#i really tried with the hand but its super difficult to draw our hands. because. look at them cmon
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
tmnt-kin-lair · 1 year ago
Text
you ever draw yourself in ms paint with a mouse
Tumblr media
1 note · View note
secondmagic · 1 year ago
Text
a fucking problem i've had recently is
a) i've been in college for the past few years and it's an art school so all my creative energy has been put entirely in school projects (and i am life a few months away from starting my last year where. i'll be working on my graduate film. which, wtf.) leaving me with little to no time or energy for personal stuff or stuff i draw for fun or that isn't for a specific poroject
b) all i want to draw recently is p*rn (and i really do not want to censor that but the tumblr algorithm has locked my blog down for content enough times at this point) or at least horny or something that at least has bare titties and the occasional bare pussy so either i have to just give up on it i guess or post a little preview piece of it here and link somewhere else and.... like twitter is in a dire state at this point, don't exactly have a following there, it has been well, well documented how the algorithm is actively like against you even if you're like some kind of da vinci level maestro. but it's basically my only option now for most the stuff i do want to post to even get stuff our there. and i did recently get a bluesky acc but you know it's a not very active website and also invite-only. so, not a lot of options.
and you know, my posting here has always been kinda sporadic and i have tried to make stuff more frequently and have a bigger output but out of all the time i spent drawing which frankly is a lot, very little of it ends up as like. a properly fully rendered piece that i can show and i would occasionally post stuff here from my sketchbook that i find at least a little bearable to look at but that also actually takes effort and is difficult to make it like. visually presentable.
a while back tumblr has informed me that this blog has turned 10 years old, which, whoof, huge crisis over the passage of time and also how many grand ambitions i had with this blog when i made it and how little of it i achieved in those 10 years and genera feelings about my own skills and growth and where i stand in life because of my very sporadic posting and my slow pace of work which has gone from like. once very two months to 2-3 times a year and now even when i feel inspired i don't know how much of what i make is even going to be here. recently i've been reevaluating if i even have what it takes or if i even should be an artist with the pace at which i work and how little of anything i complete not to mention how i feel about my own art skills in general, but you know given i've been stubborn about wanting to do this since childhood and i literally just cannot concieve with my brain of doing anything else in life. and on top of that i'm too much of a stubborn spiteful bitch not to keep pushing because i can't let the evil malicious gnome trying to take me down win, so this is something i'm figuring out over time.
anyway i did somehow manage to get 320ish followers in that time, give or take those that are either bots or inactive, and most of you probably followed me for stuff i'm either not super into right now or don't post anymore so you're probably not getting your follow's worth if you look at it practically, you might not even know or remember who i am or what you ever followed me for because of how long its been and how sporadic i am. but i guess i just want to say i know i don't have a lot to offer on this blog compared to a lot of other artists in terms of quality or quantity, which hopefully that will change one day in the future because i am trying to figure out how to do this all better, so thank you all who did follow and are still following and are sticking around despite all of [waves hands] all the things i described
7 notes · View notes
redrosesshadowwolf · 7 months ago
Text
So badly want to just get back into doing little sketches for fun. But I've barely been drawing for the last several years and I can see that I've visibly gotten worse. When I wasn't even that good to begin with.
So I pick up a sketchbook and try and just get sad. When I was younger I never even cared of the drawing sucked they were just fun. Now for some reason my brain cares about the quality when I didn't before.
So it's this awful cycle. And I know artists have problems like this sometimes. But I'm not like really an artist. I sketch sometimes, but I've never consistently put in the effort to get good at art. Cause I thought the stress would suck.
My father used to do painting and such and I know that he's amazing at all different types of art. So as a kid whenever I did art decently he commented and was like, "that parts good but that could do with a bit of whatever" and I already delt with constructive criticism from him with singing. Which I did appreciate the help with. Cause my dad just has like all the skills. Working man, can do art, singing, instruments will be figured out if he picks them up and messes around because he already knows how to play several.
But he's skilled in a way that his explanations don't always make sense.
When I was trying to learn how to draw hands he just told me to look at my own hand. Which didn't help, at all. Looking at my own actually made the drawing attempt worse.
So yeah kinda wish I'd put more effort in over the years. But outside of that I really can't tell why my brain cares about the quality all of a sudden when I've managed to avoid such a worry for so long in most things to try and keep the pressure from making me hate doing things cause that happened for a few years with some of the stuff I love doing like singing.
I'm not as good at telling what tone and pitch I'm in as my father and sister. Who are both good at singing. I used to better at it when I was really young but eventually I noticed this big dissonance between what I actually sounded like and what I was hearing. Well it wasn't super big. But my dad owns some good amps and microphones and usually people notice a bit of a difference because what we normally hear of our voice is effected by its vibrations traveling through us and too our ears. Instead of just to our ears.
But yeah anyways I was always higher pitched that I meant to be, and my voice wavers a lot when singing. And some songs have that wavering bounce to the singing. But lots don't. And when I'm singing, cutting the words and notes off quickly is a bit difficult so I usually hold the vocals too long. I know exactly Where I mess up and need work. But while my family has pinpointed these issues and tried to help, I didn't manage to get rid of it after years of work and for awhile singing made me really annoyed or sad, because my sister just kept getting better and I didn't.
But anyways I know too much focus on my progress on results puts me in a bad headspace. It's always done that.
So this attitude reaching art for me really... well it sucks obviously. But it also threw me off a lot.
0 notes
twsthoodstar · 4 years ago
Text
Twst x Pokémon Pt. 3
Tumblr media
This is a part 3 of the last Pokémon post I did, this time with the vice dorm leaders. Sorry this is so late, I’ve been feeling under the weather recently 😓 But I’m starting to feel better now.
Request/idea received from this Anon
Babysitting their crush’s Pokémon while they’re away. However, that task has proven more difficult than expected.
Trey Clover ♣��
Tumblr media
Trey was both delighted and nervous when you asked him to babysit Slurpuff. He had only hoped it wouldn’t be as troublesome as certain glutinous monster cat, although he had to admit he was curious. Slurpuff looked so soft and squishy! It couldn’t be that much of a handful could it?
Well needless to say, Slurpuff was actually very helpful in the kitchen. It’s unique sense of smell helped pick the best ingredients and it was more than happy to aid in assembling the treats for the Unbirthday Party, nudging Trey to taste the batter. It reminded Trey of his little siblings back home, how they’d always try and sneak a piece.
However, it all went downhill once the part started. One by one everyone’s cakes and cookies disappeared without a trace. Unaware of the pink Pokémon sneakily using Physic to float the wonderful pastries into its mouth. But it’s cover was blown when it tried to steal Riddle’s tart, and Trey had to step in before the poor little thing lost its head.
Ruggie Bucchi 🐾
Tumblr media
Better hope Ruggie doesn’t eat your precious little bundle of wool, might be hard to hold himself back. Shi shi shi, he’s only kidding! He wouldn’t do that to you! Unfortunately, Wooloo seemed to take that very personally and rolled away! It hadn’t even been 5 minutes and Ruggie was already chasing it down!
Poor Wooloo; perhaps leaving it in a dorm full of hungry carnivores wasn’t the greatest idea. Because it zoomed all over the place, trying to flee from any large beastmen. Though I’m sure it looked hilarious seeing the vice dorm leader chasing after a living pillow. Ruggie eventually needed Jack’s help in catching the little guy, and it surprisingly took a liking to the first year!
Wooloo was all over Jack, hiding behind his legs and nuzzling into his bushy tail. Peering at Ruggie with big nervous eyes. He hadn’t planned for this, Ruggie wanted to show you just how responsible he was all on his own, that included caring for your pet. But it couldn’t be helped. Jack hadn’t planned to babysit, but it seemed he had no other choice.
Jade Leech 🐬
(I love Psyduck so much 🥰)
Tumblr media
Now Psyduck here is a bit of a special case, so you were a bit hesitant to leave it with Jade. Now there was nothing to worry about, Jade makes sure your Psyduck is well taken care of, he’ll pamper it to perfection. He has claimed he enjoys serving others. Although it appears Psyduck is a rather sensitive creature. But that just makes things more interesting, plus it’s adorable to boot.
Constantly rubbing it’s head, it takes in its surroundings rather slowly. It barely realized you left the room and was just recently waddling around looking for you, poor dear. 😅 Well this shouldn’t be a problem; playtime with rubber duckies, drawing a bath, Jade makes sure Psyduck is in top shape until you get back! However, there was one mishap Jade wasn’t preparing for.
It takes special skill to escape Jade’s well trained eye, and Psyduck just happened to find that perfect moment. Before it knocked into Jade’s terrarium, spilling out all kinds of plants and muck onto the floor with a big bump on its head. It was an accident, but Psyduck couldn’t shake that sudden glare in the eel’s eye. Not even when Jade rubbed its bruised head affectionately.
Floyd Leech 🦈
Tumblr media
Oh boy, Gible was not happy about you leaving. Especially leaving its care to a stranger like Floyd. It stomped around and grumbled like a fussy toddler, aggressive to anyone that came near it. While everyone was afraid of getting their hand chewed off, Floyd remained as careless and as brave as ever. So Shrimpy left this little sharkie to be his playmate? How fun!
Gible did not want to play with Floyd, it tried making that as clear as possible. Playing basketball? Deflated. Some squeaky toys? Shredded to pieces. Dancing? It chomped the radio to bits. A yummy platter? Scarfed it down, plate and all. Floyd was clearly losing his patience and started to shift into one of his outrageously random mood swings.
Talk about bad timing when you have an angry Gible pouting across the room. Floyd, now upset the Pokémon wasn’t accepting his friendship, made the mistake of trying to squeeze it. Gible bit him 😬. Chomped right down on his hand, but suprisingly Floyd was fine. It did take Azul and Jade awhile to pry it off, then to keep Floyd from biting back! Hopefully, you’ll return soon before the Lounge ends up in shambles.
Jamil Viper 🐍
Tumblr media
Honestly Jamil thinks your Salandit is super cool. Sly and cunning with a streak of mystery, it reminds him of himself. (You smug snake 😑) It was almost the perfect pet for himself, a powerful on way that. Now I’m sure Jamil has some experience with animals, he is Kalim’s right hand man and a servant of the Asim family, the kid knows a thing or two about parades.
So it’s a cake walk babysitting Salandit, at least for the most part. Pokémon are unpredictable creatures and unknown to Twisted Wonderland, so Jamil’s in for a big surprise when Salandit starts dripping actual v e n o m. The red liquid oozes out of its mouth as it starts to burn small holes in the carpet. Of course panics because, that carpet is expensive! And why did you have such a creature in your possession!
He was not prepared for this. Apparently it was having a scuffle with Kalim’s magic carpet, the piece of matting simply wanted to play with Scarabia’s new guest, but the poisonous fire-type took it as a threat instead. Chasing each other around like wild dogs. Reacting quickly, Jamil put it outside using Snake Whisper before things escalated, but decided to give you a call.
Rook Hunt 🏹
Tumblr media
You thought Jade was pampering, Rook is over the moon for this fairy type! What a wonderful creature, absolutely beautiful! Rook is completely captivated by the fairy-like creature, the pure pink essence of love in its true form!~ ✨ As he puts it anyways. 😅 Rook will smother Sylveon with attention!
He’ll groom it to perfection and flaunt it to the entire dorm, this of course draws some attention. No one has ever seen a creature quite like Sylveon, with its sweet voice and flowing ribbons. And you left Rook himself in charge to take care of it isn’t that wonderful! ~ ✨ This basically turned into one big photo shoot, with Rook at the center gushing over his new friend.
He even takes Sylveon out on a hunt stroll with him. Man cries when it wraps it’s ribbons around it’s wrist. Let’s just hope no rowdy students make fun of their little adventure, they’ll have a merciless arrow drawn back ready to face them. Rook won’t tolerate gossiping, no one is allowed to tarnish the beauty you and your partner share together.
Ortho Shroud 🤖
Tumblr media
Ortho was more than happy to take care of Pikachu for you! He was the one that actually accepted in the first place. It was just so cute and round and soft and friendly, a perfect companion for our little Ortho! Plus, he was really excited to analyze it for his database. Although, in reality he took this opportunity to get Idia out of his shell and help him.
Humans and animals were already a well known subject Ortho knew plenty about, even a few beasts were a well known species. So a loveable Pokémon shouldn’t serve a problem. While Idia wasn’t all that excited about watching a living, breathing, messy pet (virtual pets were much easier) Ortho was not having it and saw this as a good experience.
Playtime was his favorite, Pikachu was just so fast and full of energy. Zipping back and forth with a Quick Attack to chase the bouncy ball, or using its tail to play catch. It was such a cheerful little sunshine, it even shocked Ortho a bit with its cheeks. Emitting little sparks of electricity, which felt really nice. They’re both just so cute together, Idia snuck a few pictures of them napping together.
Lilia Vanrouge 🍷
Tumblr media
Another child for Lilia to adopt!! Oh how precious! Immediately Lilia’s fawning over your cute Noibat, however, you tell Lilia to be careful as this Pokémon is quite young. Of course Lilia heads your warning and bids you a graceful farewell, before rushing off with the cutie in his arms to flaunt to his whole dorm.
Almost immediately Lilia’s going to test his cooking skills; a growing boy like that needs to eat right? Well don’t worry, chef Lilia will whip up something nice, which of course has Noibat cheering for a hot meal. The trio of terrified fae and their drowsy human: they couldn’t have Lilia kill off something so precious, you’d be heartbroken!
However, perhaps they were a bit too slow in stopping Lilia, because thanks to his magic he had already whipped up a horrendous looking hole of soup. But what had everyone’s jaws dropping was that Noibat enjoyed it! It even cooed for seconds, nudging Lilia with the bowl. Of course Lilia was over the moon, he’ll have to ask to babysit more often.
721 notes · View notes
keigoslovebird · 4 years ago
Text
Next Chapter
Pairing: Ushijima Wakatoshi x Reader
Warnings: Manga spoilers!! Pregnancy and references to pregnancy, you have a child (obvi), aged up characters, breeding kink, negative self image (on Toshi’s part), references to alcohol, self deprecating language, very fluffy Daddy Toshi shenanigans
Genre: Fluff, smut
Word count: 8.3k
Author’s note: I had so much fun writing soft husband Toshi, if it isn’t obvious by the word count. I just want to rub his soft belly and tell him how much I love him. Hopefully you enjoy this as much as I did writing it!
Note: Flashbacks indicated by italics
Wakatoshi Ushijima has always been a man of few emotions and even fewer words, with just one thing on his mind—volleyball. 
Since he was a young child, he has always slept, eaten, breathed volleyball. Nothing came close to his fiery, burning passion for the sport, not that he had the time to care about anything else.
That all changed when he retired from professional volleyball at the ripe young age of thirty-one, the years of wear and tear on his body finally catching up to him. He knew it was time when the pain in his joints was so severe he could no longer keep up with his much younger teammates. It was a difficult, emotional decision, but he ultimately viewed it as passing the torch to the next generation of volleyball players.
The announcement of Wakatoshi’s retirement was met with great sadness from the sports community at the loss of such a talented, renowned player, but he left behind an exceptional legacy marked by achievements and historic wins. 
His final game with the Schweiden Adlers concluded in a symbolic victory, this chapter of his life drawing to a close the same way it began—with Wakatoshi as an indisputable champion. Every player, coach, and audience member rose from their seats, clapping and screaming words of encouragement. Each of his teammates got on their knees, lowering themselves to press their foreheads into the floor of the stadium, bowing in an ultimate show of respect. The sight of his peers, his coaches, the entire auditorium giving him such an impassioned send off made a heavy lump form in his throat that refused to go away, no matter how many times he tried to swallow it down. Tears pricked at his eyes but he didn’t want to cry, not in front of all of these people.
The dam broke when you sprinted across the court, wrapping yourself around him in a bone crushing hug.
“You did so well Toshi. I am so proud of you,” you praised through choked sobs, pressing your tear-stained face into his neck. Your watery eyes and trembling smile shattered whatever willpower he had, his own tears streaming down his face like a waterfall. All those late night practices away from you, the excruciating injuries, the heartbreaking losses, all led up to this moment. This was the last time the Super Ace would step foot on a volleyball court as a professional player, but all good things must come to an end. 
The screaming and clapping was so loud you could barely hear his quiet, trembling whisper of, “I love you.”
----
It took him awhile to adjust to what one would call a “normal” life, one that didn’t include daily flights from country to country or backbreaking practices that lasted from sunup to sundown. Sure he still went to the gym and practiced with the volleyball net strung up in your backyard, but it was nothing like his grueling schedule when he was a pro athlete. To make matters worse, the blinders he wore his entire life that blocked out anything but volleyball prevented him from finding any real hobbies of his own. This meant for the first few months, your husband followed you around the house like a lost puppy, just wanting to be a part of whatever you were doing.
You would be cooking dinner, some soup simmering on the stove, when Wakatoshi’s massive form would come up from behind you to shyly peek over your shoulder. 
“What’re you doing?” he wondered, resting his head in the crook of your neck.
You could feel a smile tugging at your lips at how cute he was being, getting used to domestic life, something you never really got to experience until now. Before, you would often be sleeping when he came home at night, and still be asleep when he left in the morning. “I’m just cooking, do you want to help me?” you asked, holding a knife out to him to cut some vegetables. He nodded silently as he took the knife from you. 
His chopping skills left much to be desired, but what could you really expect from a man who only ever held a volleyball?
Another time you were sitting on the couch, scrolling through Twitter on your phone. You could feel your husband staring so intensely you were afraid he’d pop a blood vessel in his head.
Looking up at him, you cleared your throat and asked, “Did you need something, Toshi?” You set your phone down and gave him a questioning look, hoping to solve whatever was troubling him.
He was pensive for a moment, his eyebrows scrunching as he figured out what he was trying to say. “No, I just… There’s nothing to do,” he answered finally.
You nearly burst out laughing at his concern for simply being bored, but you held it in. “Of course there’s something to do!” you exclaimed, “You can go on a walk, read a book, watch TV, or even just take a nap.”
His head tilted quizzically, unsure of what you were suggesting. “A… nap? Why would I sleep? It’s the middle of the afternoon,” he questioned, sounding like you had proposed he eat sand and not to take a quick snooze.
You chuckled and walked over to the chair he was sitting in, plopping yourself down into his lap. “Sometimes people sleep in the middle of the day because they’re tired, or just because they want to,” you clarified, “We can go take a nap right now if you would like.” 
Suddenly Wakatoshi stood up, causing you to squeak in surprise, his arms securely carrying you bridal style.
“W-what’re you doing!?” you squealed, panicked by your sudden lack of solid ground, slightly struggling in arms. 
He tilted his head again, reminiscent of a pet confused by its master’s orders. “We’re going to take a nap together, yes? I’m taking you to our room,” he said, jerking his head in the direction of your shared bedroom. 
You stopped squirming once you took in his words, your belly fluttering with affection. Sighing happily, you snuggled your face against his chest, giving him a simple “mhm” in response.
That day Wakatoshi took his first nap since he was six years old and to this day, he still swears he’s never had a more restful, peaceful sleep in his life.
Those instances happened less and less often as he figured out ways to occupy his time that didn’t involve volleyball. 
You adopted a dog, a commitment you didn’t want to make in the past due to both of your busy schedules, but your lives became a lot less hectic after Wakatoshi’s retirement. Your husband made it a daily ritual to take your puppy Leo out on a morning run, both of them returning tired and sweaty before promptly passing out for an hour. He took up a job at the local university to help coach their men’s volleyball team, deciding to try it out when the requests to lend his wisdom and skills kept coming in. Although, his favorite pastime now consists of him standing outside on the patio, beer in hand as he sweats over the flames of his fancy silver grill.
But perhaps the most significant change in your lives came in the form of your son, Hidetoshi. 
Much like your refusal to commit to taking care of a dog, neither of you wanted to have kids while your lifestyle was so unfit to raise a child. You didn’t mind making those compromises for your husband, having known the path he would take since you started dating in high school. Frankly, you didn’t mind not having children at all, so it surprised you when he was the one to broach the subject. 
“What if we did?” he inquired under the darkness of your bedroom.
You turned over to face him, reaching up to gently stroke his cheek. “What if we did what, my love?” you murmured.
His eyes flitted across your face with an uncharacteristic nervousness. “What if we decided to have a child?” The shock on your face made his stomach churn uncomfortably and he almost regretted saying anything at all, but his fears quickly vanished as your expression melted into a soft smile.
“We’d have to talk about it more but I’d love to have your children, Wakatoshi Ushijima.”
You had a deep, lengthy conversation about your wants, needs, plans for the future, and whether or not a kid would fit into them. Once all of your cards were on the table you decided to start trying to get pregnant, a mission that your husband took very seriously.
Even as a teenager Wakatoshi’s sex drive wasn’t very high, and his frequent absence and exhaustion in his adult life made it somewhat difficult for you to have sex often. You made up for it where you could, having phone sex and masturbating together over FaceTime, once you convinced him to do it. When he was bewildered as to why you would suggest such a salacious act, you explained you were a grown woman with needs and if he wasn’t there to take care of them, he’d have to help you in other ways. Once he realized how serious you were, he agreed. 
But your husband as a young adult and your husband post-retirement are almost two  completely different people in regards to sex. He has seemingly unlimited reserves of stamina, built up over years of rigorous, intense training, and he no longer had an outlet to expend them. So, his new outlet to test his endurance became you and your body.
He began fucking you every chance he got with the vigor and gusto of a hormonal teenager, seeking to make up for lost time. He asked for sex at all hours of the day, waking you up in the middle of the night with the insistent prodding of his arousal and lazily thrusting between your thighs in the early hours of the morning before you had to leave for work. He fucked you in every room in your house and on every surface—on the dining room table, in the shower, on the living room floor, and even on your back patio when you both got a little too drunk on some cheap rose. 
You welcomed Wakatoshi’s insatiable hunger with open arms, unable to resist your strong, ridiculously handsome husband, but that, coupled with his seemingly limitless stamina, spelled trouble for your muscles and pelvis. In the first year after his departure from professional sports you had to call in sick to work seven times, too tired to function, too bruised to look presentable, and too sore to walk to the bathroom. At first he felt guilty for fucking you out of commission, but the way you begged him so sweetly to pound your needy, gushing cunt deeper, harder, faster and how you whimpered with delight when he bit bruises down your throat, he didn’t feel that bad. A baser, more primal part of Wakatoshi’s brain purred at his marks covering our body and relished in the way you limped. You were just too tempting, too irresistible not to ravage you every chance he got.
After you agreed to start trying for a baby, your partner’s already voracious sexual appetite became downright menacing now that he had a goal to strive for. 
“Gonna breed you, gonna fill you so full with my cum and knock you up,” he grunted as he battered into your sore, dripping hole, your body folded in half in a mating press.
“P-please Toshi! Ah~ please,” you babbled, nonsensical and uncertain what you were even asking for. He had been fucking you for so long everything was muddled into a singular dreamy, intangible haze of pleasure and ecstasy. 
Wakatoshi gave your clit a slap, hard enough to make you cry out. “Please what? Please breed you like a bitch in heat? Please stuff you full with my cum?” He leaned down to wrap his fingers around your throat, squeezing with enough force to make your head swim and forcing you to look into his wild olive eyes. “Well, what is it?” he demanded.
“W-want you to b-ah! Want you to breed mee,” you slurred, too drunk on the delicious feeling of his cock dragging against your pulsing walls to form a more coherent sentence.
His thrusts grew sloppy and uncoordinated with his impending orgasm. “G-gonna give you what you want, you cock hungry slut, I’m—” He came with a choked, shuddering groan, his warm cum flooding your awaiting womb.
You were both basking in the afterglow, exhausted and soaked in sweat and your combined fluids, when you noticed the furious blush spreading across your husband’s cheeks. “I apologize for what I said during sex. I… I don’t know what came over me,” he confessed, giving your shoulder a remorseful squeeze.
Giggling, you leaned forward to kiss his cheek. “Don’t be sorry. I really enjoyed it,” you proclaimed, “I love it when you get rough with me.”
Trying to get you pregnant gave your husband a new goal to strive for and he has never been one to do anything with less than his all.
Thanks to your husband’s dedicated efforts, you got pregnant six months after you started trying, to your shared elation and delight. Those two little lines filled you with as much excitement as they made you anxious, but as long as Wakatoshi was by your side, everything would be okay. 
Seeing your little bundle of joy in a 3D ultrasound changed you, changed Wakatoshi forever. Up until then you had only seen him as a colorless little blur on a computer screen, but getting to watch his precious face scrunch and his chubby legs kick reminded you that he was a real living being. The late night sprints to the bathroom, horrible morning sickness, and miserably aching back were all worth it when you were able to hold Hidetoshi for the first time. With his olive eyes, brown hair and chubby cheeks, he was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen and to this day he still is. 
Taking after his father from the start, Hidetoshi was a happy baby that rarely fussed or cried, not that you complained. He slept soundly through most nights, so soundly you slept in a chair by his crib for the first month to periodically check he was still breathing, despite your husband’s insistence the baby would be fine. Your mother-in-law had insisted that you and Wakatoshi would be exhausted for the first several months after the birth. Imagine her surprised when you and Wakatoshi looked just as well-rested as usual, better even, since you no longer had to deal with pregnancy. Many people, relatives and strangers alike, were astounded at how charming and polite your son was, even as a newborn. He was happy to just sit and play with his toys as you had lunch, smiling and waving at everyone who passed by.
A man as attractive as your husband with a boy as sweet as your son meant that, much to your irritation, women were tripping over themselves to flirt with him. To make matters worse, Wakatoshi picked up your son alone most days due to your office job preventing you from leaving early enough to go with him. This meant many of the moms at Hidetoshi’s school thought your husband was single and they weren’t shy in their pursuit.
A crowd of women surrounded Wakatoshi as he waited for school to end so your son would come running out with his arms spread wide, confident his daddy would always catch him. Most of the moms simply stared at your husband with dreamy looks in their eyes, attempting to make small talk with him.
One especially bold mother reached out and stroked his bicep, slightly squeezing to get a feel for his muscles. “My my Ushijima, you’re so handsome and strong,” she purred, batting her eyelashes at him.
“My wife thinks so as well,” he grunted as he gently but firmly removed his arm from her grasp. 
The woman looked as if he had slapped her across the face and cursed her family. “Y-you’re married? But you don’t even have a wedding ring!” she spluttered, “If you have a wife then where is she everyday?” 
“I do have a ring. I just don’t wear it on my finger because I’m afraid of losing it,” he clarified, lightly tugging on the chain around his neck for emphasis, his ring clinking softly against the metal. “I’m happily married to my wife who cannot be here because she is hard at work providing for our family. Do not disrespect my wife or my marriage again or we will have a problem.”
After that the other moms kept their distance, choosing to admire Wakatoshi from afar. It did not, however, stop them from staring with envy on the rare occasion you came with him to pick up your child, glowering at you with an intensity that surely wished you would drop dead. Your husband paid them no mind and neither did you because at the end of the day, you’re the one he chose to marry and have a child with. They can all flirts and look as much as they want, but they’ll never have him like you do.
----
Fast forward to present day, Wakatoshi is seven years into his retirement at the age of thirty-eight and Hidetoshi is now six.
Your husband is an assistant coach part time for the men’s volleyball team at an up and coming university, the rest of his time divided between you and taking care of your son. Hidetoshi just started kindergarten, growing far too fast for your liking. He seems to have gotten a double dose of his father’s genes as he’s already several inches taller than his classmates, though you can tell by the way he smiles and the slope of his nose that he’s yours as well. He’s the perfect combination of both of you—he has Wakatoshi’s tenacity, work ethic, and confidence and your sense of humor, intelligence, and empathy. He continues to amaze you every single day and you nor your husband couldn’t imagine a boy more wonderful than him. 
These days your lives are a lot less busy than they were when your husband was still a pro, but sometimes it doesn’t feel that way. With all the playdates, school functions, and parent-teacher conferences combined with your own job, Wakatoshi’s games, and regular house chores, sometimes it feels like you’re right back where you were ten years ago. This time, however, you have your incredible husband and son helping you and you wouldn’t trade your life for anything, no matter how hectic it may be.
Today is Saturday, it’s the weekend, and you’re only awake because of the bright sunlight that’s streaming through your bedroom window and hitting you directly in the face. You rub the sleep out of your eyes with the back of your hand, yawning loudly as you stretch your tired limbs. As soon as you try to get out of bed Wakatoshi’s arm around your waist tightens, pulling you flush against his solid, muscular chest. 
“Don’t leave. Don’t need to be anywhere,” he mumbles into his pillow, voice even deeper and raspier with sleep. His legs entangle themselves with your own so you’re completely enveloped in the warm, comforting embrace of your husband.
“Need to start getting ready for the party,” you sigh drowsily, but make no efforts to remove yourself from his sleepy but surprisingly strong clutches.
“Not yet,” he says simply, and that’s when you realize when he’s doing. He’s slowly, lazily grinding his morning wood on the soft curve of your ass. You’re a little more awake now.
“Oh I see what this is about,” you chuckle, wiggling yourself against him teasingly. 
He groans quietly under his breath, but you can feel the sound rumble in his chest. “Want you,” he says, still groggy from just barely waking up. His fingers find the hem of your shirt and he slips them underneath it, trailing his digits lightly down your stomach, making you shiver.
“Little man will be up soon,” you halfheartedly protest, but you can feel the warmth pooling between your legs.
“He’s not up yet, we have time.” The movements of his hips become more insistent, more demanding and you have to stifle your mewls behind your hand. Wakatoshi easily maneuvers his hand into the waistband of your panties, making a satisfied hum when he discovers you’re already dripping for him.
You’re still resisting, though it’s weak and feeble. The list of all the preparations you have to make for the barbecue still manage to just barely cut through your sleepy arousal. “We have so much to d—ahh~” You try to sound firm, but it just comes out as a breathy moan when he begins rubbing your swollen clit. 
He uses his other hand to push up your shirt that’s actually his shirt, tracing small circles around your nipples with his rough fingertips. You try to push your hips into his hand in hopes to gain more friction, but his arms keep you locked in place. 
“No need to rush. Let’s just enjoy this,” he insists, but the finger massaging your bud gets faster, knowing just how to make you whine after all the time he’s had to learn your body. He pinches one of your nipples between two fingers and squeezes with just enough force to make you gasp.
His erection has gotten even harder at the sound of your mewls and whimpers, hot and achingly hard against your ass and your cunt clenches in anticipation. Your slick is dripping out of you in thick, syrupy strings that makes your thighs sticky, but you can’t bring yourself to care.
“Please Toshi, need you,” you beg, desperate for your husband to stuff you full just as he’s done so many times before.
Wakatoshi doesn’t respond, opting to push his pants and underwear down to his knees and you almost sigh in relief, just needing to satisfy the desire that’s threatening to burn you from the inside out. You’re so hot you feel like you’re burning and you throw the comforter off of you to try to escape the heat. He removes the hand that was in your panties, instead using it to rub his hard length along your slick folds. You’re keening and so so needy, gasping each time the head catches on the tight ring of muscle around your entrance. 
“You’re so beautiful like this,” he grits out, barely able to control himself.
Your breath is coming in short, uneven pants as you try to sink yourself down onto him. “I love you so much I...”
That’s the moment when he sheaths his entire cock inside you in a singular fluid movement. You let out a strangled moan, relishing in the familiar burning as you stretch to accommodate how thick he is.  Your pussy clamps down on him like a vice, molding perfectly around his length.
“It’s like you were made for me, made to take me,” Wakatoshi growls, sending another wave of arousal rippling through your body. He stays still for a moment, breathing deeply because he doesn’t want to cum and have this end so soon.
He starts moving his hips, thrusting slow and deep to reach the spongy spot inside you that makes you scream. The hand on your breast reaches around to grab your throat, stifling your moans into small, stuttering gasps. You whine each time he shoves himself deep inside you, his cock dragging deliciously against your spongy walls.
You stay like that for a while, bodies joined in the most intimate of ways as Wakatoshi moves his hips in leisurely, unhurried strokes. Your body is hot, sweaty, thrumming with the pleasure that’s so overwhelming all you can focus on is the intoxicating feeling of your husband’s cock deep inside you. The tightening in your core signals your impending orgasm, but each time you get close to the edge, it escapes your grasp over and over again. You need him to pound into you faster, harder. You need more.
“Toshi please, I-I need,” you manage to stammer out, but your words are stolen from your throat as he sharply thrusts as deep as he can, the tip of his cock smashing against your cervix with just the right amount of pressure. 
“Don’t worry. I know just what you need.”
Wakatoshi is fucking you with so much force that your eyes are rolling back in your head, and all you can hear is the wet slapping sound each time he’s sucked back into your wet heat. He’s close, you can tell by the breathy groans he’s making, but so are you. You clench and spasm around him, growing impossibly tighter and bringing both of you closer to climax. His merciless pounding of your insides just gets faster and rougher, and his other hand moves down to rub your clit in tight, fast circles. 
The pleasure that clouds your senses is overwhelming, just dancing on the edge between pleasure and pain and your body can’t take it anymore. Your vision goes white as you cum, cunt clamping down so hard Wakatoshi can barely move. You clamp a hand over your mouth to keep from screaming, your body shaking and trembling as you gush around him. The endless clenching of your muscles practically milks his orgasm out of him, a stifled groan leaving his lips as his thick, hot cum coats your insides. All you can do is moan softly in appreciation, too incoherent to say anything else. 
Your husband presses a kiss to your sweaty neck. “Are you okay?” he asks, taking in the sight of your limp, spent body. 
You haven’t caught your breath yet and your lips won’t form proper words, so you make the only noise you can, “Mmfmm.”
You whine as he slowly pulls out his softening length with an audible pop, sensitive cunt spasming at the slightest stimulation. He untangles himself from you and you want to reach out for him, but you’re too boneless to even attempt to do anything yet.
As Wakatoshi gets out of bed to get a warm washcloth, you hear the familiar sound of little footsteps making their way towards your room and you shoot up in bed, fully alert. You quickly pull the covers over your body, just in time for Hidetoshi to come bounding in.
“G’morning Mama! Where’s Daddy?” he wonders, his little head poking around the corner.
Your husband comes out of the bathroom, now fully dressed and washcloth in hand. “I’m right here, Hidetoshi.” The boy runs straight towards his father who picks him up effortlessly, swinging him around in the air as he squeals with delight. “Did you sleep well?”
Hide bobs his head enthusiastically, “Mhm! I had a dream I was a professional volleyball player just like you.” 
Your loud, exaggerated sigh draws both sets of olive eyes to you, but you train your gaze on your husband. “Have you been putting ideas in his head?”
Wakatoshi shakes his head no, but the child in his arms pipes up first, “Daddy has been showing me videos of his old matches from when he was with the Schwimmy Addles.” Your husband makes a noise of surprise, a guilty look on his face now that he’s been found out.
“You two are going to be my undoing, I swear,” you chuckle as you flop back into the fluffy pillows.
Hide squirms in his father’s arms, reaching out to you, but the man recognizes the warning look in your eyes and tightens his arms around him. “We should let Mama finish waking up first. Why don’t we go downstairs and make breakfast?” he asks, tickling his sides.
The boy shrieks with laughter and wriggles even harder in Wakatoshi’s arms. “F-fine Daddy! Stooop it!” Your husband stops his tickling and hoists your son over his shoulder, gently patting his back.
He passes the washcloth to Hide. “Why don’t you give this to your mama? Then we can go have something to eat.” 
Hide uses his little arms to hold the cloth out to you and you take it from him, nodding with gratitude. “Thank you sweetie, now go with your daddy.”
Your husband starts walking towards the door as a small, chubby hand waves bye to you and you blow kisses to them as they disappear into the hallway.
Using the washcloth, you clean the mess between your legs and muster the monumental effort it takes to get out of bed. You begrudgingly walk over to your dresser to put on clean pajamas and brush your hair so you’re presentable for a meal with your family. The sound of the fire alarm going off has you racing downstairs to the kitchen where Wakatoshi and your son should be.
As you slide into the kitchen and almost fall on the slippery hardwood in your haste, you realize your panic was for nothing. There’s a pan on the stove, grey smoke billowing out of it. Upon further inspection you discern that it’s eggs, you think, that are simultaneously under and overcooked. The guilty parties are sitting at the kitchen table a few feet away, a jug of milk and a couple of boxes of cereal surrounding them. Hide is shoveling spoonfuls of Cheerios into his mouth as your husband eats his own breakfast, only slightly neater in his approach.
“So… you tried to cook?” you ask, quirking an eyebrow at the large man chewing his Wheat Chex. He looks over at you and nods, mouth full with milk and cereal. “I’m guessing it didn’t go very well, judging by all the smoke,” you say slowly. Your husband simply shakes his head no, unbothered by the fact that he nearly gave you a heart attack.
Deciding it’s not worth the argument or the work to make a proper breakfast, you sit down next to Hide and pour yourself a bowl of Cheerios. He smiles at you, mouth open and full of disgusting half-chewed food, but you still return his beaming grin and ruffle his hair. The both of them are troublemakers in their own ways, but they’re your troublemakers nonetheless.
After you’ve all eaten breakfast, you lay a notepad in front of them that has a list of all the things you have to do before your guests arrive for the barbecue. 
You’re standing between them, pointing at each task on the list. “I still have to sweep and vacuum the house, Toshi you need to go to the store and buy all the food, and Hide you need to pick up all your toys that are in the backyard. We have a lot to do today and everyone has to do their part, okay?” you urge, looking between the males on either side of you and they both nod emphatically.
With everyone so busy, it’s difficult to find weekends where they’re all available so this get together has been planned for months. You’ll all be seeing friends and loved ones you haven’t seen in a long time, and it’s a team effort to make sure everything is ready for tonight. 
----
You finish all of the tasks on time, with an hour to spare thanks to your joint efforts. 
Hide is playing in his room while you and your husband get dressed and ready for what will likely be a long night of socializing and entertaining.
As you’re doing your makeup and getting ready for the party, you notice Wakatoshi staring at himself in the mirror, shirtless. His brows are furrowed, a deep frown on his face as he scrutinizes his reflection. He pinches his belly with both hands, scowling at the softness that used to be hard muscle. Tracing a finger along the stretch marks on his stomach and arms, he sighs heavily.
“Babe, what’s wrong?” you ask from the bathroom. 
Your husband walks over to lean against the wall behind you, his unreadable expression reflected in the bathroom mirror. He hesitates before answering, “I’ve let myself go.”
You set your mascara down on the counter and spin around to face him. “Wakatoshi, what in the world are you talking about?”
“I just said what. I heard a couple of my players say that I’m not as strong or as fast as I was when I was a professional.”
You loosely wrap your arms around his torso, squeezing gently. “Of course you’re not what you used to be, Toshi.” At the sight of his deepening frown you quickly add, “You’re so busy being a father, husband, and coach you don’t have the time to work out like you used to.” Getting on your tippy toes, you press a kiss to his nose, “And that’s okay.” It’s a rare occasion that he looks this vulnerable. His anxiety and self-consciousness are so clearly written in his features and it makes your heart ache for him. 
“It doesn’t bother you that I don’t look like that anymore?” he asks, pointing at the framed photo of his first win with the Japan National Team that hangs on the wall.
“Why would it bother me? This is the body races my son across our backyard, helps me fix our home we bought together, and makes love to me every night. I love you just as much as I did back then, and even more now that we have Hide,” you reassure him and you mean every word of it. Sure he’s not the most romantic of husbands, but he’s your husband and you love him just the way he is, with or without muscles.
A smile tugs at the corners of his lips and he squeezes you even tighter to him. “I know I probably don’t say this as much as I should, but I love you.”
You pepper kisses all over his eyelids, lips and nose. “And I love you more than anything, Wakatoshi. More than you will ever know.”
Your hands lovingly caress his chest that’s softer now, but still sturdy and muscular, and his arms that are not as lean anymore, but are still just as powerful and capable. “For the record, I love how soft you are these days. It’s great cushioning for when we cuddle.”
“Hidetoshi says the same thing,” he recalls, smiling at the thought of your beloved son.
After giving him a knowing look, you go back to putting on your makeup. “See? I told you. That boy is just as smart as his mother.”
It’s nearing five o’clock so Wakatoshi goes to the backyard to start grilling the food for everyone, while you and Hide finish plating the fruits and vegetables you prepared earlier.
You work in comfortable silence until your son turns to you, his eyes shining with unanswered questions. “Hey Mama?”
Putting down the strawberry you were holding, you sit down on the stool next to him and hold his hands in yours. “What’s on your mind, sweetie?”
“Do you not want me to be a volleyball player like Daddy? Is that why you got mad when I told you he showed me the videos?” 
You almost break your neck with how fast you shake your head in denial. “Of course not! I wasn’t mad, it’s just…” you start, trying to find a way to phrase your thoughts that he’ll understand. “Daddy’s job was very hard. His body still hurts a lot from all the times he got injured when he played volleyball. And… his job took him away from me and I missed him a whole lot.”
The look on his face is so reminiscent of his father, it’s like young Wakatoshi was frozen in time and plopped into the chair right next to you. With the way his eyebrows are scrunched up and his mouth is downturned as he thinks, he really is the spitting image of your husband. “Did it make you sad?”
Taking a deep breath, you hold your arms out to him so he can climb into your lap. “Sometimes it did. Mostly at night when I was all alone and Daddy was really far away.”
He rests his head against your shoulder, looking up at you. “Do you wish Daddy had a different job?”
You look out the window at your husband who’s starting up the grill, then look back at the sweet, round face of your boy. “No, I don’t. Daddy’s job was really important to him and it made him so happy that I grew to love it too, even if it made me sad sometimes.”
He sits up in your lap, thinking hard about what you said as he plays with your necklace. “Does Daddy still wish he could do it?”
“Probably, but it’s okay. If he hadn’t stopped, we wouldn’t have you, and you make our lives so much brighter and happier. Your Daddy and I love you so much, you couldn’t even imagine it.”
He spreads his arms out as far as he can. “This much?”
You shake your head. “Nope. Even more.”
“Wow, that’s a lot.” Hide’s eyes are wide with surprise, mouth slightly agape as he tries to imagine something so large and vast.
Laughing, you press a kiss to his head. “It sure is a lot, baby. Now why don’t we finish putting out all the food so we can go see what Daddy’s doing?”
Your son leaps out of your lap to grab handfuls of grapes and blueberries from the cartons on the counter, dropping them into the divided sections of the serving platter. “Aren’t you going to help me, Mama?”
You give him a look of mock offense before standing ramrod straight, giving him a mock salute. “As you command, Commander Ushijima.”
You carry both trays of food out to the backyard, not trusting Hide’s ability to hold them upright, while he carries a volleyball in his arms. Wakatoshi turns at the sound of footsteps, a small smile on his face as your son drops the volleyball, barreling straight into his legs with a force that makes the man grunt.
Hide looks up at his father, both arms wrapped around his legs. “Whatcha doing Daddy?” he asks.
Your husband reaches a hand down to ruffle his hair, a slight look of pain in his eyes from the boy slamming into his shins. “I’m just getting ready to start cooking the food for tonight. Do you want to help me?” He bends down to pick him up and Hide quickly hops into his arms, well practiced and effortless with how strong your husband is. The man points to different parts of the grill, explaining what they do, taking care to keep the boy far away from the flames. 
Setting the plates down on the table, you inform Wakatoshi, “Hajime and Tooru should be here soon, so should Tobio and Eita. Satori called and said he might be late, something about his luggage getting lost.” At that moment the doorbell rings, signaling your first guests are here. “I’ll get it. You two stay here and get the food on the grill.”
You open the front door, greeted with the familiar faces of Hajime and Tooru. “It’s so nice to see you two! Come on inside, don’t be shy,” stepping aside, you hold your arm out to welcome them into your home. 
“Mrs. Ushijima you get more and more beautiful each time I see you,” Tooru teases as you snicker in response.
“I see marriage hasn’t changed you at all, has it?” you question, more so directed at Hajime. 
“I tell him people are going to get the wrong idea,” the shorter man replies, sounding exasperated.
You usher them towards the backyard before picking up various soda and beer cans. “Wakatoshi and Hide are both in the back. You two go ahead and keep them company while I bring these out.”
It takes a few trips before you join them in the backyard, handing each adult a can and a juice pouch to Hide, who’s sitting at the picnic table with Tooru while Hajime chats with your husband. 
“How old are you now, little man?” the brunette asks.
Hide holds up five fingers plus his thumb as he swings his legs back and forth. “I’m six! I just started kindergarten.”
They both wave at you as you join them, sitting on the other side of the table. Tooru leans in towards you, a hand cupped around his mouth, and you tilt your ear towards him. “He’s so… polite and well-mannered. Are you sure Ushiwaka is the father?” he whispers, narrowing his eyes.
You lightly smack his head, glaring daggers in his direction. “Yes, obviously. Look at them, they’re basically twins.” Tooru looks at the boy sitting next to him then at your husband standing at the grill, then back to your son, then back to your husband. Hand on his chin, he takes in their matching olive eyes and hair and similar expressions, nodding seriously.
“I was just making sure.”
The doorbell rings a couple more times, Tobio and Eita arriving one right after the other. With almost all of your guests present, everyone is drinking and catching up, some casually passing a volleyball back and forth with Hide.
You’re in the middle of telling Tobio that Hidetoshi is too young to be thinking about his future career when the doorbell rings once more, indicating the last of your guests has arrived. You rush inside to get it, not bothering to check who’s there because you already know who it is. Swinging the door open, you pull the man into a tight hug. 
“Satori! We’re so glad you made it,” you exclaim, giving his back a few hard slaps.
The redhead pulls away from you, smiling. “I’m so glad I was able to make it in time. The airport lost my luggage, then my parents forgot to leave me a key to their house so I had to wait until a neighbor could let me in. To make matters worse, I got stopped by security when I landed because of this,” he says, holding up a white box with a bow around it.
You quickly grab the box, shaking it to try to hear what’s inside and sniffing it for good measure. “Ooh la la, did you bring us some fancy French chocolates?” you ask. “Actually, don’t tell me, Hide will want to open it.” You hand the box back to him and gesture him to follow you, “Everyone’s in the back so just follow me.”
With Satori in tow, you step onto the back porch and call your son’s name. He hands the ball to Eita before running over, eyes lighting up when he sees the man standing next to you.
“Uncle Tori!” he shouts, launching himself into Satori’s arms.
“Hey there Little Toshi, how you been? Keeping your dad out of trouble?” he asks, hugging the boy tightly.
“I think so! Well… we burnt some eggs this morning and the smoke machines started beeping, but that doesn’t count, right?”
The red-haired man waves his hand dismissively. “Of course it doesn’t. Any crimes committed in the name of breakfast are excused,” he insists. Pulling the box out from behind his back, he offers it to Hide. “I brought you something all the way from France, do you know where France is?”
Hide takes the present from him, “Yeah, it’s in Europe! Daddy showed it to me on a map.” He struggles a bit with the bow before he decides to just rip it off, lifting up the lid.
Satori points to the various chocolates laid on top of wax paper. “This one is filled with something called ‘ganache,’ which is basically just more chocolate, but it’s liquidy. That one over there has caramel, and the one right next to it is a bonbon filled with strawberry jelly. I picked all the best ones just for you.”
The boy smiles, eyes wandering over the chocolates like they’re bars of gold. “Thank you Uncle Tori! I bet they’re really yummy.”
He pats Hide on the head. “I hope you enjoy them lots. Now I gotta go say hi to your daddy, where is he?” Your son points to where Wakatoshi is standing at the grill, a spatula in one hand and a beer in the other as he chats with Tobio. “Thanks Little Toshi,” he says, ruffling his hair.
Satori walks over to your husband, pulling him into a crushing bear hug before he can say anything. “Wakatoshi, it’s been too long! I sure get lonely all the way in France, have you guys ever thought about moving?”
Wakatoshi freezes for a moment before giving in, hugging the man back, though slightly stiff in his movements. “We will not be moving to France. Hidetoshi will be raised here in Japan.”
The redhead releases him, sensing his discomfort. “Well, it was worth a shot. How’s your retirement? You miss being a pro?”
“I do miss it sometimes, but it was necessary to let a better, younger player take my place. I wouldn’t trade a few more years on the court for the life I have now with my wife and my son.” 
 Satori lets out a loud whistle. “I never thought I would hear the day that Wakatoshi Ushijima would say he cares about anything more than volleyball.”
“Volleyball was my entire life before, but they’re my entire world.”
The shorter man just smiles, silent for a moment before pointing to the apron your husband is wearing. “I didn’t think you’d actually wear that thing, Wakatoshi!” The apron black with bright red lettering that says ‘Wakatoshi: Grill Master,’ with a drawing of a flaming steak next to it.
“It keeps my clothes clean. Why wouldn’t I wear it?” he asks, genuinely curious. The redhead just laughs and shakes his head, patting him on the shoulder.
Your husband finishes grilling the food, much to the excitement and relief of the many hungry men who have been circling him like a hawk. Everyone takes from the piles of meat and vegetables, noticeably happier now that their stomachs are full. You’re all sitting around the picnic table, laughing and enjoying each other’s company.
Hajime recalls a story from when he first signed on as the athletic trainer for the national team. Wakatoshi had approached him after practice, saying he had a serious issue that he wanted someone to take a look at. Concerned for his player’s wellbeing, naturally he took him into the locker room and Wakatoshi took off his shirt. At first, he thought he might’ve stretched one of his ligaments too far or had even torn his rotator cuff muscle. Imagine his surprise when Wakatoshi pointed to an ingrown hair on his back, saying it was inflamed and causing him pain. It was then that Hajime had to explain that he’s not that type of medical professional, and that he should make an appointment with a dermatologist.
 The sun starts to set, but with the fun everyone is having they barely notice. The night begins to wind down once Hide yawns, rubbing his eyes tiredly, and it sets off a chain reaction of yawning that reaches every person at the table. Your son starts tugging on your sleeve, informing you he’d like to go to bed. Not wanting to leave him alone in the house and taking note of the exhaustion on everyone’s faces, you politely suggest to end the night early. A chorus of heads bob, indicating their desire to head home and sleep. 
All three of you hug and kiss everyone goodbye, waving to them as they drive away. You sigh from exhaustion and head inside to put Hide in bed. You and your husband hold each of his hands and take him to his room, pulling back his covers so he can climb in. 
He yawns again and closes his eyes, settling into his bed. “Night night Mama, Daddy. I love you.” 
You stroke his cheek lovingly before placing a kiss on his forehead. “Goodnight sweetie, I love you too.”
Your husband comes up from behind you to kiss Hide as well. “Sleep well, Hidetoshi. I love you.”
With your son asleep in his own bed, all you have to do is take off your makeup and brush your teeth before you too can sleep. 
You’re in the middle of washing your face when Wakatoshi comes into the bathroom to brush his teeth.
“I enjoyed tonight, I hope you did too,” he says.
You turn around to look at him and smile. “I did, it was amazing to see everyone in one place. It’s been years since we were all able to see each other.” After you finish washing your face, you stretch and yawn loudly, telling your husband, “I’m getting in bed now, join me when you’re done.”
Climbing under the sheets, you nestle yourself into the softness of your bed. You nearly doze off right then, but the shifting of the bed under Wakatoshi’s weight keeps you awake just a bit longer.
He slides in behind you so he can spoon you, an arm slung over your waist. 
“Goodnight Toshi, I love you.”
“Goodnight, I love you too.”
Before he falls asleep, Wakatoshi thinks of all the things in his life that led him here, to you, his wonderful wife, and his precious son.
Leaving professional volleyball was one of the hardest decisions he’s ever had to make in his thirty-seven years of living, but the end of that chapter of his life gave him Hidetoshi.
He knows that every moment of uncertainty, suffering, and hardship was worth it because it ultimately led him to you and your son, to this life you’ve built together. 
He’d do it all over again a thousand times over if it meant that your beautiful, shining face would be there to greet him in the end.
758 notes · View notes
lucy90712 · 3 years ago
Text
Georgenotfound- cooking stream
wc- 1920
~ George woke me up this morning at around 9am which is unusual for him he is never up at this time let alone waking me up for anything other than for me to join his stream. I knew exactly why he was waking me up as well because today he is doing a cooking stream and he wanted my help.
We had already rented an airbnb so that people couldn't work out where we lived and now today we had to get ingredients and move his set up over to the airbnb for the stream. I told George to decide what he wanted to make and I would look up recipes and make a list of ingredients because I just knew that he would do something wrong and the stream would turn out awful, I also had a backup plan that I haven't told George about just incase things go south.
I was still recovering from my sleeping state when the warm covers were ripped off my body and I was pulled forcefully from the comfortable mattress underneath me by my own boyfriend. What a traitor. He dragged me somewhere else in the house I wasn't quite sure where because my eyes were still adjusting to being open and needing to be used but I soon worked out we were in the kitchen and George was getting breakfast for the both of us.
"You know you could have just asked me to get up instead of dragging me out of bed" I said
"I know but thats no fun and plus I never get to wake you up so I thought I'd have fun with it" he replied
Classic George. Any chance he gets he will try and annoy me or make fun of me for some reason but I love me him so I deal with it. He got two bowls from the cupboard and poured cereal into them as well as some milk and giving me one of the bowls without a spoon but I moved past that after all it was early morning and George doesn't function at that time.
I went into the cutlery draw and got two spoons for us because George had yet to realise he was going to have to eat his cereal with his hands. I found him sat at the table that we have looking around clearly wondering where he had put the spoon he was sure he had grabbed.
I decided to play a little bit of a prank on him by putting his spoon somewhere random in the room and sat down with mine to make him even more concerned. He looked at me and the look on his face was priceless he was so bamboozled about what he'd done.
"Are you alright?" I asked
"No I can't remember where I put my spoon" he said
"Wow you really aren't a morning person are you" I said
He looked at me as I got up and walked over to where I put the spoon and grabbed it giving it to him.
"Did I seriously put it over there?" He asked
"No you never even got them out the draw so I'll let you decided if thats better or worse" I said
We ate breakfast together before George went to shower and I got dressed for the day because I showered last night. George had told me that he got outfits for us for the actual stream so I didn't bother getting dressed up in any way I just put on some leggings and one of George's hoodies that I took from his wardrobe. Sometimes he gets annoyed at me when I steal his favourite hoodies but this one is one of his many versions of his merch so he won't be too annoyed at me.
George came out the shower as I was doing my makeup and he grabbed his grey merch hoodie that he wears all the time so we would be matching today. He didn't seem to notice at first but as soon as he was ready he came over to sit with me as I finished off my makeup like he often does and that was when he properly looked at me.
"Did you steal my hoodie?" He asked
"Yes I did what are you going to do about it?" I said
"Nothing because you look cute in it" he said
I smiled at him and he took my hand to take me out the door to go to the shops and get everything that he needed for his stream. George never let go of my hand the whole car ride and the whole time at the shops, he can be very affectionate when he wants to be like some days he won't want to let go of me and other days he will be so consumed with work that we barely talk. Today's stream is going to be difficult if he's this attached to me but we'll work it out.
While getting all of the things we needed someone came up to George while I was further up the isle getting the right spices. George can get kind of awkward around fans in real life but then he gets even more nervous when he's with me even though the fans know he just finds it weird for people to see us out together.
I left him to talk to the fan and just looked at the wall of various spices that really meant nothing to me but I didn't want George to feel too awkward. That was until I looked over and he had a look of desperation so I walked over to him and he put his arm around my waist, he squeezed me slightly for reassurance. He used me as an excuse to stop the conversation he was having and the fan left us alone.
He told me all about the interaction and said it was super awkward because they didn't really know who he was just recognised him and was asking all sorts of personal questions he wasn't comfortable answering.
After leaving the shop we went home to get most of George's set up before heading to the air bnb to set everything up ready for later. George went into the house while I sat in the car mainly because he said he didn't need my help.
We spent a good few hours setting everything up and starting testing streams to see if everything was working and if camera angles were good. Once it was all ready George went to get the outfits he had brought for us, he handed me mine and I went to put it on. He had got me a proper chef top with buttons and everything and some black leggings to wear with it as well as a chef hat of course.
George started his stream without me so that I could watch it just incase something had broken in the time between when we finished setting it up and now. When I decided that everything was working fine I went into the kitchen to go and join him and get this thing started.
"Chat we also have a special guest this stream" he said
I walked into the view of the camera and the chat started spamming my name and this ship name they have given me and George which kind of doesn't work but they like it so we go with it.
"Hey chat" I said
We got on with cooking and George grabbed what we needed and started preparing things as I read the instructions to him. He did keep getting distracted by various different things and people that were calling him but we managed to do most of it in the end.
First we made mozzarella sticks which was pretty easy and then we moved onto cooking a steak and making chips which wasn't as easy. I offered to cook the steak because I didn't trust George but he wouldn't let me incase I hurt myself which I thought was funny because if anyone was going to get hurt it was him.
Anyway the both of us survived that and frying the mozzarella sticks which was more dangerous and then we got made fun of by Sapnap, dream, bbh and Quackity for calling crepes pancakes even though they are pancakes. (I will not be taking criticism on this) they kept insisting that what we were making wasn't pancakes but we held strong with our argument and won in the end with the help of the British viewers in chat.
When everything was made and we had tried it all we just kind of stood about talking to dream who was the only one left in the call. By now George couldn't bare to be away from me any longer so he put his arm around me and pulled me into his chest, he was not about to let go anytime soon so I gave in and put my head into his chest settling in.
Dream got George to follow his instructions he gave him which involved taking off his hat and headphones then he told him to mess up his hair, as soon as he said this I knew what he was doing and I appreciated it. George always styles his hair when he gets up but I love it when its messy although he never leaves it like that.
George messed up his hair and then went to the sink to get it wet and then messed it up more, he looked so good like that I almost got scared that his stream would see me blushing over just how hot he looked.
"What? I've never seen your hair like that" dream said
"I mean I like your messy hair" I said
"Wait you like it?" George asked
"Yeah of course I do" I said
"Well I guess I'm doing my hair like this from now on" he said
I smiled ruffling up his hair more to make it look exactly how I like it which his chat also appreciated, they were loving this just as much as I was. George ended his stream after like 4 hours making it just past 11pm. We packed up all of George's set up and cleaned the place before starting the drive back home.
By the time we got boys back home I was super tired but I had promised George that I would help him take all of his stuff back inside and set it back up which was going to take a while and I was not looking forward to it.
It took us two hours to set everything back up, I thought I was tired before but now I was exhausted I could barely move I just wanted to be in bed asleep. I tried to get up from my position on the floor but my legs were too weak so George had to pick me up and carry me to our bedroom where he put me down on the bed and chucked a hoodie at my face for me to wear. I got into the covers and pulled them up to just under my chin getting comfy as George got in too placing his arm over me and hugging me from behind which is how we normally sleep. My eyes gradually got heavier as George whispered things into my ear until I couldn't keep them open anymore and sleep took over.
67 notes · View notes
Text
Two Shorten the Road
part 1
joel dawson x reader
warnings: cussing? idk, bad writing.....fluff, cuteness, monsters(is this a warning), mentions of death, SPOILERS
word count: 2154
prompt: when your best friend decides to leave your colony to go find the love of his life, you decide to join him on his journey even if you aren’t so happy about where this journey is going
Welp I did it, I took it into my own hands. I am writing a joel dawson series. Because we👏need 👏more👏joel���fics👏 it’s basically the movie, almost the same script but obviously slightly different…ENJOY! <3
Tumblr media
No one in my generation or later had a typical upbringing, I mean some of us did but then the world ended. This type of thing sounds straight out of some apocalyptic movie, but we basically live in one now. Agatha 616, an asteroid heading straight for earth, I know, so original. So we all came together and did what we do best, blow things up. Yup, we blew up teh asteroid, and humanity was saved! We thought. But here’s the thing about rockets, they are made of a bunch of chemical compounds which eventually rained back down on earth. Suddenly there were these Aileen creatures that mutated and started eating us. Ants, lizards, roaches, crocodiles, you name it. Our president was even killed by a giant moth. Ya….not so original now huh? We suddenly need tanks to kill ants, oh man I remember the good old days when a shoe would do just fine. Sometimes even the tanks didn’t work. Eventually the really big ones and our military took each other out and we lost 95% of the human population in a year! Those of us who survived hid, bunkers, caves, panic rooms, all around the world. So for the last seven years I’ve been hiding in an underground bunker. It’s really not as bad as it sounds, and it’s better than getting eaten alive. It’s a great group of people and we all love each other.
“Are you sure they’re asleep?”
“Who?”
“Y/N and joel!”
“Oh ya I’m sure”
“Joel? Y/n?”
“He’s asleep”
Actually we are both awake. Me and my best friend joel have kinda mastered faking being asleep. Our beds are right across from each other so we normally just lie there and make stupid faces at each other. We are the only two single people in our bunker. Nice huh? Joel is my best friend. I met him when I joined the colony. He’s the sweetest. It’s funny cause everyone thinks we should just have sex already because that’s literally all everyone else does. But we are way above that. Anyway, joel is in love with his girlfriend from before the colony, her name is Aimee. With one “I” and two “e”s. He loves to talk about her, he writes her letters. So in reality, I am the only one who is not in love in this bunker. I’ve never had a boyfriend, ever, even before the world ended.
We don’t really get any sleep. The moaning kinda keeps us awake. I got up and out of my bed and headed for the kitchen. I heard Joel’s bed creak and then his footsteps as he followed behind me. Another annoying thing about being down here is that to get to the kitchen from my room, you have to walk though other people’s bedrooms. Oh shit, they are busy, why would they leave their door open. Me and Joel stopped.
“Oh” joel and I said in unison
“Hey Y/N! Hey Joel!” Ava said
“Oh hey Ava” Joel said, we didn’t dare look over to our left.
“Y/N how’s it going?” Tim asked
“T-totally good tim, h-how are you doing” I asked
“Yeah, good” he responded
“I uh we couldn’t sleep” said Joel looking at the ceiling
“Ya we know the feeling” Ava said with a laugh
“Yeah probably not for the…..same reasons” joel said looking straight ahead
“Your guyses door was open, did you…did you know that?” I asked
“Yeah we know” they said
I shook my head and knitted my eyebrows together
“Okay” joel trailed off
Ever since Tim’s parents were eaten by a swarm of termites he and Ava have gotten really close, in every way.
“Okay, goodnight” joel said as we walked
Basically everyone is coupled up down here, a baby was born last winter! Welcome to the apocalypse kid. Ok if we ever get out of this, that would be an awesome story to tell your kids. “Oh ya I was born in an underground bunker doing a monster apocalypse” “yes exactly like World War Z but with bugs bigger than a 5 story building”. I mean come on.
So your probably wonder how the hell we get food, we’ll we have a cow. Gurdy. Gurdy is great. We also have a hunting party that brings back whatever they can from the surface. It’s gotten harder and harder, cause we ran out of bullets. And facing one of those things with a handmade weapon is just as hard as it sounds. It’s very very difficult. I go with them….sometimes. I still get scared. But I’ve been out quite a lot, especially compared to my man joel over here. I’ve been out maybe 30 times, he’s been out…maybe once, or not even. He’s the chef of the bunker. He makes super good Minestrone.
Me and joel like to hang out with Mavis. A robot. Yup. Not much for conversation, her batter is shot. Just like every other mavis I would imagine. When I’m not hunting we hang out with her. But sometimes I just go read. Reading and joel keep me sane. I mean sometimes joel drives me insane but I still love him. I have quite the collection of books too! I’ve got Emma by Jane Austen, a couple random ones that we found, all the hunger games and Harry Potter books, some mysteries that stopped being mysteries after a while, and then of course some smutty romance books for personal entertainment.
Joel likes to say that his thing is target practice. He has never hit the target but ya know, gotta entertain yourself. I think his thing is drawing though, he has this book that he draws in from Aimee. It’s really cool actually. He’s really good.
I sat watching Joel as he tried to hit the target, laughing a little every time he missed. It was cute how hard he tried.
“Shut up” he said shaking his laugh away
I laughed again, but then suddenly the lights started flickering. You could hear screeches and creeks echoing through the bunker. Joel turned to look at me. Worry and determination in his eyes. We both scrambled out of the room and into the kitchen where everyone was preparing.
“Hustle, hustle people we’ve gotta move”
I turned to look at Joel but then realized that he wasn’t next to me. Where did he go? Worry flooded through me. Suddenly the clanking of our weapon started behind me.
“Hey guys!” Joel said as he rammed into the railing, I shook my head. “Guys! I’ve got the weapons” he smiled at me
A few people walked over to him taking them out of his hands
“Stay” said Tim
“W-what?” Joel asked looking around in confusion
Everyone was talking and barking orders “grab what you need and let’s go! Y/N you coming?”
My eyes shot open “yes! Yup!” I jumped up and grabbed the bow and arrow from Joel.
“W-what's happening?” He asked innocently “what’s going on?”
“There’s a breach” said Tim
“What do you mean? Like inside the bunker breach?!” He asked
“Yes joel! Now come on!” I told him, patting him on the pack as I followed the others
He followed me and watched the plan get arranged
“Anna, Y/N and I will engage. Anderson and Tom plank him”
“Plank him, ya ok where do you guys need me? You want me to uh come through the rear or..?” Joel asked eagerly
“I don’t think your going to pass this joel” I told him
“Pass what? You guys need help, let me help” said clutching his crossbow
“You gonna make me say it?” said Sam
“Say what?!” God he was so adorably clueless
“You can’t handle it joel, your shook” said Sam, we all began getting into positions
“Ya ok, yes so you guys don’t get scared..ever?” He asked still getting ready to fight
“We get scared, we all get scared joel, but you get really scared” said Sam
“They are trying to make you feel bad joel” I said sweetly, trying to calm him down
“We love you joel”
“But your a liability”
“Ok why did that speech feel so rehearsed? And what about Y/N? She’s like…ya know?” He said bobbing his head
“Joel-“ suddenly the bunker shook and the lights flicked again
“Ok 30 meters out! Let’s move!” And we were off
Leaving joel and some others behind. You could hear the growling of whatever we were up against
I followed the others and listened carefully. I was freaking shaking. Don’t ask how I got sucked into becoming one the the hunters. Kinda just happened and I was just-
“OH SHIT!” I heard someone yell, it was too dark to see. Someone was gone, that thing took them. I couldn’t even see it. Oh fuck my life. Everyone began scattering, running away from the monster. I stopped running to take a breath, when I realized I was alone. Nicely done Y/N. The lights kept flickering. I heard something blow up in the distance.
“Conned? Conner?” I heard a whisper, one I knew all too well. Shit, joel. I ran toward the sound, and had no idea I was also running toward certain death. I stopped running. There it was, that thing. I’d never seen this before. I didn’t recognize it. I stayed silent, not moving at all. It slowly crawled over a shower curtain. Oh fuck. He was going toward joel! I quickly grabbed my bow and arrow and shot it. Right though the face. Next to its….eye I guess you could call it. Joel stood there, frozen.
I slowly walked over to him “Joel, hey are you ok?” I asked as I slipped my hand into his. He was trembling. Tears ran down his cheeks. He has a bad freezing problem, so I've been helping him work on it.
About an hour later I sat with Joel, still holding his hand as he stared out into space. We could hear everyone talking. How could this have happened?
“It ripped through steal”
“Anderson and I resealed the Breach point, nothings getting in that way again”
“But why did it happen?”
I tried to toon it out, and I hoped Joel did too.
“Joel, do you wanna talk about it?” I asked squeezing his hand, he looked so sad, which just crushed me
He shook his head
“Ok….” I nodded, I leaned into hug him but was interrupted by his voice
“How far away is Aimee's colony?” He asked
I pulled back, looking at him confused. The talking stopped and everyone look at him
“What?” Tim asked
“Aimee’s colony, how far away is it?” He repeated
“About 85 miles” he said as he furrowed his brows
“How long will it take to get there?”
“What do you mean joel?” I asked leaning closer to him
“Just humor me, how long?” He insisted
“7 days” said Tim
“Someone who’s armed and trained would hardly last 50miles, but you…joel” Ava said, I felt bad for him, he really didn’t deserve any of this
“Alright” Tim continued “now I need volunteers”
“I’m gonna go” joel said
No one said anything, they just stared
“It’s an impossible journey joel” said Tim, crossing his arms
Joel stood up, moving around my chair. “No im serious…I love you guys but there’s only one person in this world who ever truly made me happy and she’s only 85 miles away” he said strongly “I’m gonna go see her” I could see his mind was made up
God he was such a romantic, how could you not love this guy? Sure it hurts when your best friend tells you that you didn’t make him truly happy. Especially when you maybe sorta kinda have a crush on him.
He let out a breath “woah, that felt awesome” he said as he walked off to start packing
I stood there for a second processing and thinking, but then suddenly my mouth took over and well….
“I’m coming with you!” I said, he froze “I mean you can’t leave me here with these middle aged people, and your my best friend so” I shrugged
“I’ll come back for you I promise” he walked over to me “I can’t let you put yourself in even more danger” he said grabbing my arms
“I can’t let you put yourself in danger knowing that I could have helped protect you” I said, he stared blankly at me
I smiled “o-ohK…then I guess…” he trailed off
“Cool I’ll go pack” I skipped past him. Was I scared? Hell yes. But like I said, I needed to help joel and protect him in every way I can. And sure I wasn’t so happy that he was returning to his long lost love but if it made him happy then I would live. And anyway, two do shorten the road.
87 notes · View notes
wooyunhwa · 4 years ago
Text
kingdom of welcome addiction | two
Tumblr media
view pinned post for masterlist for links to the rest of the parts!
Genre: smut 
Pairing: demon!san x fem!reader
Word Count: 6k
Warnings: blood drinking, choking (like some serious choking you’ve been warned), crying kink, corruption kink, praise kink? idk, mentions of alcohol, virgin mc
Synopsis: When you accidentally summon a bloodthirsty demon boy to your bedroom, you form an unexpected contract with him.
A/N: Thank you for reading and comments are super appreciated as always!
Tumblr media
It had been a few weeks since you’d last summoned San. The last time you’d seen him, he’d gone kind of crazy after tasting your blood. You couldn’t forget the darkness in his voice, his all-black eyes shining demonically as he lost it. He had left without even giving himself a chance to explain himself, he just disappeared to, well… wherever it was that demons went, you supposed.
Every so often, your hand would find its way up to check the scar where he’d punctured your neck. Honestly, you just wanted to make sure you hadn’t dreamt it all. As the days went on, you really couldn’t be sure. Eventually the scar dwindled to a faint red mark, and then to nothing at all. 
The sticky note was still pinned to the wall above your desk, taunting you every time you saw it. Each time you’d think today was the day you’d call him back, and yet, you hadn’t been able to do it.  
Until you were drunk, that is. 
You had a particularly rough day of classes. Your professor had called you out in front of the whole class for a mistake you made on an assignment, and it ripped you apart. When you got home, you had poured out a few pathetic drinks to drown the pain of the day, wanting nothing more than to curl up in your bed and disappear. But you forgot one vital thing. When you drank alone, you got sad. Like, really sad. The tears seemed to flow endlessly, and there was a point at which you even forgot why you were crying—or drinking—in the first place. 
There was a part of you that needed in that moment to not be alone, even for just a second. Embarrassed to call any of your friends over, you turned to the only companion who couldn’t turn you down.
Your demon boy.
You ripped the post-it off the wall, finally ready to use it, drunkenly singing out the Latin a few times until it was comprehensible enough to work.  
He was perched on your desk when he appeared. You stumbled back drunkenly, startled by his sudden appearance despite knowing you were summoning him. You just forgot how jarring it was. 
“Oh, you have to be kidding me,” San grumbled. You weren’t sure if he was responding to your sudden summoning, or the fact that you were leaking tears all over the place pathetically, but you couldn’t even manage to choke out a response through your blubbering. 
“This is way out of my pay grade.” He hopped off the desk, sauntering slowly in your direction. “Have you been drinking, hmm? I can smell that cheap liquor from a mile away. It’s fogging up your pretty little scent.”
You wiped the tears from your eyes pitifully. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have summoned you. You can leave.”
“I did miss your cute little human face, I suppose,” he said softly. He was standing close now, towering over you. You pulled your gaze up to meet his eyes, and he gave a gentle pet to your head. In any other situation, it would be sweet, but the look in his eyes was chilling. He looked at you like prey, a piece of meat—and yet his words dripped off his tongue like the sweetest honey. “Don’t cry, okay?” 
His thumb drew across your cheek, passing faintly over your lips, collecting tears. He brought his hand up to his tongue, licking it clean of the saltwater, not breaking eye-contact for even a second. “Virgin tears. Almost as good as the blood,” he sang, eyes rolling back in his head in a quick moment of bliss for just a moment before fixing back on your face. “Almost.”
You forgot how alluring he was, his sharp-featured face in particular. There was something magnetic about it, you couldn’t pull your gaze away no matter how intense he was. 
“So why’d you call me, hmm, darling?” He flashed his teeth villainously. “Missed my bite that much? Have something new to offer, perhaps?”
You dropped your gaze, but he tipped your chin up to meet his again almost immediately. “Look me in the eyes, darling. You’re the one that summoned me, the least you could do is give me that.”
“I shouldn’t have called you here. I shouldn’t have even thought—I should have known you wouldn’t care beyond your own interests,” you said, voice hoarse and shaky through your tears. 
He shrugged. “You’re probably right.”
“Asshole.” 
His brows furrowed. “Okay, a little uncalled for. But not entirely untrue.” He placed his hands on your shoulders, guiding you to the bed. It took only a small nudge to plop you down. You felt the effects of the alcohol wash over you. “We can make a contract. If it makes you feel better.”
“What, you’re gonna ask for my blood again?” you scoffed.
“No.”
“Then?”
“Your tears.”
You paused, considering the stakes. “Fine, take them. What do I get?”
He took a seat next to you on the plush blanket, placing a surprisingly comforting hand on your back. “I’ll listen to you. Like, uh… a demon therapist,” he smiled at you from your side, flashing his fangs cheekily. “I promise I’ll do my best to stay serious. I’m contractually obligated.”
“Fine,” you agreed, slightly annoyed at how difficult you found it to resist him. His devilish charm was too much for you—even sober, but especially drunk. 
“Tears first,” he said decidedly, and you caught a glimpse of desire spark in his eyes. 
You nodded, shuffling your butt on the bed to face him. You expected him to run his fingers over your face, like he had earlier. Instead, he brushed his thumb over the side of your face slowly, dancing along the cut of your jaw, then leaned in to brush his lips over your cheek. You flinched as his lips connected with your skin softly, and you felt the distinct wetness of his tongue brushing over the surface. He lapped at your tears through deliberate, drawn-out kisses, and the cold metal of his lip ring felt unexpectedly nice drawing over your cheek. 
His hand came around to the back of your head, lacing his fingers in your hair to steady you. It was incredibly sensual, whether he meant it to be or not. He moaned pleasurably at the taste of your tears, though he didn’t have the same animalistic hunger he seemed to have when he’d tasted your blood. Probably for the best. 
“You’re so cute when you’re crying. Like a helpless little lamb. If I weren’t supposed to be nice to you right now, I’d have a half a mind to make you cry again,” he purred against your ear. 
His other hand threaded around the small of your waist, like he’d done when he drank your blood before. And you couldn’t lie, you kind of loved it. His position was unexpectedly romantic: one hand cupped around your waist, the other laced in your hair, delivering soft kisses and licks across your cheeks. You closed your eyes to get a better idea of the sensation, fisting your hands needily in the silky fabric of his button down. 
You felt him pull away suddenly, an amused smirk dancing up on his lips. “Someone’s getting spicy. This wasn’t in our contract.” 
Fuck. Something in your mind was telling you to kiss him. Not just telling, but more like screaming at you. Fucking kiss him. His lips looked so soft and alluring, so dangerously off-limits. You leaned in slightly, magnetized by his aura, only to feel him pull away entirely. 
“Okay. I’ve had my fun,” he said. He ran a hand through his hair, roughing it up messily, giving you a perfect view at the cut of his jaw. “Now I hold up my end of the deal. You talk, I listen.”
Do we have to talk? you thought, annoyed. I’d rather just make out.
You gritted your teeth together as you tried desperately to shift your thoughts away from kissing him. But you couldn’t help but think about how his lips would taste against your lips, how his tongue would dance sinfully against yours, his fingers laced in your hair—god, what was wrong with you? It was probably all the drinks you had, making you unnecessarily sad and even more unnecessarily horny for your hot demon errand boy. You needed to get it the fuck together. 
You pushed away your fantasies for the night, as hard as that was. For the next hour or so, you lamented to him about your rough day, even going into a few things that had happened in the past week. He listened thoughtfully, carefully, though in the back of your mind you knew he was only being so attentive because he was ‘contractually obligated.’ 
You poured your heart to him, feeling incredibly vulnerable under his concentrated gaze. Though this time it wasn’t entirely predatory, but more like interested. Caring, even. You doubted that even was possible. Even so, as you talked, you felt more and more connected with him. 
For a moment, he seemed almost human. 
Tumblr media
Summoning San became an almost nightly routine for you. 
You’d summon him, have him help you with mundane activities like homework, cleaning, cooking—whatever task you could think of to keep him around as long as possible. Of course, he couldn’t turn you down unless you didn’t have a reasonable counter to give him. 
Each time you summoned him, it seemed as though he cared less and less about the contract and seemed to enjoy your company a bit more. Not that he’d ever unveil that information to you—he always gave into your mundane proposals begrudgingly, but there was a glint in his eye that said he wanted to be there, even if he wouldn’t admit it yet. 
“You know I have other clients, right?” he’d joke. “You can’t summon me every night.”
“Oh, so you’re cheating on me?” you’d tease back. 
“Don’t worry,” he’d say with a charming wink. “You’re my favorite human.” 
“Not that there’s any competition, but you’re my favorite demon.” 
You loved the playful banter between you. He felt somehow easier to talk to than any human you’d met, perhaps because there was little to no social pressure involved. Something about your dynamic felt almost boyfriend-ish, in a way—if you could consider being a glorified errand boy a boyfriend-ish thing to do. He rarely divulged any personal information about himself, but you got to know him through the littlest things. His small habits, the things that made him laugh. 
You couldn’t believe it, but you were falling for him slowly, like some sort of pathetic schoolgirl crush. The highlight of your day was the minute you could conjure him, even just to see his face smiling in front of you, that familiar devilish grin as he appeared in your room. 
There was still something that felt entirely off-limits, though. Sure, you’d let him drink from your neck a few more times—each time he’d get better at controlling himself—but you weren’t sure how to cross the line from there. He’d been so forward on the very first night you met him. He even asked to take your virginity, which of course you outright denied. But even if it was a joke, if he was just messing with you, the idea swirled in your mind every now and again. You even dreamt of him a few times. But he hadn’t mentioned it since. 
Tumblr media
It was late in the night. You had summoned San to do some menial house chores, as you usually did, in exchange for dinner and a back massage—something you weren’t even aware demons needed. San had explained it to you, but you still couldn’t quite wrap your head around the inhuman-soul in a human-vessel dynamic, so you chose not to question it too hard.
Today, something felt different about him. He was flirtier, sexier, more outlandishly charming than usual, if that was even possible. You watched him scrubbing your countertops like your hot demon maid—you even went so far as to dress him in an apron you spent a little too long picking out at the store—marveling at the small of his waist cinched in with the fabric tie. 
“Enjoying the view?” he teased with a playful glance over his shoulder, wiggling his hips. 
“Ugh, I was until you did that,” you joked back. “C’mon, that countertop isn’t gonna scrub itself.”
He gave his hips another shake, chuckling as you trained your gaze on his ass. “You’re so cute when you’re drooling over me. Get it together, darling. You’ve still got a massage to give.”  
He was just joking around with you, you knew that. He was probably just as charming with his other summoners, or his ‘clients’ as he called them. But he was right, you couldn’t help but drool over him. It was moments like this where you fell for him, hard, pretty much flat on your face. You wished so desperately for him to be human right now, just for a second. You wanted him to give you a sweet, squeezing hug, kissing your forehead. You wanted to feel his arms around your waist, pulling you in close. You wanted to ask him on a date. You wanted him. 
But you’d have to settle for watching him clean your house. God, what was wrong with you? You couldn’t have caught feelings for a human boy?
And now you had to give him a massage, which wasn’t going to make it any better. 
He laid himself face down on your bed, face resting gingerly against your pillow. You straddled him, setting yourself down gently on the back of his thighs. You had admittedly never given a massage before, but you weren’t going to let that stop you. Your hands explored below the hem of his shirt, lifting up slowly to reveal the soft, perfectly tanned skin underneath. You were able to get a better view of his proportions, the way his waist curved in so delicately and then up into his beautifully broad shoulders. He was fit, but not too muscular, slender, but not too thin. He was absolutely immaculate. 
You rubbed circles in his back, drawing out the sweetest moans from his lips as you massaged down on his muscles. “I may be cursed with this human body—ah—but this does feel kind of amazing,” he admitted in a voice slightly muffled by the pillows. 
You worked at his muscles until he seemed satisfied, even rolling your palms around his neck and shoulders to hear his sweet groans of pleasure. It was unbelievably enticing, and you felt dampness pooling between your legs.  
When you were done he rolled on to his stomach. You watched in awe at the rise and fall of his chest, the tip of his chin accentuating his sharp jawline. You didn’t want him to leave. 
He stood himself up from the bed, shaking his muscles out a bit before smiling cheekily, flashing his fangs as he always did. “Looks like our contract today is complete. See you tomorrow, hmm?” he winked. 
“San wait—”
“Yes?”
“I want another contract.”
He paused to contemplate, dragging his tongue over his bottom lip in thought. He cocked his pierced eyebrow up, stepping forward to close the distance between you. “What’s that, little lamb? Are you finally gonna let me take that pretty little soul?”
You swallowed, mustering up the courage to make your move. “I want you to kiss me.”
“You—what?” he sputtered, clearly caught off guard by your proposition. 
“I’m asking you to kiss me,” you repeated.
You watched his eyes go dark, slightly hooded as he trained his gaze back on you. In contrast from his lighthearted mood earlier in the day, he looked particularly lustful as his eyes found your lips. 
“So, if you want to make a contra—” 
He was on you before you could finish your sentence. His hands found your hips, squeezing tightly to pull you against him.
His lips lingered over yours, the warmth of his breath washing over you like soft waves. He didn’t stay there for long, pulling your lips against his fully. He tasted like heaven, hell, and everything in between. You craved for him as thirstily, barely coming up for air as your lips rocked slowly against each other’s. One of his hands was laced in your hair, the other steadying against your neck. For a moment, you forgot he was even a demon at all, except for the inhumanly exquisite taste of his lips.
He pulled away for only enough time to choke out his next words in a low growl. “I guess I’ll make an exception on the contract this once. Once.”
He bit playfully at your bottom lip, lightly twirling his tongue around the surface. Then harder. You yelped as his fang sunk in, tearing off a small piece of flesh. He smirked against your lips, drawing his tongue across the blood with sensual breaths. His hands came to your shoulders to swivel your hips around, backing you into the wall next to your door frame, caging you in with his body. 
“I always forget how good you taste,” he purred in your ear. He grasped at your body hungrily through your clothes, like he was ready to rip through them at any moment.
You could have stayed there forever, his body trapping you against the wall, lips on you like he would never have another chance to taste you. But he pushed away suddenly, his eyes flashing a demonic black for a moment angrily. 
“Fuck. I have to go. I’m getting another call,” he hissed through his teeth. 
“San wait I—” 
But he was gone. 
Your knees gave out under you weakly, sliding your back down the wall, staring at the empty space he had occupied. He wasn’t yours. He wasn’t your boyfriend, or even your friend. He was a demon. You couldn’t afford to forget that for even a moment. 
It was just too good to be true.
Tumblr media
You didn’t discuss the kiss further, not for a while at least. He’d made a few passing comments on his nightly house calls, but you hadn’t dared bring it up again in conversation. However, on one night in particular, you had summoned him without purpose. You were admittedly lonely, and frankly, a bit horny. You wanted company, and he was always on call. 
“Yes, my liege?” he teased with a bow as he appeared in your room. And there was that intoxicating smile again. 
“Will you just talk to me tonight?”
“Okay, darling. And what do I get, hmm?”
“No contract.”
“You know that isn’t how this wo—” 
“I want to know you’re not just here because you have to be tonight. But if you really don’t want to be here, you can leave. You know the way out.”
He sighed heavily. “Y/N, you know this isn’t—”
“Please.” 
You saw the look on his face soften, and he gave in with a nod that said ‘fine, but just this once’.
You talked across from each other on the bed for a while, talking about anything that came to your mind, though not much about him. He mostly listened, cut in a few times with a quip or a cheeky comment, but kept his eyes trained on you with complete concentration otherwise. You actually hadn’t expected him to be such a good listener. Better than most humans you knew, anyway. You loved the moments where you caught a glimmer of humanity, although you knew that wasn’t possible. The only human thing about him was his body, after all. 
As you made conversation, your mind wandered elsewhere. You couldn’t help but admire the curve of his lips, the sharp cut of his jaw, his crimson eyes shining like rubies. You felt completely intoxicated by him, as you always did. He was entirely tempting and yet felt completely off limits, even though you had entertained many times the thought of him fucking you. The thought flickered through your head even now. You imagined every rise of the muscles in his chest, sweat glistening on his skin as he towered over you. You imagined what his dick might look like, sliding in and out of you. You imagined his lips all over your body, every curve of your skin, every inch of you from head to toe.
The tension in the room grew thick as you watched his mouth, concentrated on every movement, every flick of his tongue, the faint glimmer of his metal lip ring, the fangs glistening under his slightly parted lips. There wasn’t an ounce of subtlety in the way you watched him, and he slowly stopped moving entirely, focusing all his energy on to you again. You craved the intense heat of his gaze now—you were no longer uncomfortable with his severity, only further entranced by how it pulled you in. You were entirely in his trap. You leaned forward, initiating the kiss, and he leaned in to meet you. His tongue slid against yours, and you reciprocated fervently. He tasted incredible, and the way he moaned against your lips indicated he felt the same about you. “You’re intoxicating,” he purred, his heavy breaths sounding like music in your ears. You wanted him, entirely. Since the moment he’d first appeared you’d wanted him.
Your hands explored his chest, his arms, the small of his waist—everywhere you could touch, you did. His chest was rock-solid, a beautiful display of muscle sculpted beautifully on his core. You felt every desire you’d ever had compounding at once within you, it rocked through you like a wave: the need to be touched, held, fucked right this moment. Although you’d never done it before, at least with another person, you had plenty of experience with the vibrator in your room, and recently, with picturing San as you pleasured yourself. Either way, if you had done it with another human or not, it probably wouldn’t have even mattered—he wasn’t human at all, in fact. What he was was danger wrapped up in an alluringly human-like package.  
“I want you to fuck me, San,” you said confidently, letting the words the drip off your tongue, slowly and deliberately. 
Your bodies were nearly flush, and you could feel the heat of his breath against your skin. His finger traced along your jaw, a low grumble rolling up through his throat, coming up through his teeth in a hiss. “You can’t tempt me with that kind of offer,” he growled, and the way his fingers trembled as they met your skin indicated his ultimate self-control. “I don’t think you understand how I can get...”
“I saw it, San, before. Remember? I’m not scared of you,” you countered. But that last part was kind of a lie.
“I can’t,” He took a final step closer, closing any remaining gap between you. “Fuck… you don’t understand how… delicious you look to me right now,” he hissed through his teeth, his voice getting rougher and deeper as he held himself together. “I can’t help myself. It’s like some sort of animal instinct.”
“San, please. I can handle it. You even admitted you wanted my virginity the day we met.”
“I was joking back then… sort of. I might be soulless, but I’m not heartless. I couldn’t hurt you.” He gritted his teeth, restraining his heavy, lusted breaths.
“So you don’t want to?”
“Fuck, I do… I do more than anything. Every time I look at you I picture myself destroying you—”
“Then do it.”
“Gah, you—fuck.” He planted a few restrained kisses down the sensitive skin of your neck. He dragged his fangs along the taut flesh, threatening to sink them in. “I can try to hold myself back. No promises.” 
“Please, San,” you whined. Your hands fisted the silky fabric of his shirt, drawing his chest as close to yours as possible. 
“Mmf,” he grunted against your neck, digging his nails into your waist hungrily. “Fuck, you taste like a drug.” He pulled back, his eyes darker now. His usually crimson irises looked nearly black in his state of temptation, so much so that you could barely make out the whites of his eyes. He looked more like a demon than ever before, the wicked aura almost possessing him. He shook his head, as if trying to purify himself. “I can’t—I’m gonna hurt you. Don’t do this to me, I’m not going to be able to—” 
You pulled down the collar of your shirt, revealing your shoulders and a hint of your chest. His eyes went hungry, trained on the soft curve of your collarbone lustfully, wickedly. “I’m giving my body to you, please... Take it.” 
His voice was a low growl, and he seemed to be restraining himself with everything he had left. Thick, enraged veins bulged from his forearms as he grasped at your waist. “I’m telling you, I’m going to lose control… you’re not gonna recognize me.”
“I know. San, please. I’m asking you to take my virginity.”
He finally snapped under your words, his eyes almost fully consumed with black now. His lips attached to your collarbone, sucking gently at the soft skin around it. His desperate clawing nearly tore the fabric of your shirt from your skin as his kisses feasted on you hungrily. You tipped your head back, his lips and tongue eliciting soft moans from you as they danced along the top half of your chest.
His voice was so deep now it nearly rumbled, barely sounding like the San you knew. “You’re delicious—fuck—even better than I remember.” 
His hands pushed you back against the pillows with more strength than he probably meant to use, nearly knocking the wind out of you with his force. He sunk his teeth into your shoulder, and you yelped in surprise at the sting of his teeth in your flesh. You felt the distinctly wet and all-too-familiar sensation of blood as the canines pierced your skin. He licked it clean, his whole body shaking with desire as your blood washed over his tongue. He sang the most beautiful moans you’d ever heard into your skin, lapping up every last drop clean from where he’d punctured you. 
You had grown addicted to the sensation of his teeth on your skin and his tongue licking up the blood, like some sort of weird demon-vampire fetish you had never considered before. You laced your fingers in his hair as he worked his way down your chest, tearing away the fabric of your shirt apart with his hands like it was a wet piece of paper, and he didn’t stop until the mess of torn fabric that used to be your shirt slipped off of you easily. His lips kissed and marked your breasts as he worked his way down, then ripped off your pants with the same distinct sound of fabric being torn through like it was nothing. 
His dark eyes gleamed hungrily as he met your gaze. He used his tongue sinfully between your thighs, teasing you mercilessly as he kissed and licked around the seam of your panties. You were soaking wet now, the fabric of your underwear entirely drenched from the anticipation. Not just from today, but from the past few weeks of fantasizing about him completely wrecking you. His fangs gripped into the wet fabric, nearly taking your skin with it as he pulled your panties out from between your legs—the only piece of clothing he hadn’t entirely torn off.
“What a cute little human pet,” he purred seductively in your ear, dragging his fingernails across the cut of your jaw. You winced as he drew his hand over your freshly bitten wound. “It’s too bad your blood won’t be so sweet after I’m done with you, hmm, darling? Maybe just one more time, hmm?”
You felt his teeth sink down into your shoulder, and he pulled you entirely flush against him as he bit down with more ferocity than before. You cried out against him as he slipped his tongue delicately over the wound. His hungry grip around your waist grew tighter with every lick. 
“San—ah—” you cried out, a mix of pain and pleasure as he soothed your wound with his tongue, hands coming up to squeeze your breasts.
“I could drain you right here,” he growled harshly, but there was still lust coating his words. You felt his dick harden in his pants as he pulled his teeth from your skin, leaving the aching sting of the fresh wound on your collarbone. You felt a bit dizzy now, not only with lust but also from losing quite a bit of blood to his tongue. He stood up suddenly, stripping like clothes meant nothing to him, ripping them off and tossing them to the floor. His breathing was less like breaths and more like throaty grunts. You were able to marvel at his naked body for only a second before he climbed on top of you, forcing you to lie completely flat under him, his broad shoulders closing you in completely.
“Such a cute human,” he praised, marveling at your smallness, your complete powerlessness beneath him. You couldn’t move if you wanted to, his body caged you in from all sides—it’s a good thing you didn’t want to. His eyes were intense, predatory, but not entirely possessed like he had been before just at the mere taste of your blood. You were surprised by his restraint he seemed to be holding on to. “Tiny, powerless… I want to hear you beg for me,” he purred into your ear. As he awaited your response, he lapped gently at the wounds he’d made earlier, collecting the remaining blood on his tongue with a needy moan.  
“Please, San—” you started apprehensively, unsure of exactly what he wanted from you. Your voice cracked slightly as you spoke, and heat rose in your cheeks. 
He clicked his tongue twice. “Tsk, tsk. I forgot, she’s too pure for this.” 
“Fuck me. Please—” 
“That’s better darling.”
“I want your cock, please, San.”
“I don’t want to hurt you baby, but you’re too fucking tempting. So cute and helpless beneath me.” He drew one of his hands lightly across your chest, dragging his fingers along every curve. “Begging. Embarrassed. It’s adorable.”
His hand drew over your stomach. Hips. Thighs. Then, finally, between your legs, delivering a small, fleeting taste of the pleasure you’d been searching for all night. You bucked your hips up involuntarily under his touch, and he drew his hand back teasingly. His eyes, hooded with desire, were fixed on your face, reveling in every reaction, every small noise that crept up through your throat. Darkness crept through them, nearly entirely black now. He looked like a real demon. 
“What a naughty girl. Practically dripping for me. I thought you were pure, hmm? What happened?” he sang condescendingly, a smirk twitching up on his lips. “Be a sweet little pet for me now.” 
He pushed his hips flush with yours, his cock aligning up against you. A low growl ripped through his throat, digging his fingernails into the sheets with a terrifying display of force. “This is probably gonna hurt, darling,” he purred. “Look me in the eyes. I want to see your cute little face as I ruin you.” He tipped your chin up to meet his eyes just as he rutted his hips in for the first time. 
The tip slipped in easily, but you couldn’t help but wince at the sensation. You’d tried toys before, but nothing could compare to the size—or feeling—of the real thing. “Ah—ah San, it—it kind of hurts,” you whined, your face twisting a bit as he pumped a few times, slowly and shallowly. He watched your face with blackened eyes. 
“You have no idea—” Thrust. “How hard—” Thrust. “It is to—” Thrust. “Keep myself from destroying you.” 
Your broken cries echoed loudly as his mouth came down on your wounds once again, delivering wet, desperate licks at the bloody remnants of the punctures he created. It stung harshly, and a single tear escaped your eyes. He pulled away from your chest, positioning himself completely upright, dick still halfway inside of you. You got a good look at his hard chest, an immaculate display of muscle. An unidentifiable tattoo snaked down his right side. He looked almost statuesque poised above you. 
“Such pretty tears. My little lamb,” he praised with a low growl, sinking his fingernails into the flesh of your thighs. “Fuck—tell me I can ruin you—” his fingernails dug deeper.
You nodded, urging him on. You initiated it, you wanted it, even if he scared you a bit with his harsh gaze and his tightening grip threatening to mark up your skin. “Yes. Please.” With a single thrust he bottomed out inside you entirely, eliciting a sharp cry from your lips. You tossed your head back, but you could still feel the heat of his stare following your every moment, taking in every curve and scar of your body. “Good little human,” he praised, stroking your thighs as he thrust in again. Every movement he made overwhelmed your senses entirely—a lethal mix of the sting of your wounds, the sensitivity of his hands exploring your thighs, the feeling of his dick stretching out inside you, and finally, how much you craved him. 
His hand came up to your throat, latching on to it with a steady viced grip. His eyes went hooded, hungry as he squeezed the air from your lungs. Harder. Tighter. His fingers viced around your neck with dizzying force. You squirmed beneath him, clawing at his hand desperately. TV static buzzed in your brain, and the world went blurry. You just barely caught a glimpse of his black eyes fading back to red before your vision slipped away into darkness. 
Tumblr media
Your eyes shuttered open to the familiar image of your ceiling. You recognized you were in your own bed, fully clothed, tucked under the covers neatly. Before you could survey your surroundings, San’s face was above you, eyebrows slightly furrowed, tilting his head as he looked down at you. You’d never seen his eyes so soft.
“Look, she’s awake.” His voice was calmer than usual, warmer. “How do you feel?”
“Like hell,” you croaked, voice hoarse as you choked out your words. 
“I don’t say this often...” he started, placing a hand on your head. “But I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have even done that in the first place. I went too far.”
“I—what happened—”
“You blacked out. I, uh, well... I choked you until you passed out. I told you, it’s hard for me to control myself like that.” 
“Did you—”
“Of course not,” he interjected, not even letting you finish. He knew what you were implying. “As soon as you stopped moving it snapped me out of it.”
You dropped your gaze, recalling how you saw his black eyes turn to normal right before you lost consciousness. “Right. Uh… thanks.”
“I like my prey fresh, anyways. It’s not fun when I can’t watch them squirm.” And there it was. His devilish smile again. His tongue twitched across his lower lip, playing with his lip ring absentmindedly. He quickly cleared his throat when he saw the unamused expression on your face. “I hope… uh, I hope at least you were having fun before—you know.”
You nodded in response as you tried to sit upright in the bed. Bad idea. Your vision went dizzy, and a rush of pain pounded through your skull. “Ah—ow, fuck.”
“Should I get you some water or something? Whatever it is that humans want when they hurt.” 
You rolled your eyes at his pointedly un-human response. “Sure, water sounds fine.”
He retrieved you a glass from the kitchen, setting it on the nightstand. “I hate to do this, but I’ve been here for way too long,” he started hesitantly. You could see the regret in his eyes. “Without a contract too. I could get in trouble for this.”
“It’s fine, you can go,” you muttered. “I could use some sleep right now anyway.” 
He nodded quietly, administering a small, strangely awkward pat to your head. “Right. Well, uh… get some sleep.” 
You barely blinked before he was gone, but it didn’t matter anyway. You were asleep before you could even take a sip of the water he’d gotten you. 
Tumblr media
261 notes · View notes
percontaion-points · 3 years ago
Text
Raven King chapter 6
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Chapter 6
Nicky was bringing Jim from his improv class...
I thought Nicky had a long-term boyfriend?
Well, if he did, he probably doesn't anymore. Not with all of Nicky's jokes about cheating and him taking some rando to the big dinner.
Blackwell was slow to appear in the distance, but it didn't take long to spot the two stadiums. The football and Exy stadium were on opposite sides of the campus like massive bookends.
I'm still having a really difficult time swallowing that society completely shifted because of a sport invented some 30 years earlier.
Like I'm willing to overlook a lot for the sake of a story. But for society to just go completely and utterly apeshit over a 30 year old sport makes zero sense. AND I READ THE STORY WHERE THE LADY HAD SEX WITH THE LITERAL BULL.
Wymack pulled a bottle of vodka out of the bag and put it down beside Kevin. "You have ten seconds to inhale as much of this as you can. I'm timing you. Go."
It was alarming how much a man could drink when he needed an emotional crutch.
WOW THAT'S SUPER FUCKING HEALTHY.
Like I get that his foster-father and brother abused the shit out of him. But therapy is much better than alcoholism.
Madison was using the home locker room to change right now, so the Foxes had to go all the way around to the away side.
I really love how there's this big fancy banquet dinner where they invite all of the college exy teams, and they literally have to change in the locker room.
My high school did this band banquet, too. But we didn't have to fucking eat dinner out on the football field with our parents... We had the school cafeteria for the evening.
Out of touch author can't even think of a world where these idiots would want to rent a banquet hall. Oh no... it's got to be at the fucking stadium, for some unholy reason.
Judging by Neil's quick headcount, the Ravens hadn't brought dates. They hadn't brought any color along, either. All twenty-two of them were dressed head-to-toe in black. The twenty men wore the same shirts and slacks, and the two women wore identical dresses. They even sat the exact same way, all with their right elbows on the table, all of them with their chins in their hands. Another team might look foolish going so far, but somehow the Ravens looked imposing.
I joke about the fox characters outside of Neil, Kevin, and Andrew being cardboard cut-outs... but this ain't got nothing on those cardboard cutouts.
"I know who you are," Riko said. "Who here doesn't? You're the woman who captains a Class I team. You've done admittedly well despite your disadvantages."
CASUAL SEXISM.
The man to Riko's right stood up as soon as the Foxes were settled and walked behind the Ravens until he was across from Neil. Two fingers to the woman's shoulder got her out of her chair and she moved to the newly-emptied seat. The stranger sat across from Neil. As he did the Ravens fell out of their frozen poses, but they did so only to lean back as one in their chairs.
Did they practice this ahead of time?
The black three tattooed on his left cheekbone meant he could be no one but Jean Moreau.
Imagine getting a tattoo of a college sports number. Of which you would only get to play for a few years before being forced out.
It took him only a few seconds to realize the Ravens were coming. The entire team was crossing the court toward Kevin, walking in V formation like a flock of birds going south.
I can't with her descriptions of the Ravens. Like one team's colors are orange and white, and the other is black and red. ONE OF THEM IS GUD AND THE OTHER IS EBUL. THE RAVENS ARE EBUL, AND THEY'RE ALL HENCHMEN ROBOTS.
"We're sure it is," the Raven striker said, "seeing how you're dating a prostitute."
"Stripper," Dan corrected...
[…]
Neil tried not to stare at her. He would have dismissed the Raven's insult as an outright lie if not for Dan's easy response. Too late he remembered her telling him she'd worked an overnight job during high school to make ends meet.
THE AUTHOR DOES REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE TO BE 18 TO WORK JOBS LIKE THAT... RIGHT?! Like please tell me that the author didn't write about a 15 year old getting a job as a stripper.
This series is bad enough without needing to drag child strippers into the mix.
The others fell asleep within a few miles, but Neil spent the entire ride thinking about Riko and his father.
Chapter 6 summary: So it's time for the banquet. They do a random lottery draw where they decide which school will host the banquet this year. The school picked is only about four hours away. The banquet itself lasts for two days, in order to justify some of the travel time for those further away. However, the foxes are of the opinion “fuck that; we're not staying the entire two days”.
As they get closer to the school, Kevin starts to have a panic attack. As the others leave the bus, David gives Kevin some alcohol, and tells him to chug it. Which... yeah, that sounds fucking healthy. They have to change out in the locker room, which is fucking weird if you ask me. And then they go into the stadium, which has been turned into a banquet hall. The sight makes Neil angry, and mood. Rent a fucking banquet hall for this, assholes.
They're upset to see that the foxes are randomly supposed to be sitting across from the ravens. And the ravens are all dressed like evil henchmen, and are even randomly acting in unison. Talk about zero personality. David warned the others not to pick a fight, but obviously wasn't counting on Riko bringing his planet-sized ego with him. A rando Raven player named Jean-- who is the embodiment of every French stereotype you can think of-- starts to antagonize Neil, and calls him by a bunch of Neil's former names. He then moves on and starts insulting everybody else.
Their little pissing match goes on for a long while. But hey, it's not like anything else is going on, so this might as well happen, I guess. Finally, Riko antagonizes Neil into speaking, and Neil calls Riko out on his shit, saying that he's a whiny, entitled little brat who doesn't have anything going for him. Then, Jean and Riko start to act like they “own” Neil, which has fucking creepy slavery undertones to what they're saying.
David finally shows up to say that they're trying to move the foxes to another table. As they get up to leave, Jean can't help but name-drop Neil's father. The others rally around Kevin and Neil once they're away. Kevin is sent back to the bus to drink some more liquor, and Neil thinks about following. Not only that, but just fucking leaving. But he doesn't, because then this series would be put out of its misery.
After dinner, then they put all of the tables away and everybody starts socializing and networking. The ravens come over, act like they've never met the foxes before, but then continue to insult them. I'm really fucking over this. Riko's uncle and the raven coach comes over. The two teams awkwardly stare at one another, and the only thing this scene needs is some dramatic finger snapping. Tetsuji says that he ran fingerprint test off of a glass Neil drank out of back during that dumb morning talk show, and knows who he is. He yells at Neil about crimes that Neil's dad committed against The Family©, as if Neil himself personally did all of that. However, Neil stands his ground and refuses to be bullied by these assholes.
Matt finally drags Neil away, and threatens to tell the exy board about Riko's shit behavior and have him benched for the rest of the season. They all go back to the bus finally, and start to head home.
10 notes · View notes
seiin-translations · 3 years ago
Text
2.43 S1 Chapter 5.1 - Stand By Me
1. NIGHTMARE OR REALITY
Tumblr media
This entire chapter (as in the entirety of Chapter 5) is from Haijima’s point of view and honestly it’s surprisingly endearing? That boy truly only lives for volleyball
Also Kuroba’s a dumbass as usual
Previous || Index || Next
When he thought about it, it was obvious, but he realized after he started playing in the position that the setter was the one who could touch the ball the most in a game. In the basic system of volleyball, which was to return the ball within three hits, the setter was the one who always handled the second hit. Not the first hit or the third, but the middle of the series of plays.
The attacker was the ace in volleyball, but Haijima considered himself to be in the “middle” of the game, and he didn’t want to give up his position as the “one who can touch the ball the most” to anyone.
Normally, the reception would be messed up so that the ball wouldn’t return to the setter, but Haijima would run as fast as he could to bring the ball back into his territory. The second hit was his, and he didn’t want to give it anyone else. He then controlled the third hit to be hit by the attacker. If he didn’t do the second hit himself, it would become a high set, but if he did, there were plenty of options for attack. It could be connected to the third hit as a tactic. The movements of the attackers on his team, the positioning of the opponent blocking system and receivers—the movements of all players on the court, both friendly and enemy, were instantly assessed. Haijima’s eyesight was generally poor, but his periphery vision seemed to be unusually good. He was catching things other than the ones he was focusing on at the edge of his consciousness.
Not only relying on sight, but also using all the senses of the body to take in the flow of the situation on the court. It was a feeling of submerging his consciousness into the court and connecting to the center of the court’s nerve network. He could hear the sound of the plug snapping into place in the back of his head. That feeling was the best.
No matter where he was on the court, as long as he was below the ball, the signs were still active. The combination was working. He could still set the ball anywhere. The center’s B-quick, the right’s broad jump, the back center, and then——.
Kuroba was there. He was in his black uniform, cutting in from the left.
At that moment, he could see the trajectory of the set he was about to make stretching out in front of him as though it was the root of a tree growing rapidly. He could clearly see the place where Kuroba was going to hit. It was some distance away, but he set the ball to that position with the hope that he would hit it. Far, high, and straight. To a place no one but him can reach——.
There was a sudden sound, like something shut down.
The lights in the venue suddenly went out and it became pitch dark. At the same time, the nerves that had been strung throughout the court from within him were cut. He lost his enhanced senses and felt a sense of loss, like his limbs were plucked from him.
In the darkness, Haijima was confused. He was impatient to concentrate and connect with the court once more. He reached out a mental feeler and tried to grab hold of the cut end of the connection he had just made.
A white sphere came flying towards him in a parabola. It was a ball—it still hadn’t fallen yet. When he reached out for it, relieved, he gulped when he saw his own hand appearing in his field of vision.
He had…no fingers.
From the second joint onward, where did they go…?
The ball was approaching in front of him. On the surface of the spinning ball, there were sticky finger marks in the color of blood.
***
He was shocked at the scream he made. He swept his hand in front of his face and slammed the back of his hand on the tatami mat. The pain woke him up.
Was that…a dream…?
“What the…”
With an exhale, the strength slipped out of him and buried the back of his head in the pillow. He could barely see anything without his glasses, so the outlines of everything were blurry. The wooden ceiling of the old house and the outline of the paper-covered electric light hanging down from it barely bled into his vision. It was so bright outside that he couldn’t make out the light of the miniature light bulb he had turned on when he went to bed.
“What day…is today…”
It was August 3rd. The third day of the Fall Tournament. Isn’t it time to get up already? This morning, his grandmother, who always stepped in without reservation and opened the shoji* doors wide before his alarm clock went off each morning, didn’t come in. But he could hear her preparing breakfast in the living room.
Oh, wait, yesterday…I said something to Grandma yesterday. What was it…?
He rolled over and pulled his summer futon up to his nose while trying to remember. What, aren’t you just trying to go to sleep again? He made a jab at himself. There’s a game. I have to get up. But his body refused to move. On normal days, he had a hard time waking up, but on game days, he woke up so well that he was more restless under the covers.
Yesterday’s game was horrible. As he curled up in his futon and recalled some of the scenes, he felt depressed once again. He had never made such a rookie mistake before. He was amazed at himself for being surprised by the ball and knocking it away like an amateur.
Normally, he would have a scorebook in his head from the start of the set to the end, memorizing all the plays for each point. If he wanted to, he could replay in his mind the movements of all players on the court in that rally from different angles.
But for yesterday’s game, the scorebook had many blank spaces. Even the memory of what he himself was doing was lacking in some places, much less the details of other players’ movements. When he was on the court, he could concentrate without even thinking about it, but yesterday, his concentration was breaking up halfway through the game and he had to “spare his mental strength to gather up his ability to concentrate,” which made him exhausted in a weird way.
I wonder if I’ll be okay today. Will I be able to do as well as usual? If I think stuff like that, the game becomes a huge bother.  
I don’t wanna go today…I wish it would disappear, the game…
“!?”
His eyes snapped open in the dark futon.
Did I think that just now? That I wished the game would disappear——?
He shivered at the fact that he had that thought flash through his mind.
It was the last day of the Fall Tournament, which was being held over three days from August 1st to 3rd. Yesterday, on the second day of the tournament, Seiin High School had made it through the second and third rounds and were moving on to today’s semifinals. They were all supposed to meet in the club room today and travel to the venue together, but it was about five minutes past the meeting time of six-thirty when Haijima rushed into the club room.
“Sorry, I’m la…”
“No, it’s fine. We’re all here now. Then, we’ll announce today’s schedule.”
The captain, Oda, raised his hand lightly, and then looked around at the team members who had gathered before them.
“You’ll be dismissed after the meeting.”
The members of the team, who were carrying luggage and preparing for the departure order, naturally let out murmurs of confusion.
“Captain. You’re a super serious person, so you don’t have to calm our nerves with bad jokes. Anyways, isn’t Kuroba the only nervous one here? If we don’t move now, we’ll be late getting into the venue.”
Okuma’s voice, with its light inflection that almost seemed forced, stuffily echoed in the cramped room that was densely packed as it was. The rotating fan, though small, was making loud noises, but it only served to churn the lukewarm air and diffuse the stink of sweat. Oda looked at Okuma silently, but there was no smile on his face, and Okuma awkwardly withdrew his smile.
With his back against door, Haijima lost his voice.
He grew pale, thinking that the match was really gone because he wanted it to be, even for just an instant. There was no way that could be true. He was still in his nightmare. That would be much better.
Before him, Okuma, Kanno, Uchimura, and Hokao formed a wall of second-years, and Oda and Aoki were standing in the back of the room. Kuroba was sitting in a chair between the two captains. The cooler box that Kuroba carried home yesterday was placed in a corner of the room.
He saw a bruise on the left cheek of Kuroba, who was sitting with his head hanging down in discomfort.
He understood the situation immediately. This wasn’t the continuation of his nightmare, and it wasn’t something he wished for to happen—it was simply a predictable reality.
Impulsively, he slammed his fist against the door and removed his back from the door. He was about to step to the back of the room with long strides, but Kanno and Uchimura caught his crossed arms from both sides and he pitched forward. He leaned over the two’s arms and shouted.
“Are you an idiot!!?”
“Why are you yelling at me without giving me a chance to talk! I didn’t do anything!”
Kuroba shouted back, using the enamel bag on his knees as a shield and drawing back his big body. His anger boiled over at being opposed, but Kanno held him from the front and restrained him. “Calm down, Haijima, you can get angry after you hear what he has to say.”
“Senpai, that’s not really the end of the explanation, is it. There’s no way everyone would accept it if you suddenly told them to go home because we’re not playing anymore.”
Kanno turned back to Oda and said. While he was speaking quietly, his tone, which was usually reserved and mumbling, was clear and an octave lower. That showed Kanno himself was quite angry about the situation. The other second-years seemed just as unaccepting, and Oda, the smallest on the team, was on the receiving end of questioning gazes from everyone. Even Aoki, who usually served as the mediator, folded his arms with a dour and difficult look on his face, and only casting his eyes down.
Aoki raised his eyes and opened his mouth deliberately.
“Let’s check one thing first. Kanno, Haijima, you didn’t go home with Kuroba yesterday, did you?”
“Yesterday…?” Kanno looked at Haijima’s face, and then said, “Yes. The three of us separated. I went home in our car. Haijima went home in Kuroba’s mother’s car, and Kuroba…rode in his cousin’s truck.”
“Do you or Suemori-san know that cousin?”
“Well, he’s two years older than us, and I think everyone in our generation at Monshiro Middle knows who he is. He’s famous in town…”
Aoki narrowed his eyes as though he was thinking something. Kuroba’s “famous” cousin was of course Kuroba Yorimichi, not his younger sister. However, Aoki moved on to the next part of his talk without touching on it any more than that.
“Those of you who come through Suzumu know that you can see Suzumu Play-One, the building with the big bowling pins on the roof, from the railroad tracks, right? It also has a karaoke place and game arcade inside. Yesterday at the bowling alley, a group of bowlers from neighboring lanes clashed with each other and a fight broke out. The alley called the police and one of the groups was arrested, but the other escaped. The school was informed that there was a Seiin student in the group that escaped. An employee witnessed someone wearing our team’s jersey—Kuroba, that’s you, right?”
“I didn’t go to the bowling alley. I didn’t even know about the thing with the cops until I heard about it today.”
“So, you haven’t been to the bowling alley, eh. Then, if you weren’t involved in the fight, then what’s with this bruise?”
“It was because I wasn’t being careful. I don’t have to tell you the reason.”
Suddenly, Aoki grabbed Kuroba by the collar.
Seeing Kuroba being lifted from the chair and gritting his teeth saying “Ow!”, Haijima got goosebumps and thought, His back—?! In addition to his amazing jumping ability and the flexibility of his shoulders and elbows, Kuroba was an attacker who could bend his back far like a supple bow and hit the ball. Injuries to the spine could have a big impact on play. He didn’t know if it would be useful or not even if they had a game today——.
“Stop it, Aoki! Let him down!”
Oda said in a restrained voice. It was different when it was the other way around, but it wasn’t everyday that you saw Oda calming Aoki down. “He’s the one who betrayed your trust.” Aoki thrust Kuroba aside resentfully. “Aren’t you the ones who don’t trust me?” Kuroba grumbled, after he was returned to his chair with a thump and smoothed down the stretched-out collar of his T-shirt.
“Kuroba. I trust you, and I don’t think you’re the kind of guy who’d try to cover for yourself in something like this. But if you can’t explain your injury, then I can’t convince the school. If you just tell us honestly what happened…”
“I told you many times before, haven’t I? I wouldn’t stake my life on something that’ll get us suspended from games. I’m not causing trouble for the team. Getting injured on the day of the game is my fault and you can get angry about that as much as you want. I’m sorry about that. That’s all I have to say.”
“You looking down on us? I’ll kill you!”
Oda grabbed Aoki’s arm again as Aoki shouted that angrily and tried to raise his hand again. Meanwhile, Haijima lunged at Kuroba in fury and was prevented by the barricade all the second-years hurriedly made, and in the end he had his arms pinned behind his back by Okuma. The legs he blindly raised overhead kicked at the air. Kuroba’s chair fell over as he was ready to run away. The narrow room suddenly fell into chaos as everyone moved at once. The fan fell over and the wind billowed in the wrong direction.
“Not causing trouble for the team? Like hell you’re not! We can’t play today’s game!”
“Hah? I don’t want you to talk to me about the team!”
As he awkwardly fell on his backside, Kuroba suddenly got angry and shouted back.
This was when Haijima’s eyes widened, not understanding the meaning of such an objection.
“Enough!!”
Oda’s angry voice pierced through the noisy room.
“I’m talking about all of you! You wanna cause violence in the club and do something you can’t undo!? If all you guys do is get in my way, then you should all quit!”
All the team members looked at Oda, speechless. Even Aoki looked shocked.
Oda immediately came to his senses. “Ah…” he muttered and turned red.
In a large-sized team where more than half the members were above 180cm, the 163cm Oda was conspicuously small. However, as far as Haijima knew, he always looked up with his chest puffed out, as though pushing the handicap aside.
That Oda hunched his back, turned his face diagonally downward, averted his gaze from the team members, and spoke in a whisper, as though he had given up.
“Anyways, there’s no game today. As soon as I know what’s gonna happen tomorrow, I’ll write it on the whiteboard, so come and see it. If the situation doesn’t change at this rate, there’ll be no practice in the meantime. …That’s all, meeting’s over. You’re dismissed.”
Previous || Index || Next
16 notes · View notes
shersuperavenge4 · 4 years ago
Text
Time
Summary: just some fluff between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark’s daughter. Ariana Stark decided to gift Cap. something special. 
Warning: Implied smut. 
A/N: Hiya! I came up with the idea for this one shot while scrolling through Pinterest. I saw some beautiful pocket watches and I couldn’t help but write something for our very own “Man out of time”. It was supposed to be a really short one shot, but clearly I got carried away! I intend to write more on the same characters. Hope you enjoy it! 
 Comments, and likes are welcome! :)
Ariana Stark stood leaning against the glass walls of her tastefully decorated office. The spectacular view from the twenty-fifth floor of Stark industries was something else altogether. She had specifically chosen this office for its location and the view it provided. It was small, quiet and situated in the corner, away from the bustle of typically loud activities. Almost like her. Although Tony stark, her father did not approve of her choice, she believed in living up to her reputation of being a recluse. Ariana couldn’t help but gaze at the late afternoon sky. It reminded her of a certain blue-eyed super soldier, warm and golden.  
“Martin? What do you gift a man out of time”?
Her personal secretary stopped his work and looked up.  “Sorry Miss Stark, what are you referring to here?
She turned to him with a look of despair. “its 4th of July today, Captain Roger’s birthday. Now, I know he made it clear that he doesn’t want a party or even anyone wishing him but then I thought, that shouldn’t stop me from gifting him something”
Martin grinned at her. He knew that Ariana had unknowingly developed a soft corner for the Captain. Over the past year, Martin had quietly been noticing the subtle changes in the behavior of his employer. To put it simply, the girl with the heart of gold bloomed every time Steve Rogers was around her.
“Stop grinning and help me Martin, I have been wracking my brain for a week but I just can’t figure out what to gift him and a regular gift will just not do!” she walked across the room and slumped down on the leather sofa. Ariana wanted the gift to be special, something meaningful. She knew how difficult it was for him fit in with people. Still, he was getting better, the avengers had become a dysfunctional family of sorts. But, what bothered her the most was that while time had sprinted ahead leaving him behind, he was mentally still a part of the 1940s. It wasn’t his fault, no one had bothered to help him catch up with the ravages of time.
Martin squinted his eyes at her and answered, “What could be a better gift for a man out of time than TIME itself?” Ariana stared at him in disbelief. How could she not have come up with this? A watch would be the perfect thing she could give him! Clearly, being one of the brightest minds of the century had not helped her. She began laughing, jumped out of her seat and shook him by his shoulders.  “Oh, thank you so much Martin, I know exactly what to gift him now! you are truly the best!”  With that, she grabbed her purse and rushed out of her office.
The young Stark walked into the chicest shop in Manhattan, known for selling all sorts of luxury brands. The attendant greeted her warmly and began leading her towards one of the counters. About an hour later, she was surrounded by some of the finest and most expensive timepieces. Some were too flashy and jeweled, while others too delicate and dull. But none of them had Steve written on them. At this point, even the attendant was starting to get anxious. Ariana let out a sigh of defeat and began to wander around the store. She was almost about to give up when her eyes fell on one of the bottom corner shelves of a counter.
She pointed to the shelf and asked “May I see that collection?”
The attendant furrowed his eyebrows “Oh those are pocket watches, they are not…how should I put it? We don’t consider them to be our finest, so I didn’t really think they would be worth your time”
Ariana shot him a cold glare “Why don’t you let me decide what is worth my time and what isn’t? Now would you be kind enough to bring them out?” The attendant quickly lowered his gaze and walked towards the shelf. As he brought out the collection of pocket watches, Ariana gasped with delight. She didn’t even need to see the entire collection because there was one pocket watch in the corner which had caught her eye and she knew this was it. The perfect time piece for the golden boy. Ariana walked out of the shop feeling as if she had found a priceless diamond. “he must have returned home from his mission” she thought to herself. The next stop, his home.
It had been a week since she last met him. They had become good friends over the last 2 years, but the feelings she had for him were far stronger than just friendship. Truth be told, Ariana missed him terribly. She missed his blue eyes that changed shades depending on his mood. With her, they were always the color of the sky on a spring day, soft and clear. She missed the warmth he exuded, the gentle voice he used while speaking to her. With him she could be herself. It was as if time had gifted him to her. It was only when she arrived at his door did she realize how nervous and excited she was to meet him. She quickly opened the small mirror in her compact and adjusted her hair. She knocked on the door and a moment later he appeared. She stood there wide eyed, staring at him with a smile. It was as if Adonis himself had appeared.
“Ana, wow, what are you doing here? Sorry, did I forget something?” Steve couldn’t believe his luck, the only person he had wanted to see on his birthday was this gorgeous girl who had stolen his heart. Steve silently thanked the Gods for sending her to his doorstep.
“What so I can’t visit you unless we have a plan? I’m hurt Captain Rogers” Ariana pretended to wipe tears of her cheeks. Steve shook his head and laughed at her antics. “No, sorry Doll, it’s just that I wasn’t expecting you, come on in” Ariana loved it when Steve called her Doll or Ana, it gave her hope that maybe, just maybe he saw her more than a friend.
As she walked into his living room, Steve couldn’t help but stare. She was one of the kindest souls he had known. What he admired the most about her was that despite being a genius like her father and extraordinarily beautiful, she didn’t have an ounce of attitude or arrogance. Ariana made everyone feel special. She was gentle and compassionate. Falling in love with her was as easy as breathing. It was only because of her that the man out of time began feeling slightly at ease. To him she was perfection. He longed to hold her in his arms, kiss her deeply, and never let her go. But there was just one problem. She was a Stark. The apple of Tony’s eye. Steve knew the fellow Avenger would never approve of “Captain America” falling for his only daughter. Tony already harbored slightly bitter feelings for Steve, the last thing he needed was the Avengers to get affected cause he couldn’t stop himself from falling in love with Iron Man’s daughter. So instead, Steve had chosen to maintain a casual friendship with her. It honestly killed him to have her so close to him and yet so far. He didn’t know how long he could keep up this façade. The captain lead her to believe he was still having a hard time in this century, truth be told, he was. But it wasn’t as bad as when he had first come out of the ice. He was beginning to feel at home thanks to his brown eyed angel. Steve was afraid that if he told her he was doing well, she would stop spending time with him. And that was unacceptable to the super soldier, for all he wanted was to be around her and in her. He had spent many nights fantasizing about her in his bed, against the wall, in the shower and basically in every way he could make her his. He wasn’t proud of his filthy thoughts, she deserved to be treated with all the love and care possible. But, Ariana brought out the side of Steve that no one had seen before. She was everything he wanted, everything he had lost in the past and everything he knew he couldn’t have.
Ariana’s sweet voice drew him out of his thoughts. “Steve? penny for your thoughts?”
“Oh, I was just thinking about the mission, sorry, so what have you been up to this week? Steve tried to change the subject and steer clear of any accidental confessions.
Ariana brought out the elegantly wrapped gift and thrust it into his hands “Well, I know what you said about your birthday but I couldn’t help myself, I hope you aren’t mad at me. Happy Birthday Steve!”
Steve didn’t know how to react. “Ana why? I mean this is really sweet but you didn’t have to get me anything. I really don’t like making a big deal of my birthday”
“Yes, yes, I know, but how could I let you get away just like that? Birthdays are meant to be special and you are special in every way. you deserve the world” Ariana gazed at him with a look of adoration.
Steve stood frozen in his spot. He was overcome by the sudden urge to tuck the loose strand framing her soft features and run his fingers along her arms. He wanted nothing more than to pull her by the waist and press his lips to hers. The ringtone of her phone brought him out of his fantasy. Ariana frowned at the screen. She took the phone call, went to the other side of the room and mouthed a sorry to Steve. It was Tony. Whenever Steve thought about telling his feelings to Ariana, Tony would appear in some form or the other. Steve would curse himself and draw the line again.
Ariana walked back to him with a disappointed look “I’m sorry Steve, but I have to leave right now. Dad wants me back at the tower, he said he needs some help with the new tech”
She looked up at him with a sad smile. Steve internally screamed.
“I was hoping we could have gone out for a walk, but never mind, I guess I’ll open the gift later with you.”
Ariana scrunched her face “Noo please don’t do that. I want you to open it. You can message or call to tell me if you liked it, please I’m really excited. It took me quite long to decide”
Steve lightly chuckled “Ok, Miss Stark I will do as you please” She gave him a satisfied smile.
She picked up her bag and began walking towards the door. Oh, how she wished she could spend more time with her golden boy on his birthday. He wanted to stop her, but he knew there was no point. It was better this way. Before stepping out the door, she turned to him and gave him a warm smile “Happy Birthday Steve! Hope you like the gift. Enjoy the rest of the night, I will see you soon”
“Thanks Doll, I’m really glad you dropped by tonight”
Ariana was contemplating on whether or not she should kiss him good night when suddenly Steve lightly touched her arm and brought his face to hers. Her eyes widened with anticipation and for a moment she actually thought he was going for her lips, but instead, he planted a firm kiss on her cheeks. He didn’t draw away, he lingered for a moment taking in her scent.
Steve knew he was entering dangerous territory, but it was a kiss on the cheek, how difficult could it be? Turns out it was down-right painful. He was having a hard time moving away from her. Her scent was driving him mad with desire. He longed to pull her back into his apartment. Begrudgingly, he drew back. Steve gazed into her eyes and ran his thumb over Ariana’s flushed cheeks “Good night Miss Stark”.
That night, her cheeks remained flushed and her lips refused to wipe the shy smile of her face.
Back home, Steve tore the wrapping paper of the gift and opened the velvet box. And there it was, a gorgeous black pocket watch. The hinged cover had intricate carvings of the sun, moon and stars. Steve opened the cover to reveal a black and golden dial. He turned the pocket watch over and saw that it had an engraving that said “For the timeless moments to come-Love, Ana”.
Steve’s eyes were filled with tears. At that moment, he realized that it was never about the time one was in, it was about the person with whom they shared their time and space with. The timepiece provided him with the strength to cross the line he drew between Ariana and him. He was not going to let her go, for she was the one he wanted to create all the timeless moments with. He would never part with the pocket watch and would carry it around with him everywhere, it would remind him of his brown eyed angel who brought him back to life. And just like that, He made peace with time. They were no longer foes, simply two friends catching up with one another after having waited so long for the right moment to arrive.
25 notes · View notes
dragonsdomain · 4 years ago
Text
Christmas Wish
“Who brought a human kid on the sleigh?” Ember asked with a tinge of annoyance.
@floating-pisces here’s your Christmas Truce gift! Sorry to keep you waiting! I went with your prompt “dp villains” and wrote this one-shot, which is set immediately after the episode “The Fright Before Christmas” and inspired by a certain strange thing we see in our last glimpse of the ghosts’ sleigh. I hope you like it!
“I still don’t understand why you wanted the sleigh.” Johnny 13 glanced up at the red and white accessory on his head. “Or the Santa hats.”
Kitty turned to Johnny, looking playfully offended. “Well, if we’re going to be granting kids’ Christmas wishes, we’ve got to do it in style! Flying around, delivering people’s presents? It’s like we’re Santa’s elves!”
Johnny’s mouth curled up in a smile. “Whatever you say, babe.” He leaned in for a kiss.
“Ew! Gross!” Youngblood said, holding his hands in front of himself as if to ward off the impending mushiness.
The skeleton parrot on Youngblood’s shoulder sighed in exasperation. “At least follow that with a threat like ‘Cleave him to the brisket’.”
“Cleave ‘im to the brisket!” Youngblood commanded, waving his hook in the air. He looked suddenly doubtful. “What does ‘Cleave ‘im to the brisket’ mean?”
Desiree chimed in helpfully, “It means-”
Kitty slapped a hand over her mouth. “It doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it.”
There was a moment of silence. Perhaps some of the ghosts were using it to reflect on the lightness of heart each felt after helping Danny that night and to ponder the joy of service. Some may have even decided to change their troublesome ways if that moment had not been interrupted. “Who brought a human kid on the sleigh?” Ember asked with a tinge of annoyance.
Ember’s comment caused the majority of the sleigh’s inhabitants to stare in bewilderment at a small human child who was inexplicably in the back of the flying sleigh with the ghosts. The boy looked bashful under the scrutiny.
The Box Ghost was the first to speak. “Who is this human in our Christmas box of flight?”
The boy perked up. “My name’s Jimmy. I’m four!” He did indeed look like a four-year-old. He was short and chubby, with a smattering of freckles across his face. A disheveled mop of blonde hair was covered by a Santa hat not unlike the ones the ghosts wore.
“What are you doing here, child?” Skulker questioned, raising a mechanical eyebrow.
“I wanted to go outside and see the ghosts, but Mama wouldn’t let me go outside because it’s dark out,” Jimmy pouted. “And I was wishing I could go outside and see the ghosts, and then I was here!”
All eyes turned to Desiree.
“What?” She said defensively. “You know I can’t resist granting wishes!”
“This is so cool! You're all so cool!” Jimmy said, “I get to meet the bad guys Danny Phantom fights!”
“‘Bad guys’?!” Repeated Pointdexter, sounding offended.
“Sweetie,” Spectra began in the honeyed tone she tended to use with children, “You have to go home. Your mommie’s probably worried about you.” That wasn’t the real reason she wanted him gone of course. She couldn’t care less about how his mommie felt.
Jimmy’s face fell. “I wish I could stay here with you guys...” he confided to the floor of the sleigh.
Desiree chimed in immediately, magic leaping to her fingers, “Your wish is my-”
“The truce.” Bertram reminded her.
Desiree deflated.
The Lunch Lady frowned at Jimmy’s sadness. “It would make him so happy.” She remarked to her fellow passengers.
“It would mean so much to him, and cost us so little.” Desiree said.
“Plus, it’s Christmas!” Ember added, “We should let the kid have a little adventure.”
“Yeah!” Youngblood added with an admiring glance at Ember.
“Would it really be so bad to bring him along?” Kitty looked around the sleigh imploringly.
Johnny looked conflicted. “But babe… we already worked so hard tonight to help that Phantom kid.”
Kitty rolled her eyes at him. “That took ten minutes tops.”
“But Spectra’s right!” Pointexter protested, while the aforementioned ghost looked surprised someone was actually taking her comment seriously. “Jimmy’s mother is probably worried about him.”
“She’ll be fine.” Ember said, rolling her eyes. “We’ll have the kid back before morning.”
“Yeah, she’ll be fine!” Youngblood added helpfully.
“I do suppose it wouldn’t cost us much,” Skulker said thoughtfully, who may or may not have been swayed by Ember’s opinion. “I’m all right with the boy coming along, as long as he promises not to cause trouble.” He looked questioningly at Jimmy.
The boy was sitting there with an amazed expression as if this seemed all too good to be true. At Skulker’s implied inquiry he jumped to his feet and testified “I promise I’ll be super good! I’ll be so good. I’ll be as good as Danny Phantom!” He said, with such sincerity that all present almost believed Phantom was the flawless angel of kindness Jimmy seemed to think him. Whatever the case, Jimmy’s conviction to not be a bother was clear. Any uncertainty that might have remained was rapidly squelched by Technus, who felt the need to clarify what every ghost present had already realized.
“While we, being his enemies, do not fully agree with your view of the ghost child, your promise to behave is well appreciated,” Technus decreed.
“If that is the case, we shall gladly welcome you to our portable box of Christmas cheer!” The Box Ghost said, receiving an approving nod from the Lunch Lady.
Aside from a grumble from Spectra, who was still unenthused about the concept of toting a child around with them for any period of time, as well as a hesitant Johnny, who needed a little persuasion from his girlfriend which was tactfully shielded from Youngblood by Johnny’s shadow, it was agreed unanimously that they would bring Jimmy along for their Christmas festivities, at least for a little while.
“Are we there yet?” Youngblood asked, before scarcely a minute had passed.
“No,” Responded the undead bird on his shoulder.
The Box Ghost, who was steering the sleigh, was driving it in circles above Fentonworks, high enough to be safe from ghost-hunting weapons, but low enough to have a good view of the conspicuous house, not that that was particularly difficult. The Fenton portal to the Ghost Zone, their best way to return home, was within that house, which was unfortunately closed off from the ghosts in the sleigh by a shining green ghost shield.
“It seems we shall have to wait until the shield comes down before we can return to the Ghost Zone as well as our usual Christmas festivities,” remarked Technus, to a sleigh full of ghosts who were already thinking the same thing.
The only one who would have benefited from this remark, Jimmy, was currently being distracted by Spectra, who had immediately decided to take advantage of her current situation. She usually worked with teens, not four-year-olds, but she’d been sure it wouldn’t be much different with younger children. She was mistaken.
“Are you afraid of your parents fighting?” Spectra asked.
Jimmy seemed ecstatic at this idea. “They should fight with swords!”
That wasn’t going to work. Spectra tried something else: “Are you afraid of monsters?”
Jimmy’s eyes widened. “Like bad ghosts?”
Spectra nodded, an eager smile on her face, wide enough to expose a good number of fangs. “That’s right, like bad ghosts.”
The boy assumed a solemn expression. “Danny Phantom will fight the bad ghosts.” He shook his little fist for emphasis.
Spectra groped, “Danny Phantom won’t always be there to fight the ghosts, you know.” 
“Yes, he will.” Jimmy said, with enough stubbornness to remind Spectra that he could and would spend the entire night arguing his point with that exact same sentence if he had to.
“Honey, the truce.” Bertram reminded her.
Spectra sighed. “Desiree, I wish we were at the Fenton portal.”
Johnny sat up. “Wait, I thought we were-”
“Your wish is my command!” and suddenly they found themselves flying through the portal into the Ghost Zone.
Jimmy let out a long gasp as they flew through the portal into the green expanse. He clung to the arm of Ember, who was lucky enough to be sitting next to him, as he looked around himself in awe.
“Cool, right? It’s the Ghost Zone.” Ember commented.
“Cool.” Jimmy repeated, drawing out the word well past its usual length. “Does Danny Phantom live here?”
Ember rolled her eyes at the boy’s incessant admiration of the halfa. “‘Course not. He’s a human. He lives in Amity Park.”
“Uh huh.” Youngblood confirmed.
Jimmy frowned and knitted his eyebrows. “No, he’s not. He’s a ghost.”
Ember smirked and shrugged. “Whatever you say, kid.”
They flew along quietly for a little while, aside from Youngblood periodically asking “Are we there yet?” with a long-suffering look on his face, to which the answer was always a blunt “No,” from his skeleton assistant. Jimmy gazed in fascination at the simple green blob ghosts floating about them until he got bored and started pantomiming a gun shooting them. “Pew pew. Pew.”
This drew Skulker’s attention to the boy. “Child, what are you doing?”
Jimmy looked up. “I’m shooting the little ghosts!”
Skulker scoffed. “If you want to join in the hunt, you’ll need a weapon.” He pulled a vicious-looking gun out from somewhere and held it out to the boy, who reached out to take it reverently.
“The truce.” Bertram barked.
Skulker grimaced as he reluctantly took back the gun. He patted Jimmy’s head in approval. “You’ll make a fine hunter one day.”
“Are we there yet?” Youngblood groaned, tugging on the Box Ghost’s shirt sleeve.
“Just like I’ve told you a half dozen times,” His parrot began. “No, we are- oh.”
Because at long last they were there. Before them stood the pavilion where the Christmas festivities for this group of ghosts were to be held, the doors hanging welcomingly open with glittering decorations of a plethora of colors visible through the door.
“At last! We have finally returned to the celebration!” Technus said.
“Thank you, Technus.” Spectra said sarcastically.
Jimmy eyed the banquet laid out on a table in the back of the room. His eyes landed on a bowl of peppermints. He tugged on the Lunch Lady’s sleeve. “Can I have some candy?”
She looked down at him in concern. “Oh, sweetie. You know we can’t have dessert before dinner! We need to eat the healthy food first.”
“I already ate my dinner!” Jimmy declared quickly.
Whether or not that was true, it did the trick. “Well all right then honey. Let’s get you some dessert.” The Lunch Lady looked pleased. “Good job eating your dinner!”
And so it was that Jimmy was found only a few minutes later with his cheeks crammed full of peppermints, likewise his pockets and his hands. A sparse trail of dropped peppermints was also left in his wake, having fallen out of hands and pockets that had been overenthusiastically filled. The Lunch Lady seemed to be enjoying Jimmy’s treat as much as he was, she was so filled with satisfaction about the healthy meal Jimmy had surely eaten, and which definitely hadn’t been stubbornly left on the table despite being declared by his mother an obstacle between him and going outside.
As Jimmy proceeded with his sugary feast, Walker entered the building. “The prisoner has been detained.” He said as he straightened his hat.
Pointdexter looked up. “Ghostwriter?”
“That’s right, son,” Walker said.
Pointdexter nodded, glaring at the wall. “Serves him right for using his powers to bully someone like that.”
Walker’s eyes, which had been scanning the room, landed on Jimmy, who was currently discovering a collection of discarded cardboard boxes, which were sitting in a corner after being emptied of Christmas decorations.
“Who’s this little one?” Walker asked.
Pointdexter followed Walker’s eyes to Jimmy before answering, “He wanted so badly to see us ghosts as we were going around helping fix Christmas, but his mother wouldn’t let him come outside.”
Walker’s eyes narrowed. “His mother is his legal guardian. Disobeying her is against the rul-”
“I am the Box Dragon!” A voice at Walker’s feet bellowed.
He looked down to see a large cardboard box with legs standing before him. The box’s corner bumped against Walker’s legs as grunting and growling sounds came from within the box. Now not many people know this - it’s a very closely guarded secret - but Walker has a soft spot for small children. And frankly, this behavior was too adorable for him to handle. His heart melted, and all thoughts of broken rules and sending the child home vanished from his mind. All this happened in an instant, and thankfully Walker was self-possessed enough to show absolutely no sign of this in his countenance.
However, the prison warden was not the only one who’s attention was drawn by Jimmy’s antics. Across the room, the Box Ghost’s face had slowly lit up with astonishment, then morphed into ecstasy. He flew quickly across the room to Jimmy’s side. “Box Dragon! It is an honor to make your acquaintance!” He stuck a hand under the box to heartily shake the small hand of its occupant. “It is always a pleasure to meet one who shares my appreciation of these fine cardboard squares! Perhaps you and I, united in our love of boxes, could prove formidable in combat against our foes!”
“The truce,” Walker said in unison with Bertram, who had somehow known this statement was called for despite being halfway across the room.
“Oh, right,” the Box Ghost relented. He quickly perked up again, gripping Jimmy’s hand and pointing dramatically. “Then let us return to the corner where I have placed many boxes and we shall gather a cardboard army!”
However, a yawn sounded from underneath the box and the small hand held in the Box Ghost’s blue one seemed to lose some of its enthusiasm. “I’m sleepy…” Jimmy mumbled, pushing the cardboard box off of himself.
Kitty, who just happened to be nearby, snapped her head around at the quiet statement, as if it had been as loud and attention-grabbing as a fire alarm. She dropped a slightly confused Johnny’s hand (he hadn’t been astute enough to hear Jimmy’s last sentence,) and rushed to kneel at the young boy’s side.
She let Jimmy slump onto her shoulder as she asked “Do you want to go home, honey?” With all the tenderness of a mother.
“Mmhm…” Came the barely audible reply, with Jimmy seeming to be seconds away from falling asleep on Kitty’s shoulder.
She gently stood up and turned to her boyfriend, who had been left to shadow her curiously. “Can you take him home on your motorcycle?” She whispered.
“Uh, okay.” Said Johnny uncertainly. Kitty gently handed over the boy to Johnny, who held him as awkwardly as though he’d never carried a child before and had no idea where to put what. He did his best though and managed to transport Jimmy to his motorcycle and situate him in a fairly safe-looking position.
The ghosts at the party gathered to see the boy off. He was thankfully just awake enough to receive the goodbyes most present eagerly began to give him.
“If you ever need anything, just say the words, and your wish is my command,” Desiree told him with a kiss.
“Always be nice to people. Don’t be a jerk.” Pointdexter advised quickly.
“Follow your dreams, kid!” Ember said.
“Yeah, do that!” Youngblood agreed with Ember readily.
“Eat well!”
“Be sure and stay on the right side of the law.”
“Always remember the power of technology, I, Technus, included-”
“May you always find nice boxes!”
Walker repositioned the now-sleeping Jimmy into a slightly safer position as he said to Johnny, “Don’t test my patience. You better not break the speed limit again.”
Johnny revved up the engine and responded, “Dude, there’s no speed limit in the Ghost Zone. You made that up.”
As Johnny drove off to deliver the child home (no one realized until later that he didn’t know where Jimmy’s house was), there was a moment of silence. Perhaps some of the ghosts were using it to ponder the night they had just had. How their small acts of kindness towards Jimmy had filled him with such glee. How somehow, despite having seemingly gained nothing from the experience, each felt happier, more contented, lighter inside even than a ghost with the power to levitate usually felt. Perhaps they were drawing near to a change of heart, or at the very least a change of obsession, that might allow them to experience the bliss of helping others on a more regular basis. Perhaps some of them would have even reached it if that moment of silence had not been interrupted.
“Let’s never do that again.” Spectra moaned.
52 notes · View notes
philicheesecake · 4 years ago
Text
(U.L.) The Last Hunt
Synopsis: Three hunters seek out the trace of an unknown monster, only for the hunt to take a dangerous turn.
Warnings: THIS STORY CONTAINS FATAL VORE. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE FATAL VORE, TURN BACK NOW. 
((Phili’s note: Though Wendigos are mentioned in this story, the adaption mentioned here are not the ones from folklore. The Unseen Legion discovered creatures with similar appearance and behavior that resembles the wendigo folklore and nicknamed these creatures after them, not having a better name for them)) ((Also sorry it took forever to get this posted! I was super nervous about posting fatal, but y’all have been warned anyways, so hopefully it should be fine))
---
There was a click as the magazine slid into place. The trunk of the big red van slammed shut. Footsteps tracked away from the gravel earth. A wind bristled through the canopy above, shifting the flecks of warm evening light that fell across the untrodden trail. Branches and dead foliage crunched over the three pairs of boots as the small hunting party began to search. 
The mid-autumn air was crisp and chilly in contrast with the sun’s dull warm glow, and the fiery colors of the foliage that shifted at the change of season. The three figures were equipped with boots and jackets, and the tallest held a pack full of spare hunting gear to make sure all approaches to some unknown threat were covered. 
“They’re more active at dawn and dusk, so we’ll have to watch our backs more as the sun sets,” the oldest of them, Josiah spoke to his trainee. He had dark baggy eyes and salt and pepper hair. While his features were much older and weathered, she was much shorter and younger, barely out of high school, with curly black hair pulled back into a big ponytail. 
“How many wendigos have you killed?” The girl, Ruth pondered. 
“Gah, lost count. Maybe seven?” The older man shrugged. “What about you, Rubin?” He glanced at the other hunter joining them. He was short for her age, but had a good build and curly brown hair and a goatee. 
“Haven’t met one yet. This one would be my first. I tend to stick around the rowdy moon puppies mostly,” Rubin responded. 
“I’ve always wanted to hunt a werewolf, I just have too unsteady hands to pierce their heart,” Ruth said. “I’m just sticking to the bigger targets until I can get a better skill with my gun handling.”
“Good idea. I don’t think it would be fun to come back from a hunt with puppy ears,” Rubin chuckled. “I bet werewolf bites don’t tickle.”
“I’ll bet,” Ruth said with a grin. 
“Hey, wait here,” Josiah stopped ahead, holding out a hand as he crouched down to the forest floor, seeming to inspect a mark on the earth. The soil was unruly, but a faint mark could be made out. A footprint? But it was too large, even for a wendigo. Even then, it was difficult to make out whether it actually was a footprint, and not just some uneven ground. 
“What do you think, Rubin?” Josiah glanced at the tracking expert of the hunting party. 
Rubin bent down near the print, taking a good look at it as he took in a deep breath. “Don’t recognize what it came from, but it couldn’t have been here more than a day ago. This ain’t like anything I’ve seen before.”
Ruth glanced at her father pensively, taking a few steps ahead to try to see more tracks. Sure enough, about six or seven feet apart from the other print was another. “Guys, over here. There’s more.” 
Josiah paced over to where she stood, glancing down at the new track. He could see it a bit more clearly. A left footprint. It was strikingly similar to a human’s own footprint, though there were indentations at the front of the toes that tore up the ground, distorting the front of the footprint by the disturbed earth. It was nearly a meter long from heel to toe. 
“Rubin, is the one over there a right foot?”
Rubin glanced up from the track after a moment, nodding. “Yuuup.”
Josiah shook his head in awe. “Two meter strides. Damn. This thing must be huge.”
“Do you think we should head back?” Ruth asked. “If we don’t know what it is, it might be dangerous.”
Josiah frowned, picking at a mole on the back of his neck as he always did when he was deep in thought. Maybe nervous. Calculating their odds. 
“We’ve been following these hunting patterns like a wendigo. Been twelve years since the last round of victims in this town, and three towns over, staggered at similar intervals. If we lose this chance, it might hibernate again and our chance will be lost. Chances are if it isn’t a wendigo, it’s still a close relative, and we can still kill it. We can follow the prints to at least learn about it, and if we get in over our heads, you can retreat.”
“Probably shouldn’t be relying on horror movies to predict the outcome for this, but...” Ruth looked at her father cautiously. “Going in over our heads is probably what’s going to happen if we don’t know what this is.”
The three hunters continued through the woods, finding the messy footprints leading in a rough direction deeper into the forest. The sun was beginning to set, overshadowed by the looming mountain range before them. On the mountainside, there were rocky cliffs and crevices looking over a small frothy stream that flowed noisily throughout the forest like a winding white serpent. The stream was shallow enough to wade through easily, though the mountain water must be very chilly. With a careful footing, one could cross by hopping from the slippery stones. 
“I can check out the cave first and call you over if the coast is clear. Watch out for each other, ‘aight?” Josiah dug through Ruth’s backpack briefly before drawing out the flame thrower. He began to wade through the stream, shivering as the cold water soaked through his trousers and chilled him to the bone.
“Be careful, dad,” Ruth said in a low voice. 
Josiah crossed over onto the opposing bank and stepped past the underbrush, making his way along the rocky wall against the bank. He passed further along towards the cave. At first, there seemed to be no trace of anything there. He began to move deeper into the dark crevice of stone, holding out his flame thrower warily. His boot bumped across a large leather sack, at first thinking it was a boulder. It was as big as he was. It had a long leather strap and leather buckles. It was weathered and looked as though it had been patched together over a dozen times. 
He looked down at it, frowning slightly in thought. He crouched down to get a better look. 
WHOOSH-
A massive hunched figure dashed out of the darkness. A clawed hand swept over, smothering his face to suppress the hunter’s shout of surprise. The flame thrower clattered to the ground and was quickly crunched beyond usage by an unseen force. It was completely silent and instantaneous. Josiah was dragged backward into the darkness by the cruel grip. He struggled, slipping his knife off of his belt and tried to jab it at the thing that held him. Large clawed fingers pinned his arms to his sides, rendering his attempts useless. His knife was quickly snatched and tossed aside. 
He tried to shout for the others, but the pressure over his face silenced him, rendering it difficult to even breathe. A warm breath puffed on the back of his neck, making his hairs stand up. The wendigo. He felt something hot and slimy drip onto his shoulders and shuddered. What was that? He struggled harder to slip free from the grip. just hoping he could get free before this thing killed him or stored him in some dark tunnel to snack on later. 
The warm air grew closer until he grew aware of a glistening thread of liquid drip down from in front of him. Something began to descend across his vision. Fangs. He choked in a startled gasp as the pressure loosened around his face, only allowing him to make a brief shout before his head was enveloped into the dark maw. 
Drool soaked through his skin as the tongue roughly rubbed against his face and hair. The grip shifted around him, holding him firmly as it pushed him in deeper combined with a strong gulp. Josiah felt dread settle into his chest. This creature was going to swallow him whole?! He tried to shout for Ruth and Rubin, but that only got that disgusting slime into his mouth. The smothering tight walls of the throat made it impossible to even breathe! He felt more and more of him dragged within the suffocating passage as he heard the creature begin to gulp and swallow him the rest of the way down. The creature’s head tilted back, changing gravity to a disorienting angle as Josiah was completely upside down. He distantly felt his shoes being yanked off and let out a muffled yelp of pain, being some heavy duty hiking boots that couldn’t really be removed easily. He thought the creature must have broken his feet or something, because he definitely felt something snap in there. 
His head soon pressed through a crushingly tight ring of muscle and passed into a slightly more open space. He immediately gasped for air, but the air burned his lungs immediately from the intense heat. He choked and coughed, feeling like he could never really catch his breath with how much each one hurt, and how the throat crushed his rib cage too tightly to really draw a full breath. 
The rest of him soon followed into the tight chamber. At first, it seemed too tight, almost impossible for him to fit entirely, though it somehow stretched and groaned as it managed to engulf him entirely with relative ease. As soon as he was down, he could hear his captor’s loud breaths from its cleared airway. He gasped, kicking against the tight confines. He reached for his knife, only to remember the beast had taken it from him. He was trapped.
The air was so hot in here. It was difficult to even breathe. It was so tight and slimy. The puddle of fluids that would soon be his demise was already a few inches deep in the pit of the stomach. He could feel a strange numb sensation from mere contact. He sucked in nervous gasps. “Ruth! Rubi--” his voice was muted as the walls seemed to clench tighter around him, additionally with a foreign pressure from the outside that pressed down harshly over him. It was impossible to shout, or even breathe! He struggled to try to fight the walls off of him just enough to battle for weak gasps of air. 
***
Ruth sighed anxiously as she looked down, checking the area while keeping her gun close. Her dad wasn’t gone for long, and she trusted his level of experience, though a part of her was still nervous about how unusually large this wendigo was perceived to be. 
Rubin was sitting against one of the logs, messing around with their supplies and making sure everything was ready in case of emergency. He suddenly stood up with an alert expression. “Your dad. Something happened.”
Ruth gave him a confused expression. “What? I didn’t hear any—”
“Stay here. I’ll go ahead. If I’m not back in ten, get the dickens outta here.”
Ruth’s brow furrowed and she opened her mouth to protest, but the older hunter was already heading across the stream and towards the cave. She waited behind, holding her shotgun at the ready. Although she was more of a cautious person when it came to hunting, there was no way she was leaving here without her dad and Rubin. 
Rubin approached the mouth of the cave with his gun in hand. He listened out carefully. Josiah’s voice was gone, but he could hear breathing. 
There was a sudden dash of movement from the side and a huge hand rammed into him, pinning him against the cave wall. The wind was knocked out of him and he gasped, looking up at the monster. It looked almost human with its features, though something was off about it. The dark markings around the eyes, slit pupils, long, pointed ears, sharp fangs and claws. It towered at easily forteen feet tall. What the hell was this thing?!
Rubin snapped out of his stupor, struggling against the grip. Until now, his eyes had been focused on the thing’s face, then he glanced down for a moment and his blood froze. There was a squirming bulge in its gut. It just ate somew--
Josiah’s voice. Josiah’s voice was coming from in there--
The hunter’s eyes widened in dread. The creature’s snarling lips were drawn back to bare its teeth as drool hungrily poured over its lips, dripping onto his face. Rubin panted and grimaced. His heart raced as the creature brought him closer… He could feel his friend past the wall of flesh, squirming for his life… trapped. “J-Josiah--” Rubin stammered. The creature bent down, opening its jaws wide and its gross slimy tongue dragged across the hunter’s face, getting a good taste. Rubin shuddered, gritting his teeth. He had to get out of here. He had to get that machete and cut his friend out of this. Things were going far too south far too quickly, and he didn’t even know how long Josiah would last in there. The thought made him nauseous with dread.
“Do you miss your friend?” The giant’s voice rumbled, vibrating to its core. It could talk? Well-- it looked human enough… “Let him go, Goliath! S-seriously, mate--” “No thanks. I have a better way of reuniting you.” The giant’s jaws opened wider, beginning to descend over Rubin’s line of sight. His breaths hissed frantically through his throat and he struggled harder. 
Tumblr media
BANG!
A deafening gunshot cracked through the echoing chamber of the cave, skittering off the rocky walls. Ruth appeared at the cave entrance with her shotgun. Her fearful eyes were narrowed, trying to mask the emotion with confidence, but there was a shakiness in her figure. She had missed. 
In a swift motion, the giant’s grip readjusted around Rubin. He was now practically pinned against the squirming bulge of his friend, and a claw was held at his throat, barely pricking the skin. He froze.
“L-let them go.” Ruth stammered threateningly.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea, little treat. I think my claw might slip before you pull the trigger.” The giant’s voice was unphased by her threat. She seemed too afraid to pull the trigger with Rubin that close anyways. He was practically a meat shield. “Put the gun down and we can chat about this over lunch. Deal?” 
Ruth grit her teeth, her face paling. She was shaking badly. She probably couldn’t hit the giant if she tried. 
“Ruth, j-just get out of here.” Rubin pleaded. “I’m not leaving my dad.”
“I’m not giving you many options. Unless you want to join him.” The giant grinned through his fangs. “Be my guest.”
Rubin clenched his jaw nervously, watching Ruth’s expression as she glanced around the environment, trying to find some other way or loophole, or trick she could use to get them all out of there. For a split second, her vision was directed away just long enough for Rubin to act. 
It went by in a blur, but suddenly the giant’s fingers were bleeding, he was free from the giant’s grip, and he was running straight towards Ruth. Ruth gasped, lowering her shotgun to the side for a moment before his hand grabbed hers and he tried to get her to run. “No!” She jerked back, firing the shotgun. The giant leaped after them, tackling her to the floor and snapped the shotgun clean in half. The squirming bulge of her father could be seen in clear view, practically above where she was pinned. Rubin gasped, ramming himself against the giant’s arm to shove him out of the way. He drew out a knife and jammed it into the giant’s shoulder, just missing the throat. He didn’t waste another moment before grabbing Ruth’s arm again and took off running. He didn’t realize until and that she was bleeding from her head. The impact must have concussed her. 
The giant roared in pain, grabbing the knife out of his shoulder and pressed his hand against the wound. He could only glare daggers at them as they fled. He didn’t need to pursue them. He already had his meal. 
Ruth was out of it, swimming in and out of consciousness as she was vaguely aware of a sizzling sound in her head. Trees passed over her blackening vision. The darkened sky. Then the back seat of the car. The low rumble of the engine was lulling to her foggy mind. Tears bit at the corners of her vision. She was too tired to think though… Must sleep…
***
Josiah was faintly aware of what was going on during the fight. Feeling Rubin’s form pressed against where he was captive. It was impossible to breath. The goopy, slimy fluids that smothered him threatened to suffocate him with each pulsating clench of the living chamber. He curled up tighter, feeling a heaviness in his chest. At least Ruth had escaped. 
The heat was incredible. Every bit of the harsh environment was sapping him of his energy. He couldn’t keep fighting. He had stopped struggling after the first half hour. It was too exhausting to go on. The deep puddle of fluids wasn’t stinging at least. It was numbing at most. He couldn’t feel his fingers. He didn’t even know if they were still there. He didn’t want to know. 
His body fell limp against the rhythmic pulsing of the walls as the puddle grew deeper. His breaths were heavy. The burning air felt like it weighed a ton on his lungs. His consciousness grew further and further away. The loud gurgles, breathing, and heartbeat of the monster were the last sounds that met his ears before they became muffled. His head sank beneath the pool. A final breath choked out, gagging on the fluids that invaded his lungs before life fled his twitching limbs. 
***
Ruth opened her eyes. Her head hurt. She could see the plain white ceiling above her. She closed her eyes again. She just wanted to sleep. 
“Ruth,”
There was movement next to her. The ground she was on shifted slightly. It was a couch. Someone just sat down next to her. 
“Dad…” Her voice came out quietly. She didn’t want any of that to be real. 
“I’m so sorry.” 
She sniffled. Her eyes opened again. Rubin was sitting next to her. He was disheveled. Blood was on his fingertips. His scarf was lopsided, barely concealing an old scar on the side of his neck. She sat up. The small movement gave her a headache. Whatever the giant did to her had really hit her bad. She could feel bandages wrapped around her head. 
“N-no. We… we can still save-“
An arm wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. She froze. Her voice choked off. She stared numbly ahead, not knowing how to believe it. 
He let her take a while to process this and go through the emotions while offering what comfort he could give. “Your dad told us to watch out for each other, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
She leaned her head into his shoulder and sobbed.
----------------------
Link to the rest of the series can be found here.
19 notes · View notes
Text
The Dark Side of the Full Moon (5/9) Were!Rex x Reader
Tumblr media
A/N: Hey everybody! I hope you are doing well! I really struggled with this chapter and I will admit, it is pretty tacky, but this is super self indulgent so I kinda don’t care lol. I hope that you guys still enjoy! As always, let me know if you want to be tagged whenever I upload a new chapter of this fic!
Length: ~2000 word
Warnings: ANGST. Descriptions of blood and injury.
Previous - Next
Your lungs were burning as you ran through the ghostly forest, the trees a blur as you sped past them. The muscles in your legs were screaming with each step you took and the skin on your hips had been rubbed raw from the belt that held the weight of your sword. But you did not care. The only thing on your mind was finding Rex.
 You, Cody, and Wolffe had run back to the woods that lie just down the road from your bakery and started following the tracks that led deeper into the trees. The light of the full moon had been casting menacing shadows upon the snow that surrounded the tracks as it shone through the bare branches of the trees.
 You had been running for a while now and the trees started to get more and more dense as you headed toward the heart of the forest, each one that you passed becoming thicker and taller showing its old age.
The tracks weaved in and out of the trees until they led the three of you to a large clearing. You stopped, leaning up against one of the trees to catch your breath. The forest was still silent. The only thing you could hear was the sound of heavy breathing and the wind blowing past your ears. None of you said anything to each other. Cody just looked at you and Wolffe and nodded his head, a silent reminder that you did not have much time.
 As you were about to push yourself off of the support of the tree, you heard a haunting howl echoing in the distance. You froze and your head whipped around to look at Cody’s stunned face. You pulled your coat tighter around you and started getting ready to run again when Wolffe grabbed your arm.
 “Wait,” he said as you turned to look at him. “It’s going to be impossible for us to catch up to him.” You looked at him as he contemplated the situation. “Is it possible to get him to come to us?”
 Your eyebrows shot up in surprise and you turned to Cody. “Would that work? Did he ever respond when this happened before?”
 Cody furrowed his brow. “I… don’t know,” he said. “I never tried before. I would just take him to the training arena and let him run around in there until he tired himself out.”
 You looked back at Wolffe as he stuck the torch into the ground. He looked at you and you nodded, urging him to go ahead with what he was thinking. He took a couple of steps and brought his hands up to cup his mouth and he howled out into the night.
 Wolffe brought his hands back down and gazed into the distance as he listened for a response. You all sat there, motionless. Not wanting to miss a single sound.
 You waited. Listening for anything that could lead you to Rex. Your breath appeared in front of you every so often while you stood impatiently in the snow.
 You were about to give up hope when there came a response from deep within the woods. You sucked in a breath and Wolffe snapped his head to look at you.
 “What should we do,” you asked.
 Wolffe though for a moment before walking over to a tree with a low hanging branch. He snapped it off and then cleared a small plot of snow. “Let’s set up in this clearing. If we can get Rex to come to us, we have a better chance of him not hurting us and us not hurting him.” He continued to grab branches off of the trees and bushes that surrounded the clearing, placing them into the center of the cleared ground. He then grabbed the torch and ignited the pile. “He’s going to be cold when he transforms back.”
 You nodded and looked at Cody. You both worked quickly, amassing a pile of branches that could be thrown on the fire before you started discussing your plan for changing Rex back.
 The three of you were sitting in the snow around the fire as Cody spoke. “Wolffe and I can use the rope to tie him down. If we use the crossbows to anchor it into the ground, that should give you enough time to draw his blood with the vine.” He looked at you hopefully and tersely nodded. He then looked to Wolffe. “We have to be sure to give Y/N enough time to get close to him without him breaking free.” Cody looked back to you. “He’s extremely powerful so you will only get a few seconds. A minute at most.”
 “I’ll be quick,” you reassured him.
 He turned back to Wolffe, loading his crossbow. “If we can surprise him, it will be easier to pin him down.”
 Wolffe nodded. “You and I could climb up into the trees. It’ll give us a better angle to shoot too. We would have a better change of not hitting him.”
 Cody nodded and stood up. “You both ready?”
 You and Wolffe both rose from your spots on the cold ground, giving Cody a silent confirmation.
 The three of you walked to the center of the clearing and looked at each other. Cody smiled and put his hand on your shoulder after seeing the worried look on your face. “He’ll be alright. I promise we won’t hurt him.”
 You returned his small smile. “I know.”
 You looked at Wolffe and he gave you a small smile in reassurance. He then rolled his neck and nodded at you and Cody. “You ready to make some noise?”
 You smiled, turned toward the forest, and brought your hands up to your mouth. You howled up toward the moon as loud as you could. Cody and Wolffe followed suit and howled as loud as they could into the night sky.
 The three of you would howl and call out Rex’s name, stopping each time you did to listen for a response. Each time, the howl back getting closer and closer.
 The forest was alive with your voices, and with each thundering sound, your hope grew. You had just stopped you latest attempt and listened for a response.
 Another howl came from the distance, much louder than before. You smiled at Cody. “He’s getting closer.” Your throat was starting to get sore, but you felt better about your chances than you did at the start of the night.
 Cody looked at you, his face softening when suddenly a twig snapped just outside of the clearing. The three of you spun around to face the sound and Wolffe stepped in front of you protectively. You drew your sword and he and Cody drew their bows and pointed them at the trees. Wolffe lowered his voice. “I think we may have attracted something else on accident.”
 The three of you stood in silence, waiting for whatever made the sound. You heard the crunching of footsteps and the sound of something being dragged through the snow.
 “I have a bad feeling about this,” you said peering into the darkness that surrounded the clearing.
 A voice rang out through the forest. “As you should my dear. After all, you did go looking for trouble that you had no business being in.”
 Wolffe and Cody lowered their bows slightly and looked at each other, confusion written on their features at recognizing the voice. You stepped up between them and focused on the figure that was immerging from the shadows, dragging a body behind him.
 “You,” you gasped, not believing what you were seeing.
 Tarkin walked out of the shadows with a confident and pleased smile plastered on his face. He held a beaten and bloody Kix by the collar as he dragged his motionless body though the snow. “I’m honestly a bit insulted that this was all you sent as a defense.” He threw Kix down into the snow at his feet.
 You could see that Kix’s hands were bound behind his back and that his face was swollen and bloody. He softly groaned when he hit the ground face first. His coat had been torn to shreds and was barely covering the countless wounds that adorned his body. His breathing was weak, and he wasn’t moving, but he was alive.
 You took a step forward, ready to charge with your sword when Cody grabbed your arm, pulling you back. You looked back at him, the anger building up inside you only to see a haunting look of understanding wash over Cody’s face.
 “How long have you known,” he demanded, his voice firm.
 Tarkin raised an eyebrow at Cody mockingly as he began to carefully remove his gloves. “Oh, I’ve known for quite some time Commander. You see, the Republic Kingdom has been at a stalemate for months. We have been losing supplies and soldiers and money because of this.” He tossed his gloves down onto Kix’s motionless form and began to slowly undo the buttons on his coat. “The Chancellor approached me looking for ideas on how to increase the might of our military. I was kind enough to provide a solution.” He smiled, recounting the memory. “I proposed that if we could train the ones fighting to learn how to control themselves when in a werewolf state, we would have the most powerful military on this planet. The Kingdom of the Republic would be an unstoppable force!”
 The three of you stood there, the fury and urge to fight building up inside of you.
 Tarkin continued. “I knew that this would be a dangerous and difficult task to deliver on, so I asked if I could test my idea. You see, people who are born werewolves can control when they transform, they just have to do it at least once every month. But those who are infected by a werewolf involuntarily transform during a full moon. They lose all control.” He looked up at the full moon and then to Cody’s bandaged face. “As you have no doubt come to discover Commander.” He mockingly smiled at Cody as he raised his crossbow to point directly at Tarkin.
 “What’s your point,” he screamed at Tarkin. “Why Rex?”
 Tarkin scoffed. “The point Commander, is that if I could test how you Fett’s respond to being infected I could figure out a way to train you to control it. If the captain responded to you, that means that he could eventually be reached by anybody. It seems like he was starting to gain some sense of control, or else you would have been killed tonight.”
 You heard Wolffe growl behind you as both of his crossbows came to focus directly on Tarkin. His fingers ready on the triggers.
 “As for why, it was mostly opportunity.” Tarkin took off his coat and discarded it along with his gloves onto Kix’s still unmoving form. “I would have preferred you, but that blasted captain took your patrol.”
 You took in a shaky breath. “So why come out here? Why tell us all of this?”
 Tarkin ominously chuckled and turned his intimidating eyes toward you. “For the same reason I dragged this half-breed out here,” he said motioning to Kix. “I can’t have you undoing all of my work and we are quite a ways from Coruscant. No one knows where any of you are and we are deep enough into the forest that no one will find any of you for quite some time.”
 Wolffe stepped in front of you and Cody and tightened his grip on his crossbows. “You’ll die first,” he roared out.
 Tarkin only smiled and squared his stance. “I wouldn’t be so sure of yourself Commander.”
 Pure fear began to course through you as Tarkin began to grow bigger and bigger, his features morphing and light grey fur starting to cover his entire body. His clothes began to rip at the seams, and the two men beside you each readied their weapons. You began to shake as your grip on your sword tightened. Your head followed Tarkins form as it continued to rise above you, until it stopped.
 Tarkin squared his stance on his four legs and growled, his sharp teeth protruding from his mouth. He stared the three of you down, ready to attack. He lunged forward and Wolffe and Cody fired, sending arrows through the freezing air of the night.
28 notes · View notes
milasartblog · 4 years ago
Text
Brother's little concern
Everyone has their daily routine that seemed like well organized and it will be like this every time. While humans tend to change their schedule due to different obstacles more often, angels are mostly stick to their routines and almost don't change it. Same for archangels, like Raphael, one of the great captains of angel soldiers. Despite him having a family, he always tries to spend some time for training, even made a schedule for it. Some time for family, and some time for training. His precious wife, Rachel, learnt his daily routine in a short period of time, so much that even little changes could be a signal for her that something happened. Just like today. She was in the kitchen, cooking lunch for a family. Arthur meanwhile was teaching Saya how to walk, a task that was more difficult than he expected.
Arthur: You're doing great, sister. Step by step.
Saya made happy noises as she held her borther's hands while trying to walk. It looked clumsy and funny, but Arthur didn't plan to give up. Rachel looked at the clock and then at the door.
Rachel: I wonder what made him stay at the training room for that long time. Hope nothing serious. Knowing how some angels react to Michael's choice, and still can't let it go, they probably disturb my husband again. Plus, sir Gabriel seems like not himself......
She looked down, but quickly looked at her children after hearing a noise of someone falling on the floor. It was Saya, who got stumbled and lost a balance. Arthur prepared just in case if she was about to cry, but surprisingly, it wasn't the case and he sighed with relief. Saya only giggled happily, clapping her tiny hands as Rachel smiled. Suddenly they heard a familiar knock on the door. Rachel could recognize it anywhere. As she went to open the door, Arthur, picking up Saya and carrying her, followed her to greet their father.
Rachel: Hello, honey. Welcome back home.
Raphael: Hey, dear. Thank you. Sorry, I got too distracted by training that almost forgot about time.
They hugged each other as Raphael looked into Rachel's eyes.
Rachel: It's okay, I just thought that something seriously happened.
Arthur: Hi, father!
Raphael: Oh, hello, my brave knight and precious princess!
With smile he hugged his children as picked them up. Saya held her father tightly as Raphael nuzzled his children's noses.
Arthur: How did the training go?
Raphael: Same as usual, just a bit longer.
Arthur: Why?
Raphael: I...needed to fix the targets. Someone forgot to do it after training.
Arthur: But are angels supposed to do it? Why not use new ones?
Raphael: In order to not waste too much materials.
Arthur: Oh, okay.
As they were talking about today, they walked to the kitchen. Despite the bright smile Raphael gave to his children, Rachel felt that something disturbed her husband. When he put children back to the ground, everyone began to set the table for lunch. What can be good than a warm rich soup after training. During lunch time, Arthur told his father about his little success of teaching Saya how to walk. Raphael smiled and patted his son's head, saying that he did a great job. After lunch time, children went to their room to play while Raphael and Rachel stayed in the kitchen, washing and drying dishes.
Rachel: Is something wrong, dear?
Raphael: What are you talking about?
Rachel: You came back home later than usual, so I thought that maybe some angels disturbed you again with that question.
Raphael: Oh, no no, it didn't happen, fortunately. I let them know that if it was my brother's choice, so be it.
Rachel: I mean, I was so stunned too when I heard about it, but with time I accepted it.
Raphael: Because you're wise and beautiful woman.
He kissed gently her cheek as she smiled.
Rachel: And you're smart and handsome man.
Raphael: Thank you, dear. The thing is...I noticed the weird behavior of Gabriel.
Rachel: Really?
Raphael: Yeah. He spends more time with Michael. Don't get me wrong, it's great thing. But seeing him suddenly getting interested in human culture, knowing that he would never even touch the human weird things, umm, how they call it.....
Rachel: You're worried that Gabriel plans something?
Raphael: Not sure. He usually tries to avoid such stuff.
Rachel: Maybe he just changed his view? Like Nicole did with demons.
Raphael: I wish to think so. But my heart tells me otherwise. Even if he did, it would take much time.
He looked down sadly at a plate he was holding to dry. A couple of minutes of silence accompanied the couple till Rachel spoke with a sigh.
Rachel: You worry that Gabriel is not like you used to know, right?
Raphael: Yeah....kinda. I mean, what could possibly made him be like this.
He dried the plate he held and put it back on its place.
Rachel: He is still your brother, honey. Same strict archangel we know. Even if something really changes in him, I'm sure that his strictness won't disappear. After all, he is one of the law abiding angel we know. Archangel we know and love.
Raphael: Yeah, I know....
They finished with the last plate as Raphael thought for a moment. Rachel knew that look and suggested him a solution, putting her hand on hid shoulder.
Rachel: If you feel like to talk with him now, it's okay. Then your concern will go away.
Raphael: Not now, dear. He is doing his duty.
Rachel: Maybe after it? Talk like brothers do.
Raphael: ...Yeah, you're right. Still, in my plans there was a paragraph "Spend time with family". And I tried my best not to miss it.
He nuzzled Rachel's nose with gentle smile as Rachel smiled too and nuzzled him back.
Rachel: Okay, if you say so. Just remember that he is still your brother no matter what. Like Michael.
Raphael: You're right, honey. It's just, I always feel like something is odd and it needs to be solved.
Rachel: You just didn't get used to sudden changes in Heaven. Well, me too, but Nicole taught me once to accept changes slowly and surely.
Raphael: Yeah, she is professional at it. Well, shall we go and check our children?
Rachel: Sure.
With the smile they finished with dishes and went to children's room where Arthur was drawing while Saya was watching him doing it. They noticed that parents came to their room as he tried to cover his drawing, saying that it's a surprise. Parents giggled kindly as they appologized for disturbing the artist and asked if it's okay to enter. Arthur thought for a moment and agreed under the condition of them not peeping. With such agreement, the rest of the time they spent together, like what most of the families do.
------------------
And that's another story for our universe^^ And the first one in this year XD Maybe not super possitive or so, but I felt a need to give some attention to this family too X) Hope you will like it^^
Raphael, Rachel, Arthur and Saya belong to @wildstarfan and @milasartblog (both me)
Okaria et Feria belongs to @wildstarfan and @captainthane
11 notes · View notes
heartofether · 3 years ago
Text
Episode 16 - Lorelei TRANSCRIPT
[You can listen to the show wherever you get your podcasts, or go to our “Listen” page if you’re on desktop.]
VAL
Warning: This episode contains discussions and descriptions of child abuse, and may not be suitable for all audiences. For exact time stamps and a full list of content warnings, please check the show notes. We suggest you check the content warnings regardless, since this is a bit of an intense episode, and contains instances of panic attacks, screaming, and violence. Listener discretion is advised.
AUTOMATED VOICE
[VERY SLOWED DOWN] Please state your message.
[THEME SONG PLAYS.]
VAL
Three-eyed Frog Presents: The Heart of Ether.
[THEME SONG FADES TO A STOP.]
[PHONE BEEP.]
[INT./EXT. OUTSIDE OF LORELEI FOSTER’S HOUSE, DAYTIME.]
[THE SOUND OF A RAVEN CAWING IS HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND.]
AGENT JUNE
Jeez, this place smells like a zoo.
AGENT MAY
I need to introduce the recording. Interview with Lorelei Foster, at her home. Part of Operation Saturn, phase 1.2. Conducted by Agents May and June. All— [CUTTING HIMSELF OFF] June, hey, stay in the car!
[AS HE TALKS, AGENT JUNE IS HEARD OPENING THE CAR DOOR AND STARTING TO STEP OUT.]
AGENT JUNE
What? Come on, dude, I’m getting impatient.
AGENT MAY
We’ll go up to her door in a minute. There’s just—I need to ask you something first.
AGENT JUNE
Oh. Why didn’t you just say so?
[HE CLIMBS BACK INTO THE CAR, CLOSING THE DOOR. AGENT MAY SIGHS.]
AGENT MAY
[SLIGHTLY NERVOUS] You are aware of the case of Lorelei Foster, correct?
AGENT JUNE
Uh, obviously. She was a part of some coven and they all went missing except for her. She moved to this house way outside of town and refused to show her face.
AGENT MAY
Well, under the naming conventions of Valencia and Wood, the Foundation believes that Lorelei Foster is what is known as a “Beastly.” What she could be capable of—it’s not something to play around with. Okay? She could be dangerous. Not deadly, per say, but still potentially devastating in her power.
AGENT JUNE
[PANICKED SARCASM] Wow, that’s super comforting, Agent May.
AGENT MAY
Just don’t say or do anything stupid, alright? Also, if when we see her, she looks, you know, different, don’t comment on it. Act like you don’t even notice.
AGENT JUNE
That’s all? Well, don’t worry about it, then. I’ve never judged a book by its cover. I’ll just stand there and act as well-behaved as I always do.
AGENT MAY
[UNDER HIS BREATH] That’s what I feared.
[THEY BOTH GET OUT OF THE CAR AND WALK UP TO HER FRONT DOOR. IT'S A LOVELY DAY OUTSIDE, WITH BIRDS CHIRPING AS IF NOTHING IS WRONG. AGENT MAY KNOCKS.]
AGENT MAY
Ms. Foster? This is Agents May and June. We’re with the Harper Foundation. We’re here to ask you a few questions.
[A RAVEN CAWS AS THERE IS NO RESPONSE.]
AGENT JUNE
Maybe she’s not home?
AGENT MAY
I don’t believe she ever leaves her house. Look at her car. It’s untouched. I’m sure she even gets her groceries delivered, somehow.
[HE KNOCKS AGAIN.]
AGENT MAY
We do not wish to harm you or bring you into custody, Ms. Foster. We won’t tell anyone what you are or what you’re doing here. We simply believe you may have some helpful insight on Ether. Just let us ask a few things, and then we’ll be out of your way.
[THERE’S A LONG PAUSE.]
AGENT JUNE
Maybe it’s a lost cause. Well, at least we can say we tried. Guess we should just—
[AS HE’S TALKING, THE DOOR CREAKS OPEN JUST A CRACK.]
LORELEI
You do not plan on taking photographs, do you?
AGENT MAY
We’re recording this over audio. Nobody will see your face except for the two of us, we promise.
AGENT JUNE
Yeah, don’t sweat it. We’re not gonna—[STARTLED] Oh my god!
[AS HE SPEAKS, LORELEI OPENS THE DOOR THE REST OF THE WAY TO REVEAL HER TRUE FORM.]
LORELEI
Is there a problem?
AGENT MAY
Not at all, Ms. Foster. Apologizes for my colleague, he is—
AGENT JUNE
[NERVOUSLY BLUFFING] I have a fear of new people. Yup. Terrified of ‘em.
AGENT MAY
[PLAYING ALONG] It’s tragic, really. Makes our job incredibly difficult.
LORELEI
[SUSPICIOUS] Quite.
[A BEAT.] Well, you said you had questions?
AGENT MAY
That we do. May we come in?
LORELEI
I would advise against it. Terrance is a pacifist when around me, but I am unsure of how he would react to new people.
AGENT JUNE
And who is Terrance, exactly?
LORELEI
A bear. [SADLY] Used to be a friend.
[A BEAR GROWLS IN THE BACKGROUND. AGENT JUNE MAKES A WEAK NOISE OF FEAR.]
LORELEI
I am still unsure whether his calm nature is because he maintained his human consciousness, or if I have some level of control over him that makes him do as I wish. Perhaps a mix of both.
AGENT MAY
Did you make him this way?
LORELEI
That much should be obvious, don’t you think? Assuming you really know what you’re talking about, and you’re not just bluffing.
AGENT MAY
We are somewhat familiar with your kind, but we’re always looking to learn more.
LORELEI
[SHE SCOFFS.] Is that what this is? You view me as a learning opportunity? Like a sample dragged in by the biology teacher for lab day?
AGENT MAY
Of course not. We’re just trying to learn more about Ether.
AGENT JUNE
I am very curious about how you managed to do it, though, if you care to indulge us?
[THERE’S A PAUSE.]
LORELEI
[SOLEMN] I never asked for any of this. When we attempted the ritual, our hope was that by the end of it, all of us would obtain the same level of power. Valencia told me it would never work. I had quite the rebellious streak back then, though. I didn’t believe him. Perhaps I should have.
If I had known that all of that power would have been channeled into me, I never would have attempted it. Now that time has passed, I realize how useless of a power it even is. What made Ether decide to curse me with it, I’ll never know. Perhaps we didn’t speak clearly enough when we did the ritual.
I had no idea what my limits were, or how to use my abilities. The consequences, of course, were far greater than I could have ever imagined. Terrance and Abigail were both accidents. Clementine, I turned her into a spider in a fit of rage. Scott happened when I was sobbing my eyes out, and he made the mistake of trying to comfort me. I am unsure if I intended to turn him into a snake or not. By the time River was the only one left, they came to me and asked to be turned into a cat. They said they knew I was bound to do it eventually, and they wanted to choose what animal they became. I did as they wished.
[JUST AS SHE SAYS THAT, A RAVEN FLIES OVER AND SQUAWKS. AGENT JUNE STARTLES, YELPING AT THIS.]
LORELEI
[SHE GIVES A DRY CHUCKLE.] I don’t think Abigail likes you.
AGENT MAY
You mentioned the consequences were far greater than you could have imagined. Was that in reference to the loss of your friends?
LORELEI
Oh, don’t make me say it. It would have been one thing if I simply turned my entire coven into my own little petting zoo. Now, however, I can never escape my own errors, even if I were to leave them all behind. I am forever haunted by the marks my ability has left. The bear paw that has become of my left hand. The raven feathers in my hair. The spider eyes sprawled across my face. The venom that drips from my fangs and burns my lips. And oh, how disappointing having the tail of a cat is, despite how elegant I thought it would be when I was a little girl. Cats used to be my favorite animal. They aren’t anymore.
AGENT MAY
Don’t you think River would take offense to that?
LORELEI
Hm. Perhaps you’re right.
[A CAT MEOWS FROM INSIDE.]
AGENT MAY
How did you access Ether’s power?
LORELEI
The same way I’m sure most people have. We did a ritual. Just as most of them do, it went wrong.
AGENT MAY
Do you know where exactly it went wrong?
[A PAUSE.]
LORELEI
Can I be honest with you? I have had years to think long and hard about the events that transpired that night. I read through our plans over, and over again, hoping to find a way to undo it all. After all of that, I came to the conclusion that whatever fault it was—whatever slip of the tongue or missing ingredient it could have been—none of it would have mattered.
Ether chooses who to favor and who to damn by the luck of a draw. Flip of a coin. It knows no order. It will do what it pleases. It is not a person, or a sentient being—it is a random number generator that can grant unlimited power if you get lucky. It’s a lottery of stones, however. Nobody is ever really winning, even those as fortunate as the Forget-Me-Nots, or those well-off enough to never hear about Ether at all.
[A PAUSE, THEN] Do you have any other questions? I’m rather sure my pets are looking forward to their dinner.
AGENT MAY
Just one: where is the heart of Ether?
[A PAUSE.]
LORELEI
I would be careful, if I were you. I’ve heard things, rumors, about your little project. Though I doubt you fully understand the dangers, seeing as you’re just the worker bees, hm?
AGENT MAY
It’s not my place to question, I’m afraid.
LORELEI
Perhaps you should. Never does anyone any good, blindly following orders.
[AS THEY TALK, RIVER MEOWS, PURRING AS SHE RUBS AGAINST AGENT JUNE'S LEGS.]
AGENT JUNE
[WHISPERING TO THE CAT] Ah—hey! Go away! Shoo!
AGENT MAY
If you could answer the question, I promise we’ll be out of your hair.
LORELEI
Hm. I’m afraid I can’t be of much help. For years, people believed Ether resided in the sky, but that is untrue. Though, during the brief window Valencia was willing to speak to me, he did tell me he had a theory—
[AGENT JUNE CUTS HER OFF BY SNEEZING.]
AGENT JUNE
[MUTTERS] Stupid cat!
[RIVER HISSES.]
LORELEI
[OFFENDED] I would appreciate it if you did not insult my animals.
AGENT JUNE
[CONGESTED] Then tell River to leave me the hell alone. Can’t you control them, or whatever? At least use your freaky powers to—
AGENT MAY
[OVERLAPPING] Agent June—!
AGENT JUNE
I just want this damn—
[THERE’S A TENSE PAUSE AS HE REALIZES LORELEI IS GLARING INTENTLY AT HIM.]
AGENT JUNE
I mean, uh, this lovely cat, to uh…I’m so sorry, ma’am, this has been incredibly rude of me.
LORELEI
[A BEAT.] What was your name, again?
AGENT JUNE
Juh—uh, Agent June?
LORELEI
Agent June. [SHE SAYS THE NAME WITH DISDAIN.] Agent June, do you have a favorite animal, by chance?
AGENT MAY
[WHISPERING, PANICKED] Don’t say anything. Just thank her and let’s go before—
AGENT JUNE
[OVERLAPPING] I don’t know. Uh, have you ever heard of Sonic the Hedgehog?
LORELEI
[MIXED WITH CONFUSION AND DISGUST] Sonic. The Hedgehog.
AGENT JUNE
[NERVOUS RAMBLING] Yeah! I was obsessed with those games growing up, and so I went through this whole phase where I wanted a pet hedgehog really bad, but my parents never let me have one. Said I was too irresponsible, or whatever. That dream kinda, like, carried over into my adult life though?
LORELEI
[NODDING] So, hedgehogs.
AGENT JUNE
Um, sure.
LORELEI
I see.
[A PAUSE.]
LORELEI
I do hope you’re happy with that choice, Agent June.
[A HIGH-PITCHED RINGING IS HEARD AS SHE REACHES HER HAND OUT. AGENT JUNE STARTS SPUTTERING IN FEAR.]
[EERIE AND TENSE MUSIC BEGINS TO PLAY.]
AGENT JUNE
[TERRIFIED] What the—?
AGENT MAY
Shit.
[AGENT MAY IS HEARD PULLING OUT A DART GUN AND SHOOTING A TRANQUILIZER DART AT LORELEI. SHE CRIES OUT A BIT, BEFORE STUMBLING, AND THEN COLLAPSING.]
AGENT JUNE
Did you just tranquilize her?
AGENT MAY
I didn’t have a choice. Come on, get in the car. The full effect only lasts forty-five seconds.
[THEY BOTH FRANTICALLY CLIMB INTO THE CAR, SLAMMING THE DOORS AS THEY GET IN.]
AGENT MAY
Are you okay? Did she change you at all?
AGENT JUNE
[HYPERVENTILATING] No, no! But it—this really weird feeling washed over me, like, like my body was trying to fit into a smaller one, I—that was the worst thing I’ve ever felt, oh my god.
AGENT MAY
[ATTEMPTING TO SOOTHE] Agent June, calm down. You’re safe now, okay?
AGENT JUNE
Yeah, only because of you. You just saved my life. I mean, technically, I would have survived, but I would have had to live out the rest of my days as a hedgehog!
AGENT MAY
[FRUSTRATED] Maybe if you had been able to hold your damn tongue for thirty seconds, this wouldn’t have happened.
[AS HE TALKS, AGENT MAY STARTS THE CAR AND SPEEDS AWAY, THE TIRES SQUEALING.]
AGENT JUNE
I’m sorry I was having an allergic reaction!
AGENT MAY
That’s no excuse for you to have said the things you did. I told you to keep it together.
AGENT JUNE
Stop trying to blame all of this on me. I don’t care if it’s my fault, I almost just lost my humanity. Do you know how horrifying that was?
AGENT MAY
[HE INHALES SHARPLY.] No, you’re right. You’re not entirely to blame for what just happened.
If only she had at least finished her sentence about Valencia’s theory.
AGENT JUNE
[GUILTILY] Yeah, that was pretty poor timing, huh?
AGENT MAY
We’ll find out one way or another. Might have to go back to Irene Gray.
AGENT JUNE
Ah yes, the other enemy we’ve made in this town.
AGENT MAY
I guess we’re going to have to find a way to change that, then. [A BEAT.] Turn off the recording, please.
[SOME SHUFFLING AS AGENT JUNE MOVES TO TURN THE RECORDER OFF.]
[PHONE BEEP.]
[RECORDING ENDS.]
[ANOTHER BEEP.]
[EXT. LEMONGRASS PARK, NIGHT.]
[IRENE IS SITTING IN HER CAR. THERE ARE CRICKETS HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND.]
IRENE
I’m parked in front of Lemongrass Park. To be honest, I’ve never actually been here, even though it’s so close to my house. It’s small, but it’s a nice park. There’s a swing set, a seesaw, one of those metal slides that would always burn my skin during the summer. Some nice trees, too.
[REMINISCING] Do you remember when we would go to the park late at night? It was really stupid of us to go there after dark, honestly, it’s a miracle nothing ever happened. Well, I mean, you did hurt your leg that one time you fell off the swing, which I still feel bad about. It felt so serene, though. Like we were the only people in the world. We were still clinging onto our childhood innocence, and you, you were so fond of that park near your house, and I was so fond of the way you laughed. You’ll love this park, too, I think, if you ever get to see it. You always loved places where—
Wait, hold on, I think—I think Sadie’s waving at me. She’s sitting over on one of the swings. At least, I think it’s her? Not quite what I expected her to look like, but then again, I don’t know what I was expecting. She’s wearing all black, and has a striped shirt underneath her t-shirt, even though it’s hot as hell. Is this how emo kids dress these days? I think Aden said something about “e-girls” or something. [SHE SCOFFS.] Jeez, I need to start keeping track of these things. I feel so old.
She’s also wearing a black fabric surgical mask, with a white design? I’ve hardly seen people wear those outside of the medical profession—I mean, there was one time, but that was an outlier. [SHE SAYS THIS PART UNCOMFORTABLY BECAUSE THIS IS REFERRING BACK TO THE FIRST TRAILER.]
It must be her, though. Otherwise, why would she be waving at me? I have the box of film in the passenger’s seat. Avery and I talked today, and they were incredibly vocal about how bad of an idea this was, but they said I’m an adult and can make my own choices.
Avery is…well. I think they have good intentions at heart. They act indifferent all the time, and they’re incredibly mature, but they seem…I don’t know. Sometimes, there’s this, fear, maybe? That bleeds through when they speak. I think they try to hide it. Reminds me they’re still, technically, a kid.
Right, I feel kinda awkward sitting here while Sadie is staring at me. Guess I should get this over with.
[IRENE GRABS THE BOX OF FILM AND STEPS OUT OF HER CAR. SHE WALKS TOWARDS SADIE. WHENEVER SADIE TALKS, HER VOICE IS JUST SLIGHTLY MUFFLED.]
SADIE
[FROM AFAR] Irene, right?
IRENE
Yup!
SADIE
Wonderful!
[SADIE WALKS OVER TO IRENE.]
SADIE
I’ll take that.
[SHE'S HEARD TAKING THE CARDBOARD BOX FROM IRENE.]
SADIE
Looks heavy! How many photos did you take?
IRENE
[HANDING THE BOX OFF] Thank you, uh, I didn’t take these, though.
SADIE
I see. That’s a bummer. I thought I’d met a person of similar passions.
IRENE
Sorry to disappoint.
SADIE
Don’t stress it! Where did you get the film, then?
IRENE
[LYING] It’s from one of my dead relatives.
SADIE
Mm. Sorry to hear that.
IRENE
It was a while ago, so it's okay.
SADIE
They sure took lots of photos. Do you have any idea what they photographed?
IRENE
No clue.
SADIE
Well, I’ll do my best to get this developed. I’m staying with my uncle for part of the summer, and he never uses his dark room, so I have it all to myself. You know, he has this massive house, spends lots of money on rooms he never uses every time he gets a new hobby.
IRENE
Odd he chose Daughtler of all places to stick it.
SADIE
You know, that’s what I said! My professor went green with envy when I told her about it, though. She said this is a perfect town to take pictures.
IRENE
You’re a student, then?
SADIE
Yup! Majoring in photography, in case that wasn’t already clear. [SHE GIGGLES.]
Anyways, I’ll try to get this developed for you as quickly as possible. It may take a while, ‘cause there’s so much of it, so would you like me to give it to you in batches?
IRENE
That would be great, yeah. Um, thank you. Are you sure I can’t pay you?
SADIE
Oh, please, don’t worry about it. Like I said, I’m just thankful for the opportunity.
So, any other questions for me? I’m happy to answer them.
IRENE
Um, I have a bit of a weird one.
SADIE
Hm?
IRENE
Why are you wearing a surgical mask? Is it, like, a germ thing, or are you sick?
[THERE’S A PAUSE.]
SADIE
I should go get started on this.
IRENE
Um, you didn’t—
SADIE
[AGGRESSIVELY CUTTING HER OFF] Pleasure working with you, Irene! I’ll get back to you about your first batch ASAP!
IRENE
[TAKEN ABACK] Oh. Okay, then. Um, bye.
SADIE
Later!
[IRENE WALKS TO HER CAR AND CLIMBS BACK INSIDE. THERE'S A PAUSE.]
IRENE
Well, that was interesting, for lack of a better term. Sadie seems fine? I guess I just got a bit too personal with the mask thing. I mean, if it makes her feel comfortable, I don’t see why she can’t wear it. I’ll try not to worry about it. As long as she can develop the photos, that’s what matters.
Though I am kind of worried. I mean, Valencia could have taken, well, suspicious photos, assuming they’re connected to his research. I have no idea. I guess we just have to hope? Sadie seems pretty okay with minding her own business, it seems, so if I’m lucky, she won’t question it.
[HER PHONE STARTS VIBRATING.]
IRENE
Oh, hang on. Avery is calling me.
[A BEEP AS SHE ANSWERS.]
IRENE
Hello?
AVERY
Just making sure you didn’t get murdered.
[AS AVERY TALKS, THERE IS THE SOUND OF MASHING VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER BUTTONS AND JOYSTICKS.]
IRENE
[SHE SCOFFS.] Well, I didn’t. Sadie was fine. You really had nothing to be worried about.
AVERY
[DISTRACTED] I mean, it’s still a really bad idea to be meeting someone in the park this late. Daughtler is a small town, but even if we don’t have much of a problem with normal creeps, weird stuff is still kind of the norm, you know?
IRENE
Yeah, I’ve gathered that much, I—wait, hang on, are you playing video games right now?
AVERY
Dude, it’s just Stardew Valley. It’s not like I’m fighting anything.
[A RAVEN CAWS FROM THE GAME.]
IRENE
[AWKWARDLY] I don’t know what that is.
AVERY
That’s because you’re old.
IRENE
Hey.
AVERY
[OVEREXAGGERATED, FAKE] Ah no, I just got attacked! I gotta hang up, sorry Irene!
IRENE
You just said there’s no—
[AVERY HANGS UP.]
IRENE
[DEFEATED] …combat.
[SHE HUFFS.] Talk to you later, I guess.
[PHONE BEEP.]
[RECORDING ENDS.]
[ANOTHER BEEP.]
[INT. THE APARTMENT ABOVE THE OPEN EYES BOOKSTORE, NIGHT. A BUDGIE IS OCCASIONALLY HEARD CHIRPING OR FLAPPING ITS WINGS IN THE BACKGROUND THROUGHOUT THE SCENE.]
[HOLLY IS HEARD SORTING THROUGH A GROCERY BAG AND SETTING THINGS ON THE COUNTER.]
HOLLY
Is it recording?
PHOEBE
Yes, it is.
HOLLY
Cool, cool. I got eggs, by the way. I know you talked about wanting to try to make pie at some point, and you were running low, so.
PHOEBE
[SLIGHTLY OVERLAPPING] Oh, um, thank you! Um, why were you out so late, anyways?
HOLLY
Hm? Oh, just a nighttime stroll.
PHOEBE
[WARY] I see.
[HOLLY WALKS OVER, AND SITS ON THE COUCH NEXT TO PHOEBE.]
HOLLY
Alright, then. You have the next letter? I guess all that’s left to do is open it.
[THERE'S A PAUSE AS HOLLY HESITATES.]
HOLLY
You sure you’re okay with me being in the room for this? I know her letters to you were, well, personal.
PHOEBE
It’s okay, don’t worry. I—I trust you. I’m sure Grandma Doe would, too.
HOLLY
[TENDERLY] That…that means a lot.
[A BEAT.] Go ahead, then.
[PHOEBE OPENS THE LETTER.]
PHOEBE
Phoebe, If you are reading this, I assume you have successfully completed the ritual. If it was not a success, well, I have a separate envelope marked for you to read. I suggest you find it.
HOLLY
Almost want to read the other one just to see what it says.
PHOEBE
[UNSETTLED] I don’t think that’s a good idea. If the alternative was that bad, well. I don’t want to think about what could have happened to me.
HOLLY
Fair, yeah. Continue.
PHOEBE
[SHE CLEARS HER THROAT.] If everything worked as well as I hope, then you have now stepped into your role as a Forget-Me-Not. I could not be more proud of you, little wildflower. What a lovely Forget-Me-Not you will be.
I have already warned you of some of the dangers, but now that this is your reality, I am going to begin to describe it all in more detail in order to prepare you. It is nothing I have not already mentioned in previous letters, however.
Now, let us start from the beginning: why did I name them the Forget-Me-Nots? Valencia thought it to be a rotten name. Too flowery, he said it was, too delicate. I believe it to be a sophisticated name. Better than the Hungry, or whatever other titles he’s come up with.
HOLLY
The hell is the Hungry?
PHOEBE
Um, I’m not sure. I’m sure we’ll find out?
HOLLY
Let’s hope.
PHOEBE
It goes on: Anyways, I called them the Forget-Me-Nots because it is not just about their quest for new knowledge. It is about the knowledge they already have. Sure, they know where to find any and all information, but what about that which is already within them? A Forget-Me-Not cannot forget anything. Even the tiniest detail, they will cling onto for the rest of their life. I still remember what I ordered at an Italian restaurant twenty-seven years ago. It was some mediocre chicken parmesan. The sauce was a bit too bitter for my taste, but I went back there because they had delightful breadsticks.
However, this is a double-edged sword. It is not just new information you will begin to retain. If only it was that simple. A Forget-Me-Not also remembers all which has happened before. This includes all of your life up to this point, from your early childhood, to more recent events.
When I chose you to be my predecessor, this is what I dreaded most. Your mother and I always considered it to be a blessing in disguise that you did not remember much of your childhood. I know you are aware of what happened, but the specifics are far worse than I think you’ve ever processed. I would not wish memories of that horrid time upon anyone, especially you. Your poor mother, my dear Agnes, she lives through them every day.
You may be forced to confront some of the memories of your father. The sick, rotten, vile man he was. I am eternally grateful I was able to save you from some suffering when you were a child, though I am deeply remorseful for all your mother put herself through. I wish I could be there to walk you through it all, to comfort you as you remember, but the circumstances are not in my favor.
You are stronger than you give yourself credit for, however, and you do not have to do it alone. Please do not hesitate to reach out to your mother if you find yourself needing the support. You could also talk to a friend—I’m assuming you have an abundance of those, you’re far too charming and sweet to not have any. Like I’ve said, isolation will only drain you of all you are. Nothing about this process will be easy, but I would not put you through it if I did not believe you could handle it.
Take your work slowly. Do not rush into it. Allow your mind to process the—
[PHOEBE SUDDENLY STOPS TALKING. THERE’S A LONG PAUSE.]
HOLLY
[A MIX OF CONFUSED AND CONCERNED] Phoebe?
PHOEBE
I— [A PAUSE, THEN] Sorry, sorry. Sorry. It’s just. [SHE TRAILS OFF.]
HOLLY
Is something wrong?
PHOEBE
Th—the letter, it’s just, um, got me thinking, I guess. About my father.
HOLLY
[CAUTIOUS] How much do you remember of him?
PHOEBE
[SHE GIVES A SHAKY CHUCKLE.] Oh, I’m trying to avoid that train of thought. I’m scared it will all come flowing in at once.
HOLLY
Oh, right, yeah. Try not to focus too much on it, okay?
PHOEBE
No, I’m okay, I just—I remember bits of it. More vividly, now, than I did before.
[WHAT FOLLOWS IS THE AFOREMENTIONED DESCRIPTION OF CHILD ABUSE. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.]
PHOEBE
Have you seen the stuffed cow sitting on my bed? It’s so old and worn, but it’s one of the most precious things I own. Its name is Baby. It’s, um, a silly name, I know. I used to play pretend with it, though, and act like I was its mother. I cradled it, pretended to feed it. So I named it Baby. [A BEAT, THEN] I didn’t remember why I named it that until now.
My dad hated Baby, though. He hated that I was so attached to a stuffed cow, of all things. He would constantly use Baby to threaten me, holding his ability to take it away over my head, because he knew that was a quick way to make me upset. If it was his choice, I’m sure he would have destroyed it. Not sure why he never did.
One day, when he was in a bad mood, and my mom was at work, I hid Baby inside my closet. He stormed into my room, and demanded for me to give it to him. I lied and said I had no idea where Baby was, but of course he didn’t believe me. He tore through my room, ignoring my pleas for him to stop, until he found Baby and took it away. I was forced to clean up the mess he made before my mom got home.
When she did get home, I instantly went and hugged her legs tightly and sobbed. I told her that Daddy had taken Baby away, and ruined my room. She asked me to take her to my room, so I did, only to find Baby sitting on the bed, staring right back at me.
My dad came in. “Of course I didn’t take the stupid toy,” he said. “She probably just misplaced it.” My mom didn’t argue. I was outraged. How could she believe him? Looking back, however, she knew something was wrong. I know she did. Even as a kid, I could read it on her face. He didn’t give her a choice, though.
[A BEAT.] He let me keep Baby, at least. Though he warned me not to try to tell mom what he did ever again. Otherwise, he would be very upset with me.
[A WET CHUCKLE.] And I didn’t even face the worst of it. I would spend days, weeks even, here with Grandma Doe when my dad was especially bad. That’s why her and I were so close, and why I didn’t remember so much of what my dad did. My mom had to endure most of it, though. That is, until she was finally able to get a divorce. He was arrested for a few years, I never learned what for, but I hope it was for the right reasons. When he got out, my mom got a restraining order against him.
The last time I saw him was my eighth birthday. He didn’t get me anything.
[THERE'S A LONG PAUSE.]
HOLLY
I’m going to kill him.
PHOEBE
[NERVOUS CHUCKLE] I—I appreciate you caring, but—
HOLLY
[A BIT TOO ANGRY] No. I mean it. If he’s still alive, I’ll kill him.
PHOEBE
[SLIGHTLY STARTLED] I don’t know if he’s still alive. I mean, it’s not like I’ve made an effort to reach out to him, heh.
HOLLY
[A PAUSE, THEN, SINCERE AND EMOTIONAL] I’m so sorry.
PHOEBE
It—It’s okay! Really. I promise. It was a long time ago. It’s just…I’m not sure how much I’m going to remember. As time goes on. I mean, I’m sure I would have been forced to confront my childhood eventually, this is just kind of speeding up the process.
HOLLY
You can always come to me, you know. If it gets to be too much.
PHOEBE
I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, Holly. Really.
HOLLY
Of course. Anything I can do. [A PAUSE.] Would a hug be okay?
PHOEBE
[SHE TAKES A SHAKY BREATH.] A hug would be nice.
[THERE ARE FABRIC RUSTLES AS THEY ARE HEARD EMBRACING.]
[PHONE BEEP.]
[RECORDING ENDS.]
AUTOMATED VOICE
Today's quote is: "In every couple there is one who is the historian of the relationship."
Susan Sontag in Reborn: Journals and Notebooks, 1947-1963.
[OUTRO MUSIC AND CREDITS PLAY.]
[AT THE END OF THE CREDITS, THERE IS A BRIEF, HIGH-PITCHED RINGING NOISE, THAT BEGINS TO BREAK UP BEFORE STOPPING ABRUPTLY.]
1 note · View note