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geekgirles · 3 years ago

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“I’m sorry for the way I used to act towards you when we were fourteen,” she admitted before softly adding, “especially when you and Danny were beginning to connect.”

In which Sam and Valerie clear the air between them.

Word count: 5176

READ ON AO3

Before we go in, I just wanted to say that I hope I did the characters justice. Really, it’s all I ask because I’m still fairly recent in the fandom (as in, actively participating rather than fangirling on my own) and I’d hate to make a travesty of characters that mean so much to me. Oh, and this one-shot can take place in whatever timeline you want: you hate PP with a passion? Don’t worry, it didn’t happen. You actually think it’s a good finale? That works too. There shouldn’t be anything that indicates this story takes place in anywhere in particular other than Amity Park, so... All you need to know is that Valerie knows.

Please, enjoy!!

As an intense throb manifested itself in her right side, eliciting an involuntary groan to escape her throat, Sam was more frustrated at herself than aching from the hit. It had been two years already since Danny had the accident that gave him his powers, consequently beginning the constant battles against ghosts that made their teenaged life significantly harder, and, as they came to appreciate their lifestyle, significantly more interesting, too. Once Danny gained his ghost powers, she and Tucker took it to themselves to make sure their friend was always supported and aided when fighting his ghostly adversaries.

And with that came the injuries.

They certainly didn’t get hurt as often or as gravely as Danny, since he was usually the one facing the mischievous spirits head-on, but they still had to get used to their own fair share of beatings. The teachers were understandably surprised when they effortlessly completed their first aid training in Health class.

All in all, Sam was used to getting hurt.

Which made the fact that Valerie had landed such a perfect kick that it literally left her breathless all the more humiliating.

Valerie Gray, a.k.a. the Red Huntress. Danny Phantom’s longtime pursuer and Danny Fenton’s one time girlfriend. The once popular girl was now their trustworthy ally. And, as much as Sam hated to admit it, she was thoroughly kicking her butt. Perhaps she should have expected as much from a ninth degree black belt.

“Had enough, Manson?” Valerie taunted with a raised eyebrow.

Getting up slowly, Sam sent her a smirk alongside a challenging, determined look. “Never.” And with that she leaped on the ghost huntress, using her momentum to connect a punch to her face. But Valerie was faster, blocking the Goth girl’s attack with her forearm before sliding her leg under Sam’s to make her lose her balance. Seeing what her opponent was up to, the violet-eyed girl quickly got out of her way, widening the space between the two to give herself some time to think up a new strategy.

Smirking at Sam’s maneuver, Valerie appraised her with pride. “Not bad, Sam,” she said before changing her stance, ready to pounce, “but the extra space won’t save you from this.” Leaping into the air, the Red Huntress didn’t waste a moment to knock Sam to the floor with a roundhouse kick boosted by her movements.

Even if the Goth blocked the attack by keeping her palms up in front of her face, the sheer force behind it was still enough to knock her down. That was gonna bruise in the morning, she was sure of it. Glancing up she noticed Valerie looking down at her with a smug look on her face and her hands on her hips. Sam barely resisted the urge to scowl darkly at her. Panting, she conceded, “Alright, alright. Maybe now I’ve had enough.”

Chuckling at Sam’s proud nature, the green-eyed girl bent down slightly to offer her friend a hand and lift her up from the floor. Once Sam was at her eye-level, she looked down on her watch, now serving as a chronometre. “Five minutes. That’s a full round! Congratulations, Sam. So far, you’re the one who’s lasted the most against me.” She applauded her, but her face betrayed her. She was about to burst out laughing.

Snorting, the Goth girl elbowed her slightly on the arm. “Knock it off! Even if I lost, I still managed to land a few hits myself.”

“Yeah...Trust me, you don’t have to remind me.” Valerie complained with a pointed look as she rubbed her lower back. Early on in the match, Sam kneed her there. Thank goodness she wasn’t tasked with unloading the Nasty Burger’s products that week. “I’m serious, though. Danny without his powers lasts a minute and a half, tops. And Tucker...well, let’s just say that taking one hit without passing out is already a victory when it comes to him.”

“Yeah, he and Danny really should do more exercise.” The two girls laughed at that. These past two years Danny’s skill when using his powers had skyrocketed. Enemies that used to give him a hard time were now more of a headache. He didn’t even have to pay attention to the fight to get rid of the Ghost Box. Now, as Danny Fenton… He’d gotten taller, that was for sure. But he still had the nasty habit of relying on his powers a little too much, which didn’t do his P.E marks any favours. And Tucker was still far more interested in whatever his PDA had to offer than the wonders of physical exercise.

In truth, everyone had changed during that time, if only a little.

Sam was still as Goth and ultra-recyclo-vegetarian as always. Her raven hair was slightly longer, now reaching her shoulders, but she still wore it mostly loose and framing her face, except for the one strand she kept in a high ponytail. Her fashion sense hadn’t changed much either. She wore a black crop top with Danny’s logo on it instead of the old purple ovalーthe town began selling merchandise of its hero to attract, and basically rob, tourists. Since she created the logo herself, she made her own outfits and nobody was none the wiser. She also stuck with plaid skirts, but this time she favoured a purple and black one instead of her old black and green. But her combat boots, accessories, and make-up were sacred. Everybody knew impending doom was near if Sam ever changed even the tiniest detail in her appearance when it came to that.

She was still outspoken and an avid defender of animal rights, individuality, and most importantly, of Danny Phantom. Even though most people celebrated the boy and thanked him for his services, there were still some who criticised him and believed Amity Park was better off before him. Needless to say, Sam was always at the front of the line in any protest to defend Amity Park’s greatest protector. The fact that he was not only one of her best friends but also her boyfriend may have something to do with it. But even if they weren’t together, Sam knew Danny. She’d always known him. She would always defend him from those who couldn’t even begin to grasp just how noble, responsible, and compassionate he was.

The corners of her mouth curled up slightly when she remembered she’d just been sparring with what once was one of Danny Phantom’s greatest detractors.

In a way, Valerie had probably changed the most out of everyone she knew while simultaneously not changing anything at all.

In terms of appearance, just like Sam, she’d only modified her look slightly. She cut her long, dark brown curls so they now barely reached her shoulders instead of cascading down her back. According to her, long hair just got in the way with her suit. She originally wanted to get an undercut, but her dad almost had a cow so they compromised with short hair for now and leaving the undercut for when she was a little older. The huntress still favoured spaghetti-strapped yellow t-shirts, but now she completed her outfit with dark blue jeans or shorts (depending on the temperature) and white sneakers. She also dropped the headband due to her hair, but she kept the earrings.

The most obvious change, though, was that she was now an ally rather than an enemy after Danny Phantom’s head. Sam feared for the worst when Valerie found out her ex boyfriend was the very same ghost she’d vowed to destroy (could she really say she and Danny were exes, though? Sure, they went on a few dates and they genuinely liked each other, but Valerie pseudo-broke up with him right when he was about to ask her to make things official... Ugh, the wonders of the teenaged heart... Always bound to give her a headache. This is why she preferred her Goth indifference...most of the time). As much as they wanted to trust Valerie was going to be sensible about it, her track record wasn’t the best, forcing them to keep an eye out in case she decided to send her more positive opinion of Danny Fenton to Hell and shoot him with her ecto-bazooka.

Thankfully, one day Valerie just sat down with them at lunch, and when Danny tentatively asked her if they were okay, she just smiled and said, “We’re okay.” So they ate lunch in peace...until the Lunch Lady showed up and they had to send her back to the Ghost Zone. At least that time the Red Huntress was there to help them out. Ever since then, the girl sometimes fought alongside them, but for the most part she did her own thing.

And that was something about Valerie that hadn’t changed; her hatred of ghosts. Valerie was still hellbent on getting rid of all the spirits that haunted Amity Park, with half-ghosts being the sole exception ーexcept for Vlad, Valerie held a huge grudge against him for having used her as his pawn; not like the team could complain, they all hated Vlad, after all. And that made her ruthless, determined, brutal… More than once Danny had tried talking her out of her grudge against the paranormal, explaining to her that, albeit not as numerous as the troublemaking ghosts, there were still some that just wanted to be left alone. But Valerie would not budge. She believed all ghosts lacked the humanity and self-control necessary to resist whatever crazy obsession that tied them to our world and would eventually attack.

To Valerie, ghosts were ticking bombs.

Seeing as, so far, most ghosts they faced were malicious or seriously causing trouble, Tucker suggested they just let her be, but the moment she actually targeted an innocent ghost (say, Wulf), then they would have to get serious with her.

All in all, Valerie was their friend. A friend who had agreed to help her train so Danny wouldn’t have to worry so much about her safety when they were out fighting spectres. Not like he really needed to worry, she could take care of herself, but the more prepared they were, the better. And Valerie was helping her with that, and yet, the air still hadn’t been completely cleared between them.

As much as Sam would’ve loved cutting to the chase, a part of her still wasn’t prepared to address the elephant in the room. “Not gonna lie, Valerie, I wiー” she stopped mid-sentence. The last thing they needed was to have Desirée roaming free around Amity Park just because she hadn’t been careful with her words. Clearing her throat, she went on. “I mean, I would do anything for your fighting skills. You must have every ghost shaking in their boots...or whatever they have to shake in.”

As Sam sat down on the floor of her family’s private gym, which Valerie still couldn’t get used to being in, the green-eyed girl made her way to the other side of the room far away from the training tatami, where a middle-sized fridge was located. Pulling the door open, she grabbed two water bottles before going back to Sam. “Yeah, what can I say? I am pretty awesome.”

“And don’t forget modest.” Sam replied sarcastically.

“Girl, when you’re as good as me, you don’t need to pretend to be modest.” She joked as she handed Sam her own water bottle, which she accepted gratefully, before sitting down on the floor next to her. “Believe it or not, though, I became a ninth degree black belt long before I started hunting ghosts.” She looked at the floor, a pensive look on her face, “...we couldn’t have afforded the classes otherwise.”

Sam did her best to suppress the urge to do a spit-take at her words. Valerie almost never brought her financial situation up. The most she used to do was remember Danny why she hated him back when she still was after him, but the topic was dropped altogether once the secret was out. Looking around her ridiculously lavish house, Sam felt like facepalming herself. How could she have been so insensitive as to remind Valerie of the life she lost?!

“Valerie...I-I’m sorry. I should’ve told you to meet up at the park to train, but I…”

“Sam, don’t.” The huntress cut her off with a stern tone. “Don’t apologise. You have nothing to apologise for.”

“But it was insensitive of me toー” Again, she was interrupted by Valerie, who silenced her by raising her palm up in front of her.

“Please, let me talk. You don’t have to apologise for anything because you’ve done nothing wrong. I’ll admit, it’s a bit paradoxical finding out that while I was mourning my losses you’d been hiding the fact that you’re stinking rich all along. But I’m not offended by it. Actually, I think I understand.”

“You do?” The Goth girl asked in disbelief, her eyes wide open.

The African-American girl just shrugged. “I think so. I didn’t realise it until my so-called friends kicked me out of the group, but having money attracts a lot of fakes and shallow people. People who’ll only be there when it’s convenient for them and who’ll throw you away like a used tissue the moment you have nothing else to offer. I know that better than anyone…” When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked up to see Sam smiling kindly at her, doing her best to get out of her comfort zone and offer her some comfort. She returned the smile. “Bottom line: you want real friends, so you never talk about your money ‘cause you don’t want to attract the wrong people. I get it.”

“You really do.”

“And I guess I’m also flattered.”

Sam blinked slowly at her. “Wow, Valerie. It usually takes a lot to take me by surpriseーwith the ghost fighting and allーand yet, here we are!”

The huntress just chuckled softly in response. “What I mean is that I understand that it takes you a lot to let people inーand quite literally tooーbut you still invited me. That means you must trust me, if only a bit.”

Sam couldn’t help but blush at her earnest words. It was true, wasn’t it? She trusted Valerie. She would have never invited her to her house if she didn’t. And, now that she thought about it, Valerie had to trust her too if she was willing to show her vulnerable side to her. Somehow, the thought made her smile. Knowing she would have to bring up uncomfortable topics soon, the violet-eyed girl decided to alleviate some of the tension first. “Well, I’m glad you could at least get your black belt first! Otherwise we would be in for a major asskicking from some ghosts.”

That comment actually made Valerie laugh. “Oh, hush, you flatterer! Or I’ll tell Danny his girlfriend has been hitting on me.” She could only snort when Sam gasped in fake shock. “Seriously, though. I personally would love to be as genre savvy as you are. I mean, you always know what to do or have some obscure knowledge about whatever we’re facing. From the Fright Knight’s legend to how to train your dragon ghost.”

Sam merely shrugged with a lazy grin on her face, “What can I say? Obscure knowledge sort of comes with being a Goth.”

The two girls started snickering after that. As their laughter died down, Valerie noticed Sam’s smile fading from the corner of her eye, concerning her. “Sam? Is everything okay?”

“Valerie...I’m sorry.”

That took her by surprise. After a few seconds of shock, the Red Huntress rolled her eyes good-naturedly before gently nudging her friend with her shoulder. “C’mon, Sam. I told you already. You don’t have to feel sorry for inviting meー.”

This time it was Sam who cut her off. She shook her head. “No. No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“I’m sorry for the way I used to act towards you when we were fourteen,” she admitted before softly adding, “especially when you and Danny were beginning to connect.”

One would think that a semi-professional ghost huntress would have seen it all, and honestly, so did Valerie, but she was genuinely shocked at Sam’s apology. The shock didn't last long, though. “Are you seriously apologising for that? Sam, that was two years ago!”

Of all the things she could be apologising for...She just had to pick that one, didn’t she?

Sam groaned, frustrated and clenching her gym shorts with her hands. “I know it’s been two years, but that doesn’t change that I wasn’t the most pleasant person in the world to you for reasons that weren’t...completely pure.”

“So what?” Valerie insisted. “Neither was I for the longest time! You and Tucker were right when you called me out during Pariah Dark’s attack; how could I expect to be treated like one of the group when I used to be such a brat to you? You still eventually forgave me.” She pointed out.

“You don’t understand…” Sam whined as she rubbed her face with her hands. “While it’s true that part of my animosity towards you came from how you used to treat us, and another good chunk came from your eagerness to vaporise one of my best friends,” the Red Huntress actually had the decency to blush embarrassedly at that, “I really, really disliked you because I was...well, I was jealous. Plain and simple.”

There. She’d said it. After years gritting her teeth and burning with envy whenever Danny and Tucker (mostly because of Danny, obviously) drooled over Paulina or any other pretty girl, she had finally admitted she was mostly jealous instead of simply not understanding what the fuss was about. Hanging out with girls more often, namely Valerie and Jazz, instead of only spending her time with the guys had really helped broaden her horizons. Especially when it came to her opinion on other girls. She was proud to say she was finally moving on from her “not like other girls” phase.

Even if Danny’s crush on Paulina had driven her nuts more than once, it was his budding romance with Valerie that truly pushed all her buttons and caused her deepest insecurities to rear their ugly head. Even if dating her was dangerous, Danny still wanted to be with her! He was willing to throw caution to the wind if it meant they could be a couple. And he was so protective of her when Technus attacked… As much as Sam hated to admit it, as much as she wished (to Hell with Desirée) she could ignore it all and just focus on protecting Danny from being hunted by his new girlfriend, that hurt.

That hurt a lot.

Albeit annoying, Danny’s crush on Paulina was safe. Paulina only liked Danny Phantom. Danny couldn’t really get closer to her as his alter-ego without putting her in danger, and Danny would never put an innocent person in danger. And just like that, Paulina became unattainable. But Valerie…

Valerie liked Danny Fenton. She and Danny often just wanted to have a normal life, away from ghosts and burdens that no 14-year-old kid should shoulder. Even if the Red Huntress wanted to kill Danny Phantom, Valerie genuinely liked Danny Fenton. Despite the danger, she was closer than Paulina. And despite their close bond, she was closer to Danny than Sam herself. Because Valerie wasn’t afraid to admit her feelings, unlike her.

In fact, hadn’t Valerie put her job before her love life, Sam knew without an ounce of a doubt that she and Danny would still be together. Because she had been too afraid to tell Danny how much he meant to her sooner.

Yes, she had been jealous of Valerie.

She had been jealous of the attention she received from Danny. She had been jealous of the fact that they went out on several dates and nothing could embarrass them or ruin their little moment. She was jealous because it would’ve meant things would change.

But most importantly, she was jealous of Valerie’s guts.

And she finally confessed it.

...which made what Valerie said next all the more jaw-dropping.

“Yeah, I know.”

Her jaw hanging low and eyes as wide as saucers, Sam slowly turned her head to look the huntress dead in the eye. “You know?” She asked, completely flabbergasted.

Valerie snorted. She actually snorted at her question! And while Sam was looking at her with the most comically astonished expression on the face of the planet, Valerie just regarded her with a coy smile. “No offence, Sam, but it was kinda hard to miss. I think only Danny wasn’t aware of it.”

Sam had nothing to say in response to that.

“Besides, didn’t I tell you before I even started going out with Danny? When you like someone, if you don’t make a move, somebody else will. What did you think I was referring to other than your feelings, chess?”

“That...is true.” The Goth admitted quietly.

Seeing her usually outspoken friend acting so despondent all of a sudden didn’t sit well with the green-eyed teenager. She sighed, “Look, Sam. I understand that you were...difficult because you were jealous. I can’t deny I once or twice acted petty towards you because I was jealous, myself. But even if I hadn’t decided to just stay friends with Danny, I don’t think we would’ve worked out in the end.”

Not for the first time that day, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last time either, Valerie had taken her completely aback. Furrowing her brow in confusion, Sam insisted, “What are you talking about? You two are the best ghost hunters in Amity Park, you guys would have been the ultimate power couple!”

Leaning back on her elbows, the Red Huntress sent the Goth a smirk, “Ah, but you’re forgetting I would’ve had to know Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom were one and the same first. And I…”, for the first time since their sparring lesson began, Valerie found herself hesitating, “I don’t know how I would’ve taken that.

“Sure, I really, really liked Danny, but I had spent far longer hating his ghost half. Ever since the Cujo-related incidents I blamed him for the turn my life had taken. And even when I was growing fond of Danny Fenton, his actions as Danny Phantom still drove me nuts! I mean, he literally unmasked me right before my dad! He forbade me from ghost hunting until I got that upgrade in my suit. Could I really put all that aside in favour of having a relationship with him?

“That’s why it took me so long to face you guys once I learned the truth; I was trying to make peace with it all. I figured I could learn to forgive Danny, maybe even trust him with my life...but never with my heart again. There were too many imbalances between us for me to be comfortable in a relationship with him...and you guys are honestly better together anyways.” She winked at the ultra-recyclo-vegetarian.

“You really think so?” Sam could feel the heat making its way to her cheeks the moment Valerie nodded at her question. “I-I mean!”, ugh, how she hated stuttering!, “Danny’s always been super important to me...obviously! And we’ve always done our best to be there for each other and have each other’s backs, but there are times when I can’t help but wonder if perhaps we’re just making a mistake and we were better off as friends…” She finished with a defeated sigh.

At the sensation of an arm wrapped around her shoulders, she turned to look at Valerie. “Sam, trust me. This is no mistake. You’re one of the very few people who understand there’s no difference between Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom; they’re both Danny and you’ve always known that and done your best to show him just that. And unlike Paulina or me, even if you hadn’t known his secret from the beginning, I’m willing to bet my right arm that you would’ve accepted both sides of him equally either way.”

At her words, Sam could only smile warmly, “You really think so?”

Valerie returned her smile. “I know so.”

Still replaying Valerie’s words and organising her own thoughts in her head, Sam turned to face her, one hand resting on her lap and the other on Valerie’s shoulder, “For what it’s worth, I still think that after a, very understandable, initial bump in your relationship, you two could’ve made a great couple too. I meant what I said when I told you that, if Danny liked you, then we would only have to make room for you at our table. I can’t think of any girl I would be willing to do that for but you, Val.”

Valerie almost gasped at Sam’s words, but she recovered rather quickly, “Thank you, Sam. That means a lot coming from you.” Resting her own hand on top of the one on her shoulder, she winked mischievously at her, “And don’t worry; I don’t go around stealing my friends’ boyfriends.”

The Goth girl snorted at that. “Glad to hear that.”

They remained like that for a moment, just enjoying the comfortable silence that had settled between them and their secret understanding. They were friends. They had similarities and differences. But that would never change the respect each felt for the other.

Finally, getting up from the floor and dusting herself off, Valerie broke the silence, “Come on, there’s still many moves I haven’t used to kick your butt.”

Sam smirked at the challenge, “Oh, you’re so on!”

................

The Fentons’ Emergency Ops Centre had, ironically, become their safe haven.

Whenever they wanted to enjoy some alone time before they had to part ways or a ghost attack took place, they would simply climb up the roof and enter through the door leading to it. Although Danny could just phase or fly them there if they were really pressed for time, which was their usual way of getting there because they were always pressed for time.

The Ops Centre was really just an excuse to spend some time together, really.

It didn’t matter what they did. Sometimes they would make out because they were a couple and couples made out with each other, didn’t they? Especially when said couple consisted of two hormone-driven teenagers. Maybe if they’d been a pair of octogenarians, the fuss of the relationship would have been elsewhere. Like how incredible it was that they’d survived that long in the first place.

Other times they just talked about nothing and everything at the same time. Sort of like what they usually did, but without Tucker. Sam would often talk about the latest hideous monstrosity their parents had intended she wore ー”Oh, you’re laughing now! But trust me, Undergrowth had much better fashion sense than my parents!”ー, or how rapidly the poles were melting and nobody was doing anything about it, or how her latest poetry reading went ー“Kwan’s getting better, actually. This time he wrote about the new scabs he got during the last game”ー, and how they could defeat the villain of the week who was somehow harder to beat than the previous one because, really, they always got harder to beat.

And Danny would recall his parents’ latest shenanigans, or Jazz’s newest psychological experiment with ghosts that she was sure was going to work because it was just flawless; or he’d warn her about the food in his house ー”I know you don’t eat meat anyways, but don’t open the fridge. The ecto-weenies are back and this time they’ve brought BBQ sauce.” He would also complain about the workload of homework Mr Lancer had assigned them; sometimes because he didn’t think he’d have the time to finish it all, and sometimes he just didn’t know where to start because what the Heck is irony anyway? Didn’t anyone realise that what they often called irony was actually more of a paradox? How could they be teaching something wrong in English class?! And, sometimes, in those rare moments where Danny finally realised, only to forget his lesson all over again the next day, that he could count on her, Tucker, Jazz, Val ーand his loved ones, damn it!ー and confide his deepest secrets, he would open up about how being Danny Phantom was taking its toll on him. How being famous was more often than not more suffocating than flattering. How he was getting tired that his enemies only ever came back, or became stronger, or multiplied. How he feared, no, how he felt it was never going to end until he was 100% dead and not just 50%... He even still had trouble understanding what truly happened to him the day of the accident.

And maybe they just would never know.

And then, there were days like today. Days where they would just stay in silence, watching Amity Park since the makeshift observatory his zany but genius parents had built all on their own. Because, sometimes, watching the sunset in silence with that special someone was just enough.

While Danny leaned against the railing, Sam was sitting on top of it, enjoying the soft breeze blowing around her and caressing her skin. “Today I trained with Valerie.”

Perking up at the sound of her voice suddenly breaking the silence, Danny turned his head slightly in her direction. “Oh?” He let out, “How did it go?”

“I managed to last a full five minutes and land a few serious hits myself.” She stated proudly.

The ghost boy whistled appreciatively, “Five full minutes! Now that’s impressive.” He sent her a sly look and a smirk, his admiration turning into amusement, “And how many hits did you cushion?”

Curling her lip in annoyance, Sam muttered, “The fact that I’m even sitting here is a miracle in itself.”

That had Danny snickering like crazy, before a sharp pain in his arm stopped him, “Ow!”

To his surprise, instead of a smug Sam as he expected, he found his girlfriend gingerly rubbing her arm, a pained expression on her face. “Okay,” she panted, “that was so not worth it.”

“Here, let me help.” Gently resting his fingers on her arm, he used his ice powers to send a chilly sensation across her limb, effectively alleviating the pain. “Anything else I should know about? Did the training turn into a battle to the death?”

“Actually, we talked things out and we finally buried the hatchet.” She said seriously.

Danny furrowed the brow in confusion. “Uh, Sam? I was kidding. And I thought you already did that when she found out the truth about my powers.”

Chuckling softly, Sam could only roll her eyes with a smile on her face as she leaned close to leave a tender kiss on his lips before whispering, “Clueless.”

#Danny Phantom #dp #dp fic #dp fanfic #sam manson #valerie gray #danny fenton #tucker foley #jazz fenton #jack fenton #maddie fenton #paulina sanchez #vlad masters #vlad plasmius #most characters are just mentioned though #amethyst ocean #danny/sam #my fic

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theyreonlynoodlesmike · 4 years ago

Text

Melting Wax, Crawling Vines: Part 5 (Vincent Sinclair x Fem!Reader)

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Warnings: cursing, slight voyeurism

Word Count: 2734

@meanduck

Vincent hadn't meant to spy. He didn't know when everyone was coming back, or if any of them were currently even at the house. Sure, Lester had told him that the three of you were leaving town, but he'd been disconnected from his brothers the second you had arrived. He only wandered inside the house because he wanted to see if the three of you were even back yet, and he was surprised to hear muffled voices coming from his room.

In his surprise, he'd managed to step on one of the floorboards that always creaked. He winced to himself, even if he doubted that the pair of you heard it. He took a step forward, pushing a painting slightly aside and glancing through a hole in the wall that only he knew about.

There, inside his old room, was Lester and you. He couldn't make much out, but he could see his bed. He saw your suitcase and the box, and it didn't take long for him to piece together what was going on. She's staying in my room , he thought to himself. He knew he shouldn't have expected much else. Bo wouldn't give up his room, even if he slept in the basement under the auto-shop half the time. Lester wouldn't give up his room because, while he had a whole other place to stay, his stuff had filled it to the brim. So, it was either his room or their parents room, and Vincent knew it was an obvious choice.

He didn't stay long, and, in fact, left the second his younger brother eluded to knowing that he was there. He didn't really mind that you were taking his room, as he didn't see it as much of a loss. He spent most of his time in his workshop anyways, which did have a bed already in it. The only thing he hoped was that you didn't find the supplies he'd shoved under his bed.

***

You had woken up late, and the sun was high above the horizon by the time you peeled open your eyes. You rubbed your eyes, trying to clear them of any bleariness as you reached towards the bedside table for your watch. It was early afternoon, and you groaned. Your first impulsive thought was that you were going to have to fix your sleep schedule before school started, but you stopped that thought dead in your tracks. You weren't sure where you'd be teaching this year. You couldn't teach back at home, and you'd have to tell your new town that you could no longer accept the position. At least, until your ex was apprehended. You sighed, moving to press your face flat against the pillow.

You'd stayed up past midnight, planning and prepping for the next night. You knew that you probably didn't need to, that the boys might not have super high expectations for classes. It was more to distract you from any potential thoughts about your ex, to distract you from the creeping anxiety and potential nightmares. Thankfully, you'd fallen into a blissfully dreamless sleep, one void of images of your ex or your sister. You blamed the new town, maybe even the new room. It wasn't your own, and it didn't resemble anything close to where you'd lived. The complete change in scenery probably had something to do with it. You picked at the blankets, wondering if that had anything to do with it either. Your old set had been one that had been brought with you, from the house you'd shared with your ex and your childhood home turned into your sister's home. Perhaps the bad dreams had been clinging to your sheets, like ghosts. You played with the thought, wondering if Vincent had any bad dreams attached to sheets you were under.

You shook your head. You'd been thinking about the mysterious figure far too much. You knew it was just curiosity, but you couldn't wait to meet him if not to just expel the way your mind consistently went back to him. You got out of bed, grabbing a pair of socks to wear so your feet wouldn't freeze on the wooden floor. You looked outside the window, seeing that Lesters car was gone. You guessed that Bo would be down at the auto shop, and you didn't know if Vincent even really lived in the house. So, you guessed you'd have it completely to yourself.

You saw no reason to change, and you walked down to the first floor in just your sleep shirt and a pair of pajama shorts. You figured, worst case scenario, you'd end up having pizza for breakfast. If there was any left. You went straight to the kitchen, your footsteps silent as you approached, and you nearly jumped when you saw a figure at the sink. His back was turned to you, but you quickly guessed that this had to be Vincent.

He was as tall as Bo, if not a few inches taller. His hair was long and dark, and it looked almost as thought it had a few pieces of wax caught in it. He was wearing a sweater and overalls, despite the Louisiana weather. You couldn't imagine how he could withstand it, especially with working with hot wax all day. Eventually, you cleared your throat so you wouldn't sneak up on him.

You had leaned against the doorway to the kitchen, pressing your shoulder against it as you watched him jump. He dropped his bowl, and he was quick to turn to find the source of the noise. Like Bo had described, he was wearing a mask. You gave him a smile and a wave, knowing not to expect much of a response from him. At least, until you began to teach him some signs.

"Hi," You started, before giving him your name and walking closer. "You must be Vincent, right?" And you watched how he awkwardly swayed for a moment. He had turned so his hip was leaning against the counter, and, despite his size, he almost looked like a caged animal. Ready to run at the first sign of an opening. You walked until you were only a few steps in front of him, and you watched how he gave you a small nod. Your smile widened, and you held out your hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm excited for our first class tonight." You added, and you nearly thought he was going to leave you hanging.

After a long moment and a slightly too long of a silent pause, Vincent reached out to wrap his hand around your own. It was large and covered in wax in some spots, same as the front of his overalls. It seemed he'd just come from wherever he worked, and you supposed his hours were just as off as yours were. But, despite the spots of wax, his hands were warm and soft, and he only gave your hand a soft squeeze before he was dropping it. You tried to suppress your smile, as you guessed that Bo had been right. He really was shy, but you couldn't help but find it endearing.

"So, I'm guessing Bo and Lester went out?" You asked, and there was a shorter pause between his nod. You had moved, walked so you could stand a few steps besides him near the counter. So you felt less like you were trapping him against a wall. His gaze has followed you, and you could see a single blue eye peering out from the mask. Bo had been vague about the description of what lied underneath, but you also supposed that it was simply none of your business. Still, the way his eye stared at you, almost unblinking, realized how casually you were dressed for your first meeting. Subconsciously, you pulled up your shirt. "Do you guys happen to have anything to eat? Any coffee? I don't mean to ask for much, and I can always head to town…" You trailed off, watching as Vincent quickly sprung to action. He had to step closer, reach above you to open the cabinet and point towards the cereals on the lower shelf. He gestured to them, and you were able to guess his answer. Help yourself. And you watched as he turned his attention to a coffee maker. His movements were careful and deliberate, and as you looked around, you saw the kitchen was about as clean as you could expect it to be.

Vincent started a pot of coffee for you, simply because you were unfamiliar with their machine. You picked out a box of cereal, and Vincent was quick to show you where the bowls were. Despite showing you, he still reached to grab you one and then passed you a spoon. Thankfully, he didn't hover and let you pour your own cereal, and you gave him a smile and a quick thank you when he pulled out a carton of milk for you. He resumed his spot next to the coffee maker, hovering by it while you fixed your cereal. You could feel his stare glide over to you, but you kept your smile to yourself as you mixed the milk and the cereal before popping a spoonful into your mouth. It was, at least, breakfast related, so it was better than the alternative. Vincent tapped his fingers lightly against the counter as the coffee started, and you saw that his gaze flicked away from you the second you looked up at him. You did your best not to smile, and quickly had another spoonful of cereal to hide it. You saw that Vincent had pulled out two mugs, so you guessed that he was having one himself. When it was finished, he poured himself a cup and passed you the sugar. He let you fix your coffee how you liked it, and he placed the coffee pot back inside the maker to keep it warm. Once you were done, you helped him put everything back.

"So, I guess I'll see you tonight?" You asked, taking your bowl to the small table stuck just outside the kitchen. He gave you another nod, and you watched as he took his cup of coffee past the stairs. You figured his workshop was up there as you began to eat, idly thinking about what you were going to spend your time doing that day. Once you finished up, you washed both your bowl and your mug, setting them aside in the dish drainer, and went upstairs to change. It was still early afternoon, and you figured you could find Bo before you could find Lester. Luckily, your new room had a bathroom attached to it, so you didn't have to scour the place looking for a shower.

You grabbed your toiletry bag from your back-pack, and fiddled with the shower for a moment until the water was to your liking. You took a quick shower after locking the door behind you, scrubbing off a days worth of sweat and any of the paranoia that lingered from the day before. Once you were showered, your teeth were brushed, and you were changed, you went down to find Bo.

The walk was short and the sun was hot, the sky as clear as usual. You could already hear music playing from inside the shop, so you didn't figure Bo would be able to hear the bell of the door ring. You knocked against the open door to the garage, trying to catch Bo's attention from where he was ducked under your hood. He didn't look up, so you called,

"Bo!" And you startled him to the point where he knocked his head against the hood. You gasped, covering your mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry! You just didn't near me knock, so I-" You said, but he was taking off his cap to rub the back of his head and shouting,

"Fuck- Just turn down the music!" He cut you off with his words, and you were quick to whip around and turn it down. You heard him sigh and curse to himself, and you repeated a soft,

"I'm sorry." As you came back to the door of the garage. "I just- I just wanted to check-" But he was cutting you off again and saying,

"It's fine, it's fine. I just couldn't hear you. So, you're finally up, huh?" And you didn't know if the statement was supposed to have a bit of bite in it or if you were just imagining it. You supposed his annoyance was warranted, as he had just hit his head. Still, you bit your lip and quickly thumbed back towards the entrance.

"If you're busy, I can just- I can go explore. Walk around. Maybe pick some stuff up from the store if you need anything." But Bo was quick to say,

"No, no. I could actually use a hand here. Another set of eyes." He said, and you almost didn't note how quick he was to shut that idea down despite his previous annoyance at your arrival. Almost. You thought it was strange, and realized that this was the second time that your idea to explore the town had been shut down. Vincent's had been softer, but this one struck you.

But he was beckoning you forward, and you were stepping closer and into the garage anyways. You didn't know nearly as much as Bo did, and it seemed more like he was trying to test your knowledge more than anything. You ended up mostly passing him tools and holding a flashlight for him, and when you asked,

"So, any idea what's wrong with it?" Bo's reply made little sense to you.

"Could be your battery. Your spark plugs. Hell, might even be your engine. Basically, I'm surprised you made it this far with this thing." You simply nodded and tried not to grimace, and you thought you caught the edge of a smile on his face as he turned back towards the vehicle. The only thing you knew was that this was starting to sound expensive, and like it was going to take awhile. After an hour, you asked him,

"Do you mind if I use your phone again? I just wanna let my local sheriff know about what happened." And Bo seemed to hesitate for a moment before he said,

"You gonna faint again?" And you gave him a soft laugh and a shake of your head. "Alright. But remember, it's probably best not to tell anyone where you are." He said, and you gave him a dutiful nod. You pulled yourself off the stool you'd been sitting on, and went to grab his phone. You dialed the home phone number of your local sheriff, and, after telling him everything, he agreed with Bo.

"He's probably right. We don't know how he found you, but stay where you are and don't tell anyone, alright? We'll find him, don't worry." After a moment of hesitation, he asked, "You sure who you're staying with are good people?" And you were quick to say,

"Yeah, I'm sure. They've been real nice to me." You told him, and it seemed as if the sheriff had something else he wanted to say, but decided against it.

"Alright, darlin'. Stay put and stay safe, y'hear? Call back at the end of the week for an update." And you agreed before wishing him goodbye. When you plopped yourself back onto the stool Bo had pulled aside for you, he turned to give you a grin before nodding back at the flashlight. You said a quick, "Oh," And went back to shining it where Bo needed you to. You'd been there for a couple of hours when Lester came by, and you quickly found that that's what the pair of you had been waiting for.

The three of you went back up to the house, ready to start your first lesson. You went upstairs to grab your folder for the first class, finding that Bo had disappeared into one of the rooms. When he returned, he wasn't alone. You set up at the table besides the kitchen, and Bo and Lester took the seats across from you. Leaving Vincent to take the seat besides you. He seemed hesitant, but sat down nonetheless. Finally, you opened your folder to begin.

#house of wax #house of wax 2005 #bo sinclair #vincent sinclair #vincent sinclair x reader #lester sinclair

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crashbandicunttt · 4 years ago

Text

So, I wrote this Borra smut fanfiction upon no one’s behest. lmao. I just love Bolin so much and thought if the writers paired him canonically with Korra, I imagine their energy would be just chaotic in a good way. Plus, that Borra date montage just really has me in a chokehold, especially the way Bolin looks at Korra. let me die.

FIRST

A Bolin x Korra smut fanfiction.

E rating.

Set in a mix of the LoK universe and the modern world. There’s enough context in the story though, I think. You don’t need that much context though, this story is just mostly horny.

“So.” Bolin said, half chuckling.

“So.” Korra responded in a small voice.

They stayed that way for a little while longer, under the cover together but never touching.

And to think everything seemed to start off relatively easy.

—

The agreement was simple and straightforward, a pact made when Korra was thirteen and Bolin was fourteen: if neither of them gets laid by the time they are eighteen, then they would rather lose their virginities to each other. At the time Bolin admitted it was not his brightest moment. After all, it was at age ten that Bolin first discovered Korra was not only the girl he wanted to hang out with all day during the weekends, but that he wanted to be beside her all the time. He realized he wanted to be with her long before the pact was made.

If he remembered correctly, the pact was made clumsily and in response to an encounter they should have probably not experienced.

It was a fateful winter night when the pact was formed. Bolin’s large extended family was home for the holidays, and being that their family was large, every holiday saw their house filled to the brim with people. Bolin beamed with joy, completely in his element interacting with each and every member of his family. Unlike Mako, Bolin was less sullen and enjoyed the company of many as much as he enjoyed the company of his own brother.

Or Korra, it seemed, who he finally spotted standing with her back flush against the wall closest to the basement door, holding a cup of water in her hand that she was so intently watching. Bolin excused himself to stroll closer to her, ignoring the way his heart pounded so much louder whenever he was around her.

There was no reason she had to know.

Holding his cup in his own hand, he waited for her to look up at him and the way she instantly smiled just made him feel all sorts of warm and… funny inside. Only when he got older would he realize what that was, but at the time, he labelled that feeling ‘funny,’ an emotion that made him grin at her.

She grinned back. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he responded, clinking his cup against hers, to which she obliged happily. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. It’s just a lot of people. And I only really know you. And Mako. And your grandmother.”

That she did, and no matter how many times Bolin introduced her, she seemed to forget them. Bolin supposed that was just the thing about big families. Now, enough movies told him that whisking a girl away to somewhere nice in the middle of a party was the way to go. Only there were no ‘nice’ places in their household, and the cold winter night outside limited their options severely. So Bolin turned to the next best thing: the basement.

It made sense that Korra would stand in the proximity of the room they hung out in the most. Every Friday like clockwork since they were old enough to understand how to operate the DVD player, Bolin and Korra would sit on the couch in the basement and watch a movie together. Sometimes Mako would join them, but as he grew older, he remained in his room for longer periods and joined Friday basement movie nights only sparingly.

This time, Mako was bustling about helping their grandmother tend to the guests. Bolin and Korra snuck away to the basement with ease, and when Korra flopped down onto the sofa, she seemed to sigh in relief for the first time all night. Bolin hid a careful smile as he turned to the DVD player. A disk case of their favourite movie sat on top of the DVD player. Bolin figured if there was something that could help Korra’s nervous energy abate, it would be watching something familiar.

Only, when he sat down and pressed the remote so the disk would be fed into the slot, something completely different materialized on the screen. It was… not their favourite movie, that was for sure. In fact, it didn’t even seem very appropriate at all. Bolin and Korra looked at each other but neither made a move to pop open the DVD player, go back upstairs, and forget this ever happened. Perhaps it was pubescent curiosity that made them stay seated where they were, staring intently at the unfolding events on screen until it finished. Both of them had questions in mind that they did not have the courage to ask each other just yet. Not now that Bolin’s shirt felt too tight and his skin too hot, not now that Korra’s hair seemed to lay much too flat on her forehead, sticking down due to the light sheen of sweat.

“Uhm,” Bolin awkwardly broke the heavy silence first. “So, that was a different, uhm, movie.”

“That was… Bo, I don’t think that was a movie.”

“Y-yes it is,” Bolin responded with nervous laughter, tugging at his collar. “Didn’t you see the actors?”

Korra’s look was puzzled, but she didn’t say anything for a long time after that, and neither did Bolin. The party upstairs continued merrily, and soon, thankfully, Bolin’s body temperature dropped and his shirt no longer felt three sizes too small.

Well, until Korra decided to attack the awkwardness by saying: “I’m pretty sure that was sex.”

Bolin couldn’t help but agree. He knew Korra well enough to sense that this specific tone of her voice brokered no argument. Which meant they were venturing into uncharted territory and he had to be careful not to show any signs that, well, he would rather not have this conversation with her because, well, it was simply too awkward to talk about something so intimate in such a casual manner with the person he liked so much.

He gulped. “Yes. I think so, yes.”

Korra looked thoughtful, her gaze back in her cup of water again. “What do you think it feels like?”

“Wh—what?”

“Sex,” she asked, unyielding blue eyes now trained at him. Too tight. Tomorrow, he will burn this shirt.

“I don’t know.”

“Should it feel bad?” Korra tilted her head.

Something told Bolin it shouldn’t, but he had the same question in his head while they were watching the video. “I don’t think so,” he said. Of this, at least, he felt sure. He and Mako may not have any parents anymore but he was vaguely aware two people in love also engaged in… well, sex, and that their love meant sex was supposed to feel good. With a full blown blush, he told Korra as much, and she took his information like it was nothing but plain fact rather than fuel to an increasingly uncomfortable conversation. For Bolin, of course, who had never had this conversation with a girl before. With some of his guy friends at school, sure, but never with a girl, much less Korra.

He drank from his cup as he watched Korra think from the corner of his eyes. Finally, she blinked up at him.

“You think that will hurt me?” She asked. Bolin choked on his water. Korra was quick to pat his back, which only made it worse.

“I— uhm,” he cleared his throat. “I don’t know.”

“You think it will hurt you?” She followed up, unfazed by his discomfort. Spirits, this is the first time he actually regretted going to the basement. It wasn’t supposed to end up like this. He just wanted Korra to feel a little less overwhelmed so that when she goes back up with him to the party, it’ll be easier for her to interact with everyone else.

“I— I hope not.” He finally croaked out, thumping his chest lightly with his balled fist, willing the discomfort in his throat to melt away. It didn’t, especially not when Korra’s resolute eyes trained on him. This time, he knew a decision was going to follow it and he didn’t exactly know if it would be a good one. He hoped it would be good because Korra sticks to things she wants to do with a fiery passion.

Korra crossed her legs on the couch and set her cup down on the floor.

“You said that sex was something that two people who loved each other did.” She explained, almost to herself. “But in the video, they didn’t seem to be happy doing it.”

“Yeah?” Bolin said, setting his own cup down and rubbing his throat from all the coughing.

“Does that mean she didn’t love him?”

This conversation was so weird. Bolin had such a vague idea of sex that every question Korra threw at him felt like a trap. Granted, he was one year older than Korra and thus felt like he knew about this whole thing more than her, but he felt like it was still not his place to talk about these things with her. After all, she had her parents.. But the cat was already out of the bag and there didn’t seem to be a way he was going to get Korra to think about anything else until this was finished.

“I don’t know many things about that but… I guess maybe, they’re not doing it for love.”

“Why not?”

“I think because maybe… maybe it doesn’t matter if they love each other.” This was horrible. If only it weren’t so cold outside then maybe he could bend himself a little rock house and promptly die in it.

“So they’re just having sex?”

Bolin shrugged, trying to be dismissive about it. “I think so.”

“Well,” Korra said after a while. “I thought of something.”

“Okay?”

“Obviously, when I grow up, I’ll be doing that.”

Bolin winced, feeling entirely responsible for the blunder. She was only a year younger than him and yet he already felt like he’d violated her, even though they didn’t really expect porn to be tonight’s movie.

“And,” Korra started again, a small smile gracing her lips for the first time since this whole thing started. “Since I already love you, maybe you can be the first person I do that with!”

Since I already love you.

He knew she just meant the friendly type of love, he knew this. He did. But it felt so nice, so warm in his heart when she said that, her sincerity clear in her eyes. It was just the other half of her statement that made him blink in disbelief.

“You want to… what? With— with me?” He asked while placing a hand on his chest. “M—me?”

“Yeah.” Her smile was blinding, like she hadn’t just said something that started to fry Bolin’s pubescent brain in a hot oil bath of dangerous teenage boy curiosity.

“Well,” he grappled for an excuse and found one just as quickly. “We can’t, though, because we’re not old enough.”

Korra considered this, eventually nodding. “Eighteen, then.”

Bolin gulped. “Eighteen? What do you mean?” Lie, he berated himself. He knew exactly what that meant. And from the looks of it, so did she.

“We wait until we’re eighteen and then we do it. If we don’t find anyone else to do it with by then.”

And this was when his famous mistake began: he’d agreed.

He was so sure she’d forget, so sure she’d eventually turn 19 and only think about the time they popped in a porno into the DVD player by accident as something to laugh about as she went on with her life. Thinking this, Bolin had felt it safe to agree with her request. And so, the pact was made.

Bolin and Korra would lose their virginities to each other if they don’t find any other partner by the time they reach 18.

—

And like almost every promise she made, she made good on this one, too, showing up at his dorm room door a week after her birthday, after she’d moved into the same school he did for college.

Fuck, he thought as he let her enter his dorm room. His roommate was out for the night for his weekly DnD habit.

He sighed. Just his luck, then.

As he closed the door, Korra bounded up to him in a great hug, and Bolin caught her, encircling his thick arms around her. When she pulled away, she punched his arm.

“Ow, Korra!” He admonished, rubbing the spot. “When did you get such a mean right hook?”

“Training to be the Avatar, of course! I also came because I promised I would beat you in an arm-wrestling match one day, didn’t I? Prepare to be defeated!” She exclaimed, before Bolin moved to hush her on account of the other sleeping students on the floor. Korra apologized in an instant, smiling sheepishly at her antics.

There was that funny feeling in the pit of Bolin’s stomach again. And it just intensified when she settled on his single bed, deftly taking off her boots and kicking it to the side. She spotted a folding table off to the side, leaning beside the window. She pulled it close, placing it in front of Bolin’s bed before pointing to a spare chair near the door that was piled high with laundry.

“Come on, pull that seat over here and fight me like a man!” She said, sending Bolin laughing.

“You’re on, lady! I’ll show you what a man looks like!” He retorted, speaking loud enough for effect but quiet enough so as not to disturb everyone else on the floor.

This was good. Good. She came here for a different promise. He might just be able to get out of this. With a flourish, he sat down on his seat and flexed his arm, placing his elbow on the table in preparation for their battle. Realizing he had been topless all this time, he felt a little subconscious, looking at Korra and then scooching his seat just a little close to his bed so he could reach for his tank.

Korra waved her hand dismissively. “Hey, Bo, relax, it’s just me.”

“Oh, okay,” he retreated to his seat, positioning his arm on the table. “Let’s go, little lady,” he said, grinning when she fit her hand easily into his own. Bolin reminded himself that this was an arm-wrestling rematch and willed himself not to dwell on the thought that her hand in his just felt so… perfect. So, so perfect.

Soon, she was exerting effort into her hand, her teeth gritted as she pushed against Bolin’s grip.

“Not to brag but I was born to have a tighter grip, Korra. It’s an earthbender thing.”

Korra scoffed. “No it’s not, and that’s definitely a brag. Don’t forget I’m the Avatar.”

Bolin laughed, and it felt just like old times. “You still weren’t born an earthbender, unfortunately. But fortunately, our established friendship means you can request for me to go easy on you. See that? I used unfortunately and fortunately together. Neat, huh?”

“Ha! No way, Bo! I didn’t practice all that time for nothing,” she responded, and Bolin was surprised to find his hand was actually giving.

“Okay, whoa,” he said, unable to help it. “Okay, that’s impressive. But not more than this!”

With the strength of the right half of his body, he pressed tighter against her hand, determined to give her the fight she deserved. A light sheen of sweat beaded on her brow and it was more alarmingly… attractive than it needed to be. Korra’s hand started to give this time, but with a tight groan, she was able to summon up enough strength to slam Bolin’s hand in defeat.

“Ah, what! No fair! Did you go into the Avatar State just then? That’s illegal, you know.” Bolin protested, comically crossing his arms. Korra’s eyes flitted to his bunched biceps just then, and unbidden, Bolin arched a curious brow. Interesting.

“No, I didn’t,” Korra coughed into her hand before momentarily turning her head to look around the room.

He’ll let that slide. For now. “I could have sworn I saw some glowing! Explain yourself!” He protested, proceeding as normal.

“I have nothing to explain!” She replied, standing up abruptly. They stared at each other, squinting for only a split second and for a split second, Bolin thought she was going to storm out out of embarrassment. Luckily, they’d just ended up laughing together. Korra closed the distance between them to hug him again, and Bolin was all too happy to return her tight embrace.

“It’s so nice to see you, Bo. I really missed you!”

“No, I missed you!” Bolin said, pouting at her. She poked at his cheek intending to kiss it when just at that moment, Bolin turned his head.

The kiss landed on his lip.

A million thoughts rushed through Bolin’s brain in that moment, the most prominent being ‘put as much distance between you and Korra,’ and ‘never let her go.’ It didn’t help that these two thoughts fought each other in his head, rendering him immobile after the soft smack of her lips. It was a tiny thing, he barely tasted her, but his body singed for more. And it did this so because it also knew what day it was, how old they both were.

It knew of the pact.

Bolin swallowed; Korra caught it. Eventually, they broke apart, both feeling flustered. Bolin resolved to find solace away from his room, which now felt entirely stuffy.

“I— uh, need to get something, uh, outside. You can, uh, stay here!” Bolin swung the door open hastily, but stopped when Korra said, “Wait.”

Don’t fight it, you’ve always loved her, his heart screamed at him. But his brain told him this wasn’t what he had in mind. Korra deserved to be worshipped in, maybe, silken sheets or something, not in his cramped dorm room.

“Bolin, please look at me.” She pleaded, and when Bolin turned back to look at her, he wished he wasn’t wearing gray sweats to bed tonight. He could hide nothing in the thing.

Desperate for a distraction, Bolin thought about many other things. All the things, if it meant he could calm down his wildly beating heart in front of her. He stood stock still, shoulders tensed and hunched inward.

“You know why I came here, don’t you?” She asked, stepping slowly towards him and just when Bolin thought she was too close, she reached behind him to close the door. The lamp was usually enough light for him, but with her here, it seemed to shrink back at her brilliance.

Bolin closed his eyes, worried that if he doesn’t, he might just lose himself staring into her eyes. So close. What was only seconds felt like ages before Bolin felt Korra’s careful breath against his cheek. So close. He resisted the urge to bite his lip.

With a shaky smile, he quipped, “H— hi, Korra. It feels so nice to be close friends with you.” How he could still manage a joke right now is beyond him, especially when earlier they had already accidentally kissed and even that nearly sent him into cardiac arrest. Korra’s hushed laughter at the joke made his shoulders relax just a little, before her next words made him tense up anew.

“Can I kiss you?”

Bolin’s been hit by a heavy rock to the chest before, but all his training built up his resistance over time. But this… this was a hit to his heart. His breath hitched, unbidden, and he braved one eye open to look at… exactly how close she was. Much too close.

“Korra, I—“

“Can I at least touch you?”

“Korra—“

She reached tentative fingers into his jet black hair, and the small shiver that shot down his spine made his mouth run dry. That was just a hair-touch! His body is betraying him! She’ll definitely see the effect she has on him if she just looked down. Please don’t look down. Please don’t look down.

“Is this okay?”

“Y-yes,” His mind screamed. But then Korra stopped touching his hair.

“Yeah?” She asked.

Bolin brought up a hand tentatively just to facepalm. “I— I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

“Yes you did.”

“I’m such an idiot,” he mumbled.

“You are,” she agreed.

Bolin raised a brow at her. “Hey!”

Korra chuckled, which served to take away some more of the tight tension in his body. He was still on guard, though, making small steps backward to put some distance between them. But Korra easily caught on to what he was doing. She inhaled deeply and steeled her face into an unreadable expression. Oh no, no.

“If you didn’t want me to be here then maybe you should have just told me! God, I feel like an idiot!” She groaned, shoving past him to get to the door. No, no, Bolin thought. He has to fix this.

“Korra wait—!” He exclaimed, wrapping his fingers around her wrist just before she reached the doorknob.

“What?” She snapped, and when she whirled her head towards him, he saw her eyes were watering. Oh, Korra.

“I— can we just talk about it first? Yeah?”

“What’s there to talk about?! When you obviously don’t want me here!”

“Korra, listen— just listen to me.” He pleaded, ignoring his brain’s call to be careful when touching her. That was always a slippery slope. Especially now when they’re in a room together, about to discuss a five-year-old pact Korra never forgot about. “Come here.” He said, loosening his grip on her wrist and holding her hand. He tugged her closer to his bed and settled on the floor in front of her when she finally sat down on his covers.

Bolin took a deep breath. “First of all, I missed you, too, in case that part wasn’t clear. What with all the… you know, this going on. Heh. And second of all, well, I didn’t really…”

Oh man. This was so hard. Korra stared at him, waiting for his answer.

Bolin cleared his throat, scratching the back of his head and shifting his gaze away. “I didn’t really want our first time to be just here. In my dorm room. You deserve something special, you know! It’s just all a surprise, is all.”

A beat. “So you do want to have sex with me?”

Oh.

Well. He walked into that one.

Bolin swallowed and his answer came in a squeak. “Y—yes.”

Korra bit her lip and it took everything in Bolin’s body not to physically react to that. He remembered the accidental smack from earlier, how soft her lips were.

“I don’t really care where we are.” She finally said, settling on the floor, too, in the space between him and the bed. “As long as I’m with you.”

Fuck. “T—thank you, Korra. I appreciate that.”

“So… do you want to do it?” She pressed, moving an inch closer on her hands and knees. This time it was his turn to bite his lip.

He turned the offer around in his head, willing his heart and… nether regions to calm down. If he did this, there was no going back. Something would change and it will never be the same between them. What he couldn’t figure out was whether or not that was a bad thing.

He finally looked at her, really looked at her. “I’m not going to wiggle out of this one, aren’t I?”

“Unfortunately, no,” she said with a cheeky grin.

Sighing, he replied. “Alright, then, oh Miss Avatar, I am your willing participant. But please, do come back to bed. It’s much more comfy there.”

Korra smiled a bright smile, happily settling on his bed. He followed after her, all too aware of her proximity now. She didn’t seem to be as nervous as he was, which made sense to him because even though he knew she didn’t expect him to, he had already put himself under the pressure of making this feel good for her.

“Alright so what now?” She enquired, bright blue eyes glinting with mischief and… something else. Bolin tried to think. One of them had to be level-headed around here, which was rapidly becoming hard to do when his body was already heating up at the prospect of the pact.

He stretched his legs out and patted his lap. “Sit on me.” He said, and the resulting flush on Korra’s face made him swallow. Doing great so far, Bolin, doing great.

She followed his command, sitting just a hair’s breadth away from where he was already at half-mast. Bolin tentatively put his hands on either side of her thighs, silent watchful stare asking for her permission. She placed two hands on his shoulder before nodding, prompting Bolin to slide her closer and fit her against his chest so she was sitting directly on top of his groin. His next exhales became hotter, as he pressed his forehead against her chin. She too was affected by his closeness, her thighs clenching ever so slightly, almost imperceptible.

“Korra, if we do this, I want you to tell me exactly when I’m making you feel uncomfortable, okay? If you tell me to stop, I will, immediately.” He assured, absently drawing circles on her thighs. She nodded, adjusting herself on his lap. He hissed when she did and she looked at him in a panic.

“Oh, no. Are you okay?”

With his voice strained, he replied, “I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s just I’m very hard right now.”

They both fell silent enough that they could hear each other breathe. Slowly, tentatively, Bolin saw Korra move her hips again, grinding down his erection. His grip on her thigh tightened as he groaned. “Korra.”

“Yes?” But she kept going, slowly and then with more confidence, causing Bolin’s breath to escape him in hot bursts against her neck.

“Korra— s—slow down,” he pleaded in jagged breaths. He wanted this so bad but it was moving too fast. He placed his hand on her hips so he could manually stop her and Korra gave a whimper when he did. The sound made his cock twitch. He took a deep breath to steady himself before looking up at her face. She was flushed, no doubt the same way he was. He wanted this to last a bit longer, a bit more. If this was going to be just the fulfillment of a pact and nothing else then he was going to draw it out and worship her and then burn this memory in his mind if this was the first and last time he was going to do this.

“Okay, just an update,” he said, breathing labored. “So, I’m hard as a rock under there and you’re… much more, uh, willing than I thought you were going to be. You know, for a virgin.”

Korra crossed her arms, shooting him a challenging glare. “For a virgin.”

“For a virg— yes. That’s not a bad thing, though! It’s just— I want to make this feel good for you. You deserve it.” If his voice quieted at that last sentence, he didn’t notice. He smoothed his hands up to the small of her back, pressing a thumb against the part of her waist he knew was ticklish. A bubble of laughter escaped her lips and before he knew it, she was kissing him.

Korra.

Korra was kissing him.

It was messy. She was inexperienced after all. But so was he. So it was a strange mix of wet, slippery, and teethy but neither of them cared. They just kept kissing until it felt right, and after Bolin found tilting his head a little was easier for both of them, he continued to kiss her fervently. Her arms snaked back around his neck as her chest pressed close to his. He groaned at the contact, pushing his tongue past the seam of her lips to taste her. She’d had something to drink before coming here, something fruity. Bolin smiled against her lips, savoring the taste and feel of her. Soon, she was grinding down his cock again, breaking apart for air and throwing her head back when Bolin latched onto her neck to mark her with fiery hot kisses.

“Bolin,” she sighed to the room and he pulled her closer at the sound.

Maybe he’d died. That’s right; he’d died and even in heaven was tormented by the delicious feeling of having Korra so close, tasting her, feeling her, loving her. That last part he didn’t think he’d say but it was there. He did love her. Even before all this began. He still loves her.

She shuddered when he started suckling on the skin of her neck, urged by a need to mark her in some way. To put something on her body that reminded them both what had transpired here. His wandering hands reached underneath her tight blue tank, the one she loved to wear so much ever since she grew those muscles he loved so much. He pressed his mouth on top of her tank where he knew underneath sat her breasts and she trembled some more, moaning in heated pants. Bolin smoothed his hands up her back, making sure to touch her feverish skin as he peeled the tank off of her and let go of her clothed breasts. He chucked it somewhere in the room, forgotten momentarily, to pay attention to her sarashi wraps next, the only barrier between him and his prize.

Korra was looked almost shy as he drank the sight of her, topless, and he knew this was because she had not been naked with anyone before. Bolin’s heart swelled at the thought of being the first to see her like this, his forever best friend and the now, as ever, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

He kissed her cheek when the last of the wraps finally fell to the floor. “Good?” He asked, pressing the word against her chest where he planted a small kiss.

Korra swallowed and then muttered, “Yeah.”

“Tell me how you feel.” He asked almost automatically, and he was struck with how smooth and even his voice was. He’d thought he would be too anxious for this but when it came down to it, he was more sure about this than he ever was in any other thing in his life.

Korra’s fingers found the curls on the back of his head before she pressed her forehead against his for another passionate kiss. Breaking away momentarily, she whispered, “I’m feeling good.”

“Good,” he replied, grinning and slowly tracing her nipples, budded now and very eager. Her moan was long and drawn out when he finally took one of her nipples in his mouth, languidly caressing the other one with his hand.

“Oh, Bolin,” she hummed, bucking her hips against his straining cock. He gripped her hips at the contact, grinding her down himself. It was too much, much too much, but his brain still screamed for more. He nipped at her breast and sucked like it was his last meal. And when he licked from one breast to another with his tongue flat against her skin, Korra’s fingers tightened in his hair, hard enough to hurt — he didn’t care. On her chest he left marks, too, and she was only too happy to have them.

Bleary-eyed, he lifted his head up to meet her eyes again, one hand still showering attention to one of her breasts. “You look so beautiful.” He breathed out, kissing the corner of her lips. “And you feel so good.”

Korra looked at him in a daze, too, breath hot and fast against his face. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

And despite their current steamy interaction, they couldn’t help but laugh. There was something so easy about this whole thing, something that went beyond sex and Bolin knew it was their friendship, but he also knew it was about love. His love. He could not say the same for Korra.

“Feeling good?” He finally said, burying his face in between her breasts and exhaling. If she moved unceremoniously now, he might just paint his sweatpants white on the spot. That small moment of laughter seemed much more effective in tipping him over the edge than the half hour they already spent on kissing and fondling.

You’ve got it bad, Bolin. So bad.

Korra nodded, reaching a hand down into her pants before Bolin could think.

Fuck, this was real. It’s getting very real now.

Wordlessly, he watched intently as she slid a hand into her waistband. He drew circles on her clothed thighs, his chest feeling tight and his cock feeling ready to burst. Fuck, no. No. Not now.

Before he could do anything about it, he spilled into his sweatpants the exact moment Korra moaned so deliciously as her fingers slipped inside her pussy. No, he’d ruined it. Out of shame, he bit his lip and thrust small upward strokes despite himself. He couldn’t control it. It was too much. Korra stopped when she noticed, slipping her finger out of her entrance and placing her hand back up on his shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, I— Korra, I ruined this.”

“Shh, it’s okay, Bolin. We have all night.”

“A—all night?”

“Well, if—if you want to, of course—“

Bolin was sure he’d stopped breathing at some point. And if he thought he’d been dead before, he was sure now that he really had died. There was no way any of this is real, no way Korra wanted to spend all night with him having…

He gulped. “But I already came.”

“You will again.” She said with a smile, climbing off of him to position herself on the other side of the bed, her legs falling open before him.

You will again, a statement hotter than it had any right to be. A statement that seemed to linger far longer even as she started to take off her pants beside him, still frozen in place at what she said.

Wait. Pants?

“Korra, are you sure?” His cock twitched again even in its flaccid state, highly interested in the way she was currently wiggling her hips out of her pants. When it was finally off, he just sat there, watching her legs fall open to reveal all of her. The air felt too thick, like the only way to breath was to swallow. Korra watched his Adam's apple bob consistently before taking her fingers slowly down and tracing between her folds. There was gathering wetness there and Bolin could see it, he couldn’t stop seeing it. He thought maybe he never will. The room was quiet enough that he could hear the way the slick coated her folds. After what felt like forever, she finally plunged a finger back inside and released a groan that was identical to his own. His cock was back and ready for more. And yet he sat there, patiently, cock painfully straining, transfixed by the way she was moving her fingers. In, out. In, out.

But then she stopped. And then she covered her face before releasing a disjointed sigh.

With furrowed brows, he placed a reassuring hand on the side of her thigh, growing increasingly worried when her disappointed whimpers increased.

“Hey, hey, Korra, are you okay?” In a flash, he was on the floor, kneeling beside her on the bed and kissing her sweaty forehead just because he could. “Talk to me.”

“This always happens.”

“What always happens?”

“I start off and I think I’m wet enough when I’m actually not.” This time she turned around, pressing her chest against the bed and burying her face into his pillow. It took every ounce of willpower in Bolin not to touch her in that moment. A beautiful, naked woman was in his bed. And not just any beautiful, naked woman, no, Korra.

“What can I do to help? I’m very helpful, you know. Do you want some tea? Or like, maybe a hug?”

Frustrated, she groaned some more.

“Okay, okay. I’m just going to, uh, get in bed with you here but I’m going to give you a little bit of space for now, alright? I’m here for you, Korra, really,” and he meant it with all his heart. More than she will ever know. “And besides,” he began, gently encasing them in his blanket and kissing her hair. “I pretty much finished waaay too early for this whole thing so I don’t want to judge you for your uh, drought.” He grimaced when she groaned at the word choice. “I meant your situation! Your situation! Oh, that’s not any better is it?”

A pause and Korra was chuckling into his pillow. After what seemed like forever, she turned around, pulling the blanket up to her chest to cover herself. With one hand, she pulled her ponytail out and stared at the ceiling.

“So.” Bolin said, half chuckling.

“So.” Korra responded in a small voice.

They stayed that way for a little while longer, under the cover together but never touching. Bolin hummed a tune as the seconds dragged on before Korra spoke again.

“Do you think I’m naïve, Bo?” She asked.

“What? No, of course not.” He responded all too quickly, worried as to where this is coming from. “Why would you say that?”

She turned to him and he propped himself up with his hand against his cheek. If he noticed how Korra eyes shifted to the way his biceps moved, he didn’t mention it. She took a deep breath. “Because I came here thinking I can do this. Only for me to… lose interest just when it was getting good.”

He’d read about this before somewhere, and he was pretty sure it didn’t expressly mean losing interest. “I don’t think that’s it.” He said, tentatively reaching a hand to stroke her hair. She looked at him, blue eyes meeting green, before shifting just a little bit closer so he could do what he wanted. Even her hair was soft.

“Then what is it?” She asked.

“I think you just need more… stimulation.”

She groaned again. “What more stimulation do I need? I’d already touched myself before coming here and it still wasn’t enough.”

His hand stilled. “You touched yourself? Before coming here?”

“Uhm, yeah.” She replied, making herself smaller.

“What did you think about?”

“What?”

He propped himself up on both arms now, angling himself just right so she could see both his arms flex. Her curious little eye flutter made him feel… sexy.

“What did you think about, Korra? Before you came here and decided to rock my world.”

“Pfft, rock your world. That’s two rock puns now, Bo,” she snickered. Bolin pouted.

“Hey that was a legitimate thing you did, grinding down on me like that.”

“Okay,” she conceded. He wanted to kiss her again. So he did. And she kissed him back with ease, like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Well, I thought about this moment, really. I’ve actually been thinking about it since I— what are you doing?” She asked, watching Bolin leave her side to kneel in front of his bed.

“I have an idea. Just keep talking. You were saying?”

“Okay, well, so uhm, I’ve just been thinking about this moment since I moved in a week ago.” Just then, Bolin lifted the blanket off her feet and slid her gently sideways so her feet were dangling over the edge. He watched her swallow, watched as she lifted herself up gingerly to look at him.

“Wh—what are you doing?”

“Listening to your story.” He simply replied, hiking the blanket up just above her knee before planting a kiss there. “You were saying?”

“But th—that’s it,” she sighed when he ran his finger slowly on the inside of her thighs.

“Oh?” He made sure to breathe out the word against her thigh, letting his breath fan out against her skin. He watched as she threw her head back.

“Bolin, what—“

“Do you trust me?” His voice was much lower now and because of his earlier release, this time around he felt more in control. It helped that Korra was so pliant in his hands, so responsive even though he hasn’t even put his lips on her just yet. Good idea, he thought. “Tell me, Korra. Tell me you trust me?”

Bolin never really thought of himself as particularly… skilled in the art of oozing sex just by his words. But he felt now, maybe he was wrong, as he watched Korra nod eagerly. “I trust you,” she said, voice tight.

“Good girl,” he replied, almost unaware of it. “I’m going to eat your pussy out, okay? Now, it’s gonna feel weird but I read somewhere this helps with the dryness.”

Korra blushed again. “Do you have to bring it up again?” She said, irritated. Playfully, he nudged his nose against the downy curls of her sex, blowing air onto her folds. She yelped, clenching the blanket in a white-knuckled grip.

“I’ll bring it up when I want to.” He pressed, remembering that lesson in female anatomy he taught himself. “Tell me what you like, okay? If you don’t, I will stop.”

Bolin continued to run his nose in her downy curls but when she remained wordlessly panting, he lifted his head. She blearily stared at his face, a questioning look flashing on her face. “What—“

“Tell me what you like,” he insisted, pulling her legs closer and hooking it over his broad shoulders. The smell of her sex this close felt exhilarating, like he wanted to drown in it. “Won’t you, Korra?” He asked, licking a small stripe up against her folds with the tip of his tongue. She arched her back nearly off the bed, mewling and babbling.

“Korra, answer me.”

“Yes! Yes, I’ll— I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you, Bo. Please.”

“Please what?”

“P-please that, uhm, lick me again.”

Bolin was more than happy to oblige, settling ever closer, only ever closer, so close that he can press the flat of his tongue against her folds completely, licking very slowly from her entrance up to the little bud of nerves on top. Korra cursed, the first time he’d heard her do so. It was sinful. The way she just said fuck followed by his own name. Motivated, he pressed his face closer, continuing to lick, tasting her at each pass. His cock twitched with renewed interest and he ignored it only until he couldn’t, palming himself.

When he opened his eyes, he saw her watching, mouth agape and blue eyes glazed. Fuck. He wanted to stay here. In between her legs. Just eating her out. Forever. Eventually, she became antsy, and Bolin saw in her face she wanted to say something.

“Something on your mind, Korra?”

“I— p— please do the licking with something e— else…”

“Like?” He asked, almost innocently, even as his lips and chin glistened with her wetness. As if in suggestion, he probed at her opening with a thick finger.

“That! That’s—“

“Oh, this?” He asked, running his finger down her wet folds and then pushing it inside agonizingly slowly. Korra’s hips bucked into his hand but he steadied his finger, stopping and kissing her inner thigh. “Tell me, Korra. Tell me you want me to fuck you with my fingers.”

He was gone. Gone. All coherent thought replaced by giving her whatever it was she wanted.

“I— please f—fuck me with your fingers…”

With a pleased rumble from within his throat, he gently pulled his fingers in and out and as he sucked his own finger and watched her breathe much more heavily at the sight, they knew that she was finally wet enough.

Bolin slipped another finger on the next pass, testing how open she already was, and she welcomed him easily, just as he dove back in to flick her clit with his tongue. Korra wailed, hands flying up to his hair and fucking up into his face. Underneath, his cock was straining so hard but he didn’t care, palming mindlessly. Korra was coming or he was going to stay here until she did. Or maybe even after that just to lap her up.

“You like that? On your clit?” He asked, giving a flat lick that covered the entire bundle.

“Fuck, ah, yes, Bolin. Oh, yes.” He focused his attention on the bundle, following the tantalizing tug of her fingers in his hair. He groaned each time she did, and the vibration of the sound seemed to increase the intensity of her moans.

“Right there,” she babbled over and over again as he hit a spot inside her with his fingers. “Oh, just stay there, ah.”

Inspired by another naughty idea, Bolin lifted his head from her opening, breathing harshly against her sex. “Listen to me.” He began, kissing her thighs to get her attention. “I’m going to eat you out until you scream, until you come. And then when I drink you up, I’ll fuck you with my cock. Is that okay?”

“B—but, I’ve already come by then,” she looked concerned, but he’d read about this before. Multiple orgasms.

“You will again.”

She recognized the quip as her own and couldn’t help but crack a smile. But she still looked worried. “A—are you su—sure? What if I don’t c—come?”

“You will. I’ll make sure of it.” Without another word, he moved his fingers in and out of her at a much faster rate than before, all while swirling his tongue around her clit. Korra panted so harshly at his attentions, as though she was drowning in desire. Bolin already was. He wanted to drown in her cunt forever. It was not long after that that her thighs clamped on either side of his head. He could die here for all he cared. It’ll be a lovely death. Though cramped, he moaned into her pussy, curling his fingers to hit that spot inside her that made her gasp and moan loudly. If he was concerned about his neighbours before, he wasn’t now. Let them hear.

It didn’t take long for Korra to reach climax, her whole body trembling violently at the force of it. Between her clenched thighs, Bolin caught every last drop on his tongue, giving her folds a final kiss before finally standing back up.

She was a vision. Not even in his wildest wet dreams did he imagine how beautiful and utterly ruined Korra looked like on his own bed right now. Her hair haloed around her face and her mouth open, her lips swollen from how much she was biting them. The quick rise and fall of her chest made her breasts look all the more lovely, and her lax and shaking legs made his head spin.

I made Korra come. I, Bolin, made her come.

“C—come here, p—please, Bolin.” She reached her hand out weakly, and in an instant, Bolin was on her.

“So,” he kissed her cheek, positioning himself on top of her and pressing his erection between her legs. “How’d that feel?”

“So good. I thought you were a virgin.”

“I am. Well, sort of.”

Korra raised a brow.

“Well, I am a virgin. I’ve never gone all the way. But I’ve eaten pussy before.” But never like this, never this delicious, never this good, he wanted to say. Never you. “This… this felt different.” He admitted, which was not a lie. He hid in the crook of her neck. “Your pussy? Heaven.”

Korra chuckled. “Liar.”

“It’s true!” He chuckled with her, kissing up to her ear. Not knowing she was sensitive there, he felt her hips buck up again. He chuckled darkly. “Excited, aren’t we?”

She tried to protest but he was already sucking and kissing at her neck.

“Bolin,” she moaned, long and deep.

“This is the part,” kiss, “where I fuck you again,” kiss, “with my cock this time,” kiss, “tell me to stop and I will,” kiss, “I’ll do anything for you.”

It hurt his heart how much he meant that last part. He pressed his forehead against hers, his eyes searching. He did nothing else, waiting for her response. He didn’t even move, his arms having no problem holding him up. Korra stared at him for what felt like forever until he felt her wrapping her legs around his lower back. Bolin took a shuddering breath, closing his eyes to quell the irresistible urge to just thrust.

“Tell me,” he pleaded again. “Tell me you want me to fuck you.”

Korra looked at him, panting softly against his lips. She kissed him. “Fuck me, Bolin.”

It was like a switch had been turned on in his brain, like her words wiped away every rational thought in his head so that all he could think about was going back into her wet heat. With hurried hands, he shucked his sweats off and pounced right back on top of her, loving how slick and open she was now to his stiff cock. Still, he pushed slowly, watching her face intently at each delicious inch that sank in. Satisfied, he made the final push to bottom out, the tight, wet heat around him nearly making him lose his mind. How would he ever exist after this? After experiencing Korra like this?

Bolin planted a wet kiss against her temple. “Is this okay?” He asked, pulling back slightly to slide back in gently. Korra’s legs around his lower back tightened and he grit his teeth so hard at the sensation.

“Yes. Yes,” she panted, bringing Bolin’s face closer and kissing him greedily. Slowly and then a little faster, Bolin pulled out and slid in until she was open enough to take all of him in each stroke. Each push inside made him see stars and it took everything in him not to blow his load right then and there. It was just too good.

“Korra,” he moaned against her lips, watching with half-lidded eyes as her breasts bounced with each thrust. “Fuck, Korra. You drive me insane.”

“Bolin,” she babbled his name over and over again. “Faster.”

“What was that?” He said through broken gasps.

“Faster!”

“What?”

“Faster! Please Bolin!” She clamped down on her bottom lip, staring intently into his eyes as he neared the delicious edge of his orgasm. He could feel she was close too, but he was determined for this to be about her. Only her.

“Come for me, Korra, please?” He muttered against her lips, capturing her in a bruising kiss. As the sinful sounds left her lips in staccato, Bolin continued on with his relentless pace, feeling her whole body shake as she neared her own orgasm.

“Yes, yes, yes, Bolin!” She all but shouted when she came, throwing her head back and arching her whole body underneath him. Shortly after he let go, too, seeing spots and hearing his own ragged rasps echo in his head. He bucked gently as he emptied in her, shivering when he was all spent. He collapsed on top of her, admiring the modest peak of one of her breasts, blissed out and too pleased to think about anything other than Korra. He kissed the side of her breast lazily, running a finger on her raised nipple. Korra flinched, feeling oversensitive.

When she didn’t say anything for a long time, Bolin grew worried. But when he lifted his head to look at her, her eyes twinkled with mischief.

“Is there any chance we can do that again?”

Bolin’s breath caught in his throat again. How could he ever deny her? He couldn’t even wiggle out of this silly pact. Grinning, he kissed her and his heart sang at how eagerly she kissed him back.

When they broke apart, he said, “Could you at least bring me flowers next time? A man wants romance too, you know.”

Korra laughed. “Sure thing.”

If you want to read it over on AO3, here’s the link. :D

#legend of korra #borra fanfiction #bolin #korr #bolin x korra #fanfiction #bolin smut #smut #no one asked for this #but here you go #join me in this pretty much dead ship lmao #idc #i love them both

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trashcankitty12 · 4 years ago

Text

Musa Headcanons:

She’s sassy, she’s musically gifted, and she could 100% steal your significant other if she wanted too.

Meet Musa Kai, the Guardian Fairy of Melody and the lead singer for her band. (Though her band is usually Riven, Tecna, and Layla... But whatever.)

(Again all headcanons here are for my main verse and my “Left” verse. Thank you.)

-Musa’s a daddy’s girl, whether she’ll admit it or not. There’s not much she wouldn’t do for her father (aside from give up her own music career). And he absolutely adores her and had a tendency to spoil her (though those moments were few and far between after Matlin passed). Ho-Boe is so proud of his daughter and how amazing she’s become, he regrets trying to make her stay out of the music world.

-(He knows it was Mandragora’s poison that killed her, that the medication the Company came up with during the war was only a temporary solution, and not music that killed her. But he felt that she ended up straining herself and going passed her limits and the limits of the medication by continuing to perform.)

-Musa may have been a daddy’s girl, but she was extremely close to her mother, too. She loved singing and learning how to play new instruments with her mother and adored the stories her mother shared of being at Alfea and the (sanitized and child-friendly) versions of her Company of Light stories.

-Musa was absolutely crushed when her mother died and saw her father’s anger surge. She was 8 and confused and scared. All she wanted was her mother. (She did her best to sing at Matlin’s funeral, she tried, but the words wouldn’t come and her father’s hands trembled too much to play his koto.)

-She stayed with her maternal grandparents for a long time after her mother’s death, wanting to give her father space and to let him get his record company back on track. (And his emotions. He’d destroyed so many of their music sheets and instruments and even some of their records… And Musa felt helpless at trying to make him feel better, especially since she wasn’t feeling her best either.)

-Her grandparents encouraged Musa to continue her love of music and helped her figure out how she could get her emotions out with help from her music. How therapeutic it could be.

-(They’d helped Matlin to pursue her passions, and they felt they owed Musa the same courtesy.)

-She didn’t have too many friends growing up, or cousins her age to hang out with. Ho-Boe was determined to homeschool her for as long as possible, wanting to protect her from the outside world and the dangers of it.

-(Musa, like Layla, became an expert at sneaking out of the house, though she has a feeling her grandparents always knew what she was up too and just chose to let her have her freedom.)

-Mostly she snuck out to concerts or clubs, soaking in the music and letting it feel her heart and soul. It always felt so tangible and real to her, as if it was its own entity. Being away from it for too long felt… Like she was dying.

-Musa did have one cousin she was close to, the only cousin her age really. Galatea.

-Yes, Princess Galatea is Musa’s cousin. Her father, King Garomius, is Musa’s father’s eldest cousin. He became next in line after Ho-Boe abdicated the throne to pursue his music career his life with Matlin. (And the two of them remained close, even after Ho-Boe’s other family decided he was dead to them.)

-In fact, Galatea’s Princess Ball was the first and last time Musa ever met her paternal grandparents and her great uncles and great aunts. But she ignored them, feeling that if they felt her mother wasn’t good enough for them, then neither was she.

-(She and Galatea had a great time though, and a wonderful childhood growing up, even if Galatea is two years younger.)

-Like most from the Harmonics realms, Musa has perfect pitch and exceptional hearing. (She can use echolocation if she focuses enough on the sounds. But it takes practice to do and it often causes migraines if done for too long.)

-Her favorite instrument is her flute, even if she doesn’t use it in her performances much. It makes her think of her father and it was the first instrument she had that was hers. (It’s even got her name engraved.)

-Musa transformed for the first time after she’d turned 11 and had been arguing with her father after he’d found her guitar and flute. She’d refused to let them be destroyed and her magic summoned itself to transform her and let her protect her instruments.

-Ho-Boe had been so excited about her transformation that he’d allowed her to keep the instruments and quickly began starting her on more magic lessons and prepping her for entrance exams to the Magical Dimensions’ fairy schools. (Musa had almost, almost been a Beta fairy. Ehhh.)

-When Musa got to Alfea, she really clicked with Tecna. Yes, it helped they were roommates and had to share space so often, but Tecna was just… Everything Musa felt she needed in a friend.

-Tecna’s listening skills and ability to pick up on things made it easy for Musa to open up to Tecna (on her terms, of course). And it made it easy for her to feel okay with zoning out for a while with her music if she was having a bad day (or a depressive episode) without feeling like she had to explain it all to Tecna. Because she didn’t, Tecna already knew and just went with it by going about her own projects.

-(And the day that Tecna asked about learning to play an instrument to help her develop a new skillset for a ‘just in case’ scenario made Musa’s whole year. She figured keyboards would be for the best since Tecna’s already fast with her fingers and accurate.)

-Musa is the fastest flyer out of the girls. And yes, she rubs it in. (Especially to Layla. They have flying races often.)

-Musa has regular tea-time with Flora. It helps her to remind herself to take care of herself (because Flora always asks about her feelings and health) and it gives her a chance to wind down for a bit.

-She loves her pixie, Tune, but the manner’s bit drives her crazy from time-to-time. Thankfully, Tune has learned that Musa’s being blunt doesn’t mean she’s rude and Musa has learned just because Tune is very into manners doesn’t mean she’s pretentious. (And they’ve both really bonded through movies and pretend formal parties with Piff.)

-Musa and Riven have had many ups and downs as a couple and have had their moments of anger, but they both try to tamper it down as they get older. It helps that they’ve come up with an ‘honesty box’. They both make a ‘box’ around themselves and just speak their minds. No judgements, just talking and explaining and, if all goes well, a plan is made to try and fix the problem… Or at least, an effort is made to understand the problem.

-Musa is one of the few who knows just how bad Riven’s mother fucked with him, and she does her best to remind him that the opinions and actions of a bitch like that shouldn’t bother him. She understands why it does, and it’s okay that he feels hurt, but he is a better person than he gives himself credit for. (He’s not like his mother… He’s better than her.)

-She’s the first one to initiate pillow-fights and prank wars within the Winx Group. (Though she’s learned the hard way not to try and prank a sleeping Bloom… A fire fairy that’s startled awake is prone to burning the person ‘attacking’ them. Not fun. Thank the Dragon’s for Layla.)

-She’s also the first one to fall asleep. (Musa’s sort of like a shark. If she stops moving, she’s out. Though instead of death, it’s sleep.)

-Even though Musa loved her short hair (easy to style and kept her cool when it was hot), she wanted to experiment with her hair a bit and let it elongate. So far, she likes it alright, but she may cut it again in the future. Or go for a completely new style. Who knows?

-Musa had the best grades in the group, but only because she fought hard to study for exams and did her best on the homework. (Her mother was an A student. She would be too.)

-Out of the specialists, Musa’s actually pretty close Brandon and Timmy, for differing reasons.

-Musa and Brandon enjoy talking shit together when playing games. They also have a game (bad habit) where when out in public, they make remarks about ‘who walks by to check them out’ and making up ‘interesting scenarios with those people’ just to see what Stella and Riven will do.

-(They were not prepared for Stella and Riven to try their own version of the game, one that went explicit real fast. Never again…)

-Timmy likes to come to Musa for advice on Tecna (and to help get gifts for Tecna without her knowing). And they enjoy talking about music theory and how music can affect the mind and hearing.

-Musa has scars. Lots of scars. Mostly from childhood misadventures, but there a few from her adventures at Alfea and on Earth.

-(She likes Earth, by the way. The music here isn’t as soul-reaching in her opinion, but she enjoys the effort we non-magical beings put into our creative works. Her favorite genre so far is surprisingly showtunes…)

-Musa has a taste for spicy food and honestly the rest of the Winx are concerned that she no longer has tastebuds. At all. Like none.

-She is the second most-likely Winx to get physical in a fight, the first being Layla. (Musa’s getting pretty good at learning how to use a bo-staff and has trained in Melody’s martial art of Gian Liea.)

-Musa loves watching singing-reality shows. She goes on a binge and does her best to figure out what’s liked the most so she can incorporate them into her next performance.

-Musa loves being on stage and getting recognized for her music. She does not like having a whole ‘hero worship’ thing going on around her. (Yes, she helped save the Magical Dimension a few times. But dammit that’s mostly because she lives in the Magical Dimension and the authorities seem to be useless.)

-Musa may or may not have a juvenile record. (And it may or may not have to do with ‘disturbing the peace’, ‘fighting in non-designated zones’, and ‘vandalism’.)

-She’s fluent in several languages from the Harmonics realms and has learned a few of Earth’s languages too. (Not to mention, the language of Magix, also known as the linking language of all the Magical Dimension.)

-During her time at Alfea, Musa was part of the jazz club, glee club, band, and choir. She also briefly played Magi-Ball, but had to quit due to an injury to her knees.

-It shouldn’t be a surprise, but Musa wants to be an amazing music star, just like her mother was. She just hopes she’s talented enough to make it. (Which her father swears she’s does, and that just makes her feel like the best musician ever.)

#winx club #winx club au #winx club headcanons #winx club musa #winx musa #winx musa headcanons #melody fairy #harmonic singer

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miraculouswolf99 · 4 years ago

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Music Opens A Person's Heart

I must warn you of the events that happen in this story. It is not a salt story even if there are mentions of Lila and Chloe in it. But I give the warning for how this story contains homophobic actions and talk of suicide. But this is still a story that I hope people will enjoy as it focuses on Adrien and Kagami learning more about their friends Lyon and Vallia.

Thank you and I hope you like the story.

*****

Adrien was in the locker room just finishing up all he needed to do after he finished fencing practice. He was just glad he was able to get through it without an akuma interrupting it like they usually interrupt his piano lessons and regular classes in school.

Plus, fencing was his time to hang out with Kagami without the pressure of being on a date. A date where tabloid reporters or paparazzi could harass them. He really liked Kagami, but both of them liked their privacy and hated having to deal with the constant flashing cameras, the never-ending questions about their relationship, and the speculation about the answers that they do not give.

Currently, he was going to be heading out with Kagami. His friends Lyon and Vallia invited them over for a home-cooked Greek meal. Since the twins were from Greece and both could cook quite well, they wanted to share this part of their culture with them. Kagami had been talking with Adrien about getting to know them more since they had known Adrien longer than his other friends. Other than Chloe, anyway. She was curious. Especially since they were from another country just like her.

It also helped that they also had his father's approval because of how their family is rich, very charitable, and incredibly well-connected.

Adrien soon met Kagami outside of the locker room. She was looking forward to dinner. Not only did she want to learn more about her boyfriend's friends, but she also had never tried Greek food before. She knew the names of some dishes but didn't know much more than that.

"Ready, Kagami," Adrien smiled at her and took her hand.

"I always am, Adrien," Kagami smiled back.

They were on their way out of Dupont when they heard something. It was music coming from somewhere else in the school. The sounds of a violin.

"You hear that too, right," Adrien asked his girlfriend.

"I believe I do," Kagami says. "Whoever is playing is really quite talented."

The two were very curious, so they followed the music. The music room did not get much use at Dupont. All the musicians that attended the school mostly preferred private practice or just performing for their friends like with Kitty Section. Kagami was still confused by their choice of a band name. She just didn't understand why such a silly and odd name was their choice. And if he was being honest with himself, Adrien didn't understand either. But they both mostly just shrugged it off.

Walking toward the music room, the two could hear the violin music more clearly. It was a beautiful soft tune that also had some type of musical feeling to it. Like they could tell that it belonged in a Disney movie or a Broadway show.

They opened the door and walked in. They were shocked by what they saw.

Inside the music room was Lyon Garden, the Ice Prince himself. He was playing the violin was as much grace and elegance as someone that had probably been playing it for years. His eyes seemed to be closed and his back was to the door, so he had no idea that they had come inside. There was no sign of his Flower Princess twin sister, Vallia Garden.

He continued to play until the song ended. Adrien and Kagami were both really impressed by the Greek's skill on the violin. He had never revealed much about what he liked to do other than archery. And most really only knew about his skills with a bow because when anyone annoyed him or made him mad, he would threaten to shoot them with an arrow. And considering that he was as skilled in archery as Adrien and Kagami were at fencing, odds are that he would not miss if he did shoot at someone.

When he stopped playing, Adrien and Kagami could not help but start clapping, applauding the amazing performance. Lyon immediately shot around, his eyes now fully open as he saw that he had gained an audience of two people. He did look relieved when he saw that it was just Adrien and Kagami. If it was anyone else, he might have been reaching for his bow.

"You two are lucky that I am holding my violin instead of my bow," he said, returning to his Ice Prince persona. "I don't do well with people sneaking up on me."

"You and Kagami will get along great, then," Adrien chuckled.

The fencing prodigy lightly punched him, Adrien bringing out her playful side the more they spent time with each other.

"You are really talented, Lyon," Kagami complimented the archer.

"I have been practicing the violin for years," Lyon says. "I find it to be an elegant instrument with a lovely sound. Unless you play it wrong and then it sounds like a dying cat."

That made the two fencers laughed at his comparison. Lyon then checked the time on his phone.

"I guess I was playing longer than I thought that I was," he said. "Can't have you two coming over and not even be in my own house to greet you two."

He packed up his violin and then walked over to the fencers with his bag and violin case. They both smiled at him as they all left together.

"I take it that Vallia is already at your house," Adrien guessed.

"Yeah," Lyon nodded. "She is probably gathering all the herbs that we need from our greenhouse as we speak."

"Is it a coincidence that you guys have a rooftop greenhouse or did you specifically choose that house," Adrien asked.

Lyon and Vallia live with their father in a manor/mansion almost as big as Agreste Mansion. It is just on the next street from Adrien's place. The Garden family now owned it and made it a family vacation home where they were currently living while they were in Paris. They even turned a side room on the bottom floor into a flower shop so that their father had a job even while their family sanctuary would keep them rich for generations to come.

"It was unused when we moved in," Lyon says. "We had to fix it up, add new windows, and install a sprinkling system for when we can not do the watering ourselves."

They started walking to the Garden vacation home. Thankfully it was a slow day and not even Hawkmoth was active. The last thing that the secret Cat Noir and White Wolf needed was to have their dinner ruined by an akuma attack.

"I have seen this place on the market for years," Adrien says as they approach the manor. "It's been so long that I never thought that it would be bought."

"I think that the saying is 'never say never,' Adrien," Kagami tells her boyfriend.

"Well, I certainly have learned my lesson now," Adrien chuckled.

He placed his arm around her as they got closer to the house. When they got to the door, he opened it for her and Kagami let out the closest thing to a giggle that she could let out and then went inside.

"You two are sickly sweet," Lyon playfully rolled his eyes. "My sweet tooth hurts, now."

"Don't get used to it," Adrien smirked. "Once Kagami gets a sword into her hand, sweet is probably the last word that you would ever use to describe her."

"You are lucky that I do not have my sword with me right now, Agreste," Kagami slapped him on the shoulder again.

"You two are fencers, my sister is a master at the bo-staff, I've seen Marinette and her mom both use martial arts very well," Lyon rolled his eyes. "I have surrounded myself with violent people and I did not even know it."

"Just lucky, I guess," Adrien chuckled.

"Plus, there had also been Mason..." Lyon froze after he said that name, completely freezing.

"Uh... Lyon," Kagami waved her hand in front of her new friend's face.

She shared a look with Adrien. They had never seen Lyon freeze like this before. He could make you feel like you had a case of frostbite with his icy attitude sometimes, but this was something new to them.

"Paris to Lyon," Adrien shook his shoulder.

It took a minute, but Lyon eventually snapped out of whatever trance he had been put in.

"My apologies," he said. "I do not know what happened."

"Let's... Let's just go upstairs," Adrien says.

Lyon nodded. He led them up the stairs. Sharing another look, the couple followed him. They did not know much about what had happened, but there was something familiar about it to them. To Adrien, it was like when he first tried to talk about his mom after she went missing. To Kagami, it was like after her father had first died. Lyon was feeling grief and froze when he mentioned the person he was grieving over.

It was a very quiet walk up the stairs. Lyon had a tendency to go icy a lot, but that was more because he generally liked to be quiet and cold in crowds. He uses it as a way to filter out those that are trustworthy or not. To see which ones are brave enough to see if there is a heart beyond the icy persona.

As they entered the main area of the house, upstairs, the French boy and Japanese girl felt like they had been teleported to Greece. The walls were all completely white but were lined at the bottom with a beautiful ocean wave-like painting at the bottom, where the wall met the floor. The floor was also mostly ocean-themed tile with some silver and blue carpets dotted here and there. There were also multiple pictures on the walls with either their family, their family sanctuary, the animals in the sanctuary, or just pictures of the Greece scenery.

The furniture was also mostly typical chairs made out of strong strands of wood that were woven together as a basket would be. Some were regular tan wood while others were white. But they all had cushions to make them more comfortable. There were two couches in the living room with the chairs. One was a regular white leather couch while the other was a bench-like couch that was hanging from the ceiling by strong but thin white ropes.

The manor was divided by floors, so it was very different on the inside to Agreste Mansion.

Soon after they got into the room, Vallia came walking down another set of stairs. In her arms was a Little Red Riding Hood-type basket that was filled with a lot of herbs.

"Welcome to Garden Manor," she smiled at the two of them.

"Thank you for the invite," Adrien smiled back.

"It's a pleasure meeting you," Kagami says.

Vallia puts the basket down and then shakes Kagami's offered hand. She eyed her brother, who had seemed to have gone into his icy persona, which was unusual since he was around her and their friends.

"I'll be right back to help with dinner, Vallia," Lyon tells her. "I... I just need something in my room."

"Oh... Okay," was all Vallia managed to say before Lyon almost seems to run out of the room.

"I don't think I have ever seen him act like that before," Adrien says. "Yes, he is the Ice Prince to those like Lila and Chloe, but this is different from that."

"Did something happen on your way over," Vallia asked as she took the basket of herbs into their very large kitchen.

"Well, would it matter that we found Lyon playing the violin before we came here," Kagami said. "Would that be relevant?"

Vallia sadly nodded. "He mention anyone?"

"Well, we were having a nice talk on our way here," Adrien tells her. "He was joking about being around so many violent people."

"Then he mentioned someone by the name of Mason," Kagami says. "That was when he froze up."

Vallia sighed again. "Yeah, that would pretty much do it."

"Who is Mason," Adrien asked. "But you do not have to tell us if you don't want to."

Vallia looked at them, thinking what she could say. The twins have always been private people, one of the reasons why they don't like Alya and her need to film so many things, but did not mean that they could not open up just like everyone else.

"You two might want to sit down for this," Vallia says, sitting in a chair herself.

Adrien and Kagami took a seat on the hanging couch, which was the closet piece of furniture to the gardener.

"Is everything okay," Kagami asked her.

"We'll be fine," Vallia says. "Lyon just needs some time. He cared about Mason more than almost everyone in the family."

"Who is he," Adrien asked.

"Mason is... Mason was... our older brother," Vallia started, shocking the couple. "He was older than Lyon and I, but younger than our brother Apollo. The violin you saw Lyon play used to belong to him. He plays it to always have a part of Mason with him since he had been a violin prodigy."

"What happened to him," Kagami asked.

"Well, you two know fully well that Lyon is gay," Vallia says.

The couple nodded. Lyon was very out about who he chose to love. And the fact that he and Luka never really hid when they were making-out certainly made it loud and clear which way that they swung. Adrien always snickered when he would see the very obvious twitch of annoyance in Lila's eyes when she was around and saw them. Adrien knew that it was because now there was another rich and handsome guy that she could not lie her way into a relationship with. Especially when he, himself, started publically referring to Kagami as his girlfriend.

"I think there isn't anyone in Paris that doesn't know that," Adrien chuckled even with the tense atmosphere.

"He is very open with his relationship with Couffaine," Kagami says. "I once caught them making out after practice."

"I don't think a single person in school hasn't caught them," Adrien chuckled again. "I once saw Lyon chasing after Aurore and threatening to shoot her with an arrow because she had apparently taken a few pictures of him and Luka. She was laughing the whole time, so I don't think she knew how serious Lyon was about shooting her."

"He only shoots poachers, animal abusers, and animal traffickers, if I remember correctly," Kagami said.

"Yes, but we are getting off track," Vallia got their attention again. "The point is, Mason was also gay. He came out of us when he was twelve. We accepted him, of course, but not everyone was like us."

"God," Adrien gasped since as a model, he knew how much the world of fashion was very open to the LGBT community, so homophobia was horrific to him.

"Mason was very popular, especially once he got to high school," Vallia continued. "His friends knew he was gay, but Mason was also very private. So he was not really out in the open as Lyon is. So he was also very popular with the girls since they did not know better. But one girl was not going to take 'no' for an answer once she saw a handsome and rich guy like Mason."

"I guess that is why Lyon hates Lila so much," Adrien said. "He sees her constantly hanging on my arm no matter how much I tell her to let go."

"Do I need to threaten her with my sword... again," Kagami reached for the blade that was in her fencing bag.

"Later, Kagami," Adrien put his hand on her girlfriend's.

"Her name had been Cleo Sora," Vallia says. "She was basically like the worst versions of Chloe and Lila out into one person. The Queen Bee of the school that did anything to keep her power and always seem like the most important person around. She saw Mason and thought that he would be the perfect King Bee, even when that is not a thing. He turned her down... a lot. No matter what she did, how she dressed, or how much she tried to drape herself over him, he always made it clear that he would never be interested in her. It came to the point that his friends were basically a protection squad to keep her away from him."

"Sounds like what Nino and Kim have become to protect Marinette from Lila," Adrien said.

"The problem was that since Cleo was very popular, and that she had powerful tv hosts as parents, she always had people listening to her," Vallia says. "The more Mason rejected her, the angrier that she got. She saw herself as perfect and as basically more perfect than even Aphrodite, the literal goddess of beauty. That was when she eavesdropped on Mason and his friends and found out he was gay. She didn't like that."

"Oh my," Kagami gasped, not liking where the story was going.

"She started vicious rumors about Mason," Vallia looked to be fighting tears. "Saying that he only had friends because he slept with them all, that hit any girl that approached him in private, that he abused the animals that he took care of at the sanctuary. More and more people turned their backs on Mason no matter how many times he and his friends denied everything. Not even pointing out that there was never any proof to the rumors helped them."

"This girl really is like Lila and Chloe," Adrien said. "Only worse. Not even Lila has lied about Marinette sleeping with anyone. And Chloe only ruins days, not lives."

"Mason might have been six years older than us, but Lyon and I saw how much it was hurting him," Vallia could not stop the tears that flowed down her face. "Mason became more distant by the day. He started to stop coming to dinner and barely showed up at the sanctuary anymore. He was strong, but even the strongest wall gets knocked down if you hit it enough. Cleo managed to find him in private and threatened that if did not give up his 'f*****t way of life' and date her, she would scream rape to everyone within hearing distance."

"God," Adrien gasped.

"Lyon was the one that found him," Vallia was barely keeping it together. "Mason was hanging by the ceiling fan in his room. Lyon freaked and basically lost it. Mason couldn't take it any longer. His resistance broke and could not take the shame that such a rumor would bring to our family. That was also the day that the 'Ice Prince' was born. None of us were ever the same, but Lyon was especially hit. Mason was a hero to Lyon, probably the one person Lyon would ever see as perfect. Mason killing himself basically froze Lyon's heart for a long time."

Kagami might have been known as the Ice Queen around Dupont, but she looked to be fighting her own tears as she heard the story. Adrien was looking down the hall where Lyon had disappeared down. He had no idea that his friend held so much pain inside of him.

"We had no idea," Adrien said.

"Lyon doesn't like talking about him," Vallia says. "He wants to keep it under lock and key as long as possible."

"I get it," Kagami says. "I know more than others how much easier it is to hide our real emotions behind a mask of ice."

"If I was in Lyon's place, I probably would have done the same thing," Adrien admitted.

"Lyon can be very open when he wants to be, but he will always have a wall up," Vallia said. "Playing the violin, Mason's violin, helps him remember without breaking down."

"Music soothes the savage beasts," Adrien remembered from one of the trips their class had taken to the zoo.

Vallia nodded. "If there is one thing that Lyon knows, it's that music has power."

Adrien and Kagami had both known pain and loss. They were not going to push Lyon, but they knew that they were going to be there for him. After all, Adrien was a musician as well. So he knew the healing power that music had as well.

#ml salt #slight lila salt #adrien agreste #kagami tsurugi #warning #homophobic actions included #suicide mentioned #love yourself #always be who you are no matter what #original character

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wolfy2109 · 4 years ago

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Tokka Week 2020: Family💖💖

(just another one-shot)

It's been months since I've seen her, I left thinking it'll be a matter of weeks. The councils of both the tribes had agreed and even I didn't anticipate a resistance. I wondered from time to time how she felt when she got to know that I'll be kept longer and was in a civil war of sorts again,if she'll show up in her metal armour again. The thought of how that armour clings tightly around her upper body was enough to make a grown man day dream. He thought about how soft her cheeks and lips were,all he wanted to was kiss her, passionately. He thought about holding his baby girl in his arms and kissing her forehead,she was the brightest child in the world according to him. He hoped Toph hadn't been too hard on her.

By the time he reached the door step,his every muscle was torn from tiredness,his head hurt from the long hours of sleepless travel(troubles in the ship). But his heart was so full of happiness,his mind full of thoughts and activities to do with both of his girls. He knocked the door and one of his known servants opened the door, thankfully. "Bo, it's so good to see you. Can you get some guys to put all this luggage in my room?" Sokka said,he was the kind of guy who treated servants with more respect than anyone,water tribe had engrained these values of compassion for one and all in him well enough. However,Bo didn't match his enthusiasm,he looked rather flustered, uncomfortable. He didn't meet his eyes when he answered "Sure sir,welcome back. I'll get right at it. ". Sokka was a chief,a strategist and a warrior he knew damn well that something was going on,he raised an eyebrow at Bo,to which Bo replied "did the news reach you?". Sokka worriedly replied "what news?. Is Toph okay?. Is she gone for another dangerous case?. Is Lin-" ,he was then cut off by a "nothing, she's just in an important meeting and will be late,your daughter will be in the study as of now,you can meet her."

Bo then rushed off and Sokka knew something was off but he didn't care,he was seeing Lin after 6 months,he entered the study and saw her dedicatedly reading some book on the history of earth kingdom,when she looked at him,her eyes sparked up with excitement. She ran to him and hugged him,he picked her up. "You're getting bigger,young chief" he told Lin. She giggled and gave him the biggest kiss on the cheek. They spent the entire afternoon talking about how he had fought cleverly and bravely and stopped a civil war and how Lin had aced the basics of earth bending forms. They were laughing like two six year olds,one of them was and well the other was, let's just say not six at all.

Nonetheless they talked like equals,like a true father and daughter duo. They both were fascinated with each other's stories,proud of their achievements and blissful to be back together again. Sokka told Lin that she didn't have to go to any class today, she'll be home spending "quality time" with her father and Lin was more than pleased with this offer.

Sokka went to take a bath after his lunch with Lin and found the two servants who were supposed to bring his luggage up to his room chatting. "I don't know how it's going to be like when he finds out. He has no idea." .The other servant replied "only a matter of time before it all blows up in her face,the nasty attitude,the bringing a guy in the house a week after he left.". Sokka couldn't believe what he had just heard,his body was paralyzed. He felt like he could no longer function. When he had gotten together with Toph he knew it was real,she made him the happiest man on the planet,their comfort with each other was unparalleled. He had been gone longer and she too,why didn't she wait this time. He was no Kanto,he was Sokka,her long time friend,her colleague,her family. He immediately stopped the thoughts from going any further and consuming him. He believed in her and her love. After his bath,his distress had still not eased.

As much as he didn't want to involve Lin in this he had to. Reassuring and horrible thoughts kept gushing his mind,the thoughts had reached the brim of his mind. He went to Lin,she was in her room playing with some of the toys he had got from his home,her fascination with them lit up her face. She was the most adorable child he had ever seen and also the smartest,he took great pride in raising her.

Sokka taught her how to use some of the toys and after five matches of Pai-sho which he deliberately let her win,Lin was tired. Sokka sat next to her,he didn't want to involve her in this and get to know how insecure her father is being right now but he had no other choice. "Lin,has some man been coming home lately?." ,he asked. His tone was a semi-friendly one but it masked fear,a lot of it, nervousness and denial to believe anything other than no. "Yeah,there has been. He has been coming every week since you've left. He is amazing,he brings me these amazing gummies and-", before Lin could complete,Sokka got up and told her to go and play with some of her friends for a while,he had some work to do. Before Lin could stop him and cling to him,he stormed out of the room.

There was no servant in his sight or he would have beaten the truth out of them. His mind was now an utter mess ,"how could she?.We were so happy,we didn't give it the name of a marriage but we were one happy family. She couldn't. She wouldn't have. Maybe it was Aang,maybe he's in town. Maybe it's the servant who reads her notices and letters. It can't be, I trust her and her love for me." ,all these thoughts were enough for him to stop mid-way and rub his forehead that was still aching from the lack of sleep. He was angry at her,who was this man after all?. He was angry at himself,how can his trust in her be so fickle.

He entered his room,their room. And he saw her. Face turned the other side. She was in her armour but something seemed wierd. She wasn't standing in the attention position she had mastered,she looked fragile. He never thought a day would come when she looked…….weak. "Toph" his voice was full of emotions for a second his mind had forgotten all about this other man,his voice was soft, calming and on the verge of cracking. They both were always on duty,they spent months like these often,Toph would go off and Sokka would stay with Lin and vice versa. But every time they saw each other after their period of separation,they spent the whole night talking, hugging, being happy that they were safe, mocking each other and what not. These memories calmed Sokka down.

He heard a gasp,he could see that she had lifted one hand and probably put it at her mouth?,her face was facing the other side. "Wouldn't you turn around?" He asked her. It was obvious now,he was crying. He heard a muffled sob. "I'm sorry Sokka, I don't know what to do, I'm happy to see you, I am, I really am but I don't know how to say this to you",her voice was cracking after every five words. Sokka's heart sank,so there is another man,he thought. He took a step back,he felt devastated,angry, miserable, heart broken and it wasn't long before he would've started shouting at her,he couldn't handle it.

He did everything right,he loved her right,if she didn't want him home,she could have sent a letter. Hawkie was always here to deliver anyway. "Look me in the eye and say it,Toph.",his voice asserted dominance,she had only heard him talk like this on battle fields to the people who answer to him. But it was not only dominance,his voice sounded like he was repressing anger and pain,a lot of it. So he knew,she thought. She hated his reaction,as scared as she was,she didn't expect THIS.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sokka. It's all my fault,if it hurts you so much get out of here, I've done all this once and I'll do it a second time.",she turned around in fury. Sokka scoffed and was about to say something when he saw it.

Was it a baby bump?. He hadn't seen her in the nine months when she was pregnant with Lin but here she was, standing with one hand on her stomach and the other on her back. She continued in fury "do you know how it was like for me?. A week after you left I found out about THIS. But I thought it wouldn't be as hard for me because now you were here,you would look after our child,Sokka!!". She sat on the bed side and tried to continue screaming when Sokka came down at his knees and touched the baby bump. He kissed it,his touch was so gentle, she had missed it so much. Toph breathed sharply,the gesture came as a surprise to her. "What are you doing?" She said. "Why didn't you tell me Toph, I would've-" he was cut off by Toph,"come right away? That's why. I didn't want to put you in a situation where you had to choose between your duties and your family. Whether or not you would have liked this,you would've been effected by it. You were at war for crying out loud. I was so scared for you,so worried about you-". Sokka shut her up with a kiss that was filled with longing and love and an apology?. She thought. They both leaned in, losing themselves completely in this,cheeks wet from tears and eyes shut close. This moment lasted forever,they took moments off where Sokka stroked her hair and she kissed his hand.

They were then interrupted by a coughing sound and when they pulled away,Sokka saw a man at the door,he carried a small bag and had spectacles. "Sokka,this is my doctor. He makes sure of my health,my mom and dad send him in every 4-5 days because of their paranoia." Sokka kissed her nose and whispered "I'm sorry" in her ear. Before she could ask him for what,he bombarded the doctor with questions "is the child going to be healthy?. Is Toph fine?. Why is her bump still so small?. When is it going to kick?. Will it be a bender or a non bender,does it know that it doesn't matter?. Is it a boy or a girl?.". He spent hours getting filled up on her pregnancy months that he had not been a part of from the doctor, Toph just lay on the bed smiling and grinning. Occasionally saying things like "Meathead STOP,YOU ARE EMBARRASSING!!" and laughing at his replies that went like "then what are you?".

She adored him with all her heart,she finally was with the right man,this one would stick around,this one pushes her to be a better parent everyday,this one means the world to her. Her mind was at so much ease,sometime after the doctor left and Sokka had kissed her and hugged her and jumped around her in excitement and love and also explained what he had thought was going on and got scolded for it,Lin peeked through the door. She thought she was hiding properly but both Sokka and Toph knew she was here. "Lin!!!! Why didn't you tell me?!. You're getting a sister or a brother." Sokka exclaimed,"I'm sorry, I thought you already knew" Lin sounded overly apologetic. "No,no sweetie, it's fine,dad's here,come sit with us". He picked her up and placed her near Toph's belly.

There they were,three of them looking like a real family. No marriage,not even Sokka's biological child but he didn't care,Lin was hers and so was Toph. There was another baby coming and they were a perfect family. They spent the evening getting ready for a fancy dinner at Toph's favorite restaurant(cravings you know),Sokka kept obsessing about just how beautiful Toph was and she kept touching him whenever she could,brushing hands,nose rubs,hugs. Pregnancy had made her soft,she thought. No,it was Sokka,he always makes her this way and she loves it. As Sokka carried Lin on his shoulders,Toph brushed her hair with her hand. Sokka looked at her face with love and adoration, excitement for this new chapter of their lives and she knew he was looking. She even blushed a little. God,how Sokka loved making her blush. "Gonna stare at me all night meathead or are we ever gonna leave?." She smirked and they all went to have dinner. And so just an overly happy family at an overly expensive restaurant with an overly protective man who glared at every man who looked at his woman and kid who looked at his daughter enjoyed their meal in peace or their idea of peace.

#sokka #tokka #sokka of the southern water tribe #atla sokka #atla toph #tokka fanfic #toph beifong #toph beiphong #water tribe #otp ideas #tokka week #tokka week 2020 #atla fanfic #atla au

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pandas-pandemonium · 5 years ago

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Seventeen Reacting to Someone Flirting with their S/O

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (final)

Part 2 is finally out! Hopefully I can get the last part out within the next few days. Also each members part may get a little bit shorter each time because collectively I’ve written more than 3k lol.

Kwon Soonyoung

Soonyoung was the sort of person who wore his emotions on his sleeve, sort of. Maybe he never intends to, but it was always easy to tell when something upset the boy; especially when he goes quiet around you, someone he’s supposed to comfortable with. Thankfully, it was always easy enough to soothe his feelings and in no time, he’d be back to his jovial, bubbly self. Fortunately, his moods only came around once in a while. However, it just so happened, today was one of those ‘once-in-a-while’ moments.

You never really intended to make him jealous really, but the man in front of you just would not give up trying to get your number. After who-knows-how-long, you were close to just snapping at the flirt. It really was no use trying to be nice and polite with clueless people like him. Just as you were about to snap however, your lovely boyfriend came in and dealt a hefty right hook on the guy, leaving you stunned for a moment.

“Can you take a hint and leave my girlfriend alone?!” yelled Soonyoung, his cheeks red in anger. In any other situation, you would think he looked really cute, but you could feel the rage seething from his body.

“Honestly! You keep going on and on and on about her giving you a chance but she said that she has a boyfriend you idiot!” At this point, Soonyoung was fuming. It was the worst case scenario ever, you truly did not ever want this man’s rage directed towards you ever.

“Ho-Soonyoung-ah, leave the guy alone…I’m sure he’s learned his lesson,” you said, tugging at his yellow sweater sleeve, trying to pull the taller male away from the other guy’s body on the floor. Soonyoung wasn’t hitting him sure, but he was shouting angry insults which was drawing a crowd.

Your boyfriend turned towards you, his face still a bright red.

“You’re not defending him, are you?” he asked, mouth agape and in shock. Quickly you shook your head.

“Of course not! It’s just that your shouting is drawing a lot of attention…” you mention, gesturing to the curious crowd of people that had surrounded the three of you. Immediately, your boyfriend flushed pink again.

“A-ah. Whoops…I guess I went too far. Yeah, l-let’s go!” he said, grabbing your wrist and hurrying out of the crowd, pushing through the wall of people as he ran with you trailing behind.

Once you reached a quieter part of town, he finally let go of your hand, allowing you to speak.

“Soonyoung-ah, what was that all about? You don’t normally get this mad,” you said. The taller male sighed, looking down sheepishly.

“Honestly…I was watching from afar. I wasn’t sure if I should intervene, but that guy’s last remark really got to me you know. Something about you deserving a better man and all,” he explained. You sighed, pulling the man into your arms.

“Oh please, Hoshi. You’re the best boyfriend I could ever ask for. There’s no one better than you, okay?” you said with a small smile, in hopes of lifting up his spirits. Sure enough, it worked, and your smiling hamster of a boyfriend was back.

Jeon Wonwoo

You had just finished work at the cat café and Wonwoo was waiting by the front to pick you up. Although you had told him many times previously that it wasn’t necessary, he continued doing it. You soon got used to it and so did your co-workers. Wonwoo waiting by the front every day at 8pm soon became a normal occurrence and it was clear to everyone, even if you didn’t mention it, that you were both dating. It just so happened today of all days however, that a rather gutsy newbie at work tried to pick you up in front of Wonwoo, completely ignorant of the fact that he was your boyfriend.

“Hey, um, [L/N]-seonbaenim* …Thanks for showing me the ropes today. I was hoping we could head back after work together?” The boy asked. He was just a little younger than you, and honestly, not a bad person from your short experience of working with him for less than six hours. Before you could get a word out though, Wonwoo had gotten off his seat and headed to the counter where you two were.

“I’m sorry, but she’s got a boyfriend,” he said, his sharp gaze targeted at the shorter male. The boy’s eyes widened and his eyes flickered between the two of you.

“O-oh?” he stuttered out. “You have a boyfriend, sunbae? Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, surprise evident in his voice. You sighed and nodded.

“Yes, I’m sorry Ryujin-ssi. But you were bound to find out sooner or later,” you explained. You could see the frustration and disappointment on the younger boy’s face, but you weren’t sure how to comfort him.

Just then, Wonwoo sighed, “It’s getting late, [Y/N].” He then directed his gaze to the rejected newbie and spoke, “Listen bud, I think it’ll do you well to be more aware of your surroundings next time, and not make moves on someone’s girl in front of her boyfriend.”

Ryujin pouted, looking away in embarrassment. You let out a sigh, moving away a stray hair out of your face before speaking.

“Sorry to let you down, Ryujin-ssi,” you said, before you gathered your belongings and awkwardly came out from behind the counter. Once the two of you were out to nudged Wonwoo gently with your elbow. “What was that? You could have been nicer to him,” you reprimanded. Wonwoo averted his gaze and huffed.

“Sorry, I was growing impatient,” he said. Rolling your eyes, you thanked him anyways. At least he got you out of an uncomfortable situation quickly. You could only hope no other new workers will make the same mistake.

*seonbae-nim: honorific for someone of a senior position/class/have done a job longer than you

Lee Jihoon

(A/N: This was kinda different as I was running out of situations)

Jihoon was a man of few words, and often times he expressed himself and his feelings better with his music. Although it was a little difficult at times for the two of you to talk about your feelings, you knew you could always look forward to a new composition or a paper slipped under the door with lyrics to a future song, describing his emotions and his love for you. Some may find it sappy, but you thought it was romantic. At the end of the day, you were both fine with it as long as he got his feelings through, and yours to him.

However, the past the few months had been lacking in face-to-face communication time, as he had been away on multiple overseas trips, working with celebrities to produce hit albums. It was when he managed to secure a single day that you remembered exactly why the two of you held frequent communication sessions. Your date together was going smoothly despite the occasional cat calls and men trying to make a move when you were alone. Little did you know how affected Jihoon was, seeing his girlfriend having to turn down or ignore so many scumbags who didn’t know how to read body language.

The two of you were seated in front of his TV in his apartment when he finally spoke up.

“I’m sorry.” The apology came unexpectedly, confusing you.

“Huh? What for?” You ask, turning to face him. The light haired man was looking away, a look of guilt on his face.

“The date…I should have protected you better, but instead I always got there just when you handled everything yourself.”

Your face softened into a smile and reached over to hug your boyfriend. “What? That was it?” you asked, laughing a little. It only made the man blush a little, quietly shifting in your arms.

“Don’t laugh! I really felt upset! I mean, you’re pretty, gorgeous, sweet, everything a perfect partner could be! It was scary, I was wondering if you truly needed me…” he trailed off. Sighing, you sat up, turning your whole body towards him and taking both his hands into yours.

“Jihoon-ie, look at me. You’re VoBo, a genius producer, the sweetest boyfriend I could ever ask for. There’s nothing for you to be afraid of, okay? Also, without you, who can I use as a human pillow whenever we cuddle?” You ask, joking slightly, invoking a light chuckle from your partner.

“Yeah, we all know you’d absolutely suffer without me around as your cuddle bud,” he replied, his gaze softening. “Thanks, I think I have a new song in my mind now. I’m gonna go to my studio first, ‘kay?” he said, quickly standing up before heading to his studio.

A small smile crept on your lips.“Alright!”

Xu Minghao

Minghao always liked to think he was very trusting of his partner, having absolute faith in her that she won’t cheat or anything like that. A good healthy relationship is based on trust and faith after all. So, it was quite a shock for him, and you as well, when he found himself yelling at some guy for flirting with you. He just couldn’t describe the feeling of anger in his chest when he saw some bastard try to hit on you when you were right next to him. You’re his girlfriend! Why couldn’t he see that? Was the scumbag really that oblivious? Or was he just ignoring Minghao on purpose? Either way, the dancer could care less. The damn bastard was hitting you and making you feel immensely uncomfortable, and that was unforgivable.

He was very close to swinging at the guy when he saw him put a grimy hand on your shoulder, but somehow, you managed to stop him in time.

“M-Myungho, please don’t cause a scene,” you whispered in his ear, your hand wrapped around his arm. Minghao’s eyes softened as he let out an exasperated sigh.

“Right…it’s no use beating sense into such a dumbass anyway,” he said, just loud enough for the other man to hear him.

“Hey! What the hell did you call me you punk?” the man shouted, face flushed red with anger.

“Ahhh, it’s nothing. It’s just the truth, don’t worry. But, next time you try and make a move on my girl, I won’t hesitate to punch you in the face,” the lanky male said, a hint of mock in his voice. You sweat nervously, gosh, you really had to drag your boyfriend away from the stranger before an actual dogfight breaks out.

“Minghao~,” you dragged his name out, meeting your boyfriend’s eyes. “The movie’s gonna start soon,” you said, pouting slightly while tugging on his sleeve. Internally you hoped he got the message, and to your relief he did. The man beside you sighed, combing his fringe back with his free hand before nodding and turning away, leaving an angry and frustrated stranger fuming. While leaving the site, you didn’t notice your boyfriend glance over his back, shooting a piercing glare at the flirt.

Kim Mingyu

Often times you would say it’s easy to tell when your boyfriend, Mingyu was jealous. He was much like an overgrown puppy to you (and many others). See, Mingyu was the sort of person who thrived on your attention and affection, and when other people took that away from him, it irked him, badly. On occasions like that, the best action to take would be to smother him in hugs and kisses afterwards to get him out of his mood. You needn’t worry about him getting violent either, as most of the time, he would make light threats but you knew he would never actually hurt anyone. Thankfully these occasions were few and far between, but they still did occur on occasion.

Today was one of those rare occasions. See, some guy had come up to the two of you while you were both on a date. At first, he seemed like someone who just need directions to a shop he was supposedly meeting a friend at, but next thing you know, he was suggesting for you to come alone with him to “show him the way”. Of course, Mingyu did not take the man’s advances lightly, hurriedly pulling you back the moment the guy tried to pull you away from your boyfriend. The situation didn’t escalate any further than a few light threats and complaints from both sides, as your boyfriend’s height did most of the scaring-off. However, you were left to deal with the aftermath.

You were both in his apartment, silently eating dinner which he had cooked since he had claimed that the guy “ruined the outdoor atmosphere” and wanted to have some alone time indoors with you instead. Seeing as his place was nearer, you both adjourned there. The food was good, but the silent sulking wasn’t.

“What’s wrong, Gyu?” you asked. Even though he had cooked, he barely touched the food.

“Nothing.”

You raised an eyebrow, “Come on, Mingyu. You know I was just trying to be a nice local. I didn’t expect him to try and drag me,” you explained. Mingyu sighed.

“That’s not it… you could have been hurt. That’s what I’m upset about,” he said. A soft smile crept on your face as you gazed at the taller male lovingly. You then got off your seat, waltzing over behind your boyfriend’s seat and enveloping his bigger form in your smaller one.

“Sorry I worried you. But see! I’m perfectly fine, thanks to you,” you said, planting a kiss on his cheek. Mingyu blushed in response.

“A-alright, I see that! Now let me eat, [Y/N],” he stammered out, quickly shoving a spoonful of rice in his mouth, causing you to chuckle.

“Okay, okay. We’ll talk more about this after we’re done with lunch.”

Later that evening, the two of you spent the rest of the day cuddling on the sofa.

#seventeen #seventeen imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop imagines #seventeen x reader #reactions #kwon soonyoung #hoshi #wonwoo #jeon wonwoo #lee jihoon #woozi #minghao #the8 #mingyu #kim mingyu #fluff

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dustedmagazine · 4 years ago

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Dust Volume 6, Number 7

Stars Like Fleas

The summer rolls on in a very peculiar way, with masks and zoom calls and brief, furtive trips to the grocery and the growing realization that normal is months, if not years, away. Even so, the music remains excellent. Thank god it’s downloadable and accessible even in these strange days we inhabit. Here writers including Bill Meyer, Jennifer Kelly, Jonathan Shaw, Ian Mathers, Justin Cober-Lake and Ray Garraty consider improvised drone, precocious alt.country, experimental banjo tunes, rap metal and jazz. Enjoy.

75 Dollar Bill — Live at Café Oto (75 Dollar Bill’s Social Music series)

Live at Cafe OTO by 75 Dollar Bill

Before 75 Dollar Bill put out those widely revered LPs for Thin Wrist records, Che Chen and Rick Brown made a series of tapes. You could pick them up at shows, packaged in a clamshell case with a business card advertising their services. 2020 is a plague year, so it’s going to be a while before anyone hires them for another party or a parade, but this download-only release fulfills similar functions. It captures the band at a particular moment in time, and it gives you a chance to throw a few bucks their way. Do so and you probably won’t be sorry, because the late 2019 tour documented by Live at Café Oto was unique in 75 Dollar Bill’s history. Chen and Brown did the whole run of shows with double bassist Andrew Lafkas, but they also did nearly all of them without essential gear. It wasn’t until near the end, when they played in England, that Brown was reunited with the big wooden box that is his main percussive instrument. Spread across three sets, this three-hour long album shows how swell they sound when they’ve got a committed agent of swing adding his subtle shift to their Bo Diddley meets Mauritanian wedding music groove. If you know I Was Real, you’ll recognize many of these tunes, and you’ll likely appreciate the differences that 75 Dollar Bill works and reworks upon them.

Bill Meyer

Bandgang Lonnie Bands \ Bandgang Javar – The Scamily (TF Entertainment \ Empire)

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After Bandgang broke up, Lonnie Bands made a successful solo career. His only misfortune, apart from a murder rap prosecutors tried to stick him with, was that he picked up a no-talent partner Javar. Here, surrounded by aggressive but undistinguished artists Mascoe and Paid Will, Lonnie hasn’t learned lesson. Thankfully, Javar makes his presence on The Scamily scarce, and the second half is basically Lonnie’s solo effort with some guests. As usual, Lonnie makes himself busy in illegal activities: drugs, scams, pimping, firearms. He neatly sums up his bad deeds on “Me Too”: “You on that bullshit? Me too.” The Scamily is not that focused as last year’s KOD but Lonnie, with his slick rhyming and catchy hooks, always reinvents a bad man’s lexicon.

Ray Garraty

Sammy Brue — Crash Test Kid (New West)

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Sammy Brue is no longer quite the wunderkind he was when he released his first full-length at 15, but he is still quite impressive here on the follow-up, hitching the spit and fire and wordy angst of, say, Ezra Furman, to the downhome pyrotechnics of Bob Log III. “Teenage Mayhem” explodes with teenage aggression, building out a twitchy blues riff into a monumental rock chorus, while “Crash Test Kid,” is softer sonically, but just as unflinching in its narrative. “Skatepark Doomsday Blues” is epic and grandiose but carries it off, infusing an old man’s blues progressions with the eruptive feelings of young manhood. All the signs point towards Brue growing into his art. He’s already channeling raw emotion into sharp song structures and lyrics without sacrificing their force. It’s a drag getting old, but it doesn’t have to be a step back.

Jennifer Kelly

John Butcher — On Being Observed (Weight of Wax)

On Being Observed by John Butcher

English saxophonist John Butcher has a deep and diverse discography, much of it on CD. Since the standard of his playing is so high, and the settings and accompanists he selects so diverse, they’ve never been merely about documentation; you’d have to look hard to find a dud on the shelves. But as format preferences, economic shifts, and that damned virus turn everything upside down, Butcher has, like everyone else, found himself suddenly with plenty of time to comb through the hard drives and reassess the music stored there. And since CD manufacturing and distribution has been snarled up worldwide, what better time to transfer some of it straight to yours? On Being Observed comprises six solo performances recorded between 2000 and 2006, and you could not ask for a better introduction to what he does on his own. It features him in the studio, at a jazz festival, and in some unusual acoustic environments which afford a number of ways to understand what it means to read the room. Whether he’s playing to an audience or a 20 second delay in a dis-used gas storage facility, acoustically or amplified, using a soprano or tenor sax, Butcher’s tone is unmistakable, and his sense of how long to develop ideas and how to develop them is peerless.

Bill Meyer.

Carling & Will — Soon Comes Night (self-released)

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Carling & Will (banjo player Carling Berkhout and multi-instrumentalist William Seeders Mosheim) have spent the last few years working out new twists on old-time music. Their debut album Soon Comes Night takes another a step forward from their previous, more traditional sound. Much of the album relies on the interplay of banjo and electric guitar. The pair don't go for outre sounds, but Mosheim provides textures for Berkhout's banjo playing. “Lillie's Lullaby” offers a highlight, not only in its prettiness, but in its revelation of Berkhout's idiosyncracies as she shifts in and out of more typical patterns. The album in itself makes for a lovely collection of songs, but it has both the ups and downs of an act starting to find itself. Carling & Will have a distinct voice, and the more they work to develop that (probably by letting Berkhout get odder and Mosheim explore his voicings a little), the more impressive they'll become. If the pair decides to just focus on smaller updates to mountain music, they've already shown a worthy artistry in that.

Justin Cober-Lake

Cloud Rat — “Faster” (Self-released)

Faster by Cloud Rat

Like a lot of us, the folks in Cloud Rat have been cooped up behind walls, watching the world burn. But that hasn’t stopped them from making some terrific music. This new track, “Faster,” has been posted to Bandcamp as a benefit for Black Lives Matter-aligned organizations. The song is somewhat in the mode of their most recent EP, Do Not Let Me off the Cliff (2019). That record traded in the band’s characteristic grindpunk intensities for some weirdo experiments in dreampop, noise and gauzy gothic nightmare soundtracks. “Faster” isn’t quite as far out there, and longtime listeners of the band will recognize some of the textures of tracks like “Moksha,” “Raccoon” and “Luminescent Cellar.” The song starts and ends with some lovely acoustic finger-picking by guest musician Andy Gibbs of Thou. In between, there are clean vocals by Madison Marshall that border on the ethereal, and electric riffs that build and build toward majestic heights. Good cause, great tune.

Jonathan Shaw

Drakeo the Ruler – Thank You for Using GTL (Stinc Team)

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Recorded through a phone line from prison, with beats later provided by JoogSZN, Thank You For Using GTL right after its release was named best prison album since Penitentiary Chances, by now classic joint effort by C-Murder (still incarcerated) and Boosie Badazz (now free). It was too strong a claim to be true. On that duo’s album you can hear a sense of doom hanging over them. When all hope is lost, there is only a prayer, and even that can get lost on its way to God. There was no tomorrow. Drakeo the Ruler, on the other hand, raps like there is tomorrow. Even rough sound of voice recording and “This call is being recorded” tags are more like a necessary sound effect and a gimmick rather than an effect of reality (he couldn’t do it any other way). Strip this tape of all these effects, and you end up with an ordinary rap album, exactly like others released by dozens every week. Maybe there is no reason to thank GTL. It did us a disservice.

Ray Garraty

Holy Hive — Float Back to You (Big Crown)

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These super laid back funk soul cuts stay well inside the pocket, except when they veer unexpectedly into indie-folk. The funk parts come from one-time Dap King Homer Steinweiss, whose loose but transcendent way with a groove can be best heard on “Hypnosis.” Paul Spring, the singer, brings in the psychedelic falsetto, more Justin Vernon than Curtis Mayfield, but still radiant and chilling. The title track plays like a lost 78 soul classic, Spring’s mournful melody wafting skyward as big loopy bass notes and splayed jazz guitar chords drop into a slink and strut of snare drum. That’s maybe what you’d expect from Steinweiss’ Brooklyn soul revivalist resume, but elsewhere, there are surprises. “Red Is the Rose” sounds like Tunng, all space-bopped folk magic and electro-pinging drums, and “Be Thou By My Side” is lattice-picked folk without the slightest hint of syncopation. Both sides of Holy Hive have their sweetness, but only the funk stuff buries a stinger.

Jennifer Kelly

Dustin Laurenzi’s Snaketime — Behold (Astral Spirits)

Behold by Dustin Laurenzi

Here’s an irony for you. Composer Louis Hardin, whose habit of dressing up like a Viking and hawking his wares on the streets of mid-20th century NYC turned him into a bona fide attraction, may have conversed with jazz musicians, and shared a record label or two with them. But he didn’t really like jazz. Nonetheless, jazz musicians liked his music back, and they still do. The melodies are graceful, but malleable, and the Bach-meets-powwow rhythms have plenty of productive implications for a percussionist willing to work between the lines. After years of study Chicago-based tenor saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi formed Snaketime, a project named after one of the composer’s rhythmic notions, that turned seven of his compatriots loose upon the Moondog book. Maybe loose isn’t quite the right word, since Laurenzi’s arrangements show deep respect for the original melodies and their exotic vibe. But there’s not a lot of music that can’t be made a bit better when you ask bass clarinetist Jason Stein to improvise from its foundations. This half-hour long tape adds four tunes to the seven on last year’s excellent LP Snaketime: The Music of Moondog, and any one of them could have made the cut if Laurenzi had been given enough rope to make a it a double album in the first place.

Bill Meyer

MachineGum — Conduit (Frenchkiss)

Like its Pepto-Bismol-pink cover, these songs seem a bit over-sweet and undernourishing at first, but damned if their synth and disco and art-rock grooves didn’t start to catch on after a few listens. The project, launched in New York City with the mysterious appearance of pink gum machines, is not what you’d expect from a Strokes offshoot, but give Fabrizio Moretti credit for branching out. Here tight, “O Please”’s sleek, wah-wah’d guitars and fat-fingered bass throws off a funk shimmy, but soft, dream-y choruses add an element of electro-pop introspection. “Act of Contrition,” by contrast, swells and swirls with gothy new wave drama, but also vibrates with indie earnestness; it’s like the National playing a New Order cover. If you’d told me a month ago, that I’d be enjoying a super clean, super precise synth-dance album by a member of the Strokes, I’d have laughed, but here we are.

Jennifer Kelly

Phosphene — Lotus Eaters (Self-Release)

Lotus Eaters by Phosphene

Portland’s Phosphene drifts and drones in a satisfying vintage 4AD-ish way, the serene vocals of Rachel Frankel wafting out over intricate tangles of shoe-gazey guitars as Matthew Hemmerich pounds out motorik rhythms on the kit. This album, the band’s second, was written in the turbulent aftermath of the 2016 election, but it exudes a murky calm. In “Carousel,” for example, Frankel sings about how “everyone gets lost in their own power,” but the temperature remains cool, dream-like, lit by arcs of guitar sound and undergirded by a thudding mantra of bass (Kevin Kaw). The two singles run closest to pop. Bright, upbeat “Cocoon” is spiked with Spoon-ish piano chords, while “The Wave” damn near bubbles with girl pop exuberance. I can see why they’re leaning on those cuts, but I like the cloudy radiance of “Seven Ways,” the morose moods of “The Body” better.

Jennifer Kelly

Sara Schoenbeck / Wayne Horvitz — Cell Walk (Songlines)

Cell Walk by Wayne Horvitz/Sara Schoenbeck

Bassoonist Sara Schoenbeck and pianist Wayne Horvitz built to their first duo release slowly. They've been playing together since the previous decade in Horvitz's Gravitas Quartet, working together in various styles. The bassoon doesn't necessarily lend itself to jazz, but Schoenbeck's experience with artists like Roscoe Mitchell and Anthony Braxton — as well as in various orchestras and symphonies — has revealed her fluency in different languages. Horvitz and Schoenbeck develop that approach on Cell Walk, mixing composed and improvised tracks, moving from jazz to classical and back again, happily residing in a new music space. The pair's chamber background comes to the fore more than anything else, but the artists' experimental ideas and Horvitz's occasional electronics keep the duo moving forward. The album mostly stays cool, although a few tempo shifts and Schoenbeck's varied tone create unexpected energy any time the disc starts to settle. Schoenbeck and Horvitz fill an unlikely niche, but they also make a good case for expanding it.

Justin Cober-Lake

R.E. Seraphin — Tiny Shapes (Paisley Shirt)

Tiny Shapes by R.E. Seraphin

Ray Seraphin makes sweet, sharp songs out of guitar jangle and whispers that seem to nestle right in your ear. His first cassette under his own name after a stint in the slightly more abrasive Talkies kicks up a power pop dust and haze a la Luna or, more recently, Plates of Cake. Like these bands, however, he envelops smart, coiling melodies and wild spiralling guitar hijinks in daydreaming inchoate jangles. In “Streetlight,” Seraphin vamps and caroms in spike-y mid-temperature anthemry, crooning “And I won’t feel a thing,” and indeed there’s a misty, nostalgic remove around most of this album’s emotional content. Yet there’s also a classic pop shape that can’t quite be obscured by muttered, offhand delivery. “Fortuna” is the best bit, to my ears, a summer radio megahit heard from several rooms away, bittersweet and slipping away even as it plays.

Jennifer Kelly

Stars Like Fleas — DWARS Session: Live on Radio VPRO (Amsterdam) (self released)

DWARS Session: Live on Radio VPRO (Amsterdam) by Stars Like Fleas

New York collective Stars Like Fleas are still gone, but the tracers and streamers left in the air by their passing continue to be entrancing. Whatever collapsed in the wake of their work on the follow up to their epochal LP The Ken Burns Effect can perhaps be glimpsed a little in the bulk of this first (and hopefully not last) release from what they describe as “a huge archive of live and session material.” As the title indicates, six of the 11 tracks here come from a radio session they did during their final tour (coming apart and leaving the final album unfinished upon their return to America). Along with a couple of Ken Burns highlights that session is all new material and it is as rich as anything they released during their lifetime. The collection is rounded out with some brief improvisations and another track intended for the final album, the 7” single “End Times”, and a wonderful performance of “Falstaff” from a Toronto show. Perversely and beautifully enough, the result is not only a must listen for fans of the group, it makes an excellent introduction for anyone who missed them the first time. Bring on the archives!

Ian Mathers

Thecodontion — Supercontinent (I, Voidhanger)

Supercontinent by Thecodontion

A death metal band entirely devoted to songs about ancient, paleolithic lifeforms and geological history? It’s not the most harebrained musical concept you may have heard — it even makes a sort of sense. What better musical genre to address such massive, atavistic and lumbering forms? Supercontinent is the Italian duo’s first LP, following 2019’s Jurassic EP. As its title suggests, this new Thecodontion record goes way, way back, to primal landforms, before continental drift assembled the earthball’s map into its current shape. Appropriately, the longest track on Supercontinent is “Pangaea,” named for the unimaginably huge late Paleozoic landmass. Thecodontion’s featured instrument is Giuseppe D’Adiutorio’s bass, which he variously thrums, hammers and shreds. He gets some pretty amazing sounds out of it, sometimes producing the soaring, moaning, keening sounds that Greg Lake coaxed out of his bass on the early King Crimson recordings. The proggy reference is pointed; Thecodontion’s high concept project smacks of prog’s grandiosity. But where prog shoots for the heavens, Thecodontion goes bone hunting. It’s interesting work.

Jonathan Shaw

Various Artists — Building A Better Reality: A Benefit Compilation (JMY)

Building A Better Reality : A Benefit Compilation by Various Artists

As Bandcamp’s choice to waive its portion of transaction proceeds in favor or certain needs and causes has evolved from an occasional to a monthly event, releases have started to appear which take advantage of both the event and the rapidity of production when no physical objects are being produced. George Floyd died under a policeman’s knee on May 25; this compilation was released just 24 days later, on Juneteenth. Brent Gutzeit of TV Pow secured 106 contributions from friends, friends of friends, and customers of friends — and that’s just the parties that this writer recognizes. They range in length from Kendraplex’s 58 seconds of metallic shredding to Joshua Abrams’ half hour of mournful clarinet and cathartic double bass. You’ll find acoustic protest music, swinging jazz, harsh noise, hip-hop, and a sound collage that includes sounds of protest and mourning. The participants include Simon Joyner, Jsun Borne, I Kong Kult, Jesse Goin, Chris Brokaw, AZITA, Keith Fullerton Whitman, and the Jeb Bishop Trio, along with many, many more. Have I listened to them all yet? Of course not! But the thing with a set like this is that you don’t need to. Put it into your shuffle play and it’ll yield surprises for years to come. Income goes to Black Lives Matter, NAACP Legal Defense Fund. and the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Bill Meyer

Michael Vincent Waller — A Song (Longform Editions)

A Song by Michael Vincent Waller

At first listen, you might not guess that composer Michael Vincent Waller’s new EP/song A Song is an improvised piece, and as the surrounding material on Bandcamp makes clear, that’s kind of part of the point. Composition vs. improvisation is the kind of duality where both sides are never really distinct, and Waller is both interested in the history of composers improvising and (possibly naturally) improvises in a way that’s not a million miles away from his compositions. Which also means that just on that first listen the 21 minutes of solo piano found here are frequently beautiful, whether patiently probing a set of arpeggios or momentarily going somewhere a bit darker and deeper near the end. Whether considered as work done around or between more composed ones or in its own right, A Song makes for both a fine follow up to Waller’s 2019 collection Moments and a brief thesis on the always permeable boundary between two methods of creation.

Ian Mathers

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moonlightreal · 5 years ago

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Winx Club season 8/22

In which we get the best harp music.

22 The Secret of Harmony

Musa’s ‘holiday home.’ So Hoe-bo has to have some money to have two houses!

Musa invites the enchanted Riven in. She gets that he’s not quite himself but doesn’t seem to suspect that an invisible Darcy is telling him to attack! Poor Riven, this is the how-manyth time he’s been enchanted?

He cannot resist! He attacks!

Bloom vs Icy dance! Galatea is having so much fun, it’s so cute.

Tecna repeats the star case’s poem… but I can’t understand the words!

Riven tries to fight off the mind control spell! Darcy invisibly suggests more violence! Riven attacks Musa again! Musa tries to reason with him! She figures out Riven’s under a spell and does the ‘it’s me!” thing. Riven manages to tell darcy he’ll never do anything to hurt Musa, so Darcy appears and orders Riven to attack. She says, ‘it’s not like this is the first time.’

Riven makes lots of lightning come from his suit like Sky did and shakes off the spell. Go Riven! His true feelings came through!

They have a romantic hug. Aww.

Darcy: “What a nice scene. I want to defeat you all even more.”

Your line last episode was better, Darcy!

Also: ok, these suits, what are they? What all can they do? If they can work on willpower that’;s the same as magic, magic is just taking your feelings and will and putting them out on the world magically instead of by your words and actions. They give the boys basically all the powers of a fairy, which I’m not sure is a good direction for the plot. If everybody has powers then nobody’s special and this show is very keen on the Winx being special.

Darcy appears and summons some blobby creatures that are not staryums from a portal. She calls them “shadow bugbears.’ Riven is ready to fight! Musa tells her dad to get to safety.

Bloom vs Icy dance! Icy loses and the stage catapults her to land on Stormy. Icy gets mad and tries magic and it doesn’t work. Galatea prissily reminds her that magic is not allowed.

Bugbears menace Riven and Musa! Musa Cosmixes-up. They fight bugbears and have fun. Darcy retreats.

Bloom vs. Stormy dance! Stormy mocks, but Bloom is confidant. Tie! Rematch! Bloom can do this all day!

Stormy says, “After I win, Galatea will pay for this.” Pay for what, Stormy? She’s being super friendly!

More dancing, this time with zaps of electricity they have to avoid while they dance! Bloom loses!

Tec is thinking. Harmony means collaboration, but the dance contest is one on one so you can’t really have harmony with another person.

Back at home all three of them eat ice cream. Riven and Musa just told the story of how they met, which we don’t get to hear. Or see, since I think they already knew each other when Stella first brings the boys over in season one. Then they start arguing over what day of the week they met on and Hoe-bo starts to laugh.

Riven says the thing they have in common is arguing. Musa says, ‘that’s not true” and they both laugh. Riven says being with Musa makes him feel “at peace, in harmony” which, what?? you feel peaceful when you argue? I don’t understaaaaaand!

But the magic of the show is here with music to make me happy. Musa and Riven play the sofa harp together! The music is really pretty. They have found harmony! Only… when did Riven learn to play? One of Darcy’s bugbears is outside watching.

Aisha made it to the dance final! Aisha vs. Stormy with zappy electricity! (Galatea just said, ‘avoid the beams of light’ but it looks like zappy electricity to me.) Aisha is a good dancer but after a round or two Stormy says, “Hey Aisha, don’t you want to know where Darcy is? Poor Musa, all alone and helpless...” it jolts Aisha out of her rhythm, she loses.

Galatea cheerfully presents the crown to stormy and congratulates her. Stormy grabs the crown and celebrates. Icy’s right there to grab the prime star but Stormy’s not giving it up. Then the prime star poofs away!

Tec repeats the star case’s riddle, it said something about “rough and soothing together’ for harmony, and they know who that sounds like. Aisha comes and tells them Musa’s in danger. Hmm, but if that’s the riddle then was it possible for anyone else to solve it? Could Darcy and Stormy have gotten the star by finding harmony with each other?

Musa says the harmony harp can only be played by two people whose hearts beat in unison. The star appears for Musa! Riven gapes. Darcy’s critter sees and runs off to get the Trix.

Musa and Riven have a romantic moment. Their feelings were so strong they brought the star here! Now that’s true love… or true… argument? Thankfully there won’t be any more Musa/Riven stuff this season so I won’t have to chew on how to make this ship work much longer.

The Trix meet up in an alley and Darcy’s bugbear reports in. Stormy tosses the crown away and the bugbear puts it on and runs off to a new life as a dance queen.

Trix attack Musa’s house to get Stormy’s prize! Riven jumps in front of an ice blast and gets frozen! The rest of the Winx arrive. Flora uses her petal thing to blast Darcy into a tree. Go Flora! They battle a bit.

Icy stops Stormy from attacking. Hmm. Is that a hint? I keep expecting to see moments of thoughtfulness or hesitation from Icy as hints of the prize we’re getting in a few episodes, but so far this is the only time I’ve noticed a serious expression on her face. How late WAS this prize added in? Or are the writers just bad at foreshadowing? I mean, no judgment, I’M bad at foreshadowing, but with a visual medium you have the chance to put an uncertain expression on someone’s face while other characters are turned away, that’s just so basic…

But Icy just says, ‘our advantage is lost.” and “it’s too risky. let’s get out of here.”

The Trix flee.

Poor Riven doesn’t look so good, but Bloom uses Dragonfire to heal him. And she SAYS Dragonfire, in both Italian and English, so that’s still a thing!

Tec explains how she figured out the riddle and they all came rushing to help.

And then, what else, a concert! It’s in a big square, or maybe outside the palace on Melody, a big cool fake-Asian building. Musa and Riven play the sofa harp and the others play their usual instruments. Galatea, Musa’s dad, and the punk kids watch. It’s about like all the other songs, but the harp music does add something. I want to think that’s a real harp, and Rainbow hired a real harpist to play it. Either way, I really really like that harp tune.

Then we have another romantic moment with Musa and Riven. Riven says they do need to actually talk, and Musa says they can do that tomorrow, and hugs him. The other girls go “aww.”

Next time: beach! Tec and Aisha fighting!

#winx club season 8 #winx club

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rahirah · 5 years ago

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via Barb's Place Long-time readers of this journal may remember that in years gone by we have had various contretemps with neighborhood dogs. There was Maverick, the fear-aggressive German Shepherd next door, who was unfortunately afraid of everything and everyone except his owners. As long as he lived, never saw Kathy, me, or any of our dogs as anything but slavering killers who were obviously out to get him. To his dying day, he would go into a frenzy of growling and barking and rushing the fence if we set foot in the back yard while he was out. He couldn't get through the fence, but once, jealous or scared when his owner was petting one of our former dogs, Sam, he got his muzzle through the chain link far enough to bite a piece out of Sam's ear. (His owners were much chagrined, and offered to pay any vet bills, but I cleaned it up and it healed fine on its own.) Then there was Psycho Dog, the pit mix across the street, who was also fine with his owner and his companion Brown Dog, but who took exception to Bo's face, and would hurl himself at the rickety gate of his house screaming his head off whenever we walked by. Psycho Dog got out twice, and actually got into a fight with Bo the second time, and I had to report him to Animal Control to force the owner to get her gate fixed. The current Problem Dog is not anything so fraught, thankfully. Django is a beautiful Shepherd/husky mix of some kind, about Bo's size, about a year old, and full of Boundless Energy. He's fine with people, though not much interested in them, and not dog-aggressive, save insofar as he desperately, desperately wants to play with every dog he meets, and not every dog he meets is interested. He also doesn't have the sense God gave little green apples. His owners are the sort of people who love pets, but are lackadaisical about taking care of them. They won't put a collar on him because the first time they tried, he freaked out and got his lower jaw caught in it trying to chew it off. I've had that happen with a couple of the cats, and I know how alarming and scary it can be, buuuuuut... in every single case I've managed to get them used to it. If they kept Django inside, it might not be a problem, since he does have a microchip. But they mostly keep him in the yard, and therein lies the rub. Django is an escape artist. He's gotten out half a dozen times when they've left their gate open, and there's strong circumstantial evidence to suggest that he can climb or jump their fence when it's not open. It's illegal to have an untagged dog off your property in Phoenix, for one. For two, he's a gorgeous dog, and it's entirely possible that if someone found him running around untagged, they might decided to keep him rather than check for an owner. And for three, not having the sense God gave little green apples, he's gonna run into the street and get hit by a car sooner or later. Anyway, today I got home from work, let Bo out, fed the cats, cleaned the litterboxes, leashed Bo up, and set out for the park. We hadn't gone half a block before I hear the gallop of doggy feet behind us. I turn around, and there's Django. Apparently he was bored, and leaped over the back fence of his house and into the alley, and when he saw Bo and I pass by, he came tearing down the alley to investigate. He was delirious with joy to see another dog, and kept racing in circles and bouncing at Bo in an attempt to get him to play. Bo regarded him with a jaundiced eye and ignored the shenanigans. Since he was paying no attention to me whatsoever, I used the long-suffering Bo as a lure to lead him back to his house, knocked on the front door, and delivered him to his owners, who had no IDEA how he got out, gosh golly. Bo heaved a sigh of relief to be free of the teenybopper, and we went to the park. The training for the reporting program they use at the New Place finally came through this week. My manager told me to take as long as I needed with it. I finished all seven lessons in two days. I tried to make it last longer, because I still don't have access to the shared drive where all the reports are kept, and without that, there's not much I can do. (This is a HUGE company, and apparently this sort of delay is not unusual.) The program they use (SAS) is not nearly as flexible as Business Objects in terms of formatting and layout of reports, but it's got many nifty features for creating and automating processes. And if I want to make something pretty, I'm going to be learning Tableau anyway. comments

#IFTTT #Barb's Place

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felix-valentine · 5 years ago

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One month on T update. irritated injection site, name/gender change filing.

Well largely my first month on T has been uneventful. All current changes have been slight differences I suppose for my body heat, oily skin, and BO. I have a nicely growing amount of peach fuzz over my cheeks and it’s a wonder I haven’t rubbed all of it off with how much I’ve been petting them. My upper lip has the longest hair of my face thus far though it’s also the most sparse. My chin has some evident hair growth with small hairs that look like sharp stubble - though they’re actually rather soft like the rest of my peach fuzz.

The coloration of my facial hair thus far is odd. I assumed that since my hair is naturally dark brown that my facial hair would also be dark but so far it’s actually quite pale and blends in with my skin tone. Maybe I should have expected that since most of my body hair is much the same. A friend of mine, another trans man, told me that he actually dyes his facial hair and when I asked if he could teach me how when my facial hair gets a bit longer he agreed.

For now I’ll take my lightly colored facial hair as a blessing in disguise since maybe it’ll let me avoid it looking awkward as it grows in. It could also do just the opposite but I’d like to look on the bright side.

[Irritated Injection Site]

My fourth and last injection of the month had been rather difficult. Not only was my bottle slightly short of my full dose - which isn’t a big deal on it’s own - I also had an issue with a bubble that just wouldn’t go. I did my best to remove as much of the bubble as I could without losing any of my already smaller dose and injected when I thought I had enough of it out.

Within the next 24 hours or about that I realized that I, indeed, did not have enough of the bubble out as the injection site became itchy. Really, the itchiness was the only really problematic part. It remained itchy for the next couple days and a small lump formed under my skin. I wasn’t entirely sure what it could be, whether the bubble had caused it or if it was an allergy (which is also a possibility) I messaged my doctor and received the response that the reaction I was having was fairly common though I was advised to keep an eye on it in case symptoms worsened - thankfully they did not - and the irritation has been getting progressively better. Today when I had my follow up appointment I asked my doctor if icing the area would help with the irritation or if it would make it worse. She said that icing it was a great thing to try and that if I could treat the irritation with icing it that would be preferable to having to use medication to calm the irritation. I iced it a little when I got home today and it was a wonderful feeling.

[Name/Gender Change Filing]

Not really a ton that I’d like to say here since this is more so my personal life and details where I’d like to remain at least somewhat anonymous here BUT I will say that I filed for my name change and got back my first bit of information regarding it. It’s gone through apparently and now I’m waiting for further information to come in so I can go about changing it in all of my accounts and on my ID - sounds like it’s going to be exhausting but also euphoric.

But the filing itself actually didn’t cost much even with no fees waived.

I am slightly nervous about having my gender legally changed. I’m certainly not at a point where I’d say that I’m comfortable with the idea of public restrooms. Right now I’m legally considered a woman but being on testosterone makes me feel uncomfortable with the idea of being in the ladies room - however - even once I’m legally considered a man the lumps on my chest make me feel intensely uncomfortable with the idea of being in the men’s room. So essentially when I’m in public if I need to pee I’m just going to have to deal with being uncomfortable because the alternatives are STRESS.

#ftm #transgender #transgender man

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helplessly-nonstop · 6 years ago

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Depression (B. Wyatt series)

Hey, it’s Cassie and I actually have a series for you this time! Description, would you be a doll and tel our lovely readers what they’ve stumbled upon!

Honey Bee, or the reader, is a poem blogger and they meet a depressed Abigail Wyatt. As time passes by, they grow closer. But an abusive relationship separates the two and on Honey Bee’s visit to Florida, they realize that it’s too little too late. It will be a three part series: Depression, Impression, and Succesion. Please enjoy and don’t repost to other sites. Because I will find you and I will end you. Cool? Cool. My beta was my favorite soulmate: @sporadic-fics! (Go read her stuff, I love it all)

WC:2454 (the next two parts will ((more than likely)) be longer)

Warnings: depictions of an abusive relationship, mentions of murder, thoughts of suicide, Klandy Borton is a garbage human, character death, mentions of child abuse, anyway, here we go! (GIF was found on Google)

I was a social butterfly on all counts and one person had confided in me when I had posted a poem about suicide on my blog. Her name was Abigail Wyatt and she admitted that she wasn’t having the best life that she could be living. She and her two brothers lost their parents when they were young and unfortunately was pushed into the foster system.

Years had passed and there was multiple families that neglected and abused them, until finally, the oldest brother turned eighteen and they were taken from foster care under his watch. I took her under my wing, even though we had never met in person, but from there, we traded war stories. I explained where I got my inspiration to write and she told me all about her brothers: Bo and Bray.

Bo was apparently very outgoing and she confided in me that she believed that he was gay, which made me giggle a little. When she asked me why I laughed, I informed her that in sets of three siblings, there’s usually at least one that is a member of the LGBTQ+ community. She laughed with me for a while then continued telling me about her family.

Bray was the quietest of the three, with an aura of danger surrounding him, and she stated that she was often worried about what he might do if he had to protect his siblings from serious harm. I assured her that she should have nothing to worry about, but to be honest, there was no way of being sure.

But things went from good to bad for Abigail after a while. She had met a man by the name of Randy Orton and she told me that she had loved him like she had never loved anyone before.

“Abigail, are you sure that you truly know what kind of person this guy is? I just don’t want you getting hurt, that’s all.” I stated, bumping my apartment door shut with my hip. My hands were full with groceries while my phone was squished between my shoulder and cheek, something that was definitely uncomfortable. When I realized that I didn’t get it closed all the way, I raised my foot and kicked it in to its place.

“Oh, Honey Bee, I couldn’t be more sure! He’s so sweet and considerate, never late to pick me up! He works at the police station here in town!”she informed me, a small, dreamy sigh leaving her throat. I gave a laugh and set my bags on the ground before kicking my shoes off my feet.

“All right, as long as you know you’re safe with him. I’m going to get off of here and make some dinner.Tell Bo that I said hello!”

“Oh don’t lie to me, Honey Bee, you’re going to order in Panda Express for dinner cause you don’t want to cook.”she scolded but her soft giggle assured me that she wasn’t truly shaming me. I gave a grin then ended the call, beginning to put my food away in the sections that it belongs to. I laid on my couch for a few moments and stared at the ceiling before I decided that I was going to succumb to my ridiculous addiction to Chinese takeout.

Forty five minutes passed and finally, my food arrived, allowing me to retreat into my room properly. A small chirp through my phone drew me away from my bingeing of Brooklyn Nine Nine and I rolled away to check who texted me and raised an eyebrow when I realized that it wasn’t just any number: it was Abigail: Leave her alone or I swear to God, you’ll fucking die.

I jerked up out of bed and stared at the screen, unsure of how to react to this message. Apparently Abby hasn’t told her boyfriend that her closest friend just happened to be a person halfway across the country. I paced the length of my room and finally paused, deciding that I would call her in the morning. She was obviously with Randy tonight and I didn’t want to risk her getting hurt because I want to discuss her possibly dangerous boyfriend.

I set my half eaten sweet and sour chicken in the fridge and returned to my bed, staring at my clock, hoping that I could fix whatever Abigail had gotten herself into with this guy before it was too late.

With a quick roll to the right, I hit the floor with a groan, looking through the window to see that it was now daylight and snowing. Fantastic.

I pulled myself back to my feet and checked my phone to see if I had received any new messages that I should’ve been worried about. Luckily, there was just one and it really was from Abby this time. I swiped upwards then pressed in my thumbprint before reading what she sent me,”Hey, sorry about that last text! Randy can get a bit jealous. Don’t worry, tho, explained it all!”

I hesitated on what I should say, my thumbs hovering over the text keys, then I decided that I needed to see her face when I asked her these questions that had been brewing in my head all night. I guess worrying about the possibility that your friend’s boyfriend is a psycho really doesn’t let you sleep at night.

“You home alone?” I sent back in return, hoping that she’d give me the okay to FaceTime her. A few seconds skimmed by then she answered, ”Yeah, Randy left for work early today.”

A small sigh left me, my shoulders dropping in relief, then I pressed the button to go ahead and call. It rang three times and she finally picked up on the fourth one, her face slowly coming into focus. But that’s when I noticed it.

“Oh my God, Abigail, do you have a black eye?!” I demanded, leaning forward for a better look. She brushed a timid hand over her injury and reassured me, ”It’s fine, I hit the door knob cause I slipped. No big deal, I promise.”

“Abigail, I don’t think you really know this guy. I mean, he threatened to kill me and he doesn’t even know me!” Her eyes flashed with uncertainty and I began to say something else when she rushed out,”It’s fine, I fixed it! He’s gonna change, I swear it, Honey Bee! It’s fine, now, please, can we just talk about something else?”

And stupid, idiotic me being me, I allowed her to change the subject. But things didn’t become fine and Randy most certainly didn’t change.

Months passed and I began hearing from my friend less and less frequently, something that was uncommon for her. Eventually, time for my semi annual visit down to Florida had arrived and before I knew it, I was getting settled in my usual little hotel that I stayed in. I decided to FaceTime her to make sure that she was at home, since it was Thursday and she didn’t work today.

Her phone rang four times and for a moment, I thought she was going to let me go to voicemail, when she finally picked up. A gasp escaped me at her appearance and I stared at her with my mouth agape, unsure on what to say.

Her cheek was swollen, her black eye barely concealed, and her bottom lip was busted. But really frightened me was the bruises maring her throat. It was obvious that she was at her house, but there had been drastic changes made.

“Abigail, what happened?” I murmured, pressing my hand to my mouth, as if it could stop the tears brewing in my eyes. She began to give an excuse when someone snatched away the phone, shouting,”Fuck off, it’s none of your fucking business!” And with that, the screen went dark. I stared at my phone for a few moments then finally, I acted on what I knew needed to be done. I called the emergency number for Brooksville, Florida, desperate to send help for my friend.

“Hello, 911, is everything alright?”

“No! No, I think my friend is in danger. I called her and she looks like her boyfriend is beating her! When I asked what happened, he took her phone and smashed it. Please, could you send someone out to check on her?” I rushed out as calmly as I could manage. The man on the other end paused for a quick second and I thought that he might’ve hung up on me then he asked,”Do you know what the address is?”

I began tossing items from my purse then finally dragged my planner out, flipping to all of the addresses I had written down and thankfully, I had Abigail’s. I recited it back to the operator and I could hear him clicking on the keyboard before he answered,”Okay, we are sending in a patrol car now to check on your friend. Do you know what the boyfriend’s name is?”

I began telling him it then paused, remembering one of the few details that Abigail provided me about this dick fuck: he worked at the police department. Cops had a history of hiding domestic abuse cases like this when one of their own was the abuser and I was not about to let Abigail be let down by a corrupt system.

“No, I’m sorry, I don’t. I hope that’s okay.” I apologized, fake sympathy leaking into my voice.

“It’s alright, not a problem. Alright, it sounds like the patrol car is there now. Would you like to stay on the line with me, see if your friend is okay right away?”

“Yes, please, you could.” Silence hit the line and I waited with bated breath to hear what was going on then I heard words that I never wanted to hear.

“Shots fired, shots fired! One officer down, suspect is deceased, victim is critical. We need a bus!” Faint shouting rose through the phone and I ended the call quickly, unsure of what to do. My hands fidgeted, tossing my phone back and forth, then finally, decided to go digging through our past conversations in search of her brother’s number. I knew I should’ve saved it when she first sent it to me.

Two hours passed and I was barely a month through our texts when my phone began ringing with the caller ID as someone from Brooksville, Florida. I quickly picked up then asked,”Hello?”

“Hi, I’m lookin’ for a person by the name of Hunny Bee?”a man questioned, his voice something of a phone sex operator. He had somewhat of an accent and I realized that I knew that drawl. It was Bray, Abigail’s oldest brother. He somehow got my number and was calling me, hopefully with intentions of delivering good news.

“This is them. Is Abigail alright?” I asked, nibbling on my nails. A small sigh escaped his mouth then he stated,”I think you need to meet us down at the hospital, sweetheart.” I paused at his statement then began nodding as I agreed,”Of course, I’ll grab a cab and be there in ten.”

I snatched my bag from the bed and darted out the door, already ending the call with Bray and dialing for an Uber.

I rushed into the hospital and slammed my hands on the desk, rushing out,”I’m looking for Abigail Wyatt.” The man running the desk looked upwards and said with a monotone, ”Can’t if you’re not family.”

“I’m her sister in law and I suggest if you don’t want her brother in your face, you need to fucking tell me what room they’re in.” I snapped, cracking my knuckles. He rolled his eyes and clicked a few tabs on the keyboard before informing me where they were.

I rushed upstairs and began scanning the room numbers for Abigail’s when I heard someone call my name. I turned on my heel and watched as Bo came into view.

“Bo! Have you heard anything yet?” I rushed out after he crushed me into a hug. He pulled away and I watched his face crumble, giving away exactly what fate my dearest friend had met. Another man stepped beside us and I immediately connected who it was: Bray, the oldest of the Wyatt siblings.

“By the time that the police had arrived, it appears that Randall shot her. They warned him to lower his weapon but instead, he fired at the cops who in return, shot him. I’m very sorry, but Abigail has passed.”he informed me and for a second, the briefest of moments, there was silence, then my mind shattered.

“No! She- she can’t be gone, oh my god, how could I let this happen,I should’ve known, I should have pushed her to get help.” I sobbed, my knees buckling from underneath me. Bray caught me by my arms and lowered me to the ground, allowing me to continue my breakdown. He petted my hair and informed me,”Abigail knew the risks. You did everything you could do, it’s not your fault that she didn’t heed the warnings you were giving to her.”

“But-but I could’ve helped her more, could’ve convinced her to break it off with him.”

“Sweetheart, even if she would’ve tried, I imagine that the same result would’ve came along. This will not fall on your delicate shoulders.” Bray assured me, bringing me to my feet. I let out a sniffle and he offered,”Let me take you back to the house, you can rest there. Bo and I have some… arrangements to take care of.” My mind filled in his pause and I gave a stiff nod, muttering,”All my stuff is back at my hotel though.” He rubbed a calloused thumb over my cheek and said,”If you give me your key, I will retrieve your items and bring it back. I don’t think you need to be alone right now.”

“I-I don’t know why I’m not comforting you… you’re the one who lost his sister.” I murmured, lifting my head. He gave a stiff smile and replied,”Indeed I did.. but you gave her life. After she met you, she was like a beacon for us. You blessed her with light when darkness was being to consume her very being. Thank you… for everything that you did for Abigail.” I nodded then he dropped Bo and I at the house to settle in while he went to go get my items from my hotel room. It was going to take a while for me to fully come to terms about what the hell had taken place over the last couple weeks.

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