapricious ‘s Shaking Up And Breaking Down series. I found this like?? idfk but i’ve been raving about it ever since. ALSO CHECK OUT THEIR FICS IN GENERAL.

fuck i have more than three but also check out @ambivalens999 ‘s Masks

i do wanna make a fic rec thing where i just rav about my favs,,, might do that later or sum

5. What are your fanfic pet peeves? Do they have a huge effect on whether or not you decide to read something?

Omniscient third person. I don’t like it. Like I can understand that it can be a little hard to stay in one person’s perspective but, in my opinion, if you can, it shows how disciplined you are as a writer. Plus, i just get so confused when I go from A’s thoughts to suddenly what B is thinking about A.

When writers use ‘ ‘ instead of “ “. When writers put thoughts in ‘ ‘ instead of just italicizing them. It’s small things but like they just bother me sO MUCH. most of the time i can ignore it and try to enjoy but other times i just dip.

9. Tag 3 fic writers you think are underrated/unknown in the fandom/fanfiction community.

@espoir-et-reves !!!!! THEIR SHISAKU FICS ARE SO SO SO SO SO GOOD. And they have a warring states one going on THAT I AM SO OBSESSED WITH.

@writer168 idk if they’re really “underrated” but THEY HAVE SUCH GREAT FICS ON AO3. Like theres an AU with sakura, kiba, and shino that i reread constantly because it just. is. so. fucking. GOOD. and they posted a new one that i’m YELLING about.

@eggtoasties okay they only have 2 in the naruto fandom (one shisaku which is still ongoing) BUT THEIR WRITING STYLE IS SO NICE?? I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. I still go back and reread their shikasaku one cause UGH i can’t get enough. I love it.

10. What’s your favorite fandom, pairing, or character to read fic for?

Fandoms: Naruto, Soul Eater, The Old Guard, ATLA

Parings: KakaSaku/ShikaSaku/ShiSaku/MultiSaku, SoMa, Joe X Nicky, Zukka

Character: SAKURA. I will read anything with Sakura as the main character and her being a fuckin badass or becoming a badass. I love her.

17. How obsessively do you sit and stare at your fic after you’ve just posted and wait for feedback?

aha.. haha.. well. I check my email like three times an hour. its the first thing i check in the mornings too. I’m literally a whore for praise and literally eat up feedback like its going out of style. I also reread a lot of my stuff because i make so many mistakes and spelling errors, or the spacing is weird oR SOMETHING. plus, literally any and all comments make my day, i go back and reread them cause they just make me feel so tingly and warm like “wow. this person enjoyed the fic/my writing enough to tell me. thats HUGE!”

23. What’s your absolute favorite trope to write?

Angry, feral, bloodied, morally gray women. They aren’t bad guys, they’re probably the good guy, but that doesn’t mean they cant be fucking raging at the world with raw knuckles and blood on their teeth. I just love an angry woman who struggles with her emotions and just has so much inner conflict but that doesn’t take away from her character or badassery, it adds to it.

24. What’s a trope that you’d like to never hear about as long as you live, let alone write?

The fake dating or miscommunication troupe. LIKE GUYS JUST TALK. AND TELL EACH OTHER OMFG. the entire like obliviousness of “nah they dont like me” while the They holds their hand and kisses their cheek. MOFO WHAT. it makes me so impatient and like mad HAAHHAHA. its probably because i’m a pretty confrontational person so seeing stuff like that just “cmon bro, USE YO HEAD.”

28. How do you deal with writing pressure (ie: pressure to update, negative comments, deadlines, etc)?

I have yet to receive a negative comment! Which i was really surprised about tbh. As for deadlines or pressure to update, i just kind of do whatever. I do set goals, but i set them flexible enough that hey, if i can’t do it, that’s okay.

I have a lot of mini goals, like “i want to write this chapter and get it done this week” and then the large goal is “FINISH BY END OF MAY” so i have time.

Actually, now that I think on it, the entire pressure to update thing is probably why i’m waiting until I have all of OL&W written to post it weekly,, cause well. I wouldn’t wanna leave you guys waiting as I tried to write and work out the next chapters and stuff, you know?

30. Post a snippet from your current WIP without context - no more than 300 words.

AAAAAA YOU KNOW I LOVE THESE AHAHAHAH

Have you seen the way the dead dance, World Breaker? They roar, half mad and starving. Do you not wish, do you not hope to see them twist and bend and dance to your will?

Shikamaru snarls, looking behind his shoulders to where his Shadows lay. “Patience.” He spits. “Is of the essence, Things of Ancient. Know your place as the dark you are.”

34. How much of yourself and your life experiences do you put into your writing? What do you think your readers’ image of you is?

None of my experiences match up to anything I write tbh,,, probably the only thing that is me in my writing is maybe the emotional turmoil? I’m pretty emotionally and mentally mature because from a pretty young age i started forming my own opinions, started looking into the world around us and being like “dude what the fuck this is not what disney advertised”. Then i started talking (read: arguing and debating) with my dad about a lot of it. So, like emotions are kind of hard for me. Like i’m pretty good at controlling them or understanding them, but still. idk its hard to explain ig.

Like the weight of stress, the anger, the sadness. It’s kind of therapeutic to write. Cause i don’t know how to put those feelings to verbal words so writing them really helps.

As for my readers’ image? Probably like some kind of hunched over figure typing away in the dark with a maniacal grin on their face. I honestly don’t know AHHAHAHA but it is fun to think about. I think they’d see me as someone with potential but a lot of room to grow and someone who is imperfect but in a charming way LMAOOOO

38. What does your writing process look like? How chaotic is it on a scale of 1 (very tame) to 10 (you can’t handle this kind of chaos)?

I’m gonna be real honest. Its probably like a 2. I’m a bit of a control freak so I almost always go in chronological order, my writing is pretty linear. Unless, i get bored and jump to one of my fav parts. It's pretty much i sit down, i open the doc, read over my notes and just start writing.

It’s a little boring to explain AHAHAHA but once i get into the groove of things its really fucking great, I can like feel myself in the world, I can feel what i want the characters to, i love it. I catch myself mouthing the words as i type too, which i find hilarious.

39. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

I rather like how raw my writing is sometimes. Which might sound really vain, but i do like the way i word things or describe things. I love juxtaposition and repetition, or making a good ole circle back to some minute detail that wouldn’t stand out until i repeat it at the end and you’re like “omg” AHAHAHAHA.

Like those little poetic snippets or certain wording i just sit back and go “damn thats kinda good nadia! go you!’ HAHAHA

40. How did you come up with the idea for The Intimacy Of Being Understood?

AAAAA this fic is like my first child, my pride and joy LMAO

so the idea initially came when i was reading some fic, idk if it was even naruto, but i was like “i don't like this, but i do like the rain symbolism.” And I knew i wanted to write something kind of slow paced, something a little sad and angsty, but would show KakaSaku slowly but surely falling in love.

Idk if you’ve noticed but a lot of my fics, the pairings don’t change each other dramatically. They accept each other as they are and then they grow with together. Like that acceptance is something i just love writing, its so subtle, it isn’t something you declare. Its simply “I am going to love you. I am going to love you despite your flaws and faults. I am going to love you unconditionally because I know you, I understand you, and there is nothing you could do to drive me away.”

The fic kind of wrote itself after that first scene. I kept going back to the rain, go being ghosts, and resurrection, and the small epiphanies one gets. I wanted to focus on each character’s growth with each other. They didn’t find light in life because of each other, but with each other. And i think that’s my favorite thing about that fic.

I wanted something raw and real and just something beautiful. I’m actually really proud of it tbh. Would i go back and rewrite/edit it? Oh of course! I’d do that with every single one of my fics, but i’m not gonna cause i think its in its rawest form right now. :))))

ask me shit plz

#silly things from silly friends

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radbutsafe · 3 years

Note

ALL FUCKIN 35 OF THEM SKLNWESDJFPXO

I SHOULDVE EXPECTED THIS FROM YOU

1. From one to five stars, how would you rate your writing? (No downplaying yourself!)

A three! I think I’m mid range cause I ain’t terrible but there is still shit I gotta improve and grow in my writing

2. Why do you write fanfiction?

to manifest what canon won’t give me and to write more! (though yes it is mainly about the smooching and the— I’ll stop there LOL)

3. What do you think makes your writing stand out from other works?

Hm! My weird research details? I’m that “fun fact, did you know...” in my fics sometimes LOL! I plan on giving a penthouse for erina in a fic and I went through penthouse listings in Japan for floor layouts and locations💀 my research gives me inspo and depth to stuff I think I lack in comparison to others sometimes.

4. Are there any writers that inspire you?

In terms of fellow fic writers, one of them I can’t name here but she’s an inspiration with her exceptional gift for prose period and her lovely skill at comedy! I want to be as funny as her when I write, I love her ironic situational humor. Other fic writers are @takoyakitenchou, @royaldragonsevgisi15 who I always love sharing ideas with and motivate me to create more! For non-fic writers it would be V.E. Schwab, Leigh Bardugo, Oda, and Horikoshi! The last two may be mangaka, however they are writers as well to create their stories! The depth these creators have given their worlds and interesting characters theyve given life to are all what I aspire to be like!

5. What’s the fic you’re most proud of?

so far uh?? hm everything I’m currently writing are wips lol!! im proud of my wip that has been nicknamed ‘soma panics’ that is a multi-chapter fic that spans like probs 20 plus chapters maybe

6. What element of writing do you find comes easily?

dialogue! it’s so much fun! and character thoughts. I’ve said to people I may be better suited for script writing

7. What element of writing do you struggle with most?

I think it’s description, of like setting and showing action. also an expansion of my vocabulary LOL

8. Which character(s) do you find easiest to write?

erina! I think it’s because canon has shown us many of her different faces and range of emotion.

9. Which character(s) do you find most difficult to write?

SOMA!! chill ass mofo whos more carefree compared to the common shonen protagonist! for other shokugeki characters I’m not sure just yet because I haven’t flexed my fingers enough for the rest of them.

10. What’s your favorite genre to write for?

I guess I should say romance cause that’s what I mostly write LOL!

11. Who or what do you find yourself writing about most?

sorina and I try to get them to smooch eventually KEK and yeah it’s..usually romantic fluff lmao

12. Tell us about a WIP you’re excited about.

HONESTLY ALL OF THEM but “soma panics” is my brain child

13. First fandom you ever wrote for?

pretty sure it’s digimon....

14. What’s your favorite fandom to write for?

currently shokugeki no soma!!!!

15. What’s the weirdest fandom you’ve ever written for?

uhhhh I guess SNS? LMAO fandoms...all have their quirks to them.

16. Any guilty pleasure trope(s)?

characters cuddling!!!! or getting the urge to smooch!!!!

17. A trope you’ll never, ever write for.

unrequited love GOOD FUCKIN BYEEEEEE

18. Wildest fic you’ve ever written?

I have plot ideas thst can be wild potentially but so far nothing fits this criteria so far that I actually have written.

19. Do you prefer canon-compliant, AUs, or something in-between?

depends on the fandom, but if written well, all of it!

20. Gen fic or shippy stuff?

shippy 100% like I said I like smoochin

21. Favorite pairing to write for? (platonic or romantic!)

romantic is...*drumroll* SORINA! platonic, soutaku and erina and alice!

22. Do you listen to anything while you write?

Sometimes! There are times songs will be on loop and times I just shuffle a playlist. and if I’m writing in random bursts it’ll be with no music but it really does depend lmao I think music is when I’m forcing myself to write?

23. Do you prefer prompts and challenges, or completely independent ideas?

completely independent ideas, I’ve realized in the past prompts shoot me in the foot often unless I luckily figure something out. but I’m often driven by my own sporadic self interest with shitty ping ponging attention

24. One-shots or multi-chaptered works?

multi-chap I guess cause I can post without being finished LOLLL but tbh can I really answer? I haven’t finished anything.....

25. Have you ever daydreamed about side adventures/spin-offs from your fic? Tell us about them!

I can’t answer this question imo because I haven’t finished a fic yet so technically stuff could all fit in the one fic?

26. Is there anything you’ve wanted to write, but you’ve been too scared to try?

MYSTERY AND CRIME! I love the genre and I have plot ideas once a blue moon but I can’t dive in because I want to make details that work and reduce plot holes where suspension of disbelief isn’t as needed. I need to study it more (I need to study all the details for any of my fics imo to be confident sometimes LOL)

27. What’s the nicest comment you’ve ever received?

I don’t think I can say one comment was the nicest because I’ve gotten comments that have given me quite the smiles to my face many times! I know this is a cop out but it’s true!

IS WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY UNTIL REINA SENT ME THE FOLLOWING ON DISCORD LIKE TWENTY MINS AGO:

and also rad. i am never this vocal about my emotions like EVER but this needs to be said your fics are obviously far from perfect, as are mine and everyone else's. but the thing about your works is that they're so well-sanded that it's impossible to find any rough edges or faults in them in terms of cohesion to a plot. your cast is never OOC and the amount of effort you devote to developing your takes on the characters as accurately as possible is unimaginably awe-inspiring.

BITCH I WANNA CRY 😭

28. How well do you handle criticism when it comes to your writing?

I’d like to believe I take it often well to try and improve because that’s always my goal. if someone is rude lol that’s not constructive snd is unhelpful. If I disagree with criticism I’ll explain why !

29. Have you ever gone outside of your comfort zone for a fic? How did it turn out?

Not yet, but I have some plot ideas I think will let me test this.

30. Tooth-rotting fluff or merciless angst?

F L U F F.

31. Do you have any OCs? Tell us about them!

elliott fuji, a japanese-american award winning photographer who is erina’s boyfriend in ‘soma panics’ which..causes soma’s panic LOL he’s 30 with slightly wavy black hair. I still haven’t pinpointed his personality just yet...he kind of humble brags for sure an artsy fucker and flirts maybe I’ll make him a lil shy though. he teaches sometimes, and becomes an adjunct photography professor in Tokyo so he can be with erina.

32. Summarize a random fic of yours in 10 words or less.

a cook is unfashionably late in realizing his feelings.

33. Is there anything you wish your audience knew about your writing or writing process?

I am a slow. so slow. motivation who is she? I also write out of order, unfortunately a bit too often.

34. Copy and paste an excerpt you’re particularly fond of.

this should be for the fic ‘soma panics’ it’s either megumi or satoshi talkin to him rn, I’m leaning towards satoshi

“You thought she would always wait for you, didn’t you Soma-kun? To always welcome you home.”

Soma drags his palms down his face and groans. He doesn’t like this at all. He doesn’t shy from confrontation but this is a whole different ballgame. Soma doesn’t play any ball.

“I guess..?” Is his reply, because he thinks he isn’t sure how to answer that.

“You guess?”

Just being questioned again is enough to crack Soma’s pathetic facade as if it was dropped chinaware and he lets out the longest sigh.

“No.”

Coming home means coming home to Nakiri Erina too.

Nakiri Erina is his forever.

this is @takoyakitenchou’s excerpt she’s most proud of that I’ve written, which is also from you guessed it, the long fic soma panics

SOMA: I am, I mean I will be, I swear I will always come home to you, not spend as much time abroad, once I’m done with work I’ll come right back. I’ll make sure to message you. Nakiri, I’m in love you with you. Maybe for a really long time. You know how I say I dedicate my food to you? My dad—my dad said that the key to become a good chef is to find someone to dedicate your cooking to. A special someone. For my dad it was my mom, you know? For me it’s...

(this is a good piece of dialogue tbh so I am also proud of this)

35. Ramble about any fic-related thing you want!

I’ve mentioned it throughout this but the WIP I’ve nicknamed ‘soma panics’ is something I’m super excited to write, but it’s going on slowly...and almost completely out of order. out of all of my writing it showed off that particular habit of mine, along with “what is this, a shoujo manga?!” though the latter is currently being written chronologically now that I’ve posted chapter one and is pretty solid in direction. it was originally supposed to be a one shot but I got impatient and wanted to post at least something for the sorina / soueri fandom.

however, because ‘soma panics’ (I won’t call it that LOL) is my baby I want to keep true to my rule of refusing to post it until I have a draft of the entire fic finished and I’m satisfied with the main points pretty much. due to my writing out of order, I’m worried I’ll change my mind about scenes or want to reflect things in earlier chapters for later ones etc etc

I joined the SnS fandom extremely late, as season five was airing. I was a fan of the manga five years ago and dropped it because I forgot to check for updates when I caught up 😔 I really want to bang out the different fics and aus for sorina that I have before the fandom fizzles out entirely but tbh I’m writing for myself, I’m manifesting what I want to see and I’ll just share it with all my friends to read if no one else will. cause I’m slow broski I dunno what writing fast even is like LMAO I do really want to write faster though, so I can contribute more and let the words free from the discord dms....

#ask meme #ask rad shit #writing #writing by rad #fanfic #reina girl u put me thru it I swear lol #thank u for sending!!#ur amazing!!!!

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suitofvibraniumarmor · 4 years

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** Writing Challenge **

I know, I know, my next one isn’t quite wrapped up yet, buttttt this idea came to me when my cousin and I were taking a walk down a ridiculous part of Memory Lane and I got excited. I’m guessing this has been done before at some point -- that’s not stopping me from presenting to you:

I love fluff. And I wanna see more of it!

Below the cut you will find some prompts that, in the context of Twilight, are absolutely cringe-worthy. My challenge to you is to take that prompt and make it something we can love.

Disclaimer: I’m not Twilight-shaming ANYONE. I literally sat and watched all of Eclipse and now want to watch both Breaking Dawns. It’s more about sentiment, and the occasional girly giggle for me, but ... yeah. No judgement here, friends.

Guidelines, prompts, and tags are below the cut! (Yes, I copied and tweaked from my last writing challenge. I’m being efficient, thank you! :P )

Please read all of the information carefully!

Rules, Guidelines, Important Dates:

Sign-Ups start when this post is live and will go through to December 30, 2020. I will accept two people for each prompt, one prompt per author.

Please send your sign-ups to my ask box so they’re easier to keep track of. I will answer them privately so I’m not flooding anyone’s dash!

In your ask, please include your preferred prompt and a backup option, as well as your pairing (so I don’t take the same pairing for the same prompt). Also, please let me know if you’ll be posting from a URL other than one you’re asking from.

To be included in the challenge masterlist, please post your fic (or the first part, if it’s a series) by Decemeber 31, 2020.

Please include an author’s note tagging me and mentioning the challenge in your fic post; include #BetterThanTwilightWC in the first five tags. If the tag doesn’t work, you may DM the link to me, also. If you decide to write a series, please tag me in the masterlist.

Please give me up to 48 hours to read your fic before checking if I have seen it. If I have not liked it after 48 hours, please DO check. (You know, since we’re all aware of how unreliable tumblr is. And how unreliable my mind can be. Yikes.)

The challenge masterlist will be posted between January 1 and January 4, 2020.

There are no word count limits, but please use the Keep Reading feature if your story goes beyond 500 words. Additionally, if your fic goes beyond 5000 words, please consider splitting it into multiple parts. This is not a requirement, only something to think about.

Yes, this is a FLUFF challenge, so you MUST have fluff as your main genre. You’re more than welcome to include other genres, but you MUST have a happy and/or hopeful ending.

You’re welcome to think outside of the box! Just because I’m talking Twilight and love stories, doesn’t mean there has to be romance! Give me amazing friendships or strong family bonds or self-love. Or romance! Whatever you’d like.

You're welcome to change pronouns in the prompt as necessary! Heck, I tweaked a few of ‘em so they’re not Twilight-specific.

For personal reasons, I do not read and will not accept into the challenge (which means I will not reblog or add to the masterlist) stories that include: non-con/dub-con, underage sex, adult-child romantic/sexual relationships, spouse-bashing, child abuse – I could go on, but I think you get the idea. If you’re not sure about something, I’m always happy to answer questions!

Bring on the ships, OC’s, reader pairings – I’m trying to be more open-minded as of late, but I can’t promise that I will read everything. Again, for personal reasons. But I will reblog everything!

Characters and RPFs from Marvel/MCU are both welcome.

If you need an extension or need to drop out, please know that I am extremely flexible when it comes to that deadline/due date. In the words of Captain Barbosa, “It’s really more of a guideline.” Just shoot me an ask or a message and we’ll work something out, no worries!

Prompts:

1. “I have always loved you, and I will always love you.” 2. “The clouds I can handle. But I can’t fight with an eclipse.” 3. “I know what you are.” 4. “You held out your hand and I took it without stopping to make sense of what I was doing.” 5. “You have a connection with her that I’ll never understand.” 6. “I’m glad she has you.” 7. “It will be like I never existed. I promise.” 8. “I knew who I wanted to be. I wanted to help people. Brings me happiness.” 9. “That will take a while to get used to.” “We have a while.” 10. “What if I’m not the hero? What if I’m the bad guy?” 11. “I’d rather hear your theories.” 12. (sarcastically) “Super. That makes me really happy.” 13. “You’re like my own personal brand of heroin.” 14. “Maybe I shouldn’t be dating such an old man. It’s gross. I should be thoroughly repulsed.” 15. “It’s an extraordinary thing to meet someone who you can bare your soul to and they’ll accept you for what you are.” 16. “I’ve been waiting for what seems like a very long time to get beyond what I am.” 17. “I feel like I can finally begin.” 18. “He’s totally gorgeous, obviously. But apparently nobody here is good enough for him.” 19. “He did say I couldn’t step inside the door. I came in through the window.” 20. “I know things. Like how to hunt somebody to the ends of the earth. And I know how to use a gun.” 21. “Now I’m afraid.” “Good.” 22. “I’m not afraid of you. I’m only afraid of losing you.” 23. “About three things I was absolutely positive ...” 24. “You’re so stubborn.” 25. “Do you know how worried I’ve been?” 26. “I can’t even think about someone hurting you.” 27. “The only thing that can hurt me is you, and I don’t have anything else to be afraid of.” 28. “Don’t antagonize her. She’s the strongest one in the house.” 29. “All right. That’s enough experimenting for one day.” 30. “It never made sense for you to love me.” 31. “I wish there had been someone to vote no for me.” 32. “It’s just a little baby.” 33. “How strongly are you opposed to grand theft auto?” 34. “I’m not missing another fight!” 35. “No one can hide like me.” 36. “If I asked you to stay in the car, would you?” 37. “I have one condition, if you want me to do it myself.” 38. “I had an adrenaline rush. It’s very common. You can Google it.” 39. “How did you get in here?” “The window.” 40. “I love a happy ending. They are so rare.” 41. “You should put your seatbelt on.” 42. “Can you talk about something else? Distract me so I won’t turn around.” 43. “I can’t live in a world where you don’t exist.” 44. “After all the thousand times I’ve told you I love you, how could you let one word break your faith in me?” 45. “Maybe that’s why they kicked me out.” 46. “All of my best nights have happened since I met you.” 47. “You know everybody’s staring?” “Not that guy ... no, he just looked.” 48. “She wishes she was that awesome.” 49. “Does he visit often?” “Yeah, all the time.” 50. “Lie ... Lie better.” 51. “I’m Switzerland.” 52. “That should have been our first kiss.” 53. “Would you like to hear my story? It doesn’t have a happy ending -- but which of ours does?” 54. “Another party?” “It’ll be fun.” “Yeah. That’s what you said last time.” 55. “You are the only one who has ever touched my heart. I will always be yours.” 56. “The way he watches you. It’s like he’s willing to leap in front of you and take a bullet or something.” 57. “Kill me! Not him!” 58. “Stay.” “Give me one good reason.” 59. “Yeah, it’s and off day when I don’t get somebody telling me how edible I smell.” 60. “Damn it! You’ll be the death of me, I swear you will.” 61. “If I could dream at all, it would be about you. And I’m not afraid of it.” 62. “Do I dazzle you?” 63. “I’m tired of trying to stay away from you.” 64. “Bring on the shackles, I’m your prisoner.” 65. “You are my life now.” 66. “And then we continued blissfully into this small, perfect piece of our forever.” 67. “Nobody’s ever loved someone as much as I love you.” 68. “I don’t know what happened.” “You love him.” 69. “All of sudden it’s not gravity holding you to the planet, it’s her. Nothing else matters. You would do anything, be anything for her.” 70. “You really love her?” 71. “I don’t see the whole point of the rest of the world without her.” 72. “Then I found a promising site ... I waited impatiently for it to load, quickly clicked closed each ad that flashed across the screen. Finally, the screen finished -- simple, white background with black text; academic-looking. Two quotes greeted me on the homepage:” 73. “I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.” 74. “I’ll be fighting for her, too, and I’ll be fighting twice as hard as you will.” 75. “It’s always been him.” 76. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for you.” 77. “They’re coming for her.” “They’re not gonna touch her.” 78. “Doesn’t he own a shirt?” 79. “You know, if it weren’t for the fact that we’re enemies and that you’re also trying to steal away the reason for my existence, I might actually like you.” 80. “You have disappeared. Like everything else.” 81. “The absence of him is everywhere I look.” 82. “I don’t have the strength to stay away from you anymore.” 83. “Your number was up the first time I met you.” 84. “We all like to drive fast.” 85. “It’s too easy to be myself with you.” 86. “I’ve never given much thought to how I’d die, but dying in the place of someone I love seems like a good way to go.” 87. “Don’t tempt me too far. My patience isn’t that perfect.” 88. “His tone questions my sanity, but it only made me more suspicious. It was like a perfect delivered line by a skilled actor.” 89. “What’s he mad about?” 90. “No measure of time with you will ever be enough.” 91. “I promise to love you forever, every single day of forever.” 92. “We’re gonna be great friends!” 93. “If I had my way, I would spend the majority of my time kissing him.” 94. “Until your heart stops beating.” 95. “I touched the cool miracle of his ski, and I was home.” 96. “Forbidden to remember, terrified to forget; it was a hard line to walk.” 97. “This isn’t the time to make hard and fast decisions. This is the time to make mistakes.” 98. “Leave it to you ... you have to start hanging out with the first weirdos you can find.” 99. “I love him much more than I should, and yet still nowhere near enough.” 100. “I refuse to be affected by territorial disputes.”

Tags for possible interest/signal boosting (if you’re so inclined):

@captain-s-rogers @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @hurricanerin @horsesandbandsforlife @im-not-an-armrest-im-short @captain-rogers-beard @shynara51 @sea040561 @pinknerdpanda @xtina2191 @jackryanplz @beakami @heartsaved @fullprunerebelstatesman @blackwidowismyhomegirl @the-murder-strut-murdered-me @shield-agent78 @jennmurawski13 @okay-maybe-i-like-marvel-too

#betterthantwilightwc #twilight writing challenge #prompt list #queue and i remember budapest very differently

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zizi-writes · 3 years

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Ouija Board

(This is the first oneshot I’ve posted on here. This wasn’t really a request, it was just an silly little idea I came up with on my own. I would love some feedback or constructive criticism!)

Rated for bad language

~Written in April's journal, told from April's POV~

August 28th,

My Ouija Board Experience,

It was a calm, Friday night. It's been a tradition in the Hamato Lair to have a game night every Friday night ever since I brought "Sorry" a couple weeks after the turtles first brought me the the Lair. The tradition has grown ever since then, as we've made more allies and they've brought new games to the mix. This particular night, the turtles and I were chilling in the living room of the lair, waiting for guests to arrive. We were expecting Casey, Karai, and Shinigami.

One by one, everyone showed up as Raph and Mikey argued over what pizza we should order. They finally settled the argument and Mikey went out to retrieve the pizza. I wasn't paying much attention, I was too wrapped up in the magazine I was reading. Around 7:30, all the guests had arrived, and we were just waiting on Casey to arrive with the new board game he said he'd bring. It was unusual for Casey to buy new games for game night, but none of us put too much thought into it. By this point, Mikey had already come back with the pizzas.

"Come on!" Mikey exclaimed, getting very impatient. "We've been waiting for almost a half an hour now! Where is he!"

"If he takes any longer I'll shove his board game up his-!" Raph was cut off by Casey casually walking in the lair entrance with a shopping bag in hand. "What took you so long?!"

"Sorry dude, the line at the store was huge!"

"What's in the bag?" Leo asked, pointing to the plastic bag dangling in Casey's hand. A square box was bending at the bag, threatening to break the thin plastic open at any moment.

"Oh, just a board game." Well that much was obvious.

Casey took the box out of the bag, purposely hiding the front from us and walked into the kitchen. I glanced over at Donnie, to see that he was just as confused as I am.

"This can't be good." Karai got up from her seat on the couch and made her way into the kitchen. We all followed. The lights were off in the kitchen, and Casey was lighting candles.

"Dude, what the fuck are you doing?" Raph asked, obviously annoyed. Casey just snickered.

"I'm setting up the board game." The raven said in a sly tone.

"What's the game?" Leo demanded to know.

"It's a Ouija Board." Casey sang out, not looking up from the last candle he was lighting. The brothers looked at each other. I have played with Ouija boards in the past. I'm pretty sure Karai and Shini have too, so we're not really scared of them. The turtles, however, had never played with one before, and I could tell they were all frightened.

"What!" Leo exclaimed, raising his arms in the air with a distasteful expression. "We can't play with that thing! Those things summon spirits!"

"What, are you too chicken to play?" Raph cackled, a devilish smirk on his face. Even though he was pretending to be brave, I could tell he was just as scared of the game as the rest of his brothers were. "You can't possibly be scared of that thing. It's a harmless board game."

"I'm not scared of it!" Leo defended himself. He looked around at everyone, and saw that none of us were buying it. "Fine, I'll play!"

We all took a seat around the table. The Ouija Board was facing Casey, giving me a 10.5 o’clock view of the board.

"I love these types of games!" Shini exclaimed, unable to hold in her excitement anymore. She opened the box and set it up. "Karai, remember when we contacted a spirit back in Japan?"

"Yeah, the spirit was fucking lame though. He only answered questions with yes or no answers."

"Okay, everyone, put your hand on the planchette." Casey instructed. We all did as he said. "We'll take turns asking questions. Who wants to go first?"

No one else volunteered, so I decided that I would give it a go. "What's your name?" I asked the most basic question I could think of. The planchette sat still for a couple seconds, before it started moving.

A - L - E - X - A - N - D - E - R

The planchette moves across the board to spell out the name 'Alexander'. I see Raph's expression fill with horror directly across from me. When he noticed me glancing at him, he quickly changed his expression back to his normal, annoyed look.

"Who's moving the piece?" Raph shouted, raising up his left arm and keeping his right hand down on the planchette. We all swore up and down that we didn't move the piece. After pressing into Mikey more, Raph gave up on interrogating and we continued the game.

"What year were you alive?" Donnie asked the next question.

1-8-6-2

The planchette moved from number to number, earning looks from everyone sitting around it.

“There’s no way it’s moving on it’s own!” Raphael was skeptical again. Karai just rolled her eyes and asked her question.

“Are you a good spirit or a bad spirit.” The kunoichi asked. The wooden planchette stayed still for a couple seconds before moving.

“No?” Leo asked, his face scrunching up in confusion. “What does it mean ‘no’?”

Crash!

The glass cup that was sitting on the counter behind them fell to the ground and shattered.

“Fuck!” Mikey jumped out of his chair, turning towards the sight. He lifted his hand off the planchette during the process. “How the hell did that happen, bros? I’m freaking out!”

“Calm down, Mikey.” Shinigami placed a comforting hand on his shoulder with a chuckle. “Relax, the spirits can’t hurt you.”

Mikey reluctantly sat back down again. It was Leo’s turn to ask a question.

“What age were you when you died?”

1-1

“Eleven.” I read out loud. “That’s terrible, poor thing.”

“Uh, how’d you die?” Raph asked after a little bit of time to think of a question.

F-I-R-E

The planchette shifted through the letters, spelling out “fire”. I assumed that meant their house burnt down.

I saw the fire flare up from a candle out of the corner of my eye, before it settled back down again. I moved my gaze upwards to see if anyone else caught that, but everyone else was to fixated on the board. I fixed my eyes back down on the board and tried to forget what happened. What the hell is going on with this thing?

It was now Casey’s turn to ask a question. I saw the corners of his mouth curl up in a smirk, which alerted me that whatever he was about to ask, it isn’t going to be pretty.

“How’s hell?” That fucking idiot. The planchette shook but remained on the E where it last moved.

“Casey, you fucking idiot!” Karai voiced my thoughts. “You’re never supposed to a spirit questions about heaven or hell!”

“This is about to get interesting.” Shinigami muttered under her breath.

G-O T-O H-E-L-L B-A-S-T-A-R-D

The spirit spelled out quickly, almost so fast that I couldn’t catch what it was saying. The fire from the candles flared up again. This time, everyone noticed as the glare from the flames bounced off the walls, adding to the creepiness of this all. I ducked down and chose to ignore it.

“Good going Casey, you made it angry!” Raph erupted.

“No, I just made this a little more interesting.” Casey pouted. “You should be glad, this game was boring.”

“Mikey, it’s your turn to ask a question.” Shinigami nudged him with her elbow.

“Uh,” He shifted uncomfortably. “What’s your favorite food?”

F-L-E-S-H

That was when it got even creepier. Flesh? What does it mean flesh?

“That’s it!” Leo jerked his hand off the planchette. “We’re not playing this anymore!”

“You can’t just chicken out now, dude! We have to wait until the spirit says goodbye!” Casey argued. Leo rolled his eyes and placed his hand back down.

“What type of flesh do you want?” Shini asked, because of course she had to ask the creepiest question she could think of.

C-A-S-E-Y-’S F-L-E-S-H

“Who’s moving it?!” Casey hollered out, looking more spooked than anyone else has tonight. “One of you has to be pushing it!”

“Obviously it’s Mikey who’s pushing it. He’s always pulling pranks on us!” Raph points his finger at Mikey in an accusatory manner. Poor Mikey, always getting blamed for everything.

“It can’t be him!” Karai defended the turtle in orange. “His teeth are clattering he’ so scared.” Mikey put his head down in embarrassment. “Plus, who’s to say it’s not you who’s moving it, Raph! You pull these kind of things too!”

“It’s not me!” Raph defended himself, getting more and more heated.

“It could be any of us who are moving it!” Casey spoke up. “The only way we can tell if someone is cheating is if we all put our heads down and let April read it.”

“Why me?” I didn’t want to be stuck reading off of the Ouija Board on my own. But, the more I thought about it, this was the only way we can figure out if this is real or not. “Fine, I’m in.”

Everyone promptly put their heads down and I took my hand off the planchette. I set my phone up to record everything that was happening so I could show them what happened afterwards. It’s my turn to ask a question.

“Uh, d-did you have any siblings?” I asked awkwardly. The planchette moved.

“Holy shit” I muttered, almost speechless. That’s when I realized no one had been cheating. The planchette was actually moving on it’s own.

“What happened?” Leo asked. His voice was muffled into his arm, and it took a second for me to process what he had asked.

“The planchette moved to three.” I mumbled out, my eyes were locked on the planchette.

“No way! You’re just trying to scare us!” Raph countered.

“Look up! It did move!” I defended myself quickly, not wanting to be accused of lying. Raph lifted his head up and scrunched his nose up at the sight, speechless.

“H-.....How?” He muttered, though it was barely audible at all. Mikey lifted his head up and looked, too.

“The spirit is real, bros!” He cried out. Everyone else lifted their heads up and looked at the board in, seeing that the planchette had indeed moved while they had their heads down.

“Maybe.... maybe it’s just a coincidence. How about we all put our heads down and Donnie will ask the next question.” Leo stuttered. He wasn’t sure what to do in this situation. They all put their heads down and Donnie asked the next question. I checked to make sure my phone was still recording.

“What were your sibling’s names?” He asked. I knew he asked that specific question because it required a long answer to be given.

T-H-O-M-A-S J-A-M-E-S P-H-I-L-I-P

I gasped. This confirms that the planchette had been moving on it’s own. The spirit was real. I didn’t know what to say out loud. I was in shock, I didn’t know what to say or do now. In all the other Ouija Board games I’ve played, it’s always been obvious that someone was moving the planchette on their own, and I was okay with that. It was all just fun and games. But this.... this is different.

“What happened?” Casey lifted up his head to look at the board. I was snapped back to reality. All he could see was the planchette resting underneath everyone’s hands on the letter P. “What happened, Ape?��

I grabbed my phone and hit stop recording. Everyone else had lifted their heads up from their arms and gave me questioning looks. I turned on the video and fast-forwarded to Donnie’s question. Mikey leaned over my shoulder to watch while everyone else stood behind me.

“What were your sibling’s names?” Donnie’s voice was muffled through my speaker. There was a strange static noise covering the audio. The planchette was clearly being moved, the letters were a little hard to discern with the bad camera quality. They spelled out exactly what I saw before. Thomas, James, and Philip.

What we saw next scared us all shitless.

A shadowy, small figure, stepped into view at the kitchen door for three seconds before seemingly disappearing into the darkness of the lair.

I could hardly believe my eyes. I questioned what I saw but when I looked at everyone else’s expressions, I knew that it indeed had happened.

After that, we stopped playing. We packed the board away and walked out of the kitchen one by one, going back to whatever activities we were doing before.

Even though we tried to forget, things weren’t really the same after that. Weird things started happening in the lair. Things would fall in the other room, lights would turn on and off, all the basic things you hear about hauntings. But that wasn’t all.

The boys all experienced nightmares and sleep paralysis at night, seeing shadowy figures in the corners of the room or next to their beds. This type of stuff isn’t normal for them.

I’m writing this a month later. I hope things go back to normal soon.

(Oop please give feedback.)

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sweetiepie08 · 4 years

Text

Rebelz Chapter 5

While analyzing Zim’s PAK for weaknesses, Tak discovers strange coding that sends her on a search for answers. The clues lead her to uncover a conspiracy that governs all of Irken society. When the truth sends her on the run, she has no choice but to return to the one place the Tallest would never willingly go: Urth.

Meanwhile, Dib has noticed odd changes in Zim’s behavior. Has the invader simply grown bored of his mission over the last few years, or is there something more interesting going on?

People who asked to be tagged: @incorrect-invader-zim , @messinwitheddie, @reblogstupids, @cate-r-gunn, @agentpinerulesall

If anyone else would like to be added to the tag list feel free to message me. Also, if you’re on the tag list and you changed your name, please just let me know.

(thought I posted this a month ago, but either I forgot or it got eaten by the tumblr void.)

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7. Chapter 8. Chapter 9. Chapter 10.

[-]

Jerry had just smashed Tom’s foot with a hammer when Dib realized he was watching the robot’s cartoons more than he was watching the house. He’d been staring at these screens all day. Tak hadn't shown up at all. Zim did turn up for a few minutes, but that was hours ago and he hadn't come back since. There were no fights, no screams, no explosions, or at least not that Dib could see. The only noteworthy thing that happened was Zim choking on a soda. Was there really nothing going on?

His eyes drifted to the clock. 6:30 already? He'd just wasted most of his day watching old cartoons through a security feed. His stomach rumbled reminding him he hadn't eaten since noon.

Dib looked back at his monitors. Tom chased Jerry around the room. Jerry ducked into his mousehole and Tom rammed his face into the wall. The robot laughed. Dib’s stomach rumbled again. The idea of a break started to sound appealing.

“Hey Gaz,” he called hitting the record button, “You hungry?”

“Yeah,” she called back.

“You want to order a pizza?” He slid off his chair and started out of the room. “I was thinking we could have dinner while we watched that documentary.”

He headed downstairs and found Gaz in the kitchen. She already had the phone in one hand in the Pizza Factory menu in the other. “I'm thinking Peppers and onions,” she said, not dialing the phone.

“How about sausage?

Her face twisted in disgust. “No pork.”

“Okay, fair enough,” he conceded. That shadow hog thing still weighed on his conscience. “Cheddar cheese? Oh, and get garlic bread.”

Gaz nodded and put the phone to her ear.

Dib smiled. It actually felt good to be out of that room. This break would be good for him. He’d get some food in his stomach and watch something he’d been waiting to see. Then he could get back to surveying the base later. Besides, with the camera recording, he wouldn’t miss a thing, if anything even happened. After all, he got nothing all day. What could he miss in a few hours?

[-]

Gir laughed every time the cat on TV let out that loud yelp. He liked the yelling. It reminded him of someone. And it was funny.

As he laughed, another robot walked into the room. Gir looked over. A new friend? Maybe. Did master build it? Nah, he would have said something. Wait, he remembered this thing. This was Tak’s robot. What was it doing here? Oh yeah, they friends now. She gave him a present. They must be over to play.

“Want some nachos?” Gir asked.

Tak’s robot lifted its head and looked curiously at the nachos. What was wrong? Maybe it didn't know what nachos were for.

“You do it like this,” he said stuffing a handful in his mouth.

Tak’s robot just stood there. It still didn't get it. “Here, let me help.” Gir got off the couch, walked over to the other robot, and smushed a handful of nachos in its face.

Tak’s robot wiped the nachos away and shook off the remaining cheese. It’s eyes narrowed and glowed red. Oh it looked mad. Maybe it would start yelling at him. But it didn’t.

Oh wait! He got it now! “Hey, you don't gots no mouth,” Gir said, leaning real close to get a good look at the robot’s face. “That's not right. You need a mouth for nachos.”

This was a problem. If it was going to be his friend, it needed a mouth for snacks. “Oh, I know!” Gir screamed. He ran for the trash can/elevator. He'd seen master go down this way earlier. Master could build a mouth. “This way! This way!” He dove head first down the elevator shaft and Tak’s robot followed him.

[-]

“No, it's not!”

“Yes, it is!”

“No, it's not!”

“Yes, it is!”

“No, it's not!”

“Yes, it is!”

“No, it's not! It's not!” Tak shouted. The can in her hand spilled gignzor on the ground as she gestured wildly. “You cannot tell me! You cannot tell me Foodcourtia is worse than Dirt!”

“It is! It definitely is!” Zim yelled back, punctuating each sentence by slapping the computer control panel.

“It's definitely not!” She slapped the control panel as well. “Dirt is a garbage planet made out of garbage! Everywhere you go, it's garbage! Everywhere you look, it's garbage! You close your eyes and, still, all you can see is garbage!”

“But there's no customers! Zim countered, flinging his empty can across the room. “No one screaming at you all day! No one yelling because their order is late, or cold, or they got the wrong thing! No one saying they want blogrings on the side, but they won't tell you on the side of what. But when you guess, they start yelling! And you're trying every side you can think of, but nothing works! And sometimes they still haunt your thoughts late at night!” He grabbed Tak’s shoulders and shook her. “What side did he want, Tak? What side did he want?!” He kept shaking until she slapped him away.

The sound of a “Whee-hoo” came from the ceiling. It got progressively louder until Gir splat-landed face-first on the floor. Tak’s Sir unit slinked gracefully down and landed beside him.

Gir sprang to his feet. “My friend needs a nacho hole,” he said pointing at the other robot.

“MiMi,” Tak commanded, “Get away from that pile of junk.” The SIR unit nodded and slink to her side.

“Hey!” Zim pointed an accusing finger at her. “You don't get to call my Gir junk!”

“Yeah!” Gir screamed.

Tak smirked. “I built Mimi myself out of spare parts and she’s still more advanced than the standard SIR units issued to the invaders.”

“Well I got a mouth!” Gir shot back.

“Yeah!” Zim shouted. “Hey wait, does your SIR unit talk?”

“No,” Tak sighed. “I couldn't find a functioning vocal chip on Dirt.”

Suddenly, Zim’s computer made an alert sound. “Sir,” computer said, “there is an incoming transmission from the Massive.”

Zim's hands flew to his head. “Oh no, the Tallest can't see me drunk.”

“The Tallest can't see me at all,” Tak added.

“Well, get out of frame, then.”

Tak scooped up Mimi and they ducked under the control panel. Zim tried shaking a bit of his drunkenness off. It didn’t seem to do much, but he answered the call anyway. An Irken in a navigator’s uniform appeared on the screen.

“Um, Invader Zim?” the navigator said, putting a strange emphasis on Zim’s title.

“Yeah,” Heh, he said ‘invader’ funny… Wait a second. “Hey, you're not The Tallest. What is this?”

“The Tallest are very busy at the moment,” the navigator replied. “A traitor has been identified.”

“Traitor? Pfft…” Zim waved his hand. “I don't know anything about a traitor, definitely not one with any conspiracies.” I am nailing this nonchalant performance.

“Uh, you wouldn't.” The navigator said, raising an eyelid. “A notice went out to all Irkens on planet or in the Armada. I've been tasked with informing all those out-of-range to be on the lookout for her.” He paused. “What was that about a conspiracy?”

“Nothing. I said I didn't know anything about a conspiracy, remember?” Totally nailing it.

“Yeah, but why would you bring it up in the first place?”

Shoot. He was asking too many questions. Better get rid of him. “Yes, yes. Anyway, I got your message,” Zim dismissed, reaching to cut off the transmission. “I'll be sure to look out for Tak. Now you can move on to-”

“Wait, I never said the traitor's name.”

His hand froze. Fuck “Uh, yes you did.”

“No, I didn't.”

“Yes, you did.”

“No. I didn't.”

“Yes, you did.”

“No, I didn't!” The navigator shouted impatiently. “And I can playback this conversation to prove it.”

Zim started to sweat as he contemplated his next move. Before he could say anything, however, Gir dove under the control panel.

“Found you!” Gir squealed.

“What was that?” The navigator asked.

“My SIR unit,” Zim answered. “He lost his… uh… contact lenses!”

“SIR units don't wear contact lenses.”

“Your turn to hide.” Gir said. Zim could hear a scuffle going on.

“No, stop.” Tak whisper-shouted. “Stop pushing me, you metallic hunk of-” Tak flew out from under the control panel and landed on the floor with an “omf.”

No, no, no, no, no! Zim slapped a big fake grin on his face. “As I was saying, I'll be on the lookout for that traitor and I’ll get back to you if I see her. Bye!” Zim cut the transmission and the screen went black. He let out a long breath. “I don't think they suspect a thing.”

Tak got up and brushed herself off. She glared daggers at him and snarled, a retort forming on her lips. Before she could speak, the entire base shook violently, knocking them off their feet.

“What's happening?” Zim struggled to stand up, but another shake sent him back to the floor. The base continued to rumble and, with each new quake, the room shrank in size, along with the tech in it.

“You idiot!” Tak shouted, managing to pull herself up. “It's cubification!”

Zim blinked. “Uhh…”

She scowled and rolled her eyes.” When The Tallest believe an invasion has been compromised beyond salvation, the remotely cubify the base, destroying all evidence and crushing any organic matter left inside.”

“I knew that.” Zim jumped to his feet. “Why are you explaining things I already know?”

“You moron, were going to be squashed!” Tak screamed, grabbing the front of his tunic. “And I refuse to let my cells mix with yours!” She threw him down and called, “Mimi!”

Tak’s loyal SIR unit slid up to her side. Mimi saluted, wrapped her arms around Tak, and flew them both up the elevator shaft.

“Gir!” Zim commanded. “Get us out of here!”

Gir bounced up. His eyes flashed red as he gave a salute. He then ignited the propulsion jets in his feet, flung Zim onto his back, and rocketed them up the elevator shaft.

As they flew to the house level, the walls around them closed in at a steadily rapid rate. It became a tight squeeze toward the top. Zim’s waist became stuck in the trash can lid for a moment before he managed to wiggle out.

By the time he made it to the living room, the ceiling was only a few feet overhead. Tak pulled at the doorknob with all her weight, but it wouldn't budge. She let out a cry of frustration and her laser cutters unfurled from her PAK. The lasers on all four tips joined into one large square of energy which blasted a hole in the wall. However, that hole shrunk just as quickly as the rest of the house.

Tak dove through and MiMi followed. Zim looked around for his service unit who was busy giggling and bouncing off of the encroaching walls. “Gir, quickly!” he commanded, pointing to the hole. Gir launched himself through, squealing. Zim followed after, feeling the ceiling brush the tip of his antenna on his way out.

He landed on his hands and knees on the lawn. Once he gathered himself, he turned to watch as his beautiful base crushed itself into a cube about the size of an Urth child’s alphabet block.

Zim’s mouth hung open. “Six years on this miserable ball of filth,” he murmured, scooting up to the teal cube on his knees. “Now look at you.” He flopped face-first on the yard and made pitiful noises. Gir sat down next to him and patted him on the back.

“Get over it, Zim,” Tak grumbled, activating her human disguise. “At least you still have a ship. Mine’s crushed in there with everything else.”

“Everything?” Zim snapped up. “Wait, where’s Minimoose?”

“NYAH,” Minimoose squeaked as he floated into Zim’s line of vision.”

Zim jumped up and threw his arms around his creation. “Yeah! Minimoose! I knew I shouldn't have to worry about you.”

“Quit hugging the moose, Zim,” Tak snapped. “In case you haven't noticed, we have a real problem here. We're stuck on this dirtball with no shelter, no resources, nowhere to go, and we're out of gingzor.”

“Yeah, well, whose fault is that?” Zim retorted, stomping up to his ship. He reached in, pulled out a spare dog suit, and flung it out Gir. He then began applying his human disguise and he continued. “My base would be fine right now if they didn't catch you hiding out in there.”

“Well they wouldn't have caught me if you could control your sorry excuse for a SIR unit,” Tak shot back.

“Hey!” Zim jumped down from his ship. “Gir is a specialized unit! Operating him takes a deft hand. Simply shouting out commands won't do.”

“why? because then he'd work properly?” Tak smirked.

Zim let out an exaggerated gasp. “How dare?! I just lied my butt off for you and you repay me by insulting my Gir?”

“Oh yes,” she scoffed, “thank you so much for blurting out my name before they even told you who the traitor was. You are a true master of deception.”

Zim put on a smug, mocking grin. “You're welcome.”

Tak growled and kicked nearby rock into the street. After letting out an huff, she turned back to him. “Well, you've been on this planet longer than any other advanced species. Where is a good place to lay low?”

Zim thought about this as he picked up the teal cube and turned it around in his hands. His base wasn't completely destroyed. Everything shrunk as it was being cubified. Perhaps it was all still in there. If he could reverse the effect… “It'll have to be a place with access to a lab. With the proper tools, I could possibly find a way to get my base up and running again.”

“Oh! I know! I know!” Gir squealed, jumping on Zim’s back.

“No, Gir. We're not doing that.”

“But… but…”

“No, Gir,” Zim said again, crossing his arms. “I won't allow my pride to sink that low.”

“But we've done it before,” Gir pointed out.

“Hmm? What's he talking about?” Tak asked sternly.

“Doesn't matter.” Zim answered, waving a dismissive hand at her. “It's not an option.”

“Yes it is,” Gir argued.

“Zim…” Tak growled, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him up to her eye level. “Where is it?”

[-]

Gaz flipped open the pizza box and steam rose off the hot, fresh cheese. Dib reached into the takeout bag. The garlic bread was still hot, too. He bit into a slice, enjoying the warm, steamy goodness and hoping the documentary wouldn't bring up any cow disembowelment's while he was eating.

This was shaping up to be a pretty good evening. Good documentary, good food, and he and his sister were just chilling together. There were no fights, no aliens (except the ones in the documentary, of course), no plans for world domination, no nothing. Just pizza, sibling bonding, and the dulcet tones of the narrator explaining bizarre happenings in Utah.

Gaz was right. He needed to take breaks more often. In fact, he was pretty content to spend the rest of the night relaxing. He could do without dealing with Irken nonsense for one night.

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