#find the words

[play-my-game]

[inexplicifics]

Tag Game: Find the Words

I've been tagged by the lovely @inahandful-of-dust for the words "sword", "shadow", and "star"! Thank you, this looks fun!

From a WIP currently titled "L/A omega auction", for "sword":

So he waits, snarling under his breath and flexing his fingers in an attempt to resist the urge to just draw a sword and start gutting the bastards around him - which does result in him being given a rather wide berth by the other alphas, funnily enough - until the auctioneer gets around to the Cat.

From "Flung to Catch a Star", the next AWAU longfic, for "shadow":

Yennefer is lurking in the shadows, hidden by a spell, just in case somehow the Nilfgaardians have managed to trick or bewitch Letho and his group, and are actually here to attempt to assassinate Geralt or steal Ciri. And there are Cats and Cranes in the rafters, and Bears in the corners holding halberds and doing their best to look like ceremonial guards, which is remarkably good, all things considered. Milena and Sasha and Vesemir and Livi are standing off to one side, out of the way but still visible, still obviously important, with Lambert and Aubry and Serrit standing guard beside them; Mouse, of course, is not visible, as a spymistress with a known face is less effective by far. They make an imposing picture, all of them assembled just so. Jaskier is so very, very proud of his family and his people.

From the in-beta WIP "Cats Among Wolves: Coën" for "star":

Since he’s known without a doubt that he is the last Griffin, and will never know a brother’s companionship again. Erland’s code does not allow him to lie down in bitter grief and loneliness and let death take him, but Coën cannot quite keep himself from making careless errors, leaving gaps that might allow him to finally put down this aching pain in his heart and join his brothers in their long Path among the stars.

And now I get to pick some words...let me see. How about "kiss" and "laugh" and "snarl", and I'll tag @queerfictionwriter and @kimikocha and @violaceum-vitellina-viridis and @heronfem and @hoomhum and anyone else who wants to play!

[charlesjosephwrites]

Find the Word Tag

Thanks for the tag @thewriteflame!

My words were bathe, lift, shimmer (or shine), kind.

Here are some snippets from The Magician and Ms. Psychic!

bathe and lift

The windows that had been protecting the tellers were completely shattered, their glass scattered all across the floor. The overhead lights were busted, leaving only the sunlight from the front window to bathe the lobby in ominous light. Tellers moved quickly behind the counter doing something, but I didn’t have the brain power to process what they were doing over the little kid sobbing in the corner and their mother frantically trying to shush them. “Magician!” Max shouted at me from somewhere behind the counter. “Get your ass in here!” I made a rude gesture in his direction, and I popped over to the crying kid instead. “Hey.” I did my best to make my voice as gentle as possible as I crouched to be more at the kid’s level. “You alright?" I realized that was a stupid question the moment it came out of my mouth. The kid froze. They stared up at me, their eyes wide and their mouth gaping open in a silent scream. The kid’s mom wrapped an arm around them to pull them closer to her. “L… leave us alone.” I have to admit, I admired the guts she had to stand up to a supervillain to protect her kid, but I didn’t pay her more than a passing glance. “That Shapeshifter Guy’s a real meanie, isn’t he?” I asked. The kid tried to say something, but the only sound that came out of their mouth was a high pitched squeal that made me have to fight the urge to slap my hands over my ears. I extended a hand towards them. “You wanna get out of here?” The kid sniffled. They started to lift a shaky hand towards me, but their mom yoinked them back before they could get too close.

shine

Back behind the glass separating the bank employees from everyone else, the tellers were all huddled together in a circle whispering conspiratorially. I inched closer, doing my best to listen in to whatever tricksy shit they were planning, but the lights shined too brightly for me to be able to focus on their quiet words. I cleared my throat, and their circle broke. A couple of them fell ass backwards onto the floor in their scramble to put more distance between us. “Where's my money?” I asked.

kind

Without his helmet or his track suit, it took me a couple seconds to even register the fact that it really was Hermes. He wore a t-shirt and shorts despite the chilly weather outside like half the other dumbass teen boys out on their field trips. If it wasn’t for the domino mask covering his eyes and the usual overly confident grin plastered on his face, I may have thought I had the wrong annoying kid. “What the fuck?” I exhaled sharply. “Can’t you take like two seconds to get dressed properly?” Hermes glanced down at his outfit like he’d just realized he wasn’t wearing his usual outfit, but he just shrugged off my very valid complaint without an explanation. “Put the painting back and get out of here,” Hermes ordered. “You’re scaring people.” “Scaring people is kind of the point, kiddo."

I'll tag @oh-no-another-idea, @space-writes, @bardicbeetle, and anyone else who sees this and wants to share some snippets from their wip.

Your words are knock, angry, forever, and water.

[myth-blossom]

Find the Words

Thank you for the tag, @peridotglimmer! Though I have a couple things under wraps that matched your words, I do have one other WIP match I can share 😊

Rules: Find the words from the list in your WIPs and post the paragraph they belong to.

My words were love, hate, ice, good.

Love (from a spicy WIP: No Risk, No Reward)

"You're a menace," he growled, all bark and no bite. Diana trailed her hands down his torso as he tried to focus on the environment beyond. It would be far too easy for someone to catch them, for their waiter to round the corner or their neighbors enjoying shisha to get curious, for anyone to hear their hushed chorus of passion beneath the radio's union of techno and ajouag. But easy wasn't the way of the game. She loved risk and he loved her--danger was part of the trade.

Tagging with no pressure: @diana-fortyseven @cajunandfire @cicaklah @postalninja @issytheamateurnerd @rieper-for-hire @air-tuna-art

New words: keep, trust, eyes, cover

[devirnis]

Find The Words

tagged by @princessfbi <3

My words are: Cold, Pink, Crawl, Gasp

Cold

The thought is enough to have Maddie’s blood boiling, melting away some of the cold dread freezing her in place.

Pink

Maddie’s cheeks turn charmingly pink. “Do you think Buck and Eddie are having a similar heart-to-heart?”

Crawl

“You think he’ll be paying attention?” Chimney looks meaningfully at the guy. “He’s practically trying to crawl inside his laptop. I think we’re okay."

Gasp

“Oh god,” Chimney gasps, coughing a little. “What is this, paint stripper?”

Lotta Madney goodness in this batch!

Tagging @bigfootsmom @spaceprincessem @homerforsure @jeeyuns @malewifediaz @father-salmon @underwater-ninja-13 @monsterrae1 @giddyupbuck for the words hard, light, blush, laugh

[bigfootsmom]

find the words

tagged by my beloveds @princessfbi & @devirnis <3 <3 <3

my words are: hurt, pretty, pink, gasp (i combined the 2 sets)

hurt

“Hey— Hey! Buck, it’s me, it’s Eddie. I’m not going to hurt you— you’re okay!”

pretty

“So pretty like this…terrified.”

pink

Goosebumps erupt in the wake of his hand as he drags his nails down his chest and he watches as pink lines bloom across his skin.

gasp

Buck gasps, eyes rolling back in his head as the black spots eat away at his vision.

no pressure tagging @honestlydarkprincess, @loserdiaz, @monsterrae1, @lovebuck, @maygrantgf, @shyaudacity, @miserykites, @housewifebuck, @colonoscopys, @homerforsure, @mellaithwen, @underwater-ninja-13, @father-salmon (sorry if you've been tagged already!)

your words are: uniform, red, chaos, shock

[romances-not-tragedies]

Word find tag (Hope, home, hold, hole)

@winterandwords tagged me to search my WIP for hope, home, hold, and hole

Hope

Kohl mostly lined her round dark eyes that had seen its more than fair share of hardship and suffering and loss of hope in humanity.

Home

“An enchanting home it is, madame,” complimented Justin. He hadn’t fully appreciated it, but this bedchamber appeared more comfortable than his own even when it was in a more luxurious home.

Hold

He hissed and winced, but Clarisse gave him a measure of comfort by whispering words of comfort, encouraging him to hold on as she applied the medicine on the wound.

Hole

He took off his trench coat, letting it slide to present him in a well-fitted black suit with a black tie. A white rosal was in the buttonhole, stark against the dark backdrop.

Tagging @laplumedemaureen, @chauceryfairytales, and @clairelsonao3 if you'd like to do it, with an open tag for anyone else who wants to join in.

The words to search your WIP for are road, saunter, and arise.

[yletylyf]

Find the words

I was tagged by @jammerific with the words "sudden, large, cold" to find in my WIPs. Thank you, this is very fun!

I only have one WIP right now (a bizarre world for me!), a Wen Ruohan/Lan Qiren canon-divergence fic.

Sudden

The cord simply could not cut the monster's neck, no matter how much power he fed it. Lan Qiren was on the verge of suggesting they switch tactics—when all of a sudden, the water erupted.

Large

Wen Ruohan stared at him with eyes that had gone very large, his lips slightly parted, his hair falling in a dark curtain around his face.

Cold

His face was lined and his eyes were cold and tired. But he was looking at Lan Qiren with the same hungry smile from their youth, so pleased to see him and always eager for more.

Ha, I always get self-conscious when excerpting prose. It reads fine in the story as I skim, but then feels so weird when pulled out on its own.

Tagging with the words "slow, time, secret" @tavina-writes @thrillofhope @lumosatnight @turanga4 @inmyownlittlecorner5 @theriverwild @thebansacredbanned @phantomato and anyone else reading this if you want to!

[hgejfmw-hgejhsf]

Find the Words!

find the words

tagged by: @typicalopposite

rules: find your given words in your WIPs and post a snippet containing the words, then tag others with their own sets of words :)

my words: laugh, tomorrow, and wonder

Laugh - 5+1 where Alex and Henry are at the lake house having sex anywhere on the property they want

Tonight, he tells his father about Alex’s rowing skills, about the coordination and the strength to send their small boat gliding along the water. He tells him about how they rowed out to the center of the lake, jumped in to float for awhile in the deep water, and how they laughed as they were forced to swim all the way back to shore, unable to pull themselves back into the boat. He recalls Alex’s incessant cursing as he took the motor boat back out to retrieve the rowboat, towing it back to shore, his cheeks burning bright red with embarrassment that Henry kissed away.

Tomorrow

Funny story, I don't have tomorrow featuring in ANY of my WIPs right now!

Wonder - The Henry hurt/comfort fic

Henry’s long legs are tucked beneath the blankets, and he’s wearing a ratty Oxford sweatshirt with several bleach stains spread throughout. His hair, where earlier it was perfectly coiffed and smoothed with pomade, has fallen into disarray, appearing as if he’s raked his fingers through the golden strands a time or two. He looks…soft, and tired, and pale, and…entirely human, for the second time in as many days. Alex can’t help but wonder if maybe all this time, he’s been stuck on the other side of some sort of wall that Henry built, and now that he’s seen him seemingly at his weakest, perhaps he’ll let him stay there instead of kicking him out and slamming an invisible door behind him.

I think the neat thing about this tag game is each person giving their own words to someone else, so I'm only going to pick a couple people and then see what words they might have to throw out into the world!

@kiwiana-writes, @anincompletelist, and @inexplicablymine y'all are up, if you want! Your words are: glare, harmful, and pray

[doublegoblin]

Find the word!

Hallo! Thank ya to @toribookworm22 for the tag!

The words for me are

SWALLOW, DEAL, & FOREIGN.

The words for @asterhaze @stanrendipity @tisiphonewolfe @garthcelyn and open tags for anyone else are;

SOIL, ROUTINE, MECHANICAL, FRACTURE, DELIGHT

now onto my findings; all from Rituals and Red Tape

SWALLOW- Ooooo how I hate this beautiful man, first meeting of HR

Cherry blossom petals swirled along the floor, snaking through my legs. I could feel my mind softening and my limbs growing warm. Swallowing the lump in my throat I turned to face my speaker, a trembling sigh wormed its way out my mouth as I gazed into their shimmering blue eyes. Blond hair cascaded over one side of their angular face, playfully it was pushed aside by a hand of marble white skin. The contrast of their skin was enhanced by the powder blue button-up and the navy blue jacket that draped casually over their shoulder. A wry smile traced itself across their lips as they grabbed my hand and pulled me in close. At this proximity it was clear the black outline to their figure was not a trick of the light but an intrinsic part of their form.

DEAL- From the chapter I am currently editing

With some final snaps and cracks I stretched and sighed in relief as everything settled back into its rightful spot, “I’ll either have a word with Caretaker or send something to follow up once we have completed the task at hand. Not too large of a deal, we just need to verify that the resident in question has all the proper permits and allowances to possess such a device; I might suggest they attend a refresher course in domicile maintenance and good neighbor behavior. But,” -I start to walk away- “this is neither here nor there we have other matters to see to first.”

FOREIGN-The first paragraph of the story

Salt, sun-baked sand, and hot asphalt were the first things I could smell. Opening my eyes I beheld before me a landscape familiar, yet, foreign in some indiscernible manner. A thought nagged at the back of my mind, a feeling of uncertainty and unease. This thought had only existed for a moment before the panic crashed over me. I was no longer at home, let alone in my bed. A heavy weight pressed against my chest as my mind raced. How was this possible? My last memory before this sudden displacement was the hum of an electric fan, the soft caress of a hand sewn blanket, and the cradle of the perfect pillow.

Thanks again for the tag and sorry this took some time!

[duckingwriting]

Find the word Tag

I was tagged by @tales-from-nocturnaliss and you can see her post here.

No pressure tagging: @tephis, @rachaellawrites, @mthollowell-writes, @author-a-holmes, @winterandwords and the leaving an open tag -

your words are - Warrior, Skills, Teach, Mind

My words are - Ominous, Sun, Livid, Tentacle

Snips bellow the cut

Ominous - From You Spino Me Right 'Round

"I'll probably get myself killed either way." Anthony looked around the forest outside of the cave entrance feeling doubt try to claw at his throat, reminding him that he was no one's first pick for athletics. "But at least I'll have tried." Anthony bolted to the nearest tree, pressing himself tightly to the rough bark and starting to slowly push himself around it. His eyes rolled around as he tried to keep his breathing level as he made his way around the tree, swallowing the panic down as he made his way to the next tree. He had to dart his eyes down to his feet frequently to be sure he would not trip over himself and risk alerting anything of his location. But he couldn't help but feel that someone was watching him too. He hoped it was paranoia. He had looked up only long enough be sure he was heading the right way when he stepped on a stick. He flinched as the snapping sound echoed around him. He cracked an eye open and looked around. It appeared but he didn't see anyone rushing through the trees towards him. Anthony sighed with relief. Then a deep angry roar ripped through the forest and the relief melted back to fear. Anthony bolted away from the sound of the roar. He tripped and stumbled and could hear the ominous sound of large clawed feet crashing through the forest. Getting closer. 

Sun - From the unnamed Underworld Soulmate AU with OCs

Lucian felt his heart hammering in his chest as he stared at his lelki tars.  for the second time in his life Lucian watched his soulmate struggling  against binds holding her to a pole. And he  could only struggle against the hands holding him down. He heard his best friend snarling nearby, Raze struggling not because he cared about the vampire set to face the sun, but because his own mate was going nearly feral seeing her sister murdered in front of her. Lucian wanted to feel bad for his packmate, but all he could feel was the pain that his mate was being murdered by the same man who had murdered his first mate. The same way. The only difference to Lucian's mind, is he had claimed Sonja. He had been so busy fighting Riley that he had barely even acknowledged they were mates. Unlike Sonja though, Riley was not begging Victor for her life. She was not crying, she did not even smell of fear. She was angry.

Livid - Unnamed Jayne/Simon Firefly A/B/O AU

"Instincts, right?" Jayne asked. He knew the little omega would need any excuse he could take to let Jayne do what he was not convinced was only instinct. The had always had a pretty mouth after all. "Yeah. Instincts." Simon swallowed and looked back down at his hands, tightening his wrapping of the gauze. Reminding himself not to be hurt by it. It was just his own response. "We should probably ignore it..." "What cha think 'ill happen if we don't?" Jayne asked taking a step forward despite himself. Despite knowing exactly how livid Mal would be if he though Jayne took advantage of their good doctor. "Depends on how far we let them go." Simon could feel his heart beat picking up pace. He rolled his shoulders and turned his back to the alpha, putting the gauze away. "Probably let us return to some kind of normal faster. Except whatever we allow them to do." "So if I take you to my bunk," Jayne's mouth was against the back of Simon's neck, his hands dwarfing Simon's own hands as he caged Simon in against the counter. "What would happen?" "Jayne." Simon gasped lightly  his body responding to the presence of an alpha so willing and so close. He shivered and resisted the urge to press back into the alpha who's scent had surrounded him for his heat. "What would happen?"

Tentacle - From a fantasy found family WIP with no title and is on the back burner(it's document title is a reminder that it was supposed to only be one scene...and then it spiraled out of control).

Nazaire wrapped his arms around Maude tightly, she gasped against his mouth. His arms were too tight, but complaining was the furthest thing from her mind with the water lapping around them. Her legs wrapped around his hips to hold herself close as they floated in the waves. “Don’t let go.” She whispered as his mouth moved down to her neck with his teeth scraping against her neck. “Promise.” He growled as his tentacles began moving around her body. They slid around her legs, pushing her skirt up further until it was bunched above her hips.

[dogmomwrites]

Find the Words!

This tag came from @space-writes, so thanks for including me in this game!

Passing it on with soft tags to @nopoodles, @lexiklecksi, @did-i-do-this-write, and @unmellowyellowfellow, as well as leaving an open tag. Your words will be underneath, piece, neither, heavy, and busy. If you can't find one, leave a fun fact about your WIP, OCs, or writing process!

My words were feed, elaborate, study, and silver. These excerpts were taken from my Castle series

Feed  Small schools of symbiotic fish swam about the serpents, feeding off the crustaceans that were attracted by the algae. They looked like tiny flashes of silver in the water, as though someone had dropped handfuls of coins. 

They could estimate the age of the serpents based on their sizes and saw, to their surprise, most were quite young. The one they’d killed and hooked appeared to be the oldest of all the serpents that had migrated to Ship’s Bane. 

“I thought you said these waters were well traveled?” Seen asked Jethro, who gave him a doggy shrug. 

“We pass through fairly often.” 

“We haven’t passed through recently?” he offered. 

Elaborate  “You just threw him.” 

“Yes,” Hank said. “I don’t think he liked it.” 

The rodent stared at him for a second more, then started laughing. It laughed so hard, it knocked itself right over and kept laughing, curled up on its side. Unable to help himself, Hank found himself laughing with it. The sheer absurdity of it all. 

When its fit subsided, it sat up and wiped its eyes with its tail tuft. Standing, it performed an elaborate bow, sweeping its tail over its head like a fine hat. “Flolly Hawm, ever at your service!” 

Study  Tobias’ eyes flicked from him to Jay and back again. He didn’t know that Jay begged him to run, that it was the magic keeping his face impassive. To Haow, he said, “You look well for someone who died a thousand years ago.” 

“How kind of you to say so,” Haow said with an amiable smile, sitting at the little table. “Immortality will do that.” 

Tobias ignored him, instead looking to Jay. Jay’s body stood relaxed and at ease, that ever present half-smile in place on his lips. He noticed Tobias’ study of him and raised his eyebrows with a quick grin. 

Silver  “Why is she silver?” he found himself asking Arial in a whisper, and she gasped. 

“Aero!” she hissed, appalled. “You can’t just ask why someone’s silver!”

[charlesjosephwrites]

Find the Word Tag

Thanks for the tag @oh-no-another-idea!!

My words were grieve, grace, game, and grin.

I did find all of these words in The Magician and Ms. Psychic, but grieve and grace both happen to be in sentences with Major Spoilers so I'm just gonna double up on snippets for the other words since they both appear multiple times.

game

“Listen.” I slapped my hand on the table. “I would suggest a straight up fight, but since you like to cheat by not even letting me get close to you, I’d like to suggest something a little bit more fair.” I pulled a deck of cards from my pocket to plop on the table between us. “A game of poker! You win, and I’ll back off and let you do your thing, but if I win…” I couldn’t help the little grin that tugged at the corners of my lips as I leaned forwards on the table on both hands. “I get to peel off your skin to make a cute new pair of boots.” Ms. Psychic frowned. “Playing cards with a magician isn’t really my idea of a fair fight.”

game pt 2

“Fuck that.” I guided her gaze away from the house with a gentle hand. “If you go back there, he wins. You gotta let him seethe a little. Give him a chance to realize what an asshat he’s being.” Claire bit down on her bottom lip. “I’m not sure mind games would work on my dad” “Or maybe I could go give him a piece of my mind.” A curl of hair flopped into my face as I squared my shoulders. “Someone needs to make him realize that he shouldn’t talk to you like that.” I turned around, ready to march in there and yoink a few bones, but Claire tugged me closer before I could get too far. “I… I don’t think…” Her voice trailed off, and she took a deep breath. “I don’t think he was trying to say anything wrong. He just wants what’s best for me.”

grin

“Muncher.” I exhaled sharply. “Are you there?” Another several seconds of silence passed before a faint static sound bubbled through the shitty walkie-talkie speaker. “You didn’t say ‘over.’ Over.” “Muncher.” I brought the walkie-talkie up a little closer to my mouth with an annoyed huff. “What the fuck?” After another long moment of silence, I added an exasperated, “Over.” “Just following the sacred rules of the walkie-talkie.” I could practically hear the shit eating grin on Myles’ face through the static. “Over.”

grin pt 2

“What the heck?” Hermes’ voice squeaked. "Get these off of me." I couldn't help but grin as I watched Hermes try and fail to pull himself free from the handcuffs. “Not gonna happen, kiddo.” I walked backwards through the vault door. Metal clanged as Hermes tugged on his handcuffs again. “Magician.” He stomped his foot. “I’m serious.” “I am too.” I placed one hand on the side of the vault door. “Naughty kids deserve to be put in time out.”

I'll tag @ahordeofwasps, @wordwizards, @thelittlestspider, and anyone else who sees this and wants to play along.

Your words are lose, let, left, and letter.

[morganlefaye79]

Find the Word/Manuscript Search Tag

Thank you for the tag @wanderingaldecaldo! 💜

I took the words, alarm, calm, hold, water and searched them in my 2 longfics Who am I? and Out of the Dark as well as from my WIP "If I had known", which is my first Silverdyne fic.

This is gonna be long!

ALARM

Who am I?

Joris was woken up by the warmth of the sun on his cheek. He kept his eyes closed to cherish this moment. He was smiling, he had found everything he yearned for so long, and all within one year. He had finally found his twin brother, the only family he had left, and, which was even more blissful, he had fallen in love for the first time. He now knew how it felt to love, and he never wanted to lose this feeling again. He opened his eyes and looked to the side where he thought to find Vicco sleeping, but the space next to him was empty. He was a bit disappointed because he knew that Vicco didn't have to get up early, so they could have had some cuddle time. He wondered where his lover might be. Vicco wasn’t an early bird at all. He stood up from the bed silently, to not alarm Vicco that he was up.

CALM

Out of the Dark

“No need to be afraid. I'm here! It was only a bad dream, Val!” A soothing and calming voice is speaking to me, it is familiar, and I realize that the fall must have been a dream; it all felt so real. Hopeless. Cold. Ending. I try to move and open my eyes, but I cannot. My body doesn't belong to me, not entirely. The panic I feel increases, and my heartbeat runs faster and faster. My jaws clench together until it hurts, but I cannot loosen them.

I feel soft lips pressed onto my temple, and the same soothing voice whispering to me, "Calm down, Val! Everything is fine! You will wake up soon. Give yourself some time!" Now I remember, for months, I had had these nightmares. The medication is why I need that long to wake up. Without those meds, I would have been dead weeks ago. So every day I wake up is a gift but a burden for everyone around me.

"Vicco! Calm down! It's me!"

Kerry's voice pulls me back into reality; I can calm down and take a few deep breaths. My heart is hammering inside my chest. I become aware that Kerry is watching me like I've turned cyberpsycho. "Long story," I press, still heavy breathing, through my teeth, "with enough drugs and alcohol, I might tell you. Sorry, I didn't think you would grab me down here in the garage, or I might have warned you."

"I already know Vic, but nice try!" Valaire answered in a calm and friendly voice, "I can hear that little tremble in your voice. That tells me that it isn't a coincidence that you both are in the same place at the same time. But that's not why I call you. Kerry won't answer his phone. He told me what had happened. Is he OK?"

Now, I know why I'm here. I don't like it, and I don't want that. At this point, I would have preferred if Kerry only wanted to fuck me. I try to calm myself down but cannot get a hold of myself. "Did he ever talk about me? How we met? How fucked up we both were? No? I wouldn't have either". My voice sounded more like growling than speech; it hurt so much that I wanted to cry, but I knew I couldn't. I cried too much in my life; I don't have any tears left to shed. "He pulled me out of a deep, dark pit. He gave me attention and love, things I desperately needed. He made me want to live again. He thought he could save me, change me and heal me. Val healed me as much as possible, listened and talked to me, but some damages can't be cured. I'm not able to show real affection or love. I only ever learned how to fake it. Val was unhappy with me. I couldn't give him what he deserved and when he met you, he felt this happiness he craved for all those years. Val saved himself instead of trying to save me over and over. He did the right thing, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. Hurt is a feeling I know too well."

“Welcome back!” Kerry tried to be calm and casual but I could hear that he was worried. But he was not alone with his concern. Everytime this happens, I can feel my life parting from me more and more.

Who am I?

“Sebastian “Padre” Ibarra. He is a fixer, and operates mostly in Heywood.” Vicco had calmed down a bit more and could talk again without interruptions but his voice was still shaking. “I worked with him in the past, when Jackie was still alive. He dragged me sometimes along with him, that's how I know Padre. But fixers are always bad news in my opinion, and I was never fond of religion, even less about priests, so I don’t like it at all.”

HOLD

Out of the Dark

I felt the cramps coming a split-second before all the muscles in my body convulsed. I had no control over it, not any more; my nerves felt like they were on fire, the pain nearly unbearable. I screamed, or at least I tried. Kerry was still holding me, tightening his grip around me. When the pain subsided and didn't dominate my thoughts, I realized that Kerry cradled me, slowly, back and forth. He was crying; He surely thought I wouldn't be aware of it. I am aware, and it hurts. I never wanted to make him cry. I tried to end my life more than once, but he always showed up at the right moment to prevent me from trying. Now I am often not even strong enough to hold a cup. I shouldn't be here, but at this point, it isn't my decision any more. I can only wait for my body to give up, to stop existing.

I realized once again how much of a burden I am. He is still holding me tightly, and I try to wriggle out of his arms. I don't want to be a burden, and stubborn as I am, I would crawl away if I had to. But I have to accept that it doesn't change anything, only that he will get angry with me, we yell at each other, and then realize that we just want the best for one another and that we are both idiots.

I place myself on the chair's edge, bend forward to reach the first handle, and hold it with both hands. Then, I set my feet on the ground and hope the floor isn’t too slippery for me to hold myself up.

I move around him in my wheelchair to get to the other side of the kitchen. I open the fridge to see if it has something edible because Kerry hardly thinks about buying food. In the fridge is a cardboard box that isn't mine, so I take it out to see what's inside. Inside the box are 4 plastic containers with "champorado" written on them. I take out one of them because I'm far too curious to wait for Kerry to wake up to have a taste. Besides, I haven't eaten for five days and am hungry. I place it on the counter and turn to the coffee machine; there is Kerry's coffee, so I just take it. The first time I'm stealing Kerry's coffee. It typically is the other way around. I'm looking around because Kerry said they had baked too, but I can’t spot them. I will ask Kerry later. I place the coffee into my fancy cup holder on my wheelchair. Next, I take a spoon and the plastic container and put them on my lap. I roll out of the kitchen again and into my workspace to check my emails. There shouldn't be much. I have sorted most things out by now.

I only know who I must kill, never the "why". This hit made me wonder if all of this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. When I found them, they were standing in their bedroom, next to each other, holding their hands. They knew; I could see it in their eyes. The woman started crying; she pleaded that I could have their lives but please not hurt their daughter. I shot the man first; he was the main target; I didn't even think for a second. The woman was different; I had respect for her bravery. She looked into my gun barrel, and her only concern was for me not to hurt her child. This event shattered my heart, and I wavered between fulfilling my task or just walking away. She was only a side target because she might know details her husband had possibly told her. I thought about the risk of letting her walk and telling my boss that she had gotten away. Then the weapon fired without me realizing that I had pulled the trigger. She didn't die instantly; she stared at me for a few seconds; she must have seen my surprised face. Was it a pity that I saw in her eyes that day? I will never know.

Kerry doesn't answer but nods while staring past me. I frown but smile and hold my hand out to help him up. He takes my hand, and I pull. He looks lost and old. Older than he usually looks, at least.

Kerry pushed the wheelchair to the bed and started to undress himself until he stood bare chested before me, “Don’t tease me like this,” I laid my hand on his belly, “I…” Suddenly I felt dizzy and couldn’t finish my sentence. Kerry was speaking to me but it sounded far away and I couldn’t understand him. A few moments later, the dizziness passed and I became aware of my surroundings again. Kerry was holding his sweater against my nose. Did I have a nosebleed?

I thought Kerry would answer something, trying to weasel himself out, but he merely stared at me for a few seconds, his face turned from disapproving to sad. He got closer, sat down on the bed in front of me, holding my hands in his. Looking at me with his sad puppy eyes. “You’re not a bother, Val… But you’re right, I have weak moments, which I don’t want to show you. I’m afraid you might do something stupid otherwise.”

Kerry rolled over on his side to hold me even tighter than before "No one can hurt you here, you're safe."

Who am I?

They ate together and turned their conversation to more enjoyable things for a time, but when they were sitting in the Jacuzzi to unwind a bit, Vicco couldn’t hold back any longer.

WATER

Out of the Dark

I turned the shower on. The hot water hurt my skin for the first few seconds but turned quickly into a pleasing warmth.

Kerry helped me to get into bed. Before joining me, however, he placed a bottle of water next to me. He laid down on his back and I curled up at his side, my head resting on his shoulder. Since I was sick, Kerry preferred to sleep like this, holding me close. I made myself as comfortable as possible while still thinking about which part of my past I should share. It didn’t matter actually, he was right. He only had a summary of sorts about my life with only a few events that I explained more in detail. Like my marriage with Faye and my stepson Kilian, and, of course, my previous relationship with Vicco. Even there were enough stories left to share. I decided to begin with my childhood because it made sense. But I was somewhat reluctant to talk about my father. He was, and still is, a sore spot, even after so many years.

Who am I?

Vicco had seen Joris face when they stepped into this apartment for the first time, Vicco had picked it out of many, trying to choose the best suited for Joris. He thought Joris would appreciate a more fancy apartment, now he knew that Joris would prefer the opposite. Vicco also knew that they stayed here because he himself loved it and Joris knew it. Endless warm water, underfloor heating, a big bed, many things made out of real wood and stonework. It was like a dream.

If I had known

“Water’s not gonna cease to exist anytime soon!”

I'm tagging:

@ghostoffuturespast @jaymber @fereldanwench @cinnamon-mey @thedastrash @charlatron @kittynomsdeplume @a-shakespearean-in-paris @charmcity-jess @cleverblackcat @just-a-cybercroissant

and everyone else that would like to do this.

As always without any pressure!

The words to search are: refuse, deep, kiss and beach.

[tsunderesalty]

Find the Word...Love Edition!

Find the word...but the them is love! All kinds of love! Familial, romantic, platonic, you name it! (Def didn't steal the intro from my best friend).

Words For Me To Find

Partner, Proposal, Adore, Intimate, Respect

Words For You To Find

Touch, Sympathy, Help, Smile, Reach

I'm not tagging anyone because this has been passed around a bit, but feel free to jump in if you want!

It took me a while to find these, so here we go!

Partner: Shining Woods

The orange-haired woman stood silently for a few minutes as she watched her partner before asking quietly, “Is there anything I can do to prepare the spell, Luna?” “I am able to do it myself, but I appreciate the offer, Ginny,” Luna smiled kindly at the Weasley, turning back momentarily to the text in the book. With nothing else to do, Ginny’s eyes wandered to the forest surrounding them, idly searching for something to focus her attention on and finding a slow-moving swarm of glowing insects drifting along through the open air, their blue light twinkling like stars. “They’re beautiful,” Ginny whispered gently, afraid to disturb the insects in any way as she tentatively reached a hand out in hopes that one of them would land on it. “Investio Palamus,” Luna said, barely casting a glance at the blue bugs, only looking when Ginny sucked down a sharp breath as one landed on her outstretched hand. “And yes, they are.”

Proposal: A Thousandfold

“What? Was it something I said or did?” Sai asked. “Well, no, more like something you didn’t say!” “I do not understand.” “You’re proposing to me, typically when a man proposes he will give a speech about why he’s doing what he’s doing. Not to sound vain, but I’d kinda like that!” Sai pondered that for a moment before a small smile crossed his lips and took his scroll from where he had left it, then began to furiously write on it. When he had finished what he wrote, he fused chakra into the scroll and the ink took the form of a large hummingbird, flying around Ino’s head before it dissolved onto the blanket in front of her and morphed into legible characters. “I may not be able to convey my feelings for you accurately with my words,” Sai said as Ino glanced down at his writing, “But I hope my words will suffice.”

Adore: Bottles of Laughter (I actually co-wrote this fic with my best friend @axolotlsupremacyowo, and she wrote this section. This is also OCs of mine, which makes me love it even more that Pancakes wrote it.)

The two continued to throw baseballs at the bottle towers, and surprisingly? Jaya was actually pretty good at this game. She was able to knock down the bottle towers with such pinpoint accuracy that it almost scared Kassandra, just as much as it made her adore her. It’s not like Jaya had much competition, anyways. They were the only ones there and Kassandra was barely trying. Just as Jaya had toppled down another bottle tower, their eyes both met, and the smile on her face made the annoying loudness of the carnival worth it.

Intimate: None. Somehow, with over 420 thousand words, I have not used "Intimate" once. You win, @oceangirl24.

Respect: Fated to Die but Hoping to Live

“Itadori,” Megumi coughed into the dark, catching his attention immediately. “What’s up, Fushiguro?” Itadori asked, leaned over as he sat on a wooden log. “I need to tell you something,” Megumi continued, “I’ve only known you for a short while, but I’ve come to respect you as a Jujutsu Sorcerer and a person.” “Thanks, man!” “I’m not finished!” Megumi grunted lightly, annoyed at the interruption. “I don’t much care for these feelings, and it would be irresponsible for me to not inform you of them seeing as how our future is bleak, but I do…like you.” “I like you too!” Megumi stared blankly at Itadori over the fire before clarifying, “As in romantically, genius, not friendly.” “I know,” Itadori nodded, causing confusion inside of Megumi.

And that's that for this one! Thanks for giving this all a listen!!

[fattybattysblog]

Find the Word...Love Edition!

Thanks for the additional tag @oceangirl24!!

Here are some tags and many will repeat. As with before, join in if you want to! @mikaharuka @danceswithdarkspawn @narcissasdaffodil

Here are my words for this time:

partner, proposal, adore, intimate, respect

Here are your words for this time:

Purr, Coo, Tingle, Blush, Warmth

----- Without a further ado, here we go! Searched all of my fics to find these! -----

Partner (Friend, Please)

“What happened?” Meta Knight asked. Claihd’s brows arched and furrowed, fear, surprise, worry. He had no breath to vocalize his issue. Sweat poured from his face turning his hair to string clinging to his brow and he panted heavily with a faint wheeze. Meta Knight turned his gaze to Claihd’s partner but found no other soldier in the hall. He frowned and set his hands on the table.

Proposal (Death with Benefits)

"Then I have a proposal for you." "Name it." "You can stay if you reenact my books with me." He offered. You knew exactly what he meant, blushing and pointing at the dark robes on his body. "C-can you even do any of that?" You asked. Mako nodded, a wide smile stretching his skull. He pulled his robe off and showed you exactly what his captured souls did for him.

Adore (Wedding Night)

Katakuri ran her a bath and cradled her like a long loved doll. Thalia sighed. She adored how much he cared. How he tried to be so utterly careful with her because of how big he was and how vicious he needed to be to survive the pirate's life. And his family. It was a side of him few got to see and she was so glad she was lucky enough to know it. She nestled into his arm.

Intimate (In the Glow of Love)

They parted, each lingering in the space between them as if reluctant to break the spell of their intimate embrace. However, the weariness of the night crept upon Arin, tugging at her eyelids until they drooped in a tired yawn, signaling the strong need for sleep. With a contented sigh, she pulled the cape tighter around her shoulders, seeping in its warmth as she nestled closer to Tsune's side.

Respect (A Warm Place to Rest)

"Of course. I am Tokuma Hairi," she bowed her head respectfully and offered a small, curious smile. His phone buzzed and he gave it a glance, but he ignored it, keeping his attention on her. His insistence on ignoring whatever he was so intent with earlier made Hairi feel oddly special. And the warmth in his gaze made her heart flutter.