#so sorry lizzie i took your post idea

[cosmotiquecore]

happy friday guys!! anything you guys want me to post on the main mahou planet account?? any ideas?

(will likely take these ideas and put them in a poll in the discord server which yall should DEFINITELY JOIN)

[aliceintheworld]

PURE ATTRACTION | JJK | TATTOO ARTIST

Pairing: TattooArtistJungkook X NaiveReader

Summary: "I shouldn’t be watching a man undressing, specially not from the house next door."

Warning: Angst 🥺 conversation about suicide, depression, uncertainty about oneself, Misuk being the best character of all 🫶 Namjoon finally makes an appearance (he appears a little, but then a little more, I promise) Jungkook being an idiot – forgive him, for he doesn't know what he's doing.

A/N: I'm back!! First, I wanted to thank you all for the affection I've been receiving. Thank you so much for the messages and interactions! If you want to send non-anonymous messages, I even prefer it, because I can follow you 🥰 Pure Attraction is a not very elaborate story, I know, but it has become an important part of my life, so I thank you for reading all these chapters, you don't know how much this means. Without further ado, here is the chapter.

P.S.: Later, still today, I will post the next chapter 🤌

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter 10

The journey back home has never felt so long. Minutes pass, yet it feels as if the clock's hands are stuck. I try to take a deep breath, but I can't. My head is filled with memories, occasions when I could have done something different. I was so foolish, so stupid. Filled with regret, I can't even look at myself in the reflection of the window. I remember my father, my mother, and I wonder what they would say if they knew I made a mistake with no way to turn back. My eyes fill with tears, almost instantly, for the fourth time today alone. Mrs. Jeon remains silent, looking through the coffee table of her house.

She sighs and gaze at her own hands before locking eyes with me, as if she understands me in some way. But I don’t know if anyone could comprehend what I’m going through at this moment. I feel... used. As if, even with my consent, Jungkook took advantage of me, of my innocence and of my inexperience. At the same time, I can't place all the blame on him. I made a mistake, I should have been more cautious and I let him inside of my life.

"Are you okay?" Misuk asks, almost in a whisper. I try to shake my head and force a smile, but I can't. She sways her hair and clicks her tongue nervously. "I can't believe Jungkook did this to you, dear. He’s my son, but I don’t agree with any of this."

"He’s not the only one to blame," I deny; I barely recognize my own voice, weak and trembling.

The last time I saw myself this way was when, during a difficult year, I didn't want to visit my father's grave, and my mother opposed it. The anguish is different, but equally overwhelming.

"Can you explain how you two got so… close?" she questions. "I mean, it hasn’t been long since he came to Busan. Did you have many opportunities to talk?"

"A few." I shrug. That doesn’t matter now. I’m angry and don’t want to talk to anyone. I want to lock myself in my room and pretend everything was a terrible nightmare. "Sorry, I don't even know where to begin. I feel awful."

"You can talk to me."

"You’re his mother."

"I am." She smiles, placing a hand on mine, gently caressing my skin. I immediately feel a maternal love and care I haven’t experince in years. My crying intensifies as I realize that the person I need right now isn’t with me—my mother. Even if she were here, she wouldn’t help. She would judge me, make me feel bad about my mistakes, just as she has done in the past, and I don't need this right now. "Y/N, I’m Jungkook’s mother, but I understand what you’re going through. You have no idea."

"What do you mean?" I frown, confused. Her dark eyes fill with tears, just like mine.

"When I was around your age, I fell in love with a man. He was two years older, and so handsome. He seemed like a dream, someone so different from me, yet so similar—almost like he was a part of me." She tells me looking ahead, as if she could see the memories playing out before her. "He is Jungkook’s father. He was my first love."

"What do you mean?" I whisper. "Mr. Jeon isn’t Jungkook’s father?"

"He isn’t." She shakes her head. "That’s why I say I understand you. It was the first time I fell in love with someone. It was also the first time my trust was broken. When he found out I was pregnant, he left. I was alone, working a part-time job I didn’t even like, that paid poorly and had no support. Those were the worst years of my life."

"Misuk, I don’t know what to say," I respond, with a knot in my throat. She had never shared this while we talked about the past. But I understand her, in a way. It must be hard to relive those memories, and even harder to confide them to someone.

"You don’t have to say anything. I, after all this time, have moved on. The fear of being abandoned, however, still hasn’t healed, even with twenty-six years gone by." She smiles again, but I know she’s more hurt than she wants to show. "Dear, I care about you. I love you like a daughter, even. You’ve been with me during these days, and we’ve grown so close. I see parts of myself in you. The way my mother treated me, the absence of my father. It’s all so similar. That’s why I say I understand you."

"It all happened so… suddenly." I comment to myself, looking down. The shame of crying, and the shame of what I did, prevent me from looking her in the eyes. "I know I should have been more careful, but I was so happy... I don't get it."

"Jungkook, being more experienced than you, should have talked to you, asked what your expectations were, and told you what his intentions were. If he didn’t want something serious, a commitment, he should have warned you." She argues, not letting me continue. It’s as if she wants to lift the guilt I’m feeling, and I'm really thankful for that.

"Yes, but I was so naive. I was a fool to think he could like me the same way I like him." I groan, covering my face as more tears come. My chest hurts just remembering him. His kisses, his touches. He was so gentle with me, treating me like no one else ever had. He listened to me, and that was enough for me.

"Did you... did you have sex?" Misuk asks, running her hand along my back in a comforting gesture that soothes my pain, at least a little.

"I-I... Misuk..."

"It’s okay. You can trust me. You can open up and tell me." She smiles, without judgment. I just shake my head embarrassed, exposed, somewhat humiliated.

"We did it last night. It was very sudden." I try to explain, even if I don’t have many words to do it.

"Was it your first time? Is that why Eunji thinks you slept at my house? She said that yesterday, and I didn’t understand."

"Yes, but that night was the first time I slept at his apartament and we hadn’t done... you know."

"You hadn’t had sex, just other things." She concludes with a smile, tucking my hair behind my ear.

My cheeks burn, even when I try not to. It’s very difficult to talk about this kind of subject, even with Misuk, because I never had anyone to talk to when I was a teenager. My view of sex always came from books, whether educational or romantic.

"That’s it." I confirm, shaking my head.

"Are you in love?" Mrs. Jeon asks me when a silence falls between us.

I take a moment, reflecting about the question as if it were the most difficult one of my life. What does it mean to be in love? Is it feeling a flutter in your chest every time you see the person? Is it having a wild rush of energy that courses through your body uncontrollably? Is it standing still and feeling your heart race a thousand miles an hour? Is it missing that person and wanting to hear from them every day? If that’s the case, then yes, I’m in love. The realization of this fact hurts me even more. It makes me feel weaker. How could I be so foolish? How could I think someone would be interested in me when no one else had?

A flood of memories overwhelms me. If I had known I’d feel this pain, I would have never gotten close to Jungkook. I would have shut my window the first time I saw him, and never opened up again.

"It’s okay." She reassures me, hugging me. I hug her back, trying to purge the feeling of rejection that’s almost lodged in my chest.

"He just turned his back on me. He didn’t even see me when I left. It’s as if he got what he wanted and then I wasn’t worth the effort anymore." I vent, hurt, too wounded to stop the words pouring out.

"Jungkook is a fool." She shakes her head, pressing her lips together. "At the same time, he’s stuck in this messed-up relationship. I’ve told him millions of times that they’re not good for each other. I told him that true love doesn’t hurt, doesn’t deceive, but he’s stubborn like no one else."

"Does he really talk to his ex?" I ask, hoping it’s not as I imagine. That maybe they talk, but not as much as I’ve put in my head.

"The last time we talked about this was two days ago. He told me Namjoon called him, and they had a conversation for twenty minutes. He’s very deluded." She shakes her head, angry. Two days ago we were texting. I know we had no commitment and hadn’t established anything, but to me it’s worse to know he didn’t respect this moment. That it didn’t mean anything to him. While I melted over our messages and smiled like a fool for his attention, he was with his ex, doing the same with someone else.

"Did Namjoon really cheat on Jungkook? Why does he still try? Why does he still talk to him?"

"Namjoon was his first boyfriend. They were together for almost five years, and at one point, they practically lived together. When Jungkook was alone in Seoul, working in a tattoo studio, he met Namjoon and fell in love almost at first sight. He was very shy, introverted, with few friends in the new city. I think that helped them form a strong connection." Misuk explains. She seems to know a lot about the situation, as if she followed everything in detail, even from a distance.

"Have you ever met him... I mean, have you met Namjoon?" I ask, hesitant. My heart races for some reason. My hands feel cold with anxiety.

"Yes." She nods, sighing. "He’s a great guy, I can’t deny that. He works at a book publishing company, very intelligent and kind. I think that’s why Jungkook fell for him. At the same time, Namjoon is someone who wants more. He wants to achieve other things, and when the relationship got in the way of his goals, he didn’t think twice before stepping on everything they built together. Jungkook was devastated."

"How long ago was that?"

"About three months." She says; her body suddenly tenses. "That’s when I tried to take my own life."

"Mrs. Jeon... Jungkook told me what happened." I say, not really knowing if it’s right to tell her the truth. But it’s the first time she’s opened up about the subject, and I don’t think it’s fair, especially now that she told me so much about her past, to hide this from her. Her eyes widen, and then she smiles awkwardly.

"He really is an idiot. He must have told you to keep an eye on me." She says, shaking her head as if recalling her son’s actions, however she doesn't seen to hold any resentment towards him, regarding this. "He’s always been very careful. Always very protective. Jungkook has his flaws, but I think I understand why you fell for him. He’s stubborn but takes care of those he loves. I feel guilty for, even unknowingly, adding this weight to his shoulders. I’ve been feeling better now."

"Are you really okay?" I ask, somewhat uncertain.

"I am. I’m taking my medication, going to therapy, and visiting support groups once a week. Sometimes when I feel bad, I seek comfort. I know that ending my life isn’t an option. I don’t want to leave my son alone." She states. I search her eyes for any hint of untruth, anything that tells me she’s not okay, but I find nothing. I’m glad to know that, at least she, is evolving and improving. "But you know what’s making me feel better, Y/N?"

"What?" I ask, eager to know the answer. Whatever it is, I need an urgent dose of what is making her feel better.

"You." She smiles; more tears appear in her eyes, this time from happiness. "You’ve made my days better. I want you to know you can count on me. For everything." She confesses. Her voice deepens as I break down again.

"Thank you so much." I say sincerely. I have a friend. I have someone I can count on, and that brings me such a great relief that it feels like I could die.

"It’s okay. No more crying Y/N." She gets up from the couch, smiling. She raises her arms and wipes her face with her shirt. "Dear, tell me. Did you use protection? Did you take precautions?"

"No." I flush at the confession, feeling like a child who has no idea of the consequences of her actions. "He went out to buy a morning-after pill, but you arrived and..."

"It’s fine. Don’t worry." She holds her hands up, as if all of this doesn’t matter. "You don’t need to explain. I know that in the heat of the moment, you don’t think about anything. That’s why I had Jungkook when I was twenty." She laughs, making me feel even more embarrassed. "I’ll buy you a pill. Don’t worry; everything will be fine."

"Mrs. Jeon, you don’t have to. I'm going to do it."

"I don’t want to be a grandma so young, Y/N." She jokes, making me laugh too. "And it’s not a problem at all. I want to see you well, and that’s what matters."

"Thank you." I express my gratitude. Not just for the pill, but for everything. Even though it hurts, being here with her alleviates, at least a little, the torment I’m feeling.

"You don’t need to thank me. Everything will be okay." She assures me, and I accept it. I pray to God that all of this I’m feeling will soon come to an end.

"Y/N, what are you doing here?" I hear a voice behind me. I don’t look right away, afraid to fall.

Since the library shelves are very high, I usually use a mobile ladder to organize the books, so before I make sure who it is, I carefully step down the rungs. When I finally reach the ground, I regret coming down. It’s Hayun, Jungkook’s friend. Not because of her, of course, as I enjoyed meeting her, but because of him, who has kept me awake for the past three days.

"Are you okay? It’s been a while since we last saw each other." She smiles. She approaches and kisses my cheek suddenly. She seems to genuinely like me, and I’m grateful for that. Her outgoing personality couldn’t be better right now. My energy, ever since that argument happened, has been dwindling.

"I’m okay." I say, putting on my best smile. "And you? How have you been?"

"Busier every day. With the move and everything."

"You’re moving?" I ask, curious.

"Yes, didn’t Jungkook tell you?" She asks, and just the mention of his name makes my chest ache. The crying and tears have passed, but I’m far from normal with everything that happened. He hasn’t sent me any messages, and I can’t stop thinking that somehow, I was just a conquest for him. A night of sex that is already forgotten.

"No, he didn’t tell me. We haven’t... talked."

"Seriously? He’s been talking a lot about you." I raise an eyebrow, startled.

"What do you mean? What has he said?" The words fly out of my mouth before I can control myself. Hayun laughs, as if she notices my sudden interest.

"He says random things. That you like to read, or that you’re in college and you cook well. Random stuff like that." She comments, approaching one of the shelves to take a look at a book. "Anyway, I’m moving soon. Me and the guys, we’re all going to Seoul."

"With Jungkook?" I bite my lower lip, intrigued.

"Yeah, I’m from Seoul and wanted to go anyway, but we’ve been talking about everyone moving there for years. We were just waiting for Bora and Taehyung to finish college." She closes the book and puts it back, shrugging. I nod in agreement. Good for them. It feels like I’ll be the only one stuck here, stagnant for the rest of my life. I feel bad. I should make a list of topics I can’t discuss without feeling like a fraud. Damn it.

"That’s great... Hayun, I have to go now. I’m working. But it was nice to see you again." I say sincerely. It’s like seeing her again makes me a little closer to Jungkook. I don’t want to think about him, yet simultaneously, I can’t get enough of him. I’m going to go crazy.

"It was nice to see you too, really." She says, smiling. "I don’t want to bother you or anything, but before you go... I wanted to ask, are you going to the party tonight?"

"What party?" I frown, confused.

"The celebration. The studio opened, and we’re having a party at Yoongi’s house. It’ll be the last one before we move to Seoul. What do you think?" She grabs my arm, full of excitement. I shake my head immediately, flustered. Jungkook probably hasn’t told his friends what happened between us, and I don’t know if I should be sad or happy about that.

"I can’t, really." I respond, trying my best expression.

"Come on! Let’s go, Y/N, it’ll be fun. It’s for Jungkook. It’s important to him."

"It’s precisely because of him I’m not going." I whisper to her, softly. Hayun stops smiling and glares at me intently.

"Did something happen? You can tell me. Did the idiot do something to you?"

"He didn’t do anything." I half-lie, half-try to hide. Him sleeping with me while still talking to his ex isn’t exactly a huge thing. We hadn’t established anything serious yet. Though, in my head, he is wrong in any case.

"If he didn’t do anything, you should go. He’s really happy about the studio. He worked for about four years to save the money he needed."

"Hayun..." I sigh, embarrassed. "Actually, something did happen. I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to go. It’s to avoid ruining his night that I’m saying no." I finish, somewhat nervously. My body trembles with sadness and bitterness.

"Hey, you can count on me. I won’t tell the idiot anything you say. I’m a jerk, but not a bad friend." She rolls her eyes, clapping her hands together. I chuckle helplessly. She’s funny. I had forgotten this little detail.

"Alright, but I’ll be brief. I really need to get to work." I say. Hayun nods silently in agreement. "Jungkook and I did have a thing."

"I knew it!" She exclaims, in the middle of the hallway. Since it’s a library, her loud voice echoes throughout the place, drawing the attention of the few customers to us. I laugh in despair, covering my mouth with my hand. "Sorry, I spoke too loud. But I knew it! the way he talks about you... he likes you."

"I don’t think he likes me that much." I whisper, losing my smile. "He doesn’t want commitment, and that’s why we drifted apart. He still seems to care a lot about his ex."

"Namjoon." Hayun grunts his name without enthusiasm, rolling her eyes. Her once cheerful face, suddenly tightens. "I know. I liked him until I found out what he did to Jungkook. No one has spoken to him since."

"Yeah. Well. That’s why I think it’s better not to go. I want this to be a good moment for him, anyway. I don’t want to cause any discomfort." I vent, gathering my hands that get sweaty, every time I think about this topic. I have to swallow hard to avoid more tears and appearing like a fool in front of his friend.

"I still think you should go. You won’t ruin anyone’s night; I’m sure of that. And it's Yoongi’s house, it’s not like you can’t go." The brunette argues.

"Even so, the party is for him."

"Y/N, Jungkook won’t be in Busan for long. Don’t you think it’s better for you to talk, whether to end whatever it is you have, so you can both move on without resentment?" She suggests, making me think.

I shake my head for the tenth time in this conversation. I don’t know if it would be a good idea. It’s the first time I’ve ever had feelings for someone, and I don’t know if to end what I feel, I should talk to him. My romantic experiences are based on books, and in books, the heroines are never rejected. Just imagining even for a second, if I go to this party Jungkook will show discomfort or indifference, makes me panic. A strong shiver runs through my whole body with the thought.

"I don’t know if it’s a good idea." I reply, shrugging. Hayun sighs, tapping her boot on the wooden floor.

"Okay. Let’s do this: you’ll go. Stay for five minutes. If you see it’s better not to force things and forget all of this, I’ll take you home myself." She says, putting her hands together as if in prayer.

"You’re quite persistent, huh." I murmur, laughing. I roll my eyes, reflecting. Should I talk to him? Should I give myself a chance to hear him out and maybe understand his side? Even if we don’t end up together, and I end up sad, wouldn’t it be better to finish whatever it is we had, so I can move on?

For the past three days, all I could think about was him. There hasn’t been a single hour where I could relax, read, or watch something like I always did. I sigh, groaning. Then I nod my head, still unsure. My mother is still out of town, and that gives me a little more freedom than usual. Hayun lets out a high-pitched scream and bounces around, hugging me. It’s as if with my decision alone, I’ve made her day happier.

"You’re going to love it! Yoongi’s parties are always so much fun." She assures me with a confidence I don’t have. I went to a party once, and I remember hating everything. Both the music and the people.

"I hope so." I laugh, not very sure about what I’m doing. I want to give up on this idea because it makes no sense, and at the same time, I want to show that I’m brave. That I can face my fears. I don’t want to run away of everything forever.

I can do this!

I can’t do this. I can’t do this!

I look at my outfit and feel like going back outside, running after the taxi I took to get here. My long dress, made of thick fabric, has nothing to do with what these people wear. It’s as if I live on another planet, literally. The music is upbeat, playing from two speakers in the middle of the room. It’s good, considering the bizarre things I’ve heard out there. The lights are all purple, giving the place a sensual and enigmatic look. There are many people, and none of them I know. On one hand, I thank God for not running into Jungkook. On the other, I wish he’d appear before me out of nowhere, just so I could put an end to all of this, once and for all.

But what would I say? You’re a bastard, Jungkook. You didn’t promise me anything, but actions speak louder than words. Your actions didn’t show me you still loved your ex. I could say all of that, but how would it help me? Being honest with myself, I came because I felt afraid that, that morning, three days ago, would be the last time I would see him. The last time I could look into his eyes and feel his presence. I am truly in love, and I don’t want to hold onto another regret in my life.

I look side to side, trying to find Hayun, but in the middle of so many people, it’s hard to recognize anyone. I walk through the room, bumping into a few women. They don’t mind, though. I don’t know the environment very well, but the further I get from the crowd, the more I can enter the open backyard, which has a huge pool. Hayun sent me the address an hour ago; maybe if I called her, I could find her more easily. When I take my phone out of my small bag, determined to complete the call, I spot a red-haired figure that catches my attention. Yoongi. It must be him. I walk slowly towards his group of friends, feeling apprehensive, afraid of accidentally colliding into Jungkook.

"Y/N! Over here!" I confirm my suspicions when Hayun waves her arms in the air, as she recognizes me despite the low light. I smile faintly, walking closer to everyone. They all seem unbelievably beautiful, well-dressed, with an air of excitement that I don’t possess. "You made it! I thought you got lost."

"I took a taxi. It’s just far from where I live." I apologize, shrugging.

"Don’t worry. I haven’t had anything to drink. If you need anything, I’ll take you home, okay?" She smiles, placing her sunglasses on the top of her head. Hayun looks prettier when she does that. "Guys, look who’s here. Y/N!"

I shake my head, greeting them. They seem happy to see me, which relieves 50% of my worries. My stiff and tense shoulders, from imagining scenarios where none of them wanted to see me. I’m relieved to realize that this isn’t happening in reality.

"Y/N, how are you?" Bora kisses my cheek, just like the other girls. Yoongi, Jimin and Taehyung nod, sipping something from their cups.

"I’m good." I smile, feeling awkward. I look around for Jungkook, but he’s nowhere in sight. At least not as far as I can see. "It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other."

"Right? What have you been up to, Y/N?" Yoori, Taehyung’s girlfriend, asks. I open my mouth to respond, but I don’t have much to say.

"I’ve been working a lot." I say, honestly. Partly because it’s true, and partly because I don’t know how far I can tell. Do Yoongi, Jimin or Taehyung know that I was with Jungkook? I’m so paranoid about this I can hardly look them in their eyes.

"She works at the Dongseo University bookstore. When I went to pick up some books, I found her there." Hayun circles her arm around my shoulder, smiling. I nod in agreement. "Y/N, Jungkook is around here; he went to get something to drink." She whispers the last part in my ear, trying to keep everyone else from hearing, and with all this noise, it’s not too hard.

My breath catches when I think I might run into him at any moment. My heart beats like it’s going to burst out of my chest, and my legs feel like jelly from so much nervousness. When I think of a mantra to calm me down and finally face things like a normal person, head held high, I see him coming toward his friends, not really seeing them. It’s as if he’s so lost in thought that he can’t see anyone a foot in front of him. Hayun beside me suddenly gasps. She mutters something near me, and I only feel her tense body, because she is pressed against mine. Everyone looks at Jungkook with expressions of discomfort that I can't quite understand.

"Y/N, I’m sorry. I didn’t... I didn’t know." She says, shaking her head. I frown, confused. What’s happening?

"What’s wrong? Is everything okay?" I ask, anxious, feeling all kinds of emotions at once.

"That guy next to Jungkook." She says, discreetly pointing to a very handsome man, just a few inches taller than him. "That guy is..."

"Namjoon? What’s he doing here?" Jimin questions, crossing his arms over his chest, interrupting his friend. My eyes widen as they approach. My whole body pulls back, and I want to disappear. To be swallowed by the earth and never inhabit this world again. But it’s too late. Jungkook is already here. And his dark, big eyes grow wider when they see me.

"Y/N?" He asks, confused.

Fuck.

"J-Jungkook. Hi." I nod my head. The fear of making any move and embarrassing myself in front of everyone, is overwhelming. The fear that he might just ignore me and pretend I don’t exist, is even greater. I swallow hard, frozen in place. I can’t even greet him properly.

Jungkook doesn’t move either. He stares at me in a static way, and everyone in the group seems to notice. Even Namjoon, his ex-boyfriend. He’s handsome. With his black hair, lean strong body, and a masculine perfume that exudes confidence. My insecurities about myself intensifies. If I had known he would be here, I would have never come. I was a fool to think this would be a good closure. Jungkook hasn’t wanted to talk to me for the past three days. Why would he want to talk to me now? The urge to cry returns, and I’m tired of this situation.

"I didn’t know you’d come, Namjoon." Hayun says beside me, still with her arms around my shoulders. I lower my head, embarrassed.

"I decided at the last minute. I had to come to support Jungkook." He smiles, and he’s even more attractive when he does, forming charming dimples on his cheeks.

"Wonderful." Yoongi grins, but I have the feeling it’s not very sincere. His dark eyes show feelings far from happiness. "I hope you came to stay for a short time. I don’t want certain people in my house."

"Yoongi!" Jungkook scolds his friend, and my throat tightens. Is he defending his ex-boyfriend? Doesn’t he realize the gravity of what Namjoon did? He cheated on him!

"Don’t worry." He places a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder and squeezes it with an intimacy that makes me extremely uncomfortable. "I came just to see you; I won’t stay long, anyway."

"He was kidding." Jungkook clarifies to him, his voice somewhat hoarse. Then he lowers his head and looks at me again. His eyes are so intense that I have to take a deep breath, struggling to breathe normally. "Actually, I need to talk to Y/N."

"What?" I ask, surprised. My body tenses up again, stiff. Hayun lets out a small smile that everyone notices, and shakes her hair, almost as if the whole situation were a movie, and she’s the spectator.

"I told you it would be a good idea for you to come." She says, and her voice is so loud that it’s as if she wants everyone to hear, especially Namjoon, who bites his lips and watches me. His gaze is enigmatic. I can’t tell if he feels anger or discomfort. Or neither.

"Hayun, please..." I whisper. "And Jungkook, I was actually leaving."

"You weren’t." Hayun argues, furrowing her brow. "You just got here, and you’re staying. You’re welcome here."

"I don’t know..."

"Please, Y/N, I wanted to talk to you. Stay a little longer." Jungkook whispers, biting his rosy lips. His face looks sad, but I can’t believe it’s because of me. If he liked me, even a little, he wouldn’t be standing next to his ex with almost an intimate proximity. I can’t understand him. Not at all.

"Okay." I agree, uncomfortable with everyone watching us, as if we’re animals in a zoo. I don’t want to imagine what they’re thinking.

"Namjoon, I’ll talk to Y/N. I’ll be back soon." He smiles faintly, looking at the dark-haired man. Namjoon just nods and gaze at me one more time.

"Okay. No problem. I’ll stay here with your friends." He says, and I catch a glimpse of Jimin sighing as he takes a large gulp of his drink.

We move away from the group in silence. His hand approaches the end of my back, but he doesn’t touch me. My brain feels like it’s going to fry. There’s so much I want to say, and at the same time, so much that isn’t worth saying. I feel so bad. The way he said he would return to his ex is one of those reasons. Why does he stay in this relationship? Doesn’t he realize he would be happier if he just distanced himself from Namjoon? But that’s my opinion, and he clearly doesn’t think that way. We approach a tree, further away from the party, in the backyard. I lean my back against it, fearing I won’t have strength in my legs. I can’t even look him in the eyes. I don’t have the courage for that. We stand in silence for a few seconds, but it feels like an eternity.

"Are you okay?" He asks me quietly. If he weren’t so close and we weren’t so far from the music, I wouldn’t be able to hear him.

"I am." I respond, trying to form a smile that isn’t real. "And you?"

"Yeah." He smiles too; he tosses his hair back, closes his eyes and sighs, watching me. "You look very beautiful."

"Thank you." I say, feeling awkward. I don’t feel beautiful; I feel terrible.

"Y/N, I don’t know what to say." He says, placing his hand on the trunk of the tree, behind me. His scent invades my nose whether I like it or not. I have to use all my self-control not to respond to any of his movements. "I haven’t been well since that morning. I don’t feel good."

"You don’t feel good." I repeat his words, finding it amusing. He doesn’t feel good? Seriously?

"You may not believe it, but I had to hold myself back from calling you."

"You could have called." I shrug, speaking. My voice sounds ironic, but I can’t be any different. I’m angry. So angry and sad. It’s as if all the bad feelings are inside my chest right now.

"I could, but I shouldn’t. I wanted to take some time to think, and you needed that too." He argues, furrowing his brow. "I want you to know that Namjoon is here, but I didn’t know he would come. It was a surprise to me too."

"You must have been thrilled." I respond with a not-so-happy smile. Jungkook runs his tongue along the inside of his cheek, and tightens his jaw, irritated.

"I wasn’t thrilled. I’m not happy, if that’s what you're saying."

"Jungkook... I get it. You want to be with him. I may be inexperienced, but I can read the situation. You don’t need to explain yourself to me. There’s nothing to explain. I just came because I wanted to say I’m happy for you. To congratulate you. Just that."

"You didn’t come just for that." He says in denial. "I can see it in your eyes."

"You know me so well, don’t you?" I respond ironically, trying to hide the extent to which I’m affected. I want to leave. I shouldn’t have come to this party. I shouldn’t be here with him.

"Y/N, please..."

"Jungkook, what are you doing here with me?" I lose my patience, finally reaching my limit. I push away from the tree, my stomach churning. "Why aren’t you with him? With Namjoon? I’m not important to you, so why are you pretending like I am?!"

"I already told you to stop acting like you know me better than I know myself." He grunts, his face reddening with anger.

"It doesn’t matter what you say. I’ve already told you: actions speak louder than words, and you’ve proven that to me since that morning. You didn’t call me for three days simply because you didn’t want to!"

"Y/N..."

"You don’t want to be with me, and that’s fine. You don’t have to be. I already understand where your limits are; just... just don’t pretend to like me if you don’t care about me!" I finish, trembling. My eyes fill with tears, and I feel so vulnerable, anxious. Jungkook has always brought out the best in me, and now I don’t even recognize myself.

"I care about you." He moves closer, furrowing his brows. His dark eyes grow bright. If it weren’t for the lack of light, I could swear he’s about to cry too. He gets even closer and touches my cheek with his hand, gently caressing my skin, sending chills down my spine. I want to pull away from him, but I can’t. "Y/N, I really like you. I didn’t call because I needed some time."

"Stop..." I plead, in a whisper. Both for his words and for his touches. I wrap my hand around his wrist, but I don’t halt him from continuing. I don’t move, half weak, half uncertain, afraid he’ll stop and nervous he’ll keep going.

"I missed you." Jungkook says softly in my ear. His body almost fully pressed against mine. His breath hits my neck; his strong chest touching my breasts. And I don’t know if it’s his heart or mine, racing a thousand miles an hour, so fast and strong.

"Jungkook, stop." I beg, but I can’t pull away myself. He takes his face away from my neck and looks at me once more. His pupils dilate, and they go straight to my mouth. A shiver runs through my entire body as he moistens his lips with his tongue, with a desire so exposed that I can’t mistake it for anything else. And I let him come closer, so damn slowly, as if we’re in slow motion. When I finally close my eyes, surrendered, hypnotized, I hear someone calling him.

"Jungkook?"

Ask for a TAGLIST in the comments

@joonwater @ane102 @ttipa @kookienooki

[look-at-the-soul]

Watching over us

Tommy Shelby x reader

This story has been in my drafts for a while… I wrote it for @peakyswritings 2K celebration 🎉 congratulations dear Reb! You’re probably way over by now… I’m sorry for taking so long!

But like I always say, each story has its own time… initially it would focus in that infamous scene between Lizzie and Tommy in the open field, I never liked how she approached Tommy in such vulnerable state so I decided to “fix it” 🤭 but it was so so dark that I doubted and never posted it, to portray Tommy like that, gave me chills beyond words, luckily after dreaming of my grandma after she passed away, I decided to mix both ideas and make the story a little less sinister… or at least I hope so.

Like always, my deepest gratitude to @blondie-22 for the remarkable work around the moodboard, I mean look at this?! It’s perfect!!! 🙌🏻👏🏻

Summary: Ruby has been having some dreams that make her feel uneasy while Tommy is away. Because how would you feel after dreaming of someone who already passed away but it’s trying to send a message?

You paced the open room from side to side, toying with the necklace around your neck. Patiently waiting for your husband to arrive.

It was only matter of time.

The sky went dark a while ago and you really couldn’t put this on hold. His daughter had questions, she wanted answers, an explanation… something to believe in.

Frances had asked a few times if you needed something until you guided her to her headquarters, longing for some peace, for a moment alone to try to rearrange your own ideas.

A part of you felt calm, looking at the bright side, it wasn’t something you should feel worried about. Another part felt uneasy about how to approach the matter properly.

Eventually, the sound of Tommy’s car approaching filled your ear sight and you rushed towards your husband.

“Tommy.” You called breathlessly.

“What’s the matter?” He asked right away, aware of your state.

“I’m so glad you’re home now, come… we need to talk. About Ruby.”

His heart stopped beating for a split second, worry shadowed his crystal orbs.

“What happened?” He tensed thinking of the possibilities.

Taking the briefcase from his hand, you placed it on the table by the door, to move then to get his coat.

“What’s the matter?” He asked bluntly trying to control his voice.

But you pushed him slightly until he took a seat, not knowing how he’d take the news. He was particularly protective over Ruby specially after she miraculously overcame pneumonia.

“Take it easy, she’s waiting for you in our bedroom, I asked her to sleep and assured her you’d wake her up to talk…” taking a deep breath, you placed your hands on his shoulders for reassurance. “She’s been dreaming of Polly, she only started this week. A dream per night, it’s very vivid and she remembers everything afterwards. But she’s scared.”

“Ruby, Ruby, my little Rube.” He mumbled getting rid of his leather gloves. Standing up, he skipped a few steps on his way to the second floor, you following him closely.

The abrupt passing was taking a toll in the Shelby family. It wasn’t easy to move on, specially as grief came in waves.

You saw him stopping on his tracks at the sight of his daughter sleeping on his side of the bed, her hair scattered over the pillow, her soft features relaxed.

Gently, you pushed him towards the bed, so he could get closer.

Sitting by Ruby’s feet, Tommy doubted of disturbing her sleep, he contemplated the small and fragile figure, his precious daughter. Touching her hand gently, he brought it to his lips, to place a feather-like kiss.

“Daddy?” Her eyes fluttered open.

“Yes, I’m here my darling.”

Ruby launched herself into his arms, finding the comfort she needed in his chest and embrace.

“I saw aunt Polly.” She explained rubbing her eyes.

Tommy’s eyes searched for you at the opposite side of the bed. Then, he caressed her face, noticing she was still wearing the Black Madonna around her neck.

“What did you see?”

Ruby then went on to explaining him all about her first dream. That first night she dreamed of Polly, there was a knock on the door and Ruby went to open it, even though it was always Frances responsible to attend, but when she saw her beloved auntie, she didn’t hesitate to give her hug. To which Polly only answered with a smile and wrapping her arms around Tommy’s daughter. The following night, Ruby dreamed she was using the swing by the big tree and as she started moving higher, she looked over her shoulder and found Polly pushing her, when the girl asked how could she do that, her aunt only gave her a lighthearted laugh and kept pushing her until Ruby looked back again and she wasn’t there anymore.

The first verbal communication came by the third night though. When Ruby prayed before going to bed for her aunt, You told her it was the best she could do, pray for her soul, for her spirit to find peace. That night her dream started when she was sitting by the fireplace, feeling someone close, Ruby turned her head and found Polly standing by the doorframe.

“I’m praying for you.” The girl started the conversation.

“Thank you.” Polly replied with a nod, wrinkles appeared around the corner of her eyes when she smiled at her niece. “I heard you.”

“How?” Ruby asked in confusion.

“Have no fear my sweet girl, I’m always watching over you.”

When Ruby tried to get up to be closer to Polly, she was gone, and that’s when Ruby woke up.

Tommy gasped by the surprise the dreams his daughter was having.

“Polly.” He murmured.

“Am I going crazy daddy?” Ruby asked with concern.

You already assured her that wasn’t the case, she should feel calm and thankful that Polly had chosen her to let them know she was alright. But she needed to hear it from her father.

“No, of course not. Polly loved you very much.” He assured her.

“She said she loves you too and that she’s sorry for never telling you that.” Ruby treated Polly’s message for her father, which sent Tommy to let out a choked sob.

“She told you that?” He asked shocked but treasuring her words.

Ruby nodded and then proceeded to tell her father another dream, she was walking in a beautiful open field full of flowers and trees, she could hear the river close, the sky was clear, it was a gorgeous day. A beautiful butterfly caught her attention.

“She told me to ask you to be careful.” Ruby expressed solemnly. “Don’t believe everything. That you’re not going to die.” His daughter sighed and then continued. “She said read the papers.”

Tommy’s head snapped to find you staring at him already.

Time stood still for an instant. Blood flew off his body, he had kept a secret the illness detected by Doctor Holford from both his children. After he set Lizzie free and signed the divorce papers, Charlie went to live with her and Ruby, but a few weeks later, Ruby asked to see her father and occasionally stayed to sleep there, you had welcomed her with open arms. You had accidentally found the diagnosis and since then you had supported him without a second thought. Convinced to help him live his last days as better as possible.

That was part of the reason why he rushed the wedding and asked you to go to courthouse in the middle of the day, he was afraid to leave you unprotected.

“Were you going to die daddy?” Her concerned voice brought Tommy back to reality.

“Ruby, remember when you asked me if it was a bad thing that you dreamed of someone who is already gone?” You asked the girl instead, walking around the bed to stand behind Tommy.

When she nodded, you smiled briefly. Going back in time.

“Sometimes it’s a signal our loved ones give us to let us know they’re alright, or guide us somewhere.” You explained softly.

Tommy cleared his throat.

“Y/N is right.” Tommy explained. “That’s how I met Y/N.”

Flashback

Your heart froze, you had seen everything. A man desperate screaming into the nothing, bringing a gun into his temple.

But it failed… thankfully.

Or at least you didn’t hear the shooting, but you saw him collapsing into the mud. As you were about to run towards him, a tall, slim woman approached him. She mumbled something and then let a few bullets fall next to him.

You would never approve how Lizzie approached the matter. Tommy was in a vulnerable state after failing the Mosley assassination, he needed someone to be there for him right there to pick him off the ground. Not a resentful wife giving him the bullets. You shook your head disapprovingly at the thought.

*

“Tommy…” it was his mother’s voice. Was he already dead? He had to. “Tommy it’s not your time yet.”

Again there was her sweet voice, just like he remembered.

“My darling you need to get up. You still have things to do.” She insisted. She looked beautiful.

Just like the morning before she drowned in the canal, her hair blowing against her face, her crystal eyes just like his shining.

But he was tired. Oh so tired of everything already.

She pressed down a kiss to kiss his cheek.

“Wake up and you’ll find what you need.”

“Don’t go mother.” He whispered just as he felt someone hold up his head.

*

“Mister? Can you hear me?” A woman dressed in a white gown kneeled before him, gently placing his head on her lap, trying to remove the dirt from his eyes and nose.

And he knew right away, what his mother meant in his dream.

When he saw that selfless woman taking care of him considering the state he was in, both physically and mentally he knew you needed to be in his life. You didn’t hesitate to offer her help genuinely, didn’t care your clothes got dirty, instead you focused on his well-being.

(End of flashback)

“You know the rest of the story, Lizzie and I got divorced and after that, Y/N moved in with me, she’s been taking care of me.”

“You’ve never talked about your Mum.” Ruby pointed out. “I didn’t know you dreamed of her too.”

Tommy nodded, moving one of his hands to his shoulder, to cover yours. Touched by remembering the events. Of course he decided to not mention Ruby that her own mother dropped deliberately the bullets next to him before you helped him. She didn’t need to know that.

“The night before that happened,” you spoke looking at Ruby, “I went to sleep early, I felt so tired but past midnight I started to feel uneasy. And out of nowhere, I found myself walking in a wide open field covered by fog, I kept walking and when I reached the river, there was a woman who asked me for help desperately.”

Taking a deep breath, you continued with the story. “I didn’t recognize her at all, she just kept asking for my help, calling for someone whose name was Tommy. When I saw the fear in her eyes, I followed her, we kept walking for a while until I saw a shadow standing in the middle of the field.”

Ruby’s eyes observed you intensely.

“Help him please.” She pleaded again. “After that I woke up, it was probably five in the morning just like in my dream, luckily I knew the place so I grabbed a coat and went outside to see if it was real… something indescribable was pushing me to keep going, until I found your Dad.” You sighed loudly at the memory feeling Tommy squeeze your fingers.

“That day, Y/N saved my life.” Tommy added, if it wasn’t for Y/N, he would have taken the bullets after Lizzie left him there in a vulnerable state and to end with his own life.

He couldn’t help it but shudder at the memory.

“I didn’t know back then she was Polly and that she had just passed away.” Y/N continued trying to explain everything to Ruby according to her age. “But as I helped your father back into the house, and days went on and we were talking about what happened, I told your Dad about my dream and described the woman I saw, when he showed me a photograph of your aunt Polly, I was surprised and shocked to know it was her.”

“Aunt Polly helped you save my Dad?” Ruby asked incredulously.

Y/N gave Ruby a reassuring smile. She had so many reasons to believe and be thankful for dreaming with Polly when Tommy needed help, that she found a way to communicate through her dream. Otherwise she wouldn’t have met him.

Tommy nodded profusely, and now he was sure Polly found a way through Ruby to let them know she was alright among other things.

“Sometimes Ruby, our loved ones know we need them and when they visit us in our dreams it’s a good thing after all. I like to think they do it because it’s the way they have to show us they’re still around, they’ll always be.” You explained lovingly.

“I’m not scared anymore then, I know aunt Polly is still around.” Ruby declared solemnly.

Even it had been months since her passing away, Tommy sometimes still called her name after a meeting or looked up in the sky to find an answer.

He wasn’t sure how the afterlife worked, sometimes he thought it might be a result of his desperate need to find a solution. But listening to his daughter’s dreams… he had no other choice but to believe it might be real.

Tommy nodded, with a lump installed in his throat. “You can be sure, she will always be watching over us.”

Kissing his daughter goodnight, Tommy tucked her in and then he guided you outside the bedroom.

Rushing downstairs, Tommy went straight to his office to search for the papers. You following him but decided to give him some space, his eyes scanning the pages. One after one, cursing in between, you could see frustration taking a toll on him until he stopped abruptly.

Walking around the desk without asking him what was happening you took a look over his shoulder, following what caught his attention. And there it was, a photograph in the social section.

“Is that…?” Confusion crept over you.

“That bastard.” Tommy murmured.

His doctor was posing at the wedding of Diana and Oswald, the doctor posing next to them. All this fucking time… he creased the newspaper hard.

He was determined to end it right there, to get revenge after realizing of all the lies he had been telling him. But as he was about to walk out the door with a loaded gun in his hand, a soft but firm hand stopped him.

“Tommy.” You called him softly. “Take a minute to think this through… I know he deserves the worst punishment possible, he’s the worst. But you’re better than this.”

Your words seemed to soften his eyes for a moment, when he looked at you his whole expression changed.

“You told me you wanted to be different… better.” You tried again noticing the internal battle he was challenging. “You’re not like them.”

When Tommy’s anger subsided, you took the chance and retrieved the weapon from his hand placing it over his desk.

“Listen to me, take this easy.” You suggested, terrified of the look in his eyes. Since the day he pointed a gun to his temple you have never felt so uneasy and worried about him. “Tommy? This is what they want, a visceral reaction. They want you to explode and act impulsively.”

You felt him shaking under your touch.

“All of the lies he told me…” Tommy finally mumbled. “That fucking son of a bitch assured me these were my last days alive.”

He pursed his lips in an attempt to contain his anger. Not against you, but the situation.

“I know, my love.” You felt on the brick of tears. “But look at the bright side… we’ve a long road ahead.”

That’s when Tommy finally broke down. Hearing you say those words meant a lot to him.

He gave in and his weight pulled you down with him still in your arms, his choked sobs shattered your heart. He was like a young boy crying for his favorite toy.

“Tell me it’s true. Tell me Y/N.” He pleaded between sobs.

Since he met you, he told you how unfair it was after two failed marriages to finally find his true love but after his diagnosis he was angry at how little time he would have to love you.

And you felt the same.

You rocked him gently from side to side, feeling a wave of relief as your eyes fixed in the flames flickering in front of you.

“You aren’t sick Tommy, they lied to you to make you weak.”

News like that it wasn’t easy to digest, not especially after making peace with the idea of death. But finding out that he was healthy gave the two of you the chance to live what you’ve been missing all your life.

It gave you hope.

Although grandma doesn’t make an appearance here, she’s always the main inspiration, follow the Grandma series here

A dark story like this is never easy, so if you feel up to, I’d love to hear what you think! ✨♥️

Master list

Tag list: @lyarr24 @runnning-outof-time @cillmequick @datewithgianni @cloudofdisney

@onlydeadcells @gretelshelby @garrison-girl-08 @lespendy @fastfan

@stevie75 @prettylittlehoneyeyesxoxo @esposadomd @forbidden-forest-witch @ange-thoughts

@moral-terpitude @elenavampire21 @winchestergirl22 @zablife

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@peakyscillian @babaohhhriley @shaddixlife @sloanexx @sydneyyyya

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@lauren-raines-x @everythingelseisextra @mariaelizabeth21-blog1 @lau219 @red-riding-wood

@ironpen @holacia3 @narlytude

[mischievouslittlecreature]

Part 21: The Shadow of the Abattoir

Summary: Tommy's ambitions take them to new heights, but not without consequences looming on the horizon.

Word Count: 4,005

Warnings: Sexual content and references to torture and pregnancy. Bit of a bittersweet ending here, so sorry about that!

Notes: I originally considered including some more detailed aspects--even potentially a full chapter--detailing Lizzie's pregnancy and Ruby's birth, but I have tokophobia, and just wasn't comfortable going into that much detail regarding that topic. So apologies to anyone who wanted to see more of that. And I promise that the Lizzie drama is only just beginning, and will be a big part of the next couple parts, so please consider checking those out once they're posted if you're interested in seeing a continuation of that aspect of the story.

Also, I just want to give a huge thank you to everyone who has read this story. This is to date the biggest single fic I have ever written, and the support you have given me means so much. I promise to have more featuring Tommy and Lucy out very soon!

Previous Chapter • Series • Fic • Next Part

Chapter 29: Shake Hands with the Devil

Returning to work had been the right idea.

Already, Lucy was starting to feel better, work helping to drive the dark thoughts that had been plaguing her lately to the back of her mind. They were still there, but they weren’t nearly as loud as they once were. 

Tommy’s new plan required a good amount of logistics and organizing, both of which she was eager to take on. And another action, one somewhat less desirable, but just as necessary. 

She was surprised at just how easy it was to get Jessie to give up the name of the leader of the cell. All it took was a kiss from Tommy and a declaration that he wanted to help her cause to have information already spilling from her lips. 

But then again, Tommy always seemed to have that effect on women. And Jessie, despite how she may have presented herself, was desperate for connection.

“You alright?” Tommy asked, after Jessie had left the office with the promise that they’d meet up later.

“I feel a little bad for what we’re doing to her,” Lucy sighed, leaning back into him while his hands rested on her upper arms, chin settling on the top of her head.

“If you really don’t want to go through with it, we can figure something else out–”

“No, it’s fine.” She turned around in his arms to face him, resting her head on his chest, leaning into the warmth of his body. 

It was a shitty thing, what they were doing to Jessie. But fucking her was necessary to ensure her loyalty until the election was done. And to maintain the steady stream of information she could provide them about the communists–at least, that’s what Lucy was going to keep telling herself in order to be able to sleep at night. 

“Just…” she worried on her bottom lip, feeling Tommy’s hand settle protectively on the back of her head. “Promise me that you won’t come in her.” She didn’t need to specify as to why, feeling him tense a little against her of the reminder of Lizzie and her approaching due date. 

“I promise.”

She cleared her throat awkwardly. “We really should talk about what you want to do about Lizzie.”

“What do you mean?”

She hesitated, unsure as to how she could properly broach the subject to him, feeling a tear begin to cleave its way through her heart in response to what she was about to suggest. Even as she forced the words to come out. 

“You should marry her.”

Tommy jerked back, staring at her with a furrowed brow, frown pulling his lips downwards. “What?”

“You can’t be unmarried with an illegitimate child if you want to move into politics, Tommy.” Knowing him, winning the position of MP was just the beginning. He had big things ahead of him. “You have to project the right kind of image. And if you want to be able to be involved in any sort of significant way with the baby…”

“But I love you,” he said softly. “If I’m going to marry anyone–”

“It needs to be the mother of your child,” Lucy finished for him stubbornly. He shot her a wounded look. 

“I don’t want to marry her.”

We don’t always get what we want, she thought, but bit her tongue. If things had been different, maybe it could have been her that he would marry. But they weren’t. 

“And besides, what about you?” he pressed.

“I think that I’m a small price to pay for the betterment of your child’s life and your career.”

The hurt in his eyes deepened. “Well I don’t!”

“Tommy…”

“We’re not talking about this,” his jaw twitched unhappily as he shook his head, turning towards his desk.

“Sweetheart, please…”

“I’m not giving you up.” That stubborn sharpness entered his eyes, jaw setting, and she knew that she would get nowhere with him on the subject. At least not yet. He’d have to see with his own eyes that she was right before he budged on it. 

She sighed. The last thing that she wanted to do at the moment was fight with him. “Alright.”

They did not speak of the matter again. Though it lingered in the air between them like a ghost. 

∗ ∗ ∗

They laid side by side in the narrow bed, Tommy in the middle with Lucy on one side of him, Jessie on the other. He was thumbing at his brow with one hand, staring up at the ceiling while Jessie slipped out from under the sheets to go get dressed. Lucy watched her lazily, shifting to tuck herself more closely into Tommy’s side. His arm dropped to wrap around her shoulders, fingers tracing over her back. She shifted nearer to him, suddenly needing the closeness.

“You okay?” Tommy whispered to her in the dark. When she didn’t respond right away, his voice grew a little strained with worry. “Lucy?”

“‘M okay,” she said, nestling her head more firmly on his chest, eyes still watching Jessie carefully. They could not talk while she was in the room with them. At least not really. 

She ached pleasantly between her legs from having him buried inside her but only a few moments ago. And while the pleasure from the orgasm he’d given her was still rushing through her veins, she was coming down from it rapidly, crashing back to earth in an unpleasant plunge. 

It would appear that Lizzie’s pregnancy had more or less killed a lot of the enjoyment that threesomes once held for her. She’d felt an unfamiliar surge of anxiety as they’d taken Jessie to bed, the kind that sex normally helped to dull. But this time the tumultuous, overwhelming feelings only seemed to grow as she watched Tommy fuck their new lover. Even though he’d kept his promise and not emptied himself inside of Jessie, the threat of yet another unintended accident from their liaison had set her so on edge that she found it almost impossible to fully lose herself even in Tommy’s familiar kisses and touches.

She was pretty sure that he was able to sense her nervousness, but whether he was able to guess the actual reason, or thought that she was just anxious because this was the first threesome they’d had since what had happened with Luca, she wasn’t sure. Either way, despite Jessie being the primary focus of the evening, he was being notably attentive towards her, eyes constantly darting over to check on her throughout, warm mouth seeking out her skin in attempts to pull her out of her own head. 

He was looking at her that same way now, a slight crease forming between his brows. Lucy offered him a weak smile that only caused the look of concern to deepen, his other arm joining the first in wrapping around her so that he was hugging her tightly. Lucy squeezed him back, closing her eyes and burying her face in his chest. As if by doing so she could somehow hide away from the entire world. 

∗ ∗ ∗

Tommy left his meeting with Arthur Bigge in high spirits. It had taken some convincing, but all his conditions had been met. Everything was going according to plan. 

Well, not everything. Lucy was still worrying him. She was doing considerably better than she had been during their holiday, but she still wasn’t wholly herself. 

She used to smile and laugh so easily. Even at the absolute worst of his jokes, or with the smallest little bit of teasing, and he could have her giggling, trying to shield it behind one of her hands even as her mossy green eyes lit up, entire face crinkling with mirth.

But nowadays, a melancholic aura had draped over her, seeming to cling to her skin, casting a film of sorrow over her eyes. Of course Tommy did not expect her to go back to the way that things were before Luca. But it killed him to see her so despondent and broken. 

He missed hearing her laugh. 

What he would give to make it all better for her. To pull the sadness out of her eyes. Take it into himself, if he had to. Just so long as she didn’t have to carry it anymore. 

She was still having nightmares and the occasional panic attack, as was to be expected. He had been worried originally that all the work that came along with preparing for the election would cause her too much stress. Especially with how fragile she still was. But if anything the work seemed to help, so he let her be. 

But her comments about how he should marry Lizzie had struck a nerve in him, planting a seed of dread in his chest. He had always assumed if he were to ever marry again after Grace, it would be to Lucy. No one else. Especially not Lizzie.              

He had meant what he’d said. He wasn’t letting her go. He’d rather burn his reputation and even the entire bloody company to the ground before he even considered something like that. But his Lucy seemed incapable of understanding that, and he was beginning to grow more and more worried that no matter how much he tried to reassure her, she was doubting her place at his side.

When he first brought up the idea of running for MP, she had asked him what was to become of her position as his assistant after he took office. The question had taken him aback. It had seemed so obvious to him that she would come with him. He’d hardly given it any real thought. Wherever he went, so did she. That was how things had always been, and he had no intention of changing them. Her worries seemed only somewhat abated when he smiled and coyly told her that MPs still needed assistants. It wasn’t long before she was fretting over the possibility of rumors spreading regarding their relationship and tarnishing his reputation. 

As if his reputation was not already drenched in blood and mud. 

He’d just grinned and kissed her temple, trying to appear relaxed and unbothered by any of it. Hoping that if he did, it would help to soothe her. 

“Most politicians are sleeping with their secretaries, love. We won’t exactly be unique in that regard,” he’d told her. It seemed to have calmed her concerns enough. At least for the moment. 

Adjusting the grip on his briefcase, he pushed out of the door and stepped into the crisp fresh air. Glancing around, he frowned when he didn’t spot Lucy on the bench where he’d left her before going in for the meeting. Bigge had wanted to meet with just him alone, and while Tommy had been inclined to kick up a fuss about it until he let Lucy accompany him, she’d insisted that he shouldn’t risk irritating Bigge just so she could be in the room while they struck their deal. 

He hadn’t been particularly happy about it, but ultimately he had to admit that she had a point. 

Looking around, a beat of panic tightened in his throat at no sight of her distinctive crimson hair. His heart started to pound hard in his chest. No. No, no, no, no…he’d just left her there for a second, she’d been armed, there were dozens of people around, surely she couldn’t have been just snapped up right off the street…

His head swiveled around, scanning the people passing by him. Maybe he’d just missed her. She was so short, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that he’d just lost her in the crowd of people.

He was just beginning to properly panic when he heard his voice at his elbow. 

“How did it go?”

He whirled, eyes wide, chest still heaving with the startings of his panic attack, to find her standing there none the worse for wear, black coat pulled in tight around her.

Relief hit him like a blast to the face, and it took all his self control not to seize her in his arms and squeeze her tight to him. Instead he just let out a deep breath, shoulders relaxing. His eyes closed as he steadied himself, taking the time to remind himself that she was there and she was fine.

He opened his eyes again to find her still looking up at him, head cocked curiously. “Where were you?” he demanded, tone perhaps a bit sharper than he’d intended. 

“I got bored, so I went for a walk.”

“Oh.”

“Sorry.”

“No, it’s just…you weren’t here and I…” he huffed. “It’s alright. C’mon,” he indicated with his head towards the car that he’d parked on the edge of the curb. He held open the door for her, then slipped in after she’d gotten settled in the passenger seat. Setting his briefcase down and closing the door behind him, he turned to look at her. There was an odd bulge in the front of her coat. His eyes narrowed. The bulge twitched. “What’s that?”

Lucy clutched her coat tighter to her body, blinking up at him innocently. “What’s what?”

“What’s wrong with your coat?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Her coat meowed. Tommy raised an eyebrow. Lucy pouted, letting the garment fall open to reveal a tiny little black and orange tortoiseshell kitten hidden underneath, blinking up at him with scrutinizing green eyes. 

“What the bloody hell is that?”

Lucy stroked the little animal’s head. “It’s a kitten, Tommy. Surely you’ve heard of them before.”

He rolled his eyes. “I know what a kitten is, Lucy. What’s it doing tucked in your coat?”

“I heard her crying in the alley behind the bench I was sitting at. And when I went to look, she was soaking wet and shivering all alone in this little box. I couldn’t just leave her there.”

“The fuck are we going to do with a stray kitten, Luce?”

She shrugged. “We can keep her at the house. She could help with the mice problem.”

“We don’t have a mice problem.”

“And now that we have a cat, we never will.”

He eyed the kitten warily, still feeling like she was sharply analyzing him. Her little tail flicked back and forth, paws kneading at Lucy’s thighs. When Lucy scratched at the top of her head, she angled her face up, and batted at her playfully with one soft paw. Lucy giggled. 

Tommy looked up sharply at the sound, biting the inside of his cheek to try to maintain his serious facade even as he felt himself soften at the sight of her smiling down at the cat. 

“And you immediately assumed that I’d be alright with this?” he asked, the amusement obvious in his voice.

“You don’t have much of a choice.” Lucy flashed him a grin before her attention returned to the kitten, who’d curled up into a ball on her lap. Tommy raised an eyebrow, fond smile threatening to break containment as it tugged on the edges of his lips. 

“No?”

Lucy looked up at him, a challenge entering her eyes. “You knocked someone else up.”

He opened his mouth to respond, then closed it. “You know what–that’s fair.”

She snickered, leaning forward to peck his cheek to let him know that there was no real bite to her words. Tugging off one of his gloves, he held his hand out to the cat. She sniffed at his knuckles, whiskers twitching with consideration, and then rubbed her cheek against his hand. 

“She likes you.”

“Mm.” He gave her a few scratches under the chin, begrudgingly admitting to himself that the kitten was pretty fucking cute. And Lucy was right; the least he could do was let her keep the cat. “We’ll have to get her checked out by the vet before we take her home.” 

“Of course. Who knows what she might’ve gotten into living on the streets. Poor baby.”

Tommy let his hand stroke over the kitten’s back. She was so little, he could probably have fit her in one palm when she was all curled up. He felt a slight buzz under his hand as she started purring. He could feel Lucy watching them both fondly. 

“So it went well?”

“Hm?”

“The meeting with Bigge. Did it go alright?”

He smiled at her softly. “Yes; it went alright.” 

Her face lit up, leaning into him. “Good.”

He turned his face to catch her lips with his, kissing her gently in celebration.

Between them, the kitten meowed. 

∗ ∗ ∗

“Don’t you dare.”

Lucy grinned to herself as she approached Tommy’s office, hearing his voice even before she pushed open the heavy wooden door. She was greeted with the sight of the kitten perched on his desk, her little paw batting his box of matches closer and closer to the edge, her head cocked with intrigue. 

Her green eyes peered over at him, holding his gaze, and promptly batted the box onto the floor. Tommy sighed, reaching across to scoop the little monster up and plop her down onto his lap. “You’re gonna be a little troublemaker, aren’t you?” But he was smiling to himself, a dimple appearing in his cheek when the kitten meowed in agreement. 

Lucy smiled as she stepped fully into the office, walking over to set down a fresh stack of papers onto his desk. “Need you to sign these.” She collapsed back into a chair across from him as he plucked up a pen. 

Her hand raised to rest against the side of her face as she watched him. With every passing day, the election drew nearer, and with it, her anxiety grew. 

She’d been keeping an ear to the ground, regarding anything that might hinder him winning. But so far, with all the careful bribing and other methods of rigging that they’d implemented holding strong, it seemed like it would be an easy path to victory.

But there were some rumblings regarding Lizzie and the pregnancy that had started to spread. Lucy was pretty sure that they could keep them suppressed at least until the election was over. But not indefinitely.

It was going to become a problem.

She supposed it was almost funny, in a way. How being unmarried with an illegitimate child was likely to cause more harm to his reputation than being a notorious gangster. 

They needed to address it. Figure out what they were going to do. And the longer that they took, the more damage the whole situation was likely to cause. 

The kitten jumped into her lap, curling up with a soft purr. Lucy let her hand stroke mindlessly through her black and orange fur.   

“Tommy?”

He looked up at her through the glinting lenses of his glasses, eyebrow raised, papers still clutched between his fingers. 

“Yes?”

She’d been reluctant to bring up the subject ever since he so thoroughly shut her down the last time over it. But if she was being truly honest with herself, that wasn’t the only reason why she’d so willingly let it go.

She didn’t want him to marry Lizzie. And she sure as hell did not want to let him go. 

We’ve still got some time. We don’t need to do anything about it yet.

She swallowed hard, feeling like the worst, most selfish scum on the earth, even as she forced a wobbly smile on her face. 

“Never mind.”

∗ ∗ ∗

Time passed at seemingly the speed of light. And before she knew it, she was standing next to Tommy, the rest of the family–except for Lizzie who had to wait outside with the baby–crowded around him. They were all waiting with baited breath as the results of the election were announced over the loudspeaker. Lucy could feel her guts twisting nauseatingly inside her with nerves, heart leaping into her throat. 

It had been an insane handful of months, and they’d all seemingly passed within the blink of an eye. She didn’t even know where all the time had gone. 

Not long before the election took place, Lizzie gave birth to a baby girl, already bestowed the name Ruby by Polly before her arrival into the world.  

And oh, did Tommy love that little girl. 

It was heartwarming to see him fall so deeply in love with her, and every moment spent watching him with her made Lucy’s heart jump. 

But God, did it also hurt.

She kept her melancholy and jealousy over the gorgeous little family he now had with Lizzie tucked down deep and away, where no one would ever find it. Ruby was a sweet baby, and she deserved nothing but good things in life. And Lucy did love her. Enough that she was more than prepared to walk away forever if she had to in order to give that girl a chance at growing up with a proper family around her. 

She knew it made Tommy sad, to not be able to see her all the time. Ruby and Lizzie still lived at the home Tommy had bought for them, and while he visited when he could, he still did not get to see his daughter as often as he would if she lived at Arrow House. 

They still had not had the conversation about what to do regarding that situation long-term. She’d tried to bring up the idea of him and Lizzie getting married again a handful of times, especially after Ruby’s birth, but Tommy still wouldn’t hear of it. 

A part of her was worried that, despite the promising polls, his personal life would hinder his victory. And it would all be her fault. Because she had been selfish and decided to try to hold onto him, even though the selfless thing–the responsible thing–would have been to let him go so he could build a proper personal life to go along with his new ambitions. 

A huge breath of relief left her when his name was announced over the loudspeaker, a wide smile quickly replacing the look of apprehension that had been there a moment prior. She hugged Tommy back tightly in celebration when he engulfed her in his arms, briefly forgetting that she was trying to behave more distantly towards him in public. Like a mere colleague rather than a lover. To try to save his reputation before the rumor mill fully caught wind of their affair and ran with it. 

“I now declare Thomas Shelby to be the new Labor Member of Parliament for the constituency of Birmingham South,” the announcer boomed for all to hear. Not just in the room that they were all crowded in to hear the results, but across the entire bloody country. 

Cheers erupted, everyone in the family swarming around him, all smiles and uninhibited joy. They soon made their way to the doors, out to where Lizzie was waiting with Ruby clutched in her arms. Tommy beamed as he scooped Ruby up, lifting her high above his head, the baby squealing and giggling in delight. Lucy smiled at the display and the baby’s happy coos as her father adjusted her to rest on his hip and carry her with him down the rest of the stairs. But her smile quickly fell when she spotted Lizzie flashing a truly snide smirk at Jessie where she was standing in the crowd. A tendril of trepidation coiled itself around her, wondering if she would be on the receiving end of such a look sooner or later. Lizzie had been behaving decently towards her as of late, but she was not fool enough to expect that to last.

She followed Tommy and Lizzie down the stairs, lingering back to let them both go first, walking side by side with their baby while she trailed behind them; alone. 

And despite their current string of good fortune, of endless possibilities and new doors opening up before them, she found herself struggling to muster up any real hope for the future. 

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[penname-artist]

Merry Chrysler-

I MEANT TO POST THESE CHRISTMAS HEADCANONS A YEAR AGO

THIS HAS BEEN IN MY DRAFTS SINCE THEN

I'M SORRY CHILDREN YOU CAN HAVE YOUR CANDY NOW

I swear I am totally not biased when I say that I'll side with Shu's headcanon of Lightning being very into singing and then getting caught doing so and being good at doing so while putting up Christmas decorations. Okay. Maybe a LITTLE bit biased.

But I am NOT biased when I say that he and Mater BOTH do it and they have a habit of starting a lyric and waiting for the other to give them the next one so they can duet the rest. It's adorable, but it drives the town crazy just as much.

Red always puts something happy and festive on the old Stanley statue. Some years it's a wreath. Some years he has a red glowing nose. Sometimes he gets little antlers. It's a nice nod to his love for the holidays, and it makes Lizzie so happy.

Finn and Leland used to play that silly Hide the Pickle game on Christmas morning, except with very ramped up stakes because they loved a challenge. Since his passing, Finn's now dangerously taught both Mater and Holley to play. Mater tries his best, though he's not great at hiding them and he's lucky at best with finding, and Holley, well...let's just say that she did such a good job her first time trying to hide it that they all gave up looking, and ended up having to buy another one to use.

Every year, Dusty goes out and puts up tacky Christmas lights for the year. And every year, he and Chug get tangled in it. And every year until 2013, Dottie was tasked with helping them out. Since 2013, every year she puts it up to Skipper and Sparky to do instead. Never fails.

You ever heard of something called a "Drive thru nativity scene"? I've been to one, once. You sit in your car and drive through a live reenactment of the towns and the nativity, and you pay fake coin taxes at certain stops, and dad almost got put in fake jail by Roman soldiers because he wouldn't pay those taxes anyways the point is they have one that they do at Radiator Springs now and over the years they have garnered a lot of traffic. Sally and Lightning only did the Mary and Joseph bit one year, and it ended in Joseph being run over by fans and backing up the line, so he lent his role to someone else (it changes every year)

During his reign over the Lodge, Cad Spinner went above and beyond for Christmas light displays during the holidays, which ate up the electric bill for one and left a fire hazard for another. When Jammer took over his position, though, the annual display had become wildly popular, so - with the assistance and better pay of the Piston Peak fire and rescue - they kept the event running. So long as Ryker stayed close by.

The Smokejumpers pulled an Epic Christmas Prank on - or rather with - Cabbie one year. He had no idea what everyone was giggling about, as they boarded up to drop over a fire. And then later, Maru held up a photo he got of him while he was taking off with them. He rolled his eyes at the sight of the bright red "ELF BACKUP" sign written across his hatch.

Blade's not really a Christmas guy, but, there's one thing he enjoys during the Christmas season, and that's peppermints. He's fucking addicted. Maru will catch him swiping them from the little bowl Patch puts out in the mess hall, and they go through a whole bag in less than two weeks. Addicted I tell you.

Specifically in humanized land, Cabbie has whittled - while Windlifter paints - simplified wooden nutcracker statues, reflecting the features of each of the Smokejumpers. There's five on the mantle in the mess hall for them, and another shelf that holds a handful more for the jumpers past.

[goldenempyrean]

sick reader and elizabeth using “It sounds like you’ve caught that bug going round.”  and “Naps are only for babies and old people. Im neither.”  

Should've Stayed Home

〚 Notes - Just posting the fic I wrote last night :) This hasn't been edited/checked well so sorry about mistakes! 〛

〚 Pairing - Lizzie Olsen x Reader 〛

〚 Summary - You insisted on visiting Lizzie's parents with her, even when you weren't feeling great. But once you arrived there, it seems that maybe staying home would've have been such a day idea. 〛

〚 Wordcount - 1300 〛

〘 Check Out My Masterlist! 〙

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“Maybe you should stay home today sweetheart.” Lizzie sighed as you coughed into your elbow, “It sounds like you’ve caught that bug going round. We can always reschedule, or I can always go visit my parents by myself for a few hours and then come home again.” 

But you only shook your head as tossed her the car keys, “No, we’ve been putting off seeing your parents for weeks and I’m not even that sick either, my throat’s just being a little temperamental.” 

Lizzie hesitated for a moment, worry creasing her forehead, but ultimately, she relented and took the keys from you. She watched as you gathered your things and made your way out the door, wishing she could convince you to stay home and rest. 

As you drove to Lizzie's parents' house, you couldn't shake the feeling of fatigue that settled in your bones. You tried to ignore it, focusing instead on the radio and the passing scenery outside the car window. The coolness of the glass felt amazing against the throbbing which had begun to pound in your temples. 

The drive wasn’t too long at least, that was a positive. Not only had your head begun to pound, but you also found yourself beginning to sniffle repetitively, unable to keep your nose from running. Those sniffles only intensified further when your nose itched sharply. 

“H’h..h’tschoo! Heh’hupsshooo!” 

Lizzie chuckled, reaching over to squeeze your thigh gently, “Bless-“ She started but stopped when your breath hitched again preemptively. 

“H’htschoo!” You ducked your head into your elbow as you covered your final sneeze, sniffling wetly in the aftermath, scrunching up your nose as you wiped it against the end of your sleeve. 

“There's tissues in the glove box baby, blow your nose.” Lizzie sighed, regretting that she hadn’t pushed further for you to stay home. 

You nodded and reached for the tissues, blowing your nose loudly and rubbing at your eyes. The headache was only getting worse, and your throat felt like it was on fire. You tried to distract yourself by looking out the window again, but everything seemed to blur together in a dizzying haze. 

By the time you arrived at Lizzie's parents' house, you were feeling worse than ever. Your head was pounding, your nose was running nonstop, and your throat was so sore it hurt to swallow. You tried to put on a brave face when you greeted her parents, but they could tell something was wrong. 

As soon as you walked in the door, Lizzie's mom greeted you with a big hug. "Oh, honey, you don't look so good. Are you feeling okay?" she asked, concern etched on her face. 

You forced a smile and nodded, not wanting to worry her. "I'm just a little under the weather. Nothing to worry about," you replied, your voice scratchy and hoarse. 

Lizzie's dad came over to give you a handshake and a pat on the back, but you winced in pain as the pressure on your back sent a wave of pain through your body. Lizzie noticed your discomfort and quickly intervened, guiding you over to the couch and offering you a glass of water. 

You gratefully accepted the water, taking a sip to soothe your sore throat. Lizzie sat down next to you, her hand resting on your knee as she asked, "Do you need anything else, love?" 

You couldn’t help but feel your heavy eyes begin to close on their own as you fought to keep yourself awake as you leant your head against Lizzie’s shoulder, “No, it’s fine.” 

Lizzie frowned as she felt the heat radiating off of you. She knew that you were running a fever, and she didn't want to push you too hard. "Maybe we should head back home, sweetheart," she suggested gently. 

You shook your head, not wanting to ruin the visit. "No, I'm fine. Let's just hang out for a bit," you said, your voice barely above a whisper. Lizzie hesitated, but eventually she relented when she parents joined the two of you in the living room. 

You tried your best to keep yourself composed as you chatted with Lizzie's parents. But as the conversation went on, the pressure in your sinuses began to build, and you knew that you were on the verge of a sneeze. 

You tried to hold it in, but it was no use. Your body gave in, and you let out a loud, explosive sneeze. "H'tschh!" Your hand shot up to cover your nose and mouth, but it was too late. 

Lizzie's mom rushed over to you with a handful of tissues, concern etched on her face. "Oh, honey, are you okay? Do you need anything?" she asked. 

You nodded, grateful for the tissues. You blew your nose, wincing as the pressure in your head intensified. You could feel the heat rising in your cheeks as you tried to hide your embarrassment. 

Lizzie's dad gave you a sympathetic smile. "It's okay, we've all been there," he said, trying to make you feel better. 

“You’re definitely getting a cold.” Lizzie sighed, pressing a tender kiss to your cheek. You could do little more to respond, that insistent itch still lingering in your nose before you eventually sneezed down into your tissues yet again, mumbling out your apology afterwards. 

Lizzie's mom reached over to hand you another tissue, giving you a sympathetic smile. "Bless you, dear. It sounds like you're really not feeling well," she said kindly whilst Lizzie wrapped her arms around you, holding you closer to her. 

You nodded, feeling a pang of guilt for not listening to Lizzie's advice to stay home. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make a scene," you apologised, your voice still scratchy and hoarse. 

Lizzie's dad patted you on the back. "No need to apologise, we understand. Sometimes these things just happen," he said, giving you a reassuring smile. 

But you couldn't shake the feeling of embarrassment and discomfort. You were starting to feel like a burden on everyone, like you were ruining the visit. You tried to excuse yourself, saying that you needed some fresh air, but Lizzie insisted on coming with you. 

Outside, the cool air felt good on your flushed face, but you couldn't escape the pounding in your head or the congestion in your sinuses. You leaned against Lizzie, feeling her warmth and support as you tried to catch your breath. 

"I'm sorry," you mumbled, feeling tears prickling at the corners of your eyes. "I didn't mean to ruin the visit." 

Lizzie pulled you closer, rubbing soothing circles on your back. "You didn't ruin anything, sweetheart. We just want you to feel better," she said, her voice soft and gentle. 

You leaned into her, feeling the weight of exhaustion and sickness weighing you down. "I just want to go home," you said, your voice barely audible. 

Lizzie nodded, understanding the seriousness of the situation. She helped you back to the car, settling you in the passenger seat before going back inside to explain the situation to her parents. 

As Lizzie drove you home, you leaned your head against the window, feeling the cool glass soothing against your hot skin. Lizzie's hand found yours, squeezing it gently as she drove. 

“Maybe you should try and take a nap sweetheart, you look exhausted.” 

 “Naps are only for babies and old people. I'm neither.”  You mumbled, but still you found yourself giving in and closing your eyes. 

Lizzie chuckled softly. "Well, in that case, you're just taking a rest. You need it." She whispered, her voice filled with sympathy and love. 

You nodded sleepily, feeling grateful for Lizzie's understanding and care. As you drifted off to sleep, you knew that you were in good hands, and that Lizzie would be there to take care of you until you were feeling better. 

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[whitexwolfxx310]

I'm Dreaming Of A *White* Christmas (BBWWS)

Pairing: Bucky x female reader

Summary: Christmas fun at The Compound with Bucky gets steamy.

Warnings: 18+ !!! Y/N, smut post, super fluff and some angst, oral sex (Female to male), unprotected sex, shower sex, light cursing, talk of love.

Word Count: 3708

Gif: Credit goes to dunkinnn and lizzie-olsen

A/Ns: Sorry this post took a little bit longer than usual. With the holidays, things got a little crazy. Thank you for your patience. Thank you all so much for reading!

Taglist: @peaches1958 @aquabrie @elsie-bells @pono-pura-vida @redbloodedgurl @almosttoopizza @beware-my-thorns @prettylittlepluviophile @annoyinglythoughtfuldestiny @calwitch @ozwriterchick @roofwitty779

Previous Post

Masterlist

Gone on another mission, The Compound has been relatively quiet. While this building has every amenity you could think of and more, it tends to get a bit lonely. Every morning you wake up to find Bucky already awake, looking at you with an affectionate smile which is an incredible way to start any day. Each night you're disappointed by a lonely bed, putting it out into the universe that he will be home soon.

With the holidays quickly approaching, you can't help but have a strong feeling of empathy towards your fellow housemates. The holidays seem to be something not necessarily celebrated around here, which isn't uncommon in this field of work. Most of these people have experienced a terrible loss or some sort of tragic incident that makes celebrating difficult, which is completely understandable. But not this year. This year, you're going to do what you can to bring some peace, some sort of recognition that they so desperately deserve.

Remembering that there was an abundance of extra Christmas decorations courtesy of Quill and the rest of the Guardians, (Which no one has really any idea where they came from), you quickly make your way down to the storage room to glance it over. After multiple trips between The Compound floors, you're now looking at the large array of festive pieces on the living room floor. A small wave of anxiety flows through you at the thought of Bucky coming home and seeing, what he considers, a mess. His tidiness is both a blessing and a curse.

Let's get to it then.

A few stressful hours of hard work and perfection gives you the satisfaction you were hoping for. Across the island in the kitchen is draped, greenery garland. Three classic red, white, and green stockings hang adjacent on the wall. One for Bucky, one for yourself, and of course, one for Alpine. Fake, fluffy white snow covers the base of the bay window. Mini white Christmas lights outline the entirety of each window pane. A few gold candles of various sizes were placed on each counter. And last, but not least, the main attraction of it all is the Christmas tree standing in the corner of the living room. Also decorated with classic Christmas lights and has a modest mixed amount of red and gold ornaments. Alpine seems to approve of the tree as well, brushing her face up against the bottom branches.

Putting some of your favorite Christmas movies on repeat, you start on one of the most important traditions of all: homemade hot chocolate and bake cookies to decorate. While baking has never been a strong suit for you, technological advances have come a long way in the form of break apart sugar cookie dough.

The aroma of freshly baked cookies and a hint of pine fills the apartment. Setting the cookies onto a cooling rack, you start to set up a small decoration station that includes different color icing and sprinkles. Being so involved in the art that is cookie decorating, you didn't even hear the door open. Out of your peripheral vision, Bucky is slowly walking in, slightly waving his hand to get your attention as to not scare you. It doesn't work. You jump back slightly.

"Sorry! Sorry.... I really tried not to frighten you." Bucky laughs, but his eyes start to wonder around the apartment. "Wow." He says, sort of monotoned.

You scurry from behind the counter, now standing in front of him. Coming from a person who's tidiness is on just a whole new level, it might seem like Santa Claus himself threw up in this place. Bucky doesn't make eye contact with you as he continues to look over each and every new detail about the apartment.

"Is it too much? It's too much. I'm sorry!" You feel the anxiety start to rise up from the pit of your stomach as you spin to start taking things down but are soon held in place by a warm hand grasped onto yours.

“No, don’t.” He starts, focusing on you for the first time since he noticed the newly decorated apartment. “It’s beautiful.” His eyes dart between each and every new display. Alpine sits firmly at Bucky’s feet while softly purring, her tail gently swishing back and forth along the floor behind her as she demands the obligatory welcome home love session.

“Oh hi, pretty girl.” Bucky says as he kneels down onto the floor, his hand scratches the top of her head and moved down along her back. Rolling over onto her back, Alpine meows and pokes out her stomach. He laughs as he indulges in the belly rubs. “I know, I know. Did you miss me?”

If he's like this with a cat, imagine him with kids. Ugh. My heart.

"Now you're the one with a staring problem." Bucky says looking up at you from the floor. You quickly realize that you were daydreaming, watching him, cheesing so hard that your cheeks hurt.

"S-Sorry." You say quietly, your cheeks now turning red from embarrassment. Giving one more gentle caress down Alpine's stomach, Bucky stands up, facing you, taking a step closer.

"Did you miss me?" He asks. The question was proposed as a sarcastic one. But by now, you know there is an hidden underlying implication. Searching his eyes, you see it. He's genuinely curious. And yet, he seems nervous for the answer although he is trying his best not to show it.

"Ehh..." You take a step closer, now standing on the balls of your feet making yourself taller so that the tips of your noses just touch. "Maybe a little." A small snort escapes from your nose just before you stretch your neck just a little more to place a gentle kiss on his lips. Bucky returns the sentiment, smiling as he cups your face on each side and presses his forehead into yours.

"Same here, Sunshine." Bucky smiles just a little wider. "Although..." He takes a step backwards, moving his hands down from your cheeks to your biceps. "I need to know. What is it that's making this place smell so good?"

"Oh!" You're slightly bouncing from the excitement, and relief, of him liking the décor. "I made sugar cookies." You say eagerly, tilting your neck slightly to the left a few times indicating to look over. He walks over to the island, looking at the display of treats prepped and ready to be decorated. Bucky goes to take one and you slap his hand away. His eyebrows raised in surprise. "If you help me decorate, maybe I'll let you have one."

The promise of a small treat was all the convincing he needed. New core memories are created as Bucky wraps his arms around you from behind, trying to spread icing onto the cookies. It was difficult for two people to try and accomplish in such a close proximity. By the time you’re both done, it looks as though a toddler iced and sprinkled the cookies. The playful banter back and forth with each other lead to the occasional tease with icing.

Both stepping back to admire the kindergarten grade cookies, you both look at each other and laugh. “It’s the thought that counts, right?” Bucky continues to chuckle as he tries to sound convincing.

His hand catches your eye, the tiniest drop of icing on his finger. “Here, you have a little…” you start as you take his hand. Bringing it to your mouth, your lips wrapping around his pointer finger a little further down than necessary. Keeping eye contact with him, you slowly pull back, allowing the pad of his finger to slide against your bottom teeth and the tip of your tongue delicately flicks over the end of his fingertip as it exits your mouth.

Bucky, intrigued, raises his eyebrows in response. He visibly relaxes as a grin smoothly appears on his mouth. "And you..." He says, as he leans his face in closer to yours while his thumb and pointer finger create a U shape around your chin. "Have something right..." Using those two fingers only, he manipulates your head to tilt up and to the side. His tongue presses to your cheek, dragging it slowly upwards. "Here." He says, leaving a sensual kiss on your cheek. Your body trembles slightly under his touch after being alone for the last few weeks. Your skin starts ever so lightly tingle from each time he makes skin to skin contact.

Giggling, you step backward towards the counter and reach for a container with the remaining icing. Quickly you stick your finger into the icing and boop Bucky on the nose. His forehead and nose scrunch revealing a playful smile. Reaching for the container, he sticks three fingers into the icing, now grinning from ear to ear.

You quickly realized that you made a mistake. Trying to dart away, Bucky snatches you up from behind. Kicking your feet and squealing, he lets go, bending over from laughing so hard. You take this opportunity to run on the other side of the counter so at least that is between you two. You mirror his movements. Each step he takes to the right, you take one to the left and vise versa.

Even for a split second, it was a stupid thought that you could even outrun him. Watching him intently, you bite your bottom lip. Now wearing a mischievous smile, Bucky jumps up onto the island effortlessly. Within one stride he steps down onto a chair and lightly jumps onto the floor in front of you. Knowing that you’re trapped no matter which way you try to go, your fight vs flight response completely shorts out. He swiftly moves forward, bracing you with his left arm but using the messy icing fingers to gently grab your face. Almost as if it was a wedding cake, he caresses it across your face.

“Bucky!!!” You call but can barely get out with all of the laughing. You’re then silenced with a sweet, messy, perfect ‘fall in love’ this very moment, kiss. It feels as if you’re just melting into him. Your body presses up against him and his does the same in response.

“We are um… quite messy.” You breathe between kisses.

"Hmm." He moans into your mouth. "I think I know what we can do to fix that." Without breaking the kiss, he lifts you up, supporting you from underneath your thighs.

Wrapping your legs around his waist, he walks you both through the bedroom and into your shared bathroom. Leaning into the shower, he turns the water on. Steam immediately starts to fill the bathroom, making the atmosphere thicker. You can feel him shifting around slightly, which a moment later you recognized that he had removed his shoes. As you're expecting him to put you down so you can take your clothes off, he doesn't. Opening the glass door into the shower, he steps in, still holding you, and you both fully clothed.

"W-What are you doing?!" You ask, confused and yet curious. Bucky let's out an amused laugh.

"You said we were a mess, Y/N. You gave me a problem and this is my solution." He says, lightheartedly. Gently, he helps you plant your feet down onto the wet tile, bracing you in case your clumsiness decides to show it's ugly face.

Once you're stable, your arms find their way around each other once more. The warm water from the large, rainfall showerhead is weaving in and out between the kiss. As the seconds pass by, both your clothes and his, are starting to stick tightly to your bodies from being damp. Feeling confined from the now restricted clothing, you pull away from the kiss. Bucky's hair has fallen to it's natural state, dripping into his face as he looks into your eyes fervently.

Your hands instinctively reach for the bottom of his shirt, rolling it up a little at a time. At least, as much as you can peel the damp fabric off of his body. With a little additional help from Bucky himself, the soaked t-shirt is discarded into the corner of the shower. Reciprocating, his hands start to tug upwards on the hem of your shirt. While he's pulling up, you start trying to shimmy out of the top as well.

"I guess I didn't think this all the way through." Bucky laughs. That genuine, can turn your entire day around, contagious and reserved laugh that only you're allowed to hear. Your body feels as though it's going to liquify underneath his touch.

Almost being successful with the shirt, he is able to get the clothing up your neck and partially over your face. He lingers a moment, letting the drowned shirt stay just above your nose. Leaning in, his mouth is immediately on yours. The shirt being used as a makeshift blindfold for a moment. Bending down just a little, your head and arms are free, your shirt now joining his on the floor.

Pressing your bodies into one another, each others hands find their way to the button of the other persons jeans. Working collectively and matching movements, you are now eagerly stepping out of your pants while maintaining the kiss. After undoing the button and zipper of his jeans, you take this opportunity to break away from the kiss. Bending down onto your knees, you grasp the hem of the jeans and start tearing them down.

Bucky braces his back against the humid shower glass, leaning his hips lightly forward towards you to aid in getting the jeans off. Feeling absolutely feral as his pants come off to join the rest of the clothes on the floor, your eyes lock with one another. Like a lightbulb turning on, the idea clicks into your head. We've never been here before.

Sitting back on your knees, the warmth of the rainfall lands near the back of your head, spilling into your hair and along your back. Bucky has an inquisitive expression on his face, wondering where this is going.

Blinking a few waterdrops off of your lashes, you lean in slightly and your hand reaches his ankle, your fingers slowly trailing their way up higher and higher, also leaving the occasional small scratch along the way. While it seemed painfully slow, it was only a matter of time before your hand was at his base. Looking up through hooded eyes, you open your mouth, tongue stretched out as you press it to his tip.

Maintaining the eye contact, your lips curl into a smirk before placing them around the head. Bucky's clenching his teeth, looking as though the breath was sucked right out of him. Sighing, his head leans backward onto the glass. Pulling back and opening your mouth more, you lean in, being able to take more of him in. He sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth, his waist instinctively pressing towards you.

Sliding your mouth backwards, you make it a point to press your tongue firmly up against the bottom of his shaft as you start to pull away. His chest is already heaving. This won't take much. With one hand gently gripped in his inner thigh, the other hand wraps around the bottom of his length. Once your mouth is pulled all the way back, you wait until Bucky's eyes lock with yours. Without blinking, you spit onto the end, using your hand that is already grasped onto him to slide the lubrication you provided down and around.

His mouth hangs open slightly at the gesture but is soon replaced with a low, mumbled moan. Waiting until your hand makes it's way back to the tip, you use your mouth to accompany the hand. Almost as if holding a microphone, your hand guides your mouth up and down. As soon as he seems to be enjoying himself, you switch it up, intensifying and edging him closer and closer to his climax.

Your grasp twists around as it goes forward and back. The top of your tongue flicks left and right as it gets guided by your hand. He's becoming restless; heavy breathing, more vocal, his right hand moves down to intertwine in your hair, encouraging you movements a go a little faster. When you can feel him start to get harder in your grip, his hand releases from your hair. Bringing his right hand up to his face, he bites down on his own knuckle, hard.

This takes you back a moment, confused by the gesture. A small 'pop' sound as your mouth pulls back and off of him. There's a flicker that crosses his gaze, looking at you amazed, adoringly, and something within him that also is coming out primal.

Bucky lifts you off of your knees to stand straight in front of him. Placing both of your hands on his chest, he hungerly seeks your lips. Modesty is out the window as his tongue caresses against yours. The kiss portrays how much he has missed you, how much he craves to be with you, to be inside of you any way that he can.

He then turns you around, your hands and breasts pressed against the glass. Using his foot between your legs, he spreads each leg just a little wider. His chest finds your back straight away, desperate to be as close to you as possible. Reaching around, his pointer and right middle finger go to your clit, rubbing in soft circles.

Your now sensitive body is pushing back against him. But after the slight foreplay, Bucky is ready to move forward. He slides the tip of himself on your core from back to front, before he is at your center, pushing himself in slowly. A relieved sigh comes from deep in your throat, trying everything to compose yourself and not beg him to fuck the ever living daylights out of you.

Once he is fully in, he stops for a moment; Taking all of you in, letting you adjust around his length.

"You're so tight..." Bucky breathes. It's like music to your ears. This moment can only get better at this point. He slowly draws himself almost completely out of you, but then thrusts back in. The suddenness makes you jump slightly from being so delicate under his touch. Before too long, he's pumping in and out of you in a steady rhythm. The water trickles down on your back and funnels through right to where the two of your bodies meet.

The moaning from both yourself, and him, start to become more frequent and louder with the panting breaking the now constant vocals. "Don't stop." You breathe. Just trying to get the two simple words out was a task in itself. Keeping the same rhythm, the thrusts become a little bit more defined. Now the moans, if you could even call them that, start to coincide with one another. The waves of warmed water crashing over you both.

A familiar pressure has been creeping up inside you. The one that demands to be seen, heard, and felt. The pleasure that feels so good but almost begs you to stop at the same time. A feeling that you're going to explode from the inside out, in the best way possible. Arching your back down just a little more, Bucky starts to glide right over the sweetest spot of all with each forward and back motion.

Your face presses up against the cool glass of the shower, trying to relieve yourself from the scorching heat rippling through you. His hands grab each side of your hips, causing the collision to get even more intense. Didn't think that was possible.

Feeling as though you took a step off of a tall ledge, you can't help but fall in love with the feeling of the free fall. The additional warmth from his climax mixed with your own drags the moment out. Becoming almost painfully sensitive with each slowing stroke.

Breathless, you each take a moment to collect yourselves. Your heartrate coming down, panting, the instant chill of sweat meeting the air. You can feel him gently pull out and your body's response is to quickly bury yourself in his chest. This is the moment; The exact place and time that if you were to die in this second, it would be the perfect way to go.

Being the sweet, nurturing man that only you seem to know, Bucky holds you and caresses your soft slicked skin. This is the first time your mind sees him. The protector, vulnerable, independent, and humble man that has everything you have ever wanted and more in a partner. The gentleness in his touch is what you needed to be complete. He isn't the type to jump in bed and leave at the first chance he gets. He's committed. He looks after you, paying attention to the tiniest details about yourself. Continuing to be there for you in the way of taking care of you. Washing your body, rubbing his sudsy hands up and down along your body.

Taking in a deep breath, it sounds like he's going to say something but hesitates. You look up to meet his eyes, looking into them admiringly. There is a heaviness in the air between you. An unspoken confession that both of you have, yet no one has been brave enough to say.

"Bucky, I-..." You start, swallowing down the feeling of being rejected in your throat. "I...I love you." It's barely audible. Maybe he didn't even hear it. It's too late to take it back. The lifetime lingering moment of silence makes you requestion the admission you just gave. You didn't even realize you were holding your breath waiting for his answer until his mouth opens.

"I love you too, Y/N." He professes. The amazing moment where it's not just you who has been feeling this way. Everything you have been daydreaming and more might have a chance at becoming reality. It takes everything you have to not jump up and down, celebrating like a teenager.

"Let's go get ready. We have some cookies to hand out." You smile, placing one more gentle kiss on his lips.

Next part

[hellowhisperingstars]

Chapter Fourteen: The Court Date

Summary: Finally back in Hawkins you talk to Dan about everything that happened and a surprise guest shows up to support you at court.

Pairing: Rockstar/Bar Owner!Eddie Munson x Baker!Reader

Words: 7.1K

Warnings: 18+, Y/N used, sensual undressing, legal/court talk, cussing, abusive parents, dom/sub dynamics, I think that's it. Please let me know if I missed anything!

A/N: One more chapter after this one! It's going to be the epilogue! I hope you liked this one sorry it's taken so long to get out. I hit a wall really hard when it came to writing and it took me longer then I would have liked to get back up but here it is! I have no idea how the court system works so if anything is wrong let me know!

Likes, comments and reblogs are always greatly appreciated! <3

Please let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list! I will be double checking if you have your age in your bios! AGELESS OR BLANK BLOGS WILL NOT BE ADDED TO THE TAG LIST!

Previous - Masterlist - Forward

By the time the four of you got back to Hawkins you were passed out on Eddie’s chest as he hugged you close. His eyes closed, completely at ease. He felt like he could breathe easier knowing that you were right here and not stuck far away from him anymore.

Dan eased his car into the parking lot of Hellfire and pulled into a spot at the front. Looking into his rearview mirror he gave Eddie a small nod when his eyes opened when he turned the car off. “We’re here.”

Nodding Eddie rubbing his hand up and down your back briskly, his face hiding in your hair. “Baby. Gotta wake up. We’re home.”

You mumbled in your sleep before squinting your eyes open and lifting yourself up a little to look around. In your post sleep haze it took you a few seconds to recognize the area and soon a bright smile lit up your face. You were at the bar. You could finally relax now. Sighing, you leaned your forehead against his chest listening to his deep chuckle.

“Come on,” Eddie said with a smile. “Let’s get you inside.”

Nodding, you sat up and eased back onto the bench seat to let him get into an easier position so he could open the door and you smiled as he held his hand out for you, his rings shining in the sunlight, once he was standing in the parking lot. Slipping your hand into his you let him help you out of the car, only tripping over your skirt once but Eddie caught you around your waist before you even hit the ground.

“Woah, easy baby.” Eddie laughed while he helped you stand. “Drink any of that church wine while you were in there?”

Giving him a look you rolled your eyes. “You’re so funny.”

“I know.” Chuckling, Eddie closed the door behind you and took your hand to walk you into the bar. As soon as the doors opened you were attacked by Robin, Lizzy, and Ada who had been pacing the bar waiting for you to get back. The rest of the band lounging around trying not to look worried, but Eddie would see the relief on their faces when they saw you.

The three girls were talking at once as they hugged you, holding your face in their hands, pulling at the skirt of your dress telling you how pretty it was, it was so loud and overwhelming but it made you laugh. Turning you looked over at Ada who was crying a little and you hugged her close to you. “I was so scared you weren’t coming back.”

“So was I.” You said quietly. Pulling away from her you held her by the shoulders. “How’s Tiff? Marty and Emma? A-a-and the bakery?”

“Fine,” Ada nodded with a smile. She was so damn happy to see you. “They are all just fine.”

“Good, good.” You nod with your own smile before you pull her close again. “I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“Ladies,” Eddie said gently, “I hate to break this up but Y/N really needs to get out of that dress.”

“Oh my god, yes please.” You sighed and leaned back from Ada’s hug. “This is so fucking tight.”

“Come on baby,” Eddie said, holding his hand out for you again. “Let's get you more comfortable.”

“I’ll see you guys later.” You promised as you took Eddie’s hand and let him lead you up the stairs, your skirt in one hand so you wouldn’t trip as you took the steps one by one.

You give Ruby a quiet hello when you pass her frame and follow Eddie to his apartment door. He unlocked it quickly and let you inside. It was exactly the same, a little messier, but it felt so good to be somewhere familiar. Dropping your skirt you looked over your shoulder at Eddie as he closed the door. 

Coming up behind you he kisses your bare shoulder. “You look beautiful in this, you know?”

“You should have seen the monstrosity that Mrs. Malloy wanted me to wear,” You laughed a little. “That was straight out of Gone with the Wind. Evelyn told her I would love it. It was awful.”

“Oh I’m sure you looked lovely.” Eddie laughed a little as he started to untie the corset back of the dress, he struggled with the knot at the bottom, his usual nibble fingers failing him. “Jesus, who tied this thing, the Marquis De Sade?”

“Evelyn,” You shrugged. Your hand moving to the bottom of the bodice on the dress to try and hold it in place as he struggled. “I yelled at her this morning in the hotel and I think she purposely over tightened it to get back at me.”

Eddie stopped for a moment and blinked at you with a smile spreading over his lips. “You… yelled at her?”

Looking over your shoulder at him you nodded, proud of yourself for your one moment of strength. “She was nitpicking me about literally everything so I told her to shut up and asked if she always had to be the most miserable person in the room. Then I told her that she and my dad deserved each other because they were both assholes.”

The metalhead let out a laugh and dropped the tie in his hand to grab your waist, pulling your back to his chest, his arms moving around you to hug you to him. “I am so damn proud of you.”

You giggled a little happy that you made him proud. “You should have seen her face. She had absolutely no comeback for it.”

Chuckling, Eddie kissed the back of your head before he pushed you forward again gently so he could get you out of the dress. He struggled for a few more minutes until he let out a frustrated sound. “Are you attached to this dress?”

“No,” You said, shaking your head, a sound caught your attention and when you looked over your shoulder again, a pocket knife had materialized in Eddie’s hand and when he noticed you looking he winked before he started to cut away the knot at the bottom of the corset ties. “Did you have that the whole time?”

“I always carry one with me.” He said tossing the knot he cut off onto the coffee table before he closed the knife and slipped it back into his pocket. Slowly he started to pull the jagged ends through the little loops until it reached the top where he pulled it out completely tossing it to the side. He watched as you let the dress slip down off your frame to land in a puddle on the ground around your ankles and when he looked up he felt the breath stall in his lungs. You were standing in a pure white lingerie set and heels, you looked stunning and god damn if those little lacy panties didn’t give him some very dirty thoughts. He felt the crotch area of his jeans get just a little bit tighter. ‘Focus!’ He yelled at himself and shook his head free of his thoughts. There would be time for that later, right now he just wanted to get you comfortable.

Stepping out of the dress on the floor you turned to look at Eddie as he watched you move, his eyes never leaving you. “What?” You laugh a little. “You act like you’ve never seen me in lingerie before.”

“I just…” Stepping around the dress on the floor Eddie reached up and cupped your cheeks with his warm hands. “You look so… fuck..”

He kissed you then, his plush lips pressing against yours and you giggled a little into him. You loved his kisses. This one started sweet and slow, the two of you finding each other again until you felt needy and pushed up taking the kiss deeper. You nipped at his lower lip making him smile into the kiss.

“Needy little thing.” He said as he broke the kiss bumping your nose with his. Looking into your eyes he cocked his head to the side watching you for a moment. You looked so relaxed. 

“You look happy.” You asked, looking up at him. You could practically see the hearts in his eyes.

“I am sweetheart." He nodded his head, his hand coming up to push the hair that fell into your face away. "You make me happy and I’m so fucking happy to have you home.”

You smiled up at him before your face fell a little. “I'm sorry I didn’t tell you about what happened with my father. He’s cruel and would have ruined you.” 

“Baby you don't need to apologize. You were scared. And given the situation I understand.” He soothed. “But we do need to talk about you breaking a rule.”

“What rule?!” You asked, your eyes wide with shock.

“Rule number two. Communication. Our relationship only works if we talk to each other. I can't fix something if you don't tell me what’s wrong.”

You looked away guiltily, you knew what he was getting at. You didn’t stop to think or talk, you just reacted. You pushed him away to save him. Glancing back up at him you bit your lip for a moment. “You gonna punish me?”

“No. I think you’ve been through enough. But we are going to talk about it after I take this sexy little number off you and you talk to Dan,” He said, as he caressed your cheek with the back of his fingers. “And I’m going to take my time doing it while you watch every second of it. Do not take your eyes off me.”

You nod with wide eyes as he walks you backwards, pushing you down onto the bed, a smile spreading across his face when you bounced a little and watched while you laid back looking up at him. He noticed that you didn't answer properly but he let it slide this once. Your eyes never strayed from his face as he knelt down and pulled your white heels from your feet tossing them one after the other towards your dress with one hand, the other one never leaving your calf, his fingers kneading the muscles under your nylon covered skin. You giggled when he turned back to you leaning forward to kiss up your left leg to the pale blue garter that sat circling your thigh, his eyes made contact with yours as he grabbed the frilly little thing with his teeth and pulled it down your leg and off, letting it hang from his teeth before pulling it from his mouth and tossing it behind him.

For the next few minutes you sat back watching as Eddie took his time undressing you, unclipping the suspenders from your thigh high nylons to pull those down, then moving to pull the white lace panties from your body. You gasp, eyes closing when he places a kiss right on your mound, followed by a small slap to your thigh that brings your attention back to him. A tiny correction. “Eyes on me baby.”

“Sorry, Sir.” You answered breathlessly as he leaned over you again to pull the garter belt off, you lifted your hips to help him pull it over your ass, you watched when he tossed it behind him to join your other items of clothing. He’s back in seconds gripping your thighs before he manhandles you in a way that you love so he could flip you over, a laugh leaving you as you try to look over your shoulder at him, making sure he’s always in your line of sight less you get another correction. 

“Look at you,” He smirked, your gazes connecting again as he kneaded the fat of your ass with his calloused fingers. “Such a good girl, keeping your eyes where they're supposed to be.” 

The praise heats you up and you bite your lip, your body jolting to the side a bit when he starts to untie the laces on the back of this corset. You felt your lungs start to expand easier as he loosened it and you let out a little moan of relief when he’s finished. “Holy shit, I can breathe.”

“I’ll have to tie you into one properly some day.” Eddie laughed as manhandles you once more so you are laying on your back your eyes still on him as he pops open the busk on the front of your corset the little metal rings opening one by one until he’s able to toss both sides away from your body with a flick of his wrists. He stopped for a moment as he looked at your chest, there between your naked breasts sat your collar. 

“It never left my side since the night you gave it to me.” You muttered watching him. 

He smiled then, a bright shit eating grin, his fingers traced the little stone pick where it sat on your sternum before taking it in between his fingers to lift it up, the warm chain still sitting on your heated skin. “I think it's time to put this where it belongs… don't you?”

“Yes, Sir.” You nodded your own smile just as bright when he took your hand and pulled you into a sitting position. Slowly you slipped off the bed to kneel at his feet, your hands sitting prettily on the tops of your thighs, palms up towards the ceiling. A familiar position that he had taught you months ago. Usually your eyes would be on the ground but he never told you to stop looking at him so you didn’t look down. 

“Good girl. Eyes straight ahead.” He smiled as brushed his hand over your hair as he moved behind you, you heard him fiddle with the necklace before he lowered it past your vision and then set it around your neck, you could hear the little snick when the clasp closed into place. It landed just below the hollow of your throat, the stone pick still warm from you and Eddie handling it. 

You smiled as you felt his hands move from your shoulders around to the front of your throat, one hand moving up to cup under your chin, while the other touched the stone as it passed on its way down to your breasts, his fingers giving your nipple a good pinch that made you squeak. The whole time you stared straight ahead like he instructed. Giving him control was easy, you trusted him to have your best interests at heart. You looked up at him when he used your jaw to bring your head back to lean against his clothed crotch, a sigh of contentment leaving you when he kissed your forehead. 

“Let's get you dressed.” He whispered against your skin as he leaned up and moved around you, holding his hands out for you to take so he could help you stand and he pulled your naked form close to him when you were on your feet again. He hummed as his hands roamed up and down your back. He wanted to do so much more but he knew Dan needed to ask you questions so he pulled himself away looking like it physically hurt to do so, his pout making you giggle. “Okay, shit, okay. Dressed, gotta get you dressed, can’t have you talking to Dan naked.”

You laughed at his flustered mumbling as he moved to the dresser under the window pulling open the drawer that held your clothes and grabbed two items. Just a shirt and a pair of sleep shorts. You bit your lip when he came back over to you the shirt thrown over his shoulder as he held out the shorts for you to step into. “No panties?”

“You know the rules,” He smirked. “No pants in my house but since we need to talk to someone you need to have pants on.”

“Sounds reasonable.” You laugh and let him dress you. Lifting your arms in the air so he could pull the shirt over your head. Once your head and arms went through the holes he tugged the shirt down over your soft stomach and pecked you on the lips making you giggle again. 

“I love you.” He says, cupping your cheeks in his hands again.

“I love you too.” You smiled back at him.

“Get comfy,” He said as he kissed your forehead once more before he moved around you, slapping you on the ass as he walked to head out the door. “I’m going to get Dan.”

“‘Kay,” You nodded and turned to start to pick up wedding attire that Eddie had so meticulously pulled off you draping it across the chair in the living room before you moved into the bathroom to wash away the makeup from your face and do something with your hair now that you have no need for the pretty wedding style. Plus it was giving you a headache. You heard Eddie and Dan come back in a few minutes later as you were drying your face. Moving out of the bathroom you smiled a little at the two men as Dan got settled at the small dining room table in Eddie’s kitchen. 

“Feeling better?” Dan asked now that you had the time to get more comfortable. 

“Yeah, thank you.” You nod as you move to sit on the bed again your legs crossed under you so you could grab one of his pillows and cuddle up to it. “I have a bit of a headache though, not sure if that’s from all that crap they put in my hair or the fact that I haven’t eaten much today.”

Eddie made a face at you before he moved into his bathroom to get you some pills and then went into the kitchen to get you some water. “You should have told me sooner, babe.”

“You were a little busy.” You laughed, smiling at him when he handed you the items. 

“I’ll make you some food.” He said petting your hair for a moment as Dan continued to set up a recorder on the table with a notepad in front of him. 

Dan clicked on the recorder and nodded at you. “Whenever you’re ready. Tell me everything.”

Taking a deep breath you took the pills and got up from the bed moving to sit in front of Dan at the table so the recorder could pick up your voice better. Putting the cup of water on the table you wiped your hands on your legs as you prepared to tell your side of the story. “Okay. I met the Malloy family at a business party my dad threw last summer…”

For hours you sat at that table with Eddie and Dan telling them everything that happened since you met the Malloy’s and your fathers demands of you. You took a break to eat a small bit of the meal that Eddie made for you, you wanted to eat more for Eddie but you could only stomach a few bites before you felt sick. You were hoping this shit would end quickly now that you were in a safe place with your rockstar. The retelling stopped once more at Dan’s request to have Steve join you to get his side of things since he met the Malloy’s at the New Years Party. 

You watched Eddie’s reaction to your words and you felt awful when you got to the part where you broke up and why. His jaw tensed and his fists clenched on the table, it made you get out of your seat and walk over to him letting him pull you onto his lap for comfort, his or yours you weren't sure but you loved the closeness of him. The heat from his body made you feel sleepy but you needed to stay awake if you wanted to give Dan all the answers he needed to help your case.  

“Blackmail, coercion, forced marriage, and to top it all off false imprisonment.” Dan sighed as he took notes. “That’s a hell of a list, that’s also not including all the dirt I found on your dad. There’s bribery, tampering with private records, and a slew of other things.”

Letting out a low whistle Steve sat back in his chair, "At least he didn’t fuck with your inheritance from Nana.”

“Not much he could do with pearls.” You shrugged

“Not the pearls,” Steve said leaning forward again to look at you with his brows furrowed as confusion showed on his face. “The money.”

It was your turn to look confused as you leaned forward on Eddie’s lap, his hands falling to your waist. “What money?”

“The money Nana left you.” 

Shaking your head you looked around at the three men. “I didn’t get any money. Dad told me the only thing willed to me was the pearls and that’s it.”

“I knew something was fucked when he showed up to the reading without you.” Steve shook his head. “It was at Nana’s lawyer’s office in Indianapolis. Nana left both of us a nice chunk of change.”

“Good thing is once a will is read it becomes public record,” Dan sighed as he made a new note to his paper. “If what you said is true we can also get him on withholding of inheritance.”

You let out a disbelieving laugh as you stood up and walked around the kitchen for a moment. Your hand sitting linked together on the top of your head as you tried to calm down. “This just keeps getting better doesn’t it?”

Getting up from the table Eddie followed you into the kitchen so he could grab your hips and pull you to him. “Don’t worry babe. We’ll get you your inheritance. All of it.”

Shaking your head you gave him a sad look. “I’m not worried about the money. I don’t care about the money. I’m just so fucking tired of finding out the new ways my dad was controlling me or the things around me.”

“I know it’s frustrating,” Eddie sighed, wrapping his arms around you so you could lean your head on his chest. “It’ll be okay. I promise.”

“We have more than enough to get your father on. I need to do a little more research into the Malloy’s but I can only imagine they are just as crooked as he is.” Dan looked up, giving you a small shrug. “No offense.”

“None taken.” You sighed cuddling into Eddie’s warmth. Now that everything was starting to settle down for the moment, at least until you had to go to court, you felt… sad. This was your dad. The man who helped bring you into this world, who raised you (for the most part), who was supposed to love you, and he was making your life a living hell. For what? A business deal? All to keep his partners happy. But what about you? Shouldn’t he care if you were happy? Yeah he said what he was doing would put you in a good spot financially but why couldn’t he see that you didn’t need all that? You felt like a broken record, just repeating the same questions to yourself over and over again. Tears welled in your eyes before you buried your face into Eddie’s chest to hide them from the others. 

Eddie felt your shoulders shake a little and he hugged you closer before looking over at Dan and Steve. “I think we’re done for today.”

Dan looked up from his notes to see you hiding in Eddie’s chest and nodded his head moving his hand to turn off the recorder. “I agree. I have a lot to work with and we should be able to get a date for the case soon.”

Steve stood from the table and wandered over to you and Eddie, his hand going between your shoulders. “Let me know if you guys need anything, okay?”

You nodded your head listening to Dan pack up as he spoke to Eddie and you looked up at your Dom when you heard the door shut behind Dan and Steve. “I’m sorry. I -”

“Don’t be sorry.” Eddie said, shaking his head. His hands rubbing up and down your back. “Today was a lot. You need more time to decompress, let’s just sit on the couch and watch some TV, yeah?”

“Please?” You asked, nodding a little as he stepped back from you, his hand never leaving yours as he pulled you towards the couch. Together you got comfortable, Eddie sitting in the corner of the sofa, his legs stretched out to sit on top of the coffee table and you laid down with your head in his lap as you watched some show you didn’t really pay attention to while Eddie played with the ends of your hair. 

After a few days of hanging around the bar catching up with everyone you were finally able to convince Eddie to take you back to the bakery. You wanted to go home and sleep in your own bed. You felt excited as you walked through the back doors into the kitchen of your shop. Jumping a little when Tiffany dropped the empty pan she was holding onto the counter with a loud clang before she crossed the room to tackle you into a hug. You could feel her shoulders shaking as she cried. Hugging her back you looked over at a smiling Ada from where she was leaning on the kitchen island. Marty and Emma rushed in from the front of the shop to see what all the commotion was and yelled in excitement when they saw you. 

Eddie closed the door behind himself both as he walked into the kitchen with a smile on his own face as he watched the friends reunite. He leaned against the counter by the door with his hands in his pockets while he took in the bakery. Everything looked normal. That was good. You would need a little bit of normal as you settled back into your routine. 

You laughed as you took turns hugging everyone in the shop and while that was happening Eddie moved around you with his hand on the small of your back as he made his way upstairs to check if your apartment had been messed with while you were away. Once he was satisfied that everything was fine, he left your apartment to join you in the kitchen, making a mental note to get a new door knob and keys for your apartment just in case your father had copies made. When he walked down the stairs and saw you at the corkboard looking at the orders trying to choose which one to do he smiled even more. He loved you so damn much it was nice to see you back in your element. 

Taking a seat at the little lunch table in front of your office Eddie just watched you move around your kitchen back to business as usual. He could sit there and watch you bake forever.

You spent your time in the bakery making orders, restocking the displays in the front, listening to music, and laughing with your friends as you fell back into the rhythm of the kitchen. You, Ada, and Tiffany moving around each other in a dance that you had practiced for years. Every once in a while you stopped to grab Eddie a coffee or a treat before you went upstairs to make lunch for the two of you. 

Later that night after dinner you found yourself sitting on the floor between Eddie’s legs, your head resting on his thigh, his fingers playing the ends of your hair as you watched TV when his phone rang. You looked up as he lifted his hips and pulled his cell from the back pocket of his pants. He took a moment to look at the caller before he answered it. “Hey Dan.”

You perked up then, crawling up onto the couch to sit by Eddie, leaning your head close to the phone to try to hear what was being said. Eddie chuckled quietly at you and pulled the phone away to put it on loudspeaker. “-by the end of the month.”

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” He asked, looking over at you. You looked nervous, your lower lip was pulled tight between your teeth. Lifting the hand not holding the phone he used his thumb to pull your lip back out before you hurt yourself.

“I said that Peter Malloy was going to represent himself, his father, and Y/N’s father but since he has his license in Chicago he can’t represent anyone in Indianapolis. So they hired William Powell. Now he’s good but I'm better. We spoke to a judge today and we were able to get a date for the end of the month. That gives us more than enough time to prepare.”

Sighing, you nod your head and lean back against the couch. Eddie watched you as he spoke to Dan some more about the case.

“One more thing,” Dan said before he hung up. “I looked into Peter some more and he has a long history of sexual harassment towards women and from what the others I spoke to in Chicago have to say there is a possibility of evidence tampering. But since his father is who he is it’s all been swept under the rug with a good amount of money exchanged. I’m going to try my hardest to get him disbarred. And if we succeed, there’s a possibility that most, if not all, of the cases he’s ever won will end up being reopened to go over any evidence that could have been messed with. He pretty much fucked himself.”

“Holy shit,” Eddie said, blinking at the phone. 

While Eddie and Dan continued to talk, you took a breath, a headache started to throb dully in your head as you thought about all the other women Peter might have done this too and you felt sick to your stomach. Of course your father would give you to a man who has a history this fucked up. Getting up you pointed to your room and left Eddie on the couch after he nodded. You needed some time to think a bit. 

Eddie watched you move, turning his phone off speaker and bringing it back up to his ear. “Yeah, yeah, okay. You’ll let us know when you have an exact date?”

Flopping down onto your bed you listened to the rest of the conversation before Eddie hung up and joined you in the room. Laying down on the bed next to you Eddie placed his hand on the small of your back. “You okay baby?”

“Once this is over I will be.” You nodded your head before you turned over to look at him. “I’m so just so tired Eddie. My dad almost successfully sold me off to a man who has had god knows how many sexual harrassment suits against him.”

“I know I sound like a broken record,” Eddie started as he brought his forehead to yours. “But it’s going to be okay. I’ll be right there with you the whole time, and if you need me too I will make good on my promise to fight your dad if it comes to that. I’m not scared of punching an old guy out.” 

You couldn’t help but laugh at that. 

The end of the month rolled around faster than you were ready for and the morning of your court date was here. Your leg bounced and you couldn’t help but pick at the skin around your nails as you watched the buildings of Indianapolis fly by while Eddie drove you both to the courthouse. Was this smart? Suing your own fucking father? What could this possibly even prove?

Anxiety coursed through you and you jumped about a foot in the air when Eddie placed his hand on yours to keep you from picking. “Deep breaths, baby.”

Nodding you took a few breathes, watching Eddie turn the wheel into the parking lot of the courthouse. No more time to panic, it was the end of the line. Together you and Eddie stepped from the car, seeing that the rest of the band, Lizzy, and Robin were there waiting for you at the stairs to the courthouse with Ada and Tiffany. You had closed the bakery for the day so you didn’t have to worry about it while this was happening. 

Cocking your head to the side you looked around the grounds of the courthouse before looking over at Robin when you got close enough. “Where’s Steve?”

“He’s on his way. He had an errand to run.” Robin smiled a bit and looked at Ada who just nodded.

“Don’t worry. He’ll be here.” Ada nodded as she stroked your arm a little. “Let’s head inside.”

Hand in hand with Eddie, your group walked into the building together and up the stairs to the second floor, meeting up with Dan who was standing outside the courtroom door looking immaculate in his three piece suit and a briefcase. 

“Morning.” You mumbled as you stood just to the side of him.

“Good morning everyone.” He smiled, patting Eddie on his shoulder and then putting his hand on your head in a comforting way. “Are you ready?”

“No. But I have to be.” You shrugged as you looked around. Hoping that your father or Peter weren’t coming up behind you. 

“It'll be okay. Let me run you through what's going to happen in there,” He said as he started explaining everything to you, what would happen in the courtroom, where everyone would sit, what would be said on his part and so on. It was all confusing but he gave you a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry. Everything will work out. You have one hell of a support system.”

“Y/N?” 

At the sound of your name you looked up and felt your breath stop in your throat. Your mom stood in the hallway just a little ways away tears in her eyes as she looked at you. Steve stood behind her a bit looking pleased with himself, his hands in his pockets.

“Mama.” You muttered as you left the group quickly to hug your mother. Her arms felt safe as she hugged you close. “How? What… What are you doing here?”

“Eddie called me.” She said as she squeezed you tightly. “I needed to be here for you.”

Leaning back you looked at her for the first time in a few years, she looked good. Healthy. Smiling, you let her wipe the tears from under your eyes as she held your face, her eyes studying you just as you were her. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.” Your mother whispered as she tried to hold back her own tears. 

Shaking your head you pulled her back into a hug. “It’s okay. I’m okay. This will all be over soon.”

“Sweetheart,” Eddie called out, smiling over at the two of you. He didn’t want to interrupt your moment with your mom but you were needed, plus she would be here a few days you had time to catch up later. “It’s time.”

Looking over your shoulder you nodded and together with your mom you walked towards the group Steve following the two of you towards them. Once in front of Dan you looked up at him and squared your shoulder. You could do this. Your family was here, your friends, everyone you needed. Nodding, you took a deep breath. “Let’s win this case.”

“That’s the spirit.” Dan said with a grin and opened the door gesturing for you to enter first. 

One by one you all filed into the courtroom, your head held high as you and Dan moved to take a seat at one table, the older man pulling your chair out for you before getting all his material ready for the case, the others sat in the pews behind the little gate on your side of the room. 

A chill went up your spine as the door opened again and you could physically feel the room shift when your father, Oscar, and the Malloy’s entered and took their places. A sharp yelping noise made you turn to look over your shoulder to see a surprised Evelyn staring at your mother before she got a grip and took her own seat on your fathers side of the room.

Looking back at your mom she gave you an unimpressed look with a roll of her eyes that made you stifle a giggle before you turned back around.

It wasn’t long after that when the bailiff entered the room, along with all the other courthouse personnel that would be here today and once they were all set the bailiff stepped forward. “All rise! Court is now in session. The Honorable Judge Howard Stone, presiding!”

“Here we go.” Dan said quietly to you as the two of you stood. 

The judge walked into the room with a file folder under his arm, you watched him set the papers down before he took his own seat getting his area set up. Moving the microphone close to his lips he looked up at all of you. “Please be seated. Today we are hearing the case of L/N vs. L/N. Let's begin.”

For the next few hours you sat there at that table listening to Dan and your fathers lawyer battle it out on how this whole thing went down. Your fathers lawyer tried to paint you as an alcoholic, selfish, naive child who needed her father to intervene to set her on the right track. That you had agreed to dating and marrying Peter. He made sure to emphasize that you could not take care of yourself so you needed help. That Eddie was only hurting you and moving you down the wrong path. How the Malloy’s were a safer, sturdier, and smarter choice for you. He was only doing what he did to protect you. Somehow no matter how much time they had to get their case ready, and no matter how Mr. Powell worded things, you felt like your fathers lawyer was very unprepared.

But Dan. He blew all of that out of the water. Thank fuck for Dan. He was prepared. Dan painted you in the best light ever. He told the judge of your accomplishments, of your business that you had started from the ground up with your friend, how you were a well adjusted young adult capable of taking care of herself and making her own choices. There were character statements, paper trails, evidence of your fathers record tampering, a copy of your grandmother's will that showed he purposely withheld your inheritance, and all that he could find on how he blackmailed you. How he used all that to trap you far away from your home and coerced you into marrying Peter, who by the way had his father pay to sweep his own misconduct of sexual harassment and evidence tampering under the rug many times, by threatening the man you really loved. He threw in how he tried to ruin Eddie's career with these slanderous claims against him. He even asked for an order of protection.

In the end the judge looked incredibly unimpressed by your fathers arguments and sided with you. He demanded your father give you the inheritance that you were owed, a nice chunk of change for any distress he had caused, along with one hell of a hefty fine, and a mandatory thirty days in jail, after he got his affairs in order of course, plus the judge granted the protection order. With one bang of the gravel it was over. You had won and you were finally free of your father. 

You knew with your fathers status in the community it meant that he wouldn't get much of a punishment and even though it bothered you, you tried to let it go. Your father was red in the face with anger. He wanted to yell at you, you could tell but he had been embarrassed enough today, he didn't need to add to that by losing his temper in public.

You hugged Dan after the judge left the room. You couldn't thank him enough and the smile he gave you washed away all rest of the anxiety you had in your body. It was as you were leaving the courthouse that there was a brief moment when you and your father locked eyes as you walked towards the steps towards the parking lot. You weren't sure what you were looking for… remorse? Love? But whatever it was it wasn't there. He narrowed his eyes at you but you held your head high, he wasn't so scary now. He was just a sad little man who needed to bully his way into getting what he wanted. You looked away as Eddie gestured you down the stairs away from the courthouse and your father with his hand on the small of your back. You knew as soon as you left you would never see him again, and you were okay with that. 

You had two more court dates for your cases against the Malloy’s and you won those too. They were ordered to pay you a gross amount of money for mental and emotional distress and you were granted another order of protection from them as well. Now neither your father or the Malloy’s could come within a hundred feet of you.

Later you found out that Peter ended up being disbarred and could no longer practice law, and Dan had been right, most of his cases were reopened to look for evidence tampering. And once again, even after all of the fines, Mr. Malloy paid to keep his son out of jail. The Malloy name was currently being dragged through the mud.

It was a few days later as you were sitting outside of a little bistro with Eddie, your mom, and Wayne that it finally hit you. You were free. There were no more threats, no more waiting for the other shoe to drop, just nothing but peace and quiet. You looked at Eddie as he laughed at something your mom had said, he had made all this happen. He never let you down, not once. Leaning over to him you kissed him on the cheek. 

Eddie looked up at you with his normal goofy smile. Moving his arm around the back of your chair he pulled you closer and you melted into him.

He had been right. Everything was okay.

Tag List: @eddiesprincess86 @haylaansmi @micheledawn1975 @chloe-6123 @wendyfawcett

[tmntxthings]

Ohman, your newest one "ruin the moment" is making me confused at the ending and I feel like it's supposed to be, I was thinking for a second if this is like Donnie imagining Atomic Lass LMAO; but the end with us on the screen? Is he just imagining a whole different person to deal with the touch starvedness? Did we become a character in the movie we were watching? Are we real and we're just off somewhere? Dead or alive? How long has he been isolated and for what and why? Sorry if this is too much questions am very curious! Do the brothers, Splinter, April, and others know what's going on? Does Donnie himself know what's fully going on? BRO POTENTIAL THOUGH YOU'RE RIGHT

the post we are discussing > ruin the moment <

I rlly rlly rlly like how people can kinda sorta come up with their own theories/conclusions! But to answer some of those questions…

i guess the easiest way to explain my thought process would be to run down the song ‘ceiling by lizzy mcalpine’, the lyrics inspired me immensely (practically just took the song and was like yes I’ll write about this but make it turtles)

the first two verses, she sings of being with another, that she is fine and more or less satisfied just to be in that moment with them, that those moments remind her of a familiar movie scene

but as the song goes on, she doesn’t like how quickly things end, how he ends up driving her home, he kisses her, and that’s it! there’s nothing to note beyond that and she never works up the courage to say how much she enjoys him/loves him bc she doesn’t want to ruin the moment, i think she is implying she also wants more, she wishes it wouldn’t end so quickly

then the last verse, it hits her, she’s in a car, ‘he’ doesn’t exist, she can’t even remember a time when she was last kissed, and from what i assumed she was daydreaming, putting herself in a scene of a movie that she’s seen before

so! in my mind it’s like the song^ but i just inserted ‘us’ or ‘reader’ as the actor from the favorite movie Donnie was watching, we are real unless he’s watching a cartoon/anime it’s up for debate heh

right for the whole isolation thing, i imagine that the turtles never met April, so they grew up with only themselves, they started going on patrols recently as older teenagers, so little to no human interactions up until that point and the ones they have are usually just fighting bad guys, after patrol it’s back to the sewers the only thing keeping them together mentally is the internet and each other

(but i guess this scenario is only so dramatic or drastic bc i wanted it to feel like donnie rlly was with someone, that he thought he was at least, he could ‘feel’ them, and yet his subconscious was telling him to don’t actively touch bc if he did the mirage would be over, so he needed to want interaction and touch from another person desperately enough to risk it, [insert touch-starved, isolation]

i don’t think the other brothers or splinter would know about donnie’s fantasies since he’s kept his real favorite movie a secret to begin with, definitely up for interpretation if donnie is fully aware of what is happening, or if he knows it’s his mental, I think both answers would be interesting povs

rightttttt?!? i loveee the potential and honestly i hope this doesn’t deter people from putting their own opinions/thoughts out there, bc interpretations are personal! i don’t think any answer could be called wrong, I’d love to hear if anyone’s mind headed in a diff direction, send me an ask! we can talk/share ideas :D

.

.

[rottingskunk]

Blessed By Enderian Hands

By: rottingskunk

A drabble based on Ldshadowlady’s session 6 events. (Major secret life spoilers ahead.)

Trigger warning: Descriptions of violence, implied death,description of scars (not detailed but good warning)

“What happens if Lizzie survived the fall?”

Scott and Lizzie visit the end for a secret slumber party however Scott never knew Lizzie’s true intentions until it was too late. They both travel to the end and explore the barren land full of endermen and an abandoned ender dragon post. It felt odd to Lizzie that she could hear murmurs of conversation from endermen speaking in enderscript but she shakes it off and continues forth.They converse briefly about the party and how Lizzie invited everyone to join. “Nobody is ever gonna find you here” She said sinisterly. It felt ominous and sent chills down Scott’s back. “Why did you say it like that?” Scott asks unsure what will occur in this realm. “It’s nothing to worry about.” She replies and laughs it off.

~~~

As they reach the edge of the world Lizzie offers Scott a enderpearl so that he can “teleport” to the party. Wielding her axe she strikes Scott in the back heavy handed with a good amount of damage. Scott in a panic shouts “Lizzie what are you doing?” “Oh nothing it’s just a something on your back” Lizzie replies back with a innocent yet sinister tone. “That took three hearts of damage Lizzie!” He replies back worried about how much damage it was. Lizzie grins and decides to strike him more in the air aiming for a crit.“That only took one heart of damage.” Scott says plainly,he secretly tries to find his way back when suddenly an enderman punches Lizzie in the face. The impact was intense and felt as if she was thrown off by a few feet. The enderman says “⟟ ⏃⋔ ⌇⍜⍀⍀⊬” and knocks Lizzie off the edge after punching her one last time. Lizzie knew what the enderman said to her [I am sorry-who says that??] she thought in her head as she screamed at her unending demise. Scott shouts her name one last time “LIZZIE!” Reaching out to the cliff where she fell. He stands there stunned, unsure what happened to her but quickly flees the scene as he cannot look at the eyes of endermen.

~~~

Her fall felt as if she was like icarus crashing into the ocean after his wax wings melted off. Lizzie tries to throw an enderpearl but is unable to due to panicking from the fall. The screen turns into frozen static Stating “you ran out of lives”. It remained the same for five minutes but there was a corrupted “respawn” button that showed up on her screen. Unsure if it was a good idea Lizzie impulsively clicks on the respawn and thus wakes up back in the over world.

~~~

She wakes up in a cold sweat in her light pink bed. The end’s aura felt heavy around her, unsure why that was the case she shoos it away and gets out of bed to wash her face. She turns on the faucet and washes her hands but the water makes her flinch in pain. She screams at the pain, roughly shaking her hand. “Did someone trap this with lava? It can't be…” Lizzie’s glances at her appearance in the mirror and is shocked by her appearance.

~~~

Half of Lizzie’s face has a scar that mimics End particles etched into her skin. Her right eye appears to be a deep purple with pink accents similar to an enderman’s eyes. Lizzie screams at her reflection out of confusion. She then looks at her arms and legs and some patches of her skin have similar effects of an endermen. Looking at her hands shaking slightly from the gravity of this situation they look discolored with shades of purple up until her elbow. “This can’t be happening—-I should be dead!” Lizzie touches her face out of disbelief and she hears whispers of the end and starts running out of her house.

~~~

“My skeletal steed we must run off-somewhere,anywhere!” Before Lizzie leaves in such haste she checks her chests for any important items. “Where are my ores? Skizz must have stolen them, I’ve been robbed!” Lizzie takes anything she has and places it inside her inventory, unsure whether she will ever return to her pumpkin cottage she hoists herself up on the skeletal steed. The steed gallops into the air and off they go who knows where.

~~~

After traveling half the day Lizzie stumbles upon Joel’s base in the distance. “Did you bring me here my good steed? What a good skeleton horse.” She pets the boney steed and gives it a small kiss on the forehead. Lizzie looks around and sees a small gravestone at the back of the helter skelter. “What’s this?” Lizzie inches closer and sees the etching on the sign. “R.I.P Lizzie I will win for you Lizzie”. A wither rose was attached to the front of the gravestone and she collapsed onto the ground with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry Joel-I messed up.” She cries to herself unable to get up from seeing the gravestone.

~~~

A rustle of wheat being removed alerts her and steps moving forward makes her head lift up. “Joel? Is that you.” Lizzie whispers, still hoarse from crying and wailing for the guilt. Joel had a solemn face as he carried his stack of wheat to feed the cows and he found Lizzie next to her grave. “LIZZIE YOU LIVE!” He drops everything and runs to her and they both tumble into a small patch of sunflowers. They laugh at the entire ordeal and give each other kisses on the cheek and forehead.

~~~

“I missed you so much so much has happened while you were in the end. Scott told me everything and Skizz gave me your ores-I am so sorry for asking you to kill Scott I shouldn’t have done that”. Lizzie smiles at her husband who is speaking at the speed of life about different events conspiring. *“⟟ ⏃⋔ ⌇⍜⍀⍀⊬ ⎎⍜⍀

⟒⎐⟒⍀⊬⏁⊑⟟⋏☌” Lizzie spoke in unknown tongues, Joel looks perplexed. “Did something happen Lizzie?” He says worringly Joel tucks a lock of her hair aside.* “⟟ ⎅⍜ ⋏⍜⏁ ☍⋏⍜⍙” Lizzie attempts to speak to her husband but she cannot speak overworld. Joel takes her inside the helter skelter and tries to understand her. Joel looks through his chests to find the tools for a book and quill. He fishes out what he could and places it on a crafting table and magic particles craft the book and quill.”Maybe you should write it inside this book” Joel asks Lizzie as he gives it to her.She gets the book and writes “I can’t speak in english.” She wrote in a steadfast manner and both had lost the color in their face.

[Authors note: Hi guys i wrote this on a whim i might continue it bc i actually like this au a lot and i would love to write more about this Ender!Lizzie au^^! The english translation of enderscript in the last paragraph(1) “I am sorry for everything”. (2) “I do not know”. Ok thats all bye yall HAHAHA]

[pjunicornart]

FIRST OF ALL I LOVE UR LITTLE OTP SO MUCH. how they never crossed my mind baffles me bcuz that is gen such a good pair??

ANYWHO any hcs?? im so curious like yes yes tell me more about ur ot4.,.,..

ALSO ANY IDEA OF A SHIP NAME???

Hey! Sorry it took me so long to get to this. It was because my body was basically BEGGING me to take a break... I had a pounding headache and my drawing arm and hand felt heavy and sore. So to any artists out there... don't be like me. Take breaks. In fact, I'm probably not gonna be posting any art for a few days so I can give my body time to rest. Unfortunately, I inherited my father's workaholism...

ANYWAY. Glad you like it! Meet the Robinsons needed more... gay. So, I provided! When I first revisited this movie and saw all four of those characters I knew my gay ass brain was gonna do something with them. And that, it did.

The piece I did was them within the AU. Let's give the characters some brief summaries before going into detail (under the cut)... - Lewis is a nerdy finger gun bi disaster. 'Nuff said. - Goob is a jock type. - Lizzy is the goth girl, with a hint of weirdcore influences. - Franny is the choir girl. - All of them are 16.

Lewis He was the one Goob, Lizzy, and Franny had in common. Essentially, all three of them liked Lewis "in that way." The three of them had kind of silently agreed they all wanted to get with Lewis. Nevermind that Lewis was completely oblivious to all of this and deep within his own bi panic! In this AU, he attends high school like everybody else, but he does go off campus for a couple of periods for college classes. He's a star student! Not popular in the sense that he's the school hot shot, but in the sense that everybody knows him for being very kind and an overachiever. Oh, and Lewis was never given up for adoption! He lives with his birth mom and about-to-be step-dad.

Michael (Goob) He's the ACTUAL school hot shot. Star baseball player who holds the school athletics records. I'll admit, Goob was kind of my way of making Jock Paperjam from the OG NaJ AU not problematic, and like how I imagined him being. To channel the trauma and come out from it, y'know? (Heh, I even gave him his face shape...) He's the tallest of the four, and the strongest, too. Only his girlfriends and boyfriend know how sweet and loving he is. His love language is definitely physical touch and protection. I specifically imagine him holding Lewis close to his chest while laying on the couch. Goob is not a bully, I want to make that clear. He's just a little cocky.

Lizzy Ah yes, the goth girl. I expanded her special interest from ants, to bugs in general. Her favorites are still ants, obviously. I imagine she has a couple of creepy crawlies in resin sitting on top of her dresser. Like a tarantula named Nacho. She's not necessarily full goth, because in the image I drew she has purple as well. So she's more of a pastel goth, maybe nu-goth. Lizzy is definitely a teaser! Her favorite to tease is Goob, because she likes to see him get worked up. She may be small, but she's a fire cracker!

Franny Last - but certainly not least - Franny. She's in the school choir, and is overall very musically gifted. Both of her older brothers are away at college, so it's just her and her mom in the house. Within the relationship, she's the one who showers them with kisses and hugs. She's very bubbly and energetic, and she has no bad bones in her body... except when you talk shit about her boys and girl, then you better hope you're not karate chopped in the throat. I also turned up her love for frogs into a hyperfixation, hence the froggy bucket hat. You have no idea how tempted I was to buy that hat when I saw it in Hot Topic...

The ship name is really quite simple: Family.

I saw the templates in your other ask! I'm gonna keep there for a bit, and I'll fill them out when I'm not actively dying hopefully!

[lavender-gayz]

Part 2 of Lizzie the Musical commentary – responses to @thegirl20 comments

Responses to @thegirl20’s comments on Part 2 of Lizzie the Musical at Southwark Playhouse Elephant – Some Little Moments That I Love

Here’s a link to my Part 2 again: Part 2!

@thegirl20’s very thoughtful comments are copied in black below

responses from me are set out in this shade of purple below

tg20: Living for these commentaries. I’ve added some thoughts.

tg20: (When I reference the script below, you can access it on the Lizzie Broadway Licensing page and click on ’Read for Free’. It’s not the full script, unfortunately, but it’s interesting to see what’s in there as stage directions and what isn’t.) gayz: This is such a handy resource, thank you! I cannot believe Alice is canonically described as a luscious pear in the character intros.  tg20: This got very long so…. gayz: Oh no, a long post about Lizzie the musical!! How awful :)

tg20: THIS IS MY JAM - Shattercane and Velvet Grass was the song that stayed with me after I saw the show for the first time. That melody haunted my dreams. It’s still a fave. tg20: (Fun fact - one time Lauren brought the teapot down so hard it broke one of the legs off.) gayz: This was an early fave for me too! Lauren noticeably damaging a teapot midway through the song is hilarious. I also witnessed a prop mishap at a show – one of the coat racks doubling as a corpse fell apart while Mairi was moving it to a standing position. She kept her cool and just fixed the base back onto the coat rack and went, ‘There we go. Where were we? Right, I was so sorry to hear about your father – ’ and just continued her conversation with Shekinah / Emma. The professionalism!

tg20: I didn’t know that Emma was hanging around in the aisle! In Manchester, I think both she and Alice were in the little alleys that ran up the sides of the stage giving the atmospheric backing vocals (I could only see Alice from my seat but I assume Emma was on the other side). So is it possible that Alice was in the other aisle at the same time? gayz: Oh that is cool to know! Yes, in that case it is entirely possible that Alice was downstairs in the other aisle directly beneath me. On the other hand, Emma just seemed to be standing in the aisle and not singing along? Or maybe I just missed it!

tg20: I go back and forth about what my interpretation of who is influencing who is to be honest. Did Emma leave the book purposefully to help Lizzie along with her ‘what if Mrs Borden dies first’ idea? Did Bridget purposefully not pack it so that she could give it to Lizzie? Bridget does seem to be the background antagonist at various points, but when Emma returns from Fairhaven, it’s clear she had expected Mrs Borden to be dead, but not the father. So it’s a hard one. gayz: I agree, it’s a hard one. My interpretation from the first show was that it was Bridget, rather than Emma, who wanted to show Lizzie the book of household poisons – it just seemed like such a weird thing for someone to want to take with them on a trip. But then again, as you say, Emma did seem like she had expected Mrs Borden to die at some point during Emma’s trip…

tg20: Alice makes good on the invitation from this morning and comes over to hang out! - One of my favourite things is Alice standing to the side of the stage, straightening out her skirt and fixing her hair, waiting for Lizzie and their date. So cute. Also, sometimes MQB really leaned into the flirting of ‘Shall we go upstairs?’ And sometimes she played it quite innocently and sweet. And both were valid. gayz: Yes, I loved that too!!! So cute and both so valid!!

tg20: The milk, the milk that comes in a can - That bloody milk speech. I assume the cast must hate that speech. It amuses me that the writers took that almost wholly as is from the court records and just dropped it in. I am glad they didn’t make it into a song, though. gayz: The milk speech! It’s just so hilariously long-winded. I love it.

tg20: I do enjoy Lauren expressing her increasing frustration at Alice’s very sensible responses to the poisoned milk claims. She turns away and frowns.

tg20: One of the things I noticed in London that I hadn’t in Manchester (again, I could only see down one of the side stage bits) was that Bridget was listening to this conversation while sweeping up. So she heard the ‘We were all sick, all but Maggie’ and she didn’t look happy about it. gayz: Yes! At the first show I went to, Ayesha was playing Bridget and she looked extremely offended by this.

tg20: IT’S JEALOUS PEAR TIME - I love the sexy pear song. It gave me a lot of feelings the first time I saw it, front row centre. A lot of feelings. Alice’s metaphor of Lizzie as a rose is interesting though. Lizzie consistently likens herself to birds, wanting to fly away to freedom. Birds and trees go together, so Alice could have stuck with the bird thing, but she didn’t. She wants Lizzie rooted firmly to the ground. gayz: Oh my gosh, the first time I saw it I hadn’t listened to the soundtrack yet so you can only imagine my mounting excitement: ‘is she constructing an elaborate story where she’s a pear?’ ‘gathering up in skirts, you say?’ ‘will you lay next to me??’ ‘WILL YOU BITE THROUGH THE SKIN TO THE SWEET FLESH WITHIN???’ ‘SHE’S LUSCIOUS TO THE TASTE AND IS ALWAYS EATEN IN GREAT HASTE????’ I was absolutely under the impression that they had a friends-with-benefits situation and that Alice wanted Lizzie to engage more with her feelings, lol. And ooh, that is an interesting point about Lizzie seeing herself as a bird and Alice seeing her as a rose…I guess with the rose we get the duality of it being something beautiful and something dangerous so we get the progression from Will You Stay to Will you Lie, whereas birds, um, probably eat pears? I suppose Alice could have chosen to be something other than a pear…

tg20: (A weird thing that I noticed is after their initial near kiss, Lizzie gets up and should say ‘I have to be on my way’ (because it rhymes with ‘will you stay’) but Lauren routinely said ‘I have to go’. Idk why it stuck out to me so much. ELH said the correct line.) gayz: Oh yes, I also noticed that Lauren says ‘I have to go’ instead (I listened to the soundtrack a lot between shows so any differences really jumped out)! I figured she was just modernising it, but it’s quite odd that she says this and ELH doesn’t. Hmm. Perhaps an aversion to extra syllables?! I hadn’t noticed that ‘on my way’ rhymes with ‘will you stay’ but you are correct of course! I guess ‘I have to go’ sort of goes with ‘hear of all your woes’.

tg20: Alice during this whole song manages to be vulnerable, sweet, commanding, cute, powerful, protective, alluring, sexy, masterful, seductive and innocent. And that’s impressive. Huge kudos to MQB. gayz: Yes, these excellent adjectives all apply here!!! All the awards for MQB, honestly.

tg20: And I agree the kissing is definitely mutual in this production. I have heard people saying that Lizzie is already thinking of manipulating Alice by using her feelings at this point, but I don’t take that away from it at all. I think it’s genuine attraction and affection on both sides, regardless of what happens later on. gayz: Yay and yes, I’m so glad we both saw this the same way!

tg20: Somehow, another banger! - Genuinely, a song about decapitated pigeons should not go this hard, but it does. gayz: It really does! Why ARE all these heads off?!

tg20: I didn’t notice laughter at the final show, but it is understandable. Everything is so very far from fine. gayz: Maybe it was just the mean people in the balcony!   tg20: Mercury Rising - For me, this is the weakest song in the show. It’s sung beautifully and the staging is suitably dramatic, but it feels like the only filler song. I mentioned elsewhere I wish Bridget had got a funny solo rather than this. (Although in the script it is implied that Bridget is supposed to be a banshee, and that’s why she’s always doing the banshee wails and why she is involved in the precipitation of the deaths. Which is an interesting idea.) gayz: For me, Mercury Rising is a slow song where they give us a little space to breathe while ramping up the tension even more after Why Are All These Heads Off. Sort of like that bit in rollercoasters where you’re just coming off a really steep downward bit and you’re very slowly climbing up again and you know it’s going to be even more insane when you eventually reach the peak. That being said - justice for Bridget! Banshees can want people to have breakfast, too.

tg20: I love the chaos of Somebody will do something. There’s so much going on and it’s another full on banger. gayz: It really is!

tg20: (I didn’t love the choice they made in London to project Lizzie’s face onto the back wall during this number though. They didn’t do that in Manchester and I’m not sure it worked. Especially with Lauren’s blonde hair, it blended in with the set too much. I blame Sunset Boulevard.) gayz: I think I only noticed it at the first performance – it didn’t leave much of an impression on me! For the subsequent productions I was focused on the (real-life) Lauren running around with her axe. What are they doing on Sunset Boulevard?

tg20: BRIDGET is the one to hand Lizzie the axe – I don’t know if this is how they do it in all productions - It is in the script, so she’s definitely supposed to be integral. gayz: That is so cool to know, thank you!

tg20: ‘OOH Miss Lizzie you startled me’ - I adore this line, and I adore that Mairi delivered it just a little bit differently every time I saw it. I love it when actors play around with delivery and try different things. Bridget just coolly getting a wee fright when Lizzie barges out and then making no mention of the fact that she’s covered in blood and holding a dripping axe just delights me. gayz: I know, right! Hear no evil, see no evil etc.  

tg20: ‘HE’LL WISH HE’D HAD THAT SON,’ - One of my favourite line deliveries. Both Lizzies nail it with the right combination of unhinged, angry and just a little bit gleeful. gayz: Yes! That sense of triumph! You go, Lizzies.

tg20: Can’t wait for act 2!! gayz: Thank you so much! I really appreciate that you took the time to share your thoughts with me as well :)

[letstalkaboutit100]

Ideas part 8: Blue=concepts pink=ep ideas. blue/pink=both

Thanksgiving(or a wonderland version of it) at Lizzie's is crazy! her mother and aunt are like Jessie and Darla lol.

Episode idea (season 1): Cupid tries to break Raven and Dexter up. For this ep idea, this is where Cupid and Dexter first meet. Cupid just arrived at Ever After. She's shy and new so she has some trouble asking people where head master grimms office is. Dexter sees and comes over to her asking if she's new and needs help. She says yes and they become friends! He shows her around, and they go to the coffee shop, laugh, and have a great day! By the end of it, cupid has a big crush on him! So the next day she was about to thank him and tell him she likes him! But then he meets Raven! (this is my other episode idea where they first meet. Even though he already knew his way around the school since he and his siblings arrived late he pretends he doesn't) So throughout the whole day, Cupid follows them wondering what Dexter sees in her! They watch them and see they have similar humor, likes, and dislikes and is really upset! After she sees them laughing in the same coffee shop she leaves and goes to her room crying. The next day when she tries to talk to Dexter asking if he wants to hang out he says he can't and is really sorry because he's hanging out with Raven again. *totally says it with a dreamy sigh lol* (He is a nice boy!) So Cupid decided to follow them to ruin their "date". For the rest of the day, she's in terrible/funny disguises and does crazy things to ruin their hangout. Which all backfires and happens to her lol. In the end, she gives up and goes back to her dorm. Later she hears a knock at her door. She opens it and lord and behold there dexter! With a big bouquet of pink roses! He says that he's sorry that he's sorry and asks if he can come in. *cue puppy dog eyes lol* She lets him in and they sit on her bed. He's says that he's sorry again for blowing off and hanging out with Raven. Then he goes on a rant on how she's the first girl he's ever liked and has no idea about love and really wants to try and be her friend first. And all the while he's talking cupid is of course listening and giving some advice but is also really sad! After his rant, "She's just so amazing! You know?" "Yeah I know..." he notices her sad face and asks her what's wrong. She of course starts to act happy and that she ok and is glad that she has him back! He smiles and hugs her thanking her for being his friend. (maybe even first friend! I feel he was lonely as a child so darling was his only friend. He totally would get teased/bullied a lot so she always sticks up for him) Cupid of course blushes like crazy and starts to stutter saying your welcome and stuff. Dexter leaves and Cupid signs flopping on her bed with the roses still in her hand. As she's caressing their petals she notices a card in the bouquet. It's from Dexter! *He put it there in case she wasn't in her room or wouldn't let him in* 'Sorry about bailing on you! I'm terrible for that! Your new and everything and were the only one who took notice of me and asked me of all people to show you around school! I promise I won't ever let a girl get in the way of our friendship! ox Dexter. Ps. meet at the coffee shop tomorrow? :) *squeals and blushes* *whispers*: "your forgiven. *Kisses the letter and starts to happily squeal/dance and pluck the petals saying "he loves me, he loves me not".

Hunter sees Cerise as his little sister. He and Raven are the only ones that know about her family. (and later Ella lol. What? She's his girlfriend!)

Raven rants to Maddie about apple

Apple's mother is like an alumni. class rep/pres. prom queen. she's that rich white mom who helps with school fundraisers and donates a lot. That is why Apple at first got a suite (my other post about a reboot version of season 1)

Ariel's daughter Meeshell would have a crush on Tiana and Naveen's reboot-shy son. But he likes Lenny! (Lottie's daughter) Lenny isn't like her mother completely though. She does have blond hair and blue eyes. And LOVES pink. She of course is spoiled by her grandfather! But she's more a bit hands down. Almost like Tina, But for the most part her mother. Just a bit more cooled-down version of her lol. And they end up together. She's 2 years older than Tina. But a year younger than him.

Meeshell and Sparrow would be good friends. His first female best friend! They have a sibling-like relationship. Faybelle and Sparrow are exes. Nothing serious. Just a fling.

Ep idea(season 4): They met when he went to the school pool to play his guitar cause the music room was closed and he likes the acoustics. (like bathroom acoustics) He didn't know that she was there swimming, but she heard him. So as he was playing she was under the water listening. She heard him playing and thought that he was really good and couldn't help but sing/hum along. Sparrow didn't notice at first, but she got so lost in the song that she came up to the surface *the mermaid hair flip like her mother lol* and was full out singing her golden voice out! (She's the best singer in the whole school. She and Raven do duets all the time) He hears her and looks up and stops playing and watches her as she sings and uses her powers and watches as she makes water shapes and a geyser that lifts her in the air. She didn't notice that he stopped playing, but when she did, she froze. Stopped mid-note. She squeaked and the water went away and she dropped. Soaking the whole pool area and him. Sparrow was shocked! Mouth agape. "THAT WAS AWESOME!" "I HAVE NEVER HEARD A VOICE SO POWERFUL! SO STRONG!" *peaks up from the water* "I'm so sorry! I was listening to you playing and I just couldn't help myself. My powers get out of control whenever I get lost in a song..." "Na man! That was great!" *holds his hand out* "I'm Sparrow. Sparrow hood." *Does some weird hat thing and winks* *giggles* "I'm Meeshell. Ariel's daughter." "Ha. That makes sense. You have a great voice! *They start to talk and become friends!

Every time Daring and Apple break up they go through the worst heartbreak stages you have ever seen. Crying to their friends, eating ice cream, and being all depressed. Apple's mascara is running, she doesn't even change out of her Pajamas! Just eat junk food all day! Won't even go to class. You wouldn't even recognize her! "Are you sure this is apple white?" "This is the fairest of them all?" Even though by now her friends are used to it, the school still goes "Again?" But also crazy! Girls start to go find Daring trying to "comfort" him. But he's also in his room eating ice cream and watching romantic movies shouting at the TV saying, "They perfect for each other! Don't fall into her trap! She doesn't deserve you!" and stuff. His friends try to snap him out of it. Go to clubs, talk to other girls, but he's just at the counter with his head down looking depressed and the waiter keeps on giving him milk shakes lol. That would make a couple good, funny episodes lol.

Hunter and his family go over to Cerise's place a lot for dinner. Their all practically family. Their dads are best friends! Like brothers! I know in the original show Hunter's dad wants him to be a hunter and all that stuff, but if there was ever going to be a reboot I would want them to be in on the secret of the hoods. Support!

Ramona is a mama's girl and Cerise is a daddy's girl. They both can turn into wolves too. Sparrow is scared of Ramona, to be honest lol (Their all cousins)

The Cheshire cat used to be human. Rather handsome. That's how kitty's parents meet. his color scheme was pink and purple like the original animation. But he got turned into a cat by a wizard. (Don't ask. It's an embarrassing story lol) And the reason Kitty and her mom's colors are the same is because she tries hard to be like her. (Mommy issues)

Poppy and Willow, Holly and Cassandra. enough said. They're the 'cool aunts'. I would LOVE to see adventures between the four.

They also call Pascle "little brother" like Mulan does. They have their own chameleons too!

Since they were little no matter how much trouble they got in (more Holly than Poppy lol. But if Holly got in trouble then Poppy would demand that she be in trouble too so they could be together. AW!) Enguene would always check up on them and bring them cupcakes! Even if he was the one who was mad! He loves his girls!

Snow White and the Evil Queen used to be friends.

[twodiamondhoes]

Oh wow, I didn't realize my ask would be replied back with a fic snippet!

Concept 1 sounds a bit like The Highwayman so I'm glad Dirges took a new turn (the snippet was awesome though!). Concept 2, though, that sounds so cool! I'd love to see a fic where Tango takes more of a proactive role in death and protection as a soulkeeper! Maybe you could spin it into an AU with it's own brand of spookiness, with or without Del Sombra.

I now want to ask another thing: what made you decide to use Empires characters in Dirges? And are we going to see more of them in the character stories?

Haha, hope you enjoyed it! I figured it would just end up continuing to collect dust in my docs folder otherwise, and your ask was the perfect reason to post it.

This got longer than expected, so I'm going to put it under a cut. :D

Fun fact 2! I was about halfway through plotting the revamped second concept when I read The Highwayman (if you haven't read it, go go go!! it's so good) and let me tell you, the crisis I had once I'd finished it and come down from that "I just read an excellent fic" high was major. I was in full on panic mode for a few days, worried that even though I'd already changed so much from that original concept that Dirges would still be too similar. My partner had to remind me that there are entire library sections out there that are similar premises with vastly different executions (please see: westerns, lol), that no one could write the story I had in my head but me, and that even if no one read Dirges, it would still be worth writing.

But let me tell you there was a period of twenty-four hours where I tried to think up a fic that I would want to write more than Dirges for the sake of the Big Bang and I just couldn't. So in the end, I kept going, ended up with the final concept for Dirges, re-plotted the whole thing, and then basically ate, slept, and breathed Dirges for about four months. I'm not going to be doing that with the sequels because holy smokes that was a lot of writing in a very very short time, but I still can't quite believe I pulled it off in the end.

As far as Soulkeeper Tango goes, I might see about giving him his own au! The idea is so near and dear to my heart. I've got a lot on the docket for the future, but I'm going to keep him in the back of my head, in the hopes that inspiration strikes and I can give him the story he deserves. I have toyed with the idea of a smaller fic, loosely based around the original Concept 2 plotline for Dirges (so basically an au of my own au lol), but we'll see!

Oooh excellent question! The short answer is, I needed a huge cast. The longer answer is, it felt odd to have Jimmy be the only non-hermit in the entire story, and to separate him from his buddies on other servers, especially because I wanted Lizzie as the fourth Ratcliffe sibling, so it would be Lizzie and Jimmy versus the Hermitcraft members. There was also the factor that both Pearl and Gem were on Empires 1, and the HC/Empires crossover made it an easy leap to make. I wanted Jimmy to have been able to make friends, and to make the world feel populated, without having Del Sombra be the only place the Hermits congregated, since I'd already made Joe Hills Mayor of another town, and the places I could think to put a lot of the other hermits were Elsewhere. My options ended up being: either come up with a bunch of OCs, or see if I could sprinkle in some Empires characters, and it all kind of spiraled from there! I wasn't sure how people would receive a plethora of OCs, and since the Hermitcraft cast was a limited pool of folks that I'd already placed in the world, I figured adding in some other MCYTs couldn't hurt. So, I started with Shelby and Sausage and it all kind of fell into place from there!

As for if we'll be seeing them in the other stories, absolutely! There are some Hermits I haven't included yet (sorry Iskall, my beloved), and there are parts of some of the sequels that will be taking place around some of the Empires members as well as HC members that we've seen, and some that we haven't! For example, the reason Iskall isn't in Del Sombra to pester Stress and the others is because he's a holdover from one of the Earlier Concepts and I like his role too much to change it, so it's going to be folded into one of the later stories. Oli will also be showing up at a couple of very specific points! Those are the two examples off the top of my head, but there is definitely more to come!

Thank you for the questions! This is a lot of fun XD

[farfromstrange]

Hello everyone,

Putting a read more for those who are not interested and just want to stop scrolling. This is a life update from me to you.

But I’d be happy if you read it because you’ve been a part of my life and this journey into becoming an adult in my early twenties with me and I just want you to know what’s been going on. Don’t worry, it’s not a goodbye.

I’m so sorry for being MIA. Life’s been a mess. But I got the apartment I took a look at last week and I’m about to sign the lease, which means I’m going to move out of my childhood home in the next six weeks. It’s three hours away in a different State, and I’m starting college in October too, so now I have to figure out how to actually be an adult. I need to organize the move, get all the paperwork done and find a job while also figuring out how college is gonna work. I’m a bit stressed and slightly emotional, but I’m hanging in there.

I haven’t had the time to properly write, but I have some drafts I finished before the stress started and I will take some time to reread and maybe post before I disappear from view completely.

I saw how active you all were, interacting with my posts and stories even though I was gone for almost two weeks there and didn’t put anything new out, so thank you all for that. It makes me feel so appreciated, you have no idea. And those who checked up on me, I love you more than I can express.

I just came home from watching Barbie and decided to take some time to go through Tumblr now because I’m a writer Barbie and I can do anything I set my mind to. I’m powerful. I feel like what’s about to come for me is going to change everything, but in a good way, and I can’t wait to finally set a foot out into the real world and just be me. Live life by my own rules, you know. It’s what I’ve wanted for so long. And I can finally do what I want and study what I want. I can do what I’m good at. And I’ll find a way to give writing a bigger role in my life as soon as I’ve moved out because I’ve also dreamed of this day for a long time now, even though it’s still a little scary, but as Taylor Swift once said “You’re on your own, kid. You can face this.” And I strongly believe I can, even while doubting myself sometimes.

Honestly, Barbie was so inspiring to me, someone who’s been told I can’t live my dreams because they’re stupid dreams and I have to be like everyone else, make money without being happy, please my family and everyone around me, and fit into the shoe box, which isn’t true.

This movie healed my inner child and it gave me a good smack over the head. I’m going to struggle before fully realizing that my independent Barbie girl era starts now, but I think I’m ready and I think I can do it well. I hope so. And I can live my dreams. I don’t have to be what everyone else wants me to be. Playing it safe is so boring.

Thank you all!

I love you 🩷

(Also, I’ve packed a few boxes already, and three of them are just books and Funkos. That’s so funny to me. But it’s also kind of hard to say goodbye to this room, you know?)

Next on the list is my wall, and it’s gonna be painful to take it all off and transport it without destroying any of the pictures.

(Thank you to everyone who gave me ideas for prints I can hang in my new apartment, I’ve found a few already.)

Now this is all. Thank you! Sending hugs and kisses your way. I’m gonna try to post something (probably Mikey content because that’s what I’ve got stashed away) tonight or tomorrow, and then I’m gonna get back into writing as soon as I’ve got my life organized.

Yours,

Lizzi 🩷

[eemoo1o-animoo]

for the ask game, perhaps N? and/or P?

Ask me stuff

This took so long to answer! I’m so sorry for the wait. And the links. And the tangent. Aahsbhdb

N – Name three things you wish you saw more of in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice):

This is tricky! I tend to just be like “Augh I wish there was more of that” and then forget all about it. I guess I’ll try thinking of things in the fandom and not in the canon material? Hm – tricky.

Black Butler fandom – I want more aroace William, or at least ace William, representation. I don’t want him shipped with Grelle, I want them being BFFs. *Pointing with judgement* Let them crack open a bottle of wine and/or whiskey by the fire after work and talk about nice, idle things, like their sonboy Ronald (who’s pawing at the babygate like the sad goldendoodle he is because he wasn’t allowed in due to his alcoholism).

Black Butler canon/fandom – I want Snake to speak for himself. Like, either in fanfiction or — more preferably — canon, where he at last breaks and, against the opinions of his snakes, goes “Fuck you, Ciel!” and then full stop. No “says Emily” or “exclaims Oscar”. Nothing. It’s meaningful. Poignant. You can tell that Snake is really hurt about having his found family lie to him so easily, to be betrayed by his second family after losing his first. This is Snake, even if it’s just for a moment, talking for himself. Poor Snake :(

Black Butler fandom – I want more creepypastas / grimdarks / etc.. Plain and simple, it’s meant to be a dark, perhaps horrific at times, franchise and so where are the creepy one shots? The “The Woman In Black” parodies? The subtly dark pieces where Ciel is stuck in an endless game of fleshy marionette for Sebastian’s own amusement? Where?

Bonus:

Sk8 the Infinity fandom/canon – I want more Adam-facing-consequences fics (and hopefully canon content in the upcoming season two), and Tadashi and Miya interaction, because those two look related and hardly interact in canon. I’ve only ever come across one (platonic) fic of them on AO3. One.

P – Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas):

Oh, this is tricky! I don’t think I think of many AUs? At the very least they’re fleeting and / for one shot purposes as opposed to a full-fledged universe? (Alternatively there’s also an idea I had of making a book of rarepair scraplets vaguely set in the same universe for the reader to piece together, like a one shot where Soma, Lizzie and Sieglinde are paired together “trying to get back to ‘x’” and Soma has to carry Sieglinde because her spider legs are broken and Wolfram is nowhere to be found.)

So seeing as you told me about your Snake/Edward / Sieglinde/Lizzie Friendship is Tragic-esque AU I’ll go ahead and state my Fallout Equestria-type one (why did I need brony comparisons for that?) that was kind of eluded to in this post (which is also kind of inspired by this post and its reblogs).

So in the post it was inspired by, I discussed if “shinigami and grim reapers” were different, and that “shinigami” were like “the original grim reapers” (don’t think of them like those things from Death Dote, but rather like The Exterminators from Hazbin) and that the redemption that the reapers work towards is actually fake, just a rumour used to keep them in line and then used as the excuse when reapers go “missing” (aka. the “Higher Up”, so to call them, of the original shinigami and/or older reapers that are in-the-know) to make way for newer reapers when Ole McLimboville becomes overcrowded (which it will as time progresses from the canon’s 1889 into modern day, as per real life suicide stats).

With my theory preluded, the AU would start off with Will’s “promotion/redemption” (#2 from (x)) (as it is known outwardly by the other reapers), but as the numbers begin to spike, a purge starts by the Higher Up / shinigami and Grelle and Ronald make it out after Grelle’s seen Othello die protecting her (a point which will later be paralleled when Grelle then does so for Ron), and go looking for the Undertaker, in case he knows what’s going on (after all, he and Othello are the same age-ish and Othello told them to find him).

I’d also thought about a possible, background Grelltaker flirtation, but that point can be ignored for now. I think if this is the case then Undertaker dies in front of Grelle rather than Othello, who, in this case, she just knows died? Also an point where Ron and Grelle begrudgingly take r!Ciel along with them (if he’s still alive / existing … he can be written out easily, though, I just remember him being a part of my original rough idea), and then it’s later just Ron looking after him after he and Grelle are separated (I’m still unsure whether a fakeout death is in order, or too cheesy to be worked into the plot well enough).

Essentially, it’s just Ronald then — as per his and Grelle’s plan after talking with the Undertaker — looking for a means to summon a demon (whether this will be Sebastian or not is undecided, though is the most likely because… why would I make an OC for something that isn’t TSoGtR? Really, now.) as to try and get an equal footing in the fight against the original shinigami (and the reapers in allegiance with them as part of the Higher Up’s council… as guides to the to-be ‘redeemed’, or even some of the redeemed themselves).

Perhaps there’s also a twisted element from the Higher Up like “You’re finally getting what you came here for/what you wanted, and yet you still fight it?”, when — on the reapers’ side of things — it’s actually because they want to avenge their friends for dying in massacre, so dishonourably (in some cases), and that they know that if they lose / give up, this will only go on and on, until it eventually happens again.

It’s an AU I definitely haven’t thought of in a while 😅 so trying to remember the better half of it was a bit of a struggle, but I enjoyed doing it! It’s a fun idea that I hope to revisit (though most probably will not, as I suck at action scenes / sequences / drama, so it would most likely turn out slow, and corny when it picks up pace, with plenty of emotional moments and monologues but not enough action/fighting).

Thanks for the ask! I enjoyed replying to it (though it took me, like, an hour to, by god).