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ramp-it-up · 4 years ago

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Fresh Squeeze, Ch. 5

Pairing: Daveed Diggs x OFC Linden Marshall

Set in 2023, post-pandemic

Warnings: Cursing, Angsty Angst, drug and alcohol use, surprise flights, Anthony Ramos. Lots of Plot.

Word Count: 3.5 K

Plot: Linden Marshall just finished law school at Columbia University in NYC. Daveed Diggs is still creating magic with his platonic life partner Rafael Casal in the form of their Blindspotting musical, Bay Boys. Linden’s boyfriend WAS Mark Monaco, star of the superhero movie series Invincible. They were together for years, and her trauma and his addictions were toxic. She knows now that wasn’t love.

A/N: Keep in mind that this the same AU as Arrivals, with Holly Woods, but is BEFORE Rafa and Holly get together. And don’t come for me about Anthony.

Read the Previous Chapter.

===================

NYC, May 2023

Jasmine was blowing up your phone as you were trying to get dressed. You had to search for it under the pile of clothes on your bed.

You had procrastinated getting ready, trying to finish one of your applications for a summer internship at this law firm in Harlem that you were excited about.

You wanted to finally relax after finishing Columbia law in the top 10% of your class. You just wanted to relax and enjoy this weekend.

Craig, your mom and your uncle were the only ones to attend your graduation. They knew you didn’t want any fanfare, so your famous friends didn’t attend, and they had a show to do, but they’d sent you tons of well wishes.

We're coming up, get decent!

You chuckled and shook your head. Anthony usually raided the refrigerator when he came over. This time, you told him to bring his own snacks..

You slipped on what you were wearing for the night. Craig was in his room getting ready and you had volunteered his place, so you were playing hostess. You were surprised that he was so chill about it, actually.

“Pika Pika,” you said to yourself in the mirror then ran to answer the doorbell. It was almost 6 pm.

You opened the door for Cookie Monster and Big Bird. You burst out laughing. But you stopped when you saw Anthony's face. He had like five bags from Whole Foods that he was juggling in his blue arms.

"Jazzy!!!! There's my girl. Hey Ant! leave the food and your girl. We may run off together."

Anthony came in the door loaded down with bags and kissed you on the cheek.

“I love you Lindy, but fuck you man.” You punched him on the shoulder.

“Ow! Time to get this party started!”

Linden heard Jazzy’s Brooklyn accent turn into a London lilt as she started play fighting with Ant. They felt like family at this point.

=================

Ever since the launch party in January, Jasmine had pursued you as a friend persistently. You normally didn’t let anyone in because of the circumstances of your life, but Jas was oblivious to your awkwardness with normal human beings.

“Girl, you are fucking DOPE, and you are NOT gonna deny my love. I know your life has been a trip, and you don’t have to tell me all of it, but I’m not gonna let you shrivel up and be a little retiring wallflower. Life is to be lived.”

Jasmine telling you that during a Saturday brunch date in February was the key to your heart. She drew you out, and you didn’t see what value you added to her life.

But she loved you anyway. And you loved her, and of course, Anthony was part of the package.

He was beautiful, loud, talented, and reckless, but he reminded you too fucking much of Dell to be annoyed with him very long.

Your circle had certainly widened from just Craig. That was one thing for which you could thank Mark. You were working on him being a distant memory. He hadn’t lasted too long in Bay Boys, quitting soon after the musical opened in March.

Daveed’s hands and feet had ‘slipped’ one too many times during the scene when he was stomping his ass on stage. Mark cited health reasons, and publicly spiraled a bit. He was currently in rehab.

Again.

You had not heard from him and that was absolutely fine with you.

Because Jasmine was in Bay Boys and that was her life, the cast and crew became yours as well. Rafael was the type of chaotic creative genius that fascinated you; you could listen to him talk for hours.

Things with Daveed were more tricky. Ever since that awkwardness with him after the launch party, you’d kept your distance, but you hung out a lot, so you were trying to be friends.

When you and Jas and Ant and Rafa hung out and talked, Daveed was there, smiling shyly and sneaking glances at you, throwing in pearls of wisdom every so often.

He was so dope and so talented and intelligent and so freaking hot, but you were trying to get yourself together. You were convinced that night in January had been a mistake.

You needed some space. And time. Law school was no joke, and you were in therapy so entanglements was not what was up.

Daveed sensed your hesitancy and decided to stop pursuing you. But he couldn’t stop how he felt.

You were both a little wasted and keyed up the night of the launch party, and despite the way you were beautiful and intelligent and sexy as fucking hell, he was not going to press you.

Daveed was sure that you two could be something special if you would give it a chance, but he didn’t want to chase you, but he was so gone for you, that if you just nodded your head at him, he would be at your feet.

The attraction was undeniable. There was a crazy little dance you two did that everyone recognized and respected. This group seemed to know you were fragile, and that you didn’t need to be pushed too far.

But the more they persisted, the more you came out of your shell. The more you trusted, the more the old Lindy came back.

Craig noticed first soon after you started hanging with the crew when you were trying to find a place to live. He went to one showing with you and sat you down for a talk.

“Girl, I love the light in your eyes. I haven’t seen this Lindy since…well in a long time. Stay with me for as long as you want. I know you need to get through this last semester of school, you don’t need one more thing to think about. I’m proud of the work that you’re doing on yourself, Linden.”

You were grateful to Craig. His place on the Upper West Side was super convenient to Columbia, and not having to think about finding a place was so clutch. Third year was kicking your ass.

“Besides, I wouldn’t have this place if it wasn’t for…”

“Hush, I don’t want to hear that. Dell would have wanted this. I love you cuzzo.”

=================

Craig came out in a Sully onesie and immediately dragged Jasmine into a conversation about the Met Gala that had happened a few days ago.

You approached the kitchen where Ant stood, food all around him on the counter. You were whispering. He smiled a secret smile at you.

“I’m so proud of you doing this for Jasmine. It’s good for you all to get away. I’m glad that she got a little break. She deserves it all.”

Anthony had arranged for this little get together to be a surprise for Jasmine. This was going to be a kickback weekend.

The show was on a four day hiatus while the set was moved to a bigger theatre. It was a hit and was destined for a long run.

Ant’s green eyes lit up as you kept talking about Jasmine.

“Yeah, she does. And the woman of the hour deserves all the happiness in the world.” He lifted his beer to you.

They way he said that was weird and you were about to ask him what was up with that when the doorbell started ringing, you went to answer it and were stuck there for a few minutes as people started coming in.

The food and the drinks were flowing while all kinds of characters came in.

Now they also had Jack Skellingtom, and a Care Bear in the house to add to Big bird, Cookie Monster, Pikachu and Sully. It was an odd cast of characters who were jamming to 90's rap, eating chicken wings and basically tripping like only friends could do.

Then there was Toni, some tag-along chick who showed up with Rafa. She had on a plain gray onesie. What a downer.

You’d pegged her for a star fucker who only hung with Rafa because of who he and his friends were. The girl was too much in everyone's business.

"Sooooo. You and Mark ARE broken up for real for real. The tabloids say y’all are back together! I told my friend Susie you weren’t, but she wouldn't believe me."

You just smiled and didn't confirm or deny, treating Toni like the paparazzi. The girl was oblivious to your hate and just kept talking.

Daveed rescued you.

"Hey, Toni, show these folks how you can blow. They're setting up the karaoke machine over there. Show us what you're working with. Someone might hook you up with a gig."

Toni perked up and hurried over to Anthony and Craig, who were setting up the lyrics on the big screen to match the karaoke music. Some Bad Boy joints were up.

Rafa was behind them screaming, "Dylan, Dylan, Dylan!"

They were a scene. You breathed and relaxed a little.

"Don't stress. She's not coming with us to the island."

You looked up at the tall, fine Grumpy Care Bear who was nursing some of your special 18-year-old Chivas Regal that you had gotten for graduation. His beautiful smile shined out of his brown face and beneath the curls tumbling out of his hood.

“I’m not pressed. I’m chilling. You can do what you want. With who you want.”

“She’s not with me. Rafa brought her for the ride to the airport. And it’s not entirely true that I can do what I want. With who I want. Because what if who I want to do doesn’t want to do me?”

You knew what he meant. But you eyed his drink instead of looking at him. It wasn’t that you didn’t want him. That was far from the truth. You didn’t want to get lost in him. And you could see that happening.

Daveed saw your wheels turning. You were over analyzing again. He’d spent three months observing you every chance he got. He felt like he knew your anxieties. So fucking smart, but here you were thinking too much.

"Hey Genuis Ass. Want some?" Daveed’s voice was softer as he grinned and offered you some of his drink. “Or, I could go make you something?” For some reason he wanted you to get loose.

"Nah, I'm good Diggs.” For some reason you needed to stay in control. You played it off by changing the subject.

“I still can’t believe y’all call me that.”

Daveed just smiled and nodded, chuckling a little. He craned his neck and looked at it, having to dodge a smack upside the head.

“That ass is genius, you know. That’s the one thing He Who Shall Not Be Named was right about. And you’re one of the smartest humans I know.”

You had to look at him then. The flecks of gold in his eyes tho. But you could tell from the slight redness that he was a little zooted. He didn’t get that way around you a lot, but you knew for the stories that he partied occasionally.

He and Rafa and that Toni chick must have pre-gamed. You remembered the last time you two were tipsy together.You cleared your throat and looked away.

“Why did you lie to that girl? She can’t sing.” You were shaking your head, scowling at Toni’s screeching from the karaoke machine.

He winked at you. D was well on his way to getting LIT.

"What? She can blow.” Daveed sipped his drink and watched her.

“She’ll suck your soul out and spit it back in your mouth." Daveed was loose. And so was his mouth. But he didn’t care.

Your mouth was hanging open at Daveed as you wondered what Daveed had done with Toni, what Daveed AND Rafa had done with Toni...

Shit, you were just going to ask.

"How do you know that she..."

"AWWWW SHEEEIIIITTT! THAT'S MY JAM! REMEMBER THIS LINDY??"

“No, I was like, negative 5..”

You raised your voice as he traveled away from you, smiling. He was not slick.

“Well you missed out being tardy to the party…”

He was backing toward the mic, knocking it out of Anthony’s hand and starting the rap. Rafa joined him, trading verses.

Now as the record spins around, you recognize this sound,

Well, it's the underground,

You know that we're down with wutchyalike

Yeah, with wutchyalike, yeah

And though we're usually on the serious tip, check it out:

Tonight we're gonna flip and trip and let it all hang out tonight,

We're gonna say what we like.

'Cause, yo, yo, we want to know how many people in the flow,

Would like to just let yourselves go

And doowutchyalike,

Yeah, well tonight's your night.

Just eat food, try not to be crude or rude,

Kill the attitude, chill the serious mood,

And doowutchyalike,

Yeah, and doowutchyalike,

Everybody doowutchyalike

Everyone was dancing and Daveed had effectively deflected your question. But you would never forget.

By 8 o’clock, Craig grabbed the mic and motioned for Jasmine to come with him. You had enjoyed some cocktails finally, and just figured they were going to duet Wind Beneath My Wings just like they always did.

You were actually moving to the music and feeling good.

"Ok guys, whew. I'm hot. Is it hot in herrrre?" Craig was fanning himself.

“Whoooo! Nelly!”

You yelled and everyone laughed.

Craig took his hood off and started to unzip his onesie. Jasmine did the same.

You kept dancing nervously, not realizing it, looking around at the others who were also disrobing. You did a double take as D’s abs came into view. What was going on?

Craig continued.

"Lindy, I just need a minute to talk, can you stop whatever it is you're doing?" He grinned at you from across the room. "You're still moving Lindy."

You blushed and stopped fidgeting.

"Ummm, Craig, what the..."

One by one people dropped their onesies, all except Toni, who had no clue what was going on. Soon, everyone was standing in Craig’s condo in their swimsuits, looking fine as hell.

You just looked around, then in your cup wondering if you were too drunk and hallucinating.

“Lindy, you’ve worked real hard, and this past few months have been crazy, so we wanted to do something special for you this weekend, for your graduation, and for your birthday, WHICH IS SUNDAY!!”

Everyone cheered as Jasmine took the mic. “You think this party is for me. Well the joke’s on you bitch, because you have been hosting your own party!”

You opened your mouth, squeaked a little, then spoke,

"But why?.. Everybody? But what..."

Daveed moved close.

"Damn, you fine," you whispered.

Your hand flew to your mouth when he smirked in response. Everyone was rolling because turns out, you didn’t whisper.

Daveed cleared his throat. "Thank you. You’re fine yaseif. Anyway, Anthony and Jasmine have a house there, and we’re flying out of JFK tonight. In about two and a half hours in fact. So we gotta get going.”

You still had only a part of a clue of what was going on. But you couldn't resist all of this.

"Okay? But... I don't have any clothes. And I don’t have a ticket..."

Craig came from the storage room off the kitchen with one of your suitcases. Others started getting their bags as well

"Everybody's shit has been in my house for a week. And girl, you know I got your information. It ain’t nothing but a thang. Your ticket is ready and waiting. Just sent it to your email.”

Your mouth dropped open and you stared at Craig as everyone pulled their onesies back up and got their bags together.

Your eyes filled with tears that you hurriedly brushed away. Craig came over and hugged you. Then every else joined in for a group hug.

"You deserve, Lindy. Let us celebrate you."

You looked like you didn't quite believe it, but you went along. You laughed, visibly deciding to go with the flow.

"I'm down!"

Toni was nearby. When the hug broke up, she started asking questions. Your patience was wearing thin.

"I don’t believe that all these people really roll like this. Y’all wild. Susie won that bet."

You just continued to look at this fool.

"But isn’t this dope? All these famous, successful men being so fearless with their love and appreciation for Black women, of all people. Who woulda thunk they didn't want white women?"

Toni just kept saying the wrong thing. It was the "of all people" for you.

You stared daggers at your houseguest. Toni caught the look.

"Wait, are you mixed?"

You narrowed your eyes and said, "Black mixed with Black."

Toni clutched her pearls.

"Oh wow. Didn't mean to offend. I just mean everyone knows Jasmine is mixed, with her dad and all, as black as can be. But her white British mom saved her from his skin tone. I mean, she has braids in now, so you can see it, but all she has to do is blow her hair straight and she can pass..."

Toni jumped when Rafa spoke. She didn't know he was there.

"Toni. Not Jas. She's the homie."

The look in his ice blue eyes could burn.

"And you are a Black woman, so you know how dope they are. Why would anyone NOT worship at your feet?"

Lindy just sipped her drink as Craig entered the chat. "Amen!"

"Maybe it is time for you to get going, honey. I might call you when I get back."

Rafa led Toni to the door as she protested.

"But I was going to take you to the air..."

"And I APPRECIATE you Black woman, but we'll get there. See you later."

Then Rafa shut the door in her face. Linden discovered she loved him eternally at that moment. She was rolling.

No one mourned Toni’s departure as arrangements were made for cars to take everyone to the airport.

"You and Daveed can ride with us, Rafa." Ant to the rescue.

"Yeah, Jasmine loves to look at my profile." Jas pinched him so hard he jumped.

“Fuck!”

Ant was screaming as he, Jasmine and Rafa went out the door.

"Peace! See you at airport security. If you get nabbed by TSA, you on your own!”

Daveed lingered. “I don’t know if all of us and our bags will fit in one car. Can I ride with you and Lindy, Craig?”

Craig smirked at Daveed, but didn’t say anything. “Of course...you good with that Lindy?”

You tried to keep it light.

“Sure.. no biggie,” you cleared your throat and headed to the bathroom to make sure you had everything you needed.

=================

By the time you got to your Uber, the traffic was horrible. It took over an hour to get to the airport. You felt both anxious about missing the flight and keyed up about sitting next to Daveed in the car.

His thigh and side pressing into yours in the dark in the back of an Uber Black brought back memories of that reckless night.

When he put his arm up on the seat behind you, “For more room,” he said, in that voice and flashing that megawatt smile, you were enveloped more into his scent and warmth. You had to control yourself not to melt into him.

Craig was sitting on his phone, sneaking glances at you and smirking the entire ride. He’d insisted that you be in the middle because you were so tiny.

The whole world was against you, you thought, as you and Daveed both stared straight ahead, both flashing back to that January night.

You were the last three people to run through the airline gate just at they were about to close it. All your friends in first class cheered when you took their seats, and Rafa popped a bottle of champagne.

"Talk about cutting it close," Ant commented as Rafa gave Daveed a high five.

Daveed looked at you. You shook your head at him. Somehow, you were sitting next to him. You just decided to let it be and have some time.

“Just make sure you don’t molest me under this blanket, Ms. Marshall,” Daveed intoned when you were settled and given amenities for the night.

The flight attendant had to tell y’all to keep quiet as the cat calls went up.

Welp, you thought. This will be the vibe the entire weekend.

You weren’t mad at it. You loved these people. And you were safe. You just smiled, settled down, and looked out of the window to watch the lights of New York fade away.

=================

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#Daveed Diggs #daveed x reader #daveed diggs x black reader #daveed diggs x ofc reader #Daveed diggs x ofc black reader #daveed diggs x you #daveed diggs imagine #daveed diggs angst #daveed diggs fluff #anthony ramos #jasmine cephas jones #Rafael Casal #Hamilfam #blindspotting #Daveed x Linden

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obeyme-kaidii-writes · 4 years ago

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Your Otaku

Leviathan x poly gn!MC x Mammon

Words - 2818

Content Warnings - panic attacks, lots of angst, but lots of cuddles too (mostly focused on the relationship between Levi & MC)

Prompt/Inspiration - loosely inspired by the “Ruri-chan is my Bae!” event (and I mean loose)

Summary - You, Levi, and Mammon take a trip to the human realm together, and things take a sudden turn for the worse.

AO3

Arm in arm with Mammon, you walked through the convention center with Levi chattering excitedly at your side. You had managed to surprise him with a trip to the human realm to visit a popular anime convention, and he was just beside himself with excitement. The pure joy was practically radiating off him.

“That Q&A was amazing! Omg I never thought I’d get to see them so close. And they actually looked at me! Can you believe it? I know they were looking at me. There was a connection. I just felt it!”

His eyes were glued to the map in front of him, and only occasionally did you have to tug on his sleeve a bit to keep him from bumping into people. He started making plans about where you three should head to next, and come up with a strategy for maximizing the amount of limited edition merchandise he could acquire. He’d need your help obviously. And Mammon’s too. He only had so many arms after all, and as much as he wished he could stand in line for each item himself, he knew he had to be smart about this.

“So, we are gonna meet back up here in an hour, ok?” he said, “Set an alarm so you don’t get distracted and forget the time.”

“Yeah yeah yeah. Got it. One hour,” Mammon replied. He wouldn’t admit it, but the idea of scoring limited edition merchandise actually had him rather excited. Perhaps he could grab a couple extra copies so he could resell them later? These nerds sure seemed desperate for these things, so he figured they’d sell like hot cakes and he’d be swimming in money in no time.

The three of you separated and went your different ways to go wait in line. You glanced at the shopping list Levi had given you. It was decorated with little doodles of Azuki-tan, color coded, and organized by priority. You couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of Levi working diligently to prepare this for you. You knew Mammon had one as well, but it definitely had way fewer hearts and stickers attached to it.

After an hour of line hopping, waiting, and more waiting, your DDD vibrated signaling it was time to meet up with your boys again and see how successful everyone had been. You glanced around and noticed Mammon right away. His face lit up when he saw you, and you returned his smile with one of your own. His arms were full of way more bags than you knew he needed.

“Did you get enough?” you teased, a small laugh escaping your lips.

“Oi! This is all Levi’s stuff remember? I might’ve grabbed a couple extras to make some quick Grimm, but most of this is his!” As much as he tried to deny it, you knew that less than half of those bags were for Levi, and you also knew that only a third were things he had intended to resell. You noticed some TSL merchandise peeking out from one bag that you were positive Mammon bought just for himself.

“Ok, let’s go with that,” you replied, still laughing. Mammon blushed, realizing he had been caught. He should have known better. You always seemed to see right through him. He was thankful you had decided to keep it to yourself though and let him at least pretend you didn’t notice.

CRASH

You snapped your head up and looked in the direction of the loud noise - the same direction you were supposed to be heading. It was only a moment later that you could hear the sound of laughter break out, and you had a sinking feeling that Levi was involved somehow. You didn’t even bother explaining to Mammon what you were thinking, you didn’t need to, you just walked as quickly as you could through the crowded pathways just short of breaking into a full out sprint.

What you saw when you arrived at the meetup spot made your heart ache. Levi was sitting on the ground, on his knees, and scattered around him were what you could only assume were the bags of merchandise he had been carrying. His eyes were laser focused on the objects in front of him as he attempted to gather everything up and put it back into his bags.

Behind him, only a few yards away, stood a group of teenage boys that were cackling as they looked on. It didn’t take you long to piece together what must have happened - Levi had been in a hurry, and the boys knocked him down, causing him to crash into a display, and sending his things flying.

You could catch bits and pieces of their conversation over the laughter and buzz of the convention center. “Loser.” “Weeb.” “Freak.” It made your blood boil. You wanted nothing more than to march over there and deliver a swift kick in the groin to all of them, but you had something much more important to do.

Not wasting anytime, you made your way to Levi, gathering things up as you went. You crouched down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey babe,” you said, leaning forward to kiss his cheek lightly. You knew he didn’t like public displays of affection, but it was the only thing you could think to do to get him to shift his attention to you rather than his surroundings.

It seemed to work, for a moment at least. Levi turned to look at you, shocked to find you suddenly so close, but relieved all the same. You gave him a small smile, and rubbed his back. You could see he was struggling to keep his composure and not shift into his demon form in the middle of all these people. It was also obvious that he was only moments away from crying.

“C’mon, let’s go find somewhere to take a break,” you said, picking up the last of his bags yourself and rising to your feet. Levi gave a small nod and stood up as well, careful to keep his eyes trained on the ground in front of him. He dare not look around. He could feel the eyes of everyone boring into his back, and their whispers echoed in his ears. Freak. Loser. Weirdo. Creep.

He tried to take a deep breath to calm himself. He just wanted to take off running, but he knew it would only make things worse. He’d probably fall again like the loser that he was. He really should have stayed home. Why in hell did he let you convince him to go out today? If he was in his room right now like he should be, none of this would have happened. He was an otaku after all, and this was clearly divine punishment of some kind for him venturing out of his cave.

Mammon soon appeared beside you, “Hey! Ya can’t go takin’ off like that! What if somethin’ woulda happened to…” His voice trailed off as he became aware of his surroundings and noticed the group of teenagers standing a ways away. Their attention had now moved to you, and they were whispering rather loudly amongst themselves, and Mammon did not like the look in their eyes as they stared at you.

He looked back to you and Levi and realized just how shaken up his brother seemed. He could feel the waves of demonic energy rolling off him as he struggled to keep it together.

“Hey, I got this,” he said, moving to take the bags from your hands, “Y’all go on ahead. I’ll catch up in a bit.”

You gave Mammon a small nod, before linking arms with Levi and leading him away. He walked forward, robotically, no longer the bouncing, happy go lucky boyfriend you had seen just a mere hour ago. How quickly things had changed.

You felt so guilty for leaving him alone. You should have stayed with him. You knew he didn’t like crowds. Or people. If you had stopped to think for a moment you would have realized that it would have been better for you all to stick together. But you had let yourself get caught up in Levi’s excitement, and convinced yourself you had nothing to worry about.

Soon you approached a hall lined with closed doors. These seemed to be conference rooms, and a quick look inside told you they were unused.

“Here looks good. We will just rest for a bit inside, ok? Enjoy the peace and quiet,” you said as you opened the door and motioned for Levi to get inside. He listened obediently, not bothering to really pay attention to where he was going or where you had led him. His brain was on autopilot now, and he was just so incredibly tired.

Immediately upon entering the room, Levi’s self control finally started to crumble as his tail made an appearance, dragging along the floor behind him. He leaned his back against the nearest wall, and slid down to the floor, utterly exhausted. Before he could curl into a ball, you had locked the door and climbed into his lap, straddling his legs as you faced him. Once you wrapped your arms around his neck, it was like something just snapped inside him. He buried his face into the crook of your neck, clinging to your waist, sobbing uncontrollably.

As Levi cried, you gently stroked his hair and whispered in his ear, “Its ok now. I got you. You’re safe. It’s just us here.” You repeated this over and over again, like a mantra that you hoped would settle into his heart and disrupt what you were sure were very dark, chaotic thoughts.

“This is so not fair!” he wailed, “Why are there normies here?! They shouldn’t be here! This is supposed to MY place. MINE.”

He noticed the shirt he was wearing, and felt incredibly foolish for thinking it would be a good idea to wear it out of the house, “I’m so stupid. I shouldn’t have worn this. What kind of loser likes a children’s show anyways?”

He grabbed at his Ruri-chan shirt, and you were sure he would have ripped it off himself if you didn’t stop him soon.

“Hey, let’s not remove our clothes while we are out in public, ok?” you said as you gently grabbed his hand to stop the assault on his shirt.

He froze for a moment as he processed your words. You were right after all. Once again he was about to do something reckless and impulsive. How could you even stand to be around someone like him? He was just a gross, yucky shut in. When were you going to realize that and leave him? Surely it was only a matter of time. You would grow tired of his breakdowns. Get bored of his rants. Annoyed with his negativity.

You brought his hand to your lips and gave it a quick kiss before releasing it and pulling his head to your chest. He seemed to be calming down a little now, if only slightly, but you could still feel the rapid beat of his heart and saw his tail twitch beside him. You resumed stroking his hair as you had been earlier, whispering your affirmations and reassurances in his ear.

He wrapped his arms around your waist once more, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, inhaling your scent. Your words were starting to reach him, and he concentrated on each and every syllable as he tried to ground himself. You were here with him, so he knew it would be ok. Everything always was when you were around.

He hadn’t the faintest idea why exactly you loved him or put up with his eccentricities, but you had never given him reason to doubt you. Not even for a moment. And even though he shared your affection with Mammon, you always made time for him and took an interest in the things that were important to him. You never forgot about him.

And you were always there to encourage him when he was feeling down about himself. That’s right. He was safe with you. The only person that truly understood him and accepted him for who he was, flaws and all. And you were here right now, holding him close, pressing soft kisses to his head. He could feel your warmth in his arms, and his muscles finally started to relax, aching because of how long they had been tensed.

His grip around your waist began to loosen slightly, though he was still holding your firmly, and his body had stopped shaking.

“Feeling a little better?” you smiled, as you tried to sneak a look at his face, but he kept his eyes hidden beneath his bangs.

“Yeah,” he said. Now that he was calmer he was beginning to become aware of the situation he found himself in and it was making him somewhat self conscious, though he wasn’t ready to let you go just yet.

“Alright,” you laughed, breathing a sigh of relief. You had your favorite otaku back. At some point his tail had disappeared too. As you continued to alternate between hugging him close, kissing the top of his head, and running your fingers through his hair, you felt the last of the tension leave his body.

“Ready to head home now? Or are you feeling up to checking out more of the convention?”, you asked, taking his face in your hands now and gently turning him to look at you.

He was not prepared for the love he saw in your eyes when he finally made eye contact with you. He was expecting something closer to pity, which was ridiculous really since you had never looked at him that way before, but this was a million times better. Without even thinking he kissed you gently on the lips. You could taste the salt from his tears in his kiss, but you didn’t care. It wasn’t often Levi initiated affection like this and you were determined to treasure every second of it.

He pulled away slightly, and rested his forehead against yours, keeping his eyes closed. You stroked his cheeks with your thumbs and smiled as you felt him lean into your touch.

“Thank you,” was all he could manage to say, and you knew exactly what he meant. It wasn’t the first time you had witnessed him having a meltdown after all, and you had begun to figure out what worked best to soothe him.

You kissed his forehead, “Of course. You’d do the same for me wouldn’t you?”

He looked up at you again as you started to wipe what remained of his tears from his face. He was sure he looked like a complete mess, but somehow you were still smiling at him so sweetly. He felt the heat rise to his cheeks, and you gave him a soft laugh. That was your Leviathan alright.

“Obviously,” he said, looking away.

“I think there was one more Q&A session scheduled,” you offered, trying to see if he was interested. Finally, he smiled back at you and you could see that familiar sparkle in his eyes. He definitely did not want to miss out on this, not when he had the chance to shake hands with his favorite manga artist. He bet they even had signed copies of the latest release available. And this artist usually had stickers and keychains to pass out. He just had to get a matching set for you and him. And maybe Mammon too. Maybe.

You stood up, your legs stiff from the awkward position you had been sitting in. You hadn’t realized just how uncomfortably you had been positioned until now, and your knees felt like jelly. You started to wobble slightly, but Levi had already gotten up himself and grabbed your arm to steady you.

“C’mon. Let’s go find Mammon and get to the conference hall. If we hurry, I bet we can get some good seats too. Oh is this the one that always hands out keychains and stuff?”, you asked as you stretched your legs and started to test out your ability to walk again.

He smiled even more brightly, knowing that you had remembered, “Yeah! I really wanted a chance at grabbing a matching set. If that’s ok with you, I mean.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” you said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. He couldn’t help but blush again. How did you always manage to say just what he wanted to hear? How did you always know what would make him happy? He thought about all the fun you had had together earlier that morning, and all he had to look forward to this evening.

Yeah, he was glad he left his room today.

#gn!mc #poly mc #tw: panic attack #obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me levi #levi x mc #levi x poly mc #mammon x mc x levi #obey me fanfic #obey me angst #obey me comfort #levi comfort #levi fanfic #levi angst

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dcattacksquad · 4 years ago

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Wanna fight?

Pairing: Jiu/Sua

words: 1675

Warning: alcohol, some swearing

Bora was glad that she was able to convince Minji, her girlfriend, to come with her and the others to the club. Without her she would also have fun, but it wouldn't be the same. They both were on the dancefloor, already dancin for what felt like hours. Bora could feel the music in her whole body, thrumming through every nerve. She had missed coming here, forgetting about the stress of everyday life. Minji's body so close to her, occasionally grinding against hers. To see what she could do without Minji stopping her, she let her hands wander a bit. In case she got scolded she would just blame the alcohol. She hadn't drank too much so it would really affect her, but enough to feel it.

Bora was admiring her girlfriend. Her low cut top and the shorts were fitting her perfectly, hugging her curves and invoked to need to touch her even more. When Bora's hand reached the sliver of skin between top and shorts, that wasn't covered by the fabric, she suddenly got yanked forward. She was pressed against her girlfriend, Minji's hands on her butt. Normally Minji was the one to hold back, at least in public (when they were alone Minji's behaviour turned completely around), so Bora was surprised by that. A shiver ran down her spine when she felt Minji's breath against her ear, her hands giving her butt a squeeze “I`m gonna get us drinks. You go and join the others.” and with that Minji was lost in the crowd, leaving Bora alone. The tone she used did not leave room to disobey and Bora knew better than to defy Minji.

When she arrived at the table she was greeted by their chaotic behavior. “Come on Gahyeon. You can do it. Drink! Drink!” Siyeon and Yoohyeon were trying to get the youngest to drink a bottle of beer in one go. Which was not the best idea, their youngest was a lightweight. While Bora was not really surprised by the antics of the troublemakers, it surprised her that neither Handong nor Yubin were stopping them. They were the voices of reason (and fun stoppers) in their little group. Bora almost laughed when she looked at Dami. She was holding onto her glass filled with some unknown alcohol as if her life depended on it and seemed like she was already past her limit for the day. Then she glanced at Handong, silently asking her why she was not saying anything to stop them. As an answer she got a shoulder shrug from the other and an expression that just said ‘I don’t give a fuck anymore’. Apparently she had already stopped something stupid today. Focusing her attention back on the troublemakers, Bora saw Gahyeon looking questioningly at her. So she raised an eyebrow, to provoke her a bit “What are you looking at me kiddo? You are not a baby anymore, you can drink it.” Gahyeon was not one to back down from that, always trying to prove herself to the older, she brought the bottle up to her lips. When she started to drink, Siyeon and Yoohyeon started to cheer for her. First it looked good for her, but after around half of the bottle she started to cough and had to stop drinking. Her cheerleaders looked disappointed at that “Aw man. I really thought you could do it” Siyeon pouted at her. Bora gave Gahyeon a pat on the back and sat down beside her. “Are you okay?” she asked her “you don’t look so good right now.” Gahyeon took a deep breath “I think I’m gon- No, no I’m good. I’m good.” deciding not to say anything to that, Bora just looked at her with doubt filled eyes. After that they talked and joked for a bit, until Bora started to wonder where Minji was. It should not have taken her this long to get their drinks. So she looked to the bar and was glad that she could spot her girlfriend pretty fast. The red hair made her stand up out of the crowd. Which was also the reason why some random guy was hitting on Minji, HER girlfriend. Big emphasis on HER. Bora would never admit that she was possessive or jealous, she just thought that no one was allowed to flirt with what was hers. With fire in the eyes she excused herself from her friends, which got her a few confused looks, and started to march over to the bar. Her eyes never left Minji and that….guy. She knew that Minji would never flirt with someone, but she was too nice to just turn someone straight down, more trying to ease them into it so they won’t feel too bad. When she arrived there, a murderous glint in her eyes, she tried to hold herself back. Minji and her had some talks in the past to not go off on people, it was mostly Minji talking and Bora listening and nodding to everything Minji told her, but still. Her body was turned towards the guy, her face turned to Minji “Hey, you meet a friend or…?” The guy chuckled, stopping Minji from answering “No, I’m not her friend. Not yet. Just getting to know that hottie here. So why don’t you leave us alone again. Or if you want I could get to know the both of you. If you know what I mean.” Bora knew exactly what he was talking about and she could feel the anger rising in her. “Babe…” she turned away from Minji, standing as tall as she could “can i punch him for you?”. Minji then took one of her hands in hers, silently asking her to keep calm. Boras opponent was at least a head taller than her, he was now eyeing her up and down before he started to laugh at her. “You… want to… to punch me?” he brought out between his laughter “you are a fucking dwarf”. Okay, Bora really tried to keep calm, really she did and someone should give her an award for that. But calling her a dwarf? Hell no. So she freed herself from Minji's grasp and was now right in front of the guy, a finger stabbing in his chest. Her other hand was balled to a fist, she spat at him “A dwarf?! You wanna fight, you fucker!!? I promise you, you will not suffer long..”

Back at their table Siyeon had seen what was happening and brought the attention of the others to it. Nursing a glass of wine in her hand, Handong had an amused expression on her face “Do you ever wonder how there can be so much rage in such a small body?” Yoohyeon had to laugh at this, until she got a kick at the shin from Gahyeon. Since her and Bora were the same height, she did not really like this talk about shorter people. Rubbing her shin, she pointed at Bora at the bar. Bora was repeatedly stabbing her finger at the guy’s chest, it looked kinda painful, judging from the look on his face. It seemed as if he had not suspected such a violent reaction and now he did not really know how to react. Attacking her or running away from the scene where both ways to lose his face. Siyeon looked a bit worried “Should we go there and back her up?” She hated confrontations, but she would always stay by her friends. Yubin then glanced up from her drink, the death grip still on the glass “Nah, she looks fine” and with that her eyes were again glued to her drink.

Minji was a bit torn. Seeing Bora this angry, rage in her eyes and body tense, was hot. She would never say that to Bora, the latter would then just use it as an excuse to rage at everyone who dared to flirt with Minji. On the other hand, she did not want this to escalate further and get thrown out. So she made a decision. Before anyone could react, she had grabbed her little ball of pure rage with one quick movement and thrown her over her shoulder. That did not stop Bora from insulting the guy. Minji then turned in the direction of the exit and started her way out of the club, she ignored Bora who was now screaming at her to let her down and the small fists hitting on her back. When they were almost at the door, Bora stopped hitting Minj’s back, pointing her finger at the crowd “To the next one to try to hit on my girlfriend: I’ll end you!” and with that they were out the door. Minji let out the breath she was holding, when they were outside and the cold air hit her face. She hoped that it would help to cool her girlfriend down, literally.

The moment Minji threw Bora over her shoulder the others knew that it was time to go. Handong told Yoohyeon to get the things of Minji and Bora, while she herself, freed the drink from Yubin’s hands. With a shrug of her shoulders, she first downed the rest of Yubin’s drink and then her own wine, which got her a look from Gahyeon between admiration and disgust. When they finally were ready to follow the two, they had to hurry. Yoohyeon mumbled something about not angering Minji too much. “...only you okay? Forever.” they only heard the rest of Minji’s little speech to calm Bora down. She had her arms tight around the smaller one, Bora’s face pressed into her neck. When Minji saw the others she gave them a small smile. “Okay now that everyone is here, let’s go home. We have to burn some excessive energy…” her wink at the end told them enough, the fake gag sounds from them making her laugh. With that she ended the hug with Bora, took one of her hands in hers and started their walk home...

#dreamcatcher sua #dreamcatcher jiu #dreamcatcher #dreamcatcher scenarios #kpop scenarios

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365days365movies · 4 years ago

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March 12, 2021: Jason and the Argonauts (1963) (Part Two)

Probably shouldn’t have talked so much in the first part...

Well, it’s all good. Epic-length Recap for a movie about an epic tale! Greek mythology, man, what can I say? Other than, of course, let’s keep going! Part One of the Recap is right here!

Recap (2/2)

OK, so where were we? OH RIGHT, Heracles fucked up!

See, Talos is a bronze giant with various origins. In one case, like in the movie, he was built by Hephaestus. He was built with a single vein, which ran from his neck to his ankle, and contained a golden ichor that sustained him like blood. Said vein was protected by a nail in his ankle, and he would bleed out and fall to the ground useless if it were removed.

So, sure, I could talk about the fact that Talos only encountered the Argo on the return journey, after they’d gotten the Fleece already, and that all he did was throw rocks at them as they passed the island of Crete (which he protected), only for...somebody who’s coming in later...to put him to sleep, allowing the group to pass. But, uh...

Yeah, that’s cool as shit. Which the Argo basically FUCKED for now, Jason speaks with the figurehead of Hera, and asks for some advice. She simply says to look to his ankles. I like where this is going. She also tells him that this is Heracles’ fault, which I’m sure pissed her off even more, given their history. That’s confirmed when Jason and the remaining Argonauts make it to shore, and Heracles is still holding the staff, the great idjit.

Jason quickly formulates a plan, and the Argonauts keep Talos’ attention while he gets close to observe his ankles. He notices a large stopper in the back, and sneaks up behind him to remove it. And once he does, the ichor releases itself. And it looks...awesome? Holy shit, it looks awesome.

And Talos falls to the ground, broken and dead, but at a cost. He falls on top of the frail Hylas, almost certainly killing him. Damn, poor dude. They repair the ship, and also try to find Hylas amongst the rubble and on the beach. An extremely guilty Heracles pledges not to leave the island until he finds Hylas, alive or dead.

The rest of the Argonauts aren’t happy about this, and refuse to sail without the guy who’s inarguably the most powerful amongst them all. Jason decides to burn his last bit of help from Hera, who informs ALL of the Argonauts that Hylas is dead, and that Heracles is not fated to accompany them any further. Which, yeah, is similar to how that plays out in the myths. And so, off they go to find a blinded man named Phineus, on Hera’s command.

Phineus (Patrick Troughton), meanwhile, isn’t having the best time in the world. On the island of Thrace, the seer Phineus is being attacked by the vicious Harpies, pictured here as demonic women with the wings of bats. Phineus, see, was punished by Zeus or revealing the future to mankind, and was both blinded and beset upon by the Harpies for all of his days.

The Argonauts save him from the Harpies’ recent torment, and Phineus agrees to help them IF Jason can permanently free him from the Harpies. Jason agrees, although Zeus is seemingly pissed off by this promise. The deed is accomplished by having Phineus serve as bait to the admittedly badly composited Harpies, and the Argonauts capture them by using nets to trap them.

And no, that’s not how it goes down in the original myth. But, since the Wind Brothers aren’t in here, there’s not an option for an aerial chase between them and the Harpies, which...holy shit, I NEED this to be in a modern movie, can we remake this? Please? PLEASE??

Now that they’ve completed their side of the bargain, Phineus feasts and gives them directions to Colchis: go through the Clashing Rocks, and head from there to Colchis. Without the protection of the gods at this point, Phineus offers them a clay token of some kind, and they part ways. The Argonauts make their way to the Clashing Rocks, which seem totally fine. But Argos is suspecious of this, not trusting Poseidon and other gods of the sea. They observe another ship coming through the Rocks. And it initially seems fine...until...

The rocks tear the other ship apart, and also cause the deaths of one of the Argonauts as well. The other ship sinks, but Jason insists on going through despite this. He says that the gods want their entertainment. Zeus overhears that, and says that he’s going to far with that comment. However, and unhappy Hera agrees with Jason, that the gods themselves are going to fair with this gambit.

In their little game in Olympus, Hera is left with only one movie, which she enacts as Jason throws the clay token into the sea. And from it...

Holy shit, it’s Triton (Bill Gudgeon)! A merman (and eventual father of a Little Mermaid), Triton was the son of Poseidon and the sea goddess Amphitrite. A messenger for his father, Triton is one of the most prominent symbols of the sea gods, which aren’t limited to Poseidon. And while he had absolutely nothing to do with the Clashing Rocks, he did encounter the Argonauts on their journey back. But yeah, not much to his appearance there that warrants mention.

What DOES warrant mention is what happens afterwards. See, the Argonauts row like hell, and they make it through with Triton’s help. But Jason sees a survivor of the other ship’s destruction. That survivor is...Medea (Nancy Kovack).

WHAT

Um...no. Medea, see, is the daughter of the King of Colchis, Aeëtes. She’s the head priestess of Hecate, and a powerful sorceress in her own right. She meets Jason on Colchis, and definitely had no ability to leave the island on her own, or even with other people in general. Once meeting Jason on Colchis, she quickly fell in love with him, and agreed to show him to the Fleece IF he pledged to get her off of the island. He agrees, and the two get married.

But Jason DEFINITELY doesn’t rescue Medea from a shipwreck, that’s for goddamn sure. Still, OK, I’ll deal with it. Jason and Medea introduce themselves, and the group heads towards Colchis. In the process, Jason decides to scout on the island alone, to the anger of Acastus. However, Jason’s now learned exactly who Acastus and his father are, and accuses him of trying to kill him. A fight ensues, and Acastus is thrown overboard. Son of Poseidon Euphemus (Doug Robinson), is sent after him, but the traitorous Acastus kills him, and disappears beneath the ocean waves.

On Colchis soon after, Medea heals Jason’s wounds with the nectar of a native flower, then invites him and the Argonauts to the performance of a ritual to Hecate, goddess of sorcery and magic. Also attending this ritual is Medea’s father, King Aeëtes (Jack Gwillim). There, he waits to meet with Jason, whom he invites to dine with them that evening, along with the Argonauts.

Jason is a bit caught off-guard by this, but they accept. At dinner, Aeëtes reveals that he knows he’s come for the Fleece, to take or steal it from Colchis. He’s been warned of this not by Medea, but of Acastus, who managed to make his way to the island after all. Dick. Jason and the Argonauts are imprisoned by Aeëtes and his men.

That night, Medea goes to pray to Hecate, the goddess of darkness who gave her the gift of foresight. In love with Jason, she decides to betray both Colchis and Hecate’s will in order to save Jason and his Argonauts. And as she goes to free Jason, this is a great time to talk briefly about one of the most complicated characters in Greek mythology: Medea. This is gonna be a little long, so you can skip it if you wanna just get back to the movie.

See, here’s the thing about worshipping a chaotic evil Greek goddess: you've gotta be a little chaotic evil yourself. And Medea...oh boy, Medea. In order to escape her dad, Medea distracts him by killing her brother. Yeah. She made amends for that act with the gods, and then helped to heal Atalanta, and defeat Talos. She also helped Jason’s dad, and Jason eventually fell in love with him, with some...help from Hera. That help resulted in Medea helping to kill Pelias, then fleeing to Corinth with Medea, where they married.

But 10 years of being married, Jason decided it would be a good idea to cheat on the terrifying chaotic evil sorceress for a younger woman. Which is when Hera, the GODDESS OF MARRIAGE, finally abandoned Jason. Medea, meanwhile, LOST it. She gave Jason’s new fiancée a poisoned wedding dress. She killed the bride AND her father in one fell shot when she hugged him. In front of him, she KILLED THEIR TWO SONS, then took the FUCK OFF FOREVER, leaving Jason a broken fucking husk, partially because of his own stupidity.

So, you can see why this little union here is a...mixed bag of emotions.

Medea pleads with Jason to flee with his men, without the Fleece in hand. Seeing that she can’t convince him away from it, she forces him to bring her along, and she will help him steal the Fleece from the tree where it rests. Jason and Medea free the Argonauts, and Medea tells the how to escape. They then head out to obtain the Fleece.

However, Aeëtes figures out pretty quick that Medea’s betrayed him and Colchis, and sends his men after them. Acastus, meanwhile, has headed out to get the Fleece for himself. Dick. And unfortunately, he finds it before Jason and Medea get to it.

And yet...when Jason arrives there to get it, the Fleece is still intact. And that’s because Acastus wasn’t able to take it, having been killed by the Fleece’s guardian...the Lernaean Hydra?

Um...wow. That’s a few hundred miles out of its natural distribution. Also, it’s alive? How? Hercules killed the SHIT out of it, a long-ass time ago! And in case you weren’t sure, no, this isn’t in the original myth. However, it’s a dragon guarding the Fleece instead, so...I guess they made a compromise? Shame, too, because the Colchian Dragon has the ability to create soldiers when its teeth are buried in the earth, similar to the Ismenian Dragon that was used by Cadmus.

...Sorry, went a little overboard. Anyway, Jason kills the Hydra (with no help from Medea, by the way), the Argonauts arrive to help him grab the Fleece, and Aeëtes and the Colchians follow after them, pissed off. Aeëtes prays to Hecate to deliver...the Hydra’s teeth. Interesting. If this is going where I think it’s going, then I will be VERY happy.

Aeëtes and his men collect the Hydra’s teeth, and set off after the Argonauts. They catch up, and they shoot Medea with an arrow, KILLING HER? WHAT? But then, Jason uses the Fleece to heal her wounds, and brings her back to life. OK, fine, fine, you can give the Fleece that bullshit superpower if Medea gets to live. Just then, Aeëtes shows up, bearing the Hydra’s teeth. He preys to Hecate once again, and throws the teeth onto the ground. And...

HELL YEAH, IT’S THE SPARTOI, BABY!

These undead soldiers created from the Dragon’s Teeth were originally sown by Cadmus, on command by Athena. He made them defeat each other, and therefore escaped their wrath. The Dragon itself was sacred to Ares, so this whole thing had some other implications.

In the Jason myth, Aeëtes made him sow the teeth in order to win the Fleece, and he did. Jason also defeated them in the same way that Cadmus did: he threw a stone amongst them, confusing them enough that they fought each other to figure out who threw the rock. But in this movie...in the movie, they’re just fighting. And I love it.

Look, I can never claim that Harryhause’s effects aged particularly gracefully, but this shit is still pretty goddamn awesome. Honestly, I’m having a ball watching this climactic fight between the skeletons and Jason’s crew. And this fight has consequences! The Spartoi here actually do kill some of Jason’s men, and end up forcing Jason himself off of a cliff into the water!

He escapes, and makes his way to the ship, just as Hera tells Zeus that the game is now over. He claims that it isn’t at all, and Hera looks on as Jason and Medea reunite on the ship. He gives the a reprieve, and...

WAIT WHAT??? That’s IT? It ended so...abruptly! We don’t even properly get a resolution, or see Jason return to Thessaly, or...THAT’S IT” ARE YOU GODDAMN KIDDING ME? WHAT THE HELL?

...See you in the Review, I guess. Damn.

#jason and the argonauts #don chaffey #ray harryhausen #todd armstrong #nancy kovack #honor blackman #ary raymond #laurence naismith #greek mythology #argonauts #argonautica #apollonius rhodius #user365 #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #365 movies a year #movie recap

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alias-b · 4 years ago

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sins of my youth. 007

Billy Hargrove x OC! Evie Fenny~ Also posted to my AO3

Summary: It was common knowledge that Billy Hargrove hated Hawkins. Hated Cherry Lane. Even loathed the strange girl next door. Evie Fenny wasn’t too fond of the chaotic Cali transfer either. An awful high school tradition sparks a chain of events that changes everything, ultimately bringing two frayed souls together.

A/N: New Year and school is back in session after winter break. Billy starts the grovelling process and observes some new things about Evie. TW: PICA-it's worse. Vomiting. Animal death mention. Student/Teacher relationship in the background. School bullies. Taglist open!!!

Chapter 7: One Bad Kiss Constellation

The first day back to school was uglier than Evie pictured. Fall of snow didn't get them out of classes.

Her stomach was already in knots, but that could have been the shiny things she’d eaten the night before.

Felt like a game. What would pass. What would tie her stomach up. These little trinkets she actually dug for, cleaned with bleach, and stacked on that empty shelf. Organized each item. Admired her display of will and control. Mostly keys and buttons. Couple nuts from a toolbox in their garage.

So far, everything came out. So far. Evie wondered what her insides would look like and tried to slow. Tried despite all the noise.

Calculus was first. Thankfully, she shared it with Heather who was all smiles. Chattering about her surprise mini trip with her parents.

They had it with Tommy and Carol too. All the fucking grins and looks Evie got burned. Tommy peering then shifting to Carol’s ear so she could giggle.

Evie’s pencil snapped within her fist so Heather glanced aside to see the pieces roll away.

“Okay, muscles.” She chuckled, passing a freshly sharpened one over.

“Thanks.”

“So, what’d you do for New Years?” All the scratching of lead on paper was driving Evie insane. Grating like an out of tune orchestra of vibrating strings.

“Just some lame party, the usual.” Evie was rubbing the back of her neck. Eyes glued to the page.

Carol giggled again. Fingernails sunk into the skin of Evie's hairline.

“Don’t know what her problem is.” Heather remarked to herself.

Evie shook her head. Lips pressing with no sound. Trying to focus on the problems along the page and not the ones fizzling in her life. Her desk was pressed into the far right wall next to all the campy posters teachers loved to decorate their rooms in.

About how there's always a silver lining and chase the morning.

Evie rolled her eyes at the thought. Caught sight of a sleek thumbtack there sticking out. Shiny and chrome. Lungs pulsed and she wondered about the weight on her tongue.

Strange how her mouth watered for it.

Two fingers subtly snatched it from the wall when the bell rang.

Second period was usually what she was excited about. English with Bowers and the sly smiles they beamed at each other across the room. Carol always looked between them. Jealous she wasn’t the hot teacher’s pet. She noticed a great deal there.

Evie shared the class with Steve also. And Billy who sat in the next row over just behind her. He stared at Evie, trying to read every twitch and shift of her body. A note hit her desk from Steve.

Brown eyes peered up as if to ask who it was being passed to, but he cocked his chin at her.

Fredrick sat quietly at his desk as they worked separately today. He didn’t see her unfold it.

What’s up with Hargrove? Looks like he’s trying to vaporize you with his laser eyes.

Evie hitched to stop herself from laughing at a picture with a stick figure and a mullet. Lasers blasting out of the eyes. She added some comically large muscles. Cleared her throat and wrote back.

He’s a creep.

Steve quirked a darling smile at her.

Billy saw a flash of stark, bloody red. Harrington made her grin without force.

“Okay, class, let’s see who read the material. Pass your papers up.” Fredrick stood to collect. “I’ll be reading these tonight and- Ah, Mr. Hargrove. Thank you for the scribbling of your Camaro. I hope the essay question is as detailed.”

“Been thinking about upgrading my girl, sir. Say, what do you drive?” Billy tapped his pencil, lazy as can be. “Cool guy, I bet.”

“Just a Plymouth. We muscle cars have to stick together.” Fredrick was pulling stacks of papers from the front. Billy didn’t drop it.

“That orange one? Yeah. I’ve seen it around.” Blue eyes drew to Evie at that. She felt a chill and peered back with a stony expression. “Bet the girlies all line up.”

A few classmates chuckled for their glorious king.

“It gets me from point A to B. That’s all I ask for.” Bowers only laughed.

"I'm sure it does." Billy mused coolly, fingers twisting his ring which caught the light.

The bell blared.

“Alright, class. We’re starting a new unit tomorrow. I hope you all have your Shakespeare hats ready.”

A collective groan sounded.

Evie rushed out to Yearbook with Jonathan, Nancy, and Heather. Only class she had where Seniors and Juniors mixed. Besides lunch if that counted. Got lost in dark rooms so the world couldn’t see her hands shaking.

"Here." Jonathan caught her trying to clip some photos up, fumbling with a stack.

"Thanks," Evie sighed, "too many pages for our losing sports teams, right?"

He chuckled at that.

"My thoughts exactly."

Jonathan went to help Nancy order some drafted pages when Heather crossed over. Eyes on Evie working.

"Something the matter?"

"Bourbon's not doing well. I expected it, but...he's just been with me through all of it. You know?" A frown etched. She didn't want to cry. Heather paused to hug Evie from behind.

"He's our little prince still. I'm sorry."

Her friend shifted out, pressed a smile and went back to work in silence. Groaned because Billy was in half these basketball photos. Alight and intense.

“Hey, I’m going to the library for lunch.” Evie spoke after that bell rang. “I’ll scarf my sandwich on the way.”

Heather observed her again. Watched how Evie avoided her eyes.

“Was...something else going on? I feel like I-”

“No, just missing the break.” Evie flashed her teeth to make it convincing.

She did manage to get half the sandwich down and tossed the rest out. Patted cold water on her cheeks once she was alone in the bathroom as everyone went to lunch. The hallway got quieter and Evie looked at her flushed face. Shuddered and reached for the pin in her pocket. Small. Deft. Dainty.

Stark point. Catching the light.

She washed it with soap. Opened her mouth to stick her tongue out. Cradled it there. Chrome and out of place against pink flesh. Lips closed. The point pressed down into her tongue. Evie winced. Tried to swallow and choked it back into her hand. Saliva dripping.

A spot of red welled. Loud and obscene and horrible. Tasting metal. Shame. Tears pooled.

So she pushed it back in like she’d done with the key to drown the noise out. Evie Fenny wasn’t a fucking quitter.

Swallow. Swallow. Swallow.

It scratched going down. Working around clenching muscles. Pangs fluttered. Fingers grasped the sink to bite a groan back.

Evie thought she heard the little plink of it hitting her stomach. Gasped to breathe. There wasn’t shame anymore, only pride. She powered through it. Had utter control.

Eyes locked with the mirror. Calm. Collected. Not in this body. Rust turned to sweet strawberries and rose petals.

Imagine stabbing something several times until it was beautiful.

Exhale.

** ** **

Carol and her gaggle still kept the laughter up in the cafeteria. She sat upon the table with Tommy next to her. Animated stories kept them hanging upon dripping syllables. Heather couldn’t stand it anymore. Pushed up to cross right over.

“What’s your problem today?” She cocked her hip.

“Oooh.” Carol clicked her glittery nails on the table. “So touchy, sweet pea.”

“What’s your problem with Evie, she didn’t do anything to you?”

“Other than her being a tart for Bowers. Nothing to me. In fact, she provides us with hours of entertainment. Had a hot date with the Keg King.” Carol nodded toward Billy across the way, sitting alone and clicking his lighter. Annoyed, he got up and went to sneak his usual lunch smoke.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Uh, isn’t Fenny your BFF?” Tina chimed in. “Shouldn’t you know?”

“Aw, that’s so cute, she didn’t tell you.” Tommy added with his crooked smile. “Must be so embarrassed. Poor girl.”

“You have five seconds-”

“I’m gonna tell you.” Carol decided. Finger curling to bring Heather in. “Only because it’s just too good.”

** ** **

Billy got one puff in before Princess Heather Holloway was smacking the cigarette from his fingers. Snarling and bright red to match the cute bow in her hair.

“Hey!”

“Hey yourself, what the fuck?” She pushed Billy clear into the brick wall. Chilled him more than the breeze. A new flutter of snow began to fall with no peace in sight. Her face was flushed cherry with anger. “I know about your little Skirt Safari bullshit! You tricked Evie! You hurt my friend...you’re an asshole.”

Billy just sagged at her. Reached to pluck up his cigarette and got it slapped again. Heather crushed it with her expensive shoe for good measure.

“You had no right to do something so disgusting! Carol and Tommy filled me in.”

His brow lifted.

“...Evie didn’t tell you?”

“The last thing Evie wants is for people to see her in pain, so I know you hurt her bad.” Her arms crossed. “Well?” A cold breath puffed.

“It wasn’t supposed to-”

“You mean, she wasn’t supposed to find out about the bet. You’re so selfish. You’re a selfish little prick. Stay the hell away from my friend.”

She turned and a hand snatched her wrist.

“Heath-”

“What?” She shrugged with some extra ire. Eyes flickering like flames. “I think you’ve done enough.”

Billy let her go, looked elsewhere. No syllables to make her stop fuming. Heather huffed at him and marched back inside to find Evie at her locker. Shoulders dropped.

“Hey…” Heather’s slow approach still gave Evie a fright. Huge doe eyes looking far too somber.

A sigh.

“Who told you?”

“Carol and those jerks.” Heather pressed her lips. “Just scared Hargrove shitless, I think. I’m sorry, I wish you told me. You said you'd tell me things.”

“This thing... It doesn’t matter. He tricked me, whatever.” Evie’s arms went out then dropped. She faced her locker. Toyed with the handle and pressed her book closer. “It was all stupid. For a moment, I thought he… I thought a boy might-”

“He’s a little prick.” Heather turned her friend around.

“We had fun. We danced. I kissed him first. Did Carol tell you that part?” Evie sucked in some air.

"Oh?"

“Yeah, I kissed him and I was going to screw him too. I was gonna go to a motel with Billy Hargrove for New Years and, you know, I...I wanted to. I really wanted him... But, it doesn’t matter. They can talk about it all they like.” She moved to go, slamming her locker shut. “I don’t care. It won’t bother me. It's stupid. All of it.”

“Evie, don’t shut down, please.”

“I’m fine.” Sneakers skidded when Heather stepped in front of her. "Boys like Billy Hargrove don't go for girls like me. He doesn't want me. That's not news."

Evie remembered all the hot bodies jumping around. The crowds and fireworks blasting along with a musical beat. Moments where she'd felt incandescently delighted next to Billy and the lingering of their starry eyes. Like they'd been meant to find each other all this time.

"Getting mad about this is the same as being upset about the pattern of stars. It's pointless." Evie swallowed a thicker lump down.

No, that's what ached. Billy made her believe they could be rewritten. Made her want to defy the stars.

“Let’s hang out this weekend. A no boys party for both of us.” Heather smiled, taking Evie's hand. “He’s not even a boy, Eve, he’s a little prick. Let’s just have some fun. Friday? Sleepover. You pick the first movie.”

“I’m fine, Heath,” the words sounded funny now, “but okay. Sleepover.”

“Good.” A brighter smile crossed so Evie matched it. She let Heather hug her and managed to make it through classes all the way to her free period avoiding Billy’s eyes on her skull. Sneaking out was an art form she’d perfected. Quick steps to her locker and toward the door. Stopping only to see into the theater when stage lights turned rose red.

Evie peeked in. Beamed.

“Mr. B.” She shuffled inside after checking the hallway. "Fredrick."

“I’m alone, Evie, come sit with me.” He patted the table next to the lightboard he was working on. The glow changed to a softer pink. Made it all less menacing. Bathed in blush, she crossed the illumination and scooted up onto the cool surface. Skirt shifting over black tights. “Bad day?”

“Bad start to the year.”

"Classmates? I can always fail them for you." He'd joked.

She smiled, head shaking so he continued.

“They’re intimidated by you, Evie, because you’re too ahead and mature for them. Soon, you'll be out in the world and they'll be left stumbling.” He peeked up behind a pair of glasses. This was old times. Encouragement. Nurturing. “Much like the director of the winter show who asked me to fix this damn thing last minute.”

She giggled then, touching her lips.

“You look pretty in this light. You should wear pink more often, instead of red.” He remarked and she crossed her ankles. Hands gripping the edge.

“Red makes me look and feel older.” Evie asserted herself.

“What about that wet gloss you used to wear in class?” His finger brushed her knee before he was picking up a screwdriver.

“Thought you didn’t like to kiss me with gloss on, you said it was too sticky.”

“I appreciate it more now that I’ve lost it. Just like you, Evie. You were there for me. It's something special to have a person. Don't you think?” He winked. Fredrick Bowers made her laugh and smile. Listened to her and gave back. Most days.

All she longed for was to impress him. Please him. Be enough for someone.

"It's not fair that I cannot kiss you here." He uttered. "Now. I'd like to."

"Just kiss me?" Evie flicked some curls, drew her fingers across her collar so he fixated there.

Played this version of herself that came out around him. This woman in red with cool words. Always game. She bit her lip and he paused to see her again. A smile crossed before they were interrupted.

Evie looked up as the door opened and Carol stood there. A glare already on her pouty face. Fredrick scooted a good few inches from Evie. Quickly.

“Sorry, I just had some questions about the reading. Mr. B.” Carol flashed a smile.

"Of course, Carol. My door is always open. Evie, thank you for the inquires. I'll be getting back with you. Soon."

Evie perked and got up.

“I'll hold you to that... We just finished. Thanks, Mr. B. For all the help.” She seemed all too chipper at Carol going green with envy. The redhead knocked into her shoulder passing, but Evie gripped her bag and went out. Frowned at the snow piling because she’d ridden her bike in.

Still, Evie was stubborn, so she got on and pedaled down the street. Sleet making it more difficult when a fucking Camaro revved down the way behind her. Billy honked once and got ignored. Pulled up in front of her and skidded over which sent Evie into a pile of frosty, dead leaves. Tumbling.

“Hell.” She just laid there until Billy Hargrove was in the line of sight. Craning to see her and utterly stunning against the opal skies. “What’s it going to take for you to leave me alone, huh? Three hundred bucks?” She untwisted from her bike and Billy yanked her up, brushing snow aside until he got smacked off with two heated expressions penetrating.

“You’re screwing Bowers, aren’t you?” He’d hissed it.

Oof.

“You’re delusional.” Evie charged past him. Legs aching as she pushed her bike.

“Max saw you in his car. He’s always looking at you. Is that where you go when you sneak out your window three times a week?”

“No!” Evie swiveled. Breath ghosting.

“But, you’re still fucking him.” Billy slid in front, hands on the bike handles to stop her again. There was a struggle. Her cheeks puffing as she feebly tried to push him back. Teeth clenched.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Will you just move?” Her entire face scrunched together. All daggers. Slowing, Evie spelled it out for him. Drew closer. “And no one will ever believe you.”

“You think I’m trying to make your life worse, Angel? I just want you to admit it.”

"Admit, what? You have major issues? Fine! Easy! Now move!" She barely got a few inches forward with his muscles buldging. Two immovable objects.

"Open those pretty lips and say it. You're fucking our teacher. I wanna hear it from that mouth." Billy paused, chest shuddering. "You went to him after what I did. I should have stayed with you."

“I don’t owe you any of this. You're obsessed!” She shoved into him. No budging, the boy was made of steel.

“He’s a fucking pedophile. We had those in California too, chica. Maybe they don’t like the term round these parts. You think he's making you feel good, but he's setting you on fire to warm himself. That fuse is creeping, babe.” Billy pushed back until she was sliding toward his car. Slush wetting their shoes.

"You're unbelievable!"

“I’m not looking to tell anyone, got that?" Billy caught her gaze in the teetering. Held it. "I’m just saying you don’t have to do it. Anyone ever tell you that you don't have to do something, Evangeline?"

Evie stopped pushing to stare with bigger eyes as he continued. Expression crestfallen because something resonated.

"Being a good girl has a cost, you do everything people tell you to do until your organs start spilling.”

“I'm not the only one with a front. Fuck you!”

A beat.

“You almost did that night.” Billy cocked his head. "I would have made you moan so pretty. I wanted to." Evie’s mouth dropped before she shoved him into the snow. Bike falling away. He looked thrilled. About to pitch a fucking denim tent. “There you are. I would have fucked you so hard and so good, babe. Bet you even taste like heaven and stardust. Yeah? Fucking hit me.”

“Hit you?” Evie stilled over him. “You’re just trying to make yourself feel better. Fuck off, Billy.” She yanked at her bike again. He puffed there, chest sinking before he shot back up. Newfound vigor.

Growled.

“I’m sorry.”

Even the snow stilled with him. She swerved and saw him crack.

“Evie, I’m fucking sorry, okay? I’m shit at this and I‘m sorry. I’m sorry I took you to that stupid dance and screwed you over. I'm sorry you got hurt. I am sorry, got it!”

“You’re sorry that you got caught.” She pointed.

“I’m not leaving you alone.”

“Listen, Billy,” Evie spun and dropped her bike, “I don’t need anything from you. Nothing. Okay? Just let it go, I really don’t know why you can’t. Be sorry somewhere else. The stars are where they are. Life goes on.”

“Fuck the stars! They're too far away to stop us. I kissed you after midnight. I gave the fucking money away. I wanted out of it and I fucked up. I did. I'd change that, but I wouldn't change the night with you. Hear me? I didn't lie about that much." He strained to catch those brown eyes.

She opened her mouth and closed it quicker. Almost softened.

"I didn't fake that and I was shitty to take you to that place. That fucker Tannen used me to get back at you and I’m fucking sorry about it.” Billy seemed to rage the thoughts out. “You liked it too. The kiss. Don’t pretend you didn’t.”

"If you call that a kiss." Sarcasm seeped out.

"Yeah, I recall us sharing a couple." Billy laughed. Dry and disbelieving. "I was drunk, but I remember every damn second of how you felt."

“You’re not fooling me again.” Evie crushed in on herself, pressed onward. Skidding to go away from Billy Hargrove. What the hell could he possibly want out of this?

“I’ll leave you alone,” Billy sprang forward and grabbed her back wheel, “if you kiss me again and tell me it’s nothing. Just one more. Redo it. Yeah? To hell with the stars, we'll change them.”

She looked in awe at him. Shoulders dropped.

"It wasn't even that good of a kiss."

"Then, what do you have to lose over another bad one?" Billy's head tilted up. Wild as can be. Evie matched it. Both of their curls moving up against the sweep of cold winds. Hungry looks about them. Billy undid her with a damning utter. "Prove me wrong, Angel."

He fucking triple dog dared her.

Evie practically kicked her bike aside, stomped toward him, and grabbed his face to smash their lips together. Billy pounced back with a barely there sound. Shoved Evie into the side of his car.

Another vehicle honked and went around them. Probably too shocked to do much else with teenagers unable to control their hormones in the middle of the road.

Moaning like he was in a porno, Billy made this one count. Hands palmed at her ass, bringing Evie up a few inches. Tongue down her throat near ready to prick himself on the pin she'd swallowed.

She hitched as he pulled her hair to see lush hooded eyes again. But, briefly.

"Yeah?" He twisted those curls around, both of them moaned. Challenge dancing. You like that, Angel? Evie's fingers were clutching at his jacket. A nod followed. She let him trail his tongue against her lips and opened her mouth for it again. Tasted spearmint.

Drunken bodies kept moving and smacking back into his car. Billy even tried to pull her shirt up out of her skirt to touch the flesh underneath. Evie jolted out from him, having not been ravished like that by a boy so unafraid to touch her.

And she shuddered apart. Kept her eyes closed so Billy did too.

It was the only way to prolong this. A softer kiss where their noses brushed after. Foreheads pressing together. Ardent and lovely. Total silence was a thrill. Billy nuzzled his nose into her own again, pulling her body into his. Fingers crept barely under her shirt. Caressed the tender skin. Lungs and hearts needy beyond repair.

Constellations twisting together until a single question dawned. Can I keep you?

Evie quaked for air and saw him. Lashes long and too beautiful. Freckles. Snow falling like confetti. An ache flooded back. The pin pricks in her tongue jabbed. Arms pushed up at him. Felt the thumping in his chest.

Holding his jaw steady, lipstick smeared to damn them both.

“Do you always kiss the same way a thirsty dog laps at water?” She shoved him backwards. A spit trail left their mouths. Red glistened on Billy’s lips and chin. A sleazy grin cracked, tongue wiggling out to taste her still on him. Neither could breathe right.

“Haven’t had complaints.” He gasped for air. “Are you judging my technique?”

“Yeah, it sucks.” Evie puffed with more force. “And I felt nothing. Got it? Nothing. Leave me alone now.”

“You’re a shitty liar.” He watched her swerve.

“And you’re a shitty person!” She wiped her mouth. Billy stopped dead, dropped everything he was feeling to let that pierce him. “I felt nothing! Leave me alone.”

“No.” Billy decided as she plucked her bike up.

“No?"

"You heard me." A child. "No. Nope. Nada."

"But, you just said-”

“I fucking lied and now you know how it’s done.” He went around his car. “Maybe I’m a shitty person, but at least I don’t hate myself enough to lie and screw-”

“Spare me!” Evie screamed over him. Chilling. She got onto her bike and went down a dirt path so Billy couldn’t follow her.

“Fuck.” Billy slammed his car door getting back in. Revved up again, hitting the wheel. “Fuck!”

He’d made it worse.

** ** **

Billy made an attempt to leave Evie Fenny alone. Sorta. Didn’t even stare at her in school. Didn’t bring up Bowers. Pretended he didn’t hear her sneaking out to wherever.

He even tried screwing other girls. Drinking and partying to forget.

Another problem came with that.

He couldn’t keep his shit up. Tried everything. Got into bed with two girls and stayed soft. Pretended he was just too smashed.

All he saw was Evie Fenny looking at him with her huge, sad eyes. It made him furious and he tried to hate her. Tried to jerk himself off and only thought of her lipstick smearing his skin. Her amber perfume drowning his senses. Her body flush against his.

Then, he was coming.

He felt like shit about all of it and that turned to rage. No hate came, it just burnt.

Meanwhile, Evie was lining pins and screws up for her collection. She wrote down every little thing she ate and what came out.

It was supposed to all come out eventually and she'd be there to control it.

She thought of the amethyst gemstone sparkling inside her and wondered how such a thing could make her feel so happy and alive.

Even when her stomach began to ache with little pricks through the day. Even when her appetite was often ruined. Even with she tried again at times to stop it for good. The cravings undid her.

She smiled through the pain just like she was taught. A woman's disposition.

I am fine. This is fine.

Something collided distantly. Two arrows through the same heart. Spitting blood everywhere.

One night, Evie wasn’t sneaking out.

Billy still heard her scratching around the side of the house. Couldn’t help peeking to see her dragging a shovel. Holding a painted square under one arm. She set a decorated shoe box aside and started digging a hole just at the back corner of her house. Struggling to break ice and snow. Head bowed so wet curls covered her chilled face.

He opened his window.

“Hey.”

“Go away.” She sniffled. Crying.

Billy hadn’t heard or seen her cry. Not even over him and what he did. Not for anything. The sound jarred him, he thought she might have been holding in laughter.

Blue eyes drew to the box again and he realized it. Bourbon. The strange cat hadn’t been spying on him lately.

“Please,” she turned her neck to barely peer at him through red rimmed eyes, “just go away.” Evie wiped her nose and let a fresh sprinkling of snow melt on her cheeks. She still looked pretty there, utterly fatigued. Wispy, wet curls framing her splotchy expression.

"You took good care of him." Was all he said. Evie turned back. Shoulders lifting.

Billy did the only thing he could do for once.

He left Evie alone.

Listened to her hum and dig to bury the beloved cat. Billy didn’t see Evie stuff a handful of soil into her pocket and go back inside to her empty house because her mother was always out with friends or working. She went to the phone in her bedroom. Luckily, Evie got her own line two Christmases ago. She dialed.

“Hello?” Her prince.

“Can I come over?” Evie sniffled. “Bourbon died.”

“Who?”

“My cat.” Dark eyes narrowed before she started to pick at some peeling wallpaper. “You remember?” She talked about the little ball of fuzz all the time.

“Oh, that’s unfortunate, Evie.” Fredrick sighed for her. “I’m not sure after what happened last weekend. I still think you need time.”

She spazzed out as the teenagers say.

“I just...wasn’t comfortable doing that. The ropes freaked me out, I can’t explain it.” She shook her head. "I can try again, can I come over?"

"So, now I'm just pushing you into it? Don't make me the bad guy, Evie, I won't be that. I'm here for you, but I want to go at your pace. You know that."

"No, no, you're not pushing," came the protest, "I can do it. I'll try. I just wanna see you. I need to be touched." That sentiment got her welling again.

“Evie, it’s like you don’t trust me to look after you.” He replied in a clinical sort of way. “I’m risking everything to be with you."

"I know."

He said it often.

"You couldn't stop crying," he sniffled like he might weep over it, "you make me feel so helpless at times. Do you realize that?"

"I"m sorry..." Evie crushed into the phone as he made it about him. His needs. His inability to keep her happy. That was her fault.

"Too often, I think your head is just up in the clouds. These nightmares you have and the way you press into the wall when you sleep. Like you don't want me to touch you. And last week, dear, you just...wouldn't stop crying."

"I promise I won't cry anymore." She's promised her mother that as well in silence. "I swear. I'll stop."

"This fixation on your little poems. We used to have adult conversations about the future. It's like a part of you is locked away. You don't want me to touch it. What’s the matter with you?”

“Songs.” Evie replied flatter.

“What?”

“They’re songs, not poems.”

“I just mean, you should be more practical."

"I don't know what's wrong with me." Evie decided at last. Clutching the phone cord in her shaken fist. Haunted. "I can't stop."

She didn't know if she wanted to. This cycle that was eating her.

"I got back into this because I wanted you. I see a future with us. Do you want me just as bad? Think on it. I'll give you the time. When you're ready, I'm here.” Bowers advised. He wanted her to want him so bad. “We’ll talk another day. Next weekend maybe.”

"Fredrick, please-"

The line cut.

She'd been too needy, he like that on his terms. Liked when she crawled and when she needed him so bad. When she gave into everything he desired without a fuss. Fredrick wanted Evie, but he wanted a specific version of Evie. The bouncy girls on television game for anything, who had every answer. Fizzling emotions unsettled him. They were childish. But, he wanted her lips to be glossy and pink. Wanted her to be an adult woman in a spring breaking teen's body.

You'd think he was still married to his uptight wife and fucking the damn babysitter.

Evie set the phone down. Stuffed a handful of dirt into her lips. Smothered herself with it. Gritty, it stuck to her teeth like an Oreo cookie. Tiny stones shifted as she tried to swallow too much at once. She got another handful in before her gag reflex choked her. Feet scrambled to puke brown and bile into the toilet.

The Lego she ate earlier came up too. Found it helping Claudia and Dustin clear their basement. Shiny and blue.

Her stomach curdled. A few tears squeezed before she was scooping that up. Slippery with acidic bile. Pushing it back into her mouth. With her throat raw, it hurt worse the second time but it went down.

Control. She was in total control. That’s what she told herself. Curled up next to the toilet. Scalp heating while her lips hung slack.

“Nothing is the matter with me.” Evie told herself because stopping meant that thudding ache in her chest would glow all neon and rose red.

** ** **

Billy wasn’t going to leave Evie alone. He decided that after a wet dream one morning. These things were not to be taken lightly by teenage boys.

I’m sorry. It didn't cut it. Actions, that’s what Susan advised, not that he’d admit prying advice from his chirpy stepmother. Vague as can be, Billy hung out in the kitchen doorway dropping rough hints.

Maxine was more blunt when Susan asked her later.

“Oh, yeah, he’s totally crushing on Evie and he messed it all up.” She said between the lazy crunching of salty chips.

“That’s what I thought.” Susan sighed. An hour of Billy barking and hiding around the doorway told Susan that much. She was young once.

“But, he did something. She’s mad at him.”

“Well, Neil works late tomorrow, I asked Billy if he’d take me to Mona’s salon. She wanted me to go out with her friends. A dessert and wine thing she likes to host.”

“Did you tell Neil?” Max was fixing a wheel on her skateboard and snacking. Poor thing wasn't getting use with all the snow fall. Susan only smiled.

“Would you like to go get your hair done?”

“Ick.” Max cringed at the thought of those huge rollers and hairspray.

“Max.” Susan replied carefully. “Evie works tomorrow, doesn’t she? Saturday.”

She got the idea with her eyes lighting up.

“Oh!” Max blew air out her lips. “Just this once, then.”

“That’s my girl.” Susan figured if Billy was convinced it was all her idea, the day would go smoother.

** ** **

Something else Billy Hargrove learned about Mona was her hair changed with the seasons. Locks big and bold but now a strawberry blonde. A head start for spring despite it still being January.

Evie peered up at reception and noticeably, her face fell.

Susan figured whatever happened had to be bad. She’d never seen such a reaction from a teenage girl to her drop dead gorgeous stepson. Hell, Billy Hargrove could bat his lashes and have eggs dropping in every uterus within a fifty mile radius.

Might have been why Neil preferred to lock him in his room like he was the dirty tomcat about to impregnate all the neighborhood strays. Although, Neil had a list of reasons for how he treated Billy. None of them valid.

Mona went right for Max. Squished her cheeks in smelling of lavender hand cream.

“I’m so glad y’all are here! Maxie, I promise I won’t shock you. Just a wash and freshen. Make your hair nice and bouncy. It’ll shine. I always say: the higher the hair, the closer to God.” Mona took Susan’s hand. “C’mon over here. My new girl, Shelby, will get you started too. Little pampering does everyone good.”

“Hey.” Evie piped up, twirling a pen around. She’d eaten the cap an hour ago. Not much for chewing. Always up to the task of swallowing whole because she was a big girl.

Big girls sucked it up and swallowed.

Billy thought to go back to his car. Swayed on his feet there looking around at all the plants.

Actions.

They speak louder than words. Billy was a screamer.

“Miss Mona, I was thinking we could… Uh, for me.”

“You want a wash too, Billy?” She perked, hair bobbing as her little platforms clicked excitedly. “Come, come, sit down. Evie can get you shampooed to start.”

Evie’s entire body locked. Billy smirked at her, but noticed an opportunity reach her eyes. The pen stabbed back into a cup. Lips spread in a devious way. He saw horns spring out of her big curls.

Fuck, she looked hot though.

It drove him wild. Evie with a fire behind her eyes. All plush curves and lingering allure. That amber perfume melted him.

“I’d be so happy to help.” She gripped Billy’s leather bomber and jerked him into a chair. He had a semi at this point. "Get comfy."

Hell, the girl was plotting a murder with that smoldering expression. Still, Billy was game because she was giving him attention. His tongue swept pink lips. Peachy skin glowing.

There was something off about Evie too. This sunken manner like her energy had been sapped. The slightest dark circles under brown eyes. Skirt Safari was barely three weeks ago. He removed his jacket when Mona reached for it to hang it with Max’s and Susan’s.

Dead boy walking.

Max snickered from her chair across the way. She and Susan sat with little floral capes, already getting their pampering. Evie moved Billy’s hair and pulled a lilac cape around his neck.

“Ack!”

“Oh? Too tight. My bad.” She snapped a button. “Put your head back. Into the sink now.”

Billy thought to pray for mercy, tilted back into the porcelain. He asked for this. The sink went on. Ice.

“Too cold?”

“Nope.” Teeth chattered. Evie had that devilish look still. Decided to make it warmer. Lifted the nozzle and hit his face.

And Billy took it. Sputtering.

“Oh, so sorry…” Her tongue clicked. Didn’t even try to sound sincere.

“Just a little water. No big deal.”

Her bottom lip pouted. She sprayed his face again. Billy snickered through the coughing, fists held the chair tight.

“You’re fucking waterboarding me, Fenny.” He'd spat, blinking rapidly.

“What?” Evie paused then kept spraying him as he tried to reply.

“You’re-”

“I’m, what?” She came off and Billy snorted before the water splashed again.

“Ngh-ffff- ”

“Can’t hear you, Billy.” Evie caught Max losing it across the way.

The boy took all the torment like a champ so she let up. He didn’t even snap when she pulled his hair shampooing it.

“I like it rough, Angel.” Billy hissed at her fingers pulling so she sprayed him again. Made him buck like a mad feline. He seemed to almost love it. This was foreplay to him.

“Creep. Don’t pitch a tent in that cape.” Evie stuffed a towel in his face. Smiled cheerfully. All syrup. “We're done, mommy.”

“Let’s see what I can do for these curls, Billy.” Mona let Claudia work on Susan while her new hire took over for Maxine. “I hope Evie gave you a good start.”

She certainly revved his motor, but he wasn't going to tell her mother that.

“So nice. I feel even more relaxed now.” Billy twitched a stressed smile. Earned himself a few good boy points.

Evie cracked a grin at him, arms crossing before she went back to reception. Unbelievable.

Mona had Billy chattering about his car and school and how he'd just turned eighteen in December. Life was coming his way. Evie took to doodling song lyrics in no order and tapped her pen. Mona either talked Billy into hair curlers or just started doing it. Which was another bout of amusement.

And Billy stared at Evie the entire time. Even when she made it a point to face away. Sat on the stool with her legs crossed, leaning forward to jot her little lyrics down. Susan swept her eyes between them.

Both relentlessly stubborn.

“Mona, I’ve been wanting to repay you back for the dinner this month. How about tomorrow? Our place this time.” Came her voice when a hair dryer shut off.

“We’ll bring the dessert.” Fingers played with Billy’s curls. Reminded him of his mother. Fluffed some life into them. He decided this salon was better than the places he used to go.

Music played, songs changing as time continued. Evie decided her luck couldn’t get any worse when Carol’s red hair appeared in her line of sight. Walking with her little friend group without Tommy. Likely headed to the nail place down the block.

Carol spotted Evie behind glass and whispered something that had her friends howling before they went.

“Bitches.” Billy sauntered up behind her. Golden hair sparkling.

“As if you had nothing to do with that.” Evie smacked her notebook shut. Sat straighter as he shook his locks out. Curls shining with lift. Like the sun just kissed them.

“How do I look?” One brow rose. Teasing.

“The same.” Gorgeous.

“Lunch?”

“Already ate.” Evie’s lips pressed when she said that. They spoke out of earshot under the music. Not noticing the glances on them.

“Guess I’ll still be seeing you for dinner tomorrow.” Billy counted some bills out. Snatched a pen and scribbled a note on a single. Dropped the money on the counter and pushed the one he’d written on into her pocket. She lifted an arm and glared, but let him. “We'll do this again some time. The back and forth. I pull your hair and you pull mine."

"Unlikely."

"Hm. Invest in waterproof red lipstick. Don't they have waterproof makeup now? Looks better on you than on me." His voice dropped.

"Wow. Cocky now, are you?"

"I just think it'll take us a lot of tries to get to a bad kiss. Don't you, Evie?" He replied pointedly, leaning over to speak in that low baritone. Pure amber honey.

"I think you're in denial, Billy. Gotta put pride aside." Evie bit her tongue and turned away. Loathed the blush glittering her cheeks.

"Takes one to know. I’ll wait for Max in the car. Need a smoke. See you around, Angel.” Billy swayed off after grabbing his coat. Out into the cold.

Evie put his money in their register and plucked the dollar out.

“Sorry. -A shithead.”

Billy had even gone out of his way to draw a little frowny face with a tear. Evie caught him looking at her from his car and rolled her eyes, stuffing the bill away.

Tried not to smile. Failed.

“Billy doesn’t do this kind of thing.” Max appeared a bit later. Glowy and red. Vibrant. “Just...so you know.”

“It shows.” Evie sighed out her nose. Watched Max say bye to her mother since she was staying with Mona before hurrying out into the Camaro. One rev and it skidded off. Snow flurries falling in its wake.

“She seemed mad,” Max had said in the car, “but, maybe less mad.”

“It was a big fuck up. She’ll be mad a long time.”

“And that bothers you.”

“No.” Billy flicked his cigarette out the window. Watched his sister’s lips press before he scoffed. “Max, I did something evil. You understand? Evie wants fuck all to do with me.”

And he couldn't throw her from his thoughts.

“What did you do?” Max leaned in to press the subject. “Just tell me.”

The gist of it came out by the time they parked at Cherry Lane.

Max just blinked at him. Flared. Billy cut the engine and paused, glancing at her.

“Why do boys do this to girls?” She asked, fists clenched in her lap. Rigid and puffy. “I don’t understand. Are my friends going to be like you when they get older?”

“No, Max, they’re not. I’m a piece of shit.” His shoulders came up.

“And you didn’t have to be… Keep groveling, you owe Evie that much.” She slammed the door when she got out. Expected to get barked at and slowed because he made no move. Just flicked his lighter open and closed there. Blue eyes on the steering wheel.

Exhaling into the frost, Max came around the car and jerked Billy’s door open.

“You suck at this. She doesn’t want you to do this self-deprecating game where you play the asshole victim. She wants a real apology.”

“I don’t know what the fuck she wants me to say anymore.”

“Maybe you don’t have to say anything to her.” Max paused. “Those girls and people at school, they’re mean to her. Aren't they? You’re the Keg King. Are you really going to let that happen?”

“They’re just fucking assholes, ignore them.”

“Easy for you to say being popular. What happened to Evie during the dance has been happening to her through all of high school. Don’t you see that? If you really cared, you’d do something to stop it.” The door shut on Billy before he could reply.

Max went up into the house, left him to stew on that until he followed her inside. Away from the snow and Evie’s penetrating eyes that were beginning to haunt him.

~~~~

Tensions are just shooting all directions with these two dorks. Thank you all so much for reading! Feel free to chat or ask about the taglist!!

TAGGED: @80sbxtch @nottherightseason @orxhidshavana @alagalaska @alongcamedolly @kellyk-chan @billy--hargroves

#billy hargrove #Billy hargrove x oc #Billy Hargrove imagine #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove fanfic #Stranger things #mine #writing #somy #billy x angel

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whats-the-story-tc · 4 years ago

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9th of October, 2020

"The One with the Cards Laid Bare"

[INCREDIBLY LONG, SORRY FOR CLOGGING THE TAG]

There were very tense energies in our classroom before V's double class. We already knew she'd cried today, we knew where she'd be working from other classes, so we all knew what would come, and it still was bad. One of the boys said he heard that she hopes we're not all angry at her and that we won't hate her for her decision. There was not an inch of anger or hatred in any of us, just heartbreak. We knew how much we'd cry seeing her leave. We were afraid of this goodbye. But it had to come eventually. The last class she'll ever teach. The last two lessons she'll ever have.

She was late. Only a couple minutes, but seeing she's always on time, or even a bit early, it was worrying. I walked outside to find her, and when I did, I saw her, coming up the stairs with two boys from the class, fresh back from lunch. Immediately as she saw me, she raised her index finger and said: "No." I didn't really understand it, until she continued: "I'm not gonna cry. I'm trying to go at least two minutes without crying." My heart was in shambles, and nothing even happened yet.

She started by telling us an e-mail is not how she wanted us to find out. She wanted to tell us herself, but not until today, probably not until the end of class, even though she's known for quite a long time she wanted to leave. She didn't tell us, because she wanted these last days not to be chaotic, so we could still focus and do our best in class. There were signs, though. And I should have known. There's one in basically every post I wrote this year. Funny thing is, when I told you about how she was with the girl from the other class and I thought something was up, it was only my gut feeling. She hadn't told them yet. Only in the last 20 minutes of that double class.

She also told us who will be replacing her, just to get the professional part quickly over with. V said she expects us to treat them fairly, even if she won't be here to check on us. We keep this promise. Most of the time, it works.

Being a teacher doesn't pay well, and here, in our country, the profession itself is not respected the way it should be. 10 years of experience in the field means nothing, she said. The new education system is horrible, unbearable, and she's had enough of feeling like she's in a toxic relationship. Not with us, with teaching. She said she used to feel very anxious when she got here, and by now I know what she hadn't told us in that moment, that she still doesn't feel good thinking about school. She has to leave for her own sake, even though she feels incredibly guilty about it. Even though she'll miss us.

She said, through tears, constantly stopping to take a deep breath and gather her thoughts, that teaching is something she was planning to do her whole life long, but she has to step back now. Even though she has "the seniors, standing before their graduation exams, [us], whom [she's] bonded with", she can't do it anymore. And when one of the girls asked her if she really did love us, she said: "Would I have stayed so long if I didn't?"

We spent long minutes in class discussing the education system, and when I said I didn't know about something that supposedly came from the weaker one of the theatre universities here at home, V was surprised that I hadn't read it. She called me a nickname again, a new one. I've been babygirl and I've been fairy bug before, but not once have I been the name that translates to "my life". Spanish speakers, it's like when you guys say mi vida to someone you love. That's what V called me. I don't remember her ever having called someone that in class.

Between classes, Bandana Friend, who was sick, joined us via video call to speak to V, as she really wanted to say goodbye, at least like this. I stood right beside V as they spoke, out of the camera's sight, unlike my classmates, constantly goofing off in the background, making both V and my friend laugh a little. As I stood there, I couldn't help but marvel at V's eyes from up close, in the light. I don't think I've ever seen a more enchanting eye colour before, and I find nearly every pair of eyes I see pretty. Seriously, I wasn't overexaggerating in any of my posts. If you once catch her eye, you won't know when to stop looking.

After a while, though, my classmates got a bit much, still during the call, and there I was, gathering bravery and doing something I've never done before. I stroked V's arm for a second or two, like I've wanted to so many times before, to show sympathy. She didn't even look at me, didn't even flinch, she probably knew who was touching her. And, seeing how unresponsive, how calm she was about it, I couldn't help but think: "Is this something I could've done this whole time?"

Before the second class with her started, Debate Friend called her a derivative of her first name (though she made sure to say Miss with it), and V just told her not to be rude. Hours pass, and V lets her (and us all, indirectly) call her by her first name, which is something we're still adapting to, but I'm rushing too far ahead, let's slow down a little.

The second class went well, she wasn't crying anymore, on the contrary. We laughed a lot, she told us her honest opinion on a lot of us, who asked her what she thinks of them, and gave advice if needed. I didn't ask. I figured that if she wants to tell me something, she will. Then a very crazy chain of events happened.

She looked like she was gonna tear up again, and I couldn't sit and watch anymore. I stood up and walked right in front of her, not daring to ask for a hug, but hoping she'll get the message with arm gestures. It took her a bit, but when she did, she couldn't help but yell something that I would translate to: "[Specs] is jumping me!". The word she used here is something usually used in a romantic or flirty context. (Translation was never my forte.) You can probably imagine the laughter, and also my face as I realise that not even on her last day could she go without sassing me at least once.

But then. Oh, then. The next thing I hear as I turn towards her is as she says: "C'mere, Little Me." and before I know it, I find myself sobbing in her arms again, and thinking about how this happened. She seemed taken aback by or uncomfortable with the comparison the last time we spoke about it in March, before the quarantine. When did she accept it, or how? Now as I re-read that post, as I'm writing this one... could the turning point have been me calling her my sister? I had so many questions, but all I could do was cry.

Class was nearing the end when I finally managed to stop sobbing and ask her one thing I've been meaning to for ages: what her tattoos mean. "How much should I go into detail?" she asked with sparkling eyes. She wasn't even surprised I knew about the two on her shoulder blades — but I was, when she motioned with her fingers she actually had three. Before telling me about them, she jokingly said something along the lines of "I'm not gonna strip for you" (as all 3 are covered by clothes), and me being me, I immediately threw my hands up, face probably red, and said: "Nononononono, obviously [not]!"

Funny thing is, the two on her shoulder blades are actually quotes from the last book she had us read, the last thing we discussed with her in class on Wednesday. So this is what she meant when she said she had personal connections to it! After she told me which parts they're from, she jokingly added "Very English teacher [of me]...", to which I just laughed and responded "Yeah, very."

By the time I'm writing this, I already had to listen to the headmaster, one of V's replacements, as he bragged about knowing of these two tattoos. Heh. That's cute. It's still 2-1 to me, sir. Not only have I seen them partially before, which you said you haven't, but I also know about the one she most definitely never told you about. And the one I'm most definitely not gonna tell you guys about. Sorry. Some things just have to stay between V and I.

"Also, no one noticed that this is the first time since I came here that I've worn a band T-shirt!" she complains to me jokingly. "Well, I was used to your graphic shirts, so I didn't think much of it," I reply. She's very enthusiastic in telling me what exactly is on it, without me even asking. This woman put on a shirt that essentially disses Christianity — in a religious school. Unbelievable. I love her.

Somewhere around that time, I asked her to let me walk with her to the teacher's lounge, Bookworm Friend convinced her to take a photo with our squad (which had basically everyone I know, my own father included, telling me we look identical), I stroked her arm again (I no longer remember what the reason was, but she still must've felt it pretty natural, seeing she didn't react), and like 3/4 of the class came to hug V goodbye. Meanwhile, another girl I've been classmates with for ages, but never particularly liked, hugged me to try and comfort me. It caught me off-guard, but I've never felt more like our class is a community.

People from other classes came to talk as she walked outside, but I waited until she was alone, and most probably so was she. She promised, likely knowing that I wanted to talk privately, so we didn't leave until it was just the two of us left.

"Come, Little Me," she said again, as we got going. She liked this phrase so much that she repeated it in English. "Mini Me." Then I found out why the English. Turns out, her native English speaker boyfriend, who she name-dropped like it's second nature, as if she's telling a story to a friend (she's so whipped for him, it's adorable), knows all about this comparison, and had a good laugh at it. He knows who I am. I was important enough to mention at home to her boyfriend, something I always wondered about but never dared to ask her. Tears.

No, really, actual tears. I've told you before, I don't support confessing love to your teachers while you're still their student (I'd wait a year after graduation if I were you), and especially if you're underage, and I myself wouldn't do it either. And I didn't. My confession was a little different. My voice breaking from tears, I told her the one thing I wanted her to know most. "This is not how I wanted to tell you, but I've never got more (in life) from anyone..." The answer? The old classic. "Come on."

"[Specs], you really need to get more self-confidence" she tells me, as that's about the only thing I still need to get me where I want to be. "I have to," I reply. And I do. I'm trying. Funny thing, self-confidence. It comes up in both the first and the last conversation we have as student and teacher.

We get up, stand at the top of the stairs. Soon it's time to go. The memories get a bit hazy here, but I'll try my best.

She tells me she expected me to react this way, and was afraid of it, seeing what happened in January. I immediately corrected her. In January, I cried because seeing my classmates hurting and my teachers clueless and lost hurt me, whereas this time, it's personal. She doesn't say anything. I think she understands. I ask her if she'll be happy in this new situation, and she says she hopes so. Only time will tell.

"I probably won't be available at a moment's notice all the time, but if you ever need me, you'll find me," she reassures me.

My English (language) teacher walks outside in that moment, and starts talking to V like I'm not even there. V and I are both a bit uncomfortable with the interruption, but the teacher seems pretty fine with it. Fucking hell, woman, insensitivity much?

Anyway. When she's gone is probably the moment we realise this is it. That this is where it's over.

She reaches out, both verbally and physically, and there we are, hugging again, both of us stroking the other's back in an effort to try and comfort the other. "You always have your friends," she tells me. "Get a good rest," she adds somewhere during that moment. Then we pull away.

I don't reach out, I don't dare to. As soon as I step out of her arms, it's her, who takes a hold of my hand. Not clinging, just a gentle, meaningful hold. I have no idea what she was saying, as I focused on the fact that we were only bloody holding hands in plain sight — and another thing.

V's eyes were red, and full of tears.

She hadn't shed a single tear for the past 20 minutes or so. Yet there she stands before me, physically still holding on to me, and crying. That was all me. And all of a sudden, I understand everything. I no longer have the guts to deny that she loved me all this time.

That's where it ends. No grandiose confessions, nothing loud, nothing overly passionate. Just a scene of two women standing hand-in-hand, showing their true colours and not holding anything back for the first time since they've met, before Miss V, the teacher, forever disappears behind a glass door.

These two women, mentioned above, are the ones who laid the foundation for two friends, two equals to meet anew. They are just getting to know each other all over again as we speak, setting the tone for something to start that could possibly last a long time. And I don't think there's anything that could feel better than that.

~ S ♡

[Every story I share here, no matter how specific I get with my wording, depicts actual events from my own life.]

#tc #tcc #teacher crush community #female tc #female teacher crush

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missmadxson · 4 years ago

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hailee steinfeld, cis female, she/her hey have you seen MADISON “MADDIE” BAKER ? SHE let me borrow HER GLITTER GLUE GUN. oh, you know them! they’re TWENTY-TWO YEARS OLD and they’ve been at Roy G. for FOUR YEARS. They are known to be a total ARIES. no wonder they’ve picked up the nickname THE ROSE COLORED GLASSES! i’m surprised you haven’t heard them blaring RUN AWAY WITH ME BY CARLY RAE JEPSEN all night. they remind me of FALLING GLITTER, SINGING ALONG TO KARAOKE AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS & BRIGHT STICKERS . anyway, let me know if you see them ! (rachell, 23, she/her, mt, n/a).

ok wow hello here i am, with absolutely no impulse control to give you all my chaotic good baby who’s kind of a bimbo who just wants to love everyone (gotta balance the kids out, yk?) love us pls

background:

tw: mention of teen pregnancy tw: mention of abortion

maddie was born march 21st, 1999 as an only child to a single mom that was left to raise her alone when her birth dad decided not to bare the responsibility of having a family at such a young age, also being kicked out by her family for having a baby out of wedlock once she decided that she was going to keep it...her mom was 17 at the time

before she was officially kicked out of the house, madison’s mom got into an argument with her grandma about putting the baby up for adoption, but it went as well as when she had tried to convince her to get an abortion when maddie was announced in the first place

maddie’s mom loved her little girl more than anything else in this world and she was gonna raise it, with or without her family’s support

to this day, maddie and her mom still have a strained relationship to her grandparents and the girl grew up never actually meeting her dad but if you ask her, she has no problem with this at all

tho the happy, bubbly, dramatic little girl didn’t have grandparents or a father figure to help look after her, she had her mom and her aunt who stuck by her mother’s side despite their parents wishes, and her mom’s best friends and even their neighbors that instantly fell in love with the little girl the instant they moved into their new apartment (so like pretty much a mama mia situation lol); her mother and best friends were always there to support madison’s endeavors, letting her dress how she wanted to school, showing up in a too-too and cowboy boots and being the shining star at every school play that there was

i'll write more on this backstoroy when i think of anything else but god do i love them, and god do they love EACH OTHER. maddie still facetimes with her mom and “aunts” every chance she gets, each one having a reason to be her role models

idk where she lived before lets say cali but basically this lil babe moved out to florida for college, wanting a new adventure to embark on and she has loved it here ever since. she kinda loves the communal way of living?? it kinda just feels like a new little clunk of a found family opportunity like the one she has back home

about her

incredibly friendly and excitable, it doesn’t really matter if you’ve known her all your life, or just met her a second ago, she will just start a conversation out of the blue over the most random thing and could just go on for hours if you don’t stop her sa;dkfjs

the energy of a toddler hopped up on sugar and the attention span of a gold fish. she’s a senior in college and is one of those students that drifts off to her own little world, doodling over her papers yet somehow pulls decent enough grades out of her ass somehow and everyone’s kinda shook af by this, over all she does love to learn and is incredibly curious by the world around her, she just prefers the social aspect of it all, really

stubbornly optimistic and is pretty good at picking herself back up again if something happens to go wrong but that doesn’t mean she won’t be incredibly dramatic about it first and probably a lil petty and childish, has the puppy dog eyes and pout down pat....she can be a LOT, you’ve been warned ;asdkfsdvd

a theater baby through and through, one of her aunts was really into broadway and got her very into it growing up, her performing is over all alright at best but it doesn’t stop her from giving it all she has when given the opportunity (will blast you with showtunes if you give her the aux cord) . she absolutely ADORES art in every single one of it’s forms. you have an open mic night? a show casing? she’s there and she’s baked you brownies and brought you flowers!

never really grew out of her love for arts and crafts, in fact her glitter glue gun is her most valuable possession and she’s always making something cute as a pick-me-up for one of her friends

has a crafting channel on youtube with a decent enough amount of followers (think LaurDIY) whom she lovingly calls “glitter heads” and she also does other things on it such as little vlogs here and there, as well as cosplays

also has an etsy shop she sells custom hair accessories and wlw earrings on

a strong activist for blm, womens right’s lgbtqia+ etc. she always makes sure to keep herself informed in every way she possibly can

is pan af

expresses herself a lot through her clothes and make up!! doesn’t matter if it doesn’t match, if its bright, a cute pattern, or sparkly, she is making that shit WORK, rainboots, cat ear headbands and overalls are her favorites, loves LOVES glitter and will always try to have it on be it through her eyeshadow or highlight for some examples, it doesn’t matter, she just NEEDS it

the leslie knope of gift giving, she’s so good at it and has a talent for knowing exactly what to get someone, having the most fun picking it out. to her, there’s nothing more exciting than finding the perfect thing that will show her friends how much she loves and appreciates them

the BIGGEST party girl you’ve EVER SEEN. she doesn’t really need alcohol or weed to have a good time, she’s just always ready regardless but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun, would party every single night if she could, drunkenly singing a karaoke version of god is a woman

drunk girl in the bathroom vibes but like...all the time s;kdfsdaf

happens to flirt a lot, sometimes completely unaware of it, but she can also be pretty bad at it so skdfsdf;sf if anyone ever tries to flirt with HER THO....it’s like her brain short circuits and she’s a babbling MESS, she crushes on ppl way too fast too so...theres that

absolutely tries to play matchmaker if she happens to see someone deeply crushing or two souls just too shy to admit their feelings, she is here to HELP EVERYONE FIND LOVE

can be very comforting and a pretty good listener, she just really wants to be there for others, you know? if they’ll let her

#roygintro #🦄 // intro #the way idek what her major is #when she literally came to miami for school #q

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landlordrecords · 4 years ago

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Bassline (& 2020 in general): Re-e-wind

What a strange year, as everyone, everywhere has said a million times… Writing-wise, I’d been doing Record Collector magazine since 2014, and uDiscover (the Universal Records online mag) for not much less, & that all just seemed to (understandably) stop dead with the onset of the pandemic. Since then, I’ve polished off my chapter on the work of Simon Morris and the Ceramic Hobs for Palgrave, & that’s about it, so you’re more likely to find me over on Twitter at Sniffy (@philblackpool) / Twitter these days, blurting out the odd sentence. I hence thought it might be time to revisit a very old piece…

Like many, I’ve been working from home for much of the year, and although I’ve occasionally wanted to pull out my own eyeballs, it has generally been very pleasant for a voracious music-lover. I started by catching up on the vast majority of my insane, years-deep second-hand vinyl buy piles, and then chomped through a load of ‘long listen’ stuff I’d had on the backburner forever (including, astonishingly, eventually getting through something like 40 hours of Pan Sonic live sets someone had dumped online). I graded hundreds of releases for sale on Discogs, and revisited umpteen musical thangs extensively, including 90s gabba, Sun Ra, music hall, Schoenberg, dancehall reggae, the acknowledged worst albums ever, happy hardcore, Italian house, bounce and makina (I’ve lost track of how much time I’ve spent checking out youtubes to try to identify a couple of most-wanted bounce and makina tunes), Britpop (!), cosmic disco, and Belgian popcorn. It’s been an extraordinary year, packed with cultural discovery and rediscovery. In amongst this, in no way ashamed of my abject love of Discogs, and already having used and edited it for many years, I read the entire guidelines and decided to go hard on sorting out stuff I care about on there. Seeing they’d finally added various more recent ‘styles’, I’ve spent the last month and a half doing a ridiculous amount of edits on a dozen or so niche genres of importance in recent times (footwork, Jersey Club, yadda yadda). My tweakings around Bassline and UK Funky eventually drew me to the attention of UK Garage legend Karl ‘Tuff Enuff’ Brown, a fellow Discogs obsessive not so keen on the editing side of the site, who wondered if I might give him a hand sorting out the mess of his own and his label’s (2Tuf 4U) discographies. His entertaining phonecalls were enough to convince me.

I dug out all my stuff related to Karl’s label to listen to along the way, and found myself noticing how much UKG has been back in the spotlight of late (key, and brilliant, article here: RA: Like A Battle: The Push For UK Garage's Future (residentadvisor.net) ). While by no means unaware of this (I’ve had some lovely promos from Kiwi and the like of late, plus some moodier bits from various El-B worshippers), my status as a confirmed middle-aged semi-retired raver had hidden much of this from me. This leads me onto one of my big philosophical points of recent years: I listened to dance music avidly before I ever went out dancing, and listen to it now in lockdown, and in semi-retirement. There is far too much an emphasis among ever-rejuvenating dance music correspondents on ‘the club’ as the only way to enjoy dance music, but we know that OG disco fans are 60+ and unlikely to be out every weekend these days – is their experience now worthless? Online fans talk up their love of dance music for exercise soundtracks, bedtime calming soundtracks, etc: this is reality. Dance music is as valid to all these people as rock is to people who haven’t been to a gig in 40 years.

The style I felt myself most drawn back to was bassline (largely via Karl’s low-key issue of some DJ Q material). My love of UK Garage and all its offshoots largely stems from how physically removed I have been from it from virtually its entire history. Only my 2000-03 stint in Essex perfectly matched the garage waveform, and that was the 2-step era, quite the opposite of bassline. Despite being largely a northern phenomenon, Blackpool is largely untouched by bassline, being all about punk and bounce to my mind. An instant love for me circa 2007, bassline feels like one of those genres with unfinished business, but remains one I’ve rarely danced to. Cut off in its prime, it is now back, enormously popular, and rightly so, but, due to the vagaries of the digital music world, some of its key material remains tough to access in any decent form.

I originally wrote the piece I have butchered for this one in March 2008, on Myspace (remember that), in reaction to the exciting waves of bassline and UK funky then reinvigorating the world of UKG. It looks a bit embarrassing now, with more writing experience, although I continue to applaud my own willingness to be open about my innocent appreciation of things I love but am not truly part of.

The most notable misstep in my original piece was the presumption that bassline would become the latest enormous chart sensation. Like happy hardcore before it, the ball was, in reality, fumbled. Instead of hoped-for freaky innovation, the producers also opted, as many in years gone by, for smoothed-out commerciality (in unholy alliance with low-grade grime crossovers), although the main adversarial issues seem to have been police crackdowns and the London-centric ‘cool police’. Although I was long aware of such problems with Niche in Sheffield (the genre’s spiritual home), it appears that the police interference had a devastating effect across the board ( Banned From Sheffield: How Jamie Duggan fought for bassline… And won (ukf.com) ). This largely explains why many of the bassline producers gravitated towards the largely wack bass house/house & bass style so beloved of teenyboppers in recent years. Thank heavens that era is now largely over.

Niche reputedly specialised in an arguably unholy mixture of dated late 90s speed garage and ‘bassline house’ (think ‘Let Me Show You’ by Camisra, and MK’s ‘organ house’), way past their sell-by date (I still only really like a handful of Shaun Banger Scott bits in this style, one single 2009 Brummie CD EP, and one Virgo remix). Ultimately, though, this experiment unexpectedly created something magical. The crucial element here is the 4/4 beat. While undoubtedly skippy, the vast majority of the material favoured had a firm 4/4 beat, always favoured across all key scenes in the north of England from northern soul onwards. When they ran out of tunes to rinse, in time-honoured fashion, they made their own. Long, rumbling walls of bass, organs, and hoppy-skippy beats, with raggafied samples and gunshots over the top. Popular in Birmingham as well (pretty much the centre of a vinyl glut at the time, and now notable in the popularity of DJs such as Chris Lorenzo and Hannah Wants), B-side titles hinted of coke overload. Disenfranchised by London’s movement away from the holy 4/4 (despite a slight revival in the early noughties), and via messenger services and the like, northern producers began to exchange a new hybrid in the mid-00s which took these speed garage and bassline house influences and updated them with current R’n’B bootlegs, with influences from grime (regional grime producers were key here) and, most notably, with rococo basslines. Its most obvious comparison point was Sticky’s garage productions, concurrent with the early grime era. Southern producers such as Agent X, Delinquent (who featured Gemma Fox on their magical 2006 ‘Boxers’), and Dexplicit (Fox again, 2005’s ‘Might Be’) ran with that, and the north lapped it up. Key early pointers also included DJ Narrows’ superb 2001 4/4 tune ‘Saved Soul’, and early 00s DND work (Artwork, later part of dubstep supergroup Magnetic Man). A notable increase in output came in 2006, and 2007-9 were the genre’s original glory years. And the bulk of producers and up-&-comings delivering serious anthems to the scene came not from London and the south-east, but from Leeds (T2, Wittyboy, Nastee Boi), Bradford (TS7), Manchester (Murkz, Burgaboy, Subzero), Nottingham (Virgo, IllMana), Leicester (JTJ, H20, FB & Zibba), and Wolverhampton (EJ, TRC, Brett Maverick). EJ’s Ejucation mix series (all up on Soundcloud) is a good place to start, beginning as the bassline house began to be overtaken by the pure bassline numbers.

Distribution for serious UK garage music has often been woeful, with only high street compilations & the chart singles (‘Heartbroken’ by T2, ‘What’s It Gonna Be’ by H20, etc) making it all over the country, and this helped stymie the true development of bassline, although vinyl prices, dreadful video promos, and the leap to digital in some ways didn’t help. Years on, as an incorrigible vinyl fanatic, I still only have handful of bassline 12”s. Yes, you can now access this stuff the world over via Youtube etc, but decent, high-quality copies of full-length tunes (they are often hacked about to great effect, but in a way which obscures the original intentions, in the mix) are not always the easiest to come by, although the classic producers are increasingly putting out digital compilations of their original work. Material that would, for previous genres, be fiended after, is lost to being just more online links. At the time, I looked high and low for 12”s, succeeding only rarely, largely on the flip of UK Funky releases. The (mixtape) audience, going by comments online, were often extremely young, are probably now still only in their mid-twenties, and are seemingly happy enough with this chaotic model. Bassline originally, as all rave genres, largely ran off mixtape boxsets, and a 2007 ‘Pure Bass – Fantasy’ box from Stoke remains my key document of that era: seven bassline CDs, with many tracks repeated, but packed to the gills, with most tracks only lasting a minute or two in the mix. As with all rave mixes, it has taken me years to suss the majority of the track IDs. In the Resident Advisor piece linked above, DJ Q (from Huddersfield) talks about thousands of lost bassline tunes, the bad side of the digital revolution. My recent Discogs ferreting suggests more bassline tunes than one might imagine did make some sort of decent release, but too many only made white labels, promo CDs for commercial releases (before being snipped from the main release), mix CDRs, or Youtube’s grainy depths. Classics such as TS7 featuring Bianca’s ‘Seems Like’ appear to never have had any decent release whatsoever, despite TS7 going on to be a big name in bass-oriented house, and Bianca Gerald having kept at the vocal turns ever since.

T2 hit biggest, with ‘Heartbroken’, a gorgeous, smashed-vocal garage dub so popular that it even inspired a Jersey Club refix. His catalogue was immediately deep, although I get the impression he has stopped adding to it. One complaint about bassline, including some of the T2 work, regards the untutored vocals, which can sometimes be rather flat, and certainly lacking in dynamics compared to the dazzling US vocalists featured on some earlier UK garage pieces (I refer here, as always, to TJ Cases’ remarkable ‘Do It Again’). I kinda like that - it shows amateur enthusiasm not far removed from punk, and most obviously links to lover’s rock, as does the production at times: it gives a feeling of melancholy entirely suited to the vocals. Other bassline heroes include TS7, who briefly brought to the fore sassy female garage MC T Dot. His productions also include ‘Smile’, one of my very favourite bassline tracks, full of that Simon Reynolds-quoted 'weird energy’ possessed by DJ Hype & co in the early nineties. Male bassline vocalists such as Ideal also remain unfairly forgotten, although some of the female vocalists have gone on to work in related genres since bassline’s peak.

Paleface, an ex-member of London garage rap crew Stonecold GX, runs Northern Line Records (FB, TRC, Wittyboy, Nastee Boi), something of a quality mark for bassline productions, while also making highly successful UK Funky tunes as part of Crazy Cousinz, and later progressing into commercial house territory. He chronicled much of bassline’s high-water mark (including being married to Kyla, since sampled by Drake). Wolverhampton-based Northern Line signing TRC proved particularly adaptable, spewing out a legion of original tunes and remixes before retreating for a while to grime. Leeds’ Nastee Boi was a favourite of mine at the time, with his pitch-black gangsta bassline tunes, but pushed on towards a mixture of underwhelming R’n’B vocal cuts and nursery grime toons. Wittyboy started similarly punishingly but also went smoother, unbalancing the classic bassline rough and smooth combination.

Now that the dubiously poisonous rep of Niche has been dispatched, the key bassline acts have returned to their key battleground, and the genre seems in full throttle again. Much of the new material seems a little one-dimensional to me: producers invariably big up Bristol’s My Nu Leng as, I suppose, a bridge from bro-step to 4/4. Everything, as acknowledged by the DJs, is huge drops and nothing much else. It still sounds pretty hot though – not the updated lover’s rock of a decade ago, but worth supporting. Bassline is NOT finished!

#bassline #bassline house #niche #organ house #brostep #speed garage #uk garage

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leocallauber · 4 years ago

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Leonardo Callaway(Gavin Leatherwood ) is a 17 year old Junior student at Broadripple Academy. He is originally from Philadelphia, PA but moved to Broadripple 3 years ago. He is Energetic and Loyal but can also be Snarky and Unforgiving.

@ba-central

Name: Leonardo Callaway

Nickname: Leo, Leon, Anything but Leonardo

Age: 17

Birthday: March 21st, 2003

Grade: Junior

House Team: Melleray

Junior Cabin room 2

Now for the fun stuff lol

Leon is a complete and utter history buff. He love’s it. It is the only kind of class he truly enjoys.

He might be smart with history but he’s definitely got that chaotic dumbass energy. One time he tried to eat his weight in gummy worms. Another time he tried to microwave a chicken patty, but instead of 20 seconds. He put it in for 20 Minutes. Broke the plate and had a hockey puck for lunch.

He used to be a total mommas boy. Especially after his mom caught his dad cheating and he went to live with her. Unfortunately, his mom died a few months after and he moved to his dad’s. That did not go over well. A lot of family tension. He put sardines in his dad’s finances shoes when she told him to call her mom.

He has this whole thing about thinking “what would my dad do?” and then trying to do the exact opposite.

He dose not have good impulse control at all. Leap first think later. He lacks common sense at times to. Both things he’s working on but generally isn't making a whole lot of progress.

He loves animals. He had a fish in his dorm he named cat. He misses cat a lot.

He tends to hold grudges for a long time. He’ll say he’s forgiven you but then you’ll hear about it two days later.

Character Aesthetics: bare feet in the mornings, overflowing laundry baskets, oversize hoodies, missed calls at 2am, the smell of rain, too many tabs, unfinished books, warm tea, soft pillows, strawberries and cream.

Wanted Connections

We planned out our hypothetical apocalypse survival plan together but now I hear you have one with someone else, did I mean nothing to you?

We were best friends but then you hurt me somehow and now I can’t stand you

We’re friends but it’s a really toxic relationship made up of trying to one-up each other all the time

We hate each other’s guts but we always hook up when we’re drunk

secret friends, aka friends who do not hang around in the public eye as their family or friends may not get along.

life long enemies, aka two people who have been enemies ever since they remember but have forgotten the reason for their dislike.

share a secret, aka two people who have a giant secret together but are constantly afraid the other will rat them out.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RETREAT

What do they think about The Retreat?

Leo is not really looking forward to the retreat. He misses his coffee machine and has never been much of a camper. He is, however, a big fan of bonfires and loves that aspect of it.

Do they have any previous experience with camping or other outdoors?

Leo’s been camping in the mountains a few times but hasn’t been for a few years. He dose have plenty of experience building fires though. Mostly bonfires, but hey, sorta counts.

What does their cabin bunk look like? How will they decorate their space?

His bunk tends to be a mess. He wasn’t very organized at the dorms and he’s not very organized here. He dose try to keep up the appearance of a mess free space. Leo has a picture of his old fish cat on the wall. And he has a poster Of Jim halpert looking at the camera.

Do they believe in the supernatural? To what degree?

Leo 100% believes in the supernatural. He’s into all that cryptid stuff and is partially convinced he’s gonna run into a wendigo or something on this retreat.

Are they easily spooked?

Leo is pretty easily spooked. It’s a bit of a problem really.

AND FINALLY,

A very dumb but (hopefully) fun quiz made by your admins, please share what result you got

You will sacrifice yourself for someone else You’re one of the purer hearts of broadripple, you may not even know the person you sacrifice yourself for that well but you think its the right thing to do. and maybe it is. but would they do the same thing for you?

#intro #i had most of this done and yet i STILL took forever doing it #it's shitty but I'll add more eventually i swear

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nobeliumoxygenoxygenmisc · 5 years ago

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Kagaminette || Halloween on ice

For Marigami week at @marigami-week day 3: protective

The class goes to the Halloween disco at the (very crowded) ice rink but when they all split up, Kagami’s determined to spend it well with Marinette. (~1.5k words)

note: (i know its called marigami week but ive been calling them kagaminette for so long its stuck im sorry) im also late oof and theres like 1% of the actual prompt in here but i hope you enjoy :D

It’s not the most formal date out there; far from it, especially considering the fact that they hadn’t gone out with the intention of making it a date and the fact that the only reason the two were alone now was because they’d lost most of Marinette’s classmates in the crowd (Rose and Juleka were swallowed up immediately; Nathaniel and Marc going into a corner in the stands; the chaotic group that consisted of Alya, Kim, Alix, and a helpless Max zooming onto the rink; and the others just plain disappearing).

But it was an impromptu one and now that it was, Marinette knew that Kagami was not going to let it go to waste (it had taken a lot of convincing--and perhaps some half-truths--to get her mother to let her come after all).

And yet…

“I’m not too sure about this Kagami…” Marinette mumbled, huddled right next to her girlfriend as the crowd in the centre surged around them. The strobing disco lights were flashing all sorts of colours, moving around and settling on different people every time. “It’s… really crowded.”

For a brief moment, she swore a spotlight focused on Juleka and Rose before moving on; the former magnificent in her mysteriously stylish costume (the name of which Marinette hadn’t caught), the latter almost downright terrifying as a petite but very realistic zombie.

Kagami scanned the centre, her sharp gaze visible even in the dim lighting (in truth, she wondered if that was a hazard; surely in such a crowded, party environment everyone should be able to see everyone else as easily as possible). They both stood on the outside of the rink wall, their ice skates and costumes on. Ones they had made together; a demon and an angel.

In a lovely twist of events that had surprised everyone, it was Marinette the demon who had arrived at the rink, side-by-side with her beautifully angelic girlfriend. Although, the latter had insisted herself that Marinette be the angel, claiming that the angel wings that they had worked so hard on deserved to be worn by the ‘true angel.’ (”And besides, it was you who did most of the work, Marinette. You deserve it much more.” “But I only did it so that you could wear it Kagami! And well... I may have...”)

And it hadn’t taken much to convince her otherwise; Marinette claiming that she had already started making the costumes based on their respective measurements and swapping them would have rendered all her earlier work useless... not that it would have mattered; they were able to share each others’ clothes anyway.

“We can handle it,” Kagami said decidedly, squaring up her shoulders in the way Marinette knew that nothing was going to stop her now. She sighed but relented as she was led onto the rink, where her feet suddenly decided not to move. At least the skaters glided almost effortlessly out of their way.

She swallowed; she hadn’t been on the ice since… since when?

Oh! Since that double date with Adrien and Luka and Kagami. She smiled in spite of herself; oh how much things had changed.

Kagami glanced at her, her own smile forming at the sight of Marinette’s; demonic red and black makeup and all. “How are you feeling?”

“Uh… A-a bit wobbly, to be honest.” She laughed nervously. “It’s been a while.”

“Indeed. The last time I’ve gone skating was on that double date last year.” Marinette’s eyes widened; so Kagami remembered too. “Do you remember?” She nodded vigorously.

“Definitely. There was so much drama back then, wasn’t there? When you thought you liked Adrien but he liked me and I thought you liked him but you liked me but you both thought I liked Luka--”

Marinette stopped when she heard Kagami’s laughter (a sound she was probably never going to get tired of), joining in after a moment. “It was a mess, wasn’t it?” She agreed, Marinette catching her fond smile.

“It was.” She squeezed her hand. “But I’m glad that’s over.”

“Me too, Marinette.”

“Hey you two!” A familiar voice called out. Alix zoomed up, coming to a sharp curve around them, her bunny ears swinging from the speed. “Hurry up and get skating! You’ve been standing there for so long!” She raced into the crowd, a scarecrow following swiftly and yelling after her. Marinette could barely catch the “You’re slow Kim!” as she disappeared.

“Your friends are right,” Kagami said, gripping her hand tighter. “But we can start slow.”

Marinette nodded, cheeks dusted. Maybe if it weren’t such as unpredictable time she would be fine, but the rink was bustling with more people than she had initially thought, now that she was actually in it (and now that she remembered just how empty it had been on that double date before; she could hardly imagine that same rink which had served only four teenagers now held over two hundred skaters, on the rink alone).

“Don’t be ashamed, Marinette,” Kagami said encouragingly.

“O-oh I know!” She laughed as they began marching, taking slow glides in the clockwise direction of the crowd’s flow.

They skated for half a lap before picking up speed silently, Marinette gaining enough confidence to loosen her hold on Kagami’s hand, blushing when she realised just how tightly she’d been squeezing.

A blur of brown and grey swerved in front of them. “Hey lovebirds! Say cheese!” Alya yelled, skating past with her phone out as she snapped a photo. She grinned, laughing as she looked at it. “You both look terrified! Love it!”

“Wa-wait Alya take another!”

“Maybe if you catch up to me!” Alya winked, turning to face forward again with a swing of her arms, the glittering makeup stitches shining in the colourful lights.

Marinette groaned. “Bet that’s going to make it in our yearbook…” Kagami laughed softly. “Glad you find that a good thing.”

“It is not but it is an amusing thing.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Easy for you to--”

Oh no--

Sensing them without seeing, she was ripped away before she could move, Kagami tugging her away.

An arm wrapped around her back, the both of them twirling towards the centre as a familiar scarecrow crashed into the wall.

“Oh my god Kim you moron!” Alix yelled, coming to a stop in front of him. “You nearly killed someone!” She turned to face them, her eyebrows raising as she realised just who he’d nearly killed. “You nearly killed Marinette Kim.”

Kim shook his head, looking around for his straw hat before he found the two; Kagami’s eyes narrowed at him, Marinette’s wide. “But you can’t kill angels?”

“Kim are you serious?”

He blinked. “Oh right. S-sorry Marinette! Sorry Kagami--I got a bit outta control back there.”

“No kidding,” Alix muttered, picking up his hat and chucking it at him.

Marinette smiled. “It’s alright… but maybe be careful next time.”

“Others will not be as fast as we are,” Kagami added, her voice low and firm.

Kim winced at her tone but nodded. “I will!”

Alix huffed, crossing her arms. “Maybe it’s time for a break. Ever since Max got off we’ve been a mess and I’m starved; where’s the free sausage sizzle?”

Marinette wriggled her arm out of Kagami’s hold, pointing towards the direction of the entrance. “It should be to the left of the entrance. Inside where the cafe is.”

Alix nodded. “Thanks Marinette! Let’s go Kim, before you kill another person,” She said before skating away.

“Hey!”

They watched them go for a brief moment as Marinette relaxed, her thumping heart slowing.

Before realising that she was still in Kagami’s embrace (and then her heart sped up again).

“A-ah Kagami it’s fine now… you can--” She blushed as Kagami turned to look at her, her face… much closer than she anticipated. “You can… um… l-let...” Her voice trailed off as Kagami continued to gaze at her, an expectant look on her face.

Then just as suddenly as she’d been pulled into Kagami’s arms, Kagami nodded, “Right,” and pulled away.

And she cursed herself for even mentioning it.

Sure, standing like that in the middle of the ice rink might not have been the most practical thing but it had been the most comfortable thing.

Somewhere, a certain brunette glasses-wearing Frankenstein’s monster facepalmed as the music changed, followed by a hush over the crowd.

The colourful lights dimmed, until the rink was bathed in a pale flush of reds and pinks. As one they slowed, some moving into the centre to find their own space, others getting off as lights spotlighted on couples (Marinette noticed Adrien and Nino under one, Nathaniel and Marc in another).

And then one on them, too.

A look of wonder crossed Kagami’s face as she gazed around the centre, Marinette’s face too red to hide even under the red lights.

“Is this… a couple’s dance?”

She squeaked, stammering. “U-um well it could be! Maybe!”

Kagami nodded slowly, deep in thought before looking up and offering her hand to Marinette. “Then may I have this dance?”

She tensed, a thrill going through her body... before the words spilled out in a breathless rush. “I-I don’t know are you sure? Youmightnotwantitthat’sall--I mean I’mnotthebestdancer--or skater--andcombiningthosetwotogether--well it’s not gonna wend bell--end well. End well. And well let’s be honest and--”

“Marinette.”

“Yes?” She breathed.

“We’ll go slowly.”

“Okay.”

And they did, thankfully for Marinette’s sake, because her heart was beating way too fast for her to really be in control of her body and she was gripping onto Kagami too tightly and oh, her hands were so sweaty oh no Kagami must think she’s gross. And such a coward too, her legs were wobbling for goodness sake why was she like this--

“I like this,” Kagami said suddenly (and never mind it was a good thing she was like this). She smiled, the same, soft, mushy smile Marinette always received (and would never get tired of receiving).

And that was all it took. Marinette relaxed, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders. That’s right; she didn’t have to panic around Kagami, didn’t have to worry. “Yeah,” she whispered. “I do to--”

“Come on lovebirds, get moving,” another all too familiar voice piped up in frustration, as all too familiar hands took Marinette’s and wrapped them around Kagami’s neck, a gentle push sending her gliding forward, in an all too familiar scenario.

But before either of them could really register anything, Alya was already speeding away, her laugh sounding much too cunning for Marinette’s liking (maybe Trixx was getting to her).

“Alya I’m going to kill you!” She yelped after the girl, who flashed her a peace sign without turning around.

“More like you’re going to thank me girls!”

Marinette groaned, head lolling forward just short of Kagami’s forehead. “I’m… so sorry about her.”

Kagami breathed out a laugh. “It’s fine. She’s very enthusiastic about… other people’s love lives.”

“Ever since she got me and you together she’s been calling herself the most successful matchmaker and now that Adrien and Nino are together she’s basically proclaimed herself Cupid.” Marinette huffed, rolling her eyes again. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she challenges Andre tomorrow.”

“Alya would be a better matchmaker than that ice cream man,” She stated, so matter-of-factly that Marinette had to stifle a laugh. But then Kagami frowned, thoughtful. “Though I don’t think Alya got us together. I’m certain we would have started dating with or without her interference.”

“That’s true. We would have found each other regardless.” Marinette beamed, thinking of the day Alya had rushed in announcing that it wasn’t Adrien Kagami liked, but Marinette--a week after Marinette had finally figured out her true feelings. “But who knows how much longer we might have had to wait to be with together.”

Kagami’s own smile was enough of an answer, and in the flushed lighting, Marinette thought that even if she was without the halo and the wings and the hastily applied glittering makeup (because her mother would have possibly grounded her for life otherwise so they’d had to do it on the way to the ice rink), Kagami would always look as good as an angel.

Kagami would always be an angel to her.

#miraculous ladybug #marigami #kagaminette #kagami tsurugi #marinette dupain cheng #kaganette #marigami week 2019 #marinette x kagami #marinette dupain cheng x kagami tsurugi #my work #my writing #kagami x marinette #kagami tsurugi x marinette dupain cheng #writing

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dcmeterwrites · 5 years ago

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oh boy, did you get manny jacinto for an eight a.m.? wait no, that’s PARKER IBARRA. i heard the thirty three year old is a teaching assistant who gives a pretty tough lecture in philosophy. he tries to be witty and independent but on the stressful days, he’s complacent and insouciant. when he gets a chance to relax, catch him at the local bar listening to victorious by panic! at the disco.

— RUNDOWN.

full name: parker domingo ibarra

name meaning: keeper of the park, sunday

 date of birth: march 28th

place of birth: manila, the philippines

 age: 33

 star sign:  aries

 department: philosophy

specialisation: modernism, post-modernism and semiotics

alma mater: harvard university

alignment: chaotic neutral

mbti: entp

spoken languages: english ( native speaker ), tagalog ( fluent ), spanish ( fluent ), french ( proficient ), malay ( proficient )

mother’s name: penelope ibarra

father’s name: alberto ibarra

siblings, if any: lilibeth and reyna ibarra

birth order: oldest

height: 5′11″

hair colour: dark brown

eye colour: dark brown

— BACKSTORY.

having problems ? sucks to be you, i guess !

it was approximately at the age of two and a half that parker domingo ibarra decided that he was king of the world, long before that bitter old hag spielberg wrote it into titanic. and there was no reason that he had to think otherwise. born to a filipino family settled in singapore, his father and mother were the co-owners of the brand dionysia — his dad being the business end and his mum being, well, the designer that started it all.

it was a charmed life of limousines, ferry rides, private schools in new england, internships in hong kong and australia, and trips everywhere from new zealand to chile to denmark. by the age of eighteen, he’d amassed more memories and experience in the world that anyone had the right to.

given that it was pretty much a guarantee that he would take over on the business end of his parents’ work, they figured they should let him do whatever the fuck he liked before the age of 21 or so, before sticking his name onto all the business cards and labels and leaving the future of the company to him. but even their patience was tested when, out of all the useless things he could’ve chosen, he chose philosophy at harvard.

they imagined that his reason for choosing the subject was that he wanted as little work as possible during his college years, preparing instead to enjoy his last few years of irresponsible youth before buckling down. then they noticed something a little strange.

parker was — well. he was actually doing rather well for himself. his essays were receiving stellar reviews, and he was invited to attend symposiums and even give a couple of presentations to actual academics. jeez, his parents only hoped that he wasn’t getting in over his head, indulging the idea of doing this nonsense for the rest of his life instead of something meaningful.

the problem was that — yeah, he kind of was indulging that idea.

well, what on earth did you expect ? he was receiving the highest of praise from his professors, from his peers, and cementing himself as the big man on campus. it seemed a hell of a lot better than hanging around the stuck up friend circles he had back in singapore, insisting on either formal parties with stiff suits and bitter drinks, or complete and utter debauchery at strip clubs and gambling dens. like the buddha said — could there simply not be a middle path ?

his parents learned of this a bit too late. he popped in his parents’ room at the age of twenty-three, a master’s quickly attained, to announce that he wanted to continue, and nearly made his poor mother require a nurse from her “shock”. drama queen. but the family was more or less decided that he was not going to do anything of the sort. his sisters were just getting their bachelor’s degrees, and were far too young to get their interest in this stuff. his mum convinced him to at least try working with the company, in the easiest field there was: public relations.

unfortunately, there’s only so much you can control when it comes to what other people think of you. parker had somehow alienated himself from his brand’s clients, seeming like a pretentious, detached, and most importantly, uninterested. for all his talents, he was a dreadful actor.

so he switched over to the design branch, but he was terrible on that front too — not a good artist, and certainly not good at sticking to deadlines. then switched to accountancy. the department’s own workers wanted him gone. then to management. he was insufferable. all this consumed nearly one and a half years of his adult life, following which he had enough evidence to demonstrate that he was not meant for any of this.

cool, said his parents. so, what are you gonna do? he shrugged. then he made it expressly clear that they weren’t going to pay for any of his shit if he wasn’t going to stay with the company in singapore. he said, fine.

so, at the age of twenty-five, he dipped the hell out of that whole affair, and began the rest of his life. it was sort of bananas, and he doesn’t have the best memory of that whole time. for a while he was a teacher of english in singapore, then a teacher of english at a fancy school in tokyo, then he returned home to his beloved harvard, to get that phd he always wanted, while working not only as a teaching assistant for whatever it was worth, but also tending bars, doing editing work for the local paper. everything. hell, his thesis was about postmodernism in commonplace thought, and what better way to gather all that data by just — asking people about it ? and of course, backing them up with theories.

at this age of thirty one and a half, fresh out of his doctorate, he got offered a position at riverbank, sweet ! while the faculty may or may not have been excited to have him for his interesting takes, he didn’t quite see riverbank as anything more than one more stepping stone across a big, beautiful lake. did he know what was at the end of the lake ? hell no ! if he did, he would get a boat and go there. the fun was the stepping.

as teaching assistant, he hasn’t taken more than two courses this first semester ( apart from boring logistical duties ), although his higher ups have been nagging him to take more. he knows the trap ; they’re going to try and get him into a more permanent spot at the old, low-cost. no, sir ! can’t take parker ibarra for a fool, though you can take him for quite a lot more.

has already gotten a reputation as a strange guy among students, but nevertheless vastly entertaining. he always seems to have a suspicious story for any sort of analogy he wants to make, which has always led students to debate what the actual fuck happened in his life. he makes some of them up.

is he kind of living hand to mouth ? hell yeah, but who needs material things when you have intellectual pursuits ?

#* introduction.#* introduction / parker ibarra.#literally kill me when's a flood hitting rb so i can play fewer characters #* i just hope you see me in a little better light / parker ibarra.

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pilferingapples · 6 years ago

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Beeble Mis 5b : Who Gave You A Gun?!?

PREVIOUSLY on BBC Les Mis: it was Barricade Time, babey!

I’m trusting people better with geographical/layout descriptions than me will take this one. But other points:

- I give Wardrobe hell in this show and I do not take it back, but also let me say they’re doing a solid job on lower-class clothing. I especially like the poor woman in the march whose outfit is almost complete but her overblouse is too small and shows the lacing of her corset at her waist-- not sexy at all, it looks exactly like what it is, not being able to make/afford a top that really fits.

- ... A Riot Occurs! And okay yeah, listen, I’ve been trying really hard to evaluate this show as This Show, just an adaptation of the book, as Davies emphasized it was. But this is a very 2012 way to film the chaos as the riot erupts. I’m not saying it’s bad! I actually think it works! I just also think it’s Very Samey, and there are other ways to film chaotic sequences.

- The worker from The Something Cafe earlier (who I think may have been the one Enjolras saved earlier too?) comes up as they’re starting to build the barricade and is all WELCOME COMRADE and they are obviously really solid with each other and why Why WHY isn’t this worker just Feuilly?!? Enjolras has a canonical Worker Activist Bestie! It would have been a fine thing to go with!

...Were they afraid of mispronouncing “Feuilly”? because. I could understand that.

- “There’s only one line of attack!” says Enjolras and okay this is the kind of thing that people in genre shows say before being attacked from behind but it’s also like the whole deal with the Corinthe barricade so

- there’s a flag that I *think* has the date of the July Revolution on it? Not sure? Can anyone confirm?

- Grantaire grabs HALF A STOOL yes very good Grantaire

- Matelote is here! With a cockade in her hair! Slapping Grantaire in the face AS HE RICHLY DESERVES

- I am loving this HISTORICALLY ACCURATE multiracial and multigender crowd! Thank you!

- And now it’s time for COMEDY JAVERT!!! He is going to the barricades in his STEALTH CAP because he cannot TRUST anyone else to apprehend Jean Valjean! Who will definitely be IN THE VERY CENTER of the rioting! At...a small barricade..on an obscure street... with only 40-50 defenders...

you know if the IRL Official Intel had been this Hot and Happenin’, Charles Jeanne and Co. might have won:P

-BACK TO THE BARRICADE BUILDING, Gavroche steals the Mean Barber’s Plaster Head and Wig for and brings it along? for reasons?? , and then encounters Mabeuf

--okay Mabeuf being here is a Great Example of the way this series so often brings in canon details but gutted of the context that really makes them matter. We’ve seen nothing of his slide into poverty, his struggle, his desperation; there’s no reason to think there’s anything to him showing up (with tricolor sash!) except a genuine determination to Do His Part. I’m not sorry he’s here; I’m sorry it doesn’t tie in with anything else more.

- ...if Feuilly were here they’d be building a better barricade

- JAVERT IS HERE! ON THE CASE! TRACKING DOWN THE NOTORIOUS REBEL JEAN VALJEAN I’m sorry this is forever hilarious ACTUAL DIALOGUE:

Javert, Super Casual: Is a man named Jean Valjean with us? Quinnjolras, who very realistically has no idea who tf JVJ is: Not that I know of Javert, Super Smoothlike And Very Casual: He’ll be in the thick of it,MARK MY WORDS

Sadly then we of course cut to : Jean Valjean! or rather Cosette, trying to sneak out past Jean Valjean. And Marius! Sneaking into the Garden House!

And it’s all very nicely paralleled with them both being quiet and Marius is looking in a window and Cosette has her hands on the doorknob to step outside

and VALJEAN ATTACKS HER FROM BEHIND LIKE A HORROR MOVIE MONSTER

HOLY SHIT

she screams and begs to be let go, and he just! won’t ! he keeps Ever So Calm as he physically restrains her, calmly telling her that oh, it’s dangerous Out There, as opposed to in HERE, with a frigging superhuman keeping her restrained

he finally lets her escape back up the stairs and she yells I HATE YOU which is honestly seeming less Spunky Teen and more TOTALLY JUSTIFIED ACT OF BRAVE DEFIANCE holy shit

holy shit

I hate this Valjean so much y’all, this is so bad

the camera pulls away and shows us he is A Sad but !! I don’t care! Don’t PHYSICALLY RESTRAIN YOUR TEENAGER AND LOCK HER IN THE HOUSE

at this point in the recap I actually had to take a break and get some tea because holy shit

but okay. Okay. I’m back.

--and the scene is MERCIFULLY back to the House With Gardens In, where Marius is having an Existential Crisis and Eponine...is trying to convince him to live? and hook up with her? But she Name Drops the Chanvrerie Barricade apparently by mistake, here because this is the Les Mis where Women Aren’t Given Much to Thinking, and so Marius goes off to Die , as Marii do

then it’s back to the barricade! Where Courfeyrac , Mabeuf and Gavroche arrive at the head of a bunch of new recruits! Through the alley....into the barricade with only One Line of Attack...hhhhyeahhh. I . I get where like you couldn’t do a MASSED charge from that alley but it would be REAL easy to do a smaller distraction sortie? I think?

eh, I’m not Battle Tactics Blogger , back to the plot.

Gavroche spots Javert and immediately rumbles him; Enjolras and Courfeyrac and Not!Feuilly etc seize him and take him hostage. Go Team!

And then it’s evening,and all across Paris the lights are...doing things and people are singing!

But There is No Joy in Corinth, Except For Me! because Javert is tied to a post! and HILARIOUSLY YELLING ABOUT JEAN VALJEAN.

Actual Dialogue: WHERE IS HE! YOUR LEADER! JEAN VALJEAN!

I’m glad Quinnjolras thinks this is as funny as I do

Javert, to a group of armed revolutionaries: You’re mistaken, my friend! You’ve ALL BEEN LED ASTRAY.

Javert, my guy, I hate this Valjean too, but I don’t think he’s behind POLITICAL ISSUES IN PARIS.

Quinnjolras gets a We’re Not Assassins line when Gav makes to shoot Javert; I am pleased!

Meanwhile Not!Feuilly and Friends are outside watching the barricade; they call that the first charge is coming.

The first charge goes pretty well, Dramatic Fight Scene wise! Quinnjolras gets the barricade to use Good Bullet Economy, and is convincing as a combat leader, at least in this moment. Courfeyrac...gives the impression of being someone totally new to this, but getting the hang of it. Gavroche is Super Pumped and kills someone with Javert’s musket I think? (WHO GAVE HIM A GUN). (Bossuet I am pretty sure is killed.) And Grantaire, who has a gun somehow (WHO GAVE YOU A GUN)...gets an actual look at violence and shuts down. For any of the others,I’d be deeply annoyed by this, but it’s a good way of showing the basic Issue here: Grantaire has no real violence in him. He can be a jerk , but he doesn’t have the conviction to carry himself over the horrors of dealing real harm or real death--or seeing it come to others. War is genuinely awful! and he’s really not capable of this. It’s a good moment, and fits with the new way they’re doing his arc so far.

...and then as I’m appreciating this, and as the barricade is celebrating, it’s time to Raise the Flag! And Mabeuf volunteers! And Quinnjolras is like”hahah no grampa it’s fine” and Mabeuf says “I said I’ll do it”, and climbs up the barricade all awkward. And Not!Feuilly looks over at Enjolras like ??? and Enjolras does that shrug that means ‘Hey I Tried But Grampa Won’t Stop’ and Mabeuf puts up the flag and everyone goes YAAAAAY and Marius sneaks onto the barricade and Mabeuf gets shot.

And I just...it’s Shocking and it’s Sad in a Hey An Old Man Died sort of way, but it’s All Wrong for tone and context. The raising of the flag is supposed to be an obviously dangerous, essentially suicidal act of courage, that requires stepping into the line of open fire ; something even Enjolras hesitates to do. Mabeuf’s courage terrifies everyone , terrifies Enjolras ; Mabeuf inspires them all by his willing sacrifice, and becomes to the barricade a reminder of the courage of the Grand Revolution.

Here, putting up the flag is A Bit of A Chore; no one seems very tense about it; everyone’s watching calmly and laughing and cheering as it goes. Mabeuf’s death is Shocking, a Reminder that There Is Danger , not a foregone conclusion (and of course there’s no mention of the original Revolution as a positive inspiration). We, the viewer, don’t know about Mabeuf’s downward spiral in life, so we can’t link it to this decision, can’t see this as an act of protest and despair. Courfeyrac doesn’t know Mabeuf, so he doesn’t correct Enjolras on Mabeuf’s politics; he just seems shaken and lost by this Unexpected Death.

Mabeuf’s death is, essentially, reframed, from being a conscious, heroic , inspiring sacrifice to group of fighters who felt their courage wavering, to a Sad Loss That Awakens Everyone to The Horror Of Battle. Someone might like this choice of approach more; but it IS a choice, and a heavy one in terms of symbolism (even as it loses the commentary on symbolism!).

Anyway. Next wave of combat happens, Grantaire Nopes Out into the Corinthe (WHO GAVE YOU A BOOZE), Gavroche heads back into combat with a pistol (WHO GAVE YOU YET ANOTHER GUN) Marius RAUUUUGHS up and into Battle with the Gunpowder. It’s good! Kind of hilarious but good! The Barricade Is Saved and also happy about it instead of scolding him! GOOD !

and then Marius has a whole “it’s EASY when you DON’T VALUE YOUR LIFE” bit and Quinnjolras is like “Ungroovy , Comrade Buddy” and Marius walks down to the street level and a guard is Still Alive!1!1, and shoots at him! and hogad, Eponine sort of . Hurls herself across screen and falls in a heap RIGHT AT THE FOOT OF THE MAIN PASSAGE ON THE BARRICADE and Enjolras shoots the guard and is like “see some of us still value your life you drama llama” and i just

are they gonna move her or

--anyway , her Death Scene is very good until the odd change in final line; the shift from “I believe I was a little bit in love with you” to “I really did love you” is actually! a pretty major shift! but whatever ; Erin Kellyman did a wonderful job with the whole scene and for once I believe this Marius is truly sad at the passing of a life

The next bit with the letter is really cool! Let me give credit for that! Marius reads the letter Eponine gave him, while Valjean discovers Cosette’s blotter and reads it in a reflective plate-- a nice bit of symmetry and a cool way to use a book detail to unite the branches of the story! Valjean realizes Cosette is already lost to him-- “in her heart she’s gone” -- and I could not care less for the grief of Shouty Dragsalot, but it’s well acted for the person this Valjean is.

...and then Gavroche shows up with Cosette’s letter, and we get THIS

as Valjean JUMPS AT AND GRABS A CHILD and rips the note from his hand, and then growls at him to “hop it” until Gavroche does, in what is a really nasty echo of the Petit Gervais scene

and of course he reads Cosette’s letter and grabs a knife (WHO GAVE YOU A KNIFE), and heads to the barricade, where Javert lifts his head, alert, as his Valjean sense activates again.

...y’all I’m making as many jokes as I can but I am grieving for how horrible this Valjean is and how much more Cosette has to endure because of it?? this is grim. And while I know of course this series will stick to the plot of the book, it really would feel the most consistent for this Valjean to just flat out commit some good ol’ muderin’.

Well maybe JAVERT, SUPER POLICE PRESENCE will stop him! And save the poor barricade fighters from his malign influence! and then everyone can go get some cake with Cosette and Eponine and Mabeuf will make a Miraculous Recovery! That’s probably how it will go. No need to worry!

#Beeble Mis #Beeble Mis 5: Who Gave You A Gun #long post #death mention #abuse #Beeble Recaps

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