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sapphire374 · 3 years ago

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Soy Sol: Chapter 10 (Hopeful Curiosity)

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Ch.1 / Ch.2 / Ch.3 / Ch.4 / Ch.5 / Ch.6 / Ch.7 / Ch.8 / Ch.9 / Ch.11 / Ch.12 / Ch.13 / Ch.14 / Ch.15 / Ch.16 / Ch.17

The gang is huddled around each other at the Jam and Roller rink. Ámbar proceeds to glance over her clipboard that carries the original sign-up sheet. “So, Ámbar, do we have enough members to make up a team for the competition.” Ámbar quickly looks Luna in the eyes and decides to call out the list of names. “The official Jam and Roller team members are Luna, Simon, Matteo, Gaston, Ramiro, Jim, Delfi, Pedro and Jazmin.” Everyone starts counting with their fingers but before anyone gets the chance to start counting, Gaston and Nina both yell out “that’s nine members, we’re missing one.” Luna rollers towards Ámbar. “Ámbar you’re not on the list. Are you going to join us? Please, pretty please join us. Whether you would like to admit it or not, you’re one of the best roller skaters out there and we need you.”

Ámbar takes a big gulp of air, processing everything that’s going on. Luna’s pout with her watery eyes has made Ámbar reconsider her decision. Before she always wanted the worst for Luna, but the past few years has made them become inseparable. She now views Luna as her younger sister plus being the manager of the gang’s favorite place has made her feel as everyone’s bigger sister, being the mature one. Ambar gives in. “Fine, I’ll do it. Especially since you guys need me so much. You guys aren’t wrong though, I am the best,” Ámbar jokes. The whole gang cheers, everyone jumps up and down and excitement enters the room.

Everyone is huddled as they all set their hands out and chant, “ready! One, two, three Jam and Roller!” Juliana enters through the chaos of excitement. “Opa opa! Seems like the group has never separated and feels closer than ever.” The gang all turn around facing her, their faces show signs of shock. No one was expecting this except one certain person in the room. “Juliana! You’re back! Wait how did you know we got the team back together for a competition?” Simón asks. “A little birdy called me and said that a certain team needed my help so I came as quick as I can.” The whole gang starts whispering, wondering who was it that reached out to her. Luna gives Ámbar and Simón a little smirk.

“So have you guys chosen which song you all are going to skate to?” Juliana questions. “Nope,” Ámbar answers. That’s when the idea hits Simón. “I have an idea! Maybe not only the team gets back together for this competition, but also the band? What do you guys say, Nico, Pedro?” Simón suggests. Nico and Pedro look at each other in disbelief and with a loss of words. “Uhh yes of course! You have no idea how long I’ve missed playing on the drums,” Pedro states. “And you guys have no idea how long I’ve missed collaborating the three of us together again,” Nico chimes in. “I guess that settles it. The band is back!!” Simón announces. The room is filled with so many emotions as everyone is so excited about what’s to come next. True nostalgia and memories really do start coming back to them since working together and competing to save their beloved place truly brings them back to old times. Just like how Matteo and Luna wouldn’t stop stealing glances at each other through the midst of it all.

This competition will be fierce including what’s called two stages. The first stage is the basic entry in which they record a video of their performance, the second stage is where they have the official competition. They first though have to make it through the first stage. For the next few days, Juliana tries to prepare them with some exercises since it has been years some of them roller skated. Then they gradually learned again how to do some simple routines as pairs then as groups. Before the gang knew it, in a week they have mastered all the skills and are ready to practice the actual choreography for the performance. Luna and Matteo still haven’t talked much though, yet they’re constant staring proves to show that they still miss and love each other.

Monday Evening at the Jam and Roller (after about a week and a half)

Juliana tells the gang that they can rest, and training has just finished. The group has finally mastered the double turns alignment but are struggling with air spins. Matteo heads over to Luna like old times, while she’s drinking water near the rails. “What’s the matter Chica Delivery? Has all the training finally tired you out?” Matteo flirtatiously says. Luna tries to hide her blushed cheeks and smirks at his comment. “Chico fresa you know that can never happen. My internal adrenaline is endless.” Luna and Matteo begin to laugh. Luna stops once she remembers why she was trying to avoid him for the longest. “Matteo don’t think I forgot everything that has happened.” She begins to stare at the floor, holding back a tear. “I’ve already apologized, what more do you want?” Matteo begs.

“You know that’s not the issue. I just feel like I can’t trust you anymore. You promised me you wouldn’t lie to me anymore and that’s exactly what you did. I don’t want our relationship to be built out of lies. I’d rather stay single instead of having someone stab me in the back unaware.” Matteo widely opens his eyes, it feels like someone has sucker punched him in the gut. For a long time, Matteo has tried to prove to Luna he has changed and does truly care about her, how can one little lie bring all the pain back. “Luna, you know I would never want to break your heart or ‘stab you in the back.’ I just lied about this because I knew you would get jealous of me hanging out with Viviana.” Luna gasps in astonishment. “Jealous! Now that’s a joke right there. For me to be jealous of her, that would mean I would want to be like her or want something she has but that’s not the case at all. I’m happy with the life I live and don’t want to change it. I just don’t like how close she’s been with you. You know I’m okay with you having female friends, but not when one tries to kiss you when I’m not around and constantly wrapping her arms around you. Even the news outlets think you broke up with me and dating her because of how much ‘quality time’ you guys spend together.”

Matteo responds with, “You know how much I miss it when you call me Chico Fresa and miss these fun bantering moments. I would never fall for her because you’re my one true love. You may not be jealous of her but you’re jealous of her getting to spend time with me. Is that it? You want to hang out more with me? How do I make it up to you?” Luna shakes her head and says, “You just don’t get it and it’s okay. I don’t feel like arguing today.” Luna rollers away and Matteo covers his face as he lays his elbows on the silver polished rails. Gastón heads to him and pats his shoulder. “She still hasn’t forgiven you?” Matteo shakes his head in response. His phone begins to ring in the pocket of his jeans. He lifts himself up and pulls it out. “Hello…. yes……. Already in a week? ..... ah I see, okay that seems appropriate I guess…...tomorrow okay, I’ll see you then.” Matteo hangs up and places his phone in his pocket again. “Who was that?” Gastón questions. “It’s my manager. They’re planning to release my music video with Viviana at the end of this week. Usually, we don’t release music videos this early but apparently she demanded for it since it would look good and perfect for this summer. Well to prepare for the release, they want me to perform with her in a live concert.” Matteo’s expression shows his stress and frustration. “But what about the Jam and Roller training?” Gastón asks him. “I’ll try to practice for the concert before the Jam and Roller training starts every day and the concert is on Saturday so that day I guess I’ll just miss training for that one day. I have no other choice.”

Gastón keeps thinking and doesn’t say a word till an amazing idea slips in his head. “I just got it! I just thought of the perfect plan that’ll get Luna to forgive you and get back together with her.” Matteo starts smiling as Gastón whispers the plan into his left ear. “Hermano, you’re a genius.”

The Benson Mansion

Ámbar doesn’t stop glaring at the letter in front of her. It was the original copy that was locked up in Sharon’s vault. This was what her biological mom wrote to her before she gave her away, it includes her phone number. She wants to call that number, desperately wants to but what if this number doesn’t work anymore? Or what if it does? She feels so confused. The closer the wedding gets, the scarier it feels for her. She wants to invite her biological mom and maybe even Sharon, she’s just undecided. It’s more than just complicated for her.

She sucks up every bit of courage left in her, grabs her phone and types in the numbers smeared at the bottom of the letter. It’s…. ringing. The longer she has to wait, the faster her heart beats. The phone stops ringing. “Hello,” the person on the other end answers. Ámbar’s voice begins to crack, “Uh… yes is this Sylvana Ariel?” Ámbar takes a big gulp of air. The person on the other end responds, “yes this is she. Who do I have the pleasure speaking to?” When Ambar hears that it’s her, she decides to move forward with the plan of meeting her. Maybe it was destiny for her to still have this phone number for so many years? “Yes, this is Ámbar, Ámbar Smith. We need to talk. Are you available today?” Ámbar takes control of the situation showing no signs of hesitation, even though her heart says otherwise. “Oh Ámbar? Yes, I’m available today.” Ámbar takes one good look at the letter and answers back, “Good. Meet me at Pachani’s restaurant today at 7 p.m.” The lady answers with an okay before Ámbar hangs up the phone.

She didn’t know this day would come so soon. Getting to meet her birth mother. What should she say? What should she do? Maybe this would help her understand her whole story and discover more who she really is before she gets married. Simón walks into the living room. “There you are. I thought you would be at the Jam and Roller; you never miss an afternoon of work?” Ámbar quickly folds the letter and slips it into her purse. “Oh yeah I just came home to… find another bridal magazine. I thought I left one of my favorite ones here in the living room.” Simón scrunches up his face, “here? In the living room of the Benson Mansion? But you always look at them at our apartment?” Ámbar clasps her purse and places the strap around her arm. “Oh well I sometimes look at them here whenever I visit the Valentes and have a cup of coffee, by mistake one of these days I left my bridal magazine.” Simón nods showing how he understands. “So how are bridal things going?”

“Pretty smooth. Luna and Nina agreed to go order the sets of flowers and decorations at the boutique right across town,” Ámbar states. “Oh, that’s nice. Luna and Nina were so kind to offer their help. What would we do without them?”

“Yes, I agree. We’re very lucky to have them indeed. Um there is one thing I forgot to tell you. At around 7 p.m I won’t be at home yet, I have a meeting with some other law school students for this project we have going on, so I won’t be home.”

Simón’s smile fades away. “Aww I’ll miss you, but I do wish you good luck on the project. I know you’ll do great on it.” Ámbar smiles from thinking how lucky she is to have a caring, understanding partner by her side. They hug each other and head out of the mansion.

*Gif not made by me. Owner of gif's name is at the bottom right hand corner :) *

Lacey’s Boutique

Luna and Nina wait at the front desk holding a slip of paper that carries a list of things they need to purchase for Ámbar’s wedding. “He said that?” Nina whispers. “Yep, I can’t believe he called me jealous when he was the one who lied and created this whole mess in the first place. When we got back together, we agreed on no secrets and to always communicate. That’s the only way a relationship can go well, just look at Ámbar and Simón?”

“I absolutely agree. I felt awful when Gaston spied on me that day, so I understand what you mean. Luckily everything is fixed now,” Nina cheers. “I’m happy for you Nina, sadly in between Matteo and I is a person who doesn’t stop flirting and hanging out with him. Plus, it’s so obvious too, even Simón thought he was dating Viviana and broke up with me. I can’t believe Matteo doesn’t believe me and instead calls me jealous. After everything we’ve been through.” The cashier heads to the counter and Luna and Nina’s conversation ends. “So, is this the list for everything?” Luna nods in approval. “Okay great, everything will be prepared in time and the delivery will be sent to the place on the date of the card.” Luna picks up the card and puts it away in her tiny backpack.

“Thank you,” she begins to head out before the cashier stops her. “Wait, I have something to give you.” He pulls out another card from his pocket. “Here’s my phone number, maybe we can have a cup of coffee together someday if you’d like?” Luna is speechless and turns to Nina for a choice of words. Nina shrugs and seems to be just as confused as her. “Um... well the thing is I’m in a relationship… well right at this moment I’m not sure…. Honestly I don’t know it’s complicated me and my boyfriend well after what he did, I don’t think he’s still my boyfriend but I don’t know…” Luna stops talking when the cashier extremely perplexed expression shows vividly. “Um… well once you get all that resorted and decide not to be with this… complicated person feel free to give me a call.” He leaves and heads to the back of the store. “Luna, I’m shocked he’s still into you after everything you blurted out. I think you even fried his brain.” Nina and Luna giggle their way out.

Jim and Yam’s Apartment

Ramiro adjusts the collar of his nicely firm long sleeve button up shirt. He’s holding a bouquet of sunflowers and is trying to collect the right words to say to Yam. He knocks on the door and waits for a response. “I’m coming,” she says. For Ramiro, hearing Yam’s voice is like a breath of fresh air.

She opens the door and is surprised to see Ramiro’s well put together fit. “Before you say anything I want to do this right. Yam, I know our relationship has been like an ongoing rollercoaster, we’ve been through the ups and the downs but the one thing that has always stayed constant is my love for you. After everything that has happened, I always knew I love you and my path ends up meeting yours. Yam would you like to go on a date with me?” Yam covers her mouth in amusement. She’s appalled from the beautiful surprise he’s presented her, and with a speech too. Usually, Ramiro is too cool for all of this but seeing what he has done has proven enough to Yam that he’s committed. “Ramiro of course, I would love to. In fact, I was always thinking what took you so long?” Yam begins to chuckle. “I guess fear from this not working out, but you can’t always live in fear for the rest of your life.”

Yam jumps into Ramiro’s arms and kisses him on the cheek.

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thelordstears · 3 years ago

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I think it’s time to show some lines and how much I’ve improved eh?

“ You see, we're all living our lives confined in this little, locked room, we store our thoughts here, our dreams, our doubts, our darkest confessions. But the right people come along with a key and find the real us quivering in a corner of ourselves we fear with all our fuckin' might. All of humanity fears. And so in the span of a blink life created death to separate what is bad, and what is good. “ - Shawn Werdelstein

“ I look deep into my eyes and I swear I can see her darkness flickering in my damn eyes, she took my heart in her murderous stride, flaying me of all my salvation, tellin' me I was nothin' more then livestock on her farm of delicacies and delights. “ - Lupin Rinderez

“In the end I was never really human in the eyes of those who hate me, was I? I was always a toy to those more wicked then I, and so I have rotted in a chest of forgotten dolls and stitched together souls lost to time." - Ingretta Shazowlla

“ Some men are born for prison. They're raised in a cell, and told this is all you can ever be, and when they finally scratch their way out of that prison, they start to get homesick, so they find themselves a new cell, a new Hell, a new home away from home. Chaos is peace ta the broken man. “ - Francis Killvawhile

“ Karma doesn't care about how small the sin was, she just reaps. “ - Scarla Scottaine

“ There's something foreign about an empty bed, something unfamiliar about holding my own hand, it's like love is a language we speak, and when it leaves us we can no longer speak the language of the loveless, because we're already native in the country of love. “ - Finn Desandra

“ The darkness of my past caught up to me and killed the kind pure hearted man I thought I'd forever be, I was always doomed to become a reflection of my father. But with these bloodied and cracked pieces of me I'll bleed him with broken pieces of his reflection. “ - Alviro Conritz

“Isn't it funny? How men and women alike will pull a trigger on another when faced with a gun at their own heart, held steady in the hand of a man who never misses?” - Remington Burlwitz

“ I am Eve luring Adam to his fate.” - Belle Nalroma

“ I am a grave of fireflies and ravens whom head out to war, a wolf of death and anguish that drove me to madness. Don't you call me a freak, I'm just a little bit different, my mind is an eternal state of flickering emotion and madness that has never left me be. In truth the firing of this rifle is the only thing that keeps me alive, it is the beating of my heart and the howl in my soul, so dare you fire back with pieces of your heart shattered in the bullets? “ - Luther Woolhaun

“ I feel like a blank slate that's always re-written. “ - Wendell Ace

"I look at who I am with judgmental eyes.” - Earl Mumford

“ Believe the tales of dead men, they have a perspective like no other. “ - Earl Mumford

“ Stepping up to me ain't a fucking war, it's an execution disguised as such. “ - Saul Northutt

“ Decaying and gentle I shall be lain to rest as the Devil the world mourned. “ - Jonkiv Kramteil

“ Look, the truth is a hard pill to swallow, but swallow it you will. “ - Simon Rossburg

“ I'm a killer and a cheat, if my dagger is unstained remember, there's etches of lives lost on the handle, do you really wanna become another scar on the wood of my blade? “ - Killgrove Butcher

“ Mercy is a surefire way to meet God, so I sling an old club wrapped in barbed wire over my shoulder and watch the river spill crimson. “ - Olivia Juarez

"They call kindness weakness, so I must be the strongest bitch in town.” - Olivia Juarez

“ My wrath comes down like a cold rain of daggers when faced with the wicked, if they ain't ready to die then they best fucking prepare for it, cause those who use the powerless as a simple stepping stone to Heaven don't deserve the breath in their damn lungs. “ - Lucille Ramaswami

“ That man, that wicked fuckin' man, 'e's an old vulture sittin' atop the Church waitin' for the holy ta fall down the steeple, 'e swoops down and picks their bones 'a love, 'a holiness, 'a morality. And den, the holy become the damned. “ - Maxwell Soderstrom

“ The Devils and snakes in the grass should fear the gardener with his shovel ready to bury the pests." - Guarva Plucker

“ Don't call me your hero, cause heroes don't kill good men." - Al Hunderson

"Brother, there's somethin' sinister brewin' in the bones of humanity, has been since the Neanderthals huddled in caves, lighting fires underneath the murky walls of a place they could call home. I'm afraid you're gonna have to be a little more specific." - Roman Hemlock "Ya can always spot the little, tinges of darkness in the bad man's eye, the little seams of pain that follows 'em." - Sandro Colorfeid

"I slither and slide into the darkness, a basilisk hiding in shadow and sin, biting into the forbidden fruit of Eden with glee and cruelty flickering in my snake likes eyes." - Vexine Hatchet

"I stood with blood on my hands and a snarl on my lip. It was from that moment on, Nico no longer were." - Nico Litchenfels

“ I'm a cutthroat fucker with his heart bared open and cruel on his trench jacket's sleeve. “ - Nico Litchenfels

"I stood like a question never asked, and then before I had the chance to give myself an answer in the echoes of my insanity, she smiled and asked who I was." - Zachariah Rinderez

"I have died a thousand times, Minerva. But you make me want to live again." - Simon Drogace

"I'm not lucky enough to be me." - Simon Drogace

“Do you ever feel like, your mind is a hammer?” - Simon Drogace

"He stood there, like a wicked omen of what never should've been, a testament to all humanity tried to kill." - Neal Marrows

"Losing yourself is a game no one can win." - Neal Marrows

"You know me, just a grave of who I was, grasping the soil wondering why it always slips between my fingers." - Sam Dellwotfire

"Someone once asked me what life before war was like, and truthfully, I've never known." - Hunter Creasey

"You spend your whole life under the shadow of death it starts to become you, and as you let the light it in, as you let your heart burst in seams of color and little figments of love and joy, that's when the shadow casts itself over you the longest. As soon as you start to live, death comes on by to greet you as if she were an old friend, and as I live through the essence of love and peace, I can see a smile filled with the lost lives of all whom ever walked greeting me on a road all too familiar." - Hunter Creasey

"I'm the mad man's greatest friend, but in the eyes of the sane, in the eyes of all whom stand against cruelty, I'm a weapon, an atomic bomb that'll level the city of peace to dust." - Moores Thomas

"It is in madness and grief we find who we really are. So who's to say humanity was supposed to live in peace? After all, even our mind tells us things we could never dream of with intrusive thoughts, and in the end some of us succumb to the darkness every single mind brews." - Moores Thomas

"You see, madness starts with a small seed the human race calls trouble, it comes in many different variants, some get in very small dosages all their lives. But mad men get a taste of trouble long before they know what the word means." - Moores Thomas

"The way I see love, it's an interesting sort of medicine. One moment it stitches together the loose threads of your heart, and in the very next it unravels you like a spool of thread." - Cornelius Combs

"I walked into the Church only to be spat out, falling down the sinner's steeple coughing up bloodied pieces of my faith." - Takizen Fruivein

"Challenging what I've become is a fools game, and my friend, I am no fool." - Allinza Harzvi

"Humanity is not inherently kind, everything we've seen, and everything we are, is proof of that testament." - Allinza Harzvi

"We are never in the same boat, we are in the same storm, facing life's darkness with different privilege's." - Caldvain Lucelo

"You know, someone once told me you have control over your own mind, but as it drifts away from me as smoke in the dying embers of a midnight wildfire, does that statement still hold true?" - Harvin Scoviney

"God does not help. He observes." - Victor Da Ville

“ You can't explain what evil means without mentioning the feared name of Cassidy Vanderberg. “ - Cassidy Vanderberg

“ I'm a hero, and I know, it's a heroes curse to go down in history, shooting her glory through the chamber of a revolver, leaving the world with the gunfire smoke of her gun, but so be it man, so fucking be it. “ - Miella Fang

“ Tragedy runs through my veins like the blood I bleed.” - Harkman Burtrow

“ You can run your hands through these cracked and yellowed pages, wondering when I lost my mind, but you won't find any answers in my chapters. “ - Mortelo Vonenwoft

“ ”You ever feel there’s jus’ this empty box where your heart’s supposed ta be? I've shoved all my monsters in this box, my addictions, my anxiety, the thoughts that don't go away. But sometimes, the box starts ta open, and I can't even push the door back, cause I'm too busy with this ghost followin' me like a yappin' chihuahua. “ - Isadore Rast

“ Everyone is always sayin' you're strong, for fightin' past that hurt, but am I? I didn't fight, I fuckin' stumbled, I fell, it wasn't just a battle, it was a god damn war I still wage. The gunfire echoes and cocaine ghosts will never leave me be, cause I made the mistake of losin' myself ta the bad side of life, and I just can't forgive myself for that kinda shit. “ - Isadore Rast

“ I'm not a recoverin' addict, I'm just a fuckin' ghost. “ - Carrigan Hopva

“ I met myself on a dead end street, she looked distraught, with chunks of hair missing, cigarette on her lip, trying to light a match in the rain, eyes troubled with memories of what would be. She told me to keep my enemies close, cause god damn, they were everywhere, but she never told me I'd be standin' in a house of mirrors. “ - Rain Morvosina

“ I tell myself, I could've done better, I could've saved the circus, but truthfully, not a single man can stop fate in its tracks, he would become another splatter on her railroad within a series of seconds and terrible events. “ - Bortosley Velltwo

“ I'm guilty ‘a first degree, of lil ol' me." - Howard Wraith

“ Oh mum if ya could see me now, sinnin' on the other side 'a paradise lookin' for reasons ta stain me teeth the color of me jacket. “ - Davy Blight

“ I ain't the poor lil' boy who shot at 'is brother with orange capped revolvers and plastic swords, mate, I'm the real fuckin' deal. This venom 'a trouble and sin flows like blood in me veins, corruptin' the essence 'a who I fuckin' was. “ - Davy Blight

“ I'm the darkness your mother says ta stray away from, the boogeyman ya're mum tells ya snatches away naughty boys and girls in the dead 'a night, and worst of all mate, I'm Lind fuckin' Blight, bastard son of the seas. “ - Lind Blight

“ I'm just old honey whiskey sitting on the shelf gathering dust and mildew, locked in this little cabin of darkness and decay, wondering why no one cares to pop open my cork and let this darkness and mold spill to the soil of a freshly dug grave. “ - Roxane Vanderberg

“ I met her in a garden 'a roses, and there she stood as the only thorn. “ - Kayella Wisp

“ I've gunned bad men down on the streets, cackling and sinful they died, cruel and wicked they lived. “ - Hoshino Akinori

“ I once went into an old confession booth, sins sat heavy at my shoulder, salvation far off as it always seemed to be, and as that preacher listened to my darkest secrets I was sure he would damn me. But he told me salvation is for all, and that God loves whosoever follows the path of the righteous. “ - Erika Vans

“ I used ta live with one foot in the grave, wondering when the hell I'd become my last name, but then I met a wise man in the woods and found myself once again. Sometimes, we're lost, and we don't even know it. So I think destiny sends us a Messiah to lead the way ta who we are, and as Pennington took my hand in the darkness, I knew I'd found who I am past all this trouble. “ - Alonzo Graves

“ I traverse this labyrinth of my heart and soul, trying to find myself in the midst of all this trouble, but these mirrors are starting to look like enemies, and this maze is starting to become a prison cell. “ - Andre Jollows

“ Deep in my soul is the sound of war calling me home, and death whispers in my bones that she wishes to hold me close as I fade gently into the stars, but I sigh strapping my boots on in the morning, putting this old gas mask on my face and facing another venomous day. For I am a curse, wondering where my blessings went." - Max Caldiph

“ If my heart were a painting, it would be a starless night sky, the trees wilted, stripped of their leaves standing as threadbare omens of the bones etched in darkness that hold me up and the roses would be black, decaying with some dead scent of mercy burning whosoever walks into this garden of death's nose. “ - Apollos Quinn

“ Who I am ain't even me, he's just someone I've been for too long.” - Drew Dreadful

“ I died halfway to Heaven and too close ta Hell. “ - Dylan Huffers

“ I was living a life of trouble and cigarette smoke, chasing lies as if I were just a harmless little kitten, batting my hands at another yarn ball, always wondering why it ran away from me, but as my mother held me in a gentle embrace and showed me the way to paradise, I found out that it's better to be you then somebody else. “ - Scottie Bloodvallo

“ My mama once told me sometimes you gotta fall and stumble to learn who you are, because it's as trouble and peace wage war that we discover who's side we're on, and as those old foes grabbed their rifles and loaded their cannons, I came to realize I never wanted trouble to become who I am. So I picked up my guns and fired a couple rounds of peace into my head. “ - Marty Thievekit

“ You wanna run with the wolves, but brother you're sparrin' with chihuahuas, ya wanna play with the big boys, but you're frolicking in a garden full of gnomes and fairies, you wanna go knuckle to knuckle with your demons, but brother you surround yourself in angels. Do you really expect to kill a man while you're swingin' plastic blades and firin' bullets from a cap gun? “ - Walton Burke

"The truth will always sound like a lie to he who doesn't want to admit he's wrong. “ - Stewart Astoria

“ I'm tied up and tangled in the webs of madness, cackling at the midnight sky as these bastards try to fire bullets of sanity my way. But god damn baby, I'm bullet proof. I take what I want when I want it, so as I slam these bullets of madness into the echoed chamber of my revolver and put a few holes in my mind do you think it'll be me seepin' through the corners of this old mental ward, or will the ground pool crimson with my sanity? Guess there's no way of knowin' til I pull this trigger, sanity and purity spilling like crimson ink in my mind. “ - Ares Malstone

“ Forevermore I shall stand as a threadbare omen of the unholiest parts of mankind, drifting away from myself like the wildfire smoke of a dying confession.” - Alastair Sambridge

“ My mother once stared me dead in the eye and said I was not so holy, one day I would sputter up all the pieces of me and succumb to the Devil inside, and I must say, the old wicked witch was right. My father told me I was just a sin, drifting forevermore into the midnight sky, and as I pulled the trigger upon a battlefield I came to realize fate vows for promises made by wicked people. So by God, I vow to die, I vow to choke on these holy pieces of me and sputter up my dying breath. “ - Alastair Sambridge

“ Who I am is such a far cry from who I was, if you looked at a photograph of me at ten years old you wouldn't recognize the eyes that smile, for as you look into the cracked lenses and into my eyes, it is not me you find. But rather, it is the insanity that swam in Calzell's eyes when I met him." - Ackilzo Thyme

“ My mother once told me that rage whispers into the ears of the broken that they deserve nothing more then this unsteady heart beat of broken bottles and cracked knuckles, but it's the ever smiling lip of peace that brings the sorrowed man back to himself. So I oughta wonder why peace keeps on scowlin' at me. “ - Varvaina Escobar

“ It seems it is the nature of humanity to point blame at those who are howling with regret, love beating empty in an open chest. “ - Sarkelus Johnson

“ Sometimes, life just fades before your eyes and ya don't have enough time to catch it, so you slowly drift away from it yearning for the gentle touch of death. But you know what? We all need a hero every once and awhile, and as Barbara lays her head against my chest, dancing her fingers across my shoulders and cheek, I think I damn well found my hero. “ -Rob Percstand

“ I don't wanna die with dreams, I wanna die with memories, man. “ - Revie Scollinew

"In the outback of Montana my tale began in crimson stained history. I look to my aunts and uncles and see murder deep inside of their hearts, but they should've thought twice before taking my heart in their rough hands, for there is something dark that's brewing inside of me, and if I were them, I would start looking underneath the bed for monsters." - Enoch Avoxin

"There's a certain truth, to madness." - Zachariah Rinderez

"Hold honor close to your heart and you'll end its beat." - McKormick McReavey

"You know, everybody says, this won't happen to me, I'm just your average everyday person, collecting my paycheck, paying my bills, living my day to day life just like everybody else. But what we seem to forget is that we're all normal people, we're all just a little bit average enough to stand out. And when these tragic things do happen to us, we stand in a stunned silence our whole world falling apart, and all we can utter is, "This can't be happening to me." - Ray Burzfoll

"If I could strip the emotion from my mind I fear I would do so in a heart beat." - Wyatt Demouchett

"Love comes and goes but power drifts on by and stays." - Dastallio Sanchez

"Darkness has intertwined itself within my heart sputtering the light from out my throat." - Cornelius Shmackelstein

“I am not myself, so what the fuck am I?" - Coraiza Scotchfuel

"Living in reality is the most cruel form of torture for a mad man." - Draven Scotchfuel

"It is as if she makes my black and white heart burst with some form of color it's never seen." - Armello Vanrick

"Perhaps it was always a mirror hiding inside of my closet." - Julie Forkroad

"The world went dark before it fell, we were just playing a waiting game." - Brooke Bergmeir

"I've got more fighting days left than you have years." - Maximo Guanch

"If everything exists, nothing does, really." - Arthur Wellburn

#writing #characters #dialogue #characterdevelopment #oneliners #books #writer #characterwriting

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vidimillion · 4 years ago

Note

Jasico in Atlantis/Treasure Planet &/or Pirates AU?? Mostly just thinking about that fantasy treasure huntin' adventure flavor...

it took a while for me to get the time to write this and even longer to get the inspo for it. honestly was a blast to think up tho. thanks for the req!

jason grace is the son of the king, groomed to one day be the one to take the throne. whether he liked it or not.

the young prince was the king's ideal son— handsome, smart, athletic, kind... the picture perfect image of a leader. a young man who liked to read stories about adventure and ride horseback into the kingdom, where he'd look at the other kids his age, playing around.

look. look, and never join.

his older sister thalia, the ex-crown princess, has not been seen since jason was a little kid. at least, not officially, because in reality she had been visiting her baby brother in secret for years. she'd been on the run the whole time, but always found a way to come back to her brother.

jason loves her, he does, but he resents her a little for leaving the pressure of the kingdom (and their father) on him. though every time he asks her, she only smiled at him and whispered, "don't worry about anything. I have a plan."

he never understood what she meant. he wanted to believe her, but as his eighteenth birthday and thus his coronation grows closer, he still doesn't even know what he's supposed to be believing in.

a few weeks shy of his coronation, thalia asks him to meet her at the beach three days before the big day. he never expects her visits, them being few and far between, so her setting a schedule was a surprise to him. he worries about being caught, with their father doubling down on security as the coronation draws closer. she insists though, and jason yields. three days before his coronation, he sneaks out to go to the beach, but she isn't there.

he walks around for a little while, trying to look for her, and for a second he worries that she was caught by someone while she was waiting for him. before he can begin to freak out, he hears a low hum in the distance. he walks around the beach, by the rocks, and decides to try the cliff to find the source of it. by the time the cliff is in view, the humming starts to sound like a baritone song. his mind doesn't think to question it, doesn't recognize anything amiss, and before he realizes it he's running for the cliff's edge and he's staring straight down into the sea.

when he wakes up, it takes his hearing a while to come back, and the first thing he notices is the moon is still high in the sky.

"—lure him into the water, I didn't want you to make him jump off a cliff!"

that voice sounds like thalia, jason thought, the first coherent thing he's conceptualized in a while.

"I can't help where he goes, I just tell him to go!"

that sounds like the voice he heard before he jumped.

"hey, he's awake."

that voice sounds... hot.

jason's eyes open to a black-haired, olive-skinned boy with a jawline that could cut fucking glass. he mumbles groggily, "Did I die?"

Hot Guy smiles like jason told him a half-funny joke, "Why do you think you did?"

jason groaned like he was both in pain and was immensely tired. "You look like an angel."

that was definitely not the answer Hot Guy expected, because he immediately flushes red and sputters. jason's eyes focus behind the Hot Guy and sees thalia wolf whistling at him, and a fucking siren with a long sea-green tail bursting into laughter. "You're not dead Jay," thalia says, "but we're definitely very far from home."

(more under the cut. like a lot more.)

apparently, his beloved sister became a fucking pirate after running away. jumping from ship to ship, she’d been gaining a reputation for herself before pledging her loyalty to one of the most formidable pirate crews on the seven seas (and the only one that's all-female). the 'plan' she'd had, that she'd foreshadowed for almost years, was just to get her half-siren friend percy (who can apparently go from siren to human form at will, which jason thinks is awesome) to lure jason into the sea where they could get him.

jason politely admits that it sounds super stupid. thalia does agree, but enforces the fact that it did work.

the ship jason is currently on is apparently, percy's. he's the captain of a crew of five, six if you include him, named hazel, frank, leo, piper and annabeth. thalia just likes to visit sometimes.

they're tiny, and they're all very young, but jason's doubts about their capabilities vanish once percy tells him that people call them the six. jason's heard of them, obviously— his father has been trying to catch them for months now. his father was already furious knowing he wasn't able to capture a crew so small in size, imagine what would happen if he found out the oldest one of all of them is nineteen.

jason, on his first few days on the ship, feels numb. thalia had percy set him up in the med bay, at the back of the ship where the only thing he can hear is the crash of water. he thinks about his kingdom, his father— what was he going to do without an heir? what was the kingdom going to do without a king? he feels relieved, he feels guilty, he feels like he's failing the one thing he was born to do and feels like he has a chance to pick what he wants to do.

jason closes his eyes, thinking, and doesn't notice someone had come in until a cold hand lays on his forehead. he jolts his eyes open and it's nico, the Hot Guy who was with thalia and percy. nico tells him he was just checking jason's temperature and he turns to leave, but jason stops him and asks him to stay. there was "no" already on the tip of his tongue, but jason didn't stand for it. nico desisted, only to wonder why jason was so adamant about making him stay.

jason asks why percy didn't call him a part of the crew. hesitantly, nico tells him it's because he isn't. he's not an official pirate of any crew, and instead runs around ship to ship and coast to coast, either striking deals with the more reasonable pirates or taking out crews of them all on his own.

jason asks him why he keeps moving around like that. as a short answer, nico tells him it's for his father's work. jason feels like there's more to it than that, but he doesn't push.

the medicine thalia insisted he take was making him a little loopy. he barely recalls what he was saying, but apparently it was stupid enough to make nico laugh and respectful enough to make him stay. the medicine doesn't make him too loopy for very long, just a few hours, but the next night when jason found himself wanting company again, he played stupid so nico would stay with him.

(hazel, nico's half sister and apparently the only reason he sometimes travels with their ship for a few days, was the one in charge of taking care of him while he was forcefully bedridden. he realized she knew what he was doing when all three of them were talking one day and she gave him a thumbs-up behind nico's back.)

nico leaves once jason's off bed rest. he asks hazel whether or not she knows when they're gonna pick him up again, and she tells him the week and a half he was there with them was actually the longest time he's ever stayed.

he keeps asking for a while after nico's left. after four weeks, he stops asking.

six months later, they pick nico up again at a bustling port. it's also the same port where jason decides to leave.

jason spends the first night off the ship in a warm little inn, but he doesn't sleep. he thinks he really should sleep more when he didn't realize a fucking intruder got into his room until he heard the soft thump of their feet on the floor. he gets into a melee battle with the black-hooded figure, still quick on his feet even though he hasn't slept in weeks, but eventually the intruder has him pinned down to the nearest flat surface. jason almost bites them before the figure rips off their mask to reveal— it's just nico.

somehow, they end up sitting on the roof of the inn, sharing a bottle of wine nico denies he stole but jason absolutely knew he did.

nico asks jason why he decided to leave the crew, even after getting so irreversibly close with all of them— which he knows jason did.

jason answers that by telling him about his kingdom, back across at least three seas by now. he tells nico about how the town square shines gold almost all hours of the day and glows even at twilight, but the further you get from the kingdom gates the more you see filthy alleys and dirty children. he tells nico about the times he'd go into town in disguise and see how many horrendous things are happening, then eavesdrop on council meetings and figure out why.

he also tells nico about his father, and he keeps it as brief as he can but nico understands what he means.

he tells nico he has to go back, get his kingdom and his crown no matter what chaos he knows would've erupted. he thinks of the councilmen, of dukes and lords he knows will be doing anything for a chance at the throne, now that the crown prince is missing. he tells nico about them, then he tells nico about his people, and he doesn't need to tell nico the rest to know he gets it.

nico still asks why he has to be the one to go back, when on the sea he has percy, piper, leo, thalia, freedom. in return, jason asks why nico is always running.

because i have to, is the answer to both their questions. maybe i'm wrong, but i think i have to.

three days later, after additional goodbyes and promises to write, they start a journey back to jason's kingdom. jason tells nico he shouldn't come, that it'll be a journey of peril that won't get any easier when they do get to the kingdom— nico just glares at him and continues to pack two horses even more aggressively. jason relents.

so now it's just the two of them, both running back and running away, but at least this time they've got a friend.

#jasico #pjo #jason grace #nico di angelo #percy jackson #percy jackson and the heroes of olympus #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #pirate au #royal au #(???)#my writing

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dreaming-gamer · 5 years ago

Text

Magic Touch – Nero X V Chapter 3

Firefighter Nero x Massage Therapist V

The smell of oil and tires hit Nero’s nose the second he stepped into Devil May Drive, to find V’s piece of junk car suspended by a red car lift and Nero’s best friend checking its underside. Nico wore a yellow overall, the sleeves rolled up for the world to see her tattoos and oil coated her clothed fingers.

The front of the small car might be looking a bit steadier since last Nero had seen it, two days ago. Work had kept him away, but at least he was free today. And hoping for a chance meeting with a certain massage therapist.

“You can stop checking around, he ain’t here.” The mechanic stated, but she flashed Nero a grin. “So, I wanna hear all ‘bout it. Ya get another session or something?” She winked.

“Did you sniff too much gasoline?” Nero retorted. “I gave him a ride, nothing else.”

“At least ya got his number, right?” Nico teased, only for her eyes to widen as Nero hesitated just a second too long. “Yer shittin’ me! Are ya the worst person in the world when it comes to flirting or what?!” She demanded, both hands on her hips.

“Kyrie and I didn’t need flirting! This is just totally different, alright?!” Nero exclaimed, but quickly lowered his voice, stepping closer to his best friend. “Kyrie and I were friends for the longest time! I’ve met this guy twice! I tried asking his number! …but the timing was all wrong, he got out of the car without hearing me.”

“Uh huh… ya know, ya could ask yers truly and I’ll give it to ya, as a special order.” Nico said, her grin returning full force. Maybe she was taking pity on him. Nero wasn’t sure he wanted it or liked it.

“And what would that cost me?” He deadpanned.

“A favor to ask for whenever I please, no matter the cost?” Nico grinned, her eyes alight with glee. “Magic always comes with a price, dearie.”

“You quoting that show of yours again? And this isn’t even magic! Aren’t you breaking customer confidentiality if you give it to me?” Nero pointed out with a huff.

“Aww, does that mean yer worried about my job? Dante wouldn’t mind me helping his nephew, lemme tell ya!” Nico teased.

“You’re NOT telling him about this!” Nero exclaimed. Her teasing, he could put up with. If his uncle found out that Nero was starting to take fancy in someone, he would never hear the end of the Dante’s comments! Or the attempts of ‘advice’. “And if I’m going to get V’s number, damn straight I’m getting it myself! I’m not gonna sit around like some deadweight and get it handed to me!”

But the thought of asking V, well… it made his heart race again. A lot. First of all, he needed to actually meet the guy again, preferably here and hope with all his heart that V would maybe, maybe be interested enough in him to exchange numbers so Nero didn’t need to rely on chance meetings anymore. Sometimes he replayed V’s quote of poetry in his head, not that the poem meant much to him, but that voice��

He missed it.

“Pardon me.”

Oh great, Nero was even imagining it now, more vividly than he’d managed before, right behind him.

“I see we have run into each other, yet again. Good morning, Nero.”

Nero’s mind ground to a stop. There was only one pair of lips that made his name sound like more than it was.

No. Way.

He turned around to find the poet standing just a few meters behind them, a silvery cane in one hand, dressed in a black leather vest that gave off a strong gothic vibe but fit him amazingly. And the smirk on V’s face was quite amused. Either he had… heard Nero’s announcement. Or he was happy with gaining Nero’s attention, with his attire.

The tips of Nero’s ears turned red, whichever the case.

“M-morning!” He said quickly, dammit, what else was he supposed to say?! Had V heard him or not?! And if he had, was he totally fine with giving up his number?! Nero’s heart sped up, thundering in his chest while it felt like he had soaring butterflies in his stomach…!

Nico snorted, trying to hold back a laugh, making Nero turn quickly to face her, anger sparking in his eyes.

Her mirth said it all, she’d seen V come in. And not told him.

Nico just gave him a grin before seemingly taking pity on Nero, as she greeted her customer.

“Yo, yer early! Gonna take a few more hours to get this beauty completely fixed!” She announced, gesturing to the suspended car.

“Ah, my apologies. Your message specified today, so I was hoping…” V smiled politely. “I suppose I will have to return later then.”

“Come back at lunch and it’ll be greeting you with a roaring engine!” Nico grinned. Nero wondered if that car engine could roar at all, since… well, it looked way too old.

V chuckled to her statement.

“I will look forward to that then.” He smirked as she went back to her work. Nico flashed Nero a meaningful grin, like a silent “Come on, jackass! Ya scared?!”

Nero grit his teeth, he wasn’t going to back down from that challenge! Fighting the urge to put his hands in his pockets and instead act natural, he approached V, putting a grin on his face.

“So, since the car’s gonna be a while… you wanna go grab a coffee? Brunch?” Nero offered, his heart beating fast in his chest. The pounding could almost be heard in his ears.

The second V looked at him, his lips turning into an apologetic smile, Nero knew what the answer would be. It made his heart sink, like a stone to his stomach.

“My apologies, Nero. As pleasant as your offer sounds… I have somewhere to be, right after this. I just came by… in hopes of finding the car finished early.” V replied.

Nero stumbled for a natural reply, with his previously soaring hope now crushing to the ground, within the same hour, it was hard to not seem affected.

“Yeah, no worries man, never mind that—“

“However…” V’s calm voice cut him off. “…if you would like to join me for a walk, to my destination…”

Nero’s hand, that had just been on it’s way to the back of his head, paused. His eyes widened, his tongue felt tied in his mouth. He was quick to nod.

“Excellent, shall we be off?” V suggested with a pleased smirk, taking the lead out of the oil-smelling shop. Nero kicked his brain and legs into following, feeling as if that hope he couldn’t let go of was currently on a rollercoaster. It didn’t stop the grin from appearing on his face. Nero let V take the lead, falling into step with the massage therapist.

Sunlight greeted them and despite the lack of sleeves on his clothing, V was dressed all in black leather. Wouldn’t he get really hot? Nero’s tongue seeming more willing to cooperate now, he opened his mouth to ask as he noticed another detail.

V had… sandals on.

For real? They didn’t really fit in with the rest of his look at all, they just didn’t! But V’s way of walking, as if they were the most appropriate thing in the world to wear… kind of made it work? It was rather confusing, to be honest.

V seemed to notice his staring.

“Is something the matter?” The massage therapist wondered.

Nero considered, for a moment to ask what the deal with the sandals was… but since they didn’t really know each other that well yet, he settled for another question on his mind.

“So why the cane? You need it or is it just to strengthen the goth look?” V stood out like a sore thumb compared to him, Nero was dressed in regular jeans, t-shirt and a short sleeved blue hoodie, perfect for the weather.

V graced him with a devilish smirk, that kind that made a shiver go down along Nero’s spine.

“I suppose… it is for aesthetic, rather than function. These days.”

“’These days’?” Nero asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes.” V replied, holding the cane just under the head in an easy grip. It certainly didn’t look like he needed it to walk, since there was no limp to his steps, just a bit of slouch to his back. V didn’t seem inclined to elaborate. Like he’d rather keep it a mystery, or perhaps it was something he’d rather not speak about. Nero couldn’t really tell which, but he didn’t push it.

“Looks good, anyway.” He simply said, because it was true. V wielded the cane gracefully, as if it was an extension of his tattooed arm.

V’s devilish smirk remained.

“Why, thank you. What was your errand, at Devil May Drive? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Nero felt the tips of his ears change color again. V’s tone was teasing and he wondered, again, had the massage therapist heard him or not? Proclaiming he wanted V’s number…

“I just hang out there sometimes.” He tried for, it wasn’t a completely white lie. Nero did hang around, sometimes, since Nico worked there. And meeting his uncle from time to time was cool.

And I was kinda hoping to see you again. The words were in his mind, right there, ready to be said. And he opened his mouth to let them out, but they just wouldn’t come. He struggled, swallowed to buy himself time to try again. His heart rate was picking up again, whoa Nico must be right, he was the worst when it came to flirting!

“I see.” V didn’t seem to mind Nero’s difficulties. “I’m afraid… our walk seems to be coming to an end.”

Are you kidding me?! This time, I am getting that number before you— Nero put a brake on his own thoughts, when he realized just where they were. Sure, they have started to walk down a very familiar road, but still… This street was where he lived! On both sides of the road, apartment buildings loomed over them, the sun hitting the southern windows making them glisten. He’d expected they were just going to pass through, but V meant that they were almost there?

“Why are we here, exactly?” Nero’s mind was trying to catch up. Was V visiting someone? Or…

Did he live here, that close to Nero? His eyes fell upon a blue moving truck, parked outside the apartment building across from his. The movers stood just outside, discussing the best course of action, just before they opened shutter to the truck’s storage unit.

“I am moving to this new apartment, today.” V pointed to the moving truck with the head of his cane. “I’m afraid that’s why I’ll be too busy to…” The black-haired man paused as he noticed Nero’s wide eyes. “Is something the matter?”

“You’re moving in, acrossfromme.” Nero blurted the words out, too quickly for them to be really heard. It felt like his thoughts were tying themselves into knots.

V gave him a quizzical look.

“…pardon?”

“I live there.” Nero tapped V’s arm with his hand, then pointed it out for him, the first window on the third floor, facing the street as well as the opposite apartment building. “And you’re moving in…”

“Third floor, facing the road…” V’s eyes widened slightly, in that expression Nero had started to see as V’s attempt to hide his surprise. It took mere moments for his expression to smooth out into that devilish smirk.

“Well, we appear to be running into each other a lot recently.” V noted, sounding amused.

“I think this one is on you.” Nero said with a cocky grin. It felt like his heart was going to start breakdancing. Was this luck even real?

“It would seem that way.” V agreed, that amused glint not leaving his eyes. Nero just couldn’t believe this. He knew that an apartment across the road been empty for about a month now, the party animal that had lived there having finally moved on to someplace closer to the city center and the partying he had so adored. Either that or he had been evicted, for disturbing the neighborhood so often. But that didn’t mean that he could have imagined, in his wildest dreams, that V would be the one moving in.

Two men in blue clothes, the same color as the moving truck with caps on their heads exited the apartment building and climbed into the opened storage unit to start lifting a black leather couch between themselves. Nero could see a lot of boxes in the storage unit as well and he briefly wondered if V’s apartment would be the same size as his, with two rooms and a kitchen, or any other size. The question was on his tongue, but V beat him to it.

“Well then, I suppose I must assist.” V said, gesturing to the moving truck with his cane. “The walk might have been… short, but I enjoyed it. Thank you for the company.” V’s voice was that silken tone that sent shivers down Nero’s spine.

“Hey, no need for thanks. Seems like we’ll maybe see more of each other from now on huh?”

“It certainly seems that way…” From the way V smirked in amusement, Nero felt hope soar inside again. “Good luck with the move. I’m off work today, so just knock if you need help with something, deal?” He grinned, still not quite believing his luck.

V chuckled, that smirk on his face ever present.

“Perhaps I will. Good day to you, Nero.” V said, walking towards his new residence with that slight sway to his hips and waist. Nero tried so hard not to stare. And failed pretty miserably.

“See ya! G’day to you too!” Nero barely knew what he said as he waved and walked towards his own apartment building.

He’s moving in, on the other side of the road. It felt like Nero had wings on his feet when he climbed the stairs to his own apartment, one or sometimes two steps at a time. And V didn’t sound like he had anything against seeing each other again! The grin on Nero’s face couldn’t be wiped off by anything now!

It wasn’t until he stepped inside his own home, kicked off his shoes and pulled off his jacket while simultaneously pulling off some steps to the sound of the electric guitar in his head, that he noticed that his phone had gotten a message. With a flick of his thumb, the message screen greeted him.

“So how did it go? Got that magical number already?” The message was short, but had plenty of emojis a la Nico, including some he barely understood. And why a devil emoji? The words were what made Nero stop in his happy dance around the kitchen though.

V’s number…

The sudden reveal of V’s new home had made him completely forget!

“Fuck!”

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

@la-vita and @thedyingmoon

#devil may cry fanfiction #devil may cry #nero #v #nerov #nero x v #fanfiction #dmc5 nero #dmc5 v #au #magic touch #chapter 3 #my fic #my writing

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gloves94 · 4 years ago

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To Be So Lonely [Draco Malfoy] 2

Rating: PG-13 Pairings: Draco Malfoy/OC Chapter warnings: Abuse!

Raised as an orphan, Nel Saintday, endured years of torture from the Slytherin House. The Dark Lord only allowed her existence for her to serve a very specific vile purpose for him. Her birthright dictates for her to choose a side in the Wizarding War… But what would happen if she dares defy the Dark Lord and his wishes? And what happens when she falls for her tormentor? Will Nel fulfill her life’s purpose? And what side will her tormentor, Draco Malfoy, choose? The light that calls to him or the darkness…

CHAPTER MASTERLIST MY MASTERLIST

1 9 9 1

"Oi! You said you'd give me five quid for it!" A young girl accused with a stern expression at an older boy. "A quid per pound."

This had not been a fair deal.

The boy wore a smug expression on his fox like face. On one hand he weighted a fat paper bag filled with Dairy Milk chocolate bars and Maltesers amongst other chocolatey goods. The rest of his squad, all just as tall and hulking snickered as they greedily ate the candy.

"I said five quid per pound of quality candy, this is all rubbish. Besides, I hate chocolate! You get squat Dots." He laughed loudly before chewing on a mouthful of chocolate bars.

"But you're still eating it!" She pointed upset.

The group laughed cruelly.

"You better give me my money Nico!" She threatened both fists clenched at her side, eyebrows furrowed into a scowl.

"Or what?" He huffed towering over the eleven-year-old poking her chest. "What are you going to do about it?" He challenged pushing her. "Go and cry to Ms. Wool about it?" He pushed her to the ground, and she fell back to the pavement on her behind glaring at the bullies. She should've really thought this out more thoroughly.

"Just you wait-" She growled out rolling up her sleeves, looking as menacing as she could.

It was then that a startled look crossed Nico's face. He turned white. "Let's get out of here!" His friend slapped the other on the chest and looking terrified as the three scrambled away quickly even dropping the bag of candy on the alley way.

"Ha!" She bounced to her feet triumphantly.

Yeah! That'll show them!

It was then that she felt a strong grip seize her shoulder.

Uh-Oh

Her legs moved but she felt an object come down hard on her shoulder. She spat a curse and looked over her shoulder to see Mr. Cowell, the owner of the General Store she had just stolen candy from, and the bitter old man did not look pleased. His black cane buried on her arm.

"Oh! You're going nowhere this time you scantly thief!" He pulled her to him and grabbed her shoulder with his hand.

Head sunken low, he walked her back to where she came from. All the way grumbling and muttering insults and curses.

"Should've known you were up to no good, same as always," he muttered more to himself before ringing the doorbell of the old building.

Ms. Wool opened the door. A plump woman with a pig's face that always seemed to be wearing the dreaded color pink. A cloud of gagging perfume usually wafted around the middle-aged woman. Her face immediately morphed into a deep scowl that made her fat bottom lip stick out.

"Can't let you out of my sight, can I?" She glowered at the girl.

"Caught her with her sticky fingers looting my candy jars this time," the upset man pushed her forward making her stumble towards the entrance of the orphanage.

"Oh Phil," Ms. Wool shook her head slightly before digging into a coin purse. "What's the damage this time?"

"'S just candy Cordelia," The old man said gruffly leaning on his cane dismissing her offer. "'Ust make sure this one 'ere stays out of my store!" He pointed his cane at the girl's chest making her inch back.

Ms. Wool's sharp hands sank into her shoulders as she apologized to the store owner and brought the girl inside of the orphanage. Nel didn't feel her stomach sink until the door closed.

"Can't let you out of my sight, can I? You little thieving tyke!" Ms. Wood's polished hand reached for the girl's ear and she angrily pulled on it as she dragged her away into her hellish office. Other children that lived in the home laughed and pointed as they saw the much familiar scene unfold before them. Ms. Wool's office was a damp place, colored in warm pastel shades and drying flowers with floors and ceilings from the 1910's the time when Wool's Orphanage had originally been built.

"I'm not scared of you!" She declared stupidly. "Oh, you should be! You stupid girl!" Wool scolded. "I've had it up to here with you!" She crossed an arm over her forehead. "I've tried being nice, I've tried being patient. Seems like this is the only way you'll understand." She said opening a door next to her office and tossing her in. "In the Chokey you go!"

The door slammed on her nose.

The Chokey was a narrow cupboard that was filled with broken glass sticking out of the walls with nails on the door. It was a place of utter terror that the mere threat of it was enough to make children tremble in fright and fall straight into line. The cupboard was so narrow you couldn't sit or squat in it without being hurt. Sometimes kids were kept here for hours. Nel presently had the record for the longest lock in having been kept in for a whole day. Something she was awfully proud of and she felt gave her some pomp and superiority over the other children in the home.

"Let me out of here you wretched witch!" She shouted at the door bending her hand on a glass free spot on the door.

"You will stay in there until you finally learn your lesson! Even if its tomorrow!"

She heard a door slam signaling that Wool had exited her office.

Nel stood in the dark room. Eyes peeled; angry fists clenched at the sides. All she had wanted to do was to make some money to buy some art supplies for her own. After all she was an orphan, not possessing a single penny to her name. It wasn't fair. No matter how hard she tried to hold on to any material possession - every time she got something, anything nice be it a candy bar, socks or a sweater, the gift was usually always picked away by the older, stronger kids in the home. Sometimes she wondered what her life would've been like if she hadn't been dumped in this doldrum.

Nel stayed locked up for hours. Her bored eyes attempted to find shapes in the darkness through a strained vision. Scratching a nail against the door's paint she attempted to carve her name into it as she carefully calculated and planned her next scheme to make money. Perhaps she could scam some local kids into buying pet rocks or swindle them into some equally ridiculous scam. She made a mental note to next time make Nico and his goons pay her before engaging in business with him.

That was until the door opened. The light momentarily blinded her.

"There you are!" A younger voice spoke and the eleven-year-old was brought into a warm embrace. "Are you okay? If you know that Nico Shaffer and his gang are going to do you dirty why do you keep hanging out with them?" Lucy, Nel's absolutely favorite person in the world, said holding on to her arms with care.

Lucy was only a couple of years older than Nel. The young girl couldn't remember a time in which anybody else that had ever cared for her. Certainly not Ms. Wool. The girl was more of an older sister than just a fellow housemate.

"I have to show 'em who's the boss around here," Nel said with a huff before sticking her hand into her pocket and handing her friend some candy. "I got you some Whoopers," she grinned handing over her friend the candy.

"Sometimes I think you enjoy setting off Ms. Wool," Lucy shook her head and regardless took the candy and pocketed with a smile.

"Only sometimes," the girl smiled cheekily.

The two girls made out of the office quickly hand in hand.

"Stealing is wrong Nel. Don't do it again." the older one scolded to deaf ears that would most definitely do it again. "What did you even want that money for?"

"I wanted to buy some paint. You know? So that I could paint my walls."

"Your walls or Wool's walls?" the Lucy rolled her eyes knowing that the young girl would probably paint a splash or horrendous colors in the cafeteria which would mortify matron. "You know Ms. Wool would most definitely not allow that."

The younger one smirked slightly having been caught in her mischievous plan to bring some life into the dull building. "We practically live in a jail Luce, it's not fair. Maybe just- maybe some color would make everybody's day better? It was for the greater good!"

"Hey Nel! Heard you stole some candy from old man Cowell!" A younger boy called from the corridor. Enjoying the attention, the girl turned and threw a candy at him "You bet!"

"Stop it! You're going to get in more trouble," Lucy slapped her hand as they reached the small room were the young girl was kept to herself. Nel didn't care. That boy owed her now. She'd think of what favor she'd bug him with later. Maybe she'd ask him for his bread if she was ever locked up without dinner again.

Her room had once been the laundry room and broom and storage, but a bed had been added for the girl to sleep in. She slept there alone, mainly for the safety of others�� You see, weirdthings tended to happen around the girl -

"Ms. Wool!" A loud sing song voice called. "Nel still has some candy and is keeping it to herself!" A most pesky snitch alarmed loudly.

Both girls turned to glare at Aisha by far Wool's favorite and a total kiss ass. Always wearing pink in an attempt to please their matron.

"Shut your mouth Aisha or I'll shut it for you!" The other shouted angrily from across the corridor.

It was then that Wool came stomping by from around the corner.

"SAINTDAY!" She bellowed her surname angrily. Her eyes scanned the corridor for the young girl before focusing on her. "Ah, there you are!" Her eyes turned into slits.

Aisha smirked looking pleased with herself.

Nel shrunk a little, hiding behind Lucy. She was bracing herself for the scold that would come from exiting the chokey when she saw that a tall man with a long white beard and peculiar lavender robes was trailing behind the wide matron.

Ms. Wool sank her hand into Nel's lower arm and dragged the girl inside of the small room, the man tailing behind entered as well. Lucy was locked out; she hung her shoulders lingering around ready to press her ear against the door. What a most peculiar looking man… She thought to herself.

Wool knowingly stuck her head out before Lucy pressed her ear against the door and barked at her to get lost which sent the fourteen-year-old skulking away.

Back inside Wool turned her attention to the brunette. "What have you done now you wicked child?" She glared hands on hips demanding an answer.

"I did nothing, swear!" She said innocently raising up her hands looking at the older man with the half-moon glasses with an innocent expression.

Albus Dumbledore looked at the expression on the child's face that was sitting in the small bed. Despite the pout on her face there was an air of mischief that made him aware that he should know better when trusting her. It had been decades since the last time he had been to Wool's Orphanage. The last time had been under similar circumstances instead visiting a student with the last name Riddle.

"You will apologize to the man and tell me what you did!" Wool knelt and pinched the tender part of the girl's arm making her painfully hiss at the sensation.

"That is enough Ms. Wool," Dumbledore said sternly glaring at the Muggle woman.

"I am here on official school business," the man with the twinkling eyes said stroking his beard. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, I am the Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly and I have come to personally deliver Ms. Saintday her letter of acceptance."

"School of wizzah which what?" Wool cocked her head at an angle and narrowed her eyes in mistrust.

She took the letter from the man eyeing the parchment sealed with an official wax stamp with wary eyes. Nel never received any mail. As far as she knew there was nobody outside of the orphanage that would write to her.

Miss E. Saintday, Laundry Room, Wool's Orphanage, London.

Blinking twice she ripped the envelope open. Curiously reading the contents of the green letter head.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY Underneath was the Headmasters name. Followed by an acceptance, instructions for admission and a list of texts and materials that would be required by the school. The letter was signed by the Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, in a curvy signature.

Nel hadn't even bothered to listen to what Wool was bickering about with the Headmaster.

"Is this real?" She asked the man with her eyes growing wide. "This is not a joke is it?"

"As real as you and I Ms. Saintday," The man smiled down at her kindly.

The man who had introduced himself as Albus Dumbledore explained that there was another world which was unknown to, to regular or non-magic people that were called Muggles and the Nel was a witch. A powerful being capable of magical powers. He explained this was all extremely secretive and that nobody must or should know. He explained that Hogwarts was a most prestigious school and the Wizarding School of the UK were most witches and wizards attended for seven years to earn their education.

"You don't want this one I'm telling you!" Wool suddenly laughed loudly. "She's brought me nothing but trouble since the day she was left in my doorstep!" Nel ignored her with a glare. "Set my curtains on fire, once somehow made a student magically appear on the roof, made my teapots sing! Summoned snakes out of cookie jars! Lightbulbs explode around her! All sorts of devilish things! I know she bullies the other kids. I don't know how she does it, I just haven't caught her yet. And school-" She laughed woefully. "Not a single knot or bolt in this one's empty head." She knocked on the back of her head, which made the girl rub the sore spot. She turned to look at the Headmaster with fearful eyes. Would he withdraw his invitation now that he knew this?

"I believe I myself once set fire to my dorm's curtains. An atrocious shade of red. Accidentally of course," he smiled once again which brought some comfort to the orphan.

"Forget about it!" Wool exclaimed getting ready to exit the room. "I'm not going to fork a single penny over so that this one can go to a fancy boarding school to learn how to pull rabbits out of a hat!"

"I assure you that money will not be a problem Ms. Wool. There is a special fund set aside to assist students with financial needs. Of course, Ms. Saintday will have to maintain an outstanding average to maintain this scholarship."

"Ha! That's a lost cause," Wool huffed humorlessly.

She was ignored. The older Wizard stood up and met the girls' dark brown eyes. Eyes that to him seemed distantly familiar.

"So, what do you say Elowen? although I believe you go by Nel," he inquired.

"What do I say?" She repeated. If anybody had asked her what she really thought, she would've said this entire thing was a hoax. Maybe this funny looking man was actually a child napper, but anywhere was better than Wool's. However, he did not seem harmful, not like the type of man to be vile or malicious. "Of course!" She jumped to her feet. Worst case scenario Wool had always warned her that if she was ever kidnapped that the kidnappers would have to pay her a ransom to take her back.

"Very well then," Dumbledore bowed slightly at Wool. It was then that he pulled out a wand from inside of his long shimmering sleeves. He turned to her little belongings and flicked his wand opening a suite case and made all of the clothes, shoes and other little objects leapt in, in a neatly folded manner.

Nel's mouth gaped a jar at the magic in fascination. Wool looked terrified.

"It's real!" She exclaimed with disbelief.

"I'll be waiting for you at the entrance Ms. Saintday, so that you may bid your goodbyes and gather other belongings," he said as he headed towards the exit. "Wait!" Nel stopped him tugging on the back of his robe. "Can my friend Lucy come with us to? She's brilliant, much better student than I am!" She pleaded.

The man stopped and looked back at her kindly with his twinkling eyes.

"Nel," he began. "I'm afraid that Hogwarts is real for us, but it is not real for Ms. Bonilla," he began to explain. Somehow already knowing Lucy's last name. "Ms. Bonilla is a Muggle, and only witches and wizards can attend or see the school."

"But-" She pleaded. "Can you make an exception? She'll work hard I promise!"

Dumbledore placed a hand on the girl's head. "I'm afraid not child," he rested his hand there for a moment before vanishing into thin air.

Nel looked at the ground sadly. What would she do? She couldn't leave Lucy behind like that.

"Don't look so sullen," Wool's voice suddenly made her snap out of her thoughts. "You'll be back soon. I give it a day before that man is back begging me to take you back from who knows where," she said sticking her nose up in the air. "Very well then, say your goodbyes, Ta-ta." She clapped her hands and pushed her out of the room.

She looked at the austere corridors and the dirty floors recording them all into her memory. She would've really loved to splash them with some bold greens and yellows just to bring some life to this decadent place. Ms. Wool passed her in the hallway.

"Clown's come to take you back to the circus?" A voice called from one end of the corridor making her head snap in the direction. "'About time Freak Show," It was Aisha and Alf, two other members of the house who frequently taunted Nel.

"At least I'm getting out of here unlike the likes of you!" She shot back.

"At least we weren't abandoned here. Even your own parents didn't want your wart-face," Aisha laughed cruelly.

Nel stayed silent. That one hurt. The fact that she was an unwanted child hurt her more than she would ever let on. After all most kids living at Wool's belonged to parents that had lost custody of them, had been deported or had even passed away. Nel had been one of the few that had willingly been surrendered at an abbey's doorstep without a single hint or clue of who she was.

The day she was found they sought for records of her or the people who could be her parents yet found none. She was named by a Cornish nun and given the surname Saintday having been symbolically found on November 1st, All Saints Day.

"Yeah, nobody's going to miss your ugly spotted face 'round here," Aisha stuck out her tongue making a reference to the dotted beauty marks that marked the girl's face; which was considerably her most striking feature. She had managed to count at least ten of them. The marks were scattered in the figure of something, but she didn't know exactly what it was.

Angry she rolled up the sleeves of her black jumper.

"Want a souvenir so you don't miss me too much?" She threatened with a raised fist.

She was about to walk forward and put the bullies in her place when two hands reached and turned her around.

"Is it true?" It was Lucy kneeling down to her level to meet her eye. "That you're leaving?" Her dark eyes were wide with concern.

Nel looked down, almost in shame avoiding Lucy's eyes. "I know it's sudden, but I've been accepted to a school in Scotland. That funny looking man, he's come to take me," she wanted to tell Lucy she was a witch. Wanted to explain what it meant, but the vow of secrecy kept her from doing it. "But- I'm not sure if I want to go," she said feeling a sudden emptiness inside her. "You won't be there-"

"Nonsense!" She exclaimed. "You're going."

"I asked if you could come but he said no!"

"Doesn't matter," Lucy smiled at her encouragingly. "Just promise you'll call. Yeah?"

With her eyes brimming with rare tears Nel nodded and hugged her tightly. "Go," Lucy ushered her off. "Make the best of it, learn and most importantly be good Elowen Saintday."

The girls beamed at each other. "I'll see you during the holidays!" The younger one cried. She didn't know what she would do without Lucy.

"Oh," Ms. Wool crowed looking down at the troublemaker. "You'll be back," she added smugly. It seemed like the woman was getting ready to enjoy the peace and quiet that would come. For now, Elowen Saintday would be somebody else's problem.

xxxxx

STARRING THE ORIGINAL CAST OF THE HARRY POTTER SERIES with ADAM DRIVER as SEVERUS SNAPE

Xxxxx

AN: Any "To Protect" fans out there? Shoutout to you!

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sextonsharpwinhalstead · 5 years ago

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Okay, so I’m a slut for medical dramas but I also get frustrated when there’s a lack of diversity or when queer/PoC/disabled etc characters exist solely to suffer at the hands of writers. Could you rank the current medical dramas from best to worst in terms of diversity?

HO’S UNITE!

I completely understand. Not only in the lack of diversity but also a lack of the KIND of diversity. I have a weird theory about television and often movie casts. Of course this ranking is only of the shows I watch. Worst to Best.

The Resident

The Good:

The show begins with the audience following Devon Pravesh, a Gujarati and South Asian man. He’s on of the most realistic characters considering most medical shows seem to gloss over the fact that most people in medical school as well as working practitioners look an awful lot like Devon and less like Conrad. They have the shoot-for-excellence-at-all-times Nigerian immigrant surgeon and all around bad-ass Mina Okafor, and of course The Raptor, AJ Austin who was adopted by a Chinese man and a Black American woman. The newest edition of Dr. Barrett Cain adds another bit of chocolate goodness to look at too.

The Bad:

Aside from Mina’s poorly cast mother Lynne Whitfield and the introduction of Devon’s parents the show hasn’t figured out how to weave in the different ethnicity's and backgrounds of their characters of color. No one speaks in their mother-tongue, celebrates any holidays or traditions tied to their respective cultures and religions and of course the most obvious. EVERYONE here is straight and able-bodied. And there are only TWO female leads, with most of the other recurring female characters being sent away or killed off.

The Good Doctor

The Good:

Although not the first medical drama to introduce a character with Autism it is the first to have one as the lead and his autism is a focus of the show. In the beginning there was the English born Dr. Jared Kalu, we know he comes from money and is assumed to be Asian, the actor is actually Nigerian and white, after he left the show Dr. Park was introduced. The Good Doctor has had the most Asian representation on a medical show I believe EVER in the history of prime-time television. Allegra Aoki, Dr. Aurdrey Lim, and Dr. Jackson Han round the out the Asian representation on the show. Carly Lever, Dr. Claire Browne, and Dr. Marcus Andrews are represented as black or mixed-race Black Americans. Dr. Neil Melendez is the only Latino or Hispanic character he really doesn’t lean into it. Dr. Glassman and his wife are both Jewish.

The Bad:

The Good Doctor is doing something different having an autistic character as the lead, and although Freddie Highmore is a talented actor, he isn’t autistic. Also it would’ve been even better if Shaun could’ve been Shauna. A chance was missed here by taking a look at the often under diagnosed sect of girls and women who are autistic. The show has a lot of women on it both recurring and regular but ALL of them, just like the men,are straight. And a missed opportunity too considering the actress who plays Carly has been married to a woman since 2013. Also, Carly and Claire can pass the paper bag test, NO ONE is bilingual, and if they are they don’t show it or any of the other aspects of their cultural differences it’s very “American.

Chicago Med

The Good:

Out of all the One Chicago Shows, Med has the most racially diverse cast as well as diverse recurring characters. They have four black women on the cast. April Sexton whose real surname is Suassuna is Afro-Brazilian, who speaks both Spanish and Portuguese, attends family functions based on her heritage and has even shared a few anecdotes and beliefs from her culture which also include her brother Dr. Noah Sexton. Ditto for the recurring character Dr. Isidore Latham. He has Asperger’s, is Jewish, and observes all aspects of Judaism including wearing a kippah, and sharing some Jewish based jokes. Dr. Ethan Choi is believed to be Korean and Iranian born Dominic Rains has been added to the cast as Dr. Crockett Marcel rounding out the leads of Asian descent.

The Bad:

Ethan’s ethnicity and race has only been brought up when it was being demeaned. Other than that the show leans heavily on his military background to give him depth but gives zero basis for any customs or cultural traits he probably had growing up. Nary a mention is given about Crockett’s race only his southern New Orleans heritage leaving us as an audience wondering if he’s Creole? Spicy White? No idea. Also April is Brazilian but almost exclusively speaks Spanish when not speaking English to her brother which is by far the strangest considering I have never met anyone who chooses English if they are raised in a multicultural household, and definitely not in conversation with their family members. But never Portuguese. All of these shows fail at representing Black American cultural, which leaves Maggie and Sharon with very little to share. And of course the most obvious. There are no LGBT characters on the show. None are leads and it doesn’t appear as though they are adding any or thinking about opening any new doors within the characters.

New Amsterdam

The Good

New Amsterdam does a lot of things right. My dear Vijay Kapoor who’s Indian identity is very wrapped in who he is, from his accent, to his prayers, mannerisms, and discussions of his past he isn’t just a token he’s a full character. Although the show has yet to address it Dr. Helen Sharpe who is obviously black is played by Freema Agyeman who is not so obviously half Iranian on her mothers side. But she is English and her disposition, her language and slang are represented in that regard. Lauren Bloom is a neurodivergent character with ADHD and a struggling addict. Dr. Floyd Reynolds is Black American who has Sunday dinners at his mothers. And Dr. Iggy Frome is a gay married man with 50 bajillion Pakistani children and aiming for one more. Recurring characters, Dr. Valentina Castro, Dora, and Casey are all Latino and Evie Floyd is mixed race, white and Black American. Not to mention this show has plethora of diverse peripheral characters, little people, hijabs, turbans, kippahs,everywhere, you name it you’ve probably seen it. The show has to be diverse because it’s in New York and it’s supposed to be an international hospital. The place is MASSIVE.

The Bad:

All that diversity, all the difference, cultural richness, ripe stories running amok and the entire show is centered on a cis-het white man. Not mention Casey and Dora don’t even have last names. Maybe that’s why the actress isn’t on the show anymore and is now on Emergence, New Amsterdam’s rival at that time slot.

Grey’s Anatomy

The Good

Where do you start with the longest running medical drama on television.

They’ve had it all and still do. They constantly have LGBT characters, who are shown to get hot and heavy the same as their het-counterparts. Where other shows have two men bird-kissing like they don’t even want to touch, Levi and Nico are rolling around in ambulances and hooking up in on-call rooms. Ditto for the women, I stan Callie x Arizona especially their golden years. Nothing will ever touch the way Arizona used to say “Calliope” when they first started dated, it still makes me smile thinking about it. They’ve had addicts, alcoholics, neurodivigent characters, every race you could think of, Muslim, Christian,Jewish,and atheists. All kinds of socio-economic backgrounds. If you can think it they’ve had it and there really isn’t much reason or room to list all the characters both recurring and regular who have checked damn near every box.

The Bad:

It’s time for more brown Asians. And a regular neurodivergent character although there is more than enough room to diagnose a few of the characters if they wanted to. I’d be happy with a deaf doctor too. Also Carina DeLuca is currently the only Bi-character and she’s been kind of only used as a bed warmer which is...well, yikes.

#ask sextonsharpwinhalstead #The Good Doctor #new amsterdam #chicago med #grey's anatomy #the resident #the resident on fox

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buoyantsaturn · 5 years ago

Text

Out of Order (1/1)

summary: It was tradition on the first day of fall for all the year-round campers to sneak into the Aphrodite cabin after lights out for a few rounds of truth or dare.

word count: 2491

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It was tradition on the first day of fall for all the year-round campers to sneak into the Aphrodite cabin after lights out for a few rounds of truth or dare. Seeing as Nico had agreed to stay at camp rather than wonder the globe for the foreseeable future and was now officially a year-round camper, he was dragged from his cabin in the middle of the night by a grinning blond who, for once, wasn’t wearing his trademark green scrubs.

Normally, Nico would be ecstatic to find Will whisking him away in the middle of the night, but when they wound up outside the Aphrodite cabin, Nico started feeling anxious.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun, I promise,” Will told him with a tug on his hand. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I do,” Nico grumbled indignantly, and trudged into the cabin behind Will.

It was immediately overwhelming. Nico was used to his own very empty cabin and the moderately filled infirmary - but this? The cabin was practically overflowing with campers, laying on bunk beds and sitting on the floor and standing near the walls. Nico didn’t understand how much noise there could be in a single building. How could any of them hold a conversation in a place like this? He squeezed Will’s hand, about to pull him close and whisper-shout that he was just going to go back to bed and forget that he’d seen any of this, when the rest of the cabin seemed to notice Will’s presence.

“Will!” one of the Aphrodite girls - Nico never learned their names because they hardly ever went to the arena - exclaimed, and grabbed Will’s free hand to pull him further into the cabin, thus dragging Nico further inside as well. “We were waiting for you! What took you so long?”

“I had to get Nico,” he said, and pulled Nico closer to bring him to the girl’s attention.

“Oh,” she said, and Nico saw her gaze flicker down to their joined hands. Her eyes widened before she looked back up at Will. “Oh!”

Will didn’t seem to notice. “But we’re here now. What’s first on the agenda?”

“Veteran’s choice.”

Nico didn’t understand what she meant by that, but by the surprised look on Will’s face, Nico figured that it was something of a big deal to him.

“No way. Me?” Will asked. He started looking around the room frantically, spouting off names of campers that Nico recognized from the summer or from years past, though none of the names were of people present. “But… Not even Annabeth is here?”

“Nope, she’s seasonal now, remember?” the girl replied.

“Seasonal?” Nico cut in, cocking his head in confusion.

Will squeezed his hand, all of his attention straying to Nico and making his heart flutter at the feeling of those incredibly blue eyes on him. “She’s in school now. This is the first time since she was...what, seven? That she hasn’t been a year-round camper.” He looked back to the Aphrodite girl. “Have I really been here the longest out of anyone?”

She nodded. “That’s right! So you pick the games tonight!”

Will grinned. He raised one hand into the air and called out, “Everybody, circle up for truth or dare!”

A cheer went up as campers formed a circle on the floor of the cabin. Some had climbed down from bunks to get a spot in the ring, while others had scrambled up from the floor so that they wouldn’t get caught playing. Will pulled Nico into the circle, tugging him down to sit beside him in the ring. He kicked his legs out in front of him and crossed his ankles, and let go of Nico’s hand for the first time since they arrived to lean back on his hands.

“Alright, alright, settle in, y’all. We’re in for a long night,” Will said as the chatter of the room quieted down around them. “You all know the rules of this one. No ask-backs. You can’t pick the same answer three times in a row. Refuse to do the truth, you do the dare, and vice versa. Any questions?”

“Kinda,” Nico muttered without the intention of being heard.

Will shot him a grin and patted his leg. “You’ll catch on quick, Sunshine.”

He turned back to the rest of the group, scanned the faces of those sitting with them in the circle with the same expression that Nico had seen him examining injuries with, like he was deciding what part of the patient was the weakest, the most vulnerable, the part that needed immediate attention.

“Cecil.”

A groan came from across the circle. “Come on, man! Why do you always pick me?”

Will shot him a grin. “Truth or dare, coward.”

Cecil let out a heavy sigh. “Truth.”

“Do you still have a crush on that Demeter girl?”

Cecil flopped onto his back with an even louder groan, covering his face with his hands.

The game still didn’t make much sense to Nico as time wore on, but he tried his best to roll with the punches. Someone asked him about the skull ring he always wore, and someone else asked about the coolest place he’d ever visited. Then, when he wasn’t allowed to say truth for the third time in a row, he was dared to steal something from another cabin - so he’d shadowtraveled away to the Apollo cabin and came back wearing one of Will’s flannel shirts.

He didn’t understand the weird looks everybody kept giving him after that, nor did he understand why Will suddenly made a new rule that he could veto any questions asked that were too personal. Nico just didn’t want to accidentally steal from someone he didn’t know, and it was starting to get kind of cold in the cabin - why shouldn’t he borrow one of Will’s shirts?

It was Lou Ellen’s turn next. “Will, do you have a crush on anyone in this room?”

Nico thought he could hear Will’s breath hitch next to him, even with the chorus of ooos that rose throughout the room. When he looked up at Will’s face, he was just as calm and collected as always.

“You didn’t ask for truth or dare,” he said instead of answering.

“You took dare the last two rounds,” she countered. “There’s no getting out of this one, Sunny Boy, and vetoing will just give us the answer anyway.”

Will rolled his eyes. “You should be a lawyer, Lou. Yes, I have a crush on someone in this room. You already knew that, of course, but thanks for making it public knowledge.”

“What are friends for?” she replied, smiling brightly.

“Whatever. Anyway, now that it’s back to me, I’m calling this the last round of this game. If anybody’s dying to embarrass somebody in this game, this is your last chance. Chiara, truth or dare?”

The last round went surprisingly quickly, though Nico suspected it was because people were getting eager to end things. He was getting pretty tired himself, and wouldn’t have minded heading to bed over an hour ago. However, when Will announced the end of one game, he started another. Around them, people jumped in and out of the circle. Some were grabbing snacks or running to the bathroom between games, others were jumping in for a new game they preferred while others ran away from a new game they despised. Someone insisted that everyone sticking around for the next game swapped seats so that they weren’t next to the same people for another whole game. Nico ended up between Kayla and Julia, and directly across the circle from Will.

Once everyone was settled again, Will said, “New game: paranoia. Whisper a question into the ear of the person next to you. They have to answer out loud with the name of a person in this room. Then, I’ll flip a drachma - heads, you say the question out loud, tails, you don’t. Anybody wanna start us off?”

Valentina’s hand shot into the air. “Ooh, I do!” She turned to the boy sitting next to her and whispered something into his ear.

“Oh, easy,” he said. “It’s Nico.”

Nico’s head snapped toward Will, just in time to watch him flip the coin. “Tails. Let’s move on.”

Nico pulled his knees up to his chest and tried to hide behind his own legs.

A few rounds later, Kayla was whispering into Nico’s ear, “Who is the funniest person in the room?”

Nico took a second to scan the circle, though he hadn’t spent enough time with anyone to know whether or not they were funny. “Um. Will?”

Across the circle, Will seemed to perk up at the mention of his name. He flipped the coin and smiled when he said, “Heads!”

“I asked him who he thought was the funniest person here,” Kayla explained.

“Dude!” Cecil exclaimed, leaning forward so that Nico could see him around Julia. “No way is Will funnier than I am!”

“Whatever, Cecil,” Will told him, still smiling brightly. “Just let him think my bad jokes are funny. Anyway, it’s your turn, Nico.”

“Oh, um.” Nico thought for a second before he turned to whisper in Julia’s ear.

The game continued on. Lou Ellen and Cecil both admitted that Will was their best friend, which led to a short argument over who Will’s best friend had to be. By the time Will’s turn came around and he said Nico’s name in answer to whatever question had been whispered into his ear, Cecil exclaimed, “You better not mean that Nico’s your best friend over me!”

“Guess you’ll just have to wait and see,” Will replied, grinning, and flipped the coin in his hand. “It’s heads.”

Damien said, “I asked him who has the best hair.”

Nico barely noticed the light shade of pink growing on Will’s cheeks as he said, “Okay! Everybody find a new seat for round two.”

Nico stayed seated while the rest of the room moved around him, and suddenly Will was sitting beside him once again.

“Hey,” Will told him, bumping his shoulder against Nico’s. “Having fun yet?”

“It’s...certainly interesting,” Nico replied.

“Yeah, they’re all kind of a lot,” Will laughed. “You’ll get used to everybody by Christmas, trust me.”

“Will, it’s your turn,” Austin reminded him from across the circle.

“Yeah, yeah,” Will said, waving a hand at his brother. Will leaned closer to Nico, his breath fanning against Nico’s cheek as he whispered, “Who would brag about being able to take down a monster, but would run back crying if they actually saw a monster in the woods?”

Nico had to really focus on Will’s words rather than the feeling of Will so close to him. “It’s Cecil, no question.”

Will snorted rather unattractively and dropped his forehead onto Nico’s shoulder.

“What did you say? What was the question?” Cecil demanded.

Will, still laughing and with his head still resting on Nico’s shoulder, flipped the drachma; it was tails. “Don’t worry about it, Cecil. It’s better this way, trust me.” Will lifted his head and bumped his shoulder into Nico’s once more as he said, “You’re up.”

Nico was growing to hate the part of this game where he had to think up questions, so he just copied Will’s instead. Lou Ellen answered without hesitation: “Cecil.”

Will flipped the coin. “Tails.”

“Oh, come on!”

Nico grew more and more tired as the second round of the game went on - nobody mentioned either him or Will for most of the round, and Nico was practically lulled to sleep by Will’s frequent call of heads or tails. He didn’t realize that he was resting against Will’s side until Will pulled away slightly in order for someone to whisper in his ear. Either way, Nico didn’t move, and instead let his eyes slip shut.

“I’m not answering that,” Will said, his laughter tinged with discomfort.

“C’mon, he’s asleep! He’ll never have to know!” somebody else called from across the room.

“Oh my gods, you guys set this up, didn’t you? This was all just a big ploy to get me to admit my feelings for Nico! You’re all the worst friends ever.”

Nico’s eyes snapped open. There was no way he heard that right. There was no way that Will actually liked him back...right?

He lifted his head from Will’s shoulder, and Will turned toward him with a look of dread on his face. “Oh, Styx,” Will whispered, and suddenly jumped to his feet. He announced, “Game over,” and ran out the door, slamming it behind himself.

The cabin was silent for a single minute before campers started shoving at each other and blaming everyone else for ruining the night. Nico found himself stuck to the floor by the look of betrayal on Will’s face as he ran from the cabin. Should he go after Will? Would Will even want to see him after that? There was only one way for him to find out.

Nico stretched the nearest shadows toward him until the space around him was dark enough for him to slip into the shadows and disappear, thinking only of reappearing wherever Will had gone to.

He wound up on the Aphrodite cabin’s porch.

“Will?” Nico said quietly, and in the darkness he saw Will rubbing furiously at his face.

“Hey, Sunshine,” Will croaked.

Nico sat down beside him on the steps, and Will looked away. “Hey,” Nico said, reaching out for Will’s cheek and turning his head back toward him - Will’s eyes dropped to his lap. “Why did you leave?”

Will laughed bitterly. “Because that was embarrassing.”

“This whole night as been embarrassing for me,” Nico told him, and brushed a tear away with his thumb. “You didn’t see me running out of there.”

Will groaned and dropped his forehead onto Nico’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry. This wasn’t how I planned on you finding out.”

Nico pushed him back and held Will’s face with both hands, forcing eye contact between them. “You wanted me to find out?”

“Um...yeah? I mean, eventually,” Will told him. “I like you, but I just wasn’t going to tell you until I figured out whether or not you like me too.”

Nico let go of Will in order to flail his hands around for emphasis. “You were going to tell me? I was prepared to take this to my grave!”

“You like me?” Will asked. “Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

“Because it’s embarrassing!”

“Would you just kiss already?”

Both heads snapped toward the cabin behind them, where the doors and windows had opened to reveal the entire population of year-round campers watching their flustered exchange.

“Oh my gods,” Will cried, burying his face in his hands, though Nico could still see the bright red tips of his ears.

Nico pulled one of Will’s hands away and told him, “Hold on tight,” before he tugged Will with him into a shadow, and the two disappeared.

thanks for reading!!!

buy me a coffee | more will solace week stuff

#solangelo #will solace #mine #my writing #wsw #will solace week #nico di angelo

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eldritchsurveys · 4 years ago

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1100.

5k Survey LXXXV

4351. Courtney love or Madonna: musically? personality wise? looks? >> I have no preference. Neither particularly appeals to me. 4352. Do you have a negative attitude towards the opposite sex? >> No? 4353. Can you imagine anything that would seriously improve the world? >> I’m sure I can imagine a few things. 4354. Have you read the book Venus in Furs? Did it turn you on? >> I did read it. Nothing in it is arousing to me. I was mostly just confused at how their confusing and tumultuous and capricious relationship could be seen as desirable in any way. I just have vastly different needs and wants, I guess. I might still watch the play at some point. I bet Hugh Dancy makes a wonderful Severin. 4355. Velvet Underground with or without Nico? >> I am not familiar enough with either version to have a preference.

4356. Is there any similarity between what eminem is doing and what manson is doing? >> Which Manson? 4357. Who wants to be your dog? >> --- 4358. Are you SURE you aren't pretentious(I've been reading SOME surveys that sound pretentious to me)? >> I never claimed to be certain that I am not pretentious. 4359. Can you understand and express subtle and complex ideas? >> *shrug* I understand and express whatever I understand and express. 4360. Is writing akin to thinking for you? >> Yeah, it can be. I sometimes find it easier to work out some tangled ball of thought in my mind if I try writing it out as if explaining it to someone else. 4361. What do you imagine it feels like to be a member of the opposite sex? >> --- 4362. Bowie's Outside, can you tell who the murderer is? >> ??? 4363. Are you a bad banana with a greasy black peel? >> What is happening. 4364. What do you think of the Atkins diet? >> I don’t think of diets. In my opinion, they’re all useless. 4365. 'If it bleeds, I will fuck it'. How does that make you feel? >> I don’t feel anything, I have no frame of reference. 4366. The greatest shock rocker of all time is: The most pathetic shock rocker is: 4367. Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, or Red Dragon? >> I liked Red Dragon best simply because I like Francis Dolarhyde best. 4368. If Dr Lecter were to visit you what would you do? >> I mean, die, I guess. Isn’t he really good at killing people? 4369. Who is your favorite director of movies? >> Darren Aronofsky. 4370. What is Kubrick's best film? >> I don’t know, I haven’t seen enough of them to have an opinion. 4371. Fill in the blank as if you were speaking. I don't want anybody else. When I think about ___ I touch myself. >> --- 4372. Are you overly confident and blinded to your own faults? If you were you probably wouldn't know the extent of it. >> I’m the opposite, actually. 4373. Do you like: King Crimson? Emerson Lake and Palmer? Tajmahol? Republic? Thursday? >> The only band on this list I’m familiar with is King Crimson, and I like at least one song. 4374. Do you write your favorite bands on your clothing? >> I did when I was a teenager and wasn’t allowed to buy band shirts. I’d turn a shirt of mine inside out, draw on it, then wear the shirt right side out at home and switch it around when I got to school. Incidentally, that is how I got good at fabric painting, so I guess it wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened. 4375. Are you wild and crazy? >> ??? 4376. Do you party like River Pheonix? >> Probably not. 4377. What is it that you still are hiding? >> --- 4378. How attractive is a girl is a suit? How attractive is a guy in a dress? >> --- 4379. Why is it more acceptable for a girl to dress like a guy than for a guy to dress like a girl? >> Misogyny. 4380. Why is being a girl seen as somehow something LESS than being a guy? >> Unpacking misogyny is not within the scope of either my brain or this survey. 4381. What are three things you value? >> Compassion, emotional intelligence, ecological knowledge and respect. 4382. What are three things you normally do that go against those values in some way? >> Close myself off to others, ignore my emotions and berate myself for them, contribute to cycles of ecological abuse and neglect (mostly through what I buy). 4383. Name three things society in general values? >> Which society? 4384. Name three behaviors that society accepts as normal that go against those values? >> --- 4385. Name three highly specific things you look for in a potential mate? >> --- 4386. Who is the basis for your comparison when choosing a partenr? >> --- 4387. Have you ever given someone multiple orgasms or received them yourself? >> I’ve had them, but I’ve not been a participant in anyone else’s having of them. (Also, you don’t give people orgasms. It’s not a gift. It’s not something you allow them to experience by virtue of your body or whatever. I hate that framing so much.) 4388. The older generations thought the beatles were hip. Now they think today's music is shocking. What could music evolve into that people might find more shocking ten years from now? >> I have no idea. People find the most random things shocking, in my view, so I guess it really could be anything. 4389. Do you have any motives for your actions other than anger and lust? >> Well, yes...... 4390. Would you be more likely to rape someone or to kill someone? >> Wow. 4391. What have you read by James Baldwin? >> Nothing. I’m a little embarrassed about that, because the bits of his work and the markers of his influence that I’ve encountered over time have been very interesting and I should probably go to the source at some point. 4392. Can you read Naked Lunch straight through in one sitting? >> I don’t know what that is. 4393. Are you a snob? If yes, in what regards? >> I don’t think so. 4394. Fill in the blank. ___ is all there is. >> --- 4395. Is common sense dead? >> --- 4396. Are you unapproachable? >> I don’t know. Some people have seemed to treat me like I was, but who knows. It’s as much about the individual feelings of the person doing the approaching (or choosing not to do the approaching) as it is about me and how I’m behaving. 4397. Are you the kind of person strangers like to talk to? >> I don’t know. 4398. Do social interactions energize or drain you (in general)? >> I tend to experience fatigue from them more readily and quickly than is probably healthy. 4399. What's the longest you have ever gone between sexual encounters? >> I mean, the last time I had an outworld sexual encounter was like 4 years ago. Inworld, I have no idea what the longest interval has been. 4400. Compare John Lennon and Kurt Cobain: >> No???

#surveys #survey #5000 question survey #not for reblogging *glare*

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dylan-o-yumm · 5 years ago

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I don’t know if it went through (mobile sucks) but I have some angst for ya. So Nero’s s/o is trying to kick an addiction. Drugs, alcohol, smoking your pick. And she’s going through terrible withdrawals. During one particularly bad episode she snaps and scream and sobs at Nero asking how he could love someone dirty and damaged like her when he could have someone pure and clean like Kyrie. Thanks! Love your stuff!!

(I picked smoking, because my parents used to smoke so I’ve seen what those withdrawals look like. I don’t really know anyone that drinks or takes drugs so… *shrug*)

“Hey, Nico… Mind if I steal a smoke?” You whisper, peeking your head in between the driver and passengers seat, a hand resting on each side as you stand in between them. Nero was in the back, either in the bathroom or looking at the devil breakers, you weren’t quite sure, but you knew that if he heard you asking the Artisan of Arms such a question, he wouldn’t be the happiest. He had gone to quite the trouble to keep you clean, free of smoke in your lungs for as long as he was willing to help. Which knowing him, he’d help you stay off them till the day you die.

You had told him a few days ago that you wanted to quit smoking, but never had the willpower to do so, so he took it upon himself to help you out and make sure you never have a cigarette again. Not if he had anything to say about it, at least. First he threw out your full pack of cigarettes, much to your protest, saying he’d pay you back what they cost if it made you feel any better, to which you sourly declined. He then told Nico to make sure not to smoke around you, but you knew she always had them on her, some even loose around the van, but Nero had picked up any he could find to make sure you didn’t sabotage yourself. It was sweet… but god, you were desperate for a smoke.

Nico was no help to you. Well, she was, just not in the way you wanted it at the moment. Instead of handing you a smoke like you had asked, she called out to your boyfriend instead, ratting you out faster than you could even think of lighting a cigarette.

“Hey, meat for brains! Make your girl stop askin’ me for ciggies.” She called out in her southern accent, to which you raised your eyebrows at her offendedly.

“Y/n…” You heard Nero’s warning tone from a ways behind you, like he was scolding a child who stole a cookie from the cookie jar. You’d have to get Nico back for this one later. You frowned at her and she shrugged innocently in response. You wouldn’t stay mad at her, you knew she meant well, but the lack of cigarettes was getting to you and making you snap easily. You were starting to worry that you’d end up yelling at them and offending them in someway eventually. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

“You’ve gone three days so far without one, don’t break it now” Nero’s heavy footsteps got closer to you as he spoke, ending up standing behind you but you didn’t turn around to face him. Hearing that it had only been three days made you feel like shit, it felt so much longer than that! How were you so desperate to give up when it hadn’t even been a week yet? You knew it would get easier with time, but this was going to be the longest and slowest process in your mind, which only made you want to give in and have a damn smoke all that much more.

You huff an angry breath, crossing your arms over your chest and standing up straight. You opt for looking out the windshield, refusing to look at the disappointed stare Nero was no doubt giving you and rolling your eyes at the thought. Deep down you knew you were being silly, but the anger was kicking in after not having your usual stress relief for what felt like so long. And woking with the devil hunters was not considered clam and relaxing.

“Hey, I’m just trying to help, remember.” Nero sighs calmly, placing a hand on your shoulder in an attempt to either sooth you or coax you into facing him. It definitely made you turn around. Sooth you, however? Not so much. You snapped, heart beating fast and angrily, eyes narrowing and brows knitting together in frustration. As you spun around, you slapped his hand off your shoulder, causing the young devil hunter to look offended for a second before turning to confusion.

“You aren’t helping me, Nero!” You yelled, glaring at the white haired male who now backed away from you a step, giving you the space you clearly needed. You already felt bad for what you were saying, but the anger and aggression was uncontrollable, you just hoped Nero knew that and would forgive you when you finally calm down. However, right now, you couldn’t find the willpower to shut up, your words feeling like vomit that you can’t keep down.

“You threw out my smokes, congratulations! What’s stopping me from just going and buying another pack? Huh?” You ask with venom on your tongue. Maybe if you weren’t a naturally calm person, the aggression wouldn’t have been so bad in this tough time. Either way, you knew you were making Nico uncomfortable by yelling, her expression seeming a little scared if you could believe it. This was so unlike you… Nero didn’t fight back, letting you unleash your anger because it was better than destroying your lungs with cigarettes, right? Instead of stopping it there, you wanted him to react, show the same aggression you were feeling, just so he knew it wasn’t as easy as he thought it was. But, boy you should have kept your mouth shut…

“God, you really are a deadweight, aren’t you? Can’t even stop your own girlfriend from smoking” You scoff, continuing to glare at him. Why that word? Any other word would have been fine, but this was too far. You knew how being called a deadweight made him feel, you even got up Dante for saying it once or twice to him. And the look on Nero’s face after hearing you, of all people, call him that, was like a knife to the heart. He was hurt, staring back at you like you just betrayed him, and in a sense, you did.

“Yeah, thats my cue…” Nico whispered to herself before opening the drivers side door and slipping out to give you two some privacy. You could tell she was now a little mad at you, possibly for calling Nero a deadweight when she also knew what it did to his self esteem.

“I know you don’t mean the things you’re saying right now, but… that one hurt” Nero chuckled humourlessly, his eyes cast downwards, very clearly upset with your choice of words. He took a deep breath before shaking his head, seeming to get more upset the more he thought about it. And suddenly, you got what you wanted. He snapped.

“You know I am just trying to help you, Y/n! You were the one who asked me to help, so why—“ He cut himself short when he realised he already knew the answer to what he was saying. He didn’t yell but he definitely got louder and his hand gestures are always a good sign to know when he’s angry. He’ll wave his arms around more, maybe even point at you accusingly while he angles his head upwards to seem even more taller than you even though you’re around the same height.

You watch as he slowly calms himself down, his outburst being a lot shorter than you thought it would have been. He turns away from you, resting his hands on the small table while you shrink into yourself as you realise what you’ve done. How could you hurt him like that? You bring your hands up to your eyes, covering your face as you let out a long, shakes breath. You wanted to reach out and tell him how sorry you are, but you decide that maybe it’s best to give him a little space.

“Why are you with me, Nero? I’m disgusting” You mumble into your hands, though addressing him, you didn’t expect him to hear you or understand you with how quiet you made your voice. You could’t see, but he turned his head, furrowing his brow at you, wondering how on earth you could say such a thing. To him, that was worse than you calling him deadweight. But, when he made no noise, you assumed he didn’t hear you, continuing to mumble into your hands. “You could be with anyone else instead. Someone good and pure, someone that would never be in this situation with you.”

You felt your eyes sting with tears, but kept them at bay, not wanting to seem weak or pathetic in Nero’s eyes, even though he had never done nothing to make you believe he would ever believe such a thing. He thought you were so strong for even attempting to quit smoking in the first place, but he did know he couldn’t keep you from giving in. He was your support, but this was ultimately your choice and only you could change your mind.

“Don’t.” Was all he said, slight aggression in his tone. Your head snapped up from your hands, blinking quickly as you looked at him, surprised that he had heard you since you thought you were mumbling like a newborn baby. When you saw his eyes staring back at you with an intense warning, as if he was daring you to say more just so he could cut you off. You wanted to both disappear and hug him at the same time, wanting to escape from this awful situation you had put the two of you in, but also embrace him and apologise to him. Before you had the chance to say anything, he decided he had more to say.

“This is a hard time for you, okay? I get that, and I’m here to help you through it. But, you gotta watch your mouth.” He scoffed, running a hand through his short, white, tuft of hair. You blinked in surprise at his sudden bluntness and odd sense of humour, but it did make your lips curl ever so slightly. “Call me names all you want if it helps… but don’t question what we have. Don’t call yourself names either.”

You found yourself silently nodding along to what he was saying, knowing you’d try everything in your power to not lash out at him again and hurt him like you did. Though, he had lightened the mood a little with his tone and handsome smirk, it made you release a long breath, like a large weight falling off your shoulders. Instead of keeping quiet and upset, you took a step toward him and smiled softly as he held a hand out for you to take.

“Or what?” You whisper in a teasing tone, playing along with his newfound attitude. Your hand slid into his, immediately being pulled into him. You placed your hands on his hips, fiddling with the fabric of his shirt while he rested his palms on your red cheeks. You were unsure if you were red in the face from the anger and sadness that had washed over you only moments prior, or from blushing at his antics.

“Or… I’ll have to shut you up myself” He replied with a cocky smirk, leaning in to press a quick but loving kiss to the corner of your lips, leaving you wanting more. You smile sheepishly and lean into his touch, his hands emitting warmth into the skin on your face. A sigh passes through your lips, having released all your anger, and suddenly you realised you weren’t craving a cigarette anymore. You closed your eyes and bought your face into Nero’s collar, resting your forehead against him.

“I’m sorry for everything I said. I didn’t mean any of it, I swear. I’m just a bitch.” You apologise with a soft chuckle at the end, trying to keep the lighthearted aura around that Nero had thankfully bought, quickly ending all harsh thoughts and words with a simple albeit adorable smile of his.

“What did I say about calling yourself names?” He scolded, wrapping his arms tightly around you and lifting you off the ground by a few centimetres. You kick your feet and giggle, quickly wrapping your arms around his shoulders to steady yourself as he put you back down. “I appreciate the apology though, so thanks. I’m sorry too, I could have handled that situation better—“

You cut him off by placing your hand on the back of his neck and pulling his face down to yours, lips colliding messily as you attempt to quieten his apology. He had nothing to be sorry for, you were in the wrong. He didn’t fight you, simply humming into your mouth as he closed his eyes and kissed you back.

#Thats an ending right?#I feel like my writing gets far too dramatic #help #nero x reader #nero dmc

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moononmyfloor · 5 years ago

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Review: The Tyrant's Tomb by Rick Riordan

Thoughts on The Cover

Well, if you've seen my previous posts by now you'd know that I'm not a big fan of loud and action-packed covers. I prefer classy, if not always subtle. But you might like it! See, Reyna is owning the bigger portion of it, which is a nice change. :-)

Ok to Low Points

Halfway through the book, I was STILL unable to "get" into the story

Literally, not much was going on for 2/3 of the whole book, which is very surprising considering:

The time between the release dates of The Tyrant's Tomb and The Burning Maze is the longest as of yet. Whereas other books within a series have come out within twelve months of each other, these two books will be released within eighteen months of each other.

.....and that even the most boring books by Uncle Rick had some silver linings here and there to keep you engaged. Even The Dark Prophecy had the gang arrive and settle in Indianapolis, visit the zoo and free Griffins and REVISIT the emperor. Here? Apollo and Co. escorted Jason's hearse into Camp Jupiter in a frankly insulting manner(more about that later), Apollo got sick, we see that the noble prophecies are being tattooed on Tyson's back, Apollo and Co. went on a lil' trial quest and returned, Apollo got more sick.🤷‍♀️ I was so confused I opened the previous books to see how far those stories had progressed by midpoint.

It got slightly better later on, but it doesn't change the fact throughout the 1st half of the book I just kept on turning pages SIMPLY because I wanted it to get it on with and finish the story. Sad.

2. The so-called Tyrant

I didn't see much tyranny, like...only 3 pages were spent in the Tyrant's Tomb and his company, bad old Commodus and Caligula had more appearances than Tarquin who re-appeared in the very last chapters only to get immediately vanquished courtesy of Diana.....yeah. That's that.

3. How Jason's final voyage was depicted

Uncle Rick doesn't write emotional crying scenes well.

People talk about peeing and pop chewing gum bubbles while delivering the hearses of valued, honored characters.

And I seriously wonder in what position and condition poor Jason's body was after all the drama his coffin underwent.

And based on the spoilery lines(which sadly turned out to be not spoilers at all) we saw in the Magnus Chase series I thought we'd at least get a Percy-Annabeth cameo in this, that Jason will have more of his closest comrades mourning and sending him off. Nah. Nada. Not even a mention of Annabeth. Then why did Uncle Rick mention things like Annabeth and Percy being at California and even Magnus joining them at their time of crisis? Utter puzzlement. And we were also robbed of Nico's reaction to Jason's demise, considering how much Nico valued Jason as a brother-in-arms and a friend. Let's not even talk about Thalia. Why, Uncle Rick? :-(

Which brings us to...

4. Plot Inconsistencies

Why do I have to talk about this in each and every book? :-( Seriously, why would you write about Percy and Annabeth going to New Rome to attend college and being broken hearted over Jason DURING the period of Demigod communication malfunction, only to have us know they have YET to travel across the country and when we meet them again it would still be at New York? And now the communication is working, proving that Uncle Rick conveniently forgot about the clues he conveniently dropped.

AT LEAST I'm glad one thing is consistent in the Trials of Apollo series, that when Zeus decided they'll stop meddling too much in demigod affairs at the end of Heroes of Olympus, he meant it and now it's super duper hard to seek a god even for dire needs, no matter how wonderfully (ill)timed that decision was, costing lives of valued heroes.

5. The Haiku-titles weren't amusing at all this time.

I found one fun haiku .

O, blood moon rising

Take a rain check on doomsday

I’m stuck in traffic

6. The whole Apollo-Reyna debacle.

I would say Uncle Rick pulled a clever twist by turning fan theories on their heads here, but it too way more plot space than needed and when he got to the "Gotcha!" part, I was not feeling it. For YEARS now, we heard abut this no-mortal-no-demigod thing over and over, and fans predicted it might mean Apollo's the one for Reyna. And when it initially seemed like it was the route that Uncle Rick was indeed taking, the only thought that circulated inside my head was; "Reyna doesn't need this completely random and unwanted baggage! Give the girl a dam break!!" But then he was like; "Lol nooo. You kids are wrong", but STILL I was not happy...well, for obvious reasons.

What's the point of this whole plotline? So unnecessary. I mean, the fans always wondered WHY exactly would Reyna think she needs a partner in her life, but now I see Reyna might not have had time to contemplate her personal life logically like WE had what's with her dramatic life. Of course the shallow gods would think her heart was something to be "cured" and Reyna never stopped to think that it's quite the opposite till Apollo provided her with a breather and reason. And to answer why din't she choose to join Amazons instead of Hunters is probably that she wanted to be her own person and not be under her sis the Queen once again. She'd indeed have the freedom, calm and few friends so she wouldn't feel lonely and bored with the Hunt. She might even choose to leave Hunters after she found herself in her own time. I get it. But the way it was dragged and executed was meh.

If Uncle Rick intended this plotline of Reyna to be empowering for female readers, in my opinion it was not. Yes, even a badass girl could have weaknesses, not enough self-confidence and wobbly life choices, but Reyna took too much time with her "Eureka!" moment.

It was funny while it lasted, at least.

“Lester.” Reyna sighed. “What in Tartarus are you saying? I’m not in the mood for riddles.”

“That maybe I’m the answer,” I blurted. “To healing your heart. I could…you know, be your boyfriend. As Lester. If you wanted. You and me. You know, like…yeah.”

HAHAHAHA. That Totally came from the left field Lester, even for you.

“Your girlfriend was pregnant when you had her killed?” Reyna launched another kick at my face. I managed to dodge it, since I’d had a lot of practice cowering, but it hurt to know that this time she hadn’t been aiming at an incoming raven. Oh, no. She wanted to knock my teeth in.

“You suck,” Meg agreed.

I mean, if THIS is not the ultimate deal breaker then what is? Apollo might have changed for better by now, but it doesn't mean we can overlook what he did. I for one certainly don't need a loveline for him in this series. I'm glad Uncle Rick drew(or at least seemed to have) a clear line here.

High Points

It took half the page count even for Uncle Rick's special brand of snark to return. Nonetheless I managed to find some good ones. Which is what matters, right?

“So,” I said, making a second attempt at nonchalance, “are you and Thalia, er…?”

Reyna raised an eyebrow. “Involved romantically?”

“Well, I just…I mean…Um…”

Oh, very smooth, Apollo. Have I mentioned I was once the god of poetry?

Reyna rolled her eyes. “If I had a denarius for every time I got that question…Aside from the fact that Thalia is in the Hunters, and thus sworn to celibacy…Why does a strong friendship always have to progress to romance?"

Preach, sister. But then again I would have to ask did YOU have to swear to celibacy to prove your independence....which is sort of the point🙄..

Even when I was a god and could speak any language I wanted, I’d never sung well in Italian. I kept mixing it up with Latin, so I came off sounding like Julius Caesar with a head cold.

LOL

It was time to be helpful. I needed to be repulsive for my friends!

Which you're most of the time...the latter sentence I mean.

4. Don't we all relate? 😂

“O protector of Rome!” I read aloud. “O insert name here!”

5. And one more.

I bet Gregorix was wishing he’d pursued that business degree his mom always wanted him to get. Being a barbarian bodyguard was mentally exhausting.

Heartrending quotes.

This was the source of all our communications troubles—one sad, angry, forgotten little god.

2. This was the wisest quote I saw in the book. The simple indescribable deepness of letting go.

“Good-bye, Apollo,” said the Sibyl’s voice, clearer now. “I forgive you. Not because you deserve it. Not for your sake at all. But because I will not go into oblivion carrying hate when I can carry love.”

Even if I could’ve spoken, I wouldn’t have known what to say. I was in shock. Her tone asked for no reply, no apology. She didn’t need or want anything from me. It was almost as if I were the one being erased.

3. I was saddened to learn about Julia's untimely loss, but I'm sure everybody had a meltdown moment at the following scene.

The old god’s face hardened a bit more, which shouldn’t have been possible for stone. “I see. Well. I’ve concentrated the last bits of my power here, around Julia. They may destroy New Rome, but they will not harm this girl!”

“Or this statue!” said Julia.

4. Honestly? I too forgot until Apollo pointed it out and then I had *shivers*! They're one immediate family, grieving over one loss that affects all of them in various ways, and having mixed reactions about each others the members who survived!

I shivered. How easy it was to forget that this young woman was also my sister. And Jason was my brother. At one time, I would have discounted that connection. They’re just demigods, I would have said. Not really family.

Overall Conclusion

This is the most bored-outta-my-mind I felt after reading a PJO universe book. Am I finally growing out of the Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus fandom? Oh dear, I hope not. I can't imagine living without it and I'm SO not happy with this new development. Just as I feared, Uncle Rick couldn't keep it up after the excellent Burning Maze and now.....please, for your fans' sake who had been loyal for years, I hope at least the final book delivers. Just so we could at least part ways/go dormant with pleasant sentiments and a content heart.🙆‍♀️

#rick riordan #trials of apollo #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #the tyrants tomb #book reviews.#reviews #pjo

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belphegor1982 · 6 years ago

Text

Got tagged by @kikabennet!

when did you last sing to yourself?

Yesterday, since I’ve currently been awake for an hour and a half. Might have been either “Bonnie Portmore” or “Here’s a Health (To The Company)”. I’ve been putting a lot of shanties and pirates/sailing-related films soundtracks on to draw to (and hopefully write to) lately. (EDIT: Ooops - yep, wrote that yesterday around 11AM, so make that this afternoon; I hummed while I drew along with the first 3 Pirates of the Caribbean soundtracks. It’s so darn hummable.)

if a crystal ball could tell you the truth about anything, what would you want to know?

Who was the Man in the Iron Mask!? (I know better than to ask personal/family truths :S Besides, I’m curious.)

(putting the rest under a cut...)

what is the greatest accomplishment of your life?

Being able to speak (mostly) and read/write English fluently.

what is the first happy memory that comes to mind, recent or otherwise?

When my mum was in the hospital with my newborn baby sister, my dad would take me see them, and before that we’d stop for ice cream and a ride on the merry-go-round. That’s what comes to mind when I read “first happy memory”.

if you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living?

I’d go see my family and friends who live far away a lot more, and eat a lot more of my favourite things.

do you have a bucket list? if so, what are the top three things?

I don’t, really ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

describe a person close to your life in detail

The Best Beloved is tallish (1,77m - that’s… 5′10?), with dark brown hair, green eyes, skin that tans easily even in winter, and glasses. …and that’s as much detail as I’m comfortable putting.

do you feel you had a happy childhood?

On the whole, yes. Could’ve done without the bullying at school and the undermining of self-confidence at home, though.

when did you last cry in front of another person?

Don’t remember, so it must be at least a fortnight.

pick a person to stargaze with you and explain why you picked them

My dad, who used to sail with a compass. I don’t think he knows much about constellations, but he’s always willing to share memories, even if sometimes he doesn’t remember he’s told them multiple times.

would you ever have a deep conversation with a stranger and open up to them?

Probably. I shouldn’t, though. Strangers being by definition strangers, you never know where that information is going and how it might be used (possibly against you).

when was your last 3am conversation with someone, and who were they to you?

We both were tired and ended up going to bed around half past midnight, so no 3AM conversation, but my friend Sandrine last week.

if you were about to die, and you could only say one more sentence to one person, what would you say and to whom?

…I have no idea? I think I’d concentrate really hard on not dying :S

what is your opinion on brown eyes?

Why would it matter tho I have brown eyes and for the longest time I thought they were boring. It doesn’t help that brown hair and eyes are basically the default where I grew up/live. Then I grew up and moved on.

pick a quote and describe what it means to you personally

George Bernard Shaw’s “Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.” Life is complicated, all about balance between extremes and absolutes. Don’t trust people who tell you the world is grim and serious just because they are. And while getting the giggles at a funeral/wake is inappropriate, it doesn’t mean you’re heartless.

what would you title the autobiography of your life so far?

Wait, What

what would you do with one billion dollars?

I’d keep half a dozen millions for me (car and house debts), my family and my friends, and give the rest to social services, healthcare, and public services in general.

are you a very forgiving person? do you like being this way?

Ehhh… It’s complicated. I tend to hold grudges when I can remember why, but I rarely do something about it. On the whole I’m pretty “live and let live”.

would you describe yourself as more punk or pastel?

Neither, really. I’m too soft for punk, but pastel’s not really my thing either.

how do you feel about tattoos and piercings? explain

I’m too much of a wuss to even consider getting either, but they look great on other people. When I get a spot on my tongue I wonder how people with a tongue piercing manage to keep it, though. It’s very distracting.

do you wear a lot of makeup? why/why not?

As a rule, no, but if I work or if I’m invited somewhere I’ll throw on a bit of eyeliner and lipstick. (I should raid my makeup drawer, really, some of my lipstick cases are almost 20 years old and you should NOT do that.)

talk about a song/band/lyric that has affected your life in some way

In high school I saw a psychologist (junior high was NOT a happy time and the bad stuff just overflowed at one point) and went to an outpatient clinic every Wednesday. They had lots of activities, like painting on silk, various art stuff, and a band, and I loved that band. I was one of the only ones who’d request songs to sing in English. The guitarist introduced me to the Beatles’ “Something”, which I didn’t know, and to this day when I hear this lovely song I think of that guy who had a great smile, a great sense of humour and a great moustache (think George Harrison on Let It Be) who helped me get better.

list the concerts you have been to and talk about how they make you feel

Not to brag, but back in my uni days I did go to a number of them - K’s Choice, Coldplay, King Khan And His Shrines, M, Tom McRae are among the ones I remember. And a couple months ago I went to a rock concert with three bands one after the other. I love live music, it feels amazing. It courses through my body, makes me grin like a maniac, and want to jump and flail around just to vent the excess energy. And all this without a single drop of beer! (can’t stand the stuff :P)

who in the world would you most like to receive a letter from and what would you want it to say?

I’d love a letter from the national loto that says “here’s a giant check even though you haven’t scratched a ticket in years” :P More seriously, I LOVE receiving letters from my Internet friends.

do you have a desk/workspace and how is it organised/not organised?

I don’t really have a workspace. I have a desk, which has the desktop screen, keyboard, mouse/graphic tablet, and a whole lot of mess of papers, pens, boxes, and stuff. I can use either that desk or my laptop in my armchair.

what is your night time routine?

Finish watching the movie/tv show, look at Tumblr a bit (and/or stuff on the laptop, like TV Tropes), go to bed, read a bit on my Kindle, kiss the Best Beloved good night, switch off the lights, and try to sleep.

what’s one thing you don’t want your parents to know?

Anything about my intimate life, thanks.

if you had to dye your hair how would you dye/style it and why?

I experimented a bit with henna back in the day, but generally I just have haircuts (I have too little hair to risk harming it). I’d like some reddish highlights one day, though.

pick five people to go on an excursion with you. who would you pick and where would you go/what would you do?

Eehhh... I’d rather stay at home and chill :P Okay, I’d take the Best Beloved and my friends Melody, Nico, Sandrine, and Aldric, and head to Marquèze. (wish their website had an English version, it’d be better.) It’s an ecomuseum about local life in the early 1800s/early 1900s, with preserved traditional houses and people showing skills like dyeing fabric, shepherding, making flour (there’s a watermill) and all sorts of cakes and bread and snacks, and an entire day isn’t too much to visit everything.

name three wishes and why you wish for them

I wish:

I had a decently-paying job from home,

my friend Sandrine’s mum were/will be all right (don’t ask),

we had the house extension built already

what is the best halloween costume you have ever put together? if none, make one up

We didn’t have Halloween when I was growing up, it really only started to be a thing in earnest a decade or two ago. Although... One time when we lived in Bordeaux, the Best Beloved and I were invited to a housewarming party on Halloween, so people would wear costumes. I went as a witch, with a long black skirt, long-sleeve thing with black lace (-ish), long black and white wig, and of course black lipstick and lots of black around the eyes. The Best Beloved had made a cloak, a scythe of sorts with cardboard and foil, and had a scary death head mask on. We didn’t have a car and the friend lived in Saint-Médard (which is relevant), so we had to ask around the bus drivers for which bus went there.

So picture the two of us dressed as we were, mask and all, well after dark, asking around for the “S&M” bus. Yep :P (People stared at us during the ride, and unlike the Best Beloved, I didn’t have the luxury of a mask to hide my laughter...)

what’s the worst thing you’ve ever done while drunk or high?

The only time I got slightly tipsy I went a little pink and apparently talked a little louder than usual. I’ve never got drunk (too afraid of stomachache later) or high (it took my mum two heart attacks to quit smoking and I’m wondering if she hasn’t taken it up again, I can’t hold a cigarette, tobacco or otherwise).

what’s one thing you would never do for one million dollars?

Hurt people, probably. If I wouldn’t do it for ten dollars I wouldn’t do it for a million - if you agree to one or the other the rest is just haggling over price.

if you’re a boy, would you ever rock black nail polish? if you’re a girl, would you ever rock really really short hair?

I don’t think I have the right face shape for that - my face is too round, longer hair suits me better.

what’s your starbucks order, and who would you trust to order for you, if anyone?

I live 126 km (78 miles) from the nearest Starbucks, when I walk by one the queue is huge, and the prices are well beyond my range :> But I’d trust the Best Beloved. He’d still ask me, though.

what is the most important thing to you in your life right now?

Being happy and/or stress-free. Also the oncoming Papa Bear Awards nominations in a week and the Eurovision Song Context coming up in May :D

Tagging @radarsteddybear, @rose-of-pollux, @truxi-twice, @myrling-art, @iorvethscommando, and @toooldforthisbutstill! :o)

#about me

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iwritefanfictionsometimes · 7 years ago

Note

Ok so promt for solangelo in which Nico and Will are roommates and like Nico acts like he hates Will and Will is all like kind and happy and he has girlfriends and like Nico who's in love with him is heartbroken and the rest idk but hope it ends in fluff ly

Hey anon! I know this took ages and I have no idea if you’ll ever see this, but if you do, I hope you enjoy it even though I took some liberties with your prompt.

(You can find this on Ao3 and wattpad, and my inbox is always open for more prompts!)

When Nico meets Will it’s after the longest day in his life and he just wants to sleep.

He knew, he’d gotten the email notifying him with the name of his roommate and everything, so he knew that he had a roommate. But just because he knew did not mean he was prepared for Will Solace.

When Nico finally trudges into his dorm room (after nearly missing his flight because of security and then giving the uber driver the wrong address to the dorms and then finally getting to the right place only to discover his room was at the top of the one residents hall that didn’t have and elevator) he does not expect be confronted with a golden love child of the sun and happiness.

The boy nearly jumps on him when he hears the door open, but thankfully doesn’t as Nico has his hands full of photography equipment and would really hate to punch someone for breaking it today. He can’t really see much of the boy through the box piled high in his hands, but he gets the impression of yellow curls and a grin so wide it looks like it hurts.

“Hello!” he says brightly, following Nico over to the empty bed.

“I hope you don’t mind that I picked my bed already and stuff, I really didn’t think about it. Did you want the other bed?” He prattles, still in the same bright tone.

Nico idly wonders if he does everything brightly.

He sets his stuff down and turns around. And stops. The glimpse of curls and warmth didn’t prepare him for the overall appearance of the boy. He’s got curls, yes, and a wide smile, but also blue, *blue* eyes, freckles, and a fucking dimple. Nico stares.

“Hi, sorry, you are Nico right?” He stutters, seemingly unnerved by Nico’s staring.

He has been told he’s very intense when he’s staring. It’s really not on purpose. He’s a photographer, what do you expect him to do?

“Um…” Red is rising on the boy’s cheeks as he shifts nervously, his smile kicking down a notch so it’s almost bareable.

And right, speaking.

“Yes, sorry,” Nico finally says, shaking his hands out self consciously.

“I’m afraid I can’t remember your name,” he mumbles a moment later, and forces his face not to look like he’s about to faint at the boy’s feet.

“Oh,” the other boy’s face does something that looks complicated and odd, “Will.”

Will sticks a hand out. Nico takes a deep breath and shakes it.

When he promised himself last week that he’d talk to more boys, he didn’t expect to want to chat up his roommate. This wasn’t part of the ‘New place, New Nico’ plan.

“Sorry,” he says in a slightly stronger voice, “I didn’t really read the email.”

Will grins wide.

“It’s okay, I didn’t really read it either, it’s just on the nameplate on the door.”

Nico is startled by the sound of his own laugh.

After a moment of slightly awkward silence there’s a knock at the door and Will’s smile goes slightly supernova. Nico stares in mild awe.

When Will opens the door a girl flings herself into his arms. He laughs and Nico wonders distantly if he’s going to survive the year with a roommate like this. Then the girl kisses him and Nico’s heart drops. It’s quick and nearly not there, but it definitely happened because Will’s eyes have gone crinkly. Nico stands silently for a moment while they giggle quietly, then decides to leave and get his other bags. He needs to get out of this room.

He inches past them and doesn’t say anything as he slips out of the room and nearly runs down the corridor to the stairs.

It’s a bit silly, he knows, that he’s this affected when they just met and he doesn’t even know the guy’s last name. But for some reason it hurts a lot that he doesn’t even have a chance.

He’s trudging back up the stairs with a backpack over his shoulder, a duffle bag in one hand, and a suitcase knocking on the steps behind him when Will bounces up to him.

“D'ya need some help with that?” He asks cheerfully.

Nico doesn’t know why he shakes his head no. Actually, he does, but that’s beside the point, and he has two other boxes to carry up after this.

Will looks slightly wrong-footed but recovers quickly and proceeds to ask Nico *questions* as he slowly lugs the bags up four flights of stairs.

Nico finally reaches his floor and nearly trips over his own feet as soon as he’s on solid ground.

Will grabs him by the shoulder and steadies him with a hand on his lower back, almost causing Nico to fall again.

He steps quickly away from the warm weight of his hand as soon as he can, knowing that indulging for even a second can be dangerous.

Will doesn’t really seem to notice, just continues chattering. He opens the door for Nico and waves him through.Nico steps through the door and sets his things down.

When he turns around, Will is smiling softly at him.

That’s how it starts.

~~~~~

It’s been two years. Two years of rooming with the loudest, most infuriating roommate to ever exist. Half the time Nico thinks he might actually hate him. Especially now. He has a paper he has to finish in two days and a quiz to prepare for and Will won’t shut up.

Possibly the most irritating thing about Will is that he still refuses to dislike Nico even though he’s been stubbornly ignoring Will since the first day, in a futile hope that Nico could protect his heart.

It didn’t work and now Nico is hopelessly in love with someone who’s had a girlfriend the entire time he’s known him.

Said person has been calling his name for the past fifteen minutes while hanging upside down off the edge of his bed.

Finally Nico snaps. Some days it’s actually easy to pretend he hates Will.

“What do you want?!”

Irritatingly, the other boy only smiles happily.

“You should come out with us tonight.”

Nico sighs. He knows that whenever Will says ‘we’ he means Will and his girlfriend, Emma. As nice as Emma is, he understandably doesn’t want to be anywhere near her. Fortunately, he’s mostly managed, and has only had about five interactions with her that lasted longer than a simple ‘hi’ when she picked Will up to go out.

“No,” he says stubbornly.

“But Nico! You need to get out of this room sometime.”

“Not with you, I don’t.”

Will flops over on the bed and Nico tears his eyes away from where his old shirt gapes at the front.

“I’m starting to think you don’t like me,” Will says, but he’s grinning so Nico doesn’t think that Will has actually taken a hint.

Not that he wants him to, really.

Nico sighs.

“I’ve got things to do, Will. School things. Don’t you?” He mumbles, turning back to his desk.

The bed creeks. Nico hears Will approach, but doesn’t react.

“I. I just think that you should relax. I know you’re doing really well, even if I never hear it from you,” Will replies softly, a bit of hurt creeping in at the end.

Nico wants to hit his head on the table, but refrains through great power of will.

He stares blankly at the screen in front of him instead.

“I don’t want to go out Will.”

There’s warmth by his shoulder and Nico sincerely hopes that Will doesn’t touch him because he would relent in .01 seconds. He knew each year would get harder, but Christ it’s been hell this year.

Falling for a taken straight boy never ends well.

Will eventually leaves.

~~~~~

It’s several hours later when he stumbles back into the room, flushed cheeked and smelling of alcohol.

“Niiico,” he calls when the door falls open.

Nico is still sitting at his desk, but he looks up when Will thuds against the wall.

He’s never seen Will this drunk, even after knowing him for almost two years.

The blond shoves himself off the wall and stumbles toward Nico. When he trips, Nico shoots up and wraps his arms around his waist to keep him upright.

“You’re so nice,” Will slurs, “to everyone but me.”

Nico frowns. He doesn’t want to hear this. He doesn’t want to know what Will actually thinks of him.

“Why?” Comes the plaintive whine.

Nico doesn’t answer.

He tries to wrestle Will toward his bed but the other boy clings stubbornly to his shoulders.

“You’re so pretty,” he mumbles into Nico’s neck.

Nico tries to ignore what he says, but the warmth of his breath and body is slightly distracting.

“You’re drunk,” he says instead of acknowledging anything that’s coming out of Will’s mouth.

“‘M not that drunk,” Will mumbles, pulling Nico down with him.

“You should stay.”

Nico tries to pull away but Will raps a leg over his hips.

“Will…”

Will sits up suddenly.

“I don’t get it,” he says, “you seemed so ready to be my friend that first day. I don’t understand what happened?”

Nico can feel his willpower crumbling and knows he needs to get out soon or he’ll be saying things he doesn’t want Will to know.

“Go to sleep Will,” he says.

Will frowns down at Nico, and he’s abruptly aware of the fact that one of his hands is clenched in Will’s shirt and he’s laying with his hair splayed on Will’s pillow. Nico doesn’t move, even though he can feel him face heating up. Will seems to make a decision at that and he’s suddenly flopping down mostly on top of Nico.

“You have to stay,” he mumbles.

Nico shivers at the feeling of Will’s lips on his shoulder.

He doesn’t say anything, but he untwists his hand from Will’s shirt and wraps it around him instead.

Will’s out like a light, but Nico stays awake staring at the ceiling.

“I’m sorry Will,” he whispers, “but anything more… it would ruin me.”

Will mumbles in his sleep and curls tighter into Nico’s side.

~~~~~

The next morning Nico wakes up to see that Will is already awake and staring intensely at him.

He groans and tries to roll out of Will’s bed.

“No.”

Will’s arms tighten and the leg that’s slung over his waist clamps down, pulling Nico closer and completely destroying his sanity.

“We’re going to talk,” Will says firmly.

Nico squeezes his eyes shut and sighs.

“About what?”

“About you,” Will exclaims, “and how you’ve been a terrible roommate for almost two years for no apparent reason!”

“I have my reasons, Will,” Nico replies, but it sounds weak, even to him.

“You were fine with me until-“ he pauses.

“Until you met Emma,” Will finishes softly.

There’s realization in his voice and Nico jerks away and stumbles off the bed. Will lets him go with surprising ease.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Nico is sure his face is giving him away, but Will can’t know. It’s bad enough to be secretly in love with your straight roommate, but to have him know? Nico wouldn’t survive if Will pitied him.

“Nico-“

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Nico interrupts frantically.

Suddenly the anger is back in Will’s eyes and he’s standing up. Nico backs away, but there’s not many places to go with his bed behind him.

“Do you have a problem with her having a girlfriend or something? Because let me tell you-“

Will’s voice fades into the background.

Girlfriend? Emma has a girlfriend? But-

“Isn’t she your girlfriend?” Nico interrupts dazedly.

Will stops and frowns at the smaller boy.

“No?”

“But I thought-“

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Will says slowly, realization creeping over his face.

“Oh.”

“So you didn’t have a problem with her, but-“ Will’s eyes widen, “were you jealous?!”

Nico can’t say anything, he just blinks at Will because, hey, he doesn’t actually have a girlfriend. Nico needs time to process.

“Nico,” Will says softly.

Nico nods numbly.

“Can I?” He makes an awkward gesture with his hands.

Nico doesn’t have to faintest clue what he means but he nods anyway.

Will is suddenly hugging him.

“I’ve had a crush on you since you smiled at me the first time,” Will whispers.

Nico stiffens.

“But she kissed you,” he says, confused.

Will laughs quietly.

“She does that to everyone. But I guess you wouldn’t know that, you never did seem to want to be in the same room as her.”

They’re both silent for a minute.

“Why didn’t you say anything,” Nico finally asks in a timid whisper.

“You never seemed to like me at all, so the best could do was try and be your friend,” Will replies in a voice just as quiet.

There’s hurt there and Nico feels abruptly like he’s failed.

“I’m sorry,” Nico whispers, “I didn’t know how to deal with you already having someone to love.”

Will sighs and pulls away.

“We were both stupid,” he says, “but we both know better now.”

Nico smiles tentatively and him.

“Can I kiss you?” Will asks suddenly, “I’ve wanted to every time you smile since I met you.”

Nico blinks, shocked by his honesty, but nods.

And then they’re kissing.

Will cups Nico’s cheeks like he’s afraid he’ll disappear, but Nico can’t have that.

He bites Will’s lip and yanks him in by the collar of his shirt.

Will makes a sound very close to a whimper and slides his hands back into Nico’s hair.

Will is the one to break away, gasping.

“I can’t believe we’re so stupid,” he sighs, “we could have been doing this for two years.”

Nico giggles and buries his head in Will’s shirt.

He can’t believe it either.

#anon #fic #fanfiction #fanfic #solangelo #Percy Jackon and the Olympians #pjo #hoo #au #college au #nico di angelo #will solace #answer #prompt #My writing #prompt fill

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the-queen-of-spite · 3 years ago

Text

I posted 271 times in 2021

18 posts created (7%)

253 posts reblogged (93%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 14.1 posts.

I added 15 tags in 2021

#doctor who - 5 posts

#reblog - 2 posts

#world globe - 1 posts

#a line of mini pigs - 1 posts

#2 rocks - 1 posts

#my keys - 1 posts

#lego - 1 posts

#mini cards - 1 posts

#glasses case - 1 posts

#jar of fake flowers - 1 posts

Longest Tag: 81 characters

#i’m sorta afraid that someone will come along and hit me in the back of my knees.

My Top Posts in 2021

Sirius Black spent more time in Azkaban then he did with James and Lily.

Five spent more time in the Apocalypse then he did with his family.

9 notes • Posted 2021-08-11 00:05:04 GMT

SPOILERS

Just finished listening to The Two Princes on Spotify and I didn’t know I needed it till now. It’s so adorable and gay and I’m sad now. The storyline is literally so many different AUs mixed in one. Like there's: Strangers to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Magic, Fantasy in a (sorta) modern world. Plus the romance it so sickly cute and adorable that it makes me sad I’m single. Also I’m pretty sure that al least 70% people in the country at LGBTQI+.

There is also a lady knight who is Badass. Lady Cecily is amazing and servilely underrated.

This is just me unloading my feelings, but go check it out it’s AMAZING. Also check out the fanart and Fanfics

Also there is a dragon and some amazing songs.

10 notes • Posted 2021-09-09 11:28:56 GMT

Solangelo Headcanon

When Will finds out that Nico has never watched Mary Poppins, he forces Nico to watch it, which leads to a massive movie night watching crappy movies from the 20th decade

11 notes • Posted 2021-10-12 06:39:01 GMT

Its amazing how no one wonders why Ladybug and Chat Noir know all the akumatised people’s names. Then again these are the same people who don’t realise that Marinette and Adrian look exactly like Ladybug and Chat Noir and are always missing when there is an Akuma attack.

19 notes • Posted 2021-07-31 04:19:21 GMT

Can’t stop thinking about the Doctor‘s reaction to Kate. Like ‘oh hi Kate. WAIT WHAT??? OMG ITS KATE STEWART’

’Kat Stewart…. KATE STEWART??’

Also the Doctor meeting themself and immediately starts flirting. Absolute Gold. Also giving off major Amy vibes.

69 notes • Posted 2021-12-06 11:08:08 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

0 notes

inexchangeforyoursoul · 7 years ago

Text

.... I never put chapter 20 on here, did I. Double chapters it is. (20. Katja & 21. Once upon a dream)

this time with AN included as-is, I’m too lazy to rewrite this shit for the tumbler

(who even reads fanfics on here...? fanfiction.net AO3)

20. Katja

As he arrives in his room, Law takes a quick look at his alarm clock, then a deep, ragged breath immediately after... she's out loafing around again, isn't she. He's a little ticked off, not gonna lie; first of all, because of... this. She just keeps doing this. Which would be less of a problem if she'd show any progress, but she's not. Second, he's tired, terribly so. All sleep he's had today was the unplanned nap in the canteen early morning, and the ounce of patience he's gained from that has ran out. He's just about to leave the indifferent coma period behind where you can just keep going and going, until your emotions start to get hard to control. Even later, you become an actual zombie and eventually black out. In his own body, that would happen in about 24 hours from now, but in this one? Already there.

And the underlying source of it is that he's grown totally paranoid.

That's why he hasn't managed to get any shuteye. Or get anything else done. His own shadow spooked him once, for fuck's sake... and it's all because of that godforsaken alleyway adventure, which really drove home how utterly helpless and vulnerable he is at the moment. Deer in the fucking headlights. He's straight-up disgusted with himself.

He stomps up to the surface; anyone noticing him remains silent and makes sure to keep out. His crew knows this way of walking... and are not eager to provoke his thinly veiled ire.

He just came from the dining hall, she won't be there. On deck of the Polar Tang, nothing except so much light that his tired eyes may as well go blind right now. The dull headache that missed its appointment the other day just arrived uninvited, too... all it took was some natural light and fresh air. Glorious.

He climbs the rope ladder to the Sunny; noone's around the steering wheel, but he can hear, and see some people around; he goes straight up to them.

“Nico-ya,” he calls out from afar; “do you know where the hell she's at?”

“I'm... in heaven,” he hears right next to him as soon as he's finished talking. He stops in his tracks, looks, and sees... quite something, he supposes. It's throwing him for enough a loop to be more dumbfounded than pissed for the time being.

The bottom of the pile is a knocked-out Bepo; leaning onto him are Carrot, who's also out cold, and Kat, who has a very relaxed, leg-swinging Chopper in her lap. They all have a cup in their hand or lying around, just like Nami, Robin and his good-for-nothing crewmates a bit further away.

As he doesn't react fast enough past getting worked up again over them hogging his personal couch and a mouthed 'what the hell,' she speaks up again. “It's nice, warm and fluffy here~ Wanna join?”

… she's taunting him. Kat has no idea, but she's fucking taunting him right fucking now. Any other day or time, he'd gladly lean onto Bepo and have a damn good early afternoon nap, or any other kind of nap, really. But today is not the day. He'd love to, yes; it's the best fucking quality sleep he has access to. Usually. But because Bepo is wide awake from around 6pm to 7am, he can't use him as a pillow at all while rotting in his room, keeping one eye on this girl during the time he actually could be doing that. Just... take a deep, deep breath. Stay calm, man. Stay. Calm.

He sighs, clenching his fists, and now that Kat's actually looked at him, he can already see from her mildly worried expression that she's catching onto his current mood. “... Kat-ya... I swear to god...”

Hearing that changes her reaction with some delay, however... the smallest smile appears on her face which she tries to suppress; she locks her hands and takes a long sniff of air while looking skyward. Soon, she gives up on hiding her glee, and a shit eating grin appears on her face and she just looks very, very pleased with herself. “... I've been waiting for this.”

“... what?!” Law frowns, having no idea what got into her. Was it something he said? It has to be.

She doesn't seem fazed and keeps giggling to herself while lifting a just as confused Chopper from her lap and slowly standing up.

“Oh, oh!! I understand!” speaks up the reindeer snickering soon after as he comes to the solution; “That's your name, it was on the tag at the coffee shop! Katja! Ha ha ha!”

… oh. Oh. Jesus, really? Law lifts his hands to his chin as if praying instead of giving into his initial urge to smack himself on the temples; he knew that it's an abbreviation, but he'd have never thought that the original was that of all things... and she's been fucking waiting for him to accidentally pun on it. And, on top of it all, this might be... no, it certainly is the very first time he called her by name, too. Why him... and why now. … he could cry if it weren't for his pride. So instead he squeezes his eyes shut and is furrowing his brows really, really hard to keep it together.

He can hear her stop in front of him, then, after a few seconds, he feels the most delicate little tap-tap of four fingers on his shoulder; cracking an eye open, he can see Kat holding out a half empty cup of coffee. Is... she offering this...?

“I suppose you need this more than I do,” she says. It could be just his imagination, but it certainly sounds like her voice is softer than usual. Considering the vague throbs of his head, this is lowkey appreciated.

“Um...” As he's vacillating how to handle this development, a half-conscious Bepo woken by the racket trots over and pulls both of them into a literal, but way gentler bear hug than what other people have been experiencing that day. The content of the cup survives this, somehow, and Kat is holding it out to the side.

“I miss captain,” the mink mumbles, then probably falls back asleep on his feet. At least he doesn't really move for a solid minute afterwards and is just rocking a bit to keep some kind of balance.

Peeking up towards Bepo, a sad smile appears on Kat's face. She reaches over with her free hand along the orange-clad pelt with a sigh and gives Law an awkward hug of her own, then breathes a 'garchu' into his hat. He can't help being startled and shrink a bit in surprise at this; hopefully the others don't notice anything of that past the tic of his shoulders.

“Sorry, didn't mean to stay out for long,” she says then; “I can see you are not up for bullshit today.”

Sometimes... she's as giggly as Carrot. At others, almost as apologetic as Bepo. She also tends to be physical, even if for split seconds... uses people as hunting targets, and now she's picked up mink-brand hospitality both in theory and practice. This girl must have been one of them, or some animal, in a previous life.

He groan-sighs; that spark of patience? These two just managed to raise it from the dead. Somehow. The mood swings devoured his energy to try and push away, though, or to just get worked up again about the affection of a still-kind-of-a-stranger. Now, hold on, my dude... try to not embarrass yourself by falling the fuck asleep in this incredibly comfortable and safe-feeling hug roll right now.

“... let go of me, knuckleheads,” he grunts, nestling around after the short pause he needed to pull himself together. From the corner of his eye, he can see a very pleased Robin. And Penguin and Shachi slurping away at their own coffee in unison at an incredibly slow pace while staring at him specifically. At least that's what Nami does, who's likely sporting the very same expression as the other two, after all.

They all look so infuriatingly smug.

“So, what I wanted to say... I've just had two cups, but thanks,” he addresses Kat a second later as Bepo shambles back to his previous location with an 'aye aye;' the semi-wake Carrot appreciates this and doesn't hesitate to hog double the space than before she got knocked off as soon as he lies down. Chopper sips from his extra sweet mocaccino while also settling back down, and is silently wondering why she even asked for coffee if she was about to take a nap.

Suppressing a yawn with all his might, Law continues; “... and I think I've mentioned it already, but don't do that. The touching.” … yeah, he did mention it, albeit offhandedly. Occasional pats and pokes are okay, but he's not gonna list an entire 'Trafalgar D. Water Law's Personal Space: A Rule Book' right now. Or ever, really. People either know their shit or they don't, and get away with shit or they don't.

“Oh, right... sorry,” Kat mumbles nervously as she recalls the vague memory. Never mind, she definitely is as apologetic as his navigator. As she prepares to gulp the rest of her drink down in one go, she stops; “You sure you don't want any?”

He raises an eyebrow. “I am... why do you keep asking?”

“I helped make it,” she says, lightening up a bit; “it's vanilla and almond flavored.”

Honestly... he keeps forgetting that she actually works in a place where stuff like this is made. All despite having called her 'cafe girl' for the longest time before, and even after their... accident. Then it became just girl, woman, or simply she-slash-her, which did cause the rare confusion when Ikkaku was around or involved in a matter. Anyway, sharing is caring and all that, but that thing there sounds like a sugar bomb. Which may help him, because his blood sugar levels are not that great at the moment, but at the same time he's not big on vanilla, so... once again, no, thanks.

“I like my coffee black, K...at.” Okay, he almost did it again... and why? Good fucking question. Why call her Kat more than once today, when he was perfectly fine with some variation or combination of the previously mentioned things thus far? He's just been over this, too... Must be exhaustion. And hormones, perhaps. Will have to watch his mouth a lot for the few hours left of this shitty day.

She bites down on her lip to try and hold back the chuckle. “Just say it... say the thing you wanted to say,” she smiles, downing the brew.

“Not in a million years.”

***

*insert Twilight parody line at the end*

Me, looking at my imaginary bullet point table: “You know what would be a good idea? Have a chapter that doesn't have Kat's PoV at all... and name it after her... Yeah.”

(Note: as I REEEALLY need to start working on my BA thesis due around the end of April, this project will likely get totally sidelined. Or speed up because of my procrastination skills. We'll see. After all, I have like 5x0.5 chapters lying around (and about 2 that are finished) and just need to add pacing fillers and patch things up.)

21. Once upon a dream

Kat takes a quick look at the underwater window; it's already nighttime. She should pull herself together soon and stand up, no matter how comfortable the edge of the bed is right now. The room's also perfectly cozy in this rare moment, she could nod off if she doesn't watch herself... especially since she's actually lying across the thing. Don't fall asleep again, man. Put that watch down for a sec, if you have to, and three, two, one, sit. I said three... two... theeere you go.

As she scoots to the side, she peeks at Law for a sec, too. Apart from one round for a glass of water, he's been perfectly silent and still in his chair all afternoon. From what she sees, he's barely keeping his head up, literally nodding off himself, if he'd allow that. He also had a couple of suppressed yawns earlier. Sympathizing with him here... though she's not exactly tired, it's more of the empty feeling one gets after a long, busy day. Still, her body feels heavy and her head light since she herself was in a limbo a minute ago; Kat gives her cheeks a good slap. How long must it have been, the last time she peeked out the window and it was still kind of evening? Fifteen minutes? Thirty...? Definitely not an hour, that cannot be.

“Just go if you're already this dull,” Law moans from over his notebook that hasn't had any new information written into it for a while, then he turns outward. He might have been waiting for her to leave so he can just fall like a log...

“You're one to talk...” She yawns. “Y'ere tired enough yesterday, but today you've been lookin'... really bad.” Like, really bad. Now that Kat can take a good look, he's... indeed in a very rough shape. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned it at all, but she's getting worried, especially now that she's seen his face. Man, it's been a while since she last had bags under the eyes… If she ever pulled an all-nighter, this is probably what it would look like. He looks two minutes from collapsing on the spot...

He sighs, rubbing his temples. “No shit... I wake up frequently in the first place, but today was especially bad. Your body really is not big on these temperatures.” It's either that or the 'new' environment, can't blame anything else. Honestly, he may be a rather restless sleeper in the first place, but this extra disturbance really throws a wrench into his routine. The best rest he's had this week was that almost-hour in the hall this morning... partly because it was a dreamless one.

“I also had some shitty dream that just kept going every time I managed to fall asleep?” he groans, having reminded himself of that, too. It was all kinds of annoying. “That the alleyway was in it is one thing... but running late for college? On a tram of all things...? Fuck me, I never even finished school, save used one of those things.” Huffing, he closes the book on the desk; he can feel at least four joints in his hand pop at that. His back hurts, too... there's no way he'll get anything else done today, provided he did anything noteworthy at all. At this point, he's just pissed at himself. He leans onto one arm to rest his head, that weighs more and more with every passing minute, on.

Kat, meanwhile... is very much alert, and concerned, to say the least. Because she knows that specific dream pretty damn well. Been a few months, and she thought it might be over already... yet Law did just describe that recurring, anxiety-induced semi-nightmare right now. All of this is looking just as she imagined... oh boy.

“Um... Law?” She blinks over to her bag, then back at him, before reaching inside after short consideration.

He sighs, trying his best to keep his eyelids from closing before being anywhere near the bed. “No need to look at me as if I needed a straitjacket, okay...? I need some rest, is all.”

“I know, it's just... I've been having... unusual dreams, too,” she says standing up, fiddling a little with the board facing her; he looks up with tired eyes. She's... unsure whether it's an appropriate time to show this to him... Following some hesitation, she does turn it around.

Law squints a little to see the thin-lined doodles better, also getting up from his chair. As he steps forward, his frown quickly changes from general irritation and vague anger into worry, confusion, and maybe discomfort... he almost looks scared. Kat can't help but avert her eyes and stare at his feet instead while fighting the urge to do anything with her fingers that itch for fiddling with stuff; she's feeling very out of place right now.

He reaches out to hold the drawings pinned to the corkwood; as soon as she feels the smallest tug, the object is released and she peeks back up at him.

Most of the wrinkles have disappeared, and he's taking in the little details, as few as there are, one by one. His fingers trace down the paper with a gentleness that she has never seen from him before, or even imagined him being capable of. He seems to mouth a word or two... it's as if she's handed him an old, lost photo instead of a couple of rough sketches, really. The way he looks at them, too... there is... a desolate feeling about it. Longing.

He blinks.

“... you couldn't fake this if you wanted to...”

That voice is also new. She's heard him talk calmly, but this is way softer than that. Thinking about it, this might be the first time she's heard him whisper, isn't it? However, it also feels wrong. Sad... He's hurt, seemingly on the verge of tears. But... she doesn't want to see this person sad... and especially not make him sad. Oh no... oh no...

Getting to the bare-bones stick doodle of the gates, he closes his eyes. “... since when?”

While it's nearly the usual tone, it also sounds as if it could break any time... All she can do right now is to enter default anxiety mode and just... spill it. “I saw the first one... when I fell asleep down here.”

“How much... did you see?” Good lord, how much could it be...

That question sounds as if she was eavesdropping on purpose or something... Considering that this seems to be very personal and a sensitive issue to Law, it certainly feels like it. “There were... three dreams, I think. I don't remember a lot from the first two, but... today I hung out with that man, in a bright town. Later the buildings turned into white sand... and we played in it.”

A bitter smile appears on his face. Of all things... building something like sand castles with him. In that rubble... on that rubble. “A white city, eh...?” Don't cry... barely awake or not, don't you dare fucking cry, shithead.

“... yes. And, uh...” This information... might not even be relevant, but she might as well mention the other... characters? People? “some children joined, too. Most of them had a uniform. First was a little dark blonde girl, with pigtails...” She doesn't remember anything noteworthy about the others...

While generally avoiding to look at his face right now, it's obvious that this bit was indeed important, and must have hit him pretty hard; he hugs the paper support and lowers his head, resting his chin against the drawing board.

“... that went on for a bit, until a man and woman came, to...” She stops. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Can't just finish the sentence like that, what if they were his parents?! Wait, she thought the man looked like Law. They absolutely were his parents and whatever has happened he's super upset about this already. FUCK. How the hell can she continue now, if a couple of vague descriptions, about ten lines of a building and the mention of a white... a White...

The scorching coals of distress turn to ice in her chest, and she dares a short look back at him, then stares at her hands that kind of feel as cold as if they were her own. Her thoughts take a quick detour to do simple math, then from one old memory scrap to another, followed by some anecdote fragments in a collection she read that was not for her age at the time.

She doesn't like the idea. It's not her place to inquire about this, if true. Think anything about this, if true. Maybe, just maybe, it's not the truth at all. It's so extremely unlikely, after all. It still does feel like she stumbled upon a terrible secret. Forbidden knowledge. Because... she knows why that place was familiar. And it would just make perfect sense, if, by chance...

“I remember... the newspaper from that day,” she says finally after swallowing hard, squeezing out the words one by one, feeling their weight. It's one of those memories that just flash in front of her from time to time; when she's sitting in the kitchen in the golden hour, or having apricot jam on bread, like back then. In this one, she's barely eight... looking at pictures in a paper. The old, crackling denden mushi is receiving the only radio signal available, the news are just about over. They repeated something that's been a topic for a week or so. There's... an image of a town, labeled as an archive photograph...

“It was headlines. I didn't read the article, wouldn't have really understood anyway, but... I remember the photo... of a big building. And the fence in front. That's what it is... that's the place I've been seeing... right?”

He's as still as a statue. There's some noise, something between a hum and a whimper, hard to decide... he nods after some delay. Kat is at a loss as to how she could proceed, if at all... saying more would be awkward; leaving would be even more so… doing anything, even existing, is awkward. In the end, Law's the one to break the silence.

“I was sick… with nowhere to run. Didn't even know who to blame, I just wanted to take revenge on anything... and everything.” After the hastily uttered train of thought gets out, he takes a deep, shaky breath. Fuck it, she already knows. He gave away the missing critical pieces to an incomplete puzzle, like the utter tool he is. Most he can do right now is to tell her whatever seems... safe. Just enough to satisfy her questions, barely enough to let this issue die right here. It's just...

Putting an end to that a few months ago is still so fresh in his mind. It made him rethink a lot of things, and just generally think of that godforsaken day a lot again... old wounds were ripped open, and they are not done healing, not at all. He's been trying to just cover it all up until this alliance business dies down for good, and right now there is only a mess of strong feelings with no coherent thoughts attached. It's hard... finding words for it right now is just too damn hard.

Law reaches out; Kat is too puzzled figure out what to do, or how she should interpret the gesture, so she doesn't stop the unsure, icy fingers from barely tapping her chest.

“He was the one... who saved me,” Law breathes, lowering the drawing board in his other hand.

It takes Kat a second to remember that right under the T-shirt is the center of his big tattoo, pretty much the image of the Heart Pirates' jolly roger. The only 'he' she can think of... and that's kind of like that one smile she saw today, isn't it. And there's the heart motive, buried under either smoke or fire... “... the man in the feather coat...”

He hums; he's not touching her anymore, but his hand hovers over the spot for another moment.

Kat meanwhile regrets not waiting with her dumb question until a more suitable time a lot... and is also getting choked up. It's not even because of an episode after a long time spent in comfortable numbness, or that seeing sad or miserable people makes her restless, especially if she's attached to them... it's rather that, if nothing else in particular stuck with her from that frigid, snowy dream, she remembers the feeling very well. It was a lot like the one she had as a little girl, of her mother being hypnotized and abandoning her. Never saw the end of that recurring nightmare. She always woke up after the person responsible, -the local shopkeeper, for some reason,- just laughed and laughed at her misery... All in all, it felt like shit. This man also must have died, or else Law wouldn't be like... this. Quite frankly, just remembering the name of Flevance and connecting it to the crumbling sand town caused a visceral reaction she cannot put anywhere. This body never really let go of Law, did it...?

As his hand starts to slip away, she reaches for it intuitively; it just seems... the logical thing to do? Except it's not, not really. He doesn't even like things like this... God, she's also been exhausted mentally with all these people around, and even wasted more energy on this silly hug business, zeroing her leftover sense of self-awareness. Oh well... if she's already at it, and thinking about it, there's one semi-logical step left. It's normal to do that in these situations anyway, so...

Kat takes a hesitant step ahead, and pulls him once again into a gentle one-armed hug: just a bit tighter, and a bit less awkward than the previous one. The hand she took a second ago is raised back up to roughly where Law's own heart would be and she holds it so carefully as if it were made of something really brittle, like an actual shard of thin ice. Also can't help but note that her body is exactly a head shorter than his... will have to resist the temptation to lean into the curly hair, even if it's inconveniently tickling her neck right now.

Law really wants to be angry, or anything other than tired and empty, really, but the half-hearted attempt is a complete failure. Instead, the only emotion he can muster is deepest shame; normally, he'd just brood down here alone, maybe cry into his pillow, but... he's not alone right now, and needs this. Really badly. Someone to latch onto, like a gross attention leech... And it feels so damn great. She's also rubbing his back a little, and may or may not have just lowered her chin onto his head. This is nice, so, if only for a little while… okay, this should do it... the three to five seconds of self-indulgent cuddling are over. He takes a deep breath to calm down and try to pull himself together as she mumbles something into his hair that he can barely make out.

“You are such a brave and smart boy...”

His heart swells upon hearing that, and he feels the first tear break free from under strict supervision; she probably didn't even mean to say it out loud, and the rather infantilizing nature of the statement aside... although it's part of the problem, really... her soft-spoken demeanor just makes that voice sound a lot like his father's. A little too much. There comes the first hiccup, soon followed by many more...

Kat drifts back to reality upon hearing the first sob, and finds herself unsure what to do again; she has no idea how to handle a situation like this. Did she ever have a crying person around when she did something past just... standing in a corner and feeling bad herself? At any time? What did... what did her parents do, how did they calm her down? They... what they did was... there's... nothing. They humored her for a minute, maybe. When it was just a scratch, told her that it's no big deal. All she remembers are the times they made her cry over something stupid instead... being straight-out terrified at times, going as far as hiding the shards of a broken vase or mug in the cluttered backyard. Even when she stepped into an old nail, she didn't tell a thing, although she was old enough to know that she ought to get tetanus vaccination afterwards.

She can feel anger boil its way up her throat; god, just... in how many ways did growing up with those people fuck her over...? No... no, no, no. No thinking about that, she has someone else here, and they need some kind of help or support. But she's so useless... augh, maybe she shouldn't be here at all right now...

“Law... do you want me to leave?” At least she can't do any harm with that...

The answer is not exactly direct, but a whimper like that sounds like a 'no' in any situation. If that wouldn't be enough, his hand also curls around a wrinkle of the tee.

Kat sighs, releasing his hand and wrapping her now free arm around him instead; she also takes the board before he drops it, and tosses the thing on the corner of the bed, near where the wobbly book pile is. What else could she do now, though...? She doesn't really have a sure means to calm him down... maybe... maybe she could sing, or rather hum something, stay until he falls asleep. Let's see, it has to be something soft... and preferably not holiday-related. There's not a lot that she knows perfectly by heart, though. Oh god... um, maybe that one, the one her mother sang to her and her brothers after going to bed, until she just stopped doing it one day. Which was quite a shame, really; she loved it a lot. Seems like she can still remember the tune, too... alright.

While she was contemplating, her right hand wandered up to his scalp and is absentmindedly scratching away at his nape ever so softly. She stops for a split second upon noticing, but resumes just as quickly- he hasn't said anything, nor reacted, so it should be okay. In fact, it seems to be doing a pretty good job... Law's less tense, and his breathing less erratic already. Alright, he should be fine in a few more minutes; shushing will be fine for now. As soon as he's down to sniffling, she leads him to the bed to sit.

Since he doesn't seem to be letting go of the t-shirt any time soon, she joins him with one hand still on his back. Maybe five motionless minutes pass before she takes a look at him; he's barely conscious leaning against her, isn't he... whether it's just to avoid stressful dreams or being on autopilot, he's still not willing to let himself fall asleep. What a stubborn oaf.

She sighs a little, and concentrates on a single note before humming the old song, after all. The last thing she kind of remembers before drifting off is thinking about how to lay him down without waking him up.

***

Today's #mood be like mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=005143

I'll try to churn out one more before I go on a forced hiatus, just so it stops on a less depressing note... that aside, story time!

So... I have zero connection to America. Live in the area where West and East Europe meet, in the middle of nowhere basically. And yet, I remember coming home when I was 10, and the TV showing some 3-hour news special on 9/11. The single suspended mental image of the television showing one of the planes before impact as I throw my backpack down before I go eat just stuck with me. There are many other little things, like the marzipan lion from my brother's first birthday cake hanging out in the kitchen window for months (I was barely 2 then, like? holy shit); seeing the few drops of blood on the concrete after a kid named Márk hit someone in the face in kindergarten as they cry in the background; the moment I saw a thick snake slither at my feet as I wanted to go down to the cellar outdoors around 4th grade (I've felt uneasy down there ever since, was a favorite before)... They are 3D photographs of minuscule length if any... as a visual type, I might have more of these than the average, but it's amazing that billions of people, if not everyone, has these lying around in their brains. Humans are wild, man.

Anyway, I remembered that, and decided to put something similar in here. Same for the song, which is the main motif of “Esti Dal” aka Evening Song. (quote-unquote best version I could find rn was this flash mob /watch?v=b055cHvLgtk) Kat's a semi-self-insert, after all.

ps.: The universe is a cold, uncaring place, and remembering is the most powerful FUCK YOU at your disposal, and erasing memories of someone or something is the most cruel punishment you can impose- all I'm saying is, that the least you can do is share these memories in some way or form. Go write something, you tool. And me, too. Yes you, I know you'll be reading this in a few weeks again to check where you left off when you last were unmotivated to continue. And yes, you did indeed write the commentary for... whatever chapter this is before finishing 19, bitch. I see you. Shia LaBeouf that shit. JUST. DO IT.

#Kate writes #KMKY #opfanfic #roughly 5k words plus commentary

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