#Going to be taking a break off of FF next week

[jtl-fics]

Fluent Freshman - Part 39

PREV

Nicky screamed as he found himself yanked from his bed as he fell to the ground. The blanket that he had so perfectly burrito’d himself in had been pulled and he had gone with it pillows and all. He laid on the ground blinking up into the darkness wondering what the hell had just happened, he squints and thinks he sees blond hair. He racks his still loading brain to try and think of anything he had done recently to Aaron that would result in such a rude awakening.

The lamp clicks on.

“Nicky, are you- Andrew, what the hell.” He hears Aaron’s voice from the left and now Nicky can see the black armbands of his other cousin.

That tracks.

“Flight 8329 from Charleston International Airport to Seattle Tacoma International Airport took off 20 minutes ago.” Andrew says as if that means anything to Nicky.

“Cool?” Nicky squints at his cousin.

“There was an hour delay due to a staffing issue, but it is off the ground now.” Andrew continues and Nicky continues to not understand what is being said to him.

“Great?” Nicky hears Aaron.

There is silence in the room and Nicky finds himself starting to drift back to sleep. The floor really wasn’t that bad.

“So, Daniel’s not here anymore?” he hears Matt’s whispered question.

“Dude, why are you whispering?” Aaron asks.

“Smithsters still asleep.” Matt says voice still quiet.

“How the fuck did he sleep through Nicky’s banshee scream?” Aaron asks voice lowered down to a whisper.

“I think moving all his stuff wiped him out.” Matt offers.

“We moved everything he just said where he wanted it.” Aaron grouses quietly.

“You know Smithster isn’t much of a talker.” Matt reminds.

“Whatever.” Aaron huffs and Nicky is almost back asleep.

“Yes Matt,” Andrew says voice quieter than it had been when he had been rattling off facts about Daniel’s flight, “Daniel is not here anymore.” He says.

That is actually great news. Feels like a shame that FF didn’t wake up to hear it but Nicky knows that it wasn’t just the move that had wiped his friend out.

The last three days had been interesting.

First, Aras had flown back home. She had offered to stay longer with FF since Daniel was still around, but he had merely smiled and told her that he’d be okay. Nicky had almost cried when FF had said that he wasn’t alone anymore. Nicky’s heart twisted when the two decided that it was probably for the best that FF not come back to Washington for Winter Break.

Second, there had been the whole debacle where Daniel had shown back up with the man who had married FF’s mom. They had burst into the practice and had gone straight towards where FF was sitting sipping his ‘New and Improved Day/Boyd Smoothie’. Wymack had gotten between them before anything happened physically, but Nicky could still see how FF froze at the sight of his mother’s husband.

There had been raised voices, threats of security, demands on why ‘John’ hadn’t answered his phone to come bail his ‘brother’ out, that he’d forced his dad to come all the way across the country to bail his ‘brother’ out. FF had been quiet looking bored and unbothered by the tirade of the man who married his mother.

Wymack had been in rare form.

“He didn’t pick up because that phone is in my desk.” Wymack had hissed standing utterly stalwart between FF and the two men. “Now get the hell out of my Court before your son gets reacquainted with the Campus Police.” He points towards the exit.

FF’s Mother’s husband had demanded FF’s new phone number but neither Wymack or Smith gave it.

It was only as Wymack lifted his own phone up to his ear after having dialed campus security that the two got the hint and ran off.

Following that there’d been the expedited emergency restraining order request that had been pushed through.

Nicky and Wymack had been the ones that went with FF for support during the request since everyone else had a prior engagement. The security footage was all that had been needed to grant it as far as the judge was concerned despite FF’s Mother’s husband’s pleas that it was merely a ‘fight between brothers’.

Nicky had almost wished he had given Andrew the Maserati back when the jackass had shown up to the hearing with his son wearing a T-shirt that said ‘I’m not the step-dad. I’m the dad that stepped up.’

Oh.

He opens his eyes and tunes back into the conversation. It seems like Aaron had come to the realization that the only way that Andrew would be awake at this god forsaken hour of- Nicky looks at the alarm clock- 5 AM is because he’d been in the same bed as Neil who was a notorious early morning runner.

“You want the Maserati.” Nicky interrupts the whispered argument.

“No, I’m just here to comment on how Smith’s motorcycle helmet really ties the whole room together now that he’s moved in.” Andrew rolls his eyes so hard that even if Nicky hadn’t been looking at his cousin he would have heard the eyeroll. “Yes, I am here because it is now officially impossible for me to hit Daniel with my car. That was the deal.” Andrew says with a scowl, “So you are taking me to where you stored it.” He says.

“Andrew, it’s too early. They’re not open yet.” Nicky groans grabbing one of his pillows and trying to hide his face under it.

It was unsurprisingly ripped away before he could properly hide away from his cousin.

“We have to walk to wherever you hid my car.” Andrew hisses.

“Andrew you’re not seriously going to make me get up and walk the whole way there on the first morning that I can sleep in.” Nicky groans.

“This wouldn’t be happening if you hadn’t stolen my car Nicholas.” Andrew hisses.

“You guys can take my truck.” Matt says with a huge yawn as he settles back into bed. Morning practice for the rest of the week was not mandatory.

“See, we can take Matt’s truck. The place is only a 30 minute drive away and it doesn’t open until 7 AM anyways.” Nicky groans and tries to roll under the bed. If he can get to the far side then it will be difficult for Andrew, with his 5 foot nothing height to reach-

Andrew puts a foot between him and freedom.

“This room is buying Neil and I breakfast.” Andrew says, “And then we’ll go pick up my car.” He says.

“What? Why?!” Matt and Aaron demand as Nicky groans still trying to roll under the bed despite Andrew’s unyielding foot.

“You all either knew about Nicky’s plan or were part of Nicky’s plan.” Andrew says.

“Okay but Smithster is innocent.” Matt says.

“True, but we need him to come.” Andrew says.

“Why?” Nicky groans changing direction to try and roll under Aaron’s bed only to be stopped by the absolute barrier that was Katelyn’s suitcases of off-season clothes she kept under Aaron’s bed since her own room didn’t have space for it all.

“So we can get into the breakfast place now instead of the usual time for people our age. The owner loves him.” He says.

Ah, FF’s old lady magnetism.

Nicky gets it.

The boy has very pinchable cheeks.

There are very few things one can do when faced with an Andrew Minyard who has decided upon something. Eventually their whole room was up though Andrew at least was far more gentle with FF than he had been with Nicky. FF could sleep through almost any amount of noise but would wake up at the slightest touch and go still.

Nicky really wishes that Andrew had a less conspicuous car because he’s sure his cousin could have gotten away with running Daniel over if he had a Volvo or a Ford.

Nicky went with FF on the back of his motorcycle. One of Aras’ parting gifts to him had been an orange helmet with ‘Foxy’ written on it. Nicky had loved it immediately and unironically. Nicky held onto FF and hoped that his friend was awake enough to actually be driving on the damn thing, but FF had seemed at least 90% conscious.

Either way they arrived at the breakfast place FF was pushed to the front to speak with the owner of the fancy breakfast spot and within 10 minutes they were at a table surrounded by the elderly early bird patrons.

The all-you-can-eat brunch was always both a challenge and a danger when you are a group of college athletes. A challenge because it always felt a bit like a race against the chefs who were churning out chicken, waffles, hams to slice, eggs of all varieties, bacon, sausages, French toast, cinnamon rolls, hashbrowns, quiche, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, and lox bagels. The danger was what Matt was currently finding himself in since the man had failed to pace himself. “I think I’m gonna die.” Matt groaned.

“Smith, where did you get that smoothie?” Aaron asks looking as FF was sipping a delightful looking smoothie.

“The owner gave it to me while you guys were filling your plates.” FF says. “I’m supposed to let her know if I need another one.” He says.

“When are you going to be off that liquid diet?” Aaron asks as he digs into some bacon.

“Well, next week I can just start essentially putting things in the blender and I shouldn’t suffer the consequences like with the borscht.” FF shrugs. “Gran said she’d send along a pie to celebrate when I can eat solids again.” He adds and FF’s face is as blank and as unemotional as it usually was but there was a general air of sadness.

“You know, I don’t think it’d bother Allison or any of the girls if you joined us for winter break.” Matt says from where he was staring up at the ceiling still overfull from going too hard too fast on the egg options.

“I don’t want to intr-“

“It’s not an intrusion.” Andrew says looking at his phone, “We’re inviting you.” He adds before getting up and grabbing his backpack, “Do not let them take my plate.” He says looking at the table. Andrew’s plate was laden with the sweeter side of things for breakfast and he had made up a plate for Neil who was supposed to meet them at the breakfast spot.

Andrew left and nicky figured he was going to go grab Neil outside. “Isn’t it for the original Foxes?” FF asks.

“Yeah, but you’re our friend so it’s fine if you come. I know Dan wants to really get to know the guy who took her place on the line.” Matt says with a laugh that has him looking queasy afterwards.

“You and me can room together.” Nicky says.

“Isn’t Erik coming?” Aaron asks incredulously.

“Yeah? So?” Nicky questions.

Aaron looked at Nicky like he was an idiot and opened his mouth likely to say why, “I don’t want to intrude. I can probably just sleep on a couch out in the main area, if your friends are okay with me coming.” FF sips at his drink. “You and Erik have a lot to catch up on.” He says voice giving that slight indication that he felt awkward.

Catch-up on-

Ohhh.

Yeah, he and Erik are going to christen that bed if it hasn’t already been christened.

“We’ll figure something out.” Aaron says easily enough.

Eventually Andrew returned with Neil in tow. He was a little sweaty looking but definitely look like someone who had been running for about two hours at this point. He figures that Andrew must have brought spare clothes for Neil to change into so that he’d be acceptable in the breakfast joint.

“Smith has agreed to join us for Christmas Break.” Nicky announces to the couple as they took their seats.

“Quite brave of Smiths considering how the last holiday break went when he came with us.” Aaron says wrly.

“Yeah Andrew, make a deal not to stab Smithy again.” Nicky holds out a pinky for a pinky promise with his cousin.

Andrew rolled his eyes as FF piped in, “Romero stabbed me.” He says loyally.

Eventually they got to talking about their plans for the Winter Banquet on Friday. Nicky was going with FF as his date and had already gone out and gotten him an appropriately bespoke suit with Aras the week before.

Eventually they wrap up breakfast. Nicky, Aaron, and Matt all pay and they make their way out to the parking lot.

The parking lot where the Maserati was.

“Andrew, how in the world-“

“Like a locked gate would even slow Neil down. Got the opening time and the driving distance from you this morning and narrowed it down to the only long-term parking lot in the area.” Andrew says idly as Neil hands over the spare Maserati keys to him.

Nicky spends a bit more time bitching about the fact that Andrew woke them all up mostly out of spite and as a cover for getting his car back without Nicky’s assistance. However eventually the time for class swiftly approached.

“This isn’t over!” he says pulling on his Foxy Helmet and pointing at Andrew.

“I think it is.” Andrew replies with a shrug as he and Neil climbed into the front of the car.

Nicky rolled his eyes but climbed onto the back of FF’s motorcycle.

Winter Banquet was in 2 days.

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

NEXT

[thesparkling-diamond27]

Dancing Through Life

Fiyero Tigelaar x Reader

Summary: Y/n Upperland of the Upper Uplands, cousin to Galinda Upand, doesn’t have a problem with Fiyero Tigelaar, but that doesnt’t mean that she wants him around. However, after one simple walk with the Winkie Prince, Y/n discovers that he’s not so bad after all.

A/n: hi hi! I’m back with a Fiyero one shot, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve forgotten about the second Bridgerton and I. I’ve written two chapters so far over thanksgiving break and I might try to squeeze in one more chapter or at least half of one before I go back to school. I don’t really have enough time to write when I am at school, so the next time I’ll probably get back to writing during Christmas break which is in a couple weeks. Then I’ll finish the Bridgerton and I and I’m thinking about waiting to finish the Bridgerton and I completely before posting any more chapters, so the ff will probably be finished in December. I wrote this one shot because Wicked has been on my mind 24/7 and I can write whatever comes to mind, but for the Bridgerton and I have to sit down and rewatch Bridgerton episodes so that I can make sure I get all the words exactly right. I hope you guys continue to be patient as I try to finish it :).

I have recently seen the movie Wicked and plan to see 10 million more times because it is SO GOOD. Wicked is basically my whole personality at this point. I was already obsessed with Fiyero, but Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero made my obsession worse (but in a good way :)). And with this obsession comes a Jonathan Bailey Fiyero Tigelaar one shot. I hope you enjoy!! I also have a plan to write another one so stay tuned for that!

It was a beautiful day today, so after class I decided to read at my favorite spot: the bench under the oak tree. I loved it here because it was a peaceful place where I never got disturbed. Or so I thought.

I realized he was near when I heard the sound of boots stepping onto grass. It was only when his shadow blocked the words on the page that I finally looked up.

Fiyero looked down on me with curious eyes, but there was still a charming smile plastered on his face. I tried to hide how his smile affected me, but he must have noticed the change in my demeanor because his smile turned into a smirk.

I thought after my cousin Galinda introduced him to my brother and I earlier today would be the last time I saw him for the day. It appears the Winkie prince had other plans.

“Well what is Miss Upland doing under the oak tree?” He asked.

“Reading.” I held up my book for effect before I continued back to where I left off.

I saw him take a seat beside me on the bench in the corner of my eye.

“It’s Friday.” He continued.

I rolled my eyes. “I know. I can read calendars.” Fiyero chuckled at my blunt and snippy responses. He could clearly tell that I was annoyed by his presence, but he continued to talk anyway.

“It’s Friday and you are here reading under an oak tree. You should be out there having fun.” He used his hands to gesture to all the other students hanging out at the courtyard.

“This is fun to me.”

“School work is fun?”

“Well for your information this book is not for school it’s for me.”

“Well I believe you are filling your head with too many things. You’re thinking too much.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Well that’s not surprising coming from a prince like you.”

“A prince like me?” Fiyero gave a feigned pained expression. “I’m hurt that you would think that way about me.”

“Well I believe that you present yourself as self-absorbed and deeply shallow, but I don’t think you are. I think you use that as a front to hide the fact that you actually care and have thoughts.”

“Excuse me there’s no pretense here. I happen to be genuinely self-absorbed and deeply shallow.”

“Okay.” I said not believing him. I shut my book and stood from the bench. I finished the book I was reading and decided to go search for another one to read.

“Well I guess it was nice talking to you.”

I began to walk back to my room, but he blocked my path.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to my room to find another book.”

“Oh come on. Drop the book for once and have some fun.”

“No.”

I pushed past him and walked away without looking back. I was hoping he would leave me alone after that, but luck was not on my side today.

“Since you’re going back to your room, maybe I can save you the trouble of carrying your book all the way back.”

He grabbed the book from my hand before I could say anything.

“Hey give that back!”

I tried to grab the book back, but he raised the book above my head, so that I couldn’t reach and jumping up was no use. Fiyero was laughing at me struggling, so I sighed in defeat.

“Fine. You can help me carry my singular book up to my room.”

Fiyero was happy with my response because he was smiling from ear to ear. We were now standing nose to nose and I could feel his breath fan across my face. If I looked down I would have perfect access to his lips. Wait what was I thinking? I quickly backed away from him before I did anything stupid. Fiyero smiled down at me and said, “See now that wasn’t so hard now was it? Lead the way princess.”

I would he lying if I said I didn’t get affected by his words. Butterflies filled my stomach and I probably would have melted if I didn’t catch myself. What is wrong with me?

“Princess?”

“Yes princess. It suits you. Princess of the Upper Upperlands.” He said with a dramatic voice.

I was about to retaliate when a certain blondey came to mind.

“Shouldn’t you be calling Galinda princess?” I asked.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you two are a thing.”

Fiyero chuckled. “I just met her this morning and besides I’m like this with everyone.”

My heart sunk at his words. So he was just treating me like everyone else? But why was I so upset about it? Just a few hours ago I wanted nothing to do with him and now I was disappointed that he’s not treating me differently.

“And if I called her princess then I wouldn’t be able to call you princess. Princess.” He said with a wink.

That definitely lifted my spirits. Sweet Oz! He was making feel a roller coaster of emotions. I could tell there will never be a dull moment with him.

I gave him a small smile but I looked down on the floor to hide it from him. I didn’t want him to notice that I started to warm up to him, but he saw the slight upturn of my lips.

“Well who knew that Miss Upland could smile. It’s a miracle!”

“Oh shut up!” I said, but you could hear the grin in my voice.

“Besides reading, what do you really do for fun?” I looked up at Fiyero and could tell that he truly wanted to know my genuine answer. So it seems that my premonition about him not being self-absorbed and deeply shallow was true.

“Umm…spending time with friends, swimming. Oh there’s a lake in the Upper Upperlands that my family and I go to every summer to cool off and it has such beautiful scenery. Not to mention the nearby ice cream shop…”

I stopped after I realized that I blabbered on. “I’m sorry I sort of got carried away.”

I looked up at Fiyero, but he didn’t seem bothered at all with my tangent. He actually seemed rather interested with what I had to say.

“No continue.” He said with an encouraging smile.

“No I’d rather not.”

I know he wanted to hear more, but he didn’t push me, which I was glad for. I was a little embarrassed with my little outburst.

“Well how about you discover a new way to have fun?” Fiyero said changing the subject.

“How?”

“Come with me to the Ozdust Ballroom tonight. The most swankified place in town.”

“Aren’t we not supposed to be off campus after dark?”

“Yes, but not being allowed to leave after dark makes it more fun!”

“I’ll pass.”

“Where’s your sense of adventure?”

“I left her at home.”

Fiyero paused before he burst into laughter.

“My joke wasn’t that funny.” But I couldn’t help but laugh along with Fiyero.

Fiyero paused again.“Your laugh.”

I took a few moments to recompose myself before asking, “What about my laugh?”

“It’s beautiful.”

I stopped walking and choked on air.

“What?” I asked, but Fiyero ignored me.

“Which way is your room?”

I realized that we have reached the dead end which separated into two hallways.

“This way.” I said as I begin to walk to the right. I walked a little faster to make this walk shorter. I have embarrassed myself way too many times in a such a short amount of time and I just wanted to smash my pillow in my face and scream. The rest of the way was silent until we reached my door.

“Well here we are. My humble abode.” I said. “Thank you for the uh…walk.”

“It was my pleasure. I hope to see you tonight at the Ozdust ballroom Miss Upland.

“Y/n.”

Fiyero smiled at my response.

“Y/n. I hope to see you tonight.”

I opened the door and was about to walk in, but I turned around instead.

“I know you like to put on the facade that you are this Winkie prince who doesn’t have a care in the world, but you’re also human. Yes you might be self-absorbed and shallow, but that’s not all of you and you have thoughts that should be shared. If you take away your crowd of admirers you’ll be left with the real you. If you want to continue with this role in front of everyone then that’s fine…,but you don’t have to be that way with me.”

Fiyero’s expression was unreadable, but I could have sworn I saw flickers of fear and appreciation.

“Y/n…I don’t know what to say.”

His hands fell to his sides and I realized that he still had my book. I slowly inched towards his hand and pulled the book from his grasp. But before I pulled away I took his hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“You don’t have to say anything.” I said with a smile.

He nodded and with one last squeeze I pulled away and slowly closed the door shut.

—————————

I laid in my bed, for what seemed like hours, contemplating whether I should go to the Ozdust ballroom or not. I turned to my night stand to see that it’s only been a half hour. I groaned in frustration and covered my face with my pillow. Then I heard a knock at the door. I rose from my bed and opened it to see my brother Ezra.

“You. Me. Ozdust. Tonight.” He said as he entered my room.

“You know about that too?” I said as I shut the door.

“How do you know about it?” He asked curiously.

“I was invited.” I said as I plopped onto my bed. Ezra raised an eyebrow at my words and joined me.

“You were invited?! I wasn’t even invited! Who invited you?”

“So how do you know about it?” I asked avoiding what he asked me.

“I overheard some students talking about it, but don’t avoid the question. Who invited you?”

“Fiyero.”

Ezra’s eyebrows shot up to the ceiling.

“Fiyero Tigelaar of Winkie country? But you hate him.”

“I don’t hate him! Where did you get that impression.”

“When Galinda introduced us to him you didn’t seem to be too pleased with him.”

I thought back to the first impression I had of Fiyero when I first met him.

When he first stood in front of me I took a good look at him and he was exactly what I expected from a Winkie prince. He was dressed to the nines from head to toe. You could tell his blue jacket and pants were made to perfection and the gold accents were sewn with precision. His black polished boots were so shiny that you could even see your own reflection in them. And that was just his clothes.

Fiyero had an aura about him. It was as if he believed he always had to be the center of attention. Reminds me of someone that I know, but I know that Galinda has a heart. It was too soon to tell if he genuinely cares, but by the way he acted and the way the students nearby looked at him, I could already tell that his way of life to everyone else was fake.

Then he approached me later on in the day and I got to know him a little more. I soon realized that he wasn’t all so bad by himself. It was only when he was around everyone else where his walls come up and he acts out his facade.

“I guess I had a change of heart.” I finally answered.

“Uh huh. And how did Fiyero even get the chance to talk to you. The only way that can happen is if you two hung out alone.” Ezra said teasingly as he wiggled his eyebrows. I laughed at his antics.

“Fiyero might have interrupted my peaceful reading time earlier today and I got to know him a little more.”

“Oh?!”

“And before you say anything else there was nothing else to it. He offered to walk me back to my room and that’s when he invited me to the Ozdust ballroom. On our walk back I got to know him a little better and he’s not so bad by himself.”

“Hmm hmm.”

“Nothing else happened!”

“Hey I said nothing!” Ezra said as he lifted his hands to the sides of his face in defense. “But this means that you’re coming!”

“I didn’t say yes.”

“Why-“

“But I didn’t say no either. I’m still thinking about my answer.”

Ezra looped his arm with mine.

“Now I’m forcing you to come because I’m coming and I’m not going to have you sit pathetically in your room.”

“I’m not going to—“

“Ah uh. I won’t take no for an answer. And don’t say you don’t have anything to wear. Your wardrobe is almost as grand and big as Galinda’s.”

Ezra did have a point. I worried about my appearance and wardrobe just as much as Galinda, but I didn’t flaunt it as much as my cousin did.

“Come on.” Ezra grabbed my hands and pulled me up from my bed. He led me to one of my luggage’s that turned into a closet with the push of a button. Ezra pushed the button and pushed me towards my array of dresses.

“Well go on.” He prompted.

I stumbled upon the rack and begin to flip through my choices until I came across a dress that brought a smile to my face.

—————————

Ezra and I missed the boat that Galinda and Fiyero went on, so we arrived at the Ozdust ballroom a little later. I peeked over the corner and was in awe with what I saw.

The entrance of the ballroom had a ginormous staircase which led to the dance floor. At the end of the room was where a band of animals were playing the music. On the ceiling schools of fish were dancing in formation to the beat of the music. That’s when I realized that this ballroom was underwater. That was something I’ve never seen before.

Ezra and I began to walk down the staircase and I began to notice a lot of familiar faces from school.

“Do people come here often?” I asked Ezra. He first attended Shiz last year, so he had a whole year of experience before I came along.

“I would say so. It’s where most people go over the weekend, but this is the first time I’ve ever gone.”

I looked at him shocked. “Really?!”

“Yeah. I’ve never been invited and I’ve always wanted to go, but I never knew how to get here until I overheard those two girls talking today.”

“Well today’s your lucky day!” I said with a smile.

“Indeed it is.” He said with a chuckle. “Oh I see some of my friends I invited over there. Will you be okay on your own?”

“Yeah I will. Galinda should be around here somehere.”

“And Fiyero.” Ezra said with a glint of mischievousness.

“Yeah him too.”

Ezra laughed before he walked over to his two friends. Now I was left alone to fend for myself. I noticed a drink table on the side of the dance floor, so I made my way over there.

I had no idea what was in the glass, but it tasted quite good. I sipped quietly off to the side when I noticed a familiar figure approach me.

“Well if it isn’t Miss Upland.”

“Please don’t call me that.”

“Alright then. Princess.”

“Y/n.” I corrected him

“Princess Y/n.”

I figured it would be pointless so I gave up trying to correct him.

“I was almost starting to think you weren’t going to show up. What made you change your mind? Me?”

“Don’t be so full of yourself Fiyero. My brother forced me to come.”

“Aww so I can’t go around telling people that you’re my date tonight?”

I nearly choked on my drink, but I managed to regain my composure.

“Not a chance.”

“What a shame and to think I was going to ask you to dance.”

“I didn’t say no to that.” I said with a teasing smile. Fiyero looked shocked and glad that I was finally playing his game.

“Since you say so, I’ll just take this.”

Fiyero grabbed the drink from my hand and downed the rest of it before setting it on the table.

“Shall we?” He extended out his hand for me to take. I didn’t say anything, but I accepted his hand and he led me to the dance floor.

He began to twirl and whirl me around to the beat of the music and I found a couple laughs slip from my mouth. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time and I couldn’t believe that Fiyero of all people was making that happen.

One by one Galinda, Ezra, and his friends joined us as well. It was great to not care about the trivial things in life and simply dance through life as Fiyero likes to put it.

At one point the band slowed down the tempo of the music to a slower one and Fiyero gave me a knowing look. I looked back at Ezra and he winked at me before walking off the dance floor with his friends. I turned back to Fiyero and grabbed his hand. He gave me a beaming smiling, put his hands on my hips and began to move me across the ballroom floor.

“You know I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier today.” He said.

“About?” But I had an inkling about what he was talking about.

“About me pretending in front of everyone else.” I simply nodded and waited for him to continue.

“I guess I started doing it in order to hide my true depth of character. It was a way for me navigate the superficial social circles and get the chance to meet powerful people. I’ve done it for so long that I forgot what it’s like to just be me, but you were the first person to ever see through that.”

I took a moment to take in his words. It must have been exhausting to keep up that facade for so long. I felt bad for Fiyero. The fact that he felt the need to live like that.

“Well like I said you don’t have to pretend with me. I want to know the real Fiyero Tigelaar. Do you think you can manage to do that?”

“I can for you.”

Under normal circumstances I would have collapsed right then and there there, but that would do either of us no good. Fiyero had just finished telling me something he’s never spoken out loud before and I have to be the support he needs.

He twirled me around once more before pulling me right back into his arms. Then he brought his mouth up to my ear and whispered changing the subject.

“You look beautiful princess. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you tonight. I must say that blue is definitely your color. You are hands down the most beautiful one here.”

“I don’t think so.” I said as I looked down at the floor bashfully.

Fiyero grabbed my chin with his finger and brought my face up to look up at him.

“I beg to differ.” He grabbed a strand of my hair and pulled it back behind my ear. I felt his breath against my ear and shivers traveled down my spine. No boy has ever gave me as much attention as Fiyero has and I was at a loss with what to do. But in a strange way I knew exactly what to do, which is why I was bold enough to try something.

“Can I tell you a secret?” I whispered in his ear.

Fiyero looked confused, but he nodded anyway. I stood up on my tiptoes and went up to his ear, but at the very last second I grabbed his face and connected his lips with mine.

At first he didn’t responded, and I got so scared I got the message wrong, so I almost pulled away. However, he soon reciprocated the kiss and placed one hand firmly on my waist and the other framing my face. The kiss started simple, but then it became more intense. I would have kept on going, but then I remembered where we were.

I pulled away and looked around to see my brother looking at me with a knowing look as if he was saying I told you so. He mouthed, “And you said there was nothing else to it.”

“Shut up.” I mouthed back.

“Do you want to take this somewhere else? Away from the public eye.” Fiyero asked.

I looked up at his blue eyes and thought about being alone with Fiyero. Being able to hold him and kiss him to my hearts desire. I nodded with a smile.

Fiyero smiled back and interlocked our hands. Together the both of us walked out of the Ozdust ballroom without a care in the world and we simply danced through life.

[iouinotes]

All for you | Carl Gallagher

pairing: Carl Gallagher x female!reader

show: Shameless

warnings: angst, fluff, smut (the reader and Carl are 18 years old in this ff)

summary: Carl is challenged that he can get your money, if he makes you fall in love with him. He loves the challenge until he loves something else more...

authors note: sorry for so many pov switched, I didnt notice it, when I first wrote this ff. Also I haven't had the chance to watch all the seasons yet, but I still hope that Carl's character is somewhat accurate :))

Carl's pov

"Frank, goddamit youre no help! Why are you even lying around here - oh forget it, I don't want to hear it." Fiona's voice echoes in the room, while the entire Gallagher household is present.

The everyday discussion has been going on for too many minutes in which I could have done something better. The damn question “How do we get enough money?”

Lip at college, Ian with his gangster boyfriend, my shitty sister with her kid and then Liam. This family is screwed. No wonder with a father like Frank.

As the argument continues to escalate, I have the misfortune of sitting right next to him.

"You care to share some money, son?" Of course, my attempts to ignore him are unsuccessful.

"The drug trade doesn't always work out so well, but the weapon thing was something. You could give one to your good old dad, you know what the neighborhood is like." I run my hands through my hair in frustration, shaking my head.

"Just get one or two girls pregnant at school, then all of our problems are solved. But she has to be rich. After all, you want to get your hard work paid." Why the hell am I still here?

"You used to be more enthusiastic about my ideas. If you don't want to do play daddy, then use your charm. When I was your age, my cock was enough and the girls were happy."

"Be fucking quiet, no one wants to hear about your pathetic youth." It's no use, he keeps talking.

"I'm only saying, If you make a rich girl fall in love with you, then you can get money to do something nice for your family."

As I get up and walk away from him I take a breath, the tension caused by this idiot sucks.

Still, his words got me thinking. Maybe there's a new girl who would be perfect for this job...

🔗🔗🔗🔗

Your pov

When I moved here, I wasn't sure what to expect. New school, maybe mean classmates and bad cafeteria food. That I might be able to join a group and make friends, people who laugh with me in class or go to the cinema together on weekends.

I was prepared to get lost in the hallways a few times, perhaps to be peppered with embarrassing questions by the teachers. I had even prepared myself for being called a nerd again and therefore spending my lunch breaks alone.

Then things turned out differently. I met two girls who, although they scared me at first with their need to gossip all the time, are good people at heart.

They studied with me (meaning they told me the newest gossip and braided my hair while I did our homework), showed me the city and its pitfalls. I felt comfortable, prepared and confident for what awaited me here.

Oh lord, was I wrong.

On a Thursday in the middle of the week I met a boy who messed everything up. Literally.

I met him when he was running through the halls twenty minutes late, but stupidly didn't pay attention to me, who was about to cross his path. Let's put it this way, it ended with my books on the floor, my jacket hanging off my shoulder, and his hair being a huge mess.

When he looked at me, I expected to hear something like "sorry" or "I'll help you."

You want to know what he said?

"Cute top. Let me know if you need help taking it off."

Then he got up casually and walked into the classroom across the hallway, a grin on his face as if he had won the Bachelor title.

After this encounter two things became very clear to me. 1. Look both ways when crossing the halls and 2. Stop daydreaming about this boy, even if he has beautiful blue eyes.

The first thing worked better than the second.

After a few descriptions, which actually only consisted of "incredibly impudent and incredibly good-looking", it was explained to me who I was dealing with.

Carl Gallagher. A boy who has lived here since he was born, someone who is rumoured to be more dangerous than the Italian Mafia.

Even though I thought that was exaggerated, I quickly realized that I should stay away from him and that he meant trouble.

Aside from the fact that I wasn't going to be in the situation of talking to him again anyway, my eyes couldn't stop themselves from looking at him.

There was something that defined him, something that made me want to watch a grin creep across his face when he made an inappropriate joke, how he would push his blonde hair back and his eyes would shine mischievously, as if he had already planned the next bank robbery.

I wasn't the only one who found his charisma attractive tho, of course not when he looked like one of God's angels, but he never really seemed interested in other girls. At least not with any serious intent, you might hear him flirting or making comments about his free bed, but you would never saw him in a relationship.

He never held hands or kissed anyone, had a real smile on his face or said sweet things, he was just Carl.

Suggestive, hot-tempered and like a flag that proclaimed: Stay away from me, because you will lose this fight.

I also felt that if I continued to watch him, I would lose the battle for platonic feelings towards him too.

"Please don't tell me you're looking at our school bad boy again. You better be careful, he might want to sell you a gun." Kenzie's voice makes me sigh.

"These are just rumors. Besides, it's not my fault, he's just -" Her hand on my shoulder interrupts me.

"We know, you have heart eyes every time you talk about him. There are so many great guys in this world, I'm not saying at this school, but you choose this one?" Her look says more than a thousand words as she looks over at Carl, who is pushing his way trough the crowd.

"I'm not in love, just curious. Those are two different things, okay?" Her eyebrows raise.

"You mean, curious how his lips would feel on yours?" Her laughter at my expression is lost in the sounds of the cafeteria.

"Very funny." I murmur to her, food forgotten on my plate. When the school bell rings, I stand up and pick up my backpack.

"My class is canceled now, but I'm going to the library. Will you meet me later?" As I walk backwards I see her thumbs up and the hearts she makes in Carl's direction. My reaction is two quick middle fingers.

As I walk out of the school building, I check my phone and tie my hair into a braid. The library is a few blocks away and the cool air makes me shiver.

When I get there and wave to the boy at the entrance, I turn to my favorite department. Call it cliche, but I love romance books. I mean, I don't know what it feels like to love someone with all my heart, but that doesn't mean I don't love reading about it.

The books I actually need are a few rows away. History, literature, everything I am assigned to get for school.

As I stroke over a few tapes and finally pull out a book to read the first few pages, I hear a noise next to me that makes me look up. After all, the library is usually a pretty quiet place.

As I look into the familiar blue eyes, I feel my cheeks turn red.

I have to stop myself from staring.

"Always a book in your hand, I see." Oh his voice hasn't changed. I try to shrug casually as I answer, but I'm not sure if it actually works.

"Aren't you going to be late for class again?" At my sarcasm he smiles, he takes a step in my direction which weakens my control over my voice.

"I thought I would learn something somewhere else too." These coded words make me swallow.

"So, you're here often?" I almost think he's not answering me, but maybe I'm just not concentrating, because I'm paying too much attention to every mole on his face.

"Actually, I didn't even know this shitty town had a library." His words make me laugh, but several requests to be quiet around us, make me whisper in response.

"Then why are you here?" I think my breathing stops as his hand brushes my fingers that are still holding the book.

"You're here." I feel my heart beating nervously faster, I probably look pretty confused and when I notice his grin, something flutters in my chest.

"No interest in books, huh?" Can my answer actually be any lamer?

"Dont worry, I have a newfound interest in you."

🔗🔗🔗🔗🔗

Your pov

If someone had told me a few weeks ago that I would become friends with Carl Gallagher, I would have found the idea absolutely crazy. To be honest, I still find the situation insane, but damn my cheeks still turn just as red when he's with me as they did the first time.

It turns out that he really has no interest in books, even though he visited me at the library almost every day since we met in the romance department.

I've never met anyone like him, funny and couragous without any reserve, always looking for trouble, acting self-confident. But also sweet.

He's like a current that pulls you along, like a wind that blows so hard that you fly with it. He feels like freedom and it is wonderful.

He makes me laugh, he carries my books, plays with my hair, walks home with me. In such a short time I feel like he didn't knock on the doors to my heart, instead he made a home there.

Maybe this is what it feels like to fall in love.

It's not a gentle announcement, more of a realization that makes you incredibly desperate and happy at the same time.

But with him I actually just feel happy.

"Ready, sunshine?" As soon as I come out of the classroom, he comes towards me and takes my bag from me. My heart jumps at his gesture, which feels like winning the Olympics.

"You're crazy, where do you even want to go?" He has something planned but won't tell me. When he puts his arm around my shoulder and I lean against him, I get a few sideways glances from our classmates.

Carl ignores everyone like always, it's crazy but the way he's so confident is pretty attractive to me.

"Does the guy in your cheesy books also tell you where they go on dates? I bet not, so just wait."

🔗🔗🔗🔗

"It feels like you're kidnapping me."

I feel his smile on my back and have to giggle quietly at his response.

"Mh, I plan to do that. But only for a few hours, otherwise my head will roll tomorrow. Your father takes your curfew pretty seriously."

I feel his hands on my hips, guiding me forward, hear the birds chirping around us, but can't figure out where we're going.

"Just a few more steps, baby. Then you'll see." As he promised, it is only a few meters away and when I see a small, calm lake, my mouth falls open in surprise.

"Carl, oh my God! It's wonderful here, thank you so much." I turn around in his grip and look at him, his smile reflects the love that I feel.

"Yeah? How much do you like it?" As his eyes focus on my lips, I feel a tingling feeling in my stomach. Slowly, my fingers stroke his chest and I see him swallow, even though he tries to hide it.

"I think it's incredibly beautiful here, I love it. And...I really like you." I shyly lower my gaze, my words are met with an unknown silence that makes me anxious after a few seconds. But when I look up at him again, he pushes a strand of my hair out of my face.

"To me, you are much more beautiful than this sight. I like you too and I thought that was pretty obvious." I smile broadly, butterflies fly around in my stomach and as the sun illuminates his face, I feel incredibly happy.

"You're so nice to me, I don't know how I deserve this." An expression crosses his face, but when I blink he smiles at me again.

"After all, you are the first person who explained the topics for the history exam to me, without giving up." My hand cups his cheek.

"I wouldn't give you up, you've become too important to me." As I stand on my tiptoes, our lips brush, his hand is on my back and pushes me closer to him.

"You are an angel." With his words we kiss and everything else around us blurs, only he remains. Everything is unimportant except him, standing in front of me, so handsome, that it is difficult not to look at him.

"Come on, let's go for a swim." As he pulls me towards the lake, you can hear our loud laughter in the air.

🔗🔗🔗🔗

Carl's pov

"When are you going to collect the money? You've been with her for the last three months and nothing has come of it." Frank's annoying voice frustrates me more than anything else.

"I am working on it. Besides, she's actually really caring." When I see the dismissive hand gesture in my direction, I roll my eyes.

"You are completely wrong, son. A person is there for a certain period of time, but money? Money accompanies you throughout your life, especially if you buy beautiful bottles of the best alcohol."

I sink into the sofa, but want to turn away when I feel his hand on my shoulder.

"If you put it off any longer, it will be harder to get out of the situation. Girls your age will start planning to get married, if you stay with them for months."

But when he leaves, I feel conflicted. Can I really do this to her?

🔗🔗🔗🔗

Carl's pov

"Happy birthday!" Her voice makes me jump and, confused, I turn around on the bench to look into her excited eyes.

"Why are you jumping around like that? Are you practicing for cheerleading?" I'm making fun of her, but the smile on her face doesn't fade.

"No, idiot. I'm just really curious to see how you react to your gift." My breath catches for a moment as I take in her words.

"You got me something?" When she leans forward and gives me a kiss on the cheek while pressing the bag into my lap, I start to smile too.

"Open!" Her encouragement breaks me out of my trance and I quickly tear up the paper, looking at the tickets with wide eyes.

"But...these tickets cost a fortune? Did you sell your liver or something?" When I look at her, she smiles back at me.

"I talked to my dad and he agreed that you deserve something special for your birthday. Are you happy?" As I look at the cards, I suddenly feel a pang in my heart. It must be showing on my face, because her happiness is also fading away.

"Do you not like it? I thought it was your favorite team? I can get you something else." When I look at her, I quickly pull her between my legs and kiss her.

"Shh, breathe angel. It's perfect, thank you. And well, your father. It's just a lot of money." Her hands play with the fabric of my shirt.

"You always say that. Do you have problems at home, with money, I mean? I've never been to your place, I don't even know where you live." What should I say to her now?

"It's okay." Her raised eyebrows look at me reproachfully, making me sigh.

"Each of us has to contribute a certain amount of money every month and if I don't sell fucking drugs, it will be tight." Her astonished look makes me pause and I gently stroke her arms.

Before I can say anything else, she kisses me. I look at her in surprise.

"What's that for?" She smiles shyly, looks at the floor for a moment before looking at me again.

"You're just so honest, I admire that. And that you've never asked me for anything, you know. That I lend you some money."

Fuck. Shit. What do I say?

"Yeah, I mean, I don't want to burden you with that-" but she interrupts me again, her concentrated expression makes me curious.

"What's going on in your pretty head?" My hands wander over her sides.

"It's the end of the month, how much are you missing?" I frown in confusion, but when she doesn't let it go, I tell her the amount.

"$240, the rest I earned by helping in the neighborhood." But despite the high sum, she just nods, looks at me again and gives me another kiss.

"Okay, maybe I'll be your sugar mommy." I have to laugh at the absurdity, but the longer she grins at me, the more I think she means it.

"What, are you serious? Thats fucking crazy, how am I supposed to pay you back?" Her eyes look around, but since the classroom is relatively empty during recess, she finds herself between my legs again. She slowly lets her hand wander down my stomach until she squeezes my cock through my clothes and I close my eyes in delight.

"Hmm, maybe you could help me relax between classes." Her eyes sparkle mischievously and I look at her with a grin.

"Anything you want, sugar."

Let's put it this way, the next few weeks the breaks were filled with kissing in the back corner of the classroom, dry humping on the toilet or Carl doing his best to pleasure me with his tongue in the caretaker's room, like now.

"Ahh-, Carl. I'll cum if you keep that up." His head has disappeared under my skirt, his fingers are stroking the bare skin of my thigh and the sinful movements of his tongue are making me see stars.

As he adds a finger and runs it over my folds, slowly until he inserts it, he looks at me again.

"You coming for me? Yeah, be a good girl or do you want to get caught by the old janitor grandpa spreading your legs for me?" As my eyes roll back, he pumps another finger into me, scissoring it thoroughly and hitting that sweet spot inside me.

When I moan loudly, he grins.

"You like that? Just wait until I bury my cock in you and you cant walk straight afterwards, so that everyone will notice." When his finger presses my clitoris, I see white and as I come I try to muffle the sounds with my hand over my mouth.

When I get off my high, I blindly search for my panties. But Carl beats me first.

"Hmm, no. I think I'll keep it as a little souvenir. Maybe you can get it back when you come to my house later." I don't know what surprises me more: that he wants me to run around exposed at school or that I'm invited to his house for the first time.

"Really? I'd like to come." But he interprets my words differently, his fingers stroke my entrance again and I moan and squeeze my eyes shut.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Very well and for a very long time." When the bell rings, he lets go of me and I whimper slightly.

"Carl-" but he interrupts me by pulling back and straightening my skirt.

"I'm sure our agreement was between recess, now it's class time. Come on, I'll make it up to you later."

🔗🔗🔗🔗

Your pov

As we ride the bus toward his home, I take his hand and intertwine our fingers.

"But don't expect a mansion or any of that shit." Ever since we left school, he has been bad-mouthing his hometown every free minute he has.

"Don't worry, I'll only have eyes for you anyway." The statement makes him laugh and he relaxes a little. As we get out and walk a little way along the street, we are watched by a few people.

"Why are so many people staring at us?" When he look at me, I'm obviously confused.

"Not everyone here wears designer clothes that cost several thousand dollars. If you come here more often, they'll call you a princess." Giggling, I slap him on the arm and as we climb the stairs to his house, I look around curiously.

"So this is where you grew up." His shoulders shrug casually, but I see him trying to gauge my reaction.

"Yeah, where in the world could it be nicer?" I laugh at his sarcastic comment and we both smile at each other as we enter the house.

I hear him calling into the house, then a girl with red hair appears, carrying a baby.

"You must be Debbie, the little one is so adorable." When I hold out my hand, she just looks at Carl with her eyebrows still raised.

"What did you do to end up with her? Also my daughter's name is Franny and yes, I know condoms exist." Surprised, I don't know exactly how to answer, so I leave it to Carl.

"My tongue is magic, Debs. Too bad you won't find out yourself anytime soon, Derek has moved away. By the way, Franny seems hungry." I'm unsure of the dynamic between the two of them, as she turns away and walks away, I resist the urge to say goodbye.

"That was...nice." His hand pulling me towards the stairs distracts me.

"She's a real ray of sunshine, come on. The others aren't back yet, so you can be as loud as you want this time."

When we get upstairs, he leads me into his room and I look at the magazines, posters and little things scattered everywhere.

"Cleaning and you are definitely not friends, huh?" I laugh at my joke, but Carl has other plans than letting me inspect his room.

He puts his hands on my hips and pushes me against the closed door, my breath catches as his eyes find mine.

"Do you want to keep playing housemaid? Then put on a damn maid costume, otherwise keep your eyes on me." At his stern voice, I press my thighs together and, grinning, I drag my fingers across his chest once again.

"Would you like that? Me on the floor, my ass in the air, and no underwear? Oh wait, what a coincidence that I'm not wearing any now either." His eyebrows raise, I see his eyes darken with lust.

"Let's save this little fantasy for another time, right now I just want to see you on my cock." Smiling, I lean towards him and start kissing him. I loosen the belt I bought him and pull him closer to me by his waistband.

"I think I did well today. After all, I didn't complain about getting through the school day without underwear. Do I get my reward now?" Grinning, he takes off my top and looks at my lace bra.

"Everything you want." He drops to his knees in front of me and kisses his way along my thighs, lifts my skirt and presses a kiss to my folds. Slowly he moves his tongue higher and kisses my stomach, I lean my head against the door.

"Does that feel good?" I just nod, burying my hand in his hair as he puts his mouth on me again.

"Ahh- Carl, I want you now." His fingers stretch me, the wetness running down my legs, making me tremble.

"You got me, sweetheart. What do you want me to do?" His head lifts to look at me and I place my fingers around his chin, seeing the moisture on his lips.

"I've been prepared enough, I want your dick now. Let's see if it's as magical as your tongue." Grinning, he stands up and lifts me up, lays me on my back on his bed and lies down between my legs.

He places a few kisses on my legs, then stretches up on his elbows so he's hovering over me. Then he kisses my cheek and my lips, lets his tongue slide over them and lets me taste myself.

I run my fingers through his blonde hair and pull his body closer to me. When he pulls a condom out of his pocket, I hold my breath.

"You still want to do this?" His look calms all the worries I had. I nod, stroking my fingers over his heated cheek.

"I trust you." His next kiss is passionate, his hands gliding over my body, caressing every bit of exposed skin. I lift my back off the mattress and let him take off my bra. His head lowers to run his tongue over my navel. As he sucks on them, I moan softly.

One of his hands starts kneading my breasts and when I try to take off my skirt, he stops me.

"Leave it on, okay?" I kiss him in response.

His hand strokes my sides and my own hands rest on his shoulders as he presses the tip of his cock against my entrance.

"Ready, baby?" When I agree, he presses himself into me and for a moment I have to squint my eyes because it hurts.

Then I feel several gentle kisses on my cheek, my forehead and my lips. His attempts to distract me work and as I become more and more relaxed, he slides further into me.

Slowly he presses his hips against me, the stretch so great that I can feel him all the way into my stomach. He waits for a moment, whispering sweet things in my ears until they get dirty and I beg him to move.

My hands wrap around his shoulders as he thrusts into me for the first time, the air around us thickening as he grunts and a moan escapes me.

"You're doing so well, God, you feel so good." His hips move faster and faster, the pleasure spreads through my body and the wetter I feel, the easier he slides in and out of me.

"You are perfect, my perfect girl. Do you feel good?" His hands stroke my skin, gently pinching my nipples, playing with them and making me squirm beneath him.

As he grips my hips and pushes himself harder into me, my head starts to spin. My noises get louder.

"Carl- god, please go harder" And so he does, the room is filled with the sounds of our bodies and sweat forms on us.

"Baby, do you want to ride me? You have such pretty thighs." I nod and when he pulls out of me I can't think clearly, I just want him to fill me up again.

He leans back and as I stabilize myself on his shoulders, I sink back onto him. The feeling is even better that my eyes roll back. His hands grasp my hips, helping me move.

"That's right, baby. You're doing so good, riding my cock like the good girl you are." At his words, I tighten my grip on him and he curses as I move harder on top of him.

The faster I go, the more exhausting it becomes, but as I feel a knot forming in my stomach, I ride him so fast just to chase my pleasure.

Then suddenly as he hits my spot inside me over and over again, I go boneless on him and melt in his arms. My come drips all over him and as he continues to fuck me, reaching his own climax, I tremble in his grip.

"Just a few more thrusts, baby. Ah, keep holding on to me." Even though I have lost my strength, I move on him a few more times until he comes and I lay my head on his shoulder.

We're both breathing heavily, but everything feels so good, so warm and comfortable, that I don't want to move a single muscle anymore.

He carefully pulls out of me, I moan slightly at the loss. He gently lays me back on his pillow and gives me a kiss before throwing the condom away.

He pulls the blanket over us and puts his arm around me to pull me closer. I snuggle up to him and feel so safe that I quickly press my lips to his skin.

"That was wonderful." He also presses a kiss on my hair.

"That was incredible, you are the best. I can't wait to do it again." Our embrace becomes tighter. For a moment the room is silent.

When I whisper his name, he hums in response.

"I know it's cliche to say something like that after the first time. But I just feel it so much that it hurts to keep it to myself. I love you." As I lie on his chest I hear his heart stop for a moment and then it starts beating much faster.

"I- no one has ever said that to me before." When I raise my head and look at him, he doesn't look at me. Instead, his eyes are fouced on the ceiling.

"I just want you to know. I don't want to put any pressure on you to say it. I just thought you should hear it. You know, now that things are serious between us." Again he is silent and I start to worry, but then he looks at me.

"You are truly the most incredible person I have ever met. I consider myself very lucky." He smiles at me, then leans down and we kiss for a moment. It feels like heaven.

We lay there for a few minutes, just cuddling and telling each other how our day was. We laugh and as the sun slowly sets, I start to get dressed.

"I wish I could stay here with you. But you know what my parents are like." He leans back on his elbow, watching me get dressed and contact my parents to pick me up.

"Hmm, I think we would do it again. If you stayed here tonight, I mean." I smile at him, sit down on his bed for a moment and ruffle his hair.

"I wouldn't mind, darling." The nickname makes him blush and when he leans forward to kiss me, I playfully push him away.

"I have to go, are you coming down with me?" He nods, feigning annoyance, and as we walk out of his room, he puts his arm around my waist and pulls me towards him.

He steals his kiss there, but more than that he steals my heart.

We smile at each other and for this moment everything is just perfect. We go downstairs and just as we are back in the living room we hear a door open loudly.

A visibly drunk man stumbles in. I see Carl tense up next to me, staring at the stranger angrily. I quietly lean towards him to whisper my question.

"Who is that?" When he rolls his eyes, I get a bad feeling.

"That's my father, great isn't it?" The man in front of me is dirty, has unkempt hair and an unpleasant smile on his face.

"Should I ask my parents if you can stay overnight?" My gaze is more focused on the man than on Carl.

But he just shakes his head, and just as he is about to answer, the man sees us too.

"Oh, my son! It's so good to see you, not really, but I'll take your bed. Fiona has mine. Is that your little girlfriend? She looks expensive, very good catch. How much money did you rip her off? I hope it's worth it to go through all this drama." I frown in confusion, but when Carl freezes next to me, I become uncertain.

"What does he mean by that?" This time my gaze is directed solely at Carl.

"Nothing, he's drunk-" but before he can finish, the man does.

"How rude of me, I am Frank. The proud father of this child, at least one of my descendants has made something of himself and used his talent. He has my good genes, the good looks and I teach him the tricks. Like exploiting an innocent, very very rich girl for money. It doesn't bother you, I hope? You seem to have enough, but I hope my son returns the favor to you."

The words catch me so off guard that I can't move. I don't believe anything this man says until I see the guilty look on Carl's face.

"W-what? That's a lie, right? Tell me he's lying, Carl." As he runs his hands through his hair and tries to answer me, Frank speaks again.

"Oh, you haven't confessed to her yet? My fault, I should have waited. I didn't think you would humiliate this girl for so long. I told you this wouldn't end well." But Carl ignores him completely when he notices me moving away from him.

"Wait, I'm sorry. It wasn't like that-" But I interrupt him, already feeling tears gathering in my eyes.

"So what happened? You act like you don't want any money from me and-" Carl's look becomes frustrated.

"You offered me your money! You said if I matched it, everything would be fine for you." I'm almost speechless, is this all a nightmare?

"Are you serious? I offered it to you because you weren't asking for it. And now I find out it was your plan from the beginning? You just talked to me, just spent time with me to get my money? Who does that?" Frank's voice intervenes.

"I invented the strategy, my dear. It's turning out to be quite useful." But I don't pay attention to him, I just look at Carl.

"Please, I'm sorry. Yes, it was meant that way in the beginning, but it's different now. I-" My tears flow when he admits it and any feeling of happiness disappears. All that remains is betrayal and sadness.

"You what? What am I saying, you were probably happy that I only wanted you in return. I'm such an idiot. You didn't just take my money, you took my first time too!" As he comes towards me, I step back.

"Listen to me, I didnt force you to do all this for me. You wanted it." The more he talks the more desperate I feel and the greater my anger becomes.

"You idiot! I thought you liked me! I thought you finally noticed me too." My sobs get louder and my vision blurs. When he tries to grab my face, I slap him.

"My cue to go. I can see that you're sorting it out between yourselves just fine." Frank's footsteps fading away are nothing compared to the sound of my heart breaking.

"I like you, I really like you. At first it wasn't my intention to start a relationship with you, but then I got to know you and-" Every word that escapes him is only worse.

"Stop talking! You know what the worst thing is that I liked you for so long before you even talked to me. And I thought it was a miracle when you first spoke to me in the libary. I should have listened to the others, you only care about yourself!" I wipe the tears from my cheeks, wishing I could be anywhere but here.

Then before he can say anything, I turn around and run out of the house. But I hear him following me.

"Wait! Don't just walk away, I have to get this straight. Hey!" He catches me, turns me around and holds my tear-stained face in his hands.

"I'm an idiot, I know that. I'm sorry for hurting you. I- God, I love you. You hear me? I love you too. Please stay." But I just shake my head and try to free myself from his grip.

"How do I know if that isn't a lie too? You've betrayed me, I can't talk to you now." When my car pulls up, I get in without turning around. I don't look back, even though his loud curse can be heard throughout the whole neighborhood.

🔗🔗🔗🔗🔗

Your pov

I spend the next few days without saying much, but I cried almost the whole time.

I miss him incredibly, not a day has gone by in the last few months when I haven't seen him and now I've been alone for three days.

I wish he was here, but on the other hand I am so hurt and feel terrible. He is the reason for this.

I wish I had never found out. I wish he had never done it, never lied to me. Didn't use me for money, but worst of all, I don't know if he even likes me.

Today is the first day that I go back to school. Even though I put on make-up, choose a nice outfit and listen to my favorite songs to distract myself, I can only think of him.

His blonde hair, his beautiful eyes, the way his lips felt. How he felt inside me. Then I remember that he loves me and how he finally said it, something I have wanted to hear for so long.

But then I think about what he did and everything feels empty again.

As I enter the school, my friends come to meet me. They already know what happened, they all hug me and I feel a little better.

Until I see him.

And he sees me too. It takes all my effort to avert my gaze. To get my books out of my cupboard, but then I have to stop because he is not standing next to me offering to carry them.

I take it myself, close my door, but before I can go any further, he is standing in front of me. My heart stops. Oh, how his eyes shine.

"Do you need help?" His eyes focus on the books and I have to swallow several times before I can answer.

"No, I have to go to class now." But as I try to walk past him, he stops me.

"You don't answer my texts, you don't call me back. I'm not allowed into your house and you avoid me at school. What can I do? Please tell me what I need to do, so you forgive me." I laugh, but it is without humor.

"What can you do? Move."

I can see his shock, but he still doesn't step aside.

"Can't you hear me? I said-" but he walks toward me until I'm forced to lean my back against the lockers.

His eyes find mine.

"I can't sleep. And when I do, I dream of you. There's a - a hole in my heart that only you can fill. It hurts and I hate not being with you. It's even worse to be here, when you don't look at me the way you usually do. You don't smile at me, God, you don't look like you're in love with me anymore. It's hell."

Tears gather in my eyes, his words are so desperate, it hurts to see him like this.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you took advantage of me. Before you slept with me." A tear runs down my cheek and I know my mascara is smudging.

"I know, I know. And I feel so bad, I'll do anything to make it right. Just tell me."

When I look into his eyes, my heart also hurts.

"Move, Carl. I can't see you now." This time he lets go of me and I go to class with tears in my eyes.

🔗🔗🔗🔗

Your pov

It's been four weeks since we last spoke, but it doesn't hurt any less to see him. Even if I don't let him talk to me, he doesn't give up.

He puts flowers in my locker, chocolate, and notes full of apologies and sweet promises.

Everything warms my heart, but it still feels like this money thing is unresolved between us. I know now that he likes me, very much in fact, as he makes it clear, but that doesn't change the real problem.

That he used me for my money.

As I leave school that day, I feel exhausted and, as I often do, I wish I had his arms around me.

Holding me tight, his lips kissing me, loving me.

As I wait for my father's car, I suddenly hear his familiar throat clearing. With my heart pounding, I turn around and see him smiling uncertainly at me.

"I know what I had to do and now I've done it. Here." He gives me an envelope and I take it uncertainly.

"Carl, your letters are flattering, but-" He quickly interrupts me.

"No, it's something else. Open it." The deja vu hits me unexpectedly and I slowly open the envelope, the content leaves me speechless.

"What is that supposed to be?" It's rhetorical, but I ask anyway.

"All the money I owe you. What you've kindly given me, I pay it back. Every cent. You can count." He looks so proud, I almost have to laugh.

"How- did you rob a bank?" He grins contentedly at my reaction.

"An old grandma." This time I laugh and he comes closer to me, slowly taking my hands.

"No, seriously. How did you do that?" He looks at me lovingly.

"Working in the kitchen every day after school, I found a part-time job with Fiona. The payment is bad, but it was worth it. I understand that money was the problem and well, that I wasn't honest to you." As I lower the envelope, we look at each other.

"Promise, no more secrets?"

He smiles and suddenly the world is a brighter place.

"Promise, but we continue one of our agreements." I raise my eyebrows questioningly, seeing him grin as he leans toward me, his breath brushing against my lips and he whispers:

"I'll still spend my breaks with you in the janitor's room."

The laughter that escapes me gets interrupted, when his lips meet mine.

[idiotgojo]

✷ SOJU-POP '24 ! | requests open !

let's celebrate the end of the year with some cosy little delusions !

⠀

to celebrate both the end of the year and the start of a new one, plus hitting 300+ followers, i've decided to host a mini blurb week based on your requests! after taking a bit of a break, this seems like the perfect way for me to ease back into writing over the holidays.

so grab a drink, cook up something warm, cosy up under the covers, and enjoy ! all requests will be released between 20th dec - 10th jan

✷ how to request | character + prompt/trope + genre

+ provide one or two lines extra of what kind of scenario you're thinking of, be a little specific. this will help me write exactly what you probably want. please stick to one request only. this will be a first come first serve and will end when i get about 20-30 requests. i write only for jjk characters with a f!reader.

✷ or get to know me | send me a question from this list

prompts, genres, characters | under the cut

characters | gojo, geto, nanami, choso, sukuna, toji, megumi, yuji

i do not write smut/suggestive content for the minors.

genres | fluff, hurt comfort, angst, nsfw, crack (i try TT), playful tease (sfw), suggestive

prompts |

*kiss* "Wow... It really is smudge proof... Let's try again"

"...Stop" "Really?" "no"

"That's one way to shut me up"

"shut up" "make me"

"babe, I love you but in the nicest possible way... there's no way you're not failing tomorrow's test"

"why are you throwing rocks at my wind— WHY ARE YOU HOLDING A BOOMBOX IN THE RAIN?"

"I’m not blushing. It’s from the cold." "Yeah. Sure."

“So… Do you actually like me—” “We have been together for seven years. We’re getting married next year. What the hell do you think?”

"I'm gonna drop you." "No, you won't." "… No I won't."

"So… have you decided on who will be your new years kiss yet?"

"you needn’t be so gentle, y’know. if today wasn’t enough to break me, i doubt an ill-applied handful of shampoo will." - an injured loved one

"You're going to have to set my leg" "I'm going to what" "Snap it back into place" "Ew" "Get on with it idiot"

"can you please come get me?"

"Are you still mad at me? I mean, it's okay if you are. I'm mad at myself, too."

"i don't deserve you" "you are more than deserving of me" (this is soooo nanami coded)

"Are we going to talk about it?" "I'd rather not." "Did he hurt you?" "I just said I don't want to talk about it."

"We really shouldn't have fought over a piece of dumpling, don't you think so?" "Yeah, that was rather a vague topic to argue over."

“Where did we go wrong?” 

"Don’t you get it? You were always just entertainment for me."

"so I was just a bet?"

"It’s the middle of the night. What’re you doing?" "I’m sorry. I d-didn’t know where e-else to go."

"what are we to each other" "do i really have to spell it out for you?"

one bed trope - "You snore. Loudly."

anti one bed trope - there's two beds now

wrestling match and one accidently falls off the bed and cries lol

late night calls where one of you accidentally falls asleep

them staring at you from across the room and getting flustered when u stare at them back

one character thinks they’ve been ignored after a message goes undelivered. hurt, they avoid the other until they realize it was never received, once cleared up, there’s a soft apology and a tight embrace

"You’ve seen literally everything." "And I like what I saw."

"eyes open. keep looking."

Character B teasing A's thighs during a heated session "can you PLEASE move your hand" "up or down" "up ffs"

"Yeah?" They say with a hint of teasing to their tone, “And what if I do this?” They say, changing their rhythm slightly and hitting your weak spot.

"Don’t worry, I’d take you out for dinner before I eat you out for dessert. It’s the polite thing to do."

wrapping their fingers around your wrist and guiding you to where they desperately need you.

The laughter and teasing between them makes them both relax into each other during their first time. 

B begs A to not leave any marks because they just can’t let this secret get out

maintaining eye contact as they gather the wetness from between your legs with their fingers and they're sucking them off with a satisfied hum.

Character B dipping their head down to eat Character A out without warning, causing Character A to gasp loudly and bite their bottom lip.

College AU

Medical/Hospital AU

Criminal/Cop AU

Vacation AU

Nightclub AU

Cafe AU

Royal x Commoner AU

Modern Royalty

Tattoo Artist

Incubus/ Succubus AU

Enemies to Lovers

Rockstar (gf)

Academic Rivals

Strangers to Lovers

Unrequited Lovers

Mornings in bed

Late night conversations

if you don't like any of the above, feel free to provide one of your own! none of the prompts belong to me

disclaimer; if in case things do not run according to schedule, please be patient, this is kind of a busy period for me but since it's the holidays i've been wanting to write for a while.

i hope all of you have a lovely and warm end to the year <3

[city-tickles]

Hi!

Here a couple of new tickle stories from parties I have gone to in NYC. This one has trans ff/m tickling, m/ff tickling and ff/m tickling!

A few weeks ago, I went to another kink party, wearing this shirt in an attempt to get more attention.

It worked because a nice trans couple came up to me and asked if I wanted to session. I agreed and we went over to the rack that looks like this:

I always wanted to try that rack and it did not disappoint. The couple spent about 20 minutes scribbling and tickling all over, mostly my upper body. It was a nice contrast since one of them had sharper nails and the other had softer nails. So my body did not know what to do sometimes. The TicklingDuck device came out again as well, but this time it was used a lot on my neck. I have never been tickled on my neck to that degree so it was a lot of laughing and squirming but there was no place for me to go, so they just went for it. They were also great teasers, talking about how much I love this because I was laughing so much 😂

After that, I ran into them a couple more times and even watched their own couple tickling session but we never got a chance to play more that evening.

Story 2:

I went to a bi-weekly foot party that I last went to in the summer. During that time I met one of the models who absolutely loved tickling.

I got there late and it was very hot and crowded. To break some ice, I session with one girl who isn't super ticklish on her feet at all but is on her stomach so I did a lot of tummy and side tickles to her. After her, I ended up talking to another girl, a tall, blonde woman, about tickling and then my girl from last time came out. I told her that I was gonna session with the blonde and then we can play after. The summer girl asks if I want to do both at the same time and a light bulb just went off!

I decide to session with both at the same time. unfortunately it's real crowded tonight but we managed to find room. It’s a little awkward since we are on couches and behind protection, but right next to you is someone else playing. You just have to block it out and focus on your fun.

One awkward part that happened is that these parties have curtain setups to "protect you" and there was a pause because one of the curtains dropped, so I was def spotted just in stocks, being tickled. I also felt a little bad because we're next to other people playing and I'm sure the guy who is doing foot worship was not here to see my (well taken care of) feet haha but you just roll with it

Initially we take turns tickling each other tickle fight style. Summer tickles me then Blonde or I get her and Blonde gets us both. I was in the middle so they would gang up on me a bit tickling all over my sides.

I asked if I could use my stocks, which they were on board with. So BOTH of their feet are locked in the sticks while they lay back and I do my best to tickle both of them at the same time or switch off. It's the closest I ever felt to being in a video 😂.

I would tickle both of their feet if one person's legs and the other person's foot or stretch myself out as much as I could to get their upper bodies, or get one then go after the other. They would even tickle each other in the stocks. I also got to use the vibration device from tickling duck It was great! I did that for maybe 20 minutes then asked if I could lee

So they have me lay back, put my feet in the stocks, have me put on a blindfold I bought with me, then start to go to down. They're all over my feet with fingers or feathers or the device, or a mix of both. One moment it was a feather, while someone was using their fingers. While I'm laughing the whole time. Then they would switch off with one person on my feet and the other person on my sides and tummy. Later, they had me hold my arms up while one held my arms down and the other attacked my armpits or sides. The only drawback was sometime the nails were sharp and they hurt but it was more good than bad. That happened for about another 20 minutes until I actually gave up (partially cause I knew this would cost so much money)

The cherry on top was the teasing and also lack of teasing. One moment I can hear them having just a regular conversation while tickling me, which was almost worse because they can talk about tv and torture me at the same time 😂 Other times they would tease me saying he’s giggling so much and laughing so hard. They also would say things like “Aww. We could tell he needed this today” even though they were teasing, they were right. I was having a rough couple of days so I did need that laugh.

But overall, it was awesome and worth the money. I was like actually tired afterwards. It’s rare that I have get worn out from tickling but they made it happen lol

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed these stories!

[hannie-dul-set]

HOME FOR THE BITCHLESS [3].

SYNOPSIS. wherein your friend offers a room for you to crash in while your dorm is being renovated, but fails to mention that your new housemates don’t know how to talk to women (oh, and they also have an ongoing bet about you, too).

PAIRINGS. choi soobin, choi beomgyu, lee heeseung, park jongseong, sim jaeyun, park sunghoon x female! reader. GENRE. housemates! au, rom-com, sitcom, reverse harem time baby. WARNINGS. mild terrorization, sunghoon has a mental breakdown, beomgyu thinks shoulders are inappropriate, swearing. WORD COUNT. 3.2k.

TAGLIST. @cerealdreamwriter @tyongff-ff @dinonuguaegi @certifiedmoa @blueberrgyuu0 @primantha @blu3bell4 @nunugget @hoshi-is-ult-bbg @captivq @tocupid @seosalad @ddazed-lhs @gyuszie @mifuyuyo @error-cant-function @twocupsofsuga @flowerbe0m @dangerousconnoisseurbanana

NOTE. i like to call this the sunghoon chapter. the rest of the boys will get their own chapters too in the future, pls tell me who your favorite boy is so far 😔.

MASTERLIST | NEXT >

CHAPTER 3 — it takes a lemon related accident to get a man to talk.

TODAY IS THE DAY YOU FINALLY FIND OUT WHAT PARK SUNGHOON’S FUCKING DEAL IS. You can only go on for so long of nothing but ominous eye contact and two-worded conversations before you start considering manslaughter (three weeks). You’re going to make him tell you what his goddamned problem is within today even if he ends up punching you in the face (because he always looks like he’s on the brink of doing that, anyway).

The first step to this operation is observation. You have been discreetly watching him this past week, taking note of his daily routine and there are two notable things that you have discovered— one, he leaves his room every single day at three in the afternoon, and two, he returns home at nine in the evening. That’s enough information for you to work with. You have this thing in the bag.

Your next step is preparing for battle. By one in the afternoon, you’ve already showered, blow dried your hair, and dressed in the prettiest outfit you quickly pulled from your closet (a nice chiffon maxi skirt paired with a lacy camisole because nothing lowers a man’s guard better than bare shoulders). You even put on makeup today. If this plan ends up being a failure, you’re going to kill Sunghoon and then yourself.

“You look pretty today,” Jay informs you when you invade his room for the sole purpose of having an outfit check in front of his full-length mirror. “I mean, you’re always pretty. It’s just you’re even prettier today. Like when even though you always make rose tteokbokki for your friends everyday, for some reason the color is just a lot more vibrant this day and it looks extra delicious?”

“Thanks.” You give him a pat on the back and exit the room.

Right when you start climbing up the stairs back to the third floor, your two-forty five alarm goes off. Perfect. It’s all going according to plan. You position yourself in the small space between your room and his, leaning against the archway with a feigned air of nonchalance. 

The familiar click of a lock breaks the silence. You prepare to strike.

“Hey.”

It’s almost funny how Sunghoon immediately flinches at the sound of your voice, but you’re not here to laugh. You’re here to strike a conversation because for some reason, that’s completely impossible with the guy you’re currently staring down. He’s already recovered from the initial shock. You push through even though he’s scaring you shitless. “Can we talk for a sec?”

Apparently, you cannot talk for a sec because Sunghoon immediately starts walking, but you’ve foreseen this. You know he’d ignore you so you quickly kick your foot against the other side of the opening, barricading him inside this small corner with an outstretched leg. 

Bam!

“I asked if we could talk.”

You watch as his eyes fly open in shock, taking a step forward only to jump back from your rather aggressive obstruction. Your arms are crossed, waiting for him to finally open his fucking mouth and surrender. He’s got nowhere to run.

Or, so you thought. Because he does have a way to run, and that is under your leg when he slides underneath as if it’s a fucking limbo stick. It gets a little breezy under your skirt when he skids right by. What the fuck. Is the idea of having to talk to you really that abhorrent to him? Are you seriously considering chasing after him right now?”

“Hey, wait!”

Yes, you are.

Sunghoon is fast. He’s running and running down the hall, down the stairs to the second floor, and you’re right at his fucking heels. You’ve prepared endlessly for this day and you have no intentions on letting him slip away like a slimy lizard. However, you might have made some flagrant miscalculations with your physical abilities, because the moment you reach the bottom floor, Sunghoon is widening the gap, and you’re just about to hack out your lungs and die.

How much stamina does this bastard have? Heeseung emerges from Jake’s room the moment Sunghoon speeds by, and you just barely manage to hold onto the door for support before you give up and start panting. “What’s going on? Are you two playing tag?”

You collapse to the ground. This is too much cardio. “No, I’m trying to kill him,” you say in between bated breaths. “But nevermind, I can’t do this anymore. Can you help me up? I can’t feel my fucking legs.”

When you look up at Heeseung, you notice that he’s brought a brick form of Iron Man from your friend’s room, cradling the red and yellow figure to his chest as hesitant eyes stare down at you with flushed cheeks. “I—I can. I can help,” he chokes out.

“Then help me?”

He simply stares at the arm you have reached out, waiting in the air for his retrieval. You sigh, holding onto the door instead to pull yourself up. Honestly, you shouldn’t have expected anything. “Heeseung, are you mysophobic?”

“What? No, what makes you say that?” The fact that looks relieved that you gave up on him plucks on your irritation. “I love my gay friends.”

You blink. “Nevermind. Can you at least tell me where Sunghoon is going? He usually leaves the house at this time, so I’m curious. Do you have an idea?”

“Oh, he has work,” he answers. “Hoon has the afternoon shifts at The Lounge. I think he works all days on weekdays.”

The Lounge is a cafe near your university (not that you’ve been there. Overpriced ice coffee isn’t exactly within your weekly budget). It’s a little far from this neighborhood and as far as you can recall Sunghoon goes to a different uni for sports medicine, so you’re not sure why he’s working there out of all places. “Alright. Thanks.” You’re careful not to brush against Heeseung when you pass by. One day, you’ll be dealing with him and his suspected germ problem with you, but at the moment your plate is still full with a different problematic male.

You fish for your wallet and phone in your room before crawling back downstairs. However, just when you’re about to grab your sandals from the foyer, you’re stopped by Beomgyu blocking your path. He’s leaning against the wall, waving the PD&J in front of your face (Jay was onto something when he gave it that nickname). “Pay up,” he demands. All these men are stressing you out.

“Why?”

For the sake of maintaining an amicable relationship with your housemates, you surrendered your jar monopoly and agreed that you’d all be using the money for additional grocery budget. However, you do not understand why the fuck you have to pay up now.

“Indecent attire,” is Beomgyu’s justification.

“Beomgyu, my tits aren’t even out.”

He parrots your statement in an annoying voice and you desperately want to punch him. If he wants to pick a fight, he should at the very least hide his blushing and look you in the eye. Your battle armor is working a little too well. “Move. I have another bastard to chase down.” But you don’t have time for him. Goddamnit, you have more men to confront after you’re done with Sunghoon. You shove past Beomgyu and leave the house, on your way to The Lounge with an unshakeable determination to fuck Park Sunghoon up.

It takes you a good twenty minutes to arrive at The Lounge, but you don’t walk in the cafe immediately. Through the large front windows, you spot Sunghoon serving a tray of drinks to some customers behind the counter. Oh, so he can be a normal person if he wants to. He’s even smiling and shit (he has a pretty smile. Why doesn’t he smile at you like that). With a huff, you push open the entrance and bulldoze through the door, stomping up to the counter while planning out your order in your head.

“Welcome! How may I hel—” Sunghoon’s customer service smile glitches when he realizes it’s you. “—he-help you?”

“Hi! Can I have an iced americano without the ice?”

“I’m—I’m sorry?”

You give him the sweetest, honey-dipped stretch of the lips that you can muster. “Iced americano. No ice. Oh, and can you get rid of the espresso shot, too?” 

Sunghoon tries to clarify your order. You talk in circles until you finally settle with a glass of lemonade. This is the first time you’ve heard him talk this much which is honestly such a shame because he really does have a nice voice. Unfortunately, he goes mute around you unless his literal job actually requires him to communicate.

He scribbles your name onto the plastic cup and he asks if you don’t mind waiting. You settle on the table nearest to the counter because you want to keep stressing him out. He is. He has been very stressed from the moment you entered the store and it’s evident from how you hear a resounding swear from his workstation when he accidentally puts in too much lemon reserve in your cup and has to remake your drink.

You thought he’d finally gotten over his bad habit of staring, but you catch him flashing looks at you from time to time and at the moment— it’s rather prolonged. He’s looking at you so intently as he puts on the cup sleeve and calls out your name. You fear that you might have made a mistake because if there’s anything you know well about Sunghoon, it’s the fact that he has a very intense and very intimidating stare.

Like right now, as he continues staring when you get up from your seat to retrieve your drink. Seriously, what’s his fucking problem? You intend on staying here until the end of his shift and maybe corner him in the alley next to the cafe. You might be mildly afraid of him, but you’re not a pussy. You’re gonna settle this once and for all.

“Here’s your order.”

Sunghoon hands over your lemonade but for some reason, he doesn’t let go. You furrow your brows, pulling the cup towards you but it’s like his fingers are glued to the sleeve. He looks like he wants to say something, playing tug of war on your drink as he stalls, but you’re really getting annoyed now. A sharp tug on your end has the drink slipping out from both of your hands— painting a nice, yellow tinted splash all over the top that Beomgyu deemed indecent.

Now, it actually is indecent.

You’re speechless. Sunghoon’s face is flushed scarlet. Thank fucking god you ordered a cold drink.

Things weren’t supposed to go this way.

It’s not yet time for his break, but Sunghoon is already pacing back and forth in front of the breakroom, biting on his thumbnail as a mixture of anxiety and shame floods through his veins after royally screwing up. Fuck, he fucked up. He’s absolutely, absolutely, violently fucked himself in the ass and he has no idea how to salvage this.

He just wanted to apologize for sliding under your skirt earlier at the house, but the words wouldn’t jump out of his fucking mouth so he tried stalling and ended up giving you an unscheduled, lemon-flavored bath. His voice just stops working. It goes into total shutdown when he’s looking at you. It’s pathetic.

Normally, he can talk to people just fine. He gets into arguments with his sister over the phone on a daily basis. Hell, it’s even routinary for him to tell Jay to eat shit.

But something about pretty girls with equally pretty smiles makes it harder to string together sentences, okay?

And It’s not just a him problem. All of your house residents can’t talk to you normally, either, but he doesn’t want to stutter like a dumbass in front of you like Soobin and Heeseung hyung. Jake doesn’t count because he doesn’t even perceive you as a woman.

However because of that fear, he ends up not saying anything altogether. It’s hopeless. He’s as good as out of the running for the fucking bet they called (not that he thought he had a chance to win, anyway).

The breakroom door clicks open. He jitters on the spot.

“Sunghoon?”

Your head pops out from the crack in the door, your now clothed shoulder also peeking through. When you walk out, you’re now wearing the spare top he’s supposed to change into after his gym session later. Now that shirt is on you, and it isn’t helping his you-triggered state of emergency at all. “Thanks for the change of clothes.”

“I—I remade your drink.” For the second time. “Sorry about that.” Okay. You’re doing great, Sunghoon. You’re so cool, so awesome, and if you keep this up, you’ll be home free. You can do it.

You chase the straw with your lips. Why is he staring at your lips? “Sorry for spilling my drink all over me, or sorry about running away from me earlier like I had an infectious disease?”

He gulps. You’re really not making it easy for him to talk to you.

“Look, I think Heeseung acting as if I had cooties is enough of a constant attack to my pride. I might actually snap if you start avoiding me like the plague, too. Seriously.” Sunghoon remembers that he also twisted your arm at one point. He should add that to his list of apologies.

“Th—that wasn’t my intention. I was just afraid of running late.”

“Sure,” you scoff. “That doesn’t explain why the fuck you keep staring at me like you want me dead, though.” Looks like he has a lot more to apologize for. “Sunghoon, be honest. Do you have a problem with me? Like, have I done anything to offend you or something?”

“No, of course not!” he exclaims. “It’s just that—”

And like usual, his voice breaks down. Out of order, like a rundown machine. This is the fucking problem, it’s always the fucking problem, but he can’t just tell you that you make him feel nervous, can he? He can’t tell you that his vocal chords rupture when you’re around, making it impossible for him to talk, so he resorts to staring and staring and staring and hoping that if he stares long enough, you’ll somehow read his mind and get the idea of what he wants to say. 

That clearly hasn’t been working. In fact, it’s making things worse so he has to come clean and oh god, you’re gonna think he’s so lame and he’ll never live past this moment until the day he dies a miserable, lonely death. 

It’s the 21st century— why isn’t mindreading an freaking option yet? You look so genuinely upset that he can feel his heart clench up like an asshole. He should just rip his eyes out to repent.

“I’ll...try to stop staring, I’m sorry.”

“No, that’s not the problem, Sunghoon.” Your tone is filled with exasperation and he’s just driven further into guilt. “I have a feeling that you simply just have an unfortunate case of the resting bitch face, but you know what would help? If you actually say ‘hi’ instead of just ominously staring at me. That way I’d know you’re not preparing to throttle me.”

Is his blank expression really that bad? His brows furrow. He’s never gotten any bad feedback about his face before.

But here he goes again. Thinking his thoughts instead of speaking out loud. You let out a sigh and he feels infinitely worse, but he can’t keep stalling because he has to get back to work, and his co-worker is already giving him impatient looks, and he feels like talking is only making things worse. “Can you wait for a while? My shift isn’t over yet, but my break is in thirty minutes.”

“Yeah, sure. Sorry for disturbing you.”

While he’s making drinks and serving customers, Sunghoon makes sure to plot out his entire explanation speech so that you won’t think he’s entirely pathetic. But thirty minutes go by so quickly and the moment his break arrives and he’s pulling out the chair in front of you, all the paragraphs he’s carefully constructed disappear into nothing. Gone. Head absolutely empty save for the thought that this almost feels like a date. But this is not a date. This is a fucking interrogation.

“Say your piece.”

You don’t even give him a chance to prepare. You’re ruthless.

“Well—” So, he starts. He skips over the part that you make him nervous but that aside, he makes the confession that although he does find it difficult to talk to you due to a certain, specific, undisclosable reason (because you’re a girl and you’re pretty), he definitely isn’t plotting your murder, and Sunghoon’s cadence becomes slower, a lot more jagged when he notices the expression on your face. You’re smiling, but it’s not the pretty smiles you usually give him. This one feels a lot more ominous. Is this how you feel when he accidentally stares at you for too long? Should he be scared?

“—And that’s it, but why...why are you looking at me like that…?”

“It’s nothing.” It’s definitely not nothing. Sunghoon’s eyes follow your movement as you rise from your seat. “What kind of drinks do the rest of the guys like?”

“Jay likes americanos and Soobin hyung— wait.” He’s also up now. He doesn’t know he’s standing up, but he is. “You’re leaving already?”

“Do you want me to stay?”

At this point, you’re just doing this on purpose. What the fuck is he supposed to say to that? “Are we good…now?” hesitantly, he tries to make sure. Something is off and he knows it.

“Yeah. We’re good,” you hum, finishing up your lemonade and leaving it on the table. “See you at home. Oh wait, the drinks.” Sunghoon feels uneasy with this conclusion, but he wordlessly follows you to the counter anyway and takes your takeout orders. You’re just gonna go? Why aren’t you making fun of him for being a loser? Why are you just taking the drinks from him without mentioning anything? 

“Thanks. I’ll come by more often,” you tell him, and it just furthers his confusion. “I can also bring some of my friends so you can keep practicing how to talk to pretty girls. Oh, this latte is yours.”

Ah.

Of course.

There it is.

“Hoon?” You wave a hand in front of his eyes. “Sorry, am I making you nervous again?”

Sunghoon wants to die. 

“Can you just— can’t you just forget everything I told you?”

You shake your head and flash him a smile. The smile that always makes him stupid and nervous. Dammit, why do you have to be so pretty? Why must your smile be so pretty and erode his brain into mush? It doesn’t help when you reach out a hand to give him two soft pats on the cheek. It doesn’t help when the warmth of your touch lingers and burrows deep into his skin. “No way. Not when you’ve finally made so much progress! Let’s keep working on it, okay?” 

Sunghoon is finally able to breathe the moment you exit The Lounge, and he nearly collapses into the ground.

The misunderstanding between the both of you has been cleared up— at the cost of his pride and dignity (not that he has much of that in the first place). How the fuck is he supposed to face you after all of this, much less talk to you.

Words. What even are they?

HOME FOR THE BITCHLESS. © hannie-dul-set.

[chunniwritesalot]

home - nh27

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! welcome to my 3rd haas related fanfic 😍😍 i think i should be named the nh27 queen by the amount of ff i'm writing about him (not that im complaining... i want to eat this guy...) if you dont follow me, or check my rambles (go follow me PLEASE... im a desperate gal) you wouldn't know that im going to vacation so i wanted to write something super quick before i left. when i get back- TRUST an smau WILL be made, probably for nico because this man is so beautiful 🤗😋 the writing on this is super rushed but i've been out of practice (uni is starting soon PLEASE SEND HELP) because i major in english and BRO i write so many essays that when i get to break i just stop writing all together. my creative writing is SAUR shit because all i write are analysis's and shit like that BUTTTTT im taking a lot of creative writing courses this year (2) so watch out because i might become Shakespeare cw: sad, cursing, you have a son but your gender isn't included, mentions of crashing (obviously, its about the monaco grand prix), mentions of hate, banner is mine but photos aren't, use of yn, bad writing style

other: y/s/n means your son's name! I DIDN'T EDIT THIS SHIT SORRY FOR GRAMMAR OR SPELLING MISTAKES. MY REQUESTS ARE OPEN IM BEGGING YOU REQUEST wc: 682

you didn't watch f1 races because of your love for the sport. in reality, you hated the sport. the loudness, the chaos, the danger. you thought that maybe nico would've finally listened to you, he would retire and you two could finally live... peacefully, that you could live your life not fearing the fact that the love of your life could quite literally die almost every week. you watched those stupid fucking races because nico was your husband, and you would never forgive yourself if you weren't watching and something unspeakable happened. so nico promised you that he would always come home to you, and he would never break that promise.

sometimes you wished you never got involved in this stupid sport, because then maybe you wouldn't find yourself sitting in the haas garage with your 3 year old being restrained in your grip as you watch the screen. everything going in slow motion as the two haas cars and the redbull collide in with eachother. was it bad to say you hoped most of the damage went to kevin or checo? you didn't care, f1 made everyone a bad person. you were sure louise, who was glued right next to you, thought the same thing- that most of the damage went to nico or checo. "shit" you muttered, your son looking up at you. he was too young to know what was happening, but you could tell he was worried.

"its okay love, just an accident." you whispered to him, he wriggled out of your grip to go run around the garage. not that you cared, right now, you were focused on nico and lord, were you fucking mad. mad that he broke his promise to you, mad that he never listened, mad at this fucking sport. you hated nico for this, hated that he sacrificed his entire life to this sport, when he knew that he had a 3-year-old son. when he knew you were waiting for him, and you would never forgive him if he didn't come back. you sat there, arms crossed as nico made his way back to the haas area after getting checked with the medics. you watched as he approached you, a flash of guilt on his face. louise seemed to get the message because she quickly got up from the seat next to you and made her way over to the children as she waited for her own husband. "y/n, i'm sorry." nico cracked out quietly, reaching out his hand to take yours. he grimaced when you snapped your hand away and stiffened at his words. "what if you died?" you spat out, "god nico, i-" tears burned in your eyes, "i hate you." nico watched as you stormed to the bathroom, not bothering to follow you. he knew you needed time to cool off. after a while, you came back, sitting next to your husband again. "even y/s/n was fucking worried." you whispered to him, "nico, you-." nico stayed silent, his gaze never tearing from the TV infront of them, he nodded slowly. "i was thinking about you the entire time." he started, "and i'm *sorry*, i'm so fucking sorry." he slowly turned to you, "i-i would never forgive myself if something happened to me, love. i-" he stopped, reaching out to wipe your tears, "i'm... i know you hate this sport, but- its my..." you shook your head, motioning for him to stop. sure, you hated this sport, but you didn't hate nico. you loved nico, and loving him meant you would always be there with him. even if that meant you had to watch all his stupid grands prix. because as much as you knew nico loved his sport, he loved you more, and nico promised he would always come home to you and y/s/n.

"i..i don't hate you" you said back gently, "i'm sorry." nico cracked a smile, "i know, my love. don't be sorry." he reached out again, and this time? you didn't pull away, because nico kept his promise. he was always going to come home to you.

[x-0ophelia0-x]

Home isn’t a place, it‘s a feeling.

pairing: Fem!Reader x Ezra Bridger

warnings: none, there’s fluff at the end

word count: 2,7k

summary: Home. Such a simple word and it still was so hard to describe. Since Ezra disappeared from your lives, you didn’t really acknowledge the building you lived in as your home. It all changed though when an unauthorized imperial shuttle caught your attention.

authors note: Finally! I started writing this one last week 😭

however, we were ROBBED of Heras and Ezras hug, literally robbed. anyway, here’s another ff dedicated to our underrated spaceboy c:

enjoy <3

Home.

Such a simple word.

And it still was so hard to describe.

Most people would say that it’s the place where you grew up.

Your house, your room or your Planet.

It’s meaning being completely forgotten. 

To you it was more of an emotion then a place.

Memories and people that defined who you are today. 

People that grew very important to you.

People that managed to work together, as a family.

People that made you feel safe. 

How long has it been now?

10 years?

10 years since you last saw him?

10 years since you kept your hopes up for the best?

10 unimaginable long years that seemed to never have a happy ending for you?

10 years of living with the fear of not knowing if he survived or not?

If you knew better back then you wouldn’t have let Ezra go this easy as you did.

He told you that he’d be alright, that he’d be careful. 

But when the purrgils took off with the Chimarea, jumping into hyperspace, somewhere into the unknown, you couldn’t help but feel helpless.

Helpless because you weren’t able to stop him.

Because you couldn’t do anything more then to watch him go.

That the last ‚I love you‘ he ever heard from you was from your filtered voice trough his comm link.

He was gone and nobody believed in his return, at least not the ones who’d have the resources to bring him back.

Only Hera, Sabine, Ahsoka and you were determined to find him. 

When Ahsoka found a map, leading to a unknown galaxy, your hopes of finding him again went up. A feeling of excitement made it’s way back to you, a feeling you didn’t feel for a long time now. 

There was still hope.

And when Hera told you that Ahsoka and Sabine made their way to possibly find Ezra, you couldn’t help but feel the most excited you ever felt during the last decade.

Little did you know that today was the day.

-

„I have a strange feeling about something..“

You, Chopper and Jacen were sitting on the ghosts couch, talking about different things. 

Jacen often wanted to hear you tell him stories about the rebellion, about your missions, his father, his mother and ‚that guy‘ named Ezra. 

He never met him, how could he?

Hearing you all talk about him most of the time confused Jacen, so he decided to take the things into his own hands and try to understand why everyone was so fond of him by hearing your stories about Ezra. 

„About what?“

You asked the younger boy while you tried to pick the next story you wanted to tell him.

He just shrugged, looking around and then returning his gaze to you.

„I don’t know.. something just felt off earlier“

Just before you could answer anything to him you heard Heras voice calling out for you.

„y/n! I need you on the main hangar now, an unauthorized shuttle requested to land here“

She said, somehow stressed? But why? That wasn’t something new after all.

„Isn’t this something.. I don’t know… common?“

It was a small shuttle after all?

„It belongs to the empire“

Her voice was stern now, hiding something more important.

The empire? This whole thing just got more interesting. 

„… and?“

„The shuttles ID is kinda old..“

This caught your full interest now.

„How old exactly?“

„…“

„Hera?“

„I don’t know how but..“

There was a short break before she continued to speak.

Trying to understand what was happening herself.

„The ID… is registered under Thrawns flagship..“

You expected everything, everything but this.

Your eyes widened at the news, you felt your heart starting to beat faster.

„The Chimaera…?“

„Yes.. this shuttle… somehow managed to return“

Jacen noticed the shift in your behavior, you seemed to be lost in your thoughts.

"Are you still there?"

He heard his mother ask you.

"y/n?"

Knowing that it was some star destroyer that 'took' Ezra away from you, he came to a conclusion of his own.

"That ship.."

He finally catched your Attention, you turned around, looking at him while he tried to find the right words.

"The Chimarea.. was this the ship that... uhmm.."

"Yes"

There was a silent moment between the three of you until Hera decided to speak up again. 

„We don’t know who’s flying the shuttle right now but… You may want to find this out so I guess that you should start and make your way to the hangar“

„Okay“

„Take your blasters with you, just in case“

-

You made your way to the hangar. A lot of people were here, everyone holding his blasters tight, waiting for the shuttle to finally land. 

Hera stood next to, both of you having your eyes trained on the unexpected visitor. 

„Don’t shoot unless they try something stupid and Jacen, you stay behind“

Commanded Hera.

The shuttle now finally touched the hangars floor. The sound of the ramp opening now echoing freely around this place. 

It took some seconds for the person to walk out but you soon recognized the stormtroopers armor. It was pretty worn, had a lot of scratches, even some fabric strips holding some parts together. Compared to the other imps, this was the dirtiest armor you’ve ever seen.

The person stepped put of the shuttle, his hands up, signaling that he didn’t want to start a fight.

Everyone including you and Hera raised his blasters, the trooper on gunpoint.

However, something about all of this felt off. Something was familiar to you but you didn’t know what exactly. 

Whenever you looked at the armored person in front of you, you couldn’t help but think that it’s presence was familiar. 

Not only that, but you felt the person staring at you trough his or hers visor.

Despite not being force sensitive at all, it almost felt like as if the force was trying to tell you something.

The way how the person was walking seemed familiar, even the way how they raised their hands.

Chopper seemed to recognize something though, not much time after the person left the shuttle, he started to roll towards him, you assumed that it was a man.

„Chopper!“

Hera was just as confused as everyone. The droid didn’t hesitate to roll up to this stranger, letting him even pat his head while he gave happy beeps from him for everyone to hear. 

Was this really a stranger? Chopper recognized Someone so dear to him to even let him pat his stubborn head. 

The first started to murmur, not knowing what to do. You at the other hand tried to solve this mystery. 

The shuttle belonged to the Chimaera, the trooper seemed familiar to you and Chopper didn’t waste a second after realizing something you now tried to realize too. 

Chimaera.. Chopper…. Stormtrooper.

Wait, this was a Stormtrooper… a Stormtroopers armor.

„Oh my..“

You gasped at the realization, your eyes wide as you let your blasters fall down. 

„y/n..?“

Hera was even more confused by now. First her war criminal of a droid starts to warm up to some random stormtrooper who was supposed to be dead and now you seem to see something that she still can’t muster.

„This can’t be..“

You continued.

„I can’t believe this..“

Tears started to form at your eyes, threatening to spill over as you started to walk towards the said ‚trooper‘.

He never really moved his gaze away from you and as you started to walk towards him, he gave Chopper a last head pat before starting to make his way to you too. 

„y/n..! What in the force are you doing?“

Hera wanted to go after you but she was stopped by her son.

„Stay back.. and watch“

He said, seeming to also know who the person behind that mask was. 

„Tell me.. who is this?“

„You’ll soon find out“

You now just stood inches away from him. 

He lowered his hands, standing still, seeming to be overwhelmed by something. 

And you knew what that something was, depending if your guess of him was right. 

„I can’t believe this..“

You started, looking up to him to where you assumed where his eyes.

„After 10 years…“

You trailed off, moving your hands up to his face, placing them on the helmet as you tears started to spill over.

„You came back…“

There was a shiver in your voice when you managed to break the lock, slowly taking of his helmet.

„Please.. please let it be you“

You removed the helmet as gently as you could, holding it while you found yourself mesmerized once again.

Vibrant blue eyes were looking straight to your eyes. The same loving look you used to see on a daily basis a decade ago. 

His hair had grown since the last time you saw him, his curls pressed because of the helmet. He even had a beard.

You were at a loss of words, it was him. Ezra.

Your Ezra.

„Hey y/n… it’s me.. it’s really me..“

He said, his eyes never leaving yours as you let the helmet fall.

As if you were acting by some hidden instinct, you threw your arms around him, taking him into the most heartfelt embrace you’ve ever given to anyone in your whole life.

Your tears had no barriers now as you let them stream down freely. 

„Don’t you ever dare to do this again..!“

Was all you managed to say between your sobs. 

Ezra didn’t waste any second, wrapping you tight in his arms while you two fell down to your knees, holding each other close.

„Ezra..“

Hera was shocked, speechless, not knowing what the hell was happening right now. Jacen at the other hand smiled, sensing the relief in her. Something he didn’t sense in her for a long time now.

„Given them a moment.. I have a feeling that they need it“

He then said, looking back to the reunited couple.

„I missed you so much“

You heard him say, the shakiest you’ve ever heard his voice. 

„The thought of you was the only thing that kept me sane..“

He said while you nuzzled your head in his neck, not wanting to ever let go of him again.

„Knowing that this day would come“

You felt something wet drip on your cheek, you raised your head from where it was resting on his shoulder to look at him.

His eyes were filled with tears. He seemed to be happy, relieved… at peace.

Nobody except him knew what he had to face until he was finally back.

What horrors he had to endure while he was stranded somewhere alone.

Something in his eyes told you that he didn’t care about anything that had happened in the past 10 years, instead they seemed to tell you something else.

Something that the both of you knew.

Everything that mattered right now was that he was back, back by your side.. back to the people that cared for him.

„You’re an idiot.. do you know that?“

You somehow managed to chuckle while you looked at his loving eyes.

And there it was, there was the smirk he used to give you whenever he tried to be romantic.

„I‘m your idiot“

„That’s correct“

The last time you heard his voice was when he used the force to talk to you all for one last time before he disappeared. 

It also reminded you that the last time he heard your voice was through the filtered comm link.

„I love you“

You moved your hand to cup his cheek, the once which still held his prominent scars.

And he did it too, he placed his hand on the lower side of your face, his other still wrapped tightly around your body.

„I love you too“

Your faces moved closer and when they were close enough, you connected your lips, sharing a long kiss. 

It somehow replaced everything you both could’ve said to each other.

You both didn’t say a word, deepening the kiss while you didn’t let go of each other.

As of you were both scared that the other would vanish the second you’d loose the grip on the other. 

Chopper started to beep in a teasing way, catching you both off guard as he managed to get a chuckle from Ezra.

You pulled apart and, while you both still held each other close, you also felt a warm feeling inside you. Safety.

A few seconds passed and the sound of boots walking closer to you got louder.

Ezra looked over your shoulder and his eyes widened again.

„Welcome home.. Ezra“

Hera stood in front of them, fighting against her own tears as she looked at her, technically, ‚adopted son‘. 

She knelt down to be on the same level as you two.

„Can I..?“

She asked and you two instantly pulled her closer into your hug.

Let’s just say that it was a very heartwarming reunion.

-

A week passed now since Ezra’s arrival.

You invited him to live with you in your apartment, even offering him the other side of your bed.

Which indeed was an act of true love for you since your most treasured furniture was your bed. 

Your sleep being the only thing that you enjoyed. 

Considering this, letting him have the other half was indeed something very important to you.

However, there was something different now.

For 10 years you somehow developed a feeling that didn’t seem right.

This was the place where you lived, the place where you spent day and night.

But you never felt complete here.

No matter how much you‘d add there, be it any kind of furniture or decoration, there was something missing.

Something or better.. someone. 

With Ezra being back, the building that most of the people would call home, was finally complete.

It’s crazy that you lived here for many years now but you never felt that it was your home. Not until he was again right by your side. 

You were cuddled up against him, resting your head on his chest.

It was early in the morning and he was still sleeping.

You at the other hand were already awake, nuzzling your face against him.

The effect he had on you was crazy.

And he made you realize something.

No matter where you were, where you lived or where you stayed.

No matter the conditions.

Wherever you were.. wherever he was with you..

That’d be the place you’d call your home.

Because even if you lived here for many years, you never really felt at home.

But since the moment he returned, this warm feeling of knowing that you had somewhere to go.. the word ‚home‘ instantly regained its meaning for you.

He made you feel safe, loved and cared for.

He was your safe space.

Your everything.

Deep in your heart you knew the answer to the question you used to ask yourself in the past years.

He was your home.

And you were his.

He didn’t tell this to you but when he was back in Perridea, he of corse didn’t feel at home at all.

Not only because he was trapped in another galaxy. No. 

He even had his own ‚home‘ when he travelled with his new friends.

He spent 10 years of his life there and not one of those years, not even for a second, he was able to somehow feel as if he had a home there.

Because you weren’t there.

And when he came back, when he walked off that Shuttle.

When he finally looked into your eyes.

He instantly felt something that literal buildings didn’t manage to do.

He felt at home.

In his case, his home wasn’t just a lifeless building… instead it was something bigger… a Person.

The Person he wanted to spend his entire life with. 

You.

[jtl-fics]

Fluent Freshman - Part 17

PREVIOUS

1. You do not talk about the Speakeasy in the basement 2. You DO NOT TALK about the Speakeasy in the basement

Those are two of the three cardinal rules of Eden’s Twilight both as a VIP customer and as an employee. The rest are more suggestions or requests that are fairly malleable depending on the night and the patron.

Andrew himself had broken the latter half of ‘Don’t be a dick or try anything with your dick on the club premises’ multiple times with Roland and then he’d broken it even further and with more vigor with Neil.

Roland had tried to bill them for the furniture in the break room and Andrew had been more than happy to use some of the blackmail he’d been holding onto to make it go away despite Neil’s repeated attempts to try and pay for it. “It’s my fault Andrew, I asked you to lay me there.” And “Allison didn’t warn me that it could stain fabric, she said it transferred really easily onto skin.” Had been waved away as Roland was happy to have those particular bits of blackmail out of play.

That being said Roland had come in despite the clear ‘occupied’ signs on the door and interrupted some of Andrew’s finest work a few weeks ago (His from? Excellent. His pacing? Excellent. His angle? Excellent. The noises Neil had been making? Perfection.)

Roland still couldn’t look at Neil without his eyes wandering where they shouldn’t so Andrew had a guest pass for the speakeasy waiting for him at the bar to make up for that wandering eye.

Which meant that he could take FF down to the speakeasy tonight. He was sure that FF would pass muster and be able to come without a pass after the night, he was just the kind of guy that they liked to have down there.

It would all be so simple if it weren’t for the third cardinal rule of Eden’s Twilight.

3. Nicky Hemmick is not allowed to know about the Speakeasy.

When Nicky had worked at Eden’s he’d been popular but he’d also talked about all sorts of secrets. He spilled tea like Aaron had spilled drinks.

So the club had done what it had to do in order to protect the incredibly select and private feature of their club:

They lied about what was down there and then they committed to that lie.

So the day came and Nicky was looking at the door with a guard next to it, “Where does that go?” He asked.

“It’s an exclusive club for straight swingers to meet and swap.” The lie rolls off of Roland’s tongue like the truth.

Nicky made a disgusted face. “Straight people.” He said shaking his head and then Roland swiftly made some purchases to sell his lie and offered the guard Frank an additional $5 an hour if he was willing to change his uniform.

Nicky Hemmick has never gone near the door since then and it is considered a success for the record books by all of the staff and VIPs in the know.

Which is why Andrew had needed a plan to pry Nicky off of FF for the night.

Nicky and FF had spent the entire time at Sweeties elbowing one another and laughing (well Nicky laughed and FF tolerated all of Nicky’s jokes and implications stoically), Nicky had been sticking with FF like he was one of the various flecks of glitter that stuck to FF after the freshman had slept in Nicky’s bed.

Before he’d gotten FF dressed up Nicky had made a solemn oath, “You and me Smithy, we’ll dance the night away!” Nicky had exclaimed.

“I’m good thanks.” FF said, “You know what will happen if I dance.” He says and Nicky grimaces as if remembering something painful. He wonders if FF just isn’t a good dancer or if the consequences of someone bumping into him were as painful as they were when someone bumped into Andrew on the dance floor.

“Well, then you and me will just have to spend the entire night chatting in the booth Smithy!” Nicky had smiled as if he wasn’t fucking up Andrew’s plans to take FF down to the speakeasy where they could sit without the headache inducing music that Nicky, Aaron, and even Kevin (he claims Stockholm syndrome) claim to love.

So, Andrew had needed to find a way to get Nicky to a state where he would be compelled to dance and leave FF alone for the night.

There are exactly three sure-fire ways to get Nicky Hemmick to become a slave to the dance floor.

1. You have to play his favorite music and Andrew doesn’t know if there’s enough blackmail in the world to get Roland to force a DJ to play nothing but Nicki Minaj’s Super Bass, Gasoline by Daddy Yankee, or Usher’s DJ’s Got Us Fallin’ In Love (his three current obsessions) on a loop for the entire night. (Bust)

2. You are Erik Klose and you want to dance. This option was unlikely due to Erik currently (as far as Andrew knew) being in Germany. (Bust)

3. Nicky has taken some party drugs. (Feasible)

So, Andrew may have been the one that had reminded both his brother and Nicky about Cracker Dust on their way to the car. Neil shoots him a look he ignores because Andrew hasn’t really pushed or mentioned Cracker Dust in almost a year.

It was something that they had all gotten off of for various reasons the year prior.

Neil had never started, Andrew had his deal with Neil, Kevin wanted to cut back on the substances he was abusing and he was not going to be giving up alcohol anytime soon, Aaron had needed a squeaky clean image for the trial, and Nicky had given it up in solidarity.

Aaron had been bemoaning that he had forgotten to get any the last four times they had gone to Eden’s so, really, Andrew was just being a thoughtful brother when he’d reminded his cousin.

So when they park the Maserati and head into the club it is no shock that after the first round of drinks (Neil & FF both had bottled waters) Nicky whips out the sandwich baggy he had gotten from FF and hands Aaron his share.

In a turn of good luck a bass heavy remix of Flo Rida’s Club Can’t Handle Me started playing and the only thing Nicky did was squeal, kiss FF’s cheek, and drag Aaron out onto the dance floor.

And then there were three.

***

FF had NOT been able to figure out where the hell the bathrooms were.

It might be due to the fact that his stomach is trying to stage a revolt against him but he’s pretty sure he’s forgotten how to read English. There are no other languages around  for him to see if this illiteracy has spread to other languages.

He wonders it he brought out his katakana flashcards if the lines would blur or if his brain would be so filled with the unrelenting desire to go to the bathroom that his Professor would wonder how he ever got full marks on his midterm.

Maybe clubs didn’t have signs that pointed to the bathroom? Was he supposed to go up and ask that bartender that Andrew kept going to? Was it like a gas station where he had to ask for keys?

Oh god Captain Neil just asked him something.

When the hell did Nicky lea-

Oh Dj’s Got Us Falling In Love is playing. Nicky is definitely on the dance floor. FF has yet to escape Nicky grinding on him whenever this song happens to come on the radio he is sure that someone right now out on the dance floor is suffering the same fate that he has 3-4 times a week.

He wonders if Nicky will call Erik like he usually does when it comes on outside of the club.

At least it’s super hard to hear in this club if Nicky takes a seat next to him and starts gushing to Erik in German.

Oh god Captain Neil just asked him something and he just remembered that this would be the second time Captain Neil has asked him something.

If there was one weakness in FF’s foreign language arsenal it is that he has a hard time processing language when surrounded by loud sounds. If he knows what language they’re talking in he can sometimes get by on reading lips (does that count as another language? Probably not) but Captain Neil speaks like four languages fluently and his Spanish is getting better and better every-

Oh god Captain Neil and Andrew just asked him something and he still hasn’t answered the other two times.

“I can’t hear you!” He calls out and hopes they can at least understand HIM.

Andrew rolls his eyes and bumps Captain Neil’s shoulder with his own. He sees Andrew whisper something to Captain Neil before pointing somewhere in the distance.

OH

They had noticed his obvious plight and were going to show him to the bathroom!

That was nice.

Maybe Nicky had asked them before his songs came on.

Andrew and Captain Neil are out of the booth and Andrew juts his chin off in a certain direction. FF does NOT need to be told twice, he’s more than happy to follow Andrew to the bathroom like some pre-schooler following their mom. These are desperate times.

So Andrew and Captain Neil guide him across the dance floor and…sure enough Nicky is grinding on some other guy who looks like he’s in heaven and he thinks he can see Aaron’s pale arms flying uncoordinatedly all over the place somewhere in the middle distance.

FF finds himself with Captain Neil and Andrew in a hallway. There’s a guard in front of the door with a bizarre pineapple shirt (why are they all upside down?) on but FF hadn’t even dressed himself tonight so he really shouldn’t judge.

“Minyard, Josten, and one guest.” He can hear Andrew say now that they’re away from the loud thrum of the music.

How fancy is this bathroom?

The man looks at Andrew, Captain Neil, and then FF. There is a visible head-to-toe inspection when he hits FF and whatever the man sees must past muster.

“Acceptable. You know the rules.”

Rules?

Wash your hands?

Don’t piss on the floor?

Let staff know if the urinal is low on ice?

FF hoped the rules would be posted in easy to understand pictures because his ability to read the English language was still heavily hampered at the moment.

Why is the handle to the door an upside pineapple too? Did someone install it wrong? Also Eden’s does not give off a very tropical vibe so why would they pick that?

The door opens and-

Oh.

Those are stairs.

Oh.

Andrew’s taking him to the basement.

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

NEXT

Per Your Requests:

@i-have-three-feelings​ @blep-23​ @dreamerking27​ @andreilsmyreligion​ @belodensetdust​ @rainbowpineapplebottle @yarn-ace​ @iwouldlikesometea @lily-s-world​ @obscureshipsandchips​ @booklover242​ @whataboutmyfries​ @sahturnos​ @pluto-pepsi​ @dreamerthinker​ @passinhosdetartaruga​ @leftunknownheart​ @aro-manita-muscaria @hologramsaredead​ @Chaoticgremlinswishtheycouldbeme @tntwme​ @tayspots @nick-scar​ @crazy-fangirl2524​ @blue-jos10​ @stabbyfoxandrew​ @splishsplashyouropinionistrash​ @sammichly​ @the-broken-pen​ @bitchesdoweknowu​ @very-small-flower​ @ghostlyboiii​ @its-a-paxycab​ @bisexual-genderfluid-fan​ @cheesecookie​ @theoneandonlylostsock​ @foxsoulcourt​ @blueleys @adverbialstarlight​ @elia-nna​ @can-i-just-stay-in-the-corner​ @nikodiangel​ @foxandcrow-inatrenchcoat​ @hallucinatedjosten​ @satanic-foxhole-court​ @vexingcosmos​ @chalilodimun​ @insectsgetcooked​ @angry-kid-with-no-money​ @queer-crows​ @lilyndra @themugglemudperson​ @readertodeath​ @apileofpillows​ @mortalsbowbeforeme​ @hellomynameismoo​ @next-level-mess @youreonlylow​ @interstellarfig​ @notprocrastinatingatalltoday​ @percyjacksonfan3​ @queenofcrazy27​ @bsmr261 @ghostlyscares​ @spencellio​ @adinthedarkroom​ @harpymoth​ @sufferingjustalilbit​ @anxietymoss​ @oddgreyhound​ @ohno-myhyperfixation-itsbroken​ @ken22789​ @atiredvampire​ @isoldescorner​ @not--a--pipedream​ @azure-wing​ @bushbees​  @roonilwazlib-main​ @crumplelush​ @foldedaces-paperbirds​ @thesenseinnonsense​

[arisu-artnfics]

“A trip to Paris” 4

Notes: 

Title of chapter by beta. (Still @the-oaken-muse on tumblr or The_Oaken_Muse on AO3).

Chapter: 4/12 Previous Next (First). Versión en Español

Also on: A03 || FF || DeviantArt || Facebook.

Chapter 4: “Danny Needs a Break”

Jack, Maddie, and Dani had just finished filling out paperwork in Lancer's office when, as was quickly becoming their usual, a ghost appeared. The Fentons leapt into action, joining up with Phantom and the Red Huntress, who had also detected the unwanted guest on the premises. If there just so happened to be two Phantoms in that fight, the students of Casper High were none the wiser.

After the ghost was taken care of and the Fenton family was back in Mr. Lancer’s office, Dani suggested that she should also be included in the time management plan for Danny. She would need one similar to his, if not the same, when she started studying there next year since she was a Phantom as well. Her parents and Mr. Lancer agreed.

After a few days, they fell into a sort of rhythm. Dani and her parents took the day shift, while the others were in school, with Danny helping them out on the more difficult ones. The original Team Phantom took the afternoons. At night they alternated turns, so if someone patrolled a night, they had the next night off. 

It had barely been more than a week of the routine and the new members of their team were already starting to realise just how much work really went into ghost hunting. It really did help, spreading the load evenly like that, but even with everyone pitching in, Danny was still exhausted. It turned out that leading multiple teams meant you had to do a lot of running around. Everyone agreed that a real break was what he needed.  

“You need a break? That’s easy, you should try travel!” said Dani as she popped a chip into her mouth. Sam and Valerie nodded in agreement. 

The teens were chilling in the Fenton’s living room after school. They were all there, well, almost all –Tucker couldn’t hang out because he was busy with Mayor Business™. Sam and Valerie were on the couch, with Dani sitting cross-legged on the floor next to them and Jazz was curled up in the armchair reading a book.

Danny paced from one side of the room to the other, unable to sit still. “As much as I like the sound of that, I can’t. I thought you guys of all people would understand… I can’t just leave, Amity Park isn’t going to defend itself!” 

“Danny, I love you and all, but all this pacing is starting to make me dizzy.” Sam patted the empty seat next to her, an unspoken invitation. 

Danny paused in his steps, taking in the worried faces of his loved ones before sitting down on the edge of the cushion. His foot bounced nervously, his body a coiled spring. 

Sam sighed before continuing. “What if, I don’t know... Valerie here could,” Sam gestured to the girl next to her, “protect it for a while… Your parents could even close the portal, you know, temporarily…” she suggested gently. They had talked about this before, about Danny taking a break. Maybe this time he would listen.

“I don’t know Sam… Not that it wouldn’t be nice– I mean, it sounds so easy when you put it like that.” said Danny, rubbing the back of his neck. And it wasn’t like he didn’t want to take a vacation, he just wasn’t sure if he knew how to anymore. Any other time that they went on holidays, it was to places nearby or the portal was locked, or both. He was always on call, Amity Park was never without a protector.

“Hey, I would be down for that,” Valerie chimed in. “And if your parents closed the portal while you're away, it wouldn’t even be that bad.” After all, she knew she could take care of the ghosts that used natural portals or found other ways to escape the Ghost Zone and torment the people of Amity Park.

“No, I guess it wouldn’t be too bad… And we have done that in the past… but…” Danny’s mind drifted back to the last time the portal was closed for a longer period. The GIW had almost managed to destroy the Ghost Zone, he couldn’t let something like that happen again.

“No ‘buts,’ Mister, you need a real break. No fights. That means no ghosts.” Sam crossed her arms with a stubborn look. “No portal, no ghosts. It’s that simple.”  She remembered the last time they locked the portal, everything had turned out alright then. It had been nice and peaceful, no ghosts at all! Or almost no ghosts, she couldn’t quite recall the specifics at that moment, but everything had turned out okay in the end.

Just as Danny was about to retort, Maddie walked into the living room. “Hey kids, what are you talking about in here?” she asked playfully. 

In her hands was a plate of freshly baked cookies, still hot from the oven. The kids had been meeting up at their house more and more lately, and while the Nasty Burger would always be their favourite hangout, it was easier for them to talk about ghosts more openly here. Maddie loved having them around, and she always tried to keep their favourite snacks on hand.

She offered the plate to Valerie first.

“Oh, thanks Mrs. Fenton!” she said after taking one. Valerie had quickly learned to love Maddie’s homemade cookies.

“Thanks, Mom!” Danny and Jazz said at the same time, both reaching for the same cookie. Danny glared at his sister while she just rolled her eyes and then they each grabbed a different one. 

When it was Sam’s turn to take one, she simply shook her head with a polite, “No, thank you.” She wasn’t sure if this batch was vegan or not. 

Mrs. Fenton seemed to realise her mistake and drew back the plate, winking at Sam, “Don’t worry, dear, I have some special ones for you in the kitchen. I’ll bring them out in a moment.” Lastly, she offered the plate to Dani before setting it on the coffee table.

“Thanks, Maddie!” said Dani, biting into the cookie. “Well… we were talking about closing the portal while Danny is away.”

“What?” Maddie’s step faltered briefly as she walked back to the kitchen to grab the second batch of cookies. “And where exactly is Danny going?” she asked, offering one to Sam. She was getting better at those vegan recipes, if she did say so herself. 

Sam accepted the cookie with a smile this time.

“We’re trying to tell him that he needs a real vacation. He needs to travel, to get away from Amity Park this summer...” Valerie was the one to answer.

“Oh...” said Maddie with dawning realisation, then, more dreamily, “A real break… that would be nice.” She put the plate of vegan cookies down next to the first one.

“Yeah, a real break,” Jazz finally spoke. She turned to address her brother and sister, “Now that everyone here knows about you two, and Valerie here is more than capable of stopping all kinds of ghosts, even you…”

“Hey!” protested Danny, raising his hands in mock offence.

“No, no, she’s right. I’ve kicked your scrawny ghost butt plenty of times,” said Valerie, with a teasing grin.

“Oooh! Now that’s something I have got to see!” Dani joined in the ribbing.

Jazz cleared her throat, “As I was saying little brother… You know what I mean. She’s good, very good, maybe even the best on our team. She certainly gives you a run for your money.”  

“Yeah, okay…” said Danny. He was still insecure about it, but Jazz had a point.

“Listen, this whole year has been one thing after another, right?” she asked.

Everyone nodded. 

“So, everyone is exhausted, right?” 

Again everyone nodded, wondering where she was going with this.

“And you know that breaks are supposedly for breaks, right?” asked Jazz one more time, getting a last round of nods.

“Tell that to the ghosts,” Danny huffed. A real break was nice in theory, but it was easier said than done when you had the restless dead attacking the city every day.

“And that’s why I’m here, dummy,” said Valerie, teasing just a bit. “You don’t have to do everything by yourself, you know.”

“Me too!” said Dani, grinning “That’s why I said travel, and far away, and I mean it! Far, far, far away… So far that none of the ghosts will be able to bother you.”

“Definitely!” Jazz agreed. “It has to be far enough that you wouldn't even try to fly yourself back here.” She knew full well that her brother would try something like that if they let him.

“How far does that need to be?” Maddie wondered aloud. She knew that her son was strong, but just how strong was he? What kind of flight range did he have? How was his stamina? Her scientific mind whirled with questions.

“Well,” said Sam, almost without thinking, “once we travelled across the whole country in three days–”

“You did what?” Maddie cried, cutting off Sam. She doesn’t remember Phantom or any of them travelling that far. 

“I mean, I’ve travelled all over the country, too…  but it took me a lot longer than that. You know, stopping here and there… but… meh.” Dani shrugged. When she told them that she had been places, she meant it.  

Maddie looked at her youngest with new eyes. The United States was a big place, to think that Dani had been out there all alone… If they had known, they would have taken her in a long time ago.

“We had transportation,” Sam explained, breaking Maddie out of her musings. “It wasn’t just Danny flying us. And it was an emergency.” She had forgotten that nobody actually knew about that, since Danny used the Reality Gauntlet to make it so nobody but the three of them remembered it.    

“Then we should probably try going even further, visit someplace outside the country… like Europe or South America… although it’s getting cold down there now, so it wouldn’t be as much of a summer vacation…” mused Jazz, thinking of different options. While the northern hemisphere was getting hotter, the southern half of the planet was gearing up for winter. She supposed it might be a nice escape from the sweltering heat though.

“Europe could be nice… We could finally go to Paris… ” said Maddie, considering the possibilities and letting herself become cautiously excited over what she thought was an old, dead dream of her high school self. She also conveniently forgot about the apparent cross-country trip her son and his friends had been on. 

“Woah, woah, woah!” Danny put his hands up as if to ward off this topic of conversation. “Are you guys for real?” Everyone seemed to be on board with just leaving the country, and Amity Park, unprotected. This was getting out of control. 

“Well, yeah, of course we are!” Valerie said. “It’s not just your sister who’s worried about you, we are too. We’re your friends, Danny, we care about you. And even with us helping you,  you still look like you’re about to pass out all the time. You need a break, a real one. I have to agree with Dani, travel would be good for you. Paris, like your mom suggested, should be lovely right now, and it’s nice and far.” 

Valerie smiled. She could very easily imagine how beautiful Europe would be this time of year. There was once a time in her life when she could have easily taken a trip there, back before her dad lost his job. A few months ago she would have blamed her turn of fate on the ghost boy, but now that she had learned the whole truth, including about Cujo… Well she blamed her dad’s company for that. Why they would just “get rid of” the dogs like that, is a mystery and cruelty.  

“You know what, Paris sounds perfect! I could probably pay for everyone to go on the trip, even you Val,” Sam offered. The two girls hadn’t always gotten along, but since Valerie had officially joined the team, Sam had been putting in the effort to make her feel included.  

“What?” Danny’s voice had an edge of panic to it as he looked between everyone in the room. They all seemed to be seriously considering this trip, and not only that, they looked happy about it. 

“Or not...” said Sam, remembering how her boyfriend could be sometimes. 

“Better not, or Mr. I-won’t-leave-Amity-if-it-isn’t-protected here will never relax,” said Valerie pointing her thumb at Danny. As much as she appreciated the offer, she couldn’t accept it. A trip like that would be expensive, and she wasn’t going to let Sam pay for everything, as nice as that sounded. 

“You’re no fun, Danny!” Dani pouted. “How about this: you relax, I stay.” She put a hand to her chest, proudly. After all, she was a Phantom, too.

“What? No! You’re family, Dani! You should come too! We- we only just found you…” he ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up wildly. Then, unable to sit still any longer, he abruptly stood and resumed his pacing.

“I know, I know,” Dani replied, trying to calm her brother. “But, look, I’ve had plenty of travelling lately, I wouldn’t mind being a bit of a homebody for once. And, no offence, but I could use a break from you guys. Don’t get me wrong! I love you and all, but this family is kinda overwhelming, especially when you’re used to being on your own.”  

“Danny darling, you’re pacing again,” Maddie pointed out gently. “It’s very sweet that you want your little sister to go with you, and that you trust Valerie to protect Amity Park while you’re gone, but I was about to suggest that you kids go and your father and I stay behind instead. Even with the portal closed, which yes, is a good idea, someone should stay, you know, to monitor it… make sure the Ecto-Filtrator is still good…”

“I can monitor the portal!” Dani excitedly cut in. “It can’t be that different from Vlad’s, right? And it was one of my chores to change the Ecto-Filtrator. After his first portal blew up his mansion, he was really paranoid about that sort of thing, so he made sure I knew how to do it! You and Jack should get to go, you were just talking about how you’ve always wanted to go to Paris, and you guys have been working really hard! You deserve a vacation.”

“Then it’s decided,” Jazz clapped her hands authoritatively. “Valerie and Dani will stay behind to keep an eye on Amity Park and the portal, and the rest of us will take a much needed vacation. Now, I’m going to go find Dad and let him know the plan.” Jazz left her book on the side table, her reading had been non-existent since the casual planning started- well, not that casual. Everyone needed a break, including her. She headed for the lab in search of Jack, muttering to herself about passports.

“Great idea sweetheart!” Maddie called after her. “Tell your father that if he doesn’t come up here to finish discussing this together, he won’t get any cookies!”

“Okay, Mom!” Jazz shouted back and kept going down the stairs.

In a quieter voice, Maddie addressed the rest of the kids, “I’m going to go grab my laptop from upstairs so we can start checking everything that we need...” 

Just like that, Danny, Dani, Sam and Valerie were left alone in the living room. 

Danny finally stopped pacing, sighed, and sat back down next to Sam. The girls exchanged relieved looks, it seemed like Danny had finally accepted the possibility of travelling for real.  

“He wouldn’t get any cookies?” Valerie asked softly. She looked down at the plate. Surely Mrs. Fenton didn’t think they would eat all these before Mr. Fenton could get any, right? 

“It’ll help get his attention...” Danny explained, rubbing the back of his neck self consciously. Sam nodded along, after all she had known the family for many years and was well aware that sweets were the best way to get through to the man. 

“Ah!” said Valerie, an understanding smile lit up her face. She had seen Mr. Fenton working while eating before, and at that time he had been helping build a very important machine that saved the world.

“Any snack works, but fudge is his favourite...” Dani added, feeling embarrassed as well. She wished Jazz was there too. It wasn’t fair that she got to miss out on the kind of quality sibling bonding that happened over being embarrassed by their parents.  

“I’ve had your mom’s fudge, I can see why it’s his favourite!” Valerie giggled. “Okay, while we wait for the others to get back, I’m gonna call my dad and let him know that we’ll be having Dani over for a while.” That could be a good option to help out. She picked up her cell phone and began to dial.  

“But I can stay here...” Dani tried to protest. She had just started thinking of her room as her room, instead of the guest room. She had finally gotten used to living there and thinking of FentonWorks as her home. She was also used to being on her own, fending for herself, staying where it is home shouldn’t be that much of a problem by comparison. 

“Normally, yes, but with the FBI and CPS on the Fenton’s case… I don’t think that’s a good idea...” said Sam delicately, knowing that it's a sensitive topic, especially for Danny. 

Danny made a thoughtful face, looking a bit disappointed with himself, but didn't comment. That interview with both representatives defending his parents was a wild time.

“Oh right, you guys told me about that… ” said Dani, remembering the explanation the Fentons had given her not that long ago. They had gone over the whole interview with her, from start to finish, it had played a major role in Vlad’s sentencing. 

Meanwhile, Valerie was remembering a similar, though less detailed, explanation. She set her phone back down, realising she’d gotten ahead of herself. Even though her suggestion wasn’t a bad idea, they should decide what to do first, as a group.

“All right, we’re here!” said Jazz. Everyone turned their attention to the doorway as she walked in with Jack not far behind. 

“Same here,” said Maddie, laptop in hand. “I almost couldn’t find it! It was under a pile of laundry for some reason.” She shrugged. 

Jack sent her a guilty look, then, noticing the plates of cookies, made a beeline for the coffee table. "So, kids, Jazzy–pants here has been telling me that you’re planning a little trip!" He picked up one of the vegan cookies and took a bite, making a face when he tasted it.

"Here, dear," said Maddie, giving him the tray of regular cookies. "Actually honey, it's more like a proper holiday. You know, we haven't had one in a very loooong time." She opened up the laptop and turned it on.

"Mr. Fenton, Danny needs a vacation, a real one, all of you do. When was the last time you had one, a real–real one?" asked Sam, crossing her arms and fixing the man with a stern glare. She knew very well that the last proper holiday was supposed to be the trip that didn’t happen, the one that they cancelled at the last minute. 

"Well… we went camping, and me and Danno went on that fishing trip and, uh… Hey Mads, where did you and Danny go that last time? Or was it the time before that one…" Jack muttered as he drummed his fingers against his chin. He was beginning to confuse himself.

"Jack, those trips were more like short bonding time with the kids, not a real family vacation. And in those cases it was just me or you with one of the kids… well, except that time we went camping… and that was…" Maddie looked at Danny, asking silent permission to talk about it. She knew that hadn’t been their best moment as parents, the way they hadn’t believed in Danny. In the end it was just a ghost problem, a ghost that only kids could see. That fact had been hard to learn and accept. 

Danny sighed, "Don't remind me, please. Even Jazz thought I was crazy." He ran a hand down his face.

"In my defence, I didn't even know he existed, let alone the fact that we wouldn't be able to see him!" said Jazz, trying to defend herself again after all these months.

"Well, maybe if you’d acted your age…" Danny crossed his arms and sent Jazz a bit of a mean glare.

"Danny… It's alright now. Let it go," said Sam. She quickly grabbed Danny's hand and gave it a squeeze, trying to stop the argument before it could really get going. 

Valerie was the one to break the awkward silence, "All right, so… back to planning?" she  asked. She didn’t know the full story, but she could tell that it was getting personal, and fast.

"Oh yeah!" said Jack enthusiastically. He turned to the others with a huge grin, "So, Paris you said?"

"Well, yes honey, I mean… I’ve always wanted to go there… and it's too far away for Danny to try to fly back. You know how he is." Maddie explained.

"You could fly here from France?!" Jack asked, excitedly. He never thought that would be possible even for Danny. He was about to ask a million questions when Maddie cut in.

"Jack, dear… the idea is for him not to do that. It’s supposed to be a time for us to relax," she said.

"Well…" said Danny after a couple of seconds of silence, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Don't encourage him, Danny,” Jazz scolded. “You know he won't stop if you get him going." She knew well enough how that would go and then they’d never get this vacation planned. Boys. If it weren’t for her and her mom, they’d never get anything done.

"I'm not! I'm just saying… I don't know… maybe?" He shrugged. They hadn’t tested his abilities in a very long time and he’d gotten stronger since then, so it could be possible, but he didn’t have a good answer for his dad. 

"Look, I wanna know how strong I am just as bad as you do,” Dani piped up, “and there will be plenty of time for that later, but you’re so worn out that any tests you guys run won’t really be accurate anyway, you know? And we’ve got more important things to think about right now, like figuring out where I'm staying," she said pointedly. 

"Well, I know that my dad won't mind at all if Dani stays with us while you’re gone,” Valerie said. She pulled out her phone to check her messages. “But I should probably wait to call and let him know until after you guys know for sure when you are going… and all that.” She put her phone back into her pocket. 

"If you won’t let me pay for the trip, at least let me pay for your hotel,” Sam blurted out. She put her hand up to stop Danny, “And before you say anything, I could even go with you if I paid for it. My parents wouldn’t mind. They’re always trying to get me to go on fancy rich people trips to Europe anyway. I already have a passport, and it won’t be hard to get the rest of the paperwork taken care of. I have it covered. It would be just like the last vacation when I got to travel with you guys… Although, that never really happened did it? Sometimes I really hate that we used that ‘reset button’…" She sighed. Yet another reason for them to take this trip, Danny needed to have a real break, he deserved it. If that meant using a good portion of her family money, so be it. It wasn’t like they couldn’t afford it.  

"What? Do I want to know?" asked Valerie, confused by Sam’s statement. She didn’t remember hearing about a trip that never happened. If they had mentioned it before, she had definitely forgotten.  

"No, you don’t. Trust me…" said Jazz. She waved her hand, “Alternate reality. You’ll just get a headache.” She had learned what happened and it still confused her. She didn't know which deadly situation –specifically for her family– was the worst. Maybe it was the one where they all died, although she could swear that the other one with reality changing couldn't be much better.

"Sam, sweety, you don’t have to do that! We’re more than capable of paying for the trip ourselves,” Maddie said, trying to steer the conversation back to planning. They were so easily sidetracked… “but thank you for offering.” 

"Oh, it’s really no trouble at all, Mrs. Fenton! And I want to do everything I can to help Danny," she replied with a smile.

Maddie paused to consider Sam’s offer, she knew how determined the girl could be when it came to doing what she thought was right. They would probably end up allowing the hotel payment just because this seemed like something she was very passionate about and probably wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.

“Are you sure your parents would be okay with that?” Jazz asked pointedly. She knew that Sam held a certain amount of disdain for her family’s wealth, and had a bit of a personal vendetta with her parents.

“I’m sure,” said Sam. “This is one thing they’ll agree to no problem. Well... I might have to dress up and take some pictures for the family social media while we’re there, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”

"We could take some pictures together," said Danny, suddenly warming up to the idea of travelling. “Paris is called the City of Love, after all.”

Jazz cleared her throat, getting them back on track. "So... Mom. Have you looked up plane tickets to Paris yet?" she asked, gesturing to the laptop. 

"You guys will probably need to fly out of Chicago," said Valerie. That’s what she’d always had to do since the Amity Park airport only handled domestic flights.

"She’s right, you know," confirmed Sam.

"So, we’ll need to fly out of Amity and then take a connecting flight to Paris…" mused Jazz, thinking aloud.  

"That's what the online booking system says," announced Maddie, reading her findings from the laptop. There wasn’t even an option for a direct flight from Amity to Paris, all the options include travelling to the O’Hare International Airport in Chicago first, as that was the closest international airport.

"Wait… is everyone here going?" Jack asked, completely lost. He understood that they all needed a break, but nothing else other than the possibility of his whole family going to Paris–probably a sign that he needed a break, too. 

"No, honey,” Maddie replied gently. “Dani is staying behind with Valerie to keep an eye on Amity Park and the portal, even though we’re going to be closing it while we’re gone. Danny has made it very clear that he wouldn’t be able to really relax if we left the city completely unprotected.”

"Oh, right… that makes sense… I think…" said Jack, processing the information. He was a bit unsure about just the four of them going, but looking around, everyone else seemed to be in agreement. He hoped it all worked out for the best.

“We’ll need to round up everyone’s passports…” Maddie said absentmindedly as she continued researching for their trip, then she realised something. “Oh, I suppose it’s good that Dani volunteered to stay, her passport hasn’t even come in yet.”   

Danny was feeling a bit more confident about travelling, but he was still worried about Dani. He turned to Valerie, “Are you sure it’s alright for Dani to stay at your house?" he asked. He knew it would be okay with Valerie, but what about Valerie’s dad?

"Don't worry! My dad won't mind at all! Actually, he would probably be thrilled to know I'm bringing friends over, you know? Or just a friend…" Valerie said with a bit of a bittersweet smile. After she had been kicked out of the A-listers, she had thought she’d never have friends again. She shook herself out of her thoughts and winked at Danny, “Also, you know, he knows.”

“And not only about Danny,” said Jazz, “but about yourself as well. And that’s saying something. Nobody knows about you. Well, other than us, of course!"

"But he doesn't know about me," said Dani. How would they explain the fact that she is also a halfa, and not just any halfa, but Danny’s clone. Although, it wasn’t like anyone was going to say that detail, right? 

"Don't worry, Dani, Valerie's dad should be all right. He knows about Danny because he was there helping with the machine in Antarctica," Sam explained what Valerie had implied. She knew that Dani didn’t know exactly how many people, or who, were in the know about Danny’s secret. They weren’t thrilled that a bunch of people knew, but it was in the past now. 

"Exactly!" said Valerie. “My dad’s seen some pretty crazy stuff. I mean, he’s been dealing with my ghost hunting for a while now… It takes a lot to faze him, you’ll be fine.”

"So,” said Maddie with a single clap of her hands, bringing the attention of the kids back to planning, “considering that you kids are going to be on summer vacation in about a week, we should get our tickets for next Monday… That will give us the weekend to pack." She typed in the new travel date. It also helped that flights were cheaper during the week. They had been saving money up for a big trip like this for years, but the less they had to spend on plane tickets, the more they could do once they got to Paris.

“Oh, that’s a brilliant idea, Mads!” said Jack, looking over her shoulder so he could see the laptop screen.

“But we still don’t know if Valerie's dad would be all right with Dani staying with them… And Dani is family too…” Danny tried one more time; it was a weak argument, even to his own ears. Family was important, but sadly without a passport Dani wouldn’t be able to travel anyway. He was going to miss her a lot, a fact he would be keeping to himself, otherwise his sisters would tease him endlessly. 

“Oh, Danny-boy, it’s all right, your mother and I will call him afterwards, but your mom here is finding good offers to go to Paris right now. Although I don’t get why it has to be with a connection...” Jack wondered aloud looking between Danny and the laptop screen, taking a bite out of another cookie. He hadn’t been paying much attention during that part of the conversation. 

Maddie sighed, “Jack, dear, you know Amity Park doesn’t have an international terminal,” she reminded him, “and please don’t get crumbs on the keyboard.”

“Yeah, Mr. Fenton, the closest international airport is O’Hare in Chicago,” Sam picked up the explanation. “Did you know that it sees more international flights than any other airport not on the East or West Coast?” 

“How do you know that?” asked Valerie, raising an eyebrow. 

“Probably because her parents like to travel a lot, and maybe they mentioned it before...” Danny trailed off, worried that it would sound like he was bragging about Sam’s family. He knew Valerie wasn’t as well off as she used to be, and he didn’t want to sound rude.

“It’s true,” Sam confirmed with a shrug, “and little pamphlets full of fun facts are better company than my parents when their flight’s been delayed.”

“Oh… ” said Valerie. Even though she had just offered to pay for the Fenton’s hotel a few minutes ago, it was so easy to forget that Sam actually had money, or, well, her family did. She never acted rich, and it was hard to tell from looking at her, what with the whole punk goth thing she had going on. Valerie wouldn’t judge her for being rich anyway, but still. 

“All right!” exclaimed Maddie, drawing the kids’ attention away from their fun facts about travelling. “I think I found something! There’s a flight from Amity Park to Chicago at 6:00am Monday morning, then a connecting flight at 8:00am that will take us to Paris!”

“That sounds perfect!” Sam commented. In the past, before they had finished the Amity Park Airport, it had been a bus trip to Chicago, and a much earlier morning. 

“Doesn’t it?” Maddie said, very pleased with herself. She continued reading the travel details to the others, “The flight from here to Chicago is about a half hour in the air, so even if we have a delay, that gives us plenty of time to get from one gate to the other once we land at O’Hare… And then it’s another eight hours to Paris… Which means we’ll get there around 11:00 pm Central European Time! 

“Wait,” Danny said excitedly, “I could fly us to Chicago!” He knew that it would be so much easier and faster, and then they wouldn’t have to worry about their plane being delayed. 

“No!” Jazz cried, a bit louder than necessary. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, “Danny, the whole point of this trip is for you to have a break. Doing crazy things like flying a family of four across the state is not taking a break. So please, give the powers a rest, okay?” She looked at him with pleading eyes.

“I hate to agree with Jazz,” Sam ignored the other girl’s shout of indignation, “but, Danny, you have been doing a lot lately, even now that you have help.” She squeezed his hand a bit and gave him a worried smile.

“Yep!” said Dani, dramatically draping herself over his shoulders. “You’re like, the king of micromanaging, bro. You need to learn to take a chill pill.” She hid her worry behind a mask of teasing. She had been standing for a little while now, but she didn’t think Danny had seen her until she laid herself on him.  

“Et tu, Dani?” Danny asked in mock offence. She’d only been living with them for a short time, and she was already on his back as much as Jazz, and even more literally.  

“Oh, wow...” Valerie murmured. She understood that he was worried about Dani, but she seemed happy. Valerie wasn’t really sure what was bothering him so much.

“Oh, c’mon Danny, don’t be like that! We’re not ganging up on you just because we feel like it, you really do need a break. You know Dani can take care of herself, and she’s learned a lot about taking care of others from watching you. You’ve done so much for her, and for everyone here,” Sam gave his hand another squeeze, “let us do this for you.” She knew that Danny needed a bit of a push to let go of the extra worry.

“She’s right, you know,” said Jazz, giving him a small smile.

“Yeah, Danny, I know I'll be alright, and I’m super excited to show you just how much I’ve learned! Mom and Dad will call Mr. Gray—” 

Dani was interrupted by Maddie and Jack gasping loudly. 

“What? What did I say?” she asked, confused at their reaction.

“You called them ‘Mom and Dad’… without even thinking about it...” Jazz said proudly. Dani didn’t usually call them that, but when she did, she had to make an effort at it. 

“Oh… yeah I guess I did!” Dani said and smiled a big smile. She hadn’t even noticed, but at some point she’d stopped thinking of them as ‘Jack and Maddie’ and started thinking of them as her parents. The Fentons had shown her what family really means, and that was so special to her.

Danny finally smiled too, “All right, I guess we’re going to Paris! Mom, Dad call Mr. Gray now please...” That way the last of his worries would finally disappear.

“With pleasure,” Maddie wiped away a happy tear, “but we should finish booking our flights at least before we talk with him.” She turned her attention back to the laptop.

"Good idea Mads!" added Jack, wiping away a tear of his own and looking at the laptop screen, too.

"If you find a good offer, take it before it changes. My parents complain about that all the time; you’ll never find the same offer twice, but might find a similar one if you’re lucky. Not that they need it anyway, but you know how they are…" Sam rolled her eyes with a shrug.

"Mmmmm… true,” Maddie hummed, keeping her eyes fixed on the screen. “We should have searched on incognito, at least we could have compared prices better…" She knew what Sam was referring to, the theory that airlines use cookies to track which flights you look for, increasing their prices. 

"But what we have here seems like a reasonable price, right?" asked Jack, pointing out the details of the flight on the screen.

"No to interrupt or anything,” Valerie cut in, “but do you guys have any idea how long you’ll be gone?" She had texted her dad while the Fentons were focused on the travel details. He didn’t have a problem with Dani staying with them, but wanted to know how long they would be looking after her.

"I thought you said it would be alright!" Danny cried out, his anxiety spiking again.

"It is, but it would still be nice to know ahead of time," Valerie snapped. She could tell by his tone that he was worrying again, but he was really starting to test her patience. 

"Oh, right… sorry." Danny rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"It's alright," Valerie sighed, she felt a bit bad for letting her temper get the better of her.

"I’m so sorry, Valerie, we completely forgot about that!“ Maddie gave her an apologetic look. “Well, we’re leaving next Monday, and we’ll want to have at least a week there…" 

Danny blinked at that information. "You haven't decided how long we’ll be gone yet?" he asked incredulously.

"Well, we have a couple of tabs open to compare prices for that…” Maddie said, Jack nodding along, “and it looks like it would be worth it to take two weeks." After all it seemed like there wasn't that much of a difference between some of the prices, and it looked like round trip tickets were slightly better than one way.

"Oh… yeah, that sounds okay…" said Danny. At least two weeks didn’t sound that bad, even though he didn’t know what he was supposed to do for that long, not yet at least. 

"Then that's the plan!" Maddie nodded decisively and clicked ‘confirm’ to purchase four round trip tickets. 

"We’ll be getting back to Amity Park late on a Friday night, two weeks into your summer break," Jack informed the kids. That is, if he was reading along right.

"Great, now we have an answer for Valerie’s Dad!" Jazz said with a smile. She knew that taking a two week trip to Europe wouldn’t leave her with much time to finish getting ready for university, but it was going to be worth it. 

"Yeah, that works!" said Valerie, typing up a text to her father with the more detailed plan.  

And just like that, Maddie and Jack booked their flights from Amity to Chicago, and from there to Paris, France. The Fenton family was going on an adventure, and they couldn’t be more excited. Before they could celebrate, however, they needed to talk with Valerie’s father, after all, they needed to finish sorting out Dani’s stay.

Thankfully, Mr. Gray was pleased to have her over, Danny had done so much to help their family in the past, and he was more than happy to return the favour. Although he insisted that wasn't the only reason that he accepted, he was also very proud of his daughter for making a new friend. It was just like Valerie had said it would be.

With all the big things sorted out, everyone started to go their separate ways. Jazz returned to her book after helping Maddie find their passports. Valerie announced that it was about time for her to head home, it was getting late, and she would need to rest up for the coming days. She gave a final wave to Dani at the door, she would be keeping a close eye on the girl, even if she thought she was too old for it. And finally, Dani was left to her imagination, already fantasising about taking care of the house and fighting the ghosts that, if any, came with a closed portal.

Sam gently reminded Danny that they had homework, forgotten in favour of planning an international trip, and the two of them decided to go up to his room to work on it. She took his hand as they climbed the stairs, giving him a warm smile. She was so glad that he had finally relaxed and warmed up to the whole travel idea.

Jack and Maddie began looking for hotels that were in their budget, but paused their search to cook dinner. 

That night, after the meal, Sam was invited to stay over – it wouldn’t be the first time either, even though those old times were with Tucker in the room too and they had all been just friends. Sam did accept the offer of course, after all sleeping there wasn't new for her, and she always loved to just enjoy spending extra time with Danny. To be continued :D :D

[jigschosai]

The Dawntrail Review no one asked for

Lots of spoilers ahead, you've been warned.

Initially after I finished Dawntrail I had to write a short piece featuring Jigs and Nashmeira to help convey how hard it hit me, and at the time that's what I needed. Now with a bit of time and space behind me I'm in the mood to toss out my 2 cents about the expansion as a whole.

I liked it - a lot. And I feel it was really well done, and generally an improvement over everything previously.

I'm not going to rehash the entire plot, because if you're reading this then you likely know it already. But I did want to touch on a few key things that I think really set it apart.

The first was for the bulk of it, we weren't the main character. It wasn’t about the WoL, though we do see things from their perspective, it was about Wuk. It was about how she matured from a goofy sheltered kid with a skewed view of the world into a leader you could be kind of proud of. In some ways it mimicked Lyse and Stormblood, but I felt the execution was a lot better because when we got to the end we weren’t blindsided by someone being put in charge where it made little sense. Wuk earned it (as did Koana).

From a broader perspective it did something else that was really needed after Endwalker. It made the WoL’s power moot. Sure we could punt Bakool Ja Ja and Zarool Ja into next week – but really, it wasn’t our fight, or our place to do so. And while I’m never a fan of playing a different character such as when you play Wuk versus Bakool Ja Ja, I easily understood why I needed to. It wasn’t an irritation like some many times before. Ok, not as much of an irritation.

In a game like FFXIV, power creep is always going to be an issue over the long term. You want players to feel like they’re getting more powerful, but over time the threats get more and more absurd when you take a step back. For example, where was Meteion when everything else was going on up until Shadowbringers? By making the bulk of the story about Wuk, it avoided a lot of the power creep problem. We didn’t need to have a giant villain come out of the blue that didn’t make a lot of sense, which was one of my primary complaints about Endwalker. Yes it was great to see everybody again for the finale, but it never felt like a proper ending the way Shadowbringers did. It felt like an epilogue, a snippet of story to remind you of the characters that are not going to be back, along with a villain that really didn’t matter.

And a quick side note as I’m about to move on from Wuk. I’ve seen a bunch of complaints about her voice actress, and I don’t get it. The delivery always seemed fine to me, not that I have the most discerning ear. I can’t remember any point where I felt the voice was way off from how Wuk was acting or appearing. On top of that it was great to finally here some non-English accent voices, which helps with the diversity of the world.

Loosely that brings us to the trip with Erenville back to his home as we got what we wanted, a pass through that big door. This was probably the slowest the game was for me, but it still wasn’t bad by a long shot. In other expansions this lull hit hard because I kept feeling like “The world is ending! Get to the point already!” This, the “big stuff” so far as we knew was over. So doing a quick little adventure in a wild west type town wasn’t bad, it was something to do as we wandered around. This break was welcome, and it made sense. We weren’t waiting to get back to the main plot, we were waiting to see what it was, which is much easier to deal with.

Then we get to Solution Nine! Finally, a spot in FFXIV where the modern clothing we’ve had for ages looks like it fits in. The FF series has always been neat to me because of how it mixes magic and technology so well. There are variations, and a couple things that do it better (coughXenogearscough) but the way the cyberpunk theme was worked into the game went pretty well. Perfect, no, I feel time travel is always a bit sketchy, but good enough. I haven’t enjoyed running around a city this much since the Crystal Tower in Shadowbringers.

The only part I couldn’t figure out in this section was Galool Ja. I imagine there’s a side quest I haven’t done that explains it, but the fact he was around at all is a bit confusing to me. It almost felt like he was the time travel in Endwalker where “oops, we wrote ourselves into a corner.” But if I dig around a bit I may find it better thought out.

Finally – Living Memory. To say this part hit me like a train is understating it severely. Turning off each section and having it so final was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in a game (different kind of hard than Elden Ring). Knowing that inevitably we’d turn off Cahciua’s section and she’d be gone too was rough for some very personal reasons. But I think anyone who had to deal with losing a loved one to a terminal illness probably has a good idea why. You always want one more adventure, one more meal, one more day. But inevitably, it all has to come to an end. My biggest complaint is there was not a proper hug between Erenville and Cahciua; but I know there’s some level of projection on my part going on there.

That brings me to our v-tuber-esque villainess Sphene. I mean the v-tuber-esque as a compliment, love many of the designs out there and Sphene, even though she is not a v-tuber, is no exception. As the big-bad, I feel like she’s a step behind Emet, but they got her right. You’re brought along with her to understand her, and just like with Emet, see you’re on two opposite sides of something and there is not middle ground to meet in. It’s the WoL’s way, or a way that stands against everything the WoL stands for. Just like with Emet, conflict is inevitable, despite how long it was put off and how much the WoL (and the player) has come to understand them.

Those kinds of villains make me think about the WoL, and their place in the grand scheme of things. Will there come a point where we’re the villain? Where like Emet and Sphene, we’re doing everything we can to protect our people, and doing so at the expense of others? So far we’ve largely been spared that (maybe don’t ask Garlemald). And at the end we get our special Azem inter-dimensional sippy-cup. And I think that is a good way to setup for the future where everything on our star is fairly well settled, and we can start exploring others. Maybe even properly revisit the first.

Lastly the upgrade to the difficulty is largely welcome. I’m a bit slow and have had a tough time figuring out some of the mechanics in a timely manner, but it’s been fun. I’ve enjoyed having to toss out clemency and cover far more routinely. The content is a lot more engaging and a bit harder to blindly memorize which makes doing roulettes routinely less of a mindless chore.

I know I’m in the minority, but this is my favorite expansion so far. It made up a lot of short comings some of the other expansions had, and I’m way more excited for future expansions than I was about Dawntrail. I feel like the more technical sides of the writing (e.g. avoiding power creep), and the pacing of the story (e.g. lulls when they’re a good fit) has improved a lot. It’s going to be interesting to see how things change in the future.

[doctorstrangereview]

0086: Marvel Feature #3

Cover Date: June 1972 On-Sale Date: January 18, 1972

The third installment of The Defenders finally gives a them they're own villain. He's not an original, but his previous appearances were pre-FF #1 so he's almost an original. The Defenders move onto their own title making this the last written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Ross Andru. Doc will start new solo adventures in Marvel Premiere soon as well. What does our final Defenders in Marvel Feature story have in store for us?

We begin with the capsule Castor and Pollux 1 returning to Earth. (Castor and Pollux are half-brother twins who, collectively, are know as Gemini.) Among those awaiting the capsule's return is General Thunderbolt Ross who's pitching in because the Hulk is on a break and being quiet. General Ross provides a bit of exposition telling us that something odd happened while the astronauts were in space. On a spacewalk, one of the astronauts encountered a white mist and then radio contact was lost.

The flashback ends and the capsule is heading to the ocean when suddenly a whirlpool appears, sucking the capsule underwater. Fortunately this is a great way to draw one of our trio into the story. Namor happens to be nearby. He follows the capsule down. Awaiting the capsule is a giant octopus that Roy calls a squid. Ross should have looked at more encyclopedias.

Namor returns the capsule to the awaiting shift and expresses his displeasure at having to harm a sea creature to rescue the land-lubbers.

This causes unreasonable anger in sailors aboard who decide "let's deck the dude who single-handedly rescued our guys!" This doesn't go too well for the sailors and Jim Wilson, a Hulk buddy, threatens Namor who mostly laughs it off. The astronauts exit from the capsule with attitudes.

Namor leaves and the newsies start taking lots of photos. The astronauts announce these are their last official pics. All of the photos fail to develop. The astronauts resign and almost instantly cut a deal for a TV show.

The show is unimaginatively called The Astro-nuts and appears to be some kind of children's show. One of the features is Xemnu from the magic planet.

The scary looking word balloon clues us into the fact that there is more going on here than we are being shown. Next we see a home viewer who says it's hokey, but he's compelled to watch it. The show continues with a bunch of childish antics. We see General Ross watching the show with Jim Wilson who both consider it rubbish. Jim splits. He has suspicions. He doesn't know how to contact Bruce so he heads to Doc's pad. Ross draws it a bit better this time.

Jim has an unpleasant encounter with his cab driver which is promptly sorted by Doc. He seems to have been standing nearby.

Doc's TV happens to be tuned to The Astro-nuts. Wong was watching it. Jim explains about the compelling nature of the show.

At the show, one of The Astro-nuts is having some buyer's remorse about the show while his partner in crime reminds him how rich they're going to be. Just the, Jim Wilson and "The Hulk" enter the studio with Hulkie expressing a desire to "make the world see he's not as bad as they think." Not a sterling endorsement, but we'll take what we can get. Once the deal is settled, Jim and "Hulk" fly out of there on Doc's cloak. Yup, "Hulk" was Doc in disguise. He's still good at that illusion thing.

It's four weeks later, the time when Xemnu promised to take all the little kiddies back to the magic planet with him. The Astro-nuts has had the heck merchandised out of it. The former astronauts are getting rich and Xemnu is now present at a rocket launch along with Jim Wilson and the Hulk-disguised Doc. Doc isn't feeling too good and it's more than just the strain of maintaining the illusion.

Bruce Banner happens to be walking past a shop with a TV playing the live broadcast and sees the Hulk-disguised Doc. This doesn't please him and Bruce releases his inner jolly green giant.

Real Hulk heads to the cape while Xemnu shows his real colors. Xemnu has acquired Pied Piper powers.

A senator's kid is affected by Xemnu which means it's time for people to get involved. Doc drops his disguise to face Xemnu.

Xemnu protects himself with a psychic shield, but Doc was able to peer into his mind for a moment. We flash back to Xemnu's appearances in Journey into Mystery, reprinted in Monsters on the Prowl. Xemnu's weakness is a mirror. Xemnu was turned into a gas which drifted back to his home world. The planet was lifeless because of a germ and the Xemnu cloud headed back into space where it encountered the astronauts. Doc is struck down by Xemnu, but manages to call out to Namor who wrecks the rocket. Namor attempts to take out Xemnu, but fails. The astronaut not possessed by Xemnu attempts to take him out, but is killed when crushed in Xemnu's claw.

The real Hulk arrives and Xemnu attempts to take him out, but his blasts are less effective against the green giant and he keeps coming. Hulk beats on Xemnu until he once again turns into a gas cloud. Doc believes he knows why Hulkie won.

The military personnel surround the Hulk making him less happy than a moment ago. The Hulk stomps on the ground causing all the gun-wielding dudes to fall. Namor reappears and the two depart, promising never to answer Doc's summons again. We know how well that will work!

Doc then skirts the whole consent thing by making everyone present forget the events. He tells Jim "The children will always survive, for in the long run, what else is there?"

This is something of an improvement over the previous issue. Gathering the three heroes seems more plausible. Resurrecting Xemnu (who was called The Hulk in his original appearances) while not a masterstroke, was clever and even more clever was incorporating his history. The appearances pre-date FF #1 and this is an early example of Atlas era story bleeding into modern Marvel continuity. Bill Everett returns to ink Ross Andru's pencils and does a better job than in Marvel Feature #1. His hand seems steadier and the lines sharper. It's a big improvement and closer to Sal Buscema's inks from the prior issue. I wonder what went through Bill's head inking his creation drawn by another artist?

Not being a Doc villain, Xemnu manages to keep the cast better balanced, but the Hulk could have had a larger role. It's a perfectly serviceable story. The Defenders get their own official title and followed by book length solo stories for Doc. Things are looking up!

[a-artist-a]

A Last Lesson (SWTOR FF)

Or: the Fall of a Jedi Master and the Rise of Darth Obscurus A Jedi Master betrays his oaths and his order, but most lasting of all is the scar seared into his padawan's heart. How did he fall? Was it a day or a lifetime?

Ancient doors groan as their locks crack open; the first light, the first air after millenia of darkness and silence reaches the chambers. Thick slabs of stone tower over his head, marked by a forbidden script, yet one he was permitted to learn. A young man steps forward, eager. His master commands him to wait.

Dust and sand swirl around their feet. Every step is pure danger, the traps hidden in the tomb deadly, especially to Jedi: a poison that will cut off your connection to the Force, a spell that will cast a dark shadow inside you. The light burns inside them, the darkness cannot hide. All will be revealed, all will be destroyed. (It is too late, the seed planted.)

He is proud to recognize that this place is even older than they thought. The lines carved into stone pulse beneath his finger and he craves knowledge for there is no ignorance. (Wonoksh Qyâsik nun.)

The first step is taken. Success after success followed by more and more danger, until the zenith: the rumored burial site of Nihilus.

The sweltering heat drags them all down, robes clinging to his body, sweat and blood. Three suns burn above, three graves lay below. Burns mark his arm, rope and lightsaber. Death sings its dark song in the Force. Blood pools around his legs, the only fluid they have. Everything is pain.

Hatred (the Council for sending him here, his Master for dying and himself for being too weak to stop it), rage (they'll die for this, they'll pay for this, he'll kill them!) and bone-deep sorrow (no attachment, no attachment – no weakness, no pain) force his heart to keep beating.

He is the only one to survive.

Afterwards they declared him a knight. He should have been happy, grateful even, but there was no-one to brag to, no-one to be proud of him. He smirks at his no-longer-fellow padawans, tries to feel as he should and yet – he looks at his left side and emptiness is the only answer.

At last the mission succeeded, right? It is all that matters. It must. (It must be worth it.)

Knighthood turns into Mastery, restrictions into freedom and yet more restrictions. Doors open for him: the Temple Guard let him go deep into the archives. Holocrons open for him, his accent is apparently horrible but he improves quickly with so much training. There in the secrets of the order he finds knowledge (- power. It could have saved them.)

They give him a padawan and he stares at this not-quite adult, now his responsibility. He has no idea what to do with her, but he can see her pain like storm clouds around her and he tries.

Attachment is weakness and yet, he cannot let her go. She is so fragile. A wrong word could shatter her and he holds more power over her than over his own life. (He dreams of her grave. How many suns burn above?)

When she wants to introduce him to her friends and looks like she is expects punishments, he tries to smile and not be bitter. His left side is empty but his right is not. For a time he knows peace. With her he learns more than with his own Master, from cooking to psychology and a hundred new ways to break.

A new scar on her is what breaks him.

He needs to mediate, to make someone bleed, to calm down, to become better than he ever was. The wrong words come to him, tangled in his head: There is no peace, there is only emotion.

Where is the light? Where is the dark? Shadows surround him. The shore is nowhere in sight. He drowns, he dreams and he wakes.

On the next morning he petitions the council for her knighthood. It takes long, too long and he cannot ignore the call for much longer. Fear settles into his bones. He must hide. Another week, another month and he will answer. Just a little more time.

But he has no time. In the midst of battle, all alone with his enemy, the blade bites deep and he will not die today, no matter what it takes. At last, power answers his call. His blood surges. His enemy dies and he is praised for his skill. It is all a lie. He keeps using it.

Like recognizes like. An offer is made. An offer is accepted. Still, he waits. She deserves knighthood before she has a traitor as master. She asks him if he is alright, tells him he looks sick. Never has he been so relieved he has no eyes to turn red. The terror grows.

One day he wakes up and stares at her and knows if he does not leave now, he'll take her with him down. Some nights he dreams of burying her in a tomb on Korriban. She would hate it, he thinks and prepares to break her heart.

Getting the drugs is easy, using them is hard. She is the only thing binding him to the order, a more personal betrayal and he must at last leave her behind. For all her paranoia she does not check her meal when he is the cook and she falls asleep. But not without knowing. The Force is alight in flames before her eyes fall shut. He steps over her body. (First he lays her out comfortably.)

The shadows do not let their own go, ever. He must die and so he does. (He doesn't want to kill the fools sent after him.)

Years later, a Jedi Master chases him across the battlefield, mad with grief and betrayal. It would be a good death but – (he cannot let her burden herself with his death.)

When he seals the doors of his own secret archives and hides himself in darkness to acknowledge the light he locks away just like he did with the darkness once, then at last he knows regret.

But it must be worth it. It must. Even if both his left and right side is empty.

[thewatcher727]

Sonic X: Gotta Go Fast Again - Chapter 20: First Date

Sonic X: Gotta Go Fast again is a thrilling continuation of the beloved anime, promising action-packed escapades and heartwarming moments as our heroes embark on their next chapter! Available for Reading on AO3 & FF!

FanFiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14344080/20/Sonic-X-Gotta-Go-Fast-Again

Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54991219/chapters/151150909

Preview:

Golden sunlight washed over Green Hill Village, casting a warm glow across the landscape. Rays danced on lush green hills and vibrant flowers scattered throughout the area. Two weeks had passed since the fierce battle against Metal Sonic, and the heroes were still catching their breath from the whirlwind of adventures they'd experienced. Between that conflict, the war with the Meterax, and all the escapades that unfolded while they were stranded on Chris' world, everyone could certainly use a well-deserved break.

The early morning found Amy Rose bursting with excitement as she shared news that she had been dreaming of for years.

"Sonic's taking me on a date!" Amy squealed, her voice reaching a pitch that could rival a songbird's. She bounced on her heels, her eyes sparkling with unbridled joy. After years of chasing the elusive blue blur, she was finally getting the chance she'd longed for.

Amy found herself in the cozy home of her best friend Cream and her mother. The interior was warm and inviting, with the scent of freshly baked cookies wafting through the air.

"Congratulations, Amy!" Cream praised with a gentle clap. Beside her, Cheese cooed in agreement.

Vanilla, who was busy preparing tea in the quaint kitchen, smiled warmly at the pink hedgehog. "Looks like your hard work paid off," she agreed fondly, the cups clinking softly as she arranged them on a tray.

Amy could barely contain her excitement. Her mind raced with possibilities, each more romantic than the last. Would Sonic sweep her off her feet and carry her to a picturesque cliff? Perhaps they'd venture to the thrilling Twinkle Park? The questions swirled in her head like a dizzying carousel. Suddenly, a new worry struck her – what was she going to wear? The anticipation was almost too much to bear; Amy could hardly wait for tonight to arrive.

[hellospriggan]

*steeples fingers in front of face and exhales slowly*

I'm just going to present this story time in bullet points, because it's pretty clear how rubbish this day has been without extra embellishment.

Woke up with a migraine (took medicine, felt better eventually)

Got kids breakfast; Griffin did not like the banana bread, took some time to find a substitute. Eventually got him fed.

Had to rush through getting ready for school due to second breakfast.

Got outside early for the school bus, because it was five+ minutes early yesterday and we nearly missed it.

School bus was not early

School bus was not on time

School bus was late

This mattered more than usual, because Gwen had an eye appointment at 9:45; the plan was to get Grif on the bus, go back inside to grab our stuff, and immediately leave.

Bus is 10 minutes late, I call it. I can get both kids in the car and drop Grif off at school on the way.

Right??

We get inside, Griffin has a meltdown over missing the bus. I assure him he's still going to school.

Gwen needs the bathroom.

I realize we are not going to have time to drop off Grif, or we'll be late for the appointment. What do I do? Do I reschedule it for the second time (because we were sick two weeks ago) and Get Griffin to school on time?

Meanwhile the school bus rolls up fifteen minutes late, opens its doors, and waits. And waits. Then it meanders off on its way again, while I seethe at the window.

I have a small panic attack. Gwen asks me if I'm sad and I actually cry, and she gives me a cuddle. Okay, I'm good.

I tell Griffin he's going with us, and I'll drop him off at school AFTER the appointment.

Griffin cries. Get him calmed down, get all our stuff, get outside.

Realize the car is locked. Where are my keys?? OH FFS they're locked inside the house.

We're going to be late to the appointment now, too. I try to call the office, but there's no cell reception at our house, ever, so it will not connect.

I get the emergency spare and get in the house and get my keys.

When I get back out, Griffin is crying because he has decided this whole thing is somehow his fault, and that he's "the problem". My heart breaks and I tell my son he is NEVER A PROBLEM. We both cry.

Get the kids in the car.

Half a mile down the road, the car sickness sets in, and I spend the next 30 minutes wondering if one or both kids is going to barf.

Maps app is on in the background, but not actually working. Luckily the directions are simple and I remember the way.

Have my husband, who's at work, call the school AND the office to let everyone know we're late.

No one barfs. We get there fifteen minutes late.

Gwen has her eye test. She's wearing glasses right now to correct eye crossing due to nearsightedness, and there has been little enough improvement that I now need to have her wear an eye patch.

Griffin shows the optician the page in my sketchbook that he's covering with multiplication; I take a deep breath and remind myself that he's missing a morning of kindergarten, a week before summer break, ie board games. And that he can fucking multiply. It's going to be fine.

We eventually get out. Everyone needs the bathroom.

Get out to the car, check the time, and realize that we'll make it back to school halfway through his lunch IF we're lucky, and he won't have time to eat.

I make the executive decision that we're having donuts for lunch, because we fucking deserve them. Well look, there's a Dunkin right across the street! I can even do drive through and not have to get them out of the car seats again! (It is amazing how much of a consideration that becomes, but it adds so much time.)

We do drive through, and the person keeps asking me over the intercom what I want, even though I keep begging for a moment to look at the menu.

We order donuts, lemonade, and coffee. Pay, tip handsomely as an apology for my (I think understandable) lack of organization, pull into a parking spot to feed everyone. We have no straws.

I jog over to the window and ask for three straws.

He gives me two. I ask for another. I get four total.

I spill coffee on my foot.

We eat donuts, and they are splendid. I hope no one barfs on the way home now.

No one barfs. It's close, again. (If he does throw up, he's not allowed at school. Understandable, but another thing to navigate.)

We get Griffin to school, right at the end of his lunch period. He's very cranky about how this day has gone. I have also forgotten to pack him a snack, and donuts are not very sustaining. Hope he makes it.

Gwen and I stop at the produce stand down the road to buy fruit, and go home. I think more about car seats, and if there's a way to calculate how much of my life as a parent has been spent dealing with them.

At home I refuse to stand in the sun blowing bubbles for Gwen, and she gets mad. We have another discussion about how we're a team but at least half of this team is very tired. We go inside and watch TV instead.

My new notepads arrive, a bright moment. My website is still kind of broken, but cute stationary helps!

We were planning on going to the fireman's carnival tonight. Tomorrow is the last day. I really hope everyone is up to going tonight and that it's not the last straw in a busy day.

I think I'm going to take cute photos of the new notepads, work on my website, and honestly just let Gwen watch as much TV as she wants today. I struggle a lot to balance screen time for my kids, but I also try really hard to think about what I would need/want on a rough day, and not hold them to a higher standard.

I tried so hard to keep a positive tone on things today, and I was really open with them about the fact that sometimes things go wrong and it's no one's fault, but that DANG it's tough when it all seems to happen at once! We took several minutes in the car just all shouting "BUMMER!!" as loud as we could, and that helped.

[pikespendragon67]

And Now, The Long Awaited "Pikes Check-up" Fall 2023 Edition!!

Decided to make it a habit to type out my current interests/progress in life in case I find it difficult to jump into conversations with friends

Let's begin, shall we?

Current Life Events

It's been over a month and I still haven't had my annual review at work so if I don't get it by the end of December I may go nuts. Need to either get a better position in this firm, get better payment, or probably find a job somewhere else because wow working 8 hours (which is essentially 10 due to traveling & 1 hour lunch break) is not worth $20 an hour [i'm in CA so that's like barely above minimum wage & i gotta keep other expenses in mind].

On that note, I do have an interview for a state job next Friday (though I hope my coworkers/supervisor don't find it odd that I dress as usual on casual Fridays) and I keep getting calls from legal recruiters, so that's a good sign. Might try a probate firm since I enjoyed being a loan signing agent.

Brother and sister-in-law are hosting Thanksgiving this year! This will be the first time in decades where my parents don't host (and even then, it's mainly just a few family friends instead of actual blood relatives when they host. Think the last time I've been to a family Thanksgiving was when I was 7?) I get to properly meet my niece-in-law instead of just seeing her at the wedding. Sadly no nephews-in-law, so I might need to cut back on the gaming talk

Next party event for me is White Elephant with IRL friends, then for Chrimbus my parents & I are gonna go see my godparents for a week. Finally a week vacation (I need better hours too OTL)

With every passing day I think of gender being wonky so hopefully one day (when I'm financially stable to be on my own comfortably and without the fear of losing things) I can figure it out. Right now I'm thinking of using Bishop as a secondary online name but we'll see if that sticks.

Possibly maybe could go to Japan in April? Mom said she's organizing an event with my brother's old high school and she might be able to get my dad & me to join. Though I'd be a complete weeb, so I feel like I'd be rude to folks in Japan, I'd still love to go.

What I'm Playing

As much as I love Sea of Stars, I was getting antsy to play something else. (Especially when I heard the requirements for the true ending). SO, I decided to swap over to Digimon Survive since my brother got it for me for Chrimbus last year. I would've played it at launch but of course Xenoblade 3 came out at the same time and then I got lost playing Pokemon Scarlet then Hi-Fi Rush then Octopath 2 then replaying 999 then Ghost Trick then Sea of Stars-

But yeah I'm loving the character writing so far in Survive (I'm on part 3 most likely going to end with the moral ending) and the Digivolutions keep me on my toes. I don't think there's a branching system like in the Zero Escape franchise/AI The Somnium Files, so I'm not sure if I'll do a repeat playthrough. Gameplay itself has an isometric camera like FF Tactics so it can be a bit wonky placing your units to attack enemies. Plus I like how this game actually tells me what path I'm taking (hint hint Triangle Strategy before New Game+)

I also just got Super Mario RPG but the timing for action commands feels off? I press when the exclamation point appears but apparently I have to wait for the attack to actually connect. Weird

Then for games I'm watching through LPs because of time/funds/my wrists being god awful so it's hard to play games, I just finished watching Judgment and I think Yakuza Like a Dragon still holds the award for the game that made me cry the most but damn this also had good moments.

I'm also now watching P5 Tacticia (might get it if I can get used to Xcom gameplay) and man I can really make a babygirl meter based on the older dudes in P5 (going from Kasukabe to Sojiro probably)

New PFP that I've named Hattagan c:

Finally, man I might want to sell my PS5 despite it being my graduation gift from 2021. It's uncomfortable to play it with my current chair (as I like to usually play games lying down to help my back), and with me working full-time now, it's difficult to find motivation to play when I get back home. I'd need to connect to my work's Wi-Fi to take advantage of remote play, unfortunately. And while I could get a longer USB cord to keep the controller charged or get a bean bag or something, my room's way too small for that configuring & I'd have to keep unplugging the console when we clean every other week. Most of the games I want to play are already on Steam and are playable on the Deck, so I might use that instead. (Though I pray Ghost of Tsushima and Gravity Rush 2 get ported, then Yakuzas 4-6 are made playable for Deck).

Current Collection Wants So Far

Ever since I've garnered my own funds, I've made a habit of collecting fan things. It usually boils down to plushies (mostly Pokemon, but now favorite characters as well), games to collect (currently Switch, GBA, DS, 3DS, and Vita since I'm not really playing my PS5 for PS4 games anymore), Fire Emblem Cipher cards, and now DVDs for series/movies I like because I can't trust streaming services these days. Don't know if I'll be able to do Pokemon cards because I just collect for art & characters I like. Plus with how the Paul brothers ruined that market, I'd prefer to not dip my toes in that. When I get my own place, hopefully I can get other consoles to collect for. (Also I'm not planning on getting everything; mainly just games that pique my interest).

What I'm Watching

Last week, I saw the new Digimon 02 movie dubbed. Glad that Davis, Veemon/Ken, and Hawkmon reprised their roles. The only real issue I had was Armadillomon having the Stitch voice instead of the usual Texan accent. Other than that, Digimon's movies has this weird air of trying to market to nostalgic fans by telling them to move on from Digimon. I get folks didn't like the ending of the original 02 for shipping reasons, but the DigiDestined still had their Digimon as adults so I think it's a bit mean to say adults can't have Digimon or that they should stop having them. On that note, I felt like the "villain" could've been more terrifying if they actually showed how messed it up it was. (Like you're expecting me to believe it created Diaboromon just by it saying it watched the events on TV?)

So along with me nearly finishing Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (just have 2 episodes left since I decided to binge last night), here's what I'm watching in the fall 2023 anime season

needless to say i am going insane so i'll at least give some highlights

Paradox Live: I got into the series for Saimon back before the anime came out (I think it was a few months before Buraikan were officially revealed?) and wow the songs are great. You might've noticed me posting some of the groups like TCW, AKYR, etc. So far the animation for the series is self is pretty good, though they're changing a few story beats from the audio dramas. Like man we're getting starved on AKYR content. In terms of my favs, they're Saimon, Haruomi, Hokusai, and Shiki with Anne getting an honorable mention as well

Undead Unluck: I love the fast-paced humor and animation. I think the director for the Monogatari series is working on this and it's paying off in spades.

I'm dreading next week's episode of Jujutsu Kaisen and I'm praying that when Hiromi's in the anime that he'll get a good casting for both sub and dub (my hopes are Akio Otsuka and Joe J. Thomas, but that's personal bias talking). If he ends up dying I might drop the series.

Black Jack appeared in episode 1 of Pluto and that got me so stoked. Like I know Black Jack and Astro Boy are both Tezuka, but still.

Everything else is great, mind you, but my mind can only process so much. I'm also hoping to see Boy & The Heron when it comes out because Robert Pattinson actually voice acts in it, so here's hoping he gets other opportunities like that.

I'll most likely edit this post to add some other things, but yeah, that's my current status atm!