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dont-doubt-dopple · 3 years ago

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Puppets on Crimson String - Chapter 1

Synopsis: What’s in an alliance? That which we call a Wither Rose by any other name would be just as deceptive.

And what is a test subject if one can … utilize the results?

Some will rise when others fall. It’s time for those in between to choose a side.

A/N: A quick thing inspired by my love of the Empires SMP and some older Headcanons by @fallow-foot. and @stupidperfectcharminglukas on Tumblr. I know this isn’t canon but it’s canon convergent so if you haven’t caught up with the latest arc (the demon arc), I suggest you stop reading now. But I have some ideas of how to incorporate the newest set of reveals from Gem’s Episode 10 thanks to @harley-the-pancake (also on Tumblr) and I’m super excited to write this. Anyways … enjoy! And watch your back ;)

cw: implied demonic possession

Chapter 1: The Potato Man

It had been a while since Shelby visited the Grimlands, running from portal to portal in an attempt to escape the demon. The spires of corrupted towers that loomed over her unsettled her then and still unsettle her now, though much more corruption fills the area as walks up to the gate of the Grimlands. It’s been even longer since she actually met the man, offering her advice while shying away from the corruption when brought up in conversation. He’s a weird one, that potato man. She’s not sure where his intentions lie; his main alliance members are much more easy to read (Gem is good, Sausage evil). But now was not to bring up all this … uncontained corruption around her or about his somewhat questionable taste in alliances. No, today she was here to trade.

The two had messaged while they were both in the end dimension, and the explosive expert informed the inter-dimensional gnome that he had acquired what she was looking for: a pair of elytra. And after Shelby had died and escaped after hours of searching, she agreed to trade some of her mushrooms for the pair of wings. And maybe if she could get some name tags too that would be great. But that’s secondary as she knows name tags are so hard to find. So, mushrooms with a little magic for elytra. Yep, not an unbalanced transaction at all.

FWhip opened the door before she could even knock. His outfit was covered in … she couldn’t tell if it was coal from smelting or gunpowder from crafting rockets and frankly Shelby didn’t want to ask. But it wasn’t the clothes that bothered her, or the corruption that she could see behind him that led past the kingdom’s walls. No, it was his eyes. Tendrils of corruption spread from either side of each eye, clinging to his skin like anchors as the familiar crimson red leaked into his sclera. It was like fWhip the person was being corrupted. She took a small step back in surprise, unsure if she should even bring it up to the man.

FWhip definitely didn’t seem to feel or notice. “Oh sorry, did I scare you? Sorry, I saw you when I was flying back from one of my Exp farms. Should I have let you knock? Imma gonna let you knock.” Before Shubble had even the chance to get a word in, the door was once again shut between. She took one quick breath, trying to compose herself as she stared corruption literally in the face. We’re not trying to start a war with the explosives man.

Shelby knocked on one of the doors a few times before fWhip opened the trapdoor and gestured for her to come. “Hello hello! Sorry I jumped I …” Don’t be suspicious. “Wasn’t expecting the teal hair.”

“Oh this? It’s nothing, I just got into a little accident with some tinkering I’m doing. I’m working with Katherine to get it fixed.” FWhip said as he led her down on the long paths towards his storage room.

“Oh that’s cool.” She replied automatically, half distracted as she looked at all the corruption surrounding the lands, now leaked into the main square and towards the citizen’s houses. Even some of the buildings had bits and ends replaced with crimson red wood and corruption. “So … did you ever find that mini portal thing you were looking for?”

“Oh yeah, I did finally. Just my luck I find like three all close after searching for ages.” Shubble chuckled, her shoulders only becoming slightly less tense. She was very much still on edge.

“Better luck than me still in the End.” FWhip seemed to flinch slightly when she mentioned the dimension. “But hey, now I’m the first ever inter-dimensional gnome!!”

FWhip laughed. “Yes, you are. Now, how much does my fellow interdimensional traveler want to give me for an elytra?”

“How many stacks do you want or need? I have …” Shelby pops down a yellow Shulker box, opening it up to double check the contents. “About 2 stacks of each kind, including the nether ones.” FWhip seemed cautious around it despite the several boxes floating behind him in his storage room. When he finally reached towards the box, Shelby noticed black symbols on his arm that started and extended all the way up his arm.

“Oh that’s uh … wow okay. Um, I’ll definitely take all the overworld mushrooms and a few of the nether ones for stuff. You sure you don’t need anything else? I feel like I’m cheating you out on this deal.”

Every part of Shelby was screaming now to get out of the situation. From the symbols to the eyes and the growing sense of corruption. But she couldn’t; she couldn’t seem like anything was wrong. “Um, I wouldn’t mind a few name tags if you have them.”

“I do have a few actually on me so … here.” FWhip reached into his inventory and dropped what looked like a full stack of name tags. It was that point that Shelby couldn’t really ignore it. FWhip was doing things she’d only seen one other person on this server really do. She didn’t touch the name tags as she slowly shifted her gaze up from the ground to meet fWhip’s corrupted ones.

“FWhip, how … do you have a stack of nametags just … sitting in your inventory?” FWhip’s brows furrowed in … concentration would probably be the closest thing to describe the look he was giving her. But she could tell that they were both starting to get on the same page.

“A lot of Fortune Emerald mining and a lot of villager trades.” The voice that came from his mouth was serious, unwavering. The air was still and tense as one waited for the other to make a mistake. Luckily for Shelby, it already did.

“I thought you only silk touched that stuff.”

A laugh echoed across the otherwise dead space. It wasn’t fWhip’s laugh though. It was a laugh that taunted her regularly, permeated her dreams and carried over from the kingdom it destroyed to her new one. It was twisted and malicious and it was standing right there in her friend. As her friend.

“C̽ļ̈́̑̾ȩ̋̐̓v͗͡ȩ̇r͑͋ ͩͦ̈́̽͛̚G͛̒ͪ̚ĭ̔͆ͮ͘r̓͝l̕ (Clever girl).” It said, the voice being both its own and fWhip’s mashed into one demonic symphony. Shubble backed away instinctively, pulling her mushroom bow off her back despite being very well aware it wasn’t going to do anything. It made her feel better.

“LET HIM GO!!!” She screamed in his face just as he teleported away. She pulled an arrow out of her quiver, not quite pulling back her bow but readying it for comfort. “HE DID NOTHING TO YOU!!”

“Hͪͤ̒͒̀ͨͤ͝eͤͬͦ͐̇ ͑̓mͣ͂̀̔eͭ̄̿́͌̋̋a̴͊̄n̈ͪ̆̓̀̏s̨̅͗̉̄ ̧s̆͑̐̇҉óͤ͜m̾̽̂ͫ̋ͬ͟e͌̔t̊ͩ̌̅̄̉ͯh͊͑͢i̾̒͊̅̑̈̚҉n̄͌̉̒̈́ͦ̃҉g̸̓͂ (He means something).” Its voice echoed before FWhip reappeared in Shelby’s view. She shot off the arrow primed from her bow, which met its target. FWhip was on fire, but the man controlling him didn’t seem to pay it any mind.

“Is that revenge thing again?” She asked, switching back into therapist mode. “You know, taking over other people’s bodies isn’t going to help all that much.”

“Ȉ̔͞t͊̍̈́ͨ͆͑ ̵̒ͬͫ̑̈ć͑́̾ͧ̔̌a̓ͭͧ͂̌̊͐ü̋̈ͤ̏̈́s̈́͌ͨ̇ͧ̔̋͞es̡̈́̎̀ ̶̒̐͒̾̚C̢͗̀͗̇̊̈́́̔̇H̨͑Ä̃̕͞O̢̡̊ͩ̑̉̚̚Ś̢͒͂̂̊ (It causes CHAOS).” Once the flames died down Shubble could see the black marks on his arms as the demon had fWhip’s sleeves rolled up. The message covered up his entire arm, and despite the clear view she couldn’t tell for the life of her what they said.

↸ᒷᔑℸ ̣ ⍑ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ᔑᒷ𝙹∷

!¡𝙹∴ᒷ∷ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ᒷ ̇/𝙹∷

“You’ve already caused enough! LEAVE EVERYONE ALONE!” The demon’s face … wait, no technically it’s fWhip’s face but it’s the demon that’s controlling it … whatever you get the point. The face began to twist, making expressions like a kid trying to hold back a secret before one last word escaped fWhip’s mouth. Not the demon’s voice … the actual owner of the body, fWhip’s voice.

“RUN!”

And Shelby did.

#empires smp #empiressmp #empires smp fanfic #xornoth #i'm not tagging the human characters cause I know shubble is on Tumblr #and I don't know how comfortable she is with fics #canon convergent #Puppets on Crimson String #dopple work

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i-do-trash-fanfictions · 4 years ago

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Thera’s Journal Entry #46

TW / / Talks about attempted suicide

I returned to my ship and closed the door. I slumped into the pilot’s seat and just sat there. I was sure that I would have another mission to do in just a couple of minutes, maybe seconds.

My ship’s comlink beeped with a missed message and I tapped it, expecting for sure for it to be another mission or patrol. Ikora’s voice came on. “Thera, I realize that we’ve been giving you too much work lately. You’re free for the rest of today and tomorrow. You deserve it.”

The message finished and went off and I grinned. Oh sweet freedom.

“I bet that Crow had something to do with that.” Scout said from over my shoulder.

“Probably,” I said, flicking some switches and firing up my ship, then setting course for the Tower. “Put him on coms.”

“Alright. Done.”

“Alright, how’d you convince Ikora and Zavala to give me a break?” I asked, leaning back in my chair.

“I simply went to Osiris. He took care of the rest.” Came Crow’s answer.

“You know, now that the rest of today’s open, I think we should do that date. Head to my place at 6. I’ll make dinner.”

“Ooh, what will you be making?”

“I’ll let that be a surprise.”

He hummed. “I’m sure it’ll be good whatever it is.”

We went off coms and I sighed contently. “I’ll probably make one of those new recipes I saw.” I told Scout.

Scout bobbed in the air, as if he were nodding.

“You still have the report to file out for this mission. I’ll go get that done for you so you don’t have to worry about it.”

I nodded and Scout flew off, leaving me in the cockpit.

My thoughts wondered about how well Crow has been adjusting to living at the Tower. The same day that he had arrived I had taken him to a high area on one of the roofs. We had drunken some alcohol and enjoyed the sight of the Traveler and the sun setting.

The next day I had him meet Ann, who was so excited. Poppy was excited to see Glint again. They had talked before, back when he was known as Pulled Pork. She loved to hear about some of the things he had scanned and the places he had seen.

The three of us had met at another spot of the Tower that was outside. No one went out there much, so it would be perfect. Then Crow could take his mask off and enjoy some food with us.

Ann and Crow got along really well, and then Ann ended up asking for a story from me. I had begun to tell her some about me, Sora, and Zane, and Ann wanted Crow to hear one. So I told one about a ship race that Zane had brought me on.

Crow had a bit of trouble adjusting to everything at first. I took him around, showed him his room, and gave him some glimmer when he first arrived. But it took some getting used to, going from living in a little room in Spider’s lair where he barely got enough food (when I had found out about that, I had nearly gone straight to Spider and carried out my threat), to living in a nice room in the Tower where he could get almost anything he wanted. He wasn’t used to being able to go nearly wherever he wanted without asking. He would always ask me if he was allowed to go places. But he did adjust eventually. Though he still hasn’t entirely adjusted to where things were to the Tower. I’ve had to help him out twelve times when he’s gotten lost.

Soon, the Tower came into view and I docked in the Hangar. I stopped over at Amanda’s spot really quick.

“You ain’t got anymore missions to go on?”

“Nope. Had a friend to bail me out. He convinced the Vanguard to give me today and tomorrow off.”

“Lucky you. Hey, got some more music all set up.” She handed me a chip.

“Thanks. I better get going.”

“See ya around.”

I walked off and headed towards my room. I was going to try to make some pasta. I didn’t make it very often because I didn’t know how, but I had seen a recipe and it seemed easy enough.

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I heard a knock at my door and got up to open it.

“Hey.” I said, letting Crow in.

He sniffed the air and then spotted the pizza box, half pepperoni-half sausage, sitting on the bed.

“I thought you were going to cook.” He said, sitting down at the small round table near the kitchenette.

“Yeah, well-” I said with a blush. “I tried and it didn’t turn out to well. So I got pizza.”

“I’m fine with that. I actually haven’t had pizza yet.”

“You haven’t had pizza yet!” I said, feigning a gasp.

He chuckled. I got us both slices and I sat across from him at the table.

“So, what are you going to do now that you’re off?”

“Sleep in.” I said between bites. “Probably make brownies. Goof off with Ann.”

He nodded. “Seems like a good way to spend your off day.” He looked past me. “You wear hats?”

I turned around to see what he was looking at. A cowboy hat sat on the table on it’s stand.

“Oh, no. I might wear it sometime. It was Zane’s old cowboy hat. He used to wear it when we went out to places.”

“You’ve become more comfortable talking about your fireteam. Last time I asked about them you got upset and didn’t want to talk.”

“I suppose since I’ve been talking about Sora and Zane more with Ann, it isn’t as hard to talk about them anymore. I spent most of my time after their death pushing their memory away.” I finished off a final bite. “I’m glad I’ve got someone like Ann. For the longest time, I had no friends at all.”

“Why not?”

“After Zane and Sora’s death, it became real to me that Guardians could still die. That they may not come back from a mission. It scared me. I was afraid that I would lose someone else, and then I would fall right back into my depression again. So I decided that I wouldn’t take the risk and make anymore friends. That I would be a loner.” I got up and went to the mini fridge that sat on the counter, opened it, grabbed a soda and sat back down. “It was bad after they died.” I said, popping the can open and taking a sip. “I wanted to die for a while.”

Crow didn’t say anything. I suppose he didn’t know what to say.

I kept going. “I wanted to kill myself and I didn’t want Scout to rez me. I did a few times. He rezzed me anyway. Once I tried to lock him in the bathroom and run off where he couldn’t find me. He contacted a... friend.” I was talking about Cayde. I still didn’t like to mention his name around Crow. “He caught up to me. Talked some sense into me. Brought me back to my room. I felt so guilty for scaring Scout like that later. Scout talked some more sense into me later. I never tried again.” I took another sip. “I also used to run away for days at a time. Once it had been a week and a half. I wasn’t planning on going back. That same friend got on coms. Talked some more sense into me. I came home. Never ran off like that again. I convinced myself that it would be better to push away their memory. Then I wouldn’t have to be so upset all the time. It’s been years, and only now am I going through all the stuff they left to me, like the cowboy hat.

“When Ann came along, I couldn’t just push her away. I thought about it, after I first hung out with her, but then decided not to. We became close friends. She sees me as like an older sister figure.”

“I can see that.” Crow said. “She looks up to you a lot.”

I nodded. “I’m still afraid that something bad might happen to her. But I try not to worry about it too much. I’ve realized now that life’s a lot better with friends than without.”

“What happened to him?” Crow asked after a pause.

“Who?”

“That friend. That convinced you not to kill yourself. That convinced you not to run away.”

I didn’t meet his eyes. “He died too.” I answered quietly.

“Oh.”

I tried not to cry. This was the most I had told anyone besides Scout. Sure, Ann knew that I had gone through a bad depression after Zane and Sora’s death, but she didn’t know that I had been suicidal. That I had wanted to run away from the Tower and never come back.

But I couldn’t hold the tears in. Crow was up in seconds and his arms were wrapped around me.

“Hey. Hey.” He said softly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked about him.”

“No, no. It’s alright. You didn’t know.” I sniffed and wiped my eyes.

“Hey, let’s watch the Goonies. I know you like that movie.”

I smiled. He picked me up and moved me to the bed, then went to grab my projector and the chip that held the movie. He fiddled with it for a bit and I grinned.

“Yeah, you’re going to have to set this up.”

I stood up and set it up. Soon the movie was playing and the two of us were leaned back against some pillows and the headboard. Crow had his arm wrapped around my shoulder and I leaned on his chest, taking in his scent, our conversation that we had had long forgotten as the opening credits began. I need more moments like these, I thought to myself as finally the scene changed to the beginning of the movie.

#destiny 2 #destiny #destiny guardians #destiny game

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peace-coast-island · 4 years ago

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Diary of a Junebug

An egg-cellent day for an adventure

It's another fun filled day of baking sweet treats at the camp as we've got a surplus of eggs to use up. Good thing Emilia decided to drop by along with her daughter Michele Toni for a well deserved mother-daughter weekend. I was hoping for the day when Emilia would stop by for a visit and now she's here!

(Psstt... Andrea, Selene, Paget, Lena, Rini, Malka, Kate, Annie, and Luciana- camp's open all year round for visitors so if you can, come on over!)

Along with collecting eggs scattered across the camp and making baked goods, Emilia's also filming a travel-style vlog for her channel Emilia Eats. She mainly does recipe videos with an occasional vlog, something she's been doing for about ten years now. Along with making videos Emilia runs a local catering company of the same name.

I've always loved Emilia's cooking and baking - it's one of the many things I look forward to when I visit home - second to my mom's, of course. Also I love her videos as she's got a sweet personality that makes me feel enthusiastic about baking. I've saved a lot of her recipes for reference and sometimes I just like watching her videos just to see old friends like Serena, Tony, and Michele.

I'm glad to see Emilia in a much better place. We caught up a bit at the wedding, where I got to know Michele Toni a bit more as well as catch up with her dad. The past few years have been rough on them but now it looks like things are finally settling down for Emilia and Mr. Phillips.

Little Michele Toni's so cute, she's almost like a mini-me of Emilia. Hard to believe she's a toddler now and it's so cute seeing her take an interest in baking! I always love seeing her "cooking" alongside her mom in various videos.

Around the time before Michele Toni was born, Emilia was going through a rough time. Up until then, the Phillips-Conrad family were a happy bunch. The family had a bit of unwanted publicity as Mr. Phillips was, and still is, a big name in town, so the fact that he, a white man, adopted two young black girls was something the media wanted to dig up dirt on. Truth is, there was nothing to stir up - Emilia and Michele's mom and Mr. Phillips were good friends and he was always like a father figure to the girls. Both didn't have much living family so they assigned each other as godparents to their kids.

For years they were a happy family - Emilia, Tony, and Michele. Tony was the one who helped Emilia get started with her channel, teaching her how to film and edit videos as well as get more views. Michele was the one who helped Emilia come up with recipe ideas and in the videos where she's featured, the two would often talk about their mom. Emilia always spoke fondly of her as did Tony while Michele would listen intently when the two told stories of the past. Those videos are always bittersweet to watch, especially now that Tony and Michele are gone.

Things changed when Tony went off to college, traveling abroad and rarely coming home. Michele also went abroad and later got caught up in a hectic, stressful lifestyle, leaving Emilia in Rosevine balancing her life as a baker and a Galaxy Fighter. We all had a feeling that Tony and Michele were going to leave while Emilia stayed so it was expected that the three would go their separate ways. They were still a close knit family though - none of us suspected that something was wrong.

The deaths of Tony and Michele were a huge shock to the community. Both were struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction as their lives took a toll on them. Tony died from a drug overdose and Michele drove off a bridge, both were at their lowest point due to unlucky breaks. Then months later Serena died in the Crystal Shadow War so in that time span Emilia lost her siblings and best friend.

It was a difficult time for everyone. I was also going through some rough patches myself so you can imagine how bad it was. Pretty much everyone I knew from home was going through a terrible time because the universe somehow decided to be a dick and throw all these tragedies at us.

Thankfully, those days are behind us. Months later I opened the camp, Emilia and the other Galaxy Fighters had their spirit revived thanks to a band of adventurers - I guess you can say the darkest hour is just before dawn. Not everything's perfect right now, but we're all doing a lot better, and that's what matters.

Along with some new friends sort of turning Rosevine upside down, Emilia was in for another unexpected turn. Not too long after Serena's death, Emilia started seeing some guy who wasn't good for her. Then Michele Toni was born and she was probably the best thing to ever happen for her mom and grandpa in light of the tragedies that plagued them. It wasn't until last year when Michele Toni made appearances on Emilia's channel and stole the show. Seeing the two of them bake together makes me so happy - and I'm glad that Emilia finally feels comfortable embracing her role as a mom.

Michele Toni had a lot of fun bringing us eggs she found while exploring the camp, her favorite place being the beach. Emilia says her favorite hangout spot is Sunburst Island because it reminds her of her family's summer home in Watercolor Vineyards. I've never been there but from how she, Tony, and Michele described it, the island sounds beautiful!

While sightseeing and scavenging for eggs, Emilia filmed for her vlog and caught me and Daisy Jane up on everything that's been going on at home. Selene, Arianne, and Vitoria are up to the usual, their latest adventure happened to be with Team Magic involving smoke screens, zombies, and frozen tidal waves. Kate's got a big tennis match coming up while Malka has a concert in a couple weeks. Rini and her grandma are doing well, running the shrine as usual and planning for their yearly spring trip to Tranquility Falls. Lena and Annie are busy at the hospital saving lives and helping others. Paget's doing all right, holding her own, taking it one day at a time. Andrea and Robin are doing their best too, keeping up with Selene and the others. Luciana's checking in on everyone as usual, coming to the rescue in the nick of time.

Hunting for eggs was a lot of fun! Emilia showed off her powers a little for the campers. As a Galaxy Fighter, she's Guardian Cyclone and her powers involve manipulating air into wind, creating powerful blasts that can be as strong as a hurricane. Since a good batch of the eggs are in hard to reach places (Why, Zipper, why?), it's a good thing we have Emilia here to help her out because she's currently the tallest person here right now, she's an agile climber, and can use her powers to drop eggs that are impossible to reach. In a stroke of luck, not a single egg was broken - and we were kinda rough with them.

Once we were satisfied with the amount of eggs we collected (maybe not satisfied but you can only collect so many eggs before you get annoyed by them popping up everywhere you go), it's time to get cooking! For savory dishes we made a bunch of quiches to put many of the eggs to good use and so we can freeze them for later. We made a bunch of different kinds - spinach and feta, four cheese, kimchi, salmon and cream cheese, shakshouka, garden veggies, sausage - it's a good thing we labeled everything! Of course, we used Emilia's trusty old recipe for a buttery, flaky crust that's not only delicious, but easy to make and freezes well.

The desserts was where we went all out. I happened to score a nice bargain with a barrel full of perfect peaches so we made a lovely pie with those. Daisy Jane taught us how to make egg tarts, a sweet treat I haven't had in forever. Coco made carrot cake cheesecake bars, Claude baked a giant quadruple chocolate mousse cake, and Dora made a lovely assortment of digestive biscuits to go with freshly brewed tea. Emilia made up a recipe on the spot - lemon vanilla cardamon bars - which turned out really good.

Since the lemon vanilla cardamon bars were such a hit, Emilia's gonna make a recipe video of it - at the camp. I still can't believe that Daisy Jane and I are gonna be on Emilia Eats - first for the vlog, now a recipe video! It's taken her years but Emilia plans to get most, if not all, her friends to appear on her channel. She plans to get Team Magic on next as she's planning a video with Mariposa and Skully, developing a recipe with Angie, figuring out what she wants to do with Luna that won't blow up the kitchen, and waiting on Pippa and Willow.

I can't wait to see what Emilia Eats has in store because Emilia's been knocking it out of the park lately! Her videos have always been consistently good but in the past few months she's been putting a lot more heart into it. Even when times were tough, Emilia always managed to put on a brave face. I remember watching her videos during those times, how despite everything that was going on, Emilia continued making recipes. We all have our different ways of coping with grief and hers was to continue with business as usual, which can be a good and bad thing.

Hanging out with her and watching her play with Michele Toni, I know for sure that Emilia's going to be all right. We can't undo the past and bring back lost loved ones, but we can carry on. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I think I see a little bit of Michele Toni's aunt and uncle in her. She's definitely got her mom's heart and spirit.

After a fun day of collecting eggs and baking, it's time for a well deserved bonfire dinner of quiches, seafood chowder, and freshly baked sourdough bread. Then tomorrow will be more egg hunting, baking, filming, and good old camping fun!

#animal crossing #animal crossing pocket camp #Diary of a Junebug #headcanon ramble

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queensdivas · 5 years ago

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Garden Party. A Gwil Short

You can thank @filmslutt for that cute little moodboard you see below! I asked her to send me a request because I was super bored and then this came up! Don’t ask me how I got this from that from I think it’s sort of cute in a sense.

I hope everyone is doing okay with what’s going on in the world. Please be careful and just enjoy the fact that we live in the same Universe that the Bohrap boys live in.

Love you all and enjoy!

Masterlist

I’d say the best advantage of living on an island far up north would be the smell of the North Atlantic Ocean. The people are so friendly, the food is all home cooked and fresh, and it’s super quiet. The worst thing? When you finally head to civilization for a week to spend with your family ya meet a really great guy and now he’s wanting to bring his friends up to meet me! Not that I haven’t met them over facetime and of course I said yes because he wouldn’t stop talking about them and how great they are! I’ve also seen their instagrams, they’re definitely super close with one another!

So. I thought it would be fun if I had a garden party! I’ve busted my butt through the entire summer with the help of Gwil who kept making time out of his super busy schedule to help me with my gardening. Our Scots Bluebell turned out beautifully all around the house, of course the thistles turned out gorgeous. The bellheathers turned a bright purple, my jacobite roses bloomed of course, and finally my dwarf cornel though taking a little longer than usual, turned out great!

Alright it’s 1:10 and Gwil just told me he just picked them up from the airport. He said there’s going to be a total of eight people he’s bringing tonight. Luckily I’ve got enough room in my big old house to fit everyone. The last ferry usually leaves around eight and driving here around night isn’t always the best. I’ve got plenty of bunkbeds and single beds.

For an appetizer I’m starting with Partan Bree (which is crab bisque), then two main cuisines of Bangers and Mash along with the second cuisine of course mini scottish pies. And for dessert it’s Cranachan!

One knock came from the back door as it opened for my friend to come and give me a hand with the cooking. You think I would do this all by myself? Of course not. Look, I love multitasking, but when it comes to cooking I’d like to make sure everything is cooked well.

“How much time do we have Maisy?” Bonnie asked as she carried in some of the groceries I asked her to buy. Of course I invited my best friend. Though he’s met her multiple times when he drove up here, just didn’t want to be alone when they all come up here.

“Inverness Airport is where everyone is meeting so we got about five hours. I have to start taking apart the crab if you want to start getting the mash ready.” Bonnie nodded as she walked behind the counter.

“So who's all coming to this party?” Bonnie asked as I started cutting the skin off the crab.

“Gwil of course. Joe, Ben and his girl sadly can’t remember her name. Rami and Lucy, and another couple Allen and his wife Jessica.” Finishing the first crap as I moved onto the next one.

“Holy Hell. Didn’t realize you were feeding’ the masses today!” Bonnie laughed as she began peeling the potatoes.

“Neither did I until a few days ago when he told me they were out and about. But oh well.” I laughed as I stopped peeling for a second to turn on the TV.

“What are we feeling Bonnie?” I asked her as I scrolled down to the apps.

“Have you watched Rosemary's baby?” For some odd reason whenever Bonnie and I cook, we just love watching scary movies. Don’t ask me why because we just do!

“I’ve heard it’s freaky so yes. Hulu?”

“Netflix.” I nodded as I opened netflix then got the movie started.

I finished peeling the last crab as the pile of crab meat was sitting there ready to become some delicious bisque. We started watching the movie while beginning to cut up the crab shells. Bonnie and I kept stopping once every few minutes to watch the movie because it’s just so bizzare. Who names their kid Guy? Imagine growing up with your first name being Guy! No offense to those named Guy, but what a poor kid!

“From the way Guy’s attitude. She blames it on being an actor, but I think that’s just him being an ass hole.” I pointed out as I placed the crab skins apart of the meat to start cutting them apart.

“So not ALL actors are self entiled ass holes?”

“Cheeky bitch.” I tossed a piece of crab skin at her as she darted a piece of skinned potato at me.

“Gwil is much calmer and knows how the industry works. Oh my god her hair!” I got distracted at how big the top of random chicks hair was! It’s all shoved on top!

“It looks like a popcorn kernel! Oh she’s dead..” We both stopped to start watching again as the old couple came into the scene. They’re like the old version of Barbie and Ken with the amount of pink they were wearing! My phone ringing broke my train of thought as I put down the knife. Why is Gwil trying to facetime me if he’s driving? I placed my phone against the mixing bowl and answered the call.

“Is that crab?” He asked as I held the crab's dead claw in front of the camera.

“Why are you holding a crabs claw? Oh my god does Gwil enjoy nipple clamps? Ben owes me money if this is true!” Joe chimed in as I smirked at the camera. When Gwil and Joe were in the Swiss Alps in that golf tournament, he facetimed me during the golf tournament with them driving around the golf course, while singing Material Girl. It Was a sight.

“No he isn’t into nipple clamps Joe.” I heard him groan as he aimed the phone over to Gwil who was trying to focus on driving, but kept looking out of the corner of his eye towards the phone.

“What’s for dinner?” He asked as I went back to cutting up the crab skin.

“For as many people you’re dragging up here, we’re having Partan Bree, Bangers and Mash, Mini Pies, and for dessert you’ll be eating Cranachan!” I smiled as I heard a bunch of moaning for food in his car.

“Gwil when were you going to tell us she was going to fatten us up!” Lucy giggled as I kept smiling at Gwil.

“You guys just left the airport?” I asked them as I finished cutting the skin.

“Yeah we should be up there in about four hours Maisy. Miss you biscuit.” He started to blush as everyone in the car was beginning to awww and chuckle.

“Miss you too marmalade . Don’t worry I won't embarrass you in front of your friends quite yet. Until you get up here at least. Now let me cook so I can feed everyone!” I told him as he looked away from the road for a second.

“Okay Maisy. Love you.”

“Love you to Gwil. Drive safely please!” I sent him a kiss but I heard a certain someone scoff.

“Wow you’re not gonna say goodbye to me?” The camera turned to Joe as he was making a very large pouty face.

“Sorry Joe. Goodbye Joe and please make sure my marmalade drives safety.”

“Much better. Bye Maisy!” Joe waved as he hung up the phone as I got back to it.

“Biscuit? Marmalade? Where the hell do you guys come up with this stuff?” She asked as I shook my head.

“Super long story. Sort of what happened when we went to that castle in Tain with biscuits and marmalade. Long but funny.” Bonnie nodded as I got a picture from Gwil. It was a self with everyone in the car. Bonnie looked over at Joe and smiled.

“That Joe guy is kind of cute.” Bonnie commented as she finished peeling all the potatoes.

“Maybe he’s single.” I commented as I placed the shells into the oven.

*Four Hours Later*

Bonnie brought out the last chair from the house as I flung the pure white embroidered tablecloth onto the long table. I want to make sure everyone has some space to eat and relax because it gets a little nipply here at nights, being up here on Orkney Island kind of comes with the package. But I love it up here!

I walked over to the small shed with my boxes full of packed fairy lights so I could hang around the tree branches. We dragged the old dining room table out of the house and put it under the tree. Luckily we’ve got a warm evening with our usual nice breeze.

“Hey Bonnie! Can you double check the pies for me?” I asked her as I grabbed one of the chairs to stand up on to hang the lights.

“Maisy! Do we want music playing in the background for tonight?” Reaching up to wrap the first strand on the closest branch.

“Ummm. Throw on my Harmonium record would ya?” Weird yes. But their music is just so relaxing and perfect for some really good cleaning and cooking music. For the record the movie took a really dark turn real quick and was so weird. But I would definitely watch it again because it went from oh shit to HOLY SHIT! In a span of twenty minutes!

“Reach you!” I had to balance myself on one foot as I got the strand on the tiny little branch.

“Gotcha!” I cheered as I kept going with the rest of the lights.

“MAISY!” She screamed from the kitchen as she hung up the next part of the strand.

“WHAT!”

“WHAT WINE DO WE WANT?” Wine? WINE!? YOU DON’T HAVE WINE WITH SAUSAGE AND MASH!

“Bonnie! You know better than that! We have all throughout the entire dinner! I got a few bottles in the cellar of that 90 Shilling down there. But just in case they want wine, grab a bottle of Gavi Di Gavi that I have down there, I think it’s been aged for a little while so it should go good with the Bartan Bree at least.” She turned around to go back inside, but then turned back around to stand in the doorway.

“Pies are almost done, the soup is hot and ready, also they’re here.” Okay good pies are ready AND GWILS HERE!? SHIT! I climbed down from the chair as I fixed my necklace and let my hair down from my clip.

I began walking towards the side gate but stopped at the back porch to flip on the backyard lights. The fairy lights I hung from the tree lit the table nicely along with the candles that are soon to be lit. I took one last glance down at myself to see that my floral dress was laying nicely, booties were tied and my necklace was fixed.

Alright. Here we go!

Opening the side gate as I heard all of them talking amongst each other as they were walking up to the front door. Gwil looked absolutely stunning in his dark green button up, black pants, oh and those dark brown loafers. A beautiful snack! They were walking up to the front door as I walked all the way around front.

“Well well well. Look at this merry band coming onto my porch.” They all turned towards me as Gwil smiled. He walked down from the front porch to scoop me up in his arms to do a quick spin. Then a quick peck as it’s rude to kiss multiple times in front of your guest.

“And these are for you?” He stuck a small bouquet of lilies and lavenders.

“Thank you biscuit.” One quick peck as he placed his arm around my shoulder as we began walking towards the crowd.

“Those who haven’t had the chance to meet her. This is Maisy Kerr. You already know Joe of course.” I smiled as Joe walked over to give me a quick hug.

“I know I should be all nice and not rude, but where is your bathroom?” He was trying not to do a pee dance as I also tried not to laugh.

“Upstairs, second door on the left.”

“Oh my god thank you!” He rushed inside as I motioned for everyone else to follow inside. Gwil stopped for a moment to sneak in a few more kisses which made me giggle.

“I’ve missed you so much Maisy! I hope you don’t mind, after I drive them back down to the airport if I stay with you for a few days? London and Bristol have gotten a little old without you and this place is just relaxing.” Not being sarcastic at all, but I love it when he just comes up and stays.

“You can literally come over whenever you feel like honey. We’ll talk about it after dinner, and have to go meet everyone.” I placed a soft peck on his cheek then walked past him, but then gave his butt a little slap. God I love that tooshie.

Everyone was standing around the hallway as we walked in then shutting the door.

“Shoes on our off?” One of them asked as I locked the door.

“Either or. We’ll be eating outside this evening and having a bonfire, so I would leave them on.” How can you not have an outdoor dinner without a bonfire. Wouldn’t make much sense if we didn’t have one.

“Maisy this is a lovely home. I’m Lucy by the way.” Oh my god she’s an adorable woman holy crap!

“Lovely to meet you Lucy and thank you. Has been with my family for generations.” Everyone made it outside as Bonnie was tossing a bunch of kindling wood into the fire pit.

“Aye welcome! The name Bonnie! Hi Gwil!” She waved as Gwil waved back.

“Please make yourself comfortable and I’ll start bringing out the food in a few moments.” I turned back into the house as Bonnie scurried over to help me. Which then Gwil decided to come inside and join us.

“How have ya been Gwil.” She got into the fridge to pull out a few bottles of the yale and wine.

“Oh fine Bonnie. Just been busy with work.” He told her as I gave the bisque one last stir as I heard Joe coming down the stairs. He stopped in the doorway to look at Bonnie for a quick second.

“Bonnie this is Joe Mazzello. Joe, this is Bonnie Geddes.” They approached each other and shook each other's hand.

“Mind giving me a hand Gwil.” I pointed to where the bowls were as he began pulling them out.

“Bonnie, would you mind taking the wine and ale outside. Also light the candles please?” Bonnie snapped away from Joe as she started to take them outside. Joe of course helped her due to the fact that he was already hooked on her.

“Well that was quick.” He commented as we both high fived each other. I began pouring the bisque into the bowl as he took the ones with the full ones outside.

I grabbed the last two bowls as everyone was sitting already and opened the wine and ale. There were two empty chairs that sat across from Bonnie and Joe, Ben was sitting next to her and his girlfriend. Allen sat on the end of the table with his wife on his left, then Rami sitting next to his wife, and Lucy sitting by the empty chair.

I placed Gwils and bowls at the table. He grabbed his from my hand as I sat down in my chair. Pulling my chair in as everyone was continuing to talk.

“Ben, that's nasty.” Lucy told Ben as he was finishing his cigarette.

“Just a hobby Lucy. I don’t do it every day, just every other other day.” He put out the cigarette as he wrapped his arm around his lady friend.

“Ah Maisy this is Ben and his gal pal Olivia Cooke.” She smiled as I waved over to her.

“Oh and that’s Allen and his wife Jessica. And of course Rami and Lucy down at the end.”

“Please dig in everyone.” I stood up as I began unscrewing the cork off the wine bottle. It’s a little stuck! Crap!

“Gwil hold the bottle.” I asked him as he held the base of the bottle as I tried to pull the cork off.

“It’s not wanting to come out!” I laughed as I kept trying to pull. I finally got it to pop and the cork flew across the lawn.

“Perfect.”

“So tell me Maisy. What exactly do you do?” Rami asked as I began filling up my glass.

“I own the Wetdrumstick Pub here on Finstown and then a pub called Misty Maid in Kirkwall. Well to be fair it’s been in my family for the longest of times, now I just took them over until the next person comes along.” I told Rami as I passed the bottle to Gwil then sitting back down.

“And I’m just gonna assume that you are all actors along with Gwil here?” Bonnie asked as I took a sip of my wine. They all laughed at each other as I shrugged to Bonnie.

“And what about you Bonnie?” Joe looked to Bonnie as she took a drink of her ale.

“A fisherman..er women. Following the dreams of a Scottslady.” She laughed as Joe nodded his head.

“Maisy this bisque is delicious! What recipe is this?” Jessica asked as I put down my spoon.

“I’ll have to find it somewhere or write it down for ya.”

“Does this have milk in it?”” Joe asked as I nodded. He leaned back in his chair as Bonnie looked at him in confusion.

“Allergic to dairy?” Bonnie asked him as they began their conversation. I turned to Gwil as he had my arm wrapped around my chair.

“You shaved? Why?” I just realized he didn’t have that gorgeous stubble. Not that he doesn’t look handsome without it cause my god. But it’s always good to add a little extra garlic powder to your spaghetti sauce.

“It was for the show because apparently Russian men didn’t have facial hair besides the really crazy ones.” Fair enough.

“Hey listen since you’re staying here for a few days. Would you mind if we went into Thurso and stopped by my favorite bakery? I’ve been craving some of Mr. Monks Bahulu?”

“Of course. Not checking into the pubs?”

“I will before we head into Thurso. Only if you don’t mind...biscuit.” He grabbed my right hand to give it a soft kiss.

“Not at all. Anytime with you is perfect.” We chowed down on the bisque then onto the sausage and mash, then the mini pies. Everyone was reminiscing on old jobs, catching up, and even future productions. I think it’s pretty cool that Rami is playing a Bond villain in the next big Bond movie. Is there a new bond or no? Or is it that one dude, I haven’t been to the movies in a while so I’m not sure whose who anymore.

“Who's ready for dessert. And does anyone want coffee or tea?” I think I officially stuffed their faces and stomachs nicely.

“Coffee for me Lucy?” Rami asked as she took a sip of her wine.

“Coffee please.”

“Two coffees.” Allen added as I looked over at Bonnie and Joe.

“So probably just a bunch of coffee then.” They were off in their own world anyhow.

Gwil and I walked inside the house as I reached into the fridge to pull out the dessert. He looked underneath the foil as I slid over and hid it from him.

“Help me with the coffee and you’ll get a nice slice for yourself.” I told him as I grabbed my shredded coffee beans to start making the coffee. Gwil snuck up behind me as he wrapped himself around the back of me. His lips began pecking the side of my neck as I began giggling a little bit.

“Gwil...hehe..Stop. You’re distracting me.” His lips stopped traveling along my neck as I spun around to face him. A large smile was on his face as I placed my hands on his cheeks, then squishing them together.

“You come up here so much you might as well just move in.” I told him with his cheeks still pushed together. He mumbled something as I let go to work on the coffee. I should have enough mugs for everyone, should probably pop onto Etsy and get some more if I can.

“So is that a no?” Ten cups of coffee? That should do it.

“What’s a no? Did you not want coffee cause I have plenty of tea.” I began filling the coffee pot with the hot water as

“What if I moved in here with you? I know it would be a hassle for work at first and I would be in London or a few days out of the week. But what if I did move in with you?” The hot water began spilling over the pot as I almost dropped it in the sink. Move in? Wait what? What? WHAT!? Move in? Who on earth would want to move in with me? I live so far up north! It’s a super damp winter! No one wants to live in a super damp winter!

“I’ll take your silence as a no. Too soon I guess.” Well it’s a super damp winter and I’m only available in certain times because I have two pubs to run and barely have the time to see him or anything. Wait he’s an actor! We hardly see each other in the first place because he’s busy traveling the world already!

“I’ll get a key made for ya as soon as I..Gwil?” When I turned around, he was already outside with the dessert with him. Ah crap! I walked out into the doorway as everyone was digging into the dessert. His head popped up with a little disappointment as I shot him a smile. Should be able to get it made in a few days or so, with him staying there it should be rather easy to give him a copy of the key. Not that I ever lock my door because everyone knows not to come on my property.

“Coffee will be out in just a few moments everyone.”

I think living with him would be rather fun.

Taglist:

@leah-halliwell92 @jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels @bonafiderocketqueen @dancingcoolcat @yourlocalmusicalprostitute @johndeaconshands

#gwil #Gwilym #gwilym lee #gwily #gwilym x reader #gwil x reader #Gwil x o/c #joe mazzello #ben hardy #Lucy Boynton #rami malek #allen leech #Fic #fanfiction #bohrap #bohrap boys

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backchatdiscourse · 5 years ago

Text

Christmas Without You

I’m so pleased to tell @innueendo that I am your Secret Santa for @dtfrogertaylor‘s tgic!!! Merry Christmas! I hope you like it!

Title: Christmas Without You

Pairing: Roger Taylor x Reader

Word Count: 2.4K

Summary: Roger has promised to fly out to you for Christmas during a break from tour. But when there’s radio silence from him in the days leading up Christmas, you may have to make do spending your holiday alone.

A/N: Flashbacks are italicized.

December 24. 2 a.m. He said he’d call when he got to the airport. He’d let you know his flight plans. Maybe he didn’t want to disturb you. There was the time change, after all. Maybe he wasn’t flying tonight. He could board early on Christmas Eve morning and still get here. Besides, just because it was late here doesn’t mean it it’s late there. There’s plenty of time for him to board yet today. Yesterday, technically.

Six hour difference. Eight hour flight. So only two hours, really. Plenty of time.

You could call him. Two in the morning here. It’s only eight in New York. Still the 23rd. He might be on his way to the airport. You could miss him. Or worse, you could try to call him exactly when he tries to call you, and you’d miss his call altogether!

That’s probably stupid. Unless it wasn’t?

No. Stupid. You picked up the phone and dialed the number. Roger had left you a list of the numbers for all the hotels he’d be staying at during Queen’s American tour, as well as which dates he’d be at each. He’d phoned you two days ago when he’d checked in to give you his room number, and you’d penciled it in beside the phone number.

Your handwriting looked so different from his. His was almost a chicken scratch. It might not be legible had you not had years of practice deciphering it. Even his horrid writing was endearing to you. You missed him so much you could barely breathe at times. Now was one of those times.

Holding the receiver to your ear, you counted the rings until a cheery sounding woman with an American accent greeted you.

“Yes,” you replied. “I’m looking for Roger Taylor in room 1322.”

“I see.” The change in her tone was instant and sharp. You imagined you weren’t the first woman phoning the luxury establishment looking for one of the four boys. You bitterly wondered how many had also given the correct room number. “And what is your name?”

“Y/N.”

The woman paused, presumably checking a list. “Alright Ms. Y/N, I’ll patch you through.”

“Thank you,” you said, but she was already gone. The phone was ringing once more.

And ringing...

For minutes.

You slammed the receiver down.

An overreaction, you thought before picking it up once more. Likely he had already left the hotel and was on his way to the airport. On his way to you.

You dialed the hotel again, and once again were greeted by the same cheery woman turned harsh when she heard that it was again you, this time looking for John. You’d met John, whom Roger affectionately called Deaky, only once, but the two of you had hit it off. Roger had jokingly asked if you’d wanted to be set up. You hadn’t much cared for that joke.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Y/N, but you are not authorized by Mr. Deacon to contact him.”

“Wait!” you didn’t want her to hang up before you were sure Roger had left yet. “Can you please ask him if he’d be willing to take a call?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”

“Please! I just need to know if Roger is on his way to the airport yet. May I please speak to John? For just a moment?”

“Mr. Taylor left the hotel over an hour ago with a young woman. I don’t know where he went. Good evening, Ms. Y/N.” And with that, the brusque woman hung up on you.

You hung your receiver back on the wall, blinking back hot tears. Instead of coming to visit you for Christmas as promised, Roger was out and about in New York City with some American floozy. Fine. That was fine. Roger could see whoever he wanted. You weren’t his keeper. You weren’t his girlfriend. And if he didn’t even have the decency to call and tell you wasn’t coming then you didn’t want to see him anyway.

He wasn’t worth your time, and you didn’t want to see him.

You didn’t want him to come. You didn’t want to see him.

Maybe if you kept telling yourself that, you’d start to believe it.

~~~

You woke up the next morning, feeling delightfully well-rested on Christmas Eve to a knock at your door. You looked over to your nightstand and found it was already afternoon. That would explain feeling well-rested. Another knock.

You sat bolt upright. Could it be? Maybe it was. He’d made it after all!

You sprinted through your apartment and threw open the door to find-

your neighbor.

Oh.

“You left your keys in the door,” he told you.

“Thanks,” you mumbled, pulling them out of the lock and feeling suddenly tired once more.

You migrated to the sofa and stared at the Christmas tree. Alone. On Christmas Eve.

You’d put up the tree in early December, also alone, hanging your favorite ornament front and center on the tree, a golden sparkling pair of crossed drumsticks you’d bought on impulse this year. You were going to surprise Roger with them this year if ever made it back.

He’d called you that first night and asked you to describe the tree to him in detail. The lights, the tinsel, the ornaments and their placement. “Is that creepy looking baby angel right up front?” he’d asked, as if you’d dare place his favorite ornament anywhere else. It hung just to the right of the new drumstick ornament, the only aspect of the tree you didn’t tell him all about. You were sure he’d appreciate the surprise.

If he came.

Decorating the tree with Roger had become a tradition in years past. Early in December, you’d put up the tree, hanging ornaments in turn, stringing the lights and the tinsel, and generally having an absurdly good time together. You have a photo somewhere of Roger making a stupid face with an ornament hanging over either ear and a pile of tinsel on his head in a sloppy crown.

The tradition had become important to you both, but held a special place in your heart specifically. Two years ago, when decorating the tree, you’d fallen asleep on the armchair and woken up, tied to the chair by a strand of lights.

You looked up to see Roger standing above you, with that troublemaker’s smile of his. Assessing the situation, you remarked, “You didn’t do a very thorough job. Lights only? What about the tinsel and the ornaments? What about the topper? What kind of crummy looking tree only has lights? This is slapshod work, Taylor.”

“I thought about it,” he said, “but you look gorgeous enough as it is. I don’t think my heart could take it if you got anymore beautiful.”

As quickly as the moment occurred, it was over. He was untying you, and you were decorating the tree together, just like always, and he was once again his normal self, sans flirting. It was fine, really. Roger was flirty, you knew, with everyone. But in that moment you found yourself seeing Roger in a new light. Not just your good friend Roger, but perhaps something more? You tried to calm the butterflies and ignore the notion, but it persisted. You had feelings for Roger. Your Roger. Your friend, who had never let you down.

Never until today. When you sat alone in front of a tree, while he traipsed around New York with some other girl.

~~~

Christmas Eve came and went, with no word from Roger.

On Christmas morning, you padded into the kitchen to fix yourself breakfast, feeling none of the excitement you usually felt on Christmas. You fixed yourself a full English breakfast, despite it not being one you enjoyed. You’d bought all the fixings before Roger blew you off. You wanted to surprise him with a meal from his English home after spending so many weeks in America and then spending Christmas away from home with you. You could hardly run out to the store today, though, so you suffered through the mess of beans, toast, eggs, and sausage alone.

After your meal, you resolved yourself to trying to call Roger again, despite the early hour there. Maybe you wanted to give him a piece of your mind, or maybe you were just a masochist, you weren’t sure which. You dialed the hotel, not realizing you were holding your breath until the front desk clerk answered. It was a different employee this time, for which you were grateful.

“Hello, this is Y/N, can I please reach Roger Taylor in room 1322?”

“Of course; one moment.”

And the line was ringing...

And ringing...

You were about to hang up when a groggy voice answered. “Hello?” It was a woman’s voice.

You slammed the receiver down.

A tear rolled down your cheek this time.

How could he do this to you? How could he pick some strange woman over his best friend for Christmas. And worse still, how could he not tell you? It was bad enough not to come after he promised. After years of holiday traditions. But to do so without a word of acknowledgement?

Roger meant everything to you. You’d give up everything you had just to be with him today. But you clearly weren’t worth the time or the money or even a simple call. How could you have been so foolish as to believe you were actually important to him?

Well that was all well and good.

You stormed to the tree and ripped the drumsticks ornament from it, throwing it across the room in a blind fury of grief and embarrassment.

You refused to let that inconsiderate ass of a man ruin your holiday, so you found a Christmas movie on television and fixed yourself a hot chocolate.

“I’m out of mini marshmallows, sorry,” you told him.

“Unacceptable! How am I supposed to enjoy a hot chocolate without mini marshmallows?” Roger teased.

You rolled your eyes. “You’ll have to manage with the full sized ones.”

His jaw dropped in fake shock. “Full size? You’re mad, woman!”

You ignored him. “One or two marshmallows? I’m using two.”

“One and three-sevenths,” he answered immediately and seemingly in all seriousness.

You refused to look at him. If you looked at the earnest facade you knew he was fronting, you’d be certain to laugh. And the last thing you wanted to do was encourage him. You didn’t want him to see how he was affecting you, how his playful banter was making your heart beat faster.

“Roger Meddows Taylor, that is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life. Pick a normal number of marshmallows or do without.”

He made an indignant noise. “Don’t middle name me! And I will not! One and three-sevenths! That’s the amount of large marshmallows that equals the amount of miniature ones I’d prefer.”

“You are making that up and you know it,” you scolded, unable to keep the smile out of your voice. “I am not going to make a huge sticky mess trying to cut up a marshmallow into three-sevenths.”

“Well I don’t know what we’re going to do then, Y/N.”

You looked over and couldn’t hide your smile. As he beamed at you, you couldn’t imagine how he didn’t see the adoration in your eyes.

Willing yourself to ignore the intruding memory, you settled into your sofa to watch your Christmas film.

After it ended there was a second, followed by a third, and on and on. It was almost enough to keep your mind occupied. To allow you to forget how you were home alone on Christmas, abandoned by the one you wanted most to share the day with. Sometimes you could forget for a half hour or so, but then the clock would chime, reminding you that it was later and later, and he wasn’t coming. Or a scene would come up on screen, with a man and woman holding each other, or sharing a kiss under the mistletoe, and you felt hollow inside.

As the last movie ended, you checked the clock. 11:30 pm. You’d nearly done it. You’d almost gotten through the day. You’d live to tell the tale of the sad and lonely Christmas of Y/N. You internally chastised yourself for being so melodramatic. Plenty of people were worse off than just being ditched. Still, it hardly helped.

A knock at the door.

An all too familiar voice. “Y/N?”

Your breath caught. Momentarily forgetting your anger and depression, you ran to the door and threw it open.

“Roger!” you yelled, throwing yourself into his arms with such force that you almost toppled the both of you.

He laughed and held you in his arms. “God, Y/N, am I glad to see you. I’m so sorry I’m late.”

And with his admission, you pulled away, freshly reminded of your indignation. “Did your flight just come in?”

“Yes, I-“

“How could you do this to me?” you interrupted. “You put off spending Christmas with me, like you promised, in order to sleaze around with some sloppy groupie! You didn’t even bother to call! I spent the past two days angry and upset and you didn’t care! You ruined my Christmas, Roger Taylor, and now you show up at the last second like everything’s all right? Maybe you should just go.”

“Go? Y/N, what are you talking about? I flew all this way just to be with you!”

“At the last second! You never called me! And when I tried to reach you THIS MORNING some woman answered your phone!”

He paused. “Y/N, I’ve been traveling for two days. I don’t know who you spoke to on the phone, but I wasn’t there. I gave Brian my room when I left because it was nicer than his.”

Two days? Now that he mentioned it, he looked like hell. He had bags under his eyes, and his hair was greasy. His clothes were wrinkled and he looked as though he could barely stand.

You took his suitcase and led him to the sofa. “How did it take you two days to get here? Why didn’t you call?” You tried to make the second question sound as non-accusatory as you could, though you didn’t think you’d succeeded.

“New York was a nightmare. The worst blizzard they’d seen in decades, apparently. Almost every flight was cancelled. Everything else was delayed. I was in the airport overnight. I had to take a plane in the wrong direction just to get out. I flew west to Chicago and had to find a new flight out to Edinburgh and make a connection from there to here. I did everything I could to get here on time. I’m so sorry I couldn’t do it.” He was looking at you so earnestly that it was too much to handle. You had to break eye contact.

“You never called.” Your heard how small your voice had become.

“I know. I’m sorry. The phones at the airport were out of order. Most of the city’s phone lines were affected, I heard. Something to do with the storms. I couldn’t call from Chicago or Scotland. I didn’t have time. By the time I finally got my flights in order they were back to back. I almost missed one of my connections.”

“Oh.” You supposed that made sense. “But the hotel clerk said she saw you leave with some woman.” This came out far less as an accusation, and more genuinely perplexed.

Roger seemed confused for a minute before seemingly coming to a realization. “Oh! Well I don’t suppose it was any of her business, but I left the hotel with one of John’s girlfriends. Like I said, the city was a mess, so we shared a cab to the airport. Doubtful that we would’ve been able to get two.”

“Oh.” You felt like a fool, throwing around accusations and doubting that Roger wouldn’t be there for you if he was able. Your previous anger and sadness seemed to mingle with your newfound guilt and you once again felt your face grow warm and red from unshed tears.

“Oh, Y/N, no, don’t be upset!” Before you realized what was happening, he pulled you to him and planted a deep kiss on your lips.

You eventually pulled away, shocked.

His blue eyes stared deep into yours and you felt exposed, almost, as if the look alone was too intimate.

“Y/N, I would never, ever let you down like this if there was any human way to avoid it. I wanted to be with you today more than anything in the world. You’re the most important person in my life.”

“I am?”

“Of course you are.”

You sat quietly for a moment, unsure where to go from here. It’s what you’ve wanted for years, but you you never actually thought you’d get it.

“What’s this?” Roger held up the drumsticks ornament you’d thrown to the floor. It must have landed beside the sofa.

“It was a surprise for you, in honor of your America tour. I threw it off the tree when I’d thought you’d blown me off.”

He studied it with a small smile on his face. “It’s perfect. Thank you, love.”

Love. He’d called you that before, but it felt different now. Less casual, more sincere.

“Roger,” you said very seriously, “I love you so much that I’d cut a marshmallow into a stupid fraction for you if you asked me to.”

You both felt and heard his laughter as he pulled you into his chest.

“And I love you so much, Y/N, that I won’t ask you to.”

#tgic #roger taylor x reader #userinnueendo #merry christmas #jo’s trash

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accio-kitty-malfoy · 4 years ago

Text

A Breath of Fresh Hair

Chapter Five: The Day Before

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24633025/chapters/59766049

Harry was woken up early that morning. At 07:04 exactly, Ron was shaking his shoulder to wake him.

“I think mum will blow up if you don’t get up soon, mate.” Ron looked just as tired as he felt, but there was an excitement coming off him that felt like static. Harry obliged and dragged himself out of bed, deciding to at least go downstairs and show his face so Molly knew he was there to help if she needed him. There was a continental-style breakfast laid out on the table that people could help themselves to as and when they woke up or were hungry. There was a slight orange sheen that hung over it, telling Harry someone had placed a ‘keep fresh’ charm on the food. There were cold meats, cheeses, smoked salmon and kippers, breads, preserves, honey (from the bees in the garden, Harry hoped), boiled eggs, different kinds of cereals, fruits, natural yoghurt and on hot plates there was everything you would want for a fried breakfast. There were two great vats too; one labelled ‘coffee’ and the other ‘hot water’, with a basket that contained a selection of teas and jugs of different milks including almond milk for Ginny. Harry sighed happily, grabbing a plate and filling it up with all of the delicious things on offer. He made himself a cup of tea and poured Ron a mug of coffee, adding three sugars to it and handing it to him.

“Thanks mate.” He gratefully accepted the coffee before picking up a sausage and devouring it.

“How are you feeling?” Harry asked.

“I’ve never been so excited about anything in my whole life, even the Quidditch world cup. I mean, have you met that woman? She’s amazing. And, of course I’m nervous, but not about if I’m making the right choice or not. I just want everything to go right.” Harry set down his plate and cup and embraced his friend.

“It’s going to be awesome. You both deserve it.” Ron hugged him back and when they pulled away from one another, they were both misty eyed. The rest of their breakfast they spent talking about what else needed doing for the wedding and talking to other people as they went in and out of the kitchen for breakfast or more caffeine.

The sky outside was a soft blue with fluffy clouds drifting lazily by. It was still hot, but the sun had lost some of its intensity, making it a more comfortable heat. Harry wandered around outside, already on his second cup of tea. He helped where he could and fetched sustenance for people when they needed it. His big job was coming the next day; the day of the actual wedding, when he was meant to be styling hair. The ceremony would be starting at two in the afternoon, so he would likely have to have made a start by eight at the latest. He preferred staying up late and sleeping in late, but he knew a couple of days getting up early would be worth it. He was also excited to work alongside Cho. She was going to be doing the makeup for the day and she was absolutely wonderful at it. She specialised in wedding and special events makeup and had travelled around the world, going where her business took her. Harry almost envied her; she was getting to do the thing she loved the most while also getting to see the world. He decided to talk to her about it when he saw her and ask her if there were any pitfalls to it.

Dean and Seamus had put up temporary huts in the garden. Each one contained a bed, a sofa, a coffee table, coffee and tea making facilities, a mini fridge and a separate room with a toilet, sink and shower. As more and more guests arrived, they were assigned a hut each. When they’d settled themselves into the huts, they all threw themselves into helping or socialising. A lot of them were friends from Hogwarts and it was amazing to be able to catch up with them and see how they’d been doing and what they’d been getting up to since their school days. Harry admitted that he’d been a bit rubbish at keeping in contact with people and vowed to make he saw them more often after the wedding. The huge gardens at The Burrow had almost turned into a temporary village and it was busier than Harry had ever seen it. Molly looked frantically busy, but she also looked delighted. The place was running like a well-oiled machine; albeit a very noisy one, under Molly’s direction. Arthur, Ginny, Charlie and Harry took it upon themselves to keep everyone supplied with refreshments as the day went on.

Harry almost dropped the tray he was holding when he ran into, almost literally, someone he didn’t expect to see there. Pansy Parkinson was carrying arms full of what looked to be documents towards the house. Her hair was cut into the bob that she’d always had it styled in while they were at Hogwarts and she was wearing a simple but expensive looking while blouse and black pencil skirt. She was wearing an almost burgundy lipstick that contrasted wonderfully with her pale skin and her lips were drawn into an easy, amused smile.

“Don’t look so startled, Potter. I’m just here to drop these papers off for Hermione and pick some other ones up off her. You do remember that we work together, right?” Harry nodded and pulled himself back together.

“Yeah, of course I do. I just didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Right. Well, I guess I do look a bit out of place, don’t I? I’ve just come from the office, you see. I suppose I don’t really fit in with the décor around here.” Harry expected to see a smirk on her face when she was talking about The Burrow, but it wasn’t there. Instead she had an almost wistful look in her eyes. “It looks wonderful. I can’t wait to see what it looks like tomorrow at the actual wedding when everything’s finished.” Harry felt shock run through him again. He hadn’t expected Pansy to be invited to the wedding, but he didn’t really know why. He supposed that he’d never really thought of Pansy and Hermione as friends, but simply as work colleagues. Though, when he thought back he realised that Hermione talked about Pansy a lot, and she’d often spent time with her after work; either finishing things off that they’d not gotten done during working hours, or simply going out for a glass of wine with her.

“I look forward to seeing you then.” Harry said after he’d recovered. “Do you want some help with those documents. You look like you’ve got your hands full.”

“No, I’ll be fine, thank you. This really isn’t that much compared to what I’m usually lugging around the office. I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m sure my plus one is looking forward to seeing you too” She smiled at him and walked off to deliver the papers to Hermione, leaving Harry wondering who she was planning on bringing, and why said person would be so happy to see him. He couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

Lunch was laid out in a similar way to breakfast, but instead of being served in the kitchen, it was laid out on tables outside. The tables were almost bowing under the weight of twenty different kinds of sandwiches, pork pies, sausage rolls, quiches, more cuts of cold meats, a huge salad that had been prepared fresh from the garden, dips, crisps, more fruit, cakes and biscuits. Arthur had also prepared a variety of different juices. While they were eating, Harry decided to speak to Dean and Seamus about their business. The idea that Ginny had planted in his head the day before had been growing, and he’d been thinking more and more about it. When he asked how they’d known how to run a business, they laughed.

“We had no idea how to set up or run a business and, truth be told, we’re still learning. We actually have a lot of help from Blaise. He’s what you call an ‘invisible’ partner. That means that he helps us run the business and does all the business-y side of things, but it’s still ours and it’s only our names that are associated with it. That’s what he does for a living: helps people like us that have something that we want to, and can, make a living out of and helps realise that dream. He has a few people who work with him now doing the same thing, but we were one of his first projects.” Harry listened to what Seamus was saying, realising that if he had help like they did, that perhaps he could make this idea that he had a reality.

“We can pass you his business address so you can owl him, if you like?” Dean asked, and Harry nodded.

“Yeah, that would be cool. I can always chat to him and see where it goes.” The other men nodded, and Dean wrote the address down for him. Harry folded it up and put in the pockets of his shorts, thanking them.

“You should do it, you know Harry.” Neville commented, biting into an egg and cress sandwich. He chewed and swallowed before adding “It would be good for you too. You could rent a place in London to work out of and live at Grimmauld. I’d be happy to work on the garden with you, and I’m sure these guys- “He gestured towards Dean and Seamus. “-Would be happy to help you fix it up, and you’d have loads of volunteers to help clean and decorate.” Dean and Seamus nodded in agreement and Harry couldn’t believe how much sense it all made. It was like the idea had always been inside him, but he needed Neville to say it for him to realise.

“Maybe after the wedding I’ll start thinking about it. I’ll go to the house to see how much work need doing.”

“One of us can come with you to make a list of any building work that might need doing.” Dean offered. They sat and chatted for a while longer, the idea taking root even more in Harry’s mind and becoming something that he though might actually be achievable.

The rest of the day saw Harry helping when and where he could and there was another buffet put out in the evening for all of the guests. All of the work that could be done that day had been done by then and everyone say around outside, talking and unwinding after the long day. Harry was reminded once again how lucky he was to have such an amazing adoptive family and group of friends. They’d all worked tirelessly throughout the day to make sure that Ron and Hermione’s wedding the day after would be perfect. He looked around at everyone laughing and nattering about anything and everything and felt like he well and truly belonged. He was safe and happy here, but he also couldn’t wait to see what came next. He was looking forward to the wedding the day after, he was looking forward to the birth of Bill and Fleur’s baby, he was looking forward to seeing what the tiny seed of an idea about the salon would grow into with his friends’ and family’s help.

“Hey Harry.” Ginny plopped down next to him, offering him a drink which he accepted.

“Hey Gin, how are you?” He gave them a quick side hug; he felt like he hadn’t seen them all day amidst the chaos.

“Good. A bit better than yesterday. I’m a little bit less worried about seeing Luna. I got a letter from her today.” Ginny passed the letter to Harry.

‘Ginny,

I’m so looking forward to seeing you at the wedding. I can’t wait to see your new hair! I bet Harry did a fabulous job on it. I must remember to ask him to trim mine when I see him. I think it’s a fantastic idea for him so set up his own salon. You’re always full of good ideas; always have been.

Percy can suck a branch if he thinks he’s going to upset you while I’m there. I’ll hex his balls off and make him wear them as earrings. Please don’t let jerks like that stop you from living authentically. You deserve to be happy and I will do anything and everything in my power to help you.

Sorry I couldn’t be there sooner, I love my job at The Quibbler but it’s so hard to be able to take time off. Tomas is taking over the fort tomorrow and the day after, but I had to be here to set everything up and make sure everything would run smoothly while I was away. I’m sure he’ll manage though, he’s a good lad.

Anyway, I’m sorry this letter is so short, but I have to get back to work. I’ll see you tomorrow!

Yours,

L x’

Harry finished reading the letter and Ginny sat almost nervously next to him as he did. He smiled.

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Gin. I can almost feel her feelings for you coming off this piece of paper. Ginny smiled.

“Are you sure? I’m just so scared it’s wishful thinking.” Harry nodded.

“There’s only one way to find out, right? And what’s a more romantic setting than a wedding?” Ginny groaned, pushing him.

“Oi! Don’t break the best man.” Charlie quipped as he walked over to them.

“Sorry, Charles.” Ginny retorted, earning a hair ruffle from the older Weasley. The three of them sat drinking and chatting for a while. Harry had never spent much time around Charlie when he was younger, but the more he got to know him, the more he realised what a down to earth, pleasant person he was. He showed Harry and Ginny his new tattoo. It was of an origami dragon that slowly folded its wings in and out. The lines were so precise that it amazed Harry, and Ginny asked where he’d had it done.

“A new shop opened up called Boot and Bones. Terry and Susan from Hogwarts while you were there opened it up and their work is fantastic.” Ginny looked like they were mentally taking note, and Harry suspected it wouldn’t be long before they got one too.

Evening rolled into night and the day’s hard work began taking its toll on people. One by one the group thinned out as they returned to their huts or to the house to get some sleep before the next day. Harry decided to take a shower before going to bed to wash the day off himself. On the way into the house he saw Hermione and he remembered the words that Pansy had said.

“Hey, who’s Pansy bringing tomorrow?” He asked, trying to sound as innocent as he could.

“You’ll see tomorrow, but when you do, please behave yourself. She asked me and Ron first and we agreed that it was alright. Please bear that in mind.” Hermione’s words made Harry even more curious, but he dropped the subject. He gave Hermione a gigantic hug and told her that he loved her and that he would see her in the morning before making his way to the bathroom to shower. The water felt good on his skin; cool and refreshing. He melted into his bed as soon as he got in it. Molly had changed his sheets and it was one feeling he would never get tired of. He thought about living on his own and knew that he’d miss all of the creature comforts that he got to experience living with the Weasleys. He knew that he would find it hard at first not having them around; he’d never lived on his own before. He drifted off to sleep thinking about Gimmauld and how he could decorate it to make it look more like it belonged to him, and what he would ask Neville to do with the garden, and what his Salon might look like, if he got round to putting his plan into action. Blaise’s address laid folded up on his desk.

#drarry #harry x draco #drarry fanfic #bi harry potter #gay draco malfoy #non binary ginny #pan ginny #trans luna #aromantic asexual charlie #black hermione granger

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overwatch-does-stuff · 5 years ago

Text

Overwatch: Rehabilitation- Hanzo

Summary: Sigma has been captured by Overwatch. Hanzo, having only been inducted into the organization a few months ago himself, finds that he is looking into a distorted reflection.

Hanzo wiped the sweat from his brow as he entered the mess hall. It was always his morning routine to work out, get his breakfast, then shower and prepare for the rest of the day. Every day since the day he had arrived here at the Watchpoint a few months ago, that was the way it had been. The breakfast kiosk was automated and open nearly all hours of the day, including this early in the morning. Hanzo approached the kiosk, grabbed a bowl, and hit the button to dispense oatmeal. Like the kiosk, his process was automated. He didn't look at the bowl once. He sat back down at a table near to the door. The oatmeal was too hot to eat right away. He counted the seconds, and just before he counted to zero he whispered a quick and half-hearted thanks to his ancestors for the meal. He'd thank them fully on a day where he actually deserved it. But right now, he simply was. He was good with that- learning to exist again, without the constant thoughts of wanting to die but thinking death was too good for him, had been difficult enough. Some other time, perhaps, he could learn a hint of self-peace to fill his emptiness. Right now the silence was good enough. He stirred his oatmeal and watched the brown ribbon of cinnamon disappear. If it was up to him, he would have ate the oatmeal plain, but the automated kiosk always gave him the additional flavor. He had been annoyed the first few times, but eventually he had decided it wasn't worth caring enough to- "Right in here, luv. This here's the lunchroom. It's got all sorts of yummy stuff. Let's eat, shall we?" Hanzo flinched and dropped his spoon at the sound of Tracer's irritatingly peppy voice. He scowled and dug the spoon handle out of his oatmeal. With silent footsteps, he picked up his bowl and moved to a seat against the wall. With luck, they would walk right past him. Tracer blinked out into the center of the room. She paused and gave her eyes a tired rub, before glancing behind her. Hanzo was aware that Overwatch had recently captured a Talon special operative, but did not expect to see said operative float in after her. The man, he was called Sigma, correct?- also looked tired, but in a different way. His face was pale and his expression was otherwise blank. Hanzo felt like he was looking into a mirror. He averted his eyes away before a shudder could go through him. Tracer approached the breakfast kiosk. She began reading off its many buttons. "See here, we've got waffles, pancakes, eggs, sausage, oatmeal. . ." "I'm not hungry." Sigma drifted forwards to the center of the room before stopping. His body stayed perfectly still. "Well, I'm going to get myself some waffles. They might not be from home, but the strawberry syrup here is pretty good." Tracer pinned a smile on her face again before turning back to the kiosk. She began hitting the series of buttons for Belgian waffles. The room was silent except for the sound of the kiosk pouring waffle batter. Tracer looked back to Sigma, shifting her gaze presumably to try and catch his eye. "Aw, c'mon luv. You should really eat. You don't want to miss it." She now purposefully made a sad face. Tracer was always very animated in her movements, but she was usually more genuine in emotion as well. Something was wrong here. Hanzo finished the last bite of his oatmeal, but decided to stay still. "I think I will try it some other time." Sigma said quietly in response. "I'm not hungry." The kiosk dinged. A plate of steaming mini-waffles slid out on a tray. Tracer didn't take it. "Siebren, please. You need to eat." "No, I don't," he looked away. "Yes, you do." Tracer's tone dropped. "I haven't been good," he shook his head. "Please," her voice was the quietest Hanzo had ever heard her speak. "It's been days. You need to." Once more, Sigma shook his head. "I don't deserve to." Hanzo's breath caught in his throat at the words. Tracer blinked forward and grabbed Sigma's hand. "Yes, you do. You deserve it! Just because you've been a little out of it every once in a while doesn't mean you need to starve yourself. Please." "It's not that!" Sigma snapped, pulling his hand away. He jerked himself backwards, out of her reach. "Then what is it?" She took a cautious step forward. He clenched his fists, before turning away and clutching his shaking head. "You know what I've done. You know what I've done! I don't deserve your kindness, I don't deserve anything!" Deserve, deserve, deserve. It had taken Hanzo ages to rid those kinds of phrases from the voices his own head. Hearing them again, spoken out loud, made his chest tighten. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, but the feeling did not fade. He opened his eyes again. He stood, picked up his bowl, and then stepped out into the path from the door to the kiosk. Both Tracer and Sigma turned to him, confusion evident on both their faces. "Hanzo, luv, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there, we're sorry to disturb you-" Tracer stumbled over her words. "Enough!" Sigma interrupted and turned back to her. "We're done here. I'm going back to my stabilization chamber." Hanzo stepped in front of him. "No." "N-no?" Sigma looked at him. "No." Hanzo repeated. He took another step forward. "You need to eat." Sigma's tone grew cold again. "This doesn't concern you. If you would, please, get out of my way." Hanzo wanted to kick himself. Of course such simple pleading would not persuade the stubbornness of someone with nothing to live for! It didn't work on himself, after all, when he had first come here to the Watchpoint. He needed something stronger. He let all of the fanciful words he had heard from others about self-worth and forgiveness slip away until all that was left was the truth. The truth as he knew it, at least. Hanzo took a deep breath. "If you don't keep yourself alive, then who is there to feel remorse for your actions?" Sigma visibly flinched. His mouth opened, but no words came out. He looked away, and his gaze grew glossy and distant. Tracer's mouth fell open and she immediately blinked beside Hanzo. She whispered in his ear. "What the bloody hell? Why would you say something like that?! That's only going to make him feel more upset-!" Hanzo shoved her away from his side. She stumbled but managed to catch herself on a nearby table before she could hit the ground. Sigma did not react to the noise. He trembled in the air, clasping and unclasping his hands. "Well, Sigma?" Hanzo asked to him. In response to his name, Sigma straightened his posture. "You're right, death is too good for me." "Then you should eat," he replied. "No!" Sigma threw his hands down. "I don't deserve the luxury of food. Whenever I next faint, the nurses can just inject the nutrients. I'll still be alive that way." "If you do that, your body will grow sickly." Hanzo tensed his own muscles. "You cannot do anything to atone for what you've done in such a state." Sigma lowered his head, and as he did so, lowered in the air as well. "How could I ever atone? I've hurt so many people. . ." "For the sake of those you have hurt, and for the sake of your own soul, you must try. I ran from my own mistakes for far too long before I learned that." Hanzo clasped his hands together to hide his own shake. Sigma lifted his head and their gazes met. They stared into each other. Hanzo was not sure what look his own eyes held, but Sigma's eyes betrayed a familiar mess of guilt and confusion that was palpable. An eternity passed before they looked away from each other again. Hanzo held out his empty bowl. Sigma, after a brief hesitation, took it. "The oatmeal is the most bland and tasteless. Let me show you how to get it." Hanzo walked past him to the kiosk. Sigma floated up behind him and set the bowl down on the kiosk. For the second time that morning, Hanzo repeated his routine. The bowl was filled with steaming oatmeal again. Hanzo reached over and grabbed a fresh spoon. He stuck it in the bowl and picked the bowl up, turning it and handing it back to Sigma, who received it wordlessly. "It will need a minute to cool. If you sit by the wall next to the door, people won't see you if they come in." Hanzo gestured to where he had been sitting earlier. "Why are you being so kind to me?" Sigma asked. Those words, those had been Hanzo's first words to his brother when he had first arrived here at the Watchpoint. Why had everyone been so kind? He didn't deserve it. Their treatment of him had bothered him for weeks, before he had eventually just learned to accept it. The question still baffled him, but now. . . Perhaps he didn't have the answer in words, but he was beginning to think that he understood it. "You're here now, are you not?" Hanzo said simply. Sigma did not reply. After a few shy looks, he turned and floated over to the set of seats against the wall. Hanzo stayed put and watched. Tracer blinked on over next to where Sigma went and sat down across the table from him. To Hanzo's surprise, she stayed silent. The entire room was still, except for the subtle motions of Sigma eating his oatmeal. Hanzo walked to the door of the mess hall and pushed out into the hallway. He walked down the corridors of the Watchpoint to the showers, once again on his usual autopilot. Once he was in the private confines of the shower, however, he prayed to his ancestors, asking for the strength and ability to help Sigma in any way he could the next time they were to meet.

#overwatch #sigma #siebren de kuiper #rehabilitation!sigma #hanzo #hanzo shimada #overwatch fanfiction #mid-redemption hanzo is my favorite way to write him- he's outrun his demons #but they aren't too far behind #this fic is part of my rehabilitation series #and takes place after 'tracer' and 'winston'#though order is not too important

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crazyrandomfucker · 5 years ago

Text

Toblerone to obliterate someone

Challenge prompt made by @gale-of-the-nomads

_____________________

It was already Christmas season and the all the junior classes from College Dupont were having a christmas party on Grand Paris Hotel courtesy of Mayor Bourgeoise and, to everyone's surprise, Gabriel Agreste itself. To give the party a bit of entertainment, there were small events, like a Miss Miraculous contest, a small desgining contest and a micro concert by Jagged Stone, who had insisted to spend the afternoon with the teenagers misteriously.

Of course, the cattering was handled by Alya's mother as the headchef of the hotel, but the boulangerie-pastisserie Dupain-Cheng had mad a littlr contribution providing some macarons, an enormous cake and the newest pastry on the bakery: four-flavoured mistery buns, which were buns stuffed with four different fillings: chocolate, apple and cinnamom, cheese and the most popular, spicy sausage.

Everyone was having fun. They had a bit of music played by Nino, food from the best chef and the best bakers in Paris, their friends all together having fun, their families, the bits of entertainment the mini events gave them,... However, everybody had at least a bit of curiosity towards a weird section of the room, filled with toblerone but heavily guarded. They had been told it was a secret reward of one of the events.

Adrien decided to participate in the designing contest, but instead of a designer, he went as a model. Thought initially he had no intereat in participating on any of the events, but he decided to help his friends with the events. He had been Nino's buddy and kept him fed as the Dj did his job. Adrien helped Alya get a permission to film and take pictures of everything in order to document the whole party. He was going to judge on some of the contest as well, but right now he was Marinette exclusive model.

The bluenette had almost fainted when he offered to be her model, but she did an splendid job tailoring. The participants only had to design a Christmas sweater, but Marinette had surpassed by far the expectations. She made a Chat Noir-themed Christmas sweater (it had written Merry Catmas right on the front) with an acid green scarf and a Ladybug-themed sweater (the polka dots had something Christmasy on each of them) with a white fluffy scarf to pair it with. Then she had decided to make Santa's hats too and added cat ears to one of them. Adrien was more than tempted to keep the Chat Noir outfit for himself, but Marinette told him that someone else had already asked for it.

Still, when Adrien put on the sweater, the scarf and the black hat, he couldn't help but wanting to keep it. That is, until he saw Marinette wearing the Ladybug's combination. His heart skipped a beat and he could only gawk at Marinette for a solid minute before he calmed himself down and acted profesionally once more.

On the other side, Marinette was exstasic that she was just simply going to model her designs alongside Adrien Agreste, her friend and crush. Ah, it was like a dream for her. She knew Adrien liked the sweaters, but she really hoped that the jury would do so, but she wasn't as nervous as when she had participated on other contests, she had improved quite a lot since then.

And their turn came. They walked down the improvised catwalk, let the judges see the sweaters and went nack inside to wait for the veredict. Ironically, Adrien was more nervous than Marinette for once, hoping that his amazing friend would win the contest. But saldy enough, she didn't.

Marinette wasn't sad or anything, rather, she was happy for the winner, Juleka. She hugged Juleka and congratulated her for winning with her black and purple sweater, which the jury had stated to be daring and refreshing. Neverteless, the jury called Marinette to go again onstage and awarded her with an honorable mention for her tribute to the local heroes.

Adrien was confused for sure. He didn't understand how Marinette could be so happy even if she hadn't won. Sure, she was someone so positive that Adrien couldn't help to admire, but it was almost like Marinette was the embodiment of hapiness right now. His heart bumped insided his chest and a very faint shade of pink dusted the model's cheeks. She was so amazing. And he didn't deny it now. The times where he'd deny his feelings for Marinette insisting that he only loved Ladybug were long lost, but he wouldn't confess to her, afraid of ruining the friendship they had because Marinette was in love with Luka, even if they had broken some time ago.

"Hey Sunshine, why the long face?" called him Kim.

"Uh? Oh, I was lost in thoughts, sorry" appologised Adrien awkwardly.

"Then cheer up Buttercup, next contest is Miss Miraculous and then Jagged will play for us" said Alix.

"And according to my intel, Marinette us going to participate in both events" said Max.

"Mari? How-" began Adrien.

"Alya" said the trio at unison.

"That makes sense" agreed Adrien.

The trio left and Adrien decided to simply take a look at the pastries before the contest began. He decided to pick four of the mistery buns, hoping to get all of them except the cheese one. But there were two filled with chocolate and two filled with cheese (he hated to admit it was delicious).

Four hands grabbed him from behind and pulled him aside from the food table. He turned to see who had interrupted his little moment of joy and recognised his two bespectacled friends who had a worried face.

"Hey dude, Alix told us you weren't looking good" said Nino.

"Don't waste your model figure by eating away your problems" said Alya with a teasing remark on her voice despite her serious face.

"Don't worry, I'm okay. I was just thinking for real" reassured Adrien. "And no Alya, I wasn't eating away my problems, I happen to be addicted to the Dupain-Cheng's food".

"And who isn't? Even my mother loves their bakery" said Alya.

"What were you thinking of dude? Your father is making you work a lot again?" said Nino, but not seeing any change on Adrien expression decided to change his aporoach. "Or perhaps it were lady problems?"

Adrien blushed a bit and Alya gave him a knowing look. "I'll leave the interrogatory for you sweetie" said before she left.

"Forget about Alya, you know how she is" said Nino rolling his eyes and putting his hand over Adrien's shoulders. "Now, tell uncle Nino what girl has our little Sunny boy so distracted".

"What? I didn't say there was a girl or something!" saud Adrien blushing.

"Oh, then it's a boy?" teased Nino fully knowing it wasn't.

"No Nino, I'm not into boys" said Adrien and sighed. "If I tell you will you stop?"

"Man, you know I won't stop until you talk" said Nino.

"More like you won't stop because you fear Alya's rage" said Adrien. "Okay, there is a girl I'm friends with, but she is totally out of my league and I don't want to ruin our friendship".

"Does this marvelous girl has a name per chance?" asked Nino. "I promise I won't tell anyone except Alya, because you're right, her rage scares me".

"It's Marinette" confessed Adrien blushing and awkwardly looking away.

"Not even my supermodel dude has escaped the sweets!" exclamied Nino laughing. "Don't worry man, I won't tell a soul. Be grateful that Papa Nino and Mama Alya are going to give you a hand".

"I thought you were Uncle Nino. Besides, why give me a hand? I don't want to confess and screw our perfect friendship. She's way out of my league" said Adrien.

"Dude" deadpanned Nino. "You are a supermodel, famous all around the world and have a horde of fans. I know Mari is incredible, everyone has had a crush on her including Alya and myself, but she is a quite ordinary girl".

"She's definetly not. She has designed for a lot for big names in the music industry and is also famous around the world because of that. She even has a lot of connections with famous people across the world. And let's not talk about her fanclub, every boy and a lot of girls in our school are in that club. Also, her parents own the best bakery in France and she's realky talented on baking, designing, drawing, painting, dancing and a lot of other things" said Adrien not noticing his blush nor Nino's smug smirk.

"Have you finished yet? Is that why you like her?" asked the DJ smirking.

"No, I like her because she's the sweetest, kindest, most attentive, caring and positive girl I know. And she is beautyfull. I could lose myself contempling her Bluebell eyes or her obsidian black hair or her flawless doll-like skin. I know I used to have a crush on Ladybug, but when I said she was our everyday Ladybug, I wasn't joking. She is amazing" finished Adrien, almost out of breath.

"Boy, I hope Alya hasn't put another hidden microphone on me, because that was so toothrooting that she'd get diabetes like me" teased Nino.

"Alya puts hidden microphones on you?" asked Adrien weirded out.

"A few times to use me as her personal infiltrator" confessed Nino. "I swear I don't know how she manages to hide them so well that I don't notice them until she takes them back".

"I'm going to die of embarrassement if you have one of those microphones on you. Alya, if you're listening to me, don't say a word" begged the blond.

"Don't worry about it dude, let's go see the beauty contest. Lucky for you, your bro here has two spots on the front line reserved for us, so you'll see Marinette perfectly" teased Nino.

"Let me guess, Alya?" said Adrien still nervous.

"Nope. Marinette's parents. Who do you think that helped Alya to secretly prepare Matinette's participation?" said Nino.

"Honestly? I think that Jagged Stone would. I mean, he's been here with us all the time just to see Marinette and check upon her friends. He has totally adopted her as his niece. I'm sure it's great to have your favourite rock star as your uncle" pointed Adrien.

"True, but her parents are even more attentive to her than Jagged" said Nino.

"Which is totally true" said Jagged Stone from behind them, surprising both teens. "Tom and Sabine are probably the best parents in the world".

"Jagged, I think you've scared them popping out of nowhere" pointed Penny sounding a tad tired.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine dudes" said Nino. "Hey, Mr. Stone, my friend here Adrien is a fan of yours".

"Glad to meet you then. Hm... I think I've seen you somewhere else" said Jagged thinking.

"He's a famous model, his face is all across Paris and Marinette had a lot of posters of him, for fashion purpouses" said Penny flatly.

"Oh, is that so? I knew I had seen him somewhere. Are you friends of Marinette?" asked Jagged overenthusiastically.

"I have known her since we were three, we're childhood friends" said Nino proudly.

"She's my friend too, she the most amazing girl I know and she's very easily to care about" said Adrien.

"Ah, I like you two boys, you know how to apreciate the good things! Were you talking about Marinette and the beauty contest?" asked curious Jagged.

"Yeah, the girl is participating. My girlfriend and her parents managed to sign her in without her knowing. We're going to take a seat,want to come with us?" offered Nino.

"Of course! I wouldn't lose that for anything" said Jagged enthusiastically. "You said your girlfriend planned this? You must be Nino right? Aspiring film director and part time DJ?"

"Yup, that's me" said Nino.

"Oh wait, then you're Adrien Agreste right? Marinette's model friend" realised Jagged.

"I am and I'm glad to be her friend" said Adrien smiling fondly.

"But you would like more right?" said Jagged smiling knowingly. "You have the eyes of someone in love and your heart plays a ballade when you talk of her".

"Jagged, remember to play nice. That's not something to say to someone you don't know" scolded him Penny.

"Sorry, she's right, I may have overstepped my boundaries" apollogised Jagged.

"Oh, don't worry, it's fine" said Adrien politely almist robotically, even if he was a blushing mess inside.

An awkward silence set on, or at least it would if Jagged hadn't decided to overenthusiastically give Adrien a third degree. Nino could barely hold his laugh at the situation, but Penny seemed to worry about Adrien, probably because she knew better than anyone how Jagged could be sometimes. Eventhought, Adrien was spared when Tom and Sabine saw the four of them and invited them to seat with them.

"Hello Nino, nice to see you again. Is Alya being to rowdy with you as usual?" said Sabine with a gentle smile.

"She might be, but it's what I love about her, so no complains from me" said Nino.

"I see, your a tough guy Nino. I swear I sometimes think that Alya will break Marinette sometime, if Mari doesn't breaks her first thought" said Tom laughing.

"Hi Jagged, hi Penny. Checking on Marinette?" asjed Sabine politely.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see her shining like the rockstar she is" said Jagged enthusiasticly.

"I'm sorry for always causing trouble to you two" apologised Penny.

"Don't be sweetheart, it's lovely to have someone so lively around" said Sabine.

"And last, but not least, our local sunny boy Adrien. How have you been son?" asked Tom.

"I've been fine sir, having lots of fun today specially" said Adrien with a genuine smile.

"Oh, come on boy, how many times I've told you to call me Tom instead of sir, I'm not as old as my father yet" said Tom with a very contagious laugh.

"Oi Tom, what do you think of the model boy? Is he a good one?" asked Jagged.

"He is Jagged. Always so respectful and yet so sweet to others" said Tom smiling. "It makes me want to adopt him sometimes".

"I see. If you say the boy is good then he has to be" declared Jagged, ignoring the glare Penny was giving him.

"Jagged? Sweetheart? What are you two talking about, in front of the one you are talking about?" said Sabine smiling, but her smile made everyone shudder and Adrien almost run for help, and he was a superhero.

"We're sorry" gave in both men.

"Now, now. Don't worry about them Adrien you are always welcomed home" said Sabine. "I'm sure Marinette will be thrilled each time you visit".

"I don't think so mad- Sabine. Mari knows so many awesome people, I'm hardly someone special" said Adrien smiling a bit sheepishly.

"Come on now, don't undervaluate yourself like that. You are a great child and you'd be surprised to see how close does Marinette holds you. You are her friend, and a very good one at that" said Sabine.

"I told you dude, you are underselling yourself a bit too much" said Nino.

"The show is going to start!" said Jagged and everyone sat to see the contest.

The contest itself consisted of three rounds. On the first one the participants had to show their talents. Marinette, wearing a very girly and adorable outfit, had decided to show her skills in ballet. For someone who trips over air almost daily, Marinette showed a graceful and astoundingly beautyful dance. She got an inmediate pass to the second round.

On the second round, the participants had to prove that they were indeed miraculous, being at the same time strong and beautiful, so they had to show some muscle and skills on an improvised mini circuit lifting weight, jumping between platforms and, of course, swinging with a yoyo. It was meantto show beautyand strength at the same time, so noone expected that a participant would finish the task given. But Marinette showed up in a sort of Chat Noirish street dancer outfit that revealed a bit of the muscles she really had. The public was surely impressed. Marinette looked fragile and beautiful, like a doll made of glass. But her tonified abdomen and arms proved that this girl could and would do some butt kicking if needed. She started the second round and complete ut flawlessly with the grace of a swan, making the public roar in awe. Adrien was speechless, totally embellessed by her looks and, if he had to admit, he was getting very flustered by how badass could the petite bluenette be.

The final round was diferent fron the previous and more like a nornal beauty contest, not a superhero contest. The girls simply had to wore something eye-catching and the jury would decide the winner. Alya would enjoy this one for sure. She had been observing little Sunshine reactions on her girl after hearing his love confession via Nino's hidden microphone and she knew that someone would lose his cool when he saw what she had in store for him. She was no designer or fashion mogul, for sure, but she knew how to dress and how to make someone lose their mind. She smiled as she sended Marinette onstage, having styled her hair and done her make up to fit with her outfit.

And Marinette went out on the stage. Everyone took a breath when they saw her, she was radiant, simply a truly magnificient sight to behold. Adrien couldn't take his eyes off her. She was wearing a light pink silky dress, almost as if it was pulled out of a fairy tale. Adrien felt warmth through all his body, as if someone had set him on fire. He felt as if Hawk Moth had infested his stomach with akumas and Ladybug had unleashed her Miraculous Cure inside of him as well. Gosh, he loved that girl.

Marinette was nervous, freaking out, but still waiting patiently for the results of the weirdest beauty contest she had ever seen, a contest she didn't had intention to oarticipate until a certain bespectacled ginger hijacked her plans for the night. She was waiting expectantly as she heard what happened on the stage. And then silence came, so probably the jury had to debate who was the win-

"May Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng cone onstage?" exclaimed someone fron the staff.

"I'm coming!" said Marinette doing as asked.

She hadn't had time to change, but the jury didn't seem to be interested on that, rather, everyone seemed to be happy to see her again like that? Strange. But she focused and looked directly at the jury, expecting them to finally talk. Instead, the jury look at one another, nodded their heads and went back to stare Marinette, making her a tad incomfortable.

"Uh.... Excuse me? May I know why am I here?" asked Marinette worried.

"Huh? Oh, right, right" said one of the jury, finally snapping out if whatever was going on everyone's mind. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, we are proud to announce that you are, without a doubt, Miss Miraculous!"

Some people from the staff came and gave Mari some flowers and a banner that said Miraculous. She bowed to the jury and then to the public and smiled widely from the bottom of her heart.

"Um... Thank you a lot for this. I'm not sure what to say, I didn't know I was participating until my best friend announced me that she had onesidely signed me in. I didn't expect to win also, there were a lot of more beautyful girls on the contest..." said Marinette humbly and everyone clapped.

--------

After clearing everything from the beautu contest, the staff went to fetch Jagged for his little concert. Everyone, minus Jagged and Penny, were surprised to hear that Jagged would take some people onto the stage and that he was going not to sing his usual songs, but he was rather going to improvise some. Adrien felt specially worried when after saying that Jagged winked at him. Either way Adrien would go onstage or he would most likely feature one of the songs or maybe even both. But Marinette arrived and that distracted Jagged from Adrien, instantly hugging his adopted niece and congratulating her for winning.

Adrien felt a little sting on his heart when he saw Marinette, as if his heart was trying to escape from his body, trying to go to her hands. He awkwardly waved and Marinette noticed, waving back as she brightened and smiled.

What Adrien didn't know was that Marinette was also a bit nervous inside as well. She no longer had the enormous crush that didn't let her say a word to him, but she still felt something for Adrien even if she had tried to drown those feelings to let Kagami had a chance with Adrien and gave Luka a chance. Also, it didn't help that he remembered her so much of her dorky partner for whom she had growed affection, even if she couldn't let those feelings materialize because she had a duty and it wouldn't be fair for Chat Noir.

And yet, there they were, dancing around each other without knowing who the other really was. But Jagged was between them, not letting Marinette go. But Alya came to the rescue and pulled the girl from the rockstar while Penny scolded him once again. She knew what was going on between the two, even if both were hopelessly oblivious to notice it themselves, but she could give them a little push, couldn't she? And she did, literally, she pushed Marinette to Adrien and the girl demonstrated her usual clumsiness falling on him. They both fell on the floor, Marinette falling on top of Adrien, but both of them blushing equally. Marinette looks up and her saphires met his emeralds, entangling themselves in a magical moment, but the realisation of how they were positioned made them both evade each other and quickly stand up again.

"I'm sorry I made you fall" apologised Marinette, not daring to look at him.

"Don't worry, it wasn't your fault, Alya pushed you to save you from Jagged's affection" said Adrien, suddenly taking an interest on the ceiling.

"You two okay?" asked Nino worried.

"Yeah, it was nothing" said Adrien quickly, making Nino grin.

"Great, we don't want anything to happen to our Miss Miraculous, do we bro?" said Nino smiling knowingly.

"Don't say that Nino, I wasn't that special, I think I don't deserve the price" said Marinette blushing.

"Are you kidding Pri- Marinette? You were incredible" said Adrien indigned but wishing that no one noticed his slip.

"Y-You saw me?" asked Marinette shyly.

"I couldn't take my eyes of you Marinette" confessed Adrien, then realized what he had just said and he blushed again.

"I don't think anyone did girl, the whole public was focused on you" said Alya trying to avoid an awkward silence.

"Yeah, you were breath-taking" said Nino teaming up with Alya.

"Oh stop it you all, you're making me blush" said Marinette sheepishly as she blushed.

"We're just stating the facts girl" said Alya. "I'm sure that you could win the heart of anyone who saw you up there, even mine".

"And I can't even be jealous" said Nino.

"Oh shush it you flaterers. If that was right I would have you three kissing my fee- I was joking!" said when she saw Nino, Alya and Adrien already kneeling down. "Okay, okay, I'll believe you".

"What can we say Marinette, you left us completely speechless" said Adrien.

"Oh stop it pretty boy or ypu'll have me falling for you" said Marinette, confusing Adrien for Chat.

"What if I want you falling for me? I mean, I already have you falling on me Princess" bantered Adrien, having a familiar feeling but not noticing his slip.

"Princess? Dude, I thought you were shier" said Nino.

"The banter sounds awfully usual for them too. Are you two secretly dating and didn't told us anything?" said Alya with that reporter look of her.

"What! No, we're not dating" said both at unison.

"They are also syncronised" pointe Nino with a knowing look.

"Nino, I swear to god we are not dating. If I was dating Marinette you'd be the first one I would tell, even before my father" said Adrien with a nervous voice.

"Alya, you know I'm not dating Adrien perfectly well" said Marinette with a somewhat menacing voice, as if she wouldn't want Alya to slip and say what she knew.

"Okey, okey. We trust you. Just saying, you would make an excelent couple" said Alya grinning as she dropped the bomb.

"Hey, maybe you could dance together on this night ball, neither of you have a partner" proposed Nino.

Adrien brightened for a moment. "He is right Mari, I don't have a partner yet. Would you give me the honor of being your dance partner?"

"I'd love to Adrien" said Marinette smiling fondly.

"Then it's decided!" said Jagged, scaring the four teens.

"Jagged!" exclaimed Marinette.

"What? I just wanted to propose you four to go onstage with me" said Jagged.

"Oh, I'm sorry Jagged but I'm very tired after the contest, so I'll be resting for a bit" said Marinette.

"Okey, but make sure not to bore yourself" said Jagged. "Oh! How about we leave this fine gentleman with you so he keeps you awake?"

"Yeah Adrien, keep her company, we want to rock" said Alya as she took a microphone of Nino, making both boys open their eyes like plates.

"I will do it, I couldn't leave her alone just like that anyway" said Adrien glaring at Alya.

"I'm sorry bro, I didn't knew" whispered Nino to the model.

"It's okay man, just make sure she doesn't spread a word" said Adrien.

"What's going on?" asked Marinette suspicious.

"Not much, just Alya trying to pulll a prank on me, right Alya?" said Adrien sending a murderous glare.

"Sheesh Buttercups, calm down. I'll be good" said Alya putting her hands on the air.

"What were you trying to do Al?" asjed Marinette.

"Not much, just use Nino to get some info" said Alya. She put her hand over Adrien's shouders. "I'll tell ypu what Sunshine, I won't say a thing but you'll have to get me some good scoops".

"I'll see what I find" said Adrien thinking she wanted some rumours.

"Well then, let's rock!" said Jagged enthusiastically.

Jagged and their friends left them alone and the awkard silence settled again. Without a topic to talk about, they both simply went to find a place to seat and sit down on a small coach. They heared the music and hoped their friends where having a good time, but no conversation .

"Um... How are you doing?" asked Adrien, mentally cursing himself for being so brilliant.

"Oh, fine, the party has been great until now, even if it wasn't what I expected. And you?" asked Marinette.

"I think it's one of the best parties I've attended. At least this one isn't super formal" said Adrien with a small smile

"I think your dad and the mayor overdid themselves this time. It's really amazing" agreed Marinette.

"Hey, Marinette" said Adrien.

"Yes Adrien?" replied the bluenette.

"I was serious before, would you like to be my partner for the dance?" asked Adrien staring at her.

"Oh... Are you sure about that? I have to warn you, I have two left feet and a total lack of coordination" said Marinette, not daring to look at him.

"It doesn't really matters, it'd be fun to dance with you" said Adrien.

"Sure, it will be hilarious to see me stumbling and stepping on you" said Marinette sarcastically.

"I didn't mean that. Also, since when are you so sassy Mari?" said Adrien.

"Maybe it's since you became so curious" replied Marinette. "You almost sound like Chat Noir when he stops by, except that you're not trying to impress me".

"Well, you almost sound like Ladybug when she banters with Chat Noir, sassy but not rude" pointed Adrien smugly.

"Wasn't I your everyday Ladybug?" asked Marinette smugly.

"That's right. I guess I'll have to be your everyday Chat Noir then, won't I Merrynette?" punned Adrien.

"That was horrible even for Chat Noir standards" said Marinette rolling her eyes despite her smile.

"Your eye rolling is purrfect thought" said Adrien almost laughing.

"God, are you secretly Chat Noir's best friend? I wouldn't expect those from anyone but him!" said Marinette giggling.

"Ah, but I got what I wanted" said Adrien proudly.

"And what did you want exactly?" asked Marinette.

"To hear your meowvelous laugh" said Adrien winking.

Marinette snorted and giggled. "Okay, yes, your everyday Chat Noir title is granted good sir".

"You are a lovely and fair lady" said Adrien bowing his head.

"You really remembered Chat thought. He sometimes stops by my balcony when I'm outside. I think he just stops to make sure I don't get akumatized, but it's still nice from him to do so, he knows how to cheer me up" said Marinette smiling melancholically.

Adrien was quiet. He felt torn inside because he wanted to tell her, but at the same time he was afraid of her discovering him. After what had happened on the Weredad incident, Adrien was quite nervous around her, feeling atracted like a moth to a lamp, but also scared of what would she think if she knew that he had fallen in love with her after rejecting her. That would definetly mess things between them. Also, she had recently broken up with Luka, so she wouldn't probably be extasic about another relationship.

"Adrien?" asked Marinette worried.

"Uh? Oh, sorry, did you say anything, I was lost in thought" apologised Adrien.

"Oh, no, don't worry, I do that quite a lot" said Marinette with a gentle smile.

"Hey, do you want to know what is going to happen next?" said Adrien smiling again, but with a mischievous look on his facr.

"Okay, surprise me model boy" said Marinette.

"My father is going to give an award to someone. For what I know, it will be an award for dedication put into work, but since only Lila and I work for him here, Lila will be getting the price" said Adrien. "What she doesn't know thought it's that the price is a giant Toblerone".

"No way. She's getting a guant Toblerone? I'd love to get one" pouted Marinette.

"Well, anyone who recieved a price today is getting ten normal toblerones, so don't worry. The funny part is that Lila hates chocolates" said Adrien smiling.

"No way. I knew she is quite a bitter person, but not liking chocolate?" said Marinette.

"There is also an extra part. While she doesn't know it, her reaction to the price behind tge courtains will be filmed and reproduced for everyone" said Adrien. "I know having to put up with her has been a lot with you, but as I promised, she's going to get what she deserves without you having to be the bad person".

"I could kiss you right now" said Marinette, then realised her words and blush.

After an awkward silence Adrien decided to talk. "Marinette?"

"Yes?"

"Forgive me if I'm rude but, do you like someone?" said Adrien.

"I- I do" said Marinette blushing. "Ther-re a-are two boys..."

"I see" said Adrien using his model smile to hide his sadness, already deciding he wouldn't be one of the boys. "I used to like a girl, but the feeling wasn't mutual. Then I dated Kagami, giving her a chance, but all this time I haven't acknowledged my real feelings. Yes, I liked that first girl, but there's a girl I've been in love since I met her even if I didn't know until recently".

"I see..." said Marinette a bit down. "I do still like the boy who stole my heart with his kindness, but I let someone else took the chance of being with him. And there is this other boy, that has loved me for a long time, but I rejected him because I couldn't afford to get distracted by him. And here I am now, liking him secretly because it would be unfair for him and because I still can't be distracted by him".

"Seems like we both have it bad" said Adrien.

"Yeah, we do" agreed Marinette.

"Can I ask you, if it's not a problem, who are those boys?" asked Adrien sheepishly.

"Only if you tell me who are the girls first" said Marinette forcing herself to smile.

"Heh, I can't tell yo who is the girl that doesn't loves me because if work secrecy. And the other one..." said the blond.

"It's okay. I can't tell you who liked me anyway, it's part of a secret. But the guy who stole my heart..." said Marinette, doubting whether she should tell him or not. She feels Tikki patting her calmly on her leg, supporting her no matter what she chooses and she decides. "The other one is you, Adrien. Since you gave me that umbrella you've greedily taken my heart prisioner. It's okay if you don't like me, but I felt the need to finally tell you".

Adrien was speechless and almost failed to notice her standing up to leave, but he noticed. "Wait, Marinette!" said the model desperate.

"I'm coming in a bit Adrien, I just... I just need to go to the bathroom a bit" said Marinette with a fake smile that broke Adrien's heart.

"You can go later I need to tell you something first" said Adrien determined. "Marinette... I like you as well. You were the girl I've been loving for a long time, but I just realized how much I loved you a few weeks ago".

"You..." said Marinette doubting, but shake her head and put that fake smile again. "There's no need to lie Adrien, we both know you're way out of my league, it was just a stupid innocent dream. I won't hate you, don't worry. We can still be friends. That's what I've always been after all".

"But I don't want to be just your friend!" said Adrien desperatedly. "I wasn't lying Marinette. I like you, a lot. This is not a lie or something to keep a good relationship between us, I swear!"

Marinette looked doubtful. "I'm sorry Adrien, I really want to believe you, because I'm selfish and I want you and I want to have a life with you. But this is so surreal... How can I- How can I know you really like me and this is not just... Confusion? I don't really know..."

Adrien got serious, gebtly grabbed her hand and place it on his chest. "Can you feel- Wait, why is there something poking on my chest" said as he let Marinette's hand and pulled out a microphone. "Okay. I'm dead. Please bury me alive" said blushing as he let the microphone fall, but Mari caught it, analyzed it and turned it off.

"Why has Alya put a microphone on you?" asked Marinette weirded out.

"Uh..." said Adrien as he blushed so much that even Marinette noticed.

"Adrien? Do you have a fever? You’re completely red" asked Marinette worried.

“I’m okay, it’s just that... Well... How do I say it? I told something embarrassing to Nino and Alya happened to listen to it through the microphone. So I guess she put the microphone to hear about what we where talking. Wait, she knows you have feelings for me, right? That’s why” realised Adrien and covered his face.

“Adrien, i’m confused. Why did she put it on you? Was it because of what you told Nino?” asked Marinette.

“I think so, but it’s just one of the reasons. The other is... Well, you said you like me, so if she knows, she put it on me and left us alone because...” said Adrien, blushing an awful lot and not finishing his sentence.

“Because she expected us to confess? Why would she expect that? She knows that everytime I try to confess ends... Not well” said Marinette.

“Uh... Remember I told something very ebarrassing to Nino and Alya heard it? I may have or may have not confessed my love for you in a very cheesy way to Nino and she might have or might have not heard the whole thing through the microphone” said Adrien awkwardly scratching his neck and not daring to look at Marinette.

She fell silence. She was processing what she had just heard and was double checking that yes, Adrien Agreste loved her and Nino and Alya knew that before her. So that’s why tey were being so pushy. That’s why they had left us alone to go with Jagged even if neither of them were fans. Oh no. She had been so rude with Adrien. She had doubted him and his feelings. Marinette almost cried, but Adrien put a hand on her shoulder.

“Marinette? Mari? Are you okay? I’m seriously freaking out right now” said Adrien sick worried.

“I’m fine... Sorry. It’s just... Everything hit me so hard and I was processing everything and I’m sorry I was so rude with you or that I doubted you or your feelings. I’m trash” said Marinette.

"Marinette, you are not trash" said Adrien deadly serious grabbing her by her shoulders and looking at her directly to the eyes. "I get why it was hard to believe. I mean, it's like if Ladybug confessed to Chat Noir suddenly after him pinning her for so much time".

"But I'm still a bad person" complied Marinette.

"You are not Marinette. You are the most amazing person I've ever known. You've been through a lot, an awful lot of bad experiences and yet you've been positive enough about it to surpass any hardship. But you are human Marinette, you can doubt too. I mean, it is weird if the person you've liked for a long time suddenly confessed that they love you. I would doubt as well. But that's because we are humans and, personally? I think that's our best trait" said Adrien.

"I'm sorry for being such a worrywart" said Marinette trying to look away to hide her blush.

"Don't be, I think it's endearing. It's part of your Marinette charm" said Adrien smiling.

"Thank you" said Marinette mostly to herself.

"So... What are we going to do?" asked Adrien awkwardly.

"What do you mean?" asked Marinette confused.

"Well, our so lovely friends might have heard a huge part of it, and we both kniw they'll want to know what happened between us and..." said awkwardly blushing the boy, but Marinette put a finger on his lips, shutting him.

"No need to worry about that. They can suffer a bit for being so nosy" said Marinette smirking.

"Okay. Then... Marinette?" asked Adrien.

"Yes Adrien?"

"I love you. Will you be my girlfriend?" said nervously Adrien bowing like he had seen on anime.

"Pffft. Adrien, there's no need to bow you know? I think you've been seeing too much anime" said Marinette giggling incontrolably.

"I- Uh- Hm...." babbled Adrien very, very embarrassed.

"I do want to be your girlfriend dummy" said Marinette and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Is this clear enough?"

"I don't know, I think a few more woud make it clearer" said Adrien smiling stupidly. "Wait, you gave me a peck on the cheek on Hero's day last year as well, didn't you? Was that like this?"

"Who knows? It's been a year and a bunch of months after all" teased Marinette.

"Please, don't make me feel more stupid than when I realised I liked you and I had been wrongly calling you a great friend" said Adrien pouting embarrassed.

"At least you recognised what you did wrong, even if it took you so long. I mean, it hurt so much to be one sidely friendzoned without having confessed" said Marinette feigning hurt dramatically.

"Hey! I'm sorry for being so oblivious!" said Adrien.

"Don't worry, I'll forgive you someday" said Marinette and kissed him on his nose. "At least you got another kiss".

"It's not fair! You're teasing me too much Marinette!" said Adrien.

Someone coughed behind them. "I hope I'm not interrumping anything" said Gabriel Agreste.

"Dad! That's not what you think! It's-" began Adrien, but stopped when his father signaled him to do so.

"There is no need for excuses Adrien. I know you've like Miss Dupain-Cheng for quite a long time. At the same time, she has also liked you and from what I've seen, her feelings are nothing but pure love" declared Gabriel Agreste. "I must say, she is an aspiring designer and a promising one. I would normally be worried if I didn't know about her, but I do aprove your relationship. I believe she'll be a great addition to the fashion world" said giving Marinette a discrete tender smile.

"Th-Thank you sir" said Marinette blushing.

"However, I'm not here to talk about your newly founded relationship" said Gabriel. "Marinette, as Miss Miraculous there is something you must do. If you may, please follow me".

"Good luck Marinette" said Adrien holding her hand.

"Thank you" said Marinette and then followed Adrien's father.

----------

Part (1/2)

#miraculous fanfic #miraculous ladybug #adrienette

11 notes · View notes

lallemcnt · 5 years ago

Text

go ahead and watch my heart burn (part five/final)

can be read on ao3

"It's impossible." said pride. "It's risky." said experience. "It's pointless." said reason. "Give it a try." whispered the heart.

What am I doing?

Lucas brushes down the front of his blue long-sleeved shirt with agitated hands. He doesn’t know what to wear, is he overdressed or underdressed? When he asked what he should wear all Eliott said was semi-casual, but Lucas didn’t have a clue what that meant. Could he still wear his trainers and jeans if he wore this shirt? It was ridiculous, really, how worked up he was getting but he doesn't want to embarrass Eliott. He wants to be the perfect supportive boyfriend this evening. Boyfriend. Just that simple word makes the butterflies in his stomach fluctuate.

Smoothing back his hair he wishes he owned gel or something to style it. He checks himself out once more in the mirror: blue shirt with the first two buttons undone — not as daring as Eliott, black slim-fitting jeans and black adidas he’s owned for years, but has become adept at keeping in good condition. This will have to do, he thinks. He snaps a photo and sends it to Yann for approval before slipping on his blue bomber, wrapping his scarf around his neck and entering the chilly October evening of Paris.

The lamps are lit, leaves dust the streets in piles of oranges and browns, signs that Autumn is in full bloom. Bicycles zoom past him, adults sit outside cafes, bundled up in thick jumpers and boots, and he’s breathing in that cool air and basking in the dusk of eight p.m. There is something about Autumn that sings of fresh starts, layering up against the brisk wind and bitter air, the tang of hot chocolate and burnt tongues, cold fingers, the excitement of the spooky season, gearing up for pumpkin carving and house parties full of wasted teens.

Burying his hands in his pockets his breaths puff out visibly before him, sinking into the air like steam off a hot drink, and he is thankful that he wore a scarf at least. Thankful that in and amongst his anxiety and paranoia about the evening, he had enough brain cells left to protect himself against the cold.

Today at 20:15

yann: hot stuff lulu

Lucas rolls his eyes before pocketing his phone and looking up at the building before him. It’s nothing overtly artistic, it blends in with the shops on either side of it. Weirdly, it reminds Lucas of Grimmauld Place in Harry Potter, throwing him back to times spent at Yann’s watching all seven films straight without breaks. That thought, at least, calms him somewhat. He stands in the shadows not daring to step into the light just yet. He takes several deep breaths in, reassuring himself that he will be fine, he’s here for Eliott and his love for him can eclipse his anxiety for the night. He can do this.

He ponders texting Eliott to tell him he’s arrived but stops because Eliott is probably talking to other people, engaging in conversations with kindred spirits who know art. Lucas doesn’t know shit about art. He can look at a photo, a painting or sculpture and appreciate its beauty or vulgarity and deduce his own interpretations, but that’s it. He decides that he will not speak to anyone about the exhibition because he will undoubtedly make a complete idiot of himself. So when he steps inside from the night into a brightly lit room, the contrast to the night outside dazzling him for a second, he unwraps his scarf and takes his jacket off, moving towards the table of mini bites. Eating he can do, and well, but interacting with people, let alone those from completely different stratospheres, is not his forte. He wishes he had invited Arthur along with him, someone he could be comfortably uncomfortable with until Eliott is less busy.

He accepts an offer of champagne from an inscrutable looking man in all black, tucking his coat and scarf in his elbow. He glances around noticing painted portraits and landscapes set against bleach-white walls, a wall has been erected in the middle of the space, and children race round it, trailing their coats behind them to shrieks of laughter which melt into the background of the music filtering in through small speakers. Lucas doesn’t recognise it, the music that is, but it fits the scene: artists and art and educated people knowing what they’re talking about. He can decipher a light piano melody and the strings of a guitar, it must be something indie he concludes.

Already he feels negative thoughts clouding his mind: Why are you even here? You don’t know shit. Everyone knows you’re a fraud. Everyone is looking at you and laughing. Normally these thought spirals last for a while, he will reassure himself, tell himself that he’s being irrational, that no one is looking at him, that they are more interested in the art. He will be fine for five minutes then the thoughts will attack again like a vicious viper, poisoning his thoughts and no antidote is strong enough to stave off the anxiety for long. But, this evening is not about him, and he is really trying to be more positive. He keeps Eliott in his mind and his breathless excitement over the phone when he called to confirm with Lucas, to ensure Lucas would definitely be there. Lucas bottles that voice and plays it on repeat, tucking it against his heart in the little nook Eliott has carved for himself there.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lucas notices someone looking over at him and he debates engaging in inane conversation or turning away and pretending to be interested in the food. He goes with option two, picking up a vegan sausage roll and biting into it, but he’s miscalculated and his glass testers out of his hand and he’s imagining the fantastic shatter and the heads turning and the silence and his stomach is dropping, but the glass never meets the floor.

“Fuck-”

“Here you go.”

Lucas looks into deep brown eyes, framed by tortoise-shell glasses and light-brown hair. “Thank you.”

“I saw you struggling a bit there...you know there’s a cloakroom, right?”

“Um. Apparently not.”

Laughter and then, “Follow me. I’ll show you where it is.”

Lucas puts down his glasses, shoves the rest of the sausage roll and follows the retreating back of the girl who saved his ass tonight.

They end up in a room just off the main one, and Lucas notices it is a lot cooler out here, what is it about museums and no air conditioning? He swears he could sweat a foundation within the hour. The girl gestures to a row of coats and jackets hanging suspended from seemingly nothing until Lucas hangs his own one up with his scarf and feels a metal bar holding them in place.

“Thanks again. Seriously. Eternally grateful.”

She’s smiling, the girl, hands clasped behind her back. “So, who are you?”

Lucas’ eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “Is there some guest list or something because no one was out the front-”

The girl is laughing now, hair falling forward into her face. “No, I didn’t mean that. Are you a fellow artist or?”

“Oh,” Lucas feels his cheeks grow warm. “Definitely not. You?”

“No, just here for the free booze and food, and my sister’s work is being shown so there’s also that.”

Lucas can’t help but smile. “Yeah, there’s that.”

“Wanna get some more bubbly?”

He learns her name is Ashley, that she studies at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, that she is boisterous and is incredible at impressions. They begin by eating some of the nibbles followed by a glass of cheap bubbly that is decidedly not champagne. They drift around the room, beginning at the far wall on the right observing black-white portraits both painted and photographed; they read the labels affixed to the wall on the right-side of each art piece, noting the artists, the name of the piece and the description of what is being shown. They stand up straight, perfect postures, and move onto the next piece which rings familiar to Lucas, reminding him of impressionist paintings which he quite likes. See, while Lucas is not an expert, he knows Monet, because Manon has a rendition of his water lilies on her bedroom wall — this recognition lifts his confidence a bit. They stop at a sculpture, a body encased in a cage, almost serpent-like, limbs extended and curved in an oval shape — made from clay. Lucas drops his head on Ashley’s shoulder and they stare at this body for a while until she is called away by her sister, they hug and say goodbye. This is where Lucas is when he sees him.

The atmosphere instantly changes for Lucas; he feels less alone, less like an idiot, he feels the room brighten infinitesimally and wonders if that’s some affect of the exhibition, but soon knows, viscerally, that that’s just the affect Eliott has on him. He is a work of art all in himself; Lucas could stare at him all day.

Eliott is in a green turtle neck and black slacks, rolled and cuffed just above the ankles. Hair artfully messy, un-styled.

Lucas turns away as if that will stop Eliott from noticing him, as if Eliott wouldn’t recognise him in a crowd of short white boys with long brown hair.

“Hey!”

“Hi.” Lucas says shyly.

In an alternative reality he would run up and jump into Eliott’s arms, squeezing him to his chest, sigh into his warmth and kiss him right on the lips. Alas, this is not another universe, this is theirs all messy and twisted and perverse, but within this volume of space, on this planet being destroyed by human insolence, there is a pocket they have created for themselves, and when Lucas looks back at Eliott, he knows that they are both imagining themselves else where, without public scrutiny. There is also the case of the glass in his hand and, at this moment, Lucas doesn’t trust himself not to drop it.

Eliott meets him halfway and kisses Lucas on the lips, it’s short and sweet and Lucas would die for more, but he’s aware of where they are and isn’t the biggest fan of public displays of affection anyway. Eliott cups Lucas’ face and pulls him forward, encircling him in warmth and a musky scent. Lucas breathes him in before letting go reluctantly.

“How long have you been here?”

“Forty minutes or so, I think.”

Eliott looks at Lucas in disbelief. “You should have come and found me, you goose.” He brushes their noses together.

I don’t know anything about art; I don’t know why you would want me here. But he’s learning that some of his thoughts are ridiculous and it’s just his anxiety screwing him over so he tries to not think of that, and instead, absorb the absolute joy on Eliott’s face instead. He wants you here.

“You looked busy,” Lucas shrugs. “I didn’t want to interrupt the magic.”

Eliott is shaking his head, pulling Lucas in for another quick kiss. “You interrupt nothing, my love.”

Terms of endearment: Lucas has never been the biggest fan of them, finding them cringey but this- my love it awakens his soul, his spirit, it lights the desire in him to boiling point. Eliott in that turtle neck, calling him my love, is not helping Lucas’ need to rip his clothes off. But he holds himself together: cheeks turning rosy and biting his lip as Eliott turns him around and guides him to his own piece, Lucas can feel the nervous energy bouncing off of him.

Lucas is excited, mainly for Eliott, and how much he wants Lucas to see his work after weeks of it being kept secret. He wants to be properly introduced to this other side of Eliott whom he has only seen in brief glimpses of drawings as they materialise on Eliott’s wall or are folded carefully into the pocket of his own jacket. Though they have been dating, officially, for the past month, together for three, he doesn’t know the ambitious side of his boyfriend that well. He could tell you Eliott’s favourite author: Virginia Woolf, his favourite food: bacon and cheese omelette, how he likes his coffee: black, no milk or sugar, and that he is seemingly late to most things except when it comes to their one-on-one time. He could tell you that Eliott prefers paperbacks to hardbacks and folds back the cover whenever he’s reading and that it hurts Lucas’ soul just a bit whenever he sees that. However, Lucas could not tell you, just yet, what Eliott’s passion project has been for the past five months, one month before they met.

Built into one of the many white walls is a screen on which either side are a pair of black headphones. Lucas throws a quick glance at Eliott who is biting his thumb nervously before slipping the headphones on and standing directly in the middle, a few paces back from the screen.

It’s on loop; Lucas sees the credits first before it begins again. A new beginning, a fresh start. It’s a film. Lucas recognises the old railway track that circles the city walls of Paris where they once stood at the time of Napoleon III’s reign. He looks over at Eliott in surprise to see him smiling at Lucas. A few weeks back Eliott talked about going to La Petite Ceinture with Lucas and here it is, right there before him. There is a bridge engulfed in shadows and there is music, relatively loud: a soft beat, violins, maybe? The music is what catches Lucas’ attention the most, he has always had an ear for it, especially the classical, owed to his mother’s appreciation for it, leading to it become the sound Lucas would wake up to every morning before school. The beginnings of a new symphony trickling beneath his door at seven a.m.

If he knows anything about Eliott he can prophesise that there will be something romantic about this film. A shadow materialises from the right holding shining a torch beneath the bridge which appears at first, impenetrable, however, a shape emerges from the shadows; the dense black around it lightens slightly illuminating the shape into a figure. Lucas’ heart starts picking up its beat, hardly noticeable at all, as a story of fear and courage, of light and dark, is borne; he’s sure there is an even deeper meaning there, one he is missing, but as the two characters meet across the bridge of their differences, sharing in their similarities, Lucas can’t help but wonder if the juxtaposition of light and dark reflects the two people who are sharing their darkest fears and greatest dreams with each other, ones they were scared to admit to themselves. The music picks up in a crescendo as their lips touch and they cross the barrier into the other’s world and Lucas’ heart is in his throat at the utter tenderness which is very Eliott. He reaches out his hand behind him and feels long fingers slip into the gaps between his own, he squeezes their hands together and continues staring at the screen while the credits roll, revelling in the experience of this creation he has had the privilege to be privy to.

POLARIS written and directed by eliott demaury

Letting go of Eliott’s hand while he hangs up his headphones, Lucas is in awe of his boyfriend. Eliott often spoke about the pieces he worked on, but Lucas didn’t no it culminated into this. He turns to face him and is met with a nervous smile. Lucas steps right in front of him, reaches up to cup his face and shakes his head on a laugh.

“Who the hell are you?”

Eliott’s face pinches together and his eyebrows draw down in question.

“Amazing.” Lucas throws his arms around Eliott’s neck and affixes himself to his chest, tucking his head into the space where Eliott’s neck meets his shoulder.

“Did you like it?” Eliott whispers as he circles his arms around Lucas’ waist.

Jerking back, Lucas clutches Eliott’s biceps. “I have no words that would do it justice. How do I have the most beautiful boyfriend in the world?”

Eliott ducks his head in response, shy and self-conscious at Lucas’ praise, he glances at Lucas through his eyelashes and asks, “So, you liked it?”

Kissing his nose, Lucas pecks Eliott on the lips and whispers against them, “My heart is weeping tears. I loved it. Of course, I did.”

The smile he receives is beatific. Only then does he realise the extent of Eliott’s nerves and how Lucas is the one who got him all tied up, he hugs Eliott once more, tightly, in reassurance. “I loved it.”

When they finally part, Eliott checks his phone and asks Lucas, “When are we meeting the guys?”

“Around 9:30, I think. We don’t have to go, though.”

“No, I want to.”

“But what about this?” Lucas gestures to the screen — where Eliott’s film has begun to roll again —and the space around him. “This is your night.”

Eliott shoves his hands into the front pockets of his slacks and shrugs his shoulders. “I’ve been here since seven, it’s too much, even for me — all the attention.”

It is scary how much Lucas gets that, gets Eliott, how he must be drained from speaking to numerous people all evening about his work and theirs. Though, he does look happy, just tired and in need of some down time, which, Lucas thinks, is the exact opposite of the energy his friends exude.

Lucas nods his head, gesturing with his thumb to the cloakroom. “Yeah, we can go. I just need to get my jacket.”

“YES!” Yann is raising his controller in the air, grinning with satisfaction.

“Yann! What the fuck, man! Arthur, stop! Lucas, come on, back me here!” Basile is yelling, his eyes fixated on the TV screen, divided in two, his half decorated in big red letters: YOU LOSE.

Lucas is laughing along with Yann, Arthur and Eliott, because it was sabotage but also hilarious. He clutches at his sides as Baz gets increasingly more annoyed. He is criminally competitive, and with Arthur dancing in front of Baz’s side of the screen and messing up his hair in an attempt to distract him and make him lose to Yann, Basile’s temper is rising, his face reddening — a feat they execute every time they play video games.

Arthur is cackling and robbing Baz of his remote.

“You promised you wouldn’t do this again!”

“You gotta stop trusting us, man.” Yann responds, already choosing his team for his next match against Arthur.

Baz sighs and gets up to find another beer.

“I’m assuming you do this every time, huh?” Eliott is biting his lips, trying to keep his laughter in because he feels bad.

The other three all look at each other with shit-eating grins on their faces, but when they turn to meet Eliott’s gaze, their smiles turn sheepish. Then they are back to playing Fifa and British rap music blunts from Yann’s speaker, Arthur raps along to it and when Baz returns, already cooled down — his annoyance forgotten, he joins in and hops down next to Lucas on a beanbag. When Baz passes both Eliott and Lucas a beer each, Lucas rests his head on Baz’s shoulder in apology, looking up at him, and they exchange smiles. He knows they’re okay, that Baz is not mad.

After a few games, Eliott retreats into the kitchen and after fifteen minutes of no return, Lucas trails after, curious.

Lucas peaks into the kitchen then leans against the doorway, observing Eliott cutting a grapefruit into small chunks before dropping them into a jug full of ice. He stands before a window, the street lamps from outside shining through the glass and lightening Eliott’s hair to a golden-brown.

“What are you doing?”

Eliott looks up briefly and returns to his task of cutting fruit. “Making sangria.”

“Mmm,” Lucas licks his lips. “Can I help?”

“Um, yeah. Pour in the wine?”

“That I can do.”

Lucas hears rather than sees Eliott saunter in his direction. Placing an elbow on the kitchen counter he leans against it with his body and...proceeds to knock over the open bottle of champagne. It appears to happen in slow motion: Eliott reaching out to steady the bottle, his reflexes failing him, Lucas reaches out at the same time and they both become funnels for the wine as it slips throw their hands and slides down their arms like they’re in a fucking Carrie film, soaking Lucas’ shirt. He gasps at the shock of cold, staring down at his shirt for a second.

When he eventually looks up at Eliott, his back is turned and his shoulders are shaking as he clears up the spillage with a sponge, as much as he, ineffectively, as it continues to drip on the ground from his own wine-drenched arms.

Lucas throws his head back and groans, causing Eliott to sputter out a laugh which turns into loud gasps of air and occasional breaks of laughter. Lucas looks down at his blue shirt again, which sticks to his chest, and begins laughing too. Shoulders shaking in communion with Eliott’s, he bumps his him against Eliott’s hip, almost slipping in the wine on the floor and is caught by the biceps in a firm grip. Their laughter silenced until they lock eyes and Eliott’s rolled his lips inwards, his eyes entirely unapologetic and mischievous as he slides his hands down Lucas’ sides, joining them at the small of his back, but Lucas is still caught up in the vision of Eliott trying to clean the surface while he was soaked in wine, making his attempts futile, and he knows that look in Eliott’s eyes, that he was about to kiss him, but he can’t help it. Lucas’ head falls forward against Eliott’s chest and his ribs ache as he begins laughing again. Helpless against it.

After a few tries, Lucas manages to gasp out — between laughs — that they need to clean themselves up. He directs Eliott to Yann’s bathroom and washes down his arms for him in what must be freezing cold water because Eliott is yelling in protest while Lucas refuses to adjust the temperature because this is his payback to Eliott for ruining his shirt. He can be petty like it. He’s laughing all the way through it and Eliott’s eyes narrow down at him in suspicion.

Once Eliott is all cleaned up, he returns to try and salvage what’s left of his sangria ingredients, meanwhile, Lucas slips into one of Yann’s t-shirts, bundling his own shirt up into a ball and dumping it by his shoes at the door. When he returns to the scene of the crime, Eliott looks over at him and smirks, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed, he gives Lucas a once over.

Of course Lucas knows why he’s getting that look; Yann’s t-shirt reaches to below his bum, but he chooses to ignore Eliott’s look and raises his chin slightly.

“Yes?” He asks, as he reaches for the bottle with the remaining red wine in it and downs the liquid in seconds.

“Nothing.” Eliott responds, but he is inching closer to Lucas, slowly and steadily.

They are both a bit tipsy curtesy of the three beers and then the bottle of cider they shared (disgusting in Lucas’ opinion). At least, Lucas is. He only felt it hit him when he stood in the doorway in Yann’s shirt and Eliott’s gaze fell upon him, slightly teasing and incredibly enticing. He can’t quite look him in the eye, feeling a bit nervous, so he plants his eyes on Eliott’s chest. This does not help remotely because now Lucas’ is thinking about Eliott’s tattoo there and his smooth chest and he is really starting to believe that Eliott is some otherworldly creature who has been sent to Earth to rob Lucas of his sensibilities.

He stands there, and brushes Lucas’ lips slowly with his thumb, saying: “They’re all rosy now.”

Raising his own fingers to his lips, Lucas brushes them too, only to have this hand snatched away by Eliott who brings them to his own lips and kisses each finger individually, like they each deserve his undivided attention.

“You can’t do that here.” Lucas almost gasps out.

“Hm?” Eliott asks, holding Lucas’ hand now, grey-green eyes searching Lucas’, as if Lucas’ voice hadn’t completely given him away.

“I definitely have a semi.”

Eliott bites his lip in amusement, raising Lucas’ fingers to his mouth once more, but Lucas rips his hand out of Eliott’s grasp and takes a couple steps back which Eliott seems thoroughly enthralled by as he counters Lucas’ steps until Lucas is flush against the kitchen counter and Eliott is lifting him onto the marble surface, planting his hands on either side of Lucas as he leans forward and captures his lips in a blazing kiss that defuses any nervousness in Lucas’ brain about his friends walking in, because he really couldn’t give less of a fuck right now.

In between the first kiss and the next, Lucas whispers fuck and before he can emit an embarrassingly loud groan, Eliott is sweeping him into another fiery kiss that lights him up from the inside out, incandescent. Lucas swears that in the vacuum of space there is no star that shines quite like Eliott, that can evoke such happiness or hope in another person.

Lucas is being tugged forward until he is chest to chest to Eliott while his own hands are making a mess of his boyfriend’s hair, and trailing down his neck and cupping his jaw to deepen the kiss.

“Lucas! Lulu!”

“Get your ass in here! It’s time to PLAY!”

“Luuuuuucas!”

“I’m coming to find you!” Baz.

That comment makes them jerk apart. Resting their foreheads on each other’s shoulders, waiting for their breaths to slow down, return to some semblance of normal before they rejoin le gang. God knows Lucas will not hear the end of this but he is flush with desire and with love. Sliding down to the floor, he intertwines his fingers with Eliott’s, resting his head on Eliott’s shoulder for a second before they go back to the living room and have to face the music.

He is feeling nervous because this is a big deal but he doesn’t want it to be a big thing; it is a step forward in what he hopes is the right direction. A step forward into trying to take care of himself and being a better person for himself and everyone he loves. He wants to explore the world more, be less afraid of the everyday things that do not warrant his constant fear and anguish, he doesn’t want to be second guessing himself or the kindness people show him. He doesn’t want to be thinking that people are pretending to like him, that pity motives them to hang out with him. He wishes to be free of these burdens, and he knows, he knows that it won’t all be magically fixed with a sprinkle of fairy dust, he knows he has this for life, but when he thinks back on the days where he would cancel plans to stay at home or lie in bed and read comics, the days where he was exhausted beyond comprehension and become lax with personal hygiene, when he thinks back on those dark days, he knows he would do anything to reduce their frequency.

So, when he brings it up to Eliott, he’s trying to be casual about it, just drop it into the conversation like it’s no big deal. He doesn’t look at Eliott, pretends to be scanning for a book Eliott has been begging him to read almost since the time they met to add to the illusion of nonchalance he has going.

“I’m gonna be going to therapy, but since I’m doing it for free, I’m on the waitlist so I probably won’t have my first appointment till the end of March.” Lucas is chill. He is cool. To emphasise this, he flops down on Eliott’s sofa, one of his favourite places — all soft, like a cocoon that molds to his body, familiar with his shape after hours and hours spent lounging in its warmth.

“Lucas?”

Lucas remains where he’s lying down, book held above his head, pretending to read and his arms are already beginning to ache, but he’s going for casual remember.

“Yeah?”

“Lucas.”

The boy in question can’t decipher the tone of his boyfriend’s voice. He can feel the butterflies beginning their familiar swirl deep in his belly, so he thinks of that quote Eliott recently stuck up above his bed: “I begin to long for some little language such as lovers use, broken words, inarticulate words, like the shuffling of feet on pavement.”

“Uh huh?”

The book is snatched from his hands, revealing a wide-eyed Eliott. He dumps the book beside Lucas’ head and stares down at him in askance.

“Therapy? When did this happen?” Why didn’t you tell me, he doesn’t say. Eliott is in shock, Lucas concludes. Well, maybe not shock but he looks almost disbelieving and confused, maybe, as to why Lucas didn’t tell him his plan. But the thing with Lucas is, he likes to get things done without telling people because he doesn’t want to disappoint them in case he reneges. The look on Eliott’s face tells him it was worth it.

“Yesterday.”

“And you waited until now,” Eliott checks his phone before staring Lucas down once more. “Three in the afternoon to tell me this?” He is smiling, proud. Lucas feels it in his bones.

He is proud of himself too. Eliott’s expression softens, as though he can read Lucas’ mind. He leans down and kisses Lucas’ forehead, then, as though that is not enough contact, not enough to show his pride, he circles himself around Lucas, lying down on his chest, elbow resting on the sofa by Lucas’ head. They are eye to eye now, cerulean eyes meeting misty grey ones: a mosaic of the ocean seas, calm and settled. The weight of Eliott’s body against him as he looks at Lucas with admiration, grounds Lucas in the moment, he feels it like a new beginning, a fresh start: beginning his journey of learning that his feelings and needs are important as much as everyone else’s in the world.

Lucas shrugs in response. “I didn’t want to disappoint you, because if I had told you and I didn’t go through with it I wouldn’t have been able to handle breaking a promise. Especially to you.”

“Lucas-”

“I know you’re going to say that I could never disappoint you, but that’s not true, and I would have been disappointed in myself, and it would’ve all been made even worse, because I’d have your disappointment on top of my own guilt. But I did it, I’ve done it. And…yeah.”

Eliott’s face went through a myriad of emotions while Lucas was walking, but, now, he brushes Lucas hair in tender strokes, kisses his forehead once more, trailing his nose down to Lucas’ and hovering there. On the precipice of something.

“Can I take you there?”

“To therapy?” Lucas inquires.

“Yeah.”

March is four months away. That will be eight months with Eliott. Lucas mulls over his question, even closes his eyes and hums for a second.

“I guess so.” He concedes, lifting his head up a fraction of an inch, just so he can brush his lips against Eliott’s. Their noses slide passed each other, like two puzzle pieces finally fitted together, like when the sun and moon finally cross paths, and the probability of an eclipse increases exponentially, blotting out the star-speckled night and snow-white January mornings, the blazing heat of a summer’s afternoon and the tear-stained watercolour sky of early spring as it creeps towards dusk.

“I don’t remember where but I think I read somewhere that taking things a day at a time can really help, for people like me, who deal with anxious and constant worries about the future; trying to think in the now, focusing on what you have to do on that day and that day only, which isn’t always possible, but it really stuck with me. I’m trying to be more positive, and take things as they come, to stop trying to control everything by taking the day as it is and focusing on it instead of what’s to come later. Like focusing on what I’m doing now, in that hour, you know?”

Eliott nods in understanding, eyes bare on Lucas’, giving him his full undivided attention, wanting him to know that he is listening, that what he is saying is being heard.

“Taking things minute by minute?”

Lucas nods his head, licking his lips as a small tear slips from his eye. “Exactly.”

“Well that sounds like a plan. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, with Lucas Lallemant. Sounds like my kind of thing.”

Eliott’s lips tick up at the side in a small smile as he brushes away Lucas’ tear, kissing the patch of wet skin. He sits up, pulling Lucas up with him, cupping his face as he feels arms circle his own waist. Tight. Eliott’s eyes-crinkle as he rests his forehead against Lucas’ in something akin to prayer.

Minute by minute.

#thank u for reading <33 #so much <33 #elu fic #go ahead and watch my heart burn #elu #skam france #lucas lallemant #eliott demaury #mine

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vegannightschool · 5 years ago

Text

Manchester Pig Save

by Connor Thomas

At 4am on a dark & crisp summers morning, the soft gentle chill of the air through my open window carries the sweet songs of the early rising winged creatures. A beautiful start to a day that we had all not been looking forward to. I make a hearty wholesome Tupperware box of porridge for each of us. It’s full of bursting blueberries and zingy ginger, a hug in a bowl for the journey down. Ben arrives at 5:05 and is greeted with an energetic loving smile by all three of the hounds I share a house with. We head to Dale’s house, pick him up and finally set off for Ashton Under Lyme on the outskirts of Manchester.

We give ourselves a small pep talk on the way down, as we drive through parts of the Peak District and witness spectacular sights of low hanging intense clouds on endless rolling hills. As we grow closer to our destination, a grey mist cushions Ben’s Mini through the higher hills. In this bubble of misty thought, we rattle our brains and remind ourselves of why we put ourselves in the spectators’ seat of such immense suffering and how we are going to devour a gigantic hearty breakfast after the vigil. Self-care and the scrupulous planning of it is so important!

We pull up on a terrace parallel to the slaughterhouse. As we take our first step out the car, I feel a sharp chill; this is a re-occurring sensation I’ve found in my own personal experiences of visiting slaughterhouse areas, even on summer mornings. To our right is a high cemented wall around 9ft high with barbed wire. To our left is the ordinary world, a simple terrace that reminds me of the old family house I previously lived in. I wonder if kids still play street football like I used to at home when I was a bairn. If so, are they aware of what happens behind these high walls?

I’ve been holding a pee for a few hours now and the moment we arrive, I quickly say hello to a few of the welcoming faces in high visibility vests before I dart along the riverside to find a secluded spot to relieve myself. Behind the woods, I hear the first sound. It is piercing. It is 8:30 in the morning and we have gone from harmonious birds to deep and fiercely terrified squeals. It is their call for help, for relief. The sound is awful, like a baby screaming in pain. You know you can’t turn your back; you must address that cry for help to alleviate the sound that we ever so naturally respond to. What shocks me most is how hard it is to tell if the cry was human or non-human. The intensity of the orchestra of screams touches every millimetre of my physical structure and I just desperately wait for a crescendo to come and end it all.

It never does. It continues.

Something occurs to me. What if within all the screams, the slaughterhouse workers also cry out for help? They work with unnatural non-human tools - a far cry from the sharpened stone on a long stick, the tools used by our ancestors in times of food urgency. Nowadays we demand workers to use tools such as carousels that rotate through pits of carbon dioxide, flamethrowers so hot they burn every hair from their skin, huge harsh knives that cut through dense twitching protective flesh and penetrating bolt guns that fracture skulls and periodically miss, leaving animals to meet the sharp blade fully aware of their feelings, fellow friends and their unforgiving fate. Do you think this sounds violent? If yes, what does this violence do to the mind of the human holding the tool? Do they ever get caught in these machines or have they become machines themselves?

After ten long minutes, I walk back to the front of the gate. I am told there has already been six trucks enter the yard since the early hours. I can see the backs of the trucks which have the name of the location the pigs have travelled from. Each and every one of them has an obnoxious picture of a happy pig looking out at the drivers who follow the trucks on their long journeys. This is a comforting image to those who have never witnessed the inside of a farm, truck, slaughterhouse or probably even something I had smiled at when I used to eat bacon and sausage. Long journeys they certainly were; each individual had travelled without water or food, packed so tightly that many of them could not lie down at the same time. It took between one to four hours to reach the pigs’ final destination, while the drivers would return within the week with another hot box of snouts.

I look left. The Manchester Pig Save banner is now out of sight, blocked by a colossal three-story high trailer, fitted with small rectangular mesh slats on each level. This sight was a shock to the mind; I had seen trucks like this on videos of American and Canadian pig saves and I had never imagined it happened in the UK on this scale. Now my nostrils are twitching, something doesn’t smell good. This nose filling scent that feels so permanent. Intensified by the heat of many bodies packed so closely together; similar to that of when you’re very ill for days, you feel you need to keep cosy and the minute you lift those covers, you smell the fever inspired body odour arise from the warm depths of your quilt. It is a smell much worse than one can describe with words. Imagine faeces from your toes, up your legs and smothered on your belly as the truck comes to a sudden halt. Your friend accidently crashes their arse into your face. Now with every breath you inhale your fellow beings’ gruesome shit scent. You have no way of getting it off your nose. This confined space is abhorrently different to the woodland you are so used to stewarding, a place where you get to enact your instinct of keeping your toilet far from your sleeping quarters and much further from your snout.

“You use all of your senses when bearing witness at a vigil”. This is what I once heard Alex Lockwood talk about on a podcast about bearing witness. To me this is key, this is reality. It’s not a video filmed by someone else, neither is it your minds ability to use what it thinks is the ‘best guess’ and imagine what the experience would be like. Ask anyone who has been to a Save Movement vigil; their words can describe it so well, yet they’ll all tell you, “you must experience it for yourself”.

Back to the gates. This first truck I see is lively. The pigs look out from their confined space with searching eyes that are focused curiously on our high visibility vests, voices and video devices. At Tulip meats, the Manchester Pig Save group have an agreement that they can spend five minutes with the animals before they enter the facility. This helps us a lot and we bring pop up stools with us so we can peer into the lowest slat that usually sits around head height - this is how we gather the footage that we want to share with people. It’s also how we get to see the individuals for who they are within their confinement. It is smallest act we can do, to share their story and show them love.

The horn of the truck blares and my body suddenly becomes tense. I feel a hollowness within this stressed structure. I feel like a strong wind could blow into me and fill this empty space to such a volume that I just blow away into the grey sky, like a balloon left unattended by a distracted child. I look around at the people I’m bearing witness with. Some are in tears; others are looking deeply into their own minds and emotions. I look for a cue from Ben or Dale to see if they would want to talk about that first truck full of curious snouts. We come together and check if we’re all alright, embracing each other in a tight heartfelt three-way hug.

As we let go and share our experience within our trio, I see a car swinging in. A mother dressed in a nurse’s uniform dropping off three young men. They head into the facility for another regular day of processing. I wonder which area they work in as this plant is huge! Do they work with the tall gas cylinders that fuel the screams? How about the kill floor a real life house of horror containing the carousel of pain that spins continuously, turning life into death? The ‘process’ in this plant takes inquisitive trusting pigs and transforms them into a commodity through a process that not many people would be willing to do or witness themselves. I, along with every activist within the non-violent Save Movement have only compassion for these people. It didn’t start like that for me though. I think of how angry I was attending my first save. I blamed the workers. I now realise that this is the wrong orientation to have. If you’re feeling stuck in this rut, remember it’s not the people we are fighting, it’s the oppressive system that Melanie Joy coins as “Carnism”. Workers, animals and our planet are all under the oppression of this powerful ideology.

Twenty minutes pass, another truck indicates its intended route into the plant. We approach the right-hand side of the truck, set up our stools to give us the extra foot we need to peer in and this time we bear witness to something different. These pigs don’t look at us; they don’t even seem to know whether we exist or if they themselves exist. All we can see are either wide scattered eyes or closed eyes along with heavy breathing, like zombies from an apocalypse film. This trailer is filled with misery. There are scratches, wounds, blood and shit all over the pigs. Most of them seem to have deformities on their bodies, they simply look either unconscious or completely unhappy and unnatural. I jot in my notebook that they seem to have no perception of anything but their own bodies, crashing around and pushing each other with their heads held low. Are they aware of what is coming, or have they come from one of the 85% of UK standard intensive pig farms? The epitome of ultimate despair.

As this truck leaves, I spot the driver hosing down the now empty insides of the trailer in the cleaning section. He departs after switching his now wet and faeces covered t-shirt. Just as he leaves, we see two other trucks flashing their indicators in the direction of the slaughterhouse gates. The first smaller truck of the two standing at two stories high drives straight in as the security must clear the busy road for the next truck, which is huge. I approach the second truck. I look up from my position at the side of the truck and see four levels of this ginormous structure. I then glance through more mesh and witness a mixture of lifeless looking bodies and frantic searching eyes in this first level.

I think of my dear friend Lesley, who has been to a vigil here before. She told me to talk, sing and vibrate with love towards these creatures who have probably never known this feeling before. Suddenly I feel a state of shock and find myself gazing into a pair of blue eyes that are looking directly back at me. Connected by this glance, I feel the urge to sing words to this individual and that’s exactly what I do. The ever so slight sense of embarrassment you may feel singing to a pig in the back of a slaughter truck suddenly disappears. Along with everything else except those blue curious eyes. It is a moment in which you realise that you are giving this pig a comfort it has never known in its life before.

The horn blares.

My chest is tight.

It’s not raining Connor.

Those are your tears.

As this truck pulls into the yard, my emotions overwhelm me due to this connection with the eyes of the individual. Those eyes I will be able to recall in every animal I meet. What the fuck can I do? I walk through the crowd of activists, straight to the riverside as the waterfall of emotions floods from my eyes. Frustration gets the better of me and I can feel the heat of anger arising. As this heat arises within me, I feel the cool calming hand of Dale on my right shoulder. Followed by Ben’s to my left. My eyes begin to dry up as we take a stroll through the thin line of woodland that surrounds the tall slaughterhouse walls.

Another six or seven trucks have come in the time we are present.

Now the worst part of a vigil is upon us. Here comes the abrupt return to reality on the other side of the wall. We came closer when you were in pain. We stayed with you when you were afraid. We wish we could watch over you, all through the night. Remember that every day, we’ll never give up the fight.

We walk from the back and head to the front. We gather our things and leave at 12:30. We’re heading straight to Manchester to fill up on some tasty delights at a rainbow beauty of a café named: Boho Utopia! We fill ourselves up on a full English breakfast and a mega chocolate, peanut butter & banana cake milkshake. We’re heading home now. What a day.

I can only try again from my own experience to describe the sensory circus that occurs when you walk to the back of the slaughterhouse. These words come to me at that moment in time, you may have a different experience:

Screams. Terror. Pain. Dominance. Burning. Crying. Witnessing. Helplessness. Hopelessness. Damage. Violence. History. Shock. Fire. Anger. Rage. Suffering.

The afore list of words is the dark side to describe the reality of a vigil. I’m going to share a different list of words now, under the title of; ‘How you feel when you talk to people who stand side by side with you at The Save Movement’.

Inspired. Committed. Fulfilled. Hopeful. Happy. Fair. Joyous. Connected. Warm. Calm. Loved. Empathetic. Caring. Truthful.

I want you to add to this list, your own words that come to mind when you think of an animal vigil. Let us tell everyone why bearing witness is one of the greatest things you can do in your life! You can simply think of these in your head or share them on Facebook, Instagram or under this Tumblr post. I’ll get you started with a few easy ones:

Tea. Cake. Coffee.

#vegan #activism #veganism #animals #pig #pigs #savemovement #witness #protest

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forwhycas · 5 years ago

Text

Love Thy Neighbor (part 10)

Long awaited (I guess), but here it is!!!!! I have no words for how fun this part was to write! Hope you enjoy:)

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“Freddie, I cannot believe you rented a yacht for a whole day…it’s a little much don’t you think?”

He shook his head.

“Nonsense! It’s your birthday, I’m making up for all the birthdays I wasn’t friends with you, which is 23 birthday’s I could have made have made spectacular! Ahhh yes breakfast finally, has Roger worked up your appetite?”

“Yes actually, I’m starving, he woke me up at 4 in the morning.”

You were watching him across the very large table filled with every breakfast essential. Fruit, toast, eggs, pancakes, sausage, muffins, coffee, tea, jam, pudding, you name it, and it was on the table.

“Oh did he now? Did you get the cute set of lingerie? Green if I remember?”

“Yes, did you help him with that?”

“Oh no, dear that was all him, he was nervous it was too much he rang me at the store and everything, so I’m glad you liked it.”

You smiled at Freddie and started to fill up your plate, you started to eat when John came to sit across from you, he smiled and handed you a small box.

“It’s not much, but I know you’ll enjoy it, Happy Birthday love.”

You smiled and took a bite of your toast before you opened it, it was a joint wrapped with golden paper, definitely enjoyable!

“Deaky this is perfect, just what I wanted actually, did you roll this yourself?”

He nodded.

“This is excellent! Thank you!”

He nodded at you and started to eat as well. After breakfast the massive boat started to move and stopped a few miles off shore dropping its anchor.

“I’m jumping in, someone come with me!”

Brian was up at next to you and grabbed your hand and you both jumped, the water was cool on your already warm skin, you heard a splash nearby and Roger emerged, he swam over to you with a smirk, he was up to something. His arms were around you, and his lips were on yours in no time, before you knew it your top was off, he through it over to Brian, your arms immediately wrapped around your chest.

“Roger! Seriously?! Brian I swear to God if you don’t return that to me!!!”

Your legs were kicking furiously since you couldn’t use your arms. Roger was back at your side and you moved away, scared he might take your bottoms next.

“Lacey I would love to but I’m afraid I just can’t!”

Your started to swim to the back of the boat where the ladder was, and climbed up it, your breasts free, If the boys can be topless why can’t you be?

“Oh my God Lacey, I was right the other night, your tits are fantastic!”

Freddie was sun bathing and took off his sun glasses just to stare, John was also staring. You heard Roger yelling something, and saw your top fling up onto the deck. You flung it back at him and decided to lay out and get a tan, laying on your stomach. You felt Rogers hands work some sun block into your back a few minutes later, you looked to your left and saw your top next to you, he fasted it back on for you when he was done with the sun screen.

“Not a fan of my mates seeing your tits, definitely taking you over my knee later on…”

“Roger you’re the one who took it off my body, why am I being punished for something I didn’t do?”

He slapped your bottom, which made you giggle.

“Hate to brake this little thing up but I also have a gift for you Lacey!”

You sat up on your knees and Brian handed you a small bag, once you got past the tissue paper, you found a very nice pair of ray bans. Practical and stylish.

“Thanks Brian, now I don’t have to steal Rogers!”

You put them on and smiled up at him. He lay next to you and Rog on the towel and caught some sun for a bit.

“Lacey! Darling come get a drink, I need you drunk by noon!”

Roger told you he would make you one, so you stayed on your towel with Bri.

“So what did Roger get you?”

“A very nice camera and a bubble bath, some other things…”

“A bubble bath?”

“He woke me up super early in the morning and ran me a bath, it was the strangest yet sweetest thing someone has ever done….I also took your advice and opened up to him…”

“What did you guys chat about?”

“We both obviously have feelings for each-other, I was just hesitant to start anything because of my last relationship and how absolute shit it was, how destroyed I was, let me tell you he’s very persuasive.”

“Are you guys together now? Because if so I just made some big money…”

“Yes, wait money, are you making bets with John again?!”

You slapped Brian’s arm, he laughed at you and rolled onto his back.

“Yes? Sorry is that a yes? Didn’t hear you!”

“Yes Brian!”

You shouted!

“Lacey you just scared the shit out of me! I just spilled half of the drink I just made you!”

Brian laughed even harder, you decided to join Freddie and Rog at the little bar that was on the left side of the deck. You kissed Roger on the cheek and sat down next to Freddie.

“You guys fucked this morning didn’t you?”

“Well Freddie we didn’t just fall asleep naked…”

Roger spoke as he made you another drink.

“I’m glad you guys finally did the deed, it’s been a long time coming, which I’m sure Lacey did a lot this morning…”

You laughed at Freddies shit joke! And he left you and Roger at the bar to go get some music playing. Rog sat down next to you and placed your drink in front of you.

“Look at me, this is strong so sip it slowly.”

You scrunched your eye brows and took the straw out and started to chug it.

“Or not!”

You finished the drink and put the glass down. Smiling at him.

“That was great babe, can I make you a drink next?”

“First of all please always call me babe, and secondly yes, don’t make it gross though.”

You hopped up and went behind the bar, so many expensive bottles.

“This whole bar could probably buy a house…why are there so many bottles of vodka? Ok, so I only know how to make one drink, hopefully you like it!”

You opened up the mini fridge behind the bar and found some pineapple chunks. You grabbed a tall glass and filled it with ice then the pineapple, some white rum and cranberry juice, you mixed it and put it in front of him.

“It’s a little ‘girly’ but it tastes super good!”

He took a sip.

“This isn’t bad but I’m not a fan of fruity drinks, you drink this and make me vodka on the rocks instead, please?”

You found a short glass filled it with ice and looked at the five different types of vodka.

“Rog come choose which bottle you want.”

He hopped over the bar and bent down to look at his options, he came up again and poured it over the ice. He then poured you a shot, you went to grab it.

“Cheers!”

You took your shot and he took a sip of his drink, you then grabbed the drink you originally made for him and took a big sip.

“Are you trying to get drunk quick?”

“Well Freddie said to be drunk by noon, it’s 11, so yes, yes I am.”

You kissed him and grabbed his hand and he layed back on the towel next to you and Brian, Freddie finally got some music going and he demanded to dance with you, you of course didn’t refuse. The whole afternoon was spent dancing and sipping on some very expensive vodka, you were drunk for most of the day till the servers showed up out of nowhere with a very nice roasted chicken and pasta salad. That sobered you up which prepared you for Freddie’s next surprise.

“After this little boat ride back, were going out to a very nice club, my birthday present to you will be hanging in your closet.”

“A club, as in a very crowded night club with a lot of people?”

“Well yes, I know you don’t like crowds but with what you’ll be wearing Roger won’t leave your side all night, so nothing to worry about!”

Rogers arm was around you, you were leaning against his chest, you looked up at him and he winked at you and kissed the side of your head. When you got back the first thing you did was check the closet in your room, sure enough a very short dress was hanging up. It looked expensive, you looked at the tag and it read Versace.

“Freddie fucking Mercury, get your ass in here now!”

A few seconds later and he was standing in front of you.

“I already know what you’re going to say, but me and Marry saw it when we were out a few weeks ago and we instantly thought of you, so we bought it! Try it on for me!”

You told him to turn around and you striped out of your bathing suit and into the dress.

“Can you zip it up for me?”

Freddie turned around and did so, he pushed you in front of the nearest mirror. It was a strapless, tight dress, it had black sparkles and came about down about an inch below your ass, your breasts surprisingly fit into it and showed the perfect amount of cleavage.

“I don’t know Freddie…it’s a little much.”

“Nonsense were all dressing up, wear those nice white chucks you have with it, I was going to get you heels but I knew you wouldn’t of worn them. You look good enough to eat, if you have the confidence to wear those very skimpy bikinis then you should have no problem wearing this dress!”

“Ok!”

“Well thank god, I really just want to see Rogers face when he sees you, it really shows off those curves you got!”

He unzipped it for and told you to be ready in an hour. You immediately hopped in the shower scrubbing away the salt water and sand, shaving your legs making sure they were extra smooth, you blow dried your curls and slipped on the green thong Rog had gifted you this morning, they weren’t on for very long. You needed someone to zip up your dress and found Rog on the patio, he stopped in his tracks when he saw you.

“You kind of took my breath away for a second, you look absolutely incredible baby!”

You smiled, that kind of smile where your whole face just kind of lights up and you can’t help but let out a breath of excitement with it, this caused Rogers whole face to light up again.

“Thank you. Can you zip this up for me?”

He moved your hair to one side and zipped it up for you, giving your ass a little squeeze.

“I have a surprise for you later.”

“Later? Why not now?”

“Good things come to those who wait…”

“Well I’m impatient, Rog!”

“Stop pouting Lacey…”

His eyes looked to your chest then back up to your eyes.

“Can’t we just tell Freddie that I’m not feeling well and we can stay here, alone, and just fuck everywhere in this place?”

He laughed.

“We can do that when we get home, I’m actually looking forward to going to this club, I hear they have dancers!”

“Are there poles? I’ve always wanted to dance on one…”

His eyes widened.

“I can definitely arrange that…”

You kissed him, for no reason at all.

“I always catch you two kissing, I wonder when I’ll catch you two fucking…”

“Hi Freddie, are you here to tell us it’s time to leave or here to just interrupt for no reason at all, for like the fifth time?”

You asked sarcastically. You were annoyed since there was never really a reason for him interrupting you two.

“Everyone is ready and a car is outside waiting to take us, please do finish your make-out sesh in the car though, I love a good show!”

Roger winked and motioned for you two to follow him, Roger hand intertwined with yours and you followed behind them. When you got the club there was a heard of paps, you always wondered how they knew someone popular was going to be arriving, it wasn’t Freddie for once since he hasn’t been drinking and he was genuinely pissed they were here. You just didn’t like them in general, they wrote terrible articles about Queen all the time, the press just does not like the band. You were helped out by Brian and Roger was out after you, his hand guiding you by the waist in through the entrance, you went past the whole line and the bouncer let you in immediately, the flashing was loud but not as loud as what they were yelling. Roger kissed the side of your head when you got past them and he reassured you that you were ok. All the guys knew they gave you anxiety. Once inside you were guided to a VIP siting area, sectioned off with a thick red velvet rope. Your drinks were ordered and then served. And boy were they strong, two drinks was enough for you, you were swaying and moving your hips to the music, Roger looked amused and got up and pulled you to the dance floor. The music was fast but you and Roger kept up, his head dipped down to your neck you pulled him in close to grind on his thigh, you saw a flash. Fuck.

“Hey mate this a private event, get the fuck out of here!”

Roger had one hand on your waist and the other was pushing a random person with a his camera away from you two.

“Let’s take a little break? Hmmmm?”

You nodded and he led you past a door with another bouncer and through the first door on the right. When you adjusted to the lights you realized it was a medium sized room with a small circled stage in the middle, a girl was dancing on the pole that was on the stage.

“Alright that’s enough, thank you!”

Roger said loud enough for the girl to hear, she stopped and Roger held out some bills in one hand, and helped her down with the other, she took the money from him then left.

“Hop up there, put on a show for me…”

He kissed you slowly and then pushed you lightly towards the stage. You climbed up and waited for Roger to sit in the chair across from it. You put one hand on the pole and started to walk around it slowly, you heard a def leppard song start to play, you swayed your hips a bit and then let your back hit the back of the pole and your bent to your knees spreading your legs showing Roger that you were wearing the green panties he had gotten you. You winked at him and he got up from his seat and took the few steps towards you and you closed your legs, and slip onto the floor sitting down at the edge of the stage, Roger pulled at your leg wrapping it around his waist and he lifted you a bit so could get down. He went to kiss you but your hand went over his mouth.

“Not now, later…just like that surprise.”

You smirked, and he shook his head at you. He lead you out of the room and back to where the boys were, you had one more drink and found yourself dancing on a table with Freddie. Roger ended up getting annoyed at that and pulled you down to dance with him instead.

“Roger are you jealous?”

You whispered in his ear.

“I can show just how jealous I am, if we leave…”

You smiled up at him and nodded your head yes. His hand tugged your through the crowd and then down the hallway towards the entrance, he slowed down and intertwined his left hand with your right, you stepped outside and the paps were still there. The car was already pulling up and you two got in quickly. The care ride home was tense, but you lightened it by laying down and putting your head on his lap, his hands playing with your curls. When you were dropped off at the villa, he was almost in a dominant state of mind.

“Did I do something to make you mad? Your tense.”

“No, I just really want fuck you that’s all…”

“Is that my surprise? You fucking me?”

“Oh no, this is…”

You were in his room sitting on the bed, and he pulled out a vibrator, it was yours and your eyes widened with panick.

“Why the fuck do you have my vibrator? Did anyone tell you it’s rude to go through other people’s stuff?”

“It wasn’t hard to find, it was in your bed side table, I was just curious one day…”

“So you decided to go through my shit?”

“Yup!”

“Don’t smile at me like that Rog! You went through my room, that’s weird!”

“Well this is your surprise, I also bought these…”

He pulled out a set of hand cuffs. He was smirking at you.

“The surprise is I’m gonna use this to get you off, then I’m gonna fuck you until your screaming my name, no one’s here so I expect you to be loud.”

You were a little tipsy, and your only response was to giggle. Roger couldn’t help but smile at you sweetly when you did so.

“Is something funny to you?”

His attitude changed from sweet to sexy real quick.

“Sorry I’m drunk and you holding my vibrator just does something to me…”

“Up, I need that dress off of you, come on, up!”

You hopped up and he worked the zipper down and he tugged at it, it fell to your ankles, exposing your chest. He took a step back to admire your naked skin, he trailed his hand down between you breast and reached into your underwear, his fingers going in between your already soaked lips.

“Your body is always so responsive to my touch…on the bed now, let’s go!”

He pushed you so you fell back and he got the hand cuffs, he cuffed your hands to the bed post and he grabbed the camera he tried to gift to you earlier.

“Roger I swear to god, if you take any fucking pictures of me!!”

“What are you going to do? Hm? Baby I got you cuffed, you’re not going anywhere…”

“Rog…”

You whined as he took a picture, you glared at him and pulled at the cuffs.

“Your gonna hurt yourself, stop, these pictures are for me and me only, relax love…take a deep breath.”

He was straddling you, his lips going down to your neck, your eyes closed and smile spread across your face. He bit down lightly, and trailed his lips to your nipples, tugging at them lightly with his teeth, you moaned as he did so, he reached over and grabbed the vibrator. He turned it on and it passes over your hard nipples, your back arched into him, it was a nice sensation.

“Feels nice right?”

You nodded your head, he trailed it down your stomach, your legs already spreading, ready for him. He closed your legs and tugged at the green thong with his teeth till they were past your thighs, he took the rest of it off with his free hand. He was now laying in between your legs and trailing your vibrator up the inside of your thighs, you moaned loudly caused Roger to laugh. He then trailed it in between your lips causing you to buck your hips a little, his other hand came to push your stomach back down.

“Tell me, did you use this while thinking of me?”

He circled the end of it around your clit, adding a little bit of pressure. You moaned and yelled yes.

“Did you ever think I would be using it on you?”

You shook your head no, and let out a sigh as he started to push it into your center slowly. Your hands grasped at the headboard and squeezed it to brace yourself.

“Fuck Roger!”

He pushed it in further and turned the nob causing the vibrations to get faster.

“Oh you want more?”

“Yes! Please Rog!”

He took it out, you were panting and all you wanted to do was touch him.

“Roger, please undo these, I want to touch you!”

“You know babe I want to, but seeing such a strong woman so powerless is really turning me on, so they’ll stay there until I make you cum a few times, ok?”

You put your head back and he pushed it all the way inside of you.

“Is this was you wanted?”

“Yes! Yes Roger!”

He started to slowly pump it and out of your wet center, the muscles in your thighs tightened, your toes curled. He quickened the pace, while his hand worked it in and out of you, his lips came up to your mouth, kissing you slowly. He pulled away and you pouted.

“I hate it when you pout, I told you I’d take you over my knee! Is that what you want, a good spanking?”

“Yes…”

He smiled and started to pump the vibrator deeper into you, hitting your g spot, you were crying out his name, louder and louder till you came so hard your head was spinning.

“I didn’t say you could finish, but ok.”

He slowly took it out and shut it off putting it aside. He flipped your body around, you grabbed onto the head board for support, your elbows resting on the pillows, you were on all fours when you felt Rogers hand start to caress your ass.

“I’m thinking 10 will do it? Yea?”

“Yes!”

His hand traveled up your back and gathered your hair, he tugged at it, then he started his “punishment”, each time his hand collided with your ass it was harder and harder till you were panting from how good it felt. You were getting wetter and wetter each time. You heard him unzip his pants and you felt his dick slide against your soaked entrance.

“I told you I wanted you on all fours, and now look at this…so pretty and submissive, you feel that? That’s what you’ve done to me.”

He pushed into you hard.

“Fuck, Roger, harder!”

He gathered your hair again and buried himself in deeper as he gave you a good tug, your head flying back. He released your hair and grabbed at your hips as he pumped in and out of you fast. He started to curse.

“Fuck your tight, don’t cum until I say so or I’ll slap this pretty little ass of yours again!”

He slapped it once causing you to yell out his name. A few minutes later and you were holding onto the headboard for dear life as he slammed into your g spot over and over again.

“Roger, please let me cum! I need to!”

He left your body, and flipped you back over onto your back giving your arms a break, he pushed himself back into you and grabbed your hips, your legs wrapping around his waist, heels digging into his lower back, all you wanted to do was dig your nails into his back, leave scratches down it. The familiar feeling pooled into the pit of your stomach, you were so close. His lips were on yours as he moaned into your mouth, his head dipped down to your neck and his breath was heavy and hot against your skin, you kissed his neck and started to bite gently, his arms came up to the headboard next to yours as he gave it his all, your hips rolled around in a circular motion causing him to moan your name.

“Fuck, Lacey!”

Your legs were shaking and your breath was hallow, you needed to cum. Tears were slowly rolling out of the corners of your eyes as he kept slamming into your g spot over and over again.

“Roger! Please! I’m gonna cum!”

“Go ahead baby.”

You did and your walls clenched around him, you screeched his name over and over again, your voice getting horse as he fucked you through your orgasm until you finished. He pulled out and you could feel his cum leaking out of you. Sweaty and out of breath Roger undid the hand cuffs and you immediately had your hands around him, grasping at his neck to pull him down to your lips. You were weak but you wanted to touch him and now you finally could, you lazily rolled on top of him, your legs feeling like jello. You kissed him softly, his arms resting on your lower back, his finger-tips slowly going back and forth swirling light circles into your skin. Sweet Roger was back. He rolled your bodies over so that he was laying on top of you, he smiled sweetly down at you and moved the hair out of your face.

“I’m sorry I went through your stuff.”

You chuckled.

“That’s what you’re thinking about right now? You were just balls deep inside of me and your thinking of that?”

He laughed.

“I’m thinking of a lot of things, but that’s the first thing that came to mind.”

“Well what else are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that was some of the best sex I have had, that you are very beautiful, and I’m exhausted but I’ll be ready to go for round 2 in a few minutes.”

“Roger you just destroyed my legs I don’t think I can participate in round 2!”

“Babe it’s your birthday, I’m gonna fuck you as many times as your body can handle, and I feel that it hasn’t reached its limit yet.”

“You know Rog, I think you have better stamina than I do, because that was like a weeks-worth of sex for me right there, and your already hard, let me take care you, please?”

He rolled over so he was on his back, you straddled him, kissing up his chest. His breath hitched and he let out a faint moan.

“Kiss me already…”

You pulled his hair, pulling his head back, you licked up his throat then kissed him with all you had. Your hips ground into his hard dick, his hands guided your hips at the rythem he wanted, your circled your hips. Your forehead against his, your teeth tugged at his bottom lip. You stopped your grinding and lifted your body lining his dick with your center, you sank down onto it slowly. Roger cursed and you moaned, still so sensitive from minutes before. You slowly rode him, your thighs still screaming. You picked up your pace, your hands on his chest balancing yourself. You started to slowly circle your hips as you hopped up and down on his dick.

“Lacey! Lacey!”

“I know I’m close to!”

A few minutes later and Roger was bucking his hips into yours and came shortly before you did.

“How was that?”

“Top notch babe!”

************************************************************************************************

Hope you enjoyed!! Please like, reblog or share!;)

#Smut #fanfic #roger taylor #Queen

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dixiedingo · 5 years ago

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Found Dog (Ch 1)

Chapter One to “Found Dog,” a Colossus x OC fanfiction.

TW:// Drug mention, violence, slight nsfw themes

“So, we heard some time today that the X-men have been… in short, becoming concerned with the mutants going missing over here.” Tracks took a long in half on his lower half mask, surrounded by at least two other girls.

Balea tried to pretend it didn’t hurt a bit.

They stood in front of him. When they were ‘working’ they were supposed to pretend they weren’t together since relationships weren’t a good thing around these parts. They were a weakness to be exploited.

“So, Wild Dog,” He leaned forward, violet eyes looking into her dead brown ones. “Go scope out the area. Threaten ‘em good. If it escalates, kill them. The X-Men will not impede on Stray Kids territory.” He growled.

“Yes sir.” They said coldly. They were already pulling on their ‘muzzle.’ They turned to exit, pills in their pocket in case they had to fight. They floated to the top of one building, albeit very slowly on the count of being human at the moment. They strolled on the rooftops before building hopping, floating between leaps gracefully, their absurdly long pea-coat almost like a dress.

The snow crunched under their feet as they looked around. Sure enough, they caught wind of a few people!

Granted two of them had the little red X’s on their suit and one with a big, bright yellow X on their shirt. One was a man with a grizzly appearance. Balea couldn’t decide if he was more a wolf or a bear with muttonchops like that! Then there was another man. Dashingly handsome, but clearly annoying the other one. Dirty blonde hair and katanas on his back. This should be easy-- not even samurai really used those according to the history books they read.

There was an extremely tall lad with… beautiful blue eyes and messy black hair in the yellow shirt. He was ripped. Pleasing to the eye. But, if their calculations were right, the yellow meant he was a trainee.

And they were normally right.

They dashed around, mostly to catch their attention as a warning. The grizzly one had blades crawl from his fists. “You guys hear that?” He asked.

“No, I thought it was the sound of you, slicing sausages with those knives of yours.” The dirty blonde rolled his eyes, unsheathing his katanas. That’s when they dashed out, knocking the tallest one to the ground. Foot on his upper chest, he was stunned. They pulled a gun and pointed it to his face before pointing another at them.

“If you value his life, you’ll turn back now.” Their voice was low, bitter and angry.

“Ow! The edge! Come on kid, give us back our boy wonder and we’ll make sure he doesn’t pummel you into a nice salsa.” The dirty blonde relaxed, upon seeing it was a rather short person.

The gun clicked.

“I asked nicely. Now I gotta make an example.”

They pulled the trigger, only for the bullet to deflect-- wait did they just get taller?

The boy took their leg and swung them across the way. They flipped, landing on all fours.

The three of them lined up to face them.

“What’s that muzzle for? I didn’t realize the freak show was in town.” The grizzled one grumbled.

“It’s cause my bite is worse than my bark.” They slipped a pill through the crack of the muzzle before their skin paled into a bright, glowing white. A reverse of white skin and black stars. Their eyes stared into them.

“I don’t like how she’s looking at us…” The metal boy finally spoke as he frowned.

“Yeah? Neither do I, big guy?” The grizzled one frowned.

“Are we gonna stand here or is this now a magic show now?” The dirty blonde was growing irritated, relaxing his pose again.

“It’s a magic show. And I’m about to make you all disappear.” They launched forward, hand around the dirty blonde’s throat before throwing him just as they’d been thrown. This time though, they flipped, their heel connecting to his face. They turned just in time to catch the grizzled one swiping at their head. They charged into him as they dodged, knocking him back.

They pulled out a knife, cutting him. And yet it healed right back up.

“Regeneration huh?” They muttered. “Ditto.”

He swiped as they floated back. In their dodging though, they didn’t see the truck of a man running towards them. The metal man wrapped his arms around them, crushing the life out of them. Their breath escaped them, their eyes on the sky. Their back popping, their bones and the like being crushed.

“Let her go. Let her talk.” The grizzled one looked up at him. The metal boy looked unsure, but did as told.

Balea coughed, sputtering. “Fuck--” They scrambled on the ground. The three of them surrounded them, armed.

“Who sent you?” The boy’s accent was thick.

“Slow down there, Vladmir Putin.” The dirty blonde raised a hand. “She’s gotta catch her breath first.”

“They--” They gasped.

“They gotta catch their breath first.” He corrected himself. Maybe these guys weren’t all bad.

“.... I’m Wild Dog.” They started. “And you’re impeding on Stray Kid territory.” They slowly got up, wobbling a bit.

“Stray Kid? What the hell is that?” the grizzly one spoke up. Oh shit.

“You mean to tell me-- ghk-- you didn’t even know what you were doing???” They wheezed.

“All we knew that mutants keep disappearing left and right in this specific block radius. Unless you’ve been pulling your ‘disappearing’ act on all of them, there’s something fishy going on.” The grizzly one frowned.

“Right-- right….” How would they lie themselves out of this one? They didn’t see a point to it. They suddenly remembered everything they’d done for the Stray Kids. Yes, they were given a roof, and clothes, and food… but in turn, they’d done a lot of dirty deeds in return.

“If I tell you this stuff, you gotta promise not to come back.” They said.

“Yeah sure, when my ex calls back.” The dirty blonde rolled his eyes. “You say that as if we’re gonna listen.” He chuckled.

“... I guess if you wanna kill the informant, sure.” They said suddenly. That changed the tune.

“What do you mean kill?” The Russian boy spoke up in concern.

“My boy-- boss. My boss won’t like it if he sees you guys again. My job was to take you out, or at least drive you out. If I come back and you guys are still kicking it… there’s no telling what’ll happen to me. So in trade for this information, you stay the fuck away from here.” They pointed, rubbing their neck.

The three of them looked at each other.

“... give us a second.” They stepped back away from them, whispering among each other. Balea meanwhile began to mess with random scrap metal laying around, just flipping them and molding them before they came back to them.

“Right, so, we’ll keep away. What is it you know?” The scruffy one asked.

“Names first. Then I’ll tell you.” They said.

“Wolverine.” The scruffy one said.

“Your real names.” They said again.

“Your mom named you ‘Wild Dog?’ You poor, unfortunate bastard.” The dirty blonde shook his head, folding his arms. “Hey, you must’ve been quite the looker when you were born--”

“Wade.” The scruffy one cut him off. So his name was Wade huh?

“.... My name is Balea McComrick.” They said.

“Logan.” The scruffy one corrected himself.

“... Piotr.” It took the Russian a second. He must be really new.

“Right, so… where do I start?” “How about where those mutants ended?” Logan suggested.

“Fair. They all had one thing in common-- they owed it to our king pin.” Balea explained.

“King pin?” “This part of New York is split into four major parts, all ran by one big gang of mutants: Von Wicke. There’s Underwater, that’s the loan sharks. They’re in the east. In the north is the Blood Wolves. They deal with threatening people and… making them… ‘disappear.’ The west has us, the Stray Kids. We’re in charge of the drugs. We get ‘em hooked, we get ‘em in debt, and then they… also disappear. Finally, the South has the Ormedus. Those guys are in charge of weapons. The best stuff from around the globe. In the end, we’re all apart of Von Wicke. But no one has seen the king pin himself.” They drew a little map in the sand, pointed out the little areas. They all paid attention carefully.

“Why’s it split up like that?” Logan asked.

“No one really knows. Only one who knows is the king pin.” They responded.

“Who is the king pin?” Wade asked.

“.... I only know him by Dilla.” They looked anxious just saying his name.

“You kids and your monickers.” Logan sighed.

“Look, no small fish knows his real name. We all use monickers and fake names when we get caught by cops. We switch it up every week, so if we get caught, we ask for, say, Jane Doe in the ‘Manhattan Cell Block.’ So no real record is drawn up.” They explained. “You mind if I used that--” “Wade.” “What!? That’s fucking genius!”

“Anyway, this idiot to the side, those mutants have been disappearing because…” “They’ve been short on payment. We don’t make your average shit. No cocaine or meth. We do something strong, hard and purposefully addicting.” They said. “We got epmed, which is an upper. There’s killa, a downer, and finally gold, an enhancer. They’re all specifically made for mutants, by mutants. And they’re all addicting. We only use the nonaddictive strands.”

“And so once they run short on cash--” “We kill ‘em. Simple as that.” They stood now from their crouched position on the ground. They all stood with them.

“So in other words, if we wanna stop all this--” “Stop right there.” They immediately held a finger to Logan.

“You don’t stop Von Wicke. Von Wicke stops you.” Balea said. “It’s why we’re so big. We control the entire state of New York’s underground shops for mutants. You fuck with one of us? Word gets around? You’ll be dead before dawn. If you try to lay a paw on Dilla, if anyone even hears you’re trying to come for him? They will send someone out for you. It’s happened many a time before. You are not the first. You will not be the last.” They said sternly.

“Oooo, mini-me’s mad!” Wade smirked. “Sorry there, baby, buuuuut we kinda gotta do the good guy thing and save all the mutants! Which is why…

You’re coming with us.”

“Pardon?”

Before they could even blink, the metal boy swung on them. They felt their jaw crack as they hit the ground. The boy looked so remorseful as he powered down. “I’m so sorry,” he frowned. “But it had to be done…”

The sky was suddenly black.

#Bone scrambling #writing #personal writing #oc x canon #oc x colossus #AU #piotr rasputin #wade wilson #logan howlett #founddogau

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consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis · 5 years ago

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7+ Delicious Ways to Eat More Veggies with Every Meal

New blog post!

This post is generously sponsored by Spinato's.

When I was diagnosed with celiac disease, more changes happened to my diet than just going gluten free. Slowly but surely, my new dietary restrictions inspired me to experiment with more naturally gluten-free foods...which includes plenty of delicious vegetables. Before I knew it, I'd gone from a meat-and-potatoes kinda girl to a veggie addict! As a result, I can now honestly say that I enjoy eating vegetables and crave several servings of them every day. But I don't just eat raw broccoli and carrots! Instead, in the six years since my celiac diagnosis, I've found creative and yummy ways to incorporate more vegetables into my meals...and with help from Spinato's (home to some seriously ammmmazing certified gluten free broccoli crust pizza!), I'm sharing my top veggie hacks today! Because while I truly believe that everyone thrives on different foods and that "healthy eating" looks different for each person, I don't think most people can go wrong with adding a few more vegetables to their daily eats.

So whether you're looking for sneaky ways to up your kid's veggie intake this coming school season or you just want more creative ideas for delicious gluten free meals, keep reading to learn about 7+ easy and delicious ways you can eat more vegetables with every meal of the day!

Breakfast:

When I was in high school, some of my typical breakfasts were cinnamon raisin bagels slathered in peanut butter or a protein bar eaten in the car on the ride to school. And while those certainly aren't bad options, my breakfasts nowadays are a lot more veggie-heavy. But you might not even realize that upon first glance! Because here's the thing: I'm not a savory breakfast kinda gal. When I wake up, I want something sweet...but that doesn't have to keep me from getting in some veggies and greens. And if you follow me on Instagram, you can probably guess one of my favorite ways to eat more vegetables with breakfast: smoothie bowls!

Veggie Hack #1: Get Sneaky with Smoothie Bowls

In fact, one of the best things about smoothies is that, depending on the ingredients and ratios you use, you can pack them full with vegetables and just taste the sweetness of banana or whatever fruits you included as well. Some of my favorite vegetables to include in smoothie bowls are:

Zucchini and squash, steamed and frozen ahead of time to help with digestion. These are my go-to veggies to use if you want a tummy-friendly smoothie that is super thick and creamy but lower in sugar thanks to these additions. And I promise - you don't taste the zucchini or yellow squash at all, especially when paired with flavorful ingredients like berries or cacao powder.

Cauliflower, steamed and frozen. If your stomach can handle cauliflower in larger quantities, this is one Instagram trend you'll fall in love with.

Leafy greens, like spinach (which has a very mild flavor) or iceberg, kale, etc. if you don't mind tasting those greens more obviously.

Veggie Hack #2: Add Zucchini to Oats or Porridge

If you wake up craving a warm breakfast but still want something sweet and secretly full of veggies, zoats (also known as "zucchini oats") are another delicious option! I have made my zoats with zucchini and yellow squash, just grated and squeezed to remove the extra moisture. As I've shared in recipes like this one, you can also use alternative porridge grains like quinoa flakes, buckwheat flakes, or chia seeds if you can't tolerate gluten free oats. You can enjoy your zoats cold (and soaked overnight instead of being cooked) or warm, but if you're trying to hide the texture of zucchini, cooked is the better option. I often prep and soak my zoats the night before and then just warm them up in the microwave until everything is soft and gooey that morning!

Snacks

My snacks have also changed since I've started to enjoy eating more vegetables. While I still love my protein bars, I often end up having something homemade or fresh instead...and many of my favorite snacks - as you can guess from the topic of this post! - involve some raw or cooked vegetables.

Veggie Hack #5: Top Rice Cakes with Guac and Veggies

This tip is as simple as the name suggests. I know a lot of people enjoy rice cakes with peanut butter and jelly or other sweet toppings, but I'm also a big fan of putting on a layer of guac, avocado, hummus or pesto and adding some spinach, carrots, cucumbers or whatever other veggies I have on hand. If you love a crunchy snack, there's nothing better than this!

Veggie Hack #3: Dress Up Veggies with Homemade Dip

Now, I know I said that I didn't just eat raw broccoli and carrots (and these days, I rarely do at all!). However, when I do have a hankering for raw vegetables - especially during hot days when I don't want to turn on the oven to cook something - whipping up a quick homemade pesto or dip can make veggies a lot more of an interesting snack! Feel free to use whatever pesto recipe you enjoy, but my go-to lately has involved a mix of several handfuls of spinach, a few tablespoons of hemp seeds, a squeeze of lemon, heavy sprinkles of oregano and thyme, and enough chicken or vegetable stock (for extra flavor!) to get the pesto to mix in my mini blender.

If raw veggies aren't your thang, you can also roast some and keep them in the fridge for snacking and lunch and dinners (which we'll get to shortly!). One of my favorite pairings with pesto is roasted sweet potato rounds. Just cut a sweet potato up into small coins, place them on a lined baking tray (no oil required) and cook at 425 for 25-30 minutes or until caramelized and soft.

Veggie Hack #4: Replace Oil and Sugar with Veggies in Homemade Granola

If you've checked out my gluten free granola recipes before, you already know that I rarely ever bake mine with oil or refined sugars. Instead, I get all the clumps and sweetness from pureed fruits and grated zucchini and squash. I know it might sound a bit crazy at first, but you don't taste the vegetables at all and they help make the granola extra clustery and chewy. Plus, if you make granola with turmeric, yellow squash and banana, it'll be hard for anyone to notice the squash in the mix!

Lunch and Dinner

Now, the grand finale - how to add more vegetables into your lunches and dinners!

Veggie Hack #6: Cook and Freeze Certain Vegetables and Homemade Fries Ahead of Time

As I already mentioned in the snacks section, roasting vegetables ahead of time so that they're ready when you want to eat is a serious game-changer. I'd also encourage you to experiment with different spices (I'm partial to thyme and oregano) and methods of cooking (for example, baking at a super high temperature for a bit of burnt edges on your broccoli or covering your tray of veggies with tin foil so that they actually steam in the oven) to see what ways taste best to you.

Another trick I've learned over my six years of veggie-loving: certain vegetables can handle being frozen and reheated later on for an extra easy serving of vegetables. For example, I often cook an entire spaghetti squash and freeze one half so that I can take out the frozen spaghetti squash the night before, stick in the oven to reheat for a few minutes, and dive in extra quickly later on. And if you love fries but haven't ever made your own, now is the time! There are tons of easy recipes out there, and I've had success cooking big batches of fries, letting them cool, and then freezing them in sealed bags. When I want fries later, I just throw a handful of frozen fries in the oven on high for a few minutes, and wala! Quicker than fast food!

Veggie Hack #7: Take Advantage of Delicious, Secretly Veggie-Packed Alternatives to Your Favorite Foods

And now for one of my favorite vegetables hack lately. I already mentioned that this post is in partnership with Spinato's...and if you're trying to eat more vegetables this year, Spinato's certified gluten-free broccoli crust pizza is about to become your new BFF!

I knew I was in for a treat as soon as I got my first boxes of Spinato's; even without opening the box or cooking the pizzas, the scent of tomato sauce and spices got my mouth watering. Spinato's 10-inch broccoli crust pizza comes in four different flavors: Margherita; Aged Asiago, Romano & Mozzarella; Mediterranean Supreme; and Primavera. Besides being certified gluten free (something I LOVE seeing in foods I eat regularly!), Spinato's pizzas are free of MSG and trans fat, and packed with high-quality ingredients like hormone-free chicken sausage and vine-ripened tomatoes from local farms. One of the coolest parts? The Spinato family has been experimenting with pizza recipes and unique topping combos since 1974, so these pizzas are part of a delicious family legacy. As for my personal experience with these pizzas...first off, I loved how quickly you can cook them! Depending on what appliance you use, you can have your frozen pizza hot and ready in just 8 minutes. My pizza only took around 14 minutes in my oven, which makes Spinato's the perfect secret weapon to keep in my freezer for crazy busy school days this coming semester. And I definitely want to try grilling these pizzas one day, as the box suggests!

And now we get to the most important part: the taste. For the particular dinner in these photographs, I went with Spinato's Primavera pizza, which features zucchini, red onion, mushroom and red pepper. I added a lil' bit of greens and avocado (since those are my go-to pizza toppings!), and enjoyed evvery bite. I loved that the sauce, cheese and toppings were evenly dispersed throughout the whole pizza, and that the soft crust was balanced out by crunchy and chewy vegetables. I also enjoyed that the crust looked "normal" despite its broccoli base. If you served this to me without the box, I wouldn't have guessed the crust is packed with vegetables! My cooked pizza crust did come out of the oven feeling pretty soft and some of the pizza slices were messy to hold - especially since Spinato's pizza crust is pretty thin (just how I, personally, like it). However, once the pizza cooled some, the crust got a lot sturdier and had deliciously crunchy edges with a soft, chewy middle. And at the end of the day, I don't mind a bit of a messy dinner as long as it tastes finger-lickin' good...and Spinato's pizza definitely does.

If you want to try out Spinato's for yourself, Spinato's frozen broccoli crust pizzas are now available in over 1,500 stores all over the US. For help finding Spinato's broccoli crust pizza in your area, check out Spinato's handy dandy product locator here! Before I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I would've never imagined waking up and looking forward to eating zucchini and green beans and all sorts of other delicious veggies. But the more I've experimented with new, delicious ways to enjoy vegetables, the more I've craved them...and I hope the same can be said of anyone who tries any of the vegetable hacks I've shared in this blog post! And if you need a tasty and easy place to start eating more vegetables ASAP...as I mentioned earlier, Spinato's certified gluten free broccoli crust pizza can be ready in 15 minutes or less. ;) *I received free samples and monetary compensation in exchange for spreading the word about Spinato's broccoli crust pizza. However, I only partner with brands and products that I personally belive in, and all photographs, opinions and thoughts are my own. Thank you for supporting what supports Casey the College Celiac!* Which flavor of Spinato's pizza would you want to try first? Margherita; Aged Asiago, Romano & Mozzarella; Mediterranean Supreme; or Primavera? Tell me in the comments!

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#Blogger #college #celiac #gluten free #coeliac #celiacs #paleo #primal #foodporn #foodart

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