#someone please tell me if 10 years ticket is good enough to add to my juggling list!

[waitmyturtles]

I’m looking forward to crossing off the next episodes of Individual Circumstances tonight, but I also need to get off my chest that even though I’m not done with my essential watching of Bad Buddy, that I’m already preparing to destroy myself by housing Dirty Laundry as fast as I can, because I just CANNOT get enough of Nanon and Ohm. Whew.

If anyone is out there and reading this, and is watching Ohm in 10 Years Ticket, please tell me if 10 Years Ticket is worth watching! (There are so! many! episodes! in 10 Years Ticket.) (So many hour-long episodes, my god.) 

(My drama list is just..... out of control at the moment.)

[lwt28brave]

LT2 masterpost

If it was up to me, we would get an autumn or winter EP. Since it’s not up to me at all, here, enjoy this post with everything we know so far of LT2, which is to say, not much at all. Everything here is hypothetical. I’ll be updating every time I see something relevant. A little disclaimer that while this is a masterpost (kinda), it could be read as discourse (duh, it’s also a theory), AND it’s also by me, and you shouldn’t expect me to be serious at this point.

Due to me restraining myself, there’s no reference to any of the times he’s mentioned his guitar skills and him improving but I hope you know I cried every single time.

I’m also linking my old pinned here. It was written before AFHF and around the free merch thing that didn’t lead to much, but I still think I made some good points.

Possible tracks:

Copy of a Copy of a Copy

Change

Faith in the future??

369??

Possible names:

369

Faith in the future

When is the album coming out?

Your guess is as good as mine

Friday 28th of January 2022. Almost two years after Walls. It’s a Friday. It’s a 28th. What else can I say?

Here you can find @want-to-be-loved timelines for every month.

Here you can find @berlinini’s timeline of what Louis has been up to this year (2021).

The rest is under the cut. And here you can find a PDF version where Tumblr can't tell me how many pictures I can add.

2020

He said back on May 2th 2020 he wasn’t writing anything new yet.

(x)(x)(x)

Interestingly enough, he’s said many times after that that the album’s not ready cause he has no new experiences to drawn from. I won’t call him out because he does it himself.

May 4th. He liked a tweet from DMA’s Johnny Took saying they had to go write together again. Louis has been credited as an influence for them and (kind of) participated in their previous record, so I’m assuming he meant for their music and not his, but you never know.

Nothing(literally nothing??? how did we survive) until 11th of July. We all know what happened that day. We all celebrated it. Nonetheless, that’s not what I’m talking about here.

(x) So, by the beginning of July 2020 he was working on concepts and ideas for the new album. That was fifteen months ago. I know perfection takes time but…

Brief summary of important things that happened from then until the next mention of new music:

Louis left Syco!!!! 10 days later he rescheduled the tour for the first time. He followed Matt Vines on Twitter, probably so we could publicly shame him into doing something. Also, the 10thanniversary. He followed more people I wish he hadn’t.

Then more nothing until September. Not even a single tweet. The first merch drop was on the 28th of August but he just RT’ed the tweet. He first mentioned Free my Meal on the 25th of September. Then on October 1st Walls hit #1 on a lot of countries and Louis was incredibly happy and excited about it ^^

And then, that same day, October 1st, 2020, he dropped this bomb:

(x)

He also said it was too soon to be sharing new lyrics with us (x)

And, obviously, this tweet which is actually what made me start this whole post. I would hope you know mate.

(x)

He also told us he was cooking "banger after banger" and that he was incorporating more social themes into his music (x)(x) (I believe any social issue is a political issue but that’s not the point rn).

COPY OF A COPY OF A COPY?!?!

These next paragraphs are brought to you by my mind not remembering things and me not having any links. I’m assuming COACOAC came from those writing sessions that supposedly happened in October. Or in LA but I have no idea if he actually was in LA at any point other than a Daily Mail article putting him there on December which would have been too late, but I do remember that someone said he was in the studio in LA last autumn???? A rumor. Maybe. IDK. Did I mention already all of this is very hypothetical?? Well, this is it. I can’t even remember if this was October or November or what. So, take this with a grain of salt.

I’m also… taking the liberty to assume, if you must, that Copy wasn’t meant to be a Walls reject because it sounds more mature and darker and it has a vastly different tone that Walls songs. I know he’s said that song probably isn’t getting into the album, but I want to have faith (in the future) that I’m getting a studio version. (But also, Louis, if you’re reading this, first of all GET OUT OF MY BLOG second of all, please don’t ever feel pressured again to add a song to the album because we have already heard it before. It’s your art and it should always be under your own terms).

So yeah, I believe that Copy is either one of those four songs (then imagine the other three??!!) or was written around the 1st of October date.

---End of the Intermission---

Then not much important (other than sharing more about Marcus Rashford fight against food poverty and the 2nd merch drop) until he announced the livestream on the 24th of November. (x)

It wasn’t until a few days before the livestream date we even thought again about new music (jk, I know we’re always thinking about new Louis’ music). So, December 9th/10th, 2020. Nine months ago. We got our first taste of new music!

He made sure we knew Copy of a Copy of a Copy isn't a cover! (x) (x)

(x)

Ok, so that’s it for 2020. (I feel like I’m missing something from September 17th because tweet was deleted but maybe he was still talking about cucumbers. We might never know. Unless I understand how Tumblr tags work). Expected, cause Walls was released in 2020. We needed to let it sit for a while.

2021

Another Summary: Louis third tweet of the year was telling the UK government off. So was the fifth. What a good beginning. On the 26th of January, he said he prefers pancakes over waffles. I hope he meant pancakes other than his own. More importantly, he tweeted the infamous “you lot read into things too much”. Don’t get me started, Tomlinson. Don’t. Then the 31st came around and Walls was one. He tweeted this. How wise. And Project Defenceless happened!!

15th of February!! Who cares about Valentine Day when the next day we got this? ♥

(x)

(x)

So…AN EP?? AN EP?? PLEASE RELEASE AN EP.

“I’m sure I will have something out this year but unlikely that will be the album”. Unlikely but not impossible. Also. A single would be good. This is the second time he mentions releasing something in 2021 and he sounds surer about it than the first time around.

He also said that he isn’t sure we will get a studio version of Copy. And that the best bridges from Walls to LT2 are Walls, OTB, KMM and Copy. Can’t wait!

Then we jump to March 6th when he announced he was going to create his own management company. “Sometimes action is needed first to encourage the motivation and belief”. As we can tell he was already manifesting some stuff which will lead us to the numerology stuff/Tesla… kidding. Or not. We might never know.

On the 22nd of March he answered some questions:

He told us music was still his main focus ♥ mwha. (x) I included this tweet to guilt-trip him into giving us music in case he’s reading this even after I told him to leave. ILY.

(x) I’d love to get a visual EP this autumn. Just saying. It sounds like a lovely concept.

(x)

…next (I will get into it, I promise. I’m just mad).

On the 25th he left for Mexico until April 10th. You could assume it was just for the documentary where we got ten seconds of footage or admit the obvious: LT2 its a Mexican baby!!

On the 26th (so, not so far apart from that first 369) we got the first Faith in the Future mention: (x)

Back then we were innocent people who had no idea what was coming upon us. We still have no idea because what the fuck does he mean with these. Please explain. I have one braincell and I don’t use it enough for this. I’m linking some theories.

On the 30th of March he confirmed he was already working on the documentary. So AFHF was already on the works. Will it take this long for us to get the Veeps numbers? We also got this tweet: "Got a decent chorus idea down" (x).

Same person that got the “something out this year” exclusive. If you know something share with the class. Also. Is this Change? I feel like this could be Change but I also assume he wrote Change after hanging out with his friends or being in Doncaster. But who knows.

(x) And the second mention to 369.

(x) 15th of April. The second "Faith in the future".

On the 19th of April he announced that he had something BIG for us later on the year which turned out to be the Away From Home Festival ♥♥ (x) I love him so much.

Then on the 28th he announced the 369 merch drop (which it’s probably the Walls drop? Except that the TOU and KMM ones were “drop 1 and drop 2” and this was drop 369 which, again, makes no sense) but we still don’t know what 369 means.

Into May’ 21 we go.

He rescheduled tour again. And dropped another bomb (x).

He announced he has signed with BMG as an independent artist by RTing this tweet on May 10th. The article also says that he’s already working on writing and recording LT2. The timing… we don’t know. What this deal involves… we don’t know either. Bear with me here because I have a lot to say about this.

I think the deal is only a distribution one, but that BMG are interested in Louis and what he (us) could bring to the table. They were either present at the festival or watching it, but officially they had no involvement at all with it (everything is credited either to Louis own company, 78 Productions, or Charlie Lightening’s company). That’s the case for both giveaways too; the vinyl one and the tickets for the festival.

I think it would be an unbelievably bad move not to test the waters with BMG now or soon-ish. At least a single, to see how it performs. Due to the circumstances, it’s obvious there’re certain limitations on place but I want to see how they push it, whether the radio play exist this time around and if the song is playlisted and promoted and all that… I would also love to know, since it says he signed with BMG UK, but it also states it’s a global deal, how things are going to go on the US and other countries.

Yes, yes. I know those are all questions and no answers. But I know the same as you, sadly. If any of you know more than you’re letting on… again, share with the class.

Where was I? Yes, on the 25th of May Louis had a great day writing (x). Since the first time he had mentioned he was officially writing to this date there’s almost eight months. And I believe he was writing before October’ 20.

He followed Robert Harvey that day and, on the 28th of May (why is it always the 28th???) he was spotted at the studio for the first time.

June was an interesting month for the fandom ♥. Lots of LHL content which I will love and cherish for the rest of times. On June 4th, June 9th, and June 10th he was spotted at the studio, but I believe he was there more days.

(x)

This was posted on June 6th and captioned Studio. Charlie also shared it with “Mega tunes being put down, can’t wait for this @louist91 #louistomlinson #LT2” as the caption. This gives me 2019 (Elton-Joint) vibes. I like it. Feels like we’re getting closer to something.

He added the Milano date on the 9th too which I’m mentioning because I’m going alone. Anyone wanna go with me please? I’m nice and I never eat anything before a concert so you can have my food. On other news. It didn’t come home.

During July he was at the studio at least three days too. Probably more. Feels like more with all the fan pictures we got. Or was that June? Anyway, July 1st and 9th we got some videos from Robert Harvey and wearesuperhi, which is who Louis has been working with the most, that we know of. I don’t know for sure they’re from that day. And on July 5th we got an article and lots of pictures of Louis looking really good outside the studio.

On the 12th of July the first fans started getting the free, 369 bucket hat and print. We still don’t know what the purpose was other than to thanks fans. Maybe that was it. I want answers and I still think it relates to a future project (see theories above), but it could also just be a bridge with the Walls breaking.

He didn’t tweet about anything interesting for a while, mostly because he lost his phone (he either throwed it in the air or smashed it who knows). Then on the 29th of July he announced the festival!

I’m glossing over it because there’s already been a lot of talk about it (rightfully) and while it was a wonderful thing, it doesn’t have much to do with LT2.

Let’s talk Change!

On August 3rd he tweeted this about the setlist.

(x)

And this (x) on the 28th! I can’t stand him.

We didn’t get it, obviously. Because who was going to get that. But we read too much into things. Alright.

On the 16thof August Dave Gibson shared this post tagged #LT2 with the eyes emojis 👀👀👀. I believe this has to do both with Change but also with whatever else came out of that Mexico trip.

(x) Last relevant tweet related to LT2 is this one.

So, on the 30th of August we got Change and we cried, and we know that Change is going in the new album. He said it. With those exact words. He also said he was “getting a feeling for it”. This has to meant he already has a general idea of the vibe of the new album and what’s going in it!!!!!! (Right? RIGHT?).

Anyway, let’s go back a few weeks because some other things happened on August. He was at the studio a few more times. Or it was suggested that he was there. On the 17th and the 18th. (Why was it so time-pressing to be at the studio instead of rehearsing for the festival? There was no studio at all on the documentary. Which makes sense, but again, then why?).

On the day of the festival we got another mention of Faith in The Future that made me feel part of a cult ngl. The words were flashing on the screen for less than a second. Okay.

And then he tweeted those words again after watching the livestream/documentary on the 4th of September (x). This is what makes me suspect it's either the name of the album or of the single.

On the same day, we got some interesting quotes about LT2 on the documentary.

“Soon I’ll have to think about me second album, which in my head I’ll get the tour out of the way and then I’ll address that. So, I hadn’t really given it much thought, to be honest”.

“When every day is the same is hard to feel creative and it’s hard to have any kind of proper inspiration”.

“As season started to come back, I started writing again and it was great and some of these songs turned out alright”.

And I think this is it. I might be overlooking some important details but that’s what we know and what we don’t know.

So. Conclusions. That’s what you missed on Glee. I do believe the album is, if not mostly done, partially there. And yes, this post is pointless and never-ending but it’s all in here if you need to tell Louis “Hey, you said this, mate”.

[king-star]

When the Party’s Over

Warning: Homophobia, transphobia, death, bile, guts, broken limb, crying, pet neglection, driving while slightly tipsy, fire (lmk if i need to add more. This is all around pretty dark and sad, proceed with caution)

Match: Yelena Belova x enby!Reader; Wanda Maximoff x reader

Genre: Angst, Angst, and more Angst

A/N: This is the first chapter in a series. Idk how long it’ll be. the plan is bi weekly updates. im reallyyyyy proud of this one so let’s hope it doesn’t flop. ENJOY!

Word Count: ~3,000

Summary: You have a horrible nightmare, leaving you with anxiety for Yelena. Yelena assures you that everything is fine and leaves on a mission.

Your tongue rubs the roof of your mouth in an attempt to rid itself of the sickly sweet drink you’d been sipping. A hundred intoxicated humans swirl around you. Fabric, skin, and feathers blend together, the orchestra the only thing holding off the headache behind your eyes.

You didn’t want to be here. Sure ballroom charity balls could be fun. If you had your best friends there, you could chat only with them, and dance to your heart's content. Unfortunately for you, everyone you could stand to be around was busy. Leaving you human-shieldless from your mothers many socialite friends.

The “oh my goodness Y/N I haven’t seen you since you were in highschool. How are you?” got old quick. Retelling your life story over and over was a pain especially with your mother gripping your hand making sure you didn’t slip up. Share any information that didn’t quite fit the Y/L/N dynasty image. Mostly she didn’t want you sharing about the love of your life, your girlfriend, your Yelena.

When the two of you first got together you waited nearly 5 months before telling your mother. The first time you dated a girl she had hated it. She tried to act like she was supportive, claiming “I will always love you no matter what.” But in the end she always shielded this fact from the public eye. She was supportive of all the LGBT+ movements from a political standpoint. Never her own child.

You never told Yelena about this. You claimed the reason you didn’t want to share her with your mother was because you wanted your relationship to not have paparazzi after you two. She bought it for a while but you could only keep the love of your life away from the woman who gave you life for so long. It didn’t take a master spy to understand the emotions behind the look your mother gave you when you brought Yelena to dinner. Yelena never brought it up but it was an unspoken understanding. Your mother didn’t accept you no matter how hard she tried to fake it.

Now you just wanted the event to be over so you could go home to Yelena. You flipped your wrist, checking the ridiculously expensive watch you had on.

11:31

She was definitely asleep by now. Yelena never stayed up past 10:30. Frowning, you set down your glass and turned to your mother, waiting for her conversation to end. When she finally stopped speaking she turned to you and cocked an eyebrow,

“Y/N. Are you leaving? so soon?” she pouted but enough years in her home taught you her looks. This was faked sadness.

“Unfortunately yes mother. Lena is probably asleep by now and I have work early. She probably forgot to feed our dog,” you enunciated the words that might clue in your mothers friend on how you and this woman were related. A last “fuck you mother” before you left. She smiled warningly and nodded.

“Well… you must get home to your friend. I will see you soon daughter,” she kissed your hand and you stood there frozen. Of course, she would invalidate your gender and your relationship in one comment. Your nostrils flared and you turned quickly, letting your hand smack your unfinished drink into her lap and treading off quickly.

“Fuck you mother. How someone could be so hateful to their own child I will never understand,” you muttered to yourself. You handed your ticket to the valet and stood with your arms crossed, waiting. You made sure to tip the valet an absurd amount, and drove off quickly. The only thing that would keep you from doing something stupid in retaliation was Yelena’s arms around you.

~

Nearly thirty minutes later you pulled the car into the garage. It shouldn’t have taken you that long to get home but you couldn’t help but drive with the top down for a bit. Anger and maybe a bit of fear had bubbles underneath your skin and you didn’t want to bother Yelena. You stepped out of the car and held your head in your hands. You hadn’t drank that much, but a headache would be inevitable.

Fanny met you at the door. She was obviously excited, tail wagging as she raced back to her food bowl

“ok ok girl. I’ve got you,” you rubbed her head and dumped a scoop of food into her bowl. Loosening your tie you dragged yourself to the bedroom. You smiled as the light poured in and illuminated the silhouette of a sleeping Yelena.

“Deep asleep. I’ll join you in a second,” you pulled the rest of your suit off. Picking up a discarded shirt you put it on, and leaned your head against the mirror.

“That was misery. And mother’s comment. I shouldn’t care about what that bitch thinks or says. But I can't help it,” you let out a sigh and picked up your toothbrush. Maybe someday she will accept you. But at that point would she ever be able to make up for how she treated you?

Ready for bed you slid in beside Yelena, careful not to wake her. Fanny, finished with her food, jumped into bed with you and snuggled up with a lick to your face. You smiled and kissed her head then kissed Yelena.

“night my love. See you in the morning,” your heavy lids drooped and you relaxed, setting a hand on Yelena and falling into dreamland.

~

Your thighs hurt. Fire and smoke burn your throat and eyes. You search for something. What exactly you aren’t sure. Tears stream down your face as anxiety floods your chest. If you don’t find the thing soon your world will be crushed.

A broken door, barely on its hinges, is at your right and you know that’s it. A hard turn and you smack your arm into the frame. You grasp at your wrist as more tears prick your eyes.

“Fuck!” A familiar level of pain flares and you know it’s broken. Your eyes dart around the room, still looking for that unknown thing. A pile of smoking wood sits in front of you and your feet carry you to it. This was it.

You try hard to pull through the heavy, hot wood with your one arm. A cry comes from below, an anxiety flaring familiar cry. You pull harder and uncover and dirty and bloody Yelena.

“LENA!” you shout and help her out. Her hands held her stomach. She smiles sickly and then curls in pain.

“Y/N. You found me. I hoped you would. Quick kiss me. I don’t have long,” Your eyes widen and you move her hands. The sight of her stomach makes you sick. Turning to the side you retch and vile spills from your mouth. You wipe your mouth and shake your head, tears fall hard now.

“Lena no no. You’re fine. We can fix you. Please,” you slide your arm under her and try to pick her up but she screams and goes limp in your arms.

“FUCK Y/N! stop. There's no hope. Please just kiss me. I don’t want to die without that.” you shake your head more and set her down. You refused to accept her death.

“No Yelena you are not going to die here. You can’t die. You are too well trained. a-and… I can't live without you. it’ll be fine,” She tries to raise her head but then it falls and she spasms. Your eyes widen and you do your best to hold her still but your broken wrist shoots in pain.

“No no no NO!” you kiss her over and over. Fear pulses through you and when she relaxes completely you sob. Your head aches from the pressure of your sobs and your broken wrist protests. Maybe hours pass and you sit there with her dead body pressed to your chest, her blood and guts smearing all over you.

Then guilt overtakes the sadness. She asked you for one thing. One single kiss before she died and you didn’t fulfill that. You couldn’t give her everything she deserved in life or even in her final moments.

You wake up shaking and screaming. Yelena is awake next to you, crying and shaking your shoulder violently.

“Please Y/N,” she sobs, snot and tears mix and fall forgotten. You sit up barely able to hold yourself up. She is alive.

“Fuck Yelena what’s wrong?” Your dream haunts you. You search her stomach and her whole body for major wounds. She is obviously unsure what you are doing and grabs your face forcing you to look at her.

“Y-you were shaking and screaming and crying and I didn’t know what was wrong. If you were having a seizure or what.” You shake your head and take deep breaths.

“No, I'm good. Not seizure. R-Really…” your words falter and you stare off, caught up in the memory of the dream. Yelena snaps in front of you and hugs your arm. “Ah sorry. Bad dream. really, really bad dream.” you stare at her head unsure if this was the dream or if Yelena really was alive.

“D-do you want to tell me about it?” Her arms slide under yours and she holds you from the side. You shake your head and lay it on her shoulder. “Ok but if you do tell me. I’ll hold you until you fall asleep again.”

The thought of being asleep again makes you tense up. Yelena feels it and rubs your side softly. She kisses you in every way she knows you like and pets your head.

“I’m not going to sleep. I can’t live through that again. It made me think I was going to be alone. Please don’t leave me Lena. please. I don’t wanna die alone.” She frowns and hugs you tight.

“I’m never going to leave you. I’m here baby. I’m here.” She kisses your jaw softly and you nod. Relaxing again, you wrap your arms around her waist and kiss her shoulders.

“Y-you died. There was a fire and I broke my wrist and it was smokey and you got impaled and you died. You asked me to kiss you and I couldn’t accept the fact you were dying so I didn’t kiss you. I couldn’t give you what you deserve.” She frowns and kisses you.

“No Y/N. Don’t you dare. It was just a nightmare, that’s all. I’m NEVER leaving you. ok?” She holds your face and kisses you softly. The kiss lasts a while and you melt into your touch. Fears still paralyse you every couple hours but she holds you until the sun comes up. She knows exactly what you love and how to make you feel safe. She really wasn’t ever going to leave.

~

Weeks pass. You are sure you have gotten past the nightmare. You go to work everyday and Yelena stays home going through paperwork. When you come home the two of you snuggle and bliss fills you. Your mother doesn’t ask you to come to any more charity events and you think maybe, just maybe things are good.

Then Yelena gets called on the mission. When she tells you she will be gone for a week your mind reels. You can barely see straight as the dream vividly flashes through your brain. Yelena gets worried, grabbing your hand and you back away searching her body for any sign of blood.

“No. Lena please. What if you get hurt? I-I can’t. You promised you’d never leave.” Her eyes look at you apologetically.

“Don’t worry. I’m a professional. It’s just a small info gathering job. Absolutely no danger,” she smiles at you and sets a hand on your shoulder. You back away from her hand and lean your head back to force the tears back.

“Yelena… ok. Please. Don’t get hurt,” She nods and kisses your cheek grabbing her bag.

You spend the entire week at home. Anxiety grips you so hard that you can’t stand to go to work. A fever strikes and you throw up every evening at almost exactly 10:30. Work tells you to stay at home and probably go to the doctor. Honestly you’d rather go to work so you have less time to think about her.

Most of Yelena's missions don’t allow for her to contact you and the stress of it all has your brain thinking of her the entire time she’s gone. By the time Yelena is on her way back you have dropped 12 pounds. You hadn’t eaten, only bothering to get up to feed Fanny. A cold sweat coats your skin and you hold your arms to you. Blankets were too hot, but it was too cold without them.

The alarm on your phone signalling it’s time to feed Fanny goes off. You throw the blankets off and wipe dried tears. The tv screen flashes a “keep watching screen.” You aren’t really sure when it came up but your mind hadn’t registered the tv in a couple days.

When the door clicks unlocked you scream. Silence had filled the apartment for so long and the sound was louder than anything you’d ever heard. Fanny starts barking, running to the door, then coming back and sitting at your feet.

You fall to the ground clasping the food scoop. Fanny licks your face as tears fall. Every fear that had plagued you came to the forefront of your mind. What if it wasn’t Yelena? What if it was Hill telling you to come in? No, they would call you for that. But if Yelena was dead…

Arms wrap around and pick you up, setting you on the couch. You whip your head back and forth trying to catch a glance of who it is. In the back of your mind you know it's her, but for some reason you’d been convinced over the past week that she’s dead.

A warm towel wipes away dried tears and snot, and a soft hand holds yours. Tears blur your vision but you steady your breaths. The anxiety in your chest dissipates. You lean your head back forcing the tears in and look back to catch a look at the woman you love. But, instead of long blonde hair and soft round face,  you see long red hair, falling in waves.

“Lena? Did you have to dye your hair for the mission?” She frowns and shakes her head, setting down the towel.

“Fuck Y/N. I know you can’t remember but I hate having to keep telling you this,” The voice is not Yelena’s. It’s your friends. Wanda’s. Your eyes look her all over and you tense up confused.

“Tell me what Wanda? What’s wrong with Lena?” She grabs both your hands and looks at you with the softest expression she can muster.

“The fire Y/N. Do you remember? The fire where Lena…. She bled out,” The anxiety of the dream. No memory. The smoke, your raw throat, and the hours of sobbing.

You shake your head and quick breaths fill your lungs. Wanda tries to get you to calm down. Your vision spots while your brain searches for oxygen your hyperventilating can’t provide.

“Y/N please calm down. Please. FUCK! I promised to never use it without permission but between the two of you…” Red magic flows from her hands and wraps around your head. Your breathing slows down and your vision comes back. Wanda cradles your head and hums.

You reach up and see the tear streaks on her face. Her eyes look bloodshot and dark circles are prominent under her eyes. You pout and try to hug her back. All the fears that had consumed you for weeks were now gone. Even if it was only by Wanda’s magic. You curled into her side and fell asleep. Finally able to find some peace.

~

It was the night of the charity gala. You drove home but had taken the long way around to cool off from your mothers subtle aggression. Plans on how to ignore her future advances build in your mind as you pull into the parking garage. You stepped out of the car and held your head in your hands. You hadn’t drank that much, but a headache would be inevitable.

Sirens sound from the road in front of your complex and you growl. The loud noise and lights make your head pound. You shake your keys and walk towards the stairwell. Coughing into your arm and you open the door to your floor. You throw your hand back with a scream at the hot door handle.

“the fuck…? NO!” forgetting your pain you throw open the door and run into the building. Smoke flows from under doors and fire licks at the walls. The sound of the siren gets louder from some open window. You run through the halls trying your best to not breathe in smoke. Yelena would be asleep. She wouldn’t know what’s happening.

Your apartment door is on the right and you stand back and kick the handle. Your foot hurts as it contacts the rough wooden door but it cracks. You kick again and the door falls in. Running through the door you smack your arm into the frame and cry out in pain.

Fanny barks from one of the rooms and you follow the noise letting her run free into the hallway. You hope dearly that the dog finds her way out.

The entirety of your home is consumed in flames. Beams that held up the apartment above you are on the floor. The poor old couple who was always so nice. Hopefully they had gotten out before it collapsed. Running to your bedroom you try to open the door. It gives quickly but before you can get to Yelena a strong arm grabs at your back.

“What the? HEY!” you squirm trying to slip out of the grip. You have no luck and result to punching. Nothing makes the arms let you go as they pull you from the building. Along the way down you consider it may be a firefighter saving your life.

“Please. My girlfriend, she’s still in there. Please, she was asleep. Save her. I can get out,” you plead with your “saviour”. The person doesn’t acknowledge any words or attempts of movement. They just carry you out of the building back into the parking garage. At some point you began crying, fearing for your girlfriends and your neighbours lives.

You are carried to a car and roughly thrown in. Your broken wrist, now remembered, aches and you curl into a ball. The driver doesn’t speak to you and the person who carried you doesn’t get into the car with you. You didn’t register the person in the back seat with you until they cough. Or rather She coughs.

“Oh Y/N I’m glad we got you out ok. I was so scared we wouldn’t be able to get you out before the fire got you too,” Your eyes widen at the familiar voice and you sit up looking into her eyes. The pieces fall into place in your mind. No you’d never thought she’d be this cruel. Yet here you were, Yelena and Fanny. They were in there.

“You didn’t. no no you didn’t. You are cruel and hateful but not murderous,” you pull away as a hand strokes your cheek. Hate flashes behind your eyes.

“Oh honey. You will forgive me when you realise it was for the sake of the family. Like they always say; ‘Mother knows best.’”

(So it has been decided this is going to be a series. Follow and shoot me an ask if you wanted to be added to the tag list for updates)

DO NOT repost my work. Reblogs and Likes are appreciated. If you enjoy my work leave a comment!

[sweetkingdomstarlight-blog]

plastic smile

Pairings - dark Charles Blackwood x Reader

Word Count - over 4.7k

warnings - oral (f and m receiving), major character manipulation

A/N - huge thanks to @buckyownsmylife @bestofbucky and @supremethunda for beta reading this. Thanks also to @eurynome827 for helping me to choose the gif. The poem in this is by Vinicius de Moraes and might be one of the most beautiful things I've read. As usual this is 18+ only so please don’t interact if you are a minor

It had been a long day at the diner and you only started two hours ago, your usuals were the only thing getting you through it. You lived in a small town where everyone knew everyone so when the red sports car arrived that morning it’s all anyone could talk about.

Charles Blackwood walked into the diner and sat at the counter like he owned the place, his aura was the kind that everyone was drawn to; he was domineering and confident but friendly. You turned his coffee cup over and filled it up with the dark liquid. “Can I get you anything to eat today?” Smiling at him as he looks over the menu, you observe his features; strong jawline, soft curly hair, thick pouty lips and large uncalloused hands.

It takes you a moment to realise he’s asking you for pancakes, you blush and smile sweetly writing his order down and passing it back to the kitchen. Earl, one of your favourite regulars, asks for a refill, beckoning you over. “You be careful with him, don’t go getting any thoughts. He’s a Blackwood,” he tells you in warning.

The Blackwoods were almost an urban myth in the town, you only ever saw Merricat once a week and never her sister since the ‘incident’. The whole town was terrified of them, people always fear what they don’t understand. You however, thought they must be lonely and always tried to make an effort to speak to Merricat when she came in for her drink. Sure, she was a little odd but she was always polite and never forgot to thank you before she left, you always thought some of your other customers could learn a thing or two from her.

Passing Charles his pancakes, you catch your breath when he looks up at you with those big, blue eyes of his and smiles at you, grabbing your hand to ask you to stay. You stood chatting while the diner was emptying, feeling butterflies at how attentive he was, he asked you so many questions about yourself and actually listened to the answers. After finishing his third cup he pays, leaving you a hefty tip, and winks saying he’ll see you again tomorrow.

Watching him drive past in his flashy car, you can’t help but wonder why on earth he spent so much time getting to know you, you come from very different worlds. Wiping the countertop down and finishing up, you grab your bag and shout through to the kitchen, letting them know they’ll see you tomorrow.

Everyone around town seems to be talking about the Blackwoods today, you go to the library and hear Mrs Conners talking on the phone with goodness knows who about how Charles has come back, you then go to the park to sit and read when you hear two mothers gossiping while their children run around. You can’t understand the fuss but nothing ever happens in this tiny town, people talked for weeks when poor Sarah got flipped off her horse and broke her leg.

The next morning went the same as usual, you filled coffee cups, brought eggs and wiped down tables, that was until Charles came back and sat down in the same seat as the day before. He smiled at you and you held your fingers up to let him know you’d be right there, he grabbed a newspaper and read patiently refusing a drink from Barbara while he waited for you.

You flipped his cup round and poured him a coffee. “You know she has the same coffee as me,” you teased him, passing him the sugar and pulling your notepad out to take his order.

“Yeah but yours is so much sweeter,” he says, pushing the white crystals away and taking a sip of the bitter drink.

You try not to smile at the strange compliment but fail quite spectacularly when your mouth practically splits your face in half. “I’ll go and order your breakfast Mr Blackwood”.

Turning to add his ticket to the wheel. “It’s Charles.” You look back at him curiously.

“I’m sorry what was that?” You walk back over to him.

“You can call me Charles darling, Mr Blackwood is too formal. That’s my fathers name so please call me Charles.” He stares at you as though he’s staring through your soul, you lean forward and flip the paper over, grabbing your pen and passing it to him.

“I’m stuck on 10 down.” Pointing at the half finished crossword puzzle.

The diner has emptied again and you’re sitting laughing with Charles while you wait for the lunch crowd to show up, he is cute and funny, nothing like the other guys in town, the butterflies never really go away when he’s around you.

After your lunch shift, you grab your book so you can go and read in the park again when you see him across the street, leaning against the car. “Wanna go for a drive?” He opens the passenger door and gestures for you to take a seat, you don’t even think about it before skipping over and climbing in.

“So darling, tell me where you want to go,” he asks, grabbing your hand and kissing the back of it. You almost melt into the seat, not able to speak for a moment before clearing your throat and pointing him in the direction of the beach on the outskirts of town. You talk for hours, you tell him about how your parents both died a few years ago, how you’re trying to save up enough money to move to the city and how you’re trying to write a book.

He’s such a good listener, you feel like you’ve talked for hours about yourself, which is refreshing because usually you’re the one people talk to. You could charge an hourly rate in that diner, listening to people’s troubles. He smiles that big beautiful smile at you and leans in to kiss you, it’s soft but demanding, grabbing the back of your head to deepen it, you moan into his mouth as he pushes his tongue in and strokes the top of your mouth.

Pulling back and rubbing his nose against yours, he looks down at you. “You’re so beautiful, I could just keep you forever.” Blushing at the cute compliment, you hide your face in the crook of his neck. He gives you a moment before tipping your chin up with two fingers and staring into your eyes. “I can’t believe one little compliment makes you so shy, you should be told everyday how precious you are my little dove.”

Dropping you back off at the diner for your evening shift, he waits for you to get through the door before waving goodbye and driving away. You float around on cloud nine for the whole shift and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by your boss, who has watched everything from the moment Charles first walked into the diner.

Calling you into his office, he asks you to take a seat. “Look, your private life is none of my business but please just be careful with him, he’s not what he seems. The whole Blackwood family is bad news.” You nod and smile at the elderly man who has always looked after you since your parents passed away. You respect him but he doesn’t know Charles very well, if everyone took the time to understand him better they’d see what a sweet person he was.

The end of your shift comes quickly and once again he waits across the street, leaning against his car and smiling at you. “Need a ride home?” You walk across to him and throw your arms around his neck. “Oh, someone is happy to see me,” he chuckles and kisses the top of your head.

Directing him to your house, he drives with one arm wrapped around your shoulder, running his fingers over your neck gently, setting your whole body on fire. Such a soft, gentle touch and you’re already absolutely desperate for him. Pulling up to the front of your little cottage, he switches the engine off and pulls your face up for another deep, soul clenching kiss. Leaning back you look at him bashfully. “Would you like to come in for a coffee?” He nods and kisses your forehead softly before telling you to stay put, running around the side of the car, he opens the door and holds out his hand to help you out.

You show him around before going to the kitchen and making coffee, taking out your best mugs, most of your kitchen stuff comes from the diner, and grabbing some snacks. You’re just leaning up to pick something out of the cabinet when you feel him pressed up against your back, he grabs the packet you were reaching for and sets it down on the counter. “It’s almost like I’m made to be here, looking after my little dove,” he whispers in your ear before planting soft kisses down your neck.

You breathe out softly as he takes his time finding all of your sensitive spots before turning you and holding your head in his big hands and desperately kissing you. Grabbing your ass, he picks you up and sits you on the counter. “Can I touch you?” He smiles as you nod quickly, moving your skirt up slowly, teasing you. You’re practically begging him by the time he pulls your ruined underwear down, he looks at them and sniffs the wet patch smirking at your embarrassment. “Looks like someone is needy”.

Shutting your eyes, you’ve never felt so absolutely mortified before, but he grabs your chin. “Look at me.” You slowly stare at his face as he grabs your hand and puts it on his hard cock. “Don’t be embarrassed, I want you just as much.” Holding your panties up he smirks. “These are mine now though.” Pushing them into his back pocket he pulls you closer to the edge of the counter and kisses around your thighs, tracing a line closer and closer to your wet folds.

You’ve read about this before but no man has ever done it to you and you’d never ask. His tongue is so firm and warm, he knows exactly what to do with it and you feel a new sensation slowly building inside you. He sucks on your clit and pushes what feels like two fingers into your tight wet hole, angling them up, setting your whole body on fire. You moan out loud and grab his thick hair, holding him right in place as you explode, moaning out his name, your voice echoing around your small kitchen.

Pulling your skirt back down to cover you up, he licks his lips and sucks his fingers clean while you catch your breath. “I’ve never tasted anything better before.” Your cheeks warm up again and are about to look away when he softly grabs your face, running his thumb over your lips and jawline. “You are so precious, don’t let anyone tell you any different. I’m going to go now, you need some sleep. I’ll come by in the morning and drive you to work”. You see him out and get cleaned up, pulling the blankets up, you don’t need to read to help yourself fall asleep tonight. You still feel like you’re floating.

You and Charles have been inseparable for the last month, he pretty much lived at your place so you could see more of each other. Every morning he’d wake you up with gentle kisses and touches that set your body on fire, he was so attentive driving you to work and taking your books back to the library when they were due, sitting in the diner doing the crossword puzzle while you work.

It was the best month of your life, so that weekend, when he got down on one knee to propose, you didn’t hesitate in saying yes, sliding his grandma's ring onto your finger, you made love that night and he made you feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

The next day, you wake up and see a white dress hanging from your wardrobe door, confused you go downstairs to find Charles and see him preparing breakfast for you. Eggs, coffee, orange juice and a flower in a glass just for you, walking up behind him you wrap your arms around his waist and kiss the freckle between his shoulder blades. “Is all this for me?” He turns around in your arms and kisses the top of your head.

“You weren’t supposed to wake up yet, I wanted to surprise my beautiful fiancé.” You kiss his lips and smile running back up the stairs and jumping into bed.

Following you up a few minutes later, he places the tray over your lap. “I have a proposal for you”. You slowly drink the bitter coffee and try not to let your disgust show on your face, he’s clearly never made coffee before but somehow that makes him even cuter to you, now you get to look after him forever.

“Let's go down to the courthouse and get married today, I don’t want to wait another minute to make you mine forever.” It was too soon, you know that, but the look on his face was so cute, you didn't want to hurt his feelings so you agreed, almost crying at the look of happiness on his face. “I found this dress in your closet, it's perfect, you’ll look like my own personal angel.” That was it, that's all it took, your own personal kaleidoscope of butterflies flew around your body. You were so happy you could almost cry.

After breakfast and a little bit of fun, he ran out to get a haircut and grab a few things for the ceremony. You got dressed and pinned your hair up in a simple style. Looking at yourself in the mirror, you felt sad that you didn’t have any family to be with you, you didn’t really have any friends either but you did have Charles and honestly that's all you wanted. Writing down a poem you wanted to say to him after your vows, you tucked it into the hidden pocket on the side of your dress and smiled when you heard the car pull up.

Charles walked in and looked at you like you hung the stars in your soft cotton dress, he passed a small hand tied bouquet of pink roses to you, smiling at how happy you were. “I got us an appointment with the judge, can you be ready in 15 minutes?” You looked in the mirror and nodded, picking up a lipstick to match your bouquet, you swiped it on and went to find your future husband.

An hour later you had said your vows, Charles was smiling so wide when you recited yours, squeezing your hand when you said honour and obey. The judge looked at you and you pulled out the poem, dropping Charles’ hands for a moment before you began;

I know that I’ll love you

My whole life through, I know that I’ll love you

At every farewell I will love you

With desperation I know I’ll love you.

And every verse i write will be my chance to say

I know that i'll love, love you my whole life through.

I know I’m going to cry,

Whenever you’re not here I’m going to cry.

But each time you return will make up for

The loss I felt when you weren’t at my side.

I know I’ll have to bear

A never ending feeling of despair

While waiting for this chance to be with you,

With you my whole life through

A tear rolled down your cheek and Charles wiped it away with his thumb. The judge pronounced you husband and wife and you kissed, his tongue softly caressing yours before he rubbed his nose across yours, your own secret love language.

Climbing into his car, Charles looks over at you smiling. “Shall we go to the diner now so you can quit?” Turning your whole body to look at him, he smiles that big grin that makes you melt. “I’m your husband now, I’ll take care of everything and you will take care of me and our children. I can't wait until you’re swollen with our children,” he says while rubbing your stomach. “You want that, don’t you my little dove? You want to honour and obey me.” Nodding, you turn back and look out the window at the passing scenery.

He stops outside the diner. “You’ve got ten minutes to grab your shit, don’t take all day.” Your stomach drops at the tone in his voice, you can’t think of what you’ve done to upset him but you want your happy and loving Charles back. Gathering your things, your boss tells you he’ll always have a space for you and not to be a stranger, he watches as you cross the street and climb into the car.

You slide up to him like you usually do but he pushes you away. “I’m driving, sit over there” the rejection stings but it makes sense he needs to be safe especially when driving. You sit and play with the roses he got you earlier, sniffing them and smiling at the sweet gesture, in no time at all you’re back at the cottage and he storms off into the house without even waiting for you. Your stomach drops, you must have upset him but you can’t think how or when, you walk into your house and call out for him wanting to apologise and fix whatever happened.

He’s in the bedroom sitting on the bed waiting for you “hey there little dove, come over here, it’s our wedding night don’t you want to make your husband happy?” Nodding you walk over to him and move to kiss him but he pushes you back and opens his legs “kneel down for me” pushing your shoulder down with force your knees hit the floor and you wince at the sharp pain. Undoing his belt and pulling his cock out he gently grabs your hair and pulls you over “make me feel good, be a good wife for me” you nod, licking and kissing his length before sucking the tip into your mouth.

He moans out and the fist in your hair tightens as he pushes you further down, choking you and bringing tears to your eyes. You slap his thighs to get him to ease up but he thrusts up into your mouth even more and groans out before spilling down your throat. Pushing your head back you stumble backwards and hit the floor “mmmm well done” he says lifting you up and sitting you in his lap. “How about you go and make us some dinner and I’ll clean up your mess in here?” He says as he kisses your neck, nibbling on the spot that he knows makes you putty in his hands, you stand up and he slaps your ass making you jump “make something nice for me and fix your hair it's a mess”

A few hours later you’re sitting reading on the sofa when the phone rings, Charles jumps up to grab it and grins a kind of smile you’ve never seen before. Staring at him as he sits back down he looks over at you and smiles “Constance has invited us over for dinner, she must have heard our happy news. It's all coming together my little dove, I’m going to be so rich I won’t have to talk to anyone in the family ever again and people will respect me all across the city”. You look at him confused “what do you mean? You’ll be rich?” But he just ignores your questions and reads the paper.

You wake up the next morning and find a dress hanging up waiting for you, sliding your feet into your slippers you go downstairs to find Charles sitting waiting at the dining table “finally you’re awake, I’ve waited for hours for you. I’m absolutely starving” grabbing the eggs and bread you look at him sitting reading his newspaper, he hadn’t even made himself a coffee. “I need you to look nice for Constance, we need to make a good first impression” you nod your head and give him breakfast trying to kiss him on the cheek but he pulls away.

On the way to Blackwood manor you’ve already been told to be on your best behaviour and you feel tense, sensing your feeling Charles pulls you close and hugs you like he used to, kissing your head and squeezing your shoulders “I’m sorry darling I just want them to love you as much as I do, I didn’t mean to make you nervous” you relax into his side and smile feeling the little flutters in your stomach again.

Constance and Merricat welcome you into their home and congratulate you on your recent wedding “I’m sorry you weren’t there, we were just so excited to tie the knot” Charles says hugging you tight and smiling at his cousins. Merricat pulls you into the garden while Charles and Constance catch up “why aren’t you at the diner anymore?” She whispers, hoping Charles doesn’t hear her, you smile at her knowing she likes her routine “I’m sorry, Charles wants to take care of me so I don’t have to work anymore. We’ll be starting a family soon so I won’t have time for anything else” that’s not what she wants to hear so she storms into the house and barges past Charles while you call after her.

You help Constance prepare lunch and try to get to know her better but she seems to be wary of you, probably because of Merricats reaction earlier. “Charles can you open the wine for the table please” you ask, passing him the corkscrew and biting your lip when he winks at you and blows a kiss. “You two seem to be enamoured with each other” Constance observes as you smile to yourself, grabbing the plate of vegetables “Thankyou, we love each other very much, neither of us wanted to wait too long before making it official”. She nods her head and smiles “I wish we could have met before you married, I want to get to know my new cousin. Merricat speaks so fondly of you” she says as you both walk into the dining area

Merricat comes back for lunch sitting at the opposite end of the table from you all, sneering at everything Charles said. You could see he was getting more and more annoyed with her and you tried to diffuse it before something bad happened by constantly interjecting and getting her talking. Dessert is served and you all sit discussing the weather, which is the safest subject between you all, you’ve discovered, when Charles suddenly changes the subject. “So Constance you sent me a letter saying that I was entitled to some of the family money” you all look at him in shock but he doesn’t seem to care.

“Yes but there were some conditions Charles” she says softly trying not to make a scene. Exhaling a loud breath through his nose he starts “I needed a wife” he nods at you, your face burning with rage as you start to put the clues together. He continues “I need a home, I have that now. So where’s my money” you stare at him with tears in your eyes, before excusing yourself and going to the bathroom.

You take deep breaths to not let your panic take over. Trying to focus your mind on something you grip the edge of the sink and don’t hear him enter, until he leans over your body growling in your ear “don’t you dare fuck this up for me and I’ll make it worth your while”. Staring at each other in the mirror for a moment, the only way out of this is if you nod in agreement and follow him back to the table.

Merricat jumps up and sits by your side gripping your hand “are you ok?” You turn and smile at her nodding your head “I’m fine thankyou I just needed a little air” you take a sip of your wine and turn back to Charles glaring at him but he just smirks “I brought a duffel bag we can fill with my share, we can do it right now get it over and done with”.

Agreeing with him Constance takes him to the safe, leaving you and Merricat alone “you should leave him, he’s just using you” she says quickly and quietly. Shaking your head at her “now Merricat it’s not like that, he loves me he just shows it differently that’s all. He wants to start a family with me” you fake a smile and play with the ring on your left hand.

Once he has his money, Charles quickly makes excuses to leave, hurrying you out of the door with a hamper of food from the pantry, you wave at the sisters and smile as he drives away. Not attempting to get closer to him you sit in silence for the rest of the journey. Getting out before he’s even stopped the engine once you pull up at the cottage, slamming the door in his face and marching up to the bedroom to change.

He walks in a few moments later and picks you up pushing you against the wall, trapping you “listen to me, I needed a wife and you were an easy target. You fluttered your eyelashes the moment you set eyes on me, I knew I could get you exactly where I needed you, now I’m rich and I don’t need you anymore but I am willing to give you a couple of months wages to tide you over but you have to be a good fucking wife until I can get things sorted back home” you smile and nod at him “ok, that seems fair how long will you be here?” Raising a brow at how quickly you agree he contemplates his answer “about a week, maybe more” nodding again you push him back gently and move away from him “I’ll set up the guest bedroom for you, I would prefer it if you would sleep in there”.

He takes a deep breath and leaves the room watching you as he goes, as if he expects you to do something silly behind his back. He has no idea what’s about to happen and you’d almost feel sorry for him if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s a shitty person who deserves everything that's coming to him.

The next few days you play it cool, you want him to be relaxed around you and not raise any suspicion. You cook and clean and play the dutiful wife in all areas but the bedroom, not that he doesn’t try everyday, kissing your neck, rubbing your shoulders while you cook, even whispering filthy things in your ear like he used to but you always say no and turn him down.

Wednesday rolls around, nothing exciting ever happens on a Wednesday. Charles goes for his afternoon nap leaving you downstairs reading your book, you wait 20 minutes before hopping to action. Running to the pantry where he’s kept his duffel bag you quickly unzip it and check it’s all still there, satisfied he hasn’t moved anything you grab it and throw it in his car. Running back to the cupboard under the stairs you grab your suitcase, slip the note out of your book and place it on the end table next to his wallet.

Climbing into his car you start the engine and wait a moment to see if he wakes up, watching the window until you see him, there he is, his face burning with rage as he spots you. You blow him a kiss and speed off, laughing to yourself that you managed to fuck him over once and for all.

He runs downstairs hoping to catch up with you and screams when you’ve already gone, walking back into the house he spots the note you left him “Dear Charles, you were an easy target. Have a nice life”

[1ddotdhq]

🍷Thurs 29 Oct ‘20🚙

Cam’s song Changes (written by Harry along with country singer-songwriter Lori McKenna and producers Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson) dropped in some parts of the world this morning, and it is LOVELY! It is a twangy country song about growing up and getting out of your hometown and seeing the world change and you with it. I really think Cam buried the lead when advertising this song, as the best lyric is clearly, “I was falling in love in a back seat, giving it away like my heart won’t ever break. Had such a young heart drinking cheap wine…”. Hmmm...does this sound familiar to anyone? Of course it does! Fans had a great time comparing this song to Fearless and We Made It (and, honestly, yes. I agree). But that is not enough music news for Harry: SiriusXM started releasing videos of Harry’s New York performance in February (whoa a lifetime ago), including Kiwi, Golden, and Lights Up. The performances are, as always, ELECTRIC, and I can’t wait to be able to see them live, eventually.  

Zayn is back and he’s posting Better promotion on instagram (the song, not like...he’s doing a better job...oh, you know what I mean). He hasn’t blessed us with any more covers since yesterday, but he’s active, so I think we’ll be hearing more from him very soon….Maybe some of those songs he registered last month? Please???

All I want for Christmas is...for Liam to branch out and add Tech Expert to his resume alongside ‘YouTuber’ and ‘Tik Tok sensation’? Well, maybe that’s a hyperspecific demand, but it seems like I’m in luck! Liam will be joining the speaker line up of Web Summit 2020, which is a program which “brings together the people and companies redefining the global tech industry”. Liam *is* a recording tech expert, but that’s probably not what they tapped him - this is likely to do with the way he is putting on consistent and quality virtual concerts in a way that has massively transformed the potential for fan engagement in socially distant times. Congrats, Liam, because you’ve worked really hard! And he’s not done working! Liam took to instagram to call fans “detectives” for figuring out that his Christmas collaboration was Dixie D’Amelio, and promising “fun” leading up to the Holidays with “Dixie and her family” (uh, do you think that her parents are gonna be involved or just her super successful 16 year old Tik Tokker sister Charlie?). Anyways, as much as I would LOVE to say that we are indeed detectives (because we are!) , the credit for letting the cat out of the bag this time goes to Dixie herself, who posted a Tik Tok of her singing the song. This, on top of the speculation that already existed, was all the confirmation we needed to know what was happening. Liam also filmed a few episodes of a podcast Happy Hour with veteran YouTuber JaackMaate on his show, where he and his friends chat with people about their jobs and their lives in a relaxed way. And! If you bought tickets to LP Act 3, check your inbox - Liam has sent information on how to access the concert, and also some pre-emptive tech support links. I don’t know if that’s a good sign or a bad one.

Niall was, again, very busy with promo, appearing on Live with Ryan Secrest and hitting all of the Royal Albert Hall talking points we’ve been hearing, but he also took the time to interact with fans on Twitter! He tells us that he’s not going to be doing anything for Halloween (“can’t go anywhere in big groups”), that he loves Bruce Springsteen, and that he’ll do a live striptease if “Slow Hands” passes a billion streams by next week. Look, I know I keep saying this, but, uh #PLEASEdontstripitdownNiall. BUT! Do show us more of your skincare routine, which is what he did on insta: he posted a pic of himself in a facemask saying, “You’ll all be saying after RAH, ‘Niall you were glowing!’ and I’ll say… ‘I know’”. 

And, Louis showed us how quickly he works when he has a goal in mind: after the unfortunate matter of merch shipping only to certain regions of the world yesterday, Backstreet Merch (the company in charge of his stuff) quickly took to twitter to say that, “We will be expanding our shipping zones to all of South America and India...within the next 48 hours.” And that’s exactly what happened! Not only that, Central America and Singapore are also on the list (catch ALL OF MY FAMILY rocking their Walls merch), although Mexico is not, and Backstreet Merch has said they have no current plans to ship to Mexico, which, hmmm. But look, I just gotta say that in 48 hours, Louis listened to his fans who have supported him (he sold out TWO stadiums in Argentina!) and quickly made his merch more accessible. Honestly, I love this man. And those countries certainly deserve it – can your country say Walls was its best selling album last week? Argentina can! Both Harry albums and Heartbreak Weather were also in the top ten.

However, I may have said good riddance to Celebtm too soon ( :{( ). TMZ has picked up their second mess of an article and is now distributing that. On top of this, Michael Straus has contacted both Judge Judy and the People’s Court to see if they can get some cable airtime and settle the small claim on TV - which, to be clear, Briana has to agree to, but it seems likely. Celebtm (despite saying yesterday they weren’t going to report on this until January when the court case happened, okaaaay) made a statement telling Briana to take the TV offers seriously so that Louis’ “child support” (quotes theirs, not mine) wouldn’t go to her legal fees. They went on to say, “We only see #onedirection here. To #EndIt on television and win your freedom to love ❤️ again with the next victim. Thank you #1DFamily for supporting #louistomlinson during these chaotic #1D times”. We DO support Louis, which is more than I can say for celebtm. It might bring a little thrill to see a media outlet proclaiming End It, but is it a good thing for Louis? No. This is happening because of the response they're getting and unless someone makes them (mark this down cause you won't see me saying this usually but omg LTHQ will you please get in here and shut this talk down?) they won't stop with this nonsense (see: yesterday's Larry Stylinson article) until the fans stop cheering them on. Speaking of nonsense on Instagram, Lou the golden retriever, the influencer dog fans headcanon-ed was the one HSHQ posted, decided he wanted a piece of the pie and has joined the swollen ranks of accounts falsely claiming a connection to Harry. There are many, including deuxmoi who post an endless stream of made up stories, but also the occasional credible sounding fan report such as yesterday's of Harry at a gym in the UK, and, um, WOW! It’s one of those fitness classes where you alternate your running pace to accelerate your heart rate, and the fan account claimed that Harry’s base pace (that is, comfortable running pace) is 10 mph, which is a 6 minute mile, or a 5k in 18 minutes. Uh, WHAT?? Guys, that’s it: I’m officially a stan, I love this man, and I want to go on a run with him.

[shhhlikeme]

“Losty Aone” / “Losty Mountain Man🏔” Series:

Outtake Collection #10:

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A/N: please reload if you saw this early! HAD TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH THIS ONE. Smh! Some fluff after so much smut, but the next outtake is a MUST read.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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6 Months Into Dating - Aone Introducing Y/N To His Pet Turtle 💚🐢💚

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.” Ordered your boyfriend kindly.

You quickly opened your eyes, immediately greeted with the most adorable sight in the world: your giant scary-looking mountain man holding a small shelled reptile in his both of his hands.

“Oh. My. God!” You yelled, hopping off Aone’s couch to run to him. Aone lowered his turtle so you could pet him and he watched your eyes fill with unmistakable adoration. You pet the reptile softly with your small index finger, and Aone noticed his turtle lean towards you automatically, just like he does whenever you touch him.

“He likes you.” Aone smirked.

You looked up at your boyfriend. “What’s his name! What’s his name! What’s his name!” You squealed, coming in close so that your nose was close to the turtles nose.

“Perdu.”

A/N: y’all know I speak French so search up what that means AHAHAHA

Also, if you haven’t had your daily dose of cute today google imagine search ‘aone turtle’ and see our baby!

I would have included a pic but not enough artist credit

You started jumping up and down out of excitement. “Ahhhhh! Hi Perdu!!!! I’m your new mama!”

Aone sucked in a breath at you calling yourself his pet turtle’s new mama. He always embarrassingly dreamed of having kids with you one day so it really hit him in the feels.

“He’s perfect. Can I hold him?”

Aone grunted and nodded.

“Can you show me how, Aone? I don’t want to hurt him.”

Aone gave you instructions and then placed the African Aquatic Sideneck Turtle in your hands. Takanobu stood there with his hands to his side like a lovesick idiot, watching you speak baby-talk to one of his best friends and just melting inside. He loved the fact that his love loved his other love. He was beaming.

“Hi Perdu! I am going to be taking care of you because daddy is going on a volleyball trip! But I promise you will have so much fun staying at my house!”

“I’m sure he will love staying with you, Y/N. He doesn’t like Kenji-san very much, bites him every time Futakuchi tries to pet him. You, he likes.”

Your eyes shone with pride as you cradled Perdu.

“Babe, he’s so cute!!!” You switched your expression to angry, glaring up at Aone. “Now Can I know why I’m just finding out about him now and why the hellyou hid him away in the basement when I came over?! 😡”

Embarrassed, Takanobu looked away. “Well.......”

You stared up at the white-haired beauty expectantly. “Welll.... what?”

“Well....... I um, I didn’t want you to think I was weird. For having a pet turtle.”

Your jaw dropped. “What! Excuse me?!”

Aone frowned, looking at the floor. “I apologize Y/N, Kenji even said that if you didn’t like Perdu then you may not be the one for me—but—I didn’t want to risk anything..... I didn’t want to risk you thinking I was odd and then not giving me a chance.”

Your face softened, hearing your boyfriend’s insecure thoughts.

☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️

“Aone baby, come here.” You used one arm to cradle Perdu then used your other hand to lead your boyfriend to his living room couch so he could sit down. When he did, you sat in his lap, so that he was behind you, looking down at your son together.

“Aone, you make me so happy. I think of you some days and think that you’re too good to be true.”

Aone’s eyes widened over your shoulder. “Really??”

You nodded earnestly, going back to petting Peru softly on his head. “Can we talk? I think it’s time.” You said and Aone felt his heart drop. He knew what this conversation was going to be: and while he didn’t dread it per se, it was kind of embarrassing— and he just hoped you didn’t scare easily.

“Yes, we may talk, I’ll just put Perdu back in his tank for a bit.” You kissed your boyfriend’s cheek and got up to hand him your son. “Don’t forget to change his water tank, it’s been 2 hours!” You called as he made his way downstairs.

Aone stopped, turning back to look at you with admiration in his eyes. You remembered everything about Perdu already: it made him fall in love with you even more.

“Well done, Y/N. I will. I’ll be back in 10 minutes.”

10 Minutes Later - Aone Embarrassingly Telling You About The Things He Did When He Was Crushing On You :/

When you two were settled back on the couch, Aone sat far away from you as if you had cooties. Knowing that your bf was just uncomfortable with this convo, you did what you always did and crawled over to him, climbing into your favourite spot on his lap so you were sitting on him sideways like:

This position had a way of instantly calming him down as he loved having you so close. You saw him visibly relax. Good. You took a deep breath and turned his chin so that he was looking at you.

“Aone. I’ve always wondered—did I do something when we weren’t together? Like is there something I did that made you feel like you couldn’t just approach me, say hi?”

Aone blushed, then shook his head. “No, not particularly.”

You knew there was more he wanted to say he was just being shy. “Go on.......... I promise not to judge you. I’m here to stay.” You leaned in to kiss your boyfriend’s lips, knowing that he was terrified of you finding him creepy and deciding to leave. You had to reassure him that that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Mountain believed you, and hearing your reassurance gave him the confidence he needed to begin:

“Y/N. I need you to somehow understand that you weren’t just some ‘crush’ to me. Not in the amateur sense like the way Katana is crushing on Futakuchi, or Koganegawa’s crush on Kusa. I mean yes, I was definitely crushing on you, but I realized early on that it was.....different. It was a bit more than that. It is like this: You were—are—my dream girl. Like, if I had never met you and someone asked me to describe my ideal woman, I would have described you......to a T. So, when I saw you for the first time at the pep rally, my mind went: thats her. That’s the perfect girl.”

You melted, listening intently and trying not to interrupt by jumping him. He continued.

“So, you kind of startled me. Because everyone always thinks their ‘dream person’ is just that....a dream.....right? They seem very unattainable. Very intimidating. Not to mention I am not one to approach a woman. And then add the fact that you’re one of the most popular females in our grade, plus you don’t notice me despite the fact that—according to Futakuchi and Koganegawa—I was painfully obvious in my pining—combining all of those factors, it was hard to just one day go up to you and ‘say hi.’” He stared at your thighs, beginning to draw random designs on them. “However, I wanted to. Every time I saw you I wanted to go over and introduce myself and ask you if I could walk you home but.......” he sighed. “I guess I was too cowardly.”

You went: 🥺🥺🥺🥺 grabbing Aone’s face and showering it with kisses, making his heart race.

“Oh, Aone, I wish you approached me baby. You were in pain—“

“Pain? Only at certain points. Actually, for the most part I was rather happy to be crushing on you. You made my everyday better. As soon as I began having feelings for you seeing you in the halls was like being presented with tickets to my favourite sporting event! I looked forward to class because you would be there, meaning I could hear more about you and see you smile. I’ll admit I stared at you quite a lot.....but it was because you were always smiling with your friends and that smile alone brightened my week, too.”

You heart clenched. “That’s so sweet Baby. But then when were those painful moments?”

Aone frowned, recalling the memories. “Uhhh......when you were seeing that baseball player.”

You scoffed. “Ew I was never seeing that fuckboy—“

“—And when you asked the teacher who on earth I was.”

“What?!” You gasped.

Aone peaked up at you, not wanting you to feel bad. “Please, don’t feel bad now, Y/N..... it’s not your fault my presence wasn’t really on your....”

“I did?! When ?!”

Aone sighed and shyly told you the story about how he had slowly packed his books so he could eavesdrop on you/his crush’s academic conversation. He explained how what happened when the teacher suggested him made him lovesick for a while.

“Ohhhh, my poor baby......” mortified, you put your head in your hands and shook your head. “I’m so stupid! I’m so sorry! please..... oh God and you were right behind me?! That is so unbelievably rude of me! What the hell did you see in me!” You we’re MORTIFIED.

Aone placed his hands around your wrists , gently prying your hands away from your beautiful face. He leaned in so that you were looking at him. “Y/N. my intention is to not make you feel bad about any of this. You didn’t know I was there, and you didn’t know who I was. I didn’t even try to get you to notice me, not really. If anything you asking who I was that day probably subconsciously pushed me to defend you against Tsume Lian weeks later. Everything happens for a reason.”

Still mortified, you nodded, looking down.

Aone was desperate to cheer you up because that frown of yours tugged on his heartstrings more than anything else in the world:

“When I was crushing on you, and you were a genie on Halloween, I was the one who donated 106,000 yen on behalf of our volleyball team.”

You snapped your head up, eyes wide and hit your boyfriend on his chest. “YOU DID WHAT!”

He rewarded you with a chuckle. “I’m so embarrassed right now. I’m sorry. I just wanted you and the team......but mostly you.......not to struggle.”

“Aone Takanobu! You mean to tell me that you were a perfect boyfriend to me before you were even my boyfriend?!”

Aone shrugged, kissing your cheek and turning red. He’s glad that his embarrassing admission made that frown leave your face. Worth it. “Futakuchi seemed to think so. And while we are admitting things..... and Koganegawa already exposed your birthday plans...... I also feel inclined to tell you that your Halloween costume last year made me weak.”

You pouted out of sheer adoration for your boyfriend! “What! Really?! The genie thing?! You liked it?”

Aone nodded, feeling himself get a semi just by remembrance. “We had a math test that day and I almost failed for the first time. I couldn’t stop looking at you. I’m sorry please don’t think I am one of those perverted boys. I just couldn’t help it.......”

Feeling aroused by the idea of you arousing your boyfriend in class, you moved to straddle him and gave him a deep kiss. Aone moaned into the kiss and pulled you closer, internally joyous that you weren’t running away after all he’d admitted to you.

You both pulled away at the same time, trying to catch your breath. You leaned your forehead on his.

“Aone, I think it’s adorable that you liked me for so long. I’m kinda kicking myself because if I wasn’t so lost and just noticed you, we would’ve been together way longer now.”

“No! Please don’t feel bad.” He begged, “Time with you since that day with Tsume has been the best part of my entire life. It may come off as pathetic, but.......when you spend time with me—no, when you simply smile at me not anyone else.....it makes up for the years I spent hopelessly pining and dreaming about you.”

You smiked, deciding to tease your boy because a word he’d said spiked your interest. “Dreaming about me....huh?” You raised your eyebrows.

Aone flushed—he really walked into that one—then shook his head firmly. “Yes. But before you ask any more questions: the answer is absolutely not. I am not telling you about my wet dreams about you, Y/—“

You eyes widened. 👀 “WAIT, WET dreams?!?!?! As in the things I did in your dream made you cum in real life?!?!”

Because he hadn’t realized what he said, Aone stopped breathing. He stood up abruptly with you in his arms, leaning down to place you on the couch. Looking anywhere but at you, Takanobu tried to come up with a reason to escape. He looked so fucking cute so-crippling shy you were going to combust!

“I m-must take Perdu out f-for a walk, now.” He said awkwardly, clearly making something up to get himself out of that one.

Your eyes twinkled. “Aone baby, I think it’s cute......”

Aone looked at you in horny disbelief. “.....Hm..... y-y-y-you do?”

You smiled, taking his hand. “Sure. I just want to know what you dreamed about so I can make the real-thing that much better......” you said seductively, leaning in to ghost a kiss over his pants where his dick is. “I’d love to act out one of your dream sequences right now, before I go....” you bit you lip while batting your eyelashes at him.

Aone bit back a moan, immediately growing hard. He wanted to tell you that real-you always felt better, but he couldn’t think straight. “Yes. Yes, If y-you’d li-like....... 😩 I’m powerless to resist you.”

You stood up happily, still holding Aone’s hand, and lead him back to his bedroom. “Look on the bright side babe,” you squeezed his hand. “When Perdu grows up you can have a father son chat with him when you tell him from experience that dreams really do come true.”

While Aone was relieved because the conversation he’d been so scared to have ended up being taken light heartedly and fun, he’d soon come to regret having it at all.

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Taglist: @crushzone @galagcica @chaichai-the-weeb @nairobiisqueen @bisasterrr @juminly

A/N: hold onto your seats folks. Last outtake post next! ....and you’re going to want to read it.

Outtake #11: CLICK HERE

[thesassenachswiftie]

Lover - Chapter 9: “I Think He Knows”

❤️ Read on AO3

Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3 // Chapter 4 // Chapter 5 // Chapter 6 // Chapter 7 // Chapter 8

Summary:  Claire and Jamie spend a romantic day in the city.

Notes:  This chapter is SO FLUFFY and it's my favorite so far!! Get ready to go on a date with these two lovers!

           Claire had just arrived home from work on a crisp October Monday afternoon when she felt her phone buzzing in her bag. Kicking off her shoes, she dug for it and smiled when she saw Jamie’s name and picture taking over her screen.

“Have you timed my commute, I just texted you before I left.” She was smirking as she giggled a bit, hoping he could hear the amusement in her voice although her tone was mock accusatory.

“Mebbe…“came Jamie’s bashful reply. “You have a long weekend next weekend, correct?”

“Yes, apparently our great nation is still a big fan of colonialism so I have next Monday off.”

 “So, I ken we’ve been keeping a low profile, but what would you say to spending the weekend in the city with me?” he asked a bit sheepishly. Before she could reply, he provided reasoning: “It’s a big city and we’re not so likely to be seen, not to mention it’s been several months since ya left Frank, and people are less likely to be suspicious of our relationship.”

“You, obviously don’t know Frank’s people that well,” came her bitter reply, rolling her eyes despite the fact that he could see, “but I suppose you’re right. What’s a country boy like you want to spend his last weekend here in the big city for though?”

“Weill, I may have won a wee radio contest and scored us tickets to a Sunday matinee of Wicked. I thought we could head in Saturday, and make a weekend out of it. I have a few other places in mind I’d like to take ya.” Jamie’s enthusiasm was obvious in his voice.

 “That actually sounds really nice.” Claire was beaming at the thought. “You do know I lived in the city for four years though right? Shouldn’t I be the one showing you around?”

“If ya have anywhere in mind, I’ll gladly add it to the list”

“Oh, there’s a list?” she elicited, smirking to herself.

“Aye, I fully intend to spend the weekend sweeping you off your feet, Ms. Beauchamp.” He was an architect drawing up his plans.

“Is that so?” she giggled “Well I certainly don’t intend on spending your last weekend here without you, and if you have Broadway tickets I simply can’t have you taking someone else.” she declared.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, I’d have to scalp the tickets on the street.” he chuckled back. “Or worse, give the tickets to Jenny and Ian and spend the weekend watching the bairns.”

“We certainly can’t have that!” she dramatized. Her tone shifted and her voice became gentler as she continued, “a weekend in the city with you sounds wonderful, Jamie.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page, Sassenach. Besides, I already booked a lovely little AirBnB in Greenwich Village.”  

“Ok, if we’re going to be in The Village I have only one request.”

“Anything for you, Sassenach.”

“We have to get Murray’s bagels for breakfast at least one morning. They’re the best in the city.”

“Of course, I’ll add it to the list”

“There really is a list, isn’t there?”

“Absolutely.”

“Do you want to share the list with me?” she elicited.

“Nae, I’d rather surprise ya if it’s all the same.”

“You’re such a romantic, James Fraser.”

“Can you blame me, when I have such beautiful Sassenach to woo?” Claire just giggled in reply, glad Jamie couldn’t see her blushing over the phone. The smooth hum of her chuckle always reminded Jamie of church bells, and his heart leapt a bit hearing the noise. “I was thinking we could catch the nine AM train on Saturday morning, the AirBnB wasna available Friday night and I dinnae wanna rush you out exhausted after yer work week anyway, ya ken? If nine is too early we could push it to ten, but no later, I have a lot planned.”

“I’ll aim for nine, we can push it to ten if I oversleep.” she chuckled. “I’m really excited, I’ve always wanted to see Wicked”

“I ken. Ya told me once.”

“Of course you ken.” she chided, “you really are a romantic.”

“So I’ll see you Saturday morning?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

           As it turned out, Claire could not sleep-in Saturday morning. The excitement of spending a whole weekend with Jamie alone--a weekend in which he planned on sweeping her off her feet--was enough to have her up at the crack of dawn. Although she was awake with anticipation, she allowed herself to laze in bed for a few hours, daydreaming of the possibilities. Perhaps he would take her on a carriage ride through central park--that seemed to be what the romantic leads in all the movies would do. She didn’t understand what was going on with her. It was like she was seventeen again, all aflutter with butterflies and daydreaming about this incredible man the universe had seen fit to place in her life. Every night her mind went there, to him, his body, the feel of his hands on her own body, the taste of his kiss. Every morning, he was the first thing she thought of when she awoke.

Eventually, she stretched leisurely and slipped out from under the covers to dress and have breakfast before she left. She slipped into a pair of jeans that best accentuated her posterior, knowing it to be one of Jamie’s favorite parts of her, and a cozy form fitting sweater to combat the fall air. It was a warm day for October, and the sun was peeking through the windows as she put the last few essentials into the weekender bag she packed the night before: deodorant, toothbrush, and her phone charger. As she glanced at herself in the mirror again, she wished she’d thought to ask Jamie how to dress for the day’s events, but she had packed outfits for all occasions and figured she could change at the train station if she felt underdressed in comparison to him. It wasn’t like they would go somewhere super formal midday anyway, and she knew Jamie was thoughtful enough that he probably would have mentioned it if they were. At 9:00 Jamie texted: “So, is it the 9:00 train, or the 10:00 milady?”

           “I’ll be ready for the 9:00 😊”

           “See you soon Sassenach ❤️”

           “💗”

She arrived at the train station shortly after 8:30 and Jamie was already there waiting for her, wearing Jeans and a flannel shirt. Claire was pleased that she had dressed appropriately and her face lit up at the sight of him. God, he was handsome. He had that boyish look that she liked in a man, and his plan to sweep her off her feet was already succeeding.

----------

           An hour later, Jamie and Claire were getting off the train at Jamaica station, much to Claire’s bewilderment. “I thought we were going to Manhattan, where are you taking me?” she queried.

“All in good time, Sassenach” he replied evasively, putting his arm around her as he led her through the station to wait for their next train, “but I can let ya know we’ll be spending the better part of the day in Brooklyn before making our way to Manhattan, I’ve got somewhere I’d like to take ya.”

“Always full of surprises aren’t you?” Claire glanced up at those blue eyes she had come to find refuge in. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have him, to keep him despite all her mistakes and shortcomings over the course of their less than half-year relationship. She planted a sweet kiss on his firm shoulder before resting her head there as they waited for the train. A couple months ago, she had drunkenly told him she loved him in the back of an Uber. She knew her feelings had not changed in all that time, but they hadn’t told each other those three little words since that night. Part of her was afraid she would mess things up again--afraid to repeat the past and make the same mistake twice. She didn’t want to lose him again; she didn’t think she could take that pain. Mostly though, Claire was confident that Jamie was aware of her feelings and didn’t really need to be told again. Every time she thought to herself that she should say it, the moment didn’t feel right. I ain’t gotta tell him, I think he knows. Besides, it was too soon since their reunion--this iteration of their relationship was still too new for that. When she did say it, she wanted it to feel special, certainly not drunkenly blurted out, and not too casually either. However, with every little romantic gesture he did, she came increasingly closer to shouting it from the rooftops. Maybe she would reach a breaking point this weekend.

The one lingering question was that Jamie hadn’t said it either. Perhaps his feelings had changed since then, but the way he acted around her--that was hard to believe. He didn’t ruin everything by saying it last time, surely it would be easier for him to say it first this time around. His actions said it every time they were together, but she longed to hear it from his lips. She secretly hoped he would reach his breaking point first.

----------

           By late morning, Jamie and Claire had arrived at their destination. They stowed their bags in a rented locker and Jamie led Claire on a brief walk to their destination: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Jamie knew Claire had a passion for gardening and an interest in botany and had been wanting to take her there for months. Since before they even got together, if he was being honest with himself. Claire’s face said it all when they started to enter the gates and Jamie paid their admission--she was beaming and truly touched by this thoughtful adventure they were embarking on. “Have ya ever been here, Sassenach?”

“You know, you think I would have made it here when I lived in the city, but I rarely ventured across the East River. A part of me wishes I had, but I’m glad to experience it with you for the first time.” They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment and shared a brief but passionate kiss just inside the entrance, not caring who was around to see.  

They began walking down the main tree-lined path around the perimeter of the grounds.  It was a crisp fall day, cool enough for a sweater, but the midday sun was warming everything it touched making the weather perfectly pleasant for spending outdoors. The air smelled of leaves and everything seemed to be shimmering with autumnal brilliance. The couple wandered slowly through the Shakespeare garden. “I thought with your English heritage you’d like to see a proper English garden.” Jamie smiled at her as they strolled hand in hand along the quaint cobblestone path. Although many of the flowering plants were long since dormant, the trees were all the fiery shades of reds and oranges and there were small sprays of purple asters dotting the landscape. Jamie couldn’t help but think of the stone path behind his English cottage, and the beautiful garden Claire could make there to rival this one. He hoped she was drawing inspiration for her own English garden. Claire, meanwhile, was enjoying reading the Shakespearian poems and quotes on placards throughout the gardens, mentioning the plants that grew there. Her English heritage did in fact give her a soft spot for the bard.

They seemed to be the only two people in this particular garden, and stopped to sit on a roofed bench tucked beneath a flaming oak tree. Claire just sat, breathing deeply and taking it all in--the foliage, Jamie’s lyrical smile and indigo eyes, his hand on her thigh. Everything seemed so perfect. “Jamie, this is so lovely. Thank you for bringing me here.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yerself, Sassenach, we’re only just getting started though. I have much more planned for you, mo chirde” Jamie gently stroked Claire’s cheek as they got lost in each other’s eyes, lips drawing closer together. They kissed each other in the shade of the towering oak—a slow, languid kiss, tongues softly caressing. With no one else around and the whole day ahead of them, there was no rush to move on to their next stop and they could linger in the moment. Of course Claire was eager to see the rest of the gardens, and she knew Jamie surely had it all planned out, but for now she was just content to bask in his affections. When they finally separated and slowly got up to walk back to the main path, Jamie asked “are ya hungry?”

“Ravenous!” she exclaimed, throwing herself at him and nibbling on his earlobe.

“I meant for lunch, you wee vixen!” he exclaimed, playfully grabbing her arse.

“Mmmm… I know what you meant. I could eat.” She smirked.

“There’s a wee cafe a bit down the path, I thought we could grab a bite before I show ya more of the gardens.”

“That sounds perfect.” Came Claire’s enthusiastic reply. Jamie really did have the day planned out, even anticipating that they would need to eat. Claire was consistently touched by his thoughtfulness and attention to detail.

----------

           The Yellow Magnolia Café was a modern, comfortable space set inside one of the greenhouses, which allowed for expansive views of the foliage outdoors through the glass walls and ceiling. They were lucky enough to get a table near the window as they enjoyed a seasonal brunch and coffee. Claire offered to pay, but Jamie refused to let her, insisting that this weekend was his plan, his treat. If she wanted, she could treat them to bagels the following morning since that was her idea, but nothing else. Over brunch, they chatted about their everyday lives, conversation always coming naturally between them. Jamie shared stories of his niece’s and nephew’s shenanigans over the course of the week. Claire had a few stories to share as well, mostly second hand, of the ridiculous things that had happened within the walls of the high school she worked in. Being sequestered in the nurses office all day, she was isolated from most of the antics of the hallways and cafeteria, but Jo kept her updated on the latest drama, pranks, and stories amongst the teens she cared for.

By the end of brunch, they were both in high spirits--basking in the comfort of being around each other. Claire felt less giddy than she had earlier. She was still excited by the prospect of the rest of the weekend, but she just felt so comfortable around Jamie that she was able to feel calm in his presence. This was positive, because the constant waves of butterflies she had been feeling earlier would not have been sustainable, she much preferred the occasional butterfly to flutter through her gut throughout the day instead of the swarm.

They strolled through the indoor gardens and greenhouses, enjoying being able to see exotic flowers like orchids, bonsai trees and tropical plants, flourishing in the midst of the seasons changing outdoors. It was wonderful to think how life could thrive while everything outside seemed to be dying in one last radiant swan song of color. It was nice to know things still found a way with a little help, with a little shelter, and a little love. Claire found all three of these things in Jamie’s arms, and although it pained her to think of their coming separation, she knew it would not break them. She knew the winter would end, and like the flowers outside, he would come back to her in the spring, where their love would bloom more brilliantly than ever before.  

Jamie led Claire back out into the crisp fall air and led her to the Japanese garden.  It was stunningly picturesque. The garden was situated around a small lake with small bridges, statues, arches and lookout points dotting the landscape. Trees arched their way over the paths, in dazzling shades of red and gold. It was as if all the colors of autumn sought to congregate around the glass surface of the lake and the picture of it nearly took Claire’s breath away as she and Jamie strolled. This part of the garden was more crowded than the Shakespeare garden, but they still managed to steal kisses along the way, ducking behind trees, or following narrow, less traveled paths with winding steps leading to shady alcoves. “Jamie, this is so beautiful, I’m so glad you took me here.” Claire professed as they stopped at a lookout spot along the path near a waterfall and took in the views of the lake, arms wrapped around one another.  

“I’m so glad, mo nighean donn” Jamie replied, planting a soft kiss in her curls. Claire had released one of her arms from him and was using it to take pictures of the scenery on her phone. “Claire,” Jamie interjected sheepishly, “could we take a selfie together?”  Her face lit up as she spun around and pulled her phone out ahead of them, adjusting the angle to try to get the background and their faces in the shot. “Allow me” Jamie insisted, taking the phone from her.  His long arms allowed for the perfect shot, their heads tucked in close, midafternoon sunshine lighting up their beaming smiles, and a bonfire of fall leaves and sparkling blue lake behind them. Jamie texted the picture to himself before handing Claire’s phone back to her.  It was strange that they had never taken a selfie together before. He had several pictures of her saved on his phone from times they were together, mostly taken in his bed or at his breakfast table. She too had some of him, tucked away in a secret folder on her phone in case prying eyes tried to find them, but they had never taken a picture together until now. It made their relationship feel official somehow, real. They knew the picture wouldn’t be posted to social media or anything like that, it was still a delicate situation--Claire having broken off her engagement to Frank less than six months ago--but just having the picture privately between them was enough.

The couple continued to wander through the garden, through winding tree lined paths, past a luminous yellow tree that smelled of maple syrup, and along wide promenade flanked by cherry trees, brilliant orange and gold in the autumn sunlight.  “Do you think it’s just as lovely in the spring as in the fall? I can’t think of anything more beautiful than this, but cherry blossoms are spectacular.” Claire wondered out loud.

“We’ll have to come back in the spring and find out” Jamie replied, caressing her shoulder.

“I’d like that very much” came her reply, wrapping her arms around him and burrowing close to his chest. They had been walking for several hours, enjoying the sights as much as each other's company. They laughed and talked and told stories of times before they met, holding hands or wrapping arms around waists as they strolled. It was really turning out to be the perfect autumn day.

“I have one more place I’d like to show ya.” Jamie declared, leading her down from an overlook they had been standing atop, looking out over the cherry trees.

“A rose garden?” she giggled as he led her under a white-painted trellis tangled with thorny branches. “In mid-October? They’re not likely to be in bloom this late in the season.”

“I ken, and I have every intention of bringing ya back here to see them bloom in late spring, but there’s something I want to show you now, today.” he was smiling, but his confidence wasn’t as apparent as it had been earlier that day. For the first time, he seemed a bit apprehensive. In truth, he was second guessing if a garden full of bare rose bushes was the best locale for a romantic gesture. The fall foliage was still on display in the distance outside the garden, and the architecture of the trellises and arch ways still led to a romantic atmosphere, but there definitely wasn’t much to look in the way of flowers. He wanted to tell her how he felt, to lock it down, he was worried if he didn’t she wouldn’t stick around. The good ones never wait.

Claire interrupted his thoughts, “It sort of reminds me of The Secret Garden. Have you ever read it?”

“No, but Jenny had the movie on VHS when we were kids, I recall it somewhat.”

“It’s just, it’s dormant and we’re the only ones here, it feels like we’ve happened upon an abandoned garden, all to ourselves.” she smiled.

Jamie felt instantly at ease. She knew just what to say to assuage his doubts. He was feeling more confident as he led her under a pergola at the far end of the garden and down a set of stone steps. This part of the rose garden was smaller, situated around a statue in the center. The statue was of a woman in a thin dress that left little to the imagination, bowing over a large bouquet of roses in her arm, taking in their sweet scent. In her other arm, she held a sundial with a butterfly shaped gnomon. Jamie led Claire to the statue, palms sweaty in spite of the temperate weather. Near to the statue, a rosebush with a single, late blooming pink rose greeted the couple.

“There’s a rose for ya, mo charide” he gestured to it, stroking the soft petals.

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all” she lilted.

“What a beautiful piece of poetry.”

She giggled, “it’s from Mulan, one of my favorites when I was a girl.”

“You shouldn’tha told me, so I could’ve kept thinking ya were a masterful wordsmith,” he teased, smirking.

Claire sighed dramatically, “I guess I’ll just resign myself to knowing you think less of me.  How can I ever live with that knowledge?” she couldn’t help smirking though she was trying to feign taking offense. She knew he was so obsessed with her and boy, she understood the feeling.

“Aw Claire, I could never think less of ya” he pulled her close and wrapped her in his arms, locking his blue eyes on her whiskey ones. “Not ever” he whispered.  Instead of drawing her in for a kiss, as she expected, he pointed her attention to the statue. “Do ya notice anything about this statue, Claire?”

“She looks cold” Claire chuckled, noting the statue’s erect nipple peeking through her gauzy dress. Strange how something made of metal could be considered gauzy--sculptors were truly impressive people.

Jamie chuckled at her observation, “maybe on the sundial, perhaps?”

Claire took a closer look, there were words inscribed on the sundial, she read them out loud, slowly “Perennis amor. Hmm.”

“Do ya ken the meaning?”

“Hmm… amor means” she hesitated for a moment, looking up at him, “love.” meeting his eyes, she saw that very word reflected in them, “and perennis…” She thought about making a penis joke, but didn’t think it was right for the moment, even if it was something that was on her mind, “like perennial, plants that come back year after year… constant, lasting”

“Eternal.” he finished for her, “eternal love.” her breath caught as he placed his thumb under her chin, meeting her eyes again. “That is what I have for ya, Claire. I love you, and I won’t stop loving you, ever. I ken we have a wee separation ahead of us, but whenever ya find yerself having doubts or fears about that Claire, I want ya to remember these words.” He brought the hand that was not on her face to the engraved surface of the sundial briefly, returning it to her waist.

Claire’s heart was racing, and the swarm of butterflies had returned to her stomach. Her eyes found his again after following his hand. “Oh Jamie,” she sighed, still feeling breathless “I love you too.” Jamie’s face broke into a smile and he drew her in for a long lingering kiss, gently caressing her tongue with his own, running his fingers through her curls and along her cheek bones.

When they eventually broke away he explained, “just like these roses are mostly gone, we may not be together much in the winter, but this love will still be there like the rose bushes we’re surrounded by. They’re not going anywhere, and we will blossom together again Claire. Always. I mean to make this work, I ken it willna be easy, but I’m gonna make every effort to keep ya.”

“I understand, it won’t be easy, but I will look forward to spring, when we can see the roses in bloom together. I’m not going anywhere; I’ll wait for you to come back.”

----------

           Claire and Jamie left the gardens and took a cab to a Deli on 16th Avenue for a quick dinner before heading back to the subway to Manhattan. They enjoyed their dinner, basking in the glow of their love. They probably looked like two teenagers, making eyes at each other and linking hands across the table. They both had goofy smiles plastered on their faces as they ate and talked. While they were waiting for their food, Claire couldn’t help but notice Jamie’s hands around a cold glass of soda. She remembered noticing them the first night she met him--it had been a glass of whiskey then, but the effect of it was still the same. Seeing how large his hands were compared to the glass, she imagined them on her body, stroking her in the most intimate places. Those hands make me want to know that body like it’s mine. This is where her thoughts went as she stared at those large hands, as they had that first night. The difference between then and now, was that now she knew exactly how those hands would feel on her, and it was more pleasurable than she could have imagined. Whenever they were alone in his apartment, she made herself at home and he always wanted her to stay. Now they knew they had each other’s hearts, futures, and love as well as each other’s bodies. Claire was most assuredly looking forward to the added layer of intimacy their evening would have.

Leaving the restaurant and walking with Jamie down the sidewalk, Claire felt that his footprints on the sidewalk were leading her to where she couldn’t stop: couldn’t stop thinking of him, couldn’t stop wanting him, couldn’t stop loving him. Yes, it was complicated; yes, it didn’t make practical sense; yes, they were going to be separated by an ocean soon, but none of that seemed to matter right now. Right now, they were together and he had her heartbeat skipping down 16th Avenue. She felt so giddy, she wanted to actually skip down the street, hand in hand with Jamie shouting “look! We’re in love”. Her heart just felt so light, like she was on another plane, transcending the real world into something magical, deep and fiery. Through the connection of their entwined fingers, it was like they shared one pulse, one heart. They were no longer two separate people, they were two halves of a whole, truly themselves when they were together like this. “Jamie I’m so happy.”

“I ken what you mean Sassenach,” she could tell he was serious, but then his tone shifted “I am quite the catch after all” he teased.

“Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be.” she said, tugging at his shirt collar as they waited for the Uber to take them back to the train station. “I wanna see what’s under that attitude.” she whispered coyly. She was following the sparks he was giving off to wherever they would take them. They couldn’t get to the AirBnB fast enough. He captured her in a passionate kiss, tongues dancing, exploring, hands roaming and taking in the shapes of each other. When they pulled away she whispered in his ear “I want you, bless my soul.” Just then, their intimate moment was interrupted by their Uber’s arrival. As they got settled in the back seat Claire whispered in the dark, “So where we gonna go?”

[evendeadlmthehero]

The Five Year Promise: The Snap (5/10)

Summary: Y/N Stark, 20 year old superhero, makes a promise with a 16 year old Peter Parker after being cheated on, that if she hasn’t found love in the next 5 years, they’d finally go on a date. Then the snap happens. Y/N is gone and Peter isn’t

Warnings: lots of angst and swearing

Twitter// buckyslemons

The Five Year Promise Masterlist

A/N: no one told me how to add read more in my posts on a MOBILE APP, not the laptop so if I see comments saying to add ‘read more’, either teach me or please be quiet.

You and your father were hidden from above watching as needles started to come in contact Dr. Strange's face, causing an obviously painful whitish subcutaneous glow at each touch. “Give me the stone!”

You watch, trying to plan your next move before something taps your shoulder. You raise your hand to it, ready to shoot, but then see what it is and stand down. It was Strange’s cloak. Your father looked at it confusedly. “Wow you're a seriously loyal piece of outerwear, aren't you?”

Suddenly you hear someone drop down before you, making both you and your father turn around. “Yeah, uh, speaking of loyalty.”

“What the-“

“I know what you're both gonna say,” Peter begun as he raised his hands up. He watched as your face turned into one of anger.

“You should not be here,” your father had muttered, shaking his head at both of you. “I did not want either of you here.”

“I was gonna go home-“

“I don't wanna hear it.”

“But it was such a long way down and I just thought about you both,” Peter spoke, glancing at you specifically.

“You’re such an idiot peter!” You told him, anger coursing throughout your body. “My father and I could’ve handled this! This isn’t a fucking game peter, this is a one way ticket!”

“Don’t you think I get that-“

“Obviously not!” You cut him off, taking a step closer to him. “You can’t just risk your life recklessly like that!”

“You’re doing the same thing!” Peter spoke back, his turn to get angry. “I don’t get why it’s so bad when I do it!”

“Because you’re a damn kid Peter!” You yelled back at him. His face dropped for a second before looking at the floor as he played with his fingers. “You do things out of pure instinct. Not thinking that two avengers plus a wizard was enough as it is.”

‘Just a kid,’ he had though. ‘Just a little kid.’

“Come on guys,” your father breathed in heavily as he took you both to the viewpoint as tension between you and Peter rose. “We got a situation. See him down there? He's in trouble. What's our plan? Go.”

“Um. Okay, okay,” Peter spoke, trying to forget what you had said earlier on and concentrate. He had to prove you wrong. That he wasn’t a impulsive teenager. That he was an asset. He and the Cloak then popped back upright. “Okay. Did you ever see this really old movie, Aliens?”

-

“Painful aren't they?” You heard maw speak as he poked Stephen with needles, making him scream. “They were originally designed for microsurgery. And any one of them-“

He stops as he hears a thump behind him. Maw turns to see Iron Man standing there, hand repulsors ready to fire. Ebony Maw’s face remained unchanged as he looked at your father. “Could end your friend's life in an instant.”

Your dad shrugged, acting like he didn’t care. “Gotta tell you, he's not really my friend. Saving his life is more a professional courtesy.”

Maw walks slowly towards your father, beckoning very large, very solid metal objects to float behind him. “You've saved nothing. Your powers are inconsequential compared to mine.”

Your father remained unbothered as he sighed. You readied into position, your fists pointed towards the wall of the spaceship. “Yeah, but the kid's seen more movies.”

You let out a quantum blast which pierces the side of the ship to Maw's right and begins to suck everything out with depressurization, especially Maw and his large objects. Dr. Strange is pulled loose of his pinnings, loses the needles, but also heads for the hole, helpless to resist. The Cape wraps around his arm and an anchor point, but Dr. Strange's arm slips loose and he keeps going.

You are also struggling to hold tight to the pipe attached to the wall. Peter sees this and shoots a web strand at Dr. Strange and you with one hand, while he holds onto a piece of the ship with the other. It breaks, sending them both towards space when his Iron-Spider suit's metal arms brace him to keep him from being sucked out. Fortunately, Dr. Strange is still surrounded by the ship's atmosphere making haste to leave.

“Yes!” Peter yelled excitedly as spider-legs came out of his suit. “Wait what are those!”

Peter crouches with his new spider-legs, and makes a mighty leap and pulls you both back inside. Your father quickly sprays nanites onto the hole to plug it up. He then walks past Dr. Strange, shaking his head and with his armor retreating into its containment as Dr. Strange gets to his feet and becomes en-Cloaked. “We've gotta turn this ship around.”

“Yeah,” you replied back sarcastically as you walked over and sat on the floor, your back against the wall. “Now he wants to run. Great plan.”

Dr. Strange looked over at you. “No, I want to protect the stone.”

Your dad walked towards the expansive front view-port before speaking. “And I want you to thank me now. Go ahead, I'm listening.”

“For what?” Stephen had scoffed, matching Tony’s ego. “Nearly blasting me into space?”

Your father moved his head to the side looking at Strange absurdly. “Who just saved your magical ass? Me.”

Strange shook his head at your dad, letting out a bitter laugh. “I seriously don't know how you fit your head into that helmet.”

“Admit it.” Your father had spoke, taking a step forward. “You should have ducked out when I told you to. I tried to bench you. You refused.”

“Unlike everyone else in your life, I don't work for you.”

“And due to that fact, we're now in a flying doughnut billions of miles away from Earth with no backup!”

“Can you guys for one secound just shut up!” You cut them both off as you walked over to the ship’s systems, trying to work out what it was doing. “This ship is self-correcting its course. Thing's on autopilot.”

Dr. Strange walks closer to you. “Can we control it? Fly us home?”

“Maybe,” you spoke shaking your head as you looked at the various switches and buttons. “Might take a while but we could get home, gather the remaining Avengers and-“

“-I'm not so sure we should,” your father cut you off as he looked to be in a deep thought. You looked at your father confusedly.

“Under no circumstance can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos,” Strange shot at your father. “I don't think you quite understand what's at stake here.”

Your father stalks over to Strange. “No. It's you who doesn't understand, that Thanos has been inside my head for six years since he sent an army to New York and now he's back! And I don't know what to do. So I'm not so sure if it's a better plan to fight him on our turf or his but you saw what they did, what they can do. At least on his turf, he's not expecting it. So I say we take the fight to him. Doctor. Do you concur?”

Dr. Strange thinks for a secound before nodding his head. “Alright, Stark. We go to him. But you have to understand. if it comes to saving you, your daughter, the kid or the Time Stone, I will not hesitate to let either of you die. I can't, because the fate of the universe depends on it.”

“Nice. Good. Moral compass. We're straight,” your father nods at Strange. He then steps over to Peter, as he formally taps each of Peter's shoulders with the edge of his hand, dubbing him as is done at a knighting. “Alright, kid. You're an Avenger now.”

Your father doesn't look at him as he says those words, knowing well what he is signing him up for. Peter however looks at Tony in disbelief, and then cycles through delight, satisfaction, pride and determination, and braces himself for what's to come. You scoff at your dad, knowing all to well what he was doing. You then look at Peter before shaking your head and storming off to find a quiet place out of here.

“Go after her,” your father spoke, giving Peter a little tap on the back. “See if she’s alright.”

Peter nodded at Tony before going over to where you had stormed off. He walked around for a few minutes before he saw you pacing around in an empty room. “I can’t believe it! I can’t believe he just made you an Avenger! I can’t believe you’ve risked your life for no reason and my dad has made you an Avenger!”

Peter scoffed, walking into to room you were in. “You expect me to stay there while you’re up here!”

“You heard me Peter, it’s a one way ticket!” You stopped pacing to look at him as you waved your arms around. “You should’ve stayed there no matter what happens to me!”

“You don’t fucking get it do you!” Peter yelled in frustration, pushing back his hair as his heart started beating rapidly out of anger and exasperation. “For the smartest person in the world you can be so daft!”

You crossed your arms, looking at Peter as he offended you. “Excuse me?”

“Last week you asked if I liked you. I don’t.” He spoke as he clenched his jaw. Your heart dropped for a moment as you took a step back. “The truth is I love you.”

“Peter,” you mumbled, shaking your head at him. “You don’t even know what love is.”

“And there you again, patronising me,” Peter spat out as he laughed bitterly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I’m not!” You told him, uncrossing your arms.

“Yes you are! You always do!” He accused you as he pointed a finger at you. “You think because I’m four years younger than you, that I don’t know anything!”

“I’m not saying that, I’m just saying you haven’t been exposed to many things in life yet,” you replied back, trying to get him to understand where you were coming from. Peter wasn’t in love with you, was he? “Love being one of them.”

“Not exposed?” Peter shouted, his face displaying a look of unbelief for your lack of awareness. “I’ve been exposed for years! For years I’ve been exposed to love because of you! I can’t think of anything but you! And you don’t even fucking see it!”

“Pete-“

“No! You don’t get to talk! Because it’s been like this for two years, of you looking at me like I’m some sort of kid! And this watch?” He held up his wrist as he showed you the watch you gave him. “This is because you feel sorry for me! You don’t love me! C’mon Y/N tell me you don’t actually see me more than a brother, because it’s a one way trip, remember! I might not come back to hear the truth!”

“Peter,” you let out a sigh as you pinched your nose. You honestly don’t why you gave him the watch. Maybe you saw potential in the guy, because he sure did pay attention to you. You thought in the future, you might give it a shot. “you’re a nice guy. I though that-“

“That if you exhausted all your options and still didn’t find the one that I was the last person who you’d date,” Peter let out a little chuckle, looking at the floor. “Its fine I get it.”

“Peter, look you might not even ‘love’ me by the end of five years,” you tried to reason with him, taking a step forward. “You might find someone else when that timer hits zero.”

Peter let out another bitter laugh as he walked over toward you, making your breath halt.

“You know how I know that this is what love is?” Peter spoke, looking at you dead in the eye. “Because what you just said sounds fucking impossible.”

-

You, Peter, Tony and Dr. Strange are aboard the ship when you see the surface of a planet approaching. Dr. Strange looked at your father, walking near the window. “I think we're here.”

“I don't think this rig has a self-park function,” your father spoke before looking at you. “Get your hand into this steering gimbal. Close those around it. You understand?”

“Got it,” you replied back. You walk over to the steering wheel that looked like two gloves, as you put your hand in one of the gloves.

Your father places his hand on the other glove. “This was meant for one big guy, so we gotta to move at the same time.”

The ringship is heading straight for the center of what looks like one of a colossal game of jacks. “We might wanna turn. Turn! Turn! Turn!”

Your father armors up as the ringship clips the "jack" obliquely, but still losing a good third of its hull in the collision. Peter throws up his helmet at the same time. Doctor Strange steps between them and creates the Shield of the Seraphim around you all, anticipating a rough landing. The ship, now reduced to about 40%, plows through the dirt and stops, leaning slightly to one side. Doctor Strange helps you and your now de-helmeted father, to your feet. You’re both panting a little from the exertion of arrival. “You alright? That was close. I owe you one.”

Peter descends from above in classically spider-like fashion as all three of you looked at him. “Let me just say, if aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something, and I end up eating you, I'm sorry.”

Your father pointed at Peter like a parent telling off his child. “I don't wanna hear another single pop culture out of you for the rest of the trip. You understand?”

“I'm trying to say that-“ Peter stopped as he looked behind you both. “Something is coming.”

A grenade rolls into view. You, Peter, Strange and Tony get thrown well back when it fires its energy pulse.

“Thanos!” You hear a creature yell as he flings a blade at Doctor Strange, who neatly deflects it with a mystical shield, and in return sends the Cloak of Levitation at the creatures face, half-smothering him and throwing him to the floor. You see what seemed to be a Human attacking your father and due to how close your father was to him, you couldn’t just shoot at him. The man had your father in what seemed to be a magnet.

You opted for your black widow skills and ran toward him, wrapping your legs around his neck, choking him with your thighs.

“Get off me!” The man yelled as he tried to smack you in the head with the back of his gun. You grabbed it with your hand. The man purposely fell backwards to get you off his back, making you see a daze. He then shot an electric current that wrapped around you like a cord. Your dad pulls free of the magnet then runs towards Drax as soon as he sees that Quill had you, putting a foot on his torso.

Quill has you in a head-lock, gun pointed at your head. Doctor Strange has a mystical shield of golden energy up, and stands ready at the third point of the triangle. Mantis had Parker in a coma.

It was a complete mess.

“Alright, everybody, stay where you are, chill the F out,” Quill spoke as he depowered his helmet. “I'm gonna ask you this one time. Where's Gamora?”

Your father spoke, dehelmeting as well. “Yeah, I'll do you one better. Who's Gamora?”

“I’ll do you one better! Why is Gamora?” The creature that was headlocked by your father spoke out.

“What the fuck is wrong with him,” you whispered to yourself as you looked at the creature that your father had under his foot.

“Tell me where the girl is, or I swear to you, I'm gonna French-fry little miss thighs of death!” Quill had spoke, pushing the gun towards your head more.

“Let's do it! You shoot my daughter, I blast him. Let's go!” Your father threatened as he extends his nano-tech cannon, looking uncannily like an electric shark about to eat Drax's face.

“Do it, Quill! I can take it.”

“No, he can't take it!” Mantis yelled back.

“She's right. You can't,” Dr Strange deadpanned.

“Oh yeah? You don't wanna tell me where she is? That's fine. I'll kill all four of you and beat it out of Thanos myself,” the man spoke before looking at you. “Starting with you.”

“Wait, what. Thanos?” Dr Strange spoke, trying to inject clarity and sanity into the situation. “Alright, let me ask you this one time. What master do you serve?”

“What master do I serve? What am I supposed to say? "Jesus"?” The guy spoke making you roll your eyes at him as it dawned to you.

“You're from Earth?” You had asked him, turning around to look at him from the death grip he had you in.

“I’m not from Earth. I'm from Missouri.”

‘Well this was going to be a long day,’ you thought you yourself as you closed you eyes and sighed.

-

Peter and yourself had sat on one of the rocks in the planet which you came to learn was called titan. Despite your predicament and the place in ruins, it was a beautiful place.

Your dad was trying to explain the plan to a group of people who you’d learnt the names of a while ago. The one that looked like a Prey Mantis had the name Mantis. Go figure.

Mantis was currently jumping on what seemed to be a gas emitting from the ground or something, you didn’t know. But what you did know was if Thanos was as strong as others had told you he was, then you guys were in for it. Because you had found a team of some questionable characters.

You sighed, rubbing your temple before facing Peter, who looked like he was ignoring you. “Pete?”

He didn’t respond, staring at the rocks in front of him. You shook your head, playing with your fingers.

“Come one Pete,” you softly spoke, turning around to have your body face him. “We might not come back out of this. We need to talk.”

“Fine,” Peter mumbled, grabbing a rock from the floor and chucking it across. “You go first since I already confessed about how I love you and how apparently it’s not even real.”

You rubbed your eye before biting the bottom of your lip, trying to form some logical explanation on your outburst. You looked around the planet, playing with the material of your suit.

“Truth is Peter, you’re not a kid. You’re smart, mature, attentive and heroic,” you spoke. “But I didn’t give you that watch to risk your life for me. Or to ignore other girls for me. I gave you that watch because if you exhaust all your options, and there’s no one else left, that we give it a go. Because I want to. But I want to make sure you 100% want to and not because I’m the first girl you like.”

Peter’s head moved up at that comment. “That’s the thing. I don’t think I’ll ever find someone like you. And it scares me. So when you gave me that watch...for once I-I felt hopeful. I felt hopeful that we might have something. Maybe not now, but in the future.”

“Exactly Peter,” you spoke, putting your arm around his shoulders as you pointed at his watch. “This is for the future. In the future things change. Things become unpredictable. Hell, you might not want to wear this in a couple of months or years time. But that’s okay. The main thing is when we’re both ready, if we are ready, we’ll give it a shot. It’s just now I can’t. Not because of age primarily but because I just got my heart broken. And you need to meet other girls before you decide what you want. Because once we start, we can’t be friends if things go wrong.”

“I get it,” Peter whispered to himself, rubbing his arm. “You need time. And I need time too. I need time to actually grow. To learn. To be a man. I’m 16 and you’re 21. We both need time. It isn’t right to try now.”

You give Peter a hug which he returns. It’s warm and gives you a feeling of eating a hot chocolate fudge during Christmas. Like home. “I hope the future is kind to us.”

“I hope so too,” Peter replied back as you both pulled away from each other. You then looked at each other’s eyes, for a secound almost lost.

You then awkwardly looked away, your attention once again caught by the Mantis girl as she spoke. “Excuse me, but, does your friend often do that?”

You looked over to where she was pointing, where you see Dr. Strange sitting cross-legged. He was floating slightly above the ground, his hands poised in a mystic gesture with the Time Stone glowing brightly in the Eye of Agamotto setting. Green vapor-like energy flows from the stone, and more intricate magical energy patterns circle Dr. Strange's forearms. The Cloak of Levitation flows behind him as if the Stone is creating a strong breeze. His eyes are closed, and his head is jerking rapidly from side to side, the motion blurring, but resembling looking for something.

Peter, you and your father ran over to him. Your father grabbed him, shaking him. “Strange! We alright?”

Dr. Strange snaps out of his trance and falls forward, letting out a cry.

“You're back. You're alright,” your father breathed in heavily as he took a step back.

“Hey, what was that?” Peter asked Strange who was still breathing deeply. He then sighed, looking at you all.

“I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict,” Strange spoke, looking deflated.

“How many did you see?” Quill had asked him.

“14,000,605”

Your father looked nervous as he asked the next question. “How many did we win?”

Dr. Strange stares intently at Tony for a moment. He looks at your father like he was silently apologising to him, giving you a quick glance. “One.”

At the time, that look meant nothing to you. Like it was just Strange tired from viewing all possible outcomes.

But looking back at it, you would’ve yelled at him. Pleaded with him. That somehow, someway it could’ve gone differently.

That there was an outcome that he may have missed.

-

You hid behind a rock with Peter, waiting for the arrival of Thanos. You were lying if you said you weren’t afraid. You were. It was like being a child. You think there’s monsters under your bed. You tell your parents, and they laugh, saying that monsters aren’t real. And then you return to bed, unable to sleep.

This is what it felt like, your heart thudding against your chest. This is it. This is what you’ve been waiting for. And although you’ve been waiting six years, you still didn’t feel prepared.

“Somethings not right,” you whispered to Peter, giving him a quick glance before keeping your eyes out for Thanos. “Something- I don’t think I- I will make it- fuck.”

You shook your head, tears welling up in your eyes. Peter moved towards you, rubbing your back. “Pete? Can you promise me something?”

“Anything,” Peter spoke, looking at you concerned. You bit the inside of your cheek, trying to contain yourself.

“I don’t want you to comment on this, just a yes or a no. I don’t want sympathy and I don’t won’t hope. I just want a yes or a no,” You begun before looking away at him and back where Strange was. “If I don’t make it, take care of my father will you?”

“Y/N-“

“Will you?” You reinforced. Peter gulped, before nodding. He wouldn’t let you die. He couldn’t let you die. “Good. Great talk.”

You let out a little breath before you look back. A blue mist started appearing, getting bigger and bigger. You know what it was. It was a portal created by the tesseract. You remembered it from 2012.

You then see a giant man who looked almost 8 foot tall. He had a violet complexion and donned a gauntlet with four stones; reality, space, power and soul.

You held your breath as you realised he’s here. Thanos is here.

“Oh, yeah, you're much more of a "Thanos”,” Dr Strange spoke from the stone he was sitting on. Thanos looked at him, his face unchanged.

“I take it the Maw is dead,” Thanos sighed, as he slowly walked around before stopping. “This day extracts a heavy toll. Still, he accomplished his mission.”

“You may regret that,” Dr Strange replied arrogantly. “He brought you face-to-face with the Master of the Mystic Arts.”

Thanos let out a little smile. “And where do you think he brought you?”

You see Star-Lord crouch behind wreckage with his weapon ready, behind Thanos. You and Peter peek from behind Dr Strange. “Let me guess. Your home?”

Thanos begun explaining his home, showing various imagery of what used to be. Explains why he was doing what he was. Trying to justify himself.

Dr. Strange summons his Mandalas, entering a fighting pose. “I think you'll find our will equal to yours.”

And that’s when you all get out of your position.

“Ours?” Thanos spokes before he looks up to a see a chunk of wreckage descending rapidly on him, too rapidly to react and powered by your father. He is subsequently crushed by it.

The wreckage on top of Thanos erupts in purple, as he bellows in rage. He turns the hovering fragments into a flock of bats with the Reality Stone and swarms your dad with them, driving him back through the ruins.

Peter webs his eyes, and swings in to kick him in the face at the same time that Drax leaps from cover, blades in both hands, to knee-slide behind Thanos and try for a tendon slide across the back of the Titan's knee.

You jump through a portal that strange had created and blast golden energy, that sends Thanos hurdling back. He uses the reality stone to send the discarded ship towards you, but you fly in full speed right through it as the heat from the quantum energy sliced the metal of the ship.

Strange starts dueling with Thanos while Drax attacks similarly on his other side. Thanos punches Drax through a ruined wall, then shatters the blade with one hand and tears the web from his eyes. He advances on Doctor Strange and kicks at him, but Strange's shield absorbs the damage.

You make your way back on the ground, and shoot Thanos from behind. Thanos uses the Power Stone to shoot balls of energy towards you but you quickly deflect them with your own powers. You then use quantum energy to lift up a massive rock and aim it at Thanos who crushes it before it even reaches him.

“Don’t let him close his fist,” you had heard Dr Strange whisper to his cloak. The Cloak swoops off Doctor Strange's shoulders and wraps itself tightly around Thanos' armored hand, who starts tugging at this unexpected wrapping.

Doctor Strange starts throwing portals everywhere. Peter leaps through one on Thanos' left.

“Magic!” He punches Thanos in the head and vanishes through a portal to the lower right before reappearing above Thanos. “More magic! Magic with a kick! Magic with a-“

Before he can finish Thanos turns, grabbing him from the air, and throwing him to the ground, with his hand around his neck. “Insect!”

He then throws him at Doctor Strange, knocking them both down. Thanos finally tears the Cloak away and is then promptly surrounded by fiery explosions as you bombarded him with your powers.

He sucks all the flame into the gauntlet with the Power Stone and fires it in a stream back at you, hitting you dead on and sending you far away.

Peter leaps from behind, more conventionally this time, while Thanos concentrates his fire on you, and webs the gauntlet and drops down in front of him, pulling hard to stop Thanos from hurting you.

‘Can’t let her die,’ Peter had thought.

Thanos yanks on the web-line, pulling the much lighter teenager towards him, and punching him on his way past. He tears the webbing free of the gauntlet just in time for a small spaceship to attempt to crash-land on him.

The ship drags Thanos along for a distance, burying him under debris. He stands just as the pilot leaps in a great arc to punch him, landing in front of him with an energy-blade at the ready.

It was Nebula.

Thanos punches her away. Doctor Strange uses the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak to pinion the gauntlet, pulling Thanos' fingers open and trying to pry the gauntlet off his hand.

Thanos tries to pull free, as Drax slides in from his right, kicking his knee and knocking him off-balance, then wrapping himself around Thanos' kneeling leg. You quantum blast his legs, making him fall, before holding his legs in a ball of energy.

Star-Lord shoots a electric trap onto the ground to Thanos' right, the tangle-field holding down his unarmored hand. Peter swings in, webs Thanos' chest then wraps it around behind him, digging his Iron Spider legs into the ground to anchor himself.

Doctor Strange opens a portal straight above Thanos' out of which drops Mantis, landing on the Titan's shoulders, her hands on his temples. He bellows as she tries to put him under.

Thanos was now trapped. And you were slightly relieved.

Your father is pulling on the gauntlet. Doctor Strange reapplies the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak to reinforce the trap's hold on Thanos' right hand, and the Cloak helps him pull. Thanos is finally subdued enough to incapacitate, not fully asleep.

“Is he under?” Your father spoke as continued pulling on the gauntlet. “Don't let up.”

“Be quick,” Mantis cried as she clenched her eyes closed, trying to concentrate. “He is very strong.”

“Parker, help! Get over here,” your father spoke as Peter drops his web-line, and hurries to help Tony with the gauntlet. “She can't hold him much longer. Let's go.”

Quill flies over to join the others, stands in front of Thanos, tauntingly. “I thought you'd be harder to catch. For the record, this was my plan. Not so strong now, huh? Where is Gamora?”

Thanos stirred from that name, still under asleep. “My Gamora.”

“No, bullshit,” Quill spat out, as you continued comcentrating your power on holding Thanos’ legs. “Where is she?”

Mantis lets out a sob, her face in shock. “He is in anguish.”

“Good,” Quill spat out harshly, staring at Thanos.

“He- he mourns.”

“What does this monster have to mourn?” Drax yelled.

Nebula had stood there, her eyes welling up as she put the pieces together. “Gamora.”

“Fuck,” you whispered, looking at Quill who’s face was in shock.

“What?”

Nebula shook her head with horror and sadness at what had happened. “He took her to Vormir. He came back with the Soul Stone but she didn't.”

Your father frasps the danger immediately and de-helmets. “Okay, Quill, you gotta cool it right now, you understand?”

Quill slowly turns to Thanos.

“Don't, don't, don't engage, we've almost got this off!”

“Tell me she's lying,” Quill spoke, now enraged. “Asshole! Tell me you didn't do it!”

“I had to.”

Quill shook his head while starting to tear up. “No, you didn't! No, you didn't!.”

He continues to rage and then pistol-whipping Thanos twice in the face, causing Mantis to let go in pain. “No you didn’t!”

“Quill!”

Your father leaps for Star-Lord's arm, re-helmeting and leaving Peter to pull off the gauntlet. You hold onto Thanos’ legs with your powers more strongly, your whole body aching in pain. Thanos wakes completely, now well and truly furious. He head-butts Mantis, grabbing the cuff of the gauntlet just as it is sliding off his hand, causing Peter to stumble back, and then throwing Mantis away off his shoulders.

Thanos kicks Drax off his right leg and into Nebula and Star-Lord, knocking them down. He yanks on the Crimson Bands holding his right hand to throw Doctor Strange far away, and swats away your father and his repulsor shots.

He then grabs you, using the power stone to chuck you across the sky. Peter sees this and runs over to you but before he reaches you, your head hits the rock.

Your vision starts to daze, the last thing you see is Peter’s face before you black out.

-

Your vision was blurry as you opened your eyes, blinking rapidly. You could hear voices murmuring somewhere as you focussed on the orange sky above you. You look to your left, seeing a familiar brown pair of eyes. “Peter?”

Peter smiled at you, but it didn’t fully reach his face. Your head was pounding as you looked at your surroundings. Half of the guardians passed out and you dad clutching his injured stomach. And then Strange. Strange didn’t have the time stone.

“Oh no,” you muttered shaking your head, making your head pound even more. “Wh- what happened.”

“Thanos wanted to kill your dad,” he mumbled defeatly, making your eyes widen as you looked over to your dad. “Then Dr Strange gave up the stone for his life.”

You quickly got up, Peter quickly trailing behind you just in case you had fell. You had ran up to your dad, taking him by surprise as you gave him a tight squeeze. No words were exchanged, but both of you knew how much you loved one another.

“Stop being such a self-sacrificial ass, okay?” you told him, grabbing his cheeks as you made him look you in the eyes. Your father gave you a sad grin and a little nod. “Y-you can’t do that.”

You then grabbed Peter and pulled him into the hug with you and your father. You guys all squeezed each other, happy that none of you guys had died. That you might have a chance of coming back home, or to what’s left of it if the remaining Avengers don’t win.

You then made eye contact with Dr Strange, who hasn’t stopped looking at you for a while now. You then pull away from the hug and walk over to him. “You gave away the stone.”

Dr Strange nodded, not breaking eye contact with you. “Yeah, I did.”

You nodded, looking at his face for any answers on why he did what he did. A thunder broke your gaze, as you looked up and saw a cloud forming. You then saw Dr Strange in the side of your eye let out a sigh.

You then felt sick, your stomach doing somersaults. Your vision started going in and out of focus, your whole body shivering. You were scared and terrified. You didn’t know what was happening but you knew it was something horrible.

“Ah!” You screamed, as you held your stomach in pain. Peter and your father ran over to you, trying to hold you upright.

“Hey, hey what’s wrong?” Your father asked as he sat you down. You shook your head, your eyes filled with tears as the most excruciating pain jolted throughout your body.

“Something is happpening,” Mantis cries as everyone looked over to her. And then the most horrifying thing happened to her. Her body had slowly disenergrated into ash, the wind carrying it away.

“Quill?” Drax had spoken as he too had disenergrated whilst Quill watched in horror. Your father had gotten up, walking over to Star-Lord as he too started to fade.

“Steady, Quill,” your dad spoke before Quill had vanished. You let out a sob as the pain got worse and worse.

“Tony,” Dr Strange had spoken, catching your father’s attention. Little speckles left his body as he looked at your dad with pleading eyes. “There was no other way.”

He had vanished as well, leaving you, Peter, your father and Nebula. You let out a cry before shaking your head. “It hurts so much!”

“Hey, Hey, Hey,” your dad spoke, his eyes tearing up. “It’s going to be fine. We just have to get back to earth.”

“You don’t understand!” You told him, lifting your arm up as you saw dust particles leave your hand and then re-forming. “Dad I- it’s me too. I have- he-“

You shook your head, not wanting to say. Your suit was trying to heal you. But the pain was getting worse and worse. “I h-have to turn the suit off.”

“No!” Your dad yelled at you. You looked at Peter, seeing tears fall down his face as he watched on silently. You closed your eyes, falling into a hysteria of cries.

“I’m gonna g-go either way Dad,” you spoke, unable to form coherent sentences. “I have to do it.”

“Please-“

“I l-love you dad. Please don’t waste your life,” you cried out to him, holding his hand. You then looked at Peter giving him a sad smile. “And Pete, I like you. I do. B-but I was always scared to give it a go. B-but remembered what you promised. P-please.”

“No, no, no you can’t just do that! You can’t smile at me and tell me everything’s gonna be alright every time it isn’t!” Peter shook his head at you, grabbing your hand. “You- you- please just- just lets take you home, we can fix this. P-please j-just look me in the- the eyes-“

“F.R.I.D.A.Y,” you whispered, as you gave your father one last look before looking at Peter who was a sobbing mess. You then squeezed his arm while he was speaking.

“A-and know everything’s going to be fine,” Peter finished, his whole body shaking. His Spider senses was on overdrive as anxiety flooded his whole body. He couldn’t lose you. Not again. Not ever. “J-Just please stay.”

“Turn off my suit,” you finished your command, giving both men a smile as you saw dust particles slowly leave your body.

“No!” Peter yelled out, trying to stop the dust from leaving your body. Your dad watched you, unable to take his eyes off from decaying daughter, watching in absolute shock and grief.

Peter’s senses allowed him to hear your heartbeat get fader and fader before it wasn’t there at all. He can hear every spec leave your body, one by one. It was by far one of the worst experiences in his life.

Peter Parker had to watch you die twice.

Your body slowly collapsed into a pile of ash. Peter sobbed as he grabbed the dust from the floor and trying to put them together. “Th-this isn’t h-her! S-she doesn’t l-look like this! She- we have to- she can’t- We have to fix her!”

Tony watched in silence as Peter tried to pick up your ashes. He watched as Peter let out a gut wrenching cry as he realised he couldn’t do anything with what was left of you. Tony then slowly picked up what was left of you and closed his hand into a fist as he placed it near his heart.

He had failed. He had lost his only daughter.

[damonsbitchx]

Florida Burn pt.2

Summary: This is based on New Moon, but instead of staying in Forks and hanging out with Jacob, Bella moves to Florida with Renee and Phil. During this chapter, we follow Bella on her journey to Florida and her battle with the broken heart Edward left her with. I did get a little carried away with this chapter and couldn’t fit my prompt in there so there’s no prompt for this chapter! Oops :) 

Characters: Bella, Charlie, Renee, Phil, and Rosie briefly 

Warnings: There’s just a bunch of angst but that’s all. It’s sweet too.

Word Count: 4,193

Read pt.1 here.

Disclaimer: This was not beta’d so all mistakes are mine!

If you’d like to be tagged in my future works please send me an ask, I’d be happy to add you to the list!

Requests are also open!

    Charlie came back from his fishing trip that night in a better mood than usual. He gobbled down his dinner a little too quickly and rushed to get his old clunky laptop, plopping it down on the dinner table and turning it on. He turned to look at me, gauging my enthusiasm I assumed and noticed I wasn’t even half finished with my dinner yet. He grinned innocently making me huff a low chuckle at him and then he began googling plane tickets. 

“If you wanted me to leave that bad you could’ve just said so,” I teased him between bites of spaghetti.

“I don’t want you to leave Bells, I just want you to be okay,” he sighed, looking visibly upset by the thought.

Charlie was frowning now and suddenly my chest was burning with guilt.

“I don’t have to go, you know,” I offered quickly.

“Yes, you do, Bella,” he insisted, scrolling through the ticket options now, furrowing his eyebrows in deep concentration.

“I could wait until the school year is over. I’d rather not join a new school in the middle of the school year again,” I smiled sheepishly.

    I really was worried about leaving. I was worried about trying and failing to be normal again, fit in with a new but ordinary crowd. I was worried about being a burden on Renee and Phil’s perfect life. I’d learned to fit in here, Charlie and I were two halves made whole by each other. We worked together like a well-oiled machine and I was worried about Charlie functioning if I left. When I left Renee I knew I was leaving her in capable hands with Phil, she had someone to take my place so she didn’t need me anymore. Charlie doesn’t have anyone, and I know he survived before I came but even he would agree his life was better with me here. I was worried about myself, too. What if I needed Charlie? What if going back to live with Renee and Phil was going to crush me further if that was even possible? What if the hole in my chest swallowed them too and Florida didn’t help like I hoped it would? I worried about the Florida Sun not shining bright enough to illuminate the dark hole in my life. All of these things were valid, and to an extent, real reasons I worried about moving to Florida, but perhaps above all, I was still worried about them. I was worried he would come looking for me. What would happen if he didn’t find me? What if he still wants me? If he came back I was worried Charlie would tell him off in my honor, but wouldn’t that be the best thing to do? He didn’t want me, that was clear, so if he came back it wouldn’t be for anything good. Maybe it would be best that I wasn’t here if he came looking. 

    I was jolted from my train of thought when I felt Charlie’s hand touch my face and his thumb wiped my cheek, leaving a wet trail. I didn’t realize I was crying.

“Bella, honey, I only want you to go if you want to. I just want you to heal, baby,” he breathed, cradling my face.

I nodded, pushing my face into his hand gently and smiling. 

“Thank you, Dad.”

    He smiled back, lovingly. Then, we picked out a flight for two days from now. I called my mom to let her know when I’d be flying in and she assured me that she and Phil would be there waiting for me. I’d made my decision, just like he did, there’s no going back now.

_______________________________________________________________

    When the day finally came I found myself restless and unable to sleep that night. I laid in my bed for possibly the last time, thinking about everything that had happened in this small, irrelevant town. It was irrelevant and small but it was a part of me. So, I took care to memorize how it felt and what it smelled like. Then, I tried to memorize the shapes on the ceiling and the dark silhouettes of the trees outside of the window he used to climb through every night that belonged to the forest where I saw him for the last time. I tried to visualize everywhere he had been in this room. Our first kiss was here on this bed, and he’d come and hold me while I slept here nearly every night too. It all hurt to remember but if I forgot then it would’ve all been for nothing. I would’ve risked my life and inevitably let him shatter it for nothing. I would’ve hurt the people I love the most for nothing. 

    So, after months of denial and depression, I allowed myself to picture his face in my mind. I let myself say his name. I laid there in the dark whispering it over and over as if it were like some bloody mary curse and he’d magically appear, but he didn’t. Some part of me hoped he would because I knew I would drop everything and stay with him if he asked me to. That was the killer part. After everything that happened, everything I put Charlie and Renee through, everything I put myself through, and if he appeared one day and asked me to forgive him I would in a heartbeat. How ironic. I knew it was wrong, I knew I shouldn’t feel that way but I had no idea how to stop. I also knew I needed to figure it out because I couldn’t just abandon everything I was doing to heal what he broke at the drop of a hat. So I decided tonight was a free for all. I was going to think about him, picture him, and just face everything I’d been dreading all at once to rip the bandaid off. I needed to get it out of the way if I was going to live with Renee because she would worry and I knew he wasn’t coming back so I didn’t need to hold it all with me anymore. 

    I sighed heavily, mentally preparing myself for the pain. It had been bad at times, so bad that I didn’t think it could get much worse, but I’ve been wrong before. After a moment I closed my eyes and let my mind wander. The first image was his face, clear and perfect like always. I was shocked at how real the image looked behind my eyelids. My throat tightened, but I did my best to will my body to stay calm and relaxed. I watched his stunning face twist into a dazzling smile, looking at me with admiration and love. My heart beat faster with each of his movements and my chest began to ache mildly. This was okay, it wasn’t as nearly bad as I thought. At least it wasn’t until he spoke. His ice-cold, honey-smooth voice pierced through the night silence. 

“Bella, I love you, don’t go,” he spoke clearly, in his gorgeous voice. 

    It sounded like he was whispering right in my ear, I could’ve sworn I felt his cool breath brush my cheek. Suddenly, my heart skipped and then launched 10 beats ahead of itself. His mesmerizing sound set my entire body ablaze, burning hotter than ever before. I knew the words of my made-up Edward weren’t true, but that only made it worse. My burning lungs clued me in to the lack of air I was using. They sucked in a desperate gasp of air as my arms shot across my body and squeezed tight to hold it together. The searing and aching made me clench my teeth as tight as I could to muffle any strangled sounds that might escape and my lips clamped shut over them for extra protection. The last thing I wanted was to wake Charlie, but it just hurt so much. Like this Tsunami of red hot pain came down and crushed every ounce of what was left of me. I wanted to open my eyes, but they were locked shut because I knew when I did open them he wouldn’t be there and I wanted him to be. I wanted to be saved from this never-ending nightmare. 

    Then, the anger came. My chest was aching on top of the burning empty hole he left, it was all so much I could barely handle it. It felt like every muscle in my body was clenched so hard some of my limbs and appendages were going numb, but that didn’t soothe the burn away from them either. How was I ever going to get better? I pulled one of my arms up to my face sp I could shove my mouth into my elbow to muffle the yelps I’d been shoving back. My body started convulsing with silent, angry sobs at the release of pressure but all I could do was whine into my arm and wait it out. 

    After a while, I was able to shove everything out of my mind and force my eyes open but I laid there motionless and numb. This feeling was the closest to that night I’d felt yet. Like I had just been dumped off by everything I ever really loved, the roots of my heart aching at the absence of it’s home. It was just numb, like the feeling you’d get right after you’d fight with your best friend and you take a break from being friends. You’d just lost the one person that allowed you to be yourself and without that you were nothing, back to the drawing board, starting from scratch. There really isn’t a worse feeling than losing who you are, but above that, giving someone all the pieces of yourself that you hate the most, trusting them completely, and in the end, watching it blow up in your face. Hopefully, Florida was going to change that for me. Hopefully, Florida would fix me. 

    I noticed the black draining from the night sky now, dim light replacing the shadows of the empty walls and furniture around my room instead. There was a soft knock on the door and it clicked so Charlie could push it open. 

“Good morning, honey, today’s the day,” he spoke gently, beaming with excitement. I smiled in return and nodded. “We’ve got about thirty minutes before we should leave, I already packed your bags into your truck.”

My truck. My face fell, I’d forgotten about that old unit. I was gonna miss that truck more than everything except Charlie. I hadn’t thought about the fact that I was going to have to leave her behind.

“I forgot about my truck,” I relayed my thoughts to him to ease his confusion at my dropped expression.

“Aw, baby.”

“You’ll take care of her until I come back, right, Dad?”

“Yes, of course, you know I will,” he frowned. I nodded and smiled again. “This is gonna be great, Bells,” he said, smiling again.

“I know. I’ll see you downstairs, Dad,” I whispered, brightening my smile.

    He nodded in response and closed my door. With a heavy sigh, I let my face drop again and I floated back into numbness. It didn’t make me feel all better about leaving her, but at least I knew she was in good hands until I came back for her. I wonder what Alice thinks about me leaving. The twinge of pain in my chest made me wince. My decision had been made, I was leaving so it didn’t matter what Alice thought. 

    Once I was able to pull myself up and out of my bed for the last time, I fixed it so it was neat and shut the window. The last two things I had to do before there was nothing left here for me. I swept up the carry-on bag I’d already had prepared and with one last look around that empty room highlighted by the soft, golden, early-morning rays of the sun I slipped out the door, shutting it behind me. I trotted down the stairs in time to greet Charlie at the bottom who was about to come up and retrieve me. It was time to go I guess. He smiled affectionately at me, turning back around and heading to the front door. He swiped the keys to my truck off the hanging hooks as he passed them and I followed close behind him trying to take in every element of that house. I had no idea when I would see it next, but I wanted to remember everything. Charlie held the door open for me and locked it behind us. With the close of that door, I was closing the door on my life here in Forks too. Some parts of me felt grief for that but I couldn’t think about that now. If I thought about it too much I would talk myself out of it and it’s too late for that. Some parts of me felt hope for Florida and those were the parts I focused on.

“Can I drive?” I turned to ask Charlie.

“Of course you can,” he answered with a smile and tossed me the keys.

    I shoved the key into the lock and twisted hard to unlock my stubborn truck. She gave in easily today probably because of the abnormally warm weather considering it was Forks. I smiled to myself, opening the door and unlocking the passenger for Charlie while I climbed inside. I stuck the key in the ignition and felt her roar to life under me, sighing at the familiar feeling. 

“I’m going to miss this truck,” I breathed.

“It’ll be here waiting for you to come back, Bells,” Charlie comforted me. 

    I gave him an appreciative look, then began down the road on my way out of Forks. As much as I hated to admit it, I was going to miss this terrarium of a town, my town. It was about a 45-minute drive to the airport which we rode mostly in silence, occasionally exchanging a few questions and answers. 

“Are you sure your mother knows where to meet you?” Charlie pressed for the fourth time. 

“Yes, Dad, I told her exactly where to go. I even have my cellphone in case I need to call her, I’ll be fine,” I responded, huffing a quiet giggle. 

    In reality, I wasn’t sure Renee would know where to go, but she said she was bringing Phil and he was competent enough when it came to airports. If anything, I’d just end up being stuck there for a longer time than I expected. It was better than anything I would be doing back in Forks. As difficult as it was for me to admit, I knew this was going to be better than staying in Forks, if not for me, then at least for my parents. I needed to do something with my life other than pine for Edward. I knew that but it was just harder to admit than I thought.

    We pulled up to the airport and Charlie had me park so he could escort me in to make sure I got on my plane and to help me carry my bags because everyone knows how notorious I am for accidents. So, I got all checked in and situated, he waited with me until my plane started boarding and when he was seeing me off at the last gate he could go to he handed me a folded up piece of paper. I stared up at him in confusion.

“Jacob asked me to give you his number so the two of you can keep in touch,” he smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. 

    I huffed a little chuckle and shook my head, shoving it in my pocket and then throwing my arms around him for one last goodbye hug. Charlie and I weren’t ones for showing emotion, but I decided to make an exception because I didn’t know when I’d see him again.

“I love you, Dad,” I whispered into his shoulder and he squeezed tighter in response.

“Now go, before you miss your plane,” he demanded once we’d broke away from our hug. He was doing his best to hold back tears and the guilt returned in my gut. 

“I’ll be okay, Dad. I’ll come back, I promise,” I reassured him with an affectionate smile as I made my way towards the gate. 

    He nodded, wiping his face to erase the evidence and waving at me as I backed down the hall, waving back until I rounded the corner and could no longer see him. My face fell as I turned around and continued forward. My chest began to feel tight at the realization that it was real this time. A tear escaped onto my face but I wiped it away aggressively. I was done crying, there was no way I still had tears left in me. Silently, I boarded the plane, taking my seat in very back by the window, shoving earphones into my ears and closing my eyes. This was it.

_______________________________________________________________

When I made it to Florida and had secured my bags I called Renee to see where she was.

“Hi, honey! Where are you?”

“I just left baggage claim, Mom, where ar-” “Phil says he sees you, we are outside!!” she was shouting into the phone.

    I spun around to the glass doors revealing the bright Florida sun touching everything in sight and immediately saw Phil, his height set him apart from the crowd for the most part. He was wearing sunglasses on top of his head which reminded me that I’d need to get a pair. I smiled when I met his gaze and hung up to phone. He met me at the door, taking two of my bags. 

“Hey, kiddo,” he grinned wider at me.

“Hey,” I breathed, nodding at him. 

    Lucky for me, he wasn’t really a talkative guy either. I guess Renee had a type. She was waiting out by the car practically running in place with excitement and anticipation, a huge grin painted on her face. 

“Eeeeeeeeeee!!” she squealed running up to me as soon as I was out the door, throwing herself at me.

    I instinctively dropped the bags I was holding so I could catch her, trying to keep my balance. I rolled my eyes at her and hugged her back.

“Hey, Mom,” I greeted her affectionately. She was sobbing into my shoulder now.

“Bella, I’m so glad you’re here,” she gushed. Then, she pushed me back by my shoulders.

“Look at you, you look so beautiful,” she whined sweetly. Renee was always so dramatic.

“Okay, mom,” I huffed a laugh, dragging her on one arm and my bags in the other towards the car. 

    Phil met me halfway taking the last of the bags and situating them in the car, briefly admiring my mom who was still stuck to my elbow. I smiled at him gratefully and steered her towards the back seat. I climbed in and she finally let go to climb in the front seat, grabbing my hand again once she was buckled. Maybe this was going to be a bit harder than I thought. Phil climbed into the driver’s seat and got situated, then started the drive to my new home. I’d never actually seen their house in Florida so this should be interesting.

“So, Bella, how was your flight from Washington?” Phil asked, glancing at me in the rearview mirror.

“It was good, kind of long,” I smiled in response.

“Oh honey, you’re gonna love the house,” Renee exclaimed. 

    The entire twenty-minute car trip Renee talked non-stop. Phil would glance over at her to admire her rambling face because she made many different expressions, I thought that was cute. I was glad my mom found someone who loved every part of her colorful personality. I would just sit in the back seat nodding and giving “mhm’s” when it was necessary, Renee could keep going on for hours. She was telling me about her hobbies, getting into writing, moving into the new house, and then she told me they got a puppy. My eyes grew wide and my mouth hung open.

“You got a Puppy?” I frowned. Renee definitely didn’t like pets. 

“Yes!” she beamed, vibrating with excitement as we pulled into the driveway of the house. 

    The house was not too big, but it was homey. A bit smaller than Charlie’s, it was painted a soft pastel yellow with white trim and plenty of windows. The front yard was nice and green, there also seemed to be a pretty big backyard. All in all, it was nice and bright and happy. This was going to be good. I climbed out of the car, walking around to help Phil grab my bags and then I followed Renee in. As I approached the door I heard a high-pitched yelping coming from inside making me cringe. She glanced back at me grinning with excitement, reaching to open the door. Suddenly, a little white ball of fluff bolted out the door yelping and whining, running circles around mine and my mom’s feet. I huffed quietly, watching the little dog prance around. Then, I shot Phil a disbelieving look, but he just shrugged with an affectionate smile for Renee. She was bent down greeting this puppy and sweeping it into her arms.

“Bella, this is Rosie,” she beamed, looking down at the little white puffball in her arms.

My stomach twisted wildly at the name, but I smiled for my mom and patted the dog on the head. 

“That’s great mom, I never thought you’d ever want a dog.”

“You know, neither did I, but Lelani told me her daughter was selling puppies and I just went to look, but I fell in love,” she laughed, kissing the dog on its little head. I huffed and shook my head, following her inside. 

“I’ll take you up to your room, Bella,” Phil smiled. I nodded in response, following him up the stairs.

    He took me down the hall to where my room was and left me to my unpacking, promising me he’d keep Renee busy for a while so I could settle in. I responded with an appreciative smile. I loved her but there was nothing I wanted more than some time to settle. I shut the door behind him and turned to take in everything about this new room. It felt brighter and more open than my room at Charlie’s. The walls, bedding, dresser, and desk were all white. The floor was a walnut hardwood flooring, complementing the greys and pastel colors of the decor nicely with the white. There were various small pots of cacti and succulents, decorative pillows arranged neatly on my bed, pastel blue hangers lined my closet. It was all very sophisticated and pretty, almost too pretty to live in. It was definitely a change from my cramped, dark room I had in Forks which ironically was a small, dark town compared to this big, sunny one. Florida and Forks are the most polar opposite places to live, it was only ideal that my rooms in each place were opposite as well. The farther away from my former small-town life I could get the better off I would be. 

    I decided I would put my clothes away after dinner. Instead, I flopped down onto my new bed and closed my eyes. Renee and Phil were downstairs making dinner, clunking pans around, humming and talking with each other. I was happy they were so happy together, it made me worry about Renee less when I was gone. I sighed, pinpointing different smells like the laundry soap Renee has been using since I was little radiating off my bedding, the dry and warm Florida air wafting into the room from my cracked window, and there’s a faint but distinct smell of dust because I’m sure they’d never touched this room until now. The inevitable feeling of doom looming over my head had a harder time reaching me now, the Florida sun doing its job by outshining my darkness. Hopefully, it would keep it away permanently. For now, I just wanted to adjust to this change. 

“Bella, dinners ready!” I heard Renee call. 

    I let out a content sigh and pushed myself up but before I could head for the door I heard a small bonk on the wood floor beneath me. I looked down and to my surprise, it was the piece of paper Charlie had given me with Jacob Black’s phone number on it. I raised my eyebrows, lost in thought for a moment. Maybe Jacob was exactly what I needed to stay connected to the good part of Forks that I enjoyed, that didn’t debilitate me. I smirked to myself and picked up the paper, setting it on my desk for after dinner. Then, I spun around and headed down for my first dinner with Renee and Phil since before I left for Forks. Here we go.

Tag list: @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce, @xmysec0ndself

[snow-lavender]

The Last Day of Unwellness

AKA, “Henrik questions his reality and the rules that govern it.”

Word Count: 2736

And another one! Thanks for reading if you do!

AO3 Link Here

Henrik rushed into his living room. “Shit, shit, shit!”. He peeled off his scrubs and threw a button up shirt on, kicking off his shoes as he went. Checking his watch, he saw that it was 8:07. Even after explaining to his superior, he’d still been forced to work an extra half-shift at the ER. It was only because of his co-worker’s pity that he was home at all. 

He rushed to his desktop, where the call was already ringing. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to smooth it down a bit, then accepted the call.

A young, grinning face filled the screen. “Papa! You’re late.” she scolded.

Henrik laughed. “Well then, you’ll have to visit soon to keep me in line.” He switched easily into French. “How are you, sweetheart?”

Natalie’s smile widened a bit. “Good! I got a 78 on my arithmetic test!”

“That’s wonderful! And such an improvement, I know you worked very hard at that.” Henrik’s eyes shone with pride. She’d been struggling a lot with the subject, seeing her succeed made his heart dance.

Natalie nodded. “You helped! I understood you much more than my teacher. Can you help me next time, too?”

“Of course. I’m your father, it’s my job to help you.  Ask your mama, and I’m sure she can set something up anytime.” Henrik leaned back in his chair. “And how is the drama club coming along?”

“Wonderfully!” Natalie started bouncing with excitement. “We’re going to choose a play next week. Everyone is super nice, and the teacher lets us change things and play around if we want!”

She talked for another half hour, gushing about her friends and recounting stories from class. Henrik stayed mostly quiet, nodding and gasping at appropriate times. He hung on every word, eager to know as much as he could about his daughter’s life. 

“And then Adam, you know, from last year, he talked about submarines, but he couldn’t remember-” Natalie was cut off by a chime from Henrik’s phone. 

Henrik sighed as he flicked away the notification. “I’m sorry to cut you off, but it’s getting late. You need to get some rest for tomorrow.” 

Natalie pouted. “It isn’t that late, Papa. I can deal with it.”

“Not on a school night. How about we compromise,” Henrik said. “We can talk again on Friday, and you can finish your story then.” 

“Okay…” She perked up for a second. “Have you gotten my gift yet? Mama said she mailed it this morning!”

Henrik chuckled. “It will take a little bit more time to get here. I promise, when I pick it up, you will be the first to know.” 

“Alright, if you promise.”

“Cross my heart.” He replied with a smile. “Can you put your mothers on? I need to speak with them. 

“Okay. Happy early birthday Papa. I love you.” Natalie said as she slid out of the computer chair. 

“I love you too, more than anything.” 

She left the room, and a moment later, two women walked in. “Henrik!” Liesel sat down, smiling. “How are you doing?”

“A little tired, but not bad. And you?”

“They hired an assistant librarian, so things are a lot easier now.”

Henrik nodded. “About time. They were working you to the bone. This is much healthier.” 

“See, Henrik agrees with me about that!” The other woman interrupted. “Listen to him, darling, he’s a doctor.”

“Good evening, Simone. I saw an advertisement for your latest line on the tram today.”

Liesel gasped. “All the way in Berlin?” She turned to Simone. “Dear, you didn’t tell me! That’s wonderful!” She smiled wide. “I knew your branching out would go well.” 

Simone laughed. “Yes, well, a certain woman has given me an… appreciation for the more average people.” She kissed Liesel on the cheek. “They complain much less, for one.” 

Liesel retaliated by kissing Simone on the nose. “I’ve already heard people talking about how nice it is to have high fashion be more accessible to them.”

Henrik felt a flash of envy in his gut, but pushed it down with a smile. “As have I. One of the ER nurses was very moved today, almost to the point of tears.” 

Simone looked rather moved herself. “Truly?”

“Truly. I think she was already a fan of your work, but still. It had such a large impact on her.”

Simone just stood there, smiling. It was nearly the most emotional Henrik had ever seen her. She shook her head after a moment. “Enough of that. This is a business call.”

Liesel snorted. “Only you would call this sort of thing a business call, dear.” She turned back to the screen. “Henrik, is everything taken care of on your end?”

“Everything is good here. Vacation days taken and tickets booked.” He smiled. “I assume you didn’t actually put Natalie’s gift in the post?”

“No, no, don’t worry.” Liesel assured. “And she doesn’t suspect a thing.”

“Thank you so much for coming up with this plan, both of you.”

“Of course! You only have so many birthdays left, you should take advantage of them.”

Henrik sent Liesel a look. “You’re older than I am.”

Liesel just laughed. Simone bent over. “Darling, the cake,” she whispered

“Oh! Yes, Henrik, what sort of cake do you want?”

Henrik shook his head. “Just being able to be there is enough. Don’t worry about anything else.” “Chocolate, then.”

“I will not object if there is a chocolate cake,” he relented. “But please, don’t overwork yourself.”

Liesel waved a hand. “I have the day off work, I’ll need something to do.”

Simone lent in and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be there to make sure she rests. We have a busy weekend ahead of us, don’t use everything now.” 

“Ah!” Henrik broke in. “I did tell Natalie that we’d have another conversation over the weekend. Just a fair warning, for excuses.”

“Well, you’re not wrong. You’ll have plenty of time to talk then.” Simone said. She checked her watch. “I’m very sorry to cut you off, Henri, but I have an emergency call with a house in LA in 10 minutes.”

“Of course, of course. Have a good night, the both of you. I’ll see you on Thursday.”

“Goodnight, Henrik. Sleep well.” Liesel said with a smile.

Henrik smiled back. “I’ll try.”

Both of them waved, and the call disconnected. Henrik leaned back in his chair, a grin still on his face. He knew he’d spend the next few days thinking of nothing but his departure. But he couldn’t help it. Spending time with his daughter, especially face to face, was a gift he rarely had. 

The smile dropped. He knew that this outcome was for the best, that this way made everyone happiest, himself included. But still, he felt small stirrings of discontent. He wanted to have these conversations every night, to hear the stories of the day and not just of the week. He wanted ...well, he wanted more. He wanted what he had had before. 

Henrik shook his head again, trying to rid it of these thoughts. Those wouldn’t help anyone. Best to move past them before he started stewing again. Personal growth, and all that.

He sniffed, frowning. He really needed to take a shower before his whole apartment smelled like an emergency room. Out of the chair he went.

Suddenly, he heard a zapping behind him. Henrik turned to see...something, floating in the centre of his study. It looked like a sort of orb made of green light, but his logical brain wouldn’t let him believe it. He definitely needed more sleep.

Henrik turned back around, starting to unbutton his shirt. He tried to weigh the pros and cons of showering versus going straight to bed. He could always just wash the sheets…

Before he could think any further, the light behind him flashed and his vision went white.

>=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=<

“Ah!”

Henrik fell backwards into a sofa. Not his sofa, just a sofa. He looked around in confusion. 

He, somehow, was in another living room. It seemed normal, some furniture, a television, a few boxes strewn about. It would be completely normal, if not for the fact that he’d been teleported here, an act that was scientifically impossible. 

From another room, he heard someone yell in English, “Where did you want this one, Marv?”

And another voice, slightly closer, “Just leave it in the hall for now! I’m going to add a few things to the bookshelf, be right there.”

A man entered the room, holding another box. Two more followed behind him.

Boxes, that is. Not men. There were floating boxes following him.

Henrik gaped. The other didn’t seem to notice him. He simply walked over to the bookshelf, thumbed through a box, and picked out some old looking tomes, placing them as he went. 

“Was zur hölle?”

“Aah!”

The other man yelped, dropping the book he was holding. The boxes fell to the floor. He grasped at his chest, leaning against the wall. “For fuck sake, warn a guy..next..time.” He spoke haltingly, finally noticing Henrik. “Oh. Hi?”

“Hello?” he replied hesitantly. “Who are you? Where am I?”

“Uh, yeah, shit. Hold on a second.” The other man walked to the door and leaned out. Henrik belatedly noticed that a porcelain mask was covering half his face. “Hey, Seán, Jackie, get in here! You were right!” He yelled. 

“Right about what?” a new voice yelled back.

“The sketch! Just come to the living room!”

Mask man turned back. “Sorry about that. I’m Marvin.”

“Henrik.” He stuck out a hand to shake, but Marvin didn’t take it. Instead, he continued speaking.

“So uh, sorry, but you’ve kind of caught us at an awkward time. Sorry for the mess.”

“Mess?” Henrik looked around. “I do not understand.”

“Oh, this room is fine, but just wait until you see upstairs.”

At that moment, two others walked in, one, a teenager, and the other, maybe six, seven years younger than Henrik. The older one spoke. “Um. Hi, I’m Seán. You might want to sit down, we’re gonna be here a while.”

>=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=<

The four of them were now sat in the kitchen, a few pizzas spread out on the table. Seán and Marvin were demonstrating magic for an enraptured Henrik, who was quickly amassing a pile of notes. 

“So each of you has a certain source to draw from?” he asked, not looking up.

“Sort of. Most people have one they work best with, and then talented magicians can get one or two extras that are a little harder to access.”

“Most?”

“Yeah, there are witches and wizards, not a gendered thing, by the way, and then there are mages.” Marvin explained, absentmindedly twisting plants through his fingers. “Like Seán.”

“And the difference is…”

“I can draw from all sources equally, but it’s a lot harder to get at them.” Seán spoke up through a mouthful of pizza. “And then there’s people in completely different categories, like Jackie.”

The teen waved from the counter. “I have superpowers!”

“I..okay, I am filing that away for later.” Henrik said. “...I do not understand any of this.”

Seán shrugged. “Neither do I, and I’ve been learning this stuff since I was three. World’s fucking weird. You seem to be coping pretty well, if you’re taking notes already.”

“This is my coping.” he replied, brandishing his papers. “If something is strange, I make myself understand it.” He looked over the four piles. “I haven’t even gotten into this whole character business.”

“Maybe you should take a break.” Marvin said. “Let your brain catch up, and have some pizza.” 

Henrik sighed. “Alright. But I want to be able to get back to this later. There must be some sort of explanation. If only..”

“If only what?”

“Well. I would like to be able to ask questions of you all the time, to clarify this situation. These situations, rather.” Henrik said. “But with the distance between here and Berlin, this is impossible, of course.”

Seán looked at him, confused. “Is this your roundabout way of asking to move in with us?” “Perhaps.” Henrik admitted. “After a while, of course. It seems like you are in the middle of moving someone already.” 

“I mean yeah, man, of course! We might have some trouble finding room for ya..” Seán looked around the kitchen. “Someone’s going to have to share rooms.” 

Marvin made a face. “I can’t. It’ll already be too crowded in there with all my supplies. Another person would be dangerous.”

“I’ve got the biggest room,” Seán said, “but I go to bed super late. Would that wake you up?”

“Likely not. And I would need a job here, which means strange ER hours. Would that wake you up?”

“Honestly, probably not. I sleep pretty deep.” Seán leaned back, stretching. “So that’s that, then. It’ll take more time to move, since you’re German, right?”

“More time compared to what?” Henrik asked.

“We’re Irish, we didn’t move countries.” Jackie piped up.

“Ah. Then yes. But not much, I expect I would be settled by the end of next month.”

“Cool. The couch is yours for the night, I gotta go work.” Seán stood up, putting the dishes in the sink. “Night, all.”

Marvin and Jackie waved back. Jackie opened his mouth, but Marvin shushed him. “No way. I know you have that test tomorrow, go to bed. I’ll deal with Henrik.” The teen humphed, but left without argument. Marvin turned back to Henrik, looking mildly uncomfortable. “You all good?”

“I will be,” he replied, “after some thought and a good night’s rest. I will need to leave early in the morning, I have somewhere to be.” Thank the lord he still had his wallet on his person.

“Okay, no problem.” Marvin motioned for Henrik to follow him into the living room, then threw him a pile of blankets. “Sleep well.” he said, then left.

Henrik stood for a moment longer. “You as well.” he said to the empty room. Then he kicked off his shoes and lay down on the sofa, settling in for the night.

>=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=<

“Papa?” Natalie gaped from the door.

“Surprise.” Henrik smiled, arms open. Natalie flew into them, grabbing his chest.

“What..you’re here!” she said, eyes wide.

Henrik laughed, lifting her up. “I’m here.”

Simone and Liesel also walked out, arm in arm. Liesel held a sloppily wrapped package. “Here you go,” she said to Natalie. “I kept it safe.”

“You knew!” she accused. Taking the gift, she walked back over to Henrik. “Mama and Mère helped me! But I did most of it.” Simone snorted. “She did.”

Henrik took it slowly. “Well, thank you! How on earth did you know I wanted a paper wrapped box for my birthday?” he joked.

“Papa! Just open it!”

“Alright, alright.” Henrik shifted and carefully unwrapped the box. He took out the tissue paper and froze. In the box was a pottery bowl. It was sloppy in some places, but fully functional. And painted over it...

Oh, painted over it was a recreation of the painting Henrik had made for Natalie’s nursery, over a decade ago. The colours were almost identical, the strokes nearly all the same. Henrik was absolutely speechless, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. 

Natalie was looking at him, concerned. “Is it okay?”

Henrik didn't reply. He just set down the box, dropped to his knees, and pulled Natalie into a tight hug. “I love it.” he whispered, trying not to cry. “And I love you, so very much.”

Natalie hugged back, then pulled away. “Come in, it’s almost dinner time! Mama made crepes.”

“I also made a chocolate cake, as promised.” Liesel added with a grin.

Natalie turned to her. “That’s what that was for? I thought it was for your book club.”

Henrik chuckled, wiping his face. “Of course I’ll come in, if you don’t mind me weeping all over your furniture.” He picked up the gift box.

Natalie grabbed his hand, pulling him into the house, and Simone and Liesel followed.

Needless to say, it was the best birthday Henrik had ever had.

[dragons-bones]

ALL OF THEM ANSWER ALL OF THEM I MUST KNOW

*rolls up sleeves* ALL RIGHT HERE WE GO

OTP Questions: Aymeric de Borel & Synnove Greywolfe

1. Who likes to nuzzle their head into their partner’s chest?

Synnove! As anyone who personally knows her can tell you, in private she’s a huge cuddlebug, and when she’s tired enough, “public” isn’t a good enough excuse to not. When she’s feeling particularly cruddy, she’ll mash her face into Aymeric’s chest and attempt to pull a reverse chest-burster. Just. Aggressive snuggling. Cuddle me damnit.

Aymeric loves it, of course, and will wrap his arms around her tightly and prop his chin on her head.

2. How many and what colors are the blankets they like to snuggle in?

To the surprise of absolutely no one, blue and green feature a lot in their choice of bedclothes, but there’s also black, white, grey, and one really old lavender throw that’s so old it looks grey but is ridiculously soft. Aymeric and Synnove will fight over who gets that one.

If they’re going for a good ol’ fashioned couch fort snuggle, the answer to “how many” is “all of them.” Couch fort construction requires as many blankets as possible, and then of course you have to line your nest until everything is soft and cloudlike.

On their actual bed, there’s usually one very heavy down comforter with a few blankets on top (Borel Manor) or just the comforter (Synnove’s house in La Noscea). As the carbuncles frequently join the cuddle pile on the bed, and Ivar is a miniature furnace by himself, you don’t need as many blankets as you think to sleep comfortably.

3. Who runs up and hugs their partner and who stands arms wide open to catch their partner?

Synnove is the former and Aymeric the latter for sure. And Synnove is legging it, and she isn’t slowing down. Aymeric, thankfully, may not look like it, but is in fact built like a brick wall (he’s a tank, he’s got muscles, fight me), so he only stumbles one step back before he’s swinging Synnove around and they’re both laughing like a huge pair of dorks.

4. Who would be more likely to get matching scarves for themselves and their partner?

Honestly, both of them. They’re that couple. Synnove probably goes to Aunt Angharad for a set of blue scarves, Aymeric goes to Heron for green ones. Aunt Angharad and Heron meet up for tea and exchange exasperated “they are adorable and disgusting” looks while Rereha gags in the background to disguise the fact she is internally blubbering over how cute they are.

Angharad adds wolves to the blue scarves, Heron adds the Borel crest to the green ones. Yes, Synnove and Aymeric are mutually delighted and regularly rotate which ones they use, even when work keeps them apart.

5. Would they much rather go on a romantic date or a laid back date? Explain why.

Laid back. Synnove is a Warrior of Light and Vice Chair of the Arcanists’ Guild Aetherophysics Department, Aymeric is Lord Commander of the Temple Knights and Lord Speaker of the House of Lords of Ishgard. They are workaholics, but even they recognize when they’re approaching burnout (or at least, their friends do, and lock them out of their offices). Romantic dates are fun, but laid back ones are much less stressful, and if one or both of them accidentally end up dozing off, it’s less likely to mean the food burns.

6. Who still gets butterflies after years of dating?

Oh, please, what a silly question, both of them! As @stars-bleed-hearts-shine once put it, I write them as Gomez and Morticia Addams! I commissioned ART of them as such! Alternatively, they are also Rick O’Connell and Evelyn Carnahan.

Basically: ridiculously, stupidly in love with one another no matter how many years go by.

7. Who is the one who makes their partner laugh so much that their face hurts?

Synnove is usually the one making Aymeric lose it, even (or especially) when she isn’t trying. The sheer nonsense she experiences in both academia and regularly saving the world is literally unbelievable. Then you add in five carbuncles, with the two youngest ones bound and determined to break physics every other day which has forced Synnove to start rolling with the punches or be stuck in a perpetual Blue Screen of Death.

Aymeric might not entirely understand all of Synnove’s aetherophysics babble when she really gets going, but he can appreciate her exasperation.

8. How would each of them explain how they met?

@aethernoise since she slid this into my inbox, too. :D

I don’t think either of them would call it love at first sight, though both will certainly admit they were attracted to one another. And neither would really call the whole situation favorable circumstances: it was a political meeting and Aymeric was essentially having to parrot the official party line for Ishgard right before having to spin things around to get Ishgard favors from the Scions. Aymeric is very much of the opinion that it wasn’t the best first impression, and he’s sometimes surprised Synnove still reacted so well to his overtures of friendship (and then romance).

Synnove, however, had worked for the Guild for over a decade by that point, serving as an assessor for just as long. She is well familiar with having to espouse the official stance of her city-state, despite her own feelings. She’s still surprised the fact that Galette single-handedly wiping out the dessert buffet wasn’t off-putting! How was it at all cute that she could enforce good manners on her child?

(Honestly, what sealed the deal for them both was the competence thing. During the matter with the heretics, both well-acquitted themselves and, well. Competence is sexy. So’s martial prowess for both Ishgardians and Ala Mhigans. The pretty face was just a bonus.)

9. Who accidentally drinks too much caffeine and who has to deal with their partner bouncing off the walls?

Aymeric is the one who drinks too much caffeine. You would think it would be Synnove, but she’s an academic subsisting off Death Wish coffee: the amount of caffeine she consumes is how she’s able to function normally, she literally cannot consume too much. It is not physically possibly for her.

Aymeric, however, is typically a tea drinker. He forgot to ask which blend Synnove had put in the thermocoil boilmaster that morning. He was Not Prepared for Death Wish.

Synnove, thankfully, had years of managing Galette on a sugar high. Admittedly she grumbled Galette was easier because if it was really bad, she could launch the carbuncle out into the harbor and have her expend all that excess energy in a nice big explosion, but the house was definitely never that clean or the garden well-weeded ever again.

10. Where is a special place they hold close to their hearts? Why is it special?

There’s this little secluded cabin right on the beach south of Costa del Sol that the owner rents out to wealthy individuals who don’t want to deal with Master Gegeruju at his resort. Rereha’s parents basically have it booked for a solid two moons in late summer every year, and Rereha and her sisters will coordinate when they stay.

Shortly after the Dragonsong War ended and Aymeric was installed as the Lord Speaker, the Squad, Lucia, and Handeloup conspired and basically forcibly evicted Aymeric and Synnove from their offices and forced them to take at least a sennight’s vacation. (Start small, was their thinking.) Heron slapped ferry tickets into Synnove hands and said, “Boat leaves at the first bell past noon, you’re going to the cabin, your bags are at the docks, now leave.”

So their very first vacation was spent at that little cabin and its private pier, occasionally traveling up to Costa del Sol for supplies or for someone else to make lunch or dinner, and then wandering back, and just…existing. No duties, no meetings, just peace and quiet and the chance to relax. Afterwards, they put themselves on the renter’s list, and they typically go in winter when there’s a lull and the Coerthan everwinter gets worse. They have a lot of happy memories there.

[risingfire17-the-weeb-trash]

The Ones Who Walk Away- Chapter 5- Memory Meets Reality

Yoosung has a lot of questions about Luciel and how he’s related to the strange boy from his past, but neither Luciel nor Rika will give him any answers! Will he find some if he goes back to the cathedral where it all started?

               He told me his name and then left.

                 But he told me his name.

                 Rika and Jihyun came home shortly after Luciel left, which didn’t give me much time to process everything that had just happened. Not sure what to make of the whole situation, I decided not to bring it up. I couldn’t figure out why, but I didn’t yet feel comfortable telling Rika anything that had happened with Luciel. Not until I’d had a chance to sort things out.

                 And of course, on the way home, she asked me, “Did everything go all right with the computer repair guy?”

                 “Yeah, I gave him the envelope like you said.”

                 “How did he seem to you?” I had really hoped she would leave it at making sure he got his payment. Besides, why did she care about anything else? Well, she did know him. He had said that. But how did she know such a strange boy?

                 “Lu-“ I stopped short of saying his name. Why was I struck with a sudden dread of saying his name?

                 The way he whispered it to me like he didn’t dare let anyone else hear.

                 “I’m sorry I can’t tell you my name. It really is a secret.” The words he had so desperately spoken four years ago.

                 And could I not even trust Rika?

                 “That boy does not exist.” She had said that back then.

                 “L-look, I was kind of busy with my homework. I’m sorry I didn’t pay closer attention.”

                 Rika paused, scanning me, and I hung my head in what I hoped she thought was shame at my carelessness. After a moment, she sighed with a smile.

                 “English?”

                 “Yeah.”

                 “That always was your worst subject. Did it go okay?”

                 “Yeah, I think I’m getting better!”

                 “That’s great, Yoosung!” We drove in silence for a while. When we pulled in front of my house, Rika stopped me from exiting the car. “Yoosung.” Her voice sounded hesitant.

                 “Yeah?”

                 “You’ll be seeing more of him from now on. Be careful around him.” Be careful? What did she mean? Was Luciel dangerous? If he was, then why would he be in Rika’s house?

                 “The computer guy? Why?”

                 She gave me a bright smile that had always reassured me, but somehow fell short of that now. “That boy’s lead a troubled life, but he has so much potential. So I’ve been helping him. He’s a little rough around the edges. Please don’t hold it against him; he’s trying so hard. But be careful, okay?”

                 “Oh, okay!” Was that all? She thought I would be afraid of him because he was a little awkward? Okay, maybe I was a bit, but I also wanted to give him a chance. Especially if he was someone Rika was trying to help! I left her car almost completely assured of the situation, until I remembered, once again, her words from four years ago:

                 “That boy does not exist.”

                 Well, she hadn’t known him back then. He said he hadn’t gone to her church until two years ago. But why had she been so insistent? The way she’d said those words, it sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than me that he didn’t exist. Or like she was trying to hide his existence?

                 No. Rika wouldn’t lie to me. She was just afraid for my health, convinced I had imaginary friends at my age. That was the first time she’d doubted me, and it had hurt so much. Looking back, that’s also when I lost the one person I could tell everything to. And somewhere in the midst of my pain and effort to never be rejected by her again, I started to believe that red-haired boy really was some sort of dream. Everything about that encounter had certainly been fantastical enough.

                 But then that boy had reappeared in my life and made me question everything all over again. I was thoroughly convinced Luciel was the boy I had ditched Sunday school with all those years ago, though he insisted we’d never met before now. Or maybe he just didn’t want to tell me. He was just as secretive now as he was back then. And I was too afraid of Rika’s reaction to ask her of the connection between her computer guy and the boy she’d insisted was in my head.

                 Rika said he’d had a troubled life. I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but it did explain some things that didn’t add up about him back then. Like the tattered clothes. The unkempt hair. The way he roamed the city with no adult like it was the most natural thing in the world. And the way he seemed like he was hiding from someone. Maybe a lot of someones.

                 But who did he have to be hiding from to fear telling anyone his name? The police? Was he a criminal? No, Rika would never let a criminal in her house, no matter how much she wanted to help them. Besides, he was around my age. How could a 10-year-old be a criminal?

                 Besides, for all his confidence that had so enraptured me when I was 10, behind it he seemed…afraid. It had flashed across his face a few times back then, but I had not recognized it at the time. When I tried to stop him from leaving the church. When I tried to stop him from leaving me behind. When he had sent me inside that store. And four years later, he still had a spark of that fear. When I recognized him. And when I asked about his past. There was a moment, before he turned the entire thing into a joke, where he looked into my eyes, absolutely terrified. In that moment, I probably would have done anything to ease his fear.

                 I’d never been so overcome with a desire to pull someone close before. But at that time, that’s exactly what I had wanted: to keep him so close to me that whatever he was afraid of couldn’t possibly touch him. What would have happened next if I had? Would his chest against mine feel warm? Would he rest his head on my shoulder? Let me run my fingers through his soft curls? Would he look at me with trust in his bright eyes? Would he pull me even closer and…

                 No. I would not let that scene keep playing in my head past that point. He’s a guy; I should not be thinking like that! Even though something about it felt…familiar. Like my mind was trying to replay a forgotten memory just beyond my reach. Or more likely that my stressed and lonely mind was seeking escape in anything it could find, no matter how messed up!

                 I think it was safe to say I had developed an unhealthy fixation on Luciel. During the time I should have been thinking of nothing but my studies for the entrance exams, thoughts of him kept invading my mind. I kept asking myself the same questions about him again and again when I should be focusing on review questions.  And those weird daydreams didn’t stop. Great; if I failed my entrance exams, not only would I live in the shame of having fallen short of my family’s expectations, but it would all be because I was thinking like a hom- no; I couldn’t even think the word!

                But somehow, I did get into the high school I had aimed for. With exams finally over, I could let out the breath I had been holding and relax for the rest of middle school. At least, I could put my test stress to rest. That did nothing to solve my problem of obsessively thinking of a certain redhead. And I highly doubted the month-long break before high school would, either.

                 Especially when Rika asked me to volunteer at a church event. The event seemed simple enough. It was a door-to-door drive to sell tickets to a fundraising event. Annoying, lots of rejection in store, but simple. What wasn’t simple, however, was that I spent the entire week leading up to the event wondering if Luciel would be there. He had told me he went to her church, after all.

                  And what made it even less simple was that he was there. And he was nothing like what I expected. Given his secrecy and unconventional behavior, I figured he would be a something of a recluse. However, he was…dazzling. He spoke to everyone with a smile that lit up the whole cathedral. He joked, he shook hands, he clapped backs, he moved in a confident manner that charmed everyone around him. And there were a lot of people around him; he seemed quite popular around here. And those who weren’t talking to him were talking about him.

                 “Oh my, Luciel is looking so handsome today! Don’t you think, Hana?”

                 “Yeah! I wish I could be his partner for the donation drive!”

                “Now, now, you know it would be improper for a boy and girl to pair up! Indecent things could happen!”

                “Oh I would certainly hope so!”

               “Goodness, calm down! I’ll have to go to confession just for hearing this!”

                “As if you aren’t thinking the same thing, Yoonah!”

                 Pfft. I may not have been here in a long time, but I remembered Hana and Yoonah. They pretended to be so pious, but they were bullies and gossips of the worst caliber. I bet Luciel would see right through their pathetic show. Not that I cared.

                Because I was quite angry with Luciel. Because he was a liar. He had told me his name was a secret, but everyone here knew it. Of course they did. People didn’t make secrets of their names. It was just a stupid joke. But I fell for it. I let myself believe that I was special to him in some way. Just for knowing his name. Man, how stupid could I get? I had wasted months thinking about this guy who saw me as nothing more than the butt of a sick joke! All his jokes were sick! He was sick! I wanted nothing to do with him ever again!

                “Yoosung!” Crap. I tried to pretend I hadn’t heard him, but he ran to catch up to me, throwing a jovial arm around me and giving me that self-assured grin that had already taken up way too much of my headspace. I tried not to think about that, or about how radiant his eyes looked, or how you could really tell how in shape he was in his well-fitted white button-up shirt and black slacks.

                “Long time no see, Yoosung!”

               “Yeah, well, I had entrance exams to study for.”

               “Ah! I heard you got into the best school around! Rika’s been telling everyone for weeks!” At the mention of my cousin, I was even more pissed off. Was this guy playing Rika the way he had played me?

               “Funny she’d tell you. She never tells me anything about you.” I didn’t even bother keeping the vitriol out of my voice.

               “Um, is everything okay?” His convincing look of concern made me even angrier.

               “Why don’t you tell me? I spent all this time worried if you were okay, thinking you were in some kind of trouble so bad you couldn’t even tell people your name! But clearly that’s not true!” I waved my hands at him and then at the rest of the church in an attempt to convey my incoherent anger.

                He seemed to get it though. And for once his calm demeanor dropped; his brow furrowed, and his gaze fell to the floor. “You…were worried for me?”

                I laughed harshly. He wasn’t going to get me back under his thumb with just a wrinkled face. “Stupid, right? Stupid Yoosung fell for your stupid joke and almost actually cared for you. What a waste, right?” I started to walk off. I needed some time to cool down before the tears came. It was a most annoying habit of mine; I cried when I was angry. I couldn’t stand it because it was so unmanly, but once the tears came on, there was no stopping them. I certainly wasn’t about to let Luciel see me cry.

                 Except he did. Because he didn’t let me escape. Instead, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back around. My face flew up to look up at his in shock. And he looked into my eyes, right as my tears started to fall. Now my anger was overshadowed by a feeling of being exposed. Was I ashamed? Was I afraid? I didn’t know how to feel, and I found myself searching his face for answers.

                His mouth opened. It quivered some, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t figure out what. He stared at me with wide eyes that looked…sad? Remorseful? Yes, that was it. But under that, there was fear in those eyes. It was that fearful look of his that haunted me, that look that made me want to uncover every last secret of his so I could protect him from them.

                He finally spoke, his soft whisper unlike anything I had seen from him today. Or, well, ever. “Yoosung. Be my partner today.”

               Was this another joke? It had to be. Everything that came out of this guy’s mouth was just some sick joke. Right? Or was there something underneath all the jokes? Gah, why was I still thinking like this?! He would just make a fool of me again! I would regret getting more involved with him; I knew I would!

                 “Okay.”

[dayseternal-blog]

A NaruHina fanfic based off of shamy’s doujinshi posted May 31, 2019.  Please check out her 5-panel illustration!

Read Chapter 1 here.

Read Chapter 2 here.

Chapter 3: Better than J-dramas

She was looking at me a lot, right?  

He slumps down into his couch at home, pondering the girl he just met.  

It could just be that she was shy, knew him the best, and so she felt more comfortable turning to him during their lunch break.  

Or, it could be his imagination, his ego, talking.  But he doesn’t want to be one of those guys, who thinks that every time a girl smiles at him, that means she’s into him.

Or…

He tilts his head in thought.  Maybe she liked me a little?

True, they just met, but he’s a pretty attractive guy, right?  He knows he’s not ugly, maybe not a 10, but not like a 3, either.  He works out regularly, and in his own, awesome opinion, he thinks he’s pretty nice.

Would I like that?  

If she is interested in him?

He wouldn’t mind it…

She was rather pretty.  She had a nice face and nice skin.  Nice, interesting eyes.  Nice hair.  Nice voice.  She was a nice girl.  Cute.

Not very fashionable, with her long skirt and sweater layered over another sweater, but maybe that just means she’s not high maintenance (unlike his semi-serious, acting-major ex Shion from sophomore year).

It’s not like he’s really fashionable, either.

He recalls her quiet smiles and determined expressions.  Yeah, she was cute.  She definitely seemed sorta innocent, which is a quality he doesn’t see too often in girls his age anymore.  That seems to really up her appeal to him in ways he doesn’t want to self-examine.    

Wonder if she has a boyfriend.  

He remembers everything she told him and the things he learned about her online.  He knows she doesn’t have any social media accounts, or they at least don’t pop up on search engines.  And nothing she said hinted at a special someone.

She did talk about a few friends.  

He frowns at the extent of his contemplation.  I should just ask her out!   It wouldn’t be a big deal because if she says no, he’d probably never see her again after the concert, unless she has another concert, but it’s whatever.  

He’s old enough to ask people out casually, isn’t he?  

It’s just not something he’s ever really done.  With his “free” time in college spent in various theatres around town part-timing, building his network, or watching other shows to learn new design ideas, he doesn’t exactly have a strong dating history.  Usually Sakura makes it her personal mission to hook him up with someone, but it’d be nice to not wait for her to find him his next maybe-we’re-together-but-maybe-we’re-just-seeing-each-other fling that inevitably ends because the girl can’t handle his fluctuating work schedule (Monday and Tuesday or Thursday off, work some weekday nights and every weekend).  

Imagine if he told her he started dating someone without her help!  Hah!  He’s not a helpless case after all!

Anyway, it’s not a big deal.        

He can do it.

And, if he doesn’t start now, Sakura will run out of willing friends eventually, and he’ll have to start signing up for those dating apps and “sliding” into random people’s DMs, and, well, he’d rather not?

Yeah, yeah, I’ll ask her out for coffee or something.

With that matter settled and tucked away for later, he grabs the remote, turns on the streaming app, and navigates the site to the drama.  It’s only 13 episodes long, one hour each. He can definitely marathon it, especially since he doesn’t have to go in for work in the morning.

He’s halfway through the first episode when his flatmate, his best friend, walks in.  “Oh, you’re watching Picture Tomorrow.”  

Naruto turns to hear Sasuke dumping his stuff in the kitchen.  “Yeah, did you watch this?”

“Sakura made me.”

Figures.  Naruto turns back to the show.

“You’re not going to like it.”

“I’m not?”

“Well, of course not since the girl dies at the end.”

Naruto turns furiously to see him standing there indifferently.  He throws his hands up.  “Sasuke!”

“What.  You didn’t know that?  How could you not know that?”

“Well, I didn’t!”

“Oh.”  Sasuke retreats back to the kitchen.

With the end spoiled, Naruto continues the show with less enthusiasm than before.  He watches the love interest gaze at the simpleminded heroine curiously.   She’s gonna die!  Don’t fall in love with her!   He sighs as he realizes every single moment watching this drama will now be colored with those thoughts.  “Did you like it?” he questions loud enough for Sasuke to hear over the sound of the sink’s running water.

“...”

Naruto watches Sasuke silently deliberating across the serving counter.  If he hated it, he would have said so already.  “So it’s a good show, then?”

“It’s interesting.”

That’s pretty much Sasuke-speak for ‘it’s great.’  “I’m gonna marathon the whole thing tonight.  You wanna join?”

Sasuke grimaces at him.  

But a couple minutes later, after he microwaves some leftovers, he joins him on the couch.

“Oh, this is one of her songs,” Naruto comments aloud as the episode flashes a few sponsors before a commercial break.

Sasuke turns to look at him.

“Hinata, the pianist.  She’s having a concert at HKT this Saturday, and I’m her point person,” he explains.

Sasuke silently nods.

Throughout the drama, he vocally notices her songs.  “This is her song, too...think this one’s called ‘Finally Arrived.’”  He mentally considers that the music sounds different from her online profile, like with other instruments added, and he doesn’t doubt that she composed the music for them, too.  “Gee, she’s really talented.”  

“Hn.”

Eventually Sasuke leaves him alone, and it’s a good thing because when the heroine tells her love interest her diagnosis, but they start dating anyway, Naruto finds himself tearing up.  

By morning, he’s got a permanent frown on his face when she tells him she wants to break up with him, while keeping her terminally ill prognosis secret.

Sasuke comes out, readying for work.

“Sasukeeee...why…” he exhaustedly whines.  

“I told you you wouldn’t like it.”

“No, no, I like it...I think…”

“Are there still tickets for her concert?”

“Wha?  Oh, I dunno...probably…ugh I hate this show...I mean I don’t hate it…”

“Stupid.”

“Noo, this is your fault.”

“Later.”  The door clicks shut, and Naruto is left alone to wallow in his misery.

Sasuke doesn’t come back that night, probably staying over at Sakura’s place, so he doesn’t have anyone to voice his thoughts to until the next day when he goes in for work.  

He tells the rest of the crew about how his jerk of a flatmate spoiled the ending, and how touching it was that the boyfriend ended up becoming a cancer researcher.  

To which their only reaction of note is how Naruto didn’t know that the girl was going to die at the end.  “How did you not know that?”  “The novel’s been on the best-selling list all season!”

“I just didn’t know!”

When Hinata comes in for her rehearsal, he unthinkingly engages her in his venting.  “I finally watched Picture Tomorrow!” he informs her.

Her lips turn up slightly.  “Oh, did you like it?”

“Yes!  I hated it.”

“Oh…”

“It was so sad,” he bemoans.

“So...you didn’t like it?” she asks.

“No, it was great!  It was awful,” he clarifies for her.

It starts quietly, her giggle.  He watches her light grey eyes disappear into small slits under dark lashes, and he’s momentarily struck by the realization that he made her laugh.

“Your music was great, too,” he adds, and he suddenly finds himself much more taken with her smile than the drama.  She’s wearing make-up today.  And a dress.  “It completely tied together every scene, it was really nice.”

Her eyes, her entire expression, shines up at him.  “Thank you.  I’m glad you liked it.”

“Yeah...”  He works his hand into the back of his neck.  Right before the rehearsal starts would not be a good time to ask her out.  So, he redirects his thoughts to his work.  “Are you ready to get started?”

She nods, her shy gaze still focused on him, her cheeks still lightly pink from her laughter.

And he notes how she still looks happy as she follows him toward the stage.

He and the rest of the crew clap and give her cheers as she bows to the empty seats.  

She turns and looks at him, smiling a scrunched up, embarrassed and amused expression at their antics.

He grins at her, making sure to holler an extra loud “Wooh!”

Her mouth seems to drop open in surprise, her brows furrowing in confusion at his enthusiasm as she comes off the stage into the wings.  

“We won’t be able to cheer you on tomorrow night, so we gotta do it today,” he explains.  Tomorrow they’ll all be in work-mode.  Silent and invisible.  

“Oh,” she answers thoughtfully.  “Thank you.”

“Yeah!  Everything sounded great.  Looks like we’re ready for tomorrow!”  

She smiles in agreement and nods.  

He feels his weight tipping forward toward his toes, an antsiness that urges him to bounce on his feet.  Now’s the time, now’s the time.

His senior’s yell bursts through his thoughts.  “Hinata!  Before you go, I wanted to know if you’d sign this sheet music for my wife.  She teaches your songs to some of her piano students.”

She turns from him, her smile directed away.  “Oh, sure!”

Naruto lets out a silent sigh.

He doesn’t get another moment alone with her, and he doesn’t want to subject himself or Hinata to the pressure of asking her out in front of everyone.

It’s only later that night when he’s leaving the theatre and walking to the bus stop that it occurs to him he could message her.  He has her number saved, at the time it was for “just in case” as her point person.  

Well, but asking her out in a message seems like a cop out.

He fiddles with his phone for a few seconds before opening a new thread.  

“Hey Hinata this is Naruto”  

He sends it before he can regret it.

He waits a minute.  

Nothing.

She might be one of those people who doesn’t obsessively check their phone’s notifications.

He starts typing again.  

“We’re all getting dinner around 4:30 tomorrow.  You’re welcome to join us before your warmup”  

He stares at his phone for a few seconds before pocketing it.  Based on her response, he might be able to gauge her interest in him.  If she responds.

His phone vibrates when he’s nearing his stop, and he’s relieved to see that it’s her as he exits the bus.

“Hello, Naruto, thank you :)  I’ll be there!”

A positive response.  A pretty normal, positive response.  

He doesn’t gauge anything from it, and now he has to figure out how to reply.  For anyone else, he would just “like” her reply.

But she’s not exactly just anyone, and he kind of wants her to notice him the way he’s noticing her.

“Great, see you tomorrow”

He considers adding “have a good night,” quickly decides against it, and presses send.

Her reply comes almost automatically.  “Yes, have a good night :)”

He frowns at his phone.  He should have just added it the first time.  Now is it weird to drag on the conversation?  Why didn’t she just say “see you tomorrow” in response?

Before he can take any longer thinking about it, he sends a short message.  

“You too”

He lets out a long breath.  

The last time he exchanged messages with a girl (that wasn’t a platonic friend) was three months ago.  That contact didn’t last past the first date, set up by Sakura.

They were incompatible.  Little attraction on both sides when it came to conversation.

It would be nice if he could have a relationship.  None of this waiting around, none of this feeling the other person out, none of this second-guessing every move, or just trying to make a move.  

He’s ready for more.

He's ready for someone to share some sweetness with.

[joie-university-rp]

Dear ASHTON PILLSBURY-SCHUESTER,

It is with great pleasure we invite you admission to Joie University! Welcome to the Thunderclap family!

-

Congratulations, SAM! Please be sure to check the New Members’ Checklist and send in your character’s account within 24 hours from now. We cannot wait to see all that you will bring to this roleplay! We love you already!

OOC INFORMATION: Name/Alias; pronouns: Sam; she/her Age, Timezone: 22, CST Activity, short explanation: 6/10 I have college and work but I’ll be on as much as possible while I procrastinate. Ships: Ash/chemistry Anti-Ships: Ash/forced (except for plot) Triggers: RFP Preferred photo for Character’s ID (please give a link): https://images.app.goo.gl/CxNYDnoc3AihKodc9 Anything else: RFP

IC INFORMATION: Full Name (First, Middle, Last): Ashton Dominic Pillsbury-Schuester FC: Logan Lerman Age/Year at University (Freshman [1st Year], Sophomore, Junior, Senior, or Graduate Student): 18/Freshman Birth date (MONTH DAY, YEAR): 04/01/2000 Hometown (please be sure to check the hometowns listed for characters your muse is related to!): Littleton, Colorado Gender/Pronouns: Male: he/him/his Sexuality: bi curious Major(s): Social Work Minor(s) [optional]: Creative Arts Housing request (remember, only the president of a Greek Organization is required to live at a Greek House to be in it!): Schuester Dormitory Extracurriculars (Click here for the list. Be sure to specify any executive board positions [i.e. president, secretary, etc.] If something isn’t listed, please put it here and we will add it to the masterlist!): Art Club, I’m All Ears, Peer Listening Group, Cross Country Greek Life Affiliation [optional] (Please be sure to specify any executive board positions [i.e. president, pledge educator, etc.] or if your character is not yet a member, but plans to rush): Alpha Xi Lambda

CHARACTER PROFILE: [At least] 3 Headcanons for your character:

Ashton loves his siblings very much, he looks up to them, especially Schuyler who took on a protective role of the younger siblings. He especially enjoyed spending time doing art with Schuyler and Ariel. He doesn’t quite have the talent for cooking like Austin, but Ashton enjoyed being around him when he was feeling down because the “class clown” always made him smile again.

Once when he was 13, Ashton was feeling incredibly low and had been feeling very disconnected from his siblings and tried to run away from home because he thought his family didn’t need him or care for him. He suffered from middle child syndrome because he thought the twins were the stars of the family being the oldest sons, then Ariel was important being the only girl, then there was the baby brother who would always be the baby so he felt like he had no role in the family. Thankfully he was found at the Greyhound station when the staff called the local police because they were concerned when he was buying a ticket out of state alone.

Will tried to get Ashton interested in singing and dancing because none of the older kids seemed to be following Will into that area of interest. However, Ashton did not have the interest or aptitude for performing and Will was forced to give in. Ashton preferred to spend time reading and making art with his siblings, he would even try to help Austin bake now and again though he was more a hinderance than a help.

Ashton is more like Emma than he cares to admit. He often worries about things an 18 year old has no place worrying about and can often feel crippled by his anxiety. Cross country is a good outlet for Ashton, it gives him a sense of freedom and while he’s running he can let it all wash over him and he usually feels much better afterwards.

Ash also takes after Emma in the sense of caring for others and wanting to help as many people as he can. Growing up he realized that while his family isn’t perfect, and no family is, some kids have it so much worse and all he wants to do is help. That’s when he got the idea to be a social worker after talking to Emma about her career as a guidance councillor.

STUDENT CENSUS SURVEY: (Please answer the following questions IN CHARACTER. Responses can be as long or short as you see fit!)

What made you want to attend Joie University? Mom and Dad talk about this place all the time, they loved it here and not to mention they made a lot of donations so I know the facilities are great. What really sealed the deal for me though is that my three older siblings go to school here so it was the natural choice. What are at least 3 positive or neutral and at least 3 negative traits that you believe you possess? + Curious, Thoughtful, Compassionate, Empathetic, Imaginative. -Fidgety, Clumsy, Conforming, Self-conscious, Easily Discouraged.

Which of your traits do you value most? I think my compassion is my most valuable trait, it helps me be a good person and it’s what drives me to want to be a social worker.

How can that trait benefit the University (or its student body) as a whole? I think it makes me a great candidate to be a member of the peer listening group which I think is one of the most important groups on campus.

What do you hope to gain from your experience at JU? Aside from getting my degree I’d like to gain more self confidence and this probably sound so cliché but I want to find my own path, I don’t want to be a carbon copy of my parents I want to find what makes me special because I’m not the cool older brothers the twins, I’m not the only girl, I’m not the baby of the family. Being the middle child can be hard sometimes even though I love my siblings more than anything, I’d die for them.

What is a quote or song lyric that describes you? Sara Bareilles’ song Brave is really important to me because I like to play it when I’m struggling to express myself or feeling like what I’m doing isn’t enough and I’m doubting myself. I think everyone should be brave and do what they think is right. I think it’s also relevant to my chosen path being a Social Worker I want people to be brave and be able to tell someone when they are in trouble. “Say what you wanna say, And let the words fall out, Honestly I wanna see you be brave”

[alitheamateur]

The Grind- Chapter 26

“You sure about this place, babe? How come you don’t just wanna grab some coffee from The Grind and go back to crash on the couch at home?” I asked as Colton pulled open my passenger side door to walk hand-in-hand with me down the sidewalk.

Luckily, I cautioned Tia’s persistent advice at dinner last night, and limited myself to only three glasses of wine, and one measly shot of Patron. So, Colton’s 7 a.m. feisty bite to the exposed skin of my cheek under the sheet as my wake-up call, wasn’t ruined with a blistering hangover. He was adamant about taking me to some diner he’d heard about from one of the guys at the bike shop to try their German potato pancakes that he was just so certain I’d love, and I was a sucker for a languid, sweatpants breakfast date every now and then. 

“It’ll be fine, Livvy. Let’s enjoy some good grub, then I promise we’ll squeeze in a nap before we head to the gym later. Deal?”

He kissed the fingers that were interlocked with his own, then smiled mischievously as we slipped inside, escaping the rustling winds of the morning. We didn’t stop at the ‘wait to be seated sign’, instead Colt scanned the room, peeping over the full booths and tables around the room.

“C’mon, I see an empty table over here, babe.” he pointed, tugging me not so gently to the left of the hostess stand.

“Colton, we have to wai-,” I started to argue with his bullish, bizarre behavior, but before I could state my objections, reality slapped me across the face.

Seated with their backs to us, both sipping on a black cup of the house blend, were two Indiana natives, very far from home. Mom turned around to investigate the bustling approach over her shoulder, and stood to push herself from the seat with an unsure smile.

“Wh-..how did you guys get here? What’s going on?” I babbled wrapping a halfhearted, confused embrace around her neck, searching for an explanation from someone in the party of 3.

“It was all sweet, Colton, Liv honey. He arranged the whole thing. He insisted we come.” mom confessed, admiring Colton with a look of appreciation.

“I wanted ‘em here to see you fight, baby. And to see the house and everythin’. They got here yesterday afternoon, and I got them all set up at Westin, and ate dinner with the both of ‘em last night to get familiar.”

The pieces started to connect then. Why Tia was so snarky with keeping me away from the bottle, why Colton was so incessant about dragging me out of the house before 9 a.m. this morning, and why there was a button-down dress shirt discarded into the hamper when I did laundry after a late return home last night. I internally tipped a hat to his successful undercover moonlighting, though.

“Kid wouldn’t take a dime from us, either. Paid for the tickets, a ride from the airport, and our room, too. Seems we owe this one, sweetheart.” I heard dad say as I took one of the empty seats across the table from he and mom.

Their visit may not have been on my terms, or my timing, but I did feel complete having them here. Although there was a suitcase of nerves that landed on that plane along with their arrival to Pittsburgh, it just felt, right. The four of us, together, all in one place had me swelling with a sense of gladness and completion, all courtesy of the mysterious man in blue seated to my right.

“I can’t believe you did all this, Ritter. I expect a play-by-play when we get home, ya’ big box of lies.” I leaned to kiss him sincerely.

“I’m pretty impressed with myself to tell the truth.”

The meal consisted of bacon all around, mom whining about the cold temperature, those potato cakes Colton was correct about me losing my mind over, and a general calm, steady flow of conversation. I was impressed at how normal, and interested Tony and Liz seemed to be the entire time. Dad never brought up a single utterance of basketball, and mom pounded me with questions about my match, and what it would be like. I felt a connection so genuine that had been minuscule for so many years, and I knew Colton played a tremendous role in the healing psychological wounds.

“You guys should come by the house and spend the afternoon with us. All my stuff is moved in, and it doesn’t look like a construction site anymore. Mom, we could swing by the food market to get what you need for gran’s jambalaya for dinner, too!”

My inner, overly-eager, rambunctious childlike manner took me over, and I instantly began bulleting out an itinerary of events. I’d have to take mom to meet Andrew, and she would die over the Americana at The Grind. And dad, maybe Colton and I could take him to the trolley museum and a PNC park tour in the next couple of days.

“Livvy, we’ve got to try and get to the gym for a few hours today. It’s down to crunch time, babe,” Colt reminded me with apologetic tone. “But, we can check them out their room, and settle ‘em in at the house first, okay?”

Of course, the gym. This week wouldn’t be one of family dinners and touristy adventures with the fight countdown fuse burning low. And now, I had even more work to do down at Temple Fitness with my parents in attendance. The weight of potentially letting Colton, Tia, and the rest of my corner down was sickening enough, now add the weight of Tony and Elizabeth and you’ve got one wound tight Liv. Perfectionism is a weakness not all can relate to, and of that they should be eternally thankful. I failed my Warrior teammates and the rest of my small-town not so many years ago, and that disappointment in itself nearly disconnected me entirely. I may have grown and evolved in many ways since relocating to the Pittsburgh, but the will to please my loved ones was a quality I would undoubtedly live with until my final breath.

“You do whatever needs to be done today, sweetheart. I know these next few days are crucial, so don’t mind us. We’ll take whatever time you can give us.” my mom pats my hand from across the table, and shot and thoughtful smirk.

“We’re just happy to be here, Livvy. You’ve got a good one there.” My dad’s opinion of the man I loved was never considered to be a worry I had, but in that moment, I couldn’t have been more prideful in how truly wonderful Colton had been to them, and to me for organizing this little surprise.

 After dragging my parents’ belongings up the front steps of our home, and leaving them the keys to my car in case they got the pangs to explore around a bit, Colton and myself dutifully reported for in for a session down to the gym. The last couple days I had been studying up on a submission move I really wanted to try out. The Omoplata essentially was a move to apply unbearable stress on the arm of your opponent, inevitably resulting in a tap out. Tia, nor Colton had introduced me to the technique, but it was one I had stumbled upon doing some research on my own one afternoon during some down time at the Pilot office. Having never actually seen it done in reality, I only had internet tutorials, and other martial arts circuit fights that had been posted online to educate myself.

Upon trucking into the somewhat crowded parking lot, and settling my duffle into a locker down the hall from the ring room, Tia had called to say something had soured in her stomach, and she wouldn’t be making it in to train with us today unless I wanted to mop up her throw-up. Naturally, I insisted she stay in and recover, leaving me in the hands of Colt.

“Grab the rope, let’s warm up for 10 minutes after you stretch, babe.” my handsome trainer instructed as he downed the settlings of a pre-workout drink at the bottom of his cup.

“Did you remember to tell dad about the construction on Liberty bridge in case they decide to venture out of the house?” My voice vibrated as I bounced with the whip-like jump rope.

“Yep, as we were walkin’ out the front door, Liv. Don’t worry, ‘ight? They’ll be fine. I gotta say though, I wasn’t expectin’ ya’ to be so thrilled about ‘em being here.”

I was fairly flabbergasted myself in that matter, but I had no explanation for my nervous excitement. I guess, maybe it was the common cliché of not knowing how much you in fact needed something, until you had it.

“Thank you, handsome. I really am glad you did all that. Although, I’m a little concerned with all the unsuspected sneaking around you were able to get away with.” I smirked, dropping the braided rope to adjust the tightness of my messy bun.

“It nearly got the best ‘a me lying to you like that, but it was for good reason, at least. Except, them being at the house every night for the next few days may turn out to be a little problem. Seein’ as their daughter can’t keep her greedy little hands off me & all…” he teased unnlacing his trainers to pull of his socks before we moved into the ring. He was knelt on one knee just a foot or two behind where I stood, then inched over in that crouched position to friskily bite the pert cheek of my backside, and grabbed a handful of the other.

I’d never get tired of those stout, mitt-like hands of his touching my body, and I let my head drop backward a bit to sigh into his touch. If by some unfortunate event, things between us happen to fall to pieces again, no man would ever live up to the bar set by the infamous Colton Ritter.  

“I can manage a little self-control, you animal. Let’s make a bet on who caves in first, shall we?” I said, stepping over the middle rope of the mat.

“You better be careful playin’ with fire girl. You may get burned.”

 We had bounced around, grappling and rolling for nearly an hour already, with just a couple rushed breaks for water, and I still hadn’t built up the courage to try the move I had been so eager to crack at. I welcomed the respect that Colton had to never half-ass me when we did train one-on-one, however always extremely careful to make sure I was never harmed in any way. His insights, and words of wisdom related to the cage were something I considered to be a matchless gift, and I loved him eternally for offering it up.

Just as I was about to weigh the Omoplata to be the impossible, especially considering my mock opponent at the current time, Colton let down a wall, and broke his own most crucial ‘golden rule’ of fighting. He attempted to tangle me, but instead, mistakenly gave me his back, awarding me the perfect moment to pounce. I pinched his shoulder between the bones of my knees, then swung one leg hurriedly over his head. Colton’s arm was trapped between the center of my limbs, essentially hooked around my left thigh as I crossed my ankles. I flattened his chest and face to the mat with speed I didn’t know I had, and swung my legs to the side, easing into a squat with his helpless arm still locked in. The stretching pressure of his muscle grew the higher I raised, and defeated, Colton yelped out with a tap.

Instantly releasing, I tumbled to my back, and laid to rest with exasperating breaths. Executing the technique on an individual with such a powerful strength, was equally as exhausting on the attacker as the victim, and I could feel my blood tingling, and rushing through my veins like the Colorado rapids.

“I sure as hell don’t fuckin’ remember teachin’ you that, 2-1,” my captor said still face planted onto the canvas, almost cackling. “But you pulled it off with damn near perfection. I’m impressed, baby!”

“That one is just a little something I picked up on my own. Coach…” I replied, mounting his back to massage his shirtless shoulders.

Colton flipped, doing a 180 to now laying on his back, with me still atop him with a sweaty, rosy face.

“Oh, so she thinks she can pin me now, huh? Don’t get too comfortable up there, Elliott. You know I don’t do bottom.”

TAGS: @torialeysha @eap1935 @littleluna98 @mollybegger-blog

[assortedfruitsnacks212]

I miss you, Tumblr! + Life update on stuff and things

Heyyyyy everyone. I figured it was high time I made a proper post talking about, well, everything that’s happened since I stopped posting so much. I don’t like that I disappeared - this site was where I discovered Reylo and made some truly awesome friends. So I want to stick around, you know? And I do hope to come back more often from now on. It’s just hard juggling so many social media platforms...

But ANYWAY. I promised an update, so here we go.

1. I’m moving across the country!

That’s right ladies and gents, I’m fleeing the New Jersey coop for my old hometown of Huntsville, AL. 

Why, you ask? Well, Huntsville is very much a city of the future. As the home of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (where they built the Saturn V rockets!) Huntsville has earned the well-deserved moniker "Rocket City USA." It's also undergoing a huge economic boom, which has led to a thriving arts community.

New Jersey? Eh.

I'm tired of just treading water and not making headway toward my dreams. I’ll talk about those dreams a bit more in this post. Needless to say, they’re very, very important to me.

So I'm not settling anymore. In August/September, I'm packing up shop and heading down south. It's the start of something new, and I can’t wait.

2. I started a Patreon for my passion project, and it’s going well <3

My passion project, The Oracle Fragment, has been the one thing I’ve returned to over and over again for the past 10+ years. Late last year I decided to step up my commitment by starting a Patreon. I’ve only done a soft launch so far, and I’m already at 38 Patrons :) It’s been a rewarding month!

My official launch is scheduled for Wednesday, February 27. I’ll be celebrating with a Twitch stream with fun games, sketch requests, and maybe a little giveaway ;) The stream starts at 9pm EST. Let me know if you want to come - as you know, I take Reylo requests ;)

3. I’ve returned to my roots: pencil drawing!

A friend of mine convinced me to do some traditional drawing again, and I’m so glad he did. I’d forgotten how lovely it is to put pencil to paper. Also, I know I’m far better at it than I am at digital sketching. So I’m gonna let myself indulge a bit - and maybe even find a way to marry my pencil art TO my digital art. People do it all the time, I hear ;)

People who are waiting on commissions: if you want me to sketch your ideas traditionally, shoot me a message and let’s talk about it! If I do a pencil sketch for you, I can actually mail it to you OR to the friend of your choice. Shipping is free! (unless it’s international in which case we’ll discuss it) @reylorianlovechild @immortalpen @faithren @rebelrebelreylo @jesssssah

4. I’m putting my art in local stores

My favorite stores in Woodstown, Barney Loves Books and the Woodstown Coffee Shop and Bakery, have agreed to let me display my art on their premises. I’m REALLY excited and also a little overwhelmed :) I’m gonna start small, with just a basket of prints and originals... BUT who knows where it could go from here :) 

If you’re in the Woodstown area, come take a look sometime! Woodstown is about 40 minutes away from Philadelphia. As a bonus, we could even meet - just message me and we’ll go get coffee from the bakery!

5. I’m raising money for Star Wars Celebration

I bought Saturday passes for my husband and me some time ago. Now it’s time for me to either (A) raise the money for travel and lodging, or (B) sell the tickets to someone else. :p For a while I was leaning toward just selling them, but hell, it would be SO nice to go, if only for a day! So I’m going to give it a shot. Keep an eye out for commission openings (once my current ones are finished) and other cool stuff!

6. I’m doing more portrait work

Again, this is all because my friends and family convinced me to... BUT I’ve decided to make a whole-assed attempt at making my portrait work a thing. I’m printing up brochures to display with my art, and I’ve revamped my listings on Etsy.

Portraits are my strongest point, after all. There’s something about the human face that utterly enchants me, and people tell me I have the ability to capture the subject’s heart and soul on paper. I’ve decided to believe them. :)

If you’ve been thinking about commissioning a portrait of a friend, family member, or other loved one (including fictional loves *coughKylocough*), you can go to my Etsy here, or just message me here on Tumblr.

Speaking of Etsy...

7. I’m adding lots more stuff to my Etsy store

I haven’t done much with Etsy since last summer, and it’s time I fixed that. Over the weekend, I FINALLY added a print option for Elf lord Kylo Ren (!!), and I’m about to add merch for him, too. Oh, and I just ordered fine art prints of Elven Kylo and Hades and Persephone Reylo so I can put out hand-embellished versions of them!! That’s where I paint on the prints with gold or silver so they look extra shiny and pretty. You can see a pic of my embellished Art Nouveau Padme here.

Other plans I have for my Etsy: 

- add pillow inserts to my custom pillows - add MORE fanart - add MORE originals

If you have ideas for other things I can add to my Etsy, please let me know! Especially if it’s Reylo things ;) 

8. I’m starting a regular Twitch stream with an art/storytelling focus

I’ve wanted to be a Twitch streamer for a long time, but I could never figure out what to do, exactly. Just recently, inspiration hit me like a bolt of lightning:

I want my stream to be all about storytelling.

Life gets crazy, depressing, and devoid of magic sometimes. I want to bring a little of that magic back by creating an intentional space outside of daily life for imagination and exploration. Dreaming, brainstorming, chasing plot bunnies, painting, sketching, talking deep subjects, and playing games - these will all be welcome activities in my magic circle. So if that sounds good to you, come make magic with me <3

My inaugural stream will be Saturday, February 23 at noon EST. After that, I hope to stream at least 3 times a week in the afternoons.

---

As for Reylo stuff...

Believe me, though I’ve been absent from Tumblr, I’ve never, EVER stopped thinking about Reylo. And I haven’t forgotten about any of my ongoing Reylo fics and projects!

I’ll make a separate post about that, though. I’ve talked your ear off quite enough for one post ;)

I’ve missed you all. If the urge strikes you, PLEASE come and see hi. I’d love to hear from you!

@reylocalligraphy @reylo-convert @enjoyallneednothing-blog @raven-maiden @obsessivepropulsive @ever-so-reylo @monsterleadmehome @reylolujah @pacificwanderer @dreamsdescent @faequeentitania @thewayofthetrashcompactor @deafield @dvrkrey @reylotrashpiler @recklessdarkness @cosmo-gonika @aionimica @creationsvixen @collegefangirl3791 @inmyownidiom @midnightbluefox