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gunnerfc · 1 year ago

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🎄WOSO FICMAS: Dec. 16 - Alex Greenwood🎄

Alex Greenwood x Reader (Man City & Matildas) | WC: 1168

Dec. 16 prompt - winter proposal

-> woso ficmas masterlist can be found here!

You loved that you got to play your club football in Manchester with your girlfriend, Alex. You had been teammates previously at Lyon in 2019, which was the same year you started dating. Now four years later and your relationship was as strong as ever.

Christmas time was always a fun time since you were given time off to celebrate with your families. This year, your family were coming to England to celebrate with you and Alex, as well as her family. It felt nice to have everyone that meant the world to you in the same place. Especially considering the question you were planning on asking Alex.

You knew you wanted to spend the rest of your life with the defender and what better way to propose than during the magical Christmas season? You had gone back and forth with how you wanted to propose before landing on a having a Christmas date night.

The date was at the Royal Albert Dock to walk around the light trail that was lit up with Christmas lights. You took your time as you took in the lights, though your mind was focused on the small box resting in your coat pocket. Your fingers were laced with the blonde’s as you strolled down the dock.

Your eyes fell on the blonde as you walked, watching the lights reflect across her face. You were too focused to realize Alex had come to a stop, pulling you to a halt.

“You okay?” the defender asked when you stopped walking and turned to face her fully.

Your expression must have matched your confusion at her question. With a raised eyebrow, you responded, “Yeah? Why do you ask?”

“You just seem nervous and you weren’t really payin’ attention,” Alex shrugged but you could hear the concern in her voice.

You took in a big breath before directing your eyes away from the defender. You tried to collect your thoughts, but you weren't at the specific location you wanted to propose and you didnt want to give anything away just yet.

Your eyes locked with Alex’s once again, a small smile on your face. “I'm good, I promise. Just thinking about some things,” you reassured.

“Whatever it is, you can tell me y’know?” your girlfriend smiled as she took your hand again to continue walking.

You mumbled an “I know” before giving her a quick kiss on her cheek which earned you a bright smile in response. As you kept walking, the ring box felt like it was getting heavier. You knew needed to propose sooner rather than later.

There was a small pier that was off the trial but still close enough that the lights could still be seen. It was Alex’s turn to be confused as you turned away from the trail and opted to go in the other direction. The blonde didn’t question when you led her to the nearby pier, knowing that you must have a reason for being there.

Your left hand played with the box in your pocket as you came to a stop, turning to lean your back slightly on the railing. You took a deep breath as you tried to remember the short speech you had prepared but you had seemingly forgotten everything now that you were about to say it.

“I had this whole speech prepared but… now that I'm standing here, I can’t remember any of it,” you lightly laughed, not wanting to feel so nervous about asking Alex to marry you even though it was a big step you would be making.

Alex didn’t try to interrupt you to ask what you meant, she could sense how nervous you were and wanted to let you say what you needed. Instead, she opted to take a step closer to you and reached out to hold your free right hand, squeezing it lightly as a show of comfort.

You looked up from the ground in front of you, locking eyes with the blonde which seemed to give you a sense of confidence.

“Joining Lyon four years ago was one of scariest moments of my life, I didn’t know what to expect being so far away from home in a new country that spoke a language I didn’t understand. Then, I met you and things weren’t as scary. I was so nervous asking you out after that game, but when you said yes, I felt like I was on top of the world.” you paused to catch your breath, Alex’s eyes never left yours as you spoke.

“Then when you were offered a spot at City I was so happy for you even if meant we would be apart but then they offered me a contract and it was one of the easiest decisions I ever had to make. I would have been fine with the distance but I had the opportunity to be in the same city with you again and I couldn’t pass it up. “ as you spoke, you pulled the box from your coat pocket.

“I love being in Manchester with but it doesn’t matter what city we’re in, as long as I'm with you, I'll be happy. That’s why I wanted to ask you something,” you finished your improved speech as you lowered to your knee, opening the small box as you did so.

You held Alex’s left hand tightly in yours as you did so, Alex could feel herself holding in a breath as she knew what question you were about to ask.

“Alex..” you breathed, your nerves left your body as you felt the blonde’s hand in yours. “Will you marry me?”

Alex nodded at first before a whispered “yes” left her mouth. You stood quickly, wrapping your arms around her waist as your lips met hers. Your lips moved against each other passionately, the love you felt for each other showing in the kiss.

You pulled away when you remembered the ring that was in the box you were holding. You pulled the ring from the box, moving it onto Alex’s ring finger. You put the box back in your coat pocket, your arms once again wrapping around Alex’s waist. Alex’s arms wrapped around your neck, her eyes locking with yours and you could the love she had for you in her eyes.

“I’m so in love you with,” you muttered as you leaned in to give the blonde another kiss, this one more heated than the first. You two stayed in the spot on the pier, not wanting to leave just yet.

When you pulled away, Alex whispered “I love you” against your lips before you were out of reach. Reluctantly you took her hand to start walking back to the Christmas light trial, though you did debate not finishing it and instead heading back to the parking lot. You once again felt like you were on top of the world as you felt the ring on her hand pressed against your own as you held her hand tightly.

#woso x reader #woso #alex greenwood #engwnt x reader #man city women x reader #alex greenwood x reader

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acaplaya-musings · 3 months ago

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Voiceplay Be Prepared - thoughts and commentary

Gonna try to just talk about vocals and arrangement stuff here, because I will be doing a VoicePlay Visuals post for this too, but we'll see. I do know the original song very well though - in fact I rewatched the OG like the other day or something after I saw that picture of Layne and Cyndi that hinted at what Voiceplay was up to. Anyway let's go!

(Put below the cut because this is a lot of just me rambling)

OKAY SO SLEEPING IN THE COLD BELOW HAS BEEN KNOCKED OFF ITS PERCH FOR FAVOURITE VP SONG OF 2024

The opening percussion fill thingy from Layne honestly reminds me a lot of the start of the Moana medley, and apparently I wasn't the only one to think that! A few other Patrons mentioned it, and there was even a very brief throwaway joke about it in the BTS! I have since compared the start of the Moana Medley to the start of this, and they're not identical, but there are still definitely similarities, and it's not actually all that common for VP songs to start off with that sort of drum-like percussion anyway.

Trying very hard to not talk about the on-screen stuff here, because I'll be leaving that for Voiceplay Visuals, but I just have to put it out there that Geoff looks amazing here, and the ACTING OH MY GOD. This is like Oogie Boogie 2.0 in terms of how much Geoff is moving around and embodying the character! Alright now back to vocals/arrangement

Okay so next thing that must be mentioned - the rap! According to a snippet from Layne in the Patreon post description, there was some uncertainty as to whether the dialogue should be kept in or not, which was an issue that VP also faced for their cover of Hellfire last year. When Layne asked Patrons what they thought, it was basically a 50/50 split, so not very helpful, rip. So he thought "What if we keep the dialogue but do it in a way that it feels like it's part of the song -> a 'rap'?" So yeah basically Layne wrote that rap section to be a stand-in for the original dialogue, and honestly it works so well!

This song features Mykal Kilgore, who is one of the OG members of "VoicePlay", way before it was called VoicePlay! I'll say a bit more about him in my Voiceplay Visuals post, but basically he was "one of the screaming high tenors" (Patreon post's words, not mine!), and yeah it shows! That high note on "long live the king!" was hella impressive!

(And if you're thinking "man I kinda wish I could hear more of what Mykal sounds like", first of all, he actually did some covers with Postmodern Jukebox like 7 or 8 years ago (and I apparently have seen one of them before? Watched it by total coincedence at some point? A cover he did of Since You Been Gone). And also, a treat for any of you who've read this far - you might be hearing him with Voiceplay again sooner or later...)

This is actually the third time that Geoff has sung Be Prepared with VoicePlay - the second time was of course the 2019 Aca Top 10 Disney Villains video, but the first time was for VoicePlay's "Once Upon An Ever After" album all the way back in 2012. It was part of a Lion King medley track (just audio, they didn't make a video for it), and so it wasn't the full song (honestly the shift is a little weird, because it jumps from "the lights are not all on upstairs" to "the point that I must emphasise is", like there's no rhyme connection!). Furthermore, the lead was shared between Geoff and Earl, similar to how it was for the Aca Top 10 part. Geoff took the opening verse, Earl took the chorus, and they each got a final line at the end.

And MAN has Geoff come a long way in his vocal abilities since 2012, like yeah duh obviously but STILL.

According to one of the Patrons, the lowest Geoff gets in this one is E1 (via subharmonics of course), and honestly the fact that that's basically child's play for him at this point is crazy. Like I literally had a moment of "oh only down to an E1?" because I know he can go lower, and then was like "wait what do I mean 'only' an E1, that's still objectively low!"

Geoff's voice... what the hell do I say about Geoff's voice? Like the timbre when he's in his upper chest range here, the resonance on the low notes, the GROWLS, like yeah okay obviously I adore his visual performance in the video (and visual everything about him), but that all would be nothing if it didn't come with some of the most amazing vocals you've ever heard in your life!

I love how Geoff goes down on the word "upstairs", and the way he does so with the little growl at the end, oooh it gives me happy shivers!

Low-key funny how there's a sudden low drop on "even you can't be caught unawares", because it does, in fact, catch you unawares (or it did with me anyway!)

Also you'd think I'd fully be used to Geoff's low notes by now, but to steal the phrasing of another reactor I recently started watching, the low drops here are potent! Like literally went down to my stomach (and then some) and even made my heart skip a beat the first couple of watches (and obviously the visuals really help give it a bigger impact).

Oh my god that slow slide down on his last "be prepared" line??? Literally that last syllable alone is stretched out for just a fraction under 10 seconds (I timed it with my phone's stopwatch), INSANE.

I cannot WAIT for reaction videos to this - Kaz, DJ, and Mortius are all gonna lose their goddamn minds!! (Also how many reactions/reaction video titles are gonna include "I was not prepared", lol, low-hanging fruit joke but it's so real)

Alright, I'm off to go watch the video for a third time - this is practically my new Hellfire (said with much love for both - I still love their Hellfire cover a whole lot), and we're not even in October yet!!! (though because of the release delay, we're quite close!)

(As of the public release, I've actually watched this at least half a dozen times, listened to the MP3 track, the karaoke track, and watched the BTS video for this twice. I. Am. Obssessed.)

I'll leave you with a comment and reply from the Patreon post that amused me when I saw it: 😄

#voiceplay #geoff castellucci #voiceplay be prepared #acaplaya ramblings #can't wait to make a Voiceplay Visuals post for this omg aaaaaa

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tomorrowxtogether · 2 years ago

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TOMORROW X TOGETHER On Their First Time Meeting, Performing in Singapore And More

Everything you need to know about K-pop’s Gen Z darlings

Since making their highly anticipated debut in 2019, TOMORROW X TOGETHER has made waves with their energetic, youthful sound and dynamic dance performances. This weekend, the group finally brought their ACT: SWEET MIRAGE tour to Singapore, in their first-ever concert in the city. Below, the band’s five members tell BAZAAR all about their first times, from what made them fall in love with music in the first place to the first impressions their bandmates left on them.

When was the first time you realised you wanted to become singers?

Hueningkai: For the three of us (Soobin, Yeonjun, Hueningkai), it was more or less the same. We took part in music and performance-related club activities in middle school, and would perform during school festivals.

Yeonjun: The experience of being on stage and delivering the song you’ve been working so hard on, having everybody cheer for you—it’s incredible. Nobody can forget that. So from then on, we decided music was what we wanted to do.

Beomgyu: I was really young and was watching a movie called August Rush. The kid in there, played by Freddie Highmore, is really incredible with the guitar. I thought it was so cool, and sooner or later, it was my new dream to become someone who can touch others with music.

Taehyun: I was watching a newly released music video with my sister. The group was SHINee. Watching them sing and dance like that made me want to give it a try, and here I am.

Soobin: Yeah, the idea that it was something we wanted to do just came to us very organically. My parents always loved listening to music in the car, and we also had friends around our age who loved K-pop. We knew that doing music was a possibility and we all took it. I’m glad we did.

Is this your first time in Singapore? What do you love about touring here?

Yeonjun: Yes! We’re here on tour for the first time, and it feels incredible to be here. I know some of our fans here have been waiting for this show for a long while and I just want to make sure they know that we’ve been eagerly awaiting this night as well. We’re really happy to be here.

Taehyun: We keep our eyes and ears out. The best thing about being on tour here in Singapore is definitely the fans. They’re so passionate already. Also, it’s beautiful here. You have the Marina Bay Sands, one of the world’s iconic architectures, and really good food as well. We’re having a great time.

You’re set to be the first K-pop group to headline Lollapalooza. How does it feel?

Beomgyu: You can ask any of us. LOLLAPALOOZA last year was definitely one of the most memorable events of our 2022. The crowds were passionate and so were we. We were reminded yet again of why we love being in music so much. We’re really honoured to be invited back to the festival for the second year in a row, this time as headliner. All I can say is, it’s going to be a fantastic show so you better be there.

Tell us about your latest EP, The Name Chapter: Temptation. Are there any notable firsts on the album?

Hueningkai: I guess one song that we want to draw your ears to is “Happy Fools (feat. Coi Leray).” We all wrote lyrics to Yeonjun’s melody, so in that sense, it’s a very TOMORROW X TOGETHER-ish song. We’re really proud of this one and happy we can work on such good songs together.

What about this latest tour? How does it feel to perform certain songs for the first time?

Soobin: Without revealing too much for any of our fans who want to keep the show a surprise for when they actually get there… I want to say this tour and the songs we’re performing really mark our youth. If you feel that you’re also in your youth right now, you’ll be able to really connect and relate to the songs.

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Do you remember the first time you all met one another?

Beomgyu: We’re all going to say the same thing for Yeonjun. We joined the company and he was already “BIGHIT Legendary Trainee Yeonjun Choi” since he was really good at everything. Soobin was really, really tall so he stuck out a lot since we were all young and therefore much shorter than we are now. He always liked to reach out and take care of others. Taehyun had huge eyes, and had random talents like magic tricks. He’s also very smart.

Soobin: Beomgyu was really shy for just one day but we soon found out just how energetic he can be. He really brightens up the mood. Hueningkai was really young, basically a baby but look how he’s grown now.

Lastly, what career firsts are you still looking forward to in the future?

Taehyun: TOMORROW X TOGETHER is just getting started. We have a great team here with incredible trust, synergy, and friendship and I can’t wait to see what else we can achieve together.

Hueningkai: We want to become a group with a unique signature sound that anyone can recognise. I want people to hear our music and immediately know, ‘hey, that’s TOMORROW X TOGETHER.’ I guess we want to become a staple for all youth who are experiencing growing up.

Yeonjun: We’re still here now, but we’ll also be back again sooner than you know. And you won’t be disappointed.

#txt #tomorrow x together #230402 #article #harpers bazaar #soobin #yeonjun #beomgyu #taehyun #hueningkai #BAZAAR #ACT SWEET MIRAGE

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kimiehashobbies · 9 months ago

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Night time greetings ladybugs,

Im feel so much better! Just had to work through some melancholy but im back at it. I have not done much working out this week but thats ok. What matters is im back on schedule tomorrow.

Something good I focused on during my low mood period: I finished interlocking my locs. I have microlocs so it always takes me 3-7 days. I really try to take my time. I recently cut off 3 rows in the back. My hair is fine and soft in the back in particular so it wasnt doing well in the loc style. Im going to just leave it alone. Just do wash and go in the back for it. Its a good reminder that sometimes we have to go with the flow. People wont like it but thats ok. I've had locs since October 2019. Its been amazing and freeing. I wear my hair for me now. Im comfortable with all the imperfections. I started them myself and maintain them myself. I learned from watching youtube videos. Im probably going to dye my hair again soon. I'll show pics when I finally do it. Im trying to pick a color. I didnt like dyeing my roots so i wont be doing that again. I like a soft dark brown eyebrow and root. Looks better to me.

I also got more yard work done. We are going to start spreading seeds. Its been over run with weeds but the worst part is the stickers. Awful for all of us but mostly our Luca. Im going to work really hard this spring to get the yard growing.

Not too much else has happened. Im back at it with my fitness, art and writing now that my mood has gotten optimistic! I have an idea for a comic book and thats what im working on for my art. Im casually drawing my 1st comic strip (i have 4 ideas) i hope i can get that first strip out this month. My timeline is kind of off a little. I haven't written at all in 2 weeks. Im picking that back up. I should've had this first idea done but I get so in my head about if its good enough. I'll never know if it is good enough unless i finish. Oh and also, I have not even looked at my Banjo so...... I take full accountability I failed at that goal.

Just a piece of wisdom I've learned is that opportunity wont just magically come without inner work. I've had beautiful ideas in my mind for at least a decade but I've always had self doubt and I'm an expert at self sabotaging. I have to get this creativity out there because its what i love and its who i am. Sometimes it is you yourself that holds you back. 2024 im done hiding, I will start this creative journey and document it the whole way through. I've got this and I want this. I believe in me and thats where action starts.

Ladybugs if you feel called to do something, just do it. The regret from not doing it sooner (or at all) will eat away at you. You cant fail if you dont try, BUT (but, but, but) you cant succeed either. You gotta believe in you and be your biggest fan.

As my favorite poet Jermaine Cole wrote "There's beauty in the struggle..."

🫶🏾🐞Kimie

#hobbies #melancholy #locs #feelinghappyagain #failure #beautyinthestruggle

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plural-aita · 1 year ago

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AWTA for not understanding if why we’ve been blocked by a friend?

I (me alone) sent a similar story on AITA but this is a more of “did we handle this properly” question rather than “did I handle this wrong” question. For context I’m part of a system and I have a host who we’ll call A (M18). A became friends with two people who we’ll call S (M20) and C (GF21) way back in 2019. They knew our body’s sister who we’ll call D (F20) and as such they were all friends with each other. However because of Covid and A being rather weird at communication they sorted of stopped communicating.

Last year however A and D started talking to S and C again. They started to become a friend group and also added the edition of C’s cousin who we’ll call L (NB16). Unfortunately however A never told them we were a system as they found out around mid 2020 when we started to lose touch with them. On top of that A tells people they trust that we are a system. First we confessed to S who we told could tell us if they have an issue with any headmate including or whatnot if one occurs and we’ll try our best to fix it no questions asked nor arguments will happen. We also said they could ask for whoever is fronting whether or not they think it’s A or not. Eventually however we spilled to D and C we were a system since we were in person and questions could be asked if they were any (reason we didn’t tell D sooner is because we rather scared she’d reject us). We gave them the same speech and told them the exact same thing. L was never told since the plan was to tell them the next time we see them in person.

However problems arose when a rather rude headmate fronted. S and L were talking about a show they were watching and this headmate said some rather nasty stuff about that said thing. S and L didn’t like this as it was rude and included flawed logic. Because of that headmate S and L didn’t want to be friends. A eventually fronted (since they were gone in the innerworld) and apologized for the system as whole for the headmate but both S and L said they wanted distance for now. We had to spill the beans about being a system to L of course since it was that headmate who said those things. We did talk to D about this but all they asked was if we apologized. C was talked to too and they were okay with being our friend, but they told us they were going to give everyone in the system including A “tough love” for that headmate’s actions.

We understood until we noticed when A vented to them C was being rather biased for S and L. They told rather rude things ranging from assuming S and L felt unsafe around us because of that headmate and trying to say it’s not our fault but then literally saying our fault us for “not making it clear who’s fronting.” We couldn’t make it clear since L was in a groupchat with us and as I’ve said L didn’t know we were a system until that instance. Also DMs exist they could’ve asked as we told them they could. They also stated they knew we made S uncomfortable more than twice but he didn’t say anything because he hates confrontation and is too nice to say something. If that was true S should’ve said something to us not C since A told them they could. We would’ve understood and changed our behavior. Also keep in mind S is 20. He is an adult and should know to have an adult conversation with us since we’re also bodily an adult.

Basically I just want to know if I’m thinking about this wrong or if I’m in the right. Did we handle this situation wrong?

#plural aita

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localbff · 2 years ago

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/Jai Paul, Coachella 2023. Image from Reddit

As I listen to his finally released ‘Bait Ones’ album and the duo ‘DYLHN/He’ on a very unhealthy amount, I recall the legendary Coachella performance that had occurred. Jai. fucking. Paul. In the flesh. Finally. The longest hiding game has finally come to an end.

It was one of the very few artists performances I was waiting to watch in this years Coachella. I haven’t been seeing able to keep track of the last few Coachella events, specifically since 2019 to 2022—but when that 2023 list dropped: Frank Ocean and... JAI PAUL??? *____*

I have an unhealthy obsession with this man, basically a deity, to me, in a musical and industry sense. I try to track his music production from time to time whenever I feel the need to steal styles and sound rigs/effects chains. This man has showed me the ropes of music production without even speaking to me directly, more of like a ‘this is DIY, do your fucking thing, idiot.’, type that felt like a commentary to what he was doing. Plus, it isn’t clearly stated when these demos were made but some of them spanning from years 2007-2008, and sounding half-polished and stands on its own that introduces culture and character without being overbearing and underwhelming.

Me, clearly, being at home and never in my entire life attending that blasphemous event, is waiting at the Mojave stream since 2 in the morning, waiting for the stream title to be ‘LIVE’ and not replays of the entire day 1. I waited for his name to be in the stream, but to no avail, a Snail Mail replay replaces his spot for 7:45PM. It was mildly frustrating, yes, but I know deep down myself it was just draft schedules and withholder name and time for a duration. It starts, Yung Lean performs, great as always, but not at his best vocal-wise, I finish up until Remi Wolf, which is also a great artist herself – definitely check her out if you have the time. And as I wait for the schedule cards to change... phshwwwww... a re-stream of Snail Mail. I felt somewhat crushed, defeated and betrayed even. I know how these motherfuckers operate, wanting the shroud of mystery to stay still around Jai, never to see him perform live and only for the live audiences to experience. Yes, at this point, I was pissed for a brief moment, but tried to remain calm as I know Jai content will be floating around social media, particularly Twitter, sooner or later. I felt somewhat jealous, too. Jealous of the fact that I don’t get to feel the joys of being there live and not having to fanboy while these people are there consuming it all. Listen, I have waited almost half of my life just to see this man move a limb on-screen, Jai and Coachella, why the fuck do you hate us? Is this some sort of personal vendetta the fans? So I let it all happen. I’ve finally accepted I can never see Jai Paul perform anymore. And there I became that one fool that retweeted every JP updates/pictures/videos/threads that are being uploaded on twitter. I wished him well on his performance and said my final goodbyes to the stupid idea that I’d get to see him perform on stream.

...Or so I thought.

Thank, fucking, God... after a few hours of already giving up, a rebroadcast of the Jai performance was to show on the livestream after Labrinth. I screamed internally, but thought to myself that this already happened, being the petty fuck that I am at times, that the people have already cheered and clapped to this, had a peek on his setlist and even seeing small clips of his performances on Twitter, to which I blame myself for the spoils, I can never enjoy this anymore.

But I sold myself short on the thought: the performance was beautiful for a debut. Jai sang so beautifully like in his records, hitting all the notes consequently. Started 20 minutes late but with Higher Res, continuously being great that he is, ending with Str8 Outta Mumbai, a fan favorite. He delivered – so beautifully and flawlessly.

Thank you, as you continue to inspire me and be one of my important icons. You are yourself, and I hope you continue to be what you want for you and your music. You deserved it and the fans loved what you did. Forever grateful.

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thejosh1980 · 2 years ago

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2920 days and counting

It's been 8 years since I became free.

I can still remember parts of that last night drinking that ended up with me, as the sun came up, in an ambulance heading to a psychiatric hospital, it was a suicide watch kind of situation.

I was in a bad way, and in very bad relationship, a very toxic one, with alcohol. I was too close to the relationship and couldn't see the damage until I was in hospital.

I have documented a lot of my journey in past blogs, particularly a year ago when I wrote The 7 year itch.

Recently I was chatting with a Dresden local, a musician who I have known since 2006. We had a couple of bands together, also played in each other’s other bands and drank and partied many times over the years.

In mid-2009 we had a big falling out, I can't remember all the details (a lot alcohol was involved) but we ended up coming to fisticuffs and I came out worse for wear. The bands and friendship we had ended pretty quickly after that.

I know at the time we both pushed each other, egged each other on, and made fun of each other. Looking back there was little respect and big egos at play. Both too tough to show vulnerability or real care for each other. I know for my part, at the time I was not fully aware, nor willing to be accountable for my behaviour.

All the problems were someone else's fault.

So then came several years of me being a fool, I wouldn't even visit places I knew he'd be at. Why should I? Why should I even bother to spend money in his establishments either, I was angry, he hurt my feelings. Mind you, I know now, I was just projecting my insecurities onto him, even if we weren't talking.

Fast forward a few years, and I got sober and I started to open up to new ways of being. Being vulnerable, being responsible, being accountable, and being open to building bridges. It was a long process, and it wasn't like we suddenly became mates again, but we did cross paths more and more often as time moved on.

I can't remember the exact year, but I'd say it was in 2018 or 2019, he asked if we could meet and have a chat about my drinking (or lack thereof). I remember he wanted to talk about my experiences and maybe get some advice. He explained to me he had come to realise that getting drunk was his way of creating an excuse to treat others badly. Well I sure as hell had been there before, we both had together, some 10 years prior.

It was almost like we were ex-lovers, meeting years after “moving on” and opening up about our past mistakes. We realised we both had messed up, we'd both been mean and spiteful and difficult and challenging, and we were now open to clearing the air and rebuilding on our reconnection.

I can say that now, after that conversation we have grown to care for each other deeply. We're good mates, and even though I am now half a world away, we continue checking in on each other from time to time. We see each other’s posts on social media, and often that sparks a conversation.

Those conversations have become deep, meaningful, trusting, and caring.

We didn't bury the past either. We opened it up, talked about it, and apologised. It wasn't easy for both of us, but it brought us back together.

We no longer take the piss out of each other, we care for each other. We no longer have egos raising the toxicity level between us, we've both shared some deep feelings that have created the space to trust ourselves, being imperfect humans. Having that hard conversation, about our behaviour, thoughts, and feelings, and expressing our insecurities and worries, opened our friendship up to a deeper level, and man, it is awesome.

Bromance, love, care, trust, and friendship.

Recently we were chatting and the subject of our reconnection came up. We both said we missed each other, and we are so glad that we reconnected. He said I wish I had done it sooner, and I responded that it happened at the right time, when both of us were open to the idea of reconnecting.

We are both musicians, and timing is everything.

He isn't the first (or the last) person I have found a deeper connection with since I sobered up. I no longer partied for the hell of it, having superficial moments with people, and started enjoying coffee dates with deep and meaningful connections. It's been a journey and a real blessing. The more I open up, and share my vulnerabilities and insecurities, the more others do too, and that just gets us deeper and deeper, feeling connection and love.

I am not 100% happy, I haven't been for most of my life, but when I think back to the dickhead I often was on the booze, these days I can find gratitude and love for myself as a sober guy who shares, and connects, with people.

I am very blessed to have been on this journey since 6th February 2015. Often folks talk about “giving up” something as a bad thing, but what I have found is new ways to connect, experience and enjoy life.

Thanks for reading,

Josh

#alcohol #drinking #personal growth #relationships #connection #mental health

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jigujellee · 4 years ago

Text

AS THE DAYS WENT BY -> you recall the events about how you fell in love to how it all ended.

rosé x reader (first person pov) fluff & angst word count: 3.1k warnings: like 2 swear words

a/n: it's been a while, but i'm back! this is written in the reader's pov (like writing in a journal) and may or may not have been influenced by real life events which is why it was dated in like 2019. but anyway, enjoy this rushed piece of writing and thank you for all your support! <3

july 2, 2019 - the day we met

i’m not a fan of cheesy romance films, but today i felt like i was in one.

she was tall, slim, had blonde hair with a black headband, and she wore a cream coloured cardigan with baggy blue jeans. though she was dressed so casually, she looked better than any model on a runway. beside her were three other girls who were equally as stunning as she was, and honestly, i'm kind of glad i was asked to come into work today.

the blonde was the last to order since she couldn’t decide what she wanted. when she finally spoke, her voice was gentle and calm, her australian accent adding the cherry on top. she had the biggest smile plastered on her face, the one that turned her eyes into crescents and showed off her pearly whites that were perfectly aligned.

but then i realized i was definitely staring for too long.

“was my order too complicated?” she joked, her giggle making my heart skip so many beats.

“no no, not at all, I must’ve been zoning out I’m sorry”, her smile never faded.

“no worries, it happens to all of us. so, can I get my grande caramel macchiato with extra caramel drizzle and no foam?”

“absolutely. anything else for you?”

she shook her head in response and tapped her card to pay. as i gave her the receipt, her hand brushed against mine and my eyes went straight to hers, only to catch her looking at me already. i was slowly getting lost in her eyes, looking deep enough to see my reflection before snapping myself back into reality.

“can i get your name for the order?”

as I write “chaeyoung” on the cup, she finally leaves the cashier and joins her friends to wait for their orders. i heard plenty of snickers and giggles from the three of her friends, and i watched chaeyoung playfully slap one of them on the shoulders. i think it was lisa if i heard correctly.

but today i realized that i was most definitely in a cheesy romance film.

july 24, 2019 - the day we had our first date

chaeyoung started coming by more and more often, ordering the same caramel macchiato with extra caramel drizzle and no foam. but today, she actually asked for something other than her drink.

“i’m actually not here for the drink, i was just wondering if it’s possible to get your number?” out of all the times she’s visited, this was the first time I’ve seen her so shy. she was playing with the rings on her fingers while looking at her shoes and avoiding my gaze.

i didn’t say anything and instead, grabbed the drink that was already made for her and scribbled on the cup before handing it to her.

“you’re here almost everyday, i figured i should start making them in advance. don’t worry, it’s on me today,” i beamed and shot a wink at her. the look of confusion on her face was immediately replaced with her toothy smile as i turned the cup in her hands to reveal my number.

later that evening, i was bombarded with texts from an unknown number but i could already tell who it was.

unknown (7:20PM): hi! I’m sorry i only texted now 😅

unknown (7:20PM): i would make up an excuse about why i didn’t text sooner, but honestly, i just didn’t know what to say 🙈

unknown: (7:21PM): btw, i’ve always been wanting to say that you’re really cute <3

me (7:24PM): you know, you could maybe introduce yourself before saying things like that so i don’t think you’re some weirdo hahaha 😂

chaeyoung (7:25PM): well you still knew it was me, so i don’t see any problem 😚

and just like that, chaeyoung became a part of my daily routine. we texted into the late hours of the night, asking each other questions to get to know each other better, worrying about whether the other ate or not, and falling asleep on the phone with each other. with each day going by, i knew i was slowly falling in love with her.

chaeyoung and i were going out for the first time, and i offered to take her to watch the new lion king since she loves disney movies. throughout the movie, i would sometimes glance over to see her quietly singing along to the songs, crying and then laughing a few minutes after. she laid her head on my shoulder, so i grabbed her hand and held onto it for the rest of the movie, noting the way our fingers interlaced and fit together.

we were still hand in hand as we left the movie and made our way to dinner. i learned that chaeyoung loves food, any food really. anything i suggested, she was excited for all of them so it was hard to choose what to eat. we ended up at a vietnamese restaurant and i was caught off guard when she looked like she was about to burst into tears.

“chae? what’s wrong? what happened?”

“no, it’s nothing y/n, i just… i just cry when the food is so good.”

i let out a sigh of relief, glad i didn’t do anything to upset her. but one thing's for certain - i was deeply in love with chaeyoung.

december 1, 2019 - the day we got together

it wasn’t anything extravagant. chaeyoung kept telling me how she wanted to go skating with me one day, so after getting through week of midterms, i was finally able to take her to the rink.

after tying my skates, i waited for chaeyoung to finish up with hers. i looked up and watched as the small, white snowflakes slowly fell from the sky. i suddenly felt a hand grab mine and saw a red-nosed human beside me.

“you ready to skate rudolph?” chaeyoung smacked my shoulder, and after exaggerating about how much her smack hurt me, she let go of me and started to walk towards the rink.

“let’s go you big baby!” chaeyoung yelled out as she stepped onto the ice.

i wasn’t the best skater, but at least i wasn’t the one falling on my ass every 2 minutes. i made my way over to her to help her up and held her close to me to keep her from falling.

“hold onto me, i’ll guide you” i started skating backwards, holding tight onto chaeyoung’s hands. when i felt that she was getting used to it, i slowly picked up the pace and started to loosen my grip on her. i tried to let go but as soon as i did, she slipped again. luckily, i grabbed her before her ass could hit the ice for the 4th time this evening.

“i’m starting to think you’re falling on purpose just so i could hold you” i teased while still holding her close to me.

“and if i was? what are you gonna do about it?”

without much thought, i leaned in and pressed my lips against hers. they were exactly as i expected - soft, sweet, and fits perfectly together with mine. i pulled away and watched her smile grow until her eyes became crescents.

“let’s make this official y/n”

“oh, were we not? i guess it was just in my head” chaeyoung threw her head back in laughter.

“well, it’s not just in your head anymore. i want this, i want us, for real”

i didn’t know what else to say so i just kissed her again. i’m pretty sure she understood what my answer was.

february 11, 2020 - her birthday

me (12:00AM): happy birthday my love! thank you for everything you’ve done for us, and please remember that i am always proud of everything you do ❤️ i love you so much! 😘

chaeyoung ❤️ (12:01AM): 😭😭😭 thank you so much love, you’re the best gift God has given me ❤️❤️ i love you so much more!!! 😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘

chaeyoung ❤️ (12:01): am i gonna see my wifey later??

me (12:02AM): i’m sorry, but i have an assignment due tomorrow and i haven’t started :( i promise i’ll make it up to you sometime this week tho!!

that was a lie. i finished the assignment yesterday so that i could surprise her and spend her birthday with her.

chaeyoung ❤️ (12:05AM): 😡😡 i can’t believe you left it to the last minute again. you better finish it if you want some kisses when i see you

me (12:05): hehe yes love, don’t worry. get some sleep now, okay? goodnight, I love you ❤️

chaeyoung ❤️ (12:05AM): goodnight! i love you more ❤️

for the past few weeks, i’ve been talking to her friends jennie, lisa, and jisoo about how to surprise her since chaeyoung was a pretty gullible person. the plan was to have jennie call her saying that i wasn’t feeling well and we’d all hide while we wait for her to arrive.

throughout the day, the four of us were busy getting everything for the party and also our gifts for chaeyoung. lisa and i bought decorations and put them up while jisoo and jennie were in charge of getting the food and drinks. everything was set up by 6PM, and now it was time to get the birthday girl.

“hello chaeng?”

“hey jennie, what’s up?”

“i need you to come down to y/n’s, she’s passed out on the ground. i don’t think she’s eaten all day and-”

“oh my god, okay okay I’m on my way, i’ll be there in a few minutes”

“the door is unlocked!” jennie said before the line went dead.

“that was easy” lisa said.

“don’t you think her passing out is a bit much?” jisoo asked. “well whatever, she’s on her way” lisa answered.

jennie went to unlock the door and turned off the lights before joining us behind the couch. within what felt like 8 minutes, i could hear heavy and quick footsteps down the hallway before the door busted open and the lights were turned on.

“y/n?! jennie? where are you?!”

“surprise!” chaeyoung jumped out of fear before covering her face as she started to cry. i rushed up to her and tried to remove her hands from her face.

“love, what’s wrong?”

“i thought something happened to you bitch” she fell into my chest as I hugged her.

“i’m sorry chaeng, we didn’t mean to scare you” she pulled her head up and looked at me with a pout.

“don’t do that again please”

“we won’t. well, maybe we won’t” lisa chimed in from behind us. the three of them joined our hug.

“happy birthday rosie!” jisoo yelled after letting go of us. i wiped chaeyoung’s tears and her smile started forming again.

“thank you everyone, this means a lot to me. but y/n, i thought you had an assignment due?”

“i finished it yesterday so now you owe me some kisses” i pulled her into a kiss despite the sound of three girls pretending to vomit in the background.

“gross, can we just start partying please?” lisa said as she turned on some music and grabbed a drink.

the rest of the evening was spent eating, opening her gifts, and now a drunken game of twister. jisoo spun the wheel while jennie, lisa, chaeyoung and i were on the mat. lisa fell within 2 minutes of the game starting, and i fell after my foot missed the red spot so now it was just jennie and chaeyoung. even with the number of drinks jennie had, she still managed to keep her balance until lisa thought it’d be a great idea to tickle jennie, which crowned chaeyoung as the winner.

“hey, no fair! lisa distracted me” jennie whined. jisoo laughed and helped her friend sit up but left Lisa to get up on her own.

while the four of them were laughing it off on the floor, i came out with the cake and some candles. jennie noticed me first and started singing happy birthday, and lisa, jisoo and i joined in.

“make a wish my love” chaeyoung thought hard about her wish before blowing out her candles.

“what did you wish for chae?” lisa questioned.

“to stay like this. forever” then her gaze shifted to me.

“forever with you” she says as i place a soft kiss on her forehead.

november 24, 2020

“y/n, why were you texting dawon?”

“i was just asking her where she got her sweater from, that’s all”

“i thought i told you not to text her?”

“it was just a simple question! god chaeyoung, it’s not like i’m asking to fuck her” chaeyoung rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen.

i don’t know when things started becoming like this. everyday, there’s an argument and it’s always about something small like why i haven’t texted or where i’ve been. chaeyoung was clingy, i knew that, but this was starting to get out of hand.

i followed her into the kitchen. “chae come on, this is like the 8th argument this week. can we please talk about it?” i spoke calmly.

“why don’t you text dawon? you can talk to her about it”

“what has gotten into you? you’ve become obsessively clingy and even controlling for the past few months now, what’s wrong?”

“i told you i don’t want you to text her and yet, you did. you know i don’t like it when she’s around you, she always looks at you like she wants to get with you!”

“chae, she has a boyfriend now! she knows that i’m with you and completely respects our relationship”

“yeah, that’s what she wants you to think! but when no one’s looking, she’ll rip you away from me”

“you’re being ridiculous right now” it was my turn to walk away, i couldn’t believe everything i was hearing.

for a moment, i understood where she was coming from. dawon is my ex and also my first love, so i could see why she acts like this. but dawon and i were in 7th grade, it’s been literal years since we’ve been together. we were able to maintain a good friendship between each other and occasionally texted just to catch up. i tried explaining that she was just a friend and that there was no spark between us anymore, but she didn’t get that. she never understood that.

“yeah, walk away y/n! you’ll eventually walk away from me for real!” chaeyoung yelled, which made me stop and turn around to face her again.

“i’m not a coward like you chae, i don't just shove every problem away and hope we don't have to deal with it. i told you multiple times that i would never leave you. i tell you everyday that i love you and that you’re the only one for me, is that not enough for you?!” i started raising my voice. i hate yelling at her but i was beyond frustrated.

chaeyoung stayed silent. i saw the eyes that were filled with anger were now filled with regret and sadness. she was going to apologize and sweep it under the rug. again.

“y/n, i’m sorry. i don’t-”

“enough. we can’t keep pushing this problem away, this has been going on for months. we need to talk about it”

“you’re right, i'm sorry” i was getting tired of hearing her apologize.

“so why do you act like this? do you not trust me?”

“i do. i just don’t trust the people around you”

“i understand that, but I’ve told you multiple times that-”

“i know. but you can never be too careful y/n”

nothing was resolved from the talk we had, so i ended up going to my friend’s place. i needed space from chaeyoung and i needed to talk to someone else about it.

“y/n, i think you need to take a break from your relationship” monday said.

she made the point that because exams are around the corner, both her and I were high stress. monday also pointed out the red flags that she noticed throughout the relationship, like how chaeyoung started answering my texts on my behalf or how she made me choose between her and seolhyun who was a friend that I didn’t date but I had feelings for.

monday was putting everything into perspective for me. after hours of weighing the pros and cons, and looking at the red flags, i knew i had to end things with chaeyoung.

i spent almost the entire afternoon at monday’s before getting a text from chaeyoung asking me where i was again. i thanked monday for her time and advice before making my way back to chaeyoung and i's shared apartment.

“good luck y/n, i wish you the best” monday gave me a hug while i gave her a small smile.

when i got home, i had taken one step into the apartment but chaeyoung was already yelling at me.

“where were you?! you leave for a few hours without saying anything and didn't even bother answering your phone. were you cheating on me?”

ridiculous.

“chaeyoung, that’s enough. i’m tired of this, i don’t know when or why you’ve become so obsessive and clingy but i can’t deal with this anymore. my mental health is deteriorating because of school and now this relationship is just adding to it”

“what about me y/n? have you even thought about what i’m feeling? i’m stressed too, you know! you’re not the only one in this relationship!”

chaeyoung and i continued bickering back and forth, our voices getting louder and louder, and our vision becoming blurry because of the tears forming.

“i’m tired chaeyoung, i can’t do this anymore”

“so what are you saying? you want to break up?”

“yes. i want to break up. i need time to myself and to focus on school, and i just can’t keep guessing what has gotten into you”

chaeyoung didn’t say anything but the tears that fell from her face made it clear that she was hurt. she slowly started making her way towards me but suddenly fell to the floor and just cried.

she didn’t expect me to leave her so suddenly, especially after i told her i’d never leave her. but i couldn’t take it anymore, this is what needed to happen and this is what I think was best for us. was it selfish? yes, but i couldn’t handle getting into another argument with her.

i turned around and left the apartment before letting her see the tears that were forming in my eyes. i didn’t know where to go but i just started walking. the last thing i saw was chaeyoung on her knees, hands covering her face as she silently cried.

i saw myself slowly falling in love with chaeyoung and started building a future with her in my head. a future with where we lay in bed together as i wrap my arms wrapped around her, shielding her from the world. but as the days went by, i failed to notice when things started to change between us. all the days spent ignoring our problems has led us to this.

today is the day that my cheesy romance film has finally come to an end, and i fucking hate it.

#kpop scenarios #gg scenarios #blackpink scenarios #rosé scenarios #rosé fluff #rosé #park chaeyoung #rosé x reader #rosé angst

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wonniesmile · 4 years ago

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❥ ellie’s first step into ‘i-land’

⤷ ellie had just finished her entrance test, making it into i-land. hopefully, she doesn’t get kicked out.

⤷ word count: 1.4k+

⤷ warning: this is all purely fictional, none of the arguments and conflicts within this series is a true reflection of the trainees. everything you read is made up from my pea-sized brain.

after a teary-eyed goodbye to the grounders, ellie and the i-landers go through the egg contraption. her mouth gapes open in awe, realizing just how high tech this building was. ellie follows the applicants into the egg, squeezing into the very back corner.

“hi, i’m sunoo.” a boy introduces himself, “i’m ellie!” she replies. she recognizes him, “you guys performed crown, right? you were really awesome up there!” sunoo smiles, oh god her heart, he’s adorable. his cheeks bubble up to show his whisker dimples and she smiles.

the egg finally stops, gaining an amazing reaction from the rest of the applicants. she gets on her tip toes to get a better view of the inside of the building. giving up, she slouches and waits for everyone to leave the contraption. “wanna be friends?” sunoo asks from beside her, she happily accepts and they giggle.

“oh my god...no this isn’t real...holy moly.” she examines the room they had just stepped into. 12 chairs were placed in a semi circle in front of the egg and right behind it was the coolest dance room she has ever set her eyes upon. banners decorated the top of the glass wall leading into the dance room. there were pillars set up around the room and steps leading down to the chairs. “how much money did they spend on this, my god!” she exclaims and sunoo replies, “probably billions...” he too was amazed at the sight of the room.

suddenly, a booming voice echoes, yet again, throughout the space, “from now on, we will start the next stage to match the capacity of the i-land. decide 4 people to eliminate by your own vote.” a bunch of “no ways!” scattered around the room, everyone in pure shock at what the next step was. “the vote for elimination will start in two hours.” ellie puts her face in her hands, worrying about what could happen. the egg lights up with the timer and she gasps. “sunoo, what do i do?” sunoo pats her head to reassure her, “it’ll be fine.” she takes off her bag and sets it down in front of a chair, following along at what the others were doing. “shall we look around the first floor first?” a trainee by the name of jay asks, everyone agrees and they start their tour.

throughout the tour, ellie was way too excited at the sight of all the new rooms to even think about the elimination process, she has got to start speaking to people sooner or later. thank god she had sunoo.

“i think we should sit down and talk.” choi seon suggests. the 17 applicants, including ellie, take seats on the contemporary couch decorating the living space. sunoo pulls her to an empty seat next to jay, while pulling up a chair for himself. seon takes the lead, explaining to everyone that by the end, they HAVE to pick 12 out of the 17 trainees sitting in this room. everyone agrees with his statements and ellie nods her head. she gets lost in her thoughts, ‘so all i have to do is pick someone based on their performance and attitude...ok got it.’ on paper, it seems easy, but ellie knows that experiencing it will be a lot harder than she thinks.

“i would like to introduce you to jake sim.” sunoo pulls ellie towards him and she waves at the boy in front of her, “jake meet ellie, ellie meet jake.” jake waves back awkwardly. “i thought you two would get along well since ellie is also from australia.” jake’s eyes light up. “seriously?!” ellie nods her head, “g’day!” ellie says in her thick aussie accent, jake whispers a little ‘wah!’ and gets excited. “where from australia are you from?” he asks, “i was born in brisbane but moved to quebec, canada at the age of like 10.” jake nods his head to show he understood, “but the aussie accent stayed!” he giggles, “i can see that, i’m from brisbane as well!” ellie claps, feeling ecstatic after meeting her second friend of the day. “so, when’d you move here?” ellie asks, “2019! i passed a global audition and here i am, better than ever.” he says. ellie giggles at his response, “i also moved here early 2019!” her smile seemed to have reached her eyes. sunoo looks at the two of them adoringly...and cluelessly, not understanding a single word being spoken at the moment, “i knew you two would get along!” he says, clapping.

the three of them went on to converse for a few more minutes before sunoo left to go talk to some other people and jake left to go use the restroom. feeling uncomfortable with being alone, she walks over to the kitchen, where ta-ki and ni-ki were both showing off their dance moves, “i want to practice now” she overhears ta-ki say in japanese. ni-ki notices ellie watching the two from afar and he mentions her to come over, “ta-ki, she speaks japanese.” he ‘whispers’ to the boy. “hello!” ellie says, while bowing, “my name’s ellie!” she slaps herself mentally, ‘too much’ she told herself. “ah, ellie.” ta-ki says, cautiously, “yep, that’s me!” ellie replies, “are you also japanese?” ta-ki asks, “um...i actually learned the language myself after watching animes...” she awkwardly laughs, “wah! you’re so good!” ta-ki sticks both his thumbs out at you. ellie thanks him. a silence fills the air and ellie plays with her fingers, “well...i’m getting a bit hungry, so im gonna go get a bite to eat!” she tells the two, hoping to ease the awkwardness.

time passed and ellie felt more and more nervous. the timer got closer and closer to 0...what is she gonna do? sunoo and jake have both been by her side, feeling more comfortable with them, who the hell was she going to vote off?

“ellie, please head to the voting room.” the voice announces, her knees felt weak, here goes nothing.

a heavy air surrounded the voting room, it almost felt like she was suffocating. the monitor in front of her seemed to mock her. the 17 applicants (including herself) faced directly in front of her. “4 people...4 people is all i need to pick.” she says to herself. carefully her fingers tap a trainee’s profile, “i’m so sorry.” it was seon, “i’m so sorry, i’m so sorry, i’m so sorry.” now all she needed to do was pick the remaining 3, “god, i can’t do this.” she leans against the screen, contemplating her next decisions. (i’ll leave the other 3 trainees she chooses up to your interpretation ;) )

rubbing her hands together, she exhales the biggest breath, “that was harder than the entrance test...” she laughs at her response, “i’m so sorry.” she says one last time, before exiting the room.”

“the first dropout received 10 votes.” the booming voice seemed to haunt her more than ever. looking down at her lap, she bites her lips in worry. “kim sunoo.” her heart drops to her feet. no, this can’t be happening. she quickly looks to her side, sunoo’s lips forming a pout as he runs a hand through his hair, “sunoo...” ellie grabs his hand and he looks back at her, “i’ll be fine.” squeezing her hand for reassurance, ellie looks back down onto her lap.

“the second dropout received 9 votes.” ellie squeezes her eyes shut, “noh sungchul.” she looks around, not really familiar with the applicant’s face. “the third dropout received 9 votes, ta-ki.” ellie’s eyes go wide, he was the last trainee she would’ve thought of. “the fourth dropout received 6 votes, ej.” ellie releases a breath. “those who got eliminated, please move to the ground now.” ellie quickly looks up at sunoo, “yes, i get it.” he says with a smile on his face. ellie’s vision gets blurry as she watches him, “please come back.” she says as he pulls her in for a hug, “i will, you know i will.” sunoo lets go and looks into her eyes, “make new friends! bye bye!” he waves. ellie watches as he steps onto the egg. she waves her farewells, looking up to stop the tears from falling (it was a successful tactic btw). she smiles at sunoo and he mirrors it, “bye bye!” she mouths and sunoo waves as the contraption closes. here we go again...

#enhypen 8th member #enhypen imagine #enhypen fic #enhypen scenario #enhypen imagines #enhypen fics #enhypen scenarios #enhypen female member #engene #enhypen #enhypen addition #kpop au #kpop fic #kpop imagines #kpop additional member #kpop addition #kpop oc

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caitlesshea · 4 years ago

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to all the stars that light the road

For @malex-cupid Day 1: “I just wanted a chance to look at the stars with you.”

2017

“Woah.”

“You like it?” Alex asks and Michael just nods his head, staring at the gorgeous house that Alex brought him to.

“I love it,” Michael breathes out, and he does.

It’s perfect.

It’s almost everything they talked about when they were kids, complete with the courtyard out front. If only it didn’t…

“It needs some work.” Alex breaks his train of thought and Michael nods.

“Not too much.”

“Wait til you see the inside.”

“Well alright Private, show me,” Michael drawls as Alex unlocks the front door.

Alex isn’t lying, it does need work but it’s still gorgeous.

“The work is cosmetic,” Michael tells him.

“You think so?”

“Yeah, unless you need plumbing or electric?”

“No, inspection said they were newer.”

“That’s good,” Michael says quietly as he looks at the kitchen.

A memory hits him of him telling Alex he’d do all the cooking for their little family one day, kids and all. It hurts to think about.

“I definitely want to do some upgrades.” Alex walks around the kitchen and touches the counters lightly.

“Yeah, it’s a little stuck in the nineties,” Michael jokes and Alex smiles at him.

Michael always wants Alex to smile at him.

“I think I can work on it when I’m on leave, and then once I’m out it’ll be a nice project.”

“Yeah,” Michael responds, nodding along as he listens to the changes Alex wants to make to the house.

“I want to keep the architecture and kinda bring it back to life you know?”

“Like a Southwestern vibe?”

“Exactly. You get it,” Alex smiles and Michael gets it, he does.

Because it’s his dream, too.

“I think some new wood cabinets, a tile backsplash, upgraded counters would do a lot of good in here.”

“And where did you hear that, Guerin?”

“Hey, Isobel’s an event planner.”

Alex raises an eyebrow and Michael is unable to resist.

“Alright so I watch a lot of HGTV, sue me.”

What Michael doesn’t say is that he watches a lot of HGTV while dreaming up a life he could have with Alex. Could’ve already had with Alex if he wasn’t such a fuck up when they were younger.

He shakes out of it as Alex laughs at him, pushing him towards the rest of the house, showing Michael two rooms and two bathrooms, an office, and a decent sized backyard.

Perfect for stargazing.

“Right? That’s what I thought, too.”

Oh.

Michael said that out loud.

“C’mon, I’ll show him the garage. You’ll love it.”

Michael follows.

2018

Michael takes one look at the bathroom and brings the sledgehammer down onto all the hard work he’s done.

The green and blue tiles, the nice brown cabinets, the glass door.

Shattered.

All of it. Like his heart.

His phone buzzes in his pocket but he ignores it, again. It’s Isobel but Michael can’t be bothered. He can’t face her inquisitive stare and know it all looks.

He takes another swing, momentarily pleased when the faucet breaks off from the sink and he uses his powers to fling it farther into the broken shower wall like it’s target practice.

His phone buzzes, again.

“What?” Michael growls into the phone.

“Michael?”

Michael freezes. He knows that voice. A voice that is not Isobel. A voice that has been haunting his dreams since that call…

“Alex?”

“I’m okay.”

Michael drops to the ground, sledge hammer rolling away. He can feel that he’s sitting in glass and bits of wood but he doesn’t care.

“I thought…” Michael chokes down a sob and Alex makes a soothing noise.

“I know, I’m sorry I couldn’t call.”

“That’s okay.”

Alex sucks in a breath and it sounds like he’s crying.

“What is it darling?” Michael let’s the endearment slip in a moment of weakness.

“My leg…I lost my right leg.”

“Alex.” Michael doesn’t really know what to say. His heart aches.

Alex babbles a little bit, pain meds Michael figures. They hang up with Alex telling him he’s being transferred to Roswell from Germany in a couple of months. Michael stands up and looks at the mess he’s made.

He winds the sledgehammer up into the air and swings down on the vanity. Alex will need an accessible bathroom.

He better get to work.

2019

Michael feels awkward. He knows he shouldn’t. But he does. He’s picked Alex up before, driven to meet him in other states, seen where he’s lived through the years.

But this is the first time he’s picked him up on base. Usually Alex will get a friend to drop him off somewhere. But Alex said this time he wanted Michael here.

So, he waits. Cowboy hat low on his head to block the midday sun, jeans slung low on his hips, belt buckle be damned, shirt opened just enough to be indecent.

Michael sees the top of Alex’s head first, then as the other people part, he sees the rest of him, whole, and here.

“Private,” Michael drawls and Alex’s eyes crinkle.

“Michael.”

Michael isn’t sure what he’s supposed to do, just get in the car, hug Alex, grab his bag?

Alex answers that for him by coming closer and hugging him. Michael sinks into his warmth, relishing in the fact that he still gets to have this.

“Glad you’re back.”

“Yeah.”

Michael separates himself from Alex even though he doesn’t want to, but the sooner they get off this base the better.

“Where to?” Michael asks as Alex fiddles with the radio.

“The airstream? I don’t think I can handle an air mattress at the house.” Alex shrugs and groans like he’s thinking of all the work that has to be done at his house.

“Sure, want me to stop for food?”

“Can we wait til Roswell? The Crashdown sounds amazing.”

“Sure.” Michael smiles and points to a bag on the floor with some of Alex’s favorite snacks.

“Oh, thank you.”

Michael chuckles, he figures Alex will eat all the sugary candies he can and then he’ll crash but they’ve got a couple hours drive so that’s okay.

When they finally cross the city limits into Roswell, Alex is out like a light. Michael sneaks into the Crashdown, grabbing Alex’s favorites, and then makes the drive toward Alex’s house.

When Michael finally turns the ignition off Alex starts to stir. Once he wakes fully Michael waits until Alex realizes they’re in his own driveway.

“What? Michael?”

“C’mon, I wanna show you something.”

Alex winces as he gets out of the car and Michael pauses.

“It can wait…”

“No, no, show me, then we can sleep.”

Michael smiles ruefully and then turns the little corner into Alex’s courtyard and watches as Alex takes in the changes.

“What’s all this?” Alex asks as he walks around the chairs and fire pit set up, the café lights, and small bar he made to go with the space.

“Do you like it?”

Alex turns toward him and Michael smiles as he nods his head.

“There’s more, c’mon.”

“Michael…” Alex says a little choked up and Michael ushers his inside, watching as Alex takes it all in.

His relationship with Alex is a fickle thing, similar to the plants that he’s placed throughout the house. It needs nourishment and time to grow, years of patience and dedication.

He’d like to think after over a decade of trying to work on his life with Alex that he would’ve understood every reaction he’d have to someone secretly renovating his home through the last couple of years.

But this, this reaction he wasn’t ready for.

Alex has one hand over his mouth as he stares at the changes. His eyes are shining, happy tears falling over his cheeks.

“Alex?”

“You did all of this?” Alex asks as he takes his hand away from his mouth.

“Yeah, I hope you don’t mind.” Michael shrugs and then suddenly Alex’s lips are on his and Michaels breathing for the first time in years.

When they pull apart they’re both smiling, giggling almost like they’re seventeen again, and Michael’s never been more in love.

“I can’t believe you did all of this, and my stuff...” Alex walks around, seeing his tapestries on the walls, books on the shelves, guitars in the corner. It’s all here.

“I took it out of storage, figured I could get it setup. It’s all done too, so you can sleep in a king sized bed tonight instead of on my crappy mattress.”

“I like that mattress.”

Michael chuckles. “I can change anything you don’t like if - ”

“No. It’s perfect.”

“You haven’t even seen the rooms or the bathrooms yet.”

“I don’t care. It’s perfect Michael. Thank you.”

“‘Course.”

“And the yard?” Alex asks as he walks towards the back door.

“Perfect for stargazing.” Michael comes up next to Alex as he unlocks the door with his powers.

They walk outside.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

#malex #roswell new mexico #rnm #malexcupid21 #lost decade fic

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holidaywishes · 4 years ago

Text

i wanna play, too

Requested: 👍

Summary/Request: Could you maybe make a fic where Freddie catches/watches the reader pleasure herself 👀 idk I’m kinda in the mood for a kinky Freddie

Warning: smut, language

Author’s Note: This was was written quickly so it might be a bit messy but let’s get a little kinky on Tumblr this Friday night. It’s nothing groundbreaking or new but it was fun to write so I hope you enjoy!

PS: If I were to ever do a thirst night, which I might have to, I can guarantee I will use up my Prosecco to do so. Keep that in mind for maybe next month?

masterlist

the other masterlist

The Leafs were on the end of a two week road trip and you were getting increasingly agitated; effectively using up your Rabbit until the batteries gave out.

“When are you coming home?” you whined over the phone to your boyfriend of 2 years

“We’re just boarding the plane now. Should be home in about an hour or 2” he replied

“Can you do me a favour?” you asked, petting the soft fur of the mink throw blanket at the end of your couch

“Anything, babe. What’s up?” he said, his voice perking up at your request

“Send me something.”

"Of what?”

“You.” You said simply, smiling to yourself

“Like... a selfie?” he asked and you could only roll your eyes at his remark

“No, baby...” you scoffed, still fidgeting with the blanket before deciding to tease him a little bit, “I’ve watched all the usual things, listened to all the usual audios, but it’s not doing anything for me anymore. I miss you and I want you to help me.. play”

“Play?” he whispered

“Yeah”

“You don’t want to just.. wait. So you can play with me?” he whispered

“I can’t wait that long...” you smirked to yourself, “I need it now”

“I don’t have anything right now, babe...” he replied quietly and you could tell he had found a corner to curl himself in, “can I just send something old?”

“No!” you pouted, “I want a video. I want to hear you saying you want to fuck me and see your hands stroking your hard cock while I slowly touch myself so I’m ready for you when you get home”

“I would love to, baby,” he sighed, “but I can’t... there’s no privacy here...”

“Please?” you teased and he growled for a minute before finally agreeing. You waited patiently for his video to come through, lighting a candle in your bedroom as you propped yourself up on some soft, feather throw pillows. You set up a playlist on your computer of your favourite Freddie moments, just in case the video he sent you wasn’t enough.

Freddie ❤️: new message

Your screen lit up with Freddie’s name as his video attachment came through and you grabbed your favourite, non-battery powered dildo and got comfortable. You were in for a wild ride.

Freddie’s P.O.V

You couldn’t believe she was making you do this. Here. Now. You can’t believe you agreed to do it for her, knowing your entire team was only mere feet away. But her teasing little phone voice was impossible to say no to. So there you were, in the tiny airplane bathroom, trying to film a naughty video for your girlfriend. You weren’t sure where to start, so you just... started

“Baby, you look so good,” you whispered, hoping that no one would hear you, “fuck, Elske.” You took yourself in your hand and quietly began stroking your shaft, “I want to fuck you so hard, (Y/N), I want you to ride my cock until you cum.” Knowing that you could be caught made you reach your release much sooner than you typically would and now you were left with sending the video to your girlfriend for her to enjoy. You toyed with the idea of sending her a message along with the video, your fingers hovering over the keyboard but you just decided that sending the video was enough. So, you took a breath and hit send, cleaning up any mess you left behind

“Thanks, babe.” She sent back and you shook your head with a smile

“Enjoy.” Was all you could send back before you opened the door where you were met face-to-face with Spez.

“Hey, Fred.” He smiled and your heart began to race thinking he might now what just went on, “you good?”

“Yep,” you replied, “all good.” You snuck past him and found your seat, sighing deeply as the plane continued on its journey.

When you got Freddie’s video, you giddily pressed play and shifted down onto the mattress as the first whispers made their way to your ear

“Baby, you look so good” his voice was low and you could tell he was trying his best not to get caught. You let your hand wander down your body, caressing your breasts gently to peak your nipples before you rubbed the glass dildo across your clit and down your folds as you listened to the slight moaning coming from the video, “fuck, Elske,” he whispered, finally taking himself in his hand and pumping his shaft slowly, your hand mimicking his action by pushing the toy inside you, moaning at the sensation. “I want to fuck you so hard, (Y/N),” Freddie continued in a low growl, “I want you to ride my cock until you cum.” You pushed your dildo further inside you as you listened to Freddie’s moaning, waiting for more words to break through, “fuck baby. Fuck me” he growled once more before you heard him reach his climax and you had to sigh

“Well shit, Freddie...” you said to yourself, turning to the playlist you’d created, starting first with the Leaf to Leaf he did with Connor nearly two years again, watching as his big hands touch different foods, craving his fingers inside you, “mmm” you moaned as you pumped your dildo deeper inside you, imagining it as Freddie’s finger. The playlist went on, playing different interviews ranging from events to post-games until the very last in the list played: a Morning Skate from March 11, 2019. It truly was the perfect video. He showed his hands often enough for you to imagine how they’d feel across your skin and the messiness of his hair caused you to delight in the memories of the many times he’d ended up that way when the two of you were in bed and the sweat that cascaded from his neck had you picturing his chest in all it’s glistening glory. You continued to pump the toy in and out of you, Freddie’s voice vibrating through the screen as moans continued to escape your throat as your entire body began to heat up. You were so invested in making yourself cum that you didn’t even hear the door open but when you heard the floor creak in the hallway, you knew Fred must be home.

Freddie’s P.O.V

You had been trying to get a hold of (Y/N) since the plane landed but she wasn’t answering so you just made your way home. When you got there, you called out to her but there was no answer but you did hear a small noise coming from the bedroom; you made your way up the stairs and finally heard the familiar sounds of your girlfriends moans. You wondered if you should just let her finish and pretend to walk back in or if you should peer in and catch her in the act, deciding, naturally, to carefully make your way toward the bedroom door. You opened the door slowly, finding her on the bed with her laptop by her side as she fucked herself with a clear toy you’d never seen before

“Fuck” she whimpered, her back arching as she seemed to push the dildo deeper inside her. You felt your mouth fill with saliva and the blood rush to down while you continued to watch (Y/N) pleasure herself, “Fuck. Oh yeah, oh god, fuck” she moaned loudly and your hand instinctively went down to your dick, feeling it already hardened, before you swallowed the saliva that had collected in your mouth. “Fuck Freddie,” she yelled breathlessly and you wondered if she knew you were there, ‘she couldn’t know could she? she would’ve said something...’, “oh god, Freddie, fuck me...”

“Fuck” you whispered as quietly as you could, unable to stop yourself from reaching your hand into your briefs to stroke your member as you watched her writhe in pleasure

“Fuck, that feels so good,” her breathing was becoming more shallow, the telltale sharp inhale appearing and you knew she wouldn’t be long. “Oh shit,” she squealed, “fu-uh-ck.” When she finally came, you realized that you had, at some point, swung the door completely open and you were left exposed with your hand down your pants, “well?” she laughed breathlessly, “you like what you saw?” You nodded before you could muster any words, your feet dragging your across the floor toward (Y/N) as she gave you a smirk

“Yeah,” you finally said, shutting her computer while you crawled over her to whisper in her ear, “I wanna play, too...”

“You do?” she laughed

“I do,” you smirked, taking the dildo away and moving it to the nightstand, only to hear it fall to the floor, “oops”

“Leave it,” she smiled, pulling your shirt quickly over your head, “I want the real thing.”

#Freddie Andersen #Frederik Andersen #TML #NHL #Hockey #Freddie Andersen smut #Frederik Andersen smut #Frederik Andersen fic #Freddie Andersen fluff #Freddie Andersen imagine #Frederik Andersen imagine #masterlist #the other masterlist

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dazzlinglando · 3 years ago

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Fly Away

masterlist

summary: aria and yunho fly to his hometown.

note: writers block hit me like a bitch for this post </3 i'm sorry if it's not very well written, i just wanted to have something posted before i lose motivation :D anyways, feedback as always is very very appreciated !!

era: 2019

“flight 610 to gwangju is now boarding.” the voice of the airport pa system rang around the waiting room where aria and yunho sat.

“that’s us, mini.” he grinned, just as he has done ever since they arrived at the airport. aria nodded, standing up and stretching her arms out. she followed yunho onto the plane, looking at the number of each row before eventually finding her seat.

“i hope that one day i get to show you around my hometown,” she gave yunho a warm smile, fiddling with the drawstrings of her hoodie (that she stole from mingi.) “you’ll really like it,” her voice was quiet, mainly due to the bubbling anxiety about flying. in her 19 years of life, she’d only been on a plane once before, and that was when she moved to korea. if she didn’t regret watching all the plane crash documentaries before, she definitely did now.

“oh yeah? tell me about it,” yunho said, noticing her leg slightly bouncing up and down. he placed a reassuring hand on her knee and gave her a look that was full of comfort. aria could go on for hours about brighton, and about all the happy years she spent there, going to the beach with her mother and watching the sunset over the horizon. it was their little tradition, every time she finished dance lessons and the sky was clear. aria’s mother was her biggest inspiration, she always wanted what was best for her children, and always pushed them to follow their dreams. without her mother’s support and motivation, it was a no-brainer that she would not be here today, sitting with one of her group mates in south korea.

“ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts. we will be taking off shortly.” aria’s breath hitched when she heard the flight attendants announcement, shaking her out of the thoughts consuming her.

without hesitation, aria took yunho’s hand into her own. her sweaty palms indicated just how nervous about the flight she was, however yunho’s blushed cheeks were for a whole other reason. he knew his small but rapidly growing crush on the younger singer was wrong. they were in the same group, they’re emerging artists and not to mention, even if he was to confess to her, chances are that she won’t reciprocate the feelings. and besides, any sort of relationship could potentially ruin the strong bond of the group if anything were to go wrong between them. yunho didn’t want to risk it, so he decided to just keep it to himself. and hope that he’ll get over the crush sooner rather than later.

before long, the plane had taken off. aria’s nerves were soon being distracted by her nintendo switch, her full attention now on the game of minecraft.

“isn’t this the game you play with yeosangie?” yunho asked, head resting on top of aria’s as she placed flowers around her house.

“yeah.” she smiled. “he’s rubbish though.”

the hour-long flight landed as soon as it took off, it seemed, making aria wonder what all the nerves were about beforehand.

the pair swiftly disembarked from the aircraft, the taller boy leading the way through his hometown airport. yunho could see how excited she became when looking at the new environment, despite wearing a face mask. the vocalist always noticed how her eyes lit up whenever she smiled, or how she would give her full, undivided attention to anyone or anything that intrigued or interested her.

“mini, my parents are waiting for us, i promise we’ll spend more time here later,” yunho laughed, now walking next to her as they made their way to baggage claim, and then eventually to the car park where the taxi was waiting.

#ateez 9th member #ateez ninth member #9th member of ateez #ateez oc #ateez addition #ateez female oc #ateez female member #ateez female addition #kpop imagines #kpop oc #kpop addition #kpop female addition #kpop female oc #idol au #ateez extra member #kpop extra member #atzaria #era.2019

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kaitycole · 4 years ago

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chapter two: how it all began

Summary: Two little friends have always desired one thing: to end up as siblings. So when the chance presented itself after a finalized divorce, who were they to decline such an opportunity to finally bring their parents together?

Pairings: Bokuto Kōtarō x f!Reader

Word Count: 2577

Warnings: Angst. Fluff. Mentions of divorce, cheating, cussing

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters portrayed in this series. Part of the @babythotshq Dearest Daddy Collab

Tags: open (send me an ask to be added!)

October 2018

Jess wasn’t sure if she should take Bo up on his offer, her mind had her convinced that it was just him being friendly. He saw the way he had looked at you and yeah, he said you had just gotten married, but that doesn’t mean feelings just fade.

She had pulled up his contact several times in the two weeks since she’d gotten it. Since she wasn’t familiar with Osaka or Japan at all, there were no run-ins with him which Jess couldn’t decide if that was good or bad.

It was a rainy Friday when she finally texted him; her thoughts had caught up to her and it dawned on her that no number of miles would cure the pain in her heart.

The adult part of her understood that people are busy and Bo wasn’t ignoring her, he is a pro-athlete after all. But the other part of her, the part that isn’t so mature, chalks up the 20 minutes that passed as he didn’t really mean his offer.

Bo was finishing up in the locker room after practice, he pulled his phone out of his bag before stuffing in his practice clothes. He was on his way out when he finally glanced down and saw two notifications.

Y/N: Just wanted to remind you that I won’t be able to text until next Friday! I’ll bring back souvenirs! (4:05 pm)

He didn’t reply, it was painful to hear about your honeymoon and to be fair he didn’t really want a souvenir either; some constant reminder that you were with someone else. Not to mention all you talked about was how much Youta wanted to start a family. Yeah, he really didn’t need that reminder.

He did perk up however when he saw the second text, one from an unknown number.

Jess: Hey. It’s Jess. (3:12 pm)

Bo quickly noticed that it’d been over an hour since Jess texted him and he panicked. Should he call her or text her back? He groaned when he got to the main exit only to see it was pouring and he once again forgot an umbrella.

Bokuto: Hey! Just got out of practice, sup? (4:40 pm)

Jess smacked the palm of her hand against her forehead, instantly feeling dumb for not realizing it sooner. She stared at her screen, suddenly unsure of what to say.

Jess: I was wondering if your offer was still available? (4:44 pm)

A huge grin spread across Bokuto’s face as he read the message. It no longer mattered to him that it was raining heavily as he walked to the bus station or that he’d have to shower again when he got home.

Bokuto: ‘Course! When are you free? (4:50 pm)

Jess: Sunday? Noon? (4:51 pm)

Bokuto: See you then! (4:52 pm)

Saturday was spent texting Bo most of the day, eagerly deciding where they should go. They ended up agreeing to go to the Shinsaibashi district once Jess mentioned needing to pick up a few things for her apartment. They were both surprised when they learned they lived in neighboring complexes, just a short walk to the others.

On Sunday, Bo all but bounced his way to Jess’s apartment. He had mentioned their texts and conversations to Kuroo who was almost as excited as Bo was; Kuroo liked you, he always had, but he didn’t like seeing Bo so hung up on you and Jess gave him a way to let you go. Jess opened the door and was taken back for a moment, the last time she’d seen Bo he was post-game sweaty in a volleyball uniform, but here he was in her doorway wearing tight black jeans and a hoodie taking her breath away.

Bokuto smiled when saw Jess dressed up; when they met she had on a pantsuit, but here she looked more comfortable. She had one a maroon knee-length dress, stockings and brown boots, accompanied with a scarf; her brown hair was down and curled.

“Ready?” He reached out his hand.

“Ready!” She took his hand as she shut the door.

* * A few hours shopping around Shinsaibashi and Bo’s hands are full with most of Jess’s bags. She swore to him that she really didn’t mind carrying them, they were hers after all, but Bo wouldn’t hear it. What kind of gentleman would he be if he didn’t help? She has a few new pieces to add to her wardrobe, a couple of picture frames for prints she wanted to hang up and a few beauty ideas.

He motioned for her to head to a café, sitting her bags in a spare chair at their table.

“You sure there’ll be room in your apartment for all this?” He teased.

Her cheeks burn red as she tried to hide her face with the menu, “I’m sorry. I could’ve gone shopping on my own. I’m sure you don’t want to waste a day off running errands.”

He waved her off, “It’s fine. This is fun. My only plans were to watch TV.”

“Oh. I guess I thought you might hang out with Y/N.” Jess smiled at the waitress as she ordered.

Bo quickly ordered what Jess had, not really paying much attention the mention of you had thrown him for a loop. “I…uhm…she’s out of town.” He cleared his throat, “Honeymoon.”

“I…I am so sorry! I shouldn’t have said anything!” Jess’s eye widened instantly feeling awful. “Wow I just keep messing up today.”

“It’s fine. Really.” He took a sip of his water, “I’m having a lot of fun.”

Jess bit her lip before she began to pick at the croissant she had ordered. Bo ate quietly too which was odd for him but he really wasn’t sure what to say.

“So?” They both spoke at the same time causing them both to laugh.

“You go first.” She offered with a small smile.

“What brought you to Japan?” Bo asked, mouth slightly full of croissant which makes her laugh for a second.

She fiddled with her napkin, her mouth dried slightly. “Can I speak freely?”

Bo cocked his head to the side, not fully understanding, “Of course.”

“I guess you could say I have a Y/N of my own.” She bit the inside of her cheek. “His name is Mark and for years he told me that when he fulfilled his goals, he’d finally be ready for a relationship. Well six years is a long time and 5300+ miles seemed far enough to start over.”

Bo nodded, part of him was glad that he met someone who understood, but the other part, the bigger part of him hated it because no one deserves to feel that way.

“Well, Mark sounds like a dick, but I am glad that it brought you here. I like you.” Bo smiled, noticing her cheeks turned bright pink.

“I like you too.” Jess smiled.

* * It didn’t take long for Jess and Bo to become attached at the hip; after the first few hangouts they quickly learned they had a lot in common. And for the things they didn’t have in common? They just taught each other about it.

The moment she expressed interest in volleyball, Bo jumped on the opportunity to teach her; even bringing her to the gym to show her a few moves with Hinata and Kuroo. The latter spent most of the time teasing Bo by flirting with Jess, even picking her up when she assisted in a block. Kuroo lived to pick on Bo, but he was happy Bo had someone in his life to help him get move on. He even managed to snap a photo when Bo picked up her, cheering with a sparkle in her eyes when she spiked a ball.

When Bo mentioned that he had always liked plants but couldn’t seem to keep on alive, Jess jumped on the chance to help him. Her apartment was filled with various types of plants; flowers and herbs and Bo loved listening to her go on and on about them. She went out and bought pots, soil and seeds and made it a challenge to see who could grow their plant the tallest; Bo quickly accepted and then in the same breath overwatered the seeds. Jess gifted him a fake plant short after.

Mid-April 2019

“Are you sure I look okay?” Jess asked, for the fourth time since Bo picked her up. They were sitting in his car outside of Kuroo’s apartment. Just like the other three times, he assured her that she looked beautiful.

“You’ll be the best looking one there.” Bo smiled as she rolled her eyes at him. He wasn’t lying, based on what Bo heard from Kuroo it was mostly just going be you, Jess, Bo, Kuroo and Kenma.

She looked down at her outfit one more time; dark blue skinny jeans, a pale pink flowy top with a thin gray sweater. She knew she’d looked fine, this was her go-to outfit back in California, but for some reason she didn’t feel confident in it. Maybe she should’ve worn her black ankle boots instead of her chestnut brown ones.

Her thoughts are interrupted when Bo opened her door, reaching his hand for hers. She gave him a straight smile as he pulled her into a hug. Breathing in his woody scented cologne instantly relaxed her; sandalwood quickly became a scent she yearned for since meeting him.

He lifted her chin with his index finger, making eye contact with her, “You look stunning. Stop worrying so much.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead causing her to smile.

He intertwined his fingers with hers before they walked into Kuroo’s apartment. Kuroo quickly answered the door.

“HEY HEY HEY!” Bo shouted in reply to Kuroo’s “HEY HEY!”

“Hey, Kuroo.” Jess smiled and then blushed when Kuroo grabbed her free hand, kissing the back of it.

“You know you can call me Tetsu.” He winked which caused Bo to pull Jess into the apartment, muttering that Kuroo worked just fine. Bo knew Kuroo was doing it to get under his skin, he wasn’t clueless, but Jess meant the world to Bo and he wanted to protect her. Kuroo was one of his closest friends and yeah, he trusted him, but Mark was still constantly on Jess’s mind. She needed more time to heal.

You were sitting on the couch when Bo and Jess walked in. You smiled at the pair, noting that Bo was still clinging on to her hand and how he had stiffened at Kuroo’s suggestion for her to call him by his first name.

After failing to agree on where to go to enjoy the night, Kuroo suggested seeing which set of best friends knew each other better. Kuroo clearly feeling that he and Kenma would have a landslide of a victory. Kenma shrugged since Kuroo took his gaming console and hid it which Kuroo and Bokuto took as agreeing. Bokuto was game for anything to show off his competitive side and to beat Kuroo.

The only issue was who would be Bokuto’s partner. Jess awkwardly stared between everyone not wanting to step on anyone’s toes.

“Bo, you can have Jess and Y/N. You’ll need all the help you can get.” Kuroo winked at Jess.

“It’s fine, I can sit this game out.” Jess said, holding her hands up. “I’ll pick the questions to ask.” “Oh no, it’s fine.” You smiled at her, “I don’t mind seeing what you got.”

“Are we gonna have a cat fight?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow which gained a glare from you, an elbow to the ribcage from Kenma and Bo shaking his head.

“No. I just think it’d be fun. If I play, we’d smoke ya!” You teased Kuroo, sticking out your tongue.

“What do ya, Jess? Be my partner?” Bo smiled and you couldn’t help but see the way Jess’s face flushed as she nodded before moving to sit next to him.

You watched the two of them scoot closer to each other, Bo’s hand resting gently on her thigh as if that’s the most natural thing. Bo was a touchy person, you weren’t blind to that but it made you feel…jealous?

Once upon a time, during the first year you met Bokuto, you developed a crush on the two-toned haired boy. You thought that you had been obvious about it and had dropped hints, but Bo never seemed to reciprocate it or catch on. So, you moved on, leaving the idea in your first-year classroom.

“Y/N, ask the first question!” Kuroo shouted.

“Hold on, hold on.” You scrolled on a website until you found what you were looking for. “Okay, we’ll start with Team KuroKen: What’s your best friend’s favorite food?”

“Easy peasy! Apple pie!” Kuroo smirked, knowing he was right.

“Grilled Mackerel.” Kenma sighed, clearly uninterested.

“Correct!” You cheered. “Now for Team Bess.” “Bess?” Jess scrunched up her face.

You shrugged, “All I could think of on short notice.”

“Cool name or not, we’re gonna win!” Bo wrapped his arm around Jess’s waist, pulling her tighter to him. “Jess’s favorite food is mashed potatoes.”

Jess grinned towards you, “And Bo’s is BBQ meat.”

“C’mon Y/N, give us a hard question!” Kuroo begged.

The four of them continued to answer question after question until both teams had a tied score of 20. You began to smirk to yourself when you found the perfect question. It wasn’t that you didn’t like Jess, she seemed nice enough, but Bokuto had been your best friend for years and you didn’t like the fact that someone thought that six months was long enough to act like they knew Bo.

“Here we go, perfect question.” You winked at Jess, “What was the last movie your best friend watched?”

Team KuroKen quickly answered and a confident Kuroo started gloating about how they already won.

“Bo last watched Coco!” Jess exclaimed.

“Actually, it was (your favorite movie) a few weeks ago when I was upset.” You shrugged with a smirk on your face. Jess got up, excusing herself to go to the bathroom.

“WE WON!” Kuroo shouted before teasing Bokuto that maybe he’d have better luck next time.

“Kuroo, calm down.” Kenma sighed.

“No, Y/N, it was Coco.” Bo stood up, shaking his head, “We watched it together a few nights ago.”

“Well,” you stammered, crossing your arms. “How was I supposed to know?”

“You could’ve waited until I answered.” He let out a deep breath.

“That doesn’t make her your best friend.” You all but shouted.

“I can have more than one best friend.” Bo started walking towards the bathroom to find Jess. “You do, you have Youta, right? Why can’t I have Jess?”

Kuroo let out a low, awkward whistle before Kenma shook his head, heading into the kitchen.

“Youta is my husband. Jess is just...Jess. You’ve known her less than a year.”

“But you always said you’d marry your best friend. And so what? Jess is important to me, that should be enough for you to accept her.”

He walked down the hall, knocking on the bathroom door before gently opening it. He found Jess sitting on the side of the tub, tears in her eyes. Bo kneeled in front of her, pulling her into his arms, apologizing.

“Guess I should’ve just picked the questions, huh?” She laughed and a small sob mixed with it.

Bo started to laugh, “You’re something else, you know that?”

Previous/ Masterlist /Next

#bokuto kotaro #bokuto x reader #dearest daddy series #bbthots collab #scheming monsters

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jaxsteamblog · 4 years ago

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Day 19: Hurt/Comfort

I’m re-posting my 2019 fic “Making Space.” It’s post-canon and very heavy. There are mentions of past self-harm, a statement of suicide ideation, miscarriage, blood mention, various forms of depression, and implied child neglect. Thinking about this made me sad, writing it made me sad, do not let it make you sad unless you want it to. Click on the title to read on AO3 or continue under the cut. Be aware of trigger warnings! Includes Kat-ang and Ma-ko.

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“Tenzin is an Airbender, he needs to know these things.”

“You have never cared about that. You have never made others feel lesser like this!”

“They won’t get it.”

“If you leave. If you leave with just Tenzin, we won’t be here when you get back.”

Sokka and Suki arrived on the earliest airship as soon as they heard. Bumi and Kya, knowing something drastic had happened, couldn’t be separated, so Sokka took them both out to go penguin sledding. Suki stayed with Katara, moving around the hut in silence till Katara inevitably dissolved into tears.

“They’ll hate me.”

“It’s better this way. If they hate you, you’ll be around to love them.”

“I’ve lost my baby.”

“He’ll come back.”

They stayed for a whole season, ignoring all of Katara’s anxious questioning about what they had left behind. At night, since Katara couldn’t sleep, she could often hear her brother’s angry whispers as he summoned all the curses he knew from the ocean depths. His anger lasted longer than her tears, and Katara wrapped herself in her brother’s anger like a thick fur.

Bumi did well under his uncle’s attention, though his comments about his father made Katara wince in pain. Sokka deflected each question and comment easily, refocusing Bumi on some project.

The more Katara watched them, the more she realized she should have reached out to Sokka sooner. Standing between his aunt and uncle, Bumi beamed. These were two great heroes, and both were non-Benders. With the other South Pole children - more non-Benders than Waterbenders - Bumi only stood out by the paleness of his skin. But then, there was Suki: just as bundled up and red-cheeked.

Kya was quieter, often trailing behind the others. When Katara was close by, her daughter would come and sit with her. Their mirrored sadness wove them together, a common blanket that bound mothers and daughters everywhere.

“Daddy isn’t coming.” Kya said.

“It has always been his choice to make.” Katara replied and pulled her daughter to her side. None of this made sense; Aang had always stressed the importance of living in harmony, of being friends with all types of people. As they had grown, Aang had even recognized the patronizing way he would speak of the Air Nomads. When he reminisced, it was never to compare his people to others. He never again acted as if the Air Nomads had been some sort of paragon. Letting go of that pride had allowed him to open to the new occupants of the various Air Temples.

The Air Nomads were gone, but they would never be forgotten. Aang held a pained resignation in his chest and Katara would find him staring off in thought when they stopped at the Temples.

She thought that sadness would fade with time. Aang was more present and tempered, rejoicing in everyone’s growth. The sadness returned when Bumi died, and when other pieces of his past started to slip away. But every time, her husband would return and they would go on a trip where he would kiss her till she felt her body rise into the stars.

Katara never expected that sadness to be running like a river through him, slowly eroding away his insides.

When Bumi was born, Aang cried. At first, Katara thought it was from joy. But she heard him late at night, after she had gotten up to feed the baby and found Aang gone. He wept like an animal was trying to escape his chest and Katara was frightened.

She had shut the door, feeling her heart flutter behind her ribs.

When she got pregnant again, she knew she had a Bender. She was excited when she told Aang and he had seemed like his old self. He stole her breath with kisses and everything seemed lighter.

As the midwife handed Katara the swaddled Kya, Katara squeezed her eyes shut.

Three days after the birth, Katara had woken to the pain of milk in her breasts. Going for the baby and seeing Kya missing, Katara almost fainted from the shock. Rushing about the house, she finally heard the faint lines of a song.

Aang sat in a chair on the balcony, rocking back and forth while singing a song too soft for Katara to make out. Holding her breath, she just watched. Her husband’s face was tight but his eyes were sunken. With one thin finger, he was tracing the curve of Kya’s cheek and drawing small swirls. Then he bent down and kissed her forehead before standing up. Silent, Katara walked over and took her, moving back into the house to feed her. Kya, smelling milk, started to cry, but Katara paused to look back.

Aang was still standing, looking out into the midnight air.

Tenzin’s birth was salvation. Aang had been overjoyed and could barely contain his excitement. For weeks, Katara would snap at him when his mania would wake the other children.

She didn’t notice how Aang’s sole source of happiness became Tenzin. Katara was busy, tending to the older children and continuing the work she was already doing. Aang took over most of the infant care, save for when he needed to be fed. But as soon as Tenzin moved on to more solid food, Katara would often not see her youngest for hours.

Katara thought it would pass.

Then Aang would start leaving, taking Tenzin to important Air Nomad places. That Katara could excuse, though she didn’t see why they all couldn’t go. Bumi had started school and Kya could work on her waterbending at home.

When one trip extended unexpectedly, Katara panicked. As soon as Aang returned, her fear came out as anger and they argued. He had just taken a small detour, to show Tenzin a special place. Cliffs that sang in the evening breeze and glinted like fire crystals at sunrise.

Aang had taken her there and told her that he would love her forever as they laid in the thick grass, listening as the ground below serenaded them.

It was a place they could have gone with all the children.

Katara had left to pick up Bumi and shut the door.

All of those doors being closed had ended up shielding her from what had been happening. The sadness had erased everything she loved about Aang and it was too late for her to fix it. The empty space had been filled with air.

When Sokka and Suki finally did leave, Bumi and Kya cried every night for a week. They became belligerent, fighting with her over everything from their clothes to their food. Already stressed, Katara yelled back and they cried even louder.

At night, Katara’s own sadness continued to heave out of her, like a bilge pump on a sinking ship. She would fall asleep out of exhaustion and when she woke up, Bumi and Kya would be curled around her.

They had woven a wide blanket and it covered them all.

Towards the autumn equinox, as the sun was starting to stay lower on the horizon for longer, Katara received a letter. She felt the rush of hope and the familiar lightness, but it left her as she read it. Toph, with children of her own and a job that allowed for few breaks, had written to check in on her.

Much to Katara’s embarrassment, everyone now knew about what had happened. The chain of events that led to the discovery was both mortifying and oddly satisfying.

Having stayed close, Suki had told Toph about their trip to the South Pole. Immediately after being told, Toph had tracked Aang down and dressed him down, loudly, in public. The argument had been explosive and Toph warned him to not set foot in her city. And she would know if he did.

When Toph returned, Zuko was already in Republic City. He had only recently gotten divorced and was attempting to be more like his uncle to achieve some sort of inner peace. Unfortunately, he wasn’t prepared to deal with Toph’s fury.

Zuko tried his best to defuse the situation, but then Sokka came into Republic City. With his anger still not assuaged, he reported the effect Aang’s decision had on Bumi and Kya. They talked more about what should be done; there were legal penalties for abandoning one’s wife and children, but that would involve a traumatic session of Katara testifying. Divorce was also tenuous, as Katara would have to forfeit all of her children if she won her suit.

Then Aang came to Republic City.

It had been daring, of course, as he could have gone directly to Avatar Island. Instead, he came into Republic City and it only took moments before word reached Toph.

Now with Sokka at her side, she renewed her fight. Sokka stepped in, but only to explain how Aang’s leaving had hurt Bumi and Kya.

All of this was written more like a police report, but Katara could tell from where Toph had bashed down on certain keys of the typewriter that certain sentiments had come up during specific points.

Toward the end of the letter, all Toph reported was that Aang had made an offensive comment, Sokka had lunged, but Zuko got there first.

And the Fire Lord knocked the Avatar out cold.

During all of this, Tenzin had been in the care of an Air Acolyte. At this point, the Acolyte stepped in, getting Aang up and making sure they flew to Avatar Island as soon as possible. A day later, Appa flew away again to destinations unknown.

Toph promised to visit soon, but urged Katara to return to the United Republic. There were plenty of cities far enough away from Republic City, but she would be close enough for everyone to visit.

Katara folded the letter and hid it in a small cupboard where she kept her unguents and pill casings.

At the dawn of the first twilight day, the sign that winter was fast approaching, an airship arrived. Regular shipments came into the South Pole to replenish famine rations that they were supposed to have stopped using five years ago. But the reconstruction took longer than expected, and the signs were suggesting that this would be a harder winter.

Katara brought Bumi and Kya to the dock as a reward for having a not-so-terrible day. They went shrieking like wild animals with the other children as the hydraulic ramp slowly lowered with a leviathan groan.

The flash of red the airshipmen wore at first made Katara think of Republic City and she suddenly couldn't breathe. But as the ramp hit the ground and the people began to move, she saw the Fire Nation symbol and relaxed.

Then the guards came and Katara felt lightheaded as she was suddenly pushed back thirty years.

Zuko looked so different, it scared her. Her fingers froze with electrified terror and Katara felt like she was going to cry. As he started to look around, she prayed he wouldn’t see her, but as the thought became wisps in her mind, his eyes met hers.

Then Bumi went barreling up the ramp and directly into Zuko’s stomach.

Once again embarrassed, and still on the verge of tears, Katara rushed forward toward the crowd. Her voice was thin and reedy as she pleaded and pardoned her way past people. And then, she was in front of Zuko.

Bumi was thrown over his one shoulder like a laughing sack of potatoes. Izumi and Kya stood together behind him, whispering and admiring a bracelet Kya had made.

“You didn’t have to come.”

“I know.”

“We’re doing fine.”

“No you’re not.”

Katara’s breath came in a shudder and her chest felt hot. Zuko set Bumi down and handed him a crowbar, telling him that he hid a prize in one of the crates. Kya cupped her hand around Izumi’s ear and then both girls were suddenly giggling before darting away.

“I’m fine Zuko.”

“His sadness changed him and you didn’t get to say goodbye to the man you loved. You’re not fine.”

“And how do you think that could possibly be it?”

“Because I never got to say goodbye to the Mai I married.”

Before she started to cry, Zuko put his arm around her shoulders and turned her away from the gathered people. No one was paying attention to them, as they were either unloading or going through the supplies. Still, Zuko steered her away and back toward her house.

Taking no prompting, Zuko sat her down on the couch and brought over a blanket while she was weeping. Katara curled into it, laying down on the couch and sobbing while the core of her soul ached. When he returned, Katara felt his warm hand on her back, slowly rubbing the tight muscles that seized with every arrhythmic breath.

“This is all my fault.”

“Not all of it. And you can’t be blamed for not fixing something you didn’t know was broken.”

“Why did he do this?”

“Because a sadness that deep can erase the greatest of joys.”

He gave her tea and he told her about Mai. The promises he made and how now, finally, everything would be as they wanted it. She had enjoyed it at first, the power and privilege that came with being married to the Fire Lord.

Then they started to get pregnant.

She usually lost them in the first trimester. Nothing to show of a pregnancy except the amount of blood. One pregnancy had been promising, and the doctor had ordered strict bedrest. Sages, not the Fire Sages but a new group to rise from their ashes, had said that if the spark caught, the baby would be a strong Firebender.

They had lost him during the seventh month.

Something had broken in Mai then, and Zuko insisted they stop trying. Mai needed the rest and to recover, so they traveled to various healing springs. The doctors had told him in very strong words that he must not even so much as sleep in the same bed as her, so that her body could heal. He did. She pulled away from him, receding more into herself. Maids and other noble ladies assured him that this was normal, and Mai would be fine. So Zuko had left her alone.

He had left her all alone.

During a new moon, when it was the darkest Zuko had ever experienced, he had been woken up as someone entered his room.

Mai had come to him and draped over him like a sheet. Zuko could still remember how he had traced his hands over her body and felt her ribs. And the thick scars on her legs.

She said nothing and the only sound was of their breathing.

When it was done, Mai got up and walked out of the room.

When they returned to the palace, she moved out of their shared room. And nine months later, Izumi was born.

Mai took care of all the motherly duties, but quickly handed Izumi to whatever nurse happened to be nearby. As those duties lessened, Zuko tried to reach out to her. Every time, she turned him away.

When Izumi turned five and they found out for certain she wasn’t a Firebender, Mai threw a glass into the dining room wall.

“I failed. The thing nearly killed me and I failed.”

“You didn’t fail. Please, Mai, if I ever made you think that-”

“It’s not you Zuko, it’s them. It’s this place. It’s me.”

“Mai.”

“Zuko, if I stay here one more night, I will die.”

Zuko let her go.

The divorce had been hard. Mai looked dead as she signed the papers, forfeiting her parental rights to Izumi. As her father’s only heir, there couldn’t be a chance that Mai would take her. As per the usual agreement, Mai was not permitted to remarry for one full year and any pregnancy had to be reported immediately to the palace. Just in case the baby was Zuko’s.

There was no ironic laugh. Mai only scratched out the character of her name and looked at the magistrate.

“She wasn’t even the same woman at that point. I hadn’t even been seeing her.”

“Why couldn’t they just tell us?”

“That sadness was theirs. Either they thought we wouldn’t understand or they didn’t want to drown us.”

“I love him so much.”

“Aang’s gone. Mai’s gone. And it is a terrible thing.”

“What do I do with my own sadness now?”

“Let love in.”

Zuko said he was staying until the solstice, claiming that he had never had the opportunity to spend a good one with her. Having him around, Katara tried to work on letting love in. She saw how sometimes Zuko’s sadness would seep in and he would begin to pace. He moved till he found Izumi and then pestered her, throwing handfuls of snow over her and the others while they ran about shrieking. By the time he needed a break, he was smiling and his eyes were brighter.

Katara took a chance. When her sadness lapped up her spine, she sought out her children. She taught them how to scrape furs and when Bumi started to roll over them, instead of yelling at him, she wrapped him up in one. As he struggled and laughed, Katara and Kya continued to roll him, using their bending to ultimately send him bounding down a hill. They would roll after him and end up on their backs, laughing and crying at the same time as their breath became clouds in the air.

Love began to take up too much room and the sadness had no place to linger. Zuko warned her that it wouldn’t always feel like that, and it would be difficult to push back the sadness for good. While he was prone to melancholy, it was still taking him time to recover.

At the solstice festival, she understood what he meant. Zuko had gone to help light the fireworks and the children were gone somewhere doing spirits knew what. A woman came by with a tray of sweets and Katara took two small plates. As the woman left, Katara turned.

Aang wasn’t there to take the other one.

He had been absent all this time, but her muscle memory still expected him to be there. When she washed dishes, the first she usually held out, waiting for Aang to dry. When she tucked in the children, she had to stop herself from saying their father would be in shortly to say goodnight. When she thought about the meals, she first thought about what dish could be made with and without meat.

But now, during a happy festival, she grabbed a dessert for her husband who had left her. Who had been gone for longer than she cared to admit.

“Katara.”

“He’s not coming back.”

“No.”

“I thought he loved me.”

“Katara, he’s not the same inside. There was too much of the pain.”

“It hurts, so m-much.”

Zuko held her while the fireworks boomed overhead. She pressed her face into his chest and crawled as close to him as she could. He took in slow breaths and his body warmed. Zuko wrapped himself around her and she cried.

“You have to let the pain out.”

“How?”

Her breath was hot and wet, and it curled against her flushed face. Her nose was congested but her eyes dripped.

“I haven’t figured that part out yet.”

“Zuko.”

Katara turned her head and Zuko went stiff. His sleeve had been pulled up as he held her awkwardly. There was a mark like a thumbprint burned into his skin. The skin was cracked and dry, with the flesh beneath looking dead. It had been burned repeatedly.

Her sadness and pain left her in a rush. Katara felt weak and wrung out. She sagged in Zuko’s arms and he sighed.

“I have to keep going. Even when I don’t want to, I have to.”

“It can’t be like this forever.”

“But we have to survive the waiting.”

Katara decided that staying in the dark for weeks and weeks wouldn’t help anything. An army of people packed up her house and loaded it onto the airship. Bumi and Kya were excited about the trip, hoping out loud and without subtlety that they would be able to stay at the palace for just a little bit before heading on to the United Republic.

Iroh greeted them when they landed, hugging Katara with such genuine warmth that she suddenly felt like she was drowning. She had resolved to stop crying so much, knowing that it was causing some sort of imbalance in the waters of her soul. Zuko told her it was only her body pushing out some of the pain to let in a little more love. Katara had told him that Iroh had been corny, not sappy so he had missed a lesson somewhere.

Now being outnumbered by Benders, Bumi started to act out. Iroh took every boast and bluster seriously, giving Bumi the attention he needed. When his anxiety waned, Izumi reminded him that she was a non-Bender and was going to become the next Fire Lord. She asserted that just being a Bender didn’t make anyone amazing because just look at her grandfather and great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather, and then Iroh interrupted her to tell them that there were red bean buns in the kitchen.

Then Kya broke Katara’s heart as she took Iroh’s hand and asked if being a Waterbender was special enough. Iroh smiled at her and replied that he knew of one very special Waterbender who was also one of the women he most admired. Kya glanced back at Katara as she and Iroh went after the others, and Katara smiled.

That night, Katara made Zuko show her all of his scars. Working from his right arm, Katara glanced at his abdomen. Zuko put a hand over it.

“Not that one.”

“It’s just another scar you didn’t deserve.”

“It’s one I earned.”

“By throwing your life away.”

“To protect you.”

Katara found all the small burns and smoothed them away. The water around her hands stayed cool and glowed faintly, concentrating in spots as they found the damaged skin. The threadlike scars from very sharp blades were also erased.

“And here?”

“I earned that one too.”

“Don’t say that.”

“What else would you have me say of it?”

“You have earned kinder things.”

He sat up and pulled on his robe but left it open. Katara could hear the rush of blood and her limbs felt heavy. He faced her and took a loose strand of her hair. He watched his hand as she watched his face. Zuko tucked the strand behind her ear.

“I earned your friendship.”

“That hasn’t always been kind.”

Her fingers felt cold, or else it was that his skin was hot. Katara touched the place where Azula’s lightning had hit him and he smiled.

“I would take this type of kindness over your indifference any day.”

“I’m not indifferent.”

“I don’t mean to presume.”

“You have earned kinder things than my attention.”

Zuko’s hand returned to her face and he cupped her cheek. A small affection, but one so intimate that her body shuddered. This was not the touch of a brother or a comforting friend. It was a touch she had not known for a very long time.

“Then let me have your words, because you have my full attention.”

“Take them.”

And he kissed her.

As Zuko shifted to hold her, Katara cried out softly. There was nothing desperate or lustful, but her body still felt charged. Zuko only hugged her, kissing her gently, and cradling the back of her head with his fingers in her hair.

As Katara’s head started to spin, Zuko picked her up and moved her to his bed. He regarded her with a pained look.

“This isn’t how I want us to begin.”

“But I am ready for an ending.”

They spent the night together, and Katara got her first restful sleep in months.

It took two years.

Katara bought a house in Luodai, a promising city that wasn’t too far from Republic City. She met with Aang half a dozen times in various attempts to reconcile, or at least come to some sort of agreement.

Then came the proposal of a new law.

Katara had not been permitted to sit as the South Pole representative on the council as she was married to Aang, who also had a seat. Sokka had taken it instead, and had done a remarkably good job. It was because of how seriously he took his position that the proposal took as long as it did.

Called the Mothers’ Right Law, it outlined the new rules for any divorce occurring outside of any marriage where a legitimate heir was required to maintain the stability of a government. Women were now allowed to initiate a divorce on their own and did not have to forfeit their parental rights. Instead, custody must be shared between the parents in equal measure for all children. If the mother is unemployed or becomes unemployed before remarrying, the former husband must pay her an allowance.

Sokka presented it at a council meeting and as Aang rose from the table, Toph stepped forward. The other representatives all stared at the Avatar and ultimately the law was signed.

Aang signed it again, in another version, one month later.

For the spring and summer, Aang had all three children. Katara had them for the fall and winter.

And during the next winter solstice, Katara and Zuko decided they wanted a new beginning.

#zutara #fanfiction #zutara month #zutara month 2021 #trigger: self harm #trigger: blood mention #trigger: miscarriage #trigger: depression #trigger: child neglect

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