#and i had spent a week spell checking it and trying my best | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cabinofimagines · 2 years

Text

Practice Makes Perfect

This serves as a set up as to why you train with Nico every morning. I don't make the rules, I only make the SFU. A comment on the request; I took the vibes, but I left out being claimed. It was slightly confusing phrased but I tried my best!

Happy birthday Nico!

Pairing: PRE-dating Poly!Solangelo, Will Solace x Gn!reader x Nico di Angelo Request: IF REQUEST IS NOT CLOSE AGAIN, PLEASE DO A POLY SOLANGELO (if i did spell it wrong please correct me!), its just they're so underrated!! tysm if ever its still close but if it is, i still hope you see this! probably with some combat, like theyre other s/o is just the camp sees as a "not too strong" camper since theyre just really not talkative - mostly just telling the other campers what is best to do and stuff. Probably the s/o not being claimed yet and being claimed when they shine? tysm! Word count: 2.8k Warnings: mention of injury, nothing too graphic.

Poly!Solangelo mlist

-Asnyox

It was not often that people criticize your strength. During the years you had spent at Camp Half-Blood you had probably spend most of your time in the infirmary, given that the Apollo cabin tended to be short-staffed when wars happened. This meant that you did not show your fighting power as much as other campers did, but it was fine. You were content with your little place in camp, no need to show off anything.

You weren’t going to lie though, the predicament you found yourself in right now was not optimal. Sherman Yang, son of Ares, had decided to target you during sword practice, and if the immense amount of taunting wasn’t enough to piss you off, it was the fact that you were losing badly. You knew your way around with the sword, it just was not your best weapon and Sherman was a murder machine with any weapon he held. All you could do was dodge and parry his hits, helplessly trying not to die in the process. However, Sherman made quick work of you as he slashed your arm and pushed you to the ground in the process. You looked up at him, scared of the sword that you could not dodge coming your way, only for it to be quickly parried by a black sword.

“That’s enough, Yang,” Nico spat as he held back the son of Ares. Sherman just smiled menacingly, locking eyes with you once again. Nico had seen the fight happening as soon as he entered the arena, and as he saw you in trouble, he felt an unfamiliar anger bubble in his chest. “I’ll kill you next week then, (Y/n),” Sherman removed his sword from Nico’s, “Just to make you see how pathetic you truly are,” he laughed as he walked away. Nico wanted to hit the son of Ares; however, he knew what Sherman’s strength was from watching the training and he did not want to try his chances. When you finally looked away from Sherman, you noticed Nico holding out his hand. Grateful for the help, you grabbed it and stood up, quickly letting go again. Nico looked at his hand, secretly missing your touch, before he looked you over. He glared at the blood on your arm, a need to protect you flashing in his heart.

“You should get that checked out,” he gestured to your wound, which you had forgotten about momentarily. “Uh, yeah, thanks- for the help I mean,” you smiled weakly at Nico, who seemed like he wanted to say something. You looked at him expectantly, and he just shook his head. “If you need help, just ask me. I’ll be there.” He quickly muttered, as he briskly walked away. You looked at his disappearing form, as you were reminded about the early days of your relationship. He was the reason you got to camp, and you always wished you could have helped him more, or at least properly befriended him after the first great war. These thoughts kept playing in your mind, as the stinging in your arm beckoned you to make your way to the infirmary.

───────────

As Will patched you up, you explained what had happened.

“I just don’t know why Sherman is targeting me right now?” you complained. Will looked up, before he sighed. “He just targets who he wants, (Y/n).” Will checked your wounds once more, to make sure it would heal well before he handed you some ambrosia. You quickly ate the medicine, and your arm was as good as new.

“How am I going to survive?” Will smiled at your dramatics.

“I am sure you will be fine,” he stated but you looked at him worried. “He only picks me during sword practice, Will,” you sighed, “I suck at sword fighting, and getting my ass beat every time is not teaching me anything except how to apply first aid to my wounds.” Will laughed, when suddenly his eyes lit up with an idea.

“Why don’t you ask Nico to train you? He is pretty good with his sword.” Unbeknownst to you, Nico had confided in Will how he didn’t know how to approach you. Will found it endearing how his boyfriend seemed to become shy whenever you were involved. “You think he would want to?” You asked Will, not wanting to bother Nico too much with your request. Will nodded eagerly. “He cares about you, a lot,” Will got a thoughtful look on his face, “I am fairly sure that he considers you his first friend from camp, he just doesn’t know how to be … friendly.” As Will said this he grimaced a little, “So you need to be a little patient and most importantly, don’t give him the chance to push you away.”

You nodded in understanding.

───────────

Will insisted on accompanying you to Nico. Something about beating his boyfriend up if he tried to deny your request. But that seemed unnecessary because right after Nico and Will greeted each other with a kiss, Nico turned to you.

“Could I teach you how to sword fight?” Nico’s posture seemed rigid, and he squeezed Will’s hand for reassurance. Will looked at his boyfriend endearingly and surprised as he squeezed back, “It’s so you don’t have to rely on Sherman for practice and perhaps you can even beat him next time.” Nico quickly clarified while you were too stunned to speak. After a beat you finally got out of your stupor.

“Please!” You grinned nervously, “That is why I am here actually, if you’re willing, please teach me,” Nico blinked slowly before he seemed to relax a bit. He turned to Will.

“Are they alright to train now?” Nico asked his boyfriend, who gasped. “Are you doubting my doctor skills?” Will put a hand on his heart and Nico rolled his eyes. You looked at the interaction, as you felt your heartbeat strongly. As Will mumbled ‘of course’ to Nico before pressing a kiss on his cheek a sudden surge of longing took over your body. You quickly averted your eyes, cursing yourself for wanting a love life so bad that seeing this private moment made you feel this way. Well, that is if Nico even considered you a friend.

After Will went back to his shift at the infirmary, Nico carefully told you to grab a sword and charge at him. But before you could even move, he told you to stop.

“You need to fix your stance first,” Nico started posing more elaborately to show you how to pose, but after you uncertainly tried to copy his form, he sighed. Slowly, he walked up to you as he put his sword back in its sheath. His hands moved towards you, but he paused suddenly.

“Is it alright if I touch you?” Nico asked, looking you in the eye. You couldn’t make out what he was thinking, his face as stoic as ever. “Yes,” you nodded quickly, “Otherwise I might never learn, right?”

Nico moved carefully forward; his touch almost ghostlike in correcting you. If Nico was surer of himself, he would have grabbed your arm, but he didn’t know whether you would move away from his touch. He did not want to make you uncomfortable, for Nico knew that his touch often was rumoured to bring death. Nico did not know that you wouldn’t have minded his touch.

From here on, Nico continued to guide you through certain moves, often stopping mid swing to carefully tell you how to parry. He pointed out some weak points and promised to work on them with you. He was careful, and after a bit you moved on to some more free sparring together.

“That was good!” Nico complimented you as you sighed. “Good? But you won!” you breathed heavily, your arms sore from the sparring, but unhurt in any other way. “Sure, but you did manage to parry both hits without limiting your mobility.” It might have been your tiredness, but Nico seemed proud, “And your footwork is way better than it was when we started. You’re doing great, (Y/n).” Nico’s compliments made you feel warm inside, and you simply smiled.

“It’s all because of you, you know.” You straightened up, “Maybe we can take a break? My arms are mush.” Nico agreed quickly, still feeling elated from spending time with you. Nico didn’t know why, but simply sparring with you somehow gave him energy. You both walked to the side of the arena and sat down. After a few minutes of silence, Nico spoke up.

“Look, if you want to beat Sherman next week you should try to sweep his leg.” Nico took a sip of water. “That’s not a thing in sword fighting, is it?” You asked and Nico shrugged. “All is fair in a fight, and although Shermans foot work is good, it might be the only thing that is penetrable without too much extra training.”

The dinner bell rang loudly, and only now did you notice you spend almost the entire afternoon together with Nico.

“Ah! I guess this is it for today uh,” You looked at the boy sitting next to you, “Can we train more tomorrow? Perhaps in the morning so Sherman won’t be there?”

Nico nodded in response, before he stood up.

“We could just train together every morning?” he extended his hand out to you, which you grabbed, “It never hurt any demigod to be prepared for a fight after all.” Nico smiled.

───────────

That evening at the campfire Will noticed that his boyfriend seemed more fidgety than normal.

“How did the training go?” Will asked and Nico tensed up. Will carefully looked at his boyfriend, wondering what happened between you and Nico for him to feel so on edge.

“I have something to confess,” Nico started, and Will squeezed his hand. Nico hesitated, feeling guilt in his stomach. He should have thought this through, or first talked it over with Will or-

“What? Did you catch feelings for (Y/n) already?” Will asked teasingly, “Because if so, we can figure something out. They are cool.” Will looked back at his boyfriend, but as he saw Nico blankly stare at him, clearly panicked, Will apologized.

“I’m sorry, this was not the time for jokes. All in your own time, my sun,” Will smiled patiently and Nico’s heart stuttered. Nico wasn’t sure whether it was his brain catching up to what Will was insinuating, or the love he held for his boyfriend, but a warmth overtook his body. “I invited (Y/n) to train every morning but it would mean less opportunity to spend time together for us.” Nico said, looking to the side.

“And?” Will grinned, “You are spending time with a friend, I am proud of you Nico.” Nico at that moment let his guards down and smiled lovingly at his boyfriend. “You are? But what about our time together-” Will pulled Nico into a hug, entangling his fingers in his boyfriend’s hair.

“I always am proud of you,” Will whispered, “And I love you, and if push comes to shove, we can figure something out. But I don’t mind you spending time with (Y/n), I am glad you finally got the chance to.” And, unadmitted, Will could feel his happiness soar at the thought of Nico and you together, or even spending time with the three of you together. Will recognized that perhaps it wasn’t just Nico making friends that made his heart swell, perhaps it was you specifically that made him feel this way. And maybe, the blush that took over Nico’s face after Will’s remark about you meant that he agreed. But that could wait for later, for now he was holding his boyfriend close, and loving him for all that his is.

───────────

A week passed too quickly for your liking. Although you had practiced a lot with Nico, all your confidence disappeared as soon as Sherman glared at you. You had hoped he would wait at least until the scheduled sword practice, but he seemed eager to beat you up.

“You really thought that practicing with death boy could help you?” Sherman glared at Nico, “After this you’ll see you have much more to learn from me than him (Y/n).”

You see, Sherman Yang might come over as solely a bully, but he did not mean it that way. He had noticed that you seemed okay with a sword but could use a better training regimen than hacking at a dummy during practice. Besides this, you also never seemed excited to train sword fighting. So, who better to train and inspire you than him? However, Sherman had not realized that perhaps charging at you heads on was not a way for you to learn how to fight properly, even if it resulted in you actively practicing with the son of Hades in the past week.

Yes, Sherman had kept an eye out on your progress and now was time to test it.

Anyways, Nico tried to ignore Shermans comment as he stood to the side of the fight, ready to intervene if necessary. However, you seemed to hold your own well against the Ares camper. Instead of only dodging and parrying Sherman’s attacks, you managed to almost hit him once or twice before you quickly put your leg behind his and made him tumble to the ground. Seizing the opportunity, you jumped on top of him and put your sword against his neck.

“That was not a sword fighting move, (Y/n).” Sherman spat as he glared at you. “But I won.” You breathed heavily and Sherman pushed you off him, using his body force to keep you down for a few seconds before standing up and brushing off the dirt from his clothes. “This time you can have the victory.” Sherman grinned, an anger glint in his eyes, “But you are not cleared from fighting me.” Sherman grabbed his sword from the ground and walked away.

You sat up, looking for Nico. However, he seemed to have disappeared.

───────────

Nico didn’t know why, but he felt disappointed that you won. He realized as soon as the fight was over that he couldn’t congratulate you without ruining your day. Nico had realized that he only promised to train you until you won from Sherman, and yet he wished he hadn’t just promised that. What if this was it? What if you won’t seek him out afterwards? Nico had not yet realized how much he longed to spend more time with you.

Nico had not realized how attached he could get to your presence.

As soon as Will saw his boyfriend enter the infirmary, he felt slightly panicked. Nico didn’t like coming here, something about the possibility of bringing death into the place, and yet here he was seemingly uninjured.

“Are you alright?” Will kept Nico at a distance as he scanned his body for any invisible injuries, but besides Nico’s slightly paler than normal face nothing seemed wrong. “Is (Y/n) alright? How did the fight go?” Nico looked up with panic and pain in his eyes. Will quickly let go to grab a first aid kit, his adrenaline building as he thought about possible injuries you could have but stopped when Nico grabbed his arm.

“They won,” Nico’s voice sounded small, “And I am upset about it.” Will turned around to face his boyfriend, concern in his eyes. “Can I hug you?” Will carefully asked and Nico nodded. As Will softly engulfed his boyfriend in his arms, “Why do you think you’re upset?” Will felt Nico let out a sigh as Nico put his arms around him.

“I wanted to spend more time with them,” Nico’s voice cracked a little, “But now that they beat Sherman I can’t.” “You know that that’s not true.” Will tightened his hold on his boyfriend, “You can keep training together, or just hang out.”

“But what if (Y/n) doesn’t want to?” Nico’s voice was quiet. “I think they do want to, I bet they will show up for your training tomorrow as they did in the last week even.”

Nico broke away a little from the hug, seeing a soft smile on Will’s face. “And what if they don’t?” Nico asked. “Then you need to ask them,” Will cupped Nico’s cheek, “Or I can help. It’ll work out, I promise.” Nico breathed out deeply and kissed Will slowly, hoping to convey his gratefulness.

───────────

The very next day you were unsure whether Nico would be waiting for your practice session. After all, he had only promised to help you beat Sherman and technically you have done that now. Plus, you still had no idea where he went yesterday after you won your fight. However, as you were making your way into the arena you saw Nico leaning against the wall, looking slightly anxious.

“You’re here.” Nico’s shoulders relaxed as he saw you approach, “I thought that maybe you wouldn’t want to practice together anymore.” “I thought you wouldn’t want to teach me,” you looked sideways, “After all you only promised to help be fight Sherman,” Nico shook his head as he felt his heart stutter. Were you just here to thank him and leave? “But I have to admit,” you continued, “You are a great teacher and I could use some sword skills and-“ you hesitated, “Perhaps we can spend some time doing other things, if we are friends and you’re comfortable and” Nico realized he found it cute when you were nervous for him.

“I would love to spend more time with you and,” the tips of Nico’s lips turned up, “we are friends,” although the skeletal butterflies in Nico’s stomach wanted him to recognize that perhaps he wanted more. But that he would have to discuss with his boyfriend first.

362 notes · View notes

ilovebuckers5 · 5 months

Text

*:ꔫ:*you are in love *:ꔫ:*

paring : alora x cj

@cjrights & @iminlovewithpaigebueckers

warnings :

none!

theme :

-fluff

-first date

a/n - it's finally done 😓😓😓. i put my whole pussy into this so please love it (i didn't spell check so...)

only a couple days ago did cj and alora decide on when their first date would be. and now that day had come. alora was almost done picking out an outfit and getting ready to wait by her door for cj to pick her up. cj had spent the entire day planning out what they would do and it was killing her not telling alora her surprise.

cj had finally chose out the perfect assortment of pink roses and babies breath with other miscellaneous plants and wrapped them together with a thin piece of tissue paper. she tied a small piece of ribbon around the very bottom and gently set the bouquet in the passenger seat. by now, alora was applying and layer on lip balm and spraying a couple squirts of a floral scented perfume before sitting down on her couch and scrolling on instagram to pass time.

finally, there were three clear knocks on the door. as much as alora wanted to leap up to the door, she took a deep breath and took a couple steps towards her front door. when she opened it, she saw a very nervous cj standing in front of her with flowers in hand. her other hand was out in the open, waiting to be taken in by aloras hand.

"hi." cj spoke first in a soft tone.

"hey." alora replied.

although the two were absolutely freaking out inside, they both tried their best to hide it from eachother. cj glanced behind herself to see her car still parked, waiting for the girls.

"um, you ready to go?" cj said,trying her best to keep a calmer expression on.

"mhm!"

alora finally took hold of cj's hand as she was led outside and down a couple of steps to cj's car. of course cj felt the need to open the door for alora so she let her sit down in the passenger seat before handing her the bouquet of flowers.

cj wanted the night to be perfect and quiet for the two. not awkwardly quiet but the type of quiet where they'll only be able to focus on eachother. nothing else that could take away either of their attention. so cj drove to a lake. a small one. that's why it was so private. it's also why cj asked alora to bring a swim suit.

the car was filled with silence until alora spoke up.

"do you like taylor swift?"

"yes of course!" cj wanted to look alora in the eyes when she said this but of course she couldn't.

aloras eyes then searched around the car for an aux chord while her hand was slowly pulling out her phone. once she found the chord she held it up to cj's eye level.

"can i?"

cj nodded and alora connected the chord to her phone and began to play a song cj wasn't quite familiar with. You Are In Love. from 1989. cj pretended to know what song it was while alora hummed along to the lyrics.

the car ride was only around 15 minutes so it was mainly filled with even more songs from 1989.

once the girls had reached the lake, alora felt a bit nervous and so did cj. the very outside of the lake looked sketchy like a place you'd be taken to to get drugged. but when they walked through a couple of trees, to their surprise,they were met with a firefly lit picnic area. there was a small trail that led to the actual lake which looked cleaner than anticipated.

aloras jaw was practically on the floor.

"this is so pretty! how did you find this place."

for the first time since cj picked alora up, their eyes met and it felt electric.

"i don't know i just remember driving around town and finding it a couple weeks ago." cj shrugged her shoulders and smiled sweetly at alora.

cj had a blanket under her arms that she was now laying out in the floor.

"could you grab the other end?" cj asked alora, who was still looking around the trees and lake.

alora took the two end corners on the blanket and helped lay it out on the floor. their eyes were never not locked.

alora took a seat on one side of the blankets with her hands behind her for support. her sundress was perfectly sprawled out at her legs. she slowly kicked off her shoes and let her feet settle in a patch of grass.

it wasn't completely dark but it wasn't day time either. that what cj had planned. to get there as the sun was setting.

"okay let me just grab a couple more things. wait here."

cj held her hands out in aloras direction, motioning for her to stay in place.

cj rushed to her car and opened the trunk to gather a wooden woven basket and a speaker. she locked the car doors and took one last deep breath before walking back to the blanket where alora still was. she didn't even have her phone out she just looked into the water.

cj set up the speaker right in the middle of the blanket and started playing some songs from folklore. she then got out a couple snacks and set them out neatly right in front of alora.

"you really had this planned out for us?"

alora broke the, still calm, silence.

"i- yes. i wanted it to be special." cj whispered.

alora couldn't help but smile. her face began to go red the more she looked at cj.

"i really love it."

cj could feel her heart beating faster and faster along with her palms getting sweaty.

"i'm glad."

once the entire scene was set, cj sat down gently and let her hand creep towards aloras.

"so...."

cj began to avoid eye contact.

"so...?" alora replied, tilting her head.

both of the girls kept silent until it wasn't bearable and they bursted out laughing.

"alright ill just be straight up. has anyone ever done this for a first date for you?"

alora looked around to get another look at just what cj had done for her.

"nope. not even close."

the girls laughed again. hands still grazing each others skin.

a lot of time passed without the girls even noticing. all the snacks were gone and it was pitch black outside, only revealing double the amount of fireflies. the light from the bugs lit up each and every light strand of aloras hair, almost hypnotizing cj.

cj had just noticed herself getting lost in alora's features. her entire existence seemed like a blessing and she didn't exactly know how to express that to aloras face. then a small chunk of hair fell down the side of aloras face and cj could help herself from pushing it back behind aloras ear.

just as aloras blush was fading, it came back.

"you're gorgeous."

everything after those words was a blur.

alora took her time leaning into cj's lips. letting her nose fit like a puzzle piece with cj's. aloras hands crept up cj's hips and just as the kiss was getting more heated, alora accidentally knocked over a cup. there was only a bit of lemonade at the bottom but it tipped over and spilt onto the blanket.

"oh shit i'm so sorry!"

all cj could do was laugh while alora struggled to soak up the drink. soon enough alora gave up and began to laugh along with cj.

"thank you." alora whispered.

they locked eyes again.

"for the kiss or the complimen-"

"both."

and suddenly there was a silence between the two. the distance between their faces was eager to close.

"we should see if the water is good to swim in..." cj suggested

alora had her swim suit under her dress so that she wouldn't have to change in the trees or anything. cj did the same with her swim suit under her shorts and t shirt.

once the girls got their top layers of clothing off, they took no time to begin floating in the water. the water looked shallow, yet cj was almost submerged by it.

some more time was passed and filled with cj and alora splashing eachother,pulling eachother by the feet as if they were children again. they brought out the best of eachother and nothing less.

the girls were simply floating freely at the surface of the water when alora broke the silence.

"this is amazing. this whole night has been amazing. thank you."

cj looked to the side to see alora doing nothing but looking into her eyes.

"you're welcome" her smile was soft and comforting. a warm smile that's for sure.

slowly but surely, the distance between the two girls was broken and their own skin was touching. hand to hand. shoulder to shoulder. legs intertwined.

this time cj initiated a kiss between the two. she ran her fingers thought aloras now soaking wet hair. alora began to wrap her legs around cj's hips, deepening their embrace.

this wasn't a steamy kiss. or a sexual one. it made both of the girls minds go blank so that they were the only thoughts in each others heads.

the speaker that was once playing folklore and evermore songs now had the same song from the car playing. You Are In Love.

and they are.

#Spotify #cj and alora #cj and alora lore #the wives #alora my pooks #see jay #enjoy #you are in love

14 notes · View notes

n3xii · 1 year

Text

Using tarot with loa

Ive been making post describing how i would intpret cards using loa terminology or concepts but i havent made a post explaining how tarot interacts with loa. If any other blogger has made a post on this i apologize if its repetive.

I also want to say that it doesnt matter what you want to call the phenomenon that is loa. To me, it reflects beleifs that have been held for centuries about god, conciousness and reality , but today many people learn about this phenomenon through the terminology of law of assumption so i don't mind calling it that either.

What is tarot

Tarot is a pack of 78 cards designed for divination. the classic rider deck was made by Author Edward Waite and illustrated by Pamela Cole Smith in the early 20th century, most decks created today are based off this deck. in the creation of the deck, Pamela was inspired by esoteric and pyschic visions as well as things in her real life. Waite also incorporated many concepts from religion and esoterisim into the cards, many cards have references to the kabbalah, astrology, manifestion, spell work, color symbolisim, numerology etc. The cards aren't random, meaningless pictures as some people have asserted, anyone who says that is usually to lazy to learn it so they project their lack of knowledge onto the cards.

☆★☆ Even though tarot has a system of meanings and symbolism attached to the cards, this system is very flexible and you can apply any lense onto the cards. Let's say you were a Christian using tarot; maybe you would interpret judgement to be about repentance, seeking forgiveness and holding yourself accountable. Maybe you would interpret ace of cups as holiness, purity, miracles. Tarot conforms to whatever lense you apply to the cards.

Tarot very easily conforms to the lense of loa because it already explores concepts of conciousness, states of mind, manifestion, reality. It's just a matter of applying what you know to the cards. As I've said in my tarot series, 4 of cups can represent someone not placing emphasis on undesirable things in your reality, and shifting your focus intenrally. The heirophant can represent guides, teachers, coaches, stubborn beliefs, the 9 of cups represents living in the wish fullfilled. Etc.

These interpretations don't stray from the orginal tarot meanings but give them more depth. applying the lense in which resonates with what you believe the most to tarot cards helps you understand what they mean to you personally.

Let's also address the question of whether or not tarot can predict your future.

Yes and no. It can predict what will happen, but not always. The future is not defined by tarot, the future is created by what you do in the present. Sometimes tarot will warn you or pass on information about what will happen if you continue in the state you're in. For example, I once kept getting cards warning me that I was going to have money stolen from me from a female figure who was a pisces. A few weeks later, my mother (who is a pisces) stole 50 dollars from me, I found out because I pulled the 7 of swords AGAIN and when I checked my purse my money was gone, my mom had spent it. If I listened to the warning and understood what it was saying weeks prior, i could have hidden my money and changed my reality. Soo here's my offical answer:

Tarot spontaneously gives glimpses into the future based on what you are doing now.

But for the most part, you can use tarot to reflect subconcious beliefs, what state you're in, what message you need to hear, etc it's best used as a tool to reflect your intenral world back to you because remmeber, the best way to predict the future is to create it

Using tarot to help you in the present is how most readers employ tarot cards anyways, but getting stuck in the cycle of trying to figure out what will happen to you is how people get stuck.

81 notes · View notes

yacinthemorning · 8 months

Text

Birdsongs

Chapter 4

[first] [prev] [next]

Summary: The Life Pilgrimage is the biggest music festival of the century, set to take place all across the continent. Small-time rock band, GIST, and the up-and-coming alternative band, Empire, are both lucky to be among the hundreds set to make appearances, but there's just one problem. Neither can afford the travel expenses on their own. For better or worse, they're stuck with each other for the next five weeks as they try to make their dreams come true.

And, perhaps, among the chaos and music, two unsuspecting souls find one another...

Ships: Jimmy/Tango (slow burn romantic), Joel/Lizzie (romantic), Jimmy & Scott (platonic)

Warnings: Alcohol, drugs, anxiety attack, public performance, singing

As it turned out, Jimmy and Tango were, in fact, especially bad at putting up a tent.

“Have you never set one up?” Tango asked in a huff while his companion detangled him from the collapsed structure.

Jimmy managed to finally yank it over his head, coming face to face with Tango as he shook his head. “No, the two times I ever went camping Scott set it up for me. Have you never…?”

“I’mma be honest with you, Jimbo.” He was interrupted by a grunt as he pushed himself up onto his feet. “The closest to camping I’ve ever done is when I lived outa my car for two weeks in college, and a couple tailgate parties.”

“You were homeless?” Jimmy seemed genuinely distressed, as if it weren’t over a decade ago.

To that, though, Tango had to cringe as the memory came back to him. He wavered his hand. “Well, kinda? Me and our old bandmate sorta got kicked out of the dorms until they could fix the damage we caused. Honestly, kinda amazed they let us back in.”

“What? What did you do?”

“I’ll spare you the details and leave it at the fact that homemade rocket fuel is illegal for a reason.”

Jimmy choked, then sputtered. “What!” It wasn’t the first time Tango got that specific face from that story, and was the main reason he avoided recounting it. A face usually followed by- “I thought you were going to say you punched the drywall or something!” Yep. Right as expected.

“Yeah, well, that would be a normal and boring reason to get kicked out. And me and Zed? Couldn’t let that happen. That’s college for ya.”

“I can’t say that was my college experience…”

“That’s probably because you didn’t know enough engineering majors!” Tango swung his arm out with one of the poles, “I knew a group o’ guys whose final project was smithing a historically accurate bronze age sword from scratch. Most of the project was spent tryna spell manganese for their paper, sword was the easy part.”

There was a pause where Jimmy seemed to consider the statement before he sighed in amusement and laid out the tent. “C’mon, Rocketman, Sixth time’s the charm.”

The two absentmindedly worked, mostly just trying to find which end went where. It figures Skizz would pack some old military surplus tent from the Napoleonic Wars he found in the back of his attic instead of just buying a nice easy setup tent from Big Box or something. Tango held the tarp steady while Jimmy triple checked the poles were slotted in place, backing away like it was a wild animal. At this rate, with how much attitude it was giving them, it might as well be.

“So, you went to college?” Tango asked as he tied the tarp down to a joint.

Jimmy ducked past him to pick up another pole. “Is that surprising?” His tone turned defensive, and Tango could imagine his hackles rising.

“No! No… Well, kinda?” He quickly yanked the tarp back just as Jimmy set the pole into the ground. “With the band stuff.”

“Gosh, imagine making a living wage off being in a band!”

“Fair, fair.” Tango conceded, “So what was it for?”

“Well…” Jimmy’s voice wavered, mulling over something. “I was hoping to be a teacher, but it didn’t really pan out. Probably for the best, I hear the pay isn’t very good.”

Tango listened as he gathered his thoughts, batting around the last pole in the general direction of the rambling man. It tapped the back of his hand and instantly was gripped tight enough to yank out of Tango’s hand while Jimmy continued, absently waving it. “It really sucked, actually. The classes were super difficult, I had to retake them a bunch. And that was if I got the class, which I didn’t several times. Scott and Lizzie wanted to go full-time when we were putting our first real album together and I got outa there pretty quick.”

“At least you got the experience?” Was the only lame sentiment that came to Tango.

Jimmy shrugged, unbothered and with a bit of a smile on his face. “Just wasn’t meant to be, but it was a nice experience. I just hop around now, and Lizzie barely asks for rent so I don’t need much.” He dismissed, spoken like a true upper-middle class kid. All Tango could think was how much money it must have been repeating classes.

“I mean that’s probably for the best.” He said instead. “Pretty sure Impy and Skizz are dipping into their sick days for this trip.”

“Oh, goodness me.”

Something about the way Jimmy said those words made Tango bowl over laughing. Despite being younger than Tango, he sounded like an elderly man who just heard something scandalous over the phone. Was it the accent? It probably was. Jimmy shuffled a bit, seemingly unsure if he should laugh along or be offended. He instead focused on the tent, driving the last pole through the loop and into the ground. Both men backed up cautiously, watching and waiting for the tent to suddenly collapse in on itself or maybe spontaneously combust.

It did neither. Though it scooched about in the breeze a bit from not being spiked down, it was built about as proper as could be told. They looked at each other with pure relief which melted into excitement. “I’ll get the mattress!” Tango sprinted off, catching Jimmy picking up his guitar and crawling inside. It suddenly hit him, how cozy it was going to be with the three of them in there. Oh well, at least he got his cuddle buddy. More important than that, getting to sleep outside instead of on that awful table.

It wasn’t until several hours later, after dinner had long since served, with the air already smoky with whatever Skizz and Fwhip were smoking around back, and the two laid staring at the roof of the tent shoulder to shoulder, that they spoke again. Tango honestly thought Jimmy had already fallen asleep. Then he shifted, shoulder rolling into Tango’s to catch his attention.

“Once we’re done tomorrow, can I come watch you guys?”

Tango blinked, “You can watch whatever shows you want.”

“R-right.” Jimmy shifted away.

God, he knew exactly what to say, didn’t he? Tango stuttered for a moment. “I wanna watch you guys too, then.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Too late. I’m gonna.”

Jimmy laughed, then winced as his knee banged into his guitar case. He was a long fellow, unable to sleep in the tent without either bending or sticking his feet out the front. Despite that he took up such a small space, even with his guitar. It wouldn’t do, Tango decided. He shuffled over until there was enough of a gap between them to catch Jimmy’s attention, and patted the space. “C’mon, don’t be a stranger.”

“Oh, it’s fine-”

“Nope, get over here.”

“I have plenty of room!”

“You look like a sardine. C’mon, I’m not a big guy, you take the space.”

Jimmy’s eyes darted from him to the gap between them. With the space now open, however, cold air flooded from outside, sending a shiver through both. It quickly became reoccupied by the guitarist. A bit too quickly, as he overshot the gap and pressed himself right up against Tango. How accidental it was seemed up in the air, but either way he made no move to… well, move. “I can’t wait to get to somewhere warmer.” He muttered, pulling his sleeping bag up to his chin.

“I’m afraid it’s probably not gonna be much warmer at night anywhere.” Tango laughed. He settled into the new warmth, still too awake. Why didn’t he try fixing his sleep schedule before they left?

Jimmy was quiet for another moment, then whispered. “If I get tangled in the cords trying to do some stupid dance move I wasn’t supposed to and fall off the stage, you can’t laugh at me, okay?”

Tango snorted in an attempt not to laugh too loud, sending a gust across Jimmy’s bangs. “That’s specific. I’ll be in the front row, so if you go down so’m’I.”

“Nooo…” Jimmy groaned.

“Don’t worry, I’ll try catching you. I think you’d crush me before I do, though.”

“We aren’t a mosh pit type of band, Tango, you shouldn’t be getting crushed.”

“Well you can return the favour at our show, ‘cause I will stage dive and I will aim for you.”

“I change my mind.”

This time Tango couldn’t stop the laugh, which Jimmy joined in on. “Get some sleep, partner, we got songs to mess up and stages to fall off.”

“Jimmy move back, you’re too close to the edge of the stage.”

The cords at their feet were a pit of vipers snapping at his ankles as he tried to move back as his sister asked. His guitar weighed thrice as much that day, threatening to tear his shoulder out of its socket in its ongoing mission to shatter at his feet. The notes of their first song had danced right out of his mind, then the page Scott shoved in front of him. They floated above him, indecipherable from the shadows of the rafters. Joel tried to console him, but it amounted to claiming ignorance to his failure that was not nearly as comforting at Joel seemed to believe.

Everyone scurried around him while he tried his best to keep out of their way. His finger tapped anxiously against the remnant scraps of the poppy sticker, situated at the topmost corner where his hand naturally rested. A panic button. Jimmy wasn’t sure if it made a particular sound or if the tapping itself was so obvious. Either way, like clockwork ten seconds into the action, there was a hand on his shoulder. Scott’s bow dug into his neck as he rubbed comforting circles. They were just as much for Jimmy as they were for Scott, even if he would never show it. It all felt a little too anxious to call a good luck routine, but a routine it was, all the same.

“This is crowd’s small compared to what we’ll be seeing at other venues.” Scott rambled, making Jimmy all too aware there was no curtain to hide behind on the open-air stage. “Think of it as a warm up, a taste of what to expect for the rest of the pilgrimage.”

“Yeah.” He said, curt.

“We’re starting with pescatarian. The easiest guitar, ‘kay?”

If Jimmy weren’t terrified out of his mind he’d roll his eyes at Scott’s use of the song title from their disc jacket, rather than the one they’d all used long before Jimmy officially joined them. “’Kay.”

“Just follow my lead and we’ll be fine.” Scott tried to assure. It was, if only slightly.

Their conversation was interrupted by the crack of fireworks and whirl of blades. Everyone looked up into the sky, right to where a neon pink helicopter hovered. Jimmy could pinpoint from where in the crowds the uproar rippled out from. The few large projectors dotted beside each stage zoomed in. Out stepped Arianna Griande, her feathered coat going wild from the winds around it. Just behind her was her two favourite backup dancers. She waved to the crowd, and then she jumped.

There was a chorus of gasps and screams. Jimmy felt his own heart jump into his throat, despite knowing what was most certain to follow. As she plunged towards the ground the wings on her back burst open, becoming a parachute just as glitter canons went off below her. The crowd cheered louder than ever as her feet hit the main stage, the camera not bothering to follow her back up dancers as they, too, leapt after her.

She bowed, then threw her hands up, “Welcome, Pilgrims, to the first stage of our lives!”

Jimmy thought his eardrums might burst from the crowds cheers alone. Griande’s grin was impossibly wide, dancing across the stage as if touching the ground was passé. “And what a stage it is, is it not? Open, borderless, the sky’s the limit. Everyone take your first breath into this world!”

Despite the cheesiness, Jimmy found himself taking a deep breath along with several in the crowd.

She, too, took a breath, hand over her chest. “This was where I saw my first concert, the place where I was reborn into who I am today. I’m sure every one of us has that place. Can you see it in your mind? Let us take your spirit there as you let in the very first notes of our pilgrimage this weekend. Today, right now, every one of us is reborn!” Her hands went up, unable to contain her own excitement, and the crowds fed from her. No music had begun to play and they were already jumping about like popcorn.

The distant vibrations of the main stage thrummed through their blood. “It’s almost our time.” Joel announced from his seat. Scott released Jimmy’s shoulder to get in position. Their crowd was beginning to get riled up, hundreds of eyes watching them expectantly and cheering as Lizzie stepped forward to introduce them. Jimmy thought he might throw up.

A small commotion was happening in the horde just left of Jimmy. Fiery blond hair pushed past two folks, slamming into the railing just in front of the stage hard enough to nearly knock his red tinted glasses straight off. Tango struggled to recover, grimacing as he righted himself. His eyes met Jimmy’s and it turned into a beaming grin, hands outstretched in a catching motion. His fingers curled in. once, twice, thrice. Amusement bubbled up in Jimmy’s throat.

Behind him, Joel was snickering. Lizzie’s hands dropped to her keyboard and Scott had placed his fiddle to his shoulder. It was time to play. Tango settled down against the railing, cool as a cucumber as he tapped along to Joel setting the pace.

In all their years of playing, the first note had never come so easy Jimmy. He thinks it might not have even been the right one, with the side eye Scott sent him, but if it wasn’t it left his mind by the second note.

Lizzie and Scott were always in their own distant world when playing, and maybe for the first time Jimmy was there also. Every time he felt himself become too aware once more, felt the vipers tense against his sneakers, he glanced back over to Tango. The way his nail tapped against the metal rail, how his eyes never met Jimmy’s but seemed laser focused on his guitar, mouthing notes a quarter second after they played. If Jimmy tripped and fell he wasn’t sure Tango wouldn’t also collapse to the ground, despite his claims to catch Jimmy the night before.

The song slowed to its conclusion, the crowd already cheering and Jimmy already wondering how he could thank Tango for something that was all in Jimmy’s head. Scott seemed pleased, taking the mic from Lizzie to speak to the crowds and introduce their next song.

They slipped into some sort of groove, Jimmy nearly forgetting Tango was there as he watched his bandmates carefully. Scott led them again, then Lizzie in the third. It was a song she’d written a few years ago. To an onlooker maybe it sounded deep, profound even, about an endless, unreachable longing. Only her bandmates had to hold back their laughter, knowing full well it was about her breaking her VHS of The Little Mermaid.

It was the charm of her poetry, though. Jimmy wished he could see the world as overwhelmingly vibrant as her. He almost could, when he played her songs. Lights seemed brighter, grass greener, feedback from the speakers too loud, every note reverberating through his bones. At the same time, it was hard to remember where he even stood or where the sounds came from. How could he separate the faces in the crowd in front of him when he could feel every microscopic fault along his guitar strings? It was the sort of combination of hyper awareness and total obliviousness Lizzie always existed in. It decided what notes she chose and how she played them.

It was about something silly and replaceable, as had been done the day after she shared the song with them. But why shouldn’t she have been so distraught that she wrote an entire song before she remembered she could get a new copy? It broke because it was the thousandth time she’d shoved it a little too hard into the player after a terrible day.

It was the same as when they were teenagers, the first time he played something they’d created instead of out of a book. He’d never felt he understood his sister as well as he did then, while playing a song she wrote. Scott may have been the reason he started playing, but Lizzie had been what kept him playing back then, if only to play her songs.

If only in hopes it wouldn’t be such a one-way street someday.

I’ve gone and upset myself again. He huffed while Lizzie faded out the song. Escaping from Lizzie’s trance, his eyes settled back into the crowd. Whatever internal collapse just happened had thankfully not shown, as they went wild. No one cheered quite as loud as Tango, though it may just be due to familiarity that his voice stood out. Jimmy chest puffed up with pride. Why was he psyching himself out even when things were going well? He could worry about existential things in the privacy of the tent. Jimmy took a deep breath and waited eagerly for the next song to begin.

The last two went by in a blur. He knows Lizzie and Scott finished off with their duet, a showtune with no show, overly flashy and fun. It stuck out like a sore thumb, but that was the point according to them. Some visions Jimmy would simply never get, but it was always a fun last song to play.

“Thank you so much, everyone! We’ll see you again in the valley!” Lizzie announced as the rest of them shuffled off the stage as swiftly as possible.

Fwhip was waiting for them, barely containing his excitement with thinnest veneer of professionalism. As soon as Jimmy was in range it shattered, and Jimmy was dragged through into a hug. “You guys did amazing!” He squealed.

“Of course we did!” Lizzie said, attempting casualness. It did little to cover up her smile and the shine in her eyes. Her makeup had begun to bleed under the hot lights of the stage, rubbing off on her towel. “Goodness, though, I need a nice bath, I was sweating buckets before we even started.”

“You can go take a shower first, we’ll take care of everything.” Scott promised, wiping away his own running makeup. Jimmy was glad he’d only let them smear a bit of glitter across his cheeks. It would have been in a puddle on the stage before their first song.

Lizzie threw her case over her shoulder, gave her husband a kiss and the other two hugs. Jimmy shuffled his guitar around to give her room but she pulled him down into a bear grip that knocked it right back off his shoulder. “You did great today, Jimmy.” She whispered. Then she was off. “Don’t go to the food trucks without me!”

On her way out she paused, speaking into the crowd before continuing. It was Tango, now joined by Gem and Pearl, waiting for them all to finish packing up. “Great show, guys!” Gem beamed. The two bands had seen little of each other once they began to get ready, Empire going first for their earlier show. Now, an hour out from GIST’s performance, Gem dressed much more in line with Tango and Skizz’s punkish appearance. Though her accents were still bright, they were much harsher, and she’d undone her pigtails. Her makeup and jewellery still needed to be put on, but even without them she’d completely transformed.

“Were you here?” Jimmy asked, then clammed up as he realized how it sounded. Gem didn’t seem to notice, however.

“Yeah, though Tango ran off without us!” She teased, punching the man in the shoulder. He yelped, then shrugged. “There were so many tall people, Pearl had to pick me up at one point.”

The group chattered all the way back to the trailer, where Skizz awaited with an open bag of kettle corn. The next hour was peaceful. The two bands switched back and forth between GIST putting on their costumes and Empire removing them. Scott packed it all away, only having one show scheduled for the venue. They were free for the rest of the weekend from the mortification of performing, and Jimmy couldn’t be happier.

Impulse popped out of the trailer last, somehow still rocking the ‘dad at a barbeque’ look despite the makeup and piercings and leather. He was the last puzzle piece, and as soon as Gem got her pictures, they were off for final setup.

“They’re quite energetic for their age.” Scott commented.

Pearl shrugged. “They aren’t that old... And I’m pretty sure skizz took something while Impulse was in the bathroom.”

“Gods, speaking of, I think I’m about ready to die from stress.” Scott slid onto his feet only to lean against the trailer and put a dramatic hand to his forehead.

After a good chuckle Pearl also stood, pointing past the trailer. “There’s a band called HHH next door. I know the drummer. They always got good stuff.”

“Great, let’s go.”

They walked off with barely a wave to Jimmy, arm in arm. He raised an eyebrow that would never be seen, then shook his head. If they were going to ditch him for some weed he wasn’t going to wait around. He slung his guitar over his shoulder and went on a slow exploration for GIST’s stage.

The number of bands was nearly overwhelming. A psychedelic band that left Jimmy feeling like a boat in a storm was followed by a single guy with a metal mask shredding solo on the fanciest guitar Jimmy had ever seen. It wasn’t clear if he was playing an actual song or just showing off.

The first act he actually recognized was In the Littlewood, a ska punk band whose tape had wound up in Empire’s collection with a box of others bought for five bucks from a friend of a friend. It saw much more play than the rest in no small part thanks to the strange, complicated cords the lead guitarist pulled off. Or rather, usually pulled off and happily fumbled his way through the rest of the time. The same song he’d heard hundreds of times before was nearly unrecognizable at parts for how the band rebuilt the tune on the fly. It was a blasé attitude Jimmy had neither the skill nor the confidence to pull off.

Some noise-heavy act was just wrapping up as Jimmy found the stage GIST was to play on next. They’d gathered near the edge, half-listening to the previous band and half-prepared to set up the second they stepped off stage.

Tango waved him over. “We saved you a spot.” He explained as he oriented the taller right at the front. “Gotta be able to find you easy when I stage dive.”

“Wait, you aren’t actually going to jump, are you?” Jimmy warbled, eyes wide.

“Guess you’ll have to find out!”

This was going to end poorly.

Soon they were up on stage. Even before their set had started they roused a friendly atmosphere with casual conversation, contrasting greatly their appearance. Tango’s hair had been properly gelled and temporarily dyed to be much more vibrant like flames. He’d switched to a tank top under his vest that properly showed off the half-sleeve tattoo of... Well, Jimmy wasn’t actually quite sure what it was. It almost look like a maze, leading up to an icy castle. The other arm sported a much simpler tattoo that simply said ‘ZITS’. Impulse and Skizz sported matching ones in the same place. Below it was a GIST tattoo, smaller and bit more creatively scrawled, for which Gem also sported. Considering how much of a baby she could be, it was a surprise she agreed to get it.

Or maybe it wasn’t so surprising. The redhead had always been bubbly and outgoing, but Jimmy had never seen her quite as giddy as she was now, wavering between nerves and excitement. She bounced between her bandmates, checking one last time that they were all ready, before she snatched up the mic.

“Hey! How’s it going everyone!” Gem screamed loud enough the mic seemed redundant. The crowd burst with excitement, Jimmy nearly getting pushed over the railing by their zeal. Gem was giggling with absolute glee, bouncing on her heels from the reception. It was a motion Jimmy couldn’t help mirror. “Oh my god I can’t believe we’re actually here! How is everyone feeling? Are we ready for the biggest trip of our lives!?”

Jimmy cupped his mouth and shouted, joining in the collective approval. They were whispers next to Skizz’s battle cry. “Okay, okay! So-” Gem cut herself off with a squeal, red faced and shaking her free hand of the excess energy keeping her on her toes. “Sorry, Oh my god. Ah! I’m Gem, and these geezers-”

“Hey!” Tango shouted.

“Sorry, these big babies are Impulse, Skizz, and Tango, and together we’re the GIST and we’re here to rock your socks off!”

“Well, what if I’m not wearing socks, huh, Gemstone?” Skizz asked, which she responded to by blowing a raspberry. Jimmy laughed along with the crowd while Gem tried to keep them on track. Her face was already flushed by the time she announced their first song, the name of which Jimmy never caught through the uproar around him.

Tango was the one to lead, swiping the first note before Gem had stopped talking. It was a long beginning of instrumentals, one Jimmy suspected wasn’t originally so long. Gem, however, had her eyes trained on her guitar, still reeling from the excitement. Once the poor girl could breathe she stepped forward and the rest of the band immediately switched gears so naturally Jimmy felt himself physically swept up alongside them, his feet stumbling.

It’d been a long time since he’d witnessed such energy in a live performance. Nothing complicated, nothing ground-breaking, except when the wild assault of colour felt like it really was breaking the ground beneath his feet. GIST were truly purely hard rock, unencumbered by propriety. The actual lyrics completely slipped in one ear and out the other until the chorus burst forth and Gem was singing too loudly, “... And if you come to your senses, I’ve got a rocket ready to take us back to space!”

The music dropped, Impulse taking up the mic under a muffled hand while Tango and Gem combined the sound. A count down, Jimmy realized. It was ridiculous how closely it came to sounding like the real thing. When Skizz joined in to create a noise not like but similarly overwhelming to a rocket launching it sunk in that he never was supposed to hear the lyrics. Tango looked positively giddy at whatever strange orchestral storytelling they smashed together with their otherwise basic spread of instruments. No one of their parts was impressive on its own, but they blended into a singular mass Jimmy found difficult to pinpoint the individual parts within, even while watching strings being plucked. By the time the song lulled to its end Jimmy’s own heart had joined the cacophony.

A few people in the crowd could sing along to their lyrics. Jimmy joined them in the chorus, tripping up when Gem switched up one of the lines and giggling his way through the rest when Tango noticed and turned his nose up in mock smugness. He’d have to ask Pearl to borrow one of their discs so he could learn the lyrics for next time.

The rest of the songs felt like walking through a kaleidoscope. Nothing Jimmy hadn’t heard before, one was even a cover of a country song he’d heard Impulse playing in the van. Their lyrics were nothing to write home about, downright corny at points. They didn’t need to be, not with grins as wide as theirs. It was overwhelming.

Gem nearly jumped off the stage as the last song came to a close, her wildly styled hair flying all over. Tango’s hair, too, had started to lose its structure but he looked like he’d only just warmed up. It bled into the crowd cheering them on, which bled back into GIST. If there weren’t already another band waiting Jimmy had no doubt they would have been happy to play every song they’ve ever written until they collapsed from exhaustion. Alas, someone off stage sent a signal to them, and Gem was forced to wrap it up. Jimmy was surprised to find he was just as disappointed as GIST it had come to an end.

“That was amazing!” Jimmy said, intercepting the band as they escaped.

Pearl pushed past him to replace each of their water bottles for refilled ones. Tango snatched his up and immediately pressed it against Jimmy’s face, laughing as he jumped away. “You’re nearly as red as we are.”

“Well, it was a good show!” He pouted, then swiftly put behind him. “Are you playing again this weekend?”

Impulse replied, “Nah, I don’t think so. I think only main stage bands get to play multiple times most places.”

“Which means we’re gonna probably head out early so we can get an extra day to make it to the next destination.” Pearl declared.

“Whu- but Horsehead Farms doesn’t play until Sunday night!” Tango whined.

“You’ll be able to catch them at the other venues. Besides, Gem needs to rest.”

Jimmy blinked at the singer, who looked sheepish while Impulse rubbed her back. “I’m totally fine.” Her voice cracked painfully leading to a coughing fit. A roll of halls appeared in front of her, waved until she begrudgingly snatched them up.

“Glitter Girl has a bad habit of going all out, start to finish.” Tango explained, which got him a silly face from his bandmate.

“Like you’re any better.”

“My instrument ain’t my amazing voice!”

“Either way, we can’t have your voice shot if we gotta play again in a few days.” Pearl ended the argument, pushing between the two to take Gem away with Impulse. “I’ll go make some lemon tea. You guys should go have fun before we start packing up in the morning.”

Jimmy nodded and turned to Tango, hoping to ask the man to join him. He never got a chance. Tango hopped the railing and wrapped an arm around Jimmy’s neck, dragging him off without request.

They waded into the muddy crowds, Tango’s heavy boots splashing through the muck. The air was thick with the most pungent mixture of smokes and Jimmy was sure they were starting to get to him. At the intersection of stages they could all faintly rang over the crowds cheers. “Got anyone you wanna check out, partner?” Shouted Tango, barely audible despite no particular noise in the vicinity.

“I don’t even know who’s playing.” Jimmy admitted.

“Then I guess we follow the sound we like best.”

So that was what they did. A tune caught one of their ears. Jimmy wasn’t even sure which, only that they had stumbled off towards the open stage with more excitement than what they found warranted. It was probably a sign when a can tossed haphazardly over someone’s shoulder bounced off Tango’s head and smacked Jimmy in the face. Slipping in the mud onto their butts when a wave swept through the crowd was most certainly one. The singer was off key from nerves. Jimmy’s eyes stung from the dust and smoke. Halfway through the next mediocre song they realized the can had cut his nose. There was a ringing in his ears from standing too close to the speaker. He had to cover them when everyone started screaming at the start of a done-to-death cover. At one point Jimmy felt himself go red from second hand embarrassment when the singer tried to get the crowd to sing along to a song nobody knew.

It was the most fun he’d had in years.

The lounges and bars they’d near-exclusively spent the last five years in were a distant nightmare. When was the last time they went to a big concert instead of just catching the act after them?

They didn’t even wait for the goodbyes to end before they moved on to another stage. The main stage, it seemed. Griande was still going, dancing her heart out. Lizzie adored her glitter, but even she’d balk at Griande now. She was on to one of her pop-ier songs, a silly love song, but Griande could make anything sound like the most romantic lyrics you’d ever heard.

While singing along with the rest of the crowd he caught sight of Tango from the corner of his vision. It wasn’t his jam, Jimmy could have guessed that the moment he met the guy, but he was still swaying, a big grin on him. Jimmy bounced on his heels, singing along with renewed vigour.

“You’re gonna shoot your voice, there, partner.” Tango joked as the next song began.

Jimmy could hardly stop to reply, “It’s not like I need it, what’s the worst that can happen?”

“I dunno, you start sounding like me?”

“Stop it, no I won’t! You take that back!”

“Ouch.” But there was no real hurt in Tango’s voice. He slung an arm around Jimmy’s shoulder, tearing his gaze away from the stage and onto a water bottle Tango offered up. “At least oil the pipes.”

The water bottle was snatched up, even as Jimmy gave him a raised eyebrow. “I feel like there were better ways you could have put that.”

“Reasons I write lyrics as often as I sing ‘em.” He shrugged. “We can’t all be pretty little canaries like you.”

Jimmy choked mid gulp, laughter turning to pained coughs as water came back up his nose. Tango made the most ridiculously inhuman noise as he jumped back, not helping Jimmy at all in remembering how to breathe.

“Not those pipes!” Tango chastised, though he’d begun to laugh as well while he helped Jimmy wipe his face off.

“That was one of the lamest thing I’ve ever heard.” Jimmy gasped. His face had gone red for too many reasons to count.

They wandered towards the back of the crowd until they found a spot to sit in the grass. “But not the lamest? I guess I gotta try harder next time.”

That’s what he cared about? Jimmy covered his eyes and tried not to start laugh again. His throat and nose stung but he croaked out, “Where to next?”

#tangotek #jimmy solidarity #solidaritek #team rancher #rancher duo #trafficshipping #traffic series #hermitpires #fanfiction #fanfic #mcyt #modern au #alternate universe #hurt/comfort #'fluff #sharing a slice of cake

13 notes · View notes

llclown-kittyll · 2 years

Note

Hi I love ur work - but could u do a yandere septiceyes x reader who is disabled and always unintentionally hurts them self? U didn't have to but the idea is here

I saw this a couple weeks after Anon asked. I hope you're still around to read the fic you inspired!

TW's: Stalking, undiagnosed/ untreated medical issues.

I based this on my experiences and the reader is gender neutral

The world was set up to fail you from the very beginning. This much you knew. You didn’t know who was leaving you small trinkets and small love notes for you in your workplace- but you knew that the world couldn’t care less about you or your ‘issues’.

Since you could remember, you had episodes of dizziness and lost your coordination skills- that could last minutes to hours, it varied. Pair that with anxiety and sensory issues, and it equaled out to your worst day when both showed up. Realistically, you knew you should get a cane or something. Since the path for a required diagnosis and treatment wasn’t covered by your healthcare plan, it was the next best option.

But your anxiety would sky-rocket if your coworkers and friends saw you with a cane, and then you’d have to explain why you used it to every single person. It would be none of their business, really, but the social pressure of explaining why and letting strangers invalidate or validate your reason was an expectation- and you didn’t have the strength to go through that.

Punching out, you were just done with today. It was 9PM and today had been hectic to the max. Frustrated customers, cleaning every nook and cranny cause the area managers were visiting, stocking- bending up and down, again and again it was way too much. But trying to be the perfect worker to prove your worth, you pushed. You were the last one leaving, the mall already closing two hours ago. You spent 10 minutes in the break room earlier, sprawled out, trying to get some feeling back into your bones. And in your tired, weary mind, when you saw that the escalator was shut down- you picked the stairs, forgetting about the real possibility that you could die if you had an episode then and there. It was 2 floors- so not awful. Trudging down, you loosely held onto the railing, just wanting to get home already. Everything became a blur slowly, losing awareness because of how stressed out you were and the feeling of dizziness becoming more prominent minute by minute. Stopping a couple times, you took a break so the symptoms slowed down- playing the waiting game and then moving again. Missing a step, you almost fell…

Black sleeved arms caught you around your waist, holding you up from face-planting into the concrete floor. If you weren’t ‘alone’, at a mall, at night- you would've said thanks. But the fact that you never heard a single door open or footsteps fueled your action to grip onto the rail harder and turn around- nothing. Nothing was there... No-one was there… The next morning you forgot all about it, blaming it on your delirium from working a ten hour shift on four hours of sleep and a red bull. It was nothing.

Months passed since then, you almost hurt yourself countless times because of your perfectionism and by ‘chance’ you didn’t. A ‘gust of wind’ pushed the door closed just in time for you to lean on it. Your phone appeared, ringing so loudly in between your couch cushions that you had no choice but to crash instead of continuing cleaning during a dizzy spell and a migraine once. How convenient that you didn’t burn an arm trying to cook while your head was spinning because the electric stove shut off randomly that day. The small gifts from your secret admirer ramped up in price and became spot-on choices of what you liked. Word got around fast- despite your 50+ coworkers. So, you assumed whoever it was, was listening. Small detailed jewelry, costly gemstones, your favorite snacks- it should’ve been alarming. But who were you to question gifts given out of ‘pure romantic obsession interest’?

Tuesday, on the way to work in a uber, you checked your missed texts. One was sent 4 A.M. and you didn't recognize the number. Your blood ran cold when you read it.

Don’t push yourself to be a perfectionist today, Y/N. I can’t watch you every second like usual- I’ll only be able to check on you every hour today. I’m making everything perfect for our 8 month anniversary and need to spend some time on getting it all ready for tonight. Be careful, Doll. I love you~

The same number showed up as calling after you read it, and with shaky hands, you answered.

“̶̥͙̬̂͊R̴̢̲͈̿e̴̹̤̲͊͠ă̵̞͇ͅd̸̙̤͘̕͝y̶̤̭͛͋͐ ̵͔̒f̵̣͉̉̎ó̶̧͖̩͗r̵͉̼͚̿̈͆ ̷̙̲͕͂̚o̵̪̓̋ų̴͋r̶̼̬̍̕͜ ̸̬̪͆d̵͓̑̂ą̷̬̦̀t̷̩̩̪͆͒̾ḛ̵̓ ̶̘͌̌̈ẗ̶͉́̐͋o̸͖̟̼͑n̶̳̍̚ḭ̶̔͊ĝ̸̰̲h̵̺̒̒̕ͅt̷̻̠̬͌͝,̵͇͐̾ ̵͓͌͝D̸̦̦̽̀ạ̶̫͊̀̉r̴̙̈́l̸͕̫̭̓̒ī̷̻n̷̩̂’̴̧̓?̸̠̖̍̀”̸̦̈́̑̕ *

*”Ready for our date tonight, Darlin’?”

#antisepticeye x reader #yandere #stalking #unhealthy obsession #unhealthy love #disabled reader #fanfic #anon prompt #anon ask

66 notes · View notes

angelasscribbles · 2 years

Text

Yoga Pants: A Three Weeks in Ramsford Drabble

Series: Three Weeks in Ramsford and Drakes Tight Pants Anthology

Fandom: The Royal Romance

Pairings: None at the moment.

Rating: MA

Warnings: Language, mature themes

Wordcount: 582

A/N: So....yet another fic about Drake's ass lol. After reading chapter two, Hot Yoga, @tinkie1973 wanted to know if there were pics of Drake in his yoga pants which led to a mood board, which led to me having further ideas about the hot yoga itself. In the original chapter, the yoga itself was not described. Since Kiara was a participant, there's no way she wasn't looking at his ass. So here you go! @drake-walker-appreciation @choicesficwriterscreations

My other stuff: Master List.

Kiara couldn’t help the fact that her eyes kept sliding up. She was on her hands and knees, ready to push up into downward dog. The problem was that Drake Walker was in front of her, which placed his ass directly in her line of sight.

And what an ass it was! It wasn’t that she hadn’t noticed it before, it was just that before she’d been more focused on his pecs and abs. She also had never seen him in anything quite as tight and revealing as the yoga pants he’d purchased at the counter before class began.

She was having a lot of trouble focusing.

When the instructor gave the signal, she reluctantly pushed up into the correct pose, replacing Drake’s ass with her feet in her field of vision.

She spent the rest of the class trying to not be obvious about where her attention was focused.

When the class ended, Drake stalked toward the water cooler while she watched him go, ignoring whatever Penelope was rambling about.

“He has a nice ass, doesn’t he?” A voice whispered in her ear.

“Shit! Max! What are you doing?” Kiara nearly fell over.

“Sorry, I was trying to be quiet,” he chuckled, “didn’t think you’d want everyone to know you were checking out Drake’s ass.”

“What? No! I mean, I wasn’t!” heat flamed across her face.

Penelope stopped talking about poodles to interject, “Oh, but I thought you said he had the best ass in Cordonia and that you would lick whipped cream off his-“

“Penelope! That’s enough!” Kiara screeched in mortification.

“Everything okay over here?” the instructor had come to see what the commotion was about.

“Oh, ah…” Max stumbled over his words a little under the scrutiny of the smoking-hot yoga instructor.

Adam Winchester was the real reason Max had been going to hot yoga three times a week.

“What’s happening?” Drake asked as he walked back to the group with a cup of water in his hand.

“Nothing!” Max blurted out, “We were just admiring your ass!”

“What? No!” Kiara shook her head frantically from side to side in denial.

“Don’t be weird, Beaumont,” Drake lifted the cup to his lips completely unperturbed.

“No, I know we’re just friends. I’m not hitting on you, I promise. I’m just saying-“

“So, you’re gay?” Adam interrupted.

Max blinked, “What?”

“What?” Adam held his hands up in front of him, “It’s just a question!”

“I am gay…and you?”

“Gay as fuuuuuck,” Adam smiled at him enticingly, “Can I get your snap?”

“It’s whatskraken, but like the squid… let me spell that for you…..”

Kiara, Drake, and Penelope rolled up their mats as Max flirted with the instructor.

“You do have a nice ass, Drake,” Penelope chirped as they headed for the door.

“….thanks…”

“Mon Dieu!” Kiara cursed softly under her breath.

“What was that?” Drake glanced back at her as Maxwell caught up to them at the exit.

“Nothing!” she squeaked as they exited the studio.

Less than five minutes later, Penelope’s poodle obsession had separated her from the opportunity to have lunch with Drake. She sighed as they walked back to her car.

The image of that ass was going to haunt her dreams tonight. Maybe now that Riley was out of the way, he’d notice her. Surely he would be going on the engagement tour, there would be plenty of opportunities to talk to him then. Yes, she decided, the engagement tour was definitely going to be her chance.

#drake walker #drake walker appreciation #drake's tight pants #drake's ass #thirsty thursday #three weeks in ramsford #choices fic writers creations #cfwc fics of the week

54 notes · View notes

theviridianbunny · 1 month

Text

THE NOMAD AND THE LONE WOLF - PART 2

CHAPTER SUMMARY - Klara arrives home and goes in search of food - Service station food never satisfied the mutant… even if it were a cheap and easy way to fill her belly. AN: Yippie !! Chapter 2 is up!! Not Beta Read [we die like men] - sorry for any spelling and grammar errors - writing is hard but I'm trying my best !!!This chapter was bought to you by me struggling to sleep and trying to get the blorbo ideas down <3 you can read this chapter under the cut or at my ao3 by clicking here .. you can find the prev chapter here

Divider art is an edit of a commission I got from my dear friend @redmedic - go check out his work !!

The sun had set by the time Klara pulled up to the gates of the x mansion. After parking her landrover and making sure essental belonings were on her- she hopped out and made her way into her home.

The rain had stopped - but the cold breeze remained. Klara zipped her her teddy jacket before she walked from her land rover Into the mansion.

Bitterly cold days were on the horizon now - Klara was not ready... she was never ready for the winter...

Even though the sun had set - she kept her sunglasses on for now. There was something about the coffee coloured tint of the lenses that made the world a little calmer.

Upon entering - she closed the large wooden doors as quietly as she could. Pulling off her dark fingerless gloves and stuffing them into her pockets.. Quickly making a B-line for the mansions kitchen.

Klara was oh so hungry after that long drive. Service station food never satisfied the mutant... even if it were a cheap and easy way to fill her belly.

Opening the fridge - she gazed at its contense with hungry eyes- before instinctively grabbing a loaf of white bread and a jar of jam.

"Jam sandwich- that'll be good enough for now" she thought out loud. Closing the fridge door with a smile over her face. Turning on the balls of her feet - placing the bread and jam down on the clean surface.

Now, the next thing she needed now???

A butter knive - and a plate. Or maybe just a butter knive. A part of klara knew this sandwich wouldn't be around long enough to justify getting a plate out.

Reaching instinctively to a draw on her right - she yanked it open to find the cuttlery had been moved...

Klara rolled her eyes to herself. Lifting up her sunglasses from her eyes - popping them on her head. Yellow eyes scowling at the draw that now contained tea towels - tea towels !!! Of all things!!!

"Bet the boy scout moved everything around for the 20th God damn time this week-" she grumbled to herself.

Klara knew she had to get used to things being different- she came home so rarely nowadays that things were bound to change...

But it still bothered her. That would never change.

What came next was a sight to behold- Klara closing one draw and yanking open the next - and then the next - and then the next - until after what felt like forever... she found a knive.

After this ordeal - she really needed that sandwich. Maybe a second if the need arose. She also needed a coffee.

Klara crossed her fingers Scott hadn't moved the jar of coffee around too...

Soon - she finally sat down on one of the bar stools in the kitchen - jam sandwich in one hand and coffee in a mug that had "SORRY - DID I ROLL MY EYES OUT LOUD" printed on it in a deep blackberry purple.

This mug had been a joke gift from Logan. Gifted to her many years ago , when The pair had spent Christmas at the mansion with the rest of the staff.

A secret santa event had been organised for fun and for laughs. Klara would always fondly remember the smile on logan's face and how he laughed with her - once she had connected the dots... realising it was him who'd bought her the mug.

The memory washing over her now as she took a long sip of her coffee - Klara wondered where her fellow nomad was at this time.

She knew a new term of teaching had started. Klara wondered if Logan were actively avoiding the school at this time... klara knew that soon she would be greeted by many anew faces. New students and new teachers alike.

Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a large hand over her shoulder and squeezing.. Klara jumping out of her skin ever slightly and almost spilling what was left of her coffee.

Then hearing this laugh. One she would recognise anywhere...

"Careful bubs- dont want to get coffee all over thoes jeans huh?" A low rich tonned voice joked to her.

"oHMygoD LOGAN HI-" Klara swivelled herself round on the bar stool with excitement - actually spilling what was left off her coffee this time. The brown nectar spilt over the breakfast bar -but Klara did not care as she stood and hugged the taller man. Excited to see him - this was a surprise for her.

A laugh esacaping Logan as Klara held her.

"Woah- Klara- bubs- its good to see you too-" he breathed- hugging his friend back - not as tightly as her - but it was still a nice hug.. right hand patting at the small of her back. Logan let his friend hold him for as long as she needed - before she let go.

Klara took in all of Logan - his warmth and how he smelt of leather and vaguely of cigagar smoke. This was so much more than platonic- oh lord - it was definitely... friends didn't take this time and take all those things in... right?

Klara brushed off the incoming onslaught of blurred boundary crossing doom. Focusing on the then and the now... it had been forever since the two had shared a moment like this.

" join me for a smoke on the roof?" Logan asked - reaching for his own box of smokes. The two making eye contact - Klara's egg yolk yellow meeting with Logan's lapis blue.

"Sure" Klara beamed- eyes then travelling to the coffee she had spilt - grumbling to herself "though... I better clean this up first" she gestured to the spilt coffee.

"OK bubs - meet you on the roof in 10?"

"Mhm- in 10-!" She answered- wandering over to the sink - turning the tap on and soaking sponge in soapy water..

And with that , Logan made his way out of the kitchen - hands in his the pockets of his brown leather Jacket.

And Klara??

She tried not to be so obvious as she checked out his butt in the flared jeans he wore.

5 notes · View notes

copiousloverofcopia · 1 year

Text

HERE IT IS! The moment some of you have been waiting for...well maybe not really lol...

Since I completed The Red Dress as promised I have started on one of my promised other new works.....UNDER THE SPELL!

Please be nice I am SO not used to writing for Mary, so I hope its ok!

Mary Goore x OC Piper!

Piper and Mary have been best friends since they first met as children. When Mary and her boyfriend Sid asked her to come along on gigs, Piper thought it was a no-brainer. But as the excitement of the buzzing amps dies down, she realizes she wants more—now if only she can get him to agree.

Chapter 1: Fishnets and Regrets

Also available HERE on AO3!

Eventually will be NSFW below the cut 😈

She was trying her best to stay cool, staving off the tears that relentlessly pricked at her eyes. The sharp-winged cat eyeliner and heavily mascaraed lashes sent a trail of black down her cheeks. A battle lost, but only for a short moment until she could bring herself to carry on. Piper stared into the mirror of another random bar's bathroom, angry at herself for not realizing what she wanted to do with her life sooner. Despite her upset, the show must go on. Knowing that would need to stuff it down before heading out to face them again—her chosen family and partners in crime, Repugnant.

She had spent the last 6 years of her life traveling with them and when the sounds of humming amps kicked on and the guitars screamed as they were being tuned—she needed to move her ass. Before heading back out, she adjusted her tattered fishnets, that had seen better days, and re-tied her scuffed up black combat boots. They were her favorite—a gift from Mary many years ago. Piper checked the mirror, once more, just to be sure that her mohawk hadn't fallen, before using her foot to kick open the door.

Her mind was still heavy with anger and hurt. The fight she and Sid had was only a short time ago and it left her feeling heated, like she was roasting from the inside. Now she'd have to go and watch them perform—pissed off but having got her shit together enough to keep the peace. After all, there were still a bunch more gigs to go and the road home, for her, didn’t really exist.

It was the first time in a long time Piper wished she was somewhere else. Traveling with the four guys and Tom's girl, Annie, had been a dream come true. She lived for the music, the lights of the stage, and the energy from the crowd as the guys performed. Having grown up with Mary and getting close with the rest of them, it was only natural that they all worked so well together. So, when Mary and Sid asked her to tag along while they toured the world, she thought she couldn’t ask for anything more—that was until last week.

She was late—very late. Her period, which had normally come like clockwork, had decided to give both her and Sid the scare of a lifetime. Both of them in a full-blown panic as the reality of that drunken mishap set in. Sid was pissed, throwing shit around the hourly rate hotel room, spouting comments about her needing to get shit taken care of and him not wanting any damn kids. Piper wasn’t at all surprised at his psychotic meltdown, but what she was surprised about was her reaction to the negative test. In that moment everything changed, and she was, for lack of a better word, conflicted.

When only one line appeared on the stick, Sid was ecstatic. Jumping up and down acting like a complete and utter fool. Thrilled out of his mind that he had dodged yet another bullet despite his recklessness. Piper was relieved too, in a way. Sid was not necessarily the "fatherly" type, but the idea of having a kid hadn't left her—even a week later.

That's when the fight happened, and of course it just had to happen before the show. Sid couldn't let things go and give her the space she needed when she told him nothing was wrong. So, with his incessant pushing and Piper's built-up anger, the truth came spilling out like blood from a gushing wound. Not her finest moment to be sure, but she wondered if all of this was what needed to happen.

Things had been rocky for some time with Sid. He was a good man deep down, but definitely immature and Piper was pretty sure his photo was next to "man child" in the dictionary. She loved him, but she knew at this point it was over between them—Piper had figured out she wanted more than just a spot in the tour bus and glorified groupie status with the band. She told Sid she wanted to move on with her life and settle down. And with that revelation, blow up number 1,346 began. Leaving them officially split up and Piper in an awkward place—feeling empty.

She took in a deep breath before continuing down the hall and stepping out onto the floor, the band playing when she had made her way to the pit. The guitars were drilling into the audience’s skulls and the drums banging hard, vibrating in her chest. The feeling of the music coursing through her, was truly something she'd never get enough of. Piper watched Sid playing his guitar, Tom on drums, Carlos on bass, and of course Mary absolutely slaughtering the vocals. The frustration, hanging itself within her soul, shredding with the sounds of the death metal they came to play.

The smell of cigarette smoke was heavy in the air and the sticky floor pulled at the bottoms of her boots, but she didn't care. Piper head-banged her way through Draped in Cerecloth and tried to just let go. Her mohawk swinging around and the chains on her belt rattling as she jumped up and down, screaming into the universe and giving every last bit of energy she had to Mary and the guys. Thankfully it was gonna be a great night of music, but also a night she would never forget.

The show was a blast, the crowd losing it over the performance and tearing the place up as they rocked out to what their parents surely referred to as “deafening noise”. As their spot was over, Mary and the guys along with Piper and Annie took the opportunity to throw a few back before heading out for the night. All of them laughing and celebrating another show well done, Piper being a bit less enthusiastic as usual. Mary, taking note that she and Sid had been keeping their distance.

The bar had now been closed for over an hour and while everyone else minus the stagehands had left to head back to the bus, Piper decided to hang out for some time alone. She sat by herself with a beer in hand and picked at yet another tear in her fishnets, when she saw Mary coming towards her. Fuck , she thought to herself knowing exactly where this was going.

Mary Goore had been covered in blood since the beginning of the show. Preferring to start things out with a bang. Dripping with it as he raged in sonnets of death and the defiling of corpses. The metallic liquid, now managing to cover his shirt and matted a bit of his hair, but he didn't care. It was another glorious night for him and the guys, though he couldn’t let go of the feeling that things were off with Sid and Piper.

He felt a connection to her like no other—the best of friends since the cradle. Their families were close from the beginning. When Mary's Dad took off and Piper's parents were killed, they were the ones to help each other hold it together. She had been a staple in his life. A constant he knew he could always count on. Things had been weird lately between her and Sid, that was for sure. And it didn’t take a genius to figure out things were at an all-time low.

"Pipes? Why aren't you on the bus?" He asked as he slumped down beside her on the edge of the stage. Piper shrugged a bit, taking another swig of her beer to finish it off before speaking.

"Just didn't feel like it quite yet. I figured I'd wait till everything got packed up and then head over."

"Bullshit." Mary said straight faced and serious toned. He was a bit intimidating after a show, all that blood over his face and the tiniest amount of grumble to his voice—after having pushed it so hard.

"Oh come on. Don't do that thing you do." Piper begged—her words futile. She knew he could sense it, there was definitely something she wasn’t telling him. Piper was surprised that Sid hadn't told him yet about their break up, since he had never known how to keep his mouth shut.

"You know better sweetness than to lie to my face." He told her as he widened his gaze and tried to lean in closer. Piper pressed her lips together into a tight line and furrowed her brows before dropping her eyes to her lap. Damn Mary for always being right and always knowing when she was hiding something.

“Sid and I well…we aren’t a thing anymore.” Piper said calmly before looking back over at Mary. His face was filled with disgust, imagining the multitude of things Sid could have done to destroy things with Piper, who had stuck by his ass for so long.

“What did that rat bastard do now?” Mary growled knowing full well how asinine his friend could be. Piper put her hand on Mary’s shoulder to calm him. It was slick with blood and sweat and some face paint, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Mary grabbed for her hand and gave her a concerned look.

“No Mare, it’s nothing like that. We just decided that we want different things—I want different things.” Piper explained.

“Well what the fuck does that even mean?” Mary laughed, though a bit nervously.

“I think this may be the end of the road for me. After the next few gigs, I’m gonna have to figure something out. I got other things I wanna do with my life and being stuck on the bus isn’t it anymore.”

“Where is this coming from? I thought you loved being on tour with us?” Mary asked her, completely confused and honestly more shaken than if it had been only the Sid issue. He didn’t want Piper to leave. Half the time she was the only thing that kept him from going off the deep end. What’s got her ready to run if it ain't Sid , he asked himself.

“I wanna settle down, take up root somewhere and well that's not gonna happen with Sid or while I’m on the road with you all.” Piper admitted. She and Mary had usually been upfront with each other. Each appreciating the other's candor, saving them from misunderstandings but tonight she was withholding something. And while Piper might have wanted to keep the intimate details of her heartache to herself, Mary would know she was lying before she could speak the words.

“What a pussy.” he snorted, angry with Sid for spurring this whole thing on, thinking to himself anyone would be lucky to be committed to Piper. “Honestly Pipes you are better off without him…but I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that I want you to stay. Don’t go.”

“Uh…fuck…Mare that’s not the start.” Piper explained, swallowing back the knot forming in her throat. Now Mary was on red alert. All his senses, buzzing with something big about to come out of Piper’s mouth—and then she said it.

“I wanna have a baby.” she told him, Mary turning even paler than his face paints. It was only when his stunned stare turned into a dissociated blink, that Piper knew he hadn’t gone catatonic, “Mare?”

“Ah…umm…” he began smearing the blood through his hair as he ran his hand over his head. Clearly still in shock from Piper’s confession, “...what happened to you starting that band? What were you going to call it? Crazy Chrysanthemums or something?” he asked, unable to think of anything else to say in his stupor.

“It was Wild Violets…That doesn't matter. That was just a fleeting idea.” Piper explained, “You’re missing the point.”

“And this ISN’T a fleeting idea?” Mary continued.

“No…I honestly hadn’t thought about this kinda thing at all, but we had a scare and well… I can’t stop thinking about it.” Then Mary stood up, beginning to pace the stage as he took in everything his best friend was saying. Her words, hitting him like daggers to the chest.

“Piper…”

“Yes?” She asked as Mary walked over to her and held out his hand. Waiting for her to take it so he could lift her up onto the stage. Piper gave it to him, quickly getting up on her feet as Mary and her eyes met in what remained of the stage lights.

“So not a joke…not a fleeting idea?” he asked, already knowing the answer. Pulling at the worn neckline of his Morbid t-shirt.

“Not a joke I swear.” Piper replied, putting up her hands like some girl scout signaling her pledge to the troop. Mary got quiet again—his eyes dropping away from hers and down to the scratched up remnants of old band stickers and other crap that had adhered to the floor of the stage. “Mare?” she called to him, watching him get lost in thought.

“Sorry I am still trying to wrap my head around you wanting Sid to be a dad.” Mary jabbed, trying to insert some humor into the situation, but he could tell it only made Piper more upset.

“Oh come on Pipes you know this whole thing is a little fucked right? Hell, even I'd be a better Dad than..." Mary began when the idea struck Piper like a ton of bricks. One she instantly knew felt right, but oh boy was it going to be a bitch to convince Mary. He could see it—the look in her eye told him she was scheming and now his anxiety went through the roof. “…what are you thinkin’...

“Mare…here me out. What if you—” Piper barely got out the first words before Mary began pacing around once more, his eyes blown wide and his jaw dragging across the floor.

"Nope, nope don't like that." Mary said, shaking his head. “No way you’re even considering what I think you are considering.”

“But Mare…you are my best friend. My other half, I can’t think of anyone else better. I don’t wanna waste my time with some deadbeat guys…not when I have you. Not when I know that you’re perfect.” Piper finished, a newfound energy surging through her. Wondering why she hadn’t thought of this before tonight. Mary was visibly in shock. His mind swirling with the implications of his best friend’s words. Wondering if he was finally losing his mind from all the stress of touring.

“Perfect for what Pipes?” he asked her, straining against the words he knew were about to leave her lips.

“I want it to be you. I want you and I…to have a baby.”

#Mary Goore x Piper #Mary Goore x OC Piper #Mary Goore #Repugnant #not ghost but like kinda ghost #repugnant fic #mary goore fic #Repugnant fanfic #Mary Goore fanfic #Repugnant fanfiction #Mary Goore fanfiction #Mary goore smut #Repugnant smut #Ren Writes

22 notes · View notes

lovesongbracket · 2 years

Text

Reminder: Vote based on the song, not the artist or specific recording! The tracks referenced are the original artist, aside from a few rare cases where a cover is the most widely known.

Lyrics, videos, info, and notable covers under the cut. (Spotify playlist available in pinned post)

At Last

Written By: Henry Warren & Mack Gordon

Artist: Etta James

Released: 1960

Originally recorded by: Glenn Miller and His Orchestra feat. Pat Friday & John Payne, 1941

A song originally written in 1941 by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren and originally performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra for the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade, this ballad found its greatest success in the hands of the late Etta James in this 1960 recording. The tune became James' signature song. The song is featured on several “best of” lists, including inclusion in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry and induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

[Verse 1] At last My love has come along My lonely days are over And life is like a song (Oh, yeah, yeah) [Verse 2] At last The skies above are blue My heart was wrapped up in clover The night I looked at you [Bridge] I found a dream that I could speak to A dream that I can call my own I found a thrill to press my cheek to A thrill that I've never known (Oh, yeah, yeah) [Verse 3] You smiled, you smiled Oh, and then the spell was cast And here we are in heaven For you are mine at last

youtube

Dancing in the Dark

Written By: Bruce Springsteen

Artist: Bruce Springsteen

Released: 1984

The first single off of Springsteen’s seminal album Born In The U.S.A., this track was written two years after most of the other songs on the album. Producer Jon Landau thought the new album lacked a guaranteed hit and pushed Springsteen to draft one more song. The two men got into a brief altercation, after which Bruce wrote “Dancing in the Dark” about his ‘difficulty writing a hit single and his frustration trying to write songs that will please people’. Its music video contains an early appearance by actress Courtney Cox. It also helped introduce Springsteen to a younger audience, setting the stage for a seven-single run of top 10 hits from the album. “Dancing In The Dark” became Springsteen’s highest charting single the Boss has ever had, spending four weeks in the #2 position of the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1984, held from the top spot by Duran Duran “The Reflex” and Prince “When Doves Cry”. It also spent six weeks at #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart. This single is also Springsteen’s only to be certified platinum.

[Verse 1] I get up in the evening And I ain't got nothing to say I come home in the morning I go to bed feeling the same way I ain't nothing but tired Man, I'm just tired and bored with myself Hey there, baby I could use just a little help [Chorus] You can't start a fire You can't start a fire without a spark This gun's for hire Even if we're just dancing in the dark [Verse 2] Messages keep getting clearer Radio's on, and I'm moving 'round my place I check my look in the mirror I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face Man, I ain't getting nowhere I'm just living in a dump like this There's something happening somewhere Baby, I just know that there is [Chorus] You can't start a fire You can't start a fire without a spark This gun's for hire Even if we're just dancing in the dark [Bridge] You sit around getting older There's a joke here somewhere, and it's on me I'll shake this world off my shoulders Come on, baby, the laugh's on me [Verse 3] Stay on the streets of this town And they'll be carving you up all right They say, "You gotta stay hungry" Hey, baby, I'm just about starving tonight I'm dying for some action I'm sick of sitting around here trying to write this book I need a love reaction Come on now, baby, give me just one look [Chorus] You can't start a fire Sitting 'round crying over a broken heart This gun's for hire Even if we're just dancing in the dark You can't start a fire Worrying about your little world falling apart This gun's for hire Even if we're just dancing in the dark [Outro] Even if we're just dancing in the dark Even if we're just dancing in the dark Even if we're just dancing in the dark Hey, baby [Outro Saxophone Solo]

youtube

#at last #etta james #dancing in the dark #bruce springsteen #polls #poll tournament #poll bracket #tournament #bracket #lovesongbracket #round3

30 notes · View notes

volisportramblings · 2 years

Text

An (Over)analysis into Magic, Ghosts and Technology in Geth, part 1.

I should probably start of with a warning that I discuss spoilers for Bone 2 Pick, Spell Check, Wedded Redemption, Baking Bad, the Orbocalypse Saga, Legacy of Dragons and Oxventure Presents Blades in the Dark. If you have not seen all of these episodes and want to avoid spoilers, please don’t read any further.

Right, now the spoiler warning is out of the way, I am going to try my best to explain my thoughts as succinctly as possible. Though considering I’ve spent the last three months going full Pepe Silvia on Oxventure Lore that might be hard. 😂 And yeah, I’m probably going to be the only person interested in this but ah well if I can promote any discussion on this I’ll be absolutely delighted 😅

So, in Baking Bad, the Oxventurers were tasked with infiltrating a mechanical city owned by Lizardfolk in order to rescue some pastry chefs and in the process released a very primordial being of fire called Imix.

A few weeks later, Johnny described Mistmire as being a ‘mechanical marvel of a city’ (Mean Gulls 1:10:50). This along with the fact that the Lizardfolk city and Mistmire were both described as being Tiered Citadels made me wonder what the heck was powering Mistmire. That question would be answered a week later in Mist Opportunities when it turns out that it was being powered by a gold dragon. However, noticing that coincidence made me realise some more information that might potentially be important down the line.

Going back to Baking Bad the Lizardfolk city drew power for Imix by plugging it into a machine which was extracting energy from. During this process, Imix was also trapped in some sort of orb like thing that it could not break out of on its own. This reminded me a little of the Osillatronic energy utilised by Volisport during Blades in the Dark.

So, my question then became did the Brighteners look at all these Mechanical Marvels being powered by Demons/Gold Dragons and go ‘We like this idea but Demons and Dragons are hard to come by and very difficult to control. Ghosts on the other hand…” and built the Barricade as a result?

To answer that question, we need to consider how did the Brighteners gain the knowledge to create the Barricade? Was it reverse engineered from studying necromancy and seeing how the undead could be prevented from moving onto the afterlife and then applied that on a grander scale? Did they learn it from a Demon/Eldritch being?

I personally think that it’s the former for two main reasons. Firstly, there is evidence that a Brightener, or at least an ancestor of a Brightner, has utilised arcane artefacts to power technology. In the Orbocalypse Saga, we discover than an Astor is in charge of the prison known as Alcatraz, the mechanisms of which are powered by one of the orb shards. As this Orb was used to contain Vocatus, this shows that it was also powered by Demonic Energy which ties into the idea that the Brighteners were influenced by Demonic energy being used to power constructs such as Alcataz when it came to building the barricade.

Secondly, I want to discuss Spell Check. In this episode Liliana had the means to inhibit the Oxventurer’s ability to use magic by enchanting her prison with runes that siphoned magic out of magic casters and into pipes that took it to a massive vat of magic. Is that what the Barricade is kinda doing on a massive scale? Siphoning magic from the world as a whole to power the device that lets ghosts in.

However, using magic to power technology might be inefficient as the prisoners in Liliana’s prison tended to last a month before dying and turning into Husks (based on the Dwarf’s guild). Furthermore, not everyone has a magical aptitude so you only have a limited amount of people who could be used as an energy source and they would not last forever. However, everyone dies eventually so ghosts is a much, much more sustainable energy source.

Furthermore, there is evidence that magic and spectral energy are similar. In Bone 2 Pick, when the Oxventurers were performing the ritual to summon Ethilfreth, Prudence casts Detect Magic on the Builder’s Ghost. When she does so, Ethilfreth lights up in the same way that magic does. This therefore suggests that ghosts in some way are either made up of magic, or are made up of a substance that is similar to magic. After all, if energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed, then the magical energy that mortals have is transmutated into whatever energy ghosts are formed from. This could also explain how the Brighteners managed to work out that ghosts could be used as an energy source because if ghosts and magic are the same thing or similar, then ghosts should be a potential replacement source.

So, my thinking is that, Astor was inspired by Alcatraz’s design/mechanisms and, needing an energy source after the Oxventurers removed the orb shard from the mechanism, did some research into finding another energy source. Somehow in the process recruited the rest of the Brightners and managed to find a way of tweaking the mechanisms so that ghosts could be used instead. Then, created the barricade to cause all the ghosts to be unable to move on and thus power all of the other devices. However, this in turn siphoned magic out of the world, and this magic was used to further power the barricade.

Furthermore, this is supported by Sphere We Go. 21 minutes into the episode Johnny describes the Astor family as having a “casual disregard for magic” long before it was revealed that the Astor family were Brighteners and that the Barricade was the reason magic had been siphoned out of Geth. Therefore, the Astor family’s disregard of magic could have also inspired them to create the Barricade as getting rid of magic would have been a bonus on top of creating a ‘replacement energy source’ to replace magic and Demons.

One flaw with this hypothesis is that we don’t actually get a description of how the Barricade is powered. Towards the end of To the Depths, Edvard and Barnaby find the schematics for the Barricade which is described as being an Octagonal Ring that is roughly 7 stories high and is described as a ‘shocking piece of engineering’. Later on, when they go there they enter a vast cavern, and see an immense ring against a huge wall in the cavern. It was glowing intensely and had blades that were spinning very loudly.

However apart from a control panel with one large wooden leaver there isn’t any descriptions for how the mechanisms actually function, and no descriptions of any glowing runes. Perhaps the technology used to power the Barricade is different from the one Liliana utilised in Spell Check. Or perhaps the Brighteners refined it. That I do not have a definitive answer for. Hopefully we will get some answers soon.

Furthermore, we also have the question of how the other Brighteners got involved. We, for example encountered the Fortescue family during Wedded Redemption and, when Aubrey was spoon feeding Lord Fortescue bisque, Lord Fortescue said “I had an idea for the most fantastic invention” (47:10). Are the Fortescues well known inventors? Perhaps, though it’s more likely that they were hereditarily wealthy, and thus could bank roll the whole project into creating the Barricade.

What does this mean going forward for the Oxventurers? I honestly have no idea, except I’m probably not going to trust any random Artificer in Geth. They could be working on the Barricade after all.

However, one thing I do know is that we still have other members of the Brighteners not accounted for. Will we encounter an ancestor of Lord Stangford, and learn how they were involved in the creation of the Barricade? And how did the organisation that eventually became the Deathwardens develop? Who was responsible for the initial research into ghosts and how creating the hole in the fabric of reality in Geth would prevent the dead from moving on?

#oxventure #oxventure spoilers #I saw Baking Bad Live and part of the reason I wrote this was to avoid discussing spoilers online #I will post part two at some point #But TLDR for both posts is that I secretly suspect that Johnny knows more than they are letting on #And that there is a weird link between magic curses technology and death #Part two is all the tangents that developed as a result of all of these thoughts #This is conjecture and if I am right I will be pleasantly surprised #And yes the Unofficial OX Timeline inspired me to post this

16 notes · View notes

revolutionsingingintherainnn · 2 years

Text

Okay, my love language is giving handmade gifts, and so is Julie’s.

Everyone’s seen Julie’s hand-drawn mic that she uses for absolutely everything. That was a gift from her mom, and Julie liked the idea of handmade gifts having way more significance than a store bought gift. So, she showers Ray, Carlos, Tía, Rose, Flynn, and eventually, Luke, Alex, and Reggie with handmade gifts as well. She loves them, and that’s how she shows it.

—Family edition—

Ray

Ray Molina learned how to cook soon after his wife passed away. But, since he didn’t know shit about food, and the few times he had attempted cooking, he’d almost burned down the house. So, after his wife passes away, he experiments A LOT, and Julie and Carlos end up being his test subjects. The first few weeks are slow, because he doesn’t feel like being in the kitchen since it reminded him so much of Rose. But, he bucks up, and he starts cooking. Every meal he makes, he calls Carlos and Julie and asks them to taste and rate it, and some days, they would try and cook together. As a beginner, Ray lost a lot of T-shirts by spilling sauce on it, or accidentally burning off one end (that’s a whole other story).

Julie knew how much her father was struggling. He had just lost his wife, and he did not have time to grieve because he had to take care of her and Carlos. Julie was so grateful to him, but she couldn’t find the words to tell him. How was she supposed to let a man, who dropped everything in the world— including his job and own time to process emotions — know that she was so thankful of his presence and his efforts?

So, one day, when Flynn takes her to a grocery/home store (because Flynn 100% likes roaming the aisles for no reason), Julie finds a plain, light yellow apron. She immediately buys it, because its the first time her brain is doing something other than missing her mom. And she needs to move, she’s feeling restless at that point.

As soon as she goes home, she’s locked herself in her room. She pulls out her paints and brushes, and a pencil and an eraser (rubber) to outline a rough image. As soon as she was satisfied with the rough drawing, she started painting, and then she was outlining, and she spent three hours losing herself in art, because if not art, then what else? And anything was better than a conversation with Dr Turner.

She was done painting at 2 in the morning, and then she had to let it dry. She didn’t get much sleep that night, her mind was running. Every hour, she would check the the apron, make sure the paint hadn’t smudged. At 5 in the morning, she did a final outline and detailing that she had left to do, until she was proud of what she had made.

The next morning, when she went downstairs, Ray lightened up at her sight and asked, “Mija, would you be okay with Spaghetti for lunch? I made too much last night,”

“Of course, dad,”

Ray had noticed her quietness. How could he not, he’s the best damn father. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh. Uh, nothing. I kinda made you something,” Julie handed him the folded apron.

Ray opened the apron, letting it fall in the air so that he could see the whole thing. He was stunned for a second, before he let out a teary laugh. He pulled Julie in a hug, repeating, “I love you” over and over.

His apron had bubbly, colourful letters spelling “The Spaghetti Master” with a spaghetti plate turned over the S, and dripping over the M and A.

Carlos

As a child, Carlos was a little (a lot) jealous of the relationship Julie had with their mom. Rose and Ray were excellent parents, no doubt. I meant look at their kids. But, Carlos sometimes felt like his sister loved everyone else more than him. He tried to seem indifferent to it, and tried to not let it bother him so much, but come on, he’s a kid, its gonna bother him.

He didn’t wanna say anything to Julie, because he didn’t want his sister to pity him. No, please. He was seven and he could handle himself just fine. He didn’t need no one, no thank you.

That’s a lie.

He needed his sister, and his mom, and his dad, and his tía. He didn’t like showing them that he needed him, though. Why? I don’t know.

But, his sister is observant (when she wants to be), and she knew her little brother had something going in his mind that he won’t tell her. And she did not like that. Carlos and Julie were siblings and would tell each other everything. Periodt.

But, since Julie didn’t know what was going on in her brother’s head, she didn’t know how to help him. She tried to talking to him, but he always seemed dismissive, and yeah, ngl, that hurt a little bit. But, Julie was determined to make her brother happy again.

She didn’t have a lot of money to buy the new game that he wanted. She only had the little coins in her piggy bank, and a little bit of monthly allowance that her parents gave her. She had to do something out of the little money she had.

So, after school, she decides to go to the stationary. Maybe, she’ll find something there for Carlos? She doubted it, but she had to try. Anything for her brother.

As she looked around the shop, she came across threads that seemed strong enough to not break if she pulled them. An idea formed in her head, and she decided to buy his favourite colour and her favourite colour.

Rushing home, she barely greeted her parents before running to her room. She had her scissors, a cello-tape, and a jewellery clasp that she found in her drawers on her table spread out so that everything was in reach.

With her head bent down, and her shoulders hunched, music played in the background as she worked on a simple plait design, using the two colours she got for the two of them, and repeating one colour in both for the third string, so that they could differentiate which bracelet was for who.

Julie had missed dinner, but once she’d told her mom that what she was doing was way more important than food at that moment, Rose did not disturb the girl. She could hear Carlos playing video games and him screaming at their father for cheating (Ray was terrible at video games, Carlos was worse. But he got better with Reggie, Alex and Luke).

Once she was done, she ran down the stairs.

“Hey, Mija! Hungry?” Ray asked, smiling at the girl.

“Afterwards, dad. Need to do something super important.” She turned to Carlos and said, “Come with me,”

Carlos shrugged and followed his sister to the studio. He didn’t know what she wanted, but he was glad he was getting to spend some time with his sister.

Standing outside the studio, Julie turned to Carlos and said, “You’ve been feeling down lately, and I don’t know why. I wanted to cheer you up, so I made you something just for the two of us.” She opened her hand and showed him the bracelets she had made. “One for you and one for me. This way, whatever is going on in your head, you can look at this and look at this and know that I’m always here for you.”

Carlos hugged her, wrapping his arms around her. Julie hugged him back, holding him tightly. The two slowly pulled back and clasped the bracelet onto each other’s wrists, promising to never remove it.

Tía

Tía had been a part of Julie’s life for as long as she could remember. It was only when Rose was in the hospital, that she started seeing her Tía more frequently.

Rose had told Julie that Tía tended to forget to take care of herself when she was taking care of others. Julie could see the truth in that. For instance, when Julie stayed up because of mid terms and Rose and Ray were in the hospital, Tía used to stay up for as long as Julie did, and came every hour or so with coffee, or something to eat so that Julie could stay energised and awake.

The day her midterms were over, Julie and Tía had taken the longest nap together, cuddled on the couch in the Molina household.

When Rose was admitted in the hospital the first time, Ray and Victoria had spent half their time with the kids, and the other half with Rose. They kept alternating, and it was getting exhausting for all of them. So, they eventually decided that Ray will take care of Rose when she was in the hospital, and Victoria would stay with the kids during the day.

It worked well for Carlos and Julie, because that meant delicious, authentic food all day, and a mother figure to help them when they needed.

Whenever Julie or Carlos wanted to cry because they were scared or worried or just missed their mother, Victoria was always there, hugging them, soothing them, cheering them up. Julie would always be grateful for that. She had seen many times when her Tía comforted Ray after Rose’s death.

A few months after Rose passed away, Julie realised that her tía hadn’t been taking care of her as well as she should. She had heard her tía late at night, or early in the mornings, cooking for them. She had heard her tía cleaning around, comforting everyone, just trying to bring a positive ray of sunshine when none of them felt like it.

Julie knew that her tía missed Rose too. She had heard her crying a few times, clutching a picture of the two women together. She had noticed how sometimes tía would walk out of the room in the middle of a movie, or something, making an excuse. Her tía needed to take care of herself, and grieve on her own time as well, and Julie felt guilty for stealing away that time.

So, on a weekend, Julie and Flynn went to the mall, buying all the lotions, face masks, nail paints, and oils that Victoria liked. They searched for her favourite candies and drinks. The two girls made cards for Victoria, thanking her for all her support. They even went to Build-A-Bear and got a cute little bear for Victoria, with a dahlia on the T-shirt of the bear.

When they reached home, Julie quickly assembled everything in a pretty basket, while Flynn looked for pretty ribbons or something of that sort to decorate the basket. When they finally managed to cover the basket and tie a bow with a net sort of thingy, the two took it downstairs to where her tía was loading leftovers in the fridge.

“Tia?”

“Yes, Mija? oh, what it is this? It’s beautiful!”

“This is your self-care package. You’ve been taking care of all of us for a long, long time, and you were always there for us whenever we needed you. Now, its time for you to take care of yourself, and give yourself attention!”

Victoria had stared at the two girls for a moment, before bursting into tears. She had hugged Julie and Flynn tightly, touched at the thoughtfulness of the girls.

Julie’s guilt had reduced, seeing her tía taking care of herself.

Rose

Rose and Julie had a habit of doodling on their new sneakers, whatever colour they may be. It was another way of bonding for the two of them. The first time Rose and Julie had doodled on their shoes was then Julie was four years old, and had come home, complaining about her teacher who had scolded her in front of the entire class for drawing on her shoes. Julie had tears in her eyes, and Rose refused to accept her little baby crying.

So, the next day, when Rose went to pick Julie up from school, the mother daughter duo had matching doodled sneakers to show off to Julie’s rude rude teacher. The teacher had taken one look at Rose’s shoes, and shut up about people letting their creativity flow. (Thank God, cause we don’t need people like that)

When Julie turned 14, and her mother had been in and out of the hospital for long enough to become an everyday activity (it never should’ve come to that, but Rose needed the doc’s help, and every time she got better, she got worse), her mother had been complaining once how her hospital slippers were plain and boring, and the doctors won’t let her do anything because too much movement or force on the brain made her lose consciousness, and no one wanted that.

One night, her father had stayed at the hospital with her mother, and Tía had been babysitting Carlos and Julie. Julie was in her parents’ room, because she missed her mom. Also, it was partly her house, she was allowed to be in that room. As she flopped on the bed, and rolled over to her mom’s side, she noticed the plain, boring hospital slippers.

Grabbing her markers, Julie quickly set to doodle on her mom’s slippers. She made intricate designs, with flowers and ghosts and mushrooms here and there. She didn’t know what else she could draw quickly, so Julie stuck to the basics that she knew.

The next day, Ray entered the house, looking for the slippers. Julie had simply handed the bag with Rose’s slippers, and he headed out.

Later that day, Ray sent a picture of Rose showing off her new, doodled slippers, and smiling at the camera. The caption read, “She’s been showing it to everyone who enters the room. Thank you, Julie <3”

It’s one of the happiest memories Julie has from her mom being in the hospital.

This is longer than I expected it to be, so I’m gonna post a separate Friends edition to this!

#okay this is longer than i expected #but im proud of myself #julie and the himbos #julie and the phantoms #carlos molina #ray molina #julie molina #rose molina #victoria #Julie’s tía #love language #handmade gift giving is a real love language #i may have cried a little bit #i listened to a very inappropriate song while writing this #julie and carlos #ray molina is the best dad

7 notes · View notes