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fizzyxcustard · 2 years ago

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Never.

Masterlist of fan fiction

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairings: Eleventh Doctor x OC

Warnings: Angst, insecurity, sadness, smut, first person POV

Summary: Sarah has been travelling with the Doctor and has fallen madly in love with the Time Lord. Will their feelings finally get the better of them?

Comments/Notes: I wrote this fic around 2014/15 and it is currently up on my AO3 page for reading, but I thought I would try it here and see how it goes. This is part 1 of 5, in a series called 'Cup of Tea and Jammie Dodgers'.

Currently I am keeping the tag list for this series completely separate from my main Follow Forever tag list, so if you'd like to be added to this tag list for Doctor Who, please let me know.

I hope you like the fic. As always, like, reblog and comment if you enjoy. If you wish to be added to any of my tag lists, let me know.

It didn’t matter how many times I tried to convince myself that he could love someone like me, I knew he never would. I was a mere human, nothing special, nothing fantastic. A man like him deserved an exotic woman from a distant planet who could match him mentally with her expertise in time travel and higher than average IQ. I couldn’t deliver on any of that. I was just a mediocre, run of the mill woman from central England.

The Doctor had come into my life quite by accident. He’d been the one to pick me up from a dark place and took me to the stars – literally. Over the time we’d travelled together in the TARDIS, he’d spoke of his previous companions and all of them seemed to have something to offer. But I just couldn’t see at all what had called him to take me to other worlds. Maybe I should have asked him as it was something I’d never brought myself to ask.

The last two or three days I’d tried my best to keep myself to myself while I let this confusion in my head unfold. Each day I’d retire quite early to the library or pool and so far he hadn’t really noticed. He was his usual self: bouncy, child-like, but always had that all too familiar sadness sitting behind his eyes. I’d only seen him cry once, but he’d smiled through the tears, pretending that he was being silly. But, to me, he’d never be silly. He was the most amazing man I’d ever known, and I’m sure everyone else that had met him thought exactly the same. So...why would I be any different?

The TARDIS, so far, had been big enough for me to hide. But not anymore. I was sat beside the pool, listening to my own thoughts, when I heard a gentle calling of my name. And there he was, stood in the doorway. When I first met him he hadn’t been the kind of man I’d have fallen for; he was boyish in his appearance with floppy hair, continuous hand gestures and a mad bowtie. Behind that and he was so much more. He was freedom, hope and a reason to live life expectantly. Since stepping on board the TARDIS, I woke up awaiting the wonder of a new world or the echoes of someone’s forgotten past.

He placed a freshly brewed cup of tea and a packet of Jammie Dodgers on the table beside me. His shoes squeaked on the tiles as he spun on his heel and sat on the edge of the recliner next to me.

“You don’t look dressed for swimming,” he said softly, looking at my attire of jeans and blouse.

“You never know what I might have hiding under here,” I laughed, looking down at my blouse, but as soon as I’d let the words fall off my lips, I realised my stupidity. I’d never been one to talk provocatively, no matter how hard I tried.

The Doctor let his expression gradually turn to a sad smile as he seemingly forgot my comment. Maybe he hadn’t seen the innuendo of it.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” he asked. “I had noticed even though you always tell me I don’t seem to notice anything.”

I sighed and shifted awkwardly in my seat. I wanted to tell him so badly how I felt. Every time I caught sight of him and I felt the butterflies set up residence in my stomach. I’d always been so guarded when it came to men and allowing myself to fall for them. There were still old scars inside me which hadn’t quite healed over completely. One of these scars was due to an old fiancée who had fallen out of love with me. He’d grown distant from me, finding more happiness in the company of others until he broke the relationship off. Maybe he hadn’t been the one so to speak, but he made me feel like I fit in with everyone else. With him and I could tell everyone that someone loved me. I could be like all my old co-workers and ex-school friends who I accidentally bumped into on the street. With the Doctor...oh, it was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. Unknowingly, he’d taken me from that need to be ordinary and like everyone else, transforming me into something else. I was different now. I travelled through time and space with a mad man in a blue box. What was normal about that?

How could I just let everything spill out? I suddenly felt hot and flustered. I needed to run.

I got up from my seat quickly, ignoring his protests for me to come back. The tears began to fall down my cheeks and a lump rose in my throat.

Suddenly I felt his hand around my arm and I was turned quickly, although not forcefully.

I looked into his eyes, those deep set eyes that had become so beautiful to me. Gradually I backed up against the wall, but he stepped forward, keeping the distance between us minimal.

My heart thundered in my chest and I looked down, unable to keep eye contact. “You’re playing with me,” I said sternly. “Stop it!”

“Somehow I believe you’re the better one at teasing,” he replied. His eyes had grown darker with something I couldn’t, in that moment, admit to seeing there. I just couldn’t admit it to myself that he might possibly feel something for me.

Then he raised his hand and cupped my cheek, his thumb gently rubbing away the one tear that had clung there. “My dearest Sarah,” he whispered. “You just don’t see it. None of it. You think beauty lies in the constellations, nebulas and galaxies. But I see all of that when I look in your eyes.”

“You chose me to travel with you, but why? Everyone else that you’ve had as a companion has had more about them...”

“Shhhh,” he said, growing agitated. “There’s a reason for each one of you passing through those doors. The TARDIS knows who I need, and she chose you for me, Sarah.”

How could he speak to me like this when he was married to River Song? Did Time Lords have a twisted idea of marriage and then sneak off with concubines? He was confusing me, and I think he sensed that.

“Doctor, you’re married to River. Why do you think I’ve kept away from you?” I asked, moving aside and out of the door. “How can I stand in front of the man I love day after day and know nothing can ever come of it? I age and die, you regenerate. It’s as though life enjoys playing sick games with you.”

I dashed down the corridor, trying to find my way back towards my room, but each and every time I attempted to get away, I kept coming back to the entrance to the pool. The Doctor stood there with his arms crossed.

“You know how the TARDIS works, Sarah. Don’t keep running away. You need to face up to problems in your life rather than keep running,” he told me.

“Oh, you’re a fine one to say that to me seeing as you took me from home!” I shouted. “You run from your past every day, Doctor. And you stand there preaching to me about it.”

I could see the frustration growing on his face and with no other words spoken he approached me quickly, and kissed me.

I tried to pull away but he had his hands on my cheeks, keeping me against him. As his lips moved, I knew I couldn’t keep the running routine up. He weakened me and I stood there completely defenceless, responding to his kiss. My arms wound around his waist and I groaned beneath our locked lips.

Gradually we parted, our breaths heightened.

He smiled at me and then pressed his forehead against mine. “Never think you’re unimportant. Never!”

The Doctor excused himself from my company a short time later, promising to come and see me once he’d taken care of some calculations and such in the main console room.

I took a quick swim and then had a shower, washing all of the chlorine out of my hair. But all the way through I couldn’t take my mind off the Doctor. Smiles kept coming out of nowhere and I must have looked like a lunatic to anyone watching. However, I knew I needed to learn of his intentions. Where would any kind of relationship go from here? Or would it be nigh on impossible. For today I needed to forget it all and just enjoy the moment. Living in the moment for the sheer fun of it was something I’d never been able to do. My mind had always been locked on the future, stressing about the what ifs and maybes of life.

After the shower, I returned to my room only to find that the single bed which was against the wall had now turned into a double, centred amongst the simple furnishings.

What on earth was the TARDIS doing? I’d been told countless times how she needed to be sure of a person and only allowed those on board who were important and integral to the Doctor’s travels. What was the reason behind my presence?

I stepped further into the room and slipped a hand down onto the crisp, white bed sheets. A tingle shot up my back making me shiver. The Doctor... and me...in this bed.

The door shut behind me and as I turned I saw him. His tweed jacket was missing and his shirt sleeves were rolled up.

“Been busy?” I asked.

“Not as busy as I’d like to be,” he replied. “I think you’ll make sure I have my work cut out for me.”

One thing I knew was for certain: if I made love to him here, tonight, things would never be the same for me. I couldn’t let this be a one night stand. My heart was his, completely. But was his heart mine?

“Doctor,” I whispered. “I can’t.”

He smiled at me. “I know you enough by now to know why. Truth is, I know I’m married to River, but my heart...or hearts,” he began. He stopped and chuckled. “My hearts aren’t there. I care for River but not in the same way I care for you. In my last regeneration, I felt this way for someone else.”

“Rose?” I asked. I knew it was her. Sometimes the way he spoke about her made everything so clear. She’d been his first love. He’d speak about other companions from his last regeneration like Martha and Donna, but the regret and sadness wasn’t present in his voice like when he mentioned Rose. His previous companions from this regeneration, Amy and her husband, Rory, had been his best friends, sharing in so many of his trials and triumphs. Where I fit in, I didn’t quite know.

“But...I’m different, Sarah. In this form I have my memories, but the feelings disappear...some of them.”

“You said that you left a clone of yourself with Rose so she’d never be without you. How am I supposed to walk away from all of this without you? And I mean you as you are now.”

“Isn’t it better to taste love once even if it’s not meant to last, than never taste it at all?” he asked me.

All reason and control left me and I leaned up to kiss him.

My hands wound up in his hair as his drifted down me, causing goose bumps to rise on my skin. I couldn’t help but let out a groan, momentarily feeling embarrassment, but that soon dissipated as I found myself being disrobed.

His lips inspected me carefully, inch by inch as we made sure no more clothing could get in the way. And shortly after, we lay amongst the fresh covers. He was leaning over me, kissing my neck passionately. I’d never seen him so primal and unrestricted.

I couldn’t help but arch my back as his lips travelled down my body, until he came to my inner thigh and it was then that I called out into the air.

“I don’t want to wait anymore,” I said, trying to get the words out coherently between the feelings which were bombarding me.

He never spoke but instead began kissing back upward, seemingly not missing an inch. And as his face came in front of mine, I took his lips back against mine but felt him enter me at the same time in one swift movement. On instinct and in shock I groaned under the kiss, and then he reciprocated.

We began to thrust against one another, matching one another’s movements and as we did, he took my hands in his. I could feel the ascension to my orgasm beginning and it became so quick the harder we pulsed into one another, until finally, I felt that last turbulent wave hit me. Whilst the orgasm pulsed through me, the Doctor groaned against my neck, signalling his release.

Breathlessly, he withdrew and lay beside me.

We let our breaths come back to normal before the Doctor reached over and began tickling me. Instantly I laughed, pulling away, but he came almost on top of me, attacking me with his hands. My insides hurt as I laughed over and over, until I found a way to get at him.

I lunged forwards, still giggling and began tickling him back in retaliation. His laughter filled the room until we settled down to sleep.

I woke to find that the space next to me had become vacant and the Doctor’s clothes had disappeared. Sighing, I got up, re-dressed and decided to take a walk down to the console room. Maybe he was in there, hovering over leavers and gauges...as per usual.

This time the TARDIS allowed me to walk smoothly into the console room, where I found him. I stayed by the door, watching him grinning like a happy child and hopping around the system, chattering away. Now that I’d experienced what it was like to not only travel with the Doctor, but allow him in, I knew I’d never be the same again.

***

Doctor Who tag list: @asgardianhobbit98 @bookworm-with-coffee

#Doctor Who #Eleventh Doctor #Fanfiction #Doctor Who Fanfiction #Eleventh Doctor x OC #11th Doctor x OC #Eleventh Doctor x Original Female Character #11th Doctor x Original Female Character #Matt Smith #Eleventh Doctor Fanfiction

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wannaeatramyeon · 1 year ago

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hihi!! i thought this was funny and wanted to tell you😭

i was telling my friend about Goo and how i would absolutely marry him and they said that he needs their blessing. i asked what he can do to get their blessing and they said he needed to write them an essay about how much he loves me so, to entertain them, i wrote them an essay from Goo's perspective about why he wants to marry me with a 20 minute timer. it was 584 words in the end and I worked a miracle.

Moral of the story: Goo got the blessing😭so uhhh you can always write your way into someones life??

This tickled me, just imagining the unhinged ramblings from Goo POV mixed with your own. Drop it please.

Inbox clearing time! Non fic requests answered: 6. (Check it - plus my fave Lookism arcs!)

To the non-anon anon that I have not included and I don't know what to do with your message - No, I won't hold your hand while you poop. Good luck with that.

Really?? I feel so... unhinged and nonsensical (even more so than usual) when I rant. Seriously thank you for reading!?!!?

PTJ did somewhat write women with more of a personality in his Life As A Loser Series so it seems more of a shame that he's lost his touch and catering much more towards teenage boys with his current series.

Which. Fine. Action manhwa - great. BUT if your target audience are teenage boys then yknow, wouldn't it be even BETTER to write some strong badass women so these impressionable youngsters realise that not all girls need saving, and oh look. Girls are human too. With their own ambitions and flaws and imperfections, just like everyone else.

If you must make them simp, form a harem. Also. FINE. At least give them something beyond that.

Hey Black Anon! Sorry again for how long it took me to respond to your ask before, and hope it's going much better for yourself since your last request.

I'm muuuuch more responsive with DMs so if you ever wanna come out of anon - come shout at me in my DMs!!

HTF s2 is really... something. Completely lost the meaning of HTF and Viral Hit. Don't blame you for dropping it. Alas, the Taehoon grip on me is still going STRONG.

LOL. Me in a similar position, wondering if I should get into JJK.

Can I... recommend some of my fave arcs if you ever do decide to read Lookism? The ones I like are generally more story driven.

Vasco's backstory (prepare the tissues) - 52 - 57

Johan + Zack + Mira backstory (cult warning, another sad arc) - 132 - 138

Goddog (another pretty sad arc with Johan) - 199 - 213

Jacedichi Files (silly crime solving with Burn Knuckles) - 215 - 218

One Night (Johan + Jace!! Fun action) - 258 - 262

Jake Kim (PLEASE READ THIS IF NOTHING ELSE) - 302 - 318

Workers (2A) (Rescuing Sinu. Honestly, I cry almost every time. Read Jake Kim's arc to appreciate this!) - 372 - 392

Let me know if you ever get into it!!!

Me??? Mine????? I cannot write that guy so thank you - that means A LOT to me! I will try harder to write a decent Eli (that doesn't devolve into ranting about his current direction).

Thank you for reading and being so friggin CUTE!! 💖

I feel a vaguely threatening tone from this.

Like something Goo would recite before walking into a darkened warehouse with a crowbar 🤔

Baby there's nothing noble about this, but it is actually more satisfying than my normal job lol (lolling through tears).

Thank you so much for reading!! My single braincell has been firing quite well with these ideas.

Anon. Honestly this is adorable, I've screenshat this for a pick me up ahhhhhhh 🥹

My dear 🕊️ anon, thank you for reading my DG fic! I also feel very little for DG but I will admit I am coming around to him.

YES!!! I LOVE the idea of someone getting close to James Lee in his younger years, and him being soft for the reader.

And then I also like angst so let's bring those 2 things together. Heh.

Eeeee I also added that Remember fic to my list of faves that I have written.

Please. I also have a list of fictional men I am unwell over. Let's start a support group! 🫠

#🕊️ anon #🖤 anon #ramen asks

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merwynpersonalhub · 1 year ago

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you know what this be silly to try so why not i wanna see what you come up with uh if you want my gender im bigender and and demiromantic and asexual i think.. i have a few fictional crushes and stuff and most of them are the same..either they are really sweet and will give comfort or the iconic he is a loser but i love him guy. so something like that?? (all of them are men/i hc as men which is pretty funny) (ALSO uh romantic would be nice but u can do plationic) uh i probably going to put a list of fictional others i actually have that i never post bc im a shy guy..(maybe it will help you a bit who knows)

1)x from bfb (yes im into object shows and i have a sona i never showed) 2)streber from spooky month (he just a silly guy...also have a sona i never shown) 3)usopp from one piece..(my sister got me into anime- even if i havent seen/watched alot of it. my sister helped design a sona for me but i need to redesign him) i have other characters but i dont self ship but i just ship with a oc not a self insert- (for example peppino from pizza tower and matt (the character) from eddsworld, barnaby from welcome home (dw it just cute silly stuff) uhhh i hope this sorta helps you dont need to do this i just wanted to try this out..IF YOU NEED MORE STUFF TELL ME! (ADDING EXTRA STUFF) im a art type of person i love looking at any art and love music alot.. i am self conscious about certain things and usually hide alot of stuff.. im always laying around relaxing or hyperfixated on something there is no inbetween...im always overwhelmed and worried for things.... i love spirits and stuff like that..but i also usually like normal stuff..

Hey give me a little about yourself, and I'll assign you a F/O!

You don't have to give me a lot the bare minimum is at least gender, sexuality/preferences, your personality and type of f/o (romantic platonic, ect). You can also add other stuff like your type or more small details if you want for hopefully a better match.

Also mention any fandoms/characters you don't want me to pick so I don't accidentally do that.

#im not tagging this lol..i dont actually show a single thing about self shipping but..like i do it alot- just hiding in a silly corner-#also margarita used to sorta be a self insert fun fact but he not anymore-#ok now im gonna hide for a bit bc i need to make art

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mrskurono · 4 years ago

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I have come to thirst about makki’s fine self. I’ve been writing my fic about him and my head has been very very full. So you see his lovely smile he has that smile while he overstims you. You’re writhing and crying about how it’s too much and he just continues what he’s doing whether it’s fingering you, eating you out or fucking you. Or he’ll fuck you with a toy and when you beg him for his cock he just smiles and goes “no you silly, needy baby you didn’t cum enough on this toy yet”

Well as Makki has been added to my very short list of fictional men that are allow to dom me (I mean, so like what four of them now? Maybe?) I have to say I'm not fond of mean dom makki and making his partner cry. What I do love though, is praise kink Makki who loves seeing you feel good because of him and encourages you to cum as much as you want before he can hardly control himself and fucks the two of you stupid 🥰

The way he smiles at you when he watches your hips shudder. Asking you for one more orgasm because he knows you deserve it. Even if its your second or third Makki loves it as much as the first one he watched washed over. Ignoring his own pleasure until finally he can't take it anymore and fucks himself stupid inside you. Arms on either side of you as he snaps his hips into yours with the love struck half lidded look down at you as he pants and tries to kiss you with that grin on his face 🥰🥵💦

Also....a Makki fic 👀 I'm waiting with baited breath for delicious food Dee! 🙏

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cordonian-literature · 4 years ago

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The Aftermath - Ch. 22

Surprise Appearances

Summary: At the Masquerade Ball, Liam tries to spend time with Riley, and Eleanor gets herself in an odd place.

Word Count: ~5.5k

Warnings: none

*All characters belong to Pixelberry, except those that are unique to my story (I’ve also used some characters and fictional instances from Donna Tartt’s book “The Goldfinch”)*

Catch up here!

Tags: @captain-kingliamsqueen @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @gkittylove99 @lovablegranny @loudbluebirdlover @mom2000aggie @kingliam2019 @queenrileyrose @shanzay44 @cordonianroyalty @hopefulmoonobject @hopelessromanticmonie @cinnamonspongecake @queenjilian @kuladekiwi @twinkle-320 @iaminlovewithtrr @charlotteg234 @amandablink @texaskitten30 @tinkie1973 @louiseingram1208 @queencatherynerhys @pens-girl-87 @missevabean @ladyangel70 @sanchita012 @cordonianprincess @liamandneca @cordonia-gothqueen @pink-diamond13

I don’t know if the tags are working or not, but I hope I got everyone down! If anyone wants to be added/removed, please let me know! :)

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

- Eleanor -

Walking into the palace felt like I had walked into a movie scene. I couldn’t believe that this would be where I would stay for the next few weeks, or as Bartie told me, possibly for the rest of my life.

Aunt Rowan, Mama, and me drove over in a limo with Duchess Olivia and Countess Hana, while the Beaumont family went in their own car. We showed up around noon, and Liam was on the steps to lead us in. He had a wide smile on his face, and he walked up to our car to help Mama get out.

Gabe rushes towards Mama, slightly pushing in between her and Liam to hug her, and I go to hug Liam. Mama laughs as they lead us to her room, saying that it was very freeing for her to walk without a cast.

Mama’s room is connected to my room, but Gabriel’s is a little far and closer to Liam’s room. I felt a little weird about that, since our rooms had always been right next to each other, but I calm myself down and hope that it’s not permanent.

Liam disappears for most of the day, and Mama spends time with Aunt Rowan, Duchess Olivia, and Countess Hana. Gabe gives me a small tour around the palace, with Bartie trailing behind us.

There were also guards following us, and Gabe told me that it was weird for him, too, but Liam had said that it was necessary.

Everything in the palace was just a collection of extremely fancy things, and things that I knew someone would yell at me for if I touched them. There were chandeliers everywhere, and the light from the windows reflected off of them. We didn’t get to go in all of the rooms since there were a lot of people coming in throughout the day, but everything I saw made me more and more excited to live here.

Before we could have dinner, Mama called us into a little dress shop inside the palace. Her and her friends spent forever picking out what to wear, but finally Countess Hana walked out in a pink dress, Duchess Olivia walked out in a sparkly red one, Aunt Rowan wore a black one, and Mama walked out from behind the curtain in a silver dress.

“Work it, blossom!” Lord Maxwell says, suddenly appearing. He stops suddenly, looking Aunt Rowan up and down. “R- Rowan... you look... great.” His suit has silver and black squids on it. Aunt Rowan blushes. He shakes his head and with a silly smile walks towards a drawer and takes out a black mask that covers the top half of his face. He picks up another one and hands it to Mama.

It’s covered with glitter and diamonds, and covers all of her face. If I looked away and then back at her, I couldn’t even tell that she was my mother.

She poses in front of us, asking how she looked. We tell her that she’s like a beautiful disco ball, and she turns to find outfits for Gabe and me.

Gabe gets a white tux with a blue vest. Lord Maxwell says that we don’t have to wear a mask, but helps Gabe find one anyway. Mama, Aunt Rowan, Duchess Olivia, and Countess Hana shuffle through dresses, finding something that would fit me.

I stand there and wait, watching Lord Maxwell fussing over my brother. I wonder if Liam would show up, but Drake walks through the door wearing his everyday outfit.

“You’re not dressed up?” Lord Maxwell asks him.

“No,” Drake answers. He says nothing else.

Lord Maxwell stares at Drake, while Gabe and I look between them. “Is Jessica coming?”

“No,” states Drake again. He looks around at Mama and her friends sorting through dresses. He walks closer to Mama, who holds up a gray dress. “Liam’s wearing something like that tonight.”

Mama glances between me and the dress. “Come here,” she tells me. Holding the dress against my chest, she determines that it’s too big.

“Oh, what about this one?” Aunt Rowan says, holding out a blue one. “Gabe and Ella could match!” Again they hold the dress against me. Mama walks into a changing room with me, but it doesn’t go over my head.

“Too small,” Mama calls out.

“Try this!” I hear Lord Maxwell say as a white dress flies over the door. “You could both match!”

Mama helps me into that dress, but it feels itchy with all the glitter.

Finally, Countess Hana calls out, “This should fit her perfectly!”

For the last time, Mama helps me into a poofy purple dress. I come out of the changing room, and everyone compliments me.

“Here.” My brother hands me a purple and black mask. It only covers my eyes, but I feel mysterious.

Gabriel and I pretend that we don’t recognize each other. Mama joins in and laughs with us, but then starts telling us to walk towards the ballroom. We hadn’t even noticed that other people had came in to start getting ready.

The closer we got to the ballroom, the more people I saw wearing bright, fancy outfits. All of the hallways were lined with unscented candles. As we walked closer to the ballroom doors, people’s heads turned in our direction. Bastien shows up out of nowhere, and reminds Mama that Gabe needs to be at Liam’s side.

I can’t see Mama’s expression under her mask, and over all the people talking, I can’t hear her either. Gabe and I look at each other, then around the room, silently searching for Liam.

The more I look around, the more I see that there are many people staring at my brother and I. All of a sudden, I didn’t want to do this.

I wonder if it’s too late to go back home, but then I ask myself where home even is.

I feel like I’m about to cry, and I do my best to stop myself. I bite my tongue and blink as fast as I can. Gabe notices and grabs my hand.

“Can Ella and I go in together?” Gabe asks Mama and Bastien. They turn towards us, and then Bastien whispers something to Mama again.

We follow him to the front of the crowd, where there is an open door. There are already a lot of people in the ballroom, and everyone is talking. I see Liam near a piano, wearing a gray suit with a gray mask, in a conversation with two other men. I wave at him, but he doesn’t see me.

Gabe and I are still holding hands. He begins to walk forward, and I follow him.

When we walk through the doors, someone yells: “His Highness, Prince Gabriel, and Lady Eleanor Blaise!”

Liam had already told us that our names would be pronounced like that in public, but the man’s loud voice interrupts the steady pace of people talking. I hear whispers and see everyone’s heads turn. Gabe walks slower. I turn towards Liam, wanting to run up to him and ask him to put the party for another day. Thankfully, he sees us and motions for us to come near him.

“Good evening children,” a tall man says. The person next to him nods, and all those lessons Lord Maxwell gave us about people’s names become useless; Because of the masks, I didn’t know who anyone was!

But Gabriel flows easily into the conversation. “Good evening, gentlemen.” He turns to Liam and continues, “Good evening, Li- Father.”

I force myself to contain a giggle. Liam smiles at us. The second man asks, “How are you both enjoying Cordonia so far?”

“We haven’t seen much yet,” Gabriel states. “But it’s gorgeous. I’m proud to call it my home.”

I hear the smile in his voice. Something edges at me, wondering if those words were Gabe’s real feelings or not. But I mean... it’s not like Cordonia isn’t a pretty country. It’s not like I wouldn’t be proud to call it my home.

The men turn their attention to someone behind us. “Lord Maxwell,” the two men greet in union.

“Your Majesty,” Maxwell says to Liam. I want to give our little inside joke and say that Liam wasn’t really the king, but the way that these men talk make me feel like making a joke would be stupid. That’s the last thing I wanted these people to think of me. “Duke Hakim. Duke Rashad.”

We turn to see Aunt Rowan at Lord Maxwell’s arm. She bows towards Liam.

“C’mon, baby blossoms,” Lord Maxwell says as Duke Hakim and Lord Rashad take Liam’s attention. “Let’s go get some snacks.”

While we walk over, I start giggling again.

“What’s so funny?” Gabe asks me.

“You said ‘Le Father’.”

“That was a close save. Imagine if I had called him by his name in front of those people?”

I roll my eyes at his lack of amusement.

On a table at the side of the room are small plates with snacks on them. The ones closest to us are cut up vegetables with toppings. I grab a tiny plate of pieces of celery with a dressing that smelled sweet. Gabriel follows me, and we both take bites of our foot.

“I thought zayats like carrots?” someone says with a heavy accent.

Gabe and I turn around to see Uncle Boris in all black, without a mask. His dark curly hair is pulled back with gel. He smiles down at us, and I jump into his embrace.

“Uncle Boris!” Gabe says. He jumps into the hug. “When did you get here?”

“Oh, few hours ago. Had to make pit stop in Cordonia, figured I should visit my zayats.”

Lord Maxwell holds out his hand, and Uncle Boris shakes it. Him and Aunt Rowan share a quick hug, and she asks him if he was on the guest list.

“No,” he answers. “I tell them I am Godfather of heir and they let me in.”

“I’m sure Liam would love to meet you,” Lord Maxwell says. “C’mere, I’ll introduce you—”

“Thank you, no.” Uncle Boris wipes off Lord Maxwell’s hand from his shoulder. “I need to leave early. In few minutes I have meeting. Where is your mama?”

“I’m right here, Boris,” Mama says from behind him. They hug each other, and Uncle Boris looks Mama up and down.

“Dressing up for Prince Charming?”

I see Mama roll her eyes under her mask. She turns to Countess Hana and introduces her to Uncle Boris.

He kisses her hand, and greets Duchess Olivia. I can see that she’s frowning.

“Are you here for the Social Season?” Mama asks.

“No, but have been convinced to participate a little bit,” he answers. He glances at his watch, then turns back to us and continues, “Sorry, zayats, time for me to go.” Everyone wishes him goodbye, and he disappears into the crowd.

The orchestra starts playing music, and people begin walking off in pairs. I see Liam from across the room. He’s with a woman in a silky pink gown, but his eyes are on Mama.

We had to stay with the party until dinner, so while we wait, Gabe and I walk around for what feels like hours. We bump into Liam again. He’s talking to a man who stands with a woman and two children. When Liam sees us, his eyes go wide. The man he was talking to turns.

“Hey there, you two!” I don’t know who he is, but I return the smile he sends us. “Want you to meet your cousins, Hunter and Heather.”

I glance at Gabe, wondering if he knew who the man was. My brother smiles at the two children in front of me.

They’re both slightly taller than us. They wear white masks, and their outfit matches with their mother’s.

“Hi!” Heather says. Hunter just nods.

“Why don’t you guys go walk around while your dad has a talk with Uncle Leo?” the man says. I still don’t know who Uncle Leo is, but I nod and the four of us walk away.

Eventually we end up near the snack table again. We stand there, and I don’t know what to say to Hunter or Heather.

“So...” Gabe tries.

“So.” Heater says.

“Um... are you guys enjoying the party?”

They nod. We don’t move or talk, but watch some people on the dance floor.

I notice Aunt Rowan and Lord Maxwell dancing together. Duchess Olivia dances with someone I can’t see, and Countess Hana dances with Duke Rashad, whose outfit I remembered from earlier.

“This is the most boring party ever,” someone says. There’s another boy and girl walking around the snack table. I think they’re the same age as Hunter and Heather, but I can’t tell. “Even the snacks taste like burning garbage.”

“You should try some of the shrimp over there,” my brother suggests, nodding his head towards the other side of the table.

The boy and girl look at our little group. The girl wears a purple dress, a little lighter than the color I was wearing. The boy wears a deep shade of orange, and they both wear elaborate masks with different colored feathers.

“Didn’t you hear me?” she says, an annoying tone in her voice. “It. Tastes. Like. Garbage.”

I notice Hunter frown at her.

“I think dinner is about to happen soon,” I say to her, trying to lift her mood. The way she talked unnerved me, and I wanted her to go away.

She takes a moment to look me up and down. Suddenly, her tone lifts as she says, “Your dress is so pretty!”

I look down at my clothes, feeling special. “Thank you!”

“Prettier than mine,” she continues, the sour tone back. “And that’s not how it works. The Princess of Auvernal should be the one with the prettiest dresses.”

“That literally doesn’t mean anything,” Heather refutes, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“And... who are you again?” The Princess of Auvernal asks. She scoffs.

Hunter nudges his sister and begins to walk away. Heather looks back at us, and I want to follow her and move away from these two people. But the Princess of Auvernal speaks up again.

“I want to go play a game outside.” I notice her turn towards Gabe. “You’re going to play with us.”

“Um...” My brother glances at me. I wished that there was a silent way to tell him that I didn’t want either of us to go with them. But I know that we can’t be rude to them. “Sure.”

She begins walking out the front doors, and we follow her. I notice security everywhere. Some lights from inside illuminate the dark night. I look up and see stars sparkling at me.

Some people are outside, talking in groups or pairs. A servant comes out of the front doors and announces that dinner is being served. People walk back inside, but the Princess of Auvernal and her brother walk away from the entrance, and my brother follows.

“Perfect,” the Princess says. “No one will bother us.”

“Shouldn’t we go in for dinner?” I ask.

She turns to me. “You can go in. You’re not supposed to be playing with us.”

Gabe and I look at each other, trying to figure out what she meant.

“Didn’t you hear me?” she questions, walking up to me. I want to run away. I don’t like her. “You don’t have the proper lineage to be able to play with us. Go. Away.”

Gabe comes in between the princess and I. “She can play if she wants.”

The boy gives a laugh, and I try to figure out what’s so funny.

“Fine,” the Princess of Auvernal says. “You know what? She can be our little guinea pig for this game.”

She grabs my wrist and leads me farther away from the entrance.

Two guards speak up from behind us. One I recognize from the entrance.

“Your Highness,” one says to the Princess. “Your parents would not like you to stray this far from the main party.”

“Oh, shut it!” she screams. “Leave us be, or I’ll have you exiled!”

Gabe looks back at both guards, but then follows me and the Princess of Auvernal.

We end up in a garden. I smell and hear nature all around me, but it’s so dark over here that I can barely see what’s in front of me.

“Here,” the princess states, finally stopping. “You will go into the maze and try to find the middle. And then you, Gabriel.” She lets go of my wrist and walks to my brother. “Will go to the entrance, close your eyes and try to get back to the ballroom!”

“What?” Gabe asks. “But... that’s not really a game. Why don’t we play hide and seek or something?”

The princess scoffs. “Fine!” she screams. “Go back towards the entrance, Gabriel. Count to thirty, and then try and look for the three of us.”

My brother begins walking away, but I notice him look back at me again and again.

Once he’s out of view, the princess turns back to me. “Now, Isaac and I are are going to go hide over there, and you’re going to go hide in the hedge maze, understood? If you reach the middle, I have candy for you.”

I wanted to tell her that I didn’t want candy, I just wanted her to go away from me.

So to get her to stop talking to me with that mean voice, I agree. She pushes me towards the maze and I stumble in. When I turn around, her and her brother aren’t there anymore. I start walking forward, but everything was so dark. I thought that there should be lights somewhere, but there’s nothing. Maybe someone forgot to turn it on, or maybe I just wasn’t supposed to be here? I turn around to try and go back, but I don’t know which way is forwards or backwards. I put my hands in front of me and feel leaves. I start shuffling to my right, trying to guide myself. I don’t know what I’m doing, and I want to cry. I try to calm myself though, saying that if I got to the middle, everything would be okay. Maybe Mama was in the middle, or Liam was. If I got to the middle, maybe this lonely feeling would go away.

- Liam -

The children do not show up to the dinner table, but neither do Lord Maxwell or Lady Rowan. Liam hopes that the children are with them, and continues chatting with guests throughout the meal.

Leo takes a seat near him, and Liam’s heart clenches. A few seats away sat Riley, chatting with Lady Penelope and Countess Hana. Liam planned on telling one of his guards to keep a close eye on his brother, and make sure that Leo didn’t get anywhere near Riley.

There were more people at the ball than Liam had expected. Dukes, Duchesses, Earls, Countesses, Lords, and Ladies from countries all around the world. Liam had even overheard that there were more people expected to show up after the next few events. He wondered what caused the sudden increase in attendance, and hopes that it has nothing to do with Gabriel. He wants to keep the boy and his sister away from the political goals of foreigners for as long as he can.

After dinner, people went back onto the dance floor. There were so many women asking Liam to dance with him that he wasn’t even able to walk towards Riley and ask her if she wanted to dance. Thankfully though, the ballroom was beginning to clear out a little as people retired for the night.

Liam manages his way across the ballroom towards Riley. Lady Kiara stands with her.

“Your Majesty.” Kiara bows. She then glances between Riley and Liam, then excuses herself.

“I hope you’ve had a pleasant evening,” Liam says to Riley.

“Yes, actually. People were much nicer than I thought they would be. And Penelope and Kiara said that they were glad to see me again.”

“You were quite a fixation at court. Whoever forgot about you is a scoundrel.”

“And I’m assuming you are not one of those scoundrels?” she asks, humor in her tone.

“You have blessed my existence ever since I first laid eyes on you. My heart would not allow me to forget you.”

He can’t see most of her face from under the mask, but notices in the smile in her eyes.

“Would you like to dance?” he asks her, holding out a hand.

She takes it. “It would be my pleasure.” The words send a jolt of heat through Liam’s chest. He turns and leads her to the dance floor, which was less full compared to hours before, but there were still many people continuing the party.

When the music starts, both of them flow into the dance. Liam felt self-conscious holding her so close to him, but is distracted by the way she looks at him. He’s surprised at the energy in her step, finding her movements more enthusiastic than his. He matches her tempo, and she laughs.

“Didn’t know you still had those moves,” Riley says to him.

“I could say the same thing about you, but I’m not surprised at the way you amaze me.”

“Really? Tell me, Your Majesty, when have I amazed you?”

“Like I said, from the day I first laid eyes on you.”

“I amazed you by serving you and your friends during your bachelor party?” Riley gives a light laugh, and Liam’s heart flutters again.

“You amazed me by caring about something I thought was foolish. It’s because of you that I trust myself to follow my heart.”

She doesn’t answer him, and they continue spinning around the room.

Liam sees a set of French doors from the corner of his eye.

“Do you remember this?” he asks her.

“Remember what?”

“Follow my lead.”

Liam begins to guide Riley across the ballroom floor, taking a little longer than he usually would have. When they reach the set of French doors, he leads her through and onto the empty balcony.

“Ah, yes,” Riley laughs. “Our little private get-away. You do still have those moves.”

“Of course,” Liam responds. “Though they were a little rusty. I’ve gone too long without practice.”

“Whatever will we do about that?”

They share a laugh. Liam watches Riley as she walks towards the railing and looks out.

“Does this bring back memories?” Liam asks her.

She’s silent for a few moments. “These memories never left me. I replayed the Social Season countless times in my head over the years.” Riley turns back to him. He loves the look of excitement in her eyes.

“I hope you remembered us fondly,” he says to her, though he wishes to ask how she remembered him specifically.

“Of course.” She turns back around. “I haven’t asked you how you felt about Regina’s passing. How are you holding up?”

Liam laughs to himself, thinking about the information that he had gathered these last few weeks. “I couldn’t care less, and that is because I do not care at all.”

Riley turns back to him suddenly. “But... she was still like a mother to you. At least for a time.”

“She was no mother to me, Riley. She kept my family away from me.”

“Don’t blame her for that,” Riley begins. “That was my fault. If I had come earlier, or tried to be more discreet... or even figured out a way to come back later...”

He walks to her and holds her shoulders. “Riley, none of that was your fault. Regina has been working to keep us apart ever since she pushed me to marry Madeleine at my Coronation.”

“Liam, please don’t lie to me.”

He falls back, wondering what she meant. “What? I haven’t—”

“You didn’t propose to Madeleine because Regina told you to, you proposed to keep us both safe.”

“But wouldn’t you have been safer if you were besides the king?”

His words resonate something in both of them, and they fall into silence.

He stares down into her eyes, and she stares back up at him. He wants to ask her to take off the mask so he could see the full extent of her beauty, but again she turns away from him.

“I can’t see any lights in the garden?” Riley tells him.

Liam walks to her side, looking out at the dark expanse in front of them. “There are some renovations happening. A few were trampled during the night of the theft. They turned off the lights so people wouldn’t wander there.”

“That’s too bad,” Riley comments. “I thought we could go play maze tag for old time’s sake.”

“Perhaps we can, before tomorrow’s Derby.”

“Sure,” she answers in a soft voice.

Again they fall into silence as they stare out into the blank night in front of them. Liam occasionally glances at her, and even though she’s right next to him, he wants to be closer to her. He holds out a hand. She turns and places her fingers gently on his palm. Bringing her hand to his lips, he kisses her knuckles.

When the music from inside starts up again, he pulls her closer to him. They sway lightly to the music, eyes glued on each other. He feels the warm of her skin, and curses the fabric that keeps them apart.

“The night is almost over,” Riley says. “And we were only able to have one dance together.” There’s a smile in her voice

Liam’s face falls. “If I could, I would have spent the entirety of tonight by your side, but—”

“Duty calls,” she finishes for him. “I know.”

His obligations as King were keeping him away from spending time with Riley, and he feels a sudden anger pool in him for not remembering his new priorities.

“I heard people make some comments about Gabriel and I,” Riley tells him. The anger in Liam intensifies.

“Who? Tell me—”

“Liam,” she says forcefully, her tone still gentle. “Don’t. We both know the people probably have a lot of questions. Instead of pushing them to the side, we should answer them.”

“Of course.” He tries to pull her closer to him. He leans down towards her ear and whispers. “My responsible queen.”

“We should probably be more discreet about this, too,” she mentions.

“Yes.” He leans back a little. “The last thing we want is another scandal. But let’s enjoy this time while it’s our’s.”

“I would like that.”

Their noses were inches away from each other. “The moments in between belong to us,” he tells her.

“So nothing’s changed?”

Liam looks away for a moment, thinking. He turns back to her. “In a way, it hasn’t. My time will always belong to you.”

“And your heart?”

“Your’s. Forever.”

Her calm voice sounds like gentle wind when she says, “As is mine.”

They continue to move with the music, their bodies flush against each other. Neither could stop looking into each other’s eyes. Liam asks himself what was stopping them from giving themselves to each other, but he knows that time hadn’t been on their side. A small panic runs through him when he realizes that he must make up for the ten years they lost, or at least show her what could have been during that time.

But he focuses again on her eyes, and feels calm. She was here now, in his arms. All he had to do was not let go, at least for a few weeks, and she would understand. Their lives would be the way it should have been.

The door to the balcony opens, but Liam and Riley do not part from each other’s embrace. Bastien holds the door open, and Gabriel walks out.

The light from inside illuminates the boy’s face. His eyes are swollen and his face is wet. The skin around his lips is red. Riley rushes towards her son, and holds his head in her hands. Liam walks towards them, looking up at Bastien.

“What happened?” Liam asks his guard.

“Ella and I,” Gabriel begins, managing to speak between hiccups. “Were in the garden... with two other kids, and then... I think she went into the maze... and I yelled at her to come back... but I don’t think... she heard me, and I don’t... know where she is.” The boy falls into a crying and coughing fit. Riley pulls her son close to her with one arm, taking her mask off with her other hand. She looks up at Liam with a panic.

Liam tries to control his heart rate, but he’s breathing too quickly. He had seen Gabe and Ella walk off with Hunter and Heather. Liam wonders if it was Leo’s children who had forced Ella into the maze, but he remembers seeing them during dinner.

With his usual stoic expression, he walks back into the ballroom and makes a beeline for the front doors. People are on their way up to their rooms or to continue the party elsewhere, and servants have begun cleaning up. Liam nods at everyone who looks in his direction. After he steps out again into the cool night air, he takes off his mask. There are already multiple guards in front of the garden, waving around flashlights.

Liam grabs one from the guard and goes straight towards the maze. He doesn’t even need the light to know where he’s going, but how was he supposed to find Ella? Did she make it to the center or did she stop? Which direction had she taken? There was nothing that could provide them with a clue, so Liam begins calling out her name.

They were at a slight distance from the palace, so he wasn’t afraid of anyone hearing him. Liam notices other guards enter the maze and began calling out for Ella as well.

As time goes on and Liam passes by the middle at least twice, his head pounds with anger, and fear for Ella. What if someone had been lurking in the dark and had taken her? Where the Hell was Leo? Had he done something to her? The poor child was possibly overwhelmed because of the party, and now there was this foolish incident that must be instilling fear in her.

Liam begins running around the maze. Suddenly, he hears heavy breathing, interrupted by the shaking of tears. His mind brings him back to the night he found Riley crying at the Beaumont’s house... but this was the sound of a child.

Ella.

He walks backwards, and the crying gets louder. Liam flashes the light around him, looking into corners and behind bushes. Leaning closer to the wall, he realizes that Ella is on the other side.

Liam expertly finds his way around the wall. He moves the light in front of him, and sees Ella huddled in a corner, her knees pulled close to her chest and wrinkling her dress. She looks up at him, her chin quivering violently.

Without even realizing it, he collects the child in his arms. She buries her face in his shoulder and continues to whimper, her small hands grabbing his clothes tightly in her hands. Liam runs a hand along her back and kisses her cheek, attempting to soothe her.

He nods at the guards he passes, and they begin to follow him out of the maze. Near the entrance, they find Riley and Gabriel waiting. Riley walks by Liam’s side, guiding him to Eleanor’s room. The guards disband. Liam hears music playing from the ballroom, and is glad that they wouldn’t bump into anyone.

Inside Ella’s room, Riley rushes forward to pull away the covers. Liam puts her on the bed, but she doesn’t let go of his suit. He leans down close to her, and whispers in her ear: “It’s alright, Ella. You’re back in your room. I’m here, aren’t I? You’re safe.”

He kisses her cheek again, and she lets go. She pushes her face into the pillow, and before Liam fully pulls away, he catches her say, “Thank you, Daddyo.”

“Good night, Eleanor,” he says to her, his heart fluttering in his chest. Riley has climbed into the bed next to her daughter. She gives Liam a thankful smile, and he leads Gabriel out of the room.

After helping Gabriel to bed, Liam retires for the night. Besides the anxiety that arrived with Eleanor’s little incident, and not having been able to spend as much time with Riley as he wanted, he was still content with the way things were.

For the first time in what felt like a century, Liam told himself things would be okay, and he actually believed himself.

#the royal romance #choices trr #choices fandom #riley x liam #king liam x riley #king liam x mc #liam x mc #choices stories you play #trh fanfic #trr fanfic #trr fandom #the royal romance fanfic

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streets-in-paradise · 4 years ago

Text

Roadside Bet

American Gods and Percy Jackson crossover - Part 1

Word Count: 1767

Characters: Wednesday, Shadow, Eira ( Vanir demigoddess OC)

Relationships: Platonic.

Summary: Setted in season 1 of American Gods. Mr Wednesday takes his crew on a trip to New York hoping to recruit a powerful ally. Shadow starts asking questions about him and his curiosity unleashes a silly argument.

Warnings: Some ageists jokes, the camp half blood concept from Percy Jackson is interpreted in American Gods’s style.

Disclaimers: This serves as an introduction for my self indulgent attempt of writing fanfic including Sean Bean as Zeus in the American Gods universe. I couldn’t find fiction for Sean Bean’s Zeus and he’s so fine that I can't deal with it so I decided to include him in an idea I had previously in process for an American Gods fanfic. I apologise for any possible mistakes,english is not my native language and this is a translation.

Tags: @yerevasunclair. Our conversations about Sean’s Zeus inspired this. I’m tagging you in both parts. Thank you so much for the inspiration.

I hope you ‘ll enjoy this. Thanks for reading

With the exception of Wednesday's bad mood, the trip was not having any major setbacks. The old man was quite unbearable because he hated New York and its exorbitant modernity, but he knew that this was a trip he was obliged to take. If he closed the deal he set out to make, he would gain a powerful ally, perhaps the most powerful one available.

With only a few miles to go, he switched places with Shadow because he wanted to drive to relieve stress. Meanwhile, to alleviate the boredom during the break, he started to chat with Eira. The girl was sprawled out in the back seat listening to music on an old MP3 player dating from 2002. Shadow signaled her to take off a headset and pay attention to him. Listening to them, Mr. Wednesday rebuked her

“I told her to get rid of every modern toy before following us but she never listens. Eira!! Turn that rubbish off before I destroy it myself.”

“ Chill out, old man. This is ancient history technologically speaking. It doesn’t have wifi connection, or bluetooth, or anything. Nobody can try to track us through this, even the boy must have forgotten these things existed. It’s as safe as your car’s radio.” she replied in a tone that showed annoyance.

Shadow laughed, always amused to see the boss and his new co-worker arguing as a family. Wanting to pry into what she was hearing, he reached out to grab the earpiece she had taken out of her ear and placed it over his.

“ What’s that language? Greek, I think? “ he commented about the music

“Yeah, it 's greek. I’m getting ready for our next stop.” she explained.

“ Greeks? After what I experienced with the russians some time ago i thought we were going to New York to have a meeting with the japanese mafia or something like that. All your business partners seem to have a thing with extremely violent threats. “ he complained

“Don’t be so harsh with Bogo. Most people think he is scary and disgusting but i think he is great. He may be a bit of a psycho weirdo, he makes meat uncomfortable for everyone and sometimes he throws his cigarette smoke in your face but he is a very fun dude “

“ Bogo? Did you nicknamed him? He is a serial murderer who wants my head. “

“ We both live in Chicago, my mom tends to know everyone there and everyone knows her. I know him since i was a child, he is like a grumpy grandpa to me.”

That statement left him a bit shocked. Mainly because he did not imagine Czernobog being friendly to anyone or even being seen as friendly.

“ Do you know the greeks? “ he asked, taking the opportunity to prepare for what was to come

“ No, I never had the pleasure, that’s why I'm so excited. They do their own stuff by themselves, they don’t tend to be very cooperative with the rest. Need is what pushed everyone else to start cooperating and created the unstable bonds of solidarity you had seen so far. They have their own functional system, they don’t need help from anyone. Even if they were struggling i doubt they would ask for it or accept it.”

“ Very secretive people. How will we convince them to join Mr Wednesday? “

“ Let that to me, dear boy.” the boss interrupted . ”They never pick a side, not with us and not with the News. They are always pretending they are better than everyone else in that fake copy of their Olympus they made to themselves when all they actually have is a bunch of brats. If the big conflict starts they will have to choose one side and that’s where we enter.”

“I’m very curious about them "she added .” Their strategy is fascinating. They have a family business that keeps them standing for a very long time in conditions others would only dream to have. They adapted by being themselves without selling to the News.”

” So, greek mafia then? ” Shadow asked,curious and worried in equal amounts.

” Never call them like that ever again. That’s very insulting and they are famous for being very arrogant and easy to irritate. Theo will carbonize you if he hears you calling him a mob boss. ”

” Theo is their boss? He is the one we are visiting? ”

” That’s how we call him, nobody dares to use his full name in casual conversation so we picked a middle ground epithet between his tradition and ours. Names are powerful, Shadow. You don’t have to use them in vain. ” Eira explained. ” Honestly, I'm very excited to meet someone so powerful. Most of the still strong names out there had given up and sold their brands to the News but Theo and his people are still successful. They are living the lifestyle of the Old Country, or at least the closest copy they can get in America. Wednesday is salty because he was never able to agrupate our kind in a similar project. My work for him is the closest thing he got, I’m one of the very few children of his associates who got invested and that’s only because my mother kept me with her. I’m not precisely the rule, that’s why practically i grew up to be here now. ”

Shadow started to get severly worried .The repeated comment about the power of the people who were going to see kept him on his toes. He didn't want to get into any more trouble.

” Do you want to give me a list of stuff to avoid when facing this Theo? I’m starting to freak out a bit and I don't understand a shit of what you are saying except for “ he is powerful”. ” he asked her

” Don’t worry i will be there with you the whole time and i have more experience dealing with this sort of thing than you. Wednesday should have brought you to my mother’s home first instead of going straight to the russians when you visited our city. Don’t be scared, if you screw it up i will help you out”.

Wednesday did not missed the chance to give his own advice as well

” The best for both of you is to keep your mouths shut as much as you can. “ he warned. ”Smile, nod in agreement, answer only what it’s being asked of you in the moment. This goes especially for you, young lady. ” he concluded in an imperative tone.

” Why the sudden care? You didn’t when we were visiting others. Are you afraid of him? ” she teased.

” Never, how could you suggest that? I’m restraining you because I don't want you to shift the focus of our negotiation. Theo has a weakness for youthful maidens like you.” he replied, scolding her again.

” Then I should be the one negotiating with him.Wouldn’t be easier to convince him? ”

” They don’t make him particularly weak, they are his favourite distraction. He enjoys himself when they get affected by his charm. Our business is the war and nothing more. Less you talk, less chances of distracting him too much.”

Shadow was getting some entertainment with the discussion and intervened to give his opinion

” He doesn’t want this guy doing to you what he does to other women. ”he stated, mocking Wednesday. ” He wouldn’t admit it but he cares for you. He doesn’t want to see some horny old dude around you, thirsting over you and making you feel uncomfortable.”

” My concern is not her safety, it’s her loyalty what troubles me. She works for me, she represents me. I don’t want her to forget it in front of him.”

” Wednesday, he is older than you. ” Eira complained, trying to make him understand how ridiculous he sounded. ” Why would i care about him flirting with me? I’ll smile at him, pretend i’m pleased with his commentaries to keep him happy enough for you to close the deal and that’s all. It’s not the first time it happened, i’m used to casual flirting. Mad Sweeney had done it the few times we had seen each other, some others associates of yours do it sometimes. The people we see tend to get flirty, Shadow has experienced it as well. It’s part of the job. ”

” Mad Sweeney is a drunk loser, we are talking of real power here. Watch your steps and don’t embarrass me.” Wednesday insisted.

Shadow couldn’t stop laughing

” Is he truly afraid you would be seduced by a man older than him? He has to be kidding, he is one of the oldest men i ever meet so how old is the greek ? 95?”

” I may not be into the Technical Boy despite being closer in age terms to him than to most of the dudes we had dealt with but that doesn’t mean i’m into senior citizens. A middle ground is good, thanks. ” she joked, joining the mockery.

” You two are too young to understand some very important aspects of how things work here. I’m warning you before it’s too late.” Wednesday replicated.

” Whatever, thanks for the advice. I will have it in mind the next time an irresistable senior citizen shows up.You don’t know anything about my tastes in men and you are projecting your own crap on me. You may have a thing for girls of my age but not all of us get horny for grandpas. Some do and i don’t judge them but i’m not one of them.”

” Wait and see. ” the old man replied in the same mocking tone. ” I would like to bet. I did it when Shadow fought the leprechaun, now it’s your turn. ”

” We don’t have anything of value you may want.He just got out of jail and it’s not like mom would give me her Brisingamen just because i lost a bet to you. ”

” Shadow, are you in? ” the boss asked

” What would i win? ”

” If Eira feels condescendingly repulsed by the greek i double your weekly pay. If he charms her i discount a percentage .”

” If she doesn’t feel attracted to an old greek you duplicate my pay? Sure, i’m in. it is a safe bet, right?” he asked her

” He talks bullshit, i’m not interested. Go ahead.” she assured him

” I had never been happier standing in the middle of your silly fights. ”

The youngsters spent the rest of the trip making fun of Wednesday's ridiculous bet, sure they were going to win. The old man laughed in their faces, he was playing with them again.

Note: Theo is a name with two possible etymological origins, one greek and one germanic. A long time ago i read a theory that said the greek form Deos was associated with Zeus. I recently read that wasn’t the case but i still found it fitting for Zeus.

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cxmetery-gates · 4 years ago

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A DANCE WITH GHOSTS - VISERYS TARGARYEN

CHAPTER ONE: THE FLOWER

SUMMARY: The should-be king of Westeros imagines his rule, until a particular lady disrupts his thoughts. WORD COUNT: 966 NOTES: Hello, and welcome to the first chapter! Just as a notice, all the chapters are going to be relatively short, but I hope you will enjoy nonetheless. Viserys is a tiny bit out of character, buuut it’s my fan fiction and I make the rules. Now, on with the show! WARNINGS: none

MASTERLIST

UPON A BALCONY STANDS A man that should be the king.

White hair and purple eyes define his features among the rest here in the city Pentos of Essos. Across the narrow sea and upon the Iron Throne of Westeros is where he should find himself, not here, stuck in the ancient city with people who don't care for his homeland. The house of Magister Illyrio Mopatis had been a place to call home for half a year and the magister was hospitable for the future king of Westeros and his little sister, but Viserys only wanted to take back what was his. The task seemed so simple. It should be, given his legitimate claim to the throne. Though, such kidnapped dreams are often times the hardest to find again.

Viserys Targaryen, third of his name, drums his fingers against the stone railing, the metallic clanging of his rings drown in the cries and shouts of the city below. He has no place among them: he is higher than they could ever dream to be. And this is why they sneer at him so. They're all jealous of his rightful claim, how the kingdoms across the sea pray for Targaryen rule. Such praise would never graze them. Viserys knew they would come to fear him once he sits upon the throne of swords. All seven kingdoms and the rest of the world would bow before him on quivering knees, too afraid to speak, lest fight the Targaryen family again. They would love to hate him and hate to love him. Their prayers would be answered in time, but there is nothing that can stop the wrath of a king who was stolen of his rights.

No one wishes to wake the dragon.

Viserys slyly smiles to himself, creating the list of men who will soon meet his fiery touch. If only he could spread wings like the beast of the Targaryen House sigil, cross the sea himself and cast fire upon those who dare send him the wrong glance.

Unrested dreams of violence and conquering cities squander Viserys' mind, plaguing him with visions of success. He is triumphant despite being so far from obtaining an ounce of gold. Perhaps this is what drives him. To prove them all wrong, to finally have a place to call home, and to be the Dragon King—

From the street just under his home, a sweet song interrupts all thoughts and conversations. It catches everyone's attention, including the man on the balcony; it always does. Even the impatient and cynical Viserys can appreciate a blissful song and voice. However, it appears that the girl would purposely choose to begin when Viserys was having a moment for himself. Despite how he wishes to simply ignore the girl, it was proven impossible long ago. Alongside her singing and dancing, every street graced with her voice is captured in a unanimous amusement. There were calls, laughter, and some pitching in on occasion. Under any other circumstance, the people of Pentos were selfish, sometimes cruel to one another, but somehow, someway, the blonde girl turns their hearts from stone to flower pedals, like the ones that adorn her yellow hair.

This makes Viserys roll his eyes. A young, silly girl has easily gained the hearts of the city with her sweet nothings while he has to fight for their respect. Rich and poor, young and old; it does not matter, she is loved and cherished by them all. The pretty flower of Pentos, they call her. It's unfair, though he would never admit this out loud or even to himself. He is, after all, more powerful than she is. And yet, he is just as enthralled as the rest of them.

Only because he has nothing better to do, of course.

So, he continues to watch, taking notice of her every detail, as he has done before. The way her yellow Lannister-like hair bounces with each step, catching the sun rays, turning them into pure gold, is like none other. It's not admirable by any means, considering how much dirt has caked layers upon her light skin, but the color is striking. Viserys crinkles his nose, not wanting this think about the smell that follows the forest-dweller. But this apparently did not matter to the city folk: after all, they share the same filth.

A prominent feature belonging to the woods witch, aside from her sharp jaw and straight, thin nose, are her eyes. Green, like the sea, drift to each person she runs into before closing in a blissful state, allowing her dancing feet to guide the way. The movements her small frame creates are like waves; soft and smooth but also inviting. Mirroring her body, the girl's eyes are just as alluring. Perhaps meeting her gaze creates a curse in which she is forever loved.

None of her features balance out how incredibly obnoxious Viserys finds her, though.

But, despite how Viserys loathes her enticing show, he is unable to keep himself from watching. She even accidentally trips over a loose cobblestone, and while she catches herself, she feels no embarrassment and continues to dance, a light smile still etched across her features, a laugh bubbling past her lips.

How pathetic, he thinks bitterly.

"Viserys!"

A small voice cries out, bringing his attention away from the dancing wood witch. His purple eyes blink a few times, now finding himself back on the ground. Viserys takes one last glance towards the singing girl, seeing her verdant eyes drift over him and his large home before prancing away, voice still singing her songs and arms out to dance with whomever wishes.

Viserys scoffs, turning on his heel to search for his little sister, quickly drowning out the voice belonging to the Flower of Pentos.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

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#viserys targaryen #viserys #viserys x reader #viserys x oc #kind of ooc viserys #a dance with ghosts #game of thrones #got #Daenerys #daenerys targaryen

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theycallmebecca · 5 years ago

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Chris and Ellie;12

Alright, so I had some fun with this story, because it’s a callback to something mentioned in Episode 1.5 of the Chris and Ellie Series (I’ll put a link in my reblog but the story is posted on @theycallmebeccawrites). This is the story of Scott calling Chris to bring him beer.

Edit: It dawned on me early today that I messed up my timeline for Chris and Ellie. And because of that I had to edit a few minor details of the story below. Nothing major though.

Title: Drunk Dial

Pairing: Chris Evans x OFC (Ellie Spencer)

Rating: PG-13

Prompt: #12 - “Alright. How drunk was I?”

Warnings: kind of suggestive in places

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

Because of how tumblr can be silly about links, I will reblog this post with links to the masterlist and the prompt list.

December 2015

Ellie laid curled up against Chris’s side with her head resting on his naked chest as she let out a content sigh.

“Happy?” He asked with a chuckle.

“Very,” she replied.

His early Christmas gift to her had been a romantic weekend away at the bed and breakfast owned by his adopted aunties. It held special meaning to them since it was where they’d had sex for the first time.

They’d gotten to the bed and breakfast earlier that afternoon and had joined his Aunt Carina and Aunt Rosalie for dinner before “turning in” for the night. A creative use of the beautiful two person shower and another round in the comfortable bed later, they were both happily fatigued.

Sleep was coming for them both and just as Ellie was starting to drift off, her phone started ringing with “It’s Raining Men” filling the room, meaning that Scott was calling. She made to get out of bed, but Chris stopped her.

“I’ll get it,” he said as he got up. He strode across the room, showing off his naked body in the moonlight coming in from the windows.

Ellie glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table and frowned, seeing that it was after midnight. She hoped everything was ok.

“What’s up?” Chris asked into the phone after answering it. Knowing it was his brother, he didn’t bother to say hello.

Sitting across the room, Ellie could only hear Chris’s half of the conversation but she thought she could hear loud music.

“No I won’t bring you beer!” Chris exclaimed into the phone. “I’m three hours away, Scott! And with my girlfriend.” Chris looked over at her and rolled his eyes about whatever his brother was saying. “Being out of beer isn’t an emergency. Regardless of what you think.” He listened for another minute before he said, “Bye Scott.”

He hung up the phone and made his way back to bed. This time, he curled up around Ellie, warming his chilled skin with her body heat.

“He needed more beer?” She prompted.

“He’s drunk,” Chris replied. “And wanted me to bring more beer for his party when I got home.” He sat up abruptly and narrowed his eyes. “He wouldn’t.”

“Have a party while we’re not home?” Ellie asked with a smirk. “Of course he would, he loves to throw a good party. Kind of like you do.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him back down. “Forget about it and enjoy our weekend together.”

To distract him, Ellie kissed him, inviting him to have his way with her again. Things were truly heating up again when the phone rang again with Scott’s ringtone.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Chris fumed, making to get out of bed.

“I’ll get it, you stay,” Ellie ordered. She leveled a glare at him and then quickly crossed the room. “Hey Scott.”

“Tell him if it’s not a true emergency I’ll disembowel him myself when I get home,” Chris said loud enough for his brother to hear.

“Uh, wrong number,” Scott said quickly before hanging up.

Shaking her head, Ellie turned off her phone, knowing that if there was a true emergency someone would call the bed and breakfast. Turning around, she added a little bounce to her step as she made her way back to the bed and Chris.

The next morning found them in bed practically until lunchtime due to Ellie convincing Chris they shouldn’t go home early just so he could take advantage of his brother’s hung over state. Instead, they got up and showered separately, Ellie’s idea, then went into town to get lunch and explore the seaside shops.

It wasn’t until late Sunday morning that they left the bed and breakfast and started the trip home. As it was a beautiful day, they took their time making their way back home.

“Can we stop at the store?” Ellie asked as Chris got off of the freeway.

“Uh sure,” Chris replied. They’d stopped for a late lunch and he knew there was food at the house.

Regardless, he stopped at the small market near the house and waited in the car while Ellie ran inside. It wasn’t until she came out with a six pack of beer that he realized what she was up to.

When they got to the house, there were no physical signs that there had been a party there two nights before. In fact, the house looked suspiciously clean as they abandoned their overnight bags at the bottom of the stairs and went in search of Scott and Daisy.

They found Chris’s brother in the kitchen eating leftover pizza while Daisy was stretched out in a sunny spot on the hardwood floor.

“Sorry we’re late,” Chris said, setting the beer on the counter while Ellie greeted Daisy.

Scott looked at the beer and then at each of them in turn, confused. Then the memories started to filter into his head and he groaned, “Alright. How drunk was I?”

“Drunk enough to call my cell phone half a dozen times,” Ellie said with a grin as she held Daisy. “I think I’ll save the voicemails for blackmail purposes.”

Scott’s face paled. “I left voicemails?” He asked, his voice higher pitched than normal.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out later,” Ellie teased. “Enjoy your warm beer.” She gave him an air kiss before leaving the room carrying Daisy.

#theycallmebecca #theycallmebeccawrites #becca writes drabbles #stay home read drabbles #chris evans #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fan fiction #chris evans x ofc #chris evans x original character #chris evans x original female character #chris and ellie #chris and ellie series #dearvoidgoodnight

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ask-de-writer · 4 years ago

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SEA DRAGON’S GIFT : Part 59 of 83 : World of Sea

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT

Part 59 of 83

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

140406 words

written 2007

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

//////////////

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights. They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact. They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

New to the story? Read from the beginning. PART 1 is here

///////////////////////

Chapter 22: The Search

Rage, grief and mortification warred in Captain Mord’s heart as he looked at the map-table where he had sent Kurin in such anger. The worst was that, even if the Grandalor’s sailors were a boarding party, Kurin had been right.

The law was as clear as his anger was deep. While it was believed that the Grandalor’s sailors were castaways, the Longin had been required to pick them up, if only to hold them for trial. At least some of them paid in blood for their treachery! But they got what they came for. We may never see her again… The thought trailed off into unbearable pain.

Bron’s arm was trailing. He had bruises, one on his back, between the shoulder blades and one on the inside of his elbow. It was not serious but if his attacker had used a knife instead of that silly, weighted sack of fish-leather, he would have been dead.

Other crewmen were beginning to tell their tales of the battle and they were slowly realizing the same things. The assailants had been too few to have any hope of taking a ship like the Longin. Also, none of their enemies had been armed with anything but a padded leather cosh. It was as if they were trying not to hurt anyone on the ship. Some fools were even trying to tie that Sea Hawk to the attack. It was just lost in the fog.

Then they began to hear, Kurin’s gone! The bastards had kidnaped her! But that made no sense. They could have simply killed her. They had already tried to do it once. It would have been far less risky.

Looking at the map-table clearly, Captain Mord saw what he has missed the first time. There in the tallow, written in Kurin’s neat handwriting, was a note.

“Captain: The Grandalor’s crew needs justice. Their rights under the second G. L. have been violated. I have gone to help them. Kurin”

First they tried to kill her, now this! No matter what excuse, they have stolen her! In anger, partly at himself and partly at Kurin for being so gullible, he wiped out the note before any other should notice it. Details aren’t important! Whatever ruse they used, they kidnapped Kurin! The Grandalor is guilty!

Captain Mord returned forward, where one of the boarders lay propped against the foremast. The man had been stabbed deeply but still lived. Feebly he extended a hand holding a folded tallow-slate, hinged shut to protect its message.

Weakly he said to the enraged Mord, “Captain, read this. It’s from my Captain. We were to be your hostages for Kurin’s return…” He slumped lax, dead from his wounds, the tallow-slate falling from his fingers with a small clatter onto the Longin’s deck.

Captain Mord kicked the tallow-slate away unread. “Toss this Grandalor trash over the side,” he ordered.

His crew looked at him aghast. Nobody moved. Mord became angrier and yelled, “Dump him! That’s an order!” At last, a few deck-hands took the man’s body and dragged him to the rail. An Orca began to sing. They dropped him in fear. One noticed the tallow-slate and picked it up as he retreated.

Captain Mord realized that nobody would touch the body since the whale had begun to sing and heaved it over the side himself. The whale’s song went on for another ten minutes.

When it was done, Captain Mord ordered, “Swab up this blood and straighten up the area.” His men did do that, though they had begun to whisper among themselves as they worked.

Kurin disentangled herself from the joyous hug that Tanlin was giving her and said, “I need to see your log first, then all of the sickbay documentation. I want to see all of the Purser’s accounts and look over Master Selked’s shop. After that, I am going to interview virtually everyone on board.”

Tanlin let her go, becoming brisk, now that there was a task at hand. “Oi’m glad. Wen do ye wont t’ begin?”

“If I can eat in here, I’ll begin now,” said Kurin. “I need to start with the beginning of the indenture trade. I have to know about that in detail if I am to save your ship from Scattering.”

Tanlin got up and went to the long shelf holding the Logs of the Grandalor. As she was going down the line, absently tapping the spines of the volumes with her left index finger, she said thoughtfully, “T’ere’s somet’in’ t’at ye’ll find wen ye get t’ t’e interviews. Oi didnae mention ‘t before because ‘t wa’nae important in t’e way t’at ye asked about. ‘T does bear on ‘ow t’is ship wad respond t’ a penalty o’ Scatterin’.

“Every person on t’is ship’s adopted. All o’ t’em are now named Grandalor, m’sel’ included. ‘T happened t’e morning after our flight began. T’ey knew t’at t’e ship wa’ implicated in murder an’ chose t’is way o’ tellin’ Barad an’ m’sel’ t’at t’ey wad nae abandon us.

“Oi joined t’em.” She swallowed past a hard lump in her throat and a tear glistened in the corner of her eye.

“Princamorn wa’ but a name t’ m’ an’ t’e Grandalor’s home. Oi dinnae wont t’ lose ‘t.”

Intently, Kurin said, “I see. That makes a difference — to me at least,” she looked sharply at Tanlin, “if it was a voluntary thing.”

Tanlin was already fishing the necessary volume of the log from its shelf and looked back over her shoulder. “Twas. T’ey’d planned t’ do ‘t publicly, in t’e main square o’ t’e Gat’ering, ‘ad reserved ‘t, in fact, wen we ‘ad t’ flee. T’ey came t’ m’ first. Twas a total an’ welcome surprise. T’e only light in some very dark days.” She found the place that she was looking for in the book and gave it to Kurin.

Kurin settled cross-legged on Tanlin’s bunk with the book in her lap and began turning pages one at a time, glancing at each page and moving on. Tanlin watched as Kurin leafed through the volume of the log, almost twenty Gatherings old.

There was a scratching noise at the cabin’s window. Tanlin smiled to herself as it swung inward and Skye’s head poked into the cabin. The Wide Wing looked alertly about and stepped into the room. The bird turned about on the sill and used her beak to push the window closed and then hop-fluttered to the table in front of Tanlin, who chucked her under the beak and stroked her under a slightly raised wing.

Skye settled on the table and waited quietly. Kurin looked up with a smile and said, “Who’s trained who, here?”

Tanlin replied lightly but sort of seriously, “T’ey made m’ part o’ t’eir rookery flock an’ welcomed m’ t’ t’eir nest. Could Oi do less?”

Before there was any answer possible, Tahm returned with food, cups, utensils and trays. He set out the table, working nonchalantly around the sitting bird. Kurin put the log aside and came to the table.

“I take it that this happens a lot?” she said with a genuine smile.

It was Tahm who answered, “Every time that the Captain eats in. Sometimes it’s Skye, here. Sometimes it’s Thunderhead. I’m told that after the chicks are grown, it’ll be both of ‘em. Better behaved than many of the crew.”

The main course that he laid out was a Strong Skin roast. The bird looked sideways at Tanlin, who nodded. The bird promptly dove her beak into the edge of the roast and peeled off a strip. She began to bite it into bits which she swallowed quickly.

Kurin watched in fascination. “Better get yers w’ile ye still ‘ave a chance, Skye’s stoking up for ‘er chicks,” said Tanlin. She reached out, speared the roast with a chopstick and cut off slices with the knife that Kurin remembered from their first meeting. She piled the slices onto a tray along with a generous serving of red weed bread buns and seaweed salad. She handed the tray to Kurin and poured water into a cup.

“Sweet, sour or bitter flavor in yer woter?”

“Plain, please. Flavors for water? I never heard of any such thing.”

“Tis a Grandalor specialty. Barad told m’ t’at Kurti showed ‘t to ‘im shortly after she started t’ work as ‘is cabin-girl.”

“Now that puzzles me. I know what you told me at the Gathering but why would a skilled diver and stores clerk like Kurti stoop to becoming a cabin-girl?” Kurin asked around a mouth full of salad.

Tanlin considered for a moment and fed Skye a few more bits of roast before answering. “Oi wa’ still in m’ coma then. According t’ both Barad an’ Doctor Corin, she knew t’at she might die from ‘er lung parasite infection. Twas gettin’ worse in spite o’ t’e treatments. Doctor Corin wa’ just about t’ put ‘er on t’e invalid list. She wa’ in sickbay gettin’ a treatment wen she met Barad. ‘E’d come by t’ sickbay t’ look in on m’.

“‘E offered ‘er t’e light work job t’at ‘ad just come open, due t’ Chena’s untimely deat’. Kurti ‘ated bein’ useless. She jumped at t’e chance t’ avoid t’e invalid list an’ stay useful. T’ keep t’e seriousness o’ ‘er condition bein’ a matter o’ common gossip, Barad ordered ‘t kept secret. Barad could be considerate sometimes, even t’en.”

“I think that I see. The Barad that the fleet saw was something of a fiction?”

Tanlin leaned back nervously in her chair and gripped her right hand with her left. “Oi truly wish t’at Oi could say t’at but Oi promised ye t’e trut’. Tis a longish tale.

“Barad wa’ always a somew’at calculatin’ man. Once, long ago, Barad an’ Selked were married t’ twins from t’e Muline an’ by all accounts t’ey were ‘appy.

“An epidemic o’ fire cough swept t’e ship. Both Teralas, Selked’s wife, an’ Teralat, Barad’s wife, were among t’e nearly forty percent o’ t’e ship’s crew ‘oo died. Barad almost went mad wit’ grief, an’ dealt wit’ ‘t by calculatin’ almost everything. T’at’s ‘ow he became t’e Barad t’at you knew.

“Shortly after t’at, t’e Ca’tain died in ‘is sleep. A Coriolis storm wa’ comin’ an’ t’e crew needed command. T’ey took Barad’s orders an’ ‘e got t’e Grandalor t’rough safe, even t’ough t’e ship wa’ massively undermanned.

“‘E wa’ elected Ca’tain after t’e storm. At t’e Gat’ering t’at followed, ‘is election wa’ challenged by yer Ca’tain Mord. ‘E almost cost Barad both ‘is Ca’taincy an’ ‘is life. In t’e end, t’e Council up’eld Barad by only two votes. Even t’ose ‘oo voted in ‘is favor sponsored a resolution t’at t’ey did so only because t’e evidence against ‘im wa’ nae sufficient. T’at wa’ t’e origin o’ t’e grudge t’at ‘e ‘eld against Ca’tain Mord an’ t’e Naral fleet as a ‘ole.

“Barad rebuilt t’e crew by takin’ in t’e scupper sweepin’s o’ t’e fleet. T’e ones t’at naebody else wanted. T’e Grandalor became a refuge for t’ose wit’ nae ot’er place t’ go. Barad took t’em on a case by case basis an’ let t’em swim t’ Iren, if ‘e believed t’at a last chance would nae ‘elp.

TO BE CONTINUED

<==PREVIOUS NEXT==>

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

#SEA DRAGON’S GIFT #Part 59 of 83 #World of Sea #Written by De Writer

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 6 years ago

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Michael After Midnight: Avatar

Hyperbole is a real bitch. No matter what direction it goes in, it can seriously hamper a movie’s reputation. It’s the reason why I always just give a broad recommendation at the end of my reviews rather than a score; I find saying “Hey if you like this genre/subject matter/actor/etc, you might like this film” is a lot better than saying “This is a 10/10 five star masterpiece that all humans who ever shall exist need to see.” All too often the latter is what you get from mainstream publications when they praise a film.

Look what happened to Frozen; it was called one of the better Disney movies in recent memories and was praised to the heavens and back, which led to a bunch of people on the internet vocally disagreeing with said opinion, which then led to an entire anti-fandom of obnoxious basement dwellers who felt the need to constantly remind everyone Frozen sucked on any animation post they could find. All of this for a movie that, in hindsight, is just a solid, standard Disney princess flick.

Tonight we’re talking about a similar case, a film that when it came out was hyped up as a groundbreaking masterpiece of visual effects and a box office smash that grossed insane amounts of money… and was then derided as forgettable and a ripoff of Pocahontas or FernGully or what have you in the years to come. Yes, tonight we are talking about James Cameron’s smash hit, Avatar, and honestly? It’s probably the second best thing named Avatar out there, after Nickelodeon’s series about the last Airbender. After spending years being an obnoxious hipster douchebag and not watching it because it was popular followed by several more years of being an obnoxious douchebag who bashed whatever it was that was popular to bash, I finally sat down and watched James Cameron’s silly blue alien environmental movie… and frankly, it’s a pretty damn good movie. And I don’t just mean “oh it’s better than I expected but not great,” I mean “I can genuinely see to an extent where people were coming from when they were praising this.”

The story goes like this: In the far future, Earth is a polluted pile of fuck, so humans have taken to looking for resources elsewhere. One elsewhere? The moon of the planet Polyphemus, known as Pandora, which is home to a rare mineral that humans ironically dubbed “Unobtanium,” as it is rather hard to obtain due to the richest source being located amongst the native population: the ten-foot-tall blue alien beings known as the Na’vi. Jake Sully, a paraplegic former marine, is selected to utilize a remote-controlled artificial Na’vi body called an “avatar” so he can gain the native’s trust and maybe convince them to move, though there are tons of problems he has to overcome, not the least being that he starts crushing hard on Neytiri, the daughter of the chief (and seeing how she’s a hot blue alien played by Zoe Saldana, can you really blame him?). Can Sully help the humans and Na’vi reach a peaceful conclusion, or is the warmongering Colonel Miles Quaritch gonna get his way and start routing the natives out by force?

Interestingly, a lot of the movies that people claims this ripped off came out after this movie had been written; Cameron’s been working on this movie since 1994, when he wrote up an 80-page treatment for the film. He wanted to start working on this after Titanic, but the technology of the time just wasn’t right to fulfill his vision. Frankly, it’s a good thing he waited, because as I’m sure you know from all the praise it got, the visuals in this film are simply stunning. The Na’vi, the creatures of Pandora, the forests, all the glorious details of this alien planet and its inhabitants are just incredibly well done. If this had been done earlier, there is no way the Na’vi would have avoided the uncanny valley as well as they did; as it stands, they’re probably one of my favorite alien races in fiction, just from the visual standpoint alone. How good this movie looks compared to the story - which by comparison to the groundbreaking effects is rather basic - would almost make you think this film is just style over substance…

...But I’d argue that’s not exactly the case. While it’s glaringly obvious that the effects are the biggest draw, the story is still enjoyable and solid. It may seem rather derivative, but that’s mostly because in the span of time the film took to get made everyone and their mother cranked out environmental films or films about aboriginal people being joined by an outsider who learns from them and then fights back against people encroaching on their way of life, especially during the 90s. This movie quite frankly has an edge over all of those films; for one, this film looks way better than any of them, even Pocahontas (which is undeniably a beautiful film to look at). It also helps this film avoids the, uh… unfortunate implications that often come with these kinds of stories. I’m not here to get to into this aspect of those kinds of movies, but in the hands of less talented writers and directors there tends to be really nasty undertones. While Jake Sully does help lead this foreign culture to victory over their technologically advanced foes, it’s more due to him having knowledge of how humans work combined with the skills the Na’vi themselves have. Neither would have won without the other’s help. So yeah, the story is pretty simple, but pretty good. Not truly groundbreaking or original, but it really doesn’t have to be.

While I will say the story is the weak point, it IS carried by some truly great characters… just not Sully. While he’s a decent protagonist and all, he’s quite frankly overshadowed by just about everyone around him, with three enormous shadows being cast by Grace, Neytiri, and Quaritch. Grace is played by Sigourney Weaver. That is literally all you need to know to understand why she utterly steals every single scene she’s in, but for the sake of this review, let me explain in a bit more detail: her establishing character moment has her awakening from her avatar pod asking where her cigarette is, she openly is suspicious of Sully being added to the avatar program, she is the most honestly sympathetic and noble character in the entire movie, and her avatar is a stunning work of CGI. There’s really not a bad thing I can say about her; she’s basically Ellen Ripley with a more positive attitude towards aliens. She takes no shit and she does all she can to keep these people from being exploited by the greasy corporate shitweasels, no matter what she has to do. What a fucking hero. Can you see why Sully just seems kinda weak in comparison?

Then we have Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana. She’s gorgeous, she’s badass, and she has quite the likable personality. She almost singlehandedly gives Sully a basic rundown on how not to die and spends most of her early screentime saving his ass. This was one of Saldana’s big roles in 2009 alongside playing Uhura in the Star Trek reboot series, and it brought her tons of praise, fame, and helped get her typecast as “Badass space babe with colorful skin.” Without this, Gamora might have gone to a less impressive actor who wouldn’t have been able to showcase the emotional range required, so at the very least I’m thankful to this movie for that.

And now finally, and perhaps most importantly, we come to Colonel Miles Quaritch, played by Stephen “You wished he was Cable until they cast Josh Brolin” Lang. Quaritch is what seems like such a simple villain: a military man with some serious bloodlust, a guy who just seems to be itching to go to war. But really, there’s a lot more to him than that. One really gets the sense Quaritch really does believe what he’s doing is for the betterment of humanity, and he doesn’t go right to gunning down the Na’vi even when he’s given the word to remove them by force. There are a lot of ways to interpret him, but frankly, no matter what way you cut it he’s at the very least genuinely concerned with the safety of his subordinates (outlined in his establishing scene); this leads him to becoming probably one of the single most badass anti-villains ever conceived. The man frequently steps out into the hostile atmosphere of the moon, holding his breath, to take shots at foes before putting on a breathing apparatus. He jumps out of an exploding plane in a mini-mech, which he uses to get into a knife fight with Sully. And every heinous and violent action he takes is one he takes to protect men from dying, something he has seen far too much of. And while this makes him sympathetic to a degree, his utter disdain of the Na’vi and his bloodthirsty attitude also makes sure you want to see him gets what’s coming to him.

There’s some side characters here and there that are good, but it’s mainly these three carrying the story when it starts seeming a bit too basic for this lofty world Cameron has built. And really, this is a fantastic world he’s created. This is truly a stunning film visually, with some flavorful characters to ensure that the vision doesn’t wear on you throughout the running time. For the most part, it really does work; guess that’s just the magic of James Cameron.

This is a very good film. Not the greatest film of all time, but definitely an enjoyable, ambitious, and groundbreaking one. If I ever make a list of the best sci-fi films (and you know I will eventually), this will most certainly be on there… somewhere. It’s at least top 25 material. While Aliens and the first two Terminator films are definitely the best stuff Cameron has done, this is still quite an impressive piece of pop sci-fi he created; if you like environmental movies, science fiction, creative worldbuilding, awesome visuals, or James Cameron movies, this film is worth a watch. Hell, it’s worth a watch if you’re a fan of Weaver, Lang, or Saldana too, because their performances really drive this film. It’s a good movie, plain and simple.

...Though I don’t think it’s good enough to warrant four sequels. Fuck off, Cameron.

#Michael After Midnight #Review #Movie review #Avatar #James Cameron's Avatar #James Cameron #Sci-fi #Na'vi #Pandora #Neytiri #Zoe Saldana #Sigourney Weaver #Stephen Lang

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wbywebseriesreviews · 6 years ago

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I'm so sick of people saying that if you call out fictional couples for problematic behavior, "you just want them to be perfect/have no issues and that's not relatable/realistic". What webseries couples do you find exhibit a healthy example of a couple with real problems but healthy communication/problem-solving skills?

OKAY

This has been in my ask box for a while bc I have been trying to condense my thoughts. So here we go:

1) Beatrice and Benedick (NMTD/LLL) always seemed healthy to me once they actually start dating, even taking the issues with LoLiLo into account. I loved how Benedick was there for Beatrice after Hero’s birthday party without pushing her to make a decision and stood up for Hero when Beatrice wasn’t there, even though it’s clear the thought of being ignored/forgotten in his friendships is terrifying to him. I think also what I love about their relationship is they genuinely have so much fun together (see: Bathtub vlogging, writing songs for each other, Bea & Ben Take on Embarrassment). And after what happened in LLL, they’re still committed to trying something wild and risky together because they just want to be together.

2) Connie and Dorothy (All For One) exhibit great conflict and conflict resolution in Season 2. They are cute and cuddly and domestic and supportive of one another (”don’t forget your second goodbye kiss!”). But most of all, when they’re hurting each other, they’re brutally honest about communicating it. But when Connie leaves, she comes back to tell Dorothy she loves her and kiss her, because she loves her more than she’s angry at her. It doesn’t erase the hurt that Dorothy has caused, but it also turns the situation into you/me vs. the problem, which is a much healthier way to address conflict. That moment still takes my breath away.

3) I think Middlemarch: The Series is a great example of couples AND friends who engage in consent/communication in their relationships as well as portraying situations where the best way to deal with an unhealthy/toxic relationship is to end it (Rosamund/Lydgate, anyone?). So many characters who support one another’s dreams but also hold each other accountable for being selfish (Fred/Max comes to mind), characters who check in on their friends in unhealthy relationships in a gentle and unpressured way (Celia and Dot re: Dot/Casaubon), characters whose slow burn becomes a warm and sweet romance (Celia/Jamie) and characters who have immediate, heart-melting chemistry but refuse to cheat on their current partners (Dot/Billie).

4) Jayden and Spencer from Love At First Night are obviously in love, but they also bicker about silly things and annoy one another. I love the episode where Jayden comes out about dealing with mental health issues due to a past relationship that was abusive. Spencer is nonjudgmental, even when he believes that the medication is actually for HIV/AIDS. Instead of an angry, accusing response to what must be a scary and confusing situation, there is compassion and gentleness. I’ve never seen a show where someone potentially keeping an HIV status secret was treated as understandable/sympathetic (which didn’t end up being the case but anyway) instead of a hugely evil and despicable thing to do. I also love the fact that the show allows two black men to be sexual, romantic, and domestic all at once, even when it results in petty fighting–which, unlike on many shows, doesn’t signal the relationship’s inevitable end (bc healthy couples are never supposed to have conflict, right…)

I will hopefully be adding to this list in a bit. Thanks so much for asking this

#middlemarch the series #love at first night #weathersbywebseriesreviews #ask #all for one #dornie #beadick #nmtd #lolilo

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simplejjs · 7 years ago

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Haruhi’s Kiss

Hey guys - Here’s my latest little bit of fanfiction, for “Ouran High School Host Club” - which is both a manga and anime. And *both* are EXCELLENT!!! So hilariously funny and touching too. Anyone who has not seen or read it, please please do so! There was only one season of anime created, but 18 volumes of the manga in all, about twice the length of the anime. Worth it.

Anyway, so here follows “Haruhi’s Kiss,” which I hope you like. :-) Note that some of the references are to the manga (”Hunny” vs. “Honey”), and some to the anime (”Lobelia” vs. “Robelia”).

I have seen other writers offer up their services for commissions, and I think it would be really neat to do that too. After this piece, I am going to post a bit of my own personal fiction, so you all can get a sense of my style, and if anyone wants to request a commission for a piece of writing, please message me. I’d love to give it a go!

Enjoy!

Haruhi’s Kiss by JJSprinkle

“We’re bored!” Hikaru and Kaoru complained in unison. They perched on a wide windowsill in Music Room 3, the mirror image of each other with one leg crooked and their heads resting against their fisted hands. The sun beamed through the large window, highlighting their auburn waves like an ironic halo around their heads.

Kyoya shot a sideways glance at them, calculating the risk of ignoring their complaint. It was 2:45pm, and guests would soon be arriving. His thin smile thinned a millimeter more, “You may help Haruhi prepare the tea settings. That should entertain you.”

The twins ignored him, instead sighing in harmony and gazing out the window. “Where’s Tamaki? Maybe we can play with him?” Hikaru muttered.

Kyoya checked something off of the list in his notebook, then replied drily, “Tamaki is currently watching Haruhi, purportedly to train her in proper tea service.” He nodded his head towards the back of the music room, and the twins looked over Kyoya’s shoulder to see Tamaki leaning against a pillar near a rear door of the large host club room.

Kaoru grimaced, and swinging his leg off of the windowsill, continued to complain in a whiny tone, “With his diligence, milord is going to get Haruhi’s first kiss one of these days.”

Hikaru shot him an alarmed look, while Kyoya smirked, “A father kissing his daughter. How perverse.”

“You don’t really think he would do that, do you?” Hikaru asked. Kaoru grinned at his twin’s urgent tone. “Anyway, Haruhi’s already had her first kiss.”

“Nah,” Kaoru scoffed, “Haruhi’s had her first girl kiss. But she still has to have her first boy kiss. And if we aren’t careful, Tamaki will steal it before the rest of us have a chance.”

As Hikaru frowned at his brother, Kyoya only raised his eyebrows and smiled. “I believe that Haruhi will be more discerning than any of you might hope for.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Hikaru turned his frown to Kyoya. Kyoya merely glanced at the twins, then returned to the checklist in his hand.

Kaoru and Hikaru stared at the silhouette of Tamaki. They could barely hear his cheerful voice offering directions to Haruhi, the words unintelligible. Just as Hikaru unfolded himself from the windowsill to stand, Mori loped into the music room with Hunny riding on his shoulders. Kaoru glanced at Mori and Hunny, then turned his gaze to his brother and smiled slyly. “Hey, I have an idea for a new game.” Four pairs of eyes turned to him. “Let’s play the, who can get Haruhi to kiss him first game!”

Kyoya merely tsk’ed, and returned to his list. Hikaru shot his brother an angry look. Hunny giggled. But it was Mori’s laconic, “okay,” that made the game seem possible.

“There’s no prize for winning, aside from Haruhi’s kiss,” Kaoru continued.

“She’s not a toy,” Hikaru muttered.

“Since when?” Kaoru prodded. Hikaru merely turned to look out the window.

Hunny voiced the obvious question, “But isn’t it sort of disrespectful, competing to kiss Haruhi like this? Like she’s a doll?”

Kaoru waved away Hunny’s concern, “Aw, you know Haruhi. She won’t even care. She’ll think we’re all crazy to be thinking about it anyway.” His eyes slid over to his brother, and he added, “Anyway, Tamaki will probably be the first to get her kiss.” He watched Hikaru shove his hands into his pockets.

Again, surprisingly, Mori voiced his opinion, “Yeah. Probably Tamaki. Is that who should win?”

Hikaru spun around, his cheeks red, “Okay, let’s do it.”

“First to get Haruhi to kiss him wins,” Kaoru repeated. “Starting tomorrow.” He grinned at the group, “That way we have a chance to plan. And to tell Tamaki. Fair’s fair.” They all turned to watch Tamaki glinting in the sunbeams dancing through the ornate room. He and Haruhi were laughing as she wheeled a tea cart out to the tables already set up. Even Kyoya glanced up from his notebook, as all five of them narrowed their eyes in determination. “Game on!” Kaoru said.

The two hours that the Host Club was open flew by as always, urged on by the antics of the Host Club members. Kaoru and Hikaru seemed especially lovey-dovey, and their forbidden love play made one new guest almost faint. For his part, Mori seemed quite chatty, adding in one word for every fifty spoken around him by Hunny and the girls eating cake with the pair. Kyoya worked diligently to keep Tamaki’s steady stream of requests entertained while waiting their turn with their ‘prince.’ And Haruhi slipped naturally into the affections of a group of guests that grew in size as the afternoon proceeded. By the end of the two hours, she had more girls fluttering around her, drinking tea and sighing over her stories of neighborhood festivals with her father, than any of the other Host Club members. Tamaki’s focus on his guests was frequently broken as increasingly he glanced over at Haruhi and her harem.

Finally Tamaki turned to the girl he was currently entertaining and holding out his hand with a flourish, suggested, “Let us join in this glittering garden of princesses, although you, my rose, will dare to outshine them all.” His guest tittered, and Tamaki pushed a chair for his guest into the circle of chairs and sofas concentrated around Haruhi, then leaned against the back of Haruhi’s sofa to listen in.

“So then my dad bought his first octopus shaped mini hotdog, and nearly choked when he tasted it. He thought it really was octopus!” Haruhi giggled a little, shrugging her shoulders while covering her mouth, and the girls around her joined her laughter while sighing in adoration.

“Ah, commoners’ food!” Tamaki spoke knowledgeably.

“Rich kids eat it too, Senpai,” Haruhi grumbled, thinking of the lunch foods she had seen at Lobelia Girls Academy.

Blowing right past her reprimand, Tamaki continued, “It is a usual practice for commoners to carve silly shapes into their mini hotdogs in order to increase their enjoyment of such simple food.”

“My grandmother can carve radishes to look like tulips,” one girl said, in a voice that seemed to contradict Tamaki’s announcement.

“Yeah, and our cook usually makes my rice balls in the shape of hearts and fish,” another girl added.

“Our cordon bleu chef will only serve our mousse in chocolate cups made to look like roses. I think you might be wrong, Tamaki,” a third girl said, and with that, Tamaki was gone. Craning her head to look over the back of the sofa, Haruhi saw Tamaki already curled into himself, sitting dejected in the corner, drawing pictures with his finger on the parquet floor. She turned back to her guests, trying to hide her amusement, when the third girl continued, “Would you like for me to bring you one of the dessert cups so you can try them?”

“And me, I can bring you a rice ball! Heart-shaped!”

“And I can bring a whole salad of carved vegetables!”

“I could bring pate in the shape of a duck, if you would like, Haruhi!”

“Would you like me to bring you cookies shaped like little men?”

Haruhi blushed, and thinking of how delicious their offerings sounded, replied with graceful, unaffected modesty, “Wow, that would be really nice, ladies. I would like that.”

“Oooooh!” they all swooned in unison.

And so the afternoon went.

At 5pm, Kyoya ushered the last guest out with thanks, and hopes that they would return on Thursday. Then he turned to gather the seven of the Host Club members to a planning meeting for their next event.

Tamaki was the first to speak, and his voice was sour when he said, “Haruhi, as soon as the meeting is over, you need to buy more commoners’ coffee.”

Haruhi started laughing at his mood, “Senpai, are you still angry over what those girls said?”

“I’m not angry!” he retorted angrily.

Kaoru started to chuckle. “Anyway, Haruhi doesn’t need to sit in on this dull meeting. Why doesn’t she just go get the coffee anyway while the rest of us plan?” He turned to Haruhi, “You don’t have any new ideas for our event Thursday anyway, do you?”

“Uh, no,” she answered lazily.

“Okay, off with you!” Kaoru said cheerfully.

Haruhi looked at him suspiciously, but she shrugged, said, “Okay,” and excused herself.

The room was silent until the door shut behind her, and then five pairs of eyes turned to Tamaki. “What?” he demanded.

With a sharp smile, Kyoya answered, “We have a little game we are all going to play…”

By the end of Kyoya’s explanation, Tamaki was spinning crazy circles with his arms held wide, and singing, “Haruhi, oh Haruhi, your Prince is calling for you!” His eyes were glazed over, as he imagined Haruhi’s and his first kiss.

“I’d love to know what his fantasy is this time,” Hikaru mocked.

“I’m not sure we could survive the saccharine overload,” Kaoru replied.

In the theater of Tamaki’s mind, he and Dream-Haruhi stood alone in a bower overflowing with white and pink roses. She was gazing at him lovingly, as orchestral music played quietly in the background. Dream-Tamaki swooped down onto one knee, and gently grasped Dream-Haruhi’s petite hand. “My princess,” he crooned, “grace me with your first real kiss.” Dream-Haruhi flirtatiously shrugged one shoulder, as if to hide her blushing face. The pink in her cheeks perfectly matched the abundance of pink roses surrounding them, as she looked sideways out of her large, innocent, doe-like eyes. She giggled, covering her mouth with her free hand, and said, “Oh, Senpai, really?” With a gentle smile of understanding at her maidenly virtue, Dream-Tamaki rose to pull her close. “With this kiss,” Dream-Tamaki said, “we will seal the love that binds us together.” Tilting her head up to Dream-Tamaki, Dream-Haruhi whispered, “Oh yes, Senpai, my love will be yours forever,” and then she closed her eyes, waiting. Gazing at her expectant, hopeful expression, Dream-Tamaki slowly lowered his mouth to hers -

“When you are done, Tamaki, we do have the actual meeting to attend to,” Kyoya broke Tamaki’s reverie.

Shaking off the lovely fantasy, Tamaki threw out his hand, his forefinger and thumb extended, and declared, “We will have this kissing game! And I will win Haruhi’s first kiss!”

The twins rolled their eyes, Hunny giggled enthusiastically, Mori stared silently at Tamaki, and Kyoya said, “Regarding the theme of Thursday’s event…” The group began their meeting in earnest, but in the back of everyone’s mind they were plotting how to steal Haruhi’s first kiss from Tamaki.

Wednesday morning was clear but crisp. Haruhi called over her shoulder to her father, still in bed after coming home late, “‘Bye Dad.” Then she carefully shut the door behind her and turned to climb down the stairs to the sidewalk. Immediately her eyes lit upon the shiny black limousine parked in front of her apartment building. “Drat,” she muttered, wondering which one it was. Not the Hitachiins - they prefered a silver sedan. Nor Mori or Hunny. It had to be either Tamaki or Kyoya, and her bet was on Tamaki. Why was he here, she wondered.

However, as she descended the cement stairs, she was surprised by the rear window of the car silently sliding down, and Kyoya’s voice calling from within, “Good morning, Haruhi, care for a ride to school?”

Haruhi’s face was impassive, but her mind was whirling as she tried to guess at Kyoya’s motive. “Good morning, Kyoya-senpai,” she greeted. The rear door of the limousine opened, but Haruhi stood still. She was not exactly enthusiastic to fence with Kyoya so early in the morning, and she knew he must want something important to show up at her place before school. Inside the car, Kyoya remained, silent. Sighing inwardly, Haruhi finally said, “Sure Senpai, thanks,” and climbed in.

Kyoya slid slightly over to make room for Haruhi. She could not help but pet the supple leather sofa that filled the rear of the large car. “Would you like coffee or tea?” Kyoya offered, himself taking a sip from his own drink in a tall ceramic mug.

Haruhi narrowed her eyes at him, and said, “Alright Kyoya-senpai, what’s up?”

“Why Haruhi,” laughed Kyoya in his smooth voice, “Why would you say that?”

Haruhi just ignored him, and demanded again, “What do you want?” Kyoya remained silent, almost expectant, watching Haruhi with one eyebrow raised. Haruhi lost the battle and was the first to speak, “We all know that you act in your own best interest, and it’s awfully early in the morning, so whatever it is must be important. What in the world could you want from me?”

Chuckling, Kyoya replied, “An interesting turn of phrase.” Then he cloaked himself in business-mode and discussed the meeting from the previous afternoon. “Tamaki is considering the addition of performance art to the events of the Host Club, similar to the Zuka Club.”

“Are you kidding?” Haruhi asked, anxious.

“For Thursday, we were considering a West African theme. Do you drum?”

“What?”

“Do you drum? Can you carry a beat on a drum?”

“Uh, no,” Haruhi replied hesitantly.

Kyoya pulled a leather notebook onto his lap, flipped it open to a page marked with a ribbon, and checked something off. Next he said, “And we know that you cannot sing. But can you credibly lip-sync? Let’s say, to a Broadway musical?”

“Um, I guess…” Haruhi did not sound particularly confident.

“Dance?” Kyoya raised one eyebrow.

Shaking her head, Haruhi complained, “Come on Senpai, you know I can’t do any of those things. Can’t you just give me a costume and I’ll serve tea and coffee like usual?”

Kyoya flipped his book shut and placed it beside him on the leather seat. “It appears that you will be of little help in Tamaki’s latest scheme.”

Haruhi laughed at the idea. “Really Kyoya-senpai. I thought the point was to play to our strengths! Singing and dancing are hardly strengths of mine.” In fact, she thought to herself, remembering Lobelia, I’d rather pull my toenails out one by one than get on a stage again.

Kyoya’s eyes flicked past Haruhi to the window behind her, watching the car sweep up the main drive of Ouran Academy. “Ah, yes, the awkward but loveable Natural,” he drawled.

“Well, jeesh,” Haruhi muttered. It might be true, but saying it like that hardly sounded complimentary.

“Awkward but loveable,” Kyoya replied, and then with no forewarning he leaned forward and pecked her on the lips. Haruhi’s eyes grew wide, and she pulled back into the car’s sofa. Kyoya, however, acted as if nothing had happened, and merely reached his hand out and patted Haruhi’s head. “Indeed, you are no performer. What were we thinking?”

“What the heck, Kyoya-senpai? What was that for?”

“Hmm?” Kyoya turned innocent eyes to her. He smiled, but Haruhi noticed the shark-like quality of it. She frowned at him. “Despite your lack of acting abilities, you are a credit to the Host Club,” he said, then, “Keep it up.” This time he ruffled her hair, “Ah, look, we have arrived.” The car had stopped so smoothly that Haruhi had not noticed their arrival, but suddenly the door was opened by the chauffeur, and turning to gather his books, Kyoya impassively said, “After you.”

Shaking her head at his unfathomable behavior, Haruhi grabbed her own bag and climbed out of the limousine. Behind her she heard Kyoya tsk’ing, “Aren’t you going to thank me for the ride, Haruhi?”

Still wondering what his motivation had been, Haruhi replied, “Thank you for the ride, Kyoya-senpai.” She walked away, shrugging off Kyoya’s odd behavior.

Kyoya watched her go. He silenced the whispers in the privacy of his mind, and merely allowed to himself one final smile and a quiet, “Awkward but loveable.” Chuckling, he strode off toward a different section of the school.

“Haruhi!” Two voices in one called to Haruhi from down the hall. Haruhi looked up and smiled.

“Good morning Hikaru, ‘morning Kaoru,” she greeted.

“You’re here early,” they again said in unison.

“Yeah, Kyoya-senpai gave me a ride.”

“Oh did he?” Kaoru said, while Hikaru frowned. They both watched Haruhi, as if waiting for something.

Uncertain what they expected, finally she said, “Uh, yeah, he did...”

Haruhi watched Hikaru and Kaoru exchange glances, then they flanked Haruhi and each looped their arm through one of hers. “Come on,” Kaoru said, “Let’s get to class.”

“Guess what, Haruhi,” Hikaru exclaimed. “I brought a lunch to school today, and it has fancy tuna!” He grinned at Haruhi’s large and avaricious eyes. But then, her face fell into disappointment.

“I can’t believe my luck. I’m having lunch with Mori-senpai today.”

“What?” the twins asked.

“Yeah, I know. But he called my house last night and said that Hunny-senpai has something to do at lunchtime, and he wanted to ask me something. So I’m eating lunch with him. Man, I was going to talk you into letting me eat some of your fancy tuna,” Haruhi complained.

Plans of tempting Haruhi with tuna, of demanding a kiss for a bite, disintegrated in Hikaru’s mind. Instead he declared, “Well, I’m coming too!”

Haruhi shrugged, “Okay.” Maybe she’d still have a chance to taste fancy tuna.

“Hikaru,” Kaoru muttered, “Fair’s fair. I guess Mori-senpai has the right to have lunch with Haruhi.”

“Fair’s not fair. There are no rules!” Hikaru complained to his brother.

“Uh, what?” Haruhi asked. “Rules for what? What’s not fair?”

Kaoru flicked his brother on the forehead. “Nothing. Hikaru just means in terms of our friendship with you. He just doesn’t want to share you with anyone.”

While Hikaru glared at Kaoru, Haruhi laughed. “Come on, guys, don’t be silly.” She turned to Hikaru and placed a hand on his arm. “I can be friends with Mori-senpai without it affecting my friendship with you.”

Hikaru looked at Haruhi with an unreadable expression. Then he glanced up and down the hall. Only a few students were chatting at the far end. Turning his eyes again to Haruhi, Hikaru’s look was intense as, without any warning, he leaned down and quickly kissed Haruhi on the lips. It was just a quick peck, just like Kyoya’s had been, but it was a little shocking nevertheless. “Hikaru, what was that for?”

Hikaru blushed, but his smile was self-satisfied. “Hey!” Kaoru said, “If you get to kiss Haruhi, I should too!”

“What?!” Haruhi exclaimed.

“Come on, pleaasse? We’re twins, so there’s no real difference.”

Haruhi sighed. This had to be some sort of game they were playing. “Fine,” she said, remembering the handful of days before when they had fought. Although it had been all for show, it had been unpleasant enough, and she did not want to fall into that trap again.

“Really?” Kaoru said, surprised at how easily Haruhi had been persuaded. Before she had a chance to change her mind, he leaned down and quickly pecked her on the lips just as Hikaru had done.

“Okay, happy you two? Now there’s no reason to fight.” Haruhi readjusted her bookbag on her shoulder. What a strange day this is turning out to be.

Kaoru laughed, suddenly understanding her complaisance. “Oh, don’t worry, we won’t fight now.” The three linked arms again, and continued down the hall. Hikaru tried to hide his frown, wondering what Kyoya and Mori planned. Kaoru thought about how much he loved his brother. Haruhi imagined what fancy tuna might taste like.

Mori had suggested that Haruhi and he meet in the gardens if the weather turned fine. The day had warmed up, so at lunch Haruhi wandered to the alcove in the gardens next to the fountain pool. As she passed the rectangular pool, she remembered the day when Tamaki had stepped right in to help find her wallet. Haruhi bit the inside of her cheek, thinking. Tamaki was such a disorienting mix of deep insight into human nature, selfless kindness, and ridiculous immaturity, that often she did not know what to think of him. Or, she corrected herself, how to think of him. But she remembered the first time they had all visited her apartment, and how everyone had raced out the door to visit the supermarket, except Tamaki. He had stayed behind to pay his respects to her mother. Haruhi raised her eyes to the puffy clouds in the wide blue sky, and thought about her mom.

“Hello.” Mori’s deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

Haruhi came back to earth with a jolt, and glanced over at the cement bench hidden by a semi-circle of bushes. “Hi Mori-senpai,” she greeted. One of Mori’s rare smiles lit his face. Haruhi seated herself next to Mori, and laid her lunch out next to his, on the bench between them. “You’re lucky you called me last night,” she laughed. “Hikaru brought fancy tuna for lunch today, and I think he was going to give me some!”

Mori spoke softly, “I can bring you fancy tuna.”

“Really?” Haruhi asked hopefully.

Mori merely raised his chin once in acknowledgement.

Pulling her food out, Haruhi casually asked, “So what was it you wanted to ask me Mori-senpai?”

Mori’s answer surprised her. “Nothing,” he said. Haruhi shot him a peculiar look from the corner of her eyes. Is it just me, she asked herself, or is everyone acting strangely today? But she let it go, thinking that maybe she had simply misunderstood his phone call the evening before.

The two ate their lunches silently. Sitting next to Mori, Haruhi was surprised by how comforting his presence was. She had the overwhelming sense that nothing could hurt her as she sat next to him. No wonder Hunny prefers to spend his time with Mori, she thought. Although, she reminded herself, Hunny can protect himself perfectly well. It was easy to forget Hunny’s martial arts prowess when he looked and acted as he did. Breaking the silence, Haruhi asked, “How long have you and Hunny-senpai been friends?”

Mori looked past her to the fountain beyond. “Since we were babies. Our fathers put us in the same crib to nap.”

“Wow.” Silence again. “But you don’t spend all of your time together, right? I mean, you are experts in different schools of martial arts.”

“Right,” Mori replied.

“If you two just were fighting with kendo, do you think you would win?”

“Yes,” Mori stated definitively.

“What if you both got to choose your own style? Then would Hunny win?” Haruhi wondered.

After a moment, Mori replied, “It depends.” Haruhi watched him, curious. The emotions were there, flashing across his face, but they were subtle. “Probably. But it depends on what we were fighting for.”

“Oh,” Haruhi remarked. They finished their lunches in companionable silence.

As if minutes had not passed, Mori suddenly added to his previous thought, “If it were over a certain girl, I would win.”

Haruhi nodded her head, and agreed, “Right.” That would be Mori’s chivalrous side. Packing up her lunch box, Haruhi glanced up to find Mori watching her intently. “What?” she said. She began to unwrap her lunch box again, to pull her napkin back out. Maybe she had food on her face.

“I am going to kiss you,” Mori stated.

“What?” Haruhi repeated, amazed. Her stomach clenched anxiously.

“If you were the certain girl, I would fight for you,” he said.

Putting her hands up, Haruhi said, “Wait a minute, Mori-senpai!” It was only a moment before her thoughts flew from Mori’s declaration, to Kyoya’s, Hikaru’s, and Kaoru’s behavior. Turning to look at Mori, she started to say, “Just what’s going -” when Mori reached one hand towards her. His large palm cradled her cheek, and an unreadable expression deepened his eyes. Then, slowly, Mori leaned down and lightly kissed Haruhi on the lips. Pulling away from her, he smiled. “You should think of me when you kiss Tamaki.”

“What?!” Haruhi exploded. “What the heck is going on, Mori-senpai?! You guys can’t just go around kissing me like this!”

Mori stood up. Looking down at Haruhi, he frowned, and after a moment said, “You’re right.” He reached towards her head as if he were going to pat it, but instead merely laid his hand on her head. In a somber tone, he said, “I won’t kiss you again.” Then he turned and walked away, leaving Haruhi alone.

Slumping in on herself, Haruhi thought, What are these guys up to? She started to wipe her mouth on her sleeve, but remembered instead to pull her napkin back out of her lunch. Haruhi grimaced to herself as she wiped her lips, I know it’s a game they’re playing. That’s why Hikaru mentioned rules. Then, Haruhi paused in the act of wiping off her lips. She hadn’t felt the need to wipe her mouth after Kyoya swooped in and kissed her, or Hikaru, or Kaoru. Why Mori-senpai? she asked herself. Haruhi half-snorted to herself, Because Kyoya is a cold fish, and Hikaru and Kaoru are just kidding. But that Mori… wow. Even Haruhi could acknowledge the romance of his behavior. She chuckled, but then frowned again. “Even still,” she declared to the uncaring bushes around her, “that doesn’t give them the right to just kiss me like this.” Picking up her lunch, Haruhi shrugged off their game-playing, and returned to class for afternoon lectures.

There was no Host Club scheduled for that afternoon, but out of habit, all of the Host Club members converged on Music Room 3 after classes let out for the afternoon. Haruhi should have known, should have expected, Hunny’s kiss. And she did in fact expect it, but not quite so quickly. Pushing open the doors to the music room, Haruhi was barely five steps in before Hunny came running and launched himself into her arms. “Haruchan!” he yelled exuberantly, then, “Come have cake with me!” Haruhi barely had time to smile in response when Hunny leaned in and kissed her quickly on the lips, like a little brother might.

That does it! she thought. Swiftly unlatching her arms, she dropped Hunny unceremoniously to the floor. “That does it!” she stated loudly and firmly to the six boys staring at her in surprise. “I don’t know who you all think you are, but you cannot, you may not just go around kissing me - or any other girl - when you feel like it! This is ridiculous!” she fumed.

“What?!” Tamaki shouted. His eyes flamed.

“Not a single one of you asked permission -”

“I asked permission,” Kaoru interjected quickly.

Haruhi turned to look at him, and his comment took some of the wind out of her sails, “Okay, that’s true, you did.” She turned back to the rest of the group, “Kaoru asked permission, but no one else did… And you only sort of asked permission, Kaoru, because Hikaru did it first!”

“Wait a minute!” interrupted Tamaki. “Do you mean to tell me every single one of you has kissed Haruhi today?” His question was met with muffled snickers and Kyoya clearing his throat, looking away in amusement.

“You all think it’s funny,” Haruhi said, regaining her momentum, “But I’m not an object! You don’t play with people like they are toys!” She shot a meaningful look at the twins, who looked abashed, and then at Kyoya, who stared at her impassively.

Silence reigned between the group of seven. Finally, Hunny said in a small voice, “We’re sorry, Haruchan. You’re right.”

Haruhi took a deep breath to try to calm down, as Tamaki took up her argument, “I am disappointed in you,” he stated ominously, “treating our Haruhi like that!” However, when Haruhi looked away from the group in a bid to regain her temper, she saw that a corner of the room had been transformed into a romantic bower overflowing with red, pink, and white roses, and that four musicians holding violins and flutes were standing under a white silk banner, with guilty looks on their faces.

Haruhi turned to Tamaki with a dirty look. “Et tu, Tamaki?” she muttered. He turned bright red and hunched his shoulders. Slinging her bookbag back over her shoulder, Haruhi muttered, “I’ll see you all tomorrow.” She pushed past them and walked out.

After a silent beat, Hikaru and Kaoru turned to each other to start quibbling over who was more to blame, when Tamaki spoke up. “I can’t believe you all!” he shouted furiously. “You ruined everything!” Tears came into his angry eyes.

“Hey, boss, it was a contest,” Hikaru reminded him defensively. “Okay, granted, she’s right and we shouldn’t have done it, but regardless, you can’t get angry at us just because we beat you.”

“Go away,” Tamaki said. No emotion was in his voice when he said again, “Everyone, just go home. I’ll see you tomorrow for the host club.” Everyone except Kyoya picked up their belongings and started to leave. When Tamaki saw that Kyoya intended to linger, he added with a fulminating look, “You too, Kyoya.”

Kyoya paused, then silently packed together his books. He walked up to stand before Tamaki, and said quietly, “Sorry, Tamaki.” Then he turned and left.

Haruhi’s apartment was silent, except for the scratch of her pen on her paper. A cup of lukewarm tea sat at her elbow, which she was sipping to help digest the overlarge helping of fancy tuna that she had eaten for dinner. The leftovers she had carefully placed in the refrigerator; there was more than enough for a late night dinner for her dad when he came home. The notes of apology, which had accompanied both deliveries of fancy tuna, were placed safely in the drawer of Haruhi’s nightstand. Kaoru’s and Hikaru’s note had touched her deeply, and Hunny’s had made her smile. By the time Mori’s single white rose and letter of apology arrived, Haruhi’s anger had evaporated. She chuckled at how characteristic Mori’s note was. It cut directly to the core, “Sorry.”

When the doorbell rang, Haruhi wondered what delivery might arrive next. But when she checked through the peephole of the door, she saw Kyoya himself on the other side. Opening the door, she greeted him, “Kyoya-senpai.”

For the first time ever, Kyoya seemed to give off an air of awkwardness. Finally he cleared his throat and said, “I owe you an apology.”

Haruhi shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Kyoya-senpai. I mean, don’t do it again, but it’s okay. I forgive you. I know it was all one of your contests.”

“Regardless,” he said, “I do owe you an apology.” He stuck his hand out to shake hers, saying, “It certainly won’t happen again.”

Haruhi ignored his hand and cheerfully punched him on the shoulder. “Don’t think about it,” she said.

Using his hand to instead rub his shoulder, Kyoya grinned slyly at her and said, “Well, look at it this way, Haruhi. Now you have blackmail information on me. If you ever were to tell my sister what we did, she would certainly string us all up.”

Haruhi laughed for real, and replied, “That, Kyoya-senpai, is the best apology-present I have received this evening!” Her eyes glinted mischievously. After a moment, she asked politely, “Uh, would you like to come in for a cup of tea? I’m just doing homework.”

“No, thank you. I have homework of my own to get to.”

“Okay. Well, then, good night.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Kyoya asked. His buttery tone was back, but Haruhi thought she heard a rougher note of uncertainty linger behind the words.

“Of course you will, Senpai. Good night.”

“Good night, Haruhi.” And Kyoya disappeared into the night.

Haruhi pushed open the door of Music Room 3. She was early, but she figured that she could start preparing the tea services for their event that afternoon. Hearing a shuffling noise, she found Tamaki alone setting up tables and chairs.

“Hello Senpai,” Haruhi greeted.

“Good afternoon, Haruhi!” Tamaki replied in his chirpy voice.

Haruhi narrowed her eyes. Whenever he used that tone, something was going on in that brain of his. “What are you doing?” she asked suspiciously.

Tamaki shot her a brief look. “I am setting up the tables,” he replied cheerfully.

“But why that tone, Senpai?” she persisted.

“I don’t know what you mean, Haruhi,” Tamaki’s tone was now lofty.

“Are you still upset about yesterday?”

Tamaki turned his back to her. “Why would I have any reason to be upset?” he challenged, his voice overly-uncaring.

“You kind of seem like you’re pouting,” she added.

“I’m not pouting!” Tamaki replied, annoyed.

The two worked silently pushing tables and chairs together, when finally Haruhi said, “Well, I think it’s sort of weird.”

Tamaki tried hard not to gratify her with an answer, but ultimately his curiosity won out over his wounded pride. “What’s weird?”

“I was just thinking about it last night. It’s weird that I ended up kissing everyone in the Host Club yesterday except you. So now I feel like there’s this thing between us, like… like there’s an imbalance to our club or something. It’s weird.” Tamaki stood still, alert to Haruhi’s words. After a moment, he huffed out his breath, then started pushing chairs around again. “Actually, last night, I was thinking that I should just kiss you today to get it over with.” Haruhi mused aloud.

“What?!” Tamaki exclaimed, and a blush stained his cheeks.

“Yeah, I was thinking that the best way to make everything balanced again would simply be to kiss you. I mean, it’s no big deal, right?” Haruhi looked up to find Tamaki staring at her, his hand covering his mouth, his face red. “So, can I?” Tamaki just stared at her, so Haruhi clarified, “May I just quickly kiss you?”

Tamaki began to cough, choking on his emotions. Haruhi frowned. This isn’t going how I thought it would. Why’s he making such a big deal out of it? she thought. She began to feel embarrassed, and started to blush as well. Dropping her gaze to the floor, she muttered, “Never mind. That was stupid.” Suddenly, what had seemed practical and obvious last night now appeared reckless and a little irrational.

Tamaki choked out, “No, no… I’d like your kiss. I mean, for your kiss. I mean, for you to kiss me….” Haruhi glanced back up at him, her embarrassment receding. “I feel the same way. I mean, that everyone else got to kiss you…” His voice petered out, but his face stayed bright red.

“Okay,” Haruhi bit the inside of her cheek, thinking. Then, she walked up to him, and pushed his hand away from his mouth. Placing her hands on his shoulders for balance, Haruhi rose on tiptoe and placed a quick kiss on his lips.

As brief as their kiss was, it sent a funny shiver rippling through her body, and her heartbeat sped up. With her face still turned up to his, their eyes caught, and they stared at each other. It was when his gaze dropped down to her mouth that she let go of him, and stepped slightly away. She stared at the floor. After a moment her heartbeat stopped zooming, and she looked sideways up at him. “Wow, it’s a lot different when I’m the one doing the kissing,” she remarked. Tamaki’s face was still red, but his eyes had turned dewy and soft. His natural glinting was almost overwhelming.

Only slowly did her words sink into Tamaki’s brain, and he asked suddenly, “Do you mean that you didn’t actually kiss anyone yesterday? That they all just kissed you?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Haruhi said, unconsciously rubbing her lips with her fingers, “They all just swooped in and kissed me while we were in the middle of conversations. It was pretty annoying.” For a moment, an image of Mori flashed in her mind, but quickly dissolved again.

“So, technically speaking, I am in fact the only one you kissed?” There was something both devious and pointed in Tamaki’s cheerful tone.

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Haruhi replied.

Tamaki looked at the wall behind her, and smiled. Then, he chuckled to himself. Then he started outright to laugh. Haruhi stared at him like he was crazy, but after a minute she joined in his infectious laughter. Clutching his sides, Tamaki finally managed to say, “Ah, Haruhi, if I could increase your debt to 3,000 guests, I would!”

Haruhi pretended to look at him sternly, but then she made a big show of looking over her shoulders as if checking that they were still alone. In a teasing, low voice, she said, “Well, don’t tell Kyoya-senpai, but I would let you.”

He ruffled her hair, and laughed, “It will be our little secret.”

The two of them continued pushing tables and chairs together, but each time their gazes caught, they smiled. “Why don’t you prepare the commoner’s coffee, Haruhi?” Tamaki suggested magnanimously.

“Why don’t we start calling it instant coffee instead?” Haruhi retorted.

“Why would we do that? Our guests wouldn’t know what that even means. If we call it commoner’s coffee, then everyone knows what to expect.”

“What? You darn rich kids,” Haruhi exclaimed, warming up for an argument. The other members of the Host Club quietly trickled in, and stood near the door watching the developing fight with amusement. Each of them felt their own sense of relief; the family was happy again.

#Ouran High School Host Club #OHSHC #Haruhi #Tamaki #Kyoya #Hikaru #Kaoru #Hitachiin twins #Mori #Hunny #Honey #fanfiction #commissions #kiss #kiss kiss fall in love

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leaveharmony · 7 years ago

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** this got mad towards the end and it wasn't a targeted sort of mad at anyone in particular so much as a tired & probably-stemming-from-always-having-thing-I-enjoy-and-the-way-I-engage-with-it belittled sort of mad. And as my father has always taught me, having or expressing emotions is shameful and wrong, so sorry.

Idk I think it's like....harder for me to cast judgement RE: ~cheating scandals~ or w/e because it goes back to it all being completely theoretical to me. No one's ever, face to face, at any time in any way expressed any kind of romantic interest in me whatsoever, I've never been in a relationship of any kind. It hasn't come up, and that's fine. Whether this is a case of you cannot miss what you've never had or whether I'm just like....a broken empty vessel for whom the yearning for human contact has gone beyond recall or desire, I dunno, and it doesn't concern me. This isn't a pity me statement or an uwu secret crush notice me statement, I literally don't care at this point and tbh can't remember ever having done so.

Probably my oldest friend at this point, she....like as long as I've known her she's dated married men almost exclusively (and this started when we were both in highschool, when she was screwing around w/ her married english teacher - something I now understand was shocking predatory behaviour and probably statutory rape besides, but she does not acknowledge it as such so bring it up isn't my place). She's been seeing the current one for at least three years now, I think, and he's married. It's certainly an uncomfortable thing, and god knows I don't believe he could possibly think much of her or his wife if he's been doing this for so long and never once manned up and been honest or seriously considered ending his marriage. But it's her life and we don't talk much anymore anyway, so I've never felt like it was my job or my place to be her therapist RE: holy shit what the fuck is wrong with you why do you do this to yourself and how could you do this to someone else?

Like full disclosure she started ‘seeing’ that english teacher when we were sort of puppy love internet-together (another long story but she wanted to or at least said she did and I sorta went along with it cos I didn't want to hurt her feelings...which of course, then it certainly seemed v. much like she didn't have many of, considering within a week she was having it off w/ someone else...again, this was a detached ‘Oh’ kind of moment, not really connected to any real hurt as she had instigated this and I hadn't really felt anything myself...it was upsetting in a sort of, ‘so this is what people do when they tell you they love you, that is disappointing but I guess life is not fiction’ kind of way but not in a ‘how could you, I love you’ kind of way. As a first/only experience it could have gone better tbh, but it certainly gave me the right level of expectation afa being used & discarded when someone more convenient came along).

It's possible that most of the people I have ever known have just been fundamentally really bad at relationships and so I just sort of assume this is a normal thing; my father is an abusive shitbag and we're inescapably trapped with him, grandpa was a sort of...disinterested stick in the mud with a frightening temper for whom my grandmother gave up all her interests in sports and the outdoors because he did not share them. Wabs never married, Tosh told me like she was expecting a pat on the back and a medal that she'd been faithful to her husband as he died of cancer 'even though she ‘didn't have to be.’ And my instinctive reaction wasn't GOOD FOR YOU so much as it was “....what?!” but again...I didn't speak, because what the fuck do I know? Maybe ppl run off and start seeing other ppl as soon as their partners get so much as a headcold all the time.

Ppl just sorta get abused and trampled and left and cheated on and discarded, or they do the same to others, and it just looks like a hell of a mess I'm well out of, tbh. Which I guess is another reason...unless somebody's getting beat or otherwise abused, I feel like it's none of my business. So honestly, “Tana slept around when he was single and one day some chick he canoodled with for like two months stabbed him for it” is filed under “Yeah that'll happen, thank god he didn't die” rather than “Hahahahaha karma amiright he totes deserved it, domestic abuse and attempted murder are hilarious when they’re directed at men who’re full of themselves!”

Nobody needs to tell me to have low fuckin' expectations for men, ok, I live under the boot of one of their idiot kings. Tell me Tana fatshames his family for eating, tell me he gaslights them or acts like when they’re hurt or injured they’re making it up to personally inconvenience him, tell me they have to rigidly control their emotions around him to avoid setting off his violent temper, and ok. Tell me he's a bigot, tell me he hits his family, tell me he hates women, tell me he's a rapist, ok. But like...’he had a lot of sex and probably hurt people's feelings’ is not really high on my list of cardinal offenses b/c as far as I can tell, that's fucking everyone. It isn't like he still does, it isn't like he's not tried to put it behind him and grow from it and be better. It's practically his motto. Why is ‘I acted in a shitty way but I'm trying to atone and I still look back and feel guilty about it’ only an admirable, affirming thing to aspire to when it's a tumblr post & not when a guy is straight up saying it? Which he has, on multiple occasions. Can't change the past, can only try to learn from it.

At. Least. He. Fucking. Tries.

When has redneck george ever walked back his comments about gay ppl or his Islamophobia, when has Lesnar? Beyond a token apology and chasing it w/ a dozen I'M NOT A RACIST THO interviews when has Hogan really acknowledged the depths of how he fucked up? When did Warrior apologize for his vile bigotry, where's Elgin sincerely regretting being a fucking piece of shit dragging a rape victim's name through the mud? Jericho's response to ‘hey maybe you shouldn't be advertising your cruise by saying there will be loads of bikini-clad women there available for you to ogle’ was essentially ‘are you triggered, bro, y so srys?’ and at no point did he objections seriously. Orton never so much as thinks for two seconds before condemning BLM protesters or footballers who take the knee, AND he voted for Trump, but other than hollowly chanting that he's not a racist while blatantly doing things that are racist, silence. Honma beat his girlfriend, Snuka murdered his partner, Austin smacked Debra around, Angle got stoned out of his mind and broke into his ex's apartment, X-Pac hit Chyna, exactly how often do they refer back to what happened, when did they apologize or express regret or even acknowledge any of it? I mean I guess Benoit can't, what with the fucking suicide after he bashed in Nancy's skull and murdered his son.

Ppl have different things they can tolerate and forgive, is I guess my point, or at least one of them. Which is fine! I mean...I'd sure fucking side-eye anybody who writes any of the above a pass, but, I guess everybody's stories and reasons are different.

I like Tana. I'm a fan of his. Ok? Like it probably sounds like I think he's a flawless angel crowned with light b/c compared to my fucking father, he IS. It doesn't mean I'm being willfully blind to mistakes he's made or that I'm absolving him of every sin he's ever committed. I think he's a good person and it's heartening and encouraging that he's in the world and if saying so without adding 18 asterisks about past behaviour and an disclaimer acknowledging all men as shit and all people as inherently flawed makes me a gullible childish ~fangirl~ than ok, I guess I am. Everybody knows my tags for wrestling/wrestlers, which are there as much as a courtesy to anybody who needs to blacklist as they are a filing system for me (that’s why there’s a catch-all! For ppl I haven’t thought up tags for yet or don’t intend to!), and tumblr savior is right there if me being silly about my favs in my own space bothers everybody so fucking much, god knows it wouldn't be the first time I set somebody cringing and they had to tune me out before they quietly dropped my ass like a particularly stupid puppy on a country road. That I am a sloppy fawning emotional mess of untreated neurosis who hyperfixates on things & people who make me feel halfway hopeful for entire minutes at a time & gets stupidly overexcited about stuff isn't new information to me, so if you can't deal with that then... Well...sorry, honestly. Like sincerely. I know how I am and I try not to be but I can't help it sometimes when I like something. Don't feel bad about leaving if you don't want to deal with it, cos I get it, honestly. Have exactly zero (0) guilt feelings about it. I’m a fundamentally repulsive creature, ppl have hard limits on how long they can put up with me, and so it has always been, and so it goes.

#Tanariffic #COMPUTER: ERASE THAT ENTIRE PERSONAL LOG

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