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anglophiletraveler · 7 months ago

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In My Life

Chapter 38

Things We Said Today

by Paul McCartney

Chapter 38

Things We Said Today

By Paul McCartney

Are we ready for some twists and turns? A big shout out to Karen Bockius for being there as my beta. My dear friend, one day things will be better. Love to you always!

******************

Wednesday morning, Demelza got up early to cook breakfast for Ross before he went to work, something she rarely did during the week, but this was the day that Ross was going to have to speak with Jenny and she thought that she’d start his day off with a good breakfast. Ross came down the stairs surprised to see almost a full English on the table before him.

“Wow, I could smell this up in the shower,” he leaned over and kissed her, “What’s the occasion?”

“Oh well, I know it’s going to be a difficult day for you, so I wanted to give you a good start to the day. It’s not quite a full English,”

“Ahh but close enough, my love, close enough. Thank you so very much. Are you going to join me?”

“I’m going to have some tea, toast and bacon of course,” she smiled.

“Always gotta have bacon. Well you can always pick at mine. I really do appreciate this. And tomorrow is our big shopping day! I’m getting excited about that. Are you?” Ross stuffed a forkful of eggs in his mouth.

Demelza’s eyes peered at Ross over her teacup, “I am actually. A little nervous, maybe. Caroline has made reservations at two shops, and she’s sent links to me of this American television show called, ‘Say Yes To The Dress’. She hopes that will give me an idea of the experience, and apparently there’s a common phrase now because of the show. When the consultant thinks you’ve picked your dress she’ll say something like, ‘Do you say yes to the dress’ and then you are supposed to answer back ‘yes’.”

“What if you don’t like the dress? Do you just say no?” There was the sound of cutlery hitting the plate, Ross was thoroughly enjoying his breakfast.

“I guess. I’ll have to watch the link tonight after you get home,” She snagged a forkful of beans off Ross’s plate. He pretended to try to stab her with his fork. “I start my driving lessons next Monday. I’m actually really excited about that.”

“Brilliant! I'm so proud of you for taking that step on your own. Will you need my car at any point during the lessons?”

Demelza tilted her head in thought, “Mmm shoot, I didn’t ask that question, but I’ll find out. The first couple of days are class instruction which eases my mind a bit. Do you want more tea?”

Ross looked at his watch, “No, I’m good. I need to get going actually.” They both stood up and hugged like they haven’t seen each other in weeks. Ross bent down and put his hands on her face and kissed her a long and slow kiss while Demelza wrapped her arms around his waist, finding their way to his cute behind and gave it a squeeze. Ross giggled at that little squeeze. “Mmmm I would love to continue this but I really have to get going, babe.”

“Oh, alright. Call me after your meeting with Jenny?”

“I will. Try not to worry about it..”

“I love you Ross.”

Ross smiled, “I love you more.”

*****************

Ross had stopped off in Richard Tonkin’s office before going to his own.

“Ross, come on in.”

Ross closed the door behind him.

“So have you made a decision about Jenny Martin?”

Ross sighed, “Yes, I’d like to give her the choice of working somewhere else in the building, at the same pay rate. I don’t want her to lose her pay. Then if she doesn’t want to do that, then it’s her decision to leave.”

Richard shook his head in agreement, “I think that’s wise. I’ll call HR, and have a meeting set up for this afternoon, end of day.”

“End of day? I hate to sit on this all day.”

“I know, it’s awkward, but that way there won’t be a scene in front of everyone. And if she wants to quit, then she can pack her things without raising any eyebrows. It’s really best for her.”

Ross sighed and put his hands in his pockets, “Alright, I’ll follow your lead on this.”

************************

Luckily for Ross it had been a busy day so he didn’t have much time to think about what was going to happen at the end of the day. If he acted strangely, Jenny never seemed to notice or say anything about it. Even during lunch Ross was busy, and Jenny had left the building for lunch with friends. Finally, around 4 o’clock, Jenny received a phone call that she was needed in HR.

She knocked on Ross’s door and opened it, “Ross, I just got a call from HR that they need me to go to their office for some reason, so I’ve shut off my computer and I’m going to head down there, alright?”

He looked her in the eye and couldn’t get a feeling if she suspected anything. But Ross’s stomach was doing flips, “Sure, no problem.” He almost said ‘see you down there’ but he stopped himself just in time.

Jenny went down to HR and checked in at the desk with the assistant. “Just have a seat Jenny, I’ll let Mr. Willis know that you’re here.”

Jenny had barely sat down when she was told to go into the conference room. As soon as she went in, the assistant called Ross to let him know that it was time to come down.

Jenny entered the conference room and shook hands with James Eillis. She noticed that Sharon, Richard Tonkin’s executive assistant, was also in the room.

“Hello Jenny, how are you?” James Ellis said while he shook her hand.

“I’m fine, thank you. Sharon, it’s nice to see you.” Jenny was now incredibly nervous. She thought she was going to throw up at that very minute.

“I’m fine. Jenny, can I get you a tea or a drink of water?” Sharon replied

“Um, some tea would be nice, thank you.”

“Grand. Have a seat and I’ll get it for you.”

Jenny sat down, then Ross came into the conference room. Now she really felt like she was going to throw up. Sharon came back with Jenny’s tea, “Ross would you like something to drink?”

He sat down next to James, “Um, maybe some water. Thank you Sharon.”

Jenny’s eyes were going back and forth between Ross and James Ellis. She had never had any dealings with James Willis, but she had heard stories about him, and not very good ones.

James waited for Sharon to be done with serving everyone and sit down before he began to start speaking. “Jenny, I’m sure that you’re wondering why you’ve been called into this meeting.”

Her eyes were big as saucers, “Yes, I am. Is there a problem with my work?”

“No, not with your work Jenny. Ross and the company have been happy with your work itself, but there is another issue that we feel the need to speak with you about.”

Jenny seemed confused, “I don’t understand.”

James cleared his throat and took a drink of water, “Ross has brought to our attention that you have been overstepping the line between boss and assistant. In particular, with his private life and his engagement with Demelza Carne. Do you understand now, what we’re referring to?”

Jenny had a shocked look on her face. She was stunned that Ross would do this to her, to complain to HR about her! “I don’t understand. We’ve known each other for years and our families have been friends for years. What’s the harm in talking with Ross about his girlfriend?”

James looked at Ross, “Ross would you care to answer that?”

Ross took a deep breath in, “Jenny, our families have been friends for years, which is why I was so happy that I could help you out in getting this job for you. But you’ve become way too personal when it comes to my personal life, especially with Demelza. I’ve tried to talk to you about it and tell you that you’ve crossed the line, but you just wouldn’t stop. It has come to a point where I’ve been worried about what you might do next. I’m sorry, but I felt I had no other recourse but to bring this to the attention of human resources.”

Jenny was hurt, but also furious at what Ross had done, “Ross, I can’t believe that you would do this to me, after everything I’ve done for you! And after everything we’ve been through. All of the work that I’ve done for you.”

“Jenny, I’ve appreciated the work that we have done together, but that’s where it ends. If you ever thought that there was going to be a relationship between the two of us, you are badly mistaken.”

“So what now? Am I being fired?” Jenny asked.

“Jenny, that’s where Human Resources comes in. Ross is giving you a choice. You can either stay on here at the firm, in a different position, or you can leave voluntarily, effective immediately.” James was very impersonal when he gave Jenny her option.

“Oh well, isn’t that just grand. What department would I be working in? Do I get a choice in that?” Jenny asked.

“At the moment, there is only one position in the company that is available, and that would be in accounting. And, per Ross’s instructions, you wouldn’t have a drop in pay, your hourly rate that is.”

Jenny looked Ross in the eye again. His eyes had softened some. “Well, I guess I should be grateful for that at least. When would this new position start?”

“Tomorrow. You would need to pack your things up tonight. Sharon can help you with the move to accounting, and show you where your new desk is.”

Jenny shook her head, “I know absolutely nothing about accounting.”

Sharon spoke up, “You don’t need to. You will be the receptionist for the entire department. It’s actually a very busy position. The last person who had the job couldn’t hack it, but I have a feeling that you’ll do very well there, Jenny.”

Ross was watching Jenny’s face and was trying to read all of the expressions on her face, “I’m really sorry Jenny. I hate that it’s come to this, but I think it’s for the best. And I did insist that you keep your rate of pay and not take a pay cut.”

“Well, I suppose I should thank you for that. So I guess I will be working in accounting. Do I have to start tomorrow? I would like to have a couple of days off to regroup.” Jenny sighed.

James smiled, “I think that’s a good idea Jenny. Today is Wednesday, take the rest of the week off and come back Monday morning ready for a new, fresh start. And let’s hope that you’ve learned from this and won’t let it happen again. Sharon has the paperwork for you to sign about your transfer. Ross, we’re done with you here if you’d like to go now.”

Ross and James stood up and shook hands, “Thank you for your help on this James. Jenny, good luck in accounting. And I really mean that.” Jenny gave him a tight smile and turned around. Ross frowned and left the room. He had locked up his office before he left, so he was in a hurry to leave the building and get the hell out of there.

*****************

Ross gave Demelza a ring on his way out of the building, “Ross, is it over? How did everything go?”

“Yes, it’s over finally. They made me wait until the end of the day in case she threw a fit or something. I’m leaving work now. Do you have time to go to the pub for something to eat before I drop you off?”

“Um yeah, I think so. By the time you get here I’ll be ready. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m just out of sorts I guess. I’ll see you in a bit.”

******************

Ross and Demelza were sitting in their usual corner booth at The Pub. Ross scooted in next to Demelza on purpose.

“Are we expecting Caroline and Dwight?” Demelza asked.

“No, I just wanted to be close to you so that I can do this,” Ross kissed her neck, “and maybe this,” then he whispered in her ear.

Demelza giggled, “Well if you wanted to do that, we should’ve stayed home!”

“Oh but it’s so much more fun sneaking it in our corner booth!”

“Ross, you are terrible!” then she whispered in his ear, “and I love it!”

The waitress cleared her throat to get their attention when she brought their food, “Here you go. Is there anything else I can get you?” She winked at the couple.

“No thank you Cathy, I think we’re good,” Ross informed their favourite waitress.

Demelza was laughing at the reaction from the waitress, “So, what was Jenny’s reaction?”

“Well, she was quite upset, understandably. She brought up the fact that we had always been friends and talked about personal things. But I brought up how she crossed the line and talked badly about you and our relationship, and that it became more pointed, and even after I had told her that my relationship with you was not to be discussed again, she continuously brought it up and was very mean about it, and became unprofessional about the whole thing. She chose to take the transfer to the accounting department and Sharon was going to help her move her things tonight before she left for the day. So I got the hell out of there.” He took a huge bite of his burger.

“Oh I bet that was awkward,” Demelza was picking at the salad she had ordered. “I still feel bad for her. I hope she likes her new position.”

“Well, it sounds like it’s a busy one. Sharon said that it’s the receptionist for the entire accounting department and that it’s a busy position. So enough talk of Jenny. Did you have time to watch those links that Caroline sent you about wedding dresses?”

“Oh my gosh Ross, yes I did. You’ll have to watch it and let me know what you think,” Demelza was stealing chips off of Ross’s plate.

“Why is that?”

“I don’t know. I’m worried now that I won’t have that special feeling that brides are supposed to have when they are wedding dress shopping and I won’t be able to find the right dress,” Demelza was starting to bite her lip over the thought of what a bride is supposed to feel.

Ross frowned, “I was afraid of something like this. Darlin, don’t forget that it is only a television program that is meant to attract ratings. Don’t let it tell you how you are supposed to feel from trying on wedding dresses.”

“But Ross, I don’t have a lot of time to find the right dress.”

“Demelza, you are too smart for this. Please don’t put this pressure on yourself. Now, if you’re done eating the chips off my plate, are you ready to go? Why did you even order a salad?” He took her hand that was holding a chip from his plate, and kissed it with a smile.

Demelza smirked at Ross, “Because I thought I should eat something healthy for a change.” Ross was laughing now, which made her laugh. “Stooop! Why are you making fun of me!”

“Because love, you never eat salad. I eat more salad than you do,” Ross replied.

Demelza’s smile returned, “Oh I know, I was just thinking that I need to fit in a wedding dress and I should watch my weight. Isn’t that something every bride is supposed to do?”

Ross tilted his head, “My love, you don’t have to watch your weight. You have a lovely figure and I wouldn’t want you to change it at all. Please, don’t stop being yourself just for a wedding dress.”

“Oh now you’re going to make me cry!”

Ross pulled her in for a hug, “Oh baby I didn’t mean to make you cry! I love you just the way you are.” Ross pulled back and wiped her tears. “There. Feel better?”

There was a soft “yes”.

“Right, let’s get you to your lovely cello.”

“Alright, but will you watch the link that Caroline sent after you drop me off, please?”

Ross sighed with exasperation, “Yes, my love, I will watch it. Anything for you.”

Hours later when Ross and Demelza were settled in for the evening, Ross watched the excerpts that Caroline had sent, along with Demelza. Ross was able to get Demelza to relax more by finding humour in the ridiculous prices of some of the gowns, although Ross had thought to himself that he would pay any price for a dress if Demelza wanted it.

********************

The next morning, Ross and Demelza were the first to arrive at the bridal shop appointment. They stood looking around the room of wall to wall white. Ross stood awkwardly with his hands in his pockets, “Wow, I don’t know what I was expecting, but I don’t think this was it.” Right away Ross realised that this experience was not going to be like any other shopping spree that he had been part of. It was odd to see all of these dresses on hangers and it was definitely difficult to imagine what they would look like on Demelza.

Ross looked at Demelza perusing, trying to get a feel for what she was thinking, “It’s kind of difficult to picture what any of these dresses will look like on you, don’t you think?”

“I do. It’s kind of strange isn’t it. There are a few dresses on mannequins, that helps a little bit…”

A woman, possibly in her forties, dressed in a tasteful black dress approached the couple, “Good morning! Are you Demelza?”

“Yes, I am, and this is my fiancee Ross,” she shook the consultant's hand.

“Great! My name is Tina, it’s wonderful to meet you. I’m going to be your consultant today, and I’ll be helping you pick out dresses to try on, maybe get a feel for what you’re looking for, and hopefully by the end of the appointment you will have found your wedding dress! I have a corner set up for your entourage to sit and wait while you try on dresses, and a dressing room where we can start hanging up some dresses for you to try on. Is it just the two of you, or are there more coming?”

“Oh, my best friend Caroline and her boyfriend are on their way…”

“Here we are! We’re here! Don’t start without us!” Demelza and Ross smiled at the entrance that Caroline and Dwight made, Caroline handing hugs and kisses out. “Sorry that we’re late, I spilled tea all over me so I had to hurry up and change. Have you picked out dresses already?”

Demelza shook her head, “Oh no, we were just looking around. This is Tina, my consultant. Tina, this is Caroline, my best friend and maid of honour. We’re having the wedding at her uncle’s estate in Cornwall, and this is her boyfriend Dwight. He’s going to be Ross’s best man..”

“Oh that sounds wonderful! Cornwall is such a lovely area. Now if you’d like, I can give you some more time to look at the dresses. Demelza, if you have an idea of what you’re looking for, that might help us narrow our search down. We can look by silhouette, or type of neckline, sleeves or sleeveless, lace, all sorts of aspects of a dress.”

Demelza looked a bit worried, “Oh my. I’m not sure about the silhouette. The only thing that I’m really sure about is,” she looked at Ross.

In a soft voice, Ross added, “Ah Tina, I think the one important thing for Demelza is that her back not be visible for the most part. She has some scars on her back that she doesn’t want people to see. It’s kind of a private matter.”

Tina shook her head in understanding, “Right, that’s good to know. Thank you for telling me. Demelza, if you find a dress that you really love, and the back shows too much, we might be able to add a piece of lace or matching material to the back of the dress. Our seamstresses are excellent, and they can make it look like it was an original part of the gown. Alright?”

Demelza sighed and smiled, “Thank you.”

“Oh you are more than welcome. That is just the kind of thing that we do here all of the time, so no worries! Now let’s get started and have some fun!”

Caroline took off into the racks of dresses like she had a timer that she was racing against. Ross and Dwight looked at each other and just laughed. Another assistant led the men over to their corner of chairs and mirrors and on a cart in front of the chairs was champagne glasses filled with mimosas and plates of scones.

It didn’t take long for Dwight to sit down and make himself comfortable with a glass of the champagne drink and a scone. “I’ll sit here and hold down the fort, Ross. You go shopping!”

Ross laughed at his friend. “Noo I think you should come help pick out a dress with me.”

Dwight waved a hand at Ross, “No, no, I’m fine. You go have fun. I’ll support you while I drink my mimosa.”

“Wanker.” And with that, Ross walked back into a wall of white and ivory.

Demelza and Caroline had their heads together looking at a dress that Caroline had picked out. Demelza was looking at the back of it and noticed that it had a low back to it, so she nixed it.

Ross was looking through a rack of dresses away from Demelza and Caroline and was mumbling something about colour. Tina the consultant heard him and walked over to him, “How are you doing, Ross?”

“Well, I’m not going to pretend that I know what I’m doing here. I’m just basically here to support Demelza… but I had no idea there were so many different shades of white!”

Tina chuckled, “Oh yes, very few dresses are actually pure white. There are some that tend to look more silver under the lights, so most brides shy away from the pure white. But there is winter white, snow white, egg shell, ecru, ivory, cream, and then for the more daring brides, we have nude or other colours like pink or champagne. We even have brides who want a red dress or a black dress. I would think with Demelza’s colouring that she would look beautiful in a soft ivory, or something in that family. But of course, that’s up to her. Have you found a dress for her to try on?”

“No not yet,” Ross answered.

“Well, let me know when you do and I’ll put it in the dressing room.”

“Thank you, oh and Tina!”

“Yes?”

“Don’t worry about the budget. If Demelza says something is too expensive, but it’s really the dress she wants, I’ll pay for it,” Ross informed the consultant.

“Thank you, that’s nice to know.”

It only took another 15 or 20 minutes or so for the dressing room to be full of dresses for Demelza to try on. She sat down with Tina for a quick chat about what she envisions for her wedding and wedding dress. “Well, like I said earlier, the wedding is going to be held in Cornwall at the Penvenan estate. Ross’s mother has breast cancer so we’re kind of in a rush to have the wedding before her surgery in June, so we don’t have long to plan it and find a dress. And I guess it doesn’t help that I’ve never been the girl to dream about her wedding or what her wedding dress will look like. So this is all a bit overwhelming for me, which is the main reason why I’ve asked Ross to be here. His support means a lot to me, and of course he mentioned to you about the scars on my back that I don’t want to be seen at the wedding.”

“Thanks for sharing all of that with me Demelza. Since we don’t have the normal six months for the dress to come in, we will want to stick with samples so that any alterations can be made quickly. Now do you have a preference for which dress you want to try on first?” Tina asked.

Demelza shrugged her shoulders, “Nope, I’m following your lead!”

“Alright, let’s get going!”

*******************

Caroline, Dwight and Ross were all in their seats enjoying their adult snacks, when Demelza came out of the dressing room in the first dress. She stepped up on the small pedestal to look at herself in the mirror. There was a collective “Ohhh”.

Tina proceeded to describe the dress, “This is a sleeveless, fit and flare silhouette in satin. It’s a very sleek and elegant look with no embellishments except for the back buttons. The back of the dress covers most of the scars, but we could build it up higher to cover all of them.”

Demelza turned around to face her entourage, “What do you think?”

Caroline spoke up first, “It’s beautiful Demelza.”

“It’s kind of plain,” Dwight observed.

Ross cleared his throat, “What do you think, Demelza?”

“Mmm it’s alright. It doesn’t grab me.”

Tina smiled, “Alright, let’s go back to the dressing room.”

**************

Tina and Demelza came out with the next gown.

“Lady and gentlemen, we have another fit and flare gown made of lace with a scoop neckline, with a sheer corset bodice. The back is cut somewhat low, and once again we can add lace to that.”

Demelza was looking at the dress and turning around, “I like this one. The way it fits me is nice. What do you guys think?”

“I like that one. You look very nice in it,” Dwight gave his expert advice.

Caroline was smiling, “I like that one as well, Dem.”

“It’s beautiful, love, but can you dance in it?” Ross asked. Everyone chuckled at that.

“I don’t know, come spin me around!” Demelza challenged Ross. He accepted the challenge and got up and grabbed her by the waist and twirled her around. Demelza almost fell, but of course Ross caught her.

“So what do you think, Demelza? Is this a possibility? Or at least a gown similar to this?” Tina asked.

“Yeah, I do like it, but I want to try more.”

*********************

Next Demelza came out in a sheath dress that looked more like a nightgown with a very deep slit in the front. Everyone gave it a resounding “Nooooo” before she even stepped up on the pedestal.

Ross furrowed his brow, “Who picked that one out? It looked like a slutty nightgown!”

Dwight raised his hand, “That would be me. Sorry. I didn’t think it looked that bad on the hanger!”

Ross and Caroline laughed at Dwight and his choice of dress.

********************

Demelza came out in two more dresses, that just didn’t do the trick for her. She was feeling discouraged. She went back to the dressing room with Tina.

Ross got up and started walking around.

“How many dresses has she tried on? I had no idea that this would be so difficult!” Dwight said.

“Mmmm, I think she’s tried on seven dresses,” Caroline replied.

“Seven! That poor girl! Hey where did Ross go?” Dwight turned around to look for Ross.

“I don’t know, he was sitting right there with us,” Caroline was wondering what he was up to.

Ross finally slipped back into his chair.

“Where did you come from?” Caroline questioned him.

“Oh. Nowhere,” Ross took a bite of a scone, “Demelza’s scones are much better than these.”

Caroline put her hand on her hip, “Ross Poldark quit dodging my questions. What have you been up to?”

Ross’s mouth was full of scone so he was using that as an excuse not to answer Caroline.

Caroline sighed and looked at her watch, “I wonder what’s taking so long, I thought Demelza didn’t have any more dresses to try on. We’re supposed to be at the other shop in an hour.”

Tina finally came out without Demelza and looked directly at Ross, “Ross, would you mind going upstairs to look at tuxedos for a bit?”

Ross smiled and gave Tina a wink, “Certainly!” and with that he got up and took the elevator upstairs to the men’s department.

Dwight looked puzzled, “I don’t get it. What’s going on? Why does Ross have to go upstairs?”

Tina smiled, “You’ll see. I’ll be right back with Demelza.” She went back to the dressing room, and then came out with Demelza.

Dwight and Caroline both gasped when they saw her! She came out in a beautiful ball gown with a huge smile on her face. She twirled around once before she stepped up on the pedestal.

Both Dwight and Caroline were staring at her with big smiles on their faces.

“Demelza, you look absolutely beautiful!” Dwight responded.

“Oh Dem, it’s stunning and you look stunning in it!” Caroline was so excited.

Demelza had her hands up to her cheeks, “I can’t believe it! I didn’t think I would want a big ball gown, but I love it! How does the back look?”

Dwight spoke up, “Honestly Dem, you can barely see one scar. I don’t know if anyone would ever notice it.”

“Oh and if you have a veil, it will surely cover it up at the church,” Caroline suggested.

“Well, we do have a matching veil for this gown. Would you like to see it?”

“Yes please!” Demelza was clapping her hands with excitement.

Tina strolled over to the opposite side of the store and came back with the matching veil. She positioned the veil on Demelza’s head and let the rest of the cathedral part of the veil fall delicately over the back of the dress. “Now, this is a beautiful, strapless ballgown with large organza details. The veil has a few of the organza details as well.” Once she had everything in place with the dress and the veil, Demelza turned around to face Caroline and Dwight. They both gasped again at how beautiful their friend looked in the dress.

“Oh Demelza, you look absolutely breathtaking!” Dwight softly said.

Caroline huffed, “That’s what I was going to say Dr. Enys!”

“Seriously Demelza, If Ross doesn’t want to marry you in that dress, I’ll marry you!” Dwight proclaimed! Caroline gave him a smack on his arm.

Tina and Demelza were laughing at the couple. Demelza turned around so she could look at herself in the mirror. Her hands were covering her mouth in amazement when she saw herself. Tears were flowing like the River Thames. Tina handed her some tissues, “What are you thinking about this dress, Demelza?”

“I’m thinking that this is the one. This is my dress! Oh hell, I didn’t even notice how much it costs!”

Dwight spoke up, “Oh Demelza don’t worry about that. Ross gave me strict orders for you not to worry about the price.”

“He told me that as well, love,” Tina reiterated.

Demelza was practically twirling around in this dress. She was so excited, “Well I guess this is the one then.”

“Well love, would you like me to ask the question? Are you saying ‘yes to the dress?’”

Demelza was all smiles, “Yes! I’m saying yes to the dress!” Caroline and Dwight jumped up to give her hugs and kisses. Caroline made sure that she took pictures of it to send to Grace.

“But wait! I have a question?” Caroline blurted out. “Where did this dress come from? Dwight and I didn’t pick it out?”

Tina lifted an eyebrow, “Well, truth be told, Ross found this dress and another ball gown dress, and snuck them to me for Demelza to try on. The other one was not nearly as pretty as this one, so I had Demelza try this one on.”

They all remarked, “Ohhhh” in realisation of what had happened.

“That’s where that wanker went when he left us for a while. That little devil!” Caroline surmised.

“Well, Demelza, I think that just goes to show how much Ross knows you!” Tina stated. “Now, since your wedding is in just a few weeks, I’m going to have our main seamstress come up and start weaving her magic to make sure this dress fits you perfectly. So, why don’t you go back to the dressing room and just hang out there until she finds you. Caroline and Dwight you can go find Ross and hang out with him or maybe you need to leave for another appointment or work?”

Demelza spoke up, “Oh but don’t tell Ross which dress I chose. I want that to be a surprise for him.”

Dwight smiled, “Don’t worry, our lips are sealed. I think we’re just going to see Ross for a second, and then head on out.”

Caroline shrugged, “Yes, I guess there’s nothing we need to hang around for. Congratulations on finding your dress!” She hugged Demelza.

“Caroline before you go will you please take a couple of pictures of me in the dress that I can send to Grace? I want her to feel a part of things as much as possible.”

“Oh yes, good idea. Maybe we can make arrangements to go down to Cornwall and help her pick out a dress?”

“Oh, Caroline, that's a great idea. Thank you so much for all of your help!”

**************************

Ross was killing time by looking at the various tuxedos in the mens department on the upper level of the bridal shop.

Dwight and Caroline tracked him down. “Ross, are you picking out a tux for the two of us?” Dwight asked.

“Well, I’m not sure if Demelza has something in mind, so I guess I had better discuss it with her. So what brings the two of you up here?”

Caroline smirked at Ross, “As if you didn’t know, you little sneak! Demelza found her dress! So now she’s getting it fitted for her since the wedding is just in a couple of weeks. You know it normally takes 6 to 9 months to get a wedding dress made.”

Ross pretended to be shocked, “She found her dress! That’s brilliant! I’m so happy for her. What does it look like?”

Caroline chuckled, “No you don’t! You’re not getting it out of us which dress she chose. I can’t believe you snuck out and found two more dresses for her to try on behind our backs!”

Ross was laughing pretty hard now, where his head goes back and his mouth is open wide, “Why Caroline whatever do you mean?” Caroline was giving him a dirty look now. “Look, I could tell she was struggling with the dresses that she was trying on, so I just thought I would pick out a couple of dresses for her to try that look completely different from the ones she was trying on. They were both very beautiful and I thought she would look incredible in either one of them.” He looked at Dwight and Caroline, “Soooo am I to surmise that she chose one of the two dresses?”

Dwight was smiling at his best mate, “She most certainly did, and you are correct! She looks absolutely stunning in it, but she has instructed us not to tell you which dress she picked. So don’t try to get it out of us so you can be surprised on the wedding day.”

“I wouldn’t dream of asking which dress she chose. So what are you two doing the rest of the day?” Ross asked.

Dwight stuck his hands in his pockets, “Well, I have the day off, and since we were supposed to go to another bridal shop, I don’t have any plans. What are you going to do Caroline?”

“Well, actually, I was thinking about going back downstairs, and maybe Demelza and I can find a bridesmaid dress for myself when she’s done getting fitted for her dress. I’d like to get that taken care of.”

Caroline’s phone started ringing, “Demelza? What’s going on? Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m almost done here with the seamstress, so I was wondering if you want to look for your bridesmaid dress. And I thought maybe Ross and Dwight might want to look for their tuxes and get those ordered.”

Caroline waved the guys to stay where they were, “Okay, I’m going to put you on speaker so they can hear you as well. So do you have an idea of what kind of tuxes you want them to wear?”

“Well, black of course, ummm what do you think Ross?” Demelza was having a hard time concentrating with the seamstress still working on her dress.

Ross folded his arms in front of him as he cleared his throat, “Well love, do you want a bow tie or a standard tie? Do you want a waist coat or cumberbun?”

“Ouch!” Demelza screamed. “Sorry! I just got stuck by a pin! Umm bow tie, and a waistcoat. How does that sound? Oh heavens, I hope I didn’t bleed on the dress!”

Ross responded, “Okay Dem, I’m pretty sure that Dwight and I can figure out the tuxes, so you don’t need to worry about it. Caroline is going to head down to help you out and hopefully we’ll be done about the same time. Sound good?”

Demelza sighed, “Yeah sounds good. Thanks love.”

“Dem, I’m going to hang up now and I’ll be down in a minute.” Caroline hung up and looked at the guys, “Do you need me to help you pick out a tux?”

They both looked at her and at the same time said a resounding, “Noooo!”

Dwight looked at Caroline, “Caroline, my love, Ross and I are totally capable of picking out a tux for the wedding. We’ve both worn a tux a billion times so we know what we’re doing. So please go on downstairs and help Demelza.” He gave her a quick kiss and sent her on her way.

**********************

Forty-five minutes later Dwight and Ross were seated downstairs in the lobby waiting on Demelza and Caroline. Ross kept looking at his watch because he still had to go to work.

Finally the girls revealed themselves, the guys standing up to greet them. Ross leaned over to kiss a smiling Demelza, “Well is everything set with your dress and Caroline’s bridesmaid dress?”

“Yes, they have my measurements, and have stuck me like a pin cushion. I’ve paid for the deposit on my dress. I still need to come back after I find the shoes that I’m going to wear that day. Caroline found a beautiful bridesmaid dress so that’s all sorted. What about you two - did you find a tux?”

Ross was shaking his head yes, “Yes, we did and I even took a picture of them so you could approve.”

Ross showed her the picture on his phone, “Oh yes, I like those! Good job! So, I’m starving. Can we go get something to eat please?”

Ross smiled and looked at his watch, “I still have some time before I have to be at work. Where would you like to go? And I’m not eating Chinese for brunch.”

“I think there’s a place just up the street,” Dwight said, “I think they still serve breakfast.”

“Sounds good. We’ll meet you there,” Ross replied.

********************

The two couples had just given their orders to the waitress. There was an air of excitement carried over from the bridal store. Demelza leaned over to give Ross a kiss, which was unusual for her to do. She doesn’t normally do a lot of PDA, but she couldn’t help herself with getting her dress picked out and the tuxes sorted. She looked at Ross with love in her eyes, “Caroline took a picture of me in the dress so that I can send it to your mum.”

“Aww what a great idea! She’ll love that,” Ross answered back.

“Yes, I thought so too. Caroline thought maybe we could go down and help her pick out a dress. Do you think she’d like that?”

“Ahh maybe. Probably depends on how she’s feeling. I can ask dad what he thinks. I need to speak with them about their wedding guest list and see how that’s coming along. Did you decide on if you want some friends from the orchestra to play at the wedding?”

“No, I haven’t, I need to make a decision on that. I’ll put that in my phone as a reminder,” Demelza said.

Dwight smiled at Ross when he saw Caroline bring out her notebook full of lists of things to do, “You need to reserve your wedding cake, and your caterer. Maybe we should make a weekend to go to Cornwall to get some of this stuff done. Oh and Demelza, who is going to walk you down the aisle? They’ll need a tux as well,” Caroline was in her wedding planner mode now and didn’t look up to see Demelza’s face..

That question brought the mood down real quickly. Demelza and Ross both shot their heads up and looked at Caroline, and then at each other. Ross wrapped his arm around Demelza. Dwight looked at the couple and then looked at Caroline. Finally Caroline realised that it had gotten quiet at their table and looked up to see all three looking at her.

Demelza stammered at first. “I… um… I don’t have a fucking clue.” They all knew that Demelza rarely used the F word, so this was serious.

Caroline felt bad about jumping into this conversation. She hadn’t considered how hard this part of the ceremony would be for Demelza. “Well, you don’t have to have anyone walk you down the aisle. You could just walk down by yourself. I’m sorry Demelza, I wasn’t thinking about how hard this part will be for you. If you need to talk about it let me know.”

“Thank you Caroline. I know you didn’t mean any harm. Oh look, our food is here!” Ross kept a close eye on her for the rest of their meal.

**********************

The two couples had gone their own way for the rest of the day. Ross took Demelza home before he had to go to work for the rest of the day. He shut off the car in the driveway and looked at Demelza. “Well love, how do you feel about today?”

“I was feeling pretty chuffed until Caroline asked who was going to walk me down the aisle. That hit me hard, and it’s not her fault, it’s something I just haven’t thought about. Isn’t that stupid of me!”

“Ross shook his head, no love it’s not stupid at all. I haven’t thought about it either. But you do have a couple of choices so it’s not a horrible thing. You could ask Drake, you could even ask Caroline or Dwight to walk you down. Or you could walk down half way by yourself, and then I could come get you, or you could just walk the whole way down by your beautiful, independent self. Or you could ask my dad even. Just don’t let it stress you out or put a black cloud over the planning. It’s just one small part. Are you happy with your dress?”

That question brought a bright smile to Demelza’s face, “I absolutely love my dress. Thank you for finding it for me!”

Ross leaned in and kissed her lovingly, “You are very welcome. And you are going to look spectacular in, whichever one it is you chose. And I love that you are going to send a picture of it to my mum. I just know that it will bring tears to her eyes.”

“Oh I just want to include her as much as possible. I need to look at my schedule and find a 3-4 day stretch where Caroline and I and hopefully you, can go down there and work on hiring a caterer, and the wedding cake, and the flowers, and find a DJ for dancing. So if you could browse online and check out different style wedding cakes, and what flavours you might like, that will be a big help, right?”

“Yeah I can do that. I’m afraid work will be a little busy now that I don’t have an assistant. I don’t know how that’s all going to come about. I’m assuming that HR will do the hiring. I better get going. I’ll see you tonight, at the stage door! Same time, same bat channel!” Demelza was laughing when she left the car, which made Ross happy. He wanted to leave her on a good note, because he knew that she will probably obsess about who she is going to pick to walk her down the aisle.

Ross quickly rolled down the window and yelled at Demelza, “Hey!”

Demelza turned around and looked back at her betrothed, “What?”

“I love you, Demelza!”

Demelza smiled, “I love you too, Ross!”

***********************

Ross was trying to concentrate on his way to work on what he needed to accomplish at work. He could work late if he needed to since Demelza will be at the music hall, although that does leave Seamus alone for quite a while. He’ll just see how everything goes once he gets to work. Just then his phone started ringing, he assumed Demelza had forgotten something and was calling him back, “Hi babe did you forget something?”

“Babe? You never called me that when we were together?”

At first Ross couldn’t place the voice, and then it hit him who it was. His eyes got huge. “Elizabeth?”

“Yes, BABE, it’s me.”

“What the fuck do you want Elizabeth?”

“Well that’s a fine greeting for your cousin.”

“Elizabeth, I’m on my way into work and I don’t have time for this, so spit it out.”

“Why are you just going into work now?”

“Because Demelza and I had an appointment this morning if you must know. Now, I’ll say it again. What the fuck do you want?”

“Well, since you’re being so brash, so will I. Why the fuck are you getting married in just six weeks! What on earth are you thinking, Ross? She is so completely wrong for you!”

Ross sighed and was shaking his head, “Elizabeth, in case you’ve forgotten, you cheated on me with my own cousin several years ago. That fact negates any claim you used to have on me. You were the slut that cheated on me! I do not have to tell you a goddamn thing about my life including who I marry, and when we get married.” Just then a car was honking at Ross, “Shit! I just about caused an accident because of you. Elizabeth go fuck yourself and leave me the hell alone! Don’t call me back!”

The phone rang again so Ross answered it, “Elizabeth I told you…

Suddenly everything in Ross’s world was in slow motion. There were sounds of honking, the screech of tires, then the unmistakable sound of metal crunching. Ross’s head was spinning around before his head hit something and the car finally came to a stop, his body lurched forward into the seatbelt. Then it was so quiet that Ross could hear the blood rushing through his ears, and his own breathing. The smell of burnt rubber permeating the air. Ross raised his hand to his head and found blood. Sharp, striking pains seared through his head. He managed to put a hand to his very painful chest. He tried to look around him, but then his eyes closed.

**********************

#aidan turner #ross poldark #modernpoldark #poldark #work in progress #six sentence sunday #eleanor tomlinson #demelza carne #demelza poldark

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a-strange-inkling · 1 year ago

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If it were up to you ( one of the best hellcheer fanfiction writer) what would you fix or change about the fight of Icarus?

Aw shux, that’s high praise! I really don’t think I’m worthy of that, but thank you 🤍

Oh God… what a laundry list 😆 read at your own risk below (I think I’ve finally run out of things to say about this book and will be moving on now 😅)

I’m going to be honest, the best way fo fix it would be to not write a book. Point blank. If I was involved with the show at all I would have NEVER written a book about Eddie in any official capacity. I don’t know if the author was aware of just how unhinged certain parts of his fanbase are (I’m sure she is now) but you’re not going to make anyone happy with this. Eddie’s ridiculously popular yes, I get it, but part of his appeal for people was how untouched his background was.

Flight of Icarus is kind of a mess plot wise with pretty weak/poor characterizations. There’s some good elements and scenes in it. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either. It’s pretty mid. I mean books based on tv shows aren’t exactly known for their… luster. It’s obviously going to lack the passion of an unpaid fanfic writer who has spent endless hours watching season 4 and doing in-depth research and analysis for their work… but that’s what we’re all used to. That’s our standard. So it’s kind of already set up for failure.

But, if I was in charge of a book like this, here’s some of the things I would do differently:

I’d have picked ONE main plot to focus on because there is way too much going on in these 280 pages for me to have the time to be invested or care about anything. There’s like three plus storylines going on with Eddie all to push ONE narrative which is basically him choosing between risking everything for a fantasy/dream of fame and money or staying true to himself and what’s real which is the steadfast loyalty of his friends and family. This takes the form of Al vs Wayne, Paige vs Ronnie, LA vs Hawkins, solo career vs band/hellfire, dropping out to try to become a rockstar vs being the first Munson to graduate, who Eddie wants to be vs who he truly is deep down.

It’s just too much.

I’d have taken a little more time making Eddie three dimensional. I know he’s a side character, but a lot of heart and thought went into creating him (at least on Joe’s end). I’d have made more conscious choices for his character, especially if he’s narrating in first person (I would have not used first person). His outer dialog is great (the dialog throughout the whole thing is actually really great, you can tell the author’s a screen writer and it’s one of the stronger elements to the book) but his inner monologue is pretty ooc and at times really off. He lacks a lot of the things that drew people to him in the first place or it’s just not as strongly presented I guess. He doesn’t feel fully formed.

If I was going to give Eddie a love interest (I don’t know why you would do that to yourself at this point, his fanbase is volatile at best and either ships him with Steve, Chrissy, or themselves, no one is going to like it) I’d have given her WAY better writing than an immersive wattpad character with little to no character traits outside of her aesthetic and interests which is an alternative style and liking music. Wow. Groundbreaking. I would have her make decisions based on a fully formed personality verses the convenience of the plot. And if not, if she’s going to be a means to an end, I’d at least go all in and make her wild or evil or a total bitch or conniving or funny or grumpy or goofy or something. She’s not given enough focus or time to be well rounded so I’d just have fun and go batshit crazy with her (don’t worry Paige, you’re mine now and I will give you an actual character and vindication).

Eddie choosing between his dad and Wayne would have probably been the plot I picked to focus on and I would have really dived into that. The good, bad and the ugly of the Munson family. Because Al (that would not be his name btw 🤢) and Wayne reflect the two sides of Eddie’s character. A charming, self serving, cowardly asshole and a good, strong and kind person who protects and looks after others. I like Ronnie a lot and she’s probably the best written character in the book, but Wayne needed to have more spotlight for this.

I’d have definitely made the plot a lot less fantastical and way more of a simple character study. Just Eddie deciding between embracing the infamy of the Munson family or choosing to rise above it. Does he decide to scheme and cheat like his dad to get more out of life or does he do the right thing and stay the course to actually graduate and make something of himself. That’s it. All that’s needed. Eddie getting a shot at being a rockstar at eighteen in Hawkins is already kind of odd, especially when his in is a twenty year old “junior scout”??? Who just happens to be at his dive bar and have the hots for him and fucks him and pretty much offers him a life in LA on a silver platter with no issues other than having to bail on his band and high school club?? It’s… a bit much for our unlucky loser boy we see in the show. Book Eddie is as lucky as they come, but he’s a total dumbass and decides to trust and scheme with his deadbeat father??? Who has always failed him? Why? I get he needs money but his kinda girlfriend’s got a job and he’s pretty much got a record deal. What even is this? That whole storyline would be scrapped to hell. But hey, at least it’s more believable than an actual drug heist and a kingpin and a shoot out. Oh and arson. It’s giving… *shivers* Riverdale and not in a good way.

Lastly, I’d have taken the opportunity to develop characters from the show a little more. Not a ton, but like the author did with Higgins. I really like how he was written in the novel. He had a lot of fire and personality out of nowhere which was kind of hilarious. I probably would have expanded Jason the most actually, I’d have added more to that tense rivalry. And I’d have left Chrissy pretty much out of it. The talent show is best left to the imagination and we already have a delicate narrative between them because of the forest scene. I wouldn’t want to add too much there. But she’d have a cameo for sure. Like brief eye contact or a shared smile or something at the very end of the book. Just a little glimmer of what’s to come. I’m also a Eddie has always had a little bit of a thing for Chrissy truther, so in my bias I might have him quietly admire her from afar or something.

And there you go.

I mean you’re going to get my version of his backstory eventually anyway and bonus he and Chrissy live, get married and have kids. Yay!

#flight of icarus #hellcheer #eddie x chrissy #eddissy #munningham #chrissy x eddie #eddie munson #eddie book

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sakura-samsara · 2 years ago

Text

Shigehira Main Story: Chapter 12

← Chapter 11

✦ part one

Morinaga: I can tell that you’re doing your best to work with us, so cooperating with you would be no trouble at all.

Yoshino: Umm, well, if you’re really sure…

Shigehira: Wait a second.

(Wah!)

Before I could continue, Shigehira grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him.

He fixed his gaze on me, looking thoroughly displeased.

Shigehira: …What do you think you’re doing, trying to make a decision like this without asking me?

Yoshino: Huh…?

Tamamo: Ooh, things are starting to get interesting.

Tamamo: You knew what you were doing, didn’t you, Morinaga? Excellent work.

Morinaga: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

I caught a glimpse of Tamamo and Morinaga whispering to each other out of the corner of my eye, but I didn’t have the time to ask them what they were talking about.

Yoshino: I was just worried that the rumors annoyed you, Shigehira-kun.

Shigehira: When did I say that they annoyed me?

(Huh? Was I wrong?)

Yoshino: I mean, you went through all this trouble to disprove them, so that’s what I assumed…

Shigehira: Well, that’s…

He hesitated for a moment, looking rather sulky, before he looked intently at me.

Shigehira: That's because the rumors are disrespectful to you.

Yoshino: To me?

Shigehira: …?

(What does he mean by that?)

Shigehira and I exchanged a puzzled look.

However, it wasn't long before I noticed the tinge of pink that had appeared on Shigehira's cheeks.

Shigehira: …

What happened? (Romantic +2, Dramatic +4) I don’t really understand what you mean (Romantic +4, Dramatic +2) Are you embarrassed? (Romantic +4, Dramatic +4)

Yoshino: Shigehira-kun… Could it be that you’re… embarrassed?

Shigehira: What?! Of course not!!

Yoshino: O-Of course. Sorry.

(I get the feeling that I shouldn't push him any further about this.)

Then a laugh from Yoritomo cleaved apart the awkward silence, seeming as though he'd been holding it in for quite a while already.

Yoritomo: You two are really exceeding my expectations.

Shigehira: What are you talking about?

Tamamo: Oh, no, no, carry on, you two. Don’t mind the rest of us.

I had a feeling that there was something the rest of them were thinking that neither I nor Shigehira were aware of.

Yoshino: Why are you all looking at us like that…

(I have no idea what's going on, besides that they're definitely teasing us!!)

Just when I was starting to feel more than a little frustrated...

Yoritomo: With all of that said.

Yoritomo: If neither of you are affected by those rumors, there’s no need to get up in arms to disprove them.

Yoritomo, still smiling his half-smile, spun the kemari ball in his hand.

Shigehira: I-I guess, but…

Yoritomo: Otherwise, you need to accept that if you are unable to get the rumors under control on your own now, you won’t be able to do so in the future.

Tamamo: I see… These are the wise words of a man who has his very own fanclub. He is imparting his learned experience of contending with the “Lord Yoritomo Worship Association.”

Yoshino: …Worship association?

Morinaga: It’s somewhat of a… volunteer organization that’s formed among the maids.

Morinaga: The members collect information about Yoritomo-sama, and supposedly also prevent each other from making any moves on him by themselves…

Morinaga: It’s a tight-knit group with a large number of members, so we don’t know just how much information they’ve been able to gather. What we do know is that they’re not to be underestimated.

✦ part two

Morinaga: The members collect information about Yoritomo-sama, and supposedly also prevent each other from making any moves on him by themselves…

Yoshino: Wow! I can’t believe it…

(That's honestly really impressive.)

Shigehira: How are you not tired of smiling that vapid, empty smile and putting up with all of this nonsense?

Yoritomo: You get used to it with time, Shigehira. It’s a small price to pay to keep all our affairs running smoothly, wouldn’t you agree?

Shigehira: I guess.

Shigehira's thorny response was in stark contrast to Yoritomo's blindingly bright smile.

Nonetheless, Yoritomo continued.

Yoritomo: On another subject. You seem to have built up a good reputation for your work as an apothecary, Yoshino.

Yoshino: Have I?

Morinaga: Our military training has gotten more intense in preparation for the war, and we’re all very grateful to you for caring for the wounded.

Morinaga: The soldiers’ morale is high, knowing that they’ll have a doctor accompanying them into battle.

Yoshino: Really? I’m so glad!!

(I've only really made a small contribution, but it makes me so happy that they appreciate it!)

Tamamo: That’s my Yoshino for you. You’ve excelled even when taking up work as an apothecary in an unfamiliar place must have been quite the ordeal.

Yoshino: It would have only been an ordeal if I’d been alone. I couldn’t have done it all without Shigehira-kun’s help.

Shigehira: Don't be daft. I didn’t do anything to help you. I was just keeping an eye on you so you wouldn’t screw things up.

(It's just like him to say that.)

Yoshino: Of course. But, still… Thank you.

Shigehira: …Mm.

His response, so curt in an attempt to hide his embarrassment, made my heart squeeze.

(I've decided to stand beside the frontlines for Shigehira-kun's sake.)

(So it's really encouraging that my efforts are being recognized in this way.)

The fire that had been lit within my chest on the day I made my decision still continued to burn—and in this moment, I felt it warming me from within.

Shigehira: So this is what it all came to in the end. Kicking a ball around and getting bullied.

Yoshino: Well... at least it seemed like you had some fun playing kemari!

After parting with the others, Shigehira and I walked side-by-side through the halls of the palace.

Yoshino: I wish I was as athletic as you are, Shigehira-kun.

Shigehira: Clearly you’re athletic enough to perform all of the stunts you’ve been pulling recently. I bet you’ve been having fun doing them, too.

Yoshino: Hehe, is that a compliment?

Shigehira: Your ears work almost as badly as your brain does if that sounds like a compliment to you.

✦ part three

Yoshino: Hehe, is that a compliment?

Shigehira: Your ears work almost as badly as your brain does if that sounds like a compliment to you.

Despite the severity of his words, I wasn't fazed at all by his retort...

Because there was now a noticeable warmth in his eyes and in his tone of voice that had not been there before.

(Does this mean that we've become closer as friends now?)

Yoshino: It seems like everyone we just talked to really likes you.

Shigehira: Do your eyes not work either?? Obviously they were just heckling me for their own entertainment.

Yoshino: But I’m sure they were teasing you because they like you.

Shigehira: Then that’s a terrible way of showing it.

(No matter how strict or severe Shigehira-kun might seem, I know that he's honest and gentle at heart.)

(I'm sure that everyone has learned that about him for themselves, and the reason that they love him so much is because of it.)

Shigehira: By the way, what are you planning on doing after this?

Yoshino: I was thinking of visiting Kagetoki-san’s estate.

Shigehira immediately stopped in his tracks.

Shigehira: …You’re going to Kagetoki-san’s house?!

(Huh? Why would he react like that so suddenly...)

Yoshino: Yeah. I wanted to discuss some things with him about the medicine stockpiles and the combat nursing unit that we’re working on setting up.

Yoshino: But I haven’t been to his estate before, so I’ll have to ask someone for directions first.

He put his hand on my shoulder and fixed me with a serious look.

Shigehira: Yoshino-san, that man’s residence is dangerous to visit if you’re unprepared.

Yoshino: Dangerous?! What in the world could possibly be in Kagetoki-san’s house?

Shigehira: ……

Shigehira: Ugh, I guess it can’t be helped. Shall I accompany you?

Yoshino: Huh? But I don’t want to trouble you.

Shigehira: It’s no big deal. There was a book I wanted to borrow from Kagetoki-san anyways.

Shigehira: Or are you still worried about the rumors about us?

Yoshino: No, I just...

To my chagrin, I felt a bit of heat rise in my face.

I had to my eyes to the side in embarrassment before I could respond.

Yoshino: I don’t mind the rumors as long as you don’t either.

Shigehira: Then I won’t pay them any mind at all.

Shigehira suddenly turned his gaze away and started walking again.

(This conversation was so short and inconsequential, but something about it feels bittersweet...)

(I wonder if... No, surely there's no way.)

The answer to my own question had risen up to tip of my tongue, but then it slowly began to sink back down into the depths of my chest.

(I'm sure it's just my imagination.)

No matter how much I'd been enjoying spending time with him,

I knew that we had little time to brace for the war ahead of us, and I couldn't afford to get carried away by my own feelings.

Meanwhile, at the rebels' estate...

Yoshitsune: Now, you say you met Shigehira and the fox-possessed woman in the capital?

✦ part four

Yoshitsune: Now, you say you met Shigehira and the fox-possessed woman in the capital?

Yoichi: Yes. It was at the perfect timing.

Having returned to Hiraizumi, Yoichi was reporting to Yoshitsune about the events of his trip.

Yoichi: I happened to have some fellas from the Heike with me at the time, so I got them to approach him to try and see if it’d shake him up. From the looks of it, it worked perfectly.

Kurama: What a paltry little scheme.

Kurama: That… “Shigehira,” or what have you—is he really so much of an obstacle for us to bother taking such measures against him?

Benkei: Hey. Don’t say that, Kurama.

Benkei: He was a tough opponent back when we fought in the Genpei War.

Benkei: Especially when you consider how young he was back then, he had some crazy talent as a general. It’s no wonder that bastard Yoritomo snatched him up for himself.

Kurama: Hmph.

Kurama's crimson eyes gleamed, his interest now slightly piqued.

Yoshitsune: If the Heike—with the exception of Shigehira—had not been so drunk on their power, the Genji would have had much more difficulty winning the war.

Yoshitsune: That is precisely why Shigehira’s presence in the shogunate poses an even greater issue for us now.

Yoichi: Well… you’ve got nothing to worry about anymore. Talking to him has convinced me of that.

Yoichi: Shigehira’s as soft as jelly. Much unlike Lord Yoritomo, no?

Yoichi: There’s a good chance we’ll be able to take advantage of that.

Benkei: Hmm. I dunno, Yoichi, but it's not like you to be so… motivated.

Kurama: How unusual for a man who is always nothing but a pain in the neck.

Yoichi: Oh, come on. You guys don’t understand your pal here at all.

Yoichi: Even a guy like me is capable of doing things when they have to be done.

Yoshitsune: ……

Yoichi grinned, seeming as relaxed as ever, but Yoshitsune was unsmiling as he stared back at him.

Yoshitsune: Yoichi, wait.

Yoichi: …!

Once the meeting had concluded, Yoshitsune followed after Yoichi as he left the hall.

Yoichi: Oh, hey, Yoshitsune-sama. What’s up?

Yoshitsune: It’s nothing. I was just wondering if you were feeling alright.

Yoichi: …What do you mean?

Yoshitsune: I’ve known you, Benkei, and Kurama for a long time.

Yoshitsune: Though I may not be familiar with all the nuances of others' emotions, I at least am able to tell what my closest companions are thinking.

Yoshitsune's unblinkingly honest stare captured Yoichi's own gaze.

Yoichi: …Well, I guess you just don't get me. C’mon, can’t you see I’m as sprightly as can be?

Yoshitsune: Yoichi.

Yoshitsune: I know you force yourself to smile the most when you are hurt. Is that not true?

Yoichi: …Please forgive me for that.

Yoichi's smile remained, but there was a faint, yet desperate plea in his voice.

Yoshitsune: If you truly do not wish to tell me about your feelings, I won't push you any further.

✦ part five

Yoshitsune: If you truly do not wish to tell me about your feelings, I won't push you any further.

Yoichi let out a deep sigh at Yoshitsune's words.

Yoichi: Aw, man. You’ve really got me now.

Yoichi: I’ve always had a weakness for you saying things like that.

Yoichi: Say, how come you always try to be there for other people when you can’t even express your own emotions?

Yoshitsune: …I don’t know. But if I can help you feel better, then that's all that matters to me.

Yoichi: Ahh. That’s my commander, alright.

Yoichi: No matter how much I try to avoid it, I have no choice but surrender to you in the end.

Yoshitsune: ……

Yoshitsune's only response was to wait for Yoichi to continue.

After a moment of shared silence, Yoichi cut through his hesitation to speak.

Yoichi: Honestly, using those survivors from the Heike to get to Shigehira really rubs me the wrong way.

Yoichi: It just doesn’t sit right with me to take advantage of their desire for revenge.

Yoshitsune: I understand.

Yoichi: But at the same time, I know that we can’t afford to be picky about the tactics we’re able to employ.

Yoichi: That’s why I don’t mind getting my hands dirty, after all—for victory against the shogunate, and for victory against the Heike.

Yoichi: It’s all for the sake of serving you as your vassal… and serving as the chief of the Nasu clan. All of it.

Yoshitsune bit his lip, as though he was feeling Yoichi's pain like it was his own.

Yoshitsune: …Yoichi, I am grateful for your commitment and resolve.

Yoshitsune: But I don’t wish to trouble you.

Yoichi: Nah, you’re good. It’s no trouble at all. I’m just an old man who likes brooding over sentiments from long ago.

Then Yoichi made another attempt at jokingly adding onto his words:

Yoichi: You know what? Let me tell you a secret. When I first met Shigehira, I thought he was a girl.

Yoshitsune: …He does have rather androgynous features.

Yoichi: I’m telling you, he looked even more like it when we were little kids. He had these sparkling eyes… Made him look just like a beautiful girl.

Yoichi: …To tell you the truth, he was my first love.

Yoshitsune: …

Yoshitsune: I’m sorry. I can’t find the words to comfort you.

Yoichi: Nah, it’s alright.

Yoichi eked out a bitter laugh at Yoshitsune's serious response.

Yoshitsune: But I understand your feelings.

Yoshitsune: Shigehira must have been someone very special to you.

Yoichi: Once upon a time, he was. But now…

Yoichi: I’ve had enough of clinging onto old memories, and I’m not gonna let nostalgia get in our way.

At the same time, in the capital…

Yasuchika: It seems like Yoshino-san has safely returned to Kamakura!

Chapter 13 →

#ikemen genjiden #ikemen genjiden translations #ikemen genjiden shigehira #shigehira main story #long time no shigehira!!#i've been looking forward to doing the arc of shigehira's story that starts with this chapter for a while :3

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lampmanliveblogs · 1 year ago

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Even when talking about the difficulties of life, this Luz still looked and sounded so positive and upbeat. A far cry from the current state our beloved protagonist girl finds herself in.

And wow, this entire episode really was a targeted attack against me specifically, huh? I mean, even Luz’ line about being able to read witch tongue reminds me how back in the days, I could read gnommish (from the Artemis Fowl books) and decode the messages along the bottom of the pages. It doesn’t hit as hard as that one previous scene, but it still hits pretty close to home.

Camila believed that if Luz applied herself more, then she could do great things. She was right about that; just look at what she’s been able to do with glyphs in such a short time. Even Philip, who’s spent the last four hundred years or so thinking he was literally the only real person in the world admitted that he was impressed by her.

The point being that ”normal” subject like math or social studies might not be able to hold Luz interest for long, but given the right subject and the right environment, she will excel.

Timeline wise, this takes place right before the disastrous book report we saw at the beginning of episode one, season one.

I believe the ”Domicile Evil 4” poster is a reference to the Resident Evil franchise.

Down in the right corner we have… ”Night of [the?] Zombie S-” Night of the Zombie S…squirrel? That doesn’t look like a squirrel on the poster though. Maybe it’s a shrew or something, I dunno.

There are also a bunch of books in the bookcase: mostly Azura books, no surprise. There are also three books that have titles. One says ”Ghosts” on it, so I think it’s the same book that Gordon Ramsay read in that one episode of Hotel Hell that was in Connecticut.

Now, despite my brand new glasses, I have a hard time making out the other two. I think one of them says ”Taxi-something” on it, and there’s a skull next to it, so it might be about taxidermy.

That one pink jacket with the golden star in the wardrobe is giving me Steven Universe vibes. I bet Steven would love it. Is it organic though?

”…I’m staying in the Human Realm. Permanently.”

Oh, so that’s what Luz was planning, that makes sense. I mean, it’s a terrible idea, but it makes sense. I’m surprised I didn’t think of that possibility.

I guess Luz though there was still a real possibility that they could create a new portal, even before Hunter told her about the hidden Titan’s Blood. And she thought the other Exiles could return back home… and that they’d be okay with leaving her behind? And I guess she was willing to send them into a world where who knows what has happened ever since they left it at the whims of a hyperactive kid with the power to move celestial bodies around.

Luz, sweetie, I know you hate yourself right now, and I know fourteen-year-olds aren’t the best at making good long-term decisions, but please think about this.

I should probably talk a little bit about Camila’s reactions as well.

Her facial journey throughout this playlist fairly subtle, and I am not the best at reading faces, but here goes:

When the videos first start playing, she looks a little unsure. Probably because she shouldn’t be watching her daughter’s video diary.

Then Luz talks about Manny’s death. And while that is undoubtedly still a great source of sadness for her, Camila’s first instinct is to reach out towards the image of her grieving daughter.

We then move on to the videos showing off Luz’ antics, her trying to cut her hair with the sword, and Camila’s expression becomes fond. She’s missed this side of her daughter, her silly ideas, wonderful creativity, and endless optimism… even if her ideas don’t always work out.

Her smile fades as in the next video, Luz talks about the conversation she had with Camila about school. I get the sense that Camila feels guilty that she didn’t appreciate her daughter for the things she was good at or passionate about, trying instead to get her to fit into a box.

Finally, we arrives at the last entry, where Luz says she’s going to stay in the Human Realm forever. Camila looks shocked and then… this expression. I believe she’s reached the same conclusion as me, that it is a bad idea. Even without bringing Luz’ extended family in the form of Eda & King (and also Hooty and Cool Aunt Lilith) into the equation, all of Luz’ best friends, and her awesome girlfriend are from that other world. I think Camila on some level knows that Luz will never truly be happy in this ordinary human world.

This is why we wash our wounds and make sure to change our bandaids regularly, Hunter.

Also, nononononono, it’s happening, it’s happening, oh no-

Also, also, eeeeeeww!

Turns out I was right!

To be more precise, my third proposed theory of why Luz’ burnt her hand on the glyph back at the vet clinic was right. It was because of the hidden Titan’s Blood, which makes glyph magic work… at least to some extent, those light orbs look a bit wobbly.

Not only does this give Luz a way to find the blood, but it also gives her some way to defend herself against the monster waiting in the woods.

Hey, let’s think positively! Maybe Hunter isn’t possessed by his creepy uncle, but is actually just turning into a werewolf! Yeah, that’s what’s happening. And Luz is exactly the kind of nerd who knows how to deal with a werewolf.

#the owl house #liveblog #the owl house liveblog #toh s3e1 #thanks to them

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dreamiedelight · 10 months ago

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Drabble 2.0

Oh wow this one is longer. Anyways this is the second part to my dteam pjo au with George being Hephaestus's son, Sapnap being Ares's and Dream being Aphrodite’s ^^

He had arrived earlier than the time stipulated on the letter, but the more time he got with his son the better he reasons. He leisurely walked around the almost empty camp. School already started and his son decided to get into an online one so he could concentrate on his project, a wise decision if he had to say.

As he was about to round a corner he heard loud voices, not yet shouting but close to it, one was his son’s.

“Oh my god, can you shut up?” George said as he frowned at a shorter boy.

“You want me to shut up? You are literally the one that wanted to talk!” He angrily retorted.

“Yeah, I wanted to have a civil conversation, but I don’t think you can even understand something that simple.” At this the shorted boy’s face turned red from anger, his expression twisting. It looked like this argument would soon turn into a fight and he would’ve to step in.

However, at the last second it seemed that the boy composed himself and got a smug expression on.

“Ok, then. You wanted to talk about how we should fight less and be friends? I will gladly be your friend if you stop hoarding Dream.” They seem to be arguing over someone.

“I'm not hoarding him!” He didn’t sound convincing, which only caused Hephaestus to be more intrigued over who ‘Dream’ was.

“Oh yes you are! You sneaked into his cabin!” George’s face turned bright red.

“Oh no.” He got a feeling about who Dream was.

“And how do you know that?” George asked.

“Me and Dream were having a sleepover when I saw you roaming around in the dark like a weirdo.” He declared proudly.

“And I’m the one hoarding him?” His son asked, annoyed.

“Yes! We’ve been meaning to have that sleepover for over a month but it was always ‘George needs my help with his project’ or ‘George won’t take a break and I have to force him’” Sapnap exaggerated and made really high pitched voices for George. “Well I think that George is a whiny little bitch!”

“And I think Sapnap is-” He was interrupted by someone calling both of their names.

“Sapnap?” He hadn’t been mentioned by his son before.

“Guys! I’ve been looking for you!” The son of Aphrodite appeared and with him the resentment of the boys disappeared.

Of course he would have numerous suitors, he was Aphrodite’s, maybe it was a good thing. It might discourage George from pursuing the boy.

“What were you going to say about Sapnap, George?” Dream asked, tilting his head to the side, the action was followed by the other boys.

“Yeah. What were you going to say Georgie woogie?” Sapnap taunted, it seemed that his son was, as the mortals say, trapped between a sword and a hard place

“That it’s ironic how much you suck at fighting when you are Ares’s son.” As soon as he stopped talking Sapnap tried to attack him. It was a miracle that Dream managed to restrain him.

He would be thankful for that later but right now he still couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“A son of Ares.” He seemed to also vye for Dream’s attention.

“Take that back! Dream!” He struggled against the other boy but Dream just chuckled.

“George,” His tone was fond even if he tried to make it sound like a reprimand.”-that was mean.”

“But it was the truth.” His son blunt’s answer made him start laughing again.

Hephaestus couldn’t help but see the parallels between them and.. His advice against being near the son of Aphrodite is forgotten as he thought about how his son could end up like him.

He will give him another kind of advice.

#dreamblr #dreamnap #dreamnotfound #my au

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ask-the-vocafamilies · 2 years ago

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GakuRuka - “Date”

Gakupo and Ruka went on a “date”

Story Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44997874

Gakupo: The park look beautiful today, the weather is warm, not too many cloud up in the sky, and... (looks at Ruka) My dear Ruka is with me to enjoy all of this. This is nice-

Ryuuto: GAKUPO-NII!!! RUKA-NEE!!! WHY ARE YOU TWO WALKING SO SLOWLY?! COME ON COME ON, THE VENDOR CAN RUN OUT OF ICE CREAM BY THE TIME WE GET THERE!!!

Gakupo: ((Oh yes... Ryuuto is with us today...))

Ruka: Please wait, Ryuuto.

Gakupo: In due time, Ryuuto.

Ruka: He's such an energetic child.

Gakupo: Eager might also describe him well.

Ruka: (soft laugh) That too

Gakupo: I... Apologize, Ruka. I know we planned this trip to the park for just the two of us, but... Well, the others are busy with their work and that makes Ryuuto without anybody to accompany him. I don't want him to feel left out and lonely so...

Ruka: It is okay, Gakupo, I understand. I think it's the right thing to do, not to leave a child alone without adult supervision.

Gakupo: (smiles) Thank you, Ruka. I am glad to have a woman as understanding as you as my lover.

Ruka: And I'm glad to have a caring man such as you as my lover.

They smile at each other and reach for each other's hand...

But Ryuuto got ahead of them and grabbed their hands

Ryuuto: Too slooooww!!! Hurry up!!!

Ryuuto run and drags both of them by their hands

Ruka: Ah, R-Ryuuto-Kun!

Gakupo: Be patient, and don't run, you can trip and hurt yourself!

Ryuuto: Less lessons, more ice creams!!!!

as both Gakupo and Ruka are being dragged by Ryuuto, they look at each other, shaking their heads to Ryuuto's antics. After having their hands pulled for some time, they arrived at the ice cream stand

Ryuuto: We're here! Ice cream!

Ruka: Phew... Ryuuto-Kun you're quite strong...

Gakupo: For you to drag us both here running...

Ruka: Impressive feat for a child to do...

Gakupo: Agreed.

Ryuuto: Yeah, I'm cool okay, but you know what's cooler than me, Gakupo-Nii, Ruka-Nee? Ice cream! Let's buy some!

Ryuuto then runs to the stand nad immediately take his pick of flavours

Ruka: He's excitable when it comes to ice cream.

Gakupo: reminds you of a certain blue-haired man doesn't it?

Ruka: The difference is its still reasonable for Ryuuto to act like that.

Gakupo: (Chuckles) Good point.

Ryuuto: Excuse me, sir, three ice creams please, one vanilla, one chocolate, one green tea

Ice cream man: Coming right up

"Excuse me, sir, may I have 1 coffee ice cream, 1 strawberry and 1 apple sherbet please?"

Ice cream man: Of course, young lady.

Ryuuto: ...Yuki?

Yuki: Ryuuto?

Ryuuto: Wow, what are you doing here?

Yuki: Going to the park!

Ryuuto: Me too!

Ruka: Oh, Yuki-San. I didn't expect to meet you here.

Yuki: Ruka-Nee! You're here too?

Ruka: Yes I am. I am currently accompanying Ryuuto-Kun with Gakupo.

Yuki: Gakupo-San is here too?

Gakupo: Indeed I am.

Yuki: Whoa! We're all here then!

Gakupo: Pardon me, "we"?

"Yuki-Chan, please don't run away like that!"

"What's with the hurry, you silly girl?"

Gakupo: Kiyoteru?

Ruka: Meiko-OneeSan?

Kiyoteru: Gakupo?

Meiko: Ruka?

Ryuuto: Ryuuto!

Yuki: Yuki!

After their little unexpected “reunion”, Ryuuto and Yuki are playing tag, while the adults are sitting together on the park bench, chatting away.

Meiko: So, you two brought him along because Ryuuto got nobody to accompany him?

Gakupo: Indeed, the others are busy with their own respective schedules, and we're the only ones who are free.

Meiko: Yeah, but you're sacrificing what may be the only time you can be together without the others pestering you, you okay with that, Ruka?

Ruka: I am, It wouldn't be wise to leave a child alone while we both are having fun, I think poor Ryuuto would feel so left out. I think of it as a quality time and the chance to get to know Ryuuto-Kun better. I think we made the right decision.

Kiyoteru: I agree, it is unwise to leave a child unsupervised for an extended period of time. How commendable of you two.

Meiko: Oi, you two would sacrifice so much for the betterment of others... If only there are more people like you two...

Gakupo: Please, Meiko-San you're giving us too much credit.

Ruka: We are merely doing the right thing.

Meiko: Oh, so humble and considerate too. You two are a package.

Kiyoteru: Okay, I think that's enough compliment, Mei.

Gakupo: Yes, enough about us, and more about you. Are you both in the same situation as us, that is, bringing Yuki along on your date?

Kiyoteru: Well, not really.

Meiko: She asked if she can join us on our "walk" to the park.

Ruka: Ah, she brought herself along?

Meiko: Yeah. She said it's been a while since she went here and wanted to come along.

Kiyoteru: We were about to object, truthfully, but she then said she wanted to spend more time with us, at least until her parents are home.

Meiko: And then she did that "Pleaaaase?" along with that cutey face...

Kiyoteru: We... were unable to refuse her... In the end...

Gakupo: I... see...

Ruka: Ahaha...

Gakupo: In a way, you're in the same situation as us.

Ruka: That is, having to "sacrifice" our time for the children.

Kiyoteru: More or less.

Meiko: Kind of.

Gakupo: Children have this certain "pull" to an adult, don't they?

Ruka: What do you mean?

Kiyoteru: I think Gakupo is referring to how the children made us cave in to what they want.

Meiko: They know which of our buttons to push and then take advantage of us. (shakes her head) sly little...

Gakupo: Well, as I once heard in a show, "A dangerous opponent is an opponent who does their "homework".

Ruka: That saying hold some weight.

Kiyoteru: Though in this case, our "opponent" really does have homeworks to do.

Meiko: (pretending to rimshot a drumset) Ba Dum Tss!

The adults then all share a moment of laughter. Their respective date plans may not go as they planned, but they can’t say it was a total loss.

#gakuluka #gakupo #megurine luka #hiyama kiyoteru #meiko

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bddypsn · 1 year ago

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[HELIOS Rising Heroes] 1st Full Album; Drama Track "Big Brother Audition" — Translation

[Narrator Junior: Big Brother Audition]

Billy: Next!

Entry number 3 and 4, please enter!

Brad: What is this situation?

Gray: Billy and… Junior?

Billy: Brad-paisen*, Gray! Thank you for accepting my invitation! Come on, come on, sit in that chair over there!

Brad & Gray: Huh?

Billy: Welcome! “Lightning Boy Big Brother Audition”!

Brad & Gray: Big Brother Audition?

Billy: Hosted by me! Billy Wise, East Sector's big brother! Please take good care of me!

Brad: I can't read the story at all. When you asked for permission to use the briefing room, I thought you were just playing games...

Gray: M-me too. I mean, what happened to you, Junior? You look like something bad happened...

Junior: *Grumpy noises*

Billy: Lightning Boy has ve~ry mixed feelings right now… The reason is that his beloved brother is going away for a week!

Gray: What?

Billy: Lightning boy seems to have said "I'll have a good time, brother!". Even though they live apart from each other, it's rare that they can't get in touch for a week. He can't help feeling lonely.

Gray: Is that right, Junior?

Junior: Yeah. I’m holding back like crazy.

Gray: Huh, I can't believe Junior can't stand it, even though he usually would say “that’s not true”. He must really miss him.

Billy: By the way, it’s only been two days since his brother left on his trip.

Gray: What?

Billy: I could see that if we went on like this, we would be in trouble. So, I suggested an audition. The audition to find the perfect big brother to fill Lightning Boys loneliness while his big brother is away.

The participants were also chosen by me, with my own dogma and prejudice. But I also asked Lightning Boy what he wanted to see, and carefully selected the participants.

Brad: So, this is the situation. Since we are number 3 and number 4, you’ve already screened two people?

Billy: Yes! By the way, number 1 and 2 are Mr. Willson and Brother Gust.

Gray: I see, they are two of the representative big brothers of the 13th period. But it wasn’t settled there?

Billy: They both made a great impression on us. They each have their own merits, and they are tied for first place. But before we make a decision, I wanted to invite Brad and Gray to join us as well.

Entry number 3, Brad Beams-paisen.

The only big brother among the mentors, closest to Junior’s brother in age, and number one attention seeker.

Brad: Is… that right?

Junior: My brother is 29, so he's actually close to Keith and Dino too.

Billy: But I thought those two were a little less “brotherly” than Brad-paisen, so I left them out this time.

Brad: I-I see.

Billy: I'd like to ask a lot of questions. There is one first thing you want to know, Lightning Boy?

Junior: Yes… umm, well… can you call me every day?

Brad: …what?

Junior: I call my brother almost every day, we talk about what we say today, and some of our problems. When it comes to replacing my brother, that is the most important thing. Anyway… you can’t get over my real brother anytime soon.

Brad: H-hmm…

Billy: I think this is the best point. Brad-paisen, you must be very busy every day, right? I wonder if he would still have time to chat with you even if he got to the audition.

Brad: Yes, that’s right. If you don’t mind me calling you, when I got all the work done for the day.

Junior: How much is that? I'll be asleep by the time the date changes.

Brad: Sometimes after midnight.

Junior: Eh? Hmmm…

Billy: This is a downhill to Brad-paisen. He seemed like a strong contender, but I guess the disadvantage is that he is busy.

Brad: Why did they called me here?

Billy: Okay, entry number 4, Gray Reverse.

Gray: Yes?!

Billy: How about Gray? If you become a Lightning Boy's brother, would you like to chat on the phone every night?

Gray: W-well… are you usure you want me?

I’m not much of a caller, but if it would make you happy to talk on the phone with me… that’s fine.

Junior: Oh!

Billy: Wow! That’s great, Gray! He is suddenly a big lead! As expected, you are the dark horse* that I predicted! Yes, yes!

Gray: Eh? I’m the dark horse?

Billy: Thats right! Gray may not look like an older brother, but he is in fact the eldest son with a younger brother and sister!

Sometimes I felt him like a big brother when I’m with him.

Gray: I-I see. Thats a little embarrassing.

Billy: Hahaha! Now let me ask you a few more questions here to explore the power of big brotherhood for both of you.

Brad: Is there anything else?

Billy: Yes! Please continue, Lightning Boy.

Junior: What would you do if you were eating a snack and your brother said “I want some of that too”?

Brad: Snacks? What exactly? Is it something you and your brother both like?

Billy: Brad, you are very literal. You must be flexible and creative in this area.

Gray: I think I would split. If I had just eaten half, I would give them all the rest. That’s what I did with my actual brother and sister.

Junior: Ooooh!

Brad: Yes, I see.

Billy: Oh? Brad-paisen, you seem to be starting to think seriously about something. I wonder what is he going to say!

Brad: I will give everything to my brother and buy the same thing again later.

Billy & Junior: Eh?

Brad: That’s all.

Billy: Huuuh? I think I might have gotten an answer that was kind of skewed from what I expected.

Junior: But my brother does that too, once I told him I might like this, he'd buy it for me every time I said.

Billy: Wow! Apparently, it has struck a chord with Lightning Boy! Maybe he can catch up from here!

Junior: T-the next one! Would you be happy if your brother told you that you and him should have matching clothes? Or would you not like it?

Gray: I don’t think there’s any reason to say no.

Brad: Yes, I agree with you.

Billy: Oh! You have got an opinion. Let’s dig a little deeper… What is the acceptable level of matching?

Gray: To what point?

Brad: Any level.

Billy: Wow! You say that with confidence, don’t you?

Gray: Well, if my younger brother himself wants to match with me, I’d say “go ahead”… I’m rather worried if it is okay to imitate me.

Brad: It is a pleasure for the olders to be adored by their youngest.

Junior: Isn’t Brad acting a little different than he did earlier? You seem to be having second thoughts about it.

Billy: Huhuhu. Hey, Brad-paisen. I think the first question we asked would have a different answer not, wouldn’t it?

Brad: What?

Billy: What would you do if your brother wanted to chat with you on the phone every night?

Brad: We… can hang out as long as you want.

Billy & Junior: Wow!!

Billy: Phew!!!

We have completed the rounds of judging for the Lightning Boy Big Brother Auditions. As the results indicate, weren’t all the big brothers wonderful? I’ve heard that it's hard to narrow it down to just one. May I ask for a favorable review from Lightning Boy?

Junior: Sorry. It was too hard to pick just one, after all the trouble we went through to get them all together. But, I think every brother was seriously the best. I'm not going to throw away Elios, either.

Billy: You mean you have reliable brothers here, right? Yeah, I think that’s kind of a good summary. I mean, if you can't choose, why don't you just let everyone pass?

Gray: Sure, we don't have to pick any one person, we'll all play big brother to Junior. If that's what you want.

Junior: R-r-really?!

Billy: Wow! A big brother harem!

Junior: Big brother? Harem?!?!

Amazing!!!!

Billy: Hahaha! Lightning Boy looks very happy!

Oh, Brad-paisen, thank you so much for your cooperation despite your busy schedule!

Brad: No, well, at first I wondered what was going on…

Billy: Huhuhu, it was fun to see an unexpected side of Brad Paisen!

I wish I had invited DJ too!

Brad: Eh?

Billy: Brad-paisen, I'm sure you were thinking about replacing him with your real brother halfway through!

Brad: Ah, that's...

Billy: Don't worry, I'm not going to bother telling DJ.

Well, I don't know what I'd do if I had a lot of money in front of me?

Brad: Hey, Billy!

Billy: Hey, hey, Lightning Boy!! Which brother are you going to pick today? You have freedom of choice.

Junior: Is it true?! Big Brother Auditions are the best!!!

Notes:

Paisen. Very informal way of saying “senpai”, which means a “senior” or “an upperclassman who mentors an underclassman”.

Dark horse. A candidate or competitor about whom little is known but who unexpectedly wins or succeeds.

#junior #billy #gray #brad

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totallybakedcake · 4 days ago

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👀the way I jumped when I saw you’re writing for The Elusive Samurai…like :’)))

May I request one where reader is married to Yorishige and the elusive warriors don’t believe that he is?? Just a fluffy one where maybe they follow the couple around (sneakily) cuz they’re suspicious of this said wife?

Mission: The sweet lady and the big liar

HUHHH

This is a very bad lie, you know

Someone like you can't even have that, I can't even imagine it heh.

Oh my, I didn't know you spoke such bad lies. Also, this cake is delicious!

Yorishige-san, make jokes that are actually funny.

BUT I AM REALLY MARRIED, GUYS.

Yorigishe and the elusive warriors argue for an hour. It was completely unbelievable that someone like Yorishige, a crazy man who sometimes can see the future but also loses the ability to do so and maybe just maybe has a thing for small kids (not literally, literally course, but still a possibility that can possibly happen), have a wife,

"Fine, then if you guys don't believe me, then I won't try to convince you. "

Yorishige speaks out loud, how can the children he is practically raising himself not understand that he has a darn wife too!

One day they will understand the feeling of betrayal, he thinks to himself, grumpily walking away, leaving the elusive warriors pondering in the room.

"I think Yorishige-san is telling the truth." Tokiyuki speaks. Yeah, maybe Yorishige-san is a bit crazy, but lying about having a wife is not something he would do.

"My lord, but thinking about someone who likes Yorishige-san so much and wants to spend her whole life with him is tough."

"Yorishige-san might be escentric, but I do think it is worth a shot to check if he is really married or not; if he is, then his wife can make even more tasty food for me!"

"Oi, stop joining food thoughts in every sentence for money's sake!" Genba says.

"If only Shizuku was here, she would make our life so much easier, but I am ready to do it the hard way as well."

"Okay then, my fellow elusive warriors, we are starting our next mission, 'Find Yorshige-san's wife if she is real or not."

"Such a creative name, don't you think?

"Shut up, Genba."

Ta ta tump. ta ta thump, they went and went spying on Yorishige.

Him eating food.

Him asking some people for eel and eating it.

Him eating alpine leeks.

Him eating food

and more food

sleeping

resting

relaxing

"OH COME ON, HOW MUCH TIME WILL WE WASTE FOR HIS WIFE TO SHOW UP WHEN SHE DOES NOT EVEN EXIST!" Throwing his hands into the air, genba sat on the smallest branch and ranted on and on about how this was a waste and Yorishige did not have and how-

"Honey, what are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing (name) just relaxing, waiting for you so we can go to our daily walk."

Their jaw dropped

Yorishige was not lying after all, there were you, the sweet lady (name), who always gave the elusive warrior sweets and food, told them bedtime stories, and gave them small pep talks. It was so so confusing that you were married to Yorishige. They need to inquire about this as soon as possible.

"Well, I guess Yorishige-san was not lying after all."

"Wow, it's still hard to believe what I am seeing right now."

"My lord, you made a wise decision for us to investigate this."

"Since I am close to Yorishige-san, can she cook food for me?'

"I need money for spending my day on just finding his wife (Genba kind of finds (name)-san pretty)

Another story added in the book of the elusive warriors

Finally, I finally completed this request. I feel so bad for the people who even request me something as I upload the fics when the person who requested them must have forgotten about it. Anyway, this was my first elusive samurai fic, and I had fun writing it!

This was the winner of the title pole I did:D

#the elusive samurai #elusive warriors #kazama genba #hojo tokiyuki #yorishige x reader #suwa yorishige #fluff #elusive samurai fluff

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garak · 1 month ago

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judas i saw this sturgeon today at the um the fuckin uhh aquarious, and they told me i could pet it if i put my fingers inside the pool and if the sturgeon came up to me because of um, they value fish consent at the acauarion where the fish are kept against their will but wheatever, sturgeon — to my understanding — are vibe sensitive and sage and wise and what have you so i respect whatever their decision may be. despite knowing the rejection would emotionally destabilize me the sturgeon did not acknowledge me at all. and there were several of them so i know they talked behind my back. the lady with the micolrophone was there i asked her if they had names and she said no which is fucking whatever because why do the FuckAss sea lions which — by the way, terrible, ostentatious vibes coming from them — have names but the sturgeon do not. oh is it because they perform? because they’re well moisturized and have silly mustaches? so does every man in bushwick and i’ll tell you something there is not a single name i have heard in bushwick that i have committed to memory and i will not start now. and i will do the same for sea lions every. fucking. time. they think they’re so greatl like girl whatever no one cares if you use snail mucin or retinol, skincare is the dietary scam of the 20s would do all of youse some good to hop on jstor for once, keep up to date with the current direction of academic discourse maybe. have thought provoking conversations about the culture, listen to NPR for an hour or two…this american life… serial if ya nasty. put a coexist bumper sticker on the back your car, appropriate some eastern medicine of sorts. not everyone can survive on having whiskers and a tote bag, that’s why you always need a phd in your back pocket. well the point was the sea lions have names and oh they let you know they have names. same with dolphins they’re the sociopaths of the sea like genuinely they hooked some dolphins to some fuck ass water biologician machines and they found that they actually share the same vibes as that one girl in middle school that would laugh at you behind your back but was nice to your face. they found that they both — if given the opportunity — will kill for sport. the point is the sturgeon don’t have names and i was like well i oughta… but i just nodded with liberal arts condescension and i know she felt the vibe because she had a strand of purple hair. yeah girl know that i dissent from your corporate compliance to not giving these sturgeon names because why are you just accepting they don’t have names you can just make it up. the sea otters have names too but that’s okay. gibson and mara. the lesson sea otters have for the world is that holding hands is great and hit shit against rocks real hard to open them which is like yeah bring back real intimacy, what do sea lions have to share beyond be slipery clap have Fugly untrimemd mustache, and KILL baby penguins? food for thought. anyway i named the sturgeon whose attention i wanted conan (gender neutral) and i thought it would be a ble to sense the fact i dislike sushi and that it’s okay princess get behind me i will protect yuou but they didn’t and mind you conan was like, doing the rounds. so the fish probably hates me but whatever i bought my mom a magnet for get this, 11 dollars. this whole ordeal made me think of you. what’s up how’s it going

wow youve given me a lot to think about i agree that sea lions that perform are obnoxious i think that sea lions in the wild are fine but they clearly have a penchant for showmanship like why else would they always be hanging out on that pier in frisco if not for tourist attention. i think in another life brendan urie was a sea lion. sturgeon touch pools are cool in concept but i do think they are a little too aloof to be good touch pool animals because their minds are often on other things like rotating 3d objects in their minds and shit. whats up with me is i just got off the plane to seattle. on the way home my dad told me they saw two giant 8+ foot arapaimas at the zoo in madrid that were bigger than the manatees that were supposed to be the main attraction. it really is a bias towards mammals i think that causes discrepancies like this to abound... people think they have more in common with a dolphin or manatee than a fish. but the question we should be asking ourselves is do we really want to be like dolphins? or should we aspire to be like the sturgeon long lived easily contented and peaceful with bone armor under our skin

#ask box #whoever sent me this ask thank you. it was a journey to read and yet exceedingly true and insightful

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garetlomodag · 2 years ago

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February 2023: Too fast, too curious

What a month!

I’m surprised I still found time to craft this. Well, I’m doing something new. Instead of just doing it in one go, I decided I will do it in tranches. I will just keep on building on it until I finish the whole thing.

So, waddup February?! If you read my Jan post, you would know how I dread this month. 😂 but going into the whole month, wow did it escalate on a different level lol haha

It’s a month where I got reminded of the things that truly matter to me, and things that are all just fleeting and meaningless.

Don’t get me wrong, I know what matters already. I just wanted to wander and push limits again 🤣, as a stubborn, (feeling) willful person.

I had a lot of mishaps this month actually. From getting wasted (with only a little over a week in!) ➡️ series of catcalls while running (which reminds me, I need to report them) ➡️ crazy, messed up schedules (talk about overlapping appointments for work and personal) ➡️ unfortunate wardrobe malfunctions (good thing it happened discreetly) ➡️ almost ran out of gas #NeverAgain 🥲 ➡️ almost cut people off (bec yikes 🤢🤮)

Didn’t think they’d all lump together this month HAH! But hey, I still had some great stuff this month too! Got to catch up with long time friends ➡️ took a break from unnecessary activities ➡️ fambam time ➡️ took a break from (select) people hehe that did not last long lol ➡️ went on a quick vacay

But in a nutshell I got reminded of/learned these things:

1. Life is fleeting. It’s not about going YOLO, but it’s about living for what truly matters. Cry for the right things. Give more headspace for eternal things. Throw away 🤮🤢

2. People will disappoint — so don’t put them on a pedestal. gaaahhh I always need to be reminded of this. I’m always all-in, so if I trust you, I trust you. But sometimes I forget that we are just humans. And people can change, people can choose to live/think differently. And it’s okay. You can still choose to love them the same.

3. I like clear intentions (in all things, at all times). I only realized now that it matters to me so much. Thanks to running for my aha moment. Now it makes more sense why I always use this line: “simple lang naman ako. Just be upfront with me so I can make informed and sound decisions.” So now that I am more aware, I hope I will choose to veer from anything unclear. Cos honestly, anything puzzling sucks the life out of me.

4. I am not (yet?) ready. This is #TMI, but I got asked several times this month (by some interested, and some random people): “are you ready to get married this year?” My reaction? I got scared..like my heart was about to burst. I didn’t know how to respond and honestly I still don’t know. Hindi ba pwedeng hinay hinay lang? This year agad?! So now, if I get asked again, my next default answer will be: “I will cross the bridge when I get there.”

5. Choosing discipline is hard. It’s not always fun and will-based. Like when I run, sometimes I really need an extra push (literally and figuratively) to get myself off the bed and run like a horse with blinkers.

Some big stuff, February! 28 days felt so jampacked and character-stretching.

Although I must say I am also excited for a few things this March:

1. Even though I feel like I’m lacking time, I am going to push for my 1st run deadline by the end of March. Accckkk so help me God

2. Rebuilding old accountability groups from church and personal circle, but also developing new ones :) Oh so grateful that from season to season, God surrounds me with good and wise counsel. 🙏🏼

3. Once I finish March, I am shifting to another training set for my next 15/21km target. (Lord, pls help me)

Grabe, it’s just month #2 and 2023’s stepping up its game already. 😂🙄 I remember the Death Crawl scene in Facing the Giants movie. I take inspiration from this line: “You’re gonna give me your best.” Aye aye! 10 more! Let’s go!

Watch the scene here: https://youtu.be/SpdLC4RdJTg

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fhrlclln · 3 years ago

Text

daredevil | eddie munson

SUMMARY -> spin the bottle truth or dare was a harmless idea for passing time inside of the hellfire club. but who knew it became much more than a game with eddie munson, hm?

eddie munson x fem! reader

masterlist

GENRE -> nsfw/smut

WARNINGS -> smut… again (oral sex; both! receiving, p in v, unprotected sex, handjobs & doggystyle.)

WC -> 5,042

a/n: damn. words cannot express how dirty my mind is. tHIS IS ALL ON U EDDIE MUNSON/JOSEPH 😔 also, one more wip to be done. <3

likes, reblogs & comments are greatly appreciated !! <3

enjoy !!

“aha! dare!”

you exclaimed angrily, seeing the bottle neck pointed towards you. “oh, fuck you!”

eddie gave you the finger as you sighed. the lights inside of the club were warm, your cheeks felt hot from countless tiring dares eddie had put upon you. tonight was another hellfire night, well the last night before eddie’s reigning campaign comes to an end. you two were quite early, the championship just started and there was still no sign of the other hellfire members. which led to the two of you finding a hidden beer bottle laying around and decided spin the bottle truth or dare would be fun. which totally wasn’t right now. eddie had protested that the two of you should switch the usual dynamic of spin the bottle into whoever lands on it, the other opposing player has to make the decision whether truth or dare and ask the question as well. and whoever has the most truth or dares is the loser. which was a whole fuckery.

“i dare youuuu…—“ eddie laughed, exaggerating, tapping the floor with a drumroll with his hands as you sat still with a look of pure hatred on your face. being friends with him is really fun and all but he can be the most annoying prick to ever walk on this earth whenever he feels like it. hence, why you liked him. and it fucked up your head a bit when you just realized one day, just staring at his large hands, fingers fiddling with the big rings, the veins on his underarm showing and the forearm tattoo spitting directly in front of you that wow, you had something for munson. it wasn’t the first time he made your thighs rub against each other, he was a little touchy for a loud mouthed metalhead of a friend. and a awkward one. but the hand placements on your lower back, guiding you, protecting you whenever you two were in the hideout or just really hanging out in the mall. all protective and irresistible. which was infuriating how he managed to mindlessly made you into a whole wreck every night alone in your bed. just him in your mind. him and his god-awful stupid voice and stupid face. fantasizing him teasing that he should fuck the shit out of you—

“i dare you, oh great y/n the wise, to lend me thy math homework that’s due tomorrow. right now.” motherfucker. you could not believe him, you rolled your eyes, reaching for your bag on the table. not minding your hellfire shirt was riding up as you sat back down with a thud. you huffed, getting the paper with the solutions and waved it in front of him.

“struck sweet gold again!” he grabbed the paper immediately and kissed it with much happiness. knowing he didn’t do shit for math. “with your fate right now, i can’t imagine your rolls later when we play with the others.” he teased, tucking the golden paper in his pocket.

“don’t jinx it, dipshit.” you huffed as you spun the glass bottle again. “come on.” you muttered, the suspense arising seeing as the bottle spin rapidly between the two of you sitting on the floor. eddie licked his lips with a smirk as the bottle slowed down from it’s gyration. come on. you prayed to whoever gods that would restore your fate. sweat beaded your forehead, the bottle achingly teasing the two of you until…

“AHA— fuck you!” you pointed to eddie, clapping your hands as you laughed seeing the bottle land directly towards his direction. eddie groaned loudly, sighing but still let out a chuckle seeing you so filled with glee at him losing. rather, he felt winning because of it.

“alright, alright. you got me.” eddie raised his hands, admitting defeat. “what is your verdict, oh! great y/n the wise?” he winked, crossing his arms. obliviously staring down at you as you mindlessly shifted your position so your thighs could rub against each other, uncomfortable it was. feeling the ache between your legs slowly agitate you in every way. you were thinking too much, so much of such intrusive thoughts you thought never could had have. eddie, you noted, had a tendency of well— actually being attractive sometimes— actually all the time. but you ignored your dirty little head, focusing now on the game.

“truth.” you declared, eddie’s eyes furrowed in confusion. truth? “you never got to tell me who you had a deal with a while ago. so who did you sold drugs to today?” eddie gulped, well he wasn’t too sure if he could exploit his customer but oh well, it was a harmless question.

“you’re playing soft here, sweetheart.” eddie noted, your cheeks grazed with glow at his usual nickname of choice. “but ok. chrissy. chrissy cunningham.” he confessed with a shrug.

your mouth went slack. “chrissy fucking cunningham? queen of hawkins high, a very sweet girl and actually a very friendly friend is who you sold drugs to?” you asked in disbelief, not imagining chrissy to be dealing with eddie.

“not yet! well i don’t fucking know, she said she needed something and asked for something stronger so i have to meet her later and get the goods at home.”

“oh my god, eddie.” you laughed, still not buying it even though he looked genuine. “well, what would jason think?” you joked, eddie rolled his eyes at the name. ignoring your constant teases, he spun the bottle again hoping he could get vengeance.

“that is unfair!” you spat, seeing the bottle pointed towards you again. you swore it looked menacing but eddie had won, your shrivel of fate gone.

“fate is fate, y/n. alright, truth!” he rubbed his hands together, in full eagerness. you gulped suddenly, a little tense for a first truth question he was going to ask.

“i thought you’d said we’re playing hard, dungeon master?” you eyed him suspiciously. you cannot even think what he was going to ask you.

“we are, sweetheart. stop distracting me i’m thinking!” he shushed before humming and tapping his chin with his finger, enticing you to be riled up. and you were riling up at his annoying suspense.

“whoooo…— makes you horny?”

“that is a low blow.” you shook your head, chuckling in disbelief at his question. “it’s tom cru—“

“nu-uh, who makes you horny in hawkins high! you didn’t let me finish. no former students or teachers. who makes you horny?” he punctuated his last words with a grin.

“i gotta know, you haven’t told me shit who’d been creaming your pants like last year.” he laughed, leaning back a bit, looking at you up and down. you huffed, suddenly conscious of his gaze. you bit your lip, looking away, trying to think of anyone who looked fuckable in your age. it was hard, well no one everyone made you more hornier than the clueless man in-front of you. well, one was steve last year. maybe other people and such but you could not think of anyone else.

“i— i don’t. no one.” you awkwardly gestured, eddie didn’t buy it but you weren’t going to spill it out.

“that’s not a truth. come on, it’s just me.” eddie assured, smiling as you fiddled with the bottle, sighing. “is it someone i know?” he asked.

you snorted, the irony. “yes. very well actually.” you hinted. eddie hummed, a strum of jealousy in his veins.

“gareth?”

“no.”

“jeff!”

“no.”

“jason carver.”

“you fucking wished. ew.” you grimaced as he nodded.

“chrissy.”

“no.”

“andy?”

“no!” you rolled your eyes at his bombarding name dropping. “let’s leave it like that. spin the bottle now.” you urged, wanting to continue the game. eddie, on the other hand, did not want to leave it. he was stubborn, like all the time. he stood up from his place and scooted over to yours. you watch him as he sat next to you, arms brushing like he always do. he watched you curiously first before throwing his questions at you.

“if it’s someone i know. how well do i know them?” he eyed you with suspicion, determination in his face.

“like i said, very well.” you said plainly, liking the way he was close to you.

“is it someone from class?”

“yeah.” you nodded, a smile forming seeing his face furrowed. each and every question he asked you lead to nothing in his stubborn mind. it was entertaining seeing him so revved up even before the main event starts. his arms were crossed again and he was leaning his weight comfortably on your body, head rested on your shoulder. too clingy. you noted, one of his habits. you could distinctly smell the cigarettes he smoke a while ago, making you wanting to kiss his cheeks for how stupid and mindless he is. haven’t the flirts, the constant shynesses, touches and all other things you did with him a clear sign already?

“just tell me.” he groaned out in frustration. “pretty please, sweetheart?”

you were about to give in but no, you couldn’t. “it’s right before your eyes, great dungeon master.” you whispered, smirk lacing your lips as he felt himself shiver at your voice. “see it clearly.”

well, he wasn’t seeing it clearly. still thinking of sorts and it was cute how he looked. “why are you so curious? are you jealous, munson?” you teased.

“maybe.” he sat up straight, facing towards you. your heart almost leaping off your chest. “you got this habit where you space out whenever we’re talking and that only happened when you got a thing for somebody. like harrington. so, who is it? taking your damn attention from me?”

you tried to mask it, the giddiness inside of your stomach. he was one for jokes but you wanted him to see it clearly right now. “he’s right in front of your eyes, eddie. think deeper.” you flicked his forehead as he winced at the slight pain, rubbing it as he glared at you.

it took him a moment but something in his mind clicked once you were staring at him. expecting, waiting and eager were you. it was bit of a gamble but he was rather nervous about it. or rather why didn’t he think about it first. his voice dropped, bumping his arm to yours again, gently. “is it me?”

shit. you blinked, the space between the two of you closer than he intended. your hands felt damp, lips trying to form some kind of response but you kept it cool. “you’ve gotten too cocky, huh?”

“is it me?” he asked again, aware you were dodging his question. that boldness bursting inside him.

“well it’s…” you stuttered, contemplating whether to tell or not was making you a bad liar now. his stare was scorching your every soul, he was good at this. observing people and he obviously got the memo. gotcha.

“truth or dare.” eddie asked, glancing from your eyes to your lips and back. you looked cute when you squirmed.

“pardon?” you were confused. was the game still on or… you refused to hold in eye contact as you shrugged your answer. “truth?”

“how long?”

your brows furrowed. “aren’t i supposed to ask the question—“

“no, we’re going back to normal.” eddie proclaimed, a hand greedily hovering above your thighs. “so, how long, sweetheart?”

your breath hitched as you glanced down at his hand and back to his face. oh, he knew. with the smug look plastered all over his stupid face, he was teasing you now. you heaved, cheeks still feeling warm, conceding in a soft whisper only his ears could hear it. “too long.”

“that’s a shame.” he uttered, his usual sunny voice gone replaced with soothing darkness he had in his tone. his hand hovering above your thigh was now squeezing you gently. the look on his face was baffling you seeing as if he was deliberating this new found piece of information. you sat still, fingertips cold, waiting to see if he was going to be awkward or joking about this. he gazed down on your sweet lips, intent on something as he looked back up again, making sure you were okay. “can i?”

you were flustered, cheeks feeling warm as he started leaning in so slowly. only glancing his eyes down to your lips and back up to you again. this new side of him was enticing, both of your hearts were beating loudly and hot flashes flowed through your veins. mingling breaths until it finally snapped. “yes.”

the atmosphere inside the room changed as your hands gripped his shoulders and his hands gripped your hips to keep you steady. his lips were hot on yours, messy, eager and so much fervor of how greedy he was. your hands on his shoulder traveled to his jaw, cupping his face as you could not process what was happening. you were making out with your closest friend, inside of a public club room, who you practically deemed months ago just a friend. but here you are. enjoying how he pressed himself against you, shivers down his spine at how he was towering over your frame. he wanted you as much as you wanted him, and he wanted to show it. show how your mindless friendly touching, your sweet words for him, the way you invited him over at your house, feeling so comfortable that you could change in front of him was killing him. how he tortured to hold himself back, knowing you could never like a guy like him. but he still dreamt of it, and he couldn’t hold himself back now as you were wriggling in his hold, drunk on his mouth, on his tongue. eager for him to do much more.

“i-is this okay?” he asked, breathlessly. kissing your chin down to your neck, softly as ever. your fingers tangled into his curly locks of wonder, slowly lying down onto your back. the coldness of the floor making it exciting as eddie nudge your knees open, the brushing of his jean-cladded crotch made you hold in a breath.

“w-what about the others?” you meekly asked, the thrill and fear of someone barging in on the two of you. eddie smiled at your concern, his hand lifting the hem of your shirt, hand caressing your stomach and upwards. his rings dug onto your skin as he glanced to the door.

“it’s locked, sweetheart.” he leaned his mouth towards your ear, his nervousness gone. “it’s just you and me. so, is this okay? use your words, baby.” your shirt was now ridden up, scrunched up at the bottom of your breasts, ready to be revealed. eddie was tempted to rip the whole thing off but that shirt cost him for printing so he couldn’t. plus the logo was too cool for to be shriveled, even if it’d looked good ruined on you, he thinks, licking his lips mindlessly. cock already stirring at the thought of you bare underneath him. oh, how dirty he is.

you weren’t sure, you didn’t want dustin and the others getting a scare but… fuck it. “please, eddie.” you fluttered your eyelashes, his shadow shading the colorful stage lights, only his face filled with desire right in front of you as you finally whispered the consenting plea. “please, do something.”

“as you wish, my sweetheart.” he answered. your shirt was scrunched up to your neck, your pants were thrown off somewhere. leaving you barely clothed but still in your underwear. eddie took the time to place kisses on your collarbone, kissing downwards to your bra. he teasingly cupped both of your ladies as he massaged them. you rutted against his hip, feeling the bulge brushing against your core. the urgency for friction embedded in you, feeling the dampness he was causing between your legs. your breasts were free from their confines as your bra was roughly pulled downwards, the straps clinging off your shoulders. the gush of his hot breath had you breathing hard as you watch him in awe.

“fuck.” he whispered, catching one nipple into his mouth. sucking it, licking it as he kneaded the neglected one. he smirked, feeling you squirm again, hips bucking against his as he pressed down to tease you. he felt your hands tangle onto his hair again, the surge of desire erupted in him as another burst of blood flooded his cock. how he wanted to please you, ruin you and dominate you every way. he wasn’t the loud mouthed awkward of a friend now, he wanted you to see the very desire you rooted in him. how you completely wrecked him into this beast, so eager to fuck you until you can’t remember your own name.

eyes hazy with lust, sweat beaded your forehead as he let your nipple out of his mouth with a wet pop. kneading them again as he went further down, kissing the valley of your breasts downwards your stomach until he came face to face with your soaked panties. your thighs were a bit squeezed together, rather tense seeing him admire you. he sat back, getting comfortable as he gently nudge your thighs open. you eagerly abide his silent request as eddie let out a handful of sweet curses. he leaned down, kissing the inner flesh of your thigh as his fingers trailed up to pull the obstacle of a cloth away. you wriggled your hips, helping him as he tossed them back his shoulder without care.

“look at that.” eddie breathed out, his brown orbs clouded with appetence seeing your glistening cunt before him. beguiling him to ravish you. “ain’t that such a pretty pussy for me, baby? all wet, huh?”

“mhm.” you hummed, lifting your hips up for him to get on with it. eddie chuckled at the eagerness as he finally dove in, no time for teasing as he experimentally licked a strip on your seam. fucking hell. he groaned, his lips already coated with your juices, your flavor bursting on his tongue as he licked his lower lip. one hand gripping your thigh to keep you steady, he started flicking his tongue against your swollen clit, sucking it as you mewled before him. you gripped his hair, trying to keep yourself quiet knowing the walls were paper thin. he was good, you never expected him to be this good at eating you out. you grind yourself on his face, his nose nudging on your skin, you softly caressed the bangs on his forehead, silently telling him he was doing good as you let out another gasp of enjoyment.

eddie’s throaty hum sent shockwaves to your core. the soft gentle caresses on his forehead made him pussy-drunk knowing how you were enjoying this. if it weren’t for porn existing, would he fumble his actions now? still, the slight shakiness in his body meant that he was still a bit unsure whether what he was doing was ok. but, you were practically shivering on his tongue, a clear sign that he was doing good. one hand moving inward, his fingers teased your entrance as he lovingly sucked your clit, you jumped a bit at the intrusion as he slowly pumped his index finger in. you threw your arm above your eyes, the other one covering your mouth to lower your noises as he added a second finger in. fingerfucking you as the knot in your stomach started forming. eddie was perplexed feeling your walls clamp around his long digits, hugging them so tightly that his cock stirred, screaming to be inside you, had you felt this warm and good. he curled his fingers, pumping a bit faster making you lift your hips up as he smirked on your clit.

“do not cum.” eddie warned, lips off your clit, your walls tightening. his large rings practically inside of you how deep he is. you could not respond, the sudden loss of his hot mouth made you whimper as he thrusted his fingers in and out, slowly, teasing you into madness. his voice turned dark as he pulled his fingers out, stopping at the tip, not completely removed. “i said don’t cum, eh?”

“y-yes.” you cried out, wanting him back in. no questions thrown, just begging him back.

he wasn’t convinced but he was satisfied seeing you pathetically write in his mercy. “yes what?”

you groaned, the sudden urge to smack his face beyond the pleasure he was giving. asshole. you lifted your head up, meeting his awaiting eyes as you breathlessly nodded. “yes, eddie.”

jackass. you bit your lip, holding your tongue back to call him that. you yelped, his fingers thrusting in you in such vigor, hitting that spot that your eyes saw stars. your mewls sent him into a frenzy, he loved this, the sound of your pussy juices slapping against his fingers. the knot on your stomach started to erupt, you bit the palm of your hand, the other one trying to hold something. you can almost feel it, your walls clamping until he suddenly push them out, a wet pop heard and the euphoria gone. you sobbed, the sudden lost of his fingers making your eyes water. the fucker was edging you, and he looked so amused seeing you cry for pleasure he just denied. so cute.

“so greedy, y/n.” he licks his fingers clean, tongue sticking out, savoring every sweet nectar you gave him. removing your arm off your eyes, you felt him stood up. you weakly tried to sat up, hips mildly stuttering as you stared up at him. he was fumbling with his belt, the chain accessory creating the slight noise. you were still cloudy, wanting something inside you at his neglect. you hastily removed your bra, the wire digging into your skin as your hellfire shirt still remained, the only article of clothing on you. eddie glanced down, suddenly smirking. “truth or dare?”

oh, it was on. your competitiveness suddenly surged at his question as you answered him. “dare.”

his zipper rattled, you sat on your knees, eyes staring at his crotch as he shoved his pants down. mouth watering seeing the huge bulge on his boxers as your pupils dilated wide. wow. he felt himself getting harder seeing you on your knees for him as he spilled out his dare. “suck.”

you wasted no second to rip off his jeans, a little clumsy the two of you were as you almost tripped him. you let out a tired laugh as he glared down on you, patting your cheek lovingly, watching your fingers pinch the hem of his boxers. your throat felt dry, your heart was beating too loudly as you unveiled him. holy shit—

“surprise.” eddie managed to be amused, your gaze oh so blown out. he felt rather bashful as you were just ogling on his cock, your breath fanning the angry red tip making him groan out in impatience. “no teasing.” he gripped your chin as you nodded.

too huge. you noted, grabbing him fully as he dithered at your touch. you pumped him, slow and steady. still unsure what to do with his huge cock. a bead of precum appeared on the tip, your curiosity exceeded you as you licked it. eddie let out a curse, you grinned, licking his swollen bulb tip, swirling your tongue around until it got wetter. he moaned loudly, music to your ears as you continued your actions until you felt confident enough to slowly ease him in your mouth. eddie was entirely under your drunken spell, his mind felt foggy seeing you swallowing him whole. cheeks hollowing out as your warm cavern welcomed him, tongue swirling like a pro. he cupped your cheeks, thumb caressing your glowing skin as you looked up to him, with doe eyes and a mouth full of his cock. he felt himself ascend into heaven with that innocent look of yours. oh, dear gods.

“such a good slut. so greedy, so eager to be fucked.” eddie uttered, his hips pumping slightly as you bobbed your head, his tip hitting the back of your throat, the taste of him ripe on your tongue. “my little daredevil.”

your thighs clenched at the new found nickname. you swallowed him more, hands gripping his thighs as you let him fuck your face. eddie felt himself cumming, he couldn’t, not without you cumming on his cock first of all. he grabbed your head, pulling his cock out as you whined, a string of saliva on your lips as he wiped the mess with his thumb. you gazed up, waiting for something. anything. “on your hands and knees. ass up.” he ordered before quickly fumbling his jeans on the floor, trying to find something.

you obeyed, shaky hands propping you up, knees parted as cold air hit your sticky cunt. lips still salty from his juice. you shivered, turning your head back to the slow man, a face of defeat written on his face that made you worried. “something wrong, eddie?”

“yeah. i don’t have a condom, sweetheart. fuck.” he sighed, tossing his jeans back to the ground. frustrated he is, he wanted to fuck you for christ’s sake.

“it’s ok. i’m safe, i’m on the pill.” you assured, wiggling your ass for him to come to you. eddie licked his lips, raptured by your bottom. still, he was worried.

“are you sure?” he asked, wanting you to he comfortable as ever. “we can totally stop. i’m cool if you don’t want to and all.” he added.

you smiled, still clear with your decision. “i’m sure. please just fuck me now.” you demanded, pouting. he laughed, nodding as he gripped your ass, kneading it with his hips pressed roughly to your rump. you moaned out, rubbing yourself on his hard cock. you lowered yourself, back arching, elbows planted firmly on the tiled floor as eddie aligned himself to your glistening pussy. he found sweet gold again as he eased himself in. you whimpered, the tip of his cock forcing in you as you clenched him out of habit. eddie titled his head back, hair dangling, baby hair sticking to his forehead as his brown pupils were blown out with lust. he gripped your ass harshly, bottoming himself out as you let out cries of his name. so sweet in his ears, like an angel choir. he swore he thought he was dead right now.

he groaned loudly, free as ever. “oh shit. better than fucking por—“

“shut up.” you cut him off before could utter anything else to kill the mood. he responded with a hard thrust as your nipples grazed upon the cold floor, your back arching as you tilt your head back. eddie gripped the back of your head, leaning down so his chest could brush against your back. you mewled at his roughness, cock sinking in deeper as he slowly pumped himself in and out. you gasped as he slanted your mouth to his, kissing you ‘til you can’t breath. his tongue licking, tangling with yours, tasting yourself as you whimpered against his plump lips. he started a pace, rough and demanding, trying to make you feel every inch of his cock in your pussy. his hand leveraged himself in front of yours, he pounded, with no intention of stopping as you gripped his arm.

“so good, eddie. more please. more.” you panted as he moaned out your name. the locks of his hair brushing against your cheek as he panted against your ear, kissing, nipping, telling you so much dirty words and promises he would do to make up for the lost time. the harsh grip on your ass deliberately trailed down to your stomach as eddie toyed with your clit. he thrusted, faster this time. rubbing tight circles on the swollen flesh as you sobbed against him, too tired at his fucking to hold yourself up. it felt so good, his skin brushing against yours, the sound of obscene skin slapping and his breathy curses and chaste kisses on your shoulder blade. everything felt right, the way his cock nudge that glorious spot as you keened at it. eddie pounded, knowing that spot well now as he grind himself again and again. his balls stirring, wanting anything to cum inside you as you clenched around him tightly.

“pussy so good. you’re mine, only mine. fuck, sweetheart.” he whimpered, feeling himself swell to completion. “can i cum in? can i fill you up? you dripping with my cum, please.” you shouted a yes in desperation, ready to feel euphoria coming in. eddie groaned loudly, fingers circling your clit tight, your nails digging to his strong arm as he flexed his hips, pushing his cock in deep until white hot flashes of light exploded. you sobbed loudly, your juices gushing out onto his cock, coating him entirely. he shuddered, his cum coating your gummy tight walls, his spend so thick and sticky inside of you, a new found sensation you loved. you shuddered, hips stuttering. enjoying the high, glad that eddie had stilled himself to enjoy the ride of an orgasm as well. it was a sight to be seen, the two of you almost naked except for your hellfire shirts, tangled together on the floor with nothing else than the each of you in your minds.

you hummed, contented. his cock was still buried inside of you, uncomfortable and snugged it felt but it was amazing. who knew the dumbass could fuck you so hard just by truth or dare. trying to wiggle yourself out of his hold, you were stopped harshly by the hand on your hip. you looked up to the side seeing eddie still in daze, sweat beading his forehead and his look clouded with darkness. oh shit. you thought, what have you done?

“we’re not done.” eddie breathed out, kissing your lips softly. he nudge your chin to the door, a smirk lacing his lips as he grind himself again into your cunt. you gasped, the overstimulation getting to you. he peppered kisses along your jaw down to the side of your neck as he whispered so lovingly yet menacingly. his little daredevil the one who caused to awaken the beast inside of him. all you.

“until they knock.”

slut 😩 me 😍 out 😫 slut 😖 me 🐱 out 💦

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson x fem! reader #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson smut #joseph quinn #stranger things #stranger things imagine #stranger things season 4 #fnhrlcllnwrites

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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years ago

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Prompt~ hoping you'll like it ♥️

Things between the Nie brothers are not always nice and happy, they fight, just like any other pair of brothers, and sometimes things are said, sometimes these things are heavy and painful. Sometimes they're said in the wrong moment (maybe at the eve of a battle? Sunshot campaign?) and huaisang doesn't know what to do with the broken look his brother gives him before leaving the unclean realm. Because what if he doesn't return? What if the last thing he said to him was how much he hated the man he became?

Labyrinth - ao3

“But I didn’t mean to wish him away!” Nie Huaisang cried out.

“That’s really too bad,” the goblin king said, looking pleasant and humble and charming the way he always did, even in his cape of glittering gold and high-browed hat. “I wish there was something I could do for you, but the rules are the rules. You wished him away, and I took him.”

“Aren’t you supposed to only take babies?” Nie Huaisang demanded.

“Your brother’s enough of a crybaby to count, it’s close enough.”

“It is not!” Nie Huaisang wrung his hands. “You don’t understand, the last thing I said to him was that I hated him! Meng Yao, please!”

“It’s Jin Guangyao,” the goblin king corrected. His smile looked a bit strained. “Listen, do you think I’m happy about this? He’s my sworn brother! I’m only doing what I have to –”

“Oh, save it for Lan Xichen,” Nie Huaisang growled. “Show me the labyrinth already.”

“You’re going to face the labyrinth,” the goblin king said. His voice was very polite, and yet still expressed significant doubt. “You.”

“Yeah, me!”

“You remember that it goes ‘through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered’, right? Not ‘through a nice teacher and a forgiving grading system’?”

“Yeah, well, your father is a fragging aardvark. Let me at the labyrinth already!”

“You know what,” Nie Huaisang said thoughtfully. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

The life-sized animated puppet blinked at him. “You – don’t want my help?”

“Nope. I’m good.”

“You haven’t even gotten into the labyrinth yet!”

“It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t have a chance to get in,” Nie Huaisang said, patting around his sleeve and pulling out a fan. “So I’m just going to walk over and beat at the wall till something happens.”

The puppet followed him, staring blankly. Quite a change from his original apologetic ‘I’m sorry, I’m busy with my own things, I really can’t help you, also it’s too dangerous and you shouldn’t go’ response.

“You were blackmailing me to help you just a moment ago,” the puppet said after a little. “Don’t you need a guide?”

“Listen, I’m bad at memorizing things and I’m a little useless, but I’m not actually dumb,” Nie Huaisang said, fanning himself. “Jin Guangyao is a demon of the mind above all else, and the labyrinth is supposed to be ‘fair’ – which means, more than likely, that the labyrinth is a reflection of the subconscious, specially tailored to each person’s strengths and weaknesses. And that means that you, who sound exactly like Lan Xichen, are almost certainly a set-up sent by Jin Guangyao to ‘reluctantly’ aid me and then betray me.”

“Uh,” Lan Xichen-the-puppet said. “My name’s Hoggle, actually.”

“Whatever makes you feel better, er-ge…A-ha!” Nie Huaisang beamed at the gates that automatically opened. “Perfect!”

“Oh, don’t go that way,” the worm said. “Never go that way. And are you sure you don’t want to come in for a cup of tea?”

“No time,” Nie Huaisang said. “Thanks a lot – wait.”

The worm blinked at him.

“You’re a pretty attractive worm, in a slimy sort of way,” Nie Huaisang said, frowning at him.

The worm blinked again. “Why, thanks!”

“No, that’s not what I meant. Is your name Su She, by chance?”

“Definitely not!”

“Mm. Oddly vehement of you. Never mind. Just, quick, could you tell me exactly why do I not want to go that way?”

“I don’t suppose straight ahead is an option?”

The hands-faces stared at him.

“I’m just saying, I feel like most of my problems so far have come from the fact that I decided to accept the whole concept of turns. It seems like a mistake.”

“…it’s a labyrinth,” another set of the hands said. “You have to make turns!”

Nie Huaisang shook his head mournfully. “I should’ve brought Baxia or something and just – ZIP. Gone straight through. You know what I mean?”

“I’m dropping you in the oubliette regardless of your decision,” the first set of the hands said. It sounded a bit like Sect Leader Yao. “Just so you know.”

“My life is so hard,” Nie Huaisang sighed. “So hard! Do you know what it’s like to be overlooked by everyone? Do you know how hard I have to work at being this useless?”

“Drop him,” the set of hands that sounded like Sect Leader Ouyang said, and the set of hands that sounded like Sect Leader Yao said, “Yes. Now!”

Down Nie Huaisang went.

“I can take you back to the beginning of the labyrinth,” Lan Xichen offered.

“What, and waste all that time? I have a time limit, er-ge!”

“It’s better than being stuck in an oubliette. That’s where they put people to forget about them, you know.”

Nie Huaisang’s eyes filled with tears. “You want to forget me, er-ge? You think I’m useless, don’t you? A good-for-nothing, who’ll never amount to anything –”

“Please don’t cry.”

“ER-GE! WHY DON’T YOU LOVE ME!”

“Please stop crying!”

“So what’s the point of you?” Nie Huaisang asked the Wise Man with the Talking Hat.

“Not everyone exists to contribute to your storyline,” the Talking Hat snapped at him. “Some of us’ve got our own problems. Now hand over the candy!”

“Don’t be mean,” the Wise Man said. He had a white cloth over his eyes, and was smiling like he found the hat funny.

“Awww, but daozhang…!”

“Different plotline entirely, I guess,” Nie Huaisang decided. “Probably just here as a foil. Shall we keep going, er-ge?”

“I can’t believe you scammed me to get out of the oubliette,” Lan Xichen mumbled. “I can’t believe…”

“Oh, leave him alone, he’s just sensitive!” Nie Huaisang snapped.

“Am not!” the upside-down creature snarled, curled up on itself and trying to hide from all those that had been hitting him. Its fur was a vivid sort of purple. “Go away!”

“Don’t you have some sort of special power to help you here,” Nie Huaisang asked him as he tried to get him down before the goblins came back with weapons. “Rocks, maybe?”

“…lightning?”

“Well then get to it, will you?” Nie Huaisang frowned. “Wait. Lightning, constantly being tormented, terrible at communication, and purple? You’re Jiang Cheng, aren’t you?”

“…maybe.”

“Well then get down faster! I need to copy someone’s notes here!”

“Leave me aloooooooone!” Nie Huaisang howled, running away from the measuring snake.

“Wow,” Lan Xichen said, holding his cheek. “You kissed me.”

“You saved me from the snakes,” Nie Huaisang said. “Can we focus on how we’re in this awful stinking bog?”

“It’s not that bad!” a voice piped up. “I don’t smell anything!”

Nie Huaisang turned to stare, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Of course you don’t,” he said. “I bet the total absence of a sense of smell helps when you eat spicy food, Wei-xiong.”

“There’s nothing wrong with spicy food!”

“You’re short,” Nie Huaisang informed the small goblin-like creature with the big grin and the red ribbon in its hair. It looked vaguely fox-like, or possibly like certain large breeds of rabbit.

“Why you..!” Wei Wuxian crossed his furry little paws over his chest. “Just for that, I’m not going to help you.”

“Uh-huh,” Nie Huaisang said. “Really. That’s awful…oh no! A dog!”

Wei Wuxian jumped high into the air. “A dog?! Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan! Save me!”

Much to Nie Huaisang’s surprise, a furry dog immediately darted out of nowhere – only Wei Wuxian didn’t seem afraid of it, but rather hid behind it, teeth chattering.

Truly, Nie Huaisang reflected, the eyes of love are blind.

“I think the ‘dog’ is gone now,” he said. “Your brave and noble Lan Wangji must’ve scared him away.”

Wei Wuxian’s head popped out from behind dog-Wangji. “Well, Lan Zhan is really cool…hey. Are you trying to manipulate me?”

“Is it working?”

“No!”

“So you won’t help me?”

“No!”

“Not even if it means you get to figure out a really tricky puzzle?”

“No – wait. A puzzle?”

“I can’t believe this is going to work,” Lan Xichen muttered from behind Nie Huaisang. “I mean, I can. But also…Wangji…I love you, but you could do so much better than this.”

“Ugh,” Nie Huaisang said. “I’m so thirsty.”

“Have some Emperor’s Smile,” Lan Xichen said, offering a jar.

“Amazing,” Nie Huaisang said, accepting it and taking a swing. “I had my doubts, you know, but you’re actually good for something after all, er-ge –”

The golden bird was Nie Huaisang’s favorite.

He’d worked so hard to bring it back to his aviary – it couldn’t be forced, he knew; it would play along at first but in the end it would turn on you and bite you. It had to be coaxed with gentleness and kindness, approached indirectly so as not to spook it, convince it that you really did mean well – that you were harmless, that it had no reason to fear you. It was arrogant, too, proud of its shining feathers and ashamed of the brown plumage of its chick days, which still remained visible on its tender underbelly. Ironically, that was Nie Huaisang’s favorite part of it, the soft and gentle part; it might not be as pretty as the gold, but it felt more genuine.

Nie Huaisang smiled as he brushed the beautiful feathers, and the golden bird allowed him. He felt cherished, treasured. So what if he had to hide all the sharp parts of himself to get this close?

It was fine. He didn’t like to be sharp.

He wanted to be soft. Soft and gentle, careless and free, relaxed and without effort, good for nothing –

Wait.

No!

“It’s all junk,” Nie Huaisang hissed at the pile of burning fans, tears in his eyes. “I want my da-ge!”

“You’re all right!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, helping pulled Nie Huaisang up.

“Huaisang-xiong,” Jiang Cheng said, looking relieved. “You’re back.”

“We have to go to the temple beyond the Goblin City,” Nie Huaisang said, teeth gritted together. “We have to. I won’t let that bastard…we’re going to go there and throw all his damned tricks right in his face!”

“Just us?” Wei Wuxian asked. “I mean, I’m awesome, Lan Zhan is fantastic, and of course Jiang Cheng is great, too, but…uh…there’s a lot of goblins in the city.”

“We’ll sneak in,” Nie Huaisang said. “He thinks he’s sidelined me entirely – he thinks I’m useless. He won’t be expecting me to get this far.”

“I can get help,” Jiang Cheng said. “I have friends.”

“…not to be rude, Jiang-xiong,” Nie Huaisang said. “But – really?”

“You know what,” Nie Huaisang said, eyeing the pile of rocks following Jiang Cheng around, each one painted with a name. One of the names was yellow. Two were in white, with forehead ribbons. “This is fine. I feel like it says something really rude about my empathy for and interest in our junior generation, or lack thereof, but you know what? I don’t care. It’s fine.”

“You saved me,” Nie Huaisang said blankly, looking at Lan Xichen, who shrugged, abashed. The remains of the mechanical temple guard were scattered all over. “Over – him?”

“Huaisang –”

“No,” Nie Huaisang said, holding up his hands. “Don’t. Don’t…I don’t want to hear you talk.”

Lan Xichen’s head dropped down and he looked at the ground. “You knew from the beginning what I was like,” he murmured. “I never tried to hide it –”

“I forgive you for being what you are,” Nie Huaisang told him, and Lan Xichen looked up at him, startled and pleased. “I forgive you for not having the backbone to stand up against Jin Guangyao for me – or for da-ge. For being willfully blind for so long, for needing someone else’s proof of his ill-intentions, for always picking him first, for never trusting me…I forgive you, even if you’d never forgive me for the same.”

He dashed away the angry tears in his eyes.

“I just wish this wasn’t a fucking metaphor.”

Nie Huaisang left the fighting to the people who knew what to do – Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng, even the rock-juniors – and went to the temple at the center of the city alone.

Some things, he knew, needed to be done alone, even if it was the type of alone when you were surrounded by other people. Even when those other people stood by his side and made him promise that if he needed them, he would only need to call. Some things…

“I want my da-ge back,” he said to the maze of stairs.

“Then go and find him,” Jin Guangyao replied, looking smug, and Nie Huaisang had to go up and down all those fucking stairs, because Jin Guangyao was nothing if not predictable with his trauma, looking all over, looking for –

Looking for pieces.

“It’s just a metaphor,” he whispered to himself, ignoring how tears were streaming down his face. “It’s just – I need to put him back together, it’s fine. I’m not too late – I’m not too late –”

Jin Guangyao held Nie Mingjue’s head in his hands, blinded and gagged and bound with talismans, pulled out of whatever oubliette he'd shoved it into to forget about what he'd done. “Beware, Huaisang,” he said, still smiling. Always smiling. “I’ve been generous up until now, but I can be cruel.”

Nie Huaisang laughed, scoffing. “Generous? What have you done for me that’s generous?”

“Everything! Everything you’ve wanted, I’ve done – I cared for you, I gave you attention, I got you out of work, doing your schoolwork for you and coming up with excuses to get you out of saber training. I gave you presents, fans and pretty clothing, and when that brute of a brother of yours tried to take them from you, I rescued you. And then I even managed your sect for you, answered all of your questions, any time you had – Huaisang, I’m exhausted trying to live up to your expectations of me. Isn’t that generous?”

Nie Huaisang bared his teeth. “Half of those are burdens that only fell on me because of you. Why should it matter to me that cleaning up your own mess and satisfying your own guilt is hard? Why should I pay such a price when all I wanted was to be your friend? When all da-ge wanted was to be your friend? How dare you, Meng Yao!”

“Huaisang…” Jin Guangyao shook his head mournfully. “Huaisang, the last step here is to say the words to break the spell. But you were never good at memorization, were you?”

Nie Huaisang bit his lip until he drew blood.

“Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered,” he said. “I have fought my way here to the temple beyond the goblin city –”

“Huaisang, stop! Look at what you’re risking here. You know how everyone loves me – do you think anyone will forgive you for taking me down, for tricking them all? You’ll be all alone!”

I already am, Nie Huaisang thought.

“My will is as strong as yours,” he said. “And my kingdom is as great…”

His voice trailed off.

“I ask for so little,” Jin Guangyao said beseechingly, convincingly, looking just like he always did, like the man who'd been their friend. “Just let me fool you, and you can have anything you want. No responsibilities, no stress, a life of your own. You can even have Lan Xichen, if that’s what you want…”

What’s the last line, Nie Huaisang thought, hating himself for being such a poor student, for cramming things into his mind without any order, for never being able to retain a single drop of it no matter how hard he tried. What is it? Why can’t I ever remember?

“It’d be so easy,” Jin Guangyao crooned. “Much easier than this. Just fear me, love me, believe me, and I’ll be your slave.”

Sharp teeth in a false smile.

Nie Huaisang shook in terror. He couldn’t – his da-ge needed him – he couldn’t be afraid, couldn’t be a coward, couldn’t be good-for-nothing – couldn’t let Jin Guangyao win – couldn’t let him –

That was it.

Nie Huaisang raised his head until his eyes met his enemy’s.

Sensing something wrong, Jin Guangyao’s eternal smile dimmed, and he began to step forward, reaching out, but it was too late.

“You have no power over me,” Nie Huaisang declared, and the world within a world collapsed.

Nie Huaisang opened his eyes.

Nie Huaisang sat in his desk in the Unclean Realm, trying to amuse himself by trying to figure out what exactly he’d eaten the night before that had given him such bizarre dreams. It was not successful, on account of him being alone.

Alone, just as he had been every night, and every day as well, since the success of his scheme at the Guanyin Temple.

Just as the dream-Jin Guangyao had threatened.

It wasn’t that Nie Huaisang regretted what he had done – the dream was clear enough about that; he’d do it all again in a heartbeat if he had to. But in the dream he’d been working alongside his former friends, with Lan Xichen betraying but then returning to him, with Wei Wuxian dragging Lan Wangji around, with stone-faced Jiang Cheng and the rather interchangeable junior squad behind him…and in his dream, in the end, they’d let him go to take his revenge, telling him that if he needed them for any reason, he could just call.

Just call, and they’d come back to him. Instead of turning from him in disgust, they’d stand by his side…

“Stupid subconscious,” Nie Huaisang mumbled to himself. “What do you expect? That I'd write to them and say ‘for no real reason at all, I find that I rather need you’?”

Silence answered him.

“Well, I do,” he said with a sigh, putting his chin on his hands. “Does that make you happy? I do need you.”

“You do?” Wei Wuxian’s voice rang out, and Nie Huaisang jumped nearly out of his skin. “Well, why didn’t you say so?”

Nie Huaisang turned, staring: it was Wei Wuxian at the door, the human version of him, and of course there was Lan Wangji right before him, and Jiang Cheng, and the (still mostly interchangeable) juniors, and – and even Lan Xichen, who Nie Huaisang was sure had gone into seclusion with no intent to leave.

“What are you doing here?” Nie Huaisang squeaked. And why hadn’t any of his sect disciples warned him?

“We just bullied our way though the door before anyone could stop us,” Wei Wuxian said cheerfully, answering the unspoken question first. “As for the rest – it turns out that I had the strangest dream the other night, really, truly bizarre, and obviously I had to tell Lan Zhan all about it, except it turned out he had a strange dream too.”

Nie Huaisang’s jaw dropped. “But –”

“I felt da-ge’s qi woven into the labyrinth,” Lan Xichen said quietly. “I thought it’d have long ago dissipated or been locked away, but – it was there, in every stone, in every turn. Every obstacle that didn’t really hurt you, every goblin that was more silly than scary…he was there. It was unmistakable.”

Nie Huaisang swallowed. The story of the labyrinth, baby-stealing wish-granting goblin king and all, had been one that Nie Mingjue had told him as a bedtime story, when he'd been a child in need of comfort; he hadn’t thought of it in years before last night. “But…why…?”

“Because Chifeng-zun has a demented sense of humor?” Jiang Cheng suggested, looking irritated.

“Jiujiu means that he hasn’t had that much fun in years, and also that you should throw a party,” Jin Ling said. “You are hosting all three of the sect leaders of all the other Great Sects. Also, why were we rocks?”

“Uh, no idea,” Nie Huaisang said. “Da-ge’s weird sense of humor, no doubt! Anyway, did you say party? I can do a party!”

He rushed out of the room, calling for his servants, calling for them to bring food and wine and tea, and as he did, he looked out of the window – a golden bird was flying away, looking hunted as if something was chasing it, and even as he watched, it crossed the borders of the Unclean Realm and suddenly dissolved into a fizzle of golden dust.

Nie Huaisang put his hand on the stone wall, and felt a familiar echo.

A very familiar echo.

“Oh,” he said, to his servants, feeling somehow simultaneously sheepish and filled with joy. “And while you’re at it, can you bring me my saber? I seem to have – misplaced it…”

#mdzs #nie huaisang #jin guangyao #lan xichen #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #lan wangji #su she #sect leader yao #sect leader ouyang #xiao xingchen #xue yang #my fic #my fics #labyrinth

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hartigays · 3 years ago

Note

big brain thot: wheezie being the one to get rafebarry together👀👀

“wheeze, you can’t just show up here like this.”

she hasn’t even gotten off her bicycle yet, helmet still in place and everything. she looks up at rafe with big eyes, rolling them as slowly and dramatically as humanly possible.

“i just did,” wheezie points out, unclipping her helmet and setting it in the front basket of her bike.

rafe eyes her warily, then relaxes a bit. his eyes flicker back towards the trailer. “how’d you even know i’d be here?”

“topper,” she tells him simply, shrugging.

“topper?”

another overly-dramatic eye roll. “yes, topper. he came by looking for sarah and i asked him if he knew where you were. i need help with something.”

“and topper told you i’d be here?” rafe asks, brows raised.

topper is a lot of things, but is he the type of person to send a kid to a coke dealer’s trailer? no, absolutely not.

“i encouraged him,” wheezie replies, a little too vague for rafe’s liking. he narrows his eyes and she sighs. “fine, i kicked him in the crotch until he gave it up. happy?”

rafe snorts at the mental image.

wheezie finally climbs off her bike, standing in front of rafe with her arms crossed. “so, are you going to help me or not?”

he really doesn’t want to say yes. but he’s sort of always had a soft spot for wheezie - she’s one of two people who don’t make him feel completely homicidal.

(the other is sitting back in the trailer, smoking a joint and watching some boxing match on his old as shit tv. the thing has antennas, for fuck’s sake.)

rafe glances back at the trailer again, then turns back to wheezie, scrubbing a hand over his face. “fine. but you can’t come inside, wheeze, i’m serious.”

“why, because of drugs?” wheezie snorts, flicking her hair over her shoulder. “please. i’m pretty sure you smoked weed in my room when i was like, five.”

“that’s not the point,” rafe huffs, his fuse shortening ever-so-slightly. “just tell me what you want.”

for the first time since her arrival, wheezie looks mildly uncomfortable. she bites her lip, looking towards the treeline.

“i want to learn how to fight,” she says, and her voice sounds so small that rafe sort of feels… bad.

which is like a new milestone or whatever, so this is sort of a big moment for him.

“why do you need to learn how to fight?”

wheezie doesn’t say anything for a long stretch. then, her cheeks get red, and the words burst out of her. “i’m getting picked on at school, alright? this girl keeps saying she’s going to beat me up after class and i can only hide from her for so long, you know?”

rafe is mildly taken aback, never figuring wheezie for the type to get bullied. she always seemed self-assured and well adjusted, with a sizable group of friends and an active social life. for a middle schooler, anyway.

“what’s her name?” rafe asks, indignant on his sister’s behalf.

if he had to choose a sister to be the target of bullying, it’d definitely be sarah. wheezie, on the other hand, is just a kid. and if someone is threatening to kick her ass, rafe sure as hell is going to find out who.

“i’m not telling you her name, rafe,” wheezie says. “i don’t want you going and knocking her door down to threaten her or whatever. i want you to teach me how to fight so i can hold my own.”

rafe would probably just kill the kid, not threaten her, whoever she is. but he doesn’t tell this to wheezie, biting his tongue for once.

he rocks back on his heels, then sighs, and beckons for wheezie to follow him into the trailer.

wheezie throws her arms up as if to say fucking finally, following rafe inside.

barry is still smoking on the couch, but when he sees wheezie trailing after rafe, he has the presence of mind to put the joint out with an awkward cough.

“you gonna tell me who your little friend is, country club?”

“i’m his sister, wheezie,” she says before rafe can speak, rolling her shoulders back and holding barry’s gaze steadily.

“wheezie?” barry repeats, then laughs, wagging his finger in her direction. “you funny, kid.”

wheezie gives rafe a look, clearly judging him for his choice of company.

“jury’s still out on you,” wheezie tells barry, eyeing him.

barry actually throws his head back when he laughs this time, and rafe can’t help but eye the line of his throat, his mouth going a little dry.

the worst part is, wheezie notices him staring. she raises a brow at rafe. he just coughs and looks away, regretting every decision he’s made in the last ten minutes.

“look, she wants to learn how to fight,” rafe tells barry. “i figured two heads would be better than one?”

“or you just a pussy and know you can’t beat nobody’s ass, rafe,” barry says, reclining back on the sofa, staring at him through heavily-lidded eyes.

“neither can you,” rafe reminds him.

always reminding him. where rafe has failed, barry has too. rather consistently, as a matter of fact.

“fair ‘nough,” barry says after a stretch, leaning forward again. “two heads, then.”

wheezie coughs, and they both turn to look at her. she gives them a bored look. “are you two done having a moment? or do you still need a minute? because i can step outside if- ”

“shut up, wheeze,” rafe groans, pushing her towards the couch.

they spend the next hour and a half discussing fighting techniques, and the cardinal rules of fighting. the ones rafe and barry abide by, anyway.

there aren’t many. they spend the majority of the time discussing technique.

when wheezie gets sick of listening to them yammer on about the different types of headlocks, she starts to get restless.

“oh my god, i didn’t come for the rules of fight club, alright? will one of you just show me how to punch this bitch in the face?”

both barry and rafe shut up immediately, barry’s mouth dropping open in mild surprise.

rafe just snorts, mumbling fair enough under his breath.

and that’s how rafe ends up watching barry do some sort of shadow boxing with wheezie in the living room. rafe re-lights the joint, watching the scene before him in amusement.

“no, kid, you ain’t gotta do all that fancy shit with your legs,” barry is saying at one point, then demonstrates some sort of kick for her.

rafe forgets sometimes that barry has military training, and despite the fact that he gets his ass beat on a regular basis, he’s a pretty damn good teacher.

the joint is long gone by the time wheezie looks at her watch, cursing.

“shit. rose is gonna kill me,” wheezie mutters, fumbling for her phone.

“just tell her you’re staying at a friend’s,” rafe suggests. “it’s too dark for you to bike back anyway.”

“you could always drive me, you know,” wheezie reminds him. then, her eyes flicker down to what’s left of the joint (basically, the filter) and backtracks. “well, he could.”

she’s pointing at barry, and barry shrugs.

rafe, however, finds himself wanting wheezie to stay. dare he say it, he might’ve actually missed his sister.

he’s pretty sure he’ll regret it later, but regardless he says, “we’ll get you something to eat and you can crash here if you’re too tired to go home after.”

something to eat ends up being freezer-burnt pizza rolls, but wheezie doesn’t complain. she eats her food while scrolling through her phone, glancing up at rafe and barry every now and then.

they’re conversing quietly about a drug deal they have set up later, a big one. rafe doesn’t think wheezie is listening, but he also doesn’t notice the way she keeps glancing up at them, her eyes flickering between them with an unreadable look on her face.

and then, out of nowhere, “are you guys dating?”

rafe looks at her sharply and he sees barry do the same out of the corner of his eye. barry’s mouth had shut so quickly that his teeth clacked together, and rafe can see him rubbing at his jaw.

“what the hell, wheeze?”

wheezie raises her hands in mock-surrender, but still rolls her eyes. “it’s just a question, geez. but thanks for the answer.”

“the fuck is she talkin’ about?” barry asks, his gaze flickering between rafe and wheezie.

“you two,” wheezie explains slowly, looking almost bored. again. rafe is starting to think he’s had a bad influence on her. “you’re dating, right? like that’s why you’re always here, right?”

the latter question is directed towards rafe, and he feels his stupid cheeks betray him, burning red.

“oh, right. you’re men, of course you haven’t talked about it,” wheezie sighs, then stands up and brushes invisible crumbs off her shorts. “well, i conveniently have to use the bathroom, so. use this time wisely, i guess?”

then wheezie disappears from the small kitchen, leaving rafe and barry sitting in thick, palpable silence.

“so… what the fuck just happened?” rafe asks when he can’t take the uncomfortable silence any longer, pointedly not looking at barry.

when barry shifts in his seat, rafe can feel it, and he realizes all at once just how close they’re sitting.

“she thinks… “ barry trails off, shifting in his seat again.

“that we’re dating,” rafe finishes, swallowing around the golf ball-sized lump that has mysteriously appeared in his throat.

rafe can feel barry looking at him. he can feel the heat of his gaze, and wow, wheezie is taking a really long time in the bathroom.

“that what we been doing, country club?” barry asks, and rafe looks over at him so quickly that his neck pops.

rafe searches barry’s face for any trace of humor, but comes up empty.

they’ve been practically living together for months, ever since rafe gave up trying to please ward and joined barry’s little side business. and if he really thinks about it, they have lapsed into something almost nauseatingly domestic.

it’s like. like rafe’s been in this weird, fucked up relationship this whole time, and he’s just now realizing it. and realizing, at the same time, that he doesn’t want it to end now that wheezie has gutted them both and laid everything out in the open, where neither of them can hide.

jesus fucking christ, is he in love with barry? barry the drug dealer?

well, rafe supposes that’s what he would call himself now, too, so. maybe it makes some sort of sense after all.

“i don’t think so, but i think we should now,” rafe finally says. he doesn’t know why he says that last bit, it just sort of slips out before he realizes what he’s saying.

but he doesn’t take it back either.

barry is too quiet next to him. the silence goes on for far too long, and rafe is starting to debate internally whether or not he should dump wheezie’s body in the swamp or somewhere off shore.

finally, barry speaks. “startin’ to think you may be onto somethin’, rafe cameron.”

“so is that a yes?” rafe huffs, already feeling exposed enough as it is. he doesn’t need barry speaking in shades of gray.

suddenly, there are fingers wrapping around his jaw, gentler than rafe would’ve anticipated, and then barry is turning rafe’s head and kissing him.

like, really kissing him. rafe feels like he’s being turned inside out, his insides shifting and adjusting, rearranging and adapting to make room for barry.

it’s not a particularly long kiss, but it’s sure as hell the best one rafe has experienced in his life.

“they teach you that in the army?” rafe asks when barry pulls away, aiming for nonchalant but failing due to the heavy rise and fall of his chest. and the fact that he can’t stop staring at barry’s mouth.

barry just smacks the back of rafe’s head, shoving him lightly. “get the fuck out my kitchen, country club.”

rafe is about to respond when the bathroom door opens, and wheezie pokes her head out.

“ugh, thank god you’re finally done. you should invest in a bathroom fan, you know,” wheezie tells barry, “i could literally hear everything.”

she shudders and gags, barry laughs, and rafe vaults himself out the nearest window.

well, he tries to. barry catches him by the waist easily, dragging him back into his seat. wheezie just rolls her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“okay, well, since you’re done being a drama queen, i think i’d like that ride home now.”

#rafebarry #outer banks #fanon rafe and canon rafe my beloveds #thank u for the request!! <3 #my fics #ask #anon

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