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mrsalwayswrite · 3 years

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To Call Forth Love - Chapter 6

Haha, I’m so excited for this chapter. Please let me know what y’all think! Also a huge thank you to everyone who has liked/commented/reblogged. You guys deserve all the love and cookies possible!

Warnings: swearing, fluff (i think that’s it, sorry if i miss something)

Words: 7300 (i feel like my chapters keep getting longer. oops?)

Tag List: @heavenly1927 @youbloodymadgenius @zuxiezendler @punkrocknpearls

Series Masterlist

The aroma of coffee surrounded Kari like a warm, comforting blanket. The café was just the perfect amount of busy, there were a few other tables occupied but without feeling cramped or overwhelming. The lunch rush was just beginning, indicated by the number of patrons standing in line to order now.

The brunette sipped on her latte as she slowly swiped through the pictures on Gyda's phone. The two were finally meeting up for an early lunch and coffee after a yoga class. Gyda had been gushing about the trip she just returned from to Phnom Penh, telling stories of the week she spent there and letting Kari slide through the pictures on her phone.

"These are just gorgeous. Gods, you have the best job, I swear."

Gyda laughed, picking at the muffin in front of her. "I know. I can't imagine doing anything else though."

"When do you leave again?"

"Mmmm…. I’m not sure yet. The company is wanting me to go to Vancouver, British Columbia next. I might wait until the end of September to go. I'm not sure. Either way, it won't be for at least a month. Depends on how soon I want to go visit mom."

"Why wouldn't you want to go soon?" Kari perked up at the mention of Gyda's mother. She knew the two were close, but all she really knew about Lagertha was from what Ivar told her.

"I'm not a fan of her new boyfriend. Sorry, she prefers the term "lover". Kalf works for her, specifically with contacts from their Mediterranean partners and overseeing some of the shipments."

"Why don't you like him?" She swiped to the next image, a stunning picture of the Cambodian royal palace.

The blonde waved her hand vaguely, as if swatting a fly. "He hasn't done anything; I just don't like him."

"That's fair. Does he treat your mom well?"

"Yeah. She just has shit luck with men and I'm worried how this one will turn out." She sipped on her coffee, gazing out the nearby window for a moment.

Kari turned back to the phone, guessing there was more that Gyda was not saying. Not that she needed to know. No, she had enough drama in her life currently and his name was Ivar.

Both women lounged in the wooden café chairs, still in their yoga clothes, having come straight from the studio. Except Gyda changed her footwear, losing the sandals for a pair of wedge heels that made her long legs look like skyscrapers. It was hard not to envy Gyda's body, and Torvi for that matter. They both had the perfect hourglass figure, with all the right assets and gorgeously braided, blonde hair. Maybe it was some standard that women around the Lothbroks had perfect bodies. It made Kari wonder why Ivar paid her any attention then. Her body was far from perfect. Her chest side was decent, but she always thought her hips and thighs were too large. Most likely leftover critiques from her mother who not-so-lovingly would say Kari was pear-shaped and needed to focus on losing all that extra or no man would want her. Not that she was trying to get a man. Over the past two years she had finally come to embrace her body and was learning to be comfortable in her own skin. Though some days were better than others. It was still difficult to watch Gyda receive appreciative looks from many of the patrons as they passed by their table and know none of them would even give her a second glance. The blonde was effortlessly beautiful. Perhaps there was a way for her to teach Kari that.

Suddenly Gyda zeroed in on the brunette with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "Speaking about men…."

"Are you going on a date?"

Gyda snorted, with an amused grin on her face. "Hell no. I'm not interested in a relationship right now. I am perfectly fine being single. Stop changing the subject. There is a little something going around the Lothbrok rumor mill that Ivar took you on a date to Casa mia, Maggiore."

"Not a date, it was just as friends." Kari clarified.

She gave her an incredulous look. "Just friends?"

"Yes."

Gyda narrowed her eyes at her.

"What? We went out to Casa mia, Maggiore and then I convinced him to go to Masterpiece. After he dropped me back off at home. Nothing happened."

"Right…." Gyda hummed. "So, it was a date."

Kari dropped her face into her hands with a groan. "Not a date. Just friends."

"Whatever you say. Just know Ivar doesn't take just anyone to his favorite restaurant. Hell, I think he only took his ex there once in the ten months they were dating. He usually only goes with Aslaug."

"Oh? Um, I didn't know…" The brunette hated how she perked up at this new information. It should not matter hearing that he never took anyone, that it really was his favorite restaurant and he wanted to share it with her. In their texting, he made reference to when they went back, what food he wanted her to try next. Something apparently, he was not even inclined to do with an ex. No, none of that should matter. But it did, and the way her heart swelled at the realization only proved that to her.

"Clearly he really likes you to take you there. Do you like him?"

"Sure, he's a good friend."

Gyda sighed dramatically, tipping her head back. "You're killing me, Kari! Fine! When was this not-date? A week ago?"

"Eight days, yeah."

"Have you hung out since then?"

"Yeah, he picked me up once and we went out for dinner. Another time, he took me out on my lunch break. He had to go on a business trip so I haven't seen him in…. three days?"

"Right. I'm guessing he's blowing up your phone while he's been gone?"

Kari took a sip of her drink as she mumbled, "sort of." The truth was they were practically texting non-stop. It was mostly discussions, and arguments on his side, of superficial things like TV shows, the proper time to wake up in the morning and her lack of clothing that was more than yoga attire. Other times they sent memes back and forth or links to funny YouTube clips. Kari never realized how lonely she was before Ivar thrust himself into her life with all the force and subtlety of a rocket.

"What does that mean?" Gyda eyed her for a long moment before she gasped and slapped the table. "Oh shit! Is he sending you dick pics?"

Kari choked on air. After hacking for a couple of seconds, tears coming to her eyes because of the action, she vigorously shook her head. "No! No! Ewww....no! We keep sending stupid memes to each other and talking about where we should go out next. That's it. I promise."

The blonde laughed loudly at Kari's reaction, who fiddled with her earring, face burning with embarrassment. The two sat quietly for a couple of minutes, sipping their drinks and watching the line of lunch patrons increase.

"So…. it kind of sounds like you're dating."

"No, we're just friends. Why can't friends just hang out?" Kari tried to argue. The beginning tendrils of annoyance creeping in at constantly having to defend their friendship.

Gyda stared at her. "Have you made-out?"

A blush colored Kari's cheeks before she could figure out a good enough lie, giving away the truth.

"What?! How often?!" Her enthusiastic friend cried, before waving her hand once again. "Never mind. Listen, he's taking you out to his favorite restaurant. He is clearly going out of his way to spend time with you. He is texting you! You don't realize how big of a deal this is for him! He generally hates people. I'm positive he has murder plans for most of those he is forced to be around. Does he know you're just friends? Because to me, it doesn't sound like it."

Kari covered her face with her hands, tears of frustration springing to her eyes. Ivar and her could only be friends, that was what she promised herself. If he knew her, the real her…. it would never happen. He would never want her. So it was best to remain friends, to protect both of them from the inevitability that anything more would never happen. Even though their line of friendship was blurring…. and that was the worst part. She found herself wishing to continue to blur that line, even when she knew it would only end in disaster. Taking a deep breath, she could smell his cologne, a scent she had become so used to now. Her mind could easily conjure the feeling of being in his arms, his mouth on hers as she gave in under his touch. She cared for him, deep down she knew more than a friend. Although he could annoy her to no end, she enjoyed his presence, his humor, that vulnerable side that peeked out occasionally, how he made her feel safe and beautiful.

Now hearing Gyda pointedly telling her that Ivar was treating her as more than a friend. It left her speechless and wondering if she was making a mistake.

Gyda’s tone softened when she spoke next. "Why are you so set on just friends?"

"I just…. I don't want to date right now. After my last relationship, I just want to focus on myself."

"That's fair but listen, he isn't going to wait around for you forever."

"I know. I don't want him too." She admitted, tugging on her earring. Though her statement was the truth, it still tasted bitter on her tongue.

"Ok, but does he know that? It sounds like he’s set on you, but I'm going to warn you. Don't break his heart. He isn't the type to recover from heartbreak. His heart is already locked up more securely than Fort Knox but if you break it…."

"I promise, that isn't my intent. I just…. can't. I like him, more than I thought I would. He is funny and charming and sweet but also infuriating and demanding and I've had more fun with him than I've ever had with a guy friend before. He…. I can be myself around him and I think he can too. But I just…. It can't go further than friendship."

Gyda mulled over her words. "Alright. I don't fully understand but I get it. It's nice to hear that he's connecting with someone. None of us liked his ex. He only really spends time with family or Floki."

"I don't want to hurt him." Kari whispered.

"I know. You're too sweet to purposefully do something like that." The blonde tilted her head to the side with a slowly growing smug look. "I give it until the end of the year and you'll be naked in his bed."

"Gods! What? Why would you say that?"

"He's a Lothbrok. They always get what they want."

*****

Kari laid curled up on her full-size bed, her laptop up and watching Downton Abbey. A heating pad rested on her abdomen as she waited for the pain relievers to kick in. Most of her life she was happy with, but the one thing she would easily trade out would be the painful cramps when PMSing. The birth control she took helped out, but there was usually still one day that the dreaded cramps hit hard.

Her phone dinged. Languidly reaching over, she grabbed it from beside her pillow and opened it to check the text.

Ivar: wat r u doin?

He texted her earlier that day saying he was returning home from his sudden business trip.

Kari: nothing

Ivar: good. bts.

She groaned, slamming her face into her pillow. She did not have the energy to deal with him right now. All she wanted was to relax and eat her body weight in chocolate. After a moment of self-pity, she texted him back, hoping she could get out of whatever he had planned already.

Kari: no, I don't feel good.

Ivar: wat wrong?

Kari: nothing bad.

Sure, they had been talking daily for over a week but that did not mean she wanted to divulge her period issues to him. There were a few things she knew and one was that guys did not like talking about the menstrual cycle.

When he did not text back right away, she turned her attention back to her laptop and the TV show playing. Soon enough the magic of pain relievers and hot pads kicked in and her pain was minimal, though she had no intentions of leaving her warm cocoon. Alana was at her night class, so Kari was home alone. Not unusual really, but tonight she certainly felt the urge to lay around and do nothing.

After about twenty minutes, she heard a loud knock on her front door. Alana was not home, so it could not be any of her friends. Her neighbor, Erik, never just showed up. He always made sure to text before coming to her door. Maybe there was some kind of emergency? Or a package being dropped off? Though at this time it was certainly getting late for any kind of deliveries. Then it hit her.

Ivar.

"Ughhhh," she groaned, rolling out of her bed. For a split second she contemplated not answering it, just staying in her warm bed. She knew, though, if she did not get it, he would probably bust the door down. Maybe even set it on fire to make a point. He seemed like the type to light things on fire for fun.

As soon as she opened the front door, those intense blue eyes scanned over her body as if looking for some unseen disease. "What's wrong with you?" He barked at her, one hand still on the doorframe.

"What?" She blinked owlishly.

"You said you don't feel good." He gestured towards her, his gaze still searching. "What's wrong?"

"Um, it's nothing. Just cramps. It's better now."

"You sure? It's nothing worse?"

She was touched by his concern, the way his last questions were said in a breath of relief as if actually worried about her health. "Yeah, happens every month. I'm fine."

"Ok, good. Get changed, Hvitty and I are going to see a movie. I want you to come with us."

"Ivar, you should hang out with your brother…."

"I fucking live with him. He's fine with it. Go change."

She sighed, knowing by now there was no way she was making it back to her warm cocoon and Downton Abbey. Besides, she had missed him while he was gone and found herself wanting to spend time with him. Not that she wanted him to know that, it would only inflate his ego. "I'll only agree to come with you on two conditions."

"Fucking what?" He growled, though she could see the amusement in his eyes.

"First, I'm wearing my comfy clothes." She waved her hand at the pair of soft, black leggings she wore and the thin, slouchy sweater with the word 'beautiful' printed on it. "Second, and this is the most important condition, you have to buy me a stupid amount of chocolate."

He rolled his eyes, but a smile tugged on his lips. "If that's all, princess…."

"Oh, give me a minute. I'll think of something else… and it's not princess. It's m'lady."

"Shut up. Get your shit. I'll meet you at the car."

She laughed as she raced up to her room to grab her purse, not even bothering to change out of her clothes. The only addition was to throw on a zip up jacket that was a size too big on her. She always found movie theaters too cold to be fully comfortable without a jacket.

The vehicle waiting for her this time was a luxury SUV. She stopped for a moment in the driveway, unsure what to do. She wondered what the neighbors would think of her getting picked up in this and how many knew Lothbroks were sitting in it. Hopefully no one was paying attention. The one of the back doors opened so she headed that way. Ivar slid over and she followed him into the vehicle, closing the door behind her.

"Took you fucking long enough, m'lady."

She smirked at the nickname. "Well, you did just show up at my door and told me we were going to see a movie. At least the other times you gave me a heads up to be ready."

"Ivar, you said you text her we were coming." A man she had not noticed said. He sat across on the bench seat facing them, watching her curiously. It was now Kari noticed how both Ivar and the guy were dressed casually, both in jeans and t-shirts, though Ivar had a light jacket on also.

"She said she wasn't doing anything."

The flaxen-haired man sighed, before reaching his hand out. "Hi, I'm Hvitserk. This idiot's older brother."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Kari." She took his hand, but instead of shaking it like she expected, he turned it over and pressed a lingering kiss to the back of her hand. When he released it, he gave her a quick, flirty wink and leaned back in his seat.

Startled by his bold action, she looked at Ivar, unsure how to respond. What was with these Lothbroks and their unabashed flirting?

He had his eyes narrowed at his brother, teeth practically grinding. "Fucking touch her again." He snarled.

Hvitserk chuckled, a smug look on his boyish face. "Relax, brother. I know you don't share…. even if you're just friends." Either he was purposefully antagonizing his younger brother or did not notice the anger seething off of him.

Ivar started to lean forward but Kari wrapped her arms around his, pulling him into her. She was not about to watch a fight go down between the two. "Didn't you just get back from your trip? I thought you'd be home resting." She quickly asked, trying to distract.

After a long moment of the brothers staring at each other, Ivar with a glare and Hvitserk looking amused, the raven-haired brother leaned back. He turned his head to look at her as he answered. "You said you wanted to see me earlier, and going to see a movie isn't strenuous."

"Everything involving you is strenuous."

As soon as she muttered the words, she wished she could take them back.

A devilish grin spread across his face, those blue eyes dancing with something mischievous and forbidden. "I can show you strenuous." He shifted to hover over her, lips dangerously close to hers. "All. Night. Long." He whispered, one hand leaving a trail of fire as it slid from her thigh up to the curve of her breast. A shiver ran down her spine at the low, hungry tone and the naked want in his gaze. "You'll be begging for more of me…. to destroy that pussy and leave you completely undone and hoarse from screaming my name." His tongue flicked at her earlobe, a choked gasp leaving her mouth at the sensation. Her eyes fluttered shut on their own accord, the knot in her core tightening painfully. She both hated and loved what his touch did to her, how it gave her a taste of pleasure otherwise unknown. His nose traced her jawline as he spoke again, tone filthy, making her core ache. "You'd like that, wouldn't you, kattungen?"

She gulped, her voice coming out far more timid and needy than she wanted. "That's...um, that's nice."

Hvitserk's laughter broke the smoldering tension. Her blue-green eyes blinked rapidly as if wakening from a dream, darting to stare at the older brother before returning to the one who still lingered over her, his presence alone keeping her pinned to her seat.

"En dag, søte Kari, blir du min." Ivar whispered into her ear, then kissed her temple tenderly. After he leaned back, legs splayed out and arms across the back of the seat. A rapid conversation in that foreign language started, Hvitserk saying something that had Ivar snarking back and rolling his eyes.

The whole time, Kari focused on slowing down her breathing and trying to tamper down the warmth radiating from her core. There was no denying it, Ivar did something to her on a primal level. Her body wanted him. Even her mind wanted him. When he directed that sensual, seductive side at her, she melted like an ice cube in June. Her panties were testimony to that. Thankfully, he did not turn that powerful ability onto her frequently. She doubted they would remain 'just friends' for long if he did.

Suddenly, Ivar tugged on the sleeve of her fleece jacket, drawing her from her thoughts. "What is that?"

"Um… a jacket?"

He hummed then glanced over at his brother. "Sigurd had the same one, doesn't he, Hvitty?"

"I think so." Hvitserk ran a hand over his braids, a smile on his lips. "Didn't you set it on fire?"

Ivar waved off the question, still scrutinizing her jacket. "Whose is it?"

"Mine now." She replied, wondering what he was getting at.

"Whose was it?"

"A guy friend. He lent it to me years ago and I never gave it back."

"He's in England?"

"Yeah…"

He grunted, rubbing a hand over his mouth for a moment. "Take it off."

"Wha…. what?" She sputtered.

"Take it off. I don't want you wearing another guy's clothes."

"Ivar, this is stupid. Plus, I always get cold in movie theaters. That's why I brought it in the first place."

With a deep scowl, he tugged off his own gray, soft shell jacket. When he saw she was not moving, he tugged on her sleeve roughly. She huffed but gave in, not willing to fight him over something so childish. She slipped the fleece jacket off and placed it in her lap. Before she could stop him, Ivar snatched the jacket out of her lap and threw it on the seat to his other side. He dropped his jacket in her lap then leaned back, watching her with a serious expression. This was one of those times she wondered why she put up with him. Who cared where the origins of her clothes came from? It was comfy. Sure, it had some sentimental value but it was a nice, warm jacket.

Quickly, she slipped his gray jacket on…. and was immediately hit with his scent. A salacious side of her wondered if he would let her keep it. He always smelled incredible and having his jacket now wrapped around her, enveloping her in that…. her libido definitely woke up, begging for attention. Especially after the tease he just bestowed upon her.

"Happy?" She asked flippantly, smoothing the gray jacket down over her and trying not to be obvious with her sniffing it.

He grinned. "You look better in my clothes."

"Ugh. Is he always like this?" She turned to Hvitserk.

"I wouldn't know. He's never asked me to take my clothes off. But if you did, I'd happily oblige." He playfully winked at her.

She groaned. "You both are unbelievable. No wonder you're brothers." She looked at Ivar beside her. "Can I have my jacket back?"

He raised a single eyebrow as if surprised by her question. After a second of mutual staring, he slid over and opened the window, maintaining pointed eye contact the whole time. Before she could process what he was going to do, he balled up her jacket and threw it out the open window. Without a word, he rolled the window back up and slid over to her side again.

"What jacket?" He questioned impishly.

She stared open-mouthed at him. "Was…. was that really necessary? Gods! Why did you do that?"

"I don't want you wearing another guy's clothes." He shrugged. "If it's that big of a problem, I'll buy you some new clothes."

"That's not…. that's not the point! You can't just get rid of something of mine without my permission!"

"But it wasn't yours, it was some guy friend's."

She covered my face with her hands. Why should she expect anything different from Ivar? He had a vendetta against her clothes. With a sigh, she scooted away from him. "I feel like we need to make a list of things that are not ok for you to do."

"I'm not following some fucking list."

"Alright, I'll stop wearing clothes that belong to someone else if you promise not to throw away my clothes without my permission."

He yanked on her arm until she was at his side again, despite her half-hearted attempt for space. "You can wear my clothes anytime, especially if I can take them off of you."

"Ivar, I'm serious."

He nuzzled the crook of her neck, making her squirm. Sweetly, he pressed a kiss to her neck before leaning back. "Fine." He muttered, tucking her into his side.

She glanced over at Hvitserk, having momentarily forgotten his presence. A broad smile covered his face, highlighting his handsome features.

"I like her." He declared, meeting his brother's eye with a nod. Next he looked at her, cocking his head to the side. "What are you doing with his sorry ass?"

That earned a low growl from the youngest Lothbrok, causing Kari to jump faintly and Hvitserk's smile to grow.

"Well, I didn't have much of a choice. He showed up at my work the first time." She answered honestly, though she mostly did it to tease Ivar.

Hvitserk threw his head back with a groan before narrowing his eyes at his brother. "I told you not to stalk her!"

"What the fuck is this? Gang up on Ivar day? She wouldn't have gone out with me otherwise and afterward she said she had fun, so it's not a big deal."

Hvitserk's brown eyes met her blue-green ones with true sympathy in them. "I'm sorry, Kari. I would say he isn't normally like this but I'm guessing you know that's a damn lie by now."

She giggled, "Yeah, I do. Thank you though."

"You know, we could always ditch him and go to the movie just us."

"Oh yeah?" She tapped her chin, pretending to think the offer over. "That sounds like fun. Ivar did promise to buy me a stupid amount of chocolate though. It'd be a hard sell to pass that offer up."

"I'm sure I can come up with something." He wiggled his blond eyebrows, smiling again.

"Shut the fuck up, both of you."

Kari laughed at the look on Ivar's face. Peering up at him, she changed the subject. "What movie are we seeing?"

"Ask your new friend over there."

"Come on, Ivy. You know we're just fucking with you." Hvitserk sighed.

Ivar grumbled, looking out the window and ignoring both of them.

Hvitserk answered her question. "That new horror movie."

"Oh ok." She hoped she sounded confident but kind of wished she had known before coming. Horror movies were not her thing. As a child, she had watched 'IT' at a sleepover and decided then that purposefully being scared was something she could do without. Though knowing Ivar, he would have laughed and pushed her out the door, saying something about how she needed to watch better shit than she normally did. Maybe this one would be more action-based than real horror. She could only hope.

Thankfully, they pulled up at the movie theater soon after. The driver dropped the three off at the door, driving off after to go park and wait.

"Ivar, hold on." She tugged on his arm, forcing him to slow his steps instead of walking ahead of the other two. "Give us a minute, Hvitserk."

The blond brother gave her a quick nod. "I'll go buy some snacks."

After he walked away, she tried to meet Ivar's gaze, though he pointedly stared over her shoulder. "Hey, we're just teasing. I'm sorry if we pushed it too far. I'm really happy you asked me to come out with you and your brother. It's been years since I've gone out to the movies."

He remained stubbornly sullen, continuing to stare just over her shoulder as if her presence was a nuisance.

With a sigh, she shifted closer, taking the initiative to wrap her arms loosely around his waist. Something she had noticed during the times they had hung out was he liked touching her, not always sexually, but just casual, intimate touches. A stray thought of him being touch-starved crossed her mind.

"I also really like your jacket, it's soft and it smells like you." She softly said, peeking up at him, suddenly nervous about her forwardness.

"Yeah?" He breathed out, placing his arms around her and tugging her closer. In just that movement, she could feel the hostility drain out of him, the hard tension in his muscles easing away into a softness she was beginning to doubt many people were allowed to see.

"Since you threw my other one away, can I keep this one?" She teased, lips curling up at the edges. If he said no, she was inclined to steal it anyway. For emotional damages, of course, not because it smelled good.

"Fuck, yes, kitten." He nuzzled her neck, making her squirm in his arms and giggle at the sensation. After a moment, still chuckling, he kissed her neck then laid his forehead against hers. When he spoke, it was with a quiet hint of vulnerability, his voice just above a murmur. "You really are happy to be out with me?"

"I am." She confirmed with eyes closed, soaking in the heat from his body against hers. This moment felt so strangely intimate that she struggled between prolonging it or tearing herself away. It was in these touches, she found her resolve wavering, a longing rising within her to give in. His arms around her, just holding her, their foreheads pressed together as if grounding one another. It was euphoric and dangerous.

He broke the silence between them, tone muffled as if regretting speaking up. "We should go in; the movie is going to start soon."

"Ok. Hvitserk will probably come looking for us if we don't."

"Ah, fuck. He will."

They untangled, but as she moved to step away, he snaked his arm around her waist, tugging her next to him. When she glanced up at him, he only looked down at her in wide-eyed, mock innocence. She rolled her eyes but giggled. He was like a puppy afraid to let go of his new toy.

As they started towards the doors, she finally paid more attention to his gait. Each step was stiff but powerful. One more than one occasion she ogled him and his swagger that seemed to scream predator, a dark and deadly thing meanwhile also being so enticing. She wondered how he managed so well without his cane but decided not to bring it up.

Once they passed through the door, Ivar slowed down, pulling his phone from his pocket.

"Shit. I've got to take this. Go wait with Hvitty. Oh, here." He pulled out his wallet and handed her his credit card. "Go buy all that chocolate I promised you and drinks for us."

Normally she would protest, saying she could buy her own stuff. This time she had full intentions of spending his money on chocolate. "Do you want anything to eat?"

"Are you on the menu?"

"Gods, unbelievable!" She laughed though, watching him smile genuinely. After an arrogant wink, he stepped away, bringing his phone to his ear and speaking rapidly in a foreign language. She scurried over to Hvitserk, who stood near the confessions counter.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah," she glanced over her shoulder at Ivar quickly, "he just got a phone call he said he had to take."

Hvitserk hummed, watching Ivar across the lobby with a peculiar expression.

While they waited, she ordered her snacks and the drinks for both of them. Though her doubts rapidly spun out of control as she realized she did not know what Ivar would like or want. With a pleading look thrown at him, Hvitserk gave in with a chuckle. Together they picked out snacks and drinks that would have the youngest Lothbrok's approval. Once done, they gathered their stuff and moved over to an open, standing table to continue waiting.

"While Ivar is busy, I wanted to talk to you."

"Ah, sure." She felt a tendril of dread grow in her belly. Nothing good ever came out of a conversation with such an inauspicious beginning.

"I know Ivar can be a lot, closer to fucking insane, and not many people can tolerate him." He looked down at her with brown eyes that seemed to see more than they let on. "But you're good for him. You don't take his bullshit. Fuck, he even listens to you. I could count on one hand how many people Ivar actually listens to. What makes you different?"

"I don't know. I'm just…. I don't know." She stared down at her chipped, teal fingernails, unable to meet his eyes now.

"Well whatever you are, we've already noticed a difference since you two started talking. He's not as angry, he doesn't just hole up in his room as often."

"That's good."

"Mmmm…. Ivar is my brother and I love him. But I also know his temper can get the better of him and when he is on a rampage, nothing can fucking stop him. He is easily jealous and possessive of things he deems his own…. and he clearly had staked a claim on you."

"But…. we're just friends."

"Not to him." He huffed, running a hand over his braids. After checking to make sure his brother was still on the phone, he continued, lowering his voice even more. "You seem like a nice girl so I'll only say this once. Be careful of what promises you make to him…. and if he ever does something to harm you or scare you, I want you to call me. I'll do what I can to protect you. Alright?"

She nodded, unnerved by his warning. Sure, she knew about the Lothbrok reputation. Yet this was the first time someone point blank warned her with true understanding. She was unsure if she should appreciate the warning or be terrified that he thought Ivar could hurt her.

"Give me your phone."

Silently, she handed it over. He plugged his number in and called himself. With a satisfied nod, he gave it back to her.

"Good, don't ever hesitate to call me. Besides, if my brother has his way, none of us would ever meet you. My other brothers want to meet the girl who has Ivar wrapped around her finger already." He winked at her, making her blush.

"Hvitty, stop flirting with her!"

The flaxen-haired brother grinned, as he watched his brother approach. "I'm not. Just telling her the others want to meet her."

"Fuck no." Ivar growled, coming to stand between the two.

"I'd love to meet your brothers." She commented lightly. "After hearing you talk about them, it'd be nice."

"Awww, Ivy, you talk about us?" Hvitserk teased, nudged his shoulder with his own.

"Not you, asshole."

Hvitserk laughed, pressing his forehead swiftly to Ivar's. "Come on, the movie has probably started."

Ivar and Kari followed behind Hvitserk, as he led them to the correct auditorium. Along the way, she handed Ivar a couple of the boxes of candy she bought and the drink picked out for him.

"How much fucking candy did you buy?" He grumbled, eyeing the boxes suspiciously.

"Enough. If you ask nicely, I might share." She quipped. "I even bought Heksehyl for both of us. Hvitserk said it's your favorite…. and I also got Dumle. Oh, and Guld Barre!"

"I did promise you chocolate."

She giggled. "Yes, you did."

The three of them found the auditorium and took seats off to the side. Ivar sat in the middle with Kari on his right and Hvitserk on his left. The movie had just started as they sat down, the lights and noise minimal. Though apprehensive about the movie, Kari found herself smiling at just the nostalgic feeling being here evoked. There was something so simple yet profound at being with friends, eating sweets and watching the silver screen. Let alone the darkness of the theater and the nearby munching of popcorn by others and the occasion sound of people talking. She missed this. So, she endowed to enjoy every part of this. Quietly eating her chocolates, she kept her gaze on the screen.

After some time, Kari felt a large hand on her upper thigh, inching slowly higher and higher. Jolting at the sudden feeling, she grabbed it, trying to stop its further ascent. Immediately, Ivar flipped his hand over and entwined their fingers. She tried to half-heartedly tug out of it, but he maintained a vice-like grip on her hand. In an attempt to glare at him, she swiveled in her seat to gain his attention. Only for him to remain solely focused on the screen. Rolling her eyes, she gave in, shifting back to continue watching the movie. Their fingers remained entangled.

Eventually, the chocolate lay forgotten in her lap as the images on the screen became more disturbing and graphic. A few chuckles came from Ivar and Hvitserk and whispered comments made between them. Once someone in the theater screamed as a person on the screen was suddenly killed. The abrupt sound made Kari jump, squeezing Ivar's hand. He laughed, but squeezed her hand back. Not long after, she gave up on watching the movie and just tucked her face against his shoulder. Horror movies were never her thing, the idea of purposefully being scared never appealed to her. And this movie had a thing for people being eaten alive. Not something she wanted imprinted into her brain. The thought crossed her mind that Ivar orchestrated this on purpose, since he seemed to be fully enjoying her cuddling into him. As if without concern, his head lay on top of hers, continuing to hold her hand. If she was not so concerned about having nightmares and trying to block out the hair-raising screams, she might have liked the cuddling. In this instance though, if he moved, she was going to punch him.

Once the movie ended, Ivar and Hvitserk argued about the movie- how some of the people should have died or about the graphics of the terrifying creatures. They both became more and more animated as the three of them walked out of the movie theater and towards the waiting SUV.

"What did you think, Kari?" Hvitserk asked, taking his seat across from the others, once they all piled in.

"She was scared." Ivar answered, leaning back, his arm on the back of the seat and behind her.

"That creature was eating that girl's brain while she was still alive! I did not want to see that! I'm going to have nightmares."

Smirking, Ivar tilted closer, invading her personal space. "Want me to stay with you? I'll keep you safe…. and make sure you dream of other more, pleasurable, things."

"No, you'd probably try to scare me on purpose." She accused, pushing his body away from her with a pout.

"Well, thanks for seeing it with us." Hvitserk spoke up. "Gods, Bjorn would love it. We'll have to tell him."

The youngest brother nodded before turning back to the brunette by his side. "You coming out with us for drinks now? We always get drinks after."

"No, I can't. I have to open tomorrow. I need to sleep."

"Come on, it'll be fine."

"No. I'll be getting up at 5:30. That's in like…. six hours." This was one thing she was not going to give into. He had dragged her from her bed already once tonight. He was not about to make her lose out on anymore sleep. Not everyone was able to sleep all morning like certain people.

"Next time," Hvitserk said with a shrug, a grin on his face as if amused by the interaction across from him. "I'm sure we can all go out again soon. Right, Ivy?"

Ivar snorted, "Fine. We'll drop you off."

A discussion about the movie and comparing it to others swiftly captured the two brothers' attention. Finding herself growing tired, Kari just leaned back and listened, her head resting on the back of the seat, and consequently, Ivar's arm. It was different and refreshing seeing him interact with someone he clearly trusted and cared about. His guard was down and even if some of his comments sounded more like sharp barbs, it was said without true malice. The flaxen-haired brother took each verbal jab like water off a duck's back, either making a joke out of the comment or ignoring it. Throughout the interaction, the care and respect for one another was evident, even if on the surface level it appeared dysfunctional. A smile hinted on her lips as she listened to the brothers. She hoped this was not the last time she spent time with Hvitserk. Though his warning still rang in the back of her mind, she liked him. The whole ride back, Ivar kept his arm behind her, sporadically playing with the ends of her hair.

At their arrival to her townhouse, Hvitserk said his goodbye to her in the vehicle, surprising her with a swift hug and peck on the cheek. Her face must have been quite flushed if his laughter after meant anything. Ivar grumbled something at his brother in their foreign language as he pulled her out of the SUV. To her further surprise, Ivar walked her to her front door instead of staying with his brother.

"Thanks for inviting me out." She said honestly, once they reached the door.

"Next time we'll watch something you enjoy."

Before she could second guess herself, she stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him. Instantly, his arms went around her, pulling her closer. While the hug at the movie theater was sweet and intimate, this hug carried a different tone. It was more urgent and passionate. Her face rested on his collarbone, allowing his scent to envelope her. He laid a soft kiss to the top of her head, resting his chin there after. For a split second, she realized she never wanted to leave this moment. To be safe and warm and comforted and wanted. It was all she had ever hoped for. This was dangerous water they treaded in. With each intimate action, she could feel their friendship sailing closer and closer to the waters of something more. The gentle, easy waters of friendship would not be enough to maintain them.

With that thought in mind, she regretfully pulled back. "Goodnight." She murmured.

"God natt, kattunge."

"One of these days, you have to tell me what you're saying."

A devious smirk grew on his lips. "No, I think I like you being in suspense."

She laughed, shaking her head. They both hesitated to move, the air tense with something, as if both were waiting for the other to say or do something.

"Ok, bye." She finally said, opening her front door.

He nodded, taking a step back without removing his heated gaze off of her.

Shuddering at the feeling of his smoldering gaze, she let herself into the townhouse and made sure to lock the door behind her. Releasing a deep breath, she leaned her back against the door. What was it about him that tempted her so? He was bad news for her. Yet the more time she spent with him, the more she craved being with him.

Glancing down, she stared at his soft, gray jacket she still wore and wondered how symbolic this unintended action was.

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kuriboo · 4 years

Text

Hugsaku 2021

Day 4 - Family | “I can’t remember my parents’ faces.” | “I’m used to being alone, so it’s fine.”

This is part of a continuous story I’ve been writing for hugsaku. You can find previous parts either in my previous hugsaku posts or on ao3. The general story is: Yusaku ends up in Heartland with no idea how he got there, and Yuma decides to help Yusaku figure out how to get home. I’ll post a link to the ao3 in the notes.

Yuma and Yusaku are very interesting for this case, since their family situations are sort of the opposite of each other.

⁂

Yusaku kicked a rock lightly as he walked down the path behind Yuma, his hands in his pockets. Over the past few days, Yuma had been giving Yusaku a casual tour of the city while they kept an eye out for Numbers.

“Oh, there’s some litterbots.” Yuma pointed over to their left at a group of robots picking garbage up from the ground. “They’re these robots that go around the city and pick up garbage people have dropped. I’m not really a big fan of them, though. They keep thinking I’m garbage and they’ll pick me up and… It’s gross.”

Yusaku shrugged. “The robots would know better than me.”

“Hey, come on, you're supposed to be on my side!” Yuma protested.

Yusaku looked away, now staring at the litterbots. He could just barely hear them talking as they did their duty. They didn’t look like anything he’d seen in Den City, but something about them reminded him of…

“Are you listening to me? Hey, uh, are you okay?” Yuma looked up at Yusaku’s face with a frown. Then he followed Yusaku’s gaze to the litterbots. “Do you have those where you’re from, too?”

“No.” Yusaku paused for a moment “I’m probably just homesick or something. For some reason, those litterbots remind me of Roboppy.”

“Who’s Roboppy?”

“They’re a little cleaning robot I have. They’re very common around the city I live in. I built my Roboppy myself and edited their programming to give them a bit of a personality.”

“Whoa, that’s really cool! You gotta be really smart to do something like that.” Yuma frowned. “Do you miss Roboppy?”

“...I don’t know.” That was difficult to figure out. “It’s not like I wish they were here, but… Every day, after I came home, Roboppy would greet me. They’d be happy to see me. I’ve been so used to it that I never gave it a second thought until I ended up here and haven’t been able to see them. I think I just...miss that part of my routine.”

“Hmm. I could say hi to you whenever you come home.”

“I only leave the house when I’m with you, so that wouldn’t make any sense.” Yusaku rolled his eyes. “Besides, you’re not Roboppy.”

Yuma opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted. That’s when they spotted the first person with a Number Yusaku had seen since he met Yuma.

Their eyes glowed red, and there was a strange glow around the rest of their body.

“Numbers amplify the darkest desires of their host,” Astral explained quietly to Yusaku while Yuma loudly confronted the other person. “When they possess you, they block out everything else. When you resisted the Number you held, that’s what you overcame. It seems most humans cannot.”

Yusaku looked at Astral with a frown.

He could tell that Number he’d had was powerful when he held it. He’d wanted to keep it, even without knowing if it would work well with his deck or any of his cards at all. But the card seemed like it could’ve been a useful tool for his goals. Why did he want to keep it? How much of it was because he didn’t like to duel, and how much was because he’d already committed to walking into a path of darkness long ago? After all, he’d never set out specifically to be a ‘good guy’. That’s just how it worked out.

Astral looked away from Yusaku. “Well, the only way forward is to win this Number in a duel. You should stay out of this; it’s dangerous to duel a Number without one of your own. They can only be defeated by other Numbers. Yuma and I can take care of this.”

Yusaku had no objections to that. He certainly wasn’t eager to jump into a duel.

“Yeah, we got this, no problem! You can cheer for us!” Yuma ran over to Astral and Yusaku. “Hey, Yusaku, where’s your Duel Gazer?”

“My what?”

Yusaku already knew that this place didn’t have a virtual duel world like he was familiar with. But apparently, duels here made use of augmented reality technology. In order to see what was happening in the duel, you needed to look through some accessory. That set off several red flags in Yusaku’s head.

“I’ll pass,” he told Yuma once the whole thing had been explained to him.

“But you won't be able to see me crush this guy.”

“My ears work perfectly fine,” Yusaku said. Right now, he had no interest in seeing anything using augmented reality. Listening would be good enough.

The duel was difficult to watch. Yusaku envied the way Yuma could have fun dueling no matter what. Really, he did. Yusaku hadn’t been able to experience that since he was much younger than Yuma, and he suspected he wouldn’t be able to for many years to come if he ever would be able to at all. But Yusaku did used to enjoy the game, and he wished he could have fun again now. Watching Yuma have fun wasn’t the difficult part. What made this hard for Yusaku was how unprepared Yuma had come to this duel, knowing he would have to duel again soon and knowing how important it would be to win.

At least Astral knew what he was doing, but ultimately Yuma made all the final decisions between the two of them and Yuma had a tendency to get annoyed by Astral’s suggestions and ignore them.

Yusaku could barely breathe through the close calls that Yuma barely made it through. Yuma didn’t know a lot of his own cards’ effects. At one point, Yuma tried to play a trap card face-up in his monster zone. Trap monsters still had to follow the rules of traps. (“But it says when you play it to summon it like it’s a monster!” “Yuma, that only takes place after you activate the trap like you would any other trap.”)

In the end, however, Yuma and Astral were able to win the duel and take the Number back. Astral didn’t remember any significant memories from the Number; nothing helpful for Astral nor Yusaku.

Yuma ran to Yusaku after the duel. He didn’t seem fazed by any of the mistakes or close calls from his duel.

“That duel was so much fun!” Yuma yelled. “It was a tough one, but I was feeling the flow, and my dad’s cards came through like they always do!”

“Your dad’s cards?” Yusaku asked.

“Yeah.” Yuma closed his right hand around the key hanging from his neck. “This used to be my dad’s, too.” He stared off into the distance, his voice growing softer and quieter than Yusaku had heard it since they met. “Carrying around this key and using my dad’s deck, it’s like he’s here with me. They remind me of everything he taught me.” He frowned. “My… Both my parents disappeared. I know they’re still out there somewhere, they gotta be, but it’s still hard not having them here, sometimes. Using his cards helps.”

Yuma had been upbeat, stubborn, and cheerful the entire time Yusaku had been in Heartland City. But on this topic, all of that seemed to strip away from Yuma, leaving him melancholy and vulnerable. Deep down, it seemed Yuma stubbornly refused to call anything impossible because hope was the only thing he could do.

Asking about Yuma’s deck had led them into a topic that seemed difficult for Yuma. Yusaku felt bad; he hadn’t meant to hurt him.

It struck Yusaku how similar their situations were...and yet, completely the opposite. Yusaku was the one who went missing, while for Yuma, it was his parents. Yuma never gave up hope his parents were out there. Yusaku wondered if that was how his parents felt back them. Of course, after he was rescued…

Yuma sniffed. “I shouldn’t mope about my own problems to you when you’ve got plenty of your own. Yours are probably so worried about you.”

For a moment, Yusaku forgot how to breathe.It seemed like parents still happened to be a sore spot for him as well. At least when the topic was his own parents. He cleared his throat. He needed to say something. (He didn’t see how his problems could be considered any more important than Yuma’s right now.) “I wouldn’t know.”

“Are your parents missing, too?” Yuma asked.

Yusaku shrugged. “Maybe. I haven’t seen them in years.” 10, to be exact. Not that it mattered or anything. “After I was rescued, they just weren’t there. They never came back.” His words got stuck in his throat. Yuma clearly looked up to his father, had found memories and a lot of love for his parents. As for Yusaku… “I can’t even remember my parents’ faces.”

“That’s awful.” Yuma looked devastated by the information. He lightly touched Yusaku’s arm, trying to offer comfort without overdoing it.

Yusaku didn’t push him away. “I’m used to being alone, so it’s fine.”

“That’s not true!” Yuma insisted. “Just because you’re used to it doesn’t make it okay. I’m used to my parents not being here, but that doesn’t make it okay. I miss them constantly. Kari misses them. My grandma misses them. It’s not good to be alone.” He paused. “If you’re used to being alone, you probably don’t have siblings, do you?”

“Not last I knew, which was a decade ago.” Yusaku hummed in thought. “I think the closest I’ve got is… Kolter’s brother was a victim of that incident, too.” No need to specify any further on Jin’s current state when that was private, and not Yusaku’s story to tell. “Kolter and I have been working together. We met because we both needed to figure out the truth behind what happened. Kolter also sells hot dogs for a living; he won’t let me pay him for hot dogs anymore, and he keeps a close eye on me. He tries to prevent me from overworking myself and tries to make me take care of myself.”

“He’s like an older brother to you, too,” Yuma commented.

Yusaku didn’t like to think about it. As a rule, he didn’t get close to anyone. Anyone who came close to him could be put in danger, and no one deserved that. He’d tried to push Kolter away several times when they first met, but Kolter was too persistent. He still felt guilty letting Kolter get involved, and the more he thought about his relationship with Kolter, the heavier that guilt felt. He only ever referred to Kolter as his acquaintance to keep anyone to think they were close, to keep him from worrying so much. Kolter was fully aware of any danger and signed up to work with Yusaku anyway, so worrying was pointless.

“I guess family doesn’t have to always be the people related to you by blood.” Yusaku shrugged. He didn’t confirm nor deny Yuma’s comment. “Sometimes you find people that are a better fit.” It wasn’t hard to be a better fit than someone who never found him again, honestly.

Yuma beamed. “Anyone can be family! As long as you have someone, you’re not alone.” He pulled Yusaku into a hug. “I’m glad you have someone. If nobody missed you, if you didn’t have anyone where you came from, I don’t know if I’d want you to go back, but… I’m happy to get you home since you do. You belong in the world you came from, and…and I get the feeling you and that hot dog guy need each other.”

Yusaku lightly wrapped an arm around Yuma. He didn’t know what to say since he was so wrapped up in his own thoughts.

Here, the incident never happened, and Yusaku wasn’t Playmaker. He still wasn’t exactly sure where that left him. But he had less of a reason to keep up a distance from everyone here since relationships wouldn’t put anyone in danger. He found himself relieved that Yuma still had a family even without his parents, and… He found himself relieved that Yuma was here to help him now. That he wasn’t doing this alone.

In a way, Yuma was starting to almost feel like a younger brother to him.

#hugsaku #hugsaku2021 #yugioh vrains #yugioh zexal #tater writes #yo there's actual a duel in this one!! and by a duel i mean a duel occurs and it's described as briefly as possible #if you're hungry for an actual duel.......just wait ;)

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abouldersbxtch · 4 years

Text

Fight With Your Words

Karina was sitting at the table that she and her friends usually sat at during lunch, eating her food. Sitting with her was Bakugo, Kirishima, Denki, Sero, Mina, Jiro and Momo. Momo didn’t usually sit with them, but she was trying to spend more time with Jiro without actually saying it out loud, but Karina and Mina knew why. Bakugo questioned why ‘ponytail’ was suddenly sitting with them, but the girls were all quick to tell him to shut up and deal with it. Considering he didn’t actually care that much, he left it alone. As always, Kirishima was on one side of Karina and Mina was on the other side. Everyone was talking about the scores they got on their latest test while also eating. “I was so close to getting an A.” Kiri sighed out in disappointment and Karina patted his back gently. “You still did good Eiji.” “Maybe if you weren’t so busy making goo-goo eyes at Karina, you would have gotten a better grade.” Denki teased with a chuckle. “I don’t think you have any room to talk Kaminari. What was your grade again?” Jiro questioned him with a smirk and Momo and Sero both laughed while Denki narrowed his eyes at her. “Hey, I only got a C because I’m not good at studying. Not because I was making heart eyes at someone.” “So you have no reason to have failed other than the fact that you didn’t pay attention.” Bakugo spoke in a monotone voice in between bites of his food and Kaminari frowned. “You guys always gang up on me.” He pouted and Karina giggled. “Only when you deserve it Denki.” Mina looked over at Karina. “What’d you get Kari?” “Oh, I got an A. I scored a 97.” Karina smiled proudly and Bakugo scoffed and looked over at Kirishima. “How’d your girlfriend get a higher score than you Kiri? I thought she was tutoring you? Did you not learn anything?” Kiri and Karina both blushed brightly at Bakugo’s question, both of them knowing exactly why his ‘tutoring’ hadn’t paid off. Karina went back to eating her food while Kiri rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I think I might need to go back to studying with you Bakugo.” Bakugo rolled his eyes and Mina gently nudged Karina with her elbow while wiggling her eyebrows at her suggestively. “What’s got you blushing so hard Kari?” Karina shoveled more food into her mouth and then motioned to her full mouth and shrugged slightly, as if to say that that was why she couldn’t answer Mina’s question. Mina narrowed her eyes at Karina and then turned her attention to Kirishima, brow quirked in curiosity. “What about you Kiri?” She asked with a taunting tone, but before Kiri could do or say anything, Bakugo interrupted. “Stop being so fuckin’ nosy pinky. You probably need to be tutored too. I wouldn’t be surprised if your score was as bad as Pikachu’s. You two seem to share a braincell between you.” “Hey!” Mina and Denki both shouted in unison, clearly offended by Bakugo’s words. Karina and Kirishima on the other hand were grateful for Bakugo taking the attention off of them, whether he did it on purpose or not.

Everyone continued eating and after Karina finished, Kiri got up and gave her room to slide out from behind the table. She and Jiro went to throw their stuff in the trash and leave the trays on top of the garbage cans but as they turned to make their way back to the table, there was someone standing in their way. “Excuse me, you’re Karina right? The newest addition to class 1-A?” The blonde boy asked and already Jiro was visibly annoyed, but Karina focused on the boy. “I am. You’re Neito Monoma, right? From class 1-B?” Karina politely extended her hand to him with a smile on her face. By now, both Bakugo and Kirishima had seen Monoma standing with the girls and they knew better than to think he was going to say anything remotely kind, so they quickly got up and started making their way over. Monoma took Karina’s hand and gently shook it as he smiled back at her, but it was an obvious fake smile and she saw straight through it. “I am. It’s nice to finally meet you. I can only assume we haven’t met yet since class 1-A probably doesn’t want to parade around their resident villain, right?” Regardless of his words, Karina’s grip on his hand remained gentle until they both released each other. At that moment, Kirishima and Bakugo had walked up and as usual, Bakugo was loud and angry. “What the hell did you just call her you extra bastard?!” Kirishima was also visibly angry and the annoyed look that was once on Jiro’s face was turned to anger as well. However, Karina side-stepped and out-stretched her arms in front of her friends to keep them back. “Relax. I can handle this.” “Ah, if it isn’t her faithful pets, come to save her.” Monoma smirked and that was when Karina’s face took on an angry look. “First of all, do not call my friends pets.” Monoma’s smug smirk remained on his face. “Regardless, you know this is a school for Heroes right? You know, not villains.” Kirishima and Bakugo both pressed against Karina’s outstretched arms, stepping towards Monoma, but Karina still kept them back. “Let me blast the hell out of this guy!” “Katsuki, stop. You’ll just get in trouble. I can handle it.” Karina returned her attention to Monoma, narrowing her golden eyes at him. “Listen Neito, I know exactly who you are. I know that most of what you do is talk down to everyone in my class for absolutely no reason at all other than to make yourself feel better because I’m assuming you’re upset that you’re in 1-B instead of 1-A. Honestly, it’s very unhero like behavior, and you know you’re in a school for heroes, right?” Karina’s tone had started off serious but got more sarcastic towards the end. Monoma looked at her with a surprised expression while her friends just looked proud and now it was Bakugo and Kirishima who were smirking smugly.

Monoma was about to say something, but Karina cut him off. “Ah, ah. Don’t. You’re probably just going to say something else that’s rude and demeaning for no reason. Instead, let me talk. First of all, how dare you come to me like that and call me a villain. We’ve never met before. You don’t know me or anything about me other than, I assume, who my sister is. Right?” “Yes a-” Karina quickly cut him off again, holding her index finger up in front of him to get him to stop. “That’s what I thought. You’re labeling me, someone you don’t even know, as a villain just because my sister is one. Let me educate you on something because maybe class 1-B hasn’t gotten there yet in their hero training. Profiling or labeling someone as something when you have absolutely no proof or evidence of what they’ve supposedly done, is frowned upon in the Hero occupation. So might I suggest you get rid of that aspect of your mentality before you go further in trying to become a hero. Second of all, I worked my ass off to be here in U.A., the school where future heroes are educated and trained. I got here and into class 1-A by being a hard worker and strengthening my quirk to be able to help people and Principal Nezu saw and acknowledged that. Finally, I wouldn’t go pointing fingers and accusing people of being villains if I were you. Last time I checked, isn’t your quirk basically ‘borrowing’ other peoples quirks? That sounds kind of familiar if you ask me.” Karina tapped her index finger against her chin, pretending to think of who it reminded her of. “Now why does that seem so familiar? Oh I know! Isn’t that kind of similar to All For One, one of the worst villains currently known? He basically takes someone else’s quirk and uses it for himself right?” Jiro gasped at the realization and Kirishima seemed surprised at the connection she made, but Bakugo was still just standing there with a large, proud smirk on his face. “If you ask me, it’s really interesting how similar your quirk is to his. You ‘borrow’ other peoples quirks for yourself right? I suppose the only differences are that you don’t completely take their quirk away and after a while, you no longer have it right? Has no one made that connection before? How interesting. Maybe that’s another reason you deflect and project onto others so much, but I could be wrong. I’m not a therapist and honestly, I don’t even want to try and unpack all the issues you have. I don’t have the time or patience for that. So, Neito, it was lovely meeting you, but lunch is just about over and I’ve got things to do. I’ll see you around.” Karina patted his shoulder as she walked past him, her three friends walking after her and leaving Monoma standing there shocked and speechless.

As the four of them headed back to the table, Jiro grinned at Karina proudly. “That was awesome! You handled that so well.” “I still think I should have blasted him to hell.” Bakugo huffed, slightly annoyed at the fact that he didn’t get the chance to do what he wanted. “If you would have blasted him Katsuki, you would have just gotten in trouble, and thanks Kyoka.” They returned to the table and Jiro and Bakugo sat back down in their spots, but as soon as Karina was about to sit down, Kiri reached out and took her hand in his. “Hey Kari, I forgot some homework for our next class back at the dorms. Would you mind coming with me to get it?” Karina stopped when he grabbed her hand and a smile formed as she listened to him, nodding once he finished. “Yeah, sure.” As the two started to walk off, Mina couldn’t help but call out to them. “Don’t be late to class you lovebirds!” Karina blushed brightly while Kiri chuckled, intertwining their fingers together as he held her hand as they made their way out of the cafeteria and towards the dorms. “So, I didn’t actually forget anything at the dorms. I just wanted to talk to you away from everyone.” Kiri admitted as they continued on their way. “Oh, okay. What did you want to talk about?” Karina looked over at him as they continued walking towards the dorms, regardless of the fact that Kirishima hadn’t actually forgotten anything there. “I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay. The rest of us have had to deal with that guy for almost two years, which is why Bakugo and I rushed over when we saw him talking to you. We knew he was going to say something messed up and he did. You didn’t deserve that.” His grip on Karina’s hand tightened slightly as he became visibly upset with what had happened, but Karina squeezed his hand gently in reassurance and smiled at him. “Ei, I’m okay. It wasn’t the first time someone has said something like that to me and it won’t be the last. People have bullied and judged me since middle school when Himiko attacked someone. It’s happened less since coming here and for the most part, everyone has been very accepting and kind, but not everyone is like that and I always expect it to happen at some point.” Kiri frowned as she explained, his attention focused on her as he stopped walking which also caused Karina to stop walking and turn to face him. “That’s not fair though. You shouldn’t have to deal with stuff like that. It isn’t your fault your sister is the way she is. You had nothing to do with it. You’re so much different than her and one of the kindest and best people I’ve ever met.” Karina blushed and bit her bottom lip bashfully. “Thank you Eiji, but you’ve also had the chance to get to know me. You’re also very kind and open-minded about things. The people who bully and judge me aren’t usually like that. Katsuki at least had a reason. He’s been directly affected by the things my sister has done and for two months I hadn’t been honest with him about who I was. He’s the only person who I would have accepted to be angry with me and rightfully he was, but even he got over it after I apologized. I’ve apologized to people that weren’t even affected by anything my sister ever did and they still hated me. Sometimes you can’t change peoples minds and I’ve accepted that. I just don’t let them hold me back or bring me down anymore.”

Kirishima stared at her as she spoke, focused on her eyes and her lips as he listened intently to everything she said. It upset him that his girlfriend had to deal with such things, but he knew she was right. Not everyone could have their minds changed and some people would always hold onto anger or hate. He just wished there was more he could do to help her whenever it came up. “Well I’m glad you don’t listen to them or let them hold you back. That’s very manly of you.” He grinned that goofy toothy grin of his which made Karina giggle lightly. “To be honest, if you hadn’t held me back, I was really tempted to punch him.” “Oh trust me, I wanted to punch him too, but then I would have just been giving him what he wanted.” She shrugged slightly but Kiri was confused. “What do you mean? What did he want?” “Well considering he confronted me in the middle of the cafeteria which was completely full of people by calling me a villain, he was probably hoping it would anger me enough to lash out and fight him. It’s happened before. If I would have hit him or anything like that, it would have given him the ammunition and ‘evidence’ to justify him calling me a villain. In a sense, I would have been proving him right to people who only saw his side of it or who don’t know what he’s really like. He could have gone around telling people ‘the Toga girl attacked me out of nowhere, she’s definitely a villain just like her sister’, and if they saw the fight or heard about it, they’d probably believe him. Obviously everyone who is wise to the kind of person he is might not believe him, but even then there’s a chance they would. Now if he had said that to me a few years ago when I didn’t know any better, I definitely would have kicked his ass. No hesitation, I would have punched him in the face, but I know better now. Now I know how to tear people apart with my words that way I don’t have to get my hands dirty or get in trouble.” Kiri couldn’t help the small smile that came to his lips and he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. Karina smiled and hugged him in return and when she did, Kiri seemed to hug her tighter before letting go and staring down into her eyes. “I admire you so much, you know that?” Karina’s blush grew brighter as she looked into his eyes, her hands resting on his biceps while his hands rested on her hips. “I think I’ve picked up on a few hints here and there, yeah.” She giggled and Kiri’s smile grew before he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers. They both closed their eyes and Karina kissed him back for a moment until the loud bell sequence that signaled everyone to get to their next classes rang out. They pulled away from each other, both smiling bashfully and blushing lightly. “I guess we should get to class. If we’re late, I don’t know who’s going to be worse; Mina or Iida.” Karina giggled and nodded in agreement. “Probably Mina.” She leaned up and kissed him gently again before taking his hand in hers and they both started to make their way back towards the main building of the school.

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keyofjetwolf · 4 years

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Bonus Question Answers! (anime heat 3)

I asked a silly question! You gave me incredible answers. SO VERY MANY INCREDIBLE ANSWERS. If yours is listed below, you’ve earned an entry in a random draw to win a GIFTENING liveblog OF YOUR CHOICE

SURPRISE EVERYONE WHO ANSWERED THIS ONE GETS AN ENTRY (with extra entry if you pulled a specific line). This has been such a struggle for me for the past ... you know, million years or something, and each of you made me feel so good, thank you. ♥

—

Q: This is reaching back into the memory a bit, I know, but what's your favourite of my fanfic? (BONUS BONUS ENTRY if you pull a specific line!)

* i cannot remember a specific line off the top of my head but i remember the post-S series dealing with usagi's trauma from pharaoh 90 (sound of silence?) was a gut punch and a half -- anewconstellation

* "Blue shirt. Pearl buttons." I think this was the first time I read you writing the Outers, particularly Neptune and Uranus, and, uh, holy shit. Absolutely note-perfect dialogue and dynamic, particularly for that period of Sailor Moon S when Michiru and Haruka used intimacy of speech and gesture as an instrument of distancing and obfuscation (of their goals to the Inners, of their hearts to themselves and to each other, of the heli-pad to the staff at Mugen Academy, etc). It was so clear, and so clearly *them* that I could actually hear the intonations of their respective seiyuu. And then to deploy such spot-on character elements in combination with the stakes and the maturity the anime never reached for, my WORD, are you trying to kill me??? The pacing, the restraint! What an absolute gift. You're a wonder. (also your drabbles are fuckin peerless, and the BTL concept is such a clever series framework) -- @rasiqra-revulva

* This was so hard to pick from, but I finally settled on "Cause and Affect" - it's such a heartbreaking story, but the juxtaposition between the clinical lines of information from the computer to the memories Ami is dealing with to the horror of the visuals around her... it's so bright and sharp and PRESENT. It keeps me in the story, that mix of tones and feelings. And the final line? Perfection. "Number of regrets: none" What an amazing take on Ami and how she processes information and how she deals with the situation she is in. I still get chills up my back when I read the story. -- @amberlilly

* I love your Between the Lines series, it's how I found your Tumblr and liveblogs back in the day -- @amboato

* Author Alert. “So never, ever, going to live this down.” -- @crunchbuttsteak

* "Of her word" quote "But for all that, it remained sand. Rei erased it with one swipe." -- Dei

* Between The Lines. Adding further character/emotional depth to canon is YES PLZ. I really liked the whole idea of Usagi having trauma post-Pharaoh 90 and all the chapters that hit on that. On a less serious note Chibs' circus-related PTSD and freaking out when Hotaru wants to go to the circus kills me every time. ("But your precious dreams Hotaru-chan!") -- forgottenfae

* This is probably the obvious choice, but "The Sounds of The Silence" has haunted me in all the best ways since I first read it. The way you write Rei, Usagi, and Rei and Usagi hits me right in the heart every time. This particular fic, with Usagi so traumatized, and Rei being as soft and gentle as Usagi needs, will always stick with me. I pulled up the fic to try and narrow down a single line, and ultimately there's no real debate. "She would never stop trying to do more, but for now, she simply did this." That line is, at its core, the essence of Rei Hino. And it is perfection. -- gatorsandglitter

* I don't expect this to win at all, just sharing,, but I just super fondly remembered the goggles and all the amazing content, meta, and fic those inspired, both from you and others -- @goosebytrade

* "You Win or You Die" my favorite line is "She and Rei WOULD have The Moment, they WOULD get their thousand years of bliss, and they WOULD be making out after all this was over. Like, SO HARD." -- @i-needa-nap-please

* I'm always really bad at answering questions like this because my mind has pretty much become a goldfish in my old age and I have a hard time remembering specific fics; it all sort of starts to jumble up in my brain and things get lost. But I have always loved reading your writing, it's what got me onto this godforsaken website in the first place -- it was just before Crystal dropped, and we were all foolishly full of hope and excitement, and you were going through the Moon Pride video and waxing poetic about the FRIENDSHIPS and I was like, "YES! Finally! Someone who understands why I love this stupid kids' show!" I think I sent you an ask saying this before, (but who knows if you ever got it, Tumblrs being what they are - indifferent) but I tried reading fanfic and even published novels based on properties, like the Buffy novels and Star Trek and Star Wars novels, for a long time, and mostly found it frustrating and annoying and just... wrong. It always had this awkwardness and clunkiness to it that didn't do anything for me and just constantly screamed "THIS IS A FANFIC IT IS NOT REAL WRITING" at me. Didn't like it. But, I liked yours. Yours didn't feel awkward or clunky. You have never written any sentences like, "Rei watched the blonde stand up" where "the blonde" is Minako, and I don't know why fanfic writers think that calling characters "the blonde" or "the redhead" or whatever is sexy or cute but it ain't (sorry, pet peeve tangent). So, when you were writing stuff more, I would read it like it was going out of style, and you led me to Doc's writing, which had the same natural, "this is real writing" quality, and I loved hers, too. Anyway, my favorites of yours have always been the Between the Lines stuff. I just love the "hidden" moments that we didn't get to see. The Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead bits of Sailor Moon (speaking of fanfic that actually works) that bring so much depth to characters we know and love already or to characters we see only briefly. Also, the Shadow Senshi, because FUCK. Just... Kill Me. In any event, I know that writing has been difficult for you of late, and I know how that feels, so I hope that people who are actually able to answer this question have given you some places to go and draw strength from so that it can become part of your life again. TBH, I've been using the bonus questions on your Giftening surveys and Doc's 8 Days surveys as an excuse to try doing some small bits of quick, no pressure, nobody's gonna see it unless you or Doc actually LIKE it, don't think about it writing, and it has been helpful. I hope you can find something that gives you the same opportunity. Now that I've written you a novel that doesn't even answer the question you asked (goldfish, remember? *sigh*), have a gorgeous Tuesday! -- @incorrecttact

* The one with Pluto and Queen Serenity, where Serenity is selfish in a very Usagi way, but her arrogance combined with that selfishness makes it a fatal flaw? I liked that one a lot. -- Jules

* the bit you wrote to 'fill in' a gap for why during r did mamoru act like a distant jerk. My favourite parts were Rei coming to see the same dream, and despite being the one to have the biggest reason to believe in these kinds of prophetic visions, Rei still doesn't believe fate is set in stone. -- just... a fan. a well-baked one

* Make It To New Year's -- @kaleidodreams

* ahhh, where is a link to all of your fanfic? It's the series you started after S, with Rei comforting Usagi, because like you I was let down by the fact that they never followed up on what Usagi saw, or even how she dealt, with the end of S. runner up: the one where Usagi is about to give birth because everything you write with Rei and Usagi is amazing. -- kari

* There was a drabble/draft/something that you used one of my prompts for, and I prompted you with Usagi and Rei, but you did it from Luna's perspective and THAT WAS SO UNEXPECTED and it turned out SO GOOD cause like!!!!!! You made Sailor Moon both someone Luna cares for, because still the legacy of the moon, and someone utterly discouraging for her because *this should not be*, and wow what a way to make it both about Usagi herself and about her powers. -- katrani

* I love the btl fics, they fill in the missing gaps, add depth to the story, and sometimes smooth over things (SuperS) when canon is just...blah. One line I really liked was: “I was listening, at first, but then I started thinking about how hungry I was, and how a pork bun would be really good right now, and then I wondered what makes a thing a bun, and like, if you put ANYTHING in a bun, does it become a Thing-Bun, so could you make a bun out of another bun and would it be a Bun Bun, and wouldn’t that be the greatest thing to– Rei?” It's a great run-on, stream of thought sentence that just really catches Usagi's voice, is hilarious, and such a natural progression. -- @kumeko

* “HUG,” Usagi demanded again, because dammit, she’d been promised a hug and SOMEONE was going to deliver. (The one where Michiru has the hiccups. Because it's fun HaruMichi stuff, because it weaponises Usagi in a useful way, because it manages to (gently) make fun of both perfect!Michiru and saint!Usagi without being mean to either character, and also because I get hiccups a lot and I haaaaate them.) -- nerdy-flutterings

* I can't remember a specific fic, but I LOVE your Shadow Senshi headcanons and they're the main reason I started writing my own Shadow Senshi stories. -- @notesfromtheidiotbox

* The Figuarts saga is the Sailor Moon fic I never knew I needed -- Raye

* Special Delivery is a delight. So much Rei Certainty (that ends up being misplaced). So much Usagi being The Most Usagi About Pregnancy. So much Comedic Hijinks, because why the hell WOULDN’T ‘the Senshi get blindsided when Usagi goes into labor’ end up going full screwball? There’s a lot of great lines there (Rei’s theory about Chibs taking control of the Gate of Time and manipulating things is fantastic, as is the ending,) but my favorite is definitely “Rei Hino if I give birth to my daughter on the side of the road I swear I will go back in time and tear all the pages out of your favorite coloring book! [...] I’ll break the crayons too, Rei-chan!” Delightfully specific and childish, especially since Usagi sticks with it, and that particular brand of comic specificity is definitely a highlight of yours. -- Regalli

* Fire on Mountain!!! When I got to “Her voice was deeper than most expected when facing the certainty of her. It was rough, sandpaper running over cherry. She’d been a singer, once. Nobody would have believed her.” I was like oh. OH! -- Sasha

* My favorite of your fanfic, one one of the first I read is 'Hard to Break'. And my absolute favorite line is Usagi's panic when Minako tries to smoke: "Minako who was almost certainly dying, the cigarette had spread its evil and killed her instantly oh god." -- @shavedjudomonkey

* Tonight Ami would grieve, and wish she understood why.' This Between the Lines about Ami getting her mini computer both haunts me and brings tears to my eyes. -- @shonasof

* I can't remember the title, but it's the one where Minako realizes that Rei's been writing Sailor V fanfic under the name Red Bow -- Somariel

* You would think Mako-chan's Happy Ending, but nope, this one goes to Hard to Break (although I had to look up the exact name.) This thing is filled with such great lines. How am I supposed to pick out one? "[Watch out, boys,]" Minako said in smooth and entirely unnecessary English. "[Lady Super Cool is on the prowl.]" -- Ultrace

* I forget the title, but it's the 'last senshi standing' fic where Ami is reflecting on the battle that took the others from her. Detatched and cold as she analyzes Rei Minako and Mako and finally Usagi's death with a medical efficiency, going through her Visors readout and then reflecting that the clinical words were nothing compared to what she'd actually seen. following up the method of death of the senshi with a statistic in relation to her friendship with the girl. Number of milkshakes shared, number of conversations lasting well into the night, number of hugs, number of smiles that brightened the darkest of moods. Describing how Rei's heart was pulped in a monster's grip, Minako's once beautiful face smashed against the rocks, Mako's lightning that outlived its mistress as she and Usagi ran off, and then finally that one last attempt to protect Usagi failing as 'Cervical Fracture' flashes on her visor. And From there she just... accepts death. sitting beside where Usagi had fallen and waiting for the end. it's dark af but it's the first one that always comes to mind when i think about ur fics :> -- Vega

* I am extremely predictable here with two of my choices, as you know that I am obsessed with Fire on the Mountain and Blue Shirt, two things you wrote when you "definitely couldn't write" (Sidenote: My new year's resolution is to be harder on your about writing) We all know why I love blue shirt, it's basically an underhand pitch to the face for me, but Fire on the Mountain has a quality of regret and longing that I really connected with, something that really struck me in a way that was powerful. It's different from a lot of your inners work, and I think about Mina posing as Rei, in her disguise magic in the woods, and all the reasons why, fairly often. Something that MAY come as a surprise to you, is I really wish we got more ofyour overwatch stuff, and maybe I'll just keep asking for this for my birthday for the rest of our natural lives, but I think of like, the one you wrote on 7/14/20, with Pharah longing to have a man to shoot in the face because that would be easier than the emotions around whatever's going on with her, and I'm utterly tantalized. And I loved that hurt/comfort you wrote for me, where Pharah had this single minded drive to find out what had happened to Angela, and Tracer's trying to, well, comfort her, on some level, and the way you described Pharah's "animal cry" was FANTASTIC, and as always I am deeply jealous of your Tracer voice and IF YOU WOULD WRITE IT MORE IT WOULD HELP ME. -- WRITE, BITCH.

* The one were Hotaru confronted Michiru and Haruka about how they had tried to kill her in order to stop the Silence. Such a good little moment =w= -- zorrito

AND THEN THESE WERE UNSIGNED SAD FACE

* Chosen. I like your Overwatch stuff but Chosen was a goddamn masterpiece.

* Operation: Heart Angels. Senshi going after Mamoru for his bullshit was something I didn't know I needed.

* The entirety of Beggars Would Ride, including every single line of Anya's dialogue.

—

I’ll be drawing for the bonus liveblog around the start of THE GIFTENING 2020 (currently looking to be Monday, 11 January 2021). Each bonus question is another chance to earn an entry! I CAN ABSOLUTELY AND SHAMELESSLY BE BOUGHT.

#THE GIFTENING 2020 #THE GIFTENING 2020 admin stuff #THE GIFTENING 2020 bonus q #in which jw gets a fuzzy #jw writes stuff

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yaachtynoboat711 · 5 years

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Fonder 5.1

A/N: I AM SOOO SORRY FOR THE HIATUS! I missed you guys. The secret’s finally out! The mystery of Mr. Gatsby’s identity is being revealed! There may be smut included in this chapter also. Thanks @babygirlofwakanda for helping me out with that! Lastly, the italics (besides the sounds) are Yaa’s inner thoughts. 😬😬😬😬😬 Reblog and like!

Word Count: Get your popcorn ready (~3.5k)

Warning(s): SMUT, slow burn, plot progression, introduction of a new character, few errors/typos

NEW YEAR’S EVE 10:34 p.m.

“I-I-...I don’t understand. It was you all along...but you’d just hopped in my DM’s right before I got here!”, Yaa attempted to collect the thoughts that had scattered on the floor.

Gatsby chuckled, “ Yeah, I know. It’s ok to be confused. I’m the last person you’d expect it to be, I’m sure.”

“So why me? All these fine Hollywood jawns and wannabe socialites rippin their own panties off just to get to you...and you choose the one non-celebrity on the other side of the country?”

Gatsby sipped some champagne as he listened to Yaa, nodding his head as he began mentally creating his response to her outlandish claim. He finally sat his fluted glass down on the desk.

“Not to sound like a creep, but ever since Tanisha told me about her bomb ass lawyer friend, I’ve had my eyes on you. Don’t worry; I haven’t been that close. I learned enough about you to still have many questions left over to ask you. You’re a complex and multi-faceted woman that deserves to be exalted. Plus, from what I’ve also heard, you’ve been eyeing me too. Why’d you think the riddles and passwords were how they were?”

He was right: she’d had her eyes, heart, and womanhood set on him for years. It began way back in the summer of 2002. Her almost 12-year-old self had no business watching anything graphic and raw, yet alone watching The Wire. Her parents encouraged to watch it surprisingly. Then it happened—he came on the TV. Though she hated cornrows, even in the early 2000s, she found herself head over heels for the peanut head with the cornrows—Wallace. She hated the fact that he was a teenage drug dealer but hell, that was life in the Pit. The season finale left her distraught, crying for days as though he’d broken up with her or something. She followed his work and had proclaimed her love for him for 12 years and now here he was—Michael B. Jordan—standing before her explaining how he wanted her. Funny how life works.

She burst into a fit of nervous laughter; he joined.

“What’s so funny, Yaa?”, Michael asked.

She subdued her laughter as much as she could. “I’m laughing because I know this has to be a drawn-out prank or some shit. The man I’ve been mentally dating half of my life isn’t in front of me right now, and he damn sure ain’t telling me he finna risk it all for me. Not against his own will at least.”, she stammered.

He raised an eyebrow at her disbelief. His shoulders bounced as his cocky grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “So, you think this is a game? Hmm?” He kneeled down and lifted her chin for her honey brown eyes to meet his calming dark brown eyes. “Talk to me.”

She nodded her head yes. “Show me this isn’t a game.”, she challenged.

“Say less.”

He lifted her chin some more. He went in for the kiss—an offer easily accepted. Jackpot. There was a jolt of electricity between their lips. As their kiss deepened, his hands held gently her neck, lightly brushing against her coarse honey blonde locs. Her arms linked tightly around his neck. His hands scooped under her large ass, picking her up and causing her to break the kiss. Her eyes flew open as she began looking down at the floor. The second time she’d been picked up and the skinny nigga was the one on the cusp of changing her life. Her embrace around Michael’s neck tightened significantly as she braced for an abrupt drop.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?”, Michael teased.

“Last time I was picked up, I couldn’t dance for a month. You’re scaring the shit outta me.”, she sputtered.

There went that cocky,raspy laugh. Michael dropped her down and quickly caught her before she could get anywhere near the ground. “Oh, so you scared the skinny nigga can’t hang? C’mon now. You should know I’ve been waiting on you for a minute. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, baby girl. Best believe that.”, he reassured. With that being said, he walked confidently across the room to the couch with his scared thick lawyer in tow, carrying her 200+ pound frame like she was a bag of nothing. That Creed training made him a monster.

He stared into her eyes once again in awe. In such a simple expression, there was enough fire and passion in her eyes to light up the fireplace across the room. He slowly gave her lips more kisses, savoring them like the last of a 5-star meal.

“You got all of these sweet kisses, girl.”, he groaned, “Must’ve been saving them for a special reason or someone.” Not by choice, baby boy.

“I’ve waited for a long time for this”, she chuckled into his lips. Knock knock knock.

Michael’s head dropped and Yaa looked up into the dimmed lights palming her face, both clearly frustrated with the mood-killing visitor at the door.

“Who is it?”, Michael yelled as he re-adjusted his black double-breasted tux and bow tie. He walked towards the door, still awaiting a response.

“Me, nigga!”, the nearly hoarse voice replied defensively.

Michael smacked his teeth and opened the door. “The fuck you want, Steelo?”

“Mannnnn, it’s almost 2015! Folks lookin’ for you an- oh, heyyyyy how you doin’? I’m Steelo.”, he slurred. His attention was suddenly brought to the clearly annoyed Yaa.

“I know who you are. Nice to finally meet you.”, Yaa said.

He redirected his intoxicated “focus” back to his best friend. He’d recognized Yaa. “Hold up, that’s her?”

“Yeah, that’s Khalida, the lawyer. We’ll be out in a sec—”

“—YOOOOOO! She bad as fuck,bruh. Thick too? Niggggggaaaaaaa...I heard them fat jawns be changin’ liv—”

Without saying a word, Michael pushed his drunk best friend out the door like a dolly and locked the door. “Look, he’s drunk as fuck and I’m sorry that h—”, Michael apologized.

Khalida placed two fingers over his lips. “Fat isn’t a bad word. No need to apologize. Now, come on— we have a new year to celebrate.”, she replied.

Michael’s deep dimples and smile stretched across his face as he watched Khalida walk out of the door. “You comin’ or not, Gatsby?”, she teased.

11:09 p.m.

By the time Yaa returned to the action, there were more faces—famous faces—in the crowd. All in attendance were dressed to the nines with their CRISP finger waves, feathers, furs, pearls, and enough cigarette holders for an old Hollywood film. Yaa walked to her VIP section to find her best friend Tanisha lit off of her spirit of choice—Bombay Sapphire gin. Steelo and some of Michael’s other friends had joined her in the booth. Tanisha sashayed to her friend to greet her.

“BIIIIIIITCCCCCCCCHHH! Where the FUCK have you been?”, an impaired Neesh questioned.

“I was talking to Gatsby. You literally saw me leave. Second, I’m finna beat yo ass.”, Khalida yelled over the music.

Tanisha stepped back and put her hands up. “What for?”

“You know why. Gatsby ends up being my childhood crush?! Howwwww in the hell were you able to pull that off?”

“Sis...just know that I got the connect. Now shut up and drink--we gotta New Year to ring in.”

Without further protest, Yaa opened the new bottle of D’usse and poured it into her glass. A few glasses and three tequila shots later, she was feeling nice. Not drunk, but nice, tipsy at most. She’d stepped out of her shell of skepticism and began socializing a lot more.

During the course of the night, Michael and Yaa had been getting cozy with each other. They never left each other’s side. They exchanged flirty looks and “you goods?” When they weren’t refilling cups in the VIP section, they were deep in conversation, topics varied as their sobriety faded away. Then, it happened: his curious hand trailed northbound on her leg. Usually, Yaa would smack the taste out of any man’s mouth for feeling up on her, sober or drunk. But let’s face it: she was feeling him and it was obvious the feeling was mutual. She bit her lip and winked at him in response.

“So we just gon’ pretend like yo whole hand ain’t up my dress?”, Yaa playfully questioned.

“Yup.”, Michael replied with a grin. He was so proud of himself. “Finally able to get my hands on you.”

Yaa rolled her eyes. “Don’t getcha skinny ass hurt fuckin around.”

She got up, leaving him awestruck at her model-like walk.

“10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Gold and silver confetti and balloons fell from the sky. Cheers from every corner of the room paired with the popping of champagne corks. Yaa hugged Tanisha and kissed cheeks in celebration of the New Year. Yaa felt two taps to the right shoulder. Ready to curse, Yaa whipped her body around to see that the tapper was none other than Michael. He rubbed the back of his neck and flashed his smile, revealing his pair of ridiculously adorable deep dimples.

“I-uh...know we kinda just met like an hour and a half ago...but I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind having the honor of sharing this New Year’s ki—”. Yaa grabbed him up by his lapel and kissed him passionately, yet drunkenly. She laughed.

“Happy New Year to you too, Kari. Sorry, but I’ve always wanted to call you that.”, she laughed.

1:47 a.m.

Thud. For all it’s worth, Yaa’s back as going to be sore for the next couple of days from the impact of hitting her back against her chest of drawers. She also couldn’t have given half a fuck about her neck or her back. Hell, sis was finally getting dick. The more violent her and Michael’s tongues were becoming in each other’s mouths, the more familiar their hands were becoming with each other’s clothes and bodies. Still focused on his Dom Perignon-flavored kisses, her hands anxiously searched for his belt. But before she could unbuckle his pants, the D’usse demon jumped out. She smirked seductively as she boldly grabbed his print and freed herself from his arms.

“Oh shit.”, he mumbled, “So, you nasty nasty.”

The devilish smirk she gave was all the response he needed. She slowly got on her knees and freed his dick from the constraints of his pants, licking its length on both sides. Her head bobbed to the beat of the music playing in her head. Watching her bob on his dick, he began undoing the bottom of her chignon so that the rest of her hair wouldn’t get in the way of his undoing.

Thud. His head went against the wall as his undoing was becoming apparent. He cursed under his breath and kept his bottom row of teeth tucked underneath his bottom lip to keep from moaning aloud. Yaa would have cared less for his current state. She continued to slurp and coat his rock-hard member with spit. Keeping eye contact, Yaa continued licking him like a melting popsicle. He growled to keep from moaning, along with a chorus of “Shit” being recited under his breath.

Forever came to an end as Yaa slowly got off of her knees. He helped her up, only to be blindsided by her sloppy kisses. She began walking backwards with him towards the king-sized bed but stopped at the edge of the bed.

He placed her on the edge of the bed. Michael kissed her lips gently and slowly began to make his way to her promised land. His kisses became wet as he made his way down to her neck—her spot. He kissed her collarbone tattoo, licked his way down to her large breasts, and paused at her nipples. With his hands now caressing her breast, he wrapped his tongue around her nipple and began sucking with enough pressure to make her moan. While he sucked on her nipple like a pacifier, Michael dropped his hand from hoisting up her other breast and began to timidly creep his fingers down her baby-soft skin and the scrunched fabric of her dress. Feeling his hand touch over her thigh, he began to aggressively pull up the bottom of her dress. There was a slight discoloration created on her skin from the irritation from the material being forced against it, but Michael didn’t stop until the bottom of her dress pooled around her stomach. Once he realized where the material had settled, he pulled his lips from around Yaa’s areola, fixating his eyes on her lower half. Quickly noticing that she was panty-less, he felt a smirk tug at his lips--better--he peered up at his flushed lover. “So that’s how you rollin’, huh?”, he questioned as he slowly rolled his bottom lip underneath his teeth before winking up at Yaa and sinking to his knees. Staring at the awe-striking sight of her glistening folds, Michael admired the intimate view as he could replay the numerous times he tried to capture this very image many a late night.

He pushed her legs further apart until her kneecaps were damn near touching the mattress before trailing his way up her inner thighs. Placing soft, gentle kisses and occasional nibbles against her hot skin, he increased his pressure, making her feel the individual pricks of his coarse facial hair making Yaa a squirmy, wet mess. Timidly reaching her glory, Michael brought his hands up and steadily separated her lower lips with both of his thumbs before pressing his mouth forward. “Looks like someone’s been waiting on me.”, he said with a cocky confidence.

Chest rapidly rising and falling, Yaa couldn’t form a coherent word, phrase, or sentence. She gulped heavily before rolling her head back as Michael’s lips connected to her folds. She gripped the sheets up as his tongue controlled her every move. He finally licked her wet opening with a flat tongue going from the bottom to the top. His tongue was a weapon— it was both long and thick. He licked his name on her bud—slowly torturing her it with every dip, twist, turn, curve, and dot of each letter in his name. He then inserted two of his thick fingers into her opening as he licked the letter "C" and began pumping his fingers at a moderate pace. Desperately panting from his actions, Yaa began to shriek once she felt Gatsby toy with her clit. This raggedy ass nigga finna suck you dry and ain’t shit you can do about it at this point.

His fingers picked up the pace the moment he noticed her unraveling, his tongue explored deeper into her womanhood. She struggled to feel for the nearest pillow, but when she found it, she quasi-covered her mouth to subdue her moans of pleasure.

The sounds of Yaa’s hitched breathing and impending sexual eruption ricocheted throughout the master bedroom. Her back was arched completely off of the bed and she held a firm grasp of his head. If it wasn’t a moan or gasp, Yaa let out a “fuck”, “shit”, or an “Oh Lorddddddd.” Hearing Yaa unravel brought Michael much pleasure—the match to his sexual fire. He occasionally laughed at her undoing; he finally had the object of his affection under his mercy, quivering at his touch. Right as he could feel the pressure change for her release, he pulled his fingers and tongue away from her now swollen bud. She quickly leaned up on her elbows to see why he was stupid enough to pull out right as she was about to release. He smiled maliciously as his soaked fingers neared his mouth. “Nuh-uh. I gotta taste this first, it makes the kisses taste sweeter.”, Michael explained as he slapped her hand away from his. Bitch, no the fuck he didn’t! The two locked eyes as he sucked his two drenched fingers like he’d just ate the last extra wet lemon pepper wing.

He motioned for her to sit up. Before he could even ask, Yaa leaned in to taste her sweet essence on his tongue. A shiver shot down his spine as her candy apple colored nail gently traveled down his back. Their kiss led to Yaa laying on her back once again. Michael bit his lip as he hovered over her. He snatched her by her ankle to the edge of the bed, sliding himself between her legs. “Missionary’s a bold first choice, don’t you think?”, Yaa asked as she handed him a condom. He chuckled, “Nah. I’m just tryna see sumn, that’s all.”

His thumb rubbed against her wet clit as his girthy member slowly entered her tight, slippery entrance. Yaa inhaled sharply as she felt her body tremble and his thick length push against her tight bounds. “Fuck!” She cursed, as she felt him move slow trying to feel each and every ridge of her plush opening. Their fingers intertwined within each other as he went further into her. The lustful gaze into her honey eyes only intensified the overwhelming sensation of euphoria emanating from her core. With her back now arched completely off the bed, her new position gave him more room to dig deeper into her guts. Her mouth was agape as she tried to breathe through her stimulation. His rhythm steadily increased with every stroke.

Watching Yaa’s scrunched facial expression, Michael moved his hands to grip her waist as he quickened his pace. Taking his off of her face for a second to peek at their connection as he smirked at the sticky surface of his and hers wet organs. With the erotic scene unfolding before him, Michael slowly rolled his bottom lip underneath his teeth once the sounds of their moist skin slapping against each other reached his ears. She was helpless—her eyes burned from the tears of pleasure and she struggled to grip onto the gold link chain that dangled from his neck. Her moans and whimpers continued to fuel his drive. Chuckling darkly at her body’s responsiveness he said, “Yea, this is that shit I was talking bout. Just listen to that shit speaking out to me, fuck.” before fluttering his eyes closed and pounding into her.

3:34 a.m.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. The sound of the headboard repeatedly being knocked against the wall served as a light sound buffer to Michael and Yaa’s moaning. Michael’s thick hand applied the perfect amount of pressure around her neck as he continued to deliver those dangerous strokes. Just as they were able to sync their rhythms, he pulled out. This nigga done lost his Black ass mind. She opened her mouth to complain, only to be interrupted by the sudden shift from her back to her tummy. “On your knees. Now.”, he commanded as he smacked her ass. She as she was told—only to be rewarded with the reunion of his lips to her lower lips. No, he didn’t, bitch! The byke?! He eatin’ it from the muhfuckin’ byke?! This is Daddy!! Fuck a Winston,chile. His alternating kissing and sucking on her swollen bud caused her to fall flat on her stomach from the overstimulation. His hand went underneath her to lift her back up. He centered himself before sliding his member back into her. He slowly increased his tempo as he twisted her locs into his fist.

Yaa’s voice was hoarse. Had been hoarse half an hour ago. She had been depleted of any common sense she’d thought she had and was running on adrenaline. Michael, though appearing to be the victor of the night’s bout, was still at odds with his challenger. She was tired but still fighting like hell. He sweated profusely—like a champ battling it out in the 11th round. She wasn’t going down with a fight. He flipped her around one last time. This time, he pinned her legs past her ears—a position that both were surprised by.

“You ain’t tappin’ out?”, he asked between pumps

“Why and you about to tap out yourself? Let’s tap out at the same time since you so damn excited.”, the raspy-voiced Yaa boldly replied.

“Aight, say less.”

He went into overdrive. He quickly moved her legs from near her ears to around his waist. Not even two minutes later, the pair released within seconds of each other,his body collapsing onto hers.

“Don’t move.”, Michael whispered in Yaa’s ear as he tried to get himself together.

She shook her head. “Bitch, I don’t wanna move.” She paused, “Actually, I need to finish wash my face. Move.”

The moment both feet landed on the ground, gravity betrayed her. Her knee gave out, causing to limp and almost fall. Thankfully, Michael’s body was turned away from her. After returning from the bathroom, she limped to the bed. Oh, heating pads are the move all day today. This was the beginning of something different, and what a way to begin a new beginning than on New Year’s Day?

A/N: Yeah, sorry for the trash ending. I got too impatient.

I’m in the kitchen, TAGS ERRYWHERE!

@muse-of-mbaku @kumkaniudaku @eriknutinthispoosy @whoramilaje @mbakusthrone @mbakuwife @crushed-pink-petals @inlovewithmakeupcomicsanimelove @jackburtonsays @randomwordprompts @forgottenthoughtsandmemories @bartierbakarimobisson @wakandan-flowerz @blackpantherreblogs @babygirlofwakanda @eerythingisshaka @washyourlinens @turn-thy-paige @doublesidedscoobysnacks @wakandas-vibranium @dramaqueenamby @oshasimone @destinio1 @teheeboo @sarahboseman @iamrheaspeaks @ljstraightnochaser @chaneajoyyy @thememoireeofme @lovelynervouschaos @cay-cah @coonflix @katasstrophey @mareethequeen @jozigrrl @great-neckpectations @jellybean531 @yofavcocoa @storibambino @maya-leche @blackgirloneshots @royallyprincesslilly @texasbama @certifiednatural @abeautifulmindexposed

#thefonderseries #winston x yaa #winston duke x oc #destinedtobeduke #dukeandthedoctor

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the-digimon-tamer · 4 years

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Chapter 41 - Compromised is out now on FanFiction.Net and ArchiveOfOurOwn! Check them out with the links or find it after the break!

Title: The Tamer v2.0 - In HIs Name

Fandom: Digimon

Rating: T

Synopsis: In the next adventure of the Digimon Tamer, the lives of Juri, Rika, and Henry change forever when digimon begin crossing over into the human world. But it’s all just a story, right? Just a book series by an author no one has seen in a long time. Why are they here and can they save their world before something worse follows the digimon?

Ken Ichijouji, Wormmon, Davis Motomiya, Veemon, Tamer, and Guilmon landed in the Digital World - outside the familiar ruins of the Hallowed Bastion. The terrifying castle that they had come to so long ago as kids still stood as a decrepit reminder of what was and the terrible things of the past. Ken in particular was uncomfortable at the sight of it but Tamer hurried them inside. And all the better for it too because they could hear the chaos the Digital World descended to around them.

The Digital World was burning to the ground all around them - its skies darkened by more digimon than could be counted fighting for their lives. And they needed to hurry if they were going to put an end to this before any lives ended.

As Tamer led them inside, Ken couldn’t help but reminded of his own past here and the things he had done because of it. The thoughts still haunted him as the memories came back with every echoing step in the empty halls. He shook his head to pull himself out of it and asked a question to break the silence, “Where exactly are we going?”

“To find a computer. We get one of those and we can connect it to your digivices. Then you guys just have to do your thing,” he answered quickly, leading them further into its darkest depths. He and Davis exchanged anxious looks, both men thinking the same thing. It had been a long time since either of them had any kind of adventure in the Digital World. And despite all the terrible things going on, it was good to be back in the Digital World again. Even better, it was good to see their partners again after not having seen them in so long.

“You’ve cut your hair, Ken,” Wormmon said from behind him. Ken snorted, “The hair was getting in my eye during work. It was kind of a problem.”

“Oh? You’re still a detective, right?” Wormmon asked quietly. Ken nodded, “That’s right. But I’ve gone private now. Still working around the clock for anyone who’ll hire me. The last case I was working was finding Takeru and you guys actually. We were all worried sick. Yamato was the worst of all of us - guy was paranoid something happened.”

“That’sh nothing. You should’ve sheen the way TK wash acting! He wouldn’t let ush leave the houshe unlessh he wash there with ush,” Veemon pointed out. Davis laughed at his partner’s words, “You guys are safe and we’re back together. That’s all that matters. By the way, you’ve gotta meet my son. You’ll love him.”

“Shon? Did you and Kari finally tie the knot?” Veemon asked. Davis waved him off, “No, it didn’t work out. You were there, remember?”

Veemon shrugged it off and shook his head, “I alwaysh figured you two would get back together. You two were alwaysh sho happy together. It’sh a shame.”

Davis crossed his arms and growled, “Hey! Don’t you talk about my wife that way. She’s the greatest person I’ve ever met! Especially when she does this thing with her mou- I mean, um...never mind!”

Ken rolled his eyes, unsurprised that Davis almost made the conversation so inappropriate. He could tell from the quizzical look Veemon was giving him that the digimon didn’t quite understand what he was about to say. At least, that’s what Ken thought until Veemon said, “Do you mean mouth? You mean eating your food? You always were a really good cook! I bet she eats a lot of your food every day!”

That was almost worst - Ken couldn’t quite tell if Veemon was teasing his partner or not. And he could tell even Davis was stumped by his response, “Eh…something like that.”

“Are you talking about food?” Guilmon stopped in his tracks, sniffing the air around him, “I don’t smell anything. Is there food? I’m really hungry.”

Davis gave the digimon a big thumbs up and smiled for the red dinosaur, “Well, I’ll whip us up a big celebratory dinner after all this is over. You guys can all come over to my ramen shop and we’ll eat a big meal to celebrate! All of us!”

“Can you even afford to feed all of us? More specifically, can your business survive feeding all of them?” Ken asked, gesturing towards the three digimon present. Davis simply laughed it off, “Don't get too high and mighty there, mister detective. It’s not like you’ve ever really looked at my business.”

“I have,” he admitted, “I keep tabs on everyone I know. Mind if I ask what you did with twenty million yen?”

“One word!” Davis’ smile widened, reminding Ken of the fact that this guy was more than capable of pulling the wool over his eyes and surprising him if he wanted to, “Franchising!”

Yep. There it was. The surprise he didn’t see coming. He smiled as he realized this meant still able to surprise him - even with all his investigative skills and intelligence, his best friend of years was still able to do something surprising. Franchising. He laughed at the idea that he might become the richest member of the digidestined.

“We’re here!” Tamer announced to their surprise, stopping in front of an innocuous door. Nothing in particular about this door stood out. It was so ordinary, he didn’t even realize it was there until Tamer stopped in front of it. Tamer pushed it open without a second thought and called for them to come inside, “Come on. We’ve got work to do.”

“Okay, what is this place? I don’t think we’ve ever seen this room,” Davis stated as he went in next. Veemon hopped along just behind them, Ken pausing to glance at his partner. His partner was just as anxious as he was, he knew just from the look on his face. And the little digimon could sense he was just as uncomfortable, “It’s okay, Ken. I’m right here. We’ll be going in together.”

“I know Wormmon. I just need a moment,” he replied. Wormmon touched his partner and replied, “It’ll be alright Ken. Take your time.”

“Thanks Wormmon,” he nodded grimly, taking a moment to steady his nerves and calm down before heading inside. Within was a plain room - probably no bigger than a student’s bed room with a desk in one corner and a bed in the other. On the desk was a small data chip covered in a fine layer of dust that Tamer blew off and picked up, “Perfect. Let’s see if this still fires up.”

He pressed a button on it and tucked it just behind his ear - where a small screen appeared in his field of view just in front of him. Davis whistled, “Whoa, cool. What is it?”

“It’s a computer. A student’s computer so it’s mostly for reading and watching movies. But it’ll do for now,” Tamer answered matter of factly, “Come on. Let’s get to the armory and get you guys some scanners and communicators!”

“Scanners?” Davis repeated stupidly, “I thought we were using our digivices?”

Takato snapped his fingers, “You are. But I’ll need those scanners to act as access points so that this computer receives the data. That’s the only way this plan will-”

Ken heard a beep from his D-Terminal and retrieved it from his coat pocket, “Sorry.”

“I hope you’re not too busy to help save the world,” Tamer crossed his arms with an annoyed tone. Guilmon whined, “I’m too hungry to save the world.”

“We haven’t even done anything yet!” Veemon pointed out to him. Tamer tapped his foot impatiently, “He’s always like that. It’s a miracle when he’s not hungry.”

Ken read the message and realized urgency was a factor. He shouted to get their attention, “Guys! It’s from Izzy and Mimi’s daughter. She says the thing is on to the plan.”

“What?” Tamer hurried to look at the screen himself in disbelief, “But that’s not possible. It shouldn’t have any idea what we’re doing. How...no, never mind. We need to hurry. Time moves faster on this side of the world. We still have time to counter it. We have time to think this through. First, carry on with the plan on this side. Let’s get going.”

His pace hurried and they struggled to keep up with him - trying their best to sprint after him as Tamer hurried along at what must’ve been a break neck pace. His years as a detective gave him a bit of an edge when it came to keeping up, however it was Davis’ willingness to keep going that had him surprised even when he was out of breath. Ken smirked back at the chef, “Out of shape?”

Davis smiled back at him and grunted, “You wish. You think I’d be able to run a restaurant without the stamina to keep up? Besides, your breathing is getting heavier.”

“I’m not sweating,” Ken fired back. Wormmon and Veemon laughed, the little worm digimon remarking, “It’s so good to see you two getting along so well after all this time. Although I would’ve thought your competitive streak would’ve died by now.”

“As long as I’m alive, I’ll always be showing the world that I’m just as good as Ken Ichijouji!” Davis said with a thumbs up. Ken sighed, “I haven’t been a child genius in years and you know it. Hell, I’m not even great at soccer any more.”

Davis slapped him on the back, “You better believe I’m not going to let my rival fall behind me even an inch.”

“If you two are done, I need your help opening this door! I don’t have the codes to get it open,” Tamer announced as he slid to a stop in front of another door. Another door in another section of the castle Ken didn’t recognize. Davis looked down at his partner, “Go for it, Veemon!”

“V-HEADBU- OW!” Veemon’s cry of attack turned into a cry of pain as he slammed into the metallic door and tumbled back onto the ground, “Bad idea, my mishtake. What givesh? Why didn’t it work?”

“The Guardians wouldn’t make a door that could be knocked over by a rookie level digimon. I think they’d be insulted by that,” Tamer put a hand to his hips and turned back to the door, “We’ll need to pry it open. It should still slide at least. Here!”

He grabbed onto the crack of the door and started pulling from one side. Ken raised an eyebrow at Tamer’s antics, “Can’t you just hack it? I mean, the Ancients-”

“Guardians,” Tamer corrected.

“The Assholes created a door that couldn’t be blasted open but anyone who wanted to could just pry it open?” Ken asked with crossed arms. Tamer looked back at him, “Do you want to save the world or do you want to just stand there nitpicking?”

Each of them took an end of the door and pulled it open as hard as they could to get it to slide apart. With a little give, they finally for the door open and Tamer rushed in. The rest of them stared in awe at the racks and shelves containing nothing but what appeared to be rifles, spears, and all manner of advanced gadgets that made their jaws fall open. Davis commented, “Man, those Ancients sure did love making doom weapons, huh? Digivices, Digieggs...next you’ll tell me these are Digispears and digiguns!”

“Disintegration Blaster, actually,” Tamer replied as he made his way past the shelves of weapons.

“I don’t get it. Why aren’t we using this?” Ken asked in a surprised matter of fact tone as he looked out upon these various weapons. Tamer started moving things around in search of what he needed and finally retrieved what looked like radios from the shelf, “Here we are!”

“Tamer!” Ken scolded, annoyed that he was being ignored. Tamer sighed, “No, we’re not using any of these. If the weapons worked, that thing wouldn’t be there. It would’ve been dead forever ago when the Guardians found it the first time. The Guardians threw an army at it and it ate them. If anything, showing up with these weapons might help it figure out what it’s up against. Now here!”

He tossed the radios to them, both adults fumbling the devices in their hands before managing to get a good grip on it. Tamer scolded again, “Careful! Don’t break it!”

“You’re the one who threw it!” Ken pointed out. Tamer shrugged, “Semantics. Now let’s find some communicators!”

...

Yamaki stared in disbelief as the birds started lining the windows of the building. All the scientists and engineers moved away in a panic, while security teams drew their weapons at the birds staring at them. To his astonishment, the digimon still in the room leapt forward to fight - the brown bunny thing, the flying pink seal, and the rest all leapt forward. Before anyone could do anything, Yamaki raised his hand, “Stop! Hold your fire!”

“Sir, they’re gathering at the windows!” Riley said from behind him.

“Right now, those windows are the only things keeping them out and they’re not attacking,” he pointed out, “They’re planning something. What are they up to?”

“Do you really think glass is going to keep them out!?” one of the monster makers stated. Yamaki raised an eyebrow at her, “You think a government agency would use regular glass on a window this high up? A government agency whose operatives are likely to get shot at?”

To prove his point, one of the birds slammed into the window with all its might. It bounced off the window and took a moment to correct itself in the air - as if trying to understand what happened. He smirked as the shatter resistant glass was holding. And it widened as the bird things started slamming into it. Again and again, each trying to break through the barrier keeping them out. His smile disappeared when he watched one finally hit the glass hard enough to make it crack - leaving a shatter pattern across its frame. Then another appeared.

And another.

“It’s not bullet proof, sir. It’s bullet resistant. I don’t think it’s designed to take this many hits in a row,” one of the agents pointed out. Yamaki clicked his tongue angrily, “I noticed! Lock down the building!”

“Way ahead of you,” Riley said from across the room, pulling on one of the alarms. Not a fire alarm, a security alarm. As soon as she hit it, metal panels lowered from above the windows to seal the creatures out. But that only angered them and made them strike the windows harder in protest. Yamaki finally felt his nerve give out and drew his own gun, praying that he wouldn’t have to fire until the panels finally closed on the window.

Five seconds never felt longer as the glass continued to give under the constant attacks of the alien creatures. Just as the metallic panels closed, they watched a large golden insect appear from the side and slam into them at full force. The room was dark now, but they could still hear the muffled sounds of fighting just beyond the metal panels.

Then a loud bang echoed against the metal panel and the room filled with screams. It stopped shortly after and all that was left was silence. Whatever was going on out there, it seemed the creatures were still trying to get in. Then they heard banging from outside. Dolphin asked, “How long will those things hold?”

“No idea. That makes it all the more important to get the Juggernaut back online as quickly as possible,” Yamaki holstered his gun and turned back to the rest of the staff, “Let’s get back to work. Security personnel, inspect the perimeter and keep those things out. If an area is breached, we’re sealing it off. IT and Engineering staff, get back to work on the machines. The sooner we get Juggernaut back up, the better shape we’ll be in.”

“Why were they attacking us?” Zhenyu’s wife asked nervously. Before he could answer, there was a banging at the door beside them and the weapons were drawn again. Another loud banging came from the door and one of the civilian parents shouted, “Oh god, they’re inside.”

“Calm down. The whole’s building locked down now. There’s no way in or out. Whoever is on the other side of that door was already in the building,” Yamaki barked, walking over to the door with a hand on his weapon. He really hoped he was right about this. He turned the handle and threw the door open to find Izumi and his wife there.

“IZUMI! What the hell are you two doing in the stairs? Security never said you were here,” Yamaki practically shouted, surprised to see them just coming inside. Izumi wheeled his chair in while his wife took a seat on one of the chairs. Without missing a beat, the wheel chair bound scientist stated, “We were trying to warn you about those things when the whole building went dark. Looks like you initiated the lock down.”

Yamaki nodded, making his way to their handicapped member, “How did you even get in the building? The whole place is locked down!”

Izumi pointed upstairs, “We came in the roof. It’s hard to take stairs in a wheel chair. Are you okay Mimi?”

“I’m fine!” his wife said, waving him off despite struggling to catch her breath, “Don’t worry about me! Get to the important part!”

Izumi nodded and went on, “That thing knows. The D-Reaper knows about the plan. At least, it knows you guys have a plan to stop it and it’s trying to get in to stop you!”

“Oh that’s just great. How did it find out?” Curly asked.

Izumi’s wife answered, “It overheard us when we were talking with our daughter. She’s out there right now fighting those things with our digimon.”

“She is? Well screw that! I’m not sitting around in here while she’s fighting out there! Come on Guardromon!” Kazu declared to his partner. He and the giant robot made their way to the door, just as he was grabbed by his father, “Oh no you don’t! You’re running out there just to go get yourself killed!”

“But dad-” Kazu began to protest, however Yamaki cut him off before he could say anymore, “Don’t even bother, kid. The whole building is locked down. No one, and I mean no one, is getting in or out of this building.”

“They got in!” Kazu protested.

“We were already in when the lockdown activated,” Izumi responded.

“Then lift the lock down!” he complained, but Yamaki rolled his eyes, “Not when there’s an army of those things trying to get into this building! Face it kid, you’re stuck here with us. Now sit down before you hurt yourself.”

…

Impmon had to admit that he was enjoying himself for the first time in a long time. Both Ai and Mako appeared to be on their best behavior. But he had been down this road before and it ended in disappointment. And he was not going to be another rope in their tug of war game. There was no way in hell he’d allow himself to be put in that position again. And yet, he had to admit that he was happy in a way he hadn’t been in a long time.

It helped that they seemed to genuinely be trying to be on their best behavior now. Which was a nice difference from where things had been before. But it was soured by the images flying through his mind - the faces of the dying, the screams of those meeting their doom, the terror of knowing there was no hope of survival. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t convince himself these images were anything more than delusions.

They were so clear, so vibrant. They were memories, and he was glad it was in the past. And they put a lot of Ai and Mako’s behaviors into context. It made his departure of their home seem petty and childish; as petty and childish as their fighting. But they were kids. That seemed to be the takeaway - they didn’t know any better and they were learning.

“So where have you been all this time Impmon?” Ai asked, “You weren’t cold, were you? Or scared? We were so worried.”

“I was...fine,” he answered sheepishly, quietly eating into the snacks. Mako looked out the window, “Mommy and daddy have been putting a lot of our stuff in the car. They say we need to leave the city. Everyone seems super scared about something.”

“Yeah,” Impmon answered, glancing out the window. So Ai and Mako were at least aware that something was going on. They were just too naive to understand what. It troubled him to know that even that one guy’s little sister had a better grasp on the situation than either of them did. He took another bite of the cookie when he felt a strong unease - the kind of instinctual anxiety that became a sixth sense for danger. And no sooner than it went off, he felt the ground shake and everyone fall over.

“AAH!”

“EARTHQUAKE!”

Ai and Mako screamed and they heard the door slam open. It was their parents calling out to them, “Ai! Mako! Are you okay!”

“MOMMY!”

“DADDY!”

Both parents came around the corner and saw Impmon lying on the floor. The parents panicked at the sight of him, “Impmon!? What are you doing here?”

“Fuggedaboutit! What’s goin’ on out theres?” he asked, scrambling up to his feet. The parents cried out, “It’s those things! They’re out there! And there’s more of them!”

“What?” Impmon had an idea of what they were talking about and was afraid of the answer. He should just run! Get as far away from this place as he could! But if he did that, then what would happen to Ai and Mako? Their parents couldn’t protect them. Not from that. He clicked his tongue angrily at the realization of what he had to do. And he really wished he wasn’t going out to do it.

He hurried past the parents, out the door and onto the familiar street where he watched a large, unfamiliar metal work digimon being swarmed by countless bird creatures. It was the wolf’s thrashing on the cramped street causing all the shaking as it tried to hurt the bird creature. And without warning, the wings on its back kicked up like jet engines and it took off for the sky. Some of the bird creatures chased after it. But others hung back and scattered across the neighborhood. One in particular took a long look at Impmon before charging forward. Impmon leapt back and raised up a gloved hand, “Oh no you don’t! BADABOOM!”

He chucked the fireball right at its face but the creature simply leapt out of harm’s way before the blast could strike it. He threw another at it but the bird thing just moved too fast for him to get a head on it. He tried aiming ahead of it but it was too agile and quick for him. It was infuriating. But he couldn’t cut and run now. He couldn't leave them to this thing.

“Impmon!” he heard Mako cry out behind him. Impmon cursed his luck and the timing of this horrible situation. Why did this have to happen to him? He cursed his luck and threw himself in front of the small boy, “What’re ya doin, kid? Get back inside!”

“But you’re out here!” he argued back. Impmon groaned, “I can tak-”

He felt his heart stop when he saw one of the bird creatures position itself behind Mako. The kid probably didn’t even realize how much danger he was in. Impmon couldn’t just let it happen though - without thinking he dashed towards Mako and conjured a fireball in his hand, “GET DOWN! BADABOOM!”

But the boy wouldn’t put his head down. He continued to stare at Impmon in confusion. He really was just oblivious to his surroundings, wasn’t he? The bird thing was just inches behind him and he didn’t even seem to register it was there. Impmon called out, “Mako! For crying out loud! Get down!”

“MAKO!” Ai cried out in terror from the door. Of course the problems were just piling up. Ai had come out now, and she was shaking from the door frame at the sight of the door. Mako finally thought to move and turn around, coming face to face with the creature just behind him. There was only one thing to do now. He would have to throw the fireball in his hand straight at the bird. But to avoid Mako, he’d have to be between them.

Which meant a punch.

The things he did for these kids and they didn’t even seem to appreciate it. Was this his punishment? His atonement for all he had done? He didn’t like it. Even now, the images were flashing through his mind. The memories of that weird not human kid and his stupid idiot of a digimon partner. He couldn’t let that happen for real. He wouldn’t. Acting purely on reflex and instinct, Impmon leapt between Mako and the bird thing. They were so close that Impmon could practically see his own reflection in the massive eyes on its wings, “BADABOOM!”

He punched the ball of fire as hard as he could into the bird creature and the heat of the flames practically burned his hand. But the bird didn’t react to it all, instead rising up into the air and taking him with it as if it were mocking him. He hated this. Was all his effort for nothing? Was there where his life was going to end? Getting killed trying to protect the annoying kids he’d abandoned because of a good hearted whim?

Not a bad way to go out after all he’d been through, huh? It was better than what he deserved. He knew that much.

“IMPMON!” Mako cried out in a panic.

“NO!” Ai shouted.

Raising their voices. That really was all they were good for, huh? Dang kids, He wished he had appreciated them more and spent more time with them. He really was a disappointment in that regard - forcing not one, not two, but three separate kids watch their digimon partner die. They really did care, huh?

They really did care.

That thought hung in Impmon’s head longer than it should’ve. And it hurt. It filled him with pain that felt like it was going to explode from his chest, “IMPMON! WARP DIGIVOLVE TO! BEELZEMON!”

The bird sagged and dropped him. Or more accurately, it lowered him to the ground because it couldn’t hold his weight while also trying to fly. However, his hand was now wrapped firmly around its neck and it flailed to get free. He wasn’t about to give it the option though. Not when he saw the danger it posed to both Mako and Ai.

He threw it to the ground so hard that it flailed, then stepped on it with his foot to keep it there. Then he took a moment to take in what happened. He couldn’t quite believe it. He’d digivolved. His partners had helped him digivolve. It was ironic - he’d scorned the others for relying on the humans to digivolve. But here he was digivolving because of the humans. And he could see the amazement on those kids eyes - Ai and Mako were wide eyed with disbelief, “Are you two okay?”

Both children nodded sheepishly, Mako’s mouth hanging open, “IMpmon? Did you get all grown up?”

Of course, these kids had no idea was digivolution was. He smirked, “Something like that.”

“Ai! Mako!” both parents called as they finally rushed outside to get their kids. And both adults stopped at the entrance in terror once they laid eyes on Beelzemon. Their father shouted, “Ai! Mako! Get away from that thing?”

“Mommy! Daddy! It’s Impmon!” Ai tried explaining to them. That wasn’t quite right. He was Beelzemon now. Why bother explaining? They were too young to understand and their parents were to freaked out to listen anyway. He waved at the two parents awkwardly, realizing how terrifying it must’ve been for them to see him standing there with the bird monster under foot. He pressed down hard as he could on it until he stopped moving and growled, “Don’t you dare come near Ai and Mako again!”

He continued to press his foot down upon it, the bird continuing to flail and writhe as if it were in true pain. Finally, he pressed his foot down hard upon it and crushed it. The creature stopped moving, then burst into a cloud of data. They may have been really hard to put down, but it still died like any other digimon. Beelzemon normally enjoyed the thrill of the fight and wanted to savor his victory. But this was different. He didn’t feel like savoring anything. He just felt relief - relief it was over. Relief that Ai and Mako were safe. At least, until he saw more of those bird things gathering around him. Each of them keeping their eyes on him.

“Ai. Mako. Get inside,” Beelzemon said calmly, ��Don’t come out until I say so. Understand?”

“You’re not leaving again, are you?” Ai asked sheepishly. They were scared. They should be. But their fear stemmed from the terror of losing him again - of finding he was gone. He nodded, “I have to. There are more of these things out there.”

“Where are you going?” Mako asked him sheepishly. Beelzemon cocked his shotgun to get the empty shell out and answered, “To keep you guys safe.”

It was a funny feeling to fight for someone else. But it felt so right. So this is what it was like to fight for someone else. It would’ve been sweet if Mako didn’t remark, “I asked where you were going. Not why.”

“Okay, you got me there,” Beelzemon answered with a half smile. Then Mako did the stupidest thing. He ran out holding their digivice and a toy space gun in his hand, “If you’re going to go out, then take this!”

“A toy?” Beelzemon raised an eyebrow in surprise. It made sense that Mako wanted to help, but even he had to understand that his toys weren’t going to do much good. This wasn’t a play game of pretend. It was real. Mako offered it up with both hands anyway, “It’s not a toy! It’s a super special weapon that can destroy anything! As long as you use it for good, it’ll never fail and you’ll kick all the bad guy butt!”

Use it for good? Beelzemon didn’t really feel like anything but a bad guy. After what he did, there was no doubt about it. Still, he took the toy from Mako to indulge the boy. Besides, the sooner he took the toy, the faster the boy would hurry inside, “Thanks, kid. Now get inside.”

“Okay! Come back safe, Impmon!” Mako said, running back to his little sister and parents. As soon as the door was close and locked, Beelzemon turned to face the birds and raised up his shotgun, “Okay you damn rats with wings! Come and get me!”

…

The images continued to flash by and Juri continued to identify them - because the alternative was to revisit those awful memories. And she didn’t want to do that. She didn’t want to dwell on the past. So she just continued listing off everything she saw as the images came by, “A car. A dog. A cat. A soldier. A gun? I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.”

“Juri, those are four items you have failed to identify,” her mechanical voice echoed, “Please elaborate to why.”

“I don’t know what they are,” she explained to the voice who seemed unconvinced, “And?”

“I’m ten. How would I know what any of that is?” she added, hoping that it would get across to this thing that she had no idea what everything was. The voice echoed, “Very well. We shall proceed. Please identify the following.”

“A car. A SUV. That’s just a sakura tree. A bowl of ramen. A-” she paused as the next image came across her mind. Beelzemon. He was alive. He was here. In the Human World. In some neighborhood. And he was shooting. Was he hurting people? Were they in danger? Why was he doing this? He had killed Leomon before just to prove how strong he was. Was he going after humans now? Or was he after her? No. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be true. Why here? Why now!? Why couldn’t he just go away!?

“Juri. Your mental state has become disturbed. Identify the last image. Assess. Assess.”

Assess? No, there was no time for that. He had to be stopped. He had to be destroyed before he hurt her. Before he hurt anyone else. He’d fought the others and they could barely stop him. This thing was too dangerous.

“Threat level assessed. Taking necessary counter measures. Protect the organic.”

Organic? Did it mean her? Was this thing going to protect her? She just didn’t understand any more. What did it want? What was it after? As the panic spread through her mind, she recalled images of death she’d seen - cartoon images of ghosts, skeletons wearing robes wielding scythes, spirits wearing funeral garb armed with sickles and katanas. Death. Beelzemon had to die! He needed to die! He needed to go away!

#The Digimon Tamer v2 - In His name #Digimon Tamers #Fanfiction #takato matsuda #The Tamer

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another-chorus-girl · 6 years

Text

Erik House - Chapter 24

"You're doing better everyday," Gerik said, hoisting Karimloo back up with an arm around him.

"I'm just sorry the wedding will be postponed yet again due to this liability of mine," The West End Merik grumbled.

The film adapted tenor chuckled, "That's alright, more time for us to...catch up."

As the men walked about the yard overlooking the pool, high above on the second floor a set of dark eyes watched the pair.

Panaro's teeth were clenched watching this insulting display unfold.

-Three days ago-

Having been thoroughly interrogated and settled down by Erik, Gerik was finally released from his enclosure.

"You will as I'm sure you're already aware and comprehend behave to put it bluntly" Erik pointed a skeletal finger to Gerik's well toned chest-the latter having discarded his overcoat down to his poet shirt complaining the chamber was too warm.

"And you," The black masked man pointed at Crawford "Will make sure your kin stay in check. If he complies with my request, I should expect no further quarrel under this roof or ON the roof. Am I clear gentlemen?"

Crawford nodded, "Oui"

"Yes," Gerik meekly nodded, refusing to look in the golden eyes directly.

Having felt defeated and alone at last, the film adapted tenor was startled to say the least by Karimloo's mistaken identity and affections toward him.

But this also led to a more dark convoluted thought; who was he to deny the West End Merik his happiness?

Of course he could tell this infuriated the gaggle of Meriks' to no end-Gerik getting special satisfaction seeing Panaro's coat tails in a twist. And the film adapted tenor savored the affection and compassion he was receiving from the West End Merik.

But he was doing no physical harm or unwanted advances toward him, so therefore Crawford along with the others were bound to their oath of keeping the peace.

-Present-

Panaro sneered in disgust seeing Karimloo's hand interlink with Gerik's. Just the other day he walked in on the filmy making Karimloo pizza rolls. Pizza rolls that PANARO bought for Karimloo, he'd had to go all the way downtown to find the meat lovers brand his fiancee loved-and in the process loss a shoe to a rabid 'phan' whom saw him leaving the market.

He couldn't watch this display anymore, something had to be done. A turn of his heel and the Broadway man was storming down the hall banging loud and hard on one Merik's door.

All while this was going on another door was being called upon downstairs. Lerik stood and opened the door perplexed as to who would be knocking at this hour. When he opened the door the mute stared blankly at the masked man playing with his phone.

Unable to clear his throat, Lerik settled on tapping his foot in mild annoyance as the half masked stranger seemed oblivious that he stood there.

Slipping the device in his breastpocket the Merik blinked.

"Oh! I'm sorry about that, was just updating my story." He half chuckled nervously seeing no reaction from the man. "Um, am I in the right place Sir?"

Reaching out, the stranger himmed and hawed as Lerik grasped the man's hand pulling him through the threshold.

Walking in the parlor and seeing no one, Lerik motioned for the masked man to wait and headed to the kitchen.

Finding just who he was looking for Lerik silently waited with his hands clasped together. Crawford gasped, turning around from the pantry to see the mute standing there.

"Really Monsieur," The elder Merik sighed, picking up the box of biscuits he'd dropped in the initial alarm. "I'm understandable to the fact that you can't speak, however some form of making your presence known would be quite appreciation."

Lerik merely pointed a wagging finger toward the door, where a pair of eyes watched the two from the crack in the door.

"Yes?" Crawford called in confusion.

The stranger stepped in suavely but rather timidly.

"I hope I'm in the right house, I need refuge." He said, a briefcase in his hand.

"Ah! No need to feel fearful. You are quite welcome here! If you'll allow me to show you around?"

"Yes! Oh! One moment, I need to just grab my companion, he seems to be quite reluctant to come inside." The new Merik trotted back to the foyer.

"Two of them?" Crawford asked Lerik.

"Don't look at me, I only saw one at the door." The mute signed.

"It's quite safe! We're alright here," The Merik said to his unknown companion.

"You're sure? I'm sure I saw torches down the street! What if that mob followed us?" The deeper voice bickered back.

"Now now, don't be paranoid."

"Don't tell me how to feel Monsieur!"

Crawford scowled, the voice sounding too familiar.

"Y, what is the meaning of this? You better not be wasting my-" But wheeling the corner, his mismatch eyes originally burning with hatred faded to confusion.

The man sounded just like the Coney Island master, but was clearly not the same gentleman, dressed in their similar tailcoat opera suit and his half mask betterly matched their own.

The taller man-with equally bulgy eyes as Mr. Y-blinked in confusion, "Have we met? I apologize if we got off on the wrong foot somehow?"

The elder Merik shook his head, "Non, my sincere apologies. I mistaken you for someone else. Forgive me gentlemen let me introduce myself properly, Crawford."

The mismatch eyed Merik held his hand out for the taller man to shake, whom firmly grasped it.

"Lewis if you please," He greeted.

"Did you say Crawford?" The shorter Merik asked, "Me too!"

"I beg your pardon?" The older man asked, as the young Merik eagerly shook his hand.

"I wonder if that's why people have been abbreviating my name to 'Brawford' to avoid confusion?"

"CRAWFORD!!!" The new Meriks' flinched at the blood curdling screams from upstairs.

"What the devil was that?" Lewis asked perplexed.

The elder Merik tiredly rubbed his unmasked temple with a tired sigh. "Just another unparalleled delight of a day for me."

Jones came bounding down the stairs. "Uh you may want to go check on that my friend."

"Yes yes. Would you be so kind as to show the good messieurs Lewis and...?"

"Just Brawford is fine!" The young Merik waved.

"Yes...Jones if you would be so kind as to show them around a little more s'il vous plait?"

Jones nodded, "Think nothing of it, come along gentlemen I will lead."

"Crawford I DEMAND my staff back!" Panaro roared in rage, normally quite respectful and reserved toward the elder masked man. "I will not stand idly by and let my future husband be stolen away from me! Let me in! LET! ME! IN!!!"

"No one is going to open the door if the bedroom is empty Monsieur," Crawford said clearing his throat, making his presence known behind the Broadway Merik.

Panaro mid knock paused, turning to face the shorter mismatched eyed man. “Oh...”

"And you are NOT getting your staff back. I confiscated it for a reason which you've just proven to me by this was the smart decision."

"This isn't right or fair!" Panaro stomped like a naughty child.

"It is both right and certainly fair, no more bloodshed in this house. I'm sorry monsieur, I truly am. But that is my final word on the matter."

Removing his key, Crawford walked past Panaro and opened his door. Panaro shook his head distraught as the door closed on him. Something needed to be done. Something would be done.

This thought drummed through the Broadway Merik's distorted mind when he trudged up to the third floor with one last plan.

Gerik played wih Karimloo's twitchy fingers, having gone back upstairs to Karimloo and Panaro's room-however the latter was ostracized into living elsewhere whilst Karimloo had a death wish out for him.

"I love when you do that with your hands," He mumbled, caressing the well toned muscular digits.

"Hmm..."

Both men glanced up at the scratching and whining on the end of the door. Gerik scowled sitting up and walking to the door.

Soot panted and whined on the other side, seeming to look up at the film adapted tenor pleadingly.

"Shoo! Go on, he doesn't want you. Go!" Gerik motion trying to push the dog away, but Soot merely laid down and continued whining.

"Grrr," Frustrated Gerik slammed the door shut on the labradoodle, mumbling under his breath. "I don't know what that mutt's problem is. He's mine now."

"What was that?" Karimloo asked.

"Just that fop of a Merik's canine. Annoying beast."

"He was whining?"

Gerik scoffed, "Nevermind him, he's only-"

But the film adaption paused seeing a look of distress on Karimloo's face. Albeit sorrow.

"What's wrong?" He asked, sitting with Karimloo, rubbing the West End Merik's hand again.

"He was upset, he....he's just laying there. He must feel so....abandoned and alone..." Karimloo mumbled, his malformed lip quivering. "I...I just."

Where was all this coming from? Why was he so worked up over this? Gerik knew Karimloo liked animals but he wasn't overly attached to dogs. If anything Karimloo was quite taken with cats.

That was when the Merik started crying.

"K-KAri? What's the-" But Gerik felt himself be shoved as Karimloo backed up onto his bed.

"NO!"

"What??"

"D-Don't say that. Please don't call me that!"

"I don't understand."

"Something...the way you said it wasn't. It doesn't sound right." Removing his mask, he turned away shielding the sight of both his tears and disfigured face. "I just want to rest now..."

Nodding, Gerik patted the West End Merik's back. "Alright..."

Deciding to give him some privacy and quiet, Gerik left the masked man to his jumbled thoughts.

Leaning against the other side of the door, Gerik shook his head.

“What am I doing?” He sighed, “This isn’t right.”

Soot still laying on the ground on the opposite while whined staring up at Gerik. The film adaption covered his eyes holding back a choked sob. Sinking to the ground he reached out hesitantly and stroked the labradoodle’s back.

“Can you tell your master I’m sorry?” He asked the canine, as if expecting Soot to answer back. “Not that Peppermint face would believe me, but I am. And Karimloo....I promise. I promise I’ll try and fix him.”

Couple a footnotes among all the angst!

-For those who aren’t sure who the new arrivals are they would be the latest of fresh Meriks portrayed by Ben Crawford the current Broadway Phantom (No relation to Michael). And Ben Lewis whom until recent months was the current West End Phantom (also no relation to Norm).

-Crawford’s initial annoyance at Lewis voice is of course a joke playing on that Ben Lewis was both the Phantom in London AND Mr. Y of the Melbourne, Aussie version of Love Never Dies (the dvd version of LND). But don’t worry, we’ll get to some Mr. Y fun next chapter...

-Brawford playing with his phone is kind of a play on his behind the scenes self as Ben is VERY active on social media in particular Instagram and almost on a daily basis updates his account with new videos of Ben goofing around with his castmates in and out of costume (but the best ones in costume heheh)

-There’s kind of a joke in Crawford caught snacking on biscuits. It’s revealed in his autobiography that Michael’s actual last name by birth is Smith. Eventually for reasons during his youth-mainly family relevent-wanted to change his name and in a hilarious fashion settled on Crawford after passing a Crawford’s Biscuits truck. Must have been pretty good cookies.

-Gerik’s remark about Karimloo’s hands is partly a play on how in any role Ramin Karimloo has played (Phantom, Les Mis, Anastasia) he has a habit of twitching his fingers every so often. Whether this is some sort of habit or nervous impulse I’m not sure.

#Erik house AU #erik house #phanfiction #Phantom of the Opera #Gerik #cherik #panarimloo

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mirai-diary · 4 years

Text

Hey Kiddo

I know you’re going through a lot of shit of your own right now and don’t want to talk to anyone. That’s how you work, you solve things on your own, or at least that’s what you’ve told me.

I know I do a lot of things that irk you and annoy the living daylights out of you. And I realise this too that even as I say there are a lot of things there’s probably even more than I imagine to be there.

I know I’m probably bringing my own trauma and outlook on things when I try to reach out to you to tell you you’re not alone or that I’m here for you. I know I might be projecting myself onto your problems but that’s something I can’t seem to help though I am trying my best.

I’m sorry I cannot be there for you if being there means taking a step back. You know? I did try to take a step back, and that’s also why I made this blog and started writing these letters or trying to keep a diary through these letters that I write.

I made the mistake of searching up your tumblr even though I know you blocked me. I just did it on instinct and before I realised it, it was already too late. I was already there.

Reading your tweets and not feeling useless again was tough. Not feeling that deep pit in my chest was something I struggled with. I knew you needed your space and didn’t want to talk but I couldn’t help sending a text despite knowing I shouldn’t.

Obviously you knew that I was here for you. You’d obviously reach out to me if you needed me and I could help you in any way, right? This uncertainty. This question mark was what led me to make an assumption of my own that I should still leave a text letting you know that I am here for you. Even though it might just further irritate you or even though you might just ignore this yet again.

Sometimes I’m sorry that you met me. That I go out of my boundaries sometimes. Hell, maybe almost all the time. And you have to give so much effort just to not set me off. For all that, I’m sorry and I hope you hadn’t met me and just had J, the love of your life with you to keep you company and make you the happiest kid ever.

Don’t get me wrong here. I didn’t say I wished “I didn’t meet you” but rather that “you didn’t meet me”. You’re always going to be someone I cherish, love, admire, appreciate and care for through out my life. No matter what happens.

Yes, even if we end up drifting apart and not being friends.

I’ll still CHERISH all the moments I spent with you, the moments that changed me, the moments that made me cry, the moments where I felt truly happy because of you.

I’ll still LOVE you. No matter how desperately or composedly (I googled it and composedly was an antonym to desperately). There’ll always be this part of me that loved you. And it’s probably gonna live on within me till the day I stop being alive.

I’ll still ADMIRE you. I admire you for who you are kid. You’re so friggin amazing that sometimes I feel blinded by how resilient and mature you are, how kind and unselfish you are sometimes. Though I definitely hope that you start to be more selfish in the coming future.

I’ll still APPRECIATE who you were to me. Everything. Each and everything that ever happened. Each and every conversation we ever had. Parafit par baith ke jo bhi baatei kari thi voh bhi (Actually, especially those).

I’ll still CARE for you. I don’t know what the situation will be in the future but I’ll try to be there for you and help you out in whatever way I can. I have a really strong feeling that I will probably drop anything I’m doing just so I could help you out.

Your lil shit

Mr. Kuma

31/03/2020

0233 hours

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icecreammac · 7 years

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So, let’s talk about Jace Beleren.

Hey, readers. I know you don't really hear anything from me in between my weekly reviews of Magic Story, but there's something I want to talk about, and now seems like a good time to do it. I touched up on it a bit in my review of this week's story, but I didn't get too far into it, since the story was mainly about Liliana, and I wanted to keep the focus on her and the actual story of the week. I'll keep the bulk of this under a Keep Reading tab in case there are some of you who aren't interested, but I do invite you all to join me as I get a bit...critical. And get comfortable; this gets pretty lengthy. So, without further ado, let's talk about Jace Beleren.

Over the weeks, I've been pretty clear about what I think about the Gatewatch members. Well, I've been clear about four of them: I like Gideon, I'm frustrated with Chandra, I'm bored with Nissa (and annoyed at her constant lie), and I hate Liliana. Ajani is pretty new to the Gatewatch, so I haven't had much time to talk about him at length (I like him, but I can get into that some other time). But what about Jace? I said a good deal about him in Innistrad, but ever since we got to Kaladesh, he's been put in the background, something none of the other Gatewatch members experienced in Kaladesh (except for one story where he really didn't do anything but provide a reason for why we're watching Kari Zev do stuff, even though Wizards isn't shy about posting stories that have nothing to do with the Gatewatch at all).

So, why am I talking about Jace now? Well, it seems I have a bit of trouble reading between the lines, because everyone saw a little something in this week's story that I apparently missed: the hintings of a budding romance between Jace and Liliana. Sure, I know Liliana was teasing Jace, and I know Jace was so "innocent" and confused, but I never thought there were some clues that they'd get back together.

And that's the big problem I have with Jace: He's a lovesick idiot. For someone who's so big on forethought and planning, he's having a really hard time remembering how awful Liliana is as a romantic partner. I mean, she betrayed him to Nicol Bolas once, and she straight-up said it was "tempting" to do so again. Sure, she may have just been teasing, and if it came from anyone else, it would've been a bit funny, but coming from Liliana, it ought to just set off some alarm bells.

And look at the rest of the team. Gideon distrusts Liliana, though he's trying to be friendly with her. Nissa distrusts her and isn't even trying to play nice. Chandra seems indifferent about her and seems to just want everyone to get along. But Jace is the only one on the team who truly knows Liliana and has extensive history with her, and Jace is the one who vouched for her to join the team! It irritates me to no end to know that Jace, the one guy who should know better, is thinking with his heart (or his groin) instead of his brain in the one place where that can (and likely will) get him seriously hurt.

But that's not my only problem with Jace. There is another. For that problem, let's go back in time to Innistrad. Jace has spent pretty much the entire story getting more and more unhinged, finally coming to a head when he attacks Liliana and scours a Thraben cathedral library for the answers he sought. There, he meets Tamiyo, who, without ceremony, without build-up, completely cures Jace's madness. Ever since then, Jace seemed to have taken a very passive role with Tamiyo, deferring to her a lot, even going so far as to try to read Emrakul's mind just because Tamiyo wondered what Emrakul calls itself (even though Tamiyo never asked him to do so). I'd be willing to believe this is because he feels a sense of indebtedness to Tamiyo after her help if it weren't for the fact that in the very same story, she's perfectly willing to throw his life away just to keep some promise (I get being willing to sacrifice her own life, but to take someone else down with you is just cold).

That should've been the end of his positive attitude toward Tamiyo, if you ask me. I get that she's able to help against Emrakul (though she didn't really help at all; Emrakul did), but he still deferred to her way more personally than I'd expect him to if he were just respecting her greater expertise or sticking with her because of the companionship or usefulness of her abilities.

And remember, this is Jace we're talking about. I may be wrong, but Jace seems to be kind of a proud guy. He knows that as long as he has time to prepare, he'll emerge from any conflict victorious. So why did he act like some new student around a woman who was perfectly willing to let him get murdered, and why is he acting like some confused teenager around a woman who used and abused him throughout their entire relationship? It's not like this is just how he acts around all women. He had no problem controlling Jori En's mind to force her to return to Gideon and warn him of Ulamog's approach (something I wasn't really comfortable about, if I'm honest), he seems to butt heads with Chandra a lot (good-naturedly or otherwise), and he seems very comfortable with Nissa, telepathically talking with her a lot and strategizing with her (which I really like).

If I had to take a guess, I'd think that he looks up to Tamiyo quite a bit. I mean, she so easily cured his madness, and all the notes in her journal surely tipped him off that she's got a very analytical and research-oriented mind, and really, if it weren't for the fact that Tamiyo was, again, willing to let him get purged, I'd have no problem with it. After all, he acts (or used to act) the same way toward Gideon, obviously feeling somewhat emasculated (at least on Zendikar) next to Gideon's strength, charisma, confidence, and size.

So why don't I have a problem with Jace's interaction with Gideon? Because I know Gideon. We've been with Gideon from Zendikar (and Origins), and we know his motivations and mannerisms. He's the big, reliable, paladin-type character who really, really focuses on camaraderie and makes sure that he never steps on any of his allies' toes, though he does tend to try to get Liliana to do things his way (which is why I have such a big problem with him on Amonkhet; he's acting the exact opposite of what we've seen from him up to this point). This is the guy who wrestled Ob Nixilis to save Jace's life and nearly drowned in the process. And he'd probably do it again, too, and win (after all, the biggest reason he lost was because Nixilis planted a small but deadly seed of doubt for the split-second he needed to get the upper hand, and Gideon seems to have thankfully gotten over any of his doubts since then). This is the guy who used his body to shield Chandra when she decided to climb inside the Hope of Ghirapur for a suicide mission. This is the guy who worked seamlessly with Liliana's zombies on Amonkhet, making sure to protect them as much as he could rather than just let the zombies tear each other apart. This is the guy who stared down Ulamog and used his own body to halt its advance and buy his allies as much time as he could. We know Gideon would do whatever he can to make sure his allies (no matter who they are) never get hurt.

What do we know about Tamiyo? We know she's motherly, comforting, respects stories, analytical, studious, and takes her promises gravely seriously. And, really, this isn't a bad character. I like Tamiyo, and while I don't respect that she was willing to let Jace die in order to keep a promise, I can respect that she was willing to die herself to keep that promise. I'd like to make it clear that my big issue here isn't with Tamiyo, it's with how Jace acts around her. Maybe it's just me, but we've seen Jace's POV quite a few times since Avacyn attacked them, and not once did he look at Tamiyo and think, "Huh, she was perfectly willing to let me die when we were so close to solving the big mystery of Innistrad." Now, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If every character thought like me, the story would be really frickin' boring. But still, I'd think it'd come up at least once in their conversations since then.

Now, why does he hang around with Liliana so much? If I had to guess, I'd think that he wants to change her. He wants to bring her over to the side of good. He wants to redeem her, either in his eyes, her own eyes, or the eyes of the general public. Here's the problem, though (and, yes, I know most of you all are aware of this): Liliana is around two hundred years old or so. She got by with her ruthlessness and cunning, and old habits die hard, especially when Liliana doesn't want to change, and especially when Jace is giving her no reason to change. I mean, the way he acts, he more just makes it easy for Liliana to use him to further her own goals than convince her to change.

And the biggest problem? He should already know this! After she made it clear that she was just using him all that time, after betrayed him to Nicol Bolas, that should've ended any trust he had and will have for her. But no, he just had to stick up for her and convince the others to let her on the team in some vain hope that she'll suddenly see the magic of friendship and play nice with everyone.

That's just speculation, of course, but it's the only "logical" reason I can see for why he acts the way he does around her. And the problem there is that, to my knowledge, he's never shown that kind of idealistic thinking toward anyone else (except maybe a little when he spent time with Tamiyo). With everyone else, he's precise and calculating, never making a move until he's aware of the risks, and never taking risks unless he has a contingency plan. And here he is, being idealistic and letting his fantasies get the better of him with the one person he knows will just end up hurting him.

And I think that's everything. Thanks for sticking with me this far in and listening to me rant about a character who really hasn't been in the spotlight for about a year or so, though we have gotten small snippets of his POV in that time. I'm sure some of you disagree with me about all this, and maybe I'm the only one who sees what I see, but I'm sure some of you also agree with me, and I hope I could help put your thoughts into words.

I may do another analysis like this in the future. After all, it's a pretty good way to give a lengthy discussion about an aspect of the story at large without bogging down my weekly reviews with stuff not about the weekly story. And let me know what you think. Was this too long? Not long enough? Did I miss something crucial about Jace or the other characters I talked about at length? Did I draw a faulty conclusion somewhere? Any feedback is appreciated, especially if I'm gonna do more of these analyses in the future. And even if I don't do another long thing like this, the feedback will still help for my weekly review.

Thanks again for following along, and I'll see you later.

#magic the gathering #magic story #analysis #jace beleren

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viralhottopics · 8 years

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‘Are You The One?’ Recap: Last Week They Took An L, But This Week They Bounced Back Kinda

Welcome, welcome, welcome. After last weeks very entertaining trainwreck, I gotta say I was pretty fucking pumped to revisit the AYTO cast. Nothing makes these recaps easier to write than failure of other people. Lucky for me, this cast not only fails but also does some straight-up stupid shit in the process. I mean, between Tyler and Carolina these recaps practically write themselves.

Anyways, Im drinking cheap wine and my laptop is charged. Lets begin now.

AFTER BLACKING OUT AND LOSING A SHIT TON OF MONEY

Carolina has produced enough tears to give the town of Flint some clean water. Shes literally moving from one location to the other just fucking sobbing. Joeys pretty upset toonow hes a loveless trashman. Sad!

They are both like kneeling on the floor, praying to sweet baby Jesus that they can overcome this horrible hardship of losing your love of two weeks. Joeys low-key kneeling down to pick up some trash off the ground because you cannot take the man away from his livelihood, goddammit.

Kathryn/Rushboobs is like ARE WE DONE?? to Ozzy and its like, uh, is this a trick question? Oh duh, I forgot shes an education major from FSU. Someone needs to basically fucking spell out how this game works for her.

Ozzy tries to let her down easy and she storms off because how dare he try and focus on the whole object of the game!?

Kam, the girl with the grey/purple hair as my mom calls her (like, mom its a three fucking letter name), is like “OKAY EVERYONE STOP FUCKING CRYING.” I am Kam, Kam is me.

Rushboobs cant help that she has a lot of feelings and the fucking mentality of a 14-year-old.

Tee is like “I WANT A BOYFRIEND WITH A BRAIN.” And when you want an intellectual boyfriend the first place you should go is an MTV reality show. *cough, cough BULLSHIT cough*

Shes into Oswaldo, who is low-key hot but also looks like Austin Ames friend from (the one in the middle). YEAH, I KNOW, IM FUCKING RIGHT.

He is talking about how he wants to be a businessman and watches Animal Planet because knowledge is power. Yeah, I bet watching episodes of is really going to put you ahead in your fuckin career.

Honestly, I cannot hear him saying anything besides diner girl.

THE CHALLENGE

Can I just saylots of slow motion running this season. We get it. You use special effects.

The game involves the casts social media and they have to answer questions based off their profiles. Apparently they all are fucking crazy online too, further solidifying the fact that they will never get jobs in the real world.

Except Joey. Trash collecting doesnt have a lot of requirements to it.

They all are asked the same questions and need to find the answer for their partner in a maze like web that Ryan so cleverly calls the inter-net.

Whenever Ryan says something fucking cheesy that cast cracks up like its the best shit theyve ever heard. I imagine producers are standing behind them with like guns pointed to their backsfucking laugh at Ryans pun or Ill murder your family. Carolina, shed a tear if you need help.

Thats not really a thing, you fucking idiots.

It goes like this:

Question: Biggest turnoff in a guy?

JOEY: I know KARI likes a guy who listens, because I listen. ALSO JOEY: I know KARI likes a guy who eats food because I eat food.

Joey, be a doll and never speak again. Thanks!

Question: If I won the lotto what would I buy?

NORMAL PEOPLE: A plane ticket anywhere in the world! NORMAL PEOPLE: I would donate to charity! NORMAL PEOPLE: I would pay loans! HAYDEN: ME BUY LARGE TRUCK.

Question: Whats a gross habit you have?

OZZY: Im just here to fuck Carolina, so Im picking the first thing I see *picks wipes boogers on the wall* CAROLINA: Omg he knows me so well!!!

Note to self, never, ever go to Carolinas booger house.

Hayden and Rushboobs get in first, Joey and KARI get second. To make it even more awkward, Ozzy and Carolina get third. Oh, I love this.

Ryan tells them they are all going hiking with monkeys and Ozzy has to act excited, like he doesnt do that every other day.

BACK AT THE HOUSE

Michael is like I WAS AN EMT BUT I QUIT BECAUSE OLD PEOPLE, AM I RIGHT? Thats like being like I WAS A VET, BUT ANIMALS, RIGHT? Michael, further implicating himself as unemployable.

Gianna is like, still having a lady boner over Michael and Hayden has developed a city on Friendzone Island where he is now the mayor. Shes like, laying all over him and totally loving the fact that hes more whipped than a girl in BDSM porn.

Carolina is in love with Ozzy faster than President Trump can delete the LGBT Rights page from his website. Quite suddenly, hes the hottest guy in the house and she liked him the whole time she was with Joey. Hmm, sounds like alternative facts.

Shes like “MY PARENTS WOULD LOVE YOU” hes like “mmmm okay, Booger rubber.”

Also, when talking to the camera separately, Carolina seems like the most boring person literally ever. Was she on a sedative? Why do I feel like they put her on this show like, mid-wisdom teeth removal?

Rushboobs is pounding wine, honestly same, while Ozzy and Carolina start making out.

Tyler, this seasons resident fuckboy, is like Shannon is fun and flirty! Which is the way of saying easy! Shannon, you seem nice, but when you speak I want to throw myself in front of a fucking train. Her voice truly sounds like everything annoying in the world just took a massive shit in her vocal chords. Did she do the voice over for Bubbles in ?

Taylor is like “dafuq is this?” And straight-up calls Tyler out. Shes like you didnt even get to know me very calmly and Tyler is like WOAH.

TYLER: YOU ARENT MY GIRLFRIEND TAYLOR: I know, I just wanted to get to know you because you seem cool TYLER: WOW, WHAT A CRAZY BITCH

Rushboobs is talking to Ozzy about how she still cares about him and shell never forget the 14 days they had together on a reality show, where everything is pretty much superficial.

Carolina comes in hot and is like “RUSHBOOBS DOESNT KNOW IF IM GOOD FOR OZZY OR NOT! not even understanding that they arent talking about her.

Joey comes in to defend Rushboobs and mostly just shit talk Carolina. Joey starts yelling at Carolina about how she juggles guys and shes crazy and all this other bullshit. Joey, pull your tampon out and quit being a little baby about this. Move the fuck on. Youre a single trashmanyour life can only go up from here!

Joeys like “WHY DONT YOU TAKE A FIRST CLASS FLIGHT HOME WITH OZZY!!!!” And its like, ooooohhh good one, bro, and Ozzys like uh, Im from here. Ozzys mom will be picking him up after the show, thanks for the concern though.

Shannon is talking to Tyler and I swear I have heard more interesting shit come out of a Baby Born doll. Why do you sound like you survive on a diet of rainbows and helium? Whatever, they annoy me. Moving on.

THE DATE WITH ALL THE LITTLE BIRDIES AND THE MONKEYS

They go to play with the monkeys and Carolina is like we took food out and the animals attacked us. Wow, groundbreaking.

She and Ozzy start making out and its like, could you just chill for a second? There are fucking animals eating corn off your head.

Joey starts complaining to KARI about Carolina and shes like I think you still like her. KARIs in med school man, dont fuck with her. Also, she can literally see into your mind with those big-ass eyes of hers.

Hes like “I SWEAR ON MY LIFE IM OVER IT! I SWEAR ON EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER LOVED THAT I AM SO OVER THAT HORRIBLE, HATEFUL, CRAZY BITCH CAROLINA.” The trashman doth protest too much.

KARI leaves because she doesnt need this bullshit. She can fucking read minds and save people. Time to move the fuck on.

Am I watching ? Because I swore I just heard Joey say can I steal her for a minute? Joey, do not fucking try to hybrid my reality shows rn!

He pulls Carolina aside and is like KARI WONT TALK TO ME BECAUSE OF YOU!!! Uh, wait what? Carolina starts yelling and this is just a goddam mess. Honestly, the sexual tensionyou could cut it with a knife.

Ozzy goes to save Carolina before she starts rubbing boogers all over Joeys face.

THE TRUTH BOOTH

Carolina and Ozzy are in the Truth Booth, thank god. Put me out of my fucking misery.

But wait, Ryan offers a deal where they dont send Ozzy and Carolina and they take $150,000 bucks instead. But if they take the money, they can never send those two in the truth booth again. Damn Ryan, back at it again with the shitty trades.

The house is divided with Kam being like CAROLINA IS CRAZY TAKE THE MONEY and everyone else being like hmmm idk.

Ryan asks Derrick, who is like the unofficial spokesperson of the house, what their plan is and they decide to not take the truth booth trade. Damn, Ive heard stupider shit come out of Kellyanne Conways mouth.

And lookie here, NO MATCH.

Moral of the story: Listen to Kam. Listen to me. Never make a decision on your own. Bye!

Carolina is crying again. Someone put a Brita filter under this bitch.

Rushboobs is like wow this is so sad *smiles* *dances* *throws flowers around the room* *throws party*

Joey and Rushboobs bond over alcohol and their hatred of Carolina and start flirting. This is how it goes, I shit you not:

RUSHBOOBS: Stop! JOEY: No, you stop *leans in closer* RUSHBOOBS: No, you stop *leans in closer* ME: NO SERIOUSLY, FUCKIN STOP.

Ive seen better flirting skills from a fucking third grader. Where did you learn to communicate with the opposite sex, Rushboobsyour students? Joey, I dont even want to know how your livelihood has affected your lovelife.

Tee is like “I CANNOT WAIT TO FUCK OSWALDO,” and its like, wow okay. Shoutout to her parents. But also, do you girl #womensmarch

KARI and Tyler start talking. Tylers playing the role of the victim like I cant help that every girl wants to bone me! wow, life must be so hard for you. How do you even get up in the morning?

Tyler is hot though, dammit. Always the pretty ones. KARI ends up straddling him and they go to bed together. Well. Okay then.

Meanwhile, Kam and Eddie are hanging out and giving me couple goals. If they arent a match Im fucking throwing hands.

MTV: Kam and Eddie, you are not a couple ME: CASH ME OUTSIDE, HOW BOW DAH

THE MATCHUP CEREMONY

The girls pick tonight so hopefully it wont be too much of a shit show.

Rushboobs picks Joey, a trashy match made in heaven.

Tee picks Osvaldo, the knowledgeable son of a bitch. I imagine he is just whispering animal facts into her ear all night.

Hannah picks Derrick/Kellyanne.

Casandra and Jaylen. Yawn.

Kam and Eddie, because duh.

Shannon picks Tyler. Yuck. Ryans like Tyler, hows it going? And Tylers like “I GOT TO KNOW KARI INTIMATELY!” Okay. Not the question but whatever. So classy. Goddam, I want to kiss your face but also hit it with shovel???

Hes like I was sauced and tries to act like it was a drunken thing. Very cool of him. And STOP USING THE TERM SAUCED. Like I literally just picture you rolling around in marinara.

KARIs like fuck it, yeah I gave him a handjob. Wow, okay MTV youre really doin the damn thing. Honestly, who hasnt given a regretful handjob?

Taylor is crying because shes like wait you never even spoke to me! Everyone, including me, feels bad for Taylor because like, Tylers fucking gross.

Tyler: The funny thing about a conversation is give me a handjob.

Tylers like I guess Im the bad guy and its like, hmmm, what gave it away? I shall play you the worlds smallest violin. Can you hear it?

Carolina picks Hayden and Giannas like “WTF NO.”

Gianna picks Ozzy and Ozzy literally looks like he wants to kill himself. Relatable.

Alicia picks Mike. Cool story.

Taylor comes up and crying and Ryans like how do you feel? Uh how do you think she fucking feels? Is the crying not a clue? Shes like I feel disrespected but honestly, when am I ever not. This is like a speech from a movie.

TAYLOR TO TYLER: But waiting for you is like waiting for rain in this drought, useless and disappointing. (name the movie)

Taylor picks Michael as her perfect match.

Andre is like “Taylor is hot and sad. I make happy. We bone. Yay!”

Im endorsing that couple RIGHT THE FUCK NOW.

Andre and KARI are left.

They are all like we cannot get another blackout! and Im like just fuck me up, fam. Give me another blackout, make my goddam day.

But alas, they get 4 BEAMS. Not bad for a bunch of pretty degenerates.

Cant wait to see what fuckery next week holds!