#I made it before midnight whew

[kiyomitakada]

“Light,” L says through the messaging spell, “don’t get any closer. Watari will handle this.”

“My dad’s in there,” you counter, and dodge another fireball. “You know how my dad is!”

L sighs. “I know how you are,” she mutters. “Be careful.”

“I’m always careful.” You dance forward, avoiding the craters that have scorched into the ground around you. Higuchi is perched on top of the studio, dragon wings spread wide, peering down at you all with avid delight; he’s got Matsuda in the vice grip of one claw, but he’s being distracted right now by the prospect of getting to kill you all instead of just one measly human.

Reason number 102 you could never have been Kira, damn L’s amnesia theory: you would have taken whatever the dragon transformation deal was immediately.

(Not if you wanted to keep your family, a voice whispers in your head. And you know you would.

You shut that voice away. You are Light Yagami, golden boy. You would never become a serial killer in any universe.)

Suddenly Higuchi roars in pain, rearing upward. You squint to see past the smoke and realize that the dot on his back is your father. He’s stabbing wildly at the claw that’s holding Matsuda captive. It weakens, and Matsuda tumbles onto the floor.

“Fool!” Higuchi shouts. “No man—”

Whatever else he says is drowned out by the crackling fires around him as you dash into the studio and look for a way to the roof.

“Take the elevator,” L suddenly says.

“What? Why?”

“The stairs from the second to third floor are gone.”

You hesitate. It’d be an extraordinarily easy way for L to get rid of her prime suspect…

“Trust me,” L says, and the urgency in her voice must override your survival instinct because you take a right and elbow the elevator button as quickly as you can.

The doors open with a ding. You dart in, hit the button for the roof, and wait for ten seconds of agonizingly cheerful elevator music before the doors pop open again.

The scene is chaos. Higuchi is trying his level best to scorch your father into a nice Soichiro s’more, but Dad’s found a vantage point right behind Higuchi’s head so he’s always behind the fireballs. Matsuda has crawled behind an air conditioning unit and is readying the grenade Watari had passed to him this morning, hands shaking. There’s fire everywhere. The security guards up here are probably dead, you think. Oh well.

Matsuda’s face brightens when he sees you. “Light!”

“Matsuda.” You notice the three deep gashes in his shoulder; no wonder his hands are shaking. That’ll definitely scar. “I can throw that grenade, give it here.”

“That’s not the problem,” Matsuda hisses. “I can’t throw it without blowing Chief up, too.”

You mutter a swear. He’s right. Magical grenades work purely on range-of-effect rules; there’s no way your father would survive.

You calculate your options. Get your father to jump down — no, it’s too high up, and besides it’s good for Higuchi to be distracted. Throw the grenade somewhere further away — no, still too risky, either both or neither of them will die. Throw the grenade anyway —

You told your father once that if Kira ever hurt him, you’d hunt down Kira yourself.

You can’t hurt your father. You can’t.

You draw your knife.

“What are you doing,” L says in your ear.

“Ambushing Higuchi. It’s our best opportunity.”

“But Light,” Matsuda says. “He said that no man could kill him!”

“What?”

“He did say that,” L confirms.

Why is magic so goddamned weird? “Fine, whatever. L, you’re—” You remember that Matsuda is there and he doesn’t know L prefers she/her on some days. “You know what you are.”

“Light-kun truly needs sensitivity training.”

“Shut up. I’m going to stab him and you get the gun from Watari and shoot while he’s down.”

You don’t mention that the only reason L hadn’t already shot is because she and Watari are too far away to take good aim. L stays silent.

“But aren’t you both men?” Matsuda asks, confused.

“Higuchi’s probably lying,” you lie. “It doesn’t make sense for any artifact to give him so many different powers, right? Even the Death Note. Besides, how would he know for sure he’s immune to being killed?”

“Right, that makes sense,” Matsuda says, relaxing.

Higuchi roars again.

“I’m going,” you say, tightening your grip on the small knife. Watari said it was coated in poison. It’ll bring Higuchi down for the count, even if you can’t kill him.

“I think his main vulnerability is probably the break in his armor right over his chest,” Matsuda says quickly. “And shout for backup if you need it.”

“Right.” You don’t mention that you knew both of those things already, because you’re a kind person. “Ready, L?”

“Ready,” she says, so you start running.

It’s almost too easy, weaving around the flames and smoke and craters, your shirt halfway up your face so you don’t breathe too much bad air. Higuchi isn’t looking in your direction at all; your father’s pulling him the other way, still stabbing at the various spines of his back. You grimace. Either your father’s not making any significant contact or Higuchi was entirely correct.

Too late to change the plan. You get within distance and wait until he turns—

Now.

You leap into the air.

You hear your father shouting your name in surprise, but it’s too late. You were always good at sport, which included tennis and the high jump.

And darts.

The knife sails in a perfect arc through the air and sinks into Higuchi’s flesh.

“Now!” you yell, waiting for L to fire—

But the shot never comes, because Higuchi collapses.

You were expecting it to be a slow corruption. Instead he crumples all at once: your father yelps as Higuchi’s head hits the concrete of the roof, then his body, then his tail. His wings shrivel. You watch in faint awe as a dragon crumbles away into dust.

The last thing you hear of his voice is an all-too-human groan of pain:

“How?”

He’s looking at you.

You swallow a sudden wave of — nausea? Adrenaline? Euphoria? “Did you,” you say.

“I didn’t do anything,” L confirms, a little breathless.

“But I’m not—”

“Perhaps I should start calling you Light-chan,” L muses. “How would you like that?”

You open your mouth to yell at her. Instead you hear yourself say, “Use it in a sentence.”

“Hmm.” L pauses. “‘Light-chan saved her father today.’”

Oh. Oh god.

“I’m a man,” you say, mostly for your own benefit. “I have to be.”

“‘Light-chan is a girl of many talents,’” L continues. You stand there, shaking a little. “‘Including killing a dragon, being top of her class, murdering thousands of people, and tennis.’”

“I’m not Kira,” you say quickly.

L snorts. “Let me have some fun sometimes.”

“Like accusing me of being a murderer?”

“Like cracking an egg,” L says.

“What egg?”

“Light!” Your father. He’s jogging over, face sooty. “I’m so glad you’re alright!”

“Later,” you say, and L’s laugh makes you far too warm.

[ @deathnotetober day 15: crossover (with lord of the rings) (sort of.) ]

[astralnymphh]

patterned palmistry ⋆ | ellie williams headcanons

༺ ellie x witch!reader headcanons/scenarios ༻ ☽𖤐☾

✧˖ ° 🕯 bright blessings!

an: being the witchy little gremlin i am i just had to throw some hcs together for myself but ofc i'd share them here🙄ive been practicing witchcraft since i was 15 so it felt fitting to incorporate it whenever i brace my delusions at the bootycrack of midnight that r all abt ellie 💀 regardless this def isnt gonna be my only witchy hcs post i just didnt wanna spoil all my ideas right away <3 tags: MDNI, slight nsfw (no detailed smut), boob jokes, witchcraft (obv), tarot, palm reading, mostly convos, flirting, not mentioned in the writing but u 2 r alrdy dating, playful bickering, more natural casual writing with some bigger words, no specific religion tied to the practice, generally a fluff piece, lowk cute moments. °________________________⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆__________________________°

I. ☆ ellie definitely had a peak in curiosity the first time you mentioned you immerse yourself in the world of the craft, her ears perked figuratively and were tuned in to learn what that entails. she may not forfeit a nip of skepticism right away but she's more than happy to engross herself in the idea of it. you'd stay up till first light rambling on about the 'rituals', 'divination', the history tied to it and why you practice it. you'd be lying in bed adjacent to her, heavenward to the ceiling, but interwoven in a warm and loving cuddle with her palm residing on your lap whilst you chatted.

"mmmmh-" ellie's hum churns 'round your bedroom, "so that's why you collect rocks."

"crystals."

"same thing," she drones an inwardly giggle, "which crystal will give me superpowers?" a witty remark springs from her tongue.

"babe.." you pout, acting offended yet none is taken.

"didn't mean it like that, y'know I believe you, it's all just new to me." ellie tapes an assuring kiss to your temple, "tell me about your favorite crystals, hmm?" 

⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

II. ☆ now because of this, anytime you're out on patrol and delight the opportunity of scavenging, she always keeps in mind to find you flowers, rocks, unused candles and other oddities of nature.

"hey babe! I found a black candle for'ya." ellie bolstered a long glass cylinder filled with an opaque charcoal wax, wick still intact, "and- ..some wild lavender." her other arm swings from behind her back, twines of dusty purple lavender upheld in a pinch.

"fuck yeah, needed this stuff.." you graciously tweak the lavender from her, whiffing up its poignant scent.

"always on the lookout.." her voice resembles her proud countenance outwards, essentially, a dorky smirk.

⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

III. ☆ obviously, the second you mentioned the art of tarot to her, she begged for a reading. whenever a card flew from your shuffling motions, she'd patiently wait for you to place it before her and then she'd swipe it up and admire the art piece detailing the cardstock.

"whew! look at the boobs on this one!" 

"oh- my god, of course you'd point that out." you snatch the card from her, shamelessly ogling the nude depiction that had her attention.

"you're looking at them too!"

"cuz' you said something 'bout it!" you flick the card towards her face, noting, "those are some nice boobs though." 

"why thank you~" 

"wasn't talking about you, idiot!" 

"eh, but.. urs' are the best." her hoarse tone binds a nonchalant flirtiness in its rumble.

"oh really? should we compare the.. four?"

that really stole her attention.

⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

IV. ☆ the first time you entertained her with a palm reading, it had her all dappy and touched to the essence at the paltry contact you made with her hand. your fingerprints drafting her calloused palms with such a gentle focus on every river lining her hand. she just wanted to smother you with kisses.

"and… this is your heart line." your finger hovers the crevice of her palm-pads stretching from index to pinkie, "ah.. it's a broken one.."

"is that.. bad?" her juniper eyes study your expression meticulously.

"it just means u're closed off, stubborn, have some emotional trauma.. stuff like that." you mindlessly fiddle with her fingers, "lines can change though, so.."

she nods, taking in the insight. she licks her slightly chapped lips clean, "am I stubborn?" her voice rises partially an octave, bending playfulness in her question.

"mm.. no."

"why'd you hesitate?"

"well- the only times ur' stubborn is refusing to let go whenever you hug me- ur' a life-size sloth!" 

"I like huggin' you though." a puppy pout frowns on her lips, "you're like a pillow!"

and oh, how your heart capers a beat, "is that all I am, williams?"

her swift speech conjuncts, "whaddid' I say about that name?!"

"I don't know, I think you like it." 

"nuh-uh I don't!"

you pepper a haste kiss to her knuckles still forcepped in your clasp, totally deterring the crime you've just committed when a half impish half taken aback smile creaks her lips.

"c'mere." vaults from her tongue before she lunges her body forward and tackles you in a saucy position riddled with love bites. guess you'll be reading her palms in a different way tonight.

⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ V. ☆ an bonus hc, you'd totally mention out of the void about her tattoo n the mystic meanings surrounding moths, like, its for sure one of the topics you'll ramble about one night cause you just feel so wise for knowing. "y'know, moths play a pretty large role in the metaphysical world." "really? i mean, i knew they had some kind of.. 'symbolism' to them-" ellie's hand rolls over the knoll of her forearm, reading the bumps glamoured in that beautiful inking. "yeah, like- luna moths represent transformation, renewal.. oh! and death-head moths are an omen of death.. an- and black witch moths mean either good luck, or bad-" ellie is amused at your prattle shown by her raspy giggles, legitimately having to conceal her scrunched face. "what?" "nothin' you- you're just so cute." "stop.." the embarrassment catches up to you, now having to hide your face to the shadows beneath your hands. her finger cranes out to hook and uncover your nerdy grin, assuring, "never stop tellin' me bout this stuff, ok babe?" a wide delighted beam syncs on her cheeks. goddess above, her dimples and nasal lines are to die for. ⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

𖤐

in general; she's a curious dork n will ask you oh so many questions, i mean, she loves space and a futuristic sci-fi comic for crying out loud, she's alrdy so imaginative so ofc she'd be open to a realistic amount. she'd also be so respectful and helpful n defend ur practice with so much love. maybe she'd pick up some little traditions and customs like folding letters a specific amount of times, drawing little pentacles, mixing liquid in specific directions, just the simple things that grow on her.

[yelena-bellova]

Heartfirst: A Ted Lasso Story - Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: Movin’ On Up

Plot: Y/n receives some surprise visitors on moving day, and Richmond suffers a shocking blow to their lineup.

Word Count: 5.9k

Warnings: f!reader, language, (16+)

A/N: I really don’t know how I’m managing to crank these out so fast. Maybe shorter chapters? Anyway, this one was fun. We’re getting into the meat of the story, so hold onto your butts, and enjoy!!

(Forgive any typos, I wrote the bulk of this one at midnight 🌙)

——————

If there was a magical force at play in Richmond, it had made Y/n its latest target.

Not only had she found the perfect apartment, she’d toured it, signed the lease and booked movers in the same week. In all her post-university years, she’d never seen real estate move quicker.

Y/n wandered the flat, directing the men and whatever piece of furniture they were holding to its corresponding room.

A knock sounded from the stairs.

“Oh, the dresser can go to-“ Y/n spun around to help guide the mover she’d just seen downstairs, only to find the last person she expected.

“Hey, there, neighbor,” Ted greeted, standing at the top of the steps.

Y/n quickly plastered on her Monday-Friday grin, “Ted. What are you…how did you…?”

“Well, you said you were movin’ into your new place this weekend,” Ted hopped a step inside the apartment to let one of the movers pass by, “Took a guess that the van that came through this morning was probably yours.”

Y/n tried to laugh off the intrusion. The safety of living thirty minutes away was long gone…

“Brought you a little ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ gift,” Ted held up a little pink box and set it on Y/n’s kitchen counter. It was the same one that he dropped on Rebecca’s desk each morning.

“Thank you,” Y/n replied while pointing one of the movers in the direction of her bedroom.

Ted stuck his hands in his pockets and took a look around the living room. He let out a whistle, “I wish you’d’ve told us you were movin’ in sooner. Coaches and the boys coulda saved you some money, get you settled ourselves.”

That was exactly why she hadn’t told anyone she was moving until the day before. She knew Ted would have assembled the Greyhounds and she would have had 15+ footballers funneling in and out of her apartment, invading the little bubble she had left.

“Oh, I wasn’t gonna inconvenience you guys,” Y/n replied, watching Ted as he maneuvered around the boxes, “Especially with the match tomorrow.”

Ted made a raspberry, “Pish posh, Oshkosh. Woulda been happy to help. Hey,” Ted swirled a finger toward the ceiling, “This place got A/C?”

Y/n nodded.

“Whew,” Ted exhaled, “I gotta tell you, biggest surprise comin�� over here.”

“You get used to it,” Y/n replied, a deep double meaning to her words.

“What about you? What was the biggest shock for you, movin’ here?”

Y/n thought back to when she was eighteen, fresh out of high school and starting a brand new life in another country. Even if it had only been a few years, it felt like a decade ago.

“I don’t know,” she sighed, “Probably the difference in English. Chips versus fries, that sort of thing.”

“Man, I still slip up,” Ted said, “Took me months to get the football lingo down.”

“I still call the pitch a field sometimes,” Y/n admitted, settling on one of her barstools.

“Well, now I don’t feel so bad,” Ted chuckled as he came to sit across from Y/n, “Hey, what’s the thing you miss most from home? Just a little thing, y’know?”

Y/n sighed, thinking about the region-specific foods she couldn’t find in the international section of the market or the channels missing from her television. Truth be told, there wasn’t anything she missed so much it could be considered missing.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, “It’s been so long since I’ve been home.”

“When was the last time you went back?” Ted asked.

“Uh…” Y/n traced back the list of holidays, “My sister’s birthday…two years ago?”

Ted whistled once more, “That’s a long time. Bet your folks miss you.”

On cue, Y/n’s muscles tensed. Her smile returned to conceal her discomfort. “My sister visits,” she said, “Every year.”

“Aw, that’s nice,” Ted cooed, “For me, it’s gotta be good barbecue. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they do food dang well over here, but I miss a good southern BBQ, y’know?”

“I actually do,” Y/n admitted with a small laugh, “4th of July’s always weird.”

Ted smacked a hand against the counter. “Thank you,” he said loudly, “Last year, we had a game. Felt like Beard and I were betrayin’ our ancestors or somethin’.”

Y/n chuckled, Ted struck her as someone who went all out for Independence Day.

“Hey, truth time,” Ted continued, the humor draining from his face, “Yea or nay on tea?”

Y/n shrugged, “I like it.”

“Dang it,” Ted bobbed his head, “Beard, you…us ex-pats keep droppin’ like flies.”

“It takes some adjusting, I’ll admit that,” Y/n raised a finger, “Not exactly a frappachino.”

“Mm-mm,” Ted shook his head, “I have tried and tried with that tree piss. Warmth ain’t goin’ anywhere north on that one.”

Y/n snorted a little, imagining what that might look like, Ted sipping on earl grey.

One of the movers asked Y/n where she wanted a bookcase and she gave him directions. For once, Ted sensed the moment.

“Well, I’ll get outta your hair,” he held up his hands and hopped off the barstool, “But I’m just down the street so you ever need anything, don’t be a stranger.”

“Good to know,” Y/n watched Ted walk away, “Ted?”

He stopped at the top of the stairs, “Hmm?”

While Ted was still a lot, after all her years spent as the foreigner, it was almost…nice to talk to someone from home. Someone she didn’t need to explain her references to or rearrange her vocabulary for.

“Thank you,” Y/n said, quickly concealing the truth of her gratitude, “For the biscuits.”

“Anytime,” Ted saluted before heading on his way.

Y/n let out a loud sigh once she was sure he was gone. She wandered back over to the counter and opened the pink box, finding the signature biscuits Rebecca raved about. Out of curiosity, she broke off a bite and ate it.

“Shit,” she mumbled, they were better than anything she’d ever found in any of London’s cafés.

Despite his line-crossing, Ted was good-natured. He had a heart of gold and tried to make sure everyone he encountered felt like they had one too. Y/n could call it tolerance or simply learning to deal with him, but deep down, Ted’s efforts were starting to poke and prod a little harder at her walls.

—————————

That evening, after the movers had finished and Y/n had gotten the basics unpacked, she started on the non-essentials. She was stacking dishes when the doorbell rang.

Y/n was perturbed as she descended her stairs, there were exactly three people who had her new address, the absolute minimum. Lisa, who handled payroll at the club, Ted, who’d stumbled upon her apartment by sheer luck, and her sister.

Looking through the peephole, Y/n sighed. She’d forgotten there was a fourth on the list.

Jamie smiled smugly as Y/n opened the door, “You went with mine.”

Y/n rolled her eyes, “I didn’t ‘go with yours.’ I was the one who found it, you just deemed it worthy.”

“And I was right,” Jamie stuck his neck out and lifted off his heels.

She’d never give him the satisfaction of knowing, but Jamie was completely right. The night of the West Ham match, the two of them had stayed at the Crown and Anchor till Mae kicked them out, pouring over each apartment until they’d eliminated 75% of the stack. The one Y/n had settled on was also the one that Jamie had decided was the best.

Jamie held up a plastic takeaway bag, “Come bearin’ sustenance.”

Not only was Y/n tired, she didn’t want to entertain anybody else from work. But, starving as she was, she was in no position to turn down free food.

“Entry permitted,” she snatched the bag from him, “Barely.”

Jamie took an exaggerated step over the seal and passed Y/n. They’d gotten to know each other better over the last few weeks, Jamie stopping Y/n anytime he saw her to ask about the apartment tours she was taking on the weekends. They’d gotten many laughs out of the stories of Y/n going against Jamie’s advice and visiting the properties that did indeed turn out to be crap.

In another world, they’d almost consider each other friends.

Upstairs, Jamie swung his arms as he took in the living room, “Not bad.”

“‘Not bad?’” Y/n turned around from where she stood in the adjoining kitchen, “You pick this place out and then it’s just ‘not bad?’”

Jamie cackled, spinning on his heel and pointing a finger at Y/n. “That’s an admission.”

Y/n internally cringed, her sharp edge was dulled by exhaustion. She could usually keep up with Jamie. “If you want any of this,” she unpacked the styrofoam container of kebabs, “You’ll stay on my good side.”

“Can’t have any,” Jamie replied, coming to lean on the bar, “Diet, ‘member?”

Y/n shook her head, popping a stray piece of chicken into her mouth. “I still don’t get why you’re doing this.”

“You know why,” Jamie crossed his arms on the counter, “Gotta get back to being the best.”

“Yeah, but is being better than Zava worth missing out on things like food and sleep?” Y/n asked. She could appreciate Jamie’s drive, but this dedication seemed overboard.

“It’ll be worth it,” Jamie stated.

Y/n decided to play the asshole, sliding across the kitchen to wave the kebab box under Jamie’s nose. She watched his willpower waver ever so fleetingly.

Jamie glared up at her, “You’re evil.”

Y/n snickered as she went back to her spot, stealing a bite before going back to unpacking. “Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be with Roy?”

“Night before a match, I’m off,” Jamie swung around the bar to the kitchen.

“So shouldn’t you be resting?” Y/n asked as she un-bubble wrapped a stack of plates.

“I will,” Jamie shrugged, bending over to peel the tape off a box.

Y/n glanced over, watching as Jamie began to unpack various glasses. He didn’t offer, he didn’t ask, just went about it as if it were his business. It was slightly intrusive…and also kind.

Jamie Tartt, Y/n had come to learn, was nothing and everything like what she’d thought he’d be. He had more depth than he let onto and he’d shown a side of it by trying to help her find a place. And though she knew the Zava battle was a personal thing for him, she also knew how much Jamie cared about his team. He wanted to be at his best for them just as much as he did for himself.

Unlike Keeley, who announced her efforts to get Y/n to crack at every turn, or Ted, who went overboard, Jamie hadn’t tried to enter into Y/n’s life. He had simply occurred.

“Do you get nervous?” Y/n asked out of pure curiosity, “Before games?”

“Not really. I mean,” Jamie answered, lining up coffee mugs in a cupboard, “Sometimes. Depends.”

Y/n stretched on her toes to put away china she never used, “On?”

“I dunno,” Jamie replied, a particular trigger or two popping up, “Lots of things.”

“So what about tomorrow?” Y/n continued.

Any slip Jamie’s mind had made was caught with quick footing. “Nah,” he said confidently, “Nah, we got that.”

“Well, good,” Y/n exhaled, setting the empty box on the floor, “It’d be nice to get a win. And hey, if it doesn’t work out and you’re forced to retire after this season, I’m sure the reality tv world is still thriving with opportunities.”

Jamie managed to grimace while smiling, “How the fuck did you find out about that?”

“You thought the PR department wouldn’t know about that?” Y/n strode past him to get another box, “I also live in England.”

“You at least vote for me?” Jamie asked, a playful lilt to his tone.

Y/n hoisted another box of kitchenware into her arms and balanced it on her knee. “Yep, you caught me,” she sarcastically grunted, “I have a weakness for crap tv featuring mediocre footballers.”

Jamie set down the mug in his hand with a particular harshness. Mediocre footballer. “Now, hang on-“ he began.

“Less talking, more working,” Y/n cut him off, she stopped to check out the cupboard he was finishing. “That’s also not where they go.”

“What?”

“The mugs,” Y/n gestured to where her coffee maker was, “Disrupts the flow if they’re all the way over there.”

Jamie rolled his eyes, only playful annoyance accompanying. “God forbid we disturb the flow,” he lamented, grabbing a mug in each hand and heading to the correct cabinet.

They unpacked in comfortable silence a minute more before Y/n decided it didn’t matter if Jamie wasn’t nervous about the match. They needed all the encouragement they could get.

“It’ll happen tomorrow,” she said, referring to their recent losses.

Regardless of whether he was hiding any feelings or if they’d pop out the moment he stepped on the pitch, Jamie stopped what he was doing to absorb the kind words. Y/n was a recent addition to his life, certainly an unexpected one, but she felt…safe. Like even if they didn’t know anything about each other past their mutual taste in real estate, he didn’t have to act so much around her.

“Thanks,” he replied, making effort to meet her eyes.

Y/n gave a small smile, “It will.”

—————————

It didn’t.

Over the next month, Richmond’s lack of luck turned to a 7-game losing streak. Some weeks were better than others, but they all ended the same way: with the Greyhounds leaving the pitch with their heads hanging in defeat.

Luckily, Y/n was kept occupied on the eighth week. Jack Danvers was coming into the office for a meeting and Keeley had asked Y/n to be there as well.

“You’re all business-y,” she’d said, “You know way more than I do, plus, Jack really likes you.”

Y/n sat on one side of Jack, with Barbara on the other, as she and Keeley recounted the conversation and clash of opinions they’d had recently.

“I completely understand where Barbara’s coming from,” Keeley said, keeping a kind tone as she turned to her CFO, “But as I was explaining to you, I’m worried that by adding more clients that could mean less attention paid to the wonderful people we already represent.”

“And then,” Barbara chuckled, though she lacked any humor, “I reminded Keeley, as you’ve said so many times, Jack, that if it does get to the point where we feel we’re spreading ourselves thinly, then we’ll hire more people,” she grinned politely at Keeley, “It’s called ‘growth.’”

Y/n and Keeley glanced over at one another fleetingly, the tension was so poorly concealed, it was getting uncomfortable.

“I’m sure you can see that as well, Y/n,” Barbara gestured towards Y/n.

“Actually, Keeley’s absolutely right, in my opinion,” Y/n answered, spotting her boss a smile, “There’s big firms, there’s small firms. Both have their allure, but I think our personability is the biggest thing we have going for us.”

“Oh,” Barbara’s grin grew scarier, “Wonderful, wonderful…”

Jack looked sweetly towards Barbara, “Okay. Let me weight in here.

“Oh, please,” Barbara obliged.

“I agree with Keeley,” Jack finished.

“Oh, that’s great,” Barbara beamed.

“Being a small boutique firm is exactly what sets you apart, like Y/n said,” Jack went on, “You want a restaurant to look successful, you take out half the tables and you have a line out the door. I say, let’s go for it.”

Keeley and Jack shared a smile.

“No, that’s wonderful. Yeah,” Barbara forced out as she rose, “And instead of salaries, we can give away the tables we threw out.”

“Don’t worry, Barbara,” Jack called, “It’ll be great.”

Barbara mumbled some dishonest agreement as she left the room, leaving it open on her way out.

Jack turned to Keeley and Y/n, “Do you ever think sunshine gets jealous of her?”

The women shared a laugh just before a knock at the door revealed Shandy. “Knock, knock.”

“Hi, babe,” Keeley greeted her friend.

“Now that your little cool girls meeting’s done,” Shandy leaned on the empty chair, very visibly unhappy, “Just wanted to share the exciting news that I’ve started an app.”

“Oh,” Keeley replied.

“It’s like Bantr, but it’s better and cooler,” Shandy’s tone was even and icy, “And actually cares about helping people have sex with celebrities.”

Y/n kept her head down, sharing an awkward glance with Jack. This was strictly Keeley’s business to handle.

“What? Shandy-“ Keeley began.

“It’s called ‘Star Fuckr,’” she announced before looking to Jack, “And yeah, we are looking for investors.”

When Jack didn’t offer to write a multi-zero check right then and there, Shandy stood tall, shot daggers at Keeley and strutted her way out of the room.

“I take it she’s still angry about the whole Bantr thing?” Jack asked.

“Oh, yes,” Keeley nodded, “Shandy does not have a good relationship with rejection, or her ex, or with her workplace, or most nouns, really.”

“‘You are so passionate, but I have to let you go,” Jack said, pulling Y/n and Keeley’s attention, “‘I’m sorry, but I know someone as brilliant as you will land on their feet.”

Keeley struggled momentarily, “What did I do?”

“No, no, no, no,” Jack reached out across the desk, “Keeley, sorry. That’s what you say when you fire Shandy.”

Y/n and Keeley both exhaled forcefully, laughing after.

“Sorry,” Jack apologized.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Y/n’s hand was pressed to her chest, “I just saw my lease flash before my eyes.”

“It’s called a compliment sandwich,” Jack explained, “You give someone bad news, but to soften the blow, you slap it between two delicious slices of compliments.”

Keeley nodded, “But I can’t fire Shandy. She’ll hate me. And she really thinks she’s killing it.”

“I am sure she does,” Jack exhaled, “The worst people often think they’re the best. My dad calls it ‘talent dysmorphia.’”

Keeley laughed while Y/n stayed silent, knowing what was coming next.

“What do you think?” Keeley turned to her hardest worker, “Do you think it’s the right decision?”

Y/n looked down at her notebook, taking a deep breath to see if it would help the force of what she wanted to say dissipate. Jack was waiting on her too, and she couldn’t lie to her or Keeley.

“I think…” she started slow before shutting her eyes and letting it fly, “Keeley, if you don’t fire her, she will literally run the company into the ground and strut over its mangled corpse.”

When she opened her eyes, Jack and Keeley were leant back an inch or two as if to avoid the splash of her opinion. Before she could try and explain it more eloquently, the two women started laughing.

“No, no,” Jack chuckled, “Don’t hold back.”

Y/n exhaled with a small smile, turning to Keeley, “I’m sorry.”

“No,” Keeley reached a hand over and poked the back of Y/n’s, “That’s why you’re my best. You don’t hold back.”

It was ironic, they both knew, considering how withdrawn Y/n kept herself. But with Keeley, it seemed to be a bit of a joke between the two of them.

“You two wanna get some lunch?” Jack asked when the giggles had died down, “My meeting just got pushed.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” Keeley smiled, “Yeah, my stomach started grumbling when you said ‘compliment sandwich.’”

“You guys enjoy,” Y/n rose with them and collected her purse, “I’ve gotta get back to the office.”

“Oh,” Keeley reached back over her desk and handed Y/n a sheet of paper, “Give this to Zava. A couple more people called requesting interviews.”

Y/n glanced over the list she’d originally made, it seemed like the Zava craze still hadn’t died down. In fact, the more Richmond lost, the more people wanted to hear what he had to say. “Are we sure it’s a good idea to do so many interviews on a seven-game streak?”

“That’s the thing,” Keeley grabbed her coat, “The press eat up whatever Zava says. Can’t get enough.”

Quirking an eyebrow in understanding, Y/n tucked the list in her book and tried to imagine the ridiculous headlines that would be tied to Richmond this week.

—————————

Returning to the office after having taken lunch by herself, Y/n rapped two knuckles on the open locker room door. She still knew to wait for the all-clear.

“Everybody decent?”

A chorus of various ‘yeses’ were her key in.

“Zava,” Y/n turned to the star player, “Here’s your interview schedule. The press is really eager this weekend in particular. Let me know if there’s any changes you want to make.”

Zava pressed a hand to his heart and touched Y/n’s arm with the other. “Thank you,” he said softly, before looking to his teammates, “Men.”

Taking hold of both her shoulders, Zava guided Y/n to stand in front of him. “Okay,” Y/n stuttered as she was stood in front of the entire team. Seated in the middle of the room with Isaac, Jamie matched her confused gaze.

“This is what your hearts should be seeking,” Zava began to wax his odd form of poetry, “Brains, talent, warmth-“

Y/n’s brow creased, what the fuck had she walked into?

“Outer beauty will fade,” he continued, “But a smudge like this,” Zava smiled down on Y/n, “It will last forever.”

Zava patted her shoulders once more before throwing his towel over his shoulder and exiting the room. Not only was Y/n left with every Greyhound staring at her, contemplating Zava’s words, but with his schedule still clutched in her hand.

“Can someone make sure he gets this?” Y/n asked, failing to keep her tone even.

“Oh,” Dani raised his hand and climbed over Jamie’s leg to get to Y/n, “I will.”

Y/n willingly handed it off, “Thank you, Dani.” Not caring to spend another second in the room, she turned on her heel and left. She backtracked her steps quickly, “Is a smudge a good or a bad thing?”

Colin scrunched his face up, “It’s not…not…a good thing.”

Pressing a hand to her temple, Y/n decided she didn’t need to know any more about whatever conversation she’d interrupted and left the locker room.

—————————

The Man City match came about like every other one, but the air of anticipation heightened with each week. Would this be the day Richmond finally broke their streak? Or would they take another step towards double digits?

Not more than a second after Y/n had parked in the car lot, her phone rang with a call from Higgins.

“Hi,” she answered, “What’s going on?”

“Are you here yet?” Higgins asked, his tone nervous.

Y/n shut the door to her car, striding towards the back entrance to the stadium. “I just pulled in.”

“Could you pop into the coach’s office?”

“Yeah,” Y/n hung on the syllable suspiciously, turning in the other direction and swinging the door to the office building open. “Be right there.”

Y/n took long steps down the hall, passing by the locker room and heading straight for Ted’s office.

“Hey,” she said as she entered. Coach Beard, Roy and Higgins were standing around the desk clump, huddled together in conversation. Ted was already on the pitch. “What’s wrong?”

Beard kept his hand pressed to his mouth, Roy scowled at the air.

“It seems that Zava hasn’t showed up yet,” Higgins answered, “No one knows where he is.”

Y/n’s lips parted in confusion, “He’s just…not here?”

“Apparently so.”

Setting aside her annoyance, Y/n snapped into work mode and pulled her phone from her coat pocket. “Alright,” she scanned her contacts, “Let me get on the phone with some people. See if I can track him down.”

“He’d better fucking be here,” Roy growled at no one in particular.

Y/n raised her phone to her ear and pointed to Roy and Trent’s office, the former nodding for her to take it. She started at the top of the list of Zava’s personal team he’d given to her, Keeley and Higgins. Why a fecalist needed to be considered an emergency contact, Y/n would never understand, but she’d try whoever she had to…

Except the fecalist hadn’t heard from him.

Or his agent.

Or anyone Y/n dialed.

Defeatedly, and beginning to grow anxious, Y/n rejoined Beard, Roy and Higgins. “No one knows where the fuck he is,” she answered.

“Fuck,” Roy muttered.

“We got three minutes,” Beard shrugged, “What the fuck do we do?”

“Start Colin,” Roy resolved before looking to Y/n, “If you track that prick down, I don’t care, you fucking get on the pitch and tell us.”

Y/n gave a definitive nod, “You got it.”

With not so much a plan as a temporary fix, Roy and Beard left for the locker room while Y/n and Higgins headed for the hall.

“I told everyone to call me if they hear from him,” Y/n reported as they walked.

“What could be so important to make him miss a match?” Higgins pondered as they made their way to the stadium.

“I don’t know, but so long as his wife and kids are breathing and in possession of all their limbs,” Y/n practically growled, the cheering of packed house of Greyhounds growing louder with each step, “I’ll drag him onto the field myself.”

—————————

Rebecca took to the news…as expected.

“Who the fuck does he think he is?”

Y/n sat on one side of her boss, raising two fingers of the hand rubbing at her temple, in agreement.

“So just, no one’s heard from him?” Rebecca asked.

“No one,” Higgins grimaced.

“Well,” Rebecca let her palms fall against her legs, “There goes any chance of a win.”

“Let’s pray otherwise,” Y/n scanned her phone for the fifth time since she’d sat down. It was then that she realized there was a very vocal presence missing. “Where’s Keeley?”

Snapping out of her most likely violent thoughts, Rebecca unlocked her phone and held it up to Y/n. She found a text thread from Keeley including a message that said she’d be missing the game. Below it was a picture of a baby lamb standing on the table of the KJPR conference room, surrounded by its own feces.

Three months ago, Y/n might have had a question or twelve. Now, she simply nodded and sat back in her seat. “So Shandy’s gone,” she mumbled to herself.

The game went as well as the last ones had. Colin, though talented, couldn’t rival Zava’s skill. Jamie’s extra training wasn’t the solution either, and Man City walked away with a 4-0 win against the Greyhounds.

Rebecca retired to her office while Higgins and Y/n headed to touch base with the coaches. Trent met them along the way.

“No one heard from him?” Trent asked Y/n on their way.

“Not a single text or call during the game,” Y/n scrolled her phone as they walked, an Instagram notification popping up, “Shit.”

Higgins looked over, “What?”

Y/n stopped midway to their destination, hitting play on the video.

“Hello, how are you?” Zava spoke, dressed in casual wear, “I’m just - I have to share something with you, my friends. You are not my followers. You are my believers.”

Trent and Higgins came to stand beside Y/n, expectantly waiting for an answer.

“And so it— I have to tell you,” the man paused, “Zava has played his last match. I will now dedicate all of my time and all of my energy to my family and my avocado farm.”

The rest of whatever utter nonsense Zava had to spew, Y/n didn’t listen. She was infuriated, partially because of his actions, and partially because they’d all allowed themselves to think it was ever a good idea to hire him. He’d fed the Greyhounds to the wolves with no regret and it affected all of AFC Richmond.

When the video ended, Trent, Y/n and Higgins shared a hopeless look.

“We’ve got to tell the boys,” Higgins finally spoke, shrugging slightly.

The three of them made their way down the rest of the hall where the locker room door hung open. The scene inside was dismal, each of the men sat on the benches with their heads hung.

“Hey, guys,” Higgins greeted in an attempt to stay positive, “Good effort today.”

“Mr. Higgins,” Colin spoke up from his seat, “Is it true about Zava?”

Y/n cast her gaze downwards, avoiding eye contact with any of them.

“I’m afraid so,” Higgins replied.

Dani, cradling a towel to his face, began to weep into the fabric.

“Maybe some tissues for Dani,” Higgins muttered quietly.

“Hey, hey, guys,” Sam stood with his phone in hand, “Zava just posted a video.”

“Oh gosh,” Y/n grumbled under her breath as the Greyhounds circled up. Everyone except Jamie, who remained sat on the floor.

The boys watched the video, clinging to every last word at the start, and walking away with mumbled curses and shakes of the head. Any love or respect they had for their former teammate had been lost within thirty virtual seconds.

Y/n snuck a glance over at Jamie, expecting to see him struggle to keep his joy under wraps. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Even he was in shock.

“Gentlemen,” Ted said as he entered, quickly noticing Y/n’s presence, “And lady. That was a tough one tonight. Okay? Man City has still got our number. That’s all right. We gonna get another crack at ‘em later in the season. Uh-huh,” Ted looked to Beard, “Coach? No practice tomorrow.”

Beard nodded, “That’s right.”

“Okay,” Ted looked back to the team, “Well, I’ll see y’all on Monday.”

While the rest of the team began to talk amongst themselves, Sam looked up confusedly at Ted. “Hey, hey. Hey, Coach,” he called till the manager stopped in his tracks, “What about Zava?”

Ted glanced over at Zava’s multiple lockers, his empty chair.

“He quit the team,” Sam stated, as if it unheard news.

“I mean, technically he retired from the whole sport,” Ted clarified, “Which makes it feel a little less personal, yeah? You know, like if your girlfriend runs off with some dude and it turns out they were soulmates.”

The Greyhounds replied quietly in agreement.

“But look, look, look, look,” Ted redirected their focus back, “I hear you, okay? Zava is gone. And you know what? I think it’s a good thing.”

The boys began to argue back in shock.

“Well, I do. Okay, look,” Ted spoke over his players, “Do I wanna win? Heck yeah. But I also wanna do it with folks that wanna be here. It’s not like we could handcuff him to his locker and make him love us.”

“We could have tried,” a desperate Dani replied.

As the initial surprised faded, Y/n was beginning to match Ted’s opinion. Zava may have taken them for a temporary ride to the top, but this ultimate insult had shown that his heart was next in Richmond.

“Hey, guys. Guys, look,” Ted held up a hand, “We got a good thing going here. All right?” Ted’s eyes fell to his left, meeting Jamie’s, “We didn’t need Zava. Yeah?”

No one dared disturb the silence as the truth washed over each of them, including those who weren’t players.

“Yeah,” Ted said quietly, “All we need to win are the fellas in this room, right now,” he pointed to the men on the benches, “And all you fellas need to do is believe it.”

No sooner than when Ted had uttered the last two words did the bright yellow ‘Believe’ sign hanging over his head split itself down the middle. The Greyhounds jumped to their feet and cried out to various degrees. Even Y/n gasped a little, having learned of its significance.

“It’s a sign,” Bumbercatch called out.

“That’s it,” Colin held up his hands, accepting fate, “We’re doomed.”

As the locker room grew louder, Ted held up his hands and attempted to settle things down.

“Now hold on. Hey, knock it off, okay? We’re not doomed. No one is doomed. But Bumbercatch, yes, you’re right. It is a sign. I agree, Yeah.”

Ted turned around and removed both halves of his handiwork, folding them together. “In fact this, it’s just a sign.”

Without any hesitation, Ted tore the paper into four pieces, sending the locker room into chaos again.

“All right, guys, listen to me,” Ted commanded the room, “Belief doesn’t just happen ‘cause you hang something up on a wall. All right? It comes from in here,” he touched his chest, “You know? And up here,” he touched his temple before hitting his stomach, “Down here. Only problem is, we all got so much junk floating through us, a lot of times, we end up getting in our own way.”

Y/n had yet to be present for any of Ted’s locker room speeches, as she had no reason to be. But immediately, like some spiritual presence moving through the room, she felt his words take hold of her.

“You know, crap like envy or fear, shame,” Ted continued, seemingly speaking to himself as well, “I don’t wanna mess around with that shit anymore. You know what I mean? Do you?”

He wasn’t speaking to her, but the question still penetrated Y/n all the same. She could feel a familiar ball of anxiety beginning to build in her stomach.

“No, me neither,” Ted shook his head after the boys answered back, “Hell no. Well, you know what I wanna mess around with? The belief that I matter, you know? Regardless of what I do or don’t achieve.”

One blade inserted itself into Y/n’s gut, the omnipresent pain causing her heart rate to speed up.

“Or the belief that we all deserve to be loved,” Ted went on, “Whether we’ve been hurt or maybe we’ve hurt somebody else.”

A second blade settled in Y/n’s chest, this one causing the muscles to contract. She closed her eyes in an attempt to keep the rising emotions at bay.

“Or what about the belief of hope?” Ted asked, “Yeah? That’s what I wanna mess with. Believing that things can get better. That I can get better. That we will get better.”

Better, Y/n thought on the word. Better. Did things ever get better? Or did ‘bad’ just shapeshift into something else? Did it just wait along the road in the shadows, waiting for ‘better’ to come merrily on its way?

“Oh, man,” Ted sighed, “To believe in yourself. To believe in one another. Man, that’s fundamental to being alive. And look. Yo, hey. If you can do that,” he pointed to each player in the room, “If each of your can truly do that-“

Ted made one more rip down the sign’s tatters, walking to the center of the room. “Can’t nobody rip that apart.”

As the remains of the sign slapped against the metal bench, Y/n’s anxiety reached its brim. She placed a near shaking hand on Higgins’ shoulder to signal she was leaving before slipping out the back door. Blearily, she made it down the hall and outside, the fresh air of the parking lot slamming into her.

Once in the safety of her car, she allowed herself to weep.

Zava was the furthest thing from her mind. The incoming headlines, another loss on the scoreboard…all of it. She couldn’t have cared less if she’d tried. All she could feel was the crippling ache in her chest, the sting of her tears, the overwhelming feeling that came with being utterly alone. When a person became aware of just how much bigger the world around them was and how infinitely small they really were. The pain that could be remedied with a simple hug or a comforting word.

Y/n let out a silent sob, the familiar ache of all she wanted having taken a new form, once again. It would certainly kill her to allow herself her basic needs, to walk back in and hurt with the people inside. And it would break her all the same to continue hiding.

————

Heartfirst Taglist: @lalla-04p @optimisticsandwichgladiator @makingmunson94 @taytaylala12 @storysimp @sokkigarden @lightninginab0ttle @poohkie90 @alipap3 @verra-nerevarine @shineforever19 @spaceagechimera @burnafter-reading @qardasngan @cyberpvnk-enthusiast @sogoodtoheritsvicious @buckybarnex @angelsunflxwer @blueanfield @thewildestwonderland @sablecities

[biibini]

Could you possibly write something for modern mizu with a gf that bakes alot during the odd hours at night due to insomnia to past the time :^ due to this, mizu gets gifted a bunch of sweets and pastries

modern!mizu x baker!reader (request)

a/n: this is such a cute idea omg,,, personally im more of a cook over baker (my roomie bakes more than me) but i do like a good pastry. time to add my fav gif of mizu … isn’t she just so dreamy 😻

the first few times u stayed over, u were able to sleep in peace with mizu

surprisingly, ur insomnia didn’t keep u fully awake while ur gf was sleeping

feeling her warm arms wrap around ur body made u feel more secure as u started to slumber

u weren’t fully knocking out every night but it became easier to fall asleep and stay asleep for a good duration of the night

it felt so satisfying to finally sleep through most nights

as midterms became closer & closer, the quality of ur sleep began to decrease dramatically

most nights spent with mizu ended up into some

and then some nights became few

at first, u attempted to hide ur insomnia with using homework and projects as an excuse

initally, they weren’t excuses but u had played the card so much that it started to become one

It was a week and a half before midterms week, aka hell on earth. You and Mizu had just finished dinner, now relaxing on her bed. While she was busy on her phone, you were preparing to find the best way to fall asleep successfully. Staring into your laptop in front of you, you felt her get up from the bed.

She walked over to the bathroom and getting ready to go slumber. You on the other hand, are still mentally stuck on how well you will sleep tonight.

Having insomnia meant having many off days and nights. During high-school, it was more difficult to manage your sleep schedule due to the amount of extra-curricular activities and schoolwork you had to balance while growing up. You’ve found a few ways and simple tricks to fight against it.

One way that helped you calm down during high school was baking. A messy task, yes, but the end result was worth it. It had been a few years since it’s gotten this bad. Junior year was a while ago, and the thought of college during that time sent your stress levels through the roof.

Maybe bringing back baking wouldn’t be so bad…

“Hey baby?”

You snapped out of your empty stare and look up at Mizu.

“Yes?”

“Are you going to wash up soon? It’s past midnight and you have a 9 AM tomorrow.” she reminded. Mizu knew how grumpy you could be the next day if you stayed up too long.

“Yeah, um” you glance at your computer only to find a title slide on a history presentation, “I’ll sleep soon, I just want to finish my part of this project.”

Mizu nodded as she turned off every light except for the night next to you. You look up to her, a small smile growing on your face.

“M’kay,” she placed a hand on your cheek and planted a soft kiss on your forehead, “Just not too late.”

She moved to your lips, giving them a good night kiss.

“I’ll try.” You say as you reach for her face to share another good night kiss. You lower the brightness of your laptop as Mizu tucks herself in next to you.

An hour later, you end up finish your part of the presentation. You check your phone to let your group know about your completion. Putting it down, you read the time. 1:30 AM.

Fuck, you should really get some sleep for tomorrow’s lecture.

You slowly get out of bed, checking to make sure Mizu hasn’t waken up from your movement. All you hear is a turn to the other side away from you.

Whew.

You plug in your laptop quickly on the desk, making sure that all the lights in the apartment were closed. You gently tugged at the sheets, tucking yourself in as quietly as you could. As you started to close your eyes, you took a deep breath.

In. Out.

In. Out.

In. Out.

A grumble could be heard from Mizu, turning back towards you. You feel her hands try to find you, slowly grabbing what she could find. As she pulled you closer, you continued to relax your body.

Eyes closed, mind empty.

Yet, your mind does reach a thought. An anxious thought.

What if I wake up tired, like before?

You try to shake away the thought, enveloping yourself with Mizu’s presence. Forcing your eyes shut, you continue to take slow & deep breaths.

2:30 rolls in and you’re still stuck trying to fall asleep. Technically, you should be in dreamland right now instead of being awake. Your eyes are heavy but they not too heavy to completely close. Your body is still yet your mind keeps racing.

You trusted your old tricks would help you fall asleep. Hoping that they would work, your mind finally begins to clear up and rest.

as the days went by, it got progressively worse and worse

it went to the point where u were just always up, maybe spare an hour or two for a nap, and then the nightly attempt to fall asleep next to mizu

ur aware of what was happening yet ur mind wouldn’t stop running at full speed

u wish ur mind would just shut off

and if it wasn’t ur mind staying awake for once, it was ur body keeping u awake

it was so tiring to think ab peace night after night after night, hoping for a good nights sleep but to end up feeling drained and half awake once the sun rose

on nights where ur mind or body wouldn’t shut down, u ended up succumbing to ur old habits and took out the baking pan & sheets

u thought u could stay quiet like a few years before

on the other hand, mizu began to notice the slight changes in the house

whenever she would wake up for morning workouts, ur laptop would open and on ur lap

or the baking pan and whisks and mixing bowls would be dripping wet on the drying rack

once she found a new loaf of bread in the pantry, something was up

she figured u were just up cleaning late at night as a break from the late night homework grind

but with the random loaf, it didn’t quite fit the story she had in mind

one early morning, she heard a metal noise mid toilet and tiktok session in

(a/n: i’m guilty of doing that too sorry)

concerned, she went go check in the bedroom to find an empty bed

“Y/N?” she quietly called into the hallway.

God damnit.

You had accidentally banged the baking pan on the oven’s metal rack. You quickly slid the pan into the oven, hoping the croissants u had just prepped wouldn’t be seen. You peeked over your shoulder to see Mizu’s eyes half awake, trying to comprehend what she was seeing.

You quickly checked the time on the clock. No way it was already time for her workout.

5:30 AM.

“Morning, Mizu.” A weak smile spread on your face. You felt blood rushing to your cheeks, stemming from the embarrassment of getting caught in the act.

“I just went to the bathroom and heard a noise. What’s going on, Y/N?”

She looked down into the oven, spotting the croissants.

“Did you want a sweet treat that badly?” her voice questioning you and slightly concerned. She walked towards you and gently pressed your hand.

“No, it’s just that…”

“That?”

You took a deep breath as you glanced down at her hand grasping onto yours. You look up to her eyes, ready to tell the truth. Her blue eyes seemed more awake and ready to listen, almost glowing in the dark.

“I have insomnia.” You let the truth spill out. “It hasn’t been this bad since high school but coping with it has been a bit difficult these days. I’ve tried so many ways to shut my mind off but nothing’s working.”

“Aw, baby…”

“And the best way I managed it back when it was worse was baking. It helped me keep my mind off things and pass the time.” You took a step back to find your phone and put on a timer for 12 minutes.

“So here I am. Back to old habits.” You ended, sighing in relief. You weren’t sure of what Mizu’s reaction would be. A little part of you was frightened, anxiously waiting for her response.

You didn’t expect her next actions. She let go of your hand and headed toward the sink, calmly washing the bowls and other dishes that have collected over the night.

Stunned, you watched as she continued to wash up. You looked over to see her reaction only to find a calm face.

“Mizu?” you asked, still confused about her response.

She looked up, her hands still cleaning the mixing bowls you had used.

“Did you need help with anything else before I go to the gym? I know insomnia must be hard to cope with but if this is what helps you pass the time,” Mizu finishing the final bowl, placing it gently on the dishwasher rack. “I’d like to help out in any way I can.”

“No, I’m okay but thank you for cleaning up for me.” Coming up to her, you give her a kiss on the cheek. She smiles at you and nods.

“Anytime, hon.”

She takes a glance at the clock. 5:40 AM.

“I’m gonna get ready now. Let me know if you need anything or any ingredients.” She hurries into the bedroom, getting ready to change into gym clothes.

“Okayyy.” You say, checking your phone for the timer.

A thought comes to mind.

“Actually, there is one thing you can do.” You say, following her into the bedroom. Mizu, mid-tying her hair, paused and gave you her full attention. “You can be my little taste tester.”

She chuckled as she fixed her hair into a bun.

“I get first dibs? For lil ol’ me?”, she says playfully as she grabs one of her light zip-up jackets from the closet, completing her workout outfit.

You nod happily. “Mhm. You can even request a recipe or two.”

How enticing, Mizu thought.

if u were up during her workout days, she would always find a fresh batch of pastries sitting on the dining table

on days that her or ringo had classes, u would leave a little bag or container of pastries that they go bring to school

u would always leave a little love note with a little heart and a “To my Mizu”

mizu loved the little gifts, especially if they were at her request

one night, she asked for a peach cobbler pie

woke up the next morning to find a slice in a container and a sticky note atop reading “a request for my love ♥︎”

she placed the sticky note by her desk

and brought the slice to school with her

after her class she shared with akemi, they decided to get some late morning tea by the coffee shop nearby

mizu’s eyes widen after the first bite settled in

it was bomb

peaches were practically bursting in her mouth

she continued to eat, trying to contain the deliciousness of the pie

she would text u later ab how good it was

in full detail

many paragraphs

many positive critiques

and end with a thank you for ur baking ♥︎

[solazu1]

AT YOUR COMMAND! BEFORE YOU HERE I STAND!! MY HEART IS IN MY HAND!!.. eugh!

Happy 2024 besties! Made this an hour before midnight but like… wtv. Whew,, haven’t posted since last year!

Dreamslayers stays winning as one of my favorite aus, apathy and void here doing a tango while also wanting to murder each other! Btw, not ship art! I hope yall are having a good time!

[enigmadungeon]

@heropartnerweek day 3!! finished at half an hour before midnight. whew..

New Teammate

Team Dazzling finds another shining pokemon to join them in their journeys!

hero is eevee (Gleam), partner is pikachu (Shiny)! As you can probably guess by now, their fun little gimmick is just Being Shiny Pokemon. Cause i really like shiny pokemon so i made a pmd team about that :]

[fairykazu]

SNEAKING 'ROUND WITH YOU FT. KAEYA contents // snowman building, friends to lovers, confessions, pining, christmasy event note: i listened to w2e's album, 0.1 flaws and all, while writing this but this song fits better: somethin' stupid masterlist

you were waiting outside, hoping that the ring doorbell didn't trigger the notifications on your parents' phone. you bundled yourself up in a puffy jacket and some sweats, hoping that kaeya would arrive just before the cold wouldn't freeze you to death. as the snow fell from the midnight skies, you used the sleeves of your puffy jacket to make mini snowmen, naming one 'snowy' and the other, 'cup of noodles'. man, waiting for kaeya felt like forever to a point you named your snowbaby as cup of noodles. "'it takes twenty minutes' he said." you mocked kaeya as the cold bit your cheeks, reddish hue on your face. even though, kaeya probably wouldn't had, you feel like he just left you hanging.

it's gotten colder as your teeth clattered together, making each step on the patio of the house harder and harder to reach. only making it to the first step to the patio, you sat down and waited for him.

a kick of snow landed on the wooden steps as you looked where it came from, kaeya was hunched over, carrying a plastic bag of random items from the nearest shop, he was out of breath. "whew, oh my god."

"oh my god..." kaeya turned to you as your very cold face morphed into disbelief. "you killed cup of noodles-"

"how did you know i got that in the bag?" kaeya asked as he lifted the bag to show you.

looking at the instant noodle packaging made you drool a little. "oooh thank you, wait no! you killed my baby!" you cried, pointing pile of stepped-on snow next to snowy. kaeya quirked a brow,

"um, the really ugly mounds of snow?"

"yes, my beautiful baby i made while waiting for you asshat!" you sobbed dramatically as kaeya sat next to you, placing the bag of knickknacks next to him. "i am very sorry about your beloved baby, princess. but to make you feel better, i got you, hand heater packets!" rummaging through the bag, he opened the hand heater packaging, showing you the heater.

"i semi-accept your apology."

"i am very gracious, princess. as you warm up with that, i will help you create a better 'cup of noodles' snowman."

"better?" you questioned. "are you implying that the baby cup of noodles i made was stupid and bad?"

he fell down dramatically, draping his hand on his face. "princess, of course not, i will never say that. ummm," he tried to appease you with something else in his bag. "chocolate?"

"sure." you were enjoying thoroughly being pampered. he handed you the chocolate bar as he rolled a snowball in his hands, shaping it unevenly. "instead, of um, late 'cup of noodles' being here. let's make a new one?"

you quietly snorted as you agreed, "yes, you should make me a big snowman in honor of cup of noodles." he furrowed his brows, scratching his head with his other hand,

"like how big?"

you placed down the unwrapped bar of chocolate on the patio stairs and stood up. "like this tall!" you pointed to the floor to the patio's celing.

he laughed nervously, "princess, i fear that that would be too tall for me to make. what if i die instead?" his face grew ruddy from the cold, you stepped closer to him. wrapping your scarf around his neck, feeling the breeze bite you from your turtleneck, you tucked the scarf inside of the loop. kaeya flushed a little but it's not like you noticed anyway. you exhaled a laugh, tugging kaeya to your height,

"it would be okay because you died in honor of 'cup of noodles'." you two's faces were abnormally close. inching away from each other lips, you felt his cold breath ghosting your lips.

kaeya didn't try to do a flirty line with you, having you hear every sound around you. as the snow falls, dancing with each other, forming the flakes and your heart beat a bit faster than before. kaeya, thankfully, broke the ice, "so, princess, if i die, who would give you wonderful gifts?"

naturally, you guys pulled apart as kaeya took a step back. but you took a small step closer, you smiled, "you mean, peace offerings?"

"same thing, isn't it?"

---

you two were a bit further from your house, outside of your room. your window was open as the wind billowed the curtains in the room. you two eventually decided to build snowmen who were not as tall as the patio's ceiling to the concrete floor but instead mini snowmen like snowy and cup of noodles.

kaeya suggested that you two should collect branches for the little arms and rocks for the eyes for the snowmen. you agreed as along if the snowmen were you two together.

you replied, "we should make them look like us."

he smiled, his blue eyes glimmering in the moonlight. if you were mistaken, he could've been an angel too. um, snow angel. "sure."

kaeya was acting like the branches he had collected were logs twice the size of yours. "name, princess, can you help me lug this for me?"

you rolled your eyes and replied back, "if im the princess to you, why should i help? aren't you my shining knight in armor?"

kaeya hid his face into your scarf, hoping you would notice his flushed cheeks was a result of the cold. he cleared his throat, "you are so right, princess." giving you the so-called branches, you carried them in your arms, confused.

he lifted you up, carrying you in princess style. you nearly shrieked in fear as kaeya shushed you with his finger, "hey, we don't want to wake up your parents, now do we?"

"okay, kae." you retorted as he silently snorted. regardless, you dug your face into his nape or really, your scarf. you heard every beat of his heart as he hummed and rubbed circles into your back.

---

he carried you until you two reached the patio once more. you slipped out of his warm embrace as he left you to the cold, he told you that he'll be right back. you sat down against the wall of the house, placing the little branches on the other side of you. out of boredom, you started to make a few little balls to be your base for your snowmen with kaeya. the rocks he picked out somehow matched your shade of eyes, making you question if the pebbles actually turned out to be gems.

after a while, the blue haired male walked back with the plastic bag in hand and your chocolate from earlier in the other. "princess, i got you something, i forgot."

you fiddled with the hand warmth heaters in your pockets as kaeya rummaged through the bag to find a beanie. "if you're worried about your hair, it's like silk lined here." he flipped the inside of the beanie out, showing you the fabric lining. "that's very sweet, kae."

"well, i would do anything for you..." your heart stopped as kaeya's face fell to the ground, trying to cover up his slip up. "because you're my best friend. my, wait, the princess, y'know?"

"yep!" you popped the 'p' at the end. kaeya placed the beanie on your head, covering your eyes for a while. "wha?? kaeya what was that for?" you asked, trying to yank the beanie upwards but kaeya's hand had it stay put in place.

"um, just wait here for a little bit." kaeya answered, taking one of the sticks next to you. you heard him trip, face first into the snow. "GAH!" he shrieked as you shushed him,

"kae, we don't want to wake up my parents, now do we?"

"don't use my words against me, princess." as he struggled to get up from the snow, he took the branch he previously had and drew something around you.

"or what? what are you going to do? aren't you my shining knight in armor, what are you going to dooo~?" you retorted back, trying to lift the beanie up to see what he was doing. you don't know how but he was already there to stop you, "keep this down for now and turn facing the house."

"huh?"

"just do it for a surprise!"

---

he was so glad that you kept the beanie to cover your eyes as he drew a bad heart around you, taking the heart shaped chocolates out. he collected the snowballs you made prior and stacked them. smoothing out the edges as he puts your little branch arms into the snow and his snowman's arms around yours. or at least attempted to fit his stick arm near your stick arms. he took out a bow he bought before and placed it near your snowman and a little toy sword next to his.

"name, you can take off your 'blindfold' now and turn around." he told you as you followed the order. adjusting the beanie so it wouldn't make your hair too flat. did he call you by your first name? it feels strange after all, he called you 'princess' since the beginning of middle school. when he declared that he would be your shining knight in armor.

"kaeya?" you turned around and saw kaeya standing with a chocolate box, swallowed his breath. you looked around and saw the mini kaeya and name as snowmen in a small, badly drawn heart. "what's going on?"

you looked down and the badly drawn heart was around you too. kaeya only managed to laugh, unable to speak to you even though he had practiced what to say beforehand. in the bathroom, forcing diluc proofread his speech to you and even making lisa make sure it's as heart felt as he wanted it to be. he only stammered out words you couldn't even hear.

the words 'i like you' scrambled out of his mouth as "i whah wuah." he wanted to hit himself because it didn't turn out right.

"kaeya, are you okay?" you stepped out of the heart carefully, making sure that you didn't kick over the mini snowmen. his breath hitched as your perfume filled the atmosphere, he's sure that the stars are burning red at this point. "your head is so warm." you pressed your colder fingers against his forehead as he gulped,

"name, i like you." you paused for a moment, glanced into his midnight eyes, the stars could exist in his eyes. wait no, you're looking for a trace of jokes but found none.

you wanted to say "i like you too." but your thoughts were caught in your throat and instead of the statement of requiting with his feelings. you replied, "what?"

nervously, he cleared his throat, "princess, i like-like you." you smiled, he wanted to engrave that into his head forever. he awaited your response and it felt like an eternity. but an eternity he'll wait to hear your response. if you reject him, it's fine because at least he could stay by your side until now.

you tried to fight the words to tell kaeya you like him back. again, the words were just stuck but actions are bigger than words. so instead of telling him, you'll just show him. stepping closer to kaeya, your lips ghosting where his were, you pressed your lips against his. dropping the chocolate box on the snowy grounds, kaeya's eyes widened but returned your kiss. you tangled your fingers with his hair as he was tapping on your shoulder.

pulling apart from the kiss, kaeya was out of breath, "oh my god," his cheeks were warmer. you giggled, "i like you too. that's what i mean."

"im so glad, princess, but also it felt like you were trying to steal my soul." you wrapped your arms around him as he tried to catch his breath. "oh my god."

"kaeya, you're so cute." kaeya looked like he forgot something, "wait."

"again?"

"yes. i promise it's good." kaeya replied as he took out a rose from the plastic bag. it feels like that bag was unlimited with the items he had bought. "name, can i be your shining knight in armor forever?"

"yes, until the world ends." he put the rose behind your ear, if you're worried about if the thorns are there. don't worry about it. he painstakingly took them out by hand until he realized he could've used gloves. you dug your face into the nape of his neck, placing a kiss there. he felt your smile against his skin. "i love you kaeya."

"i love you too, name."

[mysticsparklewings]

Obscutober 2024 Day 8: Inflorescence 💐

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Inflorescence (n.)

the flowering part of a plant or arrangement of flowers on a stalk; the time and process of budding and unfolding flowers.

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So begins Week 2 of Inktober! 🖋️

I am pretty pleased with today’s art, but my posting time probably says it all: Not everything was coming up roses in the making-of process. 😅

Click the "Keep Reading" and we'll talk about it! ✨

⭐️ Like My Art and Want to see more of it? Here's All My Links! ⭐️

---------- Whew boy Sparklers; If I seem a little "off" or this description comes out a bit short, that's because (to the surprise of absolutely no one) I got a bit of a later start on this mandala than I'd hoped and it also ended up taking longer than I wanted. 😅 Thus I am now very acutely aware that I have much less time to get this description type and everything cross-posted than I'm really comfortable with.

Granted, this isn't the Cinderella-esque race against Midnight that I've very "used to" from Inktobers' past, but in some small ways that almost makes it worse because I know I've technically been doing much better than usual this year and the further I push that "better" envelope, the more anxious I become. 🫠

So let me stop wasting time rambling about that and get to talking about the art!

I think the main reason this one ended up taking so long is because I hyped it up too much—The idea of getting to draw a mandala made of flowers àla Adult Coloring Book-Style was so enticing that I did that thing us artists tend to do sometimes; I got in my head about it being "good enough" and "right" and all that, as if this is somehow the only opportunity I'll ever have to make a flower mandala so it "needed" to be perfect. 🙄

And, in a strange kind of other sense I think I had a little too much confidence going in because I recently spent quite a bit of time drawing intricate flowers in a similar style for a project you Sparklers haven't seen yet but my Ko-fi Members have. [And hopefully you Sparklers will get to see it soon, too, I've just been too busy to squeeze it in yet!] Mostly, I underestimated my own standards for what translating those flower drawing skills into this mandala format would be like. 😅

I also kind of hurt myself in that I decided I really wanted to get roses in here somewhere on top of trying to make sure I got at least one flower that had more obvious stages of blooming (per today's deifnition), rather than all of them being full-bloom. Naturally, I picked the most difficult option of having the roses be said multi-stage flower. 🙃 I'm sure I don't have to tell any of you Sparklers that have attempted to draw them before that roses are among some of the trickier flowers to draw, particularly in a more doodle-y style like this. I have semi-successfully handled roses before, but I think it's been literal years since the last time I drew any. 🫣 [Maybe not, but I don't feel like I have the time to dig through my posts and check to be sure right now!]

You can see that I did manage some results I'm decently happy with in the end, of course, but I probably spent about half of the total time I worked on this mandala on the roses specifically. 😵‍💫

And then of what was left, probably about half of that was spent on the "final" swirling vines that have different little pink flowers on them. Which is to say I think that was the second most challenge part to draw, even though it's one of the more simple elements present.

I could have stopped before adding those final swirls and it probably would've been fine, but the outer corners just felt so empty compared to all the flower and leaf stuff going on elsewhere, particularly the center-most ring. (That's what I get for adding lines to look more like a vague suggestion of roots below the big leaves!) I wanted to fill just a little more space badly.

If I hadn't felt timing ticking down so strongly, I would've definitely bothered to figure out something a little more involved for those swirls, but it just wasn't meant to be today. I couldn't stop thinking about the time and it seemed like every other false start I has either wasn't right or tested my patience too much.

I very nearly put some more sunflower-esque flowers in the corners instead, but I didn't like the idea of looking myself into a more specific color palette in that way and I didn't like the idea of not being able to either "attach" them to the rest of the mandala or the fact that I couldn't think of a way to make them more vine-like on their own. Therefore, the sunflowers sat this one out. [And besides, they already had a small cameo last week!]

The leaves, fortunately, didn't give me much trouble. Those largest leaves that I put down first where probably the most difficult, but only because they were made using a criss-cross line method I observed in some mandala techniques on Pinterest, rather than other more typical ways I go about drawing leaves. They really weren't too bad, though. And I think they were the right choice because they kind of set up a shape foundation that directed a lot of the rest of the mandala.

Likewise, this may have been the easiest color scheme to decide apart from Day 1 because of the leaves. I set up with that green foundation, pushed it to be a little more teal/aqua, and then went with most pink flowers since that's complimentary, but then a soft blue for the...They're sort of lilies-of-the-valley but maybe not exactly. I think the blue I picked is a touch too dark for that, but since I was very sold on this off-white/cream background, I went with the deeper blue so the color would be more obvious.

I will admit I originally wanted to avoid pink or red roses, but I made the outermost flowers pink first, dared to touch the roses with a bit of a darker pink, and promptly threw that plan out the window. I did try to mix a little purple int here so they weren't a super-traditional rose pink, but I think I overblended it so that effect was mostly lost. 😅 But I did stand firmly behind no-red roses, though. Against many fibers in my Alice-in-Wonderland-loving being, but it felt too stereotypical and like a bad fit for the more aqua-green leaves, which I really didn't want to change at that point.

Yesterday and Day 2 are still gunning for my favorite, but this one isn't super far behind despite the choices I maybe would've handled a bit differently if I'd felt like I could afford more time to puzzle over them. If anything, I think this will be my favorite as a coloring page, if I do end up making coloring pages out of these. [Which yes, is an idea I've been toying with—I think I mentioned it on Day 1? Maybe?]

You Sparklers will have to tell me if that sounds like something worth bothering with. 😉

Let's see...I think that's everything I wanted to mention for today, so I should probably be getting on with that cross-posting now; I'll see you Sparklers tomorrow, hopefully at least a little earlier in the evening... 😅 🤞

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See the Prompt List

Artwork  © me, MysticSparklewings

Obscutober Concept Inspired by nikolas_tower

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⭐️ Like My Art and Want to see more of it? Here's All My Links! ⭐️

[lilypadlys]

Domestic December Day 31 - Happy New Year!

The Ghouls' NYE celebration

Notes: Prompt list by comp-lady. See prompt list here

Holy fuck we made it. Whew! This was a wild month but I'm so happy I managed to get here. Thank you so much to comp-lady for the prompts. Thank you for reading. Happy New Year to you all!

NYE party and kissies below the cut or on AO3

The ghoul’s new years eve party is in full swing. All the ghouls as well as Copia, have gathered in the common room to mingle. They’ve got gold tinsel left over from yule strung around the common room, party poppers enchanted with quintessence to emit harmless colored sparks when pulled; Copia even tracked down enough champagne to keep ten hell beasts occupied for at least a couple hours.

Cirrus and Cumulus are cuddling on the couch, feeding each other h’orderves. Sunny is watching/egging on Dew and Swiss as they see how many flutes of champagne they can down before they get tipsy. Rain and Mountain disappeared to a closet a while back after they both got more than tipsy. Phantom and Aurora are eagerly eyeing both the clock and the poppers and noise makers that had to be placed on a high shelf so they didn’t use them all up at once. Aether and Copia are chatting and keeping an eye on the others (Swiss and Dew) to ensure the chaos doesn’t get out of hand.

Fifteen minutes to midnight, it’s finally time to head outside. Phantom and Aurora lead the charge to the lawn where siblings and clergy members alike have gathered on blankets in preparation for the fireworks. The rest of the pack follow close behind with Copia bringing up the rear. They find an open spot and settle down. They pass around the party poppers and noise makers as Phantom and Aurora beg Copia to check his watch for the umpteenth time. Five minutes to midnight.

Finally a hush goes over the lawn when the minute countdown starts. Someone yells out, “Ten! Nine!”

The crowd quickly catches on.

“Eight! Seven! Six!”

Party poppers and noise makers are grabbed.

“Five! Four!”

Everyone pulls their friends and lovers close.

“Three! Two! One!”

The chapel bells begin to ring out.

“Happy new year!”

The sky is lit up with quintessence aided fireworks. Everyone cheers. The ghoulettes hug and immediately start exchanging kisses. A very inebriated Rain and Mountain start full on making out. Swiss kisses Phantom on the mouth as Aether pulls Dew close and they exchange a tender kiss. Then everyone turns to Copia, sitting on the edge of the blanket watching the fireworks.

“Bring it in Papa.” Aether beckons.

Copia makes to shuffle over but there’s no need. All ten ghouls immediately smother him in a dog pile of hugs and smooches.

“Happy new year Papa!” They all cheer.

“Happy new year to you all, my ghouls.”

[victorluvsalice]

-->So it was back home for the trio, where Victor fed Toothy AGAIN (hungry hungry cowplant), while Smiler went to sell the painting they’d made earlier and Alice sniffed around and had a scavenge, finding some literalite (a rare, very-cool-looking purple metal) –

Before heading to the jewelry-making bench to make her first set of jewelry! I decided to keep things basic for her first piece – quite literally, in fact, as the simplest set of jewelry you can make is the “Basic” set. XD I thus had her make a Basic metal bracelet out of the silver she’d picked up on her travels – I didn’t want to mess with anything more elaborate, in case it ended up botched (and thus couldn't be charged later on the crystal grid). Fortunately it didn’t, and she ended up with both an excellent-quality metal-wrap bracelet and Gemology skill 2. :D Maybe next time we’ll try something with a crystal in it!

-->As for Victor and Smiler – well, Smiler was feeling rather flirty after getting a message from a friend about a successful date she’d had, and Victor was full of confidence from having his familiar and getting a new spell. So, while Alice was making her jewelry, I had Victor go give Smiler a suave kiss, and sent them upstairs to Victor and Alice’s bedroom...

For a pillow fight! XD Okay, I was looking for the “Bed Makeout” interaction you get with the Cute Romance mod, but when I saw that I was like “I have never tried that and it seems like the kind of thing Smiler at least would do.” XD So yes, they went upstairs and promptly started thwapping each other with pillows until Victor ended up yielding to Smiler’s superior pillow skills. THEN they went ahead and had a bed makeout session (the interaction’s actually under the “romance” category when you click on a Sim – “Physical Affection,” natch). XD Once they’d had their fun, Smiler went to have a bath in their nice tub, while Victor dismissed Darkwing (who was probably like "can you dismiss me before you get frisky next time?") before heading down to his cauldron to do some experimenting. Alice finished up her bracelet while he was doing that and headed upstairs to resume writing her latest book, “Who Stole The Tarts” (on Smiler’s computer, of course), while Smiler headed downstairs to fix a wind turbine before going to chat with Victor and see how his experimenting was coming...

And that is where I left them, as it was getting a bit late and it was officially past midnight in the game. XD Whew – busy day, but a fun one! I am getting into them traveling around the various worlds in the game with their food stand and selling all sorts treats – it’s good gameplay, and makes sure I get them out of the house on the regular. XD Though speaking of their house, I’m starting to wonder if it’s time to revamp their lot...or perhaps move altogether. I like their little farm, but I don’t know if it really has the space for everything I want to do there. At the very least, it would be nice to add a basement for the nectar-making and aging...I’ll have to think about this some more!

However, next time we don't have house revamps – instead, we have party fun! Because I wanted to have Smiler send summer out on a high note, and because they hadn't seen some of their other friends in a while. What kind of party did they host? You'll have to find out next time –

But I will give you this hint: if you know anything about my experiences in Sims 4, you will know I consider this party at least LIGHTLY cursed.

[mermaidsirennikita]

I feel like Lorraine Heath's two most recent books haven't been as angsty as her books usually are and I'm low-key depressed about it! Do you have any recs for hrs by other authors that are super angsty?

I really like both of them, especially The Return of The Duke (I just love the hate vibes and of course... the time he asked her to ride him~) but I agree that they aren't as angsty for the couple personally. More the plot. I will say that though I haven't read her latest yet, I do have it and I've read a few bits and pieces and.. WHEW. That one, I think, is gonna be a looooot.

I think you can't go wrong with Elizabeth Hoyt for angst. She writes excellent sex, and intense, flawed characters who often do a bit of emotional damage to each other.

Angst standouts include:

The Raven Prince--boss/employee, he's an earl and she's his widowed secretary so they can't be together. He's very angsty because he's scarred after a bout with smallpox and like. His wife cursed him as she lay dying in childbirth lmao.

The Leopard Prince--upper class lady and her steward, he doesn't feel good enough for her and also people are trying to frame him for mURDER

Scandalous Desires--pirate hero, widowed Quaker heroine; there's a lot of "he's gonna die" angst because, you know, pirates, and he's pretty mean at first in the beeest way

Thief of Shadows--virgin hero, widowed/older heroine, he's a masked vigilante and she knows who he is; also, she's infertile and is FOR REAL, there is no magic baby, and there's a lot of sorrow from her and feeling that she shouldn't keep him from the kids she knows he wants. EXQUISITE novel, one of the best ever.

Duke of Midnight--duke hero/impoverished lady's companion hero; they have a cat and mouse thing where she knows he's a vigilante and blackmails him into helping her free her brother from imprisonment. They begin this passionate sexual affair, but he's courting the woman she's a lady's companion to.

Sweetest Scoundrel--uptight heroine/wild hero, but she's deeply traumatized after being sexually abused as a child; they begin a slow burn affair where he's super respectful of her boundaries and helps her learn to enjoy her body again, but they have every intention of not staying together. It is *chef's kiss*

But all the Maiden Lane books are worth reading, and they are all ANGSTY.

Sarah MacLean does angst very well. Her heroes are always like "LEAVE ME TO ROT AND FEED ON MY CARCASS IF YOU WISH, I AM SUCH TRASH". MacLean heroes listen to Hozier and go "he gets it", but only after they leeearn.

Angst recs:

A Rogue By Any Other Name: childhood friends to enemies to lovers, a forever fave, he does her soooo baaad and soooo gooood but he has to make it up to her

No Good Duke Goes Unpunished: she was engaged to his dad and accidentally framed him for her murder, lmao

The Day of the Duchess: a daringly angsty book where he cheats on her while she's pregnant (he has reasons, not that it matters) and then she loses the baby and they separate for years before reuniting

Daring and the Duke: may be better if you read the two previous Bareknuckle Bastards books more (depends) but lol.... he kinda tried to kill her? It's another book-long grovel

Jeannie Lin's The Dragon and The Pearl made me like. Tear up. because it was like so star-crossed and the tension got so high, and they just couldn't spit it out. Also: has one of the hottest non-sex scenes I've ever read.

Indigo by Beverly Jenkins is gorgeously angsty. He's an upper class guy she nurses back to health, as they both work with the Underground Railroad. The heroine was enslaved as a child, and she's go a lot of understandable trauma related to that. The mountains this hero moves for her... It's gorgeous.

Dreaming of You is my favorite Kleypas because of the high angst. I mean, he literally sends her away for months and becomes a shadow of his former self. He like, confesses his love in a SOBBING. BLUBBERING. MESS.

Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian. Another very high angst book. One lead is AFAB nb, the other is a cis man. They're friends, and then they fuck, and he's like "be my wife" and they're like "dude no". A LOT A LOT A LOT.

The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie and Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage by Jennifer Ashley. Madness has a hero who's on the autism spectrum and has been an outcast and literally imprisoned for it. Lady Isabella has a couple that spent time apart and is now back together because she knows someone is stealing his identity, basically. He's trying to win her back, despite all their issues.

The Bride Goes Rogue by Joanna Shupe. Hero and heroine were betrothed by their parents, and he dumps her. They hook at a masquerade and start a no strings relationship that quickly becomes intense.

The Duke Gets Even. Enemies to fuckbuddies. Uptight duke who's head over heels x brash woman who refuses to commit. A favorite of mine.

The Prince of Broadway by Joanna Shupe. Hero is trying to destroy the heroine's father, agrees to "mentor" her in running a casino and gets in way over his head.

Duchess by Day, Mistress by Night by Stacy Reid. A cold duchess gets into an entanglement with a self made man. It's supposed to be for fucking, but it gets FOR REAL.

I'm currently reading the Lady Charlotte's Society of Angels series by Grace Callaway, and it's both fun and angsty. The heroines are a part. of a Victorian Charlie's Angels thing, which I LOVE. She's also like... one of the hotter historical authors I've read.

Olivia and the Masked Duke--she's a 19 year old ingenue type, he's the 31 year old widower who's all damaged from his first marriage; together, they fight crime and she's the brat to his dom; he feels VERY angsty about despoiling her but does it anyway

Pippa and the Prince of Shadows--childhood friends to lovers; she's a widow with a shitty first husband, he's a Scarred Hero (TM); has one of the most lovely and emotional "let me see your scars" scenes I've read

Anyway, these are some!

[itspileofgoodthings]

nice things, call it what you want, and New Year’s Day?

nice things: give a toast to a real friend

I’ll choose someone who doesn’t have tumblr but my one friend from high school I’ve stayed in touch with consistently deserves a shout out. She’s just the definition of someone who has put in the work and the effort to see me even when her life has made it difficult and inconvenient. And despite going to school together we never moved in the same social circles and have very little in common in terms of our practical lives and what we do with our time so it’s amazing to me that she has always prioritized making me a part of her life, caring about what I’m doing, praying for me, being good to me. I mean, we’ve both done that and chose to do that and continued to do that so I guess this is a shout out to me too. Lol. No but really. I’m grateful to her for her friendship but also really grateful for the narrative of it and what it’s taught me about love and friendship. (Probably a little too obsessed with the narrative as I am with everything but luckily our sheer differences and business make it impossible for me to put too much pressure on the friendship. Which is good!)

This is a long answer. Whew!!

call it what you want: tell us something you’ve recently done “right” (share your latest accomplishment!) 

Well besides my answer to this I gave previously it’s hard to think of something. 😂 but I did tell my counselor I would work on negative self-talk lolololololol soooooo. I taught the hobbit this year! To my 8th graders! And they had FUN. And I’m proud of that and my decision to just order the books and go for it.

new years day: tell us about your favorite new years memory

New year’s eve (different but the same holiday I feel) used to be really hard for me because it was just so disappointing. But one year Emma called me and left me a voicemail and was like “hey I know this day is hard for you, just thinking of you and hoping it’s good” and it has since not been really hard for me 😂

But also one year I went to bed before midnight (i always stayed up til midnight before then) and I just went to sleep??? And it was so peaceful??? 10/10

Thank you for asking!

[hyuccubus]

Happy STS! Seasons are changing. Tell me how one or more of your characters would react. Are they dressing cozy? Obsessed with everything pumpkin? Have they been prepping for Halloween since last year?

Whew, many characters to dream up feelings about this. Sounds like fun, though! All the characters are from Target Practice

Swift: It's been a while since Swift got invested in the spirit of the season. He's not a curmudgeon, he just longs for the most important aspect of the holidays; a complete, happy, content family. He's more of a "go with the flow" sort of celebrator over the course of the novel as it happens. "Oh, you're making hot chocolate? I'd love a cup. No, no, don't bring it over, I'll get up." "Oh, we're carving pumpkins? No, I know I didn't bring one, I'll just watch everyone else. Here, let me get your pumpkin guts out of the way." "Oh, we're decorating for Halloween? I'll get up on the ladder to put up the spider webs." He has a habit of giving himself the undesirable tasks, on the one hand to make sure no one else gets it, but also so everyone knows he's reliable.

(I understand you, Swift)

Patches: Oh my GOD there's so much to do, we have to take in every single aspect of this season while it's around, we can actually be outside most of the day and not want to die! We gotta stop by that food stall that only opens during the autumn in the park, they have those pumpkin spice cake pops!!! Plays in the park auditorium at dusk, community trick or treat events, Rocky Horror Picture Show midnight screenings! THE WORLD IS OUR OYSTER!

Ira: Ira would rather die than admit this to present company, but she adores the holidays. Like a metronome, she has drifted from one pole to the other due to past traumas. She will suppress holiday cheer in order to avoid the disappointment that comes with knowing she can't celebrate them with her birth family, but about a week before the big day, she'll swing to the other extreme, guzzling hot toddies and making spooky ghost cookies, forcing the entire group to share ghost stories (much to Specs and Rat's chagrin). She can't help herself.

Lumo: Lumo's all about tradition. It can seem like he's limiting his fun to an itinerary, but structure is fun to him.

"We're decorating cookies at 11, then we're going to the pumpkin patch at 2:00 to pick one that we like, and the appointment is at two sharp, so we're leaving at 1:15, and then when we get back, we're going to carve them right away, 'cause otherwise they'll just be sitting around. I have a playlist I've already made, all the greats, Monster Mash, Flying Purple People Eater, the classics. Then we'll roast the seeds, which will be done in time for a double feature of Nightmare Before Christmas and Wendell and Wild, and it's going to be amazing and no one is going to complain."

Gharial: Gharial, like the eternal cinnamon bun he be, gets into the Halloween spirit the moment the first leaf changes color. Pumpkin spice lattes, sweaters, watching Hocus Pocus on repeat, and tormenting Rat with matching costume ideas. Families might change, but holidays are always there, and rather than live in the past, Gharial prefers the prospect of making new memories with the people he loves right now.

Rat: Guys, can't we slow down with the decorations?

...I didn't say I didn't want to help put them up.

Specs: Wake me up on Halloween night. I am dressing as Oracle from Batman. That is all.

Bruja: The perfect celebration buddy. Down for whatever, whenever. Haunted Forest? I'm gonna make the chainsaw clown laugh. Hayride? I'll bring the blankets! Movie marathon? I've already got popcorn in the microwave. Since Specs and Bruja are together so often, Specs is often along for the ride, though it's less to do with the spirit of the season than it is the blood of the covenant.

Thanks for the ask, Tori! Even after ten years, I'm learning new things about my characters every day.

[spacefinch]

Incorrect Magic School Bus, pt. ???

All quotes are from “The Happy Hocky Family” and “The Happy Hocky Family Moves to the Country!” by Lane Smith

HOORAY!

Today is Ralphie’s birthday.

LOOK, Ralphie has made a list of the presents he wants.

Ralphie: For my 10th birthday I want:

- A new set of crayons.

- An electric car.

- A black and white pony with a silver saddle.

WHEW!

Today is the day after Ralphie’s birthday.

LOOK, Ralphie has made a list of the presents he wants next year.

Ralphie: For my 10th 11th birthday I want:

- A new set of crayons.

- An electric car.

- A black and white pony with a silver saddle.

Keesha: I like to study nature. I have an ant farm.

Keesha: These ants are my RESPONSIBILITY. “RESPONSIBILITY” is a big word. It means my ants count on me to take care of them.

Keesha: For example, today is a very hot day. My ants have no windows to open. How can I help? It is my responsibility.

Keesha: I know how! *removes the lid from her ant farm*

Keesha: My ants count on me to take care of them.

A few hours later:

Grandma and Grandpa Franklin have remodeled their kitchen.

SEE the white cabinets.

SEE the shiny counters.

SEE the shelves for spices and cereal and sugar.

Pretty kitchen. New kitchen. Clean kitchen.

*cut to view of the newly-remodeled kitchen, but with Keesha’s ants crawling all over the place*

Carlos: Our Abuela has come to visit. Her perfume smells like flowers. LOTS and LOTS of FLOWERS.

Mikey: Abuela, do you hear the Magic Monkey? He is calling us from outside!

Carlos: Open the window so we can hear him, Abuela.

Mikey: OPEN THE WINDOW WIDE!

Mikey: We like our toys. We take CARE of our TOYS. We do not want our toys to become broken. We want to keep our toys for a long time.

Narrator: Cousin Stinky has come over to play. “Where are your toys?” he asks?

Mikey and Carlos: What is “TOYS?” We do not know what that word means.

…

Mikey: Cousin Stinky has left. We like our toys.

Wanda: I am making paper airplanes. SEE the AIRPLANES fly. FLY! FLY! FLY!

Wanda: Dorothy Ann has come into the room. She is upset. She can’t find her homework.

Wanda: I think I will go outside to play now.

Carlos: Wanda is taking a nap. Poor Wanda. She is very tired. She is very tired from chasing me around all day with a dead spider. Poor Wanda. Nap time is good. Nap time is good for Wanda.

Carlos: (holding a plushie version of the Pokémon Archen) Nap time is good for Archen, too. My Archen needs a nap. I will play Archen a lullaby to help her sleep.

Carlos: *plays a single, dissonant note on the trombone*

Wanda: *jolts out of bed*

Wanda: We do not skate down the hill. We do not like BROKEN BONES. We always play SAFE.

Wanda: What does not have bones to break? Plushies do not have bones.

Wanda: *puts Carlos’s Archen plushie on a skateboard and pushes it downhill* LUCKY ARCHEN.

Ralphie: (at a sleepover) Arnold, do you know the story of the MONSTER who comes to STEAL children in the night?

Ralphie: He comes into kids’ bedrooms at twelve midnight. BIG monster. SCARY monster. BAD monster.

Arnold: I will lock the door before we all go to sleep.

Ralphie: You don’t have to worry about that, silly. The monster only comes in through the windows.

Phoebe: I have a candy apple. Do you have a candy apple? I have a candy apple.

Phoebe: My candy apple is crunchy. Is your candy apple crunchy? My candy apple is CRUNCHY.

*CRACK!*

Phoebe: I have a tooth for the Tooth Fairy. Do you have a tooth for the Tooth Fairy? I have a tooth for the Tooth Fairy.

LOOK, Tim is filling his BIRD FEEDER.

He is filling it with a special mix of sunflower seeds for WOODPECKERS and cracked corn for CARDINALS and peanut kernels for CHICKADEES.

Tim: LISTEN. Can you hear them? They are coming already.

A few minutes later: *a bunch of squirrels are seen eating at Tim’s bird feeder.

Phoebe has made a spring bouquet. Pretty bouquet.

Phoebe: Uh oh. ITCHY bouquet.

Carlos: Ha ha! You used POISON IVY. Poison Ivy has three leaves. Can’t you count to three? It’s easy: 1, 2, 3.

Carlos, covered in poison oak rashes: I am MUCH smarter. I have used OAK leaves for mine.

A + B = C

A. Here is the wild bunny.

B. Here is the wild bunny’s BIG belly.

C. Here is where Phoebe’s GARDEN used to be.

Bird Feeder, continued.

Mikey is helping Tim fix his bird feeder.

Tim: It is a lot of work, but it is worth it to have the squirrel problem solved.

Mikey: Listen, here come the birds!

*cut to a bunch of squirrels eating from the supposedly squirrel-proofed bird feeder*

Dorothy Ann is showing Liz how to make a snowman. But Liz is cold. Liz is BORED.

Later, D.A. sees the SNOW LIZARD that Liz has made.

D.A.: What a trickster! You weren’t really bored. You were watching all along, weren’t you, Liz? Liz . . .?

Carlos: Leaves are a part of NATURE. Nature is GOOD.

Mr. Ramon: But leaves must be raked. *hands Carlos a rake*

Several minutes later:

Carlos: *pulling a three bags of leaves through town on a wagon*

Sign at the town dump: No leaves!

Sign at the town hall: RULES— No leaf burning!

Carlos: *takes the leaves back home and scatters them all over the yard*

Carlos: Leaves are a part of NATURE. Nature is GOOD.

[mikaharuka]

☀️ (a comment that made your day?)

Heyo Alhaira!

There are four comments I wanted to shout out! The final comment is under the cut because it's long... but it's definitely the winner. Whew.

(@magma-saarebas19, @alpaca-clouds, @danceswithdarkspawn, @mrsmungus - I think y'all might be interested. It's a wild ride O.O)

Two simple and sweet ones (from Obsidian 10 and Midnight 14):

Your story is so good!!! This is literally my favorite twilight fanfiction ever!

I really like this fanfiction! I never thought I would like Mike as a character but here we go. Tbh I was looking for a little bit Carlisle action... but what I got was a whole new Twilight universe :)

One that made me think - this was left on Viridian 2 in mid-August last year, only 2 weeks after I started. It's stupidly obvious now... but I didn't know about my sensory style and this comment made it click:

Wow. I’m really in awe of your skills with scene setting and describing characters. You do it in such a way that provides a lot of lovely details but isn’t at all like your describing them consciously. It just reads really naturally while still painting a detailed picture in the readers mind.

-

And this last one... whew.

It completely freaked me out in the most flattering way possible!

...and yes, this one is on Azure. It's also the most recent chapter they've read. They haven't read Sapphire, Sangria, or Midnight yet!

So. This reader. This terrifyingly brilliant reader.

I'd call them a seer, but this goes way beyond that. Let me explain:

One - They had Mike pinned in a way no one else had. It's no big deal now, since everyone knows his color deal now... but this was written when Azure was the most recent chapter - back in September.

Back when even I didn't have his power completely nailed down yet. Before I went back to edit minor clues earlier on, about this power.

The part where both Beau *and* Mike come to school with dark bags under their eyes is quite damning. I have a strong hunch that Mike is hiding some pretty big shit from Beau. They both have a charm from Edward after all. Maybe Mike is starting to get some visions of his own? Or maybe he's had a Mandala of his own for as long as Beau, or just got one recently.

Two - They didn't just pin the future. Oh no. They also nailed my abandoned Apricity 1.0 as well! Beyond that, they even got me to reconsider using more of the original scene/intentions (still not sure how much, though)... and they have no idea about any of that:

I don't think Beau will doubt that they're vampires anymore after this dream, lol. The amount of time that Carlisle spent caressing his neck, biting his lips to the point that it breaks the skin, and finally biting into his neck to drink from him really made it clear. Carlisle was definitely showing off his possessive side with his pet names, but that last sentence was particularly chilling. "You're mine now, sweet boy," sounds like both a threat and a promise all wrapped in one. I shudder to think of what might happen if he saw someone was flirting with Beau. The other boy would be dead so fast...

I was so shocked that they nailed my original Apricity 1.0, that I actually clued them into it, in a deeper reply. I wrote this back to them - back when I was certain I wouldn't use the majority of it:

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention something earlier - bizarrely applicable to the point you made about what Carlisle might do IRL if someone tried something with Beau. So funny story - last year, when I was first writing out Cerise (the hospital chapter), I'd actually written an off-screen scene to get a feel for the characters and the actual in-chapter scenes. Mind you, that outtake and the first draft of Cerise are so far outdated now, that a good chunk of it doesn't connect to Cerise or Apricity of today... but traces of that scene still exist in both Cerise and Azure today. . In any case... in that super old Cerise outtake, after Carlisle grabs Edward and drags him out, they end up in that isolated hallway/room and Carlisle pretty much confronts Edward about... something (pretty obvious that something happened, even from today's Cerise). But within this very outdated draft, at some point, Edward starts egging Carlisle on about liking Beau, that first day at school, and Beau being his singer - just to get his straight-laced brother to react and well... Carlisle reacts... uhh... badly, to say the least. He ends up at Edward's throat on an instinct, but at some point he comes to and feels really terrible about it. Strangely enough, I was channeling a few pieces of that old outtake when I wrote Azure (and rewrote the today's Cerise from scratch)... so I'm actually kind of impressed that you somehow saw a piece of this old outdated reference I used for the dream sequence! . That being said, I'll leave it to you to decide just how outdated that outtake is relative to Cerise today. There are definitely a *lot* of major changes... but the outtake isn't totally irrelevant XD

And their cute reply to that:

Well, what are the odds of me asking what Carlisle would do in a specific situation, and that scene actually happened in an unpublished draft? Lol, that's amazing.

Three - You thought it ended there? Nope. It goes even further.

This person somehow nailed at the core of the mystic bond that those two share, as well as the elements of the dreamscape.

To be fair, they openly admitted that they read the chapter twice and noticed a ton of shit they didn't notice the first time around.

Also don't worry about spoilers. This is high-level enough that it won't give away stuff on its own... though Alhaira, I rambled about all of this in the DMs, so you should be able to see how close this person got.

The scariest part?

I think this person figured out my subconscious mind before I did:

The dream/vision was very interesting to read. Beau was able to recognize his surroundings, smell petrichor, remember to find his friends, etc. even in such a state. That he had so much control over his senses was surprising but seeing as this was more of a magical vision rather than a normal dream, it makes perfect sense. [...] The part where he felt a rush of power from the forest was intriguing. I know that he has more of the Current surrounding him than usual, but this is making me believe that maybe Beau can become a shifter or learn magic himself. [...] That Beau is enamored with him to the point that he'd let Carlisle do anything he wanted to him sounds extreme- so much so that I'm beginning to think that vampires have a lure or a siren's call or something else in your story. It's making me wonder if the actual Carlisle was present in this specific vision, and that's how Beau is being so affected by a supposed dream. [...] And boy, I'm excited to get some answers myself. The way the Mandala works is eating at me. I don't know if Beau is being affected so strongly from the Mandala because he isn't familiar with the current, he needs protection from the current, or if it's just the pull/lure of the vampire that he's connected to.

Well, I'll leave it at that for now... on its own, this isn't enough to spoil or anything, since they don't know the details for sure and are just theorizing. But this comment put a stupid amount of stuff into perspective, dragging so much stuff from my subconscious mind.

This was also the comment that made me revisit the whole thing with the Mahabhuta interlude, exploring the dreamscape and mystic stuff even further... even though this comment happened a whole three months before the vampire bingo card happened!

(I'll explain that in a post about the interlude soon, for Miranda's ask)

To say that I would pay money for their take on Midnight... wouldn't be a lie. I want to see what else they can drag from the depths of my subconscious. Heck, I'm like... 80% sure that if they read Midnight and soon, Prithvi, they'd be in striking distance of my exact plans!

Long story short... to say that this comment "made my day"... that'd be the biggest understatement of the month of last September!

[chadwickbosemanfanfic]

NYE SURPRISE

I had every intention of bringing in the New Year at the hotel for two reasons. The first, I was deeply exhausted. The second, I made the mistake of booking a 6 AM flight back to the east coast.

Despite my reasoning, my best friend insisted that I join her at a local rooftop gathering that she assured would be the “chilliest” New Year’s welcome. As if that’s even possible. Somehow I managed to get ready in record timing. Probably because I slipped on only a pair of 6 inch stilettos, black halter and leather pants. Since I was uncertain if my eyes would be giving owl by midnight, I opted for a pair of shades and was out.

As soon as I stepped out on the rooftop, I saw him and I immediately wished I had worn something more sexy. Though, he didn’t seem to mind.

I tried to ignore the excitement in the pit of my stomach as he slipped a word or two to the group he was with and made his way towards me. I glanced down at my vibrating phone. A text from my childhood friend whom I spent Christmas with, celebrating the first Christmas of my Goddaughter. I should have known she and that husband of hers would stay home. They have one kid and suddenly can’t take a solo trip to the bathroom without a plan of action.

“Sorry, sis, I should have told you. Hope you enjoy the evening with Chad. Catch up later? Happy New Year!”

Linea. I should have known she was up to something when she seemed a lil too relaxed about what to wear for the evening. She didn’t interrogate me on which colors I was wearing or which heels. No questions about my hair. Just a simple, get dressed. A forwarded address and a promise that the night would be eventful but chill enough for me to make my early flight.

Though I planned to get on her case in the morning, my smile betrayed me when he looked at me with those genuine eyes and broad grin.

“Amalia,”

“Chadwick,”

He exhaled, reaching out for me. I molded into his embrace perfectly, drawing in his scent and cologne as I relaxed against him. His arms tightened around my waist when I didn’t let go. With my arms encircling his neck, I lifted on the tips of my heels to get closer to his ear.

“I miss you,”

His embrace tightened again. “I’ve missed you too,” his lips brushed against my neck and I felt my body draw closer. “Amalia,”

“Yes,”

“I can’t breathe,”

We shared a laugh and I finally stepped back to release him. I wiped at his face where I imagined my hair had been. Then straightened my halter.

“Whew,” he ran a hand over his tapered hair, scanning the crowd around us.

“What was that for,” I playfully pushed his chest. His gaze played with mine as he caught my hand before I pulled it away.

“Where are you staying,”

I scanned the seriousness in his eyes. “Hotel,”

“Let’s go.”

I waited for him in the lobby. He apologized, sharing that he had to make a stop. I didn’t care. I pulled him to the elevators and pressed my body against his when others joined us. His hand rested on my torso, his long fingers pressed against my stomach, drawing me closer. The opening of my halter allowed me to feel the warmth of his skin against mine. He groaned behind me near my ear and it’s all I could think about as the elevator came to a stop on two floors. An elder woman dropped her water bottle and struggled with her luggage, delaying us on the second floor as she relied on Chad’s assistance before the elevator could finally continue on to the third floor.

The moment we made it through the doors, our bodies closed the gap between us. Our hands tore at clothes separating our bodies. I couldn’t believe he was here and I wanted to savor every moment. Standing only in my stilettos, satin bra and panties, I slowed us both down with a kiss to his lips. Cupping his face, feeling the hair of his beard in my palms. Smelling the soothing spice of his cologne. The warmth of his hand on my lower back and the curve of my ass. Calm fingers teasing at the entrance of my panties. My body pushed closer. Pelvis to pelvis. Bra covered breasts to his covered chest. His tongue deepened our kiss just as his hands lowered under the back of my thighs, lifting me from the floor. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on. We were moving from the lounge area, through the small kitchen and to the bed. Between our kisses, I pushed at his open collared shirt and coordinated jacket. They fell to the carpeted floor in silence. His chest was broad like I remembered. More toned and muscular. I pressed my breasts against his bare chest and covered his lips with mine.

His groan against my lips made me want to touch him. I slid from his waist, feeling the bulge in his pants before seeing it. I reached to pull him out but his hands covered mine. My eyes shot up at his. I pouted, realizing he was stopping me.

“Chad,”

“I wasn’t anticipating things to go this far when I planned to see you,”

“It hasn’t gone far enough,” I whined, playfully.

“When I realized we might—I made a stop to get condoms but I forgot them in the car.” He flashed an apologetic smile.

I contemplated. Without words, I continued what I started. I unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, slipping a hand inside his briefs. I watched his lids close and tension strain his eyebrows when my fingers played with the hairs around his penis. I pushed my hand deeper, wrapping my hand around the base of his erection and squeezed. He groaned and I watched him until his eyes opened, squinting down at me. “I want you to fuck me, Chad,”

“Amalia,” his voice was strained. Then, in one motion, he pulled my hand out of his pants and picked me up off my feet. My back was on the bed and the warmth and weight of his body made me so horny and satisfied. My legs spread to welcome him closer. Behind the fabric of his pants, his erection teased at my pussy. His lips left mine to trail kisses and small bites to my neck. He made noises near my ear before his weight shifted. His fingers gently pulled at my panties and I lifted my hips for him to remove them. I opened my eyes, lifted myself on my elbows and gasped at the sudden flickering of his tongue between my legs. I laid back. The ceiling was unstable in my vision.

“Chad,” my fingers gripped his hair just as his tongue circled my clit and my eyes closed against the pleasure.

“You’re so wet,” he groaned against my pussy. I felt his fingers slide inside of me but I wanted more. I wanted him. “Can you be patient?”

My eyes shot open. I was back on my elbows to look down at him. His eyes held mine as he kissed my pussy softly. “I have to go to the car.”

“I may be asleep when you return,”

“I highly doubt that,”

I smiled. “Hurry up, please.”

To be continued …