#i knew this was gonna be amazing but you blew me out of the water w your descriptions & imagery yet again | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

gothsuguru · 7 months ago

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ari……….. I Too Would Wait Decades For A Bad Bitch Like Satoru (or go after his best friend idk i’m easy like that)

OKAY AHHHHHHHHH FIRST OF ALL LET ME RAMBLE A BIT FIRST PLEASE :3 i think our brains are Linked because tell me why i was listening to my haikyuu!! summer playlist while reading this and “monsoon” & “warm glow” by hippocampus started playing as i was reading!!!!! and then i reread the fic again after i saw your post of making it while listening to “baseball” (which is another banger i WILL be adding this to the playlist) but like??? THE SUMMER VIBES IN THIS FIC??? ARI??? let me rant about that actually i have SO much to say…………

ok genuinely i GENUINELY think this fic is one of the best examples of stunning descriptions like. tell me why i was literally fucking TRANSPORTED to a quaint beachside town in the summer??? i envisioned everything so VIVIDLY which is such a TESTAMENT to your writing and it literally envelopes the reader (me & anyone reading it) into your world! the description of the cool breeze ruffling satoru’s hair, the way the sun glows upon him & the way the rays of sunsets kiss his cheek, the smell of the food wafting through the air due to the street vendors cooking, the actual BEACH scene w the seasalt air & warm sand, the HOUSE descriptions w stunning flowers grown around the perimeter, THE SPRITE IN THE VENDING MACHINE!!!!!! THE HAWAIIAN SHIRTS!!!!!! FUCKING HONORARY DAD™️ ACTIVITIES BY SUGURU AKA HIM FISHING???????? THE RELATIONSHIPS IN THIS FIC????

this fic had very REAL human emotions, & the dialogues b/t the characters were SO genuine/not fake or “story-ish” at all! the way satoru was depicted in this fic… just EVERYTHING was SO amazing. i was planning on just doing tags but then i was like i actually have so much to say which is why i’m rb so i hope you don’t mind 😭 there’s just a lot Technically that i loved within your writing and i’ll try and explain all of it here LMFAO anyways ilysm and i love your writing :3 okie let’s go :3 (p.s. this rb might be more paragraph based on my part rather than just doing stuff based off quotes so i hope you don’t mind part. 2 hehehehehe)

ALSO i think you started it off WONDERFULLY. not showing the actual confession but rather the soft aftermath was GENIUS on your part esp bc i think what matters most is not necessarily the confession itself (it does still matter obvi bc it takes a LOT to confess) but in this case what matters the most for the fic is satoru’s response! and i ADORE how mature yet kind he was about it! and he’s also so valid in his reasonings too like he was 18 and reader was 14 when they met! ofc he wouldn’t be in love w them like that bc he sees them as a literal BabyChild! WHICH THEY ARE!

i think it’s also so sweet that he doesn’t make fun of them or anything, he says it gently & w finality & no room for “does he like me or not?”, he’s genuine and honest when he says he doesn’t feel for them That way. he loves them but isn’t IN love w them. he loves them like a fond older brother who wants to protect their baby sis’ bestie! i think this fic shows so much of him Looking out for reader (reminding them that he isn’t interested and that THEY deserve someone BETTER than him, holding them when he sees someone ogling them at the beach, being reader’s shoulder to cry on when them & riko had their first fight etc…) ((also riko being toru’s baby sis is canon to me Okie i loved that idea SO much)) ok. well. let me just get into a few of my fav things :’) y’know recently i’ve been so fond of summer lately… summer needs to be given her flowers! this fic made me adore summer more

satoru is looking right at you. kindly, patiently, like a benevolent god. his blue eyes flecked with dots of white, like fluffy clouds on a summer sky. tilting his head to the right, as if searching for confirmation, waiting for your response.

- the way you describe satoru & his actions is actually so unbelievably beautiful & stunning it’s UNREAL. this fic just had such WONDERFUL descriptions it really was such a masterclass of “show not tell” & also how imagery when it’s written well doesn’t leave anything up for question! i just Knew exactly what you wanted me to see and how you wanted me to see it bc it was written so VIVIDLY and w such care! and your IMAGERY… GODDDDDDD YOUR IMAGERY!!!!!!! blue eyes being flecked w white is so real and such a pretty way to describe how angelic his eyes are and THEN likening it to fluffy clouds within a summer sky??? immediately, if i didn’t even know satoru, i’d know that he was 1) angelically, ethereally, celestially beautiful 2) his eyes show a kindness and genuineness in them! when they say eyes are the window to the soul… that’s satoru! and i love his head tilt… he’s my little maltese puppy <333 (i want a pubby so bad……… cue kairo crying over this fic and puppies now 🤧🤧🤧)

above you, seagulls chatter and cry. you look around, and everything feels familiar, despite the time that’s passed since the last summer you visited. the same flowers, peach blossoms and hydrangeas and tulips in all kinds of shades; the same street vendors and aroma of freshly grilled fish. the same cute and quaint port town, quiet during winter and autumn, pleasantly noisy during the warmer seasons. right now, on the cusp of juke, there are enough tourists around to make finding the right face in the crowd a difficult task.

- the VIVID DESCRIPTIONS!!!!!!! do you see what i mean??? you just describe things SO well i envision them with such EASE! i need to learn from you w this… like ACTUALLY. it’s SO summery and fits the vibe so well! i love the seagulls chattering, different flowers (peach blossoms god i can smell them + the flower meanings as well… they all have SOMETHING to do with love in different forms…) describing the port and the senses that invade reader such as the smell of grilled fish, the sound and sight of tourists bumbling everywhere, a pleasant noisiness! i also liked the small mention of the quietness during autumn & winter (perhaps they meet again during those seasons… i feel like the quaint town would be so pretty… the smell of pumpkin spice, fairy lights & jack-o-lanterns everywhere, autumnal desserts & bonfires etc… ARI I WANNA LIVE IN THIS TOWN i’ll get an apartment w suguru there actually <333)

something swirls around in your stomach, little butterflies. tickling the ridges of your ribs, all those fluttering heartstrings.

- BUTTERFLIES SWIRLING AROUND! i love the words you used and how you describe this omfg… tickling your ribcage… FLUTTERING heartstrings <333 so pretty

you take a tentative sip of your lemonade. sour and sweet. the cubes of ice clink against the glass, fresh condensation cooling down the tips of your fingers. her gaze lingers on your skin. it’s heavy, just like his.

- ok so you’re probably like kairo why’d you put the sentences of reader drinking lemonade in here. Well Let Me Tell You………. i think that you have such a TALENT of showing intrigue even in mundane moments. like ok legitimately from the outside it’s just reader drinking a glass of lemonade. but the way you DESCRIBE it had me gagged… “sour and sweet” is just like the emotions brewing and brimming up within the reader. and just the additions of cubes clinking + condensation cooling down reader was just REFRESHING to me! and riko is similar to satoru in that their gazes carry weight & heft & at the end of the day they’re just looking out for you………. sniffles. the siblings of all time omg we were ROBBED

the sun beats down on you, fervent sunlight warming the water up ahead, calm waves and a sparkling blue to match the hue of the sky; cobalts and ceruleans, melting together like watercolour on a canvas. people crowd around the food stands, shaved ice and churros and grilled fish, scents mingling together with the joyous chatter all around you. vibrant sensations, enough to excite but not to overwhelm.

- ?/&/@1!292@2$/3$20&23!292@3$29&23$&23&3 WJAT THE FCUDKKSKEKSKEKSKSKSKWKSKSKD LIKE HOW DOES SOMEONE EVEN THINK OF IMAGERY LIKE THIS???????? SERIOUSLY ARI FROM A TECHNICAL WRITING STANDPOINT HOW DO YOU THINK OF SUCH STUNNING DESCRIPTIONS!!!! like it doesn’t sound like you’re just Listing things off (which is a problem i have) it just sounds like you’re…… THERE!!!!! like you’re living this experience there and just existing in it!!!!!!! this paragraph is so beautiful “fervent sunlight” // “calm waves and a sparkling blue to match the hue of the sky; cobalts and ceruleans, melting together like watercolour on a canvas.” -> one of my fav descriptions of anything Ever… to liken the sky meeting the water as MELTING WATERCOLOR ON A CANVAS??? this place is so picturesque i need to live inside the summer haze of this town. AND THE FOOOOOOOOOD i’m hungry now :3 “vibrant sensations” is so apt bc that’s what i’m feeling now reading your descriptions + imagery like WOAH

a parasol, a blanket, a picnic basket. you see bottles of pink lemonade, wrapped sandwiches, strawberries in a plastic container.

- PART 2 OF HUNGRY KAIRO……………… I FUCKING LOOOOOOOOOOVE PINK LEMONADE!!!!!!!!! FEED ME THOSE WRAPPED SANDWICHES NOWWWWWWW!!!!!! RAHHHSHSHSHSHAHAKAKSHGAROEMWHDJE (sounds of me eating ferociously :3)

he’s smiling, when you approach. as always. hair tousled by the ocean breeze, blue eyes gleaming with mirth, exposed by the sunglasses close to slipping down the bridge of his nose. he’s wearing a hawaiian shirt, black in colour, white floral patterns to tie it all together. just unbuttoned enough to show off his collarbone, a sliver of his chest, the short sleeves exposing his biceps; patches of pale skin, shining with the beginnings of sweat.

- satoru always smiling… if suguru has a resting bitch face then satoru has a resting :3 face 😭 “blue eyes gleaming with mirth” can i just say using the word gleam here is perfect bc the color i associate w the world gleam is an icy blue -> satoru’s eyes <333 also you 🤝 me 🤝 every other person on the planet: lover of the word mirth MDMDMDMDMDMD also again!!!!!! i sound like a broken record but genuinely you do so well in describing things! the glasses falling off his nose is so good bc that’s how you can see his eyes!!! AND THEN HIS FIT……….. moaned loud as hell that’s MY bad 🤭🤭🤭 sliver of chest……………….. whore. EXPOSED BICEPS TOO???????????? whore part 2. (affectionate) basically i need him so bad i literally can’t fault reader for STILL being hopelessly in love w toru like… EVERYONE is

a new voice spills into the air, suddenly, and you’re brought back into reality. it’s silky and low, smooth and nice, honeysuckle nectar turned into sound.

- ARIIIIIIIIIII !/&/&/!/@/!/&2&1@1!-&-@1”1”1&/$2@1”&2&2 I’M NOT FUCKING KIDDING YOU WHEN I SAY MY HEARTBEAT STARTED SPEEDING UP WHEN SUGURU WAS INTRODUCED MY HEART STARTED RACING I’M NOT NORMAL!/&/‘&/!/! HE JUST. GODDDDDDDDD SO EFFORTLESSLY COOL & SEXY. reader is better than me i would’ve pounced on suguru and made him my husband. also. THE WAY YOU EXPLAIN HIS VOICE……… “honeysuckle nectar turned into sound.” ok that’s canon. no other sound desc. shall be used for sugu’s voice bc user twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat cracked the code. GODDDDDDD THAT’S PERFECT!!!!!! it’s silky and low and smooth and sweet it’s alllllll dulcet honey tones

suguru goes eerily silent — ominous, staring into your best friend’s eyes with no visible emotion. enough to make her smile fall. you feel a sense of deja vu. // “wait, i’m just kidding!” she suddenly squeaks, clinging to your arm and hiding behind you. she’s always had good survival instincts. ”don’t put me in a headlock!”

- NJSLMSNSDJKWJDJDKEJDJD MENACE!SUGURU. I’M CRYIFNFNDNDNDND THIS BASICALLY JUST MEANS THAT SUGURU USED TO HEADLOCK RIKO ALL THE TIME I’M CRYIFNFNFNDNDN 😭😭😭😭😭😭 this made me giggle like ACTUALLY please him and satoru are such menaces i LOVE them 😭 also toru flirting w sugu and sugu essentially having the energy of Damn Bitch I Don’t Want You made me giggle…….. he loves bullying the gojo siblings <333 his fav pastime :3 methinks sugu loves reader too like that’s his lil baby :3 him when satoru & riko do anything: idiot sandwiches. him when reader does anything: hi cutiepie cupcake :3

his touch burns, as always. bare skin on bare skin. electric, a trail of sparks rushing through your veins. he’s warm, and solid, effortlessly composed — guiding you right where he wants you, which is by his chest, where you can practically hear the steady rhythm of his heartbeat — // he’s looking somewhere behind you, with an oddly cold gaze.

- the physicality of it all………. no like i’m feral rn. satoru’s touch burning them leaving a trail of sparks??? coursing through their veins??? AND HIM PULLING READER INTO HIS CHEST????????? reader is better than me i would’ve nestled myself further into his tits like this •-• like you can’t get me outta here if you tried……….! but i also like the fact that his heartbeat is steady… his isn’t racing like reader’s bc to him it’s an act of protection more than anything. compare that to reader’s heartbeat which is probably beating out their chest due to the physical proximity! also i looooooove serious!satoru so much it’s one of my ULTIMATE guilty pleasures (along w argument fics w suguru listen i love it ok there’s something so delicious abt suguru arguing w you/being mad in the heat of the moment but then him feeling guilty/ashamed after a while when he sleeps on the bed and you on the couch bc you’re stubborn like that bc HE was the one who was actually in the wrong… ok i’m rambling lemme find some sugurument fics rn…….) ALSO I LOOOOOVE when satoru’s gaze is cold & hardened it’s another facet of his character that i adore… my man has MULTITUDES!

the sun is beginning to set, melting like a sundae on the boundary of the horizon, rays of golden sunshine dripping down your wrist. satoru looks good in it, the pink and orange; peaceful, somehow. when the breeze licks a stripe across his cheek, he closes his eyes and exhales. there’s a smile on those lips, a smile of contentment.

- OH ARIIIIIIIII the way you use words like melting and dripping and licks a stripe to tie into the sundae… delicious. like ACTUALLY. i lovelovelove when writers do that so much it’s so SATISFYING to see! the pink & orange sunset too WHEW i love that the sky looks like ice cream sherbet <3 content!satoru my Beloved… my baby

you’re sleepy, and pliant, jaw caught between his fingers. he lifts it up, turns it towards him, just so that you’ll meet his gaze. two seas of blue, flecks of pure white, summer skies and summer clouds. “there,” he exhales, pleased. giving you a reassuring smile before pulling away. “you’ve barely looked me in the eye today. ‘s gonna break my heart, y’know.”

- BARKBARKBARKBARKBARK… SATORU IF YOU DON’T WANNA GET KISSED SENSELESS DON’T GRAB MY JAW LIKE THAT………. gonna be starting something you can’t finish LMFAOOOOOOOiwantyousobadOOOOOO ok but again. SUMMER SKIES & CLOUDS & SEAS OF BLUE!!!!!! he’s a sunshineboy (or a moonboy wink wink) AHHHHHHHH i also love the reassuring smile :’) and his DIALOGUE!!!!! i loved his dialogue in this fic it’s all so HIM! playful yet caring yet teasing yet mature <3 the “gonna break my heart” is soooooooo him. like buddy… you just might break mine too. but that’s okay. if it’s you then i don’t mind <3

“still not over that schoolgirl crush, huh?” // “… you could really, really do better.”

- love that this came back btw. also satoru saying it’s a schoolgirl crush when in reality reader deffo feels like they’re genuinely in love… i think toru does that not to undermine their feelings but to explain to them that babes you could do better and you should do better and you should find someone who can share the love you have! but what he doesn’t Realize (rather he does) is that reader genuinely honestly just wants him… willing to wait decades just to see where life takes you… whew

a fizzy, syrupy sweetness sticking to your teeth, a sense of nostalgia invading all your senses. and, as always, that silent adoration.

- oh i just really loved this line. nostalgia really does feel like this to me — a fizzy syrupy sweetness like a cola, invading your senses. and the silent adoration oh god i love this so muchhhhhhhh

it feels nice, to open yourself up like this. crack the lid of your heart and have him wade through the carbonation. it feels nice to have your feelings be acknowledged, even if they aren’t reciprocated. even if you’re completely delusional, and high on summer joy. it feels nice just to watch him shine.

- ANOTHER ONE I ADORED!!!!!! i just LOVE opening the floodgates of their emotions is being likened to opening a soda can! “crack the lid of your heart… wade through the carbonation.” yeah so ari WHAT THE FUCK??? how do you THINK of that??? like actually tell me how did that go into your brain??? that’s so genius and just so UNIQUE! and AWHHHHHHHHH reader being happy that their feelings are acknowledged makes me so :’) they’re so genuine in their love and adoration for satoru it seriously is such a sweet thing to see like their love is so PURE!!!! high on summer joy & love watching satoru shine <333

“in case the two of you ever happened to fall over at the same time, or something. i wanted to be able to carry you both back.” // “you’re both precious to me,”

- AWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THIS MADE ME SOOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY AND IT WAS SO SWEET like it’s serious business to him!!!!! getting physically stronger so if push comes to shove he can carry BOTH reader & riko bc he loves them and wants to protect them 🥹 the image of drill sergeant!suguru whipping satoru into shape has me cryifnnfnfnf he was like i won’t let a weak noodle-armed BITCH show me up… i just won’t. how much do you wanna bet suguru out bench pressed satoru. i bet my life savings ($2) not a lot but my money is on sugubear <333 (methinks suguru did the same as satoru just in case he ever had to pick up reader & riko) ((as much as he’s a menace he’s also protective))

he’s teasing you. the sun is setting, and the air smells like saltwater, and satoru’s back is warm. his voice is set to a melodic lilt, and you feel strangely tempted to close your eyes. // and you adore him again.

- this was so pretty it almost put me to sleep w how much comfort & relaxation it gave me… like i put myself in reader’s shoes and feeling the warmth of satoru & the evening + smelling the saltwater + hearing the melodic lilt of his voice truly and honestly would just… COMFORT me. oh i adored this so much. and i agree w reader — i adore satoru all over again too :’)

right — loving him was never a choice, and waiting wasn’t an issue. getting over him is the tall hurdle, the root of the problem, a root you intend you trip over as many times as it takes for this something to bloom.

- love love LOVE the root imagery btw using a famous line and then using it as something to trip over until something blooms is so genius. and also. AWHHHHH reader is just so smitten it’s so fucking sweet to me

because he’s beautiful, and comfortable, and kind. because it’s his back you always end up clinging to. because he knows how you like your pancakes, how you take your coffee, what you look like when you cry. because you like this feeling, the swarm of butterflies in your stomach. even if they’re completely meaningless in the long run.

- THAT QUOTE ABT BEING KNOWN… being loved is being known or smthn along those lines… you know me and that’s why i love you. beautiful comfortable & kind is the perfect way to describe toru btw it’s so real. and AWHHHHHHH AGAINNNNNNNN IT’S JUST!!!!!! ofc reader can’t help falling in love w satoru he’s so warm and protective and knows what you like and has seen you at your best and your worst and also still adores you!!!! reader liking the feeling of BEING in love even if nothing comes out of it omfg that’s just so. WOW

you just like him. you just want to see where it leads you. that’s all. // “fine,” you hum, wrapping your arms around his neck. inhaling that familiar scent of sandalwood. “do your worst.”

- AND AS ALWAYS I LOVE YOUR ENDINGS!!!!! at the end of the day the reasoning it’s so simple and pure. they just like him and wanna see where it leads them. and i can’t fault them for that! “do your worst.” I LOVE THEM!!! and the familiarity of sandalwood……. Sniffles. i love Them both so much oh i LOVED this ari <333

OMG I’M SORRY I DIDN’T EXPECT IT TO GET LONG I JUST REALLY REALLY REALLY LIKED THE FIC!!!! since the ending is so open-ended……. methinks two (2) things can happen…….. i will express them here if you don’t mind :3 satoru introduces reader to someone like yuuta/yuji and reader becomes smitten w them OR a few years later, maybe satoru ends up liking reader back! or a secret third option (reader/suguru endgame but satoru threatens suguru w baseball bat <333) but also i rmbr you mentioned ace!gojo so i could totally see him just being fond of reader and that’s it! he’d go to reader’s wedding w whoever (if they ever choose to) and be happy that they found someone :’) at the end of the day he wants to see reader happy and that’s all that matters! <333 you 🤝 me giving a character the ace agenda (me w choso… ace!choso my beloved i’m hugging you so hard king)

BUT OMG SERIOUSLY I LOVED THIS FIC! love how this -> 🙂‍↔️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↔️ is reader everytime satoru tries to get them to not have a crush on him 😭😭😭 they’re steadfast in their love i gotta respect it! i think you mentioned that you were worried abt it being all over the place but i don’t think that was the case at all! i think emotions in general ARE all over the place for humans anyways so the way it was written was depicted perfectly! at the end of the day, reader is in love & satoru just doesn’t feel the same way but is still fond/protective of them! that’s their core and that’s their relationship and i love how it was shown! such a unique premise for a fic <333 i ADORED it! i also love that it wasn’t a mean/heavy angst type of unrequited — it’s soft and slightly bittersweet but you still have hope :’) also… toru in tight black tops & sweatpants… I See You Ari…….. i Too would like satoru to use me as workout gear

also. how much do you wanna bet that riko crushed on shoko the same way reader crushed on satoru. $1 gazillion dollars are on the table.

ANYWAYS. I LOVED THIS!!!!!! thanks for another great fic and another masterclass of amazing writing <333 MWAH! rest up and recharge and i hope you know it doesn’t matter what day you come out w your writing, we’re all gonna nibble on it lovingly like a block of cheese <333 MWAHHHHH SMOOCHES :3 tell suguru to call me back please……… i would like to see his fishies…….. 🤝🤧

we can dip if you’re ready ; satoru gojo

synopsis; your dreams of a peaceful summer are rudely shattered by the presence of your best friend’s older brother; the same brother who rejected you five years ago. the same brother you’re still hopelessly, uselessly in love with.

word count; 7.4k

contents; satoru gojo/reader, gn!reader, best friend’s brother!gojo (he’s the hottest man in the stratosphere), mild age gap (four years!), unrequited love, but with a hopeful ending kind of, bittersweet fluff, mostly summer shenanigans and pining, riko is satoru’s younger sister and i would give her the stars, sugu makes a guest appearance, (they’re both just there to bully gojo), he’s fairly mature in this i think, reader is very stubborn and very down bad, [name] used exactly once

a/n; personally i would let him use me as workout gear (tagging @teddybeartoji @dollsuguru @hayakawalove @vagabond-umlaut !! tysm for the help and encouragement ily 🥺🥺)

one mellow summer morning, over a breakfast of pancake and toast, the puppy-love you’ve nurtured for the past three years finally reaches its conclusion.

you’re seventeen years old. in three months you’ll be eighteen, standing on your own two feet, headed in a new direction — the whole world within your reach. but right now you’re still seventeen, and lovesick, and sleeping on a mattress in your best friend’s room. listening to the sound of the nearby sea.

you’re seventeen, and dreaming about things you can’t have. you’re seventeen, and wearing your heart on your sleeve.

you’re seventeen, and hopelessly, uselessly in love with a certain satoru gojo.

it’s early. your veins are sleepy and your heart is heavy, and you wake up at the crack of dawn just to catch a glimpse of him before he leaves for work. he’s leaning against the kitchen island when you trot down the stairs, and the smell of syrupy pancakes hangs heavy in the air. his bare chest is exposed, his pajama pants cling to the curve of his hips, and he rejects you with an easygoing kindness you wish he wouldn’t grant you.

suddenly, without mercy. a finality to his voice.

”you’re more like a younger sibling to me. you understand, right?”

he ruffles your hair, and you’re still sleepy, and you wish you could grasp the strings of your heartbeat to stop it from fluttering like this. wish you could pull yourself out of whatever trance he put you in, three years ago, when you stumbled over the threshold to your best friend’s house and landed headfirst in his chest.

”you’re a good kid,” he says, and his smile teeters on the edge of something apologetic. mostly, it’s pitying. ”there are lots of people out there for you.”

he ruffles your hair, as affectionate as ever, the same as it’s always been. not a trace of any romantic intent. the weight of his palm on your head is usually a comfort, but like this?

it’s a specific kind of torture.

there are lots of people out there for you.

(i know, you want to tell him, but your voice is raspy and your throat feels sort of dry. i know.

but i want you.)

“don’t get hung up on a schoolgirl crush, hm?”

when you finally raise your head, satoru is looking right at you. kindly, patiently, like a benevolent god. his blue eyes flecked with dots of white, like fluffy clouds on a summer sky. tilting his head to the right, as if searching for confirmation, waiting for your response. you muster up the will to nod; smiling in a way that must seem pitiful.

but he just pinches your cheek, throws his backpack over his broad shoulders, and asks you to let his sister know he’ll be home later than usual today.

then he leaves. he leaves you alone with two plates of sugary pancakes on the kitchen table, one for you and one for riko. he put whipped cream on top, and chocolate chips in the batter. it smells good. it smells like an apology.

and that’s how it ends.

there’s no great climax, no real resolution. you bite down on your lip, and spend about an hour pitifully sniffling into a fluffy pillow, even though none of it comes as a surprise. it still hurts, though. your best friend comforts you, tells you that at least you have some kind of closure now — an absolute rejection to make your feelings go away. about time, she thinks, though she’s far too kind to say it outloud.

except they don’t.

the moral of the story is; satoru gojo doesn’t love you back. he’s known you since you were fourteen, since he was eighteen, and he could never see you as anything more than a little kid. you’re his sister’s best friend, and he loves you, but not in the way you love him. it’s not surprising, or shocking. it’s exactly how it should be.

satoru gojo doesn’t love you back. he never will.

(you really, really wish your stupid heartbeat cared.)

one mellow summer evening, five years later — you step onto a bustling train platform, dragging your luggage behind you, and breathe in the scent of a familiar seaside.

above you, seagulls chatter and cry. you look around, and everything feels familiar, despite the time that’s passed since the last summer you visited. the same flowers, peach blossoms and hydrangeas and tulips in all kinds of shades; the same street vendors and aroma of freshly grilled fish. the same cute and quaint port town, quiet during winter and autumn, pleasantly noisy during the warmer seasons. right now, on the cusp of june, there are enough tourists around to make finding the right face in the crowd a difficult task.

luckily, she’s quick to find you. with her long, dark locks of hair, neatly braided; her yellow sundress and matching headband, sunflowers embroidered into the fabric. barreling towards you with a speed that would scare you a little if you weren’t so used to it, used to her.

riko. your one and only best friend.

she’s nestled into your embrace before you can get any greetings out, and squeezing you so tightly that you have no choice but to let her beat you to it. she’s warm, like a bundle of sunshine. the same as always.

with a low whine of your name, she nuzzles into your chest. “i missed youuuu…”

a chuckle bubbles up in your throat. and even though it hasn’t been very long at all, even though you talk on the phone almost every day and saw each other in person just about a month ago, you indulge her. “i missed you too, riko.”

another whine, and then she’s pulling back. squishing your cheeks together and pouting petulantly. “you better have! don’t ever make me spend summer all alone again, okay?”

you match her expression, eager to protest. “you’re still mad about that? it’s not my fault i got sick.”

“too sick to see your best friend? too sick to continue our most important tradition?” she shakes her head, letting go of you. struggling not to smile. “awful. just awful!”

“drama queen.” her lips break out into a grin, and yours follow. “i’m here now, aren’t i?”

“you are,” she agrees, quick to link her arm with yours. you follow her steps, leading you towards that familiar house. you can see it from here, a roof burdened with morning glories, those expensive white walls. “no, but seriously. i’m really happy to see you.” her voice drips with joy, giddy and sweet. “i don’t think i’d survive two months alone with that old man.”

ah. right.

your lips curl up into a smile, albeit a little uncertain. giddy, maybe. nervous? you aren’t sure. something swirls around in your stomach, little butterflies. tickling the ridges of your ribs, all those fluttering heartstrings. it’s been a while since you felt like this. all your summers are spent here, and all of riko’s, but he’s usually too busy.

the girl on your right chatters on and on, clinging to you, gradually melting away your skittish nerves. she tells you about her morning, what she ate for breakfast, the new show she’s been binging — it’s just as familiar as the house that soon comes fully into view. big and expensive, but still cozy, overgrown with flora. you don’t think either of the siblings really bother to take care of it, but it’s a pretty kind of neglect. a cute veranda, a beautiful garden. the apple tree you used to climb.

the buzz of an old radio spills out from an opened window, translucent curtains swaying with the breeze. when you strain your eyes you think you hear humming.

riko grins, dragging you with her through the opened gate. the yellow paint on the fence is starting to peel, and someone from inside has started pushing the door open, and the butterflies in your stomach can do nothing but sputter and squirm.

it’s summer, and you're back. back in that cute, quaint port town.

(and so is he.)

“why, hello there! if it isn’t my cute little [name].”

time stills, for just a single moment.

he looks the same as you remember. a little taller, you think, but he was always tall enough to tower over you; broad shoulders and long legs, sharp blue eyes gazing down at you. he’s wearing black shades, but you can still feel the weight of his pupils, crumble under the knowledge that his attention is entirely on you. wearing a pair of sweatpants and a tight black shirt, showing off every dip and ridge of his chest. a pleasantly cool breeze ruffles his white hair, short and trimmed, healthy locks to match his bright and sunny grin.

he looks happy to see you.

“don’t be weird,” comes riko’s voice, breaking you out of your little spell. all while she’s ushering you both towards the door, beyond the threshold, into the hallway. satoru clicks his tongue.

“so hostile today. shouldn't you be in a good mood?”

then he’s turning towards you, again, tilting his head just enough for his eyes to peek out the slightest bit. they’re crinkled at the edges, and his smile is fond. “how was your trip?”

more butterflies. his voice flows from his glossy lips, smooth and melted, pleasantly deep. you can only hang on to riko’s arm, mustering a small smile of your own.

“good,” you chirp. a little stiff, but polite, like you’re greeting an old friend; it’s been so long since you last spoke to him. ”i’m tired, though.”

your reply is met with a chuckle, a raspy tremor of his vocal cords. it sends a shiver down your spine. the weight on your arm disappears, as riko stumbles forward and kicks her sandals off. muttering something about gum getting stuck on the sole. you’re left standing right across from satoru, suddenly very aware of how much space he takes up all on his own. leaning against the wall, making himself comfortable. and chuckling, with that stupidly sexy voice.

“i bet. take a nap if you need to, yeah?”

a moment of silence. riko curses in the background, and you shift from foot to foot. unable to properly look into his eyes.

for a second, his smile drops — eyes obscured by the black glass of his frames, betraying no emotion. it only lasts a second.

then he’s moving forward, one large stride towards you, leaning down to wrap his big arms around your waist. bringing you into a hug, not as tight as you remember them being. you wonder if he’s holding back.

(his touch burns your skin, all the same.)

one of his palms finds solace on the top of your head, ruffling your hair. you can hear the smile in his voice when he speaks, terribly sincere. “i missed you, kiddo.”

a quiet squeak tumbles from your lips, and you pray to every god you can think of that he doesn’t hear it. his chest is pressed right against you, firm, radiating body heat. his limbs wrap you up in it, a cocoon of warmth that makes it hard to breathe. you can smell his cologne from where your cheek meets his collarbone; sandalwood invading your senses.

“i m-missed you too,” is all you can croak out, voice breaking pitifully. at this rate you might actually faint.

just out of view, riko narrows her eyes. before you can plead for help, she’s tugging you away from the embrace, pushing her brother away, and you inhale as much of the fresh summer air as you can.

“alright, that’s enough,” she huffs, pulling you closer. “c’mon! we should unpack your stuff right away!”

“want me to carry it?” satoru asks, already eyeing your luggage like a predator about to lunge at his prey. even if you say no, you know he’s not going to listen.

so you let him. and within the next few minutes, you’re seated on riko’s bed, suitcase on the floor, a glass of lemonade in your hand. blinking sluggishly.

“are you sure you’ll be alright?”

you raise your head. your best friend is looking at you with a questioning glance, head tilted and brows furrowed. now you’re all alone, and it’s quiet, peaceful. her brother went out to buy snacks for you. all you can hear is the low buzz of the radio downstairs, and faraway waves.

“huh?”

“i mean, with, y’know…” she moves her hands haphazardly, making some kind of gesture you don’t understand. “with my brother. and your… condition.”

you blink.

“… did you just refer to my crush as a condition?”

“well, it might as well be!” she groans, muffled, faceplanting onto the mattress. “don’t think i didn’t see you checking out his biceps just now. you’re so obvious.”

heat rushes to your cheeks. you try to shoo it away with a furrow of your brows and a loud exhale, but it lingers underneath your skin. “look — i —“ you scramble for words, brain tied up in fatigued knots. “did you see that shirt? is he buying them a size too small, or what?”

“oh, come on! that’s all it takes?”

another pair of exhales. you cross your legs, and she rolls onto her back. the silence is comfortable, and you gnaw at your bottom lip until she speaks up again.

“you could really, really do better, you know?”

her voice is quiet. soft, sincere, delicate as a sheet of glass. you know she’s just looking out for you, that she doesn’t want you pining for a guy who’ll never return those feelings — she’s kind like that, always has been. but…

“… i just like him.”

you meet it with a sheepish smile, a little self-deprecating, but not embarrassed. she already knows all about your predicament.

(you just like him. that’s all there is to it.)

and she pulls herself into a sitting position.

“i know, i know,” she finally sighs, slumping against you, cheek smushed over your shoulder. “just don’t give him more attention than me, ‘kay?”

you let out giggle. “well, duh.”

she gives you a sunny grin.

“okay, good.”

you put the glass down on the windowsill beside you. just so you can stretch your arms out, falling backwards; a mountain of pillows cushioning your fall. a yawn spills past your lips, and riko sits up.

“wanna take a nap?” she tilts her head, dark locks framing her pretty blue eyes, deep as the sea. “that’s probably good. we’re going straight to the beach tomorrow, you know!”

“mm…” your eyes flutter shut, and you focus on that faraway sound. waves crashing against sand, the whistling of seagulls, the salty scent of the ocean. “that sounds nice.”

despite your exhaustion, you end up tossing and turning that night. not because of your best friend’s snores, or the feeling of a mattress you haven’t slept on in two years — but from the quiet sounds downstairs. glasses clinking, a chuckle here and there. the tv being turned on. tossing and turning from the knowledge that your childhood heartthrob, current heartthrob, is in the same house as you. a little older, a little less childish, even more charming than you remember him being.

you’re older, too. more mature, you like to think, even if the gain is small.

(maybe there’s a chance?)

shaking the thoughts from your head, mind still spinning along to the tune of his humming, you squeeze your eyes shut and try to fall asleep.

you’ll be okay.

okay, nevermind. you’re completely screwed.

“oh, there you are!”

satoru is already waiting up ahead when you step onto the beach, feeling the sand between your toes, a pleasantly cool breeze giving you respite from the sweltering heat.

a picture-perfect summer day.

your heart tingles with something giddy, skipping happily as you follow riko’s lead; she’s wearing a cute bikini set, frilly and floral, hair styled into a pair of braided pigtails, kept together by her favorite scrunchies. leading you towards her older brother, waiting patiently, having already grabbed a nice spot for you. a parasol, a blanket, a picnic basket. you see bottles of pink lemonade, wrapped sandwiches, strawberries in a plastic container.

more than anything, you see him. you see him, and realize just how screwed you are.

(you’re about to fucking explode.)

as soon as you’re in sight, satoru lights up, aiming the flash of his phone in your direction. his other hand stays tucked into the pocket of his shorts. “aw, look at you two!” he coos, grinning brightly, teasing and sweet. “pose for the camera, okay?”

you’re still too hypnotized to react, but riko scurries ahead, ready to steal it from his grasp.

“no pictures!”

“oh, don’t be like that!” he takes a step back, dodging her attack by a hair, still wearing the same grin. “you’re gonna thank me ten years from now, trust me. it’s for the memories!”

a new voice spills into the air, suddenly, and you’re brought back into reality. it’s silky and low, smooth and nice, honeysuckle nectar turned into sound. interrupting the siblings.

“it’s been ten seconds. how are you already bickering?”

you turn towards its source, and spot a familiar face — right next to satoru. were you seriously too mesmerized to notice him? black hair, another hawaiian shirt, slightly lidded eyes…

suguru.

he meets your surprised stare with a relaxed smile, and takes a step forward; meeting you for a quick hug. he looks the same as he did when you were younger, odd bangs, hair tied up into a bun.

“hi there,” he hums, right by your ear, a light squeeze before he lets go. “it’s been a while.”

you part your lips, smiling through your words. a little stunned. “i didn’t know you’d be here too!”

he chuckles, a light shrug of his shoulders. “me neither. satoru called me last night and asked me to drop by. i had time to kill.”

“you missed me.”

a dubious look. suguru gives a lazy roll of his eyes, avoiding the smug voice to his right. “i saw you last week,” he tuts, an unimpressed expression on his face. “how could i miss you?”

“do you need a reason to miss your best friend?” he shakes his head, slowly, side to side. white locks swaying back and forth. “awful. just awful.”

you stifle a smile, completely unsuccessful. the sun feels nice on your skin, and the scent of the sea is nostalgic, and they’re all the same as ever. it’s like you can feel your nerves melting away, slowly but surely, like grains of sand slipping through the gaps between your fingers.

“the matching shirts are cute,” you point out, wanting to partake in the conversation, only to be met with a pair of furrowed brows.

suguru sighs. “that…” he mutters, massaging his temple, not before shooting satoru a dirty glance. “wasn't planned.”

said man only grins, unperturbed, tucking his phone back into his pocket. thoroughly amused. “he’s mad that i stole his fit,” he chirps, stretching his arms idly. it makes his shirt ride up, ever so slightly, and you swallow a gulp.

“well… you look good in it.”

at that, satoru stills. gazing at you, silently, before breaking out into another grin. self-satisfied, a smooth curve, sunlight against the white of his teeth. you glance away, suddenly a little shy.

“does he?” the other two deadpan, completely in sync. it shoos away the smile on his lips, making way for a displeased frown.

“oh, come on. would it kill you to call me handsome now and then?”

“handsome?” riko places her hands on her hips, raising an unimpressed brow, a sassy lilt to her voice. “you look like a single father down on his luck.”

“seconded,” suguru quips, hiding the beginnings of a smirk. picking at a piece of lint on his shirt. “honestly, i’m surprised you’re wearing any layers at all. not gonna flaunt your abs this time?”

satoru brightens, suddenly. wiggling his brows, a sweet coo on the tip of his tongue. “oh? want me to loosen up a couple buttons?” he purrs, and you hate yourself a little for the instant yes that resounds through your mind. “you know you can always just ask, suguru.”

his teasing goes ignored, but you don’t miss the amusement that flits through the scope of suguru’s eyes, even as he tries to maintain that deadpan expression.

finally, he exhales. “well, see you later,” he hums, directed to you and satomi, checking the time on his wristwatch. “i should probably get going.”

“you’re not staying?” you ask, lashes fluttering with a confused blink. he smiles.

“i am,” he reassures you. “just gonna go fishing for a while. i thought i’d give it a try.”

“fishing?” riko exclaims, covering her amused grin with the palm of her hand. stifling laughter, you can tell, a bout of giggles begging to push past her lips. “what are you, fifty?”

satoru lets out a snort. to his left, suguru goes eerily silent — ominous, staring into your best friend’s eyes with no visible emotion. enough to make her smile fall. you feel a sense of deja vu.

“wait, i’m just kidding!” she suddenly squeaks, clinging to your arm and hiding behind you. she’s always had good survival instincts. ”don’t put me in a headlock!”

(they’re so stupid.

gosh, you missed them.)

“oh, by the way — do you want some shaved ice?” she turns to you, eyes crinkled at the edges, voice syrupy and sweet. “i can go get us some. what flavour do you want?”

“ah, great idea!” satoru matches her tone, tongue flitting out to lick his lips, glossy with chapstick. “i was just craving something sweet.”

“you’re paying, by the way.”

“…”

“so? any preference?” she tilts her head, waiting patiently for your reply. smiling once she gets it. “alright, got it. you, suguru?”

“i’m good. thanks, though.”

“okie-dokie,” she puts her palm out, facing satoru. “money, please.”

he only tuts, digging through his pocket and pulling out a black wallet. you think you spot a photocard, but he’s pulled out a credit card and tucked it back into his pocket before you can get a closer look.

“get me watermelon, okay? strawberry is fine too. if push comes to shove, go for anything other than lemon.” he hands her the card with a click of his tongue. “and watch out for creeps. if anyone hits on you, you know where to aim.”

she pockets it with a huff, exasperation on her features. “i’m twenty-three, toru. i can take care of myself.”

“aww, don’t be like that,” he coos, hands reaching out to squish her cheeks. she tries to squirm away, to no avail. “you’ll always be my little baby sister, you know. and, as your dependable big bro, i —“

“ugh, whatever.” she shoots him an unimpressed glance, finally escaping his hold. ”are you gonna go all men are wolves on us, or something?”

”they are! just look at suguru.”

”hey.”

you hide a growing smile behind your hand, watching them bicker and banter, feeling that sense of peace again. the summer day feels a little like a hazy daydream, a heavy nostalgia that sticks to your bones like gum on the sole of your shoe.

and, once again — you end up alone with a certain someone. suguru walks towards the faraway pier, riko strolls up to the stand selling shaved ice, and satoru lingers behind. you think he looks relaxed, at ease, but you can’t really look at him for too long without feeling nervous. without feeling as if you’re both ignoring the elephant in the room.

it still feels a little like there’s an invisible wall between you.

he’s the first to speak up, craning his neck and stretching like a big cat, a tiny groan escaping him. “well, there they go,” he hums. “what do you feel like doing first?”

“ummm…” you rack your brain for ideas, coming up empty. a little fried by his presence. you could go into the water, and escape the heat — sunbathing with him doesn’t sound so bad, though…

lost deep in thought, you barely notice him inching closer. still weighing your options, water or land, a relaxing nap or a splash war. you don’t notice until you feel his arm sneaking around your waist, pulling you closer, just by a hair. stealing all the oxygen from your lungs.

(you think your brain shuts down a little.)

and then he’s pulling away.

you raise your head to meet his gaze, completely flushed, unsure if you were hallucinating or not. he’s looking somewhere behind you, with an oddly cold gaze. you follow his stare, craning your neck, catching a glimpse of a man turning his back on you both before walking away.

… was he staring at you, or what?

when you search for satoru’s eyes again, they’re already on you. he’s smiling, a little sheepish, scratching at the back of his neck.

“sorry,” he chuckles. “i got paranoid.”

oh.

your skin still feels like it’s on fire. a lingering heat, blossoming where his skin touched yours, rendering you speechless.

finally, you gain control over your vocal chords, dry and charred. just enough to croak out a response. “i — it’s fine.”

your eyes stay glued to the sand beneath you, staring at a crushed seashell, unable to look him in the eye. feeling the back of your neck grow hotter. you miss the dirty glance riko sends his way, having just returned with the shaved ice, and the way satoru mouths out a silent what?

it’s easier after that. she grounds you, a little, leading you out into the sea. the water is pleasantly mild, licking at your ankles, coaxing you further, until it’s reaching up to your waist. it cools you down considerably, and before you know it you’re splashing her with all you’ve got, giggles filling the salty air — seagull cries above you and wet sand beneath your feet, a glimmer or two of tiny fish, loud laughter. sensations all around you. satoru watches you with a smile, munching on a sandwich, not joining you both until riko beckons him over.

the day stretches on, melting away into evening. people leave the beach behind them, suguru heads back to the house with a bucket of fish and a smug smile, riko dries herself off with a towel and rushes to a nearby convenience store when she notices that it’s about to close. murmuring something about dinner, shooting you an anxious glance, a silent will you be alright on your own? with him?

you wave her off with a smile. hoping it’ll come off as convincing.

so, one way or another, you end up under a parasol with a certain satoru gojo; putting empty bottles of lemonade back into the picnic basket, rolling up the blanket, stuck with cleaning duty. satoru carries it all, unwilling to let you help, the basket hanging off his arm. you walk away from the beach, stepping onto solid asphalt again, beginning your trekk up towards the main street — not too long of a walk, but you’re tired, even though satoru doesn’t seem tuckered out in the slightest. walking a step or two ahead of you.

he turns towards you and waits until you catch up.

“tired?” he coos, tilting his head, absently tucking his shades into the breast pocket of his shirt. blinking slowly, eyes shimmering in the summery hue of evening.

“kinda,” you smile, trying to muster a pep in your step. another hum buzzes in his throat, and then he’s facing forward again.

“c’mon. let’s get you something from the vending machine, okay? ‘s just up ahead.” he pats your head, once, twice. “that’ll give you some energy.”

you can only nod, following his lead. hydrangeas bloom all around you, a thick syrupy scent, paired with apple blossoms from the backyards you pass. then you spot the vending machine. satoru takes out his wallet, finding his card — it’s not the same one as before. riko still has it.

and this time, you’re close enough to see it. in his wallet is a photocard, clearly visible; of a baby, sleeping soundly, with short tufts of hair. a dark colour unlike his own.

(your heart melts, a little.)

“cola or sprite?”

you raise your head, looking through the barrier of glass in front of you. then you’re stepping forward, fingertip pressing against it, pointing towards a green can of sprite. not looking at him, as you make your choice. ”this one.”

— suddenly, you feel his skin on yours.

“there,” he exhales, pleased. giving you a reassuring smile before pulling away. “you’ve barely looked me in the eye today. ‘s gonna break my heart, y’know.”

a pause. you gulp, on instinct, shying away from his unbridled attention — eyes moving from those summer skies down to the curve of his glossy lips, and then back up again. a mistake, because when you glance down once more, unable to help yourself, you see it.

that apologetic smile.

(you really are obvious, aren’t you?

how embarrassing.)

silence splits the scene in half, only the faraway sounds of seagulls as background noise. they sound a little like they’re laughing, mocking you.

satoru presses a button on the vending machine, followed by a quiet beep. he doesn’t look at you when he broaches the subject, and you wonder if it’s out of respect or discomfort.

“still not over that schoolgirl crush, huh?”

…

something twists inside your gut. a little ugly, a little sentimental. now that he’s made the first move, it’s easier to move the pieces.

“it’s not a crush,” you murmur, kicking at a pebble on the ground. surprised by how clear your voice comes out. “i’m in love with you.”

a sigh. another beep, and the sound of a sodacan falling against metal flooring. he crouches down.

“… you could really, really do better.”

you watch as he fumbles with the pick-up box, eyes trained on the back of his neck, the buzzed hair of his undercut. letting out a quiet breath. “riko said the same thing.”

a snort pushes past his lips, ripe with fondness. he pulls himself up from the ground, shifting his weight from one foot to another, reaching for his wallet again. “oh, i’m sure.” he tucks the card back, slipping it into his pocket. a stray cat strolls by you, unburdened, waving its tail in the air. “really, though. you should listen to her.”

something cold meets your cheek. metal, condensation, a pleasant shiver down your spine. he presses the aluminium can against you, and you receive it with a murmur of thanks.

“i’m too old for you, for one.” he continues, and suddenly you feel a little like you’re being lectured. you break open the lid of the sprite can.

“you’re four years older.” a fizzy sound crackles like static in your ears, carbonation bubbling up, sticking to your fingertips. “and we’re both adults.”

he huffs out a breath, only mildly amused. “i’m pushing thirty, y’know?”

you take a sip, lips against cold aluminum, melting sunrays lapping at your skin. it tastes sweet.

“i know.” a pause, your bottom lip trapped between two sharp teeth. gnawing at the flesh. ”i can’t control how i feel, though.”

…

“yeah,” he sighs, leaning back against the glass. crossing one leg over the other, fiddling with something in his pocket. “i know.”

a moment passes. then he parts his lips, again.

“hey, how about you join me on a mixer someday?” he searches for your gaze, smiling, another one of those charming tilts of his head. “i know some cute guys. and girls, if that’s your thing.”

your answer is instantaneous.

“i’ll pass.”

…

another exhale, breathed out into the summer air. it drips with exasperation, ripe with fatigue, but there’s still something fond there. unmistakable.

“fine, fine. just… think about it. okay?” his palm finds its way to your head, ruffling your hair gently. that comforting weight. “c’mon, let’s go back. riri’s making dinner tonight.”

and then he’s taking a step forward. you watch his back for only a moment, still deep in thought. a fizzy, syrupy sweetness sticking to your teeth, a sense of nostalgia invading all your senses. and, as always, that silent adoration.

deep down, you know it’s true. there’s no changing this, whatever this is. in the same way riko will always be his baby sister, you’ll always just be the brat that sniffled into his chest after your first fight with her.

he’ll never quite see you the way you’d like him to.

(but, then again, isn’t that a part of it? that subtle, subtle kindness of his. the sense of maturity that asks for nothing in return.)

satoru is a good guy. that’s why you can’t help but adore him, despite everything. can’t help but watch his back as he leaves you behind, wishing you could catch up.

you gulp down the rest of your sprite, toss it into a trash can across the street, and stumble after him. veins sleepy, heart heavy, overwhelmed by adoration. you’ve already cracked the lid open; everything else comes easy. you just want to make a move, any move. want to see how he’ll react.

“satoru,” you call, and he comes to a standstill. when he turns around your arms are outstretched. “can i have a piggyback ride?”

the man before you blinks. once, then twice, fluttering like angel wings, or pretty clouds.

and then his smile grows. you catch a glimpse of his dimples, for just a moment, and then he’s beckoning you closer with a chuckle.

“yeah? now you’re suddenly all brave?” he shakes his head, no real discontentment behind it. “or are you really that exhausted?”

he studies you intently, ripe with fondness, and you think your sluggish blinks must be enough to convince him. because he crouches down, back facing you, and chirps out a hop on. a little teasing, of course, but still nice. his arms underneath your thigh, lifting you up like it’s nothing. making sure you’re comfortable.

he’s strong. very strong. the butterflies in your stomach flutter around again.

and you really are very exhausted. bones buzzing with something sleepy and fatigued, sore after all the running around you did in the water. completely tuckered out, resting your cheek against his back. like this, you can feel his muscles, the solidity of his body. it’s a little bit distracting.

“— remember?”

a series of blinks. you grasp onto his shoulders, holding back a yawn. “huh?”

“you falling asleep on me?” he chuckles, walking forward. one step after the other, the soles of his sandals hitting the asphalt. “i was saying — how i remember doing this back then.”

you tilt your head.

“when you fell and twisted your ankle. i think it was nearby, actually. some park?”

“... oh.” when you really concentrate, you think you do recall it; the feeling of his back against your chest, a dull ache in your foot. “yeah, i remember.”

satoru hums, a little buzz of amusement. “after that, you and riri would ask me for it all the time. carry us, big bro!” his imitation makes you smile, voice high and squeaky. “so childish, i swear. i could barely carry one of you.”

a chuckle tumbles from your lips, and it seems to spur him on; because he continues. nostalgia pouring out his throat.

“don’t tell her, okay? but, see — i started going to the gym after that. lifting weights. training, and stuff,” he huffs out an amused exhale, grinning softly. “suguru made me carry boulders on the beach. it was kind of our thing.”

…

“we almost got arrested once.”

you can’t help but laugh, hiding in the smooth fabric of his shirt, in between those white printed flowers. shoulders shaking slightly, giddy and amused. “you did that just ‘cause you were embarrassed?”

“no. because i wanted to be prepared,” he murmurs softly. “in case the two of you ever happened to fall over at the same time, or something. i wanted to be able to carry you both back.”

satoru continues to walk, facing away from you. always smiling, you’re sure. even if you can’t see it.

“you’re both precious to me,” he says, making sure to keep his hold around your legs steady. “that’s why i don’t want either of you wasting yourselves on some random guy.”

a displeased huff.

“… you’re not a random guy, if that’s what you’re implying.”

“well, of course not. i’m the guy,” he quips, standing a little straighter, and you can practically see the smug smirk on his lips. “but i’m not a very good person.”

you blink.

silence fills the open air.

he says it so casually that you almost don't catch it. matter-of-factly, like it’s just another obvious realization, something so deeply ingrained that it isn’t even worthy of a tonal shift. satoru, who makes pancakes for the people he loves, who carries your bags and buys you soda and keeps a picture of his baby sister in his wallet.

that satoru isn’t a good person?

(how could he ever, ever think that?)

“you are.”

a low hum buzzes in his throat, absentminded. you’re not sure he hears you. if he does, he simply doesn’t care enough to respond. the scene flickers by, the moment comes and goes — you want to protest again, but something about this silence makes you hesitate.

the only thing you can do is —

“satoru.”

another little hum. acknowledging, this time.

“do you… i mean,” you choke down a bundle of words, replacing them with new ones. gnawing at the flesh of your bottom lip. “is there really no chance… you’ll ever feel the same? none at all?”

…

a mirthless chuckle. he sounds a little tired, you think. more than a little exasperated. but the amusement is still there, laced into his voice, and you drink it in the same way you’ve always done. a little root, soaking in the light of the sun.

“after all that,” he mutters, “you’re still asking?”

a moment’s pause. you listen intently, as if you could hear the gears of his mind shift if you focus enough. as if just being stubborn enough could coax him into opening up the way you have.

finally, he parts his lips.

“well,” comes a sigh, a click of his tongue. he breathes in the summer breeze. “maybe in a couple decades or so.”

you stare. those white tufts of hair sway with every step he takes, and his voice has a finality to it that isn’t lost on you.

“… okay.”

a pause. then he’s barking out a short laugh, shoulders shaking. you tighten your grip around them. “okay?” he repeats, pinching the skin of your thigh. “can’t you read between the lines, you little troublemaker?”

a huff. you kick your legs, a little, just stretching them contentedly. wet hair sticking to his skin, your cheek still smushed against him, enveloped in his neverending warmth. “i don’t mind,” you whisper, choking down a yawn. and you mean it. “i’ve already waited eight years. a couple decades more isn’t too bad.”

silence, again. you wonder what he’s thinking. you wonder if you’ll ever come close to cracking open the lid of his heart. he parts his lips, oxygen spilling out.

(you think it’s a start.)

“has anyone ever told you that you’re awfully stubborn?”

you’re quick to nod, forehead nuzzling into his undercut. wearing a satisfied smile. “riko tells me all the time.”

“does she?” there’s silent laughter hiding between his teeth, eager to spill out. “that’s good. listen to her, alright? you might learn a thing or two.”

he’s teasing you. the sun is setting, and the air smells like saltwater, and satoru’s back is warm. his voice is set to a melodic lilt, and you feel strangely tempted to close your eyes.

and you adore him again.

satoru is right, and so is riko. you’re stubborn, terribly so — if only you could see that as a bad thing.

if only you were physically capable of giving this something up.

unlike the siblings and their overgrown backyard, you just can’t seem to look away from an ugly bud yet to bloom. just in case it ends up blossoming, this summer, or the next. just in case it turns into something worth plucking from the ground. it’s fine if it withers away, too. at least it’ll give way to better soil.

you just like him. you just want to see where it leads you. that’s all.

“but promise you’ll go with me to that mixer, okay?” his voice calls, breaking you out of your thoughts. unrelenting. ”i’ll find you someone who’ll get your mind off lil ol’ me.”

ah. that’s right.

(you’re terribly, horribly stubborn —

and satoru is too.)

you grin, soft and giddy, thinking of the years ahead of you. what they’ll be like. where’s the fun in a certain future?

“fine,” you hum, wrapping your arms around his neck. inhaling that familiar scent of sandalwood. “do your worst.”

#once again. GAGGED!!!!!!!!#i knew this was gonna be amazing but you blew me out of the water w your descriptions & imagery yet again #like wowowowowowowowow #i say it all in my rb so i won’t repeat myself for the millionth time in the tags but TRULY you’re such an amazing writer #i loved this so much! it’s good open-ended but if you ever get an idea for part 2 PLEASE know i’m there!!!!!#i wanna see what happens next now hehe #YOU DID AMAZING ARI!!!! GOOD JOB WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU <333 #here is a block of cheese for you……. 🧀#as a Treat :3 #gojo satoru x reader #favorites

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woso-dreamzzz · 1 year ago

Text

Nothing But Net II

Leah Williamson x Netballer!Reader

Summary: You've got one of the biggest games of your life and your girlfriend comes to support you

Your foot tapped on unsteady rhythm on the floor of the locker room.

Your throat bobbed uncomfortably.

"y/n...you feeling okay?"

You looked up in shock at being addressed before slowly letting out a long breath.

Funmi, your club and national teammate, was looking down at you, brow raised.

"Yeah." You coughed. "Yeah, I'm feeling good. Why...Do I not look good?"

She winced. "You look a little...green?"

You chuckled awkwardly. "I...I'm just gonna grab a bit of air. How long have we got?"

"Half an hour...maybe a bit less."

"Cool."

You left the locker room quickly, pacing up and down the hall like your life depended on it. With Metcalf out on injury, you were left to fill the role of Captain.

It's not that you didn't want it - you did, desperately - but you thought that your first game as captain would come at London Pulse during a first game of the season.

Not during a final.

Certainly, not during a final for the Netball World Cup.

"You're certainly looking sorry for yourself."

You rolled your eyes as Natalie Metcalf joined you, leaning against a wall with a grin. "Is it that obvious?"

She shrugged. "I saw your football bird turning up. She really likes her netball, huh? I saw her watching when we played Pulse as well. Is she at all your games?"

The barest hint of a smile pulled at your lips. "Yeah," You said," She tries to, at least. I didn't know if she was going to make this one. She had media stuff to do."

"Tough life." Nat blew out a breath. "Being captain of the national team. You'll find out when you lead us to victory."

The pit in your stomach was back with a vengeance.

"We're against Australia," You were practically whimpering," They've been beating us for a while now."

"Then turn it around," Nat replied," Hell, give your pretty bird a show."

You rolled your eyes. "She doesn't like it when you call her 'bird'. She's got a thing against it."

"Then it's a good thing she's not here. Get out on the court, l/n, and get us this win."

●～●～●～●～

The first quarter had you feeling confident.

Plenty of shots came and went but every time the ball was in your hands, it found home in the net, equalising the score at the very last second.

The second quarter came quickly after that but you had just enough time to grab some water and search the court for Leah - finding her the row behind the coaches, relaxed back in her seat with a cap on and a stupid pair of sunglasses on her face that she knew you hated.

She noticed you looking and grinned, tapping the stupid frames and you sneered at her - though both of you recognised the smile poking through.

By the time the second quarter ended though, you were trailing by four points.

"Listen," You said as the group huddled together tightly, feeling the weight of captaincy on your back," It could have gone worse. This is Australia. It could be going a lot worse but...It could be going better. Keep your heads up. Don't let them get that ball and for heaven's sake, don't forget who you're marking!"

Your optimism faded quickly as the third quarter turned to utter carnage.

Australia shut down every option you had, intercepting and blocking at every turn.

You were getting annoyed.

Your team were getting annoyed.

From the corner of your eye, you could tell Leah was getting annoyed - finally sitting up properly, elbows on her knees as she leaned closer to the court.

"Hey, hey, my girl," She said when the break before the fourth quarter began.

"You're not supposed to be down here," You reminded her quickly, your throat closing up like you were about to start sobbing.

"Don't care," She said dismissively, holding your arms tightly," Listen to me, my girl, you're doing great. You're doing amazing. Don't be so hard on yourself."

You scoffed. "Easy for you to say. You captained the Lionesses to Euros victory. What exactly am I captaining the Roses to? Another Australia defeat."

"Enough," She said firmly, her own 'captain voice' appearing immediately," Don't belittle yourself like that. You're captain material, my girl, both for the Roses and Pulse. Go to your team, knock some sense into them and get them to get you that ball no matter the cost. Got it?"

Her hand reached up to cradle your cheek and her eyes were half wild, refusing to move from your face before you nodded.

"Got it."

●～●～●～●～

Leah watched you walk away from her, glancing at the clock to tell you that you had a minute and a half left before the fourth quarter started.

You grabbed Housby and Cardwell on the way, tugging them into a hastily made huddle.

She couldn't hear exactly what you were saying, but you looked serious - face set in a hard line before you all broke away when the buzzer sounded.

It was the tightest of matches.

Every shot Australia took, the Roses missed.

Every shot the Roses took, Australia missed.

The final minute was counting down and Leah shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

Australia - 56

England - 55

An interception is converted quickly at the beginning of the last minute and you shoot effortlessly - equalising the score with ease.

The game resets.

A fake to the right.

Pass into Australia's third.

Intercepted.

Recovered by England.

Passed into the shooting circle.

Into your hands.

Shot lined up.

Shot taken.

Buzzer sounded.

The ball sinks into the net seconds before the buzzer sounds.

Australia - 56

England - 57

●～●～●～●～

You collapsed to the ground, unable to believe it as the team dog pile you - something incredibly violent when compared to the more restrained way that netballers usually celebrate.

You let out a shaky gasp of air as your teammates are pulled from your body and Leah crashed into you. She held you tight, bouncing you up and down before kissing you soundly on the lips like nobody was watching.

"Told you, my girl. You're captain material."

"Means a lot," You said, adrenaline pumping through your body," From the Euro winner."

"Euro winning hardly compares to World Cup," Leah replied, kissing you again," Gonna put your trophy and medal in the cabinet, my girl. Can't wait to tell Keira and G that we've got more world cups at home than they do."

You rolled your eyes fondly, relaxing into Leah's body as she rained the kisses down onto your head.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" She teased," Winning for your country. Looks good on you."

"Looks good on you too," You replied.

She grinned rakishly. "Yeah? We should do it more often."

#woso x reader #leah williamson x reader #leah williamson #woso community #woso imagine #woso fanfics #woso

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lololololchips · 5 months ago

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Kim Mingyu || in which love lingers…

synopsis: in which love lingers even after their relationship reaches its end. Mingyu discover that his enduring love and care for his ex will always remain, even if she has now found happiness in a new relationship…

genre: one shot smau, fake texts, fluff, angst, non!idol, lovers to strangers (?)

warnings: fem reader, cursing, mention of alcohol/being intoxicated

a/n: hiiiii i am very happy and excited to announce that this is my first collab!!! soooo allow me to introduce the amazing, talented, and great person that completed this smau @spamgyu !!!!! ces completely ruined me with her opinion on ex!mingyu to the point that it made me want to do an smau on the topic so here it is:)) the amazing writing portion that she did is towards the end so make sure not to skip over it and read it!!! also go show her support on all her great work, she’s gonna make u suffer and cry BUT HEY THATS OKAY🙈🙈 once again i’m truly so happy to have worked with ces so ENJOY WHAT WE PUT TOGETHER HEHE<333

Taking the final bite of his shave ice, Mingyu couldn't help but let out a pitiful chuckle as the cold treat made contact with his tongue - he had gone mad.

He had always wanted to visit the tropical island, looking forward to crossing off all the sights he had on his four year old list in his notes app.

Only difference was, it wasn't meant to just be him completing this list.

You were supposed to be there.

You were the one that had come up and done research for all the places he had paid a visit to.

From the small surf town up north to the local eateries, Mingyu couldn't quite find himself to enjoy the experience fully - knowing that there was something missing.

You.

It had been three years since the two of you had separated, both coming to terms with the end and moving on with your lives. It had been months since he had even thought of you - as a romantic partner, at least.

What was meant to be a birthday trip had turned to somewhat of a trip to tie up all the loose ends he never did seem to get to - nor was he aware had been undone.

This place was supposed to be for you two.

Mingyu knew it was stupid; relating every activity he had been doing back to you instead of fully enjoying the trip.

He was supposed to have moved on; and he has!

But why did his stomach feel like it was constantly sinking? Why did his heart feel as empty as it did the first day he had experienced a life without you?

With each picture he snapped, he found himself mumbling how much you would have loved the place.

It was everything you two had dreamed of, maybe even more.

You always did like the ocean - remembering the first time the two of you had spent at the beach together.

He could remember the smile on your face that day, almost as if it was just a week ago.

He could remember the sweet smell of coconut shampoo that lingered in your hair, wafting into his nose as the wind blew.

He could remember the sunkissed glow on your cheeks as the sun beat down on the two of you.

Would it have been the same if you had made it to the Hawaii trip with him?

Would you still have been using the same shampoo?

Would you still allow him to playfully drag you into the water - pretending as if you didn't want to wet your hair in the cold ocean water?

Probably not.

Time has passed, there was no way you were the same person - just as he wasn't that same foolish boy that he was when he was wrapped around your fingers.

You were most likely using a different shampoo now.

And you probably would have jumped into the ocean first.

He wanted to text you; send you all the images he took, update you that Matsumoto Shave Ice was as delicious as you imagined it be, tell you all about what he had been up to.

You probably wouldn't even care - at least, not like you did before.

You would simply reply casually, just like your other mutual friends.

Letting out a sigh, Mingyu tossed out the now empty cup - shaking his head to try and shake away the thoughts of you.

"I'm a fucking idiot." He scoffed, rereading the word vomit that he had spilled to you just a few minutes ago over text.

You two had been cordial, friends even - and now, that could possibly go down the drain.

All because of this stupid thing called nostalgia.

He had allowed for the emotional tie that the island had to overpower his coherent thoughts - typing all that he had felt the duration of his trip into the messaging app.

Mingyu knew he had to get it out, he had to let you know - he felt as though his chest would burst if he didn't. He had done so well holding back for the past few days, simply talking to you in his head.

But he heard it, someone had played the song the two of you had jokingly dedicated to each other after the break-up - and almost as if his younger self had possessed his body, he opened the messaging app and went on to spill all that his brain had been bothering him with.

His younger self missed you; gravely.

But not the you that was now, no - he didn't know who she is.

She is a stranger.

She may look familiar, having the same features that had once had him so weak in the knees - but she no longer felt like the home he once resided in.

He no longer knew the address to this home, nor does he think it has it's light on for him anymore.

Even if his kept the porch light on; just in case you needed to seek shelter in the darkest of nights.

It will always be on.

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sage-green-matcha · 1 year ago

Note

Hello! I absolutely adore your writing and I think it is amazing 🫶 could you do something summer camp based? (like anything summer camp related)

CRULE SUMMER - ETHAN LANDRY 🏕️

“It’s cruel summer, with you” - Taylor Swift

MINORS DNI!

Content includes: Mean Ethan, enemies to lovers, summer camp! Sexual tension!

A/n: two requests in one!

You couldn't stand Ethan Landry. His annoying voice ticked you off, acting like he was so innocent. Everything about him annoyed you. His style, and god, his stupid hair. Even when you heard him breathe or chew too loud you got annoyed.

"Alright, Team! The only goal for today is to beat the blue team's ass! Alright?" You blew your whistle, gathering all the campers. "Stop chewing on your shirt, Timmy" you cringed, a frown on his face.

"Okay! The annual water balloon capture the flag contest! Honestly dumb name but whatever, don't get hit, and whichever team gets the flag first wins! Which will be us, so don't disappoint me"

You hated it, and it annoyed you. When the teenage campers would drop to their knees for you. There weren't hot people at this camp, well maybe Ethan. But his attitude took away from his looks.

They would do anything for you to notice them. And so would Ethan Landry. He was on the rival side of the camp, captain of the blue team.

"You're funny if you think your team is gonna win" he smirked, filling the blue tub up with balloons. "Haha, we are. We haven't lost since 2019. We got this" you shrugged confidently.

"Right, we'll see about that" You wanted to slap the smirk off his face, maybe knee him in the balls while you were at it. "Shut up" you grumbled through your teeth, fixing the whistle around your neck.

"Alright! Everyone round up" You stood on the chopped tree, balancing yourself on your dirty platform Converse. You liked them cause they made you taller, like Ethan. But you would never admit that.

"Who's ready?!" You smiled as the crowd of campers screamed, water balloons in hand. "3...2...1!" You quickly ran away, taking cover in the lunch room before anyone could find you. Or so you'd thought.

"Found ya" You looked up to be splashed with water, Ethan smiling at you. "Wow, congratulations" you smirked, throwing one right back at him. Your eyebrows furrowed as you noticed his eyes wandering, just to end up on your chest. "What?"

"I...nothing" He scratched the back of his neck.

You looked behind you, to your sides, and then down your body, that's when you realized. You didn't remember about the fight when you were getting dressed, the white baby tee hugging your boobs perfectly. Your ripped blue shorts showing off your thighs. You weren't wearing a bra either, you had been swimming all morning and forgot it at the dock, and couldn't find it after.

"You fucking pervert!" You let out a small gasp, covering yourself quickly. "I'm not a pervert!" You rolled your eyes, bumping him out of the way as you left. "They're just gonna attack you"

"I'm already out" you mumbled, storming away while trying to hide your frustration.

You couldn't believe it, he was staring at your boobs! He's a pervert, he's annoying, he's disrespectful. You could go on and on about it.

You walked outside to see a bunch of the blue team kids splashed in water. A small smile back on your face. At least you had that. Quickly, you made your way back to the cabin, finally putting on a bra and a red tee you had laying around. Too bad you had to watch what you wore now, there was a pervert in the camp.

But honestly, you didn't care, finding your way back to camp in the loose red shirt.

"Looks like my campers beat yours" Ethan grinned, your eyebrows furrowed at your sad group of campers. "You helped them, didn't you?" He gave you a surprised face. "No? Your team just sucks"

You knew he was lying, his team was full of shit runners. "You helped them" he mocked you, his classic smirk shining back at you.

You leaned over, grabbing a balloon from the bucket before throwing it at his face. "Whoah! Okay, you really wanna fight?" You didn't respond, instead holding back a smile as water splashed his chest.

Harsh splashes of water started hitting you, while you tried to collect more balloons. You threw them back at Ethan. "Ethan! Stop!" You smiled as he got closer, missing his body every time you threw a balloon.

"You said you wanted to fight" he chewed on his lip with a smirk, picking you up by your waist. "Get your hands off me, Landry"

You wiggled around in his arms, pushing yourself off of him.

"Who knew you were strong" You didn't mean to say it out loud, but the thought slipped out of your lips. "Have you not seen my muscles?" You cringed at his words, shaking your head.

"Enough playing around you two, clean the mess up" Your eyes turned into lines, twisting your head at the Camp manager. "She's so annoying, doesn't know how to have fun. I mean, it's a kid's camp" Ethan joked, pulling the blue tub closer to his body.

"And you do?" You asked, your back turned to him as he scanned you down. You gave him doughy eyes, turning your head. You noticed his face was slightly pinker than before. Blush looked really good on him. You scoffed, a small smile on your lips.

"I do" he shook his head, getting noticeably closer to you. "Really?" You teased, trying to hide the fact that you were panicking on the inside.

"Mhm"

“Show me”

You didn’t think he was actually gonna make a move, but the way his eyes stared at you should’ve told you otherwise.

You let out a small gasp, it sounded more like a moan. The lewd sound got Ethan excited. You tried to pull back, but Ethan stayed dominant, pushing you back against the wall.

You prayed the manager wouldn’t come back, enjoying the moment too much. The way his hands squeezed your waist made you melt. His kisses traveled down your neck, sucking and pecking you all over.

“Enough E, you’re gonna leave marks” you tried to sound confident, but you were too flustered. You felt his heart race in his chest, heavy breaths falling from his pretty lips as he pulled away.

“Am I not fun enough?” He smirked, making you scrunch your nose. “Your fun…but I’m way funner” you teased, biting back your lip with a smile.

“Back to being bold?” You nodded, trying to hide your shyness. You slipped under his arm, running back towards your cabin. “I’ll see you at the campfire?” He yelled, making you turn back.

“See you!”

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petew21-blog · 6 months ago

Text

Charmed: Leo's jealousy

Could you believe her? I know we split up, but it didn't even take her that long and she found herself a new guy. Her neighbor, Dan. Oh piss off Dan. Me and Piper were amazing together, just the nature of me being a whitelighter and her a Charmed one got in the way sometimes. I was still their whitelighter so there was no way we would end up seeing each other. Which was even worse for me to see her with a new guy in his arms

Dan moved in few months ago. He was always observing Piper and the girls, just trying to seem like a sexy non chalant neighbor, who doesn't know that the three girl nextdoor are gonna observe him washing a car. Just get a life Dan

Deep in my mind, I knew that me and Piper were gone. Not to be a couple ever again. That's why I was so jealous of them. I made their life a bit of hell to be honest, not really fullfilling the duties of a friendly guardian whitelighter, but a bit of a crazy ex boyfriend. The elders wanted to take the girls away from me and ban me the entrance to their house. But I was faster. I knew what I had to do.

I arrived at the Halliwell house. Watching Piper in the window doing what she loved the most. Cooking. I always loved to observe her making her way in the kitchen. But Leo won't be going there tonight, no. My location is nextdoor actually.

I hid in his bedroom. I heard a car pull up and then the door. I was ready. The memory dust in my right palm, ready for Dan.

As he entered the room in shock, he couldn't even react. I blew the dust into his face. He coughed for a bit and then just stared blankly.

"You will forget everything about who you are. You have never lived in San Fransisco. You stole the car from someone in the city and you are on the run. The one you stole his wallet and money is me. I am Dan. You felt bad so you returned me my wallet, ID and everything you wanted to steal from me that is in your pockets right now. You will leave the shirt here too. You are just a thief, as you have always been. You will take only the car and you will leave to Mexico. There you will find a job as Mike, the surfer. You won't come back to the States. You love Mexico. You will never come back. Now go and leave."

His eyes blinked rapidly. Then he took everything out of his pockets as I told him so. He took of his sweather, that he got from Piper, and revealed his manly torso. "Damn, that's gonna be me soon." Then he just turned around and I saw him through the window driving away.

"Great. Now there is only one thing left."

I said as I put glamour on me to pass off easily.

Long hair appeared over my head, muscular torso underneath my shirt. His thighs were more mascular than mine. His dick looks nice, but I still think mine was bigger. Nevermind, if it pleases Piper, that's all good for me.

Now all I need is the girls to invite me to the house in case that they enchanted the house. If they invite me in I am allowed to. So there is one move I know from Dan that I'm gonna use

Just as I expected. Piper didn't even let me finish watering the lawn.

"Hey, Dan. Where is your car? Thought you were gonna wash it."

"I had to borrow it to a friend. But something tells me he might now give it back."

Piper laughed even tho it wasn't mean as a joke. This woman is so into him

"Hey, wanna come inside? I baked fresh cookies."

Haha. This was easier than I thought

The next morning:

"Wow, you prepared this all for me? Dan that's so lovely. Thank you."

"Well, I thought that maybe after last night you might be hungry. Or are you hungry for more of something else?" I crawled over to her over the bed.

I could se that she was really in love with him. She liked Dan. She likes me. Hahha. I am Dan now and I have Piper all for me. We are gonna be forever together.

"Hey, I was thinking we could go for vacation to Mexico. I always wanted to try surfing. Haha"

Fuck. Maybe I should get more of that memory powder

Anonymous story request in inbox:

Charmed: Leo is extremely jealous of the relationship developing between Piper and Dan and decides to take Dan‘s place by using memory dust (seemed somewhat like hypnosis from what I remember) on Dan to make him leave, never come back and leave everything he owns behind, including ID, wallet, etc. Leo then glamours into Dan, taking his place.

#male transformation #male shapeshift

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roxannarambles · 1 year ago

Text

I commissioned the wonderful @gotchibam to draw this piece and they just blew out outta the water, absolutely beautiful. There's not enough art of Nemona and especially not enough art of Nemona & Juliana, so I thought, why not? Not to mention I'm still salty about our Paldean friends being excluded from the DLC, so here's a little something to remedy that 💜🧡

In honor of the art being finished, I'll even post a Juliana/Nemona scene from my Teal Mask Rewrite fanfic that was mostly obscured due to Carmine and Kieran's hijinks. Because I did in fact have the whole conversation written, but I didn't put it all in since the 'ship really wasn't the main focus of the story. Scene behind a cut in case folks are not interested in 'ship stuff ^_^

They wandered the outskirts of the festival, the mood cozy and comfortable as they chatted under the light of the lanterns.

In the midst of their discussion, Juliana was saying,

"I dunno, I still think maybe I shouldn't have played Fezandipiti instead of Carmine."

"What? No, you did great, what d'you mean?"

"Well I just felt kinda bad, she seemed really deadset on it."

"Nahhh, she volunteered to be Munkidori! It's fine."

Juliana tossed the remains of her candy apple in a trashcan as they walked by. She sighed,

"I guess so. Though I got the feeling she only did that 'cause-- uh."

She hesitated, hoping Nemona wouldn't notice.

"Cause what?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"What?"

"It's silly, it's-- well. She made that weird comment, um. Thinking we were girlfriends?"

". . . oh."

There was an awkward pause as the two walked. After a few moments, Nemona asked,

"Does it bother you?"

Juliana asked cautiously,

"Does what bother me?"

"Just, um. People thinking . . . that. I mean, if it bothers you, we can tell them we aren't--"

"What, no, it doesn't bother me!"

"Oh, okay. Are you sure?"

Juliana laughed.

"Of course! Why would it? Like . . . somebody thinks I'm dating the coolest, most kickass, smartest girl in my school, oh nooooo, how awful, whatever shall I do?"

She'd held a dramatic hand to her forehead as she'd said it, and Nemona groaned,

"Unnngh, c'mon, Jules."

"What?"

"I really wanna know if it bothers you, I'm being serious--"

"I'm being serious too!!"

They slowed to a stop near some park benches. Nemona cast her a wary glance.

". . . you are?"

Emphatically, Juliana answered,

"Yeah, of course, I'm dead serious. You're the coolest, most kickass, smartest girl in my school."

"Nnngh, Jules!"

"What?? Nemona, I know you hate compliments but I am gonna keep saying it until you accept it's fact--"

Nemona buried her face in her hands, saying,

"Noooooo . . ."

Juliana drew closer and gently grabbed her hands, pulling them away from her face and holding them. Gazing deep into her eyes so she knew she was serious, Juliana told her,

"I mean it, Nemona. You're incredible. Every day, you inspire me. You attack life with everything you have. You love so deeply and you never let anyone stop you, no matter how often they've tried. You're sweet and you're brilliant and you're kind and you're literally the most amazing person I've ever met."

Blushing intensely, Nemona squeaked, "Oh . . ." Juliana let her hands go and cleared her throat. "S-so, uh, yeah, I mean . . . it doesn't bother me." "Okay. . . t-that's good. . ." "But, uh, hey, if it bothers you if people think we're girlfriends, I mean, that's fine--"

Nemona cut her off, voice incredulous; "--bother me? Of course not! How-- if-- if we were girlfriends I'd be the luckiest girl in the world!" Juliana blinked at her, startled. With dawning realization, she breathed, "Oh . . ." "H-hypothetically, I mean . . ."

Lips twisting into a wry smile, Juliana nodded, "Right, of course."

Her glance shifted away, and after an awkward pause, she ventured, "So, um . . . hypothetically, if we were girlfriends . . ."

Nemona answered quickly, "Yeah?"

Juliana's eyes returned to Nemona's. She inched closer to her, almost imperceptibly, and continued carefully, "Are you . . . the kinda girl who likes surprise kisses or likes to be asked, orrrrr . . ."

Nemona considered the question seriously before shrugging. "I mean, either's good, I guess it depends on the situation. . ."

“Okay. Got it.”

They gazed at each other in tense silence. The seconds stretched on and felt unbearably slow; one second, two, three . . .

Then Juliana took a breath and blurted,

"Could I kiss you?"

Nemona's eyes widened, almost comically large. She automatically wetted her lips and swallowed, her gaze flitting to Juliana's lips and then back again to her eyes. She stammered, ". . . u-um, h-hypothetically, o-or . . .?" Juliana laughed softly. "For real." After a lingering pause, Nemona nodded, a burgeoning smile threatening to overtake her. Juliana slowly leaned closer and lifted up a little on her toes; their eyes slipped shut as their lips met. It was very tentative at first, slow and careful and awkward, but it was also soft and warm and kind of wonderful.

Juliana felt Nemona's hand cradle her jaw as she pressed closer, deepening the kiss. Juliana could swear it felt like something bright and hot was thumping in her chest-- like hot coals being stoked to life.

"All right, EAT DIRT, DORKS!!"

She startled at a sudden shout and the force of something impacting with her back. A few seconds later, she realized it was a snowball.

#pokemon #I love the little pawmot mask they added aaaaa it's so cute #pokemon s/v #the teal mask #the teal mask fix it fic #julinemo #terajules #nemona #juliana #nemona pokemon #juliana pokemon #pokemon scarlet/violet

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forgodsgoddamnsake · 9 months ago

Text

Belly Dancer - 1

Harry sat next to Michael on the leather couch with four girls now all around them, Michael was his right hand and his best friend. They are there for each other, in the happinesses and sorrows. They were friends since the day they first met when they only were thirteen years old.

And for that reason, when Michael noticed that Harry was burnt out from all the work he has to go through every day, same routine, same shit, he thought that it would be a good idea for them to see something different. Michael has heard of you through some friends that were like 'wtf did we just watch?' and couldn't shut up about how good you were on that stage. And, knowing Harry, he knew that he would be very pleased to see a different kind of woman.

A woman he will never something like her.

A girl put her around Harry and started mumbling something sexy in his ear, but he ignored her and kept drinking from his glass and huffed.

"Why the long face, H? I told you to leave this fucking attitude out." Michael scoffed, drinking from his cup.

"I am okay, Mike." Harry says.

"No shit? You sure look like it." Michael commented sarcastically.

"What do you want from me now? Want me to put a fucking smile on my face?"

"Yes, please."

"I don't know what I should do with the upcoming deal with the Italians."

"Leave it, H. Not now, we're here to have fun and you look like an ungrateful kid." Michael said, he was sick of Harry and his attitude. He knows that Harry has a lot on his shoulders, but he doesn't seem to know how to let go.

"You know what? Fuck you! I'm out." Harry says angrily and stands up and just like that like it was a cue or something, music blasted through speakers.

Weird music to his ears. He has never heard something like that before, but he didn't care at that moment. Until he head an announcement through the speakers, "The moment you've all been waiting for. Y/N!"

Michael grabbed Harry from his arm and dragged him to the glass wall that showed the stage. Harry took away his arm from his friend and stopped in his tracks.

A woman.

A woman in tanned skin and long hair stood on the stage down there, with golden abaya that showed off her beautiful legs, cleavage, and of course her belly. She had some glitter all over her body. She had a golden anklet. That woman wore a short scarf on her head that only covered a part of her hair.

She swayed her belly up and down in total excitement with such expertise. She used her hair as a tool just like that long cane in her hand that she used to dance with. What really blew him away was when she pulled her back down while standing and held the cane with one hand playing with it all over her body without it touching her.

He has never seen something like that before. He has never loved something so different like that. Her hair made him want to pull on it while fucking her. He wanted to know how she could sway and pop her waist and belly on his dick.

A girl comes next to Harry and whispers, "I could do that, too."

He ignored her and kept his eyes on the girl before him, not leaving his eyes off of her even for a second.

When you were done, you were already used to the hard applause, you returned back to your room at the back. Your assistant got you your mantle and covered you.

You sat on your chair in front of the wide mirror and began cleaning off your makeup after taking off some of the bling you had on your face. Your assistant, Angela, says, "You were amazing today, y/n."

You smile to her and say, "Thank you so much, honey. We need to get ready for our last performance in about another half hour. Can you get me my next suit, please? This abaya is not so comfortable."

"You're gonna wear it now? Isn't it too early?" She asks but does what she's told anyways.

"No, it isn't. I like putting makeup on after wearing my suit, so my makeup doesn't stain my suits." You answer her, drinking water from your bottle.

"Fair enough." Just when she finishes her sentence, you hear a knock on your door.

"Who is it?" She asks before opening the door slightly so whoever outside can't see you.

"Oh yeah of course." You hear her say and opens the door.

Your eyes are still fixed on yourself in the mirror, until you see in it a tall man with beautiful green eyes standing at your door. His eyes also are fixed on you. You turn your head around and look at him, asking in a flat tone, "What?"

"I am Harry. Harry Styles." He says not looking away.

"Okay? I don't do selfies so get out of here." You turn your head again and continue to take off your makeup.

"I'm not here for a selfie. I'm here to tell you that we want an exclusive dance in the VIP lounge." He says, confidently.

"Usually, Sean is the one to tell me that." Sean is the manager of the club, so that doesn't make sense that Harry is the one to tell you that.

"He knows, but I asked him to let me be the one to tell you that." He says like he orders you.

"Well then, no one can say no to work. But, I want Sean to ask me, not some one I don't know." You say, you were really bothered by his smirk that he had all the time he was talking to you so you thought you should be as annoying as he is.

"And what if he doesn't?" He asks with a wider smirk.

You turn your head and raise a brow, "Then no."

"You sure are a tough one." He comments so you stand up and close the door in his face with a bang enough for Angela to jump.

You wear your next suit, not thinking of that bastard anymore until you hear another knock on the door. You huff and tell Angela, "If he is the same fucker tell him to go find someone to fuck him."

But that was Sean, an old man with grey hair and blue eyes. He comes inside and says to you, "Y/N, we want you to skip the second performance to the public and keep it in the VIP lounge for today."

"Sure," You smile at him, "That fucker will be there?"

He giggles and says, "Don't say that as you don't know who he is."

"I don't care, Sean. You shouldn't have let him come in here, we've talked about this. No one is allowed here."

"I know, but we can't say no to him."

"And why is that?"

"Because he's Harry Freaking Styles. He's one of the most powerful men in the whole country so it's not so easy to tell him go fuck yourself without getting a bullet in your head."

"Whatever. I'll be up there in 10 minutes."

You weren't afraid, you are not afraid. You have spent your life afraid of everything and since you took your first step in this country you've swore to god that you'll never let fear in your heart ever again. You knew that Harry was handsome and hot that's for sure, but you weren't going to suck his balls just because he's handsome. If anything, he should be the one sucking yours, if you had any.

You stood right outside the VIP lounge and asked the guy in charge of it to stop the lights until you go in. That was something you asked for every time you were asked to do a private dance in the VIP lounge, you had to surprise them.

You stood in the middle of the room with the lights still off, and raised your arms above your head and raised one side of your waist and then the lights are on again.

The music popped in the lounge, and you see that same smirky face eating you with his eyes. Taking in the new suit you had on, it was silky that showed off your whole back and belly, not so modest. And he loved every inch of it.

He sat there next to another guy with the same expression she got every time someone sees her in one of her suits. You danced like always but with some differences. You made a circle with your waist and interacted with them more than the public, you made your way to the couch they were on and for a second Harry thought you were coming for him, but you took the hands of Michael and made him stand up so he could dance with you.

Michael couldn't dance like you, for sure, but he tried to sway his body and couldn't focus on anything else, especially you leaned your back to his chest. Michael couldn't look to anything else, not even to Harry who was biting his lip from both lust and jealousy.

You kept dancing until the song ended. Michael and the bartender applauded hard enough to show you how much they loved it. Some of the girls out there were so pissed off at you for taking all the attention.

Harry, on the other hand, stood up and asked you, "Why don't you come with me, love?

"Honey, I don't like you." You said.

You made eye contact with Michael and smiled, "I hope to see you soon, cutie."

Then you were out of the lounge.

Harry sat on the couch again, with a smirk on his face.

Just when you were about to step foot out of the club you see that fucker again with the same smirk you want to slap it out of his face. You were in white tank top and a short leather skirt. Angela was right beside with a big bag in her hand you when you stopped to look at that smug.

"If you think you can kidnap me, then you should know that's a bad idea." You spat.

"And why is that, love?"

"Because I'll chop off your goddamn dick." You were violent. That's for sure.

"Oh, that could hurt." He smirked again and took a step forward towards you.

"What do you want from me, Harry Styles?"

"I want a private dance, only for me."

"Give it to him," You ordered Angela who handed him a card. "This is the number you can call if you want a private dance."

He looked at the card and then at you, "I really like you."

"And I don't care."

You said before walking towards your car. You drove away and you could still see him in the mirror not taking his eyes off of your car. What was wrong with him?

"Harry Styles?! Thank god you're still alive, you should apologize you little bitch." Jessica said.

You were at the apartment you shared with Jessica, you make enough money to buy a whole house now, but you didn't want to leave Jessica, she was your first and only friend when you came to America to seize your opportunity. She had your back when you couldn't find a job, until she finally helped you get one.

Her cousin was one of the three people who own the club and the theatre, and she asked her to give you a chance. From that moment you became famous enough for people to come every day to the club to just watch you dance.

So, you wouldn't just leave Jessica just because you make enough money now. And, now that you're sitting at the dining table next to Jessica at 3 PM eating, you thought that you should tell her about that freak you danced for yesterday.

"Who is he anyways?" You asked, stuffing your face with food.

"All I heard from Lola -Her cousin- is that he is not just a business man, he is powerful."

"And that was enough for you to tell me that I'm lucky that I'm still alive?"

"No, but those powerful people are intimidating."

"I'm not afraid."

"Y/N, I know you now, I know that you fear no one and nothing, but you need to chill a bit."

"Why should I? because he could kill me or something?"

"I hope not, but just become more flexible, maybe he was amazed by your dancing and liked you enough to get you in his bed."

"He asked me to go with him, Jess! I don't sleep around, and you know that, I have to have this long face for anyone that thinks for a second they can stuff their faces in my titties." You said and she bursts into laughing at the top of her lungs.

"Okay, I know that, but-" She was interrupted by your phone ringing, it was Sam, the one you hired to take care of any business outside the club.

"Sorry, Jess," You apologized before taking the phone, "Yes, Sam, how're you? What? HOW MUCH!? Okay, today 11 PM, set everything up with Sean, I don't want him to be all grumpy. Bye." And with that you hung up.

"What was that all about?" She asked drinking her juice.

You looked at her wide eyed, "That fucker asked Sam if I could dance at the parties he has tonight and for the upcoming week. He wants me for an entire week to stay at his mansion up the hill in a private part of it."

"Wow, the same fucker we were just talking about?" She asked and you nodded.

You had to go, there was no way out, the money was good. You packed clothes and suits, you were going to stay there for about a week so you could use as many suits as you wanted. Angela was sat right beside you on the passenger seat in your car as you drove to his mansion, Sam had sent you a location. The drive was silent, and you weren't nervous, you'd been doing this for over a year now so you were confident. You drove with one hand until you pulled over right in front of this giant mansion. Angela gasped when she put her eyes on it, but you rolled your eyes and stepped out of the car to get your bags out. Angela followed you without taking her eyes off of the mansion, she helped you with the bags with her mouth open.

"Fuck it, snap out of it, Angela!" You said, walking towards the mansion.

A man in a black suit was standing at the door of the mansion with a smile on his face, you smiled back. When you got closer to him he took the bag from you, "Hello, I'm Jack, I'll be at your service for your whole stay."

"Hello, Jack. I'm Y/N and this is Angela, my assistant."

"I know you Ms.Y/L/N, Mr. Styles told me about you. He was very excited to have you." He said letting you in the mansion.

It was huge, white. Everything was white except from the art hanging on the walls and some cushions. Jack escorted you to the elevator in the mansion and pressed on the higher floor.

"This floor is gonna be yours for your whole stay, it has its own kitchen and bathrooms so you're going to be as comfortable as possible." He said and you couldn't help but smile at Angela who couldn't close her mouth.

The elevator doors open and you step inside to see a wide floor with an open kitchen and two bedrooms with a large living room.

"Here is the kitchen as you see, it has everything you need to make a meal, but if you need anything you can always call me and I'll be at your service." He walked you to the living room, "This is the living room as you see. There's TV, mini-fridge, and everything you might need."

You nodded at him as he walked you to a room and opened the door to a large room, "This is our room?" You asked.

"No, ma'am, this is Angela's room, it's got everything you might need, miss." He told her and she took a step inside with wide smile on her face.

He walked you to another room, opened the door and FUCK. It was huge with a king-sized bed. The room had cream paint and white sheets, a couch and TV.

"Here is your room. You also have a private bathroom besides the one down the hall. Again Ms. Y/L/N, if you ever need anything you can call me. Mr. Styles has strict instructions of us taking care of you two."

You smiled at him thankfully, but couldn't help but ask, "Where is Harry?"

"We don't know that, unfortunately, but I'm sure he's gonna be here at 12 AM. He may need to speak to you about the themes of the parties he's throwing here." He said letting go of your bags.

You nodded at him.

"I should go now, here is this little thing I can't remember the name of, you press a button and you can speak to me directly." He pointed at this thing on the wall that looked like the thermostats.

You nodded again and thanked him before he left. You couldn't help but notice that your room has a balcony, you love balconies. Wherever you were, you could leave everything and stay in the balcony looking at everything around you.

When you entered the balcony, you could see a wide, long green grass, it almost looked like a park, except from the large pool that was in the middle.

You sighed.

You don't know why, but everything was too much for you, life was too much.

You felt alone even if there were a hundred people around you, and when you were alone, you felt empty. Maybe it's because you swore that no one can take any place in your heart again. No one can get this luxury of breaking your heart. You had to stand on your jelly feet and throw everything out of your life.

You remembered that day you ran away from your past and came here, like it was yesterday. But, it wasn't yesterday, and you must stay on your feet standing tall.

You heard a ringing sound coming from your room, it was this thing on the wall, you pressed on it and you heard the voice of Jack, "Ms. Y/L/N, would you like me to make you a meal? You must be starving."

"Jack, please call me y/n, I'm not used to Ms. whatever, and yes please, I'm sure Angela is starving. Thanks."

Everything was fine, you stayed in your room watching tv and gossiping with Jessica about Harry's mansion. That was until you hear ringing and Jack's voice said, "Y/N, Mr. Styles is waiting for you by the pool."

You stood up, get dressed in one of your huge sweatshirts and short black shorts, you pull your hair up in a messy bun. You step outside of your room, and find Angela eating popcorn on the couch in the living room.

"If you keep eating those, you're gonna pop like them." You smirked at her and she stuck her tongue out to you.

You were in the elevator and making your way towards the pool, it was kind of a long walk until you could see his tall figure in a black suit standing in front of the pool drinking wine. There were tables and chairs but he was standing focusing on the water.

You stood there for a moment before making your way to one of the chairs by a table and sit, putting your leg over the other.

"Look who it is, Mr. Gatsby!" You smirked.

He turned around and smiled at you, his eyes could revive people from death. He had a glass of wine in his hand just like you suspected.

“Mr. Gatsby? Why did you call me that?” He asked as he took a seat on one of the chairs on the same table.

“Mr. Gatsby was handsome, he had a rare smile, just like you.” You said with no smile.

“I take that as a complement, should I?”

“I don’t care, honey, I’m spelling facts. I like telling people what I’m thinking about them. Honesty is the key as you say here.” You bite on your bottom lip.

“I appreciate that this is the thing on your mind, not something else.”

“Well, yesterday I thought you were a dick head, well, I still think so, but I appreciate what you did.”

“What exactly?”

“That you didn’t cross the line even more, and called Sam instead of getting my number and call me.”

“And how could I get your number, love?” He smirked; he loved how smart you sounded.

“Oh, come on! We’re adults here, we both know that you could get my number, easily.”

“I like you even more now.”

That was true, he loved smart women, and you were smart and challenging.

“Let’s get back to business, you booked me for a week. Jack told me that you wanted to discuss the themes of your parties. Here I am.”

He hums and put his glass on the table, “Do you want to drink something?” He asked you as he looked at his smart watch.

“Tea with milk, please, no sugar.” You answered without expression.

He smiled and then got more comfortable in his chair as one of his servants came with everything on like he was standing at the back of your head.

You thanked the servant and took off your leg from the other out of respect, that was how you were raised, and Harry noticed it.

“Okay, love, we have five parties, each of them may include different people, each of them has a different theme, in each of them I want you to perform two times.” He said as he poured more wine in his glass. “Your tea is getting cold.”

“I don’t like my hot drinks hot enough to burn my tongue.” You smiled at him politely, “I need to know each theme so I can choose the right suit. Also, can I choose my own songs? I can’t dance to some rap or whatever the fuck you people listen to.”

He laughed, he thought you were funny, “Of course, darling, I’ll tell you everything you need to know and you can choose your own songs.”

He looked down and saw that you have an anklet on, different from the one you wore at the club, he fucked you in his head with the anklet on enough times already.

“Can I ask you a question?” He asked, he was surprised actually that he was being polite, maybe because he saw that you were so polite that he couldn’t be a dick head anymore with you.

“Of course.”

“Where are you from?”

You smiled to yourself; you hear that question too many times.

“I am not from here, I immigrated to the USA two years ago. It doesn’t matter where I’m from, I want to forget all about it.” You stopped smiling and looked him in the eyes, those green eyes, “Now, can I ask you for a favor?”

“Yeah, anything you want, beauty.” He answered.

“Could you taste my tea to see if it’s not so hot so I could drink it?”

He smiled at you, he didn’t know what to think of you, you were a lot of things all at once. He saw you being so violent to him, so polite to the servants, potty tongue, yet so cute that you can’t take a hot drink. He was curious.

He did what you asked him to, it was now cold enough for you to drink, he saw that you sipped from the same place he sipped from. You were beautiful before him, your hair is shiny, your eyes are wide enough for him to see that color of them, your skin seemed so soft, your smell stuck up his nose. You dragged him to you, not even realizing it.

He coughed, trying to shake away the tension building in his pants, “You’ll get to know each theme the day before the party. If you want to get new suits you could only reach to Jack and he’ll do whatever you want.”

“Thanks, but no thanks, if those are your rules then so be it. I have my own designer to take care of that. I need to go inside to sleep before tomorrow, Harry. Could you, please, tell me what is the theme of tomorrow’s party?” You rolled your eyes.

“Black. Only black is allowed.” He kind of ordered.

“Okay then.” You drank the last bit of your tea and stood up, you walked your way to the mansion, but only a few steps until you stopped and looked around and said, “I don’t get disgusted easily. Good night, Gatsby.”

You smiled and left.

Harry sat in his bed with a girl sleeping next to him right after he gave her a good fuck thinking of you. Gatsby. Your face while smiling stuck in his head enough to take in every little detail, beauty, and flaw. He has never seen anyone so intimidating, yet so polite.

He felt like he wanted to fuck you, yes. But he felt something more. Curiosity.

He stood up in his boxers, looking at the ceiling, you were right on the floor above him, he wondered what you were doing.

Next morning you called Jack and asked him if there was a gym nearby, he told you that there was one on the second floor, so you got in your tight leggings and sports bra that hugged your breasts perfectly, having big ones made life harder for you.

You pulled your hair in a bun and brought your water bottle with you and went down to the second floor and explored until you found a room full of gym equipment.

You did some stretching first, and then you heard the door open as you were about to do some squats in front of the huge mirror. You saw Harry getting in, wearing black shorts and totally bare chest.

“Good morning, love.” He said and took a look at you.

“Good morning.” You responded before minding your own business.

You didn’t look at him much, you stopped yourself from doing that, you completely knew that these kinds of men are the ones that get girls throwing themselves at all the time. And that was not something you intended to be, you knew that you were special, and no man could ever make you fall at his feet no matter how hot he was.

“How many languages do you speak, y/n?” He asked out of no where and you didn’t bother look at him, but you could see him warming up.

“That is a random question. I speak English, Arabic, and Italian.” You answered with a blank face and held some weights before going on with your squats again.

“Wow, that is incredible!” he said looking at you, he never let his eyes away anyways. He noticed that you didn’t look at him not even for once, that kind of bothered him.

You didn’t answer to that, and he felt like you hated his guts and he had no idea why. He got closer to you and stood behind you, “You’re doing that wrong baby.”

He put his hands on the weights you carried and that’s when you stood again and turned around with the weights still in your hands, you felt like you could hit him with them.

“Let’s set things straight, Harry. I know you like me; I don’t like you. You bother me, I’ve been doing this since I was fifteen and I don’t need an English boy to tell me how to do things. I don’t like men who always get what they want, because I don’t get what I want. Does that make me a weird, envious bitch? Maybe yes. But I don’t care. Stay out of my way, I’m not looking for a fuck.” You said and lift the weights to his chest and he automatically held them.

With that, you left the gym room and he stood there with an open mouth.

“Harry, what is this fucking sudden obsession over a dancer?” Michael asked while sitting in the chair by Harry’s desk.

“It’s not an obsession, Mike. That girl makes my head boil!” He shouted lighting a cigarette.

“Why’s that? She’s just not into you, she told you clearly that she’s not looking forward to getting fucked by you, that’s all. Can’t you really accept that?”

“It’s not that, Mike. FUCK!” He threw the cigarette in the ashtray and stood up, “She wouldn’t even look at me, like I’m a fucking rat or something. Does she really think I am that bad person?”

“Maybe it’s because you gave her the feeling that she was some fuck toy.”

“She is not! I really want to get to know her, she sounds so fucking smart, Mike. Apart from her being incredibly sexy, she sounds like she knows everything about me which she doesn’t. I just want her to talk to me, even look at me.”

“Are you having a crush on her?”

“Isn’t that obvious, you little fuck?”

“Already? It’s only been three days.” Michael said and Harry glared at him.

“Alright, you should have a conversation with her, get to know her, you know what? You should ask her for dinner.” Michael suggested and Harry thought about it.

You were getting ready for the party, and you had a surprise for the host. You didn’t hate him, but he was just like what you said, a man that got whatever he wanted, and you hated men that had everything. It makes you feel like an object around them.

You heard a knock on your door and Angela went to open it enough for you to not be seen.

“Can I speak with y/n?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Styles. She’s getting ready, you could speak from over here.” Angela apologized truthfully.

“Y/N, are you ready? I want you down there in fifteen minutes, please.” He added that please just to sound nicer.

“She says okay. Excuse me, Mr. Styles, I’m sorry.” Angela said closing the door in his face softly.

‘Why the fuck is she avoiding me?’ He thought to himself.

He went down again by the pool to greet his guests who all wore black, he has set a small stage by the pool so you could feel as special as you wanted.

People were talking and giggling, talking money, talking shit Harry couldn’t care less about. His black suit suffocated him, he hated suits, but he had to wear them.

Your words kept ringing in his head,

“I don’t like men who always get what they want, because I don’t get what I want. I don’t like men who always get what they want, because I don’t get what I want.”

He had this urge to talk to you, to let you know that he no longer wanted anything to do with you if you didn’t want. He wanted to just speak to you.

From afar he saw Jack that nodded at him as a cue that you were ready to enter.

Harry cleared his throat when saw you entering in your black mantle and heading to the small stage. He spoke loudly as the music stopped so everyone could hear, “Thank you everyone for coming. I’d like to introduce to you my surprise,” He pointed at you and you smiled at them. “This is the amazing dance y/n, who is super talented and super annoying. I can guarantee that you’re going to watch something you’ll never forget.”

And with that everyone applauded before the music you chose started. Again, weird songs to the people here.

You gave them your back and just at the right time you dropped your mantle. Harry’s eyes widened as he looked at you in a red suit that barely covered you, you had a small waist accessory on, a golden anklet.

You started your performance which was different from what Harry saw before. Just in the middle of the song you made your way down to the audience and shook your hips and hit one of men with them, he laughed and automatically started dancing with you. You made your way to Harry whose eyebrows were furrowed at you, you enjoyed how bothered he looked that you didn’t keep to the theme of the party.

But he couldn’t stay mad as you gave him your back and danced your way back to him almost touching his chest, not stopping your belly from swaying or your hips from popping for a second. That was when you pulled your hair and threw it on his shoulder, he almost smelled it. Then, you pulled your back down on his chest, he got a very nice view of your breasts, which you shook while looking in his eyes from your position.

You took his hand and put it on your waist as you started swaying that part of your waist so his hand could go wherever your waist was going. He smirked and put his mouth right above your ear, “You’re giving me mixed signals, love.”

“I am a lioness, Gatsby, might get used to it.”

You pulled away from him and started dancing again with other people.

Lioness? What the fuck does that mean?

#harry styles smut #harry styles #couple #harry #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fluff #harry styles one shot #harry x reader #smut #harry smut

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thyme-in-a-bubble · 2 years ago

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daisy, porn links vol. 3

this one is centred around their summer after high school (chapter 10) and the time after the series (college vibes, we love)

there might be spoilers in this for the series

daisy series masterlist – p links vol. 1 – vol. 2 – vol. 4 – vol. 5

school is over and summer is upon us. sure, Steve is a bit sad that he's gonna have to say goodbye to the uniform, but it's good that he can cheer himself up a bit with flowy summer dresses...

beg and beg and beg on his knees till you occasionally wear them without anything under. give him easy access to tease you to his hearts content. watch as he gets you literally dripping down your thighs and wound up in a way that he might not even be ready for. although welcome the happy surprise none the less. it's his fault, if you can't get enough of him after he has cum, then that's his problem. he'll just have to take it (which he happily does omg, you can overstimulate him as much as you want)

and i mentioned that they go out on all sorts of adventures that summer? this one gives me trip to lovers lake. it starts off by Steve helping you with touching up your sunscreen and turns into this. he'd be whispering in your ear about how you never know who else could get the same urge for a dip in the water, maybe someone is just around the corner? maybe someone is already lurking behind those trees over there...

he'd totally also do that kind of thing where you go through all your memories together, like travel to the places where they happened. one day he takes you out into the woods at the exact spot where he told you that he loved you. it started out with him just being like well we have to reenact the kiss, but then before you knew it this happened.

and that road trip? *screams* CAR SEX!

he will make such a mess all over the seats...(ignore that the car is actually moving in this one lol)

and even at night when he's maybe driving the last bit before getting to one of the motels you were staying at, you're getting sleepy, getting comfy in the seat beside him. he just has his hand glued on your thigh, caressing it dangerously high. and the sleepier you get, the more you slump in the seat, gliding down and causing your dress to ride up... well, let's just say that he keeps you awake till you reach the motel...

but eventually you arrive at college, now with a new roomie at your little student apartment...

one could say that he's amazing company

he is your best friend after all

and now he's always just right there, ready to distract and help you relax, counteract some of that uni stress that is inevitable

one day you come home totally ready to fall back on the instant ramen that keeps so many students alive. but then, just as you enter the small kitchen, there is Steve! apparently, he's sick of watching you live off that stuff just because you don't have time. I have the time, I can learn how to cook! can't be that hard. so it becomes a ritual on days when your classes run long. you come home and sit up on the counter, watching the last few moments as he finishes up dinner

as soon as the food is in the oven and his hands are free, the pants are flying off! I've got you, ace, I've got you, he will whisper while keeping you from slipping off tiny sliver of the counter you're balancing on as he pounds into you

and even though you were done with private school, he still made sure you kept the uniform...

and living together means showering together.

and you two tend to get dirty so easily...

guess that just means a lot of showers!

steve, are you seriously hard again? I literally just blew you in the shower.

the former high school athlete even convinces you to join him at the gym, even if that just means never getting past your warm up because holy shit is your boyfriend hot when he's working out

you don't really wanna go to any college parties, but Steve keeps telling you how it's a crucial experience and that he'll go with you so that you won't get bored or even anxious. sure, you could say that he makes sure you have fun... he drags you into the frat house's bathroom after maybe a few too many shots, makes you stare at your own reflection as he fucks you from behind, telling you to ignore the crowd of guys that eventually gather outside the door once your activities became clear over the loud music. although, you can't help but notice how his own moans and grunts become louder as the audience outside offer drunken comments

one new years, this is his resolution. that's all. he just wants to train your throat throughout the new year so that you'll eventually be able to take him like that.

it's not because he needs you to learn that skill. you truly don't need to do anything but smile at him and he's blowing his load

and he knows he's huge and that you can barely even handle the tip, but fuck if he doesn't wanna try...

he just loves you so crazy much

and living together also means just all of the cosy domestic moments

just lazy little moments like this

an alarm clock? what even is that

from now on Steve is your alarm. he'll never let you get up late for class...

long story short, having your best friend as a roomie was a good idea

probably the best idea ever

#lea’s writing #daisy #p link #p links #steve harrington #steve harrington smut #stranger things smut #stranger things p links #steve harrington p links #joe keery smut #perv!steve harrington x reader #perv!steve #perv!steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x fem!reader #steve harrington x female reader smut #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x y/n smut #steve harrington x you

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cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien · 1 year ago

Text

Solar Opposites in: Solar Monsters (by @avaveevo)

Ch. 3

The next day, Terry was getting stuff ready for the beach as he smiles at Korvo putting on his bathing suit and putting on the sunscreen on the Pupa as he wines.

Terry: takes a deep breath and sighs Finally, a real beach day for the Solar Opposites. Better than the last time we had to save a beach from a giant space lobster!

Korvo: Well thank God there isn’t any space toxic waste involved, which was sadly my bad. puts a beach hat on the Pupa and then a toddler-size swimsuit for the Pupa

Pupa: Fishies.

Korvo: That’s right Pupa, a real beach day for the Solars. Better to celebrate my accomplishment with a nice day at the beach for the family. Calling out Yumyulack? Jesse? Sonya? Are you almost done?!

Yumyulack: offscreen I’m ready!

Jesse: offscreen Almost ready! Trying to tie up my swimsuit and whoa! gets the swimsuit tied up by Sonya Thanks sis.

Sonya: offscreen No problem!

Korvo: sigh I knew I should’ve bought her a regular teenage girl’s swimsuit.

Two minutes later, Human Korvo drives bus to the beach as he began to breathe in the fresh air. He then check his eyes for some strange reason but he sighs in relief, which concerned human AISHA. Human Yumyulack then kept looking down at the pills as he sighs. Human Terry strokes Human Yumyulack’s hair softly as Human Yumyulack looks up and smile at his father. Then, the bus made it stop at the bus parking lot as the Human Solar Opposites got out the bus with joy.

Music for this scene:

Human Jesse: Yay! Finally some beach time!

Sonya: Oh boy! I’m gonna make a sandcastle!

Human Pupa: Yay!

Human Terry: Okay guys, just remember? Don’t do anything crazy sci-fi! Got it?!

Human Yumyulack, Human Jesse, Sonya and Human Pupa: Got it Terry!

Human Korvo: Now, let’s finally have some fun in the sun.

The kids cheer as they run to the beach in joy. After they found their spot, Human Korvo begins to relax as he sees the kids having fun. Sonya is a building sandcastle, Human Jesse is having fun in the water, Human Yumyulack is busy using a metal detector and Human Pupa is splashing in the water with Human Jesse keeping him safe.

Human Jesse: Easy there Pupa. We don’t want you to wonder off in the water.

Human Pupa: laughing as she splashed around in the water

Human Yumyulack: Come on! Come on! Give it to me. Papa like!

Human Korvo: calling out Don’t go searching for swords or other stuff with that metal detector now.

Human Yumyulack: Got it Korvo! detects a pipe that caused him to fall and scream

Human Korvo: sighs Teenagers.

Human Aisha: I know right? But, still adorable, right?

Human Korvo: Yeah.

As the Human Pupa continue having fun in the water, he suddenly hears something.

Beach Teen #1: You know what I heard from the other dude?

Beach Teen #2: What dude?

Beach Teen #1: I heard that one dude made it the snack shack on this beach and he made it! Got a free milkshake!

Human Pupa gasp and looks at the sigh with a milkshake on it. In wonder, the Human Pupa sneaks away from Human Jesse offscreen.

Human Jesse: picks up a pretty seashell Look Pupa, I found a… huh? sees Human Pupa not here

Human Jesse looks around and notices Pupa’s floaters near her family’s beach stuff and sees a skateboard bought.

Human Jesse: What?!

Sonya: What’s going on? gasp

Human Korvo: What is it- sees the Human Pupa on the skateboard Oh shit! Pupa!

Human Aisha: Damn it Pupa, not again!

The Human Pupa skateboards all around the beach’s sidewalk as everyone watches him. Two man dropped their cigarettes upon seeing Human Pupa skateboarding. A kid who was getting ice cream watch as the wind blew his ice cream on his face as he screams.

Ice Cream Kid: BRAIN FREEZE!

The Human Pupa continue skateboarding while his family watches in amazement. The only one who didn’t watch it is Human Terry, who is busy getting for him and his family at a beach store. Suddenly, one of wheels on the skateboard exploded and it starts grinding as Human Pupa gasp. The skateboard hits a rock as it made Human Pupa fly off it.

Human Pupa: twirling around in mid air while screaming

Human Korvo: Oh shit Pupa! Hang on! Korvo’s coming!

As Human Korvo runs up to catch the Pupa…

Mother: Now kids, let us thank the lord for this wonderful- Human Pupa hits the window Toddler!

Kids: Bountiful Toddler.

Kid #2: Amen!

Human Korvo helps get the Human Pupa unstuck as he sighs in relief and then the beach goers started to cheer for Human Pupa as a waiter hands a free strawberry milkshake over to Human Pupa.

Human Korvo: sighs What am I gonna do with you, you little rascal? tickles the Human Pupa on his tummy

Human Pupa: giggling

Meanwhile, Human Terry is about to return to his family with some beach snacks.

Human Terry: sighs Now, to bring some delicious snacks to my family and-

Mugger: Come on and give me your snacks. brings out a gun and clicks it

Human Terry: Hey! What do you think you're doing?!

Mugger: Shut the fuck up! Human Terry whimpers Fine, then how about some this! stabs Human Terry in the left arm

Human Terry: screaming voice FUCK!

As Human Terry held his bleeding left arm and starts breathing in and out, he looks as the mugger leaves and he stands up once Human Jesse saw the whole thing and runs up to her father.

Human Jesse: Holy shit! Terry, what happened?! Human Terry’s eyes develop tears as he began to whimper Terry? Are you… okay?

Human Terry breaks down into tears as Human Jesse puts her hand on his shoulder. A few minutes later, the police arrived upon the event as the doctors came and put a bandage on Human Terry’s left arm.

Human Korvo: Oh, my poor Terry. Officer, I want to press charges the mug who did this.

Human Terry: Thanks Korv…

Police Officer: Got it sir. Don’t worry, we’ll let you know when we found the mugger. Take care.

As the police and ambulance left, the kids look at Terry in worry.

Sonya: Mr. Korvo, is Mr. Terry gonna be okay?

Human Korvo: I’m sure he will. Hopefully.

Human Yumyulack: Aw Terry, we’re so sorry. We should’ve known. But, it’s gonna be okay.

Human Jesse: Oh Terry…

Human Pupa hugs Human Terry while crying and drinking his milkshake as tears run down the baby’s eyes. Suddenly, Human Terry started see his eye vision flashing orange as he began breathing in and out frantically.

Human Korvo: Terry? Why are you-

Human Terrry screams as he falls on his knees, which made his family gasp.

Human Korvo: Oh no! He must be having a trauma attack! Don’t worry honey, grabs Terry’s hand I have a solution to this, come on.

Human Korvo runs as he holds Human Terry’s hand and he made it to the ocean as the two husbands sit down and Human Terry started to calm down as he sees his husband’s hand on his.

Human Korvo: Feeling better...?

Human Terry: Yeah. Thanks, Korvy...

Human Terry then looks down as Human Korvo notice the depressed look on his husband’s face as the kids watches in worry.

Human Korvo: Honey, what’s wrong?

Human Terry: Korvo… don’t you think… I’m not brave…?

Human Korvo: No...you're very brave. You just have trouble using it.

Human Terry: Well, that’s the point Korvo. I am always afraid. All the time.

Human Korvo: What do you mean by tha-

Human Terry: Because, I AM ALWAYS AFRAID! Human Korvo yelps a little Ugh! I just hate it so much! Everyone time something horrific or bad comes up, I always act like a coward and just ran away! I’m not strong! I’m not brave! I’m just a fucking cowardly alien who doesn’t do anything right and just let fear take over him. sighs in frustration as he held his head down And I don’t think I’ll ever be brave, I never will be.

Human Korvo: Oh, Terry. I don't think you're any of those awful things...

The kids watch sadly at their dads as Human Korvo puts a comforting hand on Human Terry’s shoulder.

Human Korvo: You're the most bravest and most sexiest alien I ever knew. I'm happy to call you my husband.

Human Korvo kisses Human Terry on the cheek as Human Terry smiled. The two fell down the sand as they began to have sex on the beach.

Human Yumyulack, Human Jesse, Sonya and Human Pupa: Aw god! I’m gonna fucking hurl barfs in a trashcan Aw geez! Gross guys! Eeeewww!

Human Jesse covers Human Pupa’s eyes once Human Aisha then came back with some snacks.

Human Aisha: Got snack ya dummies! sees Human Korvo and Human Terry having snacks What the fuck did I miss?

Human Korvo and Human Terry continues to have sex while making out. The scene then flashes to two days later where it shows Human Korvo being awarded the Monthly Award as his friends and family cheer for him and congratulated him.

Cleveland Schroeder: Congratulations Korey Opposites! For this amazing new Beast Scanner! That saved so many innocent lives last week! Let’s give a huge hand for Human Korvo!

Human Korvo smiles as Human Terry kisses him on the cheek and Nova smiles at his side while a picture is taken and the newspaper press is spreader with the headline Korey Opposites, Scientist at GeenaDavisVille Labratories, won Monthly Award for amazing scanner. A few minutes later after the ceremony, the gang started to head home while Human Korvo heads to his room.

Kevin: Hey congrats Korvo!

Randall: Nice going man!

Mia: That is so amazing of what he invented!

Ms. Perez: See you at home!

Human Korvo: Okay guys, I’ll meet you down there later. I just need to go get something.

Human Terry: It’s good. I’ll stay with you.

Human Korvo: Now now Terry, I think it’s best if you head home while taking care of our kids. Let me know when the celebration is ready.

Human Terry: surprise at first but smiles and understands Okay honey, kisses Human Korvo on the cheek see you home. leaves I love you!

Human Korvo: smiling as he watches Human Terry leave I love you too…

Suddenly…

Beverly: Korey!

Human Korvo: groans

Beverly: I like to have a word with you. You may be all smart-ass and stuff but I…

But then, Human Korvo sees the bearded man from last night and runs off.

Beverly: What the?! Hey!

Human Korvo follows the bearded man, only to see him gone. He then sees a destroyed door with a knob destroyed as he sneaks in there. Human Korvo looks around and then sees the bearded man doing something as Human Korvo hides behind the wall.

Human Korvo: What the fuck?

Bearded Man: Let’s see, L-M. G-3. H-I. U-7. B…

As Human Korvo covers his mouth so he won’t get caught, he looks around, and gasp silently and then sees drawing and details on animals, beasts and men and women, especially horrific ones. That looked like if someone has fused man with beast as Human Korvo’s fingers began to go dark.

Human Korvo: Oh fuck…

As Human Korvo backs away, he accidentally stepped on something that made the beaded man turn around and see him.

Human Korvo: Shit shit shit!

Bearded Man: Well well well. If it isn’t the winner.

Human Korvo: Who are you?! What the fuck are you doing here?

Bearded Man: Korey, Korey, Korey…

Human Korvo: H-how did you know my na… suddenly looks closely at the man Wait a fucking second, I’ve seen your face…

Bearded Man: Oh well, I see you just ha-

Human Korvo: FBI Most wanted! You’re a criminal! notices his fingers going black and gasp

Beared Man: Huh? Very good point… for alien!

Human Korvo gasp and falls down screaming as he turns back into his Shlorpian self as he backs away on the floor.

Korvo: H-how did you know?

Bearded Man: A lot of people deserved a lot of things.

Korvo frantically presses the button as he breaks down in tears of fear

Korvo: tearfully You leave me alone!

Bearded Man: N-now I think-

Korvo gots out his pepper spray as he sprays it on the bearded man’s face and kicks him to the floor as Korvo enters the elevator and closes it.

Bearded Man: groans

Korvo starts breathing in and while crying in the elevator. As the elevator opens, Korvo pulls himself together and dries his tears away as he looks around and gets on his motorcycle.

Korvo: looks back while putting on his helmet I hope nobody saw me when I turned back.

Korvo then turns the radio which plays Novocaine from Fall Out Boy and drives off:

As Korvo drives away, the bearded man snarls at him and gets into a GPS Van as he drives off. Beverly sees the photo and follows the bearded man’s van. Beverly gets in her car and drives off.

Back with Korvo, he starts to feel relieved and safe from the bearded man as he starts to feel calm and removes his helmet and pants a little, until his vision starts flashing aquamarine.

Korvo: gasp No no no! feels a pain in his chest I gotta get home stat.

Korvo puts his biker helmet back on as he drives his motorcycle home. Once he made it home, Korvo frantically takes off his helmet and puts it on his motorcycle as he heads. Until…

All: SURPRISE!

Korvo screams a little but is amazed by what his family and friends did for him and smiles as Terry gives him a big kiss.

Korvo: Aw thanks guys. Sorry I was running late, I encounter a psycho.

Cherie: Huh?

Sherbet: Whuh?

Korvo: I’ll explain later. eyes continue flashing Right now, how about a toast?

Korvo pours Champaign’s into a wine glass and taps it.

Korvo: So, I want to make a toast. To my husband, my kids, my friends and my frenemies. I want to say how much you all mean to me, and to be honest, I don’t really care about some dumb old prize. I am just happy I have so many people who support me and cares about me as much as I care about all of you, so let’s just-

Suddenly, Korvo feels a sharp pain in his head as everyone gasp.

Randall: Korvo?

Korvo: groans in pain as his eyes starts glowing again

Darcy: Is everything okay?

Terry: Don’t worry, I got this. heads over to Korvo Honey?…

Suddenly, Korvo’s vision starts to static as it shows an angry Terry.

Terry: Why are you being so embarrassing?

Korvo: I’m sorry! I can explain!

But then what is really happening in real life, is a concern Terry backing away.

Terry: Hey. Hey. It’s okay Korvy, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.

Korvo: You’re right! I am embarrassing! I really fucked things up.

Yumyulack: Yeesh. He must be so tense.

Montez: Don’t worry, let’s back away a bit.

Mia: Good idea.

As everyone backs away, Korvo continues cowering as he began to breath in and out.

Korvo: I’m sorry Terry! Why didn’t it tell you?

Terry: Aw honey, what is it you wanna- vision You already made us feel fucking stupid enough!

Korvo: No-no. I did to protect you! You and the kids would’ve freaked out!

Everyone began to grow concern about this.

Nova: realizing what is happening Oh no.

Terry: It’s okay. You can tell me anything.

Korvo: Yes! You can tell me the truth!

Terry: You wanna hear the truth?!

Korvo: freaking out WHAT'S THE TRUTH, TERRY?!

Terry: YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL!

Korvo gasp, as the vision heads back to real life, which shows a concern and worried Terry.

Terry: K-Korvo?

Korvo: You’re right. I’m not special at all!

Korvo runs up the stairs without a word, as Terry and the others remain in shock.

Terry: What the fuck? That not what I said. All I said is that his fucked up skin condition makes him special.

Mia: Aw Poor Korvo, he must be so stressed.

Cherie: Yeesh. You weren’t kidding when you told us this skin condition was a big deal.

Principal Cooke: Is he gonna be okay?

Terry, believing Korvo needs to be reminded that he is loved, decided to head upstairs.

Terry: Don’t worry guys, I’ll go talk to him.

Suddenly, everyone heard a soft deep moaning.

Sonya: What is that…?

Terry: Don’t worry sweetie, I’m gonna go check it out. You and your siblings just stay here and entertain them.

As soon as Terry leaves, the Solar Opposites siblings look at the adults as they began to grow concern.

Yumyulack: So, who’s up for charades?

As Terry renters the room, he sees Korvo not here but then notice a big lump on it.

Terry: Korvo? Are you alright? hears moaning Korv?

Suddenly Terry sees something rising from the bed, Terry then timidly pulls the covers off. He then gasp, the figure rises up, and it reveals itself to be a giant monster Shlorpian, with horns that has icy blue tips, glowing aquamarine eyes, bat wings, icy blue tips on his fingers, he is bigger and muscular than other Shlorpian and he has sharp teeth as he turns around and sees Terry:

Terry: Aaaaahhhh!

Meanwhile downstairs, Jesse is doing the Batman Theme song with Pupa.

Jesse: 🎵 Na na na na na na! Na na na na! 🎵

Pupa: 🎵 Batman! 🎵

The adults heard Terry screaming and gasp.

Cherie: What was that?

Pezlie: giggling

Kevin: Is Terry okay?

Jesse: I don’t know. Yum and I will be right back! Sonya, you keep them busy!

Yumyulack: carries Pupa Come on Pupa!

As soon as the three alien children left, Sonya is overjoyed as she squeals in excitement.

Sonya: I know! We'll do charades!

As soon as Yumyulack, Jesse and Pupa enters their dads’ rooms, they see Terry backing away in fear.

Jesse: Terry?! What’s wrong is everything o-

The three alien siblings then see the beast as they gasp and scream in horror when suddenly…

???: distorted deep voice DON'T LOOK AT ME!

Terry and the kids grow shock that it speak as Terry walks to up to him.

???: Terry…I'm so sorry...

Terry: Korvo? Is that you?

Monster Korvo: Y-yes.

Terry: puts a comforting hand on Korvo’s face Baby, what happened to you?

Aisha: popping out of nowhere Oh shit! You weren’t supposed to see that!

Yumyulack and Jesse: What?!

Pupa: See what?!

Just then Sherbet and Nova enters the room.

Nova: Oh shit! That’s what you meant by, it’s time!

As Monster Korvo moans in dismay, Terry and the Replicants and Pupa’s eyes shrink down upon what Nova said.

Terry: What did you say?

As Monster Korvo looks down, Nova puts her hand on Korvo’s giant shoulder.

Nova: Korvo… it’s time…

A few seconds later, Monster Korvo gets out an old fable page that shows information about his family’s history.

Monster Korvo: Okay. Here’s the truth about my family’s bloodline. fable opens up to flashback It was the dark times on Shlorp. Our ancestor Koran, needed a way to keep his family safe. So, he prayed desperately for a way to protect his family from giant beasts. And with that, he was amazed by the night creatures so much, he transformed into a Super Shlorpian! And with that, Koran was able to fend off beasts, robbers and other dark folk. Which lead to the birth of an emotional monster… the Mundane… a creature that is sadly a form a Shlorpian takes after so much suffering and in pain from words, abuse or something like that… so Koran manage to help these people control by helping them remind them who they are… which led to the beast being sealed until it’s ready to be set free when the wounds are too investable to heal… so shifts back to the present as years past it has passed to their Replicants who has passed it on to theirs… which has actually been considered a blessing…

Suddenly…

Yumyulack: Are you.. SERIOUS?! eyes starts glowing purple again So it’s all your faults!

Terry: Oh shit!

Jesse: Yumyulack! No!

Super Shlorpian Korvo then got out the pills as Nova helps hold the squirming Replicant down and Korvo puts the pills in Yumyulack’s mouth.

Super Shlorpian Korvo: It’s okay! I had this form

since I was your age.

Yumyulack: eyes turn back to normal You…did? Wh-why you didn’t tell me?

Terry: Yeah, why didn’t you tell us?

Super Shlorpian Korvo: Because, I got so angry and I lost control when I was your age. I ended hurting some Shlorpians. The doctor told me I was forbidden to tell anyone until I was older. Which… happened right now…

Terry: Oh. Well, I think your form is awesome sweetie.

Jesse: Pretty cool. Look at these abs!

Yumyulack: Yeah! My adult is like a super hero this is so cool!

Nova and Sherbet then look sadden as they look at Super Shlorpian Korvo, who starts crying.

Terry: Honey, what’s wrong?

Super Shlorpian Korvo: I-I just feel so awful. I’ve been lying to all of you for years. I was just so scared of how you would happened if I told you guys. I couldn’t tell you the truth because of the monsters are bad thing. crying I really am a monster…

Terry: Hey. None of that is true. You're not a monster. You're beautiful.I know what you did was wrong, but hey. All I see is an amazing scientist, a great father, a good friend and an amazing husband. Shlorpian, or Super Shlorpian, you will always be my Korvy no matter what. I promise, it’s gonna be okay. I’m here for you. We all are.

Terry then kisses his Super Shlorpian on the forehead gently as Super Shlorpian Korvo smiles and the kids start to hug him.

Jesse: We love you Korvo.

Yumyulack: Shlorpian or Super Shlorpian…

Pupa: Big.

As Korvo smiles, he finally began to shrink down as he turns back to normal as the family gasp.

Terry: Korvo! You’re you!

Korvo: Yes! I’m normal! Well, almost normal! Thanks guys. But we can’t tell Sonya about this. She wouldn’t understand about this. You know how scared she can easily be.

Terry, Yumyulack and Jesse: Good point. You bet. Absolutely.

Terry and Korvo then kiss. Then, a knock was heard.

Sonya: Korvo! We heard you’re all better. Is everything okay?

The door opens and it shows Korvo in a new aquamarine gown.

Korvo: Yeah. Just ceremony post stress. I’m sorry guys.

Principal Cooke: It’s okay. We know that skin condition is really fucked up.

Cherie: Yeah, it okay. We know you didn’t mean it.

Ms. Perez: We’ll still support no matter what.

Sonya: Mr. Korvo? Are you okay?

Korvo: Hey Sonya!

Sonya: Mr. Opposites!

Sonya hugs Korvo and Terry as they smile. Later, that night, Terry was waiting for Korvo in bed. Until, he heard groaning.

Terry: Huh? Korvy? Are you-

Terry suddenly sees Korvo transforming again, but this time more calmly and tries to rip his robe apart.

Super Shlorpian Korvo: Fuck. My clothes. They're too...too tight.

Super Shlorpian Korvo rips his robe apart with huge strength as he roars. Terry then grows smitten by his husband’s abs as he blushes.

Terry: Damn, those fucking abs sure look sexy.

Super Shlorpian Korvo: Oh. Y-you do? Thanks…

Super Shlorpian Korvo then looks down sadly.

Terry: What’s wrong honey?

Super Shlorpian Korvo: Terry? I’m scared. No on can see me like this. They would be afraid, especially Sonya.

Terry: Don’t worry, I’m sure they’re never gonna know. I promise. You are still my husband, and whatever comes, we’ll get through it together.

Korvo suddenly sees the sunrise as he panics.

Terry: Wh-what’s wrong?

Super Shlorpian Korvo: I-I’m scared I might get burned in that form.

Terry: Hey. I’m sure it won’t. takes Korvo’s monster hand Come on.

As Super Shlorpian Korvo and Terry heads up on the roof, he sees the sunrise and as it shines on his body, Korvo doesn’t feel a burn as he smiles and Terry looks at him while smiling. The two alien husbands then head back in their room as Korvo began to approach Terry.

Terry: Hmm? What is it honey? What’s wrong?

Super Shlorpian Korvo: Ssh. Let me take care of you, baby…

Terry then realizes what is happening and grins, and the two alien husband began to have sex, this time in Korvo’s super Shlorpian form as they began to moan.

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lemoncrushh · 4 months ago

Text

Too Far From Texas | Chapter Eight

STORY PAGE

Word Count: 5091

Harry kept my hand in his as we exited the hotel to find a car waiting for us.

“Well, hello again,” I smiled when I saw him holding the door.

“Hello, Miss,” said Drew with a nod.

I slid into the leather seat, Harry following. Raising our joined hands to his lips, he kissed the back of mine as Drew pulled out of the parking lot and headed out into the night. Harry remained silent as I watched the scenery go by, once again mesmerized by the city.

“First time to New York?”

I turned and gave him a smile.

“Yes,” I nodded. “Funny, isn’t it?”

“Why?”

“Because my book is set here. You would think I’d at least been here before. To do some research or something.”

“Why didn’t you?”

I pursed my lips. “No time. Or money. I just relied on Lorelei’s knowledge, movies and Wikipedia.”

Harry smirked. “I don’t reckon you really needed to know much anyway. The story really could have been set in any city.”

I stared out the window again. “I suppose so.”

The ride was quiet once more as I continued to watch the city lights and sky-high buildings go by. I wondered where Harry was taking me, but I decided to keep the mystery brewing and not ask.

“Are you nervous?”

I widened my eyes and turned my head with a jerk. “About what?”

“Tomorrow. The book signing.”

“Oh,” I sighed. “A little, I guess? But not really. Just...excited. You know, that feeling you get like there’s butterflies in your tummy, but you’re not worried or anxious because you know everything’s gonna turn out like you’d hoped.”

Harry gave me a slow smile, his eyes dancing as though we both knew neither of us were just talking about the book signing. I felt him squeeze my hand as my stomach flipped. Before I knew it, the car came to a stop.

The chill of the evening air hit me harder than before as I stepped out of the car, and I quickly realized we were near the water. Eyeing the marina, the lights bouncing off the surface of the water, I pulled my coat tighter around me.

“Harry, what is this?”

I felt his breath in my ear, his hand on my back before he whispered. “My surprise.”

I looked up at him then, a slight smirk threatening to show his dimple as he gestured to the dock. I hesitantly let him guide me until we stopped in front of a massive yet conservative nautical craft.

“We’re going on a yacht?” I gasped.

Before Harry could respond, another man seemingly came out of nowhere, a pleasant smile on his face.

“Good evening!” he exclaimed, holding out his hand. Harry shook it and greeted him as though they’d met before. I just watched in awe, still incredulous about what was happening.

We stepped onto the yacht, and the man, who had introduced himself as Ethan, showed us to an area on the deck with an amazing view of the skyline and had then quickly disappeared somewhere. As soon as Harry and I were alone, it finally dawned on me, and I officially got the jitters. Harry noticed and wrapped his arm around my waist.

“Was that a nervous shake or a cold chill?” he asked.

I chuckled. “I told you I’m not nervous.”

“Then why are you gripping the handrail like that?”

I looked down at my hands, my fingers white from holding on so tightly. I blushed as I released my grip.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

“Don’t apologize,” he laughed, taking my hands and turning me towards him. “You’re not afraid of boats are you?”

“No.”

“Good. Because we’re moving now and that would make this date really awkward.”

I threw my head back laughing, the nerves and tension easing from my body. Harry echoed my laugh, pulling me closer. I hugged him tight as the wind blew my hair behind me. I watched the city move by slowly, taking in a deep breath.

“‘m so glad you’re here,” Harry murmured.

“You know,” I began to tease, “most guys just take a woman out to eat, maybe to a movie.”

“Hmm. I’m not most guys.”

“Apparently.”

“First time on a yacht?”

I bit my lip as I ran my fingers up and down his back. “Lots of firsts tonight. Not sure what to expect next.”

I felt Harry’s chest shake before he cleared his throat. I raised my head to look at him. When he lifted his hand to graze my cheek, I anticipated his next move. We were interrupted, however, when another voice boomed behind him.

“Excuse me, Miss, Sir.”

Harry turned his head to acknowledge the man, nodding at him.

“Be right there,” he said. Then turning back to me, he held out his hand. “This way.”

The man, wearing a white shirt and black tie, stood next to a sliding glass door which Harry and I entered, then shut it behind us. The room, which looked large enough to house several tables, and probably did on occasion, now only held one off to the side next to the windows. The space was aglow with candlelight, the table adorned with a white tablecloth and a small vase of roses in the center. Harry took my coat as I stared with my mouth open, quickly shutting it. I watched him as he held my chair out for me, my stomach doing acrobatics at a most inopportune time.

Harry sat across from me after passing our coats to the man (waiter? Maitre d?) who then left through another door, only to arrive back seconds later with water and a bottle of wine. He uncorked it, pouring the crystal liquid into two glasses. I smiled when the waiter left once more, and Harry raised his glass.

“I know I already made a toast,” he grinned, “to gorgeous redheads. But I’d like to make another.”

“Yeah?”

Harry nodded. “To one in particular. Who’s sat across from me right now. That I haven’t been able to get out of my head since the day we met. And is absolutely taking my breath away.”

“Wha-” I stumbled, swallowing hard. “Wow.”

His grin widening, Harry clinked his glass against mine and took a slow sip. I remained cemented in my spot, unable to move. The candlelight danced in his eyes as I continued to stare at him, no doubt gawking. I felt a warmth surge throughout my body as he reached across the table for my other hand.

“What do you think of my surprise so far?” he asked.

I couldn’t hide my sigh. “So romantic.”

The waiter returned then with food and despite the fact that my stomach was still doing somersaults, the dinner was delicious. Harry said he wasn’t sure if I was a steak or fish person, so he’d opted for chicken. I laughed, telling him it was a good choice, but for future reference, I liked everything.

Flirting with Harry was easy. The chemistry between us was apparent and undeniable. My nerves had dissipated after two glasses of wine, and I was feeling good and confident. By the end of dinner, I was in need of fresh air, so we returned to the deck just in time to reach Ellis Island.

Harry stood behind me, his chest pressed against my back and his arms around my waist as I stared up at Lady Liberty. Though the only sound was the whipping of the wind in my ears, I could swear Harry had to be able to detect the beating of my heart.

“Did you say something?” I asked with a jump.

“No, love,” he replied, his breath on my neck. “But I want to.”

“Wh-what is it?”

As I turned my head slightly, I felt his lips graze my skin behind my ear, and then my earlobe. His eyes looked at me with intensity as I rotated my entire body in his arms until we were face to face. Suddenly, I did hear something. It started so low that I thought I was imagining it, but as it grew I realized it was indeed music.

“Dance with me,” Harry requested.

A smile spread across my face, and I nodded as Harry pulled me to the center of the deck. We danced to classic Sinatra, my arms around his neck.

“How are the girls?” asked Harry.

I burst out a laugh and rolled my eyes. “You’re gonna ask me about my kids right now?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“Because we’re on a date.”

“So? Everything about you is a topic of interest for me, Stacey. And your kids are a pretty big deal.”

I grinned and nodded. “They’re fine. At home with their dad.”

“Good.”

“What about you? How is promo and everything going?”

“Really good, actually,” he beamed.

“I saw the Ellen interview. That was hilarious.”

Harry laughed. “Thanks.”

“You’re really enjoyable to watch, I must say. And it helps that you’re obviously enjoying it too.”

“I appreciate that.”

The song changed to one by Michael Buble as we continued to sway. I started to sing along since it was one of my favorites.

“The melody haunts my reverie…”

Harry hummed with me, his cheek pressed against mine. I shut my eyes and breathed in his intoxicating scent. I was drunk on him, on his mere existence. I laid my head on his shoulder, and I felt a shiver as his fingers tickled my back.

“You cold?” I heard him whisper.

“No, I’m okay,” I lied.

Though his body temperature kept me fairly warm, the chill had picked back up and I was still without my coat. But there was no way I was letting go of him.

As the song neared the end, I played with the curls on the back of Harry’s head.

“Harry?”

“Hmm?”

“When were you planning on kissing me?” I lifted my head to catch him smirking.

“What do you mean?” he asked slyly.

“Well…” I said, playing with the edge of his collar, “I seem to recall you saying you were taking me out and that you planned on kissing me again. So, I was just wondering when I could expect that second part.”

Harry chuckled, pressing his mouth to my forehead. “It’s all in the timing, my love.”

“Sorry, I ruined it, didn’t I? I’m so bad at this,” I blushed.

“At what?”

“This...dating...or whatever it is.”

“No, you’re not. You’re pretty incredible, actually. I like your eagerness.”

“Oh great,” I said sarcastically. “I’m easy.”

Harry laughed harder. “You’re adorable.”

I focused on his chest again as the next song began. I wanted him to kiss me so badly, I could taste it, but I’d embarrassed myself and couldn’t look at him. Harry continued to rub my back as he sang softly in my ear.

“That’s when you need someone… Someone that you, you can call…”

I allowed myself to get lost in the sound of his voice, his warm breath on my cheek. My heart was racing a mile a minute, my knees weak and jelly-like.

“If it’s a friend that you need… Let it be me…”

Harry continued to woo me with his singing, his tone low as he caressed my back, my shoulders, my arms. I kept my face in the crook of his neck, feeling the vibration of his voice against my mouth. I let my lips brush his skin, daring the both of us. That was when Harry whispered my name, urging me to look at him. When I didn’t, he lifted my chin with his finger.

“Beautiful Stacey,” he cooed.

He kissed me gently on the cheek, then again at the corner of my mouth. Finally, I looked him in the eye right before he closed his and kissed my lips.

We were no longer dancing, at least not like we had been, in time with the music. I felt a chill, but also completely warm at the same time. He held me tighter, one arm around my waist, the other hand cupping the back of my head, his fingers tangling in my hair. I wasn’t even sure where my hands were, but I didn’t care. He had a hold of me and that was all that mattered. Though his lips were soft, his kisses were hard and hungry, shamelessly passionate. I tasted the wine on his tongue as it filled my mouth, silently and desperately telling me all the things words couldn’t.

A moan escaped my throat before I could stop it. It seemed to have a positive effect on Harry though, and he mimicked it, pulling me closer and slipping his hand down my backside. I suddenly experienced an overwhelming sensation and had to back away, my hand on his chest.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice raspy, his eyelids heavy.

I stared at him a moment, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath.

“Wow.” That was all I could manage.

He gave me a tiny smile. “Yeah.”

I knew my face had to be matching my hair at that moment. I felt flushed, excited, and completely turned on. I blinked several times to get my bearings, and I suddenly remembered there was music playing.

I heard Harry chuckle, a sexy low chuckle that is enough to make any woman willingly give up all inhibitions. As he lightly brushed the wild strands of hair from my face, his fingertips caused goosebumps across my skin. Finally, the temperature was apparent, and I crossed my arms.

“Let’s get you warm, baby,” Harry murmured, pulling me to him once more.

My teeth chattering, I nodded against his chest. He walked me to the room where we had eaten, and I sat at the table, watching the glitter on the waves. I hadn’t noticed he’d gone until he stood with my coat. I smiled up at him and rose from my chair to put it on.

“We’re almost to the dock now. So it won’t be long.”

“Okay.”

Harry ran his hands up and down my arms, a concerned look on his face.

“Did you have a good time?”

I gave him the brightest smile possible. “Are you kidding?”

I giggled when I caught him blushing, his head bowed. I wanted to scream that he was so fucking cute, and he needed to stop, but I didn’t.

“Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“This has been the best date I’ve ever been on in my life.”

He smiled his signature dimpled smile before pulling me into another kiss.

“I hope that doesn’t mean it’s over,” he whispered, his forehead against mine.

“What?”

“Come back with me to my hotel?”

It was a question. The inflection rose at the end. It wasn’t a demand, but a request. An invitation. I lifted my hand to his face as I looked into his amazing green eyes.

“Yes,” I said.

There was something about Harry that’s hard to explain in words. Although my heart was jumping, my palms were sweaty, and my throat was dry, he somehow managed to make me feel at ease. He had this aura about him that glowed with confidence, and I could feel it radiate.

I knew what we were doing. It’s no secret what the intent is when one goes to another’s hotel. But I didn’t feel hesitant about it at all. My nerves were only built from anticipation and excitement. I wanted him to make love to me.

I should have known he’d have a suite. It wasn’t over-the-top or anything, but big nonetheless. Harry invited me to sit on the couch while he poured us some more wine. I half expected some high-tech stereo system to start playing soft jazz or perhaps some Barry White or Marvin Gaye, but instead, Harry crossed the room and returned with an acoustic guitar. He smiled as he moved his wine glass on the coffee table and sat down on it, strumming lightly.

Had it been anyone else, I might’ve been offended. But I was willing to make this evening last as long as possible. Taking a sip of wine, I crossed my legs and grinned at him over my glass.

“Wanna sing something?” Harry asked.

“No way, it’s your turn. You promised.”

“Did I?” he raised a brow.

I licked my lips and took another drink. That was all the response he got from me, but it seemed to work. Carefully strumming the chords, Harry began to play a song I recognized from his album. I sat quietly as he sang, mesmerized by his vocals and facial expressions. He was full of passion and soul. I loved every second.

“That was beautiful,” I commented softly when the song ended.

“You’re beautiful.”

I felt a little bubble rise from my belly up to my throat and I tried my best to hold it down. Harry barely peeled his eyes away from me for a second to set his guitar on the floor. Then he scooted closer to me, his knees on either side of mine as he took my wine glass from me and sat it next to his on the table.

Cupping my face in his hands, he kissed me. Boy, did he kiss me. I was completely intoxicated, and it wasn’t just from the wine. I ran my hands up his thighs, eager to get closer to him, to feel him. He groaned against my mouth, igniting a deeper fire within me.

“Harry…” I breathed as he dragged his lips down my neck.

“Baby…”

He nipped at my skin, his hands lowering to my waist. He tried to pull me onto his lap, but I resisted.

“Wait.”

He stared at me incredulously for a moment. Gulping, he nodded. “Am I moving too fast?”

I smiled. “No. I need to use the ladies room.”

“Oh.”

I winked at him as I rose from the sofa and grabbed my bag. Once inside the restroom, I pulled out my phone, prepared to send a quick text to Lorelei, even though she knew where I was and with whom. I frowned, however, when I saw I had a voicemail from Tod.

“Hey, it’s me. Just wanted to let you know Emery has a fever. It’s pretty high right now, like a hundred and one. She was complaining about her stomach, but she hasn’t thrown up yet. I’ll keep an eye on her, but call me when you get this message.”

“Shit,” I muttered. I noticed the call had come through nearly an hour ago. I called him back.

“How is she?” I asked as soon as he answered the phone.

“She’s been throwing up now. A couple times. She’s been asking for you.”

“She’s still awake?”

“Yeah. Her fever hasn’t gone down much. I’ve put a cool washcloth on her forehead.”

“Did you strip her down? Let the fan blow on her.”

“She’s got the fan. She’s just in her nightgown.”

I sighed. “Okay. Put her on the phone.”

I heard muffled voices until Emery’s helpless one came on.

“Hi, Mommy.”

“You’re sick, sweetheart?” I asked.

“Yeah. I miss you. Can you come get me?”

“I’m in New York, baby.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“You’ll get better,” I assured her. “Daddy will take care of you.”

“Okay.”

“Drink lots of liquids.”

“Makes me throw up,” she argued.

“I know, but it’ll flush you out. Help you get well.”

“Okay.”

“Let me talk to Daddy again. You’ll be alright soon, okay? I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Once again I heard the muffled voices and Tod returned to the phone.

“I’ll let you know if she gets worse,” he promised.

“Please. Or if she’s refusing to drink or go potty.”

“Will do.”

“I’ll check back later.”

When I hung up the call, I cursed to myself again. Then I quickly used the toilet and washed my hands, knowing Harry had to be wondering what happened to me.

When I returned to the couch, he was sitting on it, strumming his guitar. He looked up at me questioningly, setting the guitar down again.

“Everything alright?”

“I um...had a call from Tod,” I replied.

“Jasmine?”

“No. Emery this time. She’s sick with a fever and she’s throwing up.”

“Oh no,” he frowned.

A tear escaped my eye just as he pulled me down on the sofa beside him.

“I’ve never been this far away from them before,” I cried. “And now one of them’s sick and needs me.”

“Hey, shhh,” Harry cooed, wrapping his arms around me. “It’s okay.”

I shook against his shoulder for a few minutes as he rubbed my back. I knew he was right, it would be okay. I just felt overwhelmed.

“Did you get to talk to her?”

I sniffled and wiped away a tear. “Yeah. She was awake.”

“Then I bet she’s feeling better already. She got to hear your voice.”

“Why are you so sweet?” I asked, looking at his face in wonder.

He blinked slowly before taking my chin in his hand. Then he gently placed a kiss on my lips, the most tender of kisses.

“I’ve ruined the moment again, haven’t I?”

“You haven’t ruined anything.”

“We were having such a lovely evening,” I pouted.

“Still are.”

Harry kissed me again, this time closer to the way he’d been kissing me before. I reveled in the sensation of his lips, his tongue, his stubble. The spark ignited once more, and I slipped my hand inside his shirt.

“Is this where we were?” I whispered.

“Yeah.”

Harry reached behind me, finding the zipper to my dress. He opened it slightly, sliding the strap down. My breath caught in my throat as he began to lick and suck on the sensitive skin at the nape of my neck and left a trail across my shoulder.

“Baby…” he groaned.

“Hmm?”

“Let’s go to the bed, yeah?”

I merely nodded as I stared at his kiss-swollen lips. As I took his outstretched hand, I heard a familiar sound behind me. My ringtone.

“Fuck,” I cursed, grabbing my purse.

“It’s your ex?”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “I’m so sorry.”

“No, take the call, love.”

“Stacey, her fever’s gone back up,” explained Tod when I answered. “I stripped her down, but she’s still burning up.”

“I thought you said her fever was going down,” I argued.

“Well I hadn’t checked it lately. The last time was over twenty minutes ago. So apparently it’s gone back up since then.”

“Dammit. Run her a cool bath. Call my mom, see if she can stay with Jaz while you take Em to the emergency room.”

“I don’t think she needs the E/R, Stacey.”

“If her fever is over a hundred and two, she needs the E/R, Tod.”

I knew then was not the time to make condescending remarks and stress each other’s names, but I couldn’t believe he’d be so obtuse. I heard him sigh just before the sound of running water.

“I’m gonna try the bath. I’ll let you know if it helps.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

This time when I hung up, Harry didn’t wait for the tears. He pulled me into his embrace without a word or a sound because he knew. He knew what I needed.

“I’m so sorry,” I murmured against his chest.

“Shhh. Stop apologizing. I’m here. Whatever you need.”

“Maybe I should go back to my hotel.”

“Is that would you want to do?”

I looked up at him then, concern, sincerity and a bit of confusion in his expression. I shook my head.

“No. I wanna be here with you.”

Harry smiled. “I want you here, too.”

I swallowed hard. I knew the night was ruined. There was no way I could make love to him with so much worry on my mind.

“Will you hold me?” I whispered.

Harry released his arms from me and took my hand.

“C’mon,” he beckoned.

I followed him to the bed where he sat on the end to take off his shoes. Then he patted the space next to him. Kicking off my heels, I placed my phone on the nightstand to await Tod’s next call, and climbed onto the bed beside Harry where he quickly enveloped me.

I didn’t cry anymore, though I constantly felt the tears behind my eyes. Instead, I laid my head on Harry’s chest and listened to his heartbeat which soothed me. I was just about asleep when my phone rang again.

“The bath seemed to help,” confirmed Tod. “Her fever’s at a hundred now.”

“Oh thank God!” I breathed.

“Yeah, she’ll be okay. She’s in bed now, all clean and relaxed.”

“Okay. Thanks. I was so worried.”

“I know. She’ll be fine. Are you at your hotel?”

“Um…” I looked at the clock on the nightstand. At that hour, I most definitely should be at my hotel. “Yes.”

“I’ll let you know if her fever comes back, but I don’t think it will. Get some sleep.”

“Alright. You too.”

I laid my phone back on the table and turned to Harry.

“All clear,” I said with a nervous grin.

“Wonderful.”

“Thank you, Harry,” I cried, wrapping my arms around him again.

“Baby,” he whispered, brushing a stray hair from my face, “I did nothing.”

“Wrong. You did everything.”

The room was dark. I slid my hand up and down the wall trying to find the light switch. Once I did, the eruption of cheers made me jump.

“Surprise!”

“Oh my God!” I squealed, my eyes perusing the area until they met the ones I’d been searching for.

“Happy Birthday,” he grinned, taking my hands and pulling me to the center of the room.

“It’s not my birthday,” I laughed.

“Well, not technically, but it’s coming soon.”

“In two weeks!”

“Will you just sit and enjoy it? Stop arguing, jeesh.”

I shook my head, knowing I had to go along with it, or he would never let me live it down.

Slinging his guitar over his head, he gave me his cheeky grin, his guitar pick between his teeth. I buried my face in my hands as he began to play and sing a song he’d written for me on my last birthday, a cheesy little number where he’d insisted on rhyming my name with lacey, spacey and facey.

When he’d finished, the crowd cheered once again. My breath caught when he knelt in front of me on one knee and shoved his hand in his pocket.

“Harry…” I gasped.

I missed the part where he’d proposed. I missed my reaction, too. I missed our kiss, our embrace, our official announcement. Because then all that was left was blackness once more.

“Happy Birthday, Stacey.”

I turned around in a complete circle, but I couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from. Suddenly a door opened to my left, a beam of light shining through. I saw his shadow, but not his face. Still, I knew it was him.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

I didn’t have to look down at my dress to know what day it was. A very special day.

“You look beautiful,” he said, avoiding my question.

“You’re not supposed to be here anymore,” I nearly shouted.

“Why not?”

“Because I found someone else finally. Who cares about me. Who won’t hurt me.”

“You really think he’ll never hurt you, Stacey?” he asked. I could tell he was closer to me, next to my ear. “Never?”

“I…”

“You’re never really gonna be happy, just so you know…”

I sat up, my breaths uneven as I tried to recall where I was.

“Baby? You okay?”

I felt his hand on my back like a warm iron. My body was trembling like it always did when I had a nightmare.

“Baby, you’re shaking,” Harry said, his voice raspy from sleep.

“I’m sorry,” I croaked.

“Stop with that.”

He held me in his arms again, pulling me back down to the bed. Then he ran his fingers through my hair as he lightly kissed my cheek. I realized then that he had removed his shirt.

“Just a bad dream.”

I sucked in my lips and nodded. I laid there for several minutes, waiting for the tears to return but they never did.

“I should probably go,” I finally announced.

“You sure?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “It’s nearly three and I have to be at the bookstore at nine.”

“You can still stay here...if you’d like.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve worn out my welcome.”

“Hey.” Instead of taking it as the joke I’d intended, Harry hovered his body over mine, capturing my lips in a deep kiss. “Maybe I don’t wanna let you go,” he said.

“Harry.”

He groaned as he pressed his forehead to mine. He lowered his hips so they hit my inner thighs, his weight alone adding friction. A small sound escaped my lips when he began to grind against me.

“Please tell me…” I gasped, “that we’ll get more time together soon.”

“We will if you stay the night.”

“I...I can’t, Harry,” I gently pushed his shoulders. “I’m sorry.”

“‘s okay,” he sighed. He rolled off of me to lay beside me again.

“It’s just...it’s so late and…”

“I know, it’s fine.”

I couldn’t see his face in the darkness, but I knew disappointment when I heard it.

“I just have so much on my mind right now and I’m still worried about Em and-”

“Stacey,” said Harry. “I said it’s okay. I mean it.”

I bit my lip and nodded. I had to hand it to him. He was a good liar.

I was going to take a cab to my hotel, but Harry insisted I get Drew to drive me. I thought it was unnecessary for surely even Drew had to get some sleep.

He’d kissed me by the door. He’d walked me to the elevator where he’d kissed me again. I should have taken it all as reassurance, but I still felt that sour feeling in my gut that I’d made him mad. This had been our chance, after all. I had a flight to catch the next evening, and who knew when we’d cross paths again.

I crawled into bed without waking Lorelei. She’d always been a sound sleeper anyway, but I was grateful I didn’t have to divulge any information just yet. I had a little over three hours to sleep before we had to get ready for our book signing.

But I knew it was going to be a restless night.

Dammit, what had I done?

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gryfflepuffinthetardis · 4 months ago

Text

Valentía: Plain Sight

Season One Masterlist

Won't Get Fooled Again

Broken Mirror

Summary: Spencer Reid's twenty-fourth birthday party is interrupted when they are put on the "Tommy Killer", a serial rapist and killer in San Diego who rapes, murders, and glues his victims' eyes open.

Warning: Mentions of rape, Mention of Zoe's criminal ex-boyfriend; Spencer pining after Zoe but not admitting it; Zoe's emotional walls; Hints of past vague assault of main character; Season Six Arc References and Spoilers, Emily Prentiss Cameo; Mentions of a post-traumatic Trigger pushing on repressed memories; Vomiting

"Just be yourself. Let people see the real, imperfect, flawed, quirky, weird, beautiful, and magical person that you are." — Mandy Hale

October twelfth. Spencer Reid's birthday. His twenty-fourth.

They had a cake that Zoe had specifically baked but no one other than Alexander knew that.

"Make a wish!" Elle said and Spencer blew on the candles but them being trick candles, they came back on.

"Come on, man! Blow, baby, blow!" Morgan teased.

"I thought you were full of hot air, Reid." Elle joked.

"Come on, Reid!” Morgan teased.

"They're trick candles, Spencer, Okay? They're gonna come back on every time." JJ explained but that didn’t deter him from trying.

"Aww, mommy to the rescue." Morgan teased, tugging on Spencer's ridiculous but cute birthday hat... which Zoe didn't care about.

"Mommy?”

“Ignore him. He’s actually a mommy’s boy.” Zoe said.

“Hey, Reid. Does it make you legal yet? And how old are you turning this month, Zoe?”

“Twenty.” She said, blankly. “Twenty the thirty-first.”

“A whole year until you’re legal.” Morgan teased.

“In Mexico, the drinking age is eighteen. I could just go there, Mama’s boy.”

“Your birthday’s in nineteen days? Halloween?” Spencer asked her curiously as the cake was cut.

“Yeah.” She said, shortly.

“Doing anything special?”

“Yeah, will we meet your mama? I bet you were a mama’s girl.”

“Uh, no, she’s dead.” Zoe said, blankly and Morgan quickly shut up.

Behind them was Hotch, Gideon, and Alexander, “Isn't it amazing he knows what he knows and he's only twenty-four?”

“Imagine what he'll know by fifty.” Gideon said.

“Imagine what Zoe will know. She’s been smarter than me since she was three and she could beat David at the Sunday crossword puzzle in pen.” Alexander said, looking at his daughter. Gideon smiled, remembering how cranky Rossi had been.

“So how are we supposed to put these out?” Morgan asked.

Zoe had gotten a metal bowl and plucked the candles off and dropped them in.

“A little water will solve that. Trick candles relite due to the magnesium powder in the wick.”

“Magnesium is a highly reactive metal when powdered or sliced thinly. It can ignite at temperatures as low as eight hundred Fahrenheit.” Spencer said.

“Yes, it is, Spencer. And when the flame is blown out the remaining red ember relights it. Just cut off the oxygen supply with water.” Zoe added.

“How do you know all this?” Elle asked.

“My dad’s a big fan of trick candles.” Zoe said, glancing at said father before taking the bowl to the sink and dosing the flames in cold water as Alexander joined her.

"Hope you like chocolate." Elle said as Hotch was called by a fellow agent.

“You havin' fun?” Gideon asked.

“Yes. Definitely. I'm definitely having fun.” Spencer said, rather dully, not used to having so much attention of him as his mother often forgot his birthday due to her Paranoia Schizophrenic disorder, heck, she couldn’t feed herself, Spencer had to remind her since he was ten after his dad just left and hadn’t seen him since, but he’d have to be an idiot not to realize how much his mother loved him.

“Make a wish?” Gideon asked.

Spencer subconsciously glanced at Zoe who was smacking Morgan’s hand away from the cake and when he did it again, she sprayed him in the face like a misbehaving kitten with a spray bottle full of water. He looked back at Gideon, “Can I take this hat off?

Gideon’s eyes went up to the hat, he knew Zoe had specially ordered for Spencer’s birthday. “I wouldn't.”

“Hey, Spence. First piece for the birthday boy." Zoe called with a rare, sweet smile on her face that brought heat up to Spencer's cheeks.

Spencer started to head over before he turned to Gideon, “Do you know she's the only person in the whole world who calls me 'Spence’.”

Spencer came over to eat his piece of cake as Zoe smacked Morgan's hand again.

Hotch hung up the phone and announced to his team, "Sorry, guys. Party's over."

They met back up in the conference room.

"We're going to San Diego." Hotch said as he and JJ entered the room with the details about the case

"But not for the surfing, huh?" Morgan quipped.

"They're calling him the 'Tommy Killer'." JJ said, placing the files down.

"Six women raped and murdered in their homes in the last three weeks." Hotch said.

"Six in three weeks?" Elle asked.

"That's a short fuse." Gideon said.

"And getting shorter. First two were eight days apart, then the next four in two weeks.

"Rapid escalation." Spencer identified, "You think he's regressing to a psychopathic frenzy?

"No, he's too controlled for that." Hotch said. "See you on the plane." Then he got up to leave.

"Why the 'Tommy Killer'?" Morgan asked.

"You know the rock opera?" Hotch asked, turning back, "Well, this UnSub glues his victims' eyes wide open."

Zoe's memory went back to those eight months, it had almost always been pitch black.

"He wants them to see him." Spencer said.

"And feel him."

Zoe got up and left to get ready.

Then her phone rang, it was an unknown but from the area code, she knew it was from Italy. Only one person in Italy would call her today of all days.

"Come sta la ragazza più ribelle di tutto l'FBI?" Asked the undercover agent.

"È questo il saluto che ricevo dalla festeggiata? Non ti sento da otto mesi." Zoe said into the phone with a teasing tone.

"Non è il mio compleanno."

"Potrebbe non essere il compleanno di Lauren ma è il compleanno di Emily."

She chuckled. "I haven't been her in while."

"Where are you, are you safe?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah, I'm away from the villa right now. I don't think he suspects anything, I knew you might track me down if I didn't call."

"Damn right, I would, but unfortunately I've got a case so it will have to wait."

"Oh, you've been at the BAU for almost seven months now. How's it going?"

"Really, great. I already knew some and obviously Dad. But I've been dreaming of this since... forever. Even if they don't know who I really am."

"I know how that is." Emily said and then said, sympathetically, "How are you?"

"Since those six months or when I had to track him down?" Zoe asked.

"Either."

"You know how I am."

"Unfortunately I do."

"How close do you think you are?"

"I'm afraid I can't comment on it with you anymore. You already know more than you should. You shouldn't have done what you've already done."

"It helped, didn't it?"

"So, what's the case?"

"Uh, there's a serial killer in San Diego, he's raping women and killing them by strangling them with some kind of cord or wire and gluing their eyes open." She talked about it with Emily who was talented in profiling but she didn't often do serial killers.

Spencer left the conference room a little bit later and he saw Zoe at her desk on the phone with a smile on her face. He wondered who was making her smile.

When he got to the jet, he noticed something in his go-bag. A gift. A rectangle wrapped in gift wrap, it seemed to be a book.

———————————————————————————

French poet Jacques Rigaut said, "Don't forget that I cannot see myself, that my role is limited to being the one who looks in the mirror."

Hotch walked the length of the plane, handing photos of the victims to his team members, "Brenda Samms was found yesterday by her children when they got home from school. She had been strangled with a thin ligature, possibly a wire.

"No weapon left at the scene."

"Residue on the wrists and mouth indicate that duct tape was used, then removed." Spencer said.

"Also not found at the scene." Hotch added.

"Brought it with him, took it with him." Elle said.

"He also started leaving messages at the fourth scene, this was on the mirrors." Hotch said as Gideon was sketching eyes.

"Fair lady, throw those costly robes aside, no longer may you glory in your pride, take leave of all your carnal vain delight..." Alexander read, he frowned why did that sound familiar.

"I've come to summon you away this night." Spencer finished.

"It's a ballad from the late 1600s. A Dialogue Betwixt Death and a Lady."

"The Great Messenger of Mortality." Zoe recalled.

Morgan extended his hands like, how in the world do they know that? While Gideon and Alexander smiled with pride.

"A seventeenth-century ballad?" Elle asked.

"Yeah, essentially a woman begging Death to live." Spencer said.

"What kind of person knows this ballad?" Elle asked.

"People who read." Zoe deadpanned but Elle ignored her.

"Are we looking for a literature professor?" Elle asked.

"Well, anyone with an Internet connection, actually. You should see what comes up when you type 'death' into a search engine."

“Reid, no wonder you can’t get a date.” Morgan joked, Zoe noticed the shift in Spencer’s eyes.

“When was the last time you had a date after sex?” Zoe quipped.

“When was the last time you had a date?” Morgan countered.

“Depends what you mean by date.” Zoe said with a sudden darker undertone, looking over the file. Spencer furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

"What?" Morgan asked, his demeanor suddenly changing.

Zoe’s phone beeped on the table next to her lighting up with M.D.

"Of course, I only know it because my mom was a big reader and she annotated books before, you know..." She trailed off, biting her lip.

Oh. Spencer's eyes softened. It seemed her mother's death still weighed on Zoe.

"Reid, Zoe you two stay on the messages. See if there's a deeper meaning." Gideon said, "Do you have the notes your mother wrote?"

"I might have scanned it so I could have a digital copy. She... you wouldn't believe how many books she wrote notes on for... me." Us. Zarah and me.

"Well, it definitely looks like he ransacked the crime scene pretty well." Morgan said, showing the picture they all had.

"A lot of damage, nothing taken." Hotch said.

"Well, the eyes are the thing. The signature. The behavior that isn't necessary for the murder, but necessary for the emotional release. That's what he's there for.

"There used to be a widely held belief that the eyes record a snapshot of the last thing a person sees before they die." Spencer said.

"Optography. They used them in Jules Verne novels but it's a myth." Zoe said.

"People used to write poems about talking to Death." Morgan said.

"Ballads." Spencer and Zoe said.

"Whatever." Morgan scoffed.

"You think they'll ever run out of new things to do to their victims?"

Zoe let out a nearly inaudible scoff, she knew more than anyone in that room that that what people they hunted were good at.

"Well, finding new ways to hurt each other is what we're good at." Gideon said.

———————————————————————————

Task Force Headquarters

SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT

The team apart of from Hotch, Zoe, and JJ went past the detective in charge of the case. He held his hand out to Hotch, the first who didn't look right past him.

"Captain Griffith, Task Force Commander."

"Sorry. We all get tunnel vision." Hotch apologized for his team. "Um, I'm Special Agent Hotchner. This is Agent Jareau, our liaison. And this is Doctor Zoe Valdez, she's one of our special agents."

The girls shook his hand. "I appreciate you coming out."

"Thanks. Hope we can help." Zoe smiled, "Uh, excuse me." She went past him to get set up, going over to Spencer where he was looking at the pictures of the

"‘My name is death. Have you not heard of me? You may as well be mute’.” Spencer trailed off to reading silently.

JJ was looming over Spencer's shoulder.

"Creepy, huh?"

“No.” Zoe said, giving her an irritated look.

"Actually, uh, conversations between Death and his victims was a fairly popular literary and artistic theme throughout the Renaissance." Spencer said and JJ stared at him. "Yeah, creepy."

“Do you need something, JJ?” Zoe’s tone was sharp, defensive. Then Zoe’s phone rang and she picked it up, “Hey, M.D.” She got up and walk off.

"What's her problem?"

"Her mother's death, I think." Spencer shrugged.

Zoe shortly came back, she had her laptop out and was going through files upon files of scanned books that were in no way organized.

"Who's M.D.?" Spencer asked, cautiously.

"A friend. I went to Harvard with her." Zoe said, vaguely.

"Were you talking to her before we left?" Spencer asked.

"Huh? Oh, no, that was..." Her smile faltered, "A different friend. She's... she's kind of unable to call very much because of her job. I can't say much but today's her birthday too, so she knows to call so I don't track her down. She's thirty-five today."

"I-I'm sorry about your mom."

"Hmm?"

"You mom. I'm sorry. I... I didn't have much of a dad, he walked out when I was ten, so my mom was all I had and I was a twelve-year-old in a Las Vegas public high school, so I didn't have many friends. So, I just... I'm sorry."

"It's no problem. It happened nearly two decades ago." She shrugged but Spencer could see her grief and guilt.

"But you're only nineteen. How old were you when she died?"

"Little." Zoe said. "These books are really all I have of her. Of who she really was as a person. I think she would've like you and she would've said to not hold back your passion for these things for anyone, not even JJ. But you are unequivocally you and as Oscar Wilde, 'everyone else is already taken'."

Spencer looked at her, his heart swelling for the closed off girl before he cleared his throat and said, "it looks like what he's written at the scenes are most of the first three verses of the same ballad."

Zoe pressed a button on her laptop, making the screen go black and locking it and scanned the lines. "It's only Death's lines." She realized. "Go tell Hotch."

———————————————————————————

Zoe had wanted to help the woman who survived a similar home invasion and rape attempt. She had found her file on the poem and printed paper copies of it.

Elle, Hotch, and Zoe entered the house of the survivor, Marcia Gordon.

"Lucky woman." Hotch said as they walked through the kitchen.

"Yeah, well, she's probably not feeling so lucky right about now." Elle said.

"Just don't tell her she's lucky." Zoe said with a note of disgust in her voice.

Marcia and her husband were surrounded by male officers.

The husband of Marcia repeated his description, "He was black and six feet tall. I watched him run out that back door."

Captain Griffith walked to them as he said, "Get a description out in the field ASAP."

"Interracial serial sex crimes are rare." Hotch informed them.

"Are they impossible?" Griffith asked.

"Uh, no."

"Then what's your point?" Griffith asked.

"Only to provide you with information." Hotch said.

Zoe and Elle looked past him to the woman who looked at them. They were the only other women in the house. Zoe couldn't remember much of the days after she was found again. Any of the times. But she knows why she's kept quiet about what happened. Because all the people who helped raise her were men. Even if she knew they wouldn't judge her, she knew telling them what happened would make her feel weak.

"I'm going to go talk to her." Zoe spoke.

"Me too." Elle said.

"May I ask why?" Griffith asked.

A note of danger appeared into Zoe's eyes. "She was nearly raped, and she's surrounded by men." Zoe said, simply and then walked past him.

"Mrs. Gordon? I'm Doctor Zoe Valdez with the BAU of the FBI but you can call me Zoe," Zoe said and Elle arrived, "This is my college, Elle Greenaway."

"Would you like to go outside?" Elle asked.

Mrs. Gordon hesitated.

"It's all right. We're just going to go some place quiet." Zoe reassured her.

Zoe and Elle took Mrs. Gordon outside to the patio, "I really don't know that much about him." She insisted.

"You don't have to." Zoe said, "Just take a little time to collect your thoughts. To just sit here. Breathe."

"You two don't want to ask me questions?" Mrs. Gordon asked.

"Not until you're ready." Zoe said.

"We'll be right behind that doorway." Elle said and Zoe got up and they started to walk to the sliding door that led them out of the house.

"I didn't even know he was in the house. Is that common?" She said.

Zoe and Elle came back and Zoe sat back down, "Very."

"He slapped me from behind, and pulled me down on the floor. I tried to scratch him and bite him, but he was so strong. And then my husband came home from work. He screamed, and the man ran out the door." Mrs. Gordon said.

"He was a black man?" Elle asked.

"Bill was sure of it, but I... I only remember his eyes." Mrs. Gordon said and Zoe forced herself not to shift. "When we were fighting, I kept staring him right in the eyes. I remember thinking, if he's going to kill me, then he's going to have to look at me while he does.

Zoe's memory flashed back to when she was twelve years old. His eyes peered at her through the mask. They were hazel-brown but not like Spencer's, they were lighter in color but darker in soul. No empathy. No remorse. Still with the dark warehouse she was in and the shadows from the mask, she could still see the gold tint of them.

"And he just kept staring back at me through the ski mask."

Zoe almost didn't catch it but she did a double take, "Did you just say ski mask?"

———————————————————————————

When they returned to the station, Zoe made her way to the bathroom, she felt sick. Like the repressed memories, she wanted to keep repressed forever were itching to the surface, she made her away for the nearest toilet before throwing up into it, flashes of those eyes kept coming back. Not just in that moment but flashes of those eyes in her repressed memories. Those five days.

During the eight months, three years later, she was never allowed to see. But in those five days, he had wanted to see her eyes, to see if she ever showed fear. What Mrs. Gordon did was exactly what Zoe would've done. If he was going to kill her, he was going to have to look her in the eye.

———————————————————————————

They were ready for the profile, they had realized that he had started leaving the verses because the police hadn't connected his crimes yet, so he wasn't getting enough attention.

"The UnSub brought his weapons with him. Tape, glue, wire. He did not leave them at the scene. He took them when he left." Gideon told the room of cops, the BAU stood spread in front of them and in front of the victim boards apart from Zoe, Gideon had reassured them that she was fine and to continue on without her. "He has a kind of killing kit that he carries."

"Organized killers usually have a skilled job, likely technology related, which may involve the use of the hands." Hotch continued, "The crime scenes are far enough apart that he needs a vehicle. This will be well-kept, obsessively clean, as will be his home. He's diurnal, the attacks occur during the day, so the vehicle may be related to his work, possibly a company car or truck."

"We believe he watches the victims for a time, learns the rhythms of the home, knows his time frame." Morgan said.

"You're not going to catch him accidentally." Hotch added.

"He destroys symbols of wealth in the victims' homes. He harbors envy of and hatred toward people of a higher social class." Gideon said. "He feels invisible around them."

"Class is the theme of the poem which he left at the various crime scenes. At one point in the poem, the woman attempts to bribe Death, but he doesn't accept it." Spencer said as Zoe reentered the room, "He says this is the one moment when riches mean nothing. When Death comes, poor and the rich are exactly alike."

"So he's poor?" An officer asked.

"Probably middle-class. A decidedly lower-class person would stick out in a highly patrolled neighborhood." Hotch said. "This guy appears to belong there. He blends in."

"Why does he glue the eyes open?" An officer asked.

"The UnSub is an exploitative rapist." Zoe spoke up as she joined them, next to Spencer who looked at her concerned, "Most rape victims close their eyes during the attack, turn their heads. For some rapists, this ruins the fantasy.

"For this type of rapist, the goal is more related to the victim watching him than the act itself." Elle continued.

"The verses, the staging, the aggressive language, 'I am Death.' This is a guy who, while being in control at the crime scene, almost certainly feels inadequate in the rest of his life." Alexander said.

"That's why he couldn't wait for you to figure out what he'd done." Gideon said, standing back up. "Why he needed to make sure all his crimes were counted. His victims. They represent whatever it is that's controlling him, and he wants that control back. He is under the thumb of a powerful woman who frightens him. And a final point, he is white."

"We have witnesses that identify him as a black male." Griffith said.

"The attacker was black. He is not the Tommy Killer." Gideon said.

"Mrs. Gordon's husband came home at the same time that he always does. The Tommy Killer would have known that." Hotch continued.

"And Mrs. Gordon's attacker wore a ski mask." Elle added. "The UnSub knows when he walks into a house he's going to kill the woman who lives there. If you're not leaving any witnesses, why wear a ski mask?"

Zoe shifted her weight.

"And he wants the victim to see him anyway." Morgan added.

"Your attempted rapist is a garden-variety, disorganized young man." Alexander said.

"As the victim's age goes up, generally the attacker's age goes down. Mrs. Gordon is about sixty, which puts her rapist at about twenty." Elle said.

"And it takes years to develop the level of calm and sophistication that Tommy displays at a crime scene. And the rapist is far too young for that." Gideon added.

"Mrs. Gordon told me that there's a young man who delivers groceries to their home. He fits a lot of what we're describing here." Elle said.

"Great. So we're back to zero on Tommy." Griffith said.

"Not at all. May I see you in your office for a moment?" Hotch asked, already walking towards said office.

"Zoe," Gideon's voice said, approaching the girl who was like the daughter he never said, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She said.

"Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

"I don't need to take time off, Gideon." She argued.

Hotch walked over, "He's right, Zoe. You became triggered today, it's understandable just take the next few hours off and come back after the conference tonight and we'll be covering the tip line for the public."

———————————————————————————

They arrested Mrs. Gordon's would-be rapist and brought him back during JJ's conference, claiming him to be the Tommy Killer. Zoe was sitting with Spencer and Elle, Zoe was reading one of her mother's annotated books, Villette by Charlotte Brontë when she suddenly threw her head back and groaned, "God, I hate waiting like this. I hate waiting. I hate boredom."

"It's probably your ADHD." Spencer said.

"Obviously, doesn't make it better." Zoe groaned.

"Do either of you think it's weird that I knew that ballad?" Spencer suddenly asked them.

"No." Zoe said.

"I don't know how it is that either of you know half the things you know, but I'm glad you do." Elle said.

“Don’t listen to Morgan, Spence. He’s a playboy. He has sex with no emotional connections, he doesn’t really do... deep unless it’s explicitly pointed out to him. Typical guy. But you're not a typical guy and trust me when it's me saying that. It’s better to be smart and know things about what you do that saves lives than be a playboy of average intelligence who doesn’t know the things you know.” Zoe said.

"Do you think that's why I can't get a date?" Spencer asked.

"You ever ask anyone out?" Elle asked.

"No." Spencer said.

"That's why you can't get a date." Elle said.

"You don't want to be Morgan, Spencer. Just because you want connection over sex. Just means you're not a typical guy." Zoe said.

"Have you ever had a boyfriend, Zoe?" Elle asked.

Zoe went quiet for a moment, "I... had a boyfriend shortly before I joined the BAU, it was on and off for about four years, I mean, we didn't really go on dates when I was fifteen, something... really bad happened and he helped me through it and we bonded and suddenly we were dating and we didn't really break up but we both know that we're not together anymore."

"What happened?"

Zoe hesitated. "He was arrested. He's kind of a criminal, in a high-max prison. He's a hacker. Like better than Garcia level hacker."

"And you were dating him?"

"Like I said, we never properly got together. He was there when I needed someone and he had the unique requirements that he could relate in a way no one else could. He had a hard life. His parents died when he was ten and his life at his uncle and aunt's was less than ideal to say the least, on the streets by twelve, and then..." Her voice trailed off, looking off at the side. Spencer felt a twinge of jealous and sadness.

Zoe then cleared her throat, "If it makes you feel any better, Spence, you're more likely to get a date than I am."

"Why?"

"Women with higher IQ's have a harder time finding a mate. Men are fine dating a woman with a lower IQ than they do."

I don't think I am. Spencer thought.

"Here. This was one of my mom's favorites." She said, handing him a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird.

The phone rang and Zoe cleared her throat, picking it up, "Doctor Valdez. This is the San Diego police depart..."

Immediately someone started screaming at her through the phone.

"YOU STUPID BITCH!"

She pulled it from her ear, making gestures and whispering Spanish to the others.

"Line six, Penelope. Line six." JJ said.

Elle put the call on speakerphone as

"You stupid incompetent sons of bitches! I don't make mistakes! I am Death! You hear me? I am Death! You'll see now. Tomorrow. Mark my words, you will see! And while I'm taking her, I'm going to be thinking of you!" Then he hung up.

"I kind of wish a guy had answered him." Zoe muttered.

"Anything?" JJ asked into the phone with Garcia. "She said she got nothing."

"Nothing?" Morgan asked.

"We missed him?" Hotch asked.

"What do you mean, that was long enough to get a location?" Zoe asked, "let me call her, we can figure this out twice as quickly."

———————————————————————————

"We have an undercover car for each of your teams and the entire damned department out there, too." Griffith said, walking to them, the next morning.

"Remember, a truck, maybe a work truck in excellent condition." Gideon reminded him as Zoe arrived with a Mexican hot chocolate and an extra sugary coffee for Spencer.

"Everyone knows."

"All right. He might make a mistake today. He's angry and he probably hasn't done the kind of surveillance he'd like."

"Yeah, well, neither have we. Let's go, Reid.

"Zoe, you go with Morgan and Reid." Gideon said.

"You want to spend all day stuck in a dude car?" Zoe groaned but followed.

———————————————————————————

"Why do keep moving back there?" Morgan complained to Zoe who was in the backseat with her laptop, she kept moving and laying in different positions.

"I don't like cars, they're too cramped, I prefer motorcycles." She whined.

"You do know motorcycles are statistically more likely to crash." Spencer said, disapprovingly.

"Eh." Zoe shrugged. "They're cooler and don't smell like dude."

"I do not smell like dude!" Morgan protested.

"Yeah, you do. I was raised primarily by men. I know what dudes smell like. You smell like dude, the gym, like you coat yourself in baby oil, and either baby powder or that that deodorant powder scent. Spencer smells like bookstore with a coffee shop."

"Oh... thank you?" Spencer blushed.

"It's ten-thirty already."

"All he said was tomorrow, he didn't specify morning." Spencer said.

"Reid, this guy's got to spend a lot of time in that house. A lot. He needs it to be morning." Morgan said.

"Are we sure this is a good spot?" Zoe asked.

"Three of the victims lived within a block of this street. It's the main artery through the neighborhood." Morgan said.

"True, but three victims in the same block could mean he's done with the area." Spencer said.

"Or that he's just really familiar with it." Morgan said.

"And comfortable in it." Spencer added.

"And if he's really familiar with it, he knows to what spots in the neighborhood to avoid." Zoe said.

"But then on the other hand, the other victims lived more than a mile in either direction." Morgan considered. Then he hit the steering wheel. "God, I hate not having a plan."

"Well, that's life." Zoe deadpanned, "You need to relax more. Try reading."

"I don't want to read, Zoe."

"Well, clearly, you don't know the difference between a poem and a ballad." She sassed back.

There was a snickering giggle coming from Spencer but when Morgan looked at him, Spencer was looking in the other direction.

"Shut up." Morgan said and sighed, "We're looking for a needle in a haystack here."

"Actually it's more like we're looking for a needle in a pile of needles." Spencer corrected.

"What?" Morgan asked, incredulously.

"A needle would stand out in a haystack." Spencer pointed out.

"Okay. And we're not looking for someone who stands out."

"No, we're looking for a particular needle in a pile of needles." Spencer said

"Elle tells me your ex-beau's in prison?" Morgan said in a teasing tone.

"Yeah, because he could hack circles around your beau, no offense to Garcia but it's true." Zoe said. Technically it was the truth, he was as hacker and a genius but not why he was arrested.”

"It's the eyes." Zoe suddenly said.

"What are you doing back there?"

"Helping Garcia see how many substations our exploitative rapist unsub routed his call through. That's why Garcia couldn't get a fix on it."

"What do you mean the eyes?"

"There's something off about the eyes." Zoe said.

"What that he glues them open?"

"No, it's just a unique signature for exploitative rapists to force the victim to watch.

———————————————————————————

Gideon realized that if he could reroute the calls through as many as twenty-five substations meant he was a phone technician. They got the name Franklin Graney and Zoe got her motorcycle out and was the first to get there. She spotted an open yellow gate and she stopped her motorcycle and could hear a baby crying. She leaned her bike against the yellow fence and took out her gun as she followed the baby's crying. She spotted a tool belt, one that a phone technician would have.

"AHHHH! AHHH! MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!" The baby was screaming.

"Hey, shh... shh..." Zoe cooed, picking up the baby to calm him down, when she heard raging screams and crashing. He was breaking the riches. She took out her phone and was about to dial Hotch or Gideon when it suddenly it stopped. She turned and saw him, looking at her.

Zoe took off, running up the stairs as Graney chased her but Zoe was much quicker from him, she ran towards the room she could hear the crying from the mother coming from and opened the door, twirling inside. He grabbed the door handle, fighting her for it and Zoe managed to set the baby down and grab it with both hands and she pushed, making it fly open and hit the Graney in the face, making him let go and fall over and she slammed it shut, locking it.

"Help me. Help me." The mother cried through the duct tape on her mouth.

Zoe ran over as Graney pounded on the door and she ripped the tape off and cut the binds.

"Help me barricade the door to save us time." Zoe whispered. Zoe did most of the work since the mother was still in shock. "We don't have much time. Do you think you could crawl out the window?"

"But my baby..."

"Right, of course. It's the suburb, no fire escape. I'm going to have to talk him down or something, I want you to take your son and hide in the closet." She said, "If you hear a gunshot and you don't hear me, get a clothes wire and fight like Laurie Strode. Go. Go!"

The mother ran into the closet with her baby, shushing him.

Graney started shooting and Zoe threw herself backwards, out of the way of the bullets.

He pushed through and pointed his gun at Zoe who pointed her's back.

"FBI! Franklin Graney, put the gun down and put your hands up!" She shouted.

"FBI? I must be a big deal."

"You're raping and killing women. The San Diego department had to call in my department, the BAU." She was stalling.

"What's that?"

"I'm a profiler. I catch people like you by studying their behavior."

"What does mine say?"

"All these women are surrogates for a dominant female figure in your life, based off their age, I'd say your wife. You force them to watch you rape them before you strangle them with a wire and then you glue their eyes open so their dead bodies can watch you go back up those poles, someone they see so often but never see. That gets you off more than the rape itself. But the police department weren't able to connect your signature, the eyes. It was too subtle to you left behind the notes of The Great Messenger of Morality. Only Death's lines."

"You're the girl from the phone last night, aren't you?"

"Yes. You're the one who called me a stupid bitch."

He was approaching her with a hunger in his eyes. "You're just a little girl. Imagine how famous I'll be after I attack a FBI agent."

"I wouldn't do that, Graney." Zoe said, backing away. "I will shoot you and you're out of bullets."

"No, I'm not."

Zoe nodded to his gun. "That's an M1911 pistol. A single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol and it only holds seven bullets. You shot seven times."

Graney then grabbed a lamp and threw it at Zoe, making her miss her aim when she shot and he tackled her to the floor.

Her memory went back to that warehouse, those eyes. Those eight months. The countless nights afterwards, she would stifle her sobs into her pillow so her dad wouldn't hear.

Never again.

"Never again!" She grunted as she kicked her foot out, kicking him in the face, he fell back and she stood up, he had her primary gun but she still had her ankle holster, she stood up, pointing her first back-up gun, first of many. "You hear me? Never again."

"Franklin." Gideon's voice said, entering the room, he had spotted Zoe's motorcycle and came upon them.

"I'll shoot her." Franklin said.

"No, you won't, Franklin." Gideon said.

"Yes, I will. I have her gun."

"If you hurt her, I'll kill you." Gideon said. "And we'll just say we caught a low-life burglar. You didn't turn out to be Tommy after all."

"He will remain uncaught. After awhile, people will forget you. You'll be nothing." Zoe added.

"Once every five or ten years they'll do a TV show and they'll ask, 'Whatever happened to that 'Tommy' guy?' 'Why did he disappear'?" Gideon said. "And then they'll stop talking about it altogether. Put the gun down. Come on, walk out of here with us. I'll make sure your face is splashed across every newspaper and TV in the country. Tommy Killer: Franklin Graney. Everyone will see you then. Bundy, Dahmer, Graney, the whole world'll know who you are."

"It's up to you, Franklin. You can be famous, or you can be invisible." Zoe said.

"You'll tell everyone?" Graney asked.

Gideon nodded, "I have a media specialist outside right now. It is your choice."

"Promise?"

"Yes, sir, I promise."

Then Graney put down Zoe's gun.

"Back away from the gun." Zoe said, "Hands behind your head." He did so as she side-stepped around him and picked her gun up.

Hotch and Elle arrived, "Where's the woman?"

"Closet." Zoe walked over to the closet, holstering her guns and opening the door as Hotch arrested Graney. Zoe crouched down to the mother and child. "It's okay to come out. You and your baby are safe."

The mother finally allowed herself to sob aloud, "Thank you. Thank you."

"You're welcome. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay." Zoe whispered.

———————————————————————————

Rose Kennedy once said, "Birds sing after a storm, why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?"

Zoe sanitized her gun after deciding against burning it to sterilize it of the rapist's touch. And she was now on the jet, continuing to read Villette by Charlotte Brontë as she had headphones on.

Gideon and Spencer were playing chess when Gideon said, "Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you."

"Oh, yeah?" Spencer muttered, somewhat distractedly.

"I forgot to give it to you at the party." Gideon said, handing Spencer a small, elongated box giftwrapped with blue paper and a red ribbon

"But you don't give birthday presents." Spencer chuckled. He undid the ribbon and tore the blue paper off and opened the box to see a pair of Redskin tickets.

"Wow. The Redskins." Spencer said.

"It's a VIP box." Gideon explained.

"Wow. Thank you so much." Spencer smiled.

"Ever been to a pro football game?" Gideon asked.

"No, I honestly didn't know this was football." Spencer chuckled.

"You're going to love it." Gideon said.

"We are. You're coming with me, right?" Spencer asked.

"No. There's someone else on the plane who is a huge Redskins fan."

"Who?"

Gideon looked past Spencer to the twenty-four-year-old blonde liaison.

"JJ?" Spencer blushed, he kept glancing past Gideon at Zoe, reading a classic.

"She's a huge Redskins fan." Gideon said.

Spencer frowned and looked at Zoe. He was not unaware of the effect that violent tomboy had on him. His heart raced when he saw her and he yearned to learn more about her but he also felt she was keeping things from him, but not just him.

Gideon was also not unaware of Spencer’s feelings for Zoe. Spencer was the least experienced profiler and while he was uncomfortable with emotions, he didn’t do a very good job at hiding the ones he had for Zoe.

Spencer looked at Gideon and said, softly, “JJ’s great and all but she’s just not Zoe.” This was the closest he had ever come to really acknowledging his feelings for Zoe.

Before he met Zoe, he had had feelings for JJ but… then he collided with Zoe and…

“Zoe’s had a hard life. She’s against letting people in easily. She likes to hide her emotions and prove she’s strong.”

“She is strong. She has ADHD and is still one of our best profilers.” Spencer said, almost defensively.

“I know that. But she’s from a culture that typically views mental health as a weakness. I know it’s not but because of that she likes to prove to everyone that she’s tough. She’s been through a lot and she’s not open to new relationships until she’s ready. She’s too guarded right now.”

Gideon phrased all of this as if it was something he had profiled from Zoe which was technically true but Gideon had also helped raise Zoe and knew this personally about her.

Spencer nodded. He had gotten this from her too, plus she was recently-ish out of an on and off five-year relationship.

"Wh-What should I say?" Spencer stammered. Gideon just looked at him. Spencer tucked the tickets into his lapel pocket, glancing back at JJ and started to get up when he moved a chess piece on the board and said, "Checkmate."

Gideon furrowed his brows as Spencer got up before smiling and chuckling as Spencer headed to JJ, still thinking about Zoe.

He awkwardly sat next to JJ across the aisle and cleared his throat

"Heard you're a fan of football..."

———————————————————————————

When Spencer got home, he remembered the gift-wrapped book in his go-bag and he opened it to find a nice edition of the 1967 classic, The Outsiders.

Spencer opened it to see something written in pen on the first page.

"My mom always said the message of this book is to always be true to yourself no matter what society tells you to do, no matter how touch it is, be who you are and not what people want you to be."

—————————————————————————-

Translations:

Come sta la ragazza più ribelle di tutto l'FBI? — Italian — How’s the most rebellious girl in all of the FBI?

È questo il saluto che ricevo dalla festeggiata? Non ti sento da otto mesi – Italian — Is that the greeting I get from the birthday girl? I haven't heard from you in eight months.

Non è il mio compleanno. — Italian — It’s not my birthday.

Potrebbe non essere il compleanno di Lauren ma è il compleanno di Emily. — Italian — It may not be Lauren's birthday but it is Emily's birthday.

*Personal note: I cut my finger with a potato peeler when I was making a deviled egg potato salad, like a deep cut but manageable, so while I have a bandage, my writing will be slower. I do have to the next few episodes written down (I'm writing LDSK now), but I want to slowly release them. So for the next few weeks, it'll be slower*

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inolienkiki · 7 months ago

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OH MY FUCKING GOD DARK ONE FORGOTTEN im fuckingf sobbing what was that. why arent people talking about that. it was so good and im gonna have a headache tonight because i cried but i don't care because i heard this story. go listen to it now

and I had it in my notes! I had this idea in my notes!! (went and checked and it's not in my notes) ok but at some point I wrote down a character who uses a curse to their advantage, and then I read alcatraz and was like oh that's not what I meant but I guess it's fun, but THIS. THIS DOES IT. SO WELL. and at some other point I wrote a short story about a functionally invisible character and that was before i read the schwa was here and this is actually one of my favorite tropes but this is the best one. this is absolutely the best one. endorsing dark one forgotten as the best functionally invisible story

went on coppermind to find the actors and coppermind forgot about them tooooo chris and sophie don't even have coppermind pages wtaf why did no one listen to this

i think its rachel jacobs and sophie oda and i can't find much info about either of them but they were boht fucking amazing. dear god thank you rachel jacobs. the number of times you said the other actors were really good and then you completely blew them out of the water. you made me tear up at least twice and the other time it was sophie oda so points to all of you

the story. can't even explain waht thsi is. true crime horror mystery fantasy? and I don't even like the first half of that sentence but I don't care because the story punched me in the gut and I didn't even need to understand the worldbuilding. chris asked questions and consulted experts and ran experiments and she got my heart. skeptical about sophie but she was there the entire time. not her project, not her obsession, not her responsibility, but she stayed, and she helped. chris and sophie said they weren't a couple and I was immediately like "yeah if they weren't both women(, bitch) that would be foreshadowing" and IT WAS FUCKIGN FORESHADOWING istg. This. This is also the best romance. And I hate romance I'm arospec lmao but dear god this got me. the sheer dedication to stare at somebody for eight god damn hours straight and then the music box scene. the music box scene. I got to it and I knew it was going to happen as soon as sophie asked but it still blew my mind and broke my heart that she did. because sophie is the best person in the world.

I have not been making sanderson reread update posts, and I read rithmatist and all of reckoners, but I'd already read most of those and there's nothing notable about lux except the plot holes and they didn't hit me hard like fucking dark one forgotten did. i barely knew this existed. It came out during the year of sanderson and yet nobody includes it in the book count. (There were 8 books/stories released, cowards, not 5.) but also I feel the need to mention that I thought dark one was quite good as well, but also that it feels like only the first chapter of a story so I can't say much else as of yet, I guess? I need more dark one. now. anything mirandus. why is nobody talking about this thing

also I feel the need to mention that there were she-ra references? like, references to the reboot, which is hands down my #2 favorite show (can't compete with dark but nothing can lol). and they were good references and they made sense. I started laughing hysterically when sophie said "hey adora". has brandon sanderson watched she-ra and the princesses of power? is this canon? I mean he definitely needs to

#cosmere reread #kiki's reading list #dark one #dark one forgotten #brandon sanderson #you don't need any background. you don't need any context.#just go listen to this now. you won't regret it.#it's an audio drama. fake true crime podcast basically.#you can get it on barnes & noble or probably somewhere else idk

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rileylou99 · 1 year ago

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The Eras Tour is SO MUCH bigger than people are giving credit for

Hi, these are my observations of the era's tour after going to the Santa Clara Night 1 show.

PEOPLE ARE NOT GIVING TAYLOR EVOUGH CREIT FOR THE ABSOLUTE ATHLETE SHE HAS BECOME

She is playing three hour shows while singing and dancing and RUNNING basically the length of a foot ball field. Santa Clara is home to the Levi's stadium which is HUGE but also obviously a football stadium. She doesn't take any intermission and really only gets a break when she's doing an outfit change which were not longer than maybe a minute or two. As someone who has done theater, costume changes are not a break at all, she possibly got a sip or two of water and changed while also moving half a football stadium in length. She looks SUPER FIT buy also very healthy. She has been known for being extremely vocal about how her weight has been unhealthy on tour and how it made it extremely hard so just the physical training she has to have done along with vocal training to sing HUGE NOTES and continuous for three hours is amazing. and I know someone is going to say " oh she's not singing live its recorded" I CAN GARENTY SHE IS AT LEAST 90% of the time because you could hear it in the speakers from the third tier of the stadium. if she was recorded, I wouldn't be able to hear in the speakers her vocal influxes so don't even try. Her vocals sound different every night, with different high notes and adlibs she adds in. ( Also she hella messed up the words on one of her songs sooooo)

2. THE STAGING IS EXCEPTIONAL

I know lots of artist are putting on exceptional stages and as someone who frequents concerts, there is a lot to take away visually from what her and her team did. The dancing was very clearly choreographed to be visible from both the floor level and the highest seats. the formations were EXCELENT, the movements were LARGE and the lines were beautiful. Along with the dancers being AMAZING the stage was made of screens that were constantly having some visual that either acted as a backdrop to those of us high in the stadium and mirrored the backdrop that she has playing which also integrated the camera visual. Lots of artist have screens and they just project different camera angles but the large cream changed from a full back drop to multiple screens, to two tall screens. The staging has a beautiful musical theater feel to it that it elevates the songs and how the experience is felt in the audience. there was only a few moments from the high level that I couldn't either see he on the stage or on a screen and part of that was speakers and part of that was a very tall man just happen to be in front of me. Her costumes are EXCUISIT and I know plenty of people have talked about them and while I now REALLY WANT her purple dress from our show because its was so fluffy, enough places are talking about her costumes that I'm not gonna rant about them because I could just gush.

3. HER SETLIST IS CRAFTED BEAUTIFLY

Taylor has been known for having great shows since she was like, 19 that's been kind of her legacy and this blew away my expectations. I am not a self proclaimed "swifty". In wasn't a huge fan of her music in my teens years and I really only knew songs because they were on the radio in the car and we didn't have CD's playing lol. I only got into her music once her album Fokelore came out in 2020 as it was lockdown and I honestly was going through a lot emotionally and that album accompanied my healing very well. This tour has a collection of her songs but she has a huge discography so she cant possibly play every song but she plays ALOT! Some songs are the whole song =, she will fuse a course with a verse and maybe two to transition into another song, but she plays a lot of songs going from early country to her folk songs to her super synth pop albums and while not everyone will be happy because their favorite song may not have been played, I would be very surprised if someone left that show disappointed. I got lucky with our show because she played at least a quarter of the songs from my two favorite albums, but it was a great playlist that gave someone a song they could scream ( I screamed a lot and I am feeling it but so worth it ).

Was this show the best show I've seen as a fan of her music, yes. Would I argue everyone agree, of course not. If she isn't an artist you enjoy, I'm not sure you would have a good time, but the statement that it is a well crafted performance is indisputable. NOW DO I THINT SANTA CLARA NEEDS TO GET CROWD CONTROLL, yes!. Dear god, I understand the stadium is in an unfortunate spot, as it is 90% residential, yes but my god it it was like leaving a theme park at closing on a holiday . 70,000 sold seats, and while they did close 5 streets in every directions, it took way to long to just walk away from the stadium. I would not feel safe leaving a football game from this stadium and the only reason this crowd didn't make me nervous was the fact it was like 80% 16-25 year old girls moving like a zombie horde.

I spent at most 400 bucks between my ticket, hotel, food and drinks and gas and I would say its WELL WELL worth it. If you have been debating going to her next tour, I would 100% recommend.

So thank you Taylor Swift for an amazing show.

#spotify #music #taylor swift #the eras tour #santaclaratstheerastour

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shctupmeg · 8 months ago

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The party was in full swing, quickly heading towards one of its highlights. It was time to open the presents the guests had brought for the birthday girl.

Most of them were just for show, small stuff people have brought because it was tradition and nothing more. Others were thoughtful, tailored to what Meg actually liked and could enjoy.

Summer had, of course, made sure that her gift belonged to the latter category. The two of them were basically besties by now and she refused to be the kind of friend who handed out lame gifts. Meg's newfound wealth made it harder to shop for her, but thankfully the redhead had access to resources no other human did.

The younger girl's grandparents might have gotten her everything that could be found on Earth, but Summer had access to things that were way beyond the planet's atmosphere.

And that was where her birthday gift came from. A VIP ticket for a tour of the best bakeries and food art shops of a nearby galaxy. A way for Meg to discover whole new flavours and take inspiration from far worlds for her baking. The voucher also came with two plus-ones, so that the girl could pick someone to take with her. Be it her grandparents, her two romantic interests or two of her favourite friends.

"Happy birthday, Meg," she spoke up with a grin, handing out a pink envelope decorated with a floral pattern. "You're gonna love the places I booked for you. Promise."

[[ Summer for Meg, birthday present ask ]]

@countlessrealities

happy birthday meg!

This had been the best birthday meg had ever had. Not only was the party amazing but she had received more gifts than she ever had in her entire life. Even putting the usual spoiling she got from her grandparents to shame. Meg had enjoyed all her presents. From the small ones like stuffed animals, jewelry and perfumes. To the more thoughtful ones.

Summer's gift was definitely in the later group. Showing just how well the older girl knew meg to her core. Truth was she would've been happy with anything her friends gave her as long as some thought was put into it but summer's gift blew her expectations out of the water. The birthday girl squealing in delight upon opening the envelope. "This is like the best gift you could've given me!" A dream come true for someone who was so passionate about the bakery business and craft like she was. "Thank you!" She exclaimed before pulling her into a warm embrace. "If it's okay with you I'd like to take you and morty with me as my guests."

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theveryconfusedartistsart-blog · 8 months ago

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11 Times That Frisk Literally Fell Down In Growing Pains

I once said that I didn't like it when other writers and artists abused Frisk in their content, HOWEVER, it's come to my attention that I myself have put Frisk through quite a few tumbles (roughly 11 to be exact), some funny, some not as much. . .

IRONIC QUOTE: Looking rather embarrassed with themselves now, biting their bottom lip "I've had so many crushes…I'm sssooooo wwweeaaak Floweeeyyy,"

He laughed "if you're so weak, then why aren't you always falling over when you're with me?"

They flashed him a flirty grin "trust me, I would be! But I've got these AMAZING LEGS HOLDING ME UP, BOY!" they exclaimed, sticking out their left leg high real far in the air for emphasis.

Growing Pains 1/ Chapter 1

He watched Frisk impatiently as they climbed closer…and closer, and then stop, not too close and not too far away, apparently, they seemed to have changed their mind about the honey and decided to just observe instead.

But as soon as he began to think things were going to actually be ok- he saw Frisk suddenly twitch, jerkily bringing a hand to their left eye- lose their balance on the branch, saw their other arm wave in the air as they began to fall- for some reason he couldn’t find in it himself to watch, Flowey grit his teeth hard, locked his eyes closed and

f o r g o t t o b r e a t h e…

Growing Pains 1/ Chapter 21

Suddenly, stricken with an idea, Flowey raised a spiked vine, "here, Alphys back up, Papyrus, hold out your arms, Frisk…brace yourself, I'm gonna cut the rope,"

"What?!" Frisk blurted.

"OKAY!" Papyrus replied and did as he was asked, holding his arms out readily.

"No hold on, wait a minute!" Frisk cried out, but it was too late, Flowey was already lashing at the rope with his vine-like a whip, it only took three quick slashes before everything came loose and Frisk, plus piles of leaves, dirt, and twigs tumbled down on top of Papyrus, bringing them both to the ground with a loud thunk!

Papyrus and Frisk groaned in pain, Papyrus groaning even more as Frisk rolled off his arms and flopped onto the dirt on their belly.

Growing Pains 1 / Chapter 27

'Oh…my…god…,' Frisk mouthed as they stood under the colossal wave that rose up high into the air, casting a large shadow over them.

"MOVEMOVEMOVEMOVE!" Flowey chanted, yanking on Frisk's sleeve urgently because, from his point of view, this particular attack wasn't something Frisk could easily just sidestep.

Alarmed by Flowey's distress, Determination sparked in Frisk's eyes, his panic giving them the focus they needed, and effectively move out of the way just in the time, but as soon as they did, a wild gust of wind blew in from seemingly nowhere-

The duo gasped as the air was knocked out of them, the force sweeping Frisk back off their feet, falling onto their back with a hard thump, hitting their head causing them to wince in pain and groan, but thankfully for Flowey, Frisk had kept him close- leaving him unharmed and just slightly woozy.

Growing Pains 1 / Chapter 28

But before they could think of a plan to free them from the situation, their breath in their throat was abruptly caught as an icy shot of water found them as well, smacking hard into their back with such powerful force that it dislodged them from the tornado's wind cycle.

On their way out, they were hit by a few more blasts as they fell seven feet down from the air, landing and tumbling hard with a few thick thuds onto the grass.

Both were incapacitated and shivering, with Frisk with 1 HP left and too dizzy and racked with pain to move, Flowey doing a little better at 12 HP but freezing and unable to see at the moment, groaning as he lied next to Frisk.

Growing Pains 1/ Chapter 32

"Is this exciting yet?" he asked playfully, almost sarcastically.

"Yes! It's actually pretty thrilling!" they answered, revealing a big but slightly nervous grin plastered on their face, they then looked over at him and quirked an eyebrow, as if they knew he was on the verge of teasing them about this "are you excited?"

"Probably not as much as you are," he said.

Frisk giggled at that and began to once again awkwardly began to skate away from him, doing a fairly decent job this time as they paid closer attention to their footing.

That was, until they turned sharply to look back at him- that something went awry in their balance and in a series of clumsy clacks and wild arm circle waves, one foot slipped out and-

WUMP!

They had fallen straight onto their bottom, their legs splayed out in front of them.

Growing Pains 1/ Also Chapter 32

For a moment or two, it looked as if Frisk was past the awkward stage of learning how to roller skate and was actually showing signs of maybe being possibly good at it.

"See? What did I- aaGHhh!" they cried out as they made a too soon sharp inelegant turn, losing all balance, their left leg shooting out as they fell completely down this time, landing on their back, the impact this time making a distressing -THUD-

"Frisk!" Flowey exclaimed, automatically lowering his flowerpot bot to the floor to see and help them better, noticing how Frisk winced their eyes shut from the bit of pain they were in, their frown deep, this fall was definitely not as funny as the last one had been or was 'fine'.

"Aahhgg ow, oww… this is really embarrassing," they groaned, shifting to move onto their side and using their arm to prop themselves up.

Growing Pains 2/ Chapter 7

Flowey let out a chuckle, pleasantly surprised when he noticed Frisk had texted him back.

- ‘OH MY GOSH!!! I’m sorRY!! I was SHOWERING!!’

- ‘It was crazy, I had just got m tray of food and was on my way to sit down when I slipped onsomeone’s sloppy joe that was on the floor and bam! I hit the floor! and bam! my own sloppy joe and everything else was on me! it got in my hair and everything, it was such a mess! I Wish you had been there’

Growing Pains 2/ Chapter 10

Flowey chuckled, “no, leave it to whoever started the party, technically it’s not our fault since we didn’t know we were poisoned,”

Judging by Frisk’s sour expression, he could tell that they didn’t completely agree, but they didn’t say anything, instead, they sighed and began to get up-

-But lost balance for a second and almost fell backward into the tub, but Flowey caught their hand in time.

“Careful, we don’t need anyone passing out again, let’s get out of here,” he said and with that, finally opened the door, the odd couple timidly and quickly passing the other teen who had been anxiously waiting.

Growing Pains 2/ Chapter 11

It was then, up ahead in the distance on the road, he caught the glimpse of all too familiar car, Toriel’s car-

Instantly panicking and his mind running faster by the millisecond, he turned and left, running off the pathway and speeding into the grass, making a beeline toward the nearby overgrown bushes that towered over the both of them.

“What’s wrong? Where are we going?” Frisk asked with concern.

But he didn’t get to answer them as he made another turn, but it was too sharp and too fast-

-and due to the combination of physics and gravity-

-It threw Frisk off of him and straight into the bush, practically disappearing- except for their hat, which was grabbed by a branch.

“Agh! Holy crap!” he heard them shout in distress.

Growing Pains 2/ Chapter 12

And then… they both heard it before they felt it..

The clear and certain sound of the old wood breaking, and then-

-the sudden lurch of Frisk’s body as their boot crashed through and they lost balance.

“DON’T LET GO!” Frisk blurted as they reached out an arm and attempted to grab onto a nearby chair, failing in vain as they were already falling backward.

Growing Pains 2/ Chapter 15

Frisk continued to tell rain-related jokes and puns all the way down the mountain, successfully keeping Flowey distracted from his anxiety.

As they began to reach the end of the trail, the sound of a Froggit’s meows was steadily heard from behind, Flowey didn’t think much of it until suddenly he heard Frisk jump and jerk forward in alarm.

“Oh! ExUSE mE!” Frisk blurted in shock as supposedly the same Froggit accidentally ran into the back of their legs.

It all happened in a blink of an eye as Frisk lost their balance as they fell, their denim jacket slipping through Flowey’s grasp.

Unceremoniously they hit the ground hard and into a shallow dirty puddle- making a small splash, catching themselves with their hands.

#fanfic Growing Pains #fic growing pains #Frisk #Flowey #flowisk #Frisk undertale #undertale #It's probably best that I discontinued River of Time...Frisk was going to do SO MUCH falling in that one #Monster In The Mountain Frisk has a lot more luck due to Asriel being more careful with them... except that one time......

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fearsome-series · 1 year ago

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Book One [Book Two]

Laura leapt from one bank of the stream to the other, onto the swampy earth by the lake, she sniffed, smelled frogs in the mud, a fish surfacing in the middle of the water, heard the ripples strike the far shore, she…

Knew her pack was nearby, knew it from the rustling in the grass. She lingered a moment in solitude. Under the moon, under the stars, the night, she used to think nights like this were quiet but now she knew better. She knew the rabbits in their burrows and the buzzing dragonflies, she knew the fireflies and the coyote wiggling away underneath a cracked fence that smelled of rusty wire, she knew the raccoons and the owls, she knew the tiniest mouse underfoot and her fellow werewolves, the largest predator in the swamp, pushing down grass and reeds with their every step…

Couldn’t help but howl. Look up to the moon, and howl…

Oh, no.

Laura’s father stared at his blood-drenched daughter with a half-open jaw and all-open eyes. Chilly September wind blew through the open window. Laura shot a glance down at her gray hoodie, now thoroughly stained red. Gef was nowhere in sight.

“Laura!?” Chris cried out.

“Uh…”

“Laura!?!?”

“Sorry, uh…”

“What! How!?”

“I’m...doing fine, dad! Everything’s fine in Laura-land. How about you?” Silence for a couple seconds.

“Fine!? Fine? There’s so much blood! Oh my God, Laura, are you alright?”

Quick, she thought! Think of something. Anything! God! “I...cut myself shaving.”

“Shaving?”

“Uh, yeah. That’s why I can’t wait for, uh, lasers. Y’know. Shooting the hair off my face. But I’m fine.”

“That much blood? You’re really hurt.”

“I, uh…uh…um…uh…I’m a woman, dad.”

“What.”

“I’m…you know…blood…science is amazing.”

“I need to get your mother. And your doctor-”

A wet thud on the bedside table. Laura slammed shut her eyes. She could smell the rabbit’s blood - and the dirty mongoose scurrying through the window after it. Damn it, Gef.

“A present!” he said in his smuggest tone, so pleased with himself.

“Laura! Did that ferret just - what’s…?”

Laura sighed long and hard. “Thanks, Gef.”

She opened her eyes. Chris still frozen. No closer to understanding a thing. Did she have to tell him the truth? She didn’t even know herself.

Howls and the werewolf with the blood-streaked face tackled her to the ground, jaws wide, teeth glistening, hotly slobbering and

“There’s, uh…”

“Laura, I’m gonna go call-”

“Wait.”

another roar and Jessie pounced, she swiped one paw against his face and he broke off and ran into the grass, his face dripping blood

“So you know that animal that bit me in the woods? The one that they saw at the hospital? In Elkhorn? The one mom saw by the library and screamed at? When you were in the park? With the German guy and the guy who offered you a gun?”

Alice and Emily watched as she staggered up, paws outstretched to help her, Emily growling and then looking grateful, so grateful, nuzzling her gently

Chris blinked.

“So it wasn’t a bear, or a wolf. It was, uh, more than that. I mean, uh…” just say it you idiot, she screamed at herself. “It was a werewolf. It was me. It’s a werewolf and it was me by the park and in the hospital and. I’m a werewolf.”

running in the grass so free so fast so much to SEE and a deer bounced up ahead and she chased after it she ran and ran and pounced and

“And this blood isn’t mine! Don’t wor...rry...okay, uh, that may not sound any better. But it isn’t a person’s. It’s a deer. Deer blood. I know we’re vegetarian, but...I didn’t really have any…” She noticed her dad’s face. Utterly blank. Oh no.

she tore in and she knew she shouldn’t she knew the deer hurt she felt it struggle felt it die and she ate it slowly, alone, under moonlight

“I...I need to call the doctor right now,” Chris said gravely, turning to leave. As Chris dashed out the door, Gef jumped on his shoulder, crawling up to stare him straight in the eyes.

“Look! Listen! I am a mongoose who talks! I am three centuries old and I talk! And yet you doubt your daughter?”

“I-”

“Trust your eyes! Your ears!”

Chris stopped. He thought.

“Y’know, I don’t know what’s going on.” Chris started. “But I can’t say no to a talking mongoose in my face.”

“So you believe me?” Laura asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But it’s probably the best reason for your daughter to be covered in blood. Uh, you said it was a deer, right?”

“Yeah.”

Chris took a seat at Laura’s desk. “Is there anyone who can...help you with this?”

“You do believe me, right?”

Chris didn’t say anything.

“There are some others. There’s this person, Jessie, who could...they could explain it better.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah,” she lied.

“Alright. Who’s Rin-Tiki-Tavi over here?”

“Gef,” Gef hissed. “I’m -”

“He’s helping.”

“Ah,” Chris said simply, starting at Gef. “He's staying long?”

“No, only a couple days.”

“Can he promise to not bring home any more blood or...rabbits?”

“I can. And Jessie’ll talk to you later…”

“Yeah. I want to meet this Jessie.”

“Thanks, dad.”

He moved in to give her a hug; she accepted it. He walked over to the doorway, grabbed the knob, winced, wiped streaks of red off his hand onto his shirt, and opened the door and went outside.

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

“Hey, Gef?” asked Laura, trying to find a place for her blood-stained hoodie. Pile of dirty clothes…no, that just makes it bloody…laundry…nope, blood still gets everywhere…she finally shoved it in the trash. Wait, no, then the cops might…

“Yes?” He said, perched on her table, not aiding one iota.

“Get out!”

“Oh? What’s this about?”

“No more rabbits! You promised me! And since you broke that promise, I get to tell you to get out.”

“I didn’t break my promise.”

“What? Yeah, you did.”

“No - never!”

“Liar! Get out!”

“I promised not to give you any more rabbits. That one was for your father.”

“...really?”

“Yes. A man of his word, I am.”

“Okay. No more rabbits for anyone then. Ever. Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Good. Now go...dig up a worm or something. You freak.”

“I have to observe you!”

“Yeah, about that. Aren’t you supposed to go back to Eliza today? And who’s Eliza anyway?”

“Hmm, I’m no happier about my stay being extended -”

“Now go dig up a worm!”

“Hmph!”

Gef scurried out the window. She slammed it after him. With all that out of the way, she needed to get ready for the day. Ignoring the dank smell of iron-rich blood in the corner, she opted to go more girly for the first time in a while. She usually wore hoodies, partially out of laziness, but also to blend in - become unremarkable. No one at King High knew her as anything but Laura, but she still had some anxiety about being so openly trans. But hey - she didn’t exactly wake up subtle and unremarkable, so why start now?

She picked out a dark gray skirt, denim jacket, black t-shirt and green choker necklace. Taptaptap. Gef at the window. Do I have to open it? Laura did, and then flopped on her bed. Checked her phone. Wait. Wiped the blood off her phone.

They were staring at her in the van oh god they were asking why -

Laura sighed. “You know what, Gef? Thanks. Without you, dad would’ve thought I was a serial killer or something.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I mean, dad was right. A mongoose yelling in your ear is kinda hard to say no to.”

“Hmm, yes. Again, welcome.”

“He may be deaf now, and scarred for life, but hey, he believes. So...thanks.”

“You’re still welcome.”

“Have you had to do that a lot? Like, explain this shit to people?”

Gef paused. Then he spoke simply. “No, not really.”

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

Laura walked out to the kitchen, where her dad was making something and her mom Heather was venting about work.

“You decided if you can make it to the play?” Chris asked.

“Doesn’t look like it, unfortunately,” mom replied. “There’s a special session tonight.”

“Aren’t they going to end it in two seconds?”

“Yes, but they’re making us do live coverage anyway…”

“Hey, mom,” Laura took a seat, rubbing her eyes.

“Good morning, Laura. Chris is making...what are you making?” She sniffed. “What is that?”

“Uh, sausage,” her dad explained.

“Sausage? Meat sausage? Sausage from an animal killed for its meat?”

“The doctor said Laura needs to eat meat for now, remember?”

“Oh. Oh, yes, she did. That reminds me, Laura, can I talk to you in the living room?”

“Uh...okay.” Laura followed Heather into the living room, her mind racing through everything it could be. She knows. She saw the blood. She saw me sneak in. She knows.

“How are you feeling?”

“Uh, alright? Considering everything, I’m alright.”

“I’m happy you’re better, but you don’t seem like someone who nearly...whatever you need us to do. No matter what it takes. You staying at the hospital overnight, or even bringing meat into the house. Whatever it takes, Laura. But you have to be honest with us.”

“When wasn’t I honest?”

“I don’t know. I was worried last night, when you went to bed early. You seemed so quiet. But…I’m not accusing you of anything, I’m just saying I want to know what’s going on, okay? You can always tell me.”

“It’s okay, mom. I know?”

Heather quickly hugged Laura, who was relieved that she was happy - and that she didn’t want to know more.

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

Alice looked over at her house. At the one-story home, sandwiched between others on a quiet lane. At the IN THIS HOUSE WE BELIEVE… sign on the lawn to the left of theirs, and the RON JOHNSON ‘22 sign on her lawn. Time to go home…

“Are you okay, Alice?” It was Emily’s mom, Rebecca, a dwarf - do they say dwarf anymore? Alice didn’t know - shorter than her daughter, and well shorter than Alice.

“Yeah,” she said. “Need to go home, anyway.”

“Remember, if you want to hang out at our house or at Wulver, we’ll vouch for you.”

“I know. But I should get back,” she nodded towards Emily, and opened the door.

“See you at school.” Emily waved, her mom drove off, and…

Alice walked in her door. Her parents Kevin and Ruth were already up, and making breakfast, eating not at the table, but huddled with her little brother Cody by the TV, watching…

“The liberal media’s not telling you the truth about Hunter Biden’s laptop…”

“...hi?” She called ahead. She took another step in.

“Next up, when this small town’s library tried to start a drag queen story hour, the people fought…”

“Hi. Mom, dad, Cody.”

“Alice!” Her mom said. “How was your sleepover at Emily’s?”

“Oh, it was…it was fine.”

“We really should meet her family sometime,” her dad said.

Please don’t, she thought. “Sure, yeah…”

“Could you check on your brother?”

“Of course…” She looked back at Cody, eyes glued to the TV, plate of half-eaten bacon and eggs in front of him; and then she went into the baby’s room. Her littler brother, Kyle, let off one cry. Alice sniffed the air and gagged, but she picked him up anyway. “There, there…” She looked through a crack in the door at Kyle’s parents. “There, there…”

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

Emily quickly exited the car.

“Emily -”

“Gotta get ready for school,” she said, fumbling for her keys.

Rebecca was a foot shorter than Emily, and taught elementary school; whenever Emily saw her in her classroom, she blended in with her kids. She ascended the steps after her, jumped by, and unlocked the door. “It is late, huh?”

“Yeah.” As Emily walked in, she could see that her other mom, Bethany, had already left for work at the college. “I’ll heat up something for breakfast before I get on the bus.”

“Okay, just make sure you eat something.”

“I’ll remember, mom.” She wouldn’t; she shut her bedroom door behind her.

She picked up her bag, sat it down on her bed, started to rifle through it…

Who was that werewolf last night? The feral one. The pack had met one before, about a year ago, but could it be the same one?

Could it be…?

Emily rifled through her vinyl collection, not looking for something to play but just to do something with her hands. Sigh. What if they aren’t an urban legend after all. What if they are. What if…what was that old meme…what if the world was made of pudding? So stupid. She laughed at the stupid joke her own brain dredged up from its depths.

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

As Manuel made his way to the bus stop, his head was lively with debate about the events that happened the other day, such as: is Laura really a werewolf? Are Emily and Emily’s friend werewolves? Are werewolves really real? What does Laura’s fur look like? What do Laura’s claws look like? Does Laura have a tail when she’s a werewolf? Is Laura crazy? Am I crazy too and did she make me crazy?

He had watched the news last night with his family, and they talked about how they had caught the coyote that had attacked a police officer in the hospital in Elkhorn, and a coyote seemed like a potential not-a-manwolf (not-a-womanwolf?). But Laura swore she was a werewolf, so…

So, so, so. Soso. Manuel sat crisscross on the sidewalk with his hands on his chin and waited for the bus.

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

Alice slung her backpack over her shoulders; as she did, her mom walked into the room, arms crossed.

“Alice, I have something I need to ask you.”

She let her geometry textbook fall back onto the bed. “Yeah, mom?”

“Do you know anything about...animal people?”

Animal...animal people. Animal people. They know. Oh, geeze, they know. “Um, I don’t know what you mean, mom.”

“Does your school have…” Ruth looked deep in thought for a moment. “Furries?”

“Furries…?”

“Anyone who wears tails and ears, and make teachers call them animals. Anyone who uses a litter box instead of a toilet?”

The heck is she talking about? “Um, I haven’t seen anything like that.”

“If you ever do, tell us straight away. I can’t believe what they’re doing to our schools.” Ruth clucked her tongue. “Do you ever get frustrated that we can’t homeschool you? Or afford to send you somewhere private?”

“I don’t get frustrated about that, mom. I understand.” Alice weighed the options, and decided to pick up her textbook and file it away in her bag again. “I know you and dad work real hard to keep us where we are.”

“If only we didn’t have to move away from home,” Ruth sighed. “But God willing, things’ll work out soon enough…”

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

Smelled him.

Smelled him smelled him smelled him. What they wanted. What they needed. What they wanted was the smell.

He stood by the blue post. He was looking at his...his...his slab. His little lights.

Yes he was there – yes he was right there where its teeth could get him – yes he was right there where its teeth could…

Sniff sniff.

Not him. Retch. Not him.

No teeth. Not now. Not...now.

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