#I had to meet the person again today at my bookclub | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

meteor752 · 5 years ago

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...Hi.

I’ve wanted to make this post for a good while, just to get all of this out of my system.

This is not to make myself the victim, or to blame the person I’m going to talk about, this is just to vent.

There are also some people that I know that follow me and the person and will probably see this post, and I just want to ask you not to get involved or pick sides or anything.

So imagine you’re me, you’re a kid in a new school and you don’t know anyone. You are away on a class trip in the beginning of the year, and you’re supposed to sit with your class seat buddy on the bus, but your belts don’t work so you both have to find somewhere else to sit.

You walk along the bus aisle near tears, when you see a free seat beside a kid with black and yellow hair looking out the window. You ask them if you can sit there, and they says yes.

We will call this kid Kim.

You and Kim introduce yourselves, and they mention that they’ve read a book wity a character that has the same name as you, and you end up talking about other books you both have read.

The two of you go in the same year but different classes, so you hang out whenever you can.

You make other friends in your own class, but frankly there’s just a lot of drama and sometimes it’s nice to just hang out with a person that is more like you.

You and Kim spend three years hanging out together, playing Pokémon trainers, discussing Harry Potter, pretending to be animals, and you just have a lot of fun.

At the end of sixth grade you come out to the world as a Lesbian, and Kim comes out to you as Pansexual, and you start to bond a lot over it.

But then, at the end of sixth grade, something happens.

You decide that next year, with a new class, you won’t be a pushover anymore. You won’t be the girl that sits in during recess, reading Harry Potter books. You will be tougher, more outspoken, more confident.

You and Kim end up in the same class, and everything is fine at first!

But then, without realizing it, it changes.

You both start hanging out with other people together, and quickly become a part of a friend group. But without realizing it yourself, you are much more into the group than Kim is.

Kim starts forgetting their glasses, so they have to sit in the front of the class while you prefer to sit in the back.

The people that you and Kim used to hate have actually matured a lot, and you end up being able to have genuine conversations with them, despite Kim not realizing this.

Then everything goes downhill for you.

You start getting anonymous hate messages on the internet because of your sexuality, you start to really see the flaws in yourself, you start to hate how you look, how you think, how you are.

And you’re too afraid too talk about it to your parents, so you bring it up when you’re talking with Kim.

But instead of taking what your saying seriously, Kim interrupts you when you try to have a serious conversation, just saying random words, and instead of being there for you they just say “Yeah that’s how life is”.

You graduate seventh grade, and begin the worst Sumer of your life.

The summer of refusing to leave your bed, the summer of crying for someone to be there when no one is, the summer of long sleeves.

And through it all, Kim isn’t there.

When you begin right grade, you’re basically dead inside.

You laugh along with your friends, you do your homework, you write your fanfics, but inside you just want to end it all.

You barely hang out with Kim anymore, except for rare occasions, and it’s during this time that you start to realize how annoyed you are of them.

The way they laugh way too much at the smallest joke, like banging their hands on the table laugh, the way they always interrupt you when you’re talking, the way they insist on befriending the teachers, even the ones that bully you, the way they always make ridiculous poses that aren’t funny in the slightest.

You get really into musicals at this time, and you try to talk to Kim about them, but they always say that they are not interested in a sharp tone. But then they come up to you and start to talk about drag races and drag queens, and you try to listen but it’s just really not interesting to you, and when you tell them that they just huff and stomp away.

You ask Kim about it all, if they are in someway mad at you since they seem so sharp towards you. They say that no, they aren’t, but that they thinks it’s annoying that you shout across the classroom to correct someone??

You tell them that you need them in your life because of all the shit you are going through, but they just recommend a therapist and leave it at that.

Your parents finally find out about how you’re feeling by pure accident, and you’re diagnosed with depression and start seeing a therapist. At first it feels weird, but after a couple of weeks, it starts helping.

It’s in the winter season that Kim comes out to you as Non-binary, while the two of you are walking so you can buy chocolate. You are of course fully supportive, and ask which pronouns they want you to use in public. They say that they’d preferred if you used their given pronouns in public, but in private you use they/them.

But since you barely hang out anymore, you barely call them they/them, and after a while you almost forget about it.

It’s a simple assignment that makes you really despise this person. You’re supposed to make a video about a societal question, that would work almost as an ad. You end up with Kim and another girl, that is actually really kind.

The two of you wants to do something about feminism, but you end up in an argument about something, that eventually leads to if Straights should be allowed at pride.

Kim says strictly no, that Pride is a LGBT thing, and the straights shouldn’t have anything to do with it. You say that they should, because parents and friends should be there as emotional support, and a Bisexual might be dating a straight that wants to be there for their partner etc etc.

You eventually join another group.

After that, you stop trying.

You hang out with your new friends, and occasionally see Kim walk around school alone with their headphones, mouthing the words to the song.

At first you feel bad about it, but you stop after a while because Kim is not even trying to make new friends. They just talk to the teacher during class, give short answers to questions from classmates, and act as if anyone would look at them, they would die.

Kim comes out to the whole world as Non-binary, and you start to call them by their proper pronouns and their new name.

Whenever someone calls them their old pronouns or name, you are the first to correct them, and if anyone has any questions about their gender you are happy to answer, since you know that they’d rather don’t.

If anyone would ever mock them for their gender when they aren’t there, you snarl are them quickly, because it doesn’t matter if you like this person or not, respect all genders bitch!

Kim starts to hang out with new people at school that are a year older than them, and you’re a little happy for them.

It’s at the end of eight grade, when you’re sitting and talking to a friend that also used to be friends with Kim before she had enough, that Kim comes up.

You ask her if Kim ever mentioned why you and they never hang out anymore, and she said that they did.

According to Kim, the reason they and I don’t hang out anymore is because I call them by their old pronouns too much.

And the amount of pure rage that filled me at that moment was like an active volcano.

Because say what you want about me, Arrogant, Weird, a know it all, a disaster, whatever! But don’t you dare to propose that I don’t respect Non-Binary people.

It’s a lie too! I occasionally slip, but I quickly correct myself and apologize! I am the one that always correct people for fucks sake!

But this motherfucker dare to say that I call them the wrong pronouns, that’s just pure bullshit.

I was tempted to just sit up, find Kim and punch them in the face!

I have been wanting to confront Kim about this ever since my friend said it to me, but we have many mutual friends and I don’t want to screw anything up between them.

So currently I have no idea what to do. Thoughts?

#Long Post #Rant #Tumblr Story #Swearing #Story #Tumblr Rant #help #I had to meet the person again today at my bookclub #And the amount of times I wanted to fucking choke them was a lot

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pmpkinns · 4 years ago

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Growls From The Dark (Chapter 1 - Missing)

(I’m deciding to upload the chapters here as I upload them on archieve! I aim to upload a new chapter between Friday or Saturday of each week. Feel free to follow me on my social medio for upload updates and other information!

Twitter: TiredLeaf@LeafTired , Instagram: _tiredleaf_

Please feel free to leave a comment because I love hearing for y’all!

Word Count: 5K+

Summary: Luz hasn't shown up to school all week, which leaves her friends concerned. Brushing it off as the human needing to do errands for Eda, Amity's concern reaches its peak when Luz blows off their Azura Bookclub Meeting without any word as to why. Even stranger, Eda and Lilith refuse to tell Amity the truth about the noises she hears from outside the owl house as well as refusing to let her see Luz. Things remain in the dark until Amity is attacked by a strange creature on her way home one night. However, its eyes remind her of the human girl she loves.

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It was quiet. Nearly too quiet for Willows liking. Her gaze remained on the empty seat across from her as Gus continued to drink his apple blood without care. There was a silence between them, though it was not awkward, it was oddly peaceful. “Gus, have you seen Luz around today?” Willow asked, a hint of worry clearly laced in her voice. Gus stopped, his eyes shifting to the spot where Luz usually sat. The young witch thought for a moment. Luz had not been in his illusions class that morning, which he found a bit odd. However, his mind had been more focused on writing up an essay for the Human Appreciation Society, discussing a few new things that Luz had told him about the human realm. “I haven’t, but I wouldn’t think too hard on it. Maybe she’s out with the owl lady?” Gus tried his best to calm his friends' worries. They usually talked every morning before school; however, Luz had never picked up.

Willow gave a curt nod of understanding, before going back to the lunch on her tray. As soon as the sound of shuffling reached her eyes, Willow's eyes shot up, expecting to see the smiling Latina. However, they met with a pair of concerned yellow eyes. “Have either of you seen Luz today?” Amity asked her gaze drifting to the empty spot next to her. Willow seemed to tense just a bit, however, remembered Gus’s words. “She didn’t answer her crystal ball this morning, but she’s probably off somewhere helping Eda and Lilith. Also, she does stay with her mother on the weekends, so there’s a chance they’re just spending the day together.” Willow listed the different possibilities. Amity’s ears appeared to droop just a bit, which did not go unnoticed by the plant witch. “Hey, don’t think too much about you. I’m sure she’ll be back tomorrow!” Willow tried her best to raise the spirits of the youngest Blight, Titan knows she needed some joy in her life.

Amity’s eyes continue to remain on the spot where Luz usually sat. Finally, she sighed, giving Willow a reassuring smile. “You’re right, she’s probably just needing a day to herself,” Amity admitted. The group had been through so much within the past two years. With the takedown of Belos, there was still danger lurking in the shadows due to the escape of Kikimora. Due to this, Amity no longer needed to focus on joining the emperors' coven at the time, with Lilith having taken over and currently working to rebuild it and shape it into a proper coven that could do good. Amity now spent most of her days studying, hanging out with her new group of friends, and spending time alone with Luz that the group and her siblings did not need to know about.

School went on normally with only a few incidents. Someone had accidentally created a rather large plant beast that tried to consume students. Another tried creating an illusion of themself that ended up running around the school, spray painting everything in its path. And finally, the school had to evacuate due to a student in potions not paying attention, thus the smoke from their cauldron had caused the fire alarm to go off. The trio met outside, slightly damp due to the water. Willow was busy ringing out the little bit of water from her uniform, meanwhile, Gus created the illusion of a fan to help dry off the notes he had been taken in one of his classes. Amity stood beside him, opening one of her abomination textbooks to try and dry as well. Once everything was situated, and the smoke cleared, everyone returned to their classes to finish off the day. In the end, the group once again met up outside. “Should we just wait to give Luz her schoolwork tomorrow when she comes back?” Gus asked as he stared at the papers in his hands that his teacher had given to him earlier. Willow and Amity shared a look, almost as if they were having a silent conversation with each other. “I think we should wait until tomorrow. That way we can help her if she has any questions.” The plant witch insisted. “I think I’ll copy my notes for Luz tonight, that way she isn’t too lost,” Amity claimed as she thought about the girl, she had a crush on. Willow's eyes shifted towards Amity, who was busy staring at the ground. She bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from smiling as Amity’s cheeks turned a light pink.

“I think she’d like that.” Willow agreed.

The next day, Luz did not meet with the trio at the front of the school. Nor did she ever show up to lunch or any of her classes.

The day after, Luz remained absent, something that was beginning to worry the group. She had not been picking up when they called the owl house’s crystal ball, nor had been seen by any of the local vendors.

“Maybe something finally ate her,” Boscha had commented one day as she listened in on the group’s conversation during class change. Both Willow and Amity shot a look towards the three-eyed girl. She currently wore her grudgby jacket, due to the season starting the upcoming weekend, and tossed a ball in her hand. “Or maybe she’s just tired of hanging out with losers, though, she’s quite the loser herself.” The girl commented with a giggle. Willow took a deep breath to calm herself. “Luz is fine, she’s just out due to personal reasons.” Willow lied. Boscha stopped tossing the ball as she scoffed. She was about to open her mouth once again until Skara roughly grabbed her arm. “Boscha, you’re supposed to be at practice! We’ve been wondering where you’ve been!” She stated, tugging at her friend's jacket. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Amity.

“Amity!” She called excitedly, taking a step forward wanting to talk to the green-haired witch, however she was roughly tugged back. “We don’t have time for talking Skara! We need to practice!” Boscha barked as she pulled her friend away. “But you got to talk to Amity!” They heard Skara whine as Boscha led her down the hall and out the school. Amity’s expression became somber. Skara was not as bad as Boscha and honestly, she would be lying if she said she didn’t miss her. Gus took note of this. “Hey, I’m sure Luz is alright like Willow said! You two have your Azura Book Club meeting tonight, right? I’m sure she’ll be there!” Gus tried his best to reassure the youngest Blight. Amity thought it over. She couldn’t say she’d be exactly happy that Luz decided to miss school but attend their book club meeting; however, the thought that Luz missing school but still wanting to see her made her heart flutter a bit. “Yeah, I’m sure she’ll be there.” She agreed, holding her books closer to her chest as if the gesture helped slow down her beating heart.

Amity waited from six till a quarter to the witching hour in her hideout at the library.

Luz never showed.

Her pillow was soaked with tears when she woke up. Her siblings had suspected Amity to be out at a sleepover but were surprised to hear the front door open from the living room where they were busy watching a horror movie. Eric had nearly screamed, but Emira was quickly able to cover his mouth before he woke their parents up. The twins slowly peaked over the couch, surprised to see their sister slowly closing the door closed. “Mittens?” Emira gently called out, watching her sister tense. Both their eyes widened in concern as they took in their sisters tear-stained face. She sniffled weakly, eyes starring at the floor instead of her siblings. “Amity, is everything alright?” Edric asked, standing from the couch and ready to rush to his younger sister to see if she was hurt. Amity’s bottom lip trembled as more tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over. “Amity!” The twins tried to keep their voices low as their sister ran from their view and up the stairs towards her room.

They remained in the living room with the movie paused, giving their sister some time to herself, hoping she would come down and speak with them when she felt better.

Amity never returned to her siblings.

Amity cringed at the feeling of the dried tears against her face. She felt gross and wanted a shower more than anything at the moment. Well, she actually wanted to rush to the owl house to see if Luz was alright, but that would have to wait. Amity crawled out of bed nearly jumped at the sound of knocking echoing throughout the manor. Somebody was at the door. Amity glanced at the clock on her wall and then out her window. It was nearly seven in the morning and the sun was just beginning to rise. The knocking continued and from the sounds of it, the person was clearly not happy. Amity grabbed a change of clothes, preparing to take a shower, before walking out of her room. “I know it had to be those twins!” Whoever was at the door barking.

Curious about the topic of her siblings, and what they could have done to make someone so angry, Amity turns away from the direction of the bathroom to instead stand at the top of the staircase. One of the maids starred unamused at the man in front of her. Amity took note of his attire, chalking him up to be one of the farmers that lived a few miles away in the more rural area of the boiling isles. “Excuse me sir, but I don’t really see how you can believe the Blight twins to be the cause of such-” The maid seemed to be mulling over a variety of negative words in her head “-Misfortune.” She went with. The man huffed, rage clear on his face. “Because they’ve done this before!” He yelled, clearly irritated that he was not believed.

“My fence door was torn apart and some of my screech sheep gone!” The man growled. Amity could tell the maid was holding back an eye roll at the man’s accusation. “Well some may be missing; however, you still have the rest.” The maid claimed, ready to shut the door; however, the man was quick to press his hand against it. The woman’s eyes shifted towards his calloused, the twitch of her brown signaling she was becoming more irritated by the second. “There is nothing left.” The man hissed. Amity tensed slightly. It wouldn’t have been the first time a farmer had beat down their door due to her siblings, but something seemed off. When she came home the twins had been in their pajamas, clearly too lazy and not planning to go out and terrorize people with their usual shenanigans.

The man made no move to step inside the manor; however, he clearly didn’t plan on just leaving either. “And what, if I may ask, are you wanting exactly? Because I shall tell you now, the Blights will now be paying for your losses due to a claim without proof.” The maid stated rather harshly. The man sucked his teeth, ears twitching in clear irritated. His mouth opened and closed before he simply took his hand off the door and turned to walk away. The maid puffed out her chest in a bit of pride, though her eyes narrowed when the man stopped. “I know it was those damn Blight twins! And I’m going to catch them next time!” The man barked as he stomped down the old pathway.

Amity processed the conversation. Her siblings had scared local sheep stiff, laughing as they would fall over, however she could not wrap her head around the twins breaking into something physically to cause chaos. No, that was simply too much work for them. If they can’t use magic to get where they want, they’ll go find something else to entertain them. “Ms. Blight.” The voice of the maid pulled Amity away. Her eyes met with disinterested pair of green ones. “You may wish to change before breakfast. Your parents will be joining you, and I doubt they’d be very thrilled to see you in your school attire on a weekend.” The maid hissed. Amity tensed. No doubt about it her parents would be up soon, so she had to hurry. Quickly, Amity rushed to the bathroom. She undressed of her school uniform and tried to make her shower as quickly as possible, aiming to get changed and downstairs before her parents woke.

When she was done Amity wrapped her bathrobe around her, exiting the bathroom as soon as she finished everything she needed to do. She stepped out, ready to head straight to her room, instead of the waiting hands of her mother. Odalia gently cupped Amity’s face. “Sleep well?” She asked as a small smile graced her features. “Yes, mother,” Amity replied automatically. Odalia hummed lowly, her thumbs gently rubbing against Amity’s pale cheeks. “That’s good. I could have sworn I heard you crying at some point in the night,” Her mother stated which nearly made Amity’s body tense. “Oh darling,” She cooed, bringing Amity into an embrace. “Did you and Boscha have a disagreement? I haven’t seen her or Skara around in quite some time.” Odalia claimed. Amity gave a small nod, refusing to open her mouth in fear of her voice betraying how nervous she felt. Odalia hummed lowly, her nails finding purchase in Amity’s hair.

Usually, such an action would cause people to feel comforted and safe. Amity felt like she could throw up. Odalias nails raked against Amity’s scalp, her fingers stopping to place a strand of green between her fingers. “Such a beautiful shade. It really brings out the brightness of your eyes. The paleness of your skin. It’s absolutely beautiful.” She hummed, gently rubbing the wet strands between her fingers. Her hand once against found its way into Amity’s hair. This time she felt a rather harsh scrape against her roots. It made her wince. “Such a nasty shade. Very distasteful to the eye. Don’t you hate it Amity? This disgusting shade of brown takes away from such a lovely shade of green.” Her mother claimed, fingers pulling at her roots as if she were pulling weeds from a garden. What a silly comparison, as if Odalia had to do a hard day’s work in her life, let alone get dirty in a garden.

“I hate it, mother.” Amity lied.

Odalia hummed lowly in joy. She didn’t need to look up to know that her mother's smile had grown. “That makes me so happy to hear. I’m actually going into town after breakfast to have my hair done for a party your father and I must attend tonight. You’ll join me.” She stated, pulling away from Amity. Odalia’s hands once again cupped her face, giving her no choice but to stare up at her mother. “Be a good girl and wear something nice.” Odalia stated with one more look over of Amity “Don’t embarrass me.” Her eyes read before releasing her daughter's face to head downstair. Amity felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She was quick to rush back to her room, changing into something she felt would be flattering to her mother’s taste, which meant an outfit that her mother had gifted her recently.

It took Amity a moment to find something reasonable, due to her usually stuffing all her clothes given to her by her parents to the back of her closet. Usually what she wore were outfits she bought while out with Willow and Luz, some even coming from shopping trips with her siblings. Once she was changed, she used a spell to dry her hair and pulled it up into its usual half pull back state. She packed a bag, making sure to put in the notes and the homework Willow and Gus gave her yesterday since she had been expecting to see Luz that night. She halted at the thought. Amity sniffled at the memory. Was Boscha right? Was Luz tired of hanging out with them? Had she done something that had upset Luz? Amity shook her head free of the thoughts. If Luz had a problem, she’d come to them to speak about it, she wouldn’t just cut them off. Quickly, Amity made her way downstairs, making sure to drop off the bag by the door to grab when she and her mother left. Breakfast was quiet and uneventful, the twins mostly conversing amongst themselves and answering any questions their mother had.

Due to the takedown of Belos, Odalia had enlightened her family about her “concerns” of the Emperor's Coven. She had made it clear she didn’t feel comfortable with her children joining now that such a corrupt person had taken over. They were not allowed to join until a more suitable person was placed as head of the coven. On their way out, Amity grabbed the bag and slipped it over her shoulder. A carriage waited for them outside, which Odalia insisted her daughter enter first. Once they were comfortable the carriage began its journey to the marketplace. “Schoolwork darling?” Odalia asked, having taken notice of her daughter's bag. “Actually, a student in my abominations course was out sick this week, so I offered to bring them their schoolwork.” Amity partially lied. It felt as if her mother was starring through her, subtle smile still on her face as she checked her daughter for any hints of a lie.

“Such a good girl.” Was all that she said before turning her attention to the window. The conversation ended just like that, and the rest of the journey was silent. At the hair salon, Amity was quickly rushed into a chair by her usual stylist who scolded her for allowing her roots to grow out so much. She listened to her mother chuckle as she was placed in her own chair, the stylist being quick to let Odalia’s hair out of its usual updo. “I told her, brown just isn’t her color.” Her mother stated, relaxing in her chair as the stylist began to work. Amity felt embarrassed as the adults talked about her as if she wasn’t there.

Amity stayed out of the conversation, only speaking when spoken to. The sooner this ended, the quicker she could get to the owl house to see Luz and make sure she was okay. To hold her in a tight embrace and run her fingers through her hair. Amity’s face began to burn at the memories. At the times they were supposed to be having a book club meeting, but instead leaned against each other and took a nap, their arms wrapped around each other. The times they would be out to see a movie with Willow and Gus who didn’t realize that the two girls were secretly holding hands under the armrest between them. Jeez, she really missed her. “- And grudgby season has once again started! My husband and I went to the game last night and my oh my, how things have changed since your daughter left Mrs. Blight.” The man behind Amity laughed.

“All negative I hope.” Odalia chuckle, which caused the rest of the salon employees to give a laugh. They could think her mother was joking, but behind that innocent smile, Amity knew her mother meant what she said. “Your daughter was such a star player, it’s sad that she decided to quit.” He spoke as if he wasn’t talking about the girl who sat in his chair. “Oh, I know. Her father and I were so upset to hear that she quit due to a little mishap with her team. Luckily, she’s feeling better and Amity plans to rejoin the team again next year.” Odalia stated proudly. Amity tensed, her eyes widening. They had never spoken about this. She had no plans on returning to the grudgby team. “Oh, how wonderful! It’ll be so wonderful to see you on the field once again Ms. Blight!” Her stylist stated excitedly as he finished adding the last bit of dye to her hair. “Yeah, me too.” Amity gave a fake smile and even through in a giggle for effect.

“Is she wanting to be grudgby captain again?” An older woman who was having her hair washed asked, joining in on the conversation. Amity could feel her mother's gaze, as the older woman stared at the back of her daughter's head from her mirror. “You bet she does,” Odelia stated happily, which earned a few mumbled of joy from the other clients. Though Boscha had brought Hexside to victory on many occasions, everyone knew that the only way she even became captain was due to Amity leaving. “Oh, how exciting! We can’t wait to see you on the field once again!” A man who was having his hair dyed as well claimed excitedly. Amity chuckled, becoming more embarrassed as attention was drawn to her.

“Me too.” Amity lied once again.

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Amity waved goodbye to her mother as she once again entered the carriage, hair more elegant and ready to be seen. Her mother had originally offered to drop her off at the so-called classmate's house, but Amity insisted she walk to prevent her mother from being late. Her mother looked as if she wanted to continue with her daughter, though held back as soon as Amity mentioned the party her mother needed to attend. Before entering her mother had gently brushed some strands of green hair out of Amity’s face with a simple “Beautiful once again.” Slipping past her lips before disappearing into the carriage. She waited till the carriage was out of her sight before turning and heading towards the owl house.

Her concern only grew as a few merchants who recognized her, stopped her to ask where Luz had been. She usually delivered potions to people around the area, however, hadn’t been seen all week. Eda and sometimes Lilith would be spotted instead, selling potions to customers both new and old. Amity began to feel more anxious each time she was stopped and asked about the human girl. By the time she reached the edge of the woods Amity’s pace quickened. As soon as the owl house came into view, she began to slow down. Oddly, King was outside. There were scattered band-aid wrappers drifting away from him and past Amity. Some even floating towards the ocean. She shuddered at the breeze, a reminder that the days were becoming chillier, and that she had forgotten her coat at home. King appeared too busy to realize Amity was walking upon him. Hooty had fresh scratches on him, which King placed band-aids over. “You know she didn’t mean it, something just uh, different for now.” King tried to reassure the cowering owl door. The sound of crashing caught Amity’s attention as well as Kings. They both looked up towards the second floor where rattling could be heard. “Is everything alright?” Amity finally spoke up, causing King to jump and Hooty to hiss in surprise. “Danger! More danger!” The owl cried, still not forgetting when Amity had released her furry upon the door two years ago. Honestly, she thought things had gotten better between them, thus something must have happened to cause the door to be so shaken. “Uh, yeah, what brings you here?” King asked, turning his full attention to Amity. “I came to drop off Luz’s homework since she never came to school all week,” Amity claimed, shifting her backpack off her shoulders.

“Welp, thanks for that uh, greenie? I can give that to Luz!” He stated, jumping up to grab the bag from Amity, who quickly held it out of his reach. King glared at her. “What’s the big idea!” He barked, continuing to jump as if he would somehow jump high enough to reach that bag. “Can I please see Luz?” Amity tried her best to keep her temper under wraps. King finally stopped jumping, a long “Um” escaping him and causing a brow to rise in curiosity on Amity’s face. “King, who are you talking to?” Eda’s voice caught both their attention as she threw the door open. She looked tired and her hair disheveled. Her eyes widened. “Oh, it’s you.” She stated rather tiredly. Did these people just forget her name or something? “Edalyn who’s at the door?” Lilith asked from the couch, leaning over the side just a bit to see past her sister. Her eyes widened. “Amity? What brings you here?” She asked, placing some documents on a small table that had been move beside the couch over the past two years.

Amity’s eyes couldn’t help but follow the papers her old mentor had placed down. More so what caught her attention was that by the way she had placed them signaled she had the papers upside down when she was originally holding them. Odd. “I’m here to see Luz. She wasn’t at school all week, so I brought her homework and was going to see if she needed any help.” Amity stated while opening the bag and pulling out the homework. Eda and Lilith exchanged a look. “We can give that to Luz for your Amity,” Lilith claimed as she stood from the couch. Amity was quick to notice the woman nudge what appeared to be a book further under the piece of furniture. Something was off. “May I ask why I can’t see her? Is she sick?” Worry was clear in Amity’s voice as she asked. “Yep, got a bad human sickness or something. I blame it on this one here’s cooking.” Eda tried to joke and even nudged her older sister who simply glared at her.

“The human is just feeling a little under the weather. However, she may not be-” Lilith was cut off at the sound of a loud banging coming from upstairs. Everyone looked up to stare at the ceiling for a moment before the rustling calmed down, though it was clear someone was walking above them. “Yeah, she sounds very bedridden,” Amity stated with a bit of venom laced behind her words. Eda glared at the girl, though Lilith placed a hand on her shoulder. A warning as to hold her tongue. Eda sighed, “Listen, kid, Luz isn’t doing so hot right now-” another loud bang echoed throughout the house “And she probably won’t be for a while.” The witch claimed. Amity shifted her gaze away from the witches to stare in between them. From what she could see the house was a wreck. The couch had claw marks, there were torn and tattered books and pieces of fabric that littered the floor as well. Her eyes narrowed, was that a large hole in the window behind the table? “Did someone try to break in?” Amity once again questioned. The sisters shared a look once more, a motion that was steadily beginning to irritate Amity.

The sounds continued to pick up whenever everything went quiet, however, Amity was noticing that when she spoke, the sounds would stop for a while. As if on cue, the sounds of scratching at wood interrupted the sisters. “So, what exactly do you have up there with Luz?” The teen asked with a raised brow. Once again, the sounds stopped, causing the sisters to exchange a look. “Nothing of importance. Just an old house, don’t you know they creak and moan?” Lilith claimed, shifting closer to Eda to block Amity’s view of the house further. As soon as she finished speaking, the sounds picked up, the clawing seeming to intensify. “Yeah, you’ve been here plenty of times! You know the sounds this house can make.” Eda chuckled, which earned her a rather sour look from Lilith. Amity mulled the words she wished to use next over in her head.

What caught her attention though was the sound of a rather loud sniffing? It was clear whatever creature was above them was trying to figure out something or had the scent of something it was trying to get to. Once it stopped sniffing the scratching began once again. “I think you should go,” Eda claimed, reaching for the bookbag that Amity held in her hands. Before Amity could register what had just happened, the white-haired witch slammed the door in her face. Amity stared wide eyes as she came face to face with a concerned and battered Hooty. She listened as Lilith scolded Eda for her rude behavior, though their voices began to drown out as they took their arguing further into the house. Hooty took in Amity’s upset expression. “There there, it’s okay!” Hooty stated, wrapping its body around Amity once. She wanted nothing more than to shove the bird tube away, but at the same time, she was trying to wrap her head around what just happened.

“Luz isn’t feeling too well, and it’s not really good for her to be out and about, hoot!” Hooty claimed, its eyes shifting to the side of the house where Luz's bedroom was located. “Is-,” Amity’s voice got caught in her throat. She basically knew nothing about the diseases and sicknesses humans caught. “Is she going to make it?” Amity asked with clear concern of what the answer would be. Hooty’s eyes widened, its normal smile once again appearing. “Of course! Luz is going to be fine once Eda and Lilith sort everything out, hoot!” Hooty stated with such confidence Amity couldn’t help but feel a bit better. “Really?” She asked, happy that she was getting a bit of information out of the house at least. “Yep! Eda’s been dealing with the same thing for years! Hoot!” Hooty nuzzled its face against Amity’s who just seemed lost and confused at his statement.

“Welp, you don’t worry too hard about it! I’m sure you’ll see Luz soon when everything is better!” The owl pulled away from Amity as it spoke, once again appearing as just a face in the door. Amity remained standing; the ruckus upstairs having faded away as background noise by now. She was tempted to continue questioning the bird tube, however, quickly concluded that it would not be much help. It was currently trying to reach a spider that was crawling down its web with the weak attempt of grabbing it with its tongue. Amity slowly backed away, deciding it would be best to return home. She had spent a good bit of her day with her mother, much to her displeasure, though felt it would be best to return home before her parents made it back from their party. Plus, the wind was beginning to pick up as well as the chill in the air.

She spared the house one last glance, even moving closer to the cliff to see if she could peer up at Luz’s window. Oddly, it was boarded up, only adding to Amity’s concern. Taking a deep breath, Amity was quick to turn around and head back home. She was sure once everything was said and done with, Luz would explain herself. Amity had to admit to herself that she felt relieved that Luz wasn’t avoiding her on purpose nor their group of friends. She continued down the normal path, though turned onto a new one that she had found which was a quicker way to her home. She hummed at the memories of all the times she had taken it as she slipped away from the owl house to go home. Her mind was occupied to the point she didn’t realize how late it had gotten and how close she was to getting home. The old money houses that littered her neighborhood came into view.

Most of the houses were lit up due to the darkness that had begun to cover Bonesborough, which brought a sense of relief upon Amity that she was nearly home. Her parents wouldn’t be back till later that night, which meant she could do as she pleased. Getting a warm cup of boiling chocolate sounded delightful, something to bite the chill in the air. Maybe she could even convince the twins not to bother her and instead allow her to watch a movie with them. The ideas of what she could do when she got home began to run through her mind. It was so rare for her to feel like she could be herself at home.

Little did she know that a creature lurked close behind, its snout pressed to the ground as it sniffed furiously. The creature had been tracking her, for quite some time. Its speed picked up as Amity’s scent got stronger. The green-haired witch never ever realized what was coming. The only time she registered anything is when the sound of breaking sticks and running caught her attention and she was shoved off the path by a large body and into the darkening woods on the other side.

_______________________________________________________

Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave a comment!

#the owl house #lumity #luz noceda #amity blight #willow park #augustus porter #growls from the dark series

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thekitsune · 4 years ago

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The Keyblade Witch, Luz Noceda Chapter 1

And here’s chapter 1 everyone! (Since the first part was the Prologue) I hope you all enjoy! Also, just a quick note. I’m going to update the fic every Sunday. Now on with the fic!

"Ah!" Luz yelled as she shot up in her sleeping bag. King shot off the ground with a 'snee!' which reminded Luz of startled cats from cartoons that she would watch back home. Breathing heavily, she looked at her hand and saw that it was shaking. She was just falling right? Is this real?! Is she still in that dream realm?! Shooting to her feet, she caught King before he hit the ground and looked him straight in the eyes.

"King, is this real?! I feel like it's not!" Without even giving King a chance to answer, she dropped him on the floor and ran out of the room. Rushing through the house, she saw a sleepy Eda sipping from her mug. Without giving her any warning, she tackled her teacher and knocked her to the ground with a loud grunt. Groaning from the floor, Eda pushed her hair out of her face and looked down at Luz.

"So...I take it that something's the matter?" Eda muttered in an annoyed tone. Luz just nodded her head against Eda's side. Sighing, Eda lifted Luz into her arms and stood back up. Walking out of the kitchen and over to the couch, she dropped Luz onto it. Stepping back, she saw that the girl was clearly spooked by something. This was not new considering Luz has been getting into trouble ever since arriving in the Boiling Isles. However, the girl must have just woke up and came down here so she couldn't have seen something terrifying. Plus, King usually sleeps in the same room as her and if something happened, the first thing Eda would have heard was King's loud shrieks of terror.

Inspecting the girl again, she came to a single conclusion. "You have a nightmare, kid?" Eda questioned her while placing her hands on her hips. Luz just nodded her head slowly before freezing and shaking her head 'no.' Eda sighed at this while crossing her arms. "So you did or you didn't?" Luz let out a sigh and shrugged her shoulders with a scrunched up face.

"I have no idea. I was attacked by monsters and fell hundreds of feet through the air, but at the same time...I don't know! It felt too real to be a dream! I felt pain, fear, joy, confusion, and everything! I mean, it felt like I was here in the real world! But the last thing I did was go to sleep in my room so it had to be a dream right?!" Luz frantically explained before clutching onto Eda's sweater. Wincing from how loud Luz was being, Eda ran a hand through Luz's hair to try and comfort the girl.

She didn't know why, but the dream that Luz was describing sounded familiar to her. She could have sworn she heard something about a realm like that. Listening as Luz continued to describe everything that happened in the dream, she knew for certain that she had heard of this somewhere. "But where?" Eda thought to herself as Luz buried her face into Eda's side.

Looking back down at the girl, she smiled softly as she wrapped an arm around her and gave her a hug. She might not be too big of a fan of hugs, but she knew that they always helped to comfort Luz so she was willing to suck up her dislike of them if it made the girl happy. "Listen, Luz, I wouldn't worry about this dream. As far as I can tell, it's just causing you unnecessary stress. Why don't you go and spend some time with your friends. I'm sure that will help you out," Eda suggested. Luz hummed in thought before nodding her head and getting up.

Smiling at Luz to reassure her, she waited until the girl was out of the room before dropping her smile and narrowing her eyes. Drawing a circle in the air, her sleeping clothes changed into her normal outfit. Standing up, she called Owlbert to her as she headed to the front door. "I need to check on what that dream could mean. I don't know, but I'm getting a strange feeling that something is about to happen," Eda muttered to herself as she caught her staff and left the house.

Luz walked into her room and gently pushed King out so she could change her clothes. King hmph'd and headed to his room to continue sleeping. As Luz put her cat hoodie on, the events of her dream passed through her mind again. Reaching out with her right hand, she tried to will the Dream Rod back to her, but she was disheartened to see nothing appear. Sighing in defeat, she threw her hood up and left her room. Yelling bye to King, she left the house (not forgetting to say bye to Hooty either) and headed to her usual meeting spot with Willow and Gus.

As she ran down the path, her mind continued flashing through the dream. It had to be real. There was no way that entire experience was something that she made up in her head. But if it was real, what does that mean for her? Was it preparing her for something? Providing her with something? It had to mean something right? Shaking her head, Luz tried to clear her thoughts only to stumble and fall on her face.

"Ow..." she groaned as she began to push herself up. Hearing laughter, she looked up and saw Boscha with her group of friends laughing at her. Blushing in embarrassment, Luz stood back to her feet and turned to continue on her way.

"Nice one human," Boscha smirked at the embarrassed Luz who gave a weak glare back at Boscha, but continued on her way. Puffing her cheeks in annoyance, Boscha followed after Luz. "What, are you not going to say anything? I thought you were tougher than that?" Boscha baited Luz who paused for a moment.

Looking back over her shoulder, Luz stared at the girl. Boscha has not let up on her since they first met. Even after she joined Hexside, Boscha continued insulting her and making fun of her. Amity had pretty much stopped spending time with the girl as she continued making fun of Luz, but Luz knew that Amity missed hanging out with Boscha. The two were friends for quite awhile after all. Maybe this was the reason that Boscha continued to pick on her.

"I'm in a hurry. Sorry," Luz simply stated before walking off again. Boscha just stopped in place and stared in shock at Luz. Usually the girl fell for her bait, but she straight up ignored her today. Growling under her breath, she turned and re-joined the rest of her friends who gave the fuming girl a wide berth.

---

Luz sighed under her breath as she continued walking. She really wished that she could be on friendly terms with Boscha, but at this rate, the two would be enemies forever. Sticking her hands in her pocket, Luz trudged on ahead to meet up with Willow and Gus. However, as she walked, she saw something shining from a small opening in the cliffside. While Luz has grown to know that sneaking into caves like that in the Boiling Isles always lead to something awful happening, she felt like something was calling to her from this cave.

Walking over to it, she bent down and crawled into the cave. After a minute or two of crawling, the ceiling began expanding until she was able to stand back on her feet. Looking around, she was surprised to see writing littering the walls of the cave. She was unable to make out what it was saying, but she did see a heart in several different areas of the cave.

"What is this place?" Luz whispered as she continued walking around. Soon, she came to the end of the cave and was surprised to see what looked like a door. Blinking in surprise, she walked over to it and inspected the door to see if it had a doorknob.

"The Day draws closer. Soon the door will open and from it, Kingdom Hearts will emerge." Luz froze in shock as a voice began to echo throughout the cave. Looking around, she tried to find the person who was speaking. As she continued looking around, a wave of dread and fear passed through her. "Oh this is interesting. I see some things will have to change. Soon Darkness will claim this world."

Luz felt her heart begin to beat faster as she looked around a large rock and spotted a figure wearing a faded cloak. Before she could call out to them, the figure disappeared into a corridor of darkness. Gasping, Luz backed away from it and ran towards the entrance of the cave. Something was happening, and she did not want to be alone when it occurred. Crawling back to the entrance, Luz squeezed back out and scampered across the ground before shooting up to her feet.

Taking one last glance at the opening, she immediately turned and ran to the meeting spot. As she ran off, the figure appeared again and watched as she ran.

"Yes, plans will have to change," the figure stated before disappearing again.

---

Luz ran past several different stands until she spotted Willow, Gus, and surprising Amity standing there talking with each other. Strange, usually Amity didn't meet up here with them. Seeing the girl just perked Luz up even more as she began running even faster. The trio looked over and smiled as they spotted their friend. "Hey Luz!" Willow shouted while waving at her.

"Friends!" Luz happily responded as she screeched to a halt. Before anybody could react, Luz had pulled the three of them into a group hug. Willow and Gus happily returned it while Amity blushed lightly as she awkwardly returned it.

Releasing the three, Luz backed up and smiled at them. "Hey guys! What are the three of you doing together? Usually, it's just Willow and Gus here. Not that there's anything wrong with you being here Amity, I'm just curious and I'm just going to stop talking now..." Luz whispered while pulling her hood back over her head with an embarrassed face. Willow giggled at the sight while Gus held back a snicker. Amity just awkwardly laughed while looking to the side.

"I wanted to see if you wanted to go to the bookstore with me. They are releasing the new Azura volume today, and I figured that the Azura Bookclub had to be there," Amity whispered the last part, but from the looks on Willow's and Gus's faces, they clearly heard her. Luz's eyes began shining at the news and she quickly took Amity's hands into her's.

"Of course! Let's go!" Luz began dragging Amity down the street without giving her any warning. Amity let out a yelp as she was dragged along.

"Should we follow them?" Gus asked with a smirk on his face. Willow giggled again before shaking her head no.

"We usually spend the day with Luz. Let's give Amity today. We can check on Luz later at the Owl House," Willow suggested which earned her a nod. The two turned and headed off to go and check on some stands for supplies for school.

Luz and Amity ran down the street with Luz in the lead thanks to her practically dragging her friend behind her. Amity had thankfully kept herself from falling on the ground initially and quickly kept pace with Luz. She should have known that Luz would respond like this when she told her about the new Azura book. To be honest, she almost acted like this when she received the news on her scroll. Thankfully, she was able to restrain herself (the twins might have helped with that) and get herself dressed so that she could meet up with Luz.

She was surprised to see Willow and Gus when she arrived in the marketplace, but she figured that this was the meeting place for Luz and the two of them. She hated that she was pretty much going to steal the girl from her friends for the day, but it had been awhile since the two spent any time together. Blushing at the way that thought was worded, she began shaking her head rapidly to clear it of the blush. Luz seemed to feel Amity's movements since she brought the two to a halt and looked back at her.

"Are you okay Amity? Wait...Oh no, I just drug you all the way here. Are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I?" Luz questioned the girl with concern lacing her tone. Amity looked at Luz and smiled lightly. Bringing her hand to Luz's shoulder, she quickly eased the girl's worry.

"I'm fine Luz, I was just remembering something unpleasant. Now then, let's hurry before the bookstore sells out!" Amity cheered before running on ahead with Luz quickly rushing after her with a 'Hey! You won't beat me there!' escaping her lips.

The two continued towards the bookstore with their running quickly turning into a small race. Everyone watched the two girls run through the marketplace laughing happily as they continued trying to stay ahead of each other. As they dodged several pedestrians, the two turned a corner and smiled at the sight of the bookstore. Running inside, they looked around before spotting a small section with a poster of Azura on it. Running over to it, the two ran into the section with Luz happily announcing, "I won!"

Amity panted lightly, but she smiled nonetheless. Conceding defeat, she patted Luz on the back in congratulations before leading the way to the shelf where the new Azura books should be. However, as they got closer...

"No...this can't be," Amity whispered in shock while Luz fell to her knees.

"They're sold out!" Luz shouted in disbelief while collapsing to the ground. Amity shook her head sadly at the lost opportunity. Luz sat up and hugged her knees. "This is all my fault. If I didn't make you wait on me, you could have bought the book. I'm sorry..."

Amity bent down and ran her hand down Luz's back to comfort her. Luz looked at the floor sadly, "First that weird dream, and now this...today's just been awful." Before Amity could question Luz on what weird dream she was talking about, the two felt the ground begin to shake. Jumping back to their feet, the two looked down in shock before glancing at each other. Running outside, they were shocked to find...

--- Library (twenty minutes ago)

Eda smirked to herself as she walked down one of the aisles in the library. The librarian had stopped her at the front door and told her that she was banned from entering after returning the last books she had in such poor condition. Eda had groaned and walked off to give the illusion that she was going to follow the man's ban, but she had easily found her old entrance that she had made when she was younger. Seems they still hadn't fixed it.

Looking around at the shelves that surrounded her, she knew that there had to be a book that covered whatever Luz had dreamt about. Cracking her fingers, Eda began scouring around in search for any book that could give her the answers that she needed.

"Hm...To Know Your Heart? Nope. Nine Ways to Kill a Shadow Beast, interesting, but no. Dive to the Heart, nope...wait what?" Eda stopped as she looked back over at the book that she had tossed over her back. Picking it back up, she examined the cover and spotted a platform with a stain-glass flooring. Eda remembered that Luz had mentioned multiple times that the platforms in her dreams had a flooring similar to this. Opening the book, she began reading through it.

Apparently, the 'dream' that Luz had was actually Luz entering her heart. Only a select few could do this at will. Sometimes, people can do it by accident, but their stay usually only lasts for a few seconds at most. Others can enter it by accident, and they can proceed to have a similar experience as Luz's.

"Okay, so it says that there's nothing dangerous about diving to one's heart. What about those creatures those. This book has nothing written down about them! Ugh!" Eda groaned as threw the book to the side again and continued scouring the shelves for a book with the answers that she needed.

As she continued looking, she felt a dark aura emanating from the side. Gripping her staff tightly, she turned around and saw a cloaked figure standing there. "Who are you? What do you want with me?" Eda demanded as she pointed her staff at the figure. The figure didn't respond verbally, but they did hold out a book.

Eda glanced down at it and saw the title: Studies of the Heartless. The creature on the cover matched Luz's description of the massive beast that attacked her at the end of the 'Dive to the Heart.' Looking back up at the figure, she lowered her staff only slightly. "Okay tall, slumped, and silent, what do you want for that book?" Eda questioned the figure.

"...Nothing. Nothing at all..." the figure answered as they handed Eda the book. Hesitantly taking it out of the figure's hands, she looked down at it before looking back up only to see that they had vanished. Looking around cautiously, Eda looked back down at the book. Something was up. And it had to do with this book. Looking down at it again, she could feel something...dark about it. Usually, Eda threw caution to the wind, but there was something about this. She had to dispose of this.

Looking around, she made sure that no one was around before bringing her staff up. She would destroy this book and whatever darkness it held within. As she walked over to place it on the floor, she slipped on Nine Ways to Kill a Shadow Beast and fell to the floor. Unfortunately, she had released the book from her hand when she slipped and it was sent flying through the air. Looking up in shock, she pushed herself up and moved to catch it...but she missed.

The book fell on the floor spine-first and opened for the world to see. The book shined briefly, before a pillar of darkness erupted from it. Eda's eyes widened before grabbing her staff and flying out of the library as quickly as she could as the darkness began to spread.

Outside, the figure chuckled before looking to the side. "Step one is complete. Now to complete step two."

As the figure disappeared again, the Boiling Isles slowly began to be consumed by the darkness. Today was going to be a day that everyone in the Boiling Isles would never forget.

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chelsfic · 5 years ago

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Part 4 - Trustfall - August Walker/Reader - Mission: Impossible Fallout fanfic

A/N: I’m not sure if this is quite the tone I was going for, but almost every time I set out to write something it turns out differently than I originally intended. For better or worse! I really hope you enjoy this little chapter. There’s action and angst to come in the next part!

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

You wake the next morning with all the awkwardness and mortification it is possible to feel. Your arms are twined around August’s middle and your bad leg is screaming from being folded underneath you all night. There is an unmistakable drool spot on August’s t-shirt that you are choosing to ignore.

To you, August seems just as cool and collected as always. He stretches, reaching his arms over his head, deliciously exposing a few inches of his stomach as his shirt hitches up. You don’t notice. His eyes flick to the clock on the wall and he huffs a resigned breath before violently cracking his neck. The blatant masculinity is positively overwhelming.

You clear your throat, “Uh...sorry about that. I didn’t mean to fall asleep here...with you.��

You slowly unfold your leg and hiss against the pins and needles, the painfully cramped muscles. August watches you with an inscrutable expression.

He grunts a noncommittal response, effectively ignoring your poor attempt to address the sudden, confusing intimacy of the previous night. You look back at him, at his unreadable face and realize, with a sinking stomach, that he plans to just pretend it never happened.

He observes your nervousness with cool calculation. At least that’s how it seems to your eyes. You can’t possibly know that his thoughts are racing. That he’s recalling, relishing the feel of your small body pressed against him, the perfect trust that seemed to exist between you when your eyes drifted shut and you slept without a thought for the locked door that stood between you every night prior to last night.

“Alright, then,” you chirp, needing to fill the silence. “I’m gonna jump in the shower…”

You trail off. As August shifts forward in his seat to stand up he lets his hand just graze over your shoulder in a comforting caress. It’s there and gone before you have time to process it. But it was definitely there.

Maybe he wasn’t going to pretend last night didn’t happen.

***

In the days that follow neither of you brings up the strange night you spent holding one another. But the magic of that twilight hour seems to have had a healing effect. The air in the house is lighter. You feel the easing of the tension you’ve been unconsciously carrying around in your shoulders. And there are the touches. It feels natural. Right. That night had unlocked an intimacy between you that wasn’t quite forgiveness. It was more like an acknowledgement of things to come, of the possibility of things.

Your fingers sliding together as he passes you a soapy plate to dry. The brush of your fingertips along the nape of his neck when you pass him sitting in the living room. And one night when he returns home very late with a blackened eye and a cut over his eyebrow. He walks through the front door and makes a beeline for you, sitting on the couch in the living room. He kneels before you on the floor and winds his strong arms around your waist, pressing his face into your soft stomach. You move your hands in soothing circles over his trembling shoulders.

Things are...changing. And you want them to. You find yourself looking forward to seeing August at the end of the work day. Driving home with a smile on your face. And you worry when he stays out late...working. You feel the blossoming of possibility between you and you can see in his eyes and feel it in his touch, that he feels it too.

Of course things are bound to go wrong.

***

You’re running late, you don’t even have time to shower properly. You just stick your head under the shower spray to wet it and then throw your hair in a bun. Better than nothing. As you’re rushing out the door you hear August’s quick steps on the stairs. By now you realize he only makes noise when he wants you to know he’s there. Otherwise he’s capable of moving with ghostly silence.

“Y/N,” he calls, “you’ll be home late tonight, right?”

He’s dressed in a crisp button-down shirt and dark grey trousers. He must have business today. When he’s staying in he tends to dress down in denim and t-shirts or sweaters. At first you had found the sight of him in casual wear to be jarring--now it is the other way around. When he’s dressed for business you know there is the possibility of danger. You feel your heart in your throat at the idea of August being hurt and you wonder when that started, feeling protective of him.

“Yeah,” you reply, pushing away the question you have no answer for, “it’s my book club night tonight. I’ll be home around nine-ish.”

“See you then,” he says and takes a step toward you before stopping himself.

You stand there for an extra beat, feeling like he’s left something hanging in the air between you. Finally you offer him a half-smile and wave goodbye as you walk out the door.

Stupid, he thinks to himself. What is he thinking? That he’s your husband, hugging you before you leave for work? This situation was getting confusing and he didn’t have time today to be distracted by feelings that would be better off ignored.

He needs to think over his plans for the day, the night. He’s arranged for a meeting between two clients, money for information. Simple. The buyer is most certainly a Russian SVR operative although he is representing himself as a businessman in need of insider intel. The seller, whom August will be representing, is some low-level DOD engineer looking to live dangerously. August will be taking a substantial finder’s fee from the deal which he’s arranged for this evening in the house. It isn’t ideal, but the original location he’d selected had spooked the Russian. So, this is his alternative. And it will be fine. It’s a one-time thing and it will all be fine. As long as he is certain that Y/N will arrive home well after his client departs.

***

“So, on a scale of one to dead how much trouble would I be in if I didn’t finish the book for book club tonight?”

You’re perched on the edge of your friend Jen’s desk wearing a sheepish expression. Jen’s classroom is next door to yours. You both started teaching in the same year and had naturally become fast friends. It is a little comical given how different you are. Jen is a garrulous, spiritual star-girl who spends her weekends at psychic fairs and you are a snarky, introvert with a natural skepticism for anything that can’t be verified in a double-blind study. There is just something inherently compatible and complementary between you that makes the friendship work. You suppose it’s a sense of humor and the fact that Jen never really pushes too hard to break into your personal space. Other than constantly bemoaning your lack of a dating life.

Jen laughs at your comically shamed expression and shakes her head in mock disgust, “Y/N...this is like the third month in a row you’ve asked me that question.”

“Hey! At least part of that time I was in the hospital. You know I’m going to milk that excuse for as long as I can,” you reply. You really enjoy being in the book club--it’s just Jen and a couple other teachers and it pretty much comprises the entirety of your social life since well before the shooting.

As far as Jen and the rest of your coworkers know you were in a bad car accident. The lie has become easier for you to accept with time. Now you can joke about it.

“Mmm...no, sorry that’s not gonna cut it anymore,” Jen scoffs. “But...you’re actually off the hook because it turns out that Maddy and Lisa both had to cancel tonight, anyway.”

You raise your hands in mock victory, “Just as I planned all along!”

Jen rolls her eyes, “You want to go out for dinner at Zorba’s anyway?”

“Nope!” you chirp. “Canceled plans? I fully intend to go home and finish this damn book.”

“Uh huh,” Jen’s voice is laced with skepticism. “Don’t think I don’t know the real reason you haven’t finished it. You have a secret boyfriend, don’t you? It’s the surgeon who fixed your leg! You’ve fallen in love and are going to get married and have little surgeon babies!”

“Good grief! Next book is going to be strictly non-romance! You’re delirious!”

You walk toward the door that adjoins your two classrooms and force a laugh as you wave goodbye. You can’t help it. The little stutter you feel in your heart at Jen’s words. It’s ridiculous because August is basically a scoundrel despite how nice he’s been acting to you lately. But you can’t lie to yourself. You’re happy to be going straight home after work instead of heading to bookclub. In fact the little bubble of happy anticipation in your chest floats you through your day until you’re once again driving home with a goofy smile on your face looking forward to seeing the man who has somehow, incredibly, managed to carve out a place in your heart.

Tags:

@thorins-queen-of-erebor @viking-raider @onceuponathreetwoone @angelic-kisses13 @afangirldaydreams @peeyewpeeyew @calwitch @scuzmunkie @amy-choices

#august walker x reader #august walker imagine #henry cavill imagine #mission: impossible fanfic #chelsfic

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ladyreapermc · 5 years ago

Text

Fic: I’ll wait (Julian x Reader)

Summary: You ran into Julian again at a coffee shop when he’s awkwardly talking to his ex. You pretend to be his girlfriend to give a hand.

Author’s Notes: This is a follow up to Your Racing Heart, one of the first fics I’ve wrote for the Keanu fandom. Feedback is greatly appreciated.

Wordcount: 1810

Warning: none. Just pure fluff!

One of the things you hated the most about small towns was the fact that you had very little option of places to go to. It was fine if you planned to stay at home or hang out at the beach, but when your grandma had bookclub and kicked you away, there weren’t all that many places with working wi-fi and a constant supply of coffee.

That was how you found yourself in the only coffee shop in the town, commandeering one of the tables in the back, away from sight from most people. You had your laptop, headphones, a couple of reference books and your notepad. The one you carried with you everywhere so you could write down little snippets of scenes or random ideas whenever they struck you.

You were flipping through it, looking for a line you wrote down for one of your characters when you were in the market a couple of days ago, but instead, you found the prescription paper with Julian’s phone number.

It had been a little over a week since you passed out, ended up in the hospital, being seen by one of the cutest doctors you’ve ever met. He was understanding and sweet and anyone’s dream boyfriend and the two of you were definitely flirting that day. However, you had promised yourself that until your book was finished and ready to be delivered to your boss, that was going to be the only thing in your mind for the summer.

With a sigh, you set the paper inside your notepad, before going back to searching the line you needed it. You lost yourself in the process of writing, words pouring out of you like it hadn’t happened in a while.

You weren’t sure what exactly made you look up. It was just a weird feeling, but when you did, you saw Julian at the counter, ordering himself a coffee.

He was dressed in jeans and a fitted blue t-shirt that showed strong arms, his dark hair framed his handsome face and the warm smile he gave the giggling barista. You felt an impulse to call out to him, offer him a seat at your table since the coffee shop was a little crowded, but decided against it. Your book was your priority. That was the deal.

Shaking yourself from your distraction, you forced your gaze back to the screen, managing to resume your writing. Some of your attention must still have been attuned to Julian’s presence thought because you couldn’t help but look up when a female voice called his name.

Julian had moved to the side to wait for his order, his back was to you. In front of him stood a blonde woman in her fifties. You recognized her immediately because even though you weren’t all that fond of romantic comedies, a playwriter like Erica Barry was very well known in the literary world.

As Julian tilted his head to accept her kiss on his cheek, you could see his shoulders tensing and caught a glimpse of his frozen smile that didn’t meet his eyes at all. That was when it clicked to you. Erica was the ex he mentioned at the hospital.

You were moving before you could even register it, walking straight to where the pair was standing.

“Hey, honey! I got us a table!” You announced, making Julian turn to look at you, his brown eyes shining with relief as you hooked your arm with his, before turning your focus on Erica. “Hi there.”

“Hello,” Erica greeted as she looked from you to Julian, who quickly introduced the two of you and you plastered an overly sweet smile on your face.

“Oh. So, you’re the ex,” you said and Erica flushed red, her eyes going even wider, probably assuming Julian had told you about what had happened. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” she managed with an awkward smile. “I should get going,” Erica glanced back at Julian. “It was nice to see you again.”

“You too,” Julian replied. “Give my best to Harry.”

“Thanks for that,” he said as soon as Erica was gone, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m over her, but it’s still so weird.”

“It happens,” You said with a shrug. “I do have that table. Do you wanna join me?”

You gestured at towards where you were sitting, and Julian glanced over before looking back at you.

“I don’t want to get in your way. Looks like you’re busy.”

That was true and you probably should take the way out he just offered you but now that you were here with him you didn’t want to let go.

“It’s fine. I’m due for a break anyway.”

“If you’re sure…” Julian said, grabbing his coffee from the barista and following you to the table.

You closed your laptop and pushed your things aside as Julian sat across from you, setting his cup and book on the table. For a moment, you two just watched each other a little unsure until you finally spoke.

“Do you mind if I ask what happened there? Between you and Erica?”

“Guess is only fair since you just rescued me,” Julian said with a small chuckle. He launched himself in a quick retelling of his relationship with Erica with all the messy details that led to the unbelievable ending.

“So, she dumped you to marry the womanizer that she wrote a vengeance play about?” You asked, unable to keep the shock from your voice and Julian chuckled again.

“Yeah. When you put it like that, I should’ve known she wasn’t really over him.”

“None of this is on you, Julian. She shouldn’t have led you on in the first place,” you declared in an indignant tone.

Julian flashed you a small smile, ducking his head at your words and the way his eyes crinkled at the action was really cute and you couldn’t help but smile too.

“So, I just shared my embarrassing love life. How about you return the favor?”

“I’d have to have a love life first,” you joked, leaning forward on the table. “No such luck. Sorry.”

“No boyfriends? I find that hard to believe,” he said, leaning forward too as he watched you with a smile and that was definitely flirting.

“None worth mentioning.”

You and Julian talked about everything, from embarrassing childhood stories to tales from your jobs, hobbies and everything in between. You never felt this comfortable and open with someone and you really enjoyed it. It felt almost like you knew him forever.

It was around seven p.m. that the two of you finally left the coffee shop and Julian, being a perfect gentleman, walked you to your grandma’s house.

“I had fun today,” he said with a soft smile as he stood with you on the porch. “Again, thanks for the save.”

“No problem,” you smiled back. “And I had fun too, but…”

“Yeah, I know,” he said his expression turning chagrin, his hands in his pockets and gaze of his boots. “When you didn’t call, I figured you weren’t interested and I’m sorry for crossing the line and giving you my number. That was very unprofessional of me and…”

“Julian,” you called, interrupting his apologetic rambling. “It’s not that. I promise. I just have a deadline for my book and if I miss it, I don’t know if I’ll have another chance, so I have to keep my focus on this.”

“Oh,” he said, but his lips quirked into a smile and he stepped closer. Suddenly your heart seemed keen on busting out of your chest. “So, it’s just because of the book?”

“Yeah.” You had to tilt your head up to look at him as he towered over you and the air felt thick with tension.

“Alright,” Julian said, his lips brushing against your cheek, leaving the skin tingling. “I can wait.”

Your brain took a second to process his words and by the time it did, Julian had already stepped away and off the porch.

“Have a good night,” he said with a smile and wave, leaving you to stare after him in confusion until he disappeared down the street.

Still wondering what had happened, you walked inside the house, finding your grandma sitting on her favorite armchair, book in hand and teacup on the table by her elbow. She looked distracted and you would almost buy it if it wasn’t for the fact that the book was upside down.

“Hey Grams, how was book club?” you asked with an amused smirk as you set your shoes by the door.

“Hi dear,” she lowered her book and smiled sweetly at you. “Can you believe I messed up the dates? It’s actually next week. This old thing isn’t what it used to.” She gestured at her own head with a chuckle.

You just hummed and rolled your eyes. She wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Was that Dr. Mercer I heard outside?”

“Yeah. We ran into each other at the coffee shop and he was kind enough to walk me home,” you said, coming to sit on the couch and watch her with a raised eyebrow. To her credit, your grandma gave you a sheepish look.

“He’s a very nice man, I just thought the two of you would get along,” she said with an innocent shrug. “Maybe give me beautiful great-grandkids?”

“Oh my God, Grams!” you exclaimed, hiding your face. That woman was a menace. “We barely know each other!”

“Oh, I know! I wasn’t saying right now. Maybe a year of dating before getting married. Another couple of years so you two can enjoy practicing,” and she actually waggled her eyebrows at that, and you laughed. “And then a couple of kids. I think I can stick around for that long.”

“Oh, so you have it all planned out, huh?” you shook your head at her, still chuckling. “And what if I’m not interested?”

“Sweetheart, have you looked at him?” she said with a snort and an eye-roll. “Only a crazy person wouldn’t want to have that man in their bed. If I was a couple of decades younger…”

“Grams!” you called, laughing and she chuckled too.

“All I’m saying is, I’m very proud of you for following your dreams, building your career and all that,” she started patting your hand. “But don’t let a good thing get away just because of it.”

“I know,” you said with a smile, standing up and pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. “I’m gonna take a shower. Wanna have dinner and watch some of those old movies you love so much?”

“I’ll watch my movies, you have some writing to do, missy. After all, Julian isn’t going to wait forever,” she replied with a stern look at made you laugh all the way to the bathroom.

xxx (to be continued? Maybe? What you think?)

Taglist (give me a shout if you want to added or removed)

@poisonedjoinery @ringa-starr @curly-minnie @i-cant-remember-my-old-login

@caryled @beyond-antares @kathorax @krazycags01 @meetmeinthematinee

@red-pill-blue-pill @baphometwolf666 @soarocks @imagine-the-fanfics @moonlit-raven-haven @cumberbatchbaps @coolbreezeinkeanureeves

#keanu reeves fanfic #keanu reeves imagine #keanu reeves x you #keanu reeves x reader #keanu reeves #julian mercer #julian mercer x reader #julian mercer x you #fanfic #pure fluff #one shot

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slash-em-up · 5 years ago

Text

Re-Assessing Presuppositions pt. 1: The Collector x Reader

First off; this is a monster of a fic. It’s around 3.5k and I don’t think I’ve ever written something this large - SO LARGE TUMBLR WONT LET ME PUT IT ALL IN ONE POST!!

So this is going to be a two-parter.

Secondly, this deals with a lot of INCORRECT assumptions about BDSM, M/F power dynamics, sexuality in general, and homosexuality. I think we’re all pretty aware that Asa has some #issues with masculine identity, and that comes into play here. So take everything said with a grain of salt.

Huge huge HUGE THANK YOU to @voorheehees and @princessprofanity for their beta reading and big-brain ideas about Asa’s book club, respectively.

Enjoy!!!

*********************************

Mary-Ellen rolled her eye as Gladys and Marlene giggled on the couch, whispering and gasping as they poured over their recommendation for the next Oak Grove Bookclub selection.

This happened every time they ended their current selection, and frankly Mary-Ellen was getting tired of it. They thought that just because they talked the group into reading that dreadful ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ book that it was their solemn duty to provide something equally as salacious for the next get-together.

Mary-Ellen huffed again and clutched her ‘Ms. Marple’ book a bit closer to her chest. Not this time, not if she had to stand right up and filibuster until they caved.

Marlene’s husband was falling asleep beside her; but she knew the former lawyer might protest that by using her walker to stand on she wasn’t technically following the rules of a filibuster – but frankly screw him. She only had so many years left to live and she wasn’t going to waste whatever time she had left reading that trash.

She perked up as the door to the community center opened and the youngest member of their little club walked in to the room.

Asa Emory was probably the person most likely to protest another smutty novel, next to herself; so she was very glad he decided to show up to the meeting.

After he pursued the selection of baked goods laid out on the center table (grabbing one of Lydia’s walnut blondies – smart man) he took the seat on the couch next to Mary-Ellen.

“Hello honey. How are you today?”

The large man turned slightly in his seat and offered her a brief grin.

“I’m doing fine Mary-Ellen, thank you. How’s your hip?”

Mary-Ellen sighed and leaned back.

“Never get old, honey. It’s not worth the social security check.”

Asa hummed in the back of his throat, tilting his head towards her with a teasing glint in his unique eyes.

“I’ll do my best.”

He set the book he’d had tucked under his arm onto the table, taking a large bite of the blondie he held.

Smiling, Mary-Ellen noted that he’d brought an older mystery novel as well.

Seeing her interest, Asa swallowed his mouthful and offered “Y/N picked it.”

A wrinkled hand rose and patted the solid knee next to her own arthritic one.

“I knew I liked them for a reason.”

Breaking the calm, Marlene clapped her hands together to get the rooms attention – pulling her husband from his slumber with a jolt.

“Hello everyone! Thank you for joining us for the fifth Oak Grove Bookclub content selection meeting!”

A polite smattering of applause echoed across the space.

“Now, I know there are so many wonderful choices out there, so lets get started with the book pitches!”

She looked knowingly over to Gladys.

“Gladys, would you care to start us off?”

Mary-Ellen groaned, making Asa huff in amusement next to her.

“Thank you so much Marlene! First, lets all have a moment of silence for our dear Robert, who we lost to prostate cancer last month.”

A murmur of assent rose from the group as they nodded or crossed themselves in remembrance of their lost member.

“In his honor, Marlene and I have chosen this book – ‘Beg for It’ by Megan Hart. An erotic story about two business people in a BDSM relationship where the man is the submissive!”

“Gladys! Stop using all those strange words, you know I wasn’t here when you read that ‘Fifty Shades of whatever’ book!”

Gladys sniffed.

“It means ‘Bondage, Domination, Sadism, and Masochism. Get with the times Albert.”

Mary-Ellen saw this as her opportunity to pipe up.

“I don’t like it when we read these smutty novels. It’s not what I joined this Bookclub for at all! If I wanted to read about two people doing naughty things, I would go over to Harriet’s house and read Earls ‘Hustler’ magazines!”

“Hey!”

“Don’t be such a prude Mary-Ellen, we’re all adults here. And quite frankly reading that other book helped Marvin and I try some things we hadn’t thought to try in our sixty years together!”

Someone laughed loudly.

“Which was all well and good until Marv’s back gave out!”

“Hush, Gloria!”

“All I’m saying is that we should be reading something relatable.”

“Yeah, if anyone can get anything out of those horn-dog books it’ll be Asa! At least he and Y/N have a better chance of getting through it without needing to stop for a pill-break!”

“Well then, lets ask Asa! How about it sweetie? Want to get some tips for the bedroom?”

Asa looked like he was going to implode or run out the door – meaning he looked closer to a statue than a man – back straight as a board, and gripping his leg tight enough to make his knuckles go white.

He cleared his throat.

“We’re fine, thank you.”

Marlene spoke up –

“So like a man - as long as they’re getting themselves taken care of they’re perfectly content to leave everything else alone.”

“Asa, have you asked Y/N if they’d like to mix things up in the bedroom?”

“Carl, you can’t ask people that!”

“Whaaat? I’m too old to be shy. And when Dorothy is on top I get a free prostate exam!”

This comment was met with several screeches and hoots from the room; but Asa remained quiet.

He stood suddenly, and grabbed his book.

“I’m sorry, I have to leave. Please let me know what the final decision is. My vote is for whatever Mary-Ellen picks.”

***************************

Asa walked back to the house slowly, deep in thought about the situation he’d just departed from.

In all honesty, he wished he’d left sooner – never even heard the lies and slander about male pleasure and bedroom power dynamics.

He liked the members of the book club well enough – as much as he liked anyone who wouldn’t be joining his collection, he supposed; but they were wrong on this. They had to be.

For all that the occasional victim would yell and scream abuse while he was perfecting them, he knew the truth. Only homosexuals could feel pleasure from anal penetration – and he definitely wasn’t a homosexual. His father had made sure of that.

And he’d gotten so lucky with you. Not only were they accepting of his ‘hobby’; but they never tried to undermine his authority in the bedroom. Even when things got more heated than normal – like when you had purchased that lovely lingerie several weeks ago – Asa was assured that he’d be the one calling the shots, metaphorically.

Of course he’d heard people talk about their predilections before – woman on top, tying up your partner, and most recently pegging - but as long as you stayed where you belonged, there was no reason to let this upset him any further.

He nodded succinctly to himself as he strode up the stairs and turned the key to your house.

‘GET ON YOUR KNEES GET ON YOUR KNEES GET ON YOUR KNEES, BABY JUST GET ON YOUR KNEES’

… Or not.

**********************************

“Asa?”

You poked your head out of the dining room where you’d been dusting. Enjoying some alone time to play the pop music you knew Asa didn’t enjoy.

You’d thought you’d heard him enter, but then the door slammed…

You looked out the window as the green Buick Asa drove screeched out of the driveway and took off towards town.

‘Guess he must have forgotten something.’

#jessica writes #asa emory #the collection (2012)#the collector (2009)#the collector x reader #domming the hell out of slashers since 2018 #horror movies #slasher fiction

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usermaha · 3 years ago

Text

I posted 650 times in 2021

141 posts created (22%)

509 posts reblogged (78%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 3.6 posts.

I added 608 tags in 2021

#taylor swift - 188 posts

#text post - 141 posts

#mine - 120 posts

#ts edit - 30 posts

#evermore - 27 posts

#kpop - 23 posts

#ts bookclub analysis - 21 posts

#folklore - 20 posts

#girls planet 999 - 19 posts

#red taylor’s version - 19 posts

Longest Tag: 108 characters

#i personally associate glittery pink cos i used to doodle 1989 ts with my glitter pen waiting for oct. 27 🥺

My Top Posts in 2021

it occurred to me today that that was the last time i get to wonder about the lineup. and the last friday i furiously type down posts here.

i had accepted any and every stupid move mnet could have made. im just grateful, i had SO MUCH fun with this show, i really did, even tho they did ruin it for me.

the girls. looking at the 99 version now makes my heart fill up, i love them and so proud of the improvement they displayed in such a short time and such immense pressure. i feel this attachment to them now, im glad i got to be a part of their journey. i’ll look around for them, i know ill see them on the stage again at some point, and at least ill check their groups out.

i just wish mnet would have given them an equal chance, wouldnt erase them or worse, target them. it hurt so much and i kept screaming about it because i cared for them.

and i guess i’ll just relax from next friday 💔

17 notes • Posted 2021-10-22 14:22:18 GMT

im not done yet, but RE: atw 10 min. she’s not just longer, she’s almost a reprise. if the added lyrics at the middle were old, then in the 2012 version she specifically kept the parts that tell how specifically this grown ass man fucked a girl up to no repair. we are going into the very ugly details because taylor is grown up, she isnt scared, she doesnt have to answer his olive-branch emails anymore. and she understand the weight of how fucked up the situation was. that this is not how an average relationship looks like. the last part is definitely new, and she’s calling him out guilty in front of the whole wide world, because the damage was massive, and it took years, decades to fix it, it if even did completely. She, 31, still remembers it all too well, and he should too.

17 notes • Posted 2021-11-12 09:47:33 GMT

just swiftie things: feeling a breakup you never had in your bones

18 notes • Posted 2021-10-13 13:08:01 GMT

now about su ruiqi.

i got the app last minute and i voted but i knew it was far fetched bc i didnt see much support for her. she’s the only one in my non-negotiables that didnt make it, and the one i fought the hardest for.

i just want her to not give music up. it breaks my heart to think ill never see her perform again. she has gained enough audience, there might be some doors left. even if its in chinese, i want to keep stanning her. promise me we’ll meet again.

33 notes • Posted 2021-10-22 14:36:45 GMT

I think we’re seeing creative soulmates in the making

53 notes • Posted 2021-07-02 10:00:46 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #this made me so happy!!

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bxebxee · 7 years ago

Text

Going Once, Going Twice, Sold (Birth of a Sugar Baby)

Note: This is a two-for-one deal. I wrote this to participate in the Bangtan Bookclub Monthly Challenge: Sugar Daddy Edition, and also as a (late) birthday gift to my very good friend, MVP, whom I love and adore and respect and would probably donate my kidney for if she were in need of one. I had so much fun planning this out with @94hixtape and @sugaredmarbles - Smut Goddesses tbh. I got Really inspired by Cheese In The Trap! Yet again, this came out Different than how I originally imagined it, but I’m hoping it’s not a total disaster.

Pairing: Hoseok x Reader Genre: college au, sugar daddy au Warnings: escort/prostitution, online perverts, unsanitary mention, masturbation mention Word Count: 5144 Rating: A, for Ambiguous (because it’s not really smut, but it’s not exactly the Safest thing for work. Feel?)

But the real reason anything at all started with Hoseok was something much simpler, and probably wholly unexpected - not that you ever planned on any of the other members of the MBA Society to find out.

You leave your unlocked phone in his car before stumbling your way into your tiny, studio apartment. And he sees a twitter notification asking you for further discount on your panties.

That is all it takes.

You have exactly $2.30 on you at this very second, broken down by a wrinkly-looking dollar bill with the rest scrounged up from various coins.

“Fuck,” you whisper, sneaking a glance at Seungcheol making his rounds collecting money to pay for the meal your group just ate. Luckily he’s still a few tables over, which gives you time to make puppy eyes at your friends.

Jisoo wordlessly hands you a couple of folded singles. “It’s all I have left minus emergency money, and you’re not getting that. Sorry baby.”

“I fucking love you,” you sigh, grateful for anything. When Chaeyoung goes to hand you money, you shoot her a stern glare. “Don’t you dare. Underclassmen do not pay for my shit.” You had absolutely abhorred being taken advantage of when you were a freshman, and you’d be damned if you subjected Pure, Perfect Chaeyoung to something like that.

The MBA Society liked to have spontaneous dinner meetings (read: excuses to get drunk), and while they were called “optional,” the tacit truth was that if you didn’t show up to one, your invites for the rest of the semester were revoked. So even though you knew you were beyond broke, you still had to drag your feet over to a moderately-priced meat house and pretend to enjoy the food.

“Just take the money, good lord. You can pay her back later,” Jisoo sighs as you continue to resist the younger girl’s offer. “He’s coming over here right now,” she hisses.

“I’m really okay with it,” Chaeyoung says enthusiastically in her Freshman voice. Her eyes are so innocent, and you feel like the Worst. You’ve effectively become the very person you wanted to avoid turning into, but there was no way around it...

Seungcheol comes around to your section a few seconds after you hastily accept a shiny, crisp ten-dollar bill from Chaeyoung. You give him a halfhearted smile as he accepts money from you.

“I think I’m gonna pass on second round,” you tell him, doing your best to look tired rather than depressed.

He frowns at the news. “Awww, why? It’s no fun if you’re not around. You gotta show the newbies how a real professional handles karaoke.”

You let out the fakest laugh, and you see Jisoo’s nostrils flare in embarrassment from the corner of you eyes. “I really, really want to, but I gotta take care of assignments. I’m behind.”

He sighs, pouting cutely at your reluctance. “Alright. I won’t push tonight. But don’t make this a habit.”

“I won’t,” you reply to his retreating form. When you’re sure he’s left earshot, you heave a long-suffering sigh. “I’ll pay you guys back ASAP.”

Jisoo snorts, “Don’t bother with me. I want your notes from last lecture though. We’ll call it even then.”

You blink. “Seriously?” you ask because it seems like you’re getting the better deal.

“Uh, yeah,” she replies, eyes incredulous at your surprise. “I skipped that day, and you have the best set of notes out of anyone who’s willing to share. Apart from Hoseok of course.”

You blink at the mention of Hoseok who did not show up today. Seungcheol had mentioned it was something related to his family. You try not to be too bitter because Hoseok is truly the sweetest even though his special treatment drove you nuts. It’s not a secret that Hoseok skipped out on these meetings all the time, and he still had an open invite. Maybe that’s what happened when you were the son of a millionaire business tycoon. Sometimes you wonder if everyone just lets Hoseok get away with doing whatever he wanted because they all wanted to get a job at his mother’s company.

It’s an ugly, recurring thought, and you have to kill it with fire regularly.

“Do we have a deal?” Jisoo prompts when you don’t answer for a while, and you shake her head with a sigh when she thrusts it in your face.

“Oh my god, yes, deal,” you giggle, swatting away her hand after a few moments. She always did have a penchant for the theatrical.

“I wish Hoseok showed up today though,” Jisoo mentions, taking out her phone to check on her Instagram. “He would have probably covered the meal like he always does.”

A lump of discomfort forms at her words. “He’s not a wallet, Jisoo.”

“I know, but it’s not like he’d miss the money when he’s fucking loaded.”

That’s not the point at all, but you don’t argue with her because there’s no way to win when she gets into an argumentative mood.

The first thing you do when you leave the restaurant is open Twitter and check your direct messages. You only see five new messages, and among them three are spam - advertising things like free hookup services and the like. One message is a glorified sext (you block that one), and the other is an offer, albeit much lower than what you’re looking for.

It’s with a bitter heart that you confirm the sale, letting twitter user @75649qx know that you’ll mail him your used panties for the low price of fifteen dollars. Factoring in shipping and underwear costs, you’ve made a grand total of seven dollars and change. This wasn’t even enough to pay back Chaeyoung for covering you at the restaurant.

It’s with a heavy heart that you make the choice to walk home. You needed to save your bus fare if your sales were going to shit.

“This is okay,” you tell yourself while trying to ignore the fact that you’re in heels, “It’ll be exercise.”

You look behind you to see if the rest of the group was still loitering by the restaurant, but they’ve all left for a second round of drinks and fun. You are truly alone.

A car honks loudly, and a voice calls out, “Hey, you’re still here?”

You nearly jump out of your skin when you see Hoseok’s head peeking out at you through the window.

“Hoseok!” You walk over to him, confused and a bit relieved to see a familiar face. “What are you doing here? I thought you had other plans?”

He smiles, eyes crinkling in an affable manner. “Took care of everything as soon as I could. You know I’d never miss a meeting on purpose. Where is everyone else?”

You shrug. “They left for drinks, but I needed to cut out early. Assignments...” You know you’re talking too much, revealing way too much for your statement to read as anything other than defensive.

Hoseok nods slowly. “Ah... which assignments?” Of course he’d ask, of course.

You swallow because you share nearly all of your required classes with him. “Just... online quizzes and projects-”

“The ones that are due in two weeks or the projects that are due at the end of the semester?” he questions with a knowing look.

“I like being ahead,” you lie, a true procrastinator through and through. You were probably just going to go home and marathon chick flicks.

Hoseok smirks at how bad you are at lying, and you hear the soft click of a lock disengaging the passenger-side door of his Benz. “Get in loser, we’re going drinking.”

“Hoseok-”

He gestures using his head, “Get in. I know for a fact Seungcheol is close to blacklisting you for the semester.”

You groan, trudging over to open the handle of the door. “Hoseok, I’m broke,” you sigh as you shut the door and put your seat-belt on. “I can’t afford to go drinking every other day. I mean, I had to ask Little Chaeyoung to cover me for dinner. Fucking embarrassing!”

Hoseok signals as he pulls away from curb. “Hey can you ask them where they are?” he says, completely ignoring your blabbering. “I don’t wanna get there too late...”

A quick text to Jisoo is enough to get the location, and you tell him.

You open your wallet to fish out two dimes you had missed while trying to find money for dinner. “What can I possibly get for twenty cents?”

Hoseok laughs, and you join him because this is entirely ridiculous.

“Will you relax?” he finally says when he pulls up to the bar. “You know I’m gonna cover the bill. You may drink to your hearts content.”

You frown, reminded of Jisoo’s careless statements. “It’s not right,” you tell Hoseok for the first time. The two of you weren’t spectacularly close, but you did interact with him from time to time. “People shouldn’t treat you this way.”

“What way?” he asks, face looking as if he’s confused. You wonder if he’s playing dumb because there’s no way he never noticed how people always slid the bill towards him, or looked to him to cover the check.

“They’re taking advantage. No,” you shake your head, “Not them - we. We are taking advantage of you, myself included. And it’s not right.”

Hoseok’s smile freezes on his face for half a second, but it’s enough for you to know that you’re not wrong. He is quick to recover, and he looks at you with a soft gaze in his eyes that you don’t completely trust.

“You’re sweet for thinking of me. But I’m doing this for purely selfish reasons,” he informs you.

You get spectacularly drunk that night.

In the following months to come, the members of the MBA Society would look back on this night and associate it to the night you and Hoseok began to “talk.” After all, you did arrive to the bar with him, get drunk on the booze he paid for, and left in his car because you were too drunk to walk in a straight line. No one else even brought a car, either planning on relying on public transportation or a taxi. The members would assume all sorts of things among themselves, the majority opinion being that you threw yourself on him while drunk out of your mind. Most of them discounted the idea that Hoseok would be the initiator of fucking your drunk self because he was too kind and good for anything like that. Some thought you may have just confessed your deep-seated, imaginary feelings for him.

You leave your unlocked phone in his car before stumbling your way into your tiny, studio apartment. And he sees a twitter notification asking you for further discount on your panties.

That is all it takes.

Hangovers on Wednesdays are never a good sign, but here you are, on-time to your 8AM hell class with a head that pounds so bad you swear people could see the throbbing.

“I lost my phone,” you groan, sliding next to Jisoo and slipping her your notes, as promised.

“Actually, you didn’t,” comes Hoseok’s voice from behind you. You turn your head around and squint at him since he sits right in front of the brightest fucking window you’ve ever seen in your life. He truly looks like the sun made flesh at this angle.

Hoseok hands you the phone you left in his car.

“Fucking- Oh my god, thank you,” you gush, head spinning from relief. “You have no idea-”

“Interesting Twitter, by the way,” Hoseok says, effectively turning your insides into ice.

“What,” you croak.

Jisoo crinkles her nose in an adorable, confused expression. “You have a Twitter? Add me, bitch. How could you not contribute to my follower count?”

“No!” you protest too loudly and too quickly to be considered polite. “I-I can’t. I’m too embarrassed...”

You feel like you’re going to throw up at any second from the combined double whammy of the hangover deluxe special and Hoseok’s knowledge of your Twitter account.

“What do you have on there that’s so embarrassing I can’t see?” she snorts.

Your mind draws a giant blank, but thankfully Hoseok cuts in. “She runs an idol group fan Twitter. It’s wild.”

Your friend rolls her eyes. “Never mind,” she tells you, “Don’t follow me. How old are you even?”

Hoseok smiles at you, but you don’t have the heart nor the stomach to respond back in kind. What the hell was he even playing at?

Three hours of class feel like torture, but at least it gives you time to come up with a valid excuse for what he saw. Judging from his reaction he didn’t seem like the type to out you, but you could never be sure with men. And despite his kindness, Hoseok was still a man, and therefore, inherently untrustworthy.

You have a script, a speech, a monologue, a soliloquy - you have it all prepared by the time the lecturer grunts the final word. It’s all a joke, you’d say. It’s a prank, you’d tell him.

“I need a drink after this class,” Jisoo whines.

“You had enough drink yesterday,” Hoseok chuckles, and she raises a mischievous eyebrow at his words.

“I held back yesterday,” she harrumphs, “I could’ve gone harder, but this one girl kept bugging me about how I was treating you like a wallet, so I held back.” Jisoo, that blunt bitch.

Hoseok smirks. “Gee, I wonder who that is.”

You grit your teeth. It’s now or never. “Hoseok, can I talk to you for a second? In private?”

“Sure.”

Hoseok’s easy acceptance feels weird, and you can feel the stares of Jisoo and a few other people looking at you weirdly. You barely talk to Hoseok, and he was on their radars all the time as a Prime Dating Candidate. No, you couldn’t do this here with too many eyes and ears.

“I’d…like to buy you coffee?” It comes out as a question.

Your face burns as Hoseok has the nerve to act like he’s thinking about it. “Yeah, I have time for a quick cup of coffee.”

You fake a smile. “Great.”

“Super.”

“Peachy.”

How did one open up a conversation about being caught selling used panties to perverts online for pocket money to a young, twenty-something college male who’s net worth was somewhere in the millions thanks to his rich, mogul parents?

Hoseok takes a sip of his coffee as you sit silently across from him. You’ve skipped a drink altogether even though the scent of hazelnut and vanilla wafting from his cup is enough to get you salivating for caffeine.

“Do you, uh, want a sip?” Hoseok asks, following you line of sight.

“No,” you answer in a clipped tone.

“So what did you want to talk about?”

“My Twitter,” you finally say through gritted teeth, “You saw my twitter.”

Hoseok nods, fiddling with the flimsy, recycled paper that lined the body of his coffee cup. “Yeah, I did.”

“Are you going to report me?”

He raises his eyebrows, “Are you serious?”

You shrug. “I don’t know, Hoseok. Can you just... tell me what you’re going to do with the information because I’m tired and hungover, and I feel like puking anytime I get a weird feeling you’re going to expose me.”

Hoseok’s expression looks comically surprised. “I can’t believe you-” He cuts himself off, closing his eyes for a second before opening them again to fix you with a stern look. “I would never expose your private life.”

“Then why did you have to go through my Twitter?” you ask bitterly, feeling more and more humiliated by the second.

“Because...I’m a piece of shit, and I was curious,” he answers after a long pause. “I’m sorry.”

The anger melts away faster than you expected, and you don’t know if its because you genuinely find the situation not worth getting mad over or if it was because of the sight of Hoseok’s contrite expression.

“So you promise you’re not going to spread this around?” you ask once more, and Hoseok nods vigorously to your relief. “Then it’s cool.”

“Just like that?” he asks.

“It was my fault for leaving it in your car in the first place,” you concede. “Being curious is normal.”

“What if,” Hoseok starts after a big gulp of coffee, “What if I followed you?”

Now here was something unexpected. You honestly don’t know. Being followed on Twitter by strangers and selling to them under the guise of anonymity was one thing. Having Hoseok, a classmate and fellow society member, follow you was another thing. You bite your lips as you weigh your options.

“Just don’t interfere in my sales…please.”

Hoseok bites down his smile of excitement. “Cool.”

“Are you some pervert?” you mutter, trying your best to stem the surprise that Hoseok was even curious at all about this instead of branding you a werido.

“A little,” he coughs, “I guess...”

You can’t take this anymore. “I’m- I’m- I’ve got to go,” you stammer, face feeling warmer by the second.

“Wait,” Hoseok says before you can stand up to leave. “Can I just say one more thing?”

He’s already come this far; you don’t know what else he could hit you with to surprise you.

“Go for it,” you sigh.

“I couldn’t help but to notice your sales numbers,” he mentions, and you wince. He called them your sales numbers.

“Yeah, so?”

Hoseok wets his lips. “They’re a little on the low side,” he explains.

“If you’re just here to make fun of me, you can unfollow right now,” you pout.

“No, no, no, no.” Hoseok is quick to dissuade you from that thought. “That’s not it at all. I just had, I don’t know, feedback? Maybe? On how to get more sales.”

He keeps surprising you.

“Okay...”

Hoseok takes that as permission to continue, which it is. “Okay, see here you’ve pinned a tweet advertising underwear rates by how long you’ve worn them. That’s pretty standard for this field, but you’re not going to get anywhere with that kind of marketing. The field is full of girls selling their day-old panties for cheaper, which is why your sales are suffering. You need to change it up.”

You don’t know what you should be more shocked about, the fact that he approaches this with the same type of academic lean as he would a class project or the fact that he even knew this niche market well at all.

“So how would I increase sales then?” you ask, deciding to just go with it and suffer later in your room, by yourself, with a bottle of hangover medicine.

“Instead of selling by how long you’ve worn them, describe what you did in them. You’ll get more sales that way. Trust me. Like, did you exercise in them? Did you sweat? Did you touch yourself through them?” You make a choked noise of surprise at the turn of the conversation, something Hoseok decides to ignore in favor of making his point. “Imagine the pervert who bought your panties knowing you came in them.”

“I... Oh,” you swallow. This sounded like something worth a try.

“If you start selling panties you’ve touched yourself with, your sales will go through the roof. I would have thought that was obvious…” he continues.

“It’s really not obvious at all.”

“Really… hm…” Hoseok looks pensive and laughs after a beat. “Maybe it’s because I’m a pervert that I know this.”

Hoseok's words from earlier at the café leave you distracted for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. You're supposed to be sixty pages into your assigned reading with a full day's head start on the upcoming capstone project for the semester, but you've made zero progress. As much as you'd like to blame Hoseok, you know it's not his fault for speaking his mind since you allowed for him to put in his two cents in the first place. Your pathetic predisposition to fixate on anything and everything is the reason why you keep rewinding and replaying his words.

It is all so... sordid. You never had any illusions as to why people bought your used underwear, but this would cross the final line in your eyes.

Taking a deep breath to calm your nerves, you open up Twitter and post:

New! Selling 1 Pair of Panties (3 Days Old). Exercised in them for 2 hours. Heavy Sweat. DM for details.

You sell that pair for fifty dollars, and you’re hooked.

Three nights later, you touch yourself in your bed, thoughts drifting in and out between various people but inevitably centering on Hoseok. You remember the café conversation and how his voice got into a lower rasp when he talked quietly about your used panties. And you don’t know why this gets you off, but it just does. You don’t want to think about it too much because it’s Hoseok and he was still your classmate. (You touch yourself three times to thoughts of him until your panties are gross and sticky.)

Still flushed on your orgasms, you tweet, marveling at how your mentions go through the roof from people wanting to buy.

Hoseok is a fucking genius because after only a week, you’re officially two thousand followers richer with ten sales in the bag. You pay back Chaeyoung and Jisoo, and take them out for ice cream as interest.

People suspect that you and Hoseok are dating when they see you at coffee shops and bars all over town.

“They just don’t understand that it’s not a date,” you hiccup, yelling over the loud music of the club. “This is a business meeting.”

Hoseok thinks you look adorable in that peplum top, and he tells you that.

“You are so off-topic,” you giggle drunkenly, shaking your finger at him in a no-no-no sign. “Back to panty sales!”

“Your quarterly projection looks great. Now can we get back to talking about how hot you look?” he flirts, and you feel amazed that you can tell he’s flirting big time. “Dance with me?”

“What?” He holds out his hand, and you take it. “Business,” you purr into his ear as he maneuvers your body to face away from him on the dance floor. “This is Business.”

“Oh, I know,” he agrees, grinding into you deliciously.

You close your eyes and let yourself go, enjoying the moment with Hoseok as he takes control and leads your body towards that satisfying, messy end. And before you lose it altogether, you grab onto his neck to make out with him in full view of everyone around - a true act of impulse.

Hoseok drags you away from the masses and pushes you up against the dirty wall of the club when it becomes too much for him, breathless and laughing because you literally came in your pants in a crowded room full of drunk dancers - and it was all because of him. Your eyes are closed as you lean against the wall. You don’t care that it’s probably filthy because you feel more alive than ever. You can feel Hoseok’s breath puff lightly across your face.

Hoseok leans over to talk straight into your ear. “Go on Twitter right now. Make a post about a lightning sale.”

“But you said I should do one in a few weeks?” you ask, referring to yet another sales plan Hoseok had advised you.

He shakes his head. “Nope. Do it now. And type what I tell you to.”

You open your app, fingers shaking as you type out the words as Hoseok dictates:

Lightning Sale. Bidding Ends 2:00AM. Condition: Wet, Fresh Orgasm After Clubbing. Will Send Immediately.

“Good girl,” he tells you after you post. Your phone vibrates with notifications, and you ignore them in favor of kissing him some more.

The next day, you decide to tweet and thank everyone who participated in the lightning sale. You see a notification from Hoseok’s Twitter handle. He likes your tweet.

It is a proven fact that when things go well and when you’re able to take a few steps forward, Ms. Bitter Bitch Life has a way of fucking things up tremendously so that it’s two steps forward and ninety steps back. Or in your case, $10,845.68 worth of steps back.

You receive an automated text message from the university telling you that your recent tuition payment has been delinquent for thirty days and that they Absolutely Need to receive payment within a week. A quick call to mom reveals that medical expenses had to be covered, and you don’t fault her for not telling you when she had a small business to run and dad to take care of.

“I actually got a part-time job,” you tell her, “And I’ve been saving up, so I think I’ll be able to pay this off.” You are speaking out of your ass because no, you have not been saving, but you’d do some calculations to see how many pairs of underwear you’d need to masturbate in to reach your tuition payment.

Is it a surprise to you any longer that the first person you message about this is Hoseok and not Jisoo? You know for a fact Jisoo would judge the hell out of you for doing this in the first place, and at least Hoseok has helped you with getting sales done while providing some fantastic orgasms.

You meet Hoseok at your coffee shop, and yes, you’ve started referring to various places you’ve been to with him as your place. (And the song to which he made you orgasm is now your song for whenever you needed to get in the mood.)

“Don’t look down,” Hoseok tells you after you’ve spilled the beans. His mouth set into a firm line when he sees how embarrassed you look. “You have nothing to be ashamed of, so don’t look down.” You do as he says and fight the urge to look away. “Listen to everything I have to say, and don’t interrupt until I’m done. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“You’re never going to sell that much in a week. And if you hike prices now, no one’s going to buy them, and you’ll be out of income moving forward. What you need is time, which you don’t have.” You face falls when you hear his words, but Hoseok isn’t done. “I can get you time. I’ll give you tuition money, and you can pay me back as you make sales.”

There is a part of you that’s ashamed of being so relieved to hear Hoseok say that. And maybe that same ugly part of you wished for him to offer that to you when you told him in the first place. “I’ll take it. Thank you.” But you’re too practical to let your ideals get in the way of living.

And that’s what you do. You wonder if you should feel bad that you’re using Hoseok like this.

Accepting tuition money has now effectively changed things, and the two of you have crossed the point beyond no return. Neither of you say anything about it, choosing to accept this new reality and carry on.

“Have fun with your boyfriend yesterday?” Jisoo snarks in good-natured teasing.

You frown, “I’m single. If you’re referring to Hoseok-”

“Of course I’m referring to Hoseok,” she giggles, “The boy never leaves your side!”

“We’re not dating...” It’s business.

It’s slow paying Hoseok back, but it’s getting there. As a gesture of thanks, you invite him to your tiny room for dinner. It’s only ramyeon and some side dishes, but you’re almost positive he’ll appreciate the gesture, and you’re right. Hoseok digs in with gusto to instant noodles loaded with all sorts of canned meats.

“This is godly,” he exclaims, swallowingly thickly.

“You’re godly,” you giggle, freezing because the statement slipped out, and you want to sink into the ground. But Hoseok, testament to his character only smiles and lets you move on with little embarrassment.

Hoseok catches sight of your underwear packages that you have yet to ship out sometime in between dessert one and dessert two. It makes him feel… odd, and jealous. He pinpoints his emotions immediately and knows that he’s jealous as hell when it comes to you, and while it was fun teaching you “sales tips” and flirting along the way, he doesn’t want to share anymore.

You message a few people, confirming shipments on twitter while he waits, and soon after you’re done he grabs your wrist to catch your attention.

“I want to consider the tuition paid in full.”

You furrow your brows. “I’m not even halfway done paying…”

“I’ll let the dinner tonight be payment for the balance.”

“Are you out of your mind? This was nothing-”

“No it wasn’t,” Hoseok cuts you off, tugging at your wrist so that you walk closer to him. “This is not nothing, and I want for you stop selling your underwear to strangers.”

You look him directly in the eye, having a good idea of what’s coming up, but you want to be sure. “This is how I live though.”

“Before me.” Hoseok feels nervous as he thinks about what he’s about to offer. “I’ll let the ramyeon for tonight be payment for the rest of last month’s tuition. And I want to continue having ramyeon with you for tuition. It’s not a bad deal…”

You’re not an idiot; you know what it means. And you had a good feeling you’d probably fuck him tonight even before he sprung this on you. You pull at your hand to have him let go. After a few moments of typing and swiping, you show him a deactivated twitter.

“I’m shipping out the ones that are left, but I’ve deactivated.”

“That’s fine. Because I’ll take care of you.”

[1 Semester Later]

Hoseok surprises you with another set of expensive lingerie. You’ve long since graduated from the plain white pairs you used to soil on purpose to sell.

“Don’t get so excited,” Hoseok says, “They’re not for you.”

You raise your eyebrows at Hoseok’s statement and decide to take a jab. “What, you’re going to wear them then?”

He smirks. “Would you like that? You wanna see me in lace? I’ll do it if it gets you off. You like seeing men in lingerie?” He effectively shuts you up by going the extreme. You still blush after all this time, and he loves it.

“Ugh, stop. What are they for then?”

He suppresses the urge to smile widely. “I want you to wear them. And I want you touch yourself.”

“Hoseok…”

“And when you’re done cumming…oh, let’s say five times? Yeah, five is a good number. I want you to take them off, and give them to me. For old times sake.”

You narrow your eyes. “Did you buy from me once?” You had always suspected, but now you’re even more suspicious.

“I’m not telling.”

#bangtan bookclub #bbc monthly: sugar #hoseok fic #hoseok scenario #jhope fic #jhope scenario #genre: au #member: hoseok

965 notes · View notes

danglydolan · 8 years ago

Text

A special note ♡ Grayson

Summary: You leave a special note on the last page of your favourite book which Grayson happens to find. He messages you and you decide to meet somewhere to talk about the book. You may or may not fall in love with this boy…

Word count: 2.011

Requested!

Lately one of the places you were visiting the most was the local library. Ever since you were little you loved reading and since it was summer break you had a lot of time on your hands. This excited your love for books again which resulted in at least reading three books a week.

Most of your afternoons you were spending in your garden: reading and listening to music. It was a nice way to relax and forget about all the problems in the world.

Last week you had finished the most amazing book you had ever read and it was without a doubt one of your favourites. The style of the writer was marvelous and the way he described the places and characters… It hadn’t left your mind since you turned the last page and had put the book down.

For some reason you got this crazy idea to put a note between the last pages of the book for the next reader to find. It said: “Hi, my name is Y/N. I just finished this amazing book and I hope you enjoyed it as well. If you liked it just as much as I did and would like to talk about it, here is my number: (…)”

You didn’t know if this was the best way to talk about the book, but you weren’t interested in joining a bookclub so you thought this was the only way. The urge to talk about this wonderful book was so big and since neither of your friends liked reading it that much it wasn’t the weirdest idea, right?

~~~

It was November now and a few months had passed by since you had left the short note in the book. To be honest you had totally forgotten about it. After that specific book you had read so many others which were also pretty good.

Besides, since school had began again homework and exams were really time consuming, so there wasn’t really time for reading as much as you used to do. Today was an ordinary day so far and you were locked in your bedroom; your desk filled with books.

As you were highlighting important things you needed to know for a big test next week, your phone lights up. At first you don’t pay really pay attention, but when a second one pops up and you don’t recognise the number, you couldn’t ignore your curiousness.

Unknown: Hey! Unknown: I just finished the book in which you left a note :) and I thought why not send a message lol You: Hi there :) to be honest I completely forgot about it haha… But this is a nice surprise! What did you think of it?

You shove your books to the side and go sit down on your bed, your hands holding your now buzzing phone. After an hour of sending messages back and forth you discover a lot of things about the person you were talking to.

You figure out you were talking to a 17 year old boy called Grayson Dolan. You get to know how he’s doing, what he loved about the book and that he had a twin brother called Ethan.

Suddenly you realise you had a smile from ear to ear on your face. You were starting to form a little crush for this guy and you just met him! But how? You had never seen him or even talked to him in real life. You didn’t even had a clue what he looked like. He could be an old 60 year bald man for all you know!

Grayson: Would you like to grab some coffee some time? I think I have a few books you would really enjoy :)

Your fingers hesitated above your phone screen. How did you know he wasn’t some creepy guy, trying to kidnap a girl or something? But still… For some weird reason you just knew that he wasn’t a creepy guy.

The way he responded to your messages and the way he described things… You couldn’t wrap your head around it, but you just knew. Besides, he wanted to meet you at a café. That was very public, right? What could go wrong? You: Yeah, sure :) Where would you like to meet?

~~~

You had never in your life been so nervous for a date. Was it even a date? Probably not. So why had you dressed yourself up so much? You had at least spend an hour just on your make up this morning for a guy who problaby just saw you as a friend and nothing more. But oh well; Grayson didn’t know that.

With cold and shaky hands you push against door ope and walk into the small café. It was pretty crowded but the atmosphere made you feel warm and cosy right away. Your eyes scan the tables, but you had no idea what Grayson looked like.

Suddenly you see the prettiest boy in the world wave at you with a small smile, trying to get your attention. You almost triple over your feet as you stumble your way between the people, making your way towards him.

‘Hi… I’m Y/N,’ you say. ‘Hey, Y/N! I’m Grayson.’ Grayson greets you. He looks genuinely very happy to see you. He gets up from his chair and comes standing in front of you. He towers over you and you almost had to lay your head in your neck to look at his beautiful face. And his arms! They were so big you thought he could lift you up using only one hand.

Grayson spontaneously plants a quick kiss on your cheek and you immediately feel your cheeks warm up. ‘Oh, uh,’ you say a bit embarrassed. 'Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t know if it was appropriate but I just - thought that,’ Grayson stutters, realizing he had made you a bit uncomfortable. You giggle. 'No, it’s fine! Please don’t worry about it.’ Of course it was fine. Speaking of fine: he was fine as hell.

As you two sat down you couldn’t stop staring at his face. It was angelic. He had the sharpest jawline you had ever witnessed and his plump lips turned into a gorgeous smile when you told him you were actually pretty nervous before you came here. His skin was tinted and smooth and you wondered how soft it would feel.

But the thing that you adored most about him was his personality. He was funny and sweet and so nice to talk with: He really listened and never interrupted you, and cracked a joke whenever the timing was right. You already liked him. A lot.

'Can I just say that you have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen?’ Grayson asks, laying a hand upon yours. You blink your eyes a few times, not really comprehending what he just said. 'I’m sorry, again. I’m really just saying almost everything that is crossing my mind right now. I hope you don’t mind. I just feel so comfortable with you already,’ he adds.

You smile and your heart flutters at his kind words. 'Thank you… That is so sweet. I could say the same to you, though,’ you say to him. Grayson chuckles and strokes a hand through his fluffy hair.

~~~

'So, what books did you bring?’ you ask, placing your hands under your chin. Meanwhile you were talking for almost an hour and a half and had drunk two cappuccinos. 'Oh yeah, I almost forgot!’ Grayson leans to the left to grab his bag that was stuffed with books. His arm muscles tense as he lifts up the bag and places it carefully on the table. It was so sexy.

He grabs one out of the bag and your eyes widen at the sight of the book in his hand. It looked so tiny compared to his hand. ‘Okay, so the first one is really, really good. It’s about a couple who live together, but they don’t really love eachother; which is kinda sad if you ask me. Anyway, the woman meets a guy she falls in love with, and then…’

His eyes sparkle when he shows you all the books and hands them over to you so you could flip through the pages and look what was on the covers. When his fingers stroke against your hands you feel a nice tingly feeling go down your spine and your eyes meet his. It’s quiet for a moment and he looks at you a little longer than normal before he continues. What was going on? Did he like you too or were you seeing ghosts?

After it already began to get dark outside and the café started to run empty, you decide that it was maybe smart that you should be heading home. 'Should I drive you home? It’s not really smart to go home on your own when it’s already dark outside,’ Grayson asked. 'No, it’s okay. I just live around the corner. I can walk,’ you respond.

'It’s really not a problem. I’d be happy too,’ he insisted, raising his eyebrows. 'Oh well, why not?’ you chuckled. After Grayson had paid (for you as well, since he also insisted on doing that) you put your jackets on and leave the café. Grayson was wearing a leather jacket which looked so good on him your heart started beating even faster.

It was cold and snowy outside. Grayson puts a hand on your lower back as he leads you to the car since the parking lot was a little slippery from the snow that was melting. You adored that he was so caring. It made him even more attractive.

After he drove you to your house and stopped the car, Grayson gets out and opens the porter for you. ‘Such a gentleman…’ you joke and smile at him. He chuckles while grabbing your hand so you can get out of the car without sliding. Suddenly you stand so close that you almost shared the same air. Your breath was coming out of your mouth in tiny clouds. You shiver; a mixture of pleasantness and coldness spreads itself through your body.

'Are you cold?’ Grayson asks sweetly. 'A little,’ you quietly admit and smile again. 'Well, I guess you should go inside then,’ Grayson whispers, but you don’t move. You can’t move, to be more exact. You feel frozen as you are drowning in his beautfiul brown eyes and completely forget about the world around you.

Grayson takes a step in your direction and grabs you gently by your waist, so your chest touches his. You gasp loudly. Was he going to do what you thought he was going to do? 'I had such a great time today. Thank you.’ Grayson whispers as he gets even more closer. Your cold nose almost touches his chin, but you were too small to reach his face.

Before you could answer Grayson slowly leans in. He closes his eyes and brushes his warm lips against yours. His breath on your lips made you go crazy. Then he gets even more close and puts his lips gently onto yours. You go stand on your tip toes so he could kiss you better.

His lips were heavenly and soft and even better than you could ever imagine. It wasn’t a rough kiss. He didn’t even used his tongue. It was a chaste one. A sweet and passionate one. It only lasted for a few seconds, but you couldn’t be more happy. He pulls back and looks at you so lovingly that your heart skips a beat. Oh, shoot. You were falling in love with this boy.

He entwines his fingers and places his hands on your lower back; it gave you a feeling like your bodies were melting together. 'I-I don´t know what to say,’ you whisper. You were so overwhelmed.

'You don’t have to say anything, Y/N. But I would like you to answer this question: Do you want to meet again sometime? And go on a proper date?’ You close your eyes for a moment and smile. Was this really happening? 'Yes. Definitely.’

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evyisaks · 8 years ago

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The Isak + Even fan fics that I'm currently reading Part One: (This could be a recommendation list I guess, but it's more of a list of fics that I'm currently reading, so the ones that I've already read aren't there. The list is also in random order. I’m going to make a part two because damn, I read so many fics.)

→ Let Me In | milk_o_vich

“What are you doing here?” Isak asked, unable to keep the anger out of his voice. Even’s eyes were wide and a little unfocused, flitting over Isak nervously. He was quiet for a long time, rain hitting the pavement outside, and Isak became kind of aware that Even must be freezing in his thin, damp t-shirt. Even pressed his lips together, then said, voice hoarse and quiet, “Can I stay here tonight?” (Isak and Even broke up months ago) → Expect the Unexpected | bri_ness

In which Snakesak plays Big Brother.

→ right click > save as | kittpurrson

Isak, a fic writer in the Minute by Minute fandom, had the world's biggest crush on the fandom's biggest name. Or: the fandomception AU, in which two boys fall in love over Discourse, gifsets, and increasingly dirty hashtags. → The Weight Of Us | verlore_poplap

Isak finally takes the plunge towards what's seemed like an inevitability for almost ten years.Of course that's when some guy comes along and ruins everything

.---Isak Valtersen is literally the last thing Even's life needs right now.It pretty horrifying how hard that is to remember, everytime he's around.

→ I Would Do It Again | cuteandtwisted

"I dare you to hook up with him."

"What? The blonde guy?" "Yes, the blonde guy."

Or Even gets caught up in a dare, and Isak loses a little bit of himself in the process.

→ Home is wherever am with you | cuteandtwisted

“Hi. I’m Even and I don’t usually walk around in nothing but a towel.” “Uh, I'm Isak.” “Isak. Mind if I kidnap you for some fun sightseeing activities?” Or Isak and Even keep meeting in hostels around the world and parting with a kiss or two. → blue like the night in cuba | piccadilly

Isak and Even meet on a train and spend a night exploring Paris, losing themselves and finding each other.Or, a Before Sunrise AU.

→ Livredderen | Kudzibisa

I et parallelt univers møtes Isak og Even under dramatiske omstendigheter. Even er førstemann til ulykkesstedet når Isak havner i et voldsomt bilkrasj.Det blir et første møte som ingen av dem klarer å glemme.

Eller AU der Even (helt bokstavelig talt) redder Isak. Redder Isak han tilbake?

→ Summer Love | Chips2

Even has just finished University. He decides to spend summer at his parent's holiday house in the Norwegian countryside where he has been coming since childhood. He knows Isak, one of the locals, who has recently graduated from high school and is spending his break helping his dad out at his kayak shop.

Two boys from different backgrounds, both embarking on new chapters in their lives who find their worlds intertwined during their holidays and on one particularly hot summer break.

→ Little Harbour | MermaidsandMermen (SophiaSoames)

The all grown up AU where Even is lost and Isak is Norway's favourite Midwife. It is what it is.Title from It's the dream by Norwegian poet Olav V HaugeIt's the dream we carry in secret, that something miraculous will happen. That It must happen, that time will open, that the heart will open, that doors will open, that the rockface will open, that spring will gush.

That the dream will open, that one morning we will glide into some little harbour we didn't know was there.

→ stay a minute | grinsekaetzchen

"The leads of Even Bech Næsheim’s new 'Romeo and Juliet' adaption were announced yesterday, with Eva Kviig Mohn taking to Twitter to confirm, ‘Looking forward to playing Julieeeeet’. Her fellow Romeo was announced shortly after to be Isak Valtersen, which his publicist confirmed today. It seems that this will be Norway’s new star-crossed pair of lovers."

In which there is a tumblr fandom that is dying every time new information for said version of 'Romeo and Juliet' drops, Even is a beloved director and Isak - well, Isak would just really appreciate it if his mind would stop surprising him with memories at the worst moments possible.

→ it's about growing up, getting older, living on a lover's shoulder (it's about time) | babyturtle

The Sana-and-Isak-Childhood-Friends ft. Bookclubs AU you didn't know you were looking for.

Sana and Isak might've spent more time fighting than reading the first day the met, but sometimes that's just how it goes. Usually. Usually that's how it goes. With Sana and Isak specifically. In their mostly dysfunctional two person book club.

Or, life is hard and growing up harder, but take my hand and I'm right there with you.

→ torches (life's too short) | xxLeviBech

"My mom used to tell me my thoughts would pour out of my ears if I kept thinking too hard." Isak threw back another fry, keeping his gaze down.

"That's pretty fucked up, man." Even deadpanned, making Isak snap his head up in a laugh

."Fuck you," He giggled, tossing one of the soggier ones at Even and being decidedly unimpressed when he caught it in his mouth.

Or, a canon divergence AU in which Isak's childhood is exponentially more severe -- where he can't remember coming to school without bruises, a bottle of hand-sanitizer, and long sleeves. It's fine, he's fine. It wasn't for his friends, though; and that's how he wound up here, in a fold-up chair every Tuesday and Friday, talking about his experiences with other post-secondary kids diagnosed with some kind of PTSD. It's also where meets a guy whose name starts with the same letters as everything, because that's... exactly what he is.

→ Come On, Set the Tone | boxesofflowers, Eeyoreneedsahug

Isak is a recently out popstar who wants to prove that he is not just another pretty face in pop music and has the skills to make his own way in the musical world (just like his newly found idol, Even Bech Naesheim).

Even is a self contained, indie singer songwriter who takes shit from nobody - anyone in his cult following will tell you (including a certain popstar).Shortly after a public feud between the two begins, they’re forced together for a nationwide tour. 9 weeks, 50 shows, and countless hours (together) on the tour bus leave Even writing cryptic love songs and Isak wondering if he should leave everything he knows behind.

Ft. BL!SS, Balloon Squad, Wireless Problems, Jonas, and the Wobbles

→ Parallel Universe | RunningGirl

What if Even goes his own way, leaving Isak behind? What if he regrets it? What if he's given the chance to see what would have happened if he stayed?

Even made a decision after college. A decision he's regretted for five years. He's given the opportunity to see what would have happened if he hadn't made that decision. A glimpse into a parallel universe.

#skam #isak and even #evak #isak valtersen #even bech næsheim #fan fics #so many fics #omg #like wow #it's like 30 fics....#wtf

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bookloversreviewer · 6 years ago

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Shattered With You, the first in the all-new Stark Security series of standalones, from New York Times bestselling author J. Kenner, is available now!

With his lethal skills and criminal connections, former British agent Quincy Radcliffe has fast become a key asset at the newly formed Stark Security. But Quincy isn’t the man he appears to be.

When the woman whose body he once worshipped and whose heart he broke pleads for his help, Quincy knows he must either turn his back on her or risk revealing his dark secrets to the one woman who can—and will—tear open his old wounds.

For years, struggling actress Eliza Tucker has tried to forget the decadent weeks she shared with Quincy Radcliffe. His smoldering good looks had drawn her in, while his British charm had enchanted her. But it was the wildness of his seduction and the ferocity of his passion that captured her. She’d given herself to him—and he’d shattered her like glass when he’d walked away.

Now, he’s the only person who can help find her missing sister. She’ll use him because she has to. She’ll pay any sensual price he demands. But she won’t fall for him again.

Download your copy today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2SQ2eSG

AppleBooks: https://apple.co/2soQ7jY

Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/ShatteredWithYou

Nook: http://bit.ly/2VMLygL

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2D4jz5a

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2Fldp2Q

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2VEeDLo

Excerpt

“I think it’s time we get you home.”

“Yes, please.” My pulse pounded in my throat. Hell, it pounded between my thighs. With each moment that passed, I was more and more turned on. I blamed the wine—it’s definitely my aphrodisiac of choice—but those lovely grapes weren’t entirely responsible for this sweet longing. On the contrary, that was all the man.

A man who took my hand and very gingerly helped me down the narrow stairs to the street, where he hailed a cab. “I’ll have to remember you’re a cheap drunk,” he said, his hand sliding down to cup my bottom. I bit my lower lip and leaned into it, then moaned with satisfaction as he nuzzled my neck. “That’s valuable information to store away.”

“If that’s the kind of information you want, I’ll tell you anything. Just don’t stop doing that.”

“Ah, but I have to. Your chariot awaits.”

He stepped around me, leaving me bereft from the sudden lack of contact. He opened the door like a perfect gentleman, then stepped back, as if to close it, rather than sliding in beside me.

“Are you getting in on the other side? I can slide over.”

“You’re going home alone,”he said, and my entire body went cold from the giant bucket of rejection he’d just dumped all over me.

“I—what? Why?” I frowned. “I thought you were buying me breakfast. I thought we were going to—” I closed my mouth because under the circumstances I really wasn’t going there.

“You thought I was going home with you. That I was going to kiss you. That I was going to pull you so close your breasts were crushed against me, and your ass was tight in my hands.”

“I—Quincy…” I shot a mortified look at the driver, who was sitting like stone, his hands glued to the steering wheel as he looked straight ahead.

“Hmm,”Quincy said, then leaned over and handed the driver a ten-pound note. “Sorry to keep you waiting. This should cover the inconvenience.”And then, as if the delay was the only thing odd about this situation, he turned back to me and said, “That would be my very great pleasure, Eliza.”

“But. Wait. What?” I wasn’t sure if it was the wine or the shock, but he was making no sense.

He put a hand on the roof and leaned in.

“You’re dangerous, Eliza. You and me, we’re a lot alike.”

“That’s bad?”

“I told you. It’s dangerous.”

“Oh. I see.” I swallowed. And told myself not to cry. I didn’t know him well enough to cry. Which begged the question of why tears were pooling in my eyes. “Well, it was—I mean, I had a nice day. Thank you. It, ah, it was really nice to meet you.” Bastard.

His mouth twitched, and for a moment I feared I’d said that out loud.

“Is that a brush off?”

“What, no. Wait—I thought you were brushing me off.”

“Do you want me to?” Again with that tiny smile.

“No, and you’re teasing me. What the hell, Quince?”At that, he laughed outright. “Now I know.”

“What?”

“If you and I spend much time together—and I certainly hope that we will—when you call me Quince it’s because I’m in trouble.”

I tilted my head and crossed my arms in a display of irritation. And I was irritated. But I was also hopelessly, giddily relieved. “Fine. You’re in trouble. Don’t scare me like that. You acted like you just wanted to send me on my way.”

“I’ll tell you what I want,” he said, bending lower and speaking softer. But not so soft the driver couldn’t hear.

“I don’t just want to go home with you. I don’t simply want to fuck you. I want to claim you, Eliza. I want you to surrender completely. To give me your trust entirely.”

“I don’t understand. I don’t know what that means.”

“I think you do. I want control.” He brushed my lips with the pad of his free hand. “To take you how I want you. In the back of a cab like this. In your bed. Tied down. On your knees. I’ll give you pleasure, Eliza. More than you can imagine or have experienced.”

“You can’t know that.”

“I can, and I do.” He hesitated a moment, his eyes burning into me. “I can’t promise to save you from whatever darkness is inside you—only you can do that. But there are shadows in your eyes, and I want to be the one to bring back some light.”

About J. Kenner

J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal and #1 International bestselling author of over one hundred novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres.

Though known primarily for her award-winning and international bestselling erotic romances (including the Stark and Most Wanted series) that have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, JK has been writing full time for over a decade in a variety of genres including paranormal and contemporary romance, “chicklit” suspense, urban fantasy, and paranormal mommy lit.

JK has been praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations” and by RT Bookclub for having “cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swoon for them.” A six time finalist for Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award, JK took home the first RITA trophy awarded in the category of erotic romance in 2014 for her novel, Claim Me (book 2 of her Stark Trilogy) and in 2017 for Wicked Dirty in the same category. Her Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series (as Julie Kenner) is currently in development as a television show.

Her books have sold over three million copies and are published in over twenty languages.

In her previous career as an attorney, JK worked as a clerk on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and practiced primarily civil, entertainment and First Amendment litigation in Los Angeles and Irvine, California, as well as in Austin, Texas. She currently lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and two rather spastic cats.

Connect with J. Kenner

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JKennerBooks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliekenner/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-kenner

Stay up to date with J. Kenner by joining her mailing list: http://juliekenner.com/contact/subscribe-to-the-julie-kenner-newsletter/

Website: www.jkenner.com

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roamingmom · 5 years ago

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Day 20 of lockdown in southern España.

Happy to report – we are well and somewhat sane. Remarkably.

Like the rest of the world – we’re finding our new “normal”. The daily challenge is preventing every day from becoming Groundhog Day.

The boys have adapted well – online school has been a huge help. I fear for next week as they will be off for Easter Break. The days are about to get much longer!

I have put many of my previous recommendations to work in trying to quell monotony. However, I haven’t had much free time. Sounds crazy, right? But I’ve been busy making sure that my household ship doesn’t run ashore. My kitchen has never had such a workout. All five of us seem to be exceptionally hungry through quarantine and I worry that my dishwasher might actually blow up.

The kids are going through clothes at weird rate too. They enjoy not having to wear a uniform and seem to change their clothes between classes. I prefer to stay in my jammies until I have to walk the dog. At which point I put on workout attire as motivation to actually sweat at some point in the day – it seems to work.

Tips to Stay Sane

In my previous posts: Surviving Quarantine, and Surviving Quarantine – Part 2, I gave some links for good distractions and tips on how to stay busy through quarantine.

This post expands on those and offers a few more.

Anxiety

Turn Off the News

Are you anxious? If so, turn off the damn news and limit your internet surfing to positive news. Honestly, it will cut your anxiety in half. If you are compelled to surf — look for positive stories. Focus on who has recovered from Covid-19, and the medical heroes working around the clock that saved them.

Covid-19 – Good News

Set a Schedule

I’ve read a couple of articles written by ex-military. You know the guys that live in closed quarters without any privacy for months on end? Almost all of them talk about the importance of routine. Something as simple as making your bed can set a positive tone for the rest of your day.

Although I hate to say it– you should probably get dressed too. I could live in my pyjamas all day, everyday. But I know it sets the tone for a super lazy day. Better to get dressed and have a bit of a plan.

Make Space/Give Space

Some of us are living in small quarters and aren’t getting breaks for personal space. Be mindful of this. It’s okay to ask for a timeout and don’t be offended if your spouse or child asks for one.

If you and your spouse are both working from home. Give yourselves as much distance as possible. Work on different floors if that is an option and only “meet for lunch or Happy Hour”.

Productivity

Don’t force this. If you are feeling super productive – fabulous. If not, don’t sweat it. Having your family under the same roof 24/7 is hard work in itself. Alternatively being alone all day might make you feel glum and not very motivated.

I think we all envisioned the great projects we would do under quarantine – I still have some ambition. But I really underestimated how much time my tribe would require. So, I’m relaxing those goals and focusing on keeping on top the day-to-day challenges as they crop up.

Exercise

This is an important one.

Even if you aren’t feeling terribly motivated. It’s important to stay healthy and that means you have to move. My boys (big one too) are doing a push up challenge. Which is funny. They set alarms & drop at random times and bang out 15-30 pushups….boys. This is a great distraction for them and ignites their competitive nature.

In case you’re interested:

I am not doing a push up challenge but I carve out time for Morning Meltdown 100. Today I switched it up and did an online yoga class with the lovely Mara.

A bit of inspiration for the aspiring yogini.

Keep up with your Peeps

Reach out to your tribe.

This is paramount especially to those that live alone. Historically, I’ve been terrible about calling my parents. Being on a 6 hour time difference doesn’t help either. But through quarantine I’ve upped my game. It’s been nice.

I am so thankful for FaceTime, the internet and cool Apps that are keeping us connected. The jokes fly around on Whatsapp at a dizzying rate and are usually worthy of the distraction. Be careful though – they can suck you down a rabbit hole. You don’t want to spend your whole day randomly texting.

Reading

Are you reading yet?

I just finished one of my bookclub books: The Binding. Took a bit to get into (bit long in dialogue) but well written. After 1/3 of the way – the pages turn themselves. Our club will meet online to discuss. The upside – lots of drinks because nobody has to drive.

As some know – I have a bit of a soft spot for romance novels. Here’s 5 of my recent faves that shouldn’t disappoint. All cleverly written and some steamy AF.

Household Chores

Anybody else experiencing household chaos? I already mentioned that my kitchen was maxed out. So I took over complete control of the galley. Otherwise, I couldn’t keep track of what I’d stocked and what was flying out of the pantry. It’s a bit more work but a lot more manageable when trying to meal plan.

Organize the kitchen so everyday items are readily accessible. Since you are cooking more – spices should be handy. Pull out the crockpot and leave it on the counter. That baby can do amazing things and saves loads of time.

Try doubling up recipes and/or making things that can be reused the next day. For example: extra bolognese sauce can easily be converted to a chili.

Put the kids to work. I might prepare the food but everyone is capable of pulling their weight by sharing in the clean up. It should not fall to one person – act as a team.

Try these easy recipes:

Apples with Honey & Crushed Walnuts

Jambalaya

Missing Nature

If your lock down is strict like here in Spain – you might be missing the outdoors.

Follow these landscape photographers for some great scenery.

This article shows footage of clearing canals in Venice.

Theatre

Theatres around the globe are offering free productions on line.

5 Theatres in London Streaming

This is a devastating time for the global economy as a whole. Not spared is the Arts World. Consider purchasing a ticket to a streamed show.

Marin Theatre

Make Plans

I know it’s hard to make future plans without a crystal ball. But this too shall pass and it’s good to have things to look forward to.

Plan for fall of 2020 and all of 2021.

The world will be forever changed by Covid-19 but it’s not the end of the travel. Borders will reopen. European Cities steeped in history will lure people once again. Dramatic coastlines will continue to enchant sea lovers. Sweeping fjords and majestic alps will still call our names.

Perhaps though – we’ll embrace our future experiences with more gratitude. Never again will we take for granted the embrace of a distant loved one. For now – you can plan for that next embrace.

Funny

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you’re surviving quarantine. Do you have any tips? Words of advice? I would love to hear from you.

Kate

Surviving Quarantine – Part 3 Day 20 of lockdown in southern España. Happy to report - we are well and somewhat sane.

#coronavirus #covid-19 #quarantine #sanity #surviving #tips

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willreadforbooze · 6 years ago

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Hello fellow boozie readers!

Sam’s Update:

I can officially say that I’m in my 30s… happy birthday to me!! We also went to ALA, which is like BookCon but so much more chill. As of this posting, I’m probably still there, since it ends today at 2pm. Anywho, I’ve been in more of a Netflix mood, not a reading mood, but here you go.

What Sam finished this week:

The Wicked King by Holly Black: Welp, coulda called that one. Jude is still so dumb. But I enjoyed listening to this.

What Sam’s reading now:

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao: Literally just started it, btu this is the follow up to Forest of a Thousand Lanterns reviewed here.

The Simoquin Prophecies by Samit Basu: Book club book. Reserving all comment until bookclub is over.

Ginny’s Update:

This is a judgement free zone (if you like to ignore the fact that reviews are pretty much pure judgment, in this case I mean no one is gonna judge me). Lots of romance novels again. Plus I had a fun thing happen this weekend where I was too dizzy to function because vertigo is a bitch. Unfortunately I’m a dummy and used that time to sleep instead of read. So, you’re welcome Sam, there aren’t too many covers to find.

Currently Reading:

The Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean: This is one of the ARC’s I got from bookcon. Sarah MacLean is a delight to follow on twitter and writes some really fun heroines. I know Linz didn’t have much luck with the last book, but I am enjoying this one. Hattie has a plan for her year and isn’t gong to let anything get in her way. ‘Beast,’ a moniker that’s labeled as ridiculous in the book, is going to get in her way. All she wants is to take over her father’s shipping business. He has unfinished drama that I’m going to be honest, I don’t super care about at the moment…. 🙂

After the Crown by K.B. Wagers: I read the first book in this series earlier this year and as the triology is already complete wanted to keep up with it. Hail, who is now empress, is still dealing with the fallout of the attempted coup etc and the case of characters from the previous book is there to help her deal. This is kind of like Firefly meets Star Wars.

Finished Reading:

Luck of the Draw by Kate Clayborn: This was exactly what I thought it would be. The drama was exactly what I thought it would be. Ultimately I still super enjoyed this book as the character growth from hate to friendly to love seemed to make sense. The story happened over weeks and didn’t start at immediate love (I’m kind of sick of “I’ve known this person for five minutes and already I would die for them” story lines). So yes, it was a solid choice. 3.5/5

The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan: Yup, another romance novel. The library blessed me. “Free” runs a newspaper for women that is about as feminist as a newspaper in ye olden dayes can be. Edward Clark was left for dead by his aristocratic family and has adopted a fake name and been a conman for the last oh seven years. He’s trying to protect and old friend and decides to use Free to help. Unfortunately his dick of a brother is going to cause lots o problems. Free was a ton of fun and has a wonderful point of view on things, and I really enjoyed the arguments between her and Edward. He’s so cynical but really well meaning beneath everything else. 4/5.

Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian: I’m not going to bother with a full summary here but this book is fucking wild. Robin, our non-binary hero lives life to the fullest and knows she (I promise this is talked about in the book, I’m not misgendering her) will never get what she truly wants. Because Alistair has a stick up his ass and bumbles his way through anything real because he’s spent too many years trying to ‘fix’ his fathers mistakes. They fall in love and do so much stupid stuff. But honestly this book is a trip. I highly suggest it. 4/5

DNF:

I Love You so Mochi by Sarah Kuhn: I do plan on picking this one back up, but now wasn’t the time. It’s part of the reason I read so much romance is I just really didn’t feel like picking this one up again.

The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala: Man, I adored the world of this book. I could read straight up history textbooks about this world. Unfortunately, I really didn’t care for either of the two main characters. I got about 40% of the way in, and didn’t understand why they felt drawn to each other, didn’t care about the contest. I honestly just wanted to learn more about how the original treaties came to be, about how the matriarchal society functioned, what the change was like. I would have read a book set 10 years before this book was placed. I just didn’t care for it. It wasn’t bad, just not the story I wanted it to be.

Minda’s Update:

ALA was amazing! Picked up so many new releases and ARCs.

What Minda finished:

Kingsbane by Claire Legrand – The most feels I’ve had from a book in awhile! I still can’t process everything.

What Minda put down:

Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman – Taken back by the library, but honestly I was only like one page in.

What Minda is reading now:

The Simoquin Prophecies by Samit Basu – Book club book, enough said.

Wilder Girls by Rory Power – Just picked this one up from ALA! A school for girls is under quarantine and one of the students is finding answers—mystery and intrigue. Comes out July 9, so hoping to finish before then.

Linz’s Update:

WHY DID WE GO TO ALA WE ARE FASHIONING OURSELVES INTO MONSTERS. I’m officially a book Gollum.

What Linz read:

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly: The tiniest of dents has been made in my ARC pile. Minda and I have to have words on this book, because I have some feelings

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray: GIRL WHERE DO I START. This was so damn good, you should all read this immediately. I bought a copy. You can borrow it. Just like start it now.

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo: If I had known better, I would not have read this and The Care and Feeding in the same week, Jesus Mary and Joseph I cried a lot. Acevedo’s second offering is about a high school senior who is VERY talented at cooking, and struggles to juggle college applications, work, and her toddler daughter. I’m so exhausted that I’m not giving it its due, but this may be one of my favorite books this year. It’s beautiful, balanced, and I’m so glad it exists.

What Linz is reading now:

I’ll be honest, I’ve been trudging away at Jade City, and I think I just picked the wrong time to read it, or maybe it’s just not for me. I’m shelving it tonight and starting…

Swipe Right for Murder: Derek Milman – We picked this up at BookCon and saw it again at ALA. People have been going crazy for it on social media. From Goodreads: “On the run from the FBI. Targeted by a murderous cult. Labeled a cyber-terrorist by the media. Irritated texts from his best friend. Eye contact with a nice-looking guy on the train. Aidan has a lot to deal with, and he’s not quite sure which takes top priority.”

Until next time, we remain forever drunkenly yours,

Sam, Melinda, Linz, and Ginny

Weekly Wrap-Up: June 17-23, 2019 Hello fellow boozie readers! Sam's Update: I can officially say that I'm in my 30s... happy birthday to me!!

#Wrap Up

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carasueachterberg · 6 years ago

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Every evening when I sit down to post in this diary, I think—nothing really happened. (except on Wednesday – that was a little too exciting) And yet, when I look through the day’s pictures and start to write, there’s always something to tell.

That’s probably true of all of our lives, not just one rescue dog. So much happens every day that we take for granted and should instead be awed by in gratefulness, but I suppose it’s human nature to think it has to be exciting/tragic/titillating for it to be worthy of writing or reading about. Daisy is teaching me to slow down and appreciate the moments.

This week was made up of a lot of little moments, but her world stretched and she gave me lots of clues to her history and maybe a few that will help to unlock her heart.

I appreciate any help you can give in sharing her story. I really believe it simply she needs to reach the right heart—someone who will recognize her as family and choose to adopt her. Daisy has so much love to give and every day I see more of her huge loving, funny personality.

If you’d like to read her story in real time, you can follow along on Facebook at Cara Sue Achterberg, writer.

Here are this week’s entries:

Diary of a Rescue Day 29:

This is gonna be super quick because I’m late for bookclub and I’ve had a crazy busy day involving a horse dentist, vet, and an unexpected drive to my oldest son’s college (and back).

So, obviously, I didn’t see Daisy much, but this morning I caught some pictures of her with her fork. For some reason, unknown to me, she loves this fork. I don’t even know how she got it in the first place, but she likes to keep it close by – in her crate or on the dog bed.

Every time I see her carrying it I am never quick enough with the camera, but this morning Ian was in the room and she carried and carried it as if she didn’t trust him not to take it if she put it down, so I got these pictures.

There really is a silly, mischievous dog hidden in there under all that fear.

#funnypup #anothergooddog

Diary of a Rescue Day 30:

Once again I didn’t see much of Daisy today. We had a little time this morning. She spent the better part of the day back in the puppy room since Nick and I were in New Jersey to see Addie perform in a show at Rowan.

The puppy room was the best place for her since my oldest, Brady, is home on spring break and there have been plenty of extra young adults at our house. I don’t know if all the extra activity is making her anxious but since her fork is still in the kitchen, she’s taken to carrying around a stuffed football. Guess it’s her security football.

#peoplearescary #footballshelp #togetherwerescue #anothergooddog

Diary of a Rescue Day 31:

It’s been an amazing Daisy day! She spent most of the morning walking laps in the kitchen with her football. She reminds me of the old polar bear at the Baltimore Zoo who used to walk/swim the same pattern over and over. You could stand there for hours (and we did because one of my kids was so amazed by it and was sure if watched long enough he would break his pattern); he followed the same route over and over for days, weeks, years.

Daisy’s pattern is in and out of the crate, then around the kitchen island, then in/out crate, around the island, ad nauseum all the while clutching the football in her mouth and emitting an occasional whine. I made applesauce and then banana bread to keep her company and then I couldn’t stand watching it anymore so I convinced Nick to bring Frankie and go for a walk with us.

Once we left the drive (a first for her), she lit up. Running and sniffing and even trying to reach Nick and Frankie. By the time we got home, they were walking side by side! I saw more tail wagging and happy energy than I’ve ever seen from her. I’m very encouraged. Clearly, she is happier outside and loves going on a real walk. We’ll do lots more of that this week if weather allows and this blasted snow finally goes away.

She’s back in kitchen pacing at the moment, but at least I know how to make her happy and I’m hopeful she and Frankie will eventually be friends. I think the new pacing is just anxiety over the addition of Brady (and his people).

#peoplearestillscary but #theoutsideworld is exciting!

Diary of a Rescue Day 32:

Confessing right up front that these pictures are a day old. I was busy/distracted today by all the activity at my house- new foster dog, college kid home (with friends), a lot of writing to do, needy horses, sick kid, so I never managed to take a single picture of Daisy. But! She had a good day.

Another OPH family member, Ronni, came by to drop off a donated bag of my favorite brand of dog food and stayed to take a walk with me. She walked Gracie and I walked Daisy. Once again, Daisy was happy and brave – walking beside Gracie (who miraculously ignored her!) and scampering playfully or walking happily. Not an ill word was spoken. (Which is saying something since Gracie is usually a bit of a bully).

The pictures are from Daisy’s walk yesterday with Frankie, plus a couple of her with her football which she has carried around most of today. But you can substitute Gracie for Frankie and it was exactly the same.

This pup will be such a fun, sweet, loving dog for a lucky adopter. Now we just need to find that adopter!

#choosetoadopt #anothergooddog

Diary of a Rescue Day 33:

Other than the fact that she carries the football everywhere with her now, Daisy is becoming more and more like a regular dog. Tanis came over and we walked Frankie and Daisy (who carried her football the entire 2 miles) up the road and back. Neither of us thought to grab a picture, that’s how ‘normal’ she’s becoming.

Daisy’s looking so much healthier and is really a good weight now. She remains petrified of the guys and we are just accepting that for what it is. With me, she is incredibly loving and affectionate and I have no doubt that she is ready to share that love with an adopter – it will need to be a female adopter. Maybe this thing with men will just take time. Her fears are firmly entrenched but hopefully not immovable. After all, she is always initially frightened of new women and it takes her time to warm up, but she does.

I’m very curious to see how she reacts to children, but haven’t had a chance to find out. I need some young kids who can move slowly to test her out on. I have a feeling that she might trust children.

We have a new foster dog in the house, but so far Daisy has ignored him when he walks by, as she does both Gracie and Frankie.

Happy to report it’s really been an uneventful day at this foster house.

#easydoesit #daybyday #togetherwerescue #anothergooddog

Diary of a Rescue Day 34:

A pretty big day for Daisy- she made a new friend! Molly patiently sat on the floor with me for a good hour and Daisy circled and circled with the football in her mouth getting closer and closer to Molly.

Finally, she got brave and reached out to take a treat from Molly. That was the beginning. After that, there were kisses and pets and more treats. She showed her playful and affectionate side, which is something only I ever witness. There is hope for this dog!

We had a bad moment shortly after which resulted in me ending up with a banged knee when I dove to separate Daisy and Frankie who got in a scuffle. The last time they tangled, it was my fault because I intentionally let Frankie in to meet Daisy, but this time it was Frankie’s fault because he barged past me at the gate in his hurry to greet my friend Gina, who had just arrived to help walk dogs. He didn’t even see Daisy who was saying her goodbyes to Molly.

Daisy is fiercely defensive when it comes to other dogs and I think that trait may be as entrenched as her fear of men.

Frankie is fine, just chastened, and I am pumped up on ibuprofen, hoping the pain and swelling are temporary. (I was able to walk dogs so I’m probably just being a baby.)

Never a dull moment here at this crazy dog house.

#dontbesopushy #newfriendsaregood #togetherwerescue #anothergoodog

Diary of a Rescue Day 35:

Thankfully Nancy stopped by today and did a little photo shoot with Daisy so I’ll have some MUCH better pictures to post once I figure out how to see and download them without upgrading my Dropbox (I tried opening a new Dropbox with a different email but they were on to me…).

Daisy had a quiet day, but she needed one after the excitement of yesterday. My friend Linda is visiting and making slow steady progress in winning Daisy over, and hopefully we can get her out for a hike tomorrow.

Daisy did great at the photo shoot- racing around in a circle because she was happy to be outside with me, chasing a ball (slowly), gnawing on a stick, and startling at the chickens. Can’t wait to see the results!

My bad pictures do show you how much weight she’s gained. (And her messy room)

#justwait #modeldog #togetherwerescue #anothergooddog

Thanks for reading!

If you’d like to know more about my blogs and books, visit CaraWrites.com or subscribe to my monthly e-newsletter (which is rarely monthly, but I’m working at it…everybody needs a goal).

If you’d like to know more about the book, Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs, visit AnotherGoodDog.org, where you can find more pictures of the dogs from the book (and some of their happily-ever-after stories), information on fostering, the schedule of signings, and what you can do right now to help shelter animals! You can also purchase a signed copy or several other items whose profits benefit shelter dogs!

If you’d like to know how you can volunteer, foster, adopt or donate with OPH, click here. And if you’d like more pictures and videos of my foster dogs past and present, be sure to join the Another Good Dog Facebook group.

One last thing! I will be leading a group of eight volunteers on a week-long trip to volunteer in some of the shelters we work with in North and South Carolina. We will be posting stories, pictures and video of our adventure. You can see all of it by following our Facebook page, OPH Rescue Road Trip. We promise to share the dogs we meet, the heroes we help, and the reality of shelters in the rural south. It may not always be easy to see, but hopefully it will also inspire you to help the many, many dogs in need. And if you’re so inclined, you can support us with donations through our Road Trip Fundraiser.

I love hearing from readers, so please feel free to comment here on the blog, email [email protected] or connect with me on Facebook, twitter, or Instagram.

Best,

Cara

Released August 2018 from Pegasus Books and available now

Diary of a Rescue Week Five: It’s a Big Wide World! Daisy's little world is getting bigger... #choosetoadopt #anothergooddog Every evening when I sit down to post in this diary, I think—nothing really happened. 1,985 more words

#bigwideworld #dog diary #dogs #fearfuldog #fosterdog #fostering #rescuediary #rescuedog

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comicteaparty · 6 years ago

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November 26th-December 2nd, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from November 26th, 2018 to December 2nd, 2018. The chat focused on Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R by snuffysam.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R by snuffysam~! (http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/comics/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until December 2nd to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. Since the comic utilizes a wide variety of comedy, what have been some of your favorite jokes to appear in the comic so far? What about the joke worked for you? Name as many as you would like for this question.

QUESTION 4. Do you believe that Mizuki will eventually discover her own magical talent, or will she be stuck stealing others’ abilities forever? What might her magical talent be? Also, regardless of your answer, how might this issue change Mizuki?

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Okay, so I haven't actually gotten to reading this comic yet-- just started like... right now. But OMG. XDDDDDD I'm loving how they're breaking the fourth wall and poking fun at stuff. My favorite scene so far is this one:

And of course the follow up:

I really like the guard so far, though I have absolutely no idea if he'll ever appear again seeing as I'm still in the first chapter. ;v;

The fact that he makes fourth wall breaking remarks is what sort of sold me. If he doesn't appear again, hopefully someone else along with the main character will make better jokes that will sell me good.

BUT OMG!!! This one really caught me off guard:

XDDDDDDD

The comedy here is really up my alley man. ;W;

O v O

Just found my new favorite character.

Mr Holy Tree:

AH! Btw, I love how the siblings who are governers of the Sikode plain's clothes sort of match up with the work hours they took. <333

Just finished Chapter 3. 8^U!!!! If I have more time tonight, Imma try to read a few more chapters yo! But this comic is really snatching me with dem scripts.

snuffysam

glad you like it so far!

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Of course! >W< Thank you for creating this silly hidden gem!!! <33333

ShaRose49

I love that it’s not perfect, and this is not an insult. My favourite character so far is the guy who sliced that squid in half he seems like a boss

It’s also amazing to see how far the author has come in their art, I looked at the original pages a bit.

snuffysam

Cahe Is A Good Boy

Kabocha

Cahe is good, but I do wonder about the magic of how quickly they had their baby... Maybe it's one of their magic love powers.

snuffysam

also yeah, I've changed a lot over these past three-ish years lol

there's been exactly one hint as to why that happened, and it's in probably the most obscure place imaginable

the game where you can play as everyone's favorite archery ace

ShaRose49

I obviously didn’t get to any baby yet whups

snuffysam

oh no that's not for a while

ShaRose49

Snuffy is pretty good at lighting and shading too. I still have plenty to learn about that

snuffysam

the baby doesn't happen for another like 350 pages from where you are

ShaRose49

Oh hi snuffy!

My bad lol

snuffysam

hi lol

i'm in blue this week

ShaRose49

Hey how do you know where I am?

snuffysam

oh i just assumed given your comments

ShaRose49

Yeah I know

Oh okay

I’m in the middle of chapter 2 I think

snuffysam

yup so i was right lol

Kabocha

Daaaaaang. That's some good accuracy. I'm lucky if I can remember my own name some days

snuffysam

i did have to look up the page numbers lol. it was just a matter of guessing that sharose hadn't started chapter 3 yet

ShaRose49

Hahaha

snuffysam

anyway yeah i wrote a shader script for blender to do the lighting properly. took me a couple years to figure it out but i got there eventually lol

ShaRose49

Oh my word I can barely use blender yet

So it IS CGI! I couldn’t tell for sure I thought maybe it was supposed to mimic CG

snuffysam

a lot of stuff is drawn in with photoshop. and i think i just recently passed the point where more than half the comic is CG as opposed to being drawn.

but ye

ShaRose49

Wow. I don’t think I’ll be doing my comics with CG but I do wanna be an animator one day. Good for you!

snuffysam

thanks!

ShaRose49

No prob. I just got to more doodley pages

snuffysam

yeah haven't updated chapters 3 onward yet

ShaRose49

Oh okay. I can relate lol. I’m glad to see this up here, you’re a brave artist

snuffysam

thanks ha ha

ShaRose49

They are so innocent ohmiword

“I thought for sure 1+1=2!”

snuffysam

mizuki may not have gotten an A in all her math classes, but she at least knows that much

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. Who exactly are/were the Galaxy Knights? How did they come to be, and what goals did they have? Do you think we’ll see more former or current members? Also, what are your theories about their involvement in the story given they’re in the title?

RebelVampire

1) it's still the end fight of book 1. which i wont go into too much detail cause i dont want to spoil for those just starting up. but i still love the entire choreography of that fight. seeing mizuki solve everything in the most unconvenentional ways possible is so immensely fulfilling. 2) cahe's mustache. i cant wait till it gets fed up with cahe, rips itself off his face, and joins mizuki to fight the good fight. (but also probably electric zebra because he believes in the power of love) 3) there's too many jokes to name. theres a lot of great ones. although one of my favorite more recent ones has actually been a callback to the fact that cahe never names his village. and lo and behold his village is revealed to be unnamed village. i was slain by the joke. 4) i think eventually mizuki will discover her own thing. but at the same time i dont think thatll stop her from using others' abilities cause i think she turns what others view as a weakness into a strength. so basically mizuki will just have more ammo for her mind magic arsenal. 5) i mean the obvious answer is that they were protectors of ppl and that mizuki is gonna join them. but idk. i def think were gonna see more former and current members though given the title. and mizuki will thrash them all with the power of stealing their abilities and stubbornness. in the end, there is only one super galaxy knight deluxe and that person is mizuki. lets not ask what the r stands for.

shim

I haven’t even finished chapter one yet but I love this guard guy.

snuffysam

lodu is best boy. i'm actually planning on having him show up again for real in the next chapter. and by book 3 he may even have enough screentime to jump up to major character status.

snuffysam

also rebel you really have a knack for asking questions that will be straight-up answered within a month or two.

like in the weekly chat back in may one of the questions was "what is the plot of book 2"

not saying which of the questions you asked will be answered in a month but just overall, it's an impressive skill lol

snuffysam

and yeah chapter 8 is my favorite arc in hindsight. i'm not sure i'll actually manage to out-do the 1v1 fight choreography there for a while.

Kabocha

I have to admit, I'm really enjoying the current fight scene. The banter's top notch. >:3 Dramatic text meets no-nonsense. Now give Mizuki that damn generator so she can win the talent show!

snuffysam

talent show > crimebusting

Kabocha

he can get it back after the crimes are solved... But the bigger crime really is that the King--- wait the King gets to make the laws doesn't he

Kabocha

....wait, what I just said doesn't make sense. Oh well. He can get it back after the talent show is done -- it's a crime Mizuki can't win it!

snuffysam

the two of them should bring criminals to the talent show and bust them on-stage

RebelVampire

mizuki should get back to the talent show if only because i bet the old man is still on stage trying to tell horrible jokes

Kabocha

get that man a google assistant... or sub him to r/dadjokes

https://www.blog.google/products/assistant/ok-google-tell-me-a-joke/ I'm sorry, I can't get over how bad some of these jokes are.

snuffysam

it's been well over 12 hours, and it's the middle of the night now. do you really think he's still on stage?!

(the answer is yes)

Kabocha

Of course! He's waiting for Mizuki

RebelVampire

of course he is, he is an angel. and everyone is too polite to tell him to get off the stage and go home

snuffysam

well they're waiting for mizuki too

snuffysam

interested to hear what the caught-up folks' reactions to today's page will be...

shim

don't say that, now I want to throw all my homework out the window and catch up all the way

snuffysam

lmao

as much as i want to tell you to go for it... put your homework first lol

shim

I am definitely planning to catch up once I have homework and finals out of the way. Unfortunately…that will also be after this week's bookclub will be over and we'll be discussing someone else's comic by then.

snuffysam

aww oh well

shim

I hope to read more before, then, though, so I can discuss some things. I just won't be fully caught up, hehe.

snuffysam

and of course, no reason you can't keep reading after your finals are done and just comment in the comic itself

(though this is a much better place for people to get theories out there)

shim

-procrastinates from homework-

Okay this restaurant owner

"Everyone does horrible things sometimes. So really, I was completely justified."

I love this so much

THEY JUST COVER EACH OTHER'S FACES THIS IS GREAT

snuffysam

Protection from indecency!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 6. Why do you think Mizuki drifted apart from Cahe and Pejiba so much between Books 1 & 2? Why did the couple not invite Mizuki to their own wedding? Will Cahe and Pejiba make a comeback, or are they settled down into domesticity forever?

RebelVampire

im gonna be optimistic and say her letter just got lost in the mail

because cahe asked someone terrible to deliver it

maybe the anecestral tree

and cahe walked away before the ancestral tree could remind him that hes rooted to the ground

or the ancestral tree was pissed he wasnt invited

Kabocha

I think Cahe and Pejiba were just so in love they forgot! Or ultimately, they just didn't like Mizuki so much. Granted, it's been ... a very short duration

RebelVampire

maybe its gonna be an it was all a dream thing somehow

mizuki has been having trouble sleeping

snuffysam

there is a misunderstanding involved, but it’s less about “why didn’t they invite mizuki” and more “why would they invite zebra over mizuki”

RebelVampire

thats easy: zebra is the best

Kabocha

Zebra also is much better at music, so

ShaRose49

I don’t mean to be rude but I wish Mizuki would wear more clothes

shim

Actually, me too…

ShaRose49

And IMO the boobs are too exaggerated. But I like how she eats the food lol

snuffysam

y'all are on chapters 3-4?

shim

Yeah I'm on 3

ShaRose49

I guess she actually doesn’t know what a shirt is? Whoa there are cool animations!! And the lady’s power is cool. @snuffysam I’m not sure hang on I’ll check

shim

No wait I'm on 4, oops.

ShaRose49

I’m on chapter 4

snuffysam

she buttons the jacket in chapter 5, and her proportions get fixed when i switch to 3d

ShaRose49

Yeah she’s less exaggerated in 3D for sure, and I’m glad she buttons up the shirt

snuffysam

the outfit in chapter 4 is a reference to how in the original short film i made that this comic is based off, her actor decided to wear the jacket with no shirt (which is not something i, like, wanted or expected)

ShaRose49

Huh okay

snuffysam

but i changed it because i didn't think it made sense to draw her like that

ShaRose49

How did you get gifs in the comic?

snuffysam

(though the in-universe explanation is that it just got windier)

i use photoshop to animate, if that's what you're asking

ShaRose49

Oh awesome, I didn’t know photoshop could animate

shim

Oh cool! I've dabbled with PS animations before.

snuffysam

most things are frame by frame, with motion & opacity (like the lights fading in and out, cahe flying around the room) being done with photoshop's tweening

shim

Ahhh.

Ow hot sword.

ShaRose49

You are a better animator than me so far lol

Or you have more experience

I love how they’re like “Oh no prob!” After the whole fight

I think that whole fight was a test to see if the two main characters were fit to be the new Galaxy knights or something

And that’s a nice sunset drawing in chapter 4. I love sunsets

shim

"What, are you going to throw your sword at people now?" HAHA!

ShaRose49

So so,done just got shot in the face

Someone

Yikes that!s a mean lady

snuffysam

and a magic mean lady at that

ShaRose49

Yeah I can’t believe he’s not dead

snuffysam

captains are very resilient

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Do you think we’ll see Gynu and Suzigu in Book 2? If so, do you think they have one of the power gems Mizuki needs? Will they give it to her? Alternatively, what other places or characters might reappear do you think, and how will things have changed?

mathtans

"Maybe we DO want them to get the wrong idea."

Using this as an excuse to finally get caught up with SGK. Should have a remark or two by weekend.

snuffysam

looking forward to it!

RebelVampire

(the archive for last week's chat on The Angel with Black Wings is now up! @Mharz https://comicteaparty.com/post/180645388940/november-19th-25th-2018-ctp-archive)

QUESTION 8. Why do you think King Zebugu closed the magic portal? Is he up to something evil, or did he actually turn over a new leaf and is trying to do something helpful that he just won’t explain? Will he succeed or will Mizuki defeat him do you think?

snuffysam

king zebugu turns over new leaves all the time

birch, pine, oak

it's the highlight of the month

shim

what about old leaves?

-is still in chapter five and has no idea who this king is-

snuffysam

if my leaf of the month club sent me an old leaf, i'd probably cancel my membership tbh

unless it was like... historical in some way

shim

haha

RebelVampire

this is too plausible not to be true

7) I think we'll see Gynu and Suzigu probably. Although I feel Mizuki might be at a disadvantage since they already lost to her. so now they know what he game is or something like that. and i dont think theyre gonna just give her the gem given the whole food fiasco and i kind of get this sense they want to test her? as for other characters, i hope we get to see our favorite immortal captain again. and electric zebra. electric zebra needs to come and sing about the power of love and all that. or at least be on tour and give mizuki a signed cd. 8) i feel hes not doing the evil, but i feel whatever the king is up to probably is dumb at least. maybe this is an elaborate prank from the wizard guy who is mad about having to put all the food back. he gave the king the wrong prophecy and now the king is trying to undoom the world. at the end mizuki will win, but winning might not matter. i think shell lose the talent competition tho. shell make it back in time but get disqualified over something trivial. like misspelling something on the contest form.

snuffysam

something worth pointing out about both those answers - in book 1, nobody knew what zebugu was up to except for the people in the castle (and the ancestral tree, cause of the omniscience). people like gynu and suzigu wouldn't have agreed with zebugu if they had known what he was doing. in book 2, zebugu has roped other people into his plan by giving them a gem to protect. zaxaty knew what her brother did, and so did the ancestral tree (being specifically instructed by the king to guard the gem and not tell mizuki the reason why). even taci ramino knew that the portal had been turned off, and zebugu didn't even give him a gem! so if gynu and suzigu do have a gem, what did king zebugu say to them to get them on board? and was he truthful to them, or is this all an elaborate ruse?

RebelVampire

the fact hes roped other ppl into it makes me believe that it is for the greater good. but on the otherhand blackmail and bribery are also options. maybe zebugu has an embarrassing photo of gynu from their last xmas party.

snuffysam

*life day

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. Do you think Mizuki will be able to win against Sword Warrior? Do you think Sword Warrior could be a potential ally, or is he just a one-off villain? What are Sword Warriors actual goals?

snuffysam

keeping in mind that sword warrior now has twice as many swords as before

RebelVampire

i feel like thats a hint

he must want the worlds largest sword collection

snuffysam

that was a hint as to whether or not mizuki can win

but sure

also, interesting how you seemed to describe "ally" and "one-off villain" as the only two choices...

RebelVampire

mostly cause i dont want the questions to be immensely long

snuffysam

lol

that's fair

RebelVampire

i believe in mizuki to be able to win. shes just gotta punch the swords hard enough to shatter them. and then sword warrior will have to change his name to just warrior

snuffysam

she already shattered a sword though. was sword warrior just "warrior" for that two-page period? are names all but an illusion giving us some sense of identity? is that identity earned?

RebelVampire

yes to all that, with a semi yes on the third one. you cant call yourself sword warrior without a sword. thats false advertising otherwise

mathtans

Okay, so, obviously the baby isn't theirs, unless gestational periods are really short or there was time travel hijinks. My money is on them looking after Zebra's kid, in exchange for him performing at the wedding. That's why they got him on short notice, for free. Though adoption's also possible.

snuffysam

I mean y’all can’t just skip over short gestational periods and time travel hijinks in a world where trees talk and sailors just forget that they’re mortal

But that’s a solid possibility

mathtans

I mean, there's magic, and then there's magic!

Clever plot twist in the most recent pages. I did not see that coming. I actually thought Taci had lied about getting one of the gems because he was embarrassed that the Swordsman had already stolen it.

Also, magic can be used to change dialogue into cursive, or something.

mathtans

I'll get to the questions later.

mathtans

-Scene-wise is tough, I don't even recall what I said last time. ^_^; The fight against the king was pretty epic though. Character-wise, I like Pejiba. Just something about her I guess, helpful, first major magic user, that kind of thing.

-Like Rebel, I'm not sure about grabbing any particular comedic moments. The stuff with the tree is pretty good though. Even more recently with the 'I am a jerk but that's not the reason' sort of thing. Also, used firewood...? O.o

-I dunno, stealing the powers of others can be a power itself, see Rogue from X-Men. Plus I think Mizuki'd be worried that once she finds her own, she'll lose the ability to copy everyone else.

-The Galaxy Knights are actually a bunch of mathematicians, that's why the King's advisor is one (if memory serves). Seriously though, I like how they were just randomly brought up recently. It's kind of like they're their own story running in parallel somewhere else. (Which isn't too far off, Gynu and them were in a guest comic series elsewhere, I think.)

Actually, it's impressive the number of guest comics and literary tie-ins that exist.

-Since only, like, a week passed between Books, idk. Maybe Cahe was given bad information, or their messages were cut off. Though the whole wedding seems like a rush job because honeymoon in an all female hotel what now? I feel like they'll still have cameos.

-Hoping we'll see Zaxaty again. That blush had to mean something. (Also, back to comedy, "Get out of my house", hah.)

-The King's probably doing this as some sort of test, like to see if Mizuki can be a new governor or something. After all, he seemed okay with how she spared him. Alternatively, the Galaxy Knights wanted him to do this, so that they could test for new recruits.

-Related to that answer is the possible answer to snuffy asking about what Gynu might have been told if he has a gem. All in a day's work. (Though a photo would be amusing.)

-Sword Warrior will be useful in terms of giving Mizuki many more magic ideas to steal. (Also, since he can make his own swords, I don't think Mizuki will win that way. Maybe she can get him to zip off the edge of a building.) I think Taci just has a thing for vigilantes.

snuffysam

math, are you completely caught up now? including wednesday and friday's pages?

mathtans

Yis.

I'm trying not to be too spoilery though. (I may be failing at that.)

snuffysam

na it's all good lol

also i don't remember gynu being in a guest comic series somewhere else? so if someone did that without letting me know

whoops

actually i guess there were the crossover things on comicfury. but that was ages ago

if that's what you're referring to

mathtans

Yeah, the crossover things. I'd read those for the original Discord chat.

I haven't kept up on the latest literary stuff from StArt Faire though.

snuffysam

to respond to some of your things specifically - - the advisor is a statistician, which... i guess is a mathematician? usually when i think "mathematician" i think of people who write proofs for really difficult problems and not, like, nate silver. also, the wizard is a magic researcher, so he does a lot of math for his work. i guess the active galaxy knights are pretty math-y, except for that third as-of-yet-unnamed active galaxy knight that's shown up. -yeah the wedding was very much a rush job. zuzu was already a member of the family by the time cahe and pejiba were on their honeymoon. -we'll see zaxaty again sooner than you expect. and yeah, there's something there. blushes don't lie. (fun fact: the fight against zaxaty was originally going to be the first time in the comic it's implied that mizuki is into women. when drawing book 1 chapter 6, i changed my mind and worked a love triangle plot into the story. that's the main reason why mizuki never says anything to pejiba about being interested - because it's not in the script. that's also part of the reason why zaxaty's island is "lesbos 2: sappho harder". the timeline for making the comic gay got moved way up, so zaxaty had to be a bit over the top) -won't say much else here, but i like that people's impressions seem to be that zebugu's plot might be morally dubious, but maybe not exactly evil. we'll see how that pans out. -if he had the chance, taci would absolutely start dating sword warrior. he's totally into the tall, slender, vigilante crime-fighter type. (which may lead to some butting of heads down the line...)(edited)

mathtans

That's very cool... both about having Zaxaty in mind so early on, and for managing to foreshadow Mizuki's interests. Also, I don't know that Zaxaty was necessarily over the top (I didn't see a harem), though she does seem to like putting her interests (frustrations?) into her artwork.

As to Zebugu's plot not being evil, it allows for a scene where Mizuki goes off on him and him having some sort of retort. Even if it is to defer to the wizard or something. (Hey, maybe the wizard wanted all magic off so that no one would know that he was on sabbatical.)

snuffysam

you don't see a harem NOW because zaxaty went into seclusion.

it would be nice if zebugu gave his wizard a vacation, considering that he was kind of a jerk to the guy in the first book

mathtans

Ahh, right, I vaguely recall that. Missed the free love vibes what with all the tripping out.

To be fair, he was kind of a jerk to everyone.

snuffysam

true. maybe this is part of his new leaf that he's turning over?

mathtans

I wonder who convinced him to collect new leaves. His other sister, Pokemon? ^.^

snuffysam

he's a big animal crossing fan

he thinks he's stealing people's furniture

Kabocha

I guess his wizard better tell him he's moving to another town soon, so Zebugu can try to give him leaves and present boxes to get him to stay.

snuffysam

wizards love to scam people out of presents like that

Kabocha

... T_T Same with half of my animal crossing townies

shim

ahhhh animal crossing

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

snuffysam

one thing i'm really looking forward to as the author is creating book 3. i think it'll answer a lot of your questions about the series, and there will be a bunch of character interactions that I know people will want to see

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

What I'm looking forward to is seeing the creator update all the pages into the 3d model style! <333 Although, I gotta say I really do enjoy seeing the hand drawn pages too. ;V; I'm still behind in reading, but hopefully when I have time, Imma try to get through more pages. But what I've seen, I've liked and enjoyed immensely!

But can I just say, I love how crazy and silly everything has been so far? XDDD Thanks to this discussion, I found this gem and ended up sharing it with a friend of mine. And they loved the golden comedy too! (Not to mention they're favorite scene was the tree saying they were a jerk as well. O v Obbb)

And I'd also like to commend the fact that the creator has been able to power through and draw so much content (not to mention reworking those pages into new ones. OMG!) OAO!!! As an artist myself, I know how much work it is to get to the number of pages I am now. Thank you so much for signing up for the discussion (because if you hadn't-- I probably would have never discovered yer work) and hope you continue to update the awesome sauce of a story Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe is! <333333(edited)

mathtans

More hints of Galaxy Knights is always fun. Wonder if they're all human, given there's a tree as a character.

snuffysam

@DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio) glad you and your friend liked the comic! I hope you both continue reading after the week ends! and yeah, getting this far has taken a bit of time. I've spent over 1000 hours total on the art aspect alone!

@mathtans i originally planned on one of the galaxy knights being a giant cyclops (in a future book), but i ended up writing him out.

mathtans

I could see lack of depth perception being a problem.

The big twist is probably that Cahe's kid is a Galaxy Knight. Explains everything.

snuffysam

...i'm trying to remember if zuzu actually does grow up to be a galaxy knight or not...

"marries a killer cyborg" is definitely in there for one of the zuzus, but i'm not sure about being a galaxy knight

RebelVampire

im looking forward to finding out if that old man really will just continue on with the talent show until mizuki comes back. and then ironically winning because ppl decided they liked his talent of talking for billions of hours

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R this week! Please also give a special thank you to snuffysam for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

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