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chappellroansdreamgirl · 6 months

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good luck, babe! [e.w x fem!reader.]

chapter one.

author's note!<3 - this is inspired by chappell roan's unreleased song good luck, babe! i lllloooovveee chappell roan! this was originally going to be just a LONG ASS one-shot but i don't think i can write any more tonight 😭😭 . BUT I REALLY WANNA PUBLISH IT SO HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS LIKE IT!!!! also forgive me if there's any grammar/spelling errors... i'm posting this at 12:59 am🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶 . reblogs and comments are SO appreciated!!! i busted my ass for y'all 🤗 .

content warnings - SLIGHT angst, reader has internalized homophobia and is outright homophobic to ellie, reader is in the closet, ellie is a lovergirl and she's going through the five stages of grief, modern!au, reader gets sexually assaulted/harrassed, LET ME KNOW IF I MISSED ANYTHING ELSE!!!!

special thanks to!!!!: @sharkfemme and @dykedearest FOR HELPING ME OUT!!!!!! and also LYNN AND MAXIM!!! ALL FOUR OF YOU ARE AMAZING BETA READERS I'M KISSING YOU ALL THROUGH THE PHONE RN!!!

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it's fine, it's cool.

ellie's grip on her glass got impossibly tighter as her eyes never left your figure, your body swaying to whatever shitty mainstream pop music that was playing.

ellie williams hated secrets. she hated surprises, and she hated being in love with you.

she hated the way you would ghost her after spending a week at her apartment. she hated the way you would stop responding to her texts after you would leave. she hated the way she would let you back in when you needed her, she hated how much she loved to comfort you. she hated how gentle you were when it was just the two of you, compared to how cruel you got in public.

you can say that we ain't nothin' when you know the truth.

ellie took her hand off the glass and gripped the bar table instead, afraid that if she broke another glass she'd be banned from the bar.

you were like forbidden fruit to her, or maybe that was what she was to you.

she knew you weren't ready to come out of the closet. she understood that. so, why keep on playing this fucking game with her?

why did she even still feed into it?

i guess i'm, the fool.

the closet was made out of glass, really. you would stare at every woman's body that passed you, your eyes would scan up their short dress, she could see the curiosity and desire in your face.

but every single time after you two would hook up, there was always a new excuse.

"i'm not a fucking lesbian, ellie. i just... don't like men sometimes." sometimes?

"they're just stupid thoughts... it's not like i could ever be with a woman." but you had been. you had been with her.

"ok but... do you even count as a woman? you wear boxers, you don't even know the meaning of the term ladylike and... i don't know- look at your fuckin' hair! the closest you'd get is a transwoman." that one had hurt her. she didn't talk to you for a month after you made that comment. and then you appeared in her apartment complex hallway, sobbing hysterically.

and of course, she took you back.

like she always does.

with her arms out like an angel, through the car sun-roof.

she hated playing this fucking game with you. it was killing her.

every single time she'd see you at this bar, she imagined you dragging her onto the dancefloor. she imagined being able to walk out with your hand in her's, waking up to your groggy groans when the sun invaded the sacred space of your shared bedroom, you'd hide your face in her neck, mumbling something about, "shouldn't have drank that much last night."

every single time you pulled this shit on her, it felt like her already shattered heart broke off into impossibly tinier pieces.

"i wish you were a boy." crack.

"it's not easy for me like it is for you, els. i don't know the first thing about being proud of myself." crack.

"this hurts me more than you, baby." shattered. her heart was shattered.

it hurts you more than her?

the fucking audacity.

the nights she spent crying next to your sleeping figure.

the hours she'd spent texting you and checking her phone second after second after goddamn second.

the way she would ignore every single obligation she had to pick you up from whatever shit-hole situation you had found yourself in, immediately and happily dropping anything to make sure you were ok.

and it hurt you more than it hurt her?

you didn't know shit about hurt. about misery. about love.

i don't wanna cut it off!

her friends had told her to cut you off. her therapist said in his own professional shrink way that you would never be good for her. at least not while you weren't even good for yourself.

but she couldn't let you go. it seemed like every reason that she had to leave you, fuelled her determination to stay.

but you don't wanna call it love!

every single time you somehow broke her heart in a new way, she fell harder in love with you.

you just wanna love someone that calls you baby!-

ellie was pulled out of her internal anger when your eyes met hers. although it was only a few seconds ago, it felt like she was staring into your eyes for an eternity.

don't fuckin' wave, ellie. look away- LOOK AWAY. , she thought to herself as she was unable to look away from your beautiful irises.

you had this slight smile on your face, the dancefloor's led lights adding a shimmer to your already twinkling eyes.

it felt like her melancholy thoughts had lifted and increased all at the same time by the sight of you acknowledging her presence.

ellie went against her better judgement, her slender hand flying up to wave at you. her lips quirked upwards gently as she scanned your delighted face.

your light expression quickly turned into one of frustration, suppressing your grin with a tightening of your lips before pulling the nearest man close to you in for an unexpected kiss, opening your eyes once you knew the mystery man's were closed, locking your eyes onto ellie's before closing them once more.

the light had died in ellie's stomach after that. her happy hand that was raised in the air faltered painfully back to her side as she watched the man's hands roam down from your sides... to your waist... to your ass.

you can kiss a hundred boys in bars,

those butterflies that she had just felt in her tummy had died slowly, turning into knots of anguish.

she watched your hands cradle the man's face. those same hands that had counted each and every freckle on her face on a snowy morning that had you both stranded in her apartment.

those same hands that had a death-grip on her back as you sobbed into her shoulder every other weeknight as she tried to muffle her own cries.

those same hands that had shoved her violently as she finally tried to stand her ground one afternoon you showed up knocking on her door. "you know what... fuck you, ellie! i don't know why i keep on doing this shit with you anyways." you said, before storming off. you called her later that night. she answered. "i'm sorry, els. i'm sorry, i'll do better, i'm so sorry-" , "it's ok, baby. it's ok. i know you didn't mean it. you're ok baby, i forgive you."

shoot another shot, try to stop the feeling!

she would've stayed in that seat, stewed in her anger for a bit more before the tears inevitably came falling down if it wasn't for the way the dude's hands creeped under your skin-tight jeans and how you flinched away from his grasp, breaking the kiss immediately with a nervous giggle creeping up.

the guy obviously took it as an invitation to do more, placing his hand back on your waist and agressively pulling you closer.

you can say it's just the way you are,

ellie's head tilted as she watched this go down.

what she wanted to do was launch that creep into the nearest wall and make sure he never tainted your body again. but she didn't want to get up too soon, she wanted to be certain that you needed help, whether you wanted it or not.

your hand stopped him from coming any closer, placing it right before his chest. you said something along the lines of, "don't want to do anything." .

make a new excuse, another stupid reason-

instead of him being a decent human being and leaving you alone, his face quickly turned into one of anger. his jaw jutted out as he tried to pull you in again, leaving you thrashing against his body.

how was no one else seeing this? why was no one else doing anything?!

she didn't even have time to process what she was about to do. her feet were on the ground, marching their way towards you before she could even think about her course of action in a smart way.

"let me go, fuckin' creep!" she heard you shriek as she grew closer to you, attempting to elbow him in the chest.

ellie felt like no matter how fast she was walking, she would never make it to you in time.

he laughed tauntingly as he grinded against. "i'm the creep, bitch?! you kissed me f-"

his last word was stolen from him as ellie forcefully pushed him off you with and landed a blow against his nose.

he groaned in pain, falling to the ground as he cradled his now-broken-nose.

you gasped in shock and horror. "what the fuck, ellie?!" you scolded her. as if you would've been fine on your own.

she ignored your words though, pulling the guy's hand away as she forced another punch to his face.

now people were finally looking.

she didn't stop until she felt your hands on her stomach, pulling her away from the scene.

"she fuckin'... said... no!..." ellie's voice thundered, erratic breaths in between her words before bringing one last painful kick to his face before letting you lead her out of the bar and into the night air.

you didn't stop even after you two were at the entrance door of the establishment, you made sure the two of you were far enough away that ellie wouldn't be caught if the police were called.

she couldn't help but feel those stupid fucking butterflies again as your hand gripped hers and felt a little disappointed when you dropped it, suddenly all too aware that you were still in public.

her green eyes met your own, yours filled with anger and chaos... hers filled with love.

"hey, swan." the auburnette sighed out simply, that stupid love-grin back on her face as she was finally close to you.

your eyebrows furrowed in disbelief as your hands went to massage your temples. you let out a humorless giggle. "you're so... fucking stupid, ellie!" you exclaimed, shoving her chest as if she was in the wrong.

her grin turned into a confused frown as she surrendered her hands in the air, her eyebrows mirroring your own now. "wh-wh....what-"

good luck, babe!

"god, you have this severe goddamn saviour complex or some shit!... i was fine! i was fucking fine on my own before you marched in and assaulted that guy."

well good luck, babe!

you gaslighted beautifully, defending the man you knew nothing about over the woman who was fatally in love with you, she almost believed you.

ellie's frown turned into an angry smile as she brought a hand to gently wipe over the bridge of her nose, a mannerism of her's she had developed whenever she got frustrated with you.

"assau-... ok, sure-... you wanna talk about assault, baby? that fuckin' guy would've assaulted you if i didn't step in. he was assaul-"

you shut your eyes tightly the way you do when you wanted to block something out that ellie was obviously right about. you shook your head stubbornly. "gggoddd ellie- it was my fault! i wanted it and then i didn't. i shouldn't have- i shouldn't have kissed him in the first place. i gave him mixed signals, i-"

you'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling!-

your eyebrows grew dangerously closer to your face as you cradled your head in your hands.

ellie was quick to walk right back to you, caressing your arms.

"what? baby, no. no, it's not your fault... that- that fuckin' guy... hey... look at me, sweetheart." she cooed lovingly.

good luck, babe!

you slowly brought your hands away from your face, meeting her breathtaking green eyes.

you wanted to fall into her arms, you wanted to thank her for coming to your rescue and kiss her and confess to her how scared you truly were.

but you didn't. you never did.

your slightly calm expression that came over you once you met your secret lover's gaze turned into one of annoyance. ellie was, like always, taken by surprise as you thrashed against her grip, just like the way you did with that monster in the bar.

good luck, babe!

ellie's eyes blurred with tears as she watched your face turn into a grimace.

"fuck you, ellie." you said quietly as you broke free from her hands, storming off into the night. leaving her. like always.

you'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling.

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venomous-qwille · 8 months

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hi qwille!!! I got questions for u! you have lots of characters planned out, and that’s super cool! but how do u usually go about that process? like all your characters are very unique, and I wonder about the design process, as well as how you make their personality distinct! how do you make character dynamics/relationships? because all the scenes I’ve read so far make the characters feel really organic, and mesh really well together! (sorry for all the questions! I’m super curious ^w^)

Hiya! Here is an answer I wrote for this question on discord recently ^^

I will try answer this as thoroughly as possible!

There was a LOT of kill your darlings involved in making characters for gitm. Originally I had a very long list of character ideas that I cut down and down based on the kind of things and themes they would give me the opportunity to write about. I love long ensemble cast stories, thinking back to ones I particularly enjoyed and the ways those characters gelled together helped me a lot. The most important thing when selecting characters was making sure they would give me something interesting to write about! I was also very keen on ones that let me explore the fics main theme of Family from a different angle. I'm not sure how helpful this all is! But yeah, I try to be pretty strict with myself about what I include. The only reason I would include two characters who were very very similar would be to emphasize a difference/divergence between them later on. Characters have to justify themselves by bringing something unique to the table, even if that thing is just a 'very different outlook on life' to the rest of the cast. Over time a lot of those character ideas became more fleshed out in my brain, and characters that were cut from the original shortlist made their way back in. They still have to be able to narratively justify themselves in order to earn a channel in the discord though!

For the gitm guys, while I dont have a literal sheet I fill out I do make sure to answer a couple of basic character work questions: What lie do they believe about themselves/the world? How does it impact the way they interact with others? What central theme do they embody most? What do they want more than anything else? How do they feel about humans? Who are they at their best and who are they at their worst? I found that by answering these sort of questions it helped me discover more about them, which creates more questions- rinse and repeat. The more questions I answered the further away they would get from each other in terms of similarities. The thing that really helped with the gitm boys, especially because their origins are so similar, was leaning in to how different their experiences were post-fazco. They are different people because the world has made them that way. Messing around with foils has been useful too! Characters are no fun in a vacuum, it's how they interact with others that makes them interesting. I like to create ones that will bring out the best and the worst in each other. I think about opposites a lot and I really like narrative symmetry- what lessons can the characters learn from each other? I find that stuff super exciting to read so I really wanted to include it. Some examples of character foils in gitm: Fool & Noon, Sombra & Sunspot, Misuta & Sol

When it comes to finding character voice, I do a lot of test drabbles (a couple of them are on this server), which I use to just fuck around until I find something that feels right. For instance- Sol was very very easy to find the voice of, where as Misuta took weeks of rewrites. Sometimes things take time. Spending this time figuring out their voices at the start really helps fic consistence in the long run, I think. Because of all that prep, I don't really have to do anything to 'get into character' when writing their dialogue (it's fairly second nature now).

In regards to coming up with a character's arc, I look at them and their themes and ask 'what the fuck happened to you, dude?' and then 'how has that entrenched a faulty world view on you?' 'what could you be driven to do because of that world view/misunderstanding?' 'what would it take to fix this world view/misunderstanding?' (the last question is the most important one!). Then voila, you have a very loose framework of a (hopepunk) character arc.

In regards to the actual planning of the fic/character arcs, I have a very big miro board (pic attached) that I use for all this! Most of the major character beats are marked out separately to plot beats etc etc. There are still a bunch of bits that only reside in my brain, but I do try to add them to my plan as soon as they become any kind of concrete. All of the characters also have a background chapter (or rather, a series of chapters that form a short story) attached to their arc, that will recontextualise everything you have learned about them so far! I am so deeply looking forward to dropping these (I already have quite a lot written).

I would say that- for your question on character relationships- the answer does come down to being really specific about what you include. Make sure characters are meaningfully different from eachother, give them goals and experiences that clash and then force them to live/work together in the same space. If you have put time into building your characters before that, then you just need to create opportunities for them to get into conflict and bring out the best/worst in eachother. I really do believe that characters are quite boring in a vacuum- which is why I put so much emphasis on including narrative foils ^^ Tyvm for the ask <3

#gitm au #ghost in the machine au #ghost in the machine #asks answered #fnaf dca #qwillewrites #qwillechatter

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ficmashup · 10 months

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Feral

A/N: I'm feeling silly, so why not post an almost 3k little fic of TF141? I have literally no thoughts other than 'hey, why not' so no clue if I'll continue this or not. Just fooling around! This is my first time posting anything like this by me, so don't come for me if I got the terms wrong. Also, I'm a first-person girly, so forgive me.

Warnings: I'm pretty vague, but for full disclosure, possible SA mention? (Nothing explicit or even mentioned, but more a general vibe, sorry that's not more specific) shooting, guns, very minor character deaths, f!reader

Word Count: 2.9k

Read part two here.

Masterlist

I’m absolutely feral and determined to make sure everyone knows it.

Being in a male-dominated field hasn’t been easy and I’ve tried a lot of avenues before settling on this one. Something about being a female medic just really seems to set off everyone’s internal misogyny and nothing shuts them up faster than the little female medic literally punching their teeth in. I get into three fights my first month after being assigned to the 141.

The first fight I get into, I nearly bite a man’s finger off. (He was pointing it in my face and I warned him before going for it, so—deserved.) The second, I punch a man so hard while he’s talking that he bites off the tip of his tongue. (If he wanted to keep it intact, then he should have stopped wagging it.) During the third, I come away holding a chunk of a soldier’s hair. (He touched mine without permission and gave it a little tug. Enough said.)

After that, people seem to get the message. There are still a few smartasses that press their luck, but usually those situations are diffused without physical means. My relationship with my team however…that’s a bit more complicated.

I meet each of them when I arrive, the hulking soldiers lined up like pallbearers waiting for the coffin. I shook their hands, exchanged names, then didn’t say another word. None seemed to know exactly how to react to me and I wasn’t sure how to act around them. We’re supposed to trust each other with our lives, but I wouldn’t trust a single one to pour me a cup of tea. They struggle too, but for different reasons. They’re clearly close and know each other well, that’s why they’re such a deadly team, and I’m an outsider. A suspicious and cautious outsider, although I try to temper my attitude into passive indifference while I try to figure them out.

Naturally, Soap tries to break the ice first.

“You’ve got a thousand-yard stare that could rival Ghost’s, lass.” He comments one day in a charming Scottish accent as he risks sitting next to me in the mess hall. “You can bend my ear, if the fancy strikes ya.”

“I doubt that it will.” My voice is cool, indifferent, and I can’t keep myself from leaning away from him a bit. Too many times did I let myself trust another service member only for the friendship to quickly turn into something else. Something I did not want.

Soap quirks a brow and takes the cold shoulder in his stride. “But if it does. Don’t hesitate to find me.” He pats my shoulder before walking off and I feel the stirrings of something in my stomach as I watch him go. Loneliness, longing, the desire to be part of…something. I shake my head and throw away the rest of my food as I leave the mess hall, trying to ignore that little ember flickering in my gut.

* * *

Gaz tries next, but it’s a bit more subtle. Be it by luck or some other divine intervention, none of the team were ever present when I got into the fights. But they definitely heard about them afterward. There’s no judgement in their gazes, I’m sure they heard why I got into those fights, but there is curiosity. Gaz shifts a touch closer after a briefing about an upcoming mission and I clock the movement instantly, my eyes cutting to his. Gaz’s eyebrows pop up and the corner of his mouth lifts warmly. “Heard you were in a hell of a fight recently.” He starts, an elbow propped up on the arm of the chair he’s relaxed back into.

“Her last.” Price says with a pointed glance towards me and I nod, but we both know I didn’t start any of the fights. I simply ended them.

“The boys telling the tale were practically shaking in their boots.” Gaz presses on and I can’t help feeling a brief bit of pleasure at that. Price distracts himself with maps and papers on the other side of the table, but I’m not foolish enough to think that he isn’t listening. Soap perks up, turning to me as well while Ghost lurks near the door.

“Glad to hear the message got across.” I keep my voice low with little inflection. Usually I’m up and out the door after a meeting, but since everyone else is lingering, I figure I can give it a chance.

There’s a quiet hum from behind me that has my back straightening. “Trying to scare off the whole base?” Ghost asks and it’s the first time he’s asked me anything directly.

My head turns so that I can see his silhouette behind me. “Not all of us strike an imposing figure and wear a scary mask. Sometimes people have to see the blood on your teeth to know that you mean what you say.” I keep my voice soft to avoid the appearance of a threat, but let the words have an impact. Gaz and Soap glance at one another while Price’s hands stall over his papers across the table. A beat passes, then Ghost huffs what could almost be considered a laugh. The sound gives me a strange sense of relief as the tension over the room breaks.

“Can’t wait to see you sink your teeth into the enemy then, sergeant.” The corner of my mouth lifts and I nod, glad to have the opportunity to prove myself. I turn a bit more in my seat to see Ghost’s piercing eyes and don’t flinch away.

“I’ll save a blood-stained smile just for you, Lieutenant.” I promise and I think I hear Gaz swallow while Soap blinks. Ghost responds with a simple nod and I swear I see the fabric of his mask shift as he smirks before he slips out of the room.

* * *

The first real test comes when we’re sent out on our first mission together.

A month after I’m stationed with them, we’re sent out and it’s a bit jarring for all of us. They’ve been on their own for a while and introducing a new person into that dynamic…it’s enough to make everyone a bit off-center. But I’m used to sliding into places that I’m not wanted and I’m not about to be an idiot and risk everyone’s lives by being difficult, so I tuck myself into the small gaps left by the men. It’s not like they don’t want me here anyway, they’re just…apprehensive. Same as me.

We spend the first day trekking up a mountain through snow and I push myself hard, wanting to prove myself and leave no room for anyone to call me lazy or unfit. The entire day, I’m on Price’s heels as he leads us and I soak in his nod of approval despite myself as we file into an empty cabin for the night. I’m utterly exhausted, but I force myself to look through the house to memorize the layout before returning to the living room. Soap is eagerly setting up the hot plate for us to have a hot meal, even if it is an MRE, while the others are laying out their sleeping bags. They lay them in a row and I watch with trepidation as I put my bag down in a corner of the room, then sit alongside it as I rest for just a minute.

My eyes shut before I realize and I only become aware of it when I hear boots stop in front of me and they snap open. I look up instantly to see Price standing over me and I shove myself up onto my feet, teetering just slightly as I focus on his face. “Sir?”

“At ease.” He soothes and my shoulders lax just a touch at the command. “It’ll get below freezing tonight, so we’re huddling together. I’ve put you between Soap and I, but you can settle where you want.” Price chooses his words carefully with his clear eyes looking over my face for a reaction, but it’s clear that this isn’t optional.

“…yes, sir.” I respond, glancing over at the spot left bare for my sleeping bag. Anxiety gathers in my stomach and my hands clench at my sides. “Permission to take first watch?”

He considers me a moment, fingers smoothing over his facial hair. “Granted.” I glide away to the other side of the house and perch on a window sill as I look over the snowy landscape. Soap is kind enough to bring me my MRE and stalls next to me for a few moments.

“Feel free to snuggle close tonight. Or kick me if I start to snore.” He winks at me and my lips barely twitch at his effort to relieve the tension I know is clear throughout my body. After that, no one bothers me as night falls. The cold seeps into the house and I keep myself curled into a ball to conserve body heat even as I shiver. My anxiety about the impending sleeping arrangements keeps me awake and alert easily enough, but I can’t keep watch all night.

“Oi.” Ghost’s deep whisper disturbs the near silence and my head whips to my left, seeing him standing a few feet away. He moved quietly. Impressive for a man of his size. “I’m taking over. Get some sleep and get warm.” He flicks his chin back towards the others. I swallow and reluctantly leave my perch, brushing past him before I feel his gloved hand catch my bicep. My hand clenches into a fist automatically as I turn back to him to find his gaze locked on mine, his eyes dark and considering.

“I don’t know your story. Price has kept your file under wraps and we trust him enough to accept that. But whatever you’ve been through, don’t assume that you’re going to go through the same thing with us.” I’m pinned in place by his gaze and his words, my eyes widening slightly. I hadn’t known Price was keeping my file to himself, but the show of consideration and loyalty surprises me. It also hits me deep.

“I hear you.” I whisper back and he lets me pull my arm from his light grip. “But I’m not about to trust anyone blindly.”

He nods once. “Fine. But don’t rule it out either.” He quirks a brow at me pointedly before pulling away and settling in my place in the window, effectively ending the brief conversation. His words swirl around in my head while I head over to the others and gather my sleeping bag in my arms as I squeeze it. I kneel on the floor and roll it out between Price and Soap while my heart thunders in my chest. I’m still shivering as I do my best to be quiet while unzipping my sleeping bag, then slip down into it. My shoulders bump against Soap and Price before I shrink, curving my shoulders inward to try not to touch anyone despite that very much not being the point of sleeping like this.

Price shifts and turns towards me while I freeze, still shivering in place while I hold my breath until I see that his eyes are still closed. I release a small sigh of relief before choking on it as his eyes flash open. My teeth sink into my bottom lip as an apology perches on my tongue, but he says nothing. Instead, he shifts a bit closer without taking his eyes off mine, then lays an arm next to me before holding his other up a bit. An invitation.

I swallow and blink a few times as I take in the offer. Out of everyone, Price is the easiest for me to be around. He treats me like anyone else, he keeps his distance, and while he doesn’t hesitate to wield his authority, he wears it lightly. “Make a choice, soldier.” He murmurs with a voice gruff and deep from sleep. My jaw locks as a violent shiver wracks me before I force myself to shimmy closer to Price. I’m not about to freeze my ass off because of idiocy or stubbornness. He takes that as my answer and reaches out, hands wrapping around me and gathering me to him. The only noise I make is a small squeak as he pulls me against his hard body and I melt almost instantly into his warmth.

He cradles my face against the warm crook of his neck with his cheek resting against the top of my head. His other arm wraps around my waist and his hips shift slightly so his legs drape over mine while still in our respective sleeping bags. Like a heavy blanket. My heart is still beating fast as a hummingbird’s wings while my body fights my mind, but luckily, I’m so cold and tired that instinct wins out. My eyes shut and I feel my cheeks heat as his hand falls to the back of my neck, his gloved fingers gently kneading the skin. “Thanks.” I breathe and his grip tightens around me for a moment before he releases a long breath, draping me in the scent of his cigars. I don’t hear Price make another sound because I’ve fallen asleep before he takes another breath.

* * *

Price wakes early the next morning and I feel it the instant that he moves. I pull away without hesitation and his arms fall from around me while I avoid his gaze, my cheeks hot. I’m quick to roll up my sleeping bag and check over my pack while I cool down a bit. The morning passes and no one says a thing about our sleeping arrangements despite every soldier having to pass by Price and I while they took watch. Their eyes linger between us a bit, but I’ll take that over any smart comments.

We move out and the mission goes smoothly enough. Gaz and I perch on a cliffside while the others clear a town below. He’s my spotter while I keep a steady eye on the areas they’re heading into through my scope. Being a medic means I have steady hands, which makes me a hell of a sniper.

“So…did you know the Captain before being stationed here?” Gaz says quietly, the first words not mission related that he’s said to me today.

I scoff softly and keep my eye glued to my scope. “No. And if this is a way to get me to talk about the position Price and I were in this morning, it’s a poor segway. It was cold. We were all pressed together like sardines. That’s the end of it.”

“Right, right, sure.” He agrees and silence falls over us again. For a moment. “Ghost and I spoon all the time. Soap too. Like three little peas in a pod.”

I snort, unable to keep the corner of my mouth from lifting. “And leave Price out? Criminal.”

Gaz chuckles and the sound is warm, especially in this cold landscape. “Oh we invite him. He just doesn’t usually show much interest.”

“Hm. He is the captain. Maybe he has higher snuggle standards.”

“You saying the rest of us aren’t snuggle material?”

“Your words, not mine.”

“Ouch, newbie. You strike for the heart.”

“I’m a sniper and a medic. It’s kind of my job.”

Gaz chuckles again and I realize that I’m actually…having fun? At least a little bit, anyway. “I’ll get a laugh out of you eventually, newbie.” My mouth opens to reply before I see a flash of movement in the town below.

Two figures pass by a second-floor window and I spot a hatch on the roof. I focus and take a breath as I aim at the hatch, waiting. I take a second to flick on my coms. “Two tangos on the northeast roof. Hold position.” The hatch begins to open while I remain steady, all my attention on that roof and my gun.

“Copy.” Price’s voice comes over the coms before there’s silence. The hatch opens and I wait for them both to get out, making sure it’s closed behind them before shooting. My breath funnels out of my chest and I make the shots without blinking, the action practically reflexive after so long in service. Both fall without getting to fire off a shot. I’m pretty sure I hear Gaz curse quietly beside me.

“Tangos down. You’re clear to move forward.” I report, heaving a relieved sigh as I see them move through the last stretch of town without incident.

“Copy, move out. Nicely done.” Price responds and I finally get to move out of my horizontal position. I stretch just a bit, wincing as my muscles pinch from being in the same position for so long, before I pack my gun and turn to Gaz who is shaking his head slightly.

“You took out those guys like a damn surgeon.”

The corner of my mouth lifts again as we head out. “Sniper and medic, remember? Let’s get out of here. Your comrades are missing their third pea in their pod.” I comment dryly and he grins, following me down the path where we agreed to meet the others.

“Did you just make a joke?”

“Absolutely not.”

“You did. I’m flattered to be the first one to hear it. Was starting to worry you didn’t have a sense of humor at all.” I roll my eyes and we keep arguing playfully as we go. Gaz reports my shots to the team, talking me up while I shake my head, but from then on, he calls me Surgeon. It catches on and the others follow suit, but more often than not, they just call me G.

#cod #cod mw2 #call of duty #fluff #angst #mw3 #possibly #tf 141 x reader #?#price x reader #captain price #price snuggles #he just looks cozy #price fluff

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epicbuddieficrecs · 5 months

Text

Weekly Recap | April 8th-14th 2024

Managed to put it out slightly earlier this time! 😆 This is still long af and there are still too many fics left in my ao3 inbox but maybe the mini hiatus will allow me to catch up!

As you can see I'm still enjoying podfics and I am happy to report that listening to Coma-Verse made me cry as much if not more as reading it 🙃 You can also looks forward to part 2 of my "BFF fic rec" series which will cover seasons 4 and 5, coming soon!

Enjoy! 😃

Complete

and with each one, i'm a little more free series by honestlydarkprincess/ @honestlydarkprincess (Post-S7E4, Coming Out):

settle (<1K | General): Buck comes out to Chimney. so let the words slip out of your mouth (1,7K | General): Buck comes out to Eddie.

kiss him once for me by 42hrb/ @exhuastedpigeon (S7E5 Spec, Jealous Eddie | <1K | General): Eddie was perfectly happy and accepting about Buck’s sexuality, in fact, he liked to think he was the ideal picture of a best friend when Buck had told him. So, nothing changed between them. Or at least, nothing changed until he sees Buck and Tommy kiss.

when we're barely awake in the heat of the day's weight by trysetmeonfire/ @try-set-me-on-fire (BuckTommy | 1K | Mature): Buck wakes up at Tommy’s place and they have a conversation about taking up space

like an empty bottle takes the rain by glorious_spoon/ @glorious-spoon (Post-S7E4, Sexuality Crisis | 1,2K | General): "I was wondering. You and Tommy—how did you know?" There's a soft intake of breath. "That I was into guys? Or that I was into him?" "Either." Eddie shrugs tightly. "Both."

Yes, Daddy by Tizniz/ @tizniz (PWP, Daddy Kink | 1,7K | Explicit): And really, the shit eating smirk that graces Buck’s too pink lips should have been Eddie’s warning. But he’s so used to his best friend’s antics that he’s become immune to them. Or, well he thought he had. “Yes, Daddy.”

don't stand a ghost of a chance (with you) by extasiswings/ @extasiswings (Post-S7E5, BuckTommy Breakup | 1,7K | Teen): Tommy isn’t stupid. He knows the score from the beginning. But. He’s only so strong. And Evan is both hot as hell and supremely adorable. So Tommy kisses him, and asks him out, and tells himself that maybe he’s just been reading the signs wrong. Maybe Evan and Eddie really are just…very…close friends. He’s imagining things. They’re friends—or maybe Evan has a crush—but that’s fine. Evan asked Tommy out. So Eddie is…a nonissue. Tommy tells himself that right up until he can’t anymore.

don't want to be a fool for you by fallingthorns/ @fallingthorns (Bachelor party, Madney Wedding Spec | 1,8K | Teen): Or, at both the bachelor party and the wedding reception, Buck looks at Eddie.

let’s get lost between the lines by wafflesofdoom/ @capseycartwright (BuckTommy, Post-S7E5 | 2K | General): “You handled that well,” Tommy said, as they left the restaurant and stepped out into this cool evening air. His words were soft, and gentle – genuine, even. As though he really meant it. Buck was baffled, frankly. “I handled that with as much grace as an elephant doing ballet,” Buck glared at his - his date? - incredulously. “Tommy, did you hit your head? Are you concussed? Do I need to take you to the emergency room?” or, after the eddie shaped hiccup of their first date, buck and tommy walk and talk - about coming out and why buck deserves a nice boyfriend.

good luck, babe by hattalove/ @hattalove (Outsider POV, Social Media fic, S7E5, BuckTommy Date | 2K | Teen): sometimes, when you've had a bad week, all you want is a romantic evening out with your wife over terrible pizza, and what you get instead is some kind of intricate gay ritual happening two tables away from you.

say my name and everything just stops by bellabrady (BuckTommy, Endgame Buddie, Getting Together | 3K | Not Rated): Or: Buck accidentally moans Eddie's name while making out with Tommy and it leads to some realizations.

behaving myself. by dylaesthetics (Secret Relationship | 3K | Teen): OR it’s just a regular day at fire station one-eighteen. No one’s acting weird. Nothing’s out of the ordinary. Everything's the same as it's always been. Right?

even for a phoenix (i’m getting tired) by hobbitprincess (Post-S5E18, Hurt Buck | 3K | Mature) : “You’re gonna be fine,” says Eddie again, and Buck hates that he can parse out the slight waver that wasn’t there the first time. Buck doesn’t have the heart to disagree with him, even if they both know it isn’t true.

This Old Love Has Me Bound by allyasavedtheday/ @littlespoonevan (Post-S7E4 | 3K | Teen): In an attempt to better understand his newfound bisexuality, Buck tries to figure out if he ever missed any signs with guys before. The universe keeps interrupting every time he's about to think about Eddie.

so much to say that's subject-sore by hattalove/ @hattalove (BuckTommy, Buddie Endgame | 3K | Teen): in which buck is convinced he's having commitment issues, tommy is there to hold his hand, and the tiramisu won't eat itself.

I get drunk on jealousy by heartbeatdiaz/ @loserdiaz (FWB BuckTommy, Endgame Buddie | 5K | Explicit): Eddie calls Buck in the middle of the night at a not so covenient time, words are said, feelings are revealed and Buck's strenght is tested.

shoot another shot (try to stop the feeling) by withmeornotatall/ @chronicowboy (Bachelor Party Spec, BuckTommy, Endgame Buddie | 5K | General): "He just. He won't let me in, Tommy. It's terrifying. I don't know how to help him because he's refusing to even admit there's something wrong." Buck scrubs a hand down his face. "I'm not crazy, am I? I'm not making things up? He's not himself, right?" (OR: eddie gets drunk and cuts a little too loose, buck tries to pick up the pieces and ends up getting more than he bargained for, and tommy is just happy he got to be with buck at least for a little while)

Threes Not A Crowd by Tizniz/ @tizniz (Buck/Tommy/Eddie, PWP | 5K | Explicit): Follow up to Buck's Boyfriends in which Buck's boyfriends take care of him. Incredibly well. (Part 2 of Buck's Boyfriends)

🔥 To Build A Nest (To Build A Home) by Kwills91/ @kwills91 (Post-S5E14, Getting Together | 9K | Teen): Five times Buck shows his love for Eddie via pebbling and the one time Eddie uses those pebbles to build a nest.

don't go breaking my heart. by dylaesthetics (S7E6 Spec, Madney Wedding, Getting Together | 13K | Teen): Coming to terms with being bisexual and being in love with his best friend is not how Buck expected to spend the month or so leading up to his sister’s wedding. But then again, life has shown time and time again that he has been put on this planet to suffer. - OR Buck can’t take it anymore and kisses Eddie in the middle of his sister’s wedding reception. He’s never been known for making good decisions. (Part 2 of heaven is you.)

🔥 Test Drive by ElvenSorceress/ @elvensorceress (PWP, Buck/Tommy/Eddie, Buddie Endgame | 28K | Explicit): In which Buck wants his boyfriend to give his best friend a queer awakening like he had. For no particular reason at all. While he also has the most inopportune "Oh" moment ever.

WIP

Both Bermuda and Golden (Lost but Doing Just Fine) by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (PWP, Threesome, BuckTommyEddie | 4/6 | 20K | Explicit): In which everyone has two hands and two holes and is keeping their options fluid. (Or: a collection of threesome fics.)

🔥 Things We're All Too Young to Know by Daisies_and_Briar / @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon S1-S6, S7 Spec | 125/? | 389K | Mature): This is a love story. Even if it doesn’t always look like it. Even if it doesn’t always feel like it. A look back on Eddie and Buck's lives up to now, and what led them to each other, interpreted from the current 9-1-1 canon.

What’s Your Order? by JJK/ @trenchcoatsandtimetravel (Post-S7E5, BuckTommy | 2K | Teen): 5 Times Buck Guessed Tommy’s Coffee Order + 1 Time He Didn’t Have To

🔥 Any Other Way by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon Divergent, S2 | 8/18 | 45K | Mature): In a switcheroo alternate universe, Buck spends young adulthood in the military, while Eddie, who has no idea Christopher exists, spends his twenties messing around, finally enjoying freedom away from his family’s expectations. When they both end up in Los Angeles, at the 118, some things are different, and others will be the same in any universe.

🔥 Cowboy With a One Track Mind by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon Divergence, Not A Firefighter Buck | 1/4 | 6K | Mature): Spin-off Sequel to Evan Buckley & the Coma-Verse of Madness - Chapter 7 (Land): Grieving and tortured, Evan Buckley has been living alone in Montana in a remote cabin for nearly a decade. After an incident that leaves him missing six months of his life, and suddenly in connection with a group of strangers from Los Angeles, Evan must decide whether to remain in his self-imposed exile, or take a chance at life again.

Podfics

🔥 [podfic] wedding bells by All_I_Ask/ @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove for renecdote/ @renecdote (Friends to Fiances | 10-20 min | General): The background noise of the movie and the warm weight of his best friend against his side is lulling Eddie towards a nap when Buck breaks the silence. “Do you want to get married?” “Sure,” Eddie answers sleepily. “Fall wedding?” “What?” Buck frowns, and Eddie realises: oh, he meant do I want to get married generally not to him specifically. Then Buck is asking, “Why fall?”

🔥 [podfic] do you love me? all you gotta do is say yes by All_I_Ask/ @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove for fleetinghearts/ @shitouttabuck (Outsider POV, Friends to Fiances | 30-45 min | Teen): or, two boy best friends and an ex lover walk into a grocery store. everyone is on their normalest behaviour.

OK with being OK [Podfic] by blackglass/ @blackestglass // fic by S_lycopersicum/ @slycopersicum-in-disguise (Post-S5, Coming Out | 10-20 min | Teen): Buck was about 10 minutes away from the firehouse when his phone pinged. "Message from Eddie Diaz," Hildy's too-smooth voice announced, and Buck laughed at how Eddie's face would scrunch at Hildy knowing his business. "Wait in your car when you get here. I need to talk to you before we go in" Oh shit.

🔥 [Podfic] rainbows have nothing to hide by slipofthetongue/ @burnthatbridge for hattalove/ @hattalove (Getting Together | 20-30 min | Teen): how is eddie diaz like kermit the frog? let buck and christopher count the ways. (Part 1 of the kermit verse)

🔥 [Podfic] Before the Night Fades by slipofthetongue/ @burnthatbridge // fic by MilenaDaniels/ @milenadaniels (Post-S4E14: Survivors, Outsider POV | 45-60 min | Teen): “I have a bottle of champagne, four champagne flutes, one engagement ring to go into one of those champagne flutes, and a note to deliver it all to table 34 with dessert,” Tomas explains, wide-eyed, throwing his hand back to the prep station where said champagne is waiting on ice next to four flutes and a small ring box. “Okay?” “Okay so there’s two men and two women and I have no idea who’s getting proposed to. I’m not even 100% on who came with who." --- Or, EddieAna and BuckTaylor double date and it ruins everyone's night.

🔥[Podfic] Close My Eyes and Stumble (Right Into Your Love) by Ceewelsh/ @mayonnaisetoffees // fic by HMSLusitania/ @hmslusitania (Canon Divergent, S1, Dispatcher Eddie | 2.5-3h | Mature): Eddie's PTSD is just that little bit worse and when he moves to Los Angeles, instead of joining the LAFD, he joins dispatch. Which is all good and fine, except for this one firefighter he keeps ending up talking to.

🔥[Podfic] i did, i did, i do by Ceewelsh/ @mayonnaisetoffees // fic by @hattalove (Canon Divergent | 30-45min | Teen): or the one in which, a couple of weeks after meeting each other, buck and eddie fell in love, broke up, and then forgot to fall out of it.

🔥The Evolution of Buddie [Podfics] by MistMarauder/ @gracieryder for InsaneJuliann/ @marvelingjules (Post-Shooting, Getting Together, Eddie Coming Out, Warning: Homophobia)

[Podfic] Someone Told Me Not to Cry (It's a Lie) (20-30min | Teen): Eddie's fine, he is. Really. He keeps telling himself that until he accidentally calls Buck in the middle of the night after a nightmare.

[Podfic] Just Bros being Bros (45-60min | Teen): It's totally normal to kiss your best friend on the cheek. Eddie has no idea why everyone keeps giving him looks and thinking there's more there.

[Podfic] I was Sinking (Somehow I Forgot) (45-60min | Teen): Eddie tries to figure out just what he may or may not be feeling for Buck. Really, it only leaves him with more questions than any actual answers. His mind keeps twisting around, unable to let him settle with any certainty.

[Podfic] Ready to Suffer, Ready to Hope (S3E18 | 45-60min | Teen): Buck's the one hurting this time, and Eddie wants to help, but he's not sure how, or if he even can. Maybe, he was wrong before. Maybe everyone was. Because clearly, Buck's not as over Abby as everyone seemed to think.

[Podfic] Hard to Learn to Love (45-60min | Teen): Buck's helping Eddie fix Abuela's porch. Eddie's pretty sure he's possibly going to do something stupid, because he can't stop thinking about how much he wants to kiss his best friend.

[Podfic] Someday (Gonna be Free) (45-60min | Teen): Karen points out to Eddie that maybe, his ideas of what a relationship has to look like are something he needs to reassess. She lends him a book, and before Eddie knows it, he's having one epiphany after another.

[Podfic] Bittersweet Triumph (1-1.5h | Teen): Eddie's parents drop by for an unexpected visit. The only thing Eddie can think to do is damage control. Eventually they'd leave, right? Eventually, he could relax again. But he's quickly reaching a breaking point, and he's not sure what'll be on the other side of it.

[Podfic] Pivotal Moment (1-1.5h | Teen): Eddie's stood up to his parents, but of course it can't be that easy. They're still in his house, and Eddie's just waiting for the other shoe to drop. He's frustrated, angry, scared even - and worried about so much at once he can't relax. It's not only leaving Eddie on edge, but Buck seems more and more tense, too.

[Podfic] Hello My Old Heart (1-1.5h | Teen): Eddie needs to check his parents have left - and either way, there's a lot he needs to work through about their visit. Good thing he has family, friends, and Buck to help him figure it all out. And maybe, it's time for him to start showing his hand more, with them all.

[Podfic] Unlearning Lonely After So Long (1-1.5h | Teen): It's the next morning, Buck's still there and making breakfast, and Eddie's realizing that while yeah, the list of things he needs to talk about - with Buck and others - definitely doesn't fill him with anything close to happiness, the rest of it? It's a kind of happiness he hasn't felt in a while.

[Podfic] The More Things Stay the Same (Getting Together | 30-45min | Teen): Eddie's realizing that, now that he's dating Buck, it's not that much different from before, really - except for the increased touching and kissing. That's new. Maybe that's why no one's caught on yet, and they're able to keep it to themselves for now.

🔥 Evan Buckley & The Coma-Verse of Madness by Daisies_and_Briars [Podfic]/@cal-daisies-and-briars by Rhea314 (Rhea)/ @rhea314 (Coma AU, Multiverse | 7-10h | Teen): After being struck by lightning on a call, Buck experiences a plethora of alternate realities showing him different directions his life could have taken. Fighting hard to get home, Buck learns what, or who, is important to him in every lifetime.

Re-Read

🔥 Ace of Hearts by glorious_spoon/ @glorious-spoon (Post-S6, Getting Together | 9K | Teen): "I've been wondering…" Maddie pauses, watches Buck make a face like he's bracing to be smacked. "What happened with Eddie? You two were dancing around it for so long, and then… what, it just didn't work out? Was the date really that bad?" She's expecting another wince, or even for him to duck out of the conversation entirely, but instead Buck is staring at her like she's grown a second head. "Maddie. I've never been on a date with Eddie." Or: the poker game was a date. It takes Buck a while to catch on, though.

🔥 all good things come to an end (but it's not the end) by wafflesofdoom/ @capseycartwright (Pre-S4, Quarantine, Friends with Benefits | 10K | Explicit): “Okay, hear me out,” Buck said. "What if we have sex?” Eddie could be forgiven for choking on his own breath, given how out of the blue Buck's suggestion was. “What?” “You’re my best friend," Buck gestured vaguely. "And in case you hadn’t noticed, we’re living through an actual plague right now, so neither of us is actually getting any. So who better to have sex with than each other?" - or, craving intimacy during quarantine, buck and eddie strike up a friends with benefits situation. because it couldn't possibly go wrong.

#epic buddie fic rec #buddie fic rec #buddie fanfiction #buddie fanfic #buddie fic #bucktommy #bucktommy fic #bucktommy fanfic

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icedragonlizard · 10 months

Text

What if dream friends had dialogue in Star Allies?

I suppose it could've been a lot of unnecessary work for HAL to do, but I still think it could be highly fun and imaginative to think about.

How cool would it be if the game's plot actually acknowledged the existence of the dream friends? The things they'd say in-game, etc...

I think it would be especially fun to think about what all the different dream friends might saying during the mage sister fights. Like, y'know, the points of the game where there's dialogue. What they all might say to the mage sisters in response to their words....

... I'm not going to go over what I think every dream friend would say in these moments, but I think I'd like to focus on ones such as Susie, Magolor, Marx, Taranza and Daroach. Why these ones in particular? Because I think they'd probably be the more entertaining ones in what they'd have to say in their dialogue during the mage battles.

How funny would it be that Marx and Magolor just troll the shit out of the mages? How funny would it be that Susie acts condescending when talking to them? How funny would it be that Taranza joke-flirts with them, he doesn't actually mean it as he's just doing it to get them riled up? How funny would it be that Daroach tells them to watch out before he steals from them? This stuff is fanfiction-worthy! Heck, this might be the biggest reason why I might attempt my adaptation of Star Allies into a fanfiction in the future, although I've got many other fics planned beforehand so it'd be a long while.

But still! There could be endless potential when thinking about this.

Let me demonstrate an example. First, let's look at the part where the game first introduces Flamberge, and she's really angry.

"HEY, YOU! Stubby little...pink thing! Yes, YOU! I have a buuuurning question for you! You're the one who was so rude to sweet Francisca, aren't you?! Don't you dare try to deny it!"

"Ohohohohohohoho! We sure put that crazy blue lady in her place! What are you gonna do about it? Throw a temper tantrum? Go so berserk that you lose control and we can easily beat you?"

Wanna guess who said that? Hahahaha... the purple text probably made it obvious. In this interpretation, it's Marx who said that. There's no way he wouldn't just totally mock them and rub it in their faces. At the very least in my interpretation of Marx, it'd be like him to do that.

And by the way, I'm one that actually headcanons Marx becoming friends with the mage sisters post-HiAD because he loves how chaotic they are, and loves that they're willing to join him in doing insane shit (especially Francisca). But during Star Allies when the mages were the enemy? I bet he totally mocked the shit out of them!

Magolor, too. Here's a good example of Magolor having dialogue against one of the mages:

"Bonjam. I am Zan Partizanne, the eldest of the three generals of magic."

"Woah... Zan what? I didn't hear that thoroughly! I think I'll call you Zan Parmesan Cheese, though!"

".... I absolutely HATE that you ended up getting my name more right than a lot of other fools have."

It'd be hilarious to see a lot of dream friends trying to say her name. All the different ways they could say it wrong.

Here's a Taranza example:

"This must be the fiery flames of fate at work! Ooooh yeaaaah! My flames and I are fully stoked now!"

"Golly, you're really hot, good ma'am!" with a trollish look on his face.

"... Excuse me? EXCUSE ME?"

"Hahahahahaha! Am I making you overheat too much, fool?"

I think Taranza deserves to be depicted as silly sometimes.

A Daroach example:

"We wish to assemble the dark Jamba Heart pieces that were scattered across the universe."

"Woah... you want them all? That's a big bummer! What if I want to steal some of them? Maybe I'll still do it out of spite, teehee!"

I hate the limited amount of colors allowed for tumblr posts. To make it clear, for this example, the blue text is Francisca while the red text is Daroach. While, of course, Flamberge was the red text in the examples with Marx and Taranza, while Magolor was the blue text in the example with Zan.

And now, let me demonstrate a couple examples with Susie. I think she'd delightfully fire off on them like the feisty cheeky woman she is.

"I shall now turn this pink ball of nice into a frozen block of ice!"

"No you won't. This 'pink ball of nice' is a force of pure destruction, and you're going to defrost by daring to harm the universe with all of this insolent nonsense. You must be destroyed!"

"... Very well. But I won't go down without a fight, so you best watch out that you all might become ice sculptures this time. I can more than make sure of it!"

"We will more than make sure to obliterate you, just like the rest of your barbaric cult! Let's put her in her place, Pinky!"

Susie example with Zan:

"I did not expect you to survive your visit to Jambastion."

"You thought that would've gotten us? Pfft! We've all been through worse than that. You're going to have to try harder than that if you really want to eliminate us for good."

"Really, you survived worse? Well, that doesn't matter, because your luck has run out."

"No. Your luck has run out. We're going to exterminate all of you like the savages you are!"

This works out well with my interpretation that Susie's Japanese SA pause description containing the words "exterminate the savages!" is referring to the Jambastion cult when they were still the enemy. I headcanon that she's slowly in the process of unpacking baggage, and "savages" is just a thing she calls people she views as enemies.

And uh... to be honest, the cult kind of deserved to be called words like that during Star Allies when they were threatening everything.

I've done a lot of examples of a few dream friends having dialogue during the mage battles. But what about when confronting Hyness?

I think all the dream friends would be horrified at the moments that Hyness knocks Zan out of the way, weaponize all three mage sisters' bodies in his second phase of the fight, and then sacrificing them and himself to Void Termina. It would make them just flabbergasted.

Although I bet Marx would probably laugh at how unhinged he is.

"It seems... we do not have enough energy... to revive our Dark Lord... Must we... allow ourselves... to fall... into oblivion?"

"Yes, you should do that!"

"No."

"Yes."

"NO!"

"YES!"

"No no no no no!"

"Yes yes yes yes yes!"

"*goes on his giant unhinged rant*"

"*laughs hysterically* Look at you go off! It's hilarious!"

Marx is just... lmao.

Sorry that I don't have examples with every dream friend having dialogue in this post. But you get the general idea! Perhaps if you have ideas as to what the other dream friends could say in these moments, feel free to mention them in the notes!

Although I'll leave you here with a King Dedede example, just cuz:

"For what you've done, I'll scorch you to such a degree that... that... even tasty, toasty marshmallows will seem like ice cubes compared to you!"

"You ain't gonna be scorchin' any of us, ya hot fiery slimeball! We'll put you in your place like we did to the blue look-a-like of ya!"

Hahaha... ha... I interpret southern accent Dedede. Sue me.

Thanks for reading the post if you did! Let me know about more ideas of dream friend dialogue you have in the notes. I'd be curious what else you think in this broad, interesting concept.

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sirenlulls · 1 year

Text

baby i'm yours → g. gallagher

pairing —gene gallagher x albarn!reader

summary —where gene’s a bit of a cheeky bastard & you post a new podcast episode

baby, i'm yours, and i'll be yours until two and two makes three

♡ liked by lennongallagher, damonalbarn, and 66,987 others

genegallagher bitz n bobz

user blud was def giggling to himself choosing the second pic

↳ user "they're gonna think im so cool for this"

↳ user "everyone's gonna be so jealous I'm sleeping with the it girl of the millenium" WELL I AM JEALOUS. IM SEETHING WITH JEALOUSY. IM GREEN WITH ENVY. THANK YOU MR GALLAGHER. I HOPE UR HAPPY.

user step up the game bro not enough y/n

↳ genegallagher I'll work on it

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yourusername guys don't be fooled, he had no idea how to use the camera!!! he's a caveman!!!!

↳ genegallagher Smh this defamation is heartbreaking.

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user mum and dad

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ruby1kid Such angels xx Must meet up again soon!! Love you both 😘😘❤️❤️💋💋

↳ genegallagher Love you too xx

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♡ liked by lizzymcalpine, stellajones, and 86,799 others

yourusername look the lover to the beach (plus a hidden gem of moody chops junior + senior)

liamgallagher Who are you calling moody chops?

↳ yourusername no one special 😇

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genegallagher Don’t appreciate this.

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genegallagher You look okay I guess…….

↳ yourusername sleep on the couch xoxo

genegallagher Think those shells are still in my coat pocket

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↳ user only relationship ever

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gracieabrams hi wife

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bobbyskeetz beach.

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↳ genegallagher beach

↳ user gene is soooo sick of this shit lmao i eat it up all the time

user mother is mothering so hard y’all

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torukmaktoskxawng · 1 year

Text

tsamsiyu ta'em - a new leaf part one

Masterlist - part four

Summary: Kayla learns the way of the Omatikaya and gets to know a bit about her brother's family.

Pairing: Ronal/Tonowari/Original Female Character

Tag: #tsamsiyu ta'em fic

posted on ao3

Word Count: 6k+

Taglist: @mooniequeen @shit-i-say-shit-i-think @heart-an0n

Warnings: canon-compliant, canon-typical violence, mature language, adult content, slow burn, polyamory, found family, cool aunt agenda, alien/human (technically avatar), jake sully sister agenda, time skips, I'm trying to hurry up and get to the good parts so bear with me, fluff, angst, adopted spider, tags to be added

A/N: I both hate and love my fic's title. Every time I read it, I accidentally read it in my head as 'tiramisu' XD

When Kayla emerged from the Longhouse the next morning, Jake greeted her with a beaming, knowing smile. She did her best to glare at him, slightly defeated that he had convinced her to come back, but he wasn't deterred. He smiled genuinely, even when she shoved at him to get out of her space.

"Wow. Still not a morning person, huh?" He grinned.

"Get fucked." She hissed, a bit of a sore loser that way.

"Yikes. Still got a mouth, too," he laughs, genuinely surprised by the foul word. To be honest, he hasn't heard language like that in a while. It felt nice to get a small bit of that human culture back, even for a minute. With Kayla still used to that military lifestyle, Jake has a small part of his old routine pop back into him. "Could you do me a favor and maybe refrain from mouthing off in front of my kids? Neytiri would definitely blame me if she ever heard Tuk say 'shit' in her sweet voice."

Kayla snorts at the image of that playing in her head, "Sure. No problem."

"Kayla! Jake!" Norm, still in human form, waved over to them. The siblings walk in his direction while Jake looks around, sighting a group of Na'vi calling out to each other and getting ready to leave.

He taps Kayla's arm, "Hey, I have to be on this morning hunt. Norm will show you around and give you a better tour of the place. If he gives you a hard time, let me know."

"Copy that," she replied automatically, barely looking in Jake's direction before he gives up saying anything more and left, knowing when she was being dismissive. Kayla pushes on and meets Norm where he stood waiting, hands on his hips again as he watches Jake head in the opposite direction.

"Of course, he gets to go on the hunt and fool around while we do all the hard work," Norm playfully rolls his eyes, trying to lighten the mood, "That's Toruk Makto for ya."

"Huh?"

Norm peers up at Kayla oddly before a thought dawns on his face and he scowls to himself, "Right. Need to catch ya up to speed. We can do that while we work today. First I need to get into my avatar suit. Let's go."

He leads her back in the direction of the biolab, but they don't get far before Kayla is suddenly tackled into a tiny hug around her waist. The woman nearly falls back in shock, frozen about what to do when she looked down and recognized Jake's youngest kid beaming up at her with her thin, blue arms still wrapped around the taller woman's waist.

"My dad said that you're my auntie!" Tuk exclaimed.

Kayla is still taken aback by the child hugging her before she could even register Tuk was speaking in Na'vi, not English. She was too amazed by the little one who is barely shorter than Norm in his human form. Kayla could only imagine how short she would be standing next to Tuk if she met the little girl in her own human body. Still not realizing that she needed to form a response, Norm smiles and takes pity on Kayla, stepping into her view, "She says that you're her aunt."

Blinking, Kayla comes back to reality and tries offering Tuk a pitiful smile and a gentle pat on her shoulder, "I suppose I am."

Norm repeated her phrase in Na'vi, and Tuk squeals excitedly in response, "I've never had an auntie before!"

"Tuk, for the time being, maybe you should talk to Kayla in English until she gets the hang of Na'vi," Norm gently explains to the girl while barely nudging her with his elbow. He winks when she meets his eyes underneath his mask, "She's barely understood 'nari' yet."

Tuk laughs while Norm looks around, "Why don't you go play with Popiti? You'll see Kayla at dinner."

"Will she sit with me?"

Norm chuckles before glancing back up at Kayla, who had remained quiet during the whole exchange especially since she couldn't understand half of it, "She's asking if you will sit with her at dinner."

A small warmth bleeds through to Kayla's heart as the little girl stared up at her with the cutest, roundish yellow eyes she had ever seen. Not even the cat she had back at home had a face that could stop wars in their tracks. Tuk continues to plead with her eyes before Kayla finally relents, her posture melting while addressing Norm, "Only if you sit with me so I'll be able to talk to her. I want to ask about her songcord."

Norm repeated what Kayla said, but he didn't have to. Tuk caught onto enough of it as she squeals in happiness again, squeezing Kayla's waist one more time before she runs off. Kayla stood still in the place where the girl left her before turning back to Norm, "Did I say the right thing?"

Norm's smile is full of pride, "Sure did."

She feels a little lighter after that, gladly waiting outside the biolab while Norm hops into a link bay. Kayla watches the People around her, going about their day with her new, sharp eyes, observing how they walk, talk, and even blink. It was interesting to watch how they all converse with one another, spotting a few exchange 'good mornings' by placing their fingers on their forehead and lowering their hands in the direction of the person they were speaking to. Kayla tags that bit of information and stores it in the back of her mind for the time being as she heard footsteps approaching her so she turns around, being met with another avatar.

"Ah," He's definitely Norm with that unique tone of voice and that familiar grin. He stood taller than Kayla and he even draws attention to that when he compares their height by measuring with his hand. He flashes a cheeky smile, "That's better."

Kayla scoffs, rolling her eyes even when she felt her lips twitch, "Dick."

"Right this way, Short Stack," Norm continues to laugh while holding his arm out in the direction he wants her to go, "I wanna get the fun stuff out of the way."

The first place on their to-do list was the rookery. Norm takes her to the edge of camp, out to the edge of the mouth cave before looking back, "You a heights person?"

"That depends," Kayla began without looking over the ledge, stubbornly keeping her eyes on the avatar in front of her, "What's below us right now?"

"Nothing that can catch you."

"Then no, I'm not."

"I don't mean to be blunt. But we're Mountain People now. If you wanna stay here, you'll have to get over it quickly. You could climb down from the vegetation acting as bridges if you want. But the only real way to get on and off these particular mountains is by ikran."

He beckons her forward and demonstrates shuffling his feet to test the rock with his weight, then clings to the side of the mountain as he walks along a narrow ledge going around the outside of the rock face. Sucking in a sharp breath, Kayla looks down at her feet as she shuffles forward, trying her best not to look down while figuring out where she was stepping. While Norm kept his back to the wall, Kayla practically hugged it to her front, hands grasping tightly onto whatever part of the rock she could hold onto.

They shuffle far from High Camp and toward the outskirts of the mountain. As they get closer to their destination, Kayla hears the echoing screeches from the day before, along with the loud and heavy flapping of wings. She only clings harder to the edge of the mountain. Norm rounds a corner and disappears behind a waterfall while Kayla tries her best to keep up without quickening her pace. She squeezes behind the waterfall and signs in relief when she finds Norm standing on a more sturdy platform, carved into the mountain deep enough to be far from the cliff edge. The male avatar smiles and nods in approval before pointing in the direction opposite the waterfall, "Welcome to the rookery."

Kayla peers through the water and gapes. Large cliff sides jut out of the mountain, creating large nests full of the flying creatures she encountered yesterday. From where she stood, she can only see a few dozen of them, all of different sizes and colors.

"And these are Mountain Banshees. Or as the Na'vi call them... ikran."

"Wow." She exclaimed, awestruck.

"These are the rogues," Norm explains, "The ones without riders. For now, we'll stay away from them. Follow me. The claimed ones are below us."

Kayla spun to Norm, tilting her head in bewilderment before Norm walks close to the edge again, the only thing between him and falling was the waterfall. Peering over the edge, Norm takes a small leap down and quickly catches himself by the ledge, holding his whole weight up by his fingers. Kayla had nearly gasped out of fright but bit the sound back when Norm clearly appeared to know what he was doing. Using the momentum, he swung himself down and calls up to his student, "You coming or what?"

Kneeling down and clinging onto the cliffside for dear life, she peered down over the ledge and noticed a cave mouth underneath the platform she stood on, with Norm waiting for her at the entrance. Not as confident as him, she doesn't jump down, instead, she slowly folds herself over the ledge and carefully dangles from the side before finally dropping down, only remembering to breathe once she felt solid rock under her two feet. Norm pats her on the back in sympathy before walking into the large cave mouth. Kayla follows and notices that the cave wasn't dark at all, daylight clearly lighting their way, but from where she wasn't sure. As they trudge further in, she could hear more calls and squawks, staying close behind Norm until they walk right into a clearing.

At the center of the cave was another large nest full of ikran with a large hole acting as an exit for these creatures high above them, lighting the whole place up like a skylight. These particular ikran had riding gear comfortably secured on each of their backs, varying different shapes and colors depending on the ikran and their rider's taste in style. Although tamer, the banshees still hissed and snapped their jaws as Norm walked by, who had turned around to beckon Kayla to follow.

"Stick close. Careful not to look in their eyes."

"Got it."

He brings her over to a small group of ikran who chose to huddle close and nest together like their own little family. Dark navy blue, and teal lightning stripes flash in Kayla's vision and she immediately crouches down in fear as Norm calls out to the beautiful blur. An ikran is towering over him in size as it answers to its rider, squawking in feigned defiance. Up close, Kayla could see two pairs of eyes, one smaller than the other, and rows of obsidian-like razor teeth. Norm grinned and happily fed it a raw piece of meat from his cargo shorts' pocket before turning to introduce him, "This one's mine. This is August."

Kayla catches her breath, laughing nervously as she stood back up on her unstable legs, "Cute."

Norm chuckles and pats the beast's neck before pointing over to another banshee off to the side. It was a lighter blue almost teal color for the whole body with purple and splatters of darker blue stripes to make up for the rest of it, "That one's Jake's. He calls him Bob."

She scoffed, "Poor thing."

"You can have one of these too, ya know."

"Really?"

"Sure, if you wanna learn the Na'vi way and eventually become one of us," Norm beamed like a little kid explaining his favorite game, "To become taronyu. Hunter. "

"Oh, yeah? And when can I get my own ikran?"

"When you're ready," Norm gives August one more loving pat on the neck before breaking away, showing Kayla the way back to the cave entrance, "First, you gotta learn the language and get a better grasp of it. Then, you gotta train and learn how to hunt, and only when you make a clean first kill will you be allowed to try and claim a banshee. After that, you must successfully survive Uniltaron, the Dream Hunt. These are the steps every young Na'vi must take before they can complete their Iknimaya and officially be seen as an adult in their clan."

Kayla nods accordingly, still confused about some of the words regardless of Norm explaining them, "How many clans are there?"

"Several. Too many to name off on my fingers, and I've only ever met a few," they make it back to the cave entrance, and Norm steps aside to allow Kayla to climb back up first, "They stretch through the forests, mountains, and even oceans. Around here you'll only see the Omatikaya, obviously, occasionally the Tayrangi, and what's left of the Olangi."

"What's left of them?" Kayla echoes while up and grasping the ledge then skillfully pulling herself up, mindful of the drop below and the waterfall.

"They were mostly wiped out in the battle against the RDA, the one where we drove them off-world. What was left of the Olangi was too small to be considered their own clan, so they integrated into ours. Our clan is technically called the Blue Flute Clan if you wanna get specific."

Norm climbs up next with only a little bit of difficulty. Kayla offered her hand to him and wordlessly helped pull him up when he grasped on. Norm sighs out of exhaustion once he stands back up, grinning a little slyly, "You ready to make the trek back?"

Kayla's nose crinkles up, eyes narrowed with hesitance as she thinks back to the narrow pathways and hugging the wall of the mountain, "... How about you keep answering my questions and maybe I'll forget about it."

~~~~~~~~~

It's like a little kid learning that there's a whole new world out there. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and in Kayla's case, it was. She had several teachers to choose from and several different subjects to learn from each one.

Starting with the language, Kayla was once sitting in a circle with multiple teachers around her, each of them bouncing off the other to try to get her to grasp each word. It was difficult at times, especially when they each start messing around and having fun when they were supposed to teach her. Norm and Spider normally mess around if they teach Kayla together, but otherwise, when separate, Kayla is able to learn more words if she's learning one-on-one with either the scientist or the teenager. Other times the lessons are more tamed if either Neteyam, Jake, or Neytiri teach her. Sometimes, all three do so together and Kayla was faintly starting to enjoy those small get-togethers. While learning their language, she was beginning to know her brother's family, especially his wife and their firstborn. Neteyam is strong, kind, and caring. He's definitely older brother material, reminding Kayla of Tommy, but not like she could admit that, and least of all to Jake.

Everyone keeps telling her that it'll take a while to grasp the language. Jake admitted that he struggled, and Norm explained that he had been studying Na'vi culture for five years prior to reaching Pandora. With their reassurances, Kayla tried not to beat herself up when she still couldn't hold a basic conversation with Little Tuk. She still can't do sentences, but Kayla has grasped basic words that were more important, like saying 'hello', 'thank you', and 'goodbye'. She learned numbers and proper pronunciation, nouns and adjectives, and plants and animals. Once she had grasped how to say and identify the flora and fauna, Neytiri deemed her ready to start hunting.

In order to hunt, Kayla needed to learn to catch up. Jake and Neytiri take her down to the forest floor and run. They run for ages, and after each run, Kayla's legs grow sore overnight then begin to loosen and strengthen the next day. Before long, she had been able to catch up to her teachers when they run along gigantic tree branches and dance gracefully through vines. She had learned to stop looking down and start looking ahead, never thinking about the fall since Neytiri showed her how to break a fall should she slip. Hunting with a bow and poison-tipped arrows had been proven difficult for Kayla, so used to knowing the ways around a gun. Jake gave her advice from one Sky Person to another, but essentially left Neytiri to do the teaching.

"Be on your guard," Jake flashed his sister a grin, "Neytiri is the kind of teacher who's all about 'learning fast or die.'"

"I am not." Neytiri denies adamantly, flicking her husband's ear as he laughed at her defiance.

Kayla greatly admired Neytiri for her teaching skills. If it got Jake into shape, then she knew it would be no problem to do the same. Neytiri teaches her sister-in-law how to track and how to ride direhorses, going back to the days when she used to teach the same to Jake and even her children.

Weaving is not a talent Kayla possessed back on Earth, but it was a skill she was being forced to learn here on Pandora. Mo'at, Tuk, and Kiri were her teachers on the subject, always dragging her into the marui meant for this kind of work. This canopy tent was larger than most, and mostly because it had to house an overly large and eccentric loom shuttle meant for this kind of craftsmanship. While teaching her how to weave, Kiri and Tuk would sing weaving songs meant for this kind of work, while their grandmother fondly listened and would accordingly praise them when finished. Mo'at was the tsahik, as Kayla learned, who was hesitant to accept the new avatar, if not defiant. There was clearly a dark past looming behind her aging eyes, but Kayla didn't dare push for an explanation. The older Na'vi woman explained Eywa to Kayla, as it was technically her area of expertise as the spiritual leader of the clan. Mo'at told stories to Kayla as they weave, explaining legends and moments of history that all connect back to the Great Mother. Mo'at talked about how everything was connected here on Pandora, from the trees to the mountains. From plants to animals and animals to Na'vi. The Na'vi only take what they need and understand how they must give it all back to Eywa in time.

Norm and Max explain all this through a more scientific perspective. They explain to Kayla how everything is rooted beneath their feet, connected together in one large network that fits the size of the whole moon they stood on. It was fascinating, to say the least, learning about how everything works together and even being shown proof when Max takes her on a walk through all their botanical samples and gardens. Kayla was able to grasp the information better when she listened to her fellow avatars and humans, but even when Mo'at spoke to her of Eywa, Kayla was still in awe. She felt as though she was back at home, being tucked into bed with stories of faraway, fantastical places under the soft glow of her nightlight. The only difference now is Kayla is grown, wearing blue skin she was beginning to adjust to comfortably, and listening to an elder woman speak of her deity under bioluminescent glow-worm lamps. And that was not even the most interesting part of Mo'at.

The tsahik taught Kayla how to heal and even make certain healing properties with just the plants and animals around them. Neytiri and Kiri would also partake in these lessons, having past knowledge of healing passed down to them from Mo'at. Neytiri had formally introduced Kayla to Mo'at as her mother, and eventually, Kayla began to form a family tree in her head once learning of their family history. While learning how to heal, Kayla heard small mentions of the sister and father Neytiri had lost, but not much else. Neither she nor Mo'at offered to explain or talk about their past loved ones, at least not to Kayla. When she went to her brother for answers, Jake's ears lowered. Even in a Na'vi form, he had a look of guilt that even Kayla could easily pinpoint from experience.

"I wouldn't try pushing Mo'at," he answered instead, eyes darting wildly around at everything other than Kayla when speaking about his mother-in-law, "She's a dragon lady when she wants to be."

Kayla left that conversation alone, knowing there was a story behind that but one that she wouldn't learn anytime soon. So she instead learned to just enjoy these lessons in order to get to know Neytiri, Kiri, and Tuk better. With these lessons, Kayla began to start understanding Na'vi as the girls in Jake's life tend to bounce between languages without even realizing it. It frustrated Kayla at first but over time it actually helped her grasp words faster. Slowly, she learned little things about her nieces and their mother, like how Tuk's knife was made from suggestions given to her by her best friend, Popiti. Or Kiri, whose woven top was inspired by the Eye of Eywa, and her necklace was something her birth mother once wore.

Kiri is a strange but delightful teenage girl. There are days when she enjoys company and days when she would prefer to work alone or in silence. Kayla understood that a little bit, appreciating that even at such a young age, Kiri realizes when her social battery is drained and needs a break. She gives her mother attitude but is an angel to everyone else, a behavior that all teenage girls must be able to inherit even between universal species. Kayla never related to someone so well.

A small fib she told herself even after meeting Lo'ak. He was adamant about teaching Kayla things, too, not wanting to be left out while all his other family members get to teach his aunt new skills in their culture. Lo'ak, overconfident, stubborn, and reckless, definitely reminds Kayla of Jake the most out of all the kids both physically and mentally, but again, she doesn't say so out loud. Lo'ak takes charge of teaching her to bead together clothing and other adornments the Na'vi proudly wear, even dragging Spider along for these lessons, despite how the human boy didn't appear thrilled to do so.

"Dude, this is so boring," Spider would groan, "We should take her exploring instead!"

"My parents already do that," Lo'ak scolded the shorter boy in front of Kayla as they worked on a bracelet for her, "And practically everyone else is teaching her how to speak, hunt, and heal. I wanna teach her something, too!"

"Well, yeah, but can't you just teach her something only you know?"

"That's a good idea," Kayla helpfully pitched in, trying to play peacemaker between the restless boys, "What are you good at, Lo'ak?"

When she's met with silence, Spider unhelpfully laughs, "Getting into places he shouldn't."

Lo'ak hissed and lightly hit Spider upside the head, earning a laugh from Kayla. Lo'ak's mood shifts a little, defeated and under the weather. Kayla took pity on the boy while pointing out, "You know... I have never been good at making bracelets at home. So I know one thing you're good at, and it's teaching."

His ears perk up, eyes brightening just the tiniest bit. Lo'ak tries fighting back a smile, and he's successful, especially when Spider continues to tease him, "Yeah, well he should probably try getting better at learning before he proudly decides he's better at teaching first."

She smiles in sympathy, "Not a good listener, huh?"

"The worst."

Lo'ak ducked his head, muttering under his breath, "Thanks, cuz. Way to make a guy feel special."

"You would make a great teacher," Spider encouraged his friend with a bright smile, "For example, you should teach Kayla what to expect when she finally starts her Iknimaya."

"That's a good idea." Kayla nods.

"No, it's not," Lo'ak states lowly.

"Why not?"

"Because he can only teach you what not to do, given that he failed the first time." Spider chuckled.

"Dude!"

Kayla sighed, mostly out of the headache that was beginning in the form of two teenage boys, "Alright, Spider, give it a rest."

Spider's jaw clamps shut, eyes widen briefly before shrinking his shoulders in a little under Kayla's stare. Shaking her head at him, she darts her eyes back at the Na'vi boy in question before speaking slowly, "... You know, Lo'ak. We have a saying where your dad and I are from. 'If at first, you don't succeed, try and try again.'"

Lo'ak peers up, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. Apparently, he doesn't hear about a whole lot of stuff from Jake's past let alone Earth. Kayla flashes him an encouraging smile, "There's no shame in getting it wrong the first time. You end up learning better than others when you learn from your mistakes."

Lo'ak watches her carefully as if trying to figure out a puzzle, his tail waving leisurely behind him. For a moment, the three are quiet until a teasing glint sparkles in Lo'ak's eye and he cruelly laughs, "Woah, where did you pull that wisdom out of?"

Kayla's expression screws up, offended, chucking the remnants of her bracelet at him when he continues to laugh. She scowls when the motion only drove him to laugh harder, "Okay, smartass, see if I ever come to your aid again."

The word slips out and Kayla is horrified when the boys catch onto what she said, their grins forming even as she tries to backtrack, "Oh, crap. You know what? Forget I said that. Your dad doesn't want me swearing in front of you kids."

"Not me though, right?" Spider asked, shrugging when she sent him an apologetic look, "No sweat. If you want, I can always teach you how to swear in Na'vi?"

Unbeknownst to the three, Jake was watching their interaction from afar, unable to hear what his sister was saying but felt amused when she got both Lo'ak and Spider to laugh at whatever she said. Norm taps his shoulder and it pulls Jake out of the fog, remembering he was in the middle of talking to his old friend before he caught sight of his son and his sister with Spider. Glancing back at Norm, Jake tilted his head in Kayla's direction, "Sorry. How 'she doing by the way?"

"Great, actually," Norm followed his gaze, observing Kayla's interaction with the teenage boys, "She retains information really well. She remembers the smallest of details, even details that don't matter."

Jake nods in approval, a knowing look in his faraway eyes while watching Kayla retrieve her bracelet from Lo'ak and continue adding on pieces, "I remember that about her. Normally, she retains information that she's excited to learn. Otherwise, it goes in one ear and out the other, like math. I remember Tommy having to sit her down to help with her homework late at night when our folks were too tired to do so."

"Hm," Norm makes a mental image of that particular scene in his head, nudging Jake's arm, "You don't talk about your siblings enough. Maybe you should."

Jake's jaw tightens, blinking whatever haunted thoughts were swirling around in his head, and stiffly nods without ever looking away from his sister, "Yeah."

~~~~~~~~~

There was so much information to latch onto to the point Kayla wasn't sure if she'd be able to pick whatever parts of Na'vi culture were her favorite. As days turn to weeks, she quickly realizes that she hasn't even learned half of the Omatikaya lifestyle as she finds herself being pulled into a hunting ceremony. A great sturmbeest was killed that day and the People were preparing for a large feast filled with song and dance. Kiri quickly taught Kayla the hunting songs that are sung during these ceremonies and urged her aunt to sing along when the time comes. It was difficult to admit that Kayla felt nervous at the idea. She hadn't sung out loud in a long time, and she personally didn't feel as though she was the best singer.

Neytiri had rolled her eyes when Kayla had shyly admitted this to her, "All Na'vi people sing, whether or not they are any good."

"Besides," Jake cuts in with a fox-like grin, "All you need is a bit of liquid courage and you'll be singing and dancing without a care in the world."

Thus how Kayla was first introduced to swoa, taken aback by how strong the intoxicating beverage was. Jake had laughed at her initial reaction to screw her nose up and squint her eyes, but afterward, the following sips were easy to manage. It was safe to say she liked it.

Her first ceremony went beautifully as she danced to her heart's content, mainly with the kids as they were eager to show her their moves. The next party was a tribute to Eywa, and even Kayla could admit that ceremony was a little less fun. Seeing Vitraya Ramunong, the Tree of Souls for the first time took her breath away, in awe of the most beautiful tree she had ever seen in her life. But instead of dancing and playing music around such a magnificent tree, the People sat together, their kuru braids either bonded to the roots of the tree or to the tendrils hanging down from the branches. They either sang or prayed, and Kayla found it difficult to sort out which was which. She still feels awkward praying to Eywa, despite her eagerness to learn all about the Great Mother. Jake didn't blame her for it, sympathizing by saying he still struggled even to this day. Neytiri never took either of their discomforts to heart, understanding that unlearning the mindset you have known your whole life takes a toll when wishing to learn something new.

Months go by, and Kayla finds herself attending all sorts of ceremonies. Some celebrate birth, love, and life, while others memorialized death and revival. When first taught how the Na'vi believe that every soul is born twice, Kayla showed inklings of doubt, but Jake made it his personal mission for his sister to see those teachings through his eyes, "I've seen it firsthand. Do you remember back home, when things come in three's it could either mean something good or bad, depending on who you ask? Same rules apply here. For the most part, everything comes in two here. Two like the avatar and the driver, or me and Tommy. Two like Grace and Kiri, and me and Neytiri. Two like my two boys and two girls. For you, it'll come in two as well. The Na'vi say that every person is born twice. The second time is when you earn your place among the People, forever. You'll be born again when you finish your Iknimaya."

He said it with such confidence, that anyone would believe him as the leader he is, but not Kayla. In reaction to his confidence in her, Kayla only felt dread. Conflicted emotions were constantly running through her mind. While she is running around among the Na'vi out here, she was still waking up among the Sky People back at Bridgehead. She still reported to Ardmore and the lab coats who monitor her links' progress. Even as she lies as easily as she breathes, Kayla feels the shame and regret of still having to return and lie about her whereabouts to her superiors. She had grown to hate waking up with flashlights in her face and needles in her arm, waking up to a million questions and the beeping of her heart monitor among other machines. The lights were always too bright, the walls too white, and the air and Ardmore's face too cold. Kayla's heart was beginning to clench with anxiety and sadness whenever she had to go back to live among her own kind, and the thought terrified her. How could she, after only a few months, begin to turn her back on her whole life, and for what? A life filled with happiness and good health with her brother's family?

The human race was counting on her to test the limits between a driver and their avatar, to go the distance and hope that whatever tests she completes will lead to her entire species' survival. Kayla wanted to save the human race, but now... all she wanted was to be left alone, on Pandora, living among her brother's people.

These thoughts always plagued her, especially at night alone in her living quarters when she was in her human form. As she tossed and turned in bed, she'd stare at all four walls, on her back, before staring up at the blank, cold ceiling above her, wishing she didn't have a heart, much like Ardmore. She wished she could just do her job instead of learning to care for and love the Omatikaya, to cherish every moment she gets with her nieces and nephews. Part of her believes that she had every right to turn on her own kind because when has the human race ever done anything for her other than take everyone she loved away? But another part of her felt immensely guilty, knowing that she would have never thought twice about coming to Pandora if it weren't for the human race.

There was no deadline, but Kayla still felt as though she was running out of time. Two sides battling a war inside her head and her heart, and she didn't know which side to listen to. Dutifully heading to the lab for a new day of poking and prodding, Kayla anxiously awaited until she'd be able to run around in the form she now preferred. She tried her best not to appear excited when it was time for her to jump into a link bay and tried calming her breaths as the lid closes around her and she shuts her eyes.

Waking up in the mountains, sporting a tail and blue skin, Kayla already felt lighter than a feather, her worries washing away the moment she walked out of the Longhouse, and Spider, Lo'ak, and Tuk immediately dragged her away for another adventure. She went about her day normally, learning her respective lessons and helping out among the clan as best as she could. Around the time she was meant to help Mo'at with preparing for the communal dinner that evening, she noticed that Kiri had yet to join them, as she had promised the day before that she would assist. Mo'at clicked her tongue and shook her head before sending Kayla out to find the girl and Kayla happily obeyed. The sky was growing dark as an eclipse was beginning to form when the female marine found Kiri near the edge of the camp, legs swinging off the end of the mountain while braiding bits of her hair and integrating some beads into the entanglements. Her eyes were focused on the braids, but they still looked as though they were hundreds of miles away, deep in thought.

"Hey, Kiri," Kayla had called out so as not to spook her eldest niece, "Mind if I join you?"

Kiri didn't look up and instead motioned to the open spot on the ground beside her, "Please do."

Kayla idly stepped over to the edge and carefully sat down beside her, swinging her legs beside Kiri's. They sat in silence while Kiri braided parts of her hair and Kayla leaned back on her hands to stare up at the stars. "So. Why are we out here instead of helping your grandmother?"

The girl hissed, mostly to herself, as if cringing at her own mistake, "I forgot I wanted to help. Maybe we should just head back--"

"No, no. This is much more interesting," Kayla earns a laugh from the young girl and smiles softly, "What's distracting you today?"

"I went to see my mom today and watched some of her old video logs."

"Yeah?"

"I was watching a video I hadn't seen yet. She briefly mentioned her life back on Earth and it just got me thinking about... whether or not she might have had family still there. What if I have family on Earth? I don't know, it just got me thinking..."

Her hands pull out of her braids and rest on her lap, eyes staring down at her swinging legs with a forlorn gaze. Kayla watched as Kiri's ears and tail lowered as her thoughts likely darken in her mind. Despite coming to terms with the fact that she never learned how to deal with depressed children, Kayla spoke from experience, remembering the days she was once as young and lonely as Kiri, "You know, I read your mom's book."

One of Kiri's ears twitched in Kayla's direction, still unable to look up from her feet, "Really?"

"Yeah. I have a copy back in my room at Bridgehead. Maybe one day I'll be able to get it to ya."

"What's her writing like?"

"Intelligent and informative." Kayla hums while looking up at the sky, "There's a fascination and a bit of sarcasm in there. Doctor Augustine is definitely one of those women who know they're the smartest in the room and is annoyed at the fact that she's surrounded by idiots."

Kiri huffed a small laugh, lips turning up into a gentle, sweet smile as she craned her neck up to also watch the stars, "I wonder if I would be anything like her if she was alive to raise me."

"And what's wrong with how you are now?" Kiri visibly winced at the question and so the older woman backtracked, "Sorry. You don't have to tell me."

She decides to approach the subject from a different angle by using distraction as her tactic. Kayla's voice changes a pitch, indicating a change in conversation, "Hey, could you help me out with something?"

Kiri shrugged, "Sure."

"Could you tell me which star is Earth?"

Kiri finally looks back at her aunt, eyebrows furrowing oddly at her before looking back up at the sky. She searches for a moment, her eyes darting over the inky canvas surrounding her homeworld as she finally spots the star her father has pointed out to her several times before. She raises her own hand to point it out as well, "That one."

"Thanks."

When Kiri looked back at the older woman, she found Kayla staring up at the star she had pinpointed, a vulnerable expression the teenager couldn't quite figure out, "... Do you miss someone there?"

"No, but I miss the planet. At least a little bit. I think I just like being able to see it, even if it's from afar instead of up close. It's comforting," Kayla lowered her gaze from the stars above to Kiri, even depicting the small star constellations scattered across the teen's face, "Kinda like how you are with your mom's avatar. So close but so far away."

Kiri's eyes widen briefly before she turned away, biting her lip to refrain from sniffling when her eyes began to grow warm and blurry. Kayla's hand reaches out and hesitantly rests on the girl's shoulder, "We all miss home, kiddo, even the parts we never got to know."

"... Thanks, Auntie."

It's a strange title, one that Kayla was trying to get used to as the kids started to call her that more and more. She awkwardly tried responding, "Sure thing."

They go back to star gazing after Kiri managed to tame her tears. The girl watches the sky with her new comfort in the form of her aunt's words blanketing with an aura of safety and understanding between them. Without looking back at Kayla, Kiri spoke the motto she knew since she could learn to talk, "Sullys stick together, right?"

Had she looked, she would've seen Kayla's entire body bristle at those words, sucking in a sharp breath as quietly as she could. The phrase haunted the woman's dreams and now followed her everywhere she went. Who knew that she would have to travel to an entirely different planet before she would hear those words again? Envy and resentment invade her senses, skin prickling with anger as she tried to visibly contain the bomb going off in her head so Kiri couldn't see. Her voice is tight when she responds, like a rubberband about to snap, all the while years' worth of betrayal start rushing back to the forefront of Kayla's mind, but not directed at the poor girl who was unaware of the fire she had started.

"Yeah. Right."

A/N: 'a new leaf part two' will be out soon and then it'll be onto the events of the Way of Water! Please let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

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billthedrake · 1 year

Text

BACK IN THE GAME

"Damn, bro... you got magic hands."

Kent Green said it as a joke, but it was true. His best friend Bryan knew how to give a fucking neck message. And after going hard on shoulders at the gym, his buddy's strong fingers were working out the knot just right.

"I must be doing something right, bro. You're getting a fucking boner."

Kent blushed. He was close with Bry, but over the last half a year had gotten closer. He still had a lot of hang ups, though. "Sorry, man."

"Don't be sorry," Bryan said. His voice was crazy deep, deeper than Kent's still frat-bro affect. That baritone also fed his boner. "I like getting you hard, man." Those fingers were working deeper into Kent's traps now. "When was the last time you got laid?"

"You mean besides us fooling around?"

"Yeah, bro. Besides that."

Kent let out a sigh. "Fuck, Bryan. Too long. Ten, maybe eleven months?" He turned his head to look back. Bryan had a great body but was more regular looking, not a pretty boy. But the 25-year-old had a gruff handsomeness that grew on you. Kent tried not to crush out on his workout buddy and just enjoy the sex that happened when it happened. "I guess I'm a little messed up."

Bryan gave him a wry smile and removed his hands, patting the platelike pecs of Kent's chest. Kent had a leaner, taller build than Bryan but the dude's muscle was harder, more compact even. Bry sometimes teased his bud for being the golden boy - blond, college educated, from a well-off background. They were polar opposites in a lot of ways but had bonded at the serious bro gym they went to. Working out together, even cycling together.

"Not messed up, dude," Bryan assured him. "I just hate to see a dude like you blue balled."

Kent laughed. He leaned into Bryan's warm, muscular body. He had a good feeling sex was gonna happen. Post-workout sex, which was the best kind. But neither man was rushing it. "What about you, bro? You getting laid."

"Yup," came that deep voice. Then with hesitation, Bryan added, "I gotta boyfriend, actually."

That made Kent's body tense. They'd never talked about being gay. Kent, for the record, wasn't or at least didn't think of himself that way. He'd compartmentalized the fucking around with Bryan, too. Now his friend was putting it all out there.

"That's cool," he said softly.

"Am I weirding you out, bro?" Bryan asked. That bariton almost scratchy soft in its question.

"A little. But not really," Kent said. The spell had been broken, though, he scooted up away from Bryan, turning to face forward on the couch. He still had the erection his buddy's hands had given him, but that wasn't going down fast. "Sorry, man," he started. "I'm a little messed up in the head."

Bryan grimaced and nodded. "I guess I'm not the best at respecting the bro code," he said with a self-deprecating laugh. He settled back into his previous seating position, from before he offered the neck massage. But Kent could see that telltale thick rod poking up Bry's workout shorts, too.

Kent wished he didn't feel the sexual attraction he did. "So... who is this guy?"

"His name's Chris," Bryan said. Bashful as he spoke, but it was weird for Kent to see an almost kidlike glee in that gruff dude face as Bryan described his love interest. "He's kind of a normal dude, not a muscle guy like us... we've been going out for a couple months now."

That surprised Kent. "What the fuck? For real?" Then, "does he know about... you know..." he gestured between him and Bry.

Bryan nodded. "Not specifically, but he knows I play around. He does too when he travels."

"That's cool," Kent said. He felt dumb, and wondered if gay dudes were always easygoing like that.

The two sat on the sofa, a little awkward but that sexual chemistry not yet gone as their eye contact grew heavier.

"Bro..." Bryan started. "You wanna fool around? Like I say, Chris is cool with it. He's probably nailing some dude in a hotel room in Miami right now," he added with a chuckle.

Kent thought for a second. The gay thing added a layer of doubt to all of this, but at the end of the day this was still Bryan. He knew they could have fun and still be buds after. He gave a nod and shot Bryan a grin. "If you're up for it, bro... yeah, I'm pretty hard up right now."

"Hell yeah you are," Bryan grinned as he stood up off the couch, his boner pretty hard. He peeled off his workout shirt and involuntarily flexed a little as he tossed it aside. He was on a gaining cycle, as was Kent, but his beefy genes made the bulk that much bigger and more vascular looking.

Kent took in the vision and decided if he was gonna be gay for a dude, this was the kind of man he was into. A muscle guy like him. Even bigger than him. He stood up and followed suit, and by the time his shirt cleared his head, Bryan's hands were on his chest, lightly dusted with blond fur.

"You decided to stop shaving," Bryan observed, his fingers exploring the striated muscle be beneath the soft hair.

"Yeah," Kent chuckled. "Too much fucking work."

Bryan looked up from the chest and into Kent's eyes. His own brown eyes playful and a smile forming on that gruff face. "You think you could help me out this weekend? Chris likes me smooth."

This was weird as fuck, Kent thought, but he was strangely turned on. "Yeah, bro," he said. And like that the two buddies were lip locked. And Kent was now openly feeling up that magnificent bulking bod. Indeed he could feel the bristle short chest hairs starting to come in, and he imagined all that Bryan Walker beef shaved baby smooth...

"Let's take it to the bedroom, bro," Bryan hissed, reaching down to cup his buddy's erection for a second before stepping back and leading the way.

It had been a couple of months since they'd done this. Usually it was a quick BJ swap. But Kent felt a thrill as he watched that bulked up back and that meaty ass, evident beneath the gym shorts even. And fuck, even Bry's hamstrings and calved were off the charts. An inspiration.

The two twenty-something men were horny but they took their time. Getting naked, embracing on Bryan's queen sized bed, rolling around, making out. For all of Kent's hang ups, he'd never balked at the kissing part. Maybe because it was hard wired to his dick. Or maybe because he liked the way it just felt different kissing a man than a woman. Even when Bryan shaved, the dude had a lot of stubble.

Bryan Walker had fucked Kent, twice. It was OK, Kent guessed, but decided he liked it better the other way, and once Bry had made it clear he wasn't keeping score, that it wasn't tit for tat, it became a regular thing that Kent would do the plowing, and Bryan would give up his muscle ass for his buddy.

This was how it was gonna play tonight. Bryan leaning back, relaxed, legs spread wide as he let Kent lube and finger him good. Nice and slow, both men enjoying the foreplay.

"I'm glad you told me, bro," Kent said as three fingers were now buried inside his friend's snug ass. "About Chris."

"I shoulda before," he said. "Was too fucking chicken." He gave Kent a nod that he was good to go. This is how buddy sex often was. Two dudes free to talk while they boned each other.

Kent wiped the excess lube on his hard cock, a nice 7-incher that seemed just big enough to make Bryan know he was getting fucked good, without being too much a challenge. He scooted into the saddle and whacked his hardon against that wide-spread crack. Bryan fucking shaved down there, too, though his manscaping had been neglected long enough for the dark hairs to grow back.

"Hope you don't think I'm ass about things." He watched the connecting point of that puckered hole and his dick. Kent didn't realize before, maybe was too dumb, but Bryan Walker got fucked a decent bit. He was tight, but the ring was crinkled in a way that showed regular use. Rather than be a turn off, it excited Kent and he nudged his wet cut cock against the folds. He looked up at Bry. "I guess I should ask... you completely gay, bro?"

Bryan nodded. God his buddy's dick felt good, right in that spot. "Yeah, bro. I guess I lied when it came to chicks."

"I didn't," Kent said. Not judgmental, but clearing the air. "I just don't know how to put in the work anymore when it comes to women."

Bryan looked up at Kent with brotherly concern. He never knew how this golden boy could have a problem on the dating market. Kent was a total stud, a cute fucker, and he didn't act like a douche. "You just got off your game, bro," he said, reaching up with one hand to caress the bare chest and ab muscle. "We'll get you back."

Kent nodded in thanks. He contracted his core and let his hips move forward. And like that he was sinking into Bryan's warm body.

"Aw fuck yeah..." Bryan hissed. That deep voice was excited, and Kent wondered how much Bryan played up liking a cock inside him. Just hearing that thrill in Bry's voice was driving Kent to push in further... another inch, then another, and all the fucking way in.

"Oh God, you're fucking big, bro!" Bryan gasped.

"Too much?" Kent asked, checking in.

"Fuck no. Fuck me, man."

Kent did. He leaned forward and started a slow, steady fuck, then increased his pace. His cock was boning Bry deep and good soon.

Bryan's mouth was slack, halfway between a smile and a leer. His brown eyes met Kent's green one in a hungry gaze. "Fuck yeah... go for it buddy."

Kent really had hoped to make this about Bryan. He felt he owed it to his friend. But this all felt too good. The tight sensations around his cock, the feeling of all that bulking muscle beneath him, that connection and love he had for his best bud. And maybe this is why Kent didn't have a steady girlfriend. Not matter what head games he tried he could never last more than a minute.

He wasn't gonne break the minute mark now, either. "Shit!" he hissed. Orgasm was hitting quick and hard. Like lightning.

"Get it bro!" Bryan urged. "Get that fucking nut, man."

Did Kent get it, all right. The sweet goofy ex-frat boy tossed his head back and let out a loud and surprisingly loud cry. "Fuck! FUCK FUCK!" Kent yelled as he came deep in Bryan's hole, his thrusts nearly stopping to lock his hips in place to deliver his seed, with just small mini pumps of his dick along the inner walls of Bryan's ass.

Once he finished cumming he let his body relax and his forehead come down to rest on Bry's "God, man, that was incredible." Kent gave Bryan a soft kiss then pulled back. "Sorry I couldn't last longer," he said.

Bryan grinned but was mostly horny as fuck now. "It's all good man.... I like seeing you turned on." He looked down between their bodies at his own hardon. "You ready to suck me off, buddy?"

This was their arrangement. Kent fucked. And after, he serviced Bry orally. Kent slowly pulled out and then got in place, kneeling between Bryan's spread legs. One hand caressing Bryan's shaved ballsac while the other went to the ass to prod that cummy hole with a finger or two while Kent sucked.

Kent Green wasn't an expert cocksucker but he was pretty good for a mostly straight dude. He knew what would get his bud off and he went for it. Steady, quick bobs focusing on the top three or four inches. Pretty quick he felt the warmth and tasted the brininess of Bryan's hot seed. Unlike Kent, Bryan was a quiet cummer, but the soft caresses of Bryan's fingers in Kent's blond hair was the guy's way of showing appreciation.

The two men lay in silence next to one another for a minute. Between the gym and the sex Kent was tired and relaxed. He could almost fall asleep right there in Bryan's bed. But that was a line he didn't feel like crossing at this point.

He looked over at Bryan. Happy he could have the experience he just had and still be friends. "So... tell me about this Chris guy."

Bryan got a coy smile on his face. "You sure, man?" he asked.

"Dude... he's your fucking boyfriend. Of course I wanna know," Kent replied.

"Well, he's older, divorced... an airline pilot, actually."

"Yeah?"

Bryan grinned. "Yeah. It's definitely fucking hot... kind of a bucket list thing for me actually... to bang a pilot. It just turned out to be more than a one-time thing."

"That's cool, bro," Kent said, turning on his side to face Bryan. They'd done this before, talking man to man in bed after sex, only it had been Kent filling Bryan in about some hot date he had. "Um, how much older is he?"

Bryan paused. "A lot older. You might thing I'm weird, bro. But we kinda do the daddy-son thing."

Kent laughed. He'd been a connoisseur of "stepmom" porn and had enjoyed a few encounters with cougars, so the idea didn't seem so far fetched. But it was wild to hear it from the other side. "For real, bro?"

Bryan laughed nervously. "For real. Dude's 51 and pushes my buttons big time. Gray hair, dad bod the whole works."

"You're a man of surprises, Walker," Kent said, plopping back on the mattress and resting his head on the pillow.

"I guess," came the deep voiced reply.

Kent felt his eyes get heavy.

"Bro..." Bryan said. "If you wanna crash here, that's cool."

Already Kent's eyes were closing. "Yeah?" He could feel the bed shift beside him. Bryan was getting up. To shower off, or maybe just to brush his teeth. Kent should probably get up the energy to get back home himself. But it had been a long day. Just another minute....

Bryan got back in beneath the sheets and looked over Kent. He used to resent how fucking good looking his buddy was. Roman nose, rosy cheeks, blond hair, not thinning like Bryan's. Kent was tall, athletic, and cute in an easygoing masculine way, and Bryan had spent a solid year being jealous of a lot of things about Kent Green until he decided it was better just to be happy for the friendship. Everthing else... the sex, the intimate time like this, was just a bonus.

"We'll get you back in the game, buddy," Bryan said aloud.

But Kent didn't hear. He was already sleep.

#drakestories

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avastrasposts · 1 year

Text

The Pilot and his Girl - ch. 31

I'm bad at writing summaries because I don't want to give any spoilers! But we left poor Frankie passed out at Joel's place, high on on pills and whiskey. Here's the aftermath....

Chapter 32 - Warnings have their own post - Word count: 5.6k

The first conscious thought that moves through Frankie’s numb brain the next morning is how much his back hurts. He tries to move without waking up and the muscles along his spine spasm and twist, making him groan and peel open his eyes. It takes him a few moments to register where he is, he’s fallen sideways on a couch that’s not his own, his crooked neck killing him as he straightens out. Joel’s front door swims in to focus and last night’s memories start coming back.

A small pile of pills are still on the coffee table, next to the baggie. He doesn’t know how many he took yesterday but he collects them and puts them back in the bag, stuffing it in the bottom of his jeans pocket.

His mouth feels like cotton as he tries to swallow and he grabs the empty whiskey glass that’s digging into his thigh underneath him on the couch. Stumbling to the kitchen he rubs the heel of his hand over his eyes and tries to shake the cobwebs of alcohol and oxy out of his brain. He lets the tap run ice cold before he fills the glass, nearly choking on the water as he drinks. The coolness spreads through his limbs and he grips the edge of the sink, closing his eyes and swaying on his feet. The water continues to rush into the sink and with an impulsive thought, he bends forward and sticks his whole head under the faucet. It makes him gasp, forcing the air out of his lungs as the water rushes past his ears, into his eyes and nose. Spluttering he draws a few deep breaths, forcing himself to remain under the stream. Not until the tips of his ears are numb does he pull back and turn off the faucet. Water drips down on his shoulders, onto the floor as he stands up. He feels like a fool, hanging his head over the sink, trying to shake the water from his ears. But somehow it’s brought him some clarity, his mind isn’t as foggy and last night slowly comes back to him.

With a groan he sinks his head into his hands as he remembers leaving the apartment, walking away from her and passing out on Joel’s couch, aided by whiskey and oxy. The memory of her eyes when she realized he was high flashes into his mind and he groans again, the pain and grief he saw makes guilt force itself up through his throat. His body convulses and bile and half digested pills force their way up and out, he wretches into the sink, coughing and sputtering, fumbling for the knob to turn the water on again. He empties everything he has, spitting, the bile burning the back of his throat and he groans, cursing himself. The water rinses away the contents of his stomach and he manages to turn the tap off before he slides down onto the floor, his wet hair dripping, as he sinks his head into his hands again.

What the fuck have I done? What the fuck have I done? Frankie, you fucking idiot. He tilts his head back, eyes closed to the bright sunlight that’s streaming in through the kitchen window as he repeatedly thumps the back of his head against the back of the cupboard door, the dull pain rattling through his brain. Does she even wanna see me again? She's not gonna forgive this, how could she forgive this?

“Mornin’.” The gravel of Joel’s voice is as rough as Frankie feels and he only grunts in response. A kitchen towel lands on the floor next to him and he drags it across his wet hair as Joel moves towards the coffee pot. His steps are as slow and sluggish as Frankie’s and every sound he makes is making Frankie wince.

“Thanks for letting me crash, I’m gonna head out,” he mutters, carefully getting to his feet.

“Have some coffee before you go,” Joel says, placing the pot on the stove, “you look like shit, get something in you before you face your wife.”

“Not sure I have a wife anymore,” Frankie mumbles, stumbling towards the front door, but the ache in his head makes him change his mind, and he slumps down on one of the kitchen chairs.

“Did you hit her?” Joel asks and Frankie’s eyes widen.

“No, what the fuck? Of course not!”

“Did you sleep with some other woman? Or man?” Joel's mouth twitches in the smallest of smirks and Frankie scowls.

“Fuck no! I would never do that to her”

“She ain't too keen on you using?” Joel pulls the coffee pot off the hob as it boils and sets it on the table.

Frankie sighs and rubs his hand over his face, the smell of coffee actually making his empty stomach grumble. “I’m an addict,” he confesses, “before the outbreak, I was addicted to coke, Pope kicked my ass and I got sober. But someone was smuggling Xanax in Arlington and I started using it to help me sleep…after…” Frankie sighs again and Joel nods, he understands all too well, “and I got addicted again. She helped me get clean that time.”

Joel pulls out a chair and sits down, placing a mug in front of Frankie, “Explains why Will was so against smuggling drugs.” He pours himself coffee and pushes the pot across the table, “I won’t stop trading it though, but I won’t sell to you again,” he says, “I’m cutting you off.”

“Yeah, you should,” Frankie mumbles, taking a careful sip of the scalding hot coffee and wincing. Joel does the same and for a few minutes both men sit in silence, letting the coffee work its way through their systems.

Eventually Joel clears his throat and leans back, the mug still in his hand, “I ain’t a good man, Frankie, I know that, but maybe things would’ve been different if I had someone like her in my corner. So you just need to go home and do whatever it takes to make her happy again.”

Frankie only grunts in response and Joel takes another sip as Frankie swirls the dregs of his coffee round the bottom of the mug, his eyes unfocused and lost in thought. Joel sighs and rubs his hand over his face, glancing over at the younger man’s troubled face before he leans over the table and raps his knuckles hard just in front of Frankie’s mug, making him startle and look upl.

“Morales, it’s clear you ain’t shit without her, she’s keeping you alive. So just go back home and tell her you’re not doing runs with me until you’re doing ok, and that I’m cutting you off from the oxy.”

“I’m not sure that’s enough any more,” Frankie says, looking down at the coffee dregs again, “I lied to her face, said I wasn’t using, I walked away when she was trying to help, I’ve hurt her too many times an-”

Joel shakes his head and stands up, kicking his boot against the other man’s chair, interrupting him.

“Get up, Frankie, you’re fucking lost without her, just go tell her that. And anyway, I’m not letting you drown yourself in coffee in my kitchen.”

…

Frankie blinks against the sharp March light when he gets out of Joel’s apartment. He left home without a jacket yesterday and now he shivers as he stands on the sidewalk. Joel had told him to go home and he thinks that might be what he has to do, even if he doesn’t know if you’ll let him call it home again. In some small corner of his mind he knows you’ve never pushed him away, never not supported him when he needed help. But his mind is reeling, and the panic is still simmering in his chest.

What if she’s given up on me now? Maybe I’ve finally fucked up so much that she’s had enough?

He tucks his hands into his armpits and starts walking, the heavy feeling of panic in his belly growing with every step, the coffee in his empty stomach making his mouth taste sour.

He sees you just as he gets home, he turns the corner and you’re standing outside the apartment building with Pope. He’s too much of a coward to call your name, to let you see him, instead he just stops and stares at your profile. It’s Pope that spots him first and he nods his head towards him and you turn. The way your face crumples when you see him, it’s like a knife in his heart, like he’s stuck a knife in himself and now he’s twisting it as you start walking towards him, breaking into a run. You skid to halt just in front of him and your eyes are scanning his face, he feels tears form and fall before he even realizes he’s crying.

“I’m sorry,” he chokes out, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he gulps for air, he can feel his body shaking and then your arms are around him, pulling him into you and he sobs, his chest heaving under you. Your arms hold him up as he buries his face against your neck and clings to you and he knows he’ll fall if you don’t keep your arms around him. Your hands are bunching up his shirt, he can feel it straining over his back, your fingers digging into the knots of his spine, you’re pulling him as close as you can and he finally lifts his arms and winds them around your waist.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he sobs, holding onto the back of your jacket, trying to find his footing as you pull him tighter.

“I thought I lost you, Frankie,” you gasp through your own tears, “I thought you were gone.”

“D-do you still w-want me here?” he chokes out, his face pressed against your soft hair, your smell enveloping him, all the memories of being this close to you flooding his mind. If you say no now, he doesn’t know how he’ll let go, he won’t be able to unwrap his arms from around you.

“Al-always, always, always,” you stutter out, pulling your face back enough so that you can see him, his eyes red, puffy and broken. He smells of stale alcohol, bitter coffee and he looks like a mess and it breaks your heart that he’s fallen so deep so fast, you should’ve forced him away from Joel, from the smuggling months ago. You press your lips against his cheek and your hand finds its way into the messy curls at the back of his head, damp and cold. Pulling his cap off you cup the back of his head and hold him against you..

“When will you understand that I’ll always want you, Francisco Morales?” you mumble, and you feel his hands tighten their grip on your jacket and his body heaves with a deep sob, choking back on his tears.

“Hermano,” Pope’s voice is calm and gentle as he puts his hand on Frankie’s shoulder, “Let’s get you inside, ok?”

Frankie nods and you move and take hold of his hand as Pope puts his arm around his waist, giving him a small nudge to get him moving. When you get him inside the apartment Pope leads him to the couch and sets him down and Frankie slumps over, his elbows on his hands, cradling his head.

“Fish, look at me,” Pope says softly, crouching down in front of him, tapping him gently on his arm and Frankie looks up. Pope seems to study his face for a few seconds, locking eyes with him, and then he nods.

“Ok, you’re sober at least,” he says, giving his shoulder a squeeze and standing up as Frankie buries his face in his hands again.

“You’ve got to talk to her now, Frankie, you know you’ve got to drop this shit and put in the hard work again. But I’ve seen you do it before, I know you can do this.”

Frankie shakes his head in his hands and mumbles something incoherent and Santi looks over at you, “I’ll be back later, tonight, and check on him, on you both. But I think you two need to talk first, ok?”

You nod and gratefully accept Santi’s hug as wraps his arms around you, “Thank you, you’re a rock, Santi,” you mumble into his shoulder as he rubs your back.

“And you’re his rock, don’t forget that,” he replies, kissing your cheek before he steps away and leaves.

“Did you eat anything yet, Frankie?” you ask, sitting down next to him and letting your hand run up and down his back.

“Don’t leave me,” he mumbles into his hands, his voice is low, raspy from his ragged breathing, and you thread your fingers through his curls.

“I’ll never leave you,” you whisper, your chin resting on his shoulder. He drops his hands from his face and looks up at you, his eyes still red and raw, he looks so pained it makes your heart shatter and you take his hands, scooting yourself up further on the couch.

“Come here, Frankie, lie down with me for a little bit,” you tell him, pulling him with you. You lie back, making room for him next to you and he crawls up after you, stretching out on the couch. He’s half on top of you and you bring his head down onto your shoulder, carding your fingers through his curls, scratching at his scalp. His boots are heavy against your legs but you tug his thigh higher up over your waist as he curls into you, his arms wrapping around you.

“I’m getting you through this Frankie, I’m not letting this destroy you,” you mumble, your lips pressed against his forehead. He’s cold and clammy, you can feel his shivers and you pull the quilt down over you both. “You’ve just got to remember that I’m never giving up on you, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe and alive and with me.” You tighten your grip on him, your jaw clenching hard when your mind brushes up against the thought of not having him with you. “I’m so afraid of losing you, Frankie. I’ll never be mad or disappointed in you, I’m just scared of losing you because I can’t do this life without you.”

You hear him sniffle against your shoulder, a quiet sob shaking him.

“I’m sorry I fucked up,” he whispers against your shirt, “I just wanted my head to be quiet.”

“I know, Frankie, and I’ll help you with it,” your fingers scratching across his scalp, letting his damp curls run through your fingers. “Let’s just stay here for a little while, and then I’ll make us some food when you feel ready, ok?”

You feel him nod and his arms tighten around you, pulling you even closer, “I’m here, Frankie, my love, I’m not leaving,” you soothe him.

You stay still, pressed against him until you lose track of time. Frankie falls asleep, a restless slumber where his arms twitch and he mutters under his breath. Eventually he jerks awake, a shout coming from him as he half sits up, his eyes blinking open with confusion.

“Frankie,” you say, reaching up and cupping his cheek, “I’m here, love, I’m here.”

He stares at you, his eyes unfocused for a few seconds before he sighs and drops his forehead against yours.

“I dreamt that you left,” he mumbles, his voice rough with sleep but steadier, “but you’re still here.”

“Always, Frankie,” you smile, sliding your fingertips over his scruffy beard, it’s longer than usual and starting to curl in places. You reach up to press your lips against his and he suddenly pulls back.

“Don’t” he mumbles, a pink blush creeping up his neck and you look at him with surprise, “I threw up earlier, I need to brush my teeth.”

You change your trajectory and press your lips to the tip of his nose instead, “Thanks for the heads up,” you smile as you look at him again. “Why don’t you go clean up, take a shower maybe? And I’ll make us some lunch and get coffee going.”

He nods but pulls you in for a tight hug before he pushes himself off the couch and lets you sit up.

As you turn to walk to the kitchen you suddenly feel his hand grip yours and you turn back to him.

“Do you still love me?” he asks, his voice low and his eyebrows furrowed as his thumb rubs over the back of your hand. You look back at him, giving his hand a squeeze.

“Always, Frankie, I always love you.” You step back to him and stand on your tiptoes, reaching up to kiss the bare patch on his scruffy chin. “Now take a shower, you kinda stink,” you smile at him as his face softens, his eyes losing a bit of their pained look.

Frankie lets the hot water run over his body, almost scalding him, but when he comes back out into the kitchen he feels almost normal again. You’re standing by the stove, stirring a pot and he stops and exhales, watching you from behind as the afternoon light catches the color in your hair, your low hum as you try to remember the words to an old Springsteen song. You step to the side and reach up and grab two bowls, your t-shirt riding up, revealing soft, smooth skin as your jeans, always a size too big, slip lower on your hips. He swallows, the small baggie crinkling in his hand as his fingers twitch, and you hear him, turning around with a smile that makes his cheeks feel warm, a comfort in his bones. .

“Feel better?” you ask and he nods, coming over to you and holding out the bag.

“The last ones I had on me,” he says, giving it to you and you look down at the four small white pills as you take it.

“What are they?” you ask, holding the bag as if handling it too roughly will make it split open and contaminate the room.

“Oxy, or some version of it that FEDRA makes,” Frankie says, “I want you to get rid of it, I don’t trust myself.”

You look up at him, his eyes are on the pills and when he notices that you’re watching him, he pulls his gaze away from them, turning so that he’s leaning against the counter, the bag of pills out of view.

You turn and go to the bathroom, after a few seconds he hears the toilet flush and you come back out.

“They’re gone, Frankie. But I know you know where to get more, we’re gonna need to work together to get through this,” you say, taking his hand and pulling him closer to your side as you go back to stirring the pot with the other.

“Joel said he won’t sell to me anymore;” Frankie mumbles, pressing himself to you.

“Joel sold them to you?” you ask, a hard edge to your voice as you look up at Frankie and he waves his hand, shaking his head.”

“He didn’t know I’m an addict, no one told him, and when I told him about it this morning, he said he’s cutting me off.”

“At least that’s a start,” you say, your voice softer again, “Is that where you were last night? Joel’s?”

“Yeah,” he says, handing you the bowls as you turn the heat off under the pot. “I wasn’t thinking and I just, somehow, ended up there. It was the worst place to go.”

“What happened?” you ask and Frankie seems to shrink in on himself again as he sits down, sinking low in the chair.

“We got high on the oxy, and whiskey,” he says, “I don’t remember much, but we talked a bit, about Lucía, and Sarah.”

“I’ve never heard Joel talk about Sarah,” you say, “Tommy mentions her sometimes, but never when Joel’s around.”

“He didn’t say much last night either I think, but…” Frankie pauses, remembering what Joel had said just a few hours earlier, “he said maybe he would be different if he’d had someone like you, that you’re keeping me alive, that I’m lost without you.” Frankie gives you a weak smile, “He’s right, I’m so fucking lost without you.”

“I’m lost without you too, Frankie,” you say, gripping his hand across the table.

“He kicked me out, told me to go back home, even though I wasn’t sure you’d let me come home.”

“Frankie,” you sigh, a small smile creeping up on your face, “I love you more than anything, you’re the love of my life and you are the one thing that’s kept me alive these past ten years, but I swear, if you ever think I don’t want you, ever again, I’m gonna ask Will and Benny to slap you. In tandem.”

That makes him chuckle lightly, a sound that makes your heart feel warm.

“Thanks for the warning, I’ll keep that in mind,” he smiles back at you.

“Good,” you smirk, taking his bowl and ladeling up soup for him.

“Joel also said to tell you he’s not gonna do runs or trades with me, like you wanted. And…” he hesitates, remembering how he’d blown up when you suggested it, “I’m gonna stop with the smuggling, at least going outside the wall, maybe I can just help with trades in the QZ.” Frankie says, taking the bowl from you.

“Really?” you say, “That makes me really relieved, Frankie! I really think that’s what you need to get your PTSD under control again.”

Frankie puts his spoon down and rubs his hand over the back of his neck, his eyebrows pulled together as you look at him, “I’m sorry I yelled at you when you suggested it yesterday, you’re right, going outside the walls, doing trades out there, it’s made everything worse. But I just don’t wanna stop doing it, I still don’t wanna, but…” he trails off, shaking his head and sighs. “I used to be able to just do whatever shit they asked of us in the army, and just shut it out, and sleep at night. But when I couldn’t do it anymore, coke was the easy answer. And when I got past the addiction and got my shit together again, and I met you, it was easy to not be tempted. Not once in our year before the outbreak was I tempted to use, despite the nightmares, and I thought I was past it.” He rubs his hand over his face, sliding it back up to his neck and you move your chair so that you’re sitting next to him, taking his other hand.

“But after Lucía…if I’d had any drugs around then, I would’ve taken anything to make those nightmares stop…” He’s rubbing his thumb over the back of your hand, endless circles while he talks, “And then it just got worse until Arlington and Herb. He showed me how to control it, to make things calm again, even if everything around me went to shit, even when I was doing runs with Pope and we got into dangerous situations. But after New York…” he pauses and looks up at you, cupping your check with his hand, running his thumb over the soft skin. “After you got taken by Will’s guys, even when you came back with Will, nothing helped. That’s when I started getting worse.”

“Frankie, that was over five years ago,” you say softly, “why didn’t you say something?”

“I should’ve,” he sighs, “fuck…I really should’ve, but at first it wasn’t too bad, and you know me…” he gives you a crooked smile, “I told you from the beginning, talking about it is always the hardest thing.”

“You think you’ve failed…” you whisper, moving closer to him so that you can put your arms around his neck as he nods.

“And I know the runs made things worse, but even now, I still think it’s the one thing I’m good at. I make a difference when I help bring in stuff people really need.”

“But not at the expense of your own mental health, Frankie,” you say, threading your fingers through the curls at the back of his head, still damp from his shower, and tugging lightly. “I know you guys make a difference, but to me, you’re more important than anyone else, and I have to keep you safe.”

He nods and sighs, leaning into your touch as he feels the warmth of your palms against the cool skin of his neck.

“And Joel…” he says, “it sounds weird, but the way he is, it gave me permission to be like that too. It was like I didn’t have to reflect over what I was doing because he was showing me it was ok to do it…” Frankie pauses and looks down on his hands, words still hanging on the tip of his tongue. He sighs and looks up at you, a guilty look in his eyes, “It felt good, doing it,” he says, his voice low, “it felt really good doing it. People were scared of me, I could make them do whatever I wanted or…or just make things go quiet for a while.”

“Frankie,” you whisper, “you said I thought you were a monster for what you did but I ne-.” He winces at that, dropping his gaze back to his hands.

“I am a monster,” he mutters, shaking his head, “I’ve done-”

“You’re not a monster,” you cut him off, tugging at his hair and making him look at you again, meeting his pained brown eyes with your own, a determined tone to your voice. “You are not a monster and I have never, ever thought that about you. And don’t you dare say that about yourself.” You hold his eyes firm, daring him to contradict you but he just swallows and gives you a small nod.

“You’ve been through so much shit, Frankie, but you’re still here. You make mistakes and you fall sometimes, but you’re still fucking here despite it all,” you bring your forehead to his, holding him tight against you as his arms curl around your waist. “Give yourself some credit and don’t you fucking dare think you’re a monster. You’re my Frankie and you’re still the best man I’ve ever known.”

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” he says, he’s so close that you can feel his warm breath against your lips as he closes his eyes, breathing deep.

“I just told you, you’re the best man I’ve ever known,” you say, letting him pull you closer, onto his lap so that he can rest his head against your chest, the old kitchen chair creaking under your combined weight.

“I’m gonna get past this,” he mumbles, “I promise, I’ll do whatever it takes, you deserve it.”

“One day at a time, Frankie,” you say, leaning over and carefully picking up his bowl, “Start by eating your soup.”

…

As he promised, Pope came by later that night, checking in on you both. He sat and talked to Frankie for a long time while you made dinner and washed the clothes he’d slept in the night before. Both men were emotional when Pope finally stood up and pulled Frankie into a hug, before leaving again.

“I’m gonna go look for a regular job in the QZ,” Frankie tells you as he comes out into the kitchen. “Pope’s gonna talk to the others, tell ‘em I’m out.” He sighs and you pull him in for a hug, kissing his scruffy cheek when he leans his head on your shoulder.

“I’ll talk to Sean, maybe he knows someone who needs the help of a big, strong man to lift heavy things or something,” you smile at him and he grumbles against your neck.

You keep Frankie close for the next few days, there’s no immediate need for him to run out and get a soul sucking FEDRA assignment. Instead you get him to come with you to the radio office and he helps Sean with some repairs that he’s been putting off. The next day one of Sean’s friends comes by and asks if Frankie can help with a broken door lock and before you know it, Sean has spread the word of Frankie’s handyman skills around the QZ.

“So Frankie’s now ‘Frankie the Fixer, or is that ‘Fish the Fixer’?” Benny chuckles at his own joke as he sinks down next to you on the couch at the back of the bar. The fire is going in the fireplace but it’s almost not needed; the past two weeks have seen a change in the harsh Boston weather and spring is now very much in the air.

“Don’t make fun of him, Benny, he needs this, he’s doing so much better,” you scold him and he smiles.

“I promise, no handyman jokes,” he chuckles again.

“He’s really doing better?” Will asks, “I haven’t seen him in a while, he’s been so busy.”

“Yeah, he is doing better,” you say, “I mean, not good, not by a long shot, but moving in the right direction you know?”

“Good,” Will nods, “I talked to Joel and he said Frankie hasn’t even talked to him since that night so cutting him off worked.”

“You guys aren’t working at all with Joel now?” you ask, raising your hand at Santi as he comes in through the door and makes a beeline for the bar.

“No, not really, not as long as he continues to trade drugs, that’s a hard no. We help each other out a bit, warnings about FEDRA activity, that kind of stuff,” Will answers, “Tommy said he’s looking to partner with someone else, but so far anyone Tommy has suggested Joel has said no to.”

“He’s still trading oxy, he’s got some contact, managing to bring it in,” Benny says in a low voice, “But we could never work with him while he’s doing that, not after Frankie.”

“I really appreciate that, Ben,” you say and he gives you a little side hug as Pope joins the three of you, sinking down in one of the empty armchairs.

“Fish not here yet?” he asks, “I wanted to ask him about a job he needed help with.”

“He’ll be here soon,” you say, “he said he had to go over to the east side to see if he could get a spare part for Sean.”

Pope nods but keeps looking at you like he’s thinking about something and you raise your eyebrows at him, “What’s up, Santi?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking, you still sure he’s not using anymore?”

“Yes, why?” you ask, you feel worry flare up in your guts as you lean forward, “Did you notice something?”

“No, nothing, I don’t know…” he says, “Maybe it’s just my paranoia, it just felt too easy, getting him clean, you know what I mean?”

“He wasn’t using that long this time,” you reply, “just a few times after that run to Concord.”

“Yeah…” Pope scratches his beard, still thinking, “Is he sleeping ok, how are his nightmares?”

“He’s not sleeping great, he falls asleep quickly but wakes up with nightmares every night. But he’s normal during the days, I mean, he’s tired, but he doesn’t seem slow or sluggish.”

Pope nods and you lean back again, but now there’s a little knot of worry in your belly, Frankie wasn’t back to normal, but at least you thought he was doing better, he seemed calmer and more alert than he had been since the run to Concord. But it was clear that his PTSD was still haunting him, that wouldn’t disappear overnight, it took him months to get back to some sort of normality in Arlington with Herb. But that didn’t matter, you had time, as long as he wasn’t using anymore. You glance towards the bar’s front door, willing Frankie to turn up soon.

…

He felt like shit doing this, going behind your back. But he just needed a little, to keep his mind in check while he got the PTSD under control, while he went through the tools Herb had taught him. Or at least that’s what he’s telling himself. Just a half one here and there to help him sleep and take the edge off.

He shuffles his feet as he waits outside the front door of a derelict building in a part of the QZ he seldom comes to. He’s been told about it by a woman who’s shower drain he’d unclogged. He shuddered at the memory, both from the sludge he’d pulled up from the drain, and from the way she looked at him when she offered to pay him with sex instead of the ration cards they’d agreed on. She was clearly high on something and just the sheer sight of her pallid skin and lifeless tangled hair had almost made him resist asking where she got her supplies. She’d dropped her shirt down again when he asked, hiding her dirty bra, and scoffed.

“If I’d known, I could’ve paid you with a pill instead,” she’d said and thrusted the ration cards into his hand. She gave him an address down at Battery Wharf and now here he was, guilt trickling down the back of his neck.

The door in front of him opens and a surly looking man glances at him before checking the rest of the street.

“What do you want?” he sneers, his hand firmly around a heavy looking baseball bat.

“I’m here to see Tess.”

Chapter 32

Taglist: @pimosworld @i-own-loki @casa-boiardi @littlenosoul @stormseyer @mxtokko @javicstories @nunya7394 @welcometothepedroverse @harriedandharassed @meveispunk @hiroikegawa @jwritesfanfics @vickie5446

#frankie morales #frankie morales fanfiction #frankie morales x you #frankie morales x reader #pedro pascal character fanfiction #frankie morales fluff #frankie morales fanfic #the last of us #the last of us fanfiction #joel miller #joel miller tlou #joel miller the last of us #angst #frankie morales angst #frankie morales x f!reader #frankie morales x fem!reader

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ticklishthoughts1 · 1 year

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Accept your Beauty!

So I wrote this cute lil thing a WHILE back, and decided to post it on here because to this day it's still one of my favorites! (INeedthisinmylifeaseithertheleeorthelerplss)

Compliments are hard to accept sometimes. This is what you thought when You had squeaked out "Nooooo! I'm nooot!" As they Called you Beautiful. You were Absolutely not prepared for the feirce, yet loving look they give you. Slowly, they say "Stay. Right. Here. I'll be back.". The change is so sudden you're shocked into staying Like a Good Little Lee as they go out of the room, coming back with an ungodly amount of pillows and covers. Not able to help yourself, you smirk. What were they gonna do, start a pillow fight? Your question is Promptly answered as they shove you onto the bed playfully, grinning and saying "Stay Still Little One. I have an idea". Genuine Curiosity keeps you still as they begin placing pillows under and around you strategetically, Propping you up to as comfy a position as Possible, and covering everywhere but your face and tummy with the pillows. They then grab the covers, wrapping them around and under you, tucking them in tight. With a start, you realize their plan. Trying to wiggle, you find yourself entirely immoble under the pleasant, gentle weight of the comfort items, and the expert knots They tied using the lighter of the blankets. They Just Mummified You with Pillows and Blankies! They sit where your thighs would be, stretching out, and Whispering "You're Beautiful." You start to protest, but your response is broken up by giggles as they gently begin tickling your tummy. They Start to pepper your face with kisses, punctuating each one with Praise. The Forehead, neck, jawline, cheeks, nose, even the ears, they kiss you all over, tickling your tummy with more intensity every time you protest. kiss You're Stunning! kiss You're Amazing! kiss You're My Entire World! kiss I love you, so much! kiss You are worth it! kiss You are Important, and Special! kiss You are Perfect, AS. kiss YOU. kiss ARE! kisskisskisskisskisskisskisskisskisskisskisskisskisskisskisskisskisskisskisskisskiss!!

This goes on for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, you lose track of time to be honest. All you know is that You're Blushing at the shade of a Cherry Tomato, and Flustered Like Heck, when you finally cave: "OKAHAHAHAHAY! OKAY! I'M ADOHOHORAHAHBLEHEHEHE!!" They Immedeately slow the tickling down, winding to a stop instead of stopping abrubtly so that phantoms don't plague you, and gently, when they're certain you've caught your breath, they say "Say it Again Sweetheart!". You look away, grinning like a fool, and Squeak out "I-I'm Adorable...." You look back up and see the genuine affection on Their face as they kiss you one last time, on the forehead, and untie you, cuddling you under the mountain of soft now. You bury your head into their chest flusteredly, and they gently affirm One last time "You Are Positively Precious, Absolutely Amazing, and such a Cool person. I can with Confidence say that you have made my life 100% better by being In it. I love you, and REFUSE to let you regard yourself as anything but the Royalty You Are. I understand Accepting Compliments Isn't the easiest, but I'll make it my mission to keep reminding you of Who you are, until One day, you Can Look in the mirror and See what I see when I look at you, my Darling <3" You giggle happily, nuzzling into their chest some more as you feel your heart race, and your chest heat up. You Would let them win, for now~

#fuck i want this so bad #sfw tickle community #tickle thoughts

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mysticstarlightduck · 2 months

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Character Aesthetic Deep Dive Tag!

I created this tag in this post, and I want to do it again for another Scrapyard Boys OC of mine so here we go!

Rules: Make a moodboard with your character's aesthetic, a playlist that fits their vibe, "badly summarize them" (like, talk about their personality, but funnily), etc. It absolutely does not need to be super detailed!!!!!

✦ Character Aesthetic: Maxwell Cymbelline, WIP -Scrapyard Boys

♡ Moodboard ♡

♡ Playlist ♡

Not All Heroes Wear Capes - Owl City

He doesn't fight crime Or wear a cape He doesn't read minds Or levitate But every time my world needs saving He's my Superman Some folks don't believe in heroes 'Cause they haven't met my dad He loves his workshop And rock 'n roll He's got a hot rod And a heart of gold And you could say he's a man of few words But he talks a lot within And even though I'm a little taller I still look up to him

Could Have Been Me - The Struts

Don't wanna live as an untold story Rather go out in a blaze of glory I can't hear you, I don't fear you I'll live now 'cause the bad die last Dodging bullets with your broken past Well, I can't hear you, I don't fear you now Wrapped in your regret What a waste of blood and sweat Oh oh-oh I wanna taste love and pain Wanna feel pride and shame I don't wanna take my time Don't wanna waste one line I wanna live better days Never look back and say It could have been me It could have been me, yeah

Burn The House Down - AJR

Used to keep it cool Used to be a fool All about the bounce in my step Watch it on the news Whatcha gonna do? I could hit refresh and forget Used to keep it cool Should I keep it light? Stay out of the fight? No one's gonna listen to me If I write a song Preaching what is wrong Will they let me sing on TV? Should I keep it light? Is that right? Way up way up we go Been up and down that road Way up way up, oh no We gon' burn the whole house down

I Can Do It With A Broken Heart - Taylor Swift

'Cause I'm a real tough kid, I can handle my shit They said, "Babe, you gotta fake it 'til you make it" and I did Lights, camera, bitch smile, even when you wanna die He said he'd love me all his life But that life was too short Breaking down, I hit the floor All the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting, "More" I was grinning like I'm winning, I was hitting my marks 'Cause I can do it with a broken heart (one, two, three, four) I'm so depressed, I act like it's my birthday every day I'm so obsessed with him but he avoids me like the plague I cry a lot but I am so productive, it's an art You know you're good when you can even do it With a broken heart

Gone, Gone, Gone - Phillip Phillips

When life leaves you high and dry I'll be at your door tonight If you need help, if you need help I'll shut down the city lights I'll lie, cheat, I'll beg and bribe To make you well, to make you well When enemies are at your door I'll carry you way from war If you need help, if you need help Your hope dangling by a string I'll share in your suffering To make you well, to make you well Give me reasons to believe That you would do the same for me And I would do it for you, for you Baby, I'm not moving on I'll love you long after you're gone For you, for you You will never sleep alone I'll love you long after you're gone And long after you're gone, gone, gone

♡ Badly Summarized OC ♡

Seemingly delicate, polite teenager who loves vintage stuff but can actually pack a punch and is not afraid of a fight - in fact... she rather likes a good bit of chaos

Certified Daddy's Little Girl

That one friend that strangers think is the "Responsible One" but is actually a main Source Of Chaos in the friend group

Feral gremlin of a girl and unashamed, will watch the goriest and intense horror movies while having a girl's night with her friends and painting her nails different colors

Enabler of Bad Decisions who never thinks things through and then gets like "well, went horrifyingly out of control.... LET'S DO IT AGAIN!"

Worst driver in the history of drivers but is trying her best <3

Human embodiment of both an orange cat and a hyperactive border collie in one body

Would practically collect stray puppies and kittens like Pokémons if her current doggo wasn't jealous of every other animal in the world

Likes cereal without the milk. This has nothing to do with anything, but I think its a relevant fact of her personality lol

Tagging (gently): @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart, @ray-writes-n-shit

@the-golden-comet, @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@thecomfywriter

@topazadine, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes

and OPEN TAG

Taglist for Scrapyard Boys below the cut 🧪

Scrapyard Boys Taglist (-/+): @ray-writes-n-shit, @sarandipitywrites, @lassiesandiego, @smol-feralgremlin, @kaylinalexanderbooks,

@diabolical-blue @oh-no-another-idea

@cakeinthevoid, @clairelsonao3, @sleepy-night-child

@thepeculiarbird

@the-golden-comet, @urnumber1star, @ominous-feychild, @anyablackwood, @amaiguri, @lyutenw @finickyfelix

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capriciouscapsss · 2 years

Text

meeting your future spouse ™

BOOK A READING WITH ME

today we're doing a first meeting pac with your future spouse

we have four piles; intuitively choose the pile you're most drawn to.

now let's go ahead and start ♡

pile i. daffy duck rolling in money

[The hermit, 6oS, Knight of Cups, t.w.n.o.o.t.u, n.t.i.w.w., o.n.s]

This was my face as I was shuffling for you: 😲 you guys haven't been trusting the universe at all right now! the universe asks you to trust, to let go, to make sure that you're healing yourself before worrying about when you and your person will meet. they will come to you!! they will. but you have to let go. only when you let go is when you and your f/s will finally meet. only when you choose yourself over anyone else is when you two will meet. you know a lot of people say that they find love when they least expect it and I do think that will be the case for you, pile one. when you finally choose to put yourself first is when they will come into the picture. but for this you have to let go!! are you staying up late at night watching someone else's profile? seeing what they post and crushing from afar? yeah, let go of that rn😠 act like you need no one bc they'd all be LUCKY to even have a chance with you and this person will come!! when you retreat, when you put yourself first and detach from an unhealthy situation (crushing badly, toxic relationship, self isolation, ect) you'll see that this person will come rushing in. Now for the actual MEETING, well I do see that you meet this person from afar at first. they have a good reputation and they're seen as someone elevated. honestly i get the image of someone watching from afar, trying to act distant like they don't care (this is you btw😭) whilst still keeping an eye on them. you notice them first but that does not mean they don't know you. honestly they haven't heard very good stuff about you when you two meet sorry sorry bUT they still approach you anyways. again i get the image of you trying to act cool and collected, you probably don't even take them seriously. it might be somewhere crowded where you can (metaphorically or actually) feel everyone's eyes on you both. i do see people thinking like oh these two are about to fool around or like nothing can stem from the both of you talking but they're still curious enough to watch. + for some of you this can point to having a crush on them back then without knowing them, as in maybe a social media crush or something like that. like you KNOW them because you've been keeping an eye on them before but they don't know you; they've just heard mean things about you.

additional little notes: forgive, 9, the past, past crush?, problems, do we have beef?, the situation improves

pile ii. a stack of cash being flipped through

[6oS, the world, 9op, l.a.f.s, g.t.h, n.r, m.e]

Hellooo pile two! your first meeting is a weird thing. they keep pulling me to tell you about your second meeting and not your first. first off, I'm praying for you. the energy of your future spouse- wait no scratch that the alleged appearance of your future spouse??? yeah good luck. we got the oracle card "guy is too hot" like what else do we even need??? 😭 you're going to be so caught off guard when you meet them. i don't believe necessarily in love at first sight but it's so likely that it happens to both of you. you my dear lovely pile two, are somewhat of a romantic (this is my nice way of saying erratic in love) you seem to crush on people allll the time. you put big emphasis on the more uhm rated r side of love. like how it'll be, how they'll be and so on and so forth. BUT the crazy thing is, this doesn't happen with this person; you're stuck wanting to know more about them on a even friendship SOULMATE level. they're ridiculously attractive and yet you don't even want to connect bodies you want to connect with their SPIRIT. it's crazy because your way of meeting each other is almost like destiny. I can see you guys telling the story later on in your marriage and realizing that if xyz hadn't changed even just a bit then you two likely wouldn't have met. like true destiny type of vibes in your connection. i do think the reason as to why spirit doesn't want to talk about your first meeting it's because nothing really happens the FIRST meeting. most likely they're watching from afar, immediately in love. and they won't even ask for your name or nothing either, just watches from afar then goes home lmao. it's DESTINY intervening that has you two meeting again and that's when it starts. you SEE them now too. you want to speak to them and learn their name. honestly I do get the vibe that they're a bit more "refined" than you are. as in more polite and with better manners. you're gonna charm the pants off them though, just in a wilder way. def gonna surprise them.

additional little notes: the notebook but with noah as the girl and allie as the boy lol, fated connection, meeting by a friend, charity, travel

pile iii. person counting money next to their cat

[the high priestess, the hanged man, 8oC, remain positive, v.s, mm, s.b]

my dear pile 3s it's all going to get better. you'll see ♡ the energy in this pile is tired. take some rest, you need to sleep. you need to think, be alone with your thoughts and untangle the web that you take great care not to focus on. pile three, you and your f/s will meet in a period of trying to advance knowledge wise. so attending school, college, starting a class, or just in a library. it's going to be during a period that you do not want to be bothered. you and them seem to be on the same struggle boat; whatever it is you're trying to get doesn't seem to want to be gotten 😭 and you are so stressed out. you keep wondering if the dream you're even going for is possible of being accomplished. i do feel like at the time you meet they are not in that situation anymore but they can relate to these feelings. like it was like prior to meeting you they were going through your exact situation but they're better off now. as in like they already accomplished what you wanted to do first. they might see you looking lost in thought or just going through a hard time and approach you only to give you advice or help you in a sort of way. they don't mean anything romantic by it but you look so distressed that they can't help but WANT to help you. and help you they do, I'm seeing that they change your way of thinking. they force you to see things differently. like "hey why don't you try this" or "what are you so afraid of" making you relax and feel more sure and confident. + for some of you I'm getting that later you might find out that this person might've actually been someone who your friends or family tried to set you up on a blind date with prior but you always refused. silly uu <3

Additional little notes: riches, tired, 3, help, a year from now, intuition

pile iv. perfect pink stack of cash being presented

[9oC, 2oW, Knight of Pentacles, R.B, P, T.I.S.I]

my passion pile omg what!!! pile 4 i thought we were starting out cute and loving as we shuffled out the tarot cards then the oracle cards came out and my mouth dropped. one of you is so impatient!! like i can feel it from over here ngl. please be patient, this is coming to you, faster than you think. you see, your first meeting is so intense. like passionate. you might even raise your voice at them the first time you meet. omg okay so this might sound very weird BUT hear me out. this is someone from your past 😭 bUT i know no one likes hearing that but liSTEN. this is someone from the PAST past. as in you knew each other from childhood and maybe never saw them again as you grew up. ever wonder what happens to that one person you went to elementary school with and you just never saw them again. yeah, this is what this is looking like. the last time you saw them might've been since childhood and i know this is a first meeting reading but shush! childhood doesn't count. at least in this case it doesn't cause meeting them again is recognizing them. seeing them and feeling a flicker of the past. feeling like "hey I know you". seeing them is realizing that they've really grown into themselves and that they turned out to be amazing (attractive) people. like all their good qualities that they had when children seemed to have gotten better with time. this is a long gap of not seeing other again by the way. for ex. say the last time you saw them you had just turned 9/10, the next time you saw them you'd be 25 or just significantly older. they'd moved away and come back looking very different but with core characteristics being the same. I do think that at the time of your meeting you'd be getting out of a relationship. a bad one. you never felt yourself, you always felt like you were putting on a show. like you were lying, like it was all an act. and i do think you eventually end it. and when you do, this person pops us; and they have it all it seems. they're happy, successful, and confident. you both immediately want each other; it's intense. something filled with water AND fire. like I mentioned at first, you pile three might have heavy fire in your chart or on the flip side it could possibly be that coming out of that relationship has made you have to be mean and cruel at times. that's why I feel you're not nice to them at first. they're pure water, something pure deep and gracious. you on the other wand are trickier. as you see they don't get bothered by your comments or suggestions, I do feel that's going to make you pause like "huh"; it's going to intrigue you.

Additional little notes: run away, intensity, perform, mask, communication, no!

that was all for today; hope you all have an amazing day and that this pac reading resonated. blessings xx 💞💞

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