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dakotacrisis · 4 years ago

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Cherry Blossoms (3)

Kagami straight up having a not good time

Read on AO3

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“Kagami,” her mother called through her door, “Are you awake? You haven’t heard a peep out of you all morning?”

“I’m awake,” Kagami answered in a shaky voice. In truth she had not fallen asleep at all last night. Not after those three flower petals popped out of her mouth. She had spent almost a full minute just staring at them, willing them to disappear. But they did not move, the tickle in her throat did not cease, it was all still very real.

Kagami had heard of Hanahaki disease. A strange phenomenon where people coughed up flower petals but she had never imagined it could happen to her. She had spent the rest of the night researching at her computer while also trying to convince herself that she really hadn’t contracted the disease. It couldn’t be. It simply couldn’t be happening.

No one knows why Hanahaki disease happens. It seemed to be such a magical and bizarre affliction that it couldn’t be real. There was no scientific backing to it. Really, why would someone’s body start growing flowers just because they were experiencing an unrequited love? It was absurd and altogether frightening. But as the years since its emergence it had become common knowledge.

Thankfully they had discovered a way to remove the flowers so they couldn’t hurt anyone anymore but even that came at a price. You could have the flowers removed with a simple surgery but when the flowers were removed the romantic feelings that the patient had for their unrequited love disappeared as well. For some it was a mercy but for others they saw it as a twisted and sick fate.

Many of the articles Kagami read on the subject ranged from WebMD’s symptoms and treatment options to articles about how to get your unrequited love to love you back, and forums for others that had contracted Hanahaki. She had scoured them all hoping one of them would tell her that she was wrong. But the signs were all there. The deep dive she went into when she accepted she must have contracted Hanahaki disease had only made her fear worse.

Detailed accounts of how the surgery to remove the flowers and the aftereffects of such a procedure. People talking about how in love with the person that held their affections was and the day after about how all those feelings didn’t exist anymore. Statistics of people who had died suffocating on flowers instead of getting the surgery that could have saved their lives. They would live but at the risk of losing the feelings for someone they held dear to their hearts.

To cheer herself up from all the gloom and death and bloody pictures of flowers removed from people’s lungs she read success stories. Couples who had fallen in love and how the flowers disappeared. It made her feel a bit better seeing that not everyone was subject to surgery or possible death on account of their feelings.

The tickle came back in her throat when she thought about being one of those lucky pairs that got the love they craved. This was all Kagami’s fault. She just had to fall in love with Marinette. She should have been stronger than that. She barely knew this girl and yet she felt it deep inside that her heart was irrevocably hers. A girl who smelled like sweet vanilla and whose soft blue eyes anyone would be lucky to drown in. A girl who made Kagami feel warm and fluttery and turned her whole world bubbly and pink.

Kagami sighed and held up the small jar she had dropped the flower petals into. She knew she would probably be better off just throwing them away but for some reason it didn’t seem right.

At least she was lucky enough to have cherry blossoms. They were fairly small. She felt bad for people who coughed up things like lilies and sunflowers. They were decidedly more painful and harder to get out of one’s throat due to how big they could get. The thought alone made Kagami shudder.

Her phone went off with a reminder that she needed to get going to school. How was she supposed to attend school now knowing that she had flowers growing in her lungs? No. It’s fine. She’s a brave and resilient girl. She’ll be fine. Besides, it was only three little flower petals. It just started so she was nowhere near the stage where she would start coughing up whole flowers or be able to see and feel the stems and roots growing up her esophagus.

She covered her mouth, certain that if she thought on it anymore she would puke. Worse comes to worse she can just schedule a surgery and have it over with. Everything will be fine.

While content in her ability to not die from the flowers growing in her lungs Kagami found herself preoccupied with the fact that she now had to face her feelings. She hadn’t even admitted to herself that she was in love with Marinette until those flower petals came out of her. Now it was all she could think about. How long had this been building? When did her feelings for Marinette go from a simple little crush to full blown love? Was it at the pool? Was it before that? Had she just been falling deeper and deeper in love with Marinette since the moment she met her?

How pathetic was this? She fell in love with Marinette within only a short time of knowing her but Marinette probably only thought of her as a good friend. Oh screw it, that’s all Marinette saw her as. The proof was literally rooted inside her. If Marinette loved her back as she wanted her to none of this would be happening.

School was arduous and long. The tickle in her throat returned every time she thought of Marinette. She didn’t cough up any more petals but that stupid tickle wouldn’t let her have a moment of peace. By the end of the day she was ready to go home and wallow in her misery. That was until she got another reminder that she had fencing practice with Adrien after school. She could have screamed.

“Hey Kagami,” Adrien waved her over when she got to their lesson, “How was your day?”

“Fine,” she nodded, “Feeling a little under the weather but that won’t stop me from beating you into the dirt.”

“Allergies still bothering you?” he asked, “We don’t have to practice outside if that makes it worse. We can head inside if that’ll help.”

“No,” Kagami cleared her throat, “I’ll be fine.”

“If you’re sure,” they took their positions and began practice. All was going well and for a few brief minutes Kagami was able to forget about everything as she laid waste to Adrien.

She had just claimed victory again when she heard a familiar voice ring out through the courtyard. “Wow, and here I thought Adrien was the best fencer I knew but Kagami is kicking your butt.”

Oh goodness why? Why was Marinette here? She was dressed in warm yellows and soft whites, a single hair clip with a daisy on it holding her bangs away from her face. “Hey Marinette,” Adrien stood up, pushing his mask up to greet her, “What brings you to practice today?”

“I finished copying the notes you lent me.” she handed him a notebook, “I also wanted to see how you faired against Kagami since I haven’t had the chance to watch her fence yet. Does she always beat you so easily?”

“Pretty much,” Adrien sighed with a good natured smile, “But I still think I give her a run for her money. Right Kagami?”

Kagami was frozen. She hadn’t prepared herself to see Marinette yet. The tickle in her throat became more insistent. Why did seeing her have to be such a wonderful and horrible thing at the same time?

“Yeah,” she managed to say in between tiny coughs, “Nice to see you again.”

“Oh, poor Kagami, allergies still bugging you?” Marinette looked at her with pity, “I think I have some allergy meds in my bag. I bought a bottle just in case of emergencies like this.”

“Oh no,” Kagami coughed harder, “That’s fine. I already took some. I’m just waiting for it to kick in.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Marinette beamed. “Would you guys mind it I watch you duel for a bit?”

“Sure,” Adrien shrugged, “Maybe an audience is just the kind of encouragement I need to finally win one of these matches.”

Marinette took a seat nearby to watch. They began the duel but Kagami couldn’t focus on fencing with Marinette watching her so intently. She pressed her lips tightly together to muffle the cough that tried to escape. Her eyes watered and there was a tight pain in her chest the longer she tried to keep from coughing. Not now! Please not now!

Finally she couldn’t take it anymore, the need to breathe and clear her lungs to great. She coughed into her mask. She felt the tickle of wet petals slide past her lips and tongue and settle at the bottom of her mask near her chin. Adrien took the moment she was disoriented and knocked her back onto her butt. At least it was over and she was breathing a bit easier.

“I win! Woo!” Adrien cheered, “Doesn’t feel as good since you had a coughing fit in the middle of it but I will still take the win.”

“Yep, great, congratulations,” Kagami stood up, “Don’t apologize for taking advantage of your opponent’s weakness. Every great fighter does it.”

“That was a great fight,” Marinette said, “Kagami, do you need some water? You sounded pretty bad at the end there. I have a water bottle.”

Goodness this girl came prepared for anything.

“No. I’m fine,” she assured her. She desperately wanted something to drink but she couldn’t risk taking her mask off since it was the only thing keeping the flower petals from falling out. “I think I’m going to cut practice short today though. Go home and get some rest.”

“Yeah, I should probably be heading back too.” Adrien agreed.

“Alrighty then, I’ll talk to you guys later.” Marinette waved before heading off again.

Kagami immediately ran to the locker room and tore the mask off her head. Three more pink petals fell from her mask and settled on the ground. She scooped them up and sighed. Why was this happening? Why couldn’t she just have her crush in peace?

“Kagami, are you alright? You ran in here so fast I thought--” Adrien stopped when he saw her and the petals in her hand.

Crap.

Her mind scrambled for an explanation. Adrien’s expression shifted from concern to shock then a deep sadness. He sat down next to Kagami and silently held out his hand. With a sigh she dropped the petals into palm.

“How long?” Adrien asked, studying the petals with delicate interest.

“Last night, was able to choke it back all day but the second she showed up here I couldn’t hold them in anymore.” Kagami dropped her head into her hands.

“I’m sorry,” Adrien wrapped his free arm around her, “I’d be more surprised if you had been able to resist her.”

He closed his hands around the petals. “Do yourself a favor and schedule yourself for a surgery now. Don’t drag it out. It’ll only hurt more.”

Kagami looked up at him bewildered and almost offended, “What?”

“You think you’re the first person that has fallen victim to the entity of warmth and kindness that is Marinette Dupain-Cheng? There’s been a whole slew of people that have contracted Hanahaki disease because of her.” Adrien shook his head with a small scoff, “Nino, Nathaneal, Alya, Luka...me…”

“All of you?” She couldn’t believe this. They were all such good friends though. All of them had fallen in love with Marinette and contracted Hanahaki disease? How was that even possible? Besides, most of them were already in happy loving relationships when Kagami met them.

“Is that really so shocking?” Adrien asked, there was something wistful in his gaze, “She makes it so easy to fall for her. When you’re around her you don’t perceive anything else. It’s just her and everything around you is gone. You’re in a void of sweet sugar candy. You look at her and everything turns…”

“Everything goes pink.” Kagami finished. “So you fell in love with her?”

“Yep. I was latest before you. I was coughing up red rose petals for months and months. I tried everything in my power to get her to return my feelings. I straight up confessed to her that I was in love with her and wanted to know if she could love me back. When she told me she didn’t I...it kind of broke me. It hurt so much but I didn’t want to let go of the feeling of loving her. In the end she had to beg me to go and get the surgery to save my life.”

She would have never guessed that Adrien and so many of her other friends had also fallen for Marinette. Then again, if they all got the surgery and had their feelings removed then she wouldn’t have been able to tell.

“You wanna know something all those articles online don’t tell you?” Adrien said, “Once the surgery is over and the flowers and the feelings are gone you feel hollow. Not for a long time but at least the first week you can just feel that hole where your love was. It’s not even like you lost any attraction you just lose everything for a bit.”

“And you think that speech is going to convince me to want to get the surgery? It sounds pretty bad.”

“For the first week, after that everything eases. You can’t love her romantically anymore so you love her the only other way you can. That’s why we’re all such good friends. We love her as much as we can platonically. It fills that hole and while the world may no longer be pink when you look at her, it is still the happiest place you know.”

Kagami sniffed. It sounded nice. To love someone so much in a way that assured you wouldn’t lose them. She could still be happy. She could still be in Marinette’s life. She could still have happy days full of that warmth and sweetness that radiated off of her. But at the cost of losing something that felt even better.

“All my life I’ve waited to meet someone that makes me feel the way I do when I’m around Marinette. I started to think that it would never happen. Then she showed up.” she reached into her bag and took out the butterfly barrette that Marinette gave her. “I know that I am probably causing myself more pain but I don’t want to give this up so easily. I can’t give her up without a fight, Adrien. You of all people understand that, don’t you?”

Adrien sighed and dropped the petals back into her hand. He reached into his own bag and withdrew a paper bookmark. A pressed red rose petal laminated to the paper. He smiled, “Maybe you’ll be the lucky one that wins her heart this time.”

She hugged him tight. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“You have to promise me though,” Adrien pulled back, “You have to promise that if this goes on too long and your disease gets really bad that you will schedule a surgery. I know that you are not going to want to but I will not see your stubbornness kill you, Kagami. You will have to yield if it goes on for too long, do you understand?”

“I do. I promise.” Kagami hated the idea but it could always be worse.

“Good.” Adrien stood up, “Get dressed and go home to get some rest. Tomorrow we start operation...what kind of petals are you coughing up again?”

“Cherry blossoms.”

“Tomorrow we begin Operation Cherry Blossoms!”

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#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #kagami tsurugi #kagaminette #marigami #hanahaki disease au

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jokertrap-ran · 4 years ago

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(未定事件簿) 夏彦 SR [忆中人] [Tears of Themis] Xia Yan SR [Reminiscent Person] Card Story Translations (Part 3)

*Tears of Themis Masterlist / Mobile Masterlist *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Xia Yan’s personal tag will be #Tears of a PI. Personal master-list under construction! *Only the messages left before I start Mo Yi’s new Fairytale SR... (*´艸｀*)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / SMS

Location: Staff Lounge

The lights came back on again, and I found myself standing in the Staff Lounge.

The Gamemaster that had disappeared earlier was facing me, all smiles.

Gamemaster: Hello young miss, it's been quite a while. I waited a really long time for you two to split up.

MC: So that was you. You really scared the living daylights out of me just now.

Gamemaster: I didn't have much of a choice; I had to take the chance to steal you away.

MC: So, what exactly is being tested in this segment?

He gave me an inscrutable smile.

Gamemaster: Didn’t you guys already find the slip of paper? What did it say?

MC: Find me, take me… You mean, he’s supposed to find me?

Gamemaster: That’s right. We'll dress you up to look like the Staff to see if that boyfriend of yours can recognize and single you out from the rest.

Gamemaster: Okay, we're running short of time, so hurry and get changed in the changing room.

Waiting inside the changing room was a veil along with a matching dress with a couple of skull-like ornaments hanging from it…

It looked like something right out of the "Corpse Bride"; a movie that was more popular during this period. The only difference from the movie was that this veil was very heavy.

After putting it on, the black veil that hung in front of my eyes made it hard to make out what was in front of me.

MC: This… is really opaque...

MC: I think I'll be better off holding it first...

After changing into the "costume" with ease, I walked out of the changing room, only to see five other girls of similar build to me, all warning the same outfit.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Location: In the Secret Room

The Staff Member opened another one of the Lounge's doors. It was clearly obvious that it led to another, completely new room.

MC: Why does this place have that many rooms...

Gamemaster: It's something that I painstakingly designed myself to utilize every single bit of space available here.

Gamemaster: Plus, this house didn't exactly come cheap either.

Putting the veil on, I lined up with the rest of the girls, mimicking their posture with my back to the door.

Gamemaster: Now young miss, you cannot move or make any sound from now on.

Gamemaster: You have to listen closely to me from now on.

MC: Okay. Rest assured; you have my full cooperation.

After thoroughly warning me a couple more times, the Staff Member opened a door that led to a corridor.

Xia Yan's rapid footsteps sounded closer and closer to the room.

Xia Yan: (Y/n)? Is that you? Are you here?

His tone was filled with worry, but I could not reply.

Gamemaster: Congratulations, Mister. You and your bride have already reached the last stage of the Cursed Castle.

Gamemaster: Please choose a bride to take with you. The curse will only be unraveled if you pick the right bride.

Xia Yan released the deep breath that he had been holding, his entire body seemingly relaxing from its former tenseness, only his voice held the slightest bit of shakiness.

Xia Yan: That's great. I was really worried about you just now even though I know that this must also be part of the game line-up.

I could only judge his current position from where his voice came from since I had my back facing him.

But I had an odd feeling that Xia Yan was currently looking straight in my direction.

MC: (I think I'm overthinking things. There's no way he'd be able to tell who's who from this far away, right…?)

MC: (Not to mention how we're all wearing such a long veil…)

Gamemaster: Sir, you can stand 5 meters away from these few brides to observe them closely…

Gamemaster: You can order them to do something, but it cannot be to turn around or to remove their veil.

Xia Yan: No need. I don't require them to do anything.

Xia Yan: Can I go over now?

Gamemaster: Have you already decided? You only have but one chance.

Xia Yan: Of course. I'm very certain of my choice.

My heart started beating more and more fiercer the closer Xia Yan stepped towards me.

My hand was grabbed tightly by his, and I could feel the heat coming from the palm of his hand.

Gamemaster: Since you've already come to a decision, then how about you ask the bride to turn around?

He exerted a little force on his arm, forcefully turning me the other way around. But the veil covering my eyes was lifted before I was able to make a full turn.

I was caught off guard as everything before my eyes suddenly came into clear focus again.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

I was caught off guard as everything before my eyes suddenly came into clear focus again.

Reflexively, I looked back at the person behind me under the dim light.

A pair of eyes sparkling with absolute mirth entered my field of vision.

He leaned down, inching closer to the cover of the veil, his warm breath fanning out on my face.

MC: Xia… Xia Yan…

The heavy veil obscured the figure of another, who was standing beside him. He was the one and only person in my world at this moment in time.

Xia Yan: Found you; my bride.

MC: ……

I was acutely aware of the fact that this whole “bride” business was only a part of the game’s story, but yet, I couldn’t help the blush that adorned my face as it heated up.

Those two words were just like little fawns, messing up my already restless heart even more.

Xia Yan: I told you that I'd definitely find you.

This moment saw his eyes filled with absolute seriousness and resolution.

He resembled a knight from the fairy tales I'd read back when I was a kid, solemnly vowing to the princess.

MC: How… How did you recognize me?

I stumbled over my words before eventually finding my voice.

He paused for a moment, as if he didn't expect me to throw such a question at him.

Xia Yan: Why wouldn't I?

MC: I had my back to you and the veil is so long...

He grinned at that.

Xia Yan: Because you're you!

Xia Yan: Your face, your voice, your silhouette; I’ve already committed them to memory.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

"Because you're you!" “Your face, your voice, your silhouette; I’ve already committed them to memory.”

Those two lines continued repeating themselves in my mind all the way till we walked out of the room.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Location: Rest Area

Xia Yan: What's on your mind, (Y/n)?

MC: Oh, nothing! I was just lost in my thoughts.

Xia Yan: Come on, hurry up! The Store Owner’s calling us over!

The Staff Member dressed in the black swallowtail coat from earlier was beckoning us from afar.

Xia Yan dragged me along while I was still caught up in a daze.

Xia Yan: Mr. Gamemaster! I never thought that you’d be the owner of this establishment.

Owner: What, can’t the owner take customer feedback?

Xia Yan: Of course not; it was just a little surprising.

Owner: Haha, the both of you cleared it way too quickly that you’ve even broken the highest record to be recorded in establishment.

Owner: Our Store will customize a special gift as a prize for you guys.

MC: A customized gift? What kind?

Owner: Let's keep this a secret first. You'll know once you come fetch it.

Owner: Come, come. The two of you should take a picture together in commemoration.

We both stood before the camera at the owner’s warm insistence.

Owner: What are the two of you being all shy for? Get closer! How about you hold your boyfriend’s hand, young lady?

MC: Oh, er…okay, sure…

I held onto Xia Yan’s hand a little awkwardly. Well, we did sign up for this challenge as a couple after all.

Owner: Do something, strike a pose, anything. It’s not like you’re taking a wedding photo or anything, so why are you standing so straight like that?

Xia Yan: *Coughs* W-Wedding...photo…?

Xia Yan started coughing, a blush on his face, almost as if he had been choked by his own saliva.

I reached a hand out towards him, attempting to help him catch his breath.

Snap!

And that was how this somewhat comical moment got recorded on camera.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

A week later.

Location: Coffee Shop

The day where we’d arranged to meet with the Experience Hall’s Owner arrived, and Xia Yan and I decided to go receive our prize together.

Coincidentally, Li Xu, Xia Yan’s Client, wanted to thank Xia Yan for his work, so we decided to meet him in a nearby coffee shop.

Li Xu: Hello, Xia Yan, Miss (Y/n).

Li Xu was sitting alone in a corner of the Coffee Shop. Upon seeing us enter, he nodded and gestured towards us.

Xia Yan: How was it?

Li Xu: Thanks to the information you’ve given me, I prepared for an entire week ever since I got my hands on the questions and memorized every segment a good many times over.

Li Xu: I even went and watched lots of videos on “guess the drawing” and “Charades”, but it was still pretty tough, in the end.

Li Xu: Thankfully, I managed to hold out till the time limit was over and passed it.

MC: (Why does he sound like he’s describing his finals instead…?)

Xia Yan: It’s great that everything went well. Now, I can report back the good results.

MC: Report?

Xia Yan: Yup. Didn’t I tell you before that he is… a relative of an acquaintance of mine?

Li Xu: Thank you for helping me, Detective Xia. I’d never have made it past that challenge alone...

None of us were aware of the person who had been seated at the table behind him, nor for how long said person had been present. And it was this exact same moment that the girl seated behind him suddenly stood up, coming up straight before him.

???: You liar! So, you hired a Detective!? Our Tacit Understanding between each other was all just a lie!? That detective was helping you behind the scenes!?

Li Xu: J-Jia Jia? What are you doing here?

???: Never thought that I’d turn up here now, did you? And here I was wondering why you’d come to a place like this that’s so far away from your home...

???: You liar! I’ll never believe you again!

Seeing his girlfriend about to leave, Li Xu hurriedly stood up and grabbed onto her hand.

Li Xu: No, listen to me...

The way that Li Xu stuttered simply went to show that he was very guilty about it, thus confirming the suspicions that the girl before him harbored in her heart.

She flung his arm away, picking up the bag that she had left atop her chair and made to leave.

Seeing how she was determined to leave, Xia Yan and I both shot out of our seats.

MC: Miss, you’re really misunderstanding Mr. Li.

MC: He did hire the Detective, but the Tacit Understanding between the two of you isn’t fake.

???: Who are you and on what basis am I to believe what you’re saying?

Xia Yan: Hello, miss. My name’s Xia Yan, I’m the Detective who’s in charge of this investigation.

Xia Yan: And this is my assistant, (Y/n).

???: I’m Deng Jia, his girlfriend.

Deng Jia glared at Li Xu as she spoke. And Xia Yan hurriedly attempted to help Li Xu explain himself.

Xia Yan: Li Xu only wanted me to investigate and see what the game itself entails. All I did was to tell him the possible questions that might be asked.

Xia Yan: He derived all the answers to those questions on his own.

Deng Jia looked at Li Xu a little suspiciously.

Deng Jia: You didn’t ask this detective to find out what my habits and my likes and dislikes are?

Li Xu: Of course not, why would I!?

Li Xu’s eyes widened in shock at the accusation.

Deng Jia: So you spent the money to hire this detective, all just to find out the contents of the game? Who in their right mind would do such a lose-lose transaction?

Li Xu: No… My cousin’s a friend of Detective Xia’s...

Xia Yan: I didn’t take any money from him; I only helped a friend, who came to me with a request, out.

Listening to Li Xu going round in circles about the matter, Xia Yan couldn’t do anything but to cut in and interrupt him.

The girl’s fury simmered down quite a bit after hearing the explanation, but she still harbored a few suspicions.

Deng Jia: Even if that’s the case… What you did was still a hasty effort made at the last minute.

Xia Yan appeared somewhat clueless as to how to carry on with the conversation, shooting me pleading look for help.

I sighed, turning to explain it all to Deng Jia patiently.

MC: Miss, calm down and think about it. He could have asked you about your likes and dislikes beforehand...

MC: But things like habits are very trivial and small, so not even a Detective can find out about all your little quirks in the mere span of a few days.

MC: Besides, the memories you two share are complex, so how would he remember all of it, if he didn’t make the extra effort to notice everything that went on?

MC: And, even if he did prepare all of those in-time, then what about the last segment where he had to choose a bride? How, then, would he be able to cheat?

Deng Jia seemed to have remembered something, her expression slightly faltering. Li Xu stood dumbly by the side, rooted to his spot, rubbing a hand over his arm that hung by his side.

MC: So, how about you here what Mr. Li has to say, Miss?

Deng Jia pursed her lips, silently looking at Li Xu. Li Xu breathed a deep sigh before finally raising his head and fixing her with a serious look.

Li Xu: I didn’t cheat; I remember all your habits and your likes and dislikes very clearly.

Li Xu: I also remember that it’s been 3 years since the first time we met. The first time you ever talked to me was to ask if you could borrow a pen of mine, and that we went for barbeque the first time we ever went out for a meal together...

Li Xu: The first time we ever went out together alone was to the Library, and the place where you agreed to be my girlfriend was the second tree to the left downstairs of your house...

Deng Jia: Okay… Okay, enough! I get it.

Listening to his chain of silly, yet absolutely direct confessions, Deng Jia’s cheeks reddened.

Even the anger that she had harbored in her voice steadily disappeared.

Deng Jia: If you’re not afraid of being tested, then why look to a Detective for help?

Li Xu: Only because I wasn’t sure if you’d be unhappy or dissatisfied with me after playing this game…

Li Xu: I don’t want you to be mad, but I was afraid that you’d ignore me after, just like the other couples who’ve gone through this; so I did my homework in advance.

Li Xu: I know that I can’t speak very well since I’m a bookworm, so all I can do to make you happy is to study things up in advance.

Li Xu said everything in all but a single breath, looking as if he had used up all his confidence to convey that. He lowered his head but couldn’t withstand the urge to secretly peak up at his girlfriend.

And it was at this moment, that all of Deng Jia’s anger vanished into thin air.

Deng Jia: I… I…

Her face was red and she looked a little shy about it.

Deng Jia: It wasn’t in my intention to put you to the test. It hasn’t been long since we got together, so it’s normal if you don’t understand me all that well.

Deng Jia: You’re always very quiet, so I thought that maybe we could learn more about each other through this game.

Deng Jia: I never thought… That you’d actually still remember things from that long ago.

Her face gradually reddened as she stepped forwards and grabbed onto Li Xu’s sleeve.

Seeing that, Xia Yan and I quietly took our leave from the coffee shop.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Location: Downtown

We both heaved a huge sigh of relief upon stepping out of the coffee shop.

MC: I thought that they were really going to fight and break up right then and there, but it was thankfully only a false alarm.

Xia Yan: Yeah, if his girlfriend was truly mad, then I’d only have brought him more trouble than help.

MC: Thankfully, Deng Jia doesn’t seem like an unreasonable person either.

MC: But I feel like Li Xu’s stepping on eggshells way too much around her; it’s almost as if he’s afraid of saying the wrong thing...

Xia Yan: Actually, Li Xu told me that he had been harboring a crush on her for nearly 3 years now and finally confessed after no longer being able to keep it a secret any longer back when he first came to me with this job.

Xia Yan: He honestly never thought that his revered goddess would agree to dating him, so he always feels as if he’s unworthy of having such a girlfriend.

MC: So that’s why he’s being so careful around her? Fearing that he might say something wrong, or do something wrong?

Xia Yan: That’s how it is...

Xia Yan spread his hands and shrugged at that, sighing helplessly.

Xia Yan: And that’s precisely why I didn’t want to take any money from him for this. Anything and everything he wanted me to look into was clearly only to allow himself to have some assurance and an easier peace of mind.

Xia Yan: Although, I can understand where he’s coming from.

Xia Yan: Who wouldn’t hesitate and waver before their most favorite person in the world?

Xia Yan: It’s only because he’s way too concerned about how they’d think that he turned to self-doubting.

Xia Yan’s voice sounded a little off, but he didn’t show any hints of there being something wrong when I turned to look at him.

It was as though he had just been thinking about the matter with utter seriousness.

MC: But he’ll only be missing out on more of the beautiful things if he’s walking on eggshells that much.

MC: They’d be unable to pass the stage either, if Deng Jia didn’t understand him well enough.

Xia Yan: It’s unfortunate, but apparently, Li Xu didn’t seem to notice that fact.

MC: Li Xu was all caught up about whether or not he was worthy of his girlfriend that he neglected what his girlfriend really wanted; a companion to accompany her.

Xia Yan: Yeah, he ended up ignoring the most important thing… Which was what his partner truly wanted.

Xia Yan halted in his footsteps, quietly looking at me, eyes full of smiles.

MC: What? Why are you suddenly staring at me?

Xia Yan: Nothing! Let’s hurry and get our prize!

I don’t know if it was just my imagination, but Xia Yan’s tone sounded much lighter, and much more carefree than how it was just now.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Location: Experience Hall Front Desk

Owner: You’re here now, are you? Your prize is already finished.

Upon entering the store, the Owner walked towards us with a smile, a small box in his hands.

MC: Is this our prize?

Owner: Yup, hurry, open it up and have a look at it.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Xia Yan took the paper box from the Owner and slowly opened it.

Sitting quietly within the box was a pair of exquisite dolls. They were about palm-sized and were made in Chibi style.

MC: Oh… Are these… Dolls of us?

There were two dolls, a girl and a boy, both with happy smiles on their faces. And the color of their clothes was exactly the same as the outfits that Xia Yan and I had previously worn here.

Owner: That’s right, this was made according to both of your appearances.

Xia Yan: No wonder you insisted that we take a photo together. So, it was for the sake of making these dolls.

Owner: How are they? Do you like them?

MC: Yes, I do! I honestly never thought that these would be what we’re getting; thank you Owner!

Xia Yan: I really like them too. Sorry for troubling you with making these.

After chatting with the Owner for a bit, Xia Yan and I left the Experience Hall.

Before we left, the Owner beamed at us and told us that he hoped we’d come by again once they had another theme rotation.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Location: Downtown

The sun was already sinking westward when we walked out of the mall, the light of the setting sun filling the streets.

MC: The sunset’s really beautiful today.

Xia Yan and I both unconsciously stopped to quietly admire the beauty of this short-lived scene.

Xia Yan: Right, you should take the pair of dolls home.

Xia Yan: You’ll be able to see me every day upon returning home if you place them against the headboard of your bed.

His smile appeared much warmer under the light of the setting sun. His smile was contagious, for I found myself smiling along with him in no time at all.

MC: No can’t do! I can’t take them with me if that’s how it’s going to be.

Xia Yan paused, doubt flickering across his features.

Xia Yan: Why…? Do you not like them?

MC: Of course, I do.

MC: But I can only take one of them home. I’ll entrust my doll to you!

MC: You can put it on your nightstand; that way, I’ll also be accompanying you!

Xia Yan: M’kay.

The fiery red sun was slowly entering the cluster or clouds up in the sky, and before we knew it, there were a couple more people around us stopping to admire the scene.

Xia Yan: I've actually also had my own share of worries, just like Li Xu, about whether we'll be able to successfully re-connect with each other.

Xia Yan: Is 8 years apart really… Have I missed too much of your life in my absence?

Thinking back to all the questions I had gotten wrong back in the Maze, I let out a helpless sigh.

MC: We've really grown and changed in those 8 years.

MC: But thankfully, we're still the same as how we left off, despite having changed so much.

Xia Yan: Thankfully, we're still the only ones who know each other the best.

MC: Hey, Xia Yan? You should really tell me more about your life during these 8 years whenever you have the time.

Xia Yan: Sure. I want to hear what you've gone through too.

☆⋅⋆…⋅─────────── ⋆⋅✾⋅⋆ ───────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

Location: Xia Yan's House

Xia Yan had only just gotten home when his phone rang.

Taking out his phone, a familiar number entered his sight.

Xia Yan: Hello? What’s up, Brother Yang?

Yang Xiao: Nothing; Li Xu asked me to convey his thanks to you.

Xia Yan: Don’t make me take up jobs like this ever again… This time’s the only exception so don’t make an example out of it!

Yang Xiao: I don’t want to bother you either, but I really didn’t have any options this time!

Yang Xiao: I can’t not help my distant cousin if he needs help; I even held him in my arms and played with him when he was little!

Yang Xiao: Come find me if you encounter any trouble. Looking at how caught up you always get, I owe you one, and we're also pretty similar to boot.

Xia Yan gave a wry laugh at Yang Xiao’s merciless teasing.

Xia Yan: Stop making fun of me, Brother Yang.

Yang Xiao: Anyway, thank you for this time; seriously.

Xia Yan: No need to be so humble. Honestly speaking, I should be the one thanking you instead.

Hanging up the phone, he picked up the gift from the Experience Hall.

The exquisite doll laid quietly in his hands, the brilliant smile on its face was exactly the same as hers.

Xia Yan looked at the masterpiece in his hands tenderly, a smile playing on his lips.

Xia Yan: Let us slowly make up for the 8 years that we've missed.

——𝔉𝔦𝔫.——

#Tears of Themis #Xia Yan #Translations #Otome #Mihoyo #未定事件簿 #夏彦 #忆中人 #Reminiscent Person #午夜华章 #Symphony of the Night #Tears of a PI #Okamoto Nobuhiko

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drariellevalentine · 4 years ago

Text

Medically Inevitable

Chapter 9- Mischievous Mishaps

Warnings:- Alcohol, slight cursing, a bunch of fluff and cuteness overload

Characters:- Arielle Valentine, Alyssa Raines, Ethan Ramsey, Arabelle Raines, Naveen Banerji, Kyra Santana, Sienna Trinh, Jackie Varma, Ines Delarosa

Pairing:- Ethan Ramsey x Arielle Valentine

Author’s Note:- Guess what! I finally figured out how to add a ‘keep reading’!

Ethan’s PoV:-

You never thought babysitting a 5 year old would be this tough. But this girl is starting to prove you wrong. Arabelle has a level of curiosity that cannot be matched by many 5 year olds. She has questions about everything she notices. You usually approve of this inquisitive nature (as long as you don't need to deal with it) but this kid just loves to ask you personal questions. And this isn't the only hard part, the hardest thing is how stubborn she is. But yet she managed to somehow get into your life. Just like Arielle, your subconscious reminds you but you shake it off as soon as the thought crosses your mind.

Grabbing the strawberry milkshake you just made, you make your way to the living room. Handing the glass to Arabelle you take a seat in the sofa and go through Naveen's recent test reports.

“Thank you! Mm, this is yummy!”, she says as she listens to the story.

You keep looking at the pages but can barely focus, your mind wanders to Naveen and Arabelle. You try to understand what the story is about. After minutes of listening. you understand that Naveen is reading some Disney story to Arabelle from her e-book reader, guessing that because Naveen is mentioning of a prince and princess quite often along with some utensils which can talk. You scoff at the childishness of the story.

You switch your attention back to the medical reports rather than listening to that unreal and childish love story.

Half an hour after, a whiny Arabelle grabs your attention. Sighing you place the file on the coffee table and try to listen to her.

"But I want to hear more of it!" She pouts and Naveen smiles.

"I know, Belle," He starts, "But your e-book reader is out of battery and I can promise you that Uncle Naveen just has boring books in his phone, nothing as interesting and lovable as the stories you read."

You see Naveen smirking at you as you groan. "What do you want?" You ask.

"Belle here wants to read more but her e-book reader is out of charge," Naveen sighs.

"I'll find something for her to read," you say and move towards your bookshelf to find something that a child can read.

Naveen fakes a cough and when he understands he got your attention, he proceeds with a smirk,"Just like I said, my friend, you don't have anything that a child can read and I can assure you that."

You pretend to get annoyed and go back to your seat. All this time Arabelle looks at you with puppy eyes and a cute pout on her face, again reminding you of a certain intern. This face is going to be the death of me one day! You sigh, pinching the bridge if your nose, “Fine! There's a library in this building. Let's go there."

As soon as the words leaves your mouth, Arabelle smiles at you brightly, running towards you and engulfs you in a hug, or at least tries to. “Thank you!”

Shocked from the sudden action, you sit there still for a moment before awkwardly reciprocating it. Though you act like you’re not comfortable, deep inside, this small act of affection warms your heart up.

Soon after you enter the library, Naveen leaves you to read the rest of the story to Belle because he found some books he was looking forward to read. "She'll guide you up to the part I read her," He waves before moving.

Sighing, you take Arabelle to the kids area, she runs off. After finding the book, she runs over and hands it to you. You have to crouch down to grab the book. With one last sigh, you guide her towards the sitting area. On your way, she clasps your hand, sticking to your side. Another affectionate act that warms up your heart and this time you can't help but smile.

"You know her and mine name is the same!" She says pointing towards the picture on the book.

"Really?" You ask and she nods enthusiastically.

"Her name is Belle and so is mine!" She smiles broadly.

"Isn't your name Arabelle?"

"Yes, but everyone calls me Belle," she beams at you and you smile back at her.

As you start reading she's doing everything but listen. She just won’t sit straight. She's jumping around, lying on the rug or sitting. Lastly, she plops herself into the center of your lap, bending over your knee. You look up to see Naveen laughing as he snaps a picture. “What are you doing?”

“Absolutely nothing.”, he replies when clearly you can see he’s texting someone. You’re about to ask when Belle interrupts you. You look down to see her head on one side of your leg, feet on another.

“What happens next?!”, she asks. You continue reading the story, and end up reading several more.

Arielle’s PoV:-

After dropping off Belle, you drive back to Flair and pick everyone up. “Hey guys! Are you all ready?” You look up to see everyone dressed and styled perfectly. “Looking good, ladies! Now come on!” You lead everyone to your car and drive to ‘Glamour’, the new club that opened downtown a few months back.

“Arielle, I got you a jacket! Here.” She spins me around and slips it on as the rest of the girls get down. You lock the car and head to the very, very, very, very long queue.

“Follow me, girls!”, Alyssa saunters to the front of the queue, flashing her ID at the bouncer. You notice a few paparazzi flashing pics, something the both of you are very accustomed to.

“Please, come in mam. Who else is with you, you mentioned 5 other people?” Alyssa points to the group and another bouncer leads us through the heavy crowd to the secluded VIP lounge.

"Oof! I need a drink after getting through this crowd," you sigh and take a seat.

“Well I need at least ten!", Jackie says and then places your order.

A few minutes later the bartender places a tray of shots in front of your group.

"We're going to start with tequila?" Alyssa asks slightly shocked.

"Start, finish and everything in between," Sienna giggles."That's Jackie's life quote!" She hi-fives you and all of you laugh. Jackie scoffs from beside you.

After four more round of shots, your now sultry voice says,"I wanna hit the dance floor now!"

You drag everyone along with you to the crowded dance floor. You couldn't help but move along with the sultry bass beats, swinging your hips with Aly. Both of you mirror each other’s moves, earning whistles from the girls. After a while, Sienna, Ines, Kyra and even Jackie joins you two. All six of you dance away into the night, letting all your troubles float away.

Ethan’s PoV:-

After you come back from the library, you notice Belle with a sad look on her face. “What happened?”, you ask.

“I miss mommy! When are they coming back?”, she asks.

“They’ll be back a bit late, my dear. Meanwhile, we can do something fun, don’t you think? Your aunt always does fun things with you when she babysits you.”, Naveen replies.

“Okay...what can we do?” You rack your mind for ideas. What do 5 year olds like to do? You notice the time and it’s already 7, and you haven’t made anything for dinner.

“Do you want to help me make a pizza?”

“Yes!!”, she shouts grabbing Jenner’s attention. He bounds towards her and the two play with each other. “Uncle Ethan, can you take a picture pwease? I want to send it to Aunt Arielle!”, she pleads.

“Alright. Stay still.” The pair pose quite adorably as you whip out your phone and click a picture. You show it to her. She tells you to send it. Opening your messages, you tap on her contact and shoot a few texts and the picture.

“Now! What’s this about a pizza?”, Naveen asks. You lead them to the kitchen island, Naveen sits on a bar stool as you lift Belle and let her sit on your island.

“Eeek!! That was fun!”

“Now, don’t move around.” You turn towards your fridge and grab the pizza dough you made earlier. Placing it on the marble top, you grab a packet of flour and a rolling pin.

“Do you know what’s the first step of making a pizza, Belle?”, Naveen asks.

“Mhm! First we roll out the dough! Aunt Arielle always spreads flour on the top!” Naveen nods as you peel off the cling wrap and knead the cold dough in your hands until it becomes soft. You divide it into three, two medium and one small.

You scoop a generous amount of flour and place it on the marble top. “Can I spread it?”, you turn to see her with pleading eyes.

“Alright. Like this.” You take her hand and help her to spread the flour all over the counter. You quickly roll out all three balls of dough, then picking out toppings like different cheeses, vegetables and sauces.

“What do you want me to do?, Belle asks.

You have the most important part, Belle. You get to spread cheese and sauce, placing all your favourite veggies on it!”

“Okay! Can you help me?”, she turns to you.

“...What do you want on your pizza?” She pulls a bottle of sauce the you made and mozzarella towards her.

“Okay, first scoop as much of the sauce as you want on your pizza.” She scoops a quite generous amount and turns to you, waiting for your instructions. You carefully take her small hand in yours and slowly help her spread the sauce, noticing Naveen smiling in the corner of your eye.

“Ooh! This looks good! What now?”, you grab the packet of shredded mozzarella and hand it to her. “I love cheese!”, she quickly dumps and obscene amount of cheese on her pizza and spreads it all over, causing Naveen to laugh.

“You really are like your aunt! You know Ethan, Arielle would do the same thing whenever we made pizzas....and I’m quite sure she still does it now!”

“She does! She said that cheese makes everything better!!...done!”, she says.

“Okay...do you want any veggies and meat on your pizza?”, you ask as she thinks quite furtively. It’s quite amusing seeing the serious face of a 5 year old.

“...I want mushrooms and sausage please!” You take a cutting board and knife, slicing the toppings that she asked for and handing the board to her. She places all her toppings and then suddenly she tries to get down. You quickly scoop her into your arms, causing her to giggle and shout, “Again! Again!”

“Belle! Don’t do that, you’ll get hurt! Do you want me to tell your aunt?”, Naveen lightly scolds. Her face falls.

“No...” She turns to you with big blue eyes, quite similar to yours. “Sorry...”

“It’s alright. Now, don’t do that again!” You place her on the floor, before you can steady her, she quickly runs to Jenner, the pair running around your apartment.

“You know...I don’t think I’ve ever seen you happy with a child. That too babysitting because someone asked you. You’re quite good at it.”

You scoff, “I’m simply doing what others would do. Now, what do you want on your pizza?” Both of you finish your pizzas and place all three of them into the oven. After setting a timer, you head to the living room and discuss the diagnostics team’s cases as you keep an eye on the notorious pair.

Arielle’s PoV:-

You barely notice the time you spent on the dance floor. But then Kyra, who left the dance floor for a breather, signals for you from the bar.

"I'll be back!" You scream to the gang but you aren’t sure if they heard you.

"Wait, I'll come along. I need a drink," Sienna says and follows you.

"You have a lot of texts!" Kyra says as soon as you reach her. You take the phone from her and thank her.

You unlock your phone to find texts from Ethan and Naveen. Naveen texted you some "Have fun" and "Enjoy the night!" along with a few pictures of Arabelle, some her solo and some her playing with Ethan.

While Ethan only sent you a couple of pictures, some of Naveen and Arabelle and the other of Arabelle playing with Jenner.

You smile seeing those pictures. Sienna to takes a peek at those from behind you and then says, “Look! They’re so cute!!” You both hush over the adorable photos of Belle and Jenner, quickly responding to both of the texts.

Si nudges you after a moment. "Hey! I have an idea. Let's play truth or dare?" She asks you both.

"Yes, please!" You say and at the same time Kyra says,"Oh hell yes!"

"I'll call the others over." You say and make your way towards the rest of the gang. Borrowing an empty bottle from the bartender you make your way to the VIP lounge.

You take a corner sit with Kyra besides you, Alyssa beside her. On the opposite side Sienna, Jackie and Ines sit.

Kyra spins the bottle once you all are seated. The empty wine bottle spins for a few seconds before stopping at Jackie and the group cheers.

Kyra gives Jackie a dare of collecting number of some random guy by flirting with him.

Jackie goes with a smirk and returns after ten minutes. She hands Kyra a tissue. Opening which you guys find a number written in there, the number is not quite understable at first glance but then you can make out the number eventually. Kyra whistles lightly noting the number more clearly.

The game goes on like this and after a few rounds, it's your turn and Sienna is to give you a task.

I'll go with dare," You say and Sienna smirks. You’re regretting this already.

“Do a striptease," she grins.

“Sorry, what?!" You ask shocked.

“Do a striptease. You know strip, take a picture and send it to the contact on the top of the list."

You swear that you saw her smirk again but then again you aren’t sure as she hides it.

"Fine!" You grab your phone and make your way towards the restroom to click the picture.

“I'll come to make sure of it!" Sienna screams from behind.

“Me too! Someone needs to make sure Arielle clicks the hottest pictures," Kyra too joins you.

You enter the restroom to find it empty and a content sigh falls off your lip.

“Get to work now!" Sienna chimes.

You strip off the upper part of your dress, Kyra grabs your phone and clicks a few pictures. Then you slip on your dress again as Kyra hands you over your phone.

The three of you return to the table.

"Who's the lucky one who got the pictures?" Alyssa grins as you take your sit and you roll your eyes.

"She is going to send it now," Kyra too grins.

“Hah! Too bad, it’s only Aly!”

You unlock your phone and open the log to find Ethan's number on top of the list. Your mouth drops, so wide. You are doomed. In midst of all the excitement and tipsiness you completely forgot, that the last person who called you is Ethan.

"Can I send it to someone else than the first person in my list?" You ask nervously.

"Nope," Sienna answers and you sigh. “Wait!...who is it?!”

“Omg! Ari, who is it?!”, Aly shrieks. She snatches the phone from you and shrieks.

“Oh my god...Is this?...”, she turns to you. You nod, wincing.

“Who is it? You guys are freaking out so much!”, Jackie asks.

“None other than her boss.”, Aly says. All of them are confused until Si blurts out that it’s Ethan.

“Oh dear...”, Ines’s face goes white.

“You’re kidding!...right?”, Jackie says.

“You’re doomed!”, Kyra says. You glare at all of them.

“How do you even have his number?”, Jackie asks. You rack your mind for an excuse, Aly jumps in.

“Naveen is an old family friend of ours, so he babysits Belle a lot. Turns out, he was staying at Ethan’s apartment so they’re both babysitting her.”

“I’m not doing this.”, you declare. “There’s absolutely no way I’m sending this picture.”

“Oh yes you are!”, Kyra grabs your phone and sends it to him, leaving you to gape in horror. “Don’t worry, I’ve sent a message that says that it was a dare and you’re very sorry.”

“Why did I ever agree to this?!”, you facepalm yourself.

“Cause you love us! Now, it’s Jackie’s turn to spin the bottle.”, Aly says.

Ethan’s PoV:-

As the timer for the pizza rings, Belle rushes towards the kitchen. “Don’t go near the oven!”, you shout as you walk towards the kitchen. A few minutes later, you’re carefully placing three steaming pizzas on the kitchen island, oven mitts in hand.

“Mmmmmmmm!! It smells sooooo good!”, she yells.

“Well that’s because you made it!”, Naveen says as he takes out the plates. Grabbing the pizza cutter, you quickly slice the pizzas and bring them to the table as Naveen sets the table. You bring a bottle of wine and lemonade along with some glasses. All three of you eat as soon as you feed Jenner, Belle’s stories entertaining you.

“-So Uncle Mark asked for the bag of flour and Aunt Arielle said she would get it, so she went and climbed a stool to grab the bag. But she spilled all the flour on herself! It went poof!”, she laughs while mimicking an explosion.

“Okay, that’s enough storytime for now. Eat your food before it gets cold.” Naveen says. Belle ends up finishing first and running towards Jenner, the two playing in the living room. You and Naveen discuss a new medical documentary that he watched the other day. After a while, Naveen sits the the living room watching tv while you finish up the dishes. The apartment is quiet, devoid of any laughter, shrieks or giggles. Washing your soapy hands, you quickly rush to your room to find Belle fallen asleep on your bed, Jenner beside her.

“It’s adorable, isn’t it. I think you like having her around.” You turn to see Naveen adoring the pair.

“Maybe.” You lift Belle up, placing a lean pillow underneath her head and cover her with one of your comforters as Jenner loyally stays by her side.

“I’m starting to think your dog likes my granddaughter more than you!”, he laughs. A small smile perks up on your face as you watch the pair. “I’m heading to bed, my boy. Tell Sunshine I asked for her, hmm.”, he says as he walks toward your guest bedroom, the one that she was staying in. You go back to the kitchen when your phone chimes with a message. You see it’s a photo from Arielle. Unlocking your phone you click on her contact only to see a half naked picture and a text. “What the hell!...Dear god!”, you almost drop your phone on seeing the scandalous photo.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”, you’re about to call and confront her when you decide not to, telling yourself it’s because she’s had an eventful week and deserves to blow off steam when really you don’t want to upset her. Deleting the text, you go back to the sink. You’re finishing up the dishes as you hear the doorbell ring, this time no singing.

Arielle’s PoV:-

Jackie spins the bottle, slowly stopping on Aly. “Dare.”

She grins wickedly, “Oh, I’m going to have fun with this! Hmm...let me think.” She puts a lot of thought into it before exclaiming, “Okay, see Mr. Moneybags over there?” Jackie points to a guy wearing an Armani suit, Aly nods. “I want to go over there, flirt and lead him on...and then tell him that his invited to your wedding as that he can come as your sister’s date.”, she finishes with a wicked grin.

“Oh my god Jackie! She’s married!”, Si shouts.

“It’s alright. I’m sure Adrian won’t mind!”, she says with a wink. “Although it has been a long time since I’ve played this game.” She sashays over to the guy and starts flirting with him, at the same time giving us a clear view of his face. After a few minutes, the smirk on the guy’s face gets replaced with a embarrassed shock.

“Damn Jackie! You’re cruel, just look at that guy’s face!”, you reply.

You all laugh as Aly says, “I’m definitely getting you back for this! Now it’s Sienna’s turn.” Si spins the bottle, which slowly lands on Ines.

“I’ll go with truth.”, Ines says.

“Okay! So...what’s going on with you and Zaid?”, Sienna asks without skipping a beat. Clearly alcohol has given her a major confidence boost.

Ines gets flustered, “What! Nothing’s going on! We’re just friends!”

“Right....my turn!”, Kyra spins the bottle landing on you. “Aw! I wanted to give a dare, but she’s obvi not going too!”

“Who said?! Dare!”, you reply. Si’s definitely not the only one who got a confidence boost from the alcohol.

“I dare you to slam 5 shots of tequila, continuously. No limes, no salt.” Clearly, you made a bad choice.

“Ooooh! Savage!”, Jackie says.

“Ugh fine! But don’t blame me if I throw up on you!” Kyra happily lines up five shot glasses, pouring tequila in each.

“Wait! I’m recording this!” Aly whips out her phone as you get up from your plush seat and ready yourself. “3...2......1!” You slam one shot after another, the tequila burning your throat. By the time you’re on your 5th shot, you can’t stand.

“Ugh, I think that was too much...” You sit down as Ines hands you a water bottle with lemon.

“Wow! That was impressive!! Okay, now Ines has to spin!”, Kyra says. Ines spins the bottle, landing on Kyra.

“I’m not making the same mistake you dummies made, truth.”, Kyra replies.

“Hey!”, you yell playfully.

“Okay, what was your most embarrassing moment in high school?”, Ines asks.

Kyra winces, “I take that back, karma’s a bitch! Okay, so in high school, we had a really pretty, young geography teacher. One day she brought in a guest for a lecture. The guy looked pretty old so I thought he was her dad because he called her a pet name, so I went and asked.......turns out he was her fiancé.” You burst out laughing as do all the others, “Oh dear!”

After the laughter dies down, Aly spins the bottle, landing on Jackie. “What the hell, dare!”

“I want you to....steal that bottle of Don Pérignon.”, Aly says pointing to the champagne bar.

“Oooh! Someone’s getting in trouble!”, you sing.

Jackie rolls her eyes, “Whatever!” She walks to bar and slowly swipes the bottle, all while flirting with the cute bartender. Several minutes later, she walks back to the lounge and slams the bottle on the table.

“Colour me impressed!”, Aly says while pouring everyone a flute.

“My turn!”, you spin the bottle, only to land on Sienna. “Ooh! Karma’s definitely being a bitch today! What will it be, dear bestie?”

“...truth.” She says carefully. Luckily, you know just what to ask.

“So...remember the housewarming party a few weeks ago? Well, look what I stumbled across in the morning!” She scroll through your camera roll until you find the picture you took of Sienna and Danny and show it to everyone, as Sienna’s cheeks turn red. “Mind explaining this?”, you ask with a smirk.

“What?! That was nothing! We were just talking and ended up falling asleep! I have a boyfriend, remember!!”, Sienn tries to defend herself.

“Mhm...” The game finally winds down after all of you are completely and utterly drunk...except for Ines.

“How are you still so sober?”, you ask.

“Cause I have an early shift tomorrow. Plus, who’s going to drive?”

“Ah. Good point!”, Jackie says.

“I think we should head home.”, Aly says. We all agree and enter my car, giving Ines the keys.

“Wait, go to this address first. We need to pick up Belle.” You hand out water and sticks of gum to everyone as Ines drives to Ethan’s apartment. You pop a berry flavoured stick for yourself, as everyone has a competition to see who can blow the biggest bubble. Kyra ends up winning, by the time she pulls up, you’re quite sober. Reluctantly heading up, you ring the bell. The door is opened to find Ethan at the door, giving you a look.

You don’t know what to say and start rambling, “I’m sorry! It wasn’t my fault! The thing is, I didn’t know that you were on the top of my contact list! I tried to”-

He cuts you off. “It’s fine. Belle is sleeping and Naveen went to bed just now.” You sigh with relief. “Was she too much trouble?”

“Not much more than you.”, you laugh as he leads to you to Belle. You find her and Jenner snuggled up together, the sight is an explosion of cuteness. You snap a quick pic. Carefully lifting up the covers, you pick her up and place her on the side of your hip, making sure not to wake her up. Ethan hands you a small file as you exit the apartment. “I managed to run a few more tests, here’s a copy of them. See if you can find anything.” You nod and carefully go back to the car, concealing the file and slide in, handing Belle to Aly and slipping the folder in your bag. You show the photo you took as you post it, leaving everyone to gush.

You manage to reach your apartment in 30 minutes.

Everyone slumps on the couch as you tell them to wait. You go inside and get a few extra pairs of pajamas, so do Si and Jackie.

“Here, change and get ready for bed. You guys can sleep wherever you want.” Ines bunks with Si, Kyra bunks with Jackie and Aly comes with you. Way too exhausted to follow through your night routine, you quickly strip and slip on a pair of pajamas. Cleansing your face, you throw your hair into a braid and flop into bed beside Belle, after pulling out a few extra blankets for them. “Night Aly.”, you say with a yawn but she’s already fallen asleep.

“I’ve danced and drunk all my troubles away for tonight, but I’ll have to face them...someday.”, you think as you fall into a deep slumber.

Taglist:- @mysticaurathings @caseyvalentineramsey @kaavyaethanramsey @ohramsey @ohvamsey @coastalengineer @openheartincorrect @incorrectopenheart @openheart12 @monsoonblooms12 @realmrsramsey @jamespotterthefirst @hopelessromantics4life @starrystarrytrouble @rookie-ramsey @mrandmrsramsey @semanticsandsea-lemons @ethansrookie02 @archxxronrookie @whippedforethanfreakingramsey @sad-satan-herself @mary-c92 @arcticlumineer @princessfuzzy12 @alina-yol-ramsey @maurine07 @binny1985 @aarisa-frost @nikki-2406 @akshara16 @drethanramslay @mayatrueman @mvalentine @theroyalrookie @siaramsey @stateofgracious @schnitzelbutterfingers @drstellavalentine @drethanramsey @drethanfreakingramsey @openheartthot @openheartfanfics @playchoices @literaryexpress @ethandaddyramseyx @custaroonie @lillyvalentine11 @in-love-with-a-trans-girl @xpandabeardontcarex @lilyvalentine

#open heart #playchoices #ethanjonahramsey #collab #ohsy #ethan x mc #modern au #open heart fanfic #from the bottom of my heart #thank you for never getting tired of them #fluff #babysitting

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moneypedia · 4 years ago

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By Drew Shepherd

“You’re so judgmental!!!”

That’s the response I get when I delve a little too deep into my analytical side.

I’m somewhat of a perfectionist myself, so it’s no surprise that I hold others to my own lofty standards. And that’s one of many flaws I’m still working on.

There are certain times, however, when I’m unapologetic in my ways. And as you can see by the title of this article, this is one of those times.

The ability to screen out promiscuous women is one of the most valuable skills any man can have. It keeps you from wasting precious resources on a girl who couldn’t care less about you, and it protects you from being yet another clueless man in the dark.

A girl who sleeps around is never a good choice for your investment. And no matter what our culture tries to prove, the truth is that past sexual experience will always affect future relationships for the worse.

That’s why I created this list of 15 red flags to look for when you evaluate a potential partner.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and I’m sure there are plenty more signs you should be aware of too. But this one is intended to be a relatively quick check, and I’ve tried to limit it to signs you can notice within a few weeks at the most, or that you can easily find out with a scan of her social media.

Now I’m sure both you and I will catch some flak here for being “judgmental”, but remember, it’s not wrong to look out for your own interests. And in order to protect those interests, you need to discern the character of the people closest to you.

Being judgmental is assuming people’s character based on qualities outside their control. Discernment is deducing their character based on info they freely provide.

Only a fool would need a DNA test on an apple tree to confirm what it is…

Smart people just look at the fruit.

The 15 Red Flags Every Man Should Know

#1 She can’t stay at home. / She’s a party girl.

What it means: She needs excitement.

If she can’t enjoy a quiet night at home, walk away.

These kind of girls seem fun and interesting at first, but their lifestyle gets old fast. Plus there’s no telling how many intoxicated guys have taken their shot at her.

So find a girl who would rather read a book, watch a TV show, work out at home, cook a new meal, or talk to her friends on the phone.

“But that doesn’t sound like fun…”

No, most guys would say it doesn’t. But you know what’s more important than fun in relationships?

Stability.

A girl who runs out of her place every night has a need for excitement. And that need will find a way to bite you.

Sure, everything will be great when you’re both in a good mood, but what happens when she gets bored, or worse, when she’s unhappy?

If she needed excitement before she met you she will need it afterwards. And those thrills won’t be limited to a few drinks with the girls.

Most people are plenty fun when you get to know them anyway. So instead of worrying about that, ask yourself some more important questions:

Will she be there during a rough patch in your life?

Will she say “no” when a bigger fish comes along?

Does she avoid situations where she’ll be unnecessarily tempted?

Those are the questions you want answered (indirectly of course—actions speak louder than words).

Work on all those first. Then you can talk about fun.

#2 She has too many male friends.

What it means: She’s addicted to male attention.

Notice I said friends here and not acquaintances.

There’s nothing wrong with a woman having a conversation with a man. And if you do have a problem with that, you’re too possessive. A woman making small talk with her male coworker isn’t cause for concern.

But if she has close relationships to other guys, and she consistently talks to them about personal issues, that’s when you should be worried.

The true number of platonic male-female relationships is very small, and most of them only exist due to special circumstances.

But for the most part, men and women do not just become friends.

The truth is that the two sexes are equal, but different. And it’s tough for us to form close bonds outside of a romantic or sexual relationship.

Any girl who has tons of guy friends is bad news because almost all of them are attracted to her. And since she hasn’t made an effort to turn them down, it means she’s addicted to their attention.

If you don’t meet the requirements of such a popular girl, she’ll eagerly pick a replacement from her pool of waiting “friends”.

#3 She has tattoos or piercings on interior body parts.

What it means: She’s impulsive.

I’ve never been a fan of tattoos, so I wouldn’t look for a significant other who has any. But this red flag is more about the positioning of the ones she has.

If a girl has tattoos or piercings on any interior body parts (i.e. her upper thighs, torso, etc.), it is not a good sign. And here are only a few reasons why:

Someone had to put it there

People don’t get tattoos to cover them up

She makes long-term decisions based on short-term results

It’s just a terrible choice all around. Why would you taint the natural beauty you have with a man-made distraction?

It doesn’t make sense to me.

But in a way, I guess you should be happy when you see a girl like this. She’s made your job easy by effectively saying, “Don’t take me serious.”

#4 She’s a (moderate to heavy) drinker. / She does recreational drugs.

What it means: She allows unnecessary temptation.

Contrary to popular belief, human beings are not inherently good. And when given the choice, we will always be inclined to do what’s morally wrong.

Many times our conscious thought overrides this inclination, but whenever alcohol or drugs are involved, that inhibition goes out the window.

The point here is related to the first red flag about party girls—she allows herself to be tempted. And why would you ever trust a girl who intentionally lowers her self-control?

You are playing with fire and you know it.

Yes, crimes like theft will always be wrong, but we all have a responsibility to lock our doors.

#5 She’s a man hater. / She tests you to see if you’re man enough.

What it means: She lacks healthy relationships with the men in her life.

“All men are blah blah blah…”

“Guys only care about blah blah blah…”

“Men don’t deserve blah blah blah blah blah…”

Yeah, it’s annoying.

Man haters are the worst. I understand that some of us really are terrible, but if every guy she meets is like that, take a look at the common denominator.

Yes, I’m tough on the opposite sex sometimes, but even I know that there are fantastic women out there.

You can’t let the good ones convince you that all girls are sweet and innocent, and you can’t let the bad ones blind you to the praiseworthy women either.

The same is true about our side.

So if a girl always complains about the men in her life, she’s either still bitter about a failed relationship, or she presents herself as an object for men to lust after.

#6 She can’t put her phone down. / She’s addicted to social media.

What it means: She craves attention and drama.

The online version of too many male friends.

A smart girl knows that male attention doesn’t result from her “amazing personality”.

The number of friends and likes she gets is directly proportional to how attractive people think she is.

This stuff is honestly common sense by now but you still see the same thing all the time. A fairly attractive girl only has to post a few pictures, and boom, she’s got 50 dudes trying to hit her up.

She probably won’t give any of them the time of day—unless one of them is like, so hot—but at least she got her daily attention fix. Plus she’s found a new group of reliable “friends” to support her.

It’s ridiculous. And don’t even get me started on the drama.

If she’s more interested in her phone than she is in you, don’t try to change her mind.

#7 She’s comfortable in revealing clothes. / She’s insensitive to male touch.

What it means: She’s used to it.

Do you really think she dresses that way for you?

Do you honestly believe it’s normal for guys to hug and hold her like it’s no big deal?

She’s used to it, man. And even if she isn’t promiscuous now, it won’t take much effort for her to get that way.

But going back to her style of dress, you might believe her choice of clothes doesn’t matter anymore. You think that times have changed, and this girl is different. So different in fact that she’s above all of human nature.

Yeah, keep believing that.

The reality is that men are visual creatures. And both men and women instinctively know that the way a women dresses determines the type of attention she gets.

Our society doesn’t like to acknowledge that fact nowadays, so we try to ignore it as best as we can.

Instead, we say she has high self esteem, that she deserves to show off her body. And if you don’t like it, you’re living in the past.

But please don’t buy the “I’m-proud-of-my-body-so-I-need-to-be-half-naked” excuse.

People who are comfortable with a fit body, or great wealth, or whatever else they have don’t feel the need to show it off. They rest assured in the knowledge that it’s there.

The only people who show off are the ones who need validation. And they always need it from multiple people.

So if any girl shows too much skin, or if she’s fine with being hugged or touched any kind of way, you need to reconsider.

#8 She believes that things just happen. / She follows her heart. / She’s in love with “love” and relationships.

What it means: She lacks emotional control.

These girls are tricky for inexperienced guys, so let me explain.

It feels great at first to be the focus of a girl’s undying love. And the highs of having a beautiful woman enraptured by you is something straight outta the movies.

But guess what?

You will never be the only one.

You just happen to be her drug of the month. And all it takes is a more attractive or manipulative man to change her loyalties.

That is the dark reality of girls who “follow their heart.”

So instead of chasing a girl who’s crazy….about you, find a girl who tempers her heart with her head.

Don’t be afraid of love. Just make sure it’s the real thing first.

#9 She uses profanity.

What it means: She doesn’t value purity.

I don’t like profanity.

Sure, I went through a phase where it was cool to sprinkle in some “sentence enhancers”, but even then it still felt wrong.

Pure speech is something I value now, and it really does bother me to hear people—male or female—casually drop f-bombs. I don’t give them a stare or anything, but I know that profanity usually indicates that something is off in your life.

That’s one reason why I never use profanity on this site. Out of all the posts on HFE, I haven’t used a single curse word, and I plan to keep it that way.

But getting back to the meaning of this red flag, it just shows a lack of class.

If a girl doesn’t have the decency to control something as simple as her conversation, think about how ugly the rest of her lifestyle is.

#10 She’s friends with known promiscuous women. / She takes an interest in promiscuous celebrities.

What it means: She won’t be shamed for sleeping around, and she will probably be encouraged to do so.

Men compartmentalize their friends.

Of course not every guy is the same, but usually he’ll have his videogame pals, his college study group, his boys from work, his basketball squad, his fantasy football crew, and so on.

And what’s funny about all these friend buckets is that they usually include men from all walks of life.

You’ll have a mix of low income guys, wealthy guys, smart guys, dumb guys, you get the point. But as long as they all have that one thing in common, they don’t really care about much else.

Women are different.

Almost every girl I know has friends who are very similar to her. Everything from the way they dress, to the grades they get, to the income they earn, to the guys they like, and even their political stance—it’s almost always the same.

While men care more about the one activity they have in common, women focus more on similar lifestyles.

And now you see where I’m going.

You may not be able to tell if she sleeps around, but if you know her friends do, it’s a giant red flag.

Even if this girl is completely innocent, she knows her friends won’t look down on her if she does indulge, and that’s why she’s surrounded herself with them.

It’s even worse if she takes an interest in promiscuous celebrities. They’re just like her friends who get around but with additional influence and social status.

If [blank] can do [blank] and still be [blank], why can’t she?

#11 She uses New Age lingo. / She’s into horoscopes.

What it means: She won’t take responsibility for her actions.

If you meet a girl who always goes on about people’s “energy”, the workings of karma, or the meaning behind her horoscope, you need to run and run quickly.

I have numerous reasons why I wouldn’t get with a girl like this, but one of the more practical ones is that she won’t take responsibility for anything.

The stars are what drive her behavior, and she will be justified in spiting you because her negative-energy-sense was tingling.

It’s bad enough dealing with people who can’t control their impulses, but if she truly believes that “the universe” is causing her actions, avoid her at all costs.

#12 She has no discernible skills outside of her physical appearance.

What it means: She’s going down the wrong career path.

Everyone needs money. And if that need is not met, people will resort to all kinds of evil to meet it.

If this particular girl doesn’t have any marketable skills outside of being “hot”, she is going down the wrong road.

Eventually she will…

A. Find some way to make money off her appearance

B. Get bailed out by another man, or…

C. Be left in a financial hole when her beauty fades

Now you could argue that A wouldn’t be too bad of a scenario depending on the work involved (e.g. innocent modeling), but none of these are favorable to her developing a solid set of skills when she had the chance.

Not only has she put herself in a position where her beauty can be abused, but she’s also shown that she’s fine with being a drain on people’s resources.

That’s not good.

Everyone needs a strong work ethic, no matter who they are. And if she doesn’t have one, she’ll be pressured into compromising situations.

#13 She rushes the relationship. / She’s a little too perfect. / She tries too hard to seem like a good match.

What it means: She’s overcompensating.

Another tricky one here.

The average guy won’t deal with many girls like this, but the name of this site isn’t Hunger for Average, so you need to look out for this one.

As you start to care more about your appearance and get your life in order, you’ll notice that girls will seemingly come out of nowhere. And the ones you were invisible to before will make it obvious that they’re interested.

Sounds great right?

But the problem is that some of these girls won’t have the best intentions.

Almost every semi-attractive girl has been treated like a princess her whole life (and that’s one reason why a man who’s trained himself to be immune to beauty is so attractive to them).

But the side effect of this treatment is that many women expect partiality from every guy they meet. So now when they see you—a man who’s in good shape and has his life together—they don’t see a person, but rather, a tool who has the means to carry “her highness” through life.

This is particularly an issue with a girl in her late 20’s or early 30’s. Her internal clock is ticking and she knows she has to find a man before her beauty fades.

But you can’t let her clock dictate your life.

People get burned all the time by making hasty choices. And it’s a known manipulation tactic to rush people into big decisions.

Yes, there will be girls who genuinely like you, and they’ll be eager to start something special together. But you need to be aware of the other scenario too.

Beauty doesn’t get ignored. And if an attractive girl hasn’t locked down a man by this time in her life, it’s very possible that she used her beauty for other means when she was younger, and now she’s scrambling to find a man who doesn’t know any better.

Of course this isn’t always the case. Breakups happen and some people just have an unfortunate streak with relationships. But barring any significant change to her appearance, and without any other special cause, the former is a real possibility.

Remember that your interests are important too. And you are not obligated to take any dude’s leftovers simply because she needs a man now.

“But she’s changed! She’s not like that anymore! And she’s committed to doing better!”

That’s great. And I applaud her. But that doesn’t mean you owe her a relationship.

I’m all for acceptance and forgiveness, but I also know that forgiveness isn’t the removal of all consequences.

#14 She accuses you of being promiscuous, or worse, tries to prove you are.

What it means: She’s telling you how she would act if she was in your position (a.k.a. projection).

A girl who makes accusations like this doesn’t understand how any decent looking person could say no to their suitors. Especially since she could never hope to do the same.

You’re just a stupid boy who couldn’t possibly deny easy pleasure, and it’s her job to prove that assumption right.

It’s all so silly.

I’ve dealt with girls who tried to find faults that weren’t there and I had a real good laugh afterwards.

But while it is funny that a former acne-faced, overweight, emo guy would have to convince anyone he’s not about that life, I am very serious about guarding my integrity.

So if any girl accuses me of something like this, I know we need to part ways.

#15 Your gut tells you so.

What it means: You’re not comfortable with her.

Attraction is weird.

The first time anyone sees a person they like, comfort is nowhere to be found. There’s excitement, there’s anxiety, and there’s interest—not comfort.

But that all changes as time goes by.

The more you get to know someone, the more comfortable you feel around them.

The guy you thought was an antisocial creep just happens to be the life of the party. The girl you thought was such a snob before is actually kind and warm-hearted. And this new familiarity generally leads to more comfort.

But if time passes and you still don’t feel comfortable around this girl, it’s a bad sign. Your body is subconsciously telling you that something about her is off. And you know deep down that you can’t trust her.

“But didn’t you just make fun of girls and their ‘negative-energy-sense’? So how is it okay for guys to do the same thing?”

Because what I’m talking about here isn’t just a feeling. What I’m describing are physiological changes that happen solely because of this person.

Yes, it sounds far-fetched, but if you are fine around every person except her, something is wrong. And I’m not talking about a few butterflies in the stomach here.

If you start breaking a sweat when she shows up, if your sleep schedule suddenly changes, and if you’re always on your toes around her, your body is in alert mode. And instead of being able to work, or perfect your craft, or do anything else, you will constantly be thinking about her.

But again, don’t confuse this with some middle school crush obsession. This is about a girl who won’t give you any assurance that she is committed to you.

You will have to do everything to keep the relationship afloat, and that always leads to disaster. The minute you fall short in her eyes your worst fear will come true.

Of course you still want to be as attractive as possible to make her decision easy, but if the success of the relationship depends solely on you, find someone else.

Good leaders set an example for others and create a vision for the future…

They don’t do all the work.

Successful relationships will always take effort, but if you can’t relax at all with her, it’s a bad sign.

Weed ‘Em Out

So if you read this whole post, you’ve probably noticed a theme here.

All of these are signs that stem from a lack of one character trait:

Self-control.

This list is all about discerning if a girl has that one critical trait.

If she doesn’t have it, don’t try to change her, don’t make excuses for her, and please don’t waste time thinking about her. Just walk away.

And if you have a hard time doing that, ask yourself if you would help a man who acted the same way.

Sure, this may all seem cold-blooded, but when the stakes are this high, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. There is simply too much at risk when you choose a long term partner. And if you can’t trust someone you’ll eventually think about marrying, you need to end it as soon as possible.

No amount of beauty is worth the headache and embarrassment. If a woman’s actions show that she doesn’t respect you, move on and find a girl who does.

Just remember that nothing here is foolproof either. Some girls are crafty and they won’t show many of the signs listed here—but that’s okay.

The point isn’t to catch every girl who’s like this. The point is to save time by weeding out the easy ones. And once you do that, you’ll be closer to finding a girl who’s worth the investment.

So be smart, stay strong, and have a little fun too. It’s easy to get too serious about things like this, but keep a good attitude and you’ll be fine.

If you know what all to avoid, just imagine how much you can cherish a keeper.

-Drew

#relationships

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kagetsukai · 6 years ago

Text

Drops of Satina: Day 5 - Tenderness

Raphael Trevelyan belongs to @out-of-the-embers

Words: 2,028 || Read on AO3

Chancellor Roderick was once again prowling the Chantry and clearly looking for another victim to listen to his vitriolic tirades about Lily and her choice to recruit the mages from Redcliffe. Raphael had already had the dubious pleasure of being on the receiving end of one such encounter and did not wish for another. He also didn’t trust himself to not scream at the man at a top volume or punch him in that ratty mouth once he said something unsavory about Lily. Yes, leaving the Chantry was perhaps the best course of action for everybody’s sake.

Hiding behind the large columns and using the shadows on the walls to his advantage, Raphael swiftly moved through the Chantry towards the half-opened door. With one quick glance to locate Roderick - and make sure the man was looking the other direction - he sprinted through the door--

--and right into Hannah.

Raphael didn’t see exactly how they made contact; he only felt a hard bump against the sharp jut of his shoulder as she collided with it. By the time he looked, he saw a stack of papers scatter all over the ground as she roughly stumbled backwards. She slumped against one of the stone outcroppings in the archway, one hand firmly pressed over her nose, and his heart dropped to his stomach.

“Fuck,” he swore out loud.

He was at her side at once, concern overriding any previous animosity. Without thinking, he took her face in his hand and turned her towards him - her eyes were watering and wouldn’t focus.

“Are you hurt?” he asked stupidly.

Still disoriented, Hannah tried glaring at him. It had nowhere near the effect she probably intended, but when she pulled away her hand for a second - showing a small amount of blood trailing from the nostril onto the upper lip - Raphael’s heart stopped.

“What do you think, asshole,” she said, her voice horribly nasal.

Shit! Shitshitshitshit. His life was forfeit now, he was certain of it, but before Hannah regained enough wherewithal to eviscerate him and decorate her room with his bowels, he figured he could at least try to help stop further blood loss.

“Right. Of course. Shit,” he said out loud. “Ummm… I’ve stopped nosebleeds before? Just press on your nostrils to close them up and lean over the ground for a little. Please?”

Hannah watched him warily, her palm over her face, but instead of further criticism or anger she actually did what he asked. Before his mouth got away from him and asked a half-formed question, Raphael decided to focus on the more immediate matters.

“Give me one moment,” he told her and got up. “I need to find some snow or ice.”

It hadn’t been cold enough in some days to form any icicles, but there was plenty of snow just a few paces away, which meant Raphael was able to use his handkerchief to gather a whole handful. Rushing back to Hannah’s side, he sat down next to her, gently moved her back into a sitting position and indicated the bundle of snow.

“Let’s put this on the bridge of your nose, shall we?” he suggested.

She nodded ever so slightly, took the compress from his hands and pressed it to her nose with a low hiss of pain - a sound that cut Raphael with deep guilt. He sat there, at her side, and with nothing else left to do, he wasn’t sure if he should stay or leave her to it. For her part, Hannah was a looking at him, her stare difficult to read with most of her face hidden, so it surprised him when she actually spoke.

“You look like a kicked puppy,” she told him quietly.

He frowned. “Excuse me?”

“You’re sulking,” she explained and rolled her eyes. “Sweet Maker, you look like you’ve murdered me, or something. I’ve had a bloody nose before - I grew up with two younger brothers - and this is nothing in comparison.”

This felt like such laid-back, casual ribbing it threw Raphael for a loop; he had expected scathing words to make him rue the day he was born, not subtle sarcasm.

“I’m not exactly sure what kind of expression you think I should have,” he pointed out. “I injured you and, quite frankly, I still expect to get castrated for it.”

A quiet snort issued from her, followed by a hiss of pain and a whole lot of mumbled curses. Raphael shifted closer, hoping to help, but Hannah only waved him off.

“What gave you that idea?” she asked after a moment, clearly amused.

Raphael made a face. How much inside knowledge should he reveal?

“Knight-Captain Rylen made a comment a few days back,” he said. “Let’s just say it made an impression.”

Hannah’s eyebrows climbed up in surprise.

“Rylen?” she asked. “Now I’m curious what the context was. Either way, rest assured; I am not - and never was - interested in removing your testicles.”

It was Raphael’s turn to chuckle, but before he could say anything else, he got interrupted.

“I just saw him leave the Chantry. He has to listen to me since his cousin won’t!” they heard Roderick’s distinct voice from the inside the Chantry.

Panic flooded his body in a matter of a second and he watched it reflect in Hannah’s widened eyes, but before he could say or do anything, she reached for his forearm and gripped it.

“Hide behind the pillar around the corner. Go!” she hissed at him.

It took him another second to register what she had suggested before he followed her directions. All in all it wasn’t a great place to hide - even if Roderick didn’t notice him right away, if he stepped away from the building and looked back, Raphael would be visible at once - so he wondered, if Hannah had an idea of her own. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long.

“You,” he heard Roderick say. “Have you seen-- what in the blazes happened to your face?”

“Raphael Trevelyan,” he heard Hannah say with familiar disdain. “He knocked me down and kept running, that asshole.”

There was a brief pause and Raphael wondered if Roderick would buy the misdirection.

“Did you see where he went?” Roderick asked.

“No,” Hannah bit back. “I’m not his mother, I don’t keep track of his whereabouts. He does spend a lot of time at the tavern, though. You should try there.”

Raphael heard Roderick humph to himself.

“That coward. He can’t hide from me forever!”

“Then you should catch up with him before he reaches the tavern, Chancellor.”

“You’re right. Thank you and I hope you feel better soon.”

Raphael heard Hannah grunt non-committaly and a sound of footsteps echoed through the yard. He stayed where he was, in case his movement drew any unwanted attention and alerted Roderick to his true whereabouts. He couldn’t see - having hidden on the opposite side - so he kept waiting until it was safe to come out.

“He’s gone,” he heard Hannah say.

He stepped around the massive doorway, glanced about to make sure he couldn’t be seen, and promptly moved to take a seat next to Hannah - she was still sitting with the cold compress on her nose, looking slightly pitiful.

“Thank you,” he told her at once. “I owe you one.”

Hannah gave him a side look and finally lowered the cold bundle in her hand. Her face was a mess of smeared blood and wetness from the snow, and it made him wince - he owed her more than one, he realized.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said and smiled a little. “We can call it even, if you want.”

Raphael stared. “I literally ran into your face and gave you a nosebleed, and you call that even? That doesn’t seem fair. You should at least yell at me, or something.”

“I think I already yelled at you enough,” she said and looked down at the soggy, bloodied handkerchief in her hands.

That’s when everything clicked into place: the way she had been softer than before, why she hadn’t yelled at him for giving her a nosebleed, why she had misdirected Roderick to save Raphael from a really unpleasant interaction - it was all because she felt guilty for the words she had said to him back at the tavern. He humphed.

“I’m not angry about that time, you know?” he said quietly. “It’s fine.”

She lightly shook her head. “No, it’s not fine. I was unfair and you didn’t deserve it. You should not have been on the receiving end of my drunken bitch-fest and I’m sorry about that.”

Words clattered to the tip of his tongue, but none of them felt right, so Raphael just sat there and watched Hannah unload the rest of the semi-melted snow onto the ground; she wrung out the excess water from the cloth and began wiping at her face. She looked like the picture of remorse and he felt like the last dumbass for making her feel this way - albeit accidentally.

“I’m sorry, too” he offered. “I should have found you sooner to clear the air between us.”

Hannah grimaced. “I’m not exactly the most approachable person in the world; I know that.”

She was almost done with cleaning up the mess and Raphael was glad to note that her nose didn’t seem broken - there must have been a blood vessel that had ruptured on impact without causing permanent damage, making it look worse than it was. Still, there was a little bit left under her eye that she hadn’t yet gotten.

“You missed a spot,” he told her. “May I?”

She looked at him, frowned for a moment, then handed him the cloth.

“Sure.”

Raphael reached for her cheek to keep her face stable, brought the wet handkerchief to her skin and -- realized how close he was to Hannah. Yes, he was cleaning her up - gently dabbing at the spot where a tiny smear of blood quickly vanished under his ministrations - but their proximity made him heat up beyond what should be normal. Looking into her eyes turned out to be a mistake too, because he found himself falling into dark depths of her irises, mysterious and endless like the ocean during nighttime. Quick movement of her tongue against her lips made him look lower where her mouth beckoned for a sample.

“Hannah…” he started

“Hannah and Raffy, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!!!”

Before he even properly registered Sera’s voice, Raphael launched himself away from Hannah so fast and hard he actually backed himself into the stone archway. A quick, disoriented glance around showed him the elven girl hiding behind the opposite side of the doorway.

“Make sure to squeeze her peach!” she called out and ran away, cackling.

“That was rude and uncalled for!” he yelled after her, but Sera had already left..

Whatever moment he had with Hannah was gone now and he could tell his face was burning enough to set half of the world on fire. He didn’t dare glance at Hannah in case she could tell just how dumb he felt about the whole situation. Instead, he remembered her papers still strewn about and got up to collect them.

“Here you go,” he said as he handed her everything in a neat bunch; he still refused to make eye contact. “Again, I’m sorry for causing you so much grief.”

“It’s fine. Thank you,” she replied quietly.

“I hope you have a much better day now,” he said, turned, and stiffly walked away.

Raphael felt like the worst coward in the world for leaving Hannah alone, but he didn’t think she needed his presence anymore. He had almost kissed her, for fuck’s sake! The first opportunity he got to prove to her that he wasn’t a skirt-chaser, he did exactly the opposite of what he should have done. He would have to do better in the future, but for now he needed to find a snow drift in which he could stick his face and cool his horrendous blushing.

#fanfiction #dragon age #da:i #may-hem #drops of satina #female OC #male Trevelyan #Hannah of Highever #Raphael Trevelyan #Hannah/Raphael #pre-relationship #tw: blood #blood #Chancellor Roderick #Sera #clearing up some things

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bisexualstokes-archive · 6 years ago

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yeah okay here we go, @dannilea this is slightly your fault since you made that comment after reblogging that prompt from me lol

original prompt | nick x greg, ~1.7k | read it on ao3

Greg should have known something was up the minute Nick called him. Nick sounded elated, surfing the waves of catharsis he received from solving the McCormick case. A certain type of elation, a dangerous one, when it comes to Nick Stokes, because Greg knows better than Nick does, that pride is the deadliest of his sins.

And yet, he still fell into the trap of seduction laid out by Nick, as he always does. It wasn’t until his back was against the wall, his wrists pinned by his ears, that he saw that there was something hiding beneath the superficial happiness that Nick was displaying. An anger, a roughness, simmering, creeping its way as Nick forcefully smashed his lips onto Greg’s; his cheeks, his neck, his collarbone, his forehead, his ears…

It wasn’t until he pushed Nick off of him, shoving him towards the bed that he saw both sides of the internal conflict raging within Nick; the maniac playfulness plastered on his face, and the glimmer of darkness in his eyes.

It wasn’t until Greg pounced on top of him, that Nick let Greg know exactly what he was feeling, as he pulled onto Greg’s hair as if he were trying to fend off an attacker.

It’s in this moment, that he realizes Nick is not okay.

“How do you do it?” Greg grunts, wincing at the slight pinch of Nick’s grasp on the back of his head. He can feel five of Nick’s fingers digging into the back of his scalp, the other five nearly bruising his shoulder.

“How do I do what?” Nick snarls, he’s trying to focus on Greg. There’s nobody else there, just him and Greg. Greg. Greg. His lips are full of Greg, his hands gripping tightly onto Greg’s body, as if he were about to lose him. It’s just him and Greg, nobody else. No little girls, hiding cough syrup and gum wrappers under the bed. No creepy psychopaths, watching from a peephole in the ceiling. No fathers, who are so torn apart about losing their daughters, that they decide to exact their revenge on someone who’s only crime was doing their job. No men, screaming from the top of their lungs as they struggle to breathe under the confines of the earth surrounding them.

It’s just him and Greg, but the voices in Nick’s head tell him that they’re not alone.

“Pretend you are okay.”

“I’m not pretending.”

“Yes you are, every single day. And it breaks my heart.”

The slick texture of hair gel slides between the strands of Greg’s hair and the skin of Nick’s fingers as Nick releases his firm grasp on the back of Greg’s head. Greg pushes himself up, sitting uncomfortably on Nick’s thighs as they both catch their breath. Their hearts pounding against their chest, their lips twitching, searching for the connection that was abruptly severed as Greg finally spoke the words that have been on the tip of his tongue since Nick came back to work.

“I told ya, G, I’m not pretending,” Nick whispers, cupping Greg’s cheek in his hand, stroking Greg’s face, trying to gently move it back towards his own. “Really, I’m okay.”

“Nobody can be....buried alive and just be ‘okay’ after that, man,” Greg continues, feeling as if he needs to explain why he’s pushing Nick’s hand back towards him, shaking his head slightly. “We’re all--I’m worried about you.”

Nick’s back suddenly feels stiff, he feels a throbbing sensation in his forehead, and the mattress beneath his body suddenly feels like a cold, hard surface instead of a warm, soft one. Nick curls up the hand that had just held the back of Greg’s head moments ago into a fist, slamming it into the mattress. He uses the other hand, which is still warm from the contact with Greg’s cheek to push himself up as he rolls to his side, throwing Greg off of him as he stands up from the bed, and begins to pace the room.

“Is this about what happened at the station? Did Sara tell you?”

“She didn’t have to, I saw the tape,”

A harsh sound escapes Nick’s body, laughing at the realization that just as he’s doomed to suffer, everyone else is destined to watch him in his torment. He leans against the wall, folding his arms, as if he needed to further entrap himself as the walls in the room begin to cave in.

“And considering you just had me up against the wall a couple minutes ago in a similar manner…”

“Yeah, until you shoved me onto the bed…” Nick mumbles under his breath, the corner of his lips tugging into a small smile, which quickly retracts after seeing the daggers in Greg’s eyes.

“You still have some things on your mind that you need to sort out.”

“Look, I told Sara, I’m sorry that I lost it with that...that dumbass in the station--”

“It’s not just that, Nick. Every night you wake up screaming, every time we’re on a case in a space that’s just a bit too tight, hell, every time you walk into Grissom’s office and see all his bugs, you just...you act like nothing happened--”

“What do you want me to say, Greg, huh? You-you want me to write a full report on every single nightmare I have where I’m still in...in that damn box, with that damn light, with those damn ants? You want me to tell you, how I had to hold my breath when I went down into that bunker a few weeks ago? You want me to tell you how I saw a-a picture on Grissom’s desk, of my face, covered in ants? Hmm?”

He can feel water in his eyes, his tongue pokes out between his lips, catching a teardrop before bringing it back into his mouth, the hot, salty taste lingering for a few seconds in his mouth before he continues.

“I...I don’t want...I don’t want what happened in that box to define who I am. Part of me...part of me is still in there, and-and that part is gone. Forever. I’m not getting it back. But the rest of me? The rest of me made it out. I’m-I’m alive and that’s all that matters. And...and I’m just...I’m trying, man. I’m trying to leave that part of me behind but I just can’t--”

Nick buries his head into his hands, quickly wiping away the tears as he slides down the wall. The sudden cold, rugged edges of the paint rub against his naked skin, goosebumps bubble up in his arms. His jaw clenches, his open mouth catches the tears that stream from his eyes against his will. He scrunches his face closed tight, trying to push back the waves of sobs that shake his body as the voices of victims and tormentors scream at him, telling him he’ll never escape his premature burial.

Greg, meanwhile, was getting goosebumps of his own as something in the back of his head was sounding off like an alarm, telling him to get off of the bed, get down to the floor, grab onto Nick’s hand...but even in the shroud of shadows cast by Greg’s body on top of the bed, the outline of Nick’s body seems to glow. He feels his ears prick up, he feels a soft tingling shiver spread through this body, his vision begins to cloud as the image of Nick on the ground morphs into a different Nick. A Nick that stands tall, a confident smile on his face, radiating the same glow Greg saw moments ago.

Something in his mind, his heart, his blood seems to tell him that this is the path Nick is currently traversing, a path that he hasn’t even begun to stray away from in the slightest. A wave of relief washes over Greg, and he finally moves off of the bed and next to Nick, taking Nick’s free hand in his own, and cusping his cheek in the other.

“I think you’re doing pretty well, Nicky,” Greg whispers softly, with the most reassurance he could muster, although he feels as if the words are not his own. It feels like he’s giving Nick a reminder of something, a carrier of a message that seems to resonate with Nick on a level that Greg doesn’t quite understand.

But Greg didn’t need to understand, nor did he see any pressing desire to, as Nick immediately lunges at Greg, his wet lips pressing against Greg’s. Greg can feel the transfer of Nick’s tears to his own cheeks, the saliva exchanged in their mouth has an odd, salty taste that was quite gross, but Greg doesn’t care. All he cares about is Nick Stokes, a broken man on a path of healing.

And with Greg Sanders by his side, he’ll make it to his final destination. The man in Greg’s vision. The Nick Stokes that is truly “okay” and doesn’t have to pretend any more.

“Greg?” Nick whispers out to the void behind his closed eyes. The voices are gone, there’s an eerie, but soothing silence in the air. His body feels light, as if a tremendous weight had been removed. His fingers absentmindedly move towards his forehead, to the outlines traced by Sage over a day ago. There’s nothing there.

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For getting so…rough…”

“Pfft--Please, you don’t have to apologize for that, man. I...kinda enjoyed it, actually…”

Nick opens an eye, to look at Greg, who’s staring at him with a devilish smirk on his face.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, giddy-up, cowboy, I’ll go on that ride again.”

Contagious laughter erupts from Nick as his face turns redder than it already was, he leans himself on Greg as they stand back up, nearly losing his balance. Their laughter fades, and for a moment, their eyes meet. Their bodies melt, puddling together into a teary, sweaty mess, but it’s their mess.

“Okay,” Nick breathes. A multifaceted statement. An answer to an unspoken question, a word of assurance, an echoed word spoken by the part of him that’s buried underneath the earth…a word that describes his current state of being, as he stands face to face with the man he loves more than anything else in the world.

#csi cbs #nick x greg #nick stokes #greg sanders #csi fan fic #my fic #fork it here it is!#fic: third eye

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shooter-nobunagun · 6 years ago

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Daughter of the Cosmos

//Continuing off where we left, the truth behind the Great Ones and their Kin...

The four trudged into the dark building, Sio still feeling uneasy about the whole thing but it was too late to turn back now. Even though Nostradamus assured them multiple times the Cathedral was quite safe, she’d learned enough to know nothing was ever certain.

“Still, I must say I’m surprised dear friend, that you would choose to join a group of hunters...?” Their guide questioned his friend. “You used to always say numbers create more problems than they solve...”

“Hmm...call it a change of heart. We don’t stay the same forever, Nostradamus.”

“Oui oui, that is true. In more ways than one...indeed.” They were now inside a great hall of sorts, dust covering most of the surfaces and furniture looking like they were one step away from falling apart, but at least there were no creatures wandering about as far as they could see. “Please, have a seat...if you can find one. Although I only anticipated William Tell, I am glad to share my findings with those who are interested. Not many care to learn about our origins anymore, these days...where They came from, our role as hunters in this hunt and our fates in this dream...”

Dream? For some reason that word made Sio shiver, though there shouldn’t have been any reason to. Again a strange feeling that she should know something, but just like whenever she was in the Hunter’s Dream, those thoughts fled the second she tried to focus. “Wait...you know about those things? The monsters that suddenly appeared, after we defeated Rom...and the moon turned red...”

“Ah, the Red Moon...” Though he was blindfolded, it still felt like Nostradamus was looking directly at her. “You, the girl...you had contact with her. The Great One, Rom.”

“Y, Yeah, I did...h-how did you know...”

A tinkling of laughter from Nostradamus; not menacing but still every single hair on the back of her neck stood on end. “Just because my eyes are no longer privy to the world does not mean I do not see, Mademoiselle... in fact I daresay, I can see far more than you, Miss...?”

“Uh, Ogura. Sio Ogura.”

“Mademoiselle Ogura. You came into contact with a Great One. And since your group defeated her, the veil that was cast over this world lifted and now you can see what I’ve long known; the nightmare this world truly is...”

“What...this world truly is? What do you...”

“Those things. The Amygdalas that Vidocq talks about...you mean those, don’t you? We weren’t able to see those abominations until after fighting Rom...” Adam’s gaze narrowed at Nostradamus’ words. “What do you mean by veil...are you implying what we saw, before...was all a lie?”

“Not quite. And you are Monsieur...?”

“Muirhead.” Adam replied bluntly, not keen to give the stranger anymore information than he had to. “Somethin’s changed since then, it’s fairly obvious. But what’s that to do with these Great Ones? Are you saying they’re some sort of beings that can...influence us?”

The Choir member nodded. “In a way. I’m impressed, that a non-Church group like yours has a surprisingly solid grasp on the basics. But the truth, ah...that is always more complex, non?” He strode over to one of the leaning shelves, pulling out a great tome that was set down with a thud on the remaining table, dust rising from its weight. “Please, take a look. It is part of Master Wilhem’s teachings that have been passed down since the founding of the Healing Church—despite our separations.” The page opened to what appeared to be an ancient drawing, the paper yellow and wrinkled and filled with muddled text Sio could not make out, despite her schooling. But the picture and diagrams on the page...

An eerie creature, with a vertical, gaping maw and a monstrous head that seemed to be all brain, covered with countless stalk eyes all over and long tentacle-like wings on its back; around it were drawings of people kneeling or even praying, as if worshiping this creature. Lines with foreign script on them went from the creature to the humans, and Sio noticed with slight horror how some seemed to be deformed, clutching their heads as eyes sprouted out or others that seemed to be screaming in terror.

“Oh...god!” The huntress unconsciously stepped back, squeaking in surprise as she backed into Adam. “Th, that thing...why are they, what is it? Is it one of those...Great Ones you’re talking about?”

“Ebritias, Daughter of the Cosmos. She came down from the heavens, and took pity on us poor humans, a race beneath their level of existence...” Nostradamus slowly turned the page, showing another image of this Ebritias appearing to interact with humans, including some who looked like they were gouging out their own eyes. “We of the Choir learned a great deal from her, in our quest for the Truth; she taught us about the Eldritch Truth, and gave us access to the Old Blood...”

The floor seemed to waver as Sio sat down; though they all suspected it, hearing confirmation from one of the elite members of the Church that there were indeed otherworldly creatures and forces manipulating their lives... “I-I don’t, I don’t get it...what is this ‘Truth’? Why’s it so important? And if this, Ebritias...if she really is just here to give us knowledge, then how come I feel like I’m about to go insane each time one of them tries to communicate with me?!”

“It is because most humans lack the ability to commune with them. To understand the Truth, and gain more Insight...” Gloved fingers paused on the drawing of a skull on the page. “Making contact with eldritch wisdom is a blessing, for even if it drives one mad, it allows one to serve a grander purpose, for posterity.”

“...Okay, that’s great and all, but what if I don’t want to? Besides, what’s the point if I’m just going to go insane...” Sio muttered, wondering if Nostradamus himself wasn’t more than a little loopy after spending all this time around the Great Ones. At least she finally knew why she always went into a frenzy when fighting those creatures, but it didn’t help mitigate the problem itself.

“Seeking the Truth is not for everybody; I admit that. However, I am afraid us humans...do not have much of a choice.” Nostradamus gently closed the tome and returned it to the shelf. “I have chosen to dedicate my life in hopes of understanding the knowledge of the Great Ones, and perhaps even make contact with them, eventually. Though, it is not without risks, even to me; there were once other members who sought to commune with them at any means, even if it meant sacrificing their sanity... the School of Mensis, they are an example of what happens when humans foolishly overstep their boundaries. However, that is not to say there are some small...beneficial effects. For example, Mademoiselle Ogura, you suffer the blood sickness, do you not? Have you wondered why you haven’t succumb to the scourge yet, despite your ashen blood?”

Sio flinched at the mention of her condition. “Y-You, don’t mean to say...this, ‘insight’...”

“It counteracts the effects of beasthood. In other words, you may be risking your sanity, yes, but it is also probably the only thing from keeping you from turning into a full-fledged beast,” Nostradamus answered for her softly. “Not what you want to hear I’m sure, but...”

She only heard the first part of the sentence, all feeling having left her legs as she slumped to the stone floor, oblivious to Adam’s concerned queries. Turning into a beast, or losing your sanity... Were these really the only two choices she had? Even worse was the fact that out of all the hunters, she was the only one who suffered from both; none of the others showed signs of contamination, and even their frenzy seemed to be less severe than hers, able to be tempered by an occasional draught of sedative while she downed pills and vials like candy. Her body was trembling with both anger and despair and a tear fell before she knew it.

“I-It’s not...it’s not fair!” Sio choked out a sob, not even bothering to wipe her tears. “I don’t care about the Eldritch Truth! I don’t want to turn into a beast...! Why am I the only who’s suffering...” The last thing she wanted was to give off the impression of an immature child, but the huntress couldn’t help it; to come all this way, only to learn she was nothing more than a puppet for the whims of godly creatures, far beyond their understanding. Sympathetic or not, it seemed the Great Ones did not care if humans went insane; the only thing that mattered was passing on this ‘truth’. “I hate this! Why did I even come here...maybe I should’ve just stayed behind and let the disease run its course; at least I wouldn’t be plagued by those monsters trying to force me to understand things I can’t...”

“Oy now, you don’t really mean that...” Gentle hands helped her up, procuring a handkerchief and wiping her face. “Chin up, Ogura. You’ve come this far already, I know you won’t just give up.”

“Apologies, Mademoiselle. A hunter’s life is not easy...I am surprised you chose such.” Nostradamus bowed in sympathy. “Please, take your time to rest here; it is safe, I can assure you.” The other two mercifully left the immediate vicinity, giving Sio some privacy.

Sio only continued sniffling, grateful for Adam’s handkerchief. “I know...I know...! Still, in hindsight...I can’t help but wonder if I made a mistake...hell, even the ‘paleblood’...those were all just lies, too...” The huntress hugged herself tight, wishing she were anywhere other than this damp, cold cathedral, where monsters and alien creatures prowled about and she never felt truly safe, even in the Dream. “I just want this to end...”

“And it will, Sio. You have to trust me. Trust yourself,” Adam firmly chided, brushing the girl’s tangled locks. “I know you’re feeling awfully discouraged, and hell so would I, if I were in your shoes. But you’ve also done remarkably well, even with those conditions. Think about it; most normal hunters barely make it this far, but you discovered something most people never find, in spite of your illness.” He patted her on the back, offering a small hug as Sio blew her nose. “Don’t forget, you’re not alone in this fight; you’ll always have me an’ Hunter. We won’t leave you behind, Sio.”

“A-Adam...th, thank you...” Though her body and mind were exhausted, she knew Adam was right—giving up was not an option, not after all they overcame, and the small, precious moments of happiness she found during this journey... “U, Um, A-Adam? C-Can I ask you for a small favor...?”

“Hmm?”

Sio blushed under his curious gaze; those green eyes were almost too piercing at times. “I-I, it’s just...I’m sorry if it seems silly, but...c-could you, hold me really tight?” She half-expected him to laugh or scold her for wasting time, but then a pair of strong arms encircled her, and as she buried herself against his broad chest his embrace tightened. A couple of tears fell as she couldn’t help but contemplate her future, but Adam simply held her until the hiccups subsided.

“Feelin’ a mite better now?”

“M-Mmm...s-sorry about that...” Slowly she unwound herself from his grasp. “Thank you...I feel like, that’s the only place I ever really feel safe...when you, hold me...all tight like that...” Her cheeks were rosy from both the tears and shyness, Adam feeling his own face grow rather warm.

“...Of course, Sio. I’m glad to hear it.” Good thing neither Tell or Nostradamus were around, but at this point Adam couldn’t have cared less; if the others began finding out about his relationship with the huntress, then so be it. Things were getting more desperate than ever, and if indulging in these moments of tranquility meant risking the attention of others...well, it was worth it. “But did you get what you wanted here? The truth about your condition...”

Sio nodded as she pulled her overcoat back on. “Y-Yeah...I mean, I kinda already figured out some of it, but hearing it from Nostradamus himself...” she sighed, turning her back towards him. “...I was hoping he’d be able to have some sort of cure for either of them, but it looks like, there really isn’t...except for ending the hunt. Still, it pisses me off knowing that those, creatures just play around with us like toys...can’t they just leave us alone?”

“I am afraid not, Mademoiselle Ogura,” the two whirled around as Nostradamus came back with Tell. “To creatures that might as well be gods, our wants do not matter. However, perhaps you could try asking her yourself, if you wish...”

“Her? As in, Ebritias? She’s here?”

The man in the blindfold cap nodded. “Oui. She still exists, hidden below us in this Cathedral, at the Altar of Despair...She granted us the knowledge that allowed The Choir to become what it is now.”

The two hunters looked downwards below the balcony. Though nothing was visible, Sio felt the familiar stirrings of frenzy the longer she stared. “N-No...th, that thing...even up here, it can...influence me...”

“Sio!” Adam pulled her back from the ledge, immediately grabbing a sedative from his pouch. “Don’t go down there; it’s not worth th’ risk, ‘specially with your condition... We should leave and head back. There’s no more reason to be here.”

“Alas, I am afraid you cannot go back the way you came.” Adam looked at Nostradamus in shock. “The only lamp in this vicinity is below; where Ebritias dwells.”

“Bloody hell!” Adam swore violently, the Stakedriver nearly primed by the time he paced over. “There’s no way I’m letting Ogura get near that thing! If it’s as powerful as you say, she’ll go mad in an instant! There has to be another way!”

“There may be.” Tell’s deep voice chimed in, the duo having nearly forgotten about the mysterious hunter who asked for their company on this trip to begin with. “We may not be able to backtrack, but if you’re worried about the girl’s condition...then we’ll just get rid of the creature.”

Neither Sio nor Adam could respond; what Tell said made sense, but it was shocking to think the hunter who appeared to be on good terms with this Choir member would turn face against his friend so quickly. Then again, who could say for certain whether or not Tell and Nostradamus were truly friends? In Yharnam, ‘friends’ and ‘companions’ were loose terms, often lacking the finer points of their true meanings. It could very well be the two simply decided to work together on the mutual basis of information exchange; as soon as the situation shifted, there was no need to uphold any sort of honor or obligation.

“Th, that’s...possible, but...why are you helping us? I thought this Nostradamus was your friend,” Adam muttered, exchanging wary glances between the other two, though the blindfold made it impossible to determine Nostradamus’ true feelings. “Just who are you anyway? Why d’you care about what happens to the rest of us?”

“That’s insignificant; but if you must, consider me as someone who wants to see this Dream come to an end,” Tell answered simply, striding over and now unsheathing his Bowblade. “Since the girl cannot be in close proximity to the Great One, I will help you. Unless, you think to tackle the creature alone?”

Adam stared at the hand, before reaching out and reluctantly shaking it. “No, I’m fine with that. But what about him,” he jerked his head towards Nostradamus, who remained standing a ways all this time. “He’s not gonna...try an’ stop us or anythin’, is he? From the sounds of it, The Choir reveres these things...”

Tell shook his head slightly. “No; Nostradamus may be a member of the Choir, but he also understands the Truth; possibly better than anyone else. Why do you think he has survived all this time? I know you do not trust me fully, Adam Muirhead—as you rightly should. But I can guarantee on my life, no harm will befall Miss Ogura nor will Nostradamus attempt to dissuade us.”

“...Very well...I’ll trust you, but just this once, Tell...you wrong about any of it, and I’ll run a stake through you myself.”

The archer nodded. “Fair enough. Get ready, then. As soon as you’re prepared, we’ll have to jump down; the elevator is broken.”

As the two men readied their weapons and gear, Adam strode over to the huntress, who was hunched against an old bookshelf, eyes closed in a restless sleep with her cloak wrapped tightly around her. “Oy, Ogura. You feelin’ alright? Should probably take some sedative, just in case...even if yer out of sight, don’t exactly want to take chances with somethin’ that powerful...”

To his surprise she shook her head weakly, eyes furrowing open. “N-No...I, don’t want to keep taking sedatives, unless I have to...ooh,” she moaned as another pulse of pain shot through her head, Adam looking on in great concern. “D-Don’t worry about me, Adam...I’ll, be fine, I promise...the sooner you and Tell take care of that, thing...the sooner we can go back, and I’ll be better...”

“Sio...! Tch...” Though he knew she was right, that taking unnecessary blood ministrations would worsen her reliance on them, her strained visage worried him greatly. “Alright...but promise me, if yeh feel like it’s about to burst, then take it, alright?” Sio nodded, and he left the extra bottle by her side, alongside a molotov cocktail. “An’ take this, just in case...I know Tell had that whole speech about Nostradamus not interferin’ an’ all, but we can’t be careless...”

“I, I know...don’t worry Adam, I can handle myself up here. You be careful, too; I have a feeling, this Great One...she’s even more powerful than Rom. E-Even if, you aren’t as affected by frenzy...who knows what they’re really capable of.”

He nodded silently, before pulling her into a quick embrace. “I’ll be careful. I swear to god, I am not dying here. You just sit tight, an’ we’ll be back soon.” Pulling his balaclava up and settling the hunter’s cap back on his head, Adam joined Tell at the edge of the balcony, the archer having split his weapon into its bow form. Nostradamus stood off to the side, staring what seemed to be into nothing.

“Well, better get started.” The two men shared a glance, before leaping off onto the floor below. The floor was surprisingly wet, Adam’s boots nearly ankle-deep in the fetid water as they slowly splashed towards a massive, quivering mound of glowing tentacles and undulating false eyes growing from her wings. Even without engaging in a direct line of sight however, Adam could tell this Great One exerted far greater Insight than Rom; the close they got, the more his head ached as well, and strange whispers seemed to hover around his ears, even though Tell was silent the whole time.

‘Damn...better watch myself and take a sedative soon, otherwise the frenzy’ll be fatal...’

The Altar of Despair... Adam’s first thought was it was certainly appropriately named; grotesque statues (or were they) of villagers and worshipers scattered in different states of disrepair, some bent over in prayer while others seemed to be bemoaning some unseen horror. At the center was a strange rock, with eye-like craters that had candles stuck inside them...as they circled the alter Adam realized where he’d seen this creature before.

“Rom?! It can’t be...I thought we killed her...” Adam breathed in hushed tones as the two men walked closer to what had to be Ebritias, though she made no move. “An’ this big one, doesn’t seem interested in us either...yet. Just like Rom...”

“Rom? Are you referring to the other Great One you and Miss Ogura encountered?” Tell cast him a questioning glance. “As Nostradamus said, most Great Ones tend to be more sympathetic towards humans...although I’ve no doubt they will defend themselves, if provoked.”

“Yeh, the girl an’ I, we encountered her at the bottom of the lake, in Byrgenwerth...was after her defeat all this weird shit started happenin’,” Adam muttered, unsure of what to make of this Rom-like alter. “Arg...my head...” A sudden stab of pain that caused a temporary deafness, forcing him to uncork a bottle of sedative. “Damn, didn’t think the frenzy would be this bad...”

“Then we’ve no more time to waste. I will keep my distance Muirhead, and leave the melee range to you.” Without even waiting for a response the marksman darted back, leaving Adam to stare at the glowing, hulking creature, its eyes blinking curiously. Sighing heavily, Adam charged up the Stakedriver, getting ready to unleash the charge attack.

“Let’s get this over with.” ------ Even before the otherworldly shriek rose up from below, Sio knew the two men had engaged Ebritias. Though she hadn’t lied to Adam, the truth was if they didn’t finish this battle soon, she might very well lose her sanity past the point of no return. Being in constant contact with the Great One, and even encountering their smaller kin earlier outside—her head throbbed incessantly as she stared at the sedative, wondering just how long she could hold out, and if the medicine would even help at this point. ‘Damn it...why does it have to be like this? Why am I the only one so affected by all this? Is it because I’m not from Yharnam...’

“You seem unwell, Mademoiselle.” She jerked around at the unexpected voice, Nostradamus having been entirely silent until now. “Perhaps you should take a sedative soon?”

“N-No...I-I mean, if I have to...but, I’d rather not until then...” She wiped the sweat from her forehead, trying to sound more certain than she really was. Though she had a feeling there was no use in trying to hide much from Nostradamus; as he said earlier, just because the man was blindfolded didn’t mean he couldn’t see. “I-If, this exposure to Insight is reducing my beasthood...then at least there’s something to be gained.”

“True, the forces of kin and beast counteract each other. Is that why you came here? To find the fabled paleblood? You’re an outsider, aren’t you?”

Sio didn’t answer; she had a feeling Nostradamus knew already, anyway. The more she tried to understand what Yharnam was about, the creatures they hunted and why this cycle existed, the less she seemed to understand. Her history books made it sound simple enough: the town of Yharnam was plagued by an endemic blood disease that turned people into bloodthirsty beasts, which in turn were eradicated by skilled hunters. But then there was the addition of the Church, who, one the surface seemed to be administering these miraculous cures made from blood, but now after wandering around for so long and picking up what snatches of gossip she could, it seemed that was all a scam—for while the blood could provide cures, it also brought healthy people ever closer into becoming a beast themselves.

“...I wonder, why these Great Ones are so interested in us. If we’re so insignificant to them, then why do they try to make us understand them...”

To her surprise Nostradamus sat down next to her, seemingly unconcerned by the sounds of combat below. “That, I cannot be certain; despite my studies, I have never successfully communed with another Great One.”

“But I thought you learned a lot from Ebritias?”

He nodded. “Yes, but...it is not communicating in the sense that I am having dialogue with her. She...’passes’ me information, but it is up to me to make sense of it. And I admit, there are times where my mind is just as baffled as yours, Mademoiselle Ogura. The Great Ones, they were the source of the Old Blood; the original blood ministrations that let the Church rise to its prominence. Master Wilhem always said to ‘fear the Old Blood’, that mis-use will lead to great tragedy, and yet...it was our carelessness that led to the beasts in the first place.”

“Wait, what are you saying?” Sio was taken aback by this revelation. “Are, are you saying...it was the Great Ones who created the beasts in the first place?”

“Non, not the Great Ones. Us humans, driven by greed and arrogance; for using the Old Blood in blood ministrations will eventually cause humans to turn into beasts, despite their miraculous healing prowess. And thus the Healing Church recognized a need to keep this fatal mistake a secret, leading to the creating of the hunters—led by the First Hunter, Robert Capa. And now the Church has splintered into many different factions, each with their own goals and regards for the Old Blood and Great Ones: we the Choir, who faithfully adhere to Master Wilhem’s teachings and look into our own selves for Insight; the School of Mensis, who broke off and are determined to commune with the Great Ones at the cost of their sanity; Master Laurence, who disregarded Master Wilhem’s adage and used the Old Blood to further the metamorphosis, in his own way to transcend humanity...” Nostradamus shook his head, slowly rising up from the floor. “Non, Mademoiselle Hunter. It is the weakness of mankind that created this nightmare.”

The huntress couldn’t answer to that. Good and bad, right or wrong...in the end, those were human concepts forced upon a world that contained more than them. “I think, I understand more, now...thank you for telling us what you know, Nostradamus. I’m kind of surprised you’d do so...after being here for so long, I can’t exactly say Yharnam’s a friendly place.”

“My wish is to learn and spread the Truth, that is all.” Nostradamus answered quietly. “Though, I am glad you were able to make use of my knowledge.”

Just then an roar shook the entire building, Sio fearing for a second the flimsy railing would fall apart. “Aagh! Wh-what’s going on down there...!” Slowly she crawled over to the edge, careful not to fall off. Below, two figures were darting among what had to be Ebritias: a giant head with eye stalks and wings, just like the illustration in the book. The entire floor was littered with blood and some other fluid Sio couldn’t discern, with streaks of arcane magic bouncing around as the two continued to subdue it.

“Oh no, watch out—!” But there was nothing she could do from her position except watch helplessly as a giant, whip-like tentacle swung through the air, flinging both men against the stone wall. “Adam!” The building shook again, this time knocking down the huntress as her equipment scattered about her. ‘No, I have to...help them!’ She desperately felt around for her gun, only to realize it had rolled away during the tremors. “Nostradamus! Pass me the gun!”

“...I am afraid I cannot do that, Mademoiselle.” Oblivious to Sio’s look of shock, the man only stood and watched, despite the cathedral beginning to crumble. “I cannot and will not interfere; that goes both ways.”

“Tch...nevermind!” Ignoring the risk of frenzy, she lunged forward and grabbed her firearm before it rolled of the edge, hanging on to the railing with one hand and firing with the other below to stagger the creature. “Adam! Tell! Get her now!” She saw a mane of white hair glance up briefly at the shot, before diving back in with a charged Stakedriver. A hail of arrows rained from above, Ebritias giving one final cry before it sagged into a motionless heap, turning into tiny particles of light as she slowly disappeared.

“Heh, gotcha...wh-whoa—!” A split second of glory later the railing snapped, sending Sio into a free-fall, limbs flailing as she desperately tried to right herself.

“Adam!”

“What th—oomph!” Just when he’d finally shook all the dirt off his clothes the huntress landed right on his back, sending him face-first into the muck. Again.

“Ow...oh my god, Adam! I’m so sorry—are you okay?!” Ignoring her aching bum, Sio quickly pulled the man back up, wincing as she saw his now mud-covered face, glancing at her with a look that said ‘really’? “I’m sorry! I really didn’t mean it! I didn’t think the railing would break...but, thanks for, er...breaking my fall...ahh, your clothes! Sorry, sorry...!” Sio fussed about him all the while babbling away in her native language, using her cloak to wipe off the grime as best she could.

“...Don’t worry too much, squirt. Just glad you’re not hurt...” Admittedly his ribs were now sore from her literally knocking the air out of him, though Adam supposed he should count himself lucky the girl didn’t weigh very much. “Besides, if yeh hadn’t fired that shot, I wouldn’t be here acting as your cushion.”

Sio grimaced in embarrassment at his comment. “...I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“Nah. I’m tougher than that, squirt.”

“Your timing was impeccable. Especially considering how far you were from the battle...” Tell limped over as well, a couple of nasty scratches on his face but otherwise didn’t seem any worse for wear. “We can safely light the lamp, now.”

“R, Right...” With the rush of adrenaline now fading her headache returned with full force, Sio rubbing her temples in an attempt to ease the pain. “What, what about him? Nostradamus?”

Tell looked up at the second floor where they’d come from. “Nostradamus? I presume he will remain here; he is not a hunter, after all, and here he can continue his studies. Why, did you wish to extend an invitation to him?”

“A-Ah, uh, n-no I was just, wondering...” she muttered, turning away in guilt. In truth, she wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to increase their numbers even more, given the tensions lately and multitude of factions in their group. Then again, it seemed cruel to just leave him behind in a place like this, especially since he didn’t seem to harbor any ill will.

“C’mon squirt, let’s get going. You shouldn’t stay here any longer than necessary,” Adam reproached, guiding the girl towards the lamp. “If that fella wants t’ come, it’s his choice. We shouldn’t force it.”

Sio wanted to say something but decided against it; Adam was right, no matter how much she wished for everyone to get along and work together, she knew reality didn’t work that way. If anything, they should be glad Nostradamus wasn’t outright hostile towards them, like so many others.

Just as the light was about to swallow them something flew through the air, Sio whipping her hand to her neck, only to come away wet with blood. “What th—”

“Tch, a miss...what a pity, could’ve ended it painlessly.”

She didn’t even have time to react before the blow to her head, sending her sprawling to the ground. Dimly she could hear Adam and Tell’s confused yells, before more shouts and the sound of metal weapons clashing against each other...groaning, the huntress tried to right herself, but her vision and hearing were still blurry from being struck by a blunt force, blood dripping down her cheek from the wound. “What’s...going, on...”

“Sio! Leave the girl alone you bastard!”

“Ah but Muirhead, you of all people should know, the real danger she possesses...”

“Fuck you Mirza!”

Mirza? ‘He’s here...? No, he must’ve followed us...! Back in the Hunter’s Dream, he must have overheard our conversation with William Tell...’ Fear threaded itself throughout her body, Sio stumbling half-blind as she groped frantically for her weapons. Just as she finally got a handle on her Rifle Spear, a boot stomped right on her fingers, Sio screaming with pain as the bone cracked.

“Tsk tsk tsk, Miss Sio Ogura...I did ask, what a sweet thing like you was doing, playing hunter in a place like this...” Dark eyes glowed malevolently, as Sio finally came face to face with Mahesh Mirza. “You should’ve stayed behind like a good girl, and not come to Yharnam..."

“Nnng...y-you, bastard...! What do you want?! I haven’t done anything to you!” She desperately tried not to cry, though the pain was almost unbearable. The huntress tried looking for either Adam or Tell from the corners of her eyes, but they were nowhere to be seen; panic crept into her veins, Sio staring wide-eyed at the hunter who revealed his true colors at last.

“Not yet; you think I’m that stupid to not realize your blood sickness? After all my specialty is ferreting out and assassinating those who are about to turn, in the name of the Healing Church...and you my dear, are as close as I’ve ever seen in all my years on the job.”

#documentation #hunt or be hunted #//WOW #//like i'm very sorry #//didn't have inspiration for a while #//so i ended up working on other fics #//but then when i do get ideas it's like full steam ahead lololol #//mirza fans dont' hate me pls

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clownsgobeepbeep · 7 years ago

Text

Mr. Gray and Mr. Wise:Pt.1(Pennywise/ Robert Gray x Reader)

Pt. 1: Smalltown Girl

Masterlist

Words:3089

Derry 1987

The rain poured and poured heavily onto the small town of Derry, Maine that had its streets empty: without any cars nor people running around, especially due to the curfew that was put upon them.

The watch on a little girl's hand read 7:03 pm which would have made everybody wonder why she was out so late and alone, especially on a rainy day like this one. She giggled to herself as her ivory boots splashed in the puddles she encountered, jumping onto every one of them.

There was a certain puddle that was larger than the rest, large enough to spot it from a block away, and the little girl made her new mission to reach the puddle by traveling on the smaller ones that lead to it.

With a loud, gleeful laugh, the child hopped and landed on a small puddle that made her grin before she did the same to another one that was nearby, and then to another.

Not too far away from the girl's location was where you stood underneath a house that a family had moved out of not so very long ago. You squinted your eyes as you felt a few of the rain's droplets land onto your face and clothes and noticed the girl jumping on the puddles, wondering what kind of parents she must be having to be letting her stay out during such circumstances.

"Ey miss, where do you want this couch?"You snapped your attention behind you to face one of the moving helpers and you glanced inside your new home.

"Right in the living room, on the right side please."the man nodded before you looked back at the girl and noticed that she was still splashing around innocently without a care of the dangers you heard of when first visiting Derry.

"Wait up,R-R-Richie!"

"Aw Bill, just hurry it up! Even Eds is faster than you are!"

"I don't know is that was supposed to be a compliment or not, but shut the fuck up Richie." Three boys ran across one of the streets as they were on their way to school, which they were currently late to. "I bet because you two couldn't hurry up Stan already beat us to class!"

"C-calm down Eddie, it's n-n-not like we're that late."

"Your own little brother is probably already there,he's a lot much more responsible than you Billy!"

Said high school boys held onto their backpacks before the one named Eddie stopped in his tracks to reach into his fanny pack which contained his inhaler. He unzipped the pack before taking it out and pressing it to his mouth to take a deep breath before running to catch up with his friends.

You parked your car in front of the parking lot where a huge sign reading "DERRY POLICE DEPARTMENT: REMEMBER THE CURFEW 7 PM" which instantly made you raise your eyebrow in confusion, though you were interrupted from your thoughts when you heard yelling and possibly arguing behind you.

"Jesus Bill!Hurry the fuck up you turtle!"

"Shut up Richie!"

You noticed that there was a group of three boys that was obviously racing to get to the school as one of them struggled to breathe and one constantly yelled out things that would be considered "trash talking". The boys were about to increase their pace once their eyes landed on the building, but all three had skidded to a complete stop before they could crash right into you.

"G-g-g-good morning miss."the one who appeared to be their sort of ringleader stuttered out as the other two gazed at you. "Are you n-n-n-"

"Are you new around here? Cause I'm Richie Tozier and I could show you around here pretty lady!"

This emitted a sweet chuckle which made the boys smile before you placed a hand on 'Richie's hair' and stroked it in the the most gentle way.

"Aw honey,call me in ten years."you jokingly said before turning your attention to the school. "And yes, I am quite new around here. There's a chance that I'll be applying to be one of the teachers here, or possibly the elementary school."

"Are you going to be one of the kindergarten teachers?"the one wearing a fanny pack asked as his watch let out beeping sounds,you noticed that he reached into the small backpack to take out a few pills that he most likely took as medication.

"If the principal here decides that I am most needed in that area, yes. If otherwise, I could end up being your science teacher."

"And w-w-what's your name?I'm B-B-Bill Denbrough, this is Eddie Kaspbrak and you know R-Richie."

"You'll all know me as Miss (L/N), and I'll let you all in on my first name if you promise not to tell anybody."

"With Richie's big trash mouth here,there's no possible way that'll happen."Eddie claimed before being lightly punched by his friend.

"Hmm,well I guess you guys will have to figure that out yourselves then."you grinned before peering down at your watch, then letting out a slightly nervous chuckle. "Shouldn't you boys,um...get to class? It's already 8:13..."

"Oh crap!"Richie shouted as his big looking eyes widened more along with his friends' own, so all the boys dashed away and rushed up the stairs that lead to the school's front door. "See ya around Miss (L/N)!"

You waved at the boys with a smile, slightly hearing Richie mention how he'd "finally get to have a hot teacher" before his friends told him to shut his mouth.

"Alright Miss (L/N),I do believe you have yourself a job here! You seem to be the perfect teacher Derry's been needing for quite the while, especially with all the chaos that's been happening."the principal, or your new boss, announced as he shook your hand.

"Um,chaos?"

"Oh, I guess you haven't heard of it all,hmm?"the principal stood up before he walked over to one of his file cabinets and pulled it open to take out a file containing a few papers which he handed to you and you took. You opened the folder to see papers labeled "MISSING" with pictures of young teens who all smiled in their frames as if they weren't marked with that large word.

"W-what's all this?"you stammered before glancing up at the man who was once again seated in his large chair.

"Those are just the few children that have gone missing throughout the year or so. You see Miss (L/N), several others have disappeared without a trace,far too many which is why the Police Department has created the 7 o'clock curfew to prevent anymore of that."

"I see...is there,um...anything else I should know about Derry?"

"Oh no, that's all that there is to worry about miss. There really is nothing else to fear." he assured you, making it quite obvious yet discreet that he did not want to frighten away his newest teacher after the last one had gone missing, unbeknownst to you.

And deep down inside, you had a gut feeling that there probably was something else going on around little Derry.

Snapping back to reality, you blinked a few times before looking over at the girl again as she continued doing what she had been doing before you went into dreamland. Right away, your worrisome thoughts were interrupted when you heard the sound of a loud crash inside your new abode.

"What was that!?"you asked a bit too loudly when turning your head to only glance, worried about the girl.

"Uh,nothin' miss!"

Quite unsure and not too trusting of your hired helpers, you looked one last time at the girl before you spun your body to run inside your house where you found a pair of the workers surrounding a box on the ground, containing what was left of your dishware which made you groan in irritation.

"Oh, her name,right…if I heard correctly, I do believe it’s…”

If his ears were like his eyes, he would say that everything was a complete blurr. Everything else was so clear and easy to remember, except her name...

Her name...what the hell was her name? God,he couldn't remember her damn name despite the several times he whispered it to himself late at night...or every time he saw her…or just when his mind could only focus on her beautiful eyes that brightened his day...

Was it...no,that was too far off. Or maybe not? He had no idea where to even start, with which letter her name could have begun with or with which it ended. And the disgusting, slobbering sounds were unfortunately of no help to him.

"If you don't like it Bobby boy, then you can just go home."

'How in the world do you expect me to do just that,huh?'

"I dunno, figure it out. Just let me eat this meat without having to hear you ask yourself what your little girlfriend's stupid name was."

'I'll do that when you let me think without having to hear you slobber all over my suit and drool everywhere.'

The being that talked to Robert rolled its eyes before it opened its jaw to sink its fangs right into a piece of mysterious meat it held in between its black claws which made Robert gag.

'I can taste that garbage!Take a break from it already!'

"Does poor Bobby not like the taste of human meat,hmm? It's a shame, I thought he'd be used to it by now."

'Shut it Pennywise,that amount of years is still not enough to get used to your disgusting mannerisms. Can't we just take a break from the meat and move onto something else?'

"I told you Bobby, if you're not having fun just leave!Wait a minute, you can't!Wa-ha!"

The being who claimed itself to be Pennywise had slapped the side of its head which resulted in it hearing an 'Ow!'sound from inside of its own mind, obviously being emitted from Robert who was without the ability to perform any sort of action.

'If we can't stop eating the meat, can you at least take us home? I'd rather be in my broken down house than in these filthy sewers.'

"Our, broken down house Bobby, our."

'Despite you being in control of my body, that house does not belong to you Pennywise.'

"I am you, so yes it does indeed sonny. We share the same body because I found you the suitable vessel, especially with such a happy little lifestyle where you ate your revolting chocolate away with-...hmm,I'm not going to tell you her name...Hee hee."

Robert Gray, now being only the consciousness of the alien creature that overtook his body, theoretically rolled his eyes as the physical creature bit into the meat once again and made him sigh in defeat. The alien creature who loved to be called Robert's stage name, and stole said name, hummed contently before it finally finished eating the gross meat it had hunted down earlier. With the back of its dirtied and formerly white glove, it wiped its red lips before licking and smacking them loudly. It stood up from its crouched position and shook its body like a just bathed dog which made its costume's bells jingle loudly, thus making it giggle. The creature, in the form of Robert's clown self, stretched and cracked its joint which easily made its other personality hiss in pain.

"Alright Bobby,I'll be merciful just this one and take us home...but first, little ol Pennywise has to get himself a snack on the way!" Once again, Robert felt his eyes roll before he finally spoke up again.

"Please...just don't kill another innocent child."

"Oooh, please don't kill another innocent child! Oh no!"the creature mocked before it made its body fall onto its hands and knees before it crawled away from its lair that Robert had to accustom himself to over the past 86 years. He let out a sigh and "followed along" as his individual mind wandered to a distant memory that made him feel at ease, and was strong enough to make the creature smile with him.

"Stop doing that."

'Doing what?'

"Thinking of the girl, it affects me physically I could almost barf up my dinner."

The creature purposely turned its directions to ram its head against one of the tunnel's walls so that it would affect Robert when it passed on its pain to him.

"How about you think of how happy your poor, miserable life would have been if I hadn't come along?That'll bring a genuine smile to my face."

Silence.

"That's what I thought, now make sure that you keep your mouth shut because my little, reindeer nose has caught a familiar scent...near the trap I place near our den."

The creature scurried through the tunnel it was currently in before hearing the voice of a little girl who was unknowingly approaching a sewer drain.

"Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clement's. You owe me five farthing's, say the bells of St. Martin's-"

The little girl paused her serenading when she found herself on a miniature puddle that would finally lead her to the large one she so eagerly awaited. Her toothless smile let out a giggle before she bent her knees as if to charge an attack, then leaping up so that she could land on the water.

"I did it!I reached the-"

"Hiya kiddo!"the girl jumped back in surprise with wide eyes that stared at the sewer drain she had not noticed before. With worried eyes, she took out a small breath before two blue eyes appeared along with a buck toothed grin painted red.

"Why are you all alone little one?"

"I...my friends are at home and my big brother went out with Sarah..."

"Who's Sarah?"

"His...his girlfriend..."

"Oooh, I see! He'd rather be with Sarah than you, yes?"

"..."

'Pennywise, leave the child be. You can already tell she goes through enough.'Robert finally spoke up which cause the creature to shake its head.

"Little Lily loves Large Lucas who loves Silly Sarah instead...wouldn't it be sad if Lucas...left you to be with her?" The girl,Lily, lowered her head before the clown opened its mouth to speak again. "What if I told you, I could bring your big brother back to you,hmm?"

Lily glanced at the clown who lifted a hand to motion her to come closer to him, so she got onto her hands and knees to listen to whatever he was about to say, until-

"Hey! What are you doing there?"a voice called from afar which made the little girl turn her head to the side and saw a young woman walking towards her at a fast yet careful pace, making sure she did not slip. "Honey, get up from there. You shouldn't be out here all alone."

Pennywise lowered himself with a yellow eyed glare so that whoever it was spoke to the girl was not able to spot it, then seeing her get up from her current position to speak to the person.

"I-I-I was playing in the rain and j-jumping on the puddles...and..."the girl replied before another pair of boots stepped in front of her.

"Well, next time try to do that when you're with an adult or with friends, okay? Now, come along. Where is your house?" the young woman asked as she kneeled down to meet the girl's height and fix her soaked hair. "What's your name?"

"Lily and um...um...I'll show you...but..."

"But what? Did you lose something in the drain,Lily?"

"No...there was a clown, and he was talking to me about my brother and-and his girlfriend, Sarah."

The woman furrowed her eyebrows as her hands gripped the girl's shoulders before she took a quick glimpse of the drain, realizing that the girl may have just been scared out of her mind.

"Well Lily,I'll take a real quick look at the drain and I can assure you that there is absolutely nothing or nobody in there,okay?"Lily's eyes glanced to the sewer hole before they landed on the woman's kind face again and she nodded her head. "If you're scared, just stand back."

The woman approached the drain and got on all fours to actually make sure that there was no rude teenager pulling a prank on the innocent girl, then carefully sticking one of her arms inside of the hole before waving it around as Lily watched in anticipation.

"See honey?Nothing in there. Now let's take you home." the female said as she stood up from her position and wiped her hands on her jeans before removing her raincoat and placing it on the younger girl's shoulders, despite already having one. She then extended her arm so that Lily could take it before they began walking away, never realizing that the clown from before slid back up to have a better view of this strange woman.

"By the way Lily, my name is (Y/N), but you can call me Miss (L/N). Do you go to Derry Elementary?"

"Yes."

"Oh good!Looks like I'll be seeing you there,I'm one of the new teachers!"And as they continued to walk, they held a conversation as they completely forgot about the sewer drain and Lily led (Y/N) to wherever it was her home was.

"This is all your fault Bob, you messed it all up somehow."

Complete quietude.

"Bob?...Bobby?...Robert?You still in there you airhead?"

The other consciousness still had no reply.

"Ah, now you remain quiet, eh? Only yapping your mouth when it benefits you, though nothing ever seems to be in your favor."Pennywise cracked its neck before it peered out of the sewer drain to check if the woman was near or not. "Who even was she? Her witch voice sounded far too different from all the females in this sad town,might she be new?"

And considering how both being shared the same mind, the creature looked into Robert's thoughts as somehow...there was an uncomfortable beating in their shared chest.

"What…what even is her name?

"Oh, her name,right…if I heard correctly, I do believe it’s…”

'Her name...it's (Y/N)."

#pennywise x reader #pennywise imagine #robert gray x reader #robert gray imagine #bob gray #mr. gray and mr. wise

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caffedrine · 7 years ago

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Impressions - Day Dream Lover Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – The Sleepy Mouse’s Gift

It’s a long chapter, which I think could have been broken down into at least two shorter chapters. But we finally are introduced to Pierce, the other character on the cover!

As a quick reminder, the last chapter ended with Gray discovering Alice and Nightmare are sleeping together. Like the game, they’re not actually having sex, they’re just sleep-sleeping together. However, Gray thinks the former is going on.

This chapter starts three time periods later with Alice finding Gray with a small library of wedding catalogues that he wants to go over together with her. He is leaning towards a garden wedding, but he is concerned that Nightmare is too weak to handle direct sunlight. Alice is bewildered by this sudden development, and eyes the catalogues that include honeymoon destination spots.

Meanwhile, Gray is still talking about how Nightmare won’t have to do anything for this wedding since as the bride Alice will be the focus of everyone’s attention. Besides, Nightmare loves ceremonies and formal dress, so he doubtlessly won’t object to any of Alice’s desires. All Alice has to do is say what her desires are, and Gray will make certain that it will be done.

Alice wonders what she should do, Gray is obviously excited about their upcoming wedding. This is the happiest she’s seen Gray since she met him, and now she wonders how she can turn him down without breaking his spirit. Gingerly, she asks if Gray doesn’t think things are proceeding a bit quickly. Gray does give her that before saying that it’s about time for them to settle down.

He tells her not to worry about Nightmare, Gray will personally make certain that she wants for nothing for the rest of her life. He will make certain that her wedded life will be stress and worry free.

Alice thinks that this would all be really great if Gray was the one to whom she was getting married. But no, they’re talking about her and Nightmare.

Yes, marrying Nightmare would do wonders for her social status, and she has no doubt that her married life will be stable. However, the tremendous responsibility of being wife and parent to a near-terminally ill man-child makes her hesitate. Someone else should be his wife.

Alice points out that a major obstacle to marrying Nightmare would be the fact that he’s shown no sign of interest in her. Gray is confused, they’re . . . er . . . dating . . . so they obviously must be interested in each other. He assures her that while Nightmare is lazy, he has no doubt that marriage would transform him into a responsible man who will take care of her.

Nightmare comes up behind Alice and announces that he doesn’t mind the idea of marrying her. But more importantly, why was she thinking about marrying Gray?

Gray is shocked by this development, and Alice awkwardly explains that she was just thinking that Gray would make a more realistic husband than Nightmare. Nightmare is not pleased with this, and Gray begins to consider the possibility. He asks if she really thinks he would make a good husband, and Alice assures him she does.

Nightmare dives between the two of them and demands that they stop looking at each other. He’s the boss, he gets priority, and no one is going to get married before he and Alice do!

Flatly, Alice tells Nightmare that he’s not going to get married until after he goes to the hospital and gets healthy. Gray agrees, Alice won’t be interested in marrying a dying man who won’t survive the wedding. Alice lights up, this is the perfect way to avoid marrying Nightmare. She adds that he can’t just be healthy enough to survive the wedding, he has to regularly go to the doctors’, get all of his injections, drink all of his medicine, be monitored by those doctors all throughout, and after all that she might consider the possibility of marrying him.

Nightmare looks like he thinks that Alice has just betrayed him. Even so, Alice doesn’t think that she’s done anything wrong. She would be genuinely happy if Nightmare was a little bit healthier even if they don’t get married.

Gray is thrilled with this new development. He announces that Alice is right, Nightmare needs to come with him to the hospital before they go any further with the wedding planning.

Nightmare screams at them that a hospital is too scary and he refuses to go. Alice tells Nightmare that means that they won’t get married. Besides, this is a bad omen for the marriage, if he won’t respond to a simple request from his future wife.

Gray laughs and begins to drag Nightmare off, presumably towards the nearest hospital.

***

The rumors of her upcoming marriage have spread throughout the tower, and all the employees are congratulating Alice for her upcoming nuptials with Nightmare. Alice can’t stand much of this, and runs away to the forest to think in private. She is thankful that unlike the urbanized nature of the Country of Hearts, the Country of Clover has a mix of nature and urban areas.

Alice heads to the forest and marvels over how different it is from the Amusement Park that used to be in the area. She mopes for a bit over Gowland, which naturally leads her towards the doors. She starts to hear the doors call her name, only to be interrupted by Boris. In case we forgot, Boris used to live at the Amusement Park, but was shunted with mostly everyone else to the Country of Clover and now resides in the forest. Alice doesn’t really understand why, but she gave up on answering that question long ago.

Boris notes that Alice has a very angry expression and asks if something’s wrong. Alice thinks about her looming possible marriage to Nightmare and is relieved that Boris hasn’t heard the rumors. She changes the subject to Boris and his living situation. She still doesn’t understand why he’s so calm after becoming basically homeless.

Boris explains that he has a new and fun game to play. In fact, he’s playing it right now, and in a moment or two he’ll catch his target. He promises to bring it back alive to Alice so that she can see for herself. Before she can object, Boris runs off and disappears into the forest.

Shortly afterwards, Pierce crawls out of some nearby bushes, happy that Boris has finally left. Alice thinks that she now knows what Boris was talking about earlier. Alice gives Pierce a handkerchief to wipe his forehead, and he’s happy to be the recipient of her kindness. So happy, that he’s going to give her a present. Alice tells him not to worry about that, and to go and hide before Boris comes back.

Pierce has the perfect idea, they can hide together in his home. Boris can’t enter, so they’ll both be safe from the cat. All they have to do is drink this bottle of medicine Pierce has on him.

Alice still has lingering trauma from drinking out of medicine vials and tries to decline. To make matters weirder, a voice from the vial starts telling her to drink it. Completely weirded out, Alice moves to leave the area.

Pierce starts cajoling her to drink the medicine, similar in a manner to the way Gray has been cajoling Nightmare to drink his medicine. After listening to both Pierce and the medicine vial, Alice gives in and takes a drink.

After Alice drinks it, she feels completely disorientated, though physically she’s fine. At the very least, it doesn’t feel like the time Peter made her drink the medicine after she first arrived in the Country of Hearts.

Alice realizes that the reason she feels disorientated is that she is very small right now. As in, small enough to fit into a pocket. Pierce happily agrees that she is, he wasn’t entirely sure that the medicine would work on outsiders, but there she is. Now, they can go to his home.

Alice is upset at this surprise change in events and demands that Pierce make her normal sized again. Pierce is surprised at how angry Alice is getting, and starts looking through his pockets. As he does so, Alice wonders why this sort of thing always happens to her.

Eventually Pierce admits that they have a bit of a problem, he can’t find the antidote. He thinks he must have dropped it somewhere, and starts panicking. Alice tries to calm him down and ask if he can just buy more.

Pierce . . . cant. It’s a very rare antidote, and shops rarely have it in stock. He falls to his knees and starts crying. Then he abruptly stops, he’s had a great idea. Alice can just live with him forever in his home. That will solve everything!

It takes the rest of the time period, but Alice is eventually able to nag Pierce into bringing her back to the Tower of Clover.

Gray immediately wants to know what the hell happened, forcing Alice to admit that she took some strange medicine from Pierce. Pierce objects to that description of his medicine.

To Alice’s surprise, Gray looks happy, like a little girl looking at a baby kitten. He reaches out towards her, only to be stopped like Nightmare. Gray promises that he wasn’t going to be rough with her, but Nightmare tells Gray he knows that he had wicked intentions. Alice immediately defends Gray, who in her estimation is far less wicked that Nightmare.

From her vantage point on Pierce’s palm, she can see Nightmare’s face go paler and bluer. Next to him, Gray seems to be the picture of health, vibrant and handsome. Nightmare complains that the most wicked one here is Alice herself.

Reluctantly, Gray asks Pierce when he’s planning on giving Alice the medicine to return her to normal size. Pierce stammers and tells them that he doesn’t know. Gray’s eyes grow sharp and asks what Pierce means by that. Doesn’t Pierce understand that if he keeps Alice like this forever, he’s going to become the number one enemy of both Nightmare and the Country of Clover?

Pierce squeaks and cringes away, but Gray doesn’t relent. He tells Pierce that his affiliation with the Hatter Family means little to them, and even if it means war between their two factions, they will eventually punish him for this.

Pierce starts crying in terror, and Nightmare intercedes. He tells Gray that he thinks Pierce isn’t refusing to give the antidote to Alice, it’s just not possible at this very moment. Grateful, Pierce promises that he will give Alice the antidote as soon as he can.

However, Nightmare isn’t done. While he does consider himself a very generous and gentle lord, he wants Alice cured as soon as possible. Until Pierce supplies them with the antidote, ever dream he has will be full of hungry cats all going for him. No matter how far he runs, or how cleverly he hide, thousands of cat will stalk him in his dreams.

Gray smiles at that, and admits that he would welcome that kind of dream.

Pierce is horrified and begs Nightmare to reconsider. Nightmare tells him to cure Alice and he will happily give Pierce his preferred pleasant dreams.

Alice is too shocked at seeing this side of Nightmare to say anything. Pierce rushes out of Nightmare’s office, leaving her behind on the desk.

After he leaves, Gray groans while bringing his hand to his head. This is horrible, all of his plans for Nightmare and Alice’s wedding are ruined! If they go ahead while Alice is in this shape, none of the guests will be able to see her. It will look like Nightmare is delusional and getting married to an imaginary bride.

Nightmare whines at the mental image and even Alice agrees that it would be strange. Gray eventually straightens up and promises Nightmare that he will personally look into an antidote for Alice. Alice’s anger at Pierce is eventually replaced with a feeling of guilt for taking that medicine before she knew what it would do. She wonders how she’ll manage daily tasks such as eating and bathing while she’s in this form.

Nightmare reassures her that they are already looking into getting a custom-made dollhouse for her. Furthermore, he is personally more amused by these events than anything else. More importantly, he still wants to talk to her about Gray’s plans for their marriage. She thinks Nightmare is only going through with this because it will get Gray off his back. Nightmare insists that he really is interested in her, but Alice doesn’t believe him.

Nightmare admits that while he wasn’t specifically thinking of marrying her, he was thinking that she’d make a nice wife.

Alice begins to seriously consider the prospect of marrying Nightmare. He’s weak and whiny and sickly. However, he’s also been her friend since the Country of Hearts, and he knows her better than she knows herself. While he’s one of the nicest people she’s met here, she hardly knows anything about him. In fact, out of everyone she knows in this world, Nightmare is the person she knows the least about.

Nightmare asks her if she wants to marry him, and Alice tells him know. He starts laughing and tells her that he knew she would say that. Sulkily, Alice asks him why he asked if he already knew the answer. Nightmare tells her to brace herself, from now on he’s going to put effort into wooing her. Alice tells him not to get too far ahead of himself, at this point even if she agreed to marry him she wouldn’t be able to wear a wedding dress. Nightmare cheekily tells her that they can just order some custom made doll clothes. In fact, Gray should be contacting a doll maker about making her some extra sets of clothes as well as the dollhouse. Besides, if it means marrying her, he would be willing to have a ceremony that looked like he was being delusional.

Alice crosses her arms and glares at Nightmare. However, with her diminutive size, it lacks any of her normal ferocity and Nightmare only laughs harder.

Later Alice dreams of the time when her boyfriend left her for her sister. Just as she starts wishing she could be more like her older sister, the sound of a book closing echoes and she’s with Nightmare in the dream world.

Alice clings to him, and he soothes her for having such a terrible dream. Alice mumbles something about it not being bad, no dream with her sister can possibly be bad.

Alice realizes that she’s full size and clinging to Nightmare, and immediately lets go of him, looking around curiously. Since when did she get back to being big again?

Nightmare admits that since this is a dream, she can be whatever size she feels like. However, in the real world, she’s still small and tiny. Nightmare tells her that if she feels that self conscious about her size, when they get married they can just do it in the dream. Alice tells him not to do that, it would just annoy all of their guests. Nightmare argues that it’s not his problem if his guests are annoyed at his wedding, they can be as selfish and annoying as they want.

Nightmare moves on, he asks which wedding dress Alice like the most. He thought the mermaid line caught Alice’s attention and asks which one she wants to wear. Alice tells him that she doesn’t remember any of the dresses.

Idly, Alice wonders if Nightmare can invite the people left behind in the Country of Hearts to their dream wedding. Nightmare laughs and promises to bring Julius and Gowland to their wedding as well.

Nightmare suddenly grows grim and tells Alice that he’s happy that she doesn’t have the ability to read his heart. If she did, she’d probably start to hate him. Alice reaches out to tuck Nightmare’s bangs behind his ear and tells him that she doubts she’ll ever be able to hate him. Nightmare notes that she doesn’t find him threatening and reminds her that he’s a guy, and is strong and dangerous in his own way.

Alice tells him that if that’s true, she’ll run away. She wonders if this is some roundabout way of threatening to kill her. Nightmare blanches and starts coughing up blood, he swears he didn’t mean it that way. Alice rubs his back, considering taking him to the hospital. With a glint in his eye, Nightmare asks her if she’ll marry him if he goes to the hospital. Alice growls at him not to involve her in his personal failings.

However, Alice feels like she is starting to understand Gray just a little bit. Like him, she can’t bring herself to leave Nightmare alone

***

I still think that scene from the game where Alice thinks that Gray is asking her to marry him instead of Nightmare is one of the funnier scenes. I think the author tried to replicate it a little bit, but it sounded like Alice was aware the entire time that they were talking about her and Nightmare’s marriage.

More importantly, I like that the author is going into a different direction that the game, introducing Pierce and the shrinking potion. I find it funny and realistic that Alice has certain apprehensions of drinking mysterious medicine from mysterious bottles in this world. You’d think that would make her more sympathetic of Nightmare, but I guess there is a line between that and refusing medicine while coughing up blood.

I also liked how both Gray and Nightmare operated in reaction to Alice’s new size. Gray definitely came off as threatening, promising to bring the full military weight of their faction down on Pierce and the Hatter Family as need be. Nightmare kind of sounded funny when I was looking at it, but I think it was supposed to be more threatening, as Pierce thought he was the scarier one. I suppose Nightmare’s point is that he knows Pierce’s particular weaknesses.

Next Chapter: Leaving the Tower

#daydream lover #light novel #nightmare gottschalk #Alice Liddell #pierce villiers #Gray Ringmarc #Clover no Kuni no Alice #Alice in the Country of Hearts

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glowgettermomma · 6 years ago

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Stronger than stigma

How often have you been asked, who are you or what do you aspire to become? Or how about the all-time classic, where do you see yourself in five or ten years from now? Now how many of you all envisioned the same big picture yet somehow, deep down inside, there is still a little something missing. I for one, will be the first to admit that through all of my ups and downs of life, I’ve finally discovered a spiritual part of me that I never would have expected to find. A part of me that has woken up my inner goddess and who is ready to let her light shine. I’ve found my love and passion for sharing my voice by writing and spreading positive vibes with all of the wonderfully empowering women in my tribe.

Now ask yourself this. (And when you do, allow yourself to not only challenge your mind but your heart too).

Am I this woman?

Are you that woman silently nodding your head because you can relate to what you’re reading? Are you quietly yelling at yourself because deep down inside you know that you feel the exact same way.

Well, if that’s the case, then you’ve got an incredibly empowering journey ahead of yourself. The only challenge is being able to challenge yourself to find what that missing piece of you is. And once you discover that missing piece, great things will start to happen. And rest assured, that once they do, there is no turning back. WE are going to be those women who will finally make OUR own dreams come true. And WE are going to be those women who won’t be afraid to let the world know who we are. Because as woman, not only are we capable of doing all of these things but we will do it with pride, joy and with absolutely no stigmas or labels attached to our name.

Today we will strip ourselves free of all of those labels and stigmas that have stopped us from blooming, and we will become the voice who will teach females of all ages how to bloom freely and blow our own damn minds away. We will do it with a fearless attitude, determination in our voice, and with absolutely no judgement behind us. It’s about the hustle and bustle ladies and now is the time to do our own damn thing at our own damn pace. And why you ask? Because it’s just about that damn time.

So now I ask you this. Who are you? And don’t worry, you don’t need to answer this one right away. Because while you’ll probably need a second or two to find the answer, it took me almost an entire year. A year of self-challenges, self-love and lots of self-care.

Who am I?

Well, to start, I decided to begin this journey by digging deep and searching for that little girl who used to dream big and send wishes to the nights sky. And once I was able to find that little girl, I allowed myself to remind that teenage girl, who once loved to day dream, to keep on dreaming because her dreams would create such an empowering woman one day. A woman who has learned to take any stigma and any label attached to her name and push them away for good. A woman who is finally not afraid to shine.

It’s time to re-bloom ladies. So why not do it together because I promise you, that once we do, we will all be holding hands shouting out loud to the world, that from this day forward, our future is stigma free.

And to all those bad-vibe-goody-two-shoes who only strive to put you down, let them. Dare them. And sit back and watch as you blow their minds away. Challenge them to challenge you as you now face the new and improved you. The you that you know will become a god damn rock star. The you that is capable and ready to show the world what you are made out of. Ladies its time to throw those damn punches and roll with them at your own damn pace. And don’t you ever let anyone take that power away from you because it’s yours and you’ve earned it. And now, you will finally OWN it.

So how exactly does one live stigma free?

Well, there’s no one right answer, but rather, many great ones.

What and how you choose to do for yourself will be the stepping stone to living a happy and healthy life. Choosing how to react to certain situations will help you push past the stigmas and make a name for yourself. But it all starts with one person, you.

So? Where should you start?

No wait, scratch that and let’s rephrase.

Where should you start How should you start?

Start by asking yourself, who are you? What are your strengths? What inspires you? What drives you? What are your dreams? And build on from there. Then once you’ve gotten to know yourself all over again, tell yourself three positive affirmations and allow yourself to believe in them. Manifest positivity in your life and then keep on repeating. (Do this every single day and you will see how life changing a single positive thought can be).

The idea is to start from the beginning and simply get to know yourself all over again. I know, it sounds kind of silly but think of this as a first date. Except, you’re not meeting anyone on this date, your simply dating yourself.

It’s about pushing past the bullshit no matter what struggles you’ve faced and it’s about taking the old you and allowing yourself to truly see what you can offer the universe rather than what the universe can offer to you. It’s about taking your name and owning it the way all women were meant to do in the first place. But most importantly, it’s about waking up feeling happy and loving the you that faces you in the mirror. And sure you’ll say to yourself, done, easy, no problem. Truth-it’s going to be the hardest most difficult task you’ll ever have to accomplish for yourself. And that task will be impossible to do unless you can honestly say that you truly and unconditionally love yourself.

I love myself.

I love myself? (Yes it always starts as a question before it becomes an affirmation).

When I first asked myself if I did love myself, I came up with all the reasons why life was good.

Not great. Just good.

And to be quite honest, I was so skeptical about this idea of falling in love with myself that I just allowed myself to believe that I was.

But in truth, I wasn’t. Not even a little bit.

And when I started to really take time to focus on my mind and my heart, each day, a little more of me started to shine. And while the journey leading up to this new revelation wasn’t as easy as I anticipated, it was so incredibly empowering. In fact, not only was it empowering, it was absolutely necessary.

If there one thing that I have recently come to learn about myself, it’s that, it’s okay to not be okay. And although this phrase can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different women, it all comes down to the same thing, YOU. How you choose to deal with life and its struggles and what you choose to do to make you become a happier you, will be the beginning of the new and transformed you. And that goddess, will liberate you in all aspects of your life.

It is so important that we remind ourselves of how awesome we truly are because these words alone can potentially change and save a life. YOURS.

Self-Love or self-care? Please do explain this new phenomenon.

As women, we are always running around constantly trying to keep up with our busy schedules and lifestyles. And often times, we forget to take care of ourselves. We tend to neglect our mental and spiritual health and ignore that little neon sign with the words ‘self-care’ flashing over our heads.

Self-care. My new favourite happy word. Ladies, if you will, please allow me the honor to introduce to you, my latest and most exciting new relationship in my life; a relationship with myself. The reason why I now wake up feeling empowered, positive, and happy.

Many can question what self-care really means. But before you can self-care you need to stop and self-love. And it’s as clear as water. You need to start loving yourself no matter where you are in your life.

Stop.

Take a deep breathe.

And love the crap out of yourself.

Once you do that, taking care of yourself will become so easy and instantly a part of your daily routine. In fact, you’ll become so addicted to this new part of our life that you’ll notice it right away if you haven’t stopped to take care of yourself.

It will be at that moment, when you realize the importance of you in your life.

So are you ready to date yourself?

Alright, so now I’m dating myself, sounds kind of strange.

[laughing out loud]

Sure, from a literal point of view, saying those words does sound kind of strange but try listening beyond the words ‘dating myself’ and it’ll all make sense.

In fact, let me simplify it for you right now.

Dating yourself means putting yourself first.

That’s it?

Yup! That’s it!

And I know what you’re thinking. Yeah right! No way! Im-freakin-possible.

How about saying, you’re right! Yes way! And it’s really freaking possible instead.

Putting yourself first isn’t as easy as putting yourself last and as women, we all know how easy it is to neglect ourselves for the sake of other more important priorities. But realistically speaking, the only way that you can put yourself last is if you actually stop caring and loving yourself. And we all know that as woman, mothers, sisters, and any female force in this world, we are simply not programmed to do that. Loving is what we do best. However, for many, myself included, it can and it does happen. Somewhere at some point, we just stop caring for ourselves. We are only human and as humans we live with such high and unrealistic exceptions, and especially for ourselves that putting ourself down or last in line sort of becomes the new ‘normal’. But we can change all of that. We can take this new normal and make it yesterday’s old news.

Ladies, from this day forward, stop, wake up and put yourself first. Drink that cup of hot coffee. Take that long deserving hot shower and girl, put on your makeup and get your behind out there and soak in five minutes of you-time. You’re soul will truly appreciate it. And so will you.

Okay, I get it. Me first. But why? Isn’t that selfish?

Heck no! The second you decide to choose yourself over and above everything else in your life (without neglecting or forgetting what truly is important to you) is the moment where you begin transforming into the newer, better and stronger version of you. Choosing yourself first does not mean you’re neglecting your priorities. It does not mean that you are selfish and it sure as hell does not mean that you get to do this and then feel guilty about it.

Choosing you is allowing yourself to be truly happy which in turn, will make you’re tribe happy. Note to self; your vibe attracts your tribe.

Let today be is the first day where you finally wake up and decide to do something for yourself.

Accepting you as you and only you.

Alright, so I’ve decided that today I’m going to put myself first, but now where do I go from here?

Well, a small yet incredibly powerful but simple task is what will be your starting point, a little simple something called, breathing.

Once, twice, three times or maybe even four. But you do it and you do it with all the right intention in your soul. Manifest positive intention in your soul and allow your vibe to attract what your true being really needs. And I’m not just talking about drinking a glass of water, I’m talking about truly feeding your soul with the right amount of love and light.

And peacefulness.

Sounds kind of iffy, I know. But I kid you not, there is something so incredibly fascinating about taking the time to stop and watch as your life begins to re-bloom right before your eyes. So many great things can come out of just one simple breathe.

Alright so I took a deep breathe, I’m not sure what to expect next?

Expectations are what will fail you from the get go. And when it comes to breathing, and I’m talking about actual five minute a day deep breathing, it’s not as simple as a simple deep breathe. So stop looking for the answer. Let the answer come to you.

Deep breathing is a method that actually needs to be taught and learned.

It took me over 7 weeks to be able to allow my thoughts to calm down while allowing my body to accept my deep breaths. Two years later, meditation has become to saving grace and what’s even more amazing, is that my two and five year old daughters enjoy this peace out time too. It’s now become part of our family bedtime routine.

Deep breathing? Isn’t that in from your nose and out from your mouth?

Sure, if you need to describe that in writing then you’re absolutely correct. However, from a spiritual and physical point of view, it’s more then just those two easy simple steps.

It’s a mater of allowing your body to accept and receive that breath and exhaling it back to the universe when you no longer need it.

It’s about letting your mind pause for a second so that your world can be at peace even if it’s for a split second.

It’s about stopping at a red light and rather then thinking about your to-do list, close your eyes for those few seconds and just breathe.

It’s really all about taking the time to do you by taking care of yourself.

Now while it’s really not that simple of a task, don’t give up. Allow yourself the challenge of teaching yourself how to take care of yourself and to your fullest capacity. It won’t be easy but once you find the ability to do it, you won’t ever want to stop.

Now why is it so essential that you stop and take a breather from time to time. Well, it’s because we too need to stop and ask ourselves, hey girl, how the heck are you today? Have you stopped to drink some water? Have you stopped to express yourself today? Have you stopped and looked around and smiled because you are alive and healthy and well, let’s be damn straight about it, you’re you and you’re pretty freaking awesome.

When was the last time when you stopped to ask yourself how you were truly feeling? Really think about this. I bet your answer is the same as mine was when I first asked myself this exact question.

I don’t know how I feel. That’s what I told myself. And I felt so damn shitty about the fact that I couldn’t even answer my own question that it put me in such a downward spiral that I checked out emotionally in almost all aspects of my life.

And once this happens, it’s very difficult to get yourself back up no matter how much you try. But you can. And you will. Because I did and I’m telling you, so will you.

And this is exactly why we need to breathe. Breathing allows us to stop and appreciate the life that was given to us. The life we deserve to live. And teaching yourself to take some time every day to just stop, disconnect and connect with yourself, will allow you to be whole again.

Interesting. I never thought of it that way.

But now that I’ve tried this technique, Im completely drawn to it. How do I keep up and not get lazy and lose sight of myself again?

It’s actually very simple. Upon waking up in the morning or right before you go to bed, take three deep breaths, tell yourself one positive affirmation and then just breathe.

Trust me when I say that you will actually sense a difference in how your day starts or your night ends and it all begins with stealing a few silent moments for yourself.

Now breathing alone may not be enough to find that little peaceful moment. And thats perfectly okay. What works for me may not work for you and that’s when you keep moving forward and finding that one thing that feeds your soul.

Another self-care method is journaling right before bed, during a new moon or a full moon. Write down your thoughts and keep writing until your words just stop coming to you. Once you’re done, close your journal, take a few good deep breaths and allow yourself a good nights sleep. It’s all about the release and letting things go.

Oh and FYI; there are plenty of amazing apps out there that can help you meditate and calm your breathe and they really do work. My two favourites are Calm and Pacifica. (And they’re free).

But now the real question still remains, and you won’t believe how easy it’ll be to answer that question once you’ve mastered the ability to grab control of your own life. One single breathe at a time.

What will you do with your life now that you’ve re-bloomed into this amazing and incredibly strong woman despite the ‘labels’ attached to it?

Will you stop yourself from being successful because someone decided a woman with anxiety or depression can’t do it.

Will you allow someone to tell you how to live your life because you’re just too darn sad. Or will you grab life by its chains and break free?

So many questions, such little time.

Wrong.

So many questions, lots of time to breathe through every single one of them.

Having to answer all of these questions can be quite overwhelming but allowing yourself the time to think about them isn’t. Each second you allow yourself the time to think about how to make yourself a better person is you getting closer to finally discovering who that woman you face everyday in that mirror really is.

And yes, I’m talking to you about you. The you that has been hidden somewhere inside of you and who is finally ready to make an appearance. LET. HER. OUT!!!

And I promise you, the second that you do, you will finally be ridding yourself of all the ‘stigmas’ and ‘labels’ that have been somehow glued to your being and you will finally become at peace with yourself no matter how long it’s taken you to find this newer better version of yourself.

You will learn to embrace your struggles because they are what have helped you become the strong woman that you are today. You will thank your battles, for they have taught you that you are a warrior. And you will accept your inner demons, because they will become your little constant reminders that you are a survivor and that you can do anything you want.

And keep reminding yourself, because life will happen and shit will get in the way, that no matter what comes your way, you can overcome it because it’s really okay to not be okay. And I absolutely love this saying because it holds so much truth for so many people. So go ahead and be sad and heck, why not let yourself cry it out from time to time. I know I do, and it feels so liberating to be able to do so and not allow anyone to judge me for simply feeling.

So go ahead ladies, FEEL THOSE DAMN EMOTIONS!!

Allow yourself to feel and experience all of those crazy forbidden emotions and then when you do decide to let them out, allow happiness to creep right in. It will boggle your mind when you begin to feel all those other amazing feelings and then out of nowhere, all of those other amazing things will start to happen and that’s when you will shine. It won’t be an easy or quick process, but let me tell you ladies, from personal experience, it’s going to be so invigorating and so liberating but most importantly, so fucking empowering.

To know that you have the power to break through those chains and see the light is what will make you a freaking awesome woman. And no stigma or label will stop you from accomplishing and doing what it is that your heart desires. Anxiety, depression, sadness, anger, BRING IT ON! I dare you to face me in the eyes and try and destroy my hopes and dreams. Because they sure as heck won’t. Ladies, it’s okay to not be okay and I am so freaking okay with that.

Don’t let the pain or fear of the unknown stop you from making your dreams come true. Don’t let the stigmas and labels own you. Don’t allow the outside world to crush your dreams, because without those dreams we have nothing to look forward to. We have nothing to excite us. And we have no vision for what we truly want for ourselves.

Those days of I’m sorry you can’t because… are over. It doesn’t mater what medical condition you have, or if you suffer from a mental illness, or if you’re an overworked and tired mom, what matters is how you chose to let all that affect your personal and professional life.

What centres us is knowing that we can stand up and speak up, we can whisper and cry alone and we can shout it out for the entire world to hear.

It’s okay to not be okay ladies and that is okay with me. Because in the end, we are all stronger then stigma and our future as women is finally stigma free one single breathe at a time.

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pertinax--loculos · 4 years ago

Text

Character Study: Cassidy (2.2)

6. Skill “Alright, so. I believe your professors explained to you why you are here. Does anybody have any questions?”

A young man up the back raised his hand, and Grant tried not to roll his eyes. “Yes?”

“Yeah, uh, mister… sir,” the student stuttered. “I just, I wanted to confirm, I mean… this stuff that you’re asking us to do, it seems kinda… illegal? So I was wondering—”

“I understand that part of your course is indeed learning what is considered ethical and what is not,” Grant interrupted. “And so it’s great that you’ve pointed out that the task you’ve been assigned is, one might say, bending the law. But rest assured, it’s all created just for this purpose. You’re not actually hacking into anything, just a dummy corporation that my employer has created for this very task.”

“Seems an expensive way to talent scout,” a girl in the front row muttered.

Grant resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Any other questions?”

Silence. Grant was just about to set them loose when Vick slowly raised her hand.

“Yes?” he said.

“I, um…” Vick cleared her throat, eyes darting around the room. “I was just wondering, are you expecting us to do this a certain way? Like will your employer automatically discount anybody who uses… less conventional methods to circumvent the security?”

Grant raised his eyebrows. “We actually embrace unconventional methods,” he said. More than you could know. “Out of the box thinking will not be punished. Although I’ll be honest, it’s been a long time since anybody has shown us something truly new.”

Vick’s face hardened a little; determined, but also offended. Interesting.

“Please raise your hand when you believe you have accessed the target,” Grant said. “You may begin.”

The clacking of keys immediately filled the room. Grant leaned back against the desk, watching Vick out of the corner of his eye.

She certainly wasn’t what he might’ve expected. When he’d been told he was looking for a hacker, he’d pictured an overweight teenager huddled in their parents’ basement; not a tall, attractive woman almost finished her final year of college. From all reports she was social, outgoing, but also very serious about her studies; top percentages in all her classes, not just the IT-related ones. And everybody he spoke to said she was incredible with a computer.

Grant cocked his head to the side a little. Completely straight-laced. Even if she was as good as they suspected, he had no idea how Deidre was planning to get her on board. Grant thought the best idea would be to outright offer her a job, procedure be damned, but he knew he was outnumbered with that opinion. They wouldn’t be satisfied if they didn’t have leverage.

And, hell, how they got that was their fucking problem. He didn’t need to worry about it.

He glanced at his watch, sighed, and moved around to sit behind the desk.

Five minutes later, Vick raised her hand.

“Yes?” Grant called, fully expecting another enquiry.

“I’m in,” Vick said, slightest hint of a triumphant smirk on her face. “Sir.”

For the briefest moment Grant thought he’d fallen asleep or something equally ludicrous. He glanced at his watch again, sure it couldn’t be right.

“Are you—”

“Come and look,” Vick interrupted.

Grant was too stunned to be annoyed. He made his way to her monitor, leaning a hand on the desk beside her as he peered at the screen. It was instantly recognisable, but Grant made a show of contemplating it for a few minutes, borrowing the mouse from Vick and clicking through a few pages. The last one he clicked on should’ve still been password protected; he couldn’t stop the slight sound of surprise he made when it actually opened.

Vick glanced at him with a grin. “Well?”

“Very impressive, Ms Vick,” Grant murmured. He ran his finger over his lips as he straightened, finally tearing his eyes away from the screen to smile back at her. “Very impressive indeed. You may leave now, but I can assure you, we will be in touch. Soon.”

Vick beamed as she stood, throwing a tote over her shoulder. She hesitated a beat before she extended her hand. “I look forward to it, Mister…?”

Grant took her hand, shook it twice. “Thank you for participating.”

A frown twitched at her face, but it cleared quickly enough. Grant watched her walk from the room, waiting for the door to close before he made his way back to the desk.

“Sir, should we—”

“We have multiple positions open,” Grant said, fishing out his phone. “Please continue, if you wish.”

Deidre answered with a brusque, “So?”

“Seven minutes.”

Deidre hummed. “Well, we were hoping for under an hour. Still, a little over isn’t too—”

“Not seventy. Seven.”

Pause. “As in, less than ten?”

Grant rolled his eyes. “Last time I checked, yes, seven is less than ten.”

“Jesus.” He could practically see Deidre’s face morphing into that covetous expression he knew so well. “Jesus.”

“Yup. So now it’s up to you.” Grant hesitated, then added, “You got a plan?”

Deidre chuckled. “Oh, honey. I always have a plan.” She disconnected.

Grant pocketed the phone slowly, returning his focus to the remaining students before him.

Though it was difficult to concentrate on anything beyond the crawling sensation settling into his skin.

#WIP: CASCADE #character study #original writing #excerpt

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bestfriendforhire · 8 years ago

Text

Entry 290

“Oh. I should have asked if Aurora was down here.” I muttered. Between jobs and spending some time with my friends, I had managed to get two more suits enchanted over the past couple days. I came down into Jarod’s lab to work on another.

“I was going to warn you, master, but mother told me not to say anything.” explained Mila.

“What?” I blurted. Why would Aaliyah… I grinned as I watched Aurora float off the ground on the latest test model of the flying contraption. “I see.”

“Oh?” inquired Mila.

“I just realized I want to enchant more than the suits. Would you be able to apply the battery compartment adjustment you planned for the suits to those flying devices?” I asked.

“You’ll have to adjust your spells for the different power requirements.” she warned. “But yes, although Aurora will probably want to make adjustments on the rest of the design to take advantage of the lighter weight.”

“I suppose I can wait. Mind running the idea by Jarod before you get her on it?” I inquired.

“I wouldn’t proceed any other way, master.” she replied. “After his approval, I’ll try to get Aurora to work on the new design. If she’s not comfortable with the change, I’ll make the adjustments myself.”

Nodding, I said, “Just let me know the specs when you have them, so I can work the spells out. Oh! Tell me if you want to cheat a little with the propulsion. I can do some fancy stuff with air now.”

“If Ai and Mai get mad, I’m laying full blame on you.” stated Mila.

“Why would they be mad? I think they’ll enjoy these.” I insisted.

“Master, the honeymoon’s started.” replied Mila.

“Oh. That’s great! You could postpone telling Jarod until he’s back.” I told her.

“I believe Jarod will want to know about your idea immediately, so I’m not deleting the message from his phone.” she replied.

“Are you upset about something?” I asked.

“Why would you think that, master?” she inquired.

I sighed and said, “If I’ve done something to offend you, I really have no clue what. Please tell me.”

“Oh, master. I was just hoping you’d offer to give me an upgrade as well.” she admitted.

“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked.

“My bodies use similar muscle structures to the suits, so enchanting them for me shouldn’t be difficult, though certain adjustments to the bodies and the spells would be necessary, I’m sure.” she explained.

“Ah. Sure. I can get working on that when Aurora’s finished. I don’t really want to get enough energy while she’s here, due to the side effect.” I told her.

“You’d make my baby girl wait for such a silly reason?” complained Aaliyah, now staring up at me.

Mila picked her up and said, “Yes, mother… Not only did he fail to consider that I might want to benefit from his work as well, but he wants me to wait for an indefinite future.”

“Oh, please. You both know why.” I told them.

“Who does he think is protecting Aurora from his magic when she’s away from here?” inquired Aaliyah.

“I don’t know, mother.” replied Mila.

True. Was Aurora simply not affected by me for some reason?

“Oh, boss-man, sir, Aurora’s been affected by your enchantment since before you met her. Alma wasn’t too far off when she suggested half the state was affected when you worked on the suits.” claimed Aaliyah.

“She doesn’t really pay attention to me.” I stated.

“Sure, she does. Remember when she saved you from being electrocuted?” asked Aaliyah.

“The imaginary electricity, sure.” I replied.

Grinning, Aaliyah explained “She’s always watching you when you’re around, but she has no idea how to express her feelings. She really, really likes you even though you don’t talk with her.”

“Well, glad I have a new reason to feel guilty.” I mumbled. I really didn’t know how to communicate with Aurora.

“Wow. Under a second, and you already thought of one. Brilliant!” exclaimed Aaliyah.

“I don’t really think it’s that good of an idea.” I insisted.

“What?” asked Mila.

“He realized he could relay messages through our friend there.” explained Aaliyah as she pointed at the little fairy.

I almost asked when she got down here, but Aaliyah probably brought her. I never meant for Aurora to see her. If Aurora actually noticed, she gave no sign of it.

“That could work. Otherwise, I could probably relay things for you, master.” stated Mila.

“Onto upgrading my baby!” exclaimed Aaliyah as she hugged Mila.

“I don’t even know where to begin yet.” I admitted.

“I’m already fabricating materials for mother to install on my bodies, master” stated Mila.

“Just study the wall there, boss-man, sir.” ordered Aaliyah.

I didn’t recognize a number of the spells being displayed and saw no explanation for how they worked. This wasn’t going to be easy considering these spells were even more complicated than what I had used for the suits.

“You’ll manage, boss-man, sir. Have some faith in yourself! If you really want an explanation, there’s a full course now available. Jarod had based Mila’s skeleton off my grandfather’s designs, so some of the enhancements will be affecting that instead of ‘human’ flesh. The other adjustments for her muscles are more similar to what you did to the suits, but I tweaked things a bit.” explained Aaliyah.

I nodded and started committing everything to memory. Aaliyah had also made adjustments to the spell I designed. I wasn’t completely certain, but I believed she streamlined the spell a bit more for me. I took a while to realize I was being hugged and nearly jumped to find Aurora was the one doing the hugging.

“Told ya.” stated Aaliyah as she used some device on Mila’s skin to reseal it.

Before I figured out what I should do, Aurora wandered off back to her work area.

“Are you certain she wasn’t simply feeling cold again?” suggested Mila. “She does that with me often.”

“She was cold, but she also picked James. No, she didn’t pick him because he seemed less busy, staring at the wall.” replied Aaliyah.

“As you say, mother.” stated Mila.

“We’re all set, so let’s go!” exclaimed Aaliyah.

“Go?” I asked.

“Yep. You’re going to enchant four bodies for Mila and the rest of the suits at once.” claimed Aaliyah.

“I can’t. Doing a single suit’s a struggle, and a single body’s even more complicated.” I argued.

“First off, you don’t really struggle enchanting a suit. That’s just concentrating, boss-man, sir. Furthermore, you’re going to do it all at once.” insisted Aaliyah as she stepped onto the lift.

I didn’t see how I could possibly live up to her expectations, but I couldn’t win an argument with her either. Somehow, this was going to work. I stepped onto the lift, turned around as it started rising, and realized Mila wasn’t following. My little friend was frozen mid-flight. between us.

Before I could jump off, Aaliyah grabbed my hand and said, “She doesn’t need to be there, boss-man, sir.”

I nodded dumbly, feeling more and more confused. As I followed Aaliyah back into my house, I spotted Brandon grinning in the hall. I was tempted to take a picture of him as we passed, so I could show him his goofy expression later. I could always claim Mila took it.

“Mila’s going to love that one! She’ll actually take it, so you won’t even have to lie!” exclaimed Aaliyah.

“We’re not going to the forest?” I asked, feeling even more surprised.

“No need. In a sense, the forest will be coming to you.” she stated.

That wasn’t an entirely pleasant notion. Aaliyah led me through the house and down into a passageway beyond a hidden door. I remembered these stairs. I once thought Jarod died down here. The eerily glowing room was entirely made of stone. Countless engravings covered the sphere.

Aaliyah quickly assured me “Not countless, boss-man, sir. You could easily count them if you took the time.”

“True, but I doubt I’ll ever bother. Why are we here?” I asked.

“First, a precaution. If you ever use the room with someone other than me inside, you’ll kill them instantly, so you probably want to make sure to seal it first thing.” she informed me with a grin.

“Lovely.” I replied sarcastically. “How do I seal it?”

“Open your mind to the room like you would to the fey, boss-man, sir.” she told me.

The idea sounded odd, but I did as she instructed. The door instantly closed. I could feel my entire mansion. I knew where everyone was, though I wouldn’t say I was seeing them. I was just aware. I was aware of the army of “dolls” who did the cleaning. I was similarly aware of Marco’s cooking in the kitchen. I wondered if this was how Emma felt her plants, since I felt as if every blade of grass in my yard was a part of me. The energy of the forest moved at my whim, and I could feel every last fey. I didn’t realize quite how many there were. I hadn’t met them all yet.

My vault sat below the forest. I hadn’t known quite where before. There was so much energy around it, but not the type I could use. This was something else, like a white star burning under the forest.

“You could put a star out with that, but I wouldn’t recommend it.” whispered Aaliyah, directly into my mind.

I felt so tiny as I focused on her. She stretched on and on past the farthest stars.

“Look away, James. You’ll go mad.” she ordered.

I instantly did. Part of me yearned to keep looking, but the presence of her voice in my mind was overwhelming. I felt like I could touch planets. If I thought about any given one, I grew more and more aware of it. Many were lifeless, but I found ones that weren’t and saw beings like I had never imagined.

“Focus, boss-man, sir. You know why you’re here.” stated Aaliyah.

“But there’s something odd nearby. I don’t know how to describe it, but I can sense the thing throughout the world. Throughout many worlds… so very many worlds.” I told her.

“That’s the Intergalactic House of Awesome Sauce.” she informed me. You can eat later, boss-man, sir. Focus.”

I resisted the urge to look at the thousands of interesting things I was sensing. I found the suits. I found Mila’s bodies. Enchanting them was easy. Practically effortless. I suddenly felt scared. I shouldn’t have this kind of power.

I was on the ground, trembling. I heard the sphere’s door slide open. Aaliyah knelt beside me and hugged me. “How long have I been in here?” I asked.

“To most everyone else, no time has passed, but you experienced nearly an hour. You got a bit lost for a while there.” she replied.

“Aaliyah, can you destroy this thing?” I asked.

“Of course, but why would I?” she inquired.

“I shouldn’t have that kind of power, Aaliyah. What if someone else figured out how to use this? It’s so simple… terrifyingly simple.” I warned her.

Squeezing me tighter, she said, “Don’t worry, boss-man, sir. No one else can use it. Well, I mean… I could if I really wanted, but…”

“You don’t need it.” I whispered. Even remembering what I felt when I focused on Aaliyah started to make my head ache. “Is there no end to you?”

“To me? That’d be boring. Besides, everywhere needs a little Death!” she exclaimed, winking and smiling cheesily as she pointed her fingers at me.

“Will you destroy this?” I asked again.

“Of course not. You’ll want to use it again someday.” she insisted.

“That’s what frightens me. I felt like I could do anything.” I told her.

“But you can’t. You can do some really amazing things once you get the hang of it though.” she replied.

“I don’t want to get the hang of it, Aaliyah.” I argued.

“No, but you will. You’ll never enjoy it, boss-man, sir, but you’ll use it to save people. Another thing you should know is that you’ll get attention when you use it. Everyone capable of using magic throughout the world would have sensed what you did if they could feel anything right now. Now let’s get back to see how my baby girl likes her upgrade!” exclaimed Aaliyah, lifting up her arms to be carried.

I picked her up and started to move. I was still trembling, but the shaking subsided as I walked. Aaliyah had frightened me before in many different ways, but never so intimately. I was scared of myself.

#Best #Friend #For #Hire #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story #Aaliyah #Aurora #Mila

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