#plus its nice seeing people talking about their OCs and sharing other people's stuff

[katsigian]

𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔇𝔬𝔢𝔰 𝔜𝔬𝔲𝔯 ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔱 𝔏𝔬𝔬𝔨 𝔏𝔦𝔨𝔢?

I came across this quiz (not on Tumblr) and wanted to do it for the OCs <3 It hurts gjejfhdhs and thought that maybe other people would also like to be hurt by what their OCs hearts look like!

Try the quiz here

Tagging: @rindemption @noirapocalypto @spicyraeman @nuclearstorms @devilbrakers @humberg @halsin @swanfey @feykiller @aelyosos @aartyom @balverine2077 @kharonion @togepies @breezypunk @hydrasshole @elvenbeard @jaymber @pinkyjulien @uldwynsovs @sammysilverdyne @cybersmallz @florbelles @ehlnofaey @noonfaerie As always, there's no pressure/obligation to do this or to share what you got if you'd rather not <3 and while my OCs are from the CP2077 world, you can do this for any OC from any setting!

Valen - Molten Lava

Your heart burned so fiercely that it burnt itself out, leaving horrible scars in its wake; scars inside your chest and on the hands of those who touched you, the hearts of anyone who got close enough to connect to yours. The person you are now is no longer recognizable, burnt up by your own anger and passion and love. The injuries can never be fully erased, but they can be soothed with time and trust and forgiveness.

So, this fits nicely 😭 the part that stings the most is that the entire reason Valen keeps setting fire to his heart is because of just how much he loves. He's not one of those who can never love, or who have sworn off it entirely. Valen wants it so badly, wants to give love and receive it so much that he'd set himself ablaze for just a shred of it back. Valen would kill to be loved the way he loves, little did he realize that it would be him killing parts of himself. He's already done that exact thing in the past - for his father, for a boy named Taryn - and now parts of him are permanently changed. Time won't heal every wound, but now he's got someone that gently takes the lighter away from his hand and tells him that he doesn't need to burn for him.

[i-like-it-when-ju-sleeps]

I Am The Apocalypse (Part 1)

Pairing: Jay Halstead x  Sarah (OC)

Summary: Takes place during Chicago Fire 3x18. Sarah is a doctor at Med and in a long term relationship with Jay. She is at Med when the grenade goes off. 

It was still very early when Sarah Hale’s alarm clock woke her up. Groaning, she reached out to turn it off, letting her head fall back on the pillow with a sigh. She turned her head slightly and checked behind her shoulder to see if Jay was still asleep. Her alarm did not seem to have woken him up, for which she was very grateful. She wiped the sleep out of her eyes gently, letting out a small yawn, before swinging her legs off the bed and sleepily walking towards the bathroom to get ready for the day. After a quick shower, she threw a pair of jeans on, along with a basic light grey shirt. She tried her best to make sure she looked awake, despite being tired, and brushed through her hair before making her way to the kitchen.

She was greeted with the smell of toast and coffee and Jay standing there in a dark blue t-shirt and his boxers, his back to her. She smiled softly, making her way to him without making a sound.

“Hi” she greeted putting both hands on his shoulders and getting on her tip-toes to peck his cheek, making him smile. “Sorry my alarm woke you” she said sheepishly, rubbing his shoulder softly.

“That’s fine” he chuckled dismissively, turning around to face her. “I had to wake up anyway, got some paperwork back at the station”

He put his hand on her waist and leaned against the kitchen counter so that she stood between his legs. She looked down to her hands, which were set on his that were resting on her waist, and let her hands roam up his upper arm. Looking up, she could see Jay’s infamous smirk, the one he usually wore when they were in this position. She tried to ignore the look he was giving her, but still put her hands behind his neck and subconsciously got closer.

“Is your brother up yet?” she asked, “I told him I’d give him a ride but I’m almost ready and I don’t think he’s awake”.

“Well, if you heard him last night, you’ll know he must be a bit tired” he joked and she rolled her eyes, a slight frown making its way onto her face.

“Right… But I really busted my ass to get him this job, so he better not be late on his first day.” She grumbled and he laughed. She slapped his shoulder lightly, even though she couldn’t fight the smile growing on her face, before she kept on talking. “I’m serious, I’m not getting him out of this if he messes up, you know that right?”

“I know. And thank you for getting him this job, I owe you one” he said seriously and gave her a peck on the lips.

“Damn right you do” She joked before she grabbed a toast and took a bite of it, getting out of his arms. Fifteen minutes later, she was ready to go with a cup of coffee in her hand. She gave Jay, who was now showered and dressed, one last kiss before she left, promising that she would kick his brother’s ass if he didn’t show up today. And with that, she made her way to Chicago Med.

Jay shook his head a little, chuckling to himself before he went back to his bathroom to finish getting ready. He was pouring himself a cup of coffee when a young brunette wearing a shirt and her underwear appeared in the kitchen. He looked at her cautiously as he didn’t know exactly how she would react.

“Hey. Hi. Good morning”

“Melanie” the girl introduced herself extending her hand for him to shake.

“Jay.” he said shaking her hand “Will’s brother.” when said man arrived trying to tie his tie. He kissed the girl he had spent the night with, and she left to his room to change. “When do you have to be at work?” Jay asked his brother although he already knew the answer. Will was going to get an earful from Sarah once he’d get there.

“Ten minutes ago?” Will answered although it came out more like a question.

“Well you know Sarah’s going to kick your ass, right? It’s your fist day.” Jay complained, trying to motivate him.

“First and last as it turns out.” he said without a care in the world as he looked around the fridge oblivious to his brother’s glare. “Almond milk? You don’t have any regular milk in there?”

“You’re joking?” Jay asked incredulously.

“No. I got to get back.” he shrugged.

“Get back? To what? I thought the partners kicked you out of the practice.” Jay exclaimed.

“They did, but... now, this may come as a shock to you... there are other practices in New York City.” Will joked sarcastically.

“Hey, how 'bout, for once, you see something all the way through.” The older brother said with the same tone.

“Wow, you sound like the old man.”

“There it is. I mean, that is why you're blowing back out of town, right?”

“What do you care?” Will grumbled

“Just give it a couple weeks. At least. You never know. And you owe it to Sarah, she’s the one who got you the job”

“I got to go.” His brother mumbled leaving to get to the hospital. This left Jay sighing alone in the kitchen, hoping his brother would act more mature.

Once she got to the hospital, Sarah greeted the nurses who were there as she made her way to the ER doctor’s resting room. She noticed two legs coming from behind the fridge and chuckled a bit as she dropped her stuff and spoke up.

“Good morning Hannah” she greeted.

“Sarah” said woman grunted which made her laugh under her breath once more.

“Broken appliances again?” she said as she noticed the tools in her colleague’s hand. Dr Tramble hummed as an answer. “Well if you don’t need help, I’m going to go get some coffee if you want some.” she offered.

“I’m good thanks. But go ahead.” and so Sarah left to get coffee seeing as her shift wasn’t starting for another ten minutes or so. When she got back, she heard two voices.

“Hannah”

“I know who you are Dr Tramble. Will Halstead.”

“You.” Sarah said pointing at Will making herself known “You better not be late again. I am never helping ever again alright.” she said with a half-playful glare.

“I’m sorry but it’s just…” he chuckled, raising his hands in mock defense

“No excuses” she said and went to the fridge to see it fixed. “Nice work Hannah.” she praised.

“Thanks. Oh, and I am by the way.” she told Will.

“What?”

“Published.”

“Shared credit with three other doctors.” Another voice was heard.

“Published is published, April.” Hannah said teasingly.

“We're about to get slammed.” April informed and they all sighed following her to the ER. They met with Sharon Goodwin, the woman who ran the hospital. Many people were coming in, accompanied by the firefighters from house 51. Sarah nodded at them as they made their way in.

“What’s going on?” Hannah asked.

“Industrial ammonia leak. 30 plus are on their way here, and we're already full up with flu patients.” Goodwin explained.

“Round up as many O2 tanks as you can find.” Sarah told a nurse that went by and she nodded before leaving to get them. “Sharon Goodwin, Dr. Will Halstead.” She introduced.

“Yeah, yeah. We met at the interview.” She dismissed

“About that...” Will started

“Yeah, I'm late for a meeting, Doctor. Enjoy your first day.” She told him as she left, leaving him standing there with a dumbfounded expression.

“I'm gonna run over to urgent care, discharge as many as I can to free up the space. You start getting them sorted, and we'll go from worst to ‘I'm not gonna die today.’” Hannah told the two other doctors as she left the room. The woman who stayed turned to Will with a raised eyebrow and a tight smile.

They started sorting the patients, or at least they tried without any success, so April tried to find a way to help. She was trying to get everyone’s attention in vain when Severide decided to step up.

“Listen up!” his voice boomed in the entire ER. April turned to him and nodded in thanks.

“All right, we are going to have a very full day here. And I understand none of you feel well, but we're gonna need help from you as well as patience. If you're here because of the ammonia leak, I'm gonna need you on this side of the room when I say so. If you're here because of the flu or something non-life-threatening, I'm gonna...” A man started to walk towards her, dragging his chair with him “Sir, not yet, please. I need everyone...” April stuttered as the man stood on his chair.

“If you thought Ebola was a nightmare, I am the apocalypse!” The man yelled. He looked incredibly sick and raised his hand with which he was holding a grenade. People started gasping and screaming in fear. The man activated the grenade and the room was tense “Death to all Americans. You're all dead in two weeks.” was the last thing he said before the grenade went off.

[nightwingshero]

Rosemary, abatina, dill, hollyhock, and sweet pear for whoever you feel like talking about! 💜

Thank you, hun!!! I did a mixture, because I’m missing some old OCs of mine, and some need serious development. Yeah, so it got really long, I am so sorry!

Rosemary: What's their fondest memory?

Blair: It would probably be laying out in the backyard with her dad while they watched the stars, or her dad buying her that nice telescope that he’d use with her. It meant a lot to her that her parents indulged when it came to her interests, they were always supportive. Most of her time was spent at aquariums, the observatory, zoos, and just doing a lot of stuff with her parents. Science fairs were always a blast, because her parents would help. 

Emma: This would be either her and her brother Mark playing in the pond they had or playing football on the beach in the summer. Em would also work on an old Mustang, one she’s still helping him build, and Ash would come over most days and they would all just have a huge dinner in the backyard. Georgia gave decent weather for it. Most of her fondest memories are with her family or Ashton, because they grew up together and did a lot together when Emma’s family moved there. A beautiful, sunny day in Summer always takes her back. 

Quinn: There were times where they would travel back to Russia to visit the remaining members of his mother’s family, and he would love it. Quinn absolutely adored his babushka, and the stories she would tell. His mother would tell the same tales, but it wasn’t the same as how his babushka would tell it. There was also sailing with his father. That was something Quinn thoroughly enjoyed, and it was something they continued on doing until his father died. 

Wren: Definitely playing piano with her mother! That is probably the most precious moment for her. When she plays it now, she still feels as if her mother is there with her. Not only that, but her music teacher was her one good thing growing up. Mrs. Hall taught Wren how to actually play, and when Wren would sneak to lessons (under the guise of studying or going to the library), Mrs. Hall would often bake cookies and brownies for Wren, as if she were her own grandmother. Wren attended her funeral when she passed, and it actually felt like she had lost her grandmother when she heard. But those are memories she holds dear. 

Abatina: Are they very picky or particular about anything?

Blair: Not really, no. Blair is rather easy going and goes with the flow. I think the one thing would be don’t touch her work station. It’s organized chaos with an actual system that only she knows, and she will absolutely lose it if you mess with anything because that’s her life’s work you’re messing with. I think that could be said for any scientist though, and she is very verbal about it. It’s a light reminder, or a happy request until you get too close and she becomes slightly frazzled and makes you keep your distance. 

Emma: She can be an absolute control freak and has to have things a certain way (whether that’s because she was in the Marines or if she inherited it from her mother, who’s to say?) No eating in her cars, don’t touch her guns, and if you’re going along with her on something, you’re following her lead. Ashton, Nora, and even Roach give her hell for it, but honestly? Sometimes she can’t help it. Emma has a habit of taking control of a situation when it calls for it and she’s a super organized and neat person. Everything has it’s place, things are cleaned or done a certain way, and she would rather just do it herself. 

Quinn: His hair and shoes. Listen, Quinn is very boyish in looks (there’s a reason Ryan Gosling is his faceclaim) and his hair is usually neat or done how he wants it. He’s not overbearing about it, he just takes his time with it because he does put care into his appearance. His shoes are shined, his clothes match and his outfit is sharp, he doesn’t go more than a few days without shaving. Once the Collapse happens, it’s one of the things he can control, so he does. Grayson often jokes he’s the prettiest guy of Armageddon, but Quinn laughs with him. 

Wren: She doesn’t like it when other people drive. Having been in a traumatizing car accident, she prefers to be at the wheel for that sense of control. It’s honestly makes her so damn anxious when that’s not the case, and Quinn drives like a damn maniac from time to time in New Dawn. She will cling to something for dear life, and absolutely will backseat drive. It leads to a lot of spats between her and Jane, Quinn, and Ivy. 

Dill: Do they have any rivals?

Blair: I would say that one of the biggest would be John Constantine. Blair is skeptical when it comes to the mystical and supernatural, needless to say, she absolutely does not believe in magic. However, when the Particle Accelerator went off, someone close to her was wearing a totem or a spiritual pendent that got mixed into her meta powers (it’s how she can cosmic project and do some of the things she can with energy manipulation...it also helps balance out her going supernova and such), so...some of her powers are part of the arcane. Johnny knew that the second he met her, so when she gave him grief and became skeptical when he was helping Ollie bring Sara’s soul back, he just smirked at her and went “hate to burst your little bubble, love--” and honestly, they’ve been at it from there.  

Emma: Ha! Emma is competitive and very proud, so yeah, she has rivals, some more fun than others though. For example, her rivalry with Nikolai (and sometimes Price) is who can drink the other under the table. Yuri...well, they ended up in a fist fight on a misunderstanding when they first met, so while he’s working with her and the 141, there’s definitely some rivalry there with them trying to one up the other. She’ll spar with Ghost to see who is better too. Honestly, she’s always up for a challenge, and its something she shares with a lot of her fellow Marines back home--including her cousin and her teammates. 

Quinn: John fucking Seed. Listen, they hate each other, full on loathing, because Quinn isn’t afraid to point out that he’s in a cult and we all know how John is when someone makes him feel insecure and inadequate...with Quinn he very much does, even if that isn’t his intention.  It also doesn’t help that John notices how Quinn looks at his wife from time to time, and he doesn’t appreciate it, but the biggest thing is that Quinn openly challenges him on everything. To Quinn, he wants to poke holes in his logic and show that John isn’t at all what he thinks he is. Quinn is a natural leader, he had been in the Navy, he knows what that looks like and he’s quick to call John out on shit. Wren gives him a bit of a run, too, their rivalry just happens to uh...turn into something else. 

Wren: Holly Pepper and Mary May Fairgrave. Those are the two that gives her the most trouble. In any other scenario (and in most AUs), Wren and Mary May get along just fine, but in canon? Wren straight up punches her in the face. There’s more to it, of course. Wren is being worn down by people wanting her to do this and that for the Resistance, her constantly being pulled in every direction and being forced to give to people without them giving in return. And Mary May wouldn’t shut up about the truck, while saying Wren was dragging her feet on what the Resistance needed done (mostly because Wren was sleeping around with John, but they didn’t know that yet), and Wren just gets overwhelmed with frustration and anger, and straight up punches her in the face and tells her “if you want the truck so damn bad, go get it yourself”, and storms out. Holly Pepper later becomes an issue because she knows John slept around with her, and Holly loves shoving it in Wren’s face. So...Holly ends up dying because she straight up attacks Wren, and Jane helps her with it because she knows that John has a soft spot for Wren. Plus there’s that little shit Quinn in New Dawn...they’re a lot of fun. 

Hollyhock: What's their biggest goal right now?

Blair: Currently, it’s to find her place and stride with the team and her powers. She just wants to not have to lay awake at night and worry she’ll lose control again and hurt her friends and loved ones. Her whole life has changed, and there are still things that are throwing her off. She needs to find her footing again and feel more confident in what she’s become. Helping people, including herself and teammates/friends, is what’s most important to her. 

Emma: As of right now, it’s to regroup and hunt down Makarov. She’s still healing from when Shepherd took out the 141 base and tried to kill her, Ashton, and Nora. The stitches are still healing a bit, but she’s pumped up and ready to take him down. Her goal, and focus, is doing whatever Price and Soap need her to do. It’s almost tunnel vision at this point. 

Quinn: Take down the Highwaymen and fix whatever bullshit Whitney and Wren have going on. He won’t at all pretend he knows what fucking type of politics they have in New Eden, or what rules they’re going by, but it’s very damn clear that Ethan is no good and needs taken down. Him and Grayson came because Carmina asked Rush, and they were never ones to back down from a challenge, not when it comes to helping those in need. So, he’s gonna take down Mickey and Lou, allow Grayson to avenge Rush while protecting Prosperity, and then stand with Wren and Whitney as they take over New Eden.

Wren: That depends on if we’re talking Far Cry 5 or New Dawn, but she’s mostly taking out the head Seed and establishing peace. She’s trying to do what’s right, and whether that’s for herself (which is the eventuality of her changing sides) in Far Cry 5, or for their people and her family in New Dawn (overthrowing Ethan and opening New Eden to more freedoms.) It’s all revolved around Eden’s Gate though, and she agrees to help Quinn and Grayson because she still cares about Kim and Nick, and much of the others, so it’s just a pitstop on her plan. 

Sweet pea: If you had to choose a favorite dessert for them, what would it be?

Blair: Crème Brule, strawberry shortcake, or chocolate lava cake. You could say all of the above, to be honest, she loves sweets. Blair is always snacking, and they’re usually little cakes, fruits, or something sweet. There’s a reason crepes are her favorite breakfast foods, fruit and sweet? Yes. Which I guess you could  add porfait on the breakfast menu too, in that case...anyway, snacking is usually something her and Mick has in common, though she’s not constantly looking for it the way he is. Mick finds food in missions and randomly...Blair is more disciplined than that. She will grab stuff for him a lot of the times if they’re in the same room or if she’s working near him. Leonard just stares between them, he’s not sure what he thinks of their comrade (he also lost his more recent memories, so he can shut it.)

Emma: Dark chocolate cake or tarts. Anything that has a bitter or sour tinge to it, because she’s not really a sweets person. Not when it comes to that, at least. She loves her mom’s sweet tea (and homemade lemonade). But she just would have something like raspberry butter cookies, cherry pie, or even an old fashioned ice cream (yes, with bourbon). She loves dark chocolate though. And tiramisu. 

Quinn: Oh, he loves the Russian desserts his mom would make, and honestly, Quinn has such a sweet tooth. Bird’s milk cake, Russian rugelach, waffle cakes, and especially kartoshka. He would help his mom (or babushka when they would visit Russia), and would eat them with Russian tea they would make. He also enjoys many flavors of gelato. 

Wren: Cheesecake. Without a doubt. She has always been, and will forever be, in love with cheesecake. And all kinds, if we’re being totally honest. She will eat any flavor, she feels strongly about it. You wanna piss her off easily? Eat her cheesecake. Wanna get on her good side again? Bring her cheesecake. John does. Whenever he’s in trouble, he throws a cheesecake on it. She’s constantly eating it to the point Whitney and Rowan have both reminded her that it’s not a meal. Does she listen? No. 

[thebiasrekkers]

Star of Fate [Vampire!VIXX]

Plot: The longer you stare into darkness, the more you realize that something could be staring back. Even more so when that darkness doesn’t want to be brought into the light and will do anything to stay that way.

Rating: NC-17 // NSFW

Genre: Series | Vampire!AU | Angst | Romance/Fluff | Smut

Pairings: OT6 VIXX x OC(s)

Warnings: Graphic Violence (bloody violence), Heavy Language, Angst, Slow Burn, Smut

Additional Warnings: Office Microaggressions | Bullying | Toxic Work Environment

Previous Chapters: Prologue

Links: FAQ || VIXX Masterlist || Admin L’s AO3 || Admin L’s WP || [ REQUESTS ARE OPEN ]

Word Count: 2,682

AO3 | WP

Tag List: If you would like to be added to this list, just drop us an ask!

AN: So…I know we said this was coming soon and I’m very sorry that this got started so late! I hope to have this out every two weeks, maybe more depending on the future. So please give this a lot of love and we hope you enjoy the ride!

Chapter 2- The Ghost Woman and the Hunter

Calling on your sins you're here in my dreams a desert place I'm not alone Do you really want to be me?

Her eyes popped open, the realistic feeling of falling completely disorienting her as she shot up from her bed. It had felt so real to her that her body jerked itself awake. Light danced its way in through the blinds, chasing away all signs of shadow. Never had she been so glad that she hadn’t purchased black out curtains than in that moment. She needed to see the sun and all of its glory to help the dream fade away into existence. Well, at least certain parts of it. There was a wistful part of her that still wished that she could be on that dance floor again with the handsome and darker skinned man. 

��Oh my….FUCK!”

Lucky yelled as she looked over to her alarm clock, realizing that it was the source of the chimes that she heard in her dream. Throwing off her covers, she scrambled to get half-way put together so that way she wouldn’t be late to her job. She even called a cab to get her there faster which was unlike her normal routine. Unless there was inclement weather, of course. 

During the ride, she kept an eye on her phone--it lighting up every few seconds as she checked the time. She made it to her desk just in time to receive the stack of papers from some of the other people there. Normally she wasn’t such a space case, even showing up early to get whatever else she missed the previous day. Lucky was a hard worker, nobody could deny that but it was that fact others exploited hence the reason why the stack seemed to get larger and larger by the week. The world of office politics seemed to be much like high school but it paid well enough for her to put up with the majority of it. 

She straightened out her hair as best as she could with it being so long and settled down to start on her work. Most of it had been reports that she had to pencil push and correct, which was easy enough for her because all the information had been just sitting there inside of her head. However, the more difficult stuff came along when the Vice-President stuck his fingers into everything. She couldn’t help but groan when she looked at some of them, saving the majority of them for last so that way she could take extra time on them. 

“Job finally getting to you, Leonora?”

Lucky didn’t realize how long she had been working on them until the voice pulled her out of the zone she had settled into. Turning around, she saw another coworker standing right behind her with a slight smile on her face. No matter how many times she tried to be friendly to some of them, they insisted on resisting any attempts at professionalism and decorum. Well, unless someone higher up was around. Not to mention the fact that they also insisted on calling her by her government name instead of the nickname that she preferred. She gave the sweetest smile she could muster and stood up, green eyes twinkling. 

“Oh, there you are Nancy! I got so caught up in fixing your mistakes that I forgot to give you this folder back! Everything in there should be up to date now and I even took the liberty of sending off the final draft for you. It was the least I could do since I was the last one that had hands on it. You’re welcome.”

She gaped at Lucky for a moment and flipped open the folder to read what she had fixed. Nancy’s ears started to go red and her thin lips flattened as she pressed them together in anger. Lucky raised an eyebrow at her reaction, knowing that she saw what had been edited by her. It had only been a few mistakes but they were some that would have made their department look bad. Plus Lucky also added her name to the document as one of the contributing factors, more so because she went through the trouble of fixing everything. 

“I hope this teaches you to quit pushing your work off on me, Nancy. Have a good day.”

Lucky turned away from her and sat back down at her cubicle, leaving the sputtering woman there to be embarrassed. Even though she had her own computer there, they all had shared files that they could all access and she lived up to her nickname that she had the time to quickly edit everything before emailing it out. It had been one of the rare times that she was able to stick it to them and it honestly made her feel a sliver of satisfaction at the situation. 

Because she was just a little bit petty. 

The sudden ringing of her phone took her away from the moment, the voice of her boss calling for her. Lucky was a bit confused as she looked at the time as she wondered why he had reached out so early. It normally was after lunch that she would meet up with him to go over various things pertaining to her new position. Lucky had been promoted to be the Personal Assistant for the Vice President. Naturally, he had more than one that would work together with him being at such a high level but most of them had quit because of various rumors of his misogyny and unrealistic ideals. Hell, she was even friends with one of them when she found out that she no longer worked there. Rumors circulated with her leaving and even more when she was appointed in her stead. 

Now, Lucky was one of the very few left so that meant that she had been picking up a lot more work than normal. Not that she went out much anyways with the amount of work she had. 

She walked the halls to his office, only to be greeted by the desk clerk. The tiny lady handed her a folder and suggested she find something appropriate to wear. Confused, Lucky looked through the folder and saw that there were some instructions as well as some papers with details on the new VIP’s that they had recently joined with. 

“What the actual hell? Does he expect me to drop everything that I’m doing to go to this event with him? After hours, no less?”

The lady just shrugged and went back to her work. Lucky could feel her indignation rising but left before causing a scene. It was one thing if it was an actual work trip that she had to attend but that had been some sort of event to flaunt and rub elbows. There wasn’t a real reason why she needed to be there so why all the preparation? She returned to her desk and went through the folder in detail. The only promise that she would receive was an extra amount in pay if she went, something that actually interested her. She grumbled as she leafed through it but decided that it was just for one night and that if it happened again, she would put a stop to it. The bright side to it had been that she could take off early to prepare for the event. That was always something she could look forward to especially that day since she moved like hell to get there on time. 

The one person that she could freely talk to in the office came up to her with a grin on her face. She had originally been offered the position but declined it because of family reasons but she was nice to talk to regardless. 

“So Lucky.. I heard from a little bird that you’re going to the VIP event tonight with Mr. Randall.” She wiggled her eyebrows and elbow at her while Lucky just scoffed. 

“Yeah, I guess. I wonder how in the hell does crap go around here so fast? It’s like the freaking flu!” 

“You don’t sound so enthusiastic about it.”

“Ashleigh, I really don’t want to go but they’re promising extra pay this time if I do. I haven’t been sleeping well lately and now I gotta go to this… grandstandin’ event. I wish someone else could go.”

Her coworker leaned thoughtfully on the cubicle wall before leaning down to whisper. It was only times like that when they would get a bit of privacy. 

“You could always quit and get some more sleep? I heard that the other assistant quit as well. I thought, at first, that you had too when you didn’t arrive when you usually do. They’re saying that the abuse from the VP is to blame.”

“Yeah well, tell the handsome man in my dreams to quit bothering me so I can go by to my normal schedule and ignore some of these chickens.” Lucky’s hand motioned like a beak as they both had a laugh over that before returning back to work. However, Ashleigh’s words stuck with her. The VP hadn’t been shy about voicing his displeasure to her about various things, even requesting that she cut her hair but she respectfully declined his request. All she stated was that it was within the guidelines of the company and left it at that. Something that didn’t win her any favors. 

And if the other girl quit too, then the sinking feeling in her gut proved to be more of an ominous feeling. Either way, she would have to go and see how it played out. 

When time came for her to leave early, Lucky instead went shopping for appropriate attire for that night’s event. Even neatly braided her hair to keep it out of her face. Simple, neat and just a tad bit sexy in the red dress. Once satisfied with her result, she waited outside for the driver to come around and pick her up. Upon seeing the expensive car, Lucky suppressed a shudder when the door was opened to reveal Mr. Randall. It wasn’t necessarily seeing her boss after hours but more of a combination of the car and him. Small vehicles caused her a bit of stress since she was involved in an accident many years ago. Since then, normally she would either take the bus or bike when the weather was nice. 

Thankfully, her boss wasn’t too interested in making small talk with her once they got on the road. The city was left behind soon and various gas stations and trees zoomed by them. She didn’t put too much thought into it until the driver turned onto a long, paved road after a set of gates. The mansion that appeared made Lucky’s eyebrows shoot up, something picking at her brain. She couldn’t quite figure it out but it was as if she had seen that place before. She had to shake those thoughts from her head as she concentrated on remembering the information that was given to her earlier that day. 

Knowledge was power and she needed it to navigate that world if she didn’t want to embarrass or otherwise offend anyone. 

Upon exiting the car and entering the elaborate place, Lucky felt all the eyes in the world stare at them. Putting on a gracious face, she walked slightly behind her boss as they were greeted by some of the others there. A few moments chatting with some of them, she soon found herself alone in the area while the others mingled. She wasn’t anyone of importance and therefore not worthy of anyone’s time, for the moment. She would let her boss do all the talking. 

Lucky gravitated towards the hors d'oeuvres while everyone talked among themselves. Plucking a few to put on a plate, she watched the room for any sign that she would be needed. Several of the clients that were in the folder she received were there and they were laughing alongside everyone else. A couple even approached her, asking questions about the company and trying to get a little information from her about how to deal with her boss. She couldn’t honestly say anything to help in that situation because she usually just listened to him bark his orders before correcting anything she needed to. 

She was left alone for another time, only appearing at her boss’ side when needed as the night went on. Soon she felt herself grow tired of all the people and the politics of said beings. Lucky had several drinks before that point and was in the process of acquiring another when a voice nearly made her jump out of her skin. 

“They’re almost like vultures, are they not?”

She looked around and up at him as he was much taller than her, even in heels. The man knew he was handsome, smiling prettily at her as he held up his own glass of red wine in a toast. Lips full and round eyes, Lucky had to appreciate his looks before replying. 

“Well, I wouldn’t say that in particular.”

He gave a wide smile, eyes almost disappearing as they snickered at the rest of them. Lucky found herself talking more and more to the man who seemed just as bored as she was with the party. The more that she looked at him, the more that he seemed familiar to her and it dawned on her that he was one of the men from the folder. He had a nice voice, a bit higher than most of the men there but he didn’t hide it one bit. 

Lucky also noticed that the attention had been drawn to them just from them standing and talking to one another. He introduced himself as Jaehwan and they talked for another 15 minutes, slipping into easy conversation to keep themselves entertained. His jokes nearly had her spilling her drink, the folder not at all correct with the man before her. He was one of three men with his business, including one brother that rotated about in their company. 

Still, even with the jokes and the amicable banter between the both of them--her boss found that he had only missed the presence of Mr. Lee before her. 

“Ah. Leonora, I didn’t realize you had monopolized Mr. Lee’s time here tonight.” Her shorter framed boss then looked to Jaehwan with an apologetic look on his face, “Otherwise I would have saved you sooner!” Mr. Randall gave a laugh, expecting Jaehwan to laugh with him but didn’t. It surprised Lucky that her new friend didn’t go along with him on that but only sighed, looking to her in apology before speaking. 

“Leonora? And you said you were Lucky…” He grinned at her, ignoring her boss. She could see Randall’s face that he was growing annoyed, a face that showed up when things didn’t go his way. 

“Oh that’s just my assistant’s nickname that she tells everyone to call her even though we should be more professional. I’m her boss, Nicolas Randall. Vice-President of Nexus Assurance.” He held out his hand to shake but Jaehwan kept grinning at Lucky. His eyes suddenly were hyper focused on her, the doe eyed look that he did have--dissolved away. Almost like he had found something he really wanted.

“Uh well, I’ve been known to be lucky--hence the nickname.” She nervously laughed, highly aware that the tension was rising. Her eyes darted between Jaehwan as he continued to ignore her boss and the latter as he was getting more upset that the scene was even happening. That strange and ominous feeling was back, churning about the contents of her stomach. Jaehwan slowly turned from the friendly and open persona that he had while it was just the two of them, to something a bit more aggravated the longer her boss was there. There was a glint in his eyes that suggested something unfriendly was fighting its way out. 

Suddenly Jaehwan blinked rapidly before excusing himself but not before taking her hand and kissing it. Bewildered, Lucky watched him weave expertly through the crowd before taking a peek at her boss. 

And he was not pleased. 

[kentuckywrites]

Meeting Arkus

After stopping in a tavern during their travels, Nym and Mira encounter Arkus, a human wizard who's in need of a good conversation. oops it’s more OC stuff, sorry about that :’D

The tavern was busy, filled to the brim with travelers and residents alike who shared the same goal of getting wasted and having fun. Nym and Mira were lucky to snag an empty table to themselves just before the party hit its peak, and even luckier to wave down a barmaid to take their orders for dinner. They had to repeat their orders a few times so she could hear; poor thing was deafened by the noise, which gave Nym the impression that the chaos was normal. Once the barmaid walked back into the crowd, Mira propped his feet up on the table, leaning back in his chair. This was a dangerous position, especially when they were both surrounded by drunkards with no sense of personal space.

“You starting to regret this decision?” Mira said, a knowing smirk on his face.

Nym rolled her eyes, perching her elbows on the table and leaning her head into her hands. Her finger messed with a loose strand of hair that had made its way in front of her ear. “Better than dead silence. Besides, this party won’t last long.”

“How do you know?”

“Town curfew posted outside. Don’t tell me you missed it.”

“Shit, I must’ve. What time?”

“11 PM.”

Mira’s left ear twitched as someone walked past, their mug of ale coming dangerously close to spilling all over him. “Just over an hour left for these fuckers to get sober and walk home then.”

“Will you be okay?” Nym asked, “I know this isn’t really your scene -”

“I can take it,” Mira responded quickly, “I’m not happy about it, but it’s a nice fucking tavern, and I’d rather stay here and wait this out than go to some slum down the street. Plus, not everyone here looks to be drunk off their asses, so maybe we’ll get some good conversations going.”

“Maybe!” She said, starting to look around for those alleged sober townsfolk. Some of them were elves, some were halflings, some dwarves. The latter two races of people were likely causing the majority of the chaos in the tavern, but that didn’t mean the elves weren’t just as drunk. They had their own ways of drinking too much, it just involved old fancy wine and a couple of good conversations, maybe an elven greeting or two. She knew Mira hated it all, but Nym was more than willing to party with the dwarves and halflings, who were always much better company than elves in a party.

In her field of view was the bar counter, where a few people sat at the stools hunched over the counter, most with drinks in their hands and a few begging for more. One of the figures caught her eye, a man hiding underneath a wide brimmed and pointy hat, cradling a mug in his hands, either sober or depressed or both. That on its own wasn’t enough to draw her gaze, but the fact that there were several books strapped to his belts did. He was a magic user, and a studious one at that. What would someone like him be doing at a bar like this?

“Might’ve found one of your good conversations,” Nym pointed to the man, unafraid of being watched or called out considering no one was paying attention to them, and even if they were, they’d forget by the next morning. 

Mira put his feet back on the ground so he could twist around and see who Nym was pointing to. “The wizard?”

“That’s the one.”

Mira paused, taking in the man’s appearance. “Eh, could be better, could be worse. He looks like he’ll ramble your ear off about books.”

“And that’s a problem for you, Mr. Fantasy Book Collector?”

“Being a fan of fantasy books isn’t the same as being a fan of encyclopedias and dictionaries.”

Nym shrugged. “Fair enough. I take dibs, then, and I’ll let you know how interesting he makes those encyclopedias and dictionaries sound.”

Mira mumbled something about a death sentence as Nym got up, pushing her chair in and staying ahead of a small group making their way to the bar with her. The seats next to the wizard were taken, but there was enough space in between them that Nym was able to stand, folding her arms on the table as she peered over his shoulder. Surprisingly, the wizard didn’t take note of her, not at first. Up close, Nym saw that his hat was hiding normal rounded ears and a face covered in dark ginger stubble. A human, and a rugged one by the looks of things. A human, carrying books and wearing a wizard hat. The conclusions wrote themselves.

“You look bored out of your mind,” Nym said, prompting him to look her way. 

He adjusted his hat so it wasn’t covering his entire face, but kept one arm propped up on the counter next to his drink. She’d been right about him being sober, though she hadn’t expected him to look as depressed either. He had eyebags under his eyes like Mira, though they weren’t nearly as dark. His eyes told the story of someone who hadn’t ended up in this tavern by choice, but who was grateful for some company. 

“Drunkards can make for amusing company, but their antics quickly become boring,” The wizard said.

“Amen to that. I hope you don’t judge me too harshly for ordering a mug of whatever you’re having.”

“It’s cinnamon whiskey. And I couldn’t judge a stranger for wanting a mug or two, just not to the point of getting shitfaced.”

“Yeah, getting constantly shitfaced wasn’t fun while it lasted, but at least now I’ve got a reason to stay out of that.”

“Like what?”

“My friend over there hates alcohol. I couldn’t drink near him even if I wanted to, otherwise he’d hang me by my belts.”

The wizard’s interest piqued at the mention of a friend. “And yet you came over here for a drink? What would he think?”

“He won’t see it, so it doesn’t matter,” Nym waved down the bartender, an elven woman of an elegant air who was cleaning a glass in her hands as she approached. She’d lied through her teeth about Mira not seeing her with a drink, but she knew that he’d be too tired tonight to chew her out for it. “I’ll have a shot of cinnamon whiskey.”

“Coming right up. That’ll be two sentrens.”

Nym dug around in her bag for a second before placing a gilleon on the table, which the bartender took with a thankful smile. Turning her attention back to the wizard, she held out her hand to shake. “The name’s Nymphadere, but you can call me Nym.”

“Arkus,” The wizard shook her hand with a firm grasp, “What would happen if I called you by your full name instead?”

“You’ll get tired of it eventually,” She told him, “All elven names are too long and fancy for their own good.”

“What about your friend? What’s his name?” Arkus asked, turning his body fully towards her.

Nym looked over her shoulder towards Mira, who was watching the two of them behind half closed eyelids. She gave a quick wink his way before turning back to Arkus. “His name’s Miranorin, but he goes by Mira for short. Same deal with the long and fancy names.”

“Something tells me that you’re not a fan of anything fancy,” Arkus commented with a half grin, “I’ll admit, I’ve never met an elf like you before.”

“You’d be hard pressed to find any elves like us out there,” She said, “Sometimes it feels like we’re the only two elves in the world who curse on a regular basis and prank people just for shits and giggles.”

“And sometimes it feels like I’m the only human in the world who has a decent grasp and understanding of the arcane. Guess we have that in common.”

“You know magic?”

“That’s an understatement. I’ve been studying it since I was little, and I can proudly say I know it better than most.”

“Well shit, you’re a living miracle then,” Nym joked, trying to ease over how dark Arkus’s eyes became at that comment, “Must be nice. Mira and I might be elves, but neither of us are too keen on the magic scene.”

“Really?” Arkus said, “I thought magic came more naturally to elves.”

“I bet it could if either of us decided to use it,” She replied, “But in my opinion, there’s nothing magic can do better than having a good dagger and some street skills.”

The bartender came over with the mug of cinnamon whiskey for Nym, setting it down on the bar in front of her. Nym gave her a nod and a wink before she walked off to tend to other drunkards. 

“So then, Arkus, what brings you to a place like this?” She dared to ask as she took a swig of the drink, flinching slightly as the alcohol burned down her throat. It was a sensation she’d been used to before, but after so long, the taste felt foreign. 

Arkus leaned forward, adjusting his hat. “I’m passing through. There’s a college of magic a few cities over that I’ve been hoping to reach in the next week.”

“Ilimaris?” Nym asked, “That’s one of the most prestigious colleges on the eastern coast.”

“You said it yourself, I’m a living miracle. They asked me whether or not I’d like to take up an assistant teaching position there. How could I decline?”

“I’d decline if the pay was shit.”

“Luckily it isn’t, and even if it was, I’d still wish to take the job.” He took a sip from his mug, and when he set it down, he gave Nym a grin. “So what about yourself? Do you live here with your friend, Miranorin?”

“Gods above, no,” Nym chuckled, “We’re just passing through. We’re going up north towards Waveheist.”

“Waveheist, hm?” He hummed to himself, “I hear there are a great many clerics and priests there.”

“Yeah, but there’s more up there than that.”

“Like what?”

“Waveheist has the prettiest festivals. Those clerics and priests go apeshit for a good holiday.”

Arkus laughed at that. “Right, the Day of Red Stings is coming up at the end of the month, isn’t it? I imagine there will be a bigger celebration than normal.”

“Why’s that?” Nym knew the answer, and her heart beat harder under her armor just thinking about it.

“Fate’s Chosen, of course,” He said, “I’ve read all about it. There’s a great deal of talk about how the Fate’s Chosen now walks amongst us. I can only dream of how wonderful it is to be handpicked by a god to deliver their message to the mortal plane.”

Nym raised an eyebrow. “You’d actually like to have a god take away all control of your life just so they can use you as a vessel? That sounds awful to me.”

“The gods wouldn’t be so cruel as to erase you from your own body,” Arkus said with a firm knowledge, “It’s always sounded like becoming a cleric, simply with extra benefits. It’s no wonder that the clerics and priests are enamored with the tale, especially those associated with the Fates.”

“Agree to disagree, then,” Nym shrugged, “Either way, sounds like you know your stuff.”

“The gods have always fascinated me, especially their decisions to lend mortals their power,” He said, “The Fate’s Chosen is unlike any blessing I’ve researched. If I wasn’t so bent on my arcane studies, I’d likely ask to join you in your journey to Waveheist so I could learn more about the Fates.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“How so?”

“You wouldn’t want to travel with a complete asshole, would you? The sentiment means I’ve been good company in this short time.” Nym finished her drink off, wiping her mouth with her wrist. She noticed that some of her lipstick smeared off onto her hand and was promptly surprised that she was still wearing any at all. Pushing the mug to the side, she leaned in, a spark of an idea igniting inside. “You know, we’d hit Ilimaris if we continued on our path up north. You wanna travel with us for a bit? Travelling in groups is always more fun.”

“I’d say it’s more safe than fun, but as long as you and Miranorin don’t mind terribly, I’d love to continue our conversations on the road,” Arkus grinned, finishing his own drink. His hat almost tipped over and fell off, but he caught it quickly, keeping it on his own head. “Of course, I’d only be ready to travel in the morning. I’m afraid I’m quite exhausted and would like to rest up a bit tonight.”

“Why would we mind that?” Nym said, “We elves need sleep too, and after the shit we went through today, I need it more than ever. If you’re planning on retiring for the night though, maybe I could introduce you to Mira first? Just so we don’t give him a shock in the morning.”

“I thought you liked to prank people for shits and giggles?”

“I’m in a good mood, and he’s been through enough today as it is. C’mon, he’s over here.”

Nym got up, taking Arkus’s hand and dragging him along. The crowd had thinned out considerably, which she’d noticed during their conversation. Likely a good few of the people who left were intent on getting inside before the curfew. Mira wasn’t exactly hard to spot, being an elf with unusually long ears and a short purple cape. He spotted them approaching out of the corner of his eye, but pretended he didn’t. She sighed to herself. The idiot was probably trying to act cooler than he actually was.

“Right, so Arkus, this is Mira.” Nym introduced the two to each other, prompting Mira to wave one of his ears with a loose smirk. Arkus blinked once before offering his hand to shake.

“It’s a pleasure to meet a friend of Nymphadere,” Arkus said.

“It’s a pleasure to be a friend of Nymphadere,” Mira put a strange emphasis on saying Nym’s full name, a mockery of how Arkus said it that immediately made him uncomfortable. “The name’s Mira.”

“Would you mind terribly if I called you by your full name?”

“Awful polite of you to ask, but if you do that means I’m gonna call you by your full name too.”

“My name is short and sweet. Arkus.”

Mira scoffed, standing up. Nym noticed that, if Arkus hadn’t been wearing the hat, they would’ve been nearly equal in height. “You’ve got a last name, don’t you?”

“Oh. Well, yes, my last name is Payne.”

“Wasn’t that hard, was it, Arkus Payne?” Mira said, “Anyways, thanks for keeping Nym company, I guess.”

“Actually, do you mind if he travels with us tomorrow?” Nym put in, “He’s heading for Ilimaris, and that’s on the way to Waveheist.”

Mira looked between Arkus and Nym once, twice, three times before sighing. “Yeah, sure, why not. Could be useful, having a magic-user on the road with us for a bit.”

“How did you know I was a magic-user?” Arkus asked.

“You’re wearing the derpiest wizard hat I’ve ever seen and have books attached to your belts. Forgive me for making assumptions, but if you weren’t a wizard, I’d be surprised.”

Arkus chuckled, amused at Mira’s response. “I can tell I’ll enjoy your company as much as I’ve enjoyed Nym’s. You’re clearly cut from the same cloth.”

“You’ll have all the time in the world to get to know us better once we’re on the road tomorrow,” Nym said, “For now, let’s get our rooms, Mira, and we’ll see you in the morning.”

“Of course. I assume we’ll meet in here for some breakfast before we depart?”

“Hell yeah,” Mira grinned widely, “See you tomorrow, Arkus Payne.”

Arkus turned to leave and bid them goodbye. Nym caught him winking at them both before he headed up the stairs to the tavern’s rooms. Nym sat down with Mira, the chair making more noise than she anticipated. The noise from her first time sitting down was probably drowned out by the partygoers, she realized.

“For the record, he didn’t talk about dictionaries and encyclopedias,” Nym smirked, leaning her cheek into the palm of her hand. “He said you were cute at one point, though.”

Even though she had lied about Arkus’s comment, and even though she told Arkus that she wasn’t going to prank Mira tonight, it was still too much fun seeing his reaction to what she’d said. His ears twitched upwards in a moment of temporary surprise. He grumbled something to himself as he slid further down his chair, his face turning light pink. Nym giggled at the sight.

“You’ll have time to flirt with him tomorrow, Miranorin, now let’s go get our rooms.”

[paradife-loft]

2, 3, 7 & 17 for khisit and/or rivka? :3

Uhhhhh HI sorry this took so long!! I blame (lack of) keyboards and my general attention span :'D

(meme here)

3 and 7 for Rivka and 2 for Khisit have been answered here!

Khisit:

3. What’s something pointless/petty/unimportant that IRRATIONALLY ANNOYS THE HELL out of your OC? 

People trying to make small talk while they’re working. Which is… probably not actually all that unimportant considering some of the reasons why it pisses them off; but the level of irritation and the way they end up making largely unwarranted and vitriolic negative judgements about people for it, probably qualifies as petty.

...this question is hard for me all around I think bc I'm both easygoing enough about pointless things, and interrogative enough about peeves that on inspection aren't pointless, that it's hard for me to come up with good answers? Aaahhh.

7. Realistically, could your OC (in their normal circumstances- i.e. at their own house/battlecamp/spaceship etc.) keep a small child alive for a week if they had to?  A dog? A houseplant? A rock with a smiley face painted on?

Uhhhhhhh, probably… There would most likely be incidents, because Khisit obviously doesn’t child-proof their stuff and has no interest in actively babysitting a kid - so y’know, whatever dangerous nonsense a kid gets up to when they’re trying to entertain themself and don’t have an adult around telling them not to climb up tall things, something of that nature would probably happen once or twice. There would probably be a lot of takeout eaten.

A dog would probably be okay, particularly if it was a relatively chill dog? It’d certainly remain alive… Khisit would be a bit weirded out by how person-centered a dog’s attention was, but I think they’d (be surprised to) enjoy taking it for walks. However, as much as it pains me to say it, a houseplant would probably be on its way to death by underwatering at the end of a week, because they’d just forget about it unless they had some particular reason to make reminders to check up on it, like if it were a friend’s plant or something. It’s just incapable of coming up and making noise and demanding attention when its needs aren’t being met! D:

17. How does your OC sabotage themselves?

HO BOY WELL. So many ways. Being a bratty assbiscuit to 9 authority figures (or people of generally higher status) out of 10. Refusing to acknowledge having any sort of strong emotions or mental weaknesses, until one of them completely blows up in their face. Antagonising people in general, because they can’t reject you if you piss them off first! :D and otherwise it provides information on how far they can push someone and how they react to prodding. Being too proud to compromise or try to make nice with or even remotely appease people they dislike. Shrugging off other people's attempts to comfort them or see if they're okay, because a) that would be showing weakness/emotion and b) it's not like they actually care anyway so why bother. ….. yeah that's about the general gist :D

Rivka:

2. What are your OC’s food preferences (flavors/textures/spiciness/calories/when and how they eat) and how did they get that way? 

Rivka's preferred foods would probably be along the lines of north & east African cuisines, as a best analogy? (Injera…..!!) It's the sort of thing she remembers growing up with, and has the most intuitive sense of how to cook well/easily. She probably doesn't tend to eat much dairy… Do I feel like importing kashrut directly into SW? Who knows tbh. But assuming there are some kind of relevant dietary rules, she probably follows the bigger general ideas but doesn't like, fuss about getting only hechshered products at the grocery store. Another person offering her something she's unfamiliar with will probably be accepted, unless it's Really Blatantly Not Allowed from what she can immediately see; it feels rude to do otherwise, with how often her work puts her as a guest of someone else's community.

In general she prefers to eat with others, even if it's just as passive socialising? Eating by herself too often feels lonely, and wasteful when you could be making and sharing food for multiple people at one time. Plus the daily ritual with other people helps ground her and make sure she's not just getting lost in her own head.

Meshurat introduces her to the wonderful world of sweet filled breads at some point; Rivka finds this enjoyable but less relevatory than Meshurat was hoping for and gets offendedly written off as a lost cause XD

17. How does your OC sabotage themselves?

Getting into anxiety spirals about how she's never doing enough to help fix the world's problems, especially as someone who has both more power and responsibility than most. Running herself into the ground trying to do things for other people as a result of those anxiety spirals. Thinking she can/should/has to be the only one who deals with everything because she's the most/only competent one in the room - potentially making more work for herself and/or alienating others, depending on how arrogant/elitist she comes across in doing so. Avoiding opening up to others about rough shit she's going through because she believes any admission of not being perfect or not believing wholeheartedly in the party line will just end up with her being brushed off at best, punished at worst.

[aweirdkindofyellow]

Here I Am, There You Are Pt. 12

Jack Barakat x OC ‘Rachel has been best friends with Alex, Jack, Rian, and Zack since high school. What happens when one of them gets married?’

Part 12

I left the bathroom after just having finished doing my makeup. Jack and I were at my parents’ house for a week. A very busy week. It wasn’t just for a fun little holiday like back when we celebrated Christmas with my family. This time we actually had places to be and things to do. Afterall, we were planning a wedding. We had decided on a date, giving us just over a year to plan the whole thing. And we had chosen to have it back home in Maryland instead of out in LA. It was just easier for all of our family to come out there. While we were still very early on in the process, we did have to choose a venue, especially since we wanted to get married during the busy fall season.

So, Jack and I thought it would be useful to combine that with a trip we were going to take anyway back to Baltimore for our high school reunion. It seemed like a good plan on paper, and it wasn’t a horrible idea in execution either. It was just pretty hectic. At least we had a day to do nothing after the reunion. So, that was something. When I pushed the door to my bedroom open and walked in, I froze and stared at Jack. “Fuck me, you look good.” It wasn’t like he had dressed up and looked very fancy, but he had put in a little work to look a little more smart and less casual. He was still wearing his usual black jeans, but he had dropped the t-shirt or sweatshirt for a white button-up. I loved it whenever he wore a button up shirt. It just did something. “You know I’d love to,” he grinned at me and tried to wink, but failed just as miserably as always. “But Alex and Lisa are expecting us.” “Do you think I’m underdressed?” I asked him, looking down at my own clothes with a frown. I was wearing a beige cami top, blue jeans, and a nice pair of nude heels. To keep myself warm I was just wearing a cardigan that I could easily take off as well. “No, you’re good,” Jack told me, fixing his hair in the mirror that was also the sliding door on the closet. I knew that he honestly meant it, but it still didn’t feel right. “It’s not working. It’s the jeans.” I closed the door to the bedroom and walked in further, kicking off my shoes and pulling off my jeans in frustration. It was just a high school reunion, I didn’t need to look like my best self, I wasn’t worried about that. I didn’t have anything to prove. But I didn’t want to be the only one there in blue jeans either. So, changing was the only option to make myself feel good. I rushed over to the suitcase Jack and I were sharing and bent over to start rummaging through the clothes I had brought with me just to find another pair of bottoms that could work. “Now you’re the one turning me on.” Jack took a sharp breath in. I snapped my head in his direction and saw him staring at my barely-covered butt. He wasn’t even trying to be subtle about it. I threw the balled up shirt that I was holding at him. “Hey! Don’t look at my ass!” “Kind of hard not to,” he laughed, tossing the shirt back in my direction. “You’re gross.” I folded the shirt and put it back in its place before pulling out some pants for myself. Jack finally broke his gaze and started smiling like an idiot before he even said anything. “I’m not gross, I’m Jack.” “Alright, no need to start with dad jokes yet.” I shook my head and got back up. I stepped into the trouser’s legs and pulled it on. He pouted. “But it’s fun.” I just tucked my shirt into of my pants. The white high-waisted wide leg trousers were a much better choice. They usually were something I’d wear to work, but the vibe was slightly similar to this whole reunion thing. Formal, but not too formal. If I wore a work shirt, it would have been too formal. The cami top just toned it down a lot. “Is this any better?” I asked and twirled around for Jack. “There was nothing wrong with what you were wearing before,” he gestured to the jeans crumpled up on the floor. “But, yes, it does work better.” “Good.” I nodded and sat down on the bed to put my shoes back on. It didn’t take too long, so I acted like I didn’t notice Jack checking the time on his phone. I knew we were a little behind schedule, but I also knew Alex. He wasn’t going to be ready if we came on time. Or, he would be ready, but not completely. Like, he’d suddenly have to fix his hair because he forgot or something. “Alright, let’s go,” I announced as I jumped back up onto my feet. I took hold of Jack’s hand and started dragging him with me as if he was the one keeping us waiting. On the way out, I grabbed my purse, and pulled him along to the hallway. Out there, we ran into Ethan who had a lollipop in his mouth. He stared at us and I stared right back. It was his last week before he left for college and he had his own party to go to. “Looking good,” I complimented, still holding Jack’s hand. Ethan shrugged and pulled out the lollipop. “I’ll probably change again before I leave.” “It runs in the family,” Jack commented, giving my hand a little squeeze. “Okay, no need to judge,” I defended and tugged on his arm before wishing Ethan luck one last time. “Don’t get too drunk!” Ethan scoffed and walked into his bedroom, “like I’d ever do that.” Jack and I went downstairs after that and said goodbye to my parents. They were probably going to be asleep once we came back from this reunion. Not only would it end pretty late, we still had to bring Alex and Lisa back home afterwards. It was a clear perk for them to be friends with me. I didn’t drink, so I was the designated driver. Jack certainly seemed to enjoy not having to discuss who got to drink when. We took my mom’s car and I forced Jack to drive to the Alex and Lisa’s and the venue. My argument was that I was going to have the drive his drunk ass home later. It worked. Usually, I’d take Ethan’s car to get around when I needed to drive while I was at home. But he was obviously going to be using it to get to his party. Once we got to Alex and Lisa’s, they had just finished getting ready. As soon as we rang their doorbell it was already pretty clear that Lisa had claimed me for the night. We hadn’t seen each other since before the engagement. There was a lot of catching up to do. She even somehow convinced me to sit with her in the back while Alex took the passenger seat. Then, once we entered the large hall where the event was taking place, Lisa immediately pulled me along with her to a group of her friends. She probably thought she was doing me a favour. Afterall, I knew these girls back in high school as well. But to call them my friends as well now would just be a lie. Lisa always stayed close to them throughout college and she stayed on the east coast so she always had contact with them. I found new friends during college and moved to the west coast. I only really stayed friends with the guys because they’d often be on the west coast. Seriously, the last time I saw these girls was at Lisa’s wedding and before that it was probably some party during the summer of 2006. I didn’t feel like I really fit in despite the fact that they were trying to include me. It was just… they were Lisa’s friends, not mine. They talked about things that didn’t really interest me. Don’t get me wrong, I also enjoyed renovating a house and getting engaged, but I couldn’t talk about that type of stuff for hours. Honestly, I preferred Jack’s weird jokes just a little more. I managed to get away from the group by saying I was going to go get a drink. The room was full of tables and there were people everywhere. Our entire class was practically here and many people had also taken plus ones. By now, there were already quite a few people who had gotten married and even had kids. It was strange seeing people I remembered as irresponsible teenagers as adults now (myself included). I had seen Alex, Jack, and Rian grow up with me, so that was just a little different. I went over to the table where all the food and drinks were. There were many different wines and glasses already filled. Apparently somebody who helped organise our reunion now owned a winery and supplied all of the wines. It was absolutely absurd to me. But then again, high school reunions were there to show off, weren’t they? I skipped past all the wine and just grabbed one of the glasses of water when I noticed somebody taking a glass of red wine next to me. I looked over to see none other than my high school boyfriend. He was already looking back at me with a big smile on his face. “Rachel, hey!” He greeted now that he had caught my attention. “Hey, Chris.” I gave him a small wave. Although he was my ex-boyfriend, I actually preferred talking to him than going back to Lisa’s group. We didn’t really end on a bad note, but it also didn’t end all that great either. I had been the one that broke up with him after we started at our respective universities. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do long distance with him, I just felt so young and like there was still so much to come. But, mainly, when he told me about his new friends and he was talking about this one girl like she was the best person he’d ever met, I felt like I was giving him an unfair chance. So, I broke up with him. He got mad and was pretty upset. It wasn’t like I enjoyed it either, but it was the best for both of us. I just hoped he now knew that I had made the right decision. “How’re things going?” he asked me as he followed me to one of the nearby high top tables. “Pretty good.” I nodded, putting my drink down on the table. “I’m still out in LA. Working as an editor-in-chief at a magazine.” “Oh, nice!” He reacted, giving me an approving look. “Didn’t you always want a job in that direction?” “Yeah, yeah I did.” I was relatively impressed that he remembered. But then again, he had always been quite a supportive boyfriend back at school. “What about you? How are you?” “Yeah, I’m good too!” He took a sip of his wine and put the glass back down on the table. “I actually dated that girl back in college for a bit, but we broke up eventually. And I own my own company right now.” “Oh…?” I raised an eyebrow to get him to continue. “And that’s going…?” “I’m not rich yet,” he confessed as if that was the only measure of success. I laughed and shook my head at him. “Yeah, that tends to be pretty difficult to achieve.” “I know right,” he played along, “who would have guessed?” It was nice talking to somebody who didn’t just talk about kids or weddings or this ‘adorable’ party they went to. There was a reason I was once in love with this guy. He was the person I had lost my virginity to. Sure, I had done things with people before (for example, that blowjob I had given Alex), but he was the real deal. I didn’t have any of those feelings for him anymore, but I was always going to appreciate him. But, unfortunately, high school reunions always have to be a little awkward. “I just want to say, there’s no hard feelings anymore for you breaking up with me,” he told me. “That’s good. I’m glad.” I smiled and took a drink from my water. What else was I supposed to say? “I mean it,” he confirmed and slipped his hand onto my right hand. “No hard feelings.” I stared at our hands and quickly retracted mine. Of course. I chuckled awkwardly. “Oh.” “What?” he chuckled back, noticing the rejection but definitely trying to play it off. “Please don’t just be nice to try and sleep with me.” For some reason that was my argument instead of immediately telling him I was engaged. Maybe it was because I really didn't want Chris just talking to me to get in my pants again. “Why would I do that?’ he asked, still trying to act like he never made a move. I gave him a look. He wasn’t just going to downplay it like that. I knew exactly what he was doing. “Well, I’m assuming you’re single, at least based on the fact that you’re doing this. If you’re not, then it’s so much worse. But you’re here thinking you can hook up with your ex-girlfriends. But you know no ex would just jump at the opportunity. Or at least, you know now because we’ve been here for an hour and a half and you’ve just started talking to me. So, you’re trying to be nice, trying to spark old feelings in me or something.” He stared at me for a second, taking in the process I had just explained. “Okay. You’ve always known me well.” “It’s kind of sad, really,” I told him with as much honesty as possible. We were in our thirties. “But is it working?” He still tried his chances. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my back and body behind me. I didn’t even need to check to know that it was Jack. When he said something, it was only a confirmation to me that it wasn’t another guy trying to get with me. “Is what working?” Chris didn’t even try to hide it. Afterall, Jack used to have a certain reputation. “Just working on my flirting to hook up at a school reunion skills.” “You know she’s engaged, right?” Jack made clear as I held up my left hand to show off my ring. I wasn’t too worried. Jack wasn’t the overly jealous type. He didn’t like other guys flirting with me, but he did trust me. “I should have guessed,” Chris said as he gestured towards my hand. It wasn’t like I had been hiding it from him. My hand had been on the table the entire time. “Who’s the lucky guy?” I looked up at Jack and smiled. Just thinking about marrying him made me all warm and fuzzy inside. I patted his cheek with one hand and pressed a kiss to the other cheek. “I did that.” Jack pointed at the ring, but it could definitely be taken in another way. I held my hand out with my palm facing upward to get a high five from him. Once he hit it, he held on for a bit longer. “Wait.” Chris seemed confused. Not about what we were saying, but the exact details. “Was this some sort of pact? Like, if you’re not in a relationship at thirty, you’ll get married?” “No,” I quickly corrected before rumours would start spreading, “we’ve been together for a few years.” “Huh.” He gave a nod, but seemed like he was overthinking everything. “I’m sorry, congrats. I just wouldn’t have expected it.” I felt like I knew where he was coming from. So, I decided to put his worries to rest while the hand Jack first had on my back slid to my side and he held me closer. “It’s a relatively new thing. Don’t worry, I didn’t have feelings for Jack when we were together.” We were each other’s first loves. I didn’t want him to think any of that wasn’t ever true. While I didn’t exactly like that he was trying to sleep with me again now, I didn’t want to ruin that for him. If I found out Chris had been pining after somebody else while we were supposedly in love, I would have been upset myself no matter how long ago that all ended. A first love was special. “I can’t say the same,” Jack mumbled and kissed the top of my head. “Oh, I know,” Chris laughed, seeming like he felt more at ease now. To be honest, I would have felt very disconcerted if I found out he was now engaged to one of his best girl friends from back when we were dating. Jack let out a deep breath. “I feel like I should beat you up for hitting on my fiancée.” Although the word fiancée made me grin, the rest of his sentence didn’t. I turned around hin shock. “Oh my god, how much have you had to drink?” “This will be my fifth.” He held up his glass of white wine. My eyes went wide, but he was quick to defend himself. “But these glasses are small and it’s almost been two hours. I’m still good.” “I don’t think you want to fight me,” Chris told Jack. “Just because we’ll both be in pain and defeated. I can’t take you, but I don’t think you can take me. Neither of us are fighters.” “Hmm… alright.” Jack nodded yet squinted his eyes. “But if I see you trying to flirt with her again…” “Hey, I don’t mess with another man’s girl.” Chris held up his hands in defense. “... Or another girl’s girl…” I interjected, reminding the boys that I was also an important factor here. “And I don’t flirt with anybody who isn’t the guy I’m marrying next year.” Eventually, Chris said goodbye and probably went off to find somebody else to hook up with. Although I had been his first love and I had lost my virginity to him, I hadn’t been his first girlfriend. He had been with a few girls before me. If I knew those girls now, I would have warned him who to approach and who not to approach. Hopefully, he knew to be a bit more careful now. I just sat with Jack and Alex and their friends. Jack was going through glasses of wine like it was some sort of life source while I continued to sip on water. He was going at quite a steady pace and was slowly getting drunk. Or, actually, not so very slowly. But everybody around him was keeping up quite well, so it wasn’t very noticable. They were all loud and getting a bit obnoxious. When the conversation didn’t start making much sense to me anymore, I got up and went to the bathroom. After I washed my hands and fixed my hair, I left the bathroom and bumped into another person I recognised. Well, I recognised most people here, but I actually had spoken to this person before. He wasn’t an ex, nor was he really a friend. Maybe the best way to describe him was as an acquaintance. Either way, he had changed a lot. “Tyler?” I questioned to make sure that this was the person I thought it was. “Rachel, hi!” he exclaimed in return and gave me a hug. “No way…” I looked at him, still not believing my eyes. Tyler was the kid who sat next to me in Biology, the nerdy kid who got straight As and never went to a party. He was awkward and scrawny. The guy in front of me, however, was hot. He built up some muscle and ditched his plain clothes for a fitting suit. His hair was no longer a curly mess. It had been styled to make him look runway ready. He smiled softly at me and brushed some of his hair out of his face. “I’ve been getting that reaction a lot today.” “You look great, though!” I told him again so he wouldn’t dismiss all the comments. “Well, I’m not the only one.” He winked and gestured to me. I brushed it off, deciding not to go down the road of us just complimenting each other’s appearance. “You know, I searched all over for you during our graduation but couldn’t find you.” “Really?” he looked shocked but also pleasantly surprised. “I’m sorry, I left right after the ceremony.” “Yeah. You’re probably the only reason I graduated,” I confessed without shame. “I would have failed biology without you. I know I was a sucky lab partner and let you do most of the project all by yourself. Not many people knew, or even know now, but I was close to having a mental breakdown. My grandpa and my cousin who I was very close to passed away in the span of a week and my grades plummeted. If you hadn’t carried the project, I would have probably failed so many classes an not just Biology.” “I didn’t know at all,” he shook his head. “People were telling me I was insane for letting you make me do most of the work, but I was wearing rose-coloured glasses. I mean, you were my partner, it was anybody’s dream. I’m glad I could help.” I was happy that he wasn’t mad at me for being such a bitch back then. I barely did anything, all I did was contribute a tiny bit to the report, I didn’t do any of the hard work. Personally, I would have been pissed. Usually, I wouldn’t be the girl to slack, but I wasn’t doing well at all back then. “If there’s ever any way I can make it up to you, please do tell me.” I hoped to show my gratitude. “Well…” He gave me a shy smile and scratched the back of his head. “If you would like to go out with me sometime…” I sighed and held up my ring yet again that evening. “I’m sorry, I’m actually engaged.” “Oh, shit, I’m sorry!” He quickly apologised. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” “No, no, it’s okay!” I quickly said. “I’m sure that if I was single, I would have said yes. You were always nice to me.” “I’m not sure what to think about that,” he chuckled, cocking his head to the side. “Seventeen-year-old me would be freaking out, but now it just seems like I’m too late.” “A bit, yes,” I told him honestly. I probably wouldn’t have said yes back in high school, but if he had said something before Jack and I started dating, I would have probably gone for it. “So, is your fiancé here?” he asked next. “Actually, it’s Jack.” “Jack…?” He asked, no clue who I was talking about. “Barakat,” I clarified. “Oh, shit!” He gasped in surprise. “Well, that put things in perspective. I totally have a chance as well. Not with you, but others, of course.” “Hey, don’t worry about that. You’re a good looking and nice guy, you’ll find somebody. I thought I was a lost cause until Jack made a move, and then it just felt right.” “Oh, no, I’m not worried about it,” he dismissed. “Just knowing that you would have said yes and that Jack managed to do it, gives me the confidence boost I needed.” “Okay, alright,” I laughed. I wouldn’t have expected him to still be so self-conscious with the person he seemed to be now. “Well, I’m going to go back to Jack before he drinks so much he blacks out.” “Does he still do that?” Taylor asked. “Not too often. He’s just surrounded by all these old friends right now.” I didn’t want to seem like I was just making excuses for him. “Since I don’t drink, he always checks what I’m cool with. I didn’t really mind today.” “Okay,” he nodded, looking at me like he was trying to catch me in a lie. But there was no lying on my part. “Well, if you need help carrying him home, you know where to find me.” “Thanks, Taylor.” I gave him a supportive pat on the arm. “It was nice seeing you.” I stayed with Jack for the rest of the night. I didn’t want to seem like I depended on him, but I really wasn’t feeling Lisa’s friends and I was starting to get the vibe that other guys were trying to get with me. It was quite a compliment, but I was in a happy relationship now. I didn’t exactly need more people talking to me just in hope that I’d go home with them. Eventually, it started to get pretty late. Most of the people here had already left, especially the people with kids back at home. It was quite a gradual trickle of people exiting through the double doors. Jack’s group of friends, however, didn’t dwindle in size much as the night progressed. It was one in the morning when I decided I really couldn’t take much more. Everybody around me was wasted, including Jack. He was speaking complete nonsense. It got to the point that I even had to help him get to the car. It was a little annoying, but I did sign myself up for it. I dropped off Alex and Lisa at their house and then continued on to my parents’ house. Jack got out of the car before I could even take off my seatbelt. He made it all the way to the front door without stumbling, but then he had to wait for me to lock the car and unlock the door for him. As soon as that front door went open, he managed to run into the shoe rack. “Hey, quiet down,” I scolded a helped himself stabilise by putting my hand on his back, “my parents are asleep.” I was the only thing that kept him up as he kicked his shoes off. Luckily, he knew better than to go upstairs without me. So, he waited while I took off my own shoes. Then eventually, I stayed behind him as he went up the stairs and I steered him into the bathroom. If we’d go into the bedroom, he’d pass out immediately. I turned on the light and closed the door behind us so my parents wouldn’t wake up from the water running or something. The first thing I did was lift the toilet lid. “Alright, go pee,” I instructed Jack and pointed at the toilet. He just groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. “I don’t wanna.” “Are you sure about that?” I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. There was no way I was going to get to get ready for bed before Jack was asleep at this rate. “I don’t need to,” he grumbled and pouted at me. “Come on…” I slowly walked up to him before undoing his belt. “You can do it!” “I don’t need to!” he whined a little louder. But I knew better than that. First of all, Jack always used the toilet before bed. Second of all, he had had a lot to drink. And third of all, most of those drinks were alcoholic. It was a disaster waiting to happen. He’d be too drunk to get to the bathroom quietly by himself later and I’d be damned if he wet the bed. Not that he ever did, but he also hadn’t been this drunk in very long. I popped the button and unzipped his jeans for him. “Sit.” He huffed in annoyance, but pushed his jeans and boxers down to his thighs before sitting down on the toilet. Because he was so stubborn, he just sat there staring at the wall in front of me. I just went over to the sink and picked up his toothbrush. After putting some toothpaste on it, I ran it under the water. And that’s when Jack broke and he sighed in relief. Of course I had been right. I just rolled my eyes and crouched down in front of him as he was peeing. I honestly didn’t care, all I needed to do was get him ready for bed. It was like he was my toddler or something. “Open up,” I told him much like a dentist would. This time, he did it without needing any extra convincing. I stuck the toothbrush into his mouth and held his jaw with my other hand before I started brushing his teeth for him. There was no way I was going to let him breathe out his alcohol breath all over me the entire night. I probably didn’t do it perfectly, but it was better than nothing. Jack kicked off his jeans while he was still on the toilet. When we were both done, I took the toothbrush from his mouth and he got back up and put his boxers back on. While I cleaned the toothbrush, he actually flushed the toilet, which was more than expected. Right after, he came to me to spit out the toothpaste froth. “Let’s get you to bed.” I rubbed his arm softly and pecked him on his lips. He smiled down at me goofily. “I love you.” “I love you,” I replied and kissed his cheek this time. I followed him to the bedroom, not turning on the light this time. He climbed in himself, but I tucked him in. Yet again, I kissed him on the cheek to wish him goodnight. And then I slowly started to back away. But I never really got to take a proper step backwards. “Aren’t you coming to cuddle?” he mumbled, his voice thick with sleep. “I still have to brush my own teeth and get changed,” I whispered back, running my fingers through his messy hair. “Hmm.” He accepted my answer and snuggled further into the pillow. But he wasn’t going to sleep just yet. He actually turned slightly to look at me. “Hey, Rach?” “Yeah?” I sat on the edge of the bed so I didn’t have to keep bending over weirdly. “Let’s make a baby.” I giggled softly and shook my head. “One day.” “No,” he sighed in annoyance, “now.” “How about after we get married?” He stuck out his bottom lip, but eventually gave in. “Okay, fine.” I pressed a kiss to his forehead and stood up. Before I even left the room, I could already hear Jack’s breathing deepening, telling me he fell asleep. I sneaked out quietly and tiptoed to the bathroom, now careful not to wake up three people in this house. Although I was sure Jack wasn’t going to wake up soon with the alcohol in his system, I didn’t know whether or not my parents had been woken up by us already. Even if we had, I didn’t want to keep them awake. However, while I was as silent as I could possibly be, there was somebody who wasn’t as good at it. As I passed the stairs, I heard the front door being clumsily but quietly closed. I stopped and looked down to make sure that it was Ethan and not some intruder. In the darkness, I saw his figure trying to creep around stealthily. He just looked like an idiot to me. Once he got to the stairs he looked up and saw me. His movements halted completely and he just stared at me like a deer caught in the headlights. “Hey.” I gave him a single nod to show that I could, indeed, see him. “Hey,” he said back but still didn’t move an inch. I waited for a few seconds, but he still didn’t do anything. “Are you just gonna stand there or are you going to come up?” It was like he only realised then that he was stationary. I stayed there, feeling like I had to just in case. He started to go upstairs, but he just completely mistepped. I watched and couldn’t do anything but watch him face-plant into the steps. “Ethan!” I exclaimed as quietly as possible and started to rush down the steps. But he stopped me from coming down by slowly pushing himself up and giving me a sloppy thumbs up. “No, I’m good. I’m okay.” “Are you sure?” I was actually worried, it looked really painful. “All good,” he brushed it off and started up the stairs again. The way he was having too much trouble keeping his balance just confirmed that he was drunk as well. I wasn’t sure if he was more drunk than Jack, but he definitely couldn’t play it off as well. It was pretty concerning, but also quite funny. I had never seen Ethan like this before. He stopped right in front of me and continued to try and play it off, almost slipping down the stairs again when he leaned against the railing. “What’s up?” “I think I should ask you that,” I laughed as he was swaying quite heavily. He looked around to see if anybody else was here and then beckoned me to get closer, trying his best to whisper but failing. “I’m pretty drunk.” “I can tell,” I nodded back, deciding to humor this. “I–” he brought his fist up to his mouth as he burped. “I had quite a few–” The poor boy didn’t even get to finish his sentence. He suddenly pushed past me and ran into the bathroom. It was much closer than the bathroom in his bedroom. He couldn’t have made that extra distance. When I entered the bathroom right after him, he was already on his knees, spewing up all the shit he had to drink into the toilet. I did feel for him. Really. It was his own fault, but it also wasn’t fun to see my baby brother like this. So, out came my skills to take of drunk people again. I had held back Anna’s hair quite a few times back in high school, but she had done the same for me as well, especially when hangovers started becoming worse and turning into a horrible intolerance. So, I got down beside him, and rubbed his back softly. “Fu-uck,” he cried into the toilet bowl before he retched yet again. “It’s okay, just get it out, it will make you feel better,” I promised him. I had been there and done that. The heavy nights that didn’t end in vomiting ended with the worst morning after instead. “Don’t tell mom,” he begged with tears in his eyes. “You know I’m going to have to, right?” “Don’t tell he–” he heaved again. I didn’t want him to worry about that. Of course I was going to tell her, I couldn’t not tell her. Not only did what was going on right now probably wake her up, it would be better for her to know before she found out herself. With Anna and I, she always found out. We’d sneak in and not make a single sound, and our mom would still know the next morning. Call it mother’s instinct. Especially when we felt bad, she would wake up. That didn’t mean she’d come out at night for us, though. The false sense of having a secret was useful for us to learn a lesson. In the end, I also helped Ethan get to bed. He didn’t need as much assistance as Jack, but it was definitely useful for me to be there. Especially when he nearly fell over taking his jeans off. As for the bathroom, I was just out in his bedroom while the door was open to make sure he wouldn’t accidentally pass out. I tucked him in just like I did for Jack and even left a bucket beside his bed. Only then did I get to get ready myself. Although Jack was already asleep, he pulled me closer once I got into bed and I fell asleep in seconds. The next morning, I was up before Jack, just like usual. On the weekends, I’d now usually just scroll through my phone or watch something on my iPad or laptop until he woke up. Today, however, I decided to get out of bed. It was already later than I’d usually wake up and Jack could be out for ages after a night of drinking. I put on a pair of sweatpants before I went downstairs. My dad was outside mowing the lawn, or at least I heard the lawnmower and didn’t see him around in the living room. My mom was in the kitchen, where I also found myself. She was sitting at the kitchen island, reading a magazine with a cup of coffee next to her. “Morning,” I greeted happily. “Hey, good morning!” She replied, looking up from her reading. “Did you have fun last night?” I nodded and went over to a cupboard to pull out a mug for myself. “Yeah. I saw Chris again, and he’s no longer mad at me, so that’s good. Other than that I just spent most of my time with Jack.” “That’s good,” my mom nodded, watching me put my mug underneath the coffee machine and pressing the button. She knew all about my breakup with Chris back when it happened, just like she knew everything else. “Didn’t you want to speak to any of your other old friends?” I shrugged and leaned against the counter as I waited for my mug to fill. “Lisa dragged me to talk to the girls. But, honestly, it was so boring. They were talking about wine tastings and restaurants to go to. Now, I know that’s adult stuff to talk about, but I don’t drink and live here anymore. I didn’t know what they were talking about.” “I can understand that.” She nodded and drank some of her own coffee. “Is everybody doing well, though?” “Yeah!” I grabbed my mug when the machine signalled it was done and put it down on the island across from my mom. “As far as I could tell, at least. Everybody was pretty surprised to hear that Jack and I are engaged.” “Really? I always thought that you and Jack would have been cute together, even back in high school.” I just sighed and laughed a bit. There was no way that was true. Jack was one of the only guys both my parents trusted me to have in my room with my door closed all the way. They weren’t strict or anything, but they always wanted it open just ajar. So, they gave privacy, but still kept an eye on me. However, thinking about it again, maybe then wanted something to happen between me and Jack. They did let me close my door after all. I opened the fridge and pulled out some bacon and eggs. “Anyway, I’m going to make some breakfast for my two hungover boys.” “Yeah, I heard somebody vomiting last night. Was it Jack?” I shook my head, knowing I was totally going against what Ethan had asked me to do. But then again, I never promised him I’d keep quiet. I even told him I wouldn’t. “No, Jack doesn’t puke when he’s drunk. Ethan couldn’t keep it down when he came home. I felt pretty bad for him.” “Oh. He’s never done that before. Was he okay?” My mom frowned and seemed more concerned than mad. It was exactly why I thought telling her was a good idea. “I think so,” I told her and took out a pan to put on the stove. I turned on the gas and put a drop of oil in it. “I helped him go to bed and I didn’t hear him get up later.” “I hope he doesn’t feel too bad today.” “Oh, he will. There’s no way he doesn’t have a hangover. He already felt miserable yesterday.” I put the bacon in the pan to start cooking it. “Who felt miserable?” Jack came and joined us out of nowhere. He had covered up with a pair of shorts and a plain white t-shirt, and he was wearing his glasses while his hair was completely flat. “Just Ethan,” I told him, waiting for the bacon to cook. Jack reached over me and pulled out a mug from the cupboard as well. “After you went to sleep, he came home very drunk. How are you feeling?” “Just tired as usual.” He kissed the top of my head and started making his own cup of coffee. “You know I don’t really get hangovers.” “Yet I’m still making you breakfast,” I pointed out and flipped the bacon. “I don’t even get how you don’t have hangovers. Especially with the amount you drank last night.” “I didn’t get that drunk, did I?” “I mean, tell me the last thing you remember.” Jack took a few seconds and squinted while taking a sip of his coffee. “I’m not so sure actually.” “Well, that’s not good at all,” my mom commented, raising an eyebrow at him. He just awkwardly chuckled back. “I’m sorry…” My mom just shook her head at him, but it was all in good fun. “At least I made my way into bed!” Jack thought he had found a point to defend himself with. I snorted and flipped the bacon again. “I did that. Made sure you brushed your teeth and everything.” “Oh yeah,” he was suddenly grinning, “I vaguely remember. I didn’t say anything stupid, did I?” “Stupid? No. But definitely a bit random. Nothing too bad.” It was the truth. He’s occasionally say the weirdest stuff or confess the most concerning things, but last night hadn’t been bad. Jack and I were talking about starting a family. It was a pretty normal subject for us by now. But it was out of the blue that he asked me to sleep with him right there and then to get pregnant. It was a bit impatient, but we had already discussed that that would come after we got married. “Okay, I can deal with that.” He nodded in approval. I pulled out three plates and divided the bacon equally on them. With the leftover bacon grease in the pan, I started cooking the eggs. While I was doing that, my mom asked Jack how the reunion was for him. His answer was just slightly better than mine. Or a bit more that slightly. He actually mentioned specific people, first asking my mom if she recognised the name, and then told her how they were doing. Once I finished the eggs, I slipped them onto the plates as well. Somehow, Ethan entered the kitchen right at that moment. It was like the smell of bacon and eggs cooking had drawn him downstairs. He looked like he had had a very rough night. Unlike Jack’s, his hair was sticking up weirdly. He hadn’t even bothered to put on clothes and he looked tired and broken. Jack whistled lowly as Ethan plopped himself onto a barstool at the kitchen island. My mom looked at Ethan with a mixture of disappointment and amusement. “I don’t think I need to lecture you about drinking, this hangover seems like more than enough,” she told him. Ethan glared at me through his fingers and accused, “I asked you not to tell her.” “Buddy,” I shook my head in sympathy, “I didn’t even need to say anything with the way you look right now.” He groaned in response and hid his head in his hands further. I did feel bad for him. I really did. It was his own fault and I didn’t know what made him go this far, but he was my baby brother. I didn’t want him to go through all the pain of the stupid things we all do. To make him hopefully feel a little better, I grabbed some cutlery and placed the plate in front of him. “Eat up,” I said and kissed the back of his head. He just groaned again and pushed me away in annoyance. I couldn’t help but tease him a little bit, could I? Pissing him off, however, wasn’t in my plan for that day. So, I just took my own plate and joined Jack, Ethan, and my mom. At least Ethan was eating and not being too stubborn about that. He didn’t seem as happy about getting cooked breakfast as he usually would, but he was still carefully munching on the bacon. “How did you get home?” my mom suddenly asked with worry in her voice. “You didn’t drive, did you?!” “I took an Uber,” Ethan grumbled, clutching his head. “I left my car at Josh’s.” “Okay, okay, thank god,” she sighed in relief. “I’m going to be heading in that direction later today if you want to tag along and get your car." “‘Kay,” he nodded but just stared down at his plate. A while later, Jack had gone up to take a shower, Ethan had gone upstairs to nurse his hangover in bed or something, and I was cleaning up the kitchen after myself. Jack had offered to help me out, but I sent him away since he didn’t smell all too great after a night of drinking. All I had to do was put everything in the dishwasher and wipe the surfaces anyway. After I was done, my mom asked me to go up to Ethan and tell him she was leaving in half an hour. I went upstairs and knocked on his door, which was already open before I walked in. He was just laying in bed, staring at the wall across the room, facing away from me. Usually, when he was ill, he’d be playing video games, watching something, or looking through his phone. Being hungover was different than being sick, but it wasn’t that drastically different. “Hey, Eth,” I said when he didn’t acknowledge my knocking, “mom’s leaving in half an hour if you want to pick up your car.” He hummed back unemotionally. It wasn’t the sound people made when they were busy doing something else, this was like he was in deep thought. “You okay?” I asked when I sensed something was off. “Yeah…” he mumbled meekly. It didn’t sound convincing at all. So, like the meddling sister I was, I entered his room and got in bed next to him. He didn’t move an inch and just kept staring blankly ahead. I softly stroked his hair, trying to get him to turn to me, but he never did. “You know you can talk to me,” I whispered. He spoke back softly, and I could swear I heard him sniff. “I did some stupid shit.” “Everybody goes a bit too far and gets drunk sometimes.” I dropped my hand from his head to his shoulder. He shook his head but still refused to look at me. “I did stupid shit while drunk.” “That happens,” I shrugged, hoping I could make him feel less alienated. “I remember, one time, Alex and Jack had a few too many and they could not be convinced that playing The Floor is Lava would be a bad idea. Alex stepped onto a chair and toppled over, slamming into a table. He had quite a few bruises the next day.” “No.” He shook his head again and finally turned so I could see his face. There were tears in his eyes. “I did proper stupid shit.” “Tell me,” I whispered and brushed some hair from his forehead. He hesitated and a few tears escaped, slowly trailing down his cheeks and the side of his face to his ears because of how he was lying. “I– I–” “It’s okay.” “No, it’s not.” He stared at me with pain in his eyes. “I cheated on Lilli.” “Oh.” I couldn’t say that everything was fine anymore, I couldn’t tell him that it was okay. Cheating wasn’t okay, but luckily he realised that. The only reason I was still here stroking his arm, was because he obviously knew how bad it was. He started shaking and the tears started falling more frequently, but he was still holding it back. “It wasn’t… it wasn’t s–sex or any– anything like… like that.” That wasn’t as bad. Still it wasn’t great. I wasn’t exactly sure what else he could mean with cheating, but it was leaving him in so much pain. “I’m still listening,” I encouraged, not wanting him to shut down now that I stopped telling him that it was all okay. “I, umm…” he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I– I made out with Josh.” And then he just completely broke down. He hid his head in my shoulder and started bawling his eyes out. It hurt me to see him like this. Something told me he wasn’t just upset because he cheated on his girlfriend. There was no way he was crying so hard because of one kiss. If I ever found out Jack kissed another person, I would have been upset, but I would have been able to forgive it. Lilli didn’t seem like the girl to freak out over it either. It was still a sucky thing to do, but this was more about the fact that he kissed his best friend. I just let him cry into me and hugged him tightly. When I looked towards the door, I saw Jack appear, probably just looking for me. Once he noticed what was going on, he gave me a concerned look. I looked back at him. I really didn’t know what to do this time. Usually, I’d have a story for him to relate to and help him through it, but this time I had nothing. I didn’t care if he thought he was into guys. That didn’t matter to me at all. But it seemed like he didn’t even know what he was feeling. He wouldn’t have been crying this hard if it was just a playful kiss that was supposed to be a joke. I prayed that Jack wouldn’t leave, but I also wouldn’t dare say something. I couldn’t do this one by myself. But getting my parents involved now wasn’t the right thing either. It wasn’t because they wouldn’t be supportive. Despite being religious, they always made clear that we were to love whoever we wanted to love no matter what race or gender. But Ethan had to figure out his feelings for himself first. Luckily, Jack decided to join us. He sat down carefully on the end of the bed and put his hand on Ethan’s leg supportively. I knew he must have been confused, and I would have told him what had happened. But, honestly, I didn’t know what happened. I didn’t know how deep this went. When Ethan started to quiet down just the slightest bit, I decided to ask him, “what happened?” I could have just let him cry forever, but that wouldn’t help at all. “I do-on’t know,” he stuttered through irregular breaths. “It was supposed to be a stupid dare and then it just escalated.” While Jack still had no idea what this was about, it told me quite a bit. This wasn’t just a random person he started to make out with, who actually happened to be his best friend. No, this started as a small joke but blew up. “Well, do you think…” I was unsure how to formulate the words. “…you have feelings for him?” Jack looked at me with wide eyes, most likely wondering if he heard me correctly. But, yes, he did. “No,” Ethan shook his head. “Maybe? I don’t know. He’s my best friend.” “It’s okay not to know,” Jack took over now that he understood the main gist of the situation. I was glad, because I had no clue what to say. “You don’t have to know, it gets confusing.” Ethan slowly rolled away from me and let his eyes fall on Jack, like he only just realised that Jack was here as well. He was silent for a second as if staring would give him all the answers. But it never did. “It makes no sense.” “It also makes no sense that Rachel ever agreed to date me, yet here we are,” Jack used as an example, making me roll my eyes at him. Ethan sighed in response. “That’s different.” He was right. It was pretty different. I knew that Jack would know what to say, he just needed some more time with Ethan. So, I decided to remove myself from the conversation. “Do you want me to go with mom to pick up your car?” “Please.” He nodded. I could imagine he didn’t want to go back to Josh’s to pick up his car after what had happened that night. “Okay, then you stay here with Jack. I’ll go down and tell mom you’re not feeling well.” I was hoping to hint to Jack that this was his time to talk to Ethan. He had much better advice than me for this. I had personally never questioned my own sexuality. Or at least, not this deeply. I had had the occasional thought along the lines of ‘what’s it like to be into girls?’, but I never never had the feeling of being into girls. Jack, however... I had known him for ages throughout school, and I knew he was confused, he had confessed that to me before. Only, back then I was an ignorant 13-year-old who didn’t really understand those kind of feelings. “Where are your keys?” I asked as I got off the bed. “At Josh’s,” he mumbled. I told my mom that Ethan was in no state to drive his car because of his hangover. It was bending the truth, but like I said before, it wasn’t my place to tell her what actually went down. This could be a big deal and a life changing moment for Ethan. It was not my place to let other people know. I just hoped that Ethan would figure it out himself sooner or later. Not for me, but for himself. My mom dropped me off in front of Josh’s house. I went to the front door and rang the doorbell because I needed to get the keys. Josh was the one who answered. He looked pretty bad, but not nearly as bad as Ethan. Like, he only looked like he had a hangover and skipped over the breakdown part completely. Which was probably true. “Oh, hey, Rachel.” He smiled politely at me. “Hi,” I replied. “I’m just here to pick up Ethan’s car.” “Okay, yeah, I’ve got the keys here.” He went behind the door and I heard him pick something up from a wooden table. He returned and held them out for me. “Here you go.” “Thanks.” I let him drop the keys in my hand. “By the way, Ethan told me what happened last night.” “Oh…” he scratched the back of his head. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m not here because he hates you or anything. He just needs some time to figure things out.” “Oh, okay, yeah,” he nodded, looking down at the floor. “Do you mind not telling anyone else? I haven’t exactly told anybody about my, you know, sexuality.” “No, of course I won’t. Only my fiancé and I know right now. We wouldn’t go around talking about it.” I put his worries to rest. “Thanks. Can you tell Ethan I’m sorry if I made him feel uncomfortable?” “Yeah, I’ll do that,” I promised. Although I felt like Ethan didn’t exactly feel uncomfortable, I also didn’t want to put words in his mouth. “I’ll also make sure he calls you once he wraps his head around everything.” “Okay, thanks.” Josh gave me another shy smile. I slowly started retreating towards the car. “Bye, Josh.” “Bye.” When I got back home, I went straight up to Ethan’s room again. My mom wasn’t home yet and my dad was making himself some lunch. I greeted him as I passed by, but first wanted to check up on my baby brother. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Ethan was no longer crying. He was actually grinning as he and Jack played video games on his TV. “Hey, catch!” I tossed the keys in his direction. Ethan just let the keys hit him in the arm. He was too focused on the game to let go of the remote for one second. Just moments later, the round they were playing ended. I sat down next to Jack and pecked him on his lips as a mini greeting. “So, everything okay?” I wondered, wanting to know if Jack had said anything influential. Jack looked at Ethan and Ethan gave a careful nod before telling me what conclusion they had come to. “I’m going to meet Lilli tomorrow to talk. I owe it to her to break up. I need to figure myself out first.” “Okay.” I didn’t want to say much more. It was obvious that he didn’t want to break it off, but that he felt like it was the right thing to do. “Yeah… but for now, I’m fucking destroying Jack at Mario Kart, so…” He pressed the button to go onto the next game. I was just happy that he was okay now. I only had Jack to thank for that. As he played the game along with Ethan, I wrapped my arms around his torso and put my head on his shoulder to watch. There was nothing more I wanted than to spend the rest of my life with that man.

[chichiricatsan]

For the writing ask, I wanted to ask them all (there are some good questions!). But since it would be long here is a few cherry picked : Ink - backstory - faulkner - trope and critic (I'm always looking for good piece of advice about writing) Have a great day!

ink: what do you do to “set the mood” when writing?

I have to be alone or feeding off the energy in a public place with people who won’t bug me about what I’m writing. Mostly places like Barnes and Noble bookstores, but writing in public for me is rare. This...has been very hard the past few years. Mostly I’m assisting in taking care of my dad, which takes up a lot of my free time now. That, or my fiance is asking me to do this or that for him, which doesn’t bother me because he bends over backward for me, but it obviously hinders me being at a keyboard XD Or I’m basically doing the unending chore that is life and I run out of time and/or motivation. I also have to have my playlist for the fic or a set of songs for the mood for me on LOUD (if alone) and/or blocking out all other noise (if in public). Also, I may be a bit odd with this, but I have pictures/drawings of the characters/OCs I’m writing about open and to the side of the open document to help me picture facial expressions and such. Like, would they say/do this or that? Or how would their expression/features/body language change and would that fit them in that moment? It really helps me. I mostly write at night as well as it’s my time then. I’m not a morning person lol. Sometimes, I even get up and act out the scene myself and find more things to write or another approach to a scene that way.

backstory: how did you come to love writing?

I’ve always loved to read, but as I got older, I sadly was one of those kids that lost my...not really LOVE of reading, but rather TIME to read, and didn’t get to do so as much. But I knew I loved making stories, creating escapes from reality or pictures of it for comfort and healing. And I LOVED seeing those stories and scenarios come to life in the form of comics - mostly manga. It’s one of the reasons I majored in illustration - to draw comics. While the imagination is left to many pieces of writing, getting to share/create the scenarios like I saw them was always an exciting and fun journey for me. However, I never got to pursue a minor or another major in writing (at least not right now), but I took creative writing class in college (plus all my other required English classes in middle and high school) and my professor was so impressed with my level of writing that he wished we had higher-level classes for it and suggested I write as well as draw. Not many people I knew got to read my work as I got into college, especially not my parents. They just didn’t have time to read stories, especially when they weren’t really interested in what I did (which sucked but it is what it is) or didn’t have time because they were always working. I just kind of fell into it as a hobby from then, but over time got encouraged to pursue it in a more serious light.

faulkner: what tropes do you LOVE writing? which ones are your guilty pleasure?

I really like the Enemies to Lovers or Enemies to Friends to Lovers trope - as long as its handled right. I’m aware when characters don’t click or outright wouldn’t work in canon, but am more often than not intrigued by the possibilities of the “what if’s”.

I also really like Friends to Lovers in many ways :3

And then a lot of stuff that would be lumped into the “cliche romance shit” category lol - Love At First Sight/Soulmates, There Was Only One Bed, Snowed In On Christmas Together, Put Into The Same Group Assignment At School, All the ‘Anime Bullshit’ in the world lol - all kinds of that stuff XD

trope: what’s a pet peeve you have about writing?

Readable structure or just readability in general. Honestly, this mostly pertains to fanfics, but if I can’t tell who’s talking, what’s going on, or it’s, like, all lumped together without any care as to structuralize that shit, I will immediately close the story, even if it was recommended and has been praised. My eyes are not going to suffer through a bad layout for good writing. Sorry. :\ Otherwise, it’s hard for me to really name other pet peeves. o_o

critic: what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received about writing?

First: As Stephen King often says: “Write What You Know” Hence why most of his books take place in Maine and have self-inserts for the main characters XD Just kidding, but also I’m not to a point. In my opinion, the best stuff comes from personal experience and tackling the angles from things you know before delving into stuff you’re less familiar with.

Second: Writing, like other forms of art, is subjective. You like what you like and don’t what you don’t. Don’t like something, don’t read it. Like, I’ve been told over many years by various people (professors, friends, family, etc.) to read this or that to expand my works - which is great if you want to do or must do as mandatory schoolwork - but I firmly believe you don’t have to read anything you don’t want to or don’t like/find interesting. That’s just torture for you and your motivation. It’s nice to expand yourself and research for more realistic results to finesse your work, but yeah, don’t force yourself to read stuff you don’t find interesting. Fuck that. For me, it makes me frustrated and so much less productive in the long run.

And last: JUST FUCKING WRITE. A blank page isn’t telling anyone anything...except for you to write. JUST. FUCKING. WRITE. Fuck what everyone else says or thinks and just write. There WILL be someone that likes your work. Even if 99% of people don’t, there’s a 1% that does. And I have to tell myself this one EVERY TIME I WRITE. @v@ hehehehe...

I recommend Stephen King’s book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, and Anne Lamott’s book Bird By Bird. These two books really helped me out during and after college, and I thought were casual, fun, and interesting to read. :)

[howdoipickauniqueusername]

Hi, I would love a ship please! Either for BMC, DEH, or Hamilton. You can choose. I have short hair that I dye whenever I get the chance. I’m bisexual so boy or girl works for me. I love to sing, read, ride my bike, walk all over my town, draw, write, and I have an addiction to reading fanfiction. I haven’t had the best past, but I’m very positive. I’m extremely smart, funny, and I’m very nice according to others. My friends say I’m gorgeous but I don’t believe them that much. Thank you so much!

Hi! Thank you so much for requesting! This is my first request ever so I’m sorry if it isn’t what you hoped for ;-;.

Anyway, I thought I’d do all three for you because why not 😅!

Also, I don’t know much about the character personalities for DEH, I’m just obsessed with it, so I’m sorry if the characters are ridiculously OC ;-;.

Also, so sorry for the wait - but thank you for being so nice and supportive and talking with me while I’ve been writing this :). It means a lot!

Be More Chill:

I ship you with Michael Mell!

Classic friends-to-lovers with Michael pining for you for years

He thought you were so amazingly talented like, holy crap like this level of creativity is unprecedented

He lives for seeing you die your hair, and later one when you guys are together he’s 100% helping you out with the process

His moms fricken love you

Like, you’re such a good influence!!

He studies more these days - he kinda wants to impress you

He really admires you - especially for your positivity

It rubbed off on him a lot!

You helped him with his anxiety a lot, since whenever you’re around, he feels a lot calmer and more peaceful

When he finds out that you haven’t had the best past, he doesn’t pressure you into telling him about it but he’s totally there for you if you ever want to talk about it

Loves to read your writing. Like, he doesn’t read that much but theres something about seeing his girlfriend’s works of art that just makes him so proud

Totally shows you off 24/7

Like, he will show people videos of you dancing and singing (how did he even get those lolol)

“She’s the fucking bomb”

If you’re into it, you guys would get high together some nights and just talk

For hours

He’s super cuddly when you guys are alone

So doting

He cherishes you so much omg

Definitely has a photo of you in his locker. And taped to the inside of his closet

Is actually really happy when he finds out you’re bisexual - he felt kinda nervous about telling you his own sexuality but now that you both know it’s like you’re even closer

You guys are the cutest power couple of the school, hands down

He’s a flustered, blushing mess if you do something even remotely adorable or flirty or anything literally

Like GOD YOU DO UNSPEAKABLE THINGS TO THIS BOI

Getting kicked out of 7/11 because you guys were laughing too loudly too much and kinda making a mess because Michael can’t use the slushie machine properly

Which is why that girl had to pour his for him lololol

When the whole SQUIP thing happens, his anxiety gets really bad, but he ends up loving you even more after it all because you were so supportive and kind and there for him through it all

Ends up getting really high one night soon afterwards and tells you that he really wants to be with you forever

He basically thinks you’re fucking perfect and how did he end up with someone this fricken amazing in his life???

Hamilton:

I ship you with Angelica Schuyler!

You guys were inseparable the moment you both met

Like, you both finally found someone who could relate

It’s a tough time for girls

But you both confided in each other - your love for the creative arts and her love for knowledge

FUCKING POWER COUPLE

You were both basically pushing over the patriarchy

Kinda upset a lot of people but who the f cares? You guys had each other

Went on walks together, sang, wrote and shared a lot of the same hobbies

Everyone was s h o o k e t h when you guys rode bikes together

Her dad was kinda upset but not really because he always knew Angelica wouldn’t want to conform she was too rebellious plus he just wanted his daughters to be happy

And you both made each other happy

When you guys are separated, letters every day omg

Loves how smart you are

Really deep conversations - especially at night and while you both snuck away from whatever party you were at

Secret kisses and snuggles - not so secret hand holding

Wants to help you focus on the present and the future, tries to make sure it’s as amazing as possible because she knows how tough its been for you

Thinks you’re really strong

Loves to touch your hair - she does it a lot when she’s stressed and you guys are alone

Loves the colours you choose

You guys are totally the leaders of the fe~ma~le~ revolution together

Since you guys can’t really go out on dates that much, you guys spend a lot of time together

Reading (like that one scene in Up!!!!)

Or just talking

Dear Evan Hansen:

I ship you with Connor Murphy! I’M HONESTLY REALLY SORRY IF IT’S A BIT OC ;-;

Can really relate when you tell him about your past

Really admires how strong you are for getting through it

You actually motivate him to get better, with your support of course

He slowly gets sober from the drugs he’d been involved with and although its a bit harder with the mental illnesses, he tries to talk to the school counsellors a bit more

Tbh, he didn’t think he had any chance with you at first

You were so nice and smart and gorgeous…

And you were so sweet and patient with him - so supportive!

He couldn’t really help falling in love with you

Feels really guilty when he lashes out at you

Loves hearing you sing, it’s like an angel’s lullaby to him

When either one of you are having a really tough day or just want to get away from your families, you’ll go for a walk around town or just sit in the park

A little bit jealous when he sees you with other guys, slightly possessive

But everyone knows you guys are together - a little bit of a weird couple at first, but as they get used to it, they find you guys adorable

People start talking to Connor more because he’s changed a lot since he met you

He honestly cherishes you. He thinks you’re God’s gift to the world

Insecure about whether or not you really want to be with him

Loves your hair

Kinda obsessed with it - will give you suggestions lolol

He isn’t really one for reading and writing, but he’ll read your stuff because it’s yours and he’d be damned if he wasn’t gonna support your hobbies

Plus you were really good

Like really good

Loves getting to spend time with you, just the two of you

Takes you to this spot in the park that’s secluded that he goes to sometimes to get off steam

Now it’s ‘your’ spot

He’s actually a huge tsundere

Lots of blushing when you guys are cuddling

But he loves it

You’re the first person to make him laugh so much and so quickly after he’s had a panic attack or breakdown

You guys support each other through thick and thin

Nothing can really get between you both

[hjmarseille]

Update

Hello followers,

I would like to take a few minutes to discuss the state or so of this blog. Honestly I have no idea where to begin though. I think it would be no understatement to say I don’t enjoy this blog anymore and what it has become. I do not feel the joy that I once felt, like for example when I use to post rare Hans Joachim Marseille photos. Managing this blog has become a chore and something that has caused me much stress which on top of other life problems is unnecessary. My main problem is an “addiction” to photos. I first set this blog up in 2014 or so because I saw other fellow history lovers who shared with others the wonderful historical photos they had found and I wanted to share the photos of people I liked with like minded people instead of my fellow (at the time) teenagers who couldn’t name a historical battle for the life of them. This blog started at a time when i was crazy about Germany and its participation in the Second World War. A time where I idolized flying aces like Galland, Marseille, Mölders, Nowotny, Rudel Etc... and Panzer aces like Carius and Wittmann and oh so many others! Most of my content at the time, and really till a year or so ago, was German content including Waffen-SS photos. That caused me some hate and being labeled as a Nazi, despite the fact I was not political or really had any idea what politics were. I faced those problems in real life as well, because I was interested in the Luftwaffe that made me an automatic Nazi. But none of that is the point. This is not, and never has been a political blog. I am a Lefty and I will leave it at that. Anyways, the point is a lot of my following was other lovers of Germany and the Luftwaffe, some of which were Right wing people. This blog was never exactly meant for a particular subject besides World War history but I feel as if perhaps the fact that I broke away from my original content is why the content I post now does not do as good as my old stuff. Not just the content in general but how much I post. I have pretty much posted at least one thing every day so far in 2018. My blog is a MESS! Maybe I have undiagnosed OCD but how messy and disorganized it is bothers me. My blog doesn’t exactly have a personality per say anymore, if it ever did. It doesn’t have its own aesthetic either. All of that can be attributed to the fact that there isn’t exactly anything special to the majority of what I post. To begin with none of it is my own content (especially the IWM posts, but we’ll get to that later). I’m not some artist drawing beautiful artworks, or an OC meme creator/comedian or hell even a pornstar! I’m just an (almost) 21-year-old posting whatever photographs I find online or in a book. I think I alleviated some of it by coming up and researching my own caption for each photo but now I just use the captions featured in books or on the website with my own side notes if there is anything wrong or extra to add. That is due to not having the same amount of resources or time like i once had to do the proper in depth research. I’m no historian so to have a caption from a published author and historian gives proper credit and so to the photos I think, and also shares with you the book that i found the photo in for you can check it out yourself. As i have said this isn’t a political blog, it also isn’t a personal blog. I’m not here for anything about me or to talk about myself, I am here to share with you photos I love! I am somewhat jealous though when I see other bloggers converse and communicate with their followers. I might as well be a robot! I have had some interactions with a few people, mainly people that have asked me questions that are better left to Historians with connections to other people. One very nice Greek or Cretan guy(?) sent me a couple times some stuff about Patrick Leigh Fermor which i was thankful for. That kind of stuff is nice and something I hope to see an increase of some day.

Something else that disappoints me, like most bloggers, youtubers and content creators, is the likes/notes to followers(?) ratio. For awhile i have been at 13,000 plus followers, slowly creeping one by one to 14,000, yet my notes are so low! Majority of what I post gets around 15 notes, if it even gets more than 10! Its rare to get more than lets say 25 notes or even more so 50 notes but its incredibly rare to get anything near 100 notes! I don’t know what you, as my followers, are here to see. Then again I made the blog to share what I wanted to share. It would be helpful though to let me know the stuff I have posted that you have enjoyed or perhaps something I never have posted which you would like me to check out!

Speaking of content, that leads me to something else that we should mention. The Imperial War Museum (IWM) problem. Perhaps you will have notice in the past year the increase of photos from IWM. To describe it I would say it is like the whole Fortnite problem with Youtubers. It is easy content to get a hold of and to post. The amount of IWM photos i have scheduled, in my drafts, in my notes and photos of which I have not even done anything with is overwhelming! I could seriously take all of that IWM content and make an entire brand new blog with it. As long as I have everything written out and scheduled (which would be a piece of cake), I’ll be good for a year! Due to the queue limit of 300, which I have not gotten lower than 260 this year, it takes up a lot of room which I could be using to posting more unique and niche stuff. Currently i have over 400 drafts, yet again I have struggled to get it down past 399 as i quickly fill it back up like my queue, with so much stuff to post that it is overwhelming. That goes back to my brief mention of being addicted to photos. If i see something then i save it as a draft, no matter what. There is so many interesting things I want to post! I have SO MANY history interests you would not believe. You maybe able to tell from my posts what am Interested in at any given moment. I will go from subject to subject depending on what material is available. For example last/this year i was into the wartime SAS then I jumped to the post war/modern SAS, then it was UDT stuff, then Jedburgh stuff (which you will be seeing some of this August and next February) and now I’m back into wartime SAS and SOE/OSS/BCRA. That leaves so much stuff to post! Again this all goes with the question of what stuff do you all enjoy and how can I make this blog better. I have no plans on deactivating hjmarseille but a break sometime would be nice. I have been for a year or so now debating on wether to open a second blog. As you may have noticed the Spanish Civil War content stopped around the end of last year. I still am highly interested in it but I felt it deserved its own place and not among the clutter of this blog. As i have been overloaded with everything on here, the posts still sit in my drafts and the rest in my notes. Perhaps if i cleared out more of my blog I would be happy to bring it back. The whole new side blog thing just goes with me wanting for the blog to have a personality and to be aesthetic. A “Spanish Civil War” aesthetic.

Of course this is only a hobby and not something I am being paid for, so not a life and death situation, but if you have taken the time to read all or any of this then I would love to hear some thoughts from you on what I could do to be better.

Thank you for taking the time, if you did, to read and again I thank you for any feedback and hope you continue to enjoy what I share!

Sincerely,

Liam aka “hjmarseille” 😊

P.S. I apologize if any of this feels like just a scramble of different thoughts mashed together. I have so much I want to say but I’m not very good at explaining things.

[heyhowdyhellohi]

How Quickly We Mend Pt. 5

Masterlist here

Peter Maximoff x OC (NOT PIETRO FROM THE AVENGERS! PETER AS IN EVAN PETERS AS IN X-MEN)

Warning: Language Probably

Summary: X-Men Days of Future Past timeline, plus an oc healing mutant, Amelia. I’m not doing that thing where I quote huge chunks of the movie. This is going to be related, and then it’s going to veer off into its own thing, namely a love story between Peter and the reader.

The car arrived at a small airplane strip. Peter was out in a flash, before Amelia even realized the car had stopped. Erick followed after him. Charles and Hank shared a look with Logan before stepping out onto the hot tarmac as well. Logan glanced back at Amy, considering her for a moment before he popped his door open and came around to sit in the back with her.

There was a moment of silence as he curled his fingers around the shoulders of the passenger’s seat. “There’s some things we need to talk about before I go, but we don’t have much time.” His eyes watched unseeing through the dashboard as the stairs to the plane were brought down.

“Okay,” Amelia whispered. She had to restrain herself from running off to the beat of the drums in her ears, deafening among the silence of the car.

“Charles, Hank, and I need to take care of some things in France with Erick.” He looked down at the foot and a half of seat between them, one hand curled around his fist. I don’t think we’ll be there long, but you’ll be on your own for a bit, until Hank and Charles get back. I’m actually not sure I’ll be coming back at all.” Almost as an afterthought he added, “It’s dangerous, what we’re doing.”

“And I know I told you to be careful who to trust. And I know I’m not making a very good case for myself, asking you to come with us just to leave again. But if you’re doubting anything, trust this: Hank and Charles will give you a warm bed, and however many meals a day you like. You’ll be safe. The offer is still on the table if you want it. You can have a home with people like you. For now, you can either go to Charles’ mansion, or you can go to Peter’s house for a bit until we come back. Or none of the above. I don’t want to pressure you into anything,” Logan stated plainly.

“Hey, Logan, hurry it up, man. The others wanna get going. Everyone’s real tense, too. What’s up with that?” Peter tornadoed over. “Hey, have you made a decision yet, Amy?”

“Yes. I'm going to Charles’ house.” Amy answered, unwavering. She turned to Logan, “I’ll wait for you there, when you get back from your mission.” Amelia looked pointedly at Logan who bowed his head and nodded, a promise he had no control over.

“Cool, I’ll drive,” Peter was suddenly in the drivers seat, and all the mirrors were angled slightly differently.

“See you, kid.” Logan smiled and ducked out of the car.

“And Peter! Take it slow!” Charles called. Peter laughed as they all got into the plane. Amelia slid into the passenger seat, and Peter sped their way to the mansion.

“Damn. This is a nice place. It’s got like a hundred rooms, I just looked at them all. Want me to take you to the nicest one?” Peter whizzed around the immense mansion. It was dark and dusty, and the halls looked like they were probably haunted, but it was still like nothing she’d ever seen before, incredibly impressive, daunting even. How long would she be here all by herself?

“It’s kind of cold.” Amy stood still in the center of the foyer and looked around her, taking in the humid smell of mold. Sunlight hadn’t touched this place in a very long time.

“Here, I found a sweater,” Peter came up next to her and held out a black knit jumper, but Amelia shook her head and smiled at him. “So, what do you wanna do?”

“What?” Amelia wasn’t sure where his mind had jumped off to that she hadn’t been able to follow.

“Well, I was thinking we could play a game, go outside, watch a movie...” Peter started up his ramble.

“You are gonna sit through a movie?” Amelia interrupted, unable to imagine him sitting still and quiet for anything.

Peter stared at her for a second, tilting his head before a smile spread over his cheeks and he laughed. “You’re right. We should do something else. I didn’t see a ping-pong table here. There aren’t even any video games.”

“Well, I don’t think any kids have lived here for a very long time.” Amy walked around the table in the foyer, brushing her finger over the thin film of dust that had accumulated.

“It’s funny, though, cause that Professor guy was carrying around a card that said this place used to be a school.” Peter zipped around to different corners of the room, standing in front of each vase or painting for about half a second of intense analysis.

“Really? That’s what they told me, at first. That they wanted me to go to their school.” Amy walked up the grand staircase and plopped herself down on the fifth step.

“Are you sure you wanna stay with these guys? I mean, breaking a person out of the Pentagon isn’t exactly a great first impression,” Peter disappeared for a second before he was standing right in front of her.

“Says the guy who helped them.”

“Hey, I’m trustworthy. I’ve never hurt anyone, just stole some stuff.” He said from a few feet away this time, leaning on a polished wooden column.

“Well, can’t say I’ve ever met a dishonest thief before,” Amy laughedd at him and stood to continue up the stairs and take a look at the rooms herself.

While Amelia looked around, Peter went to fetch them pizza, and probably to do a billion other things in the twenty minutes it would take to prepare a cheese and pepperoni. Without Peter around, it was like the dust settled more deeply onto the surface of everything, nestled in the cracks. Probably because he wasn’t there to upturn everything in his wake.

Amelia walked along the lengthy corridors, gazing up at the high ceilings, or around at the elegant wooden fittings. Every few feet there was a glass light fixture, and the curtains were drawn all throughout the mansion. She wondered if this was the type of house with wings. When she was young, Amy had read about a house with an east wing and a west wing, and also about a dozen other french words she couldn’t pronounce. Little Amelia thought the book was fiction. She thought the wings of the house were like bird’s wings and that the ridiculously rich people in the story lived on clouds, so far up they couldn’t even hear you if you yelled. She didn’t think real life people could actually be that rich.

Now, Amelia felt like she was up on a cloud herself, not carefree but airsick and terrified of stepping over the edge, skies away from anything she had ever known and centuries away from ever putting this strange feeling into words. Because yes there were other mutants, and she wasn’t alone. But more than that, completely disregarding the existence of mutants, she had just stepped into a different world that made everything she experienced in her childhood a cruel joke.

Part 4 - Part 6

[brideofkylosolo]

Updated Fanfic

I (finally) made the edits to my Adam Sackler fanfic so without further ado, here’s da smut:

Daddy’s Lil’ Monster

Girls fic (Adam X OC)

Adam is madly in love with his new girlfriend Piper and is certain she may be the one.  Things take a sudden turn when he runs into her old boyfriend and their relationship is put to the test when something from her past is revealed.

Warnings: talk of violence/rape, angst, fluffy cuteness, swearing (so much swearing), NSFW

    “Fuck I need to get laid so bad!” Adam whined.  “I swear my nuts are gonna fucking fall off.”

    Brad rolled his eyes at his friends over dramatic moans about his sex life.   He swore, ever since he broke up with Hannah (or was it Jessa?), Adam had become more annoying; not that he wasn’t to begin with.

    “What about Jessa?  Your ex?” he asked as he took a bite of a fry.  “Bet she’d be up for a fuck.”

    “No,” Adam said.  “Jessa and I are pretty much done.”

    “Hannah?”

    “Hell fucking no!  Not Hannah, not Jessa, not ANY of my fucking exes.”

    “Well that leaves out the better part of Brooklyn,” Brad mused.

    Adam shot him a look.

    “Well, face it, dude,” Brad said.   “You do have a reputation of sleeping around and leaving the next day. You’re a certified man whore.”

    Adam glared at him and was about to tell his buddy off when suddenly Brad’s attention went to a girl with black hair with red tips wearing a cute red dress with heels walking up to the counter.

    “Piper?” Brad called out.  The girl turned.  “Hey, Piper! Long time no see!”

    “Brad?” the girl (Piper) said.  “Shit, I thought that was you.  How you’ve been?”

    “Good.  Been keeping busy with work and shit, the usual.”

    Adam pursed his lips together awkwardly as he eyed the girl.

    “Oh, this is Adam Sackler.  I know him from a play I did a few years ago.  Adam, this is Piper Dawson.  We went to college together.”

    The two shook hands.  Piper raised her eyebrows.  “Weren’t you in that play not too long ago at that little theater off Howard Street? Equus wasn’t it?”

    “Uh, yeah I was,” Adam replied.  “You actually saw it?”

    Piper nodded.  “You were really good.”

    Adam blushed slightly and smiled.  “Thanks.”

    Piper returned the smile.  “It was nice running into you Brad but I got to get back to the office. Um, it was nice meeting you, Adam.” She touched Adam left arm and hurried off.  He smiled.

    Brad raised his eyebrows.  He knew that look on Adam’s face all too well.

 *************

    Adam needed something to take his mind of all the shit that was happening.  His audition didn’t go well at all, he nearly got hit by a taxi, he dropped his coffee, and to top it all off, he had forgotten his jacket.  Plus it was starting to rain and of fucking course he forgot his umbrella.

    He grumbled curses under his breath as he walked into the used bookstore, getting a few odd looks from customers.  He quickly darted towards the back and began looking at the shelves.  He really didn’t have any certain book in mind just wanted something to read, to get his mind off this shitty day.

    He crouched down to grab a book on the bottom shelf and a familiar woman with black hair with red tips walked by him looking at the other shelf. Adam paused, looking at her.

    “Piper?” he asked her.

    The women looked at him slightly confused.  Her eyes then widened as she recognized him.  “Adam, right?  Hey, how are you?”

    Adam stood up.  “Doing good. Just, ya know, getting some reading material.”

Piper smiled.  “You look a little wet.”

Adam grinned, blushing a little.  “Yeah I kinda got caught in the damn rain.  Forgot my fucking umbrella.  So, you’re getting some books too?”

“Yeah, just a few,” Piper replied.

Adam cranked his neck to look at the titles in her arms.

“The Handmaid’s Tale, The Uninvited, the Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft, and How to Be a Woman?” Adam mused out loud.

Piper chuckled and adjusted the pile in her arms.  “Not exactly intellectual reading, I know.  But hey, it gets me through those lonely nights in my apartment by myself.  Well, that and horror movies.”  She looked at the book in Adam’s hand.  “Warm Bodies?”

“Yeah,” Adam said with an embarrassing chuckle.  “I figured the movie wasn’t half bad I might as well give the book a go. Plus, hell, zombies, ya know.”

Piper returned the laugh.  “I hear you. Nothing like a good zombie book.”

Adam thought Piper was definitely pretty.  Fuck no, she was drop dead fucking gorgeous.  Her face was stunning, with pale skin, a cute nose, and sexy lips painted bright red.  Her eyes were a bright blue, and framed by black cat’s eye glasses (was she wearing those the first time he saw her?).  Her jet black hair had deep red tips and was slightly curled; it was pulled away from her face with a hair clip.  She was dressed in simple jeans and a black and white striped shirt that hugged her curves; she wore black Converses and had a black bomber style hoodie.  She definitely had a style all her own and she fucking rocked it.  She didn’t look like most girls in New York.  Fuck, thought Adam.  She looks amazing.

“Hey, if you’re not doing anything later, do you wanna, hell I don’t know, get some pizza or some shit?” Adam asked as he ran his fingers through his shoulder-length hair.  “I know this place not too far here that’s pretty good.”

“Sure,” Piper said with a smile.  “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Adam smiled.  “Great”

Before long they were sitting in a booth in a tiny hole in the wall joint sharing a large sausage and mushroom pizza with extra cheese.  They quickly found out they shared much more in common than the same pizza toppings.  They both loved zombie movies (Night of the Living Dead easily topping both of their lists), had the same weird slightly deranged sense of humor, both loved haunted and abandoned places (Piper couldn’t believe Adam had never heard of the abandoned subway system right in NYC), and they both loved obscure random things (Adam raved about his favorite store near his apartment that he swore sold witchcraft stuff that none of his friends would go into with him).  They also didn’t drink, liked to go jogging, and loved Nathan’s hot dogs (with chili and cheese of course).  Adam told her all about his dream to make it big in New York as an actor (a serious one, not some smuck who did lowbrow stuff).  Piper told him about her love of comics (her favorite writer was Grant Morrison and she LOVED Harley Quinn) and how she was working as a secretary at a travel agency, but only until she got a job at DC comics; she even showed Adam some of her sketches and Adam reassured her she’d be famous in no time (“Fuck, that’s way better than the shit I draw!”).

Before they knew it, the owner was starting to give them looks (had they really been there for over three and a half hours?) and they left.  Neither of them wanted to really go home so they just wandered around Brooklyn, still talking.

“I still can’t believe you saw that play I did on Howard Street,” Adam commented as they walked.  “Shit, I didn’t think anybody went to that.  Plus I was fucking horrible in that.”

“No, you were amazing, really,” Piper said.  “You really brought that guys character to life.  That nightmare scene was fucking amazing.”

Adam blushed with a smile.  He was used to girls (and a few guys) gushing over him, telling him how sexy, and talented he was but he knew those were just hallow compliments made in hopes he’d be eager to fuck them.  Piper’s compliments were real though.  He could tell she was genuine, that she wasn’t just saying things to fuck him. Not that he’d be against the idea.

Piper giggled.

Adam gave her a funny look. “What?”

“Nothing,” she said.  “Just think it’s kind of cute how every time I give you a compliment, you turn about twenty shades of red.  Do people never give you compliments?”

“No,” Adam replied.  “Fuck if anything, I get too many of them.  Yours are, well different.”

Piper raised her eyebrows.

“Fuck I didn’t mean it like that!” he exclaimed.  Shit, not even done with the first date and he was already fucking things up.

Piper just smiled.  “Adam, relax. I get it.”

It was Adam’s turn to raise his eyebrows.

Piper playfully hit his arm.  “Oh shut up, you fucking dweeb!”

The two of them sat on a bench.

“What I mean is, well, my last I guess what you call serious relationship was mostly just, well empty.  The asshole pretty much just wanted to bone me so he said what he’d thought would make me want to fuck him.”  She groaned and shook her head, her curls bouncy on Adam’s shoulder.  “Fuck, can’t believe I just told you that.”

“What do you mean?”

“First Date 101: never tell the guy about your ex or how he wanted to fuck you. Its right up there with don’t tell a guy you want to have babies really soon and that you’re in a cult.”

“Wait, you’re in a cult?”

“Fucking hell!”  She rolled her eyes at him.  “Yes, yes I’m in a cult.  We worship cheese and have orgies while smearing butter on each other.”

“Cheese is pretty good,” Adam remarked pretending to be deep in thought. “Especially feta.”

Piper pinched his side, making him laugh.  “You fucking meatball.”

“Meatball?” Adam repeated.  “Eh, not the worst I’ve been called.”

Piper groaned.  She took his left hand in her right one, her fingers laced through his large ones. She gave it a squeeze and rested her head on his left shoulder.  “Oh, Adam Sackler, whatever is a girl like me to do with you?”

They sat in silence, soon figuring they both needed to get home before more rain came.

“Here’s my place,” Piper said as they stopped in front of nondescript apartment building.  “I really had a great time today.  Thanks for the pizza and stuff.”

“No problem,” Adam said.  God, he so wanted to kiss her but at the same time didn’t want to fuck things up by jumping into things too fast.  What was his deal?  He never missed a chance to make out with a hot chick (no, Piper was not just some random chick, she was special) and eventually they’d end up in her or his bed fucking like rabbits well into the night. Then they’d part ways the next morning over coffee and breakfast with promises to see each other again but they never would since that apparently wasn’t his style.  He was notorious for his one night stands.  But Adam didn’t want that to happen; he wanted to see Piper again.  He wanted to take her to the movies, to all the places Jessa, Hannah and the others didn’t want to go to.  He wanted to just walk around or explore some abandoned place with her, just actually just spend time with her.  He actually wanted a real fucking relationship with her, not his usual “fuck buddies” type.  He never wanted that with any girl he dated.  The fuck was going on with him?

The stood there for a few awkward minutes.  “So, um, there’s this exhibit at a gallery near my work.  Some photographer is showing a few of his pieces. Landscape and buildings type stuff. Do you, um, I don’t know, wanna go tomorrow?”

Adam smiled.  “Yeah, I love to.  I mean, I don’t have anything going on so, so yeah, I’d love to go with you.”

“Great, I’ll give you my number and you can give me a call or text me or something.”

She put her number in his cell phone and he put his into hers.  Piper adjusted her tote bag.

“Thanks again for dinner.”  She stood on her toes and gave him a quick kiss on his left cheek.  “G’night.”  She hurried up the stairs and into the building.

“Night,” Adam called after her.  He grinned as she disappeared behind the building doors, giving him a quick wave as she walked in.  “FUCK YEAH!” he exclaimed as he pumped his fist into the air and headed home.

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

“Shit, you look happy as fuck,” Ray commented as him, Adam, and Brad walked towards their favorite record shop.  “You finally get your ass laid?”

“Shut up,” Adam retorted as they walked inside the shop.

Brad raised his eyebrow.  “You and Piper haven’t fucked yet?  Damn, I thought you’d be all over her after you ran into her at that bookstore.  That you two be fucking like animals.”

“Piper?” Ray asked.  “You got a new fuck buddy, huh Sackler?”

“Piper is not a fuck buddy,” Adam replied as he started to thumb through a crate of records.  “And not that it’s any of your business, but no, we have not fucked like animals, as you so eloquently put it.”

“Damn, this has to be a new record,” Ray mused.  “Sackler meets a hot chick and three weeks later she still hasn’t rode his cock.  You starting to lose your touch?”

“I’m about to punch you if that’s what you mean,” Adam said as he glared at his friend.

They weren’t wrong though.  Adam and Piper had been dating for over three weeks now and still haven’t slept together. Sure they spent time at each other’s places and even made out on a few occasions but it never went beyond that. And Adam was just fine with that. He was actually just fine with it.

“Yo, Brad!” a voice boomed.

“Oh, hey Chad,” Brad said.  “How’s it going?”

“Not bad.”

“Oh this is Adam and Ray.  Guys, this is Chad Paul.  We roomed together for a bit.”

Chad greeted them with handshakes.  Ray looked like he recognized him but didn’t say a word.

“Say, have you heard from Piper?”

Adam’s ears perked up.

“Piper?  No man I haven’t.”  Brad said. “Why you ask?”

“I just tried texting her a few days ago and she never got back to me. Just wanted to talk to her, see how she is, that’s all.”

“I’m sure Adam can pass a message to her.”

Chad looked confused.  “You know Piper?  Piper Dawson?”

“Uh, yeah,” Adam said.  “I mean, we’ve gone out a few times.  Suppose to have dinner with her later.”

“Oh, so you’re seeing her?” Chad said, his demeanor changing.  “Well, good luck with that.”

“The fuck does that mean?”  Adam asked giving the other man a confused look.

“Well, she’s you know, a sort of crazy type of girl,” Chad replied.

Adam’s gaze darkened.  “I’m not too clear what you mean by crazy.”

“Oh, you know, she tends to exaggerate about what really happened while we went out.  You know how girls are sometimes.”

Ray and Brad exchanged looks.  They knew Adam had a temper like no other and didn’t need, nor wanted to, break up a fight in the middle of a store.

“Anyway, I better get going.”  Chad turned to Brad.  “We’ll have to hit up a Weston’s for a drink sometime.”

“Yeah,” Brad said with an uneasy smile and Chad walked away.

“Well that guy was an ass,” Ray commented.

“What the fuck was he talking about?” Adam asked.

“About Piper?” Brad asked.  “They had a nasty break up.  Something happened.  Whatever, just don’t worry about it.”

    Adam couldn’t help but worry.

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

    Adam took several deep breaths as he slowly climbed the stairs to Piper’s apartment.  The conversation with Chad was still fresh on his mind and he was trying to work through what he was told.  He soon reached her door and knocked.  Piper soon answered it still wearing her pajamas even though it was well into the afternoon, a fitted blue shirt and matching bottoms.  Her hair was in a messy bun on top of her head.

    “Adam!  Hey, I thought you were hanging out with your friends today.”

    Adam shrugged his shoulders.  “We got done a little early.”

    Piper furrowed her eyebrows at his demeanor.  “Well, come in.  Sorry, the place is a mess.  I haven’t gotten around to picking things up.”

    Adam walked into Piper’s tiny junior apartment, hung his jacket up on the hanging coat rack, and plopped down on her couch, his gazed fixed ahead at the TV; some black and white movie was on the screen.  It wasn’t much bigger than 600 or so square feet but it was roomy enough for her.  Piper’s “weird” style was evident in the various posters of Betty Page and Harley Quinn on the walls amid IKEA furniture made her place seem, well, homey.

    “How has your day been?” Piper asked as she went into the fridge to get Adam a bottle of water.

    “Fine,” Adam said in a flat tone.  “We ran into your ex at the record store.”

    Piper tensed at hearing that news.  “You did?”

    “Chad, think his name was.”

    Piper set the water bottle down on the counter and rested her hands on the edge.  “What did he say?  No wait, let me guess.  Was it that I’m a lying bitch, a slut who can’t get enough dick, or a psycho that needs to be locked up?”  

    Adam looked at her in confusion.  He wasn’t quite sure what to make of Piper’s bold reply.

    “Or was it all three?” added Piper, her fists balling up in a rage Adam had never seen from her.  “That seems to be what he told our friends, or rather his friends when I left him.”

    Adam was getting more confused.  “You dumped him?”

    Now it was Piper’s turn to be confused.  “Yes!  What did you think happened?”

“I don’t fucking know!  That you cheated on him!  That you were married to him! That you’re still married to him!  That you guys broke up and still fuck each other behind my back! You really haven’t given me a whole fucking lot to go on!”

“That I fuck him behind your back?!?!?!  Jesus fucking Christ!  Adam, he raped and tried to fucking kill me!”

    Adam was floored.  “He fucking what?”

    Piper took a deep breath and went into her bedroom.  She returned with a folder and tossed it on the coffee table in front of Adam, sitting down in the blue chair next to the couch.

    “Go on and fucking read it,” she said as she started to cry, not looking at Adam.  Her arms crossed in front of her.  He could tell she was really pissed at him.  He knew something wasn’t right.

    Adam opened the folder and picked up the piece of paper on top. It was a police report.  He started to read it and felt sick to his stomach.  The report detailed how Chad repeatedly raped Piper.  How when she fought him, he punched her, breaking her nose and nearly breaking her cheekbone.  Adam could barely get through all five pages.

    “There’s some lovely pictures in there of me as well,” Piper added in a dead tone.

    Adam saw them.  He felt vomit creep up his throat at the one of Piper’s face.  At least he thought it was her; he honestly couldn’t tell considering how bruised and bloody it was.

    Adam was speechless.

    “He was pissed after I “embarrassed” him at a party,” Piper stated, her tears falling silently down her face.  “He couldn’t believe I would dare yell at him for dangling me over a six-story fire escape in front of his friends.  It’s not like he didn’t know I hate heights.”

    “He went to jail though, right?”

    “For two months.  The fucking judge said Chad didn’t deserve to have his life fucked up over one stupid argument that just got out of hand.  Said I should have just left him the first time he hit me.”  She wiped a tear away.  “Fuck.  I just knew this was fucking going to happen.  I knew that this was all going to go to fucking hell.”

    “What are you talking about?”

    “This.  Us,” Piper said as the tears start to fall faster.  “Every single time I start dating and the guy finds out about Chad or what happened, it’s fucking over.  They just ghost me like I’ve got the fucking plague.  I’m just the fucking crazy ex who lied about what he did to me cause a guy like Chad would never do something like that.  Forget that I had bruises and shit.  Fuck, even most of my friends didn’t believe me when they found out.  I fucking lost everyone.”

    “Babe,” Adam breathed and went to hug her.  Piper stood up to run and he grabbed onto her elbow.  She recoiled at his touch, pulling away from his hand.

    “No,” Held up her hands.  “Just please no.  Just don’t fucking touch me!”  She bolted into her room before Adam could grab her again.

“Piper wait!” he yelled after her as he heard her closet door slam.  

    Adam let out a string of curses and followed her.  He jiggled the closet door but it wouldn’t budge.

    “Piper?” he called to her as he gently knocked on the door. “Come on kid, let me in.”

    “Go away, Adam!” came her muffled reply.  

    “Come on, please?” Adam persisted.

    “Go.  The. FUCK. AWAY!”

    Adam grimaced at her words.  He knew she was hurting and it was starting to fucking hurt him as well. God, he just wanted to hug her, to make her pain go away.

    He leaned closer to the door.  “They’re coming to get you, Barbara,” he said in his best creepy voice.

    “Go fuck yourself, Adam Sackler!”

    Adam rested his forehead against the door with a chuckle. “Ok, I deserved that.”

    Adam turned around and sat at the base of the door, he broad shoulders resting against the door.

    “You know I can sit here all night if I have to,” he casually called out.

    Piper didn’t reply.  All Adam could hear was her sobs.  God fucking damnit, he just wanted to hug her, to tell her he wasn’t going anywhere.  He knew if he wanted to, he could bust the door down and drag her out but given her state of mind at the moment, he decided against that; it would certainly make things a hell of a lot worse.

    Adam sighed and leaned his head back against the door.  “What happened wasn’t your fault, babe.  Chad’s a fucking asshole who deserves to have his dick chopped off and fed to rats for what he did to you.  And those bastards that left you once they found out?  Fuck them too.  Fuck everyone who didn’t believe you or hurt you.  They deserve to rot in hell.”

    Adam closed his own eyes, his own eyes welling up with tears. “Look, I know I can’t erase what happened to you.  Fuck, I wish I could though.  But I fucking promise you one thing: I’m not going anywhere so looks like you’re stuck with me for a while, kid.”  He managed a weak smile.  “I love you. Fucking hell, I love you!  And I honestly don’t say that too often. You’re the best thing to happen to me since, fuck if I know when.  And I fucking swear I’m going do whatever I can for you.  I’m here for the fucking long run, I promise you.”

    The door behind him suddenly opened and Adam fell backwards landing on his back.  Piper was looking down at him with tear-stained eyes.

    “You know the view from here isn’t too bad,” Adam remarked as he looked up at her with a smile.

    Piper returned his smile.  “You are such an idiot, Adam Sackler,” she retorted as she sat back down.

    “But you gotta admit I’m a cute one.”

    She lifted Adam’s head and placed it in her lap, running her fingers through his shoulder-length hair.  “Fine, I’ll give you that.”

    The two of them sat in silence for a while, Piper running her fingers through Adam’s dark hair with her left hand while he held her right.

    “You know that tattoo I was talking about getting last week?” Piper hesitantly said.

    “Yeah?”

    “I got it.”

    Adam flashed a smirk.  “You didn’t.”

    Piper nodded and leaned back, lowering the waist of her pajama pants to reveal three diamonds, one in black two in red on her hip, just above her panty line covered in a clear film.

    Adam turned his head to look at it and his eyes got wide. “Isn’t that what Harley Quin has on her leg?”

    Piper nodded.  “Do you like it?”

    Adam nodded.  “Fuck yeah.”

    “It’s still healing so I gotta keep the clear bandage on it for a little longer,” she explained.

    Adam had never wanted to get a tattoo; he was worried it would hurt his chances of getting certain roles.  Not that he had anything against them though.  He had dated (and slept with) lots of girls with tattoos.  He even found them kind of sexy, to be honest.

    He gently ran his left finger over the image.  Piper winced a little.

    “Does that hurt?” he asked.

    “A little bit.”

    “How about this?” Adam asked then leaned in and kissed it.

    Piper started to hiss but soon moaned at the feeling of Adam’s lips on her skin.  “Fuck.”

    Adam deepened his kiss, Piper starting to squirm a little in pleasure.

    Adam pulled away.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

    “You didn’t,” Piper replied.

    Adam gave her a funny look.  Piper playfully smacked Adam’s arm.  “Shut up, you weirdo.”

    “Hey, I didn’t say anything,” he said with a chuckle.

Adam reached up and moved a stray piece away from her face.  Piper took his hand in hers and kissed his palm.  She then leaned down and kissed him on the lips. He melted into it, subconsciously pushing himself up.  Piper cradled his head in her hands, her fingers entangled in his hair.  Adam tentatively reached up and cradled her face with his hands, his thumbs caressing her cheek; he started to moan as did she.

Piper straddled him and deepened the kiss.  She slowly raised herself to meet his kiss, balancing on her knees. Adam felt himself getting turned on; very turned on.  He slowly moved his left hand to her lower back and up her shirt, gently massaging her. Piper moaned louder.

Adam pulled away, his breath in short gasps.  “Piper, kid, are you okay to do this?”

Piper nodded.  “Yes,” she whispered.  “I am.”

Adam picked her up and gently carried her to the bed, laying her down on her back.  He gently kissed her on the lips.  As much as he wanted to tear off her clothes and just fuck her with raw abandon, he didn’t want to hurt her, especially after what her last ex did to her.  No, he was going to make sure he didn’t fuck this up; he was going to make absolutely sure he did it right.

Piper reached up and placed her hands on his chest, her touch sending shivers down his spine.   He felt her hands slowly travel to the hem of his t-shirt, pulling it over his head. Adam’s right hand traveled to the top of Piper’s pajamas and slowly pulled them down exposing her pink boyshorts; she arched her back and moaned.  Her hands went to the waist of his jeans and fumbled with his belt.  He felt himself start to get hard, really hard.

Piper slide Adam’s jeans off his hips and ran her fingers up his muscular abs. “Fuck,” he breathed, pulling away from the kiss.

Piper continued to kiss Adam’s jawline, her hands running through his dark hair.  She pressed her pelvis into his.  God, she wanted him so bad.  She reached up and gently touched him through his underwear with her right hand, her fingertips slowly tracing his length.  Adam shuddered and felt himself get harder.

With shaky hands, Adam slowly touched Piper’s hips, his fingers grazing along the hem of her underwear.  He wanted to rip the fabric away but the worry of making her uncomfortable or hurting her prevented him from going his normal fast pace.

Piper slowly reached into his black underwear and ran her fingers along his sex. Adam hitched his breath as the touch sent jolts up his spine; he gripped the sheets.  It felt fucking wonderful.

Piper giggled at his reaction.  She could tell he was eager to fuck her and she was eager to fuck as well.  God, she wanted him so badly.  She gently took his right hand and guided it between her thighs. His large fingers gingerly touched her and she let out a tiny moan.

Adam slowly slipped his fingers past the hem of her boyshorts and the tip of his middle finger touched her nub.  She let out a gasp and arched her back.

“Oh, God yes,” she whimpered as she closed her eyes and gripped the sheets next to her in bliss.

Adam gingerly touched the spot again; Piper let out another whimper and arched her back.  “Oh fuck!”

Adam licked his lips and softly pushed his finger against her bud again sending another wave of ecstasy up her body.  “Oh fuck me!” she moaned.

Adam took a deep breath and softly kissed Piper on the lips, slowly removing her pink underwear.  He carefully positioned himself at her entrance.  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes,” Piper breathless said.

“Positive?  Cause I can stop if you want.”

“For fuck’s sake!  I swear Adam if you don’t hurry up and stick your goddamned dick in me, I’m going to handcuff you to this fucking bed and have my way with you!”

Adam looked at her in slight confusion.  “You really have a pair of handcuffs?”

“No,” Piper huffed as she crossed her arms.

Adam looked at her like he didn’t believe her.

“Maybe.”  Piper covered her face with her hands.  “Ok fine, yes I have a pair!”

“If you really want to,” Adam said, “I’d be ok with letting you handcuff me and, you know, do whatever you want.”

Piper uncovered her eyes and looked at him in disbelief.  “Are you serious?”

Adam nodded.  He held both his hands up and pouted, flashing his best puppy dog eyes.

Piper giggled.  She reached into the bottom drawer of her bedside table and pulled out a pair of plastic, fuzzy pink handcuffs.  Adam lay down were Piper was and she straddled his stomach.  She attached one cuff to his left wrist, raised it above his head, looping the cuff through the metal headboard and attached the other cuff to his right wrist.

She moved down, positioning herself so that Adam’s erection was at her entrance and slowly lowered herself on to his throbbing erection, moaning in pleasure as she settled.  She rested her hands on his stomach and ever so slowly raised and lowered her hips gradually increasing her pace.

Adam nibbled on his lower lip at the sight of Piper riding his length, her head thrown back in bliss.  He swore it was the most fucking beautiful sight he’d ever seen.  He was definitely more the type of guy to take the reins, so to speak, whenever he had sex but holy fucking shit, this was amazing.  He could get used to having Piper ride him cowgirl style real easy.

Piper ran her fingers upwards and rested her hands on Adam’s pecs as she nibbled her bottom lip, her hips moving at a more fevered pace.

Adam balled his fists around the plastic cuffs in pure bliss at the way Piper’s pussy felt around his cock; he soon felt the cheap plastic chain give way releasing his hands.  He placed his hands with the handcuffs still around his wrists on Piper’s hips as she grinded her hips.  “Fuck,” Adam groaned feeling himself come close to orgasm.

She leaned forward and gripped the headboard to get a better leverage, never once breaking her movements.  “Oh god! I’m gonna, I’m gonna…  FUCK!!!!”

Piper let out a throaty moan as she came, her canal tightening around Adam’s erection.  He soon followed, letting out his own blissful moan as he came and came hard.

Piper collapsed on Adam’s chest, trying to catch her breath.  She rolled over onto her back.  “Holy fuck, that was amazing!”

Adam just nodded his agreement his mind still reeling from what very well was the best fuck he’d had in a long time.

Piper gently poked Adam’s face.  “You still alive?”

Adam giggled.  “Yeah, just, holy fucking shitballs, that was fucking incredible.”

    “Yeah, it was,” Piper agreed with a content sigh.  It had been a while since she had a really good fuck. Her luck on the dating front was pretty much shit since most guys didn’t stay long after they found out about her past. The fact that Adam didn’t bolt once she told him had to mean something, right?

    Adam held up his right hand with the broken handcuff still attached to it and let out a snort.

    Piper laughed and dangled Adam’s hand by the broken plastic chain. “Least we got one use out of them,” she said as she unhooked them, tossing them to the floor.

    She snuggled against Adam’s broad chest, breathing in his sweat musky scent.  Adam rested his cheek against the top of her head, gently stroking her hair.  The two of them lay together on the bed, enjoying each other.

    “You hungry?” she asked suddenly.  “I could really go for some Chinese food.”

    “That does sound good,” Adam remarked with a smile.  How did he ever get so lucky to find such an amazing woman?

[araneasgf]

The First Steps

@ffxv-oc-week Day VII: Domestic life with spouse / Fall of Tenebrae or Lucis

Summary: Gladiolus would never pass up the chance to make a new friend. And Hera was definitely someone he wanted to get to know better. Their walks to work in the morning were never long enough, but he could definitely get to know her a lot better on a nice walk in the park.

Word count: 1652

Read after the jump or ao3 link

Gladiolus found himself taking an especially deep breath once he reached the spot in the park he'd told Hera he'd be waiting for her at.

 He really had no reason to be nervous.  Or at least not that nervous.  Gladio was usually pretty good about reading people and he hadn't sensed any hesitance on her part.  In fact, Hera had seemed pretty amenable to his suggestion that they hang out and spend some time together that wasn't just their five minute walks to work in the morning.  

 But if only she had known how long it had taken him to get up the nerve to ask in the first place.  He'd always thought Hera was attractive, but it had taken a couple of weeks for Gladio to realize he even had a crush. He was a pretty social person, after all, and at first mistook it for him just enjoying having some company on the way to work.  Their conversations were great and he never missed the opportunity to get to know someone better or make a new friend.  But as they (literally) walked on, he started finding himself more tongue tied around her.

 On one of these walks, he had told a dumb joke he couldn't even remember the subject of.  Gladio remembered he probably should have felt embarrassed and he was sure it was just pity laughter, but he suddenly found himself unable to look away from the way Hera’s brown eyes lit up as she laughed. And the way the sun caught her cheekbones as they rose, the tawny glow spreading across her face.  Gladio would have embarrassed himself a few more times and told a few more terrible jokes if it meant he'd get to hear that laugh again.

 And maybe he would soon. The weather in Insomnia had been as indecisive as ever lately, but it seemed someone was smiling down on him and it was a sunnier day than they had been used to.  And the nicer weather only meant it was easier for him to arrive at their meeting spot about ten minutes early.

 He leaned against the railing that lined the dirt path and took another breath in.  Hera would be showing up any moment now and it wouldn't do him much good to have anxiety get the best of him if he wanted to make a better impression now that they weren't on any time constraints.

 This was the casual meet-up that he'd been hoping for.

 It didn't feel like he was waiting long, until he felt his phone start to buzz in his pocket.  He immediately grabbed for it and saw Hera's name flash across the screen for a second.  But before he could answer it, the missed call notification appeared on his phone in its place.

 “Shit,” he mumbled to himself as he looked around at the crowds of people in the park.

 “Hey.”

 A bright, familiar voice from his right startled him more than he would have liked.

 “Hera,” he said, relieved.

 Gladio had never seen her out of her uniform before.  Even though he had no problem with it, Gladiolus was more or less required to wear all black all of the time.  It was rare for him to wear anything that wasn’t black; he had even worn his favorite black tank top to the park.  In the Citadel where every required uniform was black, it was easy to not notice anything especially detailed about his acquaintances’ outfits.

 But he couldn't overlook Hera on this day.  She had definitely dressed for the weather.  The sun enhanced the golden shimmer on her brown skin exposed by the short, loose fitting blue dress with thin white stripes made of what looked like denim material to him.  Maybe it was because he wasn't used to seeing his friends in anything other than black clothing that he had to remind himself to look back up at her face.

 “I didn't see you at first,” she explained, the shadow of a smile on her lips.  

 “Sorry about the phone call.”

 “Hey, don't worry about it,” said Gladio, shaking his head.

 “I'm just glad that you made it,” he said happily.

 “So am I,” said Hera, smiling up at him.

 “It’s so nice out.  Super random though after all that rain,” she continued.

 “Totally,” said Gladio.

 “Shall we?” He gestured towards the path.  She nodded and they began to walk along.

 “Thank God though,” said Hera, “it totally would’ve sucked if we had to cancel today because of more rain.”

 Gladio smiled to himself upon hearing she was looking forward to today just as much as he was.

 “We got lucky,” said Gladio. “They said it's gonna start raining again next week, so guess we've officially entered fall in Insomnia.”  

 “I'm so glad,” said Hera.

 “Oh?” Gladio raised an eyebrow.

 “I love cold weather.  And don't get me wrong, I actually like our uniforms but having to wear all black when it's like a million degrees outside sucks, dude.”

 “Well, you ain't wrong about that,” he laughed.  “When I was younger they always made us train outside during summer.  It was awful.”

 “I bet you're glad to be way past that now,” said Hera.

 “Oh yeah,” he nodded.  “So do you guys...like…”  

 “Hmm?”  Hera turned towards him, anticipating the question with a single raised eyebrow.

 Gladio stopped and thought on his words.  It was really a simple question, and one that he really should have known the answer to but he was curious.  But still, he didn't want to risk offending her if the answer was common knowledge.

 “Do you guys see a lot of combat down where you are?”  Gladiolus finally asked.

 “Outside of having to sit in on training sessions a few times a week, not really.  Or maybe you just get used to it after a while,” said Hera.

 “I mean all of us are required to keep up with regular combat and self-defense training stuff, but really our job is mostly record keeping.  It's really a desk job but with a little more action,” she laughed.

 “Ahh,” said Gladio, glad that she hadn't seemed put-off by the question.

 “I like it though, you get to meet a lot of people and help out the new kids.  Plus there's no better place to work than in the Citadel, really.”

 Hera continued as she absentmindedly ran her hand along the greenery they walked past.

 “Definitely.  Did you always live here though?  I mean I've seen you in the Citadel for a long time now but...”

 “Nah, my family is from Lestallum originally.  I came out here for school a couple of years ago, got offered a job, and decided to stay,” said Hera.

 “Really?  That’s awesome.”  Gladio’s interest had been piqued.  

 “Well, I for one am glad you ended up deciding to call Insomnia home,” said Gladio.  “And it's been a while since I've been out there but my sister loves Lestallum.  It’s a nice place.”

 “Yeah I miss it a lot sometimes, but I really do love it out here too,” said Hera.

 The sound of laughter and various groups of people talking cut through the air suddenly.  There was faint music playing somewhere in the distance and the sounds of splashing water filled Gladiolus’ ears.

 “Ah, we're almost there,” said Gladio.

 They walked along the path until the shore was finally in view.  Thankfully, the lakeside hadn't been very crowded for a weekday afternoon. They easily found a spot on the grass to sit close to the water, but far enough out that the ground wouldn't be wet.

 “Thank you,” said Hera as Gladio unfurled the blanket he had been carrying and laid it over the grass.

 Gladio crouched down just beside the blanket as Hera lowered herself down.  He remained in his spot, staring out over the clear water of the man-made lake, taking in the peaceful view.  He let his eyes wander back to Hera at his side.  Gladio met her curious gaze and a raised eyebrow.

 “Are you not gonna join me?” She asked as she gently pat the spot next to her.

 “Oh right,” Gladio snapped out of his daze, smiling shyly.

 He cleared his throat as he adjusted himself and sat down next to her.

 “See, the blanket is big enough for the both of us,” she smiled.  “And thanks for bringing it.  It totally slipped my mind.”

 “No problem,” Gladio smiled back. “It's my job to be prepared.”

 “Well aren't I lucky that you're so thoughtful?”  She said.

 “Thanks for inviting me out here, Gladio.”

 “Of course,” said Gladio. “I love being out here.  I mean when I can't leave the city, this is the next best thing Insomnia’s got to being out in nature.  And it's even better with friends.”

 “I wish I got that chance more often too,” Hera sighed.  “Can't really remember the last time I got to be somewhere pretty or peaceful that wasn't in the city.”

 “You know, there's this lake right outside the border in the mountains.  Like an actual Mother Nature-made lake...it’d be nice to go there again but I haven't had the chance in a while.”

 Gladio was really just speaking off the cuff.  Mostly to try and keep the conversation going, but as Gladio recalled his last trip and the cool air that whipped across his skin as he walked along the shore of a much bigger lake to a mountain view that couldn't ever compare to this, he realized he'd love to have someone else to share the experience with.

 “Y’know, maybe one of these days if we both have another day off…we could head up there,” he suggested as casually as he could.

 “Just cause you said you'd never really been before…”

 “I think I'd like that,” said Hera, a smile spreading across her face.  “I'd love to do this again.”

[noxianboxer-archived-blog]

SHIPPING INFO!   answer the following for your muse so people know how shipping works on your blog.  repost, don’t reblog.

WHAT’S YOUR OTP FOR YOUR MUSE?:

Well, its honestly hard to say. With an OC muse one’s often hard pressed to find a ship for their muse, especially when interacting with a lot of ‘canon’ muses. Lots of accusations can be thrown that way just because of it ya know?

plus most people i interact with tend to vanish or disappear and kinda...not talk to me anymore owo; so its hard to find that OTP. The closest I’ve got to an OTP for Canus is with @eciled‘s Riven haha.

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO RP WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING?:

Usuall the skies the limit, so long as both parties are fine with it. Thats just how I see it anyways. Fluff, smut, anything in between, its all good.

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?

Anything beyond seven to ten years is pushing it age gap wise for me. Once you get past that its hard for interests to meet up and natural chemistry to take its course.

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?:

In a manner of speaking, yes. What I want with a ship is something with chemistry. Theres something about my muse and someone elses that just clicks, its natural and not forced just for the sake of shipping. The same goals, the same ideals, same dream, favorite music, the list goes on and on. 

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY’RE CONSIDERED NS.FW?:

IMO Nudity on its own is really nothing to get all worked up about. We’re all adults in some way. We’ve all seen a donger. We’ve poked a tiddy. once people start putting things in other things n what not is when that labels gotta be slapped on it.

WHO ARE OTHER MUSES YOU SHIP YOUR MUSE WITH?:

Like I said before, having an OC, this is a loaded question. But if I had to name a few: CanusxRiven: though this is solely with Eciled’s riven. They’re two soldiers of Noxus who, despite having different endgames, truly want to see Noxus prosper and be as strong as it can be. Through this shared belief and trials by fire, it forged a wonderful connection not just as General and Soldier, but between two genuine people.

CanusxShyvana: This, this i have to be specific. this is not an OTP but a BROTP. @alasfuror’s Noxian!Shyvana and Canus are, in my mind, the broest of bros but not the type to say it out loud. They fight together. Spar together. Push each other to go beyond their previous limits while fighting for the same cause. Its a “Ride Together Die Together” type broship that just lights a fire in me ya know?

No others really truly come to mind as I’ve unfortunately yet to get my boy out there. Talk to people. Well, talk to people who stick around, haha.

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?

Preferably, yes. Granted of course I love for the natural build up and to come to that realization between the two muses that “I have feelings for this person”, but if my rp partner can see that, i don’t mind them coming to me and seeing if it could be developed further with actual planning.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU LIKE TO SHIP?:

I have a shipping problem. I will admit it. If something clicks between my muse an someone elses i latch on to it an go on about it for days. But over the years you get kinda burnt out on relationships in general, so, I’m mostly pretty chill on how often.

ARE YOU SHIP OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?:

Kinda inbetween? Near the start I’m always super hyped about the ship, going on an on an on even when I’m not supposed to like at work or when i should be sleeping. but then I just mellow out n its a nice casual conversation piece that i still have genuine interest you know?

ARE YOU MULTISHIP?:

Knowing my lack of self control I’m probably going to end up saying yes one day, but for right now, if Canus does end up in a serious relationship then I’d prefer a single ship. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?:

I have found in the LoL community its hard to find a ship thats more than just superficial or overly popular that I like. But I do have one and, yeah, its super popular an probably a super pleb choice, but i adore VixCaitlyn. its a whole opposites attract thing that I can super get behind.

WHAT IS YOUR NOTP?:

Most of the forced pairings from Riot like Garen and Katarina (they’re trying to kill each other all the time, how does that equal romantic feelings), ones that dont make sense in the slightest like ZacxRiven, but god i HATE rival ships that rip away the core aspects of the character simply for the ships n the lewds. Prime example that i know of is Kha’Zix and Rengar. yes, somehow, people interpret two lethal bloodthirsty hunters trying to stalk each other and consume their flesh/mount their head on a wall as “ooooo~ they love each other~” no. No they do not. they want each other dead. you can’t ignore the core personalities of the character just so you can go ‘now kiss’. go get your head checked. serious. =A=

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?:

Just ask. We can talk it out, plot stuff out, n see how things go, ya know? Not every relationship has to be for a ship after all.

TAGGED BY: @eciled, based best riven TAGGING: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh @alasfuror, @summoner-renzus. thats it. thats all i got. go on, be freeeeeeee

[legendofgrump]

For the ask meme- Snail: 12, 17, 50; Andy: 15, 20, 44; Rory: 1, 14, 26, 56; Cookie: 2, 29, 40; Lyar: 3, 7, 30, 45; Wolf: 14, 19, 24, 31; Ant: 43, 51; Gigi: 5, 23. Hope that's not too much, hahaha

never too many! I’m excited to go all in for this~ (I’ll put it under a cut because its soooo loooong haha)

Ask questions for my OCs!!

Snail

12. How would/does your character feel about roller coasters?

Haha Snail looooves roller coasters! They don’t get spooked by them at all really and they love to get onto them and scream super loud just for the fun of it. They almost always throw their arms up too. The only ones they don’t like are the ones that just go around in a bunch of circles (because it makes them feel super sick) and the boats that like go upside down and way too high up and shit because those are wild and SHOULDN’T EXIST.

17. Does your character have any irrational fears?

Those boat rides at amusement parks haha. Also they don’t particularly like elevators, especially glass ones. The way they move makes them feel a little...almost...lightheaded? And if they can see all the shit below them as it goes up it just makes it all worse. So it also kinda translates into a fear of heights, but it really only manifests in elevators. (Can you tell I’m talking from experience haha)

50. What is your favorite thing about your character?

Aww uh so much because they’re basically a self-insert haha. I mean, I really like their general laid-back aesthetic. And I really love how buff they are while still be soft and chubby. And I respect their confidence, even though it’s mostly outward and they have a lot of internal shit they need to work on haha.

Andy

15. What music genre would your character listen to?

Both on totally different ends of the spectrum: EDM and love songs! Andy really likes the heart and soul that goes into making love songs and of course they’re a hopeless romantic. But they also really just like the energy from EDM and its good to listen to when they’re trying to get things done and be productive!

20. What is the most surprising thing about your character?

Apparently they like EDM ;). But seriously I mean I’d have to say their origin I guess? I mean, it’s so hard to tell from how they act after they got socialized by their friends and (especially) Daniyal that they were made in a heavily capitalized industry that wanted them to be a living sex doll. And also all the abuse they faced in that time of their life, because they don’t see that it was abuse and so they don’t really seem “conventionally” affected by it. But if they told anyone what happened the other person would most likely be like “yo what the fuck” because stuff that happened then is Pretty Fucked Up.

44. What is your character proud of?

Andy is constantly proud of Daniyal!! The two of them are growing together all the time and they really love and respect how far he comes with conquering his fears and being better to himself and all. And after Zelda is born, they’re super proud of her too! Andy is very family-oriented so if there’s one thing they constantly talk about its their loved ones!

Rory

1. What is your character's biggest fear?

Some of these questions get real dark whoops. His biggest fear is honestly himself. Since he has the ability to see people’s death, but never really had the ability to come to terms with it, he struggles a lot with it. He doesn’t have any explanation for the ability, so he doesn’t know if he’s the one that triggers those events or if he has some ability to change it. And he’s also afraid of wasting that time he has with someone and trying to make every moment perfect, so when something goes wrong he feels like he failed.

14. What is the cutest thing your character has ever done?

When he was really little and lived with his Nana he used to hide under their kitchen table and considered that like his Fort. And he would hang out under there and play or make things and when his Nana walked by sometimes he’d pop out and surprise her with a big hug because he’s a big lovable boy. I think it’s really cute~ But he also calls Daniyal Daffodil which is a REALLY close second because G O D.

26. What is your favorite headcanon for your character?

Personally, it’s that he pierced his own ear with a cattle tag to make the other cows feel better about the fact that he had to put them on them too. When he first started farming cattle, he wanted them to know that they could trust him and that there was a sense of respect between him and all of them, so he felt like that if they were going to have to get tagged, then he might as well tag himself in an act of solidarity sorta. Haha he’s a big dweeb that loves his moo babies.

56. What's one of your character's quirks?

Well I mean he can see the moment people die that’s a pretty big quirk. But on a lighter note, since Rory can’t see he relies on his other senses obviously, but his favorite one is smell! He loves becoming familiar with smells! And he can 100% identify tons of things by their smell, like Daniyal or Andy (or most any of his friends honestly) and he even really likes the smell of cow, which probably isn’t that pleasant to most people.

Cookie

2. What is your character's favorite memory?

I think it’d be pretty hard for him to pick just one in particular, but anytime he worked in the kitchen with his mom would be something he looked back on fondly. No matter what, Cookie and his mom always bond and have a great time in the kitchen together and he finds cooking to be a very relaxing hobby anyway, so its always a fun, light, chill experience. Plus it’s just a really good time for them to talk and share stories and laugh with each other and it’s super good for both of them~

29. What would be your character's favorite food?

He’s definitely a baked goods boy~ I would think it’d probably be something like banana bread (his mom’s recipe because Of Course) because it seems like something he and his mom make together a lot. It’s probably a comfort food that he makes whenever he’s feeling down or when he wants to bring someone else’s mood up. And it always reminds him of home~

40. What would be your character's favorite school subject?

Cookie has a really good memory (unless he’s in Panic Mode) and he’s got a great knack for pneumonic devices so he’s actually really really good at history. But his FAVORITE subject was probably science, especially Biology/Zoology because he loves learning about animals. He’s not super science-minded, but he always loved learning things that would just make him go :O

Lyar

3. What is your character's least favorite memory?

Any kind of grooming his parents did to get him into the political realm. He hate hate hates formal dinner parties where he has to be nice and prim and proper with everyone. He doesn’t like Events or dances or anything where he has to wear attire for someone else. Not to say he doesn’t like to dress up, but he doesn’t like to wear it because someone expects him to or because if he doesn’t it’ll offend someone. He likes to do it because he wants to, y’know?

7. How does your character feel about their name?

Interesting...I feel like he likes it well enough. He’s kind of become numb to it, where he answers out of habit more than actually identifying with the name. But he doesn’t have any desire to change it, necessarily. Sometimes he’ll tell people different names when he introduces himself just because he’s a compulsive liar, but he never sticks to the same one and he just picks names off the top of his head not for any particular reason.

30. Would your character have any hobbies?

He really likes fashion!!! He loves seeing different ways of dress and style! He’s fascinated with makeup and jewelry too, just because they’re kind of like additional pieces to outfits. He likes to dress himself up, but he also really likes dressing other people and trying to make them look The Best. He’s extremely creative in this regard, too.

45. What would your character change about themselves?

He’d completely remove himself from the public eye, that’s for sure. He hates that everyone knows him as The Diplomat’s Son. He doesn’t want to be known and he sure as hell doesn’t want to be known for political affiliation. He prefers to be kind of faceless, just like an average someone that no one really bats an eye at.

Wolf

14. What is the cutest thing your character has ever done?

He wags his tail when he’s happy! And he’s actually very paternal, too. He’s very soft and loving around little kids (especially his little siblings) whereas he’s usually kind of cold and aloof in an attempt to not get anyone too close to him emotionally. But he will 100% go out of his way to protect, care for, and make sure little kids are happy. Which isn’t really like a Specific Thing he’s done, but it’s still really really cute.

19. What is your character's deepest, darkest secret?

Probably Fang. Not that he doesn’t necessarily want people to know about them, but the wound that losing them made is still so fresh and makes him so vulnerable that he doesn’t like to talk about it. He doesn’t like the very real possibility that people can use his loss and his feelings toward Fang to manipulate him and he’d much rather deal with the heartbreak and trauma on his own than risk opening up to someone and having it bite him in the ass, if that makes sense.

24. What prejudices does your character have

He actually has an extreme disposition of falling in love with vampires. He is pretty much almost exclusively attracted to vampires and he honestly couldn’t tell you why, probably wouldn’t even make the connection if no one pointed it out to him, it’s just his personal preference.

31. What social media would your character use?

Wolf would probably feel most at home on tumblr. It’s like a place where outcasts don’t have to be outcasts so.

Ant

43. What is your character insecure about?

Their level of usefulness. Ant very much measures their worth in how useful other people perceive them to be. If they feel like they don’t provide anything to a situation their brain starts to bombard them with insecurities about why they’re even there or what their purpose even is, so they feel much better when they have a sense of belonging.

51. What is your character's favorite animal?

Ant is more of an insect person soooo unsurprisingly ants. If they had to pick an “actual animal” probably rabbits. They like wild rabbits because they just eat grass and shit and are kinda skittish and fluffy. But ants are definitely the preferred haha.

Gigi

5. Describe your character's dream date.

Gigi’s dream date is Definitely Not With a Girl (totally with a girl) where she gets taken out for dinner and dancing. Gigi LOVES dancing so much, especially swing dance. (I’m probably mixing eras at this point but who caaares.) And she also loves comfy diners and that cliched sharing a milkshake trope because it’s Super Romantic. And then she’d love to finish it out with a movie at the drive in where they could hold hands and maybe (gasp) cuddle in the comfort of their car while they watch some romantic drama movie.

23. Is your character morally gray or black or white?

Well she’d like to believe she’s always morally on the Right Side. But she’s also fairly bigoted because of her background. I mean, she’s from a time period of active segregation and heavy, heavy racism and homophobia/transphobia (even more so than today yikes) and she’s a very socialized young white girl, so she’s conditioned to believe a lot of things that aren’t actually good to believe. It takes a lot of learning for her to even get on the right track (and a lot of self-discovery) but she does work toward correcting herself as she becomes more educated. But yeah, she’s definitely morally gray in that respect.

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Okay so I had an idea for a Mystery Skulls Animated fic. It has been on my mind for some time and I wanted to share it with you all. But when I went to write it… It wasn’t a pretty sight. It wasn’t BAD, but it wasn’t all that great either as I’m severely out of practice.

Plus my motivation for it died faster than the hype for No Man’s Sky.

So I’m just going to post a detailed summary of what the story was going to be like and let someone else try their hand at it. I’m also going to tag my favorite writers/drabblers/idea farmers/AU crafters from this fandom so they see this in case they want to adopt it. Let me do that now.

@phantoms-lair @ectoimp @providentially-demonic @squigglydigglydoo

I’ll leave it under the cut so people can be spoiler free in case someone does come along to write this out. Feel free to ask questions if something doesn’t make sense! Here we go, a detailed, yet slightly silly, summary of my almost fic: ‘Under Your Skin’.

So firstly, yes. This IS a ‘Arthur becomes something other than human’ fic. And yes, I think the creature I picked has been done before. HOWEVER! I’m hoping the way it happens and my original variation on said creature will be different enough to be interesting.

To begin with, some background. This takes place about a year after the hypothetical reunion of the gang and Lewis no longer wants to kill Arthur. They’ve all been through some therapy both individually and as a group (Mystery knows a guy/elf who does this) so the majority of their issues/insecurities have been worked out. Their bonds of friendship and/or love haven’t been better.

But instead of focusing on the romance between Lewis and Vivi (and MAYBE Arthur), I wanted this story to focus on the friendship between Mystery and Arthur. Like how that he’s now able to talk freely to them and so they get along. My main example was Mystery actually preferring Arthur’s choices in music over Vivi’s and Lewis’.

Anywhos, onto the plot! The gang receives a call for a job on the coast to help retrieve a stolen magical item. The client, a woman, refuses to give many details until they meet in person. Vivi, being curious, insists that they go. So they load up the van and head for the coastal Texan city/town of BLANK. The opening of my original draft was towards the end of this trip with Arthur and Mystery up front enjoying some music while Lewis was in the back with Vivi as she napped.

And that was as far as I got. The rest is what I had planned out in my head. If you do plan on picking this fic up you can go into as much or as little detail as you want based off my ramblings. No names or physical descriptions were ever chosen for the OC’s so go wild. Onwards!

They reach The Town of Ongoing Events late at night/early in the morning and sleep at a hotel for several hours. (Maybe have Mystery curl up against Arthur’s side because Lewis and Vivi are cuddling?) They then head out to the address provided by their mystery client.

Mrs. Plot Catalyst lets them in and they exchange some pleasantries. She then explains that the item that had been stolen was her Seal Cloak, exposing her as a selkie. Vivi begins to go on a rant about selfish men being jerkwads and demands to know who her husband is because in all selkie lore that’s who would steal her cloak. Seal Lady, a bit bemused, calls her husband in from the garage and after a brief misunderstanding (read: Vivi threatening the man with the painful things her pet Kitsune or Wraith boyfriend could do to him) they find out it WASN’T her husband who stole the cloak. Mr. Nice Guy actually accepts her for who she is and didn’t mind her leaving for months at a time.

What happened was a friend of Seal Husband stumbled across them when she was returning from one of her trips and asked to borrow the cloak. Friend of Seal Husband was Very Rich™ and said that he wanted to study the cloak for the benefit of all magical/supernatural beings. As the couple knew this guy well and believed him trustworthy, they agreed. That was several months ago and they hadn’t heard from him since. They had tried to contact him but all attempts failed for one reason or another.

So the MS gang and Seal Couple sit down for a plan of action. They decide that Vivi and Arthur are to go Mr. Wealthy’s office building to try and talk to him. Mystery and Lewis can’t come as this guy is super into the magical and has wards that would alert him when a magical being enters the premises. They get all upset at first but Vivi calms Lewis while Arthur reassures Mystery.

The Blue Temper Problem and Yellow String Bean head to I’m So Rich I Can Buy An Impoverished Country’s office and give the secretary some tripe about magical being conservation which immediately gains them an audience with him. They meet with Rolling In Money and he greets them kindly. The duo explain that they heard through the magical grapevine that he was doing something to help out mystical creatures. With a wide smile Mr. Potentially The Antagonist But It’s Not Clear Yet begins to explain.

It started with his Tragic Backstory™ when he was a boy. In the woods near his home town lived a family of (unspecified sentient magical creatures) that he befriended and knew for years. As they didn’t possess the ability to disguise themselves as humans or animals they stayed away from humans except for Child Version Of Mr. Rich. One day, he heard a loud commotion from his friends’ home and hid in some nearby bushes to see what was going on. A group of humans dressed in strange clothes/armor had his friends tied up. They spouted some BS about human superiority and purity and then executed the family.

Mr. Depressing Past grew up with the incident weighing on his mind and vowed to try and help magical creatures from then on. He tried to find the mysterious group as well but had no luck. He used his fortune to help protect creatures by financing relocation's and national parks where magical creatures could live semi-peacefully. But he felt like it wasn’t enough.

It wasn’t until he stumbled across the wife of his Very Good And Close Friend™ (at this point Arthur and Vivi are like ????????) shedding her seal skin to look human that he got an idea. What if he can find a way to copy the selkies’ ability to shed their skin like a cloak for other species that couldn’t disguise themselves? Then they could hide in plain sight!

So Mr. Good Intentions asks to borrow the cloak to study its magic and see if it could be copied. They agree and he begins his research. It takes several months and he has a process but he needs some further help from a specific book found only at Shangri-La. So he goes there and seeks council from the monk mystics and yeti that live there.

He learns that while he can’t make it so living creatures can shed their skin, nor can he give them human skins to hide in (ewww), there is another way. He can take the remains of a creature (fur, scales, bones, claws, teeth, ect.), turn it into a wearable item, and magically bond it to a human. The human then gains the ability to take the form of that creature by simply donning or shedding that skin like a selkie. BUT!!!! It will only work properly if he gets permission from the departed spirit of the dead creature(which he does through a ritual). If they don’t get permission they properly dispose of the remains according to the spirit's’ wishes. Also some spirits will be super picky about who bonds with their wearable item so the process won’t work with some random person they must be C H O S E N . And while many creatures have natural defenses, he decides to add minor elemental abilities to the bonding spell so they can better protect themselves. The best part is that this is hereditary so any offspring will also have this ability so in a couple generations most of that species will be able to do so.

Mr. Rich asks if they want a demonstration. Vivi is like HECK YES because despite being wary of this guy this is a major breakthrough in magic that could change a lot. So he takes the white fur scarf he was wearing this entire time and sticks his hands into the hidden pockets on each end. He seems to blur for a second before appearing as a seven and a half foot yeti from that one Mummy movie. He then makes a little crystal of ice in his paws to demonstrate the elemental add on(only $9.99 extra if you pre-order now).

Mr. Yeti Man returns to normal by simply imagining removing his hands from the pockets and offers to give the two a tour of his home the next day where he converts the remains into Cloaks™. They agree and skadoodle back to Seal Base Alpha and tell the others what they’ve learned. Mystery is unsure how to feel as this IS a good thing and Mr. Ice Ice Baby even went so far to receive permission from departed spirits so not to disrespect them. BUT he seems to have also stolen from his friends AND giving humans these kinds of powers can lead to all kinds of problems. So they decide to allow Vivi and Arthur to go alone again BUT!!! Lewis and Mystery will be hanging out at the edge of the property in case something goes wrong. Mystery gives a token of some kind to them both that they just have to press in case they need help and he’ll know.

The next day Arthur and Vivi head out and arrive at a Very Nice Estate™ that has a mansion and huge lawn and fountain and everything. Mr. Corporate Cryptid invites them in a guides them to his underground labs/workshops. There are scientists/magicians and security guards going about their stuff as they receive the tour. They meet some important people to the process like his second in command, tailor/taxidermist, and head spell-caster. At one point they are passing glass cases of Cloaks™ and Arthur just STOPS in front of one. It seems to be an actual cloak/cape unlike some of the other wearable items(Vivi scoffs at a pair of Jackalope fur Bunny Slippers). The upper half is black and gold feathers while the lower half is beige fur. He STARES at it for a minute, as if it’s calling to him, until Vivi snaps him out of it.

After a bit, Vivi feigns curiosity and asks what happened to the original cloak he based his research off. The Abominable CEO Man happily states he returned it to its owner and even gave them some monetary compensation. Vivi then just GOES OFF at that and says ‘Uh, yeah, no you didn’t’ but not as polite. Mr. Rich is both confused and slightly horrified as he hears this and brings them to confront his second in command as he was the one he put in charge of that.

After trying to play innocent at Mr. Rich’s and Vivi’s interrogation, SURPRISE! He betrays his boss and magically binds them. The security force begins to non-lethally subdue the workers that weren’t in on this as The Actual Villain begins his Evil Monologue™  He used to be part of the evil group that Mr. Rich mentions in his Tragic Backstory™ but ‘They didn’t think big enough’ for him. So he left them, infiltrated this project, and converted others to his cause. His goal? To make an army of human/mystical creature hybrids using the Cloaks™ and TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!!1!!ONE!!

Jerkwad McGee takes the magical alarm tokens from Arthur and Vivi and locks them up with Mr. Rich and the workers that weren’t part of his evil posse. He then begins to try and force the bonding with the Cloaks™ on his followers as none of them were ever chosen due to their evil intentions. Hours pass and the sun starts to set. The trapped people are trying to come up with a plan to escape while Lewis and Mystery get antsy.

Alrighty gang, this is where we enter the territory that I haven’t finalized yet. Most of it will be kind of vague so get a bit creative if you decide to write this out.

Mystery loses patients and he and Lewis barge in. They fight off the guards but somehow give Bad Guy the means to finish the forced bonding process. Meanwhile the prisoners somehow escape. The workers all leave the property, the grunts are all unconscious, and Mr. Rich in his Yeti form and the MS gang confront Antagonist out on the lawn. Bad Guy then pulls out a Cloak™(in the form of a helmet) he’s been hiding made from the remains of a REALLY REALLY BAD CREATURE™ and forces the bond onto himself. He transforms into the beast and goes berserk.

I was originally going to have him be the Red Bull from the Last Unicorn, but that’s a fire elemental and wouldn’t work with what I have planned. So make him some sort of really powerful and feared monster that’s resistant to fire and ice but weak to electricity.

Mystery is like ‘OH SHIZNIZZLLE!!!’ and hops to the top of the mansion and creates a barrier/illusion surrounding the entire estate so the beast won’t escape and authorities won’t come to investigate. Lewis and Yeti Guy fight the Beast on the lawn while Arthur and Vivi hang back towards the house.

It doesn’t go well.

When things start to look even worse than they already are, Arthur feels a pull leading into the mansion. Vivi doesn’t notice him leave as he follows it. He comes to the glass cases room to find it trashed from Lewis and Mystery’s fight earlier. The calling gets stronger and it leads him to the Cloak™ he spaced out in front of earlier. He hesitantly picks it up and wonders what to do when he gets a strong sense of ‘This is RIGHT’ and ‘You can help stop this’ coming from it. With the sounds of battle in the background Arthur takes a shaky breath.

He puts on the cloak.

Back at the brawl, Yeti Guy and Lewis are injured while Mystery is straining to keep the barrier intact when a fierce cry rings out. From the mansion flies a griffon that has a metal forelimb and golden feathers puffed up in a strange fashion on its head. Electricity forms around it and it fires a HUGE lightning bolt at the beast, harming it. Yeti Guy immediately recognizes the color scheme from an unclaimed Cloak™ but is like ‘The Elemental Add Ons aren’t THAT strong wth???’ and Mystery is like ‘A Royal Griffon?? But it’s aura…? ARTHUR?!?!’.

Pausing the plot for a second to explain! Royal Griffons are something I made up. In this universe of MSA, griffons come in many subspecies. The most common being eagle/lion, there are others like hawk/lynx or raven/siberian cat. Basically any bird/feline combo of almost equal proportionate size. But then there are ones that have the body parts of OTHER mythical creatures. These are Royal Griffons. Some examples are a phoenix and house cat, or a condor and nemean lion. Arthur here happens to be a Thunderbird (think an oversized golden eagle with lightning powers) and mountain lion mix.

So Griffon!Arthur joins the battle and with the beast’s weakness to electricity they manage to defeat it, remove the Cloak™ from Bad Dude, and save the world! Mystery drops the barrier and rushes up to Arthur and begins to checking him over to make sure he’s okay. Arthur insists he is and ‘I was just running on instincts I guess’ so Mystery slaps him upside the head and begins lecturing him on being such an idiot and ‘WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? YOU COULD HAVE BEEN HURT!’ and ‘DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO YOURSELF THIS IS PERMANENT!’ and ‘THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CAVE ALL OVER AND I COULDN’T STOP IT THIS IS MY FAULT AGAIN!’

And Arthur is all ‘HECK NAH this was MY CHOICE and it FEELS right for some reason and what about Lewis he could have been hurt and I’m not panicking so you need to stop panicking or else I’m going to start panicking and OHMYGOSH I WAS FLYING SO HIGH IN THE AIR I HATE HEIGHTS THAT WAS TERRIFYING!’.

Vivi then grabs them by the ear/feathers and gets them to chill. Yeti Guy helps Arthur through the process of taking off the Cloak™ (he just has to imagine his human self doing so). They go back inside, retrieve Seal Lady’s cloak and all return to Seal Base Alpha to explain all that happened. Yeti Guy invites them back in the morning so he put some final protections on Arthur’s new cloak so they head back to the hotel for some well deserved R&R.

Also not sure if this should be mentioned during the explanation scene or in the morning, but Yeti Guy mentions that the spirit of the royal griffon said he would only bond with ‘a loyal follower of a ruler’. Arthur then snarks ‘So a Kingsmen than?’ earning groans and a slap to the head.

During the night, Mystery and Arthur get some time alone to talk things out. Arthur admits that he does feel a bit nervous about being a griffon now but not as much as he would have before they all had therapy. Mystery admits he’s simply afraid for Arthur because Arthur is going to be alive for a LONG time now(several hundred years) and the human somehow managed to worm his way under his skin (T-T-T-TITLE DROP) and considers him a best friend. They hug and whatnot, promise to always be supportive and there for each other and then head to sleep.

Not sure if the story should end there or include Yeti Guy’s extra protection spells and maybe a scene of Mystery helping Arthur out with his new body.

But that’s the end of Under Your Skin! Hope you enjoyed reading this summary! Again, feel free to ask any questions! Let me know if you plan on writing this out or just plan on playing in this sandbox I created! Peace!