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fastandcarlos · 5 months ago

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Late Night Drives : ̗̀➛ Logan Sargeant

summary: with logan home, you decide to head off on an adventure, allowing the man behind the wheel to lead the way

A smile graces Logan’s face as you make yourself comfortable in the seat beside him, a blanket draped over your body. Despite you insisting that you were warm enough, he still watched you closely, wanting to be absolutely certain that the chill in their air wasn’t disturbing you too much.

A faint chuckle escaped as Logan began to rev the engine of his car, it was nothing compared to the engines that Logan started on his day job, but he still liked to impress you. He could feel your eyes watching him closely, leaning across and pressing a kiss against the side of your head as you rested your head further into the headrest of Logan’s car, admiring the view of him concentrating on what was ahead.

Around your car the sun was starting to set, the stunning shade of orange set the scene for you both perfectly. After a lazy day, you both craved the feeling of fresh air hitting against your body, and so when Logan suggested the two of you head out for a drive for a while, you found yourself unable to say no. Happy to play passenger princess whilst Logan took control of the wheel.

He wasn’t expecting you to agree to his offer, you were sleepy, surprising really when you hadn’t done much, but Logan somehow seemed to sweet talk you. Undeniably, you would agree to do anything as long as it meant that you got to enjoy Logan’s company for a little while longer, unable to bring yourself to separate from him for even a second.

“It’s not fair how one person can look so effortlessly beautiful,” Logan complimented, turning his eyes back to the road ahead of you.

“Don’t start being all adorable now,” you laughed, jabbing your fingertip against his arm, “you’ve been mean to me all day.”

A sigh came from Logan, “are you still bitter about the pancakes?”

“You ate my pancakes, that’s an unforgivable act.”

Logan could only shake his head at your dramatics, whilst he knew you were only joking, admittedly he did feel slightly guilty for stealing your food, and mostly getting a huge satisfaction from enjoying the meal he found on the counter top of the kitchen too.

“In my defence, you just left them there, so I just assumed they were for me.”

“Oh, I see…it’s my fault?! Well, forgive me for leaving my food unattended whilst I go to the toilet,” you cried out, rolling your eyes back at Logan. He was about to put his foot down on the accelerator, only to stop himself.

“Exactly,” Logan plays along, looking at you as if it’s obvious that this has been your fault all along. “You should know by now that when you live with me, the second there’s food around, it’s mine,” he added, chuckling away to himself, feeling your eyes burning a hole against the side of your head.

Once his laughter subsided, Logan reached across and rested his hand against the top of your thigh, squeezing it gently. You were as bad as each other, but you could never stay at mad at him, how could you when he smiled so beautifully across at you?

Together you were well known for your bickering, squabbling like children, but always making up. The feeling of Logan kissing against your cheek was enough for you to know that he was just messing with you, and that he was ready to get going and head off to wherever it was that you wanted to go.

You both put your seatbelts on, Logan winding the window down slightly to let in some fresh air, your fingers pressing play on the car radio before setting off down the road.

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

You weren’t quite sure how long the two of you had been travelling for, but when the car finally came to a stop, a smile crept onto your face as you looked out to realise that Logan had stopped you both by the beach.

“It’s the second-best view I’ve had today,” Logan spoke as he watched the way your eyes narrowed, taking in the beautiful sight before you. Your head shook as you listened to him, glancing in his direction momentarily before taking in the beauty of the beach again.

You take a moment to shuffle in your seat, waking your body back up again. Your hand comes out from underneath the blanket, reaching across and taking Logan’s hand off of the steering wheel and intertwining it in with your own.

His hand is cold, thanks to the cool breeze that came through the window. Summer hadn’t quite arrived yet, but that didn’t stop him from wearing a thin shirt, knowing you always loved to admire the way the material gripped to the muscles on his body.

It was all comfortable between you, you wore smiles, relaxed, and made the most of being able to spend time together.

With the sunset behind you, Logan’s breath was taken away by the view beside him. His heart was racing, his mind still wondering how he ever managed to get so lucky, even after so many years together.

Logan was lost for a moment, until he met your eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you whispered back to him, leaning across and peppering a kiss against his slightly chapped lips.

Outside of your car, the beach was still pretty busy. There were young families running around, dogs chasing anything they could find in the sand, waves smacking against the shoreline. Down by the water you could see a small gap in the sand, there was a dip where someone else must have been sat previously, a gap that looked like it was the perfect size for you and Logan to fit in and spend a bit of time together, being able to shut yourselves off completely from the rest of the world, even just for a few moments.

And as you pondered, it quickly turned out that you were not the only one to do so.

“What are you thinking pretty girl?” Logan asked, intrigued by what had made you smile.

“It’s just lovely down here, isn’t it?” You calmly spoke, unable to tear your eyes away from the scene unfolding in front of you, “our lives our so busy, and yet down here everything just feels so quiet.”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Logan questioned, usually the two of you were on the same page, and he really hoped you were now too.

You were all too aware that the beach was Logan’s favourite place in the world, the spot where he could relax and forget about everything else. The positives, the negatives, the whispers that always went around the paddock, many of which seemed to revolve around him and the future of his career in formula one.

The nod of your head was all Logan needed to take the keys out of the ignition and climb out of the car, running around the outside of the vehicle.

“Here,” he proudly grinned as he opened up your car door and extended his hand out for you to take a hold of.

“Such a gent,” you teased, making sure that you still had the blanket wrapped around you and your phone securely in your jean pocket before letting Logan help you out of the car. It took a moment for you to wake your legs up, but Logan was happy to stand beside you and give you all the time that you needed.

Once your feet were on the ground, his arm moved to wrap around your waist. “Are you going to be warm enough just taking that down there?”

You hum in reply to Logan, “I’m more concerned about you; will you be warm enough just in that shirt?”

“Of course,” he insisted, “and if I get cold then that just gives me more of a reason to cuddle into you, doesn’t it?”

You couldn’t help but laugh as Logan tickled against your waist, knowing that you would never argue with him. After locking up the car and making sure that the two of you had everything that you’d need, intertwined together you made your way down to the beach, finding the perfect spot.

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

Time ran away from you both as you settled in the dip that you had pointed out to Logan earlier. By now the sun was almost set, the sky was turning darker and darker, but that didn’t seem to bother either of you in the slightest.

The sound of the waves crashing filled those momentary pauses of conversation between you both, providing the perfect backdrop to your evening.

There was plenty going on around you both, but neither of you were paying any attention to it at all. All you wanted was Logan. All Logan wanted was you. It was as if there was an imaginary barrier wrapped around you both, keeping everyone and everything else away.

Your head was resting against Logan’s chest, propped up to try and avoid getting too many grains of sand tangled in your locks. Logan’s hands were all over your body, one on your waist to keep you close by, the other against the top of your head so that Logan could twirl a few strands of your hair around his fingertips whenever he found himself beginning to slip into a bit of a daydream.

“Are you warm enough?” Logan asked as his fingertips brushed against the goosebumps that were beginning to form on your skin. “We can go home if you want, I don’t want you to catch a cold or anything baby.”

“I’m good,” you whispered, trying your best to reassure Logan and stop him from worrying. You try your best to sound convincing, but with the sun now hidden, the coolness of the breeze is beginning to trouble you.

“I can tell when you’re lying,” Logan sniggered, able to read you like a book, arguably knowing you better than you knew yourself.

“Honestly, I’m happy here for a while,” you once again assured.

Logan hummed, although he was far from convinced, running his hand along your arm to try and generate some warmth. “We’ll stay here for a few more minutes, I’ve got something else in mind to finish our evening off, which I know you’ll love.”

“What’s that?” You quizzed, propping yourself up with a hand against Logan’s chest. He shook his head though, refusing to share what his plans were with you.

You tried your best to get his plans out of Logan. Your hands tickled against his tummy, fingers poked against his cheek and his ears, lips pressed several times against his cheeks and his lips, but he still remained silent. It was torment for you not being able to know exactly what was happening next for you both, but for Logan, it brought him a great deal of satisfaction to know that he was irritating you.

“You’ll love it,” he repeated, feeling you press yet another kiss along his jawline. “Do you really think I would ever organise for us to do something you dislike?” He then asked, however with Logan, you never managed to quite know what he had up his sleeve.

Feeling your eyes on him brought another laugh from Logan, especially as you doubted him.

“I’m not as horrible as you think you think I am I’ll have you know.”

“Do you remember the time-“ you began to say, only for Logan to cut you off by tickling your sides. The squeal that escaped from you earnt you a couple of glares from other people around you, but you didn’t care as you tried your hardest to push Logan’s hands off of you before you lost all control.

Unfortunately for you, Logan was far stronger than you, keeping his hands tight on your body as your legs kicked out against him, enjoying having you exactly where he wanted you.

Eventually, after pleading what felt like hundreds of times, Logan finally let you go.

“Come on, let’s get out of here before someone files a noise complaint against us,” Logan suggested, slipping his hand into yours and pulling you up from the comfort of the sand wrapped around your body.

You made sure to keep your blanket nice and tight around your frame as you allowed Logan to lead you back up the sand and towards the car. It was beginning to get quieter as people slipped away after the sun had set, giving you an easy path to the car. Like before, Logan opened up your car door for you, giving you a hand up so you could comfortably slip into the passenger seat, a seat that seemed like it had been moulded for your body given how much time you spent there these days, letting Logan drive you around.

“Are you still planning on keeping this a secret?” You quizzed as Logan impressively revved up his engine once again, nodding his head in response to you as he began to concentrate on safely getting the two of you to his next destination.

He smirked as you groaned, wishing that he wasn’t so secretive with you. “Just trust me my love, I told you that you’d love it, didn’t I?”

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

And love it you did as the two of you sat with your feet on the dashboard, a portion of chips between you both and messy burgers being held in your hands. You had sauce dripping everywhere, half of your fillings were in the footwell of the car, but neither of you cared a bit, simply humming in delight with every mouthful that you took.

You soon realised as Logan drove where he planned on taking you, the burger shack that he was only allowed to indulge in during certain weeks of the year. You promised Logan that you would never eat from there unless he was allowed to too, and with a three week break at your fingertips, he finally had permission. You were bouncing in your seat as soon as you realised where he was heading for, desperate to get your hands on the treat that you had craved for so long.

Beside you, Logan was a lot calmer, but on the inside, he was a bubbling mess just like you.

You’re so lost in your bubble of delight that you’ve almost forgotten Logan beside you. “It’s unfair how one fast food place can make food that tastes so good.”

“They’re still not as nice as the burgers you make,” Logan remarked as he grabbed a napkin, reaching across and dabbing against the corner of your mouth where a bit of sauce was beginning to dribble.

“You don’t have to pretend to be nice to me, we all know that’s not true,” you replied, refusing to let him even make the comparison.

“I think this is the perfect end to the perfect day, what do you think?” Logan quizzed, taking yet another huge bite out of his burger, closing his eyes as he savoured it.

You nodded in agreement, “we should go on some late night drives more often if this is how they’re going to end.”

A chuckle came from Logan, “just don’t tell the team that this is where we ended up.”

“Of course, our evening ended with us going home and making a delicious, nutritious chicken salad for our dinner.”

Over the years you seemed to have perfected your ability to lie, the ability to save Logan from getting into trouble with his bosses by pretending to agree with anything that he had to say.

“And obviously whilst we were at the beach you were doing some sort of workout to make sure that you’re in perfect shape for after the break.”

“I like your thinking,” Logan chuckled, admiring how well you knew what you had to do.

“See, not just a pretty face.”

No, you were far from just that in Logan’s eyes.

“Thank you for such a lovely evening babe.”

Logan simply smiled back at you, your eyes were bright with colour, and most of all he knew that your heart was full of happiness after spending your day with him.

“Don’t be silly, it should be me thanking you.”

˗ˏˋ 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ! ´ˎ˗

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moonselune · 26 days ago

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Hi! I love your writing, it brings allot of comfort and I find myself re-reading it all! 😍

Could I please request a human Tav with Gale and Halsin (either together or separately) that catches a cold while travelling and just cuteness, a little angst and fluff? Just a Tav being taken care of by them 😍

Your blog is a delight and I love coming back to it, it really does bring joy 💖 hope you have a wonderful week!

Thank you so much !! I hope you have a wonderful week too and messages like this really help keep the motivation levels up !

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Gale:

The road to Baldur’s Gate had been long and rough, and while you tried to push through the fatigue gnawing at your bones, there was no denying the creeping cold that had settled in. At first, it was little more than an irritating scratch at the back of your throat, then a mild headache you brushed off as nothing, but by the time you reached the outskirts of the next village, a full-blown cold had taken over, making you feel sluggish, your head stuffed with cotton.

You sneezed violently for what felt like the hundredth time, your whole body jolting with the force of it. Your lover, Gale, was nearby, and immediately his eyes darted towards you with concern. He’d noticed your symptoms earlier, of course—he always did. Gale was observant to the point of being overly cautious, especially when it came to your well-being.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his brow furrowing as he took a few steps closer. His tone was gentle, but there was an undercurrent of worry that he wasn’t even trying to hide.

“I’m fine, really,” you said, trying to wave him off with a smile. But even as the words left your mouth, your voice cracked, followed by another sudden sneeze. Gale sighed deeply, his hand coming to rest on your arm.

“You’re not fine, my dear. You’re sick, and you know it.” His gaze softened as he brushed a loose strand of hair from your face. “You need to rest. I don’t want you pushing yourself any further.”

“I’m not that bad,” you muttered, feeling defensive. “It’s just a cold.”

But Gale wasn’t buying it. “Even ‘just a cold’ can turn serious if you don’t take care of yourself. You should stay at camp, let me handle things.”

You crossed your arms, frowning up at him. “I can still fight, Gale. I’m not some helpless—” You were cut off by another sneeze, this one even more violent than the last, and you couldn’t help but wince as it sent a sharp pang through your chest.

Gale’s face softened even more, but there was a firm resolve behind his eyes now. “I won’t let you endanger yourself. You’re staying here today. That’s final.”

Despite your best efforts to argue, Gale’s tone left little room for debate. His worry for you was palpable, and it made your heart ache a little. Still, you weren’t the type to sit idle while your companions faced danger, and the thought of staying behind, even while feeling miserable, didn’t sit well with you.

But you let it go, for now, returning to camp as Gale suggested.

By the time the next skirmish rolled around, you had grown restless. Despite Gale’s insistence that you stay back and recover, you couldn’t stand the idea of missing out on the adventure. So, despite your scratchy throat and persistent sneezing, you grabbed your gear and followed the party at a distance, trying to stay unnoticed.

Of course, Gale noticed immediately. He always did.

“Love, what are you doing?” he asked when you caught up to them just outside the edge of the forest.

You tried to play it off, shrugging casually. “I told you, I’m fine. I don’t want to sit around doing nothing.”

But Gale’s eyes narrowed, frustration mingling with the concern etched across his face.

“You’re supposed to be resting,” he said, voice a touch sharper now. “You’re sick, and you need to stay back.”

Before you could protest further, Gale’s hands began to glow softly, arcane energy weaving between his fingers as he muttered a few words under his breath. Before you could react, you were suddenly engulfed in a swirl of magic, the world around you shifting as you were teleported back to camp.

You landed softly on your bedroll, blinking in surprise as you realized what he had done. Gale had just sent you back, and without even waiting for you to argue about it. A wave of indignation surged through you, followed quickly by a deep sulk as you pulled your blanket up around your shoulders. How dare he teleport you like that! You weren’t a child who needed to be coddled.

Besides you were just waiting for the lecture from Lae'zel on allowing 'your wizard' to use powerful magic on you and not on the battlefield.

And yet, as you sat there, pouting, your body betrayed you with another sneeze. You groaned, rubbing at your nose, frustration mounting.

It wasn’t long before Gale returned to camp, the skirmish evidently over. His shoulders were tense as he approached, but the moment his eyes fell on you, his expression softened—though there was a flicker of amusement behind the concern.

“Sulking, are we?” Gale asked, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he knelt down beside you.

You crossed your arms, looking away stubbornly. “I’m not sulking.”

“You’re pouting,” Gale said gently, reaching out to brush his hand across your cheek. “And sneezing, and coughing. And if I recall correctly, you promised you weren’t sick.”

“I’m not,” you muttered, even as your nose twitched with another sneeze. “I can handle it.”

Gale’s smile widened just a bit, but it was laced with tenderness. He reached out, taking your hand in his, his thumb gently stroking the back of it. “You don’t always have to handle everything, you know. It’s okay to let someone take care of you.”

His words broke through your defenses, and you finally let out a sigh, the tension melting away. You knew he was right. You had been stubborn, pushing yourself when you really should have rested.

“I just… I don’t want to feel useless,” you admitted softly, not meeting his eyes. “I don’t want to be a burden.”

Gale’s expression softened even more, and he lifted your hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to your knuckles.

“You could never be a burden,” he said quietly, his eyes full of warmth and love. “You are the strongest person I know, but even the strongest need time to heal. And I’m here to make sure you do.”

You looked at him, the sincerity in his voice making your heart swell. His fingers moved to brush a lock of hair away from your face, and he smiled that gentle, reassuring smile that always made you feel safe.

“Let me take care of you,” Gale said softly, his voice full of affection. “Please.”

With a final, resigned sigh, you nodded, leaning into his touch. “Alright… but only because you’re so insistent.”

Gale chuckled softly, pulling you into his arms as he wrapped the blanket more snugly around you. “Good. Now, no more sneaking off to join the battles, alright? Just rest here with me.”

You smiled, resting your head against his shoulder. “I suppose I can do that.”

And for the first time in days, you felt the tension ease from your body as Gale held you close, his warmth and love surrounding you, making you feel truly cared for.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Halsin:

The road to Baldur’s Gate stretched ahead, its path winding through dense forests and rocky terrain. The air had grown cooler as autumn settled in, its crisp bite seeping through your clothes, but you brushed off the chill as nothing more than an inconvenience. You'd felt the beginnings of a cold coming on a few days ago—scratchy throat, slight sniffles—but nothing you thought worth mentioning. After all, you were on an important journey, and the idea of staying behind to rest felt like a waste of time.

Unfortunately, your lover, Halsin, didn’t see it that way. As an elf, he was more attuned to subtle shifts in health, and your symptoms hadn’t gone unnoticed. He’d been doting on you since the first sign of a cough, worry etched into his brow every time he looked at you. It seemed that no matter how much you assured him you were fine, Halsin couldn’t shake his concern.

“Humans do not have the same resilience as elves,” he had reminded you, gently but firmly. “Your body needs rest and care, and I will see to it.”

At first, you found his attentiveness endearing. He always kept an extra blanket for you at night, made sure you had the warmest spot by the fire, and even brewed some herbal tea to ease your throat. But over the past few days, his doting had turned into something more… smothering. He hovered around you, always checking on you, insisting you rest when you wanted to help out with camp duties or join the others on patrol. It was sweet, but you were starting to feel like you were suffocating under his care.

Today, the group had been caught off guard by an ambush—nothing unusual on the dangerous road to Baldur’s Gate, but the sudden attack led to chaos, forcing everyone into battle positions. Despite your cold, you fought alongside your companions, determined not to be seen as fragile or incapable. Halsin had given you a worried look before the fight began, but he didn’t have time to protest as the enemy closed in.

In the thick of the battle, you found yourself backing toward the edge of a river, fighting off an attacker with all your strength. The cold air stung your lungs with every breath, and your body felt heavier than usual, but you pressed on, swinging your weapon to parry a blow. Just as you thought you had the upper hand, your foot slipped on the damp grass, and you tumbled backward—straight into the freezing river.

The shock of the cold water hit you like a hammer. It soaked through your clothes in an instant, chilling you to the bone as the current tried to sweep you downstream. For a moment, you gasped, disoriented, your body slow to react as you struggled to swim back to the shore.

Before you could even find your bearings, a pair of strong hands yanked you out of the water, hauling you onto the bank with ease. It was Halsin, his face a mixture of panic and determination as he pulled you into his arms, cradling you close to his chest.

“Halsin, I—” you tried to speak, but your teeth were chattering too hard.

“You’re freezing,” he growled, his deep voice rough with worry. Without another word, he lifted you as though you weighed nothing, carrying you away from the battlefield.

“Lae’zel! Take command!” Halsin called over his shoulder, his gaze never leaving you. Lae’zel, in the middle of fending off a foe, snapped her head in his direction.

“The battle isn’t over!” she barked, her eyes narrowing in frustration.

But Halsin didn’t falter.

“She is my priority,” he said, his voice firm, brooking no argument. “I will not risk her health.”

You wanted to protest, to tell him that you were fine, but the truth was the cold water had sapped your strength more than you cared to admit. Your body felt sluggish, and you could feel the deep chill settling into your bones. As much as you wanted to argue, Halsin’s warmth and the steady beat of his heart were oddly comforting, and you found yourself leaning into his embrace as he carried you back to camp.

When you arrived, Halsin wasted no time. He set you down gently by the fire, his brow furrowed as he grabbed blankets, piling them over you with an almost frantic determination. The fire crackled, its heat seeping into your chilled skin, but Halsin wasn’t satisfied with that alone. He knelt beside you, his hands cupping your face, his eyes searching yours for any sign of distress.

“I should have made you stay at camp,” he murmured, his voice low and laced with guilt. “I knew this journey was taking a toll on you, and yet I let you fight.”

“Halsin, really, I’m fine,” you croaked out, though your voice betrayed you with a shiver. But Halsin wasn’t convinced.

“You’re cold and drenched, and humans—” He cut himself off, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter. You need to rest now.”

With that, he moved away from you, but only briefly. You watched as he took a deep breath, and with a shimmer of magic, he shifted into his bear form. The enormous creature padded over to you, its massive body radiating warmth. Gently, he nudged you, urging you to lean against him, and though you felt a bit ridiculous at first, you couldn’t deny how comforting his warmth was.

You settled against his side, your head resting on his thick fur, and immediately felt the tension in your body begin to melt away. His bear form was like a living furnace, enveloping you in a cocoon of warmth that made the fire seem like nothing more than a flicker.

As you relaxed against him, you heard the soft rumble of his breathing, steady and soothing. You knew Halsin had been fretting over you, and though you didn’t want to admit it, his smothering care wasn’t entirely unwelcome. It was comforting to know how deeply he cared for you, how fiercely he wanted to protect you, even when you insisted you didn’t need it.

“Maybe you’re right,” you mumbled sleepily, your head growing heavy against his warm fur. “I do need to rest.”

A soft rumble of approval came from Halsin’s bear form, and as you drifted off to sleep, wrapped in blankets and his protective embrace, you couldn’t help but smile. Maybe being smothered by him wasn’t so bad after all.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Omfg this was so cute I absolutely adored writing this and there will definintely be a continuation with the other characters !! Hope you guys enjoyed this ! - Seluney xox

If you want to support me in other ways | Help keep this moonmaiden caffeinated x

#bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 tav #gale dekarios x reader #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #bg3 gale #gale x tav #tav #gale dekarios x tav #gale x reader #halsin x reader #bg3 halsin #halsin bg3 #halsin #halsin x tav #halsin the druid

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shakespeareanwannabe · 3 months ago

Text

As You Wish, Chapter 17

Summary: When arriving at Camp Silver Star, Abby Floyd was anticipating a summer of adventure with an ocean separating her from the three people she loved most: her mom, her Uncle Bob and her Aunt Natasha. But after a run in with Charlie Seresin, an extremely familiar looking and irritating camper in a different cabin, her summer plans take a turn that neither girl ever could have expected.

Trigger Warnings: reader's children are described as being blond with green eyes because genetics are wild and Jake's genes are strong, reader is canonically Bob's sister (but biological relation is never discussed), reader goes by Buttercup and is tattooed, angst (so much angst I made myself cry), panic attack, drinking, sadness, reference to divorce, kids breaking your heart, references to babies, swearing, references to the military, fighting and marital strife, PPD, references to sex (but nothing explicit)

Seresin Residence, Miramar, 12 years ago

Jake sighed as he pulled his truck into the driveway of the little beach bungalow he had scrimped and saved to buy for his family. Normally, he was excited to get home after a long day of training, but lately? Lately, it seemed like all they did was fight. Some days, it was him fighting and Buttercup sitting there, taking it. Others, it was all out warfare, each of them screaming at each other. And after the fight they had had that morning, Jake wasn’t too pleased to be home.

The fight had worn on him all day. He had been absolute shit in the cockpit because of it, and he’d already had a verbal dressing down by just about everyone. Cyclone and Warlock had ripped into him pretty good. Rooster and Phoenix had taken pleasure in seeing him knocked down a peg or five. Maverick had only shaken his head at him in disappointment, and that had probably hurt the most.

With a groan, Jake got out of his truck and grabbed his duffle, heading to the front door. Three months ago, he would have kicked his boots off with a playful, “Honey, I’m home!” before racing to snuggle his daughters, pecking his wife on the lips as he went. But not today. Today, he toed his boots off and tossed his duffle into the laundry room.

It was quiet. Too quiet. Maybe they were all asleep. He wouldn’t be mad about it if they were. Maybe if Buttercup got some quality sleep, she’d be in a better mood.

Jake sighed and flipped on the light in the living room, startled when he spotted Buttercup sitting in her preferred armchair.

“Hey,” he drawled. “You surprised me. I thought you were asleep. Where are the girls?”

“Asleep,” she murmured, eyes tracking him as he grabbed a beer from the kitchen.

“Good. They eat okay today?”

“Charlie doesn’t like not breastfeeding, but she’s getting used to it. Abby’s still not eating enough.”

Jake ignored her cold, indifferent tone. “She’ll get there.” He flopped onto the couch and reached for the remote.

“Jake…”

“Buttercup, it’s been a long day,” he groaned. “I really don’t want to fight tonight. The girls are asleep. Go have a bath or something, let me watch TV, and I’ll order us a pizza for dinner. Okay?”

“So, that’s it then?” Finally, her voice had a touch of a bite to it. “No comment, no nothing from you? You said no and that’s that? Your word is law?”

Jake groaned and let his hand flop back onto the sofa. “I don’t know what else you expected me to say. I’m part of the U.S. Navy. Meaning I have to be in the United States. I can’t move to England just because you got a job interview for a publishing job. There are dozens of publishers that are stateside. Why not go for one of them? I’m sure they’d let you work remotely. I don’t see why you want to move to a different continent.”

“They’re the only ones who have offered to take a look at my writing on top of my publishing responsibilities,” she hissed. “Which you would know if you paid any attention to me.”

“Okay, so you can do your whole writing thing from anywhere, can’t you? Skip the whole publisher thing and focus on writing! When you’re done writing or whatever, you can send it to a publisher! You’d at least get to stay with me that way!”

“How am I supposed to focus on my writing, Jake? I barely get a chance to breathe, let alone sit down at a computer and write!” Buttercup’s voice was weak and desperate, and grating on Jake’s nerves. He hated it when she sounded like that, and she’d been sounding like it more and more. He would’ve done anything to make it better, but he was too tired to try. “You’re not around during the day, so you don’t know what its like! One of them always needs me, and Charlie is fussy, and Abby’s not eating enough, and I can barely breathe! And you want me to what? Follow you around from base to base, taking care of our daughters on my own while you’re on deployment after deployment?”

“That is what you signed up for when you married me!” Jake shouted, his frustration and exhaustion finally bubbling over. “I thought you would’ve known that based on how often your brother gets to go home! This is what it means to be in a military family! This is what you signed up for!”

“I signed up for you!” she shouted. “I signed up for a man who loves me, who is home to share the load with me! Not a man who has his head shoved so far up Uncle Sam’s ass that he can’t see the sun!”

“Don’t you dare!” Jake stood. “Everything I do is for the safety of this country and for you and our daughters. Don’t you want our girls to grow up in a country that is safe?”

“I would rather our daughters grow up knowing their father! They barely see you anymore! And it’s only going to get worse as they get older!”

“I’ll be promoted by the time that they’re older! That means less time deployed!”

Buttercup was shaking her head, shrinking back in her seat. “You’ll never give up flying, Jake. You wouldn’t take a promotion that meant you were grounded. It’s not who you are.” Buttercup’s voice shook. “Just like sitting at home, waiting for my husband to come back while I take care of our home and children isn’t who I am. I need more.”

Jake scoffed, red creeping into the edges of his vision. He felt like he was running on autopilot, unable to stop himself or control his anger. “So, what? We’re not enough for you?”

“Don’t do that!” Buttercup snapped. “Our family is everything to me, but I need more! I need something outside of just being a mom and your wife!”

“Okay, so London is that then? Will London be enough for you?” Jake was wrangling every ounce of his strength to pull himself back, to not do this. They were both tired, both stressed. She hadn’t been herself since the babies were born, and it didn’t help that he had been deployed when they had sworn to him that he would be grounded for his first few months of fatherhood. If they could just get on the same page again, everything would be okay. But that would only happen if he could get Hangman to take a backseat and let Jake handle this.

Buttercup’s eyes flooded at his mocking tone. “Fuck you, Jake.”

Loud cries echoed through the house and Jake huffed before heading down the hall. “Go take a bath, Buttercup. I’ll take care of the girls.”

In the nursery, Jake pulled Charlie into his arms and sighed, rocking his red-faced baby girl in his arms. It would all be okay. The first year was always going to be the hardest. If they could make it through that, they would be stronger than ever.

It didn’t hit Jake that it was too late until a few days later, when he came home to find a teary-eyed Buttercup standing in the kitchen, handing him a pile of divorce papers.

Seresin Ranch, Clifton, Texas, Now

Early morning sunshine danced across her eyelids, and she tried to bury her face in the pillow beside her. It was way too freaking early to be conscious after the night she’d had, she was bone tired, and she was sore in a deeply satisfying way. The dull ache in her muscles and the muted throbbing between her thighs were better than any soreness she had ever gotten from an extended workout. It was an ache that she hadn’t felt in years.

Stretching like a cat, Buttercup slowly sat up against the headboard and blinked against the sun streaming through the grey curtains, and three things hit her in quick succession.

She was not in her bedroom. Her curtains were not grey, and her window did not face east.

She was naked. Her usual t-shirt and shorts were absent as the cool cotton sheets kissed her skin.

The soreness she was feeling was accompanied by a series of hickies and bruises that decorated her body like confetti. Her neck, her chest, her breasts, her stomach, and her inner thighs were littered with the dark purple marks, leaving her feeling like a teenager the night after prom.

Buttercup felt her stomach roil as the memories from the previous night washed over her like a tidal wave. The barbecue, fighting with Jake, dancing with Jake, having 3 a.m. grilled cheese with Jake and splitting a beer with him before giving him permission to kiss her…Jake carrying her to his bedroom and making love to her sweetly and gently, then rolling her over and fucking her hard, then taking her again in the softest, tenderest way as the sun slowly began to rise.

What had she done? What had she done? This wasn’t who she was. She had never been the type of person who just fell into bed with a guy, and certainly not when that guy was her ex-husband. But then, she had always been helpless against him. Back before things had soured between them, she had been almost as good as Maverick at keeping all of the Daggers in line, but one flash of those bright green eyes and those dimples, and she was basically Jello. She had never been able to tell him ‘no’, except for once.

Buttercup pulled her legs up tight against her chest and pressed the heels of her palms into her closed eyes until she saw stars. She was so stupid. So weak. She had put in over a decade of work to make herself stronger, strong enough to withstand being alone, strong enough to be a single mother, strong enough to hold her ground against him. And yet, like a teenage girl, she caved at the sight of gleaming abs and a cocky grin, and the sound of sweet nothings he had whispered in her ear.

What would the girls think if they found out? Would they think they were getting back together? Of course they would, that had been their plan since the beginning. But a one-night stand did not a relationship make, and neither did attraction. Attraction and chemistry had never been their problem. Communication had been, and, though they had clearly gotten better at it over the past decade, it didn’t solve all the problems that still remained between them. Past hurts and past histories and words that had been said that couldn’t be taken back.

God, how she wished she could take them back. She had been sick in the head and sick in the heart when she had uttered those poisoned words to him, wanting him to feel like she did in the most toxic way. She was toxic to him, not the other way around like so many had thought would happen. Her own brother had warned her away from Jake Seresin the minute they met, cautioning her that he would ruin her life, but he hadn’t. He had given her the greatest year and a half of her life and two daughters that she wouldn’t trade for the world. She was the one who ruined him. Just like her nickname, she was a poison, and she would only destroy him more if she stuck around.

Tears began to well in her eyes, but Buttercup quickly dashed them away as she scrambled from Jake’s bed and began searching for her clothes, which she found neatly folded on the antique wingback chair in the corner of the room. Her heart ached at the sweetness of this man, who had opened his home to her for a week so they could both get quality time with their daughters, who had ended his engagement because his fiancée had been cruel to their girls. He didn’t deserve this. Maybe the old Hangman had been cocky and brash and bold, maybe Hangman had left a trail of broken hearts behind him, but her Jake didn’t deserve to have his heart broken because she was so weak and selfish. Her heart ached at the thought of leaving him, of only seeing him at events for the girls, of eventually seeing him engaged to a woman who did deserve him. But she didn’t deserve him. She wasn’t strong enough to be his reason for living once the girls graduated.

The realization had her slowly pulling her clothes on, choking back sobs and dashing her tears away. He needed more than her. He needed someone who was strong enough to hold him up while he figured out what he wanted to do with his life once the girls had moved on. He needed someone who wouldn’t panic at the very suggestion of him going back to the Navy. She needed to walk away so that he could find that person. Despite the pain lancing through her heart and the heaviness in her limbs, she had to. She wouldn’t poison him anymore. Not when she…

More tears streamed down her face as she stumbled into his ensuite and desperately tried to make herself look like less of a heartbroken mess. He would be okay and, eventually, so would she. The girls would struggle, but she would fight like hell to make sure her girls still had so much love and support from both of their parents, even if they lived on opposite sides of the globe. They wouldn’t suffer just because their mother was toxic.

A deep wash of her face and multiple splashes of cool water later, Buttercup, resolved and heartbroken, strolled out of the bedroom and made her way back to the kitchen, finding her daughters sitting at the island while Jake flipped pancakes.

“Morning, Mom!”

“Morning, Mum!”

“Hey, darlin’,” Jake followed up the sweet chorus of their daughters’ voices with a shy grin, so unlike him but still so fitting that it made the ache in her chest deepen. “Did you sleep okay?”

Buttercup fought to keep her face straight as she regarded him with as much cool indifference as she could muster. “Yes, thank you. And good thing too. We’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”

Plates clattered as Charlie set the island for breakfast. “What are we doing tomorrow?”

Buttercup fought the pain and panic rising in her throat as she looked at the smiling figures of her broken family. “A-Abby and I are going home tomorrow,” she croaked out. “Our flight leaves at 9 p.m.”

Silence fell like a heavy, suffocating fog over the kitchen. Abby had frozen in her seat, a juicy red grape dangling almost comically from her fingers halfway between the bowl and her mouth. Charlie wasn’t doing much better, a plate suspended in midair while her face flushed. And Jake? She couldn’t bring herself to look at him, to see the anger or pity or fury that was undoubtedly marring his handsome features.

It was Charlie who broke the silence first. “What?”

The question was so simple, but Buttercup had to brace herself before answering. “We promised you a week together, and it’s been a week. Our flight has always been leaving tomorrow.” She managed a weak smile at her daughters. “I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun.”

“Mum…” Buttercup’s heart nearly shattered at the broken, pleading sound of her baby’s voice. “Couldn’t we stay? Please?”

For the time being, Buttercup was winning the losing battle against the tears that were clogging her throat and flooding her eyes. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but we can’t. You start school next week and I have deadlines to meet. Uncle Bob and Auntie Nat have to go back to work too. But your dad and I have figured out a good schedule for visiting. You get more school vacation than Charlie does, so you’ll get to come here for a few breaks, and Charlie will get to come visit us when she has breaks, and then we’re going to split the summer in half, okay? I—” Buttercup’s voice cracked, and she turned her eyes skyward to prevent the tears from falling again. “I know it’s not what you want, but it’s the best we can do.”

“That’s BULLSHIT!” Charlie’s cry was loud and harsh. “That’s complete bullshit! You could both stay! Everyone should stay!”

Buttercup’s breath stuttered in her chest as she looked at her daughter, so full of pain and anger. “I know that you wish we could, sweetheart, but we can’t. I’m sorry!”

“You’re sorry?” Charlie was crying now, hot tears running down her red cheeks. “I only get two weeks with you after 12 years and now you’re leaving and you’re sorry? That’s bullshit!”

“Charlie…” Jake’s voice was a soft warning.

“What?” She whirled on her dad. “It is! She could stay here if she really wanted to! But she doesn’t! She doesn’t care. Not about you or me or anyone! If she cared, she wouldn’t have left us in the first place!”

“Charlie…” Buttercup couldn’t stand the way her voice crackled with tears. “Charlie, I—”

“I hate you!” Charlie turned on her, green eyes full of anguish. “I hate you!”

“That’s enough!” Jake didn’t yell, but his voice held that military tone that immediately silenced everyone in the kitchen, save for Charlie’s ragged breathing and Abby’s soft sniffles. “You do not get to talk to your mother that way. You can be angry all you want, but this is a joint decision between your mother and I, so if you hate her then you hate me too. And no matter how you feel about us, I know that I taught you respect. We do not lash out at other people because of the way we are feeling in this family. We talk it out, and if we can’t manage how we’re feeling then we take a beat before we have a calm conversation. So, go take a beat. Take a lap of the ranch and cool off, Charlie.” Jake’s tone was no-nonsense and left no room for argument. Chest heaving, Charlie stomped away and let the door slam behind her. Jake sighed and looked at his oldest daughter, sniffling quietly in her seat. “Why don’t you go with her, Abby?” His voice was gentler now. “I think maybe some fresh air and a walk will do you both some good.”

Not saying anything, Abby nodded meekly and shuffled out of the kitchen, the front door barely clicking shut in comparison to the slam that had rocked everyone to their very foundations.

Buttercup stood stock still in the kitchen doorway, hand wrapped around her throat as she fought the tears that were falling slowly.

“Buttercup…” She flinched violently away from Jake’s gentle hand on her elbow, and he held his hands up. “Buttercup, it’s alright. It’s all gonna be alright.”

She shook her head, clutching at her throat to get the words out. “She’s right. It’s all my fault.”

“Now, I thought I told you I didn’t want to hear any of that anymore,” Jake said, gently but with a hint of stern resolve. “Now, why don’t we sit down and talk about this?”

“There’s really nothing to talk about, Jake.” Buttercup’s sigh was bone-weary as she sank into one of the island stools. “We have to go home. Abby’s got school, Bob and Nat have work, I have deadlines that I’m already behind on and signings I promised to do months ago and they want me to do edits for a script for one of my novels…We promised them a week together, and that’s what they got.” She shrugged helplessly. “There’s nothing we can do to change that.”

“I get where you’re coming from, darlin’, I do…” Jake leaned against the island across from her. “But…it wouldn’t be too difficult to get Abby signed up for school here, and Bob and Phoenix are grown ups, they don’t need you to take them home. And you…” He sighed heavily. “You can write from anywhere, so why can’t you write here with us?”

Buttercup’s heart cracked wide open, years of heartbreak and loneliness and anger pouring out of her like hot lava. “I can’t believe you’re asking me that again! What about the life I’ve built for myself? My professional reputation? My friends? Abby’s friends? I have a life in London! I like my life in London!”

“I know that.” Jake kept his voice even and calm, even as he wanted to reach out and calm her. “I know I fucked it up the first time. I know I didn’t get it the first time, how much the job and the move and everything meant to you back then. But you’re an award-winning author now, Buttercup. You’re like…number one draft pick in the NFL. You would have dozens of publishers falling all over themselves and each other to publish your stories now. Hell, with the way technology has improved in the last decade, nothing would stop you from keeping your publisher in London and Zooming into meetings with them from here. Isn’t it at least an option?”

Everything he was saying made perfect sense. It was all logical and well thought out, and, for a moment, she could picture it. Staying in Clifton, on the ranch. Turning the guest bedroom into an office for her to write out of while staring out at the pretty scenery, waking every morning in the cradle of Jake’s arms and cuddling with him until their daughters dragged them from bed. Giving them a real shot.

But a real shot meant the possibility of real pain. Pain that she had barely healed from the first time. Pain that she had put him through. Pain that he didn’t deserve. He didn’t deserve any of it, but to protect him, she would have to hurt him.

“I can’t just give up my job, my life because of a one-night stand.” Her voice was cold, belying the white-hot pain that was shooting through her heart, her very soul.

“I thought I meant more to you than that?”

She could hear the pain in his voice and ducked her head, refusing to meet his eyes. “You do…” she whispered, so quiet that he wouldn’t be able to hear her. The words “You did” came at a louder volume. “But I worked too hard to get to where I am now, and so did you.” She gulped down air, feeling like the walls were closing in on her. “I…I finally healed from everything we put each other through, and we can’t just fall back together again because it’s easy.”

Jake scrubbed a hand over his face. He knew what she was talking about. They had put each other through a lot, and it had taken over a decade to even start to heal from that, but they had healed. Wasn’t he worth giving it another go? Weren’t the girls worth trying for? He tamped down the anger he felt growing in his gut and asked, “When have we ever been easy?”

“You know what I mean, Jake.” Her sigh was heavy, bowing her shoulders like she was carrying the weight of the world. “We’re familiar. We’ve been living in the same house for a week, and, in a moment of weakness, we let ourselves fall back into old habits. And it felt good. But we’ve been down this road before. We know what lies at the end of it.” Tears pricked her eyes again and she blinked them back. “Besides, you were just engaged to another woman. You were planning on going back to the Navy. I…I can’t be the thing you hold onto just because you’re afraid of what your life will look like in six years.”

Jake felt the anger within him rise, and he relied on every ounce of his military training to remain composed, to not let the anger seep into his voice. “I don’t think I’m the one who is afraid here. You’re running.”

“Jake—”

Despite the way she was shaking her head, hands covering her face, Jake moved around the island and gently put his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him. “I know you felt something last night. I felt it too. Just because we didn’t work out the first time, doesn’t mean we won’t work out this time. You don’t have to be afraid of what might happen either, sweetheart.” His voice was filled with so much warmth and passion that Buttercup felt the tears fall faster and harder down her cheeks. This sweet man. She had never deserved him. His hands stroked her upper arms as he continued. “You’ve done such a good job on your own. Abby is incredible and your books…” Jake shook his head in amazement. “You’re incredible. But you don’t have to be strong and do it all on your own anymore. I know you can, but you don’t have to. Let me help. Just stay and let me help.” He was begging and he knew it, but he couldn’t help the tightness in his chest that told him that he had to convince her to stay. That he couldn’t lose her again. “I know you felt it last night,” he ended in a murmur.

Buttercup buried her head in her hands and sobbed. He was saying all the right words and she could feel the warmth and kindness pouring out of him, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she would ruin it all again. “I…I can’t,” she cried. “We have to be the adults here. I can’t just leave my life behind and stay with you. Not again. We tried that once and it didn’t work, and we owe it to our girls to be better this time. We have to be better this time. For them. What we want doesn’t matter.”

Breath whooshed out of Jake’s lungs as he took her in. His Buttercup looked so small and broken, sobbing at his kitchen island. He had done that to her. He had broken his strong, independent, fiercely loyal and kind woman. No matter how badly he wanted to keep her, he couldn’t hold her back again. “This…this is really what you want?”

With doubt clogging her throat, she murmured, “It is.”

Jake’s shoulders bowed, and he grunted to clear the tingling in his throat and in the bridge of his nose. “Then…as you wish, I guess.”

Buttercup nearly ran down the path towards the dude ranch cabins. After a tense breakfast, one where no one said anything to each other, Buttercup got changed and got out of the ranch house as quickly as she possibly could. She felt like she couldn’t breathe with the weight of Jake’s disappointed gaze upon her and Charlie’s hate-filled words hanging in the air around them. Not even her sweet Abby had been able to look her in the eye, so she fled the moment it was acceptable to do so.

Now, she was marching to her brother’s cabin to talk to him and his best friend, to get some sort of reassurance that she was doing the right thing. She quickly climbed the two steps up and came up short when the door swung open, Javy emerging in his jeans, carrying his shirt from last night.

“Oh…” They both froze and stared at each other. “Hey Buttercup.”

“Hey Javy…”

“You, uh…” Javy shuffled his feet. “You good?”

“Not really,” she admitted, staring down at her toes. “Is Nat in there? Or Bob?”

“Bob spent the night in Mickey’s cabin with him and Yale. But Nat…” A shy smile pulled at Javy’s lips as he shrugged. “She’s asleep upstairs. I’ve gotta run to practice though. Can you tell her I said goodbye? And that I’ll see her for dinner tonight?”

Despite her own broken heart, Buttercup found herself smiling. “I’m glad you two were able to work it out. I’ll let her know.”

“Thanks, Buttercup.” He grinned and placed a light jab against her shoulder as he passed. “And hey? I’m sure whatever’s bugging you will work itself out in the end.”

“I don’t think so, Javy. But thanks.”

Buttercup let herself into the quaint little cabin and headed straight for the bedroom, where her friend was just waking up. Buttercup thanked whatever not-completely-evil god that was out there that her friend was wearing a t-shirt. After the morning she’d had, the last thing she wanted was to have her friend flash her by accident.

“Hey…” Natasha yawned as she stretched her arms over her head. “What’re you doin’ here? Where’s—” Natasha cut herself off, looking away from Buttercup.

“Javy had football practice. He says he’ll see you for dinner.” That was all Buttercup managed to get out before flopping onto the bed and sobbing.

“Jesus Christ, B!” Natasha scrambled up and pulled her crying friend into her lap. “What the hell?” A gentle hand ran up and down the length of Buttercup’s spine. “You’re alright, girl. C’mon.”

“J-Jake and I hooked up last night,” Buttercup blubbered, burying her face into the plaid comforter that covered her friend’s lap.

“And…was it…not good?” Try as she might, Natasha was struggling to see the problem.

“It was great!”

Both ladies were surprised at the strength of Buttercup’s sobs. It was unlike her to cry so much, but clearly, she had to exorcise some demons, and crying seemed to be the best way to get them out.

Natasha sighed and patted her friend on the back. “Then I am confused.”

“Join the fucking club…” Buttercup muttered, wiping her face on the bedspread before sitting up, her tear ducts seemingly empty. “We…we’re going home tomorrow. I can’t believe I was so stupid as to hook up with my ex-husband right before we’re going back home.”

“Not gonna lie, lady, but you were basically eye-fucking him all night. I’m not surprised that you two fell into bed together. The sexual tension was too great.” Natasha propped herself up against the oak headboard and stared at her friend. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know. Lots of couples do one last fuck fest after a breakup or divorce.”

“Is that what you and Javy were doing last night?” Buttercup bit out, no malice in her voice, only exhaustion.

Natasha bit her lip. “Actually…it was more of a ‘lets try this thing again’ than a ‘lets get this thing out of our systems’.”

Buttercup blinked her bloodshot eyes. “How are you two going to try it again when our flight leaves tomorrow?”

One of Natasha’s calloused fingers gently traced the scar that ran over her eye, something that she only did on the rare occasion that she was nervous. “That’s the thing…I’m not getting on that flight. Bob said that he could get me a refund with the airline since it’s, y’know, his airline.”

“You’re staying?” Of all the things she expected her best friend to say, it certainly wasn’t that. “What about your classes? Your friends?”

Natasha shrugged. “One of the other instructors can take over until they hire someone else. And there’s a gym in town that needs a new female personal trainer. Javy’s pretty sure they’d take me on the spot. And honestly, B? What friends? I had work friends that I only hung out with occasionally off the clock, and I had you and Bob. I lived in your home, ate your food, and hung out with you. No offence, because you know I love you, but not going back isn’t that big of a deal to me.”

Buttercup nodded as she looked at her friend. “I hate that you’re leaving me,” she mumbled, pulling Natasha into a fierce hug. “But I’m proud of you for giving him another shot. You just make sure he knows that if he hurts you, I’m only one transatlantic flight away from kicking his ass.”

“Or…you could always stay too and be just a walk down the road away from kicking his ass.” Natasha’s voice was gentle and kind, but Buttercup was already shaking her head. “Why not?”

“Because we tried, and we failed.”

“So did me and Javy,” Natasha nudged her.

“But you don’t have kids who will suffer if you try again and it still falls apart.”

“Fair point…” Natasha hummed and turned towards her. “What if it doesn’t fall apart?”

“I can’t risk it, Nat,” Buttercup murmured, tears welling in her eyes again. “I can’t hurt Abby and Charlie like that. They have to come first.”

“I get that.” Natasha reached out and squeezed her friend’s hand comfortingly. “But you have spent over a decade putting Abby first. You have been an amazing mother to that girl. Maybe it’s time to start putting yourself first instead.”

Buttercup squeezed back, snuggling down in her friend’s bed and sighing. If only it was that easy.

The next 24 hours passed in a blur of emotion. Charlie still wasn’t speaking to Buttercup, despite Jake’s private talk with her when she returned to the ranch house after her walk. Abby wasn’t faring much better, quiet but not angry the way her sister was. More…resigned. And Jake…well, Jake did what Jake always did. He walled up everything he was feeling behind thick, military issue shields and pretended. It was what he was trained to do. Compartmentalize and prioritize. His priority was making sure that his girls didn’t leave the ranch sad.

Buttercup’s eyes remained bloodshot for the rest of the day, and it broke Jake’s heart to see his girl so distraught. Part of him wanted to ask her to reconsider, to ask if her decision to leave was what was making her so miserable, but he didn’t. His Buttercup had only made one rash decision in her entire life: staying with him in Miramar. Every other decision had been meticulously thought out, including going to London to start over. He couldn’t blame her for that, and he couldn’t blame her for wanting to return to her life abroad, no matter how much it felt like it was killing him to let her go again.

So, Jake pushed it all down and tried to make it the best 24 hours he possibly could. He took his three girls on a trail ride after having a small goodbye lunch for their remaining guests. Fanboy, Yale, Payback and his family all enjoyed a small gathering despite the tense atmosphere. That atmosphere remained throughout the trail ride, though Jake had hoped it would help cool Charlie down. Dinner was similarly quiet, the five of them eating their spaghetti and meatballs in relative silence, though it seemed that both Rooster and Charlie were cheered to hear that Phoenix would be staying. Jake couldn’t help the glance he spared at Buttercup when that news was shared before Javy swept Phoenix out the door to keep their dinner reservation in town. He knew he couldn’t question why Phoenix was brave enough to stay and try to work things out, not when he knew why Buttercup was doing the brave thing by leaving. She was doing it so that the girls wouldn’t suffer from the fallout if they couldn’t keep their shit together a second time, and Jake couldn’t blame her. He would do anything to make sure Charlie was happy. Problem was that this decision didn’t seem to be making anyone happy.

Nobody got much sleep that night, the tension growing over the house like a big black storm cloud, what ifs and maybes swirling like a tornado. Day dawned without sun; the metaphorical storm having grown into a real one that had rain lashing at the windows. Breakfast was a silent affair, and Jake could barely choke down any lunch, one final meal before he had to say goodbye to his girls.

Bags were piled at the front door, waiting for the airport limo Bob had called for, complimentary because of his position with the airline. Six adults and two children stood in the doorway of the ranch house, waiting for the telltale sound of tire on gravel to signal the end. When Jake caught sight of headlights bouncing through the darkened sky, he sighed and gathered Abby into his arms.

“I love you, baby,” he murmured into her hair, and his heart broke as she clutched him tighter. “I’ll see you at Thanksgiving, okay?”

“I love you too, daddy.”

Jake opened his eyes and saw Buttercup ringing her hands as she approached Charlie, who had her arms crossed stiffly across her chest.

“I…I’m sorry, Charlie,” he heard her soft words and his chest ached for her. For both of them. His two girls were so strong and so stubborn, and they were both in so much pain. “I love you, sweet girl. I hope you remember that.” When it became clear that Charlie was not going to embrace her mother, Buttercup sighed and pressed a kiss to her hair instead. “I love you, darling.”

Buttercup turned to Rooster, who wrapped her in a tight hug. “You take care of yourself, alright, Buttercup?” he gravelled.

“I will. You take care of them for me, okay?”

“You know I will.”

A similar exchange happened with Javy, though Jake was sure that it included some sort of threat about treating Phoenix well, based on the slight grimace on Javy’s face as Buttercup turned and hugged her friend.

It was at that point that the car pulled up to the front door and Jake forced himself to release his daughter.

“Go say goodbye to everyone while I take your bags out,” he whispered to her, trying his best not to crumble at her tear-stained face.

She nodded and ran over to Phoenix, almost knocking her over. “I love you, Auntie Nat.”

“I love you too, kid.”

She squeezed Rooster next, the two of them having a whispered conversation as Jake passed, taking the bags out to the limo. He didn’t care that his white t-shirt was becoming see-through. He didn’t much care for anything at the moment. He was completely numb, just like he had been when he watched Buttercup and Abby walk out his front door the first time. He took his time loading the bags into the trunk before heading back into the house, feeling like he was walking to his execution.

When he stepped into the foyer, his eyes went straight to Abby and Charlie, embracing by the stairs. He sighed and turned to Bob, shaking his ex-brother-in-law’s hand before turning to Buttercup, who was watching her daughters with a sad sort of smile.

A gentle hand on her shoulder pulled her attention to him right as he pulled her into a hug. She folded into him the same way she always had, like she belonged there. Jake told himself that her trembling was because he was soaked to the bone, and if he felt moisture soaking into the front of his shirt, he told himself that was just the rain too.

She pulled away a few moments later, surreptitiously wiping at her eyes as she murmured, “It’s time to go, Abby.” She met his eyes for a fleeting second. “Thank you, Jake.”

“As you wish, sweetheart,” he murmured and escorted them onto the covered porch, where he gave Abby one more hug before pulling Charlie into his arms as they watched Bob, Buttercup and Abby make a run for the limo.

Bob held the door open as Abby slid in. Buttercup glanced over her shoulder at Jake and Charlie, standing like statues on the porch. She waved a sad goodbye before sliding in beside her daughter. Bob gave him an understanding nod before joining them and slamming the door shut. The limo roared to life and started down the dirt drive, rain and wind whipping at the windshield as they went. Abby and Buttercup huddled together on the leather seats as Bob gave instructions to the driver, and then they were silent.

Jake’s chest heaved as he watched them go, watched two-thirds of his heart walk away from him again.

“Wait!” Charlie cried, throwing off his hold and taking off down the wet and muddy driveway. “Mom, wait!” Jake lunged after her, grabbing her up in a hug as the limo disappeared between the trees, the falling rain too loud for them to hear her pleas.

Tags List: @jessicab1991

@waltermis

@buckysteveloki-me

@allepaula

@yuckosworld

@bradshawssugarbaby

@ahopelessromanticwritersworld

@kim-stark

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#glen powell #jake seresin x reader #as you wish fic #jake seresin #top gun maverick #parent trap au #top gun fanfiction #jake hangman seresin #jake hangman fic

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mysticfalls01 · 1 year ago

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The Transfer

(Williamson!reader)

The Wonder Twins Universe

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Saying goodbye to everyone at Meadow Park has been the hardest thing you’ve ever done. While walking around the place for the last minutes as an Arsenal player you can’t help but to remember about the first time you got your yellow card all because of Katie McCard, the memories of the North London derby games, the memories of Kim getting mad because of your pranks and finally the memory of the moment when you and Leah made your debut for the senior team.

It was 4 pm when you got a notification.

¡BREAKING NEWS! After being an important part of England’s winning Euros team y/n Willamson is joining her fellow lionesses Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh to FC Barcelona!

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

It’s been two hours since Arsenal communicated to world about your transfer and you couldn’t be happier. Finally it was happening, you were going to play for your dream club FC Barcelona. You were going to miss your friends, the coaching staff and your twin but you couldn’t wait to start your new adventure.

You will always be grateful to Arsenal for helping you to be the player and the person that you are today but more importantly you will forever be grateful to them for giving your twin her home, her family and for helping her to fulfill her dreams.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

“y/n do you have everything? Your passport, your ticket, your charger?! Here take this, it’s a pen you’ll never know if you need one” Leah asked you with a frantic voice while giving you the pen

“Don’t worry if she needs anything we will help her, everything is under control Lee” Keira said while trying to calm down her best friend

“Lucy is going to pick us up at the airport, everything has been planned Lee”

From the moment that you guys woke up Leah had been running everywhere making sure that everything was perfect. She took you to the airport 3 hours before your flight to Barcelona.

Lucy had closed her transfer to Barcelona before you and Keira so she had been already in the city for two weeks, preparing everything for your and her girlfriend’s arrival.

You were going to be Wonze’s third wheel for a couple of days until the club gave you the keys to your new apartment and you wouldn’t be lying if you said that it gave you comfort staying your first days at Barcelona with some familiar faces. Moving to a new city was scary but fulfilling your dream was worth it.

“Lee I have everything I need, please don’t worry. Everything will turn out perfect” You said while hugging your sister.

“I know, it’s the first time that we will be living separately. I’m scared to live alone but I’m happy for you sis. Your talent deserves to be recognized ” Leah whispered to your ear as if she didn’t wanted her best friend to hear

You separated yourself from your sister, linked your pinky fingers and said “Remember Lee wherever we are we will always be the wonder twins”

“The wonder twins forever”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Noise there was noise everywhere but it was expected as it was an airport.

“y/n do you have all your luggage? Lucy is outside waiting for us” Keira told you as you picked up your luggage.

“Yep, everything is here Kei”

With everything in your hands you guys started walking towards the exit where Lucy was waiting. You guys looked around until you heard a spanish sentence said by an English accent.

“¡Bienvenidas a Barcelona chicas!”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Two days later you were dressed in a suit as it was the day when you were going to sign your new contract, take photos with your new kit and when you were going to meet your new teammates.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

You couldn’t believe it you had already meet Jonatan, signed your contract and you were walking towards the locker room to change into a Barcelona’s kit

As soon as you entered the locker room you heard the unmistakable voice of Lucy Bronze.

“y/n I’m so glad that you joined us! Playing against you is a headache, I’m lucky that we are part of the same national team and now part of the same club ”

“Everyone this is the y/n Williamson. 1/2 of the wonder twins”

After that a blond girl with tattoos, who eventually would become your partner in crime, came over you.

“Encantada de conocerte y/n soy Mapi y esta es mi novia Ingrid! I have to admit that the game that you did against us during the Euros and that pass to Stanway for the goal were magnificent !” Mapi told you while Ingrid waved at you.

Mapi took you around the locker room to meet each one of the girls. At the end she took you to your new cubby.

“And here is your cubby, number 12. Between la capitana who isn’t here because she is in rehab and Cata one of our goal keepers!”

(Let’s imagine that Patri’s number is 17)

Mapi and the team left the locker room as they had training, you would join them tomorrow but today you had to take media photos.

After you changed of clothes you took a moment and looked around. You finally made it, you were officially part of your dream team, you were lost in your thoughts taking everything in until a voice interrupted you.

“You look really great with our blaugrana kit. Welcome to the team y/n! I can’t wait to play with you”

You turned around and saw the most beautiful brown eyes that you had ever seen, the Balon d’or winner and your new captain. The one and only Alexia Putellas.

“Hola y/n. I’m the team’s captain Alexia, if you need anything please just tell me y/n!”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

I just wanted to say thak you to everyone! It was my first story and I did not know what to expect when it got published.

I never imagined to recieve such a positive feedback from everyone! By popular demmand is why Barca was chosen as the new team.

If you guys have any ideas don't be shy and share them. Part 3 might take some days but I plan to continue writing for the wonder twins universe.

#woso imagine #woso x reader #leah williamson x reader #leah williamson imagine #barcelona femeni x reader #woso fanfics #wonder twins universe #alexia putellas imagine #wonze #mapi leon #arsenal x reader #woso community

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miraculouslbcnreactions · 11 days ago

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How to Use Absurdist Humor

I will often excuse away the “worst” of Marinette’s behavior with a very dismissive, “It’s an obvious joke, so there’s no point taking this as a serious character beat. Let’s not waste our time here.”

While I stand by that statement, I can see why some people struggle with this approach. Miraculous has made the unfortunate choice to tie the humor to parts of the narrative that have actual meaning to the audience. This undercuts the power of the humor, making it hard for some people to separate the humor from the actual character beats, so let’s step back and look at a show that did this right to show what I mean.

That’s right, folks, it’s time for more gushing about Kim Possible!

For today’s case study, we'll start with episode 17 of season one: The Twin Factor. In this episode, Kim is stuck babysitting her little brothers while on a mission to stop her arch nemesis. You may be thinking that Kim's "flaw" in this episode is the fact that she brings two 10-year-olds on a dangerous mission.

You would be wrong.

This is the lead-in to Kim bringing the twins along:

Kim: Er, speaking of forgetting, I totally spaced on the baby-sitting. Mrs. Dr. Possible: Kimmy, you made a commitment. Kim: Two commitments, actually. I'm suppose to go on a mission today. Mr. Dr. Possible: You'll just have to take the boys. Kim: Mom, can you please tell Dad that's a bad idea? Mrs. Dr. Possible: Oh, Kimmy. I'm sure Jim and Tim would love to visit a secret lab with you.

This is how you do absurdist humor. Is this technically horrible parenting? Yes, but there is no way that anyone is taking this seriously. It’s just so over the top that anyone trying to criticize the Possible’s behavior comes across as completely missing the point.

The other important factor is that Kim’s parents are played as genuinely loving and supportive parents, just in a really absurd way. This is a very natural bit of loving family dialogue about a totally ridiculous version of a normal family conflict. None of these three characters show off flaws that we expect to see address here save for their complete lack of concern about Kim’s life-risking adventures.

If Kim’s parents were shown to be genuinely neglectful or if Kim’s adventures were played more seriously, then this humor wouldn’t work anywhere near as well as it does. It would still be an obvious joke, but it would stumble the landing if you knew that the episode would go on to see Jim and Tim die. (They don’t, btw. The absurdist humor carries on, I’m just giving an extreme example of a plot beat that would kill – or at least weaken – this humor.)

Another example of Kim Possible doing absurdist humor right comes from the next episode in season one: Animal Attraction. In this episode, Kim is up against Senior Senior Senior, an eccentric billionaire who pursues villainy as a hobby, leading to exchanges like this one between him and his son:

Jr.: Did we not leave Kim Possible on a conveyor belt to her doom? Sr.: Yes. A proper villain always leaves his foe when he's about to expire. Jr.: Why? Sr.: Well, it would be bad form just to lull about, waiting for it. Jr.: Why? Sr.: Tradition!

This episode has a lot of moments like this. Moments where Jr asks why they don't do the obvious, more easy/effective thing and his father blows him off because that's not how villains do things! It's totally illogical logic and it's great. I love it! Perfect example of absurdist villains and a great way to keep the show from getting too serious. The writers never wanted you to feel like Kim was in over her head.

If you look at these two examples and compare them to Miraculous, you'll notice a big difference. While Miraculous does occasionally pull off good absurdist humor, a lot of the absurdist humor is more questionable because it's tied to the show's central conflicts.

As an example, let's talk about Marinette's inability to confess to Adrien and all the nonsense tied to that. Her many failures and attempts to know him better are clearly jokes, but they have this serious edge because the show has not set up the love square as nothing more than a source of humor. This is our end game couple. The audience expects to see their romance developed. The longer the show goes on without doing that and the more absurd Marinette's attempts get, the less the comedy works.

Another good example is Lila's lies. There is a solid argument to be made that the writers are trying to be funny with Lila's extremely obvious lies, but it doesn't work because the lies are a source of serious conflict. Lila is working with the villain! She gets Marinette expelled! We want to see her outed! Every obvious lie she tells just grates on our nerves because this is not the time for jokes!

To be fair, you can use absurdist humor in more serious shows. Another of my personal favorites is The Good Place, which relies heavily on absurdist humor, but has a very serious and heartfelt overall plot. The humor works there because the show knew when to use the humor and when to be serious and also because The Good Place is not a formula show. It's a serialized show. One big story told in 20-minute chunks. This meant that the humor had more room to breath and could be more closely tied to serious conflicts. When every story has to stand alone and be finished in 20-minutes, that blending rarely ever works. You're trying to do too much.

Kim Possible's writers knew this, too. The two tie-in movies (Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time and So the Drama) are still comedies, but they both have far more serious tones because they had the time to do that. While the episodes run about 20 minutes, both movies run a little over and hour which meant they could be more serious than in a standard episode.

So why did I write all that up? Because I was watching Kim Possible and thinking about how much better the humor generally was and I suddenly realized how easy it would be to be confused by Miraculous' humor if you didn't have this kind of background. I've seen enough absurdist humor to identify it with ease and even I struggle with Miraculous at times. Like I'm still not sure if Lila's lies are supposed to be a joke or not.

If you're new to absurdist humor or struggle to interpret less overt humor? Then I can see how you'd take Miraculous way more seriously than the writers intended because a lot of the absurdist humor simply isn't absurd enough. That doesn't change the fact that it's humor and I'm still going to treat it as such, but I can see why it goes right over some people's heads and leads to complaints like, "Marinette has his schedule for the next three years!!!" That was a joke, but I get why you're missing it.

#ml writing critical #ml writing salt #kim possible #adrien deserves better #marinette deserves better #writing advice #This was mostly an excuse for me to appreciate how well written KP's humor was #But I figured we'd take a writing lesson angle with it since I get comments about this stuff from time and time #And I don't know what to say because I don't know how to respond if you are treating bad jokes as serious character flaws #Adrien and Marinette have real flaws too it's just that people are so overly focused on the bad jokes that I just *sigh*

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perfectlyoongi · 3 months ago

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LONG-DISTANCE!TAEHYUNG who didn’t believe in long-distance relationships until he met you. how was it possible to maintain a loving relationship when kilometers separated you? how could you show love and devotion if you were separated by screens? it was impossible to love someone you had never been with. it was impossible to love someone without really knowing them. so how were people falling into this trap and deluding themselves with fake love? how co— wait. but you… you were different, weren’t you? you managed to attract Taehyung. you managed to make Taehyung question his entire sense of reality. but you weren’t there. you were in another world. but still… in a way, you. “tell me what spell you cast on me. i want to get rid of this curse and talk to you again without thinking about how much i need to be with you.”

LONG-DISTANCE!TAEHYUNG who always has a virtual date planned for you every month. Taehyung was a romantic by nature and, with you two being worlds apart, he had to find another way to express all his love and devotion to you. thank god there are several museums with online visits; thank god there were chat rooms with different games for you; thank god we lived in a time where the internet was the answer to all our prayers. once a month, Taehyung would take you to see and experience the world without leaving the comfort of your home, always guaranteeing and promising that one day all those experiences of yours would be lived in person next to him. “today we see this museum through our screens, but there will be a day when i will be able to take a photo of you next to your favorite piece of art just so you can see which of you is truly a masterpiece.”

LONG-DISTANCE!TAEHYUNG who writes down all the dreams he has about you in a notebook. Taehyung’s mind was in constant motion when he slept, taking him on complex adventures and strange expeditions. and, in so many wild dreams, it was almost a certainty that you would pay Taehyung one or two visits; and it was these adventures that Taehyung remember the most, sharing some of the happiness he had felt in the dream in real life. but the dreams were so many and quite confusing that before telling you, Taehyung needed to write down each moment of the dream in a notebook, making sure that nothing was missed and that everything was perfectly clarified. “this dream is going to be a little confusing, so pay attention. you were at the top of one of egypt’s pyramids, but instead of sand there was only water. so, i showed up there in a little hot air balloon and…”

LONG-DISTANCE!TAEHYUNG who becomes desperate with the distance between you. Taehyung swore he would start banging his head against the walls just to ease the pain he felt in his chest. why were you so far away? what cruelty did Taehyung do in a past life to be suffering immensely in this reality? would the gods be upset that Taehyung loved you more than they loved their immortality? were the stars jealous of all the memories you shared from past lives? would the universe itself be resentful because your and Taehyung’s love was purer than any of its creations? how could Taehyung live every day if you were so far away from him? he just wanted to hug you, kiss you, hold you in his arms, make you happy and make you feel loved and important. and he only wanted you. there. beside him. in this life. was this too much to ask for? “i swear to you that i’m this close to getting on a plane to go see you. i don’t care about my work and i don’t care about my friends. i just want you, i just need you. urgently.”

LONG-DISTANCE!TAEHYUNG who never says goodbye to you. it was a small habit of Taehyung’s, a small detail that always weighed on your mind: why did he never say goodbye to you when you finished talking? when you realized this little curiosity, you went to talk to Taehyung, a little interested in the possible answer he could give you. but, out of so many scenarios you created in your mind, none of them matched the reality of the facts. it was with a serious and expressionless look, completely offended by your question, that Taehyung answered you, giving a little clarity to your heart. “our story is not over yet. why should i say goodbye to it?”

LONG-DISTANCE!TAEHYUNG who offers you a stuffed bear and a bottle of his perfume. when the distance was crueler and there was a need to feel close to each other, Taehyung would ask you to spray the stuffed bear he offered you with his perfume. in a way, that idea of Taehyung managed to deceive your poor heart; when you hugged that bear with Taehyung’s scent, your heart fell into the illusion that you were next to Taehyung and, for small seconds, everything was okay. “i know i’m far away, that’s why i offer you this bear. it may not be very big, but when you spray my perfume, it becomes part of me.”

LONG-DISTANCE!TAEHYUNG who bought you a weekend in your dream city to meet you for the first time. when Taehyung showed you your flight tickets for the same day and the same city, you didn’t understand his idea; it took Taehyung to say that he would wait for you for you to understand that small gesture from him. he had remembered that city you so wanted to visit. not only that, but he also remembered the dates of your vacation. and booked a short stay in that city on your vacations. a stay with Taehyung. you were going to be together for the first time in that city that called you so much. your dream was about to begin. “just a few more weeks, my love, and then we can be infinite.”

#!BTS bouquet꒱₊˚ᰔ.#taehyung #kim taehyung #kim taehyung x reader #kim taehyung fic recs #taehyung fanfic #taehyung fanfiction #bts fanfction #taehyung fluff #taehyung x reader #taehyung oneshot #taehyung drabble #taehyung fic #taehyung x you #taehyung bts #v x reader #v bts #tae x reader #tae bts

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abowlofsourcream · 9 months ago

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⏳💫Congrats, Everyone! You got Memory of Rotting!💫⏳

You will never forget this…

…

You should come to the Favor tree after you’re done, Adventurers…

…

TW: PANIC ATTACKS, WARNING! SHARP!(DAGGER) MENTION, RESTRAINING, AND THEMES OF DISSOCIATION! Please be mindful before reading!

v Afterwards v

*Everyone is acting strange around you, like they know something you don’t…

*They probably do…

*You feel a bit off today, it would be okay if they were annoyed.

*Real sleepy too, which is weird because you definitely remember sleeping a lot the night before!

*And your stomach is killing you, but you don’t want to ask Bonnie for more snacks. That would be selfish of you.

*But that doesn’t matter anymore!

*You beat the king and now you are walking to meet The Head HouseMaiden!

*You’ll be home free!

*You reach the last room, where the Head HouseMaiden greets you…

*She tells all of you how grateful she was to them.

*Man this is great!

*…

*Why is everyone so quiet?

*She gives you time to talk to the others before she blesses you to move on!

*To go back your separate ways!

*To go back… Home…

*…

*… Huh.

*You talk with the other’s, and…

*Yep, they are totally acting weird…

*Isabeau was being extra weird, more than he usually was…

“You Okay, Isa? You’re sweating a lot…”

*Isabeau stammers at your question.

“O-oh! Y-yea! I’m all fine and good, Sif!”

*…

*You would usually find it kinda funny, but it was different.

“Okay… I guess I should talk to the Head HouseMaiden now…”

*You turn away, but.

“W-wait! Before you do that! I, uh-, need to tell you something!”

*Oh… That makes you feel weird for some reason!

“Um, Sif. Siffarooni. Siffrin! This may sound weird. It’s not bad, not anything bad! But you know now it’s the most perfect time to time!”

*You can see he is looking behind you as he says that…

*Why is he doing that?

“Um, Isa? Is this about that thing you said?”

*He looks at you confused.

“You know, the thing that you told me you would tell me after we beat the king”

*He blinks.

“I… What?” Did I tell you that?!”

*Oh? He didn’t say that? Has your daydreaming gotten that bad in the past two days?

*Stars, you’re so stupid!

“Siffrin?”

“I’m fine! I should just talk to the-”

*Isa grabs your shoulders.

*Woah!

“Isa?! What-?”

*Isabeau immediately lets go of you.

*He hasn’t touched you like that before, has he?

“Oh Change, I am so sorry! It’s just that you can’t talk to the Head HouseMaiden just… yet.”

*What in the Blinding Stars is going on?

*Why is everyone acting so weird.

“Isabeau, what is going on?! Why are you being so weird?!”

*…

*He isn’t even looking at you…

*What is he looking at?!

*You turn around to see Mirabelle and Bonnie and-

*And…

*The… Head HouseMaiden…

*…

*The things she is saying…

*You heard this before…

*About something going wrong.

*Something being broken.

*Rotting-

*…

*You start to remember things…

“Siffrin?”

*Odile walks up to the two of you.

*She tried to tell you once, didn’t she?

“Sif, what’s wrong?”

*Isabeau voice sounds so gentle… Just like that wonderful night under the stars…

*Your head feels like it’s splitting in two…

*You start to remember a lot.

*You’ve beat the King before!

*You won before, so why are you still all here?

“What is happening? Why are we here, again?”

*You remember your wish- Oh Stars!

*You remember your wish!

*Odile kneeled down to you.

“Siffrin, I am going to need you to breathe for a moment…”

*No! This can’t be it!

*Your…

*Your wish couldn’t have done this!

*You must be still asleep! Yea, that must be it!

*You just need to wake up!

*You.

*Just.

*Need.

*To.

*Wake.

*Up…

“Siffrin, are you listening to me? What is wrong?”

*…

*You feel through your pockets…

*You just need something quick, something shocking enough to make you wake up!

*You just need to find-

*Odile grabs both of your hands.

“Madame?!”

*Isabeau looks confused, not sure what you were looking for.

“Isabeau! Hold him in place while I look for his dagger!”

*No, no, no ,no!

*Isabeau quickly traps you in his arms…

*Odile searches for your dagger.

*SHE CAN’T DO THAT!

*You try your best to keep her away.

*Isabeau is keeping you in place.

“Frin?”

*Bonnie turns to the rest of them, terrified.

*The same way they looked when they were-

*You remember a sickly crunch.

*NO NO NO!

*YOU DIDN’T WANT THIS!

*THIS WASN’T YOUR WISH!

“ODILE, PLEASE! I NEED TO WAKE UP!”

*Odile grabs your dagger and throws to the side of the room!

*You try to squirm your way out of Isabeau’s arms.

*Odile grabs your face.

“SIFFRIN, YOU ARE NOT DREAMING!”

*No!

*No, you have to be!

*Your body feels like it’s trying to kill you…

“PLEASE, I CAN’T DO THIS AGAIN! I CAN’T TALK LISTEN TO HER AGAIN!”

*You never felt so helpless before…

“SIFFRIN-!”

“THIS IS WORSE THAN BEING ALONE! THIS IS WORSE THAN FORGETTING! THIS IS WORSE! THIS IS WORSE!!!”

*You see the Head HouseMaiden cradles Mirabelle’s face, crying!

*no!

*she can’t!

*Mirabelle turns to look at you.

*YOU FEEL A TUG.

*ON.

*YOUR.

*STOMACH!

<<<

*…

*You open your eyes.

*Your head is pounding…

*Your stomach hurts…

*Your whole body aches…

*You look around you.

*…

*Your… Allies are sitting around you…

*They’re watching you, worried…

*Mirabelle scooches close to you, carefully…

*Like you were dangerous…

*She is probably right.

“Siffrin… Do you… Remember what happened?”

*…

“I…”

*…

*You…

*Odile pressed her hand against your head.

“Jem’s, Siffrin you are boiling!”

*Oh…

*Isabeau stands up.

“Siffrin, let me take you to the Clock Tower… Can you walk?”

*You try to stand up…

*… You don’t get very far.

*He catches you and picks you up…

*You don’t deserve that…

“Bon Bon, take their hat for them?”

*Bonnie’s nods their head, gently picking up!

“Okay! Let’s go!”

*They all go there way to the clock tower…

*…

“M-mira?”

“…Yes, Siffrin?”

*…

“I’m sorry I screwed everything up…”

“… It’s okay, Siffrin. We’ll figure it out together…”

*…

*Together?

*…

*You hope so…

*But…

*…

*You’re not so sure how much longer you can go…

#in stars and time #isat #isat spoilers #isat au #switch a loop au #isat fanart #isat siffrin #creamie's art

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kinicheous · 2 months ago

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home | kinich

for a person of natlan, falling in love with someone from outside of the borders might be the worst curse of all.

genres/notes: angst-ish, fluff-ish, mildly suggestive, mentions of possible death (let me know if something is missing!)

“how often do i have to tell you?”

on the other side of the door, the inn is buzzing with gleeful people. you can faintly hear them cheer and talk, glasses clinking and entertainers performing. on this side though, it’s quiet, so quiet that kinich’s voice reverberates through the silence. or perhaps it’s the proximity—his words fan your skin, that’s just how close he is as he hovers above you.

“i’m from natlan. i can get revived at any time,” he says. “you’re not.” he emphasizes his statement by squeezing your intertwined fingers, pushing your hand deeper into the sheets below you. “you can’t, y/n. one mistake and it’s over.”

you’ve seen kinich worried. he trusts you enough to easily wave you off every time you go on a journey, but at times where you return with more than just a couple of wounds, you can’t blame him for getting worried nonetheless.

today is different though. he’s never seen you this battered and patched up, and you’ve never seen him this upset. not worried, but upset, on the border to irritated. you can tell in the half-lidded eyes that bore into you, and the weight of it makes your own divert away to anything and everything else in the room.

“so, what? it’s like that for every adventurer, it’s not like i’m gonna quit being one,” you mumble, genuinely meaning your response but not able to sound as confident as you’d hoped, “besides, i came home this time too, didn’t i?”

a small gasp escapes you when his other hand finds your chin, his fingers digging into your skin just enough to make you turn to face him again.

“what about next time? what about the day you don’t come home at all?” kinich mutters, leaning even closer until his forehead rests against yours. “how often do i have to remind you?”

“kinich, i—...” you try to argue back, though words blending in with the room’s silence when you feel his breath tremble against your lips; beneath all that frustration, there’s a tinge of pain ringing in his tone; a pain that echoes into your chest as well and for a brief moment, it makes you imagine what it’d be like if the roles were reversed. you can’t imagine trading your current for anything in the world but you simply can’t blame him either.

you make another attempt. this one, however, is also shut down when the gap separating you closes without as much as a single warning—the desperation in the kiss anchors you to the plane of reality, and so does the next one, and the next one. you’re slowly given fewer and fewer opportunities to breathe in a way that isn’t through sharp inhales and yet, there’s a part of you that outweighs a need so primary human. kinich parts from you for a mere second, locking your eyes during that instant, before tilting his head to the other side, and as his hand slips from your chin to gently caress your cheek, you wish time would stop,

“kinich, i’m sorry,” you try again, barely getting the words out between dazed touches. “i can’t give up my adventures, i— you know i can’t.”

and he nods.

kinich nods, so pliantly, like he didn’t try to argue with you in the first place. he doesn’t want to, and he makes this clear as he at last parts, “i know.” he slides further down, just enough to attach his lips to the spot below your ear, slowly but surely leaving a trail of kisses down your skin. “i would never take them away from you,” he says, with a genuinity in the purest sense of the word. there’s another pause and the longer it lasts, the more certain you become that there’s a mark soon to blossom where your neck meets your shoulder.

“i just need you to take better care of yourself,” kinich declares between gritted teeth. you feel a second squeeze from his hand, the thumb of his other running across the corner of your eye, and that’s when he gives in; he detaches himself from your burning skin one last time, opting to settle into the crook of your neck.

“don’t make me remind you again… please.”

you’re not entirely sure when he let his entire weight drop on top of you, or when your legs tangled together. neither are you sure exactly when your fingers started to feel like they were about to break in the grip of his own, but that doesn’t really matter. the events in the rest of the inn have greatly increased, but you don’t care a particular lot about that either.

for the moment, there are only two people flush against each other, closer than ever as if a gap of even a centimeter would mean the end of the world—maybe it would, for you, and for him because in this very moment, nothing else matters except the fact that you both exist in it.

you move around the slightest bit, enough to nuzzle your face into the messy strands of his hair. your fingers find their way to his scalp as well, and he sighs in what sounds like relief.

“i can’t promise anything,” you answer bluntly, having no intentions whatsoever on sugarcoating anything, though follow up with a reassurance, “but i’ll try. someone has to welcome you back next time you get revived after all.”

it’s muffled, but the groan kinich lets out against your skin is loud and clear nonetheless.

“you’re such a damn menace.”

#kinich #kinich imagines #genshin impact #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact fluff #genshin impact angst #genshin impact scenarios

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savagewildnerness · 17 days ago

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What does anybody want but to feel a little more free?

I don’t know what’s wrong with my mind today, but I am really struggling to wrangle my thoughts into something at all coherent, HOWEVER…

As I have been rereading The Vampire Lestat this time, I’ve been noticing, when Gabrielle is first turned that the things Gabrielle desires terrify Lestat and likewise, Lestat’s desires are alien to Gabrielle. There’s something in the differences between Nicolas and Lestat as well here and it made me think we should look into it all more and see if we can find any deeper meanings? And so I began to think - what do Lestat, Gabrielle and Nicolas desire, and how to they go about trying to make that their reality?

And to free myself from the impossibility of getting to the root of it all, I present this as a starting point and I’d love to hear your ideas!

Lestat & Gabrielle both desire freedom, but Gabrielle desires freedom from humans and society & all the restrictions of her gender, whereas Lestat desires agency, but he craves love & union & the kind of freedom Gabrielle desires terrifies him! Just as his desires feel trapping to her.

Let’s dive in deeper. Gabrielle has had to live her whole life restricted by the prison society has imposed on her due to her gender. A loveless marriage destroying her hope, eight children she couldn’t feel love (or enough love) towards taking from her her body, her self, her freedom… Reading her books, full of knowledge and possibility and everything Gabrielle can never possess due to her gender. (I maintain the reason she kept Lestat illiterate was envy - she knew Lestat was imaginative and clever and adventurous and she knew that because he was a man, books could be a pathway to actual physical escape in the end for him in a way, sadly they could only ever be an escape in her mind for her.)

When Gabrielle becomes a vampire, she seems to see her human self as dead. She refers to that Gabrielle as “she” and “her”, not as “me”. She abandons everything that being was. This new being has no connection to humans, no responsibility towards them. No interest anymore in books or society or human matters in any form. Gabrielle is now free - free from the prison of her gender and free from humans entirely. The times she gets scared when she is first turned seem to me to be when any thing threatens to trap her - she cannot fully free herself from her gender as her hair keeps re-growing and that’s a horror to her; she is afraid to be closed in and particularly hates being in any place where there are rules imposed by man. I think she is so terrified being in the church as it feels like a trap she could be caught in too? She feels no obligation towards any mortals. She’ll kill you because she wants your shirt. On the first night of her turning, she breaks into houses, steals a load of expensive clothes… and literally the same night abandons those clothes. She doesn’t think for a second about the person the clothes belonged to, nor about just discarding them instantly. She feels no responsibility to anyone she knew as a mortal. To feel responsible would be a way she was trapped.

Lestat feels utterly responsible all of the time for anyone whose life he’s ever touched. Lestat tries to frame Gabrielle’s coldness as strength, but it deeply disturbs him and is the antithesis of who he is. Gabrielle on the other hand, sort of tests Lestat out. She asks him about his feelings and actions towards others perhaps more deeply than she ever did as a human. And I think there are a few reasons why she does this. Yes, she wants to understand him, and to understand if he is different as a vampire to as a human (he’s not, at least in terms of how he thinks and feels.). Also, I am sure Gabrielle knows instantly that she wants to be alone, ultimately. And she realises very soon too that Lestat cannot be alone. And so, this awful truth of separation immediately looms over them. I don’t think Lestat realises it immediately. But Gabrielle does.

Both Gabrielle and Lestat find beauty in nature. But as a vampire, Gabrielle wishes to shun humanity, and be with nature - a thing which would be death to Lestat. And Lestat wishes to be in society as it changes and to love people. A thing which would be a trap to Gabrielle.

Lestat is concerned with goodness and how he can be good. If there is no goodness, as Lestat sees it, life is meaningless chaos. He is interested in both moral goodness and aesthetic goodness. Lestat’s stance seems to be that there is an innate truth in aesthetic goodness in nature and so too, in art. For Lestat, aesthetic goodness of art has to to with truth and emotional expression, and moving others. On the other hand, moral goodness is a human construct - imposed by society and/or by the individual rather than an innate quality of existence. But that doesn’t mean moral goodness doesn’t matter to him. Lestat is particularly interested in his own moral code. It matters to him a great deal - whether he is following his own moral code, or intentionally railing against it and breaking it. Lestat is also always seeking connection and love. He loves people. He cares about all people he has been connected to and will try to make them happy or keep them protected. To be around people gives Lestat’s existence meaning. Lestat can also be quite practical. He is a doer, so in any situation, if he can act, he will act. If Lestat is in a scenario where there is no action he can take to solve it, he flounders and becomes trapped in his own mind with the horror, hoping someone else can help free him.

Nicolas is a lot harder to get fully inside the chaos that is his mind, particularly by the end. So I think it is best to think of Nicolas as a mortal, up until the moment Lestat leaves him in Renaud’s… at which place Nicki is shattered into something else. Anyway, Nicolas is concerned with justice and harmony. If there is no justice, as Nicolas sees it, life is meaningless chaos. (I also think there's a sense in which we could equate Nicolas' perception of what justice is to be akin to what he sees as moral goodness - at least, they are linked... which is not the same thing Lestat sees as moral goodness, for Lestat has always instinctively created his own internal moral code.) How prescient that Nicolas’s Father wanted him to study law - justice! And it seems to me that in his first time in Paris, Nicolas truly discovered that there *is* no justice so for Nicki, life from then on was indeed meaningless chaos. Similarly to Lestat - his response was to rail against it. So he took up the violin. This gave Nicki happiness, but he could only see it as morally bad as in taking up the violin he was pushing against the harmony of society and the harmony of his family. If we compare Nicky and Lestat’s views on goodness - to Nicolas to be morally good necessitates sacrifice of the self for the desires of another or a greater scheme. Nicolas, I think, would believe a personal moral code to be false and so essentially untrue and/or sinful. To him, a greater moral code from outside of his self is the only way to make sense of existence. And if he pushes against that for any reason, Nicolas believes he is bad. Nicolas too is concerned with beauty in art but he believes true beauty in art can only come from perfection. And he believes his own personal expression is something sinful he does because it all comes from a place where Nicolas pushed against harmony in society, and even emotionally, in his playing, Nicolas gives voice to his despair and his chaos, which are the antithesis of harmony or justice, so must be sinful too. And I actually think loving Lestat is the only thing that keeps Nicolas slightly tethered. Nicky probably can’t imagine himself as loveable. But this creature, who Nicolas perceives as full of light and some miraculous being, loves him and I do think Nicolas would do anything to keep that…. Until... Nicki watches Lestat killed… and then he thinks Lestat actually doesn’t love him. He thinks Lestat has done some free-masonry secret alchemy thing (how funny - for Magnus WAS indeed an alchemist!) and excluded Nicolas… as Nicolas perceives it because Lestat must perceive him as too lowly, or just he doesn’t love him… and when Lestat then initiates his own MOTHER too, it is further proof this is something for the aristocrats and not for him and that he is not loved and then all there is is the chaos… no justice…. and then a band of monsters abduct and torture him and the chaos becomes CHAOS.

Hmm… I’m not sure where I’m going with everything. Neither Nicky nor Gabrielle can understand Lestat’s mortal sense of obligation and love towards others. Why does he try to *be/do good* when he is a monster? Because that’s what gives Lestat meaning!

I’m trailing off as I’m not too sure how to connect this all… hmmm… HMMMM… Hmmm???

I don’t even know if I am making any sense at all. I’ve lost confidence in myself…

(Obviously we could add all the other vampires in here too. I'm speaking of these three right now as I'm still rereading the start-mid part of TVL so it is only they three at the moment...)

#interview with the vampire #anne rice #amc interview with the vampire #lestat de lioncourt #the vampire lestat #amc iwtv #iwtv amc #iwtv lestat #gabrielle de lioncourt #nicolas de lenfent

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nicherayyy · 2 years ago

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Hi, could I request a la squadra x child reader were the reader, like, was kinda scared to living with them and as time went on and reader got used to having them as their family and ends up calling the big brother/dad for the first time?

I decided to include ice cream boys bc why not

La Squadra x Child!Reader calling them dad/big bro for the first time

None of you expected to be found in such situation. Life is weird indeed, so here you are, living with nine assassins. Not quite a thing that you expected as a first grader. Honestly, at first you thought they will kill you, you weren’t sure why though. What would a child do to the men in their thirties?

Time passed, but you weren’t killed. Did that make you less cautious around them? Absolutely not! You were taught not to trust strangers, especially if these strangers are killing people for a living. You even thought to run away a few times, but what can you do being a six year old? You definitely won’t survive on the street on your own. So after a little thought you decided to stay, not that you had other options.

La Squadra on the other hand, kept their distance at first. Of course, life didn’t prepare them to be babysitters, but they had no other choice.Therefore that’s why they gave you a separate room and let you be, for now of course. Eventually, you’ll need to find a common ground. Slowly, but surely they began to approach you. Formaggio let you play with his cats whenever you wanted, Prosciutto drove you to school every day, etc. It turns out, they’re not that bad as they seemed.

After a few month you completely stopped being afraid of them. They began to be a real family to you, the one you never had. They would never raise their voice to you, even Ghiaccio, he’s really gentle around you. You can always tell them what’s on your mind, they’ll never judge you. And if you don’t like going to school- you always can be homeschooled by Melone. He’s an awesome teacher so don’t worry, your comfort is their priority.

Time passed and one morning it was just you and Risotto. The others were on missions and they definitely wouldn’t be back until evening. For now, you two just had a delicious breakfast, honestly, you would never thought that Risotto cooks that good.

“Hey dad, can you pass me the salt?”, you asked not even realising your question.

His eyes seemed to light up for a second, he cleared his throat “Sure, here you go”.

Actually he’s so proud about it. He won’t show any unnecessary emoting but god he’s happy. Surely he’ll tell others. Secretly he wants them to be jealous, he’s the first one you referred as “dad” after all. Looking forward to be called like that again!

And one time you and Prosciutto went for groceries, he even promised to buy you what you wanted. Pros went straight to the sections with veggies while you were looking for something you wanted. Finally, you found what you needed! Wasting no time you were already heading to the blond man.

“Hey dad”, you called “Can I have this?”

Prosciutto was too stunned to speak for a moment. He just smiled and patted your head.

“Call me like that again and I’ll buy anything you want”

He won’t tell anyone about it. It’s his happy moment and he has no intentions to share it. Will do anything to hear you call him dad again. He would never thought something small like this will make him so happy.

You and Melone like to read books together. He’s trying to share his love to science with you, nothing creepy of course. Melone always lets you choose whatever theme you want to read about today. And if you have anything you want to ask him, he’ll always be enlighten to answer.

“Hey dad, how fish breathe underwater?”

Melone looked at you in pure shock, immediately taking you in his arms “Can you say that again?”

Oh yes, he would tell everyone! He won’t shut up about that for months. Now he wants to spend even more time with you, just to hear you call him dad. He just loves his baby so much.

Fishing with Pesci is always fun! He would tell you about his and aniki’s adventures, and surely how cool Pros is. You would never thought that you can catch a real fish, but with Pesci’s help it became possible.

“You’re doing such a great job!”, Pesci praised you.

“Thank you, big bro.. Pesci why are you crying?”

Oh yes, he’ll cry. But don’t you worry, these are tears of happiness. Immediately brag to Pros. He’s crying every time you call him like that, Pesci just cannot hide his emotions, not that you want him to.

You like to spend time with Illuso, he styles your hair and tells you all the tea. He’s nice, but don’t tell others!

“So, how do you like your new hairstyle?”, Illuso grinned.

“It’s so cool, you’re amazing dad!”

You just bursted Illuso’s ego to the sky. You.. call him amazing.. and dad. For now will try to impress you even further. He just love to hear praises. And for him your praises are the most valuable.

You and Formaggio are buddies. He always makes you laugh. By this time you two even have some inside jokes.

“Hahah, this one is especially funny dad”

“Dad who”

Congratulations, now he’s trying to make you laugh every time.

You weren’t as close with Ghiaccio as you are now, so you make sure to show him your appreciation because you love him. He may look cold, but he also loves you dearly.

“I love you dad”

“I love you too”

Tries to play it cool. But let’s be honest, now he will think about it for a few weeks. Damn, he needs to express his love to you more.

Sorbet and Gelato consider you as their own flesh and blood. You’re their small and adorable child, they won’t take any excuses. The couple tries to spend as much time with you as they can. And if they’re busy with a mission, they make it up to you by buying something nice.

“We bought you that console you wanted”, Sorbet smiled to you.

“Aren’t you happy?”, Gelato asked.

“I’m so happy, thank you dad and papa!”

Gelato is so hyped up about this whole situation. Everyone will know. For now he’s glued to you, waiting you to call him papa again. Sorbet is not that good with emotions as his husband, but every time you call him dad it brings him joy!

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numinously-yours · 10 months ago

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Pick a Hippo: What do you need to hear?

I know I say it all the time, but I DO want to do more readings for you all. Today's is a simple "what do you need to hear"?

I know you may be finding it hard to define your life’s purpose, but don’t be hard on yourself because it’s taking longer than you thought it would/should. You are doing a lot of introspection and soul searching. Perhaps you are about to embark on a new adventure and having your sense of self makes you feel like you’ll do better. Having an open slate can be just as great a tool going into a new part of your life, though. Keep holding on by Avril Lavigne came on at the end of the reading. Just keep believing in yourself and your journey. Trust that The Hermit’s lantern will light your path. You’re getting there!

You got all kinds of songs with your reading! Starting with Fireworks - this is from Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix. In the scene that this song is in, Fred and George Weasley are officially embarking on their own adventure. They are no longer tolerating Dolores Umbridge’s regime or abiding by anyone else’s standards. They are making fun, bright, beautiful magic with their fireworks. Human by Christina Perri started once I was about to interpret the cards; it made me think that right now you may be subscribing to other’s wants of you. Since this song started after I began my notes, I think this cycle is ending and your magical side is about to burst through. Then the Brave soundtrack started… You are meant to start this individual journey!!

The first thing I read that resonated with me for your cards and for this reading is “don’t keep pushing forward”. You may be finding it difficult to trust your own intuition or to do your own thing without the comforts of the people you are used to following. But The Hanged Man tells me that separating yourself from the wants and needs of others is going to do you SO well. Continuing to push through the discomfort, anxiety, and unsureness that comes along with this is only doing to delay your progress. Your inner strength is going to propel you to the life you deserve.

My biggest piece of advice on this day is to be mindful about your intentions – especially concerning finances. You have a business opportunity or you’re planning a major event (trip, wedding, moving, something of the sort) and you need to be cognizant about how much money you’re putting into it. Be responsible with the spending habits. As I was reading keywords for the King of Wands, I read “you are inspired by long-term, sustainable success” and at the same time Eminem raps, “Success is your only mf-ing option.” There’s no better way to interpret this than Sustainable success is your only mf-ing option. You can absolutely invest in this venture, but do it smartly. Remember the long term affects and what will make the biggest (and most positive) impact.

If money is not on your mind, the cards can also be referring to relationships and the part you play within them. You are a strong leader and have a vision, but don’t make decisions which are paid for by the foundation of the relationship.

Lastly, music in general may be a good meditation tool for you. The main line of this song is "lose yourself in the music". Let yourself be lost <3

#tarot #pick a card #tarot reading #what you need to hear #ace of wands reversed #the hermit tarot #king of wands #ten of pentacles #the hanged man tarot #eight of cups #strength tarot reversed

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emtheanxiousdragon · 1 year ago

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Our Hæth: A Wanderhome ARG

Ok so if you are any sort of game designer, whether that be a programmer for a mobile app, an artist for an indie TTRPG, or a top-tier producer at a AAA-game studio, you should read Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal, it inspires you to make games that don’t just form digital communities or entertain, but allow a deeper connection to your real life.

And one game that I think, with a twist, could really fit McGonigal’s idea is Wanderhome, the excellent pastoral RPG by tumblr’s very own @jdragsky . This game is beautiful, simple, and a tool for telling these lovely stories about anthropomorphic travelers exploring a recovering society and finding themselves along the way.

Now, let me introduce my idea, tentatively titled Our Hæth: A Wanderhome ARG.

You make a Wanderhome character, just like in a typical game. You also make a separate Wanderhome profile that represents yourself. (this can be your actual Wanderhome character if you want to take on an alternate persona). This secondary Wanderhome character doesn't actually travel the Hæth. They represent your journey in the real world. Your second character's playbook should fit yourself and what you hope to get from this experience. My secondary character will be a Peddler, because I want to grow my personal career.

Then you get connected to a Hæth. These are shared worlds/servers that begin like all Wanderhome games (at the start of Tillsoil very soon after the end of the war) and progress from there. You can start with other players or begin on your own and find others later.

When you wish to travel to a new area, instead of randomly deciding what it should be, you base it on your current location. It can be as simple as your bedroom or as grand as the Great Wall of China! I’ll show you what I mean with where I am now.

A beautiful pond, right? Let’s turn it into a spot in the Hæth! Our first nature is based on a literal take of the area. I’m by a pond, so the first nature will be Lake! The second nature is more metaphorical; based on what you know about your location, choose a nature that describes its personality. A lot goes on around this pond, so I’ll pick Carnival. The third nature should describe the place as it is when you arrive. The calm nature of the pond today means the third nature is Field. Build the location with the rules of each nature, combined with the traits of the season, and you’ve made a Place!

In Our Hæth, each location is permanently saved into the world you created it in. If other players want to visit this location rather than create a new one, they’ll replace the third nature and the seasonal traits and set off! They can see what you’ve written about the place and the adventures you’ve had here. If you know them in real life, you can share what the real-world inspiration is. If not, you can discuss as much about it as you feel comfortable sharing.

Once you're in a Place, great! Start playing Wanderhome. If you're alone, write down what your traveler does in this place. If you're with friends, get together in person and roleplay it out, or chat together over Discord or your online forum of choice. Their characters may travel with you for a while or your paths may diverge and reconnect later. Just remember what happens so you can share it as part of your character's story. When you make a Kith, go through the regular Kith creation process and add them to your Hæth. If other players visit this Place later, they may meet your kith and will want to know what happened.

The other big ARG element of this version of Wanderhome comes with using tokens. When your character does something to create a token, you need to do something to make a token in real life. Have a list of what different actions in Wanderhome mean for you in real life. For example, when my character Camper gives away something he holds dear, that means I have to complete some professional networking. Your token action should be challenging or good for you. Change your token action as your challenges and needs change. Make them fit your life and your goals.

Take a break to complete your token action, or write it down for after the session. You won't be able to spend your real-world token until you complete your task. Once that's done, the next time your character spends a token, you can spend one too! Your token rewards are something positive to reward yourself for putting in the effort and caring for yourself, your relationships, or the world. In my Hæth, when Camper keeps someone safe from the difficulties of the world, I get to take a nap rather than work!

The months can change in small groups when you agree to change them. In bigger groups, you may set a real-world date for the change in the months. Ask the month's question to yourself and your Wanderhome character. Consider your answer a "yes" regardless of which one of you says so. When the time comes for the seasons to change, set up a party with others in your Hæth or throw your own private celebration. Just as the holiday marks a moment of personal growth for your character, take a major step forward with your own goals. As Camper celebrates the new year, I'm going to start searching for a summer internship. I'll adapt my token actions and rewards as needed, and I'll continue playing.

So long as you have Wanderhome, you can play this game. You can keep track of your Hæth in a notebook, on a google doc, whatever. My perfect version of this project would be a little website where players can join different Hæths, watch their world grow on a virtual map, see all the information neatly organized online, and connect to a wide range of people in the Wanderhome community.

Thoughts?

#wanderhome #jay dragon #possum creek games #arg #wanderhome rpg

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sleepyfan-blog · 4 months ago

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Farmer's Market

Author’s Note: This is the next fic in Joth’s adventures in the Astartes Husbandry AU! Thank you to @undeaddream for allowing me to borrow Riptide! First. Previous. Next

Tagged: @egrets-not-regrets @kit-williams @bleedingichorhearts @the-pure-angel

Warnings: none, please ask me to tag if something bothers you

Summary: You take Joth with you to sell things at the farmer's market.

You hum a little to yourself a small smile appearing on your face as you finish setting up the covered area that you were renting to sell your fresh produce, as well as the small chest of frozen cuts of goat and lamb goat meat. The other small chest holds some of the cow, sheep and goats’ milk that you have on offer as well as several dozen eggs. This was the first time that Joth was accompanying you to the farmer’s market, and he was hauling in the last of the containers of fresh fruit as you showed him where you wanted them displayed on the tables set up for customers to come up and choose from as they pleased.

You were hoping that one of the other World Eaters who lived in town would come by today, as you knew that Astartes were very social creatures. Joth’s separation anxiety was getting worse, and you knew that friendly interactions with fellow Space Marines would help him calm down, in time.

Joth suddenly let out a quiet, wordless rumble as his helmeted face snapping in one direction, his previously relaxed body posture tense and alert. His tail, which had been wagging back and forth slowly had stilled completely and fluffed out.

“Joth, you okay, buddy?” You ask, putting down the scale that you used to calculate how much your customers paid for certain goods down on the table before making your way over to him, your movements slow and deliberate, so as to not startle him.

“... I can hear someone coming. Another Astartes.” Joth grumbles out as he rolls his shoulders back, no longer hunching a little to try and be slightly less gigantic.

“I told you that there were going to be other Astartes at this farmer’s market. I know that at least a dozen other vendors are friends with space marines, and I know a couple of them are bonded. Also, venues like this are quite popular with Astartes, as they are easier to navigate, than traditional grocery stores and supermarkets. You need to be able to handle seeing other astartes, and possibly interacting with them or you’re going home. What is it going to be, Joth?”

A low, unhappy whine left Joth as he shuffled over to where you were standing, hsi crimson eye lenses peering pleadingly down at you “Don’t send me away… Please…”

“I won't if you think that you can handle yourself around other marines. And I’m not punishing you, if I do send you home. We all get overwhelmed sometimes, and there is a lot going on in a place like this. More than a few of us regular humans can get overstimulated in a place with as much going on in it as this…” You pause for a moment, going up on your tiptoes and cupping one of his cheeks with your hand. The metal under your hand is warm and he leans into your touch, a soft purr rumbling in his chest “With your enhanced senses I imagine it can quickly become very overwhelming. If you do need to step away please tell me, and head somewhere quieter alright? Or back home, depending on how you’re feeling.”

“I… Very well. I will do my best.” Joth answered, shifting in place a little, still purring at your touch.

“That’s all I ask of you, bud.” You murmur, gently patting his cheek again before asking “Was that the last of the fresh fruit from the truck?”

He nods “Yes. There are a couple of vegetables that escaped into the bed of the truck, which I will retrieve for you.” He lingers, still enjoying your touch before heading off. He’s still tense, but not as tense as he had been moments ago.

Joth returns with the escaped vegetables, placing them in the containers where they are supposed to go and sits down next to where you are watching as the market begins to fill up with customers of all ages and sizes. They certainly are a noisy bunch, but he leans into your side, the sound of your heartbeat and your subtle, pleasant scent keeping him calm and grounded.

Another World Eater is making his way through the crowd. Despite the reputation of their legion, no one seems to pay him more than a moment’s mind. Then again, the other is mostly Blue and White with a couple of Brass accents. He does have slate grey horns and spikes, which marks him as a Chaos Marine. The brass rings on his horns are striking and shiny. The other World Eater makes his way over to where Joth is sitting beside his human, looking at the array of fine vegetables and deliciously sweet fruits for sale.

“Are you looking for anything in particular, Riptide?” You ask smiling brightly up at the other Chaos Marine.

“Eli mentioned wanting peach cobbler for dessert, since it’s peach season. I came here as I know that your peaches are some of the best in the region.” Riptide answered, carefully picking up one of the pink and orange fruits with his claws ,delicately enough to not pierce the soft, fuzzy flesh. “I see you have a new foster? Greetings, Brother.”

“Greetings Brother.” Joth rumbles, doing his best not to tense up at being acknowledged by the other marine. “We have fresh cream, to go along with the dessert. And-” He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath “Several stalls down there is someone selling good cinnamon and that earthy-fragrant spice whose name escapes me.”

“Frequently made into an alcohol-based liquid? Or mixed in with sugar? Ah! Vanilla. Yesh. I plan on picking up some vanilla and freshly ground cinnamon as well. I think I will take some cream as well. Do you mind reserving me a quart? I want to purchase the spices before coming back to pick up the cream and heading home.” Riptide asked, grabbing the peaches that he was intending on purchasing and bringing them over to be weighed.

“Sure thing! Let me just write that down, so I’ll remember.” You answer with a small smile, noting down Riptide’s order and weighing out the peaches. You tell him the price for both the peaches and the cream. He hands over the cash you asked for without complaint, and nods to both you and Joth “I should be back for the cream within the hour.” Before he headed off, carefully making his way through the crowds of baseline mortals.

Riptide did indeed return within the hour for the cream that he’d purchased. It was a good thing that he had reserved the cream, as you’d sold out of the rest of it by the time that the World Eater returned for the ingredient that needed to be kept fridge-cold until it was used. You’d also sold out of most of the fruit you had one offer - you did have some berries left, but you expected to sell those by the end of the day. Your vegetables were just as popular, and you’d sold half of the meat you’d brought to sell today as well.

Joth had stayed quiet for the most part as he watched the baseline humans go by. Occasionally he would let out a little warning rumble when someone tried to sneak a piece of produce into a pocket to steal, which was part of the job you had asked him to do - which was to make sure that no one stole from your stall without resorting to violence.

It was remarkable how fast would-be pick-pockets returned their potentially ill-gotten gains when a space marine growled at them. You were happy to give discounts to those who were running low on money and were hungry, they just needed to ask.

“You ready for the cream, Riptide?” You ask as the large white and blue marine made his way over to you.

“Yes, please.” He answers with a nod.

You pull out the quart of cream and -

Joth intercepts you, gently taking the jug from your hands and standing up, walking a couple of steps over to hand it to Riptide “Your cream, Brother.”

“Thank you. I hope that the two of you have a lovely day.” Riptide answered, and you could hear the grin in his voice as he headed off, likely back home.

Joth huffed a little before going back to sitting on the ground and leaning into you, a pleased rumbling purr starting up in his chest.

You chuckle a little, patting his helm. As far as posturing for a chaos marine went, that was fairly subtle. You’d let it slide, as Joth has been very calm and careful in his interactions with the public and hasn’t so much as hissed at a single person once. You stay at the farmer’s market until the last of your produce and meat have been sold, whereupon you - with Joth’s help - break down your stall and head home for the day.

#oc: joth #oc: Riptide #world eater #chaos space marine #warhammer 40k #writing prompt #space marine husbandry sentience #my writing #not my writing #reader insert #space marine husbandry

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