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lunaetis · 1 year
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my muses at the back of my head : *poking and pulling at me to let them out so they can spend time with their loved ones on v-day* me : I AM WORKING AT LEAST WAIT UNTIL I CLOCK OUT GDI
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artiststarme · 1 year
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What If Steve Were To Leave Hawkins? Part 20 (Epilogue)
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19
The series is finished! Thank you for everyone that read it and stuck with me through the 20 parts, I know it was a lot and ended up being much longer than I anticipated for my first fic. Thank you very much for your kind comments. I plan on posting my next fic sometime in the next couple of days, if you'd like to be tagged in that, let me know!
~*~*~*~
The trio were thriving in Chicago. It had been roughly a month since they had all three moved into a two-bedroom apartment a few blocks from the coffee shop and a little longer than that since they’d all moved away from Hawkins. All three of them were having the time of their lives. 
Steve had been picking up extra hours at the coffee shop with Betty to try and make some extra money. He loved working as a barista and being challenged to make the most asinine of orders. What he loved even more is when he looked up on boring weekday shifts to see Eddie and Robin pouring over their notebooks. Steve could watch them scribble song lyrics and math equations, respectively, all day. And whenever Eddie looked up to meet his eyes with a beaming smile on his face? That was nice too. 
Eddie had accepted a full time job at the record store that they had passed their first day in the city. He could finally work a job he enjoyed without threat of violence from high school jocks or cruel words from middle-aged churchgoers. He’d also joined the band that the cashier, now known as Justin, had invited him to. They sounded way better than the high school Corroded Coffin did and with Eddie’s guitar skills? The new and improved Corroded Coffin was getting more than five drunks whenever they played in the bars. Steve was there at every ‘concert’ and cheered the band, especially Eddie, on after every song. What Eddie especially looked forward to on those nights though wasn’t the full crowd. Oh no, he looked forward to the possessive kisses that Steve would give him once they were away from prying eyes. 
Robin loved Chicago. She had started taking Gen Ed classes at UIC for the fall semester and working at an LGBT+ bookstore on the weekends. While she was currently single after breaking up with Vickie, she was happy. They parted on good terms and they both agreed that long distance at their age wasn’t the answer. Robin spent most of her free time working at the bookstore or making friends at school. However, she also devoted a healthy amount of time to third wheeling Steve and Eddie. It was easy really. Especially since everyone turned into a third wheel around them, whether they knew it or not. Anytime anyone sees them, they’re hanging off of one another, giving each other heart eyes, and being disgustingly lovey-dovey in general. 
~*~*~*~
By far the best part of moving in together in the city for Steve was waking up to Eddie in the morning on their days off. They would lie in bed for hours just talking or kissing or talking and kissing. Today, they were talking about their future in Chicago. 
Steve was watching the sunlight from the windows hit Eddie’s contours and accentuate his messy bedhead. “Are you happy here?”
Eddie closed his eyes and yawned before giving Steve the biggest smile his tired face could muster. “Stevie, baby, I’ve never been happier. I didn’t even know I could be this happy!”
His eyes danced across Steve’s face before his smile widened upon spotting the hickey he had left the night before. “What about you?”
Steve hummed as he thought about his answer. He was still having trouble putting his happiness into words. He felt like he was living within a dream, one that he never wanted to wake up from. He looked back to Eddie, his glorious boyfriend. The man that had shown him what it was like to be cared for by someone and the one who had picked up the broken pieces everyone else had left behind. “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. And I wouldn’t be if it weren’t for you. You make me really fucking happy, Eds. Even if you did eat the last of my Rocky Road cereal last night.”
Eddie’s smile turned into an overexaggerated pout as he fell backwards from his place hovering over Steve’s face onto the pillow. “I said I was sorry! I’ll pick up some more on my way home from work tomorrow. I can’t believe you ended your love confession with that, Jesus fucking Christ.”
Steve laughed and dragged Eddie back over to him, letting his frizzy curls curtain both of them. “I really love you Eddie.”
Eddie pressed a soft kiss to the tip of his nose and whispered, “I really love you too Steve.”
They kissed each other for a couple of minutes before Steve pulled away and nervously licked his bottom lip before speaking, “hey Eds, I’ve been thinking about something.”
Eddie gently shook his head, “I’m flattered, Stevie, but gay marriage isn’t legal yet so-”
“What?”
Eddie’s eyebrows furrowed, “oh, was that not what you were… oh. My bad, carry on.”
Steve shook his head, he’d poke that bear later. He cleared his throat before continuing, “I’ve been thinking… maybe I could go back to school? I know Robin is really enjoying it and if I just went on a part-time basis then I could still afford it. And I know I want to get a degree eventually so maybe I could take some classes and decide what I want. What do you think?”
“I think that’s a great idea! We’ll figure out the money later. If you think going to school and getting your degree will make you happy, I say go for it,” Eddie said, rubbing his hand down Steve’s arm. 
Steve nodded, “I think it would. My parents always pushed me to go into business but I think if I did something I really liked, I would have a really good time.”
“What do you want to do, then? Not thinking about anything else, what would make you happy?” Eddie asked. 
Steve bit his lip. He had an idea but he’d never shared it with anyone else. He knew though that if there was one person who wouldn’t make fun of his interests, it was Eddie. “I want to be an author. If I could, I’d write stories that kids could look up to and be inspired by.”
Eddie smiled and grabbed the back of Steve’s head, dragging him into the most gentle of kisses. “I think that’s a great idea, Stevie. Neither one of us will have some normal, nine to five job. When I’m a famous rockstar and you’re a big, hotshot author on the New York Times Best Sellers list, we can tour together and see the world.”
Steve nodded, that was quite the dream. But it was missing something, one small aspect that wasn’t coming to mind. One thing would make their dream even more perfect. Eddie also seemed to notice and after a thoughtful hum added, “with Robin.” 
Steve’s smile stretched and with a small laugh he agreed, “oh yeah, with Robin. That’s the dream, baby.”
And with that, they kissed.
Updated Taglist: @nickavalens @conversesweetheart @themostunoriginalpersonever @swimmingbirdrunningrock @eddiethegreatteddybear @harrumphingtons @call-me-big-eyes @moonshadows-13 @glittergluekintsugi @cpidcupk @doubleb11 @mentalcyborg @amoris-no-smut-allowed @purple-lemonade @labels-are-for-the-weak @thebrazilianatheist @rajumat @livelaughlexa @5ammi90 @colorful565 @marvelousforlife @chaoticcoffeequeen @gregre369 @suddenlyinlove @thegreatmistake @stillfullofshit @nburkhardt @batxsignalsx @newunknowns @thosemessyvibes @tailsfromthecrypt @luciana-rowan @bird-with-pencils @adaed5 @lolawon @flustratedcas @iwillfindmyneverland @messrs-weasley @skoomy-doompy
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Day 1 - Monday 6 July 2022
Two changes for my first day towards the 10 lb loss loss, will be get up half an hour earlier, at 5.00 am and do the half hour weight beginner video I put up in last post and secondly, I won't eat my first meal until 12:00 pm which will be a mushroom and 'low low' reduced fat cheese omelette with a mixed salad. This will be followed by a low fat yogurt and that will be until I get home for dinner.
The omelette was half of one I had made for my lunch today (Sunday), the day before I get stuck into this weight loss project. As I will be at work tomorrow, I won't have time to write in here but planning ahead is the difference in success and failure.
I get my bus to work at 6.30 am and I won't get home until 6.45 pm so in order to eat within the intermittent hours (16 hrs) I am amending the hours to between 8pm and 12pm. Not sure what I will have for dinner tomorrow but as I said this wasn't going to be as much about the food, but the moving more, it will be healthy but filling and certainly not skimpy.
By the by, the main thing that made me get up at 5.30 am in the mornings, get on that 6.30 am bus was the knowledge that when I hit Belfast, I would cross the road from the Europa, head over to the Centra on the corner of Great Victoria Street and get me two freshy made hot sausages rolls (£1.50 for 2 bargain!) and a piping hot cappuccino coffee. I would be the first one in as my bus usually got into Belfast between 8.10 am and 8.20 am, depending on the traffic into the city, that particular day. I would then enjoy the peace and quiet and my fresh, hot sausage rolls and coffee breakfast before the madness began for the day in the little office kitchen. Well now that I am intermittent fasting, there will be no such breakfast; maybe just a piping hot mug of tea made in the office but ah well, needs to be done. I do love my little plump cheeks and rounding tummy taking me into that little old lady look (SCREECH OF BREAKS) nah, not yet! Granny Cat can wait until my children at least consider making me a Granny! That is another story. Lets just pull the reins, and back up abit :-).
The next addition for tomorrow will be to take my little dog out for a brisk 30 minute to 40 minute walk after work. My live in dog walker (my daughter) has decided to move on to London so now completely my job and although he has the run of the garden he does love to go for a brisk walk. I am always soooo tired when I get home and just want to lie on the sofa and do nothing but experience has told me, and down to some really good friends, who enjoyed evening walks, and 'forced' me, well 'encouraged' me to get off my posterior and go for a nice walk, that once you get out, you enjoy the walk and it 'wakes' you up and renews your energy so going to 'force' myself to just go get George's lead and head out before my bum can hit the sofa in front of the tv. I may add to this a 30 minute fat burning video before bed but lets see how it goes. This has to be doable and realistic but hey the 80's music one isn't too long and is fun so maybe I will start with that one and then build on that over the next couple of months.
One thing I will need, is a good nights sleep so will be in bed tonight at 9.00 pm. At the moment, best that can be done but, as the busy summer season ends, I will be able to work from home so the early starts and bus journeys will end and then next year, I will be renting my house out and living in Belfast for a couple of years but we can still work exercise in, whichever way it goes. I am keen to learn if exercise alone, along with a sensible diet but not anything drastic, can result in weight loss, even when you are "old".
Attached is a video of my lunch for tomorrow which will be the first meal I will eat tomorrow. I might have a couple of boiled eggs and a slice of wholemeal toast for my dinner today as the lunch was quite filling and naughty. Mushroom/Cheese omelette, air fried oven chips and Asda low salt baked beans. Thoroughly enjoyed it and totally satisfied which is also a good reason not to skimp on your meals, as you are less likely to 'snack' or want another big meal or takeaway later. I found when I tried to reduce my food intake, I would snack more often and crave foods I wouldn't normally which is why I believe diets are not for me. Eating what I want and having as much as I want (in one sitting) until I am full and satisfied works for me as I don't need much more food for the day and don't snack at all because I am too full up. Everyone is different though. Exercise is my downfall so making an effort and hopefully as a result I will get to and maintain a normal weight for my height/size.age as I am certainly overweight at 76 kgs for a 5' 5" woman. Below is a link to check what your BMI should be (roughly) but will give you an idea if you are actually overweight. I will be using a separate post to record all the 'stats' but if you are interested the bmi calculator link is below.
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blouisparadise · 4 years
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Here are some amazing bottom Louis fics posted or completed during the month of August. We really hope you enjoy this list and that you give these fics a lot of love.
Happy reading!
1) Move Out | Explicit | 1525 words
Harry and Louis are moving in together, so they might as well make the most of Harry's apartment.
2) Take Off Your Business Suit | Explicit | 3082 words
“Yes, let me get another chair.” Louis said, leaning up off of the desk. He stood up but before he could leave the office to get another chair, Harry was grabbing his hand.
The words that came out of Harry’s mouth made Louis’ knees weak and heart beat quicken. “Just sit on my lap.” Harry said. Whatever he said afterwards didn’t make it into Louis’ ears as he was moving quickly over to Harry and placing himself on Harry’s lap.Louis would take anything Harry wanted to give him; hand touching, lap sitting, all of it.
Louis hadn't realized he was holding his breath until it came out in a quiet sigh. “Okay so th-this one will be slightly different right?” He asked as he pointed at the sheet of paper in front of him.
3) So Good, It's Making Me Drool | Explicit | 3364 words
He kept his back turned to Harry, whispering the few words he knew that would make Harry go absolutely wild. “If I’m only yours, maybe you should take me to bed and teach me who I belong to.”
4) What I Like | Explicit | 4245 words
Note: This fic has mentions of BH.
Harry gets tired of the "older women" jokes and the incessant teasing from Louis.
5) ll Belong To Your Creation | General Audiences | 4349words
Louis had always thought it was impossible to do so. Thankfully, upon doing research he learned that he still can as long as there are no complications throughout the whole pregnancy. He also stumble upon a birth vlog where a mum was able to give birth naturally even after going through c-section with her first and second pregnancy.
6) An Axolotl and the Fake Date | Explicit | 5976 words
Harry runs a stall at a farmers market every weekend and Louis comes by one day with an odd request.
7) Feels So Right | Explicit | 8804 words
The one where Louis is Troy, Harry is Gabriella, and we find out what really happened after karaoke at that ski resort...
8) Giallo! | Mature | 9776 words
Louis was a mess. A stuttery mess of weak knees and grass stains on his fresh linen clothes, his cheeks blooming a natural pink that matched his sunburnt nose. Upon his return from University, his family abandon the bustling city of London to bask in the comfort of their summer villa. With such a property came maintenance, Louis' father hired a strapping young fellow with tanned skin littered with ink and a charming smile aided by dimples in both his cheeks. Between reading, baking and painting, Louis stares at Harry, he couldn't help it. They grow close under the sun of Greece in 1989.
9) Interlude: One Night in March | Explicit | 10671 words
Note: This is a sequel to this fic.
“Said I would, didn’t I?” Harry let his hands roam over Louis’s bare back, his muscles rippling with that same frenetic energy he always had, swirling just beneath the skin, just beneath Harry’s fingers. “May come a time I’ll have to carry you again.”
Cupping the back of his head and burying his fingers in Louis’s hair, he pulled Louis back into another deep kiss, moaned a bit when Louis squeezed his chest again, harder this time, like he wanted the shirt off. But instead he drew his hand down Harry’s side and tugged at the hem, as though to say best keep this on, before he licked into Harry’s mouth, drew Harry’s tongue out to play only to pull back enough to speak.
“May come a time I’ll actually fucking let you.”
10) Hate To Smoke (Without Me) | Mature | 12164 words
Sleep. Harry just wants one good night of sleep. However, his neighbour has a thing for headboard-banging-against-the-wall-sex every night. After a secret set-up and a bet, Harry may finally get the sleep he so much desires.
11) Call You Mine | Explicit | 12755 words
“I have a request.”
That’s what Louis Tomlinson says to Harry when he opens the front door a bit too aggressively. The latter feels justified after a round of annoyingly incessant knocking that was much too loud in the drowsy sludge of early Saturday morning.
“Zayn’s asleep,” is Harry’s tired, hoarse reply, irritation prickling at his skin. Less than a minute ago he was in bed, feeling perfectly content sprawled out on the mattress with the chilled air from the fan cool against his bare skin. And now he’s leaning up against the wooden door frame in nothing but his briefs because Zayn’s best mate decided that showing up unannounced at seven in the fucking morning was a brilliant idea.
“I’m not here for him,” says Louis curtly.
12) A Vivid And Wistful Melody | Explicit | 13128 words
"Slowly, he takes his violin out of its case, listens for a few more minutes to Louis’ flute, before joining him as best as he could. The flute stops for a few seconds, and Harry imagines Louis blinking cutely, taken aback, before huffing with a smile, and starting to play again, on a suddenly far happier tune. Harry closes his eyes as he twirls around the living room, violin in hand and music filling the air. He pictures Louis doing the same in his own flat while being careful as to not step on his cat.
Somehow, even with heavy eyes and tired limbs, this is the happiest Harry has ever felt in years."
In which they are neighbours stuck at home and they happen to start talking through a wall with a piano, a violin, and a flute. They end up writing the soundtrack of their own love story.
13) Until This Blood Runs Cold | Explicit | 13685 words
In a town as small as Louis’, everybody knows everybody and gossip spreads faster than the wildfires that rage on just outside their backdoors in the sweltering heat of summer. When something happens here everyone knows about it within seconds. Neighbors call neighbors and notes are left on doorsteps, old telephone lines ringing until there isn’t a single person who is left in the unknown.
So it’s definitely hot gossip when a vampire moves in across the street from him, the very same one who’s just become Louis’ boss.
14) A Road To Hope | Explicit | 18280 words
Note: There is no explicit smut but its implied BL.
“We’re far from the people and their issues, don’t hold back. Please.”
It’s true. They are far away from anything that could stop them, the middle of nowhere being the safest place on Earth for them to fall in love. The sacred land where sacred love is created. However, Louis is certain that even if they weren’t safe, he wouldn’t resist the sight of Harry, his pleading eyes, his warm skin beneath his touch.
15) Your Eyes Of Blue, Your Kisses Too | Explicit | 21785 words
When they get out onto the streets away from the crowds Niall turns to walk backwards, “So did you get any leads?”
“Well- uh.”
Niall shakes his head, “Too busy kissing that pretty boy onstage, I see. Gonna blow the whole case for a piece of ass?”
16) Thinking About Peaches | Explicit | 23724 words
Note: This fic is a sequel to this fic, which is #18 on this list.
Eight smutty drabbles following the events of bruise you like a peach.
17) Quiet People Have the Loudest Minds | Mature | 38065 words
Broadway shows were one of the few things that could keep Louis’ attention for a full two hours without needing to move about. But not tonight.
The alpha next to him was both infuriating him and practically turning him on at the same time. He needed to leave. The alpha, that is. Louis was staying.
18) Bruise You Like A Peach | Explicit | 40694 words
Note: The sequel to this fic is #16 on this list. 
There’s two reasons Harry despises Econ.
The first is that it’s boring as fuck. The second reason is a bit more personal, a bit more focused in a way. As in it’s focused on one specific thing, or in his case, person.
His name is Louis Tomlinson.
19) Falling Out Of Fashion | Explicit | 42123 words
Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.
Harry Styles has been the established face of the Grimshaw House of Design for two years. It’s a prestigious and coveted modeling contract Harry took away from once-famed supermodel Zayn Malik. With the model transition Grimshaw’s designs went from a more urban, Zayn-forward aesthetic, to a Harry-favoring flowery, flowing femininity in the Grimshaw designs for men.
So when Harry sees a dress Grimshaw made for a famous Marvel actress, “only a tease”, Nick says, of the evolving look, Harry knows Grimshaw is shifting his aesthetic.
Harry wonders if he can pull off the look.
Or could Grimshaw be looking for a new face?
20) Secretly Dating | Mature | 43615 words
Lottie groaned, looming over Louis with a glare. “If we’re late, Mum and Dad will never let Harry see me – ie. see you.”
It was the first time they openly addressed the fact that Harry saw more of Louis than Lottie on their supposed ‘dates.’ He supposed he knew as much, but it still startled him. “You’ve been setting us up!”
Lottie snorted, cocking out her hip and brushing her blonde hair over her shoulder. “Honestly, Harry. You’re so dense. To be fair, it was at Louis’ request.”
Louis’ mouth gaped like a fish as he jumped to standing position, wobbling only slightly. “Don’t sell me out!”
Lottie rolled her eyes. “Come on lovebirds.”
21) You’ve Got My Devotion (Hate You Sometimes) | Mature | 95417 words
Harry was in the biggest boy band in the world. He was also one half of the best (or worst, depends on who you ask) kept secret relationship in the music industry.
Now, almost five years on, after One Direction has broken up, and Harry and Louis' relationship has as well, a video threatens to put everything at risk.
One determined Irishman, a massive publicity stunt and two begrudging exes are all it takes to bring One Direction back to life and maybe, just maybe, Harry and Louis' mangled love life too.
22) The Healing Song | Mature | 111851 words
Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.
Louis was carrying the large stuffed elephant like it was a baby, it’s trunk hanging over his shoulder and down his back and it’s front legs were resting around his neck, like it was hugging him. Said elephant was a present from Louis’ close friend Steve, who had thought Louis needed something to hug on bad days and had gifted him with a stuffed elephant the size of a one year old.
Steve had been right. Some days Louis did need something to hug, and this elephant was as good as anything.
Louis was having one of the rougher days. The harmonious state of the anxiety free life of a fearless Louis had ended the week after he met with Harry. It ended as abruptly as it had started. It was like pushing a button. Lights out. Almost as if the universe said “You’ve had your fun, crazy one, now go be sick” and slammed the door in his face.
Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.
You can find other monthly roundup fic rec lists here.
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artleaguemdcnorth · 2 years
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2D ART1202C - First day of class 5/9/2022
Good Morning Students,
Welcome to the Summer A , 2021-3 ,2D Class Blended/ Remote Learning Semester.
I sent an email on Saturday with the class instructions and other information including a link to the course blog and a second email with the invitation to the virtual first day meeting Via TEAMS.
The meet and greet on Monday morning via TEAMS will begin at 9:00 AM . If you have not accepted the meeting , do that immediately. 
Check your mymdc.net email.
FIRST DAY INFO and class assignments for today after our meet and greet will be as follows:
THIS NEEDS TO BE DONE THIS MORNING:
1)Create your Twitter handle. 2)Find my twitter handle and follow me on Twitter. (@Prof_AFresquet )
3)Create your own Tumblr handle. 4)Follow class blog ONLY nothing else.
THINGS TO KNOW FOR CLASS:
I post two assignments to be completed  weekly, you will check the information that I post here in the class blog.
You will follow instructions for daily or weekly assignments here. 
Below you will read about the first assignment to be completed during class time this morning.
On the day new assignments are added, I usually open the class on Twitter with a welcome daily tweet. 
This happens before our Virtual meet.
I like to give tips and ideas for doing class assignments during these days. 
Additionaly , I am available for questions from  8:30 - 10:30 am on M/T/W via the twitter feed. 
Anytime you need help, use the DM to communicate with me back and forth.
I am available via Twitter at @Prof_AFresquet .
I note those in attendance by the work completed each day and the interaction via twitter.
Pay attention as I post suggestions and information there.
You can ask me question on Twitter and I will respond quickly during class time. For general questions use the open feed. For private information use the DM.
I will also show photos with examples and or additional instructions there.
All work to be done in class will be done in the Bristol pad except when otherwise noted (Homework assignments are done on the sketchbook).  
All work needs to be framed within the picture plane as stated during class meets.
Work completed during class will be posted on your Tumblr(portfolio page) by end of class t ime.
Work that was not completed during class , needs to be completed during lab hours (Thursdays is your make up day).
A) FIRST DAY CLASS ASSIGNMENT
1) Today you will watch three short videos. 
You will be  looking at the work of two artist,
Franz Kline
Agnes Martin.
Throughout the semester we are going to be looking at work from different artists who work in the following genre:
Non Objective , Abstract , Modern Art.
2) As you watch the videos posted below, take notes  regarding the three videos (two about Franz Kline and One from Agnes Martin). 
See if you can answer the questions below:
a) Pay attention to how they create art and why if that is so stated. b) What inspires them?
NEXT
B) WRITE THE FOLLOWING IN YOUR TUMBLR PAGE , 
THIS WILL BE YOUR FIRST TUMBLR POST:
Brief statement of what you understand about how FRANZ KLINE creates art.
How does he divide the page ?
How is line changing from one stroke to the next?
Is it the same kind of line, thick , bold or thin and light?
Is space painted first (white), before line (black) or the reverse?
One you have finished the videos and written your statement, proceed to your sketchbook to sketch some ideas of your own version of a
C) Franz Kline inspired work.
Start out by playing with line as it divides the composition.
These are preliminary ideas known as sketches
How would  you do it?
D) Next, using  three pages in your sketchbook create THREE Franz Kline inspired compositions.
You will be using black and white paint.
E) Post VIDEO work with notes today by 5pm.
F ) Sketches and final product to your class blog by tomorrow at 5 pm
LASTLY, USE TODAY TO BUY CLASS MATERIALS. SEE THE LIST ADDED BELOW:
For the first few weeks , the materials listed below are essential to complete class assignments.
Class Materials-
BRISTOL PAD 100lbs. ( 9x 12  )
Sketchbook bound 8 x 11 or bigger
Black ink or Black acrylic paint (mars black)
White paint Acrylic Titanium White
Beginners acrylic paint set assortment of brushes
Painters tape (blue tape from Home Depot or Lowes)
Black assortment of sharpies different sizes (thick, thin etc )
RULER Scissors Glue sticks
Tuesday  5/10 , we will begin class by learning vocabulary related to art. I will show a PowerPoint with the information.
Elements and Principles of Art.
THERE WILL BE A CLASS MEET AT 9AM on 5/10 TO DISCUSS THE CLASS ASSIGNMENT AT THAT TIME.
Have Fun - Stay Focused
You Can do this!
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tundrainafrica · 4 years
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Title: A Tale of Two Slaves (1/17)
Summary:  "Soulmates don’t exist. Fate doesn't exist. Everything is a choice." At that moment, Levi could only watch as she made the choice for him."
Reincarnation AU. Levi remembers everything from their past life. Hange doesn't.
Note: This has been sitting on my computer untouched for a while, along with the timeline I prepared for a multichapter fic. Will probs go back to it soon. Feedback is very much appreciated.
Other Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Link to cross-postings: AO3
In dreams people only see faces they already know.
It was an interesting fact Levi had probably come across, lazily scrolling through his social media timelines or opening countless tabs after getting into some Wikipedia blackhole in between the long days of schools and the short nights asleep.
He spent a fair amount of time on the internet, reading up about whatever bullshit politics came up with, controversies and bathroom reader fun facts. During his first year of college, it had stuck to him for a time. Maybe because it just seemed too unrealistic, too unbelievable.
After all, ever since he had started college, he felt like he had been dreaming of more and more unfamiliar faces. It could have been attributed at least to the fact that he was exposed to more people in a crowded city than he had been in the small town he grew up in. As time went by, these faces he barely recognized though, had become the main actors in his dream.
The long haired boy with the elvish features. The man with the clean cut appearance and a glint of mischief in his eyes. The oriental girl with subtle European features. The cheeky girl with a beat up pair of glasses and unkempt hair.
They and many others had been regulars in his dreams and Levi had come up with names for them already, names he remembered muttering, names he screamed multiple times in his head. By the time he woke up to the four walls of his bedroom a few hours before his first class, they were vague memories, only as intelligible as his view of the world right after waking up.
Some mornings, he had found himself more exhausted than when he had slept. Some mornings, he found his throat sore from screaming. Some days, his eyes were swollen from crying.
He lived alone in a dormitory and he had wanted to infer that it had been homesickness that had made those nightmares possible. He had never really abhorred being alone though, in fact he liked the privacy that came with having his own room.
He quickly shot down that theory and did not think too much about it soon after. His daily life did not give him too much time to ponder such fleeting and abstract of a concept as dreams in between lessons and training.  
The dreams never left him, some days they were more vivid than others. After a few years of navigating academics, trainings, and obligations, Levi had gotten used to brushing off that one tear he’d get as he woke up, taking a lozenge to soothe the sore throat or just leaving the lights off in his room to alleviate the pounding headache he would get some mornings.
Daily life and obligations never did allow him the time and space to ponder too much on those dreams. Levi chalked it up to stress and unexplained trauma, easily soothed by ten minutes scrolling through social media or hours reorganizing his room for the third time that week.
Financial and time constraints made it impossible as well to even consider consulting about it and Levi found himself compartmentalizing those dreams into those few hours of sleep he got at night and the one hour he allowed himself each day to adjust to the waking world.
The line blurred one night though when one of those names was nonchalantly mentioned among others.
"Hange Zoe..."
It was just one name in a list recited by their coach before they were all dismissed for the evening. Sandwiched between a few other names before and after it, it wasn't supposed to stand out like that. Oddly, it did.
As Levi rode his bike to his dormitory room after a tiring day of training, he found himself repeating that name again and again. He tried to make sense of the odd familiarity which came with a name he could have sworn he had never heard before.
A family friend? A childhood friend?
Levi entertained those possibilities. Having grown up in a small town, his family friends and childhood friends consisted of everyone in that tight knit community and he could have listed out all their names then and there. She wasn’t part of it.
To at least, satisfy his own curiosity, Levi had sent a message to his parents before going to sleep. Just in case he had met her before.
Levi woke up the next morning, his throat a little scratchier, his body a little more tired. The first thing he did was check his phone.
Hange Zoe wasn’t a family friend.
Levi put the covers over himself and closed his eyes. His head was pounding and his chest was heavy. He had only noticed a moment later that his eyes were wet, his breaths were coming out in heaves.
What did I dream about this time?
Levi needed the whole morning to recover.
                                  A Tale of Two Slaves
Levi managed at least to drag himself out of bed for afternoon training. By then, others have already started warming up. Levi wondered if he would be able to carry his body through a warm up jog, given his state only a few hours ago.
In the end, getting the jog done became a matter of discipline more than anything else and he had finished well above everyone else.
He had always been faster, given his smaller build and he had the natural muscle and athletic skill to be versatile as well. That was what made him stand out as the best athlete in the track and field team. He never cared too much either way about the admiration many of his teammates held towards him.
The recurring nightmares and the aftermaths of these though had left Levi averse to human interaction. Ironically, as he moved away from his small town and into the bigger city, his world had gotten smaller. Levi found himself keeping his world only wide enough to win track and field events and pass classes.
No man could really ever be an island though, no matter how much they try. Levi soon found that out when he saw that aforementioned Hange Zoe on the side of the track, talking to one of their coaches.
“This is Hange Zoe.”
“You can call me Hange.”
Levi did not need that quick introduction his coach had just given him. Somehow, the name and the face just clicked inside him. He looked expectantly at his coach and back at Hange.
Hange held out her hand to him and smiled. “I heard you’re the best one in the team. Coach Greg spoke highly of you.”
Levi narrowed his eyes at her. “What's she doing here?”
“Didn’t I tell you last time? Some of the premed students wanted to do case studies on athletes here for their final thesis. If you could help them out?” The coach turned to Hange. “Levi here is one of our best jumpers. He holds a pretty good record for sprinting, hurdles and throwing events as well.”
“Your jogging form looks amazing! I’d love to see you in action.”
Levi was not prepared for the invasion of privacy that came a second after. Hange held both of his hands towards her and leaned closer towards him. Before Levi could even stop himself, he had pushed her away and ran, the screaming of his coach to come back had become mere muffled screams in the background.
The only reason Levi did drag himself to training was for the fact that it was still one of the few hobbies he found complete calm yet complete liberation in. Those few moments after launching himself up in the air, those magical few moments high up in the air with only the empty sky above him, Levi felt free.
As Levi powered through, he found within him a burst of energy, built up from an idle morning cooped up in his room.
He had done those same drills so many times before. The excitement he got from flying through the air and running easily took over whatever exhaustion and rattledness plagued him only a second ago. He let his body memory guide him through each drill, concentrating his consciousness on other things like the cool wind on his skin as he shot through the track and the purple sky that stretched above as he performed horizontal jumps.
If Levi had been any more aware of his surroundings, he would have noticed his teammates leaving the track one by one. Maybe, he would have noticed as he started moving to the hurdles that the purple sky was slowly turning into a dark blue and the scenery around him was becoming just a little more than shadows.
It was nothing new. Levi had stayed behind to work on other skills multiple times and his coach and teammates had just learned to leave the club room open. Levi would leave an extra thirty minutes to an hour later than his companions,
At that training though, with little incentive to break away from that small bubble he had built for himself, not  a lot of things could have broken his concentration. Fifteen minutes into his hurdles exercises, the distraction came. Levi was raising one leg, positioning himself to jump a hurdle when he caught a shadow from his peripherals.
Someone had been watching him in the dark.
He was alone. Or he was supposed to be alone at least.
The combination of those realizations and the exhaustion that threatened to take over Levi only caused Levi to stumble on the hurdle in front of him and fall forward onto cold ground.
“Hey! You okay?”
It was that same voice from that same conversation Levi had walked away from just an hour ago. The voice was as loud and as annoying as it was an hour ago that even when his shadow was still a good few meters away, Levi remembered how it felt with her forehead once again pressed on his and her grip on his two hands.
Levi was frozen on the ground, his body still in shock at the sudden loss of control and the whiplash of what he had just imagined.  
“That looked painful.” Her voice was softer than it was a second ago. Hange put her hand on his.
Levi pulled away instinctively, and winced as his palms protested the quick action. Levi looked at his palms. In the dim light, he could see three long gashes lined up in the middle. Blood was starting to come out as well.
Levi was exhausted. The impact and the aftermath of falling on the ground, front first and the friction burns that followed, only further drained what was left of his energy.
By the time Hange helped him up by the shoulders  Levi was almost motionless, the small movements he made were carefully calculated for fear of aggravating the dull pain.
“Let’s get you cleaned up.”
                              A Tale of Two Slaves
“Sorry about a while ago… People say I’m just a little too intimidating  but I just get really excited about these types of things. You had such a good running form. You jump so high. You get a really good height above the hurdles… “ Hange gave him a consoling look. “Except that last one.”
Hange was closer to him than what Levi would have preferred at first. Oddly, he had gotten used to it quickly enough, particularly because he had no other choice.
The gashes on his palms were bloody and painful. With little to no means to bandage them himself, he was left to rely on the only person there and as Levi soon found out, she had problems with maintaining a comfortable social distance from people.
And she never stopped talking.
“Are the bandages too tight?” Hange asked, in between other ramblings Levi had tuned out.
“‘No.” The only words Levi had said since they had arrived in the club room fifteen minutes ago.
“Okay, let’s move on to your knees.”
Levi had not surveyed the damage himself but he guessed it was probably worse than his palms from Hange’s concerned frown.
“You’re gonna need stitches for this. The clinic probably isn’t open so you might have to go to the hospital… We could call a taxi and---”
“You’re a pre-med student, can’t you do it yourself?”
Hange blushed. “You trust me to do it?”
"A trip to the hospital will just be a waste of time." Levi admitted.
Hange rummaged deeper into the first aid kit. "This is gonna be painful though."
Better than taking a trip to the hospital now. Levi braced himself for it and decided to distract himself from the discomfort of the whole ordeal.  
“How does it feel? Flying in the sky like that?” Hange asked. At that point, Hange had started to talk more purposefully, as if she wanted to get a point across to him.
Levi guessed that it was all an attempt to distract him from the mini operation she was giving him. From his angle, Levi could not see the extent of the injuries, nor did he want to. The pain was bearable, although it was still much worse than what he would have considered a discomfort.
“I’ve always wanted to take a sport like that, maybe gymnastics, maybe figure skating or track and field? That’s the closest people can get to flying right?” Hange was asking too many questions but it was obvious she was not expecting answers.
Her words flowed as smoothly as the movement of the needle and thread he could see from his angle.
Something about the way she talked to him was comforting and eventually Levi had almost completely relaxed, the pain of needle to torn skin a distant memory. He lay back on the bench and closed his eyes, focusing not on her words but instead on the familiar warm tone as she spoke.
The sensation of needle to skin, the burning pain, the dizziness that followed. They were all too familiar. All accompanied by that familiar warm voice.
Maybe we should just live here together. Right Levi?
If we keep running and hiding, what will that get us.
Hange's voice tore into his daydream. “What do you mean? Are you running from something?"
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Love Doesn’t Do Encores Ch11 Back To Motostoke
(Warning: Contains another fight between younger reader's mom and herself in a flashback. It was pointed out that I accidentally posted the wrong chapter by mistake. My apologies to my tumblr readers, Ill see to it this won’t happen again. Here’s the missing chapter for the events between Chapters 10-12. Enjoy.)
To say you two had a long night when you got back to your hotel room was an understatement. The boys jumped at the first chance they got asking Gloria how the dinner went to which she just let out a long drawn out 'Uuuuuhhhhh' and you had to cut in saying that he had just asked her about the gym battle and her day. Which she seemed thankful about you doing to save her the trouble. Luckily neither seemed too miffed about Glory getting to dine with THE Chairman Rose apparently, you certainly didn't enjoy the experience other than the free meal. You changed the subject by asking Hop when his battle was to which he proudly stated tomorrow. Alright! Seemed cleaned cut enough......Surprise, surprise it wasn't. The four of you ended up having to stay another two days instead for the one you all planned because Hop had lost the first battle with Nessa, visibly upset about the entire thing. Quite understandable. But to your surprise once meeting him outside the stadium he seemed...rather happy. Quickly finding out the reason not only because Nessa have him her ultra rare league card as compensation but that she offered to battle him again a second time first thing tomorrow morning to which he quickly agreed to. So the four of you agreed to spend another night in Hulbury. The next morning the four of you left bright and early for the stadium and after waiting for Hop to redo the gym challenge again, watched him battle Nessa for a second time. It was intense. It was stressful. And it was certainly rough on both parties. But you were SO glad Hop was able to win! Not only because you wanted him to win, but because you didn't want to spend another day in Hulbury. It was a close one too. With Hop winning two out of the three rounds but it was a good enough score to earn the badge! And he was proud to show it off as well when the three of you managed to meet up with him again outside the stadium by the Hulbury lighthouse.
He had smiled instantly shoving the bronze-golden badge out to you three with the same patterns that was on Gloria's water badge. "LOOK!! I FINALLY GOT IT! And on my second try too! Pretty good huh?"
"You were so cool out there!," Gloria excitedly complimented him smiling widely. "Now we're all caught up!"
"Doesn't make us less rivals y'know!"
"...Hey. Speaking of gym badges," you cut in gaining their attention as you gestured towards the badge in Hop's hand. "Do you guys know which gym you wanted to go to next?" You were really itching to get out of Hulbury by this point and just wanted to GO.
Gloria opened her mouth to speak but Hop beat her too it making all of you look back at him. "Actually, I have one on my mind."
"What is it?"
He turned to Gloria. " All right, Mate. You've got both the grass badge and water badge by now right?" She nodded confused. "In that case, we're both headed for Motostoke and the fire gym leader Kabu!"
All three of you stared shocked at him. The twins seeming at something else, and you because MOTOSTOKE. As in the city you all started in?! Hop wanted all of you to walk back ALL the way there to challenge a gym leader!? WHAT-
"What!? We have to go all the way back to Motostoke for that?!"
"KABU!?", both the twins yelled at him and you rose a brow at their reaction.
"....Ok. I feel like this is the part where someone tells me more about this gym leader."
With a slightly worried look Victor turned to you. "Kabu is the Galar Region's Fire Type Gym Leader and his gym's in Motostoke. He's also the only gym leader who's not from Galar himself."
"He's also the SECOND most powerful gym leader behind Raihan," Gloria jumped in frowning, "If Raihan and Leon weren't in the picture he could've easily gotten the title of 'Galar's Strongest Gym Leader' or the Champion itself. He's been known to make a whole bunch of trainers quit the entire gym challenge as a whole because they couldn't win against him." She turned back to Hop raising a brow. "Which begs the question on why do you want to go there next of all places?"
"Nessa suggested I go there actually." She did? That sure surprised you. "She said if I wanted more of a challenge for myself then he'd be a good canidate to battle before we reach Raihan. I thought it would be a great idea to challenge myself even more!"
.....Gloria hummed. "Actually you might be onto something. We can't get stronger unless we push ourselves..." She smiled. "Ok! Count me in too!"
"I think the both of you are in over your heads." Victor sighed. "But if that's where you wanna go then fine. We can take the train."
You felt internal relief you wouldn't have to walk again, but that begged the question. "Exactly how long would it take to get back there?"
"About another month by walking. Two weeks by corvinight taxi. And five days by train over nights too."
"Yeah..We're taking the train this time."
There was one tiny problem with that notion tho. The morning train had already passed so the four of you had to wait in the shade of the train station for at least another two hours until the afternoon train came rumbling up to the station at last! As nice as this place was, you wanted to leave as soon after you and Gloria attended the dinner with the Chairman and his assistant. After hearing he had come there often enough to have 'a usual' dish you didn't want to accidentally bump into them again especially after what you did and getting the off feeling about them. It was too weird, so you were glad to get on the train. You were slightly afraid you wouldn't be able to get on without paying but luckily you slipped through the bars quickly behind Gloria after she scanned her train pass in the slot and piled on inside with the rest of the kids and a few other people who either got on too or were leaving.
"Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. We will be leaving Hulbury Station in five minutes. Please gather all your belongings and exit or enter accordingly. Next stop shall be Nester Town. Thank you for using Galar Transportation for your traveling needs," a man's voice came through the speaker over head and you gave it a raised brow. You had to remember there was more than one town in Galar since now it wasn't just a game. ...In fact with how big this region was, it must've been home to millions of people like a region back in your world.
The four of you all settled into the train cars and gotten yourself situated into one of the seats with the table between them. The twins on one side and you with Hop facing them as you sighed into the soft seat cushions. It would be nice not having to walk somewhere for once at least. You also assumed Sonia must've had the same idea about taking the train outta here because you hadn't seem her since she excused herself and ran out from the dinner about two days ago now. Oh well. Where ever she was, you were sure she was fine. After all you slightly remembered her reappearing later in the game too, so if events were going as they were in the original game then you would most definately see her again soon. But for now you sighed content to just tug off your backpack and leave it on the floor at your feet, your sobble taken residence on the table between you all, and you just leaning back into your seat and looking out the window waiting for the train to start moving again. Not really paying too much attention to what the others were talking about-
"How about I share with you a little tip about that leader, Kabu?" Your eyes blinked back over to Hop who was glancing at his phone you assume reading something. "From what I heard, he's holed up now in Galar Mine No. 2 undergoing special training."
"What?!," Gloria gave him a look. "He's underground while the gym challenge is goin' on? What kind of gym leader does that?"
"If he's in there then we can't take him on in Motostoke even if we zip right over there, putting the breaks on our gym challenge!"
"That's what I literally just implied....Wait. How long has he been in there?"
"Uh.." Hop quickly flipped through his phone's screen. "According to this...since about three days ago."
"WHAT? Who trains in a cave for three days straight? ...What if he's not out by the time we get there? We'd be waitin' for days by that point!"
"....So I say we head to galar mine no. two ourselves!," Hop decided lowering the phone from his face. "Let's go see what all the fuss is about!"
"Uh-...NO!!" All three teens looked at you as you frowned and crossed your arms in a stern pose. "No. No. HECK NO!! I went through one mine thank you very much and was almost caught by miners chasing us because someone wanted to take a short cut. We can go and wait for him like every other person."
"...You did what!?"
"Actually Galar Mine Number two is open to the public since it's naturally a part of the Wild Area," Hop explained ignoring Victor's earlier question. "It's full of a lot of water pokemon since it's connected to an underground spring. You can also find a couple Wishing Stars if you're lucky. ..Huh. Maybe that's why he went there?"
Unconvinced you rose a brow but sighed and leaned back into your seat just as the train gave a small little lurch before slowly beginning to pull away. The kids going back to talk among themselves about mines and gym leaders. Despite not walking, you had a feeling this was going to be a long trip back to Motostoke. ...And you weren't wrong either. The world went past as the train moved along as a rapid pace, the town of Hulbury quickly disappearing from view as it did. Replaced by nature and forests, and the distant view of the ocean side within a matter of minutes. As the talking of the kids and other passengers chatting in the distance continued you pressed your forehead to the window and closed your eyes. Peace allowing you to drift off for the moment as for once you had no worries and nothing weighed on your shoulders, so you got a well deserved break for once. The next five days for the four of you were a bit uncomfortable but managable. A lot more managable than camping at least. When night fell you four decided that you'd take the two empty seats across the small walk way from the four of you so each of you could have one place to sleep comfortably(or as comfortable as you could sleep on a train) and would take turns staying up to make sure none of you missed the stop at Motostoke. Or in case something else happened. Victor volunteered to stay the first night up that rolled around which you were thankful for and the other three of you slept. The next morning you woke and you were greeted with the sight of Victor barely awake leaning his head against the table. Guess he kept true to his word. He only had time to east a couple things Gloria shoved into his hands from your food rations into his hands before he ended up falling asleep leaning against the wall. You felt a little guilty for letting him stay up for so long but it was for a good reason. The second day went as well as the first. The train rode on, Victor slept most of the day away only waking up around sunset before going back to sleeping again that second night, Gloria excitedly showed you the battle between herself and Nessa from the League's official website as well. You watched and had to agree with Gloria that it was a very close call. Managing to defeat Nessa in the first round, losing the second, and then just BARELY winning the third. Good thing it was a good enough score to pass. She was certainly stronger than Milo from what you'd seen. When it came the second night Gloria ended up volunteering to stay up that time stating that she'd use her favorite videos of the League's past battles to keep her up as she always stayed up and never missed a detail when she did watch them. This being confirmed by Victor who looked a little worried over that but was too tired from last night to argue and it was agreed. Day three rolled around and it was the same as the first two. Only this time Gloria spent most of the day leaning against a slightly annoyed Victor snoring. Did she always snore? You must've been too deep in sleep to notice before now, at least Hop found his friends' situation amusing. And then guess who got volunteered by Victor to stay up that night as revenge for laughing at him. Hop wasn't very amused after that. And thus the fourth day came and everyone was awake minus poor Hop who laid upon one of the empty seats during most of the time there. But it was a matter of fact your turn to keep watch as they all slept and agreed without hesitation. After all it was only fair. During the entirety of the trip so fair you all rationed out the food you bought from Hulbury whenever hungry, and walked up and down the walk way between all the train seats if you needed to stretch your legs. Many people coming and going and sometimes giving the one taking up a whole seat to sleep a strange look before moving on. The conductor announcing each stop and as you all came to it. So far none were Motostoke but it was only a matter of time. That night you stayed up as slowly one by one the kids and your sobble fell asleep leaving you the only one awake as the sun set and was replaced with the moon and stars in the silent night. The dark nature of forests and meadows flew by quickly only with the occasional town or house in the countryside lighting up the landscape. It was actually rather peaceful and beautiful. You could almost fall asleep. And you almost did quite a few times but you managed to jerk yourself awake each time. Gloria had offered to let you stream some shows on her phone just as she had done before but you had declined the offer.....Maybe you should've accepted because your eyes slipped closed once. And once again like in your dreams you were back home. A much younger you. Around Gloria's age of fifthteen or so. You were playing a game. The whole surroundings were fuzzy..as if you were seeing everything through a foggy telescope, being able to see things but being too blurry to see much of the finer details. Younger blurry you looked up just as angry footsteps stomped their way towards you and whatever game you were playing. BAM!! With a loud bang your door was flung open hitting the wall and younger you jumped to your feet as the blurry form of your mother standing in the doorway. Even if her face was blurry you could tell she was very angry.
"WHAT DID I TELL YOU!?" She shouted angrily as you dumbly stood there. Even as she stomped over and swiped the controller from your younger self's hands. "I told you to study for your year's finals and what do I find!? You playing these stupid games after I slave away at a minimal wage job that barely covers the bills as it is!! Do you want the electricity bill getting higher!? Do you not want to get into a good college!? No daughter of mine is going to be stuck with her mind in the gutter from these dumb timewasters!!"
"HA!"
Your head snapped up colliding with the cool window of the train which in turn made you curse out as your hands instinctively shot up to clutch at where you hit your head. Groaning and looking around, it took a moment for your eyes to adjust to the dark again....And you sighed in relief seeing the sleeping figures of the kids and your sobble sleeping facedown on the table. Your hand went from rubbing your head to rubbing your face as you let relief wash over you....A dream...It was just another dream thank goodness. But one you weren't keen on revisiting. Safe to say you didn't fall asleep again that night, nor did you the fifth day despite the kids insisting you at least take a powernap before you arrived but again you refused dodging the questions and eventually they dropped it but kept giving your very tired form worried looks every so often. The day was a blur as you kept drifting in and out of small sleeping spells until nodding off that fifth night, barely remembering Victor volunteering to stay up a second time for that night before completely nodding off into a thankfully dreamless slumber.
"AH!! Y/N WAKE UP!!"
"AH!" Once again as if fate thought it'd be some funny joke, you ended up hitting your head against the window...again...and once again you cried out and clutched your head. The only difference this time was that someone was dragging your half awake butt out of the seat as your brain barely registered what was going on as you barely managed to stumble to your legs getting dragged out. Another person grabbing your other arm and pulling along with whoever was already making your barely upright body hurriedly stumble down the walk way of the train. Your brain began to finally catch up and you realized the two who were pulling your staggering form was Hop and Gloria with your sobble desperately clinging to her enormous backback. By the time you fully registered what was going on they already had you stumbling into what could only be the inside of a train station. "What the-"
"You couldn't have woken us up?," Gloria barked at someone and you blinked over tiredly where she was looking as Hop ushered your staggering form over to one of the seats. Took you a moment to realize that it was Victor who was sluggishly putting his grey beanie back on his head.
"M' sorry," he tiredly mumbled. Judging by the bags under his eyes and the tired look he gave, he was in need of some sleep. "I guess I must've dozed off when we passed the station in Motostoke."
Your blood ran cold as you stared at him and Hop made you sit down. Passed Motostoke!? Any sleepy feelings were mostly dashed out at the spike of concern. How far were you away from Motostoke then!? Were you going to have to walk a long way back there!? Take another train back!? Were you going to miss the chance to battle Kabu?!
"Actually this is better than stopping in Motostoke."
.....The three of you turned to Hop as he smiled. "....Excuse me?"
"Yeah!" He pointed towards the outside of the station. "Mine Number two is located just out of Motostoke right? We're back in the Wild Area. Which means we can go to the mine sooner and see about the hold up with Kabu!"
...Gloria slowly gained a smile. "Oh yeah! I hadn't realized that! That's why yer a genius Hop!" Hop chuckled shyly at the praise. Tho Victor very much disagreed as he frowned.
"What?! We can't just go to the mines as soon as we step off the train! What about getting a spot at Budew Drop Inn for sleep!?"
"There'll be plenty of time for that!" Gloria waved her brother off as he scowled looking like he was about ready to yell at her.
Guess you'd better step in. "Hey. Calm down you two." Both of them looked towards you as you frowned. "Gloria, Victor has a point. He's tired and probably needs some sleep....Maybe we should go back to Motostoke City and let him get a couple rooms for us-"
"THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!!," Victor yelled out reaching around to grab his backpack from the slew of seats offered too by the station.
"....What?"
Tiredly, Victor looked at the rest of you three. "You all can head to the mines and I can go reserve our rooms and wait for you. I'm tired."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." You interjected pointing a hand at him. "You REALLY expect ME to let you go into Motostoke by yourself when you barely got any sleep last night??"
"I'll be fine," he insisted regaining his composure and sighing as the weight of the very large pack settled back on his back. "If it makes you feel better, I'll wait for you guys here and we can take the noon train back into Motostoke in a couple hours."
You paused for a moment before turning towards the door outside. It looked like the sun was just starting to rise from the night and the train was starting to pull away at this moment. It was pretty early in the morning, so if you left now then the four of you could make the noon train back in time. And Victor could get a bit of rest..but you were a bit unsure about letting Victor just stay here by himself. So you looked back at him. "Are you sure you wanna stay here by yourself?"
"I spent an entire year by myself traveling before Gloria even started this journey," he confired waving his hand. "I'll be fine for a few hours...*yaaawwwnn*"
You still weren't too convinced but agreed that this would probably be a better plan than letting Victor try to go into Motostoke by himself and drop from lack of sleep, or having Hop or Gloria just run off into a mine. (especially since that worked oh so well last time.) "Ok. You win. But I at least want you to seat over here where the station master can see you in case something happens, alright?"
Victor sighed but nodded. "Fine. But make sure you guys get back before the next train otherwise we'll have to wait for the night train or walk there."
The three of you agreed before exiting the station and once again you found yourself standing in the Wild Area like you did a month ago when you were on your way to the Entrance Ceremony. It may have only been a little more than a month ago but it felt like forever ago now. It still looked the same as it did when you first arrived here minus the giant herd of wild wooloo on the tracks. Hop walked up next to you and looked around at the lovely sight. Commenting on how cool it looked. To which you agreed before turning over to Gloria who finally walked out of the station stuffing two pokeballs into her bag as she walked up to you.
"Hey. What are those?," you asked gesturing to them.
"Some people in there didn't want their eevee and pikachu. So I got both of them."
You rose a brow but decided not to comment on that, instead looking around. "Ok. So do either of you two know where this mine is? I don't remember seeing it last time we were here. ..Mostly being chased around by a giant onix and battling super powered pokemon."
"You're never going to let me live that down are you?"
"I do." Hop beamed before pointing off to the fight across the giant spacious open land to where a pretty decent area of trees were huddled together by a hill side. "It's there by those trees according to the map, and every other site where it's listed. C'mon! We can get there and be back in like two hours."
While you were weary of wondering around an area where wild animals-...Er..Pokemon could chase after you at any moment, but seeing no other option the three of you began walking. Despite you still feeling a bit tired from not sleeping the night or day before last night, you felt alert looking around you three in the grass and plants as you walked. Making sure no pokemon jumped out at the three of you as you walked and walked..and walked before the cliff side jutting out of the earth surrounded by trees. As you three approuched and managed to pass through the trees you finally came across it. A giant, dark opening within the rocks being only lit on the inside by a few lanturns strung along the walls leading down into it.
"This is it!," Hop excitedly exclaimed as he picked up his pace gesturing for you two to follow him faster. "C'mon! Kabu's close! I can feel it!"
Increasing your speed you followed him into the cave's opening and blinked as mostly darkness overtook your vision. This cave was BIG, way bigger than the last cave you and Gloria traveled through. The ceilings were high and the same gems as the last one was scattered about the wallas....as well as a few construction workers and equipment.
......You pointed at them. "Hey. I thought you said this was public area!"
"It is," Hop's voice from somewhere ahead of you called back, "But they can collect Wishing Stars here too so they come by and collect them."
Oh that made sense, you glanced at the workers for a little while longer before turning back about to ask Hop something but stopped....They were gone. "....HOP!?" You shouted getting only an echo back, and some of the workers looking at you before you took off in the direction his voice came from. Oh great! First minute in the cave and already you lost these kids!! "GLORIA!? HOP!! C'MON YOU TWO!!" You called out but surprise, surprise only got your echo back. ...Great. Well you better find them before they got in trouble again or any of you got lost. As you traveled farther in with only lanturns plastered on the walls for light, you began to notice how it was connected with the Wild Area. There was pokemon all around here. From bat-like pokemon hanging from the ceiling, a couple scraggies hopping about, and more than once in this GIGANTIC cave and it's caverns, you walked by a small cave like pond and could've sworn you saw some kind of red crustation pop in and out. But with the limited light it made it hard to see and find out for real. More than once you would call out either of the two's names but the only answers were more echoes of your voice, and the sounds of scared pokemon as they fled from your voice. Your sobble(who had regained it's spot on your shoulder after leaving the station) was staring around wide eyed with chirps, occasionally reaching out towards the sparkling stones on the wall. "Yeah. I know they're pretty. But we can't stop and look at them right now. We need to find those two before they get in trouble again." Your sobble chirped curiously grabbing at a sparkling stone from a very close stalagmite as you passed it, the rock easily plucking free as he tugged it. Looking at it curiously...before sticking it in his mouth. !? "HEY!" In an instant you grabbed him by the chin. Your other hand trying to open his mouth as like a child, the sobble squirmed and pushed away. "DROP IT!! BAD POKEMON!! SPIT IT OUT!! IT'S NOT FOOD!!" Instead of listening your pokemon turned his head cheeks puffed out as your fear of him swallowing something that could hurt him rose. "Spit that out or I'm never going to let you have bites of my curry ever again!" This time the sobble paused, looking at you for any signs of deceit, but you absolutely meant it. Holding your hand out expectantly to it.......It opened it's mouth and the sparkling stone fell right into your hand. Quickly you pulled it away from your sobble releasing it with a scowl. "Good boy. Now don't do that again! Rocks aren't edible!" He gave off a chirp in protest but didn't do any more than pout like a toddler on your shoulder. With a sigh you shook your head and looked at the small stone in your hand...Huh. This one didn't look like all the others on the wall. Maybe it was a different one-
"You!" You jumped at the sudden voice. Blinking around at who could've said it when your eyes landed on someone walking towards you in the dim light with pale features. ..Your f/c eyes widening when you realized who it was. Standing before you was Bede! You hadn't seen him a little over a week ago by now, but for some reason he was here and he frowned at you. "It's an inconvience in of itself that I run into that girl and the Champion's chatterbox younger brother, but now I run into the very lady who disrespected the Chairman's assistant as well! Are you all trying to get on my nerves or is this bad luck on my part?"
It took you a moment to respond as he rubbed his head but you frowned right back at him. "Look, Kid. I'm not the one who straight up walked up to someone who's minding their own business and rudely ask about why I was here? For all you knew I could've just been going for a walk or sight seeing the famous Mine Number Two or just exploring the Wild Area. Did I come up to YOU and accuse you of following us from Hulbury? No. No I didn't."
Bede stared at you from under his hand, brain seeming to process what you were saying before a deeper frown is what he chose to go with. "BAH!! Never mind then! I've wasted enough time as it is down here especially after running into those two again. Now if you'll move aside I'll be taking my...." He froze. Purple eyes widening at you, and you rose a brow at his all of a sudden silence. ".......You." He pointed right at the sparkling stone in your hand. "That Wishing Star! Give it to me."
...You held up the stone. "Y'mean the rock this guy tried to eat-" Hold up! Weren't Wishing Stars the magic stone thingies everyone used to gigantamax their pokemon around here!? " You already have one of these." You pointed to the band on his wrist. "Why do you need this one?"
he gave a small growl of frustration. "I don't need to explain myself to the likes of you, Woman! If you won't give it too me then I'll just take it from you!" With that he whipped out a pokeball.
"Oh for the love of- You can't be serious!"
With a toss and bright like a small Gothita pokemon exploded in black in white in front of you. .....WHY was the first reaction for everyone to just whip out a pokemon to intimidate you if you hesitated even just a little bit?? This kid absolutely had NO manners! "Gothita will make quick work of you and your sobble if you don't hand that stone over to me this instant." He was REALLY getting on your nerves. You stepped forward. He smirked. "Another challenge? Really I couldn't be more inconvenienced today as it i-" You stepped OVER Gothita who looked confused as it why you weren't standing farther away sending the sobble on your shoulder to battle. Bede seemed also rather smackgobbed as well. Guess he hadn't ever experienced someone who would physically step over his pokemon instead of battling. His eyes widening as you walked right up to him with a scowl.
You stared a moment at his frozen and confused stance before deciding to talk. "Y'know. Obviously you have no manners. The Chairman should be ashamed of himself if his endorsed challenger is so rude to someone minding their own business and demanding things like a spoiled toddler who's never been told no before."
Bede flinched. Blinking rapidly in your shadow before seeming to regain his voice. "D-Don't talk about Chairman Rose like that-"
"I WAS talking about YOU, Bede!" He flinched back as you leaned forward. "Obviously no one ever taught you manners so I'll teach you a quick lesson in them right now."
His eyes became smaller. "L-Lesson? What l-lesson you m-mad woman-"
"Is THIS what you want?,'' you cut him off holding the wishing star to his face. He paused for a moment, almost going cross eyed as he looked at the thing in front of his face...before reaching a hand towards i- You held it away from him with a scowl. "NO. You don't take things that don't belong to you without asking first. Now I'll ask again. Is this what you want?"......He nodded. "Ok. Do you know what please and thank you are?"....He nodded again. "Good. Now what do you say when you want something?"
He didn't answer at first. Looking at you with some unreadable expression. Confusion? Shell shock?...Maybe fear? ".....May I...please have that Wishing Star, Miss?" Narrowing your eyes for a moment you eventually held it up to him and he reached for it again.
"Yes, you may. But I want an apology first?"
He paused again. "....A-Apology?!"
"Yeah. For acting so rude before. If you really are the better person you will apologize because I don't think the Chairman raised a boy with no manners."
You both stood there for a moment not moving or breaking eye contact before he backed down first and looked away. "Tch! Fine! I'm.....sorry! Now can you please just give me the stone so I can leave!?"
Smiling satisfied you nodded and held it out to him...he...slowly finally took it from you. "What do you say?"
"Mmmm....Thank you," he forced out through gritted teeth as you nodded.
"Good. Now I have to go now but I don't want to be talked to rudely like that again if I ever see you again. ...And don't call me Woman. My name's Y/n. I know you're better than that, Bede." He paused....blinking and looking up at you again seeming to be so, so confused. "You said you saw Gloria and Hop right? Did they go down that way?" You asked pointing behind him. Still staring he slowly nodded. "Ok. Thanks. You be careful getting out of here ok?"
He didn't say anything and just confusedly watch you step around him silently and continue walking away down into the dimly lit cave. At least you were on the right track now. Hopefully you'll be able to catch up with the two of them soon. And by soon it meant it'd take longer than you realized, coming across a fork in the road as hey say and leaving two caverns tunnels to chose from.......You ultimately decided on going left since it was more lit and figured they'd be smart enough to also go down this passage way. As you walked you called out a few times more still getting no answers. This was getting ridiculous!! Where could those two have gone!? Surely they couldn't have gone THAT far away from you in the short time you weren't looking!
"Thank you for helping out with my training, Team Yell." You paused as the voice rang out....What was- "But I must say it's unforgivable for you to get in the way of a carkol hard at work." ...OK! THAT WAS DEFINATELY A VOICE!! Granted it sounded older and nothing like the two kids, but if someone was down here then maybe you could ask for directions or if they saw the two. You broke out in a job up the tunnel towards the voices up ahead.
"We weren't gettin' in it's way! We were tryin' to cheer it on!," a different man's voice insisted loudly. What the-
You rounded the corner as the tunnel gave way to a giant cavern and you froze....OH NO NOT THEM!!
"Still, you did a number on us in that pokemon battle so...it's time for Team Yell to scarper and give a morale boost elsewhere!," one rock star wannabe said to an older man and standing next to another rock star wannabe.
You stared dumbfounded. SERIOUSLY!? What was the chances that you'd run into them all the way down here again!?
"Cheering is one thing but one shouldn't get in the way of honest work,'' the older man scolded the two of them.
You rose a brow at them, eyes slowly going to look behind them. And widening as you saw two teens standing in the entrance of another passage way across the cavern room. ...You frowned. "HOP!! GLORIA!!" Everyone either jumped or snapped their heads over to you as you shouted at the kids' direction. "Dang nabit! Why'd you run off from me like that!? Don't you know how to wait up!?" You started walking over towards them.
...One rockstar wannabe grabbed his friend wide eyed as he stared at you walking past. "C-Crikey! Bro, it's that dame that nailed Andrew in the eyes with dirt!"
"Wha- Seriously!? Let's get outta 'ere before that sobble starts singing a sad tune yo!"
You paid no mind to the scattering footsteps as you walked up to the now gulity looking pair of kiddos. "There you are! *sigh* Do you know how worried I was running around here like a headless chicken?"
"......What's a chicken?," Gloria asked.
"We're really sorry, Y/n," Hop apologized frowning, "we thought you were right behind us and then we ran into some trouble."
"Oh yeah. So did I. Bede needed some manners taught to him."
"Wait..Ya saw the Mareep Head??"
You nodded. "I ran into him on his way out. He said you gave him some trouble."
"By trouble if ya mean kickin' his behind-"
"Nevermind that. Y/n we found him!"
"Found who?"
Hop pointed behind you and you turned with a brow raised. The old man was petting a pokemon that looked like a giant living piece of coal. "There! That's Kabu!...Man, he's wicked! No wonder he's the fire-type gym leader!"
...THAT was Kabu!? Well whaddya know. It made sense since by looking at him now, he wore an unmistakable gym suit. The old man, Kabu, looked up at you three from petting his pokemon and gave a polite smile. "Ah, you are the trainers endorsed by Leon! Hop and Gloria, am I right?"
Both pair of young eyes went wide at him. ".....You know our names!?"
"Yes. Leon has spoken about you before. And your concerned friend just literally shouted your names just now."
"......Oh. W-Well we're here to see you actually! A-About having a pokemon battle!"
"Naturally you would. I'm just training right up until the last moment so that I can guarantee the perfect match when I face you gym challengers."
"Oh really?," you asked and he nodded, "This deep in a cave?"
"I specialize in fire-type pokemon, and the water-type pokemon in Galar Mine Number Two are the perfect opponents to train against, Young Lady."....He hummed and you all watched as he looked at a watch around his wrist. "....Regardless it's getting late. I must leave if I'm going to get the gym ready by tomorrow." he looked back to the three of you with a smile. "Just go straight once you get out of this mine and you'll reach Motostoke. Get a good at the hotel, and make sure you're both in your top condition." He turned around calling to the pokemon. "Come on, Carkol. Time for you to head on home, too. I'll make sure you get there safely. We're going to be on fire tomorrow!" He began jogging off and the thing lumbered off after him with a grunt of it's own. The man looked old enough to be your grandfather and could still jog as fast as you had done earlier. Impressive.
"....I remember Lee talking about Kabu." You blinked over to Hop as he looked at where Kabu disappeared. "He said that a lot of gym challengers give up because they just can't beat Kabu. Man, now I'm getting all fired up too!"
"Yeah. Well, I'm tired out!" Both paused looking at you. "C'mon. You heard what he said. Let's get back to Victor and get to the Inn."
The three of you started making your way back out of the mine and back towards The Wild Area Station. You were tired and you could use a rest before catching the evening train back into Motostoke where you began in the first place. Surprisingly you made it out faster than it took going in the caverns.
"That carkol from before," Hop commented off in thought, "I guess it must've been here on a job. You do know about poke job by now right?" You nodded. "Course you do! I bet he hired that carkol to train with him or something!"
"You might be right, but after today I think I just want to get to the hotel and relax."
Hop nodded. ".....Oh hey. I think we found out who those guys in the punk make up were?"
You froze. Nearly stumbling over your feet as you did so before snapping your face over towards the boy. "WHAT!?"
He nodded. "Yeah. They called themselves Team Yell. Which is weird cuz I've never heard of them before and I don't remember Lee mentioning them at all. What about you Glor?" Gloria shook her head no to his question.....Team Yell?? They were team Yell?? What name was that?? Any 'team' you knew from the Pokemon franchise was evil. Team Rocket being the most obvious in your mind, but if that's true then does that mean those Rockstar wannabe's are more dangerous than they seem? Did Team Yell have a world domination scheme from the game!? You tried to wrack your brain for any and all possible villainous plots in the game that could involve a whole bunch of rockstar make up wearing hooligans....But ended up with...absolutely nothing!! DANGIT!! You couldn't remember anything from playing it years ago! ....*sigh* The only thing you could do now was push on and keep your eyes peeled for any possible trouble they'd cause you. "Now, I'm cream-crackered." Hop's voice snapped you back into reality. "I'm for the Budew Drop Inn and some sleep. Come tomorrow that Fire Gym Leader Kabu better be ready because I'm coming for him!!"
Gloria nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We better get back ta Vic before he decides on givin' us another boring lecture on being late."
You couldn't agree more either. Maybe some more sleep will help you think more clearly than normal. The three of you made your way back towards the station with the afternoon sun rising high in the sky, upon entering you discovered Victor exactly where you all left him. Fast asleep leaning back in one of the chairs. He must've been more tired than you realized, maybe it was for the best he stayed behind here. It took only an hour of your four waiting, appreciating the small break your body got, before the afternoon train came rumbling on in as per usual. It was a jumbled process of trying to wake up Victor who acted like a caffiene lacking zombie until you and Hop decided 'Screw this' and both of you picked him up by either side and dragged his half asleep, staggering, groggy butt over and onto the train with Gloria right behind. It wasn't much easier pushing him into a seat next to you and trying to wake him up for the ten minute ride back into Motostoke, before unsuccessfully doing so and resulted in both of you again half dragging Victor off the train in Motostoke station and on your way to Budew Drop Inn with Gloria trailing right behind you three. Sure it was hard, but you couldn't imagine trying to do this walking all the way back to Motostoke through the Wild Area with dangerous pokemon about, so the train was much better. It took a bit of lifting and slight yelling from Hop for Victor to wake up, getting some strange looks from other people as you went, but by some miracle the four of you somehow managed to make it into the inn you stayed at before during the entrance ceremony. The golden statue still gleaming as ever as you and Hop struggled to get the mumbling Victor up the stairs and over to the bewildered looking clerk at the front desk. WHAT THE HECK WAS IN HIS BACKPACK MAKING HIM SO HEAVY!? It was an effort to keep him up standing as Hop smiled awkwardly at the man.
"Uh hi! We need two rooms for the night please. And fast before my friend decides to drop dead on us."
The clerk blinked for a moment before slowly nodded. "Oh. Of course. Are you challengers here to battle against Kabu?"
Hop nodded. "Yeah that's us alright. Or will be once we get some sleep."
The clerk nodded in understanding smiling. "Oh yes! Wait here for a moment and I'll get you your room keys."
You rose a brow. "Don't we need to register?"
"Oh no. Mr. Kabu has graciously told us to put any registered gym challengers' stays on his tab and send him the bills. After all he doesn't know how long they'll stay before quitting and going home. He's a kind man that doesn't want them or their families stuck with any expensive hotel bills if they stay for a long time before getting stomped out," he said so casually like it was no big deal. ....You and Hop gave each other a look..before exchanging one with Gloria who just shrugged at the both of you. The clerk turned around. "Just one moment please while I check and see which rooms would be available."
"Jeez. If Kabu's this tough, Rahain and Lee's gonna be even more tough-"
"Excuse me." The three of you looked over your shoulder towards a soft polite girl's voice with an accent you couldn't place. Standing there was a teen around these guys' age in almost gothic attire and right blue eyes. At her heels was a small pokemon who you'd call hamster like. Except she wasn't looking at you or Hop or Victor. But Gloria. "Uhhh. Challenger Gloria, Right? From Postwick?"
Gloria blinked in surprise seemingly surprised, before raising a suspicious brow at the girl. "Yeah? ....And yer who?"
"Marnie." She answered politely back. "Out givin' it your all even this late, huh? Hey. Help me with somethin' for a sec. Would you?"
Gloria remained silent for a moment. "....Help you with what?"
"I want t' see if I'm ready for the next leg of the Gym Challenge."
"...Why me?"
"You're one of the challengers endorsed by the Champion. I figured the best way to see if I was ready at all was t' see if I'd be able to beat a fellow gym challenger before I leave. Would you like to battle with me?"
"Gloria. We need to get Victor to his room so he can sleep," you countered feeling the weight of Victor start to weigh down more on you.
"I know, I know but...." She looked between the girl and the three of you. "She asked for my help, and it'd be rude to just say no right?" You gave her a look. "Oh c'mon please, Y/n! It'll be quick. N' and out! Easy peasy berry squeezy."
....You groaned. You really didn't have time for this! " Fine! But please for the love of Mike hurry and get back? We've been running around all day and you need rest for the battle tomorrow!"
She beamed. "Ya got it! Get ready ta have your team beat!"
The girl smiled. "Wicked! Got some fight in you, Huh? "
"You bet! Let's do this!"
You sighed and turned shaking your head. Only distracted from them when Hop grabbed the keys from the clerk and jingled them at you to let you know you two could now go and get Victor laying down. As the two of you turned to struggle Victor towards the elevator the girls left-....!? Your head snapped around as a dash of red and black crossed the corner of your eye, but it was gone the moment you turned around.....What the-
"C'mon Y/N! He's gettin' too heavy to lug around for much longer."
...You turned back to the elevator before the doors closed behind you. It was probably nothing anyways. Right now you had a kid who needed to sleep badly. The two of you managed to drag Victor who ended up passing out in your arms to his and Hop's room, and after Hop struggled to open the door, dragged him to the nearest bed and plopped him on top of it with sighs of relief when your poor body was finally freed from heaving him around. After assuring you he'd take care of things from there, you took your own room key from Hop and went to your own room. It didn't take you too long to get settled in after taking a quick shower, and again rummaging through your pack to fish some food out for your chirping, pouting, hungry sobble. Man the little guy ate a whole lot. It was a little while later as you were eating yourself that Gloria finally showed up, knocking on the door before coming in after hearing your voice.
"Hey. How did the battle go?"
She smiled. "I'd hate to brag....But I won."
You nodded. "Hey! That's great. Glad to know it went well."
She nodded again. "Yeah....But I gotta tell ya something." You rose a brow at her curiously. "...Those Team Yell guys from earlier? They were there."
You dropped the small dried piece of fruit you were holding which your sobble was quick to snatch up and eat. "WHAT!?"
"YEAH!! There was a guy and this woman wearin' all this all this punk make up, and they were cheerin' for 'er. I almost lost cuz I they were so loud makin' it hard to focus. I guess that's why they're Team 'Yell'. Should call 'em team Scream if ya ask me."
"Team Yell was with the girl?" She nodded. "Did they try anything?! Are you ok?"
"I'm fine," she assured you, "But nah. One of 'em was wavin' this flag that had Marnie's picture on it. ...Do they do that? Y'know make merch for Gym Challengers with our faces on them? If they do I'm totally buying Mum one!"
They....Team Yell was....Cheering on Marnie?? That didn't make any sense. They had said a while ago that they were trying to stop Gym Challengers. Why would they be cheering a Gym Challenger on if they were trying to stop them let alone have merch of one??? It didn't add up. Except for maybe-......You paused. Back at the bridge. When you and Victor encountered those two thugs trying to steel the poor nurse's bike!! They spoke of a lady! Could it by that the girl and 'Our Lady' they spoke of was one in the same? Or was Marnie somehow connected to the woman they spoke of?? Was she a part of Team Yell secretly? If yes then what interest did they have in the Gym Challenge?? Did Leon have something they want?? Were they just trying to cheat their way to the top??.....Or..Your eyes widened. Was there something that the Challenge league had that they wanted and were after?? Control over the Galar Region? Money? Power? Fame? Some other powerful thing you couldn't remember?? ...If she wasn't a part of them then what WAS their purpose for cheering her on?...Could the mysterious woman they spoke of be related to Marnie? Or maybe someone who endorsed her for the gym challenge? You shook your head. It was all so confusing. Too many questions and absolutely no answers at all. It made your head hurt just swimming with the many possibilities.
"Oh by the way. While I was out the battling got me thinkin' 'bout some strageties I could use to beat Kabu."
"Oh really?," you muttered half listening deep in thought.
"Uh huh. But I gotta ask. Y/n, can I borrow your sobble?"
"Sure you can-.....Wait. ..What?!"
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ninbinary · 3 years
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DnD Character Backstory Datapoints - Example 1: Human Orphan Lives Dangerously
Hey, thank you to @kursed-curtain (who tumblr will not let me "@", good application u got here) for reblogging my DnD Character Backstory Datapoints suggestion :) (It goes without saying you could ideas like this for non-RPG character or story generation too, and could add more dice representing different things!)
In thanks, I decided to type up an example of me using it to create a (reallly overly-in-depth -- this is gonna be a long post!) character backstory idea from thin air.
(Let me know if you guys out there like this, and I'll do it again sometime! Also let me know if you use this datapoints-system to create a chararacter (or feel free to use this character backstory), and let me know how it goes!)
A) Human character, Younger (d2 + 1 periods)
(I'll refer to the character as "Character", and I'm not doing anything to bake Character Class in to the story (though I'll talk about that at the end), to try to make this as "generic" as possible!)
A0) number of time periods:
d6 roll of 4 = d2 roll of 2; +1 = 3 time periods.
A1) First Time Period:
d12 = 10 [10/12 Danger]
d10 = 6 [6/10 City]
d8 = 1 [1/10 Species Diversity]
That's an Extremely dangerous time, in a Relatively Urbanized area, with only 1 kind of species. Given that its the First time period for a started-adventuring-younger character, I think my overall summary would be:
"Abandoned Orphan in a Medium-Sized Exclusively-Human City"; they spend their early years with a few slightly-older orphans living in alleys and stealing food.
(Alternatively, other interesting ways you could interpret this: if your gameworld has "bad guy countries / city-states" near your "generally friendly demihuman species", you could do these dice as "orphan human in a [bad guy species] city")
A2) Second Time Period:
d12 = 11 [11/12 Danger]
d10 = 3 [3/10 City]
d8 = 3 [3/10 Species Diversity]
Wow, it's somehow gotten MORE dangerous for poor Human Character; but its also only half as Urban, and they're finally around a few more species of Demihuman. How would moving OUT of the city be MORE dangerous? Well, 'city invaded' is always an option, but because of the other two dice, here's how I'd turn these dice into a story point:
"Character's youth life of petty crime / cutpurse-ing for basic necessities finally ends in trouble so serious that they flee the city / their orphan-gang / the only home and family they've known, and join up with a travelling caravan." Depending on how "dark" you want the character to be, you could take it any number of ways; but let's say you want a Shit-Life-but-Charitable character and go with: one of their pickpocketting sorties goes bad, and as the pack scatters, Character and a close friend get caught in a blind alley by a city guardsman. Character is at the top of a ladder while Friend is scrambling up, but the guardsman is closing in, sword drawn, so Character throws a brick and kills the guardsman. Friend gets away, but before Character escapes, the next wave of guard sees their dead comrade and gets a good look at Character.
Character makes arrangements ASAP to sign on as a caravan guard, calling in favors to get semi-respectable looking leathers (and maybe the dead guards' sword) and a forged letter-of-reference from their gang's fence. Within a nervewracking 24 hours of lying low, Character's friends have managed to sign them on to a caravan, and one last sprint through the city's allies and undermaintained warehouses later, Character is all set. The next morning they're marching out the city gate with a 4-wagon, 15-individual caravan, run by a halfling merchant, taking fancier fabricks and fashionable metalworked jewelry to the more rural human/halfling backcountry outside of the city.
(So, here all the Danger is about the transition TO this period of Less-City, More-Species-Diversity time period). Let's see how it wraps up with Third Time Period:
A3) Third Time Period:
d12 = 10 [10/12 Danger]
d10 = 9 [9/10 City]
d8 = 2 [2/8 Species Diversity]
Oh dear; danger DOES seem to follow poor Character around! We're back to a Lot of danger, in an EVEN BIGGER CITY, around only a Few different species. How should this conclude Character's pre-Adventure story?
Well, since its so dramatic (STILL Danger, BIGGER City!), its going to end with such a bang, you'd probably want to think about where Campaign's going to begin.
(One way to read the Danger is by saying, "the caravan was raided and the survivors were taken prisoner", but how does that result in such a high City number (while the Species Diversity stays pretty low)? For example, if City stayed low, you could have Character be prisoner of a small bandit camp operating out of a wooded area.)
Well (and if this fits with the campaign setting), we could read it this way:
"the Caravan was raided by marauders from Underground-living [Species X], which hasn't been active in this area for decades..." The survivors were taken back through Species X's New Outpost in this region, and then a select few (including Character) were sent to the capital for one of the following unsavory ends (Ritual Sacrifice, or Gladitorial Combat, or Being Eaten at a Feast Celebrating the New Outpost, etc).
Fortunately for Character, one of the Species X jailors becomes sympathetic because.. they take pity on Characters' youth; or because of the Character's brazen tenacity defending a fellow prisoner from the head jailor's abuse [hey, tying back to their killed-a-guardsman moment], or something; and arranges for Character to be smuggled out of Species X City into the surrounding countryside.
(Another Alternative Idea, had One Dice Gone a Different Way: maybe if Species Diversity was higher, the Species X City could have enough different kinds of folks walking around that you could think about letting Sympathetic Jailor take on Character as a servant, apprentice or even adopted child -- albeit temporarily, or else they'd never be a player-character meeting up with the party. But it would definitely be interesting to see what a Human Orphan from the Mean Streets of [Medium-Sized Human City] would be like after spending their formative years as Adoptive Mindflayer Dad's protege).
Anyway, Wrapup:
Now a long way away from their 'home' city and probably home country (remember, they were captured by Species X nearby, but then moved days (or weeks) travel underground to Species X Huge City), Character finds their way to [wherever the Party starts], and will hopefully have a much less dangerous life just killing monsters and collecting treasure.
Character would definitely have a lot of street-smarts, might have a "I will survive no matter what" mentality, a healthy disrespect for law-and-order, probably standoffish about friendships but a deep loyalty to those they get close to (many of these being Great traits for an adventuring party!).
There's a lot of ways to tweak this outline to make them more "dark and moody" or give them different responses to their travails (if you wanted to make them more of a "mad dog", or utterly ruthless), and there's also room for plot hooks (who were their parents? What happened to their Orphan Gang back home? Does [their original city] have enough intra-city communication that their guardsman-killing will haunt them (for example, make the guardsman they killed someone with connections or seniority, so there's someone with a big axe to grind about eventually getting the guardsman's killer)? Did they grow close to some of their fellow Caravan people and did any of them survive the attack?)
Also if you have a specific character class in mind you can tweak bits of this -- Rogue or Warrior types fit perfectly, but a more Wizard-y character class could certainly fit too: you could play up their burgeoning powers, and have power flare-ups central to Character's 2 dramatic acts -- when they killed the Guardsman in Second Time Period, and have it be the reason that Sympathetic Jailor helped them in Third Time Period.
Thanks for reading all this, anyone who made it all the way through, and let me know what you think! (And no thanks to Tumblr, whose Text Popup stopped letting me type certain letters -- I wrote the actual Character Creation thing in a textfile cuz it was so long, but I then had to compose the incidental comments / intro in a textfile too then copy-paste-format it into this tumblr window >:P)
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iamnightduchess · 3 years
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As You Are - Special Chapter (R18) : Perfect Storm
Chapter summary:
The ethereal vision that greeted his eyes upon entry should be that of one of the forbidden sins in the history of humankind. She was even more breathtakingly beautiful in her purest form - scars and marks, imperfections and all.
Like the cracks on an unbreakable golden chalice.
He was the luckiest son of a gun to be the first to drink from said chalice and it made the wine tasted even sweeter. He could get drunk or get high on this woman for all eternity.
Reiner realizes he might have just unleashed an unstoppable storm when he drank from her chalice. He’d known she'd become an inescapable addiction upon first taste, the way he would be hers. He’ll get her so high, she’ll never come back down anymore. It’s a perfect extrication.
Well, you’ll never get to heaven if you’re scared of getting high.
Pure smut. A 10k special Thank You insert. Available on AO3.
A/N: This chapter is a special insert as an appreciation to my beautiful readers for their amazing support in helping me achieve my second personal writing milestone - 10k hits! It’s beyond my wildest dreams ever. Thank you so much, guys! This is also my personal belated birthday present for Mikasa on 10 February (and Reiner’s VA ;D) and an early Valentine’s gift to my beloved OTP and to you guys. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Content note: Pure smut in its truest explicit nature. No plot advancement. Just a good ol’ short chapter of ReiKasa dicking it out in the showers, discovering more of each other and a post-coital small talk on Reiner’s personal choice of drawers. Or lack of it. Who says Reiner is not taking their baby making efforts seriously? Takes place in ch.12 of As You Are.
Rhythmic muse: High by Alina Baraz.
----
Take me deep into your mind...we can get away…
As You Are
Special Chapter
Perfect Storm
Reiner closed the distance that stood between the bed and the bathroom in three long, hurried strides. He couldn’t be bothered with fixing his yukata; he let the shift hang open, letting himself hang out in the open. The sounds of the morning storm and early rolling thunder in the far horizon had been almost deafening, only several knots away from being too close to their fleet. The breeze slipping through the opened windows grazed against his nude torso in a prickling coldness. The second he stopped short in front of the steel arc of the bathroom door, he remained still.
His eyes glazed over the statuesque figure standing underneath the pouring shower, covered by only skin - porcelain, smooth, inviting. Sounds of the raging storm outside only emphasized more of this mystifying woman's beauty in its natural state, no different than a tantalizing spell cast by nature itself. The steam evaporating from the showerhead formed a curious, enticing silhouette around her body. His eyes lingered fondly at the way she closed her eyes in bliss under the long steady streams of hot water flowing down those supple skin, tinting her lusciousness raw with a delectable blush. Serene, lost in her own tranquil space.
Apart from bearing the reddening imprints that he’d left on her long slender neck from their lovemaking much earlier, between the enticing lines of her svelte curves and enticing edges, her creamy skin wore numerous dark marks and scars with their respective stories - ones that he was very aware of mostly. Long-term ODM usage would be responsible for most of them.
Others?
They were beckoning him to seek out the answers.
Just half an hour earlier, his body took hers for the first time. Reiner tasted heaven when she reeled him in to the deepest, most sacred part of her. With every pull and every push, he could feel himself unburdened everytime their hips met.
Lighter and unshackled.
Liberated and wanted.
Desired and needed.
The water flowed down her face and he found himself becoming envious of the way the warm liquid gets to lave at those long lashes, the sharp outline of her nose and her lips in a soft translucent caress.
He had all of her and he was left wanting more.
Reiner shrugged the night shift off his shoulders without any hesitation and stepped into the bathroom. A small marble tub, almost full to the brim, sat at the farthest corner of the room just next to an old gold-framed wall mirror which appeared to be more relic than vanity. In the dim lighting of the clouded sun peeking through the windows, the steaming water looked absolutely inviting.
A sigh escaped his lips. He could really use a good, long soak right now.
A low, guarded moan pulled his attention back to the now flushing body underneath the flowing water. He ran his tongue against his thin lips impulsively at the visual stimulation; she was as vivid, tempting, no different than a marble carved into perfection. All hard and muscled exterior, safeguarding the soft centre within. Painted with dark marks of bruises and battle scars of untold histories - a privilege he no longer had since the moment he inherited his Titan powers at the age of eleven. But she wore them naturally with effortless pride. Priceless yet they're worth more than some steel medal of honors he’d seen the men in Marley’s military fought to the death for.
Reiner closed the distance between them, stopping just in front of her with their bodies almost grazing. She opened her eyes, those anxious gunmetal irises in between the flowing water somehow confided that just like him, she’d never been this exposed; naked and vulnerable in front of another person in her whole entire life before. He saw the way she crossed her arms against her chest and the juncture of her thighs in uncertainty, conscious and suddenly feeling the need to cover herself even when he’d seen almost all of her much earlier.
He lifted her chin with a delicate touch. The pad of his thumb began to caress the outline of her lush pursed lips before tugging her lower lip gently, savoring the sensuous way her breath felt against his skin and the feral manner she bit at his fingertip.
His member twitched in reflex upon the sudden stimulation, threatening to break his own self restraint.
He grinned regardless. Apparently, he’s not the only biter in this marriage and that realization only got him being turned on more than ever before. Eager to find out just how much more wicked she could be. Just how much more of him she’d bite.
Reiner nudged her arms away from her chest gently, marveling as the perky globes bounced softly from the slight movement and finding himself staring far too long in amazement at the tempting blush on her face leading all the way down her drenched neck and to her chest. His hands began to knead the sculpted packs on her abdomen instead, touching a much larger discolored mark encircling her under chest, that resembled the shape of a large incomplete strap that was far too large to be from the ODM gear.
He couldn't help but wonder. "How did you get this?" His hands continued rubbing against the mark that stood out so painfully amongst her pale, milky complexion.
She swallowed bitterly, her expression darkened as a wave of recollection began to resurface. "The day you and Bertholdt tried to take Eren, I had been reckless. I was too focused on saving Eren from your titan's clutch that I was grabbed by a pure titan from behind. It broke my ribs immediately and I might have died that day if it wasn't for Jean's help." From the way she winced, it made him understand that the mark remained capable of inciting an unpleasant phantom pain upon reminiscence even years after it happened. She conceded to her own insecurity, reaffirming his perception. "It's ugly. I hated seeing it every time I looked at the mirror."
It was him, his ignorance and his selfishness who had indirectly caused that mark and left her with a painful reminder that she could never get rid of from her body.
His first mark on her body ever.
Reiner gritted his teeth in tremendous guilt and frustration. God, he didn’t know. It must have been extremely excruciating for her. He immediately lowered himself downwards with his knees rooted onto the cold bathroom floor, causing her to gasp and eyes to widen in surprise. Grabbing her on the curves of her waist, he looked up and sent her a grave look of regret. “I’m so sorry for all that I’ve done to you. All the pain that I’ve caused….” His apology manifested itself through a morose whisper. The warm of his breath, the tantalizing graze of his coarse facial hair and the light brushing of his lips against her taut skin sent the rippling muscles of her abdomen jumping in an enticing jolt. He could feel her hands grabbing the back of his head gingerly, fingers gripping his now wet tresses, her calm breaths getting heavier yet he didn't do anything further than burying his face against her torso even when his lips were already close to her mound. “Don’t hate the mark. Hate me. I did that to you.”
“No. I won’t.” Mikasa shook her head, dismissing the absurdity in his plea.
She thinks the mark is hideous yet not even once, ever held him accountable for it. 
It only made her even more exquisite in his eyes. He implored, “Anything on you or what you are would never not be beautiful to me.” 
They both remained still in that quiet moment, losing themselves in their own intimate sanctuary. Only the sound of running water and the steady storm outside accompanied their mutual embrace of the other's past sins, repercussions and acceptance of each other's flaws and imperfections.
----
Mikasa pushed Reiner’s rock hard body against the cold bathroom wall using her own as their lips once again tried to wrestle each other out of an imbalance between air, warmth and rapture using their tongues and teeth. Torsos and limbs brushing up against each other, his larger hands grabbed the supple exterior of her derriere, cupping and squeezing them raw with his palms - he could even write his name on the supple skin using his finger nails. He pressed inwards so that their hips grinded tantalizingly against each other in a torturous friction. His member then jerked upwards into a semi-hardening state from feeling her on him alone. He breathed her in; her signature scent was already bathing his skin and his body already stained by her warmth.
Mikasa pulled away from the kiss and gazed deep into his eyes. While he took advantage of the immediate breather to touch the tip of his nose against her own, causing the corners of her lips to curve upwards into a tiny, shy smile.
He'd only ever dreamed of being in heaven but if this feels like being in one, then he’d rather stay like this with her forever. His hands fiddled around the curves of her waist, squeezing the willowy contour passionately, loving the feel of her soft wet skin in his hands.
Her fingertips kept on trailing along the column of his neck, grabbing gently at his nape before settling on his shoulders, gripping carefully at the juncture of his limbs to soothe the strained muscle knots she’d discovered there. Her dominant hand later began trailing along his sternum, a finger drawing a straight, tantalizing line down his chest. Through every inch of skin that she touched, he could sense a tiny spark pulsing through his veins, reawakening the already satiated lust within.
A small hiss escaped through his gritted teeth the second her roughened palms caressed his chest with languid but precise circular motions. He observed the way her thumbs traced unhurried circles against the second most sensitive spots on his body and the way the muscles of his own pectorals and abs jumped in reflex from her touch.
Reiner let out a long languid whimper upon the sudden exhilaration. Mirroring her actions, a hand moved upwards from the rounded mound of her ass along her spine teasingly before curving sideways. His large palm seized one of her porcelain globes in his hold and he pressed on the dusky nub using his thumb, rubbing the hardened tip with the cautious of touch. Nibbling tenderly on her cheek, his question came out in a low, shaky drawling against her ears. “Mikasa...how do you want me to touch you...fast or slow….?”
Her answer came in the lowest, deepest whimper from her chest. “Either...Just keep going...” Eyes tightly shut, his younger bride threw her head back in an increasing rapture and a low, unguarded groan escaped her gasping lips upon the intensity of his touch. He watched in wonder, tinged with a tiny pride upon the new discovery - she’s extremely sensitive there it seems.
This exotic beauty's body is a dynamite yet at the same time, an undiscovered wonderland, primed for his lifelong conquest - one he'll never want to stop worshipping.
Through every breath and every inch.
Through every touch and through every kiss.
The tip of his nose ventured from her temple down her slender neck before halting right above the swelling of those appetizing twin mounds of her chest. Kiss her he did, at the same spot he just savored. He drew the outline of the weighty globe with his tongue, suckling hard and absolutely losing himself to the bliss of her skin’s sweetness to the way her soft cries sounded to his ears - muffled by his messy wet tresses, ensnared by her own open mouth kisses. He could feel the warmth of her breath on his scalp as her heaving became more urgent. His plastering bangs grazed her chest until they turned into a flushing mess.
His other hand had already made its own bold move by slipping in between the juncture of her thighs and running the pads of his digits across her wet slit. She immediately gritted her teeth upon the sudden invasion, probably due to the soreness from his earlier thrusting, but he’d sooner turned her hissing to another wave of moans when he caressed her lower mound with a wickedly soothing rhythm. 
Too lost he was in the beguiling pleasure that would sooner overtake all sense of inhibition that he’d missed the way her nimble hand had already wrapped itself around his member, already stretched out to its peaked state. The coolness of her palm burned the most sensitive part of his body as the skillful hand of a competent blade wielder projected her prowess through the way she handled his length -- with thorough, natural precision.
He just kept on growing stronger in her hands.
No one has ever made him feel like this before.
No one.
He could feel as if his soul was leaving the confinements of his physical form the moment he saw her dropping down to her knees, just like he did with her earlier. However this time, when she gazed at him with those tempestuous eyes and burning cheeks, he’d know he’ll never be able to resist her newly-unearthed desirous appetite.
It was quite contradictory that even when he’s the one who’s looking down at her right now, she’d always have the power to make him yield to her silent commandeering force.
Despite the flowing water washing away at their skins, he’s still stained by her; her essences seeping through his pores in unwavering waves no different than a perfect raging storm piercing through a man’s perseverance.
Oh God, she’s just naturally good at blowing him... and his mind.
----
He ran his lips against the irezumi on her back, drawing a cross with his tongue like a sacred offering, lapping up the water drizzling down her skin like the nectar of an exotic flower. Right before he filled the impure void within through one messy yet solid thrust into her, clinging to her lithe body from behind as they fell into a familiar, acquired rhythm not too long after.
He pulled her in for another searing kiss from behind. His other hand underneath one of her knees, his larger build pressed her slightly smaller frame hard against the wall through every onslaught of his hips against hers. Both of them were getting off of the high from the other.
Mikasa’s relentless moans soon turned into a long, dragged out, almost incoherent chanting of his name; urging him, needing him with every part of her being, that she’d broke the skin on his forearm when she became undone on his third deep thrust.
Reiner observed the way Mikasa tried to wash away the bleeding from the bite-shaped bruise on his arm with the water from inside the tub itself. He dismissed her attempt by pulling her body snug against his chest, staring at the mark in awe and reassuring her with nothing less than pride in his tone. “Hey, that’s my first mark from you.” He still remembered how she managed to cut off the same hand clean from his wrist on top of Wall Rose years ago.
“It’ll be a scar.” She persisted, still trying to argue with his insistence.
She gave him his first mark and without his regenerative powers, that mark will remain on his body forever until he’s buried six feet under.
He buried his nose into her drenched hair, taking in the scent from the glycerine soap he used on her earlier. “All the better because it’s from you.”
They stayed for a while inside the ceramic tub, with her head resting against his shoulder and his arms around her, listening to the sounds of rolling thunder and turbulent sea waves coming through the opened windows of the bathroom.
After a good while, it was her who suggested that they step out and step back into the awaiting demands of the day. “We should really get going before Gabi storms in for another ‘rescue’ attempt.”
Snickering, he released her reluctantly and sent an admiring stare at her retreating figure, still dripping with bath water until she disappeared behind the door to their shared chamber.
By the time he followed suit into the conjoined bedroom, she had pulled her skirt over her hips. She stared in disbelief the moment she saw him discarding the towel around his waist and had his legs through his breeches immediately.
Her inquisitive gaze did not go unnoticed. “What? I travelled light and I wasn’t expecting the detour to the Island.” Everything he had was on his body.
“All this time, you’re…” Her words trailed off suspiciously.
A thin eyebrow raised snarkily to emphasize his answer. “Yeah. I’d prefer not wearing one either way. It’s breezier and actually a much healthier habit too.”
“Whatever suits you.” Mikasa shook her head, feigning an impending state of disinterest while fending off an oncoming headache.
He gave her an improper wink. “You’ll thank me when I have given you healthy, kickass babies, Mikasa.”
She groaned in retaliation at his blatant lewdness. A trait of his that has always been apparent since they were younger still remained despite the years that had gone by in between. Despite all that, she couldn’t help her lips from curving into an amused smile.
Just a fleeting thought of envisioning a strong young boy or a girl with golden blonde hair, cheeky comebacks and a headstrong attitude was enough to make the fuzziness in her heart return right before the fleeting fantasy was interrupted by the same vision but with three more of the same identical boys and girls and a burning house of chaos behind them.
“....four be a lot?”
“Huh?” She blinked back at his question.
“I was asking, would four babies be a lot for you?”
She’d known it was an intended humor. They both knew that he couldn’t possibly have enough time for such an unattainable dream. She wasn’t oblivious to the dismal glint in his eyes.
“Perfect.” Her heart suddenly felt a lot heavier.
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A/N : After what went down in the previous chapter, I am willing to be virtually sucker-punched by you guys because of this chapter. I am hurting my emotional well-being with this chapter, and I said to myself, why should I be suffering alone? Haha Kidding, guys. Thank you so much for your time & till the next update! Take care & stay safe. xoxo
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yhellowchildren · 4 years
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Art never dies
(Hajime Hinata x Ultimate! Fem!Artist Reader)
<Hajime confessed his love to you by leaving you a drawing, too bad you didn’t live long enough to tell him you loved him back.>
Credit goes to @clanwarrior-tumbly as this was inspired by her hc’s, so you should go check her work out. Also please know this doesn’t follow the actual storyline, so different people died in the past trials. Reader is the third victim btw, and I gave reader a last name, however in this fic reader is adopted because I don’t wanna give an assumption of her country or religion.
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The second trial had finished a few days ago, and most people were either sad, drained, or bored. You had recently lost Teruteru and Mahiru, and it had really hit all of you bad.
You the Ultimate artist however, were looking on the bright side of things.
You walked into the diner where you saw most of the survivors in, greeting them good morning with a smile on your face. And then headed to sit down.
“You! How can you be so happy when Mahiru just died!” Hiyoko yelled at you, with tears in her eyes. You looked up from your sketch-pad at her “To be honest here I’m not actually happy at all.” You spoke calmly, which caused everyone’s attention to be turned to you. “But, seeing what happened to Mahiru should at least place some fear in all of us as to what happens if you were to kill someone.” You continued.
“She’s right, if any of us are to kill anyone, the chances we get caught are high, it’s not a risk worth taking.” Peko spoke up. “If we want to survive or make it out of here, we can’t kill each other.”
You stood up, “Well, I have to leave now, have a nice day guys!” and left the diner.
You met up with your best friend, and crush, Hajime Hinata.
You guys usually meet up by the ancient ruins and hang out for a while, and today was no different.
You guys hung out that day, before heading to your cottage, Hajime said he was gonna head over to the diner to see if anyone knew anything, and like that, you parted ways.
However you didn’t know what Hajime had planned once you got there, or what a certain person on the island had in store for you.
Time: 5:12pm.
Location: Your Cottage.
You headed over to your cottage, but your one who is very much aware of their surroundings, and you saw a card at your door. Like any normal person would do, you picked it up.
“Dear (Name)
Hi, it’s Hajime, I wanted to let you know I really love you, from the bottom of my heart, and I’m hoping you feel the same way. I know I’m not the top choice for a partner, and hell I cant even remember my talent, but I hope you accept this.
-Hajime Hinata”
Your face started to heat up, and you were amazed by the drawing he made for you, even if it was nowhere as good as what you could do. But because of that, you didn’t notice your killer sneak up on you.
And with that, your fate was sealed. The killer used their weapon, hitting you right on the head, which caused you to fall, as fear and shock were within you. “I.. I love you too Hajime..” Those were your last words as you died.
Time skip: The next day 12:47pm.
Location: Farm/ Petting zoo?
Hajime has been waiting for you for roughly over 45 minutes now, and finally decided to go look for you, his initial instinct was to go to your cottage, but he decided to check the diner first.
Time: 12:52 pm.
Location: Diner.
However once he reached there, he heard the body discovery announcement “A body has been discovered, please head over to (Name) Chitsuru’s cottage!” Monokuma spoke out.
Your cottage? Why your cottage? Hajime started running over there at a speed the could rival sonic the hedgehog’s one.
Time: 12:55pm...
Location: (Name) Chitsuru’s Cottage.
Hajime ran there within three minutes, and stopped.
It was you, you were dead, Sonia looked at your body crying, Chiaki was trying to comfort Sonia, and Kazuichi seemed to be frozen in shock.
Hajime dropped to his knees and started crying, a concerning amount of sadness coming over him. How the hell did this happen? The rest of the survivors came and saw your body, Hajime crying, and Kazuichi frozen.
Nidai rested his hand on Hajime’s back, trying to comfort him, but it didn’t seem to be working.
INVESTIGATION TIME!
VICTIM: (NAME) CHITSURU, THE ULTIMATE ARTIST.
TIME OF DEATH: BETWEEN 5:10-5:30PM YESTERDAY.
CAUSE OF DEATH: MULTIPLE SKULL FRACTURES, EXTERNAL BLEEDING.
PLACE OF DEATH: (Name) CHITSURU’S COTTAGE.
Hajime read the e-handbook, as much as he didn’t want to investigate, he knew he had to, if not for himself, then for you at least. He went around, investigating the inside of your cottage and the outside. He was checking everywhere, no stone unturned, they were gonna find out who killed you. No matter what.
TRIAL TIME!
The trial was a lot harder than expected, due to Hajime’s slacking off, and the unsettling fact that you had been dead for almost 24 hours and nobody found you.
Chiaki snapped Hajime back to reality. “Hajime, what’s your alibi?” “What’s my alibi?” Hajime thought. You were killed between 5:10-5:30pm yesterday, and-
“Since Hajime seems to conversed in his thoughts, he was with me during that period.” Nagito spoke up.
Time skip: 2 hours and 27 minutes later...
It had been revealed that the person who killed you was Akane. She was blubbering excuses and lies as to how she didn’t do it, but everyone knew it was her.
“Hajime, would you like to sum up what happened this case?” Chiaki asked. “Here’s what happened.”
ACT 1.
“This all started after what (Name) has said in the diner, and Hiyoko lashed out at her. (Name) expected everyone to be smart and be in their right senses not to kill each other, but one person saw an opportunity there. And with that, they began to plan.”
ACT 2.
“The culprit needed a few things in order to actually carry out this plan, one of them being a tote bag. The culprit met up with Mikan at the Hospital, and threatened her to give them one of her tote bags. The culprit now had everything they needed. A pipe, a knife, some ropes, and the tote bag.
Act 3.
“The culprit now had started to hide around (Name’s) cottage, pretending to be asleep, when in reality, that was for them to try and forge an alibi for themselves, because some people passed by her Cottage. The culprit waited until (Name) came back and found the note to get her distracted, and with that, they striked.”
ACT 4.
“(Name) has been distracted, and then the culprit hit the back of her head with the pipe, causing her to bleed and get all those skull fractures. They then carried (Name) into her room, tied her hands and legs to the ropes, and used a knife to make multiple cuts on (Name)’s body. This was to make it look like (Name) has been tortured, to divert suspicion from them, due to the time the crime was commited. They grabbed a brick (Name) had sculpted and added some of (Name)’s blood on it, to make it seem like the brick caused her death, not the pipe. They didn’t have enough time to clear up, so they ran away, and placed the pipe somewhere they thought nobody would find it. I searched the entire island however, and came across it. Which had already messed up the culprit’s plan.”
ACT 5.
“After all that, the culprit headed over to their cottage, to change clothes, and tried going back to fake sleeping around (Name)’s Cottage in order to have the alibi in tact, but that had been spoiled when Gundham had passed (Name)’s Cottage. Two parts of the culprit’s plan had been spoiled by now. Leaving their alibi fake. That meant the culprit had to wait until Gundham left.”
ACT 6.
“This is where the tote bag was used, in case the plan to frame Hiyoko didn’t work, then the culprit planned on framing Mikan, by using that. They placed the brick into the bag, and threw it somewhere around (Name)’s Cottage. The culprit went back into (Name)’s room to find her spare key, and locked her door from the outside, throwing (Name’s) key away somewhere, and then left. “
“The person who did this to the Ultimate Artist (Name) Chitsuru, was none other than you Akane!”
Akane, held a look of shock and fear when Hajime exposed her for her crime.
“So you’ve decided? Then it’s voting time!” Monokuma said, as Akane still tried to make excuses as to why she didn’t do it, though Hajime wasn’t listening to her.
The voting panel showed up, and as expected everyone voted Akane, and it showed she was indeed guilty.
They watched as Akane was executed in a despair filled way, as she took her final breaths screaming and crying.
After Trial.
After the trial, Hajime only headed over to your cottage. He wondered if you loved him too.
“Y’know she loved you too right?” Hajime would recognise that voice anywhere, it was Chiaki’s.
Hajime fell to his knees, his hands clenched into fists. “Even though, maybe if I was faster, or maybe if I had-“ She cut him off. “I know how you feel, you think maybe if you were better you could have helped her-“ “-But she wouldn’t want you to be sad like this.”
Hajime was silent. Tears started falling down his cheeks. “I just wish, I just wish I could hear her say it...”
“She has already told you.” Chiaki said. “Look around her room, you were the one who inspired her to make all this. Her art, it’s her way of telling you she loves you back, so will you accept her confession, or will you reject her?”
A small smile crept onto his lips, tears still falling down. He stood up and walked over to one of your art-works, it was a painting of a sunset, placing his thumb on it. “I’ll accept her confession.”
If you look close enough, you could see an artist hugging the still crying boy, Hajime Hinata.
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It took me like almost three days to compete this, and I’m kind of proud of it, but I was still kinda scared to post it. Criticism is accepted here. So leave some feedback 😁
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f33itan · 3 years
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💛⚜️Pᴀʀᴛ 1: Tᴏʀᴛᴜʀᴇ ɪs Gᴏʟᴅᴇɴ⚜️💛 (From my Wattpad)
A/N: Ok, this was something a mutual of mine said here on Tumblr, and I decided to write a oneshot about it. Might be very VERY slight angst, nothing bad enough to actually be put under that umbrella though, anyways, enjoy this, and ty for the reads! :)
CW: MENTIONS OF RAPE, DEGRADATION, AND MORE FOUL WORDS THAN USUAL. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
B/N: Your Mother's boyfriend's name
M/N: Mother's name
꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂꧁꧂
"Oi, Y/N! Go get me another pack of beer from the store!"
"Yes father!" Damn that pig looking bitch. I'm just some fucking girl, trying to protect her mom from this demon of a person! Heck, he's not EVEN a person! He's the devil himself!! Man, I wish dad was here...
When you were in about 7th grade, your real father got killed in a massacre a couple cities over. He was not only a police officer, but a great father and husband as well. He treated you and your mother amazingly, and you thought life couldn't get anymore perfect, but soon that all went down hill. After his death, your mother's health depleted and she felt empty inside. She needed somebody else to make her complete. She decided to call an old friend from high school, and next thing you know he moved in. He seemed like a nice guy at first, but soon enough he was beating you guys mercilessly, enough to leave large bruises and scars whenever you didn't do exactly what he asked, in your eyes though, it was more of an order. You hated being ordered around, but you hated your mother getting beaten around even more. It seemed like a blessing that he hasn't tried to rape her, but god knows what he'll do, he's unpredictable
With all of this happening, you decided to tell him you were doing some "extra curricular" classes in college, but what you were actually doing was taking the Hunter's Exam and learning nen. Your biological father was kind-hearted and fun to be around, but he was also strict and sometimes a bit harsh, though he always meant well. Before his passing, all three of you would go out on the weekends to train, exercise, or do something that would enhance your body power and brain power. Because of this, all of you were exceptionally smart, and bodies all well toned. Sometimes your excursions would be going to a park and practicing a sport, driving to the snow and sledding, skiing, snowboarding, and every once in a while going to another state to zip line, try animal encounters, or take a family friendly class in that state's heritage and customs.
Since you were accustomed to hard core training and events, you thought the Hunter's Exam was quite fun, and was a test to your skills. After that, you were scouted out by a strong nen user by the name of Biscuit Krueger. You and her had lots of fun training, and with her pushing your limits to the utmost best, you turned out to be a specialist.
(Whenever I imagine myself in Hunter x Hunter, this is always my nen type and stuff LMAO)
Your power was called, Black shadow. You could have up to 10 weapons on hand, completely subjected to doing your bidding. These weapons were linked to you through blood, and they were surrounded with a substance that appeared to be black mist. The weapons you most preferred to practice with and use were your katana, blood string, and scythe. You could also make a weapon yours by cutting a fingertip and letting the blood drip onto the weapon, altering the appearance then gaining that black "mist", showing that it was now yours. The downside to this technique was that those "shadows and mist remnants" were your sleep. The darkness in your mind and the shadows all around you were taken and used for that power. In turn, you were always tired, yawning, and had bags under your eyes. Another plus side though was that you had a nen created chamber that had every weapon you owned. A girl can have some fun toys, can't she? You had tools for torture (whenever you took an opportunity to try it), many varieties of weapons, and of course, more snacks. But unlike B/N, you didn't have just fatty snacks. You had regeneration potions, healthy snacks, and special nen created "snacks" to help with different things, which all of these you had collected through pulling some strings. Your mother was worried, but you said it was all just college things. Yeah, just college things..
Ill make that pig bitch pay for what he has done to my mother!
Feitan POV -or whats going on with him- :
"What time, is it.."
"8 AM Fei!"
"Shut up, green eyes, too loud."
"Oh Fei don't be rude! It's mean!"
"That's, the point."
"Oh wait, Shalnark, what this?"
"What do you mean?"
"This... gold string?"
"OI SHALNARK, FEITAN, COME ERE' REAL QUICK!"
"Phinks, what, do you, want-" Phinks just ignored his question and pointed to the TV.
This is Channel 12, reporting live from York New City Town Square. People all over the city are claiming to be seeing a string tied to their left ring finger, leading them to some unknown destination! What is this string? Who put it there?-
"AY AY IM ON TV! THE STRING THINGY JUST LEAD ME TO THIS BEAUTIFUL GIRL AND NOW WERE DATING! SUPER AWESOME!"-
I apologize for the interference, but this string appears t be leading people to.. partners? Soulmates? Find out tomorrow morning, this is Amy Starwick from Channel 12, signing out.
"What. The. FUCK."
"OH MY GOD OH MY GOODNESS HOLY SHIT FEITAN YOU HAVE A SOULMATE!!"
"Nope-"
"YESS YOU DOOOOOOO"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP CHEERY BITCH-"
"No❤️" Since Feitan was on his last nerve with Shalnark, he decided to stomp over towards Chrollo in the main room, but Chrollo just chuckled.
"Wanna go find your soulmate? See if that things real?" Feitan just stared at the ground, lightly shifting his feet.
"Go ahead, I don't mind."
"Just, doing it, out of, curiosity."
"Mhm, curiosity, go find them." And with that, he was dismissed. Feitan wanted to say it was curiosity, but deep down he had this feeling there was something else, but what was it? It made his stomach tingle and he didn't like it one bit. He tried to ignore all of this, and just shrugged it off...
꧁꧂꧁꧂TimeSkip to Next Day꧁꧂꧁꧂
Your POV + some Feitan POV:
"Alright, today's the day, he'll be at his work, and on his break, i'll set the plan in motion.." Both me and mom don't like him, and I don't know about her, but I sure hate him, every ounce of him. The plan is simple: 1. Capture mom's boyfriend, 2. Take him to an abandoned building, 3. Torture him and get all of the answers I need, and 4. Kill him. His break is at 12, and he usually goes to get takeout every other Friday, what a pig. I'll give him a taste of his own medicine.
Time: 11:30 AM
Ok, I have everything ready. Fully energized to the utmost extent, Elixirs to bring him back in case he passes out too early, and- what? He's leaving for lunch early? PERFECT! You ran behind some buildings and hid in a two-way alleyway, waiting for him to pass by...
Here we go..
One..
Two..
THREE!
You covered his head with a sack, and took his phone out of his back pocket. Before heading over to your post, you laced the inside of the sack with some sleeping powder and pressed it against his nose and mouth. Within moments he passed out, and you typed in what you hoped to be his password, which was correct. Around 12:30, you were going to text one of his coworkers that he would be "going to a restaurant across town, and ditching work for a day, not wanting to see his stupid good for nothing girlfriend or his dumb daughter." You knew he called you both this because of going through his text messages when he wasn't looking or when he was sleeping. Little did you know that somebody was watching you from afar.
"Hmm... So, she, my, what do people, call it.. soulmate? Seems, interesting..."
Time: 12:00 PM
"Jesus, I new he was a fat ass but I didn't know he weighed this much!" You were tugging him from his legs through the back ways of York New. You wanted to find a secluded area, where once you were done with him you could just toss him somewhere for the birds and maggots to eat. After walking for what seemed like hours, you came across a set of abandoned buildings, specifically the one you laid out some extra things. A couple extra weapons, some towels, a change of clothes, a chair and some rope, a couple of flashlights, and of course, some snacks. Lucky for you, the douchebag you've been dragging around like a rag doll was still out cold, so you picked him up and tossed him on the chair, tying his wrists, ankles and neck to the chair.
"Maaannn, this is boring!! When the hell are you gonna wake up?!" As if on queue, you saw his eyes start to flutter open, and you immediately grabbed your box cutter. It wasn't a weapon used by your nen, but it was quite effective.
"What.. who.. wait- Y/N!? WHAT THE FUCK?! UNTIE ME NOW BEFORE I BEAT YOUR ASS!!" you didn't notice it, but Feitan was watching from the building over.
What, the fuck? Why she kidnap him? That pig? Why? Confusing, gotta keep, watching.
You shoved the box cutter into his left cheek, and you bathed in the glory of hearing his screams of pain.
"How does this feel, you bitch? Everything you've done to my dear mother, everything you've done to me, and heck, YOU WERE PROBABLY BEHIND MY DAD'S MURDER DURING THAT FUCKING MASSACRE!!" B/N noticed the tears in your eyes, and took this to his advantage.
"So what if I was? Both of your parents were pathetic anyways."
"NO THEY AREN'T! YOU'RE THE REASON WHY MY MOTHER'S LIKE THIS NOW! YOUR THE FUCKING REASON FOR EVERYTHING SHITTY THAT'S HAPPENED TO ME!!"
"Heh, hehe.. hahaHAHAHA! YOU KNOW GOD DAMNED WELL THAT ALL OF YOU ARE PATHETIC! WANNA KNOW WHY I GOT WITH YOUR MOM!? BECAUSE SHES HOT. AND SHE HAD GOOD MONEY FROM YOUR FUCKING DAD. YOU KNOW WHAT I WAS GONNA DO?! YOU KNOW WHY I TOOK OFF EARLY TODAY?! I WAS GONNA RAPE YOUR MOTHER AND MAKE YOU WATCH, THEN KILL BOTH OF YOU AND RUN OFF WITH ALL OF YOUR MONEY!! AND YOU KNOW WHAT'S IRONIC?! I DON'T HAVE ONE. SINGLE. FUCKING. REGRET. IF IT WASN'T FOR YOUR DAD, YOU SOULDN'T HAVE HAD THE NERVE TO DO THIS, YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABORTED!!"
You couldn't handle this anymore, tears were falling down your face rapidly as you grabbed the duct tape and closed his mouth shut.
"I don't give a fuck about what you say.. I'm going to kill you here. This is your grave. Someday, I'll join you in hell, and when I do, I'll torture you again, and the Devil will laugh. You just watch and ducking wait you, you.. PATHETIC WORTHLESS PIG ASS SLOPPY ASS NASTU FUCKING BITCH!" With that, you grabbed a couple super worms in each hand and shoved them into his ears. Even with the duct tape, you could hear his screams of agony as the worms dug deeper into his ears. You then got our your katana and slashed him across the stomach, and shoved even more worms into that open wound of his. Quickly, you poured a large bottle of the elixir you had brought over him to keep him from dying so quickly. Box cutter still in hand, you carved small lines all over his arms and legs, then ripped off the tape to hear his desperate cries. You imagined he wanted to be dead, but you didn't care. His pain and you pain mixed together and you just started laughing. You through your head back and let yourself laugh. all of the pain this man has caused you and your mom will be repayed today.
But the pressure and stress was too much to handle. Your laughing of victory soon turned into screams and more tears, as you let yourself fall to the ground, not even noticing you didn't hit it hard, something had caught you, or someone..
What the shit am I doing?
Am I really going to kill him?
What's wrong with me?
What will mother think?
What would dad do?
What am I doing with my life?
You soon snapped out of all of those negative thoughts though, as you noticed something caressing your face lightly.
"Rest, now. He, won't die, so quickly. I'm, Feitan." You were a sniffling and crying mess, so all you could do was rush into Feitan's chest and cry. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around you and held you close. He had no idea what he was doing, for he had only seen this kind of skin on skin contact in movies. So, he did what those people in the movies did.
"Don't, worry... It's all, going to be.. okay."
Word Count (Including author notes, etc) : 2251
-Wrote February 3, 2021-
Unedited sorry about that lol-
Part 1...
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dreamingofscully · 4 years
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Grey Canyon 14/?
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Rating: Current Chapter: PG, Series: up to Mature Categories: Western AU / MSR / WIP WC: 2546 / Total WC: 23,827 Updated on Mondays and Fridays.
Thank you to @ceruleanmilieu for the beta! ❤️ Tagging: @impulsive-astrophile @baronessblixen @suitablyaggrieved @sculderfan​ @today-in-fic (let me know if you want to be tagged when I post!)
all chapters in order: ao3 / tumblr
CH 1 / CH 2 / CH 3 / CH 4 / CH 5 / CH 6 / CH 7 / CH 8 / CH 9 / CH 10 / CH 11 / CH 12 / CH 13
CHAPTER 14: “Sunrise/sunset”
Grey Canyon, Colorado 1885
Nothing frustrated Mulder more than inaction. It was his biggest strength, and yet also his weakness. He would not shy away from doing what was needed, except when it came to waiting. And yet, waiting has been imposed on him in two ways. First, by the circumstances involving Dana’s brothers. He did not know if they were close, or if they had no idea where she was. He would not take the chance to investigate, to expose her, or to leave her alone for longer than an hour or two. Second, the impasse he’d placed upon himself regarding his relationship with Dana, upon furthering their intimacy. He would do what was right, it was important. But what did that look like? He didn’t know, it was only a feeling he had, deep in his gut.
His mind kept turning back to yesterday morning’s pathetic proposal. Then, to awakening next to her, the smell and feel of her body next to his as she clung to him in sleep. The way her hair shone against the backdrop of the sunrise through her window, a cloud of golden-red. When she awoke, the smile she gave him, secret and special. And the gentle kiss she’d pressed to the hand that rested on her shoulder. He would have that future: living through every sunrise with her next to him. He didn’t know why he could not let himself stay, to enjoy her entirely. To avoid her disappointed gaze when he left, over and over.
So, he brooded. Sat at the bar, chin on his fist, staring at the wall but not seeing it. He felt some solution was within his reach, just out of his grasp. The idea floated just underneath his consciousness, fuzzy and unclear.
Suddenly, a vague shape coalesced.
“Melvin!”
The barkeep sauntered over to him after pouring Walt a drink, frowning and silent.
“What was that story you told me a while back about your aunt?”
***
Early evening descended upon the Gilded Hall. The sun was well on its way to setting, the sky turning from bright blue to a more muted tone, hints of gold in the west along the ridges of the Rocky Mountains. Mulder shielded his eyes and watched from his vantage up on the roof of the hall. He paced, wiping his sweaty palms on his best trousers, checking to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything in his preparations.
After speaking with Melvin, he made quick work of his plans, invigorated by his idea. Madam had supplied him with the scarf, blue silk embroidered prettily with yellow daisies along the edges. Melvin, who was waiting inside, had washed his face and looked quite out of place in his suit, hair stuffed underneath his somewhat-cleaner black bowler hat.
The blanket he’d retrieved from Nellie, as she watched their preparations curiously. It was something she kept in her chest, a present from a former life, and she wanted Dana to have it. She handed it over, shyly remarking “Make sure to treat her right, Fox.”
He’d hoped this would do it. That she’d finally be treated right, as she deserved.
The tapping of the ladder summoned him from his reverie. He removed his hat, placing it on the blanket and cushions spread over the freshly swept roof. A couple chairs, an oil lamp for when the sun fell from the sky, and a covered dish with their dinner completed the picture.
The top of Dana’s hair poked out from the hole in the roof. Not meant to be commonly accessed, the open hatch, which Mulder discovered earlier in the afternoon, was the perfect final touch. The sunset, some stargazing, and something else that would finally allow him to explore the rest of his future with her.
“Some help, please!”
He rushed over and bent downwards, grabbing her arms and lifting her up onto the roof. She looked back down through the hatch and waved at Melvin.
“I think he got quite the show,” she said, quirking her eyebrow.
“I’m sure he’ll never forget it.”
She chucked and dusted off her blue gown where some dirt had clung to it in her climb. Then her eyes took in the view, her expression turning from amusement and curiosity to wonderment. It really was spectacular up here. Distant enough from the street to avoid the offensive smells and sounds. The plains rising up into mountains in the west, far enough away that the sun hadn’t yet disappeared behind them.
“What’s all this, then?” She turned to face him.
“A surprise. Something nice,” he said, guiding her to the blanket and chairs with a hand on her lower back.
“Well, all right then,” she said, her face flushing with pleasure and a smile peeking onto her lips.
They sat and ate, feeding each other bits of fruit and cheese and tearing off pieces of fresh bread. A few birds landed near them, and they shared their crumbs. He was happy to see her enjoyment, but as the backdrop of their dinner transformed into the painted hues of purple and red and orange, he felt his heart flutter, his hands start to sweat.
“Do you know why I prefer the sunset?” she asked, after their conversation went silent.
He shook his head, wiping his hands on his knees before taking the nearly-empty plate from her and placing it away from them.
“The stars,” she said. Her face tilted upwards at the sky, a few sparkling dots appearing in the canvas of deep blue above them. “My father would take me sailing, sometimes. Tell me stories about the constellations, the myths surrounding them. I feel as though he is here when I look upwards at night.” She lowered her gaze to him. “I don’t get much opportunity nowadays.”
“I know.”
She reached over and squeezed his hand, then got up from her chair and pulled him down next to her on the blanket. Sitting along her side and facing him, she leaned against the cushions on an elbow and looked skyward once more. Once he’d settled near her, his thumb brushing along her wrist, she began to speak again.
“You have heard the story of Andromeda?”
He nodded. “But I would hear it from you.”
“Let me show you, first,” she said, leaning close to him and pointing out a particularly bright set of stars. “You see those stars there, that form a square?”
He followed her finger, tearing his gaze from her face. “Yeah, I think so.”
“That’s Pegasus. Follow it there, upwards slightly…” She directed his gaze, and at first he could not see anything except a chaotic mess of white lights against an inky backdrop. But then it came together, and he could see the pattern as she spoke, the rest of the stars fading to insignificance.
“I see it!” he exclaimed.
She smiled, and continued, telling him of the story of how an innocent daughter was abandoned by her family, chained to a rock and left for a beast, until a stranger came along and changed her fate. As she spoke, a wistful expression on her face, he could not help but make the comparison. He wouldn’t claim to have saved her, not yet at least, but he would certainly do whatever he could against the monster that was coming.
He no longer looked skyward. Her expression softened as she told the story, eyes shining as she not only remembered the tale, but the memory of the person who told it to her. He wanted to give her that, again, give her something from which she could look back and think only of warmth, instead of regret.
Trailing his hand along her arm, folded between them, he grasped her hand.
“You’re not looking at the stars,” she said, peering at him out of the corner of her eyes.
“I am looking at what is most important,” he said, making her blush. “And I am listening.”
She touched his face, her thumb dragging along his bottom lip, eyes turned serious. “I wish you could have met him.”
“Your father.”
“He would have liked you.”
“A military man liking someone with outlandish ideas and designs for his daughter? I am doubtful.”
She laughed. “He would have seen you, as I do.”
“And what do you see?”
“A good man,” she said, leaning forwards and kissing him softly on his lips. She was very convincing.
She moved closer, leaning her head on his shoulder and continuing her search of the night sky, and within her own mind for happier times, he thought. His heart sped up, not only due to her proximity but of the question he still needed to ask her.
“Would I be Medusa, in that story, or perhaps the flying horse?” he joked.
She smiled widely at him, laughing freely. He slipped out from beside her and lit the oil lamp, the moon and stars their only illumination; they were draped in shadows and he wanted to see her. When he returned to her side, she grasped his hand within hers, pulling it to her mouth and kissing his palm.
“This… whole thing is lovely. Thank you.”
He cleared his throat, suddenly very warm despite the chill of the night air. He twisted his collar, loosening it slightly and fidgeting next to her.
“What has gotten you so nervous, Mulder? You do know that these stories are only myths, right? Or do you also believe in sea monsters?” she teased.
He bowed his head. “I admit, I, uh, have an ulterior motive to all of this…” he said, waving his hands at the setting he’d created for them.
“Well, if it’s to get into this dress, you already know where I stand, so it must be something else,” she said playfully, her head tilting at him. “Out with it.”
“So, I’ve been thinking about our situation...” he started.
“‘Situation’?” she said, raising an eyebrow at him.
He flushed, laughed nervously. “I have another story to tell, and you can thank Melvin for it, although perhaps he’d already been paid with a good view.”
Dana smiled and nodded, patting his hand.
“He’s part Irish, like yourself, also part Scot. A mix of many things I suppose. Cherokee, too, he claims, though he lacks the height for me to believe that,” he said. He clasped her hand within his, squeezing it. “His aunt Katie told him the story about how she met her husband. There’s a tradition, over there, where they choose their mates through a wall, only having seen the woman’s hand. They are bonded then, for a year and a day…”
He stared at their hands, having no doubt he would know hers.
“It started a long time ago, when a priest was not available.”
When he looked back at her, her head was bowed as she waited, quiet and still.
“Once chosen, they would fasten a scarf around their hands, and they would live together as if married, for the year and a day, or until a child came, or a priest came by.”
He brought the scarf the Madam gave him from inside his pocket and placed it next to their hands.
“It only requires a witness, and Melvin agreed--”
“Stop,” Dana interrupted, withdrawing her hand. She stood up quickly and backed away a few steps.
“If he is too offensive, perhaps the Madam would agree…?” He stood as well, taking the scarf in one hand, reaching out to her with the other.
She shook her head, and he saw the glistening of tears in her eyes. “All of it, Mulder.”
“But--”
“The answer to your question is no, and I should have been clear before,” she said, not meeting his eyes.
Mulder’s shoulders slumped. “Of course… I shouldn’t have assumed that you wanted this, that I was… the marrying type.”
“Look at me,” she said, her voice sharp.
He did, massaging the back of his neck. This wasn’t turning out how he’d envisioned, the exact opposite, in fact. Instead of a happy Dana, kissing, and… perhaps more, she stood in front of him, upset and perhaps a little angry, for a reason he could not fathom. He waited, feeling the weight of guilt already settling on his shoulders.
“I do not need a fancy ring, or a scarf, or anything else to know how I feel about you. How you feel about me,” she started. Her eyes softened slightly, but she did not approach. “If my circumstances had been any different, if I’d ended up like one of the girls here, would I be any less worthy of your love, of your commitment?”
“Of course not,” he said.
From the look on her face, he guessed she did not believe him. “I am so tired of other people thinking they know what is best for me, or, as you say it, what I deserve.”
“Dana, I… do not mean it that way." He bowed his head, unable to look at her. Not wanting to fight, to turn this into something ugly, but the right words escaped him. He found his anger starting to build as well. How could she think such a thing? Then the doubt. Have I really made her feel that way?
“Maybe so. But that is not my only reason for my refusal,” she said. “I have seen what happens, when a woman gets married. My mother, my sister, my friends at college. A wife is treated as even less of an individual. Even if she fights against it, as my sister did, it changes her."
She stepped closer, pointing her finger at his chest but not quite touching it. Her cheeks were red and her eyes blazed.
"When I marry, I will no longer be myself. I become your wife, your property, not my own person. If you cannot understand that, then we are finished speaking."
"Dana I do not want a wife, I want you." He clenched his hands into fists, twisting the delicate scarf in his grasp.
"Even if you did not mean to change me, it would happen. And I do not mean to lose myself," she said, pursing her lips, and turning away from him.
He grabbed her arm to prevent her from moving away, his anger rising. "You say I am ridiculous, that I have crazy ideas, well yours is the most absurd idea I have ever heard. Just because we are together in some official capacity does not mean that anything changes!"
Dana stared at his arm, then looked up at his face, her eyes cold and furious. She spoke harshly. "No offense, sir, but you are not a woman. You do not know what it is like--”
“Dana--”
“I am not finished. If whatever object you conjure to bind us together does not change anything then why is it so important to you? Why do you insist on it before we take things further. It means something, to you at least... and I cannot give that to you."
Wrenching her arm away from his grasp, she stalked towards the hatch in the roof and climbed down as fast as her dress would allow. She did not look back.
Mulder stood there, shocked, the delicate scarf falling from his hand onto the dusty rooftop.
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not-your-damsel · 3 years
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I Gotta Let it Out, Please Forgive Me Guys
I got a random message on Facebook messenger from my bestest friend from the tail end of middle school until onwards… or so I thought.
*Names have been changed for this… mess? I’m so sorry guys, I’m all over the place 😑 and this is kinda long so, head’s up
She was like a sister to me, we told each other any and everything. We wrote fan fics for *N’Sync before fan fics were even a goddamn thing, before there was a place to even post them! She made the life move from New Jersey to Pennsylvania bearable and then livable after having my whole life uprooted once again. My Mom and I always moved a lot when I was a child so I was always bouncing from school to school once I thought I was finally settled and was steadily making friends only to up and move again. That coupled with constantly having to go to the hospital because of my illness didn’t bode well for my learning abilities. I’m great at everything else now as an adult but don’t even come to me about math or I’ll spit on you, I don’t make the rules 🤷🏽‍♀️
However, once my Mom met my Sister’s father, our living situation somehow downgraded from living in a beautiful brownstone house to then living in a trailer in a trailer park. Please don’t take that as me shitting on trailer parks or folks who live in them. I just despise them because they immediately remind me of the verbal, mental abuse/gaslighting I endured when we lived there which continued into PA and the house we moved to there is all. My stomach churns when I pass by one as I immediately feel like I’m 10 again and about to be in trouble and grounded for the next tiniest thing he deemed wrong of me.
Anywho, we moved to PA when I was 12, my little sister having been born in NJ just before we left it to come here and I was livid. Leaving all my friends behind after finally having a taste of actually settling in and making friends and not moving away right after the fact only to pull the rug from under me and do it again. As an adult now, I get it. It’s safer here than where we’d been and the taxes rock, no tax on food or clothing or pharmaceuticals and also utilities for heat and shit and not to mention, a better school system.
And school is where I met my immediate bestie, around the second or third day being there, we had to swim for gym and since I didn’t know I had to sit out for the period where the other girls and I started talking about *N’Sync and she asked me who my face was, which was Lance and then she said hers was Justin Timberlake and that she fantasizes about him. Anyone who can tell me that right off the bat with the same energy as telling me what their favorite color or animal is has immediately won my friendship. Immediately.
That’s how we met, that’s how we rolled and we stayed joined at the hip throughout the rest of our school years together. We’d been through it all, crushes, familial loss, pet loss, watching mutual friends come and go or fuck each other over, and yet her and I remained as though we were born sisters. I never needed a whole entourage of people to call my friends. Whoever’s gonna hang with me, I love and appreciate and protect dearly and those who won’t that’s fine as well. But she was a constant in my life, we both were constantly in each other’s lives.
She provided an escape and safe haven away from my home when it got to be too suffocating to be within my own home because of my overbearing stepfather and I taught her how to appreciate and accept and play video games, specifically of the survival horror genre and we’d get together for a sleepover when a new release would come out and we wanted to get lost in stories and scream for dear life at perfectly crafted jump scares. She turned me on to being a drama kid since her and I were in chorus together being Soprano 1’s, and it turned out to be one of the most fun things I did in high school.
But time passes and we graduated. Sad as I was to be parting from everyone, we all began to scatter, coming together during breaks to party and catch up. After moved to Queens NY to be with my fiancé at the time and she was doing her own thing. Over time, life got in the way. There was no grand fight to speak of, no secretly harbored feelings of ill will or hatred, nothing of the sort. Which is why I’m left feeling so baffled over how what was meant to be a great reaching out and reconnecting moment ended up turning into me feeling angry, dejected and feeling as though maybe there were some things she never spoke to me about when she should’ve.
It started out great, happy to hear from her especially out of the blue since the times I tried to reach her would always fall through. We caught up with one another, as you do, and then the conversation turned from catching up to suddenly me being questioned about why I never contacted her. I explained everything that happened, how I tried several times apart from the yearly birthday wishes and such, and how I never got a reply back, that I assumed it meant she had a different phone number. How as the years passed more and more, my insecurities of no longer being wanted by her ran rampant and that maybe she had better people in her life. I apologized for that, seeing now that I was blinded by that insecurity and that was something for me to sort out. That and that life literally got in the way.
I told her everything as honest and truthful to the best of my ability because I’d never lie to her, never had and never would/will want to. I admitted to her that I’m definitely different from the last time she’s seen me and that I’m now utter shit with the phone. I personally think it’s a mix of my Major Depressive Disorder mixed with my anxiety that I prefer messaging over actually talking on the phone. But that’s not for my lack of trying to reach her over the years.
However, that wasn’t good enough for her though apparently. She kept pressing me and questioning if “I ignored her” because of scenario A, B or C. She said that. She literally said, “Did you ignore me because of…”. She started labeling despite me telling her what happened, putting words in my mouth. It got to the point that I was just repeating myself over and over because she kept interrogating me on the issue, bringing up weak reasons as though she just knew that was the “reason I dipped and left her in the wind” when meanwhile, when you look at which of us two was the last to try to contact the other through Facebook messenger, it shows it as me and before that all my attempts to reach her through something I knew she’d see my shit to her through and yet I was never answered.
I ended up saying to her, “Look, I don’t know what it is you’re wanting me to say here. I feel like you’re trying to get me to admit to something to please you but I’m not gonna do that because if I did, then I’d be lying to you and I’m not here for that. I told you everything on my end here, what has happened and that’s exactly what it is. Nothing more, nothing less. I don’t secretly hate you, I could never hate you. It wasn’t your fault about what happened with my ex and I at your party, I’ve never held you responsible for his cheating actions. He cheated on me with Stan, not you, so don’t think that has anything to do with you when you stuck up for me when we all found out the next morning. Please stop fishing for a conflict that’s not there.”
I don’t hear from her after a long while and I explicitly tell her that I want to talk about this more the next day because this isn’t right and I want to clear up whatever it is that she thinks is wrong, that I love her and to have a good night as it’s past 2am at that point. She proceeds to bring up past scenarios hours later while I’m well asleep and she knows this, guilt tripping me about how she was there for me whenever I needed to be in the hospital but that maybe I had forgotten what it meant to be best friends with her and she then blocks me on all socials knowing I can’t even fight for myself because I’m asleep. All socials save for one and that’s Insta.
I call her out on that shady bullshit and tell her that it’s absolutely unfair that I sat there and I was being an adult and admitting to my mistakes and apologizing for them only for her to push all the blame on me for not contacting her which we established that I had many times and not been acknowledged. I said, “The phone works 2 ways, Sadie, 2 ways. Do not sit there and act like you’re not to blame as well, especially when I’m here admitting fault and apologizing for it and you haven’t even bothered to claim some of that faulted responsibility. That’s fucked because if it were me having come to you, yet again, and this time you answered, I would’ve taken my part of the blame and admitted to my faults here as well, I wouldn’t’ve piled it all on you the way you did to me. I was honest with you and it seems that’s not what mattered to you, what mattered to you was putting untruths into my mouth to fit your narrative that “I hate you”, “that you never mattered to me” and so on. Again, not cool. Will it hurt to lose you? Absolutely, it’ll kill me to lose you permanently, but not at the expense of a lie you want so badly to be true.”
Not only that, but several times throughout this conversation, she would bring up something factual that happened, that she knew happened, only to turn around and say something snarky like, “I wouldn’t know what happened or I wouldn’t know about that because you never told me about it.” I sat there for a good moment afterwards, seriously questioning if she was drunk or high or a combo of the two and just crossfaded because it made no damned sense!!!
I’m not gonna lie, I’m truly hurt by all this. I cried happy tears when we first started talking because it had been so long, and then by the end of it, I was left baffled, hurt, confused, and feeling like I didn’t even know this person anymore and crying in a panic that this was all actually happening. That I somehow unknowingly became a villain to my own best friend, my sister. It still feels unreal, the whole thing was so all over the place, it gave me whiplash. I don’t know what to do and I apologize for putting a portion of me and my troubles on here, I just needed a safe space to vent and let loose because I’m warring with myself of if this is even still worth it with her because this feels so… icky. Like in my gut I can feel that this isn’t the same person I once knew and I’m only gonna find more upset, hurts and disappointment and that feeling causes even more hurt.
Idk guys, I’m tired and worn out. I cried a lot so that’s gonna and made me even more tired only with puffy, splotchy pinky/red rings around my eyes that now are sensitive to the touch from wiping them so much. But thank you for letting me do what I felt I needed to do and just let this mess out. I know it’s all over the place but I can’t even bring myself to fix anything if there’s errors and shit. Love y’all.
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blouisparadise · 4 years
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Here are some amazing bottom Louis fics posted or completed during the month of July. We really hope you enjoy this list and that you give these fics a lot of love.
Happy reading!
1) Your Good Time | Explicit | 3070 words
Louis nodded along with what the guy was saying, apparently his arousal taking over his brain to mouth filter as he said, “Who would want to hide a fit bloke like you? That guys an idiot.” Louis scoffed, dramatizing the word ‘idiot’, giving the guy a sly smirk. The guy leaned an arm against the bar, turned his body to Louis and fixed him with a curious look before he held out a hand.
“M’Harry.”
Louis and Harry meet in a bar when Harry's date is an ass. Inspired by Temporary Fix by One Direction.
2) I Push You To The Limits | Explicit | 3846 words
Louis is a brat who likes seeing his boyfriend get jealous and possessive over him.
3) Overkill | Explicit | 4354 words
Louis was never going to get over how fucking attractive Harry was. How glorious his big, tall, curvy body was. The feeling of Harry behind him, hot and heavy, trapped on the tube after they’d been somewhere during rush hour. His thick hands, full of pretty rings sometimes, handing Louis a cup of coffee, then getting one for himself.
4) Too Nervous to be Lovers | Mature | 6445 words
Louis doesn't want to spend quarantine with Harry, his straight roommate, who doesn't even acknowledge his existence.
5) Fratboy In Love | Mature | 6830 words
Harry Styles was a frat boy who loved to sleep around and flirt with boys and girls. Louis was a good uni student who loved to stay in and study and wasn't much of a partier.
Insert his best friend Niall who talks him into going. Louis gets drunk and ends up sleeping with harry. The next day he leaves before Harry wakes and tries to avoid him at all costs. Thinking Harry wouldn't care since Louis was just another conquest. But what if Harry did care. And actually have a crush on Louis. Read and find out
6) My Sunflower | Mature | 7057 words
Louis would rather be sunbathing at the beach with his friends, not slaving his spring break away in his father’s flower shop.
7) Waiting | Explicit | 8023 words
Louis Tomlinson was Harry’s omega, of this Harry had always been sure. Unfortunately for Harry, Louis seemed to think they were just best friends. The six weeks that Harry has to live with Louis were going to be rough.
8) Shine Light Upon Your Ground | Explicit | 8506 words
Note: The fic pairing is Louis/H, which the reader can picture as Harry or Henry Cavill.
Louis sighs again and fiddles with the bracelet on his wrist, twisting the charms around and petting the fake diamonds.
“How much for a night?” A deep voice suddenly asks him. The man who approaches him is already pulling out his wallet and flicking through a bundle of bills. Louis, who had been sitting at the bar completely innocent and minding his own business, lets out an offended, strangled sound.
“Excuse me?” He demands, straightening up in his seat. The hem of his dress creeps further up his thigh but he pays it no mind.
9) Glistening Under The Sun (You're My Honey Soaked Love) | Mature | 8996 words
“Oh Petal,” he picks her up nuzzling the top of her head with his cheek as she nibbles on the lavender, “How lucky are we? I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy, the only thing we have to be sad about is that soon I won’t be able to hold you like this,”
10) Connected To The Heart | Explicit | 9059 words
Note: This is an coda scene for this fic.
“Your stage cue is way too close for you to be wearing that look you’re wearing,” Louis informs him. He can’t stop himself from looking up at Harry through his eyelashes, the silk of Harry’s dress shirt brushing against the backs of his knuckles.
“Twenty minutes,” Harry agrees. His breath is minty from the gum he was chewing earlier, fresh and warm. “Twenty minutes can be a long time, baby.”
This time, Louis has to force himself to roll his eyes. “Not nearly long enough for the way you always want to fuck me.”
11) Fuck U Betta | Explicit | 11438 words
There’s something about having Louis like this, exposed and desperate, that makes a primal urge bubble up from deep inside Harry’s chest. Desire mixed with something else, something unquantifiable. It’s the thing that makes them want this, need this. Nothing else will satisfy them or quench their thirst.
OR the one where Harry likes the thrill of the chase, Louis likes to be chased, and everyone gets what they need… in the end.
12) Kiss Me In Your Chevrolet | Explicit | 11569 words
"Yes, Lou?" Harry asked, rubbing his tired eyes. A gust of wind came through the open windows, sending chills down Harry's arms as a light rain began falling outside. He closed his eyes again and let his head fall back to the couch arm rest.
"Can we go there?" Louis asked, probably pointing somewhere. Harry opened his eyes and felt his heart jump in his chest, a magazine page a couple of inches away from his face. Startled, Harry closed his eyes and breathed heavily, trying to collect himself.
Harry blinked a few times to focus his eyes on the page Louis still held in front of his nose. "You want to go to the Grand Canyon?" He furrowed his eyebrows, tilting his head to the left to look at Louis' face.
13) Pull The Trigger | Explicit | 12007 words
Note: This fic is a sequel to this fic, which is #16 on this list.
Louis has never been alright with killing. Will that change when he learns what it's like to be the one holding the gun?
14) Open All Night | Explicit | 12537 words
It’s six in the morning when Harry finally makes it back home.
Harry's a bartender, Louis' got a nice ass and a shit taste in men. They make it work.
15) Among Other Things | Explicit | 16073 words
“Harry, it’s 7:45, oh my god, my class starts at 8:15,” and Louis wants to cry. Harry’s busy under the bed trying to find the tiny silver key but Louis knows that fate just hates him and he needs to find a way to get up. “Harry, I—fuck,” Louis whines. Harry stands up in a rush.
“I can’t seem to find them. It. The key.”
Or, Louis’ the teacher of Harry Styles’ daughter. Their paths shouldn’t cross like this. This meaning Louis showing up to school handcuffed to a headboard.
16) A Bullet And It's Gun | Explicit | 18156 words
Note: The sequel to this fic is #13 on this list. 
Louis’ parents arrange his marriage with Harry. He’s fully ready to accept that he’s going to be a sad and lonely person for the rest of his life. But then Harry starts proving himself as more than just an asocial man with money.
17) By Such Slight Ligaments | Explicit | 26764 words
Note: The fic pairing is Louis/Henry Cavill.
A late night visit to a patient sets off a series of events that will turn Louis' world upside down.
... Here there be monsters.
18) At Your Fingertips | Explicit | 27384 words
He finds himself wrapped up in sheets in bed on Thursday night, staring at the familiar name on a new story that was posted the night before.
His fingers twitch, ready to hit play and surrender to his impulses, saving the regret and turmoil for later.
And still he hesitates, internally praying that he’ll somehow gain the strength to exit out within the next few moments before he inevitably loses his patience and hits the button.
Three…
Two…
One.
Play.
19) Forgot My Roots Now Watch Me Bloom | Explicit | 28334 words
Lonely transit worker Louis pulls his longtime crush, Peter, from the path of an oncoming train. At the hospital, doctors report that he's in a coma, and a misplaced comment from Louis causes Peter's family to assume that he is his fiancée. When Louis doesn't correct them, they take him into their home and confidence. Things get even more complicated when he finds himself falling for Peter's brother, Harry. Loosely based on the movie "While You Were Sleeping".
20) Push You Out, Pull You Back In | Explicit | 31544 words
Harry hates feeling vulnerable. Louis is set on breaking through his tough facade.
21) Baby Blue | Explicit | 39439 words
Harry Styles takes his time coming out to greet them. Louis only knows what he’s seen on file and what he’s heard them talking about, but he fully lives up to the image he had inside of his head.
He saunters down the front steps of the farmhouse in his Levi’s, brown snakeskin boots curving out from underneath the denim Louis’ sure he had specially made. He’s got on a plaid button-down tucked into the jeans because of course he does, curls spilling out from either side of his cowboy hat around his sunglasses and country-tan skin.
“Harry Styles,” he drawls, extending a hand to Louis’ manager, “Pleased to meet ya’ll.”
22) Lidocaine And Palm Trees | Explicit | 44653 words
Heat, fake tans and lots of traffic.
Harry never expected to earn his living this way when he moved to LA.
Louis didn't think he could ever be the same after his divorce.
A lighthearted story about two guys trying to find themselves in the vibrant, sprawling city of Los Angeles, with a side of technical porn industry stuff.
23) Sleeping On Our Problems | Explicit | 67369 words
Louis sleeps with Harry and they have more than just catching feelings to worry about.
24) Truth Would Be | Explicit | 91869 words
“You want me? I’m not a… a thing to be owned!” Louis stuttered, still very angry and confused.
“Hmmm…” The alpha tapped his lips as if he was contemplating something. “Last time I checked, the debt was paid off and the only thing I had asked in return was… you. So technically I do own you.”
“You are crazy…” Louis muttered as he began to back towards the door. Harry’s impossibly green eyes turned a shade darker, but his tone was still teasing and light when he said, “Maybe I am…”
The I-paid-off-all-your-debt-so-you-are-mine AU in which Omega Louis wants to be left alone by Alpha Harry but it's super complicated when he starts to not hate the alpha all that much.
25) Collision | Not Rated | 224594 words
Note: This fic was finished in 2018, but two new epilogue chapters have been added.
Mythology/Fairytale!AU in which Louis is a dainty fairy with a temper who wants to be intimidating and Harry hurts people. Naturally, they hate each other.
Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.
You can find other monthly roundup fic rec lists here.
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tk9336 · 3 years
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My Curatorial Internship at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago!
I began my Curatorial Internship on 6/7/21 bright and early as I drove my first day waking up at 5AM as I live in Wauconda, IL a northwest suburb of Chicago. MSI is in the heart of downtown Chicago, so the drive is usually an hour and half accounting for traffic. That sucked big time, so I took the train for the rest of my time so far. Luckily I only have to be in the office Monday/Tuesday which is bittersweet: my train ticket is $10 a day, parking at Barrington Station is $3.50 daily but what kicks my wallet in the teeth if my Lyft bill, usually around $50 from Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago to MSI and back. Thankfully my internship is paid thanks to Studio Institute which is my sponsor, a grant MSI received and SI how I found out about the position for the summer. I thought I would be working with a team of interns since this is a big project I am a part of, but believe it or not I am the sole Curatorial intern! It felt good to know that I did well in my interview and it wasn’t just a hunch, and to have the honor of being the sole recipient! Its been a number of years since there was a curatorial intern and with this in mind I knew I was going to work hard to pay them back for their faith in me. I do not say this lightly, as I am 28 years old now and opportunities like this I have learned are not offered to just any one off the street.
The Project? MSI is digitizing roughly 1,000 artifacts to be shown online on their website (COVID was a strong motivator for this as it hit Museums all over the world. They are passionate about reaching their audience!) Collections has over 35,000 artifacts to keep track of, and all it’s history is just written or printed in a large Accession’s Archive, and there is digital archive to work with. I am going to help with what I am assigned with gaining invaluable professional research experience, with a strong focus as well in writing for labels and anything else that is thrown my way! I am also making this blog conjunction for my school, Loyola University Chicago of which helped me get this position. This will be a long post, so buckle in as I share my weeks to bring you, and me up to date for next week, 7/19/21!
Week 1: 6/7-11/2021 | This position is 4 days a week, for a total of 28 hours. Part-time. My round-trip however with commuting turns a 7 hour work day into a 12 hour day from when I wake up until I drive home from Barrington Station. Thankfully the two days I work from home is a bit easier on commuting from upstairs to downstairs!
Monday: HR/Orientation/Introduction to Collections by Alexis, the talent manager at MSI. Your standard job introduction, but my first at a Museum.
Tuesday: In-depth Museum tour/explaining the research and writing work I would be doing/assisting Kathleen (Collections Director) in the vault*(storage, vault sounds cooler) cataloging.
Wednesday: Photographing Bike exhibit for transcription/beginning research work on first Accessions project on Firefighting artifacts by find corresponding files in Accessions archive, reading the materials in each folder to find relevant material to write in description about the item to put online. I scan the documents I find relevant, so that I can do that additional research and writing at home. This will be the plan going forward (research/cataloging the vault on Monday and Tuesdays) but there are plans to have me assist on additional projects and duties within the department and MSI as a whole.
Thursday: With the information gathered from scanning documents from each accessions folder, then at home I can look over each stapled bunch of materials of each item and then add bullet points of relevant information in a word document. That can then be shared with the Director, Curator and assistant curator to help them use the most relevant materials to weave the labels needed to put online for this historic artifacts.
Week 2: 6/14/18/2021 | Fridays are not included as that’s when I attend Zoom meetings with the program directors and liaison for Studio Institute which has over 40 interns around the country in Museums across the United States. I won’t lie... I got the best assignment in my opinion! This was tailor made for me! As an older student I am FULLY aware of what a incredible privilege it is to be paid to do something you truly love down to your bones.
Monday: I start at 9:15 but my train was late to unforeseen circumstances. I emailed my supervisor I would be in a hour later than usual and she appreciated the heads up. I continued pulling folders from the accessions archive, then scanning relevant materials. I would then staple the gathered materials and kept my work in order to mirror the worksheet log I was given for the artifacts in the fire fighting exhibit.
Tuesday: Getting in at my normal time I continued, and finished the worksheet log I was given for the Fire Fighting exhibit. I now have a large amount of material to review on my days working from home to provide bulleted points of relevant material that will assist the Collections team create the labels needed when selected materials are uploaded online. I would do five files at a time to stay organized and not bite off more than I could and get "lost in the sauce" as we would say in the Army. That way, a steady rhythm was established and I could better gauge my time per batch.
Wednesday: I worked from home continuing my task of added bulleted information points on artifacts. I am assuming that the items that have a extensive amount of reference materials will be those making the cut to be uploaded online once the project gets to that point. Made up the hour lost on Monday due to my train out of Barrington, IL running late.
Thursday: Still grinding away by going through the research materials I assembled from the archives in MSI to add bulleted points of relevant information on artifacts to make the lives of the Director, Curator, and assistant easier allowing them to focus on more advanced research and other duties.
Week 3: 6/21-25/2021
Monday: Continued transcription of the Fire Fighting Exhibit. Nearly finished with it. Working from home is getting better as I am getting a better pace of work and less distractions.
Tuesday: I was able to get some opportunities for front-facing guest interaction and educations as I gave my first MSI tour. Two individuals from my organization, the 501st Legion, came down from Green Bay for a Chicago vacation. They had seen my positive posts about being at MSI and wanted to come see it for themselves. I asked Dr. Saridakis if I could learn how to give a tour on my own, to which she agreed. In my inaugural tour I took them around the great hall's exhibits, being careful to focus on items of which I had some background in to better give a small education on the artifacts. My strength is in the Hall of Transportation in which houses the Spitfire, Stuka and new Boeing 727. On the floor I pointed out the Millburn and Tesla electric cars as well. After going at what seemed a quick pace, we made our way over to the Hall of Bicycles, and weaved back to the floor. I took them to U-505 which is my strongest exhibit. Military history is my focus, and I don't ever tire of going to see U-505. In the most surprise to my guests, they were granted a behind the scenes walk-through of Collections in which Dr. Saridakis kindly donated her time to open the vault for us. She accompanied me, but gave me the reigns to get a feel for my first guided walk-through of Collections which is a duty all in the department should be familiar, and comfortable doing. I feel I did well for my first time, and gained experience in doing the same for the following day for a larger, planned tour by mHub. I took my guests out to lunch where my supervisors did a few weeks ago. It ran over time, so I'll make up the hour later at home.
Wednesday: Today was the day of the big planned of tour by Chicago tech company, mHub. My supervisor was not available in the morning so I filled out some other documents and found other work to do until she came in. This was sorting through the former archivist's boxes of files and articles looking for relevant materials that would be of use to the registrar. I had been doing this the day before as well before my guests came in at 11AM. There was a A LOT of material, but there was plenty of relevant stuff, including a complete file on the cars, and motorcycles in the MSI collection which included a recent appraisal of each item in inventory. I found the motorcycles of interest and made copies for myself to be of use on future behind the scenes tours (you pick a handful of items scattered at various checkpoints to engage with guests about. There just isn't enough time to go row by row.) mHub was scheduled for 3:30, but didn't not come until 4ish. My recent work with the fire fighting artifacts proved critically relevant as one of the guests was working on technology for fire fighters to pull up a 3D schematic on a app to see where the beams, and wiring is without them having to hack through the walls to find it. He was very much interested in the various fire fighting artifacts and thankfully I was a part of his group throughout the tour. Exhibitions engineer Jeff brought out two 1930's Ediphones, and while he was setting up I had a lengthy chat with him regarding his duties and responsibilities at MSI which proved insightful.
Thursday:  I wasn't as productive today as I wanted to be in part to some distractions in my personal life. I will make this time up on Saturday. Continued work on transcription of relevant facts to the fire fighting exhibit
Saturday: I finally finished the fire fighting exhibit items and look forward to trying my hand at writing short labels based on returning to the material I have. This label writing experience will be invaluable in such a professional capacity. It will be nice to have this skills honed, refined and on a professional level. I trudged the remaining artifacts, and put more time off the clock to finish so I can begin on my favorite exhibit, U505 on Monday!
Week 4: 6/28-7/2/2021
Monday: I came in and had my weekly 10AM meeting with Voula, and moved onto U-505/WWII items. Same as with the fire exhibit, finding files in the accession archive, scanning relevant materials to take home for work at home.
Tuesday: I continued scanning, and gather materials. At 1:00 PM I took photos of all the labels in the U-505 exhibit for transcription by one of the volunteers, Mary. I then at 2:30 I worked with Director McCarthy cataloguing some more artifact ranks in storage. At 4:10PM I asked if I could get a photo handling a textile artifact for both the experience of doing so and seeing one of U-505's flags not only in person, but to carefully handle, and touch. Director McCarthy and Dr. Saridakis both kindly indulged my request and it was a truly awesome experience for me. I also learned that there is a later train than I usually take. That bit of info is helpful just in case I ever miss the 5 o'clock train out of Chicago back to my home train station of Barrington, IL!
Wednesday: As I did with the firefighting exhibit and items, I continued bulleting down relevant facts and information. I created a new word doc just as I done previously with the Fire Fighting artifacts.
Thursday: Continued transcription. I look forward to trying my hand at writing some labels and short descriptions. I still can barely believe I am being paid to work on items I already love learning about. 
Saturday: Made up 1 hour from Thursday.
Week 5: 7/5-9/2021
Monday: Unpaid holiday for MSI employees. I am going to work half a day today so I only have to work 4 hours later in the week to make up for today. I am going to look over my U505/WWII artifacts and see if any really stand out as candidates for getting labels and descriptions.
Tuesday: I came in Tuesday and had my weekly meeting with Voula. Since the program is half-way over at this point the decision for now is for me to focus on the U-505/WWII artifacts and to also focus on writing a few labels for some of the Fire Fighting exhibit artifacts. I also took photos of all the labels in the U-505 and will transcribe that exhibit to it is available in a word doc to be transferred to the digital site - one day. I then worked with Kathleen in storage to continue cataloging artifacts, in three hours we nearly inputted over 200 artifacts.
Wednesday: I came in and got to work on transcription since there are no more additional accession files to pull and scan. MSI has just brought on a new assistant curator for a year to help with the digitization of the archives and storage. It is a daunting task! But one that will streamline Collections at MSI and make pulling artifacts extremely easy and hopefully foster some excitement from the public online to see items that otherwise sit in a dark, temperature controlled room. I also had the honor of getting to write a pitch to put up a "pop up" U-505 exhibit up in downtown. That was very exciting to me, along with the confidence gained because of the trust to do that. I wrote a few drafts to which the Director edited down. Very happy to be useful with a project that is extremely relevant to my interests.
Thursday: Continued transcription of the U-505 exhibit and writing a few labels that will then be edited by the Curator. Being directly involved in what the public will learn from a artifact is very cool to me. Improving on working remotely, efficiently - making a decision right away in the morning after a shower to begin work is a great guard against procrastination and working late to fairly submit the hours for the day. A regular schedule when self set and stuck to is extremely effective. 
Saturday: Continued work on the U-505 items from home.
Week 6: 7/12-16/2021
Monday: I started working right away after waking up. I want to finish my transcription of the U-505 exhibit which includes every wall panel, all artifacts and everything else in between. I went past midnight and just hit a stride, "in the zone, so to speak."
Tuesday: I worked through the night while on a roll. I didn't look at the clock, I just kept going! Reminded me of the old all-nighters I used to pull. I was excited to be finally complete with this project. I took it upon myself to transcribe the entire exhibit since it only existed on the walls and printed material. With it digitized this will be a tremendous help to the department. I finished it and even double checked Flickr for any photos I may have missed taking myself. I only missed only small panel, but all quotes, stories, artifacts... everything came to a 50 page, 20,000 word document. I look forward to seeing Voula's reaction when I print it out tomorrow! I also made a copy of just the artifacts for MSI so when they want to put some online they'll know what is theirs outright. In my previous job I worked 10 hour shifts so this felt familiar, I enjoy doing four 10-hour days to hit 40 back then and enjoy 3-day weekends. This is less hours, but I am grateful none-the-less to have the time to use for other projects, books and hobbies.
Wednesday: Voula's reaction to the massive transcription was great. I also placed the document in SharePoint so that anyone in Collections can access it. I am sure it will be a great aid in the future when a quick reference is needed for U-505. Today was also the MSI Employee picnic which was great. I took a couple pictures and video. Sodexo made me a Angus half pound burger which was great. I sat by myself since I came after our intern/departmental MSI zoom meeting held by Talent so we could learn how MSI is a collaborative effort and chat with the heads of other departments which was cool. I followed and email Mike Welsh to set up a tour of what Construction and Grounds does around the Museum. Most folks went to the picnic at noon, and our meeting didn't conclude until 1:10PM. Thankfully though Voula stayed a little after and we chatted at the table I was at. MSI redid the Smart Home area and it's a very nice shaded, little park. Definitely never been there before as a guest. Very cool to be a part of the "in-crowd." I took a longer lunch to take it all in.
Thursday: Since I busted my butt Monday into Tuesday and enjoyed yesterday I only had to do two hours today. I sat in the other half of the MSI intern/departmental Zoom meeting which featured Collections/Exhibitions and HR. I had the best chat with Exhibitions and the public relations managers. I will send emails to follow up with both of them as I find their work fascinating, and might as well - only here for a short time and it be an absolute waste to not take utter advantage of it. I cleaned up some of my Word documents and doubled check for syntax errors.
Thats it! You, and me, are now all up to date! I will continue to make weekly postings until its conclusion! I will also add some photos in the following posts, this is a long post so stay tuned, it will be less dense.
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dazed--xx · 4 years
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Alone
REQUEST: *Hi see you mentioned about story requests. I'm having a hard time since I'm currently pregnant and my partner walked out on me, so could you do one when Jungkook where I meet Jungkook and he helps me raise the baby please*
Summary:  “I'm pregnant Jungkook.” the line goes dead silent “look before you say anything, no I wasn’t hiding this from you and I completely understand if you don’t want to talk to me shit I wouldn’t want to talk to me and move on to someone who is not pregnant and going to be having this type of responsibilities-” “Y/N-”
GENRE: Mild-Angst, Fluff
Member: Jungkook x Pregnant!reader
Word count: 2,132 
A/N: so this is literally my first fanfic ever and i hope you guys like it. and to the person that requested this I wanted to tag you because i did post it but i didnt want to kind of call you out online especially since this was based on something you have personally happening to you, trust me pregnancy is scary let alone having to go it alone so if you need someone to talk to im here btw.. but hopefully you guys like this it was pretty good i wanna post a couple of requests a day since i banged this out as quickly as i did im taking more requests just inbox me or go to my ask let me know if you want your name attached to the request and i will send everyone that i know requested a specific story i will tag and send it to you so you know it is done but without further ado ALONE
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“Where are you going? Do you really expect me to do this alone?” I shouted to the already abandoned house. A swell in my throat rises and I can't breathe. My body shakes as the tears take over. I fall to my knees running my hand over my stomach. “Don’t you worry baby; Daddy will be back he loves you I promise” I say to the life growing within my womb. 
The warmth from the comforter consumes me as I awaken with dried tears in my eyes. My heart aches as I remember the events from the past 12 hours. The thick silence takes hold of my heart and it begins racing. My heart beat sounding as if it is being played on a speaker the size of a skyscraper. Feeling the bile rise in my throat, rushing to the bathroom, I empty out the contents of my stomach. Tears escape my eyes as I reach out to the void. I'm alone truly.  
My first OBGYN appointment rolls around and my heart is in my stomach. The nurse escorts me in, slowly my feet turn into lead as I drag myself onto the cot in the room and lay back facing the monitor. Once I feel that cool gel upon my stomach, my heart settles and the most beautiful BUMP BUMP BUMP is heard throughout the room. My eyes focus on the image in front of me. “well congrats sweetie you're about 10 weeks, Due September 27. Remember no stress and make sure to take your prenatal. We’ll see you next week” My ultrasound technician announces excitedly. I smile anxious as to what I should do next.  
I make my way to a small café after my appointment wanting a small tea to calm my nerves. Looking around the coffee shop I notice quite the crowd and my panic begins to set in. It feels like I can't breathe while the crowds begin to grow as the café reaches the brink of rush. More and More people pour through the door as my anxiety takes over and I feel the bile rising again, I abandon my spot in line trying to make it to the restroom before I release the contents of my stomach all over the café floor. The restroom door becomes the only thing in sight to me as I dash for it. I reach for the handle and the door opens and I slam into a hard chest and soon I am on the floor.
“HOLY CRAP!!! IM SO SORRY I WAS NOT PAYING ATTENTION” A angelic voice apologized above me. My eyes drift from the floor up to see the most amazing man I've ever seen in my life with his hand out and my voice gets caught in my throat. I stare at him for a while capturing every detail of his face and take his hand. I nod quickly and mutter a fast “Sorry” and dash around the beautiful man and lose myself behind the safety of the door. I was dreading walking back out into the craziness of the café, but excited to see if I could once again get a glimpse of the gorgeous man from before.  
Soon I am back in line and order my tea, when a familiar voice sounds from next to me “You know.... you should let me pay you back for your drink you know...since I hurt you” Shocked I turn my head to see the same beautiful man from before. “Oh, please don’t worry about it I really wasn’t paying attention either it's not a big deal” I smile shyly. “Besides I'm sure you have better things to do with your time than to buy a stranger a drink” He laughs “Honestly, Beautiful, I don’t really have anything to do with my time that doesn’t involve getting to know you” Heat creeps up to my face and I lower my gaze and smile. “I don’t need you to pay me back for my tea for you to be able to get to know me, but unfortunately I gotta go” I say slowly moving past him. “At least let me get your number...please” He asked “You don’t even know my name and you want my number?” “Hey I know what I want and I feel like me knowing your name won't matter much cause I probably won't be calling you anything other than mine” I let out a small giggle “ that was super corny but since you're trying so hard give me your phone” I put my number in his phone and hand it back to him and walk toward the door “By the way my name is Y/N” as I make my exit I hear him shout back “Jungkook!”  
As the weeks pass, I find myself talking more and more to Jungkook. He still hasn’t stopped flirted with me as much as he did that day in the café but we talk everyday about almost everything and I can't help but feel scared to tell him I am having a baby. What would he say? Will he not want to talk to me anymore? Would he not like me as much? A loud RING pulls me out of my thoughts as my phone lights up with Jungkook's name and photo comes up on my screen.  
“Hey, what's up cutie?” He says excitedly  
“Not much, just lying in bed not feeling too good today” I respond pouty  
“Aw, do you need anything? Medicine? I can bring you soup it'll make you feel better I know you said you went out with your friend last night are you hungover?” The worry evident in his voice.
“Um honestly no um I can't drink so I'm definitely not hungover just different I know what it is though I'll be fine” the nervousness in my voice is evident
“what's wrong then beautiful? Is everything okay?” Oh no... not that question. He’s worried and I know he is but I don’t know what to say. I can't stop it the words just rush out of my mouth like the bile I throw up every morning  
“I'm pregnant Jungkook....I'm 14 weeks pregnant” the line goes dead silent “look before you say anything, no I wasn’t hiding this from you and I completely understand if you don’t want to talk to me shit I wouldn’t want to talk to me and move on to someone who is not pregnant and going to be having this type of responsibilities-” “Y/N-” No listen Kookie cause I really like you and I didn’t mean to keep this from you I was just scared that you would hate me” “Y/N-” “I mean I know you just met me a couple weeks ago and it wouldn’t mean much for you to just walk away from this because let's be honest who wants to deal with that-” “Y/N! JUST STOP AND LISTEN PLEASE!” The words stop flowing as quickly as they began.
“Do you think id stop liking you because of the simple fact that you're pregnant, I mean yeah it does suck that you're going to have someone else's baby but I don’t care about that... WAIT! Is that why your ex left?” I stay silent
“Baby....are you there?” He asks worried.
“Baby girl???”  
“Beautiful are you okay? Hello?”
I sniffle “Yeah I’m here sorry” my voice cracks at every word.
“Baby are you crying? Do you need me to get you anything?”  
“No, I'm fine I promise I'm going to go to bed okay? Goodnight handsome I'll talk to you in the morning” “wait what no I'm com-” I cut him off to end the already overwhelming call. My vision blurs as the tears cascade down my face and I let out a harsh sob. I was scared for nothing or he's just too optimistic. A loud knock on the door grabs my attention.  
“who is it?” fear leaking out in my tone. “Baby it's me open up” I hear Jungkook's melodic voice through the door. Quickly I swing the door open to be greeted with the man I've grown so accustomed to in the past few weeks. Taking in the sight of him my heart begins to race as the tears began to no longer form. He reaches his arms around me and pulls me against him. “Baby girl, why didn’t you tell me sooner? You really thought that would make me just leave. How could I do that when in the past few weeks, you’ve stolen my heart” He looks at me and there's a hunger in his eyes as they shift down to my lips. “aww fuck it” he exclaims as his lips capture mine. His arms wrap around my waits as my hands get lost in his soft midnight hair. After a while he pulls away and a small whimper is released from my mouth. “Do you know HOW long I've wanted to do that” he exclaims excitedly with a smile plastered across his face.
After that night Jungkook never left my side, everything I craved he got, Anytime I felt nauseous Jungkook was there.  It became routine with him his calls became more frequent on days he knew I had appointments and he went to every ultrasound. His excitement for my baby was shown one day when I came home from work and my whole apartment was filled top to bottom with diapers bottles and wipes. Jungkook was still too nervous to buy much because he felt he was taking part of the experience from me and the fact that we still don’t know what the baby is yet. As the date rolls around to the appointment it's all Jungkook can talk about. He wants a girl every five seconds he reminds me it's always “Baby do you think the princess will like me? I mean I want her to know I care and that I love you” which is why he was so heartbroken when he could not make it to the gender reveal appointment because of a last-minute practice session. “Please promise to call me right after you find out okay baby?” He begs sadly before he left for the morning.  
After the appointment my heart swelled with joy as I turned into my driveway to see Jungkook's car sitting there. As soon as I unlocked the door, I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist and feel kisses peppered up my neck “Hey, Baby how did your appointment go? How are you feeling?” he says in-between kisses. A blush creeps up onto my face “Yeah, it went great baby is a growing good and healthy, so I have to tell you something” I state biting my bottom lip and looking toward the ground.
“Oh god what's wrong? Is our princess okay?” his use of the word our makes my heart skip a beat “OUR? And the baby is fine....” I look at him pointedly and his hand runs through his hair as his face turns beet red as he slowly stutters out “I mean....um... I'm sorry I didn’t mean to just assume that you wanted me involved but it's so hard not to be when I'm so in love with you that I don’t care if I wasn’t the one that got you pregnant that’s my baby and you’re my girl so yeah our.... so, what is you have to tell me?” I kiss him softly at his words. I beam at him “You're literally so amazing I can't believe you would even consider any of this I know it's a lot to ask for someone to be involved with someone who is pregnant and all I appreciate it baby BUT unfortunately it's not a princess we got blessed with, handsome” as I put his hand on my stomach and his face twists into confusion “what do you-WAIT! IT’S A BOY? FORREAL? IT’S A BOY?” the smile cannot be contained on his face as he comes to the realization.
"Yes, it’s a boy” I state as Jungkook lifts and twirls me around I laugh.
Jungkook happily exclaims “Oh my god, I'm gonna have a son.” Jungkook drops to his knees and places his hand on my stomach and softly speaks “Hey handsome, its daddy, no I'm not your real daddy baby but I'm going to love you and your mommy like I am. I can't imagine a world without you I can't wait to meet you”
I stand there smiling knowing.......Jungkook won’t ever leave me alone  
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