#i think they deserve homely bliss . i think they deserve to burn eggs

[voiceofthesilly]

What if i pretend my durge wasn't replaced by a squid monster that devoured his memories and thought it was still the same person . What then .

Professor Dekarios, his husband who keeps trying to steal his coffee and their daughter whose arcane trickster activities keep getting interrupted by her dad's stupid invisibility seeing eye .

[tzimiscequeen-blog]

In the Heart of the Flames

Chapter 4

Synopsis: A little morning happiness with Heat and Jinjer

Additional Tags: AFABReader, She/Her Pronouns, sugary cuteness

WC: 2100+

Available on AO3 (can't get it to link)

     You both fell asleep rather quickly. You didn’t wake up at all while you slept. Not even when Bea knocked on your door, she was afraid you either didn’t make it home or were sick. So when you didn’t answer she opened the door and smiled. She quietly entered and gave you a kiss on the forehead.

     “You deserve this honey. Stay in bed as long as you like,” she whispered to you then tried to pull the sheets back up, but Heat was just too heavy. You were wrapped up in the sheets with his naked body draped over you.

     “Oh my, you are a big boy,” she whispered to herself with an amused chuckle and left the room.

     You awoke the next morning more refreshed than you remember ever feeling. You managed to unwrap yourself from the sheets and Heat without waking him. You admired him a few moments. His loose bun had partially fell out of the hair tie and was splayed across him and the pillows. His breaths were deep and you were surprised he wasn't a loud snorer. It almost sounded like the rumble of a fire burning, but very soft. You were happy you weren’t the only one who drooled in their sleep and gave him a kiss on the cheek before you headed to the kitchen to start coffee for you and Bea.

     You realized it was already light outside and cursed that you over slept. You noticed a note on the table.

     Jinjer,

     Coffee is made, just reheat it. I left some biscuits for you and Heat and there are eggs in the fridge. I’m taking the kids to school and should be home soon. I hope you had an amazing sleep. Love you and see you soon.

     Bea

     You rubbed your face and felt your cheeks flush. She knew Heat spent the night. You never had someone spend the night, mainly for safety purposes, so this was new and embarrassing.

     You began to reheat the coffee and pulled out the jam, marmalade, and lemon curd then placed them on the table. You then pulled out the eggs, cheese and some leftover ham from two nights ago. You diced up some onion and peppers and some of the ham when you heard feet shuffling behind you.

     ‘Morning, love,” Heat yawned and gave you a sleepy hug from behind. He had put his pants back on, but nothing else. His hair was fully down and somewhat straightened.

     “Good morning baby,” you said as your sleepy brain still wasn’t awake enough to filter your words.

     “Mmmm, baby. I like that,” he said as he kissed your cheek. You smiled then turned and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

     “Good, cause I like saying it. You want an omelet?” you asked as he snuck a green pepper and popped it in his mouth.

     “Yeah, sounds good. You can put all that in,” he said with a lazy gesture to the ingredients, grabbed the fuller cup of coffee and plopped into a chair at the table.

     “Come here a minute, love,” he said as he opened his arms.

     You smiled and walked to him as he pulled you across his lap and gave you a deep kiss. You giggled at his playfulness and the joy this little scene brought you. A taste of domestic bliss you could only dream of.

     “Did you sleep well?” you asked as you kissed his cheek.

     “Like the fucking dead. Best sleep I’ve had in a long time. How about you, love?” he asked as he nuzzled into your neck.

     “Same. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever slept so good. I somehow got wrapped up in the sheets and you were draped over me. You do run hot in your sleep,” you replied.

     “Told ya,” he smiled. You looked into his eyes and studied his face. He seemed genuinely happy.

     The door opened and Heat instinctively gripped you tighter and turned you away from the door but relaxed when Bea entered.

     “Oh, you’re both up. Good morning dears,” she smiled as she took her light jacket off and hung it up.

     “Good morning Bea,” you and Heat both said almost at the same time and you both laughed.

     The older woman walked over and gave you and Heat each a kiss on the cheek.

     “You two look quite at home, though I think we may need to get you a bigger bed dear,” she said with a wink. Your face turned red and Heat just chuckled.

     “It’s up to this one if I get the privilege of spending the night again,” he said as he tickled your side. You giggled before you shimmied your way off his lap to keep working on breakfast.

     “You sit your butt down. I’ll finish this,” Bea replied as she lightly tapped your hand and took the mixing bowl.

     You knew it was futile to argue with her so you grabbed your coffee and sat next to Heat who leaned over and gave you a kiss.

     “You might also want to get a lock for your door. While I got a nice view, I don’t think you’d want the kids bursting in and seeing your naked boyfriend,” she said over her shoulder as she began to prep the omelets.

     Heat let out a hearty laugh and you hid your head in your hands from embarrassment.

     “Sorry for the show, Bea,” Heat said.

     “Oh, no need. It was a lovely sight. You’re not just big in height. If only I were a few decades younger,” she cackled.

     “I’m sure you’d give me a run for my money in your heyday,” Heat laughed back.

     “Fucking kill me now, please. I’ll be right back. Maybe after I go to the bathroom I can flush myself,” you grumbled as you got up and headed to the bathroom.

     Heat began to put some lemon curd on a biscuit when Bea turned to him.

     “Thank you. Behind the embarrassed grumbling, I’ve never seen her so happy and I’ve cared for her since she was born. You specifically, but that whole crew of yours are so good for her,” she said.

     “You’re welcome. She’s a pretty special woman. She hasn’t shared her past, but I can tell a lot has happened, not unlike my own life. It’s amazing that she can still find happiness,” he said as he took a bite of the biscuit.

     “I know you’ve only known her a little over a month, but I’m not blind. Are you in love with her?” she asked. It wasn’t a harsh tone, more curious than anything.

     Heat choked on the biscuit and washed it down with some coffee.

     “Heh, honestly…yeah. I know we aren’t gonna be here for too much longer and I don’t want to hurt her. It’s not fair to her for me to spring that on her and then leave,” he confessed as he took another sip of coffee.

     “Then take her with you. I know that hot headed captain of yours is fond of her too. Don’t say he or the others aren’t,” she said.

     “We can’t take her with,” he replied.

     “So you just want to break her heart and leave? That girl has been through a hell most can’t even fathom, though I’m sure you have experienced similar. You want to take away her happiness,” Bea accused.

     Heat’s face became firm and his tone serious.

     “I would never do anything to hurt Jinjer. I would take her with in a heartbeat, so would the crew, but you and the kids need her. Most of us were orphans who never knew any of our family so we made our own, with each other. You and the kids are her family, her blood siblings are here. None of us can take her from you in good conscience,” he held firm though tears began to form in his eyes.

     Bea smiled and put her hand on Heats shoulder.

     “You all have also become her family in this very short time. She’s never took to people like she has you all. We will be fine. We would miss her terribly but we in fact would be safer without her here. It’s not my place to tell you why, but know that we would survive just fine if she were to join you,” Bea almost pleaded with him.

     “I…that’s not my call to make. She needs to ask and Kid has to agree,” he began to calm and wiped the tear from his eye. Bea smiled and nodded.

     “Until then, be there for her. Spend as many nights with her as you can. Let her see how much you and that crew care for her. You’re a good man, Heat. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” she patted him on the shoulder and began to cook up the omelets.

     You returned having used the bathroom, brushed your teeth and swapped your shorts for a pair of pajama pants.

     “You two done flirting?” you asked with a smile.

     “We’ve decided my eyes are only for you, love,” Heat said as he pulled you in and kissed you.

     You giggled and returned the kiss then sat next to him. You held your coffee in one hand and the other rested on his thigh. He rested his hand over yours and gave it a small squeeze.

     “You two have plans today?” Bea asked while she cooked.

     “Quincy wants to take me shopping. She says I need to tell the world to fuck off and wear what makes me feel good,” you laughed and took a bite of the biscuit Heat prepped for you and smiled at him.

     “That sounds like her. She’s kinda the fashionista on the crew, along with Wire,” Heat chuckled.

     “Wire! Wire is into fashion?” you asked.

     “Yeah, I know. He doesn't look it. But trust me you take him shopping, he will pick out stuff you never thought to wear but you’ll look like a fucking king…or queen,” he added.

     “Do you think I should ask him to come with?” you asked, unsure.

     “Yeah, ask him. He can be moody sometimes, so be prepared for him to say no,” he said as he took a bite.

     “I’ll ask him when we leave,” you said.

     “Well, you need a new wardrobe dear,” Bea said as she handed each of you your omelets.

     ‘Bea!” you yelled.

     “It’s true dear. You need to stop hiding behind those clothes. The ones you have aren’t going to protect you from someone who wants to take you, by force. You know how to fight back. Henry taught you, well might I add,” she said.

     You grumbled and picked at your food.

     “Wear what makes you feel good. Forget those scars. Pretend they aren’t there if you have to. If you want to walk around in lingerie all day, do it. No one has a right to touch you no matter what you wear. If it makes you feel good about yourself, do it,” the old woman proselytized.

     “Here, here!” Heat agreed as he held his coffee mug up.

     “You know you’re in rare form today Bea. You’re usually not so vocal about this stuff with me,” you grumbled in your coffee.

     “Well, maybe it’s because Heat can back me up and get you out of that shell of yours,” she chuckled.

     “I agree with Bea. You’ve seen our crew. We don’t care what we wear. We dress how we want to and what makes us feel good,” Heat squeezed your hand.

     “Fine, but only a few pieces. I don’t have the money to spend on a whole new wardrobe,” you conceded.

     Bea gave you a knowing look and you waved her away.

     “Well you two love birds enjoy breakfast. Let me know when you leave,” she said as she kissed you both on the foreheads and headed upstairs.

     “She’s a riot,” Heat said as he ate.

     “She’s definitely spunky,” you replied.

     “She’s not wrong though, love. I understand the need to hide behind clothes, but I want you to know that you don’t need to. The people that matter, care about you no matter what you look like,” he said.

     “I know she’s right. I just…these scars could be used against me, against them if the wrong people see them and put things together,” you explained.

     “We can figure out a way to hide them when you are around a lot of people in lighted areas. Like a jacket or something. You can take it off when you feel you are in a more comfortable place,” he suggested.

     “That’s not a bad idea, baby,” you smirked.

     “I come up with the best ideas,” he chuckled.

      The two of you finished your breakfast and you offered for him to shower but he politely declined, siting that he wouldn’t fit in your shower. Which you agreed. He waited while you showered and dressed.

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

Dream SMP Recap (April 29/2021) - Prison Break

It’s finally time for Tommy to break into Pandora’s Vault and kill Dream once and for all. He brings Ghostbur along, and things don’t go to plan.

Jack’s plans have been foiled once again, and he speaks with Foolish, finding out that Foolish is another investigator working on the missing nuke situation. 

Later, Ranboo breaks some news to Phil...

---

VOD LINKS:

Foolish

Tommyinnit

Jack Manifold

Ranboo

Captain Puffy

---

- Foolish continues work on his summer home Nether portal entrance. Sam comes over to judge the block palette he’s using for the floor

- Foolish asks Sam what happened at the Red Banquet. Sam is confused. Wasn’t Foolish there?

- Foolish wants to know what happened after he...you know (died). Sam tells Foolish that he has quarantined the Egg, and it will be locked away shortly. As for everyone else, Quackity arrived and no further casualties happened. No more Egg.

- Sam tells him the build is coming along well and leaves Foolish to think about what he said.

- Foolish isn’t sure if he entirely likes the idea that the Egg is so tough, but at least it seems like a win for now. He’ll have to ask someone later.

- Tommy meets with Ghostbur, Ranboo and Tubbo at the watchtower to gather up everything before the final plan. 

- Tommy and Ghostbur go to the prison together. Tommy will sneak in after Ghostbur using invisibility. 

Ghostbur: “Tommy, I need to ask you...promise -- you promise me they’re not gonna try and -- and revive me, right? They’re not gonna try a revival.”

Tommy: “Let’s not use the r-word, Ghostbur, we’re fuckin’ fine!”

- Friend is there. Tommy suggests they take Friend with them. 

- They go over the items they have.

Ghostbur: “You know, Tommy, whenever I get scared, I always go to Friend. ‘Cause Friend knows exactly how to calm me down, he always knows how to make me happier, and he always knows -- he knows what to do. He knows how to make it better.”

Tommy: “And he’s blue.”

Ghostbur: “He’s really blue!”

- They say some parting words to Tubbo and Ranboo and head to the prison. 

- They bring Friend through the Nether portal entrance, but can’t get him to go back through, so they leave Friend in the Nether for the time being. Ghostbur assures Friend that he’ll be back in a little bit.

- Ghostbur greets Sam at the lobby, Tommy now invisible.

- Ghostbur reviews the waivers and signs his name.

Sam asks the questions:

“When is the last time you visited the prison?”

“I don’t think I’ve been here, but my memory is quite bad.”

“Where is your current place of residence currently located?”

“L’manburg.”

“Do you believe that the prisoner is deserving of being locked up?”

“Um...I guess so...yeah, I mean you guys seem to know what’s right.”

“What are your prior relations with the prisoner?”

“Uh...He exiled me and Tommy to a holiday, uh...he also did bad things before, but I don’t remember them. Is this a history quiz? Am I doing okay?”

- Ghostbur answers the rest of the questions and goes to the locker rooms.

- Sam leads Ghostbur through all the security measures. Tommy sneaks behind, still invisible, trying not to be noticed.

- Ghostbur asks about the courtyard. Sam says there’s nothing in it.

- Ghostbur signs the other two waivers and they reach the lava wall.

- It falls, and Tommy follows Ghostbur across the bridge. Just as they reach the platform to Dream, though, Tommy pulls out the Netherite Axe and Sam shouts at them to stop.

- Sam tells whoever’s invisible to get back on the bridge or else they’ll be killed. Reluctantly, Tommy gets back on the bridge and Sam brings him back over to the other side, giving him a bucket of milk to get rid of the invisibility.

- He sees that it’s Tommy and shouts at him to ask what he’s doing breaking into the prison, that Sam should kill Tommy for violating the contract. 

- Dream calls for Sam to let him out or else he’ll revive Wilbur. 

- Dream disappears for a moment in the panic. Tommy tells Sam to let him back over but Sam tells him to stand to the side.

- Dream reappears and reveals that he has the book in his hand. 

- Tommy and Ghostbur count to ten together to help Ghostbur calm down.

- Sam starts bringing down the lava wall, insisting that he can’t bring back the bridge. 

Ghostbur: “Tommy, you said it would be okay!”

Ghostbur dies and leaves the game as the lava wall falls.

- Sam tells Tommy he’s never coming back to the prison and starts leading him out.

- Tommy tells Sam he’ll kill him.

Sam: “Do it then.”

Tommy: “You know what, Sam, you’re corrupt.”

Sam: “I am not corrupt, Tommy. Everything I’ve done, I did to try and help the server.

Tommy: “You let me die!”

Sam: “You’re so lucky I don’t kill you right now. You should be dead, Tommy.”

Tommy: “Sam. Where’s Ghostbur?”

Sam: “Shut up, Tommy, I don’t want to hear it, I should’ve killed you right when I saw you on that bridge. You should be dead...The only reason you’re not dead is just because -- just don’t -- shut up, Tommy, I don’t want to hear anything else. Go.”

...

Sam: “You did this. You can blame me all you want, Tommy, this is not my fault. You did this.”

Tommy: “Sam. Go to Hell.”

Sam: “Say what you want, Tommy, I don’t care. I don’t care. I told you you weren’t gonna come in here again. I said no one else was gonna come in here. Every single problem at this prison was caused by you! Everything is perfect when it’s just me and him! Nothing bad has ever happened, until you started coming here! You are the greatest security risk on this server for this prison, and keeping him locked up! What were you thinking?! What did you think was going to happen?!”

Tommy: “Stop talking to me! Stop! Let me out, let me out the prison.”

Sam: “This is -- I cannot believe you, Tommy. You should be dead. I should’ve killed you. I should’ve just shot you when you were over there.”

“Tommyinnit, let me make something clear to you. You are never to come to this prison again. And if I ever see you even near the grounds of this prison one more time, I will murder you. I will take your last canon life and then I will hunt the ghost that remains. Do you understand me? I will not let Dream escape this prison, and you seem to be the only one that wants him to be free for some reason, even though we’re -- come on, Tommy. Go.”

- Tommy exits the prison with Friend and meets Ranboo and Tubbo outside. He tells them that Wilbur is back, and Ghostbur is gone.

- There’s only one way to know for sure: Tommy leads them over to L’manhole to visit the place where Wilbur died. 

- They find him standing at the shrine. 

Wilbur: “Oh...hello again.”

- Wilbur asks if this is real, who’s Friend. Tommy tosses him some blue but he doesn’t take it. 

- He steps out and sees the crater, thinking it was his doing, that Tubbo has been running this place. He’s missed a bit. 

Wilbur: “I’m alive! Tommy, I’m alive! I have spent thirteen and a half years in the fucking -- oh, what is this, what have you been making art? Making geometric art on the roof? Track and field?”

- Tommy tells him it was Dream and Techno. Wilbur runs up the hill. 

Wilbur: “Tommy, this is bliss! Oh my god the sunrise -- where’s the sunrise, I need to watch the sunrise -- Oh! ...Tommy, I’ve waited so fucking long. Tommy, I have been waiting for over a decade in mere darkness...and this is my sunrise, this is my sunrise -- this is mine! This is mine, Tubbo!”

- He notices Ranboo. Some new faces! 

- He tells Tommy that he cherished the day that Tommy came and they played solitaire. Tommy tells him it was the worst time of his life, and Wilbur says the same. 

- As for Ghostbur, Wilbur knows him. He asks what Tommy’s version of the afterlife was like. 

Wilbur: “I guess everyone has their own personal limbo. Okay. Tommy, I don’t know if you remember me telling you this, it was quite a few years ago for me now, but...my personal limbo was a train platform, Tommy. It was a train platform. No matter where I looked, no matter where I went, just concrete walls all around, and a tube, with a track, running straight along.”

“It doesn’t matter what I did, Tommy, I could claw at the walls. I could bash on the doors, I could scream for help -- I screamed until my lungs were sore, ‘til my voice was hoarse -- and nothing ever changes, nothing ever comes, nothing ever helps you, Tommy. And then you arrive -- you arrive, and it was great! And then you left. You got on a train and you left!”

“And Tommy, the last thing I saw, was a train pulling in, and there were two people on that train. One man, a desaturated me, came rolling into town, came rolling into Limbo -- my Limbo! He’s in my Limbo! His face was steaming with tears, they looked like they were burning him? I don’t know. But do you know who else was on that train, who was conducting the train, who let me out, Tommy?”

“It was Dream. It was Dream. My hero, my fucking hero, Dream, saved me from that hell! Tommy, I thought I wanted to die. All those -- that decade and a half ago, I thought I wanted to die! I thought I wanted to die, but now I’ve seen what Hell is! Now I’ve seen the other side. Tommy, I’ve been given a new lease on life -- there’s so much I need to do, Tommy, there’s so much I gotta do, there’s so much -- Tubbo, are you coming? And Ranboo...Ranboo...I know so much about you, Ranboo."

- Ghostbur’s memories start coming back to him as he remembers the sewer. Tommy tells him that things have changed, and Wilbur is responsible for all the pain that so many people have went through.

- Wilbur asks him if he’s trying to make him feel like he felt in Pogtopia again. 

Wilbur: “I have this lease on life, and by God, if life’s a fucking horse, I’m gonna ride it, Tommy!”

- Telling them all that he has things to plan, Wilbur leaves them for next time.

Ranboo: “...What the hell did you do?”

- Since the server has been very uneventful, Jack continues on his plan to build a pub

- He’s eager to become a prison guard so that, when Tommy goes back to the prison, he can kill him!

- Jack finds out that Tommy already went to the prison. He’s distraught. All of that was for nothing?

- He doesn’t know where Tommy and Dream are, and those were the only two people that mattered. And now the only person online on the server is Technoblade.

- Jack asks Technoblade if he knows what’s going on with Tommy. Techno says Tommy died, didn’t he? (He’s been quite out of the loop)

- Jack tries to go into the prison but it doesn’t work.Techno points out that the best way to get into jail is to commit a crime. Jack thinks that’s not such a bad idea. Techno recommends arson and/or tax fraud.

- Jack builds a penis on the prison entrance to try and get Sam’s attention. It doesn’t work.

- He notices Foolish wandering around and follows after him. They talk for a bit about Jack’s plans. Foolish brings up the missing nuke. Jack didn’t realize Foolish knew about it.

- They discuss possible suspects for who could’ve stolen the nuke. Foolish tells Jack about him and Tubbo interrogating HBomb. Techno said no, and Quackity said no as well (him and Techno are on good terms), and it couldn’t have been Jack. Foolish suggests Sam.

- Jack doesn’t think Sam’s a good suspect, but he goes along with Foolish’s idea in order to possibly interview Sam later. 

- Ranboo joins the game, still at L’manhole. He starts walking.

- Ranboo doesn’t like Wilbur, since according to the legends he’s heard, he was... “A villain, basically.”

- Phil is online... Ranboo rehearses what he’s going to say to him to break the news as he farms wheat.

- He heads back to the Arctic. Phil is home. Ranboo goes inside, sits Phil down, and tells Phil that Tommy had a plan to go into the prison with Ghostbur and kill Dream.

- Ranboo tells him. When Tommy came out...Ghostbur was not with him. Dream is still alive. Phil asks if Ghostbur got lost, and Ranboo breaks the news that Wilbur has been revived.

- Phil jumps up. This changes everything! He was reading up on resurrection, and Dream had the right book -- and he revived Wilbur, but why? Is Wilbur any different? Phil has so many questions.

- Ranboo doesn’t know if he was normal because he’d never met him. He said he was in a train station for thirteen years.

- Phil is shocked by this. Thirteen years is a very long time to be away. He might not be the same person.

- Ranboo tells Phil that Wilbur thinks the crater is what he did. Phil asks if Ghostbur’s memories are there. Ranboo says that he started to. He knew a lot about Ranboo. Phil has a lot of questions.

- Phil asks where Wilbur is. Ranboo says they saw him at L’manburg, but he’s not there anymore.

- What Phil is scared of is what Wilbur has been thinking about this whole time. People can change a lot in a single year, two years, five years. Wilbur was gone for thirteen. 

Phil: “I don’t know if he’s going to be the same Wil I knew.”

“I need to prepare. I need to be ready for when he eventually comes to see me, because he probably has some questions...if he’s been sitting on what happened for thirteen years, then we have a lot to talk about. I think I know where he might be...I’ll talk to you later, Ranboo.”

- Phil leaves.

- Ranboo steps outside and looks at the blue, suddenly realizing that Ghostbur is gone. But maybe Wilbur’s turned over a new leaf. Ranboo’s optimistic.

- Wilbur seemed to be fond of Tubbo, and Tubbo described how Wilbur had affected him.

- Ranboo looks at his Memory Book and the message the Enderwalk left him. This is what he has to do.

- What he has to do is keep a close eye on Wilbur, and he knows exactly the people who can help him with that. 

- Ranboo heads back to the main area. Antfrost comes running by dressed as Badboyhalo in a maid outfit.

- Ranboo makes his way to the Disruption Hole and drops down to the bottom, where he comes face to face with a group of Endermen. He asks them to do a favor for him -- keep an eye on Wilbur for him.

- Ranboo goes back to the Arctic to create an obsidian mailbox for the Council to give him news. Learning to speak Enderman was a good idea. That was the good thing about the experiments.

- When Tubbo described Wilbur to Ranboo, he said that Wilbur really liked debates. That little courthouse in the sky? Maybe they should fix it, maybe if he does then Wilbur will warm up to Ranboo and like him.

- Ranboo goes to King’s Court and starts fixing it up.

- When push comes to shove, he’s going to have to be on Tommy and Tubbo’s side.

- He realizes he didn’t tell Phil about Wilbur calling Dream his “hero.”

- Ranboo and Tubbo had some fun playing chess while waiting for Tommy to kill Dream.

- Wilbur has no idea about the Egg either.

- Ranboo finishes working on King’s Court and leaves a message for Phil saying that Wilbur considers Dream his hero.

- Wilbur also has no idea about Michael...

- Ranboo goes over to the Egg Room to grab a Netherite block.

- Tubbo logs on and they hang out for a while

- They mess around in the spider spawner, playing with item frame pictures.

- Puffy works on the graveyard and hangs out with Sam, Bad and Eret

---

Upcoming Events:

- Quackity’s business opening

- Dream’s lore video

- Bad’s Egg lore stream

- Tales From the SMP: “Space Race”

[mci-writing]

Reminder (Yandere!Midoriya Izuku x Reader)

A/n: A piece originally made for the Izumonth collab that never got posted for very obvious reasons if you look back. I still had the draft and thought it pretty banger if I went through with posting it this year so people can experience what they missed out on

Warnings: Yandere themes, yandere character, bodily harm for pleasure, knife play, carving, branding, blood, licking of blood, unhealthy relationships, Midoriya's batshit

“I-Izuku~” Emerald eyes glance upwards to meet your own. His scarred hands give your thighs a soft reassuring squeeze before pressing them more against your body in an attempt to have his cock hit deeper inside of you. They soften in a way you missed seeing, his hips slowing a bit as he takes his time admiring every soft curve and crease. He squeezes at the swell of your thighs, his breath catching in his throat at the soft sound he hears you make. His hips softly buck into you desperately, his face moving to bury itself in your neck as he breathes in your scent before pulling away to continue adoring the heavenly sight of you under him in such a blissful state. You were even more beautiful without the restraints on you, with you consenting to have him be so close to you and love you in such a way.

Your cooperation added another layer to the way he would love you tonight.

Being here with you like this had once been an almost unattainable dream, so much so that he thought he was imagining this wet scenario after finally going crazy as a result of you constantly denying his love. Even if it was, it wouldn’t ruin the pure ecstasy and excitement he received from having you allow him to love you so intimately without protective chains.

There’s an admirable amount of beautiful marks he’s left on your soft skin, the newer ones more prominent in shade and size. He works so hard to maintain your eternal glow, getting only the best products for you to ensure your body is well-kept and maintained. This was something entirely different to him, a milestone that he could only dream to achieve in the midst of his past lonely nights where he only had a small token of your panties to sniff as he masturbated to the seemingly far-away idea of pleasuring you. Having this key to you in his hands was such an honor to him and he would make sure each of your needs was met, no matter how dirty or how soft he needed to be to achieve the euphoria for you.

He would love to die in such an intimate position with you, with his dick buried deep inside of you with your walls twitching around him and tightening from all the overstimulation he gave you beforehand. Just the thought has him softly moaning in pleasure. Only he gets to see you so needy with desires, so adorably flushed in bliss. It’s enough to have him finally cum from stimulation that night (every other time he came was just from hearing your adorable noises and watching you release and withe under him from the ministrations and feathery touches he gave your body).

He pulls out when the desire to see you painted white in his semen outweighs the idea of filling you to the brim with his release, leaving him to settle with rutting into his hand until he ejaculates all over the frontal half of your body. His cheeks burn brightly seeing you make such an erotic face after having him cum on you, a face he’s only seen from afar and up close only in dreams before tonight. He has pictures he’s taken, videos he’s recorded with you in such euphoria but having it so close he could practically touch you and melt was millions of miles better than his original jack-off material. He can only feel sorry for his past self for having to settle without the true, ephemeral beauty of having you before him in such a horny state.

How many people have gotten to see his darling like this before him? Touch them and love them in such a way?

He suddenly finds himself glancing at his bedside table, a look flashing through his eyes as an idea comes to mind. You're too lost in your own high to notice him reach over and you can’t find the energy to care once you catch him pull something out from the drawer. The sharp item doesn’t truly catch your eye until a reflection of light shines off the blade. He finds the small inhale you make delightfully adorable and a small smirk deviously comes to his lips as he flips the idea over in his head.

“You’re so amazing, baby” He presses the tip against your skin, not enough to bruise, yet, but enough for you to know just how sharp and fatal it is. He finds the way you hold your breath and squirm away from the knife arousing and the fact that you’d think he’d kill you is just so precious. He presses it more against your skin, the inhale of jolted pain you make with the small cut enough to make his dick hard again. He brings the blade up to the side of your face, mockingly caressing the area before lowering the knife to your chin and lifting it with one of the flat sides, “So amazing that you’ve pushed my hand to really claim what’s mine. You don’t mind having Deku on different parts of your body, right?~”

It takes a moment for you to begin bleeding from the small cut he gave you and you're thankful that it’s not deep enough to need immediate attention. He’s careful with outlining your curves with the weapon, his teeth tugging at his bottom lip as he grows aroused further from your soft noises of excited fear.

He runs the tip down your body, making sure to carefully scrape between your breasts during the slow descent downwards. The way your breath hitches confirms how much you’re enjoying the way he was currently threatening you and it’s enough to set him off into initiating his branding on you.

He delineates the letters of his hero name in a big font along your abdomen, an excited grin playing along his lips as the cool feeling of the knife continues to tease and taunt you of what’s to come. The pain isn’t quick when he begins truly writing them out, each mark drawn out longer than you would’ve liked as he attempted to have the utmost precision and neatness with his name claim on your skin. Your soft cries of pain egg him on to continue out of excitement and worry.

He feels a small tug at his chest once the blood begins to well up in the wounds halfway through the characters, your blood slowly streaming from them and spreading to flatten out against your skin in a faint red. His heart begins to beat faster at the reminder of him earning this moment with you after all the work he went through to make sure you were of utmost comfort in his home. Through all the fighting, the arguing, screaming, yelling; he deserves to be here with you and making you feel great.

His, once again, hardened dick presses against the plush of your thighs and his hips needily rutting against them for some purchase once he finishes spelling out the markings on your delectable skin. His face is buried deep in your neck again, whispering small reminders of who you belonged to and would always belong to with the accompaniment of small nips and affectionate kisses. He's unable to stop himself from thrusting his cock inside of you again, immediately bottoming out in his desperation for feeling the wonderful bliss of your insides.

He leans away to watch you again, breath caught in his throat from the pained pleasurable looks you give him. The way your (e/c) eyes downturn in embarrassed defiance paired with the way your walls squeeze his cock would drive anyone mad with a desire only you drew from him. He turns the knife between his fingers in a playful manner before threateningly pressing it against your neck, enough to leave a small slit big enough and leak enough blood to make his tough act believable. The way your eyes, wide and afraid, stare back up at him and continuously give him all of your attention.

With a new bout of given confidence, he leans down and licks at the blood on your neck before it can properly slide away from the cut he gave you. He smiles almost deviously at the reaction he receives from your body.

As he tends to the bruises left on your body later that night, he has to calm himself down each time he’s reminded that he is the only one that can love you and your body in such a way.

[twinklelilstarkey]

Could you do fluffy 2 with Frederik Andersen?? If you don’t write for him could you do it with Matthew Tkachuk

“Breakfast in bed?” - Frederik Andersen 

A/N: OF COURSE I CAN!!! I LOVE MY BABY FREDDIE.

Yesterday's game was just amazing. It might be slightly biased for you to say such things but Freddie, your boyfriend, never fails to amaze you.

It might be because you know how much and how hard he works, as well as how much pressure he puts himself under, but every time he does good or even just slightly good, you feel like you will blow up with proudness.

Frederik knows that too. It might be the big smile on your face or the big hug you pull him in when he steps out of the locker room before press, but he knows it.

But even though the night was spectacular, both the celebrations with the team and all questions he had to answer for the press, stretched out to hours that made you two, who woke up early, feel like you were constantly passing out on the way home. 

As soon as Freddie hit the bed, he was out like a light. He didn't even bother to pull the covers over himself. He literally stripped down his suit on the way down the hallway and dived onto the mattress. While you, on the other hand, had a little bit more energy than him, so you were able to put the laundry in the basket and do your night routine with no problem.

When sitting on the bed, you helped Freddie actually lay correctly on the bed and not as diagonally, threw the covers over him, and reclaimed your pillow.

Soon after turning off the lights and snuggling into the man that is sleeping like a total rock, you also fell asleep.

Now, you're living the bliss of waking up without an alarm on a Saturday - or, in other words, a day without work for you - and a day off for Freddie.

For some unknown reason, he is sleeping closer to your side of the bed again. When you first woke up his head was over your chest, using you as his pillow, and now, while you scroll through your phone and wait for him to wake up, his face is snuggled close to your neck.

His breath is somewhat ticklish against your skin, as well as his beard, but you, to be quite honest, could do this all day any day.

With a hand playing on the hair of the back of his head, and another gripping your phone, you stare at every picture in your Pinterest feed.

You've been thinking about all the things you could do to celebrate, in some cute way, how amazing your boyfriend did, but you seem to not have any ideas. 

That is until you see a certain picture in your feed.

A picture of a tray with all sorts of cut fruit, pancakes, eggs, bacon, and a lot more stuff. Also with some mugs with coffee and fancy glasses with juice.

That’s when it hit you. You could make Freddie breakfast in bed! Sure, it wouldn't look as good as the picture, but you can always try. 

You lock your phone and put it down on your nightstand. 

Here goes nothing.

Carefully, you unwrap Freddie off you. His arms first and then his leg. And slowly you're able to move away, sit, and get up from bed.

A quick trip to the bathroom later, you run down to the kitchen and start pulling everything out of the cabinets.

You have a big mission, you have to work fast and silently. So, no music to motivate you to move faster, and no quick movements so your clumsy self doesn't let something as loud as a pan fall.

As soon as the pancakes were in the pan, you started taking care of the fruit, taking it out of the fridge, and putting it down on the counter. You multitasked your way through the kitchen, cutting fruit and running off to the side to flip the pancakes.

Strangely, or funny, enough, what took you longer to do was choose the right plate, bowls, and glasses. All because you wanted everything to be as visibly pleasing as delicious.

When everything is ready, you decide to run up to the bedroom to go wake up Freddie, so he can eat and, you know, so you can create some suspense for the big surprise.

You walk in the room and surprisingly, he’s awake, sitting up while leaning against the headboard of the bed while scrolling through his phone. And as you stand upright by the doorway, his eyes lift and his smile appears.

“Morning.” He says, voice sounding slightly deeper than normal, probably from sleeping.

“Good morning.”

You walk over to the bed, mimicking his smile and you take a seat beside him, facing him.

“Are you hungry, by any chance?” You ask and he locks his phone, throwing it to the side so he can give you his own attention.

“Yeah...?” He answers with a slightly confused tone, “Why?”

“Stay here.” You tell him before rising back on your feet.

Frederik watches you walk back out of the room with a slight scowl over his features and in a matter of a minute, you come back, but this time, with a tray over your hands.

“Breakfast in bed?”

You smile at his exciting tone and give him a short nod while putting the tray over the bed’s duvet, close to him. You look back up at Freddie, who is now sitting upright, and his eyes widen at the delicious-looking food.

“Does it look good?” You ask, a little timidly.

“Fuck yeah it does.”

A smile comes back to you as you hear his words and you walk around the bed, taking a seat where you were previously sleeping.

You continue to look at your boyfriend as he takes it all in and slowly reaches for the fork. Freddie feels shocked as his heart tightens with the beautiful and amazing-looking food.

Before he can take his first bite, he stops bringing his fork up to his mouth to look at you.

"Have you eaten?" He asks you and you frown slightly.

"No... Well, kinda. Ate some bits and pieces while I was making it for you." You say, letting your frown smooth, "Since, you know, the first pancake is always horrendous."

He smiles and even chuckles a little at your words and brings his fork up to you.

"This breakfast is for you, Freddie. You're the one that deserves it." You say and he still doesn't take his fork away.

"Why?"

"Because of your game yesterday. You did amazing and I didn't have time to congratulate you enough."

He smiles widely at your words.

"Well, we can share the breakfast." He stops for a second, "You also were amazing at doing it. See this as my way to congratulate you."

"For making breakfast?" You ask with a playful tone.

"More for not burning down the house or cutting yourself while doing it."

You gasp dramatically at his words and his smile reappears, finding amusement in your shock. And exactly when you try to talk again, Freddie shoves the fork into your mouth.

He pulls the now clean and 'foodless' fork away and cuts a bit for himself.

"Good?" He asks you as you start chewing on the syrupy bit of pancake.

You give him a nod and he takes his first bite. As he starts chewing, his eyes almost pop out of his face and he drifts his gaze back to you in shock.

"What?" You ask, a little bit alarmed.

"I'm in heaven."

Hope you liked this!

[supermantv]

daxton + first date after getting back together

Their first date after getting back together is technically at the Winter Dance, and while it had been overall pleasant, there were still the minor bumps (the major glaring one being that Paxton had nearly ran his girlfriend over with his car) that prevented the date from retaining a sense of utter bliss that Paxton was still seeking. He adores her, loves being around her, thinks she is the most exciting person that he has ever met, but there is no denying that Devi is an absolute hurricane. He loves that too, and he’s starting to understand that moments of complete peace will be hard-earned, but entirely worth it. He’s also hoping that these moments of peace become more and more common, with a smoother path paved to achieve them each time. 

They’re in his garage when he decides to broach the subject, a random slasher film playing on the screen that neither of the two are really invested in. Devi lays between his legs, her own feet dangling over the edge of the couch as she rests her head on the hard planes of his stomach. She traces unrefined patterns into the exposed skin above the waistband of his jeans where his shirt has ridden up, and Paxton knows that if she keeps this up, there’s a very high possibility he will actually be driven insane, so to prevent this, he shifts into a sitting position, forcing Devi to move with him.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, and it’s hard not to get distracted when his eyes follow the movement of her hands, shifting to smooth out her skirt, because it’s yellow and pink, and cute, and short, and it very much suits her. 

“Um.” Paxton clears his throat and flicks his eyes away and Devi must see something in his actions to tip her off to the situation because she actually laughs. Loud and unapologetic and Paxton feels the tip of his ears beginning to burn but he’s smiling. “Shut up,” he grumbles without a trace of any real aggravation, lobbing a pillow at her head. She catches it easily and hugs it to her chest. 

“Okay, okay,” Devi says and she quiets down but her eyes are twinkling. “What’s up?” 

“I was just gonna ask what you wanted to do for our first date on Saturday.”

“First date?” Devi asks bemusedly. 

“Yeah, y’know, first date since getting back together,” Paxton clarifies, but Devi still looks confused. 

“Wasn’t that at the dance?”

“Yeah, about that,” he starts, drawing back his shoulders and filling his voice with enough mock authority that Devi guffaws under her breath. “I’d like to put in a formal request right now for a do over.”

“Why?” Devi asks, taking this chance to throw the pillow back at him. It bounces harmlessly off his face where it slides into his lap, and he cries out from the shock of the hit rather than the pain. Devi ignores him. “I had a good time. Did you not have a good time?”

“I had a great time,” Paxton reassures her and his heart just about melts when she beams at him. “But I very nearly ran you over with my car at the beginning of the night.”

“After that!”

“After that you threatened to kill the DJ.”

“He deserved it,” Devi grumbles and the same murderous scowl she’d worn that night resurfaces. “But those were minor issues anyway.”

“I’m not sure vehicular manslaughter or attempted homicide are minor issues,” he jokes and his girlfriend rolls her eyes before he becomes serious again. “Really though. I just want to go on one perfect first date with you. No Trent or Marcus, and no narrowly avoided death.”

Devi wrinkles her nose. “Perfect is a tall order.”

“Third time’s the charm,” he says, but Devi’s doubtful expression doesn’t waver, so he relents. “Okay then, not a perfect first date. A first date where everything goes according to plan.”

“That’s more realistic,” Devi says, but she sounds and looks unconvinced by his words. “But still.”

“Don't worry,” Paxton says, leaning forward to rub his thumb tenderly across her cheek. She relaxes into his touch and he grins. “I'll prove you wrong.”

“I sure hope so,” Devi sighs, and no more is said on the subject for the night because then she's grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and yanking him into her. 

But of course, Devi was right to be skeptical, because as Paxton is starting to learn, it is impossible for things to go according to plan when they're involved. 

He’d called that very same night to make reservations at a semi-fancy Italian restaurant across town, and was promptly told they didn't do reservations, which as Paxton figured was even better, because if a restaurant didn't do reservations, that had to mean there was always available seating, right? He asks his mom to teach him how to iron on Thursday, and by the time Saturday night rolls around, he feels relaxed and ready, so assured that nothing could possibly go wrong. He lays the bouquet of flowers he'd bought for Devi gingerly in the passenger seat and whistles to himself as he starts the car. 

Except his car won't start. Why won't his car start?

And from then on, things only spiral out of control further. Paxton texts Devi asking if she can just walk to his house and he'll order an Uber to take them to the restaurant from there. Except when he checks his bank account, he cringes at the lack of money, failing to realize earlier how long it'd been since his last paycheck from his summer job. He wouldn't have even been able to pay the bill for their food, much less order a $15 Uber now. And really, he's not above begging his parents or sister for money, but his parents aren't home, gone on a weekend camping trip in the wilderness where they most likely don't get cell service. And Becca is working on a new assignment for school, her door locked with very clear instructions for Paxton not to interrupt her. He doesn't want to risk becoming a murder victim before his third first date with his girlfriend. 

So, when Devi arrives at his house and the front door swings open to reveal her visibly frazzled boyfriend explaining to her that he's going to be cooking for her tonight instead of going out, she smiles sweetly and nods her head in understanding. Paxton wonders briefly if she had seen it in his face, how close he is to snapping, because he’d been expecting maybe a little push back, a slight protest. He knows his girlfriend isn't renowned for her accommodating nature, but he thinks she's trying to be in this moment, for his sake, and he's grateful and questioning how he could have gotten so lucky. It makes him want to cradle her in his arms and kiss her senseless, but he can't because he needs to figure out what he's going to feed her. 

Paxton leads Devi to the living room and leaves her with a peck on her forehead and the TV remote before rushing back to the kitchen. And this is where the next problem presents itself, because Paxton doesn't know how to cook. 

At best, he can scramble an egg and microwave a hot pocket. Both of which he thinks Devi would not appreciate. So, Paxton grabs two packages of ramen from the cabinet and drops the noodles into a pot of boiling water. He thinks he can spruce it up with an onion, trying to recall all the tips and tricks he'd seen on the Food Network, but as he's cutting it his eyes begin to sting and he can't see all that well because he's blinking back tears and he's starting to feel like a contestant on Chopped when he slices his finger with the knife. He winces at the initial pain, but the cut is shallow, and it would be fine but now his blood is all over the cutting board and the onion and there goes that idea. 

Paxton is praying that it can't get any worst from here, because if one more thing goes wrong he's not sure he'll be able to keep it together. 

He turns off the stove and removes the pot from the heat, pouring the noodles carefully into two separate bowls. It's certainly not Michelin star worthy, but Paxton promised Devi dinner and it's better than nothing. 

But it's as if he’d been a war criminal or a serial killer in his last life, and the universe is determined to punish him, because Devi is sitting at the dining room table waiting for him, and all Paxton has to do is take three moderately sized steps to make it to the make it to her. But his foot gets caught on the corner of a rug and he staggers forward, the noodles and bowls flying out of his hands and straight onto Devi. The broth stains and drenches her dress and the noodles coat her from her hair down to her shoes, but she's still sitting, as if she hadn't processed what had just happened. 

“Shit,” Paxton swears, crouching next to her and flicking noodles off her thighs. “Are you okay? Any burns?” 

“I'm fine,” she says, glancing down at him, and her eyes are a little wide and her chin wobbles slightly, and he feels his heart drop into his chest because she's about to cry-.

The sound of her laugh startles him and his head snaps up, thinking she might've cracked before he had.

“What?” he asks, concerned. 

“I tried to tell you,” she says, but she doesn't look upset. Noodles cling to her cheeks but her smile stretches the entire length of her face. She doesn't even sound like she's gloating, even though she had been right, and as a result of his unwillingness to listen she was now wearing their dinner. 

Paxton’s fingers curl around the hem of her dress, causing broth to seep down his fist. “I wanted to make this perfect for you.”

“And it was,” Devi insists, hands coming up to cup his face. 

“Devi,” he grimaces. “You don't have to lie.”

“I'm not!” she objects. “It was perfectly us. And I like that.”

Paxton lifts a brow. “You like being covered in soggy ramen noodles.”

“You're deliberately missing the point,” Devi rolls her eyes and pinches his cheek. “I like being with you, even if the day is a complete disaster, I'll be happy because I was spending time with you. And, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a bit of a disaster magnet.” 

“I think it's cute,” Paxton murmurs demurely. 

“See,” Devi says. “You know what I'm talking about, and you agree.” 

“The noodles don't help though.”

Devi makes a face. “No they do not.” 

And while Devi is taking a shower in his bathroom and Paxton is laying in bed, thrumming his fingers against his stomach, he thinks about what she had said about this date being perfectly them. He smiles to himself.

[xenia-cenia]

hiiii 💕 may i request domestic hcs with chuuya and dazai with a clingy s/o? thank you 💞💞💞

A/N-i like doing these theyre cute :)

sorry for taking forever! some irl things came up

-writing for chuuya is hard bc all the gifs of him are so cool

-so im using dog chuuya for this one

-moving on

-chuuya does not put any thought before asking you to move in with him

-you mentioned it once in passing and he responded with 'yeah, why the hell not?'

-as stated before his house is filled with dog pictures

-he LOVES cooking

-do not get in his way while he cooks

-itll just be a mess for everyone involved

-if you want a cutesy-fun couple activity hes much more fond of walks in the park

-in fact he likes to go on at least one long walk every week

-and hes always delighted when you tag along

-if you get tired and cant finish the walk dont worry he'll just use his ability and carry you back home

-also enjoys going shopping with you

-he knows the ins and outs of every current fashion trend and will happily help you pick clothes out

-be warned though he likes to only buy the most expensive stuff

-he personally has no plans to get married

-deep inside the fear that hes not 'human' enough lingers

-however if one day years into your relationship you were on a night walk and turned to look at him

-the wind softly rustling your clothes and the streetlamps reflecting in your eyes

-(oh your eyes. he always feels painfully human when he looks into those eyes of yours)

-he'll take a deep breath

-and give into his impulses once again

-"lets get married."

-he says it so casually you barely notice

-but when he says it again it sticks in your head

-you laughed

-(why was his heart beating so fast? did your laugh always do this to him?)

-and kissed his cheek

-"id love to, chuuya."

-his knees shook as you spoke those words

-he smiled and didnt notice his ability start until the two of you were above the trees and you gripped onto his shirt

-"chuu!" you had exclaimed

-but nothing was phazing him

-it was the happiest he had ever been in his life

-well

-the second happiest

-as your hands folded into his

-and the expensive suit he was wearing felt 1 million degrees

-he was shaking

-had he ever shaken this hard before?

-and you noticed his fear

-(you always could read him better than he could read himself)

-and all at once the world melted away

-there was only pure bliss

-"to the person who makes me feel truly human" he had added to his vows "i promise to protect you for the rest of our lives"

-"to the person who hangs dog pictures on our ceiling," (he had laughed nervously. he didnt know you saw those) "i promise to protect and care for you the rest of our lives"

-thats when chuuya cried

-he kissed you as hard as he could

-tears burning his eyes as he pulled away for air

-"i love you." chuuya whispered and he knew that this

-this would be the happiest moment of his life

-he LOVES clingy people

-once you move in with him (or him with you. He doesn’t mind either way) he finds himself falling much further in love then he thought possible

-want cuddles?

-god yes

-reading together with his head on your lap?

-please play with his hair

-he’s also a terrible cook

-terrible awful cook

-if you enjoy cooking you’ll need to forcibly keep him out of the kitchen to stop him from ruining your meal

-if you just want to have fun and make a mess?

-he’s your guy

-“belladonna! Look! The eggs stick to the ceiling!”

“Osamu no”

-like Chuuya he enjoys talking walks

-his walks are  much less peaceful however

-he likes to talk about whatever’s on his mind as he walks

-though frankly he enjoys listening to you blabber much more

-insists on movie date nights

-he picks the movie one week and you pick the movie the next week and so on and so forth

-his movies are typically tragic love stories

-you asked him why one day and all he did was smile and shake his head

-“there are some secrets I’d rather keep, Belladonna.”

-eventually you wrote it off as another mystery about Dazai Osamu

-it takes a long time before he lets you change his bandages

-the entire time hes smiling sadly and refusing to make eye contact

-(your fingers are so smooth compared to his. he’ll never forget the feeling of your fingers tracing the new bandages, making sure they fit right)

-now unlike Chuuya he has put a lot of thought into marriage

-he’s fantasized about it for years but always wrote it off as a pipe dream

-though his dream marriage isn’t really anything official

-he thinks ‘love’ is something that you can’t put on display or into a certificate

-when the two of you get serious he’s very clear about this dream of his

-to his surpise (and joy!) you smiled and kissed his cheek telling him you’re okay with that

-if you want a big wedding dazai will compromise for two weddings

-one thats incredibly low effort, just the two of you drinking wine and getting lost

-and the other thats everything youve ever dreamed of

-in fact during his vows for the ‘second’ wedding he’ll grab your hands and look out towards the audience

-”they told me if you love them so much, i should just marry them. so i did! twice.”

-about half a year after the wedding the two of you were lying in bed

-you were half-asleep and dazai smiled softly

-”belladonna, did i ever answer your question?”

-”wha?”

-”i watched them so often because i wanted to remind myself that we’d have a happy ending.”

-you looked at him through sleepy eyes, confusion lacing your expression as he kissed your forehead

-”osamu...”

-”sleep, belladonna. i’ll remind you in the morning.”

-and as you quickly drifted off to sleep he finally felt the stress in his shoulders dissolve

-”a happy ending...” he muttered to himself

-(though, he feels any ending that includes you loving him was the happiest ending he could get)

-he went further into the sheets and let his eyes close

-maybe... maybe he’ll get the story he never thought he deserved

[dimitrescus-bitch]

Ravishing (Lady Jayne x Reader)

Smut

Seduction was an art. If there had been one thing you’d learned living under Lady Jayne Wetherby’s roof, it was about the art of seduction. There were two kinds of suitors that Lady Jayne brought home: those she needed information from and those to sharpen her skills with. 

“Tell me Y/n, do you not fear becoming a spinster?” Lady Jayne asked you. 

“None of the men in London interest me,” you told her. She hummed and put her hand on your cheek. Your pulse quickened a bit and she smiled at you. “They are pompous and could find the same happiness in me from a common street walker.” 

“They could yes, but trust me, the men are not the highlight of high society,” Lady Jayne told you. “There are far sweeter morsels to be enjoyed. I think you know that though, don’t you?” 

“And how do you mean that?” you asked Jayne. She tilted her head to the side and stepped away from you. The part of your face where she’d been touching lingered with the gentle pressure of her fingers. 

“Just that you require a more feminine touch,” Lady Jayne told you. You watched her leave to go meet a new suitor at the opera. You retired to your room to the night and tried not to think how easily she had figured you out just then. It was a secret, it was supposed to be a secret. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“What of the girl?” You weren’t sure what it was about men and thinking that if a woman was busy, they wouldn’t hear what was happening around them. 

“She is not to be a part of this, that is final,” Lady Jayne said. You swore for a moment that you heard something resembling protectiveness cutting through her normally calm tone. 

“She could be of use. A young woman like that could turn many heads,” he said and Lady Jayne scoffed. “Do you not agree that she is attractive?” 

“Y/n is ravishing, and she could do more than turn a few heads. However, she is not a tool to be used by the likes of you. Now I implore you to get out of my house before I am inclined to do something one of us may regret,” Lady Jayne said and the man promptly left. She stared at you for a moment, as you finished up the task you’d been doing, and then left you there without a word. 

“Ravishing,” you muttered to yourself with a small smile. “She thinks I am ravishing.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

You did not know what it was that Lady Jayne did for a living. Not really, but you knew that it had helped to be quieter than the average person. If she did not want you to hear her coming, you would not. It was a neat trick, but it was losing its potency on you. You supposed that you’d spent more than enough time in her house to notice other things about her instead. 

“Is there something I can do for you Lady Jayne?” you asked and she approached you. You turned from your vanity and offered her a kind smile. 

“You are quite the beauty,” Lady Jayne said as she ran her fingers through your hair. 

“I believe that you told that man I was ravishing,” you reminded her with a teasing smile. “You flatter me greatly.” 

“It is not meant to be flattery, only the truth. Tomorrow, there is a party that I have been invited to. I wish for you to join me there,” Lady Jayne told you. You looked up at her in surprise. “It is past due that I give you the chance to prosper in society and find your own way my dear.” 

“Please, Lady Jayne, be honest with me, do you want me gone?” you asked and she shook her head. 

“Quite the opposite, but there is a heavy guilt in keeping you all to myself,” she told you. “The world deserves to know of your beauty and your wit. I am not an artist, yet I consider you a muse.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The party was grand and so much more spectacular than you had expected. Lady Jayne kept you on her arm the entire night, even as she conversed with business associates. It was obvious that a few of the men were walking on egg shells with mentioning certain things because you were there. And for some reason, she hadn’t once excused herself from you. 

“Are you enjoying yourself tonight my dear?” Lady Jayne asked you. 

“I am, this is amazing. I did not know you knew so many people,” you said and Lady Jayne chuckled at that. “Do you think that I could accompany you to another party sometime?” 

“I will take you out as many times as you wish before you are no longer mine to take.” There was something hidden in the meaning of her words, dying to push through. To some extent it did because there was a light blush on your cheeks as a waiter offered another glass of champagne. 

“No thank you, I would not want to spoil my first party with alcohol,” you said and he walked off. You turned your attention back to Lady Jayne to find her looking at you. “Is there something wrong?” 

“No, of course not. Come, let me show you around,” she told you. You let her show you around and once you’d reached the gardens, she sat you down. She grabbed a flower nearby and handed it to you. 

“Thank you,” you said with a small bow of your head. She smiled and sat beside you. You set the flower aside and she took your hands in hers. There was something in between the two of you, something that had went unacknowledged aside from the passing thought or feverish dream. 

She brought her hand up to caress your cheek as she stared into your eyes. Her eyes briefly flicked down to your lips and her tongue darted out to wet her own. She gently guided your face towards her. You were given time to think about this, time to back out, but you didn’t want to. You leaned in and the kiss that followed was the most gentle of your entire life. 

Slowly, the kiss moved from its gentle origins and you felt true passion from another person for the first time. Lady Jayne guided you through everything without telling you what to do once. Eventually, your body took over for your mind and instinct drove your actions. 

“This is no place for a woman such as yourself to be taken,” Lady Jayne told you. The two of you snuck off into the night, keeping a careful distance until she had brought you back into her bedroom. Even though you knew you were far from the first suitor to be brought up here, there was something about the way that she was looking at you made you feel like you were the first to matter. 

Slender and skillful fingers worked at removing your dress and corset. Those garments fell to the ground with a faint thud. Your body was turned around and Jayne guided you back towards the bed. She made quick work of her own clothing and you removed the last bit of cloth covering your skin. You stood before her stark naked and prepared for whatever the night would bring. 

“Pleasure is a beautiful thing Y/n. Tonight, I can only hope to show your body the beauty it has revealed to me.” Jayne’s words were punctuated with the soft touch of her fingers trailing down your neck. She kissed you once again, but this kiss was not like the others. This kiss had an edge to it and you could feel the hunger driving Jayne’s actions. 

She trapped your body beneath hers and you were content to lay beneath her for the rest of your life, however long it may be. The touch of her hands brought chills to your skin, ones that her mouth burned away. The closer she got to your center, the hotter your skin felt. You were certain that your skin was flushed and if her eyes were anything to go off of, your eyes were certainly darker as well. 

Jayne paused and asked you for your reassurance to continue. You sat up and gave it to her, desperate for her to show you what pleasure she had in store for you. Jayne gently pressed you back down against her bedding and pressed one last kiss to your lips before her focus went elsewhere. There was a promise of more in that kiss, maybe not for that night, but definitely another night somewhere along the line. 

You watched her as she placed her hands on the insides of your thighs. She ducked her head down so that it was between your legs and you could feel the heat of her breath against your center. As she slowly came closer to you, her hands trailed closer inwards as well. You shuddered as you felt the tip of her tongue against your entrance. She tasted you and let out a satisfied hum as she backed away. 

“Something as sweet you must be savored,” Jayne told you. You watched as she once again, slowly went in. This time, she pushed one finger inside of you, eliciting a soft moan. You watched as she drew her finger out and smirked at the wetness glistening from it. You let out a small whine at the lack of contact between the two of you and Jayne pushed her finger back inside of you. 

She moved at an almost tortuous pace and it worked in undoing every single fiber of your being. You had never known that a person could feel like she was making you feel. You had been, in the literary sense of the word, ravished. Although, once you were in a clearer mindset, you realized that to a degree, she had ravished you in the archaic sense of the word as well. Either way, you could not complain as you laid in bed with her, trading the blissful world of pleasure for that of a rare comfort. 

“Close your eyes, surely you are tired,” Jayne told you. 

“Will you still be here in the morning?” you asked her. 

“Of course I will,” Jayne promised you. “Goodnight, my ravishing little darling.”

[oingo233]

By The Lake* Part One

Summary:  A family friend offers you a place to stay to get away from an abusive past.  Her home is a place that you are familiar with, an old town with a large lake you spent many days in. You went there years ago for one full summer, where you became close friends with a very young Daryl Dixon.  You two were inseparable until you had to leave.  But now you’re back, escaping from a past much like his.  You will need to weave your way through the town's problematic people, your own problems, and above all the confusing Dixon.  Will you two find your way back to each other again?  Or will he push you further away?  And above all, will your past cease to haunt you?

Part Two * Part Three * Part Four * Part Five

Pairing: Young Daryl Dixon x Reader

Warnings: Mentions of abuse and violence(potential triggers), cussing, more mature themes(not smut or anything tho), slow burn romance

Authors Note: Daryl Dixon is a character from the amazing show The Walking Dead, but this story is modern AU so not with all the walkers and everything.  I don’t own and I didn’t create his character.  Also this story is in no means meant to romanticize abuse, that stuff isn’t romantic. It is such a terrible, terrible thing, but it is sadly a very common thing as well.  Throughout this series I only hope that I can spread awareness about the matter, and let people know that they aren’t alone, things will get better, and that no one is deserving of any kind of abuse. Ever. Anyways, I’m done with my rant, I hope y’all like it, and if not please send in some constructive criticisms I’m always looking to improve.

Word Count: 1.7k

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 I can’t help the dumb smile that spreads across my face, and I can’t help but think of all that is changing.  It felt like I could breathe again, that maybe everything will turn out alright. It has been weeks with nothing bad happening, weeks of trying to stop the burning question of “but for how long?” from ruining my mood.

“What are you smiling so big for?”  Cherry, my moms best friend and my god mom, stared at me from the drivers side.  Before I could answer she cut me off.  “Excited to see Daryl again?”  She sent me a large wink, and her smile almost matched mine.  I shake my head with a loud laugh, and turn to look out the window again. Hopefully she won’t see me blushing.

“God Cherry, we were 13.”I say. She laughs too, her shoulders lazily move up into a shrug.  

“Whatever you say.”  I glare at her jokingly, and she pokes my side, the car moving dangerously close to the right.  She laughs nervously and a small “oops” slips from her lips, before she continues on torturing me. “Well, he is real cute now.  A bit quite though, but then again, he always kind of was huh?”  You nod silently, watching the tall trees pass in a blur.

  Daryl always was so quite, it took you nearly the whole summer to get him to string together a whole sentence.  But once you did, nothing could stop him from being with you.  Sure, he’d never rant to you or anything, but he’d hold good conversations and what he didn’t tell you, you found easy to pick up on how he acted around you.  But this was years ago.  You wonder how much has changed, and if you’ll ever be that close with him again?

“Mark ask’s him over sometimes, to work on this old car he bought, ya know just for some help.  He’d always ask about you.”  We share a look and I stare at my lap soon after, a blanket wrapped around me for the long drive.  She must have noticed my behavior because she quickly kept going, enjoying making me blush.  “Cute lil thing he is, he’d always work up a blush.  ‘How’s (Y/N) doing?’ or ‘(Y/N), she alright?’”  She shook her head with a wide smile, but I stare at her with something like horror on my face.  I try to calm myself before asking.

“What did you tell him?”  He smile drops, her grip on the wheel tighter than before.  

“Not the truth.  Said you were doing good.”  It was silent, her knuckles turned white. “He’d ask about you and Carter...”  Her voice trailed off venomously, before giving me a comforting look. “We tell him it’s nothing he has to worry about.” I nod my head.  It felt weird for me to thank her for lying for me, but I do anyway.  Daryl knowing bout everything, when we haven’t seen or been close to each other in years seems weird, like it would be a burden.

I’m 18 now, Daryl would’ve just turned 19.  You blush of thinking of how good looking he must be now. You always found him cute, but 13 was too young to do anything bout it.  Although you’d never admit it out loud, you always liked him.  He was good to you.  Better than your actual boyfriend...

“You okay, honey?”  Cherry’s voice breaks the silence, and thankfully your thoughts.  You run a hand down your face with a tight smile.

“Just tired, that’s all.���  Her smile faded faster than you would have liked it too.  You looked into her eyes just in time to catch the glistening pity in them before she faced the road again.  She knew your situation, everything you’ve been through.  

“I’ll tell the kids not to bug ya then.  Let ‘cha rest up first, yeah?”  I thank her but decline and face the window once again.  I hated sleeping in the car, always preferred watching out the window and thinking bout things instead. But maybe I should try, I wouldn’t want to make the kids sad.  I loved those two boogers.  Cherry had two little kids with her husband Mark.  One little boy named Monty, and a little girl they named Rosie.  I don’t even know how old they are now.  When I was there for the summer with my family so many years ago, Rosie was just born.  

“How old are they now?” I blush, almost ashamed of not knowing.  But I can hardly keep track of my life, let alone everyone elses.  She puts a hand on my knee, and squeezes it.  Instantly, I feel better, and talking about her kids obviously made her feel better too.

“Monty is 8, and Rosie is 5!  Monty just got super into dinosaurs, and we can’t keep Rosie out the lake.  She just learned how to swim, she got so big...”I listen to her drawl on about her kids with a sweet, unbothered feeling.  My excitement grows as she continues to tell me about them, and we are getting closer to their house.  Finally we pull into the familiar town, only about 15 minutes from her house now, which would mean we are only 26 minutes from Daryl’s.  I try not to think of him, or how nervous I am to see my old close friend, or what goes down in that house.  

I knew about what his father did to him, or I think I did.  He never told me about it but sometimes he’d stop by the old cabin on Cherry’s property where my mom and I stayed, and he’d be crying.  We’d sit by the lake in silence, sometimes I’d be hugging him and tracing the lumps and scars under his clothes, other times I’d catch a glimpse of a bruise on his face in the moonlight.  But whenever I’d ask, he’d push me away and I wouldn’t see him for a few days after, or until he seemed alright and I was dumb enough to believe that.  At my age and time in my life I never knew how bad it was.  Not until the same thing happened to me.  I never should have left Daryl there, knowing all that I did.  How can I face him again with all this guilt?  I was a terrible friend...

I feel an unwelcome burn in the back of my eyes and throat right as we pass the ice cream parlor, the car pulled into the parking lot and I smiled brightly.  Wiping at my eyes for a brief second before looking at Cherry with raised eyebrows. 

“Thought I’d treat ya.”  She chuckles at my expression.

“Giving me a place to live isn’t enough?”  I laugh out, she laughs too and we climb out of the car.  I leave the blanket in the seat, I’d rather die than have anyone here see me with a baby blue fuzzy thing wrapped around my waist.  

We step inside and Cherry says a few quick hello’s, and introduces me to some of her friends in there.  We grab our ice cream but I recognize an older couple from that blissful summer.

“Mr.Henderson right?”  I stop a older looking man from walking out the door, I put my hand out and he takes it with a hint of uncertainty.  His eyes scan me for any familiarity.  They land on my hair, and then deep in my eyes, his face lights up, before I could tell him who I am he beats me to it.

“(Y/N) (Y/L/N)!”  He pulls me into a hug, careful not to get chocolate ice cream in my hair.  “I don’t believe it!  Look at how grown you are!  Sharron get over here.”  He waves his wife over joyfully from the car, she gives him a loving smile before shaking her head at me.

“I’m sorry dear, I don’t reco-” She gasped mid-sentence and pulled me into a hug.  She looked back at Mr.Henderson.  “This is (Y/N) honey!”  He nods at her and she looks back at me grabbing at my hair and twirling it around her finger.  I flinch when her fingers first reached for me but she didn’t seem to notice, I’m glad.  “Look how beautiful...”  She hugs me again.  

Mr. and Mrs. Henderson are Cherry’s neighbors, about half a mile out.  I used to drag Daryl over there with me so we could grab some of their infamous lemonade every afternoon.  We’d stay there for hours and hang out in their tire swing, and their side of the lake has a huge flat rock by the shore.  Daryl and I used to lay on it in the hot sun.  Mrs.Henderson used to joke that if we weren’t careful we’d cook like eggs.  I haven’t seen them since that last summer day, when I went looking for Daryl to say goodbye.

Cherry politely pulled her off me, and gave them a stern look.

“(Y/N)’s a bit tired, I was just about to take her home.”She said.  Mrs.Henderson looked at the empty ice cream cup in my hand and frowned. 

“Well she can’t sleep with a tum full of ice cream.  See Cherry, this is why your kids never sleep on time.  You ain’t feedin’ em right.”  Cherry raised an eyebrow and looked at her wordlessly, lips pulled tight.  

“Well, it was so nice to see you again.  But we really should be going, and Mrs.Henderson, this ice cream never gave me any problems before.”  I wink and pull Cherry away from them before they start brawling.  Mom always got along better with the Henderson's than Cherry did, and they weren’t even our neighbors.  I guess that could be why.  

Mrs.Henderson grabs my elbow making me tense up.  “oh but don’t go.  Daryl just got here...look.”  Her hand left my elbow and she pointed down the street to a young man that I don’t recognize, walking stiffly towards us.  He’s tall, with broad shoulders and arms that looked good in his sleeveless shirt.    

As if sensing our eyes on him, he looks up.  My mouth slacks as I stare back into his startling blue eyes, the same ones that belong to Daryl Dixon.  Daryl stops walking and stares at me, his eyes trail slowly down my body, and back up to my eyes. His face wide with shock, quickly morphs into a scowl.  He shakes his head bitterly, brown hair falling on his forehead, and turns around, walking away from us in quick strides.  

Out of all the ways I imagined us meeting again, that was not one of them.  I can’t help myself from wondering what the hell that was all about?

[ourloveisforthelovely]

To the Ends of the Earth 10

Supernatural 

A/n: AU!Story. OOC Gabriel

Link to Chapter 9

Pairings: Gabriel x Reader

_________

The next morning you sat listening to Adam harass the ever loving shit out of you about breaking up with Gabriel. You had heard everything from “you are not an angel” to “he’s going to kill you” and then some. 

“Y/n! Are you even listening to me?”

You looked up from the bowl of cereal that you were pretending to eat. Adam sat across from you giving you the biggest bitch face imaginable. Putting down your spoon, you faced your brother fully.

“No, not really because I am not ending things with Gabriel. You made some good points. I’ll give you that. You would be better off going to talk to a rock...or the wall.”

Adam muttered fuck under his breath.

“I don’t get it, Y/n! Could you not fall in love with someone of your own species?”

You chuckled before standing up to walk into the kitchen

“If I only had a dollar for every time that I have been asked that.” 

Adam jumped up and chased after you. He was not about to let this go! So what if you were the archangel’s soulmate or whatever; you were Adam’s sister first!  

“I’m not playing, Y/n!” 

You put your bowl in the sink before spinning around. 

“I’m not playing either, Adam. You are not about to start telling me what to do. I am glad that you are back and all but I don’t do what my brothers tell me like some good little Suzy Q Sunshine! I love Gabriel and that is how it's going to be...GOT ME?”

You yelled the last two words a little more loudly than necessary but who the fuck cared? Before Adam could respond, Jack stepped into the kitchen. He gave you his usual cheerful smile. Internally, you sighed. Why did the kid have to remind you so much of Gabriel? 

What a fucking gene pool…

Your mind supplied before getting your head back into the game.

“Hey, Jack.” 

He smiled.

“Hi! So I was doing some thinking. I know that you have been working really hard at fixing Gabriel. I may be onto something...Why don’t we go track down Raphael or Michael and make them fix Gabriel.” 

Adam’s disgusted expression went to horror as you clearly considered the nephilim’s words. 

“That might just work.”

You said. Adam shook his head. 

“How the hell are you going to make an archangel do what you want them to? You are going to get yourself killed!”

You shook your head. Jack’s idea may be a little harebrained and out there but anything was worth a shot. 

“I have some great powers of persuasion.” 

You said, not bothering to look at your brother. 

“Get my archangel blade, Jack and be ready to go in five minutes.” 

Adam was ready to burn the world down! This had to be the stupidest most insane thing that you had ever...EVER...come up with! 

“I am not about to let you go track down some archangel and watch him kill you because you want some guy back.” 

You stopped in the doorway before slowly turning to face Adam with a clearly annoyed expression.

“He isn’t just some guy to me. He’s everything to me. You can come along if you want but you aren’t going to stop me. Dean? Sam?”

You turned away from Adam before walking into the “Dean Cave.” Both of your older brothers looked up at the mention of their names. 

“You called, sunshine?”

Dean asked. You smirked. This was not going to be a pretty conversation but it had to be done. 

“I’m going to find Raphael.”

Neither Sam nor Dean spoke for a moment. They looked at each other, clearly trying to take in what you just said. Dean stood holding a hand up. 

“Excuse me, did you just say that you were going to find Raphael?” 

You nodded and went to the closet to take out your revolver. 

“Yep, you heard me right. Jack has this brilliant idea if I go and threaten him real good I may just get my way.” 

Adam met Dean’s worried gaze.

“I had nothing to do with this. I told her that it was crazy but she only has her mind fixing that archangel on her mind.” 

Dean met Adam’s gaze for a few moments before turning to you. 

“Do you think it will work?”

You shrugged.

“I am going to do everything that I can do to help him. Don’t even waste your time trying to talk me out of it. I just told Adam the exact same thing.” 

Dean snorted. He knew that trying to talk you out of whatever you had planned was going to work as well as stabbing someone and telling them not to bleed.

“What do you want me to do?”

You turned back to your brother. This was the last thing that you had expected Dean to say.You had honestly expected him to say something like Adam did. Maybe he was finally getting the picture that him bossing you around wasn’t going to shit. 

“I want you and Sam to stay here and keep an eye on Gabriel. He won’t be much trouble.”

Dean snorted. 

“All he does is sit and stare at the wall. I honestly forget that he’s there most of the time.” 

You sighed. 

“Just keep an eye on him.” 

Dean pointed to the door. 

“Go tell him that you are leaving. The last thing that I want to deal with is him panicking because you got out of his line of sight.” 

You nodded and moved to go to the door. Adam’s eyes met yours. The two of you stared at each other for a moment. 

“Time to pick a side.”

You muttered before walking down the hall to your room. 

Stepping into your bedroom, you sighed looking at Gabriel. He sat, as he always did, looking off into the blissful realms of nowhere. He didn’t look up when you stepped in. You walked to the bed and sat down. 

“Gabriel?”

His eyes quickly snapped to you. He watched you carefully as you tried to scoot closer. 

“I am going away for a bit. I won’t be gone long. This time I’m fixing everything.”

You stood as Gabriel shook his head frantically. He reached out to grab your hand. You didn’t move to get away from him. Instead you reached out and stroked your hand over his cheek. 

“I promise you, everything will be just fine.” 

Gabriel slowly let go of your hand but didn’t look away from your face. You sat quietly for a moment before speaking. 

“All of this will be just a bad memory. Hopefully, you won’t hate me for what I’m about to do.”

You met Gabriel’s eyes before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his forehead. He slightly flinched before relaxed enough to enjoy the contact. You finally pulled away before turning and walking from the room

1 hour later, you stood inside of an old abandoned house. Jack stood behind you, clearly looking for any sign Raphael sneaking up on you. Adam, looking scared beyond all logical reason, was by your side. You glanced at your brother and fought the urge to roll your eyes. Something told you that if it came down to it Adam was going to wrap himself around your legs like a giant toddler. 

“Jack, is everything good to go?”

Jack nodded. 

“Oh yeah. I don’t mess around.” 

“Works for me.”

You muttered before turning back. 

“Raphael, you stupid son of a bitch. Did you think that you would never have to face me?”

You yelled. A few moments later, Raphael stepped out of the shadows. He looked at you with an annoyed expression. 

“Well well...if it isn’t Y/n Winchester. I was wondering when we would meet in person. I have a feeling what you are here for and my answer is no. My brother deserved what he got. He was foolish to think that he could love a human and not be punished. You are going to be punished too. An eternity in hell will be just fine for Michael and I.” 

You snorted. Oh the poor archangel was so wrong on that one. You weren't going anywhere you didn’t want to go. 

“I think you are wrong on that one. You are going to fix Gabriel then you are going to go suck an egg and die.” 

Raphael raised an eyebrow before giving an over dramatic sigh.

“Child, I find your...threats amusing. I, however, am not the least bit afraid of you.”

You met Jack’s gaze as he threw the lighter that he was holding down. The ring of fire erupted around Raphael. The archangel looked around slightly confused before turning his attention back to you. 

“What do you think is going to happen between Gabriel and yourself? Do you really see an outcome where the two of you will be happy? He’s an archangel and you are a lowly human. You are as close to scum as there is out there. Do you believe that my brother is going to stand by you for the rest of eternity? I know my brother, child. He will get bored with you just list he has everything else in his life.” 

You let Rapahel’s little dig roll off of your back. Had it not been the fact that you were telling yourself to keep it cool for Gabriel; you would have lost it. 

“That’s your opinion. I don’t know if you have ever heard this saying or not but opinions are like assholes.” 

Raphael scoffed. 

“You think that you're funny like your brother. I am not going to do a thing to help you.” 

You glanced at Jack as he handed you the archangel glade. Raphael’s cold expression quickly turned nervous. You raised an eyebrow. 

“Did I just detect a flicker of fear? I have made the great archangel Raphael scared of me...a lowly little human. Now here’s what we are going to do. You are going to fix Gabriel or I am going to sit on you and carve my initial into your forehead my little archangel blade. You will have to think of me every day for the rest of eternity.

Raphael looked at you momentarily. 

“Fine. I’ll fix my brother so I don’t have you to deal with for the rest of forever….but you're going to regret it. You know that Michael will see to that. I will also not forget this fun little festive greeting. When you get home, Gabriel will be good as new.” 

You nodded. 

“Too bad I don’t have an easy button to commemorate this moment”

Raphael scowled. You had to be one of the most annoying humans that he had ever met! It didn’t matter that you had clearly proven your loyalty to Gabriel. The relationship would never be accepted by Raphael or Michael. 

“Enjoy your freedom while you can. 

(meanwhile back at the bunker) 

Sam stood watching Dean attempt to make homemade cookies. When the poor darlings came out of the oven completely toasted, Sam sighed. 

“That’s it. You are banned from the kitchen, Dean. I am never going to get this cleaned up.” 

“Where is Y/n?”

Both Sam and Dean spun around to see Gabriel standing in the kitchen door. Dean sat down his ruined cookies before facing the archangel fully. 

“When did you start talking again?”

Gabriel frowned. He still looked rough as hell but was slowly beginning to look like the angel that he was.

“What are you talking about?”

Sam moved to join his brother. Neither he nor Dean said anything for a few moments. Gabriel stood looking between them before losing his patients. 

“Again, what are you two talking about and where is Y/n?!”

Sam decided that he was going to be the one to explain to Gabriel what had been happening.

“Raphael and Michael wiped your memory. You’ve been kind of out of it for the past few months.”

Dean snorted. 

“Kind of? That is a poor way to put it. You have been a drooling zombie like mess.” 

Gabriel’s confused expression darkened. He was silent for a few moments as he tried to remember what exactly happened between himself and his brothers but was drawing a blank. His last memory was telling you to stay in the bunker and that led to now.

“My brothers wiped my memory? That must be why I feel awful. So about Y/n….I would kind of like to see her.” 

Sam and Dean again exchanged looks. 

“She isn’t exactly here.”

Dean said calmly. Gabriel frowned. 

“What do you mean she isn’t here?”

The sense of panic quickly began to build inside of Gabriel. Were you okay? Had his idiot brothers gotten a hold of you? If they did, Gabriel would never forgive himself! He tried to calm himself. Gabriel knew that you were alive. He could still feel the bond between the two of you but that didn’t mean that you were...safe.

“She went with Jack and Adam to find Raphael and make him fix you.” 

Gabriel’s mouth dropped! You went after his brother! You went after one of the oldest beings in the universe! Gabriel had to repeat it in his mind a few times to make sure that he was hearing everything correctly. 

Why in the name of all things holy did you think that it was a good idea to go after an archangel? Gabriel put a hand over his face. This had to be the worst outcome ever! What were you going to do? Kick Raphael in the shins until he saw your way? That wasn’t going to happen!

Gabriel was close to losing whatever fragile grip on reality that he had. He had spent every day from the moment of your birth attempting to keep you safe. It couldn’t all be for nothing now! 

Dean stood watching Gabriel and decided to say something before the archangel destroyed the bunker. 

“Before you unravel a sweater, Jack is with her. He isn’t going to let anything happen to Y/n.” 

Gabriel scowled at Dean. 

“Well, that makes me feel so much better!”

Gabriel turned and walked to the couch and sat down in a huff. Dean gave Sam a shrug and went back into the kitchen. The last thing that he wanted to do was sit around and watch Gabriel brood. You would be back soon enough and would be able to calm Gabriel’s ass down a notch or two.

_______

@brokencasbutt67-writer

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[ghostsray]

kin assigned fenton pt. 2

(i hope those of you who read my fenton-phantom au fic wanted more because it’s gonna be a multichapter fic now :) this is supposed to be based on @darks-ink‘s phic phight prompt, but while i was writing it i forgot what the original prompt was, so i forgot that they werent supposed to gain each other’s memories...oops. i hope that’s fine)

(ao3)

summary: phantom makes some friends :)

.

After day 10 of being stuck inside someone else's body, Phantom finally got used to waking up in the human world.

He opened his eyes to be greeted by the now-familiar star-shaped stickers stuck on the roof. He was starting to hate those plastic stars. While he at first appreciated how neatly Danny had placed them in the shapes of constellations, now they only served to remind him that he was still living Danny's life while the real guy's ghost was in who-knows-where.

Phantom sat up in bed and squinted as the rays of sunlight hit his eyes through the window. He had learned in science class that the sun was a star, and Phantom hated it as much as he hated the fake stars on the ceiling. He missed the blissful darkness of the Ghost Zone. Everything was so dang bright in the human world.

Phantom threw back his (really Danny's) covers and got up. After a week and a half of living as a human, he had settled into a morning routine. Get out of bed, ignoring the terrible pull of gravity on your stolen human body. Go to the bathroom, pointedly refusing to look at the mirror to see Danny's face. Do your business without feeling too weird about your nut not being yours, wash your hands and brush your teeth, go back to Danny's room and change clothes. Stop and gaze at the photograph sitting on Danny's desk which you never moved since you found it, showing Danny and his friends, and wonder where Danny's ghost was.

It's been a week and a half since Danny disappeared after their fight with the toilet ghost. The toilet ghost had unsurprisingly reformed in his haunt in the Casper High restroom, which Phantom knew after one startling bathroom break, but he seemed content just to chill without causing trouble. Danny never reappeared. Phantom honestly felt annoyed at Danny for leaving him to handle his life on his own, which felt very awkward when he knew next to nothing about it.

Or maybe not. Phantom hissed and pressed a hand against his temples as an image assaulted his brain. The smell of the wilderness, a dog's fur under his hands, firewood burning while he and the other Fentons sat with their Aunt Alicia around the firelight, the stars shining above them. Phantom pinched his arm and twisted it, and the image disappeared.

He knew a thing or two about human anatomy, and he knew that he currently had Danny's brain--including his memories. The longer he spent in this body, the more memories he gained access to. How much longer until he remembered all of Danny's life? And if he gained Danny's earthly memories, will he lose his own memories of the Ghost Zone? Will he even be able to tell himself apart from Danny?

Phantom tried not to think about it too much.

He went downstairs to the kitchen. Danny's parents (Maddie and Jack, he had learned were their names) were, as usual, tinkering with some anti-ghost weaponry at the table. Phantom focused on anything but those weapons and tried not to feel too threatened by them. They didn't even work on him, not while he was in their son's body.

There had been a few small ghosts that came through the portal since it had opened, but they never lasted long before either Fenton captured them. Phantom didn't know what they did to the ghosts, and he was too scared to peek into the lab to find out. All he knew was that he sometimes imagined hearing echoing screams rise from the basement. He was just glad none of the ghosts had been someone he knew so far.

Jazz didn't seem bothered by the weapons. She was eating her breakfast while simultaneously reading a book about psychology. At first, Phantom had assumed she studied psychology because she still thought he was crazy for believing himself to be an ex-ghost, but he quickly realized that she simply liked learning about the subject.

He sat down, ignoring the tremors that came from being too close to the ghost hunters, and didn't speak as he ate his breakfast--eggs and bacon, which wasn't as sweet as cereal, but not bad. Apparently, Maddie and/or Jack often accidentally got some ectoplasm from their research onto the food they cooked, which gave it the tangy aftertaste of ecto-plasm. That only made Phantom feel more nostalgic for his old afterlife.

Jazz looked up from her book to check the clock in the kitchen, scraped off the remainder of her meal, and stood up. "Ready for school, Danny?" she said.

Phantom tensed his jaw. "Yeah," he said and stood up with Danny's backpack. He tried not to show any discomfort at being called Danny. After all, he had given up trying to convince the Fentons of his true identity after that first day.

Just like the previous ten days, Jazz drove him to school. He watched the scenery that passed by through the window. He used to find it captivating, how different the landscape was from the Zone and how many humans and animals were alive in this world. Now, he just wished once more that he could return home already.

The now-familiar building of Casper High appeared in front of them, and they exited the car after Jazz parked. Phantom let his stolen body go on autopilot as it moved toward class. Honestly, he used to think the Ghost Zone was boring, but the human world was even more mundane. He just went to the same classrooms every day to learn something about the same old subjects.

As he passed by a hallway, he caught a glimpse of a black-clad girl with a black ponytail. He felt his body tense up as he met Sam's violently violet eyes for a brief second. Then they turned away from each other and moved on.

It was awkward, being anywhere near Danny's old friends. Sam and Tucker were the only other humans who really knew about Phantom, and it didn't make things any easier between them. Imagine your best friend was dead and some stranger took his place, which nobody knew about but you...

They didn't talk much.

"Okay, that's it," some girl said next to him. "What is going on between you and your friends?"

Phantom blinked and turned around to look at her. She had blonde hair with a flower pin holding it away from her face, and she was crossing her arms and looking directly at him. It took him a few slow moments before he asked, "Are you talking to me?"

The blonde rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, I'm talking to you, Fenton. You, Manson, and Foley used to be inseparable. Now, it almost seems like you guys are avoiding each other. So what's up?"

Phantom winced and fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. How could he possibly describe that the reason they weren't friends anymore was because he was someone else? After failing to come up with a decent explanation, he decided to use the good ol' method popular among ghosts and growled, "None of your business."

The girl blinked, then smirked. "Wow, Danny. You're a lot tougher than I remember."

Phantom clenched his jaw and turned away. Even with him gaining Danny's memories, it was getting harder each day to pretend to be him. He really wished Danny would come back already, if only to give him some pointers on how to live his life.

He barely made it past a row of lockers before a fist suddenly slammed against a locker right in front of him. Phantom jumped back and looked up into the angry blue eyes of one Dash Baxter. He slumped. "Oh. You again."

Dash gritted his teeth and growled, "I've been holding it together for a week, but I really need to take out my anger on someone."

"What is it this time?" Phantom said noncommittally. "A failed test?"

"It's the fucking locker," Dash said, his breath burning in Phantom's face.

"A...locker?"

Dash grabbed Phantom by his shirt and raised him, his blue eyes glaring holes into him. "The fucking locker! Ever since a row of 'em was mysteriously dented, I had to get a new one near the band room. Which, sure, no biggie, right? But god, every Wednesday there's band practice, and those geeks have to come near me with their stupid spittle and annoying loud instruments. And guess what day it is today?"

"Wednesday?" Phantom guessed.

"Fucking Wednesday!" Dash slammed Phantom against the wall of lockers, which made his head vibrate with pain. At least Phantom knew why Sidney hated bullies so much. They really, really sucked.

Dash was about to give Phantom another painful attack, but just then the bell rang, and everyone filed to class. Dash gave Phantom one more shove before letting go and sneering. "Saved by the bell, but not for long. Get ready for a beating later."

Phantom had a sarcastic comment in mind, but he knew from experience that angering someone stronger than you was never a good idea. So he just glared at Dash's back while Dash stalked away. As he did, Phantom thought he saw what looked like a wisp of smoke following after the jock...but when he blinked, it disappeared.

.

Phantom scratched his head as he glared at the math worksheet on the desk in front of him. Of all the subjects, geometry was the worst. He never thought that it was important for him to know (maybe because shapes continually shifted in the Ghost Zone), so he never bothered learning it. Apparently, Danny's memories didn't do him much good, either.

Tucker sat next to him. When Danny was still around, that seating arrangement was probably awesome--two best friends sitting right next to each other. Now, it was just awkward. He and Tucker did their best to pretend that the other didn't exist...which was why he was surprised when Tucker leaned in and whispered, "Want some help?"

Phantom looked up at him in surprise. He was watching him from behind those thick glasses of his. The human fidgeted and added, "Don't get me wrong, I still think your whole...situation is weird. But no one deserves to be tortured by school material."

Phantom pursed his lips and looked back to his paper. Of the two of Danny's friends, Tucker had always been the more open. Sam, on the other hand...maybe she already wore black daily before Phantom entered the picture, but he couldn't look at her and not think that it looked like funeral attire, worn for the death of her real friend.

"Sam hates me," Phantom whispered.

"She doesn't hate you," Tucker responded. "She just misses Danny. So do I."

Phantom gazed at the printed numbers sadly. "I don't know where he is. The last I saw or heard from him was on the same day you guys last did."

He didn't need to look at Tucker to know that his words disappointed him. There was a tense silence between them for a moment, then Tucker broke it by saying, "You need to find the cosine."

"Huh?"

Tucker tapped his paper and said, "The first question. You need to find the cosine of the triangle to know the missing angle."

"Oh," Phantom said, feeling stupid.

Tucker spent the rest of the period whispering methods to help him solve their geometry problems when the teacher wasn't listening. Phantom kept sneaking glances at the boy. Tucker's eyes were glued to the schoolwork, refusing to look at Phantom, probably to make it easier to pretend that he wasn't inside his best friend's body. Phantom didn't mind. It was more than enough for him that Tucker even considered talking to him.

Class ended, and Phantom and Tucker gathered their things and stood. Phantom waited for Tucker to leave, but he stayed around while everyone else filed out the classroom. Phantom fidgeted.

"Thank you," he said, figuring that was what the human was waiting for him to say. "For, you know. Helping me out."

Tucker pushed his glasses up and scratched his neck. "I figured it wasn't fair for me to judge you for...being you." As in, not being Danny. "From what I gathered, you didn't ask to be in your situation, either."

"Ancients, no," Phantom confirmed. "I hate being alive."

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "I thought ghosts generally want to be alive again."

"Why'd you think that?"

Tucker shrugged. "It's what's always shown in horror movies."

Phantom didn't know what sorts of ghost myths were broadcasted in human-made movies. He almost opened his mouth to argue, but he hesitated.

Did he hate being alive? He hated being thrust here from the Ghost Zone against his will, and he hated having to live someone else's life. But not everything in the human world sucked. It was definitely more peaceful than the Zone.

"I think I just hate being alive as someone I'm not," Phantom said.

Tucker softened. Phantom wished he didn't. Ghosts rarely showed sympathy to each other, and the way Tucker looked at him was closer to pity. Phantom averted his eyes and busied himself with Danny's school supplies.

"Well," Tucker said, "I can't imagine what you're going through, but it sounds like a lot. I know you're not Danny...but that doesn't mean we can't be friends."

Phantom looked up in surprise and found Tucker smiling at him timidly. He hadn't thought about how lonely he had gotten since getting stuck inside Danny's body. He missed his friends from the Ghost Zone, and Tucker missed Danny. Maybe befriending each other could fill a hole in both their hearts.

Then he saw the doorway behind Tucker and faltered. There stood a girl with a black ponytail wearing black clothes, like funeral attire, and staring between the two with a look bordering on betrayal.

Tucker followed his gaze and froze at the sight of her. "Sam!" he called out, but Sam had turned away and was walking rapidly down the hallway. He glanced back at Phantom, but Phantom had shifted his focus back to Danny's schoolthings. Tucker hesitated for one second before dashing out the classroom after Sam.

Phantom tried not to feel hurt. He knew Sam felt guilty for inadvertently causing the whole switch between him and Danny. He just wished she didn't act like it was his fault. He looked around the classroom and found himself alone...aside from one other student.

As soon as Phantom caught him staring, the redheaded boy quickly looked away and pretended to pack away his things. All he succeeded in doing was drop his pencil, and he cursed and dropped on his knees to pick it up from where it had rolled away on the floor.

Phantom recognized the boy. He was the only other human besides Tucker and Sam who knew about him because he was there during Danny's ghost fight. Wesley, he'd heard the teacher call him. This was not the first time Phantom found Wesley watching him, yet the human never approached him or said anything. It was unnerving.

Phantom walked toward Wesley just in time for the boy to stand up and come face to face with Phantom. Wesley squeaked and jumped back, dropping his pencil again.

"I'm not going to hurt anyone," Phantom said.

Wesley leaned awkwardly against the desk behind him, trying and failing to look casual. "Why? Were you planning to?" he replied.

"No, so you don't have to be scared of me."

"I'm not scared," Wesley said, his voice a little too high. Phantom was unimpressed.

"I'm a ghost."

"You mean Danny is a ghost."

Phantom bit his lip. Right, he wasn't a ghost anymore. One would think he would get used to that idea after spending a week as a human.

He looked at the floor, where the dropped pencil sat. He bent down, picked it up, and offered it to Wesley. Wesley stiffened before warily accepting it from him. Yeah, he was definitely still scared of him.

Phantom held back a sigh and left the classroom, not looking back at Wesley. He wished he had one of his ghost friends to talk to. He turned his head to the side and inwardly groaned when he saw a familiar stocky figure approach...Dash.

Luckily for him, he was not the closest nerd in Dash's path. An unfortunate, scrawny boy with glasses backed away as Dash came near. Dash grabbed him by the arm before he could run, and Phantom winced in expectation of the beating Dash was about to deliver to the poor human.

The beating never came.

"Mikey!" Dash greeted in a--was that a friendly tone? "What are you so scared for? I just wanted to thank you for your help on our chemistry homework."

Phantom could tell from Mikey's befuddled expression that he wasn't the only one who found Dash's behavior odd. "Um...you're welcome?"

Dash grinned and patted Mikey's head. "Anyone ever tell you you're a great guy?"

Mikey was growing outright terrified of Dash's out-of-character action. "Did you hit your head? Aren't you going to stuff me inside a locker? Look, here's an empty locker right here!"

There was a violent twitch in the jock's face at the mention of locker-stuffing, but it quickly reverted to a grin as he said, "Of course not! I've realized my mistake. No more bullying from me."

Mikey still seemed wary, but he started to relax. "Really?"

Dash laughed heartily and slapped Mikey's back, causing the small nerd to stumble. "Oh, just go already. Wouldn't want to miss your next class, would you?"

Mikey sent one last confused look at Dash before fast-walking down the hallway. Everyone who was standing around and heard Dash's conversation was also staring in confusion, but Dash gave them all a bright smile before continuing on his way with an oddly cheery step. As he passed by Phantom, Phantom managed to catch a glimpse of his eyes.

His irises were gray.

Phantom thought that there was something familiar about the way he spoke, and the eyes only confirmed it.

He wondered if desiree had been reading his thoughts...because it looked like his wish just got granted.

.

Down a hallway, a student was taking out his anger on a vending machine. "Come on," he grumbled, kicking it. "I just want one soda!"

A shadow descended upon him, and he turned around frightfully to be faced with the infamous star quarterback. "D-Dash!" he greeted with wide eyes. Like everyone else in school, he knew Dash's short temper and his tendency to take it out with violence.

But Dash didn't seem angry in that moment. In fact, he was smiling, the expression strange on his usually sour face. "Hey, there, pal. Let me get that for you," he said and walked forward to the vending machine.

To anyone else watching, Dash used some subtle trick to get the machine to spew out a can. But to Phantom, who stood a distance away watching him inconspicuously, it was apparent that "Dash"'s trick was of a ghostly nature.

'Dash' held up the soda can and offered it to the student generously. "Here ya go! One free egg cream."

The teen raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh, you okay, Dash? You're acting...weird."

"I'm acting nice," 'Dash' said, still wearing his warm smile. "No longer do you have to fear me as a bully, because I've put that life way behind."

"Wow, really?" he replied and accepted the soft drink tentatively.

"Of course!" 'Dash' spread out his arms eagerly and said to all the students milling around, "In fact, why bother with one drink? Free egg creams for everyone!"

He stuck his hand into the vending machine again and caused several cans to flow out. The move was so obviously ghost-powered, it amazed Phantom how inattentive humans were. All of them were too busy grabbing a soda cheerfully.

"I have no idea what an egg cream is, but thanks, Dash!" one jock said.

"No problem-o," 'Dash' replied with a grin and a wink, then lifted a can to his mouth for a sip.

Phantom decided that enough was enough. He had watched this ghost parade around in Dash's body for several periods, never approaching him because he had no idea what to say--Should he tell him about his situation? Would he even believe him? It didn't matter. If he didn't make a move now, the school day would be over, and the ghost might still stay inside the bully's body.

He made his way through the crowd gathered around the vending machine and walked up to the person wearing Dash's face. Once he got close enough, he whispered, "They don't have drinks like these in the Ghost Zone, do they?"

'Dash' choked on his soda. He hacked and thumped on his chest to expel the soft drink from his lungs. "Stupid human body," Phantom heard him mutter. Then he looked down at Phantom with a scowl that almost made him look like the regular Dash again. "Who are you?"

Phantom eyed the humans around them. They weren't paying any attention to them, but still... "Maybe we should talk somewhere more private," he said in a low voice.

The ghost in Dash's body grabbed him by the arm, then pulled both of them through a wall. Phantom stumbled as he let go. "Really? Using ghost powers in plain sight?"

The ghost waved Dash's hand carelessly. "Please. Even if anyone did see us, most humans don't even believe in ghosts."

"So it is you," Phantom said, "Sidney."

Sidney, because that indeed was him, narrowed Dash's eyes at him. "How do you know me? You can't be a ghost because I don't sense anyone overshadowing you."

"I am a ghost...or, I used to be." Phantom ran a hand through his hair. "Ugh, this is weird to explain, and I don't even know if you'll believe me, but...it's me. Phantom."

"Phantom? What makes you think I believe you?" He was watching him intently, no doubt wondering how a human could know not only his name but also his missing friend's name.

"Remember when you found out I was going to vandalize someone's lair and went after my ass for that because apparently that's bullying, but when you found out it was Aragon, you changed your mind and joined in with me? You specifically wrote "Aragon is a Mickey Mouse" in grafitti before we had to run away when his guards found us."

The gray eyes widened, and Sidney breathed, "Holy Ancients--Phantom?"

The next thing Phantom knew, he was being crushed in Dash's burly arms. Sidney had never been a physically strong ghost, but he sure as hell was possessing a physically strong human body.

"I can't believe it! Where have you been these past few days? No one's heard from you--I thought for sure you were toast!"

Phantom struggled in his bone-crushing embrace. "Human body," he wheezed. "Have to breathe."

Sidney sheepishly let go, and Phantom was able to take in gulps of air.

"But I don't get it," Sidney said, frowning. "How come I didn't sense you in there?"

Phantom bit his lip. "That's the part that's hard to explain. Somehow, I don't have any of my ectoplasm anymore, but I'm, well...stuck? I'm stuck inside this human body because, I guess...his soul sort of...left the same time my soul went in?"

Sidney tilted Dash's head and frowned. "What are you saying?"

Phantom sighed. "I'm saying I'm alive because I accidentally stole a human's body."

"That's..." Sidney threw Dash's arms out with wide eyes and exclaimed, "That's amazing!"

Phantom frowned. "No, it's not! I can't leave!"

"But, Phantom, you're alive! Do you have any idea what I would do to get a chance at being alive again?"

"But I'm living someone else's life!" He bunched the fabric of his shirt in a sweaty fist and said, "It's wrong. And confusing."

Sidney's enthusiasm died down a bit, and he said, "Right. The human world must be strange for someone who doesn't remember his human life."

Phantom raised an eyebrow. "I'm a Zone-born ghost. I didn't have a human life."

"Right," Sidney said again, his eyes darting to the side. Phantom frowned. He was pretty sure that he formed in the Ghost Zone, but the way Sidney acted was almost as if he was hiding something.

Before he could ask anything, Sidney said, "I don't get it, though. How did this happen?"

Phantom decided to file away Sidney's odd behavior to think about at a later time. For now, he answered, "I think it had to do with the portal opening in the exact spot I was in."

"Wait, portal? What portal?"

He could tell from Sidney's (or rather Dash's) surprised expression that this was his first time hearing about the portal, and that confused Phantom. "How did you get here?" Phantom asked.

"Haunted relic," Sidney responded, puffing out Dash's chest. "I left behind a mirror in my lifetime that is apparently still around in this school. I just needed someone to touch it so I can overshadow them." His eyes sparkled, and he added eagerly, "But you're saying someone created a portal? Does that mean I can visit this world in person?"

"No!" Phantom exclaimed. Sidney stared at him. He quickly gulped and said, "I mean...it's being guarded by ghost hunters."

"Ghost hunters?" Sidney laughed. "Come on, those are always fake."

"These ones aren't," Phantom murmured. He absentmindedly rubbed his chest, where the Fenton couple had tried shooting him--only for all of them to discover that their weaponry didn't work on him while he was in Danny's body.

"Then I'll just pass through at night," Sidney replied. "Even ghost hunter humans have to sleep, right?"

That made sense, but Phantom still felt uneasy. Admittedly, it was a little hard to feel calm when the organ inside his chest (his heart) was beating more aggressively than usual. "I don't know. I still think it's a bad idea."

Sidney's gray eyes narrowed at him. "Why don't you want me to come?" He jabbed an accusing finger at Phantom and said, "You decided to make this place your haunt, didn't you?"

"What?" Phantom's eyes widened. "No! You know I don't care about owning a territory. And this school's already haunted, anyway."

"Then why don't you want me coming through?"

"I don't know!" Phantom cried, his heart threatening to burst through. Didn't he know? His head ached as he felt another one of Danny's memories flash before him, which really didn't feel like the right time for this. But he saw what humans thought of ghosts. Danny wasn't the only human afraid of specters. If one suddenly appeared...the humans would freak out. And this was such a calm world.

Sidney's eyes scrutinized him while he clutched his head and winced. Finally, Dash's body relaxed. "Okay," Sidney said. "I won't cross through, but only because you're my friend."

Phantom gave him a grateful smile, which wasn't as pleasant as it could have been without the emotional turmoil. "Thank you."

Sidney seemed disgruntled about his decision, but he straightened Dash's letterman jacket and smirked. "For now, I might as well enjoy my time in the human world while I'm in this Clyde's body."

Phantom had been looking at Sidney, but he shifted his attention to Dash--the body he was overshadowing. His skin had grown pale since that morning. The breaths coming through his nose were slower, or maybe Sidney forgot how to breathe again.

"You can't stay inside him for long," Phantom reminded. "Prolonged overshadowing isn't healthy."

"So?"

That question caught Phantom off guard. "So...if you stay in him for too long, he might die."

Dash's face was pulled into an expression of scorn. "He's a bully. Everyone in school is scared of him. Maybe he deserves to die."

Ba-dump, ba-dump, continued Phantom's heart. He gave a nervous chuckle and ignored the sweat forming on his neck. "You don't mean that, do you?"

But as he studied Sidney/Dash, he realized Sidney did mean it. Why should a ghost care about death? Sidney was already dead, so killing someone wasn't a big deal. And it did put a permanent end to Dash's bullying in this school.

But Phantom had seen grief in humans. He knew how big a deal death really was, at least to their kind.

Phantom gulped. "Get out of his body. You can't let him die."

"Since when do you care what happens to human bullies?"

"Since--" Phantom figured there was only one way to get Sidney to stop. He hated pulling this card with him, but...he pointed at Sidney accusingly and said, "Since hurting him makes you a bully!"

Sidney recoiled. For a second, Phantom thought he would leave then and there, but he recovered with a scowl and said, "This is a special circumstance. It's just like vandalizing Aragon's lair. Some bullies deserve to taste their own medicine."

Phantom threw his arms up. "Then give him a wedgie! No need for anyone to die!"

Sidney was unnervingly quiet for a moment. Then he tilted Dash's head and said, "Being alive has changed you, hasn't it?"

Phantom had no response. He didn't know what to say to that. He didn't have to, because just then someone said, "Dash! There you are!"

He turned his head and saw a group of students in matching letterman jackets approach. One of them patted Sidney/Dash and said, "What are you doing with loser Fenturd?"

"Now, now," Sidney said and wagged Dash's finger. "Fenturd is no loser."

"It's Fenton," Phantom corrected.

Sidney's gray eyes were unreadable as they gazed at Phantom. Then they turned to the group of popular kids, and he grinned widely before saying, "Never mind that! What did you want to tell me? We should go have some fun!"

Sidney did not stop overshadowing Dash. He followed the gang as they went to do whatever Dash's friends normally did for fun besides bully.

As soon as they left, Phantom released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He slid against the wall behind him until he was crouching on the floor. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. He looked at his stolen hands and saw that they were shaking.

He felt scared...of Sidney. Since when did he feel scared of his friends?

The same time he started caring about what happened to human bullies.

Since he became a human.

.

Phantom guessed there had been a lot of renovating in Casper High since Sidney was alive, but one place stayed the same: Sidney's locker. He followed the path he recognized from Sidney's lair in the Ghost Zone and found the metal cabinet sitting in the same spot as it did in the school's ghostly counterpart.

Since Danny's body was infuriatingly short, Phantom had to stand on tip toes to peek into the top locker through the slits on its door. It was hard to make out anything inside when it was shrouded in darkness, but he managed to see the glint of something reflective. Sidney's mirror. His ghostly relic.

Phantom had considered seeking the toilet ghost's help in stopping Sidney; if the ghost considered the school his haunt, then surely he would consider Sidney an intruder, right? But when he went to the haunted bathroom, he found Sidney--still in Dash's body--chatting him up. Apparently, being both ghosts who died from bullying meant they had a lot of stories to share.

With that solution out of the picture, there was only one option left: getting Sidney's mirror. As his doorway to the human world, he would do anything to keep it intact. Phantom might be able to convince him to leave Dash peacefully if he had it in his hands...if only he could figure out how to do that.

Oh, how much easier this job could have been if he kept his ghost powers in this stupid body. He would just phase his hand through the door and be done. But Phantom did not have his intangibility, and he did not have the key to Dash's locker, which meant he could only gaze at the mirror sadly and plan Dash's obituary in his head. 'Here lies Dash Baxter: died because he failed to follow the school's anti-bullying PSA.'

"What are you doing?" a voice spoke, causing Phantom to jump. He whipped around and saw a familiar redhead. "You again," Phantom said.

Wesley looked at the locker. He was doing a good job of pretending not to be uneased by Phantom. "That's Dash's new locker, right?" the human said.

"Yeah," Phantom confirmed. "Uh, I definitely wasn't doing anything weird, though."

"Did the not-weird thing have anything to do with getting Dash un-possessed?" At seeing Phantom staring, Wesley rolled his eyes and said, "Come on, everyone could tell that Dash has been acting super weird."

"Well...yes. He's overshadowed." Phantom nodded at the locker and explained, "There's an object in there that's connecting the ghost to the human plane. If I could get it, I could stop him from overshadowing Dash, but..." He shrugged. "I don't know how to get it."

Wesley studied the locker. "Could you move out of the way?" he said. Phantom complied. He watched as Wesley pulled out something small from his pocket...a hairclip? A pin?

Phantom couldn't quite see what Wesley was doing over his back, but he was pretty sure he jabbed the pin into the lock and jiggled it around carefully. After a while, the lock fell away, and Wesley stepped back to allow the door to swing forward.

Phantom raised an eyebrow at Wesley. Wesley smiled sheepishly and said, "I get locked out of my house a lot. Single dad isn't always home, and I forget my keys..."

Phantom didn't question him. He looked inside the locker. Behind the messy stacks of books was Sidney's mirror, smooth and shiny in spite of how many decades it had sat in there.

Phantom reached forward and pulled it off the locker wall. Just like in every other mirror, he saw Danny's face stare back at him. Not even a ghostly mirror changed that. Reflection Danny's shoulders slumped.

"So, we break the mirror?" Wesley said.

"What?" Phantom looked up at him. "No! At least, not unless it's as a last resort. I just need to scare Sid--the ghost until he leaves."

"But...it would be easier if you broke it now, right?"

"Well, yes," Phantom admitted. As Sidney's link to the human world, it seemed likely that he would disappear as soon as the link was severed. But he had a feeling breaking something so important would also sever the friendship between him and Sidney--or at least, more harshly than how it would be from him forcing Sidney to quit a human. "But this ghost is my friend. I'm sure I can talk to him."

"So...you're friends with a ghost who possesses people," Wesley said. There it was, the tension in the human's body that signified his wariness of Phantom.

"That--that doesn't mean I'm a fan of possession or anything," Phantom quickly said. "I'm not possessing Danny because I want to."

"I know," Wesley said with a sigh.

Phantom observed Wesley curiously, but the boy's expression was guarded. "Are you Danny's friend?" he asked.

Wesley...blushed? and looked away. "No. We just share a few classes. He probably doesn't even know me."

"Then why are you helping me?"

He shrugged. "My classmate is possessed, of course I would help."

"But everyone hates Dash."

"Then why are you helping him if the ghost is your friend?" Wesley countered.

Phantom turned his eyes away. They landed on the mirror in his hands, and he moved them farther to avoid looking at Danny's face. "None of your business," he uttered.

An awkward silence descended on them, finally broken by Wesley as he said, "If you wanna catch Dash, he's in the basketball team with me. We're practicing in the gym after school."

After school...would Dash still be alive by then? He supposed so. After all, Danny had overshadowed Phantom for almost an entire school day, and he was still (sadly) alive.

"One more question," Wesley said. "What's your name? Your real name, not Danny."

"I go by Phantom--or, uh, I went by Phantom."

Wesley snorted. "Seriously? You're a ghost and your name is Phantom?"

Phantom glared at him and crossed his arms. "I admit, I'm not the most creative with names."

"No shit," Wesley retorted. He was smiling. He...wasn't scared of Phantom?

Wesley cleared his throat and said, "Well, I go by Wes."

"Keen-o," Phantom said, then immediately wanted to ecto-blast himself because Wes was looking at him weird. Fuck Sidney and his infectious 50s slang.

"Yeah, real keen-o," Wes said, and Phantom could tell he was holding back laughter. The bell rang. "Well...I better go. I'll see you in basketball practice, I guess."

Phantom nodded. Wes closed the locker and re-locked it. He hesitated before asking, "Won't the ghost know the mirror's gone?"

Ah. He didn't think about that. "I'll figure something out," Phantom said. Wes nodded and left.

Phantom looked down at the mirror. Again, he saw Danny's face.

Would wes have been as kind to him if he was a ghost? he wondered. Or was he only nice to him because he was Danny? Wes knew he wasn't Danny, but still...

Phantom shook his head. Worry about Danny's relationships later. For now, he had to deal with Sidney's mirror. After a thought, he placed it inside Danny's backpack and carried it with him to class.

If he remembered correctly, his next class was with Tucker. He entered the classroom and found the dark-skinned boy sitting at his desk. Just like in geometry class, he and Tucker sat next to each other--a seating arrangement that was blessed for Danny, cursed for Phantom...but maybe not this time.

Tucker perked up when he saw him approach. "Phantom!" he whispered. "Look, I'm really sorry about ditching you this morning. I meant what I said about becoming friends."

Phantom tried to remain neutral as he sat down, but he couldn't help the twinge of bitterness in his chest. "I thought Sam didn't want you to hang with me."

Tucker winced. "I'm sorry about Sam, but I swear, she doesn't hate you. It's just...it hurts, seeing you in Danny's body and knowing you aren't him."

"Thanks," Phantom muttered.

"No, I mean--there's nothing bad about you, it's just--you know, it's kinda hard wrapping my head around all this, even if it's already been almost two weeks--"

"Tucker, shut up," Phantom said. Tucker shut up. Phantom turned to him and asked, "Do you have a ghost weapon with you?"

"Huh?"

"Danny's parents are ghost hunters, and you're his friends, so do you have a ghost weapon with you?"

Tucker looked guilty. "We don't have anything against ghosts. Heck, Sam normally loves ghosts--before, you know..."

"Just answer the question."

"...I have a lipstick laser. So does Sam."

Tucker was watching him like he expected Phantom to snap. Phantom didn't care. Heck, the weapons won't even work on him so long as he was in Danny's body. Instead of feeling angry, he felt relieved; he pulled out the mirror from his backpack and thrust it to Tucker.

Tucker looked down at the object. "What--"

"That mirror's haunted."

Tucker pushed the mirror away from him as if Phantom just said it was on fire. Phantom barely managed to catch it before it could shatter on the floor. He glared at Tucker and hissed, "What was that for?"

"Why are you giving me a haunted mirror?!"

Phantom shoved it toward Tucker again and said, "I need you to guard it for me until school finishes. If I keep it with me, the ghost will know."

Tucker stared at him in befuddlement. Admittedly, his request was pretty sudden from Tucker's point of view. But there was no time to explain--Sidney/Dash just entered the room.

Phantom quickly hid the mirror under Tucker's textbook. A part of him hoped it wouldn't crack under the textbook's weight (school textbooks were ridiculously heavy) but he doubted a ghost-powered object would be so easy to shatter. As soon as the mirror was out of sight, he sat at his desk, looking casual.

Tucker followed his gaze to Sidney, and understanding clicked. "I knew Dash was possessed," he whispered.

"Overshadowed," Phantom corrected. "But yes."

As Sidney made his way to Dash's desk, his eyes lingered on Phantom. He didn't give any attention to Tucker. That was good.

Phantom's foot tapped below his desk as the teacher droned on about some history subject. He glanced at the clock. There were only a few periods left until school ended and the basketball team's practice session began. All he had to do was wait.

.

Phantom decided that smell was his least favorite of the human senses. Sure, there were nice smells, like flowers, and freshly-cooked meals. But there is also the horrible reek of sweaty gym locker rooms.

Phantom had to hold his nose to stop himself from gagging. Why did humans need to have such strong olfactory senses?

"Remind me why we're here again?" Tucker said next to him. He must have been used to the smell because he was breathing fine. In one of his hands was Sidney's mirror, and in the other was a Fenton™-brand lipstick.

"Dash has after school practice," Phantom answered. His voice sounded funny with him holding his nose, but he wasn't enthusiastic to let go. He turned to Tucker and added, "You didn't have to come. I can handle the ghost myself."

"Dude, like it or not, you're still in my best friend's body. I don't want to be the one to explain to Danny that you wrecked his body by challenging a ghost on your own."

Phantom ignored the wave of sadness he felt at the mention of Danny. Tucker would only need to explain things if Danny ever returned. Also if Phantom allowed his body to get wrecked. He sighed but did not argue with Tucker.

"There you are," Wes said, approaching Phantom. He was wearing Casper High's red-and-white basketball uniform. Tucker raised an eyebrow at him.

"Tucker, Wes," Phantom introduced. "He knows about me and Danny."

"Aren't you that guy from our gym class?" Tucker said.

"And math class," Wes mumbled.

One of the basketball players in the locker room heard them and came over. "Hey Fenton, Foley, what are you two doing here?" He smirked and added, "You didn't come here for a gay make-out, did you?"

Tucker gagged and said, "God, no, Danny's my best friend. I wouldn't do that to his body."

The basketball player laughed. Wes's expression was...unreadable.

Phantom decided to step forward toward the basketball player. He recognized him as one of the jocks that always hung out with Dash, which must have made him Dash's friend. "Do you--" he began, then remembered this guy was a bully and seemed like he was about to make fun of his funny voice, so he let go of his nose (ignoring the assault on his senses) and said, "Do you know where Dash is?"

"Right here," Dash's voice came from behind, and Phantom turned around to see Sidney/Dash.

Sidney's eyes rove to the mirror in Tucker's hand. His expression darkened.

There was a clap that alerted everyone to the adult human that just entered the room. She was a woman, and Phantom was pretty sure this locker room was for boys, but no one seemed to care. She must have been the coach.

"All right, pansies, enough time getting ready," the coach barked. "Time for practice."

"Yes, Coach Tetslaff," a few boys replied. Most of them followed her command and left the room, but Sidney-as-Dash stayed behind. He went up to her and said, "Actually, coach? I feel kind of sick. Do you think I could sit this one out?" To accentuate his point, he faked a cough.

Tetslaff looked like she was about to argue, but she saw him and paused. The prolonged overshadowing was starting to show its effect on Dash's body. He was pale, sweaty, and had rugged breathing. After a moment's hesitation, Tetslaff grumbled, "Fine. But just this once." She caught Wes standing by the doorway and barked, "What are you waiting for, Weston? You don't look sick to me."

Wes gave Phantom one more glance before he and Tetslaff left the room. That left only Phantom, Tucker, and Sidney-as-Dash inside.

He could tell Sidney was angry at him for taking his relic, but the ghost kept himself calm and raised Dash's hand carefully. "Give me the mirror," he said.

"First, let go of Dash," Phantom ordered. He tried his best to display confidence. Never mind that he didn't have a ghost weapon like Tucker, nor did he know any fight moves that did not include ghost powers he didn't have.

Sidney must have known how powerless he was, but he didn't make a move. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Why are you sticking up for someone who bullied you?"

"Actually, he has a point," Tucker said. "Why are we helping Dash?"

Phantom glared at Tucker. Sidney chose that moment to lunge forward, but before he could even go two steps, Tucker uncapped his lipstick and pointed it menacingly at him. "Don't try it, demon," he said.

"He's a ghost," Phantom whispered.

"Shush. I know."

Sidney froze at the sight of Tucker's ecto-weapon. It didn't look very intimidating, but it must have given off some ghostly energy to convince Sidney to stay in place. He glowered at Phantom. "What are you going to do?"

Phantom pressed his lips. "Tucker, give me the mirror," he said. Tucker complied. Phantom held the mirror above his head and warned, "I'll smash it."

"You wouldnt," Sidney growled.

"Wanna find out?" He swung the mirror toward the ground, but before he could let go, Sidney quickly cried, "Stop!"

Phantom held the mirror in place, but it was shaking--actually, his entire arms were shaking. "I don't want to do this," he said in a quavering voice. "I don't know why I'm doing this."

He could feel both other pairs of eyes in the room pierce into him. Sidney's gray eyes scrutinized him. After what felt like an eternity, the ghost calmly said, "Okay."

"Okay?" Tucker repeated, surprised.

Sidney stepped back and held up Dash's arms in surrender. "Okay, I'll leave."

"That's it? I kind of expected a ghost fight," Tucker said almost disappointedly, turning to Phantom. "I didn't even get to use my laser."

Sidney scoffed. "A fight would involve violence, which is bullying. I don't do that."

"Wow," Tucker said. "You seem like a pretty nice ghost, actually."

Phantom and Sidney held each other's gaze, and Phantom could tell they both felt a bit of betrayal at the other's action. "He is," Phantom said. "He just needs to let the human go."

Tucker's jolted and tightened his grip around his lipstick when a cloud of smoke escaped from Dash. The smoke was sucked into the mirror in Phantom's hands. As soon as it left, Dash's now-blue eyes rolled into his skull, and his body crumpled against a row of lockers.

Phantom looked down at the mirror and saw its surface glow green before it settled back into a regular mirror, reflecting Danny's face back at him.

A loud snore pulled his attention to Dash, who was lying on the floor in what looked like an uncomfortable position, mouth open and drooling. He snored again.

Tucker snickered. "At least he's alive."

Phantom turned away from Dash and moved toward the locker room's exit. Tucker followed him. "So that's it?" Tucker asked.

Phantom paid little attention to the basketball team practicing in the gym before he emerged into the hallways again. "That's it," he confirmed. "Dash is alive, and Sidney's back where he belongs."

"I still don't get why you helped Dash," Tucker said. "I would've thought ghosts don't care about life and death."

Phantom slowed in his tracks until he stopped. He hung his head. That's the thing isn't it? he thought. I'm not a ghost anymore.

"Just go home, Tucker," he murmured.

Tucker lingered by his side for a second longer, but he must have been able to sense that Phantom needed some time alone, because he evetually left. His footsteps echoed across the empty hallways as he made his way to the school's exit.

That left Phantom alone with Sidney's mirror. He let his lungs expand--a feeling he was starting to get used to and was strangely calming. Then he walked toward Danny's locker.

There was no way he was placing the mirror back in Dash's locker, of course. It wasn't that he didn't trust Sidney to keep his word, but who knew what Dash might do to the relic in a moment of anger (of which he had plenty). So instead, he opened Danny's locker and hung the mirror inside.

Rather than close the door and leave, he kept it open and gazed at the mirror's surface. With his shadow blocking the locker's interior, and humans' poor ability to see in the dark, he could almost imagine himself staring back instead of Danny.

"I'm sorry, Sidney," he said to the mirror. "I don't know what came over me. I just couldn't let you hurt someone."

The mirror stayed quiet. Phantom sighed and leaned against the locker door he was holding. "Being a human is so confusing. I want to be back at the Ghost Zone, with you and the others. I never asked to be here."

There was another moment of silence, and then the mirror glowed. He watched as a fog appeared on its surface and swirled before solidifying into Sidney's face--small and geeky, way different from the one he overshadowed.

"You really can't leave?" Sidney asked.

Phantom didn't admit how much joy he felt at seeing a familiar face. "If I can leave, I would have done so ten days ago."

Sidney looked remorseful. "Right. I didn't think about how tough it would be for someone to return to the human world without any memories of it."

There he went again. His wording implied that Phantom had been alive before. Phantom frowned. "Why do you keep talking like I'm a death-formed ghost?"

Sidney hesitated. He seemed to pick his next words carefully. "You say you're a Zone-born ghost, but do you even have parents?"

"They moved on."

"Who has a core child unless they plan on sticking around?"

Phantom was starting to get irritated. "I don't know, maybe they finished their business sooner than expected."

"But no one knows your parents, if they really are ghosts. And you know how fast news spread in the Ghost Zone. Any ghost deciding to have a core child would definitely have counted as news."

"So, what? You think I died and forgot about it?"

"It's not unheard of. Ghosts who had especially violent deaths often forget their lives at first." Sidney shrugged and admitted, "Maybe I'm wrong and you really are Zone-born. But I find it a little convenient that you managed to learn human processes quickly enough to keep yourself alive for ten days."

Phantom didn't know how to respond to that. True, sometimes he did things in the human world that felt familiar in a way, but he always assumed it was due to him gaining Danny's memories. "If all that you said is true, why wait to tell me now?"

"You know why," Sidney said, his expression troubled. "Ghosts with violent deaths..."

"...are always violent themselves," Phantom completed. Sidney bit his lip and nodded. Phantom glared at the chemistry book in the locker and said, "But you don't think I could turn out like that, do you?"

"Of course not. That's why I'm telling you now. Because--"

"Because I'm a human now," Phantom murmured.

"...I was going to say it's because I got to know you better."

Phantom's eyes didn't meet the mirror. After a moment, Sidney sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to burden you with more identity crises than you already have. If you ever want to talk, at least I'm here to listen."

Phantom glanced up. "You mean we're still friends?"

Sidney looked almost offended as he said, "Of course we're still friends! What do you take me for?"

Phantom smiled, but his expression turned into uncertainty as he pointed out, "But I touched your relic and drove you out of a human."

Sidney grumbled, "To be frank, I still don't forgive you for that. But at least I understand why you did it."

"Why's that?"

"Because you're a human now."

Before Phantom could know how to react to that, he heard footsteps echo his way. He turned away from the locker to see Wes jogging toward him. When he looked back at the mirror, Sidney's face was gone, dissolved back into mist before it disappeared.

"You did it!" Wes was saying as he approached grinning. "Dash woke up after practice. He doesn't remember anything from the time he was possessed. Everyone is assuming he had a really rough fever that made him delusional." He caught Phantom's somber expression, and his smile fell. "Is everything okay?"

Phantom closed the locker door quietly. "I'm fine," he said, though he didn't feel it. "The ghost is back in the Ghost Zone."

"The Ghost Zone?" Wes echoed. Phantom turned his head to look at him, and any amusement Wes felt at the silly name vanished. He shifted his foot. "Sorry. I guess it must have been tough, facing off your friend."

Phantom's hand was still on the locker door. The metal was cool against his fleshy skin. "It's okay. We talked it out," he said.

Wes fidgeted with his hands. "Well," he began shyly, "if you want any human friends, I'm always free."

The tips of Wes's ears had gone pink. Phantom narrowed his eyes. He was beginning to recognize this human's strange behavior around Phantom. It was the same way Ember sometimes got around Skulker, not that he ever understood her infatuation.

He tilted his head and asked, "You have a crush on Danny, don't you?"

Wes choked. His face turned as red as the accents of his basketball uniform as he stammered, "W-what? A crush? No! That--that's ridiculous!"

Phantom didn't bother focusing on how flustered Wes was. Instead, he said sadly, "You know I'm not him, right?"

Wes calmed down, and he looked down at his feet sorrowfully. "I know."

Phantom turned his face away. Not for the first time, he wished he knew where Danny was. The silence between him and Wes grew heavy.

Phantom cleared his throat. "Well, if you do find Danny attractive, at least I know the body I'm in is hot."

Wes snorted, then dissolved into laughter. Phantom smiled. The mood lifted just a little bit.

Once his laughter died down, Wes rubbed his neck and said, "Want to walk home together? Or...I guess to Danny's home, in your case."

Phantom's smile fell. "You don't have to be close to me just because you like Danny."

"Dude, I've had more conversations with you in one day than I had with Danny in my life," Wes said, then immediately blushed and added, "Not that that means I'm crushing on you or anything...but we're friends, aren't we?"

Phantom felt a flutter of warmth at that, but it was small compared to his overall negative feelings left over from his confrontation with Sidney. "We are," he told Wes, "and thank you...but if you don't mind, I'd like to be alone for now."

Wes lingered in the edge of his vision before he finally said, "All right. I'll see you tomorrow, then." He turned and reluctantly walked away.

Phantom was left alone in an empty school. He leaned against a row of lockers and closed his eyes. Today should have been a good day. He met friends, both new and old. So why did he feel less than happy?

.

"Danny! Where have you been?" Jazz said as soon as he stepped foot indoors. She was crossing her arms and glaring at him.

Phantom ignored her in favor of looking around the otherwise unoccupied living room. "Where are Mom and Dad?" he asked.

"Out for groceries," Jazz answered impatiently. "What about you? If you wanted to stay after school, you could have called me!"

"Oh," Phantom said, feeling guilty for having forgotten about Danny's sister. She was the nicest Fenton to him, even if she didn't believe the truth about his identity. He reached a hand into his pocket and found it empty. "Actually, I think I forgot my phone at home."

Jazz pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered something incomprehensible. "Just--don't make me worry next time, okay? I had to learn from Sam that you were busy with something."

"Sam?" Phantom said, surprised. The two of them still hadn't spoken since the day Danny left. Maybe Tucker told her to tell Jazz.

Jazz shrugged and moved toward her room upstairs. "There's leftovers in the kitchen. You can heat them yourselves."

"Sure," Phantom said, fairly certain he had learned how to use a microwave correctly. Once Jazz left, he made his way to the kitchen. But he didn't have an appetite at the moment.

Sure, he was hungry. But his mind dwelled too much on Sidney and what he had told him, so he doubted he had the energy in him to make himself a meal. Instead, he went to the door in the back that led downstairs--to the Fentons' underground laboratory.

Phantom opened the door and stood at the edge of the stairs. It seemed to lead into nothing but darkness, but he could smell the whiff of sterilized ectoplasm and metal.

He hadn't been down in the lab since he first woke up there in Danny's body. Most of the time, the Fenton couple was there, and they intimidated him too much. But now they were outside.

Phantom gulped and descended the stairs.

The portal was right where he remembered it. He didn't have a chance to get a good look at it last time, having been too busy freaking out over his situation, but he vaguely recalled a glowing green hole in the wall. The hole was now covered by yellow-and-black blast doors, but he was certain it was the same portal.

There were several tables across the lab with various half-assembled and fully-assembled weapons on them. Phantom tried not to freeze up when he passed by them. At least he didn't find any dissected ghost remains.

He walked up to the portal and stopped. On the other side of those doors was his home...his old friends, Sidney included...and maybe even the real Danny. He could step through and be back home, but he knew he wouldn't be able to survive. Ghosts could be a vicious bunch if they needed to be, and he didn't have any ghost powers to defend himself.

He could only hope Danny was faring okay.

Phantom turned to head upstairs, but he paused in his tracks and winced as yet another memory assaulted him. But...something felt different about this one.

He felt someone's hand holding his. It was large, covering his completely--or maybe his hands were small. There was the sharp smell of antiseptic and the steady beating of a heart monitor.

The person lying in the bed in front of him was horrible to look at. His skin was covered with green blisters that almost seemed to glow. He gripped the hand holding his own and hid behind the standing person's body, trying to form a barrier between himself and the hospital bed.

The human holding his hand--a woman, he remembered--said something muddled through his memory and urged him forward to the person in the bed. He didn't want to get close. The bed towered above his small form, but the woman carried him and set him down on the bed next to the prone, blistered body.

The prostrate person--he was hesitant to call him a human--was breathing ruggedly. The green bumps on his skin seemed to glow with every breath he took. His eyes were closed, but as he watched with terror, they opened to reveal completely red, glowing eyes.

The last thing he remembered was crying and attempting to flee--then the memory ended, and Phantom was thrust back into the Fentons' lab.

Phantom gasped and fell onto the ground. Sweat poured out his body, and he shivered. Those red eyes were still lingering in his vision when he heard hurried footsteps descend the stairs.

"Danny? What are you doing down there?" Jazz's voice came.

Her red hair and concerned teal eyes appeared in his sight as she tried to help him up. Phantom weakly slapped her hands away and said, "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," Jazz argued.

True, he wasn't fine. But he didn't want to talk about it, least of all with Jazz, and he knew she would prod. He grumbled again, "I'm fine. I don't need your help."

He tried to stand up and immediately fell back down. Jazz raised her eyebrows at him. He sighed and accepted her help.

He leaned against her, shaking all the way, as she carried them up the stairs and back into the kitchen. She kept her mouth shut. Phantom was grateful for that.

She set him down on the nearest chair. He leaned his fists against his lap and breathed.

"Do you--"

"I don't want to talk," Phantom answered before she could finish.

Jazz reluctantly left him alone. He had to admit, Danny's sister wasn't a bad human.

Phantom finally got his breathing down, though his heart still thumped against his chest. What was that? None of Danny's memories he experienced had ever left him so shaken.

He thought back to what Sidney told him. He had been alive before, but he had forgotten all about his life. Now...

Phantom closed his eyes and gulped.

He had experienced a memory, but it wasn't Danny's.

[pussymagicuniverse]

THE DAY SHE SWALLOWED THE SUN

This is the story of a child born at noon. Sun, high in the sky, had beamed at her as she stared him down, curious. It had been centuries since anyone had looked him in the eyes.

This is the story of a child with a prophecy. “One day she will devour the sun,” the snake oil had hissed from the bottom of the frying pan. “One day she will plunge you all into darkness and she won’t shed a tear.”

Her parents had wept, but there was still time before their daughter grew strong enough to pull off such a feat, they thought.

They changed their mind when, at age five, she said: “when I’m big I’ll fly to the sky, take Sun by the hand, and we’ll go somewhere just the two of us to be happy forever!”

It could have been sweet, but the adults had been forewarned and the collective gasp that resounded signalled the beginning of the end of Skel’s life.

The way it happened was this:

First they came for her in the middle of the night with the moon as their witness, a shield between the little demon and the sun.

Then they threw her in the pit-house they had kept empty since her birth, and had put back in shape in the hours between her innocent declaration and the abduction.

After that they locked the door from the outside, and that was it. She was petrified, in tears, alone in her prison cell.

As she grew stronger and older she could have broken free if she’d tried. She supposed the wattles making up the walls could be punched through: she would have kept at it until the hole was big enough for her shoulders and squeezed through there, taken off. That last part would have been tricky; they were always watching her in daylight, never too confident that the pit-house would hold her. Why, she was a legendary monster after all.

Only Sjór had ever been sympathetic to her plight. The dark-haired girl had cheered Skel on about her plan to elope with the sun way back when, reasoned with the adults that as long as they had the moon, who cared about the sun? Light was light was light.

“Ignorant little runt.” Auntie had pinched Sjór’s ear very hard as she had admonished her. “The moon only reflects the sun’s light, it’s worthless on its own. Without the sun, we’ll be forever in the dark and all of life will die, your silly moon first of all. Do you want it to die?”

Auntie had been satisfied to hear Sjór cry — she might have shocked some common sense into the child. But Sjór had been crying because she didn’t like being yelled at, and her ear hurt, and she was scared for Moon. The moon kept the sky away from the sea, drew waves up along the shore, brought fish, made the blood in Sjór’s temples thrum and pound. The moon was beautiful and it was everything, but everyone in the village only ever had eyes for the sun — nevermind that they couldn’t actually look at it.

Sjór would have been bitter, had Skel not shown her how empty the villagers’ devotion really was.

The alleged sun-eater was allowed to leave her house every night as the moon shone high in the sky, as long as she went back in before first light. She would spend the night awake, silent unless her only friend was there to keep her company. With Sjór by her side she would relax then wax poetic, asking about what her dear Sun had looked like that day and how much the crops had grown thanks to him. Oftentimes the younger girl would offer Skel a few flowers, swearing to herself it was the last time when she’d see tears run down Skel’s cheeks, but inevitably Sjór would give in and bring more because the tears were nothing compared Skel’s radiant smile.

“I feel so close to him. Is it silly?” The prisoner asked one day, rolling the stem of a beautiful sunflower between her fingertips.

“I don’t think so. I’m sure in some way he’s always with you. Look!” Sjór brought her forearm close to Skel’s, both girls marvelling at the contrast there. “”I heard it’s called ‘sun-kiss’. He never kisses me, who’s near him every day, but he still finds a way to kiss you, who’s hidden from him. “ She leaned in close to her friend, whispering her certitude with the reverence it deserved and the secrecy it required. “You’re not the only one who cares, Skel.”

When she separated from her friend that night, Sjór decided it was time to bring the prophecy about.

It took several days and nights conspiring with her beloved before Sjór could tell the sun-eater the good news.

“I have a plan,” she whispered hurriedly against the door of Skel’s pit-house. “The moon and I can help you meet the sun. Be ready tomorrow after noon.”

Now Skel couldn’t help her heart from leaping to her throat at those words, but a great beast had made its nest in her chest over the many years of her imprisonment. The elders called it ‘humility’ but she wasn’t so sure. ‘Humidity’ seemed more like it: a damp, dark, slumbering emptiness that took away the colours she so loved once upon a time. Hope, beautiful and entrancing, now looked dull as a dead eye.  She trusted Sjór to try, but further than that Skel expected no miracles.

She was astounded when she heard the shouts. The disbelief and fear cut through the stale smell of mud that permeated everything she owned. She was anxious to get out like if she didn’t she would never breathe again. Sjór’s words came back to her and hope, that fragile bird, pounded against her flesh with what she knew now to be despair, the foe turned friend as pain didn’t register while she scraped at the wattles with her nails, her strength and speed increased to let her out in time.

When at long last her feet touched the still-warm ground it was night like she had never known it before. In the sky hung an egg — a gigantic, perfectly round, jet black egg.

No, that wasn’t right. Peering closer, eyes squinted nearly shut she could see rays fighting to slip under the dark circle’s guard. Several things happened at once: she understood, she gasped, she fell, she sobbed; Sjór’s hand squeezed her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, he’s unharmed. The moon is hiding him away so that you can leave your hut. You can go to him now, but you need to be quick.”

“How?” How was that possible, how had Sjór and Moon planned this, how would she run to him when he was still so high in the sky?”

“Moon will let go of him in a moment. When she does, make sure you run as fast as you can then jump on the first ray of light that touches the ground. It will bring you to him.”

The next few minutes were tense. Skel didn’t dare move, not knowing where the first ray would hit, yet fearing she’d be too far out of reach at the same time. Sjór wrung her hands to the point where they were painful and red, but her worry for her dear Moon held all her attention, thus she hardly felt any pain at all. She was afraid that any time now the fighters would decide to bring down the shield obscuring the Sun from view and hurt the being she loved most in the world.

Eventually Moon slid a hair’s breadth to the side. Something thin and weak peaked out behind it and extended a hand towards the ground. It couldn’t reach yet, but Skel saw the spot it pointed to and started to run. Sjór didn’t see her go, too focused on the Moon still. Her eyes had watered and her pupils were blown wide from the spectacle, but she couldn’t care less. She would witness this to the end, should it be the last thing she ever saw at all.

Skel’s feet barely touched the ground. She dodged between men and women, jumped above children’s head like a doe charging towards freedom. As she did so the ray of light grew in width and strength, more visible by the second as the moon receded. Skel drew more strength in her legs, pushed faster, jumped higher — and there was the warmth, there was the glow. The last of her energy pushed her high in the air and when she landed, she was home. Immense and merciless the Sun drew his hand back against his chest, sparing the falling Moon a fond smile. She would have returned it, too, had she not been staring at an unseeing, sobbing Sjór.

You’ll be all right now, thought Skel.

“They’ll be all right now,” said the sun.

When Skel at long last turned her face towards him she saw that he was beautiful: draped in dripping light, long lashes a golden blond, and if the glow of Skel’s skin was his kiss then she hoped the rich brown of his was her love, bruising him for its intensity. She had so much to ask him, so much to confess. The pain of hope, the torture of hopelessness. Her doubts in herself and in him; the feeling that he had never cared for her at all.

She decided any of those would make a good start.

“Have you ever looked at me?”

“Everyday.”

“They said I’d kill you.”

“With you I am finally alive.”

 The kiss they shared didn’t feel like a first time.

When the Lover and the Sun plunged into the sea, the resulting waves got so big they reached the clouds. They were sizzling with heat and took everything with them; droplets burned holes into skin, bit maps onto naked backs. The moon landed between Sjór and the wave, draped her beloved meddler into her marble-soft arms and held her tight. That was when  Sjór realised she had never known bliss nor safety before, and that the one providing both those things was fated to disappear.

“I don’t want you to go,” she sobbed against the Gibbous petting her hair.

“My sweet one, I will go nowhere without you.”

“But they said you would die!”

Moon took Sjór’s face in her hands and allowed her smile to tremble, so long as her voice was firm. “That’s because they forgot how the sun was born.”

As the moon laid her lips upon Sjór’s they became warmer, mellower, like melting wax under midday heat. Sjór felt pain irradiate through her chest, the searing heat of her heart biting like frost. They held on fast to each other, clinging — fingernails digging — despair binding sister souls until Sjór couldn’t tell herself apart from the one she loved. And Moon, well. Moon smiled and smiled and smiled, and from it came the purest light — one born of unconditional love given and taken in equal measures.

Up they went, lifted through the air until people looked like ants and rivers like ribbons and mountains like heaps of powdered sugar. Further still they glided through the clouds and up in the sky where it was dark save for what they touched. In the lonely expanse of the galaxy was silence and frost, but together they would weave a new pattern as far as their arms could reach.

Somewhere down the line Sjór had come undone and had been put together. Her senses were gone, replaced by something… different.

“I don’t have eyes, but I can see little coloured dots revolving around us.”

“These are our children, the planets and satellites.”

“I don’t have ears and yet I can hear you.”

“That would be because we are as one, our thoughts merge together.”

“I have no body, but I can feel you close.”

“That is love, binding us together for eternity.”

“How can I love you if I don’t have a heart?”

“How can you not have a heart,” smiled half of the one who was now Sun, “when you love me so?”

Fleur is a queer storyteller living predominantly in their own head, which happens to be located in France close to the Belgian border.

Their love for the magical and eerie started with bedtime stories but now transpires into their stories, through which they seek to shine a light on both the beautiful and grotesque aspects of everyday life. With a particular fondness for the Norse and Greek gods, they mix a little bit of everything into their practice – various means of fortune reading, gemstones, and devotional candles are commonplace in their shared apartment.

You can find Fleur on Twitter @moonsflora and on the rare occasion, on Instagram @moonsflora_.

[everyonesawhoregrace]

Temptations - Thomas Shelby Fanfic

“Men always want what they cant have.”

Chapter Five

read chapter four chapter here! 

tag: @millie67

Warning: suggestive language, abusive content

The feeling of silk on her fingers, between her soft skin. The glow of the sun glistening down on her like she’s royalty, everything feels so good as she lays on their bed that feels like she’s on a cloud. And as she looks into those eyes, noting the hints of blue in his does she wonder if perhaps, she is on a cloud. His eyes are her sky. Lydia feels a unique and electrifying bliss. A bliss that she does not want to escape. A bliss that is wrapped up like a present, just for her.

But that nicely gifted present is nothing but a fragment of her imagination, and reality hits her like a sea of ice cold water against her body. She wakes up in a bed of silk, without the man of her dreams. Lydia presses her lips together, wishing she wasn’t laying beside Alister, but instead, a Thomas Shelby. 

Her eyes meets the look of her pale, sleeping husband. A man she’s been a slave to for nearly two decades. She can almost remember the first time she laid eyes on him, tears racing down her cheeks as she prepared herself for the wedding. Her sister consoling her, rubbing her back. This is for mum and dad.

Her parents who were far too sick in hospital to be there for the wedding were promised to have all bills paid for by Alister. In exchange for Lydia’s hand in marriage of course. And if Lydia ever betrayed him, he would stop paying their medical bills, and take them off the oxygen they were on, killing Lydia’s parents in a second. That’s why she married him so young, for her parents to stay alive. 

Her sister had given birth to a healthy baby boy, Noah, named after their father. So, she’s been out of the house a lot. Spending as much time with Noah as possible. Although Lydia has yet to see Thomas, she received a single letter from him detailing things she never imagined being written about her. 

I dream of you.

I miss your smile, your smell, your eyes.

There isn’t anyone I want more. 

I miss you.

I miss you. 

I miss you. 

We will see each other soon. 

She doesn’t know if he’s using his charm on her. Hell, Lydia doesn’t know if he’s even truthful about the words he’s written in the letter, and if he’s only trying to sweeten her up in anticipation of killing her husband. But, at the end of the letter, Thomas had asked her to burn the letter. To make sure that Alister doesn’t see such a thing. 

So, Lydia burned the letter and pretended to hide the grin on her face. But now, not only was Lydia helplessly happy, but she was also tremendously nervous. She had begun to tell the maids that she will prepare Alister’s tea and breakfast in the mornings. Baring the pills he takes with his tea. She’s tempted at times to crush up three pills, mixing it into his tea. But there are too many eyes in the house they have. Too many lookers who are seeking employment from Alister. 

As she whips up eggs and prepares his regular peppermint tea with honey, she collects two of his blood thinner pills and places them accordingly to the dining room table. The paper is beside the tea, the pills beside the eggs. 

Lydia makes her way back to the kitchen when Alister’s soft slippers slide against the marble floors. “Good morning, sunshine.” 

She smiles, “Morning.” 

He pecks her on the cheek, a sign that he’s in a good mood. She inhales the scent of his after shave, a smell she can only compare to the scent of baby shampoo. Soft in scent but potent. Resting his shaky hand on her hip, she stares into his greyish-green eyes. He’s aging everyday, and everyday, she gets stronger in acceptance that his time on earth is getting shorter. 

“Come join me for breakfast?” He croaks, grumbly. 

Her stomach growls, but she shakes her head. “I already ate.” 

“Well, come sit with me then.” 

Fuck. “Sure.”

She hurries along with him, sitting beside the head of the table. She watches in curiosity, as he crushes the two pills and puts it in his tea, he stirs it into the black tea, the colour doesn’t change. And then, with the crushes leaves that sit in the tea bag, he pulls it out and rests it against a plate. Stirring the crushed pills into his tea, she frowns.

“Why do you crush your pills and put it into your tea?” She asks, before realizing she’s asking him such a silly question. “Are you not feeling well?” She adds in a panic. 

“The pills have gotten too big to swallow, I’m afraid.” He mumbles, lifting the teacup and taking a sip. “I nearly choked yesterday morning.” 

She wants to giggle, but she cherishes the idea of not having a black eye. “Oh, I had no idea...”

He sips again, eyes fluttering shut.  The teacups continues to shake, tremble. And when he finishes, he picks up the fine silverware and begins to cut into his omelette. She watches and wishes she had just crushed up the pills and put it into his omelette. Alister bites into it, he enjoys his eggs with a mixture of mushrooms, spinach, and Swiss cheese. 

When he opens his eyes, he glares at her darkly. “That’s because you’re too busy with your sister to pay attention to your husband. You’ve denied me twice, and I don’t appreciate that. You are my wife. You are mine.” He cuts a piece and bites into it again. “You know, some husbands take their wives across their knee.”

Her mouth dries at his words. That’s how it works, Lydia is forced to be a victim of this mans rage. Because she knows that at anytime, he can pick up the phone and call the crooked, paid off doctors, Alister can kill her parents in heartbeat. 

“My little sister needed me.” 

“But why?” He laughs, spitting. “You are barren, you don’t know anything about raising children! Nothing about nursing! Nothing about nothing.” 

Lydia sits there, listening to his words. Nothing about nothing. At times she thinks his physical pain he brings to her isn’t nearly as hurtful as his words. His words are daggers to her heart. Daggers. 

Tolerating it, Lydia looks down at her fingers. Noah is an angel, a precious baby she wishes she could have someday. But it’s true, she’s aborted two babies of her husbands babies already, without Alister’s knowledge. Both of the operations painful and strenuous on the body. The lady who preformed both had stated that Lydia wont be able to have children, that two abortions have caused her such pain and trauma, that her body will not allow another child.

The silverware slams against the table, causing her to jump, his hand is in her hair and in a yank, she falls out of her chair and onto the floor right beside him. Her body goes limp and she lets out a cry, her hands are at his hand, begging him to stop. But as she sits before him, he pushes his chair back and opens his legs. Pointing at her with a knife, he goes pale.

“You will never see your sister again, do you understand me?! You are trying to escape! You don’t think I fucking know, but I know.” 

“Alister!” She sobs, “Please, stop!” 

“Do you want me to kill your parents? Huh?!”

“Alister...” Her hands drops. “You’re hurting me, please.” 

Tears fall from her eyes, she cant stop. Even as knocks sound at the front door, and a voice of the maid is heard. Alister stares at his wife before letting go of her, she falls against her back, watching her husband seize down at her. 

“You deserve nothing!” He hisses before walking away. 

“I deserve happiness.” She whispers, right before a voice can be heard and she sits up in a puddle of tears. 

“What are you doing here?” Alister can be heard asking. 

Thomas replies back, “Where is she?” 

Alister again, asks the same question. “What are you doing here?!” 

“Lydia!” Thomas calls, but she gets up, knowing Thomas will only blow his cover. She wipes away her tears, quickly running her hand through her hair before walking into the foyer as disoriented as she is. “Lydia!”

She walks right into him, putting her hands up defensively. “What are you doing here?” She asks, looking into his broken eyes. He looks crushed, only because she looks so drained. 

“What did he do to you?” He puts his hands in her hair, studying her. 

Lydia wipes her eyes more, using the back of her hands as she sniffles. “I said,” She sniffles, “What are you doing here?” She presses her hands into his chest, separating the two. 

“I thought-” He blinks, “I-” 

Lydia nods once, and slowly. He’s going to blow his cover if he doesn’t stop, so she’s thankful that he’s come to his senses. “I need to talk to you..” Thomas whispers. 

Alister stood behind the two, and he knew that Thomas Shelby was a man of danger and death, so, he cleared his throat. “Leave, Mr. Shelby.” 

Thomas turns around and stares at Alister. “You touch my cousin, I’ll blind ya. You fuckin’ hear me?”  

He swallows. Trembling with fear. “I never touched her.” 

Thomas bites down, and gathers himself to nod once. “Right, I need with her then.” 

“She’s unavailable to talk.” Alister answers. 

Lydia pats Thomas’s back, “I think you should leave.” She breathes, “It’s probably just best right now.” 

Alister smiles, “Walk him to his car.” 

“Come on.” She bites on her bottom lip, looping her arm around Thomas’s. They walk and she pulls open, “What the fuck were you thinking?”

“You never wrote me.” 

“Because I cant write you at the house. If Alister saw me writing to you he’d-” She is full of rage. “What the fuck are you doing anyways?!” 

“I felt weird, Lydia, like something was off.” He whispers. “I knew something was off. I feel you, I see you.” 

“You feel me? You see me? What are you talking about?” She begs him for an answer before feeling her blood boil. “You could have ruined all of this. He might have seen something he wasn’t supposed to see. Have you forgotten to him, we are cousins?” Her eyes go wide, she’s pissed. “Go home, and stay home.” 

“Lydia-” He sticks out a hand. 

“No. What I am doing with you, is only a reflection of the means I have to kill him. What he does to me behind closed doors has been going on for years. I am not built newly into this abusive life and I surely don’t need to be saved.”

Thomas goes silent, listening to her words and understand that she doesn’t need a Prince Charming. 

“Go home.” She says wrapping her arms around yourself. “And stay home.” 

Thomas nods his head, looking behind her to see Alister watching by the door. “I’m sorry.” He mumbles, looking at her. “I fucked up, I’m sorry.” 

“Its fine,” She shakes her head, dismissive. “Just, go.” Swallowing, she stares into his eyes. “Please.” 

“‘Right then.” 

And that until next time, like the last time they saw each other disappears, and she thinks for a moment about how the hell she’ll get out of this one with Alister, before watching Thomas get into his car and drive off into the streets. Leaving her this mess. 

[iamkellyadams]

The Best Meal Replacement Vegan Protein Powder For Your Shakes and Smoothies

~ This post is contributed by Drew Canole, founder Organifi Superfood Supplements

On this page you’re going to learn – 

How to zap cravings, feel full all day, replace excess fat with sexy toned muscle, and still ‘enjoy your cake’…. All by doing one, 60-second step each day…

Lets imagine… a glass of delicious, chocolate, dessert-like yumminess enters your mouth, and satisfies your deepest yearning for sweets. But you felt ZERO guilt… !

Because this creamy bliss is also flooding your body with incredibly healthy and organic proteins, vitamins, minerals, and digestive enzymes that upgrade your body’s entire system.

It’s a complete, dream-come-true PROTEIN+MULTIVITAMIN that breaks your plateau, and takes your body transformation to a level 10.

Without the need of iron-like discipline or willpower, in just matter of weeks, your waistline shrinks, you can see your sexy, slender and toned physique. And you thought weight loss, incredible energy, and an indestructible immune system couldn’t be this easy, could it?

You love life. You love the way you look and feel. And you love the delicious taste of this amazing “complete protein” every day. Look I’m not painting some pie-in-the-sky fantasy here…

It’s what’s countless people are experiencing with this superb “gift from nature” I’m talking about. See for yourself…

You’re going to see what these people are putting into their bodies that

➢ Keeps them feeling full and satisfied from meal to meal, so food barely enters their thoughts

➢ Energizes and strengthens the body from within, so less need for coffee and less chances of getting sick

➢ Resets the body’s fat-burning hormones to burn fat all-day long

➢ Makes their sweet cravings THANK THEM each day

Did you know? ….

Failure to ‘Stick to your diet’ is never your fault! Here’s who to blame…

I know you have been there as I was there too … as if enjoying delicious foods while making health and fitness… is a major sin! bland tasteless foods … hours of cardio …. for what? Only to slip back into your old (smaller) dress sizes.

Is it any wonder why you feel so much guilt, and blame yourself if you cheat on your diet?

You’re made to feel lousy and reminded of how much you dislike what you see in the mirror.

So now you may be afraid (and downright embarrassed) to wear anything that brings out your figure, shows your gut, or reveals any part of your body.

You don’t feel good in the clothes you used to be able to wear. You don’t feel attractive like you once did.

And that’s why I’m inviting you to take my hand, and let this NATURAL solution I have for you end the madness once and for all.

But who am I and why should you believe me anyway?

If we haven’t met, my name is Drew Canole.

I’m the founder of Organifi Superoods Supplements and fitlive.tv – with a 2 million strong tribe of health conscious men and women committed to upgrading their health, their bodies and their lives!

As the leader of this wonderful company, I’m committed to sharing educational, inspirational and entertaining videos and articles about health, fitness, healing and longevity.

I’m also proud to say that my supplement brand, Organifi, is a top seller on Amazon and has been picked as ‘Amazon’s Choice’, with thousands of positive reviews.

Our products are pure, organic, straight from nature and absolutely change lives!

Simply put, I’ve dedicated my life to helping millions of others lose weight and reach optimal health, through the power of positive mindset, juicing vegetables, superfoods, and healthy nutrition.

Like many people I had a rough beginning. And at one point I was a good 35 pounds overweight and constantly tired.

However I refused to allow my “story” to define me.

It was time to radically transform my life in an effort to prove to myself and to others that transformation was possible.

I left the world of finance in Florida and moved to San Diego. I began juicing daily, eating clean and working out smarter.

Once I saw the impact that REAL, WHOLE foods had on my life along with the lives of others, there was no way I was going to allow myself to not share that knowledge.

I had to get the word out!

And so here I am today. My team and I at FitLife.tv are determined to change the world one person at a time.

How to break your plateau and permanently transform your body?

Replace the deliciously ‘bad’ with the deliciously GOOD – in a way that only takes mere seconds of your time.

If you replace just ONE of your ‘guilty pleasure’ with something that tastes equally yummy, and that’s loaded with SUPER proteins and complete vitamins….

You’ll tip the scale in your favor, and launch an unstoppable domino effect that leads to a permanent body transformation.

The heck with counting calories, obsessing over meal timings, and having fitness take over your life!

You’ve got a life to live.

You’ve probably got a career, and maybe you even have kids. That’s more than a full-time commitment.

Bodybuilders and fitness competitors make it a full-time job just to get and stay in shape year ‘round.

So the vast majority of health and fitness advice out there tells you to do the same. Those ‘experts’ (wrongly) think it’s the only way.

Go hard or go home, right?

But you and I know, ain’t nobody got time for that.

My guess is you’re not trying to win Mr. or Mrs. Olympia. You just want to look great, feel great, have awesome all-day energy, and love life to the fullest.

Perhaps you DO want a ‘beach body’, and turn heads with your shirt off or in a bikini. And that’s ok.

I’m here to tell you our clients are living proof that you can transform your body by making a simple, 60-second decision each day.

And that decision is to simply replace 1 or 2 snacks a day with a superbly nutritious, 100% organic, top quality protein & vitamin supplement that tastes like DESSERT.

I’ll tell you all about it in a moment, but first…know this…

Most Proteins on the market ROB you of the benefits… So you have no idea what you’ve been missing out on!

New research regarding the importance of the RIGHT KIND of protein (and its role in weight loss) has been quickly covered up by the giant food industry.

The reason is simple…

They want you eating their processed, refined and genetically modified foods – foods completely stripped of their nutrients, pumped with chemicals and hormones, and covered with pesticides.

And now…

With the massive increase in chronic health problems like obesity, diabetes and heart disease the demand for the truth has become too overwhelming. People deserve answers…

… and the benefits of increasing your intake of a high quality protein has become one of the hottest topics not only in the health and fitness world but in hundreds of clinical studies worldwide.

Proving that not only does protein burn more fat… but it makes you healthier too.

So what are the 4 biggest ways that protein supplements destroy any chance you have of having the body and health you want?

PROBLEM #1 – Most Supplement Vendors Tell You ‘WHEY To Go’!

Whey is by far the most common and popular protein on the market. What people don’t know is that it’s a dairy by-product left over from cheese production!

It can provide quick absorption, an array of amino acids, and good taste. But not all whey protein is the same. The qualities greatly differ. Not to mention, it’s dairy-based. So if you’re even the slightest bit lactose intolerant (and the vast majority of people are)…

Whey protein can hit you pretty hard in your stomach… and NOT in a good way.

This often leads to poor digestion, bloating, and even gas.

PROBLEM #2 – Soy Protein Is Another Potential Disaster

Soy is derived from soybeans, which is a type of legume.

Legumes are naturally very high in protein while at the same time low in fat. To make soy protein, manufacturers grind up soybeans into a meal, which has no hulls or fat. The meal is then processed into a protein isolate.

Here’s the problem…

Years ago, it was discovered that soy protein decreased testosterone and raised estrogen, which is NOT good for fat loss and muscle toning. Even for women!

If you want to get rid of the excess fat and tone up your muscles to give you that sexy bikini body… even women need more testosterone production.

That’s what’s NOT being told to you!

Although recent studies have come out to challenge some of these claims about soy, it’s still a controversial (and very risky) source of protein.

Just consider that over half of the soy harvested in the world is genetically modified, and is often sprayed with chemicals and pesticides.

It’s well documented that soy protein can have harmful effects on many aspects of your health, including thyroid disorders and hormonal imbalances.

PROBLEM #3 – Other type of protein wreak havoc or they’re ‘Incomplete’

Simply put, most other protein drinks that resort to egg and processed dairy can wreck havoc on your digestion, cause painful bloating, inflammation, and even acne.

Also….

What makes protein so great is that it’s a source of amino acids. And amino acids are the building blocks of muscle tissue.

Amino acids can be broken down into two main categories: essential and non-essential…

Essential amino acids cannot be made by the body, and can only be sourced from food intake.

That’s why the majority of proteins outside of soy and why are considered ‘incomplete’ proteins when taken alone.

By themselves, these alternate sources of protein often don’t deliver all the ‘building blocks’ for your muscle tissue.

But you’re about to see an amazing combination that overcomes this issue, and blows away soy, whey, egg, and all other types of protein supplements!

PROBLEM #4: The Best Protein on the planet may never fully get inside…

If you do enough research you’ll discover one of the most disappointing truths about protein and other supplements.

They go largely unused by your body. Absorption is too low!

Aside from the fact that proteins often come with all kinds of unhealthy (and downright dangerous) ingredients that denature their quality…

It’s also because you may have years of damage done to your digestive system from harmful toxins in the foods you eat.

So the chances of you getting the full benefits of fat melting, muscle preserving, and health transforming foods are next to nil.

One solution is to aid your digestion with healthy enzymes, and flush out harmful toxins with vitamins & mineral supplements.

That way you can finally absorb proteins and necessary nutrients to see results.

However, even if you try to take vitamins and enzymes to help fix this problem, you’re still in another conundrum…

Yup, Even Most Multivitamins Won’t Fully Get Absorbed By Your Body… Most multivitamin supplements use synthetic vitamins made in a lab, often derived from GMO soy or corn.

What’s more, shop-bought supplements for vitamin A, B, C, and D often only give you one tiny part of those vitamins.

And what’s left over can barely be absorbed by your body.

For that reason, even those vitamins pass directly through your body, unused.

You see or feel almost no difference, potentially damage your body further, and are left with a big hole in your wallet.

In fact, at the time of this writing, there are vitamin supplements that go as high as $200 bucks on Amazon!

(Are you kidding me?)

One look at their list of ingredients, and some of the potential pitfalls I discussed are there.

So What Is the Right Kind Of Protein Supplement?

One of Pure, ORGANIC Quality That Helps Your Fat Loss, Tones Your Muscles, Destroys Your Cravings, Makes You Feel FULL All Day… And Is Filled With Superb Multi-Vitamins & Digestive Enzymes To Help Transform Your Body From Within!

It’s rare to find such a supplement that fits the bill. But here’s how to tell right away that it may be the right kind…

#1 The ingredients are completely derived from NATURAL, whole foods only.

We’re talking foods that are a product of NATURE rather than the product of a factory.

Think vegetables, fruits, seeds, and nuts. And even 100% natural sweeteners (in moderation) to give you wonderful taste, without harming your body!

#2 It contains organic ingredients only.

It’s been estimated that over 30 million households now choose to buy organic food and products… and for good reason.

They’re making this choice because organic foods and products are produced without GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms).

Unfortunately, genetically engineered ingredients are found in 75% of non-organic U.S. processed food and food products… including protein powder!

What’s worse is that food products are NOT required to indicate whether they contain GMO ingredients or if the animals used to make the product consume GMO feed.

So the only way to know that you’re consuming non-GMO protein is by purchasing one that is certified ORGANIC.

#3 It’s been ‘put through the ringer’ (thoroughly tested) through a 3rd party to verify it is of the utmost highest quality.

Be very skeptical of protein vendors that claim they’ve done tests on their own product, without a peer review.

They can bend the rules, cut corners, and exaggerate test results with no one to hold them accountable! (Which of course they usually do.)

It Also Contains the 3 Protein Types That Are Unbeatable When Combined, So You Can Ignore the ‘Big Lie’…

The reason why whey and soy are considered “complete” proteins is because they both contain all nine of the essential amino acids your body needs.

However, do NOT be fooled…

Many protein vendors use this fact to discredit other plant-based, vegan proteins!

They’ll tell you that pea, pumpkin seed, and other plant/vegan proteins are inadequate or inferior in some way, because by themselves they’re not “complete”.

But as you’re about to see…

This is easily fixed by combining them together, along with other ingredients, to maximize amino acid benefits. Therefore they’re often just as good, if not better.

In other words, don’t let the marketing messages of some protein vendors discourage you from using the following superior combination of plant-based proteins…

Pumpkin Seed Protein

There is a ton of pure nutrition packed into each serving of these little seeds! Often overlooked, but rarely matched – pumpkin seeds deliver a generous helping of plant protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and nutrients that promote full body health.

➢ Magnesium for heart health – up to 80% of Americans are deficient in this vital mineral! ➢ Zinc to boost immunity – protect against toxins and environmental hazards. ➢ Healthy Omega-3 Fats for a strong mind. ➢ Packed full of fiber to support regular digestion and cleanse the colon!

Pea Protein

Pea protein can offer a good alternative to someone looking for a vegan, plant-based option, especially if the person is allergic or sensitive to gluten or dairy.

Pea protein is low in the non-essential amino acids methionine and cysteine and is therefore usually combined with pumpkin seed or other proteins to easily balance it out.

Quinoa (the ‘Super’) Protein!

Quinoa is one of the world’s best health foods, period. Quinoa is gluten-free, high in protein and one of the few plant foods that contains all nine essential amino acids!

It is also high in fiber, magnesium, B-vitamins, iron, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin E and various beneficial antioxidants.

A few studies on quinoa have shown it is:

➢ A high protein grain alternative ➢ A weapon in the fight against diabetes and hypertension ➢ A natural appetite suppressant ➢ An anti-aging miracle

Unfortunately it’s overlooked as a superb source of protein… so good luck ever finding this inside protein supplements at your local store! Look, the bottom line is this…

It’s not hard to argue there’s one type of food in the world that’s perfectly safe and incredibly beneficial for everyone to eat: plants.

Almost all other sources of food can come with some dangers, depending on how sensitive someone is or what health condition they may have.

By Combining the 3 Very Best Plant Proteins Together, You Get the Safest, Purest, Highest Quality Protein Known to Man!

When you combine proteins that are completely safe to take, absolutely great for your overall health, and don’t come with any of the dangers or pitfalls of whey or soy (the 2 most heavily marketed proteins)…

You get the best of everything.

And by having the proteins and all other ingredients be 100% natural and ORGANIC…

You now have the formula for the very BEST protein you can ever get your hands on.

Organic vegan (plant based) protein is the cleanest, healthiest, and most natural form of protein powder on the market.

By combining organic pumpkin seed, organic pea, and organic quinoa proteins, and only using the purest, most natural ingredients to go along with them…

You get a protein blend that does WONDERS in achieving your dream body and incredible health… at amazing speed.

It Supports Your Immunity & Digestion With A Premium Multi-Vitamin & Enzyme Blend That’s Properly Absorbed!

Inadequate digestion affects almost everybody…

Same with nutrient deficiencies!

The result is very little absorption, plus bloating, gas, constipation, and all kinds of other discomfort.

So what good is protein or any healthy food if your body is NOT properly absorbing it?

That’s why it’s critical you get an array of vitamins and enzymes to help address this problem.

The vitamin-C, vitamin-E, vitamin-B6, and vitamin A inside the right kind of protein supplement are all harvested from real food sources.

This will allow you to feel the nutrients absorb faster, and get a near-instant immune system upgrade.

Plus…

The digestive enzyme blend inside it soothes your belly, and at the same time increases absorption of nutrients.

With increased absorption, you finally see and feel the incredible difference of a top quality protein!

After A Vigorous Process, We Developed A Complete Protein + Multivitamin That Does All This and Then Some…

It uses all-natural food ingredients only

It’s filled with healthy, supportive multi-vitamins and digestive enzymes that get into your system

It’s 100% certified organic

It’s void of any artificial flavors or sweeteners

It isn’t loaded with unhealthy sugars like other supplements

It’s completely plant based, so it doesn’t have the drawbacks whey or soy proteins come with

It’s soy, dairy, and gluten-free

It is 3rd party tested, so it’s been peer reviewed for purity, top quality, and freshness

It’s void of any artificial flavors or sweeteners

It tastes INCREDIBLY good (dessert-like!)

And it goes beyond just being a protein. It’s a powerful All-In-One Shake.

INTRODUCING ORGANIFI COMPLETE PROTEIN

You’ll Get A Balanced Shake AND Your Vital Vitamins ALL In One Delicious Drink That Mixes Quickly And Fills You Up For Hours!

Here’s how it stands out from the rest:

High Protein

It gives you 20 grams per serving of premium, plant-based, organic protein. And that makes Organifi Complete Protein the best choice out there, period!

Delicious Taste & Pleasing Texture

It’s the top quality organic ingredients that give this drink a rich, velvety flavor. You’ll also love the creamy, filling texture. No disgusting “chalk” -like taste that most proteins come with!

Filling and Satisfying

The plant protein power and satiating fats leave you feeling full for hours. The delicious taste and texture also keep your taste buds satisfied and stop cravings in their tracks.

Digestion Health Support

Unique enzymes soothe your stomach and prevent bloating. These same enzymes also increase your body’s absorption of vitamins.

Well Balanced Meal

Even mixed in water, this quick shake has a complete balance of protein, carbs and Medium-Chain Triglycerides. It’s the perfect meal on-the-go, and an even better quick snack.

Saves Time

A high protein, organic meal with vitamins and minerals has never been this fast and easy. Just drop a scoop in water, mix it, and enjoy. It’s simple, it’s easy, and it tastes so good, you’ll never want to skip it!

Immunity Support

Organifi Complete Protein is also bursting with whole food vitamins and minerals. These are healthy building blocks your body needs to have a strong immune system. Now featuring complexes A,B,C, and D, plus over 10 other essential vitamins! Start your day trusting you’ve made the healthiest choice!

Mixes Very Well

No clumping, and no blender necessary. Watch how quickly and easily it dissolves in water, milk (or milk alternatives such as almond or coconut), or your favorite beverage!

Oh and It Tastes Like A Delicious Dessert You’ll Absolutely Love. No “Chalk” Like Taste or Disgusting Aftertaste!

Take A Look At The Short List Of Top Quality Certified Organic Ingredients Inside Organifi Complete Protein:

Monk Fruit

This sweet, exotic fruit is gaining popularity for it’s delicious, smooth flavor. According to legend, this rare melon was named after the monks in China who planted the first orchards. Recently, nutritionists were baffled to discover it has zero calories, and no effect on blood sugar. Coupled with the antioxidant power, it’s easy to see why monk fruit is valued as mother nature’s healthiest natural sweetener.

Coconut

Most people describe their first taste of fresh coconut as fragrant and quenching. This fruit of paradise has been used to sweeten dishes for thousands of years. Today, coconuts are finally being noticed for their health benefits. The MCTs in coconuts can help speed up metabolism and even reduce cravings.

Vanilla Bean

Vanilla adds a familiar, scented flavor that might jog some childhood memories. It’s loaded with minerals like magnesium, potassium, and calcium. Vanilla also has mood boosting and energy enhancing effects on your body.

Pumpkin Seed Protein

Pumpkin seeds make the perfect plant proteins. They are extremely rich in magnesium. So they help strengthen bones, teeth, and even your heart. And most importantly, they’re full of amino acids for your cells, iron for your blood, and fiber to keep you feeling full all day long.

Quinoa Protein

Quinoa is a very nutritious plant protein used for thousands of years in South America. It even contains anti-inflammatory compounds called flavonoids. Most people love quinoa protein for it’s familiar oatmeal-like flavor.

Pea Protein

Peas are especially beneficial for people who exercise or perform physical activities. They are rich in amino acids, which your body needs to repair your cells. Peas are also high in lysine, which is used for stronger, firmer skin.

Plus We Added Nutrients To Make It Truly Complete & Beneficial…

MCTs

Medium-Chain Triglycerides are a type of plant fat found in tropical foods. You’ll love the extra energy and mental clarity these bring you. MCT’s are instantly converted into energy for your muscles and even your brain. The best part is, they’ve also shown to DOUBLE your fullness and fight cravings!

Feel full and satisfied for hours. With, unique digestion-soothing enzymes…

The good protein, MCT’s, and vitamins all need to be digested and absorbed properly to reap the benefits. We’ve included plant based digestive enzymes to help you break down and absorb your nutrients. This also helps prevent indigestion and bloating.

So Let’s Sum Up The 13 MAJOR Ways Organifi Complete Protein Leaves All Other Protein Drinks Behind…

20 Grams Of Organic Plant Protein Power

Delicious 5-Star-Flavor With 5-Star Ingredients

2 Grams Of Filling Soluble Fiber

Omega-3 Fats From Organic MCT Oil

Plant-Based Digestive Enzymes

60% Of Your Recommended Selenium

50% Of Your Recommended Vitamin-C

50% Of Your Recommended Vitamin-D

50% Of Your Recommended Vitamin-E

50% Of Your Recommended Vitamin-A

50% Of Your Recommended Thiamin

35% Of Your Recommended Iron

45% Of Your Recommended Molybdenum

Many more vitamins and minerals!

The post The Best Meal Replacement Vegan Protein Powder For Your Shakes and Smoothies appeared first on Get Health Remedies.

[pinktheoristcollector]

New top story from Time: Let’s Break Down Taylor Swift’s Tender New Album Folklore

If there’s one thing we know about Taylor Swift, it’s that she works hard. In her documentary released earlier this year, Miss Americana, the intense pace of Swift’s life — and the similarly intense pressures of the scrutiny she finds herself under — was laid bare for all to analyze.

But then the coronavirus pandemic swept in and, presumably, cleared her pop star slate. Swift was left with her privacy, as lockdowns shuttered us all into our homes. On social media, she was neither cryptically silent nor strategically active: she seemed, for the first time in a long time, like she was just living her life and drinking wine on her couch like many of us, big plans on hold.

But even in her downtime, curtains drawn on her celebrity, Swift was creating. The July 23 release of Folklore, her 16-track eighth album, came as a surprise even to devout followers: only 11 months after Lover, it was the first time she’d put out a project on less than a two-year schedule. Swift didn’t bother with the extensive teasing release of past albums; she announced her work on Thursday, rolled it out on Friday and then will sit back over the weekend and enjoy the warm response.

In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result. I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsy they deserve. Now it’s up to you to pass them down. folklore is out now: https://t.co/xdcEDfithq

📷: Beth Garrabrant pic.twitter.com/vSDo9Se0fp

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 24, 2020

A new sound

In releasing Folklore, Swift was clear and direct about her intent and her work. She shared the names of all the major collaborators she worked with: pop producer and longtime musical partner Jack Antonoff, who she called “musical family;” her “musical heroes,” the moody rock band The National’s Aaron Dessnerr and indie god Justin Vernon of Bon Iver; a mysteriously-named collaborator called William Bowery. That, and the greyscale, woodsy images she teased the release with, announced her new direction: alternative pop-folk. In her delicate, confessional singing and melodies there are hints of fellow artists like Lana Del Rey, for whom she has openly expressed admiration before, on “Cardigan” and Phoebe Bridgers on “Seven.” There’s the twinkling Postal-Service-referencing intro on “The Last Great American Dynasty,” the blissed-out orchestral walls of sound on “Epiphany,” the serving of elegiac Sufjan Stevens keys on “Invisible String.”

Despite her start as a Nashville darling in the country scene, Swift has always been a musical chameleon. She evolved into rock-pop by 1989, stretched herself into hip-hop on the spiky Reputation, went full-throated pop on Lover. Folklore is what a lot of fans have been waiting for all along: a lengthy, emotionally-wrought indie album. Its heart is folk storytelling. Its production is every kind of thing fans have heard and loved on breakup albums in the last decade. Its vision is a grey-blue soundscape: an autumnal album dropped on us in the heat of summer, the first full project of this kind from Swift, inhabiting a truly melancholy space she’s mainly hinted at in past ballads.

But those ballads have often been her most poignant work. Folklore meets her exactly where she’s strongest, right now. And the rest of us? Still adjusting to pandemic life, still engaged in important conversations about our country’s racist history, we might also want something at just this unhurried tempo.

“And some things you just can’t speak about”

It would be fruitless to break down every Swift lyric; the songwriting can be poetically obtuse, and she’s telling many stories, from many character points of view, with many aching regrets. Swift has historically been one of our most confessional pop stars in her music, often mining her personal archives for material. Folklore is a little more, well, folkloric: “The lines between fantasy and reality blur and the boundaries between truth and fiction become almost indiscernible,” she shared in an advance statement about the lyrical content. Still, as she announced in advance, she buried plenty of Easter eggs in her words for her fans to unpack at will.

The opening song, “The 1,” is an ode to what could have been. The “who” of it all, of course, remains murky.

But we were something, don’t you think so?

Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool

And if my wishes came true

It would’ve been you.

As avid listeners well know, Swift loves riffs on the past. She also loves to weave in references to her old music, a trail of breadcrumbs for fans to follow from era to era. “To kiss in cars and downtown bars was all we needed,” she sings on “Cardigan,” and it sounds a lot like an echo of her lyrics on Lover’s “Cornelia Street” (“We were in the backseat, drunk on something stronger than the drinks in the bar”). And when she sings “You drew stars around my scars” on the same song, close followers might flash back to the “guitar string scars” of “Lover.”

Every song has these kinds of lyrical winks, reinforcing the universe that Swift has crafted even as she expands it with her newfound layers of fantasy and character. “Mad Woman,” for instance, is the story of a “misfit widow getting gleeful revenge,” according to her note on social media. But lines like “And women like hunting witches too” harken back to her Reputation era (“They’re burning all the witches even if you aren’t one,” she sings on “I Did Something Bad”).

View this post on Instagram

In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result, a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream of consciousness. Picking up a pen was my way of escaping into fantasy, history, and memory. I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsy they deserve. Now it’s up to you to pass them down. folklore is out now. 📷: Beth Garrabrant

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Jul 23, 2020 at 9:06pm PDT

Some songs are more mysterious than others. “Exile,” with Bon Iver, reeks with the pain of parting. “Hoax,” a quiet piano ballad, details a relationship flawed but lasting. (“No other sadness in the world would do” is a devastatingly universal reminder of that bittersweet sensation.) “The Last Great American Dynasty,” in contrast, is specific and historical: the story of socialite Rebekah Harkness, the prior inhabitant of Swift’s own expansive Rhode Island estate. On “Epiphany,” Swift dives into the experience of another historical character: her grandfather, Dean, when he landed on the beaches of Guadalcanal in 1942. “And some things,” she sings after describing a harrowing moment of war, “you just can’t speak about.”

OK, but what about “Betty”?

One of the songs on Folklore that caught the most early attention online is “Betty,” a late-album track that sees Swift return most directly to her country roots. (Cue the plaintive harmonica.) In her notes, Swift explained: “There’s a collection of three songs I refer to as The Teenage Love Triangle. These three songs explore a love triangle from all three people’s perspectives at different times in their lives.” Consensus has led listeners to believe the three songs in question are “Betty,” “Cardigan” and “August.” Woven together, they tell a story of betrayal, heartache and sweet teen angst.

But “Betty” can also be read as vaguely autobiographical, which some fans are keen to do. The two other characters in the trio, James and Ines, happen to be the names of the two daughters of Swift’s friends Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, deepening the connection to her real-life friend circle and the Swiftian world we know. Either way, the web of perspectives and emotions outlined in the track trio presents Swift fans with plenty of material to parse through as they unravel the mystery of Swift’s feelings and her new album’s connotations.

The quarantine album

In quarantine, any album release finds new resonance. With so few events to attend, live music still mostly canceled and many artists postponing their work, fresh projects are bound to find rapt audiences whether or not they are coming from Taylor Swift.

But Swift, being Swift, was always destined to conjure up a powerful reaction. In the past year, Taylor Swift’s public dispute with music manager Scooter Braun over her music catalog made headlines and raised questions about the ownership artists have over the music they create. Prior to that, she often drew tabloid scrutiny. Her response has often been to write it all out: address past relationships, excavate heartbreak and frustration, insist on resilience. That Folklore is foggy, that it relies more on smart songwriting and less on speculation about her personal life and complicated visual cues, suggests it’s bound for a long shelf life.

Quarantine has us all dragging up old memories and wondering what’s still real. Folklore isn’t the pop star album that will drive worries away and replace them with sparkle. It’s an artist who’s extended her ambitions to looking back and getting a little lost in the memory haze, digging up an old favorite cardigan for comfort.

from Blogger https://ift.tt/2WRAAJ2 via IFTTT

[hellofastestnewsfan]

If there’s one thing we know about Taylor Swift, it’s that she works hard. In her documentary released earlier this year, Miss Americana, the intense pace of Swift’s life — and the similarly intense pressures of the scrutiny she finds herself under — was laid bare for all to analyze.

But then the coronavirus pandemic swept in and, presumably, cleared her pop star slate. Swift was left with her privacy, as lockdowns shuttered us all into our homes. On social media, she was neither cryptically silent nor strategically active: she seemed, for the first time in a long time, like she was just living her life and drinking wine on her couch like many of us, big plans on hold.

But even in her downtime, curtains drawn on her celebrity, Swift was creating. The July 23 release of Folklore, her 16-track eighth album, came as a surprise even to devout followers: only 11 months after Lover, it was the first time she’d put out a project on less than a two-year schedule. Swift didn’t bother with the extensive teasing release of past albums; she announced her work on Thursday, rolled it out on Friday and then will sit back over the weekend and enjoy the warm response.

In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result. I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsy they deserve. Now it’s up to you to pass them down. folklore is out now: https://t.co/xdcEDfithq

📷: Beth Garrabrant pic.twitter.com/vSDo9Se0fp

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 24, 2020

A new sound

In releasing Folklore, Swift was clear and direct about her intent and her work. She shared the names of all the major collaborators she worked with: pop producer and longtime musical partner Jack Antonoff, who she called “musical family;” her “musical heroes,” the moody rock band The National’s Aaron Dessnerr and indie god Justin Vernon of Bon Iver; a mysteriously-named collaborator called William Bowery. That, and the greyscale, woodsy images she teased the release with, announced her new direction: alternative pop-folk. In her delicate, confessional singing and melodies there are hints of fellow artists like Lana Del Rey, for whom she has openly expressed admiration before, on “Cardigan” and Phoebe Bridgers on “Seven.” There’s the twinkling Postal-Service-referencing intro on “The Last Great American Dynasty,” the blissed-out orchestral walls of sound on “Epiphany,” the serving of elegiac Sufjan Stevens keys on “Invisible String.”

Despite her start as a Nashville darling in the country scene, Swift has always been a musical chameleon. She evolved into rock-pop by 1989, stretched herself into hip-hop on the spiky Reputation, went full-throated pop on Lover. Folklore is what a lot of fans have been waiting for all along: a lengthy, emotionally-wrought indie album. Its heart is folk storytelling. Its production is every kind of thing fans have heard and loved on breakup albums in the last decade. Its vision is a grey-blue soundscape: an autumnal album dropped on us in the heat of summer, the first full project of this kind from Swift, inhabiting a truly melancholy space she’s mainly hinted at in past ballads.

But those ballads have often been her most poignant work. Folklore meets her exactly where she’s strongest, right now. And the rest of us? Still adjusting to pandemic life, still engaged in important conversations about our country’s racist history, we might also want something at just this unhurried tempo.

“And some things you just can’t speak about”

It would be fruitless to break down every Swift lyric; the songwriting can be poetically obtuse, and she’s telling many stories, from many character points of view, with many aching regrets. Swift has historically been one of our most confessional pop stars in her music, often mining her personal archives for material. Folklore is a little more, well, folkloric: “The lines between fantasy and reality blur and the boundaries between truth and fiction become almost indiscernible,” she shared in an advance statement about the lyrical content. Still, as she announced in advance, she buried plenty of Easter eggs in her words for her fans to unpack at will.

The opening song, “The 1,” is an ode to what could have been. The “who” of it all, of course, remains murky.

But we were something, don’t you think so?

Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool

And if my wishes came true

It would’ve been you.

As avid listeners well know, Swift loves riffs on the past. She also loves to weave in references to her old music, a trail of breadcrumbs for fans to follow from era to era. “To kiss in cars and downtown bars was all we needed,” she sings on “Cardigan,” and it sounds a lot like an echo of her lyrics on Lover’s “Cornelia Street” (“We were in the backseat, drunk on something stronger than the drinks in the bar”). And when she sings “You drew stars around my scars” on the same song, close followers might flash back to the “guitar string scars” of “Lover.”

Every song has these kinds of lyrical winks, reinforcing the universe that Swift has crafted even as she expands it with her newfound layers of fantasy and character. “Mad Woman,” for instance, is the story of a “misfit widow getting gleeful revenge,” according to her note on social media. But lines like “And women like hunting witches too” harken back to her Reputation era (“They’re burning all the witches even if you aren’t one,” she sings on “I Did Something Bad”).

View this post on Instagram

In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result, a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream of consciousness. Picking up a pen was my way of escaping into fantasy, history, and memory. I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsy they deserve. Now it’s up to you to pass them down. folklore is out now. 📷: Beth Garrabrant

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Jul 23, 2020 at 9:06pm PDT

Some songs are more mysterious than others. “Exile,” with Bon Iver, reeks with the pain of parting. “Hoax,” a quiet piano ballad, details a relationship flawed but lasting. (“No other sadness in the world would do” is a devastatingly universal reminder of that bittersweet sensation.) “The Last Great American Dynasty,” in contrast, is specific and historical: the story of socialite Rebekah Harkness, the prior inhabitant of Swift’s own expansive Rhode Island estate. On “Epiphany,” Swift dives into the experience of another historical character: her grandfather, Dean, when he landed on the beaches of Guadalcanal in 1942. “And some things,” she sings after describing a harrowing moment of war, “you just can’t speak about.”

OK, but what about “Betty”?

One of the songs on Folklore that caught the most early attention online is “Betty,” a late-album track that sees Swift return most directly to her country roots. (Cue the plaintive harmonica.) In her notes, Swift explained: “There’s a collection of three songs I refer to as The Teenage Love Triangle. These three songs explore a love triangle from all three people’s perspectives at different times in their lives.” Consensus has led listeners to believe the three songs in question are “Betty,” “Cardigan” and “August.” Woven together, they tell a story of betrayal, heartache and sweet teen angst.

But “Betty” can also be read as vaguely autobiographical, which some fans are keen to do. The two other characters in the trio, James and Ines, happen to be the names of the two daughters of Swift’s friends Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, deepening the connection to her real-life friend circle and the Swiftian world we know. Either way, the web of perspectives and emotions outlined in the track trio presents Swift fans with plenty of material to parse through as they unravel the mystery of Swift’s feelings and her new album’s connotations.

The quarantine album

In quarantine, any album release finds new resonance. With so few events to attend, live music still mostly canceled and many artists postponing their work, fresh projects are bound to find rapt audiences whether or not they are coming from Taylor Swift.

But Swift, being Swift, was always destined to conjure up a powerful reaction. In the past year, Taylor Swift’s public dispute with music manager Scooter Braun over her music catalog made headlines and raised questions about the ownership artists have over the music they create. Prior to that, she often drew tabloid scrutiny. Her response has often been to write it all out: address past relationships, excavate heartbreak and frustration, insist on resilience. That Folklore is foggy, that it relies more on smart songwriting and less on speculation about her personal life and complicated visual cues, suggests it’s bound for a long shelf life.

Quarantine has us all dragging up old memories and wondering what’s still real. Folklore isn’t the pop star album that will drive worries away and replace them with sparkle. It’s an artist who’s extended her ambitions to looking back and getting a little lost in the memory haze, digging up an old favorite cardigan for comfort.

from TIME https://ift.tt/2ZXLuiw