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bambikisss · 1 year ago

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When at Coachella :: Song Mingi

Lead Guitarist! Mingi x Singer! Reader (ft Manager!Yeosang)

🎶: Rude boy - Rihanna, Slow Down - Chase Atlantic, Mamacita - Chase Atlantic

📙: You and your band are on a sold out tour when you decide to make a pit stop at Coachella to perform, the performance being as hot as possible, leading to a night between you and your guitarist boyfriend, Song Mingi.

⚠: Unprotected sex (always wrap it up), accepting alcohol from a fan, public sex, Voyeurism (ft Yeosang), 69, talk about becoming an adult entertainer

Bambi's notes: I'm back! I recently watched Coachella and loved how Mingi looked and acted, so I used it as inspiration. I also realized that I haven't done anything with our Yeosang yet, so I thought this is how I introduce him to my writings lol. There also may be a part two for this 👀

REBLOGS + COMMENTS ARE WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED

"Showtime in 10 minutes, everyone make sure you are ready!"

You could hear the roar of the crowd from your dressing room backstage, smirking as you heard the chants for you as you put on your lip gloss in the mirror.

Due to popular demand, you were to headline Coachella for the first time, being the reason for the surge in ticket sales. You were a very popular singer, you and your band are currently on a sold-out tour, making a pit stop at the festival for the night.

"You always look so good when you're like that."

Your smirk only grew as the door closed behind your guitarist, the click from locking the door echoing in the room as he approached you. You didn't move, allowing his hands to rest on your hips before slowly moving down to your skirt, his thumbs grazing the bottom of your ass. You were bent over the vanity, your hands moving to support you against the mirror as the man behind you licked his lips, pressing his body against yours as he played with the fabric of your skirt. You knew by the look in his eyes that he wanted to do a lot more than touch it, his eyes moving up your back slowly to meet your eyes in the mirror with a smirk of his own.

"Don't you know that you're not allowed in here, Mingi? Yeosang is going to get upset that you're in here after he banned you from being alone with me before performances."

"Who gives a fuck what stick up his ass Yeosang has to say about me seeing my sexy girlfriend?" Mingi scoffed, his hands slowly pushing up your skirt more to see the globe of your ass, chuckling when you began to move your hips side to side, giving your ass some movement against him. "Hey, be nice, he's our manager. He's just trying to look out for us and make sure that I get on stage on time, unlike the last time you came back here before a show."

At your words, a proud smile moves over Mingi's lip, remembering how he had you pinned against the wall at one of your concerts, making you late to get on stage after he drilled into you. He wouldn't stop until you came hard around him at least 3 times. He wouldn't take any excuse, even when Yeosang came banging on the door, following after you with a shit-eating grin on his face when you both emerged from the room.

"You excited for Chella, babygirl? The crowd is chanting your name." Mingi hummed, fixing his platinum hair in the mirror above you before pulling back to let you stand up straight, his hand resting on the small of your back as you both made your way to the stage. You nodded, picking up your microphone and in ears while Mingi did the same. Your set was around 22 songs, including 2 costume changes and even a special guest. Your show was one everyone was looking forward to and you wanted to make sure that you met their expectations.

You and the rest of your band listened to Yeosang give a rundown of the stage as you all stood up on the lift, Mingi's dark blue guitar resting against his feet as he bit his guitar pic, something he did before every performance. You nodded, smiling as the lift began to move up, the cheers growing louder and louder until you were on the stage, the huge crowd of people screaming their hearts out at your appearance.

"Coachella, make some noise for me!" The crowd was like putty in your hands, screaming even louder before the first song began. The crowd cheered for each band member as you introduced them.

You made a show of walking over to Mingi, the crowd getting even louder when you wrapped your arms around your boyfriend. "This is my right-hand man and lead guitarist, Song Mingi" Mingi accompanied your introduction with a guitar rift, your fans barking for him. It was a staple whenever he performed to bark for him, the barking growing louder as many of the Coachella crowd picked up on the trend, barking for him as well.

Your set was full of cheers, the band playing perfectly as usual, interacting with the fans while you sang. You were even able to get close enough to the fans to have them touch you, which Mingi smirked at. While you were on your knees in front of your fans singing, Mingi came over to play his guitar closer, the crowd exploding as he began to drop to his knees, performing the guitar rift right over you as you continued to sing. The moment would go viral on social media, you already knew it, but you were much more concerned with Mingi's dark eyes that met yours while he played before he shot you a secret wink, raising himself back up from being over you before he walked to play at the other side of the stage.

You were having fun singing, flirting more with Mingi as the songs went on, your touches getting hotter for opening his jacket during his solo to show off his fresh 'FIX ON' tattoo that moved over his chest and his abs, singing right behind him while he played, his head moving back to rest on your shoulder while he played. You could tell by the way he stared at you that he would've taken you right there on that stage if he could, his lust for you growing more and more as the songs went on.

Mingi was full of his own tricks, though, grabbing a shot of whiskey from a fan for both of you, holding one for himself before he handed it to you, you both taking the shot before he poured the rest on his head, shaking his head as he played, your eyes falling on the droplets of whiskey that moved down his chest and abs. Mingi then took the opportunity to press his forehead against yours, panting as he tried to keep eye contact with you. He wanted you to focus on him as he played, your vocals never wavering as you and he held eye contact, singing flirtatious lyrics as if you both were alone.

"Thank you Coachella!" You waved goodbye as your set finally ended, walking back to the lift with your band members, the crowd still cheering for you as the lift slowly fell as you all waved, Mingi's free hand landing on your lower back as you all slowly disappeared.

"Good job everyone, you all are trending on every social media site!" Yeosang complimented you all as you all walked from the lift, accepting the water bottles he handed out. You had barely taken a few sips of your water when Mingi began to drag you away from everyone else. Coachella's backstage area was all outside, the trailers being only for the artists to get ready. However, Mingi didn't have the patience to go all the way to the trailer, bringing you to an area that was empty near the stage, hidden behind a pillar. You didn't have to question him at all, his hands landing on your hips as your lips met his in a heated kiss, Mingi's grip on you tightening as he pressed his body against yours.

You ran your hands through his hair as he picked you up, wrapping your legs around his waist before he pressed your back against the pillar again, letting you feel just how much he wanted you. At your moan when he rolled his hips into you, he shushed you quickly, his teeth dragging along your bottom lip before he placed a finger against his lips, whispering "shh, baby. keep quiet for me, yeah? Don't want anyone to come over here for us."

"I thought you had always wanted an audience though?" You whispered back against his lips, your nails slowly dragging down his chest as he moaned softly. It was true: Mingi had a thing for pleasuring you with an audience, eating you out underneath tables when you are going live with fans, doing the same thing when you're recording with the producer in the room, Mingi wanted everyone to know just how good he could make you feel.

Mingi smirked, his hands grabbing at your breasts over your top as he responded "Can you handle that, though? Can you handle someone watching us with their hands down their pants as I fuck your pretty pussy? You won't get all embarrassed and try and look away as per usual?''

You nodded, feeling like you were in a haze as Mingi returned his lips to yours, his tongue teasingly moving over yours before he pulled back, his chest moving as he began to roll his hips against you. You were deep down happy that there was no one around the area, everyone backstage either leaving, trying to beat the traffic, or helping to pick up the trash around the festival site.

"Are you two done?" Your kiss with Mingi broke with Mingi's annoyed groan at Yeosang's words, rolling his eyes as he turned to face him. His eyes drilled into the manager before an idea came into his head. "Baby, Yeosang had to sign an NDA before he began working with us, right?"

"Yeah, he signed a bunch of them, why?" You remained in Mingi's arms as he turned to face Yeosang, a devious smirk moving over his lips before he said "No, actually, me and Y/N here aren't done. If you want to talk to her so much, you're going to have to talk to her while I eat her out."

Mingi's words made Yeosang blush, stuttering out a small "what?"

"You heard me: Either you wait to talk to her," Mingi paused, unwrapping your legs from around his waist before he placed you back down on the ground, Mingi's lips meeting yours before he slowly kissed down your body, dropping to his knees in front of you. "Or, you can stand here and talk to her while I eat out her wet pussy, your choice."

Yeosang couldn't help but stutter, trying to figure out if Mingi was serious, but when Mingi began to press kisses to the insides of your thighs, he could tell that he was in fact serious. At Yeosang not moving, Mingi smirked before looking up at you, asking "You're okay with our manager Yeosang watching us, right? I mean, whatever he has to say must be so important that it can't wait for us to finish." You bit your lip as you nodded, a small moan leaving your lips as Mingi bit down on your thigh, saying "No baby, out loud. Look at Yeosang and say it's okay if he watches."

"It's okay if you watch" You whimpered to Yeosang as Mingi kissed over his bite, placing your leg up onto his shoulder before he kissed up your thigh, his focus now only on your pussy as Yeosang cleared his throat. He felt challenged as if Mingi was challenging him to see if he wouldn't be able to handle the sight, but he could. Heck, he had walked past you both constantly fucking all the time, this was nothing different other than that he could see it.

"So, I'm going to go over the analytics of tonight's performance with you along with how payment is going to work." You nodded as Mingi pushed your panties to the side, cursing softly at how wet you seemed to be before he dipped his tongue into you, making you gasp. You tried to keep your facial emotions in check while Mingi ate you out, trying your hardest to pay attention to Yeosang's words and analytics from the show on social media. Mingi looked up at you as you kept talking to Yeosang, sucking hard on your clit to make you moan out loud in the middle of your sentence, your hand moving into his hair to press him against your pussy, making him moan into you. You wanted to keep him busy from trying to play with you, your cheeks already on fire from how Yeosang was watching you both.

Mingi smirked as your leg began to tense on his shoulder, letting him know that you were just about to cum. He slowly kissed up your body, his ringed fingers playing with your pussy lips as he whispered into your ear "you're focusing so hard baby, let me help you relax a bit"

You bit your lip harder as Mingi easily slipped 3 fingers into you, your hands rushing out to grip his forearm as Yeosang continued to talk to you, his eyes glancing down at your hands as they gripped Mingi's moving forearm as he fucked up into you with his fingers, repeatedly hitting your sweet spot, Mingi's lips all over your neck as he shamelessly whispered into your ear all about the things he wanted to do to you. Yeosang felt his cock twitch in his pants at the sight and the sound, his eyes slowly moving back up your body as you tried to hold back all your sounds. He hummed before holding up his tablet, needing your signature for something.

Your hands shook as you accepted the tablet from him, your orgasm right about to wash over you as you signed your name on the tablet. Mingi smirked as you came all over his hands, his gaze now moving to Yeosang as he slowly pulled his hands from you. You cleared your throat as you handed back the tablet, your signature drawn messily onto the page. Mingi shamelessly sucked on his fingers as Yeosang looked down at the tablet, holding back his smirk when he noticed that you had written your signature while you were cumming.

You rested against Mingi as he began walking to the limo, chuckling deeply before he paused, turning around to face Yeosang. "If you'll excuse me and Y/N, we're going back to the hotel. I'm sure everything else you need to say can wait?"

"Of course" Yeosang hummed, his eyes moving over both you and Mingi before he walked past you, his arm grazing yours as he made his way to his ride back to the hotel without even glancing back. "I think he liked it," Mingi chuckled, picking you up before carrying you to the limo, having you sit on his lap before your lips met in a heated kiss. You and Mingi kissed as the limo driver turned up the music, giving both you and Mingi as much privacy as he could as he was used to you both doing this. Mingi's hands moved down to your hips, his hands moving underneath the skirt to knead your ass as you deepened the kiss, your hips moving against Mingi's, his hard cock pressing against his belt hard.

Mingi tossed his head back as you kissed down his neck, your hands moving over his chest as Mingi helped you grind down against him, his eyes closing as you bit down on him. "That's my baby, mark me up. I wanna post a selfie tomorrow showing all your marks off on me." Mingi loved seeing the comments on the post debating whether or not it was real or not, if they came from a woman or from somewhere else- it always got him off.

"Should start recording us," he moaned out as you removed his belt, his hand landing harshly on your ass before he licked his lips. "Have you be my own private little porn star."

You moaned at his words, licking up his neck as Mingi continued to moan out his desires, not caring about the poor driver in the front as he dragged his hands up your ass slowly, his nails digging into you before you shut him up with a kiss, your lips and tongue meeting in a messy kiss that was fit for a porn star.

When the limo finally pulled into the hotel, Mingi and you rushed to exit the car before you both rushed into the hotel through the back that was for celebrities, bypassing the many cameras. Mingi and you both laughed as he pressed you against the wall of the staircase, your lips meeting in a deep kiss as you both stumbled up the stairs to your floor. Mingi then pressed you against your hotel room door, panting against your neck as his hands already began to unzip your skirt, his voice against your ear neck as he panted "You better hurry up before I shove down your skirt and take you in this hallway, maybe we can give the security team a show next."

You bit your lip as you pressed your keycard against the door, knowing that the security of the hotel didn't sign an NDA, unlike Yeosang. You pushed open the door, Mingi's body immediately following yours as you both entered the room, his heavy boots kicked the door closed before his lips met yours again in a messy kiss.

Clothing began to be thrown all around the bedroom as you both made your way to the nearest surface, which so happened to be the floor. Mingi chuckled softly as you both landed on the floor, Mingi's back pressing against the hotel's expensive carpet as he helped you move on top of him, moving you so you faced his cock while he could have you sit on his face. "Put that pretty pussy on my face, baby."

You didn't have to be told twice, moaning as your pussy landed right on his mouth, his tongue moving quickly to taste you. Your eyes closed, your nails digging into his abs before you leaned down to take his cock into your mouth, his own eyes rolling back at the feeling. Mingi swore there was something about how you took him deep in your throat that always made him fucking ravenous. He growled deeply against you, his hands moving to grip the globes of your ass as you took him deeper into your throat, all the way to the hilt.

"That's my fucking girl, taking me like a pro." Mingi praised, his tongue returning to you to match the pace that you set.

You stopped? He stopped.

You rolled your hips back? He rolled his hips up to make you choke on his cock.

Mingi was a man of many talents, and making you cum quickly was number one.

"I'm gonna cum, Mingi, fuck." You pulled back from his cock to pump him in your hand, your words urging your boyfriend to speed up as he curled his tongue, pumping another finger into you as he moaned, the vibrations helping you to cum all over his tongue.

Even though your haze you continued to pump Mingi's hard cock, Mingi tossing his head back against the floor as he praised you. "Faster, baby. Earn that nut from me, baby. I'm almost there with you just don't stop- oh my fucking god, yes"

Mingi couldn't even think straight as you deep-throated him, a small whine leaving his deep voice as he came. He didn't know what to grab onto, choosing to dig his fingers into your ass before he fully fell back against the floor, his body shaking slightly underneath you while you cleaned him up with your tongue. Mingi chuckled at the feeling, his hand landing a firm smack on your ass before he ran a hand over his face.

"You always make me cum so hard when you do that, baby. Always know how to make your man so fucking happy." He chuckled, helping you get up before he got up from the floor, his legs now slightly wobbly before as he laughed. He walked with you over to the bed, his hands resting against the sheets as he asked for a minute, still shaking from the orgasm you had given him, making you giggle. You loved watching Mingi recover from cumming, his hair being a mess, his eyes closed as he tried to catch his breath, the fresh layer of sweat making him glow in the room's light.

You crawled over to his hunched frame, pressing small kisses to his shoulders as he chuckled, his voice now even deeper. His hands then pushed you back on the bed, his tongue moving over your lips as he grabbed your legs, pulling you to the edge of the bed. He slowly pushed into you, his long and thick cock stretching you out as he slowly filled you up, making sure that you felt every single part of his cock.

"Yeah, baby, roll those eyes back at how good just having my cock feels in you" Mingi moaned, his eyes burning into you as your eyes rolled back as he stuffed you full. He loved how your body seemed to react to his cock whenever you both fucked, his eyes now on your breasts as he began to fuck you, watching as they bounced.

"Those perfect tits of yours too, fuck. Saw Yeosang looking at them earlier while I was finger fucking you. I don't blame him though, just look at how juicy your tits look when they're moving from my fucking cock" you moaned as Mingi's hands moved to your breasts, playing with them as he began to roll his hips, leaning down to wrap his lips around the nipple. Your moans got louder, your running through his hair as he switched nipples, his tongue moving over your nipples before he pulled back, pressing them against each other as he moved faster.

"Yeah, sing for me, Y/N. Sing for me while you take my cock" Mingi's pace picked up to drill into you, using your breasts as leverage to move you on his cock, his cock hitting deep into you as you moaned his name, your hands moving from the bed to his hair to his back; you didn't know where to hold on as he fucked you, your back arching as you felt your orgasm building up quickly. At your tightness, Mingi growled "No, not yet. You better hold on until I'm fucking ready, Y/N."

"Mingi" You begged, you cries not making your lover stop, only moving faster, his eyes moving from your face to your tits he still held onto your stomach as his cock plowed into you. He loved how you begged for him, his cock twitching before growled out "cum, cum for me baby"

You both came hard, your vision becoming blurry as Mingi's pace stuttered, his cock plowing into you before he filled you, his eyes closing before he rushed down to suck and lick on your tits, leaving hickies behind as he moaned and panted against you. You held him close as you both panted, Mingi soon landing on the bed right against you as you both tried to calm down. Your eyes were closed as Mingi kissed your shoulder, his hand moving your face to his as he kissed you, his tongue running along your bottom lip before he pressed a sweet kiss to your lips.

You rested against the bed as Mingi got up, blinking still as his vision returned, stumbling to grab both you and him a water bottle before he went back over to you, his phone also in his hand. He opened your bottle, handing it to you before he said "I'll turn the water on for you, baby, just lay there."

You nodded, resting with the cold water bottle while Mingi went into the bathroom, turning on the water for you and him to bathe. He sat down against the side of the tub, taking a sip of his water as he unlocked his phone, his eyes zeroing in on a text from Yeosang.

Yeosang: If you and her ever want an audience or more, I'd be more than happy to do so again.

BAMBIKISSS | 2024

#~bambi #bambikisss #ateez #ateez mingi #ateez song mingi #ateez mingi smut #ateez smut #ateez smau #ateez x reader #ateez fluff #ateez au #song mingi scenarios #song mingi x reader #song mingi smut #song mingi

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itsstrange · 10 months ago

Text

First Impressions

Fandom: Ted Lasso, Sudeikis Fans

Relationship: Jason Sudeikis x F-Reader

A/N: A little something for all you Suds Fans. This will become a mini series, aiming for either 5 to 10 chapters, not sure yet, but it will contain Adult Content so be prepared for it! Warnings will be posted in the beginning of the Chapter!

Summary: “Uhm..,” He furrows his brows as he glances down at you then behind your head, then back to your eyes, “Is this the.. men’s restroom?” In Other words, You didn’t think you’d be meeting your celebrity crush just outside the restroom from a club.

Word Count: 5.3k

Warnings: (Yes) Will Contain Adult Content, Fluff, Angst, Smut, Jason Sudeikis Being a Soul, Etc.

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Enjoy! ✨💓

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Jesus it’s a maze here. You think to yourself as you do your best in walking through dancing bodies, ducking under wailing arms as they move to the music, brushing past couples who were determined in eating each other out, awhile doing your best in not spilling your drink. Nearly 30 bucks in this cup and you weren’t going to wait another 20 minutes for a new one nor did you feel like walking back towards the monstrosity of a crowd.

So, clutching and guarding your drink like it’s made out of gold, you push yourself to get through the sea of bodies. At one point you even had to dance your way through since that was the easier way to get by, but just as you were getting near the end a hand wraps around your waist, pulling you flushed against a firm body earning a yelp from you. Turning around you see a man grinding on you, sweat rolling down his temples as he moves to the music.

You shake your head at him signaling you weren’t actually dancing, just trying to get through but he clearly didn’t grasp that because he’s back to grinding at you. A laugh escaped from you as you go with the flow and somehow managed to slip from his hold without him even noticing, proving to you that he was extremely intoxicated in.. whatever it was he was on. Still chuckling to yourself— you continue to dance your way through dancing bodies till you’re free from the crowd, making you relax your tensed shoulders and walk the rest of the way to your booth.

You couldn’t wait to share what just happened with your friends, but just as you reached the table where they were talking amongst themselves, the smile that was on your face quickly fades when you don’t see a face with your group.

“Where the hell is Ethan?” You ask a friend over the blaring music,

A knowing look settles on her face as she points out towards the crowded dance floor.

“He started crying then left to the restroom,” The same look ends up on your face as you slam your drink on the table before making your way towards the back of the bar,

Back to the crowd, but at this point you didn’t care. Hell, you didn’t even danced your way through this time, you just rudely walked past them, earning some remarks from people but you kept walking till you made it to the other end of the bar/ club, you still didn’t know what kind of place this was because at one point it felt like a bar until out of nowhere it turned into a raver in here. Quickly you make your way to the restroom, except it wasn’t towards the woman’s, no, you straight up went to the men’s.

Where you noticed just how empty the hall was compared to the woman’s restroom. Looked like a damn airport line just to use the toilet, which had you considering in just using the men’s restroom to avoid such line, but the thought of having to use their space had you scrunching your nose knowing their restrooms weren’t as clean as the woman’s. At least club restrooms. Outside of here they can’t be the same.. right? They shouldn’t be.

Pushing through the doors you walk down the hall till you round the wall, finding Ethan leaning against the sink as he washes his face. The sight broke you, you always hated seeing your best friend cry no matter the situation, but right now you weren’t tolerating it.

Making your way towards him you grip his face before forcing him to look at you, noticing the slight jump scare from him but chose to ignore it as you stared deep in his dark blues.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Ethan says first, words coming out muffled considering his cheeks are squished by your hand,

“Neither should you,” You argue back, still not letting go of his face, “You know what else you shouldn’t be doing? Crying for that idiot!”

Ethan rolls his red eyes, settling them on the wet sink as you continue, “Screw him Ethan! He’s the one losing somebody incredible! He’s the one that lost, not you,”

You tell him, ignoring the way a man comes out from one of the stalls with a confused look as he slowly walks towards the sink where he washes his hands before quickly leaving the odd moment.

Ethan tries pulling from your grip with a roll of his eyes, but you tighten your hold on his chin as you force him to look at you before repeating your words again. Reminding him he’s worth more than some asshole who only wanted games, reminded him he never cries over a man who clearly doesn’t deserve him or deserve his love. Your words brought fresh tears from him but not once did you stop, you kept going, he had to know that he wasn’t going to be wasting his breath or time for some piece of shit who didn’t deserve him.

Tears falling down his cheeks he listens to you, taking in your words, weighing them, holding them dearly to himself like a comforting blanket. You knew he always loved your support no matter what it was for, he loved it and cherished it whenever you gave him a piece of your heart. From the first day of first grade, he knew you two would be joined to the hip, and boy was he right.

Nothing was able to separate you two. Yes arguments would happen here and there, but you two always managed to find each other again, your strong bond was there to keep you both together, reunite you both.

“So, fix yourself. Be a bad bitch and come back outside to have drinks,” You tell him eventually which he nods his head at you, “I mean it Ethan!”

You yell over your shoulder as you walk towards the door. Walking out the restroom you turn to your left without looking, eyes casted behind to hopefully find Ethan walking out the door which caused you to collide with a firm body. However, as you glance up to apologize, the words get caught in your throat along with your body going rigid when you lock eyes with familiar brown orbs.

“Oh sorry bout that,” It was his deep voice that confirmed it was truly him,

You knew his voice like the back of your hand. Being a fan of his work, of him, for so many years you just knew the low pitch of his voice like no other.

“Uhm..,” He furrows his brows as he glances down at you then behind your head, then back to your eyes, “Is this the.. men’s restroom?”

Jesus fucking Christ say something!

“Oh uhm.. yes I’m sorry. I was just—.. my friend he was.. he started crying and then I just—,” You words jumbled together as you remain holding his gaze, however, Ethan coming out of the restroom stops your ramble, preventing any further humiliation,

“Okay bitch! You’re right! Fuck that piece of shit I’m ready for some drinks!” He yells but stops in his tracks when he stands next to you, recognizing the man nearly hovering over you,

“You must be the friend,” He comments with an amused smile, those dimples of his that have always made you swoon appear on his cheeks,

“And you are Jason Sudeikis,” Ethan points at him with a wide smirk,

Jason gives a soft chuckle, “That I am,” His eyes finding your own once again, smile widening even more when you both lock eyes,

“Well this here is my better half, (Y/n). Who is incredibly obsessed with you and your work,”

“Ethan!!” You scream with wide, embarrassed eyes as you look at him,

“What? You’re just staring at him like some weirdo instead of introducing yourself,” He waves you off with a roll of his eyes, causing your mouth open in horror, embarrassment and shock,

You seriously can’t believe this is happening. Can’t believe this is how you’re meeting your celebrity crush, at a bar-club while your best friend introduces you in the most embarrassing way. You honestly didn’t want nothing more than to be sucked to the ground where you can hide away, away from this moment, from him. You’re definitely not going out any time soon.

As if you’d ever run into him again.

Jason on the other hand kept looking between you two with an amused look, smile only widening the longer he kept his focus on your embarrassed frame, then softly chuckling once again when your hand slowly covers your mouth. Obviously you didn’t notice this since you were doing your best in avoiding his gaze.

“Anyways, it was nice to finally meet you. Enjoy your night!” Ethan yells over the music with a wide smile as he taps the man on his shoulder before walking past him,

Jason nods at him with a wide smile, following his dancing frame till he disappears in the crowd before bringing his gaze back to you, where you still stood in shock and embarrassed.

“He seems like a great friend,” He tells you, wide smile still plastered on his face,

You remain staring at him with wide eyes, words not being able to push past your throat, but with the little strength that you had you managed to let some words out.

“I am.. so sorry about that,” You say through your fingers, however, before he can say anything back a man walking by prevents him to speak, which you used that opportunity to walk away,

He watches your frame leave with quick steps, wide smile still on his face as he replays the little moment, being completely hooked on it. On you for some reason. He didn’t know what it was, but he was interested, causing a small chuckle to vibrate in his chest as he makes his way towards the restroom.

You on the other hand, the embarrassment that you felt was so strong that you were considering in ditching your friends and going home, because after what you just encountered? Yeah you definitely want to go home, but you couldn’t just leave them alone, couldn’t leave them out of the blue, or leave Ethan after giving him a whole lecture in the men’s restroom. Just suck it up, it’s not like you’re going to see him again, the voice says in your head as you squeeze your way through the dancing crowd.

So, pushing down that feeling and quickly making your way back towards your group, where they all laughed and talked amongst each other you convinced yourself to stay, because you knew the voice was right. It was such a large building, he could be anywhere inside, which would most likely be in the VIP section of the bar so there was no way you would run into him again, plus, there’s a high chance he just wanted to use the restroom before leaving. Which you hoped because you don’t think you’d want to meet him again, not after that encounter.

So, for the rest of the night you enjoyed yourself with your friends— after slapping Ethan upside the ahead of course— and forced yourself to not look around the building for him. Both to avoid him if seen and just to see if you can catch a glimpse of him again before he left, but after the fifth time of scanning your surroundings and not finding him anywhere you brought your focus to your friends.

Once finishing your drink and taking a few shots with your group, the encounter was buried in the back of your head. Forgotten for the night. You enjoyed the moment with your friends, laughing, singing, talking, dancing and drinking was shared with them as the night went on. After what seemed like your 7th shot— you honestly dont remember how many you’ve had— but the buzz began creeping its way up which made you slow down on your drinks. You were the designated driver that night after all, if you didn’t control yourself now, neither of you would make it back home.

You still continued drinking with them, just paced yourself as well as drinking water on the side. Your friends on the other hand were not counting their drinks by any means, they were determined to drink themselves into oblivion. It seemed like a great idea now, but knowing them all too well they’d regret it the following day. They always do.

At some point during the night, your group eventually scatters, three of them along with Ethan were on the dance floor with men they found, where your other friends decided to go home since they were in no condition to continue with the night. After making sure they got in their Uber safely and paid the driver a heavy tip— in case they empty their stomach during the ride— you walk back inside the building where you debated on walking back to your booth where you’d sit alone or walk to the bar where you can sit on the stools alone. After standing by the entrance like some weirdo you eventually decide on the bar.

You made your way through dancing bodies once again only this time you hardly struggled since the dancing floor had fewer people, considering it was two in the morning and the place closed at three. Yet that didn’t stop your friends from living it up.

Once at the counter of the bar, you sit in the corner which gives you a perfect view of your friends dancing. A small smile tugs on your lips at the sight, you were glad they were enjoying themselves they been through a lot these past few days, they needed this night. Stress reliever. Which is why you let them be till the bar closed.

As you switched your gaze from your friends to your phone then back to your friends, the bartender makes his way towards you, asking if you wanted to order anything before they closed in fifteen minutes. You hesitated, but eventually settled for another jack & coke along with two last shots for the night. Nodding at you he goes ahead and turns around to prepare your drinks. Three minutes later he places two shot glasses in front of you, but just as he did you didn’t notice a figure settling next to you until you hear them speaking out.

“Well if it isn’t peeping Tom,” That deep voice vibrates in your ear drums, causing a cold shiver to run down your spine when you know exactly who it is,

Slowly turning to your right you meet gazes with Jason, who had a large smile on his face. His beautiful dimples displayed on his cheeks.

“Hi,” He speaks at a normal level considering the music wasn’t as loud as it was before,

“H-Hi,” You respond with a stutter, shy smile tugging on your lips,

“It’s (Y/n) right?”

You nod your head, “Yeah,”

You honestly have no idea how your calm at the moment when you’re freaking the fuck out on the inside at the fact of him remembering your name. Which you’d like to point out the encounter happened fucking hours ago, yet, here he is, saying your name beautifully with that deep voice of his.

“I’m really sorry about.. earlier. My friend he can be..,” You shake your head with a heavy sigh through your nose, embarrassment rising once again when you think back to the moment,

However, Jason only waves you off with a smile, “Don’t worry about it, caught my attention didn’t it?”

A chuckle along with a shy smile escapes from you, feeling your cheeks heat up at his words. You still couldn’t believe how calm you were at this very moment, guess you can thank the alcohol in your system for doing most of the work in keeping your nerves down because you knew for sure having any sort of conversation with this man right here in a sober state would not look like this at all. So yes, at this very moment you were glad you took those shots earlier and glad you had ordered two more.

Which you quickly drank one to keep the nerves from rising.

In a matter of seconds you both fall into a deep conversation. It switched from topic to topic, from where you were from, to what you both like to do on your spare time, to what you did for a living which you then responded you owned a bar.

“Really?” He questioned with a surprise yet interest tone,

“Yeah, it’s my uncles bar but he retired a few months ago so now I run it for him,”

“That’s really generous of you, not many people would stay in the family business. That’s pretty cool,” His smile causes a shy chuckle to escape from you, then continues with, “This bar got a name?”

You nod your head with a smile, “Cohen’s Bar, it’s in Brooklyn,”

That got him to raise his brows at you, “You don’t say?”

“Uh huh,” You respond with a soft chuckle, earning a wide smile from the actor when he knew you knew he lives somewhere in Brooklyn,

Another few minutes passed by, more stories were shared with each other which you couldn’t help but smile widely whenever he spoke of his personal life in such high spirits. Regardless of who he’s become over the years, he always had that love and brightness in his eyes when speaking of his hometown or old memories of his childhood. It was truly amazing. Not only because you were talking to this amazing man right here, but because you’re getting to know him in a personal manner and that alone you cherished deeply.

“So, what is the great Jason Sudeikis doing at a place like this?” You ask, curiosity poking at you when you have a feeling this isn’t his typical Friday night,

Despite him being to award shows and carpet events, you didn’t take him as the type to also pop in to clubs for a night out. And if he was the type, then at least you learned something new about him.

He smiles widely at your compliment, dimples deepening the wider his smile gets, never failing in making you swoon at the sight. Looking behind his shoulder for a split second, he averts his eyes back to you with the same smile.

“See those guys over there?” He motions to his left with his head, turning in the direction you spot a small group huddled in a booth talking and laughing amongst themselves, “My buddy in the white shirt, it’s his birthday, wanted to go bar-hopping, which explains why we are currently here,”

“Ahh,” You respond with a short chuckle, understanding his situation, which you then noticed he seemed completely sober compared to his group of friends,

It was also then you fully took in his appearance; hair beautifully styled upwards and parted to the right, a dark navy jacket rested on his frame with a black T-shirt underneath, grey jeans with some classic Air Jordan 3’s on his feet. He looked handsome as usual, never once has he ever disappointed you, despite him always wearing a hoodie in public for any occasion, him without it was just as dashing.

“So..,” His voices brings your focus back to his eyes that were staring fondly at you, “What is the beautiful (Y/n) (L/n) doing at a place like this?”

His flirtatious comment immediately brings heat up your cheeks, causing his own smile to widen when he catches the moment. He absolutely loved it how you responded to him, how genuine your smile and laughter would sound with any joke or story he’d share with you, how genuinely interested you were about anything he’d say rather than other people who always pretended to care just get something out him, whether it was regarding about work, a photo, an autograph, whatever it was they were looking for he’d always be able to read it off of them right away. But with you, all he read was honesty, genuine interest, and pure respect.

And that alone got him hooked on you. Your whole aura was absolutely inviting, lovable, sweet, funny, charismatic, he had just met you but boy was he absolutely in awe of you. Despite knowing you are a huge fan of him and his work, you still treated him like any other human being, you kept a conversation with him like any other close friend would. From the minutes or hour he’s spoken to you, he truly enjoyed your presence and has been wondering how exactly he can continue in enjoying your time without making it seem like all he wanted was to take you to bed.

From the moment he ran into you a few hours prior, he’s been interested in you. After he had used the restroom and went back to his group of friends on the other side of the building, his mind would often wonder back to the small moment he had with you, wondering if he’d miraculously run into you again. When he finally did find your frame sitting alone at the bar towards the end of the night, he couldn’t help the way excitement danced in his lower stomach. Then couldn’t help the way nerves overpowered that excitement in his stomach when he was able to capture your features under the glowing light, thinking just how beautiful you looked, how mesmerizing you were, how easily it was for you to halt his steps as he couldn’t stop observing your frame. He was indeed starstruck by your presence, just like how you were when running into him.

“See that group over there?” You point your thumb behind your shoulder without looking, causing a smirk to spread on the mans face at your mocking question but still sends you a nod when looking towards your friends, “They had a rough couple days, so I thought a night out would help make them feel better,”

Jason hums at you with a slow nod, bottom lip slightly pouting as he continues to look behind your shoulder, “Well I can definitely say that your plan was successful,”

You furrow your brows in confusion, not quite understanding his words until you turn to face your group where your facial expression changes from confusion to shock in less than a second. Standing shirtless on a medium coffee table, Ethan twirled his shirt in the air while the rest of your friends cheered him on.

“Oh my god,” You say in shock, embarrassment as your best friend continues twirling and twerking on the poor table,

Although, what you didn’t see was the way Jason had an amused smile on his face as he watched your group of friends living their life. However, in less than a second he sees you bolting from your chair when Ethan slightly loses his footing and falls off the table, landing with a loud thud on the floor, Jason follows after you to give you a hand but as he appears next to you he sees how your friend was hysterically laughing on the ground, along with your other friends.

“Jesus Ethan,” You say with a chuckle as you help your friend to sit on the ground, who was still laughing by the way,

However, a high pitched excited yelp comes from the man when he glances upwards, getting a sight of Jason crouching next to you as he helps you with your intoxicated friend.

“Oh my god it’s you again!” He points with a wide smile, then gasps when he turns to you, “Did you get his number?!”

Your eyes grow wide at his question, “Ethan!” You turn to look at Jason with an apologetic expression but only see how a wide smile is on his face,

He was enjoying this way too much.

“I’ll make sure to slip it in her pocket don’t worry,” Jason responds with that same wide smile before helping your friend off the floor and onto the table that nearly ended his life,

You on the other hand remained crouched as you tried processing his words. Was he being serious? Theres no way right? He can’t be, he’s just throwing jokes. There’s no way the famous Jason Sudeikis would ever give you his number! I mean.. he’s Jason Sudeikis and you’re… you! No one important. Of course he’s making jokes, that’s who he is, humorous. There’s absolutely no way.

Your other friends stumbling behind Ethan brings you out of your rambling thoughts, which also brings you to your feet as you quickly reach out for them before having another pair of friends on the floor.

“Okay, I think it’s time to go home now,” You tell them all, which of course earns you disagreement from all of them,

“You park close?” Jason asks as he stands up straight, hand still firmly holding on to Ethan so he won’t fall over,

“I got valet,”

He nods, then turns to behind his shoulder for a split second before looking back at you.

“Here gimme your keys,” You’re quick to decline his offer, you already made a fool of yourself and probably wasted his time by talking and helping you with your drunk friends,

“It’s fine really,” You try once again,

“Well from the looks of it, you’re gonna need all the help you can get,” He says, warm smile on his face as he motions his extended hand to give up your keys,

His smile, his eyes, his dimples, his inviting aurora was what made you give in. Giving him a tired smile you place your keys in the palm of his hand, which widens his own smile before looking behind his shoulder where he calls out to someone in his group of friends. A tall man in a plain black t-shirt , dark hair, comes walking towards you. Jason briefly gives him details of the situation you’re in and without another question or comment, the friend leaves with an inviting nod.

It was about 30 to 40 minutes later when Jason checks his phone, the screen illuminating his features oh so beautifully before letting you know your car is waiting at the entrance. Once you were certain the girls were able to walk on their own and grabbed whatever they were leaving behind, you give Jason a nod who easily lifts Ethan from the table before following you out the building. Every now and then you’d hear him laugh at something Ethan would say, you just hope it wasn’t anything regarding to you or regarding anything embarrassing otherwise he’d wake up in a ditch rather than a bed.

Stepping through the doors, your black 2023 Honda Sport Sedan was indeed waiting for you at the entrance, Jason’s friend standing next to it as he conversed with some security guards outside. Your friends drunkenly singing a random song brings the man’s attention towards your group, where he quickly gives Jason a hand with Ethan by carefully putting him in the backseat. Once everybody was inside, still singing their lungs out, you let out a heavy sigh, both from exhaustion and relief now that they’re in the car.

“You sure you’re good to drive?” Jason asks once he closes the door to the backseat,

You give him a nod, “I stopped drinking a couple hours ago,”

He narrows his beautiful eyes at you, that somehow look bright brown under the neon bar sign, but with a small smile tugging at his lips he hands you your keys. Definitely not being able to stop the way electricity runs through your fingertips at the slightest touch of his own, nor did you try and focus on how he purposely ran his fingers against your own for more than three seconds.

Oh how you wished the night wasn’t ending, how you wished you still had time with him, how you wanted to talk to him till the sun rose then fell back down. Talking with him was so easy and smooth, like molasses. He was so easy to communicate with, such a gentleman in all aspects, just like how you always pictured it and seen on interviews. He was so outgoing and welcoming, making sure you felt comfortable without even trying or even knowing. But now, sadly it was coming to an end.

After this night you’d definitely won’t see him again other than your screen, so of course you stood just outside the building staring into his eyes in silence. Wide smiles displayed on both your faces as if you both knew what the other felt at the moment. But it was you who broke the comforting silence.

Clearing your throat you shyly look away from his eyes, “It was really nice meeting and talking with you, I enjoyed it,”

His smiles widens, eyes never leaving yours, “Yeah same here,”

“And thank you again for..,” You don’t finish your sentence as you motion your hand behind you where your group of friends are now laughing hysterically in your car,

He slightly chuckles, “Of course,”

Another moment of beautiful, comfortable silence falls between you two as you both hold each others gaze once again. Clearly neither one of you have gotten enough of each other, but unfortunately, it was him who broke the silence this time.

“Drive safe?”

You nod at him again with a smile, “I will,”

With that you climb into the car, your friends singing off key to some song you don’t recognize, at least not when they’re the ones singing it. But as you get in, turn on the ignition, you glance out your window once again, sending him one final smile and a wave. Which he returns with those dimples displaying on his face once again.

Fuck how you’re going to remember this night for the rest of your life and oh how you wished it wasn’t ending just yet. But, life has to move on. You’ve got your path and he’s got his, both completely different from each other that it just will never happen.

This was a one time thing.

Or as they call it “one hit wonder” Regardless of what they call it or how it seems, you were incredibly grateful to have such an intimate connection— moment with Jason Sudeikis. Even if it was only for a couple of hours, you were still grateful. You wouldn’t have it any other way, would rather sit down with him and talk than spare a photograph or autograph, because rather than capturing that five second moment on camera, you rather have a memory of having a decent conversation with one of your favorite actors.

So yes, despite you not wanting the night to end, you were glad you got to talk to him for those remaining hours. Definitely a core memory.

However, you nearly tripped on your carpet of your room as you fished out your keys from your pocket. Just as you were going to place them on your side table you noticed something red sticking underneath your keys. Pulling it out you noticed it was your valet ticket, however, it was the neatly written phone number behind said ticket that made your foot get caught with the ripped corner of your carpet that had you stumbling towards your bed. Just barely catching yourself on the frame of your bed you continue to glance down at the ticket in your hand, still not quite believing in what you’re seeing.

But after numerous times of rubbing both your eyes and slightly pinching your skin, you believed your vision was not playing tricks on you. And the number was in fact permanently written on the back of your ticket.

Call Me

718-656-7785

——————————

-> I Hope Y’all Liked This One!!! It’s Been Long Overdue And Have Been Coming Back & Forth With This One For a While Now!

-> Just Letting Ya’ll Know That You’ll See This Hunk of A Man on My Timeline More Often 😚✌️

-> Another thing, I’ve Got More Ideas Not Only Regarding Sudeikis, But For Other People/Characters I Write For So Stay Tuned For That!!!

-> Make Sure To Turn On Post Notifications!! 🔔 For More Updates!!

——————————

#Ted lasso #ted lasso x reader #Ted lasso x you #Ted lasso x ofc #Ted lasso x female character #Ted lasso x original female character #jason sudeikis #Jason Sudeikis x reader #Jason Sudeikis x you #Jason Sudeikis x ofc #fluff #angst #angst with a happy ending #smut #Jason Sudeikis Has Me In A Chokehold

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ilikekidsshows · 8 months ago

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whenevee I said that I'm sick of miraculous because it going down so bad there's always people who told me to be patient, it will get better and my only question is "WHEN??"

No seriously I was told the same thing when s3 end, that Marinette will share the guardian secret to cat noir now that she's a guardian (because in s2 she told cat that it's not her secret to tell and now she's a guardian IT IS her secret to tell.

S4 proof that wrong.

Then I was told that it will get better since Marinette already apologize to cat noir and s5 just get worse and worsen.

And it's not me being impatient either because I don't mind long running show, I've been watching detective Conan since I was in elementary and now I'm already adult, that's how dedicated I am to a show. But only for a show that worth my investment.

Miraculous, since s4 already showed me that this show doesn't care about Marinette get out of her flaw, it relied on the show and the fandom (especially Marinette stan) to gaslight other audience to keep saying it will be better times and times again. I don't mind s4 because I know a conflict will be resolved but for it to actually not resolved at all but getting worst instead??? Yeah, I'm not going to stick around to see Marinette going deeper into the ugliest version of herself and see everyone just nod and say "that's the greatest ladybug in all history"

I'm now gonna say s4 isn't a ladynoir conflict season, it's a season to conditioned cat noir into perfect obedience pet and all that mistreatment? It's all just her being stressed, not a big deal, everyone has a bad day right? You just need to understand and be patient even if she leash out at you BECAUSE UNDERSTANDING IS THE KEY *HEAVY SARCASM*

---

The “just wait until it gets better” crowd needs to shut the fuck up. Season four premiered three and a half years ago. We’ve been waiting for this shit to get good for three years and 55 episodes (two of the specials are part of the S5 narrative so they count as S5 episodes). How reasonable is it to expect people to wait OVER FIFTY-FIVE EPISODES for a claimed-to-be-serialized show to deliver on any of its premises? I’m just gonna go out on a limb here and say it’s absolutely bonkers.

I don’t care if there are good scenes or even whole-ass good episodes with nothing annoying in them in there. Anyone can manage to write one good episode if they're given a dozen chances to do so and the Miraculous writers have always been good at writing a singular, isolated scene that’s bound to get the audience hyped. But, like, is the show good often enough to justify the rest of the show being boring at its best or absolutely infuriating garbage at its worst? In my opinion, if the season premiere of season 5 is good while the rest of it is a downward spiral of garbage, then season 5, as a whole, is garbage. Even if we consider the specials good as well, that means less than 20% of the season is good, which is one fifth of the whole season. Season four was even worse with having only a couple of episodes I considered worth watching, meaning the percentage drops down to 10%.

This is even more inexcusable when we’re using those isolated scenes to justify this show still being watchable. Even if a single scene in an otherwise incredibly annoying episode is the hypest shit ever, it’s not gonna make me want to rewatch that episode, because those single, couple of minute scenes are, once again, less than half of the whole. This is extra annoying when the same episodes have some of the supposedly best scenes in this show coupled with some of the worst, or if the said "best scenes" are actually absolutely infuriating with their implications (like Bug Noire kicking ass only being possible by the absolute sidelining of Adrien's character). If just watching a compilation of “best X scenes” lets you get a better experience than the actual show, the actual show is bad.

Once again, the media analyst in me is looking at patterns. The people hyping this show up focus on these small increments of good or it-will-be-good-if-the-writers-commit-to-it-which-we-know-they-won’t, so they can say that following the show is still worth it, but is it really? If you start quantifying your enjoyment of this show, do you actually spend more time enjoying it than waiting for something interesting to happen? The “some parts of this show are still good” is a pattern, alright, but, we must look at what that pattern means. The pattern means that the experience of watching Miraculous is mostly waiting for that good stuff to happen every once in a while. And, like, even the good stuff has stuff that annoys me personally, or is only made possible through things that piss me off, so I find nothing to enjoy about this shitshow.

#ml fandom salt #ml salt #dats chats

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gayleviticus · 1 year ago

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i think a significant factor in teachers/schools being too strict or harsh or unaccommodating, beyond just 'some people like being in a position of authority and abusing it', is class size. when you deal with any kind of large group you inevitably have to stop dealing with it as a collection of 28 individuals and start approaching it as a Crowd. an entity of its own.

and for all the talk of differentiation and diversity, often that incentivises treating the whole class the same. it incentivises one-size-fits all activities. it incentivises collective punishment because teachers are not going to take 10 minutes to play detective. it incentivises forcing everyone into group-work so you can divide a sprawling class of 20-30 kids into 6 manageable chunks. it incentivises not taking the time out to support kids one-on-one who need it because it's just not feasible.

it incentivises not letting students leave their seats and stretch around the room because you just can't give a crowd that kind of leeway without it becoming difficult to manage. it incentivises teachers instinctively getting harsh on fifth-graders with ADHD who listen better if they're drawing, because for most kids it's a distraction and if you set exemptions the rest of the class will kick up a fuss.

it incentivises being very strict about routines and rules that don't *really* matter, but give some level of structure to a room of two dozen 12 year olds (needing to ask permission to go to the toilet is often something adults look back on negatively, but when you have a third of the class in-and-out of the bathroom at once, distracting other classes and each other, missing important learning, it makes sense).

that doesn't make it right. much of this is unfair. but it happens because it's what works with the system. it's a consequence of very practical issues, not just abstract educational philosophy. and unfortunately tactics for dealing effectively with thirty 10 year olds who need clear structure and clarity of instruction are generally not fine-tuned for meeting the needs of students with specific learning needs

senior classes often will have a lot more freedom and agency, but it's not just because the kids are older; it's bc the groups are small enough you can treat people as individuals. this is true of dealing with any large group. there's a reason we use ballot boxes and don't just invite millions of citizens to a talking circle about who our president should be. i used to struggle running games of mafia with 20+ adults sometimes simply because getting 20 people to be quiet at once is hard.

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braingrenadebooks · 7 days ago

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IN DEFENSE OF BOOKS: THE BRAIN GRENADES WE NEED.

It’s official: I can mark myself safe from the shame of not blogging. My business manager (who also happens to be my wife) and my agent can finally breathe a sigh of relief that they have content to use to help people find me and my books.

I won’t pretend I had this planned. Truth be told, I’ve wrestled with the question for a long time: what information or knowledge could I possibly share?

Turns out, the answer was surrounding me the whole time—on every wall of my home office, stacked in bulging boxes in storage, piled on the floor, towering next to my bed, in baskets in the bathroom: books.

Thousands of them - Two thousand thirty books, plus thirty or so odd new ones that haven’t made it into the custom database I created. And, thousands of PDFs saved by the terabytes on drives, sticks and countless piles of coffee-stained paper.

I’m not talking about cozy reads or trendy titles. These aren’t books found on Oprah’s Book Club or recommended as the must-read in the latest issue of a glossy magazine (I think these retro paper relics still exist?).

I’m talking about heavy-hitters, no longer (actually, never) read in traditional school, often no longer published, sometimes banned, that cracked my mind wide open and left me gasping in the rubble of my once innocent worldview. I’m launching this series with the kind of books that demand a seat at the grown-up table:

The Naked Communist by W. Cleon Skousen

Propaganda by Edward Bernays

The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (because not all revolutions wear suits)

READING MATTERS—ESPECIALLY IN THE AGE OF DOOMSCROLLING

Here’s the cold, hard truth: Reading is on life support—and it’s taking our ability to think critically down with it.

In 2022, just 48.5% of U.S. adults read a book for pleasure. Ten years ago, that number was 54.6%.

Only 14% of 13-year-olds read daily in 2023—half the rate from a decade ago.

Screens are up. Empathy is down. Critical thinking? Circling the drain.

Neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf argues that "deep reading" builds the kind of reflective, empathetic minds that make society work.

UCLA’s Patricia Greenfield found that screen saturation reduces analytical thinking. Want proof? Just scroll your feed for five minutes.

And yet, people toss aside books like Crossing the Rubicon or Wall Street and Bolshevik Revolution—which offer blueprints for decoding today’s chaos—in favor of whatever got 10 million views on TikTok.

We’re trading intellectual resistance for algorithmic obedience. It’s easier to swipe than to question. But that's exactly how did we end up in a world where nobody asks why.

“READING IS NOT JUST A MATTER OF ACQUIRING INFORMATION; IT IS A MATTER OF LEARNING TO THINK FOR YOURSELF, WHICH IS WHY SO MANY IDEOLOGUES WANT TO CONTROL WHAT YOU READ.”

-THOMAS SOWELL

20 YEARS, 2,000 BOOKS, AND COUNTLESS BREAK-THROUGHS AND BREAKDOWNS LATER…

I’ve been tearing through nonfiction for decades.

Not for a degree. Not for clout. Certainly not for popularity (I’ve lost more friends than I’ve gained).

For survival.

Titles like The Crowd and The Big Bamboozle didn’t just pass the time—they gave me a lifeline and kicked me into action. These weren’t beach reads. They were how-to guides for spotting BS in a world addicted to spin.

The Naked Communist revealed the playbook behind creeping ideologies.

Propaganda and Crystallizing Public Opinion laid out how the masses get manipulated.

The Gulag Archipelago taught me the cost of staying silent.

Lord of the Rings reminded me that nobody can change everything.

These books aren’t just thought-provoking—they’re thought-detonating. They are thrilling and enlightening.

They are not always an easy read or pleasant to think about. Some of them are terrifying and will keep you up at night, brain racing and stomach churning. More importantly, some are complete garbage and written by absolute lunatics or disinformation organizations. I’ll stay away from those and let them remain in storage.

But that’s the idea: these are books that will make you think. And question. And wonder. And doubt. And believe. And hopefully act.

Their words didn’t just inform me—they transformed me.

Somewhere between the grind of chasing a 401(k) and the soul-death of the goldwatch life, I woke up. I penned the story that would become The Willing Fool Series between about 2010-2015 while stuck in a soul-sucking corporate consulting job.

It was during this time, traveling every week, spending lonely nights in hotel rooms away from my wife and four kids, that this story became my escape. I didn’t sit down to write a book. It just sort of happened.

In many ways, it saved me. In many ways, I am Leroy O’Malley and he is me. He is also so many of you, and you are him. Leroy O’Malley is what modern America became and what I hope it can be. You will have to read the series to see what I mean.

Sounds a bit depressing, but I promise, it’s a fun read.

Think Wag the Dog meets Fight Club meets 1984, but with more Florida, more grit, and way more Fargo vibes thrown in.

My wife says if Carl Hiaasen, the Coen Brothers, and Jeff Lindsay had a love child—and men could actually have babies (they can't, for the record)—my writing would be the result. Twisted, funny, and a little dangerous.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THIS SERIES

Each post will spotlight a book that cracked open my skull in the best way possible. Expect:

Quick, sharp summaries

Occasionally irreverent commentary

Real-world connections to media, politics, religion, and more

Social posts with opportunity for discussion, strong opinions, and very possibly some disagreements.

I’ll break down titles like The Fourth Turning, Esoteric Hollywood, Aeon (trust me, it’s wild), and Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare.

Whether it’s Don Quixote tilting at windmills, Bernays steering public opinion, or Bertrand Russell promoting the ‘expert’ class, we’re going deep.

For the record, I’m not a professor or a scholar. But I can play rock riffs galore on my collection of epic guitars and because of that I can claim ‘expert’ status and ascribe it to any opinion I have…thanks Bert.

Occasionally I’ll post an album review of my favorite music and even delve into the equipment used, recording techniques, and anything else of note.

Other than that, I’m just an average American husband and father who fell down a rabbit hole of books and came out writing satirical thrillers and a blog about books. PH.D. be damned.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

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#RBMaxwellBooks #CuriosityOverConvenience #MakeAmericaThinkAgain #MATA #BooksBooksBooks #Bibliophile #CurrentlyReading #ThinkForYourself #BrainFood #NonFictionBooks #BookAndBrain #BookNerd

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owemnstudies · 11 months ago

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28.O6.2O24 | 4/100 days of productivity

💙 d - 43 ★ 🌻 d - 98

it's a vent day, not a productive day, so don't read if you don't want to!

today i went to my old high school because I asked for a grade certificate for my uni almost two weeks ago, and it was so stressful because It's far from where I live. When i got there, they told me it wasn't ready yet, even if I had called a day before and they said it was.

I went with my mom, I'm kind of an 'adult' who can't go out without feeling anxious, but she got mad at me that I didn't complain enough, we had to go home. I called later, my high school told me they would have it before noon, but then they didn't, they told me to call back again and I did, but the worker in charge was either in lunch, or busy, or told me to call later, or that he'd call in a few minutes (hours passed).

In the end, his supervisor called saying I was putting too much pressure? it's their job? and I even asked how much it would take, they said 10 working days, this supervisor said they actually take 20 working days? like?? I spent so much in the bus, the calls, I could've used that time to study more, not to wait around for a call and just deal with traffic and crowded public transport.

(and I even tried emailing four weeks prior, another one three weeks prior, I received no answer)

I know it's silly, I think back, and just things like these make me feel hopeless, like I can't be an adult who just cries because of this? that somehow it's my fault because I didn't ask enough or complained enough?

it also made me just remember how I used to feel back in high school, stressed about dealing with the administration, hopeless about my emotions and no matter how frustrated I was, nothing was going to ever change. i hate how much things like these actually affect me and others just don't, I almost went silent the whole day from the stress, because I can't let something like this affect me, but it just does.

and I really felt like I wanted to text someone and complain about this, anyone, not to receive even an answer but just to be heard, not to be blamed for, but it just sounds so silly to cry over someone's words. I just wrote this and wanted to post it as a way of venting, I hope I can get on track tomorrow, I can't afford to lose more days like this.

I ended up with a headache from the stress, I managed to take the bus in time to go back to high school and then to the uni with the certificate, anyways, what a day 🙃

(looking back this was so dramatic)

⏰️ study time : 0 h

#vent

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neo-contemporaryfailure · 1 year ago

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In 1966, Jack deals with discomfort after being brought in to fix his struggling mentor's choreography on her first show independent from her husband, and meets Peter Burnett, a charming stage manager who is the son of a notable producer and director.

MARY’S PENTHOUSE 1966. It is a slightly lively party. Slightly. There are various actors about.

The festive atmosphere is slightly marred by MARY, who is nodding off on the sofa.

Across the room is BERT. Bert is glaring daggers at MARY while ROD talks at him.

About are other faces, WYATT, a flagrantly homosexual man slightly older than Anne, is meandering with ANNE and their adult son, PETER.

We also see ANNE’s current fiance, TIM Garfield, who is listening to their conversation but about 4 drinks in.

LOUIS Curtis is sitting on the ottoman chatting to MAURICE.

Everyone has a glass of vile tasting overly boozy punch and almost everyone has a cigarette.

STANDING against the wall, as far as he can from everyone else, is JACK. Jack neither has a cigarette nor a glass. He is watching the room with disinterest and maybe a bit of anxiety.

BERT I'll grab you for the next one, Rod. I promise.

BERT excuses himself and crosses to JACK. He gestures for him to follow and the two go into the dining room.

The dining room table is covered in a buffet style of mid-60s delights. An absurd amount of Jello and aspic. Shrimp cocktail. Some weird mayo based salad served out of a pineapple. All sorts of food in hues of green, yellow, and red, and the big bowl of orangish colored punch, which is mostly gone.

A few people hang out here, talking and smoking or picking at the food.

One, SANDY is happy to see Jack.

BERT Could you do me a favor?

JACK If you're going to ask me to leave–

BERT Could you fix another bowl of punch?

JACK What's in it?

BERT Whatever fruit juice we have in the pantry and your choice of liquor, I've just been winging it. I'd do it myself but I really want to… get Mary out of the living room.

JACK nods and BERT goes back into the other room.

JACK takes a bottle of vodka out of the liquor cabinet and pours it into the bowl.

SANDY You did a pretty good job coming in at the last minute, Jack. We appreciate it.

JACK I'm glad my name isn't going to be on it.

She gives a “what can you do” smile.

SANDY We tried our hardest, Jack. So did you. So did they.

JACK No one can fucking dance, it's ridiculous. Don't even know how they got casted.

SANDY (Warm) “Cast,” Jack, the word is “Cast.”

She gives him a kiss on the cheek and goes into the other room. JACK goes into the kitchen and opens the pantry. He sorts around until he finds a bottle of pineapple juice. He puts it on the counter, fishes around for a can opener, opens it, brings it back into the other room and pours it in the punchbowl.

BERT enters, half carrying MARY.

JACK Better than dopesick.

BERT doesn't say anything and exits towards the hallway.

BERT returns a few moments later.

JACK You made sure she was sitting up?

BERT gives him a look. He ladles himself a glass of punch and sits down.

BERT She told me you fixed the show, Jack. You should be happy. Her first show alone, she couldn't do it without you. Bet you're really happy about that. (tasting the punch) We have some grapefruit juice in the fridge, would you?

JACK enters the kitchen and opens the fridge. He takes out the bottle of grapefruit juice and returns. Everyone's in the living room. JACK pours half the carton of grapefruit juice into the bowl.

Jack returns to the living room, he stops in the entryway, near ROD and LOUIS. Everyone is watching MAURICE.

MAURICE And that's when I said, that's not a swimming pool that's my wife!

Laughter! ROD (To Jack, quiet) I haven't seen his wife in 10 years. I think he might've murdered her.

LOUIS (To Jack, even more quiet) That poor woman.

WYATT addresses the crowd.

WYATT I really want to thank you all for what I can only describe as my favorite production to work on in 15 years.

Knowing laughter.

WYATT And I want to thank Mary, wherever she is, for throwing us this bash even if she couldn't be bothered to show up to rehearsals!

More laughter as JACK goes back into the dining room. Rod and Louis follow JACK goes and serves himself a glass of the punch but doesn't drink it.

LOUIS Are you even old enough to drink?

ROD picks at the food.

ROD Jello, jello, jello.

JACK That one right there? The light green one with the limes? Try it. It's surprisingly good.

ROD I don't have a death wish, kid.

LOUIS laughs.

LOUIS Thank you for saving our show, kid.

JACK shrugs.

ROD I'd never expect from how you spoke to the dancers that you're real humble and shy.

JACK I'm not.

LOUIS You seem shy to me.

ROD and LOUIS laugh.

LOUIS You want a cigarette, kid?

JACK I don't smoke.

ROD Of course you don't.

ANNE enters. ANNE Maurice is telling the story about Bob Fosse again.

LOUIS Oh, God.

ROD He tells it all wrong.

ROD and LOUIS go into the living room. ANNE pours herself another glass of punch.

ANNE It's a different color now. How special. I'm sure everyone's thanked you tonight, so I'm not going to. But you seem real miserable for someone who is about to blow up. You'll have a Tony before ‘70, mark my words.

JACK takes the carton of grapefruit juice and goes into the kitchen. He puts it into the fridge. He pours his glass of punch into the sink and fills it up with water.

BERT enters. He is carrying a plate of deviled eggs. He puts them down on the counter and opens the fridge. He takes out a can of beer.

BERT No one's touching these. I guess real food doesn't compare to jello.

JACK Jello is the perfect food.

BERT You're nuts. You intend to stay here tonight?

JACK Where else would I go? Sandy's pissed at me and Ben told me to go fuck myself.

BERT leans against the counter. He takes a swig of the beer and looks at Jack.

BERT You need to learn to negotiate your salary. They should've paid you a lot more to come in and fix it.

JACK I didn't fix anything.

BERT I know that. But do they?

JACK They'll figure it out eventually.

BERT I don't doubt it for a minute… Jack, I'll loan you a couple hundred to get you into an apartment. Having you hang out around here is only causing problems.

JACK I don't have work, unless Mary’s working. I wouldn't be able to pay rent.

BERT She has a problem, kid.

JACK I'm not blaming her.

BERT You love to bite the hand that feeds you.

JACK I didn't say I'm blaming you.

BERT (Quiet, intense) Alex, how many times have I kicked you out of this house? You want to count it out for me? Go slow, use your fingers if you have to. I don't want you here, Mary is the only reason I put up with you. You came in and made sure no one will ever work with Mary again. She might finally be on my side on day. You need to be prepared.

JACK You can't call me Alex anymore. It's legally changed.

BERT I can call you whatever I want.

BERT leaves. JACK grabs the plate of eggs off the counter. He leans over the sink and eats them.

Enter PETER, he's about Jack's age, twinkish, educated, and well-bred.

PETER There's a whole party going on out there. With some very sweet punch.

JACK puts the plate of eggs into the sink and plays it cool.

JACK I can't look anyone in the eyes.

PETER Why?

JACK Because it looks terrible.

PETER Well, if she didn't want it to look terrible, she shouldn't have given you only 2 weeks to fix it.

JACK They're all going to blame her.

PETER What? For it looking good?

JACK It's awful. I had no idea what I was doing.

PETER Maybe. But it was better than her's.

JACK No it wasn't.

PETER And everyone owes you. It's a Maurice Travlian show, it was never going to be good.

JACK is suspicious.

JACK Who even are you? What did you do?

PETER My father's the producer, the mother's the director, my uncle's the composer, and my father's lover is the lyricist, so I'm probably something or other... I just graduated, my mother wanted to show me how a broadway show works before getting me my first job on one.

JACK Ah.

PETER How old are you?

JACK pauses to do some mental math.

PETER Last time I saw you, Mary said you were 26. But last year, you said you were 26, and two years before that you were 18.

JACK shakes his head.

JACK 21. I want people to take me seriously.

PETER You might not believe it, but no one is having a hard time taking you seriously tonight. You might be the most serious person at this party. You're even brooding in the kitchen stuffing eggs into your mouth. That's very serious.

JACK starts to leave.

PETER Look, I hate old people's parties. Where do you live? We can share a cab.

JACK Here. Mostly.

PETER (Disappointed) Oh. You're Mary's lover. That makes sense.

JACK That's an awful thing to say.

PETER So you're not?

JACK No! Fuck off.

PETER Good, because I was about to invite you over, I wouldn't want to do that if it caused drama.

JACK You're welcome to invite me over, but I'm not coming.

PETER Why not? You really want to hang out here all night?

PETER'S NEPO-BABY APARTMENT. Jack is sitting on Peter's sofa, watching him as he puts on a record.

PETER Where are you from?

JACK Here.

PETER Really?

JACK No. But I wish I was.

PETER sits next to him.

PETER It's not anything special.

JACK Yes it is. Believe me.

PETER You're right. It is. I shouldn't pretend. Can I be honest with you, sweetheart? My parents asked me to be friendly with you tonight so you don't get bitter about not getting credit. But I brought you here to sleep with you, which they didn't ask me to do.

JACK That would be odd. If they did.

PETER I can never tell when a dancer is a homo, because they kinda all are. Do you like this album? I love Connie. She's the best singer in history.

After a moment, JACK nods.

JACK I like music.

PETER You're a real radical.

PETER gets up.

PETER You want something to eat?

JACK I'm fine. How'd you afford this place?

PETER My dad pays for it. My dad's a homo. He feels guilty about leaving my mother because he was her one true love. So now he pays for everything. Kinda makes me crazy. But, I like my apartment. I used to have a roommate, and he just.. left, went to Europe… so it's all mine now. It's kinda lonely. I'm going to have a glass of overpriced whiskey my dad bought me, would you like a glass?

JACK No thanks.

PETER Oh, shit you don't drink?

JACK I do, just… not right now.

PETER laughs and pours himself a drink. JACK takes a blister pack of pills out and pops two, then quickly puts it away.

PETER What'd you take?

JACK Just some uppers.

PETER So you don't drink but you take uppers. That's really interesting. How do you come down? Pot? Valium?

JACK No. I try to never come down.

PETER (amused) You must never sleep then.

JACK is enjoying this.

JACK If I could I'd spend all my time in the studio.

PETER Why?

JACK Because maybe then I'd be able to fix that fucking show.

PETER You're so fixated on that.

JACK What else am I supposed to think about?

PETER I don't know. You tell me. What are we doing?

JACK sorta shifts away uncomfortably. PETER gets the deal and gets up. He looks through his records.

JACK I don't know.

PETER What's– uh, Mary like when she's not all doped up?

JACK Doped up? You're fucking crazy.

PETER My dad's the producer, he talks. And I'm not an idiot. I know what nodding off looks like.

JACK Actually, maybe I should have a drink.

PETER pours him one, hands it over, and goes back to looking through his albums.

PETER I like that you don't ask for things. Do you like Elvis?

JACK He's fine. I really just listen to whatever's on the radio.

PETER Then you're fine with Connie? I'm always so nervous.

JACK downs the drink.

JACK Yeah, it's good.

PETER Geez.

JACK You're in luck, the last time I got drunk, which was Christmas a couple years ago, I gave a guy a blowjob on the patio–

PETER I'm not trying to get you drunk–

JACK –I’d say who but it'd get me into trouble.

PETER Oh, God, it wasn't my uncle Rod, was it– No, he wasn't there–

JACK shakes his head.

JACK I won't say… You want to know all my secrets? I have better ones than that.

PETER I bet I know a lot of them.

JACK I doubt it.

PETER My mom might not talk to the press, but she does talk to me. Same with Rod. You can ask them to keep their mouths shut but that doesn't include us. I know a whole lot about you. And I have an encyclopedic memory when it comes to people. I might know more about you than you know about you.

JACK That's fucked up.

PETER Want to quiz me?

Jack shakes his head.

JACK Not particularly.

PETER You're from somewhere in the Midwest. You were Mary’s ward for 5 years. You dropped out of the last show you were in and haven't performed since. You used to crash on Sandy Vaughn’s sofa all the time and you asked her out five times and she refused each and every one because you're too young for her. Your real name is something long and Greek.

JACK is thoroughly creeped out.

JACK All that but you didn't know my age.

PETER No, I did. I just wanted to see how many times you'd lie about it.

JACK gets up and starts to go.

PETER You want my number before you walk the 15 blocks home?

JACK Why would I want that?

PETER So when you do want to fuck, I'll be easier to reach.

JACK turns and looks at him.

JACK You're actually crazy.

PETER But right, right?

JACK sighs. Peter scribbles it down on a piece of paper and hands it to him.

PETER I promise I'm pretty regular. I just try to be open with my quirks from the moment I meet someone.

JACK You're also pretty open with your intentions.

PETER Does it bother you?

JACK No.

PETER And it doesn't bother me that you aren't, sweetheart.

JACK Don't call me that.

PETER Sorry, darling..

JACK Do you know stuff about everyone or just me?

PETER I'm not a stalker. I know everything about everyone. You're not special. You're just in the room with me.

JACK Really?

PETER Hope that doesn't bother you. A lot of people want to feel special. But I like a few things in life: Connie Francis, trivia, and dancers with nice shoulders and pretty eyes.

JACK is a sucker for flattery. He takes out his wallet and puts in the number.

JACK I'd stay tonight but a glass of whiskey, two dexies and a half a dozen hardboiled eggs is– Just, not tonight.

PETER That's why I wrote it down.

This is a remarkably human interaction for Jack.

LATER. THE COREY HOUSE. Jack enters, sure to be quiet. The party is well over, but the lights are still on. He flicks the living room light off, then the dining room, then the hallway, then he goes out to the patio, quietly closing the door behind him.

It's one of those cool late winter or early spring nights. Well, not cool, it's pretty cold. But Jack is choosing to be okay with it. He takes a seat on a chair and looks up at the gray city sky.

A light turns on inside and Bert comes through the doors, tired, wiping his eyes.

BERT Oh, good it's just you.

JACK That loan still on the table or did I fuck that up?

BERT That's a morning question… you're right, you wouldn't be able to pay rent when Mary's not working. I'm done fighting with you, Jack. Mary doesn't want you living out of the Y or on someone's couch.

JACK I'll get a job. I could wait tables. That's what everyone does.

BERT There are some people in this world that are built for one thing and one thing only.

BERT lights a cigarette and sits next to him.

It's a shame that you and Mary are so alike but so different. She was your age when I met her. She was on top of the world. I gave her everything she needed and she's thrown it away but she had a few great years…. See, I think you're designed to choreograph, and Mary was always designed to dance. Shame that she never really got her second chance.

JACK Do you want me to climb over the fencing, throw myself off the building?

BERT I wouldn't stop you.

JACK Yes you would.

BERT How about you try me then?

JACK doesn't budge.

Enter MARY. Soberish. She sits on the other side of JACK. JACK stands up and faces them.

JACK I don't want to argue either, Mr. Corey. I don't. I won't do it anymore. I did a damn good job on that show, I know I did. And people take me seriously and I'm going to fine without you. I'm going to be better than good. You two can go fuck yourselves.

MARY What's this about? What are you arguing about?

JACK leaves.

A phone booth on the street. JACK is holding Peter's note from earlier as he dials. He closes his eyes as he speaks.

JACK Hey- No, Peter, it's Jack. Sorry, my watch died– I took a long walk– Listen, are you interested or not? Great. See you in a bit.

Jack hangs up.

We see then over the next few weeks, a bunch more similar calls, from various locations, to various people, all with the same goal. Some get rejected and Jack immediately dials someone else.

A RESTAURANT. 3 months later. JACK and WYATT sit at a restaurant. They have a stack of paper between them.

WYATT I know this would be your first real independent show, but you did such good work on Candlesticks for Marie that I am confident that you'd be able to do it.

JACK Mary just signed for another show. She'll want me to help her.

WYATT Compensation is fair. Beyond fair, actually. I need a solid choreographer who can get the work down and do it quickly. Especially someone who is used to working with divas… Look, this show might not be a big success, I won't lie to you. Rod and Louis’ tunes are phenomenal and Anne is set to direct, but the libretto is actor Geoffrey O'Doherty, it's his first show, but it's quite good. I'm taking a risk on him and I'm more than willing to take a risk on you.

JACK Why?

WYATT Because you've done good work for me and I want to pay you back by putting you to work. We won't start production for at least 6 months.

Jack looks uncomfortable. He examines the contract. He doesn't understand what he's reading at all.

JACK I might have to bring this to… I guess Mary and Bert to take a look at. I've never signed anything like this before. Not that I don't get it, I just don't know what's normal…

WYATT My son tells me you're living a pretty hectic life right now.

Jack looks like a deer in the headlights for a moment, then adjusts in his seat and goes back to reading the paper.

WYATT That's why I'm giving you so much up front… Kid, theater has always been a family affair to me. My ex-wife’s directing, her brother's the composer, my son's gonna be the stage manager. This production might be a risk, but it'll be close knit and drama-free. It's the perfect place to get your bearings. Even if we close in Boston.

Jack looks at him again, then sits back and tries to look confident.

JACK I'll sign.

Wyatt smiles.

WYATT Glad to have you join the team.

#i am unsure how to format scripts on tumblr sorry this is so hard to read #ncf #historical fiction #fiction #lgbtq fiction #queer fiction #writers #writeblr #writers on tumblr

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twstbrainrot · 3 years ago

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TWST Boys at the Pool HC’s

(A/N: I'll probably make a part two. And special thanks to @tugglebuggle for the inspiration lmao)

A bunch of teenage boys at a pool without adult supervision? How the hell did this get cleared with Crowley?! Does he even know?

Not to worry! SPF moms Vil and Riddle are on babysitting duty. Don’t try to give Vil the slip. He’s snatching students up left and right, slathering them in so much sunscreen they’re sparkling like Edward Cullen. You are not an exception. You better be hydrating too, potato. Or he’ll know.

ADeuce barely escape Riddle’s mandatory reapplications, managing to blend into the crowds and keep from his line of sight. Why do they have to waste 10 minutes of their pool time every 2 hours?! They could be standing in line for the log flume!! Oh god. So smug. They are so so smug about giving Riddle the slip all day. Until Ruggie comes up behind them with a “friendly” slap on the back. Cue screams of agony.

You can scarcely walk 10 feet without nearly being a caught in the crossfire of a water gun shootout. Jack at the very least will shield you, an innocent bystander. But if you’re stupid enough to walk in front of Epel while he’s blasting, he’s going to destroy your ass. He’s been out for blood ever since Deuce accidentally shot him while he was in the middle of mandatory sunbathing with Pomefiore. Never have you seen a man leap off a lounge chair faster, rage in his eyes and murder in his heart.

Someone’s throwing a beach ball and it’s gonna land on Malleus’s horns. Sebek is practically snarling at the act of disrespect. How dare they assault his master?! Malleus waves him off and tosses the deflated beach ball back at the assailant with a glare… but secretly he’s just embarrassed :(

“It’s just a prank, bro” says Floyd as he pulls you under water for slightly too long. And don’t buy into Jade’s innocence. He’s the one giving him these ideas so he can watch the chaos from his lounge chair.

Azul will lurk with you in the lounge chairs farthest away from all the action. Claims he has work to do and can’t afford to slack on this vacation… he just doesn’t want to get wet and show off his merman form :( Please shield this baby from the antics of our more rowdy classmates.

No, Idia isn't there. Are you insane? Jesus Christ.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #ace trappola #deuce spade #jack howl #trey clover #twisted wonderland x reader #floyd leech #leona kingscholar #vil schoenheit #riddle rosehearts #ruggie bucchi #epel felmier #sebek zigvolt #malleus draconia #azul ashengrotto #jade leech

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film-bro-hotch · 2 years ago

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I'll Cowboy the Best - Hotch x Fem!Reader - one shot

I have been working on this one for a little bit, but it has been so fun. This is 100% self-indulgent (like most of my stuff), but I really hope you all like it. I have to give credit where credit is due, though, because I used to despise the holidays. It wasn't until living with @honeypiehotchner that I have maybe started to like them a little. What was supposed to be a funny cowboy!Hotch fic has now turned into a Holiday Season cowboy!Hotch fic. Thanks, K. The month of December is a bit more tolerable because of you ;)

Synopsis: You are visiting family on their Texas farm for the holidays and decide it's time your boyfriend meet your parents. One of your problems, though, is that your family isn't too fond of him. There is nearly a 10 year age gap between the two of you, and worst of all, he is your boss. Hotch is determined to make them like him, even if that means saddling up and playing the part of a cowboy.

Warnings: This is an age-gap relationship, but these two are both consenting adults. Reader is near 30 - we don't do that huge age gap stuff. Also there are discussions about the inherent power dynamics between you and Hotch with him as your boss. But mostly this is fluff! This is a happy story!

WC: 8.2k

Find me a horse that I can cover Find me some stars to sleep under Find me a train, I’ll hop out west If she wants a cowboy, I’ll cowboy the best

You watched his hand flex as he gripped the wheel a little bit tighter. Usually this kind of behavior was reserved for when you were in a high-speed chase trying to catch an unsub and Hotch was about to pull some stupid move and drift an SUV in a way that it certainly wasn’t made to do.

But that wasn’t the case. You were on day two of your trip down to visit family, and you had switched off drivers a few hours ago. You had offered to drive the rest of the way since you knew the town, but Hotch insisted for some reason you couldn’t quite figure out yet. Driving instead of flying was your idea in the first place anyway.

He looked less than enthused, but you somehow managed to talk him into it. You only had about 30 minutes before you were supposed to make it to your family’s Texas ranch, and he seemed to be getting more stressed by the minute.

“Aaron, are you good? You’ve been tense for the past hour, and we aren’t on a crowded interstate.” Truth be told, you had only passed maybe 5 other cars in that time.

“I’m okay, really. I’m just…a little nervous.”

It was something that you hadn’t really thought of. It would make sense, though. Meeting the parents was something nerve-wracking anyway, but Hotch probably hadn’t had to do it since high school. And your parents were already…not exactly thrilled with him. He was almost ten years older than you, and he was your boss. Both your mom and your dad were quick to point out the implications, and the trouble both of you could get into for dating. You had mostly brushed it off, changed the subject or made an excuse to hang up the phone, but being there for the holidays made it much more difficult to ignore.

You were gentle as you placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing your thumb along his muscle. “It’s going to be okay, I promise. Once they get to know you, they are going to love you just as much as I do.”

He played off a laugh and muttered, “Well I hope not that much,” to which you promptly slapped the arm you had just been caressing.

“You know what I meant,” you said with a pointed gaze, but that smirk on your face let him know you weren’t actually mad.

The rest of the ride was uneventful, the majority of your scenery being flat, snow-covered farmland and the occasional herd of cows. Your family’s ranch was one of the closer ones to town, meaning that it was still a good 20 minutes to any store. You could tell that Hotch was analyzing everything as they entered the driveway, committing all of it to memory. The driveway was still gravel, the familiar sound of tires crushing and compacting the rocks and snow beneath settled your nerves a little. The house you grew up in was the exact same as the day you left to move to Virginia. A one story brick home, classic white shutters and a porch that looked like it needed to be restained. Your mother had her Christmas lights on the porch, though it was more because she never took them down than her getting into the holiday spirit.

The farm was mostly corn, some pole beans and cucumbers planted throughout to help with the soil, though none of that was planted now with the cold. The other half of the land was grazing for the cows, goats, and chickens, and a small barn kept the few horses your parents still had around.

“You didn’t tell me it was a farm,” he said with a cocked eyebrow. You might have fibbed a little and just said you lived on a lot of land growing up, which wasn’t untrue.

“You never asked,” you said simply. You were already out of the car before he could say anything more. It was the perfect kind of cold outside. Just a little nippy to wake you up, but no harsh wind feeling like it was cutting your cheeks open. You had only grabbed one bag of your luggage when you heard the screen door open, followed by quick steps on the gravel as your mother called your name. She pulled you into a hug, kissing the side of your head and then your cheek.

“It is so good to see you! I was just telling your daddy, I can’t believe the two of you drove all the way here!” she said. You looked over at Aaron, offering him an encouraging smile.

It didn’t last too long, though. You hadn’t even heard the screen door open, but your dad had found his way outside at some point and was leaning against the porch railing. “He could have easily bought y'all tickets.” So this was how the trip was starting.

Aaron may have had so much experience with confrontation, but you could still see his tells, his little ticks that gave away his nerves. Usually his shoulders were relaxed and he stood at his full height. You could see the tension even through his winter coat. He was slouching a little, perhaps bringing himself a bit lower. Even with that, he towered over your dad. You were about to defend him, tell your dad it was your idea, but Aaron spoke first, talking as he walked over to your dad.

“Good thing we didn’t fly. That front coming in has delayed or canceled almost every flight out of D.C. Besides, I wouldn’t want to hassle you with having to pick us up at the airport,” he started, offering his hand to shake. “Aaron Hotchner.”

Your dad wasn’t the most cheery person anyway, but you could tell he wasn’t exactly thrilled at having Aaron here. He did, however, pride himself on being a gentleman, so he shook his hand. “Curtis L/N. Good to finally meet you in person.”

“You too. Y/N has told me so much about you and your wife. I’m curious to see how much of what she told me is true.” He was taking a risky move joking like that, but at the very least it got a huff out of your dad, which was better than the blank stare you would get sometimes when you made a joke.

“Come on, let’s get inside! I don’t want to freeze my ass off,” you said, earning a look of disapproval from your mother for the curse, but the two of you grabbed the bags from the car and followed the men inside.

Your mother, being the gracious host she always had to be, left the bags by the door and pointed down the hall. “Now at the very end is the spare bedroom that you can sleep in, Aaron. It’s got a little bathroom attached to it,” she then turned to look at you, “you can just use our bathroom, sweetie.” Oh, you should have expected this. You knew your parents were traditional, so of course there was no way they were going to let you share a room with him unless you had his last name.

While you loved your parents and were happy to see them after living in D.C. for so long, you were quite tired, and there was only so much of them you could take. “Thanks, mom, but I think Aaron and I are pretty tired. We’ve been driving all day, so we might turn in a little early.” You look at Hotch, expecting him to agree, but he seemed quite determined to get your parents to like him.

“I can stay up and talk a little longer,” he started, but your dad was already waving his hand dismissively.

“I’m usually out like a light before 8:00. I ain’t got much socializing left in me today,” he said, to which Aaron gave a quick nod, wished your parents good night, and went to the guest bedroom. If you were able to follow him, you would joke that your dad sounded a little like him. He may pull late nights at the BAU, but if he could keep from socializing, he would.

You may have been in your childhood bedroom, but you found it incredibly hard to sleep that night. Perhaps it was because you had been away so long that the place felt foreign to you now. Maybe it was the anxiety of your parent’s approval, or maybe it was the fear that after meeting your family, Hotch wouldn’t want to stay in the relationship. You chastised yourself for that one. You knew it was a stupid thought. You grabbed the phone on your nightstand, deciding to text him.

Maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t get to share a room. We wouldn’t have been able to get away with anything with that squeaky mattress. I can hear you every time you turn

His reply was quick, almost like he had been debating texting you as well. I feel like I’m sixteen again.

I told you I would make you feel younger

Not exactly the way I thought you would do it.

You stared at the message for a moment, knowing he probably felt some of the same anxieties, which was saying something considering Aaron Hotchner was not an anxious person. You should go ahead and get some sleep. They will probably be up early working

I love you.

I love you too

—

You woke up the next morning a little earlier than you usually would have, though you attributed it to the fact that you went to bed pretty early, and you were dealing with a time change, so it was really closer to 9:00 back home. You could smell breakfast in the kitchen, likely cooked a while ago and your mother left it out for you to reheat whenever you got up. When you walked out, you could see the door to the guest room open, but when you peeked inside, Hotch wasn’t there.

Going down the hall to the kitchen, he wasn’t in there either. You went about your business, fixing a plate of eggs, bacon, biscuits with gravy, and a little bit of grits. Coffee had been brewed probably an hour ago, but you fixed yourself a cup, stirring in sugar and cream before heading outside to the porch where you knew your parents were probably sitting and drinking their coffee. They had probably already worked this morning, feeding the cows and chickens and horses.

It was still cold, but most of the snow had melted, and your dad had put heaters by the porch for this very reason. Your mom does this every morning and still complains that it’s cold, so I had to fix something, he had said to you on the phone one night. A heater didn’t sound too bad right then.

“Mornin’ sweetheart,” you heard the moment the screen door creaked open.

“Morning,” you replied, taking the rocking chair on the other side of your mother, “Have you seen Aaron this morning?”

“He went out into town a little bit ago. Said he forgot a couple things and needed to run to the store. I’m having him pick up some more Folgers while he’s out,” she said, cradling her vintage coffee mug in her hand with a smug smile. You know that partly why she missed you was because she missed sending someone else into town. But what could Aaron have possibly missed? He was so particular when it came to packing. He had lists for his lists, and he went over everything with a fine-toothed comb.

You were about halfway through your breakfast and cup of coffee when you heard the sound of tires against the gravel. You cradled your cup, watching as Aaron stepped out of the car, going to the back and picking up a few grocery bags, a hand behind his back. He swiftly moved up the steps to the porch, kissing your cheek and whispering, “Morning.” He revealed his arm and handed a bouquet of flowers, blue hydrangeas mixed with baby’s breath. The second bouquet he handed to your mother along with a comically large red tin. “I didn’t forget about you. Sunflowers and a value-sized Folgers classic roast for you.” You knew what he was doing, and it was totally working on your mom.

“Aaron, you shouldn’t have,” she said as she took the flowers, inspecting each petal carefully.

“In the Christmas spirit already, St. Nick?” you teased, looking up at him from behind your mug. He had a half grin on his face, shrugging his shoulders.

“Maybe for some people,” he joked dryly.

He made his way inside, presumably to go about putting the groceries away.

Your mother started a little conversation, asking you a few things about your job, D.C., and about Aaron. It wasn’t long before that conversation turned into your mother going on about the town gossip. How Claire that you went to high school with was married and had two kids with her highschool sweetheart, how they still lived down the road from their parents. You loved yours, but you could not fathom staying in the same zip code as them as an adult. She told you about her hairdresser and how “Bless her heart, she’s new, so she doesn’t quite know what I like yet.”

At some point during the conversation, your dad had made his way inside, his cup of coffee gone as well. It was when you made the realization that your boyfriend was now left alone with your dad that the door opened, both men walking out and heading down the porch steps.

“Where are you guys going?” you asked, trying to hide the concern in your voice.

“I’m just going to show him around the farm,” your dad said, but there was a glint in his eye that told you he was going to do much more. Aaron looked back at you with a look that screamed help me and was perhaps the most boyish you had seen him in your relationship. As much as you wanted, you couldn’t really do anything, so you watched them walk down the gravel drive toward the barn and said a silent prayer that your father wasn’t planning on killing a federal agent.

“And this right here is my 57’ Thunderbird. I don’t take her out much, only on special occasions.” Curtis had been showing Hotch around the barn for about thirty minutes, telling him all about how it worked, how the hay was kept in the loft which had holes to the feeding troughs in each stall. He seemed the picture of calm, but Hotch could tell he was just waiting for the right moment to talk about the elephant in the room. The older man turned to Hotch, and he expected it to be then that he asked him why the hell he was messing with his daughter.

“You ever rode a horse, Aaron?”

He was taken aback by the question. He had been prepared for anything - for accusations, for an interrogation, for some kind of psychoanalysis, but this…

“No, I haven’t,” he replied hesitantly. “Why are you asking me this.”

“Because you are going to ride a horse today, boy.”

Hotch had decided that this was worse than any kind of interrogation he was expecting from your father. No, this had to be some kind of divine punishment for a wrongdoing he couldn’t fathom. He should have been offended that your dad called him “boy.” He hadn’t been called that in decades.

Curtis had already left him by the vintage car and was walking toward a section of the barn to the side with concrete floors. One half looked to be open stalls for grooming, and the other side was filled with saddles, blankets, different ropes and metal chains. He had no idea what was used for what, and part of him was terrified your dad had a murder weapon hidden amongst everything. What should have been the trim by the ceiling was covered with award ribbons of various colors, but an overwhelming amount seemed to be blue. Upon further inspection, it looked as though they were organized by year. The wall closest to the stables held a corkboard with no more room for pictures or trinkets. Tickets and newspaper clippings covered each other, a cluster of memories dating back to around the same time as the ribbons on the wall.

“How much did she tell you? About all this?” Curtis asked, motioning to the board and ribbons.

“She would bring it up sometimes. Always fondly. She told me the family showed livestock and raced horses.”

Curtis crossed his arms, an almost sad sense of nostalgia filling his tone. “Not so much anymore. It’s not as big as it used to be, and I’m getting a little old for hog-tying a calf.”

Hotch found himself laughing, a little surprised he actually cracked a joke.

“There was one time we were in Montana for a case. We were in the middle of nowhere in the mountains, and the local police helping us were all on horses for our search. She joined them like it was nothing. One of our coworkers asked why she never told us she could ride, and she just smiled and said we never asked.” The more Aaron thought about it, the more he realized in that instance you sounded a bit like your dad. He could see now why you put up with his dry sense of humor, and why you had a bit of it too.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you today,” Curtis started, grabbing a saddle. It was an older one compared to the shiny, brighter ones displayed on the wall. This one was still a deep reddish brown but had discoloration in the most well-loved spots. Decorative etchings lined the leather, and silver pieces whose design was near flat adorned places where leathers met. Curtis handed him the saddle, picking up a blanket and a few other roped materials for the horse.

The two walked back into the stabled area, and Curtis stopped at one of the few stalls that actually had a horse inside. “Now most of them go out in the pasture, but Ole Handsome here likes his solitude.” The horse was like salt and pepper, a white sprinkled throughout with gray and black. It was hard to tell exactly what was his color and what was dirt.

“Ole Handsome?” Hotch asked, raising a brow.

“We got him when Y/N was about 15 I think. Even for a colt he was a scrawny little thing. Looked just pitiful, but she loved him. I started callin him Ole Handsome as a joke, and it just stuck. Now he fits the name.”

It was an odd moment for Aaron, looking at this animal, a tangible piece of your past that you rarely shared. It made him smile just a bit.

Hotch stood back and watched as your father led the horse out of the stable, slipping the bridle onto the horse with an ease that showed that had both done it a million times before. He went along with the blanket, adding the saddle on top and tightening it with expert hands. Your dad looked back at Hotch, motioning him forward. He wasn’t going to admit it, but the fact that this creature was nearly as tall as him and could easily crush him scared the shit out of him.

“Now what you’ll do is put your left foot in the stirrup, yup, that thing right there,” he pointed as Hotch followed his words. “Now grab a little bit of his mane.”

“His hair?” Aaron asked, unable to hide his shock. Was he trying to trick him? Would this horse not just bolt the moment he tugged on its hair?

“Well you don’t put all your damn weight on it,” Curtis said, motioning to the other side of the saddle. “You’re gonna hold on to that with your other hand and push yourself up with the stirrup. Holding the mane is just so you are holding on to something else. It ain’t gonna bother him if you pull just a little. It’s like brushing hair with a knot.”

Aaron was hesitant, but he gently placed his left hand on the horse’s mane, taking a fistful while trying to be gentle. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised by the texture. It was much more coarse and wiry than he had been expecting. “Don’t kill me,” he breathed to the horse before placing his other hand on the other side of the saddle and pushing himself up, swinging his leg over and finding the other stirrup.

Curtis looked half surprised, half impressed. “Wasn’t so hard, now was it?” he asked, taking the reins and pulling them in the front so he could lead the horse. “Now you’ll want to sit up straight when you’re riding. Put your hands on the pommel of the saddle. I’ll just walk him around a few circles so you’ll know how it feels.” He made a soft clicking sound with his mouth and gave a gentle tug on the reins, and Ole Handsome gave a snort before moving forward. The motion at first was a little jarring. Hotch felt like he had to fight to keep balance, though he attributed that more to his nerves than anything else.

The motion of the saddle almost reminded him of ocean waves, a rocking that sent him forward and back. It was a rhythm that was jarring at first, but after a few circles became welcomed.

“See, not so bad,” Curtis said. “Want to take it up to a trot?”

To be honest, Hotch didn’t know exactly what that entailed, but he was willing to try just about anything to win your dad’s favor. “Sure,” he said, finding himself holding on to the saddle a little bit tighter.

—

You and your mother had been watching the boys from inside the house as the two of you cleaned up breakfast. It started as fearful glances to the barn, making sure you still saw his figure standing by your father in the hopes that your dad hadn’t killed him and hid his body. You could see the two of them talking by your dad’s vintage car, but between drying a few dishes, they had left and weren’t in your eyesight. You were watching out of your own fear and anxiety, your mother was watching because she found it incredibly entertaining.

You tried to tell yourself to calm down, that you were overthinking and working yourself up, and you did manage to calm down a little bit. You had fixed yourself a hot cup of tea and had joined your mother by the heater on the porch. It was upon sitting down in the rocking chair and looking into the barn that you saw your boyfriend riding your horse.

“Holy shit,” you said, not even bothering to censor yourself for your mother’s sake. “What the hell is dad doing?”

“Language,” your mother said with a pointed gaze, sipping on her second cup of coffee. “Evidently your father conned your poor boyfriend into getting on Ole Handsome. I’m just keeping an eye on the two of them.”

So much of you was terrified for Hotch, but part of you was shocked your father even managed to get him on, and another part was impressed because Aaron was actually doing well.

“Don’t look so scared. Your daddy won’t kill him, at least I don’t think,” your mother had said, moving back and forth in her rocking chair, a fuzzy blanket in her lap, covering her lower half.

Later your father would swear that it was a barn mouse that scurried in front of your horse. You thought it was a little more intentional, but either way, something scared Ole Handsome, enough for your father to lose grip on the lead as he sprinted off towards the pasture, Aaron holding on surprisingly well. You practically skipped the steps of the porch in your haste, running through the barn to chase after the two. When you caught sight of Aaron, he was off the horse, pulling himself up from the ground, dusting off an arm of his jacket.

“Are you okay? I just saw Handsome bolt,” you said, taking him by the shoulder and looking him over.

He brushed your hand off, somehow having good spirits about the whole thing. Did he get a concussion? What seemed to shock you the most was that he actually started laughing.

It took him a moment to actually stop laughing, and you could have sworn you saw a tear in the corner of his eye. “In all my career, I’ve been shot at, I’ve gotten my ass kicked, I have been in multiple car chases and accidents, but nothing has scared me as much as when that thing started to run.”

You heard your dad’s jogging footsteps behind you, calling out, “You okay, Aaron?”

Hotch gave him a breathless thumbs up. “Never been better, Mr. L/N.”

And you had never heard a more obvious lie. Yesterday’s snow had mostly melted away by then, but you knew it was still cold. The ground was still frozen and hard, and Hotch was sure to have a mark wherever he landed.

“Y’all go on inside. I’ll go fetch Handsome before he tears down one of my damn fences again,” your father said, giving Hotch a quick pat on his arm, the one you hoped he didn’t fall on. “I gotta admit, you did a hell of a lot better than I thought you would.”

Aaron gave a little half laugh, something between finding a genuine humor in the situation and not knowing what else to do. “Thanks,” he said. You could hear the edge of a question in his voice, something that told you he wasn’t quite sure if he meant it or not. As the two of you walked back, your arm locked with his, you reassured him that your dad wasn’t one to give out compliments. Hotch joked and asked if that was considered a compliment, and you couldn’t help the smile that came to your face.

“In his own little way, yeah. And right now we are going to take what we can get.”

You took care of Hotch for the rest of the day, coddled him really. He tried to tell you that he was fine, that it didn’t hurt more than anything he had gotten on the job. You pointedly told him that was a terrible scale considering most of the BAU had been shot at some point in their career. He only agreed a little, but you think he enjoyed the peace the day brought after his hectic morning.

The two of you sat on the couch most of the day, curled up against each other with a blanket as you kept the Hallmark channel on. Your mom joined for one of the movies considering these were her favorite things to watch during the holiday season. You may have inherited a love for their cheesy, cliche nature from her. Meanwhile, Aaron would point out plot inconsistencies or try to psychoanalyze the characters. You would throw a piece of popcorn at his face when he would, rolling your eyes and saying, “Aaron, babe, these movies aren’t supposed to be that serious. Now shut up and watch the successful journalist find her true love from high school in her hometown coffee shop.”

You weren’t sure what movie you were on when you dozed off, your head on Aaron’s shoulder and his arm around you as he suffered through the cheesy movie you weren’t awake to watch. Your mother had gone to bed not too long ago. You were beginning to nod back into reality, and you noticed your side was colder than before, whatever body heat Aaron had given you was gone with him. You were starting to tune into a conversation in the kitchen.

“You really want to help out? 5:00a.m. I want you up and ready by then. I’ve got to feed the animals, and one of the fences needs repair.”

Was your dad really trying to get Aaron to help around the farm? You started to stir on the couch which quickly hushed both voices. When you looked up, Aaron was taking steps toward you.

“Sorry if I woke you. The couch was starting to kill my back a little. Maybe an actual bed would be better to rest on after getting thrown off a horse.”

You gave a soft nod, still half asleep. “Yeah. Are you going to bed?”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding towards your dad in the kitchen, “early morning tomorrow.”

Aaron was no stranger to waking up early, though he hadn’t exactly planned on getting up that early during his time off. It’s okay, this is all for her. Just get him to tolerate you, he told himself. Your dad didn’t need to become his biggest fan. He just needed to see that he cared for you. And if that meant getting up before the sun and shoveling frozen shit in the snow, he would do it.

Five in the morning came much sooner than Aaron wanted it to. The sun wasn’t even up, so he found himself yawning much more than he would have cared for. At the very least, his new purchases would come into use. When he went out into town the day before, he did stop by the grocery store for flowers and coffee, but he also stopped by one of the stores that were tailored for western and work wear. The amount he spent buying work boots, cowboy boots, even a high-quality hat…Rossi would have laughed in his face if he ever found out.

He pulled on the steel-toed boots, a slick design that he at least could find a way to style later. He didn’t want to drop nearly $200 on shoes he was just buying to appeal to your parents - he already did that with more traditional boots. Hotch pulled his puffer jacket a little closer and made his way to the porch where Curtis was already sitting with a cup of coffee. Of course.

As he opened the screen door, Curtis looked down at his watch, raising a brow. “Couple minutes late, but to be honest I thought you would have slept through morning chores,” he said, his eyes finally meeting Hotch and looking him up and down.

“What the hell are you wearing?” Curtis asked, his eyes specifically pointed down at his shoes. Well shit, Hotch thought, these clearly weren’t the right boots.

“They are work boots…with the steel toe,” he said, tapping the porch with the end of his boot.

“They are Blundstones,” Curtis said bluntly.

What did that even mean? “Is that not good?”

“Well for one, that’s the cleanest work boot I’ve ever seen. Second, Blundstones are what the frilly boys down in Houston wear when they want to look the part. Any real worker is wearing Ariat or Carhartt. Simple as that.”

Yes, the hierarchy of work boots. Simple as that.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “Let’s get to work.”

It had snowed when they arrived, and though most of it had left yesterday, sometime during the night it started again. There wasn’t much on the ground, but it was still falling. He figured they would have a decent bit by the time you and your mother were up. While it was still relatively dark outside, the whiteness of the snow seemed to give just a little more light.

“First order of business, it’s cold enough that the top of the water in the horse’s trough might be frozen,” he continued on as he handed Aaron some kind of metal rod and gloves, “Just break it and get the chunks of ice out for them. Once that is done, you can get the feed out of this bucket here. Two scoops should do the trick, and if the goat that hangs out with the horses cries for more, don’t listen.”

Aaron followed the orders dutifully, feeling like he was back in training when he first joined the FBI. Sure enough, like Curtis said, the water at the top was frozen, but it didn’t take much to break it apart, tossing the glass-looking shards of ice to the side. He turned the buckets over, ridding them of the snow that had accumulated during the night and started to fill them with food. He had only put one scoop in when he heard a sound like thunder, a group of horses making their way to the edge of the fence, crunching snow beneath them. A little goat, white as the snow and with stumps on his head where it looked like horns should have been, followed right behind them.

Hotch continued to fill the buckets, putting two scoops in like Curtis had said. The horses had started to eat, and when he approached the last one, the goat seemed to be waiting patiently like some well-trained golden retriever. He placed the two scoops in and turned to leave, stopping only when he heard a loud bleating sound from the goat.

“I’m not giving you anymore,” he said dryly.

The goat bleated again.

“No.”

It cried again, an awful wavering sound with a touch of an attitude behind it.

“For God’s-”

“Hotchner, are you yelling at the damn goat?” Curtis called from the barn.

“No, sir,” he called back, his jaw setting as he looked back at the animal. “No more food,” he whispered, walking back towards the barn.

Curtis was already putting gloves on, a roll of barbed wire by his side. He handed Hotch a shovel and what looked to be a metal fence post. “Handsome wasn’t very kind to my fence after he threw you off yesterday,” he muttered, though he seemed rather unphased by it all. The more he spent time on the farm, the more he wondered how anyone could see these animals normally. Yeah, the five-foot-tall, nine-hundred-pound thing running and ripping your fence out of the ground is pretty normal.

The two men walked along the fencing and frozen ground, soon enough coming up to the post and wire that needed replacing. Even with the gloves, Hotch’s hands were freezing. The kind of cold where it almost feels like they are burning. “Let’s get this over with so we can go inside and get some coffee,” Aaron said, earning a raised brow from your father.

“Chickening out already?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Well then get to diggin’.”

The ground was much harder to break than he thought it would be, but the physical work at least warmed him up a little. After a few hard strikes with the shovel, he finally had enough depth to where he could push the post in securely. Once the post was in, repairing the fence didn’t take long. Curtis connected it to the rest of the fencing and checked the stability before he called it a day and said the two of them should head inside.

Hotch was happy to take off his coat and start brewing the coffee. The sun was just starting to appear, though it seemed that neither you or your mother were up yet. Curtis walked into the kitchen, grabbing a cup for himself. “You know, Aaron, I’ve got a confession to make.”

Whatever followed those words was never good. “Okay.”

“Usually I don’t make guests do farm work like that, you know. But after seeing you get on that horse yesterday…I kinda just wanted to see how far you would go. You seemed committed to trying to impress me, so I thought it would be fun to test it, and I believe I was right.”

Hotch leaned against the counter for a moment, listening to the coffee maker groan as the pot filled with the steaming liquid he hoped would get him through the conversation to come. “And? Are you impressed?”

“I suppose for a fed I shouldn’t be surprised by your dedication. I guess what I am still trying to figure out is why an older man like yourself, with a son, would want someone like my daughter. The answers to those questions are never something a dad wants to hear, but you can figure why I wanna know. Not to mention that you are her boss, and I won’t have you screwing up her career. I hate not to have her home, but that job makes her proud, and I won’t have you fuckin’ it up for her.”

Aaron didn’t want to admit it, but all of those were valid points. The optics of your relationship were…questionable at best. He knew that the moment you started your relationship. It was still something kept on the down low, even though you were practically living together. No one else in the BAU knew…except Rossi. He knew Hotch a little too well and connected the dots. And he caught the two of you having dinner out one night. Being aware of the faults didn’t get rid of the inherent power dynamics, though. Aaron was in a position of power over you, and the thought that you could have felt pressured at all made him sick.

“I know there is not much I can do about our age differences or the fact that she works under me, but I want you to know that there is nothing I wouldn’t do for your daughter, Mr. L/N. If need be, I have paperwork ready for a transfer. I would rather lose my job than lose her.”

It was the first time Hotch saw genuine shock cross Curtis’s face. “So you have actually thought about this?”

“I have…a lot. And I know that your daughter makes me the happiest I have ever been, and I hope I do the same for her. It’s why I got up this early on my time off to help, it’s why I agreed to ride that stupid horse and not complain when he threw me off. It’s why I dropped nearly $700 dollars on boots and a hat.” That last part kept the shock on Curtis’s face. “I did it because you are important to her, so I wanted you to like me.”

Curtis seemed to process all that he said, crossing his arms and starting to quietly fix his cup of coffee. Was he just going to leave the conversation there? He could see a slight rise and drop in his shoulders as he fixed the drink, and it took Hotch a little too long to realize he was laughing at him.

“You’ve gotta be some special kind of stupid if you thought spending that much money on boots and a hat was gonna make me like you more. You really are a fed…but you’re alright, I reckon.”

He was alright. It was much better than any other outcome that has run through his head. “Thank you, sir.”

“Ah, now don’t get ahead of yourself. I’m still not exactly fond of your relationship…but you make her happy, and it’s pretty clear she’s doing the same for you.”

In the end, that was all that mattered to Hotch. That you were happy, and that he was the reason.

—

Like the morning before. You woke up more from the sun being in your eyes than your body telling you to wake up. The snow made the reflection of the sun much brighter. You groaned as you made your way out of bed, throwing on sweatpants and walking into the kitchen to find a sight you never thought possible.

Aaron and your dad were in the kitchen. They had both borrowed your mother’s aprons and were in the process of finishing up making breakfast.

“Did Hell freeze over while I was asleep?” you asked, unable to hide just how baffled you were at the sight. You were sure your dad hated him.

“Sweetie, sometimes Christmas miracles do happen. Best not balk at them,” your dad joked. Aaron just gave a shrug that said something along the lines of “take what you can get.” Most of the food was already on the table and ready, the sunflowers Aaron had given your mother yesterday were in a vase at the center.

The spread on the table was a lot like the day before. Eggs, bacon, grits, and all the fixings. What was new, though, was the addition of pancakes that seemed to have something in them. “Are those pancakes with pecans?” you asked, a little more excited than you meant to sound.

“Just for you,” Aaron added, placing the bottle of maple syrup by them. The two of you would often make these at either of your apartments, usually listening to The Beatles’ white album from front to back. Sometimes you would even catch Aaron using the whisk as a microphone when he thought you weren’t looking.

You couldn’t help the feeling of peace that a breakfast like this gave you. Having your parents there reminded you of when you were a kid, but the kind of domesticity that was Aaron Hotchner making pancakes with a stupid apron was something that just couldn’t be replicated. It was simple, but it was perhaps what made you happiest.

After breakfast, you decided to take Aaron out for a walk, wanting to see how he was holding up with the pressure of your father. Selfishly, you also wanted to see if maybe he was thinking the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

The snow under your feet was near perfect. Fluffy, not too frozen or mixed too much with water that hadn’t turned to snow. Each step it crunched under your boot with a satisfying sound. You forgot how beautiful the farm looked in winter. Icicles dangled from the gutter of the barn and little beads of melting ice clung to the trees like they were ornaments. The sun was out and heating up the land just a little to start to melt the snowy landscape, but for this moment it gave a bright sheen to everything.

Somehow in this snowy place, Aaron looked even better. The sun gave his black hair the lightest hints of a ruddy brown. The cool, nippy air gave his cheeks and the tip of his nose a dusted red hue. You were sure the tips of his ears looked that way too, though you couldn’t see for his beanie. He looked softer, more at peace than the supervisory special agent you knew at the BAU. This wasn’t Hotch. This was Aaron. This was the man you had fallen in love with. Even in the cold, bundled up like this with him felt like home.

“You know, this is the perfect snow for building stuff,” you said casually, looking at him out of the corner of your eye.

“Hm?” he raised a brow, seeming to wonder where you were going with this. You pulled away from his arm, leaning down and grabbing a handful of snow.

“You know, it’s perfect for snowmen and forts. When I was a kid I would make a snowman and then try and make snow farm animals,” you said, continuing to pack snow into a tight little unit. “Hey, Aaron?” you mused, waiting for him to look over before taking the compressed ball of snow and chucking it right at his face. It exploded right at his forehead, taking his beanie off. Flakes of snow clung to his hair, his eyebrows, his lashes. You could see a scowl starting to form on his face, and you were worried if you actually had hurt him or annoyed him.

“You know, that was really immature of you,” he started, leaning down to pick up his beanie. You took a step forward, opening your mouth to apologize and instead having it filled with snow as Aaron launched some at your face. You took a step back, nearly losing your balance as you tried to spit out the cold. When you looked up, Aaron was doubled over, laughing and wiping the snow off his brow.

“Oh, that was a dirty move,” you said.

“I didn’t realize we were playing fair,” he said, breathless from his laughter, the clouds of his breath visible.

“We certainly aren’t now.” At the same time you both went for the ground, trying to craft an arsenal of snowballs as fast as you could. You were the first to throw, but he was quick on his feet and dodged, throwing one toward you and pelting you in the shoulder.

You weren’t sure how long this went on for, the two of you running around in the snow like little kids again. The way when you finally made it to his side, you tackled him to the ground. He rolled over, tossing snow in the air, in your face, in both your jackets. It was impractical, and childish, and stupid, and you hadn’t seen a smile this wide on his face in a long time.

The rest of the day was spent much like the day before, sitting at the television with the Hallmark channel going. It was sometime around 4:00 that Aaron spoke up and asked, “How long would it take you to get ready?”

You had an odd look on your face, your brows scrunched as you tried to understand what he could possibly have planned. “An hour, give or take a few minutes. Why?”

He smiled a little, a curl of his lip that didn’t yet show his teeth. “Just get ready. Don’t be too fancy. Pants might be preferable,” he said, pressing a quick kiss to your cheek before leaving the couch. “I’ve got to get a shower before we go.”

You wanted to call after him ‘go where?” but he was already down the hall. He had that look in his eye, the one that showed up when he had a plan for a date night but didn’t want to tell you. Usually he was pretty bad at keeping secrets like that from you, but this time…you really had no clue what he had planned.

It wasn’t until a little over an hour later you sat in the kitchen, flipping through one of your mother’s worn cookbooks that you started to put the pieces together. You had dressed somewhat casually. Jeans, boots, and a nicer top, a jacket hanging on the chair beside you. When Hotch came out from the always, though, you weren’t sure whether you should laugh or find it a little hot.

At his feet were boots. Real boots with the pointed toe, though most of the design was hidden by his jeans. They were…different from the jeans he normally wore. A little tighter and actually showed off his ass a bit. You tried not to stare as he did a little spin, hands on his hip asking if you liked it. The belt buckle was huge, one you couldn’t tell the engraving of from this far away. His shirt was tucked into his jeans, a of type western-styled button-up, each button even up to the very top, done. And the cherry on top of it all was the cowboy hat. His fucking cowboy hat. White, clearly of well quality, and fitting him just right. You didn’t think cowboys were your type, but Hotch as one…you could get behind this.

Your silence seemed to worry him, though, as his face fell a little. “You don’t like it, do you?”

You shook your head, taking a few steps his way. “No, I like it,” you said and unbuttoned the top two buttons. “But now I love it.” You smiled against his lips as yours met his, lingering with your hands on his chest for a moment longer. “Should I even ask how much you spent on all of this?”

“When I let it slip to you dad, he compared me to a frilly Houston boy.”

“Oh, so what I’m hearing is I’ll be paying for food tonight?”

“Now, I never said that. Besides, if I have learned anything about your father, it’s that he liked tradition. So I will be paying, and driving, and dropping you off at a reasonable hour.”

You rolled your eyes a little, but you still had a smile on your face. Your dad and Hotch…you never actually thought the two of them would get along, but somehow he actually managed to win your dad over. Aaron wrapped your coat over your shoulders, your arm holding his as the two of you walked to the car. “Hey Aaron?” you mused, “Could you wear this a little more often?”

“Only for you - and only when we are far away from Virginia.” You gave your cowboy one more longing kiss before the two of you rode off into the night.

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sydsaint · 3 years ago

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New champ bitches!

Summary: The reader is Regal's daughter who is having some mixed feelings about Max during his title shot at Full Gear

The main event of Full Gear is in full swing, with Mox and Max giving it their all in the ring. You are sitting at the top of the ramp with your dad at your side and sweating in your seat.

"Come on, idiot. Get up." You mumble to yourself, eyes cast down at the bottom of the ramp.

Max lies on the floor after being put through a table by Jon. It's a fluke in Max's plan since he was the one to introduce the table to the ring, yeah. But you still dig your nails into the palms of your hands with worry.

"What was that, sweetheart." Regal glances at you.

You glance at your dad nervously. 'He can't know.' You remind yourself. 'Hell, I can't let myself.' You sigh internally. But deep down you know that you can't keep lying to yourself. Max has managed to capture your heart in the most desperate and pathetic way. And you are fighting with yourself every second to keep yourself from running down that ramp and helping him cheat to beat Moxley.

"I'm fine, dad." You assure him with a small smile.

The referee's words carry up from the ring and make your chest ache with every word. "Six...Seven...Eight..." Bryce calls out, getting closer and closer to the 10 count.

You bounce your leg vigorously to keep yourself busy. "Come on, get up Max." You plead in a whisper. 'Maybe this is a good thing?' You think to yourself. 'If Max loses then he'll be out of your hair and you can go back to hating him like you always have.' You assure yourself. No. You know that's not true.

Not after that night...after that kiss.

(flashback)

Around a month ago you signed up to do a few meet-and-greets at a couple of conventions to replace Claudio at his request. What Claudio forgot to mention when he asked you to replace him was your unwitting partner for the events. MJF.

"Let's see, booth 26..." You glance down at the number Claudio scrawled down for you at the last minute. "That's 24...25...here we go! 26." You reach your booth and flash your badge to the security guard blocking the back entrance. "Hey! Sorry that I'm late. I'm filling in for Claudio, he had an emergency that he needed to take care of." You announce as you walk through the back curtain.

You barely get through the curtain and pull your bag off of your shoulder when you are met with a smug-sounding chuckle. "Well well well, if it isn't old Regals posh little brat of a daughter." Max greets you from his seat by the front of the booth.

"Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me." You stare at Max as the realization hits you. "I'm stuck with you in this small ass booth all day?" You groan. "Fucking, Claudio. Emergency my ass."

"Come on, sit down princess." Max chuckles again and pats the folding chair next to him. "Take a seat. It's going to be a long day." He grins at you.

You roll your eyes and pull your folding chair as far away from Max as you can. He winks at you with a grin and you try your best to avoid him as people start to file into the convention center. A mix of adults and kids happens by the booth asking for pictures and buying shirts. You greet each of them with a friendly smile and plucky attitude as they ask for photos and autographs.

After a couple of hours, there is a break in the bustling stream of people so you take a chance to grab water and some chips to snack on. When you come back from the back of the booth, Max turns in his chair towards you.

"You know, it's a shame that all these people think that you're so sweet and innocent." He comments. "Is it because you know that they'd hate you if they knew that you're a rude little brat hiding behind her daddy and a posh accent?" He teases you.

You bite down on your chip, looking out at the crowd meandering around in front of you. "Sounds to me like you're jealous, Friedman." You reply to his attack with a nonchalant smile. "I mean I have sold more merch and taken more photos with people today."

"Ha!" Max laughs. "Jealous of you?" He snorts. "Please, princess. I'm better than you in every possible way and-"

"And I know it?" You cut him off with a grin. "Yeah...I know the slogan. Chip?" You offer him the bag without ever making eye contact with him.

Max looks at you silently and reaches over for a chip. He laughs again a few seconds later but this laugh is different than the last. It's less condescending, more genuine, and sweet.

For the rest of the day you and Max get into a few more popularity spats which eventually start to draw fans. The people adore listening to the two of you verbally spar and a few record the interactions.

"Man, you two would make a killer power couple." One girl comments after she takes a photo with you while you're busy arguing with Max about who's better on the mic.

You and Max share a brief look at the girl's comment but quickly go back to arguing.

At the end of the night, you head out of the dead convention center while ordering an Uber to get back to the hotel. You stop on the curb to wait and Max comes up behind you.

"Leaving so soon, Y/N?" He asks you. "Does this mean that you've finally given up and declared me the winner of our little spat?" He teases you.

"Please." You roll your eyes. "I wiped the floor with you all day, Friedman. And I sold more merch." You remind him with a smug grin all your own.

You and Max both laugh after a moment of silence and you catch Mr. 'Salt of the earth' looking at you with what appears to be a genuine smile.

"I had fun," Max admits, sounding genuine for once. "Even if that horribly posh accent drives me up the wall." He adds.

A smile cracks in the corners of your mouth. "Yeah...it was fun." You agree.

Silence falls over you and Max again, and before you know it he's inches from your face. Your heart picks up its pace and suddenly Friedman's lips are on yours, his hands pulling you into him by the waist. The kiss is sweet and surprisingly passionate, making your head spin a bit as your fingers thread through his soft hair.

But the sweet moment is broken when you realize exactly who you're kissing. Maxwell Jacob Friedman. You're supposed to hate this guy. He's an asshole and a cheat. You pull away from Max and curse the air. "Shit...I...Shit." You mumble to yourself.

"Y/N?" Max looks at you in confusion. "I'm sorry did I do something wrong?" He asks you. "I thought? Did you not want to?"

Max steps your way and you shake your head. "Don't." You warn him. "I...I should go. This was....a bad idea." Your Uber thankfully pulls up and you hurriedly climb inside.

(End Flashback)

You can't take it anymore and get out of your seat.

"Y/N? Sweetheart?" Regal looks at you with confusion.

You look at your dad as you pass him in order to get to the ramp. "I'm sorry, dad." You apologize to him before you sprint down the ramp. You quickly reach Max's side and pull him out of the mess on the floor. "Come on! Don't give up on me yet, Friedman." You lend Max some encouraging words as you push him into the ring right before the referee hits 10.

You can hear the crowd around you going absolutely crazy for your assumed betrayal of both your father and the BCC. You lock eyes with Jon for a second before you lean under the bottom rope where Max is finally starting to get to his feet.

"You came." Max looks at you, clearly exhausted from his work in the ring.

"How else are you going to win?" You reply with a small smile. "Listen I'm sorry for bailing on you a couple of weeks ago. But I'm here now. And I'm behind you 100%! So get back in this and kick that old man's ass." You point to Jon behind him.

Max nods a fire lighting in his eyes again. You hang back from the ring and watch Max get his second wind. The match picks its pace back up again and Regal comes down the ramp to confront you.

"Dad!" You sheepishly turn to Regal. "I'm sorry dad, but I-" You go to explain yourself.

Regal puts his hand up and stops you. "It's alright sweetheart." He assures you. "I get it."

"Yeah?" You reply. "Thanks, dad." You nod and give him a small hug since you know after this you won't be seeing much of him at work anymore.

The bell rings while you're hugging Regal and the crowd goes wild again. You let him go and turn around to find that Max has managed to win. You give Regal one last glance and he nods at you to go to Max.

You slip into the ring and pick up Mox's title belt from the mat where the timekeeper has set it. You walk over to Max as he gets to his feet with a shocked and overwhelmed look on his face.

"Congratulations. You did it." You hand him the belt. "I always knew that you could." You smile at him.

Max takes the belt and clutches it to his chest. "You helped a little, I guess." He grins at you.

"Just a little bit." You laugh and close the gap between the two of you. "You really want to give all of these sweaty halfwits something to freak out about? Kiss me." You grab his arm.

That genuine smile crosses Max's face again and he obliges to your request. Again you are transported back to that night outside the convention center. Only this time there are thousands of screaming fans watching you french the new AEW champion. Not that you care what any of them thinks. You've got what you came for.

#aew #aew dynamite #aew fanfiction #aew dark #wrestling #aew elevation #aew imagine #all elite wrestling #aew wrestling #mjf imagine #mjf #maxwell jacob friedman #bcc #blackpool combat club

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bloatedandalone04 · 3 years ago

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Coincidental Meeting - Part 1

Series Masterlist

PSA: strongly suggested to read the warnings before proceeding.

Part One <3 | Previous Part

PSA part 2: Ted’s eyes are like brownish hazel so I’m going to refer to them as brown throughout this series, despite Adult Nick’s eyes being blue, okay? Okay, cool.

January 5th, 1985

The coffee shop was surprisingly busy today. You weren’t sure if it was because of the coffee itself, as this was the best coffee shop in Shadyside, or the fact that the shop was overtaken by new management. Either way, you felt slightly uncomfortable at the many bodies you had to squeeze through to get to your usual spot by the back window. You sit down and place the paper cup on the small, round table in front of you, looking out the window at the falling snowflakes.

You liked winter. It made a dark and broody town like Shadyside look stunning and bright. You could only imagine what Sunnyvale looked like during the winter.

You lift your wrist up, looking at the time on your watch. 10:39. Beth was late. But, then again, when was she ever early? Or even on time? You drop your hand into your lap, glancing at the window every few minutes in hopes to catch a glimpse of your brown haired friend.

Beth had been your closest friend since you were sixteen, so just over four years now. Funnily enough, she was both your friend and neighbor. You moved out of your parents house at the age of eighteen and found a cheap but decent apartment and have lived there ever since. Beth had told you she was thinking about moving out of her mom's house and into a place of her own, so when your last neighbor moved out, you immediately told Beth and she applied for the apartment. She moved in late last year and had been living next to you for about three months now.

She was a bit of a late riser so it wasn’t all that surprising that she was late.

You were pulled out of your thoughts when you felt the table move, indicating that someone had bumped into it. You jumped slightly and grabbed onto the table, steadying it as the person apologised.

“I’m so sorry,” at his voice, you looked up and were left breathless at the sight of brown eyes staring down at you. Standing there was probably the most attractive man you had ever seen, and that was your first indication that he was definitely not from Shadyside. Or he was new in town, but that was highly unlikely as his entire persona screamed golden boy.

You felt your face heat up at the fact that you had been staring at him for the past few seconds and you opened your mouth, visibly fighting off an embarrassed smile. “It’s okay,” you managed to get out before looking around the small café. “It’s super crowded in here, I’m surprised I even found a seat.”

The man, who you guessed was in his twenties, smiled at you and adjusted the black duffle bag on his shoulder. With another glance around the room, and one more out the big window, you sat up straighter and looked back at the brown eyed stranger.

“Have you ordered?”

He nodded, a few strands of his brown hair falling onto his forehead. You refrained from reaching up and pushing them back in place. “Yeah, yeah,” he said. “Just waiting.”

You nodded this time and brought your thumb to your mouth, nervously biting down on the nail, missing the look he gave you, and gestured to the empty seat across from you. If Beth was late, why not share a table with a cute stranger while you wait for her? “Do you want to sit and wait?”

The side of his thigh was already pressing against the edge of the table due to someone pushing into him, so there really wasn’t any room for arguing. Yet, he still said, “Oh, no, it’s fine,” he said, trying to ignore the older man currently rubbing up against him. “You’re probably waiting for someone.”

You hold back a laugh at his discomfort and shake your head. “I am, but she’s late,” you say. “Plus, you’re basically sitting on the table already.”

At your kind smile and wave of your hand, the man gave in and sat across from you. He sets his bag on his lap and you eye it as you grab your textbook from your own bag you set on the floor under the table. It was a big bag and it caught your interest, something the man seemed to catch onto. “It’s my training equipment,” he said and gestured to the bag.

Your brows raised and you hummed. “Ah, training equipment.,” you trail off, opening your textbook while looking at him. “Are you an athlete?” He definitely had the body to be one, not that you’ve noticed or anything.

The stranger looked at you, an unfamiliar expression on his face. “Not quite,” he said. “I’m actually training to get into the academy. The police academy.”

Your eyes widen at that. “Oh, wow,” you murmur, matching the smile growing on his face. “That’s exciting.”

A comfortable silence fell over you, the only form of quietness throughout the café. You pretended to read a bit of the text on the paper, glancing up at him as you did so. Each time you found him looking right back at you, an unholy smirk plastered on his face.

After reading the same sentence about four times, you finally gave in and pushed the book to the side, giving him your full attention, something that made his smirk grow. “So,” you start, watching as the man tilted his head. “Are you training around the area? Or out of town?” Really, you just wanted to know if he was from around your area. You lived on the very outskirts of Shadyside, a quick ten minute walk away from Sunnyvale. This café was more in town, so you were curious if he came to it a lot or if this was his first time.

He seemed to know exactly what you were thinking. “I live in Sunnyvale,” he says and you nod, your heart deflating at the fact that you probably won't see this man again after today. “But I train in Shadyside. I was on my way there when I passed this place. I heard good things about it so I decided to try it out before meeting up with my trainer.”

“It is the best coffee shop in town,”

“I can see that,” he looks around the room. It was slowly starting to become less crowded, thankfully. He looks back to you and nods down at your textbook for your schooling. “What about you? What are your future career plans?”

“Oh,” you say and place your hands on the big book, surprised that someone was showing genuine interest in your plans for the future. “Um, I’m hoping to become a nurse. I’m in my first year of nursing school, so hopefully I’ll do something like that in my future.”

The man nods, leaning over the table to read the cover, one of his brows raising. “Sorry if I’m imposing,” he began, leaning back in the chair. “But you seem really young to be in an advanced college course.”

You look down at the table, shrugging your shoulders. “I had to grow up a lot quicker than most people my age,” you say quietly. “It’s a long story.”

“Another time, then,” he said, his ear perking up at the sound of a name being called.

Nick Goode.

You were too happy that he suggested sitting down and talking again to realise that was his name that was called. He stood up, placing his bag over his shoulder again and extending his hand out to you. “It was nice meeting you,” he trails off and your eyes widen at the fact that you hadn’t even asked him his name, let alone given him yours.

“Y/n,”

“Y/n,” he repeated it in a soft voice and you grabbed his hand.

“It was nice meeting you, too,” you say, trying to remember the name the barista just called. “Nick.”

His hand slipped from yours and away from the prolonged handshake, and you watched as he walked back to the counter and grabbed his drink. He gave you one last smile before exiting the store, leaving you to sit alone once more, your hand burning from his lingering touch.

11:05 AM

The sound of the bell that hung above the door dinging made you glance up from your textbook, your eyes squinting slightly at the sight of your best friend stumbling her way through the door. The café had cleared out considerably within the last twenty five minutes, so it wasn’t nearly as crowded as it was before. Beth scanned the room, her blue eyes lighting up when she saw you. She quickly made her way over to you, sitting down in the seat across from you.

“Hey, you!” She says, giving you her best apologetic smile.

You weren’t buying it.

“You’re late,” you muttered, your eyes returning to the pages of the textbook. “Again.”

“Maybe you’re just early,” Beth teased, leaning over to tug on your hand.

“No,” you say, paying very little attention to her touch. “I’m not. We agreed on ten thirty.”

Beth gave you a look that said really? When you kept a straight face, she rolled her eyes and groaned under her breath. “Fine, okay. I’m sorry. I’ll buy,”

“I already bought my drink,” you say, closing the book and putting it back inside your bag, giving her the full attention she really didn’t deserve. You were glad you brought your textbook. Her lateness allowed you to get some studying in.

Beth looks at the empty cup and blows out a puff of air from her mouth, her bangs flying up slightly with the motion. “I’ll get the next one, then,” she said, placing her own bag under the table, next to yours. She stands up, reaching over to grab your hand. “I’m sorry, really. This is totally on me. Same order as usual?”

You hold her hand for a few seconds, squeezing her fingers with your own, and nod. She gives you another apologetic look before turning around and making her way to the counter.

As you watch her, you begin to feel bad for being so cold towards her, especially since she’s the best friend you’ve ever had, and make a mental note to ease up on her when she returns. She did apologise, after all.

Beth sits back down a few minutes later, handing you your second coffee of the day. “Thank you,” you say and she smiles at you, sipping her drink that was about ninety percent sugar rather than coffee.

“So,” she started, holding the lid of her cup with her fingers. “What did I miss while you were waiting?”

You debated on whether or not you should tell her about Nick. It was a brief, yet very impactful, meeting and it left you with your heart racing. Maybe you should just leave out the fact that he was from Sunnyvale.

“Actually, you missed one of the hottest guys I think I’ve ever seen,” you say and lean back.

“No way, really?”

You nod, sipping on the drink, the liquid burning the back of your throat.

“Well, don’t just leave me hanging here,” she said, putting her drink down and leaning over the table so she was closer to you. “Tell me more about him.”

“He was really cute,” you trail off, finding it amusing how interested Beth was. “Brown hair, brown eyes, tall.”

“Did he talk to you? Was he nice?”

“Yeah, he was really nice. He sat down and waited with me and we just…talked,”

“Wow,” Beth hums, bringing her drink to her lips. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were in love with him.”

You rolled your eyes. “That’s not even the best part,”

Beth raised her brows, gesturing for you to go on.

“He’s in training to become a cop,”

“Holy shit,” Beth said, leaning back in her chair. “Man, I wish I wasn’t late. This guy sounds too good to be true. A hot cop from Shadyside? I almost don’t believe it.”

There it was.

The thing about Beth was, she was super kind to her fellow Shadysiders, but anyone outside the small town were immediate enemies. It didn’t make much sense, but she always hated the people from Sunnyvale. Maybe it was because they were more fortunate than her, or maybe it was an inferior thing. Either way, she couldn’t stand anyone from the rival town.

When you didn’t answer her and even slumped back in your seat, Beth squinted at you, tilting her head up slightly.

“He is from Shadyside, right?”

“Um,” you trail off, looking out the window. She really had a way of making you feel like you were betraying her.

“Y/n,”

“Well, not exactly,” you give in and watch as her face becomes scrunched with anger.

“Seriously, Y/n?”

“What?” You still didn’t understand her hatred towards the Sunnyvalers and you doubt you ever would.

“You know how I feel about those people,”

“Those people?” The way she said it, her voice dripping with disgust and the scowl on her face made you frustrated and a little annoyed, if you were being honest.

“Yes, those people,” she rolled her eyes. “Stuck up, spoiled, selfish Sunnyvalers.”

“Okay,” you mutter and sit up straight, attempting to intimidate her with your stance. “I get it. But it’s not like I’ll see him again, anyway. He’s just training here then he goes home to Sunnyvale. There’s nothing here for him, so I really don’t think I’ll get the chance to talk to him again. I just thought he was nice.”

“Nice looking, maybe,” Beth mumbled, her voice sounding muffled at the end due to the sip she took from her drink. “But that’s what they want you to think. They want you to think they’re the nicest people in the world just so it hurts that much more when they turn around and stab you in the back. I’m just looking out for you, Y/n/n, you know that.”

“I know,” you say, smiling at her as if to end the conversation there. You didn’t feel the same way about the rival towns residents, not even close, but Beth was insistent and she wouldn’t change her mind, no matter how much you defend the Sunnyvalers. The best idea now was to completely switch the topic so she hopefully forgets about it. “So, why were you late, anyway?”

Beth looks down, your question seemingly catching her off guard. “I’ll be right back,” she said and stood up. “This coffee went right through me.”

Typical. She can mouth off whenever she wants but when confronted with a simple, if not slightly accusing, question, she runs off.

You nod, a knowing look on your face and watch as she quickly walks off to the bathroom. You know when she comes back she will completely dodge the question, so you decide to leave it there. If she had something she was hiding, then so be it. Everyone has their secrets.

January 11th, 1985

“Y/n,” the sound of your name had you turning around, your eyes meeting a somewhat familiar pair of brown ones.

“Nick,” you say back, trying but ultimately failing to hide the surprise in your voice. “Hey, stranger.”

His face flashes an emotion at your words, but it’s gone before you could decipher what it was. “Hi,”

You were standing in line at the coffee shop, simply named Shadyside Cafe, and had heard the bell go off behind you. You paid it no mind, but seeing as it was Nick who entered, you wished you had turned around sooner.

You were quite surprised to see him, seeing as he wasn’t from this town. A few days had passed since you last saw him, so you assumed that he had disliked this certain café and wouldn’t be back. So, you were pleasantly surprised to see the kind and extremely good looking guy once again.

“It’s good to see you again,” you say, a permanent grin splayed across your face. “Although, I wasn’t expecting you to come back here.”

“Of course I came back,” he said, his brown eyes staring into yours. “We have a conversation to finish.”

At the mention of the small chat from just under a week ago, your smile widens (if that were even possible) and you reach over, grabbing his wrist and tugging him to stand next to you. “Order with me and we’ll talk after,”

After ordering, Nick tells you to go find a spot to sit and that he’d pay for you. You tried to refuse but he just waved you off and handed the barista the cash before you could even take out your wallet. You sat in the same spot as last time and waited for Nick to come over with the drinks.

You were only waiting for a few minutes before you saw Nick make his way to you, one cup in each hand. He sets the drinks on the table and sits across from you, a boyish grin gracing his face. “You know, you really didn’t have to pay for me,”

Nick shrugs, moving your cup closer to you. “Just say thank you,”

“Thank you,”

A comfortable silence falls over the two of you, Nick’s eyes staying on you while yours glance everywhere but at him. When you do finally look at him, you notice that he came here empty handed, no training bag on his shoulder and a black puffer jacket on instead of the athletic coat he was wearing the day you met him.

“No training today?”

“No, tomorrow,”

You tried to ignore the obvious fact that he possibly just came here to run into you again and take a sip of your drink.

“So,” he says, catching your attention. “A few days ago, you were talking about a shortened version of a supposed long story? Do you want to talk about it?”

Ah, yes. The unflattering story about your family. Say goodbye to the pretty boy in front of you because this story is sure to drive him away and shatter any fraction of an interest he has in you. “It’s about my family,” you say. “The story I shortened.”

You expected Nick to change the subject or get up and walk out, but he just leaned forward, his face giving you a look that said go on.

“You might have heard about the Camp Nightwing killer? Tommy-”

“Tommy Slater,” Nick finishes for you and you nod, your brows raising slightly. “Sorry, I’m pretty familiar with that story.”

Great. “Oh, um, well,” you stutter, forcing out your next words. “He’s my brother. Was my brother.”

You watch as shock mixed with something else forms on Nick’s face and you shake your head once before continuing.

“Everyone said he just went crazy one night and killed everyone, including little kids,” you say quietly, not meeting the kind eyes currently staring at you. “But I don’t believe it. Tommy…..he was a good guy. One of the best guys I knew. I was really young when it happened but even then I knew that he couldn’t have just gone crazy…something had to have happened for him to just snap like that.”

Nick stayed silent and you hoped you didn't weird him out to the point of making him regret coming back. He waited for a few seconds, making sure you were done talking, before he opened his mouth. “Sometimes people surprise you,” he said softly, giving you a small smile. “Sometimes people act a certain way when they really aren’t that kind of person at all.”

“Tommy wasn’t one of those people,” you say quickly. “He was a good guy, a good brother. Sometimes it’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that I lost my best friend that day.”

When the silence returns, Nick reaches across the table and places his hand on top of yours. You look up at him, both shocked and relieved at the fact that he was offering you comfort instead of backing away. “I’m really sorry about your brother,”

At his tight lipped smile, you let out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding in. “Thank you,” you say and turn your hand over so it was properly holding his. You stay like that for a few seconds before you think about his words and how he said he was familiar with the story. It was tragic and many people knew about it, but you asked him about it nonetheless. “How’d you hear about it? The story, I mean.”

Here was Nick’s turn to confess. He stared at you with an expressionless face and you opened your mouth to say forget it, believing you were stepping over an invisible line when he replied with, “I was a counselor there that year,”

Your face falls at that and you feel the stinging sensation of tears prick your eyes. “O-oh,” you mumble. “Did you…..did you know him? Tommy?”

“No,” he said. “Not really.”

You nodded and looked down at your hand, still being held tightly by Nick’s, and found comfort in his touch.

“But I wish I got the chance to know him,” Nick adds, making you look back up at him. “He sounds like a really good guy.”

You smile, the tears threatening to spill over and you blink them away as best as you could. “Yeah,” you murmur. “He was.”

Nick offers you another small smile before picking his drink up. You watch him for a few more seconds, wondering how this kind and sweet guy could possibly be interested in you. But, as he kept your hand protectively under his for the remainder of your time together, you knew that Beth was wrong.

Sunnyvalers weren’t selfish or ignorant. At least this one wasn’t.

<3 p.s I’m Canadian but live in the US, so I apologise if my grammar switches throughout the series, I’m still figuring everything out lmao

#nick goode fluff #nick goode smut #nick goode imagines #nick goode x reader #nick goode #fear street #fear street imagines #fear street x reader #fear street 1978 #fear street 1978 imagines #ted sutherland #ted sutherland x reader #ted sutherland imagines #nick goode 1978 #nick goode 1978 imagines #nick goode 1978 x reader

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zipitmythicalsunset · 3 years ago

Text

BOTH POV TIME!

@intistone COME GET YOUR SHITTT

Chapter 3: Unforgettable memories

Rq, this is the layout of the Cave system everybody is in

@yami-tsuki-devillie for the love of god thank you for mapping this out for my small brain 😭 🙏

It was 3:05 AM when it started, when they heard the kid’s cries for help.

It was 4:35 AM when they got the kid to safety. With Momma Yamitsuki.

It was 11:AM when X.G woke up from her exhaustion and much needed rest.

…By Cici drilling her elbow into her stomach.

“OW WHAT THE FUCK?!” She screeched, eyes shooting open. Her hat falling off her face while her fins flared wide as her eyes locked onto the culprit. “WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!” She roared, pissed off. That wasn't a very nice way to wake up now, was it?.

“SORRY X, BUT WE KINDA GOTTA GO. WE ARE IN QUITE THE PICKLE. EVERYONE IS ALREADY AWAKE, AND WE GOTTA EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED TO MOMMA YAMI BEFORE SHE KILLS US.” Cici shouted at the same pitch as her roar in rage.

Ah. Right, yeah she guesses that makes sense. “Come on, there's salmon! And we gotta go all check on the kiddo!” The crazy kelpie added. “Alright, alright, give me like 5 minutes ill in the living room.” X.G grumbled back at the only other kelpie in this part of the cave.

That seemed to satisfy Cici, as she hummed in approval and walked over to the vine covered hole in the floor. Tapped it a few times with her foot, causing the vines to retreat into the walls of the cave before diving in the exposed water tunnel. The vines closed again 10 seconds later, ensuring no water (or unwanted guest) could make their way in.

The lone kelpie stood off the japanese style bunk bed she was placed to sleep on the night before and grabbed her hat. Dusting it off a bit before placing it in its rightful place on her head, fixing the strap under her chin and looked around.

The Adult/teen bedroom was one of the bigger caves, with 3 different wards for male, female, and gender neutral. It was nice and cozy with all the bunk beds and sofas littering the cave. How momma Yami managed to fit all of it in here…yeah, X.G is stopping that train of thought. Walking to the mini bathroom and washing up, she made her way to the vine and repeated the same steps Cici took to open it and dived in.

Yamitsuki had made the underwater tunnels a maze in case not-so-welcome “guests” found a way in. Thankfully she has been through these tunnels (and the dead ends too) over a million times by now, so making it from the “older bedroom” to the “kitchen” was no issue.

Poking the vines and exiting the tunnels through the now open entrance, she looked around the kitchen. Everyone was there, some in a conversation, others eating cooked salmon.

“Good morning X.G, be a dear and eat up alright?” Yamitsuki asked calmly, holding up a plate with 4 cooked salmon on it. X.G nodded, grabbing a plate and oh all the fish is already gone she already ate it welp-

“So umm g-guys?” Carrie spoke up to catch everyone’s attention, and suddenly all eyes were on her. “What exactly happened last night?” The kelpie questioned.

“Yes, please, elaborate. I’ve been alive for over 500 years and I've never seen a siren with kraken tentacles, four arms, or four eyes, let alone all in one.” Yami said while subconsciously moving everyone closer to where the Kid bedroom is.

“Well, yesterday morning me and Vi were chit chatting and well, life has been VERY busy out at the town and its super duper crowded. So, we planned to come here, away from the coastline town and walk up the river and chill at the cove and climb back down in the morning. Maybe stop by and say hi, and we invited everyone in the salads and sides chat, but clearly it went wrong.” Bloo started, fiddling with her claws nervously.

“It was all well, but then Whisper and X.G started feeling weird around 12 in the morning, and then completely stopped moving at idk 3AM, spooky ghost hours right?” Beetle continued, chuckling to themself in an attempt to lighten the mood.

X.G’s eyes couldn't help but fill with worry and look over at the kids bedroom area, that was for some reason connected directly to the kitchen. The kid can be seen from here and looks much better. He was Bandaged up and his scales look a lot less dehydrated and crispy. He was surrounded by a bunch of fluffy blankets and stuffed animals with one of those reversible octopus plushies tucked nicely into one of his four arms. X.G can't see what he was wearing under the blankets, but she knows that Yamitsuki will in no way in hell leave him in that crusty dusty white gown. Actually she probably improvised an outfit with four sleeves just for him already.

“He's adorable.” Whisper cooed, snapping X.G out of her trance. Looking at everyone else showed that they all had followed her gaze and looked over at the little one. “Yeah, hope he gets better, poor kid. He doesn't deserve this.” Whisper said sadly.

“Anyway, X.G, Whisper what happened next? What did you guys hear?” Carrie asked curiously. Ah, that's why attention was drawn to her. “Screams” The former responded. “Human screams at first, then a few minutes later we heard a Siren scream. A moment or two later, We heard a young siren pleading and begging for help. Yeah I was the only one who could understand everything, Poor thing was desperate to get away from danger. to get away from the humans hurt-“

“Pardon me, humans?” asked Yamitsuki, rage visibly boiling in her voice.

“yeah, When we got there- by the way Vipera and X.G switched to their higher forms in a surely unhealthy amount of time-“ Finnick started, gesturing towards Vi and X.G, fucking snitch. “There were 10 guards surrounding the poor kid with tasers. He was crippled on the floor and-“

Yami slammed her hand into the wall, causing a pretty strong rattle. “WHY?!” She screamed, looked up at Finnick, doubling his anxiety by a thousand. “We-Well…”

“Let me explain this one, Momma Yamitsuki.” Nora spoke up, attracting all eyes to her. “A few hours earlier we were talking about how the folks at Atlantis created two purposed organisms to create the special, resistant, and durable clothing like the one X.G wears” The brave kelpie said, gesturing to her red-eyed friend wearing the veil. “When a less tech advanced society is capable of doing that, what is stopping cruel, much more advanced humans from creating the kid to experiment on?”

The silence that followed was deafening as the usually calm, collected, and oh so caring Yamitsuki became a ticking bomb of rage. One of her eyes slowly turns into an X as her fins and tree-like appendages shake with bundled up fury.The room gets more and more tense by the second, sucking in all the air from the cave and their lungs like a vacuum.

“Don’t worry Mama, though we did take the kid and run, we didn't run before turning all those terrible humans into a 3rd grade bloodbath collage of organs, blood and ew.” X.G stated nervously, attempting to defuse the 9 foot time bomb in front of them all.

Thankfully, that seemed to do the trick, as air suddenly returned to their lungs as Yamitsuki’s face visibly relaxed, pleased that her children had chosen violence against those terrible scaleless cruel creatures.

“….Andaccidentallyonpurposeexplodedbigtrucksfullofgaswithgrenadesintheparkinglotthelabwasnexttoinsteadofjustcominghere.” Cici spilled abruptly, and then just like that all eyes were on her. She fucking fucked us all, that damn idiot. Well this is how we die.

“…Does anyone care to elaborate on that?” Yami asked. That dreading, terrible air returning into the room.

“Well….” Vipera started, chuckling nervously.

“Well some of us were still angry afterwards so X.G pulled 4 grenades out her ass and told them to go have fun. Not fun, they somehow accidentally blew up trucks full of gas and we barely avoided getting eaten by a sinkhole.” Beetle blurted out.

Just like that, Momma Yami was angry at them for an entirely different reason. Great going, Cici.

—————

When he woke up, the first thing he noticed was how warm and soft everything around him was. Not that Sick warm either, no no no. A kind of warmth he didn't know was possible. The next thing he noticed is how incredibly dark everything was and how stiff and painful his body felt.

Then he realized it isn’t dark, he just has to open his eyes in order to see. Great going, yeah you're so smart, if this keeps up today the punishments will be terrible today and there's no way he wants that.

…

Holy heck, where is he?

Sitting up, the little mer looked around on the soft big rectangle cushion they were on. There were soft looking objects that look like animals he's seen only through test photos when he was much smaller. The little siren was covered in the fluffiest blankets he's ever touched, or seen in that matter. Well, the closest thing he ever touched that can be considered a blanket is that…sheet…in the…on the metal table…where they….did…where they did…..bad- wait huh?

looking down at himself, he realizes he's holding something, it's another animal object, soft too. It's white and smiling innocently at him. It looks like…It’s an animal that lives in the water,he’s sure…What was the name again?

An octopus, right, an octopus. It is….super soft…squeezing it and turning over,he was surprised to see something else. A different color- black, was below it. Full of curiosity, the tiny siren pulled on the bottom part of it, but couldn't quite get it to stick out.

Was this a test? A nice test in fact. Very soft everything, was his task to get the other black octopus out? He can do that! And maybe today wouldn't- wait where's his collar?

The Mer used one of his other arms and felt his neck…His collar…It’s….gone? There's a wrapping around it- wait there's bandages around his arms. No wonder everything felt tighter and more painful- why does he have bandages? He got hurt, he can feel it, a deep wound in his shoulder mainly. Was he forgetting-

RIGHT, THE ESCAPE, THE RIVER, THE TASER, THE STABBING. HOW DID HE FORGET?!

The mer scrambled at his memories trying to remember everything that happened that night at the river where he could have sworn he was done for. He remembers someone screaming “Surprise, you scaleless fucks!” Then he remembers the screams of the guards. Screams of terror and dread, like how he screamed whenever he was in trouble or danger or pain.

Then…then there were the sounds…the sounds he was familiar with. Sending a shiver to his scales and a ghost pain on his scars, the sound of flesh being broken and bones cracking and snapping as…something attacked them. He can’t remember seeing anything, just feeling the ground, the pain, and hearing what was around him.

Then…yes, someone picked him up, sharp claws gently holding him close to a soft thick…coat? He couldn't tell through all the intensified pain. But those arms had taken him closer to the water, he could tell as the screams were drowned out by the rippling current. They had taken them away from the humans. They helped him. The owner of the claws whispered to them, promising safety, promising to take care of him. That the humans will never punish him again, that they will no longer have ANY control over him. That he was safe to rest now. That they will make sure that the “scaleless” got punishment for what they did to him.

Looking down again, he carefully removed the very fluffy blankets to get a better look at his body, softly gasping. He wasn't wearing that dirty white “gown” anymore. Well yeah he was still wearing a “gown”, but this one was a light blue color and had little ruffle like attachments on the bottom. The texture wasn't rough and itchy and dirty like the last one either. Instead it was soft, delicately covering his body and also had extra sleeves for his extra arms instead of just holes! How did he not notice it before?! He wasn't sure how, but his scales look shinier and better than he has ever seen them since…well, since forever! This all only proves one thing. If he wanted to deny it before, and say it was too good for it not to be a lie. All of it was right in front of him, in front of his face, he couldn’t deny it even if he wanted to.

The soft voice didn't trick him, they helped him get away from the cruel terrible monsters. Away from the humans, the tests, the punishments, all of it. Gave him hope. Gave him warmth he thought never existed in his cruel tiny world.

He was safe, hopefully, most likely.

Content with that last thought, he warbled happily and put the fluffy blankets back over himself. He wanted to stay cuddled inside a bit longer, just a few more moments, it doesn't seem like he should be awake right now anyways. Giving a glance to the room around him proves that there's only other soft rectangles, a bunch of movable lights- lanterns, those are lanterns. There's also some smaller soft rectangles in odd looking….cages….? They weren't really cages and more like barriers. He didn’t get it, but he wasn't in there. So it wasn't his issue, besides, he could escape that “cage” easily if he was put in it.

Adjusting his position and shifting his tentacles slowly into legs, He sighed contently. Gripping the octopus tightly to himself as he let his tiny fragile body fall onto the softness of the…comfort animals that seemingly helped soothe the pain he experienced the night before. The little mer purred against all the softness warming up his body. It was so nice, all so so nice.

Come again, why was he foolish enough to think it was all ok and nothing can go possibly wrong in an empty room?

“PARDON ME YOU DID WHAT?!” a loud inhuman voice boomed, rattling the walls of this place and scaring the life out of the poor mer who was bundled in the soft warmth.

He's never gone from happy to screaming so fast. What was that, oh god he was in trouble wasn’t he where's the punishment coming from he's screaming still when did he start screaming his throat hurts WHERE'S THE DANGER THAT WASN'T HUMAN THAT SOUNDED LIKE SOMETHING BIG WAS ANGRY WHY WHY WHY IS HE STILL SCREAMING HE'S HURTING HIS THROAT SO MUCH WHAT WAS THAT WHERES DID THAT EVEN COME FROM WHY ON EARTH DID HE THINK HE WAS SAFE! HE IS GOING TO GET PUNISHED AGAIN, A NEW SHOCK. A NEW WOUND. A NEW SCAR. THE PUNISHMENT WILL COME AND IT WILL HURT. JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER PUNISHMENT HE HAS GOTTEN. THAT THING IS NO WAY HUMAN, IT WILL BE THE WORSE PUNISHMENT HELL EVER HAVE TO END-

“FUCK SHIT!” Someone else screamed, a vaguely familiar voice in fact, snapping him out of his despair. Oh god now there were like 10 people running towards him. The mer moved his knees to his chin and used two of his arms to cover his head. NOT GOOD NOT GOOD HE'S GOING TO GET PUNISHED HE'S GOING TO GET-

“Darling! Oh dear, are you alright?! I'm so sorry for scaring you!” Said another voice, probably the one who screamed in the first place.

“Hey kiddo chill out! You're alright, you aren't in trouble!” Added a different voice, one that he never heard before.

That. that was a lie, there's no way, they are going to give him the worse punishment and it was going to HU-

“Hey! Don't cry little one! it's ok!”

He…he knows that voice.

Yes, there's no way it is not them.

That's the soothing voice

The voice that at some point his instincts Associated with safety, with warmth.

His Head flew up immediately, blinking away the tears and trying to muffle up the sobs spilling from him. When did he begin crying? He looked around with his four eyes frantically at where the voice came from, there were ten..not-humans surrounding the soft rectangle he sat on. All of them with weird long leaves in their hair, they probably would be intimidating if they didn’t look panicked, frantic and concerned. He had no idea which had spoken, but it was definitely a girl, so-

“Oh there you are!” said the voice, it was the leafy with the white sweater and pink shirt closest to him. She wiped away his tears still flowing down his face. “Don’t cry now..you're safe, sorry momma scared you. She wasn’t mad at you, we just did a bad dangerous thing and she was scared for us, nobody will get hurt. It’s ok, you're ok.” She said, smiling shyly and softly at the scared small siren. He wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying though….

There…there were many things he could’ve done in the moment. Clearly, clinging to the Soothing Leafy like his life depended on it wasn't what they expected at all. Evidenced by the small gasps and shocked “oh ok then.”s that filled the room when he did. The Soothing Leafy seemed to freeze in shock, and he was beginning to realize that this was probably a terrible idea. Why is he doing this? This is so stupid. Why was he always doing such stupid stupid-

A pair of claws scooped him up and brought his head to the soothing one’s shoulder and gently patted his back. “A-Alright then i guess i’m your mom now.” The Soothing Leafy said with a chuckle. Everyone else in the room had immediately began chuckling softly as the soothing leafy sat down on the soft rectangle, placing him comfortably on her lap as he clung to her tightly.

Slowly, another claw came, gently yet cautiously petting his frills. Drawing a soft purr from the small mer, which was met with a coo from…not the Soothing Leafy. The little mer slowly moved his head to see the owner of the hand without disrupting the petting.

It was a different leafy, but this one was mostly blue instead of green like the others, they had vibrant blue eyes with a very pleased look on them. “Hey they little dude! It is nice to see you awake!” The Blue Leafy spoke. “Gee, you look much better already!” She said with a giggle.

“Can he even understand us?” Asked a leafy that he couldn’t see from his angle. “I mean, I'd assume so, but he hasn't shown any sign that he seems to understand us. X.G, sirens can speak common tongue right?” questioned a different leafy.

“Yeah, they can and are pretty fast learners too. You know, I fully expected them to at least have the courtesy to teach the little one that. But I guess not, no matter, we can do that ourselves when he's ready for it.”

Oh. They don’t know they HAD taught him. They don’t know he can fully understand them…That’s…

That's….

Good. If they don't know, they will probably talk in front of him about things they might want to keep secret from him. That's what the humans did, but their secrets always hurt him. He is not sure about their secrets though.

Besides, that leafy…”X.G”? Was that their name? That's a funny name! Whatever it is, this leafy seems to know a lot about his “type” especially since that other leafy directly asked them. He looked around for the source of the voice, careful of the hands that were gently and lovingly stroking him.

And when he saw them, his blood ran cold. Two of them, standing next to each other, clearly the two voices that were talking. Both had terrible…terrible piercing red eyes, their green skin and hair strung up the way the female humans had it.

Green…and red…

like that monster that was outside his cell

Red eyes that pierced through his cell, maw covered in the sticky red blood of its own type that it had just killed. Its malice now directed at something new. Him. The blood that had flowed its way into his cell. The monster outside staring at him like a blank merciless murderer covered in leaves as it just KILLED ONE OF ITS OWN TYPE RIGHT OUTSIDE HIS CELL AND WALKED OVER AND SLOWLY BUT SURELY WENT TOWARDS HIM AND THE CHAINS HOLDING HIM DOWN IN HIS CELL AS HE TRIED TO MOVE AS FAR AWAY FROM THAT MONSTER AS HE CRIED AND HIS SCREAMS OF FEAR.

ONE CLANG, THE MONSTER ATTEMPTED TO BREAK INSIDE OF HIS CELL.

TWO CLANGS, SOMETHING ON THE BARS THAT HELD THE CAGE HE WAS TRAPPED IN BROKE. THE MONSTER WILL GET HIM, IT SHOWED ONE IF ITS OWN KIND NO MERCY, WHY WILL IT SHOW HIM ANY?!

THREE CLANGS, THE CELL WAS BREAKING FAST AND THE MONSTER WAS GOING TO GET IN AND KILL AND BITE HIS HEAD OFF LEAVE HIS BODY A BLOODY MESS EVERYWHERE AND KILL AND KILL HIM AND KILL AND KILL AND KILL EVERYONE ELSE TRAPPED HERE-

“HEY, WAKE UP!” Someone screamed at him in his own tongue. Snapping the poor siren out of his despairing, dreadful memories.

Oh gosh…Right…that monster didnt kill him, that monster isn't here. Oh wow he's sobbing and all the leafies are panicking again. Oh gosh. He dropped whatever he was holding in his lower left hand and whipped the tears away and looked back up at the Soothing Leafy. Was it her that talked?

“Hey, are you alright?” That voice asked, it was speaking his language and he wanted to find it. It wasn’t the Soothing Leafy, but what he didnt expect when he turned to the left was that the Red-Eyed leafy with a funny hat was standing RIGHT THERE AT EYE LEVEL.

He let out a yelp and turned his head in the opposite direction. He should've just stuffed his face into the Soothing Leafy’s sweater. What was on his right was ten- no- a THOUSAND times worse than the Red-Eyed Leafy.

To his right was another leafy, but this one was big, bigger than any creature he's ever seen in his life. Nothing in the lab he was forced to call home compared. Her leafy black and green less-leafy-like-hair is so long it's hitting the floor. She was pacing around everyone. She looks anxious and unsure…and….and…..

He began to scream again. The leafies surrounding him jumped and immediately tried to comfort him to no avail.

She had vibrant purple eyes

THE MONSTER MASTERS PURPLE EYES

THE EYES OF THE ONE WHO HAD HURT HIM. HERE. IN THIS PLACE. THE EYES OF THE M-M-MONSTER MASTER. WHAT WAS HIS NAME. WHY WAS HE HERE. DIDN'T THEY KILL HIM. HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD, DIDN'T THE SOOTHING LEAFY KILL HIM? SO WHY WAS IT PURPLE WHY IS IT STARING- STARING AT HIM WITH A LIKING TO HIS PAIN. THE REASON FOR EVERY PUNISHMENT EVERY BEATING EVERY GASH EVERY WOUND HAS EVER GOTTEN WAS BECAUSE OF THAT MONSTER THE PROFESSOR WHY IS HE HERE WHY ARE- IS HE GOING TO GET PUNISHED AGAIN OR MAYBE SOMETHING NEW IMPLANTED IN HIS HEAD HE'S FORCED TO STAY AWAKE AND SHRIEK IN AGONY LIKE… LIKE…. LIKE BEFORE….

Oh god he wasn't breathing, he couldn't breathe, how long ago had he stopped breathing. He couldn't get air in his throat. Was he screaming for too long? How long ago did he stop screaming? WHY COULDN’T HE BREATHE?!

The little mer clamped his 4 arms around his throat wheezing and trying his very best to get air into his lungs. He can hear voices, they are all screaming. He can hear some shouting in concern, grabbing his wrists and trying to pry them off of his throat. The others scream at him, demanding blood, sacrifice. That the professor's work wasn't done. AND MORE BLOOD MOST BE POURED. He didn't get it, get what they wanted. The work? work….

The cold medal table with a thin sheet that the humans forced him to lay on, restrained and couldn't fight back when he was very much awake, confused, and scared.

The huma- no, the monsters were talking about some sort of procedure and tests. He couldn't see what they were doing, the metal table had a hole his face was forced and restrained in so they could “work”.

It was the first and only time they set him up like this. He was super confused and unknowing of what was happening. He couldn't see either, only hear. He didn't know what to expect, he knew it was bad. And the small siren on the table had no idea what was to come though.

He didn't expect to feel a sharp cold tool slice open his delicate skin.

To cut him open from him skull and alll the way down his spine

The agony was unbearable.

The PAIN and the SOUNDS of his own screams, SCREAMING until he was suffocating himself. The sounds of HIS OWN FLESH AND GUTS being moved around by the monsters with shiny tools. As he shifted and banged and screamed as he tried to escape the tools “working” on him. EVEN WHEN THEY PUNISHED HIM FOR BEING TOO DIFFICULT.

He was in so much pain he passed out. Waking up was just as bad. He was lost in his own nightmare for hours. He couldn’t control this “enchantment”, this “gift”. his cell was COVERED IN BLOOD FOR HOURS AS HE CRIED AND THE PAIN IN HIS SKULL AND SPINE INTENSIFIED EVERY HALF SECOND AND…

…oh dear, oh gosh. He fell for it. He fell for the voices, and he didn't realize until he focused on his vision and realized everything was purple.

O h n o….

——————————————————————

Why had it all gone wrong?

The kid was fine, sitting adorably and clinging to Whisper. Guess he might’ve recognized her from the battle, after all, she was on ‘keep the kid safe’ duty. The little siren's eyes held such purity and innocence that if it were not for the events of yesterday, she’d assume he was a normal happy kid. He seemed pretty content on staying on Whisper's lap, and seemed very pleased at Bloo’s gentle touching of his frill-like appendages. Almost happy even.

Until he made eye contact with X.G and Cici.

She's not even sure what happened, he just seemed curious where the sound of her voice was coming from. Though all was lost when he made eye contact with her. At first, his expression went completely blank and she tried to wave at him. However he seemed to just….not respond to anything.

They realized something was wrong when his breathing started to turn into hyperventilating and he began sobbing his poor little eyes out. Everyone panicked, thankfully it seemed she managed to snap him out of it and calm him down before he could really harm himself. Thank god.

Until he looked at Yamitsuki maybe 10 seconds later. Then he fell into another episode while screaming his lights out and crying again. Their attempts to soothe or wake up the mer from whatever he was reliving were all in vain. By the time he was done screaming he was hyperventilating so much it seemed as if he couldn’t breathe, as he wrapped his arms around his neck.

Only instead of trying to free up his throat, he was squeezing it tighter, and herself, Whisper, Beetle, Finn and Bloo had to pry his hands off.

Then that's when it happened.

One of the mer’s four eyes turned a bright purple for some reason. He still wasn't “awake” and was just unresponsive to everything. “What's up with his eyes?” Finnick asked, confused. “Not sure, but best to wake him up now” Beetle responded

All of his eyes turned purple, and just like that he seemed to return back to the present, atleast at first.

“Ok phew he's back.” Whisper said, sighing. “Hey little one look at me.” she cooed. The little one's head shot up to look at her, with no expression on his face. You would think after nearly strangling himself he'd hyperventilate and cry more yeah?

Then suddenly, everyone was screaming. Everyone but X.G and Yami. Whisper had dropped the kid in favor of holding her head. The kid merely hopped off her lap and stood in the center of all the madness. He was smiling now, that once innocent smile was now crooked and purple…wait purple?!

“WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!” Finnick screamed in panic. “I feel so sick..” Bloo muttered.

Everyone who screamed before was now grumbling and trying to get rid of a “sick feeling.”

Sick feeling…

X.G looked at the kid. “What did you do?” She asked. The kid merely grew his smile, a bright purple color pouring into his eyes like water filling up a cup until all four eyes were completely purple.

“What on earth is going on?!” Yami questioned in a panic, rushing the others onto walls and ok the much smaller beds in a vain attempt to help them not bump into anything in their writhing dizzy forms.

Drip, something flew past her face.

Huh?

Drip, another one.

what?

Drip, another.

She held out her hand where the dripping was coming from.

Drip, right onto X.G’s hand.

She looked down at her hand to see red gleaming blood on it. Blood? If anything it should be water from the tunnels! Slowly but surely…X.G looked at the source of the blood dripping.

…

well…

“that wasn’t there before.” she said, staring at the hundreds of dead bodies now seemingly pegged to the cave roof, staring down at them with blank, lifeless eyes, relaxed jaws, and worse of all- holes all over their body, letting blood drip down and guts fall out. Eugh,Trypophobia vibes. If she and her friends hadn't just committed a massacre less than 24 hours ago She’d probably react more. Looking around, all the cribs and beds were covered in guts and blood, and the cave walls had begun to bleed themselves and flood the floor with the copper liquid all the way up to her ankles.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!” Yami screamed in pure confusion and horror as more and more blood and guts came out of seemingly nowhere.

…Seemingly nowhere…

Has this…..happened before…?

~*++*~

“Hey X, can you do me a huge favor?” Valerie asked hopefully. X.G had stopped studying and looked over at her cousin. The kelpie’s gold accessories coating her clothing glimmering in her room's many jellyfish lights. Wearing gold was a sign of one having an important occupation in Atlantis. In this case, Valerie was one of the few techs in Atlantis, actually almost everyone in her family was a tech. “Yeah what's up?” she asked, placing her books back in the massive air bubble she took them out of.

“You go outside a lot, yeah? Outside Atlantis I mean.” She chuckled nervously. “Mhm, you need me to get something?” X.G asked. “Well… Ocean Shrine 35NW2 is malfunctioning and needs a reboot, was hoping you could do that for me? Not sure why they gave me that task. I don't even know where Ocean Shrine 35NW2 Is!” Valerie complained

“Hm, sure, but u gotta tell me the illusion’s Secret first.” X.G stated. “Can't reboot the shrine without knowing the secret after all.” The Illusion’s Secret was kept from common seafolk and only told to a select couple who wear gold— including Valerie— to prevent sabotages. Thankfully no, Atlantis did not usually have crime happening. Ever since the Missing Scales Incident, the entire city didn't mess around with keeping its civilians safe. Trauma, really.

“…You're good at keeping secrets I'm sure, but if you dare tell anyone I'll turn your dead CORAL!” Valerie threatened. “Noted then, don't tell anyone unless I wanna face the golden kelps wrath. There, you happy now, you yellow tinted sentient plant?” She sassed at her.

Valerie merely huffed in annoyance “They use these funny tiny little discs called Illusionary discs. No idea how they work. But apparently it makes it so that you can't see or to an extent feel Atlantis at all until you sing to the shrine. Also it makes it so nobody can hear you properly but yourself.” She explained. “The 25O2 council has complete control over what they see and who they work on. You sing the song, they hear it, the illusionary disc stops working on you. funny huh? A side effect to those not used to it is feeling sick if you're not used to it. Which is why there is a thick wall to seperate everyone from its frequencies.” Ah, that makes sense. Especially when she started leaving the city and it made her feel like she had eaten those land fungi… right, “mushrooms”. The 25O2 council controls what they see and who it works on…Interesting…Wait a second-

Her eyes widened with interest. “Wait, so if I were to put one in my head, would I be able to control what everyone else sees?” She wondered. “Something like that, But to reset it into a reboot you gotta give it a good shocky shocky. So remember to put on your zap proof clothing and clear the area.” Valerie replied, trying to change the topic. “Remember not too much, it will reboot it for too long and we can get in trouble if that shrine is out of order for longer than a day.”

“I'll be able to make skulls appear out of seemingly nowhere though?” She asked, clearly not letting that idea go. “Yeah, I guess so, I dunno. Ask Auntie Pearl not me, just hurry up with the shrine, please.” Valerie practically begged before leaving her room.

~*++*~

If I were to put an illusion disc in my head, would I be able to control what everyone else sees?

Something nudged her foot, and she twirled to look at it. It was Nora, with her eyes gouged out, floating in the blood. It nearly gave her a heart attack before she remembered her last thought and looked where the kid was. The kid was laughing like a maniac now. Yami was holding him as he scratched at her and tried to reach her face. His back was to X.G, and she can see the scar running from his skull and down his gown.

Before, maybe she wouldn't have thought this. But right now the previously helpless child has lost his mind. If he had wanted to cause them mental harm, showing them the dead bodies of their closest friends would be very effective.

“MOMMA YAMI!” X.G called out “ITS ALL AN ILLUSION, THOSE FUCKERS IMPLANTED AN ILLUSIONARY DISC INTO HIS HEAD THAT HE CAN CONTROL. IT’S ALL FAKE!”

“WAIT WHAT?! HOW DO YOU KNOW!” Yami screamed, doubting her claim despite it making sense. Possibly because of how painful that sounds.

“I'VE SEEN THEM IN ACTION BEFORE, IT'S WHY I'M NOT FEELING SICK AND EVERYONE ELSE IS. I’M USED TO THEIR EFFECTS.” She explained “BESIDES, HE HAS A SCAR AT THE BACK OF HIS SKULL RUNNING DOWN HIS NECK AND SPINE!”

“WELL WHAT THE HECK DO WE DO?! WE CANT HURT HIM…I THINK HE'S POSSESSED.” Yami screamed out. Yeah the kid sure as fuck looks possessed. What the hell did they do to him?

The kid was screaming wildly and clawing like a wild animal, but was slowly using up all his energy seemingly very quickly. It probably costs a lot of energy to keep the disc running and reenact any male elephant during breeding season.

energy…

The kid hasn't eaten anything for at least 24 hours. Yeah he slept and Momma yami probably hydrated him, or at least his scales, but there's no way he'll have the energy to continue. He’ll run out of energy sooner or later.

“Leave him there, he'll drain himself out and the illusion will stop.” She said with more confidence then she actually had.

“That sounds like a ridiculous idea, darling. But it seems you know more about this than I do.” Yami replied, slightly panicked.

That seemed to be the right thing to do, as though over time the illusion kept getting worse and worse and worse over the course of an hour or so. Eventually the poor kids' movements became slower and more sluggish, and everyone started to get up from wherever they were.

“Woah, that was FUNKY!” Cici said, standing up and dusting herself off.

“It felt like I was floating in a river.” Nora mumbled, ok yeah let's not tell anyone what they looked like when the illusion took control of the children’s bedroom.

“What the FUCK happened?!” Finnick shouted in his confusion.

“Those fuckers put an illusionary disc inside his head. He can basically control what we see and in some cases possibly feel and it also makes you feel terrible. Why his eyes turned purple and he decided to commit first degree damage to our mental health I don't know.” X. G explained “He looked poss-“ she didn't get to finish her sentence as it was cut off by an agonizing, terrified shriek.

The Kid was now trying to do everything to get out of Yamitsuki’s grasp. Hissing weakly and trying to get her to let go, negelectinghis injuries that are obviously causing him pain as he tries to escape. “Why are you so scared of me..?” Yami questioned, her purple eyes showing more emotions than her face. She was genuinely upset.

wait…purple…

“Didn’t his eyes turn purple when he went sicko mode? Hey Momma Yami, your eyes are bright purple. He's probably afraid of that color because of…well all of this” Beetle pointed out, gesturing to everyone in the room “Oh? M-Maybe it's the same thing with Cici and X.G too, he seems afraid of your red eyes.” Carrie theorized. “He’s from a lab right? If they made something as unrealistic as him. A crazy kelpie with red eyes isn't off the table….I’m making sense right?” The carrot haired kelpie asked.

“That..does make sense, thank you sweethearts.” Yamitsuki admitted as Vipera walked over. “Give me the kid. He's probably going to have another breakdown. I have an idea.” Vipera said, holding her hands out. Yamitsuki Obliged, and gave her the kid. The poor siren immediately clung to her for about 5 seconds before…yup, having a breakdown and whimpering and yanking at his frills, poor fella.

“Vipera, before you do what you're about to do, can we do something real quick?” Whisper asked. And Vipera albeit hesitantly nodded. “Momma Yami and Cici, can you guys get the little one some food?” Whisper asked, glancing at the kitchen. “Yes, yes of course, he must be starving.” Yami agreed, walking towards the kitchen and out the ‘nursery’ like room.. “I don't know why I'm going, but I guess it has something to do with Carrie's eye theory.” Cici replied.

“Yes, I wanna test something, X.G, Can you put your contacts on?” Whisper requested. She never put her contacts on in her kelpie form. She never needed to. “Yeah sure, fine.” She grumbled, opening her purse and opening the little box she kept her contacts in. She doesn't need a mirror, she's had enough practice since she usually needed to put these suckers on in a moment's notice without a mirror in sight. Putting the contacts on, grumbling on how uncomfortable and weird they feel, she blinked a few times and looked around.

The bedroom was a mess, but the others besides Vipera and Whisper were already tidying it up. “Ok Vipera, let whatever you have planned rip.” Whisper said, glancing worriedly at the sobbing wickedly 4 armed siren. He's definitely been through way too much in the past 2 or so hours.

Vipera cleared her throat before slightly shaking the kid in her arms and sitting down on the cave wall to catch his attention.

“Sometimes when I~ wanna run away and hide~”

——————————————————————

He was expecting blood, pain. Blood and pain all around him, and punishment when he snapped out of it. It felt like it took hours, but after swimming in the sea of purple his mind was forced into by the voices, their sea of submission. He finally found the right sight up and bursted out the sea of purple agony. His mind was taken up, up and up, the voices getting quieter and quieter. Out of his cell, through the hallways and into the vents. Out of the vents, out the exit and into the river. Then silence…

Oh ok he's back in his body wow what a fun ride-

When he finally gained stability of his own body after a dreadful few seconds.the first thing he noticed was that he wasn't on the floor. The immediate second was how much agony he was in.

No wait, it gets worse. Because the third thing he noticed was that the Professor Leafy was holding him. In the air. tightly.

Way too tightly.

He shrieked in terror. He probably just did a bunch of bad things. There's no way he isn't in deep trouble. He can see the mild scratches on her arms and the small amounts of blood on his talons. He's so out of energy and his skull is blasting in pain and his spine feels like it's going to crack and break- wait no. This Professor Leafy will definitely break him now. He messed up.

The little siren tried his best to get out of her grasp. hissing weakly as he tried and tried again to escape, the pain in his head and arms threatening to take him back into unconsciousness as he fought the best he could. He can hear her saying something, and someone else replying but he couldn’t focus on anything that wasn't the pain in his spine and head and arms or the dread that is his soon to come, and probably overdue punishment.

Eventually, someone else grabbed him and the professor Leafy put no fuss on letting him go. The other leafy that grabbed him merely held him close to their- her chest. He wasted no time grabbing onto her like his life depended on it.

Just like that, something in him shattered.

He began sobbing uncontrollably and snapped his eyes shut. Grabbing his frills and yanking on them in an attempt to soothe himself with simply more PAIN. He’s not thinking right now. He can hear voices and movement around him, but for the life of him he couldn't focus on the present. The pain in his spine, head and arms threatens to take him back into the past and into the voices of the agonizing purple sea. It was all too much…way too much….

Suddenly, the leafy had sat down and shook him gently. Was it to catch his attention? Was he about to get his punishment? The monsters tended to be gentle up until he felt the pain. Was this any different? How lo-

(song: Villian I appear to be (annapantsu cover) )

“Sometimes~ when I wanna run away and hide~”

…ng?

“When there's no one on my side, and all my pride has disappeared.”

heh?

“I take it off my mind~ and leave it all behind~”

He opened his eyes and looked at the leafy holding him, letting go of his rays slowly. Her eyes are closed and one of her feet is tapping the floor in a simple rhythm. To that…way of talking?

“Nothin’ left to do but try~ and take the leap and follow through~”

This is…kind of nice..

“and that's EXACTLY what i'll do!~ I know that I don't seem very strong, but I assure you before you can find me I'm gone. So come on and catch me, you still got a chance~.”

The leafy had begun increasing the rhythm of her sharp claws tapping on the somewhat fluffy floor.The voices were getting quieter in his head as he moved his head to the rhythm.

This was…

“BUT NOT FOR LONG~ I'll be rolling from place to place, wont stop till i win the race! Although I may have crossed the line…”

oddly soothing…

“No time to waste on you~. I don't plan on slowing down, no I'll keep on going- EVEN if you think i'm in the wrong~.”

The pains from his “gift” have seemingly numbed out and are no longer trying to hold him back. This is…very nice…what was it called again?

“Just know that- Although I may not think everything through, I don't take back what I say or regret what I do. I know that some stay in line and they stick to the plan, but if you leave it to me I'll do whatever I can!”

It has a name. He’s sure of it…

“ ‘Cause I~ I know that's what I am here for. I~ don't wanna wait around anymore~. Even if you can’t see, the good inside me.”

It’s on the tip of his tongue..

“I~ dont have the time to tell you why~ I do the things I do.”

Ah…he remembers now.

“Just please hold on and soon you'll see~.”

It's music, songs. This Leafy is singing.

“That I am not the villain I appear to be~.”

That was a nice song…

He didn't realize he was tapping to the rhythm until there was no rhythm to tap to. He has no idea what that song did to him that had effectively soothed down everything that was hurting him. Stuck him like glue to what was happening in that moment. Forced away the voices that wanted oh so desperately to pull him back under and take control again.

It was….nice.

…Very…very nic-

“Hey little one! don't sleep yet! you gotta eat some food first!” One of the leafies called out.

wait when did he close his eyes- wait hold on did someone just say food?

He shot his head up and looked around as the Singing Leafy chuckled and moved her legs to make a more..ehh…bendy shape around him? Yeah ok he's not paying attention to that.

He looked around at all the other leafies in the room. The Blue Leafy was on a soft rectangle and waving happily at him. Next to her there was another leafy he hadn't seen yet. She was fully green and had dark green clothes with a very long skirt. When she realized he was staring, she shyly waved. Quiet leafy, then. There was the-

“Hey little dude!” Called a different leafy he hadn’t realized snuck up on his left side. He whipped his head around with a barely muffled yelp and flinched when he realized just how close that leafy was. “Oops, sorry for scaring yeah!” The leafy apologized, backing up and holding something out to him- it was the small octopus he woke up with. “You want this back, yeah?” The leafy said. His eyes locked on the octopus. He did want it back, he's not even sure when he dropped it. Is this a trick though?

He looked around and realized the Soothing Leafy is right there on his right. Seemingly seeing no issue with this. Ok, that's fine. If the Soothing leafy has no issue with this. Then it's fine, right? right.

Slowly, he grabbed the octopus plushie from the Nice Leafy. The second he realized he wasnt in fact going to snatch it back and break it, He held it to his chest and purred softly. “There you go little mate!” said the Nice leafy. “Beetle, remember he can't understand you.” Said a different leafy, he had black leaves instead of green, Darker Leafy, then. His voice was familiar, but he had no idea where he knew it from. “I know I know, but he seems to know the word “Eat” well!” The Nice Leafy exclaimed.

He went on to look at the other leafies in the room. The Red-eyed still looked pretty spooky. Her blue eyes pierced through that odd see-through fabric she wore. There was another…ehh…leafy? She looked more human, but she still had long leaves in her hair. which was orange…like a carrot. She was writing something in an odd rectangle. Like how the …..monsters at the lab did when they made him do tests…but that was brown and looked cardboard. That one was yellow, a soft yellow. You know what? Carrot leafy, sure.

The Professor Leafy and the other Red-Eyed Leafy were nowhere in sight. That will probably be a good thing. Yes, yes, they wont hurt him if they aren't in the room. That's good, that's good.

“What is taking them so-“

CRASH!

SPLAT.

BANG!

POW!

He screeched and grabbed onto the Singing Leafy’s shirt, staring at the dead looking leafy that had been seemingly thrown and tumbled into the room. It was the second Red-Eyed Leafy. Did Professor Leafy do that? What did sh-

“Wow, that was a BAD IDEA!” The second Red-Eyed leafy said, standing up and giving herself a little shake. “CICI WHAT HAPPENED?!” shouted the Quiet Leafy, clearly concerned for her…eh…friend? Sister?.

“Well…..To put it bluntly, I did a stupid thing with stupid consequences.” Replied the second Red-Eyed Leafy- no. That’s Crazy Leafy now, nevermind second Red-Eyed Leafy. There’s something wrong with them. Probably hit their head too hard or something. With brushing off a fall like that he'd believe it.

“Just…get the little kid some food…please?” Begged the Carrot Leafy. Just like that, the Crazy Leafy bounced out the room and up that weird hole she fell in.

Well… that happened….

——————————————————————-

It took another hour for the Crazy Leafy to come back with a tray. He was starting to wonder why it took them so long, but whatever was on the tray smelled amazing. His stomach growled at him, reminding him he hasn't eaten at all in three days. He was very hungry now that scent was in the air, but he had to wait. He knew better than that. So he sat patiently with the Singing Leafy. The Crazy Leafy gave the Red-Eyed Leafy the tray before bouncing out again, much to his relief. He doesn't want two leafies that look like the monster in the room.

The Red-Eyed-Leafy brought the tray over to the Soothing Leafy and placed it on the floor, on it was a wooden spoon and a bowl of…what?

Was this food?

He’s never seen anything like this before.

It was water yeah, but it was a brownish color and had fish and vegetables in it that he could see. He cocked his head at the “food”, absolutely confused out of his mind.

“Looks like he's never seen stew before, come on lil guy I promise you it's food and It’s good.” Said the soothing Leafy as she took the wooden tool and scooped up some of the bowls contents. Holding it over next to his mouth for him to…bite? Sip? heck if he knows.

Hesitantly, after sniffing the still-amazing-smelling substance on the wooden spoon a few times. He bit down on the wooden spoon and HOLY HEAVENS THE SOOTHING LEAFY IS RIGHT.

The little siren's eyes went wide with shock and shook his head a few times. With a very…questionable noise not even he could identify, he looked back at the spoon with a dumbfounded face. That seemingly all the leafies went into a laughing fit over his reaction but he didn’t really care about that. He chirped happily at the taste of…this stew? Was that what the Soothing Leafy called it? Didn’t matter, he wanted more.

The little siren made his way off the Singing Leafy’s legs and over to the tray then grabbed the bowl. It was hot, but not too hot. He put his lips on the edge and started drinking as fast as he could until they noticed.

“BABY NO!” Screamed the Soothing Leafy, taking the bowl from his hands and he looked at her confusingly. “Sweetie whyyyyyy?” The Singing Leafy barely said with a straight face. Was he not supposed to do that? The Singing Leafy scooped him up as he just stood there confused. Usually they want him to eat quickly. Was that not the case this time? Huh???

“Oh my god he drank like HALF OF IT IN 5 SECONDS!” Shouted the Nice Leafy. “There's no way that's healthy, eating so much after eating nothing for who-knows-how-long!” Screeched the Darker Leafy who he can’t pinpoint where he knows his voice from. Ah, so he wasn’t supposed to drink it quickly.

“Ok but let's all admit, that was hilarious.” said the Red-Eyed Leafy, and the Blue Leafy nodded in agreement. “That was chaotic and hilarious, but for real just feed the kiddo with the spoon so he can go take a nap.” The Blue Leafy spoke…Yeah…A nap does sound nice, he can feel it blackening his vision already. “Alright alright, little fella, open wide~.” said the Soothing Leafy, holding another spoon of the stew, in which he happily ate.

That's how they spent the next 6 or 7 minutes, the soothing Leafy feeding him spoon by spoon while the Singing Leafy held him so he wouldn’t “chug himself to death” while they weren't looking. When he was finally finished eating, the little mer leaned on the Singing Leafy and sighed. He was content on taking his nap there and letting sleep fully fog his vision. When his gaze drifted to the Red-Eyed Leafy, her blue eyes pierced into him as she waved. He let out a sleepy warble and closed his eyes, holding the octopus close to him. Maybe they’ll let him keep it if he was good….. and lucky…..

…..

WAIT A MINUTE

He shot back up instantly. Sleep gone and eyes wide as he stared at the…Red-Eyed Leafy?

Her eyes are blue now.

Weren’t they red???

HOW LONG AGO DID THEY CHANGE TO BLUE AND HE DIDN’T REALIZE??

“You finally noticed?” The red eyed one spoke in his language. As if she could read his thoughts.

…

Well, guess he doesn’t have any reason NOT to respond. Besides he doesn't want to, but there's no way she will accept that answer.

“Your eyes are blue.” He said, still confused on how they changed from red to blue.

“You seemed scared of my red eyes so I changed them.” She replied. Oh, so she just changed her eye color for him…That’s… kind of her. REALLY kind of her. She’s not as scary to look at anymore.

“Thank you.” He replied shyly, not quite sure what else to say. “No problem kid, say, what is your name?”

His name? Does She mean his number? He hates his number though… But besides that, he has no idea what she could possibly want.

“My…my name is Y-026.” He said, inwardly cringing at the sentence. Honestly, he prefers “Little one” or “kiddo” or whatever the other things they've been calling him over his number, but he isnt going to say that out loud.

Apparently, neither did the leafy in front of him. Who made a sound that he can only describe as something falling on the floor and breaking then looking up to the Singing Leafy, who was still holding him.

“Care to translate?” Singing Leafy asked curiously. Seems like no other leafy knows his language besides the Not-so-red-eyed leafy.

“I asked him his name.” she responded, looking like she was slapped.

“well…what did he reply?” asked the Soothing Leafy

“Y-026”

Yeah, none of the leafies liked that, as some gasped in horror while others whipped around to look at the …Not-so-red-eyed leafy??

“Yeah no that's not his name anymore.” The Singing Leafy said as if it was a demand. “He is getting a new name, like right now.” She added.

eh..?

“Well what ideas do you guys have, you can't just declare that and not have an idea.” The darker leafy pointed out. At this point he didn't care, ANYTHING will be better than his number. “Benson.” the Blue Leafy said. ok there is ONE name worse than his number-

“Well how about Elliott?” suggested the Carrot Leafy. Everyone looked around at each other with mixed emotions. Some seemingly like the name, others…not so much.

“Eclipse.” Said the Soothing Leafy, taking him away from the Singing Leafy and holding his head on her shoulder, in which he doesn’t protest and grabs onto without much hesitation. “His name is Eclipse.” She says with confidence, as if it wasn’t up for questioning.

Eclipse…

“Alright, I like that one, he does look like one after all.” The Nice Leafy said. He has no idea what an eclipse was, but it seems that he looks like one. The others seemed to be content with that as well, as nobody protested and the room was only filled with hums of approval.

“you heard that little one?” The not-so-red-eyed leafy asked. “yeah…” he replied. “So you do know english!” She exclaimed. He gasped in realization. Oh god he just sold himself out and didn't even realize it! Oh gosh he is going to get in trouble isn't he?? He looked at her with pleading eyes, silently begging that he won't be punished for that.

“That's fine I won't tell anyone, you can start talking when you're ready.”The not-so-red-eyed leafy reassured him, much to his relief. “But tell me now, what is your name?”

He sighed in relief. snuggling into the Soothing Leafy’s chunky white Sweater as he felt his sleepiness pulling at his small form.

“Eclipse” he answered, letting sleep cloud his vision this time.

He has a name now.

A real one, this time.

wowie this was 9.6k words KILL ME

hey remember when i said this was suppose to be a oneshot?

yeah probably not going to be less than 10 chapters anymore honestly.

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