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bonecorn · 3 years ago

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I love your anatomy/references posts & I love skulls and skeletons & I would love to know how you convince people to give you their animal heads to clean. Also any bone cleaning tips for suburban areas?? When I was living on a farm it was easy to leave stuff out and let the bugs take care of it but my parents said hard no to dead things bleaching on the porch

Oh this is very easy!

Find a friend or acquaintance with land and leave your stuff there. Bug cleaning and tub maceration don't need a lot of hands-on attendance so you can check in however often you like.

There's also "hot water maceration" where you simmer (dont boil!) fresh heads in hot water and remove the cooked meat by hand. Make sure you scramble the brains first and then cook away inside or with a camping stove on the porch. And "bleaching" which is done with hydrogen peroxide can be done inside since the skulls are already clean by then anyway.

I don't actually convince people to give me their pets. For livestock, I ask because most people aren't emotionally attached to their livestock.

For pets, I wait to be offered the remains. More on that under the cut.

TLDR: Know the pet owner, wait to be offered bodies rather than asking. Make sure they are always in control. Ask for livestock no problem. Don't let scavengers eat euthanized meat.

holy crap lol

I don't ask for pet bodies. The trick is to be very open and excited about what you do so that people who know you know about bones and know that you are respectful of animal remains. Then, when a beloved pet dies, they might think about you.

Open up the conversation on death before it's relevant

You can also plant the seed ahead of time during a conversation about bones while the pet in question is alive and healthy. "Sometimes I do pets if their owner is ok with it, though most want to bury. Have you ever thought about that for Baxter?" It's in SUPER poor taste to do this while an animal is dying, when you'll need to be way more tactful.

Know your friend well enough to guess their feelings on it

It SUPER depends on the person and how they view bodies and death. My ex's dog passed away and he was always queasy about corpses. I comforted him and cried with him while his beloved 15 year old dog declined and passed. I didn't ask or even mention it because I knew him enough to know that he would say no, and that asking would be painful and upsetting for him to think about. Same with my dear friend and her 20 year old cat. She had a beautiful pet graveyard with headstones and everything. You just know not to ask some people because traditionally laying bodies to rest is important to them.

Other pet owners are chill about it, ESPECIALLY if they come from a livestock background. Livestock people are used to sending their animals to be recycled into glue and wax when they die, because it's generally not feasible to bury or cremate a horse. If someone does plan to take that on, you know they are absolutely dedicated to traditional burial and won't give you anything.

Make it their choice to offer, rather than it being your request

Anyway. If you know the person, and you know they might be ok with giving up their pet's body due to how they view bodies and death, then you work on making them think about you. First, you comfort and do everything you can to help the person through their grief. If you weren't already planning on doing that, then you have no business asking for their pet. Do not comfort someone in order to get something out of them. That's disgusting. Just straight up ask them for their pet and know that they will view you as tactless and rude, but its better than manipulating them.

What I do is not manipulation, it's reminding people what you do and then letting them make their own decisions. When your friend is feeling a little better and is not crying, you can ask about logistics. I ask "What do you plan to do for burial/with the body?" and that usually makes them think about me and what I do with bodies. If they already have a meaningful spot picked out to bury or scatter/keep ashes, then that means the body is important to them and I shouldn't ask further.

At this point, they should realize what you could use the body for and think about how they feel about that. This is when my sister (who has a livestock background) offered her dog to me. We talked about how she thought of bodies, and she thought that the soul is the only thing that matters and once her dog passes there's nothing important left. I did not say anything to convince her, these were all her own thoughts.

It's very VERY important to respect and love the pet owner because they're extremely vulnerable and emotionally raw. That's why I don't straight up ask, because when you're losing a pet, you don't want to feel like someone is trying to gain something from you.

If your friend says they don't know or haven't decided what to do for the body, you can gently say "Let me know if you want me to help bury it, to take it with me, or to just be there for you." This is a close-ended statement and not a question. A question means that your friend has to come up with an answer right there and then, while an offer is actionable. This puts the power and autonomy in your friend's hands, so that when they make a decision it comes fully from their wants and needs and is not about you and what you want.

Be there for them even if you get nothing out of it

If they don't offer at this point, they're not going to. Now hold up your end of the bargain and continue to comfort and help through the grieving process. Again, if you aren't already invested in this person enough to want to soothe and comfort and be there for the human person in the equation, then you have no business asking for their pet. When a pet dies, your first concern should be to the person. If it's not, then you aren't close enough to ask for goodies.

Helping someone grieve is not payment for their pet's body. If you realize they aren't going to give you something in return for your comfort and so you abandon them, you're a terrible person using their grief to manipulate them for your own gain. Comfort is not payment. Closeness in grief is a metric by which you measure "Do I have any business to ask?"

The pet owner runs the show, not you

Throughout this process, stress that the owner can change their mind at any time. You don't want the owner to think "I hate this but I can't back out now because I promised..." Even when they animal is all wrapped up an in your vehicle and ready to go, quietly tell the owner that they can still choose what happens and if they have second thoughts, that's ok and you won't be mad.

My sister let me be there for putting her dog down and it was all about her and her love for her dog. She carried him out and laid him in my trunk and we stood in the rain and talked and hugged. She then told me she was happy that he could bring happiness to someone in life and now still in death, but that she didn't want to know anything. I agreed not to tell her or post anything about processing her dog, so for her it would be like burial. The same thing happened with my other friend's horse. She spent some time with him and then as soon as he passed she drove away and let me do what I wanted. She didn't want to hear Any of it. Again, I didn't ask or even offer, she came up with the idea of giving me the body all on her own even before I knew he was dying.

Horse people are much closer to pet owners than livestock owners, but they are used to sending their friend's bodies off to a different kind of processing (at Tallow factories, livestock remains are ground up, cut apart, cooked, and spun around to extract various substances that become soap, glue, candles, etc) so they know not to think about what happens after death. It still depends on how well you know the owner and know how they think about death, but if you offer to handle logistics like dealing with the tallow guy, they can actually save money by letting you have it.

You're actually doing livestock a favor

Livestock people are generally chill and have a much more utility/asset view of their animals. If the animal doesn't even have a name they probably don't care what happens when it's dead. In fact, most farmers will jump at the chance to give you their animal for free because calling the tallow company to haul it away costs them money. This is also why in areas with lots of livestock, you sometimes find bodies dumped in ditches or left on the side of the road, because the farmer didn't want to pay to get rid of it so they made it everyone else's problem. Even pet animals like dogs and cats are more Utility than pure companions on a farm, so you might have a better chance of getting remains from a farmer than a neighbor.

One more thing about pets and livestock.

When I find a dead deer, I flay it open and let the vultures eat it. For domestic animals, they are often put to sleep via chemical/drug.

THIS IS POISONOUS TO SCAVENGERS.

DO NOT LET SCAVENGERS EAT EUTHANIZED ANIMALS

Seriously. If you like nature, you need to protect it. Deflesh it yourself, throw all the meat/blood/offal away or bury it 6 feet down. Idk what it does to the environment so I always freeze it and then throw it away on garbage day.

Rot bacteria and beetle larvae dermestids don't mind. In fact, dermestid droppings and pupa shells can be analyzed for toxins by forensic scientists to determine cause of death. Neat! Just make sure that if you process outdoors, the remains are EXTREMELY SECURE and cannot be opened by vultures, coyotes, or wild pigs.

Remember the living, human person

I know I look very clinical by picking apart human emotions, but I respond, feel, love, and grieve just like everyone else. I didn't plan how to get any of the animals in the above stories, I just acted on instinct and these are the ones where that paid off well.

Most of the time if I go "huh. I feel that may not go over well" I can then take that feeling apart and figure out why. So hopefully explaining how my feelings work it can help you listen to your most useful and most compassionate ones.

The living person is always more important than a dead pet. Sometimes you can get the dead pet without distressing your friend, sometimes you shouldn't even try.

Respecting the dead

A final note on working with pets vs wild animals. This is someone's family member, so don't play puppet with it like you might with a skunk skin. Don't take pictures of any part of the process until they are rendered to bones. Pictures of dead pet species are even more distressing to the general public than wild animals, and sick freaks might take your photos and send them to people for kicks or attention. Better to just not have photos than for that to happen.

What processing a pet feels like

Working on a pet is always going to be different for you, the vulture, than a wild animal. Everything you see is touched by human hands. My sister's dog was... beautiful. You don't really realize how moved you're going to be by seeing the perfect amount of healthy fat covering, or beautiful muscles that speak of exercise and attention. She rescued this starving pup and turned him into the healthiest animal I have ever seen. She's a vet assistant and the care and love she put into this dog had me sitting there crying while I held his paws; with their perfectly maintained clipped and sanded nails. I'd only met the dog once for a few minutes when he was alive, but his body was a canvas and every inch was painted with layers and layers of love. It made me so, so sad that his neurological issues couldn't be helped because his body was proof of someone who would stop at nothing to cure what could be cured, and that the last months of his life were happier than he ever imagined.

On the flip side, pets whose bodies show signs of neglect and abuse are going to hit you harder than any deer could. The dog I found discarded in a garbage bag on the side of the road had rotten teeth and nails so long they curled over themselves into hoops. An overgrown and suffering deer is just the sign of nature taking its course. An overgrown and suffering dog is the sign of human cruelty, of shirked responsibility.

Most pets you get will between these two dogs. No owner is perfect. Most old dogs have lost teeth to rot, sick cats too weak to scratch properly may have overgrown nails.

Death as beauty

A pet's body usually a beautiful story full of ups and downs; of owners doing things wrong and then doing things right. A vulture or an artist can read a body like rings on a tree and feel the heart beat in their chest that tells them how strong and full of love this life had been. You need to be ready for this part. Every detail is a message from your fellow human and even though we are all animals and we decompose into the same dirt, we're meant to connect to each other here and now.

Keep your emotions open when working with remains.

Listen to what they have to teach you.

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oldguardhc · 4 years ago

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Old Guard hc #96

Nile’s perks to being immortal

No headaches or migraines. She didn’t even notice this perk until she told Booker to shut up, he’s giving her a headache. But that’s not true. There was no faint throbbing in her temples. There was just annoyance.

No more acne. She can wash her face with dish soap and her skin will remain happy as a clam. She’s sure as hell not going to miss dropping thirty dollars on cleansers. Or fifty on moisturizers.

No scars. She can get scraped, stabbed, shot as much as she likes and there won’t even be a trace left behind after a minute.

No periods. Nile tries not think too much about this one. She just deletes her period tracking app on her phone and pretends everything is normal.

No muscle cramps. No more waking up in the middle of the night to stretch because her body decided to try contortionism. No more eating bananas for that extra potassium. Or swallowing a spoonful of mustard.

No soreness. Andy can kick her ass in training and Nile will wake up the next day, lively as ever. She really needed this during track season.

No recovery period. It’s more noticeable with the guys. And it’s very hard not to notice round 5 at 3am.

No dry skin. No more ashy knees or elbows. Just smooth, smooth skin and Nile is living for it. Vaseline? I don’t know her.

No hangnails. Fuck those pesky things. Nile sure as hell is not missing those bastards. The only time her fingers are bleeding now are due to violent reasons.

No hangovers. Nile drank two bottles of wine on an empty stomach with no water afterwards and woke up normal. If that’s not a super power, Nile doesn’t know what is.

No chapped lips. No more carrying cheap tubes of chapstick that get lost after a month.

No swollen eyes after crying her eyes out. Follow up, lots of tears to shed. Doesn’t seem like she runs out.

No caffeine withdrawals. She can drink eight cups everyday for a whole week and go cold turkey without any signs of the shakes or a headache.

No stomach aches. Holy crap, she loved this one. She can eat a whole tub of popcorn and not feel like someone put her guts through a shredder. Fried food and cold drinks? Beans that were only boiled once? Bring it on.

#the old guard #nile freeman #tog #hc #nile the old guard

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chrisevansszn · 4 years ago

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THE GAMES WE PLAY PT3‼‼‼

1.3k word count.

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted his”, Chris says. You look up at him. “Me too.”

You woke up the next morning, sat up instantly. You were just trying to process everything that happened the day before. Dodger was sleeping at the end of Chris’ bed. When did he get there?

You look over and see that Chris had left the bed. Wonder what he is up to? Then you heard the bedroom door open. Chris walks in with a tray of breakfast food, and a single rose for you.

“You did not!”, you say with a huge smile. “It’s just a little something for you”, he replies. He brings the tray to you and sits it on your lap. You look up at him, “Come here”. He leans over an you give him a sweet kiss, and then he kisses your forehead. “Thank you so much”. “Anytime baby”. He walks across the bed and lays across the bed. You try the eggs he made. “Holy crap, these are good”. “Pesto eggs, my favorite”, Chris giggles. He then picks up your toast and takes a bite. “I ate my food when I cooked, yes I know…I’m a fat ass”. You busted out laughing. “Stop it, have as much as you want”. You and Chris continue to chat and make jokes while you finish your breakfast.

“Is there something you have to do today?”, he asks you. “Nope, I am free until I leave out tomorrow.” “Let’s go out and do something”. “Ok, surprise me”. “Sure thing”, Chris says. You finished your breakfast. He takes the tray. “Um, no sir. You cook, let me clean. That’s the least I can do”. “Absolute not Y/N”, he replies. You and Dodger follow Chris out of the room into the kitchen. You watch him hand wash the dishes. The only thing he’s wearing is gray jogger that are barely holding on to this waist. You walk he behind him while he is at the sink and wrap your arms around him and embrace him from behind.

You can hear him giggle. He turns around with suds on his hands and embraces you back. You can still smell his cologne on his body, Gucci Guilty. You take him all in his eyes, his messy hair, his tattoo, his muscles. How did you get here? He kisses your forehead and turns back around to finish cleaning the dishes.

“I’m going to take Dodger in the back yard”, you say. “Sure”, Chris says with a smile. “Come on Dodge” Dodger follows you outside. You find a ball and you play fetch with Dodger. After a while you lay by the pool and take in the view. Chris comes outside.

“I know exactly what we are doing today”, he says. You can look at him and can tell he’s up to no good! “What is it?” “No way, you said surprise me…. remember?” Oh shit, that is right! “Ok then when do we leave”. “Let’s go shower and head out”. You follow Chris back into the house, and head to your room. You can hear his footsteps headed your way. “Come hop in the shower with me”. You stop and stare. You’re just trying to play hard to get. You wait a few seconds. “I’m on my way”. He throws his eyebrows up, and winks.

He heads back towards his room. You do a little dance after playing hard to get!!

You grab some jeans, a simple white t-shirt, thong, and a bra. You walk back to Chris’ room and you can already hear the shower running. You lay your clothes next to his on the bed and walk into the bathroom. Chris is already in the shower. You can see his silhouette through the foggy shower glass. You take off your clothes and enter. He turns around the water is dripping down his body. My God what a work of art! He pulls you close and gives you a kiss. You step in front of the shower head and let the water fall down your body. Chris holds you from behind. He grabs a towel and Dove soap and begins to wash you. You can feel his hands all over. He grabs your breast with his right and then makes his way up to your throat. You absolutely love it. He continues to wash your back and stop. You turn around to return the favor. You grab some soap and rub all over his body. You grab his dick with both hands and begin to rub. He lets out a moan, you continue. Up and down, up and down. Chris is holding on to the wall as he moans deeply. You swaps places with him and let the soap rinse off. You lead him towards the seat in the shower and he sits. You get on your knees and take his dick in your mouth.

“Yes, baby”, he says. He grabs your hair, as you lick all over his dick. You begin to slobber everywhere. You hear him whisper “just like that”. You give Chris all you have and work your hands up and down as you suck his dick. He cums in your mouth. “Goddamn….now it’s my turn”, Chris says. He picks you up and pins you again the shower wall, he lifts you higher and higher. He is holding you up high while he is eating your pussy. No man has EVER done you like this! You are leaning back to make sure you don’t fall. Chris is gripping you by your ass and waist and devouring you. You play in his hair while he eats you out. You can hear him sucking up all your juices. “Oh my God, oh my God”. You cum and Chris doesn’t let up. You can feel your body jerking. “Chris please!!” You finally holler out. He lets you down softly. Your body is still twitching. Chris giggles. You both finish showering and get dressed.

You jump in Chris’ truck and head down the interstate. When you get close, he tells you to close your eyes. You arrive at the location. He gets out and walks around to your eyes. You still cannot open your eyes yet. He grabs you hand and leads the way.

“You can open your eyes Y/N”, Chris finally says. You open them. “Bungee jumping???”, you say. “No?”, Chris asked concerned. “Um, hell yes!” You are extremely adventurous and love these kinds of activities. Chris is so happy. The instructor gives you both the instruction and takes you to the platform. The workers gear you both up. You are so excited you can barely keep it together! “Have you ever done this before?”, you ask Chris. “Never”. “Me neither”. “We are popping our bungee jumping cherry together”. You both die laughing.

Yall are ready to go! You and Chris are strapped together face to face. “Whenever you both are ready, jump”, the instructor says. You and Chris sit and look at the other face to face. “I’m a little nervous”, he says. “Are you?” Before he could answer you lean off the platform and down you both went. Chris is absolute screaming, and you are just laughing. You both are holding on to each other for dear life! You can feel your stomach drop and then you feel the rope tug. The workers pull you both back up and unstrap you guys. You couldn’t have asked for a better surprise. There were other platforms that you both went to jump off of before heading back Chris’ house.

The ride was nice, and you guys held hands the whole way home. When you got back home yall decided on order Door Dash. You both were taking off your shoes and such when the doorbell rings.

“That’s odd”, Chris says. You both was still standing in the hallway, and Chris walks up to the door and opens it. Standing there is his ex, Lily James with a bottle of wine.

“Hi there”, she says with a bottle of wine.

@thatoneperson5000

@stylesann

@birchtreebooks

@melannie77

@jst-sayhell-no

@kcath-rb

@hopefulbonkvoidland

@thumbeliina

@lovinevans

@6lackfiction

Enjoy babes!!

#chris evans x reader #chris evans fanfiction #chris jamal evans #chris evans #andy barber #defending jacob #marvel #captain america #cevans

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platypanthewriter · 4 years ago

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First Kiss (In the Time Of COVID)

Harringrove April prompt 01 (because I missed it the first time): First Kiss! Second to last! Almost there! Steve gets touch-hungry enough to consider the ridiculous health-organization suggestions about gloryholes, and has sex and then a whole relationship with a man he meets at a bar...before he ever gets to kiss him.

Steve was only at the bar because it was right next to the dry-cleaners with no public bathrooms, but he couldn’t help staring at the New York City Department Of Health Safer Sex Guidelines, posted right on the wall between the sinks as he washed his hands.

Gloryholes were recommended, it said. Somebody had highlighted it, and somebody else had smacked a big lipsticked kiss on it, which was definitely not within sanitary guidelines. Steve stood there like a post, thinking about a hot mouth around his dick, instead of going home to his cold, gray apartment, and yelling weird greetings every morning at his neighbors between balconies, stuff like “You hallucinating yet? I hear people have been hallucinating!” and “How’re you enjoying solitary?!”

He thought about being touched by another human being.

He hadn’t really noticed the hole in the wall before, other than kind of wondering why, like, why not make out in the car, even—but COVID changed things. He bit his lips together, and eased back around to look in the stall again. It wasn’t that bad, even if the people doing graffiti couldn’t spell. It was tidy, and there was plenty of toilet paper, so at least the staff were in here regularly, he thought. The floor wasn’t sticky, or anything. He leaned to look through the hole, and saw a flash of pink skin, as he heard a scrambling in the next stall.

After a second, the person knocked on the stall wall. “You stick your cock through there and I’ll suck it,” he said, his voice a little wobbly, like he knew exactly how bizarre this was, and he was trying not to laugh.

Steve bit back a laugh of his own, snorting into his hand. “Jesus, I’m not even drunk,” he told the voice, who laughed outright.

“It’s my fucking lunch hour. You gonna feed me?”

Steve raised his eyebrows, patting the condom he always, optimistically, carried in his back pocket. “Now I kinda don’t want to,” he said, and the other guy laughed harder. “Okay,” Steve said, steeling himself. “I’m going for it. Gonna put my cock in this creepy hole. Don’t bite it off.” He heard a snort as he checked the expiration date on the condom—he hadn’t had sex in eons, it felt like, and he half-expected to see it had expired in 1492—but it wasn’t even gonna expire soon, so he took it as a positive omen.

“The hell are you doing, hurry up,” said the other man, shuffling his feet, and Steve rolled his eyes, and the condom onto his dick.

“Sure hope nothing over there’s hungry,” he muttered, taking a deep breath before he stuck his dick in the hole in a bathroom stall, stone cold sober, before noon. “Hungry for a dick meal. Ready to bite.”

“I might,” the other guy breathed, laughing, but Steve could feel him brush his lips along the side. “Mmm, polyisoprene,” he mumbled.

“Suck enough dick you recognize condoms?” Steve asked, snorting a laugh, and felt him laugh along.

“You want an expert, don’cha,” he shot back, taking Steve’s cock on his tongue, and Steve groaned, his body thudding hard against the wall. It creaked, loud, and the guy pulled off again, laughing.

“I do,” Steve told him. “I do, I do, I want an expert, come back, dick-monster.”

“I’m not gonna bite off your dick,” said the guy, snickering again.

“I don’t even care,” Steve said honestly, “—just lemme come first, jesus—”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, slipping Steve’s cock between his lips again, and in, deep down his throat where his muscles clenched around it. Steve could hear him choking with gusto, and he just leaned against the wall, feeling the first human touch he’d had in months.

He’d given the pizza guy a tip, ages ago, it seemed like, and the guy’s hand had brushed his, and they’d both stood there, staring at their hands, like maybe Steve oughtta propose marriage, and the guy like maybe he was gonna accept. They’d said goodbye awkwardly, whipping the hand sanitizer out of their pockets as they turned away, and now Steve couldn’t order pizza without his neck feeling warm.

The guy eating his dick for lunch was so much better, and Steve longed to touch him, and tip him back in a pile of pillows in the warm afternoon sun. Take the man back to his bed, bury his hands in warm hair—pull him up the bed and kiss him, maybe—feel the weight of another person on his body. He clenched his hands on the top of the stall wall, grunting as the hot tongue stroked the bottom of his dick, and the tip pushed against the spongy back of the guy’s throat.

Steve wasn’t good at talking, really, particularly not when all his attention was on his dick, but he couldn’t grab the man, so he tried. “God, you’re good at this,” he whispered, his mouth fumbling the words a little, but he thought the idea came through. “Jesus, you’re amazing. Christ. God, your mouth. I bet you’re beautiful, holy shit,” he rambled. “Even if you’re not beautiful, you’re beautiful, holy crap, I wanna kiss you.”

The guy pulled back a couple times, then all the way off, coughing and trying to breathe. “Sorry,” he gasped, clearing his throat. “Sorry—”

“Take your time, buddy,” Steve told him, feeling like his whole body was a bomb on a timer ticking down, but also like he wanted to draw it out, maybe, a little. “Shit,” he panted, mumbling like a moron, now he’d started. “You’re the best dick-eating monster ever, you’re like, better than the ones on Sesame Street,” he told the dude, sincerely, and heard him burst out laughing again.

“You want a blow job or what,” he gasped, sounding like he was crying. “Stop making me laugh, christ. There aren’t dick-eating monsters on Sesame Street.”

“...oh, yeah, that makes sense,” Steve realized breathlessly, nodding. The stall wall was cool against his sweaty skin. “You’re smart, huh.”

“Jesus,” the guy breathed, and then Steve felt his mouth again, and his hips spasmed against the glory hole. He made a guttural noise as he came, intending half a warning, half a compliment, but the guy just waited as he went still, and then pulled back, panting.

“Fuck,” Steve whispered, coming down, his heart pounding half out of his chest. “God, that was good.”

“I am an expert,” the dude said—hoarsely, probably because he’d let Steve fuck his throat for minutes on end.

“Yeah, you are,” Steve agreed, sitting down on the toilet edge. “Damn. Gimme a sec—wait, you got another condom? I only had one.”

“...it’s fine,” the guy laughed. “I’m a dick monster, remember, s’enough for me.”

“Next time,” Steve said, impulsively, and heard a thump on the other side of the wall.

“...you, uh,” the guy said, and trailed off, as Steve checked his phone, and grimaced.

“I gotta go,” he said, over the guy asking something kinda quietly on the other side. “Wait, what?”

“Nothing, go ahead,” he laughed, and Steve frowned at the wall.

“...I have this Zoom meeting,” he said, grimacing.

“Same bat-time, same bat-channel?” the guy asked, and Steve laughed.

“This your usual break?”

“Yeah. I’ll have you for lunch anytime,” the guys said, and Steve sighed, flattening his hand against the wall, and wishing he could touch.

“Jesus, what’d I do right to get a day like today,” he said, and the dick-monster snickered.

“Better run, dude.”

“Yes, thanks,” Steve told him, yanking his zipper shut, and his mask back over his ears. “Thanks, man, I haven’t touched anybody in like. A year. You’re a goddamn saint.”

“Saint monster,” he said, as Steve left.

Steve had to pick up his dry-cleaning two days later, and it occurred to him he really should’ve gotten the guy’s number, or at least asked what days he had off. He slid into the bathroom, touched his back pocket again, and felt the two condoms. He cleared his throat, grimacing, because it seemed creepy as hell to drop and stare through the glory hole.

After a couple minutes, he heard the door open and a flurry of footsteps, and then a thud at the stall wall as he dropped to his knees. “I’m here,” his benefactor said, breathless.

“Okay,” Steve said, pulling a condom out, and trying to find the spot to tear it open.

“Don’t sound all fucking excited to see me,” the guy said, his voice flat, suddenly. “I know I’m just some—”

“No, no, hey,” Steve said, addressing the knees he could see under the wall of the stall. “I was trying to get the damn condom open. Your turn, right?”

“...you wanna suck me off?” the guy asked, slowly. “You don’t gotta. I’m an absolute whore for praise, seriously, just keep telling me how good I’m doing—”

“...I mean, I can do that,” Steve said, wishing he could see the dude’s face, instead of trying to gauge the meaning of every pause in his sentences. “But I can suck you off, first.”

“...what a gentleman,” he said, laughing, and then Steve heard him unzip.

The sight of someone else’s skin, even through a glory hole, made Steve’s mouth water like he was a gotdamn cannibalistic psychopath. He wished desperately that he could just touch, without the plastic barrier. He pinched the end of the condom and held it against the end of the guy’s already-hard cock, pushing the ring up and over hot skin, and he knelt to try and breathe in the smell of another human.

The guy smelled a little sweaty, and a bit like soap, and Steve’s hands actually shook as he resisted reaching through and scratching his nails through the bed of curls around the base of the cock in his hands. Even through plastic, the dude’s dick was satisfyingly heavy, warm, and alive, and he kissed it as soon as he’d gotten enough of the condom on. The guy grunted, thumping against the creaky stall wall like Steve had done, and they both laughed.

“You know the best part of bathroom sex,” the guy panted, the tip of the condom already filling as he leaked, “—it’s the acoustics, right, I sound like a whole-ass porno in here.”

“That’s not the best part,” Steve told him, swallowing, and then swallowing again, because he didn’t know touching someone, even through plastic, could make him want to crawl under the wall of a bathroom stall if it meant he could touch them more. He never thought he’d be so happy to see a dick. “God, you feel good.”

“...I am good,” the guy whispered, barely audible in the weird, loud bathroom acoustics with the fan going, and Steve laughed, kissing his cock again. It jerked in his hand.

“You are good,” he breathed against it, and the dude bit back a groan. “You’re perfect,” Steve said, following a hunch, and felt the guy thump his hips against the wall between them again.

Steve grinned, bending down to swirl his tongue around the tip, and he saw the dude’s hands grip the upper edge of the stall, his knuckles whitening. The little hexagonal tiles dug into Steve’s knees, a bit, but he didn’t mind. He felt himself getting hard, and unzipped his pants, absently freeing his dick with a sigh of relief.

Steve had always liked sucking cock. He’d wondered whether it would be any fun, though, without the feeling of hips under his hands, or fingers in his hair—but he could see the guy’s shoes shifting, and feel the soft thumps against the stall as he forgot everything except Steve’s mouth around him. Steve could look up and see his grip straining on the stall wall, and smell him, the laundry and sweat and cologne smell of him—and hear him, louder than Steve, grunting streams of “Fuck, fuck, jesus, fuck,” and “God, don’t slow down, you asshole,” and “Oh shit, do that again, please, please, please…” trailing off into begging, panting gibberish.

When he came, he staggered back and thudded down onto the toilet seat with a clatter. “Just—just gimme a minute,” he panted, as Steve grabbed toilet paper, and wiped the spit off his face and chin.

“Take your time,” he said, and the toilet seat squeaked as the guy cleared his throat.

“Yeah, yeah, shit, sorry, fuck. Lemme just get down there, asshole—”

“No, I mean it,” Steve said, sitting down himself, and giving his dick a squeeze. He let his eyes fall shut at the relief. “Take as long as you want, I don’t have a meeting or anything.”

“...shit,” the guy breathed. “Yeah.”

“...wanna give me your number?” Steve asked, trying to distract himself from the thought of the dude’s mouth, of pushing into the heat of another human being.

“Shit, yes,” the guy blurted. “Yeah, yes, please.” He recited it, and Steve put it in his phone, taking care his extreme horniness didn’t make his hand shake and drop his phone in the toilet.

“I’m saving you as ‘beautiful dick guy’,” he said, and Beautiful Dick Guy laughed.

“Text me, so I know you’ve got it,” he said, and Steve did, before tucking his phone safely away.

“What are you saving me as?” Steve asked. “Best blowjob ever? Nice Mouth Dude?”

“Surprised you didn’t save me as ‘Dick Monster’,” the guy muttered, and Steve snorted a laugh, as he slid the other condom on.

“Well, you haven’t bitten it off yet.”

“I’m not gonna bite it off!” he laughed.

“You might,” Steve told him, patting the wall, because he wanted to touch something. “I mean—”

“Get your cock in my mouth, jesus,” the dude said, and Steve stood, and pressed his cock through the glory hole to the guy’s lips with a grunt of relief.

“Jesus,” he whispered. “Thank you, god. Thank you.”

Beautiful Dick Guy pulled off, and Steve bit back a groan of protest. “Stop making it sound like I’m donating to charity,” he growled, before sinking Steve’s cock between his lips again, and swallowing around it.

“Dunno what you wanna hear,” Steve muttered. “God, you’re good at this.” The mouth around his dick hummed approvingly, and Steve nearly came at the vibration, moaning. “You’re perfect, you’re amazing,” he mumbled, on autopilot. “Jesus, you’re a fucking gift, you’re the best thing that ever happened to my cock, I swear, you’re a goddamn miracle, you’re a natural disater on my dick—”

The dude started laughing again, choking and coughing, and Steve grabbed the top of the stall, wishing it wouldn’t be weird and unsafe to just climb on the toilet and lean over to kiss him like the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet—or better yet, open the door and walk into the other stall, and dip him like the end of a tango. Steve mumbled some version of all that, and the guy cackled harder. “Sorry,” he wheezed. “Sorry, sorry.”

“No hurry, man,” Steve told him, taking a deep breath. “Can’t...rush art, right.”

“Jesus,” the dude snorted, coughing again, and Steve cocked his head, trying to think around all the blood pounding in his dick.

“...other people must tell you you’re good at this,” he said, “—like, all the time,” and everything was quiet for a long second.

“...yeah,” the guy finally said, sounding a little bitter. “Everybody’s super polite and respectful, when you suck them off in a toilet.”

“Oh,” Steve said, grimacing, and squirming, a little, at the memory of how the dude’s voice felt against his dick. “Well. Um. Would it be weird if I texted you? Like. I can’t ask you out.”

“...you wanna ask me out?” the guy asked, laughing.

“I can’t, there’s—there’s nowhere we can go,” Steve said, wondering whether it’d be rude to pull his cock back through, and jerk off, if it was just gonna sit there untouched. “We could, um, we could like...wave at each other in the park, but it’s cold.”

“You’d date me?” came his voice again. “You haven’t even asked my name yet.”

“Steve,” Steve said quickly. “And you are?”

“...Billy,” Billy said, and just as Steve was distracted, thinking about what kinda shitheel would fuck a guy’s mouth and not ask his name, the heat of Billy’s mouth sank over his cock again, and Steve just tried to keep his mouth moving, mumbling how fantastic Billy had to be.

Billy left first, while Steve took stock of the brain cells he’d lost through his dick. Thanks so much, he texted. Sorry I can’t kiss you.

what, arrived back, almost instantly.

I mean, Steve sent, and then stared at the screen, trying to figure out what he meant. I love listening to you laugh

I want to kiss your face while you laugh

wrap around you when you shiver

leave hickies all over your body

hold you when you’re all fucked out

wake you up with my mouth on your cock

my hands holding your thighs

dont do this to me at work, Billy sent back, and Steve hunched his shoulders, grimacing, but then his phone buzzed again. i’ll die i’m fucking dying holy shit god yes kiss me hold me down

I can come back next week, Steve sent, grinning.

fuck you, Billy sent back. you know how many actual hours that is

why you gonna make me wait that long

asshole

Steve laughed, grinning at his screen.

When he left, he took a long look at the bar, and a dude with light brown curls, thick, dark brows, and amazing gray-blue eyes watched him. It was hard to tell his expression through the mask, but Steve was pretty sure it was a grin.

later, beautiful cock monster, he sent, and he heard the familiar snorted laugh.

fuck you, his phone told him.

The next morning, he sent g’morning, beautiful, and hope you’re having a lunch as amazing as you are, and kiss emoticons, and Billy sent back eggplants and staring eyes and suggested Steve come by the bar twice a day.

He learned over the next few weeks that Billy could get nearly any conversation back around to sucking Steve’s cock, and it made it kinda...hard to talk to him, honestly, when Steve wanted to put him on speaker over lunch, or watch a movie. He had more phone sex than he’d had in ever, but Billy kinda sounded like he was taking his cues from a phone sex hotline, and that...wasn’t quite what Steve had been...longing for.

“I watched some Sesame Street clips with this kid I know on Zoom,” Steve told him. “Looked for you. You live near, like, Bert and Ernie? Is that the queer community there?”

“Were you thinking about my dick?” Billy asked, snickering, and Steve hadn’t been, really, he’d been thinking about Billy’s laugh. “My mouth misses you more, though,” Billy whispered, “—misses your heat, man, misses stretching around you—” and Steve was half-hard in his jeans, again, and too tired to do anything about it.

“I gotta go,” he sighed, and Billy was silent at the other end. It felt less like dating, and more like watching the same porn over and over.

When Billy called just as Steve was settling in with warm pajamas, popcorn, beer, and a good K-drama, about to find out who the mother-in-law’s secret son’s girlfriend actually was, Billy called, already panting. Steve couldn’t help thinking I just got you off after lunch.

“I’m kinda busy,” he said, pausing the show.

“Aren’t you off?” Billy asked, after a pause. “You’re off, right?”

“...yeah, I just have...stuff,” Steve said, grimacing.

Billy was quiet for long enough that Steve glared off into space, because his popcorn was getting cold. “...maybe in an hour?” Billy offered.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Steve said, “—or later this week.”

“...yeah, okay, you call me,” Billy said, and hung up.

Steve shook his head, sighing, and clicked his show back on, watching with big eyes as he tried to figure out the complicated relationships. He didn’t remember to text Billy that night—and he didn’t hear anything back, either, so he didn’t worry about it, too much. It was kinda nice, honestly, not getting a phone call at seven am from a guy Steve barely knew telling him what to do with his huge, meaty cock. Somehow, formulaic sex hotline talk didn’t help him feel any less lonely.

By the end of the week, he was kinda dreading calling Billy at all, so he called Robin instead.

“He’s too horny,” she said slowly. “Steve, everybody’s horny. We’ve all been in solitary for a year. I would probably eat out a fire hydrant to feel some juices on my face, okay, go easy on this guy.”

“It’s not...ugh,” Steve sighed, rubbing his face. “It’s like talking to one of those viagra emails, okay? Like, why even talk to a real person, if he’s just gonna…like, I get him off, but he won’t talk about anything else, I don’t know if he’s ever seen a movie—”

“...he’s boring, it sounds like,” she sighed. “That sucks, man.”

“He is,” Steve groaned. “I feel like I’m talking to a budget sex line operator. He cuts me off whenever I even mention work, or like, anything—”

“...sounds like he might think you’re boring too, buddy,” she said, with her trademark blend of cynical sympathy.

“Yeah,” Steve sighed.

“Better wrap it up,” she said, and he nodded, grimacing.

hey, he texted. I don’t think this is gonna work out.

Billy called an hour later, and Steve sighed, but swiped to answer, and said “Hello?”

“God,” Billy whispered. “I thought you might’ve already blocked me.”

“Haven’t yet,” Steve said, drumming his fingers on his tabletop, and waiting.

“‘Yet’. Okay,” Billy said, laughing. It sounded a little—pissed, maybe, and Steve braced himself, listening to Billy’s soft breaths. It sounded like he was walking somewhere. “Is—is there anything—any way I could get another chance,” he panted, and then it went silent, like he was holding his breath.

Why, Steve wondered, frowning. He bit his lips, thinking.

“If there’s anything you want from me, just tell me,” Billy said, sounding a little less steady. “Or shit, if—if you don’t want something, just—just tell me what you want, I don’t—”

“It’s not you, it’s m—” Steve tried, making a face, and Billy cut him off, laughing, but sniffling.

“No. No, don’t give me that, it’s definitely me, I can tell, okay. You wanted me and then talking to me was a fucking chore, what—come on,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “You said you wanted to hold me, don’t—”

I was lonely, Steve thought of saying, and winced. I can’t make myself like you.

“Don’t make me get a job on Sesame Street,” Billy said hoarsely, laughing. “I don’t think they actually have openings for Dick Monsters,” and there he was, the guy Steve had listened to giggling, the man he had liked.

He took a deep breath, thinking.

“...okay, yeah,” Billy said, clearing his throat. “Fuck,” he muttered. “Fuck.”

At least, Steve thought, feeling his face heat, he could tell Billy hadn’t been bored. “...you...wanna try again,” he said, cautiously, and Billy made a weird noise like he was slurping up nothing through a wet straw.

“Yes. Yes,” he whispered. “Yeah, is that—is that even—”

“Okay,” Steve told him, and felt indescribably guilty listening to his boyfriend burst into tears.

“Fuck, okay, tell me—tell me what you want,” he gulped. “I don’t wanna piss you off again, tell me—”

“You didn’t piss me off,” Steve told him, and Billy swallowed hard.

“Okay,” he said again. “What—why—”

“...you’re like talking to a SPAM email,” Steve finally said, brutally honest. “Like, every time I try to talk to you—”

“What?!” Billy asked, laughing, a little bitterly.

“I try to tell you what I’m having for lunch or something, and all of a sudden you’re all ‘biggest HUGE cock, daddy’,” Steve groaned. “Like...if I’m that boring, d’you even want to date me?”

“...should I just call less,” Billy asked. “I know I was calling too much, I was trying to just—just wait for you to call me, just call sometimes—”

“You’re not listening,” Steve said, sighing.

“No, I am, I swear!” Billy yelped. “I’m listening, you don’t want me trying to keep you on the line, I’ll stop. I’ll—when you’re done I’ll just hang up, I swear, I’m listening, I am—”

“I’m not...trying to get you to hang up,” Steve said slowly. “I’m—I’m just telling you stuff? I just—I’ve got a life, y’know, I thought maybe—you’d wanna know me.”

“I thought you were fucking bored,” Billy yelled, then, fuzzier, “—no, sorry, sorry—” before the phone was back to his ear. “Every time I’d get you on the phone you’re like ‘So anyway, lots to do today—’”

“Oh,” Steve said, grimacing.

“You always sounded bored. You’re always bored, with me,” Billy said, laughing. “Shit, I knew this was coming, don’t—don’t date me just because I begged, christ.”

“It’s not even really dating,” Steve sighed, wondering if he’d have noticed Billy’s tension earlier, across a table from him.

“...yeah, not—not really,” Billy agreed, then, more quietly. “We’re just talking, sometimes.”

“Want to go for a walk,” Steve asked, and Billy held his breath again, then blew it out with a soft sigh.

“...not if you’re dumping me,” he said, and Steve sat up straighter.

“No! No, just—I wanna see you. I didn’t even wanna dump you, I thought you were fucking bored, man.”

“...okay,” Billy said, sounding like he might be smiling, finally, and when Steve arrived at the park, there he was, texting.

Steve’s phone buzzed as he approached—sure enough, it was the guy he’d seen at the bar, with dark eyebrows and pretty gray-blue eyes over his mask.

dont make me wait, dickhead, it said.

“I’m here,” Steve called, and Billy looked up, and grinned with his eyes. “Shit,” Steve said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, and Billy’s smile dropped. He searched Steve’s face. “I just wanna hug you,” Steve admitted, staying six feet away. “You look cute.”

Billy laughed, his eyes crinkling, and Steve wriggled his hands in his pockets, groaning melodramatically.

“Tell me something about you,” Steve told him. “Uh, not about your cock.”

“...um,” Billy said, kicking a pinecone along the path. “Huh. I got a little sister. Max. She’s home now, but she’ll head back to college. When they reopen.”

“This is the kinda shit I should know when we’ve been dating for nearly a month, and we talk every goddamn day,” Steve growled, hunching his shoulders.

“Well, truly fucking sorry,” Billy said, glancing over. “The only part of me I knew you liked was my dick, so—”

“No, I’m not—I should’ve asked,” Steve said, swivelling, and waving his hands in the air as another horrifying thought occurred to him. “What’s your last name, Billy?!”

“Hargrove,” Billy said, grinning at him.

“Jesus,” Steve muttered, shaking his head, and walked on. He grabbed his phone, and changed his boyfriend’s contact info to include his actual name, feeling like a dipshit.

When they decided, shivering, to head home, Steve turned around to watch Billy walk away, and caught him doing the same thing.

I really like you, Steve texted. sorry you didn’t know.

Billy turned on his heel and blew Steve a kiss, and Steve jumped and pretended to catch it like a fly ball, before holding it cupped in his hands.

nerd, Billy sent.

your nerd, Steve sent back, triumphantly, with two thumbs up across the park at Billy, who started laughing so hard again he had to lean on his knees.

He found Billy Hargrove on Instagram, and Twitter, and scrolled through photos of a really unfairly hot man as he sat in his car, his eyebrows raised. There were photos of Steve’s texts, with loads of comments and hearts, and Steve found himself grimly going through posts where he’d texted and Billy’d posted the screenshot, and then video of him screaming into a pillow, or things Steve had said with two pages of comments and analysis.

‘I think you could do better than somebody who doesn’t like you very much’ caught his eye, and he bit his lips together.

Good thing it’s not up to you, Billy had replied, and Steve nodded, glaring at the username, MadMax666.

I like him a lot, Steve typed, but that didn’t seem like enough, so he deleted it. ‘I like him more than anyone else does’ was worse, and he grimaced, deleting that one. I know he’s amazing, he put, finally, and got back a Who is this?? from Billy’s logon.

The dumb boyfriend, Steve told him, and then everything exploded with heart emoticons, and Steve just called him, grinning. “Hey, Billy,” he said, and Billy laughed.

“Hey, Steve,” he said back, softly, and Steve talked him off the way they had at first, in the bathroom at Billy’s work, telling Billy he was amazing and perfect and good.

The next time Steve went by the bar, he called first, and Billy laughed breathlessly when he said he was coming by.

“Advance notice,” he said. “Almost like a date, huh?”

“I just wanted to hear your voice a little sooner,” Steve admitted, and got a short pause before a hissed “Oh my god.” Steve laughed.

“Maybe something special, then,” Billy whispered, and when Steve got there, instead of seeing Billy’s knees as he dropped to the floor instantly, Billy’s hands were curled over the wall of the stall. “...just shove on in,” he said, and Steve realized that, bizarrely, he was about to have actual penetrative sex with someone he’d never touched.

He unzipped his pants, and rolled a condom on, as Billy said “I know this isn’t what you want. From dating. I—I thought maybe—”

Steve dropped his already-dripping dick to slide his fingers over Billy’s, on the wall of the stall, and hear his voice hitch and shudder. “You’re perfect, babe. You’re enough.”

“...love you,” Billy whispered, maybe.

“What?!” Steve asked, startled, and Billy said “Nothing, nothing.”

Billy didn’t seem to know Steve had found his Twitter too, and all discussion of Steve floated over there, which would have made him feel creepy about reading it, except it was invariably something that just meant Steve needed to call and cheer him up, that he wouldn’t have known if he wasn’t eavesdropping.

What are you gonna do in that huge apartment all by yourself, somebody asked Billy, in the spring, and Steve’s heartbeat a little faster scrolling back to see Billy’s boyfriend had moved out months before, and his little sister was going back to college.

Want to move in with me? he typed, and reconsidered, staring at it instead of hitting send. He counted the months he’d known Billy on his fingers, grimacing.

Can’t pay the rent here with reduced hours, can’t get the deposit to move, popped up on Billy’s Twitter, and Steve glowered at it, then called.

“Move in with me,” he said, when Billy answered.

“...what?” Billy breathed.

“Move in with me,” Steve said again. “You’re alone, right? Come live with me.”

“...is there room?” Billy asked, sounding bewildered. “For me?”

“There’s a little room I use as my office,” Steve said, making a face. “I, uh, I kinda thought you wouldn’t be using it, though.”

“You want me to live with you?” Billy asked again, like his brain was skipping, and Steve laughed.

“Yeah, dick-monster, I do.”

“...you’ve never even seen my face,” Billy muttered, and Steve laughed.

“Is it my fault you’re so fucking tired of Zoom?”

“That doesn’t count,” Billy huffed.

“I’m vaccinated,” Steve told him. “I’ve been quarantining.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Billy said dourly. “I’m crawling out of my skin over here.”

“It’s safe as it can be. D’you want to?”

“Of course I—we’ve never even had the exclusive conversation,” Billy groaned. “Are we?!”

“COVID makes shit weird,” Steve sighed. “I figured you were it for me, yeah.”

“I have never touched your flesh,” Billy moaned, like a serial killer, and Steve snorted.

“Calm down, carnivore,” he said, “—you want help moving?”

“Yes,” Billy sighed. “Yeah. Gimme a couple days—”

“Days?!” Steve asked, startled, and Billy was quiet on the other end. “Days are fine!” Steve corrected. “Days are good!”

“Okay,” Billy said, laughing softly. “Days.”

As soon as the furniture and boxes were piled in Steve’s front room, he sidled over to Billy, who was leaning against the counter panting, his eyes closed. Billy’s jacket was open, from the heat of hauling boxes up the stairs, and Steve ran his fingers down Billy’s neck, and then yanked him close into a hug, feeling the warmth and bulk of him breathing.

“Oof,” Billy whispered, but he relaxed into it with a sigh, leaning his whole weight against Steve.

Steve breathed him in, realizing he felt weak, a little, with the need to squeeze Billy as hard as he could. “Hi,” he whispered.

“Mmmn,” he said, contentedly.

Steve hauled him back to the bed, stripping him down on the way. He wouldn’t quit squirming, and Steve rubbed stubble all over his neck, making him yell. They nearly tripped, because neither of them wanted to pull back enough to look down, but they made it to Steve’s bed. Steve pushed him back, and then crouched over him.

Steve unhooked the mask from his own ears, and ran his fingers up Billy’s arm to his head to untie his. “Feel like I’m lifting your veil,” Steve told him.

Billy kept his eyes shut, smiling as Steve lifted his mask. He was pretty, prettier than his pictures, square-jawed and mustached, and Steve ran his fingers over his boyfriend’s cheek for the first time, just exploring. He tweaked the one dangling earring, and brushed his thumb over Billy’s lips, and Billy bit back a moan, turning his head in Steve’s hands to kiss his fingers.

“...y’know I’m never gonna stop touching you,” Steve whispered, and Billy laughed, his long lashes brushing his freckled cheeks. “...you’re perfect.”

“Mmmn,” Billy said, raising his eyebrows doubtfully.

“You’d be perfect if you had a smashed nose like a cauliflower, and nine-hundred eyes like a fly,” Steve told him, honestly, and Billy burst out laughing.

“Not much of a compliment, then,” he pointed out, opening his eyes and grinning at Steve, and Steve couldn’t help touching his grin, feeling where his cheeks bunched as he smiled.

It felt so good to touch someone.

“...god,” he whispered, leaning in to brush his lips over Billy’s smile. "May I kiss the bride?"

Billy laughed against his lips, hot and human.

My other Harringrove April prompts are here!

#Harringrove #Harringrove April #Whoops I'm a month late #Touch-starved #Long-distance relationship #Because of social distancing #Getting together

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spinbitchzu · 4 years ago

Text

citrus kisses

Darling, you don’t need to say what you mean, ‘cause your kisses taste like tangerines. Aka: cole’s love language is tart and sweet and reminds Kai of things he thought he’d lost.

hey uhhh so. I don’t write ninjago fic often but apparently when i do, it’s about the inherent romanticism of peeling an orange and also action-oriented love languages. anyway you know the drill. lavashipping, a bit over 2k words. unbeta’d bc we die like men.

The oranges that grew in Ignacia grew in huge groves.

It’s one of Kai’s only memories with his whole family: walking between his parents in the long aisles stretching between the lines of trees, Nya’s tiny, chubby hand clasped carefully in his own as she toddled along beside him. The smell of oranges was everywhere, and that day they picked enough to last them for weeks and weeks.

He can still recall his dad’s hands braced around his ribs as he hoisted Kai up to pick a Valencia orange bigger than his head from a high branch, eyes squinting against the bright sun on his face. He’d felt such pride that day, as he carried his treasure around for all to see.

He remembers summers of frothy fresh-squeezed orange juice in the morning, afternoons of fragrant orange cake, and evenings of carefully-partitioned segments that exploded juice on his tongue. His mom used to make ambrosia for Saturday morning breakfast, the orange slices piled high with coconut shavings and thick, fluffy whipped cream. She’d scold him when he peeled the oranges himself; his forceful little thumbs always dug too far into the flesh and sent the juice squirting everywhere. Instead, she clucked her tongue and peeled it for him with easy, deft movements while he sucked the stickiness off his fingers.

Those days—patchworks of hot nights and sunshine through the kitchen windows and the smell of citrus on his mother as she leaned in to kiss him goodnight—they’re days Kai can hardly remember the older he gets.

After his parents disappeared, no one took Kai and Nya to the Valencia groves; no one whipped the cream for ambrosia; no one lifted him to the highest branches for the best oranges. He simply had to wait until he was tall enough to reach them himself.

He doesn’t think about those memories very often, and Nya was so young, he doubts she remembers it at all. It’s not like he ever gets a summer off to return home either, so instead he lets the memory fade until it’s almost entirely forgotten. He locks it in the part of his brain that he’s sectioned off because it’s too painful to keep clinging to when things were that good. It’s okay.

The past tastes like oranges and coconut cream, and Kai has left it behind.

...

Kai forgets why they’re making a stop over Ignacia, but it just so happens that the nearest rural area place for them to moor is over the Valencia groves he had nearly forgotten about.

He stands at the front of the ship, leaning over the railing with his chin propped up on his pillowed arms to study the trees extending in every direction, the dark leaves bejewelled with not-quite-ripe January oranges. The sun overhead is more of a pale, cold disk, and Nya is somewhere below-deck, but it makes him melancholy anyway.

Footsteps approach from behind him—heavy but soft: Cole. He leans over the railing beside Kai, bracing his forearms against the wood as he surveys the landscape. “Hey. Whatcha doin’ out here, stranger?”

“Just lookin’,” he murmurs back. He hums to himself. “Did you know I used to come to this grove with my family as a kid?”

“I didn’t even know you liked oranges,” Cole replies, giving him a sideways glance. He smiles when Kai glances back, dark eyes crinkling. “Do you want to go down now? I’m sure we could grab a few and no one would miss ‘em.”

“Nah, that’s alright,” Kai says with half a grin. “They’re not ripe. And I don’t like oranges that much anyway. Too hard to peel. They just made me think about—things I hadn’t let myself think about for a while.”

“What kind of things?” Cole asks, nudging him with an elbow.

The touch grounds him and he’s grateful for it. He shrugs in a way that’s neither here nor there. “Just things. Home, I guess. My life? Before all the...ninja stuff.”

“Is that a good thing?” Cole tilts his head. In this light, his eyes turn from obsidian to sunlight through whiskey as he waits for an answer.

Kai makes a contemplative noise. “I don’t know. Hurts less than I expected, after everything. It’s bittersweet.” He sighs then, shoulders falling with the motion. “It really is making me miss oranges, though. I don’t know why I lied before—I really do like them.”

He looks back at the groves below and misses the look Cole gives him—measured and curious.

“What about you, do you like oranges?”

“Some. The sweet ones.”

“You’d like these ones, then,” Kai tells him, cheeks rising as he smiles. “The oranges from Ignacia are the biggest, sweetest ones around. They’re good just by themselves, but my mom made a mean ambrosia with them.”

“I bet Zane could replicate the recipe if you told him what it was,” Cole replies.

Kai just shrugs. “Maybe so. He’s sharp like that.”

They fall silent. Kai can physically feel Cole worrying about him and his rare bout of melancholy, so he squares his shoulders and musters up a grin. “Hey, Cole, you—,”

“You don’t have to,” is what Cole interrupts him with, paired with a weighted look that settles around him like a blanket. “I don’t mind the quiet. You’re allowed to, Kai.”

All the feigned bravado drains out of him. Kai stares at him for a second and wonders when Cole got so good at gauging his moods. There’s so many words unspoken inbetween what he says and that earnest, draping look in his eyes and Kai kind of aches with it.

“Okay,” he says instead, shoulders slowly falling. His chin dips to rest on his crossed forearms again and he leans into it when Cole slips as arm around him. “Okay.”

The nippy January wind dances around them, stirring their hair and whipping at their gis, but Kai tips his head against Cole’s shoulder and feels warm down to his toes.

...

“Holy crap, what the hell did you do?” Kai can’t help asking a week later, as Lloyd and Zane walk into the kitchen carrying groceries.

“There was a sale on tangerines at the grocery store,” Zane answers primly, setting his paper bag on the counter. “I thought it prudent to take advantage of it.”

“We have like a hundred pounds of these things,” Lloyd adds, setting his own bag down. “We’re going to be eating tangerines until we get old and grey.”

“Zane, man, you know I love a sale as much as the next guy, but this is a little overboard,” Cole says as he comes in, two more bags of tangerines hoisted on his shoulders. Kai does not stare, thank you very much, as much as he’s been finding it kind of hard to avoid when it comes to Cole and lifting things recently.

“Proper intake of vitamin C is important in preventing scurvy,” Zane replies, though he’s blinking the way he does when he’s getting embarrassed. “It’s a common illness in sailors.”

“Does that still apply if the ship can fly?” Lloyd wonders.

“Or if we’re in the twenty-first century?” Kai adds wryly, eyebrows high.

“I’m sure we’ll find some way to finish them all,” Cole pipes up. “Don’t worry about it, Zane.”

“I was not.” Zane turns away to put away the rest of the groceries while Kai and Cole exchange an amused look. As he bustles back and forth, Kai grabs a tangerine from the bag behind him and turns it over in his hands, studying the way the light catches on the dimpled rind.

“Hey,” Kai says quietly, leaning across the kitchen counter. “Did you do this?”

Cole just shrugs with a crooked grin. “I didn’t do anything. You know Zane and sales. Can’t resist ‘em.”

“You did,” Kai deduces, eyeing his teammate’s reddening ears. He feels his expression soften. “You didn’t have to.”

“Maybe I wanted to,” Cole says in response. He reaches over Kai, coming very, very close, until their noses are close enough to brush. His eyes are very dark and very close and Kai would very much like to kiss him right now.

“Um, uh,” Kai says, very eloquently.

“Not in the kitchen, please,” Zane calls from the pantry, because he hasn’t a romantic bone in his body (or any bones, to be fair to him).

Cole just grins and pulls back, displaying the tangerine he’d grabbed from behind Kai with a flourish. “I’m heading to the training deck. See you around, Hot Stuff.”

“R-right,” he mumbles (like an idiot), fighting the heat settled in his cheeks. He watches Cole go and feels distinctly like an opportunity has sailed over his head.

...

Cole smells like oranges these days.

Kai only notices because that isn’t his normal smell, which is much more organic soaps and something earthy and fresh. It’s a smell that clings to the hoodies Kai keeps pilfering from his closet—comforting in its familiarity.

The abrupt invasion of tangy citrus makes him do a double take the first time he smells it. And then he reaches into the pocket of the hoodie and finds a tangerine. It’s store bought, with a little sticker on the side, and it’s not exactly a strange sight for any reason, but it sort of confounds him.

“Hey,” he says, walking into the kitchen, the object of confusion held gingerly in his hand. “Is this a tangerine?”

Cole looks up from where he’s making a sandwich and raises an eyebrow. “Is that my hoodie?”

“I asked first,” Kai replies quickly, before he has time to pink up.

“I mean, yeah, five points for powers of deduction,” Cole says cheekily. “Congratulations, it’s a tangerine. We gotta finish them somehow, don’t we?”

“I—yeah,” Kai says absently. Cole holds out a hand for it and he tosses it over wordlessly, before he even thinks too much about it.

“You said they’re hard to peel, right?” Cole asks, digging his nails into the rind. He peels it in the shape of a flower and then splits the orange in half with his thumbs to hold out to Kai. “Here.”

Kai looks down at the segment being offered to him in an open palm and then back at Cole with his earnest, crinkly-eyed smile, and feels something stutter fatally in his chest.

“Thanks,” he manages to say, as his heart cracks open to let sunshine stream all in, filling his ribcage with warmth.

He bites into the fruit and feels his mouth fill with juice and thinks about how his mother used to peel oranges when he was too clumsy to and then about how Cole leaves tangerines in the pockets of the hoodies he knows Kai will steal and peels them for him in the shape of a flower, even though it turns his nails all yellow. He thinks of it so hard he forgets to make a face that doesn’t show about seven years of adoration on it and when he looks back at Cole, he’s already looking back with realization blazing across his expression.

“Kai?” he asks, voice wavering as his throat bobs with his nervous gulp.

“Yeah,” he agrees, and then grabs Cole by the collar of his shirt and kisses him, soft and open-mouthed, across the kitchen island. He’s so filled up with sweet oranges and sunlight and the heat of Cole’s skin that he forgets to even be afraid of this, as much as it’s frightened him in his fantasies. He stops being afraid of it altogether when Cole sighs into his mouth and cards a hand through his hair.

When they finally draw back, Cole’s pupils are blown huge and dark and he’s looking distinctly Kissed with a capital K. Kai would very much like to continue that endeavor.

“You taste like oranges,” Cole chuckles as he tugs Kai around the island to pull him closer.

You taste like home, he wants to say, but then Cole leans over him to cup his jaw and kiss him breathless, and Kai decides to let it go unspoken. There are more important things to attend to.

…

In the early summer, Cole and Kai negotiate with the others for a three-day vacation in early June. They drive in a rented car to the Valencia grove outside Ignacia and pick enough oranges to last the ship for weeks. Cole boosts him on his shoulders to help him reach the huge oranges at the tree tops and they laugh the whole time, chasing each other through the orchard and trading citrus kisses. Kai wonders if it’s possible to burst with happiness.

“I’m sick of eating oranges,” Lloyd complains when they come home bearing the (literal) fruits of their labor, newly sun-tanned and smiling.

“Really?” Kai tilts his head, considering. “Seems to me like I can never get enough of ‘em.”

“Was that some sort of romantic metaphor?” Lloyd asks with a wrinkled nose. “Gross.”

Cole laughs from where he’s watching and sidles up from behind to rest his big hands on Kai’s hips.

“Yeah,” Kai says affectionately. “Gross.”

“Not in the kitchen,” Zane calls from the next room, but Kai just leans back against Cole and closes his eyes to drink in the moment.

It’s worth it, he decides. All the fighting. All the losing. All the danger. It’s worth it to eat oranges in the kitchen with people he loves.

“What are you thinking about?” Cole teases, his voice rumbling low in his chest against Kai’s back.

“Nothing,” he says with a smile, opening his eyes. “I just love oranges.”

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago kai #ninjago cole #lavashipping #ninjago lava #my writing #I can't believe I actually finished something for this fandom #holy shit #anyway!!! please look!!!!! please look at it!!!#I hope you like it :))#ft. cameos by #ninjago zane #ninjago lloyd

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imjeralee · 4 years ago

Text

Wallflower: Chapter 13 - #raihansqueen

Raihan x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Note: This is my first Pokemon fanfic. I hope you enjoy it :) Originally posted on Archive of Our Own.

Summary: You’re an unassuming Pokemon breeder who works at the nursery in the Wild Area and he’s Raihan, the fearsome gym leader of Hammerlocke who has more than a million followers. You don’t want anything to do with him but he’s…persistent.

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Warnings: Lemon, smut, violence, language

#raihansqueen

...

It's been a while, but you wake up feeling like Lotad shit. You're pretty sure it's from the Death in the Morning.

Holy crap, they weren't kidding. You feel like death, with legs like jelly and your head threatening to explode. You don't remember much about last night after you left the club...

Groaning loudly, you let your eyes adjust to the minuscule morning light that's seeping into the room through the slits of the blinds just as Raihan gives you a tight squeeze, grunting audibly under his breath. Whoops, looks like you've woken him up by accident. It dawns to you that you're both in bed and naked as the day you were born and he's spooning you from behind with one arm wrapped around your waist, your back pressed firmly against his bare chest.

"Morning already...?" He mutters, his eyes closed.

"Yeah..." You croak out, reaching for his clock blindly and accidentally knocking over last night's used condom off the bedside table and onto the floor.

You finally grab the clock and once your vision clears up, you squint your eyes for a closer look: it's a few minutes past seven and it's a Saturday, so you can afford to sleep in with him. Yawning, you move to lie on your back but you do so as quietly as possible and in a manner which hopefully doesn't disturb Raihan too much.

As you shift around, he lets go of your waist before he climbs on top, resting his head over your chest and wrapping his arms under your back, holding you tightly and rubbing his cheek against your breasts. You settle your arms over the back of his neck as he clutches you tightly, snuggling into you - but not before quickly pressing a chaste kiss over your breast, and another. And another.

"Do you have any matches today?" You ask, exhausted and he presses one final kiss before stopping to rest.

"...No..." Raihan mumbles under his breath; you feel the sides of his shaved head prickling your skin and you squirm somewhat.

"...Should we get up?"

"...No."

"Okay..."

He sounds sleepier than you so you let him sleep and you do the same, closing your eyes again and the next time you wake up, you do so because something weighty slams down on your ribcage and effectively squashes the air out of your lungs and your eyes jerk open. Swerving your glance down, you see Axew.

"What the - "

Axew growls lightly, happy to see you're awake and affectionately paws at your face before he presses down on your ribs, causing your eyes to bulge. Oof, the little guy is seriously packing some strength in that tiny body. You realise he's your wake-up call and you lift him off you and carefully settle him back on the ground. Glancing around, you notice Raihan is missing from the bed. Checking the clock again, it's now two in the afternoon.

Holy crap! This is the latest you've ever woken up! Half your day is gone. Axew scurries out of the bedroom as you sit up and you can hear him rampaging through the hallway and down the stairs.

You can also finally feel your legs so you hastily leave bed albeit wobbling slightly as you stand, then you tidy the sheets and pillows and promptly notice the stain on Raihan's sheet and curse at the mess you both made last night - you end up pulling the sheet from the mattress to be washed for later - then you scour his room for your clothes, locating your bra and panties which you quickly put on. The rest of your clothes seem to be missing so you rub the back of your ankle with one foot, biting down on your lip as you head to the hallway in your underwear.

"Rai, where are you?" You call out, leaning over the banister. There's no response, so you head downstairs with your Rotom in hand and the living room door is closed - you push it open and say, "Raihan?"

You see your boyfriend in the living room, lifting weights whilst lying on his back over the bench. He's in a black vest and shorts with his headband missing. The TV's on but the volume is low, showing a sappy soap drama featuring an Electabuzz and a Wigglytuff - Applin, Torkoal and Bagon sit on their haunches, watching, whilst Axew plays with a poketoy in one corner.

But then you see that his Rotom phone is hovering in mid-air and the little red light is on, and it occurs to you that he's filming one of his workout videos. Rotom turns to you upon your arrival and you're now on screen, all in your underwear glory.

Eyes wide, you quickly wave your hands frantically in the air before you attempt to cover your body and face. "Rotom, no!"

Raihan sits up at once; you can see the muscles in his arms and shoulders bulging each time he moves, a thin sheen of sweat lining his skin. "Rotom, stop recording."

"Bzzt, sorry..."

"Not your fault." Raihan says, grinning; his Rotom flies over and hugs his calf whilst Raihan smiles at him assuringly and puts down the weights.

Meanwhile, you stand limply in the open doorway and gesture flimsily to the phone. "Um, were you recording just there?"

"Yep." Raihan nods, stretching his shoulders, "It was a live feed - one of my workouts."

"Motherfurret!!!" You exclaim in horror, mouth hanging open.

He laughs jovially, then he glances at you up and down as he shifts over the bench. Ah, cripes...you're still in your underwear. Aghast, the gravity of it all is sinking in...you have accidentally walked in on his videos. Casting a meek glance to him, he says, "Relax, I'm sure no-one saw you."

In a split second, your Rotom goes off and you glance at the lit-up screen. Swiping it, you see one of the social media pages you follow being updated with a blurry photo of you in Raihan's living room as per his feed with the caption "When your mom comes home from shopping and you forgot to take the chicken out from the freezer".

There's already a few comments from some users, mostly from those who were watching Raihan's video before he closed it, speculating who you are (Raihan's girlfriend - obviously) and your identity (luckily, nothing yet).

"No-one saw me, huh? Look, I've already become a meme." You moan as you show your phone screen to him.

Raihan chuckles again whilst you sigh heavily, "Don't worry about it, you'll be fine." He says coolly, "Are you feeling better?"

You place Rotom on the sofa, tucking some hair behind your ear before you hug yourself, rubbing your elbows. "Yeah, I'm okay now."

"You're gonna catch a cold. Here, put this on." Raihan adds. As you step around the Pokemon, careful not to disturb them, he grabs his hoodie that he's kept folded beside him and hands it to you; you proceed to slot your arms through and zip it up.

"Thanks. Have you had anything to eat yet?"

"Just something light."

"I'll make us some lunch." You mutter under your breath; before you leave the living room, you notice Raihan's pretty sweaty so you help him wipe his forehead with the towel that he's left by his side. "Sorry I interrupted your live broadcast."

Raihan regards you for a few intense moments before he reaches over, grabs you by the arm with sturdy but gentle strength and he pulls you into his lap. You find yourself wrapped up in his arms at once, before he gives you a tight squeeze. His warmth seeps into you from all four corners and you can't help but chuckle and close your eyes as he confines you in his hold, keeping you balanced in his lap. "You're freezing."

"I couldn't find my clothes."

"Did you check the bathroom?"

"Ah, not yet. I'll look for them later."

He chuckles, scooping your hand into his and rubbing his thumbs over your knuckles before he leans over, pressing his lips against the side of your cheek over and over again. “You don't have to apologise." He murmurs next, moving his lips to your ear. As you squirm in his arms, he lets go of you after planting one final kiss on your temple. "I’ll finish up in a few minutes. I’ll help you.”

”It’s fine, just take your time. It’ll be ready when you’re done.” You say; with that, you wriggle free from his grip and move to stand whilst Raihan finishes the rest of his workout, picking up his discarded weights off the floor; he watches you with a grin as you head into the kitchen, his hoodie reaching your thighs.

In the kitchen, the Pokemon's bowls are filled with food and water so you don't have to worry about them - and you open the fridge, checking the contents. Since you live on your own, you don't bother making dazzling meals for yourself....but since you're at Raihan's, you should really make more of an effort. You bite your lip when it occurs to you - this is the second time you have stayed at Raihan's house now, and it gets better and more exciting each time. You're wearing his hoodie again! You carefully take a whiff, inhaling his scent. Right, onto more serious matters now...you should really cook your man a good meal. Your mum always said to get through to a man's heart is through his stomach. So you should show off your culinary skills, show that you can be a good wife...or maybe you're thinking too far ahead? Nah.

It doesn't look like Raihan has stocked up on food since your last visit though so you can only make do with a simple but healthy pasta and a salad, along with a batch of tea and coffee and some fruit. You hope he doesn’t mind the simplicity of it all...but what if he's used to Michelin meals?

Time to get to work anyway - you roll up the sleeves of the hoodie and start grabbing ingredients out of the fridge. As you prepare, you put the water to boil in the kettle and slice some pieces of fruit, laying them on a plate as aesthetically as possible.

When you're finished cooking, you set his two seater dining table in his kitchen and line the cutlery and cups and although you're not sure if Raihan will be willing to eat your food considering it's not anything spectacular whatsoever, you see him slipping inside the kitchen with the Pokemon following.

"How are you getting on?" He asks, as you empty some of the food off the bowl and onto the plates.

"All done now. You can grab a seat." You say with a wide smile as you tidy the bowls and spare cutlery away.

Raihan plops himself down in an empty chair but before you can take the seat opposite him, he reaches for you yet again and pulls you into his lap. Before you can protest, he snakes an arm around your waist quickly to silence you before pushing you further into his chest with his other hand under your butt, clutching you tightly to him as he drinks in the sight of the fruit pieces, the coffee and tea and the plate which is brimming with food before he instructs Rotom over to take a few snaps of your cooking. He doesn't move his hand off your ass, deciding to keep his hand there.

"This looks great." He murmurs under his breath; your faces are near and this close proximity is enough to make your heart pound as you swerve your glance to him.

“Thanks, I wasn't sure if you'd like it or not.” You utter, slipping a hand to rest on his shoulder just as he props you up properly on his lap and you're pressed up even tighter against him.

"No, I like this." He mutters as he lets go of your waist to grab the fork, stabs it into the salad and puts it into his mouth, chewing. "Mm, this is good."

Your cheeks go pink in response. Raihan grabs another forkful, this time, prodding the fork for you so you open your mouth and you only nibble on a few pieces of lettuce before he scoops the fork into his own mouth and eats the rest. You chew silently as he looks at you, then presses the fork for your taking. You want to try the steamed vegetables you made, so you prod at a few carrots and broccoli and lift the fork to him. He opens his mouth and eats one piece only, leaving the rest to you.

You both do this a few more times, taking turns, then he silently lets go of you so you finally weave your way to the seat opposite him.

You chat through the meal and pour yourselves cups of tea and coffee and occasionally Axew will tug on Raihan's socks for scraps and Raihan will toss a piece of bacon for him. Rose's party is approaching soon and you don't have anything to wear so you will go shopping at Hammerlocke boutique later.

Raihan finishes the meal before you and it grows silent between you two but it's not unpleasant or uncomfortable at all, and as you casually flick your glance up, Raihan is on his phone again - maybe he's uploading the picture of the meal you cooked for him onto his social media account. You continue eating, prodding at a penne pasta when you feel something rubbing along the length of your calf and you pause at once.

It's probably one of the Pokemon - which is the first thought that comes to mind - but when you throw your glance over to where they are, none of them are nearby, not even Axew. They’re all at their bowls, drinking their water and eating their own grub. You glance at Raihan next but he wordlessly sips his coffee whilst casually staring off at the calendar on the wall until he flicks his gaze to you - and you lock eyes.

The sensual rubbing continues, running up the side of your leg before sliding back down. You clear your throat absent-mindedly, chewing your food and swallowing. Two can play at this game. You begin retreating your leg from his and carefully manoeuvre your leg around - and the small table means you are close enough to nudge your foot against the material of his shorts, purposely rubbing his crotch.

Taken off guard, he coughs slightly, lowering his mug before he turns to you, the corner of his lips tugging upwards into a visible smirk. You smile at him in response as you eat your meal and continue to rub his bulge and you feel him growing hard.

This continues for a while or so until you're onto your last shred of pasta and in a split second, he grabs your foot from under the table, his strong hand gripping your heel and your breath gets caught in your throat before he slides his hand over your calf and the side of your thigh, caressing you gently. He doesn't hurt you but it's enough to send your pulse racing.

"The pokemon are watching." He mutters, and you look to the left where you see Torkoal and Applin blinking blankly at your display.

“You started it.” You point out, pouting.

Chuckling, Raihan gulps down the rest of his coffee before he lets go of your leg. He moves to stand, flexing his shoulders and cracking his neck by tilting his head side to side gently before he promptly wanders to your seat; as you look up at him, he scoops you up and off your chair, forcing you to let a squeak of surprise as he settles you over his shoulder.

”Alright then, let’s take this upstairs, shall we?”

...

After having sex, you both begin to get ready to go out. You grab your clothes and put them on whilst Raihan dons a pair of loose black joggers, a white t-shirt and a light blue oversized denim jacket with a Borg collar lined with white fur. You both get dressed silently albeit mindful of each other and occasionally, you'll spot him glancing at you every now and then before grinning. You can't help but feel closer to Raihan than ever before.

"Ready?" He asks, and you nod as he ties his hair up messily; he leaves the headband, choosing to reach for a pair of glasses that he's left folded over his desk, propping them on.

You're pretty sure he doesn't need glasses but it's a refreshing look and it's enough to steal your breath away. Raihan continues to surprise you in so many ways. You both leave the bedroom, heading downstairs and into the landing; Bagon will be your companion so he eagerly waits for you both by the door whilst you put on your shoes. Once you're ready, Raihan opens the door but you hesitate at once, glancing up at him.

"Is this really okay?" You ask. You've lost your nerve, worried and anxious about going out with Raihan in public.

"Of course." He scoops your hand with his and threads his long fingers with yours, clutching your hand firmly. "Let's go. C'mon, Bagon, you too."

Holding your hand tightly, Raihan leads you outside. He locks the door behind him whilst Bagon hops down the steps and waddles to the gate, biting down on the lever and tugging it, easing the gate open for you both before he joins your side. Swallowing down the lump in your throat, the stroll from Raihan's home to the boutique begins. It's only a few minutes away but you can't help but wonder what might happen. More photos... and maybe more memes will definitely be uploaded onto the internet, that's for sure.

Oddly enough, you find that you no longer give a Rattata's ass about that. It's your life and you're with Raihan. Life is short and you should cherish what you have, especially with the dragon tamer. However, the moment you begin to walk down Raihan's street and you find it unnerving although you're not even at main street yet...for whenever you pass someone, you feel their eyes on you. Raihan chats to you, oblivious, but you're unable to concentrate properly.

Finally, you reach the main street and it's a wholly different experience. People begin to stare with remote abandon. You swallow down, your heart beginning to beat even faster and your palms becoming sweaty. Deep inside, you know sooner or later, you will need to be seen with Raihan in public. You can't keep it a secret and he once said it's not fair on you if he dismisses the rumours of him dating you. And it's not fair on him if you refuse to be seen with him. You should be confident then, hold your head high, smile and look happy.

Raihan squeezes your hand firmly, glancing at you from the corner of his eyes. "You okay?"

"Everyone's staring at us."

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it and - "

"Mum, dad, look; it's the Great Raihan!"

You both avert your gazes to a small family who are staring at your direction. Their little boy waves energetically to Raihan and hooks his fingers into claws.

"Mr Raihan, look!!! Grrrroooowl!!!" The little boy roars, and the couple smile and wave at you and Raihan. Raihan waves back in response with a cool grin whilst you gawk awkwardly. The couple quickly usher their child away, thank Raihan and quietly depart.

Unsure if you will ever get used to this, the rest of the journey is thankfully uneventful which you are grateful for. People stare but do not call out to Raihan. And as you make your way further down the streets, you pass a shifty-looking man dressed in black, leaning against the wall of the barbers, reading a paper. Just a few steps away, a group of men huddled by a lamppost - also clad in black - converse in hushed tones. Further down, two men in black can be seen standing outside a shop, staring at the window display.

"What is it?" Raihan asks, noticing you're distracted as you throw quick glances over your shoulder every now and then.

"Um...is it just me or are there a lot of weird men about, all dressed in black?"

"Really?" He glances around as inconspicuously as possible.

It dawns to you how paranoid you may have come across and you hastily brush off the notion. "Never mind, I'm probably thinking too much." Coupled with a weak laugh, you hope Raihan won't think too much about your perhaps bizarre comment.

The boutique sign finally looms into view and you are so darned relieved to see it; Raihan pushes open the door for you and you step inside. It's not busy; there are only three customers perusing the racks and Raihan strolls in leisurely whilst you and Bagon trail after him, looking around the fancy decor and the numerous clothes on display. He approaches the counter where the sales assistant beams widely at him.

"Hello there, Mr Raihan! Good to see you! How can we help you today?"

Raihan leans on the counter with a grin and you observe them engaging in some small talk before finally, he reaches for you, introduces you to the assistant and adds, "My girlfriend and I have been invited to a party."

The assistant averts her glance from Raihan to you, smiling. "Understood! Follow me."

She promptly leaves the counter and Raihan motions for Bagon to follow. The assistant leads your group down the corridor and to the back of the shop away from the other customers and stops at a thick, red velvet curtain which she pulls back for the two of you. Raihan prompts you to enter first before he steps in after you with Bagon waddling by his heels.

You've been brought to a room that only contains a few items on display. There are only a few dresses hanging off black hangers. The shoe and handbag selection is even smaller and it occurs to you that it's the VIP section and you turn round to Raihan who sits himself down on the plush red couch provided, balancing Bagon on his lap.

"I'm fine with the selection outside." You mutter, but Raihan and the assistant merely smile at you.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll like these even better, miss. Everything we have in this room is in season." The assistant says with a broad smile before she turns to leave, "I'll be outside if you need anything."

"Thanks, Mary." Raihan replies, before turning to you.

"Are you gonna buy anything?" You ask.

"Nope, I'm good. Go ahead and choose what you like, I'll pay."

You bite your lip in response. You're pretty sure everything costs you at least two to three months of your pay check; you cannot afford anything in this room and you glance around a little helplessly. "Rai, I can't."

"Why not? I get discounts anyway."

"...But this is too much."

"Just think of it as a gift." He says jovially, lifting Bagon's paw and making him wave at you.

Your parents have always taught you to accept gifts with kindness but this might possibly be too much...but rejecting might be worse. With much reluctance, you croak out, "Thanks."

"My pleasure, princess."

With Raihan's blessing, you head over to the aisle with dresses and begin going through them whilst Raihan plays with Bagon, lifting him up and down in the air until Bagon attempts to bite his fingers and bash his rock-solid head against Raihan's chest.

This is identical to that movie you saw on Snomflix the other day called Pretty Froslass, about a down-on-her-luck Froslass who is hired to be the escort of a very wealthy Magmortar and end up falling in love with despite the Froslass' sketchy occupation.

You proceed to inspect each dress even though there's only several to choose from but they are all incredibly beautiful and well-made; a few minutes in, Raihan leaves the VIP section to return to the main area of the boutique with Bagon - maybe to calm the pokemon down or whatnot, leaving you alone to your own devices for a brief moment until Mary the sales assistant returns.

You pick out a decent, sleeveless black dress and she helps bring you one in your size and shows you the changing room - it's separated by another red curtain which she holds open for you. You thank her, step inside with the hanger in hands, glancing around. The dressing room is as luscious as the room outside. There's another couch, a bench with folded hand towels and large mirrors stuck on all three walls, lit up by little spotlights. It's so...extra. Swallowing down, you quickly shrug yourself out of your daily, bland, cheap, everyday, supermarket-branded clothes and put on the expensive shiny dress, unzipping it carefully at the back and slipping it on.

It's a perfect fit, stopping just a few inches above your knees - the perfect length. All that's missing is a matching pair of heels and a handbag - you can just use the ones you have at home, no need to buy it from here, of course. As you stare at your reflection, patting down the dress and smoothing down the impressive fabric over your belly, you can't help but feel awkward - you look like a little girl in big shoes.

The dress is clearly too expensive and it shows, because you feel out of your depth. Of course, you're just wearing minimal, if none, makeup and once you put some more effort into the makeup and hair department, there'll be bound to be a change but right now, you feel odd and...undeserving of such a nice garment.

Suddenly, you hear footsteps approaching from outside, bringing you out of your thoughts. It's Raihan. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah."

The curtain pulls to one side and Raihan enters with his hands behind his back just as Mary steps away to give you two some privacy. Raihan looks surprised at the sight of you, eyes widening for a split second before he flashes you a huge, heart-wrenching smile. "It suits you." He stops by your side, glancing at you from head to toe.

"You think so?" Your cheeks grow red in response as you throw your gaze to yourself.

"Yep." He says, grinning. "But it's missing something."

"What?"

"Turn round for a second." He says, and you do as you're told, turning to face your reflection and Raihan moves to stand behind you; he proceeds to bring out a beautiful silver necklace with a diamond and fix it around your neck. Eyes bulging, your jaw drops as he lets go after he's fastened the clasps together and takes a step back. "What do you think?"

"Uwoo..." You croak like a dried-out Palpitoad. Discovering words cannot leave your throat, your only means of expressing gratitude is by throwing your arms around him.

Raihan embraces you in response, pulling you closer to him before you feel a weight pressing against your legs; glimpsing down, you and Raihan spot Bagon attempting to join the hug, looking up at the two of you wistfully. You smile at the pokemon, before shifting your glance up at Raihan. His grin widens as he leans towards you, pressing his lips gently over yours.

"Have you decided on what dress you want?" He murmurs against your lips.

"Yep, I'll take this one."

"Great."

Pulling away, he leaves with Bagon again so you can get changed; you shrug yourself out of the dress carefully and bundle it up into your arms. You make a move to remove the necklace and hesitate, staring at your reflection. Raihan has given you an extremely expensive gift...

Your heart pounds frantically as you carefully remove it, slipping it into your bag, ensuring it's safe. He must've bought it when he left you alone briefly. You leave the changing room and VIP section, joining Raihan and Bagon outside in the main area.

It’s then you notice that Bagon has been fixed up with a black bowtie and you squat to his level, cooing at him. "Oh! Don't you look so adorable...so dapper and chic."

Bagon growls lightly in response as you pet his head. You hope Raihan has gotten bowties for the other Pokemon too. The shop is even emptier than before, partially due to how late it's become. As the sales assistant wraps the dress into a fancy black box tied with white ribbon, you wander to a random aisle whilst Raihan realises you've only picked out a dress and raises a brow.

"Mary, I think you've forgotten something." He points out.

You turn round as Raihan glances at the sales assistant expectantly who seems to understand his plight. "Yes, Mr Raihan, right away, sir."

You watch as she scurries away and back into the VIP section, disappearing behind the curtain before she re-emerges with a matching black handbag which she begins to wrap also. You watch with widened eyes once she's finished and Raihan returns to the counter, fumbling around in his pockets. He pulls out a credit card and promptly pays for everything.

You watch silently, holding your breath. Raihan returns to your side with a cheerful smile as he slips his card back into his pockets and you both leave the store with bags in hand, the sales assistant escorting you out and bowing as you leave, thanking you for the patronage.

Raihan takes your hand again as you head back. On the way, you notice the number of men clad in black on the streets seems to have doubled.

...

It's finally the day of Rose's party, you'll be meeting Raihan at the venue - the Rose of the Rondelands. You manage to leave work on time and head home to quickly get ready. With less than three hours to get prepared, you wash your hair, do your makeup and put on the dress and necklace Raihan has treated you to, put on a bracelet and ring just to match, slip on your heels and grab the bag.

"How do I look?" You ask your pokemon as they crowd round, looking up at you. Your pokemon displays their signs of approval by purring or chirping and you grin at them. "I'll be off now. And don't open the door to strangers."

With that, you head out and your Pokemon send you off; you've called a Corviknight taxi in advance and it's waiting for you patiently in your front yard. Stepping inside the tiny cubicle, you tell the cabbie your destination and you're off.

You haven't heard from your friend since so you don't know if she ever met up with Leon - either way, you're curious who his plus one will be. When you're at the hotel, you're stunned to see how busy it is and now you're blending in with your expensive dress yet anxiety begins to bite at you from all four corners as you hesitantly make your way inside.

Huh...I feel like a fake. A fraudster. You think nervously to yourself, This isn't me. This isn't me at all - I don't belong in this world, no siree.

The exhibition will be held in the Grand ballroom. The concierge directs you there even though there's a big fancy sign in the lobby that indicates where one should go. Also, it denotes that not only is it an exhibition but it's actually a small opening ceremony that offers a sneak preview of some of next year's sponsorships allowing investors and stakeholders to endorse their money and resources accordingly.

You gawk at your surroundings as you're led further inside. This is extremely confidential...only the most VIP of VIPs get to attend this. Okay, that's perhaps a crappy way to put it, but it's true. Is this even allowed? Nothing illegal is happening here, right?

Feeling way out of your league and definitely out of place, you wonder if you really should be here. On your way, you see Ball Guy in one corner, waving to guests but no-one bothers to pay him attention. He looks out of place here anyway...The majority of guests are rich gentlemen, socialites and rich boys and girls (literally, as per their trainer class).

Most of them are talking to each other and don't seem concerned with you as you head in on your own. They're all accompanied with pokemon, which makes you realise you should've brought some of your house'mon with you.

"Oh my, did you hear? Gordie's brought his mother as his plus one." snickers a rich-looking guest. Her accent is thick Galarian, and dare you say it, snobbish.

"Well, in his defence, I suppose she can still be accounted for as a gym leader and all the gym leaders are invited to participate," murmurs an equally, uptight young man, "Even sweet Bea is here, filling in for that poor excuse for a boy, Allister."

Now, your mother would tell you this is a good opportunity to network but your networking skills are chickenshit and you don't want to talk to these snotty folk so you decide to find Raihan. He's messaged you anyway, indicating that he's waiting for you outside the grand ballroom, somewhere in the hall.

You glance around and it doesn't take you long to find the gym leader at all - he's so tall he sticks out amongst the crowd - and he's talking to someone but when he spots you from the corner of his eye, he pauses, stops talking altogether and excuses himself. You pull down on the hem of the dress slightly, adjusting the straps and tucking loose hair behind your ear as he makes his way towards you.

You're used to his swagger, but you find yourself blushing profusely when you realise he hasn't taken his eyes off you not once and you swallow down the thick lump in your throat when he stops in front of you. He lets his eyes wander, gazing at you from head to toe and your cheeks grow even warmer when he reaches for your hand and lifts your knuckles to his lips, pressing a quick kiss over the back of your palm which makes you smile.

"Uh...h-how do I look?" You ask nervously, "D-do I look okay? Or weird? 'Cos I feel weird."

"You look like a princess. My princess."

Your breath catches in your throat at once and you stare wide-eyed at Raihan, before you quickly turn away, your cheeks going pink. "...W-well, now I look weird because I thought you'd be wearing a suit or something but you're not. Why are you in your gym uniform?"

"All gym leaders are to wear their uniforms for events like these." He replies with a grin, "C'mon, I'll introduce you to Kabu. He's already inside."

"H-huh? Oh, okay..." You nervously stutter as he offers you his hand; you slip your hand into his and next, he places his other behind your back, gently guiding you with him through the crowd. "Now I am even walking like a princess."

"Yep." He chuckles, and you cringe again, "Were you okay coming here?"

"Yeah." You say, as you navigate the hall with him. He's so tall, and it's hard not to notice Raihan so everyone makes room for the both of you as you walk. As you pass the guests, you notice everyone's staring...

The two of you head inside the grand ballroom, and you try not to gape at the luxurious interior. This cannot be happening to you right now...this must be a dream... never in your life did you ever imagine you would be able to have the chance or opportunity to step foot in a place as wondrous as this. You can't help but gawk as you stare at the beautiful painted walls and ceiling, the glittering golden chandelier and the huge, numerous tables. The room seems to stretch on and on.

"Chairman Rose handpicked the interior decor and design of this room himself." Raihan adds.

You gulp. "...He's got good taste."

At the door and a member of the events staff hands you a leaflet. You scan the brochure quickly: it's a breakdown of tonight's programme - Rose will make an opening statement, followed by some networking. Then it will be Eli's brief but 'special announcement'.

After that, there will be the dinner... the first exhibition battle will begin between Milo and Piers, and then there will be a fifteen minute break before another networking event...and a second battle begins between Nessa and Melony. As you scour the rest of the booklet, you begin to really wish you weren't here...

Waiters and waitresses weave in and out of your path, balancing tall flute glasses filled with glistening champagne. Along the way, you spot Oleana in a dark red gown, standing in one corner silently on her own. You also see the Galar gym leaders - indeed, as Raihan said, they're dressed in their gym uniforms...except Nessa, who is wearing an elegant blue and white dress.

You even catch glimpse of Eli who is discussing with a group of men clad in black, holding black briefcases. You quickly look away, hoping not to have been caught staring. There's something off about Eli but you really don't know what, and the fact that he's talking to another group of men in black is awfully peculiar. Soon, the group dissipates again. Two of the men disappears into the fire exit and another leaves the room. Meanwhile, Eli turns and spots yourself and Raihan - and promptly stalks towards your direction.

"Trouble at twelve o'clock..." You utter to Raihan, and he nods briefly just as Eli calmly strolls in front of you both, balancing a glass of champagne in hand, stopping you in your paths.

"Good evening, Raihan." Eli mutters with a smirk. He's missing his bruised jaw and you think he's covered it up. Makeup or something, whatever.

"Eli." Raihan acknowledges with a gentle smile. You cannot fathom how Raihan can still be so courteous around him. You would not be so courteous, no. Hell, you may strangle the man if you were provided the chance.

Eli turns to you next, looking at you up and down with a slender brow raised. "Well...who would have thought...your girlfriend sure cleans up well. From Pokemon Breeder to Raihan's Princess...now I get it. That's quite the transformation."

You feel a shiver run down your spine; Eli's double-edged compliment sends chills all over. You have Raihan with you this time so you should not be afraid. However, you feel your knees quake relentlessly. And you are getting annoyed with the pet name now unless Raihan is using it.

If Raihan is using it, you know it's an endearing, affectionate term for you. But when Eli uses it, it is sullied and an insult. To your utmost surprise, however, Eli gives you both one last sparing, if not tired, glance and merely wanders off without a further word. It's his special night apparently, perhaps he's determined not to ruin it...

"That reminds me." You say, "What exactly is his 'special announcement'?"

"Nobody knows." Raihan laments under his breath.

"Maybe he will announce that he's quitting his job and decided that he's going to leave Galar for good."

Raihan turns to you and chuckles.

"Too hopeful?"

"Perhaps." He leans down and pecks you on the cheek. "Are you okay? Did he scare you?"

"It was better because you were with me this time."

As you both grin at each other, you continue making your way into the ballroom - Raihan spots Kabu at a buffet table and points you to a stern-faced man with greying hair and you both head over. "Kabu."

The man turns round with a flat red bug perched on his shoulder. It's his Sizzlipede. "Ah, hello Raihan, it's good to see you."

Raihan steers you in front of the Motostoke gym leader, hands on your shoulder. "Good to see you too. Kabu, this is my girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you." Kabu replies, and you both shake hands.

"Nice to meet you too."

"Raihan told me the other day you were interested in secret bases in Hoenn."

"Yes, that's right."

"I can recommend the area near route one hundred and seventeen."

"Oh, thank you."

You continue chatting to the stoic man; he reminds you of someone but you're not entirely sure until you remember Pryce, the gym leader of Mahogany Town back in Johto.

They both have the same calm but wise, stoic demeanour. You find that you enjoy your conversation with Kabu as you talk about fire-type pokemon, duties as a gym leader, his life in Hoenn and what he gets up to in the weekends.

You were networking! And it wasn't as bad as you thought! Or maybe it's because Kabu is easy to talk to and he's a gym leader?

Soon, the lights in the room begin to go dim and a spotlight appears on stage and the entire room descends into silence. Everyone averts their focus to the stage as Chairman Rose appears, and you're surprised you didn't see him earlier but you guess he was busy entertaining the vast majority of guests considering it's his exhibition event.

Donned in a smart black tuxedo and a single red rose fixed to his pocket, Rose smiles at the audience as he steps up and stops behind the microphone. Raihan has been standing by your side the entire time, his hand entwined with your own. He gives you a tight squeeze and when you glance up at him, he grins widely.

"Good evening and thank you for coming today." Rose says, "We are gathered here to formally celebrate the upcoming gym challenge of Galar."

He goes on about the history of the Pokemon League briefly but you cease to listen, choosing to look around the room. Everyone is engrossed with Rose's speech.

All the gym leaders listen intently - and you spot Leon standing beside Opal. Leon's not with anyone, much to your surprise. Eli is also nowhere to be seen. You do however, notice several men clad in black amongst the crowd whom you didn't notice before.

Once the speech is over, the lights return and everyone begins the actual networking event which you're dreading. Kabu was an exception - you really despise networking and you want to merely grab a glass of champagne and find the nearest exit but Raihan seems adamant in introducing you to his fellow gym leaders. He's a natural at this, being extroverted since birth possibly...and he introduces you to Milo and Nessa, until Leon, his Charizard and Opal wander over and you breathe a sigh of relief since you're familiar with them already.

Everyone greets each other and whilst Raihan and Leon talk, Opal turns to you and says, "Dear, whatever happened to your friend? Poor Leon is here without a plus one. She never responded to my messages. Is she alright?"

"Huh? Oh, I don't know. I'll find out." You utter, confused. Turning to Leon, you say apologetically, "Sorry, Leon."

The Champion grins at you regardless, "Oh, it's fine, I have my good buddy Charizard with me anyway." Leon says, and Charizard beside him nods and lets out a snort of breath from its nostrils.

This is awkward; you decide to head to the ladies to powder your nose - or at least, that's what you told them anyway. You leave the suffocating atmosphere of the ballroom and slip into the quiet and empty hallway, locating the signs that point you to the female lavatory. Once you arrive, you open the door to see two women inside already, chatting and giggling to each other as they check their reflections - and your blood goes cold, your eyes growing wide.

It's Alicia, and...

Raihan's ex-girlfriend.

Alicia spots you first; you're frozen up all over like a statue, gawking at them in shock until she nudges the girl beside her with her elbow and murmurs in her ear. "That's the one I was telling you about."

There's not one attempt to be discreet. You heard everything loud and clear. Raihan's ex-girlfriend subsequently turns to you next - and promptly looks at you from head to toe. "Oh?"

You can't help but stare. She's fair-skinned, has rosy pink cheeks and lips, high cheekbones and perfect jaw and side profile. Her hair is parted to the side, tied into a loose bun with a silver clasp. Donned in an elegant, black silk dress, you cannot help but wilt like a flower in her presence...... Raihan's ex-girlfriend is simply the epitome of what it means to be beautiful, the absolute embodiment of a perfect human being. It's as though you're looking at a flawless portrait of a person.

You don't fail to notice her huge diamond ring either. Holy crap, you didn't think it was possible, but it is... She's even prettier in real life and your friend's words echo in your mind: she said you shouldn't compare yourself to her, how you shouldn't feel bad about yourself for not being as pretty as her....those words vanish in an instant and you find your well-being and entire self-worth crushed and torn into little, itty bitty bitesize pieces in a span of a second.

Strangely enough, she introduces herself to you. "I'm Raihan's ex-girlfriend." She adds. "How is he?"

You're stunned, your throat is hoarse and you cannot find your voice. After a prolonged silence however, and she eventually casts you an impatient look at your lack of response, and you finally jitter into action and stammer out, "O-oh, yes, I know, and he-he's fine. He's totally fine."

The corner of her lips curls into a smile at your uncontrollable warbling. "That's good to know. I'm glad he's doing well." She turns to Alicia, "Let's go." And Alicia nods wordlessly and the two women pass you; you step aside, allowing them passage. However, Raihan's ex-girlfriend pauses briefly before she's out of the door. "Ah. So...they're calling you Raihan's Princess, right...? Do you know what they called me when there were rumours that we were dating?"

You merely blink at her blankly then slowly shake your head.

She smiles at you warmly, glancing at you with half-lidded eyes. "I was Raihan's Queen."

...

You stomp towards the direction of the ballroom.

Raihan lingers in the hallway near the closed doors, waiting for you. You spot him and his mouth moves - he's about to say something - but ultimately drops the attempt when he notices your troubled expression. "What's wrong?"

What's wrong? What's wrong? How could Raihan have dated that girl? That type of girl. She is cruel. In a way, she's worse than Alicia. How could Raihan have once loved her? Was it because of her unearthly beauty? Because they are both perfect, attractive individuals? Maybe your friend is right - popular kids go with the popular kids.

You grit your teeth, shaking your head inwardly to rid of those thoughts. How juvenile; you are an adult now! But still, it cannot be helped. Your stomach churns with unquenchable rage, your knuckles clench at the infuriating frustration you feel...this overwhelming feeling of jealousy, the envy and the resentment, all of this boils and bubbles deep inside you and you cannot stop it, you can feel no relief...that is what's wrong.

You growl out, "I saw your ex-girlfriend in the bathroom. Out of all the people I had to see tonight, I had to see her. She asked how you were doing. I told her you were doing well. Then she told me that she used to be called Raihan's Queen."

He doesn't look surprised and his reaction unsettles you; it means he knows she gets invited to these parties, too.

"I'm going home." You add; you take a deep breath but find nothing is really helping.

This is not Raihan's fault, of course, but you don't particularly feel welcome here anymore and some individuals had made it quite clear that you don't belong in their world - Eli, Alicia, the ex-girlfriend...and maybe you will do them a favour and get out of their hair - you do not want to stay any longer. Every fibre, every nerve in your body is screaming warning signals, telling you to go, that this place and these people are toxic. Removing your bracelet, removing your ring, you stuff it into your bag.

"This. This. This isn't me. None of this is me," You say, "I don't fit in with any of these people and I can't pretend; I hate the people you're associated with - Alicia, for example - and it's quite clear she hates me too for reasons I don't know. But what I do know is that I'd rather be on my own at home, watching TV, reading my book and being with my pokemon, than spend one more minute here. I'm so uncomfortable and anxious, and I don't want to be here. I'm sorry, but I don't."

It simmers into silence following your outburst. Again, you have said something you probably shouldn't have said... maybe not here, not now. It's your honest feelings and thoughts...but why did this happen again? However, Raihan moves towards you and pulls you into his chest, holding you against him tightly and your tense shoulders droop at once.

"Okay. I'll go home with you." He murmurs, "Let's go home."

"...You can't. This is Rose's party and you - "

You're interrupted when your Rotom rings and he flies out of your handbag. "Bzzz, emergency incoming call from Allister!"

"Emergency?" You utter as Raihan lets go of you, "H-hello, Allister. What's up?"

"....We have the dental record results from the police...I need to talk to you; is...is it possible if we meet up?"

"Right now?"

"Yes...I think you need to see this and....can you get Leon and Chairman Rose to come too? Please...?"

"What's going on? Are you okay???"

"Yes, but...please come over as soon as possible."

You hesitate, before nodding, "Okay, I'll go get them. Where should we meet?"

"...Meet me at the Pokemon Nursery... Bridge Field, the Wild Area. Bye..."

"Huh?" You squawk, but he's hung up already.

"What's wrong?" Raihan asks as Rotom returns to your bag.

"He wants to meet at the Pokemon Nursery right now. He wants Leon and Chairman Rose to come too...something to do with the dental records." You reply, "It sounds serious. I'm gonna go. Sorry."

"Alright, then I'll come too."

You nod, "Right, let's grab Leon and Chairman Rose."

...

You wonder what Allister has discovered. It was virtually impossible to get Chairman Rose to leave his party which was to be expected, but you manage to grab Leon - therefore yourself, Raihan and the Champion head to the Wild Area at once. You push the encounter with Alicia and Raihan's ex to the back of your mind. It's no longer important. When the taxi drops your group off, you head over to the Pokemon Nursery, ie, your workplace, where you see Allister waiting patiently outside and once he spots your group, he moves up to stand.

"Hello...thanks for coming." He murmurs quietly.

"No problem. What's wrong, Allister?" Leon asks, and the little boy points to the door.

"Let's go inside...you'll find out for yourself..."

You and Raihan exchange a quick glance before trailing after Allister and Leon, opening the door and entering the Pokemon Nursery. The light is on and you're wondering why it's still open at this time. Your stomach becomes twisted with nausea as you see your boss sitting on the sofa in tears, clutching her two Houndoom whilst a Policeman is taking down some notes.

"Boss?" You rush over to her, seating yourself down by her side, "What happened? Are you okay?"

She turns to you, her face streaked with tears before she lets go of Fluffy and Scruffy, and throws her arms around you tightly, sobbing into your shoulder. She's trying to speak but every noise that escapes her mouth is garbled nonsense. You can't make out what she's trying to say at all; all you can do is pat her on the back.

As you try to calm her down, the policeman turns to the group. "Mr Champion, Mr Raihan, Allister, thank you for coming.... We've got the results of the dental records. The body you found in the woods belongs to a six year old little boy - her son, Eli." says the policeman and there's a brief silence following that revelation. "I know how this sounds but it's the truth. The body in the woods is her son."

Your group glance at each other in befuddlement. You suppose everyone is thinking the same thing - if the body in the woods is your boss' son... "Then who's the Eli working for Chairman Rose?" You blurt out.

The policeman says, "Now, I've already gathered some testimony - "

"It's okay, I can tell them." Your boss finally speaks up, hiccuping slightly. She looks at you, your group then shakily says, "....My son ran away from home once..."

Yes, you remember she told you that.

"...And he was found by the police and because it'd been some time, we didn't quite recognise him, but the police were adamant and said he was my Eli at that time and they stopped the search, closed the case... I...I guess I always knew deep inside something was wrong, but...he was a little boy. He needed a home. All the...the DNA tests, the matching, the lie detector tests...my husband and I went through a lot already so we didn't...we didn't..." Your boss sighs, but you can tell she's struggling as she begins to sob again, "He was just a boy..."

A deathly silence fills the room until -

"Emergency message from Oleana!!!"

It's Leon's Rotom. He checks his phone and everyone waits. He scrutinises the screen before he abruptly spins on his heel to leave. "Chairman Rose is in trouble! I'm heading back to Wyndon!"

"Leon - " Raihan shouts after him, but he's already rushed out of the Pokemon Nursery.

What the hell is going on tonight?

...

#raihan #kibana #archiveofmyown #jeralee #wallflower #fanfic #fic #reader insert #raihan x reader #Raihan x you #pokemon #pkmn #pokemonshield #pokemonsword #pokemon shield and sword

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derl30 · 4 years ago

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ALTERED STATES REVIEW TIME!

OK, this tumblr is, today, a vehicle for me to review ALTERED STATES. And you (the one person who stumbled on this review two-hundred years from n- oh who am I kidding, when the aliens from A.I. who show up to thaw out Haley Joel Osment and the teddy bear who was the real hero of that movie find this) should be very excited about this. Because this movie is insane. And highly entertaining.

Yes, the movie poster looks like ass. If I told you this was a movie where William Hurt (not the William Hurt from that awful 90's Lost in Space remake, or the one who slept through an entire performance as Duke Leto in the Syfy miniseries of Dune. This is before the body snatchers got him) took ayahuasca and got in a isolation tank and it blew his mind so hard he started devolving into a neanderthal and creating dimensional portals and he couldn't stop because he was addicted to finding the truth of existence... Well you wouldn't get that from this poster, would you? So let's move on. Shall we?

The film opens in 1967 with William Hurt's character, psychopathologist Edward Jessup, already immersed in a sensory deprivation tank, whilst his colleague and “buddy” Bob Balaban (he's just Bob Balaban in everything I'm not giving you his character's name look it up yourself if it's bugging you so much) oversees.

Now, you may notice I put buddy in quotes. The reason for that is that Jessup is a self-obsessed ass who seemingly has no reason to be around other people unless he can expound to them one of his various monologues. Bob Balaban barely gets a word in edgewise throughout the entire film. Bob Balaban.

See, Jessup loves the sensory deprivation tank experience. Unsurprisingly, as it allows him to be completely alone with himself for hours.

Later, at perhaps the lamest party ever, a bunch of faculty are chilling out and listening to the Doors. Everyone we see is talking about Jessup. Why? Well, much as Jessup is obsessed with himself, everyone else seems to follow suit by being obsessed with him. One young woman, Emily, (Blair Brown) is introduced to him in this very shot below as he arrives at the party:

Notice how is framed in holy light? There is a closeup after, of him framed in blinding glowing light followed up with a zoom in on Emily's face, enraptured with this incredible dynamic man. So much so that the moment he tries to make a goddamn sandwich she starts grabbing his celery (get your mind out of the gutter) and flirting with him. Which for these two that means talking science, immediately. Talking more at each other than with each other. This is often the way with Paddy Chayefsky's scripts.

PAUSE

Paddy Chayefsky is doubtless one of the great American writers for the screen. He wrote Marty, The Hospital and Network (which is a fucking incredible piece of work). He got an Oscar for all three. He also wrote this movie (Altered States, remember? Good lord) and disowned it completely three weeks in to production. His scripts tend to have very intelligent, driven characters at the center, who monologue extensively at each other. These scripts are not attempting to sound naturalistic.

Ken Russell, however, directed the film. He, like Chayefsky, is top notch at what he does (Direct. I said he directed the film like a second ago, come on keep up). His films, like Women in Love, The Devils, (which was banned in several major countries upon release and has never been shown publicly in its full, uncut form (by the way it's a masterpiece)) the Who's Tommy, Gothic, and Lair of the White Worm are all fucking gonzo nuts. I mean like, when you gave this guy the reins, you were going to Overthetopsville and there will be no stops on this trip. And god bless! I love directors who GO for it!

You're getting the chance to make a movie. Stop hemming and hawing and hit me over the head with what you want to say! Film is a visual medium, USE IT!

I feel I might have made my feelings clear here. So, moving on...

Ken Russell and Paddy Chayefsky immediately started butting heads, right from the start. Chayefsky was a BIG deal, and he wanted control over the picture in a BIG way. Ken would listen to his suggestions on everything to lighting and set dressing, and politely tell him, “No.”, and continue being the director of the film. Chayefsky hated him pretty quickly.

He had much more control over films like The Hospital. Which, if you watch The Hospital, well, it shows. You've got great actors (George C. Scott, Dame Diana Rigg (Dame may be the greatest official title of all time)) saying great dialogue. But its just two very witty bitter people sort of expounding on topics and speaking at each other and suddenly admitting they are in love and discussing what drapes they will have to buy for their new home. It's utterly preposterous, and it doesn't work in the way Sidney Lumet got it to work in Network, by literally making one of the lead characters realize his life is turning into a ludicrous soap opera.

So of course Ken tried to humanize, naturalize, the dialogue sequences. And it works! The film feels more human than the Hospital or Network. Despite the fact that Jessup is literally becoming more and more inhuman throughout the film. One of the ways he does this is by having the character's eat, drink, and work on other things during the dialogue sequences. This is perfectly normal in film, it's called giving the actor “business” to do, during the scene. Chayefsky HATED this. “They are mumbling my precious dialogue! Chewing through it! Sucking it through a straw!” Sorry, Chayefsky buddy. It works for the picture. Chayefsky also felt the actors were too emotional with his dialogue. Right. See, they call that acting.

UNPAUSE

Which brings us back to the first meeting of Emily and Jessup at the party. They are eating during this important scene! I can just picture Chayefsky seeing this, and running to the studio brass to tattle and get Ken Russell fired (as he got Arthur Penn of Bonnie and Clyde fame fired before Ken Russell came on board).

Emily and Jessup are, true to Chayefsky form, extremely intelligent, driven people and hearing them discuss topics such as anthropology and schizophrenia is quite interesting. It's just that what is to come, film being a visual medium, will eclipse just about any dialogue, no matter how good, from our mind thingys.

The two give up on the science talk and go straight to banging on her couch. After, she asks what he was thinking about. His answer is priceless. “God. Jesus. Crucifixions.”

She smiles.

Bwahahaha! Oh Paddy Chayefsky, you sure know women.

He admits he used to have religious visions. She listens to him from the sweaty couch whilst he sits naked on the floor, and starts going on about his father's horrible death of cancer and his loss of faith. And he admits to her that he's a nut. Her response is to call him a fascinating bastard. I think Lucas may have taken notes for Padme and Anakin.

So naturally, they get married immediately.

But none of that matters because Jessup gets back in the sensory deprivation tank and has his first vision. A nightmare of his dying father and lost faith in christianity. It's pretty great, filled with foreboding hospital rooms, his father's face being covered in a burning Shroud of Turin, everything covered by horrible blood red clouds and then THIS FUCKING THING SHOWS UP AND ITS ALIVE AND WRIGGLING

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

excuse me...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

The many-eyed goat is slaughtered over a gold bible and suddenly Jessups screwing Emily again and we enter a blood vessel looking thing and the vision ends and he never mentions this again. Oh. Okay,

Emily continues on about what a nut Jessup is as they make marriage plans. Her monologue:

“You're an unmitigated madman. You don't have to tell me how weird you are. I know how weird you are. I'm the girl in your bed the past two months. Even sex is a mystical experience for you. You carry on like a flagellant... Which can be very nice, but I sometimes wonder if it's me that's being made love to. I feel like I'm being harpooned by some raging monk in the act of receiving God. (Emphasis mine)

"And you are a Faust-freak Eddie! You'd sell your soul to find the great truth. Well, human life doesn't have great truths. We're born in doubt. We spend our lives persuading ourselves we're alive. And one way we do that is we love each other, like I love you. I can't imagine living without you. So let's get married, and if it turns out to be a disaster, it'll be a disaster.”

It's a disaster.

As in, by the next scene. It starts off happy enough looking, they have kids and people are smiling. And hey, wow it's seven years later! But, well, see, whoops, they are getting a divorce. Well, not they. See, he is divorcing her because he considers the seven years with her a complete waste.

She still loves him, desperately. He doesn't give a shit about her or the kids. He tells Bob Balaban this, straight up. And then starts bugging him about deprivation tanks and Hinchi Indians in South America who have sacred mushrooms that can really fuck you up.

It's at this point you would like for Jessup to be hit by a Mack truck. But the movie continues on. By the way, this is one of the kids he doesn't give a crap about:

That's right. Drew Barrymore's first role is a kid that William Hurt doesn't give a shit about. Something that William Hurt would make a career out of with narcoleptic performances in Lost in Space and Syfy's Dune. So, Emily takes the kids to Africa for her anthropology work while Jessup goes to South America to go deeper into his own creepy mind.

The Hinchi Indians agree to allow him to participate in the drug ritual. They enter their holy cave.

This shot is beautiful. At this point the film becomes increasingly gorgeous. Ken Russell has started to go into overdrive, ladies and gentlemen. Buckle. Your. Seatbelts.

The Indians grab Jessup's hand and cut him, freaking him out. They pour his blood into the drug mixture. They begin to drink. Then he takes a sip. The intensity of the film here has quadrupled. The vision begins, fireworks going off all around him. He sees cave paintings of humans and komodo dragons and this:

The proper life he left behind with Emily. He's convulsing, sweating. The Indians are all around, masked. Snakes. He's laughing in pain. Energy spills from the void. A snake under the parasol strikes and begins to strangle him. He and Emily march toward a nuclear explosion as energy pours from the cut on his hand, becoming a lizard. From within a sandstorm, Emily watches him, naked. Jessup looks at her, entranced, as the soothing sands cover them both, slowly.

It's a beautiful sequence. A perfect film sequence. I can't overstate how strong the vision sequences are from this point forward. Great visual effects work and the madman mind of Ken Russell create something unforgettable, with it's own pace, independent from the rest of the film.

Jessup awakens with a komodo dragon laying before him, ripped to pieces. The Indians and the others all claim he killed it in rage. Jessup remembers nothing, takes samples of the drug to reproduce it, and goes back home.

Back home, Jessup keeps doing as much of the drug as he can and having Bob Balaban record results. They can't up the dosage any more so Jessup hops back in to the self deprivation tank to create a more extreme experience.

In his next session, Jessup states he is having a vision of early man, hunting a deer and killing it. Suddenly he states he is one of them, killing the deer. He begins to grunt like an animal. The two pull him out. He's incredibly pale, blood seeping out of his mouth. He can't speak, and has difficulty breathing. He insists they do an X-ray. It shows that there is a vocalizing lump in the front part of his throat. Jessup claims that his body had begun to revert to a simian state. The medical doctor agrees, stating the throat X-rays looks like that of a gorilla.

Luckily his throat returns to normal. So Jessup finishes up his day by having over a student of his and sleeping with her.

Our hero, people!

At this point we hardly feel sorry for him as his body suddenly begins to twist and bulge in the middle of the night, shifting in and out of neanderthal shapes. It's a horrific sequence, disturbing as hell. You certainly didn't expect the film to shift into body horror.

Jessup feels normal after a while. but sees visions of lava explosions, the birthing of the Earth all around him. Not a good sign.

He goes to pick up Emily from the airport the next day. She asks how he is doing.

“Oh, fine.”

Yeah right.

Emily has been told what Jessup has been doing and is worried, which of course pisses off Jessup even more. The guy is obviously obsessed with reaching the truth and root of existence, much as Emily surmised earlier, and we see he has no fear of even losing his own soul, again true to her word. The only thing that allows us to give a shit about him at this point is that Emily cares for him and she's decent people, okay?

So back Jessup goes into the tank with his ayahuasca or whatever it is. Alone. The tank door opens from the inside.

The hand that pushes it open is covered in thick hair. He's devolved.

Ape-Jessup escapes the tank room and chases a janitor around the building. Again, this scene is fucking freaky as hell. We can't get a good look at this screaming animal that was Jessup.

The janitor gets a guard to help and chases after him into the boiler room, where we finally get a good look at him when he assaults the security guard and escapes.

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Ape-Jessup runs through the city at night, making his way to the zoo where he kills a antelope and eats it. The Ape-Jessup sequence goes on way too long, but is nonetheless unforgettable. The makeup is much more convincing than the above picture suggests, and whoever performed Ape-Jessup did an admirable job.

The cops find an unconscious Jessup in the zoo and bring him in. Emily picks him up and questions him. Jessup admits everything that he can remember. He also admits that he probably killed that security guard. And once again doesn't seem to give a shit. Prick. He calls it the most supremely satisfying time of his life.

Even Emily seems disgusted with him. But, she's also fascinated with what he's accomplished. As an anthropologist, his transformation fascinates her. And so, she agrees to help oversee his next session. Big mistake.

Before the big session Emily and Jessup romantically reconnect, and then into the climactic session we go!

Get your popcorn ready!

After a few hours in to the session, the video monitor shows Jessup begin to literally melt apart like goo, reverting to primordial ooze, the very beginning of existence. An attempt to open the isolation tank doors blasts everyone unconscious, as light and energy pour forth. Emily is the only one left. She sees Jessup's life energy pulse from within the tank.

Rain pours down around them. The pipes on the walls twist and turn like jelly. The ground is covered with a pool of swirling fog and energy. Emily advances toward the vortex of the tank.

In the emptiness of the beginning of everything, Emily seizes the energy before her and reconstitutes Jessup.

They take him home. While he sleeps, Emily rages over the fact that she loves such a insane bastard, and can't get over him. And, then, after Bob Balaban leaves, leaving Emily alone, Jessup wakes up.

He sweetly admits that the truth he learned was that there was no learnable truth, just unknowable horror, and all that's real is human experience. And he'll be a good boy from now on. Well too bad!

Because that horrible truth isn't done with him, and it's back to goo-Jessup! Emily tries to help him, grabbing him, but this in turn effects her, turning her into a shimmering lava form of herself. Both of them begin to self-destruct as Jessup, enraged, watching her in pain, struggles to retake his humanity, slamming himself into the wall, reforming himself through sheer will and physicality. He grabs her and brings her back, mirroring what she did for him during the final session. They embrace naked in the hallway. He finally admits, “I love you, Emily.”

Fade to credits.

Awww true love!

What can I say to sum up? Awesome 80's practical effects. Genius wacko go-for-it Ken Russell directing. Out of this world vision sequences. A awake and actually remarkable performance from William Hurt. An occasionally turgid but often fascinating script by the ever ornery Paddy Chayefsky. Whats not to like?

Well, the ending is a little rushed. The ape sequence goes on for a little too long and takes up perhaps too much of the films overall running time. The central love story is, well... a little hard to swallow, but hey, I guess there really is somebody out there for everyone. Even self-absorbed, deadbeat, cheating, sensory deprivation loving, ayahuasca dropping, Harvard teachers with a messiah complex!

And on that note, aliens from A.I. Artifical Intelligence, have a good day, and don't leave poor Teddy alone with no one to keep him company!

Sayonara!

#altered states #ken russell #movies #review #funny?

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justjessame · 3 years ago

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Avery Emerson Clay: Daddy's Little... Taser Zapper

Jake helped me undress, unwind, and take a very slow shower. Instead of waiting to talk it over after the shower, he brought it up while hosing off the first layers of dust.

“I know that I get pissed at sparring dummies because of those smug expressionless faces they have,” he offered, his fingers untangling my braid and working shampoo through the strands. “I mean where do they get off, with their no eye having asses?”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Yeah, and they can’t even talk back.” I leaned back, letting the shower stream flow over my face, giving me a reprieve and cleaning it free of dust and sweat. When I straightened up, I opened my eyes to see him waiting, watching me carefully. “I was pissed off at my dad.” I considered those words, my words. “I AM pissed off at my dad.” I wasn’t seeing red, not right now, but Dad wasn’t in front of me, Jake was. And Jake was naked, so I was in a different frame of mind.

Jake reached around me for the soap and a washcloth he’d brought into the shower with us. Lathering the terry cloth up, he was taking the time to gauge his words, by the time the cloth was soapy and ready to touch my skin so was he. “Because of the Op?” He started at my shoulders and neck, since I’d managed to clear my face on my own. I relaxed into his ministrations, letting him take care of me while I explained why I was angry enough to lose my shit on an inanimate dummy.

I told him all the reasons I’d seen red, literally. Why I went off and beat the high holy fuck out of a dummy, getting stuffing all over myself and the gym and forcing him to come play babysitter.

“Babysitter?” His lips quirked into a smile at the term. “You think your mom called me to babysit you?” He’d finished washing all the parts of me that had been coated in stuffing, but that left some of my more personal parts untouched and neglected. Jake’s hands, which he’d been keeping carefully above the waist while we worked on my issues, started to slither lower, reminding me of Jake Jensen’s ability to prove he had game when the time was right. “I’m pretty damn sure that your mom would NEVER hire me as your babysitter, Avery.” He pulled lightly on my waist and then our mouths were together and I forgot all about Dad and the stupid Operation.

We were dressed and walking back to the kitchen for something to eat when I heard the reminder that we weren’t in a bubble without rage triggers. Jake’s fingers were still linked with mine, which probably helped keep the flare of anger from growing to a full roar.

“Avery Emerson,” did Daddy always greet me with my first and middle names? Was this a new thing or was it normal? “I heard that you made a mess in the gym.”

“Don’t worry,” I moved carefully to the refrigerator to pull one of Rose’s pre-made meals from the freezer to reheat for Jake and I. Good luck getting a meal out of me, Daddy Dearest. “I plan on cleaning it up right after Jake and I eat.”

Dad grunted and I read the instructions that Rose had taped to the container twice, just to allow myself extra time to ignore him. Preheating the oven meant that there would be time to kill, which in a Dadless kitchen could mean extra Jake nudity, but as I looked up from the stove I saw that Dad was in it for the long haul. Shit.

“I think that you and I still have a few things to iron out, Avery.” Don’t roll your eyes, don’t sigh, and don’t throw something heavy at him. Weakness, remember? I nodded and took a seat beside Jake, which had Dad’s eyes narrowing. “Your brother isn’t completely sure where this Max might make the move, which means that you are going to have to be more available.”

“More available?” I tilted my head. “Should I wear a sign that says ‘Take me, I’m bait’?” I was baiting my father, dangerous, but honestly, what the fuck? “I can’t go into GI more often, Dad, the court frowns on that, since it’s the ‘scene of the crime’ and all.” I was using air quotes. I was three beats from rolling my eyes. I was wondering where the fuck my mom was.

“You can go in if I send you in with documents,” loopholes, I nearly snorted. Dad was utilizing loopholes to get me kidnapped. “And we aren’t just thinking of GI.” I waited, thinking that I’d better not test him with another bout of daydreaming. “You jog at least twice a week off property, kick it up to three times.” Great, I hated to fucking jog. There was a reason I only did it twice a week. “Start shopping more. You’re an heiress, sweetheart, start acting the part.” Did I imagine the shift of his eyes to Jake when he called me an heiress? Was he actually playing the fucking class card? For fuck’s -

I felt Jake’s fingers tighten on my thigh so I didn’t speak, or at least I didn’t say what first came to mind, which shocked Daddy, I think. “Fine.” I exhaled, and nearly cheered when the stove announced that the oven was ready. “Let me get this put in the oven and we’ll hash out my new schedule.” I knew I sounded exactly like a child who just learned that they had piano lessons added when they hated the piano, but damn it, I really hated this entire fucking idea.

We ate, I gave in and gave Daddy a portion after he admitted that Mom had been called away to one of her charity luncheons. Clay and Aisha were off on their own, Pooch was in the pool house probably hooked up and connecting with his little family, and Cougar was doing whatever Cougar did when left to his own devices. It seemed that Daddy was given the task of putting Avery to rights. Yay.

“Shopping like a Hilton,” I muttered, once lunch was finished and I’d put the dishes in the dishwasher and Jake wiped up the crumbs. Dad had gone off to his home office while Jake was still with me. He wrapped his arms around me as I sighed and leaned back. We could look out over the pool and backyard, where puppies were relaxing and cats were sunbathing. “Jogging even when I hate sweating,” his chuckle ruffled my hair. “And errands into an office that I no longer have an office in, thanks to my temper.” My hands covered his and I was sorely tempted to leave the gym for tomorrow, but that wouldn’t work, because Rose would be back to work and she’d by some extra sense sniff out the mess and clean it up for me. “I have a mess to clean up.”

“WE have a mess to clean up,” Jake insisted, and took my hand and walked with me back to the scene of the massacre.

As we worked, vacuuming up the loose filler first, then sweeping up the crap that wasn’t easily gripped by the vacuum, I tried to understand my dad’s attitude. Why was he acting so weird about Clay being home, and bringing his team with him?

“And that bit about me being an HEIRESS?” I was shoving the larger bits of Mr. Sparsnomore into an industrial strength lawn and garden garbage bag as I muttered darkly about my dad’s shortcomings. “What was that all about?”

Jake snorted, causing my head to pop up and our eyes to meet over the length of the mat. When he saw my confusion he chuckled and shook his head, but I was no less confused. “You really don’t get it?” I shook my head right back at the broad shouldered dork. “How often do you have a guy you’re openly sleeping with staying in the house, Avery?” My eyes were narrowed at the question. The answer was rarely, if ever, but he didn’t wait for me to answer. “Better yet, a guy you tell your entire family you plan on having very aggressive sex with minutes after leaving their company, under the same roof, that happens to be a guest who is staying in the guest room NEXT to your bedroom?”

I was going to shrug it off, tell this adorably awkward, yet truly naive hottie that he was beyond wrong. I mean, MY dad, the man who basically screwed my mother over the entire property we stood on, in fact, I was pretty sure he might have had Mom pinned against this poor dead dummy at one point or another, if I strained my memory banks I bet I had that one hidden in there, was going to go full prude with ME?

“Don’t even think of saying I’m wrong, Avery,” he was grinning and I bit my lip because even when he was being obnoxious about being right he was pretty damn sexy. “I have a sister, remember? And while my parents aren’t quite as tuned into what we were up to, my dad was super fucking weird when she started dating. More so when the guys started being around the house.”

I considered what he was saying. Aside from Mom, Dad, and Clay, I was the private one. I kept my personal life under wraps, and BEHIND CLOSED FUCKING DOORS. So Jake was a first, in that they actually met him. And I HAD sort of insinuated that I’d planned on maybe tying him up. Shit. Damn it. Jake crawled over the still slightly grubby floor and kissed my nose. “It’s ok, I’m not scared off.”

#Franklin Clay #jake jensen x ofc #The Losers (2010)#alternate universe #humor #Mild smut #fluff #Family Fluff #FLUFF AND SMUT

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katalyna-rose · 5 years ago

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Yes hello friends! Okay, so surgery yesterday seems to have gone pretty well. I’m hurting pretty bad right now but that’s to be expected, yet I’m also not feeling as bad as I thought I would. I’m really hopeful that this is the end of this terrible journey and once I heal from this I’ll be right as rain. I can go back to work in about a week, and I’m so excited for that, you don’t even know. But in the meantime holy crap I need some groceries. The fridge is so damn empty it’s depressing. I mean, I ran out of laundry soap today and I’m not sure how I can afford to get both that and some more bread, that’s where I’m at right now. Even $5 will help immensely and be so greatly appreciated. I just need to be able to eat until I can get paid again. Thanks guys.

Commissions

PayPal

Ko-fi

#kat rambles #hopefully this is my last time doing this #thanks guys

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zacklover24 · 5 years ago

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Phantom Manor Chapter 5

Summary: A long time there was once a town called Thunder Mesa. Thunder Mesa was a humble town that was built in a canyon and the canyon lay in the shadow of a mountain, Thunder mountain. The town of Thunder Mesa was also a mining town. One day a man named Dutch van der linde went to Thunder Mesa to get rich. He was not so humble miner who struck gold and became rich overnight and with the help of his wife Annabelle. And with that gold came power and soon Dutch owned all the land in Thunder Mesa. Dutch built himself and his young wife Annabelle a home on the hill that overlooked Thunder Mesa. The van der linde shadow stretched over Thunder Mesa. And then Dutch and Annabelle were gifted son, a son named Arthur.

What do you do when you inherit a haunted house? Why, try not to die by the hands of one of your dead realites, solve a hundred years murder mystery, and try not to die by the hands of the ghost that live in the haunted town. And solve that murder mystery as well. Haunted Manor Au, ghosts, mentions of death, kidnapping, murder, supernatural elements.

Tagging: @dolphinitley, @lokighost, @statichvm, @naromoreau, @starsandskies, @outranks, @nykamito-x

Angel let out a hiss, as she eased herself down into the tub. Last night had been rough, after the initial shock had worn off, and fear had set in. Fear of something living in this house that was hell bent on hurting her. Jack spent an hour searching the upstairs rooms but could find nothing. Angel was looking at her ankle, it wasn’t broken just bruised. Jack had insisted he spent the night with her, but Angel said no. Jack did one more check and now the next morning Angel had a pink and red hand shaped bruise on her ankle. Maybe, that Sean guy was right. Maybe the manor was haunted. Angel looked at the bar soap, and was ready to use it when she was hit with a sudden wave of anger.

“Oh fuck a duck.” Angel hisse, throwing the soap into the bath water, the soap hit the water with a splash, and some got onto the floor. Ghosts aren't real right? The bruise on her ankle proved the theory right. Angel let out a groan as she got out and dressed. Jack had said that last night that they were going on a tour of Thunder Mesa. So she dressed in a light blue tank top, and paint stained jeans. Downside of being an artist. And her boots,(not her riding her boots, those were back at Shady Belle. These were her good boots.)

Angle made it down to the kitchen and found Jack making pancakes, with tea for her and coffee for him.

“Morning.” Angel greets with a small hand wave.

“Morning, you sleep well?” Jack asks flipping pancakes.

“Okay, I guess.” She admits rubbing the back of her neck, “No, other injuries.”

“Well I guess, in a way that is good, right? Foods almost done.” Jack tells her. Angel let out a hum as she took her cup and sat down at the small table. The house did have a nice and fancy dining room, but for the pair of them the small table in the kitchen was fine. As she moved to sit down, the chair was pulled out for her. She looked at Jack who was busy cooking. Was the ghost trying to say sorry for last night? Angel sat down and was staring down at her cup, as she was lightly tapping the cup waiting. What the fuck was up with this house? Was it haunted.

“What's wrong?”Jack asks setting the plate down in front of her.

“What?” Angel asks startled out of her thoughts.

“Your tapping your cup. What's wrong?” He asks again starting to eat.

“Maybe that Sean guy was right.” Angel tells him slowly starting to eat.

“Maybe.”Jack says with a mouth full of food.

“I-maybe he has some answers for us. After all he is a tour guide.” Angel mumbles staring down at her food. Jack nodded his head in agreement as she moved to grab the butter.

“Ang?” He asks seeing as she was wearing the necklace she found, “Where did you find that?”

“Dutch’s study.” She tells him as Jack got up to grab his coffee and then Angel eyes went wide as dinner plates. Jack was wearing a square gold belt buckle with horses engraved on it.

“Da fuck is that?” She asks him blinking a few times.

“You like? Found it in my new room. Seemed to have belong to Arthur.” He explains, with a yawn and a head shake.

“How do you know it was his?”

“The engraving on the back says 'To Arthur, with love Mary.' So I assume his.” Jack explains with a casual shrug.

“Its God awful.” Angel tells him wrinkling her nose.

Jack gave a lazy shrug as he sat back down, “I like the necklace it really brings out your hazel in your eyes.”

Angel rolled her eyes, “You are a charmer Jack Marston.”

“Why thank you Angel van der linde.”

“I like that.”

“So do I.” Jack agrees with smile, as Angel shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

The drive to Thunder Mesa was blessedly short. Seeing as Dutch had built his house to loom over the small town. Even those it was still early in the morning the parking lot was half full with cars from all over. As the pair exited the car, a chill ran up there spines, Angel and Jack shared a look but said nothing. At the entrance to the old mining town was a large iron works sign that read 'Welcome to Thunder Mesa' Angel had no clue if that was the original sign or not, next to the entrance was a rather large plague, made out of black material. There was a rather long desperation with an image of the town behind it.

‘On the morning of 1898, a terrible earthquake hit the town of Thunder Mesa. The earthquake came out of nowhere, a quarter of the townspeople sadly lost there lives, while those who lived fled from the ruins and remade there town out of the shadow of the mountain. Many of the town folks at the time believed that the curse of the mountain is why the town was destroyed.’ Next to the story, there was more but Angel didn’t feel like reading it. Next to the story, was a list of names of the people who died.

“Holy fuck, alot of miners died.” Angel tells Jack, who let out a low whistle.

“Fuck man.” Jack says whistling at the long list of names, “So many people died, if only they had known.”

“I doubt they would have done much, if they had known.” Someone says in front of them. Angel let out a small yelp, as she turned around.

“Hi Sean.” Jack greets with a small hand wave. So this was Sean, he looked to be a few years older than Jack and Angel, with long and wild red hair, with sparkling blue eyes. He was wearing a tour guide uniform. “Angel this is Sean the guy I meet yesterday at the store.”

Sean eyes light up when he saw Jack and gave Angel a smile, “You must be Angel van der linde. It’s an honor and pleasure to meet you.”

“And it's nice to meet you as well. So you were telling Jack here that our house is haunted?” Angel asks him, as Sean nodded his head yes.

“So have you experienced anything yet?” Sean asks with glee in voice and eyes as he spoke.

“No.” Both say at the same time.

Sean face feel, “What a shame, but I’m sure you didn’t want to hear about some old ghost stories. But, the story of Thunder Mesa.”

“Both would be nice if you could.” Angel asks him, as Sean smiled as they moved further into the town. Thunder Mesa reminded Angel and Jack heavily of Valentine but with sand and dirt and no mud in sight, but like if Valentine had been hit by an earthquake and rebuilt. They stopped in the middle of the town. As Angel was looking around she thought she saw someone. It was a man, he was sitting in front of the doctors office, he had graying blonde hair that was slicked back, and was wearing a really nice looking pinstripe dark blue vest, with a white shirt with the sleeves cuffed at the elbows around his neck was a dark red scarf, and a pair of black pants, with a nice looking boots. The man was reading the newspaper, and when he looked up Angel saw his sparkling blues eyes. The man gave Angel a smile and wink.

Sean clapped his hands together and started to rub his hands together, which made Angel jump and to see that the man was gone, “Now Thunder Mesa was founded in march of 1848, during the gold rush. Dutch and his young wife Annablle came to Thunder Mesa in 1853, during that time Dutch worked as a miner in the mountain he worked hard and soon struck gold. Using the gold that he found he and his wife were able to buy the town and build there home on that hill.” Sean explains to the pair.

“I think we were heard this part.” Angel tells Sean, “Annablle and Dutch had a son named Arthur and then the day before the wedding the earthquake hit killing just about everyone in town and then Arthur and Mary were found dead.”

“Yea nothing new there.” Jack agrees.

Sean let out a few tsk, “What you do be hearin’ is the bare bones of the story. See Dutch was making a crap of money from the minin’ operation. So much so folks were said to have a livin’ wage. Dutch cared about the town. He made sure that everyone had some place to stay and live. All the buildings were built well. No one in this town went hungry and if you were hurt you went to Dr. Matthews, who was a close friend of Dutch’s he was. Those some say they were lovers.”

“Lovers?” Angel and Jack both ask Sean.

“Yea, they were carin’ about in secret away from there wives. It was the worst kept secret in Thunder Mesa. Some of the accounts that we found say that Hosea, Dr. Matthews first name, was on his way to see Dutch the day the earthquake hit.” Sean explains, Sean pointed his thumb over his shoulder to the doctor’s office, “When the good doctor wasn’t workin’ he could be found sittin’ outside his practice readin’ the paper.” Did Angel see the ghost of Hosea Matthews?

“How did he die?” Jack asks Sean as Angel was staring at the doctor’s office.

“Seems like he was helpin’ to save some kids from bein’ killed. He died by being crushed.” Sean tells him.

The rest of the tour went on and by noon it was too hot for either Jack, Angel and Sean and they left. Well Sean had to stay but he was going to go cool down before his next tour. Angel and Jack went back to the manor and Jack said he was going to go make lunch. Angel was heading upstairs to her room to remove the bandages from her arms to let her cut get some air.

Angel stopped in the middle of the hall when she heard thumping. The thumping was coming from the end of the hall. With a head title she followed the thumping to a door at the end of the hall.

“I wonder.” She whispers twisting the knob, the door swung open to reveal a staircase. And at the top was a door and the banging got louder. She let out a hum as she took the steps up, the stairs creak under her weight but gave no sign that they would break. She made it halfway, when some sort of force blocked her. The force, whatever it was let out a cackle as the force knocked her backwards, she went flying backwards. She was prepared to fall and hit her head on the floor.

“Why hello there.” Someone says catching her before she could hit the floor.

End of line

#Phantom Manor #Disney AU #rdr #rdr2 #red dead #red dead 2 #red dead redemption 2 #Red Dead Redemption #sean macguire #jack marston

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hazyheel · 5 years ago

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WWE Smackdown Live 9/17/19 Review

Despite the fact that this wasn’t the strongest episode in the world, I actually liked it a lot. The segments that bookended the show were both pretty strong, and we saw a huuuuuuge announcement for the upcoming debut on Fox. Big stuff happened here, and the matches were pretty good. Unfortunately, it was dragged down by some stinkers. Just a few, but boy were they bad. Here is my full review of this weeks edition of Smackdown Live!

New Day vs. The Revival & Randy Orton: Holy crap, we started with a match! Wild, it feels weird but good. Big E started out with Dash Wilder, and immediately started to beat down the heel with clubbing blows to the chest and a splash on the apron for a near fall. Kofi was tagged in, and after some swift bending the rules, the heels took control and beat him down a bit. However, the New Day hit some of their tag team offense on Orton, with Woods and Big E taking down the Revival. During the commercial, The Revival isolated Woods and started to work over his knee. At one point, Woods tried to hit his slingshot DDT, but Wilder caught him and tossed him out over the top rope, which Orton followed up by back body dropping him on the announce table. We went to commercial again, and Kingston received a hot tag as we came back. He Took down everyone, before giving Orton an SOS for a near fall. On the outside, Big E flattened Dawson with a lariat, while Wilder nailed Big E with a tornado DDT and then swept Woods’ leg, only to eat a dropkick from Kingston. He went for a suicide dive, but Orton intercepted him and gave him a hangman’s DDT. The heels then went for the RKO machine, but Big E pulled Orton out and pushed him into the post. Woods then took out Wilder with a Limit Breaker, and Kingston pinned Dawson after a Trouble in Paradise.

As the New Day celebrated, Brock Lesnar showed up! Things were very intense, but the crowd didn’t pop big. Lesnar and Kingston stared each other down, and Kingston told Woods and Big E to leave. Heyman then got on the mic, and said that Lesnar wanted to challenge for the WWE Championship, and they booked it for the Friday Night Smackdown premier rather than for a pay per view. Kingston accepted, and Lesnar gave him an F5, which was sold beautifully.

Grade: B+. The match was good, some fun action to open up the show. Love to see this show open up like that. Plus it was a pretty decisive victory, and feels like the feud is probably over. I was only going to give this a B, but I was really excited for the challenge from Brock Lesnar, although the crowd gave 0 craps. I think it was really fun, and is a huge main event for the first Fox show. Very good opening this week.

Sasha Banks & Bayley Interview: Banks responded to Becky Lynch’s challenge inside Hell in a Cell. Then Baylyey hopped in and said that although Banks was fighting Charlotte tonight, she didn’t want to talk about it. This promo was weird and kinda overdone. It was odd, just odd.

Erick Rowan Sit Down interview: They gave Rowan his first name again! Fun. Michael Cole conducted the interview. He asked about Luke Harper, which Rowan responded to by saying if he wanted to know his story, talk to him. Then Cole asked about the attacks on Reigns, to which Rowan said he wanted to scare him. Cole loudly exclaimed “You tried to kill him!” And Rowan told him to watch his tone. Rowan then said that he was sick of being disrespected, so he took the chance he needed. Cole asked about why Rowan betrayed Daniel Bryan, and Rowan said that Bryan disrespected him. This was short, and all I could think about was how Cole was asking super biased questions. I know journalism, and this was bad journalism.

Ali vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: Before the match, Sami Zayn demanded respect for him, since he is in a lot of pain. He hyped up Nakamura, and introduced him. He then told Ali that although he beat Nakamura a few weeks ago, he’d lose here. Ali was very nervous as Nakamura and Zayn surrounded him. Ali attacked Nakamura first, but Zayn held his leg and allowed Nakamura to attack him. Nakamura took Ali out with a Kinshasa. The match did not start.

Grade: B. Fun little fight to get Nakamura over a bit. He and Zayn are fun together. This was effective and short, very efficient. I liked it, But it sucks that Ali had to be sacrificed here.

Shane McMahon backstage: Owens walked into the building, took a seat in the audience. Shane was going to take care of it, but one of Owens’ lawyers served him. Huh, alright.

Shane McMahon promo: Shane came out wth a whole bunch of security guards, and the papers. Shane told Owens to get in the ring and tried to settle it there. So Owens walked to the ring, but security stood between him and Shane. I guess the lawsuit was wrongful termination, worth 25 million. Shane called the case weak, but Owens said that it was strong. Owens pointed out that when he was fined for attacking a referee (Elias), but Shane didn’t fine himself when he attacked Owens’ last week, while he was the ref. He then said that even with the ref in his corner, Shane couldn’t win, and tapped out. So now, Owens just wants to hurt him, and wants to hit him in the wallet. He also said that part of the suit was that if he wins, he will be able to fire Shane. Then Owens walked out as Shane looked at the suit.

Grade: C-. Why is Owens supposed to be badass, and yet he solves his problems with lawsuits? If he was a tough as nails son of a bitch, like Steve Austin who they are desperately trying to model him after, he would’ve walked right through security and beat Shane’s ass. A lawsuit isn’t awesome or exciting. But given that I enjoy soap opera stuff, I can’t bring myself to give it lower that C-. I think this is damaging to the badass Owens, but I’m kinda intrigued. This could be an interesting storyline, but I doubt anyone else will agree.

Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks: Some guy come out, who I guess was a rapper. I think he is the Ric Flair drip guy? Maybe? I dunno. He just brought out Charlotte, and then fist bumped her. Bayley came out with Banks, and actually helped distract Charlotte and gave Banks control early on. When we came back from commercial break, Charlotte started to fight back with a series of kicks and chops to banks, finishing with a fall away slam. The two continued to fight, and Flair locked in a Boston Crab, but Banks pulled her into a rollup for a near fall. Charlotte then put Banks on the apron and kicked Banks to the outside. She then climbed to the rope and nailed both Banks and Bayley with a moonsault. She tried to capitalize, but Bayley held her foot, which got Banks a rollup for a near fall. Banks then tried for another, but Charlotte rolled through and went for the Figure Four, but Bayley ran in to attack for the DQ.

Bayley and Banks continued to beat up Flair, but Carmella showed up and superkicked Bayley, who looked shock. Flair got the last hit in on her, and the faces stood tall.

Grade: B. Another pretty good match, but I bumped it up just a bit into a B because of them establishing Bayley’s next challenger. Carmella makes sense considering how much the fans like her after the R-Truth stuff, but that doesn’t mean the match will be great. We will have to see about that. But I think that Charlotte should’ve lost here, just to give Banks some momentum. People need to get wins to get over, and Banks could use a real win.

Baron Corbin Coronation: He put on the whole getup as Corey Graves raved about him on commentary. Corbin then got on the mic and put himself order. Then he brought out Chad Gable, and made some short jokes. Corbin said that he was just like the fans, because he will always come up short. Gable then slammed him through the throne and beat him with the scepter. Gable then ripped up the cloak and smashed the crown.

Grade: D+. I really wanted to like this more, but I am worried about what destroying all the props means. They may just ditch the king gimmick this time around, and that would suck. I also hated the short jokes, those are stupid. I’m fine with these two feuding, and I’m fine with the one short joke where he “dreams big but comes up short,” but the rest of it was bad. I really hope that King Corbin is still a thing, because that’d be a waste of a tournament.

The B-team vs. Heavy Machinery: Tucker and Curtis Axel started things off. Tucker just tossed Axel around for a bit, and the B-Team (who I think are heel now?) double teamed him a bit and tried to keep him on the mat. Knight got the hot tag after rolling over Bo Dallas’ back and delivering a huge lariat. Otis then got hot tag, and he was in trunks, which looked very.... different. He beat up Dallas a bit and they hit the compactor for the win.

Grade: C+. Squash-o-roony.

Daniel Bryan Promo: He quickly crapped on the fans for accusing him of attacking Roman Reigns. He said that he still didn’t attack him, and declared himself exonerated. Then he said that he saw Rowan and realized that he had talent and took him under his wing as Tag Team Champions. He saw Rowan as his equal (yikes) and treated him as a friend. Rowan then came out, no Luke Harper in sight, with a mic. He said that he never felt like an equal, he felt like a puppet. Bryan never asked what he felt about things, and said he wouldn’t be disrespected. Bryan then told him to do something about it, because he already destroyed their friendship, and he couldn’t do anything worse. So, Harper ran in from behind and they kicked Bryan’s ass a bit, but then Roman walked down as Bryan was hit with an Iron claw. He dodged Harper and gave Rowan a superman punch and beat him down, but Harper quickly got ahold of him and they beat Reigns up together. They double powerbombed him into the post, and tore up the padding to expose the concrete. Security tried to stop them, but Harper kicked their asses. Then Rowan grabbed a section of the barricade and nailed Reigns with it, before clearing the announce table and giving Bryan a double high cross through it. The heels stood tall as they closed out the show.

Grade: B+. This was a fun segment that was pretty exciting, and seems to show where things will go from here. This is almost a Daniel Bryan face turn, but I don’t think he has fully turned face just yet. He is gonna probably be kinda heel until he and Reigns have a tag match against Rowan and Harper. This was a really fun segment, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes. Highlight of the night.

Overall Grade: C+

Pros: 6-man tag; Nakamura beat down; charlotte vs. Banks; ending beatdown

Cons: lawsuit angle; coronation

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