#YES its five days before the end of october | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

aois-amaterasu-painting · 11 days ago

Text

Vif Music interview (March 2017)

A brilliant ballad best album, TRACES VOL.2, infused with new life. The GazettE, approaching their 15th anniversary, has crafted this remarkable new release. Let’s take a closer look at the charm of their latest work.

A “best-of album composed of re-recorded tracks” is bound to evoke a range of reactions, both positive and negative, as varied as the listeners themselves.

Those deeply attached to the original songs might feel a twinge of anxiety, wondering if the tracks will undergo an unexpected transformation. However, one listen to this masterpiece will put such fears to rest. The 12 tracks (10 in the standard edition), blending old and new, retain the essence of their original form while being brilliantly reborn. This is an album that could only have been crafted by the current the GazettE.

We invite you to savor this work in its entirety. We also spoke to the five members about this release and their upcoming 15th-anniversary live concert, at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, set to take place two days after the album's release.

Interviewer: I listened to this ballad best album with a sense of surprise and awe at how much sound depth can transform the music. At the same time, it doesn’t feel drastically different from the original tracks, as the sounds you want to remain intact are preserved, giving the impression that they have become songs by the current the GazettE.

Aoi: I’m glad to hear such positive feedback. It’s true that re-recording an album can sometimes make listeners go, “Oh? What’s this?” We were aware of that potential reaction, so we kept it in mind during production. We only changed what we felt could be changed without problems. Even so, during the process, there were moments when someone would say, “Wasn’t the original version better?”

Interviewer: It seems re-recording inevitably brings a mix of reactions. By the way, our last interview was around your Halloween live in October last year. The production of this album started before that, correct?

Uruha: Yes, we began working on it around August.

Aoi: We had started before the Halloween live, but since we had that event, we decided to pause for a bit. And then we paused for too long, and here we are now.

Interviewer: Did the production stay within the initially planned timeline?

RUKI: No, we ended up about two months behind schedule.

Uruha: We really couldn’t estimate the timeline properly. We were originally supposed to finish by the end of the year, but then other things came up, and we had to pause several times.

Interviewer: By the time you decided to create this album, did you have a clear vision of how it would turn out?

Aoi: Hmm, I’m not so sure. This time, we decided to handle everything ourselves without hiring an external engineer. The moment we made that decision, it was clear it would be a trial-and-error process. So, no, we didn’t have a clear vision at all (laughs).

Interviewer: I see (laughs). Even so, whether it’s video production or engineering, it seems like more and more of the creative processes are being completed entirely within the band.

Aoi: That’s true. For this album, we discussed a lot of things together, but there were certain tasks that one member had to take the lead on. I think that must have been very tough for him.

Interviewer: Who was that person?

Aoi: That masked guy over there (points to Uruha).

Uruha: No, no, I only handled the final adjustments and the mixing. It was really a collaborative effort, with everyone figuring things out as we went along.

Interviewer: Was the process similar to creating a video?

Uruha: Yes, it felt very similar.

Interviewer: Did the "master" (RUKI) give you specific directions?

Uruha: Oh, yes. The master had plenty to say...

RUKI: The master?! Me?! I didn’t say anything!

Uruha: Oh, you definitely said a lot.

RUKI: REITA was worse!

Interviewer: Wait, REITA too?

Uruha: Yes, him too. I had a certain balance in mind for how I thought it should sound, but when we were checking, REITA got really intense, analyzing the bass with his headphones and giving all sorts of instructions. It even haunted me in my dreams. He told me to raise the bass, and I thought, “Do you want me to raise it this much?” Then the next day, he’d say, “This part is too loud,” so I’d turn it down.

Aoi: C’mon, we already learned this lesson before!

REITA: Yeah, back during the MADARA days (referring to their 2004 album).

Interviewer: So how did you ultimately resolve REITA’s bass issue?

Uruha: I didn’t impose my own idea of “This is how it should be.” Instead, I left it up to REITA. I needed him to take responsibility for creating the bass sound.

REITA: But then, toward the end, when I’d ask Uruha, “What do you think?” he’d just reply, “I don’t know.”

Uruha: I said: “This is beyond my understanding, so just go with the balance that feels right to you.”

REITA: But when I’d say, “Turn it down by one decibel,” or “Two decibels lower,” I’d be watching Uruha input the numbers into the system. It creates a bit of a bias, you know? So, Uruha would hide the screen while tweaking the levels to a spot he thought I’d like, testing my reaction. It turned into a kind of mini-game.

Uruha: Yeah. I added a subtle effect that would alter the bass sound, then hid the screen and asked REITA, “Do you think this effect is on or off?” He’d say, “It’s on.” But actually, it wasn’t (laughs). Then he’d say, “Let’s try again!” So we kept doing it over and over, but he got it wrong every single time (laughs).

REITA: That was a total waste of time. We were doing that quiz at like 3 a.m. I should’ve just gone home (laughs).

Interviewer: Kai, how was the album production process for you?

Kai: I had a similar experience. At first, we all reviewed the phrases together, and I recorded the drum parts. From there, we refined the sound at Uruha’s house. But since we had live shows in between, we’d have to pause work and then start again. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but as time passed, I’d start thinking, Maybe I should tweak this a bit more, and I’d end up redoing everything from scratch. Then when more time passed, I’d think, Maybe I should redo it again. That cycle kept repeating (laughs). When we do everything ourselves, we end up using all the time we have.

Uruha: You spent an insane amount of time on the drums. It was like a drum research club.

Kai: Yeah, it really took a long time. But we researched and experimented as we went, so we made some discoveries along the way, and that made it worthwhile.

RUKI: This project was full of discoveries—how the bass and drums interact, how that influences the guitar tone. It was such a learning experience.

Uruha: This kind of technological approach was only possible in today’s era. Back in the day, it wasn't something you could do as an individual.

Interviewer: So this is an album that could only have been created in the present time and environment.

RUKI: Exactly. And we also realized how difficult it is to record live sounds cleanly. It’s brutal. Even the way you played bass had to change significantly. Music feels so infinite and mysterious to me.

Interviewer: Saying “Music feels mysterious” as you approach your 15th anniversary is a profound sentiment.

RUKI: It is. But maybe it’s something we can only say now.

Interviewer: It seems like you gained a lot from this project. Will the GazettE continue to record this way in the future?

RUKI: No way (laughs). We've figured out how to approach arrangements and finalizing the production.

REITA: But next time we work with an engineer, it’ll probably feel like a battle with them.

Kai: It seems like it’ll be tough.

Interviewer: With all the knowledge you’ve gained, the next engineer you work with will have high expectations to meet.

RUKI: But engineers tend to have a “Leave it to me!” kind of confidence.

Aoi: Actually, I think the next engineer will have it easier. Now that we know what we’re doing, we won’t end up with poorly recorded sounds. It’s unreasonable to expect them to turn bad sound into something good. But if we have a clear vision of the final product, they just need to make it sound beautiful.

RUKI: True (laughs).

Interviewer: I’m already looking forward to your next work. By the way, the tracks on this album are an incredible selection of masterpieces.

Aoi: All the ballad songs were excellent, so it was hard to choose which ones to include... Right, RUKI?

RUKI: Yeah. There were more songs I wanted to include.

Aoi: When choosing, we tried to avoid leaning too much toward a specific tempo or sound.

Uruha: But in the end, there ended up being a lot of acoustic guitar. It kept showing up everywhere.

Aoi: Yeah, I played a lot of acoustic guitar.

Interviewer: The re-recorded acoustic guitar sounds so beautifully clear; it really stood out.

Aoi: The 12-string guitar was captured so beautifully, thanks to Uruha, who prepared everything from the microphones to the setup.

Uruha: There are things I’d do differently in hindsight, though (laughs).

Interviewer: It’s an album that you'd want to listen to carefully in a quiet space.

Aoi: That’s right. The reverb we used was fantastic. I even wanted one for myself, but when I looked into it, I found out Uruha’s model was incredibly expensive.

RUKI: You bought so much gear during recording (laughs).

Uruha: I’m always buying gear. I use it for making sound effects too, so I keep buying new ones. I wonder how much I’ve spent...

RUKI: I'm getting used to it, too, and I'm like, “Hey, maybe you should buy this?” (laughs).

Uruha: And then my savings go down. When we compare bank balances with the other members, I'm like “How did I fall so far behind?”

REITA: Don’t point at me (laughs).

Interviewer: So, REITA, you’ve been saving quite a lot, haven’t you?

REITA: No, no, not at all!

Everyone: (laughs)

Interviewer: Among the tracks on this album, which one took the longest to produce?

RUKI: The one we worked on forever… probably “CALM ENVY.”

Uruha: For me, it was "PLEDGE." That one took an eternity.

REITA: An eternity? (laughs) But that’s done now?

Interviewer: Did the production of this album start with "PLEDGE"?

Uruha: Yes, it did. It had all the elements we needed, so it served as the benchmark. I thought if we couldn’t finish this song, the album wouldn’t come together.

Kai: Recording it wasn’t too difficult, but building the sound took a lot of time.

RUKI: It had everything—piano, strings, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, tons of harmonies. I wonder how many tens of thousands of years I've worked on it.

Interviewer: Once "PLEDGE" was completed, did the rest of the process become easier?

RUKI: Not at all!

Kai: At first, we thought it would be easier... But yeah, no. (laughs)

Uruha: However, after completing "PLEDGE," we could use it as a foundation for the other tracks. That did speed up the process. If "PLEDGE" had turned out poorly, the rest of the songs would have faltered too. Also, after finishing the other tracks and revisiting "PLEDGE," we didn’t feel the need to alter it again, even though the overall flow of the album had changed. It still felt valid as it was—like it aligned with its own direction.

RUKI: It felt like all that time we spent on it was worth it. Although at some point, the benchmark shifted from “PLEDGE” to other tracks.

Uruha: It’s like "PLEDGE" passed the torch to the other songs. It paved the way to expand further.

RUKI: That's right. In the end, everything came together nicely.

Interviewer: Is there a particular track from this album that holds special meaning for you?

RUKI: I feel attached to all of them, so it’s hard to single one out. What I remember most vividly, though, is the pain of making them (laughs).

Aoi: Same here. If I had to choose, maybe "Ito" (絲). It’s a very old song, but we polished it to the point where it feels just as relevant now. The arrangement for that song came together pretty early on. I guess the master’s vision could already see what "Ito" would become.

Kai: You probably saw it from way back when it was first recorded, right?

RUKI: Honestly, I’ve always wanted it to be like this.

Uruha: If you already saw it back then, you could’ve told us sooner (laughs).

Interviewer: Just like with “Ito,” it’s fascinating how even songs from over a decade ago don’t feel dated at all.

Aoi: That's right. Normally, with songs from 10 years ago, you’d notice dated chord progressions or lyrics, but that didn’t really happen here.

Interviewer: Earlier, RUKI, you mentioned the process was “painful.” Was that because you were revisiting older songs?

RUKI: The one that made me want to quit was "Reila." I didn’t feel like I could sing it properly, and it just wouldn’t come together. We even had to slow down the tempo for that one.

Uruha: “Ito” had its tempo slowed down too.

RUKI: Oh, really? (laughs) On the other hand, I hadn’t sung "Ito" much before, so it felt almost like a new song. For the older tracks, singing them the way I did back then revealed all sorts of strange quirks. The melodies were all over the place, the harmonies were completely off—it was such a mess. That’s why they probably sound very different now. Also, I intentionally avoided trying to showcase my growth as a singer as if saying, “Look, I’m so much better now!” With re-recordings, there’s a tendency to simplify the original songs, but this time we went in the opposite direction, adding nuances instead. It’s not something that’s immediately obvious, though. (laughs)

Interviewer: The world of each song felt clearer this time, and the lyrics came across more directly. The depth in your voice was especially striking, making it a pleasure to listen to.

RUKI: Compared to my voice from back in the day, it’s become a lot more ojisan. (laughs)

Uruha: The key hasn’t changed, but it does feel lower.

RUKI: My voice has probably thickened.

Interviewer: REITA, were there any moments in this album where you thought, “This is my bass—listen to this!”?

REITA: Not at all! My playing is entirely focused on supporting the vocals. I exist for the sake of the song, of course.

RUKI: Oh, sure! Says the guy who took all the low frequencies from the vocals! (laughs)

REITA: (laughs) For the bass, I changed my playing style for the solo in "D.L.N." I didn’t want it to stand out too much, so it’s only slightly different, but I like how it turned out. That said, the song that took me the longest was also "Reila." Even when I played it with the drums, it just didn’t fit. I recorded it at home, and it took forever. It wouldn’t sync or blend in at all.

Interviewer: What do you think caused the issue?

Kai: …Was it me?

REITA: No, no, it wasn’t Kai’s fault. We just couldn’t sync up, that’s all.

Kai: After 15 years, we’re still not synced up?

Everyone: (laughs)

Interviewer: Kai, do you have a song that you feel especially attached to?

Kai: The one that changed the most in terms of atmosphere is "Taion" (体温). The structure stayed the same, but the phrasing became broader, more expansive. I think it’s the song I spent the most time on as well.

Uruha: I enjoyed working on "PLEDGE," but "Taion" was tough. We tried new approaches, but none of them worked. In the end, I realized the original arrangement might actually be the best. On top of that, during the final stage of mastering, there was a mysterious issue—some parts of the sound kept breaking down when we tried to raise the volume. We managed to make it fit, but when we handed it off for mastering and had it balanced with the other tracks, sure enough, those same parts broke down again. It was such a strange issue—it was a song that we wanted to push further but couldn’t.

Interviewer: It sounds like a lot of trial and error went into this piece. Uruha, do you think you’d want to continue mixing in the future?

Uruha: Hmm, I’m not sure. But this, it didn’t feel like I was just mixing—it felt like an extension of crafting the sound. It’s really just an expansion of the work I’ve always done. Even if we hand over the mixing role to someone else in the future, I’d still want to be involved. I’ve always been like that—even back when we worked with engineers, I was constantly suggesting things for the guitar sound. This time I just took a more hands-on approach.

Interviewer: I heard you actually went on location for the cover photo shoot this time.

REITA: Yeah, we did. It was freezing cold when we went to shoot.

RUKI: I’m so glad we weren’t the ones in front of the camera. It was unbearably cold.

Interviewer: The motif of the swing from the jacket of TRACES BEST OF 2005-2009 was carried over into this release.

RUKI: Yes, we remade the swing from TRACES BEST OF 2005-2009. At first, we considered using neon lights to make a swing—it was going to be stylish—but things didn’t quite work out, so we ended up with this concept instead. Since this release includes older songs, the 12 crosses represent death. It’d be nice if fans could pick up on that symbolism. I think that listening to the album with that in mind will change the way you look at it.

Interviewer: Some artists prefer not to share the meaning behind their themes, so I appreciate you sharing this with us.

RUKI: I get that. We used to avoid explaining lyrics or themes ourselves. Back during DIM (their 2009 album), we were like, “Nope, not saying anything.” (laughs)

Interviewer: As someone conducting interviews, all I could do was desperately wish for you to explain. (laughs)

RUKI: And we’d just say, “Not our problem.” (laughs)

Interviewer: It’s nice that fans can understand the deeper meaning behind the jacket photo this time. By the way, are you planning to shoot any music videos for this album?

Everyone: Ugh…

Aoi: Where would we even get the money for that?

Interviewer: Maybe REITA’s savings?

Aoi: Now that’s an idea!

Uruha: If we did that, we could shoot a music video for every song!

RUKI: The magistrate!

REITA: No way! I don’t have that kind of money!

Everyone: (laughs)

RUKI: Honestly, if we had taken the time to shoot music videos, we’d never have finished the album.

REITA: Plus, we’d have to shoot on a cold day. There’s no way it’d turn out well.

Uruha: Just hearing “music video” is enough to ruin my mood.

RUKI: Right? The moment someone says “video,” it’s like—ugh.

Everyone: (laughs)

Interviewer: The voting for the setlist of your upcoming 15th-anniversary concert, Dainippon Itan Geisha "Bou Douku Gudon no Sakura", has been completed, hasn’t it?

RUKI: We’re so grateful; a lot of people participated in the voting.

Interviewer: REITA, your comment about “unexpected songs ranking high and giving us a headache (laughs)” really caught my attention.

REITA: Yeah, there are songs where we’re like, “Do they really know this one?” that ranked pretty high.

RUKI: The setlist will be curated from those top-ranking songs. It’s going to be a very premium setlist. There won’t be a single “not rare” song.

Uruha: Because they're all rare.

RUKI: It’ll be a parade of “songs I’m hearing for the first time.”

Interviewer: The setlist for your 10th-anniversary concert (THE DECADE, held on March 10, 2012, at Makuhari Messe) was amazing, too.

RUKI: It doesn’t even compare! Sure, the first half of THE DECADE’s setlist was great, but the second half was relatively normal. Plus, the number of songs in this one will far exceed that.

Aoi: Some of the tracks are so rare that we had to recreate the data from scratch.

RUKI: It's like “impossible to transcribe by ear” (laughs).

Interviewer: I can really feel the rare quality. By the way, what does the title “Boudouku Gudon no Sakura” signify?

RUKI: A long time ago, we did a coupling tour called Bou Douku. (Riot Zone).

Interviewer: That was the 2003 tour with Vidoll, right?

RUKI: Right. I feel that what was great about Gazette’s past is captured in the words Bou Douku and Sakura. So I thought of titling it Something no Sakura or Something no Elegy. Back then, we used to sell ourselves as fools or trash, so I wanted to reflect that sentiment by using the word Gudon (stupidity). It had a nice ring to it, and I wanted it to feel like a movie title.

Interviewer: “Gudon” and “Sakura” both appear in the lyrics of 14-sai no Knife (14歳のナイフ), don’t they?

RUKI: That’s right. I think 14-Sai no Knife is the only song where we used the word Gudon. That said, this is our 15th anniversary, not the 14th, so the connection doesn’t really matter (laughs).

Interviewer: Will the concert live up to the riotous implications of the title “Boudouku”?

RUKI: Well, even though it’s called Bou Douku, it’s not about rioting.

Aoi: People often misunderstand. When it comes to old Gazette, they think of wild, chaotic performances.

RUKI: I think there’s definitely a tendency to romanticize the past. But I don’t think we’ve ever actually embodied that. So, I want to find a way to elevate that concept.

Interviewer: It feels like just yesterday that you mentioned in an interview how the 13th anniversary felt ominous. Before we knew it, the 14th year came and went, and now you’re heading into your 15th year. How was your 14th year?

RUKI: It was truly a DOGMA year.

REITA: It felt like an extension of the 13th year. I’d like to avoid the ominous vibe for the 15th anniversary, though I’m not sure we can just decide to avoid it (laughs).

Uruha: No matter how far we’ve come, we’re still introverts. We’re not going to be all “Woo-hoo!” about it.

REITA: You’ve been using those terms lately—introverts and extroverts (laughs).

Interviewer: That’s an unexpected choice of words (laughs). Lastly, can Kai share his outlook for the 15th anniversary and close things out with a strong statement?

Kai: I think the 15th year will be a time to enjoy ourselves while also laying the groundwork for what comes next. I hope we can maintain a good momentum throughout. With this 15th-anniversary ballad compilation and Gudon no Sakura... it feels like we’ve created something that we can say, “This could only come from our 15th year.” I hope we can enjoy it in that sense.

Aoi: I feel exactly the same. That’s pretty much everyone’s consensus, I think.

RUKI: Same.

#the gazette #mi #interview translations #vif music #ofcoooooouuurse the 12 crosses on the traces cover symbolize the death and rebirth of the 12 songs...................#traces

8 notes · View notes

gard3nias · 4 months ago

Text

13| The Titanic

⤎ previous page | ❃ | next page ⤏

wc: 7.31k

date: 07/09/2024

mdi // masterlist // playlist

—Now playing: Lucid Dream by Aespa ✫

Two hours away from midday, four from the school's day end.

Outside, only metres away, the bus had just parked at the terminal and its driver left all the doors open as they came out to give their body a break from continuously sitting down.

The environment around them was almost quiet. From time to time, the line of its constancy wavered oh-so-slightly whenever a toddler's squeal would escape the kindergarten walls.

As aforementioned, the big building at the end of the road seemed to welcome only silence since it contained teenagers who are expected to be more mature than the preteens in the next building, the kids in the other and the toddlers in the kindergarten but things were meant to be a bit different for now and it's not about their maturity.

It has started once again like it does every year.

Finally, someone opened the door and October was warmly welcomed inside. It kindly smiled back and Cold Breeze, Warm-coloured Dry Leaves, Half-naked Trees, Dimly Bright Days and Dark Late Afternoons slowly made their way in as well.

That day, exactly, was dimly bright with clouds coming and going, lowering the town's brightness. The breeze causing their movement was soft and therefore they moved slowly, shying the sun of space to shine. It has gone on like this for over a week now. Every time a television, a radio or just any communication device was turned on, the weather forecast would say the same thing. This year Autumn made its entrance gracefully and beautifully, peacefully even.

The high school couldn't relate though. While October behaved, well, like itself, ambitious teenage students were working with their respective teams to be elected by their fellows and represent their school.

At first sight, one could argue it all revolves around the simple title and the ego boost one gets once they receive it but it was genuinely about the students, about making their wishes come true. They had no blue genie with a funny beard to do that for them. They had to turn themselves into one—or a makeshift—in order to reach the heights that would give them a better overview of circumstances.

The students walked along the hallways with snacks in their hands. Their heads looked up to read the flyers and banners on the walls, and they were mentally collecting the number of people running in the campaign. They still had five minutes to go before the bell would ring and they'd have to retire to their respective classrooms.

It was a bit chaotic: some unserious students were rather minding their business somewhere else or making fun of their fellows' efforts in creating their banners and flyers; other interested students would stop to read and comment with their friends; in the meantime, the ambitious students would be standing next to their banners ready to clear any misunderstanding or answer to any question—and also for simple appearance.

This was the school right from the first week of October.

Now, it was the second week and the hectic environment had changed into something more controlled and it stressed the ambitious students a tad bit. Some showed it, others didn't. Adrielle fell under this category and there's nothing Taehyung wouldn't do to borrow that skill.

Because of the campaign, he and Adrielle had to take the bus earlier than usual so they could get to school and have time to set up their stand. Yes, the ambitious students were instructed to create their stands from where they could hand out flyers and handmade merch to gain popularity and therefore more votes. This cooled down the chaos from the previous week.

That morning, Jimin's eyes were puffy, his lips even puffier, when the bus stopped by his house and opened. Adrielle chuckled when she saw how distraught he appeared as he made his way to them. Taehyung couldn't muster enough energy to laugh or react at all because he was in the same situation but instead of having puffy eyes, he had stressed eyes which needed to be taken care of by wearing his glasses also to school and not just at home. Adrielle seemed like the odd one out around them because she was glowing, always smiling.

Thankfully for everyone, Jimin's eyes' puffiness faded away by the time they made it to their school. The place was empty, not fully but noticeably. The gates were opened just enough to let the few interested students in. As they went up the hill, another puffy-eyed person came into their view.

Jungkook was a mess and that is just to put it nicely, a severe understatement. Never in his life had he had to get up so early and do so many things on top of it. In the trunk of his car was everything they needed to set up their stand. Again, Adrielle stuck out like a sore thumb amongst them as she giddily went in, started taking the planks from the trunk and headed to the gazebo set up by the running tracks in the vast green land within the school's fence.

"I can't believe I won't get paid for this," Jungkook mumbled, planks in his arms. When they got to the gazebo, there was just one rival team busy building their stand. They paid them no attention as they stopped for a millisecond to choose the right spot before heading forward.

With the tools from the box Jimin carried, within twenty minutes, the stand was set, standing in all its pride. Adrielle was so happy she started clapping and giddily jumping like a baby causing her friends to smile as well despite all the tiredness lacing every inch of their body.

"This is the first time I saw you so happy, jeez," Jungkook spoke again as he helped Jimin put the tools back in the box.

"Obviously! It looks so pretty. Thank you!" she replied before taking her weighty backpack where she'd placed everything needed to decorate the stand. Jungkook and Jimin momentarily left to keep the box in the car while Taehyung and Adrielle dived into the decoring. They had to hurry up because the clock was ticking, other students were arriving and classes would start soon.

In the meantime, around a week earlier, Daphne was messily bolting down the stairs of her home with her hoodie hanging by her arm, the same holding her backpack and phone held to her ear with the other shoulder. On the other end of the phone was Cleo in a very similar situation, hurriedly clearing the table from everything she used for breakfast and rushing with her things to the entrance so she could put her shoes on.

That morning, there was no adult available to drive them to school and life decided it was the perfect day for time to rush faster and have them stress about missing the bus.

When Daphne succeeded in putting her shoes on, she immediately ended the phone call, slung her backpack over the shoulder and ran out, closing the gate in a chaotic way. A few steps away, Cleo was doing the same thing, increasing her speed when she heard Daphne scream for her to hurry up. In a split second, they were both running down the hill, out of their neighbourhood and onto the side of the road.

The sky was similar to a summer morning. The sun's bright rays enhanced the clouds' shape. Birds were chirping, leaves were moving. The only difference was in the slightly fresher breeze lingering in the air.

"Fuck, it's right there!" Cleo screamed, seeing the bus coming from behind them. The girls increased their speed even further, hair flying in the air, backpacks threatening to fall off their shoulders and legs feeling like they wanted to give out on them. Right at that moment, the bus drove past them but the stop was just a few feet away from them so luckily for them, as the bus slowed down, stopped, opened the doors and other passengers got on, the girls had enough time to catch up and get on before the doors closed once again.

Their self-assigned seats were empty as usual. The girls were breathing heavily and laughing too as they walked down to the back of the bus, trying not to trip and fall since it already started moving. Once they made it safely, they flopped down on the seats with hair strands already sticking to their foreheads and heavy huffs of air coming out their mouths.

"Oh, my God! Never... again," Daphne forced out, chest going up and down to take in as much oxygen as it could. Cleo chuckled, "I don't even know how it happened," she complained before sitting up better. Daphne chuckled back but it caused her to cough, simultaneously making Cleo laugh even harder. Daphne smacked her friend's lap urging her to stop laughing because it was causing her to laugh and cough even more.

When they both calmed down, breathing and body temperature-wise, they got into their hobbies: crocheting and reading. While Cleo stayed focused on her activity with an airpod in, playing soft music, Daphne couldn't focus on hers, lifting her eyes off her book whenever the bus would stop and open the doors.

It's been days since she hasn't Taehyung nor his blonde friend and she was curious as to why. She loves Cleo and her company so much but it's boring compared to all the rush of emotions and butterflies she'd get whenever the boy was there and she was missing it. She'd check a few times and as the bus would get fuller, the number of passengers wouldn't allow her to see well so she'd finally give up and focus on the open book in her hands.

If only she knew what was really going on. Neither Cleo nor her friends were too invested in the electoral campaign. They just knew that it was on from the first week of October but they were oblivious to all the stress it put the ambitious students through.

The tired-eyed friends, Jimin and Taehyung, had been working on the presentation every day since the beginning of the month. Jimin had been sleeping off at Taehyung's for days now. Since the first week, Jimin had been rushing past his home sitting next to Taehyung on the bus as they headed to his home. Once they'd arrived, Taehyung would prepare lunch with his friend, switching between helping him out and playing with his dog. After lunch, they'd have a little power nap because that's what a full stomach does to you.

Once awake, they'd immediately get to work, looking for inspiration from the Internet, taking necessary pictures and working on how to set the presentation itself.

Almost on the opposite end of their home, in hers, Avyanna was dressed comfortably with her glasses on, partly lying on her couch as she watched another teen movie about cheerleading on her iPad. On the coffee table by her were various snacks and drinks to her reach so she wouldn't need to get up every minute—unless she had to ease herself into the bathroom. Snuggled between her body and the couch was a little notebook where she wrote down various things she found helpful to her case. At the same time, her phone occasionally buzzed as messages came from a new little group chat she had created with a few other friends of hers who could lead the auditions with her.

At last, a few blocks from her place was Jungkook working on making his house good enough to welcome an important party—yeah, usually his parties were for simple fun but now it was also for an electoral campaign. With help from his father, he'd hired a few people to work on a few parts of the house he didn't find exactly good enough for the party. He planned to share the party into two parts: the first one would go from its beginning to the end of the evening and it would include the welcoming of the guests, a good presentation from Adrielle once all the guests had arrived and dinner; the second part would go from the end of the evening to the end of the night and it comprised everything one does at a teen party like drinking, beer pong, music and hook-ups.

The first part was essentially for Adrielle and the second for Taehyung—him included because he'd never deny himself a good time.

He just had to make all the necessary spaces available and back it up with the right staff service. Occasionally, Jimin would pass by his house since he'd offered to help with the food.

—Now playing: The Unforgiven by Metallica ✫

Other than all this activity for the campaign, the first week of October felt hectic to Daphne because she'd have to take her physics test on the very ship-sinking topic she'd been struggling to understand.

In between hanging out with friends and running house chores, Daphne also prioritised her studies—placing physics at the top of the list out of all the subjects.

As October inched closer and closer, she had to pass on various hang-outs with her friends because the anxiety was growing on her. The wall behind her desk was littered with little Post-it notes about the topic—her bathroom mirror was not spared. Everything she did revolved around that topic so much so even the book she reads in the morning on the bus had to be momentarily replaced by her physics notes.

The official day was Friday.

That morning, she woke up an hour earlier than usual just so she could revise everything as she had breakfast. Once the hour hand pointed at six, she went upstairs to shower and get dressed. One can already imagine what she was doing as she took on those tasks. She was mumbling physics formulas and definitions so much it spiked her parents' attention as they asked her what was going on. "Physics test today," she quickly answered before resuming her activity.

Luckily for her, Cleo was just in the same mood to revise, so they both talked about physics as they went to school. Since the test was right in the morning, at the first hour of the day, once they got to class, they weren't the only ones revising. Their classmates were repeating formulas and definitions to each other as they separated the desks and got everything they needed to undertake the test.

Daphne's desk already presented two pens, a pencil, a rubber, a calculator and the paper she'd need to make all her calculations while she revised with Asher. Cleo decided to repeat a few things to the other two because they were so dumb they made her feel smarter—give my girl her little moment to shine.

As soon as the bell rang, Mr Keeley walked in, a bag in one hand while the other held a pile of papers. He waited for everyone to sit down but explained a few rules in the meantime.

Daphne was feeling a bit confident. She'd revised so much for this and from her little moment with Asher, she deducted that she was ready. He told her as well. In fact, he told her that there was no way she'd fail her test. Yeah, she smiled at that but it quickly vanished when she remembered something else: she remembered everything right now for the test but in order to not forget any, she'd have to forget anxiety.

When the test was handed to her, she immediately got into it, writing her answers almost robotically to the easy first questions about the theory. Her head hovered over the test. Nothing could distract her, at least nothing coming from her surroundings. No one could disturb her in that moment if not herself—or something from herself.

She read the score points next to each exercise and noticed how the theory questions weighed less and the exercise with the highest score point was a long one she decided was right to leave for last. So she solved the first one. It was easy. No confusion. No random scribbles in her view. No gibberish. No shuffling of letters. No holes in the ship.

She still had two exercises to go and moved on to the next 'easy' exercise which differed from the previous one for having an extra question, A and B. The first part was easy, she solved it as fast as she did with the first exercise. The second part is when the ship started wavering.

The more she read, the more it got confusing. The answer would come into her mind as fast as it disappeared. It happened the first time, the second and the third time. She knew where this could lead so she stopped for a moment, dropped her pen on the desk and cupped her face, rubbing it to calm herself. Eyes closed and deep breaths. Once she felt ready, once again, she took the pen, another last deep breath and read the second part all over again.

Mentally encouraging herself, she wrote a few things down on her paper to organise her thoughts before connecting everything somehow and starting to solve the problem but as she did so, typing numbers on her calculator, all the connections suddenly broke, leaving out only weak and shattered strings. Her forehead wrinkled as everything slowly started losing all sense.

It took her nothing to start questioning everything she knew. "Was it all a lie? Did I gaslight myself into believing I was ready? But Asher told me there's no way I could fail and that means that I'm ready, right? Right? What happened? What's happening to me?"

What was happening to Daphne was another moment when she let anxiety take control of her senses. As soon as the problem got too complicated and the answer wasn't as obvious, she felt like her brain started malfunctioning and everything she knew disappeared in thin air.

The more she questioned herself, the more blows she got, almost eradicating the bottom half of the ship. It's definitely sinking.

Anyone looking in from the outside could tell that, one, whatever she was reading on that sheet was very complicated or, two, she was trying to recollect her thoughts and struggling to do so. It was most likely the second option.

She lifted her head off the sheet and looked around for her friends. Cleo was busy writing, Asher did the same. Nick was typing on his calculator and James had just stopped staring into nothing to write whatever he was thinking about on his paper. Was she the only one having it hard right now?

She refused to ponder too much on the problem and decided it was right to move on to the next despite it being the most difficult part of the whole test. Eyes closed, deep breaths and she dived in, trying her best to take control of the steering wheel so anxiety wouldn't lead her straight into a brick wall.

Skip to a few days later, it was Wednesday, the second day of the hour, just before break time. The nine o'clock bell had already rang and the teacher left to attend their next class while the students prepared for their next one. The preparation wasn't the usual one where you'd remove a certain subject's notebook and exercise book to bring out another one's. There was a 99.9% chance Mr Keeley had checked the tests and would hand them out—especially considering that Daphne's classroom comprised few students.

Daphne was fidgeting in her seat, seemingly the only person in her friend group worried over it. She sat on the edge of the chair. Couldn't afford comfort because her insides were having an Olympic gymnastics performance, her anxiety being the puppeteer master. She'd fully tied her hair back because if she ever were to be disturbed even by the smallest hair strand, her stress could lead her to make herself bald. Her hands were together between her thighs, occasionally coming out only to rub on them. Her lower lip was partly between her teeth as she picked on the chopped skin or bit her inner cheeks. She wasn't sweaty. Okay, she probably was, but it was certainly cold at least from how one could tell seeing all the goosebumps texturing her arms. Or maybe it could just be the chilly Autumn breeze. Who knows?

The classroom wasn't either too noisy or silent but just as busy as any classroom with anxious students could be. When it totally quieted down, all playful and inattentive students understood that Mr Keeley had arrived. Daphne wasn't among them—she was probably the first to see the teacher.

"Good morning," his dry tone greeted, gaining a similar response, the only difference was that he was his usual self while the students were anxious and momentarily lost their voices.

"As I think all of you suspect, I have graded your tests but before I hand them out, I must say a few things." Daphne, along with a handful of her classmates, gulped down saliva, fidgeted a bit more in their seats and increased their attention.

"It wasn't the best... especially since it's the first test of the year. Just not a good way to start," his dry voice spoke. Dry but surely not as much as Daphne's throat. Right at that moment, flashbacks from the day of the test started overwhelming her brain. "How many mistakes did I make? Are they enough for me to fail the test?"

There was a similar reaction across the classroom. Some hissed or complained out loud, others remained silent just as she was. With that said, Mr Keeley proceeded to sit down and open his register where he'd write the marks as he handed out the tests. "They are not in alphabetical order so..." he spoke again before putting his glasses on and clearing his constantly dry voice.

"Oh, my God," she heard Cleo sigh next to her. Daphne was looking straight ahead at the pile of papers among which was hers with hopefully a sufficient grade marked in red.

She flinched a little when Mr Keeley called the first surname. As the girl went up to his desk, he registered her grade next to her surname and handed out the test. Everyone's eyes moved to the girl's face to see if she'd have a happy or a sad expression. She simply watched the paper in her hands, showing no emotion.

"That can't be good," Daphne thought to herself, sitting closer and closer to the edge of the chair. The next surname was called and that's how it went on till it was Asher's turn. All his friends followed his movement with their eyes as he got up, walked to the desk, and checked his test while Mr Keeley registered the grade. Again, no real reaction.

"Are they all this bad or is it just Asher?" Daphne immediately questioned herself while Cleo verbally asked her friend how it went. The response was: "Not bad but not good as well."

"What do you mean by 'not good'? Is it objectively not good or just not how you usually perform—" Cleo's surname was called. With bulging eyes, she moved her chair back to make way for herself.

Daphne's eyes followed her friend and once the grade was seen, Cleo scrunched her face. "Okay, that's certainly not good," Daphne mentally said.

"I wasn't expecting it to be like this," Cleo admitted once back at her desk. The number sitting in the top corner of her paper was five-and-a-half. Daphne's eyes bulged out, curious as well as to why. She revised with Cleo during their trip from home to school. Cleo was prepared, certainly not as much as she was because she wasn't as anxious but enough to get a good grade. Yes, a good grade, not just a sufficient one. Before Daphne could make all the connections she wanted or try to comfort her friend, her surname was called.

The feeling that settled within her was urging her to stop by the trash can on the right and throw up but she pushed through. By the time she was standing next to Mr Keeley, he'd already marked her grade on his register and simply handed the paper to her without uttering a word or even looking her in the face. She didn't know what force or power flowed through her whole arm and reached her fingers enough to let her collect that paper but she was able not to let the paper drop to the floor. The last thing she'd want to deal with is embarrassment from such a scene—it would hunt her all life long.

Her sight was getting blurry and she was thankful—anything not to see that ugly number in red. With almost nothing left within her, she walked back to her desk and slumped down on the chair as Cleo stretched to see the grade. She didn't mean to gasp loudly hence the hand on her mouth but she also never thought that all that effort she'd seen Daphne put in this topic would be in vain. She didn't speak though, just went on with her life to give her friend the much-needed space.

Daphne's eyes were full of tears, glowing in ugly pride. They were so full but she didn't dare to let anyone slip out. Like muscle memory, her hand went to the back of her head to remove the rubber band holding her hair and all the pins keeping her bangs back so, from the side, no one could see her face. No one would see her break down. No one would see her feel broken and ashamed for letting anxiety get the best of her, again.

It didn't take long before Mr Keeley finished handing out all the tests and was looking at all the grades written on his register.

"As you all know, a lot of you failed the test and it can't remain like that." His voice suddenly changed and became cold as he opened his agenda and took a black pen.

"Since many of you failed it, I'll give you above a month to prepare and that leaves us... in the last week of November. I'm giving you this much time meaning that there won't be any second chances. The study is autonomous but you can always ask me questions. Until then, we'll move on to the next topic."

Daphne felt very irritated. By her hair, because she wanted it out of her face but also in so no one would see her. By the ugly red number that wouldn't go away from her paper or memory. By Mr Keeley's monotonous voice. How could such a sound be so flat but still deviate and hit sensitive nerves? She was also irritated by the stupid pen in her fingers that refused to function properly. Her tears painted her agenda's page darker than this fucking ink but she didn't like it. In fact, she hated it. Hated that she was crying. Hated that she failed. Hated that everything she did was in vain. Hated that she'd let anxiety write in her stead that day and she fucking hates how this stupid pen just couldn't write properly and, worse, how it looked on the wet spot a tear had just created.

"Mr Keeley, may I go to the bathroom?" she mustered all her energy to ask him the question, hoping he wouldn't look up and just give her the answer she needed. He met her expectations because he simply agreed without stopping whatever he was writing on his agenda.

Daphne got up, trying so hard to be calm. When she asked him the question her voice fortunately wasn't shaking nor her legs now as she was walking to the door, out in the hallway and to the bathroom.

The change of environment seemed to cause her tears to start flowing more and, by the time she made it to a stall and closed the door, her face was soaked. She wasn't sobbing. At least, not audibly. She was just profusely crying, nothing could stop the tears. She closed the toilet lid and sat on it, legs immediately to her chest and arms holding them close.

If anyone walked into that bathroom, they would see an occupied stall but they would never be able to tell what was happening behind the door because there was pure silence. Daphne wasn't breathing hard or loudly sobbing. Her tears were just flowing like a river and it was just a matter of time before even that would start to annoy her. Just a matter of minutes before the infamous shame would dawn upon her.

She couldn't think straight at that moment. Couldn't think about what to do, how to help herself and how to make the goddamn tears stop rushing. She didn't have her phone with her else she would've tried using it as a distraction—not like it would've worked much because she's pretty stubborn, especially when Anxiety is whispering in her ear what to do and how to do it.

That emotion was a monster to her. A monster with a melodious voice to the point that it could have her do anything, anything as in letting it take control. It always had its big hands on her shoulders, long fingers clawing in her flesh whenever she tried to fight it. Daphne couldn't see its face because it was always standing behind her. She could only hear its voice. It sounded like the best things on her earth: the voice of a nice old lady who loves kids, the honey-like voice of powerhouse singers, the pleasing tingling sound of wind chimes, the harmonious result of an orchestra playing a classical song or the sound of birds chirping in the morning. It sounded like one of them but also all of them combined. Almost irresistible. Almost. What hurt was its fingers which were getting deeper and deeper into Daphne's shoulders. It would be easy to stop listening to the voice. The real problem was that painful, strong and bloody grip. It seemed like if Daphne ever were to let it go, it would do anything in its power to scar her. A reminder of how weak she used to be.

Daphne was alone in all of this. Dayanne knew but not enough to really help her. To fall into the ultra dimension where the only existent beings were her sister and the monster. The dimension was empty, null of any life or colour. Just Daphne sat on a chair as if tied to it. The real 'rope' that was tying her was the deeply buried fingers in her shoulders, holding her down. The only fingers out of her flesh were the thumbs used by the monster to rub and ease the pain. To tempt Daphne more and have her succumb to its requests.

In this world, the only life was within Daphne who was aware. Her eyes showed emotions. Her mouth screamed for help but she was weak so her eyes showed nothing to the people around her and her voice wasn't loud enough to breach the end of the dimension and reach out for help.

No one really knew about her struggles. Everybody could generally say that she was an anxious person and that is where it stopped.

Her friends right now, didn't think she was trying to set herself free from the claws of a monster. They simply thought she was sad, as sad as anyone whose efforts resulted in vain. So they were thinking of ways to help their friend.

In their group only Asher's grade was sufficient. He'd taken a borderline 6. Cleo took a 5.5 while Nick and James took a 5.25. Daphne's grade was the lowest. A clean-cut five. For any student not as diligent as her, five would be a nice grade, not too bad but Daphne had bent herself over backwards to study and get a good grade. A five would be good for someone who really didn't put in the effort, someone who isn't Daphne.

The four friends were texting in a separate group created just for this reason. They planned to do something to lift their friend's mood up.

James dropped the first proposal: buying her something from the bar, a sweet snack or a sandwich. Cleo cleared it out of the way because she was certain Daphne wouldn't be feeling hungry.

The second proposal was given by Nick: since they had PE class the last two hours of the day, as they ran on the tracks, they should play with her. Tickles, soft pushes and little pokes in the side. The idea was taken into consideration but Cleo always reminded them it possibly wouldn't work depending on how sad she was.

So Asher brought his to the table: a lunch in the park after school. At first, Cleo wanted to object, thinking that Daphne would want to go straight home but she didn't and they all agreed on that.

Right when they turned their devices off, Daphne walked in, looking normal. Good at masking emotions—a skill she'd already mastered with experience.

—Now playing: Ballon d'Or by Gemitaiz ft Nayt ✫

"Which park are we going to exactly?"

Less than five minutes were left before the bell would ring and the day would come to an end for the students. The school gym, which once contained running and jumping students, was now empty and subtly silent. The PE teacher had just opened all its doors and windows to change the air before finishing with a few of their tasks. Adjacent to the gym were the changing rooms, boys on the left and girls on the right from where students would come out one by one, greeting the teacher and heading to the exit.

James, Asher and Nick were already standing by the exit, waiting for their friends to finish so they could leave.

"You gotta give me a minute. I have to call my mother."

Their plan didn't work. Daphne didn't participate in the lesson and just told the teacher she wasn't feeling fine. As they ran warm-up laps around the gym, whenever they'd pass by her, they tried to cheer her up by making jokes or funny faces but the most they would receive was a quick little smile that barely altered her lips. She was very sad and Cleo was very worried for her hence her lack of focus during the last two hours.

Once the teacher dismissed the class and urged everyone to change, the friends concluded they had to go with Asher's plan.

"So, it's not exactly a park. It's just a green field with a good view—"

"It's perfect! Where is it?" The boys were whispering to each other because they didn't know when Cleo and Daphne would turn around the corner and reach them. With his eyes on his phone, Asher scrolled through his gallery looking for the picture of the field and once he did, he called for his friends to see it. Three heads hovered over the device as James and Nick expressed their surprise. "Damn, it's beautiful,"

"Fucking perfect. Is it too far from school? How do we get there?" Nick questioned.

"By train. It's like a stop before the amusement park," Asher looked up at his friends to see if they found the distance a problem and they kind of did.

"How the fuck do we get to the train station? How would we go about the tickets and shit?"

"The tickets ain't a problem and the train station is twenty minutes away by foot. We can... we can do it," Asher had already calculated everything that's why he brought it up at all.

"Then what about the food? How would we go about that?" James was the one to ask this time around.

"We could stop at the mall and buy picnic stuff. It'll be cute. Y'all have nothing to worry about," Nick and James exchanged glances, not fully opposed to it nor fully agreeing.

"You sure?"

"A hundred fucking per cent but I have to call my mother first and at least know if I can take money from the credit card—"

"Then why the fuck are you still here?!" Nick quietly screamed but within seconds, Asher's patience ran out and he didn't even bother to answer. He just rushed outside to call his mom.

"Sorry, Asher just went out to answer a call," James reassured the teacher who heard the door open and close but didn't see what or who went out or came in.

It was a matter of seconds before the girls were exiting their changing rooms. The first one was Daphne who, since she didn't participate in the class, was already dressed, hoodie on and backpack hanging by one shoulder. She was leaning on the wall opposite the changing rooms' entrance waiting for Cleo to finish and join her.

In the meantime, James and Nick were getting nervous because they feared they might not be able to go through with this other plan. Yet again.

"Why the fuck didn't he call his mother before? He had the whole fucking day to do this. We planned this shit in the morning," Nick whispered. James couldn't come up with an answer to that and silently looked outside the glass windows in the gym's door where Asher was walking up and down whilst talking on the phone.

"I don't fucking know," he finally replied, sighing and ripping his eyes off his friend to look at Nick, "I ain't the smart one. He is!" he whispered back in frustration. Nick just leaned on the wall and crossed both his arms and legs, hoping for the best.

"I just know that if this doesn't work, I don't know what could happen to Daph—"

"Why are you talking like she'll kill herself or something? It's stupid physics—"

"Yeah, and I wish she saw it the same way. Did you see her face when she took that fucking paper in her hands? My girl was about to drop dead right then and there," Nick was still silently yelling.

Before thinking of a reply, James moved his eyes to Daphne's figure across the gym. She was still leaning on the wall, curtain bangs preventing anyone from his position to really make out her side profile. She looked like a normal teenage student at that moment: legs crossed, one arm across her torso while the other held her phone. All normal but her friends knew her despite the little time she's been living here. She's been way too normal that day. They knew how hard she studied for the test and they knew, just like anyone else really, how bad it hurts to see your efforts go in vain. But they also knew that Daphne's reaction wasn't the one anyone would expect after such an event.

James remembers what happened in the library, remembers how pissed she was both at them and at the stupid physics topic. He can clearly remember that he wasn't happy to see her walk out of the library but at that moment he thought it was right to let her go, give her peace. Right now... he knew that the apparent peace she was showing was just masking a terrible thunderstorm of emotions within her.

He, just like his friends, would not try to force her to get comfortable and open up to them about everything because it wouldn't be comfortable both for her and them. So their best option was to lift up her mood and get her distracted. If then she'd want to open up, then so be it. Everything has its own time.

"Let's just hope we can go through with this plan—"

"Okay, we're good to go," Asher walked back in, the door slamming close behind him. Nick and James's expressions changed instantly and their mood lit up a bit. They didn't have the chance to celebrate or congratulate their friend before Cleo and Daphne walked up to them, Cleo's eyes bouncing from one to another.

Since it was just a matter of moments before the bell rang, they asked the teacher for permission to leave, and once given, they gave their greetings and left, walking out on the stone path leading to the gates where some of their classmates already were, waiting for the gates to open.

"So... I was hoping that we could hang out today..." Nick started, putting up a little play. His friends immediately got the message.

"I'm down," James immediately agreed. Everything seemed normal: Nick is always the first to ask to hang out and James is always the one to agree first. They just had to follow the normal order.

"I'm free right now so yeah, I guess I'm in too," Asher agreed second. Nothing different, just his usual demeanour.

"I don't really think so," Daphne spoke. Nick's neck snapped in her direction, already fearing for the worst. "I just don't feel like it—"

"Daph, it's just a way to loosen up and forget about this disgusting physics test which has me wondering if Mr Keeley really graded us correctly," Cleo finally joined. James glanced in her direction because he didn't want their motive to be so obvious and, worse, explained to her but indeed the test didn't go well for basically all of them and they all could use a good time too.

"I know right? Like... Asher got a six and almost everyone didn't pass. The highest grade in class today was 6.75 from Valerie. Like what the fuck?" Daphne didn't know what her friends were doing, no suspicions. She didn't know that for as much as the conversation seemed normal, there was more to it. She simply listened, trying to draw sense out of their opinions and look for any source of comfort.

She mentally agreed with them though. She wasn't the only one to fail the test, neither in their friend group nor the class as a whole.

"Surely Mr Keeley is to blame as well seeing the results," she spoke quietly, almost just to herself, unaware of how happy that made her friends because she was participating in the conversation and wasn't putting the full blame on herself.

"Fuck yeah if he's to blame. I told you! Brother doesn't know how to fucking teach and it showed so much this time because the topic isn't so easy to understand," James simply went by what he always believed of Mr Keeley and Daphne nodded to his words. Zero suspicions.

"So, are you down for a hangout today?" Nick was the one to ask. Daphne really wasn't in the mood to hang out but she also knew that if she went home she wouldn't find Dayanne there and therefore no one to talk to about the real problem. She'd still be alone... with her thoughts, with the guilt and with that fucking monster. She'd rather not.

"Cleo you coming?" she replied with a question. Cleo eagerly nodded and with that, Daphne decided to join them, telling them she'd just text her mom about it.

As her fingers worked on the screen, moving from her home screen to Whatsapp and on to her mother's contact, her friends were side-eyeing each other, happy to have succeeded and complimenting each other for their acting skills.

Daphne's mom didn't take long before she replied, wishing her daughter a great hangout and warning her to be safe. A quick little reply from the girl and the phone was turned off and slipped back into her pocket.

"I'm in too." The hardest part of the job was done.

⤎ previous page | ❃ | next page ⤏

#taehyung fanfic #taehyung fluff #taehyung smut #taehyung x oc #bts #bookblr #student!taehyung #bts fanfic #taehyung imagine #taehyung scenarios

12 notes · View notes

practically-an-x-man · 4 months ago

Note

2, 3, 9, 10, 15, 16, 23 for Ophelia, Rae, and Jasper?

Ooooh thank you so much!!

OC Ask Game Time

2) Will they have any children? What are their names?

Ophelia: Probably not. She's never really been interested in becoming a parent.

Rae: Yes! She'll have a daughter named April and a son named August

Jasper: I'm not sure. It's not really on their plan at the moment, but I could see them and Kyle potentially adopting children further down the line.

3) When is your OC’s birthday or what is their zodiac sign if you haven’t picked a date yet? Answer both if you wish.

Ophelia: November 13th

Rae: December 6th

Jasper: October 30th

I don't really do zodiac signs so I wouldn't go looking for any significance there, I really just picked the dates at random save for intentionally making Jasper's the day before Halloween

9) What is your OC’s greatest wish/dream/goals?

Ophelia: She wants to feel like she's accomplished something meaningful in her life, and made her family proud

Rae: She wants to find happiness and safety without having to compromise the things or people she loves

Jasper: They want to help people, above all else.

10) Does your OC have a family tree? Who are their immediate and extended family if you created ones?

Ophelia: She doesn't have an extensive family tree - she's an only child, and isn't in contact with much of her extended family save for her father's mom (her Nonna). Neither side of her family particularly likes the other (her mom's parents always thought she could do better than a struggling scientist and didn't approve of his background, and her dad's parents were neglectful and abusive and he effectively jumped ship from that as soon as he could), so her immediate family really became its own little bubble. She definitely found a family in her father's friends and colleagues, though!

Rae: I haven't drawn it out into a tree, but she does have a very big family. She has two sisters, Jess and Ginny. Jess is married to a man named Harrison and has a son named Andrew, Ginny is currently single and working her way through uni. She's also got a lot of cousins and extended family members back in her hometown of Lochcarron, and sees them every year at a big New Year's Day reunion. Her dad's line of the family goes back in Lochcarron a long way - stemming from twin feral mutants who helped build most of the town with their bare hands when it was first created as a mutant settlement. Her mom's side of the family is originally from Edinburgh, though her grandmother divorced her first husband and fled to Lochcarron where she met Rae's grandfather. Her parents both grew up in town, only a few streets down from each other.

Jasper: I don't have a huge family tree for Jasper either, just a few threads. Their father's name is John Abraham Wilson, and he's one of five children. Jasper's mother Carmine doesn't talk about her family much - Jasper has heard vaguely of an aunt on that side, but they've been estranged since Carmine was in college so Jasper doesn't know much of anything about her. They grew up in close contact with their dad's siblings and all their cousins on that side of the family, but their mom's side of the family is still a big blank patch.

15) Has your OC ever fallen in love before who their intended love interest is, or is the intended love interest their first love?

Ophelia: Oh, she's a hopeless romantic. She's had a lot of past relationships and loved just about all of them, and it's usually ended in some form of tragedy for her. It's led her to worry her relationship with Peter will somehow fall apart like the rest, though she knows that's largely irrational.

Rae: Hm... bit of both? She's dated before, and some of those relationships got pretty serious, but what she has with Warren is on a whole different level. At the risk of sounding cheesy, I think she thought she'd fallen in love before, but it pales in comparison to what she feels for Warren and she didn't realize that until she met him.

Jasper: Kyle is their first love! They'd gone on a few dates here and there before him, but he's their first serious relationship and they fell hard.

16) Does your OC enjoy school or no? Did they get any education?

Ophelia: I'd say she enjoyed learning but didn't enjoy school. For one thing, she was an awkward, tall and curvy Jewish girl, and that definitely led to her being picked on a bit in grade school. And for another, it was hard to find a class that really challenged her, so school as a whole was just boring. As far as education, she has a Bachelor's in Medicine, and both a Master's and PhD in Biomedical Engineering.

Rae: She actually struggled a bit in school. She loved her foreign language classes and could have easily spent all her schooling just doing that, but when it came to other subjects, she just couldn't focus. Sometimes she'd even fall asleep in class, though that was mainly because her insomnia kept her up too late the night before. It was a very mixed bag for her. As far as education, she has a Master's in Foreign Language and has studied a whole host of various world languages.

Jasper: As a whole, they really did enjoy school. They struggled sometimes with particular teachers, classes, or issues with other classmates, but school as a whole was never an issue for them. As far as education, they got a degree in nursing and ended becoming an ER trauma nurse.

23) Is your OC religious and what religion? If it’s a fictional religion for your story please give a summary of the core teachings of their faith?

Ophelia: Yep! She was raised Jewish, and tries to subscribe to as many of those tenets as she can. She struggles with observing the Shabbat (since her life is so bound up with technology and she struggles to step away from her work), and doesn't feel like her tattoo should be considered "self-mutilation", but aside from that she sticks with as many of the traditions and practices as she can. Her faith was actually one of the things that helped her through the rough patches in her life.

Rae: She was raised vaguely Protestant and probably does believe in a generally Christian God, but she's not strongly religious and neither is the rest of her family.

Jasper: Not really religious or spiritual at all, save for keeping up few old Cajun superstitions they were raised into.

#my friends!!!#answered asks #ask game #my ocs #ophelia octavius #jasper wilson #rae mckinney

7 notes · View notes

sarahisgay01 · 2 years ago

Note

Could you write something with dom!Nancy and sub!Robin, where Nancy overstimulates Robin a bit too much and she uses their safe word, and then the aftercare following that

I absolutely love this idea!! The end is so fluffy and cute, it’s🥺 (Super sorry this was sitting in my inbox since October)

Minors DNI (18+ Only!!!!!)

Screaming Until My Lungs Give Out

Dom!Nancy x Sub!Robin

Notes: Robin and Nancy are in an established relationship, Robin has a praise kink as always , degrading, overstimulation, crying.

Robin’s currently in the third hour of her five hour shift at Family Video and she’s bored out of her mind. She’s not sure what she’d do if Steve wasn’t there with her, he’s the only thing keeping her sane. Robin’s standing at the counter and she startles at the sound of the phone ringing. Steve watched her jump and laughs as she answers the phone. Robin rolls her eyes at him, then turns around and directs her attention to the caller. She says, “Hello, thank you for calling Family Video, I’m-”, but she’s interrupted halfway through her greeting. Normally, that would piss her off, but she recognized the voice on the other line and smiled, it was Nancy. Nancy said, “Hi sweetheart” and Robin replies, “Hi angel, are you okay?” Her girlfriend says, “Mhmmm, just missed you. How’s work?” and Robin replied, “Aw, I miss you too and work is awful. The store is dead and nobody’s come in for over an hour. I’m going insane.” Robin’s met with giggles on the other line and it makes her crack a smile. Nancy says, “I’m sorry, baby. I might be able to make your night better.” Robin asks, “And how might you do that? Not that I don’t think you will, cause you’re, you know, you. I’m just curious” and Nancy laughs. She responds back saying, “I may have my entire house to myself for the night. Would you want to come over?” Robin replies, “God yes. Yes please” with a wide smile on her face. Nancy says, “Okay great” and a grin appears as she continues on, “It’s too quiet here, but we can fix that, right sweetheart?” Robin gulps loudly, loudly enough that Nancy could hear it through the phone and replies with a high pitched “Mhmmm.” Nancy continues teasing Robin and she asks, “Are you going to be good for me tonight? Are you going to be my good girl, Robbie?” Robin bites her lip to hold back a whine and after a couple seconds she whispers into the phone, “Nanceeeee you can’t- you can’t say that stuff while I’m at work.” Nancy giggles and says, “Aw, but it’s so fun to tease you, baby.” She’s met with a grumble on the opposite line and says, “Okay, okay. I love you and I can’t wait to see my good girl squirming underneath me in just a couple hours.” Robin bites her lip to hold back another whine and a few seconds later, she says, “Oh my god, you’re going to kill me, Nance. I love you too, goodbye.” All Robin can hear is Nancy’s giggling as she hangs up the phone. She turns around to see Steve sitting on a stool, fixing his hair and he asks, “What was that about?” Robin replies, “Oh, it was just Nance inviting me over after work.” Her cheeks turn a bright pink at the confession, thinking about her previous conversation. A devilish grin creeps its way onto Steve’s face, but before he can get a word out Robin says, “Shut up, dingus.” Steve throws his hands up while chuckling and says, “I didn’t say anything” in response. He continues his laughter because he knows exactly why Robin’s going over to Nancy’s.

For the next two hours, Robin’s eyes are practically glued to the clock. With 20 minutes left before the store closes, Steve says, “You wanna close early? Lets face it, nobody’s coming in.” Robin whips around to face him and says, “Dingus, that is the best thing that’s come out of your mouth all day.” The two of them rush to grab all their stuff so they can leave. When leaving, they make sure to lock up the store behind them and a couple minutes later, they’re already heading to Nancy’s. Ten minutes goes by and Nancy sees the headlights to Steve’s car pull into her driveway. She immediately makes her way to the front door and upon opening it, she sees Robin walking up the entryway. Robin rushes over and makes her way into her Nancy’s awaiting arms. They look over at Steve and Nancy waves, then says, “Bye Steve!” Steve waves back and says, “Bye! You two have fun!”, then obnoxiously winks at them. They roll their eyes at him and as he pulls out of the driveway, Steve says, “And don’t disturb the neighbors!” Both girls say, “Oh my god” and flip him off as he drives away. When his car is no longer in sight, the girls quickly head inside, locking the door behind them. Robin doesn’t even have time to kick off her shoes before Nancy pushes her against the front door. She moans when her back hits the wood and Nancy whispers inches away from her lips, “Mmmm I can’t wait to hear more of those, sweetheart.” Robin whines, but only for a second before it’s interrupted by Nancy’s lips connecting with hers in a heated kiss. While kissing, Nancy pins Robin’s wrist by her side, gripping them tightly. A few second later, she pulls away and Robin chases her lips. Giggles escape from Nancy while Robin whines, needy for her girlfriend’s lips back on hers. Nancy says, “When I let go of your wrists, I want you to be a good girl for me and take off your shoes, then I want you to go to my room. Can you do that for me, Robbie? Can you be a good girl for me?” Robin is rapidly nodding her head and she eagerly says, “Yes! I promise, Nance! I promise I’ll be a good girl for you!” More giggles leave Nancy as she can hear the pure neediness in her girlfriend’s voice. She hovers her lips inches away from Robin’s and whispers, “I know you will.” Nancy bites her bottom lip, tugging it towards her until she can’t anymore, making Robin whimper. Soon, Robin feels Nancy’s hands release her wrists and she quickly kicks off her shoes. Seconds later, she’s practically sprinting up the stairs to Nancy’s room. Once inside, she sits on the bed and waits for Nancy, who enters about a minute later. She closes the door behind her and locks it, just in case. Nancy turns around to face Robin with a grin painted on her face. She starts slowly walking towards her while saying, “You look so pretty, Robbie. So pretty for me. I’m going to make you feel so good, you know why, sweetheart?” Robin gulps loudly and she responds back with a squeaky, “Why?” Nancy replies, “Because you’ve been such a good girl for me, baby. So good for me that I’m going to make you cum, over and over and over again. You want that, baby?” Robin replies with a whine followed by a high pitched “Mhmmm.” Seconds later she stutters out, “Any-Anything you want to d-do to me, Na-Nance.” Nancy stops in her tracks, only a foot or two away from Robin and asks, “Anything I want?” sounding shocked. Her girlfriend nods and confirms, “Anything you- Anything you want. I’ll be- I’ll be a good g-girl for y-you and- and take it.” Nancy lets out a moan, solely from Robin’s words and she can feel her entire body getting hot with lust. For reassurance, she asks, “Are you sure, sweetheart?” and Robin takes a deep breath to compose herself, then replies, “I trust you Nance and I know my safe word.” Nancy nods and says, “Okay, baby”, then continues walking forward. She stops once she’s standing in between Robin’s legs and then she looks down at her. Their eyes lock and it makes Robin’s pulse pound throughout her entire body.

Nancy’s eyes are dark and engulfed by her pupils. Being under her gaze makes Robin feel small and submissive, like she belongs to Nancy. The thought alone is making her clit throb, she wants to belong to Nancy. That’s not enough, she wants her, no needs her to acknowledge that she owns her, that she’s hers and only hers. Before Nancy does anything else, Robin mutters, “I’m yours” and Nancy knows by the look in her eye, exactly what Robin wants to hear. She says, “Mhmmm. All mine, sweetheart” and Robin continues, “I be- I belong to you.” Nancy places one of her hands on Robin’s cheek and swipes her thumb across it as she replies, “You belong to me. Every inch of you is mine. You are mine.” She says it so delicately and her touch is so soft, pushing Robin deeper into feeling small. Nancy notices how her words and tone are affecting Robin, so she looks her deep in her eyes, then says, “I own you.” A small whimper leaves her lips and her breathing picks up after Nancy’s words. She gulps loudly as Nancy leans down and in her ear she whispers, “You’re so good to me, Robin. Letting me do whatever I want to you, such a perfect girl, baby. My perfect girl.” Robin loudly whines, she’s not sure how much more teasing she can handle. She can already feel her arousal pooling in her panties and it’s only from Nancy’s words, she hasn’t even started touching her yet. Nancy bites Robin’s earlobe, eliciting a whimper from her, before taking a few steps back. She says, “Up” and Robin does what she’s told immediately, with no hesitation. Nancy cracks a smile and says, “Such an obedient girl, aren’t you sweetheart?” Robin whines in response and Nancy says, “Can you be a good girl for me and take your clothes off?” Robin replies with eager, rapid nodding and starts quickly taking off her clothes. Nancy hums while watching and says, “Show me that beautiful body of yours sweetheart.” Once Robin’s bare body is standing a couple feet away from her, Nancy says, “Mmmm, such a good girl for me, Robbie. So good, baby.” Nancy takes a step forward and starts lightly tracing shapes in the middle of Robin’s chest. She sharply inhales at the initial contact and afterwards continues to squirm under the light touch. Her light touches may make Robin squirm, but her words only make it worse. As she lightly traces shapes, she says, “Such a pretty girl too. Mhmmm, so pretty. You’re just my pretty girl, aren’t you Robbie?” She flicks her eyes up and stares into the glassy blue eyes staring back at her. Robin loudly whimpers and her chest starts rising at a quick, unsteady rhythm again. She can’t take anymore teasing, Nancy’s pushed her to the edge of desperation.

Robin stands there, her body stiff, but pulsing and her need has taken over any other thought she was having. As Nancy continues her light touches, Robin whines, “Nance, please” and Nancy replies, “Please what? Use your words for me, baby. How will I know what you want if you won’t tell me, hmmm?” Her hand drops back by her side and another whine leaves Robin’s lips. She says, “Please touch me! Please, Nance! Please! I need- I need you! Please!” Nancy replies, “Aw, my poor baby’s so needy, isn’t she?” Her question made Robin whimper again and she replied with a broken, “Please.” Finally, the words Robin’s been wanting to hear since she’s been standing leave Nancy’s lips, “Be a good girl and go lay on the bed for me.” Robin bolts to Nancy’s bed and lays down in the center, flat on her back. Next thing she knows, Nancy’s on top of her. She situates herself on Robin’s stomach and says, “Be a good girl and take my shirt and bra off for me, baby.” Robin’s hands fly towards the hem of Nancy’s shirt and she quickly takes it off her, then tosses it on the floor. Next she unclasps her bra and slides the straps down Nancy’s arms. Her eyes don’t leave Nancy’s chest and a shaky moan leaves Robin’s mouth as she tosses the bra onto the floor. Robin mumbles, “Can I- Can I t-touch you, please?” and Nancy acts like she has to think about her response. She replies, “Since you’ve been such a good girl for me and you used your manners, yes” and Robin’s hands are immediately on Nancy’s chest. Nancy sighs in pleasure at the feeling and she lets out a soft moan when Robin starts to lightly flick her nipples. She leans down and starts sucking marks onto Robin’s neck. Robin lets out sighs and soft moans, then eventually has to drop her hands to grip the sheets below her. Soon, Nancy’s lips wander lower and she covers Robin’s collar bone and chest in marks too. Once she sees that Robin’s starting to squirm too much, she repositions herself so that she’s on all fours, hovering over her girlfriend. Her head was now level with Robin’s chest and Nancy wastes no time on lowering her head down. She points her tongue and starts flicking one of Robin’s nipples, eliciting several moans from her girlfriend’s lips. Nancy does this on both sides until Robin is a writhing mess below her. Robin starts begging again, she can’t help it, the teasing is too much. Her clit is throbbing and she can’t take it anymore, she whines, “Nance, please! Please! I- I need you! Please!” Nancy acts oblivious as she replies, “What is it, sweetheart? What do you need?” Robin whines, she’s embarrassed to say it, but she knows that it’s the only way she’s going to get Nancy to touch her. Her neediness consumes her thoughts and she says, “Need you to- Need you to t-touch my-my p-pussy. Please” with her cheeks flaming red from embarrassment. Her begs sound so broken and desperate, Nancy loves it. She’s basking in the feeling of ruining her girlfriend in the best way possible.

Nancy stops all her movements and sits on her heels in between Robin’s legs. She has a fake pout on her face and says, “Poor baby’s just so desperate for me to touch you, huh?” Robin rapidly nods her head and Nancy continues, “Such a pathetic little thing. So needy and desperate to cum. You just want to be fucked over and over again like the needy slut you are. Isn’t that right, Robbie? You’re just my needy slut, aren’t you?” Robin’s whimpering and squirming from Nancy’s words. She can feel how wet she is. She can feel how her arousal is coating the inside of her thighs and dripping onto Nancy’s sheets. Her cheeks are turning a deeper red as she breathlessly says, “Yes.” With the admittance, Nancy finally relieves Robin’s pulsing and throbbing clit. As she sits on her heels, she takes her index finger and swipes a stripe through her girlfriend’s pussy. A soft moan leaves Nancy’s lips from feeling how wet she’s made Robin and she keeps her finger focused on her clit. As she’s rubbing her clit in small, tight circles, Robin’s a moaning mess. She moans out, “Oh fuck! Fuck Nance! Feels so- Feels so good! Please don’t- Please don’t stop! Please! Soooo g- good! Please Nancy! Fuck!” They both know that she’s not going to last long and when Nancy says, “Is this what you wanted, sweetheart? Wanted me to touch your pretty pussy? Make you feel good?”, Robin’s legs start to shake. She screams out, “Yes!” while she writhes and Nancy can tell she’s getting close. As soon as Robin starts mumbling, “Can I- Can I-”, she cuts herself off with a loud whine after feeling that Nancy’s finger is gone. Tears start to fill her eyes and roll down her cheeks. She’s so far gone that she starts mumbling begs to Nancy who’s just watching with a grin as she slowly ruins her girlfriend. Nancy says, “You’re so pretty, baby. So pretty all ruined for me” in the softest and sweetest tone, only making Robin’s neediness fog her brain more. Robin mumbles a broken and desperate sounding, “Please”, making Nancy give in. She repositions herself so that she’s laying in between Robin’s legs and her head is only a few inches away from Robin’s pussy.

With no hesitation, Nancy immediately starts licking Robin’s clit. A loud moan leaves Robin’s lips and she says, “Yes! Yes! Fuck Nance! So g- good! Yes! Oh fuck!” It doesn’t take long before Robin feels her orgasm approaching again and she starts begging. She says, “Na- Nance, I’m- I’m cl-close! Please can I- Please can I c-c-cum! Ple-Please! Need to- Need to c-c-cum!” Nancy pops her head up for a second and says, “Since you’ve been such a good girl, you can cum. Be a good girl and cum for me, Robbie.” Her head lowers and she takes Robin’s clit into her mouth, then starts sucking it. Robin screams out, “Fuck Nance! Fuck! Oh my god! Oh my god, Nancy! Nancy! Th- Thank y-you! Thank y-you! Fuck! Nancy! Nancy!” As Nancy’s name leaves her lips, she’s cumming and the only thing on her mind is the girl between her legs. After Robin came, Nancy never stopped her movements. Her mouth is still latched around Robin’s clit and she continues sucking on it, pulling countless moans out of Robin. Nancy continues this until Robin cums for the second time that night. To let her ride out her orgasm, Nancy releases Robin’s clit and starts to lick it instead. After her orgasm is completely ridden out, she lets Robin catch her breath for 30 seconds or so. Robin thought Nancy was done, that she was just staying in between her legs so she could clean her up, but she soon found out that she was very wrong. A loud gasp, followed by a loud and breathless, “Oh fuck!” is all that’s heard once Nancy slips two fingers inside of Robin’s entrance. She’s knuckle deep inside of her and Robin’s eyes are filled to the brim with tears. They’re rolling down her face and she weakly mumbles, “Sen- Sensitive.” Nancy says, “Aw poor baby. Crying cause it feels too good, huh?” Before Robin could even try to respond, Nancy starts roughly thrusting her fingers in and out of her girlfriend’s entrance. Robin could no longer get words out, she was far too gone. All that left her lips now were high pitched, broken moans and occasional screams. A couple minutes later, Robin cums all over Nancy’s fingers with a loud scream. When she comes down from her orgasm, she’s sure Nancy’s done now. She’s sure that, that one was the last orgasm, but again she was wrong. This time, she feels a third finger enter her and she starts sobbing. Robin’s shaking and screaming her sobs, everything is just too much. She thinks to herself that she can handle one more, but then Nancy’s tongue is back on her abused and highly sensitive clit. That was her breaking point, she screams and Nancy notices it wasn’t like her other screams, but she knew that Robin would stop her if it was too much. Seconds later, her suspicions were confirmed when Robin screams out, “Red!” Nancy immediately stops everything. She tries her best not to move her fingers while repositioning herself, not wanting to overstimulate her girlfriend more.

Nancy’s now sitting on her heels again and asks, “Sweetheart, you okay? Do you want me to remove my fingers?” While sobbing Robin nods her head and Nancy says, “Okay baby. I’ll go really slowly, okay? It’ll be okay, sweetheart.” Nancy keeps true to her word and removes her fingers slowly out of Robin’s entrance. Robin’s sobs only get louder once Nancy’s fingers leave though. Quickly, Nancy wipes her hand on her sheet and lays beside Robin. Within a second, Robin’s head is on Nancy’s chest and she’s listening to her heartbeat to calm her down. Nancy starts combing her fingers through Robin’s hair and whispering the sweetest things to her. It takes a little over 20 minutes before Robin is almost completely calmed down. She’s still sniffling, but her crying has stopped and her breathing is back to normal. Nancy says, “Sweetheart” and her voice sounds so soft. Robin responds with her eyes shut and an exhausted sounding, “Mmmm”, acknowledging that she heard her. Nancy says, “I’m sorry I went too far, baby. I didn’t-” and her voice cracks. As soon as Robin hears it, her eyes shoot open in concern. She moves her head to look at Nancy and sees the tears in her eyes waiting to fall. Robin mumbles, “I know you didn’t, Nance. It’s okay, angel. Promise.” Nancy nods, even though she doesn’t entirely believe her and asks, “Are you okay? Can I do anything?” Robin mumbles, “I’m good, promise” and moves her head back to where it was on Nancy’s chest. She continues on, saying, “Just wanna stay like this. With you.” Nancy kisses Robin on the head and says, “Okay, sweet girl. We can stay like this for as long as you want” with a smile on her face. Robin hums with a smile on hers as well and nuzzles her head impossibly closer into Nancy’s chest. She mumbles, “Sleepy” and Nancy replies, “You can go to sleep, sweetheart. You’ve had a long day, it’s okay.” Robin sleepily mumbles back, “No” and Nancy’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. She replies, “No?” and Robin says, “Don’t wanna if you’re upset.” Nancy’s heart melts and she can’t control how she tears up at Robin’s words. That moment just adds onto the long list of reasons why she loves Robin so much. A tear escapes from one of her eyes as she kisses the top of Robin’s head. She says, “You’re so precious, sweetheart. I’m okay. I promise.” Nancy plants another kiss on the top of Robin’s head and afterwards says, “I love you so much, you know that?” Robin replies with a mumbled, “Yeah, but never stop saying it.” Nancy smiles and says, “I never will.” Even though she’s exhausted, her love for Nancy is much more important than her need for sleep. She weakly lifts herself up so she can look into Nancy’s eyes and she says, “Love you til the day I die, Nance.” Nancy’s smile grows wider and she says, “I’ll love you forever, Robbie. Now you’re exhausted and need to sleep, okay? We’ll shower and stuff in the morning.” Robin replies with a nod and weakly kisses Nancy before she turns off the light beside her bed. Almost as soon as the darkness fills the room, Robin’s head is right back where it was, listening to Nancy’s heartbeat. She’s thinking about how lucky she is to have Nancy. Nancy who would do anything for her. Nancy who makes her feel safe. Nancy who almost cried thinking that she potentially hurt her. Nancy who loves her and cares about her more than anyone she’s ever met. Within a few minutes, Robin’s thoughts are gone as she drifts into a deep sleep with Nancy combing her fingers through her hair. Before sleep takes over her own body, Nancy thinks about how much she loves Robin. How she’s the sweetest and most caring person she’s ever met. About how she’d do anything for her to be happy and safe. She whispers, “I’m so lucky I have you” before she falls asleep holding Robin tight in her arms and never wanting to let her go.

I hope you liked this!!🥺💖

#stranger things #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #ronance #robin buckley x nancy wheeler #robin x nancy #robin buckley smut #nancy wheeler smut #ronance smut #stranger things smut #dom!nancy wheeler #sub!robin buckley #dom!nancy wheeler x sub!robin buckley

81 notes · View notes

newmusickarl · 2 months ago

Text

youtube

5-9’s Album of the Month Podcast – latest episode out now!

The latest episode of the 5-9 Album of the Month Podcast is here and it’s our penultimate monthly episode of the year! Pleased to say Mama Mañana Records’ founder Kiley Larsen makes his return, as he and I take our usual seats alongside 5-9 Editor Andrew Belt, to review five high profile album releases from the past month in music, ultimately naming one as our Album of the Month at the end of the discussion.

For our September 2024 episode, it was Hayden Thorpe’s unique and dazzling adaptation of Robert MacFarlane’s book, Ness, that took home our coveted Album of the Month title. Now for our latest episode, we look back at five big releases from October and the albums vying for recognition this time around are:

Cartoon Darkness by Amyl And The Sniffers (Poll winner, thanks for voting!)

Fate & Alcohol by Japandroids

Patterns In Repeat by Laura Marling

Endless Rain by One True Pairing

Cutouts by The Smile

If you want to listen to this or any previous episodes simply follow the links below, but also be sure to follow 5-9 Blog on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube for more news and polls relating to the podcast.

Listen on Spotify here

Watch, like and subscribe to our YouTube channel here

Album & EP Recommendations

GNX by Kendrick Lamar

“There we were, all starting to plan our annual Album of the Year countdowns… then BAM! A new project from one of the true modern greats and one of the most acclaimed artists of the last decade plus - none other than King Kendrick Lamar. Dropping ahead of his planned SuperBowl halftime show in February, GNX immediately feels like a record for the fans. Where Mr Morale & The Big Steppers was a more divisive project, a complex double album that saw Kendrick wrestling with guilt, grief and generational trauma, GNX by comparison instantly feels much more accessible. This is Kendrick the artist getting back to being Kendrick the rapper, coming out all guns blazing with his razor-sharp flow and some incredible production work by the likes of Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Kamasi Washington and, of course, MUSTARRRRRRRD! While fans can continue to speculate on a potential second album before the year’s done, I think it’s safe to say that GNX alone feels like another significant addition to Kendrick’s flawless discography. Not only shocking the world with the nature of its release, but also delivering a project to the same exceptional standard that we’ve come to expect from him. A truly remarkable feat and already one of the best rap records all year, proving once again that Kendrick continues to operate at a level all to himself.”

Read my full review for Clash Magazine here

Listen to GNX here

From Zero by LINKIN PARK

Without a doubt one of the biggest releases of 2024, nu-metal pioneers LINKIN PARK have finally returned with their first new album in seven years, their first since the tragic passing of beloved vocalist Chester Bennington, and the record that introduces new female vocalist Emily Armstrong to their fans worldwide.

While the announcement of Emily joining the band has certainly been marred by controversy, with heavy backlash from both fans and Chester’s family regarding her links to Scientology, anyone who watched the initial livestream will know that, from a pure vocal range perspective, she is probably the best possible replacement the band could’ve got. And the mission for From Zero seems to be just that – convincing the fans to buy into this new era of LINKIN PARK with Emily being part of it. Does it work? I would say yes.

As someone who has accepted that LINKIN PARK are never going to make an album as groundbreaking as Hybrid Theory again, instead enjoying their music these days on a mostly nostalgic level, I’ve had a lot of fun with this one. While there are certainly some duff moments (‘Cut The Bridge’ and ‘Stained’ I’m looking at you), they also deliver plenty of highlights too. ‘The Emptiness Machine’ remains a belter of a hook-laden comeback single, while ‘Over Each Other’ carries a big emotional punch thanks to Emily’s stirring vocal work. There are also some excellent heavier moments that callback to their earlier days too, such as the scream-tastic ‘Casualty’ and hard-hitting rock anthem ‘Two Faced’.

Everything else is solid and catchy too, making this an enjoyable 30-minute listen. As a comeback record it admittedly feels very safe, but I guess the main point of it isn’t really to break the wheel. This is LINKIN PARK doing what they do best and aiming to get their dedicated fanbase back on board for the ride – analysing it from that perspective, I think it works a treat.

Listen here

Night Palace by Mount Eerie

I know what you’re thinking – 26 songs, an 80-minute runtime… why you even recommending this one Karl, you know we ain’t got time for that?! Well, just in case you find yourself at a loss on what to listen to over a long journey somewhere, or even later on next month during the festive period, I have to recommend this new one from American songwriter and producer Phil Elverum – AKA, Mount Eerie.

Firstly, this is an album you need to experience from front-to-back – this isn’t one to dip in and out of individual tracks. Inspired by Zen meditation, it is a single journey of reflection that comes seven years after the devastation of Elverum’s critically acclaimed masterpiece, A Crow Looked At Me. While I personally found that album heartbreakingly beautiful but also very hard work, I’ve found this one has oddly been more accessible by comparison, which is surprising given its demanding length.

But that said, the album has a great flow to it, with many of the tracks between 1 and 3 minutes long, with Elverum constantly jumping between different musings and ideas. There’s acoustic folk tracks and lo-fi rock tracks, with splashes of ambient electronics and harsh static thrown into the mix, playing out almost like someone flicking through different radio stations. It’s an enthralling listen, one that culminates in a gorgeous 12-minute spoken word poem, ‘Demolition’.

So, if you want a record that’s indulgent in the best way, is made for this dark, melancholic time of year and is just utterly fascinating from each brief moment to the next - then give this one a try.

Listen here

Petrichor by 070 Shake

Having come into the spotlight a few years back through her memorable collaborations with Kanye West, rapper/singer/songwriter 070 Shake has since gone on to establish herself through her solid first two albums, Modus Vivendi and You Can’t Kill Me. Now back with her latest album Petrichor, it’s another release that further demonstrates Danielle Balbuena’s fascinating and unique sonic output.

Awash with dark, moody synths, it’s an endlessly interesting collection of glistening neon-soaked pop songs. It begins with theatrical, piano led opener ‘Sin’ before morphing into the pulsating stomp of ‘Elephant’ which sounds like the sci-fi/western collision of Westworld but in audio form. ‘Vagabond’ is similarly dramatic, as is stunning album highlight ‘Into The Garden’ which is a genre-defying whirlwind of a track. Shake then feels festive with ‘Winter Baby / New York Blues’ before an intriguing cover of Tim Buckley’s classic ‘Song To The Siren’ with Courtney Love. The emotional roar of the album then comes on ‘Blood On Your Hands’ which climaxes in a spoken word poem from Shake’s girlfriend, Lily Rose Depp.

While not everything Shake does on this album is perfect, it is always a curious and innovative listen that sees her pushing her sonic boundaries and sounding like no-one else. In a music world where most artists seem to have clear touchpoints, we need more singular voices like 070 Shake.

Listen here

A Weekend In The City B-Sides (Another Weekend In The City) by Bloc Party

To today’s teenagers, the thought of having to illegally download and file share music must seem unfathomable. After all, when music is so freely available with streaming, who needs to track it down through illegal means right? Well, back in 2007 at the height of the indie boom, file sharing was all the rage, with bands blowing up through word of mouth alone, as albums and unreleased tracks were passed through MSN messenger, MySpace and other internet forums.

One such album was Bloc Party’s Another Weekend In The City. A completely unofficial release, it was made up of the band’s brilliant B-Sides from the Weekend In The City singles, as well as some unreleased tracks from the recording sessions that had leaked. For me it remains to this day the ultimate bootleg album, one that I adore as much as Bloc Party’s actual sophomore album.

For years this album was lost, condemned to my broken iPod classic along with some unreleased Radiohead deep cuts (thank God we got ‘Lift’ on the OKNOTOK release eventually). So imagine my delight when Bloc Party a few weeks back announced they would be officially releasing their A Weekend In The City B-sides on streaming services for the first time, bringing life back to Another Weekend In The City.

If you are a Bloc Party fan and are unfamiliar with these tracks, I cannot recommend this enough. The guitar work on tracks like ‘Secrets’ and ‘Version 2.0’ are sensational as always, while the likes of ‘Selfish Son’, ‘We Were Lovers’, ‘Atonement’ and ‘Emma Kate’s Accident’ are as stunning as anything Bloc Party made around that time. It also features two of their finest ever moments in the form of ‘Vision of Heaven’ and, my personal favourite, ‘England’.

At the time of writing, it seems the band have since taken the album down due to poor audio quality – something I foolishly put down to 00s aesthetics when listening late on release day. So, while these songs have temporarily disappeared once again, be sure to jump on them when they return.

In the meantime, you can still listen unofficially here

Also well worth checking out:

Seed of a Seed by Haley Heynderickx

Come Ahead by Primal Scream

BAMBI by Aziya

Don’t Go Making Plans EP by Hard-Fi

Marietta EP by Medium Build

Song Recommendations

People Watching by Sam Fender

He’s back!

A couple of years on from his incredible sophomore album Seventeen Going Under, the Geordie Springsteen has finally returned this month, and with a bang. From a UK/EU tour that sold out instantly, to three big stadium shows and numerous 2025 festival headline spots (including a rumoured Glasto headline set), Sam Fender has also announced that his new album will be released this coming February. ‘People Watching’ is the title track from the project and includes everything that fans have come to love about Sam’s music: his wonderfully descriptive storytelling, a big singalong chorus and some soaring instrumentation. With Adam Granduciel from The War On Drugs also working on the track and noticeably sharing his influence, it’s an absolute belter of a track that sets up Sam Fender to fully own these next 12 months.

Listen here

Pitch Black by The Amazons

Another band set to take 2025 by storm is Reading rockers, The Amazons. After releasing one of their finest songs to date in the form of ‘Living A Lie’ last month, the trio have since revealed that their fourth album will drop next May and will be titled 21st Century Fiction. ‘Pitch Black’ is the latest cut from the project and it’s another absolute stormer, boasting some scintillating bluesy riffs and a hugely anthemic chorus. For my money, still the best pure rock band in the country!

Listen here

When I Wake Up I’m Sad by Fiona-Lee

Someone who has been working with The Amazons and is due to support them on their upcoming UK tour is the wonderful Fiona-Lee, one of my favourite new music discoveries of 2024. Her latest single ‘When I Wake Up I’m Sad’ showcases her incredible talent, with gorgeously soft vocals, honest and vulnerable songwriting, and a spine-tingling arrangement which climaxes emphatically in a fist-in-the-air, saxophone-led instrumental passage.

Listen here

Drown by Bleach Lab

Around this time last year, dreamy indie outfit Bleach Lab were being named as one of my Top 10 Albums of the Year for their phenomenal debut, Lost In A Rush of Emptiness. Now back with their first single since that release, ‘Drown’ signifies a noticeable sonic evolution from the band, particularly the production and singer Jenna Kyle’s more confident vocals. Another great song from the band, it’s already got me excited for their forthcoming next chapter.

Listen here

Singles to get you in the Festive Spirit!

What is Christmas without some classic Christmas tunes hey?! While there has been a drought of any good ones in recent years, this festive season has seen a few new Christmas songs pop-up that are well worth a spin. Some are vying for the UK Christmas No.1 spot, some are for good causes… but all of them are spreading a little festive cheer! Here’s my five picks of Christmas 2024 singles to go check out:

This Christmas Time by Tom A. Smith Listen here

Late Night Phone Call by Reverend & The Makers Listen here

Merry Christmas, Please Don’t Call by Bleachers Listen here

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Nation of Language Listen here

Happy Trails by Orville Peck Listen here

Also well worth checking out:

Renegade by Doves

U by Jadu Heart

Antartica by Divorce

Time of My Life by Somebody’s Child

Blood Is Thicker Than Honey by Lace Thief

My Drummer’s Girlfriend by ALT BLK ERA featuring Wheatus

REMINDER: If you use Apple Music, you can also keep up-to-date with all my favourite 2024 tracks through my Best of 2024 playlist. Constantly updated throughout the year with songs I enjoy, it is then finalised into a Top 100 Songs of the Year in December.

Add the Best of 2024 playlist to your library here

#new music #best new music #album recommendation #song recommendation #music #music podcast #album of the month #linkin park #kendrick lamar #mount eerie #sam fender #the amazons #christmas songs #bloc party #070 shake #Youtube

3 notes · View notes

shystrawberries · 3 months ago

Text

October 5th, Artistic License

Star had been noticing something that disturbed her, slightly, for the last couple of days. She usually saw it in the mirror when she cleaned the family bathroom. Chipping of paint on her star rays, and the back of her shoulders. Odd placement, she thought. Things didn’t often come into contact with her rays, as they were too small and didn’t move like Sundrop’s did. In other words, they didn’t draw the attention of the children in the way that Sundrop did. He often had kids touching his sunrays and his shoulders and arms, anywhere they could reach, really. Often he ended up covered in finger paint.

Finger paint. Her colorless eyes widened in realization. That… that could work.

She finished mopping and made her way to the closet of cleaning supplies. She put away the mop and its companion, the bucket, before locking the door. The keys slid into her striped pants’ pockets.

She hadn’t worn her skirt much since it was cleaned. It was folded neatly in the corner of her– the closet that held her charging port.

She pondered the shelf against the far wall. It was a large shelf, the bottom cubbies used to house the children’s shoes and extra things that they wanted put away, and the shelves beyond their reach filled with bins of crafty things. She searched the bins now to find the finger paint. She considered the colors. There were several options, and not one of them came close to the color of her star rays.

She filled her arms with the ones she thought she could mix together, grabbed a basic mixing palette, and tromped back to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and set things up on the baby changing station. It was sanitary. She had cleaned it at least three times, it better be sanitary in the five minutes she was away.

When she was done, the color she had ended up with on her rays wasn’t quite accurate, and along the way she had gotten distracted and started to make dots and swirly patterns in the paint with white.

But it didn’t look right. She frowned at herself in the mirror and bent over to wash everything off. This was stupid.

The bathroom door creaked open. She sighed. Of course.

She turned the faucet on just as she looked behind her. “Hi Sundrop.” She said grimly.

Sundrop paused to take in her new paint job. “Veeery nice!” he exclaimed. “Maybe I ought to do that sometime.”

She started by washing off the rays closer to the sink. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Do what?” He questioned as he leaned against the sink.

“Try to make me feel better. I know it’s dumb.”

Sundrop chuckled. “Would I lie to you?”

She sideyed him even as she spun her faceplate to reach the top rays. Unlike Sundrop, she could not spin her sunrays individually from her faceplate. “Yes.”

“Name one time!” he gasped in offense.

“Every little white lie you told me to get me away from the adults checking in and out.”

He sobered. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I just…” He looked away, picking at the silicone covering his fingertips. Star smacked his hands, but listened intently all the same. She had been wondering about the reason for all those lies.

“When I was new to the public, and suspicion still lingered from the history behind this company, I wasn’t exactly… well-received. Neither was Moony, but at least the kids got used to us. The adults just couldn’t get over it, though, and our faces weren’t helping. You’ve seen the cartoony posters of us, right? When you come in with an expectation like that… well… I didn’t want you to face that too, Star. I should’ve told you the truth. I’m sorry.”

She made sure that her face and rays were completely clean before straightening. She tidied up the paint bottles, and rinsed off the palette as she mulled over his words. She supposed it made sense, and she did wish that he had spoken to her about his concerns instead of letting her stew over his actions, but then if she let herself be angry about it she’d be a hypocrite, wouldn’t she? She lets things sit for unreasonable amounts of time and makes assumptions all the time.

She turned to see that her silence had impacted Sundrop more than she expected. He drooped like a flower without water and sun for far too long. “I forgive you, by the way. I just had to think about it first.”

He straightened. Though his smile was as static as ever, she could picture it broadening as he bounced with energy. “I’m so glad! I’ll do better, I promise.”

She followed him out of the bathroom all the way to the cubbies. He rifled through them and found a slip of paper and a marker. He held them up dramatically while she unloaded her haul.

When she turned, he was holding out a bright yellow slip of paper with lines and words on it. There was a punched hole, with an orange ribbon threaded through.

“What’s this?” She accepted the tag.

“For you! Your artistic license!”

She stared at him over the piece of paper for an undetermined time, frozen in her thoughts. “My… artistic license?”

“Absoooolutely! You’ve come a long way in the path of art! I’m proud of you, Star.”

She read the lines on the paper over and over, later, in the comfort of her closet. The slip of paper was thumb-tacked to the wall next to her Moondrop paper pal.

Though she still had concerns about her chipping paint, and she didn’t really believe she deserved an artistic license, she decided that it was a good day and that she would treasure what she thought she didn’t deserve.

She was an atrocious crafter after all.

#dcatober24 #fnaf au #oc #fnaf daycare attendant #mild hurt/comfort #a little rushed #eh

3 notes · View notes

leslie057 · 11 months ago

Note

9a + 9b please 🙏

hello! thank you for the lovely combo

prompt game posted here

9a + 9b = call me lover + but one is pouting

word count: 3.7k

It isn’t right that she’s sad today, even less right that she’s playing up the sad, and that in doing this she hopes to work guilt into every part of him, like water into clay, like honey into comb.

Given their extra-special circumstances, she knows she shouldn’t be anything more than mildly annoyed with him about his inability to pronounce girlfriend. And that has to be the issue, pronunciation, because why else would he shy away from such an innocent word? There’s no reasonable excuse. It’s an easy statement to make: look, my girlfriend’s here. He can do it, with the same ease that he labels everything else of his, he can do it. It’s my camera, my spatula, my turn to drive, my shirt not yours and you can’t have it…all his, until she’s involved. No, they don’t own each other. But sometimes you have to lay claim to things in life.

You just have to.

He paints houses. Every day in West Somerville he does, from nine to dinnertime. Watertown and Brookline, too. But mainly Somerville, especially Winter Hill. Interior, exterior, deck, door, and drywall. Expensive houses, cheap houses, new and old houses, houses with picket fences. It’s just what Emerson is looking for, a teenage boy who really knows his way around a…picket fence?

But the gap year thing is okay, and he’s still here with her as she navigates everything, even if he didn’t want to apply for college until it was way too late. He can apply for next year.

He moved away, far away just for her, no college waiting for him at the end of the journey, willing and able to be the slow tagalong Somerville boy to her busy Boston girl. And they get to live together. Harmony of opposites applies, as it always has. His loyalty means the world, and for what it’s worth, he is the best rated decorator Lovell Painting’s ever had. Very committed to the job.

But now Mr. Lovell doesn’t know she’s his harmonious opposite, doesn’t know she’s the girl he’s bringing home the bread to (not a lot of bread, but so much more than you’d expect someone to get for slinging paint) (then again, there’s probably no slinging involved, because Jonathan clearly believes there is an art to the task) (he has a weird way of leaning into unbeaten paths, finding purpose in hushed, forgettable places) (it’s lovable, is what it is, when she manages to push away the feeling that he’s missing out by not being in school).

No, Mr. Lovell doesn’t know who she is, because her boyfriend didn’t say. Couldn’t bring himself to say. Couldn’t bring himself to say the G word.

She’d asked Lauren from the student paper to take her to him after class. She missed him, plus she thought he shouldn’t be all alone on his way back home. He does plenty of lonely driving throughout the week. And since Lauren does everything for everyone, she actually said yes. Fifteen minutes later, Nancy was at a place she’d never been before. Here they were at the end of October, and she hadn’t been. She had no idea where her five star trades-boy turned in his paintbrush at the end of the day.

She’d wandered in, into the little white office that likely used to be a shed, all open windows and whirring box fans and latex fumes. On a stool, he filled out his timesheet. She gave him a hug around the neck from behind, avoiding the sensitive surface of his sunburned arms.

Made him jump, then made him relax.

“Sorry, I knew that would scare you. I’m not trespassing, am I?”

“No, you—no, not trespassing at all. What time is it?”

She tilted her head sideways and consulted her watch. “5:11,” she said. Tilted her head more, more, more, trying to kiss his jaw and its underside.

Hung over his shoulders like that, she took her first deep breath of the day. Tendrils of dried paint stretched across his shirt collar and sleeves, the kind of spiderweb splatters that don’t come out in the wash. She watched him jot down a couple light-handed notes in all capital letters. His name was everywhere on the page and highlighted in some instances, an indication of overtime work. She had felt weird then for being judgy—felt bad—thinking maybe there was a chance he was where he needed to be. Not school, right here. Humble, dependable, and first-rate.

Then Mr. Lovell came in.

And ruined everything.

“Jonathan, you heading out soon?”

“Oh, right now, actually. Turns out we can’t pick up anything until tomorrow morning. Like, anything at all, they said.”

“Yikes. Oh well, then.”

“Apparently our order got delayed because of the tight space rollers.”

“Hm. Tight space rollers, they never have them in, do they?”

“No, sir, never. They never ever have anything below a 6 inch.”

She stayed still, reading the room. Gauging the boss. Lovell didn’t seem to mind her or her public display of affection. He was a youngish man, son to the original Mr. Lovell of Lovell Painting, tall and nonchalant with the look of a relatable salesman.

“Hey. Jake Lovell,” he finally said to her. “Don’t think I’ve met you before, how’s it going?”

“Hey, good, thanks.” In the subsequent silence she waited. Waited for what was sure to come. Oh yeah, sorry, this is my girlfriend, Nancy. This is Nancy, we just moved in together. This is the girl I told you about, Nancy Wheeler. We’ve been dating for almost two years. She’s the best. Nancy is the best. Hey, guess what, my girlfriend Nancy once repainted her little sister’s dollhouse from top to bottom, think we should hire her next?

He kept his mouth shut.

“I’m Nancy,” she sighed.

“Oh, okay, you’re Nancy.”

Had he heard the name before? If he had, that must have been all he heard. His eyes were brimming with confusion.

“That’s me,” she said and untangled herself from her betrayer, the one she’d been draped over like some sleepy starfish.

Starfish didn’t want to cling anymore.

“She’s Nancy,” he’d mumbled while clearing off the desk.

The eldest in the room clocked the tension between them. “Well, you know it was nice to meet you, Nancy, but I’ve gotta get going. Be careful around the mess, you look very professional in those clothes.”

She slid her hands down the sides of her thighs, black slacks swishing above high heels.

“You look very…casual, Mr. Lovell. Guess we’ll see you later.”

And that was it.

And that was then. This is now: now, she is pouting. The most pathetic pouting session she's had to date. This is textbook manipulation pouting and then some, this is wallowing in the events of the afternoon like they involved theft, fraud, and murder.

Is she putting on a performance here? Yes, duh, of course she is. But is she down about what he said (and didn’t say) earlier? Also yes. That part is real. He did make her sad.

Yes.

Lucky for her, she’s got tricks in her bag.

Exactly four tricks, to be precise, for this type of situation. One, a shower—a shower taken earlier than usual. To get away and to get out of restrictive clothing (restrictive clothing doesn’t mix well with sadness). No more black slacks, no more newsgirl blouse. No jewelry either, it’s totally unnecessary. Unless…keep your necklace on, if you want, since that can be played with. Really you just have to remember that comfort is what works. Wet hair is what works. An XL shirt works, and peach soap works, and so does a frown, and so does a thick pair of socks, for whatever reason.

Two is a book. Not a short book, pick a long book. Flip to the beginning to read. Beginnings are hard to get through, and he knows it. He will empathize. Three, lack of light. The less light in the room, the better. Not only have you chosen to start a long book after 5pm without having even eaten dinner, you’ve chosen to do so without sufficient reading light. That’s true misery.

Four, the most important trick, is a bad record. Just awful. It needs to be scratched, it needs to skip. Needs to skip a lot. Your record should make other records worry about where they’ll be in ten years. Jonathan Byers doesn’t want this for you; if you are his favorite person, and listening to music is the best thing anyone can do, your tolerance of a broken record will rile him. You deserve better. He will want to compensate for all the hurt caused by your subpar listening experience.

“Nancy?” he says from the doorway.

“Mhm.”

“Good shower?”

“Sure. Good shower.”

“You beat me to it.”

It’s an understatement. Without a word, she had headed for the shower. Very first thing she did when they got to the apartment. She went to turn the water on, still wearing her shoes, and waited for it to get hot, and never once looked back.

She curls in on herself on the bed, avoiding his gaze. “Since when did you decide you have first dibs on everything?” she murmurs to her book. To Middlemarch.

“Uh, no, it's not that, I just meant that I’m…pretty paint-y, at the moment. You know?”

The response is delivered innocently, harmlessly, lightly, and she almost considers backing down, ditching the majority of her plan or maybe all of it. Almost considers, before deciding against. (She has to soldier on; his adorable use of a made-up word doesn’t fix a thing, now does it?)

“Right.”

“There’s so much primer on my hands, it’s the worst feeling in the world. It’s so bad. It’s like…it’s like if someone brushed plaster right onto my palm and then let it harden. Overnight.”

“Mhm.”

A break in the tense conversation comes and gives those background noise record screeches their moment to shine. Leaning on the doorframe, he winces.

“So,” she shifts her body until the blanket slips, “did you need something, or…”

Their eyes meet. His are sleepy–his are suddenly charged with doubt, two dark wells of worry.

“No, nothing, I don’t…it…it seems like you might be the one that needs something?”

She huffs. It seems like she needs something? For that she won’t go easy on him. A fake cry might cross her mind, if she were a psychopath, but fortunately for both of them she’s not. Sincere regret is already cocooning her, compacting itself with each passing minute, a dense shroud of claustrophobic ickiness. Not always as fun as you’d plan for: guilt tripping someone who’s hopelessly devoted. Really, how hard is it to have a mature conversation about the way you feel neglected in this one marginal area of the relationship, even though you’re well taken care of in all the others. Very hard, it turns out. Very very hard.

And besides, this is how the Jonathan and Nancy network operates. She uses her upset to make weird power moves. He lies about his upset altogether. The system is what it is.

“If you care so much, figure it out yourself.” It’s a feeble whisper, accessorized with the twitch of her bottom lip and an arbitrary sniffle. She flips over to the eighth page of Middlemarch. Pulls her blanket back up over her waist. The leftover scent of her body wash is strong, so strong, even in her own nose. It’s like peach sorbet and paint thinner had a baby in their bedroom.

“Nancy…”

His voice has that deconstructed softness in it, gentle yet desperate, which is highly familiar. He uses it constantly. That’s the trick in his bag, but she’s not quite sure he knows it’s a trick. Because of it, the whole stay-mad-at-him project isn’t gonna be smooth sailing. She swallows hard, necklace pendant between her fingers.

“Hey, what happened?” He steps closer to the bed and uncrosses his arms. “This isn’t…it isn’t about Lauren, right?”

Oh, wow. Okay. Clueless.

“Because you really do ask her for a lot of favors, and I know she’s always happy to do them, but just…maybe don’t make her drive out there again. Not when I’m literally clocking out.”

“Oh…” She closes her book and fixes her eyes on the window. That one actually does make her want to cry.

“No, don’t,” he pleads, “don’t do the sad oh thing. You’re gonna make me sad. You’re gonna break me.”

The sigh that escapes her is fully authentic in its lethargy. Her fingertips play over the pillow under her head and its silky case. “Sorry, it’s just that now you think I take advantage of Lauren and you don’t like to see me at work, so.”

“No, I love to see you, I had no idea you would come after class just for that. It was really nice.”

“Yeah, so nice—”

“Until you ignored me in the car, yes!”

Hugging her own waist, she draws up her knees. God, that record…it should be physically impossible for ABBA to ever sound bad but this is pushing it. How truly depressing.

She imagines that the invisible thread connecting his heart to hers is starting to fray at this point; those grating sounds in his ears, the mix of chemicals on his skin, the intentionally seductive nature of her pity party, the annoying flicker of the lamp in the corner (only thing the previous tenants left behind when they moved, the sole forgotten object). All of it must be torturing him.

He picks up her book off the mattress, leaves it in the windowsill to—sunbathe? Who knows, honestly.

"Look,” he says, “I think we might need to take a second before we get into this. Do you want me to leave you alone for a minute? Would that help, or no?”

Apprehensively he reaches down, down to touch her shoulder, sort of…petting her, a few times. What you’d do if you found a wild jaguar in your backyard, but it was a really sweet looking jaguar.

When she doesn’t bite, he bravely makes eye contact with her. “You just have to tell me what you want, that’s all I need.”

(Such a good boyfriend when he’s trying. Holy shit.)

Fearful that the affection wave will show on her face, she flips over, switching sides. “Want you to lay down,” she mumbles.

Well that wasn’t part of the plan.

She listens for his reaction. A deep breath in, a deep breath out. “I’m filthy, you do realize that.”

“We’ve gone to bed wearing monster blood…”

He shrugs his jacket off.

(So, the summer had been a violent ride. Summer of ‘86, filed away in her brain with the rest of her nightmare inventory forever. All’s said and done now. Maybe they’re finally safe. God, please.)

It takes them a sec to get settled, but he hems her in, wraps her up, holds her close without any further begging. It’s crazy satisfying. Plaster-rough hand curls around her ribs under her shirt, and his nose brushes her neck. Antsy, she shuffles her feet together, scrunched socks keeping her warm.

“You genuinely—”

“Smell so good?” she predicts.

“Yeah.”

“New soap.”

“Ten out of ten.”

“Well, you know, it’s not formaldehyde, but what is?”

“Give me some slack,” he murmurs, “not my fault all my passions involve chemicals.”

Painting houses is his passion now? Alright, good to know. It’s that, developing photos, and being so much of a dummy he forgets to introduce his girlfriend to his boss when they first meet.

Again: exactly the kind of boy Emerson is looking for.

A minute later he’s kissing her neck.

Yeah, not sure how that happened.

After taking his first few tastes, he quickly stops himself. “Wait, can I do this?” he wonders aloud.

“I’ll let you decide. Do you think you should be doing that?”

“I don’t know. On the one hand,” he places a soft kiss at the base of her throat, “I still haven’t figured out what’s going on with you.”

Her eyelids flutter. “And on the other?”

Mouth barely open, he drags the tip of his tongue across her collarbone in one slow slide. “On the other I think—”

She fails to repress a squeaky whimper, which makes him falter.

“…that doing this could maybe, just maybe, help me get information out of you.”

She’s lost her breath so fast. “Decisions, decisions,” she manages to get out.

Second option wins him over. Next he’s tangling up his hand in her wet hair, kissing her neck like there really is peach sorbet to be found in her pores. He hums while getting acclimated to the malleability of her damp skin, impossibly supple malleability, and lingers with his mouth at her pulse point before giving in and sucking on it, not hard enough to make a bruise, but enough to make blood rush to her head.

She grabs the back of his neck in an attempt to stay anchored and from there he surrenders, from there he lets her force the path that his lips map out on her. Chapped but sticky with spit, they part and purse on her jaw, softly massaging the bone.

“Please can we get you a new album soon,” he whispers, “this is painful.”

“Hm?”

“The record’s a disaster, throw it away.”

“Don’t tell me to throw my things away,” she slurs weakly.

Her thigh catches his hip, and she bucks a little, rocks a little. Nothing crazy, just dirty. She can’t help herself.

“Tell me what upset my girlfriend and I won’t say anything ever again for the rest of my life.”

There it is. Jesus, it’s what she wanted. See, there’s no pronunciation issue after all. Girlfriend. His girlfriend.

She goes perfectly still. He may not realize she’s all shook up inside, but he notices the outward change, that’s for sure.

Time to get into it.

She takes a moment to prepare herself. “Are you ready to listen?”

“I’ve been ready, Nance.”

“Okay. It wasn’t about Lauren,” she spills, “Lauren and I are fine. We didn’t have a fight, we’ve never had a fight, and after she dropped me off today she told me she likes the drive to Middlesex because the roads are so smooth and driving calms her down and she gets sick of being in Boston, and I promise I’m not lying when I tell you this, but she offered to take me again tomorrow, I swear to you she did.”

“Okay, I believe you—”

“Though now I’m thinking I don’t even want to take her up on the offer, because me being there was clearly an unwanted change that didn’t exactly mean anything to anyone, and if you seriously don’t know what made me switch up today I need you to ask yourself how you think my conversation with your manager made me feel earlier.”

“You’re upset because of…something Mr. Lovell said?”

He’s so lost.

“No, because of what you said.”

“And what did I say?”

“It’s what you didn’t say. Jonathan, you didn’t tell him who I was. You didn’t introduce me at all.”

“I’m—sorry, you…you introduced yourself, why would I need to—”

“He doesn’t know you’re dating me.”

“But he does? It’s kind of obvious, isn’t it? Without words?”

“No! Not without words. For all he knows I’m some random girl you met on the street, next thing you know he’ll be setting you up on dates with his niece and scheduling you to work Valentine’s Day. You’re supposed to be upfront about us and you never, ever are. Why aren’t you?”

His turn to pout now. He rests his head on her shoulder. “I don’t know? Sometimes it feels like…”

The gears in his brain go on and on, and his blush deepens. “Like fishing for attention.”

“Well that’s why I’m sad, you’re why I’m sad. You don’t want attention, so you don’t call me your girlfriend. Maybe once a month, if that. You don’t call me your girlfriend a lot and I love when you call me your girlfriend. There’s nothing unclear about a word like that."

“I…can do better, I didn’t know it was a big deal to you. That I say it more.”

“Duh, I don’t wanna feel invisible. I want you to talk about me.”

Her heart pounds with the energy of the moment, with surfacing reminders of how different they are. The silence expands around them, his breathing shallow. This is really the first time it’s dawning on him, the depth of her need for validation? Maybe she forgot that acknowledgment of their relationship outside their private bubble is not something he would go for without being asked. Maybe she forgot.

"So it’s not the word,” he says, “it’s telling people?”

“I like privacy, I do, but what’s between us needs to be something others can see. Something they don’t have to guess on.”

Yeah, keeping their peers guessing in high school was good. Low-key meant less harassment, fewer problems. Having said that, high school is gone forever.

He nods. “I get it. I'll get it, eventually. I’ll try.”

“Okay. Good. Thank you.”

Though the conflict isn’t totally resolved, it kind of feels resolved for tonight. At least that’s what her hormones want her to go with, shifting back and forth, this way and that, residing on the rockiest of tectonic plates that have been calibrated to him for longer than he knows. As strange as her first two months of college have been, as many messes as they’re making in their relationship, she has infinite confidence in the Jonathan and Nancy network. All things considered, this is the right time to be messy, they’ll have plenty of room to clean up the love when they’ve grown up. Fighting isn’t fun but…it feels amazing to know he’s in this with her, wading out to her in the swell of their mature immaturity, sticking up for young love even after their conflict resolution turns chaotic.

He loves her, and whenever she’s blue, he begs her to let him fix it. Neither of them rest easy until the blue gets painted over.

“Hey, girlfriend?”

She breathes out a laugh. “What?”

“Since we’re sharing…”

She tilts her head back, pushes her nose against his gently. “Careful, don’t say something you shouldn’t.”

“I really like it when you use your revenge soap against me. Very evil, but I like it.”

#*fic #jancy fic #stranger things #jonathan x nancy #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #prompt fill #*ask #fanfiction #manipulation pouting is not a victimless crime #but give nancy a pass please i wrote this in less than three days

9 notes · View notes

livwritesfics · 1 year ago

Note

Req if you're up for it, just a romantic get away for Marco and Ace, on an island where no one knows them. Could include going out to eat or a picnic or something. Just... fluffiest fluff.

Hey! Thank you so much for writing this request! Sorry for the wait. This will also be posted on my Wattpad and my Ao3. Hope you enjoy ┏( ゜)ਊ゜)┛

UPDATE:CHANGED ACE TO FEMALE BECAUSE OF RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

Warnings: TOOTH ROTTING FLUFF AND OOC ACE

Ace knocked on their bedroom door enthusiastically, "Hey, are you ready to go now?" Her voice dragged out at the end.

Marco stifled a laugh. He couldn't stop the smile that was growing on his face at his lover's impatience. "You asked me that five minutes ago, yoi."

Ace groaned dramatically, pulling at her hair.

This was a yearly tradition for them. Every year right before Christmas, they'd go for a romantic get away - celebrating Marco's belated birthday in October, and celebrating early for Ace's birthday in January.

"C'mon! C'mon! C'mon!" Ace pulled Marco out of his thoughts by yanking on his arm harshly.

"If you keep doing that, you're gonna make me go slower, yoi"

Marco was always doing the planning. This year, he wanted to surprise Ace. He picked a tropical island where there aren't a lot of people. Quietness was its middle name.

Eventually, Marco was ready to leave. The best part about traveling with Marco was that Ace got to fly with him. It made her feel like the freest woman in the world. Soaring though the sky, touching clouds, she loved it all.

They walked hand-in-hand to the deck, where everyone else was waiting for them. They all wanted to say goodbye.

Once everyone saw them there, they turned to them.

"Well my children, it seems you are ready for your trip?" Pops asked knowingly.

"Yes! Marco took so long though!" Ace groaned at the end. Everyone laughed at this.

Marco turned to Ace unamused.

"Yeah, we're ready Pops. We'll be back before Christmas." Marco stated reassuringly to his father. He turned into his phoenix form, ready for the voyage.

Ace hopped on with their baggage. "Bye everyone!"

Everyone waved goodbye to them crying and shouting.

✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ

The couple has been flying for a while. Ace asking the occasional 'are we there yet' question.

Finally, they arrived.

Marco slowly landed the both of them safely on the deck. He turned back into his human form and stretched.

"Here we are my love, Crescent Island". Marco opened his arms dramatically with his announcing tone.

Ace looked at the beauty of it all. It was a hot sunny day on the island. She could tell because Marco was sweating. Or that could be from him flying them all the way here.

"You like, yoi?" Marco asked from behind him. Ace turned around smiling genuinely at him. Marco always knew where to go. The perfect places for just the two of them.

"I love it!" She hugged him tightly and gave him a cheek kiss. The older partner hugged back just as tightly.

"Let's go get a hotel room, yoi, then we can... have dinner?" Marco wiggled his eyebrows suggestively making the younger one laugh.

✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ

Ace noticed something weird about this island. No one was looking at them. Two well-known pirates walking hand in hand on the street. No disguises were worn. And for some reason... nobody, absolutely nobody was paying any attention to them.

Ace smiled at this change. She was treated like a normal person. She could get used to this.

They got to the hotel and Marco told the woman their names.

"Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix?" She questioned, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

Ace's head snapped back to Marco. Mr. and Mrs. Phoenix? Phoenix Ace. Phoenix D. Ace. Ace didn't mind the new name at all.

It had a sweet ring to it.

Marco verified with the woman. "Yep, that's us, yoi." He smiled at Ace who still had a look of shock.

"Okay, here's your key. I hope you enjoy your stay with us." She handed the key to Marco and they walked up to their room.

If Ace wasn't already flustered, she definitely was now. The steps were creaking with both of the lover's weight on them. It really did make Ace feel as if he were in a cliché romance movie where the couple is going 'up the stairs'.

With luck, they found the room. Much to Ace's surprise it was the 'romance suite'. What Marco planned for them was beyond Ace but she knew that this entire trip was well planned.

"Marco," she whispered in awe. She stepped inside and dropped her backpack on the king sized bed. She turned around and covered her mouth with her hands.

Marco just smiled smugly as he watched his partner's reaction.

"You really do know how to make a woman feel special, don't you?" Ace murmured to him.

They hugged and hugged for a few minutes until Marco pulled away.

"Dinner?"

"Dinner."

✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○✧○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ

Ace walked out of the bathroom wearing a nice red button down and a pair of black slacks. She looked up to where Marco was already dressed and waiting for her on the bed.

Marco looked up from his book. He stared intently at her. He sucked in a breath as he eyed his partner.

"Wow," the older one started, blush creeping upon his face unconsciously. "You look..."

Ace's heart stopped when Marco paused. Ugly, ugly, ugly-

"Beautiful." He finished, interrupting Ace's thoughts.

Oh. Not what she was expecting. But, she'll take it. Ace tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked down at floor. Looking at it like it were the most interesting thing in the world.

What did she ever do in her life to deserve a loving boyfriend like the man staring at her lovingly.

"Thank you, Marco" she said under her breath.

The two of them walked down the creaky stairs hand-in-hand and left the hotel room behind.

Another thing that was nice about this place was that everything was five minutes away! And so close together too! Like in Foosha Village. Ace smiled at the memories. She looked up at Marco as she was grinning like a cheshire cat. She loves this man so much.

Eventually after a bit of walking they come to a fancy restaurant. Marco smirked down at Ace giving the younger one goosebumps. They walked inside and they were seated.

Marco pulled out a chair for Ace before seating himself down. The two of them were at their best. Nobody could take them away from each other.

Together they ate, talked, and laughed as they relived some memories or telling stories. They gave gentile touches from across the table.

"Ace?" Marco interrupted the other's thoughts and held her hand.

"Sorry... Yes?"

Marco chuckled a bit before saying, "Nothing. I just... love you is all." He said the last part in a small voice.

"I love you too... chicken" Ace laughed hard at the end. She just had to.

#onepiece #one piece #fanfics #marace #marco the phoenix #portgas d. ace #marcoace #fluffy #fluff #one piece fluff #one shot #portgas d. ace imagine #portgas d ace #marcoxace #phoenix marco #fem!ace #fem ace

49 notes · View notes

jungwnies · 10 months ago

Note

hi maeby! its been a while, im sorry this took too long and I don’t know exactly when you’ll see this but know that i’m writing this on december 16 for reference hehe (this will essentially be a 2023 recap but ill try to be as short as possible)

last time i was here i think it was the end of june or beginnings of july and a lot has happened in my life, on august i turned 21 and i also went to the eras tour!! definitely one of the best days ever in my life and maybe top 3 on best days of 2023 🤍

talking about my birthday its little sensitive topic, for the past five years or so my birthdays has kind of been something that I’ve dreaded so much and i'm just the opposite of happy, its like those posts you see everywhere of people crying in their room during their birthdays and this year wasn’t the exception, this years birthday..lets just say it will be memorable but leaving that aside august was kind of okay

the concert experience may be on of my favorite memories just because it feel so cathartic, it was just so beautiful talking to strangers and us bonding over music and art, listening and singing to my favorite songs, getting to go to a concert for the first time on my own, traveling with my sister (just the two of us) for the first time, all the beautiful pictures and videos and people that i keep with me because of that one experience it just something that I will eternally be grateful for (also, so. many. friendship. bracelets.)

i remember looking back at my life and my lowest points in it and thinking (and hopefully it won’t get too sad) “well maybe someone out there was right, i just needed to hang on a little tighter, cause imagine missing out on this”

september was filled with delicious food and me going out a little more often

in october was my sisters birthday, so she held a halloween costume party and i got to dress up as an elf/fairy, i also went to one of my best friends birthday party and felt amazing seeing a couple of familiar faces after months, and some of them even years, waiting. also yes, this means i ate a lot of cake on october (my moms birthday was also on this month hah). i also took a ceramic class. i loved it (I made a small bowl :))

november i went out a lot, bought new clothes, bought christmas decorations, studied korean, went to the doctor cause i thought i was going to die (turns out im not, even far from it : im as healthy as a horse)

and as of december, planning christmas dinner with my mom and sister, got a bad haircut that made me cry so hard and then got it fixed at another salon, had dates with friends, retook ceramic classes (i made two cups, three heart shaped plates and a little jewelry organizer), scheduled one more therapy session before the year ends after months of not going, took more buses this month than in my whole life and i guess im slowly figuring out my stuff a little more.

i discovered new artists this year, feel in love again with old ones that I had forgotten about, learned new cooking recipes, got a little more out of the house than last year, made amends with my body and established boundaries even though it hurt :)

turning 21 this year essentially meant a lot, i don’t want to go into more detailed as to not make this any longer but lets just say im planning on getting 21 tattooed on my next year haha

i hope the rest of the year was kind to you, if you feel comfortable to answer with maybe your favorite parts of 2023 would be great! if not just know that i love you and missed dropping by here, hopefully starting 2024 i'll be back here regularly <3<3

take care, stretch, rest all you need, take your time, and remember that im always right here rooting for you and hugging you 🩶🩶🩶

happy holidays :) love youuuuu

-🧸anon

hiii 🧸anon <3

it has been literally so long, i was taking a break from tumblr, honestly i didn't even think i'd come back but seeing this upon logging in literally brought joy to my heart knowing you're still around! :)

i've read everything, from your birthday to your christmas dinner with your mom and sister. starting with your birthday i'm glad that 2023 you had a memorable birthday after dreading it for so many years, and i hope 2024 also brings you joy! onto the concert next, i know exactly how you feel, it's something that you don't feel often and the crowds are just so amazing because it's people who share the same love for the same artist, and it's like you are in your own little world for a few hours. next, september & october, i'm glad it was filled with food and another birthday, it seems so fun to have a halloween themed birthday honestly!! november, i'm glad it was a good month besides the scary doctors visit >.< december seemed to have been a busy month for you, and hopefully your hair is okay now :( hopefully the therapy sesh went well. I'm glad your year was overall not too shabby, and I'm glad that you had a lot of character development. Hopefully 2024 brings you absolutely nothing but joy! 🖤

now onto my year, i guess i'll go with the highlights. i essentially had a relatively good year, i was able to do a lot of things, and uni was not too stressful, but it's a little harder this semester. starting with my august, i didn't do much except get ready for the semester, signed up for my september classes etc etc, it was relatively boring. my september was a little more eventful, i took a marine biology class which was so fun, and i'm not even majoring in marine bio, we got to talk about sea legends and a lot of the lore behind mermaids and other stuff. in october i did the same thing, but i made one of my best friends ever, except uhhh we're not really friends anymore as of recently, but my heart goes to them, they meant alot. in november i built a new computer, a little nerdy but i actually really enjoyed it except i had a mental breakdown trying to do cable management LMFAO 😭😭in december i had a good month, except the basement flooded so that wasn't very slay but regardless it was a good month filled with nothing but holiday spirit and gifts.

now with a short little update on my 2024, because it's been awhile. in january i went back to school for the second semester, and it's been tough i'm not going to lie. i also got a boyfriend so like !?!??! kinda crazy, he's not too bad but like every relationship we definitely have our downs. in february, it was a short month but nonetheless eventful this is the downfall of me and bestie tbh, but it's okay he was like a life lesson or something!?!?! now this month, it just started and it's been great, it's midterm week right now so i'm a bit stressed, but i also suddenly got motivation to go back on youtube and write on tumblr again, so i'm super happy about that :)

i hope 2024 is kind to you and gives you a lot of joy! remember to take care of yourself, just as you always say to me, stretch, rest all you need, take your time, and remember that im always right here rooting for you and hugging you as well! ❤️❤️❤️

have a great year, and i hope to see you again 🧸❤️

#🧸 — jungwnies #🧸 anon #🧸#thank you anon #ily anon #📥 jungwnies #𐐪♡︎₊˚ ― jungwnies #jungwnies anons #jungwnies

7 notes · View notes

aestheticvoyage2024 · 3 months ago

Text

Day 294: Sunday October 20, 2024 - "Pumpkin Carving 2024"

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, quite literally the most perfect weather we've had alll year, and we spent it out on the back patio carving our pumpkins. Yes, Mr William, it is indeed, Fall time! We got the fall bin down out of the attic and Grandma helped decorate the house in decorations. And with that, we all had the permission to sharpen the knives and get the Finca ready for Halloween 2024. "Its really time?" Tell Alexa to play Spooky Wheels on The Bus, its time.

While William heard stories from me and Grandma about how special this was every year, because we grew our own pumpkins every year. Imagine having your eye on your pumpkin all fall long before getting to cut into it. The cleaning of our set of five was a breeze, as Grandma reveled in how hollow and clean our special Apple Annie Arizona Pumpkins were. Beautiful.

I was especially inspired this year to put a good showing together after Audrie accidentally smashed my effort last year. Something I saw in line checking at Sprouts inspired me to bust out power tools and a hot glue gun to come up with a simple wise owl. If the javelinas dont eat my birdie, the morning doves should enjoy my salty sunflower seeds.... I thought that lent a feathery effect for the eyes and features. But what really sets it apart as possibly the best pumpkin Ive ever done is the little chubby chicken feet. My favorite.

As inspired as I was to have the best pumpkin, Audrie had the same idea, and spent far longer on hers. A big wide faced pumpking that let her pull together the Nightmare Before Christmas, as it ironically played on the speaker. Yes indeed when we lined them all up - oh indeed and not even close. Audrie is still the clear winner and the clear creative in our partnership (as if there was ever a question). I love it.

William had picked out a simple scheme that Mama pulled together no problem but whats more is that William got in there and helped clean the pumpkins with his farm girl grandma Acton (who carved us a halloween kitty - fitting since Williams been pretending to be her kitty!). "Get your hands dirty" and I imagined her 40 years ago doing the EXACT same thing, at this exact same time (right after the Tigers won the World Series!) with me, with pumpkins out of her garden. Maybe if not that year, many years after just like, and likewise, many years since. So it was fun to share that old timey tradition with my parents before they had back to Michigan tomorrow. ( No Matter what William ever does with a pumpkin, it will never be as good or as cute as that first year. ) It really was a great family day at the Finca, that started with a family grocery store trip and ended with take out chinese. Coool Dips in the pool, a Lions win on TV, and Sausage and Onions over the fire. What more can the heart of a man want, if not just exactly this. How blessed am I. A great way to remember the vibe of Pumpkins 2024.

And I am always grateful this time of year, now, that my whole family is all together and able to do this. And as we sat around the table for both brunch and dinner, and I let them all know. I love them. This day was great. I am very blessed.

Song: Nicholas Jamerson & The Morning Jays - Linda James

Quote: "Nietzsche once remarked that marriage is a conversation, a long dialogue. If a person is not ready to engage in such a prolonged dialogue, they are not ready for long-term close relationships. Many long-married couples have long since exhausted all topics of conversation because each spouse has stopped developing their individuality. By focusing on individual growth, we each gain an interesting conversation partner. To halt one’s own development, even in the interest of another person, means admitting that your spouse will have to live with someone who feels anger and suffers from depression. Such marital relationships need to be radically reconsidered, or they will simply lose their meaning." — James Hollis, The Middle Passage

2 notes · View notes

honeypot-sapphic · 1 year ago

Text

Relationship storytime at the request of @junipermead53 ! It's a lot im sorry but to be fair it took almost three years lol

- Meet this girl Junior year of hs in my trade program, let's call her G

- Assume off initial meeting she's either going to be a lesbian or a republican and don't think much more of it cause we aren't friends

- slowly become her friend towards the end of Junior year and be friends with two other girls (E and K)

- We chat over the summer but i ignore her a lot bc severe depressive episode whoops

- Senior year comes around, uneventful start. I have long since learned i was wrong she isn't a lesbian or a republican and is a straight christian girl

- I realize around October that oh no, I caught feelings for her and have a crisis over it cause of course I'd fall for the one straight girl in my friend group.

- Chat with her constantly in and out of school, we call constantly when out of school and I consider her one of my closest friends

- Somewhere mid April, I send an Instagram reel that says something like "ask me any question and I have to answer it". After a long and back and forth about actually saying it it makes it out that I like her, but she doesn't like me and is straight. We decide to remain friends.

- In the same voice call that the reveal happens, she suggests we fake date to play a joke on our friends. Specifically E and another girl named P.

- We have a trip to California for a competition we competed in (scored 4th place nationally babeyyyy) and decide to full send the fake relationship for the trip, which is end of April

- Trip happens. On our day we get home I stay over at her place just cause of convenience and she tells me she actually DOES like me. We do not begin a relationship yet.

- Early May, E and P blow up on us for the fake dating, calling us manipulative and toxic and bad friends. We feel bad about it but also huh what?? Manipulative? For a fake dating prank? Anyways we apologize and feel bad about it. Very shortly after me and G decide to actually start dating

- Things are rocky. Senior year ends, the job hunt begins, she's having an identity crisis and starts acting super weird to me. I have to flat out ask her if she's breaking up with me and the answer is yes. ON THE FIRST DAY OF PRIDE MONTH. BY SAYING SHE'S STRAIGHT. homophobia at its finest

- I cut my losses and let us stay friends.

- Over the course of June we somehow get closer? Calling every night, constantly chatting, ect.

- July and August we hang out in person and she gets REAL clingy. Like.. she's super huggy and sweet to me, wants to hold my hand a lot, ect.

- September 4th ish? We have our first kiss. Yet again because of an Instagram reel, this one joking about making out.

- Have a "so what are we" debate before we make things official where she tells me she does actually like me and whatnot

- And we make it official on September 8th!

- ignoring the mental breakdown I had early October when I broke up with her for a day we're going strong! Five month anniversary coming up start of February and I'm so very in love with her

#this cuts out the near constant gay panic and confusion on my part over the course of summer 2023 but it's fiiiine

7 notes · View notes

pandorafallz · 1 year ago

Text

Vampire AU | Telling the Na'vi

Jake spent a good portion of his morning helping with the camp but in his avatar. Jerome looked to be less in the dog house and helped Nadine choose a good place in the patch for the seeds; his xenobiotics side really coming out as he was excited and wondering how the Earth seeds would respond to Pandoran soil and was easily excited to see if the fruits would remain ‘human sized’ or would grow to Na’vi sized fruit. Jake listened in mostly to keep his mind occupied as he helped go through the weaving practises he had learned on making rope.

N’deh had gone out to hunt with Kim for a bigger game and so, Jake was mostly good sitting and working. Morgan was by the lake, Target practising with his newly remade sling. The guy had apparently taken up the sling for both a hobby and for hunting last year and…Jake was impressed at the man’s skill and accuracy with the weapon.

The new bullets he made were mildly terrifying. He had cut holes into some of the rocks or added groves to some sides so that when they were launched, the bullets would…whistle. A high-pitched sound that ended with a crack when it hit its target. Poor pelican case. Jake had also noticed the guy had also carved up a basic wooden Y- Slingshot, sitting unfinished as well but he wasn’t gonna question it.

It just made him pause at each crack or whistle.

Though Jake paused as a tall figure seemed to emerge from the trees, his hand pausing a little in consideration.

“Neytiri?” He frowned, “I thought it was every other day we were going down to Hometree?”

Neytiri looked his way, though nodded. “It remains unchanged. I came of my own accord. I…am curious. Human camps are…different to what I expected.”

Jake nodded, though offered her a gesture to the camp to welcome her “If you’ve got questions, feel free to ask.”

Neytiri’s presence had pulled the attention of Nadine and Jerome. The scientist waved but didn’t do anything else than get back to it to discuss support for the plants.

“Are they planting crops?” Neytiri asked. “for ease of travel?”

“Actually, yes.” Jake brightened up a little. “I… My brother spent years and a lot of money collecting seeds from Earth plants. Fruits and veg mostly, but there are flowers and…herbs. Some spices…” He listed, his heart panging but…he was actually a little excited to explain this to her.

“Earth seeds?” Neytiri cocked her head.

Jake nodded, “We’re only planting five at the moment. One herb, four varying fruits. Right now, they’re rehydrating and germinating given they’ve been preserved to survive the trip here but they’re sorting out a good spot for them to grow.”

Neytiri eyed the two working with more curiosity. “What are these fruits?”

“Well, one is called a Watermelon. They’re… big in human terms. Sweet, elongated and slightly round in shape, it has a stripy green shell and on the inside is a red flesh with black and white seeds. I’ve never had a fresh one before so I’m…really looking forward to that if they grow. The next is a pumpkin. Can be sweet but often is savoury. Makes a good soup. People used to grow pumpkins to the size of humans in competitions. Oh, and we use pumpkins on a tradition on Earth, you’d hollow out a pumpkin and put a scary face on and put a candle on the inside which shines in the dark so only the faces made could be seen.”

“Scary face?” Neytiri looked amused at the concept. “For a tradition?”

“Well… it’s…a long story. I guess Grace didn’t get to that at school. Every year on the same date, the 31st of October, it was known as All Hallow’s Eve. Or, Halloween. More commonly. It…fuck I think it’s been going on for over two thousand years? Maybe longer. It’s changed in form many times over the centuries but it…started off when it was believed spirits of the dead would come back and walk the earth on that night. Humans feared spirits and thought they needed to…ward them away. Pumpkin faces were supposed to help with that.” Jake explained.

Neytiri looked more intrigued. “The carving of fruit still remains important?”

“Well, sorta. When we had bigger houses and more freedom, there was a tradition with children, I…don’t quite know how to explain ‘Trick or treating’ without it sounding weird, plus that tradition was dropped about…twenty years ago. The Pumpkin became important to know which houses were okay with being disturbed by the tradition than those who wanted a peaceful night. People still use them now as means of keeping the event alive.”

“Ooh, tell her about the weed!”

“No.” Jake blew a raspberry in Nadine’s direction then turned back to Neytiri. “So, we also have Tomato’s and strawberries. The first is a savoury berry. Very good pureed and on a flatbread or as a soup. Strawberry is a red berry as well. Very sweet and delicious.” He clarified. “The herb is known more commonly as Weed but that’s…probably not safe for Na’vi yet given its… unknown side effects on alien bodies”

“Oh, so you are telling her about weed.” Nadine called towards them, “Weed is a drug; humans use it to…chill out by smoking it or baking it into food. It causes a very strong relaxant effect and in my case, it’ll help with my limb pain.” She gestured to her prostheses with a pose. “You, my tall blue friend,” she walked overly, solely to prod Jake in the thigh, “will be a Guinea pig on how it affects’ Na’vi and avatars. Jerome wants to know if it’ll work with him.”

Jake sighed dryly out. “Sounds like he wants to live in the dog’s house.”

Nadine snorted though quickly returned back.

“I can still hear you!” Jerome called, his tone laced with exasperation.

Crack!

The sound of Morgan’s sling ammo striking the case echoed.

Neytiri jumped with a hiss, her ears alarmed before she realised it was far and coming from the second human of the camp. “What…what is that sound?!”

Jake gave her a relaxed expression. “Morgan’s got a thing called a sling. It’s a projectile weapon that Earth used to have a few thousand years ago but fell out of use when throwing spears, guns and bows and arrows were made. Watch.”

Morgan picked up another carved rock, settling it into the woven band then began to wind but it only took a few winds before he let go; keeping a hold of the sling end but let one half go and the rock flew through the air with a shrill form it’s whistling then clunked hard against the case, pinging off into the grass.

“Hey, Morgan!” Jake called, waving him over.

Morgan did, though eyed the Na’vi woman for a moment, “Are we in trouble?”

“No.” Neytiri frowned, “Why do you ask?”

“You’re here.” Morgan spoke, “Why else would you be here?”

“She’s just curious about the camp.” Jake allowed, though he already suspected why Morgan was a little tense about this impromptu visit. He wasn’t thick by, aside from N’deh, they had little to hide.

“Right.” There was an edge of scepticism to Morgan’s voice though he remained friendly. “So, what’d you want? I’m busy.”

“Your sling” He held his hand out for it.

Morgan rolled his eyes but handed it over without complaint. “I finally sorted it out. I forgot how I made it the first time since it lasted so long and this new weave is very durable and flexible.”

Jake turned the sling over in his hand; small of course for human hands though it was a simple two-woven belt connected to both ends of the cords than the leather pouch he was more accustomed to seeing on more modern slingshots. He couldn’t remember what type of make this was.

Neytiri eyed it curiously, “You…use this instead of a bow?” Her fingers touched over the small weaves, almost surprised by the simplicity of it. Probably never realised humans had such basic weapons when so used to their automatic rifles.

“Well, sort of. It depends. Bows pack more power, puncture through and much quieter. Slings can go further than an arrow and cause more damage through blunt-force trauma. Penetrative if I use sharpened rocks at my target.” From his pouch, he held up a selection of rocks. Varying in size and shape, from round to elongated to pointed but he had clearly crafted the rocks to his liking. “That said, both have their merits and disadvantages.”

Neytiri knelt down, examining the rocks before plucking out one with a hole drilled through. “Why is it like this?”

“So it sings when it flies. We call them whistling bullets.” Morgan spoke, dropping the rest into his pouch. “Helps me distinguish what I’ve crafted to not and… well so no one around walks into a silent path. These can be lethal.”

“I see.” Neytiri handed the bullet back. “I always thought humans used guns or other explosive weapons. I… this is new.”

“Well, this isn’t common knowledge any more. I doubt even Dr. Augustine would have taught this in her school.”

“She did not. Languages were the most important to learn. Grace taught us a lot but…not everything. She kept things light and fun.” Neytiri said, “We asked about some of the other topics that we had noticed about the sky people's culture but she said with the younger children, it was unsafe.”

Jake hummed, “Well, to be fair teaching young kids about our primitive but easy-to-make weapons isn’t exactly…safe. If they saw a picture and made a sling and started to throw rocks at things…I’m sure you’ll agree it might be unwise.” He wasn’t sure he’d want to be responsible for that mess. Kids were curious by nature. “I knew a kid in school who made a crossbow in class using four pencils, a rubber band, a clip binder and a ball-point pen. Almost shot the teacher’s eye out when he misfired.”

“Was that kid you?” Morgan asked cheekily.

Jake snorted, “No.” He paused, “It was Tommy.”

Morgan’s smile faded a little though he patted his arm. “Sounds like he had fun.”

“Yep.” Jake had remembered taking the heat for that. Seated next to each other in math; as the resident class clown, the assumption had gone straight onto him. He had found it hilarious, more so than being annoyed for getting the blame. Now it was…a fond memory despite the lingering echo of loss.

Morgan made an excuse to leave though Jake watched him clamber up to his shack up in the trees before he turned his attention back to Neytiri.

“So, this is where I’m living.” He gestured to his shack, leading her inwards to the metal box. “We’re working on covering it better but the canopy here is dense and the leaf coverage is good.” He spoke. “Plus the shack was already being slowly reclaimed so I mainly needed to just slap some moss on it and let it blend. Morgan wants to make it look like a na’vi tent but that’ll take some time to create.” Once he had also learned how to work a loom. He had seen the Mother loom in Hometree and suffice to say, looks a little out of his area but…

Neytiri peered in curiously, taking note of the link bed. “You are in that machine?”

“Yep, my human body is resting. I’m just…figuring out the balance. Two bodies to care for and…well I’m just…trying to figure out how to balance. The last week, I used to spend half-days in and out. With work with you and your clan, my avatar’s dormant for much longer.” He explained, “Still. I’ll make things work.”

Neytiri nodded softly though staring at the machine longer. “I have never seen a Dreamwalker and its sky-person at once. I’ve seen Grace mostly in her Dreamwalker… yet not like this.”

Jake chuckled, “It’s a little surreal. It’s odd to me to see myself lying there. From another set of eyes.”

Neytiri nodded softly. “You are small.”

Jake folded his arms with a light smile. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”

He took the time to show her more in-depth the camp. Climbing up to show where his avatar would be kept when not in use. His mauri was the spare storage tent which had been converted just for his avatar now. It was mostly just his hammock and his biomonitor he had clipped on. His little insect repellent jar was still going which gave his mauri a more sharp scent but he hadn’t fully decided on how to decorate it; his avatar didn’t have a lot of its size and the other two weren’t wearing human clothes.

Sure, the two wore Na’vi clothing to blend in and pass but…Jake wasn’t for that just yet; he liked his shirt and his shorts.

“What do you hunt here? Yerik?” She asked, eyeing the bones drying in the sun.

“That’s the current main form of meat aside from fish. Kim’s out hunting for one.” Jake answered, leading her down. “She’s very good with a bow.” Better than Jerome but he was better at fishing; better patience to wait than she did.

“That reminds me, tomorrow my mother wants to see her. If she doesn’t come to Hometree, she will come here.” Neytiri spoke, “She didn’t visit yesterday.”

Jake clicked his tongue a little. “You know why.”

Neytiri looked back at him with pursed lips. “I am aware. The Tsahìk was…more understanding but…the child’s development is important and Eywa blessed the couple for a reason.”

“And suddenly caring after two years of absence is very jarring and doesn’t look like you care for them. Only the baby.” Jake remarked, heading off. “It doesn’t feel good, Neytiri.”

Neytiri sighed deeply. “Is there anything we can do to soothe those feelings of hurt?”

“An apology. Not from you, you’re not the ones who banished them.” Jake offered, though he felt relief at her willingness to help in this regard. “Your father needs to be aware that… humans respond well to those; to know that there is an understanding and acknowledgement of wrong made. It may take longer for them to forgive but… they will eventually once they see there is an understanding and that the apology is genuine and not shallow means of closure. They fear it will happen again.” He fixed her with a look, leaning back against his shack, his tail swishing across the surface.

Neytiri’s expression was thoughtful. “Trust needs to be rebuilt.”

“Exactly. They do not trust because it’s happened once, it can happen again.” Jake said, “I know that feeling. I bought into the Marines under stories and adventure. I lost my legs. My brother died and… they gave me the same story and words of an adventure. Again. But…unlike last time, I knew what the story was and how they’d try and convince me.”

The Na’vi gave a soft sigh. “I understand. It’s…a hard concept.”

“I know. But… It’s part of human culture that’s carried on here. Humans will need time and guidance to undo generations of trauma, capitalist gaslighting and guilt. Most humans aren’t bad by nature, they’re misguided.”

“I will talk to the Olo'eyktan.”

“Thank you.” Jake pushed off his shack. “Oh, about tomorrow, Morgan’s gonna bring a few weapons to talk to him and Tsu’tey about. Knowing is one thing given you’ve spent thirty or so years seeing them but he thinks giving them a tactile understanding will aid on how to properly handle them.”

Kim was a grump as they rode the Pa’li to Hometree the next day. Jake rode on the front with her, another warrior was with Morgan who was happily talking though he knew it was best to talk to her before they reached their destination.

“You okay?”

“Yep.” Her answer was short and curt.

“I get you have hurt feelings, Kim, but… there’s a lot that needs to be properly settled between the camp and the Omatikaya clan. They know you’re upset about it but… please be civil.”

Kim tutted a little. “I can be civil. They abandoned us. We’re not the bad guys here.”

He pinched her knee, earning a light slap on the shoulder. “It’s not a bad-guy good-guy situation. They’re not human; they don’t think of it like that. Yes, there are some racial issues but going in hostile will always set you aside. You’re not here to forgive and forget straight off but you’re here to make sure your baby is healthy and has a good future. Give them a last chance?”

Kim seemed to churn on it a little but took a cleansing breath, her hand coming to her belly, though he felt a brief touch of her knuckle at his spine that vanished below his injury. “It will be nice to see old friends. The first time around, I was training to become an Ikran Makto, maybe I’ll get the chance to tame one after they’re born. Pa’li are nice but…they’re not fast.” Kim wondered. “Pregnant women aren’t allowed to tame an Ikran given they have to fight to the death to do it.”

“Fair.” Hunting for food was very different from challenging an overgrown death bat to earn their ride.

Once at Hometree, they dismounted and went their separate ways, almost.

Morgan went ahead to the spiral with his bag of toys to the Olo'eyktan and Tsu’tey

Kim was almost ploughed down by an excited child, the weaving group pulling her aside where he watched a few come and greet her happily; a few cooing over her belly with clear warmth. It was the first time she probably seemed to smile and relax.

Eytukan only watched briefly, Jake noted but didn’t speak but Jake hoped at some point the chief would speak to her.

Soon enough, Jake was pushed into being taught how to make arrowheads and shafts. The normal shafts were bigger than his own body so he had been tasked with children’s training arrows instead which was a good starting point.

Jake found the carving aspect to be most enjoyable. Much like how the weaving was methodical, but to see his results go from poor to…adequate as the hours passed was rewarding. Though his teacher spoke with broken English, Jake was glad to see the older man relax enough to correct him a good few times.

He should probably start to learn Na��vi. If he was to work with Na’vi, he needed to speak like them. He still had Augustine’s book she had sent him; it’d be useful as well if the others were willing to teach as well. Morgan was fluent and so… he didn’t want to stick out like a sore thumb by not knowing. Nadine probably would need to learn as well. The people shouldn’t have to learn English on the account of two new humans. Most of the teenagers and children knew English but that was by Augustine’s teachings and them sharing it. He was sure a few adults learned but weren’t making it known to him.

When he was dismissed from arrows, he rolled his way along the bumpy pathway to the bead makers but paused to see Kim descending down from the spiral from her visit to the Tsa’hik.

“All good?” He asked.

“So far.” Kim sighed deeply though her face was somewhat strained “I’ve got to up my minerals a little and drink more. Otherwise healthy.”

He sensed a tone. “But?”

Kim sucked on her teeth a moment, “So… turns out its twins. That’s why I’m showing a lot for three months.”

“Oh.” Jake lit up. “Congratulations!”

“Yeah…it surprised Mo’at as well. Twins…aren’t common, if at all for Na’vi. Their bodies aren’t built for more than one given they have different pregnancies to humans.”

“Wait, the avatar pregnancy is different?” he was aware of a few details given how…different his own avatar genitals were to his human. Internal, until needed which…was somewhat of a relief; getting kicked in the nuts hurt far less (but not painless; it was a high-value area still)

“It’s closer to human than Na’vi. Na’vi don’t have placentas.”

“How come they have belly buttons then?” Surely they couldn’t have one without it? He may have dipped out of Bio classes but that was a no-brainer.

Kim pondered the question “They—think of a yolk sac. Human embryos use a yolk sac until a placenta is established in the two months. They use the yolk sac continually which has only some small cord to keep the sac situated with oxygen. In labour, the child absorbs the remaining fluids and sac but the cord remains similar to an umbilical that drops off after birth. The internal cord withers away and is reabsorbed.”

“Woah.” Still, a more human-like pregnancy meant a human-like birth. He doubted the Tsahìk knew a lot about that. He was sure he could look through his collection or what his shack database had on human births that could translate. “Wait, don’t you have scanners at home? Couldn’t you have found out earlier?”

“I did. The second one hid.” Kim chuckled, “Plus, we wanted to things a little more natural and see how it went.” Though now, he could see she’d get a scanner set up to properly check on the babies once they were back home. “Mo’at wants to see you.” She finished, gesturing a thumb over the shoulder to the spiral.

Jake turned to it then back up to the blue giant. “Mind giving me a lift?” he was sure he could crawl up, it looked mostly smooth but… it was a long drop. Unless he strapped his chair to his back, he’d probably have to leave it.

Kim nodded, allowing him to slip out of the chair first before he was deposited back in it outside what looked like a woven mauri but it looked large and adjustable; to expend when needed. Inside, as he wheeled in, was a selection of mats. All but one was propped up out of the way. A small burning pile of fire sat in a dish that lit the small space up but it also didn’t smell like normal fire, perhaps incense of sorts. The was a selection of ceramic cups that were laid out across the floor in some type of organisation, dry and fresh herbs and plants also were tied upon a hanging string above their heads. Other tools were about though Jake’s eyes were drawn to the Tsahìk who sat gently mashing something into a mortar and pestle.

She looked up when he rolled in, her eyes following his wheels for a moment but she set aside her tools beside her after a moment.

“Please, take a seat.”

Jake nodded, sliding again from his chair and onto the mat, his foot catching on the rim of the mat but he sorted that out as he settled.

Her eyes were sharp in her examination, taking him in from head to toe before she seemed content about something.

“My mate assures me your words have merit. They’ve since some mild damage to one of the sky-people’s dozers which seems to have halted the metal beast. Our watchers have seen no evidence of being spotted.” She said, “This does…make me curious. You’re very at ease at betraying your people.”

Jake tilted his head. “My people as humans or…my people as those of the RDA?”

“I don’t see much of a difference.”

“Would you put Grace Augustine in the same ideals of a human with a gun?” He proposed. If he had any other names that this woman knew, he would have used it but…Augustine was well-known for a reason.

“No. She is not a warrior.” Mo’at said. “She is a scientist. A teacher.”

Jake nodded. “She’s one comparative example, but I’m not surprised you…don’t see much of a difference given… the humans on this planet are either scientists, miners or soldiers. You’ve not seen artists, musicians or our creators of stories. Humanity is more than what you see here because to come here requires specific qualities. No random person can just…come here and just sightseeing. Most people here are soldiers. Warriors to protect the sky-people village and their technology. If you’ve ever really seen soldiers and scientists, then you don’t know what else humans are beyond that.”

Mo’at hummed in soft consideration. “I recall you mentioning that the other night.”

“Humans are complex. I know what our struggles are and…what we’re capable of if we try hard to let go of the nooses of our beliefs and understanding a little more which is why… I won’t betray humanity as a whole, just the RDA here for what they’re doing…because there are better ways than what we’re doing.” Jake admitted.

The Tsahìk remained quiet for a moment of consideration. “I have known the scientists and the Dreamwalkers for a while. I know that they are as curious as children and seek to understand yet they do nothing while our nothing to stop the clearing and discourage our attempts of defence. You mentioned they would be harmed if they stood against the ones who strip. Are they really of no help to us?”

“They can be, if it came down to it. If their sky-person bodies were protected from the warriors and weren’t forced to rely on their technology. Most scientists are here for the science. Like…Grace. She loved your people and your planet and certainly disagrees with what’s happening. Her position as Head of SciOps give her more power than most in her department but…she still isn’t height enough to stop. I read in a report that if she or any of the SciOps attempts to warn you or finds means of stopping the clearings, they’ll cut the entire department off like it’s an infected limb. Kill the avatars and send them all back to earth.”

Mo’at’s eyes widened a fraction. “Kill the Dreamwalkers?”

“They’re redundant if not used. It’ll stop the drivers from escaping and blending in with you. Hell, if someone runs off to warn you, they’ll get shot. Me and Nadine were shot at when we were trying to leave. The RDA literally were the cause of Jerome and Kim human’s death.” Jake laughed bitterly, “Not all of them are even aware of their cage around them.”

Mo’at’s eyes drifted to the den’s opening for a moment. Silence stayed between them for a good few minutes before her eyes returned to him. “What other reasons pushed for you to escape, Jakesully?”

“I told you my reasons.” He said, his heart sinking a little.

“Not all of them, I sense there is more and...how the female reacted to certain areas of your explanation… You both have more reasons. Not mentioned.”

Jake felt a little stuck on how to answer; his hands clenching a little but he found his tongue. “Look, I was going to tell you but…I can’t tell you if Kim or any of my other camp crew are about. They won’t believe me but…What I have to say is important. Your mate and successors will need to know as well.”

Mo’at considered his words. “Simply, we will return Kim back to your camp early. I’m sure she’d be eager to return. In the meantime, your hands will aid with making some basic pain remedies for you to learn our herbs. Safe for Na’vi, humans and Dreamwalkers.”

Jake nodded, glad a little to be out of interrogation by her and to be useful.

For the next three hours, Jake was busy both learning but also talking more about the RDA. It’s structure as an organisation; anything he had learned in terms of their other projects about their world; that wasn’t a lot but he was sure he could check through the data he had taken from Selfridge’s tablet and check. He hadn’t really gone through all the files; just the ones about the Omatikaya.

Kim did leave, popping up to give him a brief goodbye though she looked far chipper than she had before he felt the bubble of…emotion rise as Eytukan, Neytiri and Tsu’tey joined them at Mo’at’s request. Jake wasn’t sure if it was anxiety or…the fact he was telling something that could get him laughed at when he needed them to believe him.

“Why must we be here?” Tsu’tey asked, crouching down following Mo’at’s invitation to do so with the two. “My hunters want to leave.”

“Then they will learn patience,” Eytukan spoke, crouching beside Mo’at.

“Jakesully wished to further explain his reasons for leaving the sky people, he believes it may be of importance for you to be aware,” Mo’at spoke. “He did not wish to tell in the presence of his companions.”

“Why must this be private? I believed you were very open with your companions” Neytiri asked curiously.

Jake hummed, in somewhat of an agreement there. “I am but… It’s kinda hard to explain without…ridicule from them. Right now, they won’t believe what I have to say because…for us, it was believed to be fiction or...something not real. Something silly and nothing to fear. I have no way to prove what I have to say is true to any of my scientist group but…I have to tell you this.”

Neytiri looked to her parents though Eytukan remained quiet for a moment then said, “Then speak.”

Jake nodded, fidgeting a little as he decided how to speak. “Right. So… some of this you may understand, some you might not but I’ll explain the best I can. In your world, you have your apex predators; Thanator and Toruk. They don’t have a species that hunts them as prey. On Earth, humans aren’t apex predators but, nothing hunted us for a good few hundred years. At least, we didn’t think so. There’s a species that…we have in our mythology. Across all cultures, there are variants of this species. Where I’m from, we call this species Vampires. They are a predator species that prey on humans.” Jake explained, his stomach churning a little as he spoke. “Specifically, they feed on human blood than flesh but I wouldn’t be surprised if they took more than that.”

“Sky people have predators?” Tsu’tey seemed almost amused at the concept. “Yet they think of them as…stories? Nonsense.”

Jake gave Tsu’tey a dry look. “It’s how they’ve hidden, Tsu’tey. They are known across cultures because they were found out but they’ve used the notion of myths and stories to hide. You wouldn’t know a human from a vampire until one ripped your throat out.” He shook his head. “Do you not understand how terrifying it is? Vampires look like Sky people. Humans. Because they used to be humans.” He took a breath but carried on with what made sense. “They…commonly reproduce by biting and converting a human into a vampire. I…don’t know if they do it via venom or if they do it through blood exchange—the science is lost on me—but they reproduce via conversion. They are sentient as you or I but they’ve been this successful in their hunting by…blending in with humans. There are a few tells that set them aside if you know what you’re looking for. It makes them perfect hunters if you don’t know you’re surrounded by predators.”

The unease was not unmissed.

“I can see how that is…uncomfortable,” Neytiri spoke, “Not knowing a friend from an enemy…”

“I know and… I wish I knew how a vampire changes from what they used to be like as a human. If they…the same person or if they change entirely.” Jake didn’t know but he was sure he had a good footing now, even as his heart pounded still. “As I said, Humans even now don’t believe and if I was to go and tell the others, they’d think I’m crazy to believe such a thing. Which is why I can’t tell the other just yet.” Jake ran his hand through his hair, “But they are real…I found out the hard way. My brother was killed by one.” He swallowed uneasily. “And they’re… they like to live in areas of high-mortality rate. They can kill and cover that with natural deaths happening all around them. Battlefields…was when I first came across them. We… Me and Nadine were part of a war on Earth. It was bad. There was a second unit, another group of warriors who had taken shelter in… a run-down, underground place while we waited for our leaders to pull us out of the area. One radio between us… We kept the radio on so we could keep morale up.” He paused, taking a second to clear his throat. “They had twenty… armed, gear-protected warriors with them at the time. One vampire. Four seconds. All dead.”

His breath shook though he was relieved to see the alarming tilt in both Eytukan and Tsu’tey’s ears.

“We heard all of it. Investigated it. A massacre.” Jake shook his head. “Vampires aren’t like humans. They’ve evolved to…be more. They have…abilities that are unheard of here. You can’t keep them out or keep them locked in. They have…impossible strength. That vampire that killed that squad of warriors clawed and bit their way through tens of feet of solid stone, concrete and metal. Humans built cars and…ships to go faster but vampires picked up a running speed to be faster than we can blink, or…they found a way to fly themselves. Hell, they might be able to shapeshift—change their form to look like an animal to hide out during the day…hell, may even be able to trick the mind.” He shook his head with a disbelieving laugh “They’re terrifying because they are unstoppable. You know humans are tough. I know you call us demons but our demons are worse than us.” He gave that look to Tsu’tey as he said that, watching as the man shivered a little, though he looked worried. Thank god.

Neytiri reached forward, her hand massive on his shoulder. “Then do not worry, Jake. This is not earth. You’re safe here.”

Jake looked at her wide-eyed. “No. They made it to Pandora, Neytiri. They’re here. In Hell’s Gate. Right now.”

That turned the den a little colder, eyes turning to Eytukan swiftly then back to him, Tsu’tey rose to his feet, his hand gripping his bow.

“They…are here?” Eytukan’s eyes narrowed though the alarm was not unmissed. “How?”

“I don’t know, but… if I had to guess, they’re still maintaining secrecy over the humans that are there so they can hunt inconspicuously on the population. It’s a much smaller population and chances are easier for news to spread. If humans found out, there’d be a riot. My…current confirmed count is four vampires, but the fact they’ve got control over Hell’s Gate to some extent shows me they have a few vampires in necessary areas. The warrior stations; to know the human orders and their combat routines, security monitors; to delete incriminating footage, or to add false ones to keep the image up and…one is the head of a department; a lot of control is established at a high level”

“That is…highly efficient. Which means it’s more than four.” Tsu’tey remarked.

“Four I met are in one department. The avatar program. I have to…assume there are at least four in every section to maintain coverage. But, while they’re not yet a threat to the Na’vi….the humans will find out eventually. I…don’t know what will happen when it does. Vampires…can’t leave your world like humans. Their….biology won’t work the same. They probably came to this world from an infected, converting human that… remained frozen that halted the transformation, for the travel but once they were out of cryo the conversion continued to completion.”

“These creatures, what do they look like? Are they indistinguishable from Sky-people or are there signs we can note and be wary of?”

“There are tell-tale signs if you know what you’re looking for. They…have a pale appearance as if they’re ill or very tired. They are cold to touch. They have red irises but the ones I’ve seen use a type of plastic called contact lenses, that’s coloured covering to look like their human eye colour that’s placed across the irises. When feeding or provoked, their human-like teeth sharpen into fangs, typically the canines of their teeth.” He pulled out his tablet he kept tucked into his chair; ready for this, pulling out a few pictures to show them the mythical drawings. “They don’t…or can’t eat actual food. They’re… able to live without their masks since they’re not… oxygen-dependent like us. They wear them to blend in with the humans.”

“How are they killed?”

“Well, they’re already dead. The conversion…turns their biology enough to remove redundant things. Like, it stops the heart. No heartbeat. It’s why they’re cold and….pale. They’re immortal in a way; they can’t age or grow old. Frozen at the age they’re turned.”

“Already dead?” Mo’at spoke, “I have…never heard of such a thing!” but she wasn’t denying its possibility.

“I know, but there’s a few ways to kill them fully but… some I’ve had to eliminate from our mythology based on evidence I’ve seen. Sunlight was once believed to kill them but I’ve seen them prance through those light beams without trouble. A wooden stake through the heart might be on the table, decapitation…maybe silver… I’m not sure you’d like that since it’s a type of metal. Possibly fire. They have…heightened senses. Amazing senses which means they can be overwhelmed. There’s garlic, but…we don’t have any of that here. It’s an earth vegetable or…herb. Believed to be acidic to their flesh. The religious belief stuff and running water’s just nonsense.” He pondered thoughtfully, taking away religious stuff as a possibility given it was put into the mythos by vampires to make humans think they had a chance. “I can check my brother’s seed collection to see if there’s a clove to grow from or see if you have a plant with identical properties to garlic.”

“What risks would these creatures pose? To us?” Eytukan asked.

“Once the humans find out, the chances are they’ll escape Hell’s Gate. Then they’re your problem as well. They might decide humans aren’t worth it. Na’vi has iron-based blood, like a human. They probably haven’t yet considered Na’vi as prey.” Jake watched as Eytukan nodded tensely. “They can outlive you here. Some vampires on Earth may be centuries old or even thousands of years old. The ones here will not be older than however long sky-people have lived on this world.”

“Which is why we’re to know as well,” Neytiri spoke, her tail swishing with unease.

“How come they have not been found out earlier; They feed off humans at the village. Someone would have noticed?” Eytukan realised

“Because…I believe they have power over the human mind. Telepathy is what we call it. We have no mental defences. Think of it like…bonding your queue with someone and controlling their actions through that with your desires, their…mind and memories. Make you walk into a quiet area, forget about them biting…” Jake felt a little queasy speaking about it.

“There’s a shit ton of mythologies of vampires. I’ll leave this tablet with you to read upon them. Some are true, some are not. But…I don’t know the full scope of their capabilities aside. I wasn’t about to sit down and start a Q and A when I wanted out. They would have stopped me.”

Mo’at took the tablet with more interest, though he quickly showed her how it worked but she looked understand quickly the basis. It wasn’t as painful as trying to teach his grandmother how to work the latest update for the computer.

“I just…one question.” Jake turned his attention around, “When…was the last time any of you saw Grace Augustine in her sky-person form.”

Neytiri looked at him sharply, her eyes widened and became horrified. “No!” connecting the question to the topic quickly. Tsu’tey’s ears flattened back.

Both Tsahìk and Olo'eyktan looked up from the tablet and then at each other.

“The…day of the shooting. I spoke to her to dismiss her from her lands.” Eytukan spoke, his tone turning weary. “She was pink-cheeked and sweaty as most sky-people in our world.”

Jake suspected as much. Something more recent. “Then…somewhere from the day of the shooting to…last week, she was killed and converted into a vampire.”

Neytiri’s head shook desperately “No!”

“I’m sorry.” Jake apologised, offering a hand to her. “But she’s cold. Believe me, I’ve felt her touch.”

Neytiri’s eyes welled before she dashed off and out of the den.

“Neytiri!” Tsu’tey followed after her.

Jake took a steady breath, though he looked back to the Tsahìk who looked a little paler with this truth, looking down at the tablet. “I know you were friends with her. I…couldn’t let you go to or across her without knowing. She’s the vampire in a high position as Head of SciOps of the RDA.”

Eytukan hummed in consideration. “I see why we needed to know.”

Jake nodded. “I’ll leave you to…this. I think I should go home now.” He didn’t like how it made Neytiri cry but…he supposed it was hard to hear. To know someone she cared for had been…killed and turned into a monster…it was hard.

He took the help of the warrior Eytukan called to get him back to camp, though he felt a swell of relief.

The Na’vi knew their monsters now.

I do post this on a03 if you're interested.

#avatar #avatar james cameron #avatar au #grace augustine #avatar the way of water #mo'at #jake sully #neytiri #avatar rda #neytiri te tskaha mo'at'ite #tsu'tey #eytukan #vampire #vampire au #vampire grace

15 notes · View notes