#i only really go on insta like once or twice a month or whenever i just went to a con or smth and yet | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kingbabynyc · 2 years ago

Text

being 20 and vulnerable

tw// sexual assault and partner abuse

i met eric adiele (sporting life) when i was 20 at a party at market in the summer of 2019. at the time my friend ella was working with him so he hung out with us. after awhile of all of us chilling he wanted to go be alone w me on the roof and people watch. we had a good time honestly, just talking about anything and looking at the people passing by below us. we walked back inside and he brought me to this room. immediately as he closed the door he kinda pushed me down and took his pants off. honestly i was probably gonna do it anyway but like in retrospect i didn’t have much say in the matter. moreso it just happened and i figured i was gonna do it anyway so ya. we spent the rest of that night with whoever was still there just hanging out and stuff. this was the start of like a year long ordeal that was incredibly traumatic.

after that night, we made plans to hang out. we would see each other about once or twice a week. go thrifting. eat food. take walks. i would hang out with him while he made music. and have sex. i spent that whole summer just hanging out around the city with him and it was really fun. except when he would assault me.

the first time it happened was at market. market was this apartment in the two bridges’ neighborhood. the apartment was where a lot of underground nyc musicians and artists would stay and make art. it honestly was such a disgusting place, physically and emotionally. as soon as i walked in, he kissed me and we started making out and eventually that lead to us having sex. it was a really hot nyc day and the room we were in had no ac so he wanted us to shower together before heading out. we took a shower tg. afterwards we had sex again in the bathroom. i figured he was having sex with others during this time so we used condoms. but when we were having sex in the bathroom, i noticed he took it off. he was behind me and i was unclear as to what he was doing. but i remember seeing him take something off and his penis feeling different.

i talked to my friends about it. they all were like that’s super weird and you should talk to him about it. one of my friends said something about it being assault but i didn’t think of it like that. honestly, i figured eventually we would stop using condoms so like it wasn’t that big of a deal. ofc hindsight is 20/20.

the next time i saw him, i was in the mindset that i would talk to him about it. but then i got really scared and nervous. i grew up in a home where there was arguments nearly every night. there was a lot of yelling and screaming so i really wanted to avoid that. so i just never brought it up.

this would happen a few more times in the beginning until eventually i figured there was no point in using condoms anymore. in my head, i knew he was seeing other people but i figured he would use a condom with them. it was always hard to talk to him about more serious and emotionally intimate topics.

after that summer, i went to study abroad in nepal. while i was there i would stay in touch with him. we skyped every once in awhile and would dm on insta. we would say that we miss each other and all those cute things that couples say to each other.

i came back to nyc in dec. i was only going to be there for a month before heading to la to start my junior year of college. in that month we would have sleepovers all the time. he was staying at market still but whenever he wanted space from them, he would get an airbnb and we would spend nights together watching tv, laughing, and talking. we were still sleeping together and by this point not using condoms. this was the period of time when he would take out my phone in the middle of us having sex and video tape it. i don’t remember if i ever shared them with him. but i do remember deleting them, with the exception of a screenshot of a video, after we ended.

one night he got an airbnb between williamsburg and bushwick. off the morgan ave l stop. i remember it so well because i ended up living there after college. he usually got airbnbs in that area because he liked it so much, so living there was a constant reminder of him. but that night at the airbnb we were hanging out and watching tv together. we got hungry and he went out to get us some food. while he was out, he left his computer open. as the sneaky person i am, i went through his social media and texts. he was in so many girls’ dms and that really broke my heart. but i didn’t talk to him about it te childhood.

before going to la, i told him i wanted him to visit me. he didn’t make any promises but he said he would try. i knew that was the most i would get from him.

when i got to la, we were still chatting and texting. one day, before i was supposed to go to class, i get a text from him. he says he’s in la and sends me the address that he’s staying at. he doesn’t tell me how long he’s staying or what’s going on really. i skip my class and go see him. i go there and we immediately have sex. ive had an iud for awhile and this time he made a comment about how it would hurt him. i think insinuating that i get it removed. i spent the whole day with him in echo park. we did the whole romantic thing: walked around, went on the swan boats, people watched. we went back to his friend’s place that he was crashing at. for some reason, i had courage in that moment. and i wanted to ask him about something that was bothering me for awhile. i asked him how old he was. i asked him this once before and he said 28 or something. this time he said 31. clearly something was not adding up and he was lying. i told him that a few months ago he said he was 28. he started raising his voice at me; not too much but he had never spoken to me like that. i told him i googled him and it said he was 36. then it became a conversation about how his privacy was violated and what not. he said something along the lines of if u don’t believe me you can look at my passport. and i didn’t look at his passport. i just ended the conversation and went back to campus.

i knew he was older than me. in his 30s for sure but it was never something we talked about in the beginning. my friend ella told me he was in his mid 30s and a google search confirmed it. i was 20-21 when i was involved with him. something about being with someone older felt good; everyone would say i was really “mature” and “developed” so i figured i could handle it. sure he was smart, but i am smarter, or so i thought.

we continued to see each other after that. we kinda just ignored that conversation and never talked about it again.

then came february 25. i remember that date because i went to a yola concert that night with my friend eli and it was so much fun. i’m glad i went even though that afternoon was the most, i guess, obvious times eric assaulted me. i was too lazy to go to him so i told him to come to campus. we walked around mount fiji, got tacos, walked around york, and then went back to my room. it was a long day and i was tired, so i just wanted to watch some curb your enthusiasm and cuddle. the whole time we were cuddling he was trying to take my clothes off. he would lower my pants and i would put them back on. i told him i didn’t want to have sex. he insisted i give him head. i said no. but he kept asking and eventually i gave in. honestly, it felt like an out of body experience. i knew i was getting assaulted because it felt like the last time i was when i was 16. this thing was happening to my body but i wasn’t there or aware of it. i was somewhere else where i could not think of what was happening to me. he finished and we finished watching the show and he left. i think i cried after that. i almost didn’t go to the concert that night but i went and it was very lovely. thanks for making me go eli.

then covid hit. i came back from my spring break and had to pack everything up. i told eric i had to go back to nyc. he told me he wanted to spent my last night in la together. he came over while my roommate and our friend were watching a show. i went to the study room next door w him so that we could talk about something. i wanted to bring up the fact that i went through his phone and saw him talking to so many other girls. he told me some story about how he did that to his ex and whatever. he was really great at deflecting and manipulating conversations so that we never really addressed anything. but it felt like progress so i felt better. then i was walking out the door and then he grabbed me and closed the door and turned off the lights. he had sex w me. it was quick and then we joined my friends and watched tv. i think that was the only time he met any of my friends.

i went back to nyc and he was still in la. we would talk all the time. he said he missed me a lot. he talked about our wedding and getting married. we never said i love you but it was implied. eventually, around may or june, we talked about being in a relationship. i figured that maybe after quarantine when we were back in the same city together, we could.

a month later, my friend ella calls me. she says she has something she wanted to tell me about eric. she told me all these accounts of women that he assaulted. he did a lot of the same things that he did to me to them. and i knew he was a bad guy, but i thought that i was at least special. honestly, i didn’t really care about what he did to me. but i couldn’t be in a relationship with someone who did that to other people. that was really disgusting to me. so after awhile of ghosting him, we broke up. we didn’t speak again except for one time when i tried to confront him.

i think it took a long time for me to realize i was in an abusive relationship. even now it feels weird to thing about it as abusive even though it clearly was. im not sad over you honestly. im sad at the fact that i failed myself. i remember growing up and seeing dysfunctional/abusive relationships. hearing stories of wives getting beaten by their husbands. as a little child, i told myself i would never let that happen to me. but i did. and i don’t how to forgive myself for that honestly.

0 notes

ggukkieland · 4 years ago

Text

📕CURRENT READS (2020 October)

🌹 Fics I’ve enjoyed reading this October, with some few unread ones (still have 4 to 5 days to finish!). Waah I have read a lot 😲 I can’t believe I’m almost complete with this list 🥳. Usually when I post and organize the list, half of it are still on #toread status. I thought of curating Halloween-themed fics 🎃 but I ended up reading any genre anyway😁.

Again, credit goes to these awesome writers! Sending them lots of love and virtual hugs 🥰🤗💜🥰🤗💜🥰🤗 .

✅ - done reading | S (smut) F (fluff) A (angst)��

🥕[Ongoing Series - to check weekly]

Still reading the ongoing series from last month’s reading list, whenever there is an update 😊

I Feel You in my Heart by @purpletaecup - MYG | exes au, second chances, some chapters have smau elements | A, S, F (really good story development 😭)

[7/?] nearly 2 months after their divorce, yoongi and y/n wade through the aftermath of the fallout by themselves. yoongi is moving on with someone else while y/n finds herself stuck in waves of anxiety and depression. soon enough, they are brought together again by an unfortunate accident

If it Harms None, Do What You Will by purpletaecup - JJK | smau, comedy, supernatural au, fantasy au, witch!reader, demon!jungkook | F, S 🎃

[6/?] it’s the beginning of October and green witch y/n has been preparing for all of the spooky activities she needs to do for all hallow’s eve. one of her older friends gives her a ritual candle for protection. a couple of drops of blood and a wonky magic circle later, there is a high level demon sitting on the floor of her living room.

We Live with a Ghost by @smaubts - JJK | smau, comedy, ghost au, roommates au | F 🎃

[6/13] when jungkook convinces his roommate, y/n, that their house is haunted by an evil ghost, they decide their best option is to contact with it and make it leave but end up summoning an actual ghost by accident.

Swan Black by CharWrites [AO3] - JJK | fantasy, supernatural, enemies to lovers, dark fantasy, apocalypse, Fae!Jungkook, Fae!Yoongi, Fae!Taehyung, LOTR/Mortal Instruments/Labyrinth vibes | A, S (I love this! It’s like watching LOTR 😍) 🎃

[10/?] So's twin brother, Jimin, has been kissed by darkness: an evil that has spread across the land and has claimed many souls. They only have weeks until the darkness consumes him. Once consumed, he will be governed by the unsullied: a powerful race of Dark Fae that has overtaken the world.

So seeks out a rogue Fae Prince, Kook, who is her only hope, if she can survive his deadly charms and irresistible lure especially when he is much more interested in possessing her, mind body and soul.

Third Wheeling by @taetaewonderland - MYG | strangers to lovers au, ceo!yoongi | A, F, S 🥰

[1/?] Min Yoongi is a strict man. Time is money to the CEO of Kisung Connected. He isn’t interested in conventional things or wastes of time. He’s an asshole. But, you didn’t realize until it was too late. Until you met him at the club and it changed your life forever.

Bad Friends by @hollyxqx- MYG | friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, neighbor au, college au, fwb au | A, S, F (what a good angst 😥)

[1/3] hooking up with your childhood best friend was never your plan, but neither was falling in love with him either. he’s troubled but his heart is gold. when you move away for college, things start to take a turn.

House of Lilies by @suqakoo - JJK | mafia au, arranged marriage au | A, F, S

[3/?] Jeon Jungkook is the only heir to Dal Gurimja. He is the poster child for mafia bosses. He’s a feared hit-man among the underground world, and a successful CEO among the socialites of Seoul. Pair him with a castaway girl who’s been out of society for twelve years, and… what do you get?

Your Eyes Tell by @njkbangtan - JJK | soulmate au, enemies to lovers au, roommates au, sugar baby (but not really), slow burn | A, F

[5/?] You live in a world where people see in black and white. The solution to finally see the colors? It’s simple. You need to meet your soulmate and look at him in the eyes, but what if the person bound to you is already contented with the monochromatic world? What if…Jeongguk, your soulmate, is already in love with someone else?

I hate u, I love u by @bbangpanmen - JJK | fwb au, friends to lovers au, smau | A

[17/23] he uses you to forget her; you let him because you love him.

Puzzle by @kimvvantae - JJK | fwb au, friends to lovers au, college au | A, S, F (I’ve read this before, around 2018-19 and I thought it was discontinued. Glad there’s an update ^_^)

[7/?] the line between friendship and something more has never been crossed - but that changes after a break up and a drunken night, when you not-so-accidentally cross this line to something much more. what happens when after this accident your non-matching puzzle pieces seem to match in a way you’ve never imagined?

The Lesson/Min Boy by @adventuresinwonderlust - MYG | bad boy!yoongi, dom-sub elements, enemies to lovers, brat!reader | S, A, F

[6/8] No summary provided but it’s the twisted story between bad boy Yoongi with angsty backstory and this brat/rich kid. I really liked how it was written though. I made a mistake of reading part 4: Two Months Too Long, which should’ve been the 6th story to read if you follow the author’s sequence.

Popular-ish by @hansolmates - JJK | popular!jungkook, college au, fwb to lovers, shy!oc | F, S, A

[9/?] drabble series: you are way out of jungkook’s league. Or is it the other way around?

Date Me by @latetaektalk - JJK | enemies to lovers, fake dating au, rich kid au | A, F,

[prologue + 1/?] when obnoxiously rich and spoiled frat boy jeon jungkook comes up to you one day and asks you to fake date him for money, you definitely should have said no. because before you knew it, you were going on insta dates with him and having lunch with his equally obnoxiously rich and spoiled friends.

All Over You by @zibermuda - JJK | enemies to lovers, nerd!jk, fuckgirl!reader | S, F

[2/?] you don’t usually go for the quiet, nerdy type, but Jungkook’s by far the best looking guy in your year. You just can’t help yourself. You have to have him. Small hiccup; he hates you

Effortlessly by @gyukult - JJK | friends to lovers, neighbors au,

[8/?] “Reciprocate feelings?” Jungkook crosses his arms before he continues, “They should know that you’re the only girl in my life.“ Jungkook has been your best friend and neighbor since you could remember, but what you can’t recall is when your feelings began develop for him.

HEI$T: A JJK Fic by lucidly [AO3] - JJK | heist au, action, bangtan are thieves, vigilante au | A, S

[3/?] Six years after being thrown into the world of forgery, espionage, and heists, Mona and her team face competition like never before: The Bulletproof Boy Scouts, a fabled Korean gang of thieves that everybody seems to know, but no one has seen. When she comes face to face with all 7 of them, Mona knows: they're real, and this job won't be like the others. For years she has followed the money, but could it be time that she follow her heart instead?

🥕[Completed AUs/Series- to read]

✅ - done reading (also there seems to be a lot of JJK fics)

Creep @xjoonchildx - MYG | S, pwp, yandere ✅

Guilty @xjoonchildx - KNJ | A, S, mafia au, second part of Guarded AU (an awesome JHS series)

Chapter One: How Odd Chapter Two: Incheon Mall Tube Tops Final Chapter: Is Something Burning? Epilogue: Better Than Okay

Paddle with Me @yoongs-jeontae - JJK | A, S, enemies to lovers, camp counselor au, pwp ✅

Hate Me @themfchase - JJK | S, collegel!au, enemies to lovers au, fuckboy!jk, pwp ✅

Devil in a Blue Suit @yeojaa - JJK | F, S, idiots to lovers, established au, good boy!jungkook

main story ✅ + drabbles ✅

Sweetest Crush @minjoonalist - JHS | F, S, brother’s best friend au

Fake Love @aquaminwrites - JHS | F, S, A, fake dating au, enemies to lovers ✅

Faded Love @jamaisjoons - PJM | A, S, marriage au, infidelity ✅

Brown-Eyed Baby @vinterjeon - JJK | A, S, F, exes to lovers, single dad!jk

01 02 ✅

Why We Got Married @ktheist - KTH | F, S, arranged marriage au, slow burn ✅

Lonely Hearts Club @dovechim - JJK | S, F, enemies to lovers, wedding au ✅

Come to Me @jeonsweetpea - JJK | S, A, F ,friends to lovers, college au ✅

Satan on the Strip @noir0neko - JJK | S, A, demon!jungkook ✅ 🎃

No Face @seokoloqy - MYG | A, S, F, demon au, supernatural au ✅ 🎃

Take a Chance @crystaljins - JJK | A, Hanahaki au, co-workers, very angsty but Seokjin provides comic relief

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 ✅

The Lottery Offering @skswriting - JJK | A, F, S, werewolf au, sort-of arranged marriage au ✅

A Beautiful Epiphany @onherwings - JJK | A, S, F, friends to lovers, unrequited love, artist!jungkook ✅

Au Naturel (sequel) - drabble, established au ✅

Broken Dreams @ddaenysus - JJK | A, soulmate au, unrequited ✅

And Mended Hearts (sequel) - A, S, soulmate au, college au ✅

Coin Toss @yoondoze - JJK | A, mafia au, detective au, exes au, plot twist 👀 ✅

I Knew It Was You @hoseokmylovesworld - JJK | S, F, werewolf au, college au ✅ 🎃

Little Blue @pars-ley - JJK | F, S, friends to lovers, college au, with TW ✅

Little Blue Pill @dreamescapeswriting - JJK | S, pwp, friends to lovers ✅

Smitten @megahwn - JJK | F, S, arranged marriage au, strangers to lovers au ✅

Hit Me with Your Best Shot @namfine - JJK | S, pwp, martial arts, friends to lovers ✅

Slow and Steady @yoonia - JJK | S, A, artist!jungkook, infidelity, established au ✅

Cockblocked @mercurygguk - JJK | A, S, F, friends to lovers, roommates au ✅

everything I ever wanted (drabble) - morning after ✅

What are you Afraid Of? @cupofteaguk - JJK | F, avatar the last bender au

Part 2 (prompt: if you keep looking at me like that we won’t make it to a bed) - avatar au, F, S

demon-etized @jungkxook - KNJ | S, youtube au, ghost hunter au 🎃

Spellbound @jeonseok - JJK | F, slight S, demon au, crack, romcom ✅ 🎃

Raising Demons (sequel) - fluffy, smut, established au, crack ✅ 🎃

What’s in a Name? @minsimagines - JJK | A, F, demon au, soul selling scenario, romance

01 02 03 ✅ 🎃

The Big Yellow School Bus [15k] fringesofsanity [AO3] - JJK | S, A, F, noona, fwb au ✅

once bitten, twice shy [5.6k] obiwrites [AO3] - JJK | A, F, implied S, exes au, parents au ✅

Lose Somebody [26k] @kooala - JJK | A, F, slight S, exes au, camping au ✅

Oh What a World [100k] @taestybae - PJM | A, S, F, fake marriage au, fallen idol au (been wanting to read this since July (!), will finally get to reading this 🥰)

series masterlist [18 chapters + epilogue]

🥕[Drabbles]

okay I just realized they’re all JJK drabbles 😅

Incandesce @eunoiabliss - 544 words | JJK | fantasy au, fluff ✅

Forgetful Confession @suhdays - 991 words | JJK | fluff, slight angst, college au, friends to ??? ✅

Club @taleasnewastime - 2k | JJK | fluff, bestfriends ✅

JJK Reincarnation drabble @ktheist - 571 words | JJK | F, reincarnation (?) | love love this 🥰 ✅

Pup @whipped-for-kpop-fics - 1.5k | JJK | F, humour, werewolf au, established au | this is cute and funny 🤣 ✅

A Line Crossed @underthejoon - 723 words | JJK | A, bodyguard au ✅

Rousing Rendezvous @rookiegukie - 1.5k | JJK | smut, frenemies with benefits, modern royalty au ✅

566 notes · View notes

azozzoni · 4 years ago

Text

I must hate myself for posting when no one reads but. Based off this giftset ‘cause I can. - Another VDS christmas fic.

Glittering lights shone against the backdrop of the main square, the scent of pine, mulled wine, and imminent snow in the air as Jens stood at the entrance of the Christmas market. In theory, it wasn’t any different from any other Christmas market Jens had visited in his life. But in reality, it was nowhere near the same.

Stalls selling everything from candles to tea to sweets and jewelry spread out before him, drawing customers like moths to a flame. Cheery Christmas songs permeated the chatter of the crowd through loudspeakers placed throughout the market and still, Jens didn’t move.

He could only stand there and think, cold hands in his pockets, wishing he’d thought to bring a hat or gloves. Wishing that he’d thought almost at all before jumping on the bus to Utrecht.

It wasn’t necessarily that he hadn’t thought. He’d been thinking about this for months. Not the Christmas market or the seemingly endless bus ride over or the impossibly happy couples milling all around him. But the way his heart jumped into his throat when he caught sight of Lucas weaving his way through the crowd.

Lucas hadn’t changed, was Jens’ first thought. Not that he had really expected him to in the few months since Jens had last seen him. Maybe his hair was a little longer, a little darker, but otherwise, he looked almost exactly the same as that last day he had come to the skatepark to say goodbye.

It was a day Jens remembered vividly, even if nothing significant had happened. There had been some slapping of shoulders on Moyo’s part, a heartfelt hug from Robbe, and an awkward embrace Jens sort of wished he could redo on his part.

It was almost as awkward as the text Jens had sent Lucas earlier, saying he would be in Utrecht later. He hadn’t even asked if Lucas was busy, relieved when Lucas had replied excitedly and told him to come to the market.

Now that he was here, watching Lucas draw closer, he couldn’t help wonder what the fuck he was doing.

Before he could go over the events that had led him to this exact spot, to jumping on the first bus he found to Utrecht without much of a second thought, Lucas was there, standing in front of him, a smile on his face, and Jens’ heart was seizing in his chest, all fluttery nerves and anxiety he hadn’t expected somehow.

“Hey,” Lucas said, softly, and it was all Jens could do to swallow down the lump rising in his throat.

“Hi,” he breathed, the word appearing in a cloud of breath in the icy night air.

Jens had had many months to imagine this particular moment—and not a single one had involved him acting like an idiot as they stood there, the Christmas market busy behind Lucas, the cold street behind Jens, as if they stood on the brink of something magical.

“It’s been a while,” he said finally, and Lucas only smiled.

It had been almost five months, Jens realized, since Lucas had told him he was moving back to Utrecht to live with his mom. They hadn’t even gotten the whole summer to hang out. Lucas had only moved to Antwerp in the spring, shown up at school one day in March, been sat next to Jens in English class and whispered the answer to the teacher’s question under his breath when Jens blanked.

That had been the beginning of a beautiful friendship, as Moyo might have mockingly called it once or twice. It had definitely been the beginning of something Jens hadn’t expected.

As he hesitated, he felt it again—the way his stomach churned like a ship at sea, a clench as Lucas’ smile quirked, gentle.

“Do you want to get out of here?” he said finally, hopeful. He hadn’t really had a plan, a thought about what he might say when faced with Lucas. He’d just known that he needed to see Lucas.

Lucas’ smile widened as he nodded. “Yeah, sure, I—”

“Luc!” Another voice interrupted him before Jens’ hopes could grow too big, a guy in a puffy white coat lumbering through the crowd to grab onto Lucas’ arm. “I need mulled wine!”

Lucas’ glance at Jens was apologetic, partially amused as he dislodged the guy from his arm. Jens wasn’t really listening to what the guy said next, some other name, a complaint about not being drunk enough.

“I’ll be right back,” Lucas said as the guy dragged him off, and Jens couldn’t complain.

He needed that minute, he thought as Lucas disappeared into the crowd. He needed that minute to get himself together. It might have been a whim coming here, but it felt as if he’d meant to do it for a while. It wasn’t just a particularly depressing day between Robbe talking nonstop about the Christmas party he and Sander were planning, Aaron and Amber always making out everywhere. Even Moyo seemed lovestruck by Noor, of all people. How had Jens become the odd one out?

Even though Lucas had moved away months ago, Jens hadn’t forgotten him. The others, they’d mentioned him once or twice, but Jens felt as if he thought about Lucas at least once a day. He was sure the others didn’t. And it had taken him a long time to figure out why.

Huddled in his jacket, Jens shook his head, glancing around at the different booths. They all seemed so cheery, brightly-lit and emanating warmth that spilled onto the people wandering between them.

“Sorry.” Lucas appeared again, slightly out of breath, as if maybe he’d hurried back. “I pawned Jayden off on someone else.”

“It’s cool.” Jens shrugged, just glad Lucas had come back. Not that he’d thought he wouldn’t.

“You want to get a drink or a waffle or something?” Lucas asked after a second, and maybe he was a little nervous too.

“I’m good,” Jens said, and Lucas nodded. There was an awkward pause for a second as Jens wished he’d come with a plan. “Maybe we could just wander around.”

“Okay,” Lucas agreed, falling into step with Jens.

It hadn’t been this awkward before, when they’d hung out practically every day in Antwerp. Their friendship had felt so easy then, as if they’d known each other forever. They’d texted since Lucas had left, maybe once or twice a week, but nowhere near as often as before.

As they passed a stand selling hot cider, Jens glanced over at Lucas, and Lucas caught his eye with a smile.

“So how are the guys?” Lucas asked after a minute, and Jens jerked his shoulders.

“The same, mostly. Moyo’s in love with Noor but she kind of hates him.”

Lucas laughed, face lighting up, and Jens had forgotten what that felt like—a punch to the gut, the sudden onset of something churning deep inside him. It had taken him far too long to figure out what that meant, and now it was even worse.

“How’s your mom?” he asked to distract himself from the way his heart thrummed in his chest. “Last time we talked, you said she was doing better.”

Lucas nodded, hands in his pockets, elbow bumping into Jens’ as they squeezed past people crowded around a booth.

“I think we finally found medication that works. And she’s going to therapy a couple times a week. She’s back to working like normal. It’s good.” He nodded again, watching Jens.

“And I guess being home doesn’t suck?”

Lucas laughed, ducking his head. “It’s nice to be back. I did miss my friends, even if they’re assholes half the time.” He glanced at Jens, pausing. “Although I don’t think I ever told you how grateful I was that you guys let me into your group so easily.”

It hadn’t been that hard to convince anyone, Jens thought. Lucas had been cool from the minute they’d met, laid-back and easy going at least on the surface.

“Nah,” he said easily, wandering with Lucas through the different stalls, not really paying attention to what they were selling. “I think they liked you better than me.”

“That’s not true,” Lucas protested, grinning, and Jens shrugged. “How’s Sander doing?”

“He’s good,” Jens said, though he wished they weren’t talking about other people. He hadn’t really come here to catch Lucas up on what was going on in Antwerp. Lucas could easily find out on his own, but the small talk was easier than forming the words that had been swirling in Jens’ brain for months, ever since Lucas left.

He hadn’t clocked it back when Lucas had first moved to Antwerp. He hadn’t even really noticed the weird way his stomach would get all jittery and anxious whenever Lucas smiled at him until months into knowing him. He’d only ever gotten those feelings with girls, and really, only with Jana.

He’d thought it might go away when Lucas left, that they’d become those friends who liked each other’s posts on Instagram and nothing else. But the texting hadn’t stopped, and the feelings deep inside Jens had clawed their way to the surface after many sleepless nights, some stealth searching for gay porn in the dead of night, some stalking of Lucas’ Insta.

They paused as they reached a small ice skating rink in the center of the market, and Jens leaned against the barrier, watching kids and their parents sliding around on the ice. He hadn’t come here just to wander around a market with Lucas.

But he couldn’t figure out how to say what he was thinking, what he’d been thinking ever since he’d left school today and gone straight to the bus station.

“So,” Lucas said after a minute, watching Jens instead of the skaters. “You just felt like coming all the way to Utrecht to see a Christmas market?”

“Why else?” Jens joked, but he took a breath as he turned to Lucas. “Can we get out of here? It’s a little crowded.”

Lucas looked surprised at the request, but he nodded. “Sure. We can get out of here.”

As they left the market, Jens following Lucas into the considerably darker streets without the cheer of the booths and lights, he let out a breath.

“Is everything okay?” Lucas asked as they walked, side by side on the narrow sidewalk. He sounded concerned, eyebrows furrowed when Jens glanced over. “It’s not your parents?”

“No,” Jens said easily, shaking his head. “I mean, they’re still fighting, but it’s what they do.” He could only hope the divorce would go through soon and they would all be able to move on.

Lucas nodded, but he didn’t seem convinced that everything was fine. The road they were following curved around a corner along a canal, street lights reflecting off the water, the windows on the buildings hung with wreaths and a few twinkly lights.

Jens was surprised when Lucas stepped off the sidewalk, over to the edge of the canal, a small patch of grass beyond the row of bicycles. He followed, settling down next to Lucas, shivering at the wind coming off the water.

“I missed you,” Lucas said after a minute, so quiet Jens almost didn’t hear.

“You did?” His heart jumped in his chest, too hopeful.

In all the months Jens had known Lucas in Antwerp, Lucas had never shown any interest in the girls who flirted with him, girls who tried to dance with him at parties, always choosing to hang out with Jens and the guys instead. Jens hadn’t thought too much of it at first—Lucas had been the new kid after all. He could have been shy. But Lucas wasn’t shy, not like that. It hadn’t been until after that Jens had wondered if there was a different reason Lucas didn’t flirt with any of the girls.

“As much as anyone can miss a jerk,” Lucas said, half a joke, knocking Jens’ shoulder, and Jens let out a breath.

“Thanks,” he said, rolling his eyes.

Through the darkness, Lucas gazed at him for a minute, and Jens had to look away.

Now that he was here, sitting next to Lucas, their knees knocking into each other, so close yet so far, Jens thought it had just been a fit of Christmas spirit madness that had brought him here. What was he expecting to happen? But if he didn’t do it now, would he ever?

“Jens,” Lucas said slowly, licking his lips, eyebrows furrowed, “Are you sure—”

It was definitely Christmas madness that seized Jens as he leaned over and kissed Lucas. It was a quick kiss, barely a peck, just long enough that he felt Lucas inhale sharply. He was back in his spot before Lucas could even blink, mouth hanging open slightly—surprised or angry or confused, Jens didn’t know.

“What,” Lucas said after a breathless second in which Jens could swear time stood still. “What was that?”

“I thought you’d know what a kiss was,” Jens joked before he could stop himself, grimacing to himself. What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he be serious for once? Lucas was going to think he was just being stupid.

For a moment, Lucas didn’t reply, hands in his lap, staring at Jens and the way Jens stared at the water in turn.

He’d fucked it up, was his only thought as he stared unseeingly at the ripples in the icy water. He should have done it differently, maybe said something before he acted like a complete idiot and kissed him. It hadn’t been at all like he’d imagined—too quick, too nerve-wracking, too afraid Lucas might shove him away, into the water maybe.

Lucas’ hands on his neck, turning his face, brought him back to reality. Lucas was going to hit him, or at least tell him he had it all wrong.

But that wasn’t what happened at all with Lucas’ cold fingers wrapped around the back of his neck, a slight pressure pulling Jens to him.

This was the kiss Jens had imagined as their noses brushed together, a second before their lips did. Lucas’ lips were warm where Jens was sure his were cold, soft and lingering, almost hesitant as Lucas opened his mouth, let Jens deepen the kiss.

His hands slid to Lucas’ back, down his soft, black coat, tight around his waist as he felt Lucas inhale, press into him, chasing the slide of his lips.

Jens didn’t know how long they stayed like that, but it could have been forever. He would have been happy to stay like that forever with Lucas’ tongue against his, warm, heated breath between them, lips tingling, a smile here and there that made Jens’ heart do stupid little flip-flops in his chest every time. Lucas wanted this. Lucas wanted this. And so did Jens.

“I think my fingers are frozen,” Jens muttered as he slid down Lucas’ jaw, and Lucas laughed, quiet, pulling Jens into a hug instead.

His arms twined around Jens’ neck, secure, as if he wasn’t going anywhere, and Jens smiled at the kiss Lucas brushed to his cheek. He tightened his own grip as well, even if he could barely move his fingers. Even if his toes were numb, his cheeks red, more from Lucas’ kisses than the cold.

“I did miss you,” Lucas said again, whispered in Jens’ ear. “I thought about you all the time.”

Jens couldn’t help smiling, burying his face in Lucas’ neck as he took a deep breath, calm coming over him. “I didn’t know what to say, so…”

“You thought you’d just show up at Christmas and kiss me?” Lucas asked, pulling back finally to grin at Jens.

“It worked,” Jens pointed out, and Lucas nodded slowly.

“It did.”

Jens’ chest swelled as Lucas kissed him again, playful, gentle.

Lucas sighed as he moved back, hand falling from Jens’ neck finally, and Jens couldn’t help reaching for it.

“Your hands are cold,” Lucas said, sounding surprised, and Jens laughed.

“Well, I didn’t bring gloves.”

“Didn’t really think this through, did you?” Lucas asked, cheeky, and Jens shoved him playfully. All the nerves from before were gone, replaced with a simmering tingle of happiness filling his whole body.

“Fuck you. I came to see you. I wasn’t really thinking about anything else.”

Even in the dark, he could see the blush on Lucas’ cheeks at his words, the way he ducked his head as though embarrassed.

“Are you going back on the last train?” he asked instead, and Jens sighed. Another thing he hadn’t really considered.

“I guess so,” he said after a second, and Lucas was quiet for a minute.

Jens hadn’t really had a plan for what to do next. He hadn’t had a plan for what to do first, in all honesty. But now that they’d made it this far, now that he knew Lucas liked him to, whatever came next would just be gravy.

“You could stay at my place,” Lucas said finally, glancing up at Jens. “My mom won’t mind.”

“Really?”

Lucas nodded, warming Jens’ fingers in his. “And tomorrow’s Saturday. You could meet the guys.”

Jens hesitated. “Do they know you’re…” He certainly hadn’t told anyone about these feelings he’d been having for Lucas.

“I told them when I came back,” Lucas admitted, smiling slightly. “After I met this guy I couldn’t stop thinking about.”

“It better have been me,” Jens said, pretending to be offended when Lucas rolled his eyes.

“No, it was Sander,” he said, laughing when Jens shoved him, but Lucas didn’t let him, pulling him in for a kiss. Jens could forgive him if everything ended like this, with his heart fluttering, Lucas’ lips pressed to his. Lucas smiled as he broke away. “So can you stay?”

“I’ll tell my mom I’m staying at Robbe’s,” he murmured, anchoring his hands in Lucas’ jacket as Lucas grinned.

“Sounds like a plan.”

It did sound like a very good plan, Jens had to agree as he pulled Lucas back to his lips and kissed the smile right off it. A very good plan indeed.

#van der stoffels #wtfock #skam nl #my fic

58 notes · View notes

a-libra-writes · 5 years ago

Text

Imagine Dating the GoT Characters in Modern Times

okay im still working on that confession request, but this sucker just got away from me lol. couldnt help meself. this is a bit more casual than the others

if i missed any of ya favs, send my ask box a mail pigeon and ill add em!

In this preference, you'll be dating: Ned Stark, Robb Stark, Sansa Stark, Jon Snow, Benjen Stark, Jory Cassel, Dolorous Edd, Tormund Giantsbane, Theon Greyjoy, Yara Greyjoy, Daenerys Targaryen, Jorah Mormont, Missandei, Grey Worm, Tywin Lannister, Tyrion Lannister, Jamie Lannister, Sandor Clegane, Bronn, Petyr Baelish, Stannis Baratheon, Davos Seaworth, Margaery Tyrell, Brynden Tully, Edmure Tully, Brienne of Tarth, Ramsay Bolton, Roose Bolton, Oberyn Martell, Beric Dondarrion

NED STARK

He always worries so much after you, like if you’re unusually late getting home or you don’t call him back for some time. He won’t bother you about it because knows he worries, and he’s always ready to give you a warm hug when you finally get home. He’s very considerate of how you like things in the home and will fix anything immediately - although, you’re convinced he’s going to drop the AC in a lake if it acts up one more time. He has a picture of your wedding day that he absolutely loves and keeps in a safe spot in his wallet. The same picture is in frame on his desk, along with pictures of the kids. It’s the only decorations he has on the desk.

ROBB STARK

He’s convinced Grey Wind is starting to like you more because you’re the one who gives the goodnight treats. His favorite memories are the times when you both were able to get away to the lake or beach for a few days; he has a picture of you both on his desk at work. If you get him something you’d think he’d like, such as a scarf, he’ll absolutely wear it until it falls apart. Before you two moved in together, he really enjoyed calling you in the evening to hear about your day. Before you started dating, he’d send you pics of Grey Wind because you had the cutest reactions to them - soooo many emojis.

SANSA STARK

She loooves trying new things and hobbies with you, even if it doesn’t always end up so hot. The baking fiasco of 2018 shall not be spoken of, the pictures have been erased, it didn’t happen. She likes doing your make-up if you’ll let her, and she loves it when you two clothes shop together, mostly so she can dress you up. Lady is the most spoiled princess in the Stark family; you and Sansa have an instagram for her, she has her own rhinestone collar and custom bowl, it’s a whole thing. Sansa likes to brush her in the evening while she listens to you about your day or you both catch up with your fav TV shows. You two are way too invested in some of them and sometimes you stay up too late angry tweeting about it.

JON SNOW

You two were mutual friends for a while before you started hanging out exclusively more and more and finally someone asked if you were dating... At that point, you basically were. He really likes going hiking in the woods with you and Ghost, and some of his favorite pictures of you are from these trips - obvs they’re his phone background, and he gets shy if someone looks over his shoulder and asks if you’re his girlfriend. You both have gotten Ghost a nice dog bed and couch but he still likes to sleep at the foot of the bed, then promptly wake you both up at 6am for a walk. Jon was nervous but excited to introduce you to his family; he enjoys holidays with them much more because of you. He loves it when you text him cute things about your day or say you miss him.

BENJEN STARK

He caught your attention when you two began casually dating and he absolutely lit up when he talked about his nieces and nephews, and he showed you lots of pictures. It was just so cute. He absolutely loves it when you wear his shirts, especially the morning after - he will pull you back into the bed. He’s a total night owl but is very considerate of being quiet when you’re asleep. If you end up falling asleep after trying to stay up with him, he’ll carefully carry you back to bed. He works evenings too, so when he comes home early in the morning, he’ll cook you breakfast before staggering to bed (obviously he wants a good morning/night kiss as you get up and get ready).

JORY CASSEL

He’s an absolute sweetheart who will adopt all the dogs and fill up the house with them if you don’t stop him. When he’s playing with them or holding them, you like to take sneaky pictures because it’s just so cute and set it as your phone background. He always has the sweetest compliments for you, regardless if you’re dressing up or you just got out of the shower. The easiest way to fluster him is throw your legs over his lap while you’re wearing shorts or a skirt and just casually snuggle up. One day one of your dogs got out and you two were so beside yourself with worry, calling all the shelters and making posters and just stressing out together. The pup showed up a few hours later covered in mud and you both ran to hug her at the same time.

EDD TOLLETT

You’d actually been hanging out with him for a while because of your mutual friends, mostly Jon. You two had such an obvious crush on each other but wouldn’t make a move, so he and Sam did the trick where they invited you both out, then made an excuse and left you two alone. He’s the master of sending a meme in response to a text you sent two hours ago. He won’t admit how much he really likes it when you wear his shirts, either to bed or out on a date. They’re almost exclusively black metal band shirts with really weird art. You both tend to go to a lot of outdoor music festivals; he always wants to hold your hand so he doesn’t lose you in a crowd.

TORMUND GIANTSBANE

His beard and hair are still wild, don’t you worry, and he’s endlessly amused when it tickles you when he kisses you. His clothes are kind of a mess so you always try to straighten them out or iron them, which he really appreciates. Whenever he sees something cool, he has to immediately take a picture and send it to you. Sometimes he’s too excited about something, he just calls you or comes over. He’d totally want to go to nature reserves, zoos and parks for dates; he loves being outdoors and thinks you look best when the sunlight is on you. He’ll take so many pics on these dates but he’s a pretty bad cameraman (he tries!). He’ll go for the tallest rollercoaster at an amusement park and immediately regret it once the drop starts; he’s secretly relieved if you don’t want to go on one.

THEON GREYJOY

Let’s be honest, he’s kind of a fuckboy so you don’t date him too seriously. He’s the one who gets attached first and starts exclusively dating you. He really likes collecting guitars and would be stoked if you’d play or sing along with him. He prefers outdoor dates, but sports bars and music clubs are fun, too. No matter what, he’d be giving lots of PDA and wouldn’t take kindly to guys hitting on you. He always finds the most bizarre food or drink recipes online that he wants to try, usually resulting in your kitchen being a warzone afterward. Yara totally bullies him on his insta, no matter how much he blocks her.

YARA GREYJOY

She’s the definition of the types of girls your parents really didn’t want you to bring home but Here We Are. She has the most badass boots that she wears with an eyeliner with a wing so sharp it could kill a man. She loves pulling you close and being touchy with you in bars and clubs, especially when men are bothering you. Her diet 80% microwave so you have to cook actual food for her and make sure she eats. Family gatherings or phone calls always bother her, so you have to help calm her down afterward, usually with lots of making out. She’d like you to go with her when she gets tattoos so she has someone to chat and laugh with, and she’d subtly suggest you’d look cute with a piercing. She’ll kill the bugs in the relationship as long as you give her a thank you kiss, no matter what you’re in the middle of.

DAENERYS TARGARYEN

She absolutely LOVES Christmastime and wants to decorate the whole house, send a Christmas card with you and her three bearded dragons and wear matching Christmas sweaters (she can be surprisingly stubborn about that). Cuddling on the sofa and watching movies usually ends her falling asleep on you, and if you try to move her she grumbles and hugs you closer. The background for her phone is you looking very worried, holding her three bearded dragons after she posed them on you. She’d much rather wear your hoodies and shirts than her own, sometimes only that if she’s lounging at home with you. She tries to plan a really nice date at least once a month, preferably you two going on a little weekend trip to a musical festival or a beach.

JORAH MORMONT

He texts he loves you at least twice throughout the day. When you go out on dates, he’s always worried if you need a jacket or if you’ve had enough to eat. Heel is digging into your ankle and giving you a blister? This guy has band-aids. When he gets home early, he likes to cook a quick dinner that’ll be ready when you’re home. Watching kdramas with Jorah is great because he gets so baffled and ask you if this is what kids watch nowadays, but then he gets surprisingly emotional over the big confessions and love triangles. Walking through a park or boardwalk at sunset while holding your hand is maximum serotonin for him.

MISSANDEI

Her absolute favorite part of the day is the chat you two have in the evening while you take off make-up, wash your faces and fix your hair before bed. Sometimes you talk about your day, sometimes you listen to music or have a show on. She really doesn’t like phones or laptops in bed because she just wants to cuddle or be intimate. You introduced her to theme parks, and now she absolutely loves them. Missandei will find the biggest coaster and pull you toward it, she also would like you to win her one of those stuffed animals at the shooting games. She’ll put them on a shelf in your room. Sometimes she reads a book that bothers her so much, she has to stop everything, march in the living room and tell you all about it.

GREY WORM

You asked him out by writing your number on his cup at the cafe you worked out. You never got a text or call, but he suddenly showed up a few days later, totally blushing and asking you out. It was kind of adorable. He really likes keeping the apartment tidy and totally loves your baking. You didn’t think he had a sweet tooth, and he's been trying out different recipes to share with you. He can be pretty shy around your friends, so you hang with him solo. He has surprisingly strong opinions on movies, so movie dates always spiral into film theory discussions. He's so baffled by social media but he follows and likes everything you because your posts and pics are cute.

TYWIN LANNISTER

You two met at your company’s expensive party, he interested you right away and you had fun flirting and trading verbal spars. You weren’t sure how he got your number, but he’d end up calling you up for dinners and dates and so on. That ended up turning into trips and long stays at his manor and basically you ended up living there. Tywin enjoys giving you all sorts of expensive gifts and clothes, which he of course doesn’t see as a big deal because you deserve it. Eventually you’d bother him about what you mean to him, and that’s when he’d just outright ask if you’d rather be married. Quite frankly, he doesn’t care about his children’s thoughts on the matter. He really prefers the dates and vacations that are more relaxing, especially when he gets to see you smile at something you haven’t seen.

TYRION LANNISTER

You and Tyrion discuss books like some people discuss politics. Actually, you both tend to have a lot of long discussions, but you both are so opinionated on books. He actually writes quite a bit and dedicates a lot of it to you. His favorite thing to do is make you laugh in public while you’re drinking something; he knows it drives you nuts and it’s adorable how much you sputter and look for a napkin. He blames you for Jamie’s love of ironic emojis, and he likes to send you screenshots of Cersei’s weird facebook rants. When he’s stressing over a writing deadline, he adores it when you give him a massage and help him calm down.

JAMIE LANNISTER

He’d often tease you about using so many cutest emojis in your text messages, so he started ironically using them. You’re positive he just picks them at random but he figured out that eggplant and peach REAL quick. When you first started dating, he tried to impress you with expensive gifts and dates, but he vastly prefers the lowkey cuddles at your apartment. His head in your lap, your pet curled around his legs and him reading off ridiculous shit Cersei posts on facebook … That’s the ideal. He was a nervous wreck when you met Tywin, although he was trying to play it off and be cool.

SANDOR CLEGANE

He’s such a grumpy bear that a lot of people wonder how the heck you two got together. You both like to hang out at music bars and clubs, and he’s always got a protective arm around you, and as the evening winds down he likes to nuzzle your hair and receive any kisses you give. He sleeps in really late and grumbles when you pull him out of bed to get his ass outside. He’ll always take care of the yard work and grills the best barbecue. He actually really likes when you ask him what he thinks about an outfit, even if he just says it’s fine, because he likes the way you twirl and show off your backside. There’s probably a football team he’s obsessed with and he WILL text you angrily about someone getting a red card or missing a goal.

BRONN

When you asked for his number, you were shook that he still had a goddamn flip phone. Even after dating for forever, he still has that damn thing. Your favorite date spot is live music bars, even if he starts to get overly affectionate and pull you in his lap. He has leather jackets and sometimes wears black cowboy boots with them and it just … works? He also probably rides a motorcycle but makes sure you have the proper clothes and helmet and actually obeys traffic laws when you’re riding with him. He’ll still flip off drivers, though. He doesn’t go to the doctor, his sick ass shows up on your doorstep half-dead and you force cold medicine down his throat while scolding him. He just likes being looked after, not that he’ll ever admit it.

PETYR BAELISH

You’re kind of surprised he asked you out, he seemed like a very wealthy, prominent person and you were a little worried. But on all your dates he’s nothing but a gentleman and he wants to go places you enjoy to know you better. Even if you both go somewhere more lowkey like a cafe or an art museum, he just has to impress you by picking you up in a nice car. He’s much more genuine in evenings at your apartment when you cuddle with him, or when you send sweet texts that he has trouble responding to right away because they’re just so nice. He likes to follow your social media just to see what you’re up to, and he has a picture of you on his desk, probably one where you’re wearing something he got you.

STANNIS BARATHEON

He’s on top of anything that needs to be fixed or dealt with around the house, sometimes without you even noticing they were broken. He’s very grateful when you plan dates for fun or for anniversaries, because he has trouble with such things. He also totally melts when you bring him coffee in the morning with a kiss, or take his coat when he comes home. Holidays are an absolute mess; last year he was THIS close to throttling Renly with a string of holly. You like changing his phone background to saucy pictures of yourself, because he already sucks at phones and now he’s bright red and it’s taking him five minutes to figure out how to change it. You were pretty bummed when he finally figured out how to set up a phone lock, so now you just text the pictures while he’s at home. It takes a few seconds before you hear him sputter and drop his phone in the other room.

DAVOS SEAWORTH

Admittedly, Davos is a little insecure about the age difference between you two, but he’s always very comforted when you hold his hand and kiss him in public. He always has interesting places to take you, and somehow he seems to know at least one person there. He always has a new story about how he lost his fingers and now it’s just an inside joke between you two. You think its hilarious how worked up he gets about his sports teams, and he cracks up when you yell at competitive cooking shows. Sometimes he needs your help deciphering Stannis’ weird, cryptic texts. He’s very weak when you’re dressing up to go out, especially when you slip on pantyhose and heels.

MARGAERY TYRELL

You didn’t realize how big of an influencer she was until she innocently asked for a selfie of the two of you. You were on a beach date and you kissed her cheek while she made a cute pose. Much later she showed you the pic on her instagram and holy shit is that’s 20k likes what in the seven hells. If it’s a sunny day, she absolutely wants to go out to the beach or an outdoor mall or anything. She likes to show you pics of outfits, ask your opinion, and buy it as a surprise if you really love it. If you both got a pet together, she’d basically treat it like your kid. She loves taking you with her on her family’s expensive vacations, and she can’t stop holding your hand and grinning the whole time.

BRYNDEN TULLY

Brynden is also worried about the age gap between you two, and it often bothers him when people mistake him for your father while you two are out. He loves talking about you to his nieces and nephew. He held off on telling his brother out of spite, because he knew Hoster was going to bug him about proposing. His favorite thing to do with you is go boating on the family’s lake, especially when you’re laughing as you try to keep your hat on. His absolute favorite picture is a selfie you took while you were in his lap, you’re making a silly face while he’s kissing your cheek.

EDMURE TULLY

He loves doing the silliest, most domestic stuff with you. Doing laundry together while joking around, picking out furniture to match in the living room, even adopting a dog or a kitten who would end up spoiled rotten. He’d actually fall for you quickly while you were dating and already think of your wedding and a family, but he wouldn’t want to pressure you at all. He has the worst bedhead and you have to grab him before he runs out to work and try to tame it. You both have the most ridiculous in-jokes and when you watch dramas, you both get way too emotionally invested and try not to cry in front of each other.

BRIENNE OF TARTH

She’s very shy about taking selfies with you until you encourage her and insist she’s adorable. She takes good care of her health and works out a lot, and she’s definitely want you to join her for the latter. She’s great with motivating and praising you! She likes dates where you two just wander around outdoor malls or museums, you just walk and chat about all sorts of things. You’re absolutely her phone background and lock screen, and when her dad calls to check on her she ends up talking about you a lot. You both like to put on cooking shows while you fold laundry or clean and you end up getting so distracted.

RAMSAY BOLTON

You weren’t totally keen on introducing him to your parents, then they suddenly came over while he was hanging out with you and he was such a Perfect Gentleman™ you almost got whiplash. He’s the reason stray dogs always hang around your backyard and porch, he leaves food out for them. He always frowns when you cover up his hickeys with concealer. He’s not the least bit phased by horror or slasher movies, but puts them on TV anyway so you can cling to him and hide your face. He’s absolutely the sort to threaten any male friends he thinks are too close to you, then play innocent when you confront him. He likes date spots that are a little more secluded, so he can grab your body and give you a deep kiss anytime he’s wanting you.

ROOSE BOLTON

In the morning, he always has to kiss you when he wakes up and before he leaves for work, no exceptions. He’s very private so those he works with are surprised to learn he’s married, but once you two are together at some company party it’s obvious he dotes on you. His kinks are even more pronounced now and he loves buying you things he wants to see you wear. He’d like to have a family with you once you’re ready. He’d be super into you sending him sexy pictures during the day, but he won’t respond right away or pretend the picture didn’t load just to mess with you.

OBERYN MARTELL

He looooves surprising you with thoughtful gifts, weekend trips or even just flowers sent to your work with a loveydovey note that has all your coworkers teasing you. He hangs around at your apartment so much, you wonder why he just doesn’t move in. He will absolutely love any flirty texts or sexy pictures you send him over the phone, and he’ll respond in kind. When your relationship started getting more serious, he introduced you to his family and daughters, and fell even more in love with you because you were so kind to everyone. He always wants to take you places because he thinks you’re the cutest when you’re amazed by new things.

BERIC DONDARRION

A mutual friend hooked you both up for a blind date, which bothered you a lot, but Beric was so nice, genuine and apologetic that you decided to go through with it anyway. You’re grateful you live in a cold climate because he looooves the fireplace and snuggling with you in front of it. He’s not the best at cooking and would appreciate you teaching him, also you look super cute in an apron so that’s a bonus. Expect a ton of different outdoors and camping trips from him, also he’s the worst about getting injured and insisting he’s fine, even when there’s blood all over the bathroom sink.

#game of thrones #got #asoiaf #game of thrones imagines #game of thrones x reader #these take soooo long to format #also i figured out tumblr just stops counting my character tags past 30 so thats cool

326 notes · View notes

softforcal · 6 years ago

Note

Please continue the Y/N opener with Ashton!! Omg I love this series so much! The luke and Cal parts made me soft as Frick

ASHTON X OPENER!READER

(Poly) (Luke) (Cal) (Michael)

-you’re an rising performer and they saw you live once while creating their new album and all fell in love with your voice on the spot

-they convince management that they want you as their opener because you’re amazing

-when your management approaches you about it, of course you say yes and soon after that you’re following all of 5sos on insta and they’re following you

-they want to get to know you pre tour to see if you’re chill, it will be easier to tour together if you’re all buds

-so you go meet up with them at Cal’s house and spend the whole day getting to know each other

-they’re all super cool and you find yourselves all laughing and chilling next to the pool having a great time

-they show you some of their new songs and you all end up having an impromptu singing and dancing party

-yeah, its going to be a great tour

-you have to leave and they all offer to drive you home but you have it covered

-as soon as you’re gone they’re all just like “wow.” “yeah, she’s an angel.”

-they make a group chat with you in it and you all talk a bunch before the tour starts

-meeting up with them whenever you can

-Ashton convinces you to go to yoga

-you go walk Cal’s dog with him

-Michael getting you to create fortnite so you can play with him and Luke

-the first day of tour arrives and you show up to the airport only to be sneak attacked by Ashton who was totally waiting for you, he’d really want you to feel included and welcome

-getting to the plane and you go to sit by yourself but then Michael just comes and sits next to you and smiley, and he’s like “are you ready for tour?!” and he’s just a ray of absolute sunshine

-they all kind of take turns sitting next to you because the flight is so long

-you end up falling asleep on Luke’s shoulder and they’re all just like “oh my god she’s so cute.”

-Luke doesn’t let anyone wake you

-usually the opener would travel in a different van and tour bus but they really want to ‘include’ you so you end up being in their van most of the time and you sleep on the other tour bus but you’re in their bus most of the time

-your first show you go out there and you have an amazing set, as you get off the stage the guys all pull you into a huge hug to tell you how amazing you were

-getting to watch them preform and they are brilliant

-hanging out after the concert in a back stage room laughing and talking about the tour

-singing with them

-going over their note changes with them

-can you imagine singing with Calum and Luke and they both just adore your voice

-Michael trying to teach you how to play guitar if you don’t know how to already

-Cal trying to teach you to play bass

-And Ashton letting you dick around with his drums

-going out after concerts to look at the city

-you always get cold and one of them always ends up giving you their jacket

-or one of them offers to hug you to keep you warm

-Michael gives the best fucking hugs but Cal is a close second

-its because Michael is a lil squish okay!?! don’t fight me on this

-all of you taking pictures of each other and being able to freely post them because you’re their opener and its the cutest thing ever

-everyone speculating that you might be dating one of them

-taking cheeky photos where you’re kissing one of their cheeks or their kissing yours and everyone flips out

-spending entire bus rides in their bus goofing off and laughing and having a great time

-when you leave to go to your own bus for the night they spend at least an hour usually talking about the cute things you did while with them

-one night you’re in the chill area with them watching a movie and you fall asleep cuddled against Calum

-none of them want to move to wake you up so they all sleep there

-waking up next to these four guys, you all having moved at some time during the night and you’re just a cuddle blob

-pre concert rituals together with huge group hugs

-helping Luke put glitter on before a show because “more glitter!”

-sometimes they bring you on stage to sing with them as an encore

-you and Luke just have such vocal chemistry

-”and can we give it up for our angel and opening act, Y/N!”

-so many hugs

-group dogpiles after the show

-you all write songs together and bounce ideas off of each other

-harmonizing together

-tapping out beats together

-running around cities and usually one of them grabs your hand and starts running and then you’re all running around looking at stuff

-Cal and Ashton are huge fans of carrying you when you get tired

-getting shipped with all of them

-the five of you looking at the ship names and laughing then picking favourites

-so every guys favourite ship name is their own name with yours? what a fucking coincidence eh?

-they all ask your favourite ship name and you’re just like…… “uhhhhhh….”

-refusing to choose

-it would honestly be such a mess because it’s not like you don’t know they’re into you but its hard to choose because they’re all hella

—————————————————————–Ashton con’t here

-so the tour continues

-Ashton is super sweaty after concerts

-we all know this

-sweaty, dirty boy

-post concert chases where he tries to wrap his arms around you and get his sweat all over you

-usually you manage to evade him with everyone else laughing when he gives up

-but he comes off stage and you can see that gleam in his eye and you know he’s in it for the win

-the chase begins and after a little while the other boys clear out to shower or get changed but Ash is still chasing you

-”Seriously Ash, stop!” you scream

-”not a chance!”

-he finally manages to tackle you onto the couch

-his body lands mostly on you as he begins to tickle you too

-sweating and tickling?

-you’re screaming and kicking and he’s holding you down

-and then he stops

-you open your eyes to see how close your faces are

-you suddenly realized that you are pressed together almost everywhere and he has your hands pinned above your head

-breathing hard

-you can feel his breath on your face

-searching his eyes

-he whispers “Fuck.” before his lips are on yours

-you wrap your legs around his waist and he grinds down against you

-”what the fuck!?” someone screams

-you push Ashton off of you and he lands on the floor with an “oof.”

-then you’re both facing Michael who is standing there with his jaw on the floor

-you feel yourself turning red as you practically run from the room and to the van where Luke and Cal are already waiting

-you squish into the back and they’re both like “what’s wrong with you?” “i don’t want to talk about it.”

-a few minutes pass and Michael and Ashton show up and get in the seats in front of you

-the car ride is pretty quiet, everyone on their phones, and when you reach the hotel Michael and Ashton go in fast, leaving you Luke and Cal to straggle behind

-”so you kissed Ashton.” Luke states. “what?!” “Michael updated the group chat.” Cal answers

-refusing to talk about it until you get to your hotel room and you slip inside, falling onto the bed and practically screaming into the pillows

-you’d always thought Ashton was sexy as fuck. i mean. come on

-but you never thought anything would actually ever happen

-he’s your best friend

-but that kiss… wow

-you hadn’t even minded the sweat

-you get ready for bed but your mind is freaking out and you can’t even imagine sleeping

-there’s a knock at your door and your heart leaps out of your chest, especially because you totally know who it is

-opening the door to see Ashton pacing in the hallway

-he doesn’t say anything but brushes past you into your room, you close the door behind you

-he continues to pace

-you’ve never seen him this nervous

-”Ash?” you ask

-he ignores you, sitting on the bed with his head in his hands

-you sit next to him, putting your arms around him and rubbing his arms, “talk to me.” you whisper

-he sighs, turning to put his head on your shoulder, “i’m sorry i kissed you.” he states

-”don’t worry about it Ash.” you coo, running your fingers through his hair, still slightly damp from a shower, his eyes close and he groans slightly at the sensation

-he pulls away completely, standing and pacing again

-then he stops and looks at you

-you stand to say something but then his hands are on either side of your face as his lips are on yours again

-you step back and fall onto the bed, Ashton crashing down with you

-he pulls away, “i’m sorry i kissed you again.”

-”shut up and kiss me.”

-you don’t have to tell this man twice

-your legs wrap around his waist like it’s the most natural thing in the world

-you start to unbutton his shirt and he rolls off of you, laughing. “what?” you ask

-”give me a second.” he says, taking a deep breath, he turns to look at you, “i don’t usually get like this.”

-”what do you mean?” you ask, also turning onto your side to look at him

-”i usually don’t need a breather.” he clarifies, “two months ago when tour started i wouldn’t have stopped. but… i don’t want to ruin this.”

-he has a point. i mean you are his opener and if things get messy it wouldn’t be good

-”are you friend-zoning me?” you laugh

-”fuck no.” Ashton grins, “i like you a lot. i don’t want you to be like just another girl because you aren’t. you’re not just a good fuck.”

-”so you don’t want to fuc-” “i want to.” he interrupts, “but i want this too.” he says, pulling you to his chest to cuddle

-just cuddling and loving the feeling of each other

-”did you see Michael’s face?” you break the silence

-Ashton laughs and you can feel it in his chest, the beautiful rumble that vibrates through him and into you

-”i couldn’t help myself, you’re so sexy after concerts.” Ashton states.

-”you’re not to shabby yourself sweat boy.”

-”you’re going to regret that!” he says, beginning to tickle you again

-and just like that, you’re back in the situation with him on top of you, your hands pinned down as he makes you laugh like no one ever has before

-his lips are on yours again and this time there are no “i’m sorry”s or breathers

-each kiss is needy and rough, his hands in your hair, on your face, on your waist, up to under your bra line

-and your fingers are undoing the final buttons of his shirt then tearing it off

-he grinds himself down against you and you’re both moaning messes

-its rough but you expected nothing less from his boi

-but it’s also super passionate, with long kisses and shaky breaths

-running your fingers through his curls

-when you’re both finished he stays on top of you and you run your fingers across his face, “you’re still a sweaty boy.”

-”you should look in the mirror sweaty girl.” he laughs, kissing you softly

-and then he’s getting out of bed and pulling you with him towards the bathroom

-shower sex to wash off your sweaty boy

-you’re both so exhausted when you get back to bed that you pass out before either of you can really talk about it

-getting woken up by someone banging on your door because you need to be getting in the van in five minutes

-Ashton leaves before either of you can talk

-you manage to get ready and get to the van on time, taking your seat in the back with Luke and Cal

-the day goes by super fast and you and Ash don’t have any time to talk alone between interviews and other stuff that comes up and before you know it you’re back stage and they’re all giving you a quick hug before you go on

-Ash’s hug lasts a little longer and it looks like he wants to say something

-but he doesn’t

-you go on

-your set goes well

-when you get off and the boys go on you watch from back stage, eyes focused on Ashton as he plays. he’s always amazing, super passionate. but this looks next level and its insane.

-you can’t help but think about the night before

-they get off stage but Ashton doesn’t begin to chase you to rub you in sweat, he walks past you, grabbing your hand and dragging you to one of the change rooms

-you have no idea what to expect but as soon as that door closes Ashton’s lips are on your again

-you’ve lost count of how many times he’s kissed you in the past 24 hours

-his sweat doesn’t even bother you anymore

-but then you realize, you’ve been spending the whole day freaking out, wanting to talk about it and figure out what the fuck the two of you are even doing, and here you are getting distracted again

-”Ash, wait-” you manage to say when he begins kissing your neck

-”what?” he says between kisses

-”what are we doing?” you sigh

-he pulls away, hearing the distress in your voice

-”so we sort of talked about it last night and it wasnt clear and i’m just flustered because if this is just sex i don’t think i can take it, i’m your opener and-” you begin to rant

-”i said last night that you weren’t just sex.” he states, looking kinda confused

-”well yeah but you didn’t specify what that makes me?” you roll your eyes

-”oh.” he actually moves back a little, realizing wtf, “i want us to date.” he states finally

-”okay, me too.” you say with confidence

-his lips are back on yours and you’re laughing as he goes to your neck, “you know this isnt dating right?” you giggle

-”right…” he pulls away, grabbing your hand, “lets go get food. a real date.”

-this boy. i feel like he has a tough time with relationships and commitment because he travels and works so much and its hard for a lot of people to understand so he usually stays away from commitment

-but with you, you’re on the same page. you’re literally on tour with him. you get it

-but he’s still not used to actually wooing a girl

-come on fam, we all know Ash is a very sexual being lol

-so the two of you leave the venue and you find yourself at some random open 24 hours a day diner

-you guys are best buds already and i mean, you have already fucked a few times so you’re super comfortable together

-Ashton gets bored of being across from you in the booth so he comes over and sits next to you, his arm going over your shoulders

-talking about the concert

-him using a fork and knife to show you a new beat he’s had stuck in his head for ages

-him probably squishing your face and kissing you

-it just goes really well

-but you have to be back at the tour buses in an hour or so

-Ashton refuses to let you pay, “this is a date remember?” he grins, throwing down some money and grabbing your hand

-the two of you make your way back to the bus and you’re about to go to your own tour bus when Ash is like “where do you think you’re going?”

-”to my bus?” you laugh

-Ashton laughs “you’re hilarious.” and then he’s dragging you onto his bus

-the others are there already and look up from their phones when the two of you come in

-”if you two keep me awake tonight i’m going to fucking kill you.” Michael states as he gets into his bunk and pulls out his phone

-Calum and Luke grinning

-yeah they all know you two fucked the night before

-i mean, come on

-and so it starts like that

-buds that bang and go on dates

-its super playful

-lots of chasing and teasing and tickling and laughing

-stealing his button ups

-being on each others instas all the time and fans definitely pick up on you two being a thing

-you’re about to go on stage and Ash pulls you to his chest by your belt loops, giving you a kiss then he pulls out one of his iconic button ups and helps you put it on, “there. now your look is fuego.” before turning you around and giving you a pat on the bum before you go on stage

-as you’re going on you realize, like… is Ash making this official?

-the fans 100% recognize the button up

-also what a fucking couple move

-like, it dawning on you just how couple move that was

-getting off stage flustered and Ashton has the most shit eating grin ever, giving you a kiss on the cheek before he goes on stage

-looking at your phone and realizing this asshole also took a picture of you preforming in his shirt and posted it to Insta with the caption “when she looks better in your clothes than you do” with some heart emojis

-this fucking boi, just made shit insta official

-you likewise taking a picture of him preforming and uploading it with a caption like “this guy.” or “good one Irwin” or just emojis because your heart is dying

-he gets off stage and immediately pulls you to his sweaty chest, the most intense fucking kiss because Ya’ll are official

-i feel like dating this boi would include a lot of partying with him and Cal or the entire group

-dancing at clubs and he only has eyes for you

-getting back to the hotel, or on occasions the tour bus exhausted from a concert and a clubbing event but he always has energy to do the do

-the others getting so tired of it because Ashton has such a huge sex drive

-can you imagine like, your drummer gets sick one day on tour or something (i have not planned this shit out at all btw) and Ashton offers to step in immediately

-fans going wild for you and Ashton

-lots of insta videos of him tapping his fingers against random parts of your body

-your ass is his favourite drum set and this is canon ya’ll

-rough, sweaty, dirty, passionate sex

-he’s so silly and giggly and he just wants to see you smile

-Andy taking way too many videos of post concert you and Ash running around while he tries to get his sweat on you. you don’t mind it much anymore but you still run because it’s your couple thing

-shower sex.

-playing with his little curls because oh my fucking god

-talking about life and shit

-like talking with him for hours

-cuddling and talking for hours*

-stealing way too many of his button ups

-doing Bonzi and Fonzi with Calum one day and Ashton pretends to be jealous but he adores it

-sometimes he gives you his rings to wear

-(like during sex when he wants to use his hands and doesn’t want to hurt you or mess up his rings. like fam. can you IMagInE?)

-he takes so many beautiful pictures of you

-i mean, he has an eye for photography and he just adores you so much

-lots of pictures of you in his shirts

-lots of pictures of you doing super mundane tour things

-pictures of you in his bunk, or with your back to the camera as you slip on one of his shirts back stage, pictures of you going or coming off stage, pictures of the two of you exploring cities

-he’s not shy about the love fam

-all the love

-also the fandom doesn’t get enough videos of him singing so imagine just posting videos of the two of you duet-ing both of your songs

-and he’s still doing interviews and of course everyone wants to know about the two of you so whenever you come up in an interview, he messages you after to let you know that it happened and then you have to wait for it to be posted to see what he said about you

-he’s the sweetest muffin

-like he gushes about you

-the others all being so happy for him because he’s had difficulties finding relationships that work in the past but you two fit so well

-lots of post concert sex because he is so yummy playing the drums

-and he fucking knows it too

-i know i finish everything i write by saying im a slut for it, but seriously, i am such a slut for Ashton

#ashton irwin #ashton irwin smut #ashton irwin x reader #5sos #5sos x reader #5 seconds of summer #hc #softforcal #5sos!opener #opener x ashton #5sos tour #ashton irwin hc #ashton irwin x reader smut

445 notes · View notes

shadowtearling · 6 years ago

Text

NOVEMBER 2018 — This was a reeeeeaaallllyy good month, quantity- and quality- wise. I found myself genuinely enjoying the books I was reading, which is a relief after a shit year thus far tbh. It’s like I remembered to have feelings! Wow! I’m human. Also a crybaby. So many tissues...

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

I was so nervous going into this because it’s so beloved, and nothing sucks more than being disappointed by a widely loved book like this (plus I already told myself I was never going to touch this series LOL @ past me, you fool). The first quarter was difficult to get into because there’s just so much information withheld from the reader, and, at one point, I started to become frustrated, feeling like an idiot for not knowing what the hell was going on. As the book went on, I found myself just wholly engrossed in Lyra’s character that not knowing became a secondary priority. It didn’t matter anymore that I knew absolutely nothing as long as I was on this journey to finding out with someone as witty, clever, and kind-hearted as Lyra. I was rooting for her the whole way through and was genuinely panicking when she was in danger. The second half is definitely much better than the first just because it feels less like fumbling around in the dark. Her parents are freaks. Bear dad for the win. Also, that ending... how she just gonna do That? girl.. Gonna try to read the rest of the series whenever that happens lol

My Plain Jane by The Lady Janies (Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows)

This was so. much. fun. I was reading this at a Barnes and Noble, while sat near this group of old men (who don’t know each other) talking about who knows what, and laughing out loud every few pages. (One of them finally got fed up after a few minutes and asked me what I was reading—I was literally holding the cover up, but I digress—and I struggled to explain that this is a Jane Eyre retelling full of nagging ghosts. How can such a Serious Novel™ possibly have a laugh-out-loud retelling? It works (but only because they throw every single fact out the window). If you really love Jane Eyre and Charlotte Brontë, this may not be the book for you. They mischaracterize both women, and while I didn’t mind, others might. This is also a pretty straightforward retelling of the novel in that the very basic structure is there, but I found that I kept turning the page because I wanted to know how exactly they would deviate from the original storyline. I really wasn’t disappointed. I especially love the Rochester shade. :)

It’s Not Like It’s a Secret by Misa Sigiura

It’s not like it’s a secret that I don’t like this book. I really just talked this to death. The first half was going okay, but Sana, the main character, was really bland and had no real passion or interest that gave her character dimension. Oh, and there’s a million cheating plotlines that were resolved terribly. Find you a better book. Read my lengthy review (in which spoilers are involved).

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

I didn’t mean to love this as much as I do. I was scared about it at first, wondering if I’ll love it more or less than Uprooted and terrified that either outcome would be true. Thankfully, I love this differently to its predecessor. I think Uprooted is just so special to me in a way where I felt like it was the only companion I was afforded when I had no one else. I read that book during a really terrible time in my life lol. But this one reminded me why I love reading, after a whole year of feeling terrible that I couldn’t find it in me to give a shit about any of the books I was picking up. It’s the perfect atmospheric book, and I definitely picked it up at the right time, with the cold just beginning to settle into my bones. I fell in love with Miryem and Irina, and it makes sense because they’re mirrors of each other. What I love most, probably besides the ending, is how none of the characters are willing participants of their fairy tale, but they’re clever enough to know how to work the system so they at least survive it. And survive they did. I also loved how every perspective felt distinctly different from the last that I never found myself wondering from who I was reading. One more thing, Mirnatius is very dear to my heart. (His character, though, is questionable because he’s the only dark skinned person in the story, and he’s also literally the devil. I don’t know how to process that because I know he’s also seen later on as a victim, but like.... still... lol)

REREAD! We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

I love this book a lot. I was feeling all sorts of feelings, and I wanted to let some of that emotion out. I still think this handles grief and loneliness so well. I think because I’m in a different place than I was when I first read this, especially regarding to those two things, my reaction and takeaway is extremely different. First read, I was mostly dealing with the suffocating weight of loneliness. Now, I picked this up specifically because I’m grieving, differently from Marin, but nonetheless grieving. Who knows, maybe when I read this again in the future, I’ll once again be in a different place and I get something completely different from the first two times. This book is great for any occasion, though. If you want a good cry, for whatever reason, this is It.

The Beast is an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale

I enjoyed this book, but I doubt this is something I’ll remember a year from now. I liked the writing, simple but compelling. I thought that Alys’s apathy was done really well. I was caught off guard and cried a little (I’m sensitive, Aubrey), but I love that. This is a really slow book, with a whole lot of nothing happening. I like books like that, especially because this made up for its slowness with the atmosphere. My problem is that the ending was rushed, and it became extremely obvious that Alys was not a character who does things; rather, things happen To Her. The other issue is the love interest/story: I don’t mind insta-love as long as we see relationship growth within the novel. Because of time jumps, we almost never see the two have moments together that weren’t for the sake of the plot. It was hard to believe, then, that devotion they had for each other when they barely interacted on the page. It’s Average.

Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

I tried talking about this twice, and twice I cried. I’m really just the snot machine this month, huh? Okay but seriously, I am genuinely so thankful to Kelly for writing Filipino characters in her books. I am a whole ass adult crying about representation in a middle grade novel because that’s how much I needed it. Much like The Land of Forgotten Girls, there’s not really a plot. This is more character-driven, filled with stories of everyday magic and the power of friendship. My favorite part is Virgil’s relationship with his grandmother that reflected my relationship with my grandmother, even though the two ladies are vastly different from one another. ALSO, if you’d like a book with a really wonderful deaf/HoH rep, this is your friend. Valencia was a delightful character to read from.

Ajax Penumbra, 1969 by Robin Sloan

Forgettable but fun! I like learning about Mr. Penumbra’s origin story, and I would be glad to read more of him were there more. This was too short, imo, because Sloan introduced some interesting new things to this world that had great potential (particularly the bookstore and its previous storerunners) and weren’t given enough time to fully develop. As with the book, I really won’t remember this by the time the new year rolls around. It was fun while it lasted.

#wrap up #wrap up 2018 #2018 #booklr #bookish #readingwu #readingwu 2018

15 notes · View notes

booksaroundtheworld · 6 years ago

Text

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

3.5 STARS I have never once read a book about a girl like me - a Persian girl with immigrant parents who feels out of place. When I read YA books, I scrounge around, clinging onto anything remotely middle eastern. It was nice to, for once, be totally in tune with the culture I was reading and not have to be like oh that’s kind of like what Persians do! because everything in this book is what Persians do. And for that fact alone I want to thank Tahereh Mafi. Her book wasn’t perfect (quite honestly I had a lot of problems with it) and there were also a lot of things I didn’t relate to (for one, I don’t wear a scarf), but she gave me a Persian character. And that alone means the world. A Very Large Expanse of Sea is about Shirin, a 16-year-old Persian, Muslim girl who, in addition to facing the general awfulness that is high school, also has to put up with the racist and bigoted assholes at her school that subject her to constant microaggressions and actual aggression. Her life turns around, however, when she and her brother finally fulfill a lifelong dream of forming a breakdancing crew and she meets Ocean, a boy in her biology class that actually seems interested in her in a non-creepy, fetishy type way. I get what Tahereh Mafi was trying to do with this book. I also wonder how much of this book is based on her own experience going to high school in the US, because if it was, that’d truly be awful. I’m lucky that I never really experienced any racism growing up here, and neither have my parents. Like many other children of immigrants, I was just asked questions about my “weird” food or my “dangerous” home country, which, while obviously racist, have become so normal that at this point I barely blink twice. That being said, I think that Tahereh missed the mark in a couple of ways. One, she made some of the students so obviously racist and bigoted that they seemed like caricatures of real people. While I don’t doubt that each of these experiences happened to some Muslim girl at some point in time, the sheer amount of comments and incidents and general backlash to her relationship with Ocean seemed excessive. And on that note, my biggest problem was Shirin’s relationship with Ocean. I don’t have any problem with Shirin’s physical relationship with Ocean. It may seem “un-Muslim” to some people but I don’t find that to be true at all. For one, Persians as a whole are a different type of Muslim than other Muslims. Despite the fact that Iran is the only country where all women are required to wear a hijab, as a whole we aren’t very Muslim. There is actually a joke that we’re too Muslim for non-Muslims and not Muslim enough for Muslims, alienating us from both groups. And of the other Muslim girls I know, many of them are like Shirin, going out with boys and not really following the whole “no touching” thing. No, my problem was first with the insta-love. Shirin and Ocean probably had like one conversation before he was in love with her, and she followed suit shortly. Their conversations were also so…. weak. Half of it was Shirin educating Ocean on something, and the other half was him saying “Wow” or “I feel pressure from my family” or “I want to see you”. See her to do what exactly? Stare at her and say she’s beautiful? Okay lol. I also disliked the way she treated him. I get why she was so against being in a relationship with him, but she was so bitchy about it. Realistically speaking, I just don’t get why Ocean was so adamant on being in a relationship with her based off that one conversation and then be in such anguish whenever it didn't work out. Especially after she would ignore him for a week and then just say “Hi” like nothing happened. The fact that their relationship went from 0 to 100 in a matter of what felt like days was something I just couldn’t get behind. Then there was the issue that within a couple months of them hanging out, he was willing to throw away his whole life for her. The level of idiocy and lack of communication displayed by YA couples always astounds me. Furthermore, once she and Ocean started hanging out, everything became about him. Nothing more about the Persian experience, barely anything about breakdancing (which I feel, as a whole, wasn’t talked about enough), nothing about school or making new friends - it was just Ocean. I’m also always so annoyed when a female character only has male friends because apparently, girls are too bitchy to be friends with. Idk. Tahereh tried to fix that in the end, but too little too late. I also think that Tahereh introduced characters only to forget about them later. Navid’s friends and Yusef had great potential, but she included them only to raise Shirin’s self-esteem, and then didn’t include them again. The last thing I want to say is about the end. We resolved things way too quickly and I was left feeling profoundly unsatisfied. The last chapter literally felt like Tahereh was like alright well it’s time for this to end let me just put together a few summarizing sentences and leave it at that. After I had to read pages and pages of empty dialogue between Ocean and Shirin, I kind of expected something more than what we got. I’m so torn about A Very Large Expanse of Sea. While I love Persian representation and am grateful Tahereh decided to write about her own experiences, she ruined it with a dramatic romance that didn’t really need to be there. Not to be that girl but do we really need a white man to save the day and ~open our eyes~? Probably not lol. Honestly, after the emotional rollercoaster that was the Shatter Me trilogy, I don’t really know why I was expecting something different, although I have to say that Tahereh’s decision to NOT include the frilly flowery language of Shatter Me was an excellent one. I don’t think this is an important book the same way The Hate U Give was, but I also know that Persian and Muslim representation is so little that even this small education is better than nothing. Ultimately, this isn’t a book that you have to read. But it is one that, despite all its issues, is one worth reading.

#a very large expanse of sea #tahereh mafi #book review

1 note · View note

jamesv-t · 4 years ago

Text

I follow too many football teams

Decided to sit down and compile a list of all the various football teams I'm following at the moment, across different leagues and countries, and note the reason I started supporting them as well as the extent to which I follow. I was surprised.

Arsenal WFC: started following the club on 4th July 2018, when they signed my favourite footballer, Tabea Kemme. Bought a season ticket and attended as many games as my work pattern would allow; from the first game I was amazed by Dutch striker Vivianne Miedema, the best forward I'd seen play since Robert Taylor's purple patch in 1999. Despite missing all 4 of Tabea's appearances for the club, I bought a shirt with her name and number on it which I've worn to every game possible, home and away. The last match I saw in person was a 4-0 win at Brighton back in January (easier to get to than home games, so of course I'd go) during which I realised that despite Tabbi's injury worries, I was in deep enough to care about the other players. This turned out to be prescient as two days later she retired from playing. Thanks to the FA Player, I can watch (almost) every match streamed live to my tablet.

Matches seen: 5 home, 5 away (Lewes, Brighton [Amex], Crawley, Spurs [new White Hart Lane], Brighton)

Shirts: 1 - 2018/2019 home shirt with Kemme 22 on the back.

Gillingham FC (mens): Where it all began. Attended my first game against Doncaster Rovers in April 1995, taken by my dad and granddad. The Gills won 4-2, my younger brother and I had room enough to chase each other around the terrace. Since then I've experienced nauseating lows, dizzying highs, and creamy middles. As of 21st May 2019 my support for the club has been on hold - they appointed Steve Evans - a man who had previously convicted of tax evasion and falsifying accounts, a man who had previously sought to incite Gillingham staff and players whenever his teams played against the Gills, and an all round nasty piece of work - as manager of the first team. I could not in good conscience support a side managed by him, in person or remotely, so I packed away my shirts/scarf/badges, muted the club's social media accounts, and my Saturday afternoons were a lot more fun as a result. He's still at the club, they're currently fourth in the League One table, but this summer they cut loose the associated women's side, so I don't know if I'll ever go back.

Matches attended: bloody loads. In the three figures, easily. Had a season ticket one year. Attended at least 1/3 of all games - home and away - in the promotion season linked above. Been going at least once a season for the past 20-odd years, mostly more than that. Away games at Crawley a few times (making it my joint second most visited stadium, apart from Priestfield and tied with Meadow Park), once at Spurs (old White Hart Lane), West Brom, Millwall (that was fun, got the tickets through work, ended up with the home fans, Gillingham got a last minute winner that we couldn't celebrate), Charlton twice, a reserve game at Leighton Orient, the above linked game against Wycombe when we went down, strangely not Brighton though despite living here for nearly 10 years.

Shirts: had plenty over the years. I've still got the shirt we got promoted in with Thomson 27 on the back, signed by a number of the squad, somewhere. Currently I only have two - the 2009 promotion shirt because it looks pretty good, and the 2011 home shirt because of fond Football Manager memories!

Borussia Dortmund (mens): Over a decade ago I started a relationship with a German woman. In the getting to know you stage, I asked her what her nearest Bundesliga* club was. (My small talk has since improved. Slightly.) She replied "Dortmund", and I started following the club. I'm not saying that I'm responsible for the team's subsequent uptick in form - they won the league two seasons running after I visited the ground, adding the Pokal (cup) in the second season as well - but I'm not not saying that either. The availability of streams plus the free-flowing, attacking football made them an easy follow, especially at a time when Gillingham went 35 games without an away win in all competitions. I look forward to the club starting up a women's side next season, especially as they're starting from the bottom rather than expecting to be parachuted into the Frauen Bundesliga.

Matches: just the one so far in person, an entertaining 2-3 loss to Wolfsburg in December 2012.

Shirts: had a 2004 home shirt that was horrible material, very plasticky. Also have a really comfortable and stylish 2012 away shirt that I couldn't wear for a few years due to it having Hummels' name on - thankfully he's returned from his Bayern defection now. A Munich fan who stayed with us a couple of years ago found the whole thing hilarious.

*I'm glad I specified the country, as while she grew up nearly 100km from the Westfalonstadion, she was only 20km from FC Twente - but it was complicated enough explaining to people in the early days why I was following a German team, and I think trying to tell them I was following a Dutch side due to my German partner might've been far too much!

BSG Chemie Leipzig (mens): Dortmund aren't the only German side I've hitched my wagon to, but they're the most high profile. Faced with an indefinite period of time with nothing to do during lockdown, and growing tired of my other FM careers, I set about giving myself a challenge. Due to the high praise dished out by the media to Red Bull Leipzig, a team funded by the energy drink conglomerate who bought their way up the league, I decided my challenge would be to - in the words of Sir Alex Ferguson - "knock them off their f**king perch. I wanted to make another team the biggest side in Leipzig. Scouting around the Wikipedia page for the city, and aided by this thoroughly informative Reddit post, I settled on Chemie due to their political leanings and colour scheme. Six real-life months and a dozen fictional seasons into the career, I'm one Bundesliga and one Pokal away from equalling the energy drink's trophy haul. I've taken an interest in the real life side as well, languishing away in the fifth tier of German football (an unholy hell of regional leagues and village sides).

Matches: not yet. One day I'll stand on the terrace of the Alfred-Kunze-Sportpark, Freiberger in hand, cheering on the side. But the raging pandemic that brought me to start the career is, ironically, preventing me from properly indulging.

Shirts: none, as I rarely wear football shirts these days. But this t-shirt is pretty cool.

Gillingham WFC: Simple thing here - when the side were cut adrift from the parent men's club as part of a cost-saving measure in the summer, I decided to go with the team who were not managed by an odious berk. I'm kooky like that.

Matches: one so far, a pre-season friendly away at Lewes last summer. I was the lone Gills fan. There were more dogs supporting the home side than humans cheering on the away team.

Shirts: none, as the club have switched to red after no longer being under the men's umbrella.

Valur (women's team): Some of these have deep, meaningful reasons behind my follow of them. Others, less so. In the early part of 2019 a friend of mine and his Czech girlfriend moved to Reykjavik to live for a bit. We visited them and were surprised to see floodlights from their balcony. Their flat overlooked a football ground, where Valur play, and so it was a simple thing to follow their side to feel closer to Paul and Barbora. It was weird seeing Valur's main striker, Elin Metta, posting Insta stories of playing with the same friendly cat that Paul does!

Matches: just the one streamed so far, due to a dearth of matches available online, but Valur won!

Shirts: christ don't give me ideas.

ACF Fiorentina Femminile: And if you thought that was a tenuous reason...last month we took a tour around Italy, stopping in Rome, Florence, Bologna and Venice. I wanted to get something football related to remember the trip by. Venice was out - I was going to the Venezia store anyway to pick up a few things for a mate who had guided them to glory on Football Manager, and didn't want to tread on his toes. Rome was unsuccessful - Lazio's kits have been cool in the past, but their right-wing fans aren't for me, and Roma had some lovely coloured merch but nothing that grabbed me. A surprise heavy shower sent us scurrying into the Fiorentina club shop, a place I'd earmarked to visit anyway, and a lovely flattering jacket jumped off the shelf at me. (It helped that it was reduced from €100 to €30!) Why the women's side over the men's? Women's football is just much more fun!

Matches: just a 3-1 loss to Sassuolo a few weeks ago. Who loses to a Phil Collins single?!

Shirts: no shirts, but a sexy jacket.

Ashwood City FC (mens, fictional): Ashwood City are Kent's only Premier League side. One of the founder members of the Football League, they've never been relegated from the Premier League. They're also fictional, the main subject of football podcast The Offensive. Now in its third season, it's been a weekly highlight, weaving current football events into an ongoing story arc. It's occasionally sweary, frequently hilarious, and clearly written by someone who's lived in Kent judging by the accurate jabs at Kentish people/Gillingham! It also used an entire episode as set-up for a reference to the 1992 Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner film The Bodyguard, which still frequently makes me chuckle at random moments.

Matches: tricky, as they don't exist. Like Steve Evans' moral compass.

Shirts: nope.

#football

1 note · View note

saranel · 7 years ago

Photo

Tagging @mags-duranb, who asked (thank you for the interest btw, it was super sweet. Also, I love your art <3333) :) I was gonna make a post anyway, but I wanted it to be a timeline photoset hence why I’m not replying directly.

I thought it was about time I gave you guys a nice long update on the purrito, since we have now officially reached 2 months of age as of yesterday!

To answer the requester’s question, SHE is doing just fine xD That’s right, when we visited the vet about a week ago for the second round of shots, we got visible proof (or rather lack thereof) that we have a little girl in our hands. This was only a couple of days before I made an insta post announcing the official name, because of course it was. Way to embarass me, kiddo.

So I’d like to introduce you all to Buffy, because hello, so dang pretty, look at that last pic that was taken only yesterday, and she’s also pretty fearless and resourceful, though not necessarily highly intelligent xD Not a vampire slayer, but an ankle slayer for sure. I generally post updates on her every couple of days on instagram.

Oh, and, just as a final note on the whole name thing, yes, we still call her purrito from time to time, as well as a thousand other nicknames ;)

So! On to the update (and an extra... suprise?¿¿??) below the cut:

Buffy’s issues with food have gotten a lot better. She used to be vicious about meals, meowing and pleading hours before her feeding time. At first we thought we were perhaps feeding her too little, so we followed the general advice everyone gives re: how much to feed kittens, which is to say we just let her eat her fill. She did not stop until her belly was so distended I had to physically drag her bowl away. So we decided to slowly increase her intake whenever we saw she started to get skinny. Which, given her Longcat status, was so. damn. OFTEN. Seriously, if she looks malnourished in some pics, I assure you she’s not. She just grows and grows like a damn weed.

Lately, however, since her weight has reached a healthy plateau, she’s gotten much better about food. No screaming, no scratching, and she doesn’t really complain before feeding time anymore. She still follows us whenever we dare visit the kitchen, but hey, it could be worse xD

Something I’ve never mentioned here is that when we first found her, her whiskers were very short and stubby, which we originally attributed to her being very young. But eventually, we noticed that not only were her brow whiskers much longer, there was a lone whisker next to the stubby ones that was regular-sized, and the shorter ones looked almost... manually cut, if that wakes sense. A bit of research led us to find out that sometimes, littermates may do this to a runt (bite them off) when they’re competing for mom’s milk, which... not only makes my heart ache for our little buddy, it starts to put her whole attitude toward food into perspective.

Long story short, we were prepared for the possibility that she may forever have issues with food, but she’s been improving constantly.

Other than the food issue, Buffy has grown into a happy, healthy kitty :) She’s up to date on her shots, and we took her to the vet only last week where we got nothing but good news.

She’s very attached to us, especially me since I work from home and basically see her all day, and though she doesn’t complain and yowl when she’s left alone, she is super cuddly when we return home.

Given her age, she’s incredibly playful to the point that we get more exhausted playing with her than she does xD She likes climbing all over the place and exploring everything within reach, always looking for new ‘lairs’ and stuffing her butt into every nook and cranny, she loves to chew on cables (which has led us to do some highly creative concealing) and often engages in what we call ‘Crab Dancing’ when she gets excited/territorial during playtime:

( I *****MAY***** have edited this. Slightly. For my own amusement. It’s kinda soporific if you stare at it for too long)

We were glad to see she takes to new (human) acquaintances very well, and she hasn’t (yet) started wreaking havoc in our apartment. She, has, however, gotten very bitey during playtime, and it’s ALWAYS playtime, so we’re trying to encourage her to bite on toys instead of our fingers: it’s a sloooooooooow process. There’s also the possibility that she’s teething a bit early so she’s just constantly looking for relief. We’ve bought her a few special chew toys that should arrive shortly, and hopefully they’ll help. Even if it’s still early for her, hey, new toys, amirite? xD

Still, she never lashes out to us in anger/anxiety, not even when we gave her a bath where she was visibly distressed (yes, I know it’s not necessary for cats, but we’d never cleaned her with anything but pet wipes since we rescued her; she needed at least one) and yet she never tried to scratch or bite us. TL;DR she’s mischievous, but not aggressive outside of playtime.

She’s super long for her age and will most likely be a pretty long kitty when she reaches maturity. Seriously, y’all, Longcat 2.0:

( USB stick for size comparison, lol )

I’m still bummed my theory that she was part Van doesn’t seem to be true (in my defense, she has something very similar to the characteristic Van spot on her nape!), but hey, less shedding xD She also has a permanent bald spot on her spine now (as we knew she would), where the vet had given her that shot that saved her life back when she got sick.

She’s a sweet little doofus, who thinks she’s really a parrot and likes to perch on our shoulder, and meows the whole time I’m in the kitchen because how dare someone in this household eat when she’s not eating too, and when I ignore her grey-green supplicating eyes she just curls up over my foot while I wash the dishes, and she constantly gets tangled up in our legs and waits for us behind closed doors, and she’s a friggin’ Duracell battery who does.not.tire, and she tosses half the litter out when she digs, and she loves to take naps with us cuddled right over our chests so our heartbeat can lull her to sleep, and we love her.

Here’s to the next two months :)

Size comparison below, using my hand in both pics. Then and now :)

Addendum:

Edit: You can keep on reading, but the story has a sad ending, unfortunately :(

The above was the post I had prepared and was going to post yesterday on Buffy’s 2 month ‘birthday,’ so I’ve left it intact. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t add this latest development:

For a while now, we’ve been discussing how to deal with Buffy’s inexhaustible energy levels, because we do have other responsibilities, all of whom also require a good night’s sleep, which as you may imagine, has been a bit rare lately. There’s this saying that the only one who can keep up with a kitten is another kitten, but we were very reluctant to adopt another one, since we’re currently dealing with an imminent move and we weren’t sure if we could even afford it.

Well...................

I found and rescued Buffy. My partner found and rescued this little guy yesterday:

Five things here:

1) NO THIS WAS NOT PLANNED THIS IS SO BEYOND UNPLANNED I’M WFSJKLSDFJSKDHFSDKJ

2) MY PARTNER DIDN’T EVEN FIND HIM IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD HE WAS VISITING HIS MOM ASJKFDHLSADGHFDDFAS

3) WE SERIOUSLY DON’T KNOW IF WE’RE KEEPING HIM. SERIOUSLY.L

4) YEAH I KNOW YOU CAN’T REALLY SEE MUCH LMAO EVEN HIS WHISKERS ARE BLACK JFC BUT I DIDN’T WANNA SCARE HIM SO I DIDN’T USE FLASH

5) 31 FUCKIN YEARS WITH NO KITTENS AND NOW TWQO, TWO KITTENS WTFFFFFFFF ITS RAINING KITTENS PRAISE BE TO BASTET i guess?? wtffffffffff

*breathes into a paper bag*

I’m going to be even more reluctant to make any grand claims than I was when we found Buffy, because this little dude (this one is a dude, indeed) is in pretty bad shape. Though she’d been abandoned, Buffy was very clean and hale when we found her, even if she was a bit small and underfed.

This one though... poor little soot sprite is all skin and bones, he was flea-ridden until we took him to the vet, he’s filthy, he’s terrified and has a bum leg from some sort of accident. We didn’t even have a plan yesterday when my partner found him, but we figured since we had a lot of leftover milk powder and kitten pate from Buffy, we might as well feed up this little orphan.

It took some coaxing with a syringe, but he got a bit of milk down which got his appetite going and we were able to feed him some pate. He actually ate a fair bit, which is encouraging. We know for a fact he was abandoned by his mom, btw, she’s still roaming around the neighborhood but refusing to tend to him since he’s already older than 4 weeks (maybe 1,5 month old max). Just two weeks younger than Buffy. After he got some food down, we took him to our vet, who was reserved but cautiously optimistic even for the leg. He made us no promises, of course, and he advised we prepare ourselves for the possibility that he might not make it.

We’ve now had him for just under a day and he’s been improving. He was very scared at first, hissy when I went near him, and the first time I fed him at home, the new environment had stressed him out to the point that I had to use a syringe again to get him to eat. And yeah, we’ve had to keep him isolated ofc to protect Buffy (and him, omg, she’s literally twice his size in weight, no exaggeration, and most likely a social dunce with other kittes, she would destroy him). I’ll be able to give him a bath tomorrow afternoon after the 48hr clock on the flea medicine runs out, which is yet another reason we had to isolate him. Today, he’s been getting less and less reserved around me and he hasn’t needed to be force fed once, he’s been downing pate like no-one’s business. I weighed him earlier and found he’d gained about 40-50 grams, a number I offer cautiously as both weighings at the vet and today aren’t entirely accurate, because squirmy kitty. Still, he’s gained weight, even if only a little.

Buffy can tell something’s up, since we basically had to move her litterbox and feeding area and haven’t let her in that room since. It’s been... an adjustment xD But she bounces back admirably fast, she didn’t even bat an eyelash at the change; she’s just curious to discover what we’re hiding from her, obviously. She’s probably heard him meowing, too.

We honestly have no clue what we’ll do with him. Taking it one day at a time. He might not make it at all, and even if he does, he may never get along with Buffy, in which case we’ll have to give him away for both their sakes. I’m not gonna lie, money is a concern. Research tells me at their age and beyond the cost isn’t prohibiting, not even double that of a single cat. So if he doesn’t require any costly meds, we can afford him, especially since Buffy can now eat dry food (and so will he in a couple of weeks). This, again, is all hinging on a) him not having any serious, contagious illnesses, and b) him and Buffy getting along. In the long run, we know it would be way better for Buffy to have a companion to play and cuddle with, but we have to be realistic and prepare for the worst for now.

Soot sprite is a little cutie, he has the softest, most plaintive meow and there’s even hope for his little leg down the road (though honestly, that’s the last thing that concerns us; even in his current state, he’s perfectly mobile). His eyes, too, should get better with time if he grows healthier.

SO WE’LL SEE. RN I am beyond stressed and reserved, but also kinda hopeful. *sigh*

#cats #purrito #Buffy #<<<new tag lol #my actual show buffy tag is btvs #also #soot sprite #asks

26 notes · View notes

wildgrave · 8 years ago

Note

what do u love about ur friends

idk which one of ya sneaky bastards sent this but i’m not gonna complain b/c i will take any possible opportunity to gush about my friends.

update: this got entirely out of hand and i just wrote about like... everyone i talk to. if u talk just ctrl + f ur name (but don’t feel bad if you’re not in here b/c i’m doing this off the top of my head and can’t remember everyone!! also a lot of these are hs friends who don’t have tumblrs but u asked anon so)

i honestly love them all for different reasons tho!! i’m not going to tag everyone but: thanh is great for a straightforward answer & we have the same awful sense of humor which is basically 8 years of memes to reference (also she says no romo a lot which i find rly funny for some reason??). hannah is super loving and supportive and always looking out for me. jessie is wry and clever and honestly has every reason to get annoyed at me 24/7 but somehow doesn’t. whitten i talk to every day and is super rational about my problems which is helpful when i need solutions (also dank memes). gaby is great b/c we both have a lot of the same interests (feminism, art, fashion, shit-talking ppl, etc) and gets riled up about my problems which is great when i need someone to get angry with. colette also gets angry, usually angrier than me, about my problems and is the best person to offer to beat boys up (b/c i know if she gets drunk enough she will fight anyone). kathleen is great b/c we always end up doing something ridiculous and it’s fun and makes a good story. brooke is the fucking funniest person i have ever met and thinks she’s punk rock but is secretly boujee as fuck. amber also thinks she’s punk rock, but has the softest, purest heart of gold of anyone i’ve ever met (also she comes up with the most ridiculously hilarious ways to proposition me). claire and i can talk about absolutely anything and send each other close ups of pimples but also take nudes of eachother and honestly if thats not true friendship then what is?? sofie is honestly brilliant and always has clever comments to make and i’m lowkey in love with her to this day and i mean, if you’re not a little in love with your friends wyd?? mila is so sweet and i can have fun with her doing anything, like we don’t even need to go anywhere we can just have philosophical talks on my bed and it’s chill. sammy and i have only chilled irl once but she’s really quiet and nice but occasionally makes rly snarky comments about straight ppl which are hilarious. lucy is never on skype but when she is we have a fuckin field day and she’s so petty but like... in a funny way? i’ve only hung out with andie once (which i’m trying to change before she goes back to vegas) but she’s so into musical theatre and i love reading her tweets about it b/c i love how passionate she is! dylan makes awful decisions on the daily like... blowjob competition? rly dyn? and it’s so funny to hear about and he gives ridiculous but funny advice and is super australian and always says “bruv” which is super funny to me. jenna i’m p sure is going to be running the world in two years (also holy shit she’s graduating college?? my bb girl is growing up :’)). adja is so funny b/c i thought she was super by the rules in hs but now she’s a wild child. aidan (as in the senior in hs, not the one my age) sends me #relatable memes and even tho we don’t talk often it gets deep as shit when we do (but i lowkey don’t trust him b/c of his opinions of iron fist smh). allie is in my race & ethnicity class and is just nice all around and we DM eachother on twitter sometimes like ‘what was that awful presentation in class’). nick from polisci is so knowledgeable about politics but makes the issues funny w/o being offensive and shannon (also from polisci) dresses rly cute and we have fun conversations & the three of us have a funny group chat for our presentation. quinn is such a wannabe edgelord but is honestly so pure and a good friend. asmaa is the sweetest possible person and we always tease quinn together. ricky continously gives me a hard time about everything but in a funny way and patiently explains WoW lore to me. JT is also fun to play WoW with and makes me feel like a baby b/c he’s and old man. rebecca’s steadfast belief in drarry makes me smile and i love her writing. harri is one of my many wives and her snapchats are amazing (as are her boobs). kinzie i rarely talk to but i can still hit up sometimes like whats up bitch today i had sex while listening to wtnv. cassie, becca, and eleanor are all rly cool and super pretty and nice to chill with and i love their art and photography and general personalities. georgie gave me the sweetest poem and letter last summer when i was feeling down and we have similar aspirations and i’d love to work with her in my career sometime! marko and henry are married istg but anyway marko is such a genuine, honest person and henry is an amazing writer and i loved english with him and it’d make me happy if we were closer. lena is my protege and i am an awful mentor b/c i never see her since i graduated but she is my child. layla is the baddest bitch i have ever met, her nails are always amazing and we can be catty together and blast nicki minaj. sarah is so funny b/c everyone thinks she’s reserved and studious and stuff (and she kinda is) but once you get to know her she is the sassiest person you will ever meet. my sister and i fight sometimes over me stealing her clothes constantly but we bond over how our parents drive us up the wall and also she cooks a lot which means i can steal food. the entire volstovic cycle fandom (dani, scarlett, anna, crystal, etc) are all amazing creators of things and honestly an inspiration. rimsha is the hardest working person i have ever met and i love hearing about her succeed. brady is my fellow gay (tho tbh 90% of the ppl on this list are gay b/c we flock together) and i love him for his snarkiness. all the boys i sat at lunch with in high school (garrison, rex, arun, etc) are such memes but i didn’t realize how cool they were until we graduated and now i’m like, damn i should’ve paid them more attention even tho i saw them every day. my boyfriend is my friend and he’s the most politically active person i have ever met, and he’s such a dweeb, and he makes me smile whenever we’re together (even when i’m trying to be angry at him). feihong acts like a fuckboy but is pretty dang cool if i’m being honest; he’s rly dedicated to what he does. carly and i don’t talk but i appreciate her paintings and selfies and funny tweets from afar. morgan and i were at a fidlar concert once together and we both couldn’t survive the mosh pit (also her instagram captions are fuckin hilarious am i right or am i right?). kelly is a goddamn klepto but we always have fun together drinking coffee and talking about pens and i love and support her art and she does the same for mine. charlotte is chill and i miss just hanging out in her basement b/c she’s such a gemini but in a good way. the ppl i sit with on campus (sumaiya, alex, zuri, etc) are always having interesting convos and share food and it’s a good time. my cousin and her husband (nat and ron) are the most punk ppl in their 30s and they introduced me to the punk scene and i miss them b/c they moved back to kansas. shakey’s photography on insta makes me feel pensive and i want to go to philly just to meet her. miki i’m not super tight with but her writing is a+ and makes me cry and i love rping with her. rina is such a cool mutual and her art is dope. lea is also a cool chic and i love her hair and want her to bake my wedding cake. mousse is so nice to everyone. ellie and i only talk like twice a year at family parties but we can always dive back in and pick up where we left off. the ppl i party w (other aidan, jakob, justin, etc) are dumbasses (i use that term endearingly) but i’m 98% sure they’ve all carried me to the toilet when i’ve been puking my guts out at a party. marley was that friend that ended up going to yale and no one was surprised so i admire her success but also she was always kind to me and always asked how i was doing with my mental illnesses. renee and maria and i bonded over ib art and sga and generally being over-worked by our sponsor. alanna was another one of my proteges who i need to keep up with better b/c she’s badass and funny and has the best eyebrows ever. i don’t talk to sidney anymore but we went thru so much together and supported eachother a lot a few years ago and i still love em for that. eddie is such a dweeb, everytime i see him (which is a surprising amount considering he lives in miami) we act like nothing has changed and go at eachothers throats. rachel m & galen have both grown so so much since i met them and i’m proud of them. rachel s is so fun to talk about hoe things with and laugh at eachother. marco has the best finsta of anyone ever. danny and i talk over snapchat every so often (like every month or so) and we have the weirdest convos like?? let’s name your imaginary lizard. zamzam (from my creative writing class last semester) was super fun to hang out with when she came over and actually everyone in that class (xander, leah, olivia, will, etc) were excellent writers and hilarious and we all bonded. victor is such a bro honestly he’s funny and is very attentive (actually listens) and is fun sober or not. sandra i’ve known since i was a baby and never really talked to until recently but she’s so nice to talk to about small things. alyssa i stalk obsessively on goodreads b/c who else can read that much, istg girl you’re a cyborg (but like a pretty one). rp buds that i haven’t mentioned so far (mario, mackenzie, etc) i value a lot for their companionship and writing. there are tons of ppl from hs that i wish i had gotten to know better when i was there (julia, drea, tina, both erins, bridget, etc).

and yeah there are more ppl but those are mostly ppl i talk to at parties or dm occasionally or wish i was friends with but admire from afar. anyway. this got long. I JUST LOVE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!

#Anonymous

6 notes · View notes

pineapplesareunderrated · 8 years ago

Text

Best Minion Ever

Rhys meets sir Hammerlock and helps him repairs his arm while having a little chat.

Part 5 Part 7

Few years ago, Rhys accepted a job offer from some low-class bartender. The task was to clear the man’s basement where a pack of kolcavacks had settled. Kolcavacks were nasty animals. They had familiar features to rats, but they were bigger. Holy god, were they bigger. Normal kolcavack had a size of full grown pig, but those? They were like aggressive cows living underground. Rhys had to kill about a dozen of those creatures, and one crazed naked guy who lived there with them and whom the bartender conveniently forgot to mention. From what Rhys understood, the man came to a conclusion that he was a kolcavack and lived there with the animals for about a month or two. Rhys will never understand how the man didn’t die of infection after spending a week in that place, let alone two months. Needless to say, Rhys himself smelled like a shit after the job was finished and the scent wouldn’t leave him for next three days.

But Rhys would go and do that again. He would go and do that again twice, if it meant getting rid of the stupid, annoying, soul sucking robot who he was currently stuck to. For almost an hour in a row, Claptrap was going on about his morning routine and whenever it started to look like the tell-tale had finally come to its end, he would just add another part of the story, which was even worse than the previous one. Rhys had found out about so many nasty things robots could do, that he will have nightmares about it for another decade.

Just when Rhys was on the edge of screaming, the bullymong with Claptrap’s eye jumped down from the ice hill they were just passing by, accompanied by another five smaller bullymongs.

Oh, thanks god. Rhys thought, loading his gun and fired first shots into the animals. The smaller ones were quick to kill. As soon as Rhys managed to figure out their weak points it turned into a child’s play. But the big one? He was just refusing to give up even after the other bullymongs were long dead. Plus, he kept throwing ice on Rhys, which was really annoying and it made his attempts to aim unbelievably difficult.

All right. Time for a change of strategy. He turned on his ECHO eye and quickly scanned the situation. It showed Rhys a few frozen stones coming his way from the raging animal. Also, it brought his attention to a frozen cliff that was on the edge of falling. One good aimed shot and it will break and fall down. It was heavy enough for Rhys to weaken or maybe even defeat the animal. But first, Rhys needed to get the bullymong under it. First idea was to have Claptrap do it, but then he remembered that the unit was still missing his eye. It would take eternity to make him understand what he was supposed to do. And even longer to explain how to do it correctly. Rhys sighed. Playing a bait himself it was then. He quickly sprinted from his hideout behind some old Hyperion capsule that was conveniently placed there and jumped in front of the bullymong. “Hey! You! Overgrown monkey! I was wondering, what are you going to do for a face when the baboon wants his butt back?” He wasn’t that naive to think it was possible for the animal to understand him, but it didn’t even mater. His plan worked and now the enormous four-armed mutant was chasing after him. He didn’t stop when he aimed for the rock, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to run right under it when the massive piece of heavy frozen water fell on the big animal, leaving him trapped underneath it, conveniently the only thing left untouched was one of his right palms, that was still holding the robot’s eye. Rhys grabbed it victoriously, calling for the unit to come out. Claptrap didn’t leave him waiting for too long, before he happily approached Rhys, congratulating him for retrieving his eye.

“So, do you want me to get it back in there or…”

“Oh, no minion. This is a delicate brain operation. I would rather leave it to professionals.”

“You sure? I hate to break it to you Claptrap, but I don’t see many professionals running around here.”

“We will need only one on them. He lives nearby. Goes under the name Sir Hammerlock.”

Rhys was silent for a second, looking at Claptrap’s offered hand. “Are you positive you don’t want me to do it instead? I mean I don’t wanna boast too much, but I know my way around the tech pretty well. It wouldn’t be that difficult for me to just...”

“No thank you. Let’s go, Sanctuary awaits.”Claptrap grabbed Rhys’ hand without waiting for any response and dragged him up the hill. They didn’t have to walk for too long before stopping in front of a huge iron door. “Old Hyperion security.” Claptrap snorted. “Child’s play.” He jumped in front of the door. “Aaaand opeeeen!” There was a blue light scanning Claptrap’s whole structure before turning red.

Fakely positive woman’s voice came out of the door. “Unauthorized attempt. Locking doors.” With heavy thud two iron plates came out of the wool, sealing the doors against any intruders.

“Well.” Claptrap turned to face Rhys, after a second of just staring at the lock. “It was nice knowing ya. I’ve heard that getting eaten alive by bullymongs isn’t such a bad way to go.”

“Wait. What?”

“Here. Let me fix that.” Rhys heard Angel’s voice before the doors opened.“There. Perks of being an AI. I am connected into all of the network on Pandora.”

“Of course, you are.” Rhys mumbled under his chin. “Thanks Angel.”

“You are welcome.” She smiled. “It’s a long way to Sanctuary. Take anything you need.”

The room they just entered was filled with numerous ammunitions, few insta health and what was the most important thing of all, guns. There were in total three guns. Revolver, SMG and one sniper rifle. Rhys’ favourite kind of gun. Without thinking he throw away the old useless shotgun and quickly equipped the new weapons. Rhys took a couple of seconds to study his new sniper rifle. It wasn’t the best one he had ever seen, but it wasn’t the worst either. Surprisingly, none of the guns were Hyperion issued, but Dahl and Torgue. The sniper in particular was Dahl. However, there was a long reload speed, meaning that he had to wait a couple of seconds before he would be able to shoot again and there were only five slots for ammo. He was going to be reloading very often unless he manages to reconstruct it. Damn. Now he really wished he wouldn’t lose all his tools in the train explosion.

“Whenever you are ready, Vault Hunter.” Claptrap called, standing next to the door in classic steward position.

“Alright.” Rhys nodded. “Let’s go.”

This wasn’t the first time he used teleport but still… Rhys will never get used to the feeling of his body being shattered into million tiny pieces and spread through the air just to be rebuilt again into the chosen destination. He couldn’t poop properly for at least two weeks after each teleporting trip.

When they finally “landed” they were standing in a land that was almost identical to Windshear Waste. Only with slightly less snow and more stones.

Once again, his ECHO beeped and once again it was Handsome Jack’s voice coming out of it. But this time it wasn’t a private conversation like before, but a broadcast meant for all people on Pandora who had their ECHO communicator with them. Meaning, for every single one. “Attention, people of Pandora! Handsome Jack here, offering a million bucks to whomever brings me the head of the Vault Hunter who just arrived in Liar’s Berg. Oh, and I’m still offering a reward for Roland, the mass-murdering leader of the Crimson Raiders. Good hunting, bandits!” Bitches.

The ECHO went off only for a second, before it caught another frequency. This one surely wasn’t meant for Rhys’ ears, but since the bandit who was now speaking didn’t know how to properly work with those things, his message ended up broadcast into the whole Liar’s Berg. “A million bucks? All right boys – this is Capitan Flynt. I want you to find that Vault Hunter and bring him to me! NOW!”

“Great.” Rhys moaned. “That’s just what I needed. And million bucks? Seriously? There were awards ten times bigger on my head from people who didn’t own a half of what Handsome Jack has.” Shaking his head, Rhys started to walk forward, dragging Claptrap behind him. It didn’t take long before they arrived to the lock gates of some small town. Behind them, Rhys saw a movement. Armed and bored looking man was walking in the middle of the residence, SMG in his hand, head in the sky. A watch. The brunet realized. He kept searching the area and spotted at least five more armed bandits walking around the place, chatting with each other. One of them was lying on the ground, leaning against a wall, head rested on his shoulder. He was either deep asleep or dead. Rhys would prefer the second option. Six outside. There might be more of them in the buildings. Rhys begun to plan his strategy. He could take out at least two of them with his sniper rifle before they spot him, but the sound of gunfire will lead out those who are in the buildings. Maybe if he used a garnet, he could…

His thinking process got interrupted by a sound of rowing animals.

“Bullymongs!” One of the bandits screamed, pointing out what was so painfully obvious. None of them hesitated in loading their guns and sending their bullets into the animals’ hard fur. But they were all idiots and none of them was aiming for the weak spots, instead they were just randomly shooting in the air, probably hoping for the animals to just run into the bullets. What a waste of ammo. Another four bandits ran out of the buildings, joining their teammates in the fight. All Rhys had to do was to wait and enjoy the show. After all the animals were defeated, only two bandits were left standing. Rhys had them already focused on their heads with his sniper rifle. Two clear shots were all there was needed for the town to become “of bandits and bullymongs free".

“Vault Hunter… Can you hear me?” Rhys jumped at the sound coming from a near old radio. “Oh good, the ancient thing is still working. My name is Sir Hammerlock. Thank you for clearing the town from bandits. And you brought Claptrap?! Well isn’t that…lovely. I am in the house with the large satellite on its roof. Let me just turn off the electric fence.”

Rhys headed through the town to the furthest building. “Please, Vault Hunter, let Claptrap go first.” The brunet stopped at the request, unsure why was it that this Sir Hammerlock wanted the unit to go before him. But then he noticed an electricity sparks on the gate. It’s still on?

Apparently, the unit didn’t notice, heading towards the fence. “I know Hammerlock very well. Me and him go way back. We are like a …” A sound of electricity spreading through metal spread across the empty city and Claptrap fell on his back.

“My sincerest apologies, Vault Hunter, but every time Claptrap speaks I feel my brain cells committing a suicide one by one.” Sir Hammerlock was coming from the now unlocked gate, smiling apologetically towards Rhys.

“Yeah, I can relate to that.” The Vault Hunter nodded, studying Hammerlock’s looks. He was a tall, slim guy in his mid-fortieth, dressed in the kind of clothes that archaeologists would wear. He had fancy glasses for only one eye. Classic. But what really got Rhys’ attention was his arm. It was a metallic prostatic, but his looked way older and less effective than the one Rhys owned.

“Hmm. This unit is missing his eye. You don’t happen to have it on you, do you.”

“Actually…Yeah. Here.” Rhys handed him Claptrap’s eye, using his robotic arm.

“Oh, would you look at that.” Sir commented when he spotted Rhys’ prostatic. “Looks like I found another member of fake limbs wearing club.”

“Guess you are right.” Rhys laughed, watching the man as he kneeled next to the unconscious unit. “Which type is it?”

“The basic one. Nothing compared to what you got.” Sir chuckled, pushing the eye into the robot’s socket with maybe too much strength for a delicate brain surgery.

“You know.” Rhys ran a hand through his hair. Damn, he will never get rid of that habit. “I could improve it for you, if you want.”

“What do you mean?” The man looked away from whatever he was doing on the robot’s head to face Rhys.

“When I got this,” Rhys pointed at the limb, “it was in the same shape as yours. But I made some improvements on it.” Sir didn’t respond. He just kept looking at Rhys with raised eyebrow. “What I am saying is that I can make it more flexible or maybe stronger? Depends on which you prefer. It’s not that hard, really, when you know what you are looking for.”

“And how much would that cost me?” Hammerlock was watching Rhys with stoned poker face.

“Cost? Oh, well…” Right. The only Vault Hunter who wouldn’t ask for money before doing anything. That’s Rhys for ya. “Well, I could use a shield? I lost mine when the train exploded.”

Rhys jumped as Sir Hammerlock unpredictably pushed on the eye one last time and it with a laud cracked turned on, blinked a couple time and Claptrap was functioning again. “Yeeaah I am back. And you, Vault Hunter are even better looking than I remember.”

Oh, god he is talking again.

“Correct me if I am wrong, Vault Hunter.” The man in archeologic clothes continued. “You want a shield for repairing my hand.”

“I mean…what I suggested was that…”

“That’s absolutely brilliant.” Hammerlock who was kneeling the whole time now jumped up facing Rhys with wide smile. “It’s unbelievably difficult task to find someone who knows his way around mechanical limbs in this area, and doesn’t cut your throat right after you pay him for the job.”

“Heh. I guess I know what you mean.” Rhys smiled, remembering that most of local population were mostly bandits and wild animals.

“We can do it right now, if you don’t have anything better to do.”

“Sure. Do you have any equipment that I could use? I lost mine when the train exploded.”

“I suppose I do. Come with me. It’s in this house.”

“Is the Vault Hunter going to do something with your lame looking arm?”

“The lame looking arm just fixed your ungrateful eye, but it can also break it without a problem. So, I would recommend you to remain silent while the Vault Hunter here is going to do his job.”

“Alrighty then. Don’t let me distract you. I will just wait he-” Sir Hammerlock didn’t wait for Claptrap to finish his sentence before shutting the door behind him.

“Ah, the robot will be my death one day.” Hammerlock sighed. “I don’t really have many tools because you see, aside from guns, most things on Pandora are barely impossible to find.”

Rhys quickly scanned the room. It was small and dark. Didn’t really make the impression of a room that has been inhabited by someone for a longer period of time. There were some personal stuff lying around, like bags filled with clothes, some equipment probably used for archaeology or something? Rhys wouldn’t know.

“The working table is over there.” Sir pointed at an iron piece of furniture. Rhys nodded, sitting on one of the wooden chairs that were next to the table. “Give me a moment, I will go get an equipment that you can use. Would you care for a cup of coffee when I am at it?”

“Yes please. With milk and sugar.”

The man nodded murmuring something about the first Vault Hunter who puts a sugar in his coffee. Sir Hammerlock disappeared into the other room, giving Rhys more time to look around. He noticed a frame with a picture of a young pretty lady dressed in a blue coat. Her skin had the same shade as Mr’s Hammerlock’s. He also noticed some other familiar features like the shape of her nose and the distance between her eyebrows. She was looking at the photograph with strict expression in her ice blue eyes.

“Ah, Aurelia, my sister. Terrible woman. She punched a puppy once. Said she wanted to know how it would sound like.” Hammerlock said, holding a tool box in one hand, and plate with two cups in the other.

“She looks familiar.” Rhys mumbled.

“Well. She is a Vault Hunter. You might have heard of her. She likes to call herself the Baroness. Describes her quite well, I would say.”

Baroness. That’s right. Rhys had the honour to meet her in one of the bars on Eden 4. But he’d never spoken to her. He only managed to overhear her dialogue with one guy, who probably hired her to do some job for him and didn’t want to pay her for it afterwards. So, she froze his neck. Just the neck. She turned all the meat, all the muscles into one big piece of ice and watched him as he gasped for air on the floor, blood running out of his nose. His face turned grotesquely purple and his swollen lips gained a weird shade of blue. Rhys heard her laugh as the whites of the man’s eyes turned red and begun to bleed, wheezing out his last breath. “Nope. Never heard of her. Let’s take a look at the arm, shall we?”

Sir Hammerlock nodded, sipping the drink out of his cup, and moved to sit on the other side of the table. Rhys opened the bag with his equipment. It was nothing special. The basic stuff you can find in everyone’s garage, but it will do just fine.

“So, tell me.” Rhys started, while opening the metal cover to see how the basic structure of the hand looked like. “How did you and Claptrap meet?”

“Oh well, it happened a while back. Short after Handsome Jack turned off the whole claptrap product line.” Sir Hammerlock started to tell the story, eyes locked on Rhys’ working fingers. “Well, almost the whole product line. I have been here for a while before that, studying bullymongs and other animals, when I saw a Hyperion convoy heading to the long abandoned Vault Hunter’s hideout. I noticed they were dumping some old robots’ parts in there before, so I went to check if there was something useful this time.” He went silent for a while, watching as Rhys played with the joints. “It was sad. To see so many of the robots, just lying there. I was never really a fan of the units. They were all kinda annoying and only making things worse everywhere they were employed, but still. Seeing them like that? Just didn’t seem right.” Another silence, only interrupted by Rhys’ working fingers. “Then I noticed a light in one of the unit’s eye. As if still fighting for life. It made a great impression on me. So, I brought him here. Repaired him and let him live here with me for a while. Before he decided that life with me is too boring and went to see the bandits. I haven’t seen him so often ever since.”

“Why would he want to go to bandits?”

“Oh, that’s a wonderful question my friend. But I worry that I am not the right person to ask. You might wanna talk to our robotic companion about it.”

Rhys sighed. “I guess. Well it will have to wait after I finish your arm. Do you by any chance have some Pagani Huayra bolts lying around?

***

It’s been more than five hours after he made his announcement about the price on Rhys’ head and still no respond. Those idiots on Pandora have only one job! Get him the head of the pretty Vault Hunter. One Vault Hunter! And he even offered to pay them for it. Honestly, after everything he had done for them, they should trip over themselves when it comes to returning him a favour.

Jack turned away from the photo of mentioned Vault Hunter. It was now set as a wallpaper on his computer screen. For the sake of irony of course.

He needs to distract himself away from him. Or he will go mad and break something–or someone–again.

“Meg!” Jack yelled into the microphone knowingly scaring the shit out of his young secretary.

The respond came–as always–immediately. “Yes, sir?”

“I feel like shopping. Tell me sweetheart, what’s the most expensive thing on the market right now?”

#choke on it #borderlands #rhack #fanfic #rhys #Handsome Jack

4 notes · View notes

rachelsmithson · 7 years ago

Text

The Best Friends and the Half-girlfriend

No this is not a story about a three-some.

Helllooooo ladies, boy do I have stories and gossip to share with you. Scandalous tales, only the best, of course. But god where to start...

So I’ve been loving my new life down here in Miami. Seriously, this city has done its work to earn the name “The Magic City”. It is magical, in quite a fantastic manner really. There is an aire of confidence that everyone walks around with, a sort of ballsy spunk, with a bit of spire and sexual fiestiness that maintains a slightly electric, yet incredibly laid-back environment. And you come to crave it, after a while. You probably won’t show up craving it but give or take a month and a half or two months and you find yourself sporting a desire for what is famously known as the Miami vice.

Now before I continue, I should remind you of a few things. I change names, so everyone is ultimately anonymous-because if not, then what is the point of an anonymous blog. Secondly, reality check, I’m fucking bloated af. Like dying. I’m about to get my period but this past week I swear I’ve just ballooned. Like fuck me. But all in the natural cycle I guess, and I just am going to have to wait this one out. I eat like a freak so I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with me eating like shit because I honestly don’t eat. Unhealthy, sure. But you have your problems, and I have mine. So let’s just be accepting and move on. But my point with that whole thing is that I’m human. You’re human. So I’m going to tell you my stories, and draw you in. I want you to be right there with me. Seeing it through my eyes, experiencing it through my body. As someone who wants to go into film, I want to know that I can not only tell the story, but create the entire essence of it. But remember, at the end of the day, I’m a writer, and part of the beauty of being a writer is you get to create the truth. Yes, you heard me. You don’t simply copy down your stories. If you don’t like the ending, or you don’t like the part in the middle, you, as a writer, have the ability to create your own story--the one that you tell the audience. I’m a big believer in not twisting the truth. I see it as lying to my audience. But as you sit there and read this, you should be questioning me. Aww see, now I’ve got you thinking, wondering, skeptical. I guess you’re just going to have to take my word for it. But if I’m making you think, I’ve done my job.

So, on to the best friends and the half-girlfriend. Yet, because there are the shitty situations I get myself into. I’m telling you, it’s that Miami vice.

On August 17th, I picked up my life from my beautiful studio apartment in Midtown and moved myself into Unit #3902 in what I am going to call for the sake of this blog, the San Maritz Brickell, on Brickell Bay Drive. Damn I’m going to miss that studio apartment. All the windows, facing west. Watching the sunset almost every evening. Yeah, I’m really going to miss it. But I can’t think of a better place to have stayed for my introduction to Miami. I think it truly set me up for success.

Mandy, the sweetheart that she is, helped me move all my things. We were exhausted by the end of the day. I also had literally zero furniture. I started work on August 21st and since then, it’s been a crazy slew of working really hard and attempting to slowly fill my apartment with furniture.

The Sunday after moving into my place, I had Oliver’s friend Zach follow me on Instagram. Not realizing who it was at first, I followed him back. As I was looking at his insta, I realized this was the guy who my friend Samantha had hooked up with when we visited the 305 in April. I also realized that a lot of his photos were tagged at the location “San Maritz Brickell”. I saw there wondering and finally said fuck it and dm’d Zach. “Hey sorry this is a bit weird but do you live in the San Maritz Brickell?” Came to find out that indeed, he does. Last I had remembered, he had told my friend he would be moving to NYC and working for a large enterprise corporation there so I was surprised. We exchanged phone numbers and low key texted throughout the weekend. That Sunday before I started working the following day, he messaged me being like hey want to go to the hot tub. I said yes, and thought nothing of it.

Now allow me to delve for a minute into the nature of the friendship between Zach & Oliver. Zach is like Oliver’s older brother. He’s one of the few people that Oliver actually looks up to and trusts and listens to and even, leans from. And that’s saying something because Oliver is one stubborn, hard-headed boy.

That night Zach and I hung out for almost 5 hours. I don’t think I thought anything of it until later, but that’s a long time to hang out with anyone really especially the first time you’re hanging out. Oliver was going to be returning to Miami that evening and I was low-key excited. This was our chance, we were finally in the same city, and this was really honestly our last shot at making this work. However, when he texted me back he was clearly not happy about his friends and i living in the same building and felt it was “sketchy”. Of course. Here we go again. In the following days after Sunday, Zach and I hit the hot tub on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. On Friday, Zach turns to me and asks if I’ve talked to Oliver or told him we had been hanging out. “No, not at all” was my response. Oliver and I had started to text that day but he would take 4-5 hours to respond to me, which is just pure bullshit. As I came to find out, apparently that same day Zach had liked one of my photos on instagram of me with my dad and Oliver texted him being like, “Oh so are you a big fan of Rachel’s dad?” Greatttt... Zach showed me the conversation that had back and forth although it wasn’t anything particularly interesting. Just typical Oliver being petty and Zach being like yo what’s your issue tho. Zach continued on to tell me how Oliver wanted to go out, but Zach wasn’t feeling it. At one point he started joking about showing up with me and I was like, “Could we not do that though? That’ll just be so awkward for both me and Oliver”. That night Zach and I were in the hot tub until 10:30pm when it started to downpour. We grabbed our stuff and raced into my building. Oh, I should add, there are two towers in my building. Zach lives in the other one. We get inside and agree that we will keep drinking at my place and then he can go back to his building and change and then we can go out. That way, if it was raining, I wouldn’t have to get my hair wet (Zach’s quote, you know I don’t give a damn about this).

Once inside my apartment, he turned to me and goes “Hey, do you have a towel or something I can use for now? I don’t really want to just be sitting around in a wet bathing suit”. I obviously respect that, because that sucks, so I gave him a towel and he changed out of his bathing suit. So in the back of my mind, I’m like great, now this guy is pretty much naked in a towel walking around in my living room. Which at the time had zero furniture in it anyways. I had also just assumed because Zach and Oliver were such good friends and Zach had hooked up with my best friend Samantha, that there was no way anything would ever happen between Zach and I. Too many reasons not to.

But there we are in my apartment, and at this point I decide that if I’m going out, I’m drinking tequila. So I pull out the tequila I had bought that day and cracked the bottle. I made myself a drink and then he started sipping on it.

“What’s in this?”

“Tequila, lime juice, and club soda”

“Oh man”, he laughs. “Tequila makes me horny”.

However, he keeps drinking mine so I make myself my own. We sit on my floor, joking around. Him playfully slapping my ass once or twice, but it was all in good fun. I truly had no concept of just how much we had drank until I went over to the bottle to make more, and realized we had finished the entire bottle of tequila. Like...whattttttt. But one thing lead to another. First, he was rubbing my neck because it was sore from kickboxing. Then, he turned me around so he could “take care of it properly” and started massaging my neck and shoulders and back. At this point, I was obviously dying inside and really enjoying this. Then he asked me if I would mind doing the same for his. Being drunk and in an incredibly flirty mood (thank you tequila), I straddled his back and sat on his butt and started rubbing his back, shoulders, head and arms. Occasionally he would list his hands to try to feel my butt and my legs, and I would push them down and massage them instead. But then at one point, I Started to run my nails up and down his back. I could feel him tensing up whenever I ran them over a certain part of his back and I kept doing that. Slowly, smoothly, in long strokes.

And all of a sudden my world was flipped upside down and my mind was blown. Lol, well that’s the short version of the story anyways. One moment, I am on top of him and the next I am underneath him and we are making out. And our clothes are coming off. And we are in my living room on the carpet with the whole of Miami out there able to see it for whoever is fortunate enough to have a view of 39 floors up. He firmly pushes me up against the wall with my back to him before reaching around and very literally ripping my bra off. We left our phones in the living room that night and made it to my bed before tackling each other. He’s on my neck and biting my lip and I swear my life had turned into a dirty fantasy. I can’t make this shit up. He likes in in more ways than one so got to have some fun with that. Firm, slightly rough, without being aggressive. Now that’s a gift. After it was done, he grabbed us water and we ended up passing out. When we woke up at 5am, we had sex again, took a shower together, and then he showed me the show Rick & Morty till 7am. Then, he talked to me outside on my balcony from 7am to 9am. It was really nice, he’s actually an amazing guy. From Chicago, was in the armed services, incredibly discipline and work ethic, 26, down to earth, and these crazy crazy green eyes. So after he left that morning, I did the only thing I know how to do. I told myself it was never going to happen again.

But that didn’t stop me from dreaming about it for pretty much all of the beginning of last week. Literally, I’d be at work and all of a suddeen I was being pulled into some dark erotic corner of my mind, and having to snap myself out of it. My only source of relief came from the text I got on Wednesday that confirmed I hadn’t been the only one thinking about it. I’m not going to go into detail about what this text said but it referenced the bottle of tequila and what came after it made me turn as pink as the dress I was wearing. I literally couldn’t even finish reading it or respond to it until I was completely out of work. This flirting over text went back and forth till Thursday afternoon. I had to grab drinks with a guy, a pity date if you will because he fucked up once and is still trying to make it up to me and I was not having it. So we grabbed drinks and I was outta there by 7:30pm. Zach asked if I wanted to hit the hot tub so we ended up doing that until 11pm and then went back up to my place and ordered pizza. We kept drinking and stayed up till about 2am, but slight catch. We were genuinely talking about shit. IVY social, the Wells Fargo crash, the incident with Morgan Stanley. And when we went to bed, he very much came to bed with me. But not without a bit of sex first :) We both slept about 3.5 hours that night, but I honestly would say it was worth it. I was dying to have that happen again and really needed it. I felt so much better afterwards. However, I do need to look into numbing lube. Yes, apparently this is a thing and the only way I know about it is through him. He got a bit weird earlier on me this weekend, but I think he’s just making sure we both keep some distance between us since we are both also seeing other people. I’m cool with that, it’s probably healthier.

But the amount I’ve been thinking about him isn’t and I gotta watch that. Oliver and him got in a bit of a spat the other night over me, but the problem is I haven’t talked to oliver since last saturday. He doesn’t even reach out. So like bro, what you hollerin about. I can tell that Oliver is super suspicious though. His intuition is incredibly strong and he knows something is up. I feel bad but at the same time I’m like “dude you’re fucking up”. Like it would at least help his case if he reached out but he won’t. And I know that. And I guess I’m going to be okay with it because I need to get over him. Zach is a fucking genius and strategic af so he used the situation to his advantage to be like dude, all bets are off with any of your past girls. If I want to hook up with Rachel, I will. So that way if we ever ran into him out, Oliver couldn’t say anything. Meanwhile, I’m over here just basking in my Miami glory. Living a life of spice with a side of drama.

That’s all until next time. Don’t get into too much trouble this Labor Day. XxR.

#gossip #boy #bestfriends #girlfriend #drama #305 #miami

0 notes