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oh iâm having major sunghoon thoughts rn đ« đ«
#oh MAN#CHELSEA U FREAK UR PUTTING THOUGHTS IN MY HEAD#(affectionate)#BECAUSE???#i want to write hoon as so sweet and soft#BUT HES SO!!!!?????#yeah heâs nasty#def into biting and spiting#quietly adding notes to my google docs#i WILL do something with these thoughts#rest assured#josephine for you too#someone get your mans from my head#ION WANT HIM (i do. so badly)#enhypen#enha!me#sunghoon hard thoughts
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Bold and Breathless - Natalie Scatorccio | One Shot
Summary: When hunting with Natalie turns into a game of who's the better shooter, you find yourself kissing her on a whim of confidence (basically just a rewrite of that scene between Natalie and Travis, except it's you taking his place).
Warnings: Kissing, Swearing, Talks/Descriptions of Periods.
A/N: All characters are 18+ by default. Implied afab!reader, but can be interpreted however you want. Also, this is my first post about Yellowjackets, and I've had this drafted in my Google Docs for, like... almost a year, so enjoy!
Word Count: 2300+
Your finger teased the trigger of the rifle in your arms while your pupils flickered about the forest, taking in the scenery and what it carried. All you could see was the lush life of greenery and trees, but when it came to animals of any kind, the signs of them were few and far between. The plush of your cheek used the wooden buttstock as its personal resting place as you gripped the outstretching barrel of the weapon, and you could feel the presence of Natalie right behind you. Although her existence reminded you that you weren't alone, it only increased your embarrassment, due to the fact that you and her were competing against each other, for the sake of making the act of hunting less melancholic.
It wasn't often that you allowed your patience to waver. Though, after a moment longer with nothing showing itself as a feasible target, you quietly huffed and lowered the rifle down, as you deflated into the curved tree you used as your own personal perch. Frustration bloomed, like a wave of heat washing over you, and Natalie noticed your attitude, when she approached you from your left and sighed knowingly as she crinkled the piece of paper she held between her fingers. "Ah, giving up makes sense," she muttered. Her voice was low, which emphasized the raspiness of her natural tone, and you slowly turned your head to meet her eyes with a deadpan that was directed towards her. "You're too far behind to ever catch up."
You turned your body and rested your back up against the tree as you continued to stare at her. She held a cocky smirk on her lips, and although you wanted to show your frustration towards her egotistical nature, you couldn't bring yourself to say anything close to a quip. All you could do was shrug your shoulders and look down at the rifle you cradled in your arms. "Is saying that I'm on my period a valid excuse for my suckiness right now?" you questioned thoughtfully, your eyebrows furrowing in wonder.
"Nope," Natalie replied, her lips popping the 'P' in the word she spoke. You gave her what you could only describe as a pout in response to her denial, and she mockingly frowned at you, but there was still that added affection you could sense coming from the action. "We're synced up, so whatever you're feeling, I'm probably feeling it too," she stated, which made your features scrunch up into a grimace, hating the concept of periods as a whole. The Midol you took in the morning lessened the intense cramps you always got on the first day. You made sure to give your hunting partner one too when she first woke up this morning.
She seemed awfully chipper for someone who was bleeding from the inside, though.
You were a little envious of her.
You let out an almost mute groan when the corkscrew of a cramp spread throughout your lower abdomen. The singular pill clearly hadn't done much for your annoying symptoms, and Natalie seemed to recognize that when her eyes glanced down to the rifle in your arms. She noted the way you clutched it tighter for a moment, which caused your muscles to tense, before you eventually loosened your hold on the gun and let out a fleeting huff that conveyed whatever discomfort you were feeling had passed.
"Where's Travis?" you asked unconsciously, suddenly moving on from the earlier topic you and she shared, while you settled the rifle down and leaned it up against the bark beside you. "He's not experiencing debilitating cramps right now. He should be doing this shit," you muttered grumpily, which earned a chuckle from the blonde, as she stepped forward slightly, lessening the distance between the two of you.
"I, uh... kinda just wanted it to be us this time," Natalie muttered, her voice quiet. You lifted your eyes to connect them with her own, and while she stared at you through her lashes, fidgeting with the piece of paper in her hands, you felt your stomach flutter with an appreciative sensation. One that filled you with warmth and excitement, rather than the usual discomfort you had been feeling for the majority of the day. "He's... somewhere, doing... something." She brought her hand up and waved it carelessly, and although the statement was somewhat worrisome, you laughed.
It was a sound that brought a grin to Natalie's cheeks, when she lifted her chin to level her gaze with your own. You shook your head in amusement, appreciating the comical nature, whether or not she intended for it to be such, as you leaned down to blindly grab the barrel of the rifle. "That's romantic," you mused, the tone of your voice containing a gentleness to it that conveyed to the girl in front of you that you appreciated her intentions. You settled the gun in your arms after a moment, and she watched you sheepishly as you pushed away from the tree and moved in close to her, creating an irrevocable display of intimacy that caused her breath to catch in her throat, while her pupils flickered down to glance at your lips. "Guess we can call this a date."
Natalie felt her stomach flutter when you shifted slightly to traverse forward. Your lips almost touched her own in the movement, but you managed to keep the moment from happening when you passed her by and continued on with the intention of finding another area to hunt. She felt warmth ease its way up her neck and onto her cheeks as she followed you soon after, and while she watched you like a hawk â flustered and shocked by your boldness â you shared the same sentiment towards yourself. Your own skin was hot, and you only hoped that it didn't visibly mark you with the emotion of embarrassment and surprise towards your own actions, which portrayed confidence you didn't even realize you had.
Though luckily, she didn't see your self-assured attitude shatter into two.
ââââââââââââââââââââââââ
You could feel the grass brush against the bare skin of your arms while you laid on the forest floor. You cradled the rifle in your palms, the barrel of the weapon settled against the moss-covered log you used as a perch, while Natalie's sitting form lingered to your left. She watched you intently as you focused on an unsuspecting gopher. The little creature chewed on a piece of brush, and just as your finger eased down onto the trigger, you heard the vibration of a sharp click emit from the gun, signifying that no bullet lied in the chamber. Immediately, your head perked up with an expression of dumbfounded confusion lining your features, and you pulled your focus away from the iron sights, as you brought your hand down to tug the lever.
You were greeted with the vacant space that usually contained some sign of ammunition. "What the fuck..." your lips parted in shock, just as you heard Natalie giggle from beside you. Her laughter caused you to shift your body and look over at her amused state, and it didn't take long before she lifted her hand up to show you the bullet that was meant to be sitting in the chamber of the rifle. "You fuckin' cheater!" you quietly exclaimed, while an open-mouthed grin formed on your cheeks. You gawked at her, a feeling of amazement swirling within your chest towards her lighthearted joke. She bit her lip to try and suppress her own amusement towards your reaction, but it was clear as day that she thought what she had done was hilarious.
"All is fair in love and war," Natalie told you, though you could only furrow your eyebrows in response to her statement, as you pushed yourself up from your lain position and sat on the back of your heels. Your eyes flickered about her face, taking in her pallid features earnestly, but your own expression made her think you were offended by her actions, especially when you didn't put in the effort to respond. It only caused her comical nature to dwindle slightly, as she rolled the bullet into her palm and closed her fingers around it, creating a fist that protected the piece of ammunition. "I had to come up with a way to get you to lose," she explained sheepishly, after a moment, "I can't let you win."
"You can't let me win?" you repeated, your tone completely lighthearted and pertaining no malice. You shook your head dismissively, still amused by the plan she had gone with in order to prevent you from having a victory. "I see how it is," you uttered, though the statement was more so directed towards yourself, as you shifted closer to her and attempted to grab her wrist that was connected to the hand that held the bullet. However, just as your fingers brushed against her skin, she pulled her arm away from you, which forced your eyes to flicker away from her fist and back up to her, meeting her gaze. "You not gonna let me have the bullet back?" you questioned her.
Natalie shook her head silently, and her quiet response forced a subtle groan from you that sounded more like a low whine. The sound automatically amused the blonde in turn, and just as she let her guard down to bellow a laugh at your feigned defeat, you shot your hands forward and grabbed her wrist with one â keeping it from retreating, as your other squeezed between her curled fingers and snatched the bullet from her grasp. "Hey!" she called, but you had already shuffled away from her and clutched the singular piece of munition to your chest, staring at her as though you were some feral squirrel who had found their prized acorn.
"Don't 'hey' me," you retorted with a giggle, as Natalie pushed herself up onto her knees to crawl towards you. Her gaze had suddenly darkened, like she was on a mission to take back what she saw as hers, which forced a nervous laugh to slip from your lips, as your grip around the bullet tightened.
"Give me the bullet," she told you.
"Hell no." You shook your head in response, and Natalie rolled her eyes at your answer, her hands shifting to rest against the ground to keep herself steady. Her palms sat on either side of your body, which had lessened the proximity between the two of you, and you only realized such when she let out a breath that gently hit against the skin of your nose. All sense of amusement vanished from you at the recollection, and she shared a similar expression of surprise when her pupils fluttered down to take in the finer details of your face. She didn't push away from you, however. And you took her lack of repression as a sign to act on the impulse you felt nagging away at you.
Before you could truly dictate whether or not it was a bad idea, you raised your hand up to gently take hold of Natalie's jaw. Your fingers lightly squeezed her face, as you pulled her down to mold your lips against her own. Your eyes closed tightly as she moaned against your mouth, and you felt a surge of anxiety suddenly flourish through your stomach, which caused you to pull back from her, acknowledging the boundary you had trespassed without her consent. "I'm sorry, Natâ" Your attempt to apologize to her was swiftly cut off, when she lifted her palm up and wrapped it around your neck to tug you back into her.
Natalie initiated the kiss that time, and you felt the nervousness the moment brought you slowly fade away. You melted into her, internally appreciating the way the heel of her palm lightly pressed against the column of your throat, as her fingers kept a light grasp of your jawline. It forced your head to nudge into the bark of the tree that you leaned up against. But you didn't mind it, as she moved to straddle you without you fully realizing it. When the weight of her body rested on your lap, you moaned into her mouth without warning and moved your hands down to knead her hips while you tugged her closer, holding them with a firmness that she seemed to appreciate when she squeezed your skin.
The both of you got lost in the moment, and only when a distant crackle of wildlife sounded off in the distance, did you and Natalie part from each other. You let out a gasp, one that conveyed you had been in need of air for a good while, and she made a similar sound as she dropped her hand from your neck and planted it against your collarbone to brace herself, all while her other mindlessly moved up to rest against the tree beside your head. Your eyes fluttered open shortly after, blissed out and baffled from what had happened, and when your gaze eventually met with her own, her lips were parted, but a giddy grin was apparent while she stared down at you.
"You're⊠a lot bolder than I thought."
Her statement carried a tone of endearment to it. And all you could do in response was sheepishly shrug, as if you didn't know what had come over you. Truly, you didn't. Maybe it was the wilderness that encouraged you to live without worry and the fear of being dragged down by your natural shyness. Maybe it was simply her that forced another side of you to come out. One that was carefree and willing to do whatever without the concern of getting in trouble. Whatever it was, you liked it, and it was clear that she did too. Especially when her eyes roved over your form one last time, before she eventually pulled herself away from you.
It was an action that caused butterflies to flourish throughout your stomach, while she tugged you up to your feet and pulled you along, as though she hadn't just been on top of you and stolen your breath away.
Give me your thoughts/requests! Thanks for reading! <3
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kids on christmas eve | gojo satoru x reader
available on wattpad
cover by me
summary: you learn about what happened with geto suguru and make him talk to you about it
about reader: gender neutral, relationship to gojo is unclear but they're close, on a first name basis + implied to be romantic
warnings: sad (if i did my job right), mild cursing, spoilers for jjk 0 + gojo's past/hidden inventory/star plasma vessel arc
notes: i know this is really out of season bc christmas has long passed but its for the plot lol as u prob know dec 24th is an important date
anyways i prob could've edited more but tbh i just wanted to post it already lmao hope its not cringe cuz i didn't shower to finish it (avg jjk degenerate) also im angry this was correctly formatted in google docs but tumblr ruined it and i cant b bothered to reread it under the new formatting so srry if theres smth wrong
"Gojo-sensei, that's not fair!"
Itadori had his bottom lip stuck out, his arms crossed tightly and his feet stomping against the snow.
"Yeah, come on!" Kugisaki agreed, mitten-clad hands full of the cold ammunition. "Turn it off, will you?"
You looked over to where Satoru stood. The snowballs that floated around him made it a little hard to see, but you could still tell his face was like it always was: smiling, the only deviation from its usual state being the pink on his pale nose. The rosy shade was just like his tongue when he stuck it out.Â
"Come and make me," he taunted.
"Why, you little..." Kugisaki grumbled. "Okay, Itadori, Formation B!"
"Roger!" Itadori yelled back.
The pair performed a number of flashy poses--as if they were trying to imitate something they'd seen in a cartoon--and before you knew it, they were charging at Satoru from two sides, arms fully loaded and wound back with mounds of snow. But it seemed Satoru knew it before you, because he just tsked--didn't even bother catching the snowballs, just let them fall apart against his forcefield.
"Gojo-sensei!" the two groaned in unison.
"You're no fun!" Itadori complained.
"It's not supposed to be fun," Satoru countered with a playful shrug. "Just because it's a snow day doesn't mean you can stop training."
"But... but... But what about...!" Kugisaki sputtered, a vein popping out of her forehead as she struggled to come up with an argument. You could almost see the lightbulb pop up above her head as she pounded her fist in her palm. "But what about global warming?"
"Yeah!" Itadori followed, not thinking. "What about--Wait, what?" Scratching his head, he tilted his head at Kugisaki.
"It could totally be the last day it ever snows, you know," she claimed matter-of-factly, her hands on her hips. "And I would so hate you forever."
Itadori's mouth formed a silent "Oh!" as Kugisaki elaborated. Nodding his head in accord, he added on: "Yeah, Gojo-sensei. I don't think I could respect you after that."
Satoru put on a dramatic pout at that last sentence, but he soon returned to a smile and gave in with a sigh. "Alright, just this once."
You could see the two students loudly jumping for joy from behind him as he made his way towards where you were sitting. You smiled warmly at the sight.
"They really are something," you commented.
"Tell me about it," Fushiguro grumbled, leaning boredly against the wooden armrest of the park bench. He observed quietly as his friends built a snowman in the distance until Satoru's towering shadow prompted him to look up.
"Megumi!" Satoru called, his voice high-pitched and sing-song. "Go play with the others."
The boy scowled in response. "I'm too old for that stuff."
"You think you're old?" Satoru challenged. He pointed at his hair, at the white color it's always been. "What does that make me?" He hunched over and put his hand on his lower spine, feigning back pain. "C'mon, listen to your teacher. Let me sit next to Y/N."
Fushiguro squinted at him for a moment before finally getting up."Gross."
You chuckled, watching the boy begrudgingly drag his feet through the snow towards his classmates, but your laughter hitched as you felt something push against you. Turning to your right, you saw his lanky teacher. At first the sensation didnât make sense, considering that there was a considerable amount of distance between the two of you, but you soon recalled his defense measures and the complaints they had garnered.Â
Not noticing your discomfort, he stared up at the cloudy sky for a moment before turning to you.Â
"Are you cold?" he asked.
You shook your head. "I should be asking you," you replied, referencing his lack of winter wear. "Why didn't you wear a coat?"
"Well, it would ruin my outfit, of course," he stated perkily. He wore a confident smirk on his face, but looking closer you could tell he was shivering beneath the thin fabric of his uniform.
Taking a deep breath in disapproval, you reached for your scarf. "Here," you offered, unraveling the knot youâd made earlier. But when you reached to wrap it around his neck, you felt the resistance of his invisible force.
His smile eased. "It's okay," he obliged, sniffling. "Thank you, though."
You hesitated before tying your scarf back around yourself, the garment's chunky knit giving it enough volume to nearly cover your mouth and even your ears, but you could still hear his teeth chatter. You searched your surroundings, looking past the dead snow-adorned trees and following the wet pavement until you spotted something in the distance: a cafe, just down the street from where you were.
"I'll get you some hot chocolate," you decided, standing up and brushing the snowflakes off your coat.
"You don't--"
"Shh!" You pointed your finger threateningly at him before turning around to begin your walk. "Somehow you've bent logic so far that you'll end up sick if you don't drink it. So just take this as an excuse to have more sweets, alright?"
You were just about to make your first step away from the bench, but then you felt a firm grip wrap around your arm. "Wait, Y/N--"
Before he could finish his protest, he was cut off by a particularly firmly packed snowball striking him right in the middle of his face, highlighting his nose with the sparkling white powder and dislodging his blindfold. With his cerulean eyes now exposed, he turned his head and saw the three of them: Itadori pointing and cackling on the left, Kugisaki doing the same keeled over in the middle, and even Fushiguro, on the right, had the ends of his mouth perked up as he shook his head hopelessly.
You saw Satoru grin at the picture, but it was contradictory to what you were feeling. He had let go of your arm, but not by relaxing his hand--you felt him, as if brick by brick, build that invisible wall right back up between you, seemingly stronger than ever. You could still feel it, even as he walked away towards the trio, tying his blindfold back on. Sighing, you sat back down and watched him make snow angels with the others, his head blending right in with the scene as he drowned himself in the blinding whiteness. With his blindfold now fully on, you could only imagine what it was like when he smiled with his eyes.
***
"I can't feel my toes."
Twirling her brown hair between her fingers, Shoko spun around in her chair to face the doorway.
She darted her eyes between you and Satoru for a second before a calm, amused expression painted her face. Despite knowing it was his voice she heard--though it was more nasal than usual--she directed her question at you: "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I told him to wear thicker socks!" you exclaimed, your arms crossed in frustration. "But look! Show her."
Rolling his eyes behind his blindfold, Satoru pulled the fabric on his thighs, lifting the hems of his pants so that they revealed his ankles. They were barely covered by the cheap red and green striped polyester; it was the kind of thing you'd spot on sale in packs at the checkouts during Christmas season.
âSo I forgot⊠Big deal!â
âI could fill a library with all the things you forgot,ââ you complained. âI mean, what are you, a fish?â
Unfazed, Shoko chuckled. "You're telling me the strongest--the one powerful enough to rival the King of Curses--was defeated by a case of frostbite?"
The both of you responded simultaneously: "Exactly." "No!"
"I was not defeated," he insisted, earning a glare from you. "Barely a scratch. She's just being dramatic."
"I am not--"
"Is there a reason you can't heal yourself?" Shoko interrupted, now turned to Satoru.
He pointed his thumb in your direction accusingly. "She wanted to come here, not me."
"Wait," you interjected. "You can heal yourself?â
âOf course, duh.â
âSince when?"
"High school," he answered dismissively, wiping his nose with his sleeve. "See, look!"
He pointed down to his shoes--through the leather of his dress boots, you could see the movement of his wriggling toes.Â
You held your hands up to hide his feet from your sight. âEw, stop that--" you grimaced. "Why didn't you tell me?"
He shrugged, smirking smugly. "My talent should go without saying."
You sighed. âYour talent to bewilder me?â
"You know it,â he asserted proudly. "But anywaysâCan I go now?"
Before you could even answer, you could sense him already moving in your peripheral vision.
"Satoru, wait--"
"If you don't believe I'm fine, I'll show you my toes," he threatened, halfway out the door.
"Satoru--!"
"Go on, catch me if you can!"
You listened, trying to grab onto him but, once again, his Infinity blocked you, making you stumble into Shoko's arms as it pushed you backwards. By the time you regained your balance and rushed into the hallway, his long strides and newly healed feet had already carried him beyond your sight.
You sighed and re-entered the room, brushing yourself off. "Do you have anything for a cold?" you asked.
"I should," Shoko replied, opening up one of her medicine cabinets. "Why, are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, no, it's for him," you explained. "He's had a runny nose all week. I told him not to go out in the snow with the kids, but... You know how he is."
She hummed in acknowledgement with an understated smile, picking out a bottle of Acetaminophen capsules. Making her way over to you, she held up the container.
"I have these," she told you, but she didn't hand them to you; she just kept holding it up as she continued, "but, in my professional opinion, I don't think he has a cold."
"What do you mean?" you asked, your brow raised.
"Y/N, do you know what tomorrow is?"
"It's... the 24th."
"Mhm."
"So... Christmas Eve?"
She looked down at the floor, placing the bottle on a nearby counter and leaning back against it, getting comfortable. She stayed quiet for a moment, biting her lip in deep thought as she continued to stare at the floor with her arms crossed. But then, finally, she sighed, and reached into her coat pocket for a cigarette.
"Would you like one?" she offered, flicking the lighter at the end of the stick
"Um... No thank you..."
"Have a seat." She gestured to the metal seat against the wall.
Still thoroughly confused, you did as you were told. You felt as if your parents were about to have a stern "talk" with you--as if you had broken a vase or--arguably worse--it was time for you to understand the birds and the bees. That thought, along with the cold steel beneath you, sent chills up your body.
In an attempt to quell your anxiety, you beat her to the punch and spoke up: "You went to high school together, didn't you?"
She blew out a lengthy tangle of smoke strings. "That's right," she answered.
You shifted in your seat. "Has he always been... like this?"
"No,â she chuckled, bringing the cigarette back to her lips. "He used to wear glasses."
Your eyebrows shot up as you leaned forward in shock. "Seriously?"
She reached into her coat pocket again, this time producing a small print of a photo.Â
You took the glossy sheet from her hands and studied it, your mouth agape. Sure enough, there he was, on Shoko's right, smiling widely with his hair down and a pair of round sunglasses, both of them holding up peace signs. But, while Shoko's arm was clearly holding up the camera for the selfie, one of Satoruâs arms appeared to be wrapped around the shoulders of a black-haired man you didn't recognize.
Your brows furrowed at the sight. "Who's the one on the left?"
The scent of the nicotine got stronger as she took her time to ponder her answer, staring blankly into the back of the photo beneath your thumbs.
"That's Geto Suguru,â she finally told you.
You scanned his portrait meticulously. The man wore a grumpy expression with dark bags under his eyes and, contrary to the cheerful pose of the other two, he was flipping off the camera.
âWas he an upperclassman?â you asked.
She shook her head. âHe was our classmate.â She gestured towards the photo with her cigarette. âWe were all second-years there.â
âNo wayâŠâ Holding the photo closer, you could have sworn you saw the outline of ear gauges behind Shokoâs head. âHe looks so much older.â
You returned the photo to her and she slipped it back in her pocket, not taking even a glance at it as she did. She just spoke plainly: âHeâs Satoruâs best friend.â
You tilted your head to the side. âReally? I wonder why I havenât heard of him, then."
She took another puff, turning her face away from you as she let it out. âTomorrow is his death anniversary.â
Your eyes widened before falling to the floor. âOh⊠I seeâŠâ
You fell into a solemn trance, not knowing what you should or shouldnât say and, consequently, opting to stay quiet out of respect. But, suddenly, you were interrupted by the sound of light laughter.Â
âEven if he were still with us, I doubt you wouldâve been able to tell. They bickered so much youâd think they hated each other.â
She walked around to the other side of the counter, leaning forward on it as she rested her hand on her palm.
âWho could get to class faster⊠Who could shoot more hoops in a minute⊠Who could make a bigger crater in the courtyardâŠâ
You tried to imagine the pair wreaking havoc on an older version of the Jujutsu Tech Campus, but while it was easy to fit Satoruâs cheeky grin into all of these scenarios, it was hard to see such a mature-looking person as Geto doing these childish things.
âAh, but you know, Y/N,â she started, looking up at you with a smile. âI think you would have been able to tell that Suguru was actually younger.â
âWhat?â you gasped, surprised at both the fact that he was younger and that Shoko thought that would be clear to you. âThereâs no wayâŠâ
âWell, for starters, Suguru is shorter, if you put them side-by-side,â she argued. âAnd⊠HmâŠâ
She stopped to contemplate how to put together her next sentenceâor if she should even do so at all. But in the end, she brought her cigarette back to her lips and exhaled: âI think you would have agreed with me that heâs the more immature one.â
Your brows furrowed as you scoffed in disbelief. âThat's impossible⊠Satoru could be ten-feet tall and not a single thing on this planet could make him seem more mature than another person.â
She chuckled, though you could sense a sadness behind the sound, and you realized that your comment mightâve come off as insensitive. Clearing your throat, awkwardly, you granted her the floor: âWhat makes you say that?â
She took another inhale and sighed out a long cloud. Looking out the window of her office, she saw the faint glow of the multicolored lights that decorated it on the outside. She took in the sight for a quiet moment before sinking into her swivel chair, puffing once more.
âI still donât know much about his childhood,â she began. âI never asked, and I never got to meet his parents. But I can tell you for certain that Suguru was the sort of kid who threw a tantrum when he didnât get what he wanted for Christmas.
âIâm sure he had wishlists a mile long, but he wouldnât be the kind to write even a single letter about it to Santa. Of course, thatâd make it difficult for his family, and maybe they could've tried harder to figure it outâbut he just wouldn't understand why what he wanted wasn't obvious to everyone.
âI can imagine one day someone told him the truth about Santa, and he was probably absolutely devastated. But, to him, it wouldn't be about the presents. It would be about the people around him: his mom, his dad, his teachers, his neighbors, everyoneâthe people who had been deceiving him his whole life.
âI don't think he ever forgave anyone for that, all the way up until he found himself as a seventeen-year-old at Jujutsu High.â
The air became thickâsuffocatingly soâand your spine no longer fit right against the back of the bench.
âWhat exactly⊠did he do?âÂ
She rolled her chair towards her desk and put out her cigarette, pushing and twisting it into the ashtray by her desk calendar.
âIn a single night, he killed one hundred and twelve civiliansânon-sorcerersâincluding his parents. He wanted to create a world where only sorcerers exist.â
âO-oh my GodâŠâ Your hand rose up to cover your gaping mouth. âWh.. Why?!â
âBy killing non-sorcerers, you stop curses from the source.â
âBut you can't justââ You cut yourself off, thousands of words rushing and racing to your mouth. âDidn't anyone try to stop him?â
âMaybe Satoru could've. If Suguru decided to tell him, that is.â
Your face was wound up in concern. âThat's horribleâŠâ
âI know, right?â she casually agreed. âTo want to be understood, but never willing to understand⊠Isn't it childish?â She even laughed. âThough, I suppose he was just a kid.â
âJust a kid?!â You stuck your head out in disbelief. âNo, no⊠Satoru is childish. But thatâthatâs⊠inhumane!
You pointed to the door. âSatoru was a kid.â
You pointed to her. âYou were a kid.â
Lowering your hand, you scrunched the hem of your shirt. âI might not have known you then, but I know you never would have done that.â
âTo be fair, I'm not the strongest,â she defended plainly. âI'm just a doctor.â
The crease between your eyebrows deepened as you threw your arms up. âOkayâthen Satoru! Satoru would never do something like that! And he⊠he's still a kid!â
âSatoru killed his best friendâhis one and only.â She clasped her hands together on her desk. âA kid wouldn't do that, would they?â
You froze at the edge of your seat, blinking rapidly as you pieced together the puzzle.
âHe⊠killedâŠ?â you trailed off.
Shoko stared grimly at her hands as she tightened her grip on herself. âA kid wouldnât have understood.â
You bore your eyes into her, waiting, begging for her to continue, to elaborate, to make it make sense, but she just stayed quiet, kept to herself.
You directed your eyes to the freshly polished floor tiles. As you stared into the blurry reflection of yourself, you tried imagining it again: Satoru, tall and white haired, and this kid grumpy little kid he called Suguru, wreaking havoc on the old campus of Jujutsu High: walking to class together, dribbling a basketball between each other, meeting up in the courtyard with one another.
 âThatâŠâ you began hesitantly. âThat still doesn't excuse what happened.â
Shoko looked up at you, for the first time in what felt like an eternity, and though she wasnât as contented as she had been before your conversation, her expression was no longer grave; she seemed satisfied. Slowly, she put her palms on her desk and pushed herself up from her seat.
âTo answer your question from earlierâproperly,â she started, making her way over to you. âI think that Satoru has always been that wayâthe way Gojo Satoru has to be.â
âBut if there were ever a time that he werenât,â she interjected, sliding her hand into her coat pocket.
âIt would have been thanks to him.â
***
Your footsteps echoed down the empty hallway, stopping every once in a while to slide open one of the stiff doors only to struggle to shut it a moment later. You increased the reach of your steps, and the thump of your shoes against the wood planks competed with the hooting owl perched on the snow covered roof.
Suddenly, you heard a new noise: a honking, like that of a goose, coming from the end of the hall and slightly to the left. Now picking up to a jog, you made a beeline for the door and jerked it open.
âWell, if it isnât my long-awaited Christmas present!â he exclaimed. âLooks like Santaâs early this year.â
He rested against the corner of one of the studentâs desks, already facing you with his hands in his pocket. From behind him, you could just barely see the white crumpled-up balls of tissue that scattered the surface.
âI guess some people do gifts on Christmas Eve though, right?â he considered, putting a finger to his chin. âBut, ah⊠choosing gifts is so hard. I need all the time I can get.â
He didnât acknowledge your entrance at all; his Six Eyes had seen it coming miles away, allowing him enough time to get into position to pick up wherever youâd last left off. You didnât acknowledge him either, keeping a stone face as you stepped into the room.
âWhatâs with the face, hm? Did you not like your presents?â
âSatoru,â you said sternly.
âDid you ask Santa for anything this year?â he went on, continuing to pay you no mind.
You sighed. You couldnât help but let the ends of your lips pick up, but you kept your eyes down at the dirtied pattern of the floor.
âI donât celebrate Christmas,â you admit.
âWhat? Why not?â he questioned astonishedly, forming a pout. âDoes that mean you didnât get me a present?â
You shook your head lightly, making your way over to him. âIâve always thought it was sort of weird. To celebrate the birth of a martyr.â
âHm,â he sounded. âWell thatâs no fun.â
Planting his hands on the surface, he hoisted himself up onto his desk. âSanta probably wouldnât give anything other than coal to a non-believer,â he noted. âBut since Iâm so nice, Iâll get you something. Just tell meâwhat is it that you want for Christmas?â
His smile stayed in place as you darted your pupils around his visage, your own face beginning to fall. You took slow steps towards the desk next to him, getting as close as you could before you felt his Infinity push back
âSatoru, can you do me a favor?â you requested gently.
âDepends on what the favor is,â he chirped back.
Reaching your hand out, you traced your forefinger on the edge of the invisible barrier before applying pressure into it, testing the shieldâs strength. You pushed with all your might, but all it did was whiten your finger tip and make your knuckles concave.
You retracted, looking back into his eyes. âCan you take it down?â
You could see the movement of his eyebrows raising beneath his blindfold. âYou tryna kill me?â
Again, you shook your head, still solemn.Â
He crossed his arms and squinted at you, biting his cheek. Leaning back, he put his weight onto his hands behind him, loosely grabbing the edge of his desk, his expression becoming relaxed. âAlright. Here you go.â
You took another small step into the newfound space until you were only inches apart. Slowly, you extended both your hands towards his face, but then suddenly reeled them back into a hesitant fist in disbelief, the lack of resistance uncomfortably foreign.
You inhaled deeply through your nose and exhaled the air shakily through your mouth, trying hard to slow the rapid beating in your chest. Ignoring the smirk on his face, you tried to reach out to him, one final time.
Letting your arms wrap around his head, your hands searched his silky hair for the knot that held up his eye covering. When you finally felt the bump, you took your time digging your nails into where the fabric held onto itself, carefully pulling apart its loops.
As the blindfold fell to his neckline, his signature grin stayed plastered on his face, but just about every other feature of his seemed to change completely when the white wisps came down to frame them. His azure eyes, for example, glimmered under the faint moonlight coming through the window, but not in the way that they usually did. They were shining like lacquer, but it was as if, from underneath that, their batteries had been taken out. In their dullness, you could see the reflection of the long white lashes resting on the eyelids above, forming sharp, unnatural shapes as they clumped together unevenly. Pink waterlines painted the bottom of his irises, and a faint red was seemingly airbrushed around the surrounding puffy skin.
You trailed your hands down the back of his head until they cupped his jawline, holding his face as you explored its entirety. Moving from his eyes to his flushed, leaking nose, his smirk grew when your gaze landed on his lips.
âAre you sure you want to use your gift on this?â he teased. âKind of a waste, in my opinionâyou couldâve just found a mistletoe.â
âSatoru.â
âHmm?â
âI want you to stop smiling.â
For a moment, he listened to you: his mouth fell open, but then it fell back into its previous position as he flashed his teeth at you. âMy bad. I didnât mean to blind you.â
âPlease?â
He kept still while your thumb gently stroked his powder-smooth cheek. He jolted slightly as his lungs forced out a nervous chuckle, but he trailed off as your touch continued on him. Realizing your relentlessness, he sucked in his lips and clamped them together with his teeth as if he was trying to stop any further laughter.
He stayed like this for a moment, waiting for you to let go, but your tender movements showed no signs of stoppingâyou only slowed down when your eyes flitted up to meet his. He tried his best to return your stare, but eventually, he accepted defeat in the contest. And so, little by little, he let his lips roll out and the muscles to dispose into a resting state.
His voice became low, a near whisper. âIs⊠everything okay?â
Finally removing your hands from him, you nodded. Returning them to yourself, you glided one into the back pocket of your pants.
Taking a step back, you held up the sheet of glossy photo paper side-by-side with his face. You could name a number of differences: the neckline of the teacherâs uniform was looser and higher, his bangs now were longer and a bit thicker, and, of course, he wasnât wearing glasses, and he wasnât smiling. But, somehow, now more than ever, you could see the resemblance.
âWhat have you got there?â
Moving towards him again, you handed him the photo. It felt strange, witnessing the rare sight of his pupilsâ every rapid move. And in addition to that, ever so slightly, you could see his swollen under eyes rise as the softest of smiles pushed up his cheeks. It was nothing like the sickeningly-sweet beamings you were used to seeing from him, though; it was subdued, raw like the cacao in dark chocolate, undiluted by sugar or milk.
âWhere did you get this?â he asked, incredulous.
âLike you said, Santa came early,â you joked mildly.
âNo, really,â he persisted, his tone reaching a bass youâd never heard from him before. âWhere did you get this?â
You sat yourself on the desk next to him. âShoko,â you admitted.
âWhat did she tell you?â
Your shrug was subtle. âAs much as she could.â
He continued to scrutinize the photo in his hands, his brows drawing together.
âSatoru,â you proceeded, hushed. âIf itâs okay⊠Iâd like it if you told me about it.â
He lowered the photo so that it no longer obstructed his view of you, but he didnât take advantage of the space he gave himself; he kept staring at the photo as he spoke: âThereâs not much to tell about. I was the strongest then and Iâm the strongest now.â
You rested your hands on your lap and exhaled deeply. âThatâs not what I mean,â you contested.Â
It was as if he couldnât hear you, continuing to stare vapidly into the photo as if somehow your sentence didnât make it to his ears. But that was impossible; youâd said what you said, and the room was dead silent.
âI⊠I want you to tell me about him,â you clarified.
He shifted in his seat, finally looking away from the photo and up at you. âYou mean⊠Geto Suguru?â he asked, as if there were any other âhimâ in that photo.Â
âWell⊠heâs the worst of all curse users,â he offered. He then shoved the photo back in your direction, a sudden grin straining itself on his face. âBut itâs okay. Heâs gone now.â
Ignoring his move, you asked, âIs it really okay?â
âI made sure of it,â he affirmed, impatiently nudging the paper at you.
He resumed his usual playful lilt. âAre you doubting me?â he tested.
âI donât doubt you for a secondânot in that sense. Youâve always been strong,â you reassured him. âBut thatâs exactly why I doubt you know how to be weak.â
He scoffed. âYou think Gojo Satoru would know how to be weak?â
âNo, I donât. Thatâs my whole point,â you upheld firmly.
He folded his arms across his chest, his mocking tone sharpening: âWhy would anyone want to know how to be weak?â
âBecause even Gojo Satoru needs to realize he canât just smile and laugh all the time,â you challenged, feeling heat rise up your neck.
His eyes darkened, seemingly into a navy blue, and his inflection further condescended: âThere are a lot of things you donât understand.â
âSatoru, how on earth am I supposed to understand?!âÂ
As your tone cut through, just as abruptly you pushed the desk behind you and dropped heavily to your feet.
âYouâre right, I don't understand you,â you confessed frustratedly, pointing to yourself. âI donât understand you at all. Because how could I possibly understand you? I canât see your eyes, I canât even get near you, and Iâve never seen you not smile.â
Your voice made gaps as your vocal cords threatened sobs. âAnd sure, I call you by your first name, and I laugh and I smile at all your dumb jokes and⊠and the idiotic games you playâŠ
âBut itâsâitâs⊠scary, Satoru. Creepy, even. How you know just about everything there is to know about me and yet⊠It's like I donât even know who you are. Youâre just a toy in the corner, watching everyone come in and out of the room, but I can never make you say or be or feel anything.â
âFeelings are what made him into who he was,â he stated coldly, his eyes fixed on the grimy floor. âItâs important for sorcerers to have a hold on their emotions.â
âSo you know what happens, then,â you argued firmly, your shoes coming into his view as you stepped closer. âYou know what itâs like to be shut out from them.â
You pushed his chin up, forcing him to witness the way you were holding on desperately to the tears that bordered your lower waterline.
âDoesnât it hurt?â
âDo you always get Sprite?â heâd asked, looking down as his friend retrieved his drink from the bottom of the machine.
âI mean⊠yeah, I guess,â Suguru replied plainly. âWhy?â
A pit formed in his stomach as he heard the crack of the can opening.
âShit. Iâve been getting you Coke this whole time,â heâd mumbled. âWhy didnât you say anything?â
Suguru shrugged, beginning to head in the direction of the classroom. âItâs not that big of a deal.â
âDude, are you good?â
Suguru jolted awake, sitting up from the plush back of the couch and nearly spilling the bowl of popcorn in his lap.
âDo you wanna watch something else?â heâd suggested, but Suguru just shook his head.
âI thought you liked Digimon,â Suguru objected.
âWell yeah, butâŠâ
The only lighting came from the flashing screen, but it was enough for him to see his friend yawn, making his eyes water, dark bags underneath them.
âYou can turn it up if you want,â was all Suguru had to say, but even after doing what Suguru said, he couldnât focus on his favorite TV show.
âI know you said you didnât want anything,â he started, reaching into his bag. âBut here.â
âWhatâs this?â Suguru questioned.
âYour Christmas present, duh.â
âBut itâs Christmas Eve,â Suguru pointed out. âAnd I told youââ
âI know! But just open it.â
He watched as Suguru lifted the lid of the small gray box, revealing a small pair of white gauges.
âI didnât really know what size to get⊠But I think theyâd look cool on you.â
âThanks, Satoru.â
He lit up, thinking that heâd finally done something right by his friend, but the way that Suguru looked up at him, the way Suguru smiled insincerely, told him he shouldâve waited for Christmas Day.
The tears were warm as they rolled down his face, past his trembling lip and blooming into the blindfold that rested loosely around his neck.
âI just don't understand why he didnât talk to me.â
You pulled him into a hug, carding your fingers in his hair as you rested his head on your shoulder.
âHe thought I hated him,â he told you shakily, finding himself clutching onto your shirt. âI didnât see him for ten years and⊠and that whole time he thought I hated him.â
He inhaled a sharp sniffle. âI⊠I donât hate him,â he whimpered, his pitch jumping and his body beginning to tremble. âI donât hate him, Y/N, I donât, I donât, I never, ever did.â
âI know,â you whispered, stroking his hair, holding him tighter as he jerked with sobs.
He placed his head on your shoulder, staring at the blindfold that had unraveled itself and fallen between you. âI hate myself.â
You pulled back, cupping his jawline and holding it in front of you.
âDonât say thatâŠâ
âBut he was my best friend, Y/N,â he insisted, gripping desperately onto your shoulders. âI saw him every single day⊠every single day, all of that was running through his head and I⊠I didnât even know⊠I just watched and⊠and I made him think I hated him. I was supposed to be his best friend.â
âYou did everything you could, Satoru.â
âIt was all my fault.â
âYou didnât do anything wrong.â
âThen why did it happen?â he whined. âIt had to have been for a reasonâIt can't just hurt and be for no reason. That wouldnât be fair.â
âItâs not,â you told him, shaking your head gently and looking deeply into his eyes. âItâs not fair at all.â
Indicating the breaking of a dam, a deafening, siren-like wail pierced the air. His face was red and scrunched up, his nose was dripping with snot, and his hands were coming up to swipe desperately at the tears on his cheeks.
You pulled him close to you again as he kept hiccuping and sniffling into the crook of your neck. His loud weeping wet your shirt with both the fluids from his eyes and nose, but you didnât care; you just rubbed his back, caressing him tenderly.
His voice was suddenly clearer as he took deep breaths to try and recuperate himself: âIâm sorry,â he murmured.
âWhy are you sorry?â you asked, stiffening your hold on him.
âI just⊠I donât know. I hate crying. Iâm not a kid anymore, you know?â he tried laughing.
âSatoru,â you whispered delicately, turning your head so your words rested right by his ear. âYou were never a kid.â
Gently, you pressed his head into you, stopping him from moving his lips in any way. âI want you to be one right now.â
You let him stay in your arms for a while until his tears subsided and his breathing steadied. You had moved to the floor at some point, allowing him to comfortably lean on you as you embraced him, his previous quivering replaced now by the calm rhythm of his rising and falling figure.
He hadnât talked in a while, so you assumed heâd fallen asleep, but then, among his mellow breathing, a mumble came up right by your ear:
âThank you,â heâd said.
Hugging him tighter, you patted him on the back softly. âOf course.â
As one hand traveled to intertwine its fingers in his hair, you reached for your phone with your other one.
You pressed the power button on its side, and flinched backward, squinting at the brightness your phone screen emitted. Despite your sudden movement, Satoru didnât show any sort of reaction; heâd fallen asleep, for sure now.
You continued to comb through his white locks, a little more consciously now, as you made note of the time and date your phoneâs clock displayed, changing right before your eyes:
December 25th, 00:00
You smiled, dragging your coat up to cover the both of you as you laid your head on his shoulder.
âMerry Christmas, Satoru.â
***
might do a toji x megumi's teacher reader if u wanna follow
#jjk x reader#jujutsu kaisen#jjk#jujustsu kaisen x reader#gojo x reader#gojo x you#gojo x y/n#gojo satoru#satoru gojo
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This week's writer spotlight feature is: @maryofdoom! They have forty-four Stranger Things and forty-three Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson works on archive of our own!!
@mojowitchcraft recommends the following works by ArgentumCivitas:
Tessellation
Every Time: A Steddie Drabble Collection
Corroded Coffin - Live On Tour - One Night Only
He Carries Me Quietly
Higher Education
Mary is such a talented writer, Iâve enjoyed everything Iâve read by her. Sheâs an incredible story teller and very generous with brainstorming offering advice. - @mojowitchcraft
Below the cut, @maryofdoom answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!
Why do you write Steddie?
To quote Calvin, from Calvin and Hobbes, âI must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul.â But for real, though, it's because my bestie and writing partner called me up on Discord one night and said, âMary, you need to watch the first episode of Season 4 of Stranger Things. Right now. I mean it. I think the show is in love with Eddie.â (âŠSome, shall we say, substances may have been involved.) However, I stick with it because I love both the boys as characters. I think they're interesting. They have a lot of interesting aspects about them to explore, both singly and together, and I think we're all enjoying that.
Whatâs your favorite trope to READ?
Mutual pining! Good God, give me so much pining that I think Iâm in the forest. Give me so much pining that I need to use an oil-based paint on them. Give me so much pining that Iâll saw those two boys into planks and repanel my house.Â
Whatâs your favorite trope to WRITE?
By far, it's when one of them has a crush on the other and is pissed off about it. Thereâs so much potential for sparky, interesting dialogue with other characters (and with each other) when the boys find themselves in that situation. And then it leads to interesting moments when they finally turn the corner and realize theyâre not actually mad at the other one, theyâre in love.Â
Whatâs your favorite Steddie fic?
There are so, so many that I love. But instead of giving you one of the big ones, let me share this gem: Love My Way, by dreamspaces. Itâs very short, at only 1,346 words, but sometimes a bite is as good as a meal.Â
Is there a trope youâre excited to explore in a future work but havenât yet?
It might be interesting to do something with âand they were roommates.â I havenât truly messed around in that space, yet. I also havenât done a proper enemies-to-lovers, either, mostly because I canât stand to set up a proper enemy relationship at the beginningâŠbut I am chewing on an idea at the moment that might necessitate that sort of opening relationship between them.
What is your writing process like?
 It tends to follow a very specific order of operations:
Get an idea from somewhere. Possible avenues for ideas include conversations with friends, news stories overheard from NPR, something that hits while Iâm listening to music, posts on Reddit, anything that turns up from general blorbo rotation, the works.
Write down the idea in my notes app of choice (I use Evernote)
Begin adding more thoughts and concepts to the idea (sometimes even snips of dialogue, if they hit interesting)
Once the idea has reached a critical enough mass, transfer it to Google Docs and turn it into a draft (if itâs a one-shot idea) or an outline (if itâs a longfic idea)
FOR A ONE-SHOT: begin writing the draft
FOR A LONGFIC: begin writing the outline, according to the outlining method detailed in Tom Lennon and Ben Garantâs Writing Movies for Fun and Profit (this book is half how to make it as a screenwriter in Hollywood and half solid craft advice on how to write a screenplay, and though I donât want to write screenplays and though I was very skeptical until I tried it out, this is the only method that has worked to get me to finish any actual novel-length works)
FOR A ONE-SHOT: when the draft is done, put it down for as long as I can and then come back to it and revise it, heavily, to make it better
FOR A LONGFIC: once the outlineâs done, actually write the thingÂ
FOR A LONGFIC: once the thingâs written, put it down for as long as I can and then come back to it and revise it, basically rewriting it completely
FOR A LONGFIC: do the same thing again, and then again, pausing in between each iteration for as long as I can
FOR BOTH A ONE-SHOT AND A LONGFIC: once itâs to the point where I donât hate it, get ahold of my bestie and writing partner and have her read it and crit it and tear it apart
(cry a little because her crit is probably right)
Implement the good changes and ignore the bad ones - sometimes we have a (good-natured) fight about which ones are which
Send it to my other writing friends for their thoughts and comments and incorporate those, in a similar fashion
Revise, again
Once itâs as done as itâs going to be, make a posting schedule (if itâs a longfic)
Get it out there, according to the posting schedule
Begin working on the next thing
Do you have any writing quirks?
I mean, I can sit here and say âOh no, I definitely donât,â but Iâm sure that I do. I am sure I have a distinctive writing style, just as everyone else does, but I would have to defer to anyone whoâs read multiple works Iâve written to pull out any specific âquirks.âI will note that I really try hard to get the charactersâ voices down, in their dialogue. I donât know that I always succeed, but I try.
Do you prefer posting when youâve finished writing or on a schedule?
Oh, a schedule, ABSOLUTELY. More power to those of you who post when youâre done writing, but I am the kind of person who needs to have everything DONE and ready to go before I put even a HINT of it up online. You can see this from my writing process. It doesnât lend itself nicely to just throwing stuff out there as a work in progress.Â
Which fic are you most proud of?
Oooh, good question. I would have to say itâs a tie between the next two fics on this list. Tessellation, because I worked really hard on it (and because I figured out work skins), and He Carries Me Quietly, because I think itâs beautiful. The way it ends still gets me, even now. Not just because of the action that happens, but because of the words that I chose. I read them and Iâm like, â...I wrote that? Damn, girl.â
How did you get the idea for Tessellation?
I mention it a little in its ending note, but I got the idea for Tessellation from a couple of places, one of which was the Steddie fandom itself. I love the idea of every single one of these 25,000+ stories about Steve and Eddie all being true all at once. Even the story of Stranger Things itself, as we see it on our TV screens, is just one possible version of the story thatâs happening somewhere. (I truly believe that. I didnât become an extremely lapsed Catholic for nothing. HECK THE RULES.)
When writing Tessellation, what was something you didnât expect?
It was surprisingly easy to make connections between the six stories. It wasnât like I was hunting for places to jam them inâthey ended up falling into place very naturally. And I think my favorite one of these is when Steve, in the space story, is describing the spaceship that he pilots as âRusalka class, sheâs a good swimmer,â to Eddie, who presumably understands what this means in the context of the sci-fi world in which they live.Â
What inspired He Carries Me Quietly?
It started as something else entirelyâa whole established-relationship fic with the kids coming over to Steve and Eddieâs (either house or apartment) to play D&D, with an arc about a blind Max being included as kind of an oracle or super-NPC through Eddie passing her index cards with Braille on them, so she could be part of the game when and if she wanted to be. The whole thing was supposed to be told in flashbacks. I had a whole scene where Steve was figuring out how to bake cookies for everyone with whatever meager ingredients he had on hand. âŠThen it took a hard left into religious trauma, through some meandering means. I guess it would be reasonable to say the inspiration, at that point, was seeing a tweet on then-Twitter with some speculation about how Eddie had come to live with Wayne. If it was the common (and unfortunate) queer-kid arc of being disowned by oneâs parents. And then I thought, âLetâs go ahead and put Steve through that too, but letâs do it several years after it happens to Eddie, so that Steve has someone to guide him through the whole process.â
What was your favorite part to write from He Carries Me Quietly?
I think it was probably the opening, because of the rhythm of the sentences and how the sounds fit together with one another. I mean, if you choose to check it out, try reading the first few paragraphs out loud. Itâs kind of what I think of when people talk about how writing has a cadence, or a musicality to it. That, and the ending. The ending, starting with, âThereâs one more thing that Steve wants to know,â was one of those things that just fell perfectly into place. I can see it so clearly in my mind: the two of them having a conversation, late at night in bed together, after a traumatic day.Â
How do/did you feel writing Higher Education?
I love this goofy little story! It was part of a Discord server gift exchange in 2022 and my recipient said âCollege AUs are my jam,â so this is where my mind went. I wanted to consider a world where Eddie was the frat boy, instead of Steve. But if that were the case, the fraternity would have to be a pretty non-traditional one, wouldnât it? The fictional Lambda House is based heavily on the fraternity house where I used to hang out in college. (It was at an engineering school and was populated entirely by nerds.)
What was the most difficult part of writing Higher Education?
The actual writing itself, honestly. Winter 2022 was a really difficult time for me, personally, and though I signed up for the fic exchange with all optimism and good wishes, it was a struggle to get everything done in time.Â
Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?
One that really stands out to me is from Wrong Number, which was a oneshot I wrote based on a short conversation with some Discord friends. Picture it: Eddie and Jonathan and Argyle are all hanging out in the basement, and theyâre all extremely high. Argyle, in his own way, can sense that something is wrong with Eddie. In order to get him to confess to whateverâs on his mind, they reference the pact they made that âanything said in the basement stays in the basement. Itâs the law of the basement.â That just hits me as something so quintessentially Argyle.Â
Do you have any upcoming projects or fics youâd like to share/promote?
Oh my, yes! I have two longfics in the pipeline that I hope to be sharing with everyone soon (or, well, as soon as I can get them through my Process). The Music of the Spheres is a Regency AU with a smoldering slow burn and an eventual happily-ever-after, while Home for the Holidays is a genre mashup: Steveâs in a Hallmark Christmas romance and Eddieâs in a psychological thriller. I am also rotating a couple more ideas in my brain that could potentially be longer works as well, but weâll see how those go.
Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?
I think the esteemed and prolific two-time-Hugo-Award-nominee Dr. Chuck Tingle puts it very nicely when he says: âCREATE. BUILD. EXPRESS. CONQUER THE LYING VOICE THAT SAYS YOUR TECHNICAL PERFECTION IS BETTER THAN TRUTH OF THE MOMENT. FILL THE VOID WITH ART and do not fear because weve got your back buckaroo. we are ALL creators in our own way so LETS HECKIN CREATE.â Letâs heckinâ create, buckaroos. Iâll see you out there in the word mines.
Thank you to our author, @maryofdoom, and our nominator, @mojowitchcraft! See more of @maryofdoom's works featured on our page throughout the day!
Writerâs Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!
#steddie#steddie fic recs#steve harrington#eddie munson#steddie writers#writer's spotlight#writer's wednesday#maryofdoom
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The Fanfic Editing Process
Hello everyone! Today I've decided to share a few tips on editing your chapters, for anyone who is new to writing or would like to improve their writing. Editing is a skill in itself. For me, it takes longer than writing the actual damn chapter. I think good editing takes stories to the next level and it's worth taking a moment to do it, instead of just eagerly hit the 'Post' button
First, what is editing? You assess the text for grammar, spelling, sentence and detail clarity along with plot development. Editing is often rewriting, moving paragraphs around, switching scene orders, adding or deleting characters, and changing POVs (if applicable). It requires a lot of "rounds" before it's ready. Each step below is a round in itself. Remember: you cannot edit a blank page. If you hate your writing, remind yourself this is your first draft - you will edit it later to make it better or different. But you have to write it first.
I use google docs. You can easily share it with your betas/friends, and keep track of suggestions and modifications they make. They can leave comments on specific passages and words, to which you can also reply. Google docs also has a chat function to edit and discuss live.
Google docs has spelling and grammar check (it's under Tools) that will scan the document below where your cursor is. So if you just want to spell check past chapter 7, go to chapter 7 and use the tool. It will skip anything before it. If you want to do the entire document, start up top.
Crtl + F and look for the specific words that are commonly overused such as that, really, very, just, then, literally, thing and dialogue tags. You don't have to write them out entirely, but if you used 'that' 7 times in a paragraph, you might want to rework some sentences to 5 take out. Readers get tired of repetitive words. You also don't have to banish every single dialogue tag, but when it's a conversation between 2 people you should use them to indicate tone or action. 'Said' is not necessarily dead, but you can omit it 95% of the time
Avoid long sentences. Run-on sentences are okay if grammatically correct, but stick to one idea per sentence otherwise it can be tiring to read.
Adverbs ending in -ly. 'She runs quickly' can be 'she sprints'. 'He walks quietly' can be ' He creeps'. Choose descriptive verbs if you can.
Pay attention to verb tenses. If you are writing in the present tense make sure you don't slip into past tense when it is not appropriate and vice versa.
In your own notes write scene summaries explaining to yourself why this scene is necessary (I use bullet points in the comments). What information or situation is being presented in each passage that is important to the plot in the long run. It helps you to keep tabs on your outline (if you have one). It's okay to just have scenes that don't actually add anything to the story other than the joy of reading them whatever they may be. But if you are struggling with your plot, make sure your story doesn't have a lot of those.
Italics. Depends on your formatting, of course, but if it is to bring emphasis on a single word, my personal rule is to do it once per page. When I copy and paste my chapters into Ffnet/Ao3 it comes without any formatting (bold, italic) so I have to add them back in manually on my final read-through. Surprisingly, I end up adding a lot fewer italics in the final edit than in the original script
The Final Read-through: it is done in your browser, at the document editor of ffnet/ao3. You will catch a lot more errors/weird sentences there despite having it read 100 times on google docs. Your brain just gets used to - visually - to the text and it will skip words as you re-read without you noticing. Having a different font and background will make your brain read it as if it's the first time. I tried tricking myself on google docs by changing font and colour but I didn't find it super effective (it may work for you, I don't know). Grammarly is also good to use here. I disable it on google docs because it slows down my browser. I like it mostly for punctuation.
Read it out loud. Yes, you'll have to disable the cringe factor but you will catch so many clunky sentences and missing words. Make sure narration sounds like narration and dialogue sounds like dialogue. I usually do Step 10 and 11 at the same time.
Any questions, my Asks are open! And if you have tips you'd like to share I'd LOVE to hear it.
Happy editing!
#fanfic writer#ao3 author#creative writing#writing tips#spice honey tips#fanfiction writing#ao3 stuff
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Redemption For All - 7
(Warnings: none except some mentions of torture I think)
Notes: I do NOT speak spanish but I think it is a very beautiful language and sadly all I can say in spanish is âI canât speak spanishâ, so I used google translate, sorry. Some words are in Italic, which is the translated words, and others are just straight up spanish.
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Leah was writing in a small journal that Arthur had gotten her when her name was called, her eyes widening at a man who appeared to have been in one hell of a bar fight, covered in bruises and cuts and she rushed over. âDoc, this is Josiah Trelawny. Josiah, this hereâs Doctor Leah Riverra, sheâs a real good doctor, best in all the countryâ Arthur introduced with the added compliment and flair and Leah helped him to a seat, smiling at him âI donât know about the whole country but Iâve certainly seen my fair share of things. Hello Mr. Trelawny. Whatâs bothering you today?â she asked jokingly, looking over her shoulder at Arthur who already went to get the bag, the man, Josiah, chuckling lightly but it was cut off with a wince âthe back is playing up a bit, Iâm afraidâ he stated jokingly in a very cordial way, Leah smirking as she examined his face âwell, your sense of humor is certainly in good health. Can I ask what happened to you?â
âIâm afraid I ran into some rather-... unsavory fellersâŠâ
âThey beat you up?â
âItâs not as bad as it look-â he winced and flinched when Leah touched the right side of his jaw, Leah humming quietly, opening her bag to look through it. âAnswer me honestly; on a scale of one to ten, ten being the most painful thing youâve ever endured, the most horrible, excruciating thing you could ever possibly feel, where would you say your pain is at in? And remember, donât downplay it, I canât help you if you downplay itâ she reminded him and he hesitated before sighing âa six⊠maybe a sevenâ he admitted and she nodded, looking at Arthur âget Swansonâ she ordered quietly, before turning back to Josiah âdo you have any other injuries? Could you perhaps describe what happened?â
âItâs really not for a lady to hea-â
âMr. Trelawny, Iâm a female Puerto Rican doctor who spent half of her life in Texas after my mom died when I was twelve and I have a black father. I think I can handle hearing about getting a beatingâ she stated with amusement as Swanson arrived, âadminister a low dose, please. Just enough to take the edge of the pain but no more than thatâ she ordered, looking over her shoulder when she heard footsteps approaching. âHe was torturedâ Charles said and she hesitated, studying Charles before looking back at Josiah âMr. Trelawny, would you mind if I examined you more thoroughly? We can use my tent for privacyâ she stated and he hesitated, making her smile a little âtrust me, there is nothing that I havenât already seen. A guy once came into my ER with a snake dangling from a rat that dangled from him where it had bitten him. The rat died while biting him, and it couldnât let go because of it, itâs jaws had locked in place. The snake wasnât dead, by the way, and the rat it hung onto was hanging from a very⊠sensitive area for any manâ she admitted, Josiah nodding and sighed âI suppose itâs⊠better to be on the safe side?â he asked nervously and Leah nodded with a smile âit most certainly is. Do you consent to the pain medication?â she asked, Josiah nodded and she smiled âI need verbal consentâŠâ
âYes, I consent, my dearâ he stated with a charming smile and she nodded at Swanson, waiting until the morphine was administered before helping him as he struggled to stand up, accepting her help as she led him to her tent, Charles bringing her bag along, walking into the tent with her to place it on the grass. âDo you mind if Charles stays? Or would you rather that he left?â
âThat depends on the examinationâ he joked awkwardly and Leah chuckled âI wonât do anything without your consent, and if something makes you uncomfortable, donât be afraid to tell me. Where else does it hurt?â
âMy chest⊠my feetâ he admitted and she nodded âwhat would you rather we take first?â
âFeet.â
âAlright. Would you prefer to take off your own shoes?â she asked and he nodded, bending down, wincing a little in pain but he got them off and his socks, Leah kneeling down to inspect them, frowning âthereâs several burn marks and a few cuts⊠did they burn you?â
âIâm afraid so⊠not a pretty sight, is it?â he joked and she smiled up at him âIâve sadly seen this before, on Sean⊠but hey, at least itâs not the snake guyâ she joked before looking at Charles âin my bag thereâs some disinfect- yup, that oneâ she stated with a smirk, taking the bottle from Charles when he offered it to her, followed by some gauze, Leah gently wetting the gauze with the disinfectant before looking up at Josiah âthis might hurtâŠâ
âI can handle itâ he stated and she nodded, gently dapping the gauze over the faint burn marks and cuts, cringing every time he hissed in pain. âAlmost done, Mr. Trelawnyâ she stated softly, taking some bandages from Charles, wrapping his feet gently as Josiah unbuttoned his shirt awkwardly, letting Leah examine his torso âthey gave you quite the roundâ she muttered, gently pressing over areas, making a note of where it hurt, and how much. âWhatâs the verdict, will I live?â
âIâm afraid so, Mr. Trelawnyâ she joked back with a smirk ânothingâs broken, I canât be sure without an X-Ray but as far as I can tell, youâre mildly okay.â
ââMildlyâ? Tell me, will I ever be able to play the violin again?â
âCould you play it before?â
âNot particularly, no.â
âThen probably notâ she joked back with him, standing up to examine his face as he buttoned up his shirt and covered his chest again. âYour jaw isnât broken, or locked, youâll have a black eye tomorrow, though⊠your jaw is going to be quite sore so I suggest resting it as much as possible, that means soft meals and reduced talking. Your feet are bruised and are going to need time to heal, try not to walk too much on them, you can take the bandages off as you sleep, the fresh air would do them good and theyâd heal fasterâ she informed and he nodded âI think perhaps Iâll-... lay low here, for a whileâ he muttered and she nodded with a smile âthat sounds like a good idea. I suggest you take my bed-â
âNo, I couldnât-â
âI insist. You wouldnât refuse a lady insisting, would you?â she asked with a smirk, Josiah sighing heavily âI suppose notâŠâ
âGood. Iâll just sleep somewhere elseâ she stated with a shrug, looking over her shoulder at Charles âmaybe Iâll snatch Arthurâs bedâ she joked before looking back at Josiah. âThe morphine should have kicked in a little while ago, you might be a bit drowsy. You can go on ahead and sleep now if you feel like it, I donât see any reason why you shouldnâtâ she stated, grabbing her bag before walking out with Charles, closing the flap to her tent, walking over to Arthur as Charles parted to do his own things. âWell, whatâs the verdict?â
âHeâll live, though heâll never be able to play the violin.â
âHe could do that before?â
âNoâ she admitted with amusement, Arthur looking at her before chuckling, the laugh coming from deep within him and it made her blush a little at how much she liked it. âYou know, Arthur⊠I never thanked you for saving my life. I thanked Charles back in the mountains but I donât think I ever truly thanked youâŠâ
âThereâs no need at all. Seeing you âround here, helpinâ out as best you can, lifting everyoneâs spirit, itâs enough for meâ he stated and she smiled but gestured towards his tent in a head nod âI still got you somethingâ she stated, already walking off, stopping to turn and look over her shoulder at him as he stayed put âcâmonâ she called and he sprung into action, following her to his tent and she placed her bag on his bed, opening it and looking through it. Arthur was unable to not look at-... well-... at her⊠as she bent over, right in front of him, with her backside facing him as she dug through that bag of hers. âI knew I left it in here⊠hold onâ she muttered to herself, digging through it before getting out a light brown, leatherbound journal, turning around and presenting it to him âhere. I uh, I overheard something about your old journal getting filled up, and that it was damaged from some fire you barely saved it from. So I figured to could use a new oneâ she stated with a shrug as Arthur accepted the gift, staring at it, opening it, combing through the pages, the tip of his thumb feeling the pages as they fell into place and he closed it again, nodding with a smirk âthanks, I was thinking âbout getting a new oneâ he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and she smiled âwell, now you donât have toâ she stated with a smile, Arthur looking down at the journal as he examined it, nodding with a smile âguess not⊠good quality, tooâ he mumbled to himself, looking up from it, about to ask her where she got it from when his lips was met with hers. Both of them were frozen in place in shock, Leah quickly redrawing, cheeks blazing and red âI-Iâm sorry I-... I-I was-... o-on your cheek a-a-and then you turned your head and-... sorryâ she mumbled, swallowing the lump in her throat âsorryâ she mumbled again, barely able to grab her bag before rushing off, leaving a shell-shocked Arthur to stand there, staring at the empty spot where she had been.
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âKill me, AbigailâŠâ
âWhy?â
âBecause I kissed Arthur-â
âYou did WHAT??â
âIt was an accident!â
âHow do you kiss someone by accident?â she asked through a laugh, Leah glaring at her, hard âI was going to kiss his cheek and he turned his head at the wrong time-â
âOr the right time.â
âAnd it just-... happened!â she explained in a panic, ignoring Abigailâs little âright timeâ comment, Abigail chuckling lightly at her panic âwhatchu so worried âbout? That he didnât like it? Honey, heâs been eyeinâ you since they brought you in way back when you was passed out all them months ago! And heâs been eyeinâ you especially after Shaunâs party!â Abigail stated with utter amusement and Leahâs eyes were wide and her cheeks were dark with a blush as she gently slapped Abigailâs arm âdonât say that!â
âWhy? Itâs true-â
âIt is not!â
âIt is! Whatâre you so afraid of?â
âIâm not afraid-â
âMhmâ she hummed with a knowing smirk, Leah sighing heavily âitâs just-... I-... nevermindâ she muttered with a sigh, Abigail chuckling âno, what is it?â
âI canât-â
âWhy?â
âBecause-... this is 1899! I just-... canâtâŠâ
âWhy?â
âBecause itâs 1899!â
âSo?â
âSo! Itâs not something that-.... I just-...â
âWhat?â Abigail asked much more softly this time, Leah looking up at her, studying her before gently shaking her head âI canât⊠I donât know why I even wanted to say anything to begin with⊠just forget it?â
âI canât when itâs obviously somethinâ thatâs bugging youâ she stated sweetly and Leah sighed softly, looking around as though she was about to spill a secret âitâs-... complicated and-... I-I get it if you-... A-And I understand-â
âDonât think, thinkinâ just makes it harder. Just spit it out.â
âIâm gay. At least-... I thought I was. But Iâm not? I think Iâm not? But I am?â she babbled, Abigail looking her up and down before chuckling lightly âI wouldnât exactly call you gayâ she stated with amusement, Leah frowning at her with utter confusion âI-... what?â
âYou just-... donât seem like youâd fit into gay, you know? It ainât meant as an insult! I ainât fitting into anything gay either, it just doesnât suit me-â
âYouâre talking about clothes??â
âYeah, whatâre you talking about?â
âGirlsâ Leah stated plainly, Abigail frowning âI ainât rightly sure whatâs going onâ she admitted, Leah narrowing her eyes at her before sighing, groaning to herself as she nodded a little âright, the word originally once referred to-... rightâ she muttered to herself before looking back at Abigail âIâve had a-... relationship⊠with a woman⊠in fact itâs the only relationship Iâve hadâ she muttered, Abigailâs eyes widening a little, her eyebrows high on her forehead âohâ she muttered, looking away before frowning, looking back at her again with confusion âwell⊠Why would that matter with Arthur?â
âI just-... i-it-... wasnât - isnât - accepted by a lot of people back then - I mean - nowâ she stuttered, Abigail shrugging âmaybe, but it donât matter to me, and I can promise you that it donât matter to Arthur one bit.â
âItâs just-... I thought-... I thought I only liked women⊠Iâve never-....â
âYou ainât neverâŠ?â
âNoâŠâ
âNot even with your-... uh⊠wife?â
âOh, no, we werenât married! We uh, we broke up after two years together- or, I broke up with herâŠâ
âOh, Iâm sorry. What happened?â
âWell, apparently she was screwing my best friend and her boyfriend together at the same time, soâ Leah stated bluntly, Abigailâs eyes wide in shock at her words âoh, well good thing she ainât here then, Iâd have half a mind to show her just how much Iâd appreciate someone doinâ that to my friendâ she stated half-jokingly yet completely serious at the same time, Leah smiling, chuckling briefly âIâd love to see that.â
âWhat happened to her?â
âWell, my best friend and her boyfriend broke up after I caught all three of them together, I broke up with my girlfriend whom I had bought a ring for to propose. My then ex-girlfriend and my ex-best friend got together, they lasted about a year before getting drunk, getting married and then divorcing five days later when they sobered up and I think she actually got knocked up by someoneâ Leah recapped and Abigail chuckled lightly âI ainât rightly sure where you found those kind of people.â
âMed school. Except my then girlfriend dropped outâ Leah stated with a shrug and Abigail grinned, shaking her head with amusement âwell, maybe thereâs a reason for everythinâ? If thatâs the case, Iâm happy it led us to meet you. Youâve been a real blessinâ for us-â
âAs Micah constantly and creepily wants to show meâ she muttered with disgust, Abigail sighing heavily âhe ainât a favorite of mine eitherâ she admitted bitterly, Leah smirking at her âI think I know whoâs your favorite of the boysâ she teased, Abigail frowning at her before her cheeks turned red âdonât matter-â
âOf course it does! Youâre his mom!â Leah stated with a grin, Abigail staring at her before bursting out into laughter âI thought you meant John!â
âI know you didâ Leah stated with amusement as Abigail laughed. âSo, whose your favorite?â
âWellâŠâ
âCan I guess?â
âI donât think youâll get it right, but sure, give it a shot.â
âJack?â
âDamn! Howâd you know??â Leah exclaimed, the two women laughing and chuckling together. âHeâs such a cute little thing! God, I want one one dayâ she stated half-jokingly, Abigail chuckling lightly âwell, Arthurâs certainly good with him, Iâm sure heâd be even better if it was-â
âDonât put ideas into my head!â Leah laughed, Abigail laughing even louder, the two of them seemingly unable to not laugh, their faces almost red as tears ran down their cheeks, their stomachs hurting from laughter as they continued and continued to laugh.
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âAll things considered, youâre doing quite well, Mr. Trelawnyâ Leah stated with a smile as she examined the bruises on his face, giving him a smirk âyouâll most definitely still be able to catch the ladies with a charming smileâ she added jokingly, Josiah chuckling briefly âI shall do my best, my dearâ he stated and she smiled at him before zipping her bag back up, just as someone approached and she looked over her shoulder at Javier as he reached them, Josiah getting up to do something else, Javier taking his place in front of her on the barrels Josiah had been on. âSo, how is he?â
âI believe heâll still be able to con the devil with a charming smileâ she replied jokingly, Javier nodding with an amused smirk âthat definitely sounds like Trelawny. Hey, I was thinking, whatâs between you and Arthur?â his question made her freeze and she narrowed her eyes at him âÂżQuĂ©?â she asked casually, feigning cluelessness, making Javier scoff âdonât play that, Hermosa. Come on, Iâve seen how he looks at you, how you look at him-â
âCĂĄllate!â she hissed, Javier chuckling âno, Iâm not gonna shut up. Listen, all Iâm saying is that itâs obvious that thereâs something there. Wanna know what I think?â
âNot really.â
âAct on it. We only have one life, Amiga! Make the best of it, thereâs no point in holding backâ he stated with a grin and his grin turned into a smirk when he saw how Leah hesitated, looking around hesitantly before sighing âI-... canâtâŠâ
âWhy not? Give me one good reason.â
âIâve never-... you know⊠I-I mean I have b-but it wasnât-...â
âYouâre a virg-â
âCould you scream that a little louder, please? I donât think everyone heard youâ she hissed, Javier smirking at her âyouâre a virgin?â
âI mean-... both yes and no⊠I-Iâm not-... I-I mean I have but nothingâs been-... âup thereâ s-so I-... you know what? No! No, Iâm not discussing this with you-!â
âNot even if I could help you get with Arthur?â he asked with a smirk, watching how any protest, or insult, died on her tongue before they could make it past her lips, her heart racing a little and she looked away, cheeks turning beet red. âHow?â she muttered, it was barely audible, her jaw clenched, but Javier heard it. Of course he fucking heard it. âItâs easy, Hermosa. All you gotta do is look the part.â
ââLook the partâ?? You make it sound like Iâm going to rob a bank with you guys and play the decoy! âLook the partâ... What does that even mean??â
âIt means; go into Rhodes and get something. A pretty dress, a skirt, whatever makes you feel good and beautiful. Iâll arrange the rest with Charles-â
âH-Hold on, roll that back a little⊠one: I donât have money. Two: what am I meant to get?! I have no fashion sense! âA pretty dressâ, how am I meant to know what that means?-â
âIt means that if you feel good in it, if you like it, then itâs the right one. If you donât feel pretty in it, if it doesnât make you feel like the beautiful woman that you are, then you shouldnât buy it. And donât worry about the money, eh? I got you covered. Come see me before you go into townâ he stated with a smirk, Leah sighing heavily as he got up to walk away âIâll-... take Abigail with me, or something⊠IF Iâm even doing this - we! - if WE are even doing this!â she whispered harshly, Javier chuckling lightly as he nodded âacuerdoâ he tipped his bowler hat and Leah scoffed, gently shaking her head.
ââDealâ... heâs making it sound like itâs a drug deal or somethingâ she muttered to herself before sighing heavily, running a hand over her face in frustration. She looked over her shoulder at Abigail as she sat with Jack, watching him play with a fond smile on her lips, it was obvious that she was beyond proud of her son, who was only four years old. She pushed him to continue learning reading, which he found boring, of course, wanting nothing more than to be a gunslinger and Leah could swear that every time he proclaimed that, she ages at least five years. She was sure her hair was already turning gray. Leah hesitated, looking over at Javier who smirked at her before sighing heavily, getting up and walking over to Jack and Abigail, smiling at Jack. âHey buddy, could I talk with your mom for a second? Iâm sure if you ask really nicely that Uncle Hosea could read you a storyâ she said with a soft smile, Jack looking up at his mom before nodding and running off, Leah sighing heavily, worry evident on her face as she watched Jack run off to Hosea and Abigail stood up. âYouâre lookinâ mighty pale, are you alright? It ainât the whole â1899â thing again, is it? Is it the heat?-â
âIâm-... Iâm fine, I just-... need a favorâ she admitted sheepishly, Abigail frowning a little and Leah sighed âI, uh⊠I-I-... maybe-... go talk with Javier, please, before I choke on my own tongueâ Leah muttered with burning cheeks, sitting down on the box Abigail had been sitting on, her face in her hands as Abigail did as Leah asked, talking with Javier in hushed voices and when she returned, she had the biggest smile on her lips that Leah had ever seen, making Leah groan and hide her face in her hands. ââBout time you did somethinâ âbout it-â
âShh!â Leah hissed, cheeks still burning red as she tried to hide away behind her hands. âListen, tomorrow both Javier, Charles and Arthur are gonna go out, a stagecoachâs meant to come through from some bank, headinâ for Saint Denis. The boysâre gonna get it, itâs supposed to be filled with money and weâll have a little party when they get back, that gives us time to find you somethinâ-â
âWhat if the job goes wrong??â
âTrust me, one way or another, Javier is gonna make that party happenââ Abigail said through giggles, Leah rubbing her temples with her entire face burning hotter than the sun. At least thatâs how it felt.
#Arthur Morgan#Redemption For All#Leah Riverra#Arthur Morgan x OC#Arthur Morgan x Leah#Red Dead Redemption 2#RDR2#Red Dead Redemption fanfic#RDR2 fic
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Lovedust || Peter Parker x Stark Reader
Summary: Y/N and Peter have always hated each other but when Y/N discovers an element that can make people fall in love, her whole relationship flips upside down.Â
Word Count: 3.9k
Authorâs Note: Iâm still working on the last part to thin ice but Iâve had the idea of a love potion series for Peter and since weâre in quarantine, I said fuck it. Iâm such a sucker for an enemy to love type thing so this is great cause technically itâs a slowburn but not at the same time! Also Y/N is ADOPTED cause duh of course she is. Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!
Warnings: Mild language, mean peterÂ
part one || part two || part three || part four || part five || part six ||
part seven || part eight || epilogueÂ
You grew up with always hearing the saying that the heart wants what it wants. When your heart longed for a family, you found yourself among the Avengers who helped raised you into the woman you were meant to be. Deep down, you loved them more than you could possibly imagine and your heart felt full knowing they would always have your back.Â
You werenât sure how much room was left in your heart but you knew a person who you definitely didnât make space for. Peter Parker.Â
Your dad recruited him into the Avengers years ago but ever since the two of you met, you had always butted heads.Â
There was a whole list of reasons why you hated him; the smirk he always had whenever he would see you and the way he said your name as if it was like venom in his mouth.Â
There were times where Peter would leave smoke bombs in your room after you had just cleaned it or trap you in your room with his webbing when you were late for the movies. You always managed to get him back whether it was you throwing out all of his clothes into the courtyard when he needed to get ready for school or you hacking into his phone whenever he had an important call.Â
Most of the time, it didnât matter. You both knew you were smarter and wittier than he would ever be but the one thing he always had above you was that he had powers. It didnât matter that you had grown up with superheroes or that your dad was the Tony Stark, Peter would always be an Avenger.Â
Everyone in the complex knew the feud the two of you had but that didnât stop them from stirring the pot now and then to witness it.Â
You sat down on the couch as you continued to work on your paper quietly since you needed a change of scenery. Bucky watched over your shoulder as he made breakfast in the kitchen.Â
â Homework?âÂ
â Mhm. Itâs about how the U.S could have avoided World War II if our president wasnât so dumb,â You said as you kept your eyes glued to your screen,â Iâll let you read it once I finish it.â
Bucky smiled and turned his attention back to the stove,â Sounds good kiddo.âÂ
You had about thirty minutes before your paper was due and you felt like you were on a roll. You had enough time to knock out another page but as soon as you shifted to the next paragraph, loud music started to play from one of the rooms close by.Â
You didnât even have to look up to know that it was Peter. You turned around and looked sympathetically at Bucky for help but he shook his head when his eyes met yours.Â
â Donât look at me, Iâm making breakfast.â
You looked down at your laptop as if you were considering to ignore the music before getting up from the couch anyway and stomped over to Peterâs room. You could feel the vibration of the music underneath your feet as you knocked on the door violently,â Shut up Parker!âÂ
Not even a second later, the door swung open and revealed Peter who was only wearing sweatpants and a small smirk.Â
â What did you say? I canât hear you,â Peter shouted over the music as he tried to close the door on you.Â
You pushed the door open and slid through, heading straight for his phone that was attached to the roomâs speaker. You grabbed it before he could reach you and you swiped your thumb over his phone screen to turn the music off,â Youâre making my brain hurt and I canât even hear myself think!â
â Wait,â Peter gasped as he acted surprised,â you have a brain? Iâm so sorry I didnât even realize!âÂ
Peter tried to reach for his phone but you yanked it back and held your hand up,â You can get this back after I finish my paper. Iâm serious Parker if I fail because of your dumbass music Iâll kill you.âÂ
You walked out of his room and back into the living room where Peter trailed behind you. At this point, Bucky, Sam, and Natasha were all in the kitchen as they silently watched the madness that unfolded right in front of them.Â
You plopped back down on the couch but before you could place your laptop back into your lap, Peter grabbed it away from you and closed the screen harshly.Â
â Peter! I didnât save it!â
â Relax, you have google docs,â Peter said as he reached out his hand,â now give me my phone.â
You stood up as you tried to grab your laptop back but Peter casually held it over his head.Â
You didnât want to embarrass yourself even further so you didnât even attempt to leap up and grab it out of his sneaky hands,â Ugh, fine. Will you at least stop playing your shitty music so loudly?âÂ
Peter tilted his head to the side for a moment,â Do you really want this back?â
You knew Peter was playing a trick on you but you were so frustrated, you took the bait anyway.Â
â Yes, I would like my laptop back,â You sighed as Peter smiled cheekily back at you.Â
Peter nodded and shrugged,â Okay, now ask me nicely. Didnât your dad teach you manners?âÂ
You fumed silently as you tried to keep your temper down,â May I please have my laptop back...you little shit!âÂ
Peter clicked his tongue and shook his head,â Thatâs kinda mean Y/N but for you Iâll give it back...if you beg for it.âÂ
Your face grew hot and before you knew it, you lunged at Peter. Both you and Peter hit the floor as the two of you wrestled to try and grab your belongings back. Once you grabbed your laptop, you scrambled back up before glaring back at Peter.Â
â You idiot! You couldâve broken my-â As you opened your laptop, you saw your screen completely cracked. If you squinted, you could barely make out any words that were on your page.Â
Your heart sank to the bottom of your stomach as you could feel how close you were to crying. You had been working on this paper for days and you knew you still had so much to work on.Â
Peter watched your face as he visibly gulped,â Y/N-â
â Forget it!â You snapped back as you gather the rest of your notes and pushed past him,â fucking asshole.âÂ
You pressed your laptop and your notebooks against your chest as you figured you could find an empty computer up in the labs. Peter hesitantly watched as you walked away and into one of the glass elevators.
â Iâm sorry!â He shouted as the elevator started to go up.Â
You looked down at Peter and made eye contact with him before sticking up your middle finger. Peter shook his head as stuffed his hands into his pocket and mumbled underneath his breath.Â
âYouâre terrible with women,â Sam sighed as Peter turned his attention towards the kitchen.Â
Peter pointed back at himself and towards the elevator,â Me? Sheâs being the difficult one!âÂ
Natasha shook her head as she grabbed her coffee mug and walked towards Peter,â Take my advice kid, if you like a girl, I would refrain from...whatever you just did. Ever heard of flowers or a card?âÂ
â I donât like her, how many times do I have to tell you guys!â Peter huffed as his face grew bright red.Â
â Even if you donât like her, you need to at least apologize, itâs the right thing to do,â Natasha said as she patted his shoulder and walked off, leaving Peter to feel guilty.Â
Once you got to the labs, you found a vacant computer in the hallway and started to work on your paper. At this point, you were just bullshitting it and after a few minutes of angrily typing, you decided you would just submit it since you were exhausted.Â
As you wheeled your chair back away from the desk, you spotted Banner in one of the main labs by himself. His body hunched over the desk as he looked directly into a microscope.
Even from your position, you could see that whatever he was looking at was glowing bright pink. You rested your knee against the desk as you leaned back in your chair, attempting to try and get a better look.Â
You had never seen anything in science ever give off such a vibrant color before and you were intrigued, to say the least. As cool as it was living in the Avengers complex with superheroes, you were more fascinated on what went down in the labs than on the battlefield.Â
As you stretched back, you felt the wheel underneath your chair slip from underneath you and a second later, you fell to the ground with a hard thud. You clasped your hand over your mouth as you listened to hear footsteps coming closer.
The door to the lab chamber opened up to a whirring sound as cold air whipped past you, you had been caught.
â Y/N? What are you doing down there?â Banner asked as he helped you up to your feet.Â
Without missing a beat you looked over his shoulder and pointed to the glowing object,â What is that? Can I look at it with you?âÂ
Banner followed your line of sight to where his microscope was positioned and then back at you.Â
â Um, Iâm not sure your dad would want you-â
â Please? Just for a second, I promise,â You whined while Banner sighed as if he knew he was defeated.Â
Out of all the Avengers, Banner was always the one to go easy on you and you knew he would fall for your puppy dog eyes.Â
â Fine, but just for a second but donât touch anything,â You followed Banner into the lab as the cold air sterilized you and your clothes,â put these on.â
You put on your lab coat and gloves as you followed closely behind him. He motioned his hand to the microscope as you gladly accepted the offer.Â
You peeked into the microscope as you examined the slide. It was hard to see anything besides the pink glow but after looking at it closer, you could make out small, powdery rocks as small as a grain of rice.Â
âOkay well, this definitely isnât a bunch of pop rocks so what is it?â You asked, turning back to Banner,â this has âspace stuffâ written all over it.â
Banner nodded as you stepped away from the microscope to rest your eyes,âItâs a form of moondust that works as a highly addictive psychostimulant that directly affects the hypothalamus. Thor brought it back for the lab so I could try and make a type of vaccine since it has really bad side effects.âÂ
â What do you mean it has bad side effects- is that why my eyes hurt?â You asked nervously as Banner calmed you down.
â Relax, itâs relatively safe as long as it doesnât come in contact with water. You know what oxytocin is right? Itâs called the love hormone and when this powder makes contact with human skin-â
â Oxytocin-So, like a love potion?â You questioned as Banner stopped for a moment before nodding,â You have to let me help you, please let me help you. School is so easy right now, I need something challenging so my brain cells donât deteriorate!âÂ
You could tell that Banner was hesitant about allowing a seventeen-year-old girl to help him find a cure for a space element that was highly addictive but in the name of science, he budged.
                               ----
â I think we should call it a day. Weâve been working on this for hours and we still havenât found anything that stands out,â Dr. Banner said as he stepped away from the lab table and stretched his neck out,â I heard your dad is making dinner for everyone tonight and I want front row seats to that trainwreck.â
You checked the time and saw that it had been hours since youâve eaten or even saw the light of day. As hungry and tired as you were, you knew that if it was a big dinner, Peter would be joining in.Â
For the first time in hours, you remembered everything that had gone down earlier in the day and it just made you mad all over again.Â
You backed up from the microscope and nodded as you felt how sore your neck was starting to feel,â Iâll probably head down later. I just want to be sure weâre not missing anything.âÂ
â I wanted to thank you again for your help with all of this. I know itâs not your department but Iâm glad to see you in the lab,â Banner said as some of the other scientists in the lab started to leave,â itâs really great to see young people interested in science.âÂ
â Well, it helps when you have a great teacher,â You smiled as Banner grinned back.Â
Once he left the lab, you turned your attention back to what you and Banner called â Lovedustâ. As you looked at the powder, you felt a wave of sadness wash over you.Â
You werenât sure if it was from the powder or how long youâve been working on a serum but looking at the Lovedust made you feel helpless.
 You had been in relationships in the past that were never the healthiest but if you had known back then that an actual love potion existed, maybe it couldâve saved you a few heartaches. Â
You were so deep in thought that you didnât hear the sterilization door open as Peter stepped in quietly, watching you from afar.Â
He crept up behind you to where he was a mere centimeters away from his chin touching your shoulder.Â
â Whatcha got there?â Peter asked loudly as you jumped up from your seat, shrieking.Â
You hit the table with your knee hard as you whipped around, completely flustered, to see Peter leaning against one of the lab tables laughing.Â
â Very funny idiot!â You said as you smacked the back of his head,â you canât sneak up on someone like that- especially in a laboratory!âÂ
Peter pushed your hand away as his gaze fell on the Lovedust that was now sprawled over the table.Â
He pointed over to the powder as he kneeled in front of it,â Woah, what is this stuff?â
Your eyes grew wide as you grabbed Peterâs hand and pulled him away from the table. If Peter were to come into contact with it, who knows what trouble he could stir up.Â
â Promise me that you will not touch it! I need a sweepy thingy!â You shouted as you scrambled around the room to find a dustpan.Â
Peter only rolled his eyes as he pulled up a chair so he could get a better look at the glowing dust. Peter whistled low as you finally found the dustpan that was underneath one of the lab tables.Â
â Were you hiding up here this whole time staring at this thing?â Peter asked as you stopped in front of the table and shooed him to the side,â are you going to tell me what this is or am I going to have to touch it to get your attention?âÂ
You set a deadly gaze to Peter before turning your attention to the mess he had caused. Banner said it was relatively harmless as long as it didnât touch water and as you looked around the room, you noticed there wasnât a sink or beaker close by.Â
You sighed as you turned to Peter,â Itâs moondust they found on Thorâs planet. Just donât spit on it or lick it cause if it comes in contact with water, it gets super reactive.âÂ
Peter looked up curiously at you as he raised his eyebrow,â How reactive?â
You mimicked an explosion noise with your mouth as your hands spread out into jazz fingers which made Peter laugh.Â
â Okay, got it, no water,â Peter said before he backed up from the table and started looking around the lab. Peter watched as you tried your best to sweep up the remaining dust carefully as he leaned against one of the bunsen burners.Â
â Why are you here? Cause if itâs an apology, I donât want to hear it,â You said finally as Peter straightened up his back,â Iâm tired of your lame excuses.â
While his whole plan was to come up and apologize, he felt all that motivation and guilt fade away since you had said it in a snarky tone. Â
â Why would I apologize?â Peter responded as you shook your head, laughing dryly,â for the laptop? You were the one who lunged at me!â
It all made sense to you, Peter would never own up to his mistakes and now, his mistake had cost you another laptop.Â
You kept your focus to the table but you clicked your tongue,â You know what Peter, Iâm not saying you have to treat me like the Queen of England, but Iâll be damned if you donât respect me. I think you need to remember who youâre talking to, Iâm a Stark.âÂ
Peter moved away from the table and stood next to you with his arms crossed against his chest.Â
â You think you can intimidate me? Y/N, weâre not friends, I donât owe you anything.â
You turned to face Peter as you felt pure rage growing inside your chest,â Youâre right, you donât owe me anything. But that suit you run around in and that room you sleep in every night is thanks to my dad. Before my dad showed up you were nothing. Humble yourself Spiderboy.â
Peterâs face looked visibly hurt for a second before glaring right back at you,â I need to humble myself? All you ever do is go around saying how smart you are just because your dad is Tony Stark. Youâre almost eighteen and yeah you got a full ride to Columbia and youâre valedictorian but you wasted your whole high school years on never accomplishing anything! You never went to a single party, you never passed your driverâs test, and youâve never even had a boyfriend before.âÂ
â Newsflash Parker, Iâve had boyfriends before but unlike you, my relationships donât dictate whether or not Iâve accomplished something!â You snapped back as you took a step towards Peter,â and at least my boyfriendâs dads donât end up in jail.âÂ
Peter didnât even hesitate as the words slipped right out of his mouth,â And at least my girlfriends actually loved me back.â
Immediately, nausea swirled in your empty stomach as your mind started to feel swarmed with old memories of every relationship you had. The room felt still and you thought that if you let a tear out, it would make noise once it hit the floor.Â
Peter immediately regretted his words once again as he watched your stern face fall into a somber one. Before he could reach out to you, he felt the hair on his arm raise up at the same time.Â
â Wow, low blow Parker-â You turned around and when you looked at the table behind you, half of your notes and papers were lit up in flames.Â
Before you could even let out a gasp, the sprinkler system came on as water sprayed every inch of the room, including the Lovedust.Â
â No no no!â You yelled as you scrambled over to the other side of the room to shut the water off,â Peter help me!âÂ
Peter carefully tried to run through the slippery floor without falling but once he saw you slip on the way to the button, he almost sprinted towards you. When he felt his foot slip from underneath him, he jolted his arm out to catch himself on the table.Â
He could feel the Lovedust crunch underneath his palm as his blood ran cold. You had never told him what the powder was except that it would explode so Peter desperately tried rubbing the powder onto his pants.Â
You picked yourself up from the ground and used all of your weight to press the button and stopped the sprinkler system. Within seconds, the sprinkler system halted as you looked back at Peter, who was completely drenched in water.Â
â Nice going- hey, are you okay?â You asked as you moved your wet hair out of your face before stopping in the middle of your step.Â
Peterâs left hand and his whole left side of his jeans were covered in glowing pink dust that was turning redder by the second.Â
â I need to sit down,â Peter said softly before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his feet crumbled underneath him.Â
Once Peter hit the ground, you screamed for help as you slid across the wet floor, kneeling close to Peter.Â
You did your best to avoid touching his whole left side as you lifted the upper half of his body and propped his head up against the leg of the table. You cupped your hands around his face as you moved a few strands of wet hair so you could see better.Â
â Peter? Damn it, Peter!â You shook him harshly as you felt your heart sink to your stomach,â Wake up! Wake up!âÂ
Your hands trembled as you checked his head to make sure he didnât bust it open. Every ounce of angry you held towards him quickly faded once you thought that Peter was seriously injured.Â
After shaking him for a moment, Peterâs eyes slowly opened. The first thing he could feel was warmth spreading across his whole body like nothing he had ever felt before. His heart permanently felt like it was skipping a beat every few seconds and his chest felt extremely tight.Â
His breathing was uneven as if he had just ran a marathon but once his vision started coming back, every ounce of breath was taken from his lungs. As you stared back at Peter with a worried expression, his heart sped up even faster as he found himself getting lost into the deep color of your eyes.Â
â Peter? Can you hear me?â You asked as you snapped your fingers close to his ear but Peter barely flinched.Â
He nodded, hanging onto every word as if it was words on a page and he felt immediate comfort in hearing your sweet voice. He managed to pull his gaze away from your eyes but next, he focused on your lips and made details of the way you said his name.Â
â Oh thank god, donât worry, help is coming. Just stay awake for me okay?â You sighed as you nervously pushed another strand of wet hair behind your ear, which made Peter sigh deeply.Â
He wanted nothing more than to reach out to you and tuck a strand of hair away from your face but he was too distracted by how you looked in front of him. Even though you were soaking wet from head to toe, Peter couldnât keep his eyes off of you.Â
â Iâm so glad youâre okay,â You admitted as you smiled before pulling your hands away from his face.Â
Everything besides his heartbeat seemed to stop once you smiled and thatâs when Peter deep down knew something was wrong but he didnât care. The way your lips lifted upward into a smile filled with complete relief made his heart beat even faster.Â
Peter swallowed hard before looking up at you as his face flushed a deep shade of red,â I donât know whatâs happening to me...but Iâve never loved you more than right now. I canât help it, I love you, Iâve always loved you Y/N.âÂ
Your smile dropped as you looked down at Peterâs whole left side. The Lovedust was completely gone and you knew in that moment that his skin mustâve absorbed the remainder of it.
In a matter of seconds, a boy who wanted nothing to do with you and claimed no boy had ever loved you was now professing his undying love for you.Â
â Youâve got to be fucking kidding me.â
#Peter parker#peter parker x reader#peter parker imagines#peter parker imagine#peter parker smut#peter parker x reader smut#tom holland#tom holland x reader#tom holland imagine#tom holland imagines#tom holland sm#tom holland smut x reader#spiderman#spiderman x reader#spiderman imagines#spiderman imagine#spiderman smut#spiderman smut x reader#marvel#marvel x reader#marvel imagines#marvel imagine#marvel smut#marvel x reader smut#avengers#avengers x reader#avengers smut#avengers imagines#peter parker x stark!reader#peter parker x stark reader
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Cove x MC - One Shot #3 (request)
[Read on google docs to insert your MC's name]
SPOILER WARNING: Don't read if you haven't finished Step 3!
Your insides bubbled with excitement as the car neared the cabin nestled deeply in the forest. The fresh blanket of snow was nearly blinding in the bright morning sun. You looked over to your driver, Cove, who wore a focused scowl.
Cove: We made it. I canât believe we made it.
Y/N: Isnât it gorgeous? There is so much SNOW.
Cove smiled at you with apprehension. This trip was a special one for many reasons. You were both freshly 19, so it was your first holiday together as independent adults. On that note, it was also your first holiday away from your families. You felt more down about that than Cove did. His main gripe was the snow, and it was unmistakable in his expression. Cove parked the car in the designated snowless space. You both stepped out, Cove with a little less enthusiasm than you did.
Cove: Snow, snow, and more snow.
The cabin was glowing and decked out in beautiful Christmas decorations. An intermingling of garland and lights hung across the roof. More garland and Christmas baubles framed the frosted windows. Oversized candy canes lined the pathway up to the porch. The wreath on the front door was massive. It hung proudly with a cute snowman proclaiming âLet it Snow!â
Cove: The owners didnât hold back out here. Itâs impressive.
Mesmerized, you could only nod. The online advertisement described the cabin as a pre-decorated Christmas escape. The images you showed Cove online were spectacular, but they did not do justice to the real thing.
Not wanting to stand outside any longer, Cove moved to the trunk and began unloading the luggage. Cove first extracted a suitcase that he claimed was not filled entirely with gifts for you. Your gift for Cove lived safely in your own suitcase, already wrapped and ready to go. He then removed both of your clothing-packed suitcases. You were proud of your ability to convince Cove to bring winter-appropriate clothing to this trip.
You helped Cove drag the luggage to the front door. The host messaged you the entrance code before your arrival. You punched it into the keypad which stood in place of a normal keyhole. 1-2-2-5. Clever.
You paused for dramatic effect, then slowly opened the door to reveal the inside. It looked like a Christmas bomb went off, in the best way possible. You squealed and bounded inside first, leaving Cove to the luggage.
The cabin was small and cozy. The kitchen and living area were open to each other. There was no bedroom, only a pull-out couch that sat comfortably in front of a fireplace. The only other doors in the cabin were for the bathroom and a storage closet.
The Christmas tree drew in your eyes first. You stepped closer to inspect it and inhale the sweet evergreen scent. The tree skirt was wide and inviting to colorful wrapped boxes. Cranberry and popcorn strands wrapped the tree from bottom to top. An assortment of ornaments littered the branches. You peered into one of the big red baubles and smiled at your distorted reflection. Finally, you tilted your head upwards to take in the tree topperâ a stunning golden star.
You spun around excitedly to appreciate the rest of the decorations. There wasnât a corner or window without winter greenery. Festive cushions sat on either side of the couch. Stockings hung by the chimney with care. A miniature village of joyful folk lived on a console table by the entrance. You turned to face Cove, who had just finished lugging everything inside by himself. He shut the door and smiled at you, happy that you were already having a magical time.
Y/N: Iâm sorry, Cove. I got a little carried away withâ
You halted your own sentence. Your gaze drew upward to the ceiling above Cove. A mistletoe hung delicately in the doorway. Cove followed your sight, twisting his head for a better view. You strode towards him before he could speak. You stared at him intently and wiggled one of your eyebrows. He met your gaze again, already blushing intensely.
Cove: Itâs one of those...
His sentence trailed off as you stepped even closer and hushed him.
Y/N: Just kiss me, you big, beautiful dumbass.
Cove gulped hard. He gently took your face in his cold hands. You hoped the heat from your blushing face would warm them. He bent towards you as you stood on your toes to meet the kiss. Your lips danced together sweetly. You parted after a moment and stared into each other's eyes. Coveâs ocean blue eyes glistened and crinkled with the wide smile that spread across his face. You dove into a hug, wrapping your arms around his tall frame. He returned the hug enthusiastically.
Cove: Letâs get everything unpacked and unwind. I need to get that fireplace lit as soon as possible.
You agreed and helped Cove locate a suitable location for the luggage. He paused with his gift-laden suitcase in hand. Face lost in thought, Cove's grip tightened on the suitcase.
Y/N: Everything okay, Cove?
Cove: Today is Christmas Eve.
Y/N: That it is.
Cove: Presents go under the tree on Christmas Eve.
You chuckled at his observations, but allowed him to continue speaking. He brushed it off casually.
Cove: I want this to be special, Y/N. If I put the gifts under the tree now youâll see them and start wondering whatâs inside.
The concern in his tone was apparent. It was just like Cove to worry so deeply about something most people wouldnât think about. You pondered for a moment.
Y/N: Wait for me to fall asleep tonight, then sneak them under the tree like the real Santa Claus.
Cove laughed at the implication of a ârealâ Santa Claus. You were glad to see his mood lighten. He hesitated, then set the suitcase behind the others, careful to conceal it. Perhaps in an attempt to block you from using your x-ray vision to see through the luggage. You thought it was ridiculous, but in the sweetest way. Satisfied with the arrangement, Cove slapped his hands against his legs.
Cove: Well, now what? What Christmas activities does Y/N have planned today?
Y/N: Let me just pull out my Christmas to-do list.
You spoke sarcastically with a twinkle in your eyes. Cove rolled his eyes lightheartedly and wandered to the fireplace. While he fiddled with it you sank heavily into the couch. With an enthused âAha!â from Cove, the fireplace roared to life. It crackled pleasantly.
Cove turned around to smile at you sweetly. He patted the ground next to him. You got up and settled in next to Cove. He wrapped his arm around you and drew you in closer. You immediately appreciated the warmth from both Cove and the fireplace. You leaned on his shoulder.
You spent the rest of the morning watching Christmas movies and munching on candy canes. For lunch, you and Cove made macaroni and cheese. You both welcomed the gooey warmth of the meal.
Imbued with energy from lunch, you leapt from your seat and proclaimed.
Y/N: We have to go outside and enjoy the snow before the sun goes down.
Cove made a sour face and spoke quietly without looking up from his now empty bowl.
Cove: Enjoy, yeahâŠ
You sighed and clenched your jaw, restraining yourself. You knew Cove would be difficult regarding the snow, but hoped the special occasion would nudge him along.
Y/N: Fine. Iâll go outside myself.
Coveâs head immediately snapped up and he stared at you with wide, pleading eyes. He didnât expect you to so easily give up on convincing him. You maintained an unimpressed expression while he spoke.
Cove: No, Y/N. Iâll come with you. You know I love spending time with you no matter what.
Your expression cracked with a hint of a smile, but you regained control.
Y/N: Youâre going to hate it. Donât bother.
You werenât sure why you were being so stubborn with this. Cove was willing to compromise, but you still felt annoyed that his initial reaction put a damper on your mood. You shut your eyes tightly, now irritated by your own childishness.
Cove stood up and firmly gripped your shoulders. He waited for you to look at him. You met his gaze and stuck out your bottom lip in a small pout.
Cove: Letâs go build a snowman. Itâll be like building a sandcastle.
You sighed, but couldnât resist his comforting voice and adoring eyes.
Y/N: Iâm going to have to bundle you in layers. Gloves, a hat, maybe even a scarf.
Cove cringed at each word that escaped your lips. He nodded anyway. You both put on more winter gear in preparation for the snow activities. You held open the door for Cove, who hesitantly stepped outside.
Cove: This is way worse than the ice skating rink.
Y/N: You donât say?
You loved teasing Cove for his blunt and often obvious statements, but he knew you adored him for it. He scoffed and stuck his tongue out at you.
Y/N: Careful with that, might get stuck on a pole.
Cove retreated his tongue and blushed lightly. You gently poked his tummy then grabbed his hand to lead him into the snow. You chose a wide open space away from the cabin for your snowmanâs home. You started shoveling snow into a pile. Cove stood reluctantly nearby. You didnât want to push him, but hoped he would join in the building.
To your surprise, it was only a moment before Cove dug his gloved hands into the snow. He smiled at you shakily while adding to your growing pile of snow. You went back and forth between adding snow and rounding the pile into a snowman base. Coveâs big hands proved useful in this endeavor. With the base done, you moved onto the head.
Y/N: We have to make the head smaller than the body.
Cove: How small? Do you want to give him a shrunken head?
You cackled at the thought, but shook your head.
Y/N: I think he deserves a normal sized head.
Between the two of you, the snowmanâs head slowly grew. You stepped back to assess the size.
Y/N: I think thatâs perfect. What do you think, Cove?
Cove stepped back as well and tilted his head. He spoke matter-of-factly.
Cove: Looks like a snowman.
Y/N: Not yet, he needs a face and arms.
You scoured the ground around you for twigs, leaves, and rocks. Cove did the same.
Cove: If only we had seashells. That would bring it all together.
With your findings combined, you got to work on designing the snowman. His face came together in a wide smile made of various pebbles. Leaves stuck to the top of his head represented the hair. Two sticks on either side of his body became the arms. Cove found several small pinecones to pin on his front like an array of buttons. Finally, the nose. You didnât have a carrot on hand, so you opted for another one of Coveâs pointier pinecones.
Once again, you stepped back with Cove to admire your work. You wrapped your arm around him in a side hug, he returned the gesture with an arm around your shoulder.
Y/N: Heâs beautiful.
You pretended to dramatically wipe a tear from your eye.
Cove: We should name him.
You agreed, and began to ponder names that would fit the snowman. After much deliberation, you settled on Sandy, as a memento of the inspiration for his existence.
Y/N: Sandy the Snowman, it really is perfect.
Cove: Next time weâre at the beach we should build a sandman and name him Snowy.
Cove waggled his eyebrows at you, hoping for a reaction to his hilarious joke. You couldnât contain the grin that emerged from within. You were suddenly overcome by a wave of affection for Cove. His dorky jokes, the way he looked at you, his willingness to put his own comfort aside for your sake. You wanted nothing more than to push him down into the snow and ravage him. Knowing better, you instead decided to grab his hand again and lead him back indoors.
Cove followed with a small gasp at your sudden insistence. Once inside, you leaned Cove against the door and pressed your lips into his. You were desperate for his warmth. He returned the kiss passionately, running his fingers through your hair. You broke away from Cove, satisfied with your second mistle-toe kiss. Cove stood bewildered, disappointed by losing the warmth of your lips. You winked at him, never tiring of teasing your flustered fiancé.
You spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying each otherâs company. You played board games, sang Christmas songs, and drank hot chocolate. As the evening emerged, a light snowfall began outside. You gazed out the window, hypnotized by the dancing snowflakes. Your eyes began to droop, and you felt the weight of the day pulling you down. You yawned and turned to Cove, who was already turning the couch into a bed. He must have sensed your weariness.
Cove threw some blankets and pillows into the bed and you dove right into the inviting warmth. He joined you and extended his arm to make his chest available to your sleepy head. You nuzzled in and closed your eyes, ready to drift awayâŠ
You stirred awake at the feeling of the mattress shifting. Your eyes fluttered open and tried to adjust to the darkness. Cove was climbing back into bed. It was completely dark outside, you judged it must have been a few hours after you fell asleep. Still half asleep, you muttered quietly to Cove.
Y/N: Santa, babyâŠ
You couldnât see his expression through the darkness, instead you heard a small chuckle. You held your arms out limply, hoping for a Cove cuddle. He took you in his arms and kissed the top of your head. You continued feebly, in a sleepy sing-song voice.
Y/N: So hurry down the chimney tonightâŠ
Cove chuckled again and stroked your cheek gently.
Cove: I love you so much.
That was the last thing you heard before falling back into a deep slumber. Several hours later, the morning sun woke you. Cove was sleeping peacefully next to you, likely exhausted from playing Santa Claus last night. You turned over and rested your body on his chest. You peppered his face in tiny kisses until he awoke. His eyes eased open, a smile already growing across his face.
Y/N: Merry Christmas, Cove.
Cove: Merry Christmas, Y/N.
Unable to contain your excitement, you leapt out of bed, leaving Cove to fully wake himself up. You ran to your suitcase and recovered the small wrapped gift you got for Cove. You decided to place it beneath the already populated tree. Your jaw dropped seeing how many gifts Cove got you. You placed the gift down carefully and went to check on Cove.
Y/N: Please tell me youâre ready to open gifts.
Cove: Iâm ready, but you have to open yours first.
You didnât argue, you wanted to save your gift to Cove for last anyway. He joined you by the tree and sat cross-legged across from you.
Y/N: Where should I start? Is there any order to this madness?
Cove thought for a moment, then pulled out one of the presents. Shiny reindeer-imprinted paper covered the box. He held it out to you.
Cove: Definitely start with this one.
Impressed that he seemed to remember what was in each box, you took the gift with a smile. You tore open the paper and uncovered the joy within: an adorable stuffed dolphin. Your eyes lit up as you hugged the little guy. You thanked Cove, who immediately bestowed you with another carefully selected box. You giggled and repeated the process. The rest of the boxes contained: a book from your favorite series, tickets to an upcoming play, rare foreign candy, colorful seashells, and a beautiful ocean-themed puzzle.
You felt overwhelmed by the thought that Cove put into each gift. You struggled to find words besides âthank you.â However, Cove wasnât done. He handed you a final box.
Cove: One more.
You unwrapped this one carefully, a mix of anticipation and nerves stirring within. Inside was a small album titled âOur Life.â You carefully lifted it out of the box and flipped through the pages. Each page was designed to represent a point in your lives together, from childhood all the way to this past summer. There were pictures, funny quotes, tickets from various events, and doodles. Cove even included the piece of paper from your infamous hang-man game.
You were already tearing up before you noticed a smaller box within the original box. With shaking hands and a pounding heart, you opened it.
Inside the box was a simple ring with an engraved wave design. You couldnât stop the waterfall of tears that erupted from your eyes. Your emotions surged and your mind was spinning. Without speaking, you grabbed the present you put under the tree and offered it to Cove. He was visibly confused, even a bit concerned.
Cove: Y/N, is everything okay?
You spoke through tears.
Y/N: Just open it.
Cove silently complied. His fingers carefully removed the red and white pinstriped paper. He looked at you nervously before looking into the box. His eyes widened and glistened.
Cove: A ringâŠ
You laughed shakily and scooted closer to Cove, still holding your own small box. He looked up at you, tears streaming down his red cheeks.
Y/N: Weâre already engaged, but still got rings for each other. And look at how emotional we are about it!
Cove: I thought it would be nice to make it official with a real engagement ring.
You nodded in agreement, pleased that you were both on the same page.
Y/N: Letâs put them on each other.
You exchanged rings with Cove. He held your still shaking hand and carefully slipped the ring onto your finger. You did the same, relieved that the ring was a perfect fit on his finger.
You let out a massive sigh, it felt as if you had been holding your breath for ages. Cove was admiring the ring on his finger, his ocean eyes still glimmering with tears.
Cove: It feels as magical as it did the first time on the poppy hill.
You looked at him adoringly, unable to contain the crashing ocean of love you felt inside.
Y/N: Thank you, Cove. For putting in so much effort for me. All the time. But especially this Christmas. I know holidays arenât your thing, especially not winter onesâŠ
Rambling nervously, you felt like Cove in that moment. He invited you to sit on his lap with a simple pat. You settled in and waited. He cradled you close and spoke quietly but confidently.
Cove: You are my thing. Youâre the best gift I could ask for. You make braving holidays and snow worth it. I canât imagine how this day could get any better.
Cove was right. The morning was still fresh, and you were already swimming in bliss. You sniffled, feeling lucky to have him and looking forward to living your life with the man you love. Christmas Day would hold a special place in your hearts for the rest of your lives.
#our life#our life: beginnings & always#our life beginnings & always#cove holden#cove#cove holden x mc#cove holden x reader#lgbt#writing#my writing#gb patch games#gb patch#fanfic#fandom#fanwork#oc#self insert#mc#romance#one shot#visual novel#otome game#request#christmas
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going nowhere
college isaac x reader
a snowstorm and a chill day
(warnings: cursing, google docs edited this)
You woke up before Isaac by a few minutes, shifting closer in his arms. The room was cold, and he was warm, hogging most of the blankets pinned between his arm and the bed. His eyebrows furrowed in his sleep, and you reached up to smooth them out gently before tapping his nose.
Scrunching it, Isaacâs eyelids started to flutter, and you waited patiently for his eyes to open and him to wake up. He blinked sleepily at you, âMorning,â he spoke, voice about two octaves deeper.
âMorning, hon,â you brushed a kiss across his cheekbone and he smiled sleepily.
Moving even closer, he shifted a little bit to give you room to get closer. He sighed in contentment, âWhat did you want to do today?â
âHmm,â you mused, tapping a finger on his exposed collarbone, âwe could go to the mall. Havenât bought my roommate a Christmas present yet.â
âI need to get something else for Scott,â he broke off to yawn, âso that sounds good to me.â
You hummed, âOkay. We should get up before the mall gets too crowded.â
He groaned dramatically, but let you up, pouting as he did so. Smiling widely, you crossed your arms, staring him down until he got up and walked to the closet to get dressed.
âYouâre driving right?â you asked ten minutes later after the two of you were bundled up enough to go outside.
He sighed, âYouâre the one used to driving in the snow, but I suppose I can for your sake.âÂ
You laughed, throwing the apartment door open and immediately froze, staring out the third floor window at the feet of snow that built up overnight. He ran into you from behind, not realizing youâd stopped, and snorted at the view.
âGuess weâre not going to the mall,â you murmured.
âLooks like weâre snowed in.â
A gust of air blew through the building and you shivered, turning to nudge him back inside, âGo go go, Iâm freezing.âÂ
The two of you took your coats off, and you nudged the heat up while Isaac made a pot of coffee. He handed you a warm mug a few minutes later and pulled you toward the couch. Before you joined him sitting, you pouted.Â
Isaac sighed, faux annoyed, âCan I help you?â
âIâm cold.â
âGet a blanket,â he suggested, reaching over to pull one out of the basket you kept next to the couch.
âIt wouldnât be enough,â you insisted, definitely bullshitting.
He raised his eyebrows, âWhat would you like?âÂ
Grinning, you answered eagerly, âA sweater.â
His smile softened, and he stood up, âNow that I can do.âÂ
Disappearing into his room, you waited for him to come back, and when he did, he had one of your favorite of his cardigans in his hand. You pulled it on, snuggling into its warmth, and settled down on the couch next to him.
âSo, what should we do?â
He hummed, âWould you mind if I caught up on my book?â
âNot at all,â you answered, âI might try one of the ones you suggested if you have any.â
Raising his eyebrows, Isaac huffed, âSweetheart, do you think I just know off the top of my head which books Iâve recommended?â
Rolling your eyes, you told him, âYou donât have to, I have them all in my notes in my phone.â
Isaac looked genuinely taken aback, and you smiled as he finally gathered his thoughts, âUm, okay. Show me.â
And he did have some of the books so he pulled them out and let you judge by their covers which one you wanted to read first. When you picked, he grabbed his book off the nightstand and followed you back to the couch.
You let him lay down first, following suit when he finally stilled, resting between his legs, leaned back against his chest. It was comfortable, you moving with his breaths, and Isaac reached down with one of his hands to hold yours, fingers linked together. It was harder to flip the pages, but you didnât want to let go.
The book was good, Isaac was right in his assumption youâd like it. Immediately drawn in, you held it in your right hand, as did he, your left hands linked together, resting on your stomach. He stayed very still, neither of you moving much besides taking a sip of coffee.Â
The only exception being when he sat up, bringing you with him, to pull the blanket up over both of your legs. Both of you were facing a window with the blinds open, and every so often youâd look up to see it still snowing outside.
After what felt like minutes but was probably hours, Isaacâs stomach growled, breaking the two of you out of the peaceful silence. He smiled sheepishly, âWe havenât eaten yet.âÂ
âDo you have leftovers?â you asked, closing your book.
âYeah.â
âLunch break.â
You both made plates, taking turns heating them up in the microwave, and he sat down at the table first, waiting for you to join him to eat. It was quiet until he broke it again, âHey.â
Eyebrows raised, you echoed, âHey.â
He cleared his throat nervously, âSo Iâve been wondering what jobs youâve been looking into?â
You hummed, âI really liked the hydro class I took. Kind of knew already that I wanted to work in either transportation or water systems, but my transportation class sucked so Iâm definitely leaning more toward water systems.â
Isaac nodded, âWhat would that entail?â
âDesigning dams and stuff like that.â
âSo you want to live on a coast?âÂ
With a laugh, you shrugged, âIâll live wherever they give me a job.â
âFair.â
âWhat about you?â you asked, leaning on your elbow, chin resting in your hand.
âI like the idea of being an English professor. Iâd need to see if I need a masterâs or not.âÂ
âAre you interested in getting a master?â
He shrugged, cheeks turning a bit red, âI like the idea. My dad always used to tell me Iâll never amount to anything. I know heâs wrong, I mean a bachelorâs degree is huge because he didnât have one. But the idea of rubbing a masterâs in his face is nice.âÂ
You nodded, taking it in, âI totally understand. I think if I canât find a job relatively soon after graduating, Iâm going to get a masterâs myself. Itâll help me not only with a job, but Iâll be able to move up to a senior position one day if the opportunity arises.â
âAnd Iâm sure you will, youâre very good at pretty much everything you try to do,â he praised.
You rolled your eyes, âYeah, everything but English and anything writing related thatâs not scientific.â
He shrugged, âAnd Iâm great at those things, so we make a great team. A team that should never split.â
Jaw dropping a little, you stared at him, âAre you proposing to me right now?âÂ
Stuttering for a few seconds, he eventually managed, âNo, but yes.â
âThatâs clear,â you responded sarcastically.
âIâm proposing we stay together after undergrad.We go somewhere together, Iâm willing to move with you anywhere. We donât have to get married immediately, but maybe one day, we could.â
You beamed, âI would absolutely love that.â
Isaac perked up, âYeah?â
âYeah. And for the record,â you added, âif you get into grad school before I find a job, Iâd move with you too and find a job there.âÂ
He was shaking his head before you even finished, âNo, your career is more important than any degree.â
You raised your eyebrows, âI want this to be fair.â
âIt will be. It absolutely will be. I donât want you to compromise that for me.â
Touched, you managed, âThatâs very sweet of you.â
âYeah well, I want you to stick around. If thatâs what it takes, I have no issue. There are schools everywhere, but there might only be a few places with your dream job. I want to support that.â
Smiling tearfully, you had to stand up and walk over to him, tiling his chin up to meet you in a kiss. He returned it eagerly, and you felt something fall into place. An uncertainty you didnât even realize youâd been dealing with finally being resolved.
Pulling away, you kept your hand on his chin to look him in the eye and quietly spoke, âI canât wait.â
âMe neither,â he answered back, just as quiet.
~
day 17 of @obxmermaidââs holiday challenge: snowed in
#isaac lahey#isaac lahey x reader#isaac lahey x you#isaac lahey fic#teen wolf#teen wolf fanfiction#obxmermaidholiday#college isaac
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summer sizzle | selfish - sweet pea | mature.
PROMPTS USED:
To the music + dirty dancing + âI like you this close to me. Youâre warm.â + âYou are so fucking beautiful.â + Kiss on the neck +âShh, donât worry, Iâll take very good care of you.â + comfort sex + needy/clingy + touching / kissing heavy + âCall me selfish, but I donât ever want anyone else to touch you.â + afterglow; talking and cuddling -
AUTHORS NOTES:
Look at me, being all productive and shit, posting content not once but twice in a week. Yaâll, itâs been a while. Iâm rusty as fuuuuck I wonât lie, but.. This was fun to write, even if it was a complicated little bitch in the beginning. If enough people want it, I might actually develop an actual fic for this Andrews!Oc and Pea, because I think it could be very interesting. In the meantime, unless youâre not 18+, enjoy the smut?
PAIRING:
Sweet Pea x Andrews!Ofc. [ RIVERDALE FANDOM ]
WARNINGS:
I am baaadly out of practice writing smut, first of all. Slightly jerky behavior to start with on Peaâs part, biting, s*x, swearing, overuse of petnames, angst to start with. Porn, but heavy af on the plot because apparently, I cannot write it any other way. BUT HAHAHA! THIS BITCH REMEMBERED TO HAVE THEM WRAP IT UP. I REMEMBERED THE GODDAMN CONDOM.
No children allowed,mâkay? This is smut. Not the filthiest, probably not even the best, but itâs out there.
TAGGING:
uhh.. given that this is smut, Iâm gonna tag @rampagewritingâ. If anyone else wants to be tagged in my stuff, follow the link below to my google doc and add yourself, yeah?
Life edit, I also tag @xxghostnappaxxâ to this.Â
[ four seasons masterlist ] | [ tag list google doc ] | [ faq ]
 ----> SELFISH, a sweet pea x ofc oneshot.
âIf you want to go to the dance, Alyssa.. Iâm
not
stopping you.â Sweet Pea spoke calmly, giving a shrug as if he didnât care either way. As he gazed down at me, I sighed and shook my head sadly. I tried stepping a little closer but he backed away like usual.
At this point, I find myself seriously wondering what exactly keeps me coming back.
,, oh, thatâs right you stupid, stupid girl, youâre in love with the jerk.â - the thought came, taunting me in itâs brutal and raw truth.
But a girl can only be pushed out so far and honestly?
I was sick of paying for the pain Josie McCoy caused him. I was sick of having to prove myself over and over, I was beyond tired of being tested and questioned. I was tired of hoping against hope that one day, heâd finally get it. Heâd realize that unlike pretty much everyone else in his life to this point, I wasnât going anywhere.
A talk I had with Betty came back and I turned back to look at Sweet Pea, shaking my head. Something in me snapped and before I could stop myself, I was saying something I knew full well Iâd come to regret.
âYouâre dense. All this time and you donât get it. You canât see whatâs right here in front of you, begging to be taken. I loved you, okay? Nothing wouldâve changed that. But you⊠You had to keep pushing me away, you had to keep questioning my motives. Iâm going to the dance, Sweet Pea. And I think,â I paused, taking a few deep breaths to keep myself calm.Â
If I didnât do it, I was most definitely going to break down sobbing. I wouldnât ever go through with this because the last thing I want to do right now is turn my back. I mean, I love the guy. I donât want to give up like pretty much everyone else in his life has. After Iâd taken a few seconds to get myself calm again, I kept going, â I think that Iâm also going to leave you alone from now on since thatâs obviously what you want.â
I grabbed my backpack and before he could say anything, I walked out of the empty classroom weâd been sitting in. Almost the second I was out in the hallway and standing by my locker, what Iâd just done hit me and I wound up sitting on the hallway floor, my head resting against my knees.
âAlyssa?â
I looked up to find Reggie Mantle standing there, staring down at me in concern. âAre you crying?â
I shook my head, wiping at my eyes. I couldâve easily told Reggie Mantle exactly why I was sitting in the floor of the hallway crying, but in the end, I still cared entirely too much for Sweet Pea and the last thing I wanted was for him to get into another fight.
,, donât flatter yourself. Did you not see just how little he cares when he didnât try to stop you? When he didnât wake up at the last second and at least try to fight for you?â the thought sat in my mind, taunting me bitterly. And I still kept the reason I was crying to myself.
Reggie flopped down next to me and kind of awkwardly slipped his arm around my shoulders. âHey, câmon, princess.â
âDonât call me that⊠Please?â I glanced up at him, wincing a little at the use of the pet-name. Given that pretty much all of Archieâs friends called me that, I realized suddenly that when Sweet Pea called me that, it had taken on a whole new meaning for me. It changed from just a dumb nickname given to me by my older brother and all of his friends to something⊠Special. Intimate.
And now, I was going to hear it all the time and yeah, it was probably going to hurt like hell.
Reggie eyed me and I gave him a pleading look. âThere has to be a million other things you can call me. Iâm not a little girl anymore, Reg.â I said it quickly, hoping it wouldnât raise suspicion or anything.
I didnât want any of this getting back to Pea, putting him into a situation with my brother or any of his friends. I let out a deep breath that I didnât even realize I held when Reggie smiled and nodded, seeming to accept my hasty explanation.
âThereâs a lot of things I could call you, angel.â he said it so smoothly that I had not a single doubt in my mind that yet again, he was hitting on me.
But I was hurting so much at the moment, I didnât immediately put him off. I looked up at him and gave a weak sort of smile, shrugging. âWhatever you wanna call me⊠Just not princess, okay?â
Reggie flashed a grin and gave me the thumbs up, springing up off the hallway floor. He held out his hand and warily, I eyed it a few seconds before finally allowing him to pull me off the floor. He walked me to class and just before I disappeared in the door, he stopped me, dragging his fingers through his hair as he eyed me up. âYou gonna be alright, angel?â
âYeah, it just hasnât been a good day.â
âIf you wanna talk.. Youâve got your old buddy Reggie.â
Somehow, when he said it, I got the distinct feeling that he meant something more by it, but I shoved the thought down.Â
--
I could feel his eyes burning a hole through me and several times, I almost turned around. I almost said something. But I remembered what I was trying to do, and I remembered the way he didnât say anything to stop me when I did it and the hurt came back all over again.
Sweet Pea hissed my name from behind and I stared straight ahead, blatantly ignoring him. The teacher gave him a dirty look and he went quiet after that. Despite my resolve not to, I found myself turning around now and then, watching him when he wasnât looking.
But I canât keep letting myself be a doormat. I have to stand my ground. Even if this is killing me. Even if itâs the last thing I want to do.Â
Bearing that in mind, for the rest of the week, I went above and beyond to either avoid Sweet Pea or make sure I was never alone in the hallway or after class so he couldnât find me or talk to me. I made myself scarce. I bottled everything up and I shoved it all down. And I thought I was doing a pretty damn good job at it too...
--
âYou! Explain yourself right now.â Cheryl and Toni stormed into Popâs and glared at Sweet Pea angrily as they stood by the booth he sat in by himself.
âHey to you too, Blossom.â Sweet Pea grumbled, not even bothering to look up from the barely touched plate of food sitting on the booth in front of him. He growled quietly when Cheryl and Toni took it upon themselves to sit down in the other side of the booth without bothering to ask.
âObviously, you two are gonna say something, so just say it and go. Kind of not in the mood.â Sweet Pea spoke up as he stared out the window, into the parking lot.Â
âWhat kind of idiot are you?â Toni asked, shaking her head as she reached across the table, taking some of Sweet Peaâs french fries and eating them herself. He gave her a dirty look but she shrugged, wiping away ketchup from the corners of her mouth before repeating herself. âI repeat, Pea⊠what kind of an idiot are you?â
âA pretty big one, if you want my opinion, lover.â Cheryl answered Toniâs question before Sweet Pea could say anything.
âCan you two stop dancing around whatever this is and say it?â
âWe heard about what happened with you and Alyssa. Are you seriously going to sit here and do nothing? She said she loved you, Pea. What? Thatâs just not good enough?â
âI know what she said.â Sweet Pea barked the statement, making both girls share a look. After quiet whispering, the two looked at him again, determined. âIt was, okay? I just..â he trailed off, swearing under his breath and shaking his head as the two of them shared a look and then directed their gaze to him in unison.
 âWhat?â Sweet Pea grumbled, taking a sip of the soda on the table beside him.
âYouâre going to fix this, you giant idiot. You have to fix it. I canât have one of my Vixens going around all mopey or even worse, missing Homecoming festivities entirely. Need I remind you, we Vixens have a strong reputation in this school? And if one of us is lacking spirit, it makes us all look bad.â
Sweet Pea laughed. The laughter died away when he realized that they were being serious. âThatâs what this is about? Your stupid cheerleading shit? You do realize I canât fix it, right? Do you not think Iâve tried, Blossom?â
âTry harder, you big oaf.â Cheryl leaned in slightly, glaring at Sweet Pea in frustration. She added as an afterthought, â I hate seeing her like this, okay? Sheâs a sweet girl and honestly, it kills me. I need her happy and bubbly. You broke my Vixen, you fix her now.âÂ
âDonât hold your breath, Blossom.â Sweet Pea shrugged, his shoulders sagging as he went back to staring down at mostly untouched food. Toni eyed him and spoke up.
âWow. I have never seen you just sit and pick at your food, Pea. This is really bothering you, isnât it?â
âGee⊠whatever gave you that idea, Topaz?â Sweet Pea snorted sarcastically, giving an eye roll as he shifted around in his seat, eyeing the door. All he wanted to do was escape right now. Because the more they said, the more it made him replay that day over and over again.
And it hurt like hell. It only made him angry at himself all over again.
âYou know, youâre a stubborn ass, right? You could fix this if you really wanted to. But I guess you donât. So I guess sheâll just wind up moving on and youâll go back to being the miserable man-bitch we all know and love yet want to strangle.â
Toni smirked as her words hit their mark and the two of them stood, walking out of Pops, leaving Sweet Pea to stew in Toniâs parting remark. And it took hold, rooting itself in his mind.
Thatâs the one thing about friends who are like family. They always know where to hit at to illicit an actual reaction.
âYeah, thatâs not gonna happen.â Sweet Pea stood, tossing his half eaten food and the empty soda into a bin and he strode out the door into the parking lot.
He happened to look across the parking lot, spot her getting out of the truck with her father, Fred.
He called her name and for once, she looked back. The hurt look in her eyes and the sad shake of her head was what really got him. He couldnât have felt worse if he tried. He stood there, watching her walk into Popâs with her father and in that moment, he made up his mind.
One way or another, even if it took a long time, he was going to fight. He couldnât just give up. He couldnât let her slip through his fingers.
--
My father cleared his throat from the seat across the booth. âEverything okay, shortcake?â
âYeah. Yeah, itâs all good.â
âWell then what was all that outside?â
âWhat?â I asked the question, tensing a little. Sometimes, having such a perceptive father isnât really a great thing. Especially when I donât really⊠like acknowledging pain. Or dealing with it. I mean, my whole idea of dealing with the situation with Sweet Pea has been to just pretend Iâm okay, but to go above and beyond to avoid him.Â
âYou know what Iâm talkin about. The kid called your name and you gave him that look. The one you always gave Archie when you were little and Archie wouldnât let you tag along to play.â
I plastered on my best convincing face and shook my head, taking a noisy sip of my chocolate milkshake. âI have no idea what youâre talking about, dad. Heâs in my class. He was just saying hey.â
âIt sounded like he was trying to talk to you.â my father pointed out and I bit my lip, glancing over at him. âYeah, well.. If he wanted to talk, he shouldâve done it earlier. At school. Iâm starving. Can we order now?â
My father chuckled and for a few seconds, he eyed me as if he wanted to ask more questions. Thankfully, he let it go. âYeah. What do you want? I think Iâm gonna get my usual.â
âI think Iâm going to try your usual, actually.â
âThatâs a lot of burger, kid.â my father laughed.
I shrugged and did my best to laugh. As I happened to look over at the window, I did so just in time to see Sweet Peaâs truck pulling out of the parking lot. For a second or two, I wondered what he might have said if Iâd walked over.
But I quickly shoved that out of my head.
-- LE TIME SKIPPE.
Cheryl spotted me making my way into the gym. âYou came!â she pulled me into a hug and I nodded, shrugging. My eyes roamed around the gym and I swallowed hard, stomach sinking just a little when I saw no sign of Sweet Pea anywhere.
,, did you really think heâd show, Alyssa?â - the thought had me frowning a little, but I quickly plastered on my best attempt at a bright smile when we pulled back from the little hug. Cheryl smiled. âI love the dress. Letâs see if we canât get you circulatingâŠâ
âActually, Iâm just gonna go get some punch? Maybe observe until they play a song worth dancing to?â I bit my lip as I said it and Cheryl eyed me a second or two, before finally giving a nod under Toniâs gaze.
If not for Toni, I have no idea Cheryl wouldâve ignored me and gone ahead, doing what she wanted. It used to annoy the hell out of me when we were all kids, but now, I kind of see it as her, trying to show that she really does care.
And sheâs been a lot more help than she realizes since things with Sweet Pea crashed and burned so badly. She hasnât really⊠let me mope a lot. Iâve wanted to, but she and Toni always find a way to manage keeping me from it.
I made my way over to the punch bowl and the refreshments table and I turned around, my back to the crowd as I scooped punch into my cup, grumbling to myself as soon as I felt the burn of alcohol as it crawled down my throat and into my stomach. âFigures. Somebody would have to spike the punch.â I mused to myself as I sipped from the cup and momentarily toyed with the idea of just grabbing the entire chocolate cake on the table and a plastic fork, disappearing for the alcove beneath the stairs on the freshman wing.
But I told myself that I was coming tonight. Iâm trying to get over him. And damn it, Iâm determined to fake it til I make it.
âWanna dance, angel?â Reggie leaned against me from behind, muttering the words quietly against my ear. I bit my lip, trying to brainstorm the best way to politely turn him down.
Thereâs only one guy I want to dance with, but apparently, Iâm not and will never be good enough.
I sighed and rubbed my forehead, frustrated with myself.
I was about to turn around and accept Reggieâs offer when I heard Sweet Pea speaking up from behind Reggie. âBeat it, Dog.â
âHow about you fuck outta here, Serpent?â Reggie gave Sweet Pea a dirty look.Â
I stood there, eyes darting from one to the other, both of them tensed and squared up, ready to go in the snap of a finger.
âGuys, no.â I spoke up, warning tone as my hand rested against my hip. âYouâre not about to start this shit.â
âHe started it.â both responded, glaring at the other. I rolled my eyes and tried to make it a point to avoid Sweet Peaâs intent gaze. The way deep brown eyes roamed over every single inch of my body, lingering just enough to make my breath catch in my throat. In the end, I just couldnât though, and I found myself getting sucked into his gaze.
I sighed quietly and managed to tear my eyes off the way he looked in a borrowed suit, the tie undone at his neck, even though the sight of him had my knees utterly weak. I focused on Reggie instead and plastered on a smile, nodding to the dance floor.
âDidnât you ask me to dance, Reg?â I asked, stepping away from Sweet Pea and a little closer to Reggie. He held out his arm and I looped mine through, letting him lead me out onto the dance floor.
I didnât dare look back at Sweet Pea. I didnât have to. I could feel his eyes penetrating me, I could feel his gaze shift to Reggie and I, despite Reggie moving us towards other parts of the gym floor several times during the dance we shared. At one point, he chuckled against my ear as I grinded against him, hips swaying in time to the song playing, âIf looks could kill right now, huh?â
I swallowed hard, catching eyes with Sweet Pea. He was leaned against the wall, arms folded over his chest. If he glared any harder at Reggie, Reggie would drop dead on the spot. I did my best to look like I was having the time of my life and finally, the song came to an end. Reggie chuckled and dragged his fingers through his hair as he winked at me and told me heâd find me later on tonight, maybe weâd dance again.
I nodded, even though I had every intention of disappearing long before that happened. I was heading back towards the punch bowl for another cup of punch when I felt arms wrap around my waist and I found myself body to body with Sweet Pea.
âThat fuckin guy?â Sweet Pea nodded to Reggie, who was already dancing with another girl. I bit my lip and stepped back a little when Sweet Pea moved closer, towering over me.
âHe asked me to dance. Seeing as how Iâm here alone tonight, all dressed up, I didnât see the harm.â
âYou didnât see the harm.â Sweet Pea was doing his best at keeping a calm tone, but I could see the exact second his fists clenched at his sides and I could hear it in the way he exhaled. What I didnât understand was why exactly he was so jealous.
âNo. I didnât.â I swallowed hard as he stepped closer. His hand ghosted my side, fingertips digging in ever so slightly when they stilled on my hip. He leaned down just a little and muttered quietly, calmly, âCall me selfish, but I donât ever want anyone else to touch you, princess.â using my moment of confusion to pull me closer, pressing me against him. The way he said it had my heart fluttering a little and I barely managed not whimpering at the look in his eyes when mine met his after a few seconds.
I tried to keep some distance between us, attempting to pull back a little even though that was the absolute last thing I wanted to do. I was trying to keep my defenses up. However, he seemed to pick right up on it and something softened in his eyes as he tried again, pulling me close all over again, arms around my waist.Â
I couldnât formulate words or string a single coherent thought together and it was a damn shame because there was so much I wanted to say to him. To yell at him. Heâd hurt me and honestly, I just wanted to let him have it.
Instead, I sighed and melted into his arms a little, my hand raising and catching in the collar of his borrowed suit. His mouth grazed right against the shell of my ear and he muttered huskily against, âYouâre so fucking beautiful.â before tilting my chin so that I had to look up at him. I gulped, taking a deep breath.
âYou really hurt me. I mean, you really, really hurt me.â I pouted a little, at least making a valiant effort to stand my ground and make him own up to his part in the way things played out almost two weeks ago. He flinched, his hand leaving my hip and raising to rake hair back out of my eyes as he continued to stare down at me intently, lost in thought. I took a deep breath and continued, âI should just walk away. Right now.â
âPrincess, donât.â Sweet Pea spoke up quietly with his tone torn between firmness and fear, leaning his forehead down, resting it against mine. Somebody got the DJ to play Love Me Like You Do and for a second, I heavily considered it, just walking off the dance floor and maybe even leaving the dance altogether.
Instead, I took a deep breath and met his gaze, eyeing him expectantly. âDo you have nothing at all to say for yourself, Sweet Pea?â
âOh, I got plenty to say, princess. Iâm just not saying it here, in front of everyone.â Sweet Pea muttered the words quietly, his lips brushing right up against mine as he spoke. I sucked in a sharp breath but I also pouted again, tensing against him a little, because obviously, that was the entirety of our problem to start with. I knew how he felt, hypothetically, I never really doubted it until that last day I talked to him, when he didnât try to stop me, when he didnât come after me and trust me enough not to hurt him like heâd already been hurt to let it all go. I did manage to step back just a little, putting space between us and I shook my head. âWrong answer, Sweet Pea.â
He swallowed hard, looking around.
I bit my lip, shuffling my feet against the gym floor. I didnât want to do this, but I also didnât want to get hurt again. I didnât want to risk anything until I knew that this time, things were going to be a little different.
If not, I couldnât just stick around and keep waiting, no matter how much I wanted to. What if he was never ready to let me in?
âWhat do you want me to say? I love you? Fine. I love you.â Sweet Pea was stepping closer all over again, hands firmly planted on my hips this time to hold me in place. At first, I thought about bolting because I wasnât entirely sure whether he was just saying it now to get me to stay or whether he meant it, but then I looked up and my eyes actually met his.
âI love you and this whole thing is driving me fucking insane, princess.â he pulled me completely against him this time, staring down at me almost hungrily. He grumbled and rolled his shoulders making muscular arms strain against the ill fitting suit and I found my eyes fixated on that, distracted.Â
âI see you checking me out, princess. Is there something you want? Just tell me and itâs yours, I promise.â the question was posed with that trademark cocky smirk and I gulped, locking eyes with him. Seconds felt stretched into hours and neither of us said anything, we just stared. At least until I felt his hands wandering all over me as we danced. He leaned in closer, a hand leaving where it rested against my ass to raise to my cheek, gripping, guiding my mouth straight to his own.Â
My back hit one of the gym walls softly and I found myself pressed right up against it, his hand lowering from where it rested on my cheek to roam all over my body as his mouth devoured mine hungrily. I could feel my lips starting to bruise and swell and when his teeth sank into my bottom one, tugging at it, I whimpered and raised my arms, wrapping them around his neck, only after I dragged my fingers over his scalp. His other hand tangled in my hair, using his grip to pull my lips into the kiss even deeper still. By this point, we were both gasping for breath, panting heavily and a whimper bubbled out of my throat when he bucked himself against me and growled into the kiss quietly just before it broke, both of us pulling away, wide-eye and trying desperately to catch our breath.
âI asked you a question. Is there anything you want right now, princess?â his voice was a low rumble when he spoke and the way he towered over me, staring down, with an arm raised and his palm flat against the wall I was pressed up against had me leaning against him heavily, all the bones pretty much leaving my legs and reducing them to gelatin just a little more with each little touch, with each on purpose graze of his mouth against my ear or my neck, even the front of my throat. I finally managed to rub against him a little and he growled quietly, biting his bottom lip as he looked down at me, the lust burning bright in his eyes.Â
The music changed to a slower song and I shivered at the way he rubbed himself against me, the way he strained against the suit pants making me bite my lip and cling to him, rubbing against him right back. I was grateful for the fact that we were in the back of the gym and nobody was really paying us any attention, because Iâd never really danced this dirty with anyone before.
The next thing I knew, I was being scooped up into his arms and carried out of the gym. I clung to him, my lips grazing up and down the side of his neck, little whimpers as he whispered things to me while carrying me out of the dance.
He unlocked his truck, opening the passenger door and sitting me in the seat, stepping between my legs as his hands wandered up and down my sides, then over my thighs. My head fell back and I licked my lips, earning me a growl and him leaning in against me heavily to whisper against the shell of my ear, âYou know what that does to me, princess.â
âNo, I actually donât. I didnât, I mean.â I managed to gasp out in a shaky breath against his ear as my hands wandered down the front of the button up top, unable to still, touching him in any way I could. My legs wrapped around his hips and squeezed against, my heels digging into his ass to pull him against me even more. It ended up leaning me back against the seat a little and Sweet Pea followed me down, his lips ghosting down the front of my throat, littering soft skin with bites and marks.
âWeâre leaving, princess⊠If thatâs okay with you.â he managed to gasp out the question when he pulled himself away from my neck and throat, catching his breath as he stared down at me, almost anxiously. It was a switch from the way he usually carried himself, so cocky and self-assured at all times. It let me know just how much Iâd truly gotten to him.
âMhm.â I purred against his neck after Iâd melted into him again, muttering a few seconds later, âI like you this close to me. Youâre warm.â and batting my lashes, making him growl quietly when the movement tickled his skin. His fingers dug into my body even more, squeezing as if he were trying desperately to hang onto any shred of self-control he might have left.Â
âThis isnât getting us outta here, princess.â he gave a low and dark chuckle against my mouth as he zeroed in on it again, another bruising and deep kiss that left my lips swollen and achy. I whimpered, almost needy as he stepped away, tucked my legs into his truck and shut the passenger door firmly. He jogged around to the driver seat and got in, wasting no time in cranking the truck and spinning out of the parking lot and onto the street that ran right past it.
His hand left the steering wheel, moving slowly up and down my thigh, making me whimper and squirm as he nodded to the space next to him in the middle of the bench seat. âCâmon, princess. Get closer.â
I moved closer, leaning against his side and my breath caught in my throat when I felt his hand venture up my dress, rubbing me through the pink satin beneath it. He leaned in a little at the one redlight in town and muttered almost cocky against my ear, âPrincess, youâre dripping.â and bit his lip as he pulled away, turning his attention back to the road in front of us as the light went green. The more he rubbed, the more I rocked myself against his hand, making him chuckle quietly. âGood girl. Such a good girl. Just a few more minutes, okay? And then, if you let me, Iâm gonna take real good care of you. I mean that, princess.âÂ
My head fell back against the seat with a soft thud and I whimpered as I rocked myself against his hand even more after he started to rub harder, faster. âSweet Pea.â I choked out, panting heavily, âDonât stop. Feels so good.â
The truck pulled to a stop and he killed the engine, wrangling me into his lap, making me pout because heâd taken his hand away. His lips were all over my face and neck until I couldnât take it anymore and I was literally dying to be kissed again, my hands resting against his cheeks and pulling his mouth against mine greedily.
He bucked himself into me from below and as I rocked myself back and forth in his lap, his fingers dug into my sides, pressing me down harder. âFuck. I can feel you dripping, princess. This feel good?â
âYes. So good.â I gasped as I buried my lips in his neck, leaving a mark of my own behind, making him groan and buck into me harder, holding my hips still so that he had control over the friction as he looked me up and down, almost as if he were sizing up mentally just how long it would take to strip me down.
He stepped out of his truck, not bothering to put me down, carrying me up the steps and into his trailer, the door shut and locked behind us. My back pressed into it as his hand made itâs way back up my dress and he bucked against me, rubbing his hand harder against soaked pink satin.Â
âSweet Pea.â I moaned out, shattering the silence in the trailer. âYeah, baby girl?â he breathed against my ear, his fingers trailing a line straight up my slit after slipping into my panties. âNow. Need you now.â I nipped at his neck as I raised one of my legs to his waist, trying to keep myself steady.
âNow, hmm? If thatâs what you want, princess.â he broke the kiss and pulled back, searching my eyes, almost as if he were making sure that I wanted to go this far. I licked my lips and whimpered, rocking myself against his hand all over again, begging for it breathlessly until he pulled me up his body and carried me over to the mattresses he slept on, my back hitting them softly as he sank down, sitting next to me. I climbed into his lap, my fingers pulling at the buttons on his shirt after Iâd managed to tug down the jacket of the suit, letting it fall to the bed. His hands disappeared up my dress, fingers catching in the waistband of my panties, tearing them away with a quiet rip and tossing them onto the floor by the bed. He laid me back, positioning himself over me, pressing himself down into me and his mouth rolled over my neck, leaving more bitemarks and little nips behind, smirking against my skin as he did so.
âEverybodyâs gonna know youâre mine, princess. You sure youâre okay with that?â his voice was husky, laced with sex and want, almost raw and primal as his lips brushed against my ear and he rocked himself against me. I got my hands free from where theyâd been caught and immediately, I went for the button and zipper on his pants, tugging pants and boxers down at the same time. They pooled at his feet as he stood up and he kicked them free, sending them skidding quietly out into the middle of the floor before turning his attention to the little tray table at the head of the bed, digging around on top of it, coming up with a condom in his grip.Â
He pulled himself away from me, because heâd been pressed against me again, tearing the wrapper with his teeth and spitting the foil onto the floor after heâd torn the packaging.As he prepared to put it on, I gently pushed his hand away, gazing up at him as my hand circled his cock, working the rubber sheath down in place over it. He growled, bucking himself into my hand and almost the second it was fully on, he had me on my back again, lowering himself down over me.
My legs wrapped around him and he rose up, his hand circling his thick member, guiding it right over my slit, making me gasp as he stared down at me and bit his lip, leaning down just a little to murmur against my ear, âDonât let me hurt you, princess.â
I hissed as I felt the tip slowly slip in and my nails dug into his shoulders as I tensed all over. He went still, staring down at me, kissing me all over my face before zeroing into my mouth again, but not until I begged for it first.
He started to fuck into me slowly as I began to relax, and I rocked my hips up to meet each thrust, the tips of my fingers gripping at his shoulders a little harder with each one. âYou feel so so good, princess. So good. Youâre okay, right?â
âFeels good.â I gasped, my eyes fluttering open and shut as I started to feel myself tensing, this slow and lazy heat settling in my core. I could feel myself dripping, and the soft smack of our bodies with every single thrust echoed off the walls of the trailer. He slowed to a stop again, muttering against my lips in a daze, âGotta slow down, princess. I wanna take my time with you.â and I nodded. I wasnât really in a hurry to get home, my father told Archie and I we could be out late tonight because of the dance.
Honestly, Iâd told him Iâd probably just stay over at Cherylâs or something and heâd been okay with it.
The prospect of having a whole night alone with Sweet Pea was exciting.Â
His thrusts sped up a little and when I raised my arms to wrap them around his neck again, he chuckled, smiling down at me, a softer version of his usual cocky smirk. âYou feel so good, princess. Youâre takin me so well. Câmon, move your hips, baby girl. Thatâs it.â he groaned out against my ear as he started to slam into me harder, more erratically.Â
By now, that slow and lazy heat in my core had turned into a dull throb and I moaned out, rocking my hips to meet his thrusts with more urgency because I could feel myself getting closer and closer with each stroke. He growled and gripped at my hips, trying to hold me still and stay in control, chuckling against my ear almost teasingly, âYou gonna come for me?â
âSo.. so close.. Donât stop.â I begged over and over as his thrusts got deeper, rougher, and his fingers dug into my hips, the smack of his body against mine almost in competition to overcome the sound of our combined moans and groans and the soft sucks and slurps every single time his mouth conquered mine. He licked his lips and his jaw clenched, I got the feeling he was holding back and holding off and I dug my heels into his ass, driving him even deeper inside. He groaned against my skin, âFuck. Câmon, princess. Let go.â as my orgasm shattered through and it pushed him over the edge too, his cock pulsing, my walls vising tight around it as we clung to each other and tried to catch our breath.
After peppering my face and neck and collarbone with kisses, he flopped onto the mattress next to me, rolling onto his side, trailing those thick fingertips slowly over my bare skin as he stared down at me. âIâm sorry.â
âItâs okay. Weâre okay.â I yawned out, rolling onto my side to face him, slipping my leg over his hip. He raised his hand, gliding it slowly over my thigh, gingerly trailing his fingertips over a few light bruises his hands and fingers left behind on my body.Â
âYou sleepy, baby girl?â he laughed, teasing me a little as my eyes started to get heavy...Â
#sweet pea fanfic#sweet pea fanfiction#sweet pea fic#sweet pea imagine#sweet pea smut#sweet pea oneshot#// four seasons of sm*t self challenge#//fourseasonsofsm*tselfchallenge#// forgive the overkill of plot and the fact that yes.. a bitch is indeed rusty at smut writing.#// i am lowkey happy with this.
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Finished Chapter One! Putting It Under Read More Because Itâs Like, 21 Pages In Google Docs.(Reblogs And Opinions Appreciated!)Taglist:Â @bccfggffbgv, @new-account-sam-christy-456, Hope Ya Donât Mind The Tags-Feel Free To Ask To Be Added Or Removed From The Taglist!
Chapter 1: âInto the Inkwell!â
âToday, another batch of Ink was stolen, alongside machine parts. We have no clue whoâs committing the thefts, but weâre constantly on the lookout for any clues or suspects.â The TV broadcast.
âInk and Machine part theft? Why those specific items?â Dipper hummed, confused.
âMaybe itâs a rogue cartoonist out to get revenge on the world that scorned them! The world that decided that they were not worthy to press comics or cartoons to the world!â Mabel guessed.
âOr it could be that theyâre creating a machine that relies on Ink for fuel.â Dipper suggested.
âHey kids, whatcha watching?â Stan asked, leaning in.
âThe news.â Dipper said, pointing at the current newscast on the television screen. Stan looked, raising an eyebrow.
âYada yada, Ink stolen, yada yada, machine parts, yada yadaâŠ.â Stan read. Stan froze as he read over the broadcast again. âInk and Machine parts?! That sounds likeâŠâ Stan trailed off.
âSounds like what, Grunkle Stan?â Dipper asked. Stan shook his head.
âNothing, Dipper. Nothing at all. Just thought I had an idea is all.â Stan declined.
(Flashback.)
âHeya, Ford, can I get your opinion on somethinâ?â Hunter asked nervously.
âWhat is it?â Ford asked, turning to look at Hunter, crouching down to look her in the eyes.
âWe-Well, I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I got a blueprint idea and I-I wanted your input if thatâs okay with youâŠ?â Hunter asked. Ford laughed, standing up.
âOf course! Iâm glad youâre willing to give inventing a try!â Ford smiled. Hunter sheepishly handed the blueprints over, Ford reading them over, eyes narrowing as he read them.
âHunter,â Ford started, tearing his eyes away from the paper. âIs this,â He said, pointing at the paper. âA machine thatâs meant to use Ink as a power source?â Ford asked.
âWe-Well, yeah, i-i-i-is that too weirdâŠ?â Hunter asked sheepishly, shifting where she was standing.
âWeird? Of course not!â Ford scolded. Hunterâs face heated up in embarrassment. âItâs inGENIOUS!!!!â Ford grinned. Hunter felt hope bubbling in her stomach. âBut Iâm already seeing one problem with the build here,â Ford said, unrolling the blueprints. âSee, the way this is set up, itâs going to be expensive to use because of the sheer amount of Ink needed to power it, even if you just need a small print!â Ford explained.
âY-Yeah, I tend to dream bigâŠ!â Hunter chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.
âHunter, my dear, that is preCISELY the kind of dreaming that I encourage!â Ford grinned.
âI-Iâm not interrupting anything important, a-am I?â Hunter asked. Ford shook his head.
âNo, no, no! Itâs PERFECTLY fine, Hunts!â Ford grinned.
âSo how could I improve the build of this thing?â Hunter asked.
âWell, you could start by downsizing it a bit,â Ford started. âWith the specific Ink you want to power this thing, itâd be outright UNaffordable if you kept it this size! Maybe make it the size of...oh...An average printer! Thatâd be an affordable amount of Ink AND itâd be a HUGE space saver!â Ford suggested. Hunter nodded, taking notes.
(Timeskip a few hours.)
âOh! Sorry! I forgot to ask! Whatâre you planning to use this for?â Ford asked. Hunter winced quietly, sweating nervously. âHunts?â Ford asked, worried at the reaction.
âI wanted to bring my cartoons to lifeâŠ!â Hunter explained nervously.
âBy printing them into a comic book! Hunter, youâre a genius!!â Ford exclaimed.
âIâŠ.I wasnât being metaphorical, F-FordsyâŠ.â Hunter frowned. Ford tilted his head, confused. âI-I...I meant LITERALLYâŠâ Hunter grimaced.
âWHAT?!?â Ford gasped. âHunter, you mean to tell me that your plans for this thing are to PLAY GOD?!?â Ford snapped.
âI-I know how that sounds, b-but-â Hunter started.
âNo, donât say ANYTHING MORE. Iâve helped you with this plan ENOUGH. I refuse to help someone who thinks that they can play God. The door is behind you.â Ford sneered.
âFordsy, I-I-â Hunter started.
âDOOR.â Ford frowned.
âFord, I-I-â Hunter restarted.
âDOOR, OUT, NOW.â Ford ordered.
âFord, Iâm sor-â Hunter started.
âGET OUT BEFORE I THROW YOU OUT, HUNTER!!!!â Ford yelled, pointing at the door. Hunter winced, picking her backpack and blueprints up and heading out the door before any more harm was done.
âIs everythinâ okay out here, Pines?â Fiddleford asked.
Ford sighed heavily. âSomeone I knew that I THOUGHT was my friend was trying to use science for playing God.â Ford frowned. Ford shook his head. âLetâs get back to work on the portal. Where are we at for schematics, Fids?â Ford asked.
(Present day.)
âGrunkle Stan?â Dipper called. Stan shook himself out of it, coming back to reality.
âIâm fine, kids, what happened?â Stan asked.
âYa just sorta...Spaced out a bit there, are you okay?â Mabel asked.
âYeah, Iâm fine, sweetheart! No need to worry!â Stan laughed. Mabel and Dipper looked at each other, swapping worried looks.
âGrunkle Stan, do you have any idea who the criminal could be?â Dipper asked. Stan froze. He could know, but he didnât want to risk anything.
âNo. I donât.â Stan declined.
âHmmâŠâ Dipper hummed.
âMystery twin investigation?â Mabel suggested.
âMystery twin investigation.â Dipper nodded.
âBe careful, you two!! I gotta getcha home in one piece!!â Stan reminded as the two ran out.
Stan sighed, walking to his room and pulling out a photo with three smiling kids in it. âIt couldnât be you, right budâŠ?â Stan thought.
(Flashback)
âHeya, Stan, can uh...can we talk really quickâŠ?â Hunter asked, pacing in place nervously.
âYeah, sure, whatâs on your mind, Tiny?â Stan asked.
âWell, Iâve been hopping around the states with ya for a while now, yeah..?â Hunter asked sheepishly.
âYeah, is something wrong?â Stan asked, raising an eyebrow.
âWeellâŠ.â Hunter winced.
âHunter, Iâm pretty much your brother at this point, is something wrong?â Stan asked, knowing by now how to tell when Hunter was nervous.
âIâŠâŠ.I donât know how to say thisâŠâ Hunter coughed.
âTell it to me straight, Sister. I wonât get mad!â Stan assured.
Hunterâs eyes filled with hope. Finally! She could speak her mind without judgement! âWell, I got a letter from someone and I uh...Itâs telling me to meet âem there, so uhâŠâ Hunter stammered.
âOh! Ya want me to take ya there?â Stan asked. Hunterâs stomach dropped. It called for just her.
âNo! I mean, I wouldnât object! I mean! Uh...Words are hard!â Hunter grimaced.
âItâs okay, Sis! Ya donât know how to drive yet, so Iâm sorta your taxi!â Stan grinned. âWe can head out first thing in the morning tomorrow!â Stan beamed.
Hunter hesitantly nodded. Sheâd have to sneak out at night. Good thing Stan was a heavy sleeper.
(That night)
Hunter packed her stuff in her backpack, sneaking out and starting the trek to the assigned meetup spot. Itâd take her about a week on foot while itâd take maybe a day by car, but she didnât wanna risk anything. On foot was better. Less awkward.
(A week later at the meetup spot.)
Hunter knocked on the wood door. Maybe wearing shorts was a bad idea. How was she supposed to know itâd be cold there?! The door opened and Hunter stood with her shoulders squared, standing upright.
âHunter, Iâm glad you could make it. Are you alone?â Ford asked, looking around.
âYeah, itâs just me, Ford.â Hunter assured. Ford sighed in relief, moving so Hunter could walk inside the shack.
âSorry, Iâm just...More careful now. Donât want to risk anything.â Ford sighed.
âDude, itâs...Itâs okay. I get it.â Hunter assured.
âWell, let me show you what I called you here for.â Ford said, gesturing for Hunter to follow. Hunter followed behind him, holding her backpack tightly.
âWhat is this placeâŠ?â Hunter asked, looking around at all the gadgets and gizmos.
âThis,â Ford said, hitting a light switch. âIs my laboratory where I keep all my experiments and inventions.â Ford said, sitting down at a desk.
âWhoaâŠâ Hunter gasped.
âSpeaking of experiments..â Ford started, making eye contact with Hunter that she didnât dare break, for fear of death. âHowâs...YOURS coming along?â Ford grimaced.
âOh, that...Itâs coming along okay, just need to fix the kinks and stuff! I sorta had one successful byproduct, but he sorta-â Hunter started.
âWait, it WORKED?!?â Ford snapped.
âYeah! It DID, for your information!â Hunter snapped back.
âHow?!? That should be IMPOSSIBLE!â Ford groaned.
âI had a little outside help, Sixer!!â Hunter snapped, slamming her hands over her mouth afterwards, horror washing over her as she took note of Fordâs facial expression.
âNo. no you did NOT just say what I THINK you just said! You did NOT JUST SAY WHAT I THINK YOU SAID!â Ford snapped.
âWhat?!? What do YOU think happened?!?â Hunter snapped.
âI THINK YOU MADE A DEAL WITH A DEMON!!!â Ford yelled.
âBILL WASNâT A HORRIBLE GUY!! HE UNDERSTOOD MY PLANS AND HELPED ME FIGURE IT OUT AND GET IT TO WORK!!!!â Hunter snapped.
âWHY DIDNâT YOU COME TO ME?!?â Ford demanded.
âBECAUSE I KNEW THAT YOUâD YELL AT ME!!!â Hunter yelled.
âWELL, IT HAPPENED ANYWAY!!â Ford bit back.
âAT LEAST WITH BILL, I HAD A FRIEND, OKAY?!?â Hunter snapped, temper slowly losing itself.
âDo NOT-â Ford started.
âNO, YOU GOT TO TALK, NOW IT IS MY TURN!!! I WENT TO BILL BECAUSE NOBODY ELSE WOULD HELP ME!!! I DIDNâT WANT TO, BUT YOU LEFT ME NO CHOICE!!â Hunter snapped.
âBECAUSE ITâS WRON-â Ford started.
âIS IT WRONG TO WANT SOMEBODY TO HUG AND CUDDLE WITH WHEN YOUâRE FEELING SAD?!?â Hunter demanded.
âYOU HAVE STANLEY!â Ford objected.
âI DONâT WANNA INCONVENIENCE HIM WITH MY PROBLEMS!!â Hunter shouted.
âYOUâRE PROBABLY BLOWING THIS OUT OF PROPORTION!!â Ford snapped.
âI ALMOST WOULDNâT HAVE MADE IT IF THAT ONE BYPRODUCT DIDNâT SURVIVE, FORD!!!â Hunter snapped, last thread breaking.
â...whatâŠ?â Ford gasped.
âI was so convinced I was a failure that I planned that day if the trial run didnât work, Iâd just...I-IâdâŠâ Hunter hiccupped.
âHunter, I-I had no ideaâŠ!â Ford apologized.
âI-It stills hurts sometimes...â Hunter smiled sadly.
âHunter, Iâm sorry, I really had no idea-â Ford started.
âI...I gotta go...I have to go deal with some stuff.â Hunter said, getting up and hurrying to leave.
(Present day.)
âPeople who saw the suspect say that they wore a hoodie, but they couldnât make much else out because it was darkâŠâ Dipper hummed.
âWell, Robbie wears a hoodie!â Mabel suggested.
â...................Not him.â Dipper said.
âYouâre right, too far fetched, Dipper.â Mabel nodded.
âWho else wears a hoodieâŠâ Dipper hummed.
âI dunno, hoodies ARE popular here.â Mabel said.
âYeah...Thatâs annoyingâŠâ Dipper sighed.
âHmmâŠ.â Mabel hummed.
âMabel, am I the only one who finds it weird how Stan just spaced out as he read the headlines on the news?â Dipper asked.
âIt is a LITTLE suspicious...But I doubt he knows anything!â Mabel shrugged comically.
âYeah...Maybe I can ask him laterâŠâ Dipper sighed.
âOh! Someone new that we havenât met yet!â Mabel gawked.
âReally?!â Dipper gasped, eyes wide.
âYeah, look!â Mabel said, pointing at someone walking by the apartment block. âLetâs go say hi!â Mabel said, speeding off.
âMabel, wait!â Dipper said, hurrying after her.
The person walked up to the door, grabbing their bag and key for the door. âHiya!â Mabel greeted, making them jolt in surprise.
âMabel, slow down!â Dipper said, catching up.
âOh, uh, HiâŠ?â They greeted nervously.
âIâm Mabel! This is my brother, Dipper! We saw you walking by and wanted to say hi!â Mabel grinned. The person dripped nervously.
âIsnât that lovelyâŠ?â They said sheepishly.
âMabel, come on, we canât just say hello to everyoneâŠ! I am so sorry about her, she gets excited when she sees a person sheâs never met before.â Dipper apologized.
âO-Oh, no, i-i-itâs fine..!â They said.
âWhatâs your name, stranger?â Mabel asked. They dripped more in worry.
âUh...H...Hunter.â Hunter said shyly.
âHunter! Thatâs a nice name!â Mabel grinned.
âMabelâŠ!â Dipper urged.
âWhoops! Gotta go! If ya wanna see us, just go to the Mystery Shack just up the road and ask for Mabel and Dipper Pines!â Mabel said, waving goodbye and following Dipper. Hunter froze, hurrying inside with everything she had, closing and locking the door behind her as she got in.
âPines...that canât be coincidenceâŠâ Hunter muttered to herself, putting her bag down and going to grab a picture frame from a shelf. âMaybe...Maybe...Maybe notâŠâ Hunter hummed.
(At the shack.)
âGrunkle Stan! We met someone new today!â Mabel announced.
âYowza!!â Stan yelped, jumping slightly at the surprise yelling.
âOops! Sorry, didnât mean to spook ya!â Mabel grinned.
âWhoâd ya meet?â Stan asked.
âJust someone named Hunter. They seemed shifty, couldnât see their face since they had their hoodie hood up.â Dipper said.
âHunter? Hoodie?â Stan repeated under his breath.
âYeah, what about it?â Dipper asked.
âNothing, nothing. Whereâd ya meet em?â Stan asked.
(At Hunterâs apartment.)
Stan knocked on the door, waiting for someone to answer. After a few minutes, the door opened, Hunter answering.
âYello?â Hunter asked.
âHunter, is that you?â Stan asked.
âWait...STANLEY? Stanley Pines?â Hunter asked.
âThe one and only~!â Stan grinned.
âWhen I heard Mipper and Dabel-â Hunter started.
âDipper and Mabel.â Stan corrected.
âI stan corrected. Dipper and Mabel said they were Pines family, I thought it was just a coincidence! I didnât think you were ACTUALLY living here! Not afterâŠâ Hunter trailed off.
âYeesh, donât remind meâŠâ Stan grimaced.
(Flashback.)
âHunter, itâll be okay, I promise! In and out, nothin more!â Stan assured.
âI dunnoâŠâ Hunter mumbled. Stan knocked, shrugging.
âWHO ARE YOU?!? HAVE YOU COME TO TAKE MY EYES?!?â Ford snapped, opening the door, crossbow at the ready. Hunter yelped, Stan getting in front of her in case Ford decided to open fire.
â....Well THATâS a friendly welcome.â Stan said sarcastically.
âStanley...Hunter.â Ford frowned. Ford put the crossbow away, moving aside. âSorry I called you here unexpectedly, I just needed someone-â Ford started.
âAHEM.â Stan cleared his throat, gesturing towards Hunter.
âTWO someones to do something for me.â Ford corrected.
âWhat is it?â Stan asked.
âIâm about to show you something none of you will believe.â Ford said, opening the way to the basement.
âEhhh, Iâve been around the world. Iâm sure Iâll understand!â Stan smiled.
Ford took the two down to the basement to the portal. âI understand NOTHING about this.â Stan said.
âItâs an interdimensional portal that acts as a gateway to various alternate worlds. I created it to unlock the mysteries of the universe, but it can be used for TERRIBLE destruction. The way to activate it is located in the three journals I have written. The first one has already been hidden,â Ford started, walking over to a table and picking up two journals. âI am giving the last ones to you two, as I trust only you two with them.â Ford explained, handing them to Hunter and Stan.
âO-OkayâŠ!â Hunter nodded.
âWait, so what do we do with them?â Stan asked, confused.
âStan, remember when we were kids and we wanted to go on a boat around the world?â Ford asked. Stan grinned expectantly. âI want you two to get on a boat, take these with you, and sail as far away as possible-to the ends of the earth-and BURY them.â Ford explained, Stanâs grin fading away as he finished.
âWhat?!? Thatâs it?!? You FINALLY wanna see me-US-after ten YEARS only to tell us to get as far away from you as POSSIBLE?!â Stan snapped.
âSt-Stan, i-i-itâs okay, I-Iâm okay with thisâŠ!â Hunter stammered.
âNuh uh, no WAY, Tiny!! We havenât seen each other in YEARS and he just wants me gone as soon as I see him again?!? I thought we were family!!â Stan snapped.
âStanley, you donât understand what Iâm up against! What Iâve BEEN through!â Ford stressed.
âNO, YA DONâT UNDERSTAND WHAT WEâVE BEEN THROUGH, SIXER!!! HUNTER AND I HAVE BEEN TO PRISON IN THREE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, WE CANâT STAY IN A SINGLE COUNTRY FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS SO WEâRE CONSTANTLY ON THE MOVE, WE HAVE MORE FAKE IDS THAN IS PROBABLY HEALTHY, AND-OH YEAH-MY FAMILY HATES ME BECAUSE IâM A FAILURE, STANFORD!!! MEANWHILE, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! LIVINâ IT UP IN YOUR FANCY HOUSE IN THE WOODS, SELFISHLY HOARDING YOUR COLLEGE MONEY BECAUSE YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT YOURSELF!!â Stan snapped.
âIâM selfish? IâM SELFISH, Stanley?! How can you say that after costing me my DREAM SCHOOL?!â Ford snapped. âIâm giving you a chance to do the FIRST WORTHWHILE THING in your life, and you wonât even listen!!â Ford snapped. Hunter whimpered, trying to get in between the two.
âG-Guys, st-stop itâŠ!â Hunter begged. Stan picked Hunter up, moving her out of the way and plopping her down on her butt. âHey!!â Hunter peeped.
âWELL LISTEN TO THIS; YA WANT ME TO GET RID OF THIS BOOK?! FINE, IâLL GET RID OF IT RIGHT NOW!!â Stan said, pulling out a lighter and holding the journal over it.
âNo! You donât understand!!!â Ford yelped.
âYOU SAID YA WANTED ME TO HAVE IT, SO IâLL DO WHAT I WANT WITH IT!!!â Stan snapped.
âNo, my research!!!â Ford panicked, tackling Stan, the two fighting over the journal, Stan tripping Ford and grabbing the journal, eventually running into the next room, hitting some machinery, and starting to activate the portal.
âG-Guys, please calm down!â Hunter objected.
âSTAY OUT OF THIS, TINY!!! THIS IS JUST BETWEEN ME AND HIM!!!â Stan shouted.
âStanley, give it back!â Ford snapped.
âIF YA WANT IT BACK, YOUâRE GONNA HAFTA TRY HARDER THAN THAT!!â Stan snapped.
âG-Guys, pleaseâŠ!!â Hunter begged.
âYA LEFT ME BEHIND, YOU JERK!!! IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE US FOREVER, YOU RUINED MY LIFE!!!â Stan snapped.
Hunter whimpered in worry, trying to figure out how to stop them fighting.
âYou ruined your own life!!â Ford said, shoving Stanley back, pushing him into a piece of machinery, Stan yelling in pain as it burned his back.
âSTAN!!!!â Hunter and Ford yelped in unison.
âStanley, oh my gosh, I-I-I-Iâm so sorry, a-are you alrigh-?â Ford asked, getting cut off by Stan punching him and knocking him back towards the portal, hitting the lever to finish activating the portal.
âSome brother YOU turned out to beâŠâ Stan frowned, slowly walking towards Ford.
âStan, calm down!! Youâre hurt!!â Hunter begged.
âYou care about your dumb mysteries more than your own family? WELL THEN YOU CAN HAVE âEM!!â Stan snapped, shoving the journal back into Fordâs arms, sending him floating off.
âNo!!â Ford cried out, panic showing in his voice.
âWhoa, whoa, whoa, hey, whatâs going on?â Stan asked, panic rising.
âFord!!â Hunter yelped.
âHey, hey, Stanford!!â Stan yelped, going after Ford.
âStanley!! Stanley help me!!!â Ford yelped.
âOh no-WHAT DO I DO?!â Stan asked in a panic.
âStanley-DO SOMETHING!!â Ford panicked, tossing the journal back out. âSTANLEY!!!-â Ford started, getting cut off as the portal closed as he was sucked in, room flooding with a bright light as it closed.
Stan slowly got up, rubbing his head as he registered what happened. âStanfordâŠ?â Stan called, only getting the sound of a glasses frame hitting the stone cold ground in response. Stan was confused, shock hitting as he remembered, running up to the portal frame.
âSTANFORD, COME BACK!! I-I-I DIDNâT MEAN IT!!â Stan said, smacking the frame in hopes of reactivating it. Stan ran over to the lever that activated it originally, pulling on it in an attempt to reactivate it. âI JUST GOT HIM BACK, I-I CANâT LOSE HIM AGAIN!! COME ON!!!â Stan stammered. Stan stopped trying, looking back at the portal frame. âSTANFORD!!!!â Stan called.
âHeâs gone, Stanley.â Hunter said coldly.
âNo, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! This is one of his pranks! Heâs gonna come out any second now!â Stan said, chuckling nervously.
âThis is STANFORD, Stanley. He doesnât joke about mystery stuff.â Hunter said, voice flat as paper.
âAwww, come on, HuntyâŠ! Ya donât need to keep me in the dark, you two got m-â Stan started.
âTHIS IS SERIOUS, STANLEY PINES!!!â Hunter snapped.
âHunter, come on, I was just-â Stan started.
âYOU FOUGHT YOUR OWN BROTHER WHO LOVED YOU WITH EVERY FIBER OF HIS BEING AND SENT HIM TO WHO KNOWS WHERE, ALL FOR WHAT PURPOSE?!? OH YEAH, TO BE PETTY!!â Hunter snapped.
Stan frowned. âI didnât mean to-â Stan started.
âAND YET IT HAPPENED ANYWAY!!â Hunter snapped, Stan looking at the floor. âHE REACHED OUT TO YOU, AND FOR WHAT? YOU TO BACKSTAB HIM FOR NO REASON?! YEAH, SOME BROTHER!â Hunter growled.
âAt least IâM not being a big old bee with an itch about it!!!â Stan bit back.
âAT LEAST IâM NOT THE ONE WHO PROBABLY KILLED HIS OWN BROTHER!!!â Hunter snapped.
âYA KNOW WHAT?!? FINE!!! I ALMOST WISH ME AND FORD LEFT YA WITH THOSE PARENTS OF YOURS!!!! THEN MAYBE I WOULDNâT BE FEELING AS HORRIBLE RIGHT NOW!!!â Stan snapped.
â............HehâŠâŠâŠ.Just as I thoughtâŠ.Just when I thought you couldnât stoop any lowerâŠ.You fall down furtherâŠ.â Hunter laughed sadly.
âHunter, wait, that didnât come out righ-â Stant started.
âNO, ITâS FINE!!! I KNOW IâM WORTHLESS AND A FAILURE!! I KNOW I SHOULDA DIED LONG AGO!!! I KNOW IâM NOT WORTH A DARN!!â Hunter laughed sadly.
âHunter, please-I-I-Iâm sorry, I-I-Iâll make it up to ya-â Stan started.
âNO NEED, STANLEY!! YOUâRE FINE!!â Hunter snapped. âNOW, IF YOUâLL EXCUSE ME,â Hunter said, picking up the second journal. âI HAVE A DUTY TO TEND TO.â Hunter scowled, making eye contact to make sure Stan knew how she felt, sending chills down his spine.
(Present day)
âI...never really saw ya after thatâŠâ Stan frowned.
âI think it was understandable why.â Hunter said.
âSoâŠâ Stan said.
âSoâŠ.â Hunter trailed off.
âIâmâŠ.Iâm sorry.â Stan apologized. Hunter perked up, confused.
âSorry? For what?â Hunter asked.
âWhat I...said, that night, I had no place sayinâ those things, especially to you, someone I consider...Family.â Stan winced.
âStan, I said stuff like that too, I had far LESS of a place to say those things, you REALLY didnât mean toâŠ!â Hunter peeped.
âJeez, can a guy get sappy for five seconds?â Stan teased.
âI dunno, can a gal have a chance at having a normal life for five seconds?â Hunter teased back.
âHey, uh, sorry if this sounds weird or anything, but uh, you never made any motions to shake hands, is everything like...Okay?â Stan asked. Hunter dripped nervously.
âYep! Fine Iâm!â Hunter lied.
âThat was sad.â Stan said blankly.
âIâŠ.WellâŠâ Hunter stammered.
âYa sure youâre okay?â Stan asked. Hunter knew he should know, but she didnât want to hurt him.
âIâm sure, your concern IS appreciated, though.â Hunter smiled.
âWell, before I head back to the Mystery Shack, one handshake, for old timeâs sake?â Stan asked sheepishly. Hunter hesitated a moment before nodding, holding her hand out, Stan eagerly taking it for a handshake.
âEwâŠ.Your hand feels a lot more...Goopy than usual.â Stan grimaced.
âYa caught me baking.â Hunter lied.
âAh! Baking! Good luck with that!â Stan waved. Hunter nodded, waving before closing the door.
As Stan walked home, he noticed the batter was black and almost Ink looking. He could ask about that some other day.
#My Writing#Gravity Falls#young fiddleford#Stanford Pines#Stanley Pines#Dipper Pines#Mabel Pines#Gravity Falls Oc#My Oc#Hunter Inkwell#Ask To Tag#Tw: Abuse Mention#Tw: Suicidal Thoughts#Tw: Self Hatred#Tw: Attempted Suicide#Tw: Self Harm Mention#You'll Know It When You Read It#Tw: Playing God
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Title: His Fatherâs Heart
Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne (some), and OCs
Summary: A priest must have a father's heart, and Fr. Todd has had a good example. Or, the one in which Jason is a priest and starts a school. (a03)Â
Note: -shows up 4 months late with Starbucks and too many epigraphs- Happy (extremely belated) birthday to @catie-does-things!!! I finally finished this fic and have 9 pages of a google doc to give you <3 We discussed this once and then I just Ran with it (this fic is also how i learned there is no midnight Angelus???)Â
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction....
-James 1:27
âWithout confidence and love, there can be no true education. If you want to be lovedâŠyou must love yourselves, and make your children feel that you love them.â
âThe school was not the end; it was rather the instrumental means for improving the way of life.â
-St. John Bosco
The school that never was supposed to be started with three boys.Â
Many would say it was Fr. Todd, who worked tirelessly for the crime, addiction, poverty ravished community he served. But Fr. Todd knew, and he knew God knew as well.Â
The school started with three boys, huddling behind the dumpster in the alley adjacent to St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church.Â
It was, when Fr. Todd reflected on it, the Hand of God, pushing them where they needed to be, beyond where they thought they ought to be. He was, after all, a diocosean priest, not of a teaching order, and kept plenty busy by the daily happenings of parish life. He had no room in his life for a school.Â
He was, though, also very much his fatherâs son.Â
And his father was not the kind of man to leave three, shivering boys in an alley because he was busy. Neither was the Lord, Jason reminded himself, who was in the least of these.Â
So he squatted down beside them, enough of a distance they didnât feel cornered but close enough that he was a presence. And said, âGood evening.â
They were clearly brothers, with the same almond eyes and thick black hair. Even the one whose was curly fit in the set. Hunger made their faces gaunt, but beneath it, if one knew how to look, one could see the same jawline, the same off center nose.Â
The oldest one shifted to be in front of his brothers, glaring at Fr. Todd. âGo âway,â he said. âI know what you collar people do my momma told me and I say go way.â
Fr. Todd frowned, but kept his face and voice soft. âI promise,â he said. âIâm not here to hurt you. My momma warned me about dangerous men too.â
The boy continued to glare, not convinced. âI have food,â Fr. Todd offered, and the younger boys shifted behind him. Even the oldest betrayed himself with longing in his eyes, though he quickly masked it. âAnd a warm bed.â
The little ones were sold, but the oldest was smarter. He clearly wanted the food and the bed, but he didnât trust a stranger. Â
Smart enough, Jason thought. He himself hadnât trusted Batman when theyâd first met.Â
Better the evil you know, right?Â
Jason rocked back on his heels, thinking. âStay here,â he told them. âIâll be right back.â
He got up and quickly returned to the rectory. He called the Bishop, waking him up in the middle of the night. Jason, who had requested the exorcist more than any priest in the entire state, had earned that privilege.Â
âAlmost time for the Angelus,â he said cheerfully, before the bishop warned him about the optics of three boys staying in a priestâs rectory, then added a small lesson of what the Lord would do, contrary to the optics.Â
He made a few sandwiches, snagged a couple of water bottles, dumped Fr. Dominicâs hot chocolate from the stove into a thermos, grabbed a blanket, pocketed his cellphone, and made his way back to the alley.Â
He sat down, cross-legged, still enough distance the boys didnât feel trapped. âHereâs the deal,â he said, handing out the sandwiches; the oldest boy didnât stop the younger ones, but he still eyed the bread and meat in his hand like it was poisoned. âYou can let me help you or Iâm going to have to call someone else who can.Â
âThe cops?â asked the littlest one, and Jason nodded. âI canât leave you out here. Itâs going to drop below freezing tonight. I have a contact with GCPD, but I wonât lie to you, if we go that route, likely youâll end up in a group home and the foster system, if they canât find your mom or she isnât able to take care of you.â
âSheâs dead,â the oldest said abruptly.Â
âIâm sorry,â Jason said. He knew what that was like, to find your mother dead, to have nobody else. After a pause, he added, âWhen my mom died, my adopted father caught me stealing the hubcaps off his car.â
The middle one laughed a little and Jason smiled at him. âIt was pretty scary, but he turned out to be a good man. Heâll help you, too, if you let him.â
âWe donât  need  help,â the oldest boy asserted. The sandwich seemed to give him strength and he glowered at Jason again. âI told you.â
âThatâs not one of the choices,â Jason said.Â
âWhoâs your dad?â the middle one piped up.Â
The older boy threw him a dirty look, but Jason answered, âBruce Wayne.âÂ
The little one leaned forward, eyes wide, and whispered, âHe knows Batman.âÂ
Jason whispered conspiratorially back, âSo do I.â
That, more than anything, sold the younger two. Even the older, still wary, agreed to come back to the rectory with him.
Fr. Dominic was awake, grading papers at the table. He eyed the three small boys, smiled, and said, âI was so sure my hot chocolate went to a good cause and looks like I was right. Who do we have here?â
The oldest boy gave his younger brotherâs a stern look, one that looked out of place on his young face, but they ignored him. The littlest piped up that his name was Joey and Liam was the middle and his biggest brother was Tucker. Dominic shook each of their hands solemnly, even Tuckerâs, and then let Jason slip away to make a phone call.
Dominic was still awake when Bruce Wayne showed up in Lululemon joggers and a henley at the rectory and deposited a sleeping nephew into Jasonâs arms.
âSince Iâm a good Catholic and all,â Dominic said, âI wonât say there are too many kids. Just seems like a lot for a rectory at 1am.â Â
âWeâre night people,â Jason said apologetically, raising his eyebrows at Bruce.
âDickâs sick,â Bruce explained as Johnny snuggled his head into the crook of Jasonâs shoulder. âAnd Barbaraâs out of town. I couldnât get out of the Mansion without this one tagging along.â
He held up a bag and said, âIt should be enough clothes for a couple of days. I swung through the store and got some toothbrushes too.â
âYouâre a blessing,â Jason said, stepping back to let Bruce in.Â
Bruce grunted in acknowledgement. Then muttered something about needing a throat blessing before he caught whatever illness Dick had come down with. It was, apparently, hitting him hard.
âSt. Blaiseâs Feast Day isnât for a few months, but I think I know a guy who could hook you up,â Jason teased, shutting the door and following him towards the kitchen.
Dominic had gone ahead of them, and his grading had turned into discussing the religion test questions with the younger two boys while their brother watched from his place leaned against the counter.
Tucker eyed Jason and Bruce as they came into the room, and Tommy in Jasonâs arms. âWhoâs that?â he demanded.
âNephew,â Jason told him. Jerked his head at Bruce as an introduction, but Bruce beat him to it, holding out a large hand and saying âBruce Wayne.â
Tucker did not shake it, eyeing Bruce suspiciously. As Bruce dropped his hand, the kid said, abruptly, âMy momma used to work for you. âFore she got sick.â
It was the most heâd said after telling Jason to go away, and it was the type of thing Bruce would take personally.
âIâm sorry we couldnât help her,â Bruce said after a moment. âI would like to help you now.â
When the boy didnât answer, Jason gestured to the bag and said, âBruce brought some clothes for you to change into after you clean up. You can take my room for the night, the bathroomâs attached.â
Tucker eyed them like he was waiting for the catch, but when none came, he abruptly moved away from the counter to usher Liam away from Dominic and snatch up Joeyâs hand. He glared at the adults as he shut the door to Jasonâs room behind them, as if daring any of them to try anything.Â
âYou were that defensive,â Bruce reminded him quietly, so that Dominic couldnât hear. âWhen we first met.â
Jason knew. Heâd been cocky and brash, but it had never really covered up the fact that heâd been a distrustful 11 year old who didnât really know how to look out for himself.Â
âI got ahold of Jim,â Bruce continued, louder. âSaid heâd send a social worker in the morning but odds were in my favor of being able to foster while they sort it out.â
âGordon canât decide that,â Jason muttered, with a head shake, but the way Gotham rolled, the commissioner did have a lot of influence.
âDo you need me to stay?â Bruce asked. He glanced at Dominic, then took a step forward and settled his hand on Jasonâs shoulder.Â
Jason smiled at him. âI think I can survive on a couch for one night.â
âHe slept on a cafeteria floor at last yearâs high school retreat,â Dominic piped up.Â
âKid forgot his sleeping bag,â Jason said with a shrug, shifting his nephewâs weight. Johnny had crashed since getting here and was dead weight in Jasonâs arms, drooling slightly on his shoulder.Â
Jason caught Bruceâs eye, who smiled a little. They both knew Jason had slept on harder than a cafeteria floor before.
âIâll come back in the morning,â Bruce said.Â
Jason raised his eyebrows higher. âFor Mass,â Bruce agreed. He paused, and added, âAlfred will send food Iâm sure.âÂ
âYes,â Dominic cheered quietly, raising a hand in victory.Â
He rose to lay his hands on Bruce and Johnny with Jason, to offer them a blessing before they left.
âYou know,â Dominic said thoughtfully, after they were gone, watching the closed door of Jasonâs room, behind which the shower was still running, âthose kids are smart. Think Bruce would enroll them at St. Xavier?â
Jason frowned. âItâs far from Wayne Manor. Heâd do it, but I donât know how the kids would like that commute.â
âFar from here too,â Dominic agreed. He yawned and stretched as if to prove his point. âSpeaking of, I should get some sleep. Take my bed, Iâll take the couch.â
But Jason shook his head. âI want them to be able to find me if they need to.â
***************
 It took a long time for the boys to settle in with Bruce as a foster; the younger two settled better Theyâd had to switch out of their public schools because they were not districted there anymore. They hadnât been to school in a while anyway, Jason gathered.Â
There was plenty of catching up for them to do, Dominic somehow found time to tutor them in between his own papers and gradings and other priestly duties.Â
The boys, like the rest of Jasonâs family, became a semi-permanent fixture at the rectory. Â
***************Â
That was how it started. There was Dominicâs numerous mentions of St. Xavier being too far away, of the boysâ intelligence, the need for a more individualized approach that private school would afford.
There was the lady at the parish who sobbed to Fr. Todd one morning that she could not afford Catholic school and her district was not a good place for her children--no education, she said, just violence. She was scared theyâd join a gang or start using drugs. St. Xaxier had scholarships to offer, but it wasnât enough, and she had no way of getting her kids to school so far away.Â
âSt. Maria Goretti parish has always been in the thick of the throes of poverty,â Fr. Paul, the pastor, had said gravely when Jason had mentioned it to him later.Â
There was the altar boy who tarried too long at the church after Mass, following Fr. Todd like a duckling, asking theological questions. He never wanted to go home and sometimes sat on the church steps doing math homework until Jason let him inside to pray.Â
There was the 17-year-old drug dealer Officer Grayson picked up off the streets; Dick got him set up with a WE program but conditionally that he stop dealing and earn a high school degree, but going back to high school hadnât put him in the best environment, and he was dealing again within the year.Â
There was child after child, and family after family, who needed something more. Â
***************
Cardinal Tolan was the one who first brought up the school. Fr. Paul was retiring, and Jason appointed pastor in his leave.Â
âThe Nashville Dominican sisters are looking in this area to open a school,â the cardinal said. âI think maybe St. Maria Goretti parish could be benefited by that.â
Jason nodded. âA boys school,â he said, as way of agreement. âWeâll need one for the girls as well. The Sisters will know what to do.âÂ
âWe have a donor,â Cardinal Tolan added, thoughtfully. âIâm sure he has enough for two.â
âAnd boarding,â Jason said, thinking hard. âWeâll need housing for some of them. Students need to feel like itâs home.âÂ
Cardinal Tolan looked at him a long time, then said, âTruly, you have a heart after the Fatherâs.â
âI had a good example,â Jason replied, flushing a little.Â
***************
It was another two years before the school was built. The sisters moved in, Fr. Todd was appointed chaplain, and the first year saw only 15 students from 9-12th grade, Tucker among them.Â
Heâd been the most resistant to Bruce and Fr. Todd over the years, though Jason accepted that he loved as best he could. His brothers adored them, more than Jason anticipated. Theyâd become altar boys at St. Maria Gorettiâs as soon as theyâd been able, and had cried when CPS had finally tracked down an aunt nearby to take them in.
They stayed in contact throughout the years. They continued in their service as altar boys, and had dinner at least twice a month with Bruce. Jason usually joined, when obligations allowed him.Â
When the school opened, their aunt enrolled Tucker, the only one high school aged, right away. Full scholarship, sheâd told a bewildered Jason, who knew the diocese hadnât been able to set up any scholarships yet.Â
Leave it to Bruce, he thought ruefully.Â
***************Â
By the time the schools were ready to open younger grades, Joey and Liam were ready for high school, and they joined Tucker, now a senior, at Maria Gorettiâs. The younger ones were still rambunctious, but Tucker had grown into a rather solemn young man. He frequently did his homework at Jasonâs kitchen table, mouthing quietly to himself or asking Fr. Dominic to read over his papers, while the younger boys played sports or just waited for their aunt to be off work and pick them up.Â
He graduated salutatorian with a full ride to Catholic University in DC.Â
Jason, handing out diplomas at his graduation while the school secretary announced names, didnât cry a bit when Tucker shook his hand, and then leaned in to whisper, âthank you.âÂ
He did look out and find Bruce, caught his gaze, and smile.Â
Bruce understood.
***************
Two years later and new Masters degree to join the one he already had, Fr. Todd was appointed principal and chaplain of the school. Heâd been involved from the start, as the parish pastor, but now he took even more responsibility.Â
âShouldâve been a Salesian,â the cardinal teased, when he told Jason. Â
Fr. Todd laughed and shook his head, âMaybe a Domican at that. But God saw fit to use a simple parish priest.âÂ
***************
Four years later, Tucker sat in his rectory, a month out from his college graduation. Â
Bruce had been over for dinner but Tucker declined a ride home to his auntâs. There had been something on his mind all night, Jason knew. Heâd danced around the issue of a post-graduate career, awkwardly steered the conversation away from a Wayne Enterprise job waiting for him as soon as he said the word.Â
It wasnât until Bruce left, after exchanging a significant look with Jason, and Jason had poured them a rather heavy nightcap, that Tucker blurted out, cheeks flaming in embarrassment, âWill you wrote me a recommendation for seminary?âÂ
Fr. Todd lowered his glass and blinked at the boy in front of him. Now 22, Jason could still see the small defiant, malnourished boy that had huddled in his alleyway. Something like pride and warmth rose up in his chest. Had this been how Bruce felt, all those years ago, when Jason himself had given up the red hood for a white collar?Â
After a long pause, Fr. Todd managed, âFor here or for Mount St. Maryâs?â
Tucker looked up, surprised. âHere,â he said firmly. And still too much of a hooligan, finished what could have stayed unspoken, âobviously.â
Jason said, âOf course.â
He took a sip of his scotch, suddenly feeling the prick of tears at his eyes, and looking at the young man before him, remembered a little boy hiding behind a dumpster on a cold winter night, and then a little boy stealing hubcaps off the Batmobile, and then man God had sent him to save his life.Â
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Candy Time (Mallek Week Day 6)
Day 6: Trickster!Mallek for @mallekweek. I had fun writing this short piece. A little late because of work all day, and last night I was drunk for my 25th XD. Anyway, the plot of this fic is MSPA reader encountering a recently turned Trickster Mallek who is eager to turn his friend to his new way of thinking with Zack on his way to help them...
Some notes, one of my headcanons for the MSPA is that their non-binary and uses they/them, so Iâll be referring to them as such.
Iâve also attached a google doc link since Iâve added colour to Trickster!Mallekâs lines.
Word count: 1384 Rating: Everyone Characters: Mallek Adalov, MSPA reader, OC
The player was lying face down on the ground. Slowly moving around, regaining their consciousness. The area they were in something out of a sugar-filled dream. The ground was rainbow colours, the sky was purple and pink clouds. Objects that looked like skittles were floating around the air. Actually, there was candy of all kinds scattered around the floor, hovering the air. But just ahead of the player, just out of their reach was a radio, and like them, it was out of place with this candy land. Just then it went off, a buzzing noise which made the small being, groan out. Finally, he was awake, lifting his head up slowly. Their vision blurry at first, rubbing their head in slight pain.
Where the hell are they? and why was all bright and colourful⊠A pair of shades and some painkillers would be REAL helpful right about now. Staggering to their feet, and getting a better view of their unknown surroundings. They werenât on Earth anymore. Or Alternia for that matter. Was this a place like Prospit and Derse, with the abstract colours and shit. The sound of feedback coming from the radio walkie-talkie which caught their attention. They remember now, they got this from Zack. Picking it up and then pressed the button on the side, and spoke softly into it.
Hello?
They answered the voice on the other end of the device. Greeting them.
Oh good, youâre still alive, and you sound normal too.
This was Zackâs voice, and what did he mean he still sounded normal? Whatâs was going on, where are they exactly?
Alright listen to me, I donât have too much time so please listen carefully.
You and Mallek stumbled onto a certain object, it looks like a lollypop with a red and green swirl.
Wait, Mallek was somewhere here?! Where is he? Why wasnât he here with him?
Listen to me, until I find a way to retrieve you guys, donât touch anything!
Donât eat any of the candy whatsoever!
And if you find Mallek, stay away from him until the trickster mode wears off.
Trickster mode? What was he talking about⊠Why did he have to keep away from Mallek.
Just one hour, you have to keep hidden for an hour, stay low. Youâre good at that.
D-Donât let Mallek find you, or touch you okay.
Wait, whatâs actually going on right now?! Zack wasnât being clear to him, and they had more questions, then suddenly static was coming through the device.
Shit! Iâm getting interference⊠S-S-StayâŠ!>!> Af-Afterr///-
Before Zack could finish the radio cut out. The player began smacking his hand against the side of the device. Looking around again for any sign of his friend, nothing but candy and flashing colours. Quietly sighing, putting the radio away in their hoodie pocket. They began walking, deciding to venture around this place while taking Zackâs warning to keep hidden and to stay keep hidden from Mallek while looking for him. How did they and Mallek even get here? The last thing they remembered was the three of them on Zackâs ship. While the human was working on something, Mallek and they were going through the stuff Zack had stored on the ship from his travels across the multiverse.
The duo found a box, it was a small pink treasure chest with several warning labels attached it. So, of course, they and Mallek opened without consequences, there was some kind of explosion, or something big. A blinding white light and then colourful lights, and a sweet smell, then they woke here in this place. Really, they shouldnât go around possibly dangerous objects that could kill them and their friends. They hoped Mallek is okay wherever he, and that heâs safe. Continuing on for another mile, everything looked the same. Sighing the player sat down on the surprisingly soft ground, they didnât have a watch so they couldnât check how long it had been, but it hadnât long enough to be an hour yet.
Perking their head up, they couldâve sworn they heard something, like a rustling. Crap there werenât any wild animals here⊠What kind of creature could survive in this sugar-filled wonderland? They didnât wanna find out. There it was again, clear now, something was moving through the nearby bushes, then they heard another sound. Something that sent a chill down their spine. Giggling, strange giggling⊠There was more movement in the bushes and giggling. Foolish they slowly got to their feet, and like a bigger idiot called out the source of the noise, asking whose out there.
At that moment something yellow poked out of the bush, but it was weird⊠Why did it look familiar, it was like a horn or tooth, but it had some orange rings attached to it. WaitâŠ
âFOUND YA!!!;;;âMallek popped out the bush, his loud voice and jumping out suddenly made the player fall back in shock. A look of confusion, it was Mallek but he looked different. Really different.
His skin was grey but with a blue hue in it. His hair and clothes were bright blue, all his piercings were orange now, he had swirling marks on his cheeks, and some kind of bottle attached to the side of his head. His eyes were flashing colours, a wide grin on his face as he hopped out of the bush, landing in front of them.
âLILâ buddy! I've been LOOKING FOR YA!;;;â Mallekâs voice was erratic and wild, as he scooped the player up, holding him under his arms.
âIâM SOOOOOO GLAD I FOUND YOU!!!!!!!;;;â He then started spinning while holding the other, they were trying to ask Mallek was happened to him, and what he was doing.
âFRIEND, NO NEED TO WORRY! THIS IS GOING TO BE A PLEASURABLE EXPERIENCE!!;;;â He leaned in close, sticking his tongue out and winking at the player, What kind of acid trip was this?! Remembering what Zack told him, he couldnât have direct contact with Mallek.
The player, squirming around in his hoodie, dropping out of it made a run for it, Mallek blinking at the spare hoodie he gave to the other like a cartoon character looked at the now-empty hoodie and his friend running away. He began hovering in the air and flew after the other, looking back to see the colourful horror that Mallek now was coming after him, grinning as wide as he could. Mallek pulled a tall lollipop out of thin air, spinning it around like a weapon. It was red and green and swirling. Shit, why couldnât Zack have told them more about this, was it some kind of disease, well whatever it was he could let Mallek touch his bare skin or eat any of the candy⊠But now without their hoodie, they were more exposed.
âCOME OOOOONNNNNN!!! DONâT BE SCAREDDDD!!!! JUST ONE LICK OF THIS AND YOUâLL FEEL HAPPY ALL THE TIME!â Mallek yelling out, spinning around in the air.
âOR I LICK YOU, EITHER WAY, SOMETHING GONNA GET LICKED!â The trickster troll added, laughing at his own words.
A distance away, Zack had arrived onto the planet that had been partially transformed by Mallekâs trickster form powers. It was easy to spot on this red planet, with a rainbow spot slowly expanding. He saw Mallek chasing over the player, and a sigh of annoyance left his mouth. Under his arm was the same pink chest that the idiots had opened up, it contained a candy juju that caused a trickster transformation upon anyone who licked it. After they opened it the explosion sent them to this random planet, and Mallek mustâve found the juju and its powerful aura compelled him to lick it resulting in this chaos.
The box was a powerful containment field to keep it sealed forever. All Zack had to do was get a few feet close to Mallek and open the box again and it would suck the cursed juju back inside and revert Mallek back to normal. Easy and simple, but seeing the other being chased all over by the troll made him smirk. He was gonna help them, but not just yet. This could be a learning experience for both of them to leave things alone and not to touch objects that read: DONâT TOUCH!
#mallekweek2020#mallek week#mallek week day 6#trickster mallek#HS trickster#hiveswap friendsim#hiveswap#homestuck#fanfiction#fanfic#HS fanfic#mallek adalov#mspa reader#zack daemon (oc)#my writing
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Fanfiction 101 Unit 2: Formatting and Text
Ok. So weâve established the rules of the universe, which is a fancy phrase that means set parameters that meet the standards of the world and stick to them to keep continuity and cohesion. Before we continue onward, letâs talk about the thing that will absolutely make any new reader click off immediately: bad formatting.
    Bad formatting can really make or break your fanfiction and there is no excuse for it. Even if the fanfiction is the next Brave New World, if I as a reader donât have breaks in the paragraphs when the scene changes or someone new is talking, I will not sit through it. Iâm not going to try and sort through what is going on, and whoâs talking. On top of that, bad formatting looks bad on the author. It looks like you donât care enough about your story to use good paragraphs, grammar, and punctuation. Fortunately, there is a solution. Grammarlyâs beta is free. You can add it as an extension to google chrome. Write your fanfiction in google docs and let it correct your grammar for you. This series is checked for grammar by not only my Editor but Grammarly. However, grammar is just half the battle.
    A break in paragraphs, ie: a new paragraph appears when there is a change in who is speaking, in location, or in action. You should start a new paragraph when there is a new idea, when your readers need a break, and when you want to present contrasting information.
    When we say, ânew idea,â we mean the same thing as a change in location or action. If Leonardo and Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been sitting in the sewers for five minutes and now are going to the surface, you would start a new paragraph to demonstrate that change in an idea.
    When we say, âyour readers need a break,â we mean that walls of text are a bit daunting and not pleasurable to look at. If you find yourself having a large wall of text, you can look through to find new or alternating ideas-- showing information that is different from one another also works for new paragraphs, and these can break up a mass of text into something more appealing to the eye and easy to read. Formatting is important, and another thing that is important is text.
    Iâm going be blunt: Pinterest lied to you. Tumblr also lied to you. Every verb that is describing the way someone talks or someone moves does not need to be unique. Every verb also does not need an adjective describing it. Writing can get very, My Immortal that way, which, if you donât know what that is, it's the most iconically bad piece of fanfiction of all time and the Internet Historian has a 3-part series acting out only a chunk of it. However, as the author John Scalzi once said, âto ignore [popularly bad works] is to ignore why they are successful and what we can learn from them.â What we can learn from My Immortal is that extremely specific descriptions of clothing, links to makeup/outfits/hair, and using an adjective and unique verb every time a character moves across the room or speaks is clunky and decreases the quality of a narrative. Itâs amateur writing.
    Iâm sure youâve seen the charts. Theyâre all over Pinterest, and some are on Tumblr: â200 words to use instead of âsaysââ and â100 ways to say âwentââ. These charts are useful to a point. As a writer, you should not pull a new word from those charts every time a character is moving. It makes the writing awkward. It makes it clunky and uncomfortable, and the reader notices it. As readers, we donât need the tone of something shoved down our throats every ten seconds. If every means of speaking is unique, none of them are.
    In addition, when it comes to speech your characters should have differing voices. You donât need every line to clue us in to whoâs speaking. It can slow down the text. To improve the use of âsaidâ work on developing unique voices, because youâll find you use them often. It can even work in rooms with many characters. As an example, Iâll show you an Avengers fanfiction, where five of my OCs have been trapped in Lokiâs cell. The first example will have every dialogue followed by a unique descriptor for speaking, and an adjective. The second example will have just âsaidâ and a footnote of who is speaking. The third will be as it is written.
**
Example One: descriptor + adjective:
âWhat, are you the kind mother-figure meant to bring us under your natural authority? Get that first-year psych-student bullshit out of here.â Duncan taunted merrily.
âPlease,â Naomi added quietly, coming to rest by Duncan.
âYes. Please.â Jano murmured low. âB, what was her request anyway?â
âThat we stop calling Nicky a pirate. Also probably Nicky.â Bianca surmised aloud. Micah snorted from his position across the room.
âI donât think thatâs gonna happen-â interjected Micah quickly.
âAbsolutely not,â exclaimed Naomi.
âHave you all gone mad?â questioned Jano confused, âWe call it like we see it.â Bianca held her arms out and smiled.
âItâs not just me.â She simpered with a smirk. âA spadeâs a spade lady. I donât do power moves.â
âNoted,â grunted Romanoff, who left the room.
âGet better material!â Duncan shouted cheerily as she left the room. He looked down to see Barton still there. âAre you the bad cop now?â
**
Example Two: âsaidâ:
âWhat, are you the kind mother-figure meant to bring us under your natural authority? Get that first-year psych-student bullshit out of here,â said Duncan.
âPlease,â added Naomi.
âYes. Please,â said Jano. âB, what was her request anyway?â
âThat we stop calling Nicky a pirate. Also probably Nicky,â said Bianca. Micah snorted from his position across the room.
âI donât think thatâs gonna happen-â said Micah
âAbsolutely not,â said Naomi.
âHave you all gone mad?â said Jano. âWe call it like we see it.â Bianca held her arms out and smiled.
âItâs not just me,â she said with a smirk. âA spadeâs a spade lady. I donât do power moves.â
âNoted,â said Romanoff.
âGet better material!â said Duncan as she left the room. He looked down to see Barton still there. âAre you the bad cop now?â
**
Example Three: stripped back:
âWhat, are you the kind mother-figure meant to bring us under your natural authority? Get that first-year psych-student bullshit out of here.â
âPlease.â
âYes. Please,â said Jano. âB, what was her request anyway?â
âThat we stop calling Nicky a pirate. Also probably Nicky.â Micah snorted from his position across the room.
âI donât think thatâs gonna happen-â
âAbsolutely not.â
âHave you all gone mad? We call it like we see it.â Bianca held her arms out and smiled.
âItâs not just me. A spadeâs a spade lady. I donât do power moves.â
âNoted. Romanoff left the room.
âGet better material!â Duncan looked down to see Barton still there. âAre you the bad cop now?â
**
    Do you see the difference? The first one is clunky and doesnât fit. Some of the verbs and adjectives donât even make sense together, which is an issue I see on its own. It slows down, and clogs up the pace of the scene and makes it drag instead of pulling it forward. Adjectives can be used to your advantage, but save them when you want to slow things down. Donât be afraid to use âsaidâ it doesnât make you basic, it makes your writing easier.
    The second example is better than the first but still awkward. When you compare the second and the third examples you see that not every line of dialogue needs its own note as to whoâs speaking. If Jano asks a question, we can assume as readers Bianca is going to answer it. If Micah laughs or snorts across the room, we assume heâs speaking next. From this small snippet, more of each characterâs personality can be expanded on and their voice can be distinguished. Naomi speaks in very short one-word sentences. Thatâs her voice. Bianca is louder. Jano speaks with the Queenâs English. Duncan tries to joke. Something I do when I write characters is give them a couple of cues in their speech unique to them. Maybe Micah starts his sentences with âuhâ a lot. Maybe Duncan never shuts up and has longer, run-on sentences. These are things that can distinguish your charactersâ voices, and make each one unique. They shouldnât all sound the same. The third example, also in comparison to the second and first, is much easier to read. It takes less time to get through it, and the dialogue goes down smoothly. You want your writing to go down like that. It should be smooth, and easy to read, and formatted in a way that is easy for the audience.
    Letâs move on to links and descriptions. Clothing is very tricky. I myself, am a former Polyvore hoe. That shit was my jam, and I spent so much time making outfits. Some of them may or may not still be up in my stories. However, we are better than that. I understand a desire to want to describe every inch of clothing, but it makes for a wall of text that is frankly boring to scroll through. It can be done but shortened. For example, if youâre writing a Percy Jackson fanfic, and the character is at Camp Half-blood, Iâm going to assume theyâre wearing the same summer camp attire that everyone else does: orange t-shirt, shorts, necklace. Give me something that no one else would be wearing. Tell me theyâre wearing their bronze bracelet because it has their weapon. Tell me theyâve defaced their t-shirt and sprayed graffiti over the logo. The same is true for Harry Potter. If the character is wearing a uniform, we donât as readers need to know as much what they have on. We can assume itâs what everyone else is wearing because it's a uniform. You can still show personality through the way they put their hair up. Or their shoes. Look at the novel The Hate U Give. The main character wore a school uniform, and the author then took the time to describe the model and brand of her shoes, because that was both unique to that character and told us something about her personality. A recent Harry Potter fanfic I just read made a point to describe when the character had unique makeup looks, or when she was wearing a stolen sweater, because those pertained to her personality and the relationships around her.
    There are exceptions, of course to clothing. A big one is superhero costumes. However, much like abbreviations in text, you only need to describe it once. So, if I have a superhero and I say she wears⊠a sleeveless leotard with her logo on the chest, long black pants, and a black domino mask to hide her eyes when she fights crime, for the rest of the story, unless her costume changes from that description, all I have to say is: she put on her uniform. Save yourself some time.
    Now, in regards to links to hair, makeup, and even characters. We all can do better. You are too good of a writer to be linking away what your characterâs hair and makeup are. Itâs also not hard. Describe the brown smokey eye. Tell me itâs a cut-crease. Say they glued on false eyelashes and put on a red lip. Tell me their eyeliner wing could cut a man. Not everyone is a pro makeup artist, and even if you tell me their makeup isnât the best, you still can reveal something more about their personality. A girl or boy or nonbinary friend who takes the time to meticulously perfect a cut crease and put on fake eyelashes for the ball is different than the person who pops on a red lip and some mascara and calls it a day. You then make two more hints at personality, rather than just giving your audience a photo. The pictures you use as a reference as authors should be for you and you alone. In your mind, this is what it looks like. As a writer, you have to communicate that image to the reader.
    Links to characters are something Iâm guilty of. I checked my Psycho-Pass fanfic before I wrote this section, and yup⊠theyâre still there, and Iâm not taking them down anytime soon. That crapâs cringe. Pure cringe. And thereâs a good way and a bad way to do it, and the bad way is smack-dab in the middle of the story when you introduce a character. Itâs lazy, it takes the reader out of the immersion, and it makes the author look bad. Yes, I am roasting myself. No, I donât care. This needs to be said. In my Psycho-Pass fanfic, I do it twice: the first is when a sniper is trying to shoot down my OC. The way to rectify that high-intensity situation is to just describe the bare basics. Young woman. Long hair. Giant gun. Thatâs all the reader needs to know at that moment. The other time I do it, is when a character is going to pick up the OC from the police station. That is a less intense scene, and I as an author can take my time and describe the older man with salt-and-pepper hair who smelled like cigarettes and had a scar that cut through his smile. Notice in both descriptions, I stay away from what each person is wearing. To tie back to before, it doesnât matter as much. The reader can imagine what a young assassin is wearing when sheâs trying to kill a crime lord. The reader can also imagine what that crime lordâs exasperated keeper looks like. I donât as an author need to spell those things out for you.
    Stock images and reference images of characters are great. They let you as a reader visualize what these characters look like in comparison to everyone else. However, the images and pictures of characters are only for you. You have to be able to communicate the vibe, appearance, and aesthetic of your world. For example, many of my own characters have their own Pinterest pages filled with aesthetic-y images, outfits, and face claims. These images are for no one else but me. They will never be seen by my readers, they will never be checked by the Editor. They are for me and me alone, so that I can check on one board and remember the vibe and personality I am going for with a specific character. These Pinterest boards are reference images, and as such, they are for me and me alone.
    As mentioned, there are acceptable ways to insert images in fanfiction, should you choose to. I donât believe these are necessary, but if you so desire you can put a little link in the authorâs notes or as the footer of your story. Let those lead to the main characters. Next week we will talk more in-depth about face claims and how every fanfiction writer needs to leave Emily Rudd alone and let her live her life. Formatting is the quickest turnoff to a new reader sticking around. Change your paragraphs when necessary, keep your verbs simple, make your voices distinct, and reference images are for your eyes only: use your words.
    If you are interested in additional supplemental instruction, here is the archived My Immortal fanfiction from 2008ish. It is the worst fanfiction ever written and should serve as an example to you all of what not to do.Â
https://myimmortalrehost.webs.com/
#ff101#fanfic#fanfiction101#writing#fandom#harry potter#dc comics#marvel#victorious#the addams family#supernatural#twilight#sherlock#original works#oc#percy jackson#percy jackon and the olympians#avengers#self-insert
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King Falls AM - Episode 5: Night of the Living Dread
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Summary: July 1, 2015 - Sammy & Ben learn of some breaking news regarding the Lake Hatchenhaw John Doe, but not everyone is as pleased as the broadcast duo.
[Podcast intro music]
Announcer Dear listeners, please note that the following program may contain views that do not reflect that of King Falls AM, its management, or its subsidiaries. Listener discretion is advised.
[KFAM intro music]
Sammy Youâre listening to King Falls AM, thatâs 660 on the radio dial. Iâm your host, Sammy Stevens, and as always we are joined by producer and co-host extraordinaire, Ben Arnold.
Ben [trying not to be amused] Youâre so- youâre so happy, arenât you? Youâre a child. Getting so giddy over that message.
Sammy Listening to a warning before a radio broadcast Iâm on has literally been on the bucket list for a long time. Thanks Merv!
Ben *laughter* Ridiculous. A glutton for punishment.
Sammy What can I say? I enjoy a nice game of hard ball! Uh, yâknow, but enough about what Merv doesnât want you to hear, letâs talk about what he does want you to hear. And what do we have cooking tonight, Ben?
Ben Dude, itâs stacked alright? Stacked. Weâve got the- lovely Miss Emily Potter from the King Falls Library giving us her picks for enlightened summer reading.
Sammy Terrific! We always love speaking with Emily!
Ben You and me both.
Sammy I said âwe,â Ben.
Ben Uh, I know. I- *breathes in* [stilted] I- We-We-uh, Weâve got some really cool news! here. We-we are announcing the line-up for the first annual King Falls Ambient Music Festival. Thatâs coming up the second hour.
Sammy Wait a second. The King Falls Ambient Music Festival? Is this town even big enough for a festival?
Ben Oh yeah! Itâs like Coachella[1] but for hipsters that just want to relax. Itâs all about âsetting the mood.â
Sammy You know, Iâm wondering if theyâre gonna make it to a second annual.
Ben And then, um, [reluctant and slipping into mumbling] opening up the show we-weâve got the- doctor *mumbling*
Sammy I-Iâm sorry, Ben, what was that? Youâre trailing off, buddy.
Ben We have that umm, *sniffs, lets out breath* one⊠guy. You know that- fo- w- talking about that *deep breath* one thingâ
Sammy [trying to cut him off] Benâ
Ben âfrom a month ago or soâ?
Sammy What? What are you talking about?
Ben You knowâ May- maybe we should start it with Uh, callers first! [mildly frantic] Just-uh-Give us a call at 424-279-3858 and letâs talk about⊠*tsk* anything! Letâs uh, whats your-whats your-whats-whats on your mind King Falls?
Sammy Ladies and gentlemen, put down your phones for a second. What Ben is trying to say is weâve got a scoop here this evening on King Falls AM. Weâre gonna be speaking withâ
Ben [cutting Sammy off]Or you can tweet us! @kingfallsam. I-I-I will literally talk about anything right now. Even to Mr. Derschwitz about that weird toenail thing. Let-lets-lets go, people!
Sammy I thought we agreedâ
Ben I know. Sammy, Iâm sorry itâs just, [slightly more frantic] Iâm-Iâm not feelinâ the best here. Alright? my stomach, is all⊠knotted up, just thinking about this.
Sammy That is journalism. That feeling is journalismâ
Ben [speaking over Sammy] I think it might actually be an ulcer! It Tastes, like Fear and Feels, like Cancer . Itâs way more than anxiety. I-Iâm gonna call Dr. RaĂșl, at break.
Sammy Heâs a chiropractor!
Ben Maybe he can refer me?
Sammy Power through it, buddy! Look at this folks, we got somebody dialing into the hotline right now! You ready for this Ben? Come on.
Ben Please, be Reverend Hawthorne so we can talk about the Revival next month.
Sammy Oh stop it. You know he isnât even scheduled!
Ben I just thoughtâ maybe thatâs how prayers work, I donât know, Iâm not a reverend!
Sammy King Falls AM, youâre on the air.
Dr. Rosenblum [Dr. Rosenblumâs voice is measured and monotonous and mildly creepy at all times] Good evening, this is Dr. Jeffery Rosenblum, with the, King Falls County Coronerâs Office.
Ben C-can I please just sayâ
Sammy Dr. Rosenblum, it is a pleasure to speak with you this evening.
Rosenblum Excited to be here, Sammy. Ecstatic even. We listen on slow nights.
Ben Thatâs the scariest thing Iâve ever heard.
Sammy Much appreciated, Doc. Now, as fate would have it, you were the overseeing physician working on the Lake Hatchenhaw John Doe, is that correct?
Ben Doc? Can you just, hold on for- one- moment- please?
Rosenblum Of course, Ben Iâ
Sammy Donât start, Ben! We agreed to see this through.
Ben All Iâm saying i- lemme finish- a- i-is that maybe itâs not our place *deep breath* to break this kind of news.
Sammy Fine. You know what? Youâre right! Letâs just give this to our friends down at Channel 13 and let them be the ones to alert the public about this.
Ben [journalist voice] Doc, Ben Arnold. Tell us about cracking open the mystery body.
Sammy [quietly] Oh.
Rosenblum Itâs true that I was the operating physician on that particular John Doe, y-es, irrefutablyy
Sammy Now, as I understand, your official report was released yesterday morning, doctor, but amazingly enough, not one publication or news station in our town- including King Falls AM- reported on it.
Rosenblum You are correct. Busy news day- one would assume.
Ben So, that means, you areâ free to talk about it on air.
Rosenblum I would be elated
Sammy First and foremost on everyoneâs minds: were there any signs of, uh, yâknow, the lake mo- *sighs* I canât.
Ben Did Kingsie make the body, bite the big one?
Rosenblum There was no evidence that a creature large or small had anything to do with the deceased.
Ben *sigh of relief* That- I knew Kingsie didnât have it in her.
Sammy Now, Dr. Rosenblum, can you tell us if there was any foul play involved at all?
Rosenblum During our first autopsy we were not able to distinguish with certainty the cause of death. But there were no signs of foul play
Sammy Iâm sorry, did you say âfirstâ autopsy?
Ben [confused] Is that normal? Did you- find out the cause of death during the⊠second autopsy?
Rosenblum Indeed. It was six individual gunshot wounds to the victimâs head. Three shots to the temporal lobe, two to the mendulla oblongataâ
Sammy What?! Six gunshot wounds?!
Rosenblum To the cranium, yes. One to the frontal lobe, another toâ
Ben So the Lake Hatchenhaw John Doe was, murdered?
Sammy I canât believe this! This is big! Why didnât one news outlet report this thing yesterday?!
Rosenblum Well, the cause of death was inconclusive and with no signs of foul play, it was not exactly a juicy story.
Ben and Sammy Wait a second.
Rosenblum âŠyes?
Sammy Iâm sorry, doc. Iâm not in the medical orrr criminal fields but, how is six gunshots not foul play?
Rosenblum Well, that was between the first autopsy and the second. The gunshots were self-defense administered via Deputy Kreighauser at my behest.
Sammy Ben, weâre gonna wanna get Troy on the phone and see what heâs got to say about this.
Ben âThings Ben Arnold would never think under ordinary circumstances for 800, Alex.â[2]
Sammy Doc, while weâre getting Deputy Troy on the line, would you mind if we took a quick break to hear from one of our sponsors?
Rosenblum Thatâs just- Dandy.
[light bg music]
Greg Frickard After a long dayâs work or a tough dayâs play, you probably just wanna come home and relax. No need to slave over a hot stove for hours on end. Well thatâs where we come in! Here at Granny Frickardâs, we know that the less time you spend doing the things you donât like, is the more time you spend with the ones you love. So come get some of the best frog legs that money can buy. Granny Frickardâs French-fried farm-fresh never-frozen filleted-and-fricasseed fried-and-flambeed frog legs. Mm-mm-mm. So get on down to Granny Frickardâs Froggery at the corner of Main Street and 7th Avenue. Weâll put some pep in your step and some hop in your heart.
[KFAM intro music]
Sammy And weâre back on King Falls AM, here with King Falls County Coroner, Dr. Jeffery Rosenblum.
Rosenblum A Pleasure.
Sammy Do you have Troy, Ben?
Ben Heâs booking one of the Williams boys for mooning. Heâll call us in a few.
Sammy Iâm a little out of sorts here, doc. Can you explain what happened between the first inconclusive autopsy and the point where Troy filled the cadaver full of lead.
Rosenblum Of course. As I was finishing the initial post-mortem, it came to my attention that the deceased began to emit a hissing sound, fluctuating between the lower thorax and the larynx.
Ben Oh my God.
Rosenblum I called for Deputy Kreighauser and he entered, as I wanted someone else to see this- phenomenon. Thatâs when the John Doe began a slight, thrashing about the upper torso.
Ben Um⊠are you sayingâ
Rosenblum The deputy began to fumble for his sidearm while we both discerned that something was wildly- amiss. The deceased opened its eyes and instantly grabbed for the lapel of my lab coat with voracious tenacity.
Ben Wh- ah- go on.
Rosenblum It gnashed its teeth as I emitted a terrified, albeit, high pitched, scream. And thatâs when Troy unholstered his sidearm and administered six lethal shots to the reanimated corpseâs cranium.
Ben A zombie.
Sammy Alright, is there- [fumbling] Letâs just say- is there-
Ben Weâve got Troy on the line.
Deputy Troy [in bg] I donât care if he was only joshinâ. You canât show your G-D derriere out in public! [car door slams] [pleasantly] Hey boys, whatâs goinâ on tonight?
Sammy You tell us, Troy, holy geez! Uh, weâve got Dr. Rosenblum on the line here andâ
Deputy Troy Is this about the zombie?
Ben Yes! So-so youâre confirming this story, Troy?
Deputy Troy Well, hell yeah Iâm confirming! I had to do three hours of damn paper work from unloadinâ my pistola into a corpse! Sheriff Gunderson was not the happiest of campers.
Ben [excited and awed] This is amazing⊠This is unprecedented .
Sammy [skeptical] This is a little unbelievable, Troy.
Rosenblum It is a first in my profession. Believe you me. [still tonelessly] Wowzers.
Deputy Troy Honest engine[3] boys. I capped the all get out of that thing! It had the doc by the face âbout to start chewing!
Rosenblum Youâre my hero, Deputy Troy.
Deputy Troy Shucks, wasnât nothinâ special.
Ben [slightly sullen] Except killing the first instance of a zombie in King Falls sinceâ
Sammy Donât say âsinceâ.
Ben ⊠Well⊠Since that one time at the mall in the '80s.
Sammy No, thatâs not a real thing, Ben. Thatâs a film.
Ben [worked up] Sammy? How many extraordinary things are gonna have to SLAP you right in the face to make you buy into this? KING FALLS, MAN.
Deputy Troy You know me, Sammy. I always shoot ya straight. But it was the craziest sh[bleep]t Iâve ever seen. I mean it was like my-ex-wife-needs-alimony-money crazy.
Ben See? Even Barney Fife[4] saw it.
Sammy *sighs* I justâ
Rosenblum I donât want to cause an uproar here, but since that exam, there have been, other cases.
Ben Of frickinâ zombies?
Rosenblum Of reanimation among corpses⊠yes.
Deputy Troy Doc, you just give me a call if you need. Iâm more than happy to go Clint Eastwood if the situation arises.
Rosenblum Will do, Deputy. Thank you so much for your- assistance. Without you, there may not have been this- interview.
Deputy Troy [proud] To protect and serve.
Sammy I canât take all this in right now, Dr. Rosenblum I- e- Thank you so much for your insightful information.
Rosenblum As they say, [still monotone] âyou got it, duude.â
[click, dial tone]
Ben You okay, Sammy? You⊠donât look so well.
Deputy Troy Ah, hell, boys.[siren whoop] I gotta go. Iâll call you back later tonight! One of the Williams boys is tryinâ ta saw through the bars outside the jailhouse? [sirens in bg] [through megaphone] Jacob Williams put your hands UP and the file DOWN.
[click, dial tone]
Ben Alright King Falls, youâve heard our story, letâs hear yours. Have you or anyone you know experienced anything like what the doctor spoke of? Reanimation? The walkingâ
Sammy Donât.
Ben You know what I mean. Give us a call or tweet us.
Sammy Looks like the board is lighting up!
Ben UmâŠ
Sammy Whatâs up? Okay, it canât be any crazier than what we just heard, Ben.
Ben Line One, Sammy.
Sammy Welcome to King Falls AM, youâre on with Sammy and Ben.
Line 1 [female, almost sounds automated] Good evening, Sammyâ
Sammy Do I know you ma'am?
Riley â please hold for Mayor Grisham.
Ben He⊠Probably just wants us toâ mark these tapes as, evidence. *nervous laugh* Right, Sammy?
Sammy Or burn them.
Riley Sammy Stevens, Mayor Grisham.
Sammy Mayor?
Mayor Grisham Sammy⊠Ben.
Sammy Youâre on live on King Falls AM, sir.
Mayor Grisham [commanding] Take me off and go to break. We need to chat.
Sammy No can do. Ben says we arenât scheduled for break for another- uh- at least ten minutes.
Mayor Grisham Ben. Cut. To. Commercial.
Ben Uh- uh- uh- the thing is- I- I- I canât- do that. Sir.
Mayor Grisham [threateningly pleasant] You boys want to talk live on air? We can talk live on air.
Sammy [challenging] Nothinâ to hide on this end of the phone, Mayor Grisham.
Mayor Grisham I hear your snide remarks, Sammy. Iâve read the transcripts.
Sammy Which! letâs be honest, is pretty weird. Weâre a late night AM talk show, why are you bothering with us?
Mayor Grisham Oh, I donât bother with you. I try to keep up to date with all the local news and entertainment. I gotta say, I was really happy a big city radio guy decided to come play host at our little radio station.
Sammy Well, Iâm more than happy toâ
Mayor Grisham I wasnât finished⊠But I have to say, Iâm a little less than thrilled with [accusingly] all the excitement you brought with you.
Sammy Iâd hardly call reporting the news âexcitementâ, sirâ
Mayor Grisham Itâs interesting to me that I donât see Channel 13 breaking these crazy stories.
Ben [quickly] No offense, your honor, but those idiots donât know their a[bleep]holes from their elbows.
Mayor Grisham And you boys being on site when these âeventsâ happen? [softly, still accusing] Itâs a little bit of a coincidence donât you think?
Sammy Are you insinuating that we are staging these events, Mayor?
Mayor Grisham Iâm stating facts. Iâm sure your ratings are way, way up there since all these sensational events seem to coincide with your broadcast. Why do you think that is? Furthermore, I mean whoâs up listening to you at this ungodly hour of the night?!
Sammy Seemingly most of the town, Sir. As well as whomever youâve hired to keep an ear on us.
Mayor Grisham Iâve tried to be nice about this⊠And I tried to be civil⊠but I think itâs about time that you troublemakers changed formats. No more of this funny business. Itâs not good for the listeners. Itâs not good for the residents. And honestly? itâs not good for me. I donât appreciated being painted in this light, gentlemen.
Sammy Oh! You mean the light where you as a public service,[sic] try to quell the voice of the people.
Ben Itâs not your right to tell us what we can and canât report on, sir. All due respect.
Mayor Grisham [rudely] All due respect, Ben Arnold. Just a couple of months ago you were digging up old records on eBay for Chet Sebastian to run on about. Now youâre a media star?? Thatâs worrisome! Seems you fellas have All the reasons in the world to fabricate these issues, and I have to say Iâm not gonna sit here and listen to this, while you LIE TO THE GOOD PEOPLE OF KING FALLS.
Sammy Well, when we start âfabricatingâ and âmaking things up,â you can come throw the book at us. But until then- [click, dial tone] Whoops! Looks like you just got disconnected. Iâd wait for you to give us a call back and all, but with it not being an election year I probably shouldnât hold my breath.
Ben Line One iiis lit up again, Sammy.
Sammy [insincerely] Oh, sorry about that Mayor! I must have fabricated accidentally dumping your call when-
Esther Rollens [heavy metal music in bg] [voice old and wavering] Did you boys fund a lavender ball of yarn in there? Been looking for it all week! [click, dial tone]
Ben [shaken] Sammy, I think that commercial might do us some good right now.
[KFAM outro]
[CREDITS]
References
[1] Coachella - The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called Coachella or the Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert.
[2] Reference to the TV game show Jeopardy!
[3] I honestly canât tell if heâs saying âhonest engineâ or âhonest injunâ but iâmma go with the one thatâs technically incorrect but also not super racist.
[4] Barney Fife - Deputy from the Andy Griffith Show. Calling a police officer or authority figure "Barney Fife" has become an American slang term for gross ineptitude or overzealousness.
#king falls am#king falls#kfam#sammy stevens#ben arnold#troy krieghauser#dr. jeffrey rosenblum#mayor grisham#kfam transcripts#kfam ep5
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The Recap
I have yet to read a fanfic with Recap so Iâm changing that, youâre welcome? :P
Zloy pushed open the double doors to the Hermitcraft Recap stage, ready to throw together and record the next episode. However, unlike per usual when the undead zombie entered, the lights were off and the studio was eerily silent.
"Pix? You here?" Zloy called. No reply.
Weird. Normally I'm the late one. Guess I'll get set up without him them.
Zloy kicked the door closed with his foot and headed up to his place in the control booth above their news set on the stage. He put down his laptop and plugged it in to the permanent charger they had there, opening the screen...
And paused.
A devious smirk made its way into Zloy's face as he got a mischievous idea. He quickly got up and turned the lights back off in the studio, then pulled his laptop off the desk to the floor and he sat and brought up a video.
Now all I have to do is wait, Zloy chuckled under his breath, Pix will never know what his him!
Ten incredibly boring minutes of waiting and doodling on a notepad in the lowlight later, the studio doors slammed open and there was heavy breathing.
"I'M HERE!"
The Russian jumped and froze underneath the desk at the loud exclamation. He hit his head on the desk and his green hand hit the keyboard of his laptop, making the screen flare to life and the video he had up start playing.
"DUH DUH DUH DAH. DUH DUH DUH DAH DUH DUH DUH"
The Hermitcraft Recap theme song started playing at 100% volume of the studio speakers, meaning that it could be felt through the floor and blasted into your very soul. The zombie could hear the human's scream and something metal falling over.
âTHIS WEEK, ON HERMITCRAFTââ
"ZLOOOYYY!" Pixlriffs yelled over the glitched audio of his own voice, "TURN IT OFF, RIGHT NOW!"
Zloy was crying and laughing in his hiding spot. Not only did he get Pixlriffs, but he got himself as well! He blindly reached out and nearly punched the spacebar, before falling backward against the backing of the desk and howling.
A couple of seconds later there were grey jeans and black sneakers in front of him, and Zloy knew he was busted and started a new fit of giggling.
"Zloy, I'm going to kill you," Pixl stayed in a flat voice.
"I'm already undead though," the zombie reminded between hiccups.
Pixl groaned. "Whatever. Get up, we have a Recap episode to make..." his tone thankfully wasn't angry in the slightest, just annoyed and probably hiding humor to look like the professional one of the duo.
Zloy closed his laptop and stood up, still grinning like a fool. Pixl rolled his eyes, finally giving into the smile the zombie knew was waiting, and they sat down in their respective rolling chairs to plan their next Recap video.
"So, I know that Doc did more with his piston bolt in the Nether, Scar did another jangle despite being revealed, ConCorp pranked Sahara, Iskall placed a bunch of ice, Mumbo actually went back to his base to work on his own stuff instead of Sahara..."
Pixlriffs trailed off as he noticed Zloy's stare. "Yes?"
"No 'good morning, how are you, Zloy?'" The zombie said, a sad look on his face just to mess with Pixl more.
The human groaned again. "No, not after that stunt you just pulled. My ears are still ringing. What were we talking about again that's not you...?"Â
Zloy lost it again.
âââââ
Two hours later they had their script written and now had roughly an hour to film and start editing. Zloy had about thirty tabs open at the top of his browser, all single Hermitcraft videos that he was going to pull clips from. He had their Google Doc script up and was currently pulling it up on the TV monitor down by the camera for Pixl to read while heâs narrating. Pixl himself was sitting at his spot at the news desk, shuffling the prop papers as he usually does before they start. The papers were literally there just for show, as if they were to print it all then 1. Pixel would be constantly reading off the paper instead of reading off the screen just to the side of the camera and 2. It would waste a lot of ink.
âYou ready, Pix?â Zloy spoke into the microphone that boosted his voice down at the set. Pixl gave a thumbs up in confirmation. Zloy nodded.
âAlright, started recording. Good to go in three, two, one...â
Pixl started reading his lines, not quite having any context to what he was going to be voicing over but knowing the general gist of it from reviewing the hermitâs episodes and writing the script. They of course had their strange but humorous intro and Zloy was writing out what he was going to put as his editorâs note in the title card (probably something with messing with Pixl again honestly).
Halfway through Pixl reporting on Scarâs latest Jangler deed that Xisuma had ordered, Zloy got bored. Normally when he got bored during recording he would start editing or doodle on his notepad he always brought with him, but right now he didnât feel like doing either. He pressed the button to talk into the intercom, Pixl pausing just barely when he saw the red light come on down on set.
âJingle, jangle, jungle, jongle...â Zloy whispered quietly, knowingly interrupting Pixl just enough to confuse him.
âWhat in the world, Zloy?â Pixl asked.
âWhat? Nothing!â
â...Youâre trying to pull my leg again arenât you.â
âNo? No idea what youâre talking about,â the zombie grinned behind the mic, withholding the devious tone that threatened to sneak into his voice.
Pixl flicked a hand at him from his spot at the desk.
âYouâre not fooling me, Zloy.â
âIâm not trying to fool you!â
There was an audible groan and Pixl shifted, turning his back to his editor.
âMight be cutting this out but Zloy is being annoying so thatâs why Iâve cut. Remember, weâre not professionals here like Mumbo. Zloy isnât able to control himself when Iâm recording, it seems.â
Zloy chuckled under his breath, having way too much fun with this.
âWorth it!â He cheered into the microphone, immediately getting an annoyed look but also a smile from Pixl.
âJust cut this part out, alright?â And with that, the human went back to recording his voice over.
Meanwhile, Zloy knew exactly what he was adding for their silly intro in the editing process. He knew his comments would totally be spammed with complaints of deafness from the excessively loud intro music he was going to add, but to poke at literally everyone who watches, and especially Pix? Completely worth it.
âââââââââ
Word count: 1270
Creative liberties were taken because Recap doesnât have a recording studio in MC but I really want them to have one instead of it just being in a voice call?
Now the real question: imagine Zloy and Grian teaming up?
#hermitcraft#hermitcraft recap#zloyxp#undying creativity? mineâs already undead!#i hope this doesnt actually happen all our ears would hurt#i know zloy is on tumblr im scared to post this#pixlriffs#becca writes
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