#oooooh i have arrived time to walk to the beach!

[thewritersofdeceased]

Hiiii! Sorry Ik you've done something like this b4, but I really loved it😭

I was wondering if you could do something with dating Darry and the rest of the gang kind of see's you as a motherly figure 😭🙏

Ill leave it up to your imagination for this, and if you can do it, could you keep this anonymous please 🙏😭❤

Hey hey, thank you for the request! I think I got an idea for this actually, so this works perfectly! Last time I did Darry x Motherly!reader I think was for a Christmas fic, so I've gotten something for summer this time! And ofc it'll stay anonymous dw dear! : ] She/Her pronouns for this one!

Being a parental figure was surely a pain in the ass. From Tulsa, Oklahoma all the way to a lake called, or notably known as "Lake Murray", Y/N drove with the more louder of the group of Greasers. Sitting besides her was Two-Bit, who she could handle to an extent. She allowed him to take control of the radio, knowing damn well it would just be the same few songs on repeat. Behind Two-Bit was Dallas, the most annoying pain in the ass Y/N dealt with. Then there was Steve, who wasn't exactly annoying, but could be whenever he was with Soda, who had been with his brothers and Johnny in Darry's truck. So Y/N was stuck with these three as she drove. Not like she had a problem with it. Maybe just Dally's smoking problem and Two-Bit's silly antics as he whistled to girls they drove by. Which is exactly what happened as they four continued to make their way towards the lake.

"Hey there beautiful!" Two-Bit called out, half his body out the window as he called out to a girl just walking with her friends. It resulted in him being pulled in by the jacket by Y/N, who had a rather annoyed expression. "Kieth Matthews! Knock it off or go sit in the back with Dallas and Steve!" She snapped at the older teenager, only earning "oooooh's" and "you're in troubleee" from the two behind her. Which resulted in her giving a death glare from the mirror. "Okay, okay! I won't do it anymore, mom!" Two-Bit yelled out, laughing his ass off right after. Y/N scoffed as she focused on driving. She was only two years older than the teenager, being twenty whilst Darry was twenty-two. As the boys in the backseat conversated with Two-Bit and one another, Y/N kept her calm as she drove.

All the calmness in her body had slowly drifted away as they arrived at the lake, parking besides her boyfriend's car. There was no sight of the four that had driven in her boyfriends car, so she tested her head on the steering wheel for a couple seconds. "Go on, you three. I'll be there soon. Bring your bags and go change in the bathrooms." She mumbled out, earning cheers from the three boys who got out the car with their stuff and quickly ran off to go change. At least Steve and Two-Bit had, Dally trailed behind smoking a cigarette. It wasn't until around five minutes after did Y/N get out of the car and make her way towards where the other boys was. She hadn't even noticed her boyfriend making his way over, having told his second "kid brother" to make sure Ponyboy didn't drown and for nobody to pick on Johnny.

"Hello, love." Darry's voice caught her attention as she looked up to him. "Well hello to you too, superman." Y/N teased, giving a small smile to Darry as he leaned down to capture her lips in a kiss. A loving and gentle one. Darry wasn't a huge PDA person, preferring to keep all lovey dovey things away from the public eye. Public love was just… icky to the oldest Curtis brother. Unlike Soda and Steve, that was. He preferred gentle mornings, waking up side by side, making y/n breakfast, things of the such. As he looked down to his love, a soft question escaped her, her eyes staring up into Darrel’s.. “Did the boys put any sunscreen on?” Of course she was to worry about the boys. A slight chuckle escaped the older boy, which had already given Y/N an answer to her question. Grabbing Darry’s hand and beginning to drag him towards the beach by the lake once more, she called out with a stern tone of voice. “Greasers! Get your asses over here now!” Darry himself didn’t tense up, but he took note of how Dallas and Two-Bit had. “Oh, and you have full permission to lecture Two-Bit. Wouldn’t stop hollerin’ at girls from the window.” She explained, watching as the six greasers had gotten out of the water, making their way over to stand in front of Y/N and Darry by their stuff under a tree. 

As Y/N stood with her arms crossed, she watched each of the boys with careful eyes. Ponyboy was more towards the back with Johnny, who had been fidgeting with his hands, whether it was cracking them or just messing with his nails. Y/N noticed it. She understood why. She used to do it before she had met Darry, preferring to keep her distance and stick to the side of the oldest greaser at the time. Two-Bit was standing with his thumbs tucked into his swim-trunks pocket, having changed in the bathroom as his jacket now laid out on his towel. It’d be all sandy, which wasn’t going to be fun when it came to Y/N’s car. Steve and Sodapop were leaning against one another, shoulder to shoulder, and Dallas? Of course he was smoking a cigarette without a care in the world. Each boy kept their eyes on Y/N, besides Johnny, who couldn’t keep eye contact and was currently staring at the sand below them all. With a calmer tone of voice, Y/N spoke up. “Did you boys put sunscreen on?” She asked, resulting in groans escaping all the boys.

“We’re not little kids, we don’t need the sunscreen,mom!” There was the commont that made everyone confused. Two-Bit had a teasing smile on his face, before Y/N looked to Darry. Who merely held his hands up in response. “Go on, have at it.” And with that, Two-Bit knew what to do. “RUN!” He shouted with a playful tone, turning to run towards the water again, with Y/N hot on his heels. “Get back here, Kieth!” 

[decimateddreams]

yesss blue aesthetic!!! i wore all blue and THREE people complimented my eyeline-mascara!!!!!

in an even more lonelycore turn of events, i rained and some famous actor guy died and they sent us home early <3 i have nothing else to do but stare at my ceiling and feel lost.

also beach!!!! so very lonelycore im so proud of you!!!!

(also. i totally meant to say bog. the universe is one big peat bog. that was not a spelling mistake. at all.)

~shy anon

ps: esque totally IS the old timey word for core you are so galaxy brained :00

as they SHOULD bet it's so cool <33 you,,, rained?? ;) enjoy(?) the free time for lonelycore activities!!

[eideticmemory]

TWO GHOSTS | MATTHEW G. GUBLER

It’s been 15 years. 15 years has to be long enough . . . right?

Set 15 years after the end of Ever Since New York, so give that a read first!

Word Count: 3.1k.

Warning: Usual angst, porn, and poor communication amongst characters.

SOUNDTRACK:

Maps - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Stop the World, I Wanna . . . - Artic Monkeys

Space Song - Beach House

May 16, 2002.

New York City, New York.

“[y/n] . . .” Claire whispered. “Honey, c’mon . . . just, try to sit up.”

You couldn’t. You just, couldn’t. It was as if your entire body was filled to the brink with sand — coarse, wet, heavy sand — and it was weighing you down, keeping you anchored to Claire’s bed. Your head rested in her lap, and your fist gripped, tightly, onto the fabric of her jeans — which were stained with your tears. Her hand ran along your spine, and her arm wrapped around you, protectively. She wanted to shield you, she wanted to keep you safe, happy. She wanted to distract you from your luggage laid out on the floor.

But, the pressure of her body, coddling you, God, it just hurt. Everything hurt, and you couldn’t get it to stop, and you couldn’t stop sobbing, ugly sobbing, snot running down your lips.

“Cl—Claire . . .” you whined. “I . . . I . . .” your hand flew to your mouth, muffling a loud and painful sob that echoed throughout the room.

“I know, I know . . .” she cooed, kissed the top of your head, and ran her hand over your hair. “It’s okay, don’t try to talk, just rest.”

Claire held you, all day and all night on May 16, 2002. She held you until you lost your voice, until you cried yourself to sleep, and after that, she still held you.

Because it was May 16, 2002.

And May 16, 2002 was day one without Matthew Gubler.

After crying yourself to sleep that morning, you awoke alone in Claire’s bedroom that night. You rubbed your tired and sore eyes, and sat up, surprised to see the sun had gone down. Your mouth felt dry, and your throat was sore. Claire had left you a bottle of water, and you chugged it in one gulp. You stood from the bed, slowly and groggily, stumbling your way through the boxes of clothes, and decorations that Claire hadn’t even put up yet.

You wandered aimlessly into the bathroom, and switched on the light. You didn’t recognize yourself in the mirror. Only a faint resemblance of what you looked like that morning, before the airport, before the tears.

You had dressed up. Did your makeup. And now, your clothes were wrinkled, and your face was smeared with mascara. You looked miserable, you felt miserable, you were miserable.

Claire walked in just as another tear rolled down your cheek. You looked at her reflection, and saw she was eyeing you, sadly.

“Hey,” she attempted to smile. She stepped over to you and held onto your shoulders, catching you as you fell back, dramatically, into her arms.

“Hey, hey, look at me,” she whispered. You hiccuped as you looked in the mirror, making eye contact with her. “It’s just day one . . .” she said. “It’s just . . . day one.”

And it’s true, what everyone says: one day turns into one month, and one month turns into one year.

And one year turns into one decade.

October 13, 2017.

New York City, New York.

Today, is Friday the thirteenth.

Day 5,629 without Matthew Gubler.

And somehow, someway, you feel just as stuck, and frozen, and scared shitless as you did on day one.

You haven’t felt this way in a very long time, though. And of all the days, of all the nights, to feel like this, to be stuck and frozen and scared . . . tonight is not the night.

A knock rings at the dressing room door, startling you from your thoughts. You cleared your throat, and found yourself, once again, focused on your reflection.

You know this person. You’ve spent 5,629 days growing into this person. And y’know what? She’s fucking hot.

“[y/n]!” Another knock follows.

“I’m coming!”

“When?”

“Ramona, I will fire you, and trust me, I really need an assistant!” You shout, fixing your dress in the mirror once again.

“Oh, yeah, right. Then who would make your coffee and make sure you’re on time?” she replied. “. . . You’re late!”

“Okay!” You stumbled to the door in your heels, flung it open, putting your hand on your hip.

“Wow . . .” Ramona said, nearly speechless. “You look . . . hot.”

“That is not how you speak to your boss, dude,” you laughed. “You really think I look hot?”

“Marshmallows on an open fire, smoking, kind of hot.” She winks.

You chuckle, “Thanks, I needed that. Walk with me.”

“Okay, um,” she starts, walking beside you as you strut down the hall. “Hair and makeup are gonna take care of you in no less than thirty minutes, that gives you, approximately, two minutes to get into the studio.”

“Two minutes?” You stop in your tracks. “That’s it?”

She can’t help but grin, just a little, “Told you you were late.”

You scoffed, “Okay, so are we shooting when I step into the studio?”

“Yep!”

“Great . . .” you sigh, walking over to the cosmetic chair.

“But, hey, you’re the big boss, they can’t film without you.”

“Yeah, except big boss told everyone we’re filming at seven sharp, and big boss probably won’t even be ready at seven sharp!” You ramble.

“Okay . . .” Ramona nods, slowly. “Are ever gonna tell me why you’re so nervous about tonight, or . . ?”

“Uh, why am I nervous about a major, televised, celebrity event that I not only put together myself, but choreographed?” You rambled. “I don’t know, pick a reason!”

“Wow . . .” She says. “As valid as all those reasons are, I think something else is going on and I will find out, so you might as well spill.”

“Can’t talk!” You pip. “Getting my makeup done! Tell them I’ll be in at seven.”

You exhaled deeply the minute Ramona stepped away, closing your eyes. Not opening them until your hair was done perfectly, and the makeup artist added her final touches.

You, once again, came face to face with your reflection.

“[y/n]!”

But you didn’t have time to process it.

“[y/n], cameras are rolling, thirty seconds to seven.”

Of all the days, of all the nights, you tell yourself, looking into the mirror, to feel like this, to be stuck and frozen and scared . . . tonight is not the night.

“[y/n]!”

Because you are the big boss now.

Your purple dress — perfectly matched to the NYU logo — hugs your body tightly as you walk across the floor, the hem splayed over feet, which are covered in tall, silver heels. The clack of your shoes silences everyone as you walk by. Everyone, except for Ramona, who steps in before you can enter the studio.

She clips an NYU pin to your dress, “For good luck,” she smiles.

“3, 2, 1 . . . rolling.”

You enter the studio, and the room fills with a flood of “oooooh!” from each and every one of your students. The camera pans over their faces as you walk across the hardwood floor, smiling at them, laughing at their expressions. Their jaws are dropped, hands clutched over their chests.

“[y/n]! Holy shit!”

“Hey!” You laugh. “Language! We’re rolling!”

“You look great!”

“Thank you, how are you all?” You ask.

“Nervous, thanks for asking.” They all laugh.

“You guys will be fine, I’m an excellent teacher,” you giggle.

“Damn right, but are you sure you can’t hold our hands while we’re on stage? Just for a little bit?”

“Big babies!” You shake your head. “You’re ready. Signals from off camera indicated a time crunch, and you quickly brought the group together for a big hug.

It’s been a long time coming. Tonight. Or, as printed on all invitations and promotional materials:

New York University’s 2017 Celebrity Alumni Event: In Support of the Ballet class of 2017.

Coordinated and Choreographed by [y/n] [y/l/n], executive producer and star of the hit reality show, New York Best and Ballet.

Big boss.

The camera follows you as you exit the studio, walk down the hall, “They’re gonna kill it,” you smile into the lense. “I know it.”

All you can think about is the blatant, gross hypocrisy. The way you’re completely, beyond a shadow of doubt, confident in your students and their ability to pull this off.

And you can’t even say the same thing about yourself.

With the cameras off of you, you put your hand against the wall, and steady yourself. Ramona walks up to you, walking along your side. “Got you a water, you should stay hydrated tonight.”

You give her an appreciative look, taking the bottle of water and standing up straight, “Is it too early to start drinking?”

“I guess not, guests are starting to arrive.”

“Holy shit, already?” You gasp.

“You did plan this thing, right?”

“Ugh,” you huff, dramatically rolling your eyes.

“You’re expected in the ballroom, a margarita will be waiting for you at the bar.” Ramona grins.

You continue down the hallway, as she watches you walk away, a crew of people following behind you.

“[y/n]!” Ramona calls.

You turn to her, stopping in your steps.

“Marshmallows on an open fire, smoking, kinda hot,” she smiles.

You laugh, out loud, and give her a nod. Then, you continue on your way downstairs.

More people had already arrived than you thought. The ballroom was packed, covered by a sea of people, tables, cameras and crew meandering through the crowd to catch every ounce of footage they could. You were filmed as you walked down the steps, passing the stage and stepping onto the floor with a grand smile.

“Pretty good turn out, huh?” You chuckled, beaming at the camera as you branch out to greet your guests.

This helps.

The smiles, the laughs, the presence of people that support you and your program enough to show up, pay a lot of money, and witness the magic of NYU ballet in all its glory. The light highlights the brightness of your smile, the glow around you in your element. Your chuckle echoing around the room, as you coasted from table to table, person to person, thanking them for coming.

Reconnections were made, stories were told, and retold, and thoughts of college had you blushing on the spot. You’re so lost in the whirlwind of energy, of being the proper hostess, and managing everything in sight, you didn’t notice that an hour had passed.

Until a crew member taps you on the shoulder, and tells you it’s five minutes to show time.

“Excuse me,” you nod, removing yourself from your current conversation and heading backstage.

You blow kisses to the band of nervous students, give them two thumbs up as cameras trailed behind you. “And . . . you’re on, [y/n].”

You stand up straight, hand your margarita off to a crew member, take in a deep breath. And walk. You march up to the podium, the bright lights beating down on you as you stand in front of the large crowd.

“Hello, everybody, welcome!” You announce, bringing the room to a gentle silence. “Thank you all so much for being here. I’m [y/n] [y/l/n], director and head of the ballet department here at New York University.”

You become flustered at the wave of applause, cheering the crowd and backstage. “Thank you, thank you so much. As a NYU alumni, there is truly nothing that makes me happier than to teach this extraordinary class of students. They’re focused, they’re determined, incredibly talented, and the best of the best. So, without further ado, I present to you the NYU ballet class of 2017, presenting a remastered rendition of their first performance in 2014.”

You exited the stage, the curtain behind you shielding the students that were already positioned in place. You stood backstage, watching them on screen, with your hands bound against your chest. The curtain was drawn, the music kicked up, and they went.

They move effortlessly, dare you say it . . . perfectly. In sync, and with a wide range of motion that rolled without a hitch. The crowd watched in awe, and you were right there along with them. Cameras focus on your face as you’re entranced by the class, and so immensely proud.

“They’re incredible,” you beam. “Aren’t they amazing?”

The full set took about half an hour, and when the curtain flies down, closing dramatically, you jump up and down, and run over to the group of kids who couldn’t wait to see you. The joy can be felt through the lense of every camera trained on you.

Their energy and excitement is putting you on cloud nine. Your own adrenaline is rushing, and pumping in your ears.

You let your guard down. You hand out kisses and hugs left and right, and step back in the crowd on a high, head empty, no thoughts. No feelings except for happiness and pride.

“That was incredible, [y/n], absolutely incredible.”

“Wonderful show!”

You were saying thank you faster than you could hear the accolades, caught in a rush of people passing you by.

You turn to see your students trailing behind you, shaking hands as they’re showered in praise. You grin at them, entirely consumed with elation by their looks of satisfaction, of relief, of relaxation and accomplishment.

You let your guard down.

You got comfortable.

“[y/n]!”

You let yourself slip.

“[y/n], [y/n]!” A hand is placed on your shoulder, causing you to turn around, a smile still plastered across your face.

“You know Matthew, right?” Your co-producer asked. “You guys graduated the same year?”

You nearly collide with him. You stop on the toe of your heels, and come to a screeching halt. Your eyes connect like magnets, the pull is strong and intense. Your breath catches in your throat, you smile fading along with your breath. You instantly begin to sweat under the light of the cameras, your skin heating up, your hands shaking.

“U—u—uh,” you stutter. “Yes! Hi!”

“Hi, [y/n]!” He exclaims, happily, opening his arms to give you a hug.

“Oh!” You gasp as he pulls you into his chest.

And he smells, so good. He’s grown, and it feels different holding his tall frame in your arms. But the embrace is quick, and brief, and he holds your shoulders in his palms as he speaks to you, “The show was amazing, blew me away!”

You’re expected to talk. You’re expected to breathe. But you’re left speechless by the scruff lining his jaw, the curl atop his head, the suit shaping his body, and topped off with a jet black bow tie.

“Thank you, thank you,” you ramble. “Thanks for coming, um, let’s catch up later,” you nod, to which he politely nods back, and clears a path for you to walk on by.

You let your guard down.

And now you can’t seem to catch your breath.

Your feet were killing you by the end of the night. You didn’t get to take a proper seat — without the cameras, and the crew, and the crowd, until nearly ten o’clock at night. As you were trying to regroup, Ramona found you hiding away in your dressing room, halfway asleep.

“[y/n]?” she taps your shoulder. You groggily lift your head, and look to her, “There’s a car waiting for you out back. It can take you home or to the hotel across the street. What do you think?”

“Mm,” you hum. “Hotel. Hotel is fine.”

The Lillian Hotel had been acquired specifically for tonight’s event. A cozy room, with an even cozier bed was waiting for you, calling your name. And after tonight, after day 5,629, it’s all you can think about.

You give Ramona a quick hug, and thank her for everything before you sneak out of the building. You take the back exit, avoiding an entanglement of people and paparazzi.

The atmosphere of the elegant hotel was much calmer. You were given the key to your room, and you turned on your heels to head to the elevators. Your shoes created an echo against the tile, and the sound suddenly silenced when you saw him. Waiting for the elevator.

“Matthew?” You call, timidly. The courage comes out of nowhere, flies out of your chest before you can catch it in your throat.

He stops in his tracks, and turns to you, holding the strap of his bag. “Hey!” he grins.

You give him a shy smile, as you let out a dry laugh and step closer to him.

His eyes darken, not noticeably, but just a little. He looks down at you, and you look up at him, and all you can say is . . .

“Matthew . . .” you clear your throat. “Thank you for coming tonight, and supporting the program, and for . . . being so professional about everything, I know it . . . couldn’t have been easy, I really appreciate it.”

His eyebrows furrow, only for a second, and his face almost goes blank. He looks down at his shoes, taps his foot as his mind swirls with words to say. But all he can is chuckle. Laugh.

“I knew you were gonna do this,” he says.

You tilt your head, “Do what?”

“This . . . think . . . think that what I did today had anything to do with you.”

“I—“ you stutter. “Okay . . .”

“I came tonight to see friends, to catch up, to visit New York. And I knew I would see you, and I knew . . . I knew you’d, I don’t know, expect me to fall to my knees the second I saw you. I can’t do that . . . I, personally, see no reason to do that. I acted professional, because I am professional, not to cushion your feelings.”

And although, he’s changed, he’s grown, he’s matured, and he’s a completely different person than when you saw him last, Matthew Gubler still knows how to make a dramatic exit.

He turns away from you and continues down the hall, boarding the elevator without looking back at you. You — who’s paralyzed, stuck, scared shitless. Standing in the foyer of the hotel lobby, wondering why you’re unable to move, to breathe, to keep your eyes from misting.

And back to day zero.

You knew for sure that you’d struggle to sleep. That Matthew’s word would eat at your gut and brain like a parasite, haunting you, rattling around your head. But, the second your head hits the pillow, you were out like a light.

And you dreamt of him instead.

The way he was 15 years ago.

The way he made you feel.

Bing, bing, bing!

“Huh!” You jolt awake, spasming out of your sleep violently. Suddenly, the sun had risen again, and it was burning your eyes through the windows.

Bing, bing, bing!

“What the—“ You sit up, rub your face, and anxiously search for your phone, wondering why you were being called so early in the morning.

Ramona’s name flashed upon the screen, and you swiped to accept her call. “Hello?”

“[y/n] . . .”

“Ramona . . .” you slur.

“Have you checked twitter this morning?”

“Tw — no? No, it’s . . . seven in the morning, of course I haven’t checked Twitter.”

“Check it.”

“Ra—“

“Check it!” She shouts.

You groan, and navigate to the Twitter app. “Oh . . . oh, I’m trending . . . that’s good, right?”

“Yeah, uh-huh, check who you’re trending with . . .”

“Okay . . .”

Clicking on your name, you instantly sat forward, your eyes going wide, “NO!”

TAGLIST:

@muffin-cup

@pinkdiamond1016

@ncsls0515

@spencersbed

@safertokiss

[naiatabris]

ZevWarden Week Day 2's theme is "Gifts." We all know the Warden is an expert gift-giver (an idea I'm playing with here)--so what happens when it's Zev's turn? This is set in the modern AU of my "Charity Case" fic, shortly after the events of the story.

______________

“Hey, are you doing anything Friday after work?”

Zevran glanced over from the pan of eggs he was frying. Naia was making coffee at his side, carefully pushing the top of the press into the vessel to sweep the grounds to the bottom. Naia herself was not picky about her coffee, since she took it with a great deal of sugar and milk; she’d learned this more elaborate method for him, a fact he still did not quite know how to process.

“No firm plans, no. Do you have suggestions?” He winked at her. “Are they naughty ones?”

She laughed as she began to pour the coffee into mugs. “Not exactly. It’s my birthday. I always invite some people for dinner at that diner near the DFRC to celebrate. It’s very casual, but I’d love for you to come.”

“Then I will be there.” He slid the eggs from the pan with practiced ease before pulling out his phone to mark the appointment in his calendar.

*********

Later that day, as Zevran was headed out of Cousland Enterprises to find lunch, a familiar voice interrupted his train of thought. “Hi, Zev!”

Zevran turned to see Beth Cousland walking through the CE door, a bright smile on her face. “Beth! A pleasant surprise. Lunch with a family member?”

She nodded. “I haven’t seen Fergus in ages, and I need ideas for Oren’s birthday. Hey, speaking of birthdays, what are you getting Naia for Friday?”

The question caught Zevran utterly off-guard. He immediately felt foolish. Presents. Of course. As customary in Ferelden as they are in Antiva.

“I … am still struggling with an idea,” he said, not quite lying. “And you?”

“Same here.” Beth’s face lit up. “Here, I’ve got a few minutes before Fergus and I are supposed to leave. Let’s call the expert.”

Barely a minute later, Beth had Alistair Griffin on speakerphone.

“Oooooh. I should have warned you.” Zevran heard Alistair take a deep breath. “Here’s the thing about Naia. She is absurdly, impossibly good at gift-giving. Those action figures on my bookshelf? They were my favorites when I was a kid. I lost them in a move after college but Naia somehow found me new ones. Another year, she sewed me my own Denerim Crashers jersey--that’s the old minor league baseball team that I used to follow before they moved to Highever. She put my name on it and everything.”

Zevran felt a nervous sensation beginning to spread through his stomach.

“So what are you getting her?” Beth asked, a little worried wrinkle between her brows.

“Soccer ball autographed by her favorite Denerim Lightning players,” Alistair said promptly. “Took me a while to find one with the goalie’s signature on it, but I finally had a good idea and I wasn’t going to screw it up.” He cleared his throat. “It was also more than I probably should have spent. Want to split the cost and put your name on the card?”

“Deal,” Beth said immediately. “Any other ideas Zev could use?”

“Unfortunately I spent months coming up with just that one idea,” Alistair said dryly. “Sorry, Zevran. But I wouldn’t worry about it. Gifts are her thing, I think she kind of likes that she’s so much better at it than we are. And most people at the party don’t bring a present. You’ve only been dating a month. She probably doesn’t expect you to get her anything.”

Zevran frowned. “I appreciate the insight,” he told Alistair sincerely. “But I would not wish to arrive empty-handed. I will think of something.”

After exchanging goodbyes with her boyfriend, Beth hung up the phone and gave Zevran a reassuring smile. “I’m sure he’s right, you know. Whatever you get her, she’ll appreciate the thought.”

Zevran was sure Beth had the right of it. But the knowledge that Naia valued gifts, that she spent so much time and effort on presents for those she cared about, felt like a challenge he wanted to meet. ‘Appreciate the thought’ would not do.

He wanted to find something she would love.

*********

Over the next few days, Zevran began jotting down a list of things he knew Naia liked, trying to come up with a potential gift. He listened to her remarks, paid attention to what she watched on TV, looked at her wall of family photos depicting graduations and cookouts and summer days swimming at a beach on the Amaranthine Ocean.

Coming up with a present was more difficult than he’d anticipated. Since Alistair had already secured the soccer ball, anything related to Naia’s favorite sport or team was out. She’d just bought new running shoes a few weeks ago. He considered something more intimate, but between them they had an impressive collection of toys, and lingerie felt like a gift for him as much as for her.

Perhaps a physical present was the wrong direction. He thought back to the birthdays he’d planned for Taliesin and Rinna. During their first year as Crows he’d taken Taliesin club-hopping, laying out his credit card for some absurdly expensive table service before the two of them headed back to Taliesin’s apartment with an enthusiastic third party. For the last birthday he’d celebrated with Rinna, he’d booked a table at the city’s most exclusive restaurant, followed by a night in a penthouse hotel suite with a spectacular view.

Neither of those ideas were right for Naia, though. He’d learned that she was instinctively frugal, that the prospect of a twenty-dollar cocktail made her wrinkle her forehead and order soda instead. A high-end Denerim restaurant or hotel with mostly shemlen patrons would feel like an ordeal rather than a celebration.

He wanted something special yet comfortable, nice enough to be a treat and yet not so expensive it made her uneasy. A difficult balance to strike, especially since he was still getting to know his new city.

But finally, on Thursday morning, it came to him.

*********

Naia had somewhat undersold her birthday celebration. When Zevran arrived at the diner, it was filled with balloons and packed with her friends--old high school and college classmates, teachers from Vanedrin High, and other rec center employees. He was trying to figure out how to insert himself into this clearly tight-knit and friendly group--but before he could puzzle over it too much, Naia seized him by the sleeve and began to introduce him around.

More than once, Zevran touched the pocket of his jacket to make sure the envelope he’d brought was tucked safely inside.

Alistair began handing her presents as the diner’s wait staff brought out buckets of fries and pitchers of beer. She squealed in glee over the soccer ball, turning it around and around until she’d examined every signature; a new backpack, a gift card to a movie theater, and a Denerim Lightning ball cap were all greeted with hugs and enthusiastic thanks.

And finally, as the wrapping paper was cleared away and the guests resumed their party, Zevran slid an envelope in front of Naia. “Happy birthday.”

“Zev! I should have told you, presents are always optional. But thank you.” She grinned at him and opened it.

Her eyebrows rose as she pulled out the photograph inside. “It’s--a little house? Next to the ocean.” Then her eyes widened in recognition. “Zev. This isn’t …?”

He nodded. “The beach where your family used to go in the summer. Places near the water do book up early, but I was fortunate--there was a cancellation next month. It is just a weekend, but …”

Naia leaned over and kissed him, cutting off his almost-apology. When she pulled back, her eyes were sparkling. “I can’t believe this! It’s amazing! My parents had to cut back on the trips when we started saving for college …” she trailed off wistfully, then looked down at the picture and beamed. “I don’t think I’ve been to the beach in years. I can’t wait.”

“I fear there is a small addendum,” he admitted. “I had to call your parents to learn more about your favorite spots. We will be attending the Tabris family cookout next weekend. Adaia and Cyrion were quite clear that ‘no’ is not an option.”

Naia leaned her head back and groaned. “Oh, Maker. I’m sorry in advance, Zev.”

Oddly enough, Zevran was not. He had never met the parents of anyone he slept with, and he could not deny that the idea was strange. But there had been something very pleasant about hearing the elder Tabrises insist on meeting Naia’s boyfriend.

He raised his hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. “A cookout is an acceptable price for the chance to see you in a bikini,” he murmured, too low for the rest of the party to hear.

“This place looks pretty private, Zev,” Naia murmured back. “If we’re lucky, we can skip the bathing suits.”

[aotomegane]

TianShan Beach au:

“Let’s go to the beach!!” Jian Yi exclaimed while Xixi nod in agreement.

“Oooooh, sounds nice. C’mon Little Mo, I want to taste your cooking again,” a cheeky smile plastered on He Tian’s face.

“Not interested,” Momo replied.

“Oh c’mon Little Mo~ I’ll pick you up after you finished your work tonight!”

Momo brushed He Tian’s hand off of his shoulder. He then walked pass the school gate, living the three boys behind.

It’s already midnight when Momo finished his shift. The shop was so busy he didn’t have the chance to take a quick bite. Suddenly, a familiar jeep stops right in front of him. And of course, He Tian steps out of the car with his usual smile.

“Told you I’ll pick you up.”

“Get lost. I want to go hom—“

Before he could finish his sentence, He Tian picked him up and drag him to the car.

“Awhhh don’t be like that. I promise you you’ll love it!”

“Fuck chicken dick! Let me down!!!”

As usual, he never wins with He Tian. The car rides wasn’t long. But it was quiet. Not even a single music was played. Momo liked it tho. He rarely got a quiet time especially when He Tian’s around.

When they arrived at the beach, Momo was reluctant to get out of the car at first but he did when Brother Qiu asked him “Aren’t you getting off?”

Not far away from where they parked the car, he saw two tents and a campfire. Something smelled awfully delicious tho. Momo’s stomach growled.

“You cooked this?” Momo looked at Jian Yi.

“I wish lol. No, Xixi did!”

“I tried my mom’s recipe. Hopefully it’s good,” Xixi ket on stirring the pot.

“Smells good,” Momo mumbled. Low enough so that nobody heard him.

All of them sit around the campfire and ate their dinner. Xixi made Jian Yi delivered the dinner to Brother Qiu. He Tian can’t help but kept on looking at Momo while he’s eating.

‘God, he looked like a chipmunk.’

“If you’re not eating your part, I’m gonna finish it,” Momo said to He Tian.

“Anything for you Little Mo.”

A hint of blush appeared on Momo’s face. Then he looked away before He Tian realized it.

After awhile, Jian Yi and Xixi went into their tent to sleep. Brother Qiu slept in the car. Fortunately, he used to it.

“Little Mo~ let’s go to sleep.”

“I’ll sleep outside.”

“......”

“Tchhhh fine!” He grumbled as he went into the tent.

He Tian was awaked when he heard the zipper sound from the tent. When he opened his eyes, the place where Momo slept was empty. He peeked outside the tent and he saw Momo laying on the sand.

“You’ll catch the cold you know.”

No answer. He Tian laid besides Momo.

“It’s a waste for them to come here and not appreciate it,” Momo broke the silence.

“Pretty sure Jian Yi just want to start the campfire.”

It was a pretty chilly night, but for some reason, it’s warm for the both of them. The sounds of the crashing waves made Momo sleepy again. But he can’t stop staring at the night sky. How long has it been since he last looked at the stars? Years maybe.

“It’s pretty,” he said before he dozed back to sleep.

Without taking his eyes off of Momo, not even once, “Yeah,” He Tian replied.

[nahimjustfeelingit-writes]

Imagine

Soft boi Erik

It’s Y/N and Erik’s honeymoon. They have the perfect get away in the Virgin Islands. During sex Erik is staring at Y/N and he’s so overwhelmed with how beautiful she is/her body is and he arrives to the station “early” lol.

Warnings: Teasing, FLUFF, SMUT, pre-mature cum, SoftBoi

A week away in the Virgin Island for the newly weds. Y/N was a Stevens now. They climbed out of Erik’s Private jet, a welcoming party already there waiting for them both. Their personal driver, Ramone, grabbed their bags to put away. Erik held the door opened for his wife, helping her inside before he settles in next to her.

“Newly Weds?!” Their personal driver asks, “How long you two staying here?”

“Two weeks!” Y/N squeezed Erik’s hand, “Two weeks in paradise. I’m so excited. Aren’t you excited, babe?”

“Two weeks with you is paradise enough for me,” Erik couldn’t keep his lips under control as they trailed down his wife’s neck, “My Wifey. Damn, you’re officially all mine.”

Y/N giggles, Erik’s plush lips tickling her neck. He was on top of her now in the back seat, trailing his loving and desperate kisses down the middle of her chest before they landed on her belly button. Y/N squirms, her knees coming up to hide her stomach away from his feather-like kisses.

“Baybeee,” Y/N whimpered with a small laugh.

“I can’t help myself. Your so damn addictive,” Erik takes his hand to run up her tropical wrap skirt, “Can Hubby take a peak?”

“Oh, Babyeee,” Y/N whispers, “We aren’t alone-“

“I need you. Two weeks of paradise includes two weeks of fucking. I’m fucking you, Wifey, every damn night.”

“Oh, goodness,” Her skin blushed, “Will I ever get a chance to sight see?”

“We can, and we can fuck on the beach. Pull you in the back of a shop and fuck you against a wall. Go to a reggae club with VIP and fuck you right there. Fuck you everywhere, Baby.”

Erik’s lips passionately clashed with Y/N’s in the back seat. Tongues twirling, lips smacking, sighs of pleasure. Erik pulls away, stroking Y/N’s cheek with his thumb, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Y/N replies before leaning forward to peck Erik’s lips.

“Show me that ring,” Erik smiles. Y/N giggles, rolling her eyes playfully before showing off her ring. It was a Pear-cut Champagne Brown Diamond Engagement Ring. It has white accent Diamonds. 18k white gold ring sporting a diamond halo around the main stone. That didn’t include the diamond wedding band she also has. Erik grabs her hand, admiring the extravagant jewelry before placing a kiss over it.

“Seeing this, has my dick hard as fuck right about now,” Erik drags that same hand down so she could feel exactly how hard he is. How rigid his dick is in his shorts. Y/N bites her lip, looking up at Erik slowly before sticking her tongue out to lick across his lips. Erik’s body shivered. He captured her tongue between his lips, sucking it, before covering her mouth with his lips. Y/N moaned into his mouth.

“We are here, lovely couple!”

A beautiful vacation villa in St. Croix, U.S Virgin Islands. It was up on a hill, surrounded by the tropics with a trail to the beach and a private pool with a jacuzzi. It was wide open with a patio that wrapped around the villa; large floor to ceiling windows and the perfect furniture fit for an island getaway. Y/N spotted so many places she would love to lounge at while she was here. The hammock on the front porch was big enough for two. Then there was a large cream colored pit sofa with tropical pillows.

“WOW.” Erik pulled his RayBands on top of his dreads, “Remind me to buy our own Villa so we can escape and come here whenever we want to.”

“I promise I will,” Y/N began walking in her Birkenstock’s up the stairs behind Ramone. He carefully carried the luxury suitcases. Erik carried the shoulder bags. Finally up the stairs, Y/N pulls out her cell to take a picture of the outside of the villa.

“I don’t think I want to go home, babe,” Y/N turned around to look at Erik, “fuck work and responsibility. Let’s live here.”

“I don’t think your mom would be happy with me if I kept you here,” Erik kissed Y/N’s forehead before following Ramone into the Villa. Y/N took a few pictures before joining them both inside. The Aloe Vera plant garden made Y/N smile. She planned on using it for her hair and skin. She was happy her and Erik were alone. She could walk around naked all day every day.

“The fridge is fully stocked but there is a produce market down the back trail. All the fruits, vegetables, oils, butters, and cigars you need. Much much more too.”

“Thanks Ramone,” Erik pulls out his wallet, tipping the elder man generously, “If we need you again, we can just call you?”

“Absolutely! Thank you! Thank you!” Ramone accepted their cash, saying his final goodbyes before leaving Y/N and Erik alone.

“EEEK!” Y/N ran up to Erik, jumping into his arms and straddling his waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck while Erik spins her around. Y/N leans back, kissing Erik while grasping his face.

“Let’s look around,” Y/N spoke against Erik’s lips. She hops down, grabbing his arm to drag him along. They looked at the living room, kitchen, and dining room area. Up the steps they went, Erik slapping Y/N’s ass while she tried to run away from him. He chased her a little before wrapping his arms around her waist, keeping her close to him while they checked out all the rooms. The bathroom was their personal favorite. Erik promised daily bubble baths and sex in the shower. Finally, they both made it to the master bedroom. It also has a wrap around patio.

“Perfect, I am in awe of this place,” Y/N was carried bridal style towards the bed, “You really outdid yourself, handsome,” Y/N bats her long lashes at him.

“Hmm,” Erik gently places his wife onto the bed, crawling towards her like a wild cat. She bites her fleshy bottom lip, curling a single finger for him to come closer.

“Why not start off fucking now, huh?” Y/N takes off her white tee that she wore wrapped in the front to expose her stomach. Nothing but beautiful round breasts awaited Erik’s drooling mouth. Now, Y/N was removing her tropical wrap skirt. Once that was gone, the only barrier left was her burnt orange thong. Erik went flat on his belly, crawling towards her on his elbows. Y/N opened her legs wider, a single finger in her mouth to seduce him. Erik’s lips kissed up her feet, calves, inner thighs, then over her warm mound. Erik uses his teeth to pull her thong down slowly, his primal eyes watching the way her pink tongue licked around her lips. The thong was down past her feet now, Erik releasing it from his mouth. His large hands pulled Y/N’s legs towards him before bringing them up and over her head. She was wide open for him. Y/N sat up on her elbows, a naughty smile on her face.

“Eat me?” Y/N pulls her pussy lips apart, “Eat my pussy, Hubby?”

“Fuck yes,” Erik licks her slit in one strike, “You taste just like pineapples down here.”

“Mm-uhhh,” Her eyes rolled shut, “Damn, that dangerous tongue.”

Erik gave her more tongue. Y/N’s head fell back against the pillows. His tongue made her inner folds puff up lick he wanted them to. Her hand reaches out to remove his shades from his head, tossing those on the other side of the bed before grabbing a fist full of his dreads to bring his lips to her pussy.

“Give me some of that mouth...good, Daddy,” Y/N’s body grinds into his mouth, “So...good.”

“Mhm,” Erik mumbles into her pussy, “Mhm.”

“Yes,” Y/N’s mouth fell open, “Yes, right fucking there.”

His lips sucking on her made Y/N’s toes curl and back arch from the bed. Her eyes connected with Erik’s, watching him pleasure her. Y/N’s hand came forward to stroke the dreads that fell in his eyes back. She held his hair back for him, her eyebrows knitted together with immense pleasure while she mumbled how good she felt. Biting her bottom lip hard, Y/N uses all the power in her hips to fuck Erik’s mouth. Her hips buckled into his mouth, toes pointed to the ceiling. Erik could feel her cream mixed with her juices drizzle down the side of his lip to his chin.

“Ahhhhhh, ahhhhhhh, mmmm, Umph, oooooh, ooooo, Mhm, Mhm, mmm-uhhhhh,”

She was a moaning mess. Her ass shook along with her thighs. Her breathing came out in a desperate rhythm now. She was wheezing almost. Erik didn’t stop. He kept on going and going. Y/N’s eyes rolled cross-eyed before her hand left his hair to grab both of her breasts, squeezing them and twirling her nipples. Erik looked up just in time to see her lick one of her nipples. His dick hurt from how hard it was. Boundless and vast dick so long, fat, and solidified that it throbbed against his thigh. Her sugary fluids coated his tongue yet again. She was spilling in his mouth. Looking up at her from between her legs, watching all the faces she made, Erik couldn’t control the urge to cum. He needed to be inside of her.

Erik’s lips popped off her labia and clit, his lips glossy and his chin hair soaked with her cream. He didn’t care to wipe his face as he stood from the bed, yanking off his shorts and tropical buttoned shirt. Fully nude and looking powerfully built, Erik got back on the bed in a hurry, pulling Y/N’s legs over his shoulders. Her breath rushed in and out, eyes low with lust as she watches her husband position himself without a word. He yearned for her. He longed to sink deeply. The sudden impulse aroused her further. He will be so happy to find that his wife is even more wet for him. Erik grabs the base of his dick, deep, shuddering breaths escaping his mouth before he pushes his thickness inside of her. Y/N fought for her breath, pushing back against the carved oak headboard. The minute he was inside of her, was the minute his body rocked. She could hear her slippery walls and his dick entering her tightness. She could hear their skin slapping. He was stretching her out to even wider depths.

“Daddy, you’re so big,” Y/N grabs his balls before stroking the base of his dick while he fucked her, “Mmm, God, Daddy, I am so stuffed!”

Erik fucked her harder when she said that. He couldn’t even form a word. All Y/N could make out was his irregular breathing and ragged sighs. He had his his eyes on her from time to time then he would look down at the way he fucked that good puss. That warm, heated puss. Her breasts bounced and swayed like two beautiful fleshy pillows. Her stomach would flex each time he went in deeper, her face...That beautiful, breathtaking, gorgeous face. She blinked up at him with shock at how good he pounded her. Her mouth hung open while her lower lip pouted and dangled. He couldn’t control the urge to empty his balls and shoot off in her cunt deep.

“Fuck me, baby, fuck me just like that, get it baby, yes, Daddy, fuck it just like that. You getting that shit, Daddy, you know how to fuck me, you know how I deserve to be fucked. Ohhhh, God, Shit, baby. Big. Fucking. Dick. Gawd-“

“UGH, GIRL!”

Erik could feel his dick ripple and propel his cum into her pussy. Y/N tightened around him, pulling more cum from him. Erik lets out short, heated breaths before collapsing on top of Y/N. His face was hidden in the crook of her neck. Y/N reached up to stroke the back of his head.

“Baby?” She called his name in that voice that he loved, “Baby, look at me.”

Erik couldn’t do it. He was embarrassed and pissed. He never came pre-maturely, ever.

“It’s okay,” Y/N whispers soothingly into his ear, “I understand. It felt so good for you, it’s okay, you just felt so good, that’s all.”

He could cum again from those words.

“I want you to look at me.”

Erik lets in a shivering inhale before lifting onto his elbows to look down at her. His jaw was tightly clenched but his whiskey eyes blinked down at her. The tips of his ears were red and Y/N knew that was a sign of embarrassment for him. She kissed his lips, her eyes open as she kissed him. Erik looked from her eyes down to their joined lips before falling into the kiss. They French kissed for a little before Y/N broke the kiss, taking her thumb to wipe away spit from his chin.

“Don’t ever feel embarrassed about that. This is your pussy, you enjoy your pussy, okay?”

“Yes,” Erik gave her a weak smile, “I couldn’t control it-“

“Shhh,” Y/N pushed Erik down onto the bed, straddling him, “don’t talk, just feel.”

She began to grind her hips while his dick was still compressed by her walls. Like her pussy was made of angel dust, Erik’s dick came to life once more. The way she pulled on him had him grunting and running his hands all over her body. Y/N pressed her hands in the middle of his chest, moving her hips over him at a slow pace.

“You feel my pussy grabbing you nice and tight, Daddy?”

“Hmph, yes,” Erik bites his lip.

“Can I show Daddy how I fuck this dick?”

“Mmm, yes, girl.”

Y/N rode his dick. She used his pipe to her advantage. Erik’s ass cheeks clenched and his balls jumped. He was experiencing so much pleasure that it was all too much at once. Y/N took his dick and used it. Now, she was fucking him reverse. Her ass bounced and popped. He could see her fat pussy lips and tight hole wrapped around him snuggly. The skin of her wet hole was squeezing him. Erik reaches out to whack her ass. He held her cheeks apart while Y/N did her thing. He couldn’t believe it, he was going to cum again.

“FUCK,” Erik looked at her ass angrily, “LOOK WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO MAKE ME DO!”

Erik sucked in lungfuls of air as spasms of delight rocketed through him.

“UMPH! DADDY!” Y/N was squirting on him. Squirting and creaming. She didn’t stop her rhythm. The bed jumped beneath them like a trampoline.

“Ugghhhhhh, SHIT IS RIDICULOUS, Fuckkkk!”

Erik came again right after Y/N. He grabs her ass to pull her pussy off of his sensitive dick. More cum spilled from Erik and stained Y/N’s dripping wet cunt.

————————

POP! SIZZLE!

Erik drank from the champagne bottle while some of the fuzz spilled down his neck and onto his naked chest. Y/N was right by his side in a pair of black panties, titties out as they sun bathed. Erik tips the bottle over her breasts, coating them with champagne. Y/N rubs it into her caramel skin. She looked up at Erik through her shades and straw hat, smiling at her man.

“Welcome to the good life!!!” Erik sings T-Pains song.

“Welcome to the good LI-I-I-IFE!” Y/N sings.

“Now throw your hands up in the sky!!!!”

“Aye-“

“AYE-“

“Aye-“

“AYE-“

“IM GOOD!” They finished together.

“I miss that Kanye,” Y/N says while applying sunscreen to her thighs.

“Me too,” Erik picked up his cigar, “We’re living the good life though.”

“For sure.” Y/N smiles with contempt.

“Look.”

Y/N lifts up on her elbows to look over at Erik. He had an obvious tent in his trunks. Y/N laughs, falling back against her beach chair before grabbing her Rum Punch.

“Your dick is always hard, baby,” Y/N giggles.

“Always hard for you,” Erik grabs one of her titties while rolling her nipple, “Come suck on Daddy.”

“So you can cum again in two minutes? I’d be glad to.”

Y/N got up from her seat, kneeling in front of Erik on the sand. She removed her straw hat, pulling Erik’s trunks down to his thighs.

“Ha-Ha. So you got jokes now?” Erik smiles.

“Just teasing. I can’t help the fact that I have amazing pussy.”

“That puss is more than amazing. That thang is magical.”

“Aww, babyeee,” Y/N grabs Erik’s fat dick, “Thank you. Thank you so much,” She wraps her lips around him and went to town.

“DAMN,” Erik’s head went back.

“Mhm,” Y/N mumbled with her lips wrapped around him.

“Shit,” Erik grips the back of her head, “You’re a nasty thing, aren’t you?”

“Mhm,” Y/N looked him square in the eyes while sucking his dick, “mmmm.”

“You love me. I can tell by the way you suck me.”

Y/N gurgled around him.

“Look at that rock on your finger wrapped around my stick,” Erik bites his lip, “My wife is the best freaky love.”

Erik whispered Oh God, and Don’t stop. Y/N went fast and hard. He was so huge and firm in her mouth. Her jaws had to hurt at this point. He rested back on his elbows, russet skin draped in sweat under the scorching sun. Erik’s fingers dragged over his chiseled abs. Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. He couldn’t believe this shit. His dick was ready to bust again.

“What the fuck?” He asked weakly, “what. The. Fuck.”

Erik’s hips lifted from the beach chair while his nut empites into Y/N’s mouth. She couldn’t see his eyes behind his shades but she could see the frustrated crease in his brows and the slight mug on his nose and lips. His body went slack against the beach chair while Y/N stood up, licking her lips clean and wiping cum from her bottom lip.

“Are you doing this shit on purpose?” Erik asks between deep breaths.

“No, Daddy,” Y/N drinks some of her Rum Punch, “You just don’t have control,” Y/N smiles wickedly, “Let me know when you need me again, babe.”

Erik pulled up his trunks over his flaccid penis, “Uh-huh, yeah, okay.” He was irritated. Erik has something for Y/N.”

—————————-

The rest of the evening was spent preparing dinner, unpacking, and sleeping. Erik wanted to hang more but his body wasn’t having that. They both woke the next day around 12 PM. Brunch was prepared by Erik on the patio. They ate in complete nudity while talking about what activities they could do. Snorkeling, jet skiing, ride ATV’s, go on a tour to see the tropical animals, enjoy the nightlife, go shopping, all of those things were their plan.

After the big breakfast, Y/N decided to take a bubble bath while Erik went for a run before working out in the gym at their Villa. This gave Y/N time to read a book while sipping on her Sangria. She still felt like she was living in a fairytale. The rings on her finger, the man who married her, the Villa and the beautiful island. All of it seemed like a dream to her. When Erik returned, he took a shower and sat in the hammock with Y/N while she retwists his new growth with beeswax and mango butter. She braided it back afterward. They both took a nap on the hammock, waking up a few hours later. That night Y/N and Erik decided to go out for drinks. The place they found played amazing dancehall music that had them both dancing. The club reminded Y/N of a scene from Dirty Dancing. Sweaty bodies connected and grinding on eachother. Her and Erik were dripping with sweat. They weren’t even drunk because they both sweat out the alcohol.

“THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!” Y/N yells at Erik as they danced, “LOOK AT YOU MOVE, BABY!”

“Nah, look at you,” Erik twirled Y/N, “Best fucking dancer I’ve ever seen.”

“Oh, yeah?” Y/N gyrated her hips on Erik, “I can move, baby?”

“Shit moving like jello, ma,” Erik slaps Y/N’s ass, “tig ol’ bitties bouncing around. You got these men wanting some. You mine though,” Erik licked Y/N’s neck.

“Mmm, Don’t start nothing you can’t finish.”

“What did you just say?” Erik whispers in her ear.

“Don’t start nothing you can’t finish.”

“Can’t finish, huh?” Erik brings a hand around Y/N’s neck, “come talk that shit in the car ride home and watch what I do to you.”

“Uh-huh,” Y/N says with a smile.

“You think I’m playing. Your pussy might be heavenly and all but I got that ass now. I’ll have you cumming in minutes. You know how Daddy does it, Wifey.”

Y/N turns, her sweaty face near Erik’s, while his hands cascades down her back to palm both her ass cheeks, “I guess I need a reminder then. I seem to have forgotten,” Y/N licks Erik’s top lip with a flick of her tongue, “we got a lot of time.”

“With that ring on your finger we got all the time in the world, right?”

“Damn right,” Y/N puts her hand out in front of her, “look at it glow.”

After dancing a few more times and settling at the bar for another hour to make up for all the drinks they sweated out, Erik calls for an Uber back to the Villa. They were both wasted and would rather be wasted in their vacation villa instead of in public since they weren’t familiar with the area. In the Uber home, there was slight traffic. It frustrated the hell out of Erik because his dick was damn near crying for pleasure. Y/N just removed her shoes and threw her legs over Erik’s, looking around her in silence or staring at him with her beautiful eyes. Erik ran his fingers up and down her exposed leg. His actions looked like they were putting Y/N to sleep.

“How much further?” Erik asks the Uber driver.

“Just up this hill and we are there my man.”

Sure enough, they both made it back. Erik stirred Y/N awake while grabbing her shoes. He got out and came around to her side opening her door and picking her up to carry her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. Erik thanked the Uber driver before taking the stairs to the villa. He dropped her heels off on the patio and walked inside. Erik laid her body out on the pit sofa, dimming the lights in the Villa with just a clap of his hands. She was knocked out cold. Erik stood above her, removing his clothes. Each piece fell on the floor in a wrinkled pile. Fully naked, Erik got down on his knees in the middle of the pit sofa, gently removing Y/N’s dress. She stirred a little but she didn’t wake up. Her nude body looked magnificent in the middle of that large sofa. They could sleep here tonight. Erik places his wife onto her back, spread her legs nice and slow, before lowering his head between her legs again. Eating her pussy was his favorite thing to do.

As soon as his lips found her wet and sticky mound, Y/N’s hips jerked, eyes closed but a crease formed in her brow. Erik brought her legs back swiftly before pulling her pussy lips apart, using his tongue to wiggle inside of her. Y/N’s eyes opened, her sleep ridden body jolting from the sudden intrusion. She looked so confused but at the same time she felt so much pleasure. Her shaky moans and bewildered eyes drove Erik insane. She looked so shocked with each gasp that escaped her mouth.

“Baybee?” She questioned, “Daddy?”

Erik didn’t respond.

“Mmmm,” She moaned.

Her pussy tasted even sweeter than the previous day. She was really really wet down there for him. So wet that she stained the pit sofa. Erik leaned back to admire her pussy. Labia and clit all puffy and wet, her honey pot oozing with its sweet treat. He leans back in, taking his time to suck on her. That’s when she fully sat up on her elbows. Her hand reached out to hold his head but her limbs were so weak her hand shook on the back of his head.

“Umph, Daddy, daddy you’re making me cum. Keep going, don’t stop,” her hips bucked in his mouth, “Umph, fuck, Yesssss.”

With one big inhale, Y/N came in Erik’s mouth. Once again, his chin and lips were covered in her release.

“Daddy about to give you this monster,” Erik strokes his rigid and meaty pipe, “Assume the fucking position.”

Y/N didn’t take her instructions lightly. She pointed her ass in the air, face pressed into the soft suede of the pit sofa. Erik spanked her hard a few times before thrusting forward into her pussy with just his hips. Y/N’s body fell forward slightly from how much force Erik put into that stroke. She tried reaching behind her to push at his chest but Erik didn’t want that.

“Mm-mm, arms reaching out in front of you, DONT touch me.”

Y/N reaches out in front of her. Erik admires her body in that positon and it made him caress her sore ass cheeks.

“You are stunning, baby girl. Just beautiful,” Erik strokes her slowly, “So lovely laid out in front of me like this. This is mines for the taking.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Y/N hisses, “Daddy, why are you so deep in my pussy like that? I can feel you in my soul, baby.”

“Should I go faster and make you feel it some more?”

“Please,” She quietly begged.

“Please what, Wifey?”

“Please, Da-“ Y/N couldn’t even finish her sentence when Erik started picking up the pace to beat her walls up. She felt her pussy spasm around him and convulse.

“Oh, shit, I’m cumming,” Y/N spoke into the couch cushion, “Daddy, keep beating it right there I’m cumming! YES!”

Y/N came on his dick, “YES! YES!” She whimpers.

“Keep cumming on me. Cum as much as you like,” Erik spoke with a whisper. He reached beneath her to rub her clit in circles. Y/N started fucking him back when she felt him do that. The noise of her ass ricocheting off of him echoed across the living room.

“Oh? That’s what that pussy kat doing? She leaking on me again?” Erik was surrounded by nothing but wetness that poured and poured from her.

“Damn, baby,” Y/N was frozen with shock.

“Should I keep hitting that thang?”

“I can take it,” Y/N started fucking Erik’s dick herself, “So big and fat in my little pussy.”

“Shit, yes the fuck I am,” Erik spreads her cheeks to see for himself, “I’m in that puss.”

“If you keep stroking my G-spot like that,” Y/N clawed the couch, “Umph, Erik, ima squirt-“

Y/N felt it pouring before she could even finish her words. A weak sigh spilled from her mouth. Now that he made her cum three times, it was his turn to bang her pussy until he bust a nut. Erik strokes faster and harder. Y/N reaches under her to grab his sack, massaging it with her fingers while he hammered her walls. She could do nothing but moan. Erik could do nothing but moan. Both of them enjoyed the feeling and made sounds of pleasure. Erik mumbled some words that Y/N was too weak to understand. All she felt was Erik’s dick swelling to cum inspiring proportions. Her pussy stretched even more, her walls unable to take more of his fat dick Erik always got fatter and thicker when he was about to cum. You had to be a big girl to take the dick he delivered. Y/N was still learning.

“Baby, I feel that fat dick pumping inside of me.”

“Goddamn, girl!!” Erik erupted inside of her, “FUCK FUCK FUCK.”

“Give me all of it, Daddy.”

“Shit, girl,” Erik felt her popping her pussy on his dick.

“Is there more for me? I want some more. My pussy is greedy for Daddy’s good cum-“

“THATS HOW IT IS?” Erik slams into her, “that’s how it is, ma?” Erik fucked her like his dick wasn’t sensitive, “Stay still while I fuck you since this is what you want,” He grabs her wrists, “Stay still.”

“OH, My God,” Erik didn’t hold back. He punished her pussy.

“That’s right, Hubby! That’s how you fuck your wife! That’s how you fuck me!”

“Your Lil’ ass got me cumming again,” Erik spanked her ass, “this is what you do to me.”

Erik grunts deep, more of him exploding from the tip of his dick. He slowly takes his dick out. Y/N flips over to get on her knees, sucking the rest of him off. Erik watched with a pout of lips, eyes closing. She laid back, spreading her legs to show him all of his cum dripping from her pussy. He watched her push it out, the thick nut oozing down the crack of her ass.

This was going to be a beautiful two weeks.

[jessiewre]

Day 51

Mon 24th Feb

🎉 🎈 🥳 PHILS BIRTHDAY 🎁 🎂 🍰

As he’d warned, Phil woke up with the birthday demand that we head straight to the sea to be the first ones in. I slightly rolled my eyes as he woke me up from my slumber but it was his birthday. Then of course as you’d expect, it was actually awesome. There were only a few people milling around walking up the beach or opening up their businesses and the sunrise in the bay looked amazing. It was super quiet & calm, the perfect way to start the day.

As we walked back, we swung by the restaurant as they set up for breakfast and they gave us some hot milk with coffee sachets & mugs etc so we could have coffees on our balcony as the sun rose. ROMANTIC OR WHAAAT. Once back in the room, I offered to go and get more sachets - classic secret agent cover - and ran back to the restaurant to help Wendy set up the table as planned. She was collecting petals from the floor when I arrived and revealed she’d decorated the table once already but the fan had blown it all away. Nightmare 🌸🌺.

I helped prep and decided not to correct her spelling as she laid the petals on the table.

JES ���� FIL

Another lady who worked there came over to see if she could help and saw me trying to prep the presents. My plan was to wrap them in napkins and hide them around the room, but I had stuffed them all into a small bag to hide them over the last week and this had resulted in some extreme creases. She looked at this pile of creased material and scrunched up her face

‘Are these Phil’s presents?’ she asked, clearly very unimpressed by my presentation. She insisted on taking them away to iron them for me and hey, who was I to argue.

I eventually completed by napkin-wrapped treasure hunt now with ironed goods 😏 and went back to the room with coffee sachets with a solid cover story.

‘You’re not gonna believe this, they had run out of coffee. Someone had to go get some from a nearby hotel’

I think he actually believed me too. It’s both impressive and worrying how good I am at lying and how easily Phil believes me when I do.

As we walked towards the restaurant, I got a phone out to film Phil’s reaction and he began to get really awkward and nervous as he imagined a group of dancers and singers were ready and waiting for him - but then he saw the table was the surprise and was really happy. Not as happy as Wendy though who was SO excited. I can appreciate that for many people, organising surprises is actually way better than receiving them yourself.

The 1st gift of the skittles were in a bowl on the table and the English mustard was proudly placed above a plate they had decorated with the words:

‘35th Happy Birthday Philly G’.

In that order.

Then Phil began his treasure hunt. Phil found presents in the plants, hanging out of windows, on chairs, behind lamps, all while awkwardly walking around the restaurant amongst other guests. I enjoyed it very much.

So, opening the presents. Crunch time. Well he absolutely LOVED the shorts and put the first pair on immediately. Knew that would happen. Then the bracelets went down an absolute treat too! He donned his Boy Bangle with great pride.

Now onto the shirt. I must admit I was sweating slightly when he opened the shirt. He made a bit of a Geraldine noise of ‘Mm hmm’ at first and I thought Uh ohh. Then he was like ‘Oooooh, wow!’ which again had a real McCusker-ness about it - but THEN he was like ‘Wow its really great!’.

I couldn’t believe it - he loved it. The mustard shirt was a win!

The head band was a winner too and his card was the ultimate the cherry on top - one night in a luxury Maasai lodge where we could do spear throwing and he could have a massage. PLUS it was booked for when his mate Chet would be visiting us for a week! He was SO happy and I had just completely won birthdays.

We enjoyed our breakfast and just when Phil was a really relaxed, the clinking of the cutlery started faintly in the distance. Phil looked at me with a face full of nerves and a bead of sweat trickled down his brow. I smiled like the evil genius I am.

The kitchen door opened and closed again as the staff assessed the room, god the anticipation was building, and then the good ol’ Kenyan conga began! The group of 10 or so staff included the gardeners, the waiting staff, the chefs and more and they sang for Phil like he was a close member of their family. One of them was carrying a huge cake decorated in green, orange and white (#IRELAND4EVA) with the Happy 35th Birthday Philly G message on and then when they sang happy birthday, some of them even said Philly G. It was hilarious 😂. There was a section where they sang How old are you now and Phil would chip in with ‘35’! It was so great.

After what seemed like a very long time, the performance stopped and Phil thanked everyone, cutting the cake up to share around the room with the other guests. We then went to the kitchen in the back to share it out with all the staff and make sure everyone got a piece.

It was a pretty fun packed morning and Phil was thrilled with it all while I was relieved to have my agent duties completed. We went to the pool where the good vibes continued, playing some sick games with the space hopper and doing a lot of handstands like the adults we are. Barry rocked up (it wouldn’t be a happy birthday without an special guest appearance from Barry) and he’d been shopping. Time for the full low down. He’d decided to get some gifts for friends back home but some chump tried to charge him $7 per sarong and Barry knew it should be $5 - so he weren’t ‘appy about that and he took his business elsewhere.

The good news is he found somewhere to buy his 5 sarongs for his hareem of women but the even better news was still to come when Phil asked him what else he got.

‘I got a kilo of turmeric for $4, half for me half for my mate’

Phil and I were slightly shocked by this announcement, but a little impressed too. Phil asked him what he was planning to do with it.

‘Juice in the morning. Yeah, you blend it, makes a hell of a mess of the blender though, stain wise, awful.’

You know what. At this moment, I decided I was going to really miss Barry.

We asked him why he had it and he said ‘Health init. I try. When it runs out I won’t bother though’.

Good old Barry and his turmeric juice. Good luck to the guy.

Phil chose the Swahili restaurant for his birthday lunch (minus Barry I’m afraid) and they kindly gave him a slice of cake as a starter to celebrate. Then as we left, they gave us ANOTHER slice of cake as well as 3 sweet donut balls! They realllly love a birthday in Kenya! Might start saying its Phil’s birthday a bit more often. We walked to the supermarket to get birthday beers and I gave a bit of cake to the grumpy supermarket till lady who very nearly smiled.

At 17:30 we were about to leave our room for a trip to the beach in the cooler evening sun when our room phone rang. Turned out Agatha on reception had made the dinner reservation I asked for the day before - but we were meant to be there at 17:30. Oops...we asked her to delayed it and went to the beach to enjoy a swim in the sea with a beer before heading off to get ready.

Phil’s mustard shirt made its premier appearance and it was then Phil noticed the pocket was a little skewiff. By skewiff, I mean it was practactically under his armpit. Oh well, he wore it anyway and we headed for dinner at Hemingways, the most luxury resort in the area, with Phil’s cash firmly safe in the depths of his armpit.

It was a beautiful setting. The food however was SO disappointing.

Phil went rogue and ordered crispy squid as a starter and the dish had far more tentacles than he was anticipating. My bruschetta starter was ok.

But the worst bit was our mains. Phil’s mushroom risotto was SUPER bland and my ravioli was so poor I didn’t finish it. The waiter asked if everything was ok and much to his surprise I told him No. We’d had a laugh with him up until that point so he went and got us two chocolate mousse desserts to apologise.

Well he shouldn’t have bothered, cos they tasted like cooking chocolate from the 90s mixed with a bit of Nutella. Phil took a giant spoonful and dared himself to eat it in one to avoid having to leave so much of it on the plate.

We asked the restaurant to sort us out a tuc tuc but then we refused to pay $3 for the one they offered out of principal as it was double what we’d paid to get there!) Then we ended up walking along the main road in the dark to find a tuc tuc. The joke of it all was that after paying $55 for the meal and it suddenly dawned on us that we were now sweating and walking for the sake of $1.50. We had to laugh about it.

Despite the dung food & tuc tuc fun, we had a great day and Phil went to bed a happy 35 year old, with the agreement that we would work out when we were leaving Watamu tomorrow...

[weirdponytail]

HUZZAH! Upcoming drabbles/attempted drawing sets for Huntik stuff!

OKAY I told y’all that traveling helps spark my creative juices and I did not lie! 

Oddly enough though, this time it sparked drawing juices, which is mildly annoying because drawing takes me days longer than writing. 

Anywho, I wanted to keep you all up to snuff on what I’ll be up to. See, a while back I saw some really cool artworks on tumblr where someone (and I’ll link them when I find them again) had drawn ‘pictures’ of the Huntik team in the actual style of the show and had them done out like Facebook posts/snapchats sort of that the team shared. I love it/them, and when I went down to the beach this Thanksgiving it got me thinking ‘hey! It would be really cool if I could draw snapchat style story thing (I’ve never actually used or even SEEN a snapchat app in person so I’m pretty clueless to most of it besides what I see of memes) of the Team at the beach on actual holiday’ and then, because it’s me and I haven’t touched it much for ages and since hey, I’m there, I thought ‘ZOMG WHAT IF TEAM FLORIDA INVITED THE MAIN TEAM TO THE BEACH AND TEAM FLORIDA SHOWED UP AFTER THEM?!’

So in my usual style I gathered up a good pound or so of seashells and bits of junk while muttering snapchat labels/titles/lines(?) to go with each picture that only make sense if you can see my mental image of what I want to do with each line/how they came about. Naturally I started typing these one liners out on my notes app as I walked back to the hotel and totally didn’t walk into a light post in full view of a diner’s window, but good news is that I’m gonna show you these one liners and later add more stuff to it via reblogs. I’ll try my best to add some understandable description to ones that I can describe well enough. :3

Also, for clarification: these probably won’t be actually done in drawings. I’ll likely give up on them and just write a fic as best I can around them. Currently I’m trying to clean house because dad has some interview guy coming over to evaluate his new life situation with his injuries for a trial or somm’at, so it’s wild here right now. I can see the carpet in my room. It’s really impressive. 

Anyway, here’s the oneliners!! :D Cheers, Seekers!

Lok’s Phone (in general order of arrival):

BEACH TIIIME!! (General shot of a beach.)

Um okay apparently Sophie can surf?! (Sophie chillin on a board past the breakers waiting for a wave)

OOOOOH DAAAANG SHE SHRED! (one of those vid clips of Sophie doing some board trick or something) 

Cherit’s going to be King of the Beach. Den and Harrison are his serfs. (Cherit sitting on a mound of sand while Den and Harrison are apparently moulding a wall around it)

Zhalia, Queen of Sass, kindly tells me that she isn’t in the mood for beach fun. :) (Zhalia lounging on a beach chair in shorts and bikini top and sunglasses, giving Lok the finger)

Oh nevermind. Apparently she’s interested now. (Dante casually walking down the sand as he takes his shirt off. Zhalia’s in the background tipping her sunglasses down like ‘oh daaaayyyum get me somma dat’)

RUN!! (shakey clip of sand going by as Lok apparently sprints away screaming ‘DANTE THREW HER IN THE WATER WE’RE GOING TO DIE!’)

Bwahaha she used Earthtide on him! (Dante buried up to his neck in sand looking sheepish as Zhalia gives him a look with crossed arms)

Team Florida in da house! (pic of station wagon with doors all open and Team Florida unloading)

(To be Continued...)

Sophie’s Phone (no general order this time):

Great day for some waves! (pic of board upright in the sand in front of the waves)

And Zhalia wonders why we still have some trust issues... (Pic of Lok’s bare back as he apparently snoozes face down on a beach towel. A particular someone has written on his back in sunscreen “Kick me, I’m Irish.”)

Team Florida has arrived!! (selfie of a smiling/laughing Sophie with Ket on one side of her with a wild smile and her tongue out flashing a sideways peace sign and Cor on the other wearing a fake beard and plastic viking-style horned helmet with both arms up)

Ket surfs too!! :gasp/surprised emoji and :D emoji: (Ket running out to the water with a board over her head)

I have just been informed that Ket can’t actually surf... (Clip of Ket managing to do an entirely unplanned double front flip as she’s thrown off her board into the water)

She tries very hard. (short clip montage of Ket’s many fails trying to get past the breakers and her various falls of the board)

Marko and Dante are trying to out Zen each other!! :cry laughing emoji: (Slow mo clip of Marko and Dante doing martial arts forms side by side with the waves behind them)

Ket’s growing pile of...stuff? (pic of a small pile of shells, sticks, and various bits of what could be trash next to Mama Cat’s beach chair)

!!! Gareon?? :cry laughing emoji: (clip of a very content looking Gareon floating in the shallows and spraying sea salt from his nose a la galapagos iguana style)

You see that dot? That is what happens when Dante says ‘Powers are okay!’ for beach volleyball and and immediately serves with Dragonfist. :rolling eyes emoji: (Short clip of small dot of color in the distance being swept away by the sea. Halfway through there’s an awkward cough in the background and Dante says ‘Oops.’ Zhalia chimes in with a ‘Nice going babe.’)

(To be Continued)

Den’s Phone: 

ALL HAIL KING CHERIT! (pic of intricately detailed meter high sandcastle with Cherit smuggly sitting at the top and Harrison worshiping at the base)

Aaaay, Team Florida! Mama Cat Lady, Wild Child, Viking Man and Zen Master 2000 finally here! (Station wagon pulling up to the deserted parking area)

THEY BROUGHT TBOY! (wildly shaky clip of a streak of white and black as TBoy tackles Den while he records)

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN TANLINES!” (Clip of Ket whipping off her shirt)

Welcome to this year’s World Championship of Pale and Skinny! Today’s category is ‘HOW THE HELL HAVE YOU NOT TANNED AT ALL?!’ (A shirtless Harrison and Cor side by side doing muscle poses)

Judge Zhalia performing the customary Paper Test! (A piece of white paper is held up against Harrison and Cor’s arms. There isn’t much of a color difference!)

OMG MAMA ATTRACTED DOLPHINS! (clip of dolphin pod playing near shore)

Dun dun... (pic of viking helmet)

Dun dun... (pic of fake beard)

Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun BWADABWAAA! BWADABWAAA!! (pic of strange looking kayak with...small viking shields attached to the sides and a dragon sculpture at the front??)

DundundundundUN DUN DUN DUN DUN! (clip of Cor vigorously and comically paddling out wearing his viking helmet, fake beard and in the kayak outfitted to look quite like a viking longboat)  

(To be Continued...)

There’s more but right now I need to get back to cleaning. Cheers mates!! :D

[spyno41-2]

Tropical Heaven: Florida's Boogaloo

Prologue

They're in Cassandra's bedroom, which is surprisingly clean for Victor. He thought it would be less organized due to her...chaotic nature. He sits on the chair. Raymond is reading doujinshi of a woman being in a harem, while Cassandra is watching the television upside down on her bed next to him.

Cassandra is wearing a black and green shirt that has Jotaro and Jolyne posing with the text "To Daze or to Dawa? That is the question." She is wearing a brown skirt that reaches down to her knees.

Raymond is king of pussy slaying. If he ever called any number that he was given. See, he's a very attractive Asian-American. Black short hair and wears glasses. For some reason, he wears a tuxedo everywhere he goes.

As for Victor, he's a normal Hispanic. He wears his Miami Dolphins shirt and jeans.

"Rayyyyy." He ignores her. She places her foot on his face. He doesn't react. "I'm boooooooored."

"What do you want me to do about it?" He says without breaking away from his cellphone. She places her toes up his nose. This does not deter him.

"Help me not get booooooored." She whines still keeping her stone face.

"Are you both dating?" Victor asks.

"Nah. We're sadly soulmates." Ray replies, removing her foot. Victor is more confused. Then again, he can barely understand these two with how eccentric they are. He doesn't pry further and uses his phone to look up urban legends.

"What are you doing, Vicky?" She asks him.

"I'm researching urban legends of Florida for my project. I decided to do Robert the Doll since it's one of the well known ones." Cassandra sits straight.

"Where is this Robert?"

"He is currently in East Martello Museum down at the Keys." She quickly puts on her black stockings with white stars and crocs.

"Let's go."

"Woah woah. That's a three hour drive."

"Don't worry. I can pitch in for gas."

"That's not the is-"

"Get the car ready, Ray."

"All right." He gets up. She runs out of the room. "Don't bother trying to talk her out of it. Once she has her mind on something, not even the Goddess herself can stop her nonsense." He sighs and leaves. Victor hesitates, but figures this is a good opportunity for his research.

Way down in The Keys

"Woooooah. Stuff." Cassandra stares at the antiques. "You think if I become famous, they'll display my panties and stockings here?"

"Perhaps. Maybe once civilization falls because evangelicals are still in power and unleash nukes to the world out of greed, then the only thing left in the rubble would indeed be your panties and stockings. The aliens will preserve them as evidence of humanity." Raymond says with a straight face while watching porn of tentacles sodomizing legal femboys.

"Far fuckin out, man." She says.

"Uh guys? We're here for Robert, remember?" Victor reminds them.

"You cannot rush history, Vicky. We must appreciate and acknowledge their achievements to grant us the life we are currently living from their sacrifice." Cassandra stares intently. "Which is shit."

"Yes. One must wonder how much actual progress they made, considering things aren't any better about five decades ago. Then again, at least we're socially progressing with every generation. At a rate of a sloth, but progress nonetheless." Ray adds.

"I can see why you both get along." Victor sighs. He moves to the room where the doll is in.

Robert is encased in a glass. Sitting on a wooden chair looking up. He wears a sailor suit of his era and has beady black eyes. Victor wonders why any children would own such a creepy doll. Especially when it's life sized to be a four year old. It's no mystery why Robert sprouted much history. It was designed to be an inspiration for many horror movies to come.

"Hey Robert. I'm Victor. Do you mind if I take a picture? It's for my school project." He asks. The doll doesn't respond. "I'll take that as a yes." He pulls out his phone and starts taking pictures.

"Were you asking a doll for consent? That's pretty cringe, not gonna lie." Cassandra enters the room.

"You have to. People who have taken photos of him, had misfortunes fall upon them. It's why there are letters asking for an apology to lift the curse." Victor points at the many letters in the wall next to the doll.

"Ooooh? That's a bunch of bullshit. Curses don't exist." She pats his head and takes a quick selfie with Robert.

"What are you doing!?"

"Testing the theory, thus hath speaketh Cassandrath." She does the crucifixion pose.

"This is serious, Cass! Legends like those don't spring out of nowhere. In fact, there's a chance that all those supernatural events could explain one thing."

"Are you saying th-"

"Yes. Robert might be an Estado User."

"...CHAJAJAJAJAJA!" She cackles. Victor is disturbed by such display. He is so used to her stoicism, that this comes out of the left field for him. "Vicky, Vicky. My bubula~! Objects can't have Estados. Only living beings can achieve such a feat." She pinches his cheeks. She has her usual creepy smile. Her coffee brown eyes are wide open so that it lets him see the slits. She is grinning to show off her sharp canines.

"It's only a theory." He says. She goes back to her stoicness.

"You are right, though. We can't disregard that possibility." She examines Robert and presses her face against the glass. "Hmmmm. Looks like a normal doll to me." She goes to the corner of the room and crouches. "Oooooh. This looks cool." Victor sighs and looks back at Robert.

"Maybe I'm just being too paranoid."

Beaches with bitches

The group is walking along the sands in Smathers Beach.

"Plenty of estrogen. Not enough testosterone." Raymond sighs.

"That's fine. Feminity is superior anyways." Cassandra looks out at the sea.

"Wow! This is very beautiful!" Victor takes a picture of the scenery. He is focused on his phone, that he bumps against a woman. "Ooof! I'm sorry about that, ma'am."

"It's okay. Though I'm not old enough to be considered a ma'am." She laughs. "Actually, me and my friends are playing volleyball, but we're short by one. Would you like to join us?" She leans forward, making Victor get a nice view of her cleavage.

"S-Sure. I'll play for a bit." She smiles and they both go.

"Look at that. Our son is going to get gangbanged by a bunch of hot MILFs. Almost makes me cry." Cass sniffles stoically.

"Proud of him." Ray goes back to his phone, watching a man being hypnotized to think it's a child and the woman around him having sex with him. "Seriously, who the fuck is into this?"

"We don't kinkshame fellow comrades."

"I know. The art is good though. Why must great artists divulge their talents into degeneracy?"

"Cause it's what they wanna do or get paid for. Who cares?" Cass shrugs. She takes a step and falls into a pitfall.

"The Pillows!" Raymond summons his Estado. She has pink hair and cat ears. She has a television for a head and a feminine mechanical body with an organic pink tail. She extends her arms in the pit to grab Cassandra and pull her out.

"I already accepted my death but thanks TP." Cass says, unfazed by her certain doom.

"NYAAA~!" A cat face appears on the screen and she does the Tokyo Mew Mew pose before disappearing behind her User.

"Try to be careful next time. Beaches are known to have pitfalls." Ray goes back to his cellphone.

"How peculiar? I remember there not being one a moment ago." Cassandra examines the hole, when a football hits her face. Hard.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" A hunk with blonde hair and blue eyes helps her up. "Are you okay?"

"Other than possibly having a concussion, I'm functionally fine." Cass is starting to have a headache.

"I have some ice that can help your bump, if you like? We also have water if you need." Cassandra gets very close to him and caresses his chiseled chest.

"Tell me, you think I didn't notice? When I first arrived, your other boys pulled the same stunt to other girls earlier. I also caught them putting something in the water bottles before passing it to the beautiful maidens that fell to your trap." The man is sweating profusely. "But your worst mistake was targeting me."

"Get off of me, you crazy bitch!" He pushes her.

"BOOM BOOM SATELLITES!" A being materializes behind her. She has a black and green jumpsuit with a motorcycle helmet covering her head. Devil wings adorn her back and has a tail with the tip being heart shaped. She punches the man's gut with such force, that it sends him flying and crashing against his cooler.

"What the fuck!?" The boys check up on him as he's convulsing in pain and pleasure. Then he ejaculates a heavy volume of semen. The police finally arrived.

"What's going on?" Victor runs up to Raymond.

"I called the police for the crimes that fill this beach. Seems Cass found another scandal in progress." He faces Victor. "I mainly called them because the woman you were with fits the description of an active serial rapist."

"You son of a bitch! And you guys let me go with her!?"

"Don't worry. I would've tailed you if you both left the perimeter. Plus, I trust in your ability to defend yourself." He goes back to his phone as the officers apprehended the woman and the group of boys. The police had to call paramedics as the hunk is completely dehydrated. "Cass! Let's get out here." Him and Victor walk back to the car.

"..." Cassandra witnesses the arrest and then back to the hole. "I'm coming!" She catches up to them. When they reach the car, the tires have been slashed.

"Victor." Raymond says.

"Yeah?" He looks at him and steps back. Despite still having a neutral expression, he can sense anger coming from him.

"I hope you find the perpetrator that did this. Because if I find them, there will be a memorial for their tragic accident. And everytime I come here, I will visit the site to remind them of their place."

"Raymond. Let's not get carried away." Victor tries to calm him down.

"There's no need to look for them. I already know who did it." They turn to Cassandra. "I've been thinking for a while now. All these misfortunes that have been happening in such a short span of time, while mathematically plausible, is improbable." She pulls out her phone. "I secretly installed a hidden camera in the room that Robert resides, while pretending to give a damn about the antiques."

"Are you implying the curse is real?" Victor says.

"As I said before, curses don't exist. Estados are another story. But that will only matter if my theory is true." She opens the app for the live feed. The group huddles together. The glass case that's supposed to keep Robert is empty.

"He's gone!" Victor reacts.

"I can see that, Vicky. No need to state the obvious. This is a clear indication that the doll is sentient." Cassandra puts away her phone.

"A Living Doll. Energy of deceased females that are trapped inside a doll. Most of the time, it's victims that are placed inside an object. Other times, the person who lost their loved ones projects it on the doll, giving it life." Raymond explains. "Or in this case, a legend that gave it sentience."

"I guess you were somewhat right, Vicky. Though no one would imagine Robert to be a Monster Girl due to his assigned gender. The question now is, how did it follow us and does it have an Estado?" Cassandra examines the car and finds scratches on the trunk. Raymond opens it and they find Robert inside holding a box cutter.

"Oh shit! It's Ro-!" Cass covers Victor's mouth.

"So you were hiding in my trunk. I don't care if you're a relic of history, I will ravage you for your crimes!" Raymond summons The Pillows. Robert lunges at him with the weapon.

"NYAYAYAYAYAYA!" TP punches him repeatedly. With the final strike sending him flying against the hood. Robert quickly gets up with no problems and scurries away.

"Get that mothafucka!" Cassandra commands. The crowd are focused on the arrest, that they fail to notice the Three Stooges chasing after a doll. They chase him all the way to a warehouse. Robert quickly gets in through an open door and shuts it. "Like that'll stop us." She summons BBS.

"Wait! Let me check something. Veltpunch!" Victor calls out his Estado. She is a humanoid bottlenose dolphin with a VR headset both on her head and where the tail should be. She wears the Miami Heat jerseys.

"OAO~!" She screeches. He puts on the headset and she places her hand on the wall. Using her echolocation, he can see the inside in white outlines from the darkness.

"That guy is fast. I can't see him. He must be hiding somewhere already." Victor says.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Cassandra commands BBS to bust the door open. They enter the building. The place is dark. She switches the lights on and they see stacks of inventory on the shelves. They walk around with caution, while Victor is echo locating. She notices a big box from the top shelf falling above Victor. She tackles him out of the way.

"There he is!" Raymond points him out as Robert runs away. He pushes more boxes. Raymond uses TP to punch the objects, but doing so causes the kitchen knives to fall on him. He luckily covers his head with arms as it slashes his hands.

"Kahahahaha!" Robert laughs and then goes deeper inside.

"Are you both fine?" Cassandra checks on Raymond.

"I'll live. Won't be much use anymore though." He rips part of his tuxedo to bandage his hands.

"Take care of him, Vicky." She says before chasing after Robert. He keeps pushing objects off, but she evades it. The entire shelf on her right is falling towards her. She runs faster and dives out of the way before it hits the ground. "You want to play that game, huh?" She summons BBS to push the shelf where Robert stands. He jumps to another, but she keeps toppling over the shelves. This process keeps repeating, until they reach the end of the room. Robert dives at her, ready to stab her with the box cutter. BBS repeatedly punches him in the air.

"A Crow is White!" He summons a white harpy with a head of crow. She has a sailor outfit like the User. She repeatedly scratches BBS with her sharp talons, causing damage on their arms and chest. Cassandra backs away.

"Hmph. It seems attacking you directly does nothing to you." She removes her shirt to prevent it from getting more damaged. Showing off her sports bra and fit body. "Now it's starting to make sense. The curse that the story tells is because you use your Estado to cause misfortune."

"Aren't you a sharp one? While I knew you had potential, I didn't expect your servants to have one too!" He flails around like a child.

"Servants? Are you talking about my friends?"

"Friends? You can't fool me, Succubus! I've been around way before I became a legend and I know for a fact your kind don't care about human relationships. It makes me sick! All that moaning, meat slapping against each other, exchanging each other's bodily fluids...IT'S DISGUSTING!!"

"Ugh. I'm developing a tumor by you speaking."

"Whatever! I'll make sure you and your boy toys are dead!" He pulls out a revolver. Cassandra hides behind the shelf, while Crow and BBS are fighting. Robert keeps shooting at her until the gun runs out of bullets. He quickly tries to reload, but only manages to put one bullet when Cassandra throws a vase at him, making him drop the weapon.

"Grab the gun!" She commands BBS. She has her hand on the cylinder, before Robert snatches it away and quickly points at Cassandra. He pulls the trigger, but the bullet explodes, causing his arm to be blown off.

"Aaaah!" He screams in pain. One of Crow's wing is detached.

"BBS can make anything it touches to overdrive." She walks towards him menacingly

"W-WAIT! You can't destroy me! I'm an important part of history. I'm the reason people go into the museum in the first place! Not to mention you buffoons are caught on cameras." He points at the security cam.

"I'm not worried about that. Ray is already altering the footage so we don't appear. As for you!" She stomps on him. "I'm sure they'll replace you with the many replicas. You think the staff will admit they lost their famous doll?" BBS starts rapidly punching Crow, dealing massive damage to both of them.

"FLY OOOOOOOUT!" BBS battle cries, finishing off by detaching Crow's head with an uppercut. Robert's head detaches as well and hits the ceiling. She catches the head.

"Que la Diabla te joda en el infierno."

Robert the Doll is out of commission

She collects his remains in a plastic bag and dumps it in a trashcan. They are at Raymond's car waiting for someone to fix his tires.

"I can't believe you actually destroyed him." Victor says.

"He had it coming for hurting my baby. I wish I was there to witness his demise." Raymond says.

"Overall, it was a fun day!" Cassandra stoically cheers.

"There's never a boring day with you guys." Victor sighs.

"All that excitement has made me hungry. When we get back home Vicky, I need your semen for my shake." She sits on the hood.

"I think I need to sleep before that." She stares at him intensely. "...Fine fine. Raymond, you got any good material for me?"

"As a matter of fact, I found a hentai about a Japanese man fucking his brother's foreign wife. I don't condone cheating, but the animation is sadly good." They talk amongst each other, while Cassandra put on her headphones to listen to her jam.

Kokomo - The Beach Boys

Everybody knows a little place like Kokomo

Now if you want to go and get away from it all

Go down to Kokomo

Aruba, Jamaica, oh I want to take you to

Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama

Key Largo, Montego, baby why don't we go

Oh I want to take you down to

Kokomo, we'll get there fast and then we'll take it slow

That's where we want to go, way down in Kokomo

[svtfoefan1976-blog]

On low self-esteem, bipolar disorder and Sophomore Slump. Marco’s feelings roller coaster.

Now the new episodes are aired, I will try to be emphatic with some of the characters. Starting with Marco. He was such a jerk in Sophomore Slump that some people thought actually...

From here

Ferguson: Oh, no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no!

... putting a croissant down Marco’s throat. To say the least.

But I feel that sometimes is good to see the big picture.

What I will be writing here will be based on my life experience and a bit of empathy over the characters. So what I ask you, reader, is just the last part, a bit of empathy on what’s written on this post.

Lows

Do you know what is to feel like the worst trash in the whole world? Hope you don’t. It is a terrible feeling. And we could see throughout the series how low his self-esteem can go, giving just a few conditions.

For instance, we have seen a bunch of episodes where this happenned. All pictures were taken from Star vs the Forces of Evil Wikia, unless stated below it.

Cheer up, Star, when we see everything going wrong for Marco from catching the bus up to arriving at school:

Sleep Spells, when Marco feels inferior to Star because she saved him so many more times than he saved her.

Ironically, the one who went through a psychotherapy was Star. The one who really needs it is Marco.

Every encounter with Jeremy, from which I will take The Banagic Incident as an example when Marco tried to walk over the “field of coal”.

He succeeds, but only because of his anger on Jeremy and a bit of blindness.

Naysaya whole episode is about how Marco is insecure.

And in Just Friends, not only Marco is still insecure about his girlfriend Jackie but he got depressed after the ducklings ran over.

And, I wrote about one more reason in detail here, which after Lava Lake Beach we can say for sure it is clear.

From here

It can’t go lower than that. I hope.

Highs

On the other side, Marco also loves to brag about himself. And from Season 1 Episode 1! Whether they are true or not exactly like that. Doubt? Let’s make a small list of moments in which he did this, of course, in a much smaller extent than in Sophomore Slump.

On Star comes to Earth, he does it twice: when he is called to the principal’s office:

Marco: [smiles] Oooooh... looks like someone's in trouble. So, I guess everyone who voted me "Safest Kid" must be feeling pretty embarrassed right about now.

And further on their first dialog, Marco says that he wants a little danger in his life.

Marco: It's ridiculous! [closes an open locker] Careful. You wear a helmet in the gym shower one time, and you're labeled for life! Oop. Broken glass. Frankly, I like taking risks and would welcome a little danger in my life. (Star uses her magic wand to turn a butterfly into a screeching monster. It picks up a nearby student and flies away as the student screams in terror.) Marco: What the heck was that?! Star: Oops. Heh. I thought you wanted a little danger.

This goes on Matchmaker (sorry, in this post, I have mistaken the episode from which he shows his exam grade, I apologize).

From here

During Sleepover, where he tries to show his musical and physical skills.

And Pony Head gets really fast his intentions...

Pony Head: It's game time, Marco. [laughs] And since you're so good at playing the field, I got a game that would be perfect for you.

And remember how proud he was about his first chest hair in Page Turner?

Marco: Hey Star, check it out. I'm getting my first chest hair. It's pretty small, but if you look at it in just the right light... (...)

And in the end of Mathmagic to cheer Star up saying it was a hard problem to solve.

Marco: Star, don't feel too bad. It's pretty complicated stuff.

It’s just a circumference, Marco, out of the center... Sorry, got into Math and ran away from the main theme.

So why? Marco’s Season 3 roller coaster to underworld

Why does he act like that? I have two theories: his low self-steem makes him to brag any, every chance he has, to keep his mind safe, he uncounsciously brags about himself to compensate his low self-esteem.

The other would be that Marco would have some sort of bipolar disorder, most probably a cyclothymic disorder, where Marco has hypomaniac and depressive symptoms like in a roller coast numerous times, but never in a way he would need to go to a hospital. I am no physician or psychiatric doctor to give such diagnosys, so I will keep this fully in a theoretical level.

But with these hypothesis on mind, may be easier to understand his roller coast during season 3. From a low point on Return to Mewni, depressed because Star is gone.

Going through being imprisoned on King Ludo and losing the chess game against King River.

Marco: I’m bad at everything

To an even lower point during Toffee

From here

But the roller coast begins to get up from Star’s return and keeps going on Scent of a Hoodie, where he received the “cape” for all he has done for Mewni. And it goes up until he reaches Sophomore Slump. Reaching all time records about bragging himself. He realizes it and tries to fix things, but...

From here

He’s caught. And makes a huge Freudian slip with Jackie:

Jackie: [sighs] Look, today was awesome, and it's really sweet that you're trying. But if you're forcing yourself to stay in Echo Creek just so I'll be happy, then we'll both end up miserable. You do see that, right? So, I figure now's a good time to give you an out. Marco: I want to make this work! [holds Jackie's hands] You're my best friend, Jackie. Jackie: [moans sadly] Oh, Marco. [kisses Marco on the cheek] We both know that's not true. Jackie takes out her skateboard and puts on her helmet. Jackie: Stay amazing, okay? Jackie skates away. Marco watches her skate away, and his eyes start to water. Marco: [sniffles, wipes tears away]

And while thinking that he could go upper in the roller coast after this fall, he went to Mewni to start a new life. But what he got was a huge reality check, starting from Lint Catcher. Things began to go lower just when he met Star...

From here

Was made fun from the same knights who were asleep when King Ludo invaded the Butterfly Kingdom...

From here

And discovered the truth about the “cape”.

From here

Marco: But King River gave me a knight's cape. M for Mewni. King Butterfly: No, my boy, that's my meat blanket. Marco: Meat blanket? King Butterfly: Yes. I also have a cheese doily. [holds it up] Queen Butterfly: [sighs] Marco: But I wore this thing every day. For weeks... weeks. King Butterfly: I'm sorry, Marco, but becoming a knight is no easy task.

Worse. He had to hear THAT “Yep”.

From here

Marco: So... are you and Tom– Star: Yep!

Janna was right: don’t ask a question you don’t want to know the answer.

In the end, friendship was restablished, but in a weird new basis:

From here

Star: Marco, kneel. Marco: [laughs] Uh, what? Star: Marco, sit. All the puppies sit. Marco: What are-are you doing? Star: [clears throat] Head down, please. Star is enveloped in a cone of light. Star: I hereby declare that you, Marco Ubaldo Diaz, shall henceforth be my royal squire, to stay by my side in times of peace or danger, as my most trusted confidant and advisor. As she speaks, Star touches her wand to each of Marco's shoulders. Star: To go clubbing with me even when he's too tired, to share his late night nachos, but most importantly to be my very best friend so long as we both shall live. Amen. Do you accept? Marco: I do. [pause, they smile] Wait, do princesses even have squires? Star: I'm a princess. I can do what I want.

This oath is somewhere between a contract of full obedience and a marriage vow. Not without two Freudian slips from Star... Could be puns either. Anyway, it’s too weird.

Thinking well, some women feel a marriage vow as a full obedience contract.  While writing this my wife shouts that some men understand the marriage vow as a service contract. Like the one made between a squire and his knight. Thinking that way, the whole oath makes sense... (Thanks dear!)

Of course, when you think that things cannot get worse, they will. In Trial by Squire everything he planned went wrong.

From here

Marco: I'm sorry. I just really wanted to show everyone that I was truly worthy of being your squire. But maybe I'm not cut out for this. Why did you appoint me as your squire in the first place? I'm terrible at it. I didn't get you any gear, and you're gonna look like a joke in front of all the other knights.

As he simply forgot that he wasn’t working for a knight...

And the roller coaster reaches the underworld on Lava Lake Beach. In whichever meaning you may think. And now?

He had to hide Star’s secret portal opening during this period until Night Life, be a faithful squire, ready for the rescue, on Deep Dive, almost screwed all that was at stake - the Monsters and Mewmen rights equality petition - during Death Peck and will have to hide his secret (at last, now conscious) desire from Star. At least, it seems that’s what it’s going to be. We don’t know yet if Kelly will be just a supportive person for the moment or a true romantic interest. Hope the first. P-P-Please! Not a love square. But Daron loved teasing us to think the last. Oh no.

Anyway, the roller coaster is not over. This is a heavy burden for Marco to carry. At least, it’s going up for him now. But where is it going?

Remember, when you think it can’t go worse, it will.

[juicy-cookie]

Through The Valley - Chapter 10

Fic Summary: A deeper look into The Sanctuary.

Boy meets girl. Girl meets boy. Boy has a weird obsession with a baseball bat, promiscuity and the word “fuck”. Girl has to find out if she can look past these things. Also, zombies and shit.

AO3 Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10075958/chapters/25085109

Tags: @rickdixonandthefandomlifeposts @embracetheapocalypsewithme @redisunamused @kinkozan @lupienne @theblack-wolf @lovingzombiechaos @dragonracer @miiraal

Pairing: Negan X OFC

Chapter Summary:  Snow Days

(Chapter 10 whaaaat??? Thanks to those people that keep reading this and I hope you enjoy this chapter)

Word Count: 4802

Negan walked into the hall with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. His mood was exceptionally good this morning. The wives had convinced him to join them for breakfast and it had been an unusually pleasant affair, with barely any bitching going on. Instead, they had all been flirtatious and attentive and it had resulted in a memorable foursome, with him fucking Valerie from behind, while Valerie was eating out Becky, while Tara sat on Becky’s face.

With breakfast long over, the cafeteria was almost empty and he scanned the hall for the one thing that could make his morning even more enjoyable. He found her in her usual spot on one of the sofas in the recreational area, closest to the small wood-burning stove that they had set up and running to provide some more warmth during the winter.

She was deep in thought over some papers in her lap, her facial expressions and movements ranging from frowning, to biting her lower lip to chewing on the pencil in her right hand. The latter was a rather disgusting habit of hers, but it was the entire scope of her mannerisms, right down to the thick green socks on her feet that were nearly falling apart and which she refused to throw away, that made Lilly, Lilly.

Negan realized that he had been staring at her and shook his head to pull his mind away from her lips and her feet to approach the object of his musings and plop down next to her.

“Morning sugartits.”

“Morning fancy-face.”

He chuckled and leaned closer to her to see what she was working on. The stupid nicknames had become a daily ritual, with an unspoken competition between the two of them who could come up with the silliest moniker. Lilly had come close to winning the morning before, when she had answered his “Morning sweetcheeks,” with a grin and a “Morning candy dick,” that had nearly caused him to spit out his coffee.

“Why the fuck are you doing points? I thought Laura finished the lists last night.”

“Yeah, but some of them didn’t add up this morning, so I told her I’d have a look at them.”

Negan sighed and rolled his eyes. Sometimes he felt like he was surrounded by idiots. It was a good thing that his newest lieutenant was so anal about the points and inventory lists.

“Did you see that shit outside?” He put his arm on the headrest behind her in hopes of getting her attention, since she had yet to look up from her papers. Lilly seemed unable to tear her gaze away from them, though.

“If by ‘shit’ you mean ‘snow’, then yes. It was kind of hard to miss when I looked out of the window first thing this morning. I already made snow angels with the kids.”

“Pfff… fucking snow just means more fucking work clearing paths around Sanctuary.”

“It also means frozen walkers. And fun. Don’t worry, I sent out a team to do some shoveling.”

He grinned to himself while he watched her correcting the last couple of pages. In the few short months that Lilly had been at Sanctuary, she had fast become one of the most productive members of his community. She was already sharing responsibilities with Dwight when it came to organizing scavenging runs, while showing no hesitation of going out there herself to get her hands dirty. She also had a knack for keeping some of the weight off Negan’s back when it came to the more tedious tasks of leading a group, like assigning snow shoveling duty to a bunch of lazy fucks and dealing with their resulting complaints.

“Thanks babe. I might just be able to retire soon if you keep doing my work,” he stated half-jokingly. She usually got testy whenever he made quips about her taking over Sanctuary and was very vocal about having no leadership ambitions, but he could not help himself from testing the waters from time to time. Sure enough, she finally looked up from the lists with a raised eyebrow.

“No rest for the wicked, Your Highness. Here, these should be in order now.” She handed him the points lists so he could use them for commissary this week. He folded them and threw them on the coffee table.

“So… snow angels? Why would you willingly go out there in the freezing fucking cold?”

“I love snow. It reminds me of home.”

“And what’s home?”

“Michigan. Halfway between Grand Rapids and Lake Michigan to be exact. We used to have some spectacular winters when I was young.”

“You never told me you’re from fucking Michigan.”

“You never asked.”

He didn’t know what to say to that. He suddenly became painfully aware of the fact that he didn’t know anything about Lilly from before the world went to shit. That was something that needed to be amended.

“So how the fuck did you end up in bumfuck Maryland?”

“Got into Johns Hopkins, got a job in Annapolis after finishing my degree, tried to get to DC when the dead started walking. You know the rest of the story.”

“Annapolis, huh? I used to visit the beach at Sandy Point from time to time. Just my fucking luck that I never ran into your sexy ass.” He was also intimately familiar with the hospital there, but he kept that to himself.

“Sandy Point is nice. Crowded, though. Well, not anymore I guess. Where are you from, then?”

“Crofton, born and raised. Most boring fucking place on earth.”

“Aww, poor Negan. And what did you do there besides being bored?”

“Being the best fucking middle school gym teacher in the whole fucking county.”

“Seriously? You were a teacher?”

“Yeah yeah, I know. How can a bad motherfucker like me be allowed to teach kids…”

“No, I’m sure you made an awesome teacher. It’s just that I used to be one, too. I taught at St. John’s.”

“Oooooh… look at the fancy fucking college professor. I’m pretty sure there’s some kind of fetish to be explored here somewhere.” He winked at her and she laughed. He would have loved to elaborate on this particular topic, but they were interrupted by the arrival of Jax, Dwight, Connor, Gavin and Andrei. He was one of the scouts that commuted between the outposts and took their motorcycles into cities to look for potential places to scavenge. He also had the annoying habit of making moves on Lilly whenever he spent time at Sanctuary.

“Hello lovely.”

“Morning Andrei,” she smiled at him, “Did you have any problems getting here in this kind of weather?”

He took off his gloves and sat on the armrest right next to Lilly with a cocky grin on his face.

“Nah. A real biker doesn’t care about a little snow.”

“Jax and Gavin need some practice on the bikes,” Dwight addressed Negan.

“How good are we on gas?” Negan did not like the idea of them wasting fuel just so they could frolic in the snow.

“We’ve got more than enough. The weather isn’t so bad yet and all the dead are frozen, so the noise won’t be a problem.”

“Fine. Get the fuck out of here, then. Only for an hour, though.”

“You wanna join us darling? I can show you how to ride,” Andrei asked suggestively.

“Fuck no! No way am I going to get on one of those hell beasts.” Negan’s mood got even better. Lilly turned to look at Jax next and raised her index finger at him, “And if I see you without a helmet out there I’m going to whoop your ass.”

“Yes, mom,” Jax chuckled and the group of men made their way to the Sanctuary’s front doors.

Lilly stretched her legs and put her feet up on the coffee table, her head falling back against the headrest and his forearm. He damned the cold weather even more now, forcing him to wear his leather jacket and not being able to feel her hair on his skin. She stared at her feet and it seemed like she took a particular interest at the holes in her woolen socks. The blank face told him that she had one of her brain resets, though. He couldn’t blame her, really. Between correcting points, entertaining the children and assigning daily duties, her day had already been pretty busy and it wasn’t even noon yet. He almost felt bad that all he done so far was getting his dick wet.

“So you’re afraid of fucking motorcycles?” He tried to engage her again, “And here I thought you weren't scared of anything.” He wrapped a strand of her black hair around his finger and tugged lightly to bring her back to reality. She wiggled her toes and looked up at him.

“I’m afraid of lots of things. Motorcycles, bears, heights, werewolves…”

He laughed at that. “Good fucking thing you only have to deal with fucking zombies.”

“True. What are you afraid of?”

Large dogs. Loss of control. Hospitals…

“Abso-fucking-lutely nothing. Told you I’m a bad motherfucker.”

“Uh-huh. And I’m Santa. By the way, I should probably go take a look how the snow shoveling is coming along.”

“No, I’ll go. You take the rest of the day off and catch up on some fucking sleep or knitting or rubbing one out while thinking of me.” He winked at her and stood up. She craned her neck to give him a smile and he tried to convince himself that this one was much more genuine than what she had showed Andrei earlier.

“Thanks boss. I owe you one.” That was kind of ironic, considering she had kept the Sanctuary up and running during his short absence this morning.

“Heh, yeah. Better not fucking go there babe. See you later.” He turned to go look for the snow crew before his big mouth told her exactly what she could do to make it up to him.

The following couple of weeks were slow and dark and cold. The weather had been relatively stable so far, but right after New Year’s, a massive blizzard hit the area and the Sanctuary was wrapped in a blanket of snow and ice. All scavenging was put on hold since they only had one army truck equipped for this kind of weather. Negan was once more proud of his foresight. Inventory was still full with rice that would last them through the rest of the winter and he had made sure back in the fall that enough trees around Sanctuary were cut down so they could keep the furnace in the hall and the stoves in the dormitory and the single rooms burning throughout the next couple of weeks.

His Saviors were in hibernation. Most slept a lot, others socialized more than usual and it only took him two times of threatening people with the hot iron until the occasional fights ceased completely. Or at least, people made sure he wasn’t around when tempers flared too high.

Lilly’s room had become sort of a refuge for him and some others, like Jax, Connor, Seth, Paula and Laura. It was one of the biggest rooms on the third floor, where the lieutenants lived and she wasn’t sharing it with anyone. With the Tower rec room pretty much abandoned and the hall packed with people at all times, the long winter nights were spent playing cards on her bed and passing around the occasional bottle of booze to keep their insides warm.

This morning after breakfast they had once more migrated to Lilly’s place. Connor and Seth were engaged in a battle of chess, while Negan got comfortable on Lilly’s bed, playing cards with Jax and the girls.

“Negan, any fours?”

“Go fucking fish! You have to take off your shirt now.”

“For the last time, we’re not playing strip Go Fish!”

“I’m your boss, you gotta do as I say.” This statement and his pouting earned him a couple of chuckles from the others.

“Can you imagine having someone like that as a leader?” Laura asked while rearranging her cards.

“It sucks, trust me,” Jax answered ominously and Lilly was quick to change the topic:

“Yeah, we’re lucky we ended up here. At least this one doesn’t have shit for brains.”

“Oh please. It was my awesome fucking charm and personality that convinced you to come with us. Not to mention my panty-combusting good looks.” Negan winked at Lilly.

“Your looks? No. It was Lucille that caught my attention,” she said while picking up the bat from its spot against the bedframe and twirling it in her hand, “All soft curves and sharp edges…,” she continued while stroking her thumb over the wood and watching the light reflect from the barbed wire.

“Holy fucking shit woman! Do you want me to nut in front of all these people?”

“Now that's a challenge if I ever heard one,” Lilly grinned and set Lucille back out of sight.

“Jesus fucking Christ, get a room you two!” Seth exclaimed from his spot at the small table by the window.

“We are in a fucking room, dipshit.”

“Yeah. And it’s MY room, and I can do all the nutting I want in here.”

Negan broke into a booming laugh and was just about to comment on Lilly’s ability to make people orgasm, when a knock on her door made everyone look up. Without waiting for an invitation, the door opened to reveal Carson, who looked even more timid than usual.

“Sir, we’ve got a problem.”

“What the fuck is it now? Is Dwight complaining about the Tower rec room again? I told him it’s his fucking responsibility to heat it if he insists on spending his free time there.”

“No, Sir. It’s… it’s the rice. The kitchen crew wanted to start preparing lunch and dinner and they discovered that it’s spoiled. I think it’s some kind of fungus. We opened all the rice sacks and there’s only two or three of them that doesn’t have mold in them.” Carson looked close to crying and he flinched when Negan jumped up from the bed and his lieutenants followed suit.

“Are you absolutely fucking sure that all the food has gone bad? How the fuck did this happen?” he asked in an increasingly louder voice. This couldn’t be happening. Maybe they all didn’t know shit about rice. Maybe it was just some bugs. They could still eat rice with some bugs in it, right?

“It might be the weather,” Connor offered as an explanation, even if it was far from helpful at the moment, “The storage room can get damp, but it’s not cold enough in there to freeze the food.”

“And why the fuck has nobody fucking thought about this before we put the motherfucking rice in there?” Negan yelled before he felt a hand on his arm. Lilly looked up at him with concern in her eyes, but she tried to diffuse the situation.

“Don’t panic yet. Let’s go down there and have a look. There might have been a mistake.”

He wiped a hand over his face, concentrating hard on not letting anyone see that he was shaking.

“Yeah… yes, you’re right. Let’s see if there’s been a mistake.”

There wasn’t.

A light blanket of gray fur covered the topmost layer of rice inside every sack they looked into. Negan did not lose any time and called for a meeting with his lieutenants. He had to get busy to keep himself from freaking out. Dwight and Lilly were tasked with finding a way to get supplies. Negan told them to go every route they could take with the army truck, whether it be the other communities, hunting, or scavenging, preferably further South along the coast. He ordered the scouts to try to get to the outposts and tell them that Hilltop and the Kingdom had to give up half of their supplies now, as long as it didn’t leave them starving. The rest of his lieutenants were told to organize food rationing and to make sure people wouldn’t panic.

His own panic was an entirely different problem. How could he have been so stupid as to solely rely on the rice? Dwight and Lilly did their best while going out with their teams, but the weather got even worse, with snow storms being an almost daily occurrence now. Lilly tried to go hunting once, but came back nearly frozen to death. While wrapping two wool blankets around her shivering body on the rec room sofa, Negan told her he would use the handcuffs from their first night together and tie her to her bed if she ever snuck out again.

The first week after the mold discovery, they managed to keep the news from people at Sanctuary, but after the tenth day without rice and with decreasing portion sizes, rumors began to spread and the Saviors started to get nervous.

A group of people were standing in Negan’s office, demanding to know what was going on, while he summoned his biggest inner asshole and told them to shut the fuck up and get the fuck out. No one would starve, not while he was leader, but he only told that to himself, repeating it in his mind over and over again.

He had just managed to either threaten or calm down the mob enough so they would leave, when there was another knock on his door and Lilly walked in. He was grateful for the distraction, even if he would have preferred for her to be able to go outside scavenging. The way she was nervously chewing on her lower lip and how she twisted her hands in front of her made his stomach sink. She sat down on the edge of the chair in front of his desk instead of assuming her usual relaxed posture.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

“The only thing I can deal with right now is for you to ask me to fuck you on this desk,” he joked, but he already knew it had to be something important if she came to him instead of trying to deal with it on her own.

“Negan…,” she pleaded, clearly not in the mood for their usual flirtatious banter.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Alright, what the fuck is it this time?”

“I think I have a solution to our problem,” she said while holding out her palm to him. In her hand was a small key, of the kind you would use for a padlock. Negan took it and stared at it for a couple of seconds, before raising his eyebrows in her direction to show her that he was waiting for an explanation.

“There’s a shed, not far from where you found me and Jax. It’s filled with food cans and rice,  stored in airtight plastic containers and with packs of silica gel to control moisture. It should be enough to get us through the next couple of weeks until the weather lets up. It will take a while for us to get there with the truck, but if we leave today…”

Negan didn’t let her finish. He slammed his hand with the key on his desk and she flinched.

“Are you fucking telling me…,” his voice was dangerously low, “that you kept a whole fuck-ton of fucking food from me? From us?” He didn’t look at her. He couldn’t. Rage had started to boil hot in his belly and he forced himself to stare at the treacherous key on his desk, instead of looking into those green eyes of hers that had only ever given him positive emotions so far.

“I’m so sorry Negan…,” she whispered and he could hear the tears in her eyes, “It was my backup in case things didn’t work out here.”

He got up so violently that his chair crashed into the wall behind him.

“Your backup, huh? Your fucking backup? You fucking lied to me, Lilly. I remember asking you if we had taken everything…”

“And you had! I told you we had taken everything useful from the house…”

“Fuck you Lilly! For motherfucking fuck’s sake!” He spun around to tower over her. She had the sense not to continue her train of thought. He could see through the red veil of anger that she looked miserable; guilty and scared.

“We’ve been talking about people starving to fucking death. There are fucking kids in here that go hungry. And you’re only telling me about this shit now?”

“I thought we’d manage…”

“Well we clearly fucking don’t, Lil. You fucking lied to me. You kept this shit from me because of your stupid fucking paranoias. Because you always fucking need a backup of a backup of a fucking backup.”

“You know why I am like that.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck if your former leaders gave you fucking issues. When have I ever given you any fucking reason not to trust me?” Apart from the obvious problem of her keeping food from his people, that was the other reason for his rage. That she didn’t trust him.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry Negan,” she sounded like a broken record now and he didn’t care about her excuses, “I’m going to get Dwight and maybe Laura and Gavin and we’ll leave within the hour.”

“Oh no. You’re not going any-fucking-where. In fact, you’re fucking forbidden from leaving the fucking Tower for at least a month.”

“You’re grounding me?” The threat had brought back some of her fighting spirits. To anyone else, this would have been a relatively mild punishment, but Negan knew how much she valued her hunting and scavenging privileges, not to mention the laps she ran around Sanctuary every other day to keep healthy.

“You bet your fucking ass I am. You behave like some fucking teenage girl keeping secrets from her parents, you get treated like one. Jax is going to take Dwight to that shed.”

That made her jump up.

“No! Negan, you know Jax isn’t as capable as others out there.”

“I don’t fucking care. He knew about that food, too, right? This is his punishment as well as yours for not telling me about it. Now stop fucking arguing and get the fuck out before I think of something else, like demoting you, or throwing both your asses out into the fucking cold.”

For a moment she looked as if she wanted to continue fighting with him about it. Her chest was heaving and there were fresh tears in her eyes, but this time, they seemed to come from anger instead of guilt and fear. Negan’s jaw was set in a hard line and he put his hands on his hips, as if to challenge her. He almost wanted her to keep arguing so he could take his anger out on her some more. After a moment, she seemed to deflate in front of him and turned around to leave.

When she reached the door, she faced him again. “I really am sorry, Negan. You’re right. I should have trusted you more, instead of endangering everyone. I hope I can make it up to you.”

Her steps echoed through the hallway until he was left with silence and the hopes that the truck would get through to the place where she had stored the food. It would mean that they would survive this winter and Negan swore to himself that he would never rely on only one food source ever again.

It took Dwight, Jax and Gavin two days to collect the stuff from the shed and get back to Sanctuary. The rice was blessedly unspoiled and Negan wasn’t the only one who claimed to have developed an irrational distaste for it. They all kept eating it, of course, but he made a mental note about getting Marv and his crew to build those greenhouses and to look into potential fields to grow crops come spring. He also declared that the other communities would have to keep up with providing them with half their supplies. Anything to keep the risk of facing such a catastrophe again at a minimum.

Fortunately, as January ended, so did the snowfall. People were able to work outside again and the depleted supplies were restocked by his scavengers and by March, everything seemed to be back to normal, the Sanctuary standing tall and proud in the first rays of an increasingly stronger spring sun. Negan should have been elated that they had come out of their first bad winter unscathed, but the truth was that he was miserable.

While Lilly was allowed outside again, he still had not given her her responsibilities back and she had yet to be assigned to a scavenging run. Negan was still seething about her lack of trust and foresight and she seemed to react to his ongoing punishment with icy cold glares and that was only when she wasn’t avoiding him as much as possible. He had kept her slip-up a secret from the other Saviors so as not to add insult to injury for her. However, he couldn’t help but think that grounding her had been just as much punishment for himself as it had been for her.

He missed her. He missed her easy smile and her flirty wit and the way she had never shied away from touching his arm, or his side when she poked him, even if it had never gone any further than that. Instead, she kept ignoring him and the fact that she had become increasingly bitchy with pretty much everyone else didn’t console him one bit. He had caught himself smelling the red scarf she had given him on more than one occasion, even with her scent being almost gone from it.

Her bad mood kept coming up as a topic of conversation between his other lieutenants and he couldn’t blame them. One morning after breakfast, she walked up to their table to ask Seth for the points list to check something, doing her best to look anywhere but at Negan.

“Sorry Lil, I haven’t finished them yet. I can bring them to you this afternoon if you want.”

“Don’t fucking bother! I need them now. Why can’t any of you ever do their fucking jobs?” She ranted and the people around Negan gasped. Seth stared at her slack-jawed. He had always been friendly with her.

“Calm down! Jeez Lil, what the fuck is the matter with you? You on the rag or something?” Seth asked, clearly shocked at her outburst.

“Fuck you, Seth!” Lilly growled, her face a mixture of rage and sadness, before she turned on her heels and stomped back to the stairs and up into the Tower.

“What the hell? What was that all about?” Seth and the others broke out into incredulous whispers.

“Don’t know, don’t care,” Negan declared before standing up to leave for his office. He didn’t want to be around while his lieutenants kept speculating about the source of Lilly’s abysmal mood. Although he silently agreed that her reaction had been extreme and more than just a little out of character.

He spent the rest of the morning pouring over schedules, inventory lists and scavenging plans and it all made him even more acutely aware of Lilly’s physical and mental absence. He really could have used her help in all of this. His pride forbade him from making up with her just yet, though, even if his callous comments added even more fuel to the ever burning rumor mill at Sanctuary.

He was just about ready to throw the papers that were scattered all over his desk to the ground in one sweep of his arm, when a knock on his office door distracted him from his ever-growing frustrations. He called for the person on the other side to come in, thinking maybe it was Dwight with another list of stuff people needed, or maybe a wife to complain about the lack of makeup in inventory. He was therefore surprised when it was Lilly who walked into the room. He briefly debated whether he should feel happy or annoyed about her turning up. He settled for happy, only to turn to concerned when he finally got the first chance in weeks to properly look at her. She was ridiculously pale, her skin carrying a green tinge and a thin layer of sweat was visible above her white lips. Something was very clearly wrong and he felt the strong urge to walk around his desk to help her sit down and to cover her with his jacket.

“Negan, I… I need to talk to you.”

[iwrotemywayto-revolution]

Across the room

Request: sorry none I just had a rush of inspiration after reading @manuelmiranduh‘s fic “Cool” and thought I’d do something with a kinda similar premise (sorry Sabrina yours is awesome I love it) so this happened

Pairing: Lin-Manuel Miranda x reader (my first attempt be nice)

Warnings: Karaoke?

Word count: 2,244

A/N: I swear 90% of the amazing writers in this part of the fandom write lin x reader and they are my idols so here goes nothing! also lara and aria are my ocs excuse their presence ^-^ (and “sobrino” means nephew) This hasn’t been proofread.

askbox || masterlist

--

“Go on, Y/N,” your friend Lara pleaded, “I know you’d be great.”

You shook your head resolutely. The open mic night had been a fun event to attend, sure, but you had no plans to actually take the stage. Lara, your temporary roommate, thought otherwise.

“What about that song you’ve been singing all week?” She continued, undeterred, “Helpless or something?”

You’d only come to visit Lara at college- she was an art major at NYU. The two of you had met online and, after three years, finally managed a visit that coincided with your move to New York. Tonight was your last night and she’d grabbed you to a popular bar on campus and spent the evening trying to persuade you to sing.

You scoffed. “I couldn’t sing that!” Lara raised an eyebrow, doubtless thinking of your constant singing in the past week. “I couldn’t sing all the parts myself,” You hastily amended.

“Okay- I’ll sing Alexander and Aria will be Angelica,” she suggested. Aria was one of her flatmates- a theatre major with a lovely voice and a Hamilton obsession to match yours. Before you could tell her no, she was out of her seat and heading towards where Aria was sitting. You sighed and resigned yourself to embarrassment. At least you were going home tomorrow to get your stuff.

Aria was, unsurprisingly, onboard. “You’re the perfect Eliza,” she gushed as they dragged you up towards the edge of the stage. “This will be amazing!”

The organiser looked a little unsure about there being three of you but scribbled down your names and song anyway. You were on after a guy singing a twenty one pilots song. You sat at the side, fidgeting.

Lara hummed the tune under her breath, which relaxed you a little. No one of consequence would be in this dingy bar on a Thursday night, you reasoned as the performer before you finished. 

Suddenly someone was handing the three of you microphones and shoving you onto the stage. You stood in the centre, willing your hands to stop shaking. You tapped the microphone and it squealed. “I guess that works,” Lara muttered, and a couple of people laughed.

You looked to them and they nodded. With a deep breath, you imagined yourself as Eliza. You imagined you were on the stage at the Richard Rogers rather than in a tiny bar, and that Lin was waiting for Renee to guide him over to meet you.

“Oooooh, I do, I do, I dooo- hey!” your voice cracked a tiny bit on the first do. You almost gave up right then but Lara grinned at you and you hit the next note. “Ooooh, I do, I do, I do.”

Lara and Aria started to dance a little behind you, imitating the basics of the ensemble’s choreography and doing their background “hey”s at the same time. 

“Boy, you got me helpless! Look into your eyes and the sky’s the limit- I’m helpless! Down for the count and I’m drowning in ‘em,” You gave it your all and were pleasantly surprised to find that your voice when singing in a pub sounded better than you were home alone. 

You swished your skirt a little and moved to the side of the stage, letting Aria and Lara dance into the centre. “I have never been the type to try and grab the spotlight. We were at a revel with some rebels on a hot night. Laughin’ at my sister as she’s dazzling the room, then you walked in and my heart went ‘Boom!’” 

You walked over to Aria as you sang, taking her by the arm and pulling her away from Lara just in time for you to sing “Grab my sister, and whisper, ‘Yo, this one’s mine’”. Aria put her hand over her mouth and spun away towards Lara. 

You grinned and got ready to narrate.

--

You sang the final line with a feeling of absolute joy. You had done it! Sure, you were shaking a little and getting down the stairs off the stage proved a challenge, but you had sung in front of people and no one had thrown any tomatoes- or napkins- at you.

The organiser patted you on the back absentmindedly as they beckoned the next performer onstage. You went and sat back down, a couple of people giving you high-fives along the way.

Aria and Lara went to get drinks to celebrate, leaving you to collapse in your seat. You closed your eyes and sighed.

“That was quite something,” you heard someone say.

“Thanks,” you smiled, and turned to meet their gaze. 

Shit. You froze, your heart in your mouth. The person facing you was no college student out for a karaoke night and a beer. No, you were facing a familiar goatee and shoulder-length hair pulled back into a ponytail. You were facing a man in a grey jumper that you knew off the internet.

You were facing Lin-Manuel Miranda.

“I-” you stammered at the same time as he said “It’s nice to meet you.”

You took his hand and shook it. “I’m Y/N. I’m a big fan,” you mumbled, abruptly embarrassed. He had seen you sing Helpless- on stage and after a few drinks! 

“I’d say the same,” he grinned, “you sang that nicely.”

“I got nothing on Philipa,” you managed to say, and he laughed. You saw Aria and Lara had been distracted at the bar, not noticing that Lin had slid into the empty seat opposite you. 

“Nobody can compete with Phillipa,” he admitted, “But you were great.”

“How come you’re here?” you asked, curious. The student bar wasn’t that far from Broadway, but it wasn’t exactly where you thought someone like Lin would be spending a Thursday evening.

He shrugged, “Someone in the cast recommended dropping by- so I thought I would.” Lin looked around at the college students- an eclectic mix of drunk regulars, theatre kids, and tired freshmen. “Are you a student?”

“No,” you chuckled, “I’m visiting friends- namely my on-stage Alexander, Lara. I graduated a couple years ago now.”

“What do you do?” The next karaoke singer started singing ‘’Safe and Sound’ and you leaned forward.

“I’m working in an office, daydreaming about doing anything else,” you said honestly. An office job- though yours was relatively stable and paid quite well- had never been your dream. “It’s all about the legacy,” You imagined that, if anyone could understand the desire to leave behind a legacy, it would be Lin. 

Lin smiled sympathetically “I know what you mean.”

“And one day I’ll be on a beach with Sonny writin’ checks to me?” you offered, remembering the days when you first heard In the Heights. 

“A Heights fan?” He looked impressed and you shrugged sheepishly. 

Your phone buzzed and you looked down to see a text lighting up your screen.

From: Lara (22:22)

If that is who i think it is u need to get his # 

Lin chuckled. “I’ll leave you to it.”

He made to get up. “Maybe we could finish this conversation another time,” you suggested shyly.

“I’d like that,” he beamed, whipping out his phone. “Give me your number?”

You swapped phones. You added yourself and took a quick picture, mindful of the terrible lighting. You wondered if he would ever text you. 

“There you go,” you said as you passed him back his phone. “I’ll hold you to that promise.”

--

A couple of days later, as you were lugging the last box up the stairs to your new apartment, you got a text.

From: Usnavi (09:43)

You’re moving to New York, right?

From: Usnavi (09:44)

Groffsauce insists New York looks best from far away- back me up?

From: Usnavi (09:51)

This is Lin, by the way. I thought ‘Usnavi’ would be funny.

You dumped the box on top of a stack that had accumulated in your empty kitchen. It was going to take ages to unpack it all, you reasoned, and replied to Lin instead.

To: Usnavi (10:01)

Yeah- just unpacking, actually. But I back up Groffsauce, sorry :/

Your stomach growled and you sighed, resigning yourself to the endless search for your cutlery and plates. At least you hadn’t brought a lot to New York- your apartment wasn’t that big.

When you found your plates- in the last box you checked, naturally- you realised you didn’t actually have any food and headed out to grab something from the corner store.

From: Usnavi (10:41)

I am betrayed! Need any help?

You laughed and texted back your thanks, but turned down his offer. You were a tired mess and not ready for social contact- hopefully the texting wouldn’t stop.

--

It didn’t. You and Lin texted frequently over the next weeks. Sometimes he would send you pictures of him in costumes or use you as backup for his latest debate with the cast. You, in turn, sent him absurd quotes from your office and the occasional meme.

Your new job in New York wasn’t much better than the old one, but you didn’t mind so long as you were getting to text Lin.

--

Almost a month later, while you were out shopping, your phone buzzed. You didn’t think anything of it and left your phone in your bag while you grabbed more milk and some frozen peas to stick in the freezer.

It was only when you had got home and sorted your food into the cupboards and fridge that you remembered the notifications and unlocked your phone.

From: Usnavi (14:02)

Maybe we could finish that conversation in person today?

From: Usnavi (14:05)

Jasmine told me not to double text and to “be cool”

You laughed and hastily typed back a yes, asking if he wanted to come over. Your apartment was a mess, but nothing a quick clean couldn’t solve. By the time you had found your vacuum cleaner he had replied suggesting you met him at the Richard Rogers instead.

Is this a date? you asked yourself. You knew you shouldn’t get your hopes up but, completely independent of your awe of him, Lin was cute and you had to admit that you had a crush on him.

You grabbed your keys and your bag and headed out, practically buzzing with excitement. 

--

When you arrived, Lin was already there. He had two coffee cups in his hands and Jonathan Groff at his side. You took a deep breath and headed over. 

“Hi,” you smiled, “I see you got us coffee already?”

“Yup!” he handed you one, “I guessed at what you liked.” Seeing you looking at Groff, he hastily introduced you and you tried not to look too starstruck.

You took a sip of the coffee and were pleasantly surprised- it was pretty much as you liked it. “Well guessed,” you told Lin warmly. “Are we staying here?”

Lin looked suddenly unsure. “There’s a playground near the corner of West 43rd and 9th Avenue-”

“Sounds perfect,” you said and some of his nervousness dissipated. Groff waved the two of you off and headed back inside the theatre. “Do you have a show tonight?”

“Yeah,” he said, “It’s nice to take an afternoon off ever so often.”

“Take time to run wild,” you teased, “and take the girls you meet at bar karaokes out to playgrounds.”

He blushed and you laughed, almost unconsciously reaching for his hand. He let you and you could have sworn your heart skipped a beat. “It’s not much,” he explained as you rounded the corner, “but I bring mi sobrino here sometimes.”

The playground was relatively empty- you supposed most schools must still be in session. You followed Lin to a bench at the edge of the area and sat down. You watched a little girl try to climb up the slide, slipping a little every time she took a step.

“What do you dream of doing?” Lin asked after a minute. You frowned, then remembered your comment about legacies in the bar. 

You shrugged. “I want to make a difference,” you admitted, “but I don’t know how.” An ambulance shrieked past, siren wailing.

“You should come and work with me.”

“What?” you turned to look at Lin, frowning.

He laughed at your confusion. “Work at the theatre- you can sing, you live nearby, and,” he smirked, “you have connections.”

“I do?” you asked, pretending to think about it.

It worked, and Lin looked insulted. “Me! I mean me.”

You snorted and patted him on the shoulder, “I know.” After another moment’s silence you added, quietly, “You’d do that?”

“Of course,” Lin told you, reaching for your hand again. You set down your coffee cup and leaned in for a hug. For a minute, he didn’t respond and you panicked, pulling away cause you were just friends- but then he pulled you back and you relaxed into his embrace.

“I would love that,” you mumbled into his shoulder.

“What?” he queried.

You moved away, ignoring the heat rushing to your cheeks and the spike in your heart rate. “I said I’d love that,” you repeated, and Lin beamed. Grabbing your coffee cup you lifted it into the air. “Raise a glass?”

He laughed and raised his cup to tap against yours. “To new beginnings?” he suggested. 

You nodded. “To new beginnings.”

Lin started to hum The Story of Tonight as you took a sip of your coffee, unable to stop smiling. You looked at the man beside you and sympathised with Eliza- he really did make you feel helpless.

--