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andreafmn · 4 years ago

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Collision - Chapter 1

Word Count: 3,434

Characters: Female Reader Uley Character, Sam Uley, Allison Uley, Charlie Swan, Bella Swan, Seth Clearwater, Billy Black, Jacob Black, Emily Young, Paul Lahote, Harry and Sue Clearwater, Leah Clearwater

Story Description: (Y/N) Uley is back home after being away for four years. Her life at it’s first standstill and she is taking this time to find out who she is without school. But she never thought that coming back to the reservation would turn her whole life around. In the midst of secrets and mystery, a man crashes into (Y/N)’s and her life will never be the same.

*DISCLAIMER* I do not own in any way Twilight, all credits of the pre-established characters, script, and storyline belong to Stephanie Meyer and Summit Entertainment. The only thing I own is Uley Reader insert, any upcoming characters, and her storyline, as well as her effects in the others’ story line.

Chapter: 1/?

A/N: There’s no Cullen’s in the first chapter, we’ll see them soon though. Also, Esme is in the story but her and Carlisle are not together romantically. If you enjoy my writing I’ll also be posting them in AO3 and Wattpad along with other stories (I also hope to start taking requests if ya’ll want) Hope you enjoy and all constructive criticism is encouraged.

Next->

Chapter 1

Going back home felt bizarre for (Y/N). It had been 4 years since she had moved away from the La Push Reservation on a scholarship to a prep boarding school in Seattle. Although students were expected to go back home during summer break, she spent her time in summer taking college classes or attending internships in the area, so going back didn’t fit into her plans.

But she had just graduated from high school and decided that taking a gap year could not hurt. Seeing her family wouldn’t be that bad either.

(Y/N) Uley had not reunited physically with Sam and Allison Uley since she left for school, only calling occasionally but always being to busy for anything else. The mother and son duo had grown accustomed to the short phone calls and vague emails they would receive from their studious family member. The Uley siblings used to be a very close pair, being only a year apart helped their bond. But since (Y/N) had invested all her energy into her high school career, their relationship rapidly dissipated; replaced by untold secrets and life-changing details.

The Uley girl had no idea what was in store when she went back home. She had left when she was 14 and was coming back an 18-year-old with a high school diploma and a bachelor’s degree. (Y/N) had always been an over achiever and applying to the school she had and taking dual enrollment was no surprise to her mother and brother.

The bus ride from Seattle to La Push lasted almost eight hours, so (Y/N) equipped herself with two books, plenty of snacks, and a fully charged iPod to handle the ride. She had gotten the earliest ride available always enjoying the intriguing mystery that 3 am travels brought. Her brown eyes surveyed the curious characters that voyaged alongside her a young woman sat with a sleeping baby in her arms, the dark circles under her eyes signaled the baby was still a newborn getting adapted to a sleep schedule; there was a middle-aged man, his eyes attached to a computer and a briefcase tight to his side; there were two teenagers, backpacks at their feet and shared headphones in between them. They were wearing light blue polo shirt and her school insignia embroidered on the left side of their shirt. She had seen them in passing, two freshmen still energetic and excited for their school life. She looked at them and smiled, remembering being in their shoes four years ago.

Four hours in, (Y/N) had finished one book, and the bus made its first stop in Port Angeles, the place where everyone that traveled with her got off. It wasn’t surprising to see from the top of her book as everyone got off, she didn’t recognize any of them from the reservation so it would have been surprising if any of them had stayed in the bus. For the next four hours, (Y/N) continued to read her second book surrounded by a comforting silence. The sun had risen about an hour ago and a nice warmth was streaming from the bus window and (Y/N) felt herself drift in bliss.

Her eyes fluttered open once again when she felt the bus finally rolling to a stop. She blinked a few times as she adjusted her vision to the bright midday sun and her brain restarted normal functions. The brunette gathered the bag with her travel companions and got up from the chair she had been glued to for eight hours.

“Have a good day,” the driver chimed as (Y/N) was walking down the bus.

“You too, drive safe!” The girl smiled and got her two suitcases out of the side of the bus.

(Y/N) got startled as she felt two arms wrap around her midriff and quickly swung her elbow back.

“Woah, woah, careful with those arms, (Y/N). It’s just me,” the girl turned around, a gleaming grin adorning her face.

“Sam!” She jumped onto the open arms of her older brother, seeing the years that had passed on his tired face.

“Look at you, darling. All grown up,” Allison Uley smiled, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

“Mom, I’ve missed you.” (Y/N) hugged her mother tightly, noticing the difference in heights of her and her mother. Another thing she noticed was the strain between her mother and her brother. Before she left, they all had a very close relationship but now it felt like so many things had interlaced into their bond. “Let’s go home yeah?”

“I’m, actually I gotta go to my house,” Sam scratched the back of his neck.

“What house?” (Y/N) chuckled.

“I moved out, but I’ll come over for your welcome dinner.”

“Sam, she just came back. Don’t you wanna spend time with your sister?” Allison begged, wanting to have both of her children under the same roof again.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t, mom. Leave it.” Sam sighed. “I’ll see you at dinner, (Y/N).”

He kissed the top of his sister’s head and left. He wanted to tell them the whole truth, but he knew he couldn’t. Knowing that information would put them in a level of danger that he didn’t want them to be aware of.

(Y/N) stared at the retreating figure of his brother as he ran down the street, leaving her and their mother.

“What’s up with him?”

“Oh darling, if only I knew.” Allison sighed grabbing one of the suitcases her daughter had brought. “Let’s just head to the house so you can rest.”

“Yeah, let’s.” (Y/N) gave Allison a comforting smile and wheeled the second suitcase towards the truck.

The drive home was as short as she remembered, and the house hadn’t changed a bit. She walked up the steps to the porch and opened the old wooden door; it still made the same creaking sound. The house still smelled of seawater and pine, an odd mix but a comforting scent. (Y/N) regretted all the summers she missed here and all the days she spent away from her family.

She made her way up the stairs and entered the first door to the right. She ran her fingers through the stickers she had pasted on there when she was 13: a wolf, a rainbow, a heart, and a picture of her family. Her name still carved at the highest point of the door and she smiled at the memory of that. She sat atop Sam’s shoulder when she was just 12 years old, a trembling hand holding a pick as she carved as best as she could the name “(Y/N)”.

The doorknob as it was turned let out a squeaky groan and the door needed an extra push to open. The room had not changed at all. The walls were still painted a light green, the light switch still had the pink princess cover, the bedding had the little purple butterflies embroidered on them, and the pillows were all pink and purple. In a corner rested the five boxes (Y/N) had sent to the house from her dorm room.

“It hasn’t changed a bit,” (Y/N) commented as she felt her mother’s presence behind her.

“I didn’t want to change it until you came back,” Allison smiled. “But I’m sure you’d like to give this place a bit of a makeover.”

“Definitely,” she laughed. “I think I’ll go to Port Angeles this weekend, doing some shopping can’t hurt.”

“That’s true.” Allison side hugged her daughter as she laughed. She headed towards the door but stopped when she was called upon by her daughter.

“Hey, mom?”

“Yes, darling?”

“By any chance, do you know where Sam’s living?” Allison’s body stiffened but shared the information with her daughter. Maybe she could figure out why he’d just disappeared.

(Y/N) was surprised to hear he was living with a girl she barely knew. She knew of Emily Young through Leah Clearwater, but not much after that. Last thing she had heard Leah and Sam had been dating. She certainly had missed some very important pivotal points in her brother’s life.

The house wasn’t far, so she decided to walk there. Upon arrival she could feel the warm and inviting aura that the quaint house emanated. The blue door called to her as she knocked on it. It finally opened and revealed her brother.

“(Y/N), what’re you doing here?”

“I’m here to see my big brother. Is that such a crime?” She laughed.

“No, of course. Come in,” he smiled begrudgingly. “I don’t have much time so we gotta make this quick.”

“Wow, feeling the love there,” she chuckled passing through the doorframe.

“There’s just some things that I have to do before dinner tonight.”

“It’s okay, I get it. I just wanted to ask if you could help me on the weekend with my room. I’m bringing it four years into the present, gotta make sure it looks like an 18-year-old sleeps there.”

“Yeah, I’ll come over Sunday afternoon and help you then. Anything else you need?”

“Well, not exactly, but it wouldn’t help to catch up. You know make up for four years of chit chat conversations and get me up to date with at the happenings in your life.”

“There’s not much to say other than I moved out and I’m engaged.” He said nonchalantly.

“Excuse me?! You’re engaged and failed to mention that to me?”

“It’s not that big of a deal, (Y/N).”

“Yes, it is, Sam! You’re getting married and this is the first I’m ever hearing of this or the fact that you moved out or the fact that you’re engaged to your ex-girlfriend’s cousin. I think it is a big deal.”

“Okay, yeah. Kind of a long story on that one.”

“Enough time to tell it to me?” Sam hesitated. He could hear Emily’s truck approaching and two male voices coming back from patrol. He needed to get (Y/N) out of the house before they got here.

“Maybe another time. I’ll call you on Sunday, yeah?” Sam asked as he nudged his sister out of his house.

“I guess.” (Y/N) mumbled as she was pushed out the front door. “Bye.”

“See ya.” Sam kissed the side of her head and closed the door.

(Y/N) left the house with more questions about her brother that she had begun with but didn’t want to press on. There was no use if he wasn’t going to talk, so she walked back home.

Her mother had gone out, possibly grocery shopping for tonight’s dinner, giving (Y/N) time to catch up on some much-needed sleep. She walked up the stairs and into her room, plopping down on the bed not caring how she landed. All she wanted was to close her eyes and rest.

By six in the afternoon her eyes fluttered open once again. She could smell the dinner her mother had been cooking. The room had darkened as the sun was going down and thankfully her mother had turned on a lamp for (Y/N) to have some vision. The girl got up from bed and grabbed some clothes from her suitcase to take a quick shower before dinner. She stripped all her clothes off and let the water wash away all the hours of the day. As soon as the water started turning cold, she shut it off and got out.

For a second, (Y/N) stopped and stared at herself in the mirror above the sink. She barely recognized the girl staring back. The bags under her eyes were deeper than the last time she had seen herself in this specific mirror, her cheekbones were more defined than before, her skin paler than usual since she hadn’t really seen the sun in a while.

It didn’t take her long to change into some new clothes and head downstairs, where she saw her mother on the phone. Disappointment evident in her eyes.

“Sam, it’s your sister… please… ok, fine. Just don’t flake on her on Sunday,” Allison sighed, turning off her phone and slamming it on the counter.

“Everything okay, mom?”

“Oh, yeah, darling. Your brother won’t be able to join us, but Billy and Jacob, and the Clearwaters are on their way, and I also invited Charlie and Bella Swan. I hope you don’t mind that they join in.”

“No, I don’t mind. What about Paul?”

“You know I’ve never liked that boy, honey.” (Y/N) stared at her mother. Refusing to continue the conversation until Allison answered the question. “I did invite him, but he couldn’t come.”

“I love seeing you make an effort,” (Y/N) laughed and kissed her mother on the cheek. “I’ll set the table.”

“Thank you, darling.”

(Y/N) grabbed the 10 plates needed for the night and the respective cutlery. She still remembered how her mother liked the table arranged and set it as such. She set the vase filled with fresh flowers in the middle of the table, leaving space on the sides for the dinner platters. The arrival of the guests was soon after. (Y/N) had grown alongside Jacob and Leah, and on the summers, she would spend her times with the Swan girl. Once Seth was born, he became very close with the Uley girl.

“My oh my, (Y/N), how you’ve grown.” Billy Black grabbed Uley’s hand and smiled up at her, with the warmness that summer brought.

“Indeed, I have, and you haven’t aged a day in four years. What’s your secret?”

“It’s in the genes,” he laughed alongside the young girl. She’d always been a charmer, he thought “You remember my boy, Jacob, right?”

“How could I ever forget? Hey, Jake!”

“How you’ve been, (Y/N)?” Jacob approached his friend and wrapped her in a hug. “Been an awful long time.”

“Four years, that’s not much,” she smiled. “Come in.”

The father and son duo entered the house, and next came the Clearwaters. Harry, Sue, and Seth. No Leah. They had always been close to the Uleys, a bit of divide coming after the rupture between the eldest offspring of each family.

“Oh, wow, where has the time gone?” Sue commented, greeting the girl with a tight hug.

“4 years really do go by quick, don’t they?”

“They sure do, Harry.” (Y/N) smiled, motioning the couple in.

Finally, Seth walked in and engulfed (Y/N) in a tight hug. The girl was 5 years his elder, but he considered her one of his best friends. Seth and Paul were the only two people (Y/N) kept in close contact other than her family. For some time, Paul and (Y/N) had drifted apart but Seth always sent his monthly excited letters, updating her on what he had been up to.

“I missed you, (Y/N)!” Little Seth spoke into a bundle of brunette hair.

“I missed you too, Seth.” She smiled as he walked past her, joining his parents.

The last to enter were Sheriff Swan and Bella. The cop smiled at the girl and gave her a quick hug, commenting on how much she had grown, a low chuckle leaving his throat. Bella entered with hunched shoulders, possibly not wanting to be there but she still smiled at her old friend. Vague memories filled the girls’ heads of summer play dates and days at the beach.

“It’s been quite some time, huh?” Bella muttered.

“It sure has. It’s great to see you again,” (Y/N) smiled. “How have you liked Forks now that you’re back full time. Still hating cold weather?”

“Yeah,” the pale girl chuckled. “But it has its better days.”

The girls joined in a quick giggled before joining the rest of the group at the dinner table. Allison had already set the table and had said her hellos to the group.

The three males had engaged in sports conversations and the teens were all huddled in the kitchen munching on cheese and crackers and engaging in small chit chat.

“So, (Y/N), 18 and already a degree, how does that feel?” Jacob asked, stuffing his mouth with cheese and ham.

“Well, as good as it can be. Don’t know exactly what I’m gonna do now. All I know is that I’m taking a year off and taking a breather for the first time.” (Y/N) chuckled.

“I just can’t believe you’d spend all this time going to school, twice as much. I don’t like school at all,” Seth chimed in, picking apart the cheese and filling his mouth.

“So, you spent these past four years studying, including your summers?” Bella added.

“That’s correct,” (Y/N) smiled. “And now I have a degree and nothing to do with it.”

The group chuckled and moved towards the adults as they were being called to dinner. In the center of the table was a big platter of spaghetti and meatballs, (Y/N)’s favorite food, a tray of toasted garlic bread, and a bowl of a colorful mix of spring salad.

(Y/N) always enjoyed her mother’s cooking. Even on her saddest days, Allison’s cooking could warm her heart at any time. She and her mother had a very close relationship, even after four years of distance. Since her father left early in her life, her mother had always tried her hardest to make sure both her children were loved and cared for. And she stayed wondering where she had gone wrong with Sam and hoping (Y/N) didn’t stray away as her eldest had.

The dinner group had all taken their seats at the dinner table and were passing around the various platters, serving themselves their desired portions. Jacob and Seth were overfilling their plates, receiving a laugh from their respective parents. Charlie, Harry, and Billy were filling their plates with more protein than carbohydrates and the moms at the table smiled at the males engulfing the meatballs. (Y/N) looked around the table and smiled. It had been a long time since she had sat down with the important people in her life and was relaxed, even if two of them were missing.

After everyone was served, everything went almost quiet. Some background music could be heard from the living room and the sound of forks hitting plates and mouths chewing filled the environment. Everyone was comfortable with the silence, but there was still one question in everyone’s mind.

“Where’s Sam?” Seth spoke up, voicing everyone’s question. The whole table paused in action and Seth felt like a deer caught in the headlights. Sue softly elbowed her son. “What?”

“It’s okay, Sue,” (Y/N) smiled. “He couldn’t be here, bud.”

“Maybe he was feeling bad, like Leah.” He added earning a burning stare from both his parents.

“Maybe, Seth.”

“I just wanna apologize for our daughter missing this dinner. I know she really wanted to see you, (Y/N).”

“Oh, Harry, it’s really no problem. I’m sure I’ll catch up with her soon enough.” (Y/N) smiled trying to ease the tension felt in the room. She could see her mother gripping her fork tightly as she kept her head down. “But I would also like to apologize on behalf of Sam, I know he wanted to be here.”

Everyone simply nodded and went back to their plates. The rest of the evening was enjoyable. No one mentioned the pair that was missing, and (Y/N)’s past four years were questioned in depth. She had an answer for everything except “What are you gonna do now?”

She didn’t know and that’s what she answered. She mentioned she wanted to study medicine, having finished a degree in biology and always loved taking care of other people. Sue was excited, being a nurse herself. But (Y/N) had landed at a standstill in terms of her life and career. A vast portion of her life had been defined as a student and now that this part was over, she didn’t know who she was.

The dinner festivities were over soon thereafter, leaving Allison and (Y/N) to clean up after the group. The Uley pair put everything away in silence, exhausted from the eventful day. (Y/N) could see as her mother wiped away a few stray tears, sniffling behind her hair. The girl knew better than to bring the topic back up and left her mother with a kiss on the temple and a good night.

Upstairs, (Y/N) prepared herself for bed. The event had drained nay energy still left in her and she plopped down on the bed with a small thud. She had prepared her clothes for the next day, knowing her energy would also be drained but still excited to have this change. Her eyes fluttered close as she heard in the distance her mother’s quiet footsteps on the staircase, darkness overtaking her.

Next->

A/N: if you wish to be tagged for the next parts, please let me know. I’d be happy to. <3

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littlemissagrafina · 2 years ago

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The Best Medicine

Comfortember Day 1. Hugs

Summary: One second, Peter had been running, the next, he'd been reintroduced to what the ground tasted like. He sat up with a cough, spitting dirt and leaves from his mouth as he tried to figure out what happened.

"Petey! Are you okay!?" Morgan gasped as she ran back to where he still sat on the ground. She stopped next to him, hand on her hip and a concerned look in her eyes that showcased exactly who her parents were.

Read on AO3

Peter inched forward, careful of the crunchy leaves littered across the ground as he peeked around the corner. Seeing nothing, he snuck around the corner until he could peek around the next one. He just barely glanced around it before he pulled back and pressed himself against the wall behind him, listening to the faint giggling as he made up his attack plan.

He tilted his head at the crunch and little gasp that followed it, grinning. Now was his chance.

With an exaggerated roar, Peter burst from his hiding place next to the house and made a beeline for Morgan who took off in the direction that she had been coming from, delighted laughter echoing out towards the lake and disturbing a few nearby birds.

Peter beamed, his own laughter bubbling up to join Morgan's as he chased her towards her 'safe zone' down by the big oak tree next to the lake. As he ran, Peter would let loose little bursts of speed every so often, darting closer until he was just at Morgan's heels before slipping back and doing it again.

He kept a handle on his enhancements, though. He wanted Morgan to have fun, not for him to spoil it just because he could run faster than Steve Rogers. And so he would tease, having fun listening to Morgan's shrieking laughter when she realised that Peter had missed her again and again.

Peter flung his hand out and purposely let it brush against Morgan's back just after she grabbed on to the wide trunk of the old oak tree and delighted in her wild and unruly laughter. Her joy was infectious, and Peter felt as if his entire chest was filled with all things fluffy and happy.

Rainbows, sunshine, unicorns, and puppies. If it was cute and happy, well, that's what being around Morgan felt like. Peter had always wanted a sibling, and having Morgan as his little sister meant more to Peter than he'd ever be able to say.

As Morgan sprinted off, using Peter's distraction to her advantage, Peter automatically followed her. His foot, however, didn't. They were pesky like that, always causing trouble and staying behind and places that they shouldn't.

One second, Peter had been running, the next, he'd been reintroduced to what the ground tasted like. He sat up with a cough, spitting dirt and leaves from his mouth as he tried to figure out what happened. He shifted to stand up when a deep, shooting pain spread through his ankle.

Peter hissed when he tried to move it out from where it had obviously gotten hooked under a loose tree root. Leaning forward, he tugged at the end of the root until it came loose and he could slip his foot safely from the offending object.

Before Peter could tell her that it was only a sprained ankle, a bad one but sprained nonetheless, she was talking again.

"Stay there, I'm going to get Daddy. You're not allowed to walk or I won't tell you my idea for Gerald's makeover." With that, the six year old turned on her heel and marched off determinedly towards the house where she disappeared into, returning with Tony in tow just moments later.

Tony crouched down next to Peter and just grinned at him, though there was still concern in his eyes. "Little Miss, says that you hurt yourself. What are we looking at, Kid?" Tony questioned him, Morgan staring on sternly just behind his shoulder.

"Just a sprained ankle, Mr Stark. I got caught in the tree root." He waved towards the ripped up object, and caught the look on Tony’s face. "And no, you're not allowed to cut down the tree! Stuff like this happens, you know how clumsy I am. Besides, it's pretty sore, but I'll be find by tomorrow if I don't walk on it too much." Peter tried to reassure Tony, knowing that the man's protective streak would no doubt be raring its head.

Tony just shook his head. "No promises. We need more firewood anyway. I'll hold off for now, though." He stood and reached a hand down to Peter, pulling him up gently when he took it.

Peter grunted when he accidentally put his weight on the sprained foot, but leant on Tony and let the man help him limp to the house. It took a few minutes but they eventually got him up the porch stairs with some maneuvering and into the kitchen where he sat up on one the of the barstools at the centre island.

Tony tilted his face, looking at him carefully. "Did you hit your head?"

Peter hummed out a negative. "Nah, I slid a bit and smushed my face in the dirt but I didn't hit it or anything, so no concussion watch. I promise."

Tony picked out a few twigs from his curls before turning away towards the sink, and Peter watched as he grabbed a washcloth, running it under the tap before coming back to stand in front of him.

He gently ran the wet linen over Peter's cheeks and slightly down his neck before brushing it over his hair, cleaning up all the dirty smudges and lose dust from Peter's face and hair. He rinsed it out before passing it Peter and telling him to wipe his hands.

Peter ran the cloth over his hands and passed it back to Tony when the man held his hand out for it. It was then dumped in the sink to be taken care of later.

Peter lent against the island, briefly wondering where Morgan had disappeared to when Tony spoke. "Do you want me to help you upstairs to your room to get cleaned up or do you want me to bring you some clothes and you can use the other bathroom down here?" He asked and Peter weighed up his options.

Upstairs would mean staying in his room, because there was no way Tony would let him walk all the way downstairs again. Staying down here meant he could relax in the living room and set up camp on the couches near the floor to ceiling windows.

"Downstairs." Peter decided and within the ten minutes, he was cleaned up and settled on the aforementioned couch as Tony fussed with the pillow his foot was propped up on.

"Mr Stark, I promise I'm okay. It's a little painful but I know what a sprained ankle feels like, and it's fine." He knew his voice sounded slightly whiney but he couldn't help it. Tony had "fixed" the pillow five times in the space of the last minute.

"Okay, okay. Fine. But I'm grabbing you some of your meds just incase. And Friday is monitoring it." Tony moved baxk to the kirchen and Peter could hear him murmuring about ankle injuries and ligaments and tendons when Morgan reappeared next to the couch. She, too, was cleaned up and changed into fresh clothes.

"Can I give you hugs, Petey?" She asked him, her eyes big and still concerned. "You always hug me when I'm hurt or upset and it always makes me feel better. So you need hugs too."

Peter beamed. "Hugs are the best medicine, Morgs. I'd love some hugs." He held his arms out and Morgan climbed onto the couch, careful of jostling his leg as he settled in and squeezed herself into his side and wrapped her arms around him.

Peter held her close, and leant his his head against the couch, only moving when Tony came back with a pill and some water for him to take it with.

The man ruffled his hair and placed tge water on the coffee table before he sat down on Peter's other side, resting an arm around his shoulder and dropping his hand to run over Morgan's head.

Relaxing between Morgan and Tony, it wasnt long before he got sleepy. He wasnt tired enough to fall asleep totally, but Peter let himself rest peacefully between his sister and their dad. The ache in his ankle, lessening a bit as the quiet afternoon drifted on.

Sometimes hugs really were the best medicine.

#comfortember 2022 #comfortember #peter parker #tony stark #morgan stark #irondad #spiderson #irondad and spiderson #spiderman #iron man #comfortember day 1. hugs

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ramblingsekai · 3 years ago

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And here’s one of the scarier groups to me. Here’s Part 4, the group review on Happiness Sentai Sunny Sunny (why do the stage groups always have such long names). I think that this group is really interesting. On the surface, it’s a super happy and optimistic group, but to me, there’s a few layers of sadness to them. So let’s get to it!

Major changes are presented from the start with this group. A sort of theme that I noticed about this group, it’s a group of people who had missed chance meetings. Each of them sort of had meetings that almost didn’t happen or happened by a chance. And in this AU, those chances were missed. Mafuyu and Kanade didn’t form 25ji, and based on how Mafuyu’s mask is so firmly on, I think that Mafuyu never heard Kanade’s song (which popped up in her recommendations) so she never contacted K. Either that or Kanade ended up being contacted by that manager earlier in this AU. Still, Mafuyu never met Kanade and never had that feeling of being moved by her song. So by the time this group formed (I’m not typing out their name again), she’s had her facade on for an extra 2 years without an outlet. So yeah, Mafuyu kinda scares me, bc is she gonna explode? Is she a ticking time bomb? Who knows. And then Emu. I’m not sure if she held auditions like she did in the OG main story. From the sounds of it, she recruited Kohane personally (maybe in the park or at school). Since Kohane was recruited by Emu, I guess she never ended up bumping into An. And that is a bit of a tragedy to me bc of how Kohane & An’s story plays out. Especially since An’s 1.5 anni card story kinda reveals that An was pretty lonely before meeting Kohane and that’s why she’s so clingy. And how An inspired Kohane and pushed her to be more confident since we see Kohane with her OG hairstyle during the first convo (she has her short hair and no glasses look later on, but idk if that was bc of necessity or a meaningful change like in OG timeline). So a chance meeting missed. Then with Haruka. I’m not sure how, but Haruka seems to have somehow gotten over her stage anxiety here, but is still retired from being an idol. So I guess since she’s not struggling with her stage anxiety, she doesn’t go to the roof and meet Minori. Another missed meeting.

So another thing I’m wondering about is how exactly Mafuyu and Haruka joined. Mafuyu mentions this group as an out-of-school activity so I’m wondering if maybe there’s some volunteer program or something at Miya that Mafuyu joined and working at Phoenix Wonderland was one of the options. That’s honestly one of the only ways I could see Mafuyu joining and her mom letting her. Also, how the heck did she become troupe leader? I guess the only other person who could be leader would be Emu & uhhhhh that might not be a good idea. But I guess they gave it to Mafuyu because of her perfection and her seniority. And then with Haruka, it sounded like she decided to join voluntarily rather than Emu recruiting her. So I wonder if Emu still actually held the auditions, Tsukasa doesn’t show up since he wants to be a street performer and Rui is with him and not harassing the theme park staff by trespassing, and Haruka auditions instead.

So yeah, they dress up and give out their stage names. I can’t help but notice that Haruka’s tag line is ‘An idol is not built in a day’ and I’m wondering if that’s supposed to be a mention towards the girl who overextended herself in Haruka’s old group as well as a way of showing that Haruka still has regrets but is trying a different path away from being an idol in order to move forward. So unlike OG Haruka, this Haruka still has things she regrets and as a result, can’t let herself be an idol, so she becomes a stage performer instead to still help give hope to people. Also, Kohane now has her makeover look here. But her tagline of persevering beast and makeover, makes me wonder if Kohane just went through her character arc by herself. Or if this is all a part of her stage outfit too by Emu. Who knows. Anyways, they discuss why Emu gave Mafuyu the impregnable nickname. Gonna be honest, Emu’s reasoning on why she gave that name to Mafuyu doesn’t really make sense to me. Like is she saying that Mafuyu is just sort of unmovable bc she doesn’t show her real emotions and it’s just a mask all the time? She says it was because she wanted Mafuyu to smile, but idk if impregnable is a good stage name for that. But, they’re rolling with it I guess. And they talk about their stage plot and how they should have Mafuyu play a double agent role. So ofc she whips out her dark smile. And oof, wonder if that’s a little bit of her repressed emotions leaking out. Emu insists that they should make it so Mafuyu’s role can also end with a smile or whatever. Honestly, this was a little cheesy for me so I’m skimming through this.

Yeah, this group is a mixed bag for me. It feels bittersweet to me bc of the missed chance meetings and how Mafuyu probably won’t be saved by this. I know I know, Emu wants to get Mafuyu to smile for real, and she did succeed a little in the main OG timeline, but getting Mafuyu to smile and ‘saving’ her feel like different things to me. I’m honestly not sure if Emu is capable of saving Mafuyu and this isn’t a dig at Emu at all. It’s just that Mafuyu is really stuck and Kanade (might be reaching HC territory) was able to reach Mafuyu initially through shared experiences/emotions. Bc Kanade felt despair, Mafuyu was able to relate to Kanade and feel like Kanade could relate to her. So she felt hopeful, if only a little bit. Emu is a hard character for me to read, but I don’t feel like she’s ever reached that pit of despair. Sure she got stressed and saddened when she thought the stage was going to close, but that’s not the same I think. Besides, at this point in time, I wonder if Mafuyu has her Sekai also in this AU? She alone made the Empty Sekai, so I wonder if it would also exist here as well. Hard to say. I wonder if maybe this Mafuyu is sturdier or not as despairing compared to OG Mafuyu and that’s why she even bothered to join a stage troupe in the first place. Still, I also wonder if this might lead to the stage later shutting down, bc I think in a later JP event, Emu’s dad compared Tsukasa to the grandfather and believed in Tsukasa’s abilities. Here, Mafuyu is the leader, and with how she’s faking everything, I’m not sure if Emu’s dad would trust her with Wonder Stage’s future. Hard to say again (I know I keep using this sentence, but it’s true).

So yeah, a fun look at an alternative, but ultimately, I prefer the OG groups for each of the members. If only, because I feel like there paths have less regret in the OG timeline, and bc it feels like there would be more unity with the OG groups. I have no idea what Mafuyu’s actual goal is (there might not be a genuine one and it’s her just trying this out to feel something), Emu still has her OG goal alongside getting Mafuyu to smile, Kohane is supportive of this group but I wonder if she’d eventually stop after awhile, and with Haruka, I also wonder how far she’d go with this group. I don’t have as good as a read on this group compared to their originals.

I’m sorry if this was messy and didn’t make sense, but this is pretty much all I can think of with this one. Let me know your thoughts and thanks for reading!

#project sekai #Happiness Sentai Sunny Sunny #April Fools Event AU #mafuyu asahina #emu ootori #kohane azusawa #haruka kiritani

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athenasbloodyspear · 3 years ago

Text

Don’t Make Me Beg Now Baby

CHAPTER ONE: EDGE OF DARKNESS

Hello fellow Greta Van Freaks. This is my very first Greta fic! I hope you enjoy.

MASTERLIST

Note: This fic contains mature themes, discussions of past non-con (no members of GVF involved) and drug use. Minors DNI. 18+ only and please take care of yourselves. (See Ao3 for full tag list)

You can also read this fic on Ao3 if you prefer!

Jake Kiszka x Original Female Character

Picture this: The boys are in Northern Michigan to write the new album and they meet a wild young woman who works at a local record store who has a rough history with rock bands.

She doesn’t want to fall into the same traps she fell into before. He doesn’t want to hurt her.

The rest of them just want them to figure their shit out.

Note: While this fic is based on the members of Greta Van Fleet, I obviously do not know them personally (lol) and nearly 99% of this is a fever dream I decided to write down. Some tid bits are based on things said in interviews/photos/songs but please do not come for my neck if you dislike my portrayals as this is a STORY that I have entirely made up.

This will be a slow burn, overly dramatic, cliché fest of me missing my Mitten State and wishing more than anything I could move back home. Their music makes me homesick and for that I’ll never forgive them. ;)

Chapter Under the Cut

CHAPTER ONE: EDGE OF DARKNESS

The tiny bell on the door to “The Edge” clanked as Jake pushed his way in, followed by Josh, Sam and Danny. The afternoon sun streamed through the slats in the windows at a harsh angle, illuminating the swirling dust. The boys all immediately took a deep breath. They all loved the smell of this place. A mix of dusty old vinyl's, incense and weed.

The Edge was the shop owned by an old friend, Levi, who had been a longtime family friend of the Kiszka’s. The boys had made the near three hour drive to the shop whenever they had a spare weekend in their younger years. They bought Levi out of his guitar strings and drumsticks and always looked through the boxes of vinyl's hoping to find treasures. Levi sold an eclectic mix of music equipment, records, books, home goods and comically horrific coffee.

The Edge is where they had each bought their very first instruments, had their first beers and even smoked their first joint. It was a special place for them.

The old wood floors creaked with every step, the wood walls were covered with old articles from Rolling Stone, photos Levi had taken and autographs from the artists who had cycled through the place over the years. There were stacks upon stacks of vinyl's. Shelves of old autobiographies and music theory books. There were speakers stacked from floor to ceiling, and the whole right side of the store was jam packed with basses and guitars. The back corner had a few keyboards and a drum set, but plenty of catalogues to pick even more instruments from. There were cases of drumsticks and guitar picks and strings. The middle of the store had tables full of incense, candles and interesting home goods. There were tables where local artists sold jewelry, art pieces and furniture. It was full to the brim, most shelves rising way up to the ceiling. Most needed a ladder to reach the top. The basement had a sound studio with even more equipment set up to be used to record, or to test out.

Levi had inherited the place from his father, who had built up quite a legendary roster of friends over his years. The shop was just off Front Street on the main drag of Traverse City. Levi’s father had made a name for himself as a great host to bands looking to escape to northern Michigan to hole up in cabins and write albums. Levi continued the tradition and took it a step further by buying the space next door and turning it into a club with live music on the weekends.

If you were lucky, you could catch some super huge bands playing for only about 100 people in the dark side room of The Edge.

“You bastards finally made it!” Levi called out as he came sauntering out of the back room. Levi looked the exact same as the last time the boys had seen him. Tanned skin from his days paddle boarding and hiking along the Lake Michigan shore, sandy blonde hair that was brighter in the summer, perpetual 5-o-clock shadow because he just couldn’t be bothered to shave, shell necklace around his neck, light wash jeans low on his hips with the same old cowboy boots he’d been wearing since the boys were 12.

“Is that grey hair I see Levi?” Josh leaned forward with an exaggerated squint. Levi laughed, snagging Josh’s head to give him a noogie.

“I may be older than you punks by a few years, but I’m not greying yet.” Levi released Josh from his headlock and gave him a shove.

“I’d say 37 is more than a few years older than us, grandpa.” Sam snarked.

“You’re makin me regret extending my hospitality, kid.”

Jake felt himself relax fully for the first time in a really long time. It was just like old times. Exactly what the boys needed.

“Welcome back dudes. I’m surprised I’m still cool enough for you Rockstar types.” Levi crossed his legs and leaned back against the front counter.

“We’ll never be too cool for The Edge. This place will always be way cooler than we could ever be.” Danny piped up, walking forward to wrap Levi in a hug.

“It’s been too long man.” Levi commented as he smacked Danny on the back.

“We know.” Sam said “Way too fuckin long.” He hugged Levi next. Josh and Jake followed up with hugs next. The room was heavy with a tinge of melancholy. Old friends who had missed each other finally reunited.

“Well, have you guys been to the house yet?” Levi stepped around the counter and started pouring four cups of the famous nasty coffee.

“Yeah we dropped our bags off before we headed into town.” Danny spoke up.

“Isn’t it sweet?” Levi asked enthusiastically.

“It’s wicked man. Thanks so much for getting that set up for us.” Josh grinned as he snagged a cup off the counter.

The house was a mid century modern cabin right on the east bay shore. It came equipped with a huge garage studio, front deck and a dock out into the bay. Levi had bought the house in foreclosure and along with help from a bunch of locals (in exchange for beer of course) they turned the house into a perfect getaway for any artists looking to come take a break up north. The place had five bedrooms and three bathrooms with a giant living room with overstuffed couches and velvet chairs. The walls were covered in art and the shelves were full to bursting with plants. It was a kaleidoscope of colors and textures, with mix matched rugs and lamps. It was Levi’s pride and joy.

“I’m so glad you guys like it.” Levi smiled even bigger as he passed coffees to the rest of the boys. “Once you’re a little more settled, feel free to send me a list of equipment you want me to set up downstairs and you can start coming in whenever to work. But also, I think you should probably take a week or two off first. You all look about two seconds away from collapsing.”

“Yeah we’re pretty fuckin beat dude. But we’ll send you a list ASAP.” Jake said, taking a burning sip of the coffee. It singed his nerve endings and he couldn’t have been happier about it.

Levi opened his mouth to speak again, when a voice filtered through the window to the loft above the store.

“Yo Levi!” the person shouted “Can you please get off your fuckin ass and pick music to play? I know Wednesdays are your day to pick but if you take forever I’m just gonna put on whatever I want and you can suck it.”

All four boys' heads snapped up to the window to the loft, but whoever was up there couldn’t be seen. All they could see was that the loft had clearly gotten a makeover. What used to be an upper level where Levi stored surplus supplies now looked like it had a plush velvet couch, lava lamps and plants in it.

“Alright alright! I’ll get on it.” Levi called back up, shaking his head and chuckling to himself as he walked toward the central sound system behind the counter to scroll through Spotify playlists.

“Who the fuck is that and what have you done to the loft?” Josh asked, hopping up to sit on the counter.

“That would be the very best thing that’s ever fallen into my lap. A.k.a my new store and venue manager Maven. She moved back to the area after living in Hollywood for a few years managing bands and she completely changed my life. We finally have consistent stock, a longstanding line up at the club and I have had the time to start photography again. Truly a godsend, if not occasionally a pain in my ass. She turned the loft into a breakroom of sorts. There’s a couch and table up there now. She practically lives up there sometimes.”

“Damn she must be some woman if she finally got you to get your shit together with that club.” Sammy piped up.

“She’s hellfire, I’ll tell yah that.” Levi chuckled, finally hitting play on a playlist. The first bars of Surfin USA by the Beach Boys came on the surround system and matching groans came out of Jake downstairs and Maven upstairs.

“Not this shit again!” Maven yells. Jake chuckled to himself. Hellfire indeed.

“It’s my day to pick so suck it!” Levi called back before faux stage whispering to the boys “I mostly just play this to piss her off.”

Levi clapped his hands together once “Well boys, It’s close enough to five o'clock and I owe you a beer. Let’s head over to Little Fleet for some grub and beers and we can catch up.”

Josh grimaced as he sucked down the last bit of his coffee before lobbing the empty cup into the trash at the end of the counter. “You still make shit coffee Levi.”

“It’s the one thing I wouldn’t let Maven fix.” Levi said with a grin as all five men exited out the back door.

~0~

The boys took a week to relax, as per Levi’s request. They spent the days hiking the shore, kayaking and drinking beer around the fire. It had been way too long since they’d done this. The release of The Battle at Garden’s Gate had been exhilarating and the fans' response had been everything they’d hoped for. People seemed to love the album and they were all so proud. But with press interviews and touring, they hadn’t gotten more than a day or two to relax at a time. And they certainly hadn’t gotten a chance to get back to their favorite old haunts in years.

They stopped by the store almost every morning for a cup of coffee strong enough to jumpstart their hearts. Sometimes Levi joined them on their escapades, and sometimes he stayed behind to help out at the store. The boys spent a few afternoons sifting through albums and strumming on some of Levi’s vintage guitars.

Mostly they caught up on each other's lives. The boys recounted their more personal lives that happened outside the coverage of the album and Levi talked about the past few years of his life in Traverse City. Levi told them all about Maven and how she was practically his little sister. They laughed. They drank. They had a blast.

The boys noticed Levi was a little on edge occasionally, typically when they heard someone shuffling upstairs or equipment moving around in the backroom of the shop. They assumed it was Maven but weren’t sure, since they had yet to see her in the flesh. A week from their arrival they were all sitting in lawn chairs in the alley behind the store, smoking cigs and drinking their coffee when Sam finally asked.

“So, why haven’t we met your precious Maven yet? Hiding her from us or something?”

Levi shifted a bit in his chair. “Um..” he coughed out a laugh. “I am actually. Yes. But it’s the other way around, I’m hiding you from her.”

“Afraid she’ll fan-girl or something?” Josh commented as he ashed his cigarette.

“In… a sense.” Levi coughed. “But in quite the opposite way you’re imagining.”

“She’s a fan then?” Sammy piped up.

“She loves your music. A lot.” Levi sniffed and coughed again. “It’s a real safe haven for her. When she’s having a bad day I catch her upstairs laying on the floor smoking a J with sound cancelling headphones blasting your albums as loud as she can.”

“Exactly how it’s meant to be enjoyed. With a joint in hand.” Jake chimes in.

“Yeah..” Levi toes the asphalt a bit with his boots, but doesn’t continue.

“Soooo” Sammy drawls “Why can’t we meet her? We’re no stranger to super fans. I’m sure she’s cool.”

“Um, well. It’s a bit complicated.” Levi heaves a sigh before flicking his cigarette butt into the coffee canister at the center of their little circle. “I suppose I can trust you guys. You’re friends. Do you remember the huge lawsuit that the band Undercover Heart went through last year? The one about the um” He coughs again, “Rape of one of their staff members by the lead singer Ryan?”

“Yes. That shit was horrific man.” Danny spoke up. “I read all the details I could. They kept the poor girl's identity private but goddamn I felt so bad for her. She was a badass for filing that suit though.”

“Yeah. She was.” Levi breathed. “So, this is strictly off record and if you repeat this to anyone I will skin you all alive, famous rock stars be damned.”

“Jesus Levi.” Jake said.

“It was her.” Levi choked out. “Maven. That’s why she ran back from Hollywood and ended up here. That dude messed her up and she just… she struggles with meeting famous bands now. You know how many people cycle through this joint writing stuff. She just… has a really fuckin hard time with it sometimes. Particularly bands she likes. I think it’s because once you meet someone, and in her case, discover how much of a monster they can be, their music isn’t… safe anymore.”

“Fuck.” Jake said, flicking his cigarette into the canister.

“Well I feel terrible for joking about her being a fangirl.” Josh mutters.

“She just genuinely loves you guys a lot. I never really told her I was an old friend because I didn’t want her to be worried about y’all stopping by. I just know that if she knows you’re here she’ll take off and avoid coming by the shop as much as she can and not only do I need her here, but I think she needs the safety of the shop too. I didn’t want to wreck it.” Levi sighs again. “I know she’ll find out you’re here eventually, it’s inevitable. I just was a coward and didn’t want to break the news to her.”

“She was a pretty well known band manager wasn’t she?” Danny asks. “She like… completely made Undercover Heart what it was. Before they hired her they were slated to be a one hit wonder but she hauled them into relevancy basically by her will alone.”

“Yeah. She basically built that man's career for him. She gave him everything, and he took everything from her. If I ever see the man I’m liable to get my ass thrown in prison.” Levi mutters.

“I’ll help.” Danny says immediately.

All five sit in silence for a few minutes, smoking the last of their cigarettes. When they’d all finished, they stood and stretched to head back inside the shop.

“So yeah. Anyway, If you see her that’s fine, just… well now you have context for… her.” Levi says as he yanks open the door.

A few steps into the back hallway, Levi suddenly halts, causing all four boys to nearly bash into each other. The front door to the shop had crashed open and there were footsteps stomping across the store toward the front desk.

“Listen Levi,” Maven’s tense voice carried down the back hall. “I know Wednesdays are usually your day for music but I’m having an absolute shit fucking day so I’m playing Greta all day and there’s absolutely nothing you can fucking do about it, kapeesh?”

The very opening chords of Edge of Darkness scratch through the speakers after she finishes her sentence and the boys all exchange a slightly amused look, grins spread on all of their faces.

“Kapeesh.” Levi calls out to her. He spins and silently nods to the boys to head toward the back door. The boys attempt to be as quiet as they can as they creep toward the door.

“Also, Levi?” Maven calls again. Everyone halts in their tracks. “You said there was a band coming in soon. Are they here yet? Do you need me to set up the backroom?”

“Uh, yeah they’re here.” Levi squeaks. All five men share nervous looks. “They’re uh… up at the house.” He cringes at his lie. “I’m getting an equipment list from them today and then you can get started.

“Cool cool.” Maven calls back. “Do you think I’ll like their stuff?”

“Uh. Yeah.” Levi grins then. “I think you will.”

“Wicked.” Maven calls back.

All five men repress giggles as they skedaddle out the back door and into the alley.

~0~

The next morning the boys wake up to a group text from Levi.

COME BY THE SHOP ASAP. COME IN BACK DOOR. HEAD DOWN THE STAIRS TO THE BOOTH. BE AS QUIET AS YOU CAN.

A weird request, but they did as they were told. They all piled into the SUV they had rented and headed to the shop. Danny peeled open the back door as quietly as he could, and Sammy opened the door to the stairs. They tiptoed down and through the door at the end of the stairs that opened into the booth of a sound studio. Levi sat in front of all the mixing boards with a cup of coffee to his lips. He glanced over at them and softly said “coffees on the table.”

“Why the weird text?” Jake asked.

“Because of that.” Levi responded softly, pointing through the dark glass into the soundstage.

The sound stage was littered with mismatched rugs, and a few milk crates that doubled as tables. There was a gorgeous seafoam green drum set toward the back wall and stands full of various guitars and basses. Along the left wall was a piano and a Mellotron set up exactly to the specifications Sam sent over. However, with all these beautiful instruments to look at that would normally catch their eye, it was the woman sitting on stool in the center, cradling a dark purple Fender guitar that made Jake stop in his tracks.

Maven, Jake had to guess that’s who it was, was wearing checkered distressed pants, with a ripped up old band t-shirt cropped at her ribs, revealing a sliver of the rounded part of her stomach. Over top she was wearing an orange leopard print cardigan that ran down to her thighs. Around her neck was a series of long necklaces, and her wrists were adorned with interlacing leather bands.

She was plucking out a melody with her eyes closed, rocking back and forth on the stool. Jake had seen countless numbers of people playing the guitar before. On the road, in the studio, studying old masters on YouTube. There was nothing overly special about the way she was sitting or playing, but he felt a little bit like he couldn’t breathe.

“She never fuckin plays anymore man.” Levi whispered. “It felt like magic hearing music coming out of the basement this morning. I just felt like you should see it.”

The melody she was playing was sad. Haunting is a better way to put it, and Jake couldn’t look away. Not even when Sammy placed a cup of burning hot coffee into his hands. She was moving her head along with her playing, the strands of her dark messy hair shaking back and forth. The group watched in silence as she played out the riff a few times, Levi cranked the volume of the mics in the space and they could hear her humming softly.

“She has a strong presence.” Josh murmured.

Maven suddenly stopped. Everyone froze as she heaved a sigh and stood from the stool to put the guitar back on it’s rack.

“You in there Levi?” Maven said then. The boys still didn’t move a muscle. Jake’s head was spinning, having finally seen the face that went with the voice he’d heard in the loft for a week. She was beautiful. He couldn’t even really put his finger on why, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Even seeing her through the thick dark glass of the studio.

Levi hit the button to the mic in the booth and responded “Yah.” He paused before adding. “Sounded good.”

Maven snorted in a self-deprecating way and said “Thanks.”

Levi hit the mic button again and said “You should play more.”

“Don’t push it Levi.” Maven snapped back. Levi released the button to his mic and let out a heavy sigh. “Can you check some levels on the lines for me? I think I have everything pretty good but I want to make sure before they get here today.”

“Sure.” Levi replied.

Maven pulled the amp cord out of the Fender she had been playing on and plugged it into another guitar, one more similar to the guitars that Jake regularly used while they wrote.

“Are we looking for a punk or a rock-y sound?” Maven asked.

“Um.” Levi hesitated. “Rock. Their sound is like…” He tossed a small smile over his shoulder at the boys. “Like Greta’s actually.”

“Dope. I hope they’re not just copying the boys. They’ve got a mellotron in here and everything.” The boys smiled. She pounded out a few chords on the guitar. “Good?”

Levi looked over at Jake for confirmation. Jake, who still had not taken his eyes off Maven, nodded.

“Yeah, that should be good for raw sound. They can play with stuff too. They’re a pretty well educated bunch.” Levi called back.

“Thank god.” Maven snorted. “Not like that indie punk bunch you booked last month who needed me to do fucking all their sound mixing for them.”

“Maven, I don’t think they kept asking you down here because they need help with their sound.”

Maven just rolled her eyes at that.

They repeated the process with each instrument, Levi silently asking for confirmation from the respective Greta member until they were sure the sound lines were all functioning properly.

“Great work kid.” Levi called into the studio.

“Ew don’t call me kid. I’m a 27 year old woman.” Maven called back.

Levi chuckled. “You’re a kid to me.”

“Whatever.” Maven muttered. “I’m gonna go take a walk along the beach. Smoke a little. Text me if they need me.”

“Will do.” Levi called back. The boys all tensed, looking for places to hide, or to run up the stairs and back into the alley. Luckily, Maven took the back door out of the studio and up another hallway instead.

“Well boys, it’s all you.” Levi said. “Text if you need anything.”

Sam piped up and said “Yeah actually, can you pick my brother’s jaw up off the floor?”

“Jake see pretty lady play guitar and Jake brain break.” Josh teased.

“You guys suck.” Jake grumbled.

Levi cackled. “I thought you’d like her.”

~0~

Maven walked along the coast of the bay and absentmindedly smoked a joint. It was an overcast and drizzly day which meant there was no one around, which she preferred anyway. She was feeling on edge. The drizzle was very slowly building a small sheen of water on her arms and hair, but she didn’t mind. The cool water and gentle breeze combination was perfect.

Maven sat her butt down in the sand and stared out at the waves. She normally wore headphones on her walks, her world was a near constant stream of music, but she had opted for silence today.

Levi was being weird. He was edgy around her all week, sending her out every morning for tasks and disappearing without saying where he was going around 4:30 every day. She had come to the conclusion that whatever band was in town this week was a pretty big name. Or big enough that he was nervous about her being around them. She sighed. She hated when he tiptoed around her. Maven didn’t blame him. When she first started working at the shop she had had a couple pretty bad PTSD episodes that had scared the shit out of him. She owed him everything for staying with her, talking her down and making sure she was fed and had water when she got into one of her states.

Levi was her best friend, to put it mildly. He cared for her, kept her safe and in return she busted her ass at his store making sure they had the best products, the best shows and that their artist getaway was something that people would go back and tell their friends about. She loved Levi like an older brother, and he cared for her like his little sister. She would forever be grateful to whatever power in the universe made her stumble into The Edge two years ago.

She had been high out of her mind, as she had been most days after she came running back to Michigan with her tail between her legs, and Levi had been struggling with an amp in the shop. She had walked in, spotted his struggle and didn’t even say a word to him, just walked over and fixed the wiring so that it was functional again. Levi had looked up from where he sat on the floor and said “You don’t happen to need a job do you?”

The rest was essentially history. It only took two months of seeing him every single day, and him not letting her sour moods go by unnoticed, for her to spill her guts over some bourbon one night. About Ryan and Undercover Heart and how badly the whole situation fucked her up. How after she’d recorded her testimony she’d boarded the next flight to Grand Rapids and hightailed it up north. She came crash landing into Traverse City because she’d always loved it as a kid, and figured it would be a great place to start over. The small town she’d grown up in had too many people who knew her.

He was extra careful with bands for a while. Never letting her be alone in a room with too many male band members, and carefully vetting everyone who came through. Eventually she told him off about treating her like a porcelain doll and he backed down a bit, giving her free reign over lots of the equipment set ups and giving her plenty of hours in the shop by herself. She was happy to do so, so Levi could focus on fixing up the artist house and starting his photography again.

But he was still very gentle with her sometimes, and she’d always love him for it even when it pissed her the fuck off.

Once she’d smoked the joint down to the roach, she tucked the end into her pocket. It was sacrilegious to litter near the lake. It was too precious to be fucked with. She meandered back toward the shop. Her plan was to grab her bag and head back to let her Pitbull, Stacy, out for a walk and pee. The girl had been cooped up all morning and Maven felt bad.

She threw her whole body against the front door, as the latch often stuck, and the loud sound of the chimes clanged in the empty space. She rolled her eyes. Of course Levi left the shop unattended and unlocked. It was Traverse City, no one was gonna rob them, but what if someone wanted to buy something?

She was humming softly to herself as she made her way around the edge of the counter and plopped down on the stool by the register. She whipped out her phone to ask Levi where he was. She had the message halfway typed when the door behind her, the one that led to the staff restroom, popped open.

“You know, crime is especially low in this town but that doesn’t mean someone wouldn’t come in here and try to steal your precious coffee maker.” She tossed over her shoulder.

“Oh.” Was all that came back. It was decidedly not Levi’s voice. Maven spun back quickly.

“Sorry I…” But that’s as far as she got. She was suddenly face to face with Jake Kizska and all thoughts quickly left her brain.

They both stared at each other for a long moment. Maven couldn’t quite figure out why he looked just as shocked to see her as she was to see him. He also almost looked afraid for some reason that Maven couldn’t figure out.

He was dressed in an outfit she’d seen him wear plenty of times. A black button up, half unbuttoned, loose fitting light wash jeans and a pair of well worn boots. His wrists were full of bracelets and his hair was longer than the last time she’d seen footage of their concerts, well past his collarbones at this point.

“Hi.” Jake finally broke the silence. “I’m Jake.” He reached out his hand for a handshake.

“I know.” Maven replied, and then coughed. Why did you say that you freak?

Suddenly the front door bell chimed again, and Maven whipped her head to see Levi coming in the front door. She stood abruptly from her stool, skirted around Jake’s outstretched hand, and out from behind the counter. She scooped up her leather satchel on her way.

She headed straight at Levi. He glanced over his shoulder and saw an apologetic Jake looking forlorn and lowering his hand back to his side.

“Oh hey Maven-”

“Hey dumbass, don’t leave the store unattended again. I’m going home to check on Stacy. Probably won’t be back for the rest of the day.” Maven spit as she stormed past him toward the front door.

“Maven wait-”

But she was already outside, the hinges bringing the heavy wood crashing back into the frame. The chime of the bells rang through the space.

“Sorry.” Jake muttered.

“Not your fault. I knew she’d find out eventually. Right now she’s probably just pissed I didn’t tell her. Which she has every right to be.” Levi sighed.

After a few more beats of silence Jake spoke again. “Who’s Stacy?”

Levi huffed a laugh. “That would be her Pitbull.”

“Oh.” Jake said again. He felt crazy because his brain couldn’t come up with anything else to say. She was prettier up close. She smelled like the Lake and weed and sandalwood. He really wished she’d taken his hand. He shook his head trying to find his brain in it somewhere.

The other three boys came clambering up the stairs and into the store. They all looked between Levi, who was still standing in the middle of the shop, and Jake behind the counter.

“Are you two playing freeze tag or something?” Sam quipped.

“Jake met Maven.” Levi responded. The boys' heads whipped toward Jake.

“And… I’m guessing it… went well?” Danny questioned.

Levi finally walked back toward the counter. “She left for the day. This is on me. I should have told her y’all were here.” He snagged his keys from below the counter and walked toward the front door to lock up. “I’m closing early, boys. Let’s go get a beer.”

“Kowabunga baby.” Josh said with a grin.

~0~

Maven sat curled up on her velvet couch, Stacy was her little spoon. There was incense burning, a bottle of wine open on the side table and a lit joint in the ashtray. She had changed into a giant t-shirt and boxer shorts. The soft sounds of John Denver playing off her record player.

However, none of these things were easing her mind.

She was pissed, mostly. At herself. At Levi. She was pissed he didn’t tell her they were coming. She was pissed that he felt he couldn’t tell her. She was pissed that she had acted like a freak in front of Jake.

The anxiety was an endless pit in her stomach. She couldn’t go back there tomorrow. She couldn’t see any of those people. Not when she felt like this.

She whipped out her phone and quickly shot a message to Levi, before chugging her whole glass of red wine and snagging the joint out of the ashtray.

~0~

Levi’s phone dinged on the table where all of the guys sat drinking beers and chatting. Levi glanced at it and quickly picked it up when he saw her name.

“It’s Maven.” He said.

“What did she say?” Jake asked, sitting up a bit in his chair.

“Fuck.” Levi said, tossing his phone on the table, still unlocked.

All four boys leaned in to read the screen.

CASHING IN ALL MY VACATION DAYS. I’LL BE OUT FOR TWO WEEKS.

“Fuck indeed.” Josh said, pounding back the rest of his beer.

#jake gvf #jake kiszka #greta van fleet #greta fic #jake fic #gvf #greta van fleet fan fiction #greta fan fleet fic #peaceful army

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joviewinchester · 4 years ago

Text

Hey! So this is a Supernatural My Babysitter’s a Vampire crossover requested by @the-fifth-marauder101 The request wasn’t super specific so I kind of just ran with it. Jack’s a bit younger in this for the sake of the story. And I know that the timeline is off and stuff but like don’t @ me about it please. I know it’s off. Also this is a reader insert because, ya know, that’s literally all I write. Lol, but anyways, I hope you like it, and keep those requests coming!

Another school. Another town. Another day. That’s how it always went. Avoid making friends at all costs. Well, she had Jack at least.

“What are we here for again?” Y/N asked sighing.

“Your dad said something about vampires or werewolves. They don’t know what it is yet. Said something’s off with this one.” Jack replied glancing over at a group of whispering teens.

“What do you think their deal is?” Erica asked eyeing both Y/N and Jack.

“They don’t look like siblings, at the very least not biological ones.” Sarah responded.

“I don’t know, but can I just say, the girl is hot. Like hotter than anyone I’ve ever laid eyes on. Like if I had to choose between her and a young Carrie Fisher, I’d choose her.” Benny said.

“No way. You’re joking right?” Ethan asked.

“No. I never joke about a babe.” Benny said seriously.

“I don’t know. Personally I’d love to sink my teeth into either of them.” Erica smirked.

Y/N looked from the group to Jack in confusion. “Is it just me or do we have a literal fanclub?”

“I wouldn’t call them a fanclub. They’re just…unusually interested.” Jack responded.

“Should we introduce ourselves? Don’t get me wrong. I know we probably won’t stay for very long but…I just…it would be nice to make friends for once, you know?” She asked Jack as she looked at them, or more specifically looked at Benny.

“I mean, how could it hurt right?” They approached the group.

“Dude they’re coming over here.” Benny said while slapping Ethan’s arm.

“Yeah. I know. I can see dude.”

“Hi.” Y/N said shyly.

Jack stepped in at that point. “Hello. My name is Jack and this is my friend Y/N.” He introduced.

“It’s nice to meet you guys. I’m Sarah and this is Ethan, Benny, and Erica.” Sarah smiled.

Benny had a dumbstruck look on his face. “Excuse him. He gets nervous around girls he thinks are pretty.” Ethan said.

Benny looked at him with a glare. “Dude.” He whisper shouted at him. They then had a small slap fight.

“Alright you two are embarrassing yourselves. Hi, as Sarah said, I’m Erica, and I would love to take you under my wing, Y/N was it? Please let me give you a makeover tonight. You have so much potential if we removed the flannel and the old leggings.”

“Sorry. She’s straightforward like that. She doesn’t mean in a rude way or anything she just thinks your pretty and wants to do your makeup.” Sarah said.

“I guess I could come over.” Y/N said nervously. Jack have her a look and lowered his voice.

“Y/N, Dean said to come straight home after school, and that we can’t go out. You can’t. If you leave on my watch, Dean and Cas will, what is it that you say? ‘rip me a new one’” He quoted.

“Who’s Dean?” Ethan asked.

“My dad. He’s just a little bit overprotective, and if you don’t want me to go out without you, then just come with me.” Y/N said.

“So, you two like live together?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah. Our dads work together. It’s a whole thing.” Y/N said.

“Anyways, I’ll talk to him if he’s home and if not I’ll text him and let him know it shouldn’t be a big deal.” She said.

“Great. Sarah you’re coming too right?” Erica asked.

“Actually, I have to babysit Ethan and Jane tonight.”

“No problem we’ll just go over there.”

“Sarah’s your babysitter?” Jack asked.

“No! Well, I mean, yes, but it’s only because my mom doesn’t trust me to babysit my little sister. Benny you’re still coming over to play that new zombie game right?”

“Like I would miss that.”

“Think we have room for another player?” Ethan asked.

“Not if you’re talking about Rory.” Benny complained.

“I’m clearly talking about Jack, Benny.”

Sarah and Erica both rolled their eyes at their antics. “Come on, Y/N. We’ll walk you to class. Honestly, I swear you geeks almost scared her off.” Erica said.

Y/N waved goodbye at Benny, Ethan, and Jack, linking her arms with Erica and Sarah.

The bell then rang. “Do you guys know where Mr. G’s class is?” Jack asked.

“Yeah we have him for first period too. Follow us.” Ethan said.

School seemed to go by like a breeze with their new friends by their sides. Before they knew it, they were all heading out the doors.

“Alright. Jack and I need to head out, but we’ll meet you guys at Ethan’s house later. See ya.” Y/N said. There was a series of byes and Jack and Y/N hopped into the Jeep they had jacked from the bunker.

Erica left shortly after that saying something about how she needed to pack some clothes and makeup for later.

“I should give her a love potion.” Benny said.

“Do you remember how that turned out last time? I still have nightmares.” Ethan shuddered.

“Benny, don’t let this get to your head, but I think you might actually have a chance with her. She stared at you throughout the entirety of biology class. You should just ask her to see a movie with you or something.” Sarah advised.

“Yes. I need to be more like Han Solo. God, she’d be such a pretty Princess Leia.” Benny sighed dreamily.

“Okay lover boy. You wanna stand out here all day? We’re practically the only ones still here. Your grandma is gonna get mad if you make her wait any longer.” Sarah said glancing at the SUV Benny’s grandma sat in.

“Right. See you guys later!” Benny called.

“Bye!” They said in sync.

“I’ll see you later?” Ethan asked.

“Duh. If I want to get paid I don’t really have a choice.” Sarah joked. Ethan waved awkwardly and jogged to his mom’s car.

“Dorks.” She muttered to herself a slight smile on her face.

Y/N and Jack entered the place one of their hunter friends had loaned them and saw Sam researching by himself.

“Hey, Sam! Do you know when dad is gonna be back?” Y/N asked.

“Um…not really, but it probably won’t be for a few hours. He and Cas are interviewing at the moment. Why? Do you need something? Maybe I can help.”

“Well, Jack and I were wondering if we could go over to a friend’s house around seven ish? We’re just hanging out, nothing big.”

Sam looked up from his laptop. “You guys made friends?” He asked.

“Yeah. I know. I know. We probably won’t stay here, but it’s hard avoiding people everywhere we go and they’re really nice.” Y/N explained.

“Y/N, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. I think it’s good that you guys are making friends, and I think it’s fine if you go out as long as you’re back by 10:30 or Dean will flip.”

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You’re the best uncle in the world.”

“Do you need any help with research?” Jack asked.

“No. It’s fine. You probably have homework to do.” Sam replied. Jack then headed to his room with his backpack slung over his shoulder.

“Hey, Sam?” Y/N asked sitting across from him.

“Yeah?”

“Can I talk to you about something?”

“You know that you can tell me anything Y/N.”

“I don’t…I don’t think that I can keep doing this.” She sighed.

“What do you mean?”

“The whole moving towns constantly and the saving people hunting things…I just don’t want to keep moving around. I know that it’s stupid. You’re saving the world. All of you, but I feel like I haven’t even lived. I’ve never really gotten to stop and smell the roses you know?”

“Y/N, it’s not like we can just leave you in a town by yourself. You’re only sixteen, but you’re in luck. We’re going to be here awhile. There are multiple cases in this one town and they all seem different. I don’t know what’s going on here. It’s like a Supernatural beacon.”

“Are you sure you don’t need help with research?” Y/N asked.

“No. You have homework too I’m assuming.”

“I finished all of mine in study hall. I’m available for four hours.”

Sam sighed. “Fine. You can help. I’m just looking through lore right now to try and figure out the first case.”

After about three and a half hours of researching, they both still came up with nothing. Y/N groaned.

“Are you sure there isn’t like more than one type of vampire?” She asked.

“Not according to any hunters I’ve met.” Sam said.

“Well, we didn’t think angels existed at one point and look at Cas. Look at Jack. We got an angel and a nephilim living in our house. Not to mention me. I’m a freak of nature.”

“I don’t know, Y/N. If we haven’t encountered one before, I don’t know why we would now.”

“Whatever. I’m gonna go upstairs and grab a few things, then Jack and I are leaving. I’ll see you later Sammy.”

Sam rolled his eyes at the nickname but told her goodbye nonetheless and went back to his research. Y/N grabbed her small bag that contained hand sanitizer, chapstick, lotion, a first aid kit and a pocket knife and knocked on Jack’s door.

“You ready?” She asked.

“Yeah let’s go before we’re stopped by Dean and Cas getting home.” Jack said.

They drove over to Ethan’s house and everyone else had already arrived. Y/N knocked on the door to see Benny with his mouth full of marshmallows. Y/N gasped in excitement.

“Are you guys seeing who can fit the most marshmallows in their mouth?! I bet I can win! I want in on this!” She exclaimed rushing past Jack and in the door.

“What’s the record I’m trying to beat?” Y/N asked Jane.

“It’s unclear. They argue all the time about which got the highest amount and what the highest amount is. I think it’s 176. You don’t need to waste your time here though. You should come play dress up with me and Sarah. I promise it’ll be much more fun.” Jane ranted grabbing her hand.

“Come on Y/N it’ll be way more fun.” Sarah joked. Y/N shrugged.

“You know what? Why not let’s go. You coming, Erica?”

“Playing ‘dress up’ with you is literally the only reason why I’m here. Of course I’m coming.” Erica replied grabbing her bag. They all rushed upstairs leaving the boys behind.

The marshmallows fell out of Benny’s mouth as he was watching Y/N go upstairs. Ethan fist pumped in victory.

“I win!” He yelled through a mouthful of marshmallows.

“Hey! Dude that is so not fair!”

“It’s completely fair! Just don’t get distracted next time and you might win.” Ethan said back smugly.

“Whatever. You guys wanna watch Star Wars or something?” Benny asked.

“I don’t know. Y/N might get mad if we watch it without her.” Jack half joked. Benny looked at him in exasperation.

“She likes Star Wars too?! What’s next?!”

Meanwhile, upstairs Erica had already began using Y/N as a human doll.

“Those dorks are literally not going to know what to do with themselves when they see you.” Erica praised.

“You look really pretty, Y/N. Dare I say, prettier than Debbie Dazzle.” Jane complimented.

“Is that a compliment? What’s a Debbie Dazzle?” Y/N asked Sarah.

“You mean you never had a Debbie Dazzle doll growing up?” Sarah asked. Y/N shook her head no and thought of her childhood.

“We…well, we’ve always moved around a lot, and I matured earlier than most kids. Never really got into that stuff, besides wouldn’t have anyone to play with it with anyways.”

“What about your dad or your mom?” Erica asked while brushing Y/N’s hair.

“My mom?” She asked mostly to herself. It’s not like she could straight up say that her mom was God’s sister. “My mom left us when I was young. I barely remember her.” She said. When she was born she automatically aged up to thirteen, similarly to Jack.

That was the end of that conversation. They didn’t want to pry into her personal life. Even if it felt like they’d known her for years, the truth of it was that they were practically strangers.

“Okay. All done.” Erica smiled. Y/N looked in the mirror Jane had in her room. She was shocked to say the least to see what was staring back at her. For the first time in her life, she felt normal. She felt like a regular teenage girl, not a demi-god who hunted monsters.

“Wow. I look-“

“Beautiful.” Sarah, Erica, and Jane all said at once.

https://shoplook.io/outfit-preview/2784047

“I was gonna say normal, but yeah.” She laughed.

There were a few seconds of silence then Y/N suddenly jumped out of her seat. “Is that the Star Wars theme song?!” She exclaimed. She started heading downstairs.

“What a cute little nerd.” Erica said.

“Can we go downstairs to get a snack?” Jane asked Sarah.

“Sure but you have to be in bed by 9:00 remember?” “9:30?” “Fine.”

When Y/N got downstairs she plopped on the couch in between Jack and Benny.

Benny glanced at her and did a double take. “Woah. Erica did a really good job…not that you weren’t pretty before. You’re really pretty, either way. I’m so sorry. I’m totally rambling again.”

“Are you done?” She asked jokingly.

“Yeah…well, actually,” she laughed. “So no then?”

“Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to go see a movie sometime…with me. I’ll even suffer through the new Dusk if you want.”

“No way are we watching Dusk. Pick me up Friday. We’re watching the new Avengers movie.”

Benny elbowed Ethan. “Dude. Did you hear that?”

“Yes, Benny, congratulations.” Y/N’s phone abruptly began to ring.

“Shoot. I gotta take this.” She got up and walked into the other room.

“Hello?” She asked. “Y/N? Where the hell are you? I told you and Jack to come home and stay home after school. Sam is not your dad. I am. You could’ve at least called and asked.” Dean grumbled.

“And you would’ve told me no and I would’ve been mad and you would’ve been mad and it would just not be fun at all so…”

“Are there boys there?” Y/N rolled her eyes.

“Does is matter?”

“Yes. It matters a lot.”

“You don’t know. I could be a lesbian.” She stated.

“Cut the crap, kid. You and Jack need to get your sorry asses home or youre grounded. Both of you.”

Y/N ignored that statement. “Well, I’d love to talk more, but I’m gonna hang up now.”

“Y/N Elaine Winchester I swear to Chuck if you hang up…”

“Calm down. We’ll be home in like twenty minutes. Bye.” She hung up before he could say anything else.

“Jack, we have to go. Dean is flipping out.” She said walking back into the living room.

“Did you just refer to your dad by his first name?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah I did. Because I’m mad. It’s a symbol of defiance…even if he can’t hear it. Anyways, we’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Y/N, with annoyance, walked into the kitchen and said goodbye to Erica, Sarah, and Jane as well, before leaving with Jack trailing behind her.

Once they got home, they were greeted by all three hunters still sitting at the table researching.

“What the hell are you wearing?” Dean asked in disgust.

“Clothes. Goodnight. Good riddance. Love you partially and all that jazz. I’m going to bed. I have school.” She said running upstairs not letting anyone else get a word in.

The three men sighed. “Were there boys there?” Dean asked Jack seriously as he had Y/N on the phone.

“Yeah. Just two. Y/N has a date Friday.” Jack responded casually.

“She what?!”

“Anyways goodnight. Good riddance. Love you. And all that jazz as Y/N would say. See you tomorrow.” Jack repeated charging up the stairs.

#benny weir #ethan morgan #sarah fox #erica jones #rory keaner #my babysitters a vampire imagine #my babysitters a vampire #benny weir x reader #supernatural imagine #supernatural #jack kline #dean winchester #dean winchester x daughter!reader #sam winchester #castiel novak #castiel #requested

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mariecuttlefish · 4 years ago

Text

New You (2k words, trans girl Marie)

Since it’s Marie’s day, here’s an old piece I wrote back in 2019! For all of the trans Marie fans out there. 💚

External links: [Google Docs], [AO3]

Warnings: None. Appropriate for all ages.

Description: Callie and Marie are preparing for their first performance together as the Squid Sisters, and Marie is nervous from more than just stage fright; it's also her first time coming out to the world as Marie.

-----

"I'm really nervous, Callie."

Marie stared at her reflection in the mirror and adjusted the little ring-shaped hat clipped to the side of her head for the dozenth time. Was her mantle too messy? She quickly ran a brush through to try and smooth the ink out again – it was almost lucky her tentacles were as short as they were, or else she probably would have wrung them dry by now with how anxious she was.

Her cousin stood beside her playing with an anemone doll that she'd brought along, somehow relaxed and upbeat in spite of all Marie's worrying. The two were getting ready for their first public performance together as singers, and Callie had spent the past half-hour helping her keep her cool as the big moment got closer and closer. Marie couldn't understand how she wasn't also losing her cool, but then, it had been Callie's idea to sign up for the Inkopolis Youth Folk-Singing Contest in the first place.

"You're gonna do great, Marie!" Callie insisted. "Look, Miss Zoantha says so, too!" She scooted her doll across the table in front of them and began cheering, in a voice that sounded nothing like the cartoon character she was imitating, "Go Marie! Marie is super cool! She's the best cousin on the whole planet!"

Marie couldn't help but crack a smile, both at her cousin's goofiness and at hearing the name she'd chosen for herself used so readily. "Zoantha doesn't even have a cousin," she said, fidgeting with the sleeve of her yukata. She looked back up at the face in the mirror – at the young girl in front of her with her eyebrows trimmed down, her mantle styled to be as feminine as such short tentacles would allow, her mask decorated with fake lashes just like her cousin's. "Um… hey, Cal?"

Callie stopped parading the doll around and looked up; she knew the sound of unshakeable worry in Marie's voice. "What's up, Marie?"

"What if they don't think I'm a girl?" Marie asked. Her eyes were turned downward, her hands clasped nervously in her lap. Even more than the thought of singing in front of hundreds of people, this was the part of the contest that made her the most anxious: it was her first time being a girl around anyone other than Callie.

"They will!" Callie nodded confidently. "And they'll think you're a super pretty girl, 'cause that's what you are! Promise!" She leaned in to give Marie an awkward chair hug, and Marie returned it hesitantly.

"Do you really think I look pretty?" Marie hadn't been able to stop fiddling with every part of her look since the moment they'd been brought backstage to wait for their performance. She knew that the way she looked would be cute on another girl, but every little issue she noticed and struggled to fix made it a bit harder to be confident that it would look good on her.

"Uh, duh," Callie said, not missing a beat. "We're matching! I'm pretty, and you look like me but green, so that means you're pretty but green! It's like the transitive property like my big brother told me about. I think."

Marie giggled and pulled away from the embrace to look herself over again. It was true, they could almost pass for alternate versions of each other; if Marie had been born with the same near-black ink that Callie had instead of her own silvery-white tentacles, it probably wouldn't have been hard to convince people they were twin sisters. That was even the name they'd chosen to perform under, the Squid Sisters – "That way people will know for sure that we're both girls!" had been Callie's pitch.

Marie took a deep breath, counted to ten, and exhaled. "Okay," she said at last. "I think… I can do it. I think."

"That's the spirit!" Callie nudged her shoulder. "Hold on, lemme go get Gramps!" With no hesitation, she ran off, weaving through the crowd of other children and their parents all getting ready to perform, then disappearing out the door across the room. Their grandfather lived in Inkopolis, and he had been the one to bring them to the contest when both of the girls' parents were too busy to make the two-hour trip into the city. Callie had insisted on him waiting outside while they got ready, though, so that Marie wouldn't be any more anxious than she already was about presenting as a girl.

While she waited on Callie to return, Marie decided to try hyping herself up as much as she could. She locked eyes with her reflection, leaned in over the vanity table as much as she could, and put on a confident glare. "You can do this, Marie. You've got this. Just like Callie said." She spent several minutes there, repeating quiet self-affirmations to herself, until Callie ran back into the room shortly after, slowed down by the elderly man she pulled by the hand behind her.

"Gramps, Gramps, look! We styled our tentacles all by ourselves and everything!" Callie announced proudly as she reached Marie's chair, running up beside her and bouncing excitedly in place. Marie turned away from the mirror and hopped down from the seat to stand beside her cousin, much more timid in her demeanor. "What do you think? Do we look super fresh?"

Gramps chuckled at his granddaughter's enthusiasm, taking a moment to adjust the old sailor's cap he wore now that he'd gotten a chance to slow down. "You look very fresh, both of you. But uh…" He turned his gaze toward Marie, and she felt her chest tighten as he examined her appearance. "What's with the makeup on you, kiddo? Did your cousin rope you into letting her give you a makeover again?"

"I, um..." Marie felt the confidence boost she'd had moments before slipping away, and her mouth went dry as she tried to find the words she wanted. How could she explain that she wasn't a grandson anymore, but a granddaughter just like Callie? And would their grandfather be okay with it? Would he let her go on-stage looking the way she knew she wanted to?

Callie noticed her hesitation and stepped in front of her defensively, puffing her chest up as if in defiance of their only chaperone. "Her name is Marie and she's a girl and I did her makeup because she wanted to look pretty, and if you don't like it then I'll beat you up!" she proclaimed – just a bit too loudly, as Marie noticed some of the others in the room turn their attention to them and felt herself shrinking emotionally just a tiny bit more with each second they stared. Her anxiety wasn't always the biggest fan of her cousin's natural boisterousness.

There was a moment where neither side said anything, and the onlookers quickly lost interest and went back to their own concerns. Gramps doffed his hat and scratched the back of his head as he processed the new information. "I see… Do your parents know about this?" He looked past Callie to give Marie a quizzical look, fishing around for something in the pocket of his denim shorts.

"Um… n-no," she answered quietly. "Are you going to tell them?" She watched his hand; was he reaching for his cell phone? It was the knowledge that her parents wouldn't be able to attend the show that had given Marie the confidence to present feminine for once – she felt a pang of dread that they might find out anyway before she'd even gotten to perform.

"Hmm?" Gramps cocked his head to the side. "'Course not, kiddo. If you haven't told 'em yet yerself, it's not my business to do it for ya." From his pocket he pulled a small, beat-up notebook and pencil, opening the notebook to a particular page and scribbling something out. "Just gotta update my Squidmas shopping list. It wouldn't make much sense to buy a bunch of boy's clothes for my newest granddaughter, would it?"

Marie's eyes widened slowly. Still huddled behind her cousin, she beamed up at her grandfather, all the anxiety of coming out to him (or, rather, having Callie come out for her) being washed away by elation. Here was the first person to learn she was a girl other than Callie, and he had accepted her as readily as he'd accept learning that she had a new favorite color. He evidently noticed, as he reached down to ruffle her tentacles before giving her a big hug. "As long as my granddaughters are both happy, that's all that matters to me," he assured her.

Callie joined in – she took any opportunity she could get to hug people – but after a moment another thought seemed to strike her. "Heyyy, wait a minute," she started, looking up at Gramps. "Gramps, are you buying us clothesfor Squidmas again?"

The old man laughed. "Maybe not, maybe so. I don't want to make Father Squidmas angry by spoiling it, now do I?" Callie just pouted and crossed her arms; she'd been asking constantly for a seapony, and Gramps was the one holdout in the family who still hadn't given a definitive no to that request.

Her protests were stopped early by a tall, energetic inkling woman stepping into the backstage area. She had a clipboard in one hand and was going down a list written on it. "Let's see, let's see… next up is the Squid Sisters, from Calamari County! Squid Sisters, are you here?"

Callie quickly turned and jumped up to get the woman's attention, waving her hands excitedly. "Over here! We're the Squid Sisters!" She stopped bouncing, glanced back at Gramps behind her, then added, "This old guy isn't a Squid Sister, he's just our gramps." A few others in the room laughed at the comment, Gramps included.

"Well, come on over, Squid Sisters. You're performing right after the current group." The woman extended a hand as Callie approached with Marie close behind, and they both shook it politely. "My name is Miss Eventide, but you can call me Miss Tide. I love your yukatas, by the way!"

"Thanks!" Callie grinned.

"Thank you," Marie added, more bashfully.

Miss Eventide went over what to do when it was their turn to perform – wait until their names were announced, take the stage, introduce themselves, and then the music would start – and then rushed off to go help manage some other part of the show. Before the girls could leave for the sidestage to get ready, Gramps walked over to join them once again.

"You two do your best out there, alright?" He patted them both on the back, gesturing out toward where the stage was with his bamboo cane. "I'm gonna be right there in the audience cheering you two on. I know you'll do great."

"Yeah! We're gonna do awesome!" Callie cheered. "Especially you, Marie!"

Marie smiled and lifted her head. Nervous as she still was, she was beginning to feel more confident in herself – both in her ability to go out there and sing for an audience, and in her ability to be seen as a girl while she did it. Tonight wouldn't just be her first night as a singer; it would be her first night as Marie, and she knew that no matter what happened, she had the support of her cousin and her grandfather to back her up.

"We're both going to be great," she agreed, nodding her head. Gramps smiled and turned to leave and join the audience outside.

"That's the way to be," he said. "Break a fin out there, you two. And remember – stay fresh!"

"Stay fresh!" Callie and Marie both cheered back at him, and then both giggled at the catchphrase they had come up with together.

The girls headed through the door and into the sidestage, both of them with their heads held high. As her cousin smiled beside her, Marie could feel in her heart that things were going to go well for her. This was the start of the Squid Sisters, the start of a happier life, the start of Marie. It was her very own fresh start, and no matter how their performance went, nothing was going to take it from her.

#splatoon #marie #callie #cap'n cuttlefish #tidal writing #pepperpost #the backstory for this fic is that i wrote it in two hours while waiting for a flight #funny enough it seems to be my most popular splatoon writing so far

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thebrotherssalvatore321 · 3 years ago

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Keeping Secrets Ch. 52

Keeping Secrets Masterlist

Katie was pulled from sleep the next morning by the loud, electronic whirring of a jackhammer on concrete. Half asleep and unhappy she threw on a robe and tied it as she headed out onto the balcony. “Enough with all the racket!” Klaus yelled from the balcony across from her, dressed in black jeans, a maroon shirt and a black leather jacket. Clearly he and Genevieve had been awake for a while and Katie was almost certain she saw red paint that matched the color of Genevieve’s hair on the tips of his fingers that rested on the wooden railing.

“What he said.” Katie groaned then looked up at the sunlight coming in through the glass ceiling of the courtyard, silently cursing it for being so bright as she headed down the stairs.

“I agreed to a general sprucing up, not a bloody three ring circus.” Klaus complained as he walked down the other set of stairs with Genevieve trailing behind.

“Marcel and his minions abused our home for the better part of a century.” Elijah said from where he stood near the fountain in a pair of jeans and a mid tone grey, quarter sleeved, cotton shirt. “Now you might be content to live in squalor,”

“With squalor.” Katie chipped in as she moved to stand beside Elijah, getting a glare from Genevieve that she didn’t see because she couldn’t make herself look at either of them.

“,but I am not.” Elijah finished what he was saying, ignoring Katie.

“I agree with your brother.” Genevieve told Klaus as they walked over to stand across from Elijah and Katie. “It’s a new era in the French Quarter. This place could use a makeover.” She looked down her nose at Katie. “Out with the old and in with the new.”

Klaus didn’t miss Katie’s lack of reaction to Genevieve’s prodding nor had he missed the fact that she was blatantly avoiding eye contact with him. “Yeah, I’m not in the mood for a girl fight this morning.” She sighed then looked across her shoulder at Elijah. “I get this isn’t my house, but next time will you please warn me before you host a jackhammer symphony in the courtyard?”

“Of course.” He told her with a smirk at her morning grumpiness. “My apologies.” He watched her as she walked around him headed back to her room to get dressed.

When she walked into her room she noticed a dream catcher sitting on the table in the corner amongst a few knickknacks. Seeing red, she snatched it off the table and, like a woman on a mission, stormed downstairs where Elijah, Klaus and Genevieve were still talking.

Both of the men knew the look on Katie’s face, the rage in her eyes and what it could lead to, but it was Elijah who stepped into Katie’s path to Genevieve before she got too close. He held his hand out to stop her, which worked, and tried to look her in the eyes, but they were trained on the woman behind him. “Katie…before you act I urge you to stop…and think.” With nostrils flared and rage still in her eyes she looked to Elijah’s that dropped, noticing the dream catcher clenched in her fist. He dropped his hand and gingerly took the hoop from hers then turned to Genevieve. “Does this…trinket belong to you?” Genevieve opened and closed her mouth looking like a land bound fish. “Either it does or it doesn’t.”

Genevieve looked across her shoulder at Klaus before her eyes fell to the ground. After a few seconds she made herself look at Elijah. “Yes, it’s mine.”

Elijah held it up in both of his hands as if he were holding a small steering wheel then twisted, breaking the hoop and causing the bones on it to fall to the floor. “We all signed that treaty.” He told her with a look over his shoulder at Katie then back at Genevieve. “If I find another one of these little spy glasses of yours anywhere in my family’s home I will consider it a violation and I will be forced to take action. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal.” Genevieve answered with a straight faced nod.

“So I suggest, if you have left any more laying about, you remove them…immediately.” He gathered the remnants of the dream catcher in his hand and held it out to her. She took it and went upstairs to collect the dream catcher from Katie and Klaus’s quarters. With her out of sight Elijah turned to Katie.

“Don’t look at me like that, Elijah.” She told him tiredly as she turned her back on him and headed upstairs.

“Katie.” Elijah called and she stopped in the middle of the stairs to look down at him. “After you have gotten dressed and calmed yourself…the three of us have some business to discuss.”

She gave him a sarcastic salute, “Ten-four rubber ducky” then headed up stairs.

TVDTVDTVD

After taking a shower to clear her head she changed into a pair of black leggings and a long sleeved, light grey shirt dress and headed to the room with the bar, couch and wall of records that she was starting to call the lounge where Klaus and Elijah were waiting. “So, what business do we have to discuss?” she asked in no mood to beat around the bush.

“Genevieve has requested that the witches' right to celebrate feast days be reinstated. Starting with La Fête des Bénédictions.”

“What’s that?” Katie asked curiously.

“The feast of the blessings. People would bring the witches gifts in exchange for their blessings.” Klaus explained and Katie once again didn’t look at him.

“Genevieve would like to use the feast to introduce The Harvest Girls to society. The gifts will be given to them.” Elijah added. “You signed the treaty and you are a part of this family. We need your help making the final decision on the matter at hand.”

“First of all, I know I signed the treaty, you don’t have to keep reminding me of what I signed up for when I did.” She started as she walked over to the couch and sat down across from the chair that Elijah sat on the arm of while Klaus sat at the bar with a drink in his hand. “And on the matter of La Fête des Bénédictions, I think we should let them.”

“Really?” Elijah and Klaus asked, both sounding surprised.

“Really.” She answered with a nod as she leaned back on the cushion and placed a hand on her stomach. “The witches won’t adhere to the treaty if we don’t show them some amount of respect.”

“I thought you hated the witches.” Klaus spoke up curiously.

Katie looked at her hands folded in her lap. “Truth be told the witches that I’ve been harboring so much hate for…the ones that took action and tried to kill our baby, are dead now.” She looked up at Elijah. “Plus I like Davina. That poor girl deserves a day of recognition after everything she’s been through. So I’m for feast days being reinstated.” Elijah, who had a frown on his face, turned to look at Klaus.

“I agree with Katie, plus the tourists eat this stuff up.” Klaus told Elijah

Elijah took in a deep breath then side nodded as if he’d been outnumbered. “I’ll personally invite the other factions and get them on board.”

“Are there any more matters that need to be discussed?” she asked, eager to get out of the room.

“That is all.” Elijah answered, so she stood and left. Elijah stood and looked at Klaus. “Is everything alright with you two?”

“I’m afraid not.” Klaus answered then threw back what was left in his glass.

“What did you do?” Elijah asked.

“Nothing, but she doesn’t know that.” He answered as he slid off of the stool and left.

TVDTVDTVD

Katie was standing in front of the open refrigerator, staring off into space, when Elijah found her. She was so zoned out that she didn’t even know he was there until he touched her forearm that was resting on the refrigerator door. Pulled from her thoughts she took in a sharp breath then looked at him. This time, she didn’t have to guess at the question in his eyes. “Did Klaus send you here to talk to me or are you here of your own volition?”

“I’m here of my own volition.” He answered, watching her shut the door, move to the overhead cabinet and opened it. “You seem troubled.”

“I’m fine.” She replied casually as she grabbed a box of chocolate pop tarts then shut the door.

“You can fool a lot of people. I am not one of them.” He argued as she opened the foil package, stuck the dark brown frosted squares into the slots then pushed down the lever.

She said nothing and moved to get a glass, but Elijah stepped in the way. “Get out of my way, please.” She told him sounding tired.

He turned to the cabinet, grabbed a glass then turned back and held it out to her, “Talk to me.”

“I can’t talk to you Elijah. Not about this.” She argued with a shake of her head as she took the glass from him then went to the refrigerator and grabbed the half gallon of milk. When her pop tarts popped up Elijah grabbed a plate, put them on it then set it on the bar beside her glass as she put the milk away.

“Have you tried reaching out to your Mystic Falls friends?” he asked as she sat down at the bar and took a bite of the cheap pastry.

“Yeah, none of them are answering.” She answered then took a drink of milk.

“Then it seems I am a last resort.” He told her and she gave him an aggravated look through her lashes as she took another bite. He leaned down, looked her in the eyes and placed his fingertips on his chest. “You can talk to me.”

She sighed and looked down at her plate. “Fine.” She washed down the chocolate with a sip of milk then set it down. “I saw Klaus kiss Genevieve last night.” She admitted.

Elijah frowned. “Was that not part of the plan?”

“It was, but…” she shook her head, “there’s a difference between knowing that he’s kissing her and actually seeing it.” Elijah moved to sit in the barstool beside her. “I was so consumed by my hatred of her, my fear of bringing my baby into an unsafe environment, my part to play in the plan to create said environment that I…convinced myself that I was okay with him being with her.”

“But you are not.” He observed.

“No, I’m not. I can handle him kissing her. I don’t like it, but I can handle it. What I can’t handle is him having sex with her.” she admitted feeling like the type of stereotypical, dramatic woman she usually despised. “Ninety-nine percent of the time I mean what I say and he knows that.”

“You’re afraid it’s too late to say something.” He surmised.

She bit her lips closed and nodded as she looked down at her pop tarts that had gotten cold then looked back up at him with worry in her Kelly green eyes. “Have I made a huge mistake?”

“There is only one way to find out.” He answered and stood up and started to walk away.

“Elijah.” She called as she turned around in the swiveling bar stool and he turned back to her. “Thank you.”

He gave her a small nod and smile in return then left her to finish her unhealthy breakfast.

TVDTVDTVD

She went to their quarters thinking Klaus would be there, but he wasn’t. So she checked his studio, but he wasn’t there either. Not knowing where else to look she went to her room. It was there she found him, exiting the nursery. Their eyes met as he was closing the door. “Is it finished?” she asked timidly with a point to the nursery.

“Yes. I just finished adding the final touch.” He answered noticing her change in attitude. “Would you like to see?”

She shook her head no as she walked over and sat cross legged on the queen sized bed. “Not yet.”

He walked over and sat down beside her, pulling a leg up on it, facing her. She took in a deep breath then let it out. “I hate beating around the bush so I’m just going to ask. Have you had sex with Genevieve yet?” she asked, getting straight to the point.

He slipped the backs of his fingers down her cheek, taking in the tired, worried look in her eyes. “I couldn’t.” he answered, making a relieved sigh slip from her lips as she grabbed his hand from her face to hold it in both of hers.

“I know I said I was okay with you having sex with her and I know I’m not usually one to backpedal, but…I not okay with it. I didn’t realize how wrapped up I was in this stupid plan of ours until I saw you kiss her.” Katie explained. “Some queens encourage their king to take on a mistress, I am not one of them.”

A fleeting smile graced his perfect lips. “You just referred to yourself as a queen.”

She let go of his hand to place one of hers on his cheek. “I’m your queen.” She clarified. “Wait, you said couldn’t, not didn’t. Why couldn’t you?”

“Several reasons.” He grabbed her hand as she dropped it from his face. “It may be possible for a man to fake completion, but it is virtually impossible for a man to fake arousal.” His confession made a small smile tease the corners of her lips as she remembered the conversation that had about her faking it with others in the past. “Kissing her is comparable to kissing a dead fish,” he told her as if he were reading a list, “and most importantly, she’s not you. I couldn’t take on a mistress even if you begged me to.” he kissed the palm of her hand then held it in both of his. “Not to mention I knew, despite your open minded tendencies, you didn’t want me to lay with her. You once said the thought of another woman flirting with me made you want to punch something. So if just the thought of someone flirting with me made you that angry what would me having sex with someone else do?”

“Well, when I saw you kiss her last night I almost broke the champagne glass in my hand. So if that’s any indication there would definitely be bloodshed.” She answered flatly as she dropped her eyes to her hand in his, thinking he was asking what it would make her want to do.

“It would break your heart.” He answered as he gently grabbed her chin and lifted it, making her realize he was asking what it would do to her. “Just as mine would break if you were to ever lay with another.”

Tears welled in her eyes as he dropped his hand to rest on her knee. “So,” she paused to clear her throat and blink back the tears, “what did the two of you do last night if you didn’t have sex?” she asked with a frown, wanting to know yet not wanting to at the same time.

“I gave her an, oh so heartfelt and completely untrue explanation for why I want to take it slow with her. I respect her too much to rush it, the women of my past that I was so quick to jump into bed with meant nothing to me, etcetera.” He told her with his hand on his chest then dropped it. “I thought she believed it, but that spyglass she planted in your room says otherwise.”

“Either she didn’t believe you or she did believe me.” Katie replied, making Klaus give her a curious look. “I may have gotten a little too catty last night and told her that her time with you was limited and to enjoy it while it lasted.” Klaus tilted his head at her. “I know, I know. I shouldn’t have said it, but she’s so freaking confident that I didn’t think she would read too much into it.” she said the two words with gritted teeth then sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “So, what do we do as damage control?”

“Ask Elijah to accompany you to the feast.” He answered simply.

“Come again?” she asked as she took her hand from her face and looked at him like he was crazy.

“We’ve shown her that I am not interested in you, now we must show her that you’ve decided to move on. If she sees you with him maybe she’ll think you are trying to rekindle an old flame.” Katie frowned at him. “Just make sure Elijah knows it’s only for show.” Katie didn’t like the idea, but it was the best shot they had at cleaning up the mess her mouth had created.

“You’re sure?” she asked with a serious look. “It feels like we just crossed a bridge similar to this one.”

“I’m sure.” He was serious. “I trust you, which as you know is not something I take lightly.”

“Okay.” She told him with a nod then decided to change the subject. “So, how did it go with Jackson last night?”

“Once I told him that I could give him and his people a life in the quarter with no turning on the full moon he was all in. He and Cary are working on locating the black kyanite for the rings, but it’s rare so it might take some time to track down.” he answered. “Everything is going according to plan. And thanks to you being you and Elijah being Elijah we no longer have to censor ourselves in our own home.” He leaned in and caught her lips with his for a slow tender kiss. “What do you think about me asking Genevieve to break the hex on Father Kieran?” He asked.

“I think if she can break it, let her. Father K. is a good man. If she can save him from losing his mind and Cami from losing the only family she has left then I’m all for it.” she told him honestly.

“Then I will pay Genevieve and Cami a visit.” He told her then pecked her on the lips and stood from the bed.

“And I will get Nate to come dress shopping with me…again.” She said, hating clothes shopping this late in her pregnancy.

“Please don’t make it your goal to torture me all night.”

“Don’t worry. I dress to match the man whose attention I want for the night. This time that man will have to appear to be Elijah who prefers modest elegance over sexy and form fitting.”

“Before we go our separate ways for the day…” he held his hand out to her and she took it as she stood from the bed and jerked his head toward the nursery. Klaus pushed the door open and held his hand out for her to enter first so she walked in seeing the simple and understated, but elegant nursery. A dark wood crib with a ruffled, cream colored skirt around the bottom sat with the head of it in the corner of the room with a couple of pillows and stuffed animals inside and a mobile of strung up crystals hung over it.

In the corner to the right of it sat a wooden rocking chair and on the wall across from the crib and the rocking chair hung a beautiful painting of the city of New Orleans, the moon in the blue night sky that contrasted with the red lights from the city, reflected off of the Mississippi river. Katie walked over to the small white dresser it was hung over and picked up a stuffed Elephant that was sitting on it along with a few teething toys, a figurine of two giraffes and the wooden knight that Klaus had carved, then turned to look at him with the elephant clutched to her stomach. “It’s perfect.”

The tears in her eyes made him laugh. “It’s just a room, love, no need for tears.” He cupped her face in his hands wiping her cheeks.

She grabbed his wrists as she laughed with a sniffle. “I blame the hormones.”

“Ah, excuses, excuses.” He told her jokingly.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head as he dropped his hands to her waist and pulled her close. “So the red paint that was on your fingers this morning was that from this?” she asked with a point to the painting.

“Did you think I slept with Genevieve then painted her?” he asked and Katie nodded. “Painting that woman would be an insult to you and a waste of a perfectly good canvas.”

Katie slid her hands up his chest and rested her arms on his shoulder, crossing her wrists behind his head. “I love the painting you made for our daughter, I love this room and I love you, Big Bad Wolf.”

“And I love you, Little Phoenix.” He replied then caught her lips with his. When the kiss broke he gave her a smile. “So…you signed the treaty. Does that mean you have accepted your position as queen?”

“It means I’m willing to see if there’s any truth in what you and Elijah keep telling me.” she answered. “I just hope I’m not aiming too high.”

“No worries, love. I’ll catch you if you fall.” He told her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and she gave him a wrinkled nose smile. “What?”

“That was cheesy.” She laughed.

“Cheesy or not, it's true.” He argued then caught her lips with his.

TVDTVDTVD

Katie was having dinner at the bar in the kitchen when Klaus walked up behind her, swept her short waves to the side and started kissing her neck. “Long day?” Katie asked over the music that filled the room from her cell phone on the bar then stabbed her salad with the fork in her hand.

“You could say that.” he answered between kisses then sat down beside her. “I asked Genevieve to cure Father Kieran, but she used his ailment as an excuse to get her hands on my mother’s grimoire to solidify her place in her coven. When I told her no she mouthed off and I threatened her. Needless to say she’s a little ticked at me.”

“Well that’s not good.” Katie observed.

“No worries, I’m sure she’ll come crawling back for more soon.” He told her with a confident smirk that made her shake her head at him. “That just means I get to spend more time with you.”

“I like the sound of that.” she pushed her empty bowl away. “Did you have anything specific in mind?”

“I made an alteration to one of our bedrooms.” He stood from the barstool and held his hand out to her. She took it and let him lead her to the room attached to the nursery. When they walked in she instantly noticed the 43 inch tv that had been mounted on the wall across from the foot of their bed. “I figured it would be easier to watch ‘The Walking Dead’ together if the screen was bigger than the one on your laptop.”

“You want to watch ‘The Walking Dead’?” Katie asked with an amused smile.

“I’m interested in what catches your interest. This Daryl Dixon character in particular.” He told her as he settled onto the bed then held his arm out to her.

“Then I probably shouldn’t tell you about the Winchester brothers Sam and Dean, from ‘Supernatural’.” She told him as she crawled onto the bed and sat down in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her, but didn’t say anything so she looked at him over her shoulder to see him giving her a playful glare. “Dean’s my favorite.” She admitted with a cheeky grin just to mess with him.

“Now I don’t know which one I want to watch with you.” he told her, still glaring.

She laughed. “‘The walking dead.’ I like Daryl better and there are fewer seasons to watch.” She plucked the remote out of his hand and turned her attention to the tv. A giggle left her lips when he playfully growled and bit where neck curved down into her shoulder.

After Daryl made his first appearance in the third episode Klaus paused the show. Katie smiled to herself wondering what Klaus’s reaction was going to be. “That hostile, backwater, redneck is your favorite character?”

She started laughing as she turned around to sit on her knees in front of him. “If I recall you weren’t all sunshine and butterflies when you first came to Mystic Falls, mister judgy.” He rolled his eyes at her and rested his hands on her sides. “First impressions aren’t everything. Daryl comes across as an asshole, but he’s actually really caring and loyal.” She defended her favorite character. “Not to mention he has really nice arms and he hardly ever wears shirts with sleeves so there’s an almost constant source of eye candy.” She added just to mess with him and he gave her a side eye making her try and fail to hold back her playful smile.

“Eye candy huh?” he asked, making her laugh and nod as he grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it over his head. “How’s this for eye candy?”

“That’s not eye candy.” She answered with a shake of her head as she set her hands on his wrists where his hands held her sides, her eyes taking in his perfectly toned torso.

“No?” he asked, sounding a little disappointed.

“No.” she answered as she looked him in the eyes and slipped her hands up his forearms and biceps to rest on his shoulders. “Eye candy is something that is only pleasing to the eyes.” she stood up on her knees and he closed his black pants covered legs so she could straddle them and sit in his lap. “You, Niklaus Mikaelson, entice all of my senses with your gentle touch…your warm, spicy scent,” She peppered light kisses over the feather tattoo on his shoulder, “the taste of your skin,” she kissed up to his ear and whispered, “The sound you make when I do this…” she kissed back down to where his neck met his shoulder and gently grazed her teeth over his smooth skin before she bit down hard but didn’t break the skin, pulling a groan from him that sent a tingle through her to her core. She pulled away and looked into his slightly lust veiled, blue eyes. “The way it feels like you can touch my soul just by looking into my eyes...” he grabbed her hands in his and threaded their fingers together. “It’s damn near spiritual.” A toothy smile took over Klaus’s face as he looked down at the bed, a hit of red coloring his cheeks. “Did I just make you blush?” she asked as she dipped her head into his line of view.

He laughed as he looked back up at her. “Maybe.” He told her looking bashful, something she had never seen from him before, making her smile bigger and him to wipe the look from his face. “You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to do that thing you do.”

She started innocently twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “Thing? What thing? I have no idea what you’re talking about, Big Bad Wolf?”

He laughed at her. “The one where you shower me with affection and outlandish compliments knowing full well that it has a very…” he let go of her hands and grabbed her hips, rocking her into him to let her feel what she does to him, “arousing effect on me.” Instead of arguing that her compliments were not outlandish like she wanted to, she gave him a flirty smile and bit her bottom lip. “Yeah?” he asked with a glimmer in his eye.

“Baby M. has dropped. I can breathe easier now, but my appetite sucks. So I have a small, energy boosting request.” She answered with a glance down at his neck.

He used the nail of his middle finger to make a one inch cut where she had bit him earlier then tilted his head to the side. “Have at it, Sweetheart.”

His whispered words sent a shiver through her that was only amplified when she closed her lips over the cut and a pained yet satisfied moan left his parted lips. His hand moved to hold the nape of her neck as she drank until the cut closed then licked over the healed skin and up his neck to his ear. “Neamhaí.” “Heavenly.”

A smirk pulled at the corners of his lips and when a deep growl rumbled up from his throat she pulled back to see the heart stopping view of his hybrid eyes. With a whoosh he moved her to lie on her back and a yelp followed by a giggle left her smiling lips at the sudden action.

TVDTVDTVD

The next evening Katie was walking down the stairs into the now refurbished courtyard when Klaus found her. “Well, I can’t say I don’t find you just as mouthwateringly tempting in that dress.” He told her as he took in the black dress with off the shoulder, three quarter sleeves of lace that continued over the bodice of the dress. The satin flowing skirt was short, stopping just above her knees, but the black panty hose and lace flats she wore with it kept it classy and elegant.

“Something tells me that you’d think I looked tempting wearing a burlap sack.” She told him with an eye roll. He just pulled the corners of his mouth down and tilted his head with a shrug agreeing with her. “So what are you going to do while Elijah and I are at the street festival?”

“Genevieve was all too eager to get her hands on mother’s grimoire.” He told her not being able to resist placing his hands on her hips and pulling her close.

“You think she’s going to try to steal it?” Katie asked curiously.

“Yes.” He answered. “She can’t risk not being seen at the festival, so she’ll most likely send a lackey or two. I’ll be here to intercept them if need be.”

Elijah cleared his throat and Katie turned from Klaus to see him walking down the stairs before she turned back to Klaus, who let go of her sides and tucked his hands behind his back. “See you at the after party?”

“Yes.” Klaus answered. “And I’ll give Davina the gift we discussed.” Katie cupped his cheek in her hand and caught his lips with hers. When the kiss broke she looked up at him through her lashes, a silent reminder that she loved him, then turned to Elijah.

“Ready?” he asked as he held his arm out to her.

“As I’ll ever be.” She told him as she took his offered arm and they left the courtyard.

“I’m a bit surprised Niklaus told you to ask me to accompany you tonight.” He told her as they strolled down the busy sidewalk waiting for the sun to set and the parade to start.

“I was too.” She admitted. “I just hope I’m not getting in the way of another woman who may wish to be wooed by you tonight.”

“I take it you’re referring to Francesca?” He said with a look at her across his shoulder and she gave him a knowing smile that made a smile pull at the corners of his lips. “If anything you are helping me send her a message.”

“And what message would that be?” Katie asked curiously.

“That her particular brand of business woman is not my type.” He answered.

“Then what is your type?” she asked without thinking as they walked past a booth selling glow sticks, light up noisemakers and other light up accessories.

“I’m afraid my answer to the question might overstep certain boundaries.” He answered with a look that only further answered her question. “So instead I’ll say you look beautiful tonight.”

“Thank you.” she told him with a smile that said she was grateful he didn’t make things too awkward.

“Have you already eaten dinner?” he asked to change the subject.

“I had a small bite to eat a while ago.” She answered. “Why?”

“There’s a vendor around the corner selling gumbo. I hear it rivals Sophie’s.” He explained.

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.” She told him politely, but he still seems let down that she declined his offer of a food he knew she liked. “I appreciate the thought, but the baby’s in a weird position. She’s been putting pressure on my stomach all day. I can’t eat more than a few bites of something at a time without getting sick to my stomach.” When music started playing from the speakers on the stage at the end of the parade route they stopped walking and turned to the street.

People all dressed in the same shades of light brown lined the outer edges of the street, walking with lanterns on poles while The Harvest Girls were carried down the street on sedan thrones like queens. “Are you at least able to enjoy the festivities?” Elijah asked with a look across his shoulder at Katie who was still holding his arm.

She took her eyes off of Monique Deveraux, who was currently passing them, smiling and waving at the cheering crowd while wearing a headdress of white roses, accented by earthy elements and a brown dress, to smile up at him. “Yes. Is there ever a boring day in this city?” she asked.

“Only if you live on the outskirts.” He told her with a smirk referring to the time she spent bored out of her mind at the plantation house. She just shook her head at him and went back to watching the parade.

Abigail, the blond harvest girl, representing air, dressed in a simple white dress with shimmering long sleeves and a head dress made of draping cords of crystals passed by waving elegantly to the crowd, trying way too hard to look like a princess. When a light breeze caused Katie to shiver, Elijah noticed, took off the jacket he wore over his suit and draped it over her shoulders.

Katie knew it would be pointless to argue with him so she simply said, “Thank you” and accepted the coat. When she turned her eyes back to the street Davina was passing by, sitting in her throne as the embodiment of fire in a bright orange dress and an orange, red and black beaded headdress. When her eyes found Katie in the mix of people her face lit up and gave her a wave. Katie smiled and waved back, just happy to see a smile on the girl's face.

“That is yet another example of why I believe you will make just as wonderful of a mother this time around as you were with Jonah.” Elijah told her, making her look at him from Davina. “You care about her for no other reason than she needed someone to. She’ll never forget your kindness and honesty.”

“I just hope the witches aren’t being as hard on her as the ancestors were.” She sighed then watched as the Harvest Girls were lowered to the ground and helped down off their thrones.

After they took the stage Genevieve joined them. “And now in accordance with the Fête des Bénédictions, the witches of New Orleans bless you all.” Genevieve stepped aside and Monique stepped up and held her hands out to the side. The earth shook and while most people looked around in awe, Katie and Elijah simply watched as she lowered her arms and the earth calmed. She stepped back and Abigail stepped up and held her arms up beside her head. As she made a sweeping motion the wind kicked up and Katie pulled Elijah’s coat tighter around herself until she dropped her hands and the wind died down.

Abigail stepped behind Monique putting the spotlight on Davina who turned from the crowd and held her hand out at a fleur de lis that was hanging behind the stage setting off sparks that outlined it and when the out line was complete fireworks shot up from behind the stage lighting up the night sky with bursts of green, white and purple. “Is it stupid that I love fireworks?” Katie asked Elijah as she looked up.

“Not at all.” He answered and she looked at him. “I enjoy them quite a bit myself.” She simply smiled and looked back up at the sky as he rested his hand on her lower back and followed her gaze.

When the fireworks were over Katie and Elijah moved to the entrance of the building the after party was being held in and stood just inside the gate, welcoming the guests with a smile. When The Harvest Girls walked by Abigail and Monique just gave them polite smiles, but Davina stopped, “I’m so glad you could come.”

“What you thought I’d miss all this?” Katie asked with a look around. “Fire suits you by the way.”

Davina smiled and looked down at her bright dress. “Thank you.” One of the witches called Davina’s name from the door, getting her attention and then waved her inside. “I gotta go, but we’ll catch up later? I missed you at the last party.”

“Yeah, of course.” Katie answered then jerked her head for Davina to go inside before she got in trouble for lollygagging.

Davina was disappearing through the door of the building when Genevieve stopped and looked at Elijah. “Thank you, for all of this.”

“This isn’t for you.” Elijah replied choppily. “I didn’t even want to entertain the idea of this silly party, but Klaus argued that your people would never accept a truce unless we showed them some respect. So be it.” he held his hand out to the door with a condescending smirk on his face. “Enjoy your party.”

Genevieve looked down at Katie standing next to Elijah, dressed appropriately in an outfit that was showing far less skin than Genevieve’s black dress with two slits in the front of the long skirt that were just inches away from meeting her hip bones, showing a generous amount of leg when she walked. Seeing that Genevieve was trying to figure out Katie’s one eighty when it came to party attire, Elijah wrapped his arm around her waist and closed the small space between them. Genevieve just lifted a brow and hummed at the new development before she walked off.

“Why did you just give Klaus all the credit for this party?” Katie asked, not mad, just curious.

“I simply gave her reason to believe Klaus is on her side.” he explained with a look down at her. “It goes without saying that your argument was the reason I agreed.”

Katie just shook her head and looked back at the people passing them by. When Hayley and Jackson walked into the gate they stopped and turned to Katie and Elijah. Elijah and Jackson shook hands while Hayley, holding a white gift box in her hand, looked at Katie. “Are we good?”

Katie looked at Elijah then back at Hayley. “Yeah. No harm no foul.” Katie nodded graciously. “Our agreement still stands.”

Hayley gave her a tight lipped smile. “Thanks.” She took Jackson’s offered arm as they walked into the party. Then Elijah took his arm out from around Katie, closed the gate then offered her his arm. She took it and let him walk her into the party.

As the party started and people started sitting gifts at The Harvest Girls feet where they sat on thrones, Katie noticed that not a single gift was given to Davina and it was starting to hurt Davina and piss off Katie. “May I ask what that look on your face is about?” Elijah whispered from where he stood next to her.

“They are excluding Davina.” Katie answered and Elijah noticed the lack of gifts in front of Davina. “Excuse me for a moment.” She went to the restrooms, made sure no one else was in there then locked the door as she pulled her phone out of the silver clutch she’d been holding all night and called Klaus.

“Are you alright?” Klaus asked when he picked up.

“I’m fine. Listen, the witches are excluding Davina. They haven’t let her receive even a single gift and that part of the night is almost over.” Katie explained.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she receives our gift.” He told her with a devious tone in his voice. “I’ve taken out Genevieve’s lackey and mother’s grimoire is safe. I’m on my way now.”

“Then I’ll see you soon.” She replied then hung up. On her way out of the bathroom she bumped into Davina. “Hey, are you okay?” The hurt look was clear on the girl's face.

“Not really.” She sniffled then noticed someone behind Katie. “Josh, what are you doing here?”

“Are you kidding, there’s no way I’d miss out on your big day.” Josh answered. “Besides, music, wind, fire, the club kid in me is, like, in heaven.” Davina smiled but it quickly fell. “You don’t look like you’re having much fun though.” He looked at Katie wondering what happened.

“The other witches are being petty, as usual.” Katie explained.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Josh asked Davina who nodded and they turned to leave.

Katie was trying to think of a reason for her to stay when Klaus’s voice hit their ears. “Joshua.” The two teens turned and looked at Klaus. “What a fortunate coincidence finding you here.” They probably thought he sounded angry, but Katie knew why he called it a fortunate coincidence that Josh was there. “We have unfinished business.”

“You need to leave here. Right now.” Davina told him, getting ready to defend her friend if need be.

“Now, to be fair, you’re not quite as powerful as you once were, are you?” Klaus reasoned. “You’re in no position to give orders.” Klaus whooshed behind Josh and grabbed him by the back of his neck. “Come along, lad.”

“Hey, can we talk about this?” Josh asked as he walked him out into the party, standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“Josh?” Davina asked with a look back at Katie, scared for her friend. Katie kept her face emotionless as she followed them into the party then walked back over to Elijah.

“What is going on?” Elijah asked, looking a little worried at his brother's antics.

“You’ll see.” Katie told him. “No one’s going to get hurt.”

Klaus left Davina and Josh at the bottom of the stairs then walked up a few of them to be the center. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please.” He asked with his arms held out to the sides as if he were the ringleader of a circus. “We’re gathered here today to pay homage to our beloved witches, but one very special witch has been utterly ignored.” He walked down the stairs to stand on the bottom one. “That seems a little unfair to me.” he held a small jewelry box, tied closed with a dark purple bow, out to Davina.

“No.” she told him with a shake of her head making Klaus’s diabolical smirk fall. “I don’t want your gift.”

“I understand why you would reject me, given my original intentions for you.” he told her, holding the box out to her, but she still didn’t take it. So he tucked it back into his pocket and addressed the rest of the room. “In truth, many of us here today have been wronged in the conflict which my brother's treaty ended.” He looked back down the Davina. “Your friend Josh was involved in a plot to kill me. It would be well within my right to execute him. Here and now.”

Josh looked nervously between Davina and Klaus. “I thought you said no one was going to get hurt.” Elijah whispered.

“No one is. Just watch.” Katie told him then looked back at Klaus.

“But, in the spirit of solidarity, and for your favor, Davina, I hereby pardon him.” Klaus said as he set his hand on Josh’s shoulder then looked down at him. “Josh, from this day forward, you have nothing to fear from me.” he dropped his hand from Josh’s shoulder then looked at Davina and pulled the box out of his pocket, holding it out to her again. “Please.” Davina took the box from him, making Klaus smile in triumph.

When Klaus walked away Katie left Elijah’s side to go to Davina who was staring at the box in her hand. “So, are you gonna open it?” Josh asked with a smile, happy to be off of Klaus’s hit list.

“You’re gonna like it.” Katie sing-songed with a smile as she bumped Davina’s shoulder with hers.

Davina just smiled then untied the bow around and opened the hinged felt box containing a silver ring with a blue stone and a folded up piece of paper. After unfolding the paper Davina cast a confused look at Klaus’s back then looked at Katie. “Is this real?”

“Yep, straight from momma original’s cookbook.” Katie confirmed and Davina beamed up at Josh.

“What is it?” Josh asked, wanting to be let in on things.

“It’s the spell that makes daylight rings.” She told him, making him smile, then she looked at Katie. “Thank Klaus for me?”

“Sure.” Katie told her with a smile. “So, how have you been?” Katie asked.

Davina frowned. “Better now that I can do magic again, but the coven hates me. Monique used to be my best friend, but now she acts like she’s so much better than me.”

“Yeah, I saw her give you a few smug looks.” Katie observed. “But you know what?”

“What?” Davina asked.

“She’s not the one who was given a page from the spellbook of a very powerful witch.” Katie told her, making her smile shyly.

Elijah walked up and placed his hand on the small of Katie’s back. “I hate to pull you away, but there are a couple of faction leaders you have yet to officially get acquainted with.”

Katie parted ways with Davina and Josh and let Elijah lead her in mingling with the faction leaders. The party was going boringly smooth when a group of men dressed in white suits playing drums came down the grand staircase Katie thought it was a nice change of pace, but when they announced that they had a message from Marcel and slit their wrists her opinion quickly changed and dread took over the pit of her stomach.

Elijah stepped out of the group of spectators that had gathered around to watch and spoke to the vampires in the room who’s true faces were showing. “Control yourselves. This is a vulgar trick. We do not violate our agreement.”

As soon as he finished his sentence the lights flicked off and screams filled the room. “Klaus!” Katie yelled not able to see a thing in the room, but before Klaus could get to her the lights started flashing and the face of Thierry appeared in front of her before he bit her neck. Klaus pulled him off and threw him into the wall behind him. Instead of going after Thierry he kneeled down next to Katie and scooped her up into his arms.

When the lights flicked on Elijah whooshed to them where they were on the floor, Katie with her hand on her bleeding neck. “What happened?” Elijah asked as he brushed her hair aside and moved her hand to see that she had healed.

“One of them bit her.” he answered. “I didn’t see who.”

“It was Thierry.” She groaned and sat up with Klaus’s help.

“This is all my fault.” Klaus said with wide eyes. “I went for his girl so he came for mine.”

“Klaus…” Katie sighed.

“No, he’s right.” Elijah spoke up. “If Thierry is out for revenge he will not stop until you are dead.” He told her then looked up at Klaus.

Klaus helped Katie stand up. “Are you okay?” Katie just nodded. “Stay with Elijah.” He told her then started to walk off.

“What are you gonna do?” he asked and he walked back over to her and cupped her cheek in his hand.

“No one harms my family and lives.” He answered then kissed her on the forehead and left.

TVDTVDTVD

Katie was getting out of the shower when her phone started ringing and she looked at it to see Bonnie’s name. “Bonnie, hey, I’ve been trying to get in touch with you guys for days now.”

“Yeah, I saw your missed calls, I’m sorry I didn’t return them. Things have been a bit hectic here recently.” Bonnie answered.

“Well, what’s going on? Is everyone okay?” Katie asked, worried.

“Everyone’s okay, but a bunch of Travelers took a lot of Stefan and Elena’s blood because the blood of the last two remaining doppelgangers can undo a witch's magic. A bunch of the travelers drank it and committed mass suicide. When they passed through me it did something to the other side. Spirits are getting torn away from the other side into nothingness and they’ve been able to interact with our side.” as Bonnie explained things Katie went to the closet and grabbed a pair of pajamas off of the shelf. She was walking into the bedroom when Klaus walked in with blood on his hand.

“I bet spirits like Mason Lockwood are having a field day with Damon right now.” Katie guessed remembering the last time spirits could interact with the living.

“Yeah it’s worse than last time considering this time I’m getting pestered by ghosts with grudges against Damon.” She said as if her statement was aimed at someone in the room with her. “Anyway I just wanted to call you and let you know that we’re all okay and to keep an eye out for vengeful spirits. I don’t know how widespread this thin vale thing is and with you living in a house full of originals…”

“I’ll watch my back.” Katie assured her.

“I wish we could talk longer, but I have to go.” Bonnie told her, sounding annoyed.

“Yeah, just…stay in touch, okay?” Katie asked.

“I promise.” Bonnie told her. “Goodnight.”

“Night, Bon.” Katie replied then hung up the phone.

Klaus walked out of the bathroom and slipped his now clean hand over her bare shoulder. “Everything okay?”

Katie grabbed her pajama top and he stepped back to let her put it on. “That was Bonnie, there’s something going on with the other side.” he frowned as she grabbed her shorts and pulled them on. “The spirits are able to interact with our side, she was warning me in case it wasn’t just happening in Mystic falls.” When she was done getting dressed she stepped back into him and wrapped her around him, resting her forearms on his shoulders while her fingers played with his hair. “Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?”

“Nope.” He answered as he wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on her lower back. “Have you?”

“Nope.” She popped the p at the end of the word. “So I take it Thierry is dead?”

“Yep, like I told you, no one harms my family and gets away with it.” he told her as he cupped her cheek in his hand, but she turned her head when she yawned. “You know he is just the first of many to come, right?” Klaus asked as she walked around to her side of the bed and pulled the covers back.

“Uh huh.” Katie answered and was about to slip into bed, but he whooshed in front of her. She looked up at him through her lashes.

“We have to talk about this, love.” He urged.

“You have enemies and your enemies tend to do to you what you do to them. It’s pretty obvious to me that you see, or have seen, love as a weakness and you’ve exploited that weakness in the past. So they will come after me because unlike the rest of the people you love I can die. It’s not anything I didn’t already know when I fell in love with you.”

“But tonight-”

“You saved me.” she pointed out then grabbed his face gently in her hands. “You pulled Thierry off of me and you saved…us.” she looked down at her stomach then back up at him. “I’m a human in a vampire’s world and tonight my life was threatened.” She moved her hands to rest on his chest. “It only reminded me that I have to take advantage of every moment I’m still breathing. We have to create as many little moments of bliss as we can because you are going to need them to look back on when I’m gone.”

To shut her up and keep any more talk of her leaving him from escaping her mouth he kissed her and he didn’t stop until they were both out of breath. “I will not let anything take you from this earth, you hear me?” Katie just nodded and let him scoop her up with a whoosh and lay her in bed then lay down beside her.

They didn’t talk, they didn’t kiss or make love. They simply enjoyed the warmth, the comfort and the relaxation of being in one another’s arms.

#tvd #the vampire diaries #tvd fanfiction #the vampire diaries fanfiction #the originals fanfiction #the originals #to #to fanfiction #klaus mikaelson #niklaus mikaelson #niklaus mikaelson fanfiction #klaus mikaelson fanfiction #klaus x oc fanfiction #klaus mikaelson x oc fanfiction #klaus x oc #klaus mikaelson x oc #elijah mikaelson #rebekah mikaelson #hope mikaelson

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cherryonclouds · 3 years ago

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I miss 2017-2019 YouTube. My favourite people really popped off back then like Sade Watkins and bestdressed.

They seemed really authentic to me - just two women navigating their lives and also posting content on the internet.

Sade was always vibes, whether it was her GRWMs, conversations, or room decor. I think somewhere along the line her trauma got to her and she blames everything on spiritual forces. Not really my cup of tea.

I remember having a few solid videos I loved from her. The room makeover and tour, the dick appointment video, her 70s fluffy wig and a whole lot more. She took a lot of them down.

Honestly I haven't watched a whole lot of her new content because of the whole religious perspectives. I just sense the negative energy, so I don't even want to engage. So basically I know nothing except that everything is spiritual and you can't have anything because you know... Demons and shit.

Honestly after having grown up hearing my parents tell me that the reason our family didn't have a lot was because of God's will and he was testing us - best believe I no longer want to hear that. It wasn't God, it was your beliefs, which guided your actions and then my siblings and I suffered as a result.

I will never say that it's some external entity that does anything to me because I know better.

But everyone has their phases. I used to believe that if it was God's will it would happen but now I disagree. I never went so hard about things though because I dislike being a victim and constantly blaming my issues on external sources is never taking control... And maintaining that victim status.

So I've chosen not to engage. It would be really nice if she were to come back with her old content and stuff. Because she brought hot takes, her comment section was always full of stories from the other women who related to her, and I for one was happy to see her flourish, make her coins and leave her toxic life behind.

Now she just seems like she's holding on to Christianity as a crutch to justify her pain and suffering. Which I have no doubt is entirely real, but maybe the help she needs is different from the types she's gotten so far. I know. I was there once. I was actually hard core into atheism as a way to demonize Christianity but even that's a lot of work to constantly be justifying.

Bestdressed was cool. I adored her stuff so much. I think I was watching her for a solid year and a half before unsubscribing. At some point I even had post notifications on, and I'd be excited every Thursday for when she'd post.

2019 was a hard year for her. She did her best. Her mental health was all a whole hot mess, she had gotten into and out of a relationship in a year, suffered immense burnout from upping her video quality, but not decreasing her upload schedule or outsourcing certain things.

Then 2020 came. She posted her NYFW Trilogy, a couple more videos and one of her talking about how 2020 had affected her. That last video apparently was taken so poorly that she took it down and just went to other platforms to continue her content creation.

And I guess I was seeing it coming, since despite her editing skills being top tier she seemed like she was losing her shit. And she was changing. She moved to NY which is a really stressful looking place, and life kinda hit her, especially with covid and living alone.

I stopped following her on ig because she always looked depressed and the self deprecating humor, while funny in 2018/2019 was not after that for me.

I still miss that era though. It seemed so expansive and open. Like even though they had bad times or hard moments, it was more expansive, creative and fun. Kinda reminds me of me in 2016 when everything seemed that way in my life. It was nice knowing there were people online living in that same way.

I hope Sade ends up ok. I hope bestdressed is also ok.

And maybe at some other point in their lives, they'll come back how they used to be - open, expansive and authentic. Although I do think both of them are being authentic, since authenticity is about being true to yourself in the moment, maybe just more open, expansive and in control.

#Bestdressed #hot takes

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tcm · 4 years ago

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New Year’s Eve in Classic Movies By Raquel Stecher

There are few things that fill me with more joy than a terrific New Year’s Eve celebration in a classic movie. New Year’s is a special holiday and, in my opinion, highly underrated. Think about it. It’s essentially everyone’s birthday. It’s a time for us to turn the page into a new chapter in our lives individually and collectively. It’s a time of hope, of resolution, of embracing change and of setting new goals for the future.

In movies, New Year’s can effectively demonstrate a character’s evolution. It can be strategic in a plot where the character sheds an old life in order to transition to a new one. It’s also a fantastic way to depict revelry with a grand party filled with confetti, streamers, noisemakers and a glass of champagne or two. And if you’re the type who prefers to stay at home for New Year’s, binge watching classic films like THE THIN MAN series or the Marx Bros. movies can be a wonderful way to wind down. Let’s ring in the New Year with some classic movies that embrace this very special holiday together.

When I think of New Year’s movies the first one that comes to mind is BACHELOR MOTHER (’39). Starring Ginger Rogers and David Niven, this delightful romantic comedy tells the story of a shopgirl who inadvertently winds up with an orphan baby and cannot convince anyone in her life that the baby is not her own. BACHELOR MOTHER has my favorite New Year’s Eve sequence. Rogers gets a complete makeover with new pieces from the department store, including a shimmery dress, a mink coat adorned with orchids, a veil, a purse, gloves and shoes. She is the epitome of elegance. The class difference becomes apparent here as David (David Niven) convinces Polly (Ginger Rogers) to speak fake Swedish so she won’t feel out of place with David’s upper-class cohorts. This is done to great comedic effect. The sequence goes on to include a four-course meal and plenty of dancing. The lovebirds get separated in a crowd in Times Square only to be reunited just in time for a New Year’s kiss.

In the Rat Pack movie OCEAN’S 11 (’60), New Year’s serves as the perfect time to orchestrate a major heist. Led by Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra), his team of 11 WWII buddies plan to rob millions from five Las Vegas casinos: the Desert Inn, the Flamingo, the Riviera, the Sahara and the Sands. The film stars Rat Packers Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Dean Martin and Joey Bishop accompanied by other talent including Richard Conte and Akim Tamiroff. The heist is timed specifically to ringing in of 1960. As everyone sings “Auld Lang Syne,” two members of the team blow up an electrical tower, blacking out the entire Las Vegas Strip. This is when the rest of the team get to work robbing each of the five casinos and making their escape. The characters find themselves at a crossroads in their lives in one way or another. While this isn’t explored with every character, it is examined with a handful. There has to be an impetus for them to commit this crime. New Year’s in 1960’s Las Vegas is a mix of kitsch and glamour. Each of the casinos has their own outlandishly styled party.

Who wouldn’t want to ring in the New Year with Nick and Nora (William Powell and Myrna Loy)? In AFTER THE THIN MAN (’36), the duo visits the Lychee Club, a seedy nightclub, on a mission to help Nora’s cousin Selma (Elissa Landi). Her husband Robert (Alan Marshall) has been missing for three days and the two discover that Robert has gotten involved with the wrong crowd. The film boasts a wild welcome home party followed by an equally epic New Year’s party at the Lychee. Nora tells Nick that she’s looking forward to their “first New Year’s alone” when suddenly they are joined by a group of ex-cons. Nick enjoys the revelry with scotch in one hand and a toy saxophone in another. There is an accidental kiss, lots of streamers, plenty of booze and two song-and-dance numbers led by hoofer/actress Penny Singleton.

THE APARTMENT (’60) is best known for being a dark romantic comedy set during the Christmas season, but New Year’s proves to be a major turning point for the two main characters. C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) is working his way up the corporate ladder by letting his superiors make use of his apartment for their extramarital trysts. Things get complicated when he discovers that his love interest, elevator operator Miss Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), is having an affair with his boss. Their Christmas Eve is dire with Kubelik attempting suicide and Baxter trying to bring her back to some semblance of a life. The New Year’s Eve sequence, set in a Chinese nightclub, much like in AFTER THE THIN MAN, is when Kubelik realizes she wants to shed he old life and start afresh. She quietly says “ring out the old year, ring in the new. Ring-a-ding-ding” as she contemplates a new life for herself, resulting in one of the most iconic ending scenes and lines in movie history.

#New Years Eve #New Year's #2021 #2020 #celebration #party #TCM #Turner Classic Movies #Ginger Rogers #Rat Pack #The Apartment #Thin Man #Nick and Nora Charles #1930s #1940s #1960s #Raquel Stecher

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fluffymcu · 4 years ago

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Letting Loose

Part SIXTEEN

This series is TICKLE related.

Series Summary: You’re the little sister of the one and only Captain America. You’re also the youngest girl on the team, so that automatically makes you the avengers’ little princess. And they spoil you as such. They have become your amazing family and you don’t know where you’d be without them. This series will show random adventures and fluffy events in the daily life of the reader and her family, along with an unexpected turn later on as you read.

A/N: I’m so excited to be writing this series! This is my first time writing one and I’m a bit nervous but I hope it all goes well. :) Hope you enjoy!

Word count: 3,525

Previous Next

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2 weeks have passed, and the confession was mutually forgotten. Things had gotten back to normal. This morning you had woken up with a strong urge to prank. It happened sometimes. You began to think of who would be your next victim when you recalled an incident that occurred yesterday when you were playing kickball with the team in the backyard. You grinned evilly and jumped out of bed, brushed your teeth and went downstairs to eat breakfast with the team.

It was about 11:45 when you decided to go ahead with your plan. You wanted Peter to join you but when you went in his room to check on him, the sleepy head was fast asleep. You rolled your eyes with a smirk and proceeded to head into the changing room, where everyone’s suits were.

It was hard to miss the big red and blue shield that was laying against the wall next to your brother’s suit. You grinned as you grabbed the shield and made your way to your room. You had a plan to paint it a nice green and white, with a sunflower replacing the star.

It was when you were carrying it through the kitchen that Steve walked in. You both stopped in your tracks, looking at each other for a few long seconds. Your eyes were slightly widened and his were deeply narrowed.

“Y/n,,, what are you doing with my shield?” Steve slowly asked, confusion masking his features. You slowly put the shield behind your back as if it wasn’t too late already.

“...Nothing!” You chirped, feeling nervous already; but then you remembered the reason why you’re doing this. “Just thought I’d give this a little makeover since you kept purposely hitting me with the ball yesterday.” You said, smiling extra wide. Steve raised his eyebrows at you, tilting his head down with his jaw slightly dropped.

“Oh, so that’s how you’re gonna play.” He chortled.

“You started it!” You giggled accusingly, holding the shield tighter in your hands. Steve straightened up with a hum, looking straight at you with a mischevious glint in his eyes.

“Well. Then I guess I have to finish it too, don’t I.” He quipped, smirking when you quickly got the message and booked it to your room and immediately went after you.

You were letting out nervous laughter as you ran as fast as you could. You could hear his heavy footsteps thundering behind you and it made all the nervousness pile in your stomach. You could already feel the ghost tickles on your sides and it didn’t help at all. You took the long way to your room, hoping all the turns in the hallways would throw him off but unfortunately he was still gaining on you.

“Steve plehehehease!” You pleaded, getting closer to your room. You could hear him chuckling behind you and you tried to run even faster. You were sure you weren’t going as fast as you normally can, but the heavy shield was slowing you down just a bit. When you got to your room, you dropped the shield quickly so you could turn to close and lock the door but Steve quickly barged in and scooped you up. “NOhohoho pleheheHEHEASEE! HAHAHAHA!” You burst into laughter as Steve wasted no time in digging deeply into your sides. He smirked at your attempts to get out of his hold by flopping around like a fish.

“Enjoying your date with the Tickle Monster Y/n?” He teased, sitting on your mattress and lifting your shirt to blow a very ticklish raspberry. You hung your head back as you cackled, helplessly pushing at his head.

“NOHOHO! LET ME GOHOHOOO!” You squeal, shaking your head. Steve gasped loudly and grabbed you under your arms and slammed you onto the mattress, pinning you with his weight.

“You’re not?!?!” He asked incredulously. You were giggling uncontrollably, very aware that his hands were still under your arms. You kept your arms firmly pressed to your sides, your laughter going up an octave at the fact that he wasn’t even doing anything. It made you extremely nervous.

“STEHEHEVE STOHOHOP IT!” You screamed in hysterics. Steve laughed along with you and shook his head.

“I’m not even doing anything yet!!” He laughed, suddenly blowing a raspberry on your neck to catch you by surprise. You shrieked and shrugged your shoulder up.

“LIAHAHAHAR!”

Steve giggled and began to move his fingers that were trapped under your arms. You threw your head back as you laughed, not being able to kick your feet out because of his weight on you. “I can’t believe you’re not enjoying your time with Tickle Monster! I must be doing something wrong.” He hummed, pulling his hands out and getting off you briefly to grab your legs. You squealed as you tried to kick your legs out of his grip but it was no use. “Maybe this’ll change your mind.” He smirked before gripping your ankle and using his other hand to squeeze your thighs.

You began to let out deep belly laughter as you twisted all around your bed, begging for him to stop. “STEHEHEHEVE PLEHEHEASE I CAHAHANT!” You yelled, shrieking when he dug his thumbs into your hips.

“But this is so much fun! And I still need to get your belly and your feet!” He giggled, skittering his fingers under your shirt to attack your belly. You instantly brought your knees to your chest out of reflex and squealed. Steve always knew exactly how to tickle your belly. It was always gentle but he would find a way to make it tickle like hell. Your laughter was going hoarse and you began wheezing more often, so Steve decided to give you a minute to breathe. You sucked in as much air as you could, and when you mostly recovered, you tried to wiggle out from under him. “Ah ah ah.” He scolded, bending down to nibble at your neck to stop you.

You squealed loudly and shrugged your shoulders. “OKAhahahy okay okahahay!” You giggled, panting as he leaned back again. “Plehehase no more, I can’t tahahake it!”

“What’s the magic word?” he smirked.

“Plehease!” You said.

“Nope!” Steve yelped, nibbling at your neck again and blowing a raspberry.

“AHAHA! NOHOHOOO DONT DO THIHIS!” You pleaded.

“What’s the magic word then, y/n?” He asked again. Why did he have to be in such a playful mood today? You hummed, desperately seeking for a word that could possibly be it. Steve began to lightly drag his fingers up and down your sides to make this more unbearable to you. You arched your back and tried your best to stifle your giggles. “I’ll give you a clue. It’s sssssss...”

“SORRYHYHY!” You yelled. Steve laughed and got off you.

“And are you gonna steal my shield again?” He asked, raising his brow at you. You shook your head letting out residual giggles.

“Nohohoho. I prohomise.” Steve smiled fondly and kissed your forehead before picking up his shield.

“Apology accepted then.” He said with a smile and left your room. You sighed in relief and laid on your bed for a couple more minutes to regain your strength.

“So not fair.” You sighed exhaustedly.

----

About half an hour later, you were in Peter’s room helping him clean up. His room was a mess and Tony said he wasn’t allowed to go patrolling until it was clean. You had offered to help him clean up and he had gladly accepted.

In 20 minutes, you both had finished up and his room was looking even neater than yours. You both high fived and helped him get ready. “Thanks again, y/n/n. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

‘Yeah no problem. You got enough web fluid?”

“Yep!”

“Okay. See you later, and be careful ok?” You said, watching as he lifted his window up and crawled out.

“I will. Bye!” He smiled before jumping off the building and swinging away. You sighed and made your way to the kitchen to get a snack before going up to your room and reading a few pages of the new book that Bucky had gotten you on a mission.

-----

As you were reading your book, you suddenly feel the walls tremble a little, and the possessions in your room start to shake. You look up in confusion, since that only happens when the Quinjet lands, and even then it doesn’t usually tremble so much like this. No one was on a mission either, so you were confused as to what that could be.

You stand up and go to your window, pulling the curtains away and look outside. Your eyes widen and you gasp loudly. “No WAY!” You yell, sprinting out the door and down the stairs.

As you race past the kitchen, Steve is sitting at the island. “Hey y/n/n, look who’s-”

“I know!!” You squeal and run outside to the landing site, squinting your eyes at the strong wind that the ship is blowing as it lands to the ground. The Milano! The door to the ship drops down and reveals the best team in the galaxy (don’t tell the avengers) “PETEEEER!” You yell as you run towards the ship to meet Star Lord. “Kid! Long time no see!” You greet everyone, especially Gamora and Drax. You haven’t seen them in years!! Ever since you were 7 years old. You notice someone else is in the ship after you say hi to Rocket, and you ask who she is.

“Hello, I am Mantis!” She says, giving you a weird smile. You smile back and giggle. “Hi Mantis. I’m y/n. Your antennae are so cool!!” You say, watching as her face lights up. At this moment, Peter swings in and lands not too far from the ship.

“Hey guys, I’m back. What’s going on here?” He asks. “Wooooah. Are you guys the Guardians of the Galaxy?” He asked, amazed. The team then subtly tries to pose in a heroic stance as a team, looking off into nothing.

“Why yes. We are.” Quill says, taking a step closer to Peter, offering his hand. “The name’s Peter. Peter Quill. People call me Star Lord.” Peter shakes his hand with a grin.

“That is so cool. I’m Peter too! But my last name is Parker.” He says awkwardly. You giggle at the exchange and watch as the rest of the guardians introduce themselves to Peter.

“Are you guys staying the night?” You ask hopefully. Peter smiles and nods.

“Yup! We’ll stay a night. We need to be on our way by tomorrow morning.” You’re a bit disappointed that it’s such little time, but you’re happy that they’ll be at least staying a bit.

While the guardians go inside to greet the team, you, Peter, and Ruby Anne stay behind with Mantis and have fun asking her questions and stuff. You take her close to the trees where Wanda grows a nice garden with lots of flowers and you all sit down at a bench to talk. Mantis goes on to talk about her home planet and how she helped the guardians defeat Ego. It was all so interesting and Peter was geeking out about how there are so many other life forms in the universe.

“Wow. I wish we could travel to all the planets.” Peter hummed. “Ooh. It’d be so cool if like, there were other universes but they were like, the same. you know? Like in each universe there was you, and Tony, and everyone. And there would be like, a bunch of Spidermen, one in each universe you know? And there would be some way to like, cross universes and meet up with all the Spider people. And we would all look like different people and get our powers in different ways but still have the same powers. That would be so cool.” He said, leaning back on the bench.

You nodded, raising your eyebrows. “That would be cool.” You sighed.

“Yeah, too bad that’s a far fetch. I doubt there would be more than one person who happened to get but by a radioactive spider.” Ruby sighed. You and Peter hummed in agreement and bobbed your heads.

Bucky called for all of you to come in after that. “Guys! Dinner’s ready!”

“Coming!”

----

You all ate at the table, catching up with the guardians and filling each other in on things and having a lot of laughs. After dinner, you helped Pepper clean up and do the dishes. Rocket had reached the computer room and somehow managed to play Peter’s soundtrack all over the compound. You didn’t mind though, it gave you something to hum along to as you cleaned up.

----

As you were fixing up your room a bit for the sleepover you, Pete and Ruby Anne were going to have, Peter poked his head through the door and smiled. You returned the gesture and motioned for him to come in.

Peter walked in slowly, taking a look around your bedroom. “It’s changed much since I’ve last been here. You’re so big now!” He said smiling fondly, taking a seat at the edge of your bed.

You smiled widely and hopped on your bed, leaning your back against the headboard. “Yyyup!” You say smugly. “I’ve changed a lot since then.”

Peter mirrors your smirk and tilts his head. “Are you sure? You seem the same: small, sweet and cuddly.” He teased, pinching your cheek. You groan with a deep blush, crossing your arms.

“Well, I’m not! Like I said, I’ve changed a lot these past few years, I’m not the same person I was.” You say tilting your chin up.

Peter looks away with a small grin, shrugging his shoulders. “Awww well that’s a shame. I remember when you were so innocent and kind, and when I’d used to play hide and seek with you, and give you piggy back rides, and I’d used to give you raspberries on your belly,” He chuckled at the memory. “You used to love those.”

You shrugged as if none of it mattered, but of course it did. “Well, I’ve moved on from that.”

“Really? You sure? You’re... not even ticklish anymore?” He asked, with a tone of voice that even after all these years, you still recognized as dangerous. Still, you couldn’t just give up now, you could still win this. Right?

“Nope. I grew out of that.” You say, a confident smile gracing your features.

“Is that so?” He asked slowly, staring at you intensely through slightly narrowed eyes. Then he quickly looked away, nodding his head as if he was processing your words before quickly turning back to you. “Well,,,, a little bird just happened to tell me something of the opposite.” He hummed, raising his eyebrows at your “crap’’ face before attacking your belly. You shriek and fall into hysterics, sliding down the headboard and trying your best to curl up into a ball. “Oh, you were so right. You definitely outgrew this.” He smirked, scratching his fingers right above your belly button.

You were already lost in laughter, letting out all kinds of squeals and giggles, halfheartedly slapping at his hands. “PLeheheHEHEASE!” Peter laughed along with you and slipped his hands under your shirt, expertly drilling his fingers in between the ribs, making you yelp and arch your back, your laughter booming out of your chest. “NOHOHO NOHOT MY RIHIHIBS!” You squeal, throwing your head back in ticklish agony.

Peter chuckled and kept it up. “Why not the ribs? Huh?” He asked and lifted your shirt to nibble your lower ribs while holding your wrists to the sides of your head. You startled cackling, kicking your legs out desperately. You couldn’t even yell out protests since all that came out of your mouth was laughter.

Peter sat up and started attacking your neck, scratching under your chin, making you let out loud squeaks. Whenever you’d try to grab his hands, they’d quickly go to poke your belly, surprising you every time, then going back to your neck. “Ihihihi CAHAHahahant!” You giggled, feeling your muscles turn to mush. Peter found it adorable.

“Awww, I’ve missed your laugh! It’s so cute!” He said, blowing raspberry after raspberry on your belly like he used to do. This made your laughter hysterical again, making you desperately push at his head.

“STOHOHOHOP IHIHIT!” You squealed, sucking in as much air when he sat back for a moment.

“But you used to love these! When you were a baby you’d always laugh and say ‘Again! Again!’ You’d never get enough!” He smiled, chuckling when you blushed deeply again.

“NOHOHOT ANYMOHOHORE!” You cried. You do. You actually do. Peter smirked and blew one last raspberry, relishing in the sound of your adorable laughter before sitting up and leaning to the side.

“Aww, ok ok fine.” He says, grabbing you and pulling you into a hug. You were still giggling, making yourself limp in his arms. Peter chuckled and rested his head on yours for a bit. You finally caught your breath and closed your eyes with a relaxed smile on your face. You both stayed there for a few more moments before you spoke up.

“I’ve really missed you.” You say, hugging him tightly. Peter looks down at you and smiles. “Thank you for coming over and staying the night.”

“Of course,” He starts. “I missed you too Squirt.” He shifts a bit to lay against the headboard, taking you with him. “I know we haven’t been coming to visit regularly, and I’m sorry for that. I’ve missed a lot of years of your life.”

“It’s okay.”

“But it’s not. I’m sorry. We’ve just been so busy, trying to escape bounty hunters, Nova Corps, old enemies, even.... even family. My dad. Then so much other stuff came on and... time flew by.” He shrugged sadly. “That’s not an excuse but, I just don’t want you to think we didn’t come back because we didn’t wanna see you. We love you so much.”

You looked up and gave him a reassuring smile. “I didn’t think that. It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re here now.”

Peter smiled gratefully and stroked his fingers through your hair before there was a knock on your door. Gamora showed herself in and smiled at the 2 of you. “Hey. Mind if I borrow Peter for a bit?” You shook your head and got off his lap, letting him stand up. You grabbed his arm to tell him something discreetly.

“I’m glad you two are finally a thing.” You whisper, wearing a small smirk. Peter returns it and nods.

“Me too. An unspoken thing but,, we’ll get there.” He said, waving off the last part before joining Gamora. You smiled slightly and sighed before going down to the kitchen for a bit to hang out with everyone.

———

“Are. You. Ready.” You started, standing next to Peter whole narrowing your eyes at Ruby Anne who was standing a few feet from you. “For the insanely dramatic, extremely extraordinary, inevitable fun you’re about to have on your FIRST sleepover?!?” You asked her with excitement. Ruby smirked and nodded slightly.

“A bit underwhelming but, Great!” Peter shrugged, pulling out a thumbs up and turning around to pull out a stack of UNO cards.

After some games, the three of you found yourselves bundled up in blankets watching a movie together before falling asleep until the next morning.

——

After breakfast, you all had to say goodbye to the guardians, as they were about to leave. Everyone said their goodbyes, and you walked up to the team with a sad frown. Peter patted your head before pulling you into a hug after you said bye to Gamora,Rocket and Drax. You hugged him tightly and closed your eyes.

“I’m gonna miss you.” You sighed. Peter smiled lightly at you and rubbed your back.

“Don’t worry y/n/n. Now that everything is settled down a bit, We’ll come to visit a lot more often. I promise.” He said. You smiled at this, flashing your teeth and nodded.

“Ok! I can’t wait.”

Mantis called you from afar, making you step over to her. She pulled out a sort of large smooth rock with googly eyes glued on and a sprout taped onto the top. You giggled at the sight and looked up at her.

“I deeply appreciate the time you spent with me out in the garden. So I went to one of the offices and gathered some supplies to apply these little eyes to this nice rock I found outside. So I made this new little friend for you. As a parting gift!” She said, smiling widely at you.

You felt a warm feeling inside as you gladly accepted the rock. “Wow... thank you Mantis! It’s so cute! I shall name him.... Stick.” You nodded, watching as her face lit up even more.

“That is a wonderful name y/n! I hope to see you again soon.” She said before joining the guardians on the ship.

“Bye!” You waved.

You watched the Milano leave into the sky with a smile on your face, already excited for their next visit.

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