#this was a bit rushed and I'm definitely a bit rusty

[aireia]

holy shit. they're both hopeless. — satoru and shoko suspect that you and suguru have feelings for each other.

tw/cw: gn! reader, a tiny bit angst at the end but overall fluff + crack. angel used as a petname. not proofread + rushed.

note: school sucks, i'm half awake as of typing this, have mercy on my rusty ass writing skills —masterlist

“so. you like them, don’t you?”

it’s too early in the morning for this. suguru had just stepped foot into the classroom, and he was already being interrogated by his friends. they were eyeing him up and down with suspicion in their eyes, as if it would provide them with an answer.

“who?” the raven haired male feigned innocence. he knew damn well who the duo were talking about, from their not very secret gossiping to spying on him when he spoke to you. suguru was still kind of offended that they thought he didn’t notice them there. just because he didn’t have six eyes didn’t mean he didn’t have good eyesight! he could clearly see satoru’s head peeking out from behind a tree and shoko in the bushes.

“you’re not serious, are you?” satoru asked in disbelief, exchanging a few glances with shoko as if to say, “this guy is actually hopeless.” 

they couldn’t have mistaken the soft glances he shot your way whenever you walked by them, or him lightly brushing his fingers against yours, or the very obvious tint of red on his face whenever he spoke to you for something else right? satoru swore on his six eyes that he wasn’t mistaken.

they decided to drop the topic after a while. if he wasn’t going to give them an answer, they’d just have to ask you instead.

they found you talking to suguru after class, laughing with him over small talk before you waved him goodbye. there it was again, that genuine smile he rarely showed. they approached you to tell you about needing to speak to you, then dragged you somewhere more private to speak. 

“you like suguru right?” wow. direct. that wasn’t a question you expected today. 

“we’re just friends,” you replied them. you could feel the heat rising on your cheeks. you had to change the topic, fast. “don’t you have a mission to get to, gojo? geto left earlier because he thought you were already waiting on him.”

“...” 

he whispered something in shoko’s ear before darting off somewhere. well, whisper isn’t really the word. you clearly heard him telling shoko to “carry on with their mission and get you to admit you liked him,” and telling him all about it later. now you’re wondering if they secretly have nights where they just spill everyone’s secrets to each other late at night when everyone else is asleep.

shoko eventually turned back to face you after watching gojo run away. she placed both her hands on your shoulders and looked at you dead in your eyes. “are you sure you don’t like him? not even a little bit?” you shook your head, and she sighed. both of you are hopeless. 

-

“so, what should we do?” shoko asked satoru as she painted his nails. “they’re beyond saving,” she continued.

the snowy haired male thought for a while before responding. “we set them up on a date.” shoko perked up at this. “you think?” “definitely.”

they lowered their voices after that, discussing how they would somehow drag the both of you to a location and ensure that you’d have a nice date and be together by the end of the day. with occasional breaks to gossip about random things and pairing teachers with shitty attitudes together, they finally came up with a plan. 

-

now, you should have noticed the signs earlier. satoru and shoko were acting weird earlier. not only had they been whispering the entire day, acting like ninjas, but they also completely dropped the topic of you and suguru liking each other, and invited the both of you to a restaurant. satoru’s treat. 

and now, you were standing in front of a restaurant waiting for all three of them. sure, you were a little early, but you didn’t expect no one else to be here. you stared at the group chat, waiting for possibly any type of text to indicate they had arrived, but nothing. 

“y/n? you’re here early.” you could have recognised that smooth voice anywhere. suguru was the second to arrive after you, and the both of you exchanged some small talk before a notification popped up on your phone.

“we’re running a little late! you two go ahead inside!” we? were they together? and they knew the both of you had arrived? suguru sighed at the message. “let’s head inside. it’s hot out here anyway.” suguru ended by extending his hand out for you to take it, and you smiled before slotting your fingers in between his. 

after the both of you were seated, you noticed something. satoru reserved a table for two people. of course he did. somehow, you’re convinced they’re both somewhere in the restaurant, disguised with newspapers and wigs (possibly contact lenses), spying on you and suguru.

another message was sent, this time to suguru. he sweatdropped as he read the message. there was an image attachment of a money transaction to his online banking account, captioned with “go get them!!”

he was going to slap satoru when he got back. 

suguru deeply sighed before putting his phone back into his pocket. “they aren’t coming. i’m guessing they’re trying to set us up.” “obviously. well, since we’re already here, might as well make the best of it?” you suggested, and he agreed. 

maybe dates set up by your friends were better. you ended up laughing with suguru, having a nice dinner… it was quite late when you left the restaurant, but you still ended up walking around with him and exchanging even more words. the walk back to your dorm rooms was mostly silent, though. walking hand in hand while the moon shone upon you, and his thumb lightly brushing over your hand, almost as if he were trying to remember the feeling of your skin because one of you would have to let go eventually. you tightened your grip on him at the thought. 

-

“y/n, angel, you aren’t usually this clingy,” suguru chuckled when you nuzzled your face into his chest. he wrapped his arms around your body, bringing you closer to him and running his hand through your hair. “everything alright?” you nodded, but your lover knew you better than that. he’d have to ask you about it again later.

“do you wanna tell them we’ve already been dating for a few months?” you asked. the both of you had decided to keep your relationship secret early on, and your friends were starting to catch up on it. you think. 

a brief moment of silence followed your question before he answered. 

“nah. they’ll figure it out eventually.”

by user @ aireia, do not plagiarize and/or translate.

[kenzie-floops]

Visions of You: A Lilia Calderu x femaledivination!reader

Heyyyy this is my return to fanfic, but it's been a while so I'm a bit rusty. Constructive criticism not insults please! If you don't like it.. don't read it, it's that's simple.

This will be the first part of a new series I'm working on called Visions of You. Reader is a female divinations witch, around the same age as Lilia, but physical appearance is up to you. More will be revealed later, but a happy ending is in store!

If you'd like to be added to the tag list, or taken off, let me know!

Warnings: cussing

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

I roll over and peep open my eyes to look at my alarm clock. 12:42. What the hell is someone banging on my door this time of day for? 

I push myself up out of bed, and wrap my robe around myself as I make my way to the door. 

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! 

“I’m coming, i’m coming!” I shouted. Could they bang any harder on my door?!?

I quickly grab the front door and thrust it open, blinking quickly at the sunlight. 

“Yes? What do you need so urgently you almost banged my door down?” I grumpily ask the two strangers standing at my door as I attempt to wipe away some of the groggy sleep from my eyes. 

“Oh!” A shrill voice pipes up. “Sorry about that, we’re just in a bit of a rush. Didn’t mean to give you such a harsh wake-up. Although it is past noon on a weekday…” The voice trails off and I snap my head up.

I had to pick up an extra shift last night at the club because one of the other bottle girls had gotten sick. That meant working on my feet for longer than usual, and I was definitely tired from the extra hours.

“Listen kiddo, i work the night shift down at the club and i’ve only been asleep for a couple hours, so excuse me if i’m a little grumpy at the fact some kid was banging on my door while i'm trying to rest” i huff out with impatience. “Now will you kindly get off my doorstep? I don’t want your cookies, or t-shirts or whatever the hell it is you’re selling”. 

I turned to close the door when the woman I hadn't noticed standing next to the teenager spoke. 

“Seriously, Y/N? Working at the local club? I didn’t think you had the guts for stripping” she says while snickering. 

I bristle at the insult. “Now just wait a minute here. I’m not a stripper, I'm a bottle girl! And who are you to throw around judgment, showing up on my front door when I don't even know…” I trail off as i get a good look at her face and recognize just who’s come to bother me. No way…

“Well holy shit!” I exclaim, throwing my hands up in the air. I lean against the door frame and look her up and down slowly.  “Now that’s a face I haven't seen in a few centuries. Agatha fucking Harkness! Can’t say I've missed your presence. What brings you to my doorstep?” 

“I’ve got a proposition for you. Mind if we come in?” she questions as she gestures inside.

I throw my head back in laughter before turning around to go inside, leaving the door ajar. 

“Sure!” I yell over my shoulder. “Come on in. I’m gonna make some tea.” 

Both Agatha and the boy trail after me into the kitchen. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the boy following my movements as he takes in my kitchen. It’s full of dried herbs and flowers hanging from faded yellow walls. I fling open my aged brown cabinets and rifle around for a mason jar of tea leaves. 

As I prepare my water to boil and place the tea leaves in a sachet I ask “So, what brings you by Agatha? Looking for me to join you on one of your latest murder sprees in the search for some powerful totem?” 

I turn from the counter to face them, seeing that Agatha has already made herself comfortable at my small dining table. The boy was standing awkwardly behind her. 

I look the boy up and down and raise my eyebrows at Agatha. “What’s with the boy?” i question, “Finally taken on an apprentice to teach your dark and evil ways to? He seems quite young to be following in your trail of corrupted darkness.” 

The boy goes to respond, but Agatha cuts him off. “No, no, no, this is Teen and he’s…” She trails off a bit and I go to finish pouring my tea. Teen? That’s a strange name. Whatever. He got himself involved with Harkness, not my problem to deal with. 

“ A pet. Yes!” she exclaims, clapping her hands. “He’s my pet. Now listen Y/N i have a proposition for you.” 

I roll my eyes at her. “Agatha, I really don’t know what’s got you at my house stirring shit up, but I can assure you I'm not interested. If your undoubtedly dangerous proposal was all you came for, you best be going now.” 

I move to usher her out the door before ‘Teen’ shouts out. “We’re going on the Witches Road and we want you to join us!” 

He looks down a bit sheepishly as I give a bug eyed stare. 

“Please?” he hesitantly asks. “We need a divination witch and the road will give you what you want most if you join us.” He’s gotta be kidding. The Road is a death wish. 

I swiftly turn to Agatha, who shakes her head in exasperation at Teen. 

“Really, Agatha?!” I exclaim, throwing my hand up in the air and moving wildly around the room. “The Road is a death wish. No one makes it through. What have you deluded this poor boy into thinking?” 

“She hasn’t deluded me!”, Teen replies. “It was my idea actually.” 

I bury my head in my hands. No way am I joining Agatha Harknesse’s coven to journey down the Witches Road. I am not that crazy, despite what some may think and say.

“Oh hell no. Thank you but no thank you for the offer. I plan on staying alive for the foreseeable future. Harkness, take the boy and leave,” I whip around to face her, “ and please don’t come back. I don’t need whatever's got you spooked enough to go on the witches road coming after me”. 

“Oh come on!” she exasperatedly yells. “We both know you’ve been searching for something you’re never gonna find Y/N.” How the hell does she know about that? I’ve never told her of my visions of her. But then again, I asked around for decades. Maybe she caught wind of it through the grapevine of the witch community. 

“Travel the Witches Road with me” she offers. “The Road will give you what you want most when we reach the end”. 

“If we reach the end” I interject. “If.”

She’s right though. If i join them, and can successfully make it to the end of the road it will tell me how to find her. All those visions of her for all those years… Her beautiful brown eyes, her soft curly hair. What I wouldn't give to see her smile for real, and not just in a vision. 

I sigh heavily as I bring my eyes to Agatha’s. I’m seriously considering it, and for a moment I almost say yes… but I know Agatha’s reputation. Even though at one point I would have liked us to be friends, I know I can't trust her. Going on the Road with her would be certain death, and then i’d never find her.

“Agatha…” I start. “I can’t. I just can’t. Now if that's all, get out of my house. I’m tired.” 

“Ok, ok” she says, lifting her hands in mock surrender as she turns to leave. 

Unexpectedly, Teen makes his way towards me. “Here” he says as he places a card in my hand. “This is Agatha’s address. Be here tonight at 6:30 if you change your mind, and I hope you will” he says as smiles. 

“Teen!” Agatha barks from the doorway. “Come on! We don’t have all day” 

Teen runs after her, and as suddenly as they had woken me, they left, and I was there to sit with my own thoughts. 

At least my tea has cooled off enough to drink. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@end0r4

[dwntwn-strnlo]

friendly fire. [m.st.]

── ⟡˙ ̟ matthew sturniolo x !reader

↳ synopsis. — drunk confessions!

↳ a/n. — thank you to the talented @sarosfilms for letting me use this idea! ella is so freaking creative and you should definitely check out her work :))

↳ requested? — no

↳ cw. — use of alcohol, verbal argument

you tilted your head back, beer spilling out of the red solo cup and past your lips. every reasonable nerve in your body was telling you that it's okay, no big deal. it was fine.

but yet, as your knuckles gripped the trashy plastic, you couldn't tell what emotion you were feeling. whether it was sadness, or anger—no. infuriation. you honestly couldn't tell.

eyes locked on your boy best friend, you want to absolutely lose your shit.

leaning against the wall, matt talks to a pretty girl. the way she's watching him speak, gaze glued to his lips and the way you fell in love with his smile? it made you want to burst into tears.

downing the rest of you stale alcohol, you turn around and toss your cup in the trashcan by the dishwasher. closing your eyes for a mere few seconds, you breathe. in through your nose, out through your mouth. trying to compose yourself and cope with the idea that it's just matt. friendly, easy to talk to matt. and he's not going to do anything that would remotely hurt you.

but why, oh why— did you feel like you were going insane?

when you realized that you were falling way past the silly schoolgirl crush for him, the idea of commitment bit you in the ass. though eventually, you wrapped your head around it and now you're head over fucking heels for the goofy influencer who's face haunts your insta feed.

by the time you open your eyes again, your heart is pounding. you weren't one to be so jealous and angry,—if that's even what your feeling right now—especially over a stupid little conversation with a stupid little tiktoker with stupidly big tits. so you have no clue what's gotten into you. besides maybe the 7 cups of beer you've downed in the last hour...

you pull out your phone, needing to get away before you actually lost your head.

you send a quick text to matt in the awkward case you were to get roofied or jumped or whatever frat/influencer thing the guys decide to do, that he'd at least know where you were. no matter how upset you were.

he's quick to react to your text, but you chose not to elaborate before shoving your phone back into your pocket and step outside.

immediately you feel a rush of relief wash over you when the pounding music is no longer rattling your brain, and now just bleeding through the front door.

quickly you wrap your arms around your torso, the night time air hitting you like a brick. closing your eyes again, you breathe in and out. in and out. in and out. trying to steady your keonigsegg of a heartbeat.

now that you're alone and away from the half naked dancing, sweating young adults, you can finally focus. and you soon realize how absolutely full of rage you are.

you want to scream and cry and-

"y/n?" you turn around to your name being called as the glass door slides against the rusty metal. "what are you doing out here?"

matt quirks a brow as he speaks, staring at you with confusion and concern stapled across his face.

"i uh-" you cover your mouth with your palm. trying to figure out what to say. you wanted to blow up at him, but you couldn't do that. he's just matt. just your friend. just your friend that your madly in love with. who cares? "no reason?"

the boy scoffs, knitting his brows as he looks at you in disbelief, "really?"

your eyes rake over his body as you search for something to say. noting how he's in just a simple black tee and baggy designer jeans. "who was the girl?" i snort, "she was really pretty!"

matt's eyes widen, still seemingly shocked by what your going on about. "huh? what girl?" he stuffs his hands in his pockets, shifting on his heels and the balls of his feet. "i wasn't talking to anyone."

you scoff, "i'm not stupid." crossing my arms over my chest. "i saw you talking to her, matt. blonde, big tits, you remember?"

he laughs, but there's not much humor in it. "you can't say shit like that."

"oh so you do remember, hm?" you bite, narrowing your eyes at him.

he puts his hands up defensively, waving them in the air between the two of you. "that was nothing. she was no one."

"you weren't nobody to her." you snort. "did you not see the way she was all goo goo ga ga over you? she was bout ready to flash her colorful feathers and do a mating dance."

"why do you care?" matt mirrors your body language, crossing his arms over his chest too.

your heart skips a beat or two... hundred. your face freezes at his words, and suddenly you're a deer in headlights. "because... i'm your friend matt."

"friend!?" he fires out, barely letting your words roll of your tongue. he looks exasperated, his blue eyes dark and wide.

his swords send you into a string of confusion. raising a brow at him, you snicker. "why are you so shocked?"

"because i love you, y/n."

what?

"yeah i love you too?" you mumble, uncrossing your arms.

matt scoffs. he scoffs. and it makes you even more exasperated then you were before. "are you fucking stupid?" the words make you rebuild the wall in your body, crossing your arms again and standing up a little taller. "i love you." he mutters again. this time unable to hold eye contact with you.

undeniably your breath hitches. this time as he says it, the words hit you a little harder. pressing into you like a body blow, threatening to knock you off your feet. "i don't understand.." you mumble, voice barely above a whisper as you swallow the lump in your throat.

"you are not my fucking friend, y/n. you are the person i aspire to be the most." he reaches out a hand to touch you, but drops it almost instantly. as if his body wasn't with his mind. "i want you so bad. i want to take you out and hold your hand and-" his breath hitches, eyes boring into yours.

as his words slip off his tongue everything seems to hit you like a train. "and what?" your voice cracks. as he finally goes silent, you realize your biting at your nails. picking recklessly at the skin around them. dropping your hand, your fingers fidget, waiting and waiting and waiting.

"i wanna be your boyfriend."

TAGLIST

@thetriplets3 @stxrniqlo @ifilwtmfc @iha8you @20nugs @gracietaylorsversions @fenoy7 @mlimmm @prettysturniolo @ssturniolo @gabbylovesreading @oh-toseewithoutmy-eyes @matthewmurdockswife @jellybeanbby @slaysturniolo @iheartshifting @mxqdii @luvsturniolo @lvrsparadise @partoftoofuckinmanyfandoms @sstvrniololuvr

[mxdarling]

[send me a pic]

aventurine fluff post, ooc aventurine, could be read as platonic or romantic, reader is trailblazer, gn reader who uses they/them prns, mostly texting format, takes place after 2.2 trailblaze quest, spoiler free!, a bit rushed, lowercase, 1.0k wc, based on a in-game text interaction with aventurine.

[a/n; got a in-game message from aventurine and decided to write for him LOLL I couldn't resist, my writing is so rusty now i;m sorry huhuu]

you were chilling in your room, laying down with your limbs spread out on the bed, doing absolutely nothing. after the events of penacony, you were completely exhausted. the bed was too comfy to get up from, like some magnetic force pulling you into the soft texture of the mattress. it was unusual for you to be doing nothing—doing nothing would make you bored, and you hate being bored, which prompts you to do anything to make that boredom go away. so having your eyes glued to the ceiling was a new feeling to you; you weren't in the mood to bother march and dan heng with your antics, or help pom pom clean the astral express, or talk to mr. yang and himeko, no, none of that. you simply wanted to be in your room, doing nothing.

minutes have passed, and your eyes, void of excitement, continued to stare down at the ceiling. it wasn't interesting, so it was the only thing your eyes could focus on without much effort. seeing as you weren't going to do much for today, the thought of sleeping away time sounded rather pleasant to you, plus the droopiness in your eyes gave you the go signal to drift off and take a nap. as you're lured into the embraces of slumber, you almost gave in until your phone let out a buzzing noise, pulling you out of rest.

your phone stays still on the bedside table, you sit up straight and leaned over towards your phone to take a peek at the notification that has woken you up.

a: [hey friend!] a: [how's life been treating you?]

caught off guard by his sudden message you leaned back and took a second or two to recollect yourself before reaching for your phone and typing out a reply.

t: [uhh been doing okay, hbu?] a: [a new shop that opened up here on penacony—cosmic star.] a: [checking the place out, it's fun, there's a lot of interesting stuff here.] t: [you planning on buying something there?] a: [well sort of, i'm not buying for myself though] a: [actually gonna buy something for you]

you audibly let out a confused 'huh' as you read and reread his message. this is definitely a first. you knew he had the credits to buy the most expensive things imaginable due to being part of the IPC, but you didn't think he'd let you indulge in his wealth beyond his missions.

t: [wait really? like actually??] a: [yeah gonna buy you something, first i need to find what strikes your fancy] a: [there's this "horizon" series pajama is made with a material so light it feels like nothing, warm in winter, cool in summer, and extremely comfortable] a: [wearing it to sleep should considerably lessen the fatigue from travel]

you were tempted to immediately say that was the item you wanted; after all, having some new sets of pajamas would be nice. though you decided to wait until he described the other items to you, perhaps there was something you'd like even more than the pajamas.

a: [speaking of travel, these "night diamond" series gloves, they're handcrafted and limited to ninety pairs galaxy-wide, perfect for parties and special occasions]

you didn't feel much for the gloves, if you were being honest; the ones you already had were fine and very comfortable during your travels through different worlds. still, you kept the gloves in mind in case you had a change of heart.

a: [and then there's this windbreaker from the "unmanned flight" series—a timeless classic!] a: [you can wear it and stand on the edge of a cliff, listening to the flapping of its hem when the cosmic storm hits… it's because of that scene in the movie, "unmanned flight" has now become the go-to choice for a generation of the nameless and their followers.]

the windbreaker sounded fun, you thought, plus you had a feeling that he picked that item because you’re a nameless as well. though you weren't sure if it would be any use to you.

a: [now, which one do you like?]

thinking very carefully between the three items he had describe to you, trying to sort out the pros and cons of each items but you ended up getting tired of doing so—in the end you settle for the vibes each item gave off.

t: [the "horizon" pjs then] a: [that's all? are you sure?] t: [yeah i'm sure] a: [alright, i'll have it delivered to you, just don't mind the extra packages okay?]

raising an eyebrow at his rather vague message, you hear the sound of hurried footsteps approaching. suddenly, your door slides open to reveal a disheveled march out of breath. "hey! why did you order so many packages!?" march whined, still out of breath as she continued to breathe in and out to catch some air. you watched from your bed in shock as she continued to huff out for air. looking back at you, she whined once more. "hey! these are your packages. help me out over here!" quickly you got off the bed and on your feet running after march, and you helped her carry your packages into your room. you wondered if this is what he meant by 'extra packages'.

t: [how many did you ordered!?] a: [what do you mean friend?] t: [i thought you ordered just the pjs??] a: [i did! with a couple of others things of course!] t: [????] t: [what others things??] a: [why don't you check the packages to see for yourself] a: [don't forget to send me a picture!]

with a sigh of disbelief, you turned your attention to the pile of boxes sent by aventurine himself, guess you should start unboxing.

t: [sent 10 attachments.] t: [what do you think?] a: [10 pictures isn't enough my friend but oh well] a: [as expected, you look really cute in those pjs friend!]

PLEASE DO NOT COPY, REPOST, SHARE, TRANSLATE OR REUPLOAD ANY OF MY WORKS TO OTHER SITES WITHOUT MY PERMISSION + REBLOGS AND COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED.

[magnifythesun]

Hi! Are you still taking ianthony prompts? I've had this stuck in my head the time Ian's car broke down and Anthony said he begged Ian 6 times to come pick him up and I just imagine Damsel in Distress Ian who's also stubborn and a bit oblivious to a worried and protective Anthony who's always there for him in different situations.

Thank you sooo much for the prompt!!

This is definitely one of my favorite little details that they've dropped about themselves haha!! I can't believe Anthony had to ask Ian SIX whole times just to come get him 😂 Ian truly must never ask for help! Okay, I'm a little rusty in my writing but I'm excited so let's see how this goes! Let me know what you think! ^_^

(mid writing notes: writing this really made me realize just how many times SIX whole times of asking your friend to let you give them a ride is. SIX TIMES)

Read on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/56102110

--

Leave it to Ian to get stranded in the only 'middle-of-nowhere' spot in LA. Anthony was wearing tracks into his living room carpet, caught up in rereading the messages Ian had sent.

"Car broke 😢" was the first sign of trouble, accompanied by the sad photo of Ian's car half-pulled off of the asphalt into grass.

"Where are you?" Anthony had shot back, confused by the seemingly rural background of the photo. "Got AAA coming to help?"

"In the most barren part of the whole city." Ian replied after a couple of minutes. "I'm taking a look at at it now but yeah I'm probably going to call them. Car sounds fucked."

"Shit, man. Lemme know if you need a ride" Anthony offered. It only took a second for the reply.

"No worries, I'll be good."

There had been radio silence for a while then. Anthony hadn't been too stressed. He figured Ian already had a different person lined up to get him if his car didn't start back up. Still, he kept glancing at his phone for updates that didn't come.

After about forty minutes, and a quick glance at the clock that told him it'd be getting dark soon, Anthony texted Ian again.

"Triple A fix your car?"

The response was prompt. "Nope"

Anthony stared at the message, knowing this man did not just send him only the word 'nope.' It took a minute but more followed.

"The AAA guy's still looking at it but from what I can tell it's beyond his scope. He mentioned I should probably call a tow truck so I've been looking at reviews."

Anthony glanced outside his window, frowning at the rapidly darkening sky. "That sounds like a good idea. after you call whoever, I can drive over so you have a ride once they've towed yours"

Ian responded quickly, "No don't worry I'm all good."

Definitely must have a ride then, Anthony thought. Still, he had to make sure. "Oh good, you've got a ride then?"

There was a long pause, so Anthony set his phone down, glancing at the setting sun again and went to get some water from the kitchen.

Coming back in to his phone, he checked his messages, and-

"No, I'll probably just Uber."

Anthony was flabbergasted. "Why?? Don't worry man it's no problem for me to pick you up. Let me know where you're at." It was actually just straight up dark outside at this point. "Is the AAA guy still there??"

"Nah he's gone. Waiting on the tow truck."

Alone in the middle-of-nowhere Los Angeles? Anthony thought, In the dark? Worry flared up in his chest and the pacing began.

"Ian, just drop me your map pin and I'll head over."

"It's chill, I'm not in a rush to get home." Ian replied, not a care in the world.

Anthony resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. "that's not really the point??"

Suddenly a picture was loading in on the messages.

Anthony braced himself for a lackadaisical gif (and yes, he pronounced it jif like god and the creator intended) but was greeted instead with a horrendous selfie of Ian holding the phone at an angle an inch from his chin, smiling at him. The artificial light from his phone lit up the interior of his car behind him. Anthony couldn't help but laugh, even as the worry churned in his stomach. Another message followed.

"Don't worry. I'm a big boy now, all grown up and everything."

Anthony considered wracking his brains for a daddy joke, but decided Ian didn't deserve it right now. He grabbed his keys and wallet, flicked off the living room light, and left, locking his door behind him. As he walked toward his car, he jabbed the call button.

It rang only twice before Ian picked up. Anthony heard him take a breath to speak and didn't give him a chance. "Ian, just tell me where you're at, I'm heading to my car now."

"I-" Ian sounded surprised. There was a moment of rustling on the other end, then Anthony was clearly put on speaker as Ian's voice echoed slightly through the call. "Anthony, really, it's fine. The tow truck people have an ETA of like 15 minutes and then I'll call the Uber while they're hooking the car up."

Anthony, now at his car, pressed his eyes closed for a second in annoyance as he clicked his key. He hoped Ian could hear the pointed little beep-beep of his car unlocking in response.

"You really don't have to go out of your way to come get me," Ian continued, undeterred. "I didn't mean to derail your whole night with this," He laughed.

Anthony got in the car and leaned his head on his steering wheel in despair. "Ian."

"What?" Ian asked.

Anthony began to laugh despite himself, "I don't understand," He laughed harder, pushing the words out. "Why won't you just let me pick you up? I've asked you like five times!"

There was a moment of silence from Ian's end, and Anthony knew Ian was processing just how ridiculous this had become. Ian started snickering. Then they were both just laughing, Anthony holding the phone tight to his ear as Ian's laughter poured from it, his other hand ready to turn the car on.

"So," Anthony caught his breath, "So can you -please- drop me a map pin so I can come get you?"

"Alright, alright." Ian said.

Ian's voice was soft and breathless from his laughter. Anthony had spent a long time learning how to properly relish the beautiful moments in his life. The sound of Ian's voice right now, echoing slightly through the phone? That was one of those moments.

Anthony's phone pinged. "There. You happy?"

"Finally, my god." Anthony pulled the phone away to check. "Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Great," Ian said. "I think the tow truck gets here right about then." Anthony could still hear the smile in his voice. "I'll be here, waiting for you to rescue me."

[tupperwaretub]

could you do a negan x m!reader fic? mainly fluff and possibly an established relationship between the reader and negan. also, maybe an alternate universe with no apocalypse? :)

(A/n): tysm for the request, I'm a bit rusty so apologies for any bad writing!

Summary: it's you and are boyfriends one year anniversary and you have a cozy dinner to celebrate.

Warnings: light reference to smut at end, that's it :)

....

You sigh as you finally get home from work, you had stopped at the shop on the way home to buy your boyfriend Negan some chocolates it was your one year anniversary after all. As you step inside your senses are filled by the delicious scent of your boyfriends famous spaghetti, you hear him call from the kitchen "sit down at the table babe!" Negan sounds excited.

You sit at the candle lit table and he enters the room with two plates of spaghetti and your favorite bottle of wine. Negan flashes you a stupid grin and pours you both a glass of the wine, "so how was your day?" He kisses your cheek. "Definitely better now." You laugh, you pass him the box of chocolates over the table once he sits down and he smiles, "thankyou love..." He places the box down and holds your hand gently. You speak up "I'm not sure if the chocolates are good enough seeing as you've done all this-" Negan cuts you off laughing, "you can be silly sometimes y/n... I love it thank you, really I'm just doing this because... Well, you know how much of a hopeless romantic i am." You both laugh.

"So how was your day?" You ask him as you both start to eat the delicious meal. "My day?" He begins to answer, "well... You know how those little shits can be, tiring but i love 'em." He grins, your heart warms at your boyfriends love for his students.

The pair of you eat in a comfortable silence and when you finish Negan blows the candles out and offers you his hand, you raise an eye brow and take it. He leads you to the living room where he places a CD in the CD player, the CD he had burnt your own little shared mix of favourite songs and 'you are so beautiful to me' by Joe Cocker begins to play.

Negan takes you into his arms and kisses you softly as you both sway to the song, "I love you Negan..." You whisper, he squeezes your shoulder, "I love you to y/n."

Even as the song ends the pair of you stay in each other's arms, kissing each other softly and whispering loving words.

Soon your kisses become more passionate and Negan picks you up causing you to both laugh, he carries you upstairs. Neither of you could've asked for a better anniversary.

....

(A/n): this felt a bit rushed but again I'm a bit rusty! So thank you for the request and i hope you liked it :)

[luimagines]

I swear the biker chain has just sped off with my inspiration.

How about this? How did some of them get a moniker, or how they earned money for their bike? Maybe a hand-me-down? I've got a little world starting to spin!

Malon definitely runs an establishment where the boys hang out. Hands down no arguments.

(Bam, a short dabble idea)

Wind wasn't too fond of being forced to move from inner city Hy-rises to the little costal fishing village nearby. But he couldn't complain. The air was nice and he could Never turn down Gtandma's cooking. But after the whispers between grandma and Aryl, and the news that his sister was going to move back for the next semester, left the boy lonely.

Little did he know of their surprise gift. A gift that would allow him to visit his sister back in the city near anytime. A gift that his grandmother once cherished and treasured. It wasn't much, but the two girls got it running just in time for Winds birthday.

It was dusty and faded. A bit rusty here and there. But it worked and had many stories under its belt.

"I hope this will do. At least until we can afford you something all your own. I'm sorry if it-"

"ITS PERFECT GRANDMA!" Link shouts in joy. Rushing over to see his new ride. "I finally have my own bike! It's so cool!" He cheered yet again.

The faded dingy red front and storage bag shells have hints of their once vibrant rose hue. The underside and motor case shell were obviously replaced by the ill fitted powder blue. The worn down cushion of the seat boasted worn out white leather, yet was still surprisingly soft. Some haphazzard filigree letters stitched into the cushions edge caught his eye. And then he couldn't help but promise, that he would take this old 🛵 moped called 'Leo' on every adventure he possibly could. After all, he never got to actually meet grandpa 'leo' before.

(A short story of how Wind , came to aquire his first motorcycle 'moped'. Which has a touching backstory of being how his grandparents met. And is a reference to the King of Red Lions.)

I think the boys have the inner city connections through Telma's Bar, but they really hang out by Malon's ranch where they keep their bikes in one of the barns and use the open space to race without getting caught by the cops.

***

This is so cute!!! Thank you so much for sending this in!

Bonus point- intentional or otherwise- but I've used Leo as a stand-in for First's name in the past.

I'd have to do more research and thinking into this au. But other ideas are more than welcome because I don't know a thing about bikes! XD

[fanficbrainrot25]

CAN WE PLEASE GET SOLID SNAKE SMUT PLEASE IM BEGGING LITERALLY ON MY KNEES🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Lonesome Cabin [MDNI]

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

Out in the Alaskan snow, you and the legend — and old friend — Solid Snake have a sparring match. You practically begged David to train with you, wanting to show off your improvement since the last time you saw each other. However, the weather has other plans for you, and a snowstorm cuts off the session early. In the cabin, with powdery snow blowing past, you look for warmth in each other's arms.

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

TAGS: Solid Snake/Reader, Fem!reader, PRE-MGS1, friends to lovers, smut, snowed in, SNOWSTORMS!!!, oh no whatever will we do, hmmm I guess we could snuggle... just for warmth ofc, a little rushed, not really proof read, i did this in a weekend, my first time writing smut lmao

WORD COUNT: 1,975

A/N: I just wanna say this is heavily inspired by a solid snake bot I saw on c.ai. The creator is @ caetuna ! Although I don't use c.ai anymore, if you do, please support them! Their bots were simply fantastic and made me enjoy the app a little more 

anyways, thanks for being my first request! enjoyyy 🫶

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

You're not sure why Dave agreed to your crazy idea. Afterall he had every reason not to.

Snake and you hadn't been in contact for quite awhile. Granted, you both had your own life's to tend to but, you still should have atleast called. So when you did, and asked if it was okay if you stopped by his place on your journey across Alaska, you most definitely didn't expect him to say yes. 

It was an obligation really, to atleast say hi to him. And show off your new skills in the process.

"Are you sure about this?" Snake grumbles.

"Yes I am."

"You really think you've improved enough to beat me? You?"

"Snake c'mon..."

"I just find it ridiculous is all." With that thought, he gets into stance. "Well, if that's the case, then come on. Show me what you got."

Getting into stance, you face him in the snow. The clothes you two had on were probably not enough for the chill, but who cares about that anyway?  Snake's brown hair danced along with the gentle breeze that came through, obscuring his face for a moment. He seemed to have grown a bit of a stubble since the last time you saw him, though you don't blame him. Who would bother with shaving out here? He's retired anyway, and lives in a lonesome cabin, it's not like he has anyone to look nice for. Not that you know of.

It looked good on him.

"Let me know when you're ready." 

His deep voice brings you back to reality. "Ah, right." You shift in the snow a little more, trying to get into your flow state. 

Fists clenched, you spring towards him, sending a few jabs towards him which he blocks with ease. You try to sweep his leg, which catches him off guard, sending him flying down. He's quick to recover, springing back up and sending a kick in your direction. Somehow he grabs your arm and spins you around until you land against his chest. His breathing is heavy, you could see the mist of it infront of you, coming out unevenly. You just him in the ribs, catching him off guard. With him distracted, you put some distance between you two. Snake however, is quick to chase you down.

He sends punches one after the other. It's relentless, one after the other, and he just screeches to a stop. You take the opening, sending a punch — which ends up being really foolish — since he takes your arm and flips you over on your back. The impact explodes your back with pain, the frosty snow numbing the ache. 

"Ouch..." You groan.

Snake looms over you, the bastard having the audacity to smirk at you. The last golden rays of sunshine fade behind him. "Looks like you haven't learned a thing." He extends his hand out.

"I've learned plenty I'm just... a bit rusty is all." You grab his hand, pulling yourself up. 

"I'm sure you have. Maybe next time." He brushes himself off, "By the way, there's a snowstorm coming through soon. So I'd stay safe out there."

"Really? Hm," You purse your lips in thought. "I could stay here for the night then."

"Oh."

Oh? Why did he say it like that?

"Unless, you don't want me to-"

"No."

"What?"

"No I," He looks away, "I'm just surprised." He coughs. "Uh, you can come inside."

Trudging through, you follow closely behind Snake as he leads you to the cabin door. He pushes it open, the inviting smell of wood and ash flooding your nostrils. You close the door behind you, taking off your jacket and hanging it on the coat hook. The living room was beside you, an ancient woven carpet beneath an even older looking table.  A sofa sat sung behind it, velvet and parts of fabric missing. It sat across from the fireplace, which from what you could tell, looked like it was used earlier.

"Nice place you got here..."

Snake made a noise of approval, but from the tone of your voice he could tell you weren't really, approving of it, to say the least. "You can sit down if you want."

Taking the invite, you kick off your shoes and run towards the sofa, plopping yourself down. It was surprisingly comfy despite it's looks.

"I'll get the fire going. Do you want anything to drink?" He asks as he fiddles with getting the flames to spark.

"A few cups of beer would be nice."

He chuckles at that. "Not surprised." 

"I need to relax, Dave."

"Yeah, after getting your butt kicked from me."

You scoff. "Shut up."

Finally, he got the flames going, the crackles of fire soothing your ears, a stark contrast to the howling winds of outside. As he left to go get drinks, you reminisced on old memories. You missed this. The back and forth banter, the talks that lasted way too damn late into the night, the occasional play fighting, you missed it all. But most of all, you missed him.

A part of you would never admit it, but you've fallen so hopelessly in love for him. It started out platonic, but as you grew closer and closer, you felt your feelings towards him shift. It's horrible, truly, and seeing him again like this? It just made things worse. Thoughts swam and zipped through your mind, the noise becoming a bustling city. A corner store of wholesome thoughts there, a corner store of thoughts-you-would-never-share-aloud-even-for-a-billion-dollars- there. You pinch the bridge of your nose to steady your thinking. 

Footsteps approach, and you notice Snake coming back. It looks like he already changed into something more comfy, wearing a simple white shirt a navy sweatpants. Beers in hand, he sits down next to you, the weight of the coach sinking along with him.

He offers you one. "Here."

"Thanks." You groggily answer, taking it from him. For a moment your fingers brush, and a cackle pops.

The sound of opening cans fill the room, you and Dave chatting with one another. Just like you used to. You drink a few more cans, but not enough for you to be completely drunk. Dave however seemed unbothered, despite already drinking four cans of it.

"So," Alcohol bubbling in your system. "You've meet any pretty ladies as of late."

"How recent are we talking?"

"Mmm like in the past few weeks, months."

"I have."

"Yeah?" A tad bit of jealousy bites at you. "Who's the lucky woman?"

"Well, it's you."

"Oh, stop it."

"I'm being serious."

He looked you dead in the eye, and you couldn't help but laugh. You knew he was being serious, but you just couldn't believe it.

"Haha! Very funny, Snake." 

"What about you, you've met anyone?"

"Hm." You ponder for a bit. "A few, but nothing ever serious. Or, lasting." With the last word, you look away. You could feel him still staring at you. Okay, new topic. 

"Um, anywho, where are your dogs at?"

"They're hanging out in their room. I didn't want them to bother us."

Us.

Not you. Us.

"I guess that's fair," feeling cold you move a bit closer to him, brushing against his thigh. "Wasn't much of a dog person anyway."

"Excatly why I kept them away."

You're not sure what gives you the courage. Maybe it's the alcohol running your adrenaline, or something else entirely, but you decide to push this a little further.

"Is that the only reason?" A little closer now.

"No, I have plenty other reasons why." A glance at your lips.

"Which are?" You drawl out your words.

"It has to do with a certain someone who's in my home."

"Hmm, and what else?" You place your drink on the table.

"And... how they're driving me just about crazy right now." He leans in. "Making my mind go wild."

"Care to explain those thoughts of yours?"

"I'd rather show."

Just like that he's on you. Ravaging every part of your lips, so expertly you can't help but deepen the kiss. His right hand travel to cup your cheek, while the other hold your waist. Gently, you're pushed down against the couch. Fuzzy warmth envelopes you all over, igniting a spark deep inside you.

Eventually, you have to break the kiss to breath, panting breaths mingling with each other. Oh, the way he was looking at you. Like he's been waiting for this for so long.

"Listen-" He panted, "-If if you don't want to do anything more we can just-"

"No."

"Huh?"

"Snake, I wanna spend the night with you."

By his gaze, you knew your words shift something inside of him. The fact that your words held merit, that you could do that to him, made you clench your thighs.

"Then the pleasure is all mine." He's back to kissing you, his hands wandering over your chest, thighs, arms, whatever he could lay his hands on. It's instinct, of course, when you hook your leg around his waist. You needed to be closer, but it wasn't enough.

Thankfully, Snake seems to sense your thinking, lifting up your shirt so he has more skin to access. Making quick work, he unclasps your bra and pulls down your pants, now resting at your calfs. He trails kisses down from your neck to your stomsch, and back again, each one becoming more desperate than the last.

"You're downright gorgeous." He mumured. "Fucking beautiful."

You whine at his praise, Snake smiling at the sound. Taking his fingers, he toys with the band of your underwear, before slipping them under. Two fingers enter you at once and you could hear the lewd sound of how wet you were. 

"Can't believe all this is for me." He breathes, picking up his pace. "How long have you wanted me like this? Huh?"

"Snake-"

He perks up at the name, thinking it sounds better than the one he was born with. "Say that again." He pushes his thumb against your bud, earning a delicious moan from you. You could feel pressure building within you. Rapidly coming closer and closer. What else could you do, but chant his name over and over?

Ripples crash through you, and you let out a silent scream. Snake keeps going in and out, riding your high, before removing his fingers and wiping your juices off. You see him pushing his band down, springing out his hard cock in all it's glory. Slowly, he pushes your panties to the side, lining up his dick to your cilt. Very, very gently he pushes in, letting you get used to the side. 

"That okay?" He asks, sounding like he's barely holding it together. You nod.

That's the only warning you get before he plunges in. And you just feel him around your walls, the lewd slapping of skin on skin filling the room. His grunts were in perfect sync with his rhythm, and you both ascended to nirvana together. Pure bliss.

Snake starts to blabber on, giving you praise and telling you how beautiful you were and what have you, causing your orgasm to build quickly. By the way he was stammering, you could tell he was close too.

"Where- argh fuck - where do you want me to-"

"Inside," You beg. "Please."

That pushes him to the brink. Earth shatters and you can feel him spasm inside you, filling you up with his seed. You're close behind, white starts filling your vision as you cry out. You both take a few beats to relax, taking a break from the high. Snake was still inside, laying his head on your chest, his arms embraced around you. Lazily, you run your fingers through his hair, smiling at how soft they were.

"Looks like we're staying warm tonight." You whisper. Already half asleep he just grunts, "You could say that again."

[progfessor-dyke]

HAPPY 71ST BIRTHDAY TO GEDDY LEE!!!!!!

OH, and it's the 50th anniversary of Neil Peart joining Rush!!!!!

As with every year on their birthdays, I am doing my Rushathon, in which I attempt to listen to every single Rush album in chronological order from the debut to Clockwork Angels, and this year, in honor of this occasion, I will be live blogging the most formative albums of their career (imo)!!!! This will probably be the debut, Fly By Night, 2112, A Farewell to Kings/Hemispheres (probably in one post), Moving Pictures, Power Windows, Counterparts, Vapor Trails, and Clockwork Angels. Currently, I have started on the debut, and I will posting this after I finish the first one with a review of every single Rush song I listen to today!!!! So, the track list for the debut, which is famously the only album that doesn't have Neil on drums and lyrics, we have: 1. "Finding My Way"- What a goddamn opener!!! I mean, you can hear Robert Plant's influence on Geddy's vocals as he croons the high "oooh yeah"s, but what a way to start a career! I think it's nice that this and the final song on Clockwork Angels have this theme of "finding my way back home".

2. "Need Some Love"- This song certainly has a catchy chorus, but otherwise I don't think it stands out too much, other than continuing the vibe of the album. 3. "Take A Friend"- I like the concept of the song, even if some of the lyrics make me cringe a little ("Take yourself a friend/ whether woman or man"), but I can forgive those because Geddy literally had to write down the lyrics from the best of his memory the night before he needed to record the album because John Rusty ripped up the lyric sheets. 4. "Here Again"- Once again, not super fond of the lyrics, but Geddy's vocals on this track are just stellar, and the song reminds me of the post-battle section on "By-Tor and the Snow Dog" on the following album. It's got a nice, slow, heavy swing to it, and Alex's solo is extremely well-crafted. I think this song is sort of a precursor to a lot of their other work in the 70s. It's also the longest track on the album, coming in at 7 minutes and 34 seconds, 24 seconds longer than Working Man. 5. "What You're Doing"- Immediately I'm taken in by the riff, which is also inspired by Zeppelin, but it has a distinctively Rush tint. And even if the riff is inspired by British blues rockers, the singing doesn't seem to be on this track. And then there's the chromatic breakdown before it goes back into the chorus that is also reminiscent of what they would be doing on the next album on "By-Tor and the Snowdog". Already you can hear some of their prog tendencies! The solo is still definitely a bit of a Zeppelin-esque pastiche, but not a bad one. And I can also hear some other influences in the playing of the solo. 6. "In the Mood"- "Hey baby it's a quarter to eight/ I feel I'm in the mood" are lyrics Rush fans have been making fun of for decades, but despite the cringe lyrics, this is a very fun song! There's a reason why they kept it as a closer throughout the 70s. It's one of the simpler songs on the album, and by any other band, it would probably have been a hit. 7. "Before and After"- This soft opener with harmonics is sort of reminiscent of the ending of "The Necromancer" to me, another sort of look into the near future of their prog career. This song has a gorgeous opening, and I don't know I keep forgetting about it. The build into the main riff and verse is also just fantastic. There's this bit where Geddy and Alex drop out for a few seconds before coming back in with this heavy riff, and it's just sublime.

8. "Working Man"- This is the one that perhaps you've all been waiting for. This is the song that broke Rush over into America--- with some help from Donna Halper, of course! This song was played on almost every tour, and was the last song Rush ever played live together on August 1st, 2015. The riff is simply heavy, with lyrics pining for a better life. The song starts of slow, and slowly goes into a fast breakdown that seems to me to represent how life seems to slip right by as you get older. The song also just rocks. The breakdown has an amazing solo, some incredible bass playing (my biggest concern), and some solid time-keeping work from Rutsey (later improved upon by his successor, of course!). Stay tuned for Fly By Night!!!!

[bloogers-boogers]

Kyle Brofloski/Stan Marsh (Cartman fictional) (SP one-shot)

Hints of KyleBrofloski/ Eric Cartman and a little bit of Stanman~

Summary:

Cartman wrote a style fanfiction as the deranged shipper he is for showing tell.

Slight warning ⚠️ Eh, I really don't have much to warned, after all, this isn't a full on Kyman fanfiction it's just a habit by now whoops 🤷 I'm joking btw, there's nothing too explicit it's just Cartman being the little shit head he is.

~~~~~~~~

Mr Garrison cleared his throat as he gestured Clyde to take his seat again.

"You're next, Eric," he said with boredom as he layyed his eyes back on to the magazine he was reading.

Cartman dashed excitedly to the front giggling like some school gossip girl as he thumbs up towards Kenny who thumbs up back, making both his excluded friends arched a brow confused.

Everyone now focused on him, as he cleared his throat and gave firstly his introduction.

"Ehem, what I have in my hands is a written by yours truly boys love fanfiction," and with that a couple of girls gasped, interest peeking in even Wendy turned his way with a hint of curiosity as the boys just looked his way confused.

"This better not be some creek fanfiction or I'll break your teeth out," Craig blurted out annoyed already.

"Fuck you. This isn't about you Craig!" Mumbling a 'Jesus christ' before continuing.

"It's called: forever be mine."

The girls giggled and sighed already in love with the fic already.

"Oh god," he heard Kyle muster, rolling his eyes incredulous.

"My beta reader was Kenny Mccormick," he gestured Kenny who just waved enthusiastic gesturing him with a rush for he to continue, "it's style by the way girls."

The girls gasped glancing at both targeted boys before turning away, the boys looking confused and unaware, oblivious of what it means.

"Hurry up! The suspense is already killing me!" Bebe eagerly shouted.

"Alright geez, calm your tits," shaking his head incredulous as he flipped to the first page.

"It was morning, the cold weather hitting harder than usual while the sun rises. Stan Marsh; a athletic boy-"

"Hey! Wait that's me? What the fuc-" Stan spoke in disbelief.

But before the raven boy could protest the girls hushed him silent even his girlfriend glared at him for he to keep quiet, which he reluctantly did as he grumbled.

"-heroic, and a total jock. Head his way to the usual bus stop he and his friends had claimed as their own.

A point of town were memories had build up, a place people often resonated with their names in grave in that rusty old sign and sometimes snowy path, the ground somehow printed their steps as‐"

"It is not that deep, you were definitely trying to fill that up weren't you fatass."

'Shhh!' The girls hissed the redhead shut.

"- the boys semblance spread around just that spot.

Stan was a total softy when it came to familiarity; a nostalgic feeling that marked his heart and wasn't easy to die down from.

On the other hand, there was Kyle, Kyle Brofloski; a complete geek, hot tempered, fragile individual and his best friend.

Who he was madly in love with."

"Shut the fuck Cartman! What the fuck!?" Kyle slammed with a fist his table, ignoring the glares from all his girls classmates and Clyde.

"Mr Garrison, Kahal's interrupting me again!" Cartman protested already tired of being rudely interrupted.

"Kyle, please sit your ass down and let Eric finish his gay little fantasy book. You'll have your turn eventually."

Kyle gritted his teeth in boiling anger, reluctantly sitting down as he glared deadly at the brunette evil little douche who snickered his way before continuing were he had left off.

"It was before summer of that year when he realized he had caught feelings for his super best friend.

More like he realized quite late that these hidden feelings were already there, way before he could even grasp the idea of ever liking his friend in such way, repressing them since childhood.

Always being left confused and a fuzzy feeling in his stomach with every touch or brush Kyle did his way, it was inevitable to always feel nauseous around him, sweat pouring out from his hands as he was constantly nervous around him, worried to make himself look like a fool or a moron infront of him even while being one.

A complete wreck when he was around other dudes, jealousy arising as he looked at Kyle whose attention searched elsewhere that wasn't him."

"Wow, Eric's really a good writer," Butters whispered to Kenny, who nodded.

"Yeah, since his last creek fanfiction his writing has gotten so much better," the other blond complimented.

"However, his insecurities got the best of him, preventing him from making any moves or confessing his ongoing long lasting love for Kyle.

Kyle was perfect‐"

Kyle's frown lighten as he heard Cartman narrate his character, isolating the context of it all, only hearing his voice and the description of his fictional self.

"- in every aspect of his being. The type of perfect you'd be worried of feeling for another, so much unasked powered he held on to his weak beating heart.

His wild red curls rebelling to let loose under that worned out; washed green, unique and very familiar ushanka. A very important piece of fabric for his characterization. Everything on him was just like it's supposed to be.

Like it was meant to.

Those cold blue looking eyes that could glare holes on to you, digging through each layer of your skin reaching your guts and on to your soul. So far captivating it's hard to let loose around them, it was like being sucked in a hole.

A complete void with no end, a void he was willing to dive in with all intentions of ever going out."

"Wow," Clyde mustered softly, so deeply focused in the story as a couple of girl were left in awe and blushing faces.

"However, that wasn't the only thing that drawn him in a complete depths of focus, his lips for example being one of the countless features that left him breathless."

"Cartman this is the most gayest shit I've ever seen and heard from you in like the entirety sixteen years of our lives," Stan commented tirelessly as he placed his hand on his forehead trying his best to ease his annoyance.

Kyle was long gone indulged by Cartman's way of story telling and captivating writing. He must admit, Cartman was good. He was already hooked even being just the introduction of the 'characters'.

"Those pink candy looking lips drove him delirious, even if they we're dried up most of the time having small cuts on them, he should definitely use some chapstick, but hey? He's in love and doesn't care for his poor lack of care.

And somehow, it's still felt in character of him.

Just so in character as when he speaks against anyone who goes against his morals; normally Cartman his so called archrival, but that's far from the point.

He was fearless when it came to what was right, hot headed when he was stubborn and being proven wrong countless times.

There was so much of him he can't hold, so much depth in his person he's fallen to know he can't get tired of. Layers and layers to unfold and discovering so many new things of him that just adds to the piles of things he likes about him.

Kyle, Kyle, Kyle..

That cute smile leaves him drowsy, in a memorizing trance that makes him want to see that upward frown rise infinite times on a daily, he wished he could keep it like that forever even if he gets tired, sore and all cramped up for it.

Needless to say, I'm in love with Kyle Brofloski."

Kyle's heart skipped a beat and his heart begin beating loudly, feeling a small rush of heat in his cheeks.

Looking at Cartman so very focused on his reading, his expression seemed so calm and his eyelids were half opened in a dreamy manner.

"Now, speaking of such boy..

Kyle woke up that morning, late than usual and looking with panic at his clock. Forgetting to have set his alarm before six, he cursed himself internally rushing himself to the bathroom and doing whatever teens his age would do before school.

As he finished getting ready, he grabbed his backpack sprinting down stairs not even bothering to eat breakfast as he was found late. He said goodbye to his mother from the door before slamming it shut and heading straight to the bus stop.

As he arrived he visualized his three friends already standing and waiting with a bored tiring expression for the bus to pick them up.

He halted before walking slowly, keeping his cool as his eyes darted on to Stan; his best friend, trustful and loyal mate, his long-time crush.

His messy raven hair almost covering half his face, those eyes that adorned under with a black discolored shade by the countless sleepless nights binge playing online gaming with them, lacking energy as usual.

Sometimes he thought his friend was a mess, but a mess he could fix. Stan had many flaws, flaws that were understandable and fixable for the eye, but there was too many layers in his character.

There's was so much of Stan, a chronic pain and immense sadness in that brain an force smile of his-"

Stan eyes peeked instantly from under his arms as his ears now listened attentively.

"- aching for help, for someone to hold him and understand what he goes through.

Sometimes he wished he was that person, but he lacked skill in that department; being emotionally vulnerable and unable to really resonate with those feelings, how he felt in regard of it all.

However, he could make him feel like he wasn't alone, he was good for making distractions. Atleast he could ease his mind with other things than focusing on the negative right?

Still, Stan was all he needed to make him happy. A full of flaws individual who he was madly in love with. His imperfections made him stand out and yet, still so damn well fitting to be place in his heart.

The name of Stan Marsh was carved around everywhere in that blood pumping organ called: heart, and echoed in his brain endlessly.

Stan Marsh..

With those captivating blue eyes and that playful smile, with the cutest eye wrinkles he's ever seen.

And those crooked teeth with glimmering metallic braces surrounding them and a hint of blue as a personalized choice of his.

Oh how he wished to steal a kiss from him... unintentionally crashing his teeth with his braces and somehow laughing it off as goofy and affectionate.

Two dumbasses in love..

Oh so he wish they were..

He sighed, placing in his spot in between both his best friend and archrival, next and lastly was Kenny their chill so caring friend and important piece of their friendship; the one who hold on to the group as if it we're to be cherish and protected.

Even if their broship was a little messy and stumble with all intention to fall apart, it was still glued surprisingly strong.

Honestly surprised it has lasted this long.

He frowned already listening to Cartman's annoying nagging; something about Taylor Swift and some twitch streamer, he truly didn't care about.

Stan on the other hand, was fighting the urge to shake that twitching feeling in his hands. His protective and defensive instinct perking up as he saw Cartman taunting Kyle in their usual banter.

It was so ordinary for them, but that day, it just.. felt unnecessary.

He disliked seeing Kyle be belittle or being called names. And even if it were their bigoted dick of a friend with Kyle being so unfazed by the common ignorant comments and bashing, he couldn't help but feel bitter and angry at him; wanting to punch his face and tell him off as an ass, forbidding him by ever calling Kyle by any other name that isn't 'Kyle', telling him he isn't even allowed near his best friend.

But ofcourse he couldn't, there was always something preventing him from doing so, a barrier in between the space of him and Kyle."

Cartman continued reading the plot, it was the typical cliché drama/romance you'd see on anime, still, there were quite unexpected moments/sceneries here and there.

"Stan slammed him inside the janitor's room, closing the door shut. Their breathing hitting against each other as two panting animals, the room suffocating, ambient being warm and cozy.

Stan crashed their lips together in a desperate attempt to keep him shut.

"Shh, she won't find out," he hushed Kyle reassuring, as the other hissed by the stingy pain that was left in his gums being pushed the braces against them.

Kyle wrapped his arms around his neck, deepening the kiss even further.

Stan's hand were all over him, gripping his ass oh so slightly before pressing his crotch against Kyle's.

Kyle tugged his hair furiously unzipping his jacket trying to get a touch of Stan's bare skin.

But the door swung open and a silhouette covered them in a shadow.

It was Kenny; who looked at them in surprise as his was left speechless by the display of his two best friends flustered face full of embarrassment and somewhat shame for being caught in a intimate and secretive act.

Oh shit."

"And that waaaaas chapters 1 to 5, if you guys want any more updates you guys can always follow my wattpad account which is @ cArtmanbrah67!" He teased, now heading back to sit down, grinning with pride as he felt the deeply 'what happened next' stares on him.

Archieving his goal of pissing all his classmates off and still somehow get praise for it.

All unpleased for no concrete ending.

"W-what? What happened next? Did Kenny end up cheering them on or-" Clyde mustered disbelief.

"Fuck that, did Wendy ever found out that Stan was cheating on her!?" Red exclaimed in utterly shock.

"No, no, no dudes. What about that shit between Tolkien and Tweek what're those two hiding?" Craig chimed in just as offended.

"Oh please, Craig. It's obvious they're planning a surprise birthday party for you at Tolkiens," Bebe groaned annoyed, still sour she couldn't predict the ending.

"You guys are gonna give me writers block," Cartman grunted massaging the sides of his forehead before resting his head in his arms with boredom.

<<<< —————>>>>

The next day, it was Kyle's turn to present his own showing tell.

"For my showing tell project I've written-" he smirked smugly and glaringly at Cartman who arched his brow already knowing what he had planned next, "is a fanfiction of Butter x Cartman, I call it: an ass away."

Girls gasped enthusiastic as Stan snickered mischievous.

"My beta reader was Stan Marsh."

Cartman face reddened in embarrassment and anger, cussing out profanities at them.

[dove-caverne]

Chapter 2 is out!

The Black Sheep and the Silver Rabby My Stardew Valley Fanfin novel is underway! I appreicate any reads and support! Official link: https://www.wattpad.com/1437425257-the-black-sheep-and-the-silver-rabbit-chapter-2 Sebastian x Reader Romance

Elliott x Reader Romance

Love triangle ?? Sortaish Warning: Swearing (A lot) and steamy 18+ content to come.

Other fluffy and spicy stuff to come

12k words released so far ! Chapter 2 - Salt Water

My eyes open slowly, they feel insanely heavy, as I sit up I feel an awful rush to my head. "Ugh, what the actual fuck." I mumble to myself. "Abby really can hold her alcohol, unfortunately, I cannot." you giggle. You reach for your phone realizing you didn't get anyone's number last night. Wait 10:05 AM??? You completely slept in and even with all that extra sleep you still have a massive hangover. "Today is going to suck," you think to yourself.

As you get dressed and out the door, you notice you have some mail. It's from a man named Willy who wants to meet you down on the beach... "Well that's a bit weird, some stranger wants me to just meet him at the beach...I guess maybe that's not totally considered creepy in a small town like this." You head over to your nicely planted turnips and give them a sprinkle of water from your rusty old watering can. "There you guys go, now hurry up and grow already." you scoff to the turnips as it took almost all your energy just to water the 15 measly crops. 

You walk through town, doing your best to smile at a few townsfolk despite your raging headache. "Let's just get to the beach and get this over with, I seriously need a coffee." you groan under your breath. 

______________

At the beach

The smell of seawater fills your nose as you walk across the sand you spot a variety of pretty shells getting you distracted from your mission. It's so quiet, although it's almost 11:00 AM there is nobody around. "Probably because it's still a bit chilly out", you surmise. "Hey Farmer!" you hear someone calling suddenly. You look ahead on the pier and see someone waving to you from afar. "C'mon over I've got a little something for you," he says. You walk to the peer to meet this strangely dressed (and strangely smelling) man. "I'm Willy, the local fisherman, just got back from a little fishing trip and wanted to greet ya with a little welcome gift! Not every day a newcomer makes their way to our little valley." He says as he passes you a pretty basic-looking fishing rod. "It's been used well, but it's still got a few good reels in it! All yours farmer! I've gotta go open up my fish shop but stop by sometime to update your rod!" He walks off to the little shop on the peer. "Strange...but very nice of him, glad that was quick." you think to yourself.

You walk back across the beach focusing on the sand in hopes of finding some more shells. You're about to reach for a really beautiful one, and as you go to grab it you see another hand reaching down for it. You look up and are in literal awe. An actual angel of a man stands before you,  with shimmering ginger hair, and emerald green eyes he also happens to be extremely well dressed... but maybe overdressed for the beach. He smiles at you and you feel your knees get weak. "I'm sorry beautiful you can have the shell, it just caught my eye, I have plenty, it's all yours." He picks up the shell, grabs your wrist and places it gently into your hand. You feel your face get flushed at the feeling of his strong manly hands touching yours. "Are you new here?" he adds on, breaking you from your utter shock at this man's existence. "Uh... yes, sorry hi I'm (Y/N) I just moved into the farm outside of town." You look down, as his gaze is just too much for you to handle and he will definitely see you blushing. "Ah, well I am honoured to meet such a lovely lady, I'm Elliott, local writer and beach enthusiast." He says with a chuckle. You can feel your heart starting to race as you stand in awkward silence for a moment. "Well I hope to see you around (Y/N) I am usually here on the beach, I live in that cabin over there. It's small but at least I get to wake up to this view every morning." he smiles at you. "I hope to see you around too Elliott. Thank you for the shell," you say softly as you put it into your pocket now feeling like it's some sort of treasure of you meeting this radiant man. You can't take your eyes off him as he walks back towards his cabin his long ginger hair flowing in the breeze and his tall well built body filling out his collared jacket. "Wowza," you say as you take a sigh of relief that the close contact is now over. 

________

You make your way back through town planning to stop by Pierre's shop to buy some more seeds for your garden. You walk in and see a variety of things for sale. Out of the corner of your eye, you catch some violet hair and remember that Abigail works here at her dad's shop. "Omg that's right, should I go talk to her and ask for her number? I was way too wasted last night to actually ask." you think to yourself. You sigh, wondering if you embarrassed yourself, hoping she will still want to be friends. "Hi Abby" you say in almost a whisper. "Oh (Y/N)! how are you? I hope you had a good time last night! It's been so long since I had a girl to hang out with I'm pretty much always stuck with just Sam and Sebastian." she smiles at you. "They don't seem that bad though! I had fun with all of you, although... I did drink way more than I should have, I am definitely feeling it today." you giggle. "Oh shit, I'm so used to out drinking the boys I totally didn't consider that I'm so sorry," she says seeming worried. "It's alright it was worth it, so glad got to hang out with some new friends...I actually came over to ask if maybe I could get your number?" you say mumbling nervously. "Yes! Omg! Let me put it in your phone and I'll put in the boy's numbers too I can't believe we didn't think of that last night." she says taking your phone from your hand and inputting the numbers. "Just text them and say I gave their numbers to you." "Thanks Abby, I will text you later then maybe we can hang out and you can show me your favourite video games!" You say smiling as you walk up to the counter and purchase several new seeds from Pierre.

You hurry home to plant the vast variety of spring seeds Pierre convinced you to buy, "the sooner I am done the sooner I can lay in fucking bed." you think to yourself. Your garden is looking great you now have over 40 seeds planted, in a variety of spring crops. "Things are looking up mom, I hope you are seeing this, I am actually doing it, taking over your dad's farm. I feel so happy, being here I feel close to you again somehow." you smile to yourself reminiscing on your memories of Mom and you.

It's now 1:30 PM and you decide to go inside for a much-needed break. You lay on your bed and play on your phone for a bit. An hour or so goes by and you start to get a bit bored of looking at social media, it's mostly just filled with pics of the preppy "friends" you used to have in Zuzu City. Feels so ridiculous now that you were trying too hard to be "friends" with them, "they are so stuck up," you mutter as you close your tab...Your mind wanders and you remember that Abby had told you to give her and everyone a text. "She wants me to text the boys too." You feel a bit nervous just texting them out of nowhere without having asked for their number, "but maybe it's a good thing I didn't have to ask for their number, doubt I coulda actually asked that out loud, well to Sam maybe cause he's so damn friendly, but Sebastian is another world completely." 

You decide to text Abby and Sam first and see how it goes. They both respond fairly quickly and are already discussing plans for another night at the saloon or a jam session. You find yourself smiling that you were actually able to meet some friends in the first week here...You look over at your table and see Sebastian's sweater leaning over the chair. You feel your face get red as you recall how close the two of you were last night when he essentially saved you from collapsing drunk in the middle of the town centre. "I guess returning his hoodie is a good reason to text him..." You open your phone to his contact that Abby added, you're actually a bit surprised she was so willing to just give out his number considering they are dating. Well, you're still figuring that one out...you think back to last night when you spotted Abby staring in awe at Sebastian. "They must have something going on right?" you wonder. You continue to stare at his contact number not wanting to type something totally awkward, he already gives you a strange feeling when he's around. He's so mysterious and standoffish yet he helped you without thinking twice making you see that he has a very kind heart under all that doom and gloom.  

Welp here you go: "Hey Sebastian, It's (Y/N), Abby gave me your number, I think she was trying to get a group message going to plan another hangout."

Send

________________________

Sebastians POV

Buzzbuzz

"Ugh... Abby stop texting me a million times I am trying to work" he mutters to himself. 

Glances at phone 

"Hold up, it's from (Y/N)? And of course, Abby gave her my number without asking first, typical." he sits back in his chair in a bit of shock and a flashback of you giggling on the couch with Abby pops into his head, he starts to feel butterflies in his stomach realizing he will actually be talking to you again. He's confused and slightly uncomfortable, "Why do I feel like this? She's just a girl, c'mon Seb you barely know her." he can't focus on his work at all now, he's never really thought about a girl that way before. Not surprising considering there isn't much selection in this tiny ass town. "Ugh what do I even say." he sighs, he seriously has no idea how to talk to a girl.(**See's Abby as one of the boys) 

"I need a smoke break before I reply to this", he thinks getting up from his desk placing his phone back down leaving it behind. 

He walks outside the air is cool as the evening approaches and it feels nice on his warm face. He sees Demetrius doing who knows what over by the bushes. "Science freak," he mutters under his breath almost hoping Demetrius hears him. Everyone knows they both tolerate each other for the sake of Robin. Sebastian walks faster hoping he won't try and converse with him considering it's usually a lecture about his smoking habits or a comparison to how much more accomplished Maru is. Sebastian knows he's essentially an outcast in the family coming from a different dad who wasn't known for being a good role model or caring father figure. Essentially, he has never been loved by anyone but his mom and she is the only person in the world he cares about more than anything. "Hmm maybe I could ask my mom about what to say to the new girl, I mean she grills me all the time about being sad and lonely in my "basement dungeon" and how she expects me to give her grandkids." He thinks to himself as he lights his cigarette looking out at the lake. "Would that be too awkward? Ugh. But if I ask Sam then he's never gonna drop it and will probably make it super awkward when we're hanging out and if I ask Abby she's gonna think it's her that I am interested in... Fuck, guess I have no choice...ill talk to mom." 

___________________

Walks into the kitchen

"Oh hi Sebby, do you want to have dinner with me? Demetrius and Maru are busy with a project this evening." She stares at him seeing he's a bit distressed. "Sebby you really need to get out of that basement dungeon of yours you are looking pale and honestly just like complete shit." "Thanks, Mom, I get my looks from you." he snaps back, they both let out a giggle, that's just their relationship, savage and loving. Robin puts both their plates on the table and they sit down together chatting about her work and ongoing projects. Sebastian is being pretty quiet just listening, watching his mom light up at her love for her job. He can't figure out how to ask her about you without it totally being awkward. "You alright Sebby, you're unusually quiet?" He stares down at his plate and feels his face getting red. "I...think" he sighs, "I THINK THE NEW GIRL is pretty and cool and I feel weird when she's around and she texted me out of nowhere and I don't know what to fucking do," he says at lightning speed stumbling over his words just wanting to get it off his chest. There is a moment of silence as Robin is shocked that he actually might not be forever alone. He finally looks up from his plate and sees his mom smiling. "Finally, Jesus I was beginning to think you and Sam were going to become lovers with how much you guys hang out." they both let out a laugh and her comment lightened the anxiety in the room. "Pretty sure I would choose Abby before Sam mom," he replies sternly. "I mean you never know, whatever makes you happiest Sebbybear." "Mom, stop, just please what do I do, I want her to not see me as a massive loser." "Sebby, you want my advice, it's simple, be yourself. Don't be fake, don't be someone you're not, you've got a sweetheart under all that bullshit you give me and everyone else, I know any girl would be lucky to have you by their side. Just...don't block her out like you block the rest of the world out." She lifts his chin "Yep my son is handsome, she'd be silly not to be interested." "Fuck off" he scoffs "Thanks though Mom...don't block her out got it" he quickly sneaks in before running down to the basement. Several hours after receiving your text he finally musters up a short reply. 

Sebastian: Hey (Y/N), that's no problem, sounds like a good time let me know what's up and I'll be there. 

Send

...

BuzzBuzz

"What she replied already?" he says utterly surprised

(Y/N): Great! Think they want to do Sam's place for a jam session sometime soon.

BuzzBuzz

(Y/N): Oh, I meant to ask if you would like me to stop by your place tomorrow to return the sweater you lent me the other night. Thank you so much again."

Oh right, he had completely forgotten to grab his sweater after helping you home. He feels flustered at the thought of his hoodie on you, now he can't stop picturing you in it.

"Ah fuck, hmm... I think I better just go get it...if she comes over I bet mom will say something awkward after the conversation we had earlier." 

_________________________

Farmer's POV

BuzzBuzz

Sebastian: It's cool I will come by and grab it sometime soon, probably in the morning before I start work. Pretty sure you owe me a farm tour anyway." 

"Wait? He wants to come here? He wants a farm tour? Did I offer to show him around, I honestly don't remember. Wait he's really going to come here?" You think to yourself feeling your heart rate increase with excitement. "Stop it (Y/N), he is with Abby...yes he's gorgeous and his dark hair and light eyes made you melt...IT'S not like that get a grip."

(Y/N): Sure stop by whenever, I am usually here. Have a good night, Seb.

________________________

almost 2 weeks later

Your garden is blooming, you were able to harvest and sell several crops and more will be ready in the next few days. You are running pretty low on cash having been essentially haggled to buy 50 packs of seeds from Pierre. You have cleared out many more sticks and weeds and are making a new space hoping to add a chicken coop as soon as the next crops are ready to harvest. You even started to build a fence and fix up the pathways around your house. You're starting to think you can actually manage being a farmer after all. 

You've been so busy getting things started you haven't had much time to hang out with your friends. Luckily your trips through town have allowed you to introduce yourself to almost everyone, a few people your age stood out to you as potential friends. You met a cute sporty boy named Alex, who seemed eager to meet you and show off his workout routine. You met two sisters Haley and Emily... they were actually total opposites how funny. You met the local teacher who actually teaches Sam's little brother Vincent, her name was Penny and she was actually adorable and sweet and good with kids, a total catch in my opinion, really hoping to be friends with her. You also bumped into another guy but he seemed in a bad mood and kinda looked hungover so you didn't catch his name but he wasn't too much older than you? And of course, you also made time to try out your fishing rod...at the beach.... specifically at the beach... and yes you did catch a glimpse, or more like a good 10-minute stare at the ginger angel who lives in your mind rent-free. You were lucky enough to have several nice chats with him and he invited you to coffee to help him with a chapter of his book. Not sure if he was implying it was a date or not but either way you will take any additional time to stare at that gorgeous beast of a man with long flowing hair and perfect teeth. He's so handsome and such a gentleman sometimes it feels like Elliot fell through time. 

Anyway...you've also seen Abby a couple of times and texted both Sam and Seb but are looking forward to tonight as you haven't gotten all together since the saloon. 

_____________

Later that evening

You look down at your phone and it's 6:30 PM, you are just cleaning up from a later supper as you were working on the farm longer than expected. Everyone is meeting at Sam's place in an hour so you should probably start getting ready. You decide to take a walk down to the baths to freshen up. On the walk back you wonder to yourself. "How do I dress for a jam session?" Your long clean hair is blowing in the wind, the weather has been really nice lately, and you can tell summer is around the corner. 

Hmm...you end up going with a navy baby tee, black baggy jeans, and chunky sneakers. You put two small braids in your hair, fix up your makeup and by the time you're finally feeling put together after your sweaty day of farming it's already 7:30 PM and time to make your way over to Sam's. 

On your walk there you spot Abby leaving her house. "Thank god, now I don't have to walk into his house for the first time alone." She waves you down and joins you for the rest of the short walk to his house. She opens the door and walks in like she essentially lives there. "SAMM, you can start the party now the hottest girls in town have arrived." (big competition here in the valley) She yells out. "Hey, ladies," he says poking his head out of his room with a smirk. "C'mon in!" "Wait we're hanging out in his room?" you're a bit surprised but as you walk in and see how huge his room is and all the instruments set up, now it makes more sense. "Hey (Y/N), I know it's more of just a show for you tonight so why don't you take a seat on my bed? Seb will be here any minute and we will get started." "Sure", you reply,  you take a seat on his soft comfy bed, it smells like his cologne, and it's kinda nice. Sam and Abby start to get the instruments set up, Abby plays the drums, Sam the guitar... so I guess Seb plays the keyboard... it's really cool they have a band together." you think to yourself, butyou also feel a bit sad at the same time as you aren't very musical at all and will be more of just the audience at these jam sessions. "Hopefully they will still invite me." you think feeling a bit anxious and out of place. Not even 5 minutes go by and you hear Sebastian entering the house. He opens the door to Sam's room slowly. It's been nearly two weeks since you've seen him, you almost forgot how handsome he is. His dark hair hangs down the side of his face constrasting intensely against his pale skin. His eyes look especially blue in the lighting of Sam's room, you hadn't noticed before. He's wearing his usual all-black hoodie, tight skinny jeans and black Converse. He notices your eyes on him and gives you a slight smile. "Hey Seb, I missed you, you've been ignoring my text again," Abby says coming over and wrapping her arms around him into a hug. He rolls his eyes and brushes off her comment by changing the topic. "Let's get this jam going Sam," he says as he lifts up a pack of beers he brought to share with everyone. Abby passes you a drink smiling "Don't go too hard this time Starlight." "Starlight?" you say confused at why she called you that. "Yeah, Starlight, cause your hair shines like the stars and because you're a lightweight who can't even handle a couple of drinks without almost blacking out." She teases you giving you an exaggerated wink. "Shut up Abby. at least I'm not an alcoholic" you snap back,  getting a giggle from her. She goes over and joins the boys. 

"We're finally set up, enjoy the show (Y/N), we don't play for free for just anyone," Sam says giving you a smirk. 

A couple of hours go by, and you find yourself and the gang laughing, enjoying some drinks and listening to some interesting music. They actually were including you and getting a city girl's advice on what kind of music to play to have more chances of landing an actual gig. This was so nice, you felt really happy around these new friends. "Hey Seb, thanks for bringing the drinks... unfortunately you didn't bring enough," Abby whines. "Let's just stop by the saloon and get some more quick Abbs, we need a break from the music anyway," Sam suggests. 

They walk out the door together.

"Wait where are they going?" "Wait they're leaving me alone here with Sebastian." you feel anxious as you look over at him, he's lying on Sam's bed holding his beer and looking at his phone. His eyes glow in the light of the screen. You find yourself captivated by him, you're eyes look over him hopefully you're not making it too obvious. You notice his hoodie is pulled up a little stuck under his back, revealing his pale skin, he looks thin under that hoodie. You peek up again from your phone and realize you can totally see his boxers peeking out of his jeans. Ugh, why does he look so good effortlessly this is driving you crazy. Fuck. he suddenly looks up and notices your eyes on him. He sits up and fixes his sweater and you're worried your gaze has made him uncomfortable. "You wanna try the keyboard out?" he says noticing you are sitting on the bench. To be honest you just sat here cause he was on the bed but how can you turn him down when he's looking at you like that? "Ugh... sure," you reply nervously. He gets up from the bed and shakes out his hair, you notice he has a cartilage piercing on the ear that's usually covered by his hair. "hot" you think to yourself, trying desperately to stay focused as he gets closer to you. "Here," he says as he presses the power button on the keyboard. "Start with just the normal piano setting." You look at him nervously as he leans over you. "well..." he nods for you to try. You press on some keys, probably looking like an extremely unmusically talented idiot. "Hmm... here try this." He suddenly stands over you leaning forward to reach the keys, his chest and stomach pressing on your back and head. You feel your face getting redder by the second. He plays a couple of cords together, to be honest, your heart is beating so loud you couldn't even hear the piano. You place your hands back on the keyboard and try to replicate what he just showed you unsuccessfully, you really couldn't pay attention. "I guess it is hard when you first learn...here," he says he grabs your hands and places them on the keyboard, he grabs each finger and softly moves them to the correct key. His hands are cold against yours, he's so gentle it's like he is worried your fingers will break with too much force. "Now try." You press down on the keys and hear the same chord he played before. You smile and look at him "I did it!" He lets out a little laugh. There is a soft moment of silence and his eyes are on you. "Will you play some more for me Seb?" you say to break the silence worried it will become awkward or maybe he will hear your heart beating profusely. "I suppose I could play a little, scoot over." You move over a bit and he squeezes in beside you rolling up his sleeves. Your eyes are glued to him as he plays a recognizable tune so effortlessly. You look down at his long fingers moving from key to key and are in awe at how even his hands are handsome. You are so close to him that you can feel his warmth as his hip is pressed against yours squished on the tiny bench. As his arms move you catch a smell of his cologne. "You smell nice." you blurt out without even realizing what you just said. He stops playing and looks at you, you see his face turning red, and he fixes his hair nervously. "Do I?" he finally replies. "Yeah, you do, sorry I didn't mean t-" You are suddenly cut off by the sound of the front door opening, you quickly stand up from the bench and greet them. Suddenly you are feeling embarrassed and think you want to head out for some air before you actually passout. "Hey, sorry guys I think I am going to head home your music was really great, have fun practising though! I hope I can come again!" you say as you excuse yourself. You rush home feeling so embarrassed how could you just blurt that out? You crawl into bed immediately burying your face into your pillow in shame.  

_______________

Seb's POV

"Wait she's leaving? Fuck, did I fuck up." he thinks to himself feeling defeated and confused. "What was that about?" Sam asks after you left so prematurely. "I might have pissed her off." Seb replies. "I should probably go apologize." He says walking out the door in a hurry.

Abby and Sam both look at each other in confusion. "Alright well i guess the party is over, let's save these drinks for next time." 

"Fuck, Fuck, I thought it was going so well, she's literally so sweet, and adorable, I can't believe she thinks I smell nice," he says under his breath as he looks around to see you're already long gone. 

"I guess I will just have to text her." He spends the entire walk up the mountain contemplating what to say as he smokes his cigarette.  DripDripDripRumbleRumble

"Fuck those clouds look bad I should hurry back home. Hopefully (Y/N) made it home safe"  he says picking up the pace. 

Just before he goes to sleep he quickly sends you a message. 

Sebastian: Hey (Y/N), sorry if I upset you tonight, I want to make it up to you. If it's okay I will stop by early tomorrow to get my sweater back and I'll bring you a coffee." 

___________________________

Farmers POV

RumbleRumbleBangBang

The slight daylight and the loud noises from the storm outside wake you up. You look over to your phone and see Sebastian sent you a message. Just thinking about last night makes your tummy turn, and you decide not to read it as it's still early only 5:50 AM. As you lay in bed you hear the storm roar on. "I should probably get up soon" you sigh. You're slow to get up knowing it's going to be muddy out there today not realizing how bad of a storm it was. You eat your breakfast and it's almost 7:00 AM and you figure it's time to go out and check on your garden now that the rain has stopped. 

You walk out and look ahead to see your beautiful field of crops completely destroyed. It looks essentially barren, with rocks, branches and sticks blown all over. The crops flooded away with the amount of water and wind that rushed through the valley. Your fences are all torn apart with barely any still standing. Your heart sinks into your chest. 

You drop to your knees not giving two fucks about the mud you're kneeling. You feel your eyes fill with tears, as all the hard work you put in, your heart and soul, for your mom, for your grandfather, for yourself. It was all gone, you had to essentially start all over. "Why" you mumble through tears as you sit and kneel in the mud sobbing.  Your sobs are suddenly interrupted by a soft familiar voice. "(Y/N)?" You look over and see Sebastian looking as perfect as ever, holding coffee, he's just standing there staring at you as you cry. You feel embarrassed and try whipping away your tears with your sleeve. "What... what are you doing here," you muttered trying to get yourself together unsuccessfully. "You didn't get my text?" he says sounding surprised. "I guess I did send it quite late last night sorry," he says as he places the coffee on the edge of your porch and walks over to you. "Ugh.. please don't look at me." you say covering your teary face in embarrassment." You suddenly feel his hand grab yours pulling you up from the ground and into his arms. He is so warm, it feels so comforting, it's been so long since anyone has hugged you so closely. You can't help but let the tears roll down your face as you feel like you've failed your mom, and failed this farm, you feel so defeated. He says nothing and just lets you cry into his chest. After a few minutes, you pull away from him, "thank..you" you mumble still feeling your face get flushed. He looks down at you and brushes your hair away from your face with his soft hands. "Your hair is really beautiful you know, I swear it shines silver in the sunlight," he says hoping the compliment cheers you up even somewhat. You're shocked at his words and look up at him meeting his gaze. "(Y/N )let me help you," "Oh.. you don't have to Sebastian, I'm sorry, this probably ruined your morning, oh.. and sorry about last night too." you look back down at the ground feeling like you've done nothing but mess up lately. "No, (Y/N) you don't understand, I want to help you, I want to see you more, not just over text. Please let me." he persists. How can you say no when he's essentially begging you with those intense blue eyes inches away from yours? "You would do that for me?"  you say almost in a whisper as a few more tears roll down your cheek. "Yes I would, my mom will probably insist on helping too please don't give up yet, I'm really sorry about your fields and please don't apologize for last night." Suddenly his hand grabs your face softly and tilts it up to look at him once again. "The tears have to stop though, he says, as he wipes away one tear with his thumb. He's staring into your eyes so intensely, you have not known each other long but you can't help but feel like he is actually starting to open up to you, even though everyone says he's insanely anti-social and doesn't like newcomers. Out of nowhere, almost as an impulse he suddenly leans in and presses his lips on your cheek, kissing away your last tear. "I don't like the tears, we can fix this, it will be okay." Your face turns beat red as you are in literal shock from his soft warm lips against your cheek. You had not idea that such a quiet, mysterious boy with a reputation like his was capable of such sweet action. "Did... you just kiss my cheek?" you say embarrassed. "Sorry I couldn't resist, your eyes get so blue when you cry, and your tear...it was salty," he says with a small chuckle. "But what about Abby?" you blurt out not wanting to cause any trouble for your only close friend in town. "What about Abby?" he says seriously confused. "Are you two not dating? She is seriously crazy about you it's obvious?" "...Oh, ya I know that, she's had a crush on me since we were kids. I mean she doesn't give up that's for sure. Pretty sure at this point she realizes that it's not going to happen. She's nice and all but... I am happy with her as a friend and have always felt that way." he says firmly, finally settling your uncertainty around that topic. 

[greatwyrmgold]

Watched Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero on a whim the other night. Things I liked:

Pan. She had so much fun whenever she was with Papa or Grandpa Piccolo! Not so much when they were both busy fighting the giant monster, but hey.

The movie focuses on Piccolo, Gohan, and Pan instead of Goku and Vegeta.

Magenta's rant about how Capsule Corp is clearly just a front for a coalition of alien invaders working to control the Earth. It's 90% recognizable conspiratorial nonsense (minus the antisemitism and unpleasant context) and 10% weird sh*t that's just canon.

Despite the Red Ribbon Army's advanced intelligence-gathering tech, they still consider Mr. Satan to be a threat on par with Goku or Vegeta.

Piccolo has a house now!

Super Sai-ants.

Gamma 1's occasional moments of genre savvy. The first thing he says is "You say you killed King Piccolo? Did you look for the body?"

The Gammas in general, really. Especially the background squabbling-siblings moments.

All the new characters have such delightful, quirky personalities. Dragon Ball is at its best when it's a comedy series spiced with action.

Piccolo doing that thing Frieza did in the Broly movie where he hurt Paragus to make Broly get a rage-induced power-up, just without actually hurting Pan.

I can't talk much about Max Cell without ruining the positive tone I'm aiming for here, but I like the way he serves as a fulcrum of conflict between Magenta and Dr. Hedo, and that his design makes Semi-Perfect Cell look intimidating. (And not just by virtue of being kaiju-sized.)

One storyboard artist really liked the idea of the Z-fighters jumping off of high things in skydiving poses before activating their flight, and the higher-ups were right to let them do it twice.

Namekian stretchy-arms and gigantification return! Piccolo even uses both at the same time! More Dragon Ball fight scenes should use weird little abilities like that; stretchy arms aren't gonna win a fight Piccolo would lose otherwise, but they make a fight scene more unique and interesting.

The animation is good, the haters just noticed that it's CG.

Pan. She's adorable.

Things I didn't like:

Enough "Ha ha, Dr. Hedo/Gotenks is fat" jokes to stand out as a Thing.

Act 3 is basically just one overstuffed fight scene.

Cell Max is fine as a plot point and setpiece, I guess, but also not interesting.

There is no way Goten and Trunks haven't been fusing for fun enough to remember how it works. If they messed up because they were rushing or because of a disruption from the active action scene or something, that would be one thing, but suggesting that they're just rusty is...kinda dumb.

Gohan's new transformation feels like that form Future Trunks got in the Goku Black arc, in that it's an unexplained power-up he randomly got that I assume is meant to justify him fighting god-tier foes, but they didn't want to give him Super Saiyan God or Blue because reasons. My feelings about Orange Piccolo are similar, but with more understanding about why they didn't give him an existing Super Saiyan form and less irritation about being an obvious retread of the Super Saiyan 2 transformation bit in the Cell arc.

Also, Gohan's new transformation's hair. On one hand, it's among the most obvious ways that said transformation is calling back to the SSJ2 transformation against Cell, which is irritating. On the other hand, it also looks absurd. It's just...scale up Gohan's preteen hairstyle by 250% and make it gray. Why gray? And why make it that big? If it had gone full SSJ3 I might have liked it, but it doesn't go far enough, and the hair stays too stiff, like it doesn't realize it's three feet long and should be pulled down by gravity.

Basically every scene on Beerus's planet, and not just because Goku and Vegeta were there. It's good to establish why they're not coming in to save the day, but they didn't need to spend so much time on it! And they definitely didn't have to use that time on a pointless fight scene and Beerus flirting with Cheelai!

Gohan getting more focus? Getting to be a character who's important to the plot? I like that! The interpretation of that idea as "Gohan needs to focus on training instead of studying all the time"? Not so much. At least it was mixed in with a dash of "You're so focused on the academic stuff that you're neglecting your family, too," which is a less frustrating point.

[madelineorionswan]

A new partner in Crime.

Summary: As Rowan starts to get better, Madeline is keen to get to know Bill Weasley better. The red-haired 4th year is the most popular student at Hogwarts but is he willing to help in Madeline's search of the vaults?

A/N: After a million years, I'm back with the next part of Madeline's journey in opening the cursed vaults. I must warn everyone that I'm a tad bit rusty now 😅but I hope this chapter is enjoyed by all.

Warnings: Duelling, Rowan obviously crushing on Bill

A couple days after Madeline and Rowan's conversation in the Great Hall, Rowan was finally allowed to stay in their dorm room. The day after she moved back to her dorm room with Madeline, she was officially dismissed from Mdam Pumphrey's care.

On the other hand, Madeline hadn't yet talked to Bill Weasley. Rowan had tried to convince her to approach him during one of their back-to-back charms classes, but she refused to speak to him, saying she didn't want to drag anyone into this mess.

The truth was, Madeline, was still feeling guilty after Rowan's accident. The thought of injuring her friend because of her adventure made Madeline feel selfish. And she definitely didn't want to drag anyone else into this. But Rowan decided to take matters into her own hands and wrote Bill a letter asking him if Madeline could meet him. He agreed and wrote down the time and place of the meeting.

That happened two days ago. In the rush of completing all the assignments she had missed, Rowan had forgotten to tell Madeline about the letter she had sent him on her behalf until the day Bill had told her to meet him.

Rowan suddenly remembered the letter when she saw Bill sitting at Gryffindor's Table with his friends. She quickly told Madeline about the letter, to which the latter reluctantly agreed to meet with him at the training grounds that morning.

After her first few classes, Madeline left for the training grounds. While treading on the grassy field, she heard loud banging and the whooshing sounds of spells and hexes. She quietly walked further down the field and saw a tall, auburn-haired guy practising spells with four training dummies.

For a moment, Madeline stood afar and observed the effortlessly smooth motions of Bill's wand. Rowan was right; he really was very talented. The spells he was practising weren't she had seen any other students exercise.

After a moment, Madeline coughed a little to clear her throat. "Uhm... Hey! Did you get my owl?" She called out loudly, although a little sceptical. Bill neither turned nor replied but continued to practice his spells as if he had heard nothing.

After an awkward silence, Bill suddenly turned to face Madeline just as she was about to leave. He smiled politely and extended his hand to shake.

"Hey, I'm Bill Weasley. What can I do for you, Madeline Orionswan?" He spoke as Madeline shook his hand with a smile.

"You know me?" Madeline asked as she quirked her brow incredulously.

"Your brother was the talk of the Weasley household when the daily prophet published an article about his search for the cursed vaults," Bill remarked, "Rumour is that you're following in his footsteps."

"Yeah... that," Madeline pursed her lips in a tight-lipped smile, "But I wanted to see if I could ask for your help,"

"I might be able to help you. But first, tell me what you want with the Cursed vault," Bil spoke seriously.

Madeline momentarily thought before replying, "I just want to understand what's happening. Not just the vaults and the cursed ice, but why my brother was so obsessed with them. And maybe that way, I can stop all the chaos it causes."

Bill nodded solemnly and said, "I'll help you, Madeline."

"You will?" Madeline asked incredulously, not really expecting him to agree with her.

"Of course," he said with a smile, "This cursed ice is a danger to all of Hogwarts, and breaking a cursed vault might stop it from spreading." "Besides," he added with a hint of enthusiasm, "I've never been on a curse-breaking adventure before."

"Brilliant. Thanks, Bill," Madeline smiled.

"Don't thank me yet. It will take hard work and even a little pain to prepare to break a cursed vault," Bill pointed out, earnestly. He checked his watch before saying, "Meet me here this weekend at the same time. And practice some of your spells in the meantime. I'll train you to duel then." He then quickly jogged towards the castle entrance. Madeline heaved a sigh of relief before realising she had to attend McGonagall's classes and thus dashed back inside the castle.

Suffice it to say, she wasn't spared by Professor McGonagall.

---

For the next two days, Madeline spent all her free time practising spells in the training grounds or any old classroom she could find. On Saturday morning, during breakfast, Madeline got an owl from Bill telling her to meet him late during the day. And within a few minutes after breakfast, Madeline left for the training grounds to meet Bill.

Just like last time, Madeline found Bill busy, firing spells at the training dummies. But when he heard her approaching, Bill turned around to face Madeline.

"Hey, Madeline. Are you ready to learn how to duel?" Bill asked

"Sure am," Madeline said with eagerness.

"Now, I know you are no stranger to duelling after what happened between you and Merula Snyde-"

"You were there?" Madeline asked, a little stunned.

"Sad to say, no, but my brother Charlie was there. He's a second year Gryffindor, just like you," Bill chuckled. "Oh," Madeline replied with a nod.

"Right, before we get started, how would you rate yourself as a dueller," Bill asked.

Madeline shrugged, "Dunno. I guess I still need to learn some stuff."

"Great! Then that's what I'm here for. Let's just start by duelling," Bill said rubbing his hands eagerly.

"Brilliant!" Madeline said, whipping out her wand from her pocket along with Bill.

"Good luck, Madeline. I'll try not to hurt you," Bill said, flashing his characteristic smile confidently.

"I'll try not to make you lose too," Madeline smirked, making Bill chuckle.

The pair took 20 paces away from each other, and the moment they turned to face the other, there was a blinding light accompanied by the blaring sound of spells colliding.

"DIFFINDO!" "BOMBARDA!"

Both the duellers were thrown back due to the impact of the collision. Although Bill held his ground better than Madeline, she was quick to recover. Before Bill could comprehend, he was thrown back by a jet of water, completely drenching him.

But he wasn't gonna be overpowered that easily. Before Madeline could shoot again at him, he conjured a blue shield with Protego. He then hit back with Baubillious making Madeline stumble back and fall. He shot another hex at the same time she did, and just like before, two jets of light crashed against each other.

For a couple of seconds, they held their stance against each other, not letting go. Bill forced the jets of light apart, giving Madeline the chance to disarm him, making Bill collapse as his wand flew out of his hand.

Madeline sighed tiredly and walked up to Bill as she helped him get up. He was panting as he picked up his wand but was smiling nonetheless.

"Not bad, Madeline. Not bad at all," Bill said whilst massaging his sore shoulder, "You say that you have a lot to learn but, honestly, you could teach me a thing or two."

"You were a pretty strong opponent, too Bill," Madeline said with a smile.

"But do you think we're ready to return to the cursed vault?" Madeline asked solemnly.

"Not yet. I've got to teach you one of my favourite spells first," Bill clapped a hand on Madeline's shoulder as the two walked back to the castle together. Before going to their dorms, Bill and Madeline agreed to meet again in the evening after Bill finished his extra classes.

The two then parted ways, Madeline to her dorm where she would work on some more tips on duelling and Bill downstairs where he secretly went to the infirmary to get his shoulder checked out, just to make sure everything was alright because Madeline had really messed him up. That girl was something else!

On the other hand, Madeline found Rowan busy studying on her four-poster bed. The bespeckled girl immediately sat up excitedly once she saw her friend.

"Madie! How was it like training with Bill Weasley?!" she asked eagerly, "Did you learn advanced magic?! Did you discuss the weather?! Did you get his autograph?!"

Madeline chuckled at Rowan's excitement and said, "Bill was awesome! We duelled and he agreed to help me try to get in the cursed vault."

He even said he would show me one of his favourite spells," she said, mirroring her best friend's excitement now.

"I'm so jealous. Do you think he knows me?" Rowan asked.

"I don't think so, Ro. But I'll surely introduce him to you," Madeline promised.

"Yeah. Hopefully, we can be friends," Rowan replied, smiling wistfully whilst writing down some notes on a scroll.

---

The evening soon came, and Madeline again left her dorm and went downstairs to the courtyard, where she found him reading a book of spells. He put aside his book and got up when he heard her footsteps approaching.

"How you feeling, Bill? Hope I didn't hurt you too much," Madeline smiled sheepishly.

"Much better. I certainly won't be in a hurry to duel you again anytime soon," Bill chuckled.

"But anyways, let's start with the spell. I'm assuming you haven't learned incendio in defence against the dark arts?" Bill asked.

"Well, the professor is hardly ever around, and even when he is, he isn't teaching," Madeline shrugged, "It honestly feels like I've learnt nothing there."

"Yeah. And that's why the library is where I learn most of my spells," Bill snorted with a shake of his head.

"So this is a fire spell which is the best spell when dealing with ice, especially one which is cursed," Bill spoke, "It is dangerous, but at this point, I think you're pretty used to it."

"That's about right," Madeline chuckled.

"Alright then, I've never taught anyone before, so please be careful. I'll go first," Bill warned Madeline, who nodded in agreement.

Bill stood away from the bushes in the courtyard and took his stance. "Incendio!" he said boldly as flames burst from the tip of his wand and onto the cobblestone. The fire crackled brightly for a few seconds before Bill cast Aquamenti to put it out.

"Now you try,"

Madeline nodded and copied Bill's stance from before. "Incendio!" she cast boldly while impersonating the wand movement Bill had shown. It took a few seconds, but eventually, flames sparked out of the tip of her wand. Madeline smirked proudly at her attempt whilst Bill nodded with approval.

"Great job, Madeline! A few more tries, and you'll be an expert in no time," Bill applauded Madeline.

After practising a few more times, Madeline and Bill decided to head back inside as the evening started to get darker. As they returned to the Gryffindor common room, Bill suggested researching the spell together.

"There should be a copy of the Standard Book of Spells in the Common room," Bill suggested.

"Yeah, my friend has at least six editions of it. I can ask her to help us..."

"Cool. She can join us if she wants," Bill said.

Madeline asked him to find a quiet place to sit in the Common room since it was bustling with people, whilst she went upstairs to call Rowan. She excitedly agreed to help them and brought out not just the six editions of the Standard Book of Spells she had, but also a bunch of other books, which Madeline helped her carry.

"Woah, those are a lot of books," Bill remarked, amazed by the number of books Rowan had.

"Yup! And that's why she Rowan to help me with everything," Madeline chuckled, making Rowan smile bashfully.

"Nice to meet you, Rowan," Bill smiled, extending his hands to shake hers.

"H-hi Bill Weasley!" Rowan smiled widely and shook his hand vigorously.

"That's me," he smiled, "you know, it's great to see someone your age studying so much."

"R-Really?! I-I mean, yes! Of course! If you want, I could even help you study. That is if you want to." Rowan fumbled through her words, clearly excited to meet Bill.

"Great! I just may do that with you after we're finished with the cursed vaults. I'm keen on becoming a prefect and Head boy," Bill said, proudly.

"Sure! I'd be glad to help!"

"Okayyyyy, now can we get back to studying?" Madeline suggested, sensing that Rowan and Bill had clearly forgotten that she was there.

Bill and Rowan nodded in agreement. The three then sat beside the fireplace and started researching spells and hexes that may help them in their endeavour while also studying Incedio. However, they couldn't do that for too long as they had to head down for dinner.

Bill got up first and stretched his arms, saying, "It was great studying with you guys. It's actually been a while since I've had fun while studying."

"Glad you had fun, Bill," Madeline, too, got up while dusting her trouser.

"Also, is there anything else I should do to prepare before heading to the Vaults?" Bill asked.

"Honestly, you should do everything to keep yourself prepared. But the most important thing to do is to wear loads of warm clothes because that place is freezing cold!" Madeline shivered at the thought of the dark and frigid corridor.

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," Bill said with a smile, "I'll send you an Owl when I'm free to join you guys."

"Sure! It was great to study with you too!" Rowan said grinning.

Bill left the girls when he found his mates going for dinner. He bid them farewell, to which the girls waved back (Rowan did it a bit too enthusiastically), and they left for dinner after a couple of minutes. At the end of the day, Madeline and Rowan crashed into their beds after dinner and were asleep within seconds.

After all, it had been a long and exciting weekend for them.

[retlasute]

॰ In The Rich Man's World ॰

Word Count: 6390

☆ Table of contents

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter 8 - Fools Rush In

"So, Johnny, what's the guy you're hunting like?'' Gyro asked, already tired of waiting.   

''Joshua Creed. Black hair, fancy clothes, and has a star in his hand.''  

''A star? Like your birthmark?''  

''Ah... Maybe. It's a star, but it's tattooed, not a birthmark like mine.''   

Gyro and Johnny took advantage of the next few hours to study the profiles that came into the gunsmith and plot plans by the bank's floor plan spreadsheet that Johnny had claimed to have gotten from the restaurant manager.   

''Her friend will probably be here, being escorted by some goon, if not Creed himself.'' Johnny said, pointing to the center of the bank. ''You pick her up and take her to this corner. If it's not safe, then hide her in a building. I'll distract the rest.''    

''You'll take all the action? I want to kick their asses too!''   

Johnny sighed, closing his eyes for a brief moment and then opening them.   

''Okay. I'll leave some of the goons for you.''  

''You talk as if I'm some kind of idiot, Johnny. I can save a woman and fight at the same time, you know? I'm not that rusty.''   

You continued to examine their plan with suspicion. Right away, you saw no guarantee of success, you could only have faith in them and nothing else.   

''You, (Y/N), will be in charge of the corpse.'' Johnny said, drawing sighs of doubt and anger from both you and Gyro.   

"What?'' You questioned, unsure if you had heard correctly.   

"What?! Are you crazy, Johnny?'' Gyro also questioned, his well-defined eyebrows furrowed in pure anger. "What the hell are you talking about? Are you going to leave the corpse with her?''    

''The corpse was already with her before, it won't be a problem for her to find it. You just need to be quick and careful, you'll have a little less than ten minutes to find it on the second floor of the gunsmith.''   

The building loomed, black, against the cloudy sky. Built in the shape of a gigantic cube, with few windows, it could house twenty men in a gang if well organized. You raised your eyes to look at the building, not seeing any moving silhouettes. The men were definitely hiding there, but there was no light and no visible activity, so it was impossible to know exactly how many people were there besides the six men counted outside the establishment, wearing suits and spurs.   

"What if...'' Your mouth was dry and you had to stop and bit your lips. ''What if they see me?''   

Johnny's expression was the same as always: his mouth implacable and his chin defined and obstinate, projecting confidently into a well-marked jaw. It didn't change when he turned to you.  

''Then it will be your friend's turn to look for you.'' He replied. "But don't worry, Creed always takes all his men with him when he robs banks, for security reasons. He also makes sure he's always there. But now one of them, if not all of them, will go back to the building to get the horses and the corpse.''   

"You are a fool, Johnny. What if she's been playing us this whole time? What if she's just trying to get the corpse and get away?''  

You stared at Gyro offended, and were ready to retort when Johnny sensed the arrival of a long discussion and tried to interrupt the two of you before you even opened your mouth.  

"She'll be with the corpse, and we'll be with her friend.'' He said, looking at you with a clear threatening tone. "And if there is no friend, then we'll just find you.''  

"You're getting soft, Johnny.''  

"Fine.'' You finally said it. ''I'll take the corpse and hide near the restaurant. I don't care about that anymore, I just want my friend back so we can go home... but if you don't bring her back, I won't give you the corpse!''   

''Then we have a deal.'' Johnny concluded. We'll keep hiding, when everyone leaves the building, you'll go in. If you need to use the knife, use it. But don't come out until you have the corpse.''   

''Alright...''   

Louise. The thought weighed like lead in your mind, a pendulum slowly swinging on the end of a rope. Not for long. The street stretched on endlessly in shadow before you, at times narrowing completely to the view of the building illuminated by two lampposts on the sidewalk. You swallowed hard as the first man came down the stairs and out the back of the building.    

''It's time. (Y/N), only go into action when there's no one left.'' Johnny announced.   

It was time to go into action. The knowledge of this fact stirred the blood in your veins with an adrenaline rush and your hands trembled around the knife handle. Before leaving with Johnny, Gyro put his hand on your shoulder as a sign of "good luck" which didn't sound friendly at all. It could more appropriately be read as ''Your life and the life of your friend depend on this goddamn corpse, so be competent.''  

When your two partners disappeared into the misty shadows of the dimly lit street corners, you waited. You counted how many men came out of hiding: exactly eight, and, as Johnny had predicted, they all left their horses tied at the back of the building, ready to flee after the assault. You crossed the street, in the foolish habit of looking both ways to see if a car was coming – and obviously, it wasn't.  

You narrowed around the building, as quietly as you could, and went up to the second floor the same way the men came out. Up close, the building didn't look like a very solid construction, for every inch of the damp old wood seemed to creak under your weight. Nevertheless, its three stories glistened immaculately among the cluster of other simple outbuildings and the wide brown streets. At the last step was a narrow balcony that had only one access door that didn't seem too difficult to open, even if it was locked.  

With a dry click the door opened on the silent leather hinges.   

"Oh my...'' You muttered at the sight of the interior of the floor. The current of wind that came through the door stirred the fetid air over the filthy mess and the suffocating smell of black mold.   

You held your breath and stepped into the empty room with your hands firmly on the knife handle, a distant expression of disgust changing to a mixture of astonishment and something akin to growing surprise.    

The place was poorly lit, but you were surprised that there were no candles in the place; had they been sitting in the dark like bats all these hours? Certainly not, and you knew this when you saw on a makeshift bucket table the unrecognizable figure distinct from all the other items in that century. Your flashlight.   

You don't remember much before you woke up in this new world, but you were vaguely certain that Louise had your flashlight, illuminating, so that you could arrange the bones of the corpse perfectly. That was wonderful evidence that Louise was there.  

Without wasting any time you picked up the flashlight, tapped the battery part a few times and turned it on, now able to better orient yourself around the room to finally look for the corpse. You couldn't forget that you had no more than ten minutes to get that corpse and escape before the gang came back.   

It was the expected atmosphere of a gang hideout, you thought, examining the empty corned beef cans, some silverware on an old desk that you guessed the leader had taken over, and the thick, stained carpet of all kinds of dirty on the floor. You started to walk across the carpet, to examine an old cabinet in the corner of the room. You opened a small drawer and discovered some men's clothes in a state of filth that should not be there, stored in a locked place, becoming a potential colony of mushrooms and bacteria. In another drawer, carefully arranged below the clothes, was a silver set consisting of a mirror and brushes, as well as a comb and some sort of collar. But no corpse, you thought.  

With another brief search, you found another item out of place among the other objects in the room: a black plastic box, with some scratches, still closed. Your eyes sparkled at the vague memory of using this box to store the corpse, and you immediately knelt down to open it.    

You didn't know exactly what you were expecting; the corpse, perhaps? But it would be too easy, of course. From the weight of the box, you could already sense before opening that there wasn't even a shin inside, but still you removed the lid to visually confirm. Inside was a thick envelope with the Speedwagon Foundation logo printed on it, and you took it, feeling not the slightest bit relieved.   

"Why don't you look at the desk, dear?'' A deep, sinuous voice echoed in the darkness insulated by the glow of the flashlight.  

Startled, you jumped to your feet and clutched the envelope tightly in your arm, then exclaimed and raised the knife forward, as a kind of warning to whoever was there.  

''Who's there?!'' Your voice was high pitched due to nervousness; it resounded shrilly in the partially empty room, echoing among the rummaging cans and cabinets. You stood still against the wooden wall, like a prisoner awaiting the firing squad, pointing with the flashlight everywhere until you found the silhouette of a man who recoiled at the sudden glare.   

''Oh, God.'' He said frivolously, turning his face away from the glow of the flashlight. ''I kept wondering what the hell this was, and I still don't understand.''   

Fully visible in the whitish light, you saw a tall man in clean, formal attire, discreet and anonymous. He kept a reasonably close shave, and his brown hair was combed back, emphasizing some deep wrinkles at the corner of his eyes as well as gray lines. He had an exaggeratedly imposing posture, like a military man, and walked very quietly, traversing the commode like a giant cat.   

"Wait a minute!'' You shouted, and the man obeyed, although he didn't seem the least bit intimidated by your crap knife. "You're from that gang, aren't you? Shouldn't you be in the damn bank?''  

He smiled and urged, with raised hands, that he was unarmed. He approached cautiously, showing no sign of fear.   

''Don't be afraid of me, chère madame. I won't bite.''   

"Who the hell are you?''  

He was much more relaxed than you were. Well, of course he was, you thought. You took a deep breath and tried to relax.   

"So Johnny Joestar works with women now? I didn't realize he was such a coward... to send such a beautiful girl to scour our hideout. Did he think I would feel sorry for him? I wonder, who would you be?''   

You didn't answer, taking a deep breath. You fought against the growing sense of panic that spread through your aching legs, threatening to drag you into the abyss of fatigue that opened beneath your feet. It was absolutely no time to let your guard down.   

"You don't need to be afraid of me, I know there are many absurd rumors about me and my men, but I assure you they are nothing more than vulgar slander.''  

''Are you Joshua Creed?'' You asked, although you knew what the answer was.   

He looked at you kindly, smiling as he went around the desk to sit on a chair casually.  

''I am happy to dispense with introductions. Please, madam, take a seat.'' He suggested, indicating a chair also in front of the desk.   

You took a deep breath, and the only thing that crossed your mind was how much time you had left to escape; at this point, the mission should be aborted immediately. There was no corpse, only the gang leader who has unfinished business with Johnny, not you.   

With this in mind, looking at the door, your first reflex was to cross the room and run to the exit. Creed did nothing to stop you, but when you opened the door, you were greeted by a loud thud and a good elbow that pushed you violently into the room again, causing you to fall to the floor.  

A henchman, or simply an orderly of some sort, was stationed outside the door, prepared to quell any attempt to escape on your part. You cursed something unintelligible and stood up, confused, while Creed watched you with an expression of cautious amusement on his broad, reddened face.    

"As I said, dear, I think you'd better take a seat.'' He said, in that high tenor voice that came so strangely out of that drum-shaped chest. He sounded more like some kind of lazy politician than a military man.   

"Son of a bitch...'' You said, but you felt that this curse was especially directed at Johnny and Gyro, the ones responsible for all this.   

You didn't have much choice, so you cautiously approached the desk, not intending to sit down, but doing so when the man insisted again. You sat down as gracefully and quietly as possible, ignoring the profuse mud and horsehair stains on your clothes. Creed watched you, still smiling slightly.    

"Which one are you?'' Asked the military man suddenly. ''An innocent hostage, a fervent lover, or a bounty hunter?''  

You rubbed two fingers over the pain between your eyes, raising your eyebrows frivolously and wearily. The correct answer was ''neither of the above'', but you didn't think that would get you very far.   

''The hospitality of this hideaway seems to leave a little to be desired about the people it welcomes, no?'' You said, ironically, as arrogant as you could be under the circumstances, which wasn't very much.  

The man laughed, a sort of loud, trilling laugh, like a bat that had just heard a good joke.   

"Oh, forgive me. You are quite right; I should have thought to offer you some tea before I dared to question you.'' He said with the same tone of sarcasm, punctuated frighteningly by the lack of certainty as to whether ''tea'' really was the drink.   

Despite the outward cordiality, this was a kind of truce designed to keep you there until the rest of the gang returned, and you knew it.   

What you wanted to know was why. Already used to people wondering who the hell you were, you wondered where Joshua Creed fit in. Or where he thought you fit in. He and Johnny seemed to know each other more than was safe between a gang leader and a bounty hunter, and you were between those two men, inert, just looking for your friend.    

He continued to evaluate you, and somewhere outside you could already hear the warlike ballet of a gunfight. The slight tinkle of the chain Creed was wearing was the signal for the resumption of hostilities.   

''Well,'' He said, as firmly as possible for a man who sounded like Bugs Bunny. ''let me begin, Mrs. Joestar... may I call you that?''   

''What? What the hell are you talking about?''   

"Why, what other kind of woman would be risking so much to help that man, if not some mindless lover?''  

You were silent for a moment, beginning to get a brief sense of how dangerous it was for Creed to think you were someone important to Johnny. In every movie you'd ever seen, between deep enmity, the first to die would always be the lover of the one involved – and you definitely weren't ready to die for a man you didn't give a damn about.   

Although you were deeply uncomfortable with being called "Mrs. Joestar" you knew that to dispute this would open an inquiry into your real name, which you were unwilling to tell that man. At that moment, you could only remain silent.   

''I must say, madam, that your man is a surprisingly difficult person to kill.'' He continued, leaning towards you a little, the smile still on his lips. ''But I'm sure that tonight we will succeed, provided we have enough determination. It's the corpse you're looking for, isn't it? I'm sorry, but it was a big investment I had to make to kill your man.''   

"What do you mean?'' You asked, your throat dry.   

''What you are looking for is no longer here, and Joe Kid will not return. So, for now, let's use this brief moment to decide your future. Can you please tell me your name?''   

You stared at him, without moving. But not out of some innate cold-bloodedness, it was simple shock. Adopting one of Johnny's mannerisms, you raised your eyebrows inquisitively.   

"Do you think I'm stupid?'' You said, dispensing courtesies. "I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about.''  

"Not at all, my dear.''  

His small, withered brown eyes didn't blink. His face was like a villain's; a long, white nose with exaggeratedly thin, tightly closed lips and a pair of ears that protruded from his head like a small wing on either side, the tips flaring red.   

''I've been trained to deal with bitches like you.'' He said. ''Actually, I'm trained to handle any kind of slut. And I know how to take good advantage of them, you can ask the lady who's accompanied by my men.''  

You frowned and the next instant you had confirmation of what you already knew – they took Louise hostage and God only knows what they did with her.   

"You son of a bitch!'' You exclaimed and stood up in a leap, turning the chair over and grabbing the nearest object, a carved alabaster lamp. At that moment, the man also stood up threateningly fast, and you did nothing but take steps backward, knife and lamp in hand, slightly dazed by the darkness of the place, lit only partially by the flashlight on the desk. ''If you rats have done something to Louise, I swear I'll...''  

"You won't have time for that.'' He interrupted you, approaching slowly.   

"You filthy, disgusting, pervert!''  

Creed looked bored with your reaction and shook his head negligently.   

"Yes, yes, my dear. All that, I'm sure, and more. But very lucky, too.''  

''Lucky? Is that what you call it?'' You stumbled around the room. Your hands were trembling with nervousness and it was visible through the rattling blade of the knife.   

''For various reasons, my dear.'' He spread his hands in supplication. ''I've been trying for months to kill Johnny Joestar, and my private affiliate was not in the least bit willing to finance my plans for this to succeed. Then... a beautiful hooker suddenly appears in my camp with a mummy, which was more than enough incentive for my affiliate to send us proper support. And now, I am being visited by an even more precious jewel. No use denying it, ma'am, I saw you with Joestar.''   

"Affiliate? What do you mean, affiliate?'' The room seemed to sway a little and you took a big step backward. "Would that be Dio by any chance?''  

That guess, as random and blind as it was, was right on the mark. Having no other choice at the moment, you stood there watching his eyes widen in surprise. You bit your tongue.   

"And may I ask how exactly you know this?''  

You didn't answer, because you also couldn't remember exactly how you got this information – most likely when you overheard Gyro and Johnny's conversation, both of whom refused to say who Dio was. The only thing you knew about this man, however, was that he held some significant position in the government and that his name was even more presumptuous than Iulius Caesar.  

Suddenly, Creed became more alert when he saw you coming closer and closer to the window. Realizing this, you prepared to use your knees for any movement that would free you from that man's control.   

He threw himself on you and you jumped to the side. Grabbing the lampshade, you threw it at him. He dodged and the lampshade hit the wall with a loud thud. One of the henchmen, who was standing by outside, stuck his astonished head through the door.   

Breathing noisily, Joshua Creed impatiently motioned for him to come in.   

"Hold her.'' He ordered sharply, crossing the room towards the table. You started to breathe deeply, both hoping to calm down and expecting not to be able to do so for a while.   

However, instead of beating you, he simply opened the lower right-hand drawer, which you hadn't had time to investigate, and took out a long piece of thin rope. In this way, he tied your wrists behind your back.   

"Get out of here.'' He said impatiently to his henchman, shaking his head toward the door. "And don't come back, no matter what you hear.''  

That sounded terribly threatening, and your fears proved more than justified when he stuck his hand in the drawer once more.   

There is something frightening about a knife. Men who are fearless in hand-to-hand combat cower before a naked blade. You recoiled, until your bound hands collided with the wall. The fearsome glinting tip descended and pressed against a point between your breasts.  

''Now...'' He said comfortably. ''You're going to tell me everything you know about Dio Brando. Take your time, dear. I'm in no hurry.''   

The blade pressed a little harder, sinking into the fabric of your clothes. A small sound was heard as the tip pierced your clothes. You felt the blade, cold as fear, a tiny point directly over your heart.   

Creed slowly slid the knife in a semicircle under one of your breasts. The rustic fabric came loose, fell away with a wobble of the white blouse, and your breasts popped out. Creed seemed to be holding his breath. He exhaled slowly now, his eyes fixed on yours.   

You pulled away from him a little, but there was almost no room to maneuver. You ended up pressed against the table, your hands gripping the edge. If he came any closer, you thought, maybe you could roll back on your hands and kick the knife out of his hand. You doubted he intended to kill you; certainly not until he found out exactly what you knew about Dio. For some reason, this conclusion was relatively comforting.    

He smiled, moved swiftly, tucking a knee between your thighs and pushing your shoulders back. Unable to keep your balance, you fell heavily backward onto the table, screaming as you landed painfully on your bound wrists. He pressed his body between your legs, reaching with one hand for your bare breast. You started to scream and fight frantically, but the ropes got in the way. He grabbed your foot and ran his hand down your leg, pushing at the damp fabric of your pants.  

In the middle of a bank robbery, screaming probably wouldn't attract any useful attention from the town, but you filled your lungs and tried, more as a protest than anything else. You expected a slap or a jerk in response, to shut you up. Instead, unexpectedly, he seemed to enjoy it.   

"Come on, baby, scream.'' He muttered. ''I'll like it much better if you scream.''  

You looked him straight in the eye and replied, with clarity and an absolute lack of inability.   

"Fuck you, son of a bitch!''  

You were furious, nauseated, humiliated and disgusted, but curiously not very afraid. Yet, you didn't scream. You wouldn't satisfy him.   

Thus done, you were rewarded with a strong slap. You clamped your mouth shut tightly and turned your face away, so as not to be tempted to make new reckless remarks. You considered that, rapist or not, you were in serious danger from this man of unstable temperament. Looking away from Creed, you noticed a sudden flash of movement in the window.   

Creed seemed to see it as you did, for he remained paralyzed, one hand still on your breast. A man had come through the window, and was pointing his index finger in Creed's direction. His attacker remained still for a moment, as if he couldn't believe it. His right hand left your breast and slyly slid toward the knife, which he had placed on the table next to your head.   

"What the hell are you doing here?!'' Creed asked, incredulous. "Where are my men?!''  

''You'll soon be able to find them.'' The man said, and the voice served as an almost immediate relief to you.   

Creed's hand gripped the knife and turned; the blade now pointed at your throat. You could see Johnny over your shoulder, like a feline ready to leap. Johnny's hand didn't flinch, and for a moment dozens of blue dots flashed across his skin. Covered in adrenaline, you thought you were hallucinating until you heard the distinct sound of a bullet being fired, and Creed threw himself to the ground, pulling you along. The tip of the knife touched his throat, but did not pierce. This way, Creed slowly got up and held you hostage.   

Suddenly there was a loud thud. The young thug guarding the door was thrown violently into the room and fell to the floor like a rag doll, making it clear that he was already dead. Amidst the raised dust, you saw Gyro enter gracefully through the destroyed door, with a golden smile on his face.   

''Nyo-ho! Johnny, you didn't tell me this would be so much fun! I'm thinking of becoming a bounty hunter too!''   

Johnny didn't answer, with a serious expression on his face. The blade of the knife pressed against your skin enough for you to feel a thin line of blood trickle down the middle of your collarbone. Trapped, Creed's only card was to hold you hostage and run away. But with one agile movement, he switched the knife from one hand to the other and pulled out a revolver, pointing it at Gyro.   

Gyro's expression changed completely when he saw it, and as Creed finished the maneuver, Gyro threw himself into the mouth of the revolver. You tried to scream, to stop him, but your mouth was dry with terror. Creed's knuckles paled as he squeezed the trigger.   

The revolver's bullet somehow hit the ceiling. You could now see the flesh of Creed's arm twisting in visibly painful spirals, forcing him to change the direction of the barrel of the gun. The revolver fell to the floor as Johnny shot Creed's deformed arm and Gyro threw one of his steel balls into the man's stomach. There was a loud crack as the other fist smashed the wanted man's nose and a thin stream of blood stained your face. Creed's eyes rolled back and he dropped to the floor like a stone.    

With the confusion, you fell with the harsh clatter of shaking bones. Johnny was behind you, pulling you to your feet and cutting the rope from your wrists.   

''What the hell did you just shoot with your hands?!'' You shouted hysterically.   

''We'll have time to talk about it later.'' Johnny said between his teeth.   

The clatter of feet was coming down the corridor towards the bedroom. The rope came loose and Johnny dragged it with a jerk to the window. Luckily, you struggled briefly against him toward the desk, determined to grab the briefcase and flashlight that were still on it. Then he managed to pull you to him. It was a big drop to the floor, but the footsteps were almost to the door and Gyro was hurrying you both to jump. The three of you jumped together.    

The fall wasn't as painful as you thought, but you rolled in a mess of rocks and sand. Johnny lifted you again with a jerk and pressed you against the wall of the building. Footsteps rushed around the corner of the building; three goons appeared in your field of vision, but didn't look in your direction.  

As they moved away, you heard Gyro whistle and a few trots sounded. Obediently, Gyro and Johnny's horses came closer, and with a push from Johnny, you climbed on the white horse, leaping off, grabbing the saddle and waiting for him to come up to lead the horse. You felt yourself shaking and shivering as the horse began to gallop. Your heart felt like a mechanical hammer; looking down, you saw that one of your breasts was still exposed. There wasn't much you could do about it at the moment. You held on to Johnny tightly.   

"What the hell was that on the bank, Johnny?'' Gyro shouted.   

''I don't know! It looked more like a terrorist attack than a robbery!''  

''Louise! Have you seen her? Is she all right?'' You cut in, not realizing how shaky your voice was.   

"Stay calm.'' Johnny lowered his voice a little to talk to you, because you were close enough. "She's alive.''  

A sudden wave of relief washed over your body like a crashing wave. According to Johnny, Louise was alive, and that mattered most now. You yourself, upset and shaken, felt a sense of motivation when you heard the news, but it was still too early to celebrate.  

You slowed down a bit, about less than one mile from Tuckertown, when it became clear that you had got rid of your pursuers. You were in the middle of the dawn, moving off at a steady pace, Johnny's double-loaded horse a little behind. When they deemed it safe, they stopped to rest. Johnny helped you off the horse.   

You were beginning to tremble in delayed effect and crossed your arms both to hide your exposed breasts and to calm the trembling. Your clothes were torn and you felt a bone-chilling chill.   

"Are you sure you saw Louise?'' You stammered, looking at Johnny.  

"I think so. Redhead, green eyes, strange clothes... I didn't have time to ask if she knew a man named Mick Jagger, because they set fire to the bank and left her.'' Johnny's voice was cold and slightly sarcastic. You couldn't blame him. Your teeth began to grind.   

''I managed to get her out of the fire, but it was too dangerous to take her with us. The officers will find your friend.'' Gyro continued. ''What the hell was that, Johnny? They didn't even touch the safes, they were just trying to kill you!''  

"Yeah... that was an ambush, a warning.''  

"I'm sure the bastard Dio is behind it, I can feel it!''  

The two men continued to discuss the events at the bank that you didn't have the privilege to witness, because you were too busy being interrogated by a sadistic military man. You stood still, motionless, completely leaning on a tree trunk, still clutching with all your might the flashlight and the file folder you had stolen from Speedwagon Foundation, as if those things were the material proof of your existence in that place. Your breath was noisy and shaky, anticipating a cry of agony that you had been holding in all this time. It wasn't raining, but the myriad of events made it seem as if everything was taking place under a storm.  

You felt the meridians of your body numb with adrenaline and the urge to hide your face and cry welled up in your eyes. Warm, slippery tears wet the palms of your hands, and the heated discussion between Gyro and Johnny immediately ceased. You didn't cry all day, after all. And maybe that's why they didn't trust you. But at that moment you gave in, even if only for a few minutes. When you raised your eyes, wiping the tears from your face, you saw the two men still staring, their eyes dry on the silent objects in your hands. Sensing that you were watching them, they looked at you.   

"There was no...'' You stammered, your voice hoarse. "There was no corpse. But the box and the flashlight that Louise had left were there...''  

Gyro's face, tense for so many minutes, relaxed a little when he took a blanket that was wrapped behind his horse's saddle and crouched down beside you, unfolding it.   

You knew he was about to start an interrogation about the objects you brought, but your condition was deplorable. He restored some of your dignity when he covered you with the blanket over your torn clothes. His touch was not the least bit insinuating, even in front of your scantily clad figure, and this helped you relax a bit.   

"You did a good job.'' Gyro said dryly. "Better than Johnny or I could have done. Get some rest.''   

Your eyebrows drew back weakly and lamely, you knew you needed to rest, as much as you knew you never would.   

''No. We have to go back, it will be dangerous for Louise if...''   

"She's probably with the authorities now, there's nowhere safer.'' Johnny said, trying to reassure you as he approached. ''How do you feel? Did Creed hurt you?''  

Still stunned, you paused briefly to make sure you were really okay. Despite the cold, the shaking, and the throbbing dizziness, you didn't look seriously hurt, but you didn't answer, looking at Johnny as if he were an alien. Or simply anything but a human.   

"How did you shoot those men?'' You asked, looking at Johnny without blinking. "You don't have a gun. How the hell did you shoot them?''  

Johnny took a deep, relaxed breath, just a little.   

"Did you see it?'' He asked.   

"See what, exactly? I saw many things.''   

Johnny came over, insipid as a statue, and knelt down in front of you and beside Gyro, holding out his right hand so that you could see it. You felt a slight shiver and a stirring when you saw his nails –when you saw, in fact, the absence of three nails – and raised your head sharply, snorting in surprise. You had never noticed his hands before; maybe he never had fingernails. But then what did he shoot Joshua Creed with? Some kind of invisible weapon? Some device hidden in his knuckles, like Spider-Man?  

However, you were speechless. You simply took a deep breath, your body shaking with the recent shock; you let go of Johnny's hand, hugging your knees and looking down. Your heart was still beating hard in your throat, and you could feel the chill hit your bones. After the stifling air of the hideout and the city, with its smells of mud, sweat, blood, gunpowder and horse manure, the cool, clean air of the forest took your breath away and you snuggled against the tight trunk of the tree, shivering. Your hands clenched tighter together around your knees, stiff as a promise; you would find Louise at any cost and return home.   

"My God.'' Gyro said in a whisper, and then put a hand on your shoulder. "What has that man done? You're shaking like a leaf.''   

"I'm sorry.'' Said Johnny. ''I didn't think Creed would let his men do it alone, I should have come back as soon as I saw he wasn't there.''  

''He didn't do anything to me.'' You promptly replied, raising your eyes to the two men. "He would only do it if I screamed, but I told him to go fuck himself.''  

The moment you raised your head, you saw Johnny's hand reach up to your chin and touch the corner of your mouth. When he touched that specific area, you felt the sharp pain of a bruise; probably Creed's slap had left a clear mark on your face that you haven't had a chance to see yet. Johnny's expression intensified with a frown and then he stopped touching your face.   

"You didn't answer me.'' Johnny said. "Can you see my stand ability?''  

It took you a few seconds to answer.   

''I don't know what the hell this is, but you just showed me that you can shoot your nails.'' If you weren't so tired, you'd be awestruck right now. ''I... I wish I could say that was the strangest thing I've ever seen, but I'd be lying. It's just... I just don't want to go crazy with it all. I need to get back home. I need to keep my sanity until I can get home.''   

"You'll be able to go back to Washington as soon as we get your friend and the corpse back.''  

No, you thought, I won't. My home is much further away, a century away.   

''Well...'' Gyro began, standing up and taking a deep breath. ''Let her rest, Johnny. I'm going to light a fire.''  

"Do you remember how to do that?'' Johnny questioned in a sarcastic tone, standing up.   

''Of course I remember! What kind of idiot do you think I am?''  

''I just figured that in Italy you wouldn't have to light any fires.'' He explained, but didn't seem intent on appeasing the mockery. ''You've been there a long time, you know...''   

''Shut the fuck up, Johnny. Of course I can light a fire, just as I can still fight and ride!''   

''Don't take this the wrong way... but you look a little rusty.''  

''Really?! You're the last person I expected to say that to me!''   

''Huh? What do you mean by that?''

"Don't play dumb, you know very well what I mean. Now be quiet and let me light the damn fire.''  

[aphroditestummyrolls]

ik I'm a little late to the game but - time for a spare prayer 💓

No worries! The game is always happening! ❤️ thanks for playing

The moment they were alone, Jesper made a beeline for the decanter in the corner of the room, leaving Colm to shut the door behind himself in an absolute daze.

“Drink?” He offered, a taut string of mania in his voice. He didn’t even look back at Colm as he said it, already pouring himself a finger or two of amber liquid and tossing it back like a shot.

“Looks like I’ll be needing one.” He nodded. Not that it mattered— all the while, he was studying the back of his son’s head, the clenched jaw of his side profile, the way his outline seemed blurred by constant motion. But Jesper didn’t look at him. “Jes? Jesper, what…?”

Those eyes were trained down on the tumblers in his hands as he turned, setting one definitively on the polished wood grain of the coffee table. Right in front of Colm. Still, he didn’t look up.

There was a seat just across from where Colm found himself, perched anxiously on the sofa. But Jesper didn’t sit down there— he didn’t sit at all. Taking a hefty sip off the top of his own drink, he set it on the mantle over the hearth. He set a few fresh logs into the blaze, and let them crackle.

For an unbearable few moments, it was the only sound in the room.

They must’ve made a discordant image— like a painting by one of those old masters whose works get studied in fancy art schools. The older Kaelishman sitting ramrod straight at the sofa with his glass of whiskey untouched, wringing his hat in his hands, looking for all the world like someone had just hit him over the head; and the young zemeni, leaning against the mantle where his glass never left his hand. His flashy trousers and matching waistcoat— stained with enough blood that it was still damp in the firelight.

Was it a study of generations? Of cultural clash? Of… Colm had never been cut out for the big university thinking.

But, he thought a little desperately, Jesper might have been. Jesper was supposed to be.

“Jesper Fahey, would you please at least look at me?”

He nearly bit his own tongue when his son flinched at his voice. It stung like a slap to the face, but Colm couldn’t find it in himself to stop talking, not now that he’d finally broken the heavy, brittle silence between them. After the day he’d had, he damn well deserved to be looked in the eye and told why.

Why are you here? Why did you leave university? Why did the stadwatch know your name? What ever happened to keeping your abilities to yourself? Why did Kaz Brekker act like he owned you? Who even is Kaz Brekker? Who was that… who’s Wylan?

Why didn’t you tell me?

“Why… Da, why are you here?”

It sent a mad rush of blood to his head, his hat crushed beyond recognition in his grip. There were still rusty stains caked under his nails. His hands were still trembling. He travelled the whole Saintsforsaken sea after months without a word, and—

“Why am I here?” The words were barely a whisper, bitten out like a curse. “You have the absolute bloody gall to ask me WHY I'M HERE?”

Jesper was looking at him now.

Thanks for playing 👀 I love this story

[somewhereinthepines]

I can't quite remember where, it was either here or on ao3 that you mentioned that Chris is a bit of the jealous/possessive type. At least because of his condition maybe, and it got me thinking about that.

It feels like it would definitely have a sinister vibe to it, I can certainly see it building in GP. Watching Ryan, potentially following him around, the ambigious touches, the weird conversations, and the revealing dreams. It's just below the surface, but noticbly inches out closer to the full moon or after interactions with Dylan. It's just so interesting because nobody would think that Chris has any bad intentions. He's just an old dude who's hard set on his rules and is openly fond of Ryan in anyone else's eyes.

Seeing glimpses of what could be him losing his composure is tantalising and creepy at times. As the reader, we have a different perspective than Ryan. He just really wants Mister H, and it's amusing how frustrated he's become. But then that begs the question, what is going to happen when he gets him? All bets would be off, I guess.

I've been trying to imagine what they might be like once it's all up in the air. That Ryan knows Chris wants him and how Chris might alter his behaviour. What's the use of hiding his intent when that person is aware? It's difficult to think of how different things might be after that. And I'm quite curious just how open or obvious Chris might be about his possessive, overly protective feelings towards Ryan might be. I'm also curious about who else Ryan might be meeting, but I have a feeling it could be some of the other hacketts? Maybe Travis, god, imagine if Ryan somehow got to meet Constance or Jed. It'd maybe go okay if he did as he was told and kept being polite, but he wouldn't like them. Didn't he say he doesn't like Jed at the start of GP? If he met Bobby, under normal circumstances, I feel like there'd be room for a comedic moment. Both of them just awkwardly stand there in the woods or something.

Bobby not knowing what to do because there's nobody to tell him what to do, plus Ryan isn't a threat. Then our poor guy is panicking, thinking, "Who is he, is he a hunter, I thought they weren't allowed on the property? Why does he kinda look a bit like Chris?" Imagine Chris behind the camera freaking out and cursing up a storm. He rushes down there to defuse and talk their way out of the situation. Only to reach them and see of all the bizarre things that Ryan and Bobby are having a simple, weird, but positive conversation. Maybe Ryan said something blunt and awkward like "nice, knife?" and Bobby just started explaining to him how he got it and what it's good for. It could be the most crackiest, chaotic convo, but Ryan is just nodding, listening, and making a few comments. Meanwhile, Chris is just confused behind a tree or something, feeling conflicted bcs it'd bad that Ryan bumped into Bobby. But idk maybe if he and Bobby have a decent brotherly relationship, he'd feel kinda grateful or happy that Ryan is making an effort to talk to Bobby. Yk like how he liked that Ryan makes an effort with Kaylee and Caleb? It'd be the most chaotic and weirdly funny thing if Ryan managed to accidentally get Bobby to like him. Especially considering what happens in canon. But that's just a funny weird little imagine ramble, haha. I doubt it'd actually go like that, it was just funny to think about. Pfft, imagine Chris telling Bobby that if he promises to keep the interaction a secret, he can come see them later. All the hacketts except the parents having lunch with Ryan. It would be chaotic af, lmao.

Sorry for that long-winded ramble, I only meant to ask and wonder about Chris's hidden possessive mannerisms. I ended up coming up with an odd Bobby and Ryan bonding moment instead of all things, haha.

heya! it was a while, since we talked the last time. and considering how, i’m yet to re-read my works to recall, where i’ve dropped it all, my memory on that bit is also rusty. but chris sure is possessive! though, i’d say that the wolf part of his nature is only half of the problem. the other part is that chris himself have those feelings / emotions no matter what, but if he wasn’t a werewolf, he would have been better at hiding / controlling it. 

and honestly, jealousy is generally not a good thing / emotion, even if i’m an absolute sucker and advocate for it in fiction. jealousy is hot to me, as well as possessiveness. irl, it would be a different matter, but considering how good portion (if not all tbh) of my ships usually have at least one ‘yandere’ or emotionally unstable individual, it makes perfect sense for them to lean very heavily into that aspect. express their dedication to a person in somewhat extreme ways. tho when i’m looking specifically at my supermassive ship, funny enough there is not much space for such stuff, haha. at least, not in how i write it. i mean, if we take idk john/andrew, there isn’t any possible rival there, bc andrew and john are kinda joined by the hip and get along to the point, where every other interaction in comparison just doesn’t live up to what they have. well, from my point of view, anyways. but in chris and ryan's situation, it’s different, since ryan despite being a quiet, weird kid has people, who have crushes on him and then there are folks, who are friendly to him. and generally, chris’s view on ryan isn’t similar to john’s on andrew. from chris’s perspective ryan would eventually date and prob marry people, which naturally doesn’t sit well with him. he’s not proud of it, of how he seem to put an invincible claim on ryan, but it is a thing lol. and in GP, he’s way more weak-willed vs in ASB. he cannot help himself, and the further it goes, the worse it gets. and yeah, that’s the scary, might i say even realistic part about chris. he’s fatherly, friendly, old-educational kind of man. you look at him, and think, hey he’s rough around the edges, kinda awkward, but he’s nice and tries his best. and yeah, he does tries his best. he's fatherly and overall (usually) means well, but he’s not nice lol. and while at first, he did tried to be a parental figure for ryan, he honestly wanted just that, eventually it twisted and changed as ryan got older….less boyish and more ‘easy on the eyes’. and then, most importantly, he’s also chris’s first ‘friend’, the only attachment beyond his family nest. so in a way, you can see how he will get weird about it tbh. esp bc he and ryan get along so well. he would be afraid to lose it. to see ryan moving on. and while he knows that it would be for the best, it's also one of those instances, where he wants to be selfish about it.

as for how they will act once they’re properly ‘together’, well, it would heavily lean onto the lil plot that slowly happens in the fic. besides they cannot be a ‘normal’ couple in public for example. not only are they're a boss and employee, but ryan is way younger than chris. and it’s if we won’t take into account both of their families, and how ryan and chris themselves were raised. and how while it’s part of why they understand one another, they also will be 'weird' in any relationship. even if in their case, it’ll be somewhat comfy, bc they’re both like this. but what i can say is that ironically chris prob be less aggressive toward dylan, once he and ryan are together lol. one might have pictured it the other way around, but nope. but like, why would chris be jealous of that poor lad, when ryan picked him? it's like set in stone from that point on, esp when chris will see the 'proof' of it. ryan means business. but that applies only to dylan, haha. bc chris always feels somewhat bad for picking on him so much. since really, it’s not his fault for liking ryan, from chris's bias perspective, who wouldn’t? but there is also another aspect of how much one can let the other person know, the level of ‘creepy’ they are about them. if a person is smart and have at least some understanding about what is ‘okay’ and ‘what’s not’, and if they know that they're actively doing the later, they would try to either play it down or keep it a secret. out of all my supermassive ships, only du’met can be openly creepy, bc he’s a serial killer and he’s well-aware that he's what one might call bat-shit-crazy. and then, charlie is a low-key narcissist, so y'know...it works, haha. in comparison, everyone else will be partly scared to alienate the other person, to push them away, bc of how obsessive they are about them. and in chris’s case, it’s also complicated by a simple fact, that he’s a werewolf. him and ryan being together not only somewhat ‘problematic’ for 'normal' reasons, but also bc chris essentially a serial killer. it would be so-so much harder for him to be ‘decent’ about stuff, or seem this way, if one will be like ‘jesus, he’s a real deviant. he prob liked killing and eating those people too. and prob have some murder fantasy about that ryan kid too’. even knowing everything, ryan won’t think this, naturally. but chris will still hold that fear, bc he cannot know for sure what ryan might assume. to him, it’s a very tricky territory. but then again, if only he knew the extent of ryan’s own obsession, he might have been a bit calmer about that part, haha. i also must say, that ryan is prob the one, who isn’t fully aware about his own ‘claimship’ on chris. 

i mean, he doesn't want to imagine mister h having a type and all. also if someone thinks, that chris is hella unreasonable with dylan (which he kinda is), you just wait what would have happened, if ryan suspected that chris might have new 'favorite' camp counselor. i even had that hilirious one-shot idea, where both ryan and chris are both jealous of dylan. like chris would try to keep dylan closer to himself, so that he'd spent less time with ryan, but from ryan's pespective it would look like he might be getting replaced. like y'know a classic rom-con stuff, haha. i honestly tend to feel somewhat bad for people like dylan, who is bystander and just kinda gets caught in the middle of it all, while being absolutely clueless. and it gets even more messy, if everybody learning what hackett fam was doing all this time. learning what chris was doing, and ryan is over there still openly simping for mister h, regardless of it, haha. like, it's pretty much canon, and it's amazing. i'll be honest, it's not super important to me what other characters think about my ships within the story. but i love how often, it would create some very awkward situations or an actual 'bruh, wtf' moments. ryan can overlook kidnapping, cut off limbs, deaths and all, if only it would mean, that chris did nothing wrong. amazing. great! one of my biggests personal let downs is that no one in LH, calls out john for almost instantly forgiving andrew abandoning / accidently killing people. john and ryan share that 'selective blindness' to a t.

and oh, since it takes me so long to continue the story, i’ll drop a lil spoiler for you. yeah, jed and bobby are one of few people, who ryan will cross paths with. but it won’t be cute, haha. and he will meet travis too. he prob will met every hackett, beside constance. i wanted him to hang out with caleb as well, since the last story had more spotlight on kyalee. feels fair to give the other hackett sibling some time with ryan too! and yeah, ryan did think that jed sounds like an asshole lol. bc well, he is. ryan despite his emotional stupor, still can see the difference between how his own grandparents raised him and what chris’s parents did. there is a thin line between ‘tough love’ and negligence / low-key sadism, but ryan can feel it. for him chris's family sounds closer to his mother vs his grandparent. so no good 'role model'. ryan also keen enough to notice, that chris has that weird almost automatic response to any critic toward his parents methods. if someone was raised in a norm fam, sure they would defend them, but not to the point of almost knee-jerk reaction.

and this kinda why i often feel, that people mistake chris’s obedience / need to inform his parents about things for him being ‘the spoiled child’ out of the 3. when in fact, he prob ‘has to do those things’, bc he thinks that he has to do them. same with travis. If you look at constance’s favourite phrase of ‘encouragement’ aka ‘good boy’, it legit sounds like smth that you would say to a dog tbh. not to mention, that all 3 of hacketts brothers still live in that very same place, next to their parents, even if they’re all beyond 40. And you can see why well, bobby be there. but while travis was no doubt gaslighted / manipulated into staying, bc what if they needed smth. chris on other hand most likely was ‘conditioned’ to keep the family business running. he might still like his job and love nature, but it didn’t mean, that he couldn’t try to open a camp someplace else. but he never did. like, there is a lot of ‘what the hell’ moments from ryan’s pov when it comes to things that he notices about chris and his stories and interactions with his family. if you love someone, and see them being mistreated or cut off from bigger opportunities or just generally mislead for someone else’s needs, you would feel offended on their behalf, won't you? besides, it’s not like chris is a big fan of ryan’s mom either. but at the same time, he’d be more mild and understanding about ryan’s grandparents, bc they low-key remind him of his own parents, and like travis, he tends to come up with excuses for them. anyways, sorry tangled! as for bobby and ryan’s dynamic, i actually feel like out of 3 brothers, bobby is naturally sadistic, even if in a child-like way. but i do think and hc, that he has this 'odd' kind of interest for ryan. not romantic or anything, but more of lines when a small, cruel kid sees a wounded mouse and decides to see what he can do with it, simply bc it cannot run away and prob will die, anyway. so their interaction won’t be adorable, but i love your take on it, haha. in a lighter themes fic, this surely has a place! in GP, tho it’s more of horror and ‘bad’ progression. 

with this being said, i don’t hate any of the hacketts, not even constance. it takes a lot for me to downright hate characters. i also cannot hate characters, who are effective in the story, which chris’s family is. we as a player walk in their home, we see them interacting with one another, and we can see why chris and travis are the way they are. the message about the family sticking for each other isn't bad on paper, it's really aren't. but it depends on what sort of family it is. what kind of dynamic it has. and what we see paints a picture of a very unhealthy co-dependance between all of the hacketts. but it runs so deep, that neither travis nor chris seem to think that anything was wrong. or rather, that there was messed up stuff, and smth didn't felt right / nice, but it's all okay, bc this is just how family are, right? as even in the end, travis was like ‘we never wanted to hurt anyone’, when constance and jed, clearly gave zero shits about murdering and burying people as long as it kept their family safe. and it’s not the intent and motive itself that is chilling or twisted, it’s the way, both jed and constance talk and behave about it. like it’s nothing. and it’s kinda different to travis’s stoic and shell-shocked behaviour, to how he nearly numb to it, bc it’s too much. or to chris’s nervous, skittish guilt, that doesn’t stop him from doing those things, but clearly makes him feel disgusted with himself. jed and constance have none of those things lol.

either way, out of all the main characters, only laura had a chance to get ‘close’ to the hacketts and kinda explore their broken family in a more personal way. and i kinda really wanted ryan to do the same. esp bc is this also raises a question of how ‘better’ hackett brothers would have been, if their parents just idk, died. and i feel like, that in a scenario, where chris’s kids are still alive, things could have been somewhat ‘chill’. at least as far as it possible. but with them gone, well….yeah. i always felt like kaylee and caleb were kinda the glue, that held both travis and chris mental states somewhat together. but in better universe, without hackett patriarch and matriarch, yeah, thing might have gone somewhat well. i do believe, that kyalee and caleb could have made chris and travis be less bitter about things and each other. and ryan being latest addition to the family would get accepted just fine. like, travis cannot even be a bitch about chris having a romantic relationships with ryan, bc he himself prefers younger women lol. 

and no worries! i love your rambles and i ended up rambling myself a lot, haha. and i really love hearing your thoughts tbh. or hear fluff set-ups, bc i actually very bad at fluff myself. i also rarely write smth like that, so it's always interesting to see the what could have been, but in more lighter, cheery tone. thank you for the message, they always make my day better! hope, you have a swell time as well!