#Or they have the character have no friends at the start of the story but then they make friends

[murpagato]

To start: I’m old. My gaming group still placed Advanced D&D, because that’s what we played in our formative years, have all the resources for, and we don’t feel a need to change what we love doing,

But the reason I am posting this, is because back in 2004, I wrote a tabletop game called “DungeonCrawl” designed a a single day (long single day) game, that can be played with out all of the D&D prep/character generation/campaign-story work needed to provide all of the lead up to the dungeon.

The mechanics are D&D adjacent, sorta. The full run of dice get used, as does a deck of ordinary playing cards.

I have updated it a few times over the years, and I think my last full update was in 2017. I thoroughly enjoy it (I wrote it, so I am a tad influenced by that) as has everyone that has played it in my circle, expanding out to include my daughter and her college friends, fencing students of mine, and coworkers.

If you are interested, it is a free download, so have at it, and feel free to provide feedback. Not to say I will change anything about it, but certainly you can house rules it if something about it does not suit your playing style

Running D&D in 2024 is like, the player community collectively convinced each other that dungeon crawls, resource management and attrition are bad, so now everyone runs games where characters can expect to get into one or two fights a day and characters are never stretched for resources, and most Reddit threads about D&D are GMs asking for help challenging their groups because of said ignoring of the resource management aspect and getting told that a good GM could make it work so obviously they must be a bad GM.

[luxdove]

Remember me!

(Shadow Milk Cookie x Reader)

Notes: Reader cookie is inspired by Don Quixote from the game Limbus Company and not from the actual book since I have never read the actual book

Since I’m also terrible at writing I’m mainly laying down points and not an actual story format? English is not my first language pls be kind cuz I low key got no idea how to type a story and also these characters might be OOC

Also reader is gender neutral and this is my first story I’ve ever posted 😭

This is also not even proof read and honestly I felt this went all over the place so I apologize if it doesn’t sound great😭

Cw: Hypnosis, memory loss (idk what else to say for warnings)

You don’t remember anything from your past, you kinda just grew up living inside of this tower

But you weren’t lonely! No no! Well actually you were since no one would visit you however! You had tons of books! And would often dreamt yourself to be the greatest cookie knight of all of Earthbread!

It didn’t matter if you seemingly had an endless supply of books, they just never seem to get boring no matter how many times you have reread them!

However one day a knock followed by a crash of the broken door happened, this day was special since it marked your day of freedom from the loneliness imprisonment!

“Oh sorry we knocked your door down…” the cookie with a cane said sympathetically

“It is no worries! What is thou name?!” You exclaimed happy to see more cookies in existence, Gingerbread cookie looks a bit confused as he wonders why you spoke in the old language but he shook it off and tried to understand what you said

“My name is gingerbread cookie! And these are my friends Strawberry cookie, wizard cookie, Custard cookie, Chili cookie, and Pure Vanilla cookie!” Gingerbread Cookie introduced everyone. “What is yours?”

“Thy name…?” You thought about it, you actually don’t remember your name. You looked around and noticed a mail that was addressed to this tower and it said. “Blueberry Milk Cookie…” you muttered “forsooth! Thy name is Blueberry milk cookie!” You confirmed, after all the mail seemed to be addressed to you so surely that’s your name right?

“Well Blueberry milk cookie, would you like to join us on our journey?” Gingerbread cookie asked and you started squealing in excitement. Never had your eyes had shown such bright and shiny stars within it.

“May I?” You asked to confirmed and they nodded. Indeed this was the best day ever.

It’s been a good long while ever since you joined them; you helped them build up a kingdom while meeting new cookies on your journeys. However after meeting all the Ancient cookies in Crispia you decided to hold back for a while to focus on yourself. After the group came back from meeting 2 Beast cookies you decided to take the offer and join them on their journey since you were always excited for a new adventure or journey, after all this is progress for you to become the best cookie knight in earthbread!

“Gingerbread Cookie Esquire! May I ponder where we are headed off to?” You asked

“We’re going to Beast Yeast to beat Shadow Milk Cookie once and for all!” Gingerbread cookie answered, you didn’t join them from their past journeys in beast yeast due to you signing up for random things to occupy your time in hopes it can make you stronger

“Shadow milk cookie..? Hm…where has thou heard such name…?” You muttered as you thought, somehow the name seems familiar to you yet you have never seen this cookie before. “Oh! Yes! Shadow Milk Cookie! I hath read such books and scrolls of the legends of the Beasts!” You exclaimed

“Ah…so you have heard the stories then right Blueberry Milk Cookie?” Pure Vanilla Cookie asked with his kind smile while you nodded vigorously

“Forsooth! Pure Vanilla Cookie Esquire! It ought to be foolish of me to not know such rich stories soaked in knowledge of the old!” You exclaimed “After all! Thou art wished to become the greatest cookie knight in earth bread!”

Everyone laughed while you smiled in glee, after all you sounded like you were stuck in some childhood fantasy with childlike innocence of the world even though you were already exposed to such environments and topics. It was just nice to hear such childlike dreams from the group while they adventured off into a more dark turn.

You guys were enjoying your time while walking down the path towards the Spire of Knowledge, that wasn’t until you guys heard a mischievous laughter.

“That laugh! It’s Shadow Milk Cookie!” Gingerbread Cookie exclaimed as they all went into ready to fight stances as Shadow Milk Cookie appeared.

“Oh if isn’t it my favorite audience to mess with- wait who is this newbie” Shadow Milk Cookie eyed you

“Tis is I! Blueberry Milk Cookie!” You introduced yourself “For thou wishst to become the greatest knight of all of earthbread!”

Shadow Milk Cookie stared at you for a good minute or two, ah yes now he remembered you- but how do you not remember him?

“Blueberry Milk Cookie….huh” Shadow Milk Cookie had a thinking face on as he floated in the air.

“Forsooth! However one of thy missions is to defeat thee!” You exclaimed with shining stars within your eyes as you pointed your lance towards him. Ah, how Shadow Milk Cookie missed those eyes of innocence- it seemed you kept them after all those years.

“Defeat me? HA! Sorry newbie but I! Am the star of the show! And you all are within my stage!” Shadow Milk Cookie exclaimed with a prideful grin. Suddenly a whole rush of monsters and corrupted animals started heading towards you guy’s way.

“Ooooo lookie lookie I guess times up for the next act! Welp toodles! Have fffuuuuunnn~” Shadow Milk Cookie bowed while topping his hat off while he poof-disappeared again.

“That COOKIE!” Gingerbread Cookie gritted his teeth.

“It’s alright Gingerbread Cookie, perhaps we’ll face him again sometime in the future” Pure Vanilla Cookie patted him calmly.

“Indeed Gingerbread Cookie Esquire! After all the Spire of Knowledge is not too far away! Perhaps thee villain rests thou chambers within there!” You exclaimed happily to finally meet one of the Beasts face to face

“Villain?” Pure Vanilla Cookie questioned

“Forsooth! Villain! Is thee Shadow Milk Cookie not thee villain?” You questioned

“Hmmm…maybe but there might be a reason for him to be like that” Pure Vanilla Cookie said wisely, however within your eyes the Beasts have gone far past redemption and are now marked as villains within your book. Now it is your job to defeat such villains!

Then Shadow Milk Cookie greeted you guys because otherwise he would be called a “terrible host” for not greeting his audience and actors. Then you guys just walked all over the place because the palace just seems too confusing! Left is right, right is left, up is down, down is up! There’s literally stairs that are upside down! How on earthbread would you even know where you’re going?!

However as expected you all have lost each other, surprisingly not because of the lay out of the palace no, no.

It was all because Shadow Milk Cookie didn’t think it was entertaining enough so he just decided to split up everyone just for the fun of it.

“GINGERBREAD COOKIE ESQUIRE!!!!! TO WHERE IN EARTHBREAD HAST THOU DISAPPEARED!!!” You yelled out.

“PURE VANILLA COOKIE ESQUIRE!!! TO WHERE HAST THOU-“ you were about to yell out again but a hand covered your mouth.

“By WITCHES do you ever keep your voice DOWN?” A voice that is instantly recognizable and undoubtedly was from Shadow Milk Cookie said in annoyance, however that annoyance was replaced by a smile filled with mischief. “It’s alright you silly Willy! Since it’s you I’ll not do anything”

“Ah! It is thee! Villain!” Your eyes shined with stars in them again as Shadow Milk Cookie face softened, oh boy does he feel somewhat bad for what he’s going to do soon but…he has to, to bring you towards the truth and not live in such a fake reality without knowing just…well you know just a tiny winy bit of information- nothing that would certainly hurt you of course.

“Tis is I! Blueberry Milk Cookie! For thy-“ you were introducing yourself again but suddenly got interrupted by Shadow Milk Cookie.

“Y/n cookie” Shadow Milk Cookie corrected

You looked at him in confusion “Thy name is not Y/N cookie…? Thy name is Blueberry Milk Cookie!”

Shadow Milk cookie didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry at that statement “oh you silly willy! That is my old name not yours!” Shadow Milk Cookie barked in laughter

You were in disbelief, perhaps there was more to your life than you could have thought?

“Oh the look of distraught! But who am I to blame? Of course the witches fault! After all they did remove your memories old friend!” Shadow Milk Cookie laughed

Your eyes widen at the news. Your memories were removed? And you were friends Shadow milk cookie back then?

“You villain! I shan’t hath companionship with the villain!” You shouted in disbelief, there was just no way

“Hm? Don’t believe me? Well…” suddenly your limbs get caught in strings making you unable to move any of them and making your body dangle above air. Shadow milk cookie float towards you, grabbing your chin and forcing you to look at his eyes, hypnotizing you. “Look into my eyes, breathe in calmly” Shadow milk cookie said in a calm voice

You tried resisting you really did, but when you tried to close your eyes Shadow milk cookie literally used his other hand to force your eye to look into his eyes and then your eyes started to close

“No! I shan’t fallen for the villain’s trap! I shall..! Not…! Fall…len…” then your head lowers as your eyes closed off into a festering, slothful dream controlled by Shadow milk cookie

“Hm…well hopefully this dream will make you remember and get you back into your senses dear friend” Shadow milk cookie muttered as he disappeared off to check into his audience wondering how they were doing so far

You couldn’t believe it, these memories…they must be fake

All these lies that you have fed to yourself because you couldn’t remember your past

You were friends with all the villains it seems

You were there when they were created

You were there when they all started their kingdoms

You were there when they slowly got corrupted, also dragging you to also become corrupted

You were there when they were imprisoned by the witches themselves

You tried,cried, and begged the witches to release your friends, swear to curse them somehow if they don’t

The witches being the evil that they are, removed your memories of such events

The faerie cookies grabbed your body and sealed you inside of a tower so it wouldn’t be opened by the inside however it could be opened by the outside

Did you knew too much that the witches made you to lose your memories…? You couldn’t forgive yourself after seeing memories like these, but at the same time you don’t believe it- you just couldn’t!

“Still in disbelief dear?” Shadow Milk Cookie said as he noticed your disturbed expression, you haven’t woken up too long ago “Well I’m sure this photo will help you” shadow milk cookie said as he hands you over an old picture

No…

No! This can’t be true!

The photo of you smiling along with these villains! This was your pushing point and this finally broke you and shattered the reality you thought was true

“That’s enough!” A somewhat muffled voice followed by a broken door “shadow milk cookie this ends now!” Pure vanilla cookie yelled as he pointed his staff to Shadow milk cookie and shoot, however Shadow Milk Cookie effortlessly dodged the attack

“Blueberry milk cookie!” Gingerbread cookie exclaimed “you’re safe!”

“…” you stood there in silence as your eyes were focused on the photo

“Blueberry milk cookie?” Strawberry cookie said as she carefully approaches

“My name is…Y/N cookie” your voiced sound like you went through 9 stages of grief and was broken “my name was never Blueberry milk cookie”

“Blueberry milk cookie?! What are you saying?” Gingerbread cookie “snap out of it! Shadow Milk Cookie fed you lies!”

“Ohohoho! But these are not lies you see!” Shadow milk cookie exclaimed with an uncanny grin “I just showed them the truth!” As he hugged you and rested his head at your neck from behind you while you look down in either shame or despair

“It’s true…my past…I was with them…I was one of them” you answered softly, your eyes that are now dull and seems to have swirls of blue due to the hypnosis of Shadow Milk Cookie- after all he didn’t necessarily fed you the whole truth, just enough to bring you back to his side and then fed you lies

“You cookies however….” You pointed your lance at your once comrades “have been feeding me lies!” Your face full of rage and distrust

“What are you saying?! We haven’t lied about anything!” Gingerbread cookie exclaimed

“Y/N cookie! Please I believe you can see through Shadow Milk Cookie’s deception and see the whole truth!” Pure Vanilla Cookie exclaimed in worry; hoping they can get it through your head the real truth because after all- they haven’t said one ounce of lies and have only spoken the truth so far. So why were you acting like this?

“Lies, lies, lies, lies…it’s all lies with you! You knew who I was and were sent with a mission by the witches themselves to make sure I don’t remember the past!” You roared in anger, seemingly to believe the lies that Shadow Milk Cookie planted along with those memories.

“Hahaha! Oh how this is sooooooo entertaining to watch! Look how wonderful the curtains have fallen as the truth comes out from hiding!” Shadow Milk Cookie laughed in pure entertainment. “Go on Y/N Cookie….

Kill them” he commanded

You listened as if on queue you rushed towards them with your lance, but before you managed to crack or crumble a single cookie, Pure Vanilla cookie teleported them away.

“Aw crumbs! I wanted to see them crumble! Boooooo!” Shadow Milk Cookie pouted “I guess it’s alright since I have you now!” He smiled with his unhinged smile again as he looks at you. Man you look exhausted with all this information poured upon you at once. “How about we catch up hmmmmm? Just like old times” Shadow Milk Cookie grinned.

“I suppose…that’s alright…” you muttered

“Won-der-ful! Now now where do we start?” Shadow Milk Cookie wondered

Ong I might do a part 2 but idk

But low key I started cringing cuz idk what I was doing 😭 cuz I was working on this all day but started working in different parts of the story throughout the day

But anyways I hope you like it, like I said this is NOT proof read nor do I KNOW what I’m doing

[jo-harrington]

Antiquing v. Thrifting (Eddie Munson x Reader)

Summary: You have a little booth at the local antique market and the owner of the neighboring booth tends to get on your nerves.

Word Count: 2.5k

Pairing: Older!Eddie Munson/Reader

Warnings/Themes: Slight enemies to lovers, meet cute, misunderstandings, fluff, banter

Note: This is a late birthday gift to one of my fandom loves who has become an amazing friend IRL too. @bettyfrommars. Betty thank you for being one of my weirdo soulmates, loving old gameshows, wishing we could live in a mid century modern house with all of the original fun appliances. You are one of my favorite people and since I can't send you my bowling ball (one day) I've written this for you. Love you.

You can find my masterlist here.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

--

There was not much to drive you to want to murder someone. In fact, you would say that you were probably one of the most easygoing people you knew. And you knew plenty of people.

But the person at the receiving end of your ire, and the target of your bloodlust, was one of the most inconsiderate assholes you knew.

Actually, you didn’t even know who it was.

You’d been one of the vendors at The Little Traveler's Antique Market for years. You had a booth along the back wall, acquired when you realized your love of vintage Pyrex was getting a little too overzealous for your shoebox-cum-condo. Besides, the thrill of the hunt was the real thing that you enjoyed: estate sales and rummage sales and thrift stores were filled with treasures just waiting for you to find.

So a few shelves of Gooseberry and Butterprint went up, and eventually it turned into a haven for all sorts of vintage pieces. It was a shrine to your whims, rather than any real desire to find monetary value. Of course, people seemed to flock to it, so the cash you made from it was nice..but that was neither here nor there.

It was something you were good at, and something you loved. You'd met some very interesting people--and some of your closest friends--because of it. Heard the best stories.

Unfortunately, you'd also met some of the most insufferable people because of it too. Or rather, in this case, one insufferable person you pointedly had not met.

It had started when a bunch of Royal Doulton character mugs showed up in your space. And they weren't terrible, but they just weren't yours. Your hand-picked selection of Hazel Atlas glasses had been carelessly shoved to the side on a vintage mahogany sideboard you'd painstakingly hauled in, and in their place were Paddy and Toby and George Fucking Washington, all staring goofily up at you.

Ok, so maybe the Anne Boleyn one wasn't bad.

It was the principle of it. There were unspoken rules in an Antique Market. You just didn't encroach on someone else's space.

You painted the kindest smile you could manage--which, in all honesty, probably looked more like you were baring your teeth--and headed up to the front to confront the manager of the market.

"Margie," you began with a saccharine tone. You set the Anne Boelyn mug down on the counter. "May I kindly ask who Seller 86 is?"

"Oh, that's our new guy," she laughed, oblivious. "Ed. Great guy. He's got some fun stuff."

"Yeah, real fun."

"We did a little shuffle over the weekend," she continued, diving into one of her rambling midwest-isms. "Jim wanted to downsize, which opened a bigger space for Michelle to move into. One thing led to another, and I put Ed in Chelle's old space, next to yours. Hope you don't mind."

What could you say except a cordial of course not? Even as you were left to grumble and mope back to your booth to move all of the Royal Doulton back to Ed's new space. You set them out on a folding table he had in the corner, very nice and neat, which was your standard.

You might have also left a little, tiny, friendly, scathing note.

No big deal.

And you wouldn't lie, you snooped a little.

Come on, everyone else would, too. It was just...shopping. Not snooping.

You couldn't judge the wild array of things he had for sale; much like you, it seemed that everything in Ed's booth was suited to his tastes, because there was just a vibe of "who in their right mind would put some of this shit together." Little taxidermy animals playing poker, postcards from the most random places, vintage beer and coffee cans that, though empty, looked as new as the day they were bought. Garfield and Snoopy memorabilia. And mugs...so many mugs, as far as the eye could see.

It was charming, you could admit that, as long as it all stayed on his side of the vaguely-defined boundary between your booths.

Unfortunately, it did not.

It was never anything major but it was enough to annoy you. Books left out on a table, vinyl records in a crate in a corner, gaudy biker costume jewelry thrown in one of your mixing bowls. Each time you went to restock your booth, you'd have to find whatever treasures he left behind and return them, along with another note.

It was like finding the secret little corner where your cat pissed because they were mad at you. Admittedly, this might've been worse because you were proud. So very proud of your booth. It was a snapshot of you, after all. But that was sullied by little pieces of Ed, a guy you didn't even know, who seemed to enjoy pissing strangers off.

Every week, he metaphorically photobombed your snapshot at the last second and your perfect polaroid had bunny ears.

Or a crude gesture.

Or sometimes even his whole, bare ass.

And you were simply not vindictive enough to do anything about it.

It just wasn't worth the trouble to actually return the favor to him, or better yet, get him kicked from the market altogether. What if his little booth was his livelihood? What if this was how he made ends meet? Your pride wasn't worth ruining something for someone else.

Yes. You were a pushover.

You, surprisingly, got a reprieve for a few weeks.

Each time you'd gone to restock your booth with fun new treasures, there were no hidden trinkets waiting for you. Actually, Ed's booth didn't even look like it had been restocked or touched at all. There were holes in his displays where his wares had been purchased but not replenished. Was he on vacation? Maybe he was under the weather.

You took it upon yourself to spend a few minutes shuffling his mugs like a good neighbor would.

It was a disappointment relief.

Why wouldn't it be a relief? It wasn't like you'd started looking forward to what and where you'd find Ed's little surprises. It wasn't the thrill you'd get when the adrenaline spiked with your anger.

No, not at all.

"What's got you so pouty?" Margie asked as you trudged through the doors about three weeks after Ed's initial disappearance. "Did Dunkin get your coffee wrong again? That's how I know my morning is gonna be shitty."

"Must've woken up on the wrong side of the bed," you gave a weak excuse and headed towards your booth.

You were juggling an armful of tote bags and your coat, so you didn't notice the stranger standing in your space as you approached, until they turned around and spotted you.

"Oh, hey, lemme help you with that," came the rasp of a friendly voice as you rounded the corner. You looked up, surprised, as a set of hands hoisted the heaviest of your tote bags from your grasp.

He was like a relic, frozen in time. In a good way, though, like a well-kept polaroid from the 80s. Faded band tee, bootcut blue jeans, leather jacket that looked butter-soft from eons of wear. His hair was on the longer side and tied back; salt-and-pepper streaks proudly confirmed his personal antique status, along with the crows feet surrounding his deep, warm brown eyes.

He was a gentleman...and he was cute.

You felt like an idiot as your eyes slid down to his left hand on instinct. But there was no ring, so that self-loathing feeling disappeared. Well, no wedding ring, actually. He had a gunmetal band on his pointer finger, and a silver signet ring on his pinky.

Time returned to its appropriate speed as he hauled the tote onto your folding table just a few feet away.

"Jesus, what've you got in here? Bricks?" he laughed. "Are you trying to put Home Depot out of business?"

"Uh..." You floundered for words. "P-pewter tea pots. One of my regulars is getting married. Asked me to keep an eye out for them for her centerpieces."

"Never seen that at a wedding before."

"How many weddings have you been to?" You questioned.

"Well, my buddy Gareth alone has gotten married 3 times." He folded his arms across his chest and leaned his hip against your sideboard. "So I think I've got a pretty good chance that I've seen it all.

"Is there anything I can help you find today?" you asked, laying your best customer service voice on thickly. You busied yourself with unpacking your bags so you wouldn't have to look at the charming, crooked smile that settled on his mouth. "Was there anything that caught your eye before my hopeless self stumbled over here?"

"Ah," he pushed off the sideboard and tilted his head up so he could scratch along the length of his neck. "I, uh, was looking at your cookie jars, actually."

"Oh yeah?" You looked up at that and glanced over to the hutch in the corner that held an array of Pillsbury doughboys in various, charming poses. "Can I tell you a secret? I used to hate watching commercials with Poppin' Fresh. That claymation was frightening. I think he's pretty cute now, though."

You abandoned your unpacking and approached the hutch to try and figure which cookie jar he'd been intrigued by. You picked up a jar that had its lid askew and were about to ask if he wanted you to bring it up to the counter for him, when you lifted the lid and looked inside.

And found a rubber-banded stack of Metallica cassettes carefully nestled inside.

You felt your face get hot as you stared at the track listing and colorful cover art of Ride the Lightning. Coincidentally the same album that was on this newcomer's t-shirt.

"So," you huffed and slammed the lid on the cookie jar, careless of any damage it might cause. "You're Ed, huh?"

He chuckled behind you, "Eddie, actually. I prefer to go by Eddie. But yeah, that's me." You pivoted on your heel and glared at him; he faltered under your burning gaze. "Nice to, uh, meet you. Neighbor."

And with that, you let him have it.

You might've blacked out at some point during the absolute barrage of a verbal dressing down you gave him. How dare he not respect the etiquette of the market and stay within the confines of his allotted space, how dare he waste your time week after week as simply minded your own business and sold your trinkets, and how dare he ignore every single note that you left behind.

The fucker had the audacity to look amused with every word that fell from your lips.

In the end, you stood there, huffing and puffing as you caught your breath and felt several months of anger finally extinguish.

"You done there, killer?" Eddie asked with a smirk. "You feel better?"

"Yeah," you shouted one last time, then lowered your voice. "Yes I do."

"Alright, good." He nodded. "Gotta get it out sometimes, otherwise you might get an ulcer. Or develop alcoholism."

"Might be close to both, to be honest," you muttered.

"Shit, then I'm extra, extra sorry that I put you through all of that, sweetheart." He laid a hand over his heart. "This is my first rodeo selling in a place like this, I didn't realize that everyone was so...territorial."

"Yeah, well. Most of the time I'm not." Lies. You were a liar. "I think the thing that pissed me off more is that I kept leaving notes for you and you kept ignoring them and messing with my shit."

Eddie looked bashful all of a sudden. "Oh shit. See I thought you were just flirting with me."

Talk about a record-scratch moment; what...what had he just said?

"Flirting?" you asked.

"I mean, yeah, not to sound cocky either because I was definitely flirting right back at you. What do they call it in the movies? A...meet cute moment? I thought it was fun. You leave me a sarcastic, threatening note, and I leave you a little treasure hunt to solve. Like a...fucked up version of You've Got Mail."

"That's nothing like You've Got Mail," you pointed out.

There was a beat.

"I think this is a really good time to mention that I fell asleep halfway through You've Got Mail," he explained with a laugh. "Regardless, I read things wrong. That's on me. But I'm sorry. I'll never do it again."

He held his hand out to you and his brows shifted upwards and behind his dated bangs.

You worried at your bottom lip for a moment and tried to claw at the vestiges of your anger for a second, but this guy...he looked like such a kicked puppy...and you suppose that it was a cute way to flirt with someone you'd never met.

God, you really needed to work on that pushover thing.

"It's alright," you told him as you slid your hand into his and accepted his apology. "As long as you don't do it again."

"Cross my heart," he nodded enthusiastically.

You introduced yourself, formally, and offered your help in the future if he needed it. He introduced himself and told you that he would appreciate any pointers that you had to give.

"I'm pretty new to this whole...thrift thing," he shrugged. "I've had a bunch of this stuff in storage for a while. I used to move around a lot, you accumulate a lot of junk. And then my uncle...some of this stuff is his. Was his. He passed away last year. Finally decided I couldn't keep hoarding it all anymore. Turns out, I had a lot more shit than I thought I did."

"Story of my life," you laughed and offered your condolences. "It's hard, deciding what to keep and what to get rid of."

"Tell me about it."

"But, I do have one main lesson for you," you offered.

"Oh yeah?" he smirked. "Already? Just when I thought I couldn't fuck it up any more."

"It's an Antique Market," you told him. "Not a Thrift Store."

"There's a difference?" Eddie asked sarcastically, although a blush bloomed on his cheeks. "Guess the learning curve is much steeper than I thought."

"It's alright. You'll get it sooner or later." You smiled at him, trying to be as friendly and supportive as you could.

He stared at you for maybe a few seconds too long, then shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked forwards on his heels.

"Maybe you could explain it to me, in-depth?" he questioned. "Antiquing, thrifting, whatever."

"Of course," you agreed, but he cut you off before you could say anything else.

"Over lunch?" He asked with a nervous smile. "There's a great diner up the road. And I figure I owe you one for all the anguish I put you through anyway."

You stared at him in shock for a second, wondering how to respond. First there was the comment about the flirting...and now this. What if he was a creep? But he didn't seem like as much of a jackass as you thought he was...and he was cute.

Oh, what the hell.

"You know what? Why not? I'm a girl who loves a free patty melt," you winked at him bravely. "It's a date!"

[overadores]

･ ⟢ ⋮ love last ゛༝. ✦ megan skiendiel

You know me well

pairing.ᐟ megan skiendiel x reader

about.ᐟ a sorrowful story of love, sacrifice, and time’s relentless passage, this tale follows two childhood friends whose unbreakable bond grows into something deeper, but as dreams take flight and distance pulls them apart, unspoken words linger—until one fateful night changes everything.

genre.ᐟ heavy angst. hurt, no comfort.

cw.ᐟ major character death, car accident, language.

wc.ᐟ 1229 words

a/n.ᐟ i promise you this is the last car accident story i have, a honorable mention for this lovely song which i highly recommend to listen if yall want to hurt like i did while i was writing this.

It's almost like you love me, I can tell

Have you ever sacrificed everything—your life, your entire world—just to see someone smile again?

Just to remind them that the world isn’t as dark, as empty, as it once seemed?

You did.

It was the summer of ’03.

You were just a kid back then, thrown into the same cabin at summer camp as a stranger, forced into the same space. Megan was a whirlwind of energy, the kind of girl who couldn’t sit still for a second, who danced instead of walked, who laughed at everything and anything at first, she drove you crazy. She was loud, she was hyper, she didn’t know how to read well, she struggled with spelling—but none of that seemed to stop her.

And yet, despite all that, she could read you like an open book.

She tried her hardest to write you letters, struggling to spell out your name, rewriting words over and over just to get them right. She toned down her energy whenever you were too exhausted to deal with it. She listened when you were upset, curled up beside you when homesickness hit, stayed by your side whenever the other kids played their games.

Somewhere along the way, Megan stopped being just an annoying bunkmate.

She became your second home.

You wish you had told her how much that meant to you.

But summer doesn’t last forever. When it ended, you went your separate ways—her on one side of the country, you on the other. The first few weeks were the hardest. You missed her more than you expected, missed her laughter, her warmth. But distance wasn’t enough to break you. You called, you messaged, you sent letters. It wasn’t the same, but it was enough.

You kept this going for years, even into high school.

That’s when you started to realize something was different.

At first, you told yourself it was just a silly crush, something fleeting. You thought maybe it would fade.

You were wrong.

The moment you got your own phone, you were talking constantly. Calls, FaceTimes, texts—it never stopped. Megan always found a way to call, even when she was busy. And when you finally learned to drive, the first thing you did was go to her.

You drove miles just to see her smile.

You sacrificed sleep, time, money—anything, just to be there for her the way she had always been there for you.

And as you grew older, as you stood on the edge of adulthood, you realized something that terrified you.

You loved her.

Not in the way kids love their childhood best friends. Not in the way people expect you to love a friend you’ve known forever.

You were in love with her.

But you never told her.

Not even the night you made your pinky promise.

That night, you took her to your favorite place in the world, the first person you had ever brought there. Megan had never looked happier. Then she took you to hers. You sat together, watching the sun set, golden light painting her face like a dream.

“You know, I’m so lucky to have you,” she had said, turning to you with that soft, radiant smile.

You wanted to tell her then.

You wanted to say, Megan, I love you.

But all you could say was, “And I’m lucky to have you. I hope we spend more days like this, together, until we die.”

She laughed, holding out her pinky. “Then let’s pinky promise on it.”

You hooked your pinky around hers, sealing a promise you didn’t know you would break.

Then came the day Megan called you, her voice thick with tears.

She didn’t get into her dream university.

You didn’t even think. You just grabbed your keys, got into your car, and drove straight to her house.

When she opened the door, her face was streaked with tears, her shoulders shaking.

“Megan, darling, I’m so sorry,” you whispered, pulling her into your arms. She buried her face into your shoulder, crying so hard you could feel your heart breaking.

“But I really wanted to go there,” she sobbed.

“I know.” You held her tighter. “I know, love. But it’s their loss. You’re an incredible dancer, and if they can’t see that, they don’t deserve you.”

She sniffled, letting out a small, shaky laugh. “You always say the right things.”

“I just know you.”

To cheer her up, you took her to her favorite place, bought her ice cream, snacks—anything to see her smile again.

A week later, she called, screaming into the phone.

She got accepted into Dream Academy.

You were beyond proud of her.

But then came the worst part.

She told you that you had to cut contact.

The academy had strict rules—no outside communication, no distractions. You understood. So, you let her go.

You waited.

You watched her from a distance, following every update on her journey. When the finals came, you knew—you knew—she would win.

Then, two days after the announcement, your phone rang.

It was her.

“We can finally celebrate,” she said, her voice full of excitement. “Come over?”

You laughed, already grabbing your keys. “I’m on my way. Get ready.”

She giggled. “Hurry up, slowpoke.”

That was the last thing she ever said to you.

The roads were nearly empty that night.

You were driving, one hand on the wheel, the other checking your phone at a red light. Megan had sent a text.

Meg: hurry uppp, im waitinggg >:(

You smiled, typing back a quick reply.

You: five minutes, i promise.

You never made it.

The light turned green. You started driving again.

And then—

A flash of headlights.

A deafening crash.

Everything slowed down.

You felt the impact before you even realized what was happening.

Pain.

So much pain.

Your thoughts blurred, fading in and out, but you still saw flashes of your life.

Your parents.

Your childhood.

And then Megan.

The girl who was waiting for you.

She was probably texting you again, telling you to hurry up. Probably fixing her hair, too excited to sit still.

You wanted to tell her you were coming.

You wanted to tell her you were sorry.

You wanted to tell her—

I love you.

But you never got the chance.

They say when someone dies unexpectedly, there’s a moment—just a moment—when their soul lingers.

Long enough to see the aftermath.

Long enough to see who mourns them.

You don’t know if that’s true.

But if it is, then you know exactly what you would’ve seen.

Megan.

Sitting in her room, waiting.

Checking her phone every few minutes, frowning when you didn’t respond.

Calling you, only for it to go straight to voicemail.

Then, the next day, the call she never expected.

A voice on the other end, telling her the news.

You can imagine how she reacted.

Shocked.

Denial.

Then, the tears. The way she must’ve curled up in her bed, crying her heart out.

The way she must’ve whispered, No, no, no, they promised. They promised we’d have more days together.

The way she must’ve broken, knowing you never got to celebrate her win.

Knowing you never got to say goodbye.

Megan, darling.

You hope she knows how much you loved her.

You hope she knows how much you sacrificed for her.

You hope she knows, even in your final moments—

You were thinking of her.

[supernotnatural2005]

So, first off, I want to apologise for not reading this sooner. How I have let this slip through my fingers for so long, I really have no clue and I regret it all! 😭

So, in light of your sequel - mini series Lover, I binged the whole thing! and Holy Christ I was really missing out!

Wayne!

This story was absolutely incredible from start to finish. The character's, the tension, the smut, the plot, everything, absolutely all of it, brilliant!

The connection between them had me swooning, crying and screaming the whole way through! The rollercoaster of emotions I felt reading this, was just beyond me. 😮‍💨 I love this version of Ben, I love what you done with him, and how emotionally attached and invested I felt in their dynamic. And don't even get me started on the smut! 🤯

And then the ending broke me, and then gave me hope and then left me hanging on a what happens now....

And then I read Video Games

I haven't started the Lover series yet, but my God I'm hanging on to a thread, praying they make it through! And if not, I may just crawl into a ball and sob for eternity! Because I need their happy ending!

Wonderful work, as always, friend 😘💜💜

Rehab – Series Masterlist

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x F!Reader

Series Summary: Thanks to Soldier Boy, the CIA was able to develop Project Bloom under the fierce leadership of Grace Mallory: a final cure to Compound V and a hopeful end to the supe epidemic three years after the explosive incident at Vought. A secret rehab facility in Upstate New York is supposed to help former heroes find their way back to humanity. The catch, though? Soldier Boy has never fucking agreed to any of this shit and is surely not happy about being powerless for the first time in his goddamn long life.

Series Warnings: +18, enemies to friends to lovers (?), smut (a mix of rough, sweet, and dirty), tw: suicide attempt & sexual assault, violence, lots of drugs & drinking, strong language & derogatory terms, SB being his charming self at times, human!Soldier Boy aka soft!Ben, more warnings in individual chapters

A/N: Very excited to share this series with y’all! It’s a bit dark and rough in certain places while it’s hilarious and sweet in others. And weirdly, this series was inspired by MGK songs (see chapter titles). Don’t judge, tho. The lyrics and vibes fit, and I can’t control the muse, okay? 😝

Main Masterlist || Soldier Boy Masterlist

Prologue: rehab

Chapter 1: maybe

Chapter 2: papercuts

Chapter 3: why are you here

Chapter 4: 9 lives

Chapter 5: jawbreaker

Chapter 6: bad things

Chapter 7: make up sex

Chapter 8: sid & nancy

Epilogue: twin flame

C O M P L E T E

ONE SHOTS & OTHER:

Video Games Summary: It’s been a long time, and Ben direly misses his wife. Only a video chat truly reveals how much.

Lover (Miniseries) Summary: Free from his past, Ben’s trying to move on and find a little drop of happiness in this new world. But when he finally holds everything he ever wanted in his hands, it threatens to slip through the cracks, and he has to fight one final time with everything he’s got to keep it. (1/3 – In Progress…)

[pomefioredove]

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ friends forever

summary: a beaded competition for yuu's affections type of post: drabbles characters: all students additional info: platonic or romantic, gender neutral reader, reader is yuu, based on an ask I got a while ago, fluffy, predictable sappy ending

Word travels fast at Night Raven College.

Gossip, secrets, whispers exchanged in the darkened halls, from student to professor, to professor to ghost, to student again.

The Ramshackle Prefect was beaming, bright as the dawn itself on Monday morning, a string of blue plastic beads on one arm. They seldom smiled so much, and for good reason- but Monday, they were glowing, holding out their wrist, and telling anyone who would listen about the gift their "best friend" had given them. It was an enthralling sight.

Deuce Spade, the poor, sweet boy, had become patient zero.

Word travels faster at Night Raven College when it's about the Prefect.

Deuce Spade had claimed title of best friend with a string and sixteen translucent plastic beads, something that made Ace Trappola itch. He didn't care! He didn't! Of course, he stayed up all night, trying and failing and trying again, to tie the tiny knot on a black-and-red beaded bracelet. But that didn't mean he cared!

It's on your arm, right above Deuce's, on Tuesday.

"Thank you, Ace!" you had smiled, announcing it to the entire unbirthday party. "You really are my best friend!"

Ace looked over his shoulder to smugly grin at his dormmates. "Aww, this old thing? It's nothing, just thought your wrist looked a little lonely with only one,"

It was a rather strange sight: the housewarden of Heartslabyul, his scepter and crown set to the side, his back hunched as he strung black, red, and gold beads over his desk that night. Riddle Rosehearts marched over to you first thing in the morning, set his bracelet in your waiting palm, and marched away, his face redder than his hair.

Trey Clover had forgotten all about homework, promising Deuce two week's worth of dish duty in exchange for beads and string. Forest green and black. He was too shy to give it to you himself, and left it at your doorstep in a basket of tea leaves and leftover tart. It smells of vanilla.

Cater Diamond made sure to snap a pic of his bracelet on your arm, black, red, and orange beads, with his and your initials right next to each other. "#BFFs #besties"

His Magicam story was viewed over 6,000 times.

...Mostly by the same people, over and over.

Ruggie Bucchi had a different take on the situation. See, he didn't have the kinda cash to spend on beads and string and fancy charms, and so you wore a striking dandelion crown to your classes on Thursday morning.

Jack Howl braided you a simple, brown-stringed band to wear on your wrist or ankle or wherever you liked it. You had told him you loved it, rumor said.

Then, all came to a halt.

Word spread that Leona Kingscholar had tried gifting you an expensive, golden-beaded bracelet from his home, (one that would haven taken up half your forearm), and you had refused it. You couldn't possibly accept such a nice gift, you said.

You would, as it seemed, only accept handmade friendship bracelets.

Kalim al-Asim kept Jamil Viper up all night, weaving and unweaving, beading and unbeading, doing and redoing and redoing again, until he had perfected your friendship bracelet in all colors of the rainbow. Little did he know that Jamil had already given you one that afternoon. It smelled of spices, giving away the fact that he had made it in between cooking meals.

Azul Ashengrotto told his staff he was taking a morning off to study, went to the beach, and collected shells in every shape and color. He strung them on black fishing line, and smiled as he gave them to you, free of charge. "Just something to remember me by when I'm away," he said, his face redder than it felt.

Floyd Leech had started one, but became bored of the tedious beading after ten minutes and decided to dedicate his next basketball win to you instead. Jade Leech finished it, and, while his brother was distracted, lined the teal-and-black striped beads with mushroom-shaped charms.

Vil Schoenheit never half-asses anything, friendship bracelet or not. He would do most anything to hear those sweet words of thanks on your lips (not that he'd admit it), even if that means taking hours out of his busy schedule to dye white yarn in wine and weave it with his gilded initials and red, bejeweled hearts. He likes seeing himself on you.

Rook Hunt, ever the nonconformist, fashions you a necklace out of broken bow strings and an arrowhead from his favorite quiver. He puts it on you himself, his fingers brushing against your throat and lingering on the back of your neck for a moment too long, as if enjoying the feeling of your heartbeat.

But Epel Felmier outdoes them all.

For on Friday morning, you come to class with a bracelet of lavender-painted wooden beads, his initials carved into the soft oak, and he comes in wearing the same bracelet, but with yours.

How had no one thought to make a matching one for themselves???

Idia Shroud 3D prints a bracelet in your favorite color, and Ortho Shroud engraves the flat surface with your favorite characters... they make two more for themselves, as if in a sort of secret club. It gives Idia quite the thrill to think about, though he'd never say it.

Sebek Zigvolt hmphs at the idea of showing such loyalty to a mere human, until Silver and Lilia Vanrouge return from an early morning stroll with baskets of acorns, flowers, and pine nuts for bracelet-making. Sebek and Silver both make theirs in earthy wooden tones and shimmering shades of rose and violet. Lilia sneaks in a few animal teeth and bone fragments. For good luck.

Malleus Draconia, tedious as it is, spends his Sunday morning spinning his own string, and lining it with beads, tiny in his hands, and small pieces of smooth glass and stone from Ramshackle. He gifts it to you with a blessing, a promise of your eternal friendship, in this world and the next.

By the end of the week, your arms are heavy with beads, shells, stone, nuts, flowers, and charms, covered from wrist to elbow. You can't move without sounding like a wind chime, jingling and clinking with each step.

Your friends eagerly await your praises, not-so-subtly asking which bracelet is your favorite, or, frankly, who is your best friend?

You promise an answer soon.

Thus, on Monday morning, you arrive with only one bracelet.

Sloppily made, in soft blues and grays, with the cut-out logo of a tuna can label stuck to your wrist, and a smiling Grim holding the hand beneath it.

[interact-if]

Our second edition of the Black History Month Author Spotlight series features beloved author, C.C. Hill (@when-life-gives-you-lemons-if)!

(CC is an absolute institution. What better way to celebrate Valentine’s than by doing a feature of the slice-of-life romance queen herself? CC is one the most inspiring, supportive IF writers out there, and it was a great honor to pick her brain! Read on for pandemic-setting feel good stories and Creole-based spells!)

Author: C.C. Hill

I'm from Haiti, born and raised. I love red wine, ice cream, and I'm obsessed with true crime podcasts.

Games: When Life Gives You Lemons (Slice-of-Life)

Synopsis: You play as an MC starting a new life in a small town called Lemon. It’s a story about self-discovery, love, and parenthood—a comfort story where the love interests want to sweep you off your feet.

Games: The Midnight Saga (Horror)

Synopsis: After finding yourself trapped in another dimension, you and your friends must fight for survival and defeat the monsters that lurk in the shadows. Make sure to grab a weapon as your quiet Halloween night turns into an out-of-this-world adventure!

Quote from the interview:

What mostly inspired Lemon in particular was the need for a feel-good story—a story where the character just needs a break. No magic, no monsters, just going through life and having the romance options fall in love with them no matter what. It was just the need for comfort, for feel-good moments, for romance, and a little bit of drama.

Read on for the full interview!

Tell me more about yourself! What are some things new readers or long-time readers might not know about you?

I'm from Haiti, born and raised. I love red wine, ice cream, and I'm obsessed with true crime podcasts.

Can you tell me a bit about what you’re working on right now and your journey into interactive fiction? What inspired the game/story you’re currently writing?

I'm working on so many things it should be illegal for my brain to operate this way. But mainly, When Life Gives You Lemons. My plan is to focus on the final part in March, do some beta testing, and submit it to Hosted Games in April for my birthday month.

I'm also under contract with Heart’s Choice, writing Spices of the Heart, with hopes of completing it this year. On top of that, I’m working on publishing my first visual novel, The Wedding. It’s close to completion, and I have the third quarter of 2025 planned for publication.

I only started writing interactive fiction in 2020. When the pandemic hit, I needed something to keep my brain occupied, and five years later, I’ve published three games and still have a ton of projects in progress.What mostly inspired Lemon in particular was the need for a feel-good story—a story where the character just needs a break. No magic, no monsters, just going through life and having the romance options fall in love with them no matter what. It was just the need for comfort, for feel-good moments, for romance, and a little bit of drama.

How has your identity, heritage/background, upbringing, or personal experiences influenced your storytelling or writing process? OR How does your work feature aspects of your identity / experience?

My first game, The Midnight Saga, was heavily inspired by my background and where I'm from. The story itself is based on an old Haitian folklore about not staying outside after midnight—if you do, the Keeper of Midnight will eat you. I took that idea and built the characters around it.

I even managed to include some spells written in Haitian Creole. It was a lot of fun to write, and even though Book 2 is currently on hiatus, this story has a special place in my heart because it was my first game. The characters are a representation of my people and the struggles they’ve gone through. I’m really happy that it was my debut story.

What are some of the most rewarding or challenging aspects of writing Interactive Fiction for you?

For me, it’s branching and being able to write an MC and other characters in a way that readers can truly connect with. Lately, I’ve been writing a lot of feel-good romance and slice-of-life stories, and I’m starting to feel like this is my comfort zone—and I want to stay here forever.

I never want to create a romance option that is inherently bad or purposely deceitful. My biggest challenge is writing characters who are flawed and complex—where readers can love them or hate them—but making sure they aren’t just villains for the sake of it. They’re simply existing in the world they were created in.

What does your writing process look like? Any rituals or habits? Any tips, tricks, philosophies or approaches that have worked very well for you?

My writing process is a mess. My brain gets pulled in so many directions. When I get an idea, I have to code it, shape it, and give it life—otherwise, it’s going to bug me forever. That’s why I end up with so many WIPs. I need to see them through, at least to a short demo, to see if they make sense.

My desk is also full of notes, and I basically write on anything—pieces of napkins, tissue boxes, whatever is nearby. One weird habit I have is that some of the best changes I’ve made to my games, those "spark" moments, happen when I’m in the shower. It’s weird and strange, but it works.

What’re you excited to tackle/implement/work on next? Or anything you’re looking forward to in the year ahead?

Keep writing romance and feel-good slice-of-life stories. Get When Life Gives You Lemons published this year. Focus on doing this full-time. Publish my visual novel.

Overall, just stay busy and be productive.

If you were to say one thing to your readers, other authors, and/or the interactive fiction community: what would it be?

To the readers—us authors don’t have all the answers. Sometimes, we start writing a story and end up forgetting certain plots or characters, which is easy to do when writing interactive fiction. So yes, we often write ourselves into a corner and just put a period there so the story can progress.

To the authors—write stories you love, something you would want to read. It makes it easier to keep going because if it’s a story you love, you’ll want to see how it ends, and that will push you to persevere.

This-or-that segment: (red = CC's pick)

Coffee or tea?

Early mornings or late nights?

Angsty or Cozy romances?  

Steady progress or frenzied binge-writing followed by periods of calm?

Introvert or extrovert?

Plotter or pantser?

[yumeka-sxf]

The school vacation is over and the new term at Eden is starting...of course, Anya is less than pleased with this development 😅

Seriously, her groaning reminds me of my "anti-school" phase I had when I was around her age, lol.

This chapter was mainly focused on introducing Anya's new classmates. I'll admit that I feel SxF has enough side characters already for the type of series it is, but maybe they'll only be relevant for one story/arc (like Daybreak and Wheeler). Though having another female friend in Connie might be nice. She seems weird enough for Anya to have fun reading her mind 😂

Since recent chapters have dropped hints about Anya's past and the emphasis on mind-reading abilities/the occult via Melinda, plus we have the lingering mystery of Anya's affinity for classical languages, I feel like this new set up at Eden is going to play into that. Not only has Arnold returned, but we now have a supposed prince in the mix. It's been theorized that Anya's classical language skills are somehow tied to royalty in a foreign land...so maybe Tertius is connected to that somehow. I mean, you must be royally royal to have hair shaped like a crown 🤣

Then we have the as-of-yet unnamed kid who flicked a booger on Tertius. Curious what role he'll play if all this is indeed leading up to more Anya backstory reveal.

I should clear up some weird translation in the English version. In the below panel, it seems like Tertius is mentioning Jeeves, but the term he's using is 爺や ("jiiya") which I believe is an old term used to refer to an elderly male servant.

Now the word "jeeves" in English is a generic term used to refer to a butler or valet. If you've watched enough movies and/or TV series, you may have heard someone refer to their butler as "jeeves." So technically it's not an incorrect translation, but it's incredibly confusing because we already have an established character named Jeeves, who is Damian's butler. So this could make people think that Tertius knows Jeeves, which is likely not the case. They really should have come up with a different word to use, something like "pop" or "gramps."

Besides the new characters, we now have more potential for Anya and Damian to be alone, without influence from Emile, Ewen, and Becky. Hopefully it will lead to more talk about Anya's mind-reading and Desmond lore.

Guess that's all I have to say about this chapter as it mostly seems like setup for what's to come. I've probably mentioned before that the Eden-focused stories aren't exactly my favorites, especially when Anya isn't a key player. But hopefully whatever's going on with Tertius and the booger kid will be leading up to something significant in the end.

Interestingly, this is the first chapter since Loid's backstory that's being split into parts, as this chapter is called 112.1 (112 part 1 in the Japanese version). Similar to what he did for Loid's backstory chapters, Endo tweeted about this for chapter 112. Guess it's just gonna be two parts?

Also, on an unrelated note, we also got the cover reveal for volume 15 today! Features Martha, not surprised since it will include chapters from the Henry/Martha backstory arc.

[scented-morker]

The best part

bff riki x gn!reader, best friends to ?, no warnings, 653 words, cliffhanger 🤪

Everyone knows confessions are the best part of any love story, second only to the first kiss— bonus points if they happen in the rain or during a heated argument.

“Yn, Yn, Yn, Yn.”

You will NOT be missing this confession. You’ve been preparing for it for the last hour and 17 minutes of the movie, and Riki’s refusal to pay attention is not going to ruin it for you.

“Yn!!”

The love interest yells as the main character turns around, the rain drops starting to come down on the two of them.

“I’ve always loved you,” he says, pulling her even closer.

And then— nothing.

A pillow flies into your face, and you turn to Riki with murder in your eyes.

“Nishimura Riki I am going to kill you.”

Your best friend only laughs as you lunge across the couch at him, and the two of you easily fall into the same rhythm as usual.

You try your best to cause Riki as much pain as possible while he gives you just enough of a chance for it to still be fun.

He holds onto your fist as you go to hit his shoulder, laughter echoing through the room as he dodges your knee next. After about five minutes he decides he’s had enough, rolling the two of you over and pinning your hands next to your side.

“Feel better?” He teases, an eyebrow raised as you slowly stop squirming.

“Noooooo,” you whine, “you made me miss the best part!”

“The best part?” He scoffs. “That’s the worst part! You know it’s coming as soon as the movie starts.”

“You just don’t get romance!” You argue back.

That makes him pause, and he finally lets go of you enough that you can sit up, sparing a quick glance over only to be met with the credits rolling down your tv screen.

“Had it ever occurred to you that knowing something is coming is part of what makes it exciting? Of course the best friends become lovers. I know it’s going to happen, I just want to see it!”

For how loud he normally is, Riki remains completely quiet, not a single sound leaving his mouth as you grab the remote to rewind the movie.

“Has it ever occurred to you that we’ve spend more valentines days together than we have with people we were actually dating?”

The question seems random, and you look over at him in confusion, finding him staring back at you.

“Not really, I mean I guess it makes sense. We spend pretty much every day together.”

You laugh at the way it comes out, but it’s the truth. You and Riki had been inseparable since his family moved in next door to yours in kindergarten.

Even now, as the two of you recline on the futon in his dorm room, you know you’ve been in that exact spot more times than you’ve been in your own dorm.

“Does that make you sad?” He asks, and you try your best not to look at him in shock.

“Riks, why would that make me sad?” You laugh, scooting closer to where he’s sitting, completely unaware to the effect your movements have on the boy.

“You just love this cheesy romance stuff, and instead you’re stuck with me.”

You smile gently, and it’s the exact smile that first made him realize how utterly screwed he was.

“And you’re stuck with me. That’s how we are. Besides, you’re way better than any boyfriend I’ve had anyway.”

You don’t notice him leaning closer until his head is resting on your shoulder, and when he looks up, you finally notice it.

Riki’s entire face lights up when he grins up at you, not one ounce of his soft adoration concealed in his eyes.

Your breath hitches in your throat, and the words are coming out before you can think to stop them.

“Riki I love you.”

[angels-read-fanfiction-too]

Some very quick Eltingville valentines headcannons ^^!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bill Dickey:

He did NOT know it was valentines day

The type of guy to complain about how it was made up by company's to make money or some other joyless crap

If he did get you something, it would probably be simple and related to something you both like so he could borrow it lol

Gets kinda defensive and embarrassed if you try to pull anything lovey dovey on him but if you give him something important to him and something that shows you care about him and his interests, he will be very touched!

After that gift, he isn't very physically affectionate but he does just generally stand and sit much closer to you

Probably brags about whatever you get for him to his friends, rubbing the fact that he has a partner and they don't in their faces

I imagine he gives you some money for you to spend yourself since it was so last minute and didn't want to get you a bad valentines present so just figured this was easier

Pete Dinuzio:

He sets up a little movie night!

He doesn't fully get the appeal of valentines but he knows he's gotta put in some kind of effort

Lots and lots of chocolate and snacks for you two to share! If you can stomach the movie he chooses

He might let you choose the movie this time but only with the promise that he gets to next time

Definitely tried to pull some FREAKY shit...

Just thinks it's natural for couples to do that kind of thing on valentines and that you two should too

I don't know how but i get he still kinda stinks after a shower, i don't know how to describe it but i could never imagine him smelling anything but bad

You can decide if you want that stuff to happen but it will definitely start with a steamy make out session to an insanely gory scene in a disgusting horror movie

Josh Levy:

I can imagine him asking his mum on what clothes he should get you; something simple like a cardigan or a top or some pyjamas

Invites you over and asks his parents to leave (which they don't do) so he's kinda pissy when you get there

You both have some dinner together that his mum made and he probably gets forced to wear something slightly less slobbish. Nothing fancy, just maybe something that doesn't reek and has something other than a geeky reference on it

He still has that dune t-shirt underneath his jumper and immediately gets back into that after dinner

I can imagine Bill as Greedo318 trying to bother him on his night with you since he previously mentioned to the club that he'd be going on a date

It's your choice wether you want to try to talk him out of fighting back against Bill's very clear rage bait but either way, you'll have to calm him down after lolol ^^

He truly appreciates having you around and having someone to truly understand him away from the mocking the club gives him and he tells you that on that night <3

Jerry Stokes:

Also forgot lol ^^

Rushed to the shops on the day to get some flowers but there was only kinda shitty wilted ones so he had to make do

He didn't really clean himself up much but probably did a once over to check if he was looking particularly grimy and did a small wash if he was

He rings your doorbell and gives you the flowers when you answer, happy but also nervous since he almost forgot valentines with his first partner!

"Beedee beedee beedee! Happy Valentines, buck!"

He gives you a kiss on the cheek and comes in to hang out with you

You both do pretty mundane everyday things and it's just very comfortable ^^

You two might do some doodles of your dnd characters kissing or writing a little story about how they could meet lolol!

Probably pretty bad at kissing but he does kiss you so points for confidence!

You two are like always touching in some way through out the night; holding hands, kissing, hugging, sitting right next to each other so your legs are touching etc

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry this was so short but happy valentines everyone!

[flawseer]

What's your opinion of what everyone did after the sealing of Darkstalker in the legends book? It just seemed way too quick with how they just moved on from the horrors, as Fathom and Indigo had kids and Clearsight flew off to a new continent to have kids with and create a whole new tribe. On another note, considering how Fathom was kind of banished (from what I remember) and had kids split off from the Royal Family, do you think there may be a descendant of Fathom somewhere hiding with Animus powers? Or do you think they just ended up being adopted back into the royal family after being discovered?

I personally consider Legends: Darkstalker the best book in the series, in part because I believe Sutherland's writing shines when she is not binding herself to the 5 books arc structure.

That said, the ending does have a bit of that one particular prequel problem. You know, the one where the characters are confirmed to be at a certain location in the future, so they absolutely HAVE to end the prequel story getting to that location IMMEDIATELY.

That's what I was thinking with regards to Clearsight's ending. Now, everyone deals with trauma differently, so I can only comment on her actions from my own limited point of view. I don't think I could have done what she did, at least not so suddenly. She had relationships beyond Darkstalker, with Listener and her parents, whom she presumably was still on good terms with. Like, especially her parents I think never actually learned what happened to her. They might have continued living thinking their only daughter died in the evacuation.

When I think of that part of the book, I personally like to envision an epilogue where Clearsight returns to her parents and lives with the Nightwings for a while (a couple years maybe). Her parents are supportive and Listener is grateful and admires her friend for saving her family. So much so that she reverses her stance on futuresight and authors a scroll about it, crediting Clearsight as a master prophet (this is the scroll that Moonwatcher later reads).

But the other Nightwings still fear Darkstalker, and they remember his girlfriend who stood on stage with him and looked at him adoringly as Darkstalker massacred his own father (they don't know she was tricking Darkstalker). So there is public tension building at Clearsight living with them, and it begins to negatively impact the people who support her. In the end, Clearsight decides to leave the tribe, both to protect her loved ones from getting caught up in her fallout and to separate herself from all that trauma and find her fortune on the new continent.

Notably, she actually tells her friends and parents about that plan this time, and they don't spend the rest of their lives wondering what happened.

As for Fathom and any potential descendants, there is a 'realistic but boring' answer, and one that is a bit more interesting narratively.

The boring answer is that, yes, there are descendants of Fathom around. Lots of them. It is inevitable. If you take an individual and step back one generation, you find they will have 2 parents. Above that they have 4 grandparents. Then 8 great-grandparents, 16 great-great-grandparents. At 10 generations back we are looking at 1024 theoretical ancestors. Now as these numbers get bigger, some of these lines will cross-breed with each other again, so the math isn't entirely clean, but just trust me that these numbers balloon really fast the more generations you go back.

Fathom was alive 2000 years ago. If we lean conservatively and say the average dragon has eggs at age 20, that means 100 generations have come and gone from then to today. The number of ancestors over this many generations is so high, you might pick any Seawing currently alive in present day and there will be a very decent chance of them having Fathom somewhere in their bloodline.

You go back far enough and everyone starts to be related to everyone else. Ancestry is funny like that.

For the more narratively interesting answer: I do believe Fathom re-integrated into the royal family again. One thing that needs to be kept in mind is that Pearl, like her brother, also had her entire life uprooted by the Royal Seawing Massacre. She was all at once dealing with the shock of losing her parents and the stress of having to now run the entire kingdom without being prepared for it at all. There was no time to process any grief, or the lingering fear. When she sent her brother away and forbade him to have children, that wasn't an act of malice, it was the only solution she could think of to keep everyone safe from the future threat of magic without also having to execute the last part of her family.

Neither of them ever had any ill will against the other. Pearl was dealt the shittiest of hands and she tried to make the best play she could at the time, while desperately trying to keep herself together. That is what I think.

As Pearl and Fathom got older and the situation in the Sea Kingdom stabilized, Pearl might have finally been able to reflect upon what happened and to process some of her neglected emotional turmoil. I believe Fathom eventually reached out again and they both found a way to reconcile, mending their fractured relationship. I don't know if Fathom moved back into the palace; perhaps he chose to stay away to keep the rest of the populace at ease. But I think his children or grand-children would eventually re-integrate into the royal family.

This turned out a bit wordy and the question was sitting in my inbox for a good while. But I hope this provides an interesting answer.

[freneticfloetry]

friday sneak peek (firstprince edition)

A few months back, I started an Astarion-themed Secret Santa gift for a BG3-obsessed friend. I don’t know the game, have never played, but the gift exploded anyway (as things like this are wont to do with me). So much so that, right in the middle of it, I had two separate (unrelated) people basically go "hey, you're doing all this for a fandom you don't even know… you should try doing it for a fandom you love."

And just like that, The FirstPrince Project was born.

Long story short, it's a (frankly unhinged) assortment of jewelry, keepsakes, practical items, tasty treats, and character-themed ephemera, all built around Alex Claremont-Diaz, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, and the perfect pair the two of them make. Something I could create from my love for these two boys, and share with the people who love them, too.

This image is just a little preview of some of the items included. Some are vintage, some are customizable, some are even one of a kind. As a few of you know, I'm a graphic designer by training and a creative marketer by trade, and this was a wonderful exercise in combining every aspect of my creative brain. I got to design pins, magnets, and every piece of ephemera, either from scratch or painstakingly replicated from a real-life reference. Everything here has been professionally printed or produced, down to the smallest detail. Best of all, the whole shebang includes two very special art pieces from none other than @ambiguouspenny.

There will be two separate sizes available: a Curated Collection and a Complete Collection. Fairly limited, but not ridiculously so. I'm waiting for the last couple packaging things to come in, and full details will be available shortly. (These will totally be ready in time for you to celebrate both boys’ March birthdays.) In the meantime, if you'd like to be notified when the collections are available to order, please drop your email in the Google form here and you’ll be among the first to know. And feel free to reach out, via comment or ask, if you have any random questions. 

Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all. 🥰

P.S. For my fellow Tarlos Girlies (gender neutral): I’ll have something for you very soon. :)

Tagging in my known RWRB mutuals: @rmd-writes @welcometololaland @orchidscript @three-drink-amy @never-blooms

[gilbirda]

How to write Romance

Hello! This is the second post I'm making as a rough tutorial for writing, based of my method and experience. I'm not a professional writer by any means, but I've been writing for a long long time, and I specialize in writing women and romance.

The objective for this post is so you, the reader, has an idea what to look for or where to start when embarking in the journey of writing romance or a romance story.

Let's go. This is a long one, folks.

Romance Story line Vs Romance Story

Before I go into the details, I'd like to discuss the difference between "romance story line" and "a romance story".

But Gil, those are the same thing!

You'd think that! But nope. The main difference lies on how much space romantic aspects take in the story.

For example, you can have a tragedy with romance story lines. A murder mystery with some romance intertwined. An epic hero journey with some romance on the side. And so on and so forth.

Before sitting down and getting to writing, think what you want to write about: Is this about an epic romance for the ages, or is this about adding romance to a story (and not let it take the main stage)?

Let's take as an example "Pride and Prejudice" Vs. "Pirates of the Caribbean". One is about Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy falling in love and the drama around them; and the other is an epic pirate action movie where Will and Elizabeth are protagonists and their relationship adds to the story but is not just about them.

I want to write a Romance story

Then you really have to sit down and write the story beats with the relationship beats.

Usually the natural flow of the story (first act, second act, third act) will match relationship milestones; and the development of the relationship is the development of the story.

There can still be drama, murder mysteries, etc. but it will serve the purpose pushing forward the main characters' romance story.

For example, the drama could be real life issues getting the way of the couple; or the romantic interest needs to do some growing before proposing.

Also, with Romance Stories you can play with some fun tropes on top of the story itself: Star Crossed Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Childhood Friends to Lovers, etc.

I want to write a Romance story line

In this case, development of the romance takes a step back and doesn't have to match the main story beats.

You will also take into consideration the tips and tricks of this tutorial, but don't have to go deep into much detail and can afford writing the relationship development more "in the background" as much or as little as your story needs it.

For example, you could write a couple getting together at the end, but can write the characters' "will they won't they" beats with the climax of the main story line's arcs — a character receives the Call for Adventure, and leaves behind the romantic interest; a character experiences a devastating loss, and can't really offer romantic interest the attention; a battle leaves main character heavily injured, and romantic interest nurse them back to health.

How do I write a credible Romance

Note how I'm avoiding saying "good" or "bad" romance here. I'm saying credible.

Why credible? Because, in my experience, readers engage more and feel for the characters more if they can believe that what is happening could be real. You write a romance in space, or as pirates, or Regency era stuff — but at the end of the day, you are writing people and people experience emotions in complex ways.

You have to make your readers think "they are so like me for real" at least once.

But how?

Emotions don't exist in a vacuum. You can deeply love someone and still be mad at them; or be frustrated with them; or be sad and not in the best headspace.

There has to be something else going on. Things happen all the time, and the world doesn't stop because you like someone. You have to include more meat than the romance, and explore more circumstances that have nothing to do with Character A and Character B having a crush.

Develop the characters beyond their romance story. Love is great but characters are so much more than that. They should have personal goals, personal drama, individual story lines.

But wait, there's more!

Let's talk more about characters in a relationship

This drinks from some basic character development tutorial (maybe a future post idea? 👀), but regarding romance you should also take into consideration more than the romance.

Feels counterproductive, but it's so so so so important. Before you even consider diving head first into Romance, you should already have solid characters to play with.

Some usual tricks for creating a character include doing a character Bio: Write their likes, dislikes, dreams, favorite food, favorite colors, height, age, etc. Anything you can think of, have it already chewed. (Think making a D&D character sheet!)

For fanfiction writers, understand the character you are writing first. Find their voice and even if you don't have a reference of a good romance already (I'm looking at you, DC comics) try to get an idea how they respond to good and bad things, how do they communicate, how do they like to be loved.

Then, you can use it for Romance.

How?

Easy: Consider what the situation is actually about, not just the romance.

Is it about trust? — How quickly does the character trust? How do they behave with betrayal? Do they have trust issues?

Commitment? — Are they the type that commits fast? Or needs a minute to commit? Do they have commitment issues?

Is it about communication issues? — How? Do your characters speak different languages (literally and "love languages")? Do they struggle with speaking up? Do they hide their feelings to a fault?

Are they incompatible? — Do they have different expectations for physical aspects of their relationship? Do they have little in common? Is the struggle about personalities clashing?

Love is not enough? — Do their circumstances pull them apart even if they do love each other? Is it "not that simple"?

Things you should be careful about

"This drama would be avoided if they had ONE honest conversation"

Classic misunderstanding drama set up. Is very tempting to hinge your drama and character development on one single misunderstanding, and is easy to maintain as long as you don't let the characters make up.

Don't fall for it. Is not as easy as it looks like and a bad execution can derail the story you want to talk about and make your characters completely unrecognizable. Check out this video about "Idiot Plots", which discuss more in depth how hinging the whole plot on one out-of-character misunderstanding is not worth it.

There can absolutely be misunderstandings, but not make it the only thing keeping the story going.

"Big Strong Masc saves Small Weak Femme (and they fawn for their mighty protector)"

(Notice the language used, because I've seen this with all types of ship configuration, not just M/F. )

This is related to deeper issues: Gender roles and patriarchy bullshit, which have no place in fandom.

You can absolutely write Character A saving Character B, but watch out! Characters should be developed on their own and have room to shine without the romantic interest.

Here's my tutorial on Writing Women, and I'm planning on another post to discuss the "strong, independent woman" paradox.

"Character A falls in love seemingly overnight with Character B"

What it says on the tin. It's just not believable. Even people who falls in love fast, don't just make the other person their world overnight.

But Gil, what about 'love at first sight'? That one is cute, and you can definitely write characters meeting for the first time and sparks flying, but there's attraction, and there's love.

Definitely write meet cutes and so on; but acknowledge that there is so much more needed to make a love story work.

"My romance story line suddenly became the main story"

Avoid this as much as possible. If the reader wants romance story, they'd look for straight up romance. Making the relationship suddenly ALL the story is about would be changing the genre mid-story and that's not nice. Is like starting with a murder mystery that switches to a shenanigans slice of life midway.

Then how can I have drama and relationship development?

If we should avoid misunderstandings and character A saving character B, then what would be my romance story about?

Answer: Like any other story development! Write conflict.

Internal conflict — Could be about one character or both; or about their relationship.

Internal conflict is a psychological or emotional struggle that takes place within a character's mind or heart. It involves their inner thoughts, feelings, beliefs, or desires. (source)

You use these to focus on the Character's Journey, and in the context of romance, on how they grow in a relationship. Loving someone else can be the catalyst for a character trying to better themselves, or realizing they need to change.

This is all your conflicts of interests, communication issues, trust issues, etc. Create situations where the drama comes from within the characters and how they themselves get in the way of their happily ever after.

External conflict — How the circumstances surrounding the characters influence the romance.

External conflict is a struggle that occurs between a character and an external force, such as another character, society, nature, or a situation. (source)

Families not approving the relationship, political drama, different species, opposing sides of a war... The world is your oyster.

Or use both! Is so much fun and complex (and credible) when there's layers to why your characters Will They Wont They.

And that's it for now!

I may come back and edit to add and/or tweak something, so keep an eye!

NOTE: These are some tips to write healthy romance stories. If your goal is to depict toxic dynamics or portray toxic relationships on purpose, by all means change and ignore whatever you'd like. Know the rules before you break them!

Happy writing!🙂✌

[respectthepetty]

Seventeen episodes of Perfect 10 Liners and I've finally arrived at couple I'm most excited for because I think they share the same color! It's time to see if I'm actually getting Lapis Lads (two Blue Boys).

But first, this episode has to remind me that other couples exist, starting with Green Guy Gun and Black Brooder Yotha.

Their story just finished in the previous episode, but the show must let us know they are disgustingly in love in case we couldn't tell from the heart on Yotha, the dog and tiger plushies, or the fact that their apartment is bright as hell with Gun's green as the accent.

But that doesn't stop Gun from wearing his man's black.

They're so in love, they invented a new way to share cologne.

Gross.

Don't worry, Red Rascal Sam. I'm judging them too.

And don't worry, Red Rascal Arc, I'm judging your man as well!

First, I cannot overlook that Yellow Yal Arm is in orange simply because I like that his shirt says "God is in control." I will not be distracted by that all powerful being upstairs!

And neither will Arc because he basically asked Arm if he wanted to get married, and Arm was like, "um . . . you can marry someone else if you like them more." SIR! WTF?!

At least Arm's Blue Boy best friend Sand understands what is happening when his Orange Oddity boyfriend asks what his plans for the future are.

Because even if Sand isn't sure what his future holds, Pond made it clear that he wants to be part of it as a communicative Orange Oddity would. Take notes, Arm! If you wanna wear the color, you gotta communicate!

Like if you are a Blue Boy, you gotta be honest. It's in their (color) coding.

Which is why I will love Faifa the most. He is so honest that his face has subtitles.

And because he is so honest, people don't realize he is hiding some big emotions underneath all his happiness.

So it's time he met his match in another Blue Boy because only another Blue Boy can help him see the error of his ways by being a mirror reflection of his errors.

And it seems the universe agrees since Faifa ran into Wine's life and changed his fate (and his name).

But this is really a group effort. Arm made sure Yotha had the gifts for their newest member since we all know Yotha is too distracted in love to remember that other people exist.

And because Yotha is a Black Brooder and Wine is a dark Blue Boy, they could easily stand in silence, so Faifa and his special peacemaker skills were needed to be the middle ground between the two.

Because, once again, Faifa is the epitome of a Blue Boy.

But Wine is also a Blue Boy who is going to make Faifa see that always stepping in to help others only hurts himself.

Because Faifa wants to give everything to everyone else, even if it means he dies (allergic to milk, sir), but Wine wants nothing.

Faifa wants to give everyone all his love, yet Wine wants to be left alone.

Because in a world of colorful characters, it's the Blue Boys who ground people and ask the questions that need to be asked, like how possible Blue Boy Jay with his blue phone immediately questioned why Wine was hanging out with Faifa when his mentor was Yotha.

It's Blue Boy-to-Blue Boy communication, and only they can see through the bullshit of another Blue Boy, which is why they are great friends.

And it's why these two are going to be great friends.

But that's also why they will have the biggest problem because this is a love story.

So in the battle of Blue Boys, once they realize nothing between them is friendly, will they be honest about their emotions or sacrifice their love for some form of noble idiocy?

They're already in the danger zone and don't even realize it.

I love it here!

[msklassickilla]

Delirious | J. Uso|R. Reigns Ten

Summary: When Titania buys an old typewriter from a closing thrift store, she thinks it’s just a vintage gem—until the words she types start coming true. However, the typewriter doesn’t just bring fantasies to life—it twists them. Giving Titania way more than she bargained for.

Pairing: Titania Marshall (Black OC) x Jey Uso x Roman Reigns

Author’s Note: This story is another AU thing. So, it might align, or it might not. I will try my best to keep it current enough. Nonetheless, it’s mash up of a few things: That one episode of Goosebumps. That one episode of the Twilight Zone. And that movie by the same title, Delirious featuring John Candy. I’ma make it work. Plus, I like mystical spooky shit with a bit of Jerry Springer type mess.

Warning(s): SMUT incoming. Some minor harsh language. A smidge of toxic behavior.

Disclaimer: This work of art is fictional in nature including the original characters created by me. I do not own any of the existing characters or lyrics from songs referenced in this story (if any). All rights belong to their respective owners with the exception of my original characters. This work is purely for entertainment purposes and is not intended to cause harm.

Ten

Titania sat on the couch, staring at the muted television, barely registering the flickering images on the screen. The house was quiet now. Jey had left for the airport that morning, kissing her goodbye with his usual warmth, promising to call her later. It was supposed to be comforting, knowing she had a few days to herself, a chance to clear her mind. Instead, she felt untethered.

There were only two weeks left until the move. Two weeks until she packed up everything and left behind the life she had built before all of this. Before Jey. Before the typewriter. Before everything shifted. She should be excited. She had written this future. She had wanted it.

Then why did she feel like she was walking into something she couldn’t escape?

Titania leaned forward, rubbing her temples. She just needed to shake it off. Find a routine. Get back to the version of herself that existed before she started rewriting everything. Maybe she’d go out today. Get some fresh air. Do something normal.

Her phone buzzed on the coffee table. She glanced down, expecting Jey or Naomi, but the name on the screen made her stomach clench.

Tamya (FaceTime Call)

Titania exhaled sharply, guilt curling tight in her chest. She hadn’t spoken to her sister in weeks. The last time they talked was before she bought the typewriter, before her entire world rearranged itself into something unrecognizable. She had been avoiding her, just like she had been avoiding her parents.

But Tamya wasn’t like their mother and father. Their parents would be disappointed, but Tamya would be mad as this wasn’t like her at all. Titania forced herself to answer. The moment her sister’s face filled the screen, she knew she had been right.

"Girl," Tamya’s voice was sharp, her expression pinched with irritation. "Why am I hearing from Mia that you’re moving to Florida? Is this what we doing now? Keeping secrets?"

Titania’s stomach dropped.

She should have known Mia would say something. Her best friend had always been loose-lipped, but Titania had rewrote things, made her someone who believed in their relationship. It hadn’t occurred to her that Mia hadn’t been rewritten enough to keep secrets.

Titania scrambled for an excuse. "I—I wanted to tell you myself."

Tamya’s eyes narrowed. "And when exactly were you gonna do that? After you moved? What the hell is going on with you? This ain’t like you."

"It was supposed to be a surprise," Titania lied, though she could hear how weak it sounded.

"A surprise?" Tamya’s brows shot up. "Titania, this is your whole damn life! You don’t make decisions like this without telling your family especially me.”

Titania swallowed, feeling the heat of shame spread up her neck.

"You never kept secrets from me, T," Tamya continued, her voice softer now, but no less firm. "Not even from Mom and Dad, but especially not from me. You always told me everything."

Titania’s throat tightened. She knew Tamya was right. Before Jey, before the typewriter, before all of this, she had always confided in her big sister. Tamya was the person she trusted the most, the one who knew her better than anyone.

But what could she even say?

That she had written herself into a different life? That she was losing track of what was real and what wasn’t? That she was terrified of what was to come because things hadn’t really been working out in the way she wanted but she didn’t know how to fix it.

She couldn’t say any of that.

"I just didn’t want to deal with everyone freaking out," Titania said, grasping for anything that might calm her sister down.

Tamya’s expression remained unreadable for a moment before she sighed, shaking her head. "Mama and Daddy are gonna lose it when they find out. And I swear, T, if you think you’re gonna blindside them with this, you got another thing coming."

Titania’s pulse spiked. "You’re not gonna tell them, are you?"

Tamya folded her arms, studying her carefully. "With the way you been moving? I should."

"Tamya, please," Titania whispered. "I’ll tell them soon. Just… not yet. I still got things to get in order."

Her sister exhaled, tapping her nails against her arm before nodding. "Fine. For now. But you need to get your shit together." Her voice softened again, worry replacing the irritation. "This isn’t like you. Not calling, keeping secrets, making huge life changes out of nowhere. Something’s not right with you, T."

Titania’s chest tightened.

Tamya didn’t know how true that was.

"I’m fine," she lied.

Tamya didn’t believe her, but she didn’t press. She just sighed again. "Just… don’t forget who you are, okay?"

Titania forced a small smile. "I won’t."

Tamya gave her one last long look before hanging up. The screen went dark, leaving Titania staring at her own dim reflection. She set the phone down slowly, pressing her fingers against her temples.

Her sister was right.

She wasn’t herself anymore.

Before Jey, before the typewriter, she had been Titania Marshall. Daughter of Teedria and Gary Marshall. Little sister to Tamya and Kenneth Marshall.

So why did she feel like that person was slipping away?

Her gaze flickered toward the spare room, where the typewriter sat packed away in its box. The thought creeped in before she could stop it. Maybe she didn’t have to lose herself. Maybe she could just… adjust a few things.

Titania shoved the thought away, shaking her head. No. She wasn’t doing that again.

She just needed to figure out how to get back to being who she was without losing Jey in the process. Without letting Roman pull her into something she didn’t understand. Without making things worse.

----

Titania tried to fall back into her normal routine, but normal didn’t exist anymore. She went through the motions—waking up, making coffee, checking emails, answering a few messages—but nothing felt the same. Nothing felt like hers.

Her phone was constantly lighting up. Jey sending her videos from the gym, sweaty and grinning like he wasn’t thousands of miles away. Naomi checking in, reminding her how excited she was for Titania to move down. It was all sweet, thoughtful—everything she could’ve wanted.

But the more she saw those messages, the more she realized her old life was slipping away.

She wanted both.

Her old life. Her new life. The independence she had before. The love she had now. But could she even have both?

The thought made her chest feel tight, her stomach twisting with something restless. She needed to get out of her own head. Needed to do something.

Her phone buzzed beside her. A FaceTime call.

Jey.

Titania exhaled, grabbing her phone. She forced a smile as she answered, pushing everything else to the back of her mind.

Jey grinned at her, his background showing a hotel room. He looked relaxed, fresh from a shower, a towel draped around his shoulders. “Damn, you look good. You miss me yet?”

Titania let out a soft laugh, despite the knot in her stomach. “I don’t know. It’s been kinda nice having the house to myself.”

Jey scoffed, shaking his head. “Lies. You probably been walking around in my T-shirts all day, wishing I was there.”

Titania rolled her eyes, warmth blooming in her chest despite everything. This was her normal. Jey. The conversation drifted to his match, his workout, what he had for dinner. He always liked keeping her updated, knowing she was invested in the details of his life.

“How’s everything over there?” he asked, leaning back against the pillows.

Titania hesitated, fingers gripping the phone a little tighter. “Good. Just getting things together for the move. Nothing crazy.”

Jey’s expression softened. “Yeah? You excited?”

Titania nodded. “Yeah. I am.”

And she meant it. She just didn’t know which part of her was excited anymore.

They talked for another fifteen minutes before Jey started dozing off mid-conversation, his exhaustion catching up to him. Titania smiled as he mumbled a soft "Love you," before hanging up.

She set the phone down, staring at the dark screen. Jey was her future. She had written this life, created it. She wasn’t going to let it slip away. But as the quiet settled in around her, the unease crept back in.

She found herself grabbing her laptop, her fingers moving before she could talk herself out of it. Titania started searching for the old thrift store. The place where she had bought the typewriter. The place that no longer existed.

She scoured the internet, looking up the store’s name, the address—anything that might lead her to information about the old man who sold it to her. But there was nothing.

No business listings. No past reviews. No evidence that it had ever been there.

Titania’s fingers stilled over the keyboard, unease settling deep in her stomach. She leaned back against the couch, staring at the screen. Her heart pounded in her ears. This didn’t make sense. There was no way a store could just vanish without a trace.

She was about to close the tab when a search result caught her eye. It wasn’t about the thrift store. But the title made something in her chest tighten.

"Reality Shifting: The Science of Unseen Worlds."

She clicked without thinking.

The page loaded, revealing an old blog. The background was dark, tiny constellations scattered across the top like a map of forgotten stars. The entries spanned years, some dated as far back as a decade ago, the author only posting sporadically, as if they wrote only when they had something urgent to say.

Titania’s pulse quickened as she skimmed through the opening paragraphs. The blog wasn’t just about shifting realities. It was about rewriting them.

Her breath caught in her throat as she read further.

The author spoke of dimensions layered on top of each other, stacked like pages in a book. Most people only ever existed in one version of their story. But sometimes—rarely, dangerously—those pages could be rewritten.

The symptoms of a "rewritten reality" were listed out carefully, methodically, like someone had studied them for years.

Sudden changes in relationships, even with people you’ve known for years.

Objects appearing in your home that you don’t remember buying.

People knowing things about you that never actually happened.

A growing sense of unease, like you’re losing control of your own story.

Titania felt the blood drain from her face. This wasn’t paranoia. This wasn’t stress. This was real.

Her chest rose and fell in slow, measured breaths, her mind racing. She scrolled further, searching for anything that might help. A passage buried deep within an old post caught her attention.

"A rewritten reality cannot be erased. It can only be reshaped. One cannot go back—only forward. But to move forward, one must first decide: What is the true story?"

Titania’s breath shuddered. The true story. She stared at the words, rereading them over and over. If she couldn’t erase what had happened, maybe she could… blend it.

Maybe she could make both lives—the one she had and the one she had written—exist together.

Maybe she could have everything.

Titania snapped her laptop shut, a decision settling heavy in her chest. She stood, moving toward the spare room, her heartbeat loud in her ears. The typewriter sat on the desk, waiting. Her fingers trembled as she reached for it, hovering over the keys.

This time, she didn’t hesitate.

She started to type.

"Can you blend both of my realities?"

The moment she pressed the last key, the typewriter responded. Words appearing right after hers.

"Is that what you desire?"

Titania swallowed, her throat dry. She exhaled slowly, steadying herself before she typed again.

"Yes. I desire to blend both realities into one."

The machine was silent. Then words appeared in response.

"Good."

She let out a shaky breath, relief flooding her chest. But just as she was about to pull away, another message appeared.

"The past and future have been blended. Her story has changed."

Titania read the words carefully, slowly, letting them settle. The answer wasn’t ominous. It was good news. She had done the right thing.

She could have it all now. Then why did she still feel like something was still amiss?

----

For the first time in weeks, Titania felt normal. She wasn’t questioning what was real. She wasn’t obsessing over the typewriter. She wasn’t being consumed by thoughts she couldn’t control.

Everything felt… balanced. Jey was texting and calling as usual. Naomi was checking in, excited about them growing closer. She had managed to called her parents, her brother, even Mia. Everyone knew now. The haze she had been trapped in for weeks had lifted. She had both worlds now. And it was good.

Titania stood in the spare room, staring at the packed-up typewriter. She had done it. Her old life, her new life—merged. No more rewriting. No more questioning. She had gotten what she wanted. She was happy. Wasn’t she?

She inhaled deeply, pushing the thought away. She had a work meeting soon, and she wasn’t about to let her mind spiral when things were finally going right. This was what she had been fighting for. A life with Jey, a love she had dreamed of, without losing everything she had before.

Her laptop was already open on the desk when she sat down, logging into the virtual meeting. The familiar faces of her colleagues appeared one by one, grounding her in something solid. Despite everything that had changed, she still had this—her job, her career, her independence. She listened, took notes, nodded at the right moments, forcing herself to focus.

Then her phone vibrated.

She glanced at it quickly, expecting Jey or Naomi, but the name on the screen made her stomach clench. Roman.

Titania froze. She hadn’t given him her number. Had she? And she wasn’t supposed to have his. Her throat felt dry as she stared at the screen. The meeting continued, voices droning in the background, but she no longer heard them. The phone vibrated again. Another message. She forced herself to ignore it, her fingers curling into fists. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to entertain this. She had fixed things.

But as soon as the meeting ended, her resolve cracked.

Her hands moved before she could stop them, grabbing the phone, unlocking it. The first message was simple.

"Jey gave me your new number. Why did you change it? Anyway, did you get the bracelet? I thought you would at least tell me you got it."

A slow, creeping unease spread through her.

Jey gave him her number? That wasn’t right. Why would he? And the bracelet—Titania hadn’t even touched it since the day it arrived. It sat in its box, tucked away in her jewelry drawer. But Roman remembered sending it and was expecting confirmation.

Her fingers tightened around the phone. If she ignored this, it wouldn’t continue. If she ignored it, maybe whatever past Roman thought they had would be forgotten.

Another vibration. Incoming call—Roman.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Panic surged through her, and without thinking, she threw the phone across the room. It landed on the carpet with a soft thud, the ringing silenced. She pressed a hand to her chest, her heartbeat erratic. She shouldn’t have reacted like that. But why did it feel like she had been caught? Why did he feel like something she couldn’t outrun?

Minutes passed before she worked up the nerve to retrieve the phone. A voicemail icon waited for her. She should delete it. Pretend it never happened. Her thumb hovered over the screen, hesitating—then she tapped play.

Roman’s voice came through the speaker, deep and smooth, too familiar.

"We need to talk, sweetheart. Call me back."

Titania’s stomach tensed.

Not Titania. Not Tee. Sweetheart.

She swallowed, but it didn’t ease the tightness in her throat. He had said it like they had always been like this. Like this wasn’t new. Like she already agreed to whatever this was to him. A shiver crawled up her spine, but something else tangled with it, something she refused to name.

----

“Baby, what are you doing down there?”

She turned toward the doorway, still gripping her phone like a lifeline, as Jey dropped his bags and gave her an easy smile.

Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

She could still hear Roman’s voice in her head, smooth and steady through the voicemail. We need to talk, sweetheart. The heat of it was still clinging to her skin, the weight of something she didn’t want to acknowledge pressing down on her.

She fumbled for an excuse. “I—uh, I was just looking for something.”

Jey cocked his head slightly, his brows drawing together. “Everything okay?”

Titania forced herself to move, to push off the floor and cross the room toward him. She tucked her phone behind her back as she reached him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her face into his chest.

Jey hesitated for a second before his arms circled her, his body warm and solid against hers. “Damn,” he murmured, his voice dropping slightly. “Missed me that much?”

Titania shut her eyes, inhaling the familiar scent of his cologne, grounding herself. This is what’s real. Not the message. Not the lingering temptation curling around her thoughts like an unwanted guest. Jey was here. Jey was hers.

“I just wasn’t expecting you this early,” she whispered, tightening her hold on him.

Jey smiled against her hair. “Caught an early flight.” His hands slid up and down her back, soothing, possessive. “Told you I’d be home before you knew it.”

Titania swallowed, nodding against his chest. She wouldn’t think about the message. She wouldn’t ask him about giving Roman her number. Not now.

Jey pulled back slightly, tilting her chin up. “Come on, let’s go out.”

Titania blinked. “Go out?”

“Yeah.” His lips quirked. “Movie night. You and me. Remember?”

Titania felt something loosen in her chest. A date night. A normal night. Exactly what she needed.

She nodded, managing a small smile. “Okay. Let me get ready. I had forgot all about our date.”

Jey kissed her forehead before stepping back, grabbing his bags. “I mean I can go to the movies by myself, girl,” he joked, heading toward the bedroom. “I’ll date me if you won’t.”

Titania let out a small laugh, shaking her head as she followed after him. She had to hold onto this.

----

The movie theater was perfect. Dim lighting, plush seats, a full menu that made it feel more like a private dining experience than a typical night at the movies. This was exactly what Titania had always wanted—date nights with Jey, little pockets of time where the outside world didn’t exist. And for the most part, it worked.

Jey was completely relaxed, stretched out beside her with one arm draped over the back of her seat, the other reaching for his food. He made her laugh between bites, whispering jokes and little comments about the film, his fingers tracing absentminded circles against her shoulder.

Titania wanted to get lost in it. She wanted to forget about everything else. But the peace shattered the moment she stepped into the bathroom.

She had only been in there for a minute, washing her hands, when her phone vibrated inside her purse. The sound barely registered at first—until she glanced down at the screen.

Roman.

A chill curled down her spine. Her first instinct was to ignore it. She had done it before. She could do it again. But the buzzing stopped. A message appeared.

Her stomach clenched. Slowly, Titania reached for her phone, swiping to open the text.

“You looked beautiful tonight. Shame you’re wasting it.”

The breath left her lungs. Her head snapped up, eyes darting around the bathroom as if he could be standing right there. But she was alone. He wasn’t here. He couldn’t be. Then she remembered. The Instagram story. It had been so small, so insignificant. Just a simple mirror selfie of her outfit before they left, posted without thinking. And then later, a quick boomerang of the drinks at the theater, Jey’s arm barely in frame. That was it. That was all.

She gripped the edge of the sink, her pulse hammering.

This was too much. He knew too much. How did he know her Instagram handle? She hadn’t even thought that was possible. But somehow, he had been watching.

Titania inhaled sharply, forcing herself to focus. She couldn’t let this get to her. She had made her choice. She was with Jey.

She needed to prove it.

Steadying herself, she turned off the faucet, squared her shoulders, and stepped out of the bathroom. Jey was waiting for her in the lobby, his back to her as he scrolled through his phone.

Titania forced a smile as she reached him, slipping her arms around his waist. Jey grinned, tucking his phone away and kissing the side of her head. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” she said, her voice even.

She wouldn’t think about the message. She wouldn’t think about Roman. The drive home was quiet at first, Jey humming along to the music while Titania stared out the halfway down window, trying to sort through the storm in her head. But the more she tried to push the thoughts away, the more restless she became.

She needed to replace them.

She needed to fill the space with Jey.

Titania shifted in her seat, rubbing her palms against her thighs, her heart pounding for an entirely different reason now. She turned toward Jey, her gaze flickering over him. He was focused on the road, his jaw sharp in the dim glow of the dashboard, his hands loose on the wheel.

She reached over, sliding a hand over his thigh.

Jey’s brows lifted slightly. “What you doin’ over there?”

Titania bit her lip. “Pull over.”

Jey glanced at her, amused. “What?”

“Just… pull over,” she repeated, nodding toward a small, wooded area off the side of the road.

Jey hesitated but eventually obliged, steering the car onto the dirt path and parking under the cover of the trees. The engine cut, leaving them in silence.

“Tee, what’s—”

Before he could finish, Titania was climbing over the console, her dress riding up as she settled herself in his lap. Jey’s eyes widened, his hands instinctively gripping her hips.

“Tee—”

She silenced him with a kiss, fierce and desperate. Her hands tangled in his hair, pulling him closer. She needed this. Needed him.

Jey groaned into her mouth, his hands sliding up her thighs, and she could feel the moment he stopped questioning her. He kissed her back with equal intensity, his grip tightening as she ground against him.

“Jey,” she whispered against his lips, her voice breathless. “I need you. I need it.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. His hands found the hem of her dress, pulling it up and over her head. She was left in nothing but her bra and panties, the cool night air brushing against her skin. Jey’s eyes darkened as he took her in, his hands roaming over her curves.

“Damn, Tee,” he muttered, his voice thick with desire. “What’s got into you?”

The words sent a wave of heat through her, and she reached for his belt, fumbling slightly in her haste. Jey chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that made her ache.

“Easy,” he said, but his own hands weren’t exactly steady as he helped her free him from his jeans.

When they were finally skin to skin, Titania let out a shaky breath. She could feel the hardness of him pressing against her, and it only fueled her desperation.

“Tell me what you want,” Jey murmured, his lips trailing down her neck.

“You,” she gasped, her hips rocking against him. “I just want you.”

Jey’s hands gripped her hips, guiding her as she sank down onto him. The stretch was exquisite, and she threw her head back with a moan. Jey’s groan matched hers, his forehead dropping to her shoulder as he adjusted to the feel of her.

They moved together; the rhythm slow at first but quickly building. Titania’s hands braced against his chest, her nails digging into his skin as she rode him. Jey’s hands were everywhere—on her hips, her ass, her waist—pulling her closer, deeper.

“Jey,” she whimpered, her voice breaking. “Don’t stop.”

“Never,” he growled, his grip tightening as he thrust up into her.

The sensation was overwhelming, and Titania felt herself spiraling closer to the edge. Her breath came in short, jagged gasps, her body trembling with the force of her pleasure.

“Fuck, Tee,” Jey groaned, his hands gripping her ass as he spanked her, the sharp sound echoing in the small space of the car.

The sting only heightened her arousal, and she cried out, her body clenching around him. Jey cursed, his hips stuttering as he followed her over the edge. They stayed like that for a moment, both of them breathless and shaking. Titania’s forehead rested against Jey’s, her heart still racing.

She should have felt satisfied. She should have felt grounded. But she didn’t. Jey’s arms tightened around her, his lips pressing against her forehead, completely lost in her.

“Tee,” he murmured, voice still wrecked, still clinging to the moment. “You ain’t never been like that before. I like that shit.”

Titania swallowed, pressing closer, burying her face in his neck.

Maybe I needed it.

Jey’s fingers skimmed her back, slow, lazy. “What’s mine is mine, right?”

Titania exhaled shakily, nodding. “Right.”

Jey hummed in satisfaction, his grip on her just a little tighter. She closed her eyes. She needed to hold onto this. She needed to believe it.

----

Titania was exhausted, but Jey wasn’t done with her yet.

They barely made it inside before he was pulling her back into his arms, his lips trailing over her skin, his hands gripping her like he was trying to burn himself into her. His passion had always been fierce, but tonight? Tonight, it was insatiable.

Titania let him take what he wanted, let herself give in, let him remind her that she belonged to him. Only him.

She needed this.

Needed to drown out the whisper of Roman’s voice. Needed to erase the way her body had tensed at his text, at the message she never sent.

Jey tangled his fingers in her hair, tilting her head back, murmuring against her lips. “Say it.”

Titania shivered, her breath hitching. “I’m yours.”

Jey groaned, satisfied. “Damn right you are.”

And he made sure she knew it.

----

The house was quiet.

Titania lay in Jey’s arms, his warmth pressed against her, his breathing deep and even. She should have been asleep. She should have felt safe, at peace.

But something wasn’t right.

She swore she had heard it—faint, just on the edge of her consciousness. A sound that didn’t belong.

Click. Click. Click.

Her body tensed. She held her breath, listening. The room was still, the faint hum of the AC the only thing breaking the silence. Jey didn’t stir. He was deep in sleep, completely unaware. But then she heard it again.

Click. Click. Click.

Titania’s stomach twisted. That wasn’t possible. She packed the typewriter away. Didn’t she?

Carefully, she slid out of Jey’s embrace, barely breathing as she pulled herself from the bed. The hardwood was cool against her bare feet as she crept toward the door, her pulse a steady, suffocating drum in her ears.

The hallway stretched before her, dark and unmoving. But the sound was coming from the spare room.

Titania hesitated.

She should turn around. Climb back into bed. Pretend she heard nothing. But her feet carried her forward anyway. The door to the spare room was cracked open. A sliver of light stretched across the floor. Titania pressed a shaking hand against the wood, pushing it open further, her breath lodged in her throat.

Her knees nearly gave out.

The typewriter sat on the desk. It wasn’t in the box. It was back in its place. Waiting.

And a new message had been typed. Titania’s chest rose and fell in sharp, uneven breaths as she stepped forward, her legs barely supporting her weight.

The words on the page made her skin crawl.

"Blending your worlds did not change the fate that awaits you."

Titania covered her mouth, a strangled sound escaping her throat.

No. This couldn’t be. She had fixed things. She had said what she wanted and didn’t want.

But the typewriter— the typewriter was always one step ahead.

----

The next morning, Jey kissed her lazily before heading to the gym, leaving Titania in bed with a lingering ache in her body and a storm in her mind.

She needed air.

She needed clarity.

But what she got instead was Roman.

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand. FaceTime. Titania’s heart stopped. She knew who it was before she even looked.

Roman.

She shouldn’t answer. She should ignore him. But she didn’t. With trembling fingers, she slid her thumb over the screen.

Roman’s face filled the display, his expression easy, familiar, like nothing about this was strange.

“Good morning, sweetheart.”

Titania swallowed. “Roman…”

His eyes flickered over her face, reading her like an open book. “Been ignoring me.”

Titania forced a breath. “I’ve been busy.”

He hummed, unconvinced. “That right?”

Titania didn’t know how to respond. There was something too steady, too knowing in his expression, like he was waiting for her to slip.

She straightened. “Why did you send me that bracelet?”

Roman’s brows lifted slightly. “You don’t remember?”

Titania stiffened. He wasn’t playing with her. He wasn’t teasing. He was genuinely confused why she didn’t remember why.

Titania’s breath grew unsteady. “Roman… I don’t know what you think we had, but—”

Something shifted in his expression.

For the first time, he looked hurt.

“How could you forget?” His voice was quiet, edged with something Titania couldn’t name. “I don’t—I don’t understand. We were—” He stopped himself, exhaling sharply, shaking his head like he was trying to steady something inside himself.

Titania opened her mouth, ready to demand answers, ready to piece together what reality he thought they had.

But before she could speak, the front door opened.

Jey.

Titania’s body snapped to attention. Panic surged through her, her heart hammering as she quickly hung up.

The room felt too small, too charged.

Jey’s voice carried through the house. “Tee?”

Titania fumbled to put the phone down, trying to shake the weight of the conversation. “Yeah, I’m in here!”

Jey appeared in the doorway, his gym bag slung over his shoulder, his expression easy—until he really looked at her.

Something shifted.

His eyes flickered over her, reading the tension in her shoulders, the way she was holding herself too still.

His jaw tensed. “Who was that?”

Titania’s breath hitched.

Jey’s gaze dropped to the phone on the bed. He exhaled, running a hand down his face. “It was Hakeem, wasn’t it?”

Titania’s stomach dropped. She blinked. “What?”

Jey scoffed, shaking his head. “I fucking knew it. Knew I ain’t like that dude. And now you sneakin’ around—”

“Jey—”

“Don’t,” he snapped. His face darkened, something raw flashing behind his eyes. Something possessive. “Just tell me the truth. You fucking him, Titania?”

Titania stared at him, her pulse erratic. He didn’t suspect Roman. He had no idea. And somehow, that made this worse.

Before she could speak, her phone vibrated again. Jey glanced at it, his anger already simmering. Titania barely had time to react before he grabbed it off the bed and hurled it across the room. The sharp crack of it shattering against the wall made Titania flinch.

Her heart was pounding, her entire body locked in place. “Jey—”

“I’m out,” Jey muttered, shaking his head, his breathing ragged. “I’m done with this shit.”

Titania’s throat was dry. “It’s not what you think—”

Jey’s jaw clenched. “Don’t.”

He turned, storming out.

Titania barely registered the sound of the front door slamming shut.

Then—

The typewriter.

Titania heard it before she saw it. That familiar clacking of keys. Her stomach twisted violently.

She turned, her feet moving on their own, her breath shallow as she stepped into the spare room. The typewriter sat on the desk, waiting.

The paper was fresh.

A new message.

"He's always been this way. But for her, he'll only get worse."

Titania’s knees buckled and she crashed to the floor.

No.

No, this wasn’t what she asked for.

This wasn’t what she meant. But it was too late. The story was shaping into something she didn’t like. And she knew deep down she couldn’t stop it.

----

Read Chapter 11... (coming soon)

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[uceyliyahh]

FRIENDS

Summary: “Heart on your sleeve like you've never been loved,” After being in an abusive relationship Imani decided to close herself off until she gets drafted over to the Raw Brand bumping into her best friend Jimmy as she started to catch feelings for him, but will her heart let her fall for him?

COMING SOON.

Jimmy Uso x Imani Blackwood

AWFUL GRAMMAR IM GETTING BETTER I SWEAR LOL.

smut warning; it’ll come in the story randomly so PLEASE PLEASE look out for it I’m not really good at writing ✍🏽 smuts but I’m improving at the moment.

comments, likes, repost are appreciated I would love the constructive feedback in what area I need to approve in. 🤍

ALSO! I don’t not want nobody stealing my fanfics or take it as theirs that will be an issue fasho so keep it cute respectfully.

I only own my OC along with the make up scenarios

Again mdni you have been warned.

TAGS ⬇️ lmk if you wanna be tag 🏷️ @pinkwithhearts @420days @jstarr86 @empressdede @angiedawn02 @biancasreign @ctinadiva @celesteheartsjey @duhitzkay380 @luuvprincess @bunnnyyys @mzv11 @nbanenefrmdao @xbriexx

@bebesobrielo @skyesthebomb @aikosilo @papireigns-05 @punksyeet @paigereeder @magnificentbouquetmusic @clubsoft @sharmelasworld @mjonthetrack @serenity-noble @alyyaanna @animellver

@hunnidmilly @ctinadiva @charmed-dreamssss @fearlesschimera @partypoison00 @mselenalovebug @bloodlinesbabe93 @luvrsluxe @4milly @xbriexx @trippinsorrows @yyaktayak @yana3sworld @theusotwinzcom @bossbitch-22

CAST ❤️‍🔥

-Imani Cole Blackwood - professional wrestler/ singer - single ( got out of an abusive relationship) - shy - short around 5'5 - closed off - best friends with Jimmy Uso, Kehlani - Jordan's ex girlfriend - emotionally scarred -Instagram: manimon - iMessage: Mani 💫 - Jimmy calls her; Mamas, Baby, Sweetheart

- Jonathan Solofa Fatu aka; Jimmy, Jon, Big Jim - professional wrestler - currently in a relationship with Trinity but it's on and off - best friends with Imani - instagram: jonathanfatu - Imani calls him; Jon, Jimmy, Pooks - funny - tall around 6'3 - honest - patience - IMessage: Big Jim 😩

- Jordan Merry - rapper - single - toxic - abusive - obsessive about Imani - envious of Jimmy - tall around 6'1 - instagram: hoeslovejordan IMessage: J 💔

- Kehlani Jordan aka; Lani - professional wrestler - dating Carmelo Hayes - best friends with Imani - ambitious - kind - Instagram: kehlani_wwe - IMessage: Lani💓

- Joshua Samuel Fatu aka; Jey, Josh, Joshua - professional wrestler - married - two sons - Jonathan's twin - tall around 6'2 - loyal - ambitious - best friends with Imani - Instagram: uceyjucey - iMessage: Josh📌

- Trinity Fatu aka; Trin - professional wrestler - currently dating Jonathan but it's on and off - toxic - jealous of Imani - Instagram: trinity_fatu - iMessage: Trin 🫣

These are all of the main characters for this story, everyone else will be themselves so let's hop right into the bullshit shall we? 🤗

COMING SOON.