#but i know plenty about renting in the states lol

[sentientcave]

And They Were Roommates

Got brainworms from Ceilidho talkin' about Fem!Soap and wrote out a few scenarios, and landed on this one as my favourite. Maybe personal trainer Soap and hot woman complimenting you in a dive bar bathroom Soap will get written about later on.

Part 1

Part 2 Here

(Fem!SoapxFemReader) ~2.2k words

Alcohol mention, but no other major flags at this point. (A few jokes about axe murderers) But also MDNI because this is an 18+ blog and there will probably be NSFW content in future parts

You had put an ad up online.

Your best friend had moved in with her boyfriend, leaving you with more apartment than you could afford. You had enough savings to get you through till the next month, but things were going to be dicey if you didn’t find someone to take over Fern’s half of the rent soon.

You’d had plenty of responses, mostly from men that gave you creepy vibes, even through digital means. You’d actually met with only one person, and she was allergic to cats, which made her a no go.

She’d been nice enough, though. If it really came down to it, maybe Fern would take Red Herring. She did love that fat orange bastard. And so do you. The thought of giving him up, even to Fern, doesn’t sit right.

Red meows loudly through the door as your key scrapes in the lock. You nudge him away with your foot while you enter the apartment, wary of any escape attempts. You feed him so he stops yelling at you, and boil water so you can feed yourself some instant ramen for dinner, and boot up your laptop to check the ad again.

A few more creepy responses, one of which is just a slightly blurry dick pic. You delete them. One that looks promising.

>Hey! I’m interested in the room if it’s still available! Can we meet soon? I’m a military gal and I’m being deployed again next week and I already gave notice at the last rat-hole I was renting. Seemed like 60 days was plenty of time for apartment hunting 60 days ago, but I haven’t found anything lol. Hopefully we get along! You can give me a call any time in the next few days, and we can set up a meet’n’greet. Thanks a bunch! Jamie MacTavish

Her number is in brackets below that, next to the soap emoji, for whatever reason.

No sense waiting around. You call the number right away.

“Hello?” The voice is a woman’s, a dusky alto, which is a good first sign.

“Hi, Jamie? I’m calling about the apartment. Or, um, from the apartment.” You give her your name as an after thought, feeling silly that you hadn’t led with that.

“Yaldy! I was hopin’ ye’d call. I’ve got a friend I can move in with if it comes down to it, but I really don’t want to. He lives in a worse rat hole than I do. Are ye busy now? I’ll buy ye dinner if you like, just for the short notice and the trouble.”

Anything would be better than ramen for dinner a second night in a row. “Yeah, alright. There’s a decent pub down the street, Keeler’s? It’s close so I can give you an apartment tour if you pass the ‘not a murderer’ vibe check.”

There's a beat of silence. “Does killin’ people in the line of duty count?” she asked. “Because, er, I have. But I’m not like, prone to doin’ that kind of thing in my spare time.”

You think about it a moment. State sanctioned violence does feel different than personal time violence, although you're pretty sure that speaks to some sort of unaddressed bias. Something to think about. “I appreciate the honesty, at least.”

She laughed. “I can meet ye at yer pub in half an hour. That work for ye?”

“Yeah. That works.”

“Great. I’ll text you a picture of me so ye know who tae look for. See you soon.”

You get the text a minute after you hang up. A picture of a gorgeous woman with big smile and bright blue eyes, the sides of her head shaved, the rest of it left long and braided back from her face. She looks normal enough.

You get ready and head out, texting Fern to let her know where you’d gone, just in case Jamie actually was a murderer in her spare time.

Jamie’s already there when you get to the pub, sitting at the bar with a pint, watching the door intently, her leg bouncing. You give her a little wave, and she beams at you. She’s even hotter in real life, wearing tight, ripped up jeans that cling to her muscular thighs, and a tight black tank-top under a cropped leather jacket. She has almost no jewelry, other than the dog tags around her neck and the silver hoops in her ears. She looks, well, normal. Friendly.

You go up and introduce yourself, earning a firm handshake. She’s strong.

“Hi!” she says excitedly. “Nice to meet you. I’m Jamie, but my friends call me Soap. I’d tell ye why, but it’s classified.”

“Is it really?”

“No. But it’s fun to say.” She flags down the bartender. “A pint for my friend here, if you don’t mind. You want to grab a booth? Or stay up at the bar?”

You look around, and there’s a few empty booths, but it’s early yet, and they tend to fill up quickly. “Let’s move. If we stay up here the single dads are going to start hitting on us.”

"We are a couple of dolls, aren't we?" She flashed another big smile at the bartender as he set a second pint out. "We're movin' to a table, if ye don't mind."

"No problem, love," he says, obviously besotted already. "I'll send Jenny around to take your order."

"Thanks, pal. Appreciate it."

You pick up the pint and follow her over to a booth, sliding in on the opposite side.

"So, you said you're military?"

"Ah am. SAS no less. Best of the bloody best. Not many jobs where ye get tae blow things up awl the time." She sheds her jacket, revealing impressively muscled arms. "I could just live on base, if things don't work out here, just so ye ken. No pressure on ye. But I hate stayin' on base when I don't have to. It's the communal showers. Most of the lads are, well, lads. Gotta shower in the middle of the night, and I keep bumpin' into my LT when I do. And he said I could move in with him too. I’m in a rush but I willnae be homeless, so ye don’t need to worry about me if you dinnae think we’ll get along."

You wince in sympathy. "That sounds terrible. I don't think I'd ever be comfortable showering in front of other people."

"Is naw so bad, if it's someone ye like seein' naked. But most of em are munters anyway. Wouldnae mind so much if more of 'em looked like you." She winked over the edge of her pint glass and took a swig.

You laugh at her little joke. She's fun, and you already feel at ease with her. She tells you about her old rat hole apartment, and a little about living on base, although she's a bit vague on the details of her actual job, beyond blowing things up.

She asks you about your work, and you tell her about the used bookshop you work at down the road. You're basically the only employee, and it's usually not too busy, although it can be annoying when you get a rush in the middle of pricing 'new' books. But it pays the rent, more or less. You talk a bit about Fern, and about Red Herring too.

"I love cats," she said excitedly. "Never been able to keep one, bein' away so much. LT had a dog, and he was awlright, but I'm definitely more of a cat girl. Got bit by a few too many pups in my day."

"Well, Red's a real love bug. Once we're done here you can meet him. I think we're going to get along fine."

"Och, really? Just like that, aye? Thought I'd have to work harder."

"Honestly, I thought I was going to have to accept some weirdo or give poor old Red away. You're a much better fit than I expected to find. I think we could be friends."

Her blue eyes track something behind you and narrow slightly. "Well, I'm holdin' ye to that. We're about to be accosted by my lads. Don't let them scare ye." She shoves her plate across the table into the spot next to you and clambers out of the booth. "Oi, what're you munters doin' here? I'm gettin' interviewed for an apartment. Dinnae need you scarin' my girl."

You look behind you, spotting a giant wearing a skull-print balaclava, and a more regular-sized (though no less muscular) black man with a brilliant smile. "We wanted to make sure she wasn't an axe murderer," he says pleasantly.

"Or a chainsaw murderer," the giant adds.

Soap cuts him off before he can take the seat beside you. "Over there," she orders, pointing at the opposite bench, where she'd been sitting. "I'm not lettin' you box her in." She grimaces at you apologetically as she drops into the spot beside you. Her thigh presses against yours for a moment, before you shift further down the bench. "They're sweet, in their own way. Think I need lookin' after. The big guy's Ghost, or LT. This handsome pain in the arse is Gaz. Don't let him sweet talk ye intae callin' him Kyle unless you want him tae put yer ankles up by yer ears. Made that mistake before."

"You don't have to bring that up every time you introduce me to a woman," Gaz says, clearly exasperated.

"I do. How else are they gonna know to call you for a good time?" She smacks his hand away from her plate when he reaches for it. "Oi! Order your own chips ye bastard."

"I only want a couple," Gaz protests.

"Ye always say tha' and ye always lie. Ah umnae fallin' for it again."

"You can have a couple of mine," you offer. "I wasn't going to finish them anyway."

"When do we get to see the place?" Ghost asked.

"Ye don't, unless yer carryin' boxes for me. I willna ask her to let three strangers in her home when she's only just met me."

"Well I guess we're helpin' ye move," Ghost said. "Was gonna leave it all to Price."

"Lazy cunts. Ne’er around when there’s work tae be done.”

“I was gonna help,” Gaz protests. “I already told you that.”

“And I did tell you that you could move into my place if you didn’t find somethin’ in time,” Ghost points out. “We’re not all bad.”

“Well, they’re not bad lads tae have watchin’ yer back in a fire-fight,” Soap admits. “But they dinnae know how to be normal about anythin’.”

“Are you supposed to be the normal one?” Ghost asks.

“Aye. And I willnae have you say otherwise in front of my new friend.”

She finishes eating long before you do, with the speed and gusto of a woman who often has to defend her plate against hungry scavengers. Gaz, true to Soap’s complaint, eats the majority of your chips, although he does thank you and give you a big, wide smile, the sort that could sell someone a bridge. He’s definitely a charmer.

Soap asks for the bill while you’re finishing up. You reach for your purse, but she puts a hand on yours and gives you an intense blue stare. “No, kitty. I told ye I was buyin’ ye dinner, I’ll no’ let ye make me a liar, especially when Gaz ate half your plate.”

God she’s strong. You’re not sure that you could shake her off to insist even if you tried. “Alright. I just—”

“Oh I ken. But I wouldna offer if I didna mean it. I’m a woman of her word.” She pays with cash, and offers you a hand up and out of the booth. She points a warning finger at her friends. “And dinnae follow us, ye creepy bastards.”

They laugh, like they hadn’t followed her to the pub in the first place.

“They really do mean well,” Soap says, linking her arm with yours as you step out onto the street. “But they’ve go’ a bad habit of thinkin’ they dinnae need to respect my space just ‘cause we’ve all spent nights crammed into one room sharin’ cots. I think if the captain had his way we’d all live in his house and sleep in a big fuck-off pile like dogs.”

“Sound a bit claustrophobic.”

“Aye. Ye understand why I’m so eager to make this work with ye, kitty-cat. If I move in with LT it’s just a matter of time before Price comes over tae help us fix somethin’ and says ‘Oh, I dinny know why ye both stay in this shitehole. Whyna stay with me a while, till we find ye somethin’ better?’ And then before we know it we’re all sleepin’ in the same bed and usin’ the same toothbrush.”

You giggle, hoping that's just a joke. “That’s gross.”

“I ken! Horrible men, they are. I need some girl time before I go mad.” She squeezes your arm and knocks her head against yours gently. “We’re goin’ tae be best friends in no time, kitty. I wish I wasna goin’ away so soon.”

“You haven’t even seen the apartment yet!”

“Och, tha’s a formality. I was more wurried about us gettin’ along, kitty. The apartment doesna matter all that much, so long as it’s got a workin’ shower and a place for my bed. If I pass Mr. Herring’s sniff test, I’ll give ye cash on the spot, aye? For next month an’ half of this one, since you’d be lettin' me move in before the first.”

And, well, it’s hard to think of a good reason to say no.

[eureka-its-zico]

After speaking with two doctors yesterday

I'm never felt so lost alone and depressed

Oh no hun 🥹i know you might feel alone right now but listen: YOU ARE NOT!! i‘m a real good listener so if you wanna talk feel free to!! We‘re all here for you even tho we might be only strangers to you (who ofc absolutely adore everything you write for us lil weirdos hehe)

It will get better believe me☀️

Osiyo, Nonnie 🖤

I’ve been having a hard time. I think the hardest part of having lung issues, especially lung issues after COVID, is that nobody knows what they are doing or what to look for.

I was admitted this year for the third time because I caught the common cold. My body literally cannot get sick or it immediately tries to unalive itself. I can’t clean my house (I still do because who else will clean it? lol) I can barely shower or get dressed or even walk from my bedroom to my kitchen on certain days when my breathing is bad. I can’t work. Not sure if anyone knows what it feels like to struggle to breathe (I’m sure some do), but it’s terrifying and painful and my body doesn’t respond to most treatments anymore.

I’ve been dealing with this for four years and every year it gets worse. I’ve finally gone to Stanford, a fancy hospital with fancy doctors, hoping they can help me but they are as lost as my doctors here. I got sent home from the hospital because no one knows how to help me. And yes, doctors tell me that all the time. They don’t know what to do for me except get me stable enough to go home when they know I’ll be back later.

I’m just very tired. I asked about permanent disability from my doctor and he refused. Said he believes in miracles and doesn’t want to believe I’ll always be broken like this even after three pulmonary doctors have stated that very fact. My lungs are collapsing. While it is a sweet sentiment, sweet sentiments don’t pay rent and bills and I can do neither of those.

I am just very stressed. Very tired. Very much heavily depressed. I’ll be ok. Christmas is coming and that means Christmas lights. I’m a slut for lights. 🥰

Thank you for your sweet message and reaching out. I’m sorry this is winded. I probably would say more but I’m sure no one wants to see sad things on their dash 🤣 I how you are well and taking care of yourself with plenty of rest Nonnie. Much love 🖤

[dirt-grub]

Saw the new Futurama episode! Gotta say, was pretty good. I wasn’t blown away but I wasn’t disappointed, and the writers were careful to not let their age show too much lol, that was my (and a lot of other people’s) criticism with late seasons of Futurama but yeah it was current and tactful. The satire was apt and a few jokes made me chuckle out loud. I muse on for a little more under the cut but yeah, excited to see more from writers I actually respect lol

I appreciate that Fry’s boomer brain is what saved him in the end. It’s mostly a joke that haha look Fry suddenly reads but in all seriousness it communicates how easy it actually is to get out of the constant stream of drivel content we experience from all angles, and the deceptive dopamine loop it traps us in. Like, I have arguments constantly with a lot of my irls about how they need to have better standards, because we waste so much of our lives and time filling it with useless noise.

There’s plenty of good art out there that does deserve your attention and you also aren’t going to die if you’re not “consuming” media for five seconds. I’m not perfect, much like 90% if not 99% of Americans my literacy has gone down the shitter since grade school, and I still give my time arguing about or wasting my attention on things that don’t deserve it. Truly though there was a time before The Endless Content Stream and if we want to preserve our brains we need to go back to it.

What WOULD have brought this to like a 10/10 is if they elaborated a little bit further on how the state of capitalism is the drive for all of this; they touch on it with the executive robots (which I just love, glad to see them make another appearance. Whenever they’re on screen I know the jokes are on point) but it’s a little accidentally deceptive having Leela (aka person who demands constant content) be the driving force behind the decision.

Futurama and the Simpsons have the center-left habit of assuming the population is lazy and demanding rather than stuck. This is a roundabout way of saying capitalism bad and that I’d love to spend more time outside and doing enriching new activities, but I have 8 hours to burn every single day in order to pay my overinflated rent. I, like many others, can’t do anything engaging in that time because work could suddenly demand me, so I resort to listening to something on my phone. (And, like a huge population of Americans, my job is tedious and not that demanding in reality- it’s only demanding because employers want to break you by not allowing bathroom breaks or sitting or whatever.) There is truth to the allure of laziness though- there’s something stopping me from going outside, but there’s nothing stopping me from reading a book.

So yeah. In conclusion, good Futurama episode. Also cool they cut Leela’s hair for the lesbians in the audience lol

[playgroundghosts]

Haven't been on Tumblr in a long time, update for my friends

Oooooooooooooof, the past year has been very traumatic for me but I might as well update people I guess. CW death (human and animal), trauma, family abuse, trust issues, etc?

In 2023, while I was living with my dad again, our home burned down. He unfortunately did not survive, "fortunately" Aki's own health was declining and I had to put her down months before it happened, although a friend moved in with us and her cat unfortunately didn't make it out. :'(

I'm still living with the same friend currently, and we adopted her cat's siblings (sister was already pregnant so now we have +3 kittens, so 5 cats, lol), legally my roommate's cats but I'm their uncle/grunkle figure, lol.

But yeah... my family's been absolute fucking shit, lmfao, my paternal grandpa (AKA my dad's dad) tried to scam me out of our home insurance money (contacted them while I was in the hospital with minor burns!!!) and he harassed me and tried to convince me to give him dad's car for free and shit, I even allowed him access to our shed (untouched by the fire) and he took shit that I asked him to take to my mom (my parents were divorced) and even changed the damn locks on the shed and cried that being near the burnt-up remains of our home was rough on him because he had COVID recently, fucking baby behavior when I LOST MY HOME, MY DAD, AND NEARLY EVERYTHING, FUCKING WOW???

Other relatives have been distant/don't reach out at "best", some of them have refused to help because "sorry, we don't have room" or pretend that they want to help but are conveniently always busy. I even had a memorial for my dad (which also included my younger brothers, who both died in unrelated accidents), I planned it weeks in advance to try to accommodate relatives that live out of state but barely anybody came fucking anyway. I asked my mom to do invites for her side of the family and she blatantly didn't invite anybody, and my dad's side of the family was being lazy as fuck too so I had to try to hunt down my dad and brothers' friends to try to invite. The only family that came was one of my uncle's brothers (who lived locally), my mom, and my little sister. At least plenty of my brothers' friends came, but I planned it for PEOPLE THAT AREN'T ME with not much help so thanks for flaking, everybody that didn't fucking come!

I'm very much done with my family except for my little sister, the rest of them are assholes that can go fuck themselves tbh.

I'm mostly back on my feet after months of having to wait for documents to be replaced, waiting for insurance stuff to be resolved because "scampa" (as my friends have been calling him) really delayed shit by trying to act like he was the point of contact when he wasn't even named in the policy or EVER a resident of our home, waiting for social workers only for them to repeatedly flake on me... I've gained some pretty bad trust issues after all this, ngl!

Our current home is a manufactured home that was meant to be a gift for my middle brother but when he died, scampa rented it out to some nasty hoarders that he knew and let it go to shit. He wanted $5k for it, after previously claiming that he'd give it to me for free, then upping it to $2k, to finally upping it to $5k. He acted like he would help clean and fix things up but when I found out about his insurance fuckery, he ghosted, fucking scam artist piece of shit. So I've been cleaning this nasty trailer, DIY fixing shit, and also tidying up the very-much-neglected-yard mostly by myself for the past year. (My roommate helps of course, but she works while I'm on disability so I'd rather not overwork her when she already has a "real" job, you know?)

Also been dealing with a lot of stress with therapy, lol... the psych place I was going to at the time of the fire was already kinda meh, the new psychiatrist there was constantly trying to convince me to go off more and more meds even after my fucking home burned down, so I tried switching to a new place. I tried the new place (Hegira in Michigan, fuck them) for about a month but it was impossible to reach my therapist, she cancelled our first appointment the day before and when I tried to reschedule after SHE cancelled, I was told (by office staff) that I'd have to wait a month, despite my trauma. I couldn't get in touch with her directly at all and my case manager even went on vacation and was also impossible to reach, it felt like bullshit. I asked if I could be reassigned to somebody else and they were difficult about it, and I'd constantly leave messages to different people and not get called back about it, and I had to repeatedly call the damn admission office because otherwise nothing got fucking done.

Finally found a different psych practice elsewhere, got a fancy PTSD diagnosis (yay...) and I was told that it sounds like I had PTSD from several incidents even before the fire (yay x2...), so I get to deal with the fun extra betrayal of "Hey wait, I asked several of my past psychiatrists if I could possibly have PTSD and they insisted on anxiety/depression!" :')

Now the Dump's been reelected and I've already been dealing with some anti-LGBTQ discrimination locally, lol. :') Yay, I love things getting worse!!!

I've been trying to reach out to the community a bit to not be a huge fucking shut-in, but I get randos in local Facebook groups calling me a groomer and shit, and group admins don't do shit despite this obviously breaking official group rules, yay. I tried reporting some people in one group (report to group admin, not report to Facebook) that claimed to have "no rules, but don't break Facebook TOS" and the (sole) group admin kicked me out for "trying to get the group in trouble" when... my guy... the people trying to get the group in trouble are literally the people accusing me of gross NSFW at playgrounds that you clearly want to fucking defend since you won't punish them, wtf? I even tried messaging the guy because hey, you'll boot me but not these people saying nasty shit? One other member even said that one guy who loved harassing me was saying nasty shit about his daughter so he blocked the loser. My message were completely ignored, doesn't even have the "NAME read this" thing at the bottom. Well, fuck you too, obvious MAGAt loser.

At least being a cat uncle (or grunkle, to the kittens) has been chaotic but in a good/fun way, we were gonna adopt the kittens out but we got too attached, lol. My roommate (trans woman) favors the 2 girl kittens and I (trans man) favor the 1 boy kitten, and he seems to favor me too, maybe because his sisters prefer their "grandma hooman" so he knows he can hog me, lol. My roommate's a few years older than I am (32 :'( ) so we joke that she's a hag since she's a 35 year old cat-grandma.

But yeah... not taking anybody's bullshit anymore, no more patience for that shit. Most of my family is MAGA scum anyway, can't claim that you're a good Christian when you ignore your homeless relative around Christmas (last year), fucking losers, lol. "We don't have room :'(" Bruh, I ran out of my fucking burning home with the clothes on my fucking back (plus my phone to call 911 and my glasses), way to fucking lie. The only thing that I could really salvage from inside our home was fortunately Aki's urn, I chose a metal (tin?) one so it was charred to shit and some of her cremains spilled out, but having at least some of her cremains is better than nothing. Everything else? My dad's car, the few things in it, and stuff that was in the shed. There wasn't much left outside but plenty was fire-damaged anyway, like the lids on our trash cans melted into the body of the cans since they were right outside the trailer.

And even with little that I DID have left, it's so fucking scummy that my scampa tried to beg for my dad's car (FOR FREE!!!) and try to get the insurance check, what the FUCK!!! Not only that but we were underinsured because dad hadn't updated the policy in years, so I got like $40k ($30k for cost of our trailer, $10k for property) and plenty of the money had to go toward cremating my dad, demolishing the old trailer, fixing this current hunk of junk up, etc so it's not like I'm suddenly rich now. Good to know that I'm worth scamming after the most traumatic time of my life, scampa! According to the insurance adjuster, our old trailer was worth more like $60k or $70k with all the modifications that my dad had made, like solar panels, a wood stove, etc.

Fortunately some local people donated clothes, kitchen stuff, etc for our "new" home, and we did a GFM to hold us over until I could get the insurance money (thanks a fucking lot for the delays, scampa!), although I feel a bit cross about certain people offering to help with things and then flaking hard.

It's also been really difficult cleaning and fixing this place up, like we were absolutely infested with ants when it got warmer in the summer and I hired a pest control guy after store-bought stuff, diatomaceous earth, etc weren't doing the job, his pesticides didn't do shit, lmfao. So I had to spend even more money to buy some stuff from online. Scampa didn't tell us that we had fruit trees outside and his gross tenants probably just ignored them with how nasty it was when we moved in. I had to yell at scampa to clean the damn fridge because it was full of moldy food. Like BRUH!!!

Also had plenty of shit break on us... like the washer/dryer that were here, so I used some of the insurance money to replace them. And certain things that I hired a handyman for, and he ripped us off by offering to come over on the weekend, not disclosing that he had a "time and a half" fee for the weekend, and then took fucking days to bring a receipt over which said why it was so fucking expensive. And our furnace stopped working recently so we had to get it repaired, even though we called a different company to inspect it months ago and he said it was fine, when this recent company said that it was poorly hooked up so it likely overheated and killed the motor.

I also tried to hire a family friend (friend of a brother) to do yardwork, paid him $100 upfront, we agreed on what would be done, and then he did partial work and said he was "done" and that I should "let him know if I have more work to be done" as if the yard wasn't covered in branches and weeds and shit. So I've been doing yard work myself every week or 2 (depending on how fatigued I am) to manage the trees (we have 10+) and other yard plants, I paid a different guy (way more reliable) to mow our grass while I was clearing the yard, until I could start mowing it myself to save money.

I've lost count at this point but I've filled over 20 fucking yard waste bags full of branches/sticks, plenty of which were already on the fucking ground before I started trimming the branches because they were out of control, and that's not even counting the actual garbage (non-yard waste) that I bagged up! Doesn't include all the clutter (mostly fucking trash) that was in the shed either! Took fucking months of doing "Tetris" with the trash can to get rid of OUR weekly trash plus the clutter left here, because we were already ripped off for the cost of the trailer, like we wanted to pay extra to have somebody haul junk out of here. Fortunately some of the clutter was salvagable so I left the not-obvious-garbage at the curb for randos to take.

Nosy friends are free to ask me for burnt home pics (RIP :'( ) or current trailer/yard cleaning progress pics, but I'd rather not post them publicly, I'm sure y'all understand. :')

Sorry for the rambling, it's... a lot, hahah, and I ramble anyway.

I was hoping to finally start T soon but I'm feeling hesitant with a possible Orange Man presidency on the horizon... With all the shit that I've already dealt with, I almost feel like I need to be more defensive and tell more people (in real life) to eat shit, fuck off, etc when they give me dirty looks or say rude shit tbh. Not like the people accusing me of grooming kids get fucking punished at all...

[cowboybuckleys]

I don't know much about how contracts and stuff work in the UK, but is Alya allowed to demand her deposit back just 'cause she decided to move out?

Is that why shes trying to get money outta Eileen?? Would that even be Eileen’s responsibility?? O_O Alya’s been acting like a jerk towards everyone lately, I’ve just kinda blocked a lot of her stuff out tbh lol.

I’m not sure how it works in the UK either. I assume that she moved out early without a whole lot of notice? In the states at least, you would be lucky to get a deposit back if you moved out early on a lease. And even then the landlord would still have a few weeks or a month, depending on what state you live in, to return any money from it. When I moved outta my last place 6 months early I had to forfeit my deposit as “rent” for the months they couldn’t find a new tenant. We got maybe $50 back of a $1400 deposit and we were lucky to even get that lol. I would assume the UK at least has some similar tenancy rules to ours?? If so, i don’t think Alya would have much legal leeway to demand anything from Eileen just yet.

[cosmicangst]

So, so glad I discovered your page because it had such good psycho pass content and kougino lives rent free in my head! Why?? aren't they more popular?? Anyway, those posts with quotes tagged of them are absolutely the end of me.

You know, there are so little of them in S3 reunited that who knows is they didn't meet for the first time in dad's old bunker house accidentally and totally had to make up and Kou professed his love? And they've been shagging ever sin-Anyway, I'm writing that fanfic soon

Cheers, let's stay in touch

thank you! happy to provide 😌

kougino is so underrated. ive always been a fan of people with shared complicated history esp when they live in that really interesting tension of knowing each other the best while also knowing very little at all. i always hc kou and gino as kind of being each other’s unspoken first love that never came to fruition—in the sense that they never explicitly spelled it out but the potential was always there until they were too estranged to acknowledge or really do anything about it. like one of those things where they’re young and getting drunk with each for the first time and in a vulnerable moment gino confesses that he’s never been kissed and kou drunkenly states that he can fix that. gino’s reluctant at first, they get a little too into it, nearly cross a line but kou passes out and then the morning after they pretend it didn’t happen. until it happens a second time. then a third. but they NEVER talk about it once. yknow… basic platonic best friend activities lol

and you are so right. in my ideal kougino world they are definitely friends with benefits and wearily pretending they don’t love each other until they both realize they’re too old and tired to continue playing an insecure young man’s game and are finally honest in a very soft way that’s completely opposite to how they’ve treated each other in the past. the alternative is that they are very toxic and refuse to be vulnerable with each other and i just like that for the angst factor

realistically, im hoping that the upcoming new movie does spend some time exploring their current dynamic. as with many of my ships for this show im not daring to hope for anything explicitly romantic but i do want to see some genuine care in how their characters and relationship are treated. doesn’t have to be much lol i can do plenty with just subtle implications alone but the worst thing the writers can definitely do is paint them as indifferent to the other. i don’t think i can abide by that

if you ever write any kougino fic i’d be very happy to read it! we need more

[vermillioncrown]

Hello Verm! I’m about to live on my own for the first time (feeling like an Older Sibling bc I’m the first to do so yet I’ve got none of the life skills lol) and I wanted to see if you had any advice

hahhaaaa...

it really depends, bc while i was 'living on my own' since 18, it was for college so i wasn't completely financially independent and i had roommates (that didn't stop us from being disasters)

when i got to grad school, i was in school housing but was completely on my own, and then a couple of internships w short-term rentals but w roommates for those. even now, i'm not so (let's say i'm like... 95% independent? with an unspoken parental safety net that i don't like using but i acknowledge it's there)

this is for the general, milquetoast scrub that's moving out of their parents' home and has a semi-secure source of money in

1. money

your life is now on a monthly cycle bc of bills. you can change the timing of when bills are due via online account/calling (sucks, but do it), and a priority is to make sure when your money comes in lines up with when your bills are due. so much bad shit happens when you technically make enough money to pay for your life, but the timing messes everything up.

the essential bills: phone, insurances, rent/mortgage, gas, electric, water/sewage, trash, internet.

2. transportation

where must you be? where are important locations (work, groceries, home supplies, hospital/clinic, other services, etc)? do you know how to get to these places in a reliable way? safe, reliable walking routes? take time to study public transportation routes, timing (safety is important) if that's your way.

if you're driving, parking lots/parking, routes (both local/highways), timing of traffic, gas stations is important to keep in mind. AND the closest little chain repair shop, for a quick diagnostic of what the fuck is wrong when something seems wrong. get a tire pressure gauge, and learn how to jump a battery.

3. sustenance and cooking

you need food to live

pick out a few recipes. a mix between 1) quick to make vs 2) can make a lot/freeze. those can become your fallback-no-braincells-necessary meals, and a good meal can raise your morale when shit gets bad (and when you're living alone and sitting in the dark on your computer, it's so easy to slip into a fugue state)

buy staples. don't feel the need to buy the cheapest (dried grains vs canned) bc sometimes you need to pay for convenience so you can live your life. ie, my soul departs every time i need to chop onions, and if i need to make a huge thing i splurge for the pre-chopped veggies so i save time. and don't waste food.

OH! frozen vegetables are a good thing to keep and make. the nutritional value is kept for much longer than fresh. canned sardines are a great source of protein and they're tasty when fried w pasta and lemon juice.

get a set of cooking utensils, a non-stick pan to fry stuff (try to find a lid to fit on it), a pot for boiling stuff (w a lid), and a bigger soup pot for stews and shit (if you can make the lid for this fit over the non-stick, too, that's the best). hot water kettle. a mini-rice cooker (the more barebones one)

why do i care so much about lids? keeps things clean, lets you 'steam' cook things (stir-frying vegs, even cooking through of meat, frozen potstickers!)

get a set of multisize tupperwares

4. home upkeep

don't be a slob. you don't need to live like a sterile home magazine, but get into the habit of picking up after yourself. everything you do has direct consequences upon yourself (you make a mess, that's your mess to clean)

learn how to clean your bathroom. clean your kitchen. there are plenty of chores cheat sheets for periodicity and extent of how to take care of your place.

if you will live in an apartment, the management company/landlord is responsible for repairs and big maintenance. do not be shy in putting in maintenance requests.

hey. take care of your clothes. wash them on gentle for the most part, make sure you separate by colors, and low temp dry/air dry them. improves longevity of your stuff/saves you money in the long run/keeps you looking kempt.

remember to wash your bedding, change your pillowcase every week (get a pack of pillowcases to use) (if you get lazy and it's just you and you're not taking anyone in bed, and you don't wear your outside germy clothes into bed, once a month for bedding will suffice)

if you have a dryer in your place, find the lint catch and empty it EVERY TIME. you do not want your place catching fire

you can clean most home area stuff w bleach diluted in water (if you're lazy and don't want a bunch of specialty chemicals). do not mix cleaning chemicals or you will violate the geneva convention. and possibly cook yourself alive

5. you upkeep

take care of yourself. build general habits (since it's so easy to just go off the rails as soon as someone is not observing you), you don't have to be 100% put together bc i'm still a fucking mess, but at least i generally eat 2 meals a day and always wash my face/brush my teeth

you'll find yourself not doing a lot of little things that you might have taken for granted when you lived w other people.

make sure to keep in regular contact w people you care about, do not hole up completely. go make friends at wherever you're commonly at (the school/workplace that made you move, or whatever)

breathe some outside air every once in a while, it'll make you less crazy

brush your teeth and floss, complications from bad dental hygiene are no fucking joke

that's all i got, good luck 👍

[leossmoonn]

hi can i have a stefan x fem reader fluff ig? idk stefan has been living in my mind rent free i miss him so much lol😌

yes 🥰

————

masterlist 

imagine - having your first offical date w stefan! (fem!reader)

note - this wasn't meant to be a blurb in the first place,  but this is like super long. i got kinda carried away.. like 3.2k words...... enjoy :

“Oh, you look so cute!” Caroline squealed. She jumped on her heels in excitement, standing back to look at her work. 

You were going on a date tonight with the very handsome, very mysterious Stefan Salvatore. He had been in town for a few months, and while you knew all about vampires and witches, you never actually had a chance to talk to him one-on-one. There were many occasions where you had to save your best friends, and you had to work with him. From what you gathered by working with him he was kind, smart, funny, and extremely handsome. You were very surprised he asked you out, considering you two never actually spoke to one another. 

He had asked you out after Isabel came into town. Amongst all the crazy, there still seemed time to enjoy a nice date out with a nice boy, so you took the chance. There was really no reason to say no, anyways. 

You had told your best friends about the date, making them very excited and very pushy in helping you. Caroline, who was the head in all of this help, planned your outfit, makeup, and gave you pointers on what to say and how to act. You felt a little annoyed by her, but you knew she meant well. Plus, she really did dress you in something cute.

You looked in the mirror, seeing yourself in a dark-blue dress and a black belt that went around your waist. The dress was spaghetti-strapped, so you had to wear a black jacket over it. The dress ended just right above your knees, and you had black heels to match. Caroline had insisted on you leaving your hair in its natural state so Stefan could see the real you, but you decided to put it up in your favorite hairstyle. Your makeup was natural, all but the red lipstick on your lips that Caroline also insisted on. You couldn’t help but smile, you loved what she did.

“Thank you, Care,” you smiled. You turned back to your friends, seeing Bonnie and Elena’s faces in big smiles. 

“What?” You asked. 

“You just... you’ve never been on a date before. I’m so excited for you!” Elena exclaimed. 

You chuckled, “I’m excited for me, too. After tonight, I won’t be the friend who hasn't been on a date anymore!”

“Well, I haven't been on a date before,” Bonnie said. 

You scoffed, “Uh, yes, you have. You just haven’t had a boyfriend before, which is something I haven’t had, either.”

“Yeah, Elena’s the only one who has had a boyfriend,” Caroline smirked. 

Elena rolled her eyes, “Yeah, and we all saw how that worked out.”

You chuckled a little. A knock on the front door got your attention. 

“Is that him?” Bonnie asked. 

You nodded, suddenly getting nervous. Caroline sensed your nervousness and pulled you into a hug. 

“You will do great! He asked you out without even getting to know you, don’t stress,” she said. 

“Thanks, Care. I gotta go. I can’t keep him waiting,” you sighed and pulled away. 

The girls followed you to the door, making you roll your eyes and try to shoo them away. You opened the door, your anxiety almost immediately disappearing  once you saw Stefan. 

He was wearing jeans, a grey-fitted shirt and a leather jacket. He had a big smile on his face as he looked at you. 

“You look beautiful,” he spoke, looking into your eyes. You looked down at the ground with a shy smile on your face.

“Thank you. You look really, really um, handsome,” you said, bashful. 

“Thank you,” he smiled. “Are you ready to go?” He held his hand out for you to take. 

You lifted your head up, putting your hand out hesitantly and slipping it into his. Tingles ran up from your fingers to your arm as you interlocked hands with his. 

“Have fun!” Elena giggled. 

“Not too much, though!” Caroline exclaimed.

You looked back, rolling your eyes at them. You went out of your house, shutting the door behind you. Stefan walked you to his car, opening the door for you. 

“Wow, and he’s chivalrous,” you teased, stepping into the car. 

“Back in my day, women were treated like princesses. Every man did everything for them,” Stefan said. 

“Wow, sounds like heaven. I mean, despite all the rights we didn’t have,” you snorted. 

Stefan chuckled, “True.”

Stefan got in the driver’s seat, starting the car. 

“So, where are you taking me?” You asked. “My house,” Stefan answered. 

“Oh, I should’ve put on something more... chill,” you chuckled, looking down at your date attire.

“No, no! This is proper date attire, anyways. I’m cooking for us,” Stefan glanced at you, smiling.

“Woah, I feel so special,” you smiled. “I like to cook for the girls I take out,” Stefan said. 

“And do you... take a lot of girls out?” You asked. You started to feel nauseous as you thought of his answer.

“No, honestly. Just whenever I do, I cook,” he shrugged. 

You nodded. “When was the last time you had a girlfriend?” 

“Um, 1964, I think,” he answered. Your eyes widened, “You waited 45 years?”

“Well, it’s not like I waited to find the right one or anything. I was just never very interested in dating or anything,” he answered honestly. 

“What made you change now?” You asked. “Oh, well,” Stefan started. Now it was his turn to be shy. 

“Well, first off, you. I know we’ve never talked a lot, but whenever I would see you, I’ve always would think you were pretty. And, Caroline and Damon wouldn’t stop teasing my about my “very apparent crush”,” he explained. 

“I never noticed it. Then again, most people are oblivious to those types of things,” you chuckled.  “Agreed. But yeah, so, you’re basically my reason.” You smiled, “You know you to make a girl feel special.”

“I try,” Stefan smiled and parked his car the the Salvatore house entrance. Stefan got out, hurrying to open the door for you. 

You giggled, “Thank you.”

Stefan hummed a “you’re welcome”.

You two entered the house. You had been here plenty times before, so it wasn’t a big surprise to you. But the kitchen table was. 

The table had a white cloth on it, candles, silverware on napkins, and a pretty bouquet of flowers on it. You smiled, “This is so beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Stefan said, moving past you to the stove. You went over to him, watching him grab a pan and different ingredients. 

“So, what are you making?” You asked. “Ratatouille,” he answered. 

You cocked up a brow. “Like from the movie?”

“Yeah,” Stefan smiled. 

“Cool,” you smiled. 

“Do you mind helping me?” Stefan asked. “Nope. Not at all. I must admit, I like cooking, but I'm really bad,” you chuckled. 

“I bet you’re not that bad,” Stefan said. “We’ll see. So, what do you need me to do?” You asked. 

“Preheat the oven to 375, please,” he directed. 

You nodded and walked over to the oven.

“Now, help me with slicing some vegetables. Which one do you want to slice, eggplant, squash, tomato, or zucchini?” Stefan asked.

“Um, I’ll take the squash,” you said. You went over next to him, taking a knife and placing the eggplant on the cutting board. 

“So, what was life like in the 19th century?” You asked. 

“Hm, peaceful. Fun, relaxing. Of course, there was a war going on, and vampires running through town,” Stefan said.

“Like Katherine?” You asked. Stefan sighed, “Yeah, like Katherine.”

“What about your childhood?” You asked. 

“Um, rough? My mom died when I was little and my dad was always tough on us. We were expected to be men by age 6.”

“Wow, that sounds fun.” Stefan chuckled, “It was. How about you? What was your childhood like?”

“Fun, relaxing, never boring. Well, that was before I met Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie,” you said. 

“What was it like before then?”

“Um.. horrible? I had like, no friends,” you chuckled. “I was the weird, book-carrying girl that no one liked and everyone teased. Bonnie and Elena adopted me soon after I was in one of their classes in middle school. I’ve been best friends with them ever since. Granted, I'm more closer with Bonnie and Elena, Caroline was kind of jealous of me I think, but we all are best friends. I couldn’t imagine my life without them.” Stefan smiled, “That’s sweet. Damon was, and well, still is, my best friend, as much as I hate to admit it. We’ve drifted apart. A lot. Ever since we were vampires we have been.”

“Wow. Well, it's nice to at least have someone like that you can ask for help, always. I'm a single child. But, Caroline and Bonnie are like the two sisters I’ve never had. Elena, of course, has Jeremy,” you said. “Who isn't here, but hey, that’s why she has us.”

“That’s nice. Well, wait, now thinking about it, I do have a best friend, other than Damon,” Stefan said. 

“Ooh, who?”

“Her name’s Lexi,” he said. “If she’s your best friend, where is she?” You asked. 

“In New York. We send emails to each other and whatnot. She’s the one who helps with my bloodlust,” he explained.

“Wow, she sounds really nice,” you smiled. “Yeah, she is. And don’t worry, there is nothing romantic going on there. She just makes me a better person,” he explained. 

“That was my next question. Well, I hope I get to meet her someday. She sounds awesome,” you smiled. 

“I hope so, too. Hey, maybe I’ll email her and have her come over next time. She's actually very interested in you,” he said. 

“Oh, really? She knows about me?” You asked. 

“Well, I mean, she asks me all the time if I'm seeing anyone, and I told her I liked you, and well I told you about her,” Stefan blushed. 

You giggled, “Well, good to know. I'm even more excited to meet her now.”

“Good, good. I’ll tell her that,” he winked. Your face began to feel warm again and you hid your face from his view. 

He had a big smile on his face. He moved over to the stove, turning on the heat and put on a saucepan. 

“What happens now, chief?” You asked, settling your hands on your hips. 

“Well, now we make the sauce. You mind dicing these bell peppers?” He asked, getting one yellow and one red one out of the fridge. 

You nodded, washing your hands and beginning to dice them. 

“Do you want some wine?” Stefan asked, holding a wine bottle.

“Sure,” you smiled. 

“This is the good stuff. We keep all the good liquor in this cabinet. Don’t tell anyone,” Stefan said. 

You nodded, “Lips are sealed.”

Stefan smiled and poured you a glass, setting it next to him. You thanked him, dicing up the bell peppers. Once you were done, you let Stefan take over. He put olive oil in the pan a few minutes before, then put the bell peppers, onion and garlic he was dicing earlier. 

“How did you learn how to cook?” You asked.

“Um, kind of just by watching my mom. I learned more by doing jobs and stuff. You know, I can’t be a lazy vampire the whole time, so I went to culinary school. It was a good hobby for me and soon became a fun, creative, and easy thing for me to do. It distracted me a lot from the bloodlust and family, too,” he explained.

“Culinary school, huh? That’s really cool,” you said. 

Stefan chuckled. “Thanks .”

You hummed in reply. You two talked more about your childhoods, interests, what you want to do after high school. After a few minutes of the vegetables sautéing, you had put the veggies that you had sliced up into a pattern in the pan. Stefan put the pan in the oven, setting the timer. 

“So, what do we do now?” You asked. “Well, we could drink more wine and talk or, we can drink more wine and I can give you a house tour,” he said. 

“Ooh, I want house tour!” You exclaimed. 

“Alright. Follow me, m’lady,” Stefan said, holding his arm out for you.

You giggled, “Don’t mind if I do, kind sir.” You wrapped your arm around his, your hand intertwining with his. Your other hand held the wine glass that he had refilled. 

“So, that’s the kitchen, as you saw. This is the living room, and the Salvatore study is on the other side. You’ve already seen those, though, so let’s go upstairs.”

You nodded, walking with him up the stairs.

“So, over here are a few guest bedrooms. This is Damon’s room,” Stefan said, opening the door a little. You peeked into it, your eyes widening. 

“Wow. Never knew Damon was such an alcoholic,” you snorted, pulling your head back. 

“All vampires are, honestly. We’re basically immortal so, you know, no liver disease or anything for us,” Stefan said. 

“Wow, lucky. I mean, I don’t drink much anyways. I usually just have one beer at every party I go to. I don’t like the taste of cheap beer,” you explained. 

“Wow, I may have just found the perfect woman,” Stefan teased. 

You giggled, “Yeah, my friends think I'm too picky, but you know, if I’m gonna drink, I wanna drink the good stuff.”

“Exactly! See, I understand you, don’t worry,” Stefan smiled. 

You smiled, leaning into him a little as he led the way down the hall. You put your head on his shoulder, enjoying the warmth that he was exhibiting. You liked how you felt while being close to him, too. You felt safe, comforted. At home.

He looked down at you, smiling. “Here are a few more guest rooms, and here is my room,” he said.

“Can we go in?” You asked. 

Stefan nodded, opening the door. You stepped in the room, looking over everything. 

His bed at across the room, against the wall. He had his desk in the middle of the room, a bunch of books on it. He had a couch next to his bed and a few other chairs around the room, too. There was a huge bookshelf with lots of other books and other decorative objects. 

“Wow. your room is huge,” you said. 

“Yep,” Stefan said, standing in the doorway. 

You went over to his bed, taking a seat. Stefan went over and took a seat next to you. 

“This is a... wow,” you said, bouncing on the bed slightly. “This is a comfortable bed. Where did you get this mattress?” 

“Um... I’m not sure,” Stefan chuckled. 

“Ugh, I am jealous,” you smiled. “I wish I could sleep here.”

“Maybe you can if we continue uh, going on dates and stuff,” Stefan said. 

You turned to him, smiling big. “I’d like that.”

Stefan smiled at you, putting his hand on your cheek, rubbing his thumb up and down on your cheekbone lightly. Your stomach did flips and your whole body became warm from his touch. You saw him leaning in and you started to get nervous. You had never kissed anyone before. Well, you have, but your first kiss was just a peck. And you had a feeling that this wasn’t gonna be just a peck. 

You leaned in, too, taking a deep breath to try and calm yourself down. Unfortunately, that didn’t work. Stefan’s face got closer and you felt his lips brush on yours with feathery-light pressure. Your body jolted back, your eyes going wide. 

Stefan looked at you, worried. 

“Did I... did I do something wrong?” He asked. 

You started to blush profusely. “No,” you shook your head. “I just um... the feeling really was new and surprising to me.”

Stefan smiled, “Yeah, kisses with the right person are like that.”

“You didn’t even kiss me, though,” you chuckled. 

“Do you want me to?” Stefan asked, looking into your eyes. 

You smiled and nodded slowly, scooting closer to him. Stefan put his hand on your face again. bringing his lips to yours. He kissed you and your whole brain exploded. You saw bright colors as you kissed him back, loving the feeling he gave you. His lips were soft and warm, and were really really good at kissing. They kissed you back slowly, softly. He was going gentle on you, which was something you appreciated immensely. Your hands went up to his neck, wanting him closer.

You pulled away for air, though, your eyes meeting his instantly. You went back to your flustered and shy behavior, looking away from him and biting your lip in excitement. Stefan couldn’t help but smile at how cute you were. 

The oven beeped downstairs, singling that the ratatouille was done. He took your hand, pulling you up. 

“Hungry?” He asked. 

You smiled, “Very.”

You two walked back downstairs. You set two glasses and poured wine in them while Stefan took out the pan. He put the food on two dishes, mixing up a salad and getting some dinner rolls. 

You went over to him, getting your plate and setting it down on the plate by your chair. Stefan brought over the rest of the food, sitting down with you. 

“Dig in,” Stefan smiled. 

You did as he said, groaning at how amazing the food tasted. 

“You are... ugh, amazing. God. What can’t you do?” You asked. 

Stefan smiled. “Um... I can’t bake.”

You scoffed, “Everyone can bake. Sorry, Stefan, you're perfect.”

Stefan smiled, “Nope, that’s you.”

“Oh, yeah?” You smiled. 

“Yeah,” he smiled bigger and nodded.

You blushed profusely again. “I think the wine is catching up to us.”

“Hm, maybe. But you asked,” Stefan smiled. You laughed, “I did.” You two ate and talked a little more about your hobbies. After a third glass of wine, you decided that it was time for you to go. So, Stefan went and drove you home. The drive home was silent, but comfortable. Stefan had asked to put a hand on your thigh, to which you smiled and granted him access to. His touch made you warm and fuzzy inside, which was something you would be able to experience again with him. 

Stefan got to your house, walking you up the the door. 

“I had an amazing time,” you smiled.

“I did, too,” Stefan smiled.

You took his hands in yours, leaning up and pressing a kiss to his lips. He kissed you back for a few moments before you two pulled away for air. 

“I’ll call you, uh, later,” you said. 

“Alright. I’ll be waiting. Have a good night, Y/n,” Stefan smiled. 

You smiled back at him. “I will. See you tomorrow.” You unlocked your door, going inside your house.

“You, too,” Stefan smiled, watching you close the door with a big smile. 

You shut the door behind you, putting your back to the door, seeing Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie in your living room. 

“So, how was it?” Bonnie asked. 

“I think I’m in love.”

————

Like and Reblog !

taglist form

@123cxcv

[frogl3gs]

Hi! I’m too shy to ask off anon lol but I’m a recent grad from Houston and I’ve been considering looking for my next job (in journalism) in Austin (though I’m looking out of state too). I was wondering if you could give a pros/cons of the city since I know you’ve been looking to leave for a little while now. Thanks either way!!

omg yes I definitely can!! and if you want to just send me a message off anon on chat we can talk there too if you have specific questions! also, just want to throw a little disclaimer on here that these are just my opinions lol and that they might not be true for you but i will try to explain my reasoning for each one of them :). also, fwiw, i’ve been to houston a few times but have never spent a large amount of time there - only ever day trips really. i do have multiple friends who either live in houston now orrrr used to live there. -one of the top reasons to move away for me and specifically to oregon is access to green space. austin does a really good job however we live in texas lol. let’s be real. i grew up outside of city limits on acreage for most of my life with the ability to spend a legitimate amount of time outside and that’s really important to me. there are plenty of little trails and cool spaces to visit and most people have fun on them but the allure of the PNW and being within 9 hours of multiple national parks and forests just outweighs being a 9 hour drive from big bend or padre, you know? i like options. however, i do believe austin will be an upgrade from houston in this aspect. also, renting a house vs just an apartment has had a great positive affect on me mentally and physically. -another top reason is the social life/culture (?). i’m sure this is heavily influenced by my age/demo (late 20s) but people want to go and drink. all. the. time. and i feel like there are no other options? there is nothing else to do really. we don’t really have any museums. our zoo sucks lol. people really only want to drink. and i’m basically sober. i can’t even remember the last time i had a drink (probably early 2019?). i just don’t like drinking. i do like hanging out but am not a big drinker. i would rather go and do things with friends like exploring or hiking or hanging out outside. but there is a huge drinking culture here. i know this will probably be the same in oregon however, i feel like i will be able to find people who are also into doing outside things instead as well. or i will just go by myself lol. so even though austin feels way more active and like, health-conscious than houston is, i feel like oregon is even more so. so i would just like to go further on that spectrum lol. 

-another big reason is that i sweat year-round. like even when it’s cold, i sweat. and as you know, texas is hot. everyone i’ve ever met tells me houston is more humid than austin which great! however i’m still suffering in the humidity that austin has lol and my first year here we had 100+ days of 100+ degree heat. and i had to walk all over ut’s FORTY ACRE campus lmao. it was hate from the beginning lmao. so moving somewhere that doesn’t have regular highs of like 108 would be great lol.  -those are my main reasons. a few other things that make it easy to leave but not necessarily a reason to leave is that I’m not really enmeshed here in anyway. i have friends and i’m in a book club but not really any best friends here. all of my college friends live in one of the other four metro areas. my family isn’t close and actually also all spread out over texas and oklahoma. my sister lives in vegas. my fiance has a huge family all within a very small radius of portland and he is very close with his family. i am not super close to my family. at least not the same way he is. the only reason we’re still here is because i got a new job before my lease was up! also i have been dreaming of taking my dog to the pnw before i had a dog or had even visited the pnw. since i was a little kid, i wanted to spend time with my (then fictional) dog hiking and bonding with my dog. it’s literally all i’ve ever wanted and can’t wait to do that and give that to my puppy lol. 

sooo depending on what you’re into and what you like doing and whether or not you like that big city feel or not (to me austin feels like a small city but i have been here for 10 years - yikes!!!! so long!!! and houston feels like a much bigger city) austin is much more walkable in certain areas and much more relaxed. if it were me and i was moving from hou --> atx, i would think that atx was an upgrade :). but the food. i must mention the food. i have heard that the food here is not as good nor as diverse as in houston. you can tell me if you think that’s true or not. if you like wine, fredericksburg is close. mckinney falls is nice and actually where my fiance and i got engaged so that will always be a special place to me. there’s the greenbelt however it is hard to find a place that isn’t covered in litter due to the influx of people over the past couple of years. there are some great trails in west austin as well.  there’s nothing really wrong with austin lol i just use tumblr to mostly complain. however i think i’m just better suited for a place like oregon where it’s all about the outside. like i want to learn to ski! i want to snowshoe! i want to summit mt hood! i want to hike some of the pct! i want to spend time in washington, utah, idaho, northern california, etc!  also i know it rains for half a year there but i also like that and have indoor hobbies that i do during the hot part of the days here in texas that i can do during the rainy season there :). also already ready to bike and run in the rain lol. but yeah. this got long. let me know if you have any specifics!!!

[will-die-without-chai]

I have great taste!

A/N: This is my entry for Muskan’s 500 followers celebration! Congratulations again on this follower milestone Muski ( @thebookwormslytherin​ ) and I can’t wait to write for more such follower milestone celebrations. Also, thank you for hosting this!!!!! Love ya!.And forgive me for this less than subpar submission.

Also this is the first time I’ve tried writing for Sam Wilson so all feedbacks and criticism are most welcome! Hope I haven’t done too bad lol.

Pairing: Sam Wilson x desi!reader (she is not as desi as I wanted but whatevs)

Words: 2752

(College au, roomates au)

Warning: A couple of swear words (And this fic isn’t beta-ed...so)

Prompt: “You got a crush on me? Ew”

Summary: Y/N gets cheated on and had to move out of her ex’s boyfriend’s house. Luckily, Sam’s roomate is moving out as well creating a vacancy. Who knows what outcome staying with your friend can bring about? 

----------------------------------

“I know I am stupid and I never should’ve moved in with him so soon” Y/N sniffled and rubbed her red puffy and tear filled eyes dry with the sleeve of the shirt she had on as she whispered and hiccupped through berating herself after the revelation she had made that very morning. “But I cannot stay in that house Natasha! Not anymore! What do I do?” Natasha, ever concerned, patted her back, sympathy etched deep into her features whilst Y/N continued to whisper her despair into the table top where her head lay. . 

Y/N had just that very morning discovered her boyfriend, or rather ex-boyfriend with his tongue deep in some other person’s mouth, while naked, on the bed they shared. Y/N had been out for the night, studying with Natasha for the upcoming exams and had unexpectedly gone home early in the morning to grab some notes only to be met with the devastating sight.

Needless to say, Y/N bolted out of the very apartment she called home for the past few months, holding back the bile and the tears rising to surface rapidly and rushed back to Natasha’s place which was only a couple of blocks away to unleash the slew of tears and heartbreak.

The sound of the jingling of the lock and the shuffling of shoes against the hardwood announced the return of the boys who had left the girls the night before to  their own devices and had shifted themselves to do whatever it is that college boys do. Steve, Sam and Bucky certainly hadn’t anticipated the sight before them and already had their hackles raised, ready to have a faceoff with whatever had caused unease to their friends, but instantly settled down when Natasha motioned them to. Y/N also had significantly been drawn out of her crying stupor at their entrance.

The boys had the decency to not pry into the matters and let things be told to them, they had learned from previous experiences after all. Nat looked at Y/N and she nodded.

“Y/N went to her apartment this morning and saw Rumlow sticking his tongue deep into someone’s throat. So…” The room went into an uproar and chaos ensured as if all hell had broken loose. A chorus of “Damn it” and “I’ll fuck him up” and certain more colorful words were heard, which were then stopped and the rage was coaxed down by one menacing gaze from Natasha and a tearful sob from Y/N.

Steve immediately found his place beside Y/N and held her under the crook of his arms, hugging her tightly and Bucky and Sam settled for sitting across from them, sympathy and rage and sorrow in equal measures creeping into their features as she once again resumed crying into Steve’s shirt.

After loads of incomprehensive mumbling and sobbing till her throat felt like sandpaper and she could go no further due to exhaustion, Y/N raised her head to face the rest of the group around her. “Now that I have sufficiently rubbed tears and snot all over Steve’s clothes” She snorted causing chuckles to emanate from other’s mouths, “I have to figure out where I am going to stay, given my imminent homelessness.”

“Stay here!  I can crash on the sofa, you can take the room. Nat and Buck already sleep in their room.” Steve piped in from beside her. Bucky nodded in agreement as did Nat.

A small frown took over her face. “No, no” She shook her head. “I can’t. You three are already… I can’t make you sleep on a couch in your own house, Stevie. And I cannot couch crash with the amount of stuff I have. I am definitely not going to let that asshole keep my furniture. They’re too cute and costed a fortune” This was enough to cause smiles to spread on their faces.

“That’s my girl!” Bucky cheered on.

“Yeah so I need more permanent options.”

“What about Tony? We can talk to him—“

“Not Tony!” Y/N cut Bucky off mid sentence. “I am not going to stay with Tony for the same reason Steve won’t. He wouldn’t accept rent and I’ll feel guilty and highly uncomfortable living in that state of art house. How the fuck do you have sex there Steve? Aren’t you afraid you’ll break something?” Steve turned red at the mention of his sex life and Bucky and Sam snickered like a schoolgirl. Natasha, noticing the very apparent discomfort cleared her throat pointedly.

“What about your old apartment?”

 “I think the landlord already rented it to someone else.”

Sam, who had been silent thus far finally decided to speak up, “Riley is moving out in a couple of days. I haven’t looked for anyone yet and I am sure I can’t afford the rent by myself.” He looked at her meaningfully.

Y/N’s eyes brightened. “Of course! Oh you’re a savior Sammy!” She jumped up to hug him and sagged in relief when he wrapped his hands around her.

“Yeah, yeah.” He tried to say nonchalantly but the tender kiss he placed on the top of her head that was buried into his side and the tense look he shot at Natasha who had been wiggling her eyebrows at him betrayed his emotions to the rest of the occupants of the room if not to the object of the emotions.

~~

All of Y/N’s stuff had been picked up and packed into the second-hand pickup truck Bucky owned. ‘It has a certain amount of personality’ he had said when buying it against the wishes of everyone around him. Certain choice words had been spat at Rumlow and papers had been thrown at his face dramatically and tears had been held back satisfactorily. Sam had to be contained to avoid him throwing punches and the party had been successful at extracting all important things from the apartment, furniture included.

It didn’t take much time for Y/N to settle into her new living space. She was fairly familiar with the apartment given all the time she previously spent there trying to make sense of her chemistry notes with Sam. And even though it was a house previously lived in by a couple of boys, it was surprisingly very clean. Her furniture, after a lot of moving it around was satisfactorily placed and dare she say complemented the preexisting stuff in the house very well. (The blue of the couch matched the gray of the curtains Sam had picked very well. He did have a good taste after all!)

It took merely 2 months for them to settle into a nice routine. Sam, the early riser, was responsible for breakfast. Pancakes or waffles or eggs and bacon. He was a masterful breakfast cook and Y/N was forced to adopt healthy eating habits after not much persuasion. Sam had replaced his caffeine fix with Chai*. Although chai was left to be Y/N’s department of expertise. He had tried making it once and it ended with what looked like a grimace and a forced smile on Y/N’s face. Tea making was a talent he didn’t possess.

After her classes finished for the evening, Y/N would go and hang out in the café Sam part-time worked at so they could head back home together. Dinner was on Y/N and her grandma who guided her through video calls had apparently taken a liking for Sam. He had definitely heard whispered conversations in a language he didn’t understand much of and his name being mentioned often. Anyhow, study nights were all the more easier when both the members of the group occupied the same house and there was no fear of notes getting mixed up and rushing over to each other in between lectures to exchange them back. . Life was a well oiled machine when lived with appropriate people, after all.

They had also adapted the system of movie nights. Both had found each other lacking in their own definition of pop culture and had decided to teach the other and make them a respectable member of society, wise enough to get popular references. Saturday nights were mostly unoccupied and hence were conveniently movie nights. Each picked one movie, unseen by the other on alternate weeks. And oh boy, it was an event.

The couch was loaded with throw pillows and blankets, temperature was brought down and hoodies were worn for utmost comfort. Popcorn was popped, candies were bought a plenty and if the occasion called for it, or the ambience of the movie, beer was welcomed. And on occasion, they even fell asleep on the couch (If their backs were witches, they would’ve been cursed by now).

One such night, after loud exclamations of ‘How could you not have watched it!’ and ‘She was my bi awakening!’ and ‘This would not be borne’, Pride and Prejudice was the movie they settled upon. By the end of the movie a half asleep Y/N had ended up draped halfway over Sam with her head comfortably nestled into the crook of his shoulders and neck, her every breath peacefully lulling Sam into the state of drowsiness. Sam knew from previous experiences aplenty that he would regret sleeping like this in the morning but he couldn’t be bothered right now. Future Sam could deal with a bit of back pain.

“It would be nice to have someone to tell you that they love you most ardently. I wish I could have someone tell me that they love me most ardently and mean it.” Y/N mumbled with her eyes closed.

“I will if you let me.” Sam subconsciously let it slip and then tensed up immediately when he realized what he had said. When he did not feel any reaction, he relaxed back again but not without a frown. He half wished she were awake and could listen to what he had said. At least that way it would have been out and on the table. It would also be terribly painful if she didn’t feel the same and ended up feeling uncomfortable around him.

It had taken a very long time for Y/N to again be comfortable and confident after her breakup. She was apparently very serious about the asshole and he had broken her heart. Good thing Sam reciprocated by breaking his nose! (Don’t tell Y/N though. She thinks Brock broke his nose when he fell down the stairs. This was not completely a lie… Sam did push him down the stairs as well. Don’t worry. There were just 5 steps)

Anyhow, it was getting tough for him to control his emotions around her. He couldn’t help but stare at her when she laughed so openly at his lame jokes. He couldn’t help but stare at her lips when she tasted his newest experimentation on pancake batter. He couldn’t help his eyes when they inadvertently went towards her table, when he was supposed to pay attention to the order in front of him at the café. He couldn’t help but deviate towards her at any given chance. He couldn’t help but savor all her little touches. And he was afraid that he was painfully obvious. If not to her then to everyone else around him.

All these thoughts kept encircling his brain and he fell asleep, clutching Y/N a little bit closer than before, burying his nose further into her hair. Morning came and Sam surprisingly woke up alone with a blanket draped over him. Generally he was the first to wake up. He got up and followed the noises coming from the kitchen to see Y/N making breakfast. And of course, chai. Some old Hindi song played on the radio softly and he could see the hello kitty apron he had bought for her as a joke hastily thrown on, its back untied.

It was a picture of serenity, to an outsider maybe. But Sam knew there was something off. Y/N getting up this early, cooking and old hindi songs playing was a deceptive picture that screamed something was bothering her.

“You cooking something, hon?” He said out loud as he made his way to the dining table. Y/N jumped slightly at being startled and then nodded enthusiastically. Almost too enthusiastically. Sam narrowed his eyes. Without turning to face him Y/N explained further. “You were asleep. I woke up early and thought I could make something. It’s been days since we’ve had poha*, no?”

Sam kept quiet and decided to take out plates and set the table instead. They kept working silently but the silence was too heavy. It settled over his skin thickly and Sam didn’t like the feeling. Once they were sat on the table Sam decided to bring up the subject again, the silence and awkwardness becoming a little troubling.

“What’s wrong Y/N? You know you can share it with me. I am here.” He said, placing a comforting hand on hers. Her eyes that were focused on her plate shot unto his face.

“I heard what you said last night.” She blurted out, eyes still trained at him. Sam was stunned into silence and his heartbeat rose rapidly. It was incredibly unexpected and sudden and Sam was caught off guard. Incredibly so.

“You- you did.” He stammered stupidly. Y/N nodded. “I was on the verge of drifting off and I heard it and I-“ She fell silent, her eyes slipped to where his hand rested on hers, her teeth automatically trapping her bottom lip between them.

“I like you. Like like you. I have, since the day we met at Steve’s party and you went on and on about tea and how to make it and how coffee could never compare and you weren’t even drunk!” Y/N let out a chuckle at that and Sam continued. “I couldn’t help but fall for you and I looked for reasons to spend time with you, snatching every opportunity to have you around me. I know I am sounding like the cheesiest cheesy person, like a kraft’s dinner but add cheddar to it level of cheesy, but you being happy makes me so fucking happy! And that’s the point. I can bear to see you be sad and if this makes you uncomfortable, tell me to stop. I will. I won’t mention this ever again and we could go back to being us and you aren’t obligated to reciprocate my feelings or anything. But I think I don’t have it in me to keep it in anymore.”

He finally looked up to look at her and maybe take a breath after the rant he just had in one go and found her still staring at their hands. Assuming that it made her uneasy, he proceeded to take it away, his heart sinking. But he was stopped by her fingers grasping at his sleeves.

She peered from under her tear laced lashes to look at him. “You have a crush on me? Ew” she let out a sound that sounded like something between a sob and a snort and a smile spread across her lips. “I thought you had better taste.” She joked albeit a bit bashfully.

Sam felt a weight lift off his chest and the urge to bang his head against an iron pole reduced significantly. “Hey, I have great taste! I picked up those gray curtains that go so well with your blue couch and that you love very much. Also I introduced you to real maple syrup and took you away from that ‘aunt jemima’ bullshit you were poisoning yourself with.”

“Hey I am a college student who earns just enough to fulfill my bare necessities so give me a break! That shit is costly. And I was the one who introduced you to Mukesh*, okay?” She held his hand now and intertwined her fingers with his.

“Goes to say how good my taste is.”

“I like you too.”

Silence fell over them once again as they giddily looked at each other and held hands, the chai long gone cold and the poha turned a little stiff. But the silence now was palatable, pleasant even.

~~

A couple days  later, chaos ensued again in their little group when Y/N planted a sound kiss on Sam’s lips before separating from the group with a quick cheeky ‘goodbye’ to go to her class. The chorus of ‘How?’ and ‘When?’ and ‘I want details’ and a quiet call of ‘who won the bet then’ left hanging in the air for Sam to answer.

~~

*Translations:

Chai: Chai is tea ofcourse. But its also more than tea. Its an concoction made of tea, water, milk, sugar and spices all meticulously brought to a boil and then heated some more. It is a thing that requires practice, but also some magic.

Poha: Poha is a breakfast food made of flattened rice flakes sauted with onions and other vegetables and spices, according to one’s preferences hich is served warm with a dash of lemon and a sprinkling of coriander (Varun Thakur’s stand up, anyone?) 

Mukesh: A very illustrious, very very famous indian musician from the 60′s and 70′s. He had the voice of an angel.

------------------------------------

Hope this was a bearable read! As said earlier, feedback and criticism is always welcome!

Tagging: @spiderrpcrker​ @officially-tonynat-shrine​ @hoeticulture​ @dragoncreek319​ @severelytinyeagle​ @lgbtonystarks​ @cynical-ravenclaw​ @fandom-is-my-middle-name​ @emilyshurley​ @fiovske​ @bispiderson​ @moonbeambucky @revengingbarnes @shurisneakers @kuuhakublank00 @stardustandbucky @infj-slytherclaw @anjali750 @your-villainous-neighbour @viktorkrumn

[oh-obrien]

Migraines

Relationships: Dylan O’Brien x OFC

Warnings: Mentions of chronic illness (?)

Word Count : 5,010

Author’s Note: Hey y’all this is something kind of small and kind of cute I cranked out. I deal with chronic migraines and honestly 100% self indulged with this but it has tons of soft Dylan in it!! I kind of hoped to shine some light on what it’s like dealing with chronic migraines with it, mainly because that’s why I’ve been MIA the past week. It’s pretty hard to write when you can only see out of one eye lol. 

“Sometimes I just really wonder why I subject myself to this,” Lillian mumbled while she laid down on the ground in the middle of the Beacon Hills Memorial hospital set that they happened to be filming in on that day. “Or at least I mean, why I decide to just let my headaches go when I wake up some mornings,” she cracked an eye open to see Dylan standing above her. 

He held a hand out to her and she took it, pushing herself off the ground and closing her eyes once she stood flat so she hopefully wouldn’t notice the room spinning. “I would ask if you wanted anything but I know the answer already,” Lillian fell into step next to him while they got to where they needed to be for the next scene. “If you want to take a break I'm sure you could ask and-”

“I’m fine,” Lillian shook her head and closed her right eye that she currently couldn’t really see out of. She saw Dylan give her a knowing look and shook her head, “I’m seriously fine Dyl. I’m just going to grab some painkillers and coffee on lunch and I’ll be fine for the rest of the day after that.” She quickly pulled away from Dylan and walked over to where Holland and Crystal stood getting ready to film themselves. 

Dylan stood off to the side of the set with Tyler Posey, watching the girls film a scene together. Lillian laid in the hospital bed with her eyes closed, the prop heart monitor beeping steadily behind them while their director spoke. “Something is up with Lilly today,” Tyler mumbled while watching the way her forehead was wrinkled in discomfort when her eyes opened. 

“She has a migraine,” Dylan mumbled watching the girls again when quiet got called on the set. He saw Lillian close her eyes again while she waited for Holland and Crystal to finish their lines for the scene, everyone on set knowing they were going to lunch once their director felt happy with how the scene came out. “And I told her they would call the day early if she said something but she refuses to believe it,” he rolled his eyes. 

Tyler crossed his arms over his chest and nodded, “maybe she just needs lunch to unwind, clear her head,” he watched how Dylan looked on to set with concern. Tyler knew his friend cared deeply about their new cast member, from the dad Lillian had stepped onto the set Dylan and her had clicked. Lillian had grown up in     New York, allowing her and Dylan to quickly fall into conversation about their shared interest in some of the state’s sports teams. She had seen Dylan wearing his Mets cap the first time they met and offered him a smirk mumbling something about, “imagine being a Yankees fan,” before introducing herself to the rest of the cast. 

“I might just stick back here,” Dylan leaned closer to Tyler to speak so he wouldn’t interrupt filming at all, “just to make sure she’s fine,” he ran a hand through his messy hair. Tyler looked up to his friend and just nodded, not wanting to push the issue of where Dylan’s feelings for their friend currently were at the moment. 

When Lillian had moved to Los Angeles, fresh out of college, to join the cast of Teen Wolf for its third season, it quickly became clear that she wasn’t completely comfortable in the new environment. Her audition for the show had been a ‘joke’ of sorts originally and even getting a call back for the part had surprised her.

Lillian had planned on sticking back on her college’s campus for their fall break to attend a tournament for the college’s Ultimate Frisbee team she had played on. Due to weather concerns the tournament had gotten cancelled and with her parents also planning on going on vacation that week, there had been no point in her returning home. A few of her friends who happened  to be acting and theater majors, had planned on taking a trip out to LA that weekend for shits and giggles, to see if they could audition for a couple jobs after they graduated college, just to see if they had any shot at getting the parts.

They had convinced Lillian to walk into an audition with zero acting experience to raise their chances, even if would just raise them a minimal amount, it was still something. Upon walking into the audition, Lillian learned that she would be auditioning for a high school student who wanted to be any place other than high school. Something she related to on a personal level. She must have played the part pretty well because a week later on her way to practice she got the call that the producers wanted her to fly out to LA for the final round of auditions. 

After lengthy discussions with her advisors and parents the days following the call, she knew that she would be graduating a year early, and would have plenty of time to get out to LA before filming started. Armed with that knowledge and the fact that she would have to drop her dreams of attending law school if she did get the part, Lillian flew out to LA for the final audition for a role on the MTV series Teen Wolf. 

Two weeks after graduating from a tiny, central Pennsylvania University with a degree in Economics and Legal Studies, Lillian found herself moving out to Los Angeles to start a career as an actress. She had been able to rent a small house outside of Los Angeles with the help of her parents and moved herself and her dog out there in record timing. Her first day on set she had shown up in a pair of ripped jeans and a long sleeve from her college and felt grossly underdressed and unattractive when she had been introduced to the rest of the cast at the table read. 

“You must be Lillian,” A red headed young woman walked up to Lilly with a warm smile and offered her a hug. “I’m Holland.”

“You can just call my Lilly,” she offered a warm smile in return, tucking her keys into her jeans pocket and holding the binder with her first script in it tightly to her chest. 

Holland nodded and started to lead Lillian into a building, “Jeff told us not to overwhelm you, and we really didn’t trust any of the boys not to do that,” she laughed lightly turning down a long hallway. “We really are one big family though, I’d say this is the best way to ease into your first job.”

“I honestly never expected to wind up here,” Lillian laughed while she and Holland reached a door labeled ‘Teen Wolf’ within the studio. “I’m fresh out of college on an Economics and Pre-Law degree, before I auditioned I’d say acting was the last thing on my mind when it came to a career,” she shrugged. 

Holland looked into the small glass window of the room before speaking, “you’d get along great with Dylan then,” she stated, “Teen Wolf was his first job too! If you’re comfortable enough everyone else is in here, and the boys are quite eager to meet you if I’m honest. They love seeing new people on set.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Lilly shrugged while Holland pushed the door open, the room opening up to a bunch of tables in a large rectangle, the remainder of the cast, the show’s writer and some producers sitting around the table also. All the heads in the room turned to face them and Lilly watched as some of the members of the cast pushed their way out of their seats to introduce themselves. 

“I’m Crystal,” one of the other girls introduced themselves first out of the group. “That’s Tyler and Tyler,” she pointed to two of the younger guys who were standing up. “Daniel, Gage, and Dylan,” she introduced everyone who was standing. “I’m sure the adults are able to introduce themselves,” she laughed. Lillian saw the adults all talking amongst themselves, most likely not wanting to overwhelm her more than she already was.

“And you know me already,” Jeff Davis, the writer for the show, stood up to shake Lillian’s hand. “I’m sure you’ll be a more than amazing addition to the show.” He returned to his seat and started talking with the other adults, giving the younger actors time to properly introduce themselves. 

“Jeff said you were from New York,” one of the Tyler’s spoke up. “That’s pretty cool,”

“Not like the city,” Lillian laughed, “the island though yeah, I lived there until I went to college,” she offered the information. “And at least he’s not a Yankees fan,” she nodded towards the hat that Dylan was wearing. “How’re you a Mets fan?”

Dylan smiled and stepped more into the group, “I lived in Jersey a good chunk of my childhood,” he laughed. “You know how Mets fans raise their kids,” he just shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. 

From that first day on set onwards, Dylan had taken Lillian under his wing and showed her the ropes of being an actress. With Teen Wolf also having been his first acting job, he found a sort of kinship with Lillian that allowed the two to feel comfortable around each other. They shared experiences the others didn't really have in common with them. They had grown close together through filming, and with Lillian’s character taking a liking to Stiles they were both glad they had natural chemistry. On set they were never really far from each other, and some of their castmates had placed bets on when the pair would finally realize the feelings they had for each other.

“What does she think, Jeff’s going to kick her off the show if she takes a break?” Tyler asked Dylan while they watched Lillian rub at her temples between takes. “Because she really isn’t looking fantastic right now at all.”

Dylan let out a long sigh and shrugged, “I’m really not sure, man. You know how hard she is on herself though, so she won’t even tell you how bad it really is.” Once the director called for lunch break, Lillian sat up slowly in the hospital bed, swinging her legs over the end and pulling on her hair at the roots. She said something to Holland and Crystal who gave her sad smiles before nodding and walking over to Tyler and Dylan. 

“What’s Lilly not coming to lunch?” Tyler asked the two girls, glancing at Dylan out of the corner of his eye. 

Crystal shook her head, “she said she wants to just run through lines for the rest of the day. She said she had food in her trailer, plus she brought Bear with her today,” Crystal pointed out that Lillian had brought her corgi to set for the day and both of the boys turned to look at each other. “Oh you two see Bear plenty, give her a little space during lunch.”

Dylan watched Lillian talk to a few of the producers that were on the set that day, nodding along to what they were saying while she chewed on her bottom lip. Jeff walked over and said something that made her smile, giving a shallow nod to the writer before she walked off in the direction of her trailer, shuffling her feet while she went. “I’m going to stay behind too,” Dylan mumbled, taking off the flannel he had been wearing for Stiles’ outfit that day. 

Holland turned to give Tyler a knowing look and he just shrugged, not sure what to tell her. “Dylan, you know how she needs her space sometimes,” Holland pointed out. 

“It’s fine, I’m just going to check on her,” he waved the others off while he also started in the direction of the trailers. 

Opening her trailer door, Lillian peeled off the clothes she had been wearing on set and dropped them on to the table in the trailer. She grabbed the hoodie she had worn on to set that day, one Dylan had left at her house the week before and a pair of Nike shorts. She bent down to pet Bear who laid half awake on the couch in the room, his stuffed hedgehog under his chin. With a yawn Bear pushed himself up on to his short legs and stretched, going to sniff at his food bowl.

“Oh you’re starving,” Lillian laughed, opening the door to the cabinet where she kept his food, her head pounding while she leaned down. “Here ya go,” she filled his food bowl up and cracked open a fresh water bottle to fill up his bowl before plugging in her coffee maker and starting a fresh pot brewing. She had learned early on in her migraine endeavors that, unlike most people, caffeine fixed her headaches rather than giving her one. 

Grabbing a blanket she had folded on the table she quickly unfolded it and sat down on the couch, draping it over herself and closing her eyes, trying to ignore the pounding in her head. She wished that her coffee would brew faster so she could gain back some of her will to continue filming for the rest of the day after lunch. She knew that her and the rest of the cast had planned to go out to lunch that afternoon but couldn't bring herself to go sit in a loud restaurant for two hours with how quickly her migraine had taken its grip. Letting out a long sigh she felt Bear jump up in her lap and rested a hand on his back, running her fingers through his fur. 

Lillian had gotten Bear her senior year of high school, he’s a trained migraine alert dog and accurately alerted her to most of her oncoming migraines for the entire time she had him. He had alerted her of her current one the day before, but she had hoped it would have held off until after work that day. With her head tilted back and eyes closed Lillian continued to run her fingers through the dog’s fur, his chest rising and falling steadily under her hand. 

A few minutes later, while the coffee started to sputter out the last bits of coffee, a quiet knock rapped on her door and bear let out a sleep growl. Lillian just laughed lightly before saying ‘come in’ as loud as she could. Her head pounding when she did so, a quiet groan falling from her lips. The door opened and Lillian saw Dylan standing on the other side. He was dressed in a pair of sweats and a black tee shirt, his hair messy on his head and his phone in hand.

“He do his job like he’s supposed to?” Dylan asked Lillian motioning towards Bear who had decided to go back to sleep on Lillian’s lap. 

She nodded, “he did,” she knew Dylan wouldn’t be happy with her, now knowing the fact that she had an oncoming migraine she had told no one about until it hit. “I knew too,” she just shrugged while Dylan closed her trailer door behind him. She heard the coffee machine beep, signaling it had finished brewing and Lillian let out a quiet ‘yes’, going to move Bear so she could make a cup.

“I got it,” Dylan told her, walking over to the fridge and pulling out the milk and vanilla creamer she had in it. “Do you care if I take a cup?” He turned to face Lillian while he pulled down the sugar from where she kept it. 

Lillian shook her head slightly, “be my guest,” she told him. Dylan busied himself making the mugs of coffee, sliding Lilly’s carefully to her before making his own. 

“That’s the sweatshirt I left at your house last weekend,” he nodded to the hoodie she had on, “looks good on you,” he gave a small smile, sitting down on the end of the couch. Lillian shrugged in response, holding her mug between both hands and taking a sip of the warm liquid. 

She set the mug down again before speaking, “you left it, and it’s comfy. I’ll give it back later.” she closed her eyes while Bear got off her lap, moving to lay on his bed that currently had rays of sun pouring over it. 

“I wasn’t missing it all that much,” Dylan shrugged, taking a sip of his own drink. He turned to face Lillian, a serious look on his face. “Why don’t you ever say anything, especially when Jeff tells you to let him know?” He asked quietly. 

Lillian just let out a long sigh, opting to focus on her coffee mug instead of answering right away. “Can we talk about it when I can see out of both of my eyes again and can remember more than just my name and where I am?” she let out a small laugh. “I honestly was just planning on taking a nap after I downed a few mugs of coffee,” she added. 

Dylan watched as she started to rub her temples, her eyes closing while she did so. “I can go if you want,” he pointed towards her door. 

“No it’s fine, you’re here now and I'm awake we can just watch a movie or something if you want to,” she spoke softly, not opening her eyes at all in the process. 

“Lilly-”

“Dylan just, stop worrying,” she let out a long sigh. “Pick a movie and we can just hang out, you really shouldn’t have hung back,” she left the, ‘but I’m glad you did’, out. Lillian had a small crush on her castmate since the first day she had stepped on to set. His sense of humor and off the walls energy just appealed to her. Not to mention he always seemed incredibly sweet and cared about those around him in a way not many people could. The pair had bonded over their shared interest in many of the same sports team and one of them would usually host dinner and some friends on nights of games. 

He had also been the one to pick up on her migraine triggers first. He tried to avoid ordering food with too much garlic if he would be hosting the games, and he also knew if he planned on getting Chinese he could only order from a couple of places in the LA area. He knew that days on set where there would be flashing or bright lights and a lot of loud noise would also trigger her migraines sometimes. 

Off set, Dylan had learned to pay careful attention to Bear and could often notice when the dog was signaling to Lillian that she would have an oncoming migraine within the next day. “We don’t have to watch a movie,” Dylan shrugged and set his now empty mug next to Lillian’s. “You know I share your love for naps,” He laughed lightly kicking his shoes off and stretching out across her couch. “Give me a pillow and if you come lay up here I can rub your head,” he offered. 

Lillian pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, thinking the offer over. She knew that it would help her, and Dylan had done it before for her, but she didn’t want to get too cozy with him. Especially with her feelings growing stronger and stronger in the past weeks. “You don’t mind?” she asked quietly. 

“No I don’t mind,” Dylan shook his head with a small smile. Now give me a pillow and come share your blanket!” Lillian reached underneath her couch to grab one of the pillows she kept in her trailer and handed it to Dylan who adjusted it on the arm of the couch so he could comfortably lay on it. He sunk further into the couch, hanging his legs over the end, before opening his arms so Lilly could tuck into his side. 

Carefully shuffling around on the small couch, Lillian laid her head on Dylan’s chest and tucked in as close to him as possible so she could make sure she wouldn’t fall off the end. Pulling her blanket around both of them, Dylan wrapped his free arm around her back and the other started to gently rub at her left temple. “I don’t know how you balance everything,” he mumbled quietly, watching Lilly’s eyes close. 

“I’ve been doing it since like middle school,” she replied, yawning at the end. “You get used to it, trust me.”

Dylan moved his hand so it carded through her hair a few times before rubbing where the back of her skull met her neck, “but still,” he sighed. “I just feel bad is all,” he wasn’t quite sure what to say.

“Well you’re helping right now, so don’t feel bad,” Lillian snuggled more into his side. Her right hand resting on his chest. “Seriously this is more than I can ask for. At home I’ll sleep on a heating pad to try and help a little bit. Having an actual person is more than enough,” he words started to bleed together while she started to drift off. 

Dylan let out a small laugh, his chest vibrating against Lillian’s hand and cheek when he did so. He let his own eyes close while he moved his hand again, his thumb gently rubbing up and down the bridge of Lilly’s nose. He remembered her mentioning it the first time he had found them in this position. She had said her mom would do it when she had been younger and couldn’t sleep at night from her migraines. 

Opening his eyes when he felt Lilly’s breathing even out completely, he noticed her facial features had relaxed significantly, her brow no longer stuck in a tight crease. Her lips weren’t turned into a frown anymore and her nose no longer scrunched up in discomfort. He continued to rub her temples and up and down the bridge of her nose until Bear decided to use the steps to get up on the sofa to crawl into his lap and go back to sleep himself. 

“God,” Dylan breathed out slowly, letting his hand come to rest on Lillian’s hip once he knew she was actually asleep. “I am fucked,” he closed his eyes and decided to make use of the break to catch up on sleep himself.

✧༝┉┉┉┉┉˚*❋ ❋ ❋*˚┉┉┉┉┉༝✧

“Where are Dylan and Lillian?” Jeff approached the group of young actors when they had returned to set from their lunch break. “I’ve been texting and calling both of them and they haven't answered.” He looked around the group for an answer.

“Uhh-” Tyler Posey trailed off. “I know Dylan stayed behind to check on Lilly earlier, he said she had a migraine starting earlier and didn’t really want to tell anyone.” Jeff looked around the group, waiting to see if anyone else had an answer for him as to where the two could be.

Holland grabbed Tyler’s arm and nodded to him, “we’ll go see if we can find them,” she told Jeff with a small smile. The pair started in the direction of the cast’s trailers and Holland let out a long sigh. “This is why she's supposed to mention these things, no one wants her hurt or sick.” She spoke with genuine concern for her friend. 

“She told Dylan,” Tyler shrugged while they walked up the lines of trailers until they saw Lilly’s. “I mean, it’s something,” he added.

Holland just nodded and looked at Tyler. “Yeah, she likes him and he likes her, they’re happily oblivious to it though.” Holland approached Lilly’s trailer and looked in the window. She turned around to face Tyler with a smirk and nodded towards the window. 

Tyler approached the window and pushed himself up on his toes so he could see in. He noticed the pair curled up on Lilly’s couch together, asleep, and Lilly’s dog curled up on Dylan’s lap. “I bet they're both still pinning though,” He laughed quietly. “Should we see if the door’s open?” He asked Holland.

“Probably,” she walked up the stairs to the trailer and pushed on the door that swung open. Bear lifted his head to watch the pair, but didn’t make any noise. He knew the two and also knew they would often supply him with treats if he behaved. She watched Tyler take out his phone and take a picture of them before tucking it back into his pocket.

“For safekeeping,” he laughed while Holland approached the pair. She reached out and shook Dylan’s left shoulder, trying to carefully wake him up. He let out a quiet groan and opened his eyes, blinking sleepily at the room around him. When his eyes came into focus he noticed Holland and Tyler standing in the middle of the trailer, knowing smirks on their faces. 

Dylan cleared his throat before speaking, “she had a headache, I just offered to help,” his voice slightly scratchy from sleep. 

“And you are both absolutely oblivious to the mutual feelings between each other apparently,” Holland rolled her eyes. “You’re both supposed to be on set, but I’m sure Jeff wouldn’t mind wrapping early if he understood her situation.” Dylan looked down to where Lilly still laid passed out on his chest. 

Dylan sighed, “might be best for the day, I know earlier she wasn’t really able to see out of her one eye. Probably not the safest thing on set.” He watched Lilly turn her face further into his chest and started rubbing her temple again. 

“Yeah, man,” Tyler gave him a small smile. “We’ll go talk to Jeff and you see how she’s feeling.” He turned to leave the trailer, Holland hanging around a few seconds longer. 

“Trust me Dyl,” she let out a quiet sigh, “just tell her, I know you won’t be disappointed,” and with that she turned to follow Tyler. 

Dylan closed his eyes for a second before opening the again, lightly wrapping his hand around Lilly’s shoulder and shaking her. “Lills,” he hummed, “you gotta wake up,” he said. Lilly groaned and he watched her peel her eyes open, blinking at the light filling up the trailer and tucking her face into Dylan’s chest again. 

“I know,” he rubber her shoulder, “you still feel shitty, but Holland and Tyler are going to see if Jeff can end the day early-”

“Nope,” Lillian sat up quickly, groaning when she did. Her head still pounded and she wanted to go back to sleep, but she had a job to get done. “I just need to change and-”

“You need to lay back down,” Dylan grabbed her arm and pulled her back into his chest. “I care too much about you to keep letting you do this to yourself,” he added. Lilly just closed her eyes, trying to will her nausea to go away, not wanting to throw up in front of Dylan, of all people. She felt a few tears of pain and frustration slip out of the corners of her eyes and gave up, sinking back into Dylan’s warm embrace. 

“This fucking sucks,” she sniffled while Dylan’s thumb started rubbing up and down the bridge of her nose again. “I can’t just not work because I have a headache, everyone gets headaches, I just need a few minutes to get rid of the queasiness,” she mumbled. 

Dylan shushed her and used his thumb to wipe away the tears that slipped out of her eyes. “You need to rest more, Lills,” he started rubbing her back with his other hand. “Tyler and Holland are going to come tell me we can leave early and then I’ll drive you and your furry friend here home.” He looked down to Bear who had fallen asleep again.

“I don’t-” Lillian squeezed her eyes shut tighter, “I don’t want to be home alone,” she spoke quietly. “It’ll just last longer and then I won’t sleep and I’ll still have it tomorrow and-”

“I’ll stay,” he cut her off, “as long as it’s okay with you.”

“Dylan you don’t-”

“I want to, Lilly,” he looked down at her, her eyes finally open again. “I care about you,” he took in a shaky breath. “A lot, and I won’t leave you alone like this,” he continued to play with your hair. “I want to help you take care of this,” he leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead. “So please just, let me take care of you for once.”

“I-” Lillian trailed off, looking up at Dylan who watched her closely. “I don’t want to tie you down with this, you don’t deserve to deal with this,” she shook her head. 

Dylan hummed in response and shook his head ‘no’, rubbing her temple again with his pointer and middle fingers. “I like this though,” he smiled lightly, “you’re warm and comfortable, Bear is asleep in my lap,” he shrugged, “I’m quite happy where I am.” He watched Lilly look at him, her face stuck in a state of disbelief. 

Just when Lilly went to speak again, Tyler, Crystal and Holland appeared in the trailer door. “Jeff said we can stop for the day, it was all just going to be getting a head start anyway,” Tyler said. 

“See,” Dylan looked down at Lilly, “thanks guys!” he addressed the others. They all gave Dylan knowing smiles before telling Lilly to feel better and leaving the pair alone again. “Now, let’s get you two home and order something to eat that won’t bother your head more.” 

Lillian sat up slowly, a small smile on her face while she pet Bear who yawned and opened his eyes also. “As long as you promise to snuggle more,” she pouted at Dylan. 

“I promise to snuggle more,” he laughed sliding off the couch. “Now let’s go.”

[one-leaf-grimoire]

crocodile tears

Chapter 1: in which marina has the worst day of her life

Hi! And welcome! Yes, I am publishing the first chapter of this fic on my Black Clover blog, I know it’s a little bizarre. Ahem. Anyway- I hope you guys will read this and enjoy it if you like jojo! I know there’s plenty of overlap between these two fandoms. DM or inbox me if you’d like to be added to the taglist! 

Synopsis: Marina considers herself to be a normal teenager, despite both being the daughter of a senator and the center of many bizarre happenings throughout her life. However, everything gets turned upside down when her whole family is kidnapped. In that moment of fear, something within her awakens. Little does she know, this power is called a Stand, and she has caught the eye of the worst person imaginable. Marina must learn to master her stand, and decide where her loyalties lie: with the man who saved her life or with her newfound friends?

Warnings: Violence, frightening scenes, language, and Dio being toxic lol

March 6th, 1988

Cool water enveloped her body. Everything was cloaked in a sea green haze.

She was laying on the bottom of the riverbed, staring up at the muted sun. A crocodile swam by, almost lazily. It did not notice her, and she didn't feel scared.

It was just a crocodile.

"Marina... Marina, wake up already!"

Something cold and clammy grasped the 17-year-old girl's foot. Marina let out a scream and quickly recoiled under the soft white linens on her bed. "Five more minutes, mom!"

Marina’s mother scowled at her only daughter. She was already dressed in long, light pants and a tropical looking shirt. An over-sized hat adorned her head atop dark brown hair, a few shades lighter than her only daughter's. "Marina, we have five minutes before the ship docks. Dad's already gone up to eat."

"Well, that's just Dad," the girl grumbled back, pulling the covers more tightly around her shoulders, as if this cocoon would keep her safe from her mother's impending wrath. "He gets up early every day, that shouldn't mean that we also have to be up at the crack of dawn."

"It's not the crack of dawn, it's nearly ten o'clock already. The ship is running a little early, so we'll have more time to explore Alexandria."

Marina's only reply was a grunt. Her mother sighed. "What is it with you this morning?" She shook her head and swung her bag over her shoulder. "I'll be up on the top deck watching us dock. It's nice and warm outside, so dress accordingly. We'll see you in five minutes, or it's going to be a very long time before you get to go on another cruise, young lady." A few moments later, and the door shut.

Marina groaned and finally blinked her eyes open, immediately feeling the pounding pain of a migraine wash over her temple. Ouch... did I have a nightmare last night? Usually I sleep like a baby on these cruises.

Marina and her family had been on numerous cruises throughout her life. Her father, Mitchell Porosus was a state senator, and earned a comfortable paycheck, so the Porosus family was able to go on trips whenever congress was on a break. Marina wished her dad was around more, but overall the family dynamic was happy and harmonious. Marina had her 17th birthday recently, and this cruise was supposed to be a celebration of that. 

“You know what that means?” her father had told her that day. “You’re the same age as the Dancing Queen! You know, the song? Dancing Queeeen, young and sweeet, only seventeeen-”

Of course they were in public when they said that, so Marina was horribly embarrassed by her father’s terrible singing voice. For someone with a public reputation, he sure didn’t mind ruining it!

But in the end, it was sweet. Her father loved ABBA and Elton John, and Marina imagined that the two of them would dance to Dancing Queen or Tiny Dancer at her wedding.

Marina loved her dad and mom, and that was the reason why she finally dragged herself down from the bunkbed. From their room on the second level, she could see the dock inching closer and closer. With a yawn, Marina turned and walked into the bathroom, where she finally was able to look upon her tired face in the mirror. Her short, black hair was frizzled, but a few brush strokes later reverted it to its usual sleek form. Marina stretched her arms above her head, wincing a little as she heard her shoulders pop. Jeez, good thing I don’t have a swim meet today, my joints are all out of whack. Her blue-grey eyes, still bloodshot from a fitful sleep, harbored a major case of the dark circles. Nothing a little makeup couldn't fix.

A few minutes later, Marina was finally dressed in some high waisted jeans and a non-descript tank top. She had her trusty mirrored sunglasses on, yet the sunlight from the window was enough to make her eyes water. Leaving her room, she walked down the hallway, strutting with her hands deep in her pockets, her fingers running over the ID card given to her upon embarkation. Marina Porosus.

"Finally, there you are," her father greeted when she made it down to the gangway. "Ready to see Egypt?"

Her father was a tall man, with jet black hair like Marina's. While her mother's eyes were a warm brown, his were blue. He looked like your stereotypical senator, even if he didn’t act like it.”

"Do they even have any pyramids in this town?" Marina asked, a bit apathetically.

Her mother shook her head. "No pyramids, but there used to be a library here, the library of Alexandria!"

Marina raised an eyebrow. "Used to be? Well, what's here now?"

Her parents were at a loss for words. "Well, why don't we go see!" her father exclaimed optimistically, throwing his arms around his daughter and wife. 

For the first time that morning, Marina smiled. Even if it was just her parents and her, the three of them would have a good time.

Alexandria was lively place, full of noise and life. Most of it was centered around the port, where the single cruise ship was docked. It was like any other port Marina had visited, except the air was much more dry than the Caribbean. Even Italy was more humid. Marina walked behind her parents as they made their way farther inland. “There’s some ancient ruins I want to check out,” her father said excitedly. “And are you still curious about the Library of Alexandria, Marina?”

Marina shrugged. “Was I curious to begin with?”

“Yes!” her father asserted. “Anyway, there’s a museum all about it farther inland. The walk is a little long, but it’ll be fun!”

Marina sighed, shaking her head a little. She knew her father had enough money to rent a cab, but he was stubborn and insisted that walking “built character.” 

“Tarot card readings! Have your fortune told by the Tarot!”

For some reason, Marina’s feet stalled. Slowly, she stopped, then turned her head towards the source of the voice.

No... it wasn’t the voice that drew her there.

It was... something else.

Like magnetism. Gravity. Marina’s gaze fell upon a short, clocked figure, sitting at the mouth of an alley. The voice was feminine, wracked with age, but Marina couldn’t be sure. For a moment, she almost kept walking, but a moment of hesitation was all it took.

“Dad! Can I get my fortune told?”

Her parents stopped and looked back at her. Her father eyed the fortune teller suspiciously. “Ah, Marina, you don’t believe that stuff, do you?”

“So? It’ll still be fun.” Marina looked back over at the fortune teller. She still had that weird feeling, like that person was someone she knew. “Anyway, Tarot Card readings originated in ancient Egypt, so isn’t this a good experience to have while here?”

Well, her father couldn’t deny that. “Here-” He handed the cloaked figure a twenty dollar bill. “Will this suffice?”

“Certainly.” A deck of cards appeared from under the sleeve of their cloak, and instantly shuffled itself. They spread out across the makeshift table. A wrinkled hand gestured at the line. “Go ahead... pick three, my dear.”

Slowly, Marina reached down. With one finger, she slid one card forward, then another, and then a third. The fortune teller swept them up immediately and placed them face up. Marina’s eyes narrowed as she saw the pictures on the cards, but couldn’t read the writing on them. “So? What does it mean?”

With a soft chuckle, a withered finger pointed at the first. “This card represents your past... This is the Six of Wands card! Confidence, recognition, and success... you’ve known all three throughout your life.”

Marina gulped, shrugging a little. Maybe... but everyone’s had some sort of success in their life! That seems a little too broad.

“And this is the present-” They gestured at the middle card. “This is the Tower Card... it represents catastrophic change, and... awakening.”

Awakening? That’s interesting... I don’t know what that could be.

“Tell me...” Marina looked up to see an eye peering out from behind the hood. It narrowed curiously. “This card is one of the Major Arcana... it represents a milestone in your life. You must have noticed, then... even if you don’t know quite yet...”

Marina wasn’t sure she liked the way the fortune teller was spinning this. I haven’t noticed anything like that! “Okay... and the last card is the future?”

“Yes, yes...”

The fortune teller’s finger fell upon the face of the last card. Unlike the first two, it was reversed, facing away from Marina. “This card, when reversed, represents dissatisfaction, delays, and... an endless, fruitless search for closure.”

Marina felt a chill go down her neck.

“The World.”

The family left the fortune teller behind after that. Even as they searched farther inland, visiting temples and museums, Marina could not shake the slowly growing pit of dread in her stomach. 

A few hours later, it was almost time to get back on the ship. The problem was that the small family had made their way a little too far inland and were now in real danger of being left behind. 

"This is all your fault, dad!" Marina scolded as she jogged behind her parents. There was a taxi station nearby where they could get transport to the port. "You always geek out over this historical stuff and make us late to things!"

"Well, your mother wanted to get that hat from that store back there, too, so I'm not the only one to blame," he yelled back. "In any case, we can just hop on a taxi and-" His face fell, and the family skidded to a halt. The entire plaza was slammed, bumper to bumper traffic as far as they could see. "Mitchell, we're definitely going to miss the boat," her mom said quietly. Of course, Senator Porosus stayed enthusiastic, shaking his head. "No, we'll make it if we run."

Marina groaned as her father and mother started to run again. "Seriously?" It wasn't that Marina couldn't keep up; she had been swimming her entire life and had great stamina. It was just so damn hot out.

"If you hurry, we'll make it back in time for dinner," her mother encouraged, spurring Marina on into a true run.

With her dad leading the way, the trio raced down the street towards where they thought the port was. There were a lot of people walking on the sidewalks, but it wasn't hard to weave between them without disturbance. Marina craned her neck and, with a ton of relief, spied the top of their ship up ahead. "I can see it, Dad!" she exclaimed, already thinking about what she was going to eat for dinner tonight. "We're going to make it!"

"Here, let's cut through this road." He pointed at an alley that seemingly cut over to where the embarkation area was. "We can beat some of the line as well."

"Perfect!" Marina changed course and ran ahead of her parents and into the alleyway.

For a moment, the sounds of the busy streets died away, leaving only three pairs of footsteps slapping their way down the stone path. The buildings on either side were tall enough to block out the afternoon sun, leaving them in a comfortable chill.

Up ahead was a corner. Marina quickened her pace and turned into...

A dead end.

"Shit," her dad exclaimed, earning him a sharp kick in the shin from his wife. "Ah, excuse my french. Back luck, huh." He shrugged, ever optimistic. "Well, I guess we can double back and keep running."

"Yeah," Marina’s mom agreed.

Marina sighed. What a let down! Well, it wouldn't take too long to get back, at least, at this rate we’ll make in in time-

Marina turned around to see that five men, all armed with guns, had cornered them in the dead end.

"Look at this, just the man we were looking for!” one of them pointed at Marina’s dad. “This is the senator we were told to capture? He doesn’t look like much.”

“Don’t worry, this is him... Senator Porosus, a friend of yours sends this message:” one of the men grinned. “You’ve been in my way for too long, Mitch. It’s time for me to put the fear of God in you. Enjoy your extended stay in Egypt!”

“What? Who hired you?” Mitchell gulped and pulled his wife and daughter behind him. Marina felt her mom's cold hand clutch her arm. This time, she didn't try to shrug it off. “I’ve done nothing but get along with everyone. They all want to see me reach the top! I’m gonna be President one day-”

“We’ll see about that.” The man in charge raised his gun. “For now, come to our truck. We’ll make you and your family comfortable until someone generous pays your ransom.”

Oh no, they had a truck somewhere.

"Look... I don’t care what you do to me.” Senator Porosus said, his voice shaking a little. For someone in so much danger, he was staying pretty composed. “But leave my family out of it!”

“Mitchell-” Marina’s mother whispered, her grip on Marina loosening slightly. “Just do what they say, and-” She was cut off with a scream as one of the men yanked her away from her family.

Marina's eyes widened. Shit! This is actually happening- It was like a scene from a movie, some horrible, scary movie, and panic spiked through Marina’s veins. "MOM! DAD!" Someone grabbed Senator Porous as well, and now two more were advancing towards Marina.

"Don’t even try, you’re just going to get hurt!” one of the guys said with a twisted grin. Marina screamed and struggled anyway as her arms were twisted behind her body. 

No... NO!

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. This was supposed to be their last stop before flying home, where Marina would finish up the year and enjoy the summer with her friends. But now-

Catastrophic change... and-

With one last burst of strength, Marina wrenched her arm away, freeing herself for a moment. She turned around, her eyes wide and crazed with adrenaline.

Awakening.

The gun leveled at her head was suddenly crunched into a flat piece of scrap metal. The man holding it didn’t have a moment to realize what had happened, because numerous spots of his arm suddenly burst with blood.

He opened his mouth to scream, stumbling back, but it was as if something was clamped down on his arm, hard. Bones crunched as he was suddenly wrenched to the side, and the movement sent him flying into the nearby brick wall.

Marina froze.

What- what on earth-

But then something hit her in the back of the head, hard, and she fell back down to the bottom of the river.

The crocodile continued to circle high above.

And that’s chapter one!!!! I hope you guys are intrigued 0.0 Please comment/inbox/etc if you have any theories or thoughts, I always appreciate them! I’ll probably post the next chapter on Friday. I changed a couple things to make the story flow better than it did when I first released it. Anyway, see you next time!

Also, did anyone catch the meaning of Marina’s last name? hehe...

[zoawrites]

Prompt: a concert. They can meet there, have already planned to go together, by a twist of fate end up there, anything! Lol but at least part of it has to take place at a music concert of any genre

Sorry it took me a little while to get this done! Loved the prompt and I had a lot of fun with it! Thank you! 

Story below the cut! (Rated T)

Also, here’s the AO3 link  

Enjoy!

Zoa ❤️

A Wrong Turn to the Right Place

Ben knew he shouldn’t have listened to the damn GPS. ‘Take a right’, it said. ‘Destination will be on your left’, it insisted.

Wrong.

And that was how Ben landed right in the middle of a fucking rock concert instead of at an isolated cabin in the woods where he could find some peace and quiet to finish his manuscript. Was it rock? There was a stage and guitars and a mosh pit so he assumed it was rock. Then again there was a guy with a banjo and another dude with a cello and the two singers had a country twang so probably not rock.

Was it Indie music? Were they hippies?

Ben didn’t know and didn’t care. He just needed to find someone who had a map of the area so he could find his cabin and get out of this loud, body-filled mess of a field. There was a fleet of food trucks lined up along the edge of the crowd, buzzing with customers.

Surely someone had a map. Ben approached the nearest truck and jumped ahead of the line, getting booed and jeered in the process but he ignored the voices. He wasn’t trying to buy anything.  

“Excuse me!” Ben had to shout to be heard over the music and the people. The man at the window glared at him.

“What’re you doing, man? Back of the line!”

Ben was not dissuaded. “I don't want to buy anything. Do you have a map?”

“If you’re not buying, fuck off! I got real customers!”

“Seriously?” Ben scoffed.

“Get the fuck out!”

Ben flipped him off as he backed away. “Asshole.”

He tried every other truck and a few people in line but no one could - or would - help him. After his final attempt, he stood and scowled at the ongoing concert, hands on his hips. How did he end up here? Fucking GPS… fucking food trucks… fucking loud music… can’t hear a damn thing…  

A tap on his shoulder pulled Ben from his angry contemplations and he turned to tell off the concert-goer with all the pent up rage he was currently nursing only for it to disappear in a puff of smoke.

She was in her early twenties, above average height, chestnut hair cut short so that it framed her face. Which was lovely and covered in adorable freckles to which he could devote a whole chapter of his book. Ben stole a moment to gather his thoughts as he took in her Daisy Duke shorts and black, long-sleeved crop-top that had the word ‘nobody’ emblazoned across the chest in white block letters.

“Excuse me, are you in line?”

“What?” Why was it so fucking loud? They weren’t even that close to the stage. “I can’t hear you!” He pointed at his ears and shook his head helplessly.

The girl - young woman - wrinkled her pert nose but then pointed to the food truck. “Are. You. In. Line?”

“Oh, no…” Ben shook his head. “I need a… help.”

“‘A help’?” She laughed and Ben more than ever wished the music wasn’t so loud so he could hear what he was sure was the clearest, loveliest laugh. Her eyes - green with a touch of gold, like the stalks of tall summer grass waving in the distance - looked him up and down, observing his dark blue henley and light jacket, probably realizing he wasn’t there for the concert.

“I’m lost!” He yelled forlornly. Well, as forlornly as a shout could sound. But she seemed to get the picture. His new friend took pity on him and grabbed his hand, guiding him toward the collection of Port-a-Potties lined up at the edge of the field. There were still plenty of people about, so they weren’t completely alone but the noise pollution was much improved. Although he could have done without the smell.

“You’re lost?” She asked and he heard her accent for the first time. British, soft, warm, like sunlight on a spring day. Ben blinked at her for a second before he nodded.

“Yeah. Lost. My, uh, my GPS told me to come here.”

“Where were you trying to go?”

“A cabin. I rented it. I thought I had the right address,” Ben sent a hand through his hair, ruffling it in exasperation. She seemed to watch the movement with interest. “I wanted…” he looked around and sighed, “I wanted a quiet place to write.”

His companion laughed again and yes, it was definitely as Ben imagined it. Better, in fact. “You’ve definitely come to the wrong place for that!”

“I know,” he managed a crooked smile and she pressed her lips into a tight line, as if repressing one of her own. “I don’t suppose you have a map of the area?”

“I don’t. Don’t you have a mobile? A cell phone you can use?”

“No. I don’t like them.”

“Oh, wow,” she grinned. “I didn’t think any of you actually existed.”

“Any of who?”

“Sasquatch.”

“Ha ha,” Ben rolled his eyes but wasn’t offended, not when her eyes were wrinkled and bright at her own joke. “Very funny.”

“I thought so. Here,” she reached into her shorts’ back pocket and drew out her own phone, “let’s see how far astray you’ve come.”

Turned out, he’d strayed quite a ways off his path. An entire state, in fact. The town his cabin was located at and the one he was currently in shared the same name and, unfortunately, Ben hadn’t double checked when he’d plugged in the address. Just selected the automatic suggestion that popped up on the screen like the idiot he was.

“Well, fuck.”

“I’m sorry.” The girl’s expression was honestly sympathetic.

The crowd behind them cheered as a new song began and Ben glanced mournfully over his shoulder. “Look, I don’t want to keep you. I appreciate your help, but I can manage from here. Go have fun.”

“I can still hear the music. I’m Rey, by the way,” she stuck out her hand and Ben stared at it for a second longer than necessary before he engulfed it with his own giant paw.

“Ben. Ben Solo.”

“Ben.” She said his name slowly, as if savoring how it rolled off her tongue. There was even a minuscule lift to the corner of her mouth, which Ben tried very hard not to stare at. “Solo… You’re a writer? Have I heard of you?”

“No,” he shook his head. When she tilted her head quizzically, he cleared his throat and elucidated. “I’m not published yet. This trip was supposed to be my attempt to finish my manuscript…”

“Not getting to a great start, are you.”

He laughed bitterly. “No, guess not.” Then he heaved a very heavy sigh. “I should get going. I have a long drive ahead of me, apparently.”  

“Why don’t you stay?”

The question came as a surprise and this time he allowed himself to stare at her. “What?”

A charming pink hue lit Rey's cheeks. “The sun’s going down, you see. Probably not a good idea to drive in the dark when you don’t have a map.”

“It wasn’t a good idea in daylight, either,” Ben said wryly and Rey laughed again. “But you’re right,” he added, unable to tear his gaze from her bright eyes. “Probably a good idea to stay. I can find a hotel…”

“You can hang out with my friends and I…”

They spoke at the same time. Her eyes darted away in obvious embarrassment but then peered at him from under lightly-mascaraed lashes. Ben swallowed.

“Really? You don’t even know me.”

Rey tilted her head and gave him a shy smile. “You seem fairly harmless to me. Although, you’re a bit short with food truckers, I’ll admit.”

So she’d seen that. Could his face get any hotter?

“Not my finest hour,” Ben admitted, running a hand through his hair again. Her offer was tempting, and the music wasn’t bad… in fact, Ben could see himself tapping a toe to it. “I won’t be intruding?”

“Of course not!”

Then she suddenly grabbed his hand and hauled him off toward the stage. Rey somehow managed to find all the gaps and passages through the dense collection of people, although, with Ben in tow she didn’t really need to because those passages were being bulldozed anyway. Unfazed by the scowls and middle-fingers flipped at them, Rey tugged him to a spot deep in the crowd where four others were bouncing around to the beat.

A short, dark-haired girl with round cheeks and a contagious smile caught sight of Rey, took one long - very long - look at Ben and smirked.

“That’s not what I meant when I said bring back a snack!” She yelled with a wink, earning an aghast and open-mouthed expression of shock from Rey.

That was Rose Tico’s charming self-introduction. Rey’s other friends, Finn, Jannah, and Kaydel were less free with their thoughts, albeit just as curious. They welcomed him warmly enough. While Ben felt out of place - and knew he was - he couldn’t find it in himself to part from the girl who’d rescued him. So he stood and bobbed his head to the music, enjoying watching the others’ antics and enthusiastic singing along.

Still, it wasn’t exactly his favorite activity, and somehow Rey must have sensed that because sometime later - as the horizon was lit by the pink and purple light of the setting sun - she tugged him back through the crowd and toward grassier areas where there were scattered groups sitting on blankets and lawn chairs.

They sat together in a soft patch of grass and Ben sighed, not trying to hide his relief. “Thanks.”

“I did have an ulterior motive,” she admitted, stretching her toned legs out and crossing them at the ankles.

Ben nodded in encouragement, pretty sure if she wanted to take over the world he’d help her. “What’s that?”

“I want you to tell me about your book.”

“My book?” His brows lifted straight up. “You really want to hear about it?”

She nodded and Ben, right in assuming he had little ability to resist any request she made, launched into a summary of his story: a hard-boiled detective investigating the deep, dirty secrets of a city’s nefarious mobster.

“Is there a love story?”

“There’s a woman,” Ben admitted. “I haven’t decided if he should fall in love with her.”

“I think he should.”

“Thing is, I’m not sure how to write her.”

“Maybe you need a muse.”

Ben lifted his gaze from the grass to focus on her face, on all the little freckles dotting her nose, the strange way the fading light of the sun seemed to worship her cheeks. She was beautiful here and now but he wanted to know how many other ways she was beautiful. How she ate toast in the morning. What her favorite movie was. If she squealed when she saw a bee. Everything. He wanted to know everything about her and write it all down.

“Maybe I already have.”

[yoongi-sugaglider]

Forget Me Nots

A wealthy young man falls overboard while vacationing with friends only to find himself with amnesia and a pretty young wife who seems determined to remind him what hard work and dedication really mean.

Warnings: Strong language, angry Min Yoongi inaccurately portrayed based upon the writer’s imagination,angst, eventual super fluff.

Pairing: Eventual Min Yoongi x reader

Word count:2089

A/n: Ah! So~ I finally got my thoughts back together on this bad boy lol. That being said yes she’s back in rotation! This chapter is a bit flillerish? In terms of I had to push through it to work some things out but beyond this we’re back in it!! Enjoy!!

<<Chapter Eight---Chapter Ten>>

She wasn't sure at what point during the three days since Yoongi had been discharged from the hospital that she'd started falling in serious like with him. But it was certainly entirely his fault.

He was quiet, shy and reserved in a way she hadn't expected of the man who'd literally almost cost her her job the first day they'd met. The trepidation in his hidden smiles would sometimes evaporate so quickly when something brought him joy, causing his entire being to light up with laughter as he struggled to stay upright in his mirth.

The way he cared for her, quietly looking out for her in ways even she didn't anticipate had her second guessing her early misgivings on having him around to invade her solitude. 

She'd gone back to work that day, after ensuring he had plenty to keep him occupied while she was out. Though, to her credit she hadn't anticipated the sheer amount of exhaustion that would weigh her down once she got home. Her shoulders sagged as she walked through the front door, eyes downcast as she kicked off her shoes to the side of the entrance before trudging her way towards the interior of her home.

The smell of food had greeted her, along with the endlessly bounding affections of her two dogs as she wandered up to the kitchen only to spot a floral print apron wrapped Yoongi working hard at the stove to provide whatever meal he'd cooked up in order to appease the ravenous hunger that suddenly gripped her stomach at the sight.

"I...hey?"

Yoongi turned, lips twitching up into the barest hint of a smile as he took in the sorry state of the woman of the house.

"Hi there angel, long day I take it?"

She huffed, purse dropping to the counter as she edged her way over to try and spot what he'd been slaving away at.

"I got stuck with Selena’s  shift again. Apparently she found herself bedridden again and managed to skimp out on cleaning one of the schooners that got rented out again." She clicked her tongue, shaking her head at the silent chuckle that shook Yoongi's shoulders.

"You didn't have to cook though? I thought you were…"

"Supposed to take it easy." He gave her a sideways glance as he stirred the mysteriously bubbling liquid within the massive pot. "Yeah, but I got bored and well...I weeded the back garden at about noon...spent some time fixing some holes and dents in the hallway walls and by the time 6 rolled around I realized you'd be coming home pretty late so I thought I'd fix up a stew."

He shrugged, casting it off as no big deal while nudging her in the side with his hip.

"Why don't you go grab a hot shower? By the time you're clean and refreshed dinner will be done and you can take all the time you want complaining about Selena."

She smiled, finding the sound of a shower far more appealing than trying to convince Yoongi to take it easy.

The shower took her far longer than she’d expected, finding herself relaxing into the contented heat of the ever flowing water for nearly a good 45 minutes before realising that dinner would be done and Yoongi would be waiting for her.

Ever so hastily she ended her shower, tugging on the comfiest and most modest night wear that she could find before sneaking down the hall and into the kitchen.

Sure enough Yoongi sat at the table, patiently waiting for her with that soft smile on his face as he watched the dogs play tug of war with a rope in the livingroom.

“Much needed shower I take it?” He whispered, startling her with a squeak as he slowly turned to look in her direction.

“Ah, y...yeah. Sorry it took so long. I guess I didn’t realize how stressed I was until I got in there.”

He tilted his head, watching her as she made her way over to the table and softly inhaled the scent of the stew steaming in her bowl.

“Oh my, that smells like actual heaven.” She sighed, taking her seat and practically drooling into the bowl.

“Well, dig in. It’s not gonna make its own way to your stomach, unless you have some kind of secret psychic mind powers I should know about.”

The snort that choked its way out of her throat was very much unladylike as she glanced up to stare at Yoongi’s self satisfied face. He seemed plenty pleased with himself at his own joke as he spooned a bit of broth into his mouth before glancing up at her through heavily lidded lashes.

“Well?”

“What?! No! I don’t have psychic powers thank you very much!” Picking up her spoon she dug in to the meal, very nearly groaning out loud at the explosion of flavor that hit her tongue like a freight train.

“Jesus Yoongi, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you were a professional chef in a past life or something!”

“Is it good?” He asked shyly, all the while his eyes were focused on his own meal, though she could tell he was hanging onto her every word.

“Well duh! I mean, yeah...it’s amazing.”

They continued on in silence, exchanging quiet noises of satisfaction as their bellies slowly filled with the warm comfort of the meal Yoongi had painstakingly made.

“So uh…”

She glanced up, eyes questioning as Yoongi cleared his throat before meeting her gaze with a questioning one of her own.

“You mentioned a Selene giving you trouble at work?”

“Oh god yes.” She groaned, leaning back in her chair and rolling her eyes. “That woman I swear. She goes out and parties all night and then the next morning, despite her duties, has the freaking audacity to call in sick to work, even though everyone knows she’s just hung over. I mean seriously? How long am I expected to pick up her slack? She’s not even nice to me when she manages to come to work.”

Shaking her head in frustration she picked up her spoon again and glared down at her bowl. “All she ever does is flirt with trust fund babies and mess around with literally any guy that happens to look hot or loaded. It’s a disgrace really and it makes me sick that Troy just lets her get away with it.”

“Troy?”

She flinched, realizing she’d been rambling. “Oh, uh yeah. My boss. I work for a yacht rental company. Basically I get the glamourous job of cleaning up after people when they rent out the yachts, on top of like, setting up for parties and making sure the fancy rich people have everything they need before they set out on their little mini cruise getaways.”

“Hmm…” His tone wasn’t really dismissive, more of an, oh okay kind of vibe.

Despite that she felt herself blushing, though she wasn’t sure if it was for the sheer amount of word vomit she’d just spewed, or from fear that he might have judged her for her occupation. It wasn’t the first time he had after all, though, that had been before he found himself in his current state.

Pushing away from the table she grabbed their now empty bowls and silverware, mumbling something along the lines of how she was going to clean up before darting quickly to the kitchen sink before she continued on.

Shoving the tap on she waited patiently for the water to heat up, not realizing that Yoongi had followed her and was now standing just behind her. Her foot tapped out a random rhythm on the floor as she watched suds fill the sink.

“So...I was wondering…”

She squeaked, spinning in place and clutching at her chest as her heart threatened to escape its confides in her ribcage.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Yoongi held his hands up as if showing her he wasn’t a threat.

“No no, it’s okay. I just didn’t hear you walk over.”

He smiled sheepishly, tugging nervously at his earlobe before clearing his throat. For a moment she got lost in his mannerisms, smiling softly to herself at the nervous fidgeting of his hands.

“Well, I was just wondering. You mentioned having a job and well. Did I have one? I mean...surely I did right?”

***

“Well???What did you tell him?” Rose leaned in close, stage whispering despite the fact that the cafe her, Devani, and y/n sat in was in fact devoid of other customers.

“Ugh, I don’t know. I think something about how he was in between jobs or some shit.” Y/n leaned back in her seat, fanning herself in frustration as Devani snorted into her drink.

“Real smooth there girl. And you’re telling me he bought that?” Dev shook her head, placing the cup back in it’s saucer and glaring her best friend down.

“I mean..he may or may not have believed it. I couldn’t really tell. The dude has the poker face of a pro.”

“So have you slept with him yet?” Rose interrupted, leaning in even further.

The poor woman sputtered, having just taken a sip of steaming hot coffee, which now happened to have sprayed all over poor Devani.

“I beg your pardon???”

“Consider my pardon begged, now. Did you sleep with him or not?” Rose smirked, her eyes glinting with a mischievous humor that her friends had become used to over the years.

“I’ll have you know I have far more dignity than that. I mean he’s basically a stranger!”

“Dude, you literally have one of the hottest men you’ve ever seen in your life living under your roof under the notion that he’s married to you. Any red blooded woman would have at least gotten some by now.”

Y/n frowned, shaking her head at the brazen woman.

“Rose, enough. Stop harassing y/n. And y/n? No slut shaming Rose.” Devani sighed, placing her cup back on the table. “I swear if I didn’t know any better I was the actual adult on this friendship circle.”

Rose groaned, leaning across the table to pat poor Devani’s hand. “Our poor precious maknae. She’d had to raise the two of us on her own all these years.”

Y/n sniffed, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye. “I’m just so proud of her maturity.”

The three women giggled, continuing on with their conversation until the oldest of them sighed forlornly.

“Guys I really don’t know about this job thing. I mean the way he looked when he talked about it I don’t think he’s going to let it go as easily as I wanna hope.”

Rose hummed, absentmindedly tossing tiny bits of torn up napkin onto her plate as she stared off into the distance.

“What if I gave him a job in the kitchen at my restaurant?”

Y/n’s head jerked up and her eyes went wide at the prospect. She didn’t want to get her hopes up but the idea sounded good. “Wait, but what if he can’t handle it?”

Rose shook her head with a smile, reaching across the table to pat her friend’s hand. “So I give him a dish washing spot during our slow hours. It’ll be quick and easy and I’ll be able to keep an eye on him in case anything happens to him health wise.”

“I’ll help too!” Devani chirped up. She worked part time as a hostess at the same restaurant.

“I...I don’t know guys…”

Rose clicked her tongue, her reassuring pats turning slightly more aggressive. “Y/n, I own the place. Nobody’s gonna question the boss. You’re only a phone call away if anything happens and at the end of the week his buddies can come back and collect him, no harm done.”

“You might even get a cut of some cash for gratitude.” Devani smirked, a conspiratorial glint to her eyes.

“Dev doesn’t mean that and you know it.” Rose reassured at the moment of panic that flitted across y/n’s face.

“Yeah, I know. I mean it would be nice to get the money to replace the vacuum that got wrecked but...honestly at the end of the day I just want him to be okay…”

“We know love. Don’t worry, we’ve got your back okay?”

She couldn’t help but smile at her friends, hoping against hope that this would work and that things would turn out okay.

***

[bondsmagii]

hi miceál! i literally just discovered your blog and was hoping i could ask you a question. it's kinda long & involved and also u don't know me, so i won't feel bad if you ignore me. but so: i was perusing the gaelige tag and found your post where you were talking about the importance of learning your mother tongue. i was wondering if i could ask your thoughts about how this applies to people with less direct ancestry. (1/?)

for example, i'm an american and have a lot of (pretty far back) irish ancestry. i studied abroad in ireland in the spring before covid happened, and i took an irish language class and really liked it. however, since being there i feel kind of guilty about wanting to learn more, because i know that like. it annoys irish people how americans talk about having irish ancestry, and that the irish language means a specific thing to irish people, and that there are political aspects to both so, i've been trying to like. learn more but also be careful and respectful, but i do feel a little guilty still i guess, because i know that this language/history isn't mine (at least not in the same way). anyway, i don't really know what my question question is but have been thinking about this for awhile and am not in contact with anyone who lives in ireland anymore. maybe you could tell me what you think if thats ok and if you're comfortable? sorry again for the long question!!

dia duit! as usual, my disclaimer that I am but one (1) Irish person, so I can’t speak for everyone; however having grown up in Ireland I did know a fair few Irish people, so I feel I can say the following with confidence: if you’d like to learn Irish, please learn it. Irish is a dying language, and the more people who learn to speak it, the better its chances of survival. it’s a beautiful language and to be honest if you ask me I would say you don’t even have to be Irish to learn it. of course it’s a very special part of your heritage if you are, but there’s no qualifications to learn it. the more people, the better, if you ask me.

now moving on to the more political aspects, which is always unavoidable when talking about my lovely home country lol. yes, there is some annoyance with Americans doing the whole “I’m 1/16th Irish” or whatever; we don’t really get this obsession with heritage in Europe, probably because a lot of us are still fairly close to home and our heritage hasn’t been diluted as much. also, culturally, European countries are Old As Balls, so we don’t really need to lean into another identity to have a cultural heritage. for you guys, America is still a very, very young country (I’ve stayed in hotels and eaten in McDonald’s restaurants renting in buildings older than the United States of America, to put it into perspective) and being culturally American is still a new thing. it’s understandable that people would lean in to the motherland a little, for a sense of identity, and 99% of the time that’s OK! what annoys us, in my experience, is the lack of differentiation. for example, genetically you have Irish in you, but culturally you’re American. while we can happily accept that yes, you’re originally from Ireland, we don’t like people acting as though we’re the same culturally because we’re not, and Ireland is a very complicated country politically, socially, etc and it’s frustrating when people come in thinking we’re all on the same page when we’re not. it’s not a deep-rooted hatred, but more of a frustration. of course, if you’re not obnoxious about it, nobody is going to care. generally if I meet Americans in Ireland I just assume that they’re descendants visiting anyway, and I’ve met plenty of polite and interested Americans who have let me chat their ears off about Irish history, so.

to move to the bulk of the question: you might not be culturally Irish, but at least personally I would still see you as connected to the struggle that the Irish language has come to represent. there’s a very high possibility that your ancestors left Ireland because of poverty, or because of persecution; that life in their homeland was made very difficult for them by an oppressive and illegal occupation, and they left to try and have a better life for themselves and their descendants. maybe they left and never looked back and were happy; maybe they missed Ireland for the rest of their days -- I don’t know. but I do know that if Ireland had been treated better, you would likely be growing up in Ireland, where your family had lived for centuries. there is a sense of grief there that I can empathise with -- I myself had to leave Ireland for various reasons, and only now, a decade later, am I making plans to go back. I know what it’s like to see Ireland slip away over the horizon. I know what that grief feels like. I can’t imagine then never returning, and having my descendants grow up in what would always feel to me as a foreign land. I would be absolutely psyched if my descendants then decided to get back in touch with their heritage.

you say the history isn’t yours, and perhaps no, not in the same way. but the fact that you’re in America now shows that Ireland’s history affected you, and part of it -- be it famine, oppression, persecution -- has influenced where you are today. as for the language, it is the language that some of your ancestors spoke perhaps only a few centuries ago. I would say that it’s still yours, if you’d like to have it. the Irish language is a complicated subject even in Ireland -- in some places you can’t even speak it without people getting certain ideas -- but anybody who is truly passionate about the language and about undoing the damage that 900 years of oppression has done will not be annoyed that you’re learning. you seem sensible about it; you seem respectful and aware of the differences between being culturally Irish and genetically Irish, and that’s really the main thing that becomes frustrating if the lines aren’t drawn. at the end of the day something happened to force your ancestors to leave behind their homeland forever, and that is a loss. if learning Irish helps you feel closer to them and to the home they had to leave behind, I say go for it and good luck.

[gayreddie]

middle of adventure, such a perfect place to start

note

hi i never use tumblr to post my own stuff so idk how this layout is gonna look lol but i’m starting a little nsfw reddie ficlet. its only 3 chapters, and i just put out chapter 1, so the link to it is right under the summary! leave kudos if u don’t hate it hehe

title 

middle of adventure, such a perfect place to start

summary

Nobody wanted to room with Richie Tozier. He was a loud mouth who came across as only tolerable for a couple of hours, if that.  

When little Eddie Kaspbrak shows up at his door with a copy of his “Roommate needed” sign, Richie is taken back as ever.

Who was this precious pixie boy with soft chocolate hair and summer freckles that lived across his cheeks? And why did he want to live with Richie? 

read it here or below the cut!

Richie Tozier loved to have sex.

He loved having people come over to his flat in the late hours of the night so he could release everything that had been building up in him that day, as loud as he liked. He loved going out to nightclubs with his fake I.D. which states that he was 21, a year older than he really was, and finding someone to take to the bathroom stall within minutes. He loved talking about it with his best friends the next day and getting groans, eye rolls and pleads to shut the fuck up.

His first two years of college ensured him plenty of that. He had his own flat right outside of Derry University, where he lived all alone. The underclassmen years flew by pretty quickly, but Richie had been positive they have been the most eventful years of his life. That all changed when he got into a bit of a financial situation with his father. Richie had gotten in trouble because of his low grades, a result of his party years being active and taking over. Wentworth Tozier decided to cut him off for 3 months as punishment.

The only way he would be able to pay for the upcoming rent was with a little help. So, he cleaned out the extra bedroom full of dirty clothes from his hookups, expired snacks, and video games, and turned it into an extra bedroom available to rent.

Nobody wanted to room with Richie Tozier. He was a loud mouth who came across as only tolerable for a couple of hours, if that.  

When little Eddie Kaspbrak shows up at his door with a copy of his “Roommate needed” sign, Richie is taken back as ever.

Who was this precious pixie boy with soft chocolate hair and summer freckles that lived across his cheeks? And why did he want to live with Richie Tozier?

He’s standing in front of Richie’s door in a jumper. An extra large white jumper on top of his maroon short shorts. His hand that wasn’t holding the paper was by his side, the tips of his fingers reaching the white hem. Richie stopped peeping through the hole and opened the door.

For once, Richie was at a loss for words. Eddie Kaspbrak was the first to speak. “Hey,” he looked up into Richie’s eyes. Which were too high for Eddie to see to get a good look at. 18 year old Eddie Kaspbrak was a whopping 5 feet tall and everyone he grew up with swore he would not be able to get any taller after ninth grade. He straightened himself up as much as he could, but it was little help. Richie Tozier leaned against his door frame and smirked down at the boy, from 6 feet and 4 inches off of the ground. Eddie gulped. “I-I saw you needed a roommate…” he trailed off and looked behind Richie while clutching the paper a little tighter. Anything to get away from the burn of the taller man’s eyes.

Richie snatched the application from the boys hands and pretended to pull down his glasses to read it. The fast action made the boy jump back a bit. Richie began to read out loud. “Eddie Kaspbrak. 18 years old. Freshman. Majoring in nursing. Minoring in linguistics…” he read the next line on the paper then pulled apart to look Eddie up and down. “Hm. Scorpio.. blah blah blah study time blah blah blah sleep times… Can you supply the six hundred a month?” He crosses his arms as he leaned now. Eddie pursed his lips and eagerly nodded.

“Good boy,” Richie let out, unknowingly. He caught himself immediately after saying it and hid his face behind the paper again. He’d hope Eddie would take that as a playful thing and not think too much into it. Little did he know Eddie was flushed on the other side of the paper and his eyes had gotten a little darker.

Richie looked him up and down one more time, focusing on his fresh summer tan. The fall semester was just about to start and this boy looked like he spent everyday at the beach for the past three months. He was so dark, Richie almost wanted to say he looked latino. “You got the job, kid.” He handed the paper back to Eddie. Eddie smiled to himself as he asked if Richie could help him unload his luggage from his car. Richie jokingly asked him if he would be giving him a tip. Their playful relationship of roommates flowed pretty easily from there.

Eddie had morning classes. Richie had night classes. They never really had to interact during the week unless it was the afternoon. Even then, it was sometimes a quick “hello,” and “goodbye,” and one giving the other a longing stare.

Some weekend nights, they’d have movie nights. Eddie would pick one week, Richie the next. Richie would never admit it, but he’d turned down offers to grab drinks with his friends just to sit down and eat dinner with Eddie for multiple nights. He found the boy so interesting to talk to… not to mention how easy he was on the eyes. Definitely not to mention that.

Eddie liked to lounge around in his signature shorts and oversized shirts everyday that one day Richie finally pestered him about it. “Do you have any other clothes? You always wear the same style.” Anyone else would have taken that with offense, but not little Eddie spitfire Kaspbrak. He leaned his head back on the side of the couch to be eye to eye with the boy standing in the kitchen, eating a strawberry pop-tart. “Why are you fixated on the clothes on my body?”

Richie dropped his jaw a bit. “Jeez, I just notice things. You can always wear things my friends have left here, they’re all in a box in the linen closet…” he stood up straighter and walked closer to Eddie. Eddie sat up now to look up at Richie standing in front of him. “How kind of you, offering me your ex-hookups’ dirty bras and panties.”

Richie snickered. “It's washed. Besides, It’s not all girls stuff. I have boxers and briefs, too.” He nonchalantly took another bite of his pop-tart, still eyeing down Eddie. His toes in his tall white socks were squirming against the dark couch. Eddie felt red in his face. “Briefs… in your ex-hookup box?”

It was Richie’s time to be cocky with a sly nod. He had been playfully flirty with Eddie whenever he could, winking at him when he caught him staring, saying he looked extra cute on certain days and sitting a little too close to him on movie nights, but he never admitted that he was actually into boys. All of these actions only had reactions of an annoyed Eddie brushing him off, assuming he was messing with him.

“Ooh, better yet-“ Richie hurried and turned around, rushing to his room and back to bring a different box that did not read Ex-Hookups, but Old. He sat it in front of Eddie, on the coffee table. “Take my old clothes. I don’t need any of this stuff,” Richie smiled at Eddie as he paced around the living room. Eddie, silent, raised an eyebrow, before standing to sort through the box. There were oversized hoodies, sweats and band T-Shirts. Richie waved him off with, “Keep the whole box,” before he walked back into his room with his pop-tart, closing the door behind him. Eddie was already changing into the black hoodie.

Five weeks into rooming with him, Richie had thought this boy was the cutest person he had ever laid his eyes on. He would go meet his friends most nights at the local bar, and none of them cared to hear about Eddie. None except Beverly Marsh, Richie’s other spitfire in his life. His best friend since last year, mentioned that he was in her biology 101 class, usually a freshman class, but she had just gotten around to taking it. “You better leave that boy alone, Richie Tozier, or I will never hear the end of it. He’s my partner for Christ’s sake and all he can blab about is you some days..” This sparked Richie’s interest.

“Really?” He sat up straighter and ignored Stan Uris, Mike Hanlon and Bill Denbrough’s side conversation about an upcoming party. He leaned in next to Beverly. “What’s he say?” He playfully asked, batting his eyelashes. Beverly was unamused. She took another sip from her martini. “He says you always leave a mess for him to clean in the kitchen,” Richie interrupted. “I do the cooking, he does the cleaning, we agreed to that!”

Beverly talked over him. “He says you play your music way too loud in the afternoon when he’s trying to study,” Another interruption. “Yeah, I’m trying to distract myself from how attractive he looks when he’s sprawled against my couch in those fucking shorts.” He snorted, but it was too true. Beverly sternly looked at him before continuing. “He hates- well… nevermind, actually.” She took another sip.

There was no way she was getting away with that. “Tell me now, Red. You know he’s close friends with that big Ben you have a crush on, I could ruin you like this,” he snapped his fingers for emphasis. Beverly bit the bottom of her lip, she never knew when Richie was kidding. “He... he hates that you constantly have guests around. Something about germs.”

Richie furrowed his eyebrows. Guests? The only person he had over was Holden from Calculus… and Piper from the frat party. And Wren from the night club. And Stella from… Oh shit. Richie stopped his thoughts. Eddie had been aware of his ongoing late night hookups.

Richie tries his best to keep his sex life private from everyone besides his friends. He loved sex but he thought it was meant to be personal. He tried his best to keep it quiet, but obviously Eddie was aware of the noises from down the hall at 3 in the morning.

“Well, it’s not my fault my dick is so irresistible... Besides if he wanted to have someone over, he could. As long as he cleans up behind himself, I don’t care. I’d give him his space…” Beverly smirked at this. “Is that so, Tozier?”

Richie nodded as he blankly stared across the room. He downed some more whiskey. “Because I happen to know…” Richie’s eyes quickly fixated on hers. “That he has someone over right now.” She sadistically smiled at him.

After staring at her for nearly 10 seconds, Richie’s first reaction was to laugh. No way did Eddie have it in him to be the hook-up type. He and Eddie would stay up late and talk after movie nights. He knew Eddie had only had sex a handful of times, and that he wasn’t looking for anything at the moment. Richie respected that. Deep down, he found it in him to be okay with that and try and give him his space. This would change that. “No, Beverly. You’ve got the wrong short stack.”

Beverly was scrolling through her phone before she stopped on a photo of broad shouldered, golden locked, Damian Scott. Richie’s fist tightened. He had walked by Eddie’s rooms multiple times in the late night to hear Eddie giggling on the phone. “Damian, oh my God! Why would you do that?” Oh, you’re just so funny, Damian. Richie rolled his eyes in his head before walking into the bathroom.

Richie was up before he knew it and the rest of his friends looked up at him, waiting for him to announce something. Beverly raised her eyebrows. “I… have to go...” Is all Richie said before taking off towards his Mercedes Benz in the parking lot. His friends shrugged it off before continuing drinking, figuring Richie would blab about whatever was going on next time he saw them.

When Richie parked outside the flat, he had his headlights off. His car made the smallest sounds against the gravel, and he closed the door with just enough force to make sure it closed and wasn’t too loud at the same time. He looked at the window. Eddie’s room was dimly lit. Candles were sat near the curtains. Richie could see it in the shadow.

He quickly got in the front door, tiptoeing and shutting the door with more grace than ever before. He could have laughed, he was sneaking into his own apartment.

Then he heard it.

The deep voice. The grunts. The squeaking on the bed.

His roommate was getting fucked.

Richie could not explain what he was feeling. He crossed his arms over his chest. Was he mad Eddie had someone over and didn’t tell him? Was he annoyed that jock asshole Damian Scott was in his flat of all people? Did he wish he was in there giving Eddie a fucking he would never be able to forget? Drinking in his whimpers and teasing his little body in ways that would make him shiver?

He quickly shook it off and reached into his cabinet for his own bottle of whiskey. He shrugged his jean jacket off and rolled up the sleeves on his peach shirt, which truly did flatter him, and his dark curls against his dark jeans. As he downed one more, he heard one loud (hopefully final) groan from Damian himself. Richie’s grip around the bottle was tightening so hard he could have broken it.

He took the bottle with him to the couch. Eddie’s bedroom door creaked open to reveal a still slightly gasping Damian Scott with a handful of clothes slowly closing the door behind him. When he turned around and was met with Richie, his face went red and he stopped in his tracks. Richie gave him a dry smile. “Hey, Damian.” He said low enough so Eddie couldn’t hear.

Damian’s hands were clammy. He only had his pants on in front of Richie. Richie Tozier, who, besides being a loudmouth, had a history of getting into fights. Whether it be a bar fight or a frat party fight. He just had sex in Richie’s place, even without knowing about his tiny fixation with Eddie, that was scary enough. “Richie.” He acknowledged as he walked towards the door, a little pep in his step.

Richie abandoned the bottle that shattered on the ground and quickly ran towards the door right as Damian had his hand around the knob. Richie tightly grabbed his wrist and roughly pushed him against the door, leaning down to whisper in his ear. Because although Damian was 5’7, which was 7 inches taller than Eddie, he was still 9 inches shorter than Richie.

Richie reeked of alcohol and he knew it. He didn’t care as his hot breath spoke out the following words. “Make the hell sure you never fuck Eddie again. He can’t go see you, and you sure as fuck can not come here again. Spread the word to your worthless posse as well,” Damian was silent and his chest was heaving up and down. He nodded. “Go.” Richie finally demanded, and Damian could not have scurried away quicker. Richie watched as he ran to his car parked on the street, pulling his shirt over him as he ran.

He proudly smiled to himself for a moment. Then it fell. He turned to look at the mess on the ground. What the fuck had gotten into him? He closed the front door. Then the bedroom door creaked open for a second time in the past few minutes.

Eddie was wearing one of Eddie’s band shirts. Sublime. It dropped to the middle of his thighs, which were becoming a little chubby. Eddie was experiencing a small Freshman 15, and God, did it look good on those golden thighs. He rubbed his eyes, and his hair was a mess. Richie was reminded of what just happened and felt his blood boil again. He didn’t want to react and scare his roommate, because what the fuck was he supposed to say? So he took a deep breath and let out a, “Happy Saturday,” with a smile. Whatever that meant.

Eddie was confused. He dropped his hand from his face. “It's not Saturday, yet,” his soft voice insisted as he checked his phone in his hand. 1:36 am. “Oh, I guess you could say it is Saturday,” he yawned and stretched a little, his hands going high above his head. Richie dreamily stared for a little too long. Eddie spoke up again. “So, what happened here?” He motioned to the shards of broken glass on the floor.

Richie was brought back to life. “Oh, nothing. Your friend accidentally broke something on his way out, but I told him it was no problem. No worries.” He smirked as he walked to grab a broom and dustpan from the closet. He avoided Eddie’s face as he began to sweep, and Eddie was thankful because his eyes had nearly fallen out of his head. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I’m sorry. I thought you were gonna be out with your friends tonight. That’s what you said… and usually you don’t come back until like 3 in the morning with friends of your own, so I thought…” he trailed off as Richie stood up and dropped the broom, he walked closer to Eddie, keeping his demeanor cool.

“So you didn’t think you could ask me for permission before you bring some stupid jock over?” Eddie backed up closer to the wall little by little as Richie got closer. “He’s n-not stupid. He’s very nice. Did you talk to him on the way out?” Richie saw small bits of fear in Eddie’s eyes, so he decided it was too late to stop now. Eddie was already seemingly scared of him. “Of course I did. Now he knows not to come back or mess with you again. You’re welcome.”

Eddie’s back was finally against the wall and Richie wasn’t far behind him, putting his arm on the wall next to Eddie, and getting closer than they ever had before. Eddie shuddered as he looked deeply into Richie’s dark eyes. “You can’t do that. I have just as much of a right to fuck people in here as you do. You bring girls and boys here nearly every night-“ he was cut off by Richie bringing his abnormally large hand to Eddie’s small sides of his hips. Richie loved being this close to Eddie. He loved seeing how small he looked, both emotionally and physically next to him. Eddie was squirming under his touch now, his thighs shifting back and forth.

“And you’re always welcome to be one of them, baby,” Eddie’s lips were parted now as Richie brought down his hand from the wall to drag his rough fingers across Eddie’s swollen lips. Again, Richie is reminded of why they were swollen and gave the plumper bottom one a little pinch. Eddie whined under his touch and leaned his body more flush against Richie’s. “Yeah. I’d love to get these pretty little whore lips around me,”

Eddie was holding back a moan. He hadn’t come close to reaching his orgasm all night, but right now he was over half hard with his roommate barely touching him. Richie continued. “How big was Damian huh?” He leaned down much closer to Eddie’s face and whispered. “I bet you don’t even have it in you to take all 9 inches of me.” Eddie shut his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. His imagination was running wild right now, and his hips were rocking back and forth to get friction with Richie’s own cock. He could feel it against him from time to time, if he leaned his hips high enough. It was thick, hot and ready to pop out of those jeans. Eddie pulled Richie closer to him by his shirt.

Richie chucked at this. “What is it baby? You wanna use me to get off?” Eddie bit his lip. “So quiet and good for me now, huh? Damian didn’t fuck you right, did he baby?” All these questions and Eddie did not have it in him to form an answer to a single one. He could feel wet spots forming at the front of his underwear, and if he shifted the right way he could hear his precome spreading across his dick. “You want to be full of me, don’t you? You want to feel me all over your fuckable little body. You’re so small and tight, I know you’d suck me right in. I’d give you the best fucking you ever had, Eddie.” All this rambling, and Eddie finally let out a full blown moan at Richie saying his name. “Richie… please…”

Richie watched him. The face that looked so desperate, with his deeply parted lips. Richie pushed his right index and middle fingers through and Eddie instinctually sucked on them. He eyed Richie as he did. He gathered a little saliva on his tongue and gave Richie the most innocent look he could. He was already looking up at Richie because of their size difference, and Richie’s fingers looked big enough inside his tiny mouth to nearly resemble a dick. Richie’s cock was begging to be in the place of his fingers.

Eddie brought his hands up from his shirt to his arm that had the fingers down his throat to lightly grab it and shove it down further till he gagged. Holy fuck. Richie got red at this. Eddie smirked a little. To get the look off his face, Richie started shoving them at a much faster pace. Hearing constant gags and gasps for air as tears began to prick in Eddie’s eyes. Hmmmph. Eddie let out a little moan as a tear rolled down his cheek. He pulled his thigh up to wrap around Richie’s legs and pull him closer. Eddie gave small, weak thrusts against Richie’s cock, squirming as much as he could.

Richie got the hint. He finally released his fingers from the tiny ones mouth and wiped the strings of spit across Eddie’s lips. He already looked so fucked out. Richie could have came at the sight, but that was nothing compared to what he saw when he lifted up his own shirt on Eddie.

Eddie had worn a pair of baby blue lacy panties and his red cock was aching against the material. It was begging to be touched. Richie went hungry at the sight. He looked into Eddie’s dreamy, teary eyes before gently pulling down the material and harshly grabbing his cock.

It fit perfectly in the size of Richie’s hand. Eddie hissed. “Yes, fuck,” Richie devoured those fucking sounds as he leaned down to mouth against Eddie’s neck. He made a heavenly sound as he leaned to the side to give Richie more to work with. He moved his hands to the tops of Richie’s biceps, which were surprisingly strong. He held on to the muscle as Richie kept a fast pace up and down his cock. His giant thumb teased over the head and between the slit. “Since when have you been wearing those panties, princess?” His fingers massaged around the head a few times and that made Eddie let out another whine. Eddie’s mind felt hazy, but Richie ensured he wouldn’t avoid his question. He let go of his cock all at once.

“No!” Eddie grabbed his hand and attempted to drag it back, but that was hard when his whole hand had the weak ability to wrap over just Richie’s thumb alone. Richie scoffed. “Don’t think you’re in control for a fucking second, Kaspbrak. Answer me.” Eddie hummed at the thought of how powerless he felt, and could cry at how much he missed feeling Richie on him already. “Since you told me to. When you gave me the box with the panties…” His eyes were still shut, but Richie happily smiled down at him again.

“Yeah? You like wearing them around our place?” He placed his hand back on Eddie’s eager dick and made sure to watch his face as he did. “You like knowing I could potentially see them if you were bent over? You like rubbing your little cock against them as you listen to me fuck someones brains out right next to you?” Eddie pulled Richie much closer by his shoulders at that, and Richie let him because of how pretty the moan was that he let out. It sounded like something that had been building for weeks. Richie slid his precum up and down his dick at a much faster pace now.

Eddie stuttered. “C-close…” Richie scoffed again. Eddie’s thighs were shaking at how hard he was about to come. “You didn’t answer me,” Richie started slowing down his strokes. “No, no! Rich…” Eddie protested. Slower and slower until he pulled away again. At the loss of the sensation, Eddie broke, opening his eyes to get a good look at the tall man in front of him. “Yes! I do. I love the feeling of you staring at me whenever you see my ass-” Richie harshly grabbed his right ass cheek as a result of that. Eddie purred before speaking again. “I love hearing you fuck people next to me. Hearing you whisper that your roommate is sleeping when girls let out their fucking screams when you make them come…”

Richie was all ears now as Eddie honestly rambled. “When you bring boys home, I get especially jealous. I wish it was me you were fucking into everytime I hear the bed thump against my wall…” Richie was at the brink of coming in his fucking pants. Eddie spoke one more time. “The whole time Damian was fucking me, I was imagining it was you, but it was so hard,” Richie grabbed both of his cheeks now, kneading them in a way that would get Eddie talking some more. “You’re so much bigger. So tall…” he dreamily let out. “So big and perfect for me.” He looked up at Richie with pleading eyes. “I want to be the one you fuck, Richie. I’ll be so good for you...”

Richie felt more content than ever. This little hothead wanted him to fucking ruin him. He’d wanted it for a while. He’d probably gotten off to hearing him fuck everyone he brought home and now he wanted to be one of them. Richie thinks of Damian Scott. He talks before he thinks. “You should have thought about that before you let Damian stick his five inch up you,” he harshly let go of Eddie, placed his dick back into his panties, pulled down his shirt, and began to walk towards his room. The broom, pan and glass remained on the ground. “Make sure you clean that up. Goodnight, princess.”

Richie slammed the door. Eddie could have screamed.