#Becca your work is always art | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

borathae · 2 months

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“Being a sorcerer has always been Hoseok’s dream. So when a well-known and powerful sorceress sends out letters informing the young minds of the city of an upcoming position as her apprentice, Hoseok takes fate into his own hands and applies. The only problem is that learning the arts of magic is reserved for women. He is convinced however that hard work and effort can charm the sorceress’ heart and get him the position.”

Pairing: Magic Student!Hoseok x Magic Student!Reader

Genre: Fantasy!AU, Magic School!AU, s2f2potential lovers!AU, Romance

Warnings: lots of plot, 90% of this is written from Hoseok’s POV, Queendom!Tae being the bestest friend, they’re both so adorable, the students are mean to him at first :(, except for reader heheh she is a sweetheart <3, also idk if this is important but i got inspired by Elden Ring as far as some names are concerned istfg best game <3, this will have a second part where reader’s pov plays a bigger part and the romance is gonna be bigger as well <3, for now this story is very magic & Hobi’s journey to magic centered, but also some romantic tension is present as well hngngn, istfg i love this universe

Wordcount: 6.5k of 24.3k

✴ Part Two of Two ✴

Hoseok returns to the school with new energy. Spending the days with Taehyung truly helped him see the bright side of things again. He knows that he can do it. Hoseok is motivated to find his connection.

Two weeks however pass and Hoseok still fails to find his connection. His fellow students have already managed the second step each and proved their worth, while he still struggled to connect. The motivation of once has long died out again.

It is dinner time, but Hoseok is not in the eating hall.

“Have you seen Hoseok?” Ainar asks you and Ash.

“I haven’t.”

“I haven’t either.”

“Do you believe that he is alright? He looked very sad after class today.”

“I think it really saddens him that he cannot connect to the magic”, Ash says, “poor Hoseok, I truly wish for him to find it.”

“Yes, me too”, Ainar agrees.

“I am most certain that he will. He has to. With the test coming up”, you say.

“What do you think will happen to him if he cannot connect until then?”

Nobody dares to speak, eventhough all of you share the same thought. That if Hoseok fails, it could mean that he will have to pack his belongings and leave this school. A kind heart will only prove one worthy for that long before the missing skill catches up with one. Hoseok might have the kindness a great sorcerer should posses, but if he cannot access the magic, it means that he is simply that. A kind person. Nobody dares to speak these thoughts however because you truly wanted the best for him.

Ainar moved into your room after Becca had to leave. Ash voiced her deep regrets for her behaviour in the beginning and confessed that she was too scared to stand up to Becca in fear of being excluded. Hoseok forgave her and then offered her a piece of chocolate. Ever since then, your little group has been good friends. If you weren’t practicing or studying, you spend many hours laughing and talking in your shared sitting room. You think that Hoseok has the most wonderful laugh and the most thrilling stories to tell. His absence would truly be painful and none of you want his leave.

You agree to take dinner back to your bed chamber so Hoseok wouldn’t have to go to sleep hungry. Tomorrow will be a busy day as you will have potion class with sorceress Zenith and her lectures are always very draining. Hoseok needs to eat something unless he wants to faint.

He isn’t in the shared sitting room and so you knock on your bed chamber.

“Mhm.”

You open the door, Ash and Ainar follow.

“Hoseok? We brought you dinner.”

“I am not hungry.”

Hoseok lies in his bed with the blanket pulled over his head and his back turned to the door.

“You must eat. We have sorceress Zenith tomorrow. You will suffer if you don’t eat something.”

“I am not going to class tomorrow.”

“What? Why?”

“But you love potion class”, Ash says.

“You say it always brings you joy”, Ainar insists.

“I don’t want to.”

You pull the blanket off his head. He whips around and tries to grab for it.

“Don’t. Just leave me be”, he complains.

“We worry for you.”

“Don’t you want to try the food? It is very delicious tonight”, Ainar tries.

Hoseok eyes it, then his friends. They look so worried for him. He gives up with a sigh, sitting up in his bed. He accepts the bowl of fresh fish stew and the piece of white bread with it.

“May we sit down?”

Hoseok nods his head. You sit down on his bed next to him, paying him company like this.

“You will be able to do it”, Ash says.

“Today was just the first day of the week and you still have three moons to prepare for the test. I am very positive that you will manage until then.”

“And if I won’t? We all know what this will mean. That I will lose my spot at this school. What good is a magic student who cannot even connect to his magic?”

You exchange a look with the others. One Hoseok notices. He sags his shoulders in defeat.

“Perhaps I should already pack my belongings and leave, before I embarrass myself.”

“No, don’t speak like this. You will be able to do it. I just know you will”, you insist, reaching out to touch his arm before pulling back again. You have never touched him before. It would be strange to do so now.

Hoseok doesn’t notice it as he is too busy staring sad holes into the wall.

“Please, you must at least try”, Ash insists, “we do not wish to say goodbye to you.”

“Do you truly feel this way?” Hoseok asks.

You each nod your heads.

“Oh”, he lets out and lowers his head. His cheeks feel hot, his heart light in his chest, “I didn’t think that you would”, he confesses, “thank you. I must work hard, so we do not have to say goodbye to each other then.”

“Yes, exactly. If you want to, I can help you tomorrow after class”, you offer.

“Truly?”

You nod your head, “yes truly.”

“Then, I would love this.”

“It is decided then. Now eat your stew. I think that they used the freshest fish tonight. It tastes so wonderful.”

You and Hoseok meet up after late lunch. Ash and Ainar are outside with a few other girls, practicing for the exam. Some others are occupying the library.

“Where should we go? Our chamber?” Hoseok asks.

“No, I have a better idea”, you say and wave him with you, “follow me.”

Hoseok follows you in a quick step, greeting a few students as you pass them by. You also meet Sorceress Ciri on your path.

“Where are you off to?” she asks.

“The caves. We want to practice for the exam”, you tell her.

“Be careful. Especially you”, she addresses Hoseok with it.

“I, I will”, he stutters.

“Good. Some stones may very well only turn out to be stones. Dull, lightless failures.”

Hoseok blinks in shock.

“And some may outshine all others once they’ve reached the light”, you throw back angrily and tug at Hoseok’s sleeve, “come on Hoseok, we are already running late.”

Hoseok stumbles after you with his eyes glued to Sorceress Ciri for as long as possible. The sorceress curls her lips and clicks her tongue, turning her back to him before strutting off with her nose stuck high into the sky.

“Pay her words no mind. She is a bitter old hag.”

Hoseok gasps at your harsh words.

“Forgive me, I grew up with less classes in manners”, you say, “I won’t take back what I said, however.”

Hoseok lets a small smile wash over his lips, “it is alright.”

The caves can be reached through a sturdy door. It is very important not to imagine the caves like one might imagine a typical cave. Dark, wet, cold. The glintstone caves are none of these things. They dig deep and lower into the mountain, but no corner of it is dark. Magic deep in the crystal makes them glow, illuminating the paths and stairs this way. The air is quite comfortable on the skin and leaves no wet sensation behind, carrying magical scents one might describe as sweet while others might take them in as fresh. Tables and chairs are scattered on the bigger areas where students can sit and practice. They are currently empty. And purple clouds of magic dance in the air. A waterfall is rushing in the background, its waters can be used in healing potions.

You and Hoseok choose a table surrounded by glintstone and not far from the door.

“Let me”, Hoseok offers and fixes the chair for you.

“Thank you”, you say with a quick flutter in your heart, “what a surprise.”

“Oh? Oh, forgive me. Force of habit. I am so used to fixing chairs for Taehyung.”

“It is alright. I didn’t mind.”

Hoseok sits down opposite of you, looking around the cave.

“I still cannot believe that something like this truly exists.”

“Yes, me neither”, you agree, “now, are you ready to practice?”

He nods his head vividly.

“Take out your stone.”

Hoseok obeys.

“Show me your process.”

Hoseok obeys. Just like always, he fails to lift the stone.

“As you can see, I am as far as I was on the first day”, he jokes, lifting the corners of your lips into a smile.

“I am most certain that something happened inside you. Something that perhaps needs just a little bit of help?”

“Help?”

“Please do not judge me, but I did some reading”, you say and pull out a carefully written paper, “here. You can have these notes.”

“Truly?” Hoseok accepts them gladly.

“Yes. These are only my theories and I am but a mere beginner as well, so take them with caution. But I was thinking that perhaps your own magic is simply not strong enough to find its connection with you.”

“Not strong enough you say?”

“Yes. Watch me.”

Hoseok follows you with his eyes. You reach to your side and touch the glintstone, making it glow. It feels warm and comfortable and you take this feeling to transfer it into the stone to make it float. Hoseok’s stone floats soon after, the small table follows as well.

Hoseok gasps in awe.

“You see? Perhaps you have to channel the energies in these caves and your magic will be stronger”, you say, lowering the objects again. The glow dies down, as does the warmth in your fingertips, “strong enough so that it can finally find its connection.”

“That was remarkable.”

“Thank you. Try it yourself.”

“Forgive me?” Hoseok gasps with widened eyes, “how should I do such a thing?”

“Simply try. Perhaps you need a little help to connect with your magic. Perhaps you cannot produce enough energy yet and need a strengthening from these stones.”

“So you believe that with a stronger source, I could awaken my magic inside? Like feeding a dying fire more wood?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Perhaps this could work”, Hoseok says and stands up to touch the glintstone just like you did.

It makes soft sounds, soaking the pads of his fingers with coldness. He closes his eyes, focusing on the sensation.

“Try to visualise it”, you whisper.

Hoseok imagines glowing stones and warmth in his fingers. He imagines purple haze all around him and how it soaks his fibres. He imagines his practice stone floating and how much warmer his hands would get.

He imagines, but he fails to truly put it into reality. He opens his eyes. Coldness. No glow. He drops his hand from the stone and sinks down on his chair, burying his face in his hands.

“I tried so hard”, he gets out shakily.

“Try again.”

“No, just give it up. It won’t work.”

“But it has to”, you say and touch the stone. You make it glow, “look! I, I did it for you. Keep this glow alive”, you try.

“How?”

“Touch it and try to keep it alive.”

Hoseok obeys even if his eyes seem hopeless.

“I am counting to three and then you give it life. One, two, three.”

Bright light for but a breath, sudden flickering which weakens the glow more and more until the stone is dark again.

“You did it!”

“I didn’t do anything. I failed”, Hoseok insists and pulls his hands away.

“No, you did something. The stone flickered before it died out. You kept it alive for but a moment.”

“No, I didn’t. It was simply your magic leaving it.”

“No it wasn’t. You did that.”

“Give it up, ___. I am hopeless.”

“No, you are not.”

“Why do you want my success so badly? Why can’t you just let it go?”

“Because I like you”, you blurt out.

Hoseok closes his mouth, gawking at you with widened eyes. His pulse flutters for but a moment.

“And I want your dream to become reality. I want it so very much. Not only for you, but also for my brother. You cannot give up, Hoseok please. You could change the world and make it possible so that dreamers like my brother have a chance as well.”

“But I am just a boy”, Hoseok whispers,

“You are not just a boy. You are Hoseok, you are strong and resilient and a wonderful dreamer.”

“But how should I change the world?”

“By not giving up. By believing in yourself.”

Hoseok lowers his head shyly.

“And if you cannot believe in yourself right now, believe in me and my support for you.”

Hoseok meets your gaze. Honesty, hope, admiration. He can see it in your purple eyes. You speak the truth. You really believe in him.

“Thank you”, he breathes, looking at your lips for but a moment, “for saying this.”

“I meant it. I cannot say goodbye to you, so please do not give up already.”

He smiles shyly, “I won’t.”

You retort his smile, letting your eyes run over his face. He has a birthmark on his lip. You never noticed it until now. Your mother always tells you that birthmarks show up on a person’s body where they were kissed especially much in their past life.

Hoseok lets out a shy laugh, ripping you back to reality. You look away instantly, clearing your throat loudly.

“I uhm”, you begin.

He clears his throat and looks away, turns to touch the glintstone. His cheeks feel hot. He closes his eyes and tries to imagine how his hands warm up as well.

A tickle. At the very tips of his fingers. Hoseok gasps and pulls away instinctively.

“What is it? Did you feel something?”

“No. Yes. I mean, I cannot say. My fingertips tickled.”

“Try again. Oh, this could be it!”

Hoseok touches the stone with both hands and closes his eyes. A tickle. He has to imagine a tickle which becomes warmth.

Nothing happens. He pulls away, shaking his head sadly.

“Try again.”

“I don’t think that your theory works. I am truly sorry.”

“But it has to”, you say and take his hands so you could place them on the stone.

Hoseok gasps quietly, gawking at his hands engulfed in yours. The touch goes so deep. He quite frankly, finds it a little hard to breathe all of a sudden.

You make the stone glow, keeping his hands between yours and the glowing crystal.

“Feel it? How warm it becomes?” you try, squeezing his hands, “how it is tickling your palms?”

You look at his face. His cheeks are flushed, his eyes widened slightly. It is enough to make you realise the situation you currently find yourself in. You are touching him. You crossed the line.

“Forgive me”, you say, pulling away instantly.

Hoseok keeps his hands on the stone, looking at you just as you look at him. You both miss how the stone keeps glowing, just as Hoseok doesn’t take in how warm his hands have become. The eye contact takes all your attention.

“I shouldn’t have taken your hands. Please forgive me.”

Hoseok shakes his head, “there is nothing to forgive.”

He retreats his hands. The stone finally darkens. Neither of you take it in.

“I-”, you begin.

“Young students, why are you still here?”

You never get to finish your sentence as sorceress Zenith interrupts you before you can. You and Hoseok stand up to bow at her.

“Forgive us, sorceress Zenith. We practiced for our exam”, Hoseok says.

“Hard work is honourable, but do not forget your sleep. It is late, young students. You must prepare for the night and I cannot allow you to be here any longer”, she says and waves the big set of keys around she uses to lock the caves overnight.

“We are already leaving. Forgive us”, Hoseok says and hurries away with you by his side.

You wait until you cross a corner before breaking into giggles.

“I cannot believe that we got caught by sorceress Zenith”, you snicker.

“My heart is racing. Did you see how she looked at us?” Hoseok giggles.

“Oh, we are so doomed.”

“No, do not say that. I am already doomed enough”, he chuckles.

“Forgive me, oh forgive me”, you laugh, stumbling from laughing so hard that Hoseok has to hold your sleeve for support.

You stumble into your chamber still laughing about your run in with sorceress Zenith. Ainar and Ash are already in their room.

“Do you mind if I washed myself first?” you ask him.

“Not at all. I might go to the library either way. I must read up on the theory.”

“But what if sorceress Zenith will catch you again?” you tease, stepping closer to him in a playful way.

“Then I will tell her that it was your idea”, Hoseok throws back and gives your shoulder a little poke.

You snicker, moving closer. Hoseok grins, chasing you. Your faces are mere inches away from touching.

Realisation. Hearts flutter.

You break away instantly, looking everywhere but the other person.

“I uhm, I am in the library”, Hoseok stutters.

“I understand, uh, have fun”, you say and leave for the washing chamber.

Hoseok calls your name. You look over your shoulder.

“Yes?”

“I uhm”, he clears his throat, blushing slightly. He shakes his head and looks away coyishly, “forget it. I was rambling.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll be in the library”, Hoseok says and bows deeply, “thank you for helping me.”

“I uh”, you do not get to finish you sentence before he is already gone. What did he want to tell you?

Hoseok attempts to concentrate, but his mind is racing. Thoughts about you and the unexplainable flutters you awoke in him tonight, thoughts about the tickles in his fingertips but also worries about the test and his continuous failures.

The theory you told him sounded so perfect and yet he still failed to find his connection. The good thoughts of you drown out more and more, the longer Hoseok thinks about his failures.

He doesn’t quite know how many hours he spent pondering his dark future and trying to find help in books, but his tired body lets him know that it must have been a few.

The library is dead silent. Hoseok should really be in his chambers already. Not only because the school rules say so, but also because it is way too late to still be awake. But Hoseok couldn’t sleep if he tried. Five moons passed ever since the weekend and he still hasn’t found his connection to magic. Not even practicing in the caves helped him. He feels like a failure. Perhaps Sorceress Ciri was right. Perhaps he is destined to be dull, lightless stone.

“Hoseok?”

He looks at the person having whispered his name.

“Sorceress Selen?” he gasps, scrambling to his feet to bow at her.

“Please stay comfortable”, she tells him and sits down on the chair opposite of him, “what are you still doing up?”

“Please forgive me. I didn’t notice how late it already was. I will go to my chambers right away. I promise it won’t happen again.”

“Sit, Hoseok.”

He follows her orders with a racing heart. He is scared. Will this be the night he is finally told to leave? He fumbles with his fingers nervously, trying to look into the sorceress‘ purple eyes despite his hammering heart.

“You do not seem like yourself lately. Is there something troubling you?” she however asks him with motherly concern in her voice.

Hoseok looks at his lap instantly, feeling his eyes water. It has been too long since someone spoke to him with such maternal worry in their voice. He feels too fragile tonight not to have a reaction to it.

“There is something troubling you, isn’t there?” she gasps upon seeing the tears in his eyes.

He nods his head.

“Talk to me, my young student.”

“I am scared.”

“Scared?”

He nods his head, “scared to fail tomorrow’s test. I am such a failure. I feel unworthy of your teachings. I even fail to do something as simple as lifting a stone with my mind.”

“Do not give up hope yet, my young student.”

“It all feels hopeless”, Hoseok sniffles, “what if I was never meant to learn magic? What if my dream is truly foolish? What if boys are simply not meant to possess magic? Sorcerer Argon was proof enough. I am but a foolish boy with foolish ambitions”, Hoseok says and rubs at his eyes to stop himself from truly crying.

The sorceress Selen studies his sad stature, taking a deep breath. She fixes her dress and straightens up.

“I am going to tell you a story”, she begins.

Hoseok looks at her.

“A story of a powerful sorcerer and how he managed to write history.”

“A sorcerer? There was another sorcerer?” Hoseok gasps.

“Oh yes there was.”

“So it is truly possible for boys to learn magic without losing control?”

“Oh yes it is. There was one sorcerer, who traversed these lands many, many centuries ago and who till this day is spoken about.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes. He was a powerful mage, who had incredible magic inside him. He always spoke of creating a spell so grande he will be able to leave this plain and travel to another universe.”

“This is impossible. Nobody could be that powerful. You said so yourself.”

“But he was.”

“No”, he gasps.

“Yes, yes indeed he was, dear Hoseok. Indeed he was. He worked decades on this one spell and he always spoke of leaving this universe and finding another where he will be able to create his own school of magic.”

“For boys and girls?”

“Yes indeed. For boys and girls. He spoke of it in many of his writings. And so he worked on the spell until one day he was gone. His servant had gone to the market for fresh eggs and when he returned, the mage’s office was completely cleaned out. Except for one small letter.”

“What did it say?”

“Dear Bartemo. That was his servant’s name. Dear Bartemo, if you read this letter and I am nowhere to be found, it seems that my spell was finally successful. I took my research with me. However, the estate and all its belongings are yours from this day forward. I am off to teach many young children the arts of magic. With kindest regards, Nilrem.”

“Nilrem”, Hoseok repeats, “I have read this name in scriptures long ago. I never believed this name to be important. Was he ever found? Did he return? What about his research? Is it truly lost?”

“Oh yes, sadly he took it with him. He was never seen in this realm again and Bartemo lived to eighty years of age before a fever took him. He never saw his master again, but he always spoke highly of him.”

“This is truly such a wonderful story. I thank you for telling me. Nilrem. I will remember the name and see it as motivation to grow as a sorcerer”, Hoseok lets out an excited giggle, scrunching his nose, “do you believe that he was successful? That he managed to teach magic to younglings?”

“I like to believe that he was. It is truly a shame that in this realm, it is still so frowned upon for boys to learn magic, so I truly hope that in at least another universe, Nilrem managed to make the world a fairer place.”

“Yes, yes this sounds good”, Hoseok says and nods his head, “oh, I am spilling over with sudden motivation. I need to practice my spells, yes I must. Please if you would excuse me”, he says and jumps up to hurry away.

The sorceress Selen watches him with fond eyes until the library door closes behind him. He is a student she finds herself very fond of already.

“___!” Hoseok calls your name, stumbling through the door.

You lift your head from your pillow, studying his face with sleepy eyes. He looks out of breath.

“Yes?” you croak with your voice heavy from sleep.

“Sorcerer existed in these lands!”

“What do you mean?”

Hoseok jumps onto your bed and touches your arm in excitement, shaking you in your comfortable blanket cocoon. You whine quietly, feeling oh so dizzy.

“I spoke with sorceress Selen in the library and she told me a story of a powerful sorcerer, who wandered these lands thousands of years ago. His name was Nilrem and he was so powerful that he could traverse universes.”

“Universes?” you murmur and yawn loudly, “what do you mean universes?”

“Yes, universes! He went to another universe and was never seen again. Oh ___, boys can learn magic”, Hoseok drops his head into your blanket, hugging you this way, “and they can be powerful without losing control. I can learn magic as well, it is possible.”

You tense up in shock, feeling your heart speed up in your chest. He feels very warm and comfortably heavy on your chest. Oh by Frenya, you wear but a thin sleeping gown and his head is dangerously close to your bosom. Thankfully for your own sanity of heart, Hoseok sits up again. He is too overtaken in excitement to truly realise what he has done and what he did to your poor heart in the process.

“I can learn magic as well, ___”, he says and laughs so brightly his lips form the prettiest of hearts.

“So this means that sorceress Ciri lied today”, you say.

“Yes it was a lie”, Hoseok says and sighs in relief, “I am not a failure.”

“Of course you aren’t”, you say and sit up, covering yourself with the blanket, “I always believed in you. She was very rude and wrong for talking to you like this.”

“I thank you for saying this”, Hoseok gives your upper arm a gentle rub, “I am very happy to have you as my chamber mate.”

“Oh”, you feel your cheeks heat up, lowering your eyes shyly, “I am happy as well”, you whisper.

“Now, you must excuse me. I am in the garden, practicing until I can finally lift a stone”, Hoseok says and jumps out of your bed. He slips into his shoes and gives you a smiley wave goodbye before finally disappearing out of the room.

You touch the spot on your upper arm he rubbed, then the spot on your chest his head rested upon, taking a deep breath to calm down the flutter of your heart.

He is already doing magic. Deep, deep in your chest where you pulse just doesn’t want to slow down.

Hoseok isn’t in his bed when you wake early the next morning. You leave your sleeping chambers. The door to Ainar’s and Ash’s chamber is still closed and right there on the soft seating, Hoseok is sleeping with his mouth wide open. Half of his limbs hang from the edge off the seat, his long hair does as well. His practice glintstone sits on the table. The notes you made for him lie beside it.

For but a second you let him sleep peacefully, letting your eyes wander over him. His body is still dressed in the white clothing of yesterday, his shoes are scattered by the entrance. Your eyes linger but a second on his exposed neck and how the morning sun paints streaks of golden light on his skin.

You had a difficult time falling asleep last night as your mind kept you awake with thoughts of what happened between you and him. Barely anything did if one compares it to truly big happenings, but it meant a lot to you. You touched his hands, you shared playful banter in front of the bathing chamber with him, he hugged you. You never experienced something like this before and you couldn’t quite place the feelings it awakes in your chest.

You lift your eyes upon hearing Ash open her door. She and Ainar leave their room.

“Oh? What happened to him?”

“Practice. I think he practiced all night.”

Hoseok, who wakes up from your voices, sits up. He groans loudly, touching his neck instantly.

“By Frenya, my neck”, he whines, massaging in vividly, “huh?!” he suddenly straightens up, “what time is it? Oh, the test!” he blurts out and jumps up to run out of the room.

“We still have two hours left”, you stop him before he can.

“Oh”, he stops, “really?”

“Yes, enough time for you to wash up. You look rather battered.”

“I feel battered. My neck is going to kill me”, he says and rolls it, groaning as he does.

“Did you sleep here all night?” Ainar asks.

“No. I fell asleep with the sun rising.”

“But it has only been light for an hour.”

“I know”, Hoseok says and yawns.

“Why did you stay up this long? How should you concentrate today?”

“I will make it work”, Hoseok says, furrowing his brows in conviction. He lets his eyes drift to yours, “I have a dream to fulfil.”

A smile graces your face for but a moment, before you feel too shy to keep the eye contact going. Hoseok looks to the side.

“Now if you don’t mind, I would like to wash the day away.”

“Go ahead. I already bathed last night”, Ash assures him, “Ainar and I will be in the eating hall.”

“May I accompany you?” you ask them.

“Of course.”

You leave Hoseok alone in your shared room. He picks up his practice stone and walks to his room to get new clothing so he could get dressed in the bathing chamber.

He meets you and the others in class. Like so very often, you bring breakfast because you knew that he would skip it for the sake of practicing just a little more. He eats it seated by his desk and with his nervous eyes glued to his practice stone. The swell of his eye sacs and the redness of his eyes haven’t gone down yet. He is so visibly tired in fact, that sorceress Selen asks if he was feeling alright once she enters the classroom. Sorceress Ciri is with her as well.

“I simply practiced all night”, he tells her.

“Sleep is important, my young student”, she tells him.

“I know, sorceress Selen. I will get it today.”

She nods in approval, then claps into her hands.

“Very well then, shall we get started with the tests? I am most certain that you all want to get it over with as quickly as possible. Who wants to start?”

Some students lift their hands and so the testing begins.

The test consists of two parts. One based on knowledge and the other on action. Sorceress Ciri asks each student two questions about the history of magic and then sorceress Selen asks two more questions about glintstone magic. The practical part comes last where the students have to lift their practice stone and guide it to a mug on the teacher’s desk where they will have to lower it into the mug carefully.

The other students are asked to be quiet during the testing. Some busy themselves by drawing in their books, while others read up on their notes and others listen to the testing. There are also people like Hoseok and Ash, who use the time to practice. Ash manages to lift her stone, moving it around with swirls of her finger. Soon it is her turn and then it will be your turn and then it will be his turn.

Hoseok gulps nervously and tries to concentrate on practicing. He didn’t manage to lift the stone during his nightly session. He will have to make it work or else he will fail. He knows what he needs to know, he could have answered each question the sorceresses asked his fellow students, but fails at the most crucial part. How will he be able to pass when he cannot put the knowledge into practice?

Ash returns to her seat, looking relieved. You stand up.

“Good luck”, Hoseok tells you, earning himself a sweet smile.

“Thank you.”

Hoseok listens to your testing. The questions are easy and you manage to answer them quickly and coherently. The practical part follows. You move the stone with ease, ending it by painting a circle with it before lowering it into the mug. It brings a chuckle to sorceress Selen’s lips.

“Good job, my young student”, she praises you, “please return to your seat.”

You hurry to it with a relieved grin on your lips. Ash and Ainar praise you instnaly.

“You did so well”, Hoseok says.

“Thank you”, you tell him.

“Hoseok, please come out”, sorceress Ciri tells him.

He takes a deep breath and stands up.

“Good luck. I believe in you”, you tell him.

“Good luck”, Ash says.

“You can do it”, Ainar encourages him.

Hoseok acknowledges them with a nervous smile. He can hear how much quieter the classroom became. Which means a lot, because it was already quiet. Everyone is watching him. He is aware of it. This is it. The moment which will decide if he is worthy of being a sorcerer or not.

Hoseok sits down, sweating buckets from just his palms. At least it feels like it.

“When was the first magic school founded?” sorceress Ciri asks him.

Hoseok has to think for a moment. This wasn’t in the curriculum. He isn’t surprised that she asks him a question like this.

“It depends. If we take the writings of Sorceress Sorn into consideration, it is said that the first school of magic was founded as early as 218 of the second age by a group of dragon worshippers who discovered that glintstone can be harnessed for magic, but her writings are still seen as a rather incomplete source because of the great fires nine hundred years ago. So we use the Book of History written by sorceress Cicil in 1306 of the third age as the guide. In it, it says that the first school of magic was actually founded around two thousand years later than sorceress Sorn says in her writings and that the founders weren’t dragon worshippers, but scholars who studied glintstone for many centuries.”

Sorceress Ciri scrunches her nose in distaste. She didn’t think that he could answer this question. Hoseok lifts his head proudly.

“Very good”, she presses out, “where did the practice of Mending originate from?”

“The Glass Mountains in the school of sorceress Reah.”

“What even is Mending?”

“It is the magic of healing wounds by channelling the energies of the planets and using them to mend what was broken.”

“And why do we channel energies from the planets?”

“Because they are the strongest and purest form to channel. Nothing earthen has touched these energies yet and therefore soiled them. So they can be used to safely close wounds or mend broken bones.”

“And-”

“Thank you, sorceress Ciri”, sorceress Selen interrupts her, “I believe that Hoseok has already answered enough of your questions.”

The sorceress scrunches his nose in distaste.

“Fine”, she says and looks away with an annoyed gleam in her eyes.

Hoseok sends her a victorious look then shifts his eyes to sorceress Selen.

“Now Hoseok. Given how sorceress Ciri has already asked questions about glintstone magic, I believe that it is time for you to show what you have learned.”

Hoseok gulps. Truly, for just a second his heart stopped. He looks at the stone in front of him. This is it. The moment which determines if he is worthy.

“Take your time.”

Hoseok lifts his hands and visualises how the stone floats.

Nothing.

His heart races faster.

He tries harder.

Nothing.

Whispers begin in the classroom.

Hoseok lowers his hands. This is fruitless.

“Silence”, sorceress Selen warns, then speaks to Hoseok in a motherly tone, “try again. I believe in you.”

Hoseok lifts his hands again. He closes his eyes and visualises the stone. He thinks of his dream. Of how he told Taehyung that one day he will move the stars and make flowers grow from his fingers. Of how he promised his mother that one day he will be able to grow her a garden in the cold weathers of the Snow Isles. Of how he stayed up many nights to think about his life as a sorcerer. He thinks of sorceress Ciri and all the other people who so clearly see no future in him, but he also thinks of sorceress Selen and Taehyung and the princess and his chamber mates and how they all believe in him. He thinks of you and your little brother, then imagines all the other young boys who dream a dream which seemed so unreachable to them.

He thinks about how he was once one of these boys until he managed to get a spot at a magical school and how he could be the boy who changes the future for many other dreamers.

He opens his eyes, meeting ecstatic happiness in Sorceress Selen’s eyes and surprised pride in sorceress Ciri’s eyes. He looks at his hands.

The stone is floating.

“Oh! Ah!” he exclaims and almost drops it again.

“Concentration”, sorceress Selen says.

“I-I’m doing it!” he stutters with glassy eyes, “the stone is floating!”

“How wonderful, Hoseok. Now move it.”

“I am! I am moving it! Watch me!” he exclaims and makes the stone move with swirls of his fingers. And as he moves the stone with just his mind, purple soaks the white strands of his hair until even the last inch of his long locks are painted in it.

He drops the stone in the mug, jumping up with a loud yelp of excitement.

“I did it!” he turns to the class, “I moved the stone!”

His fellow students jump up in joy, cheering with him because all they wanted was his success. They run to him, circling him with some even patting his arms in congratulatory happiness.

You are with them as well, crying tears of happiness.

“You did it”, you tell him.

“I did it.”

“And your hair. Look at your hair!”

“My hair?” Hoseok tugs it into his vision, “my hair?! It is purple?!”

“The magic has deemed you worthy”, sorceress Selen says with pearls of tears in the corner of her eyes as well. She truly rooted for her dear student.

„Very impressive, young student“, sorceress Ciri says with an respectful bow of her head.

Hoseok smiles in gratitude, before looking at you and the others.

“Hoseok! You are worthy!” you exclaim and take his hands to squeeze them excitedly, “I told you. I knew that you could do it!” “Worthy? I am worthy”, Hoseok presses out and spills tears as realisation finally sets in, “I am worthy to be a sorcerer. I did it. I am worthy.”

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bullet-prooflove · 25 days

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Forget About It: John Nolan x Reader

Tagging: @ravennaortiz @anime-weeb-4-life @trublu2u @hellostickerdoodle @augustvandyne @obi-wansgirl @kmc1989 @scorpio-1357 @thebookisbtr @avengersfan12 @atomic-art-dragon @elefrog25-blog @omg-its-vixen @mydebbs

References to Bad Timing - You and John have always had bad timing.

You don’t talk about the night you came over to John’s house but he thinks about it all the time. He fantasises about your lips, the light pressure and the tender heat. The way you felt underneath his hands as they chased up the inside of your shirt. The press of your body against his as he pulled you into his lap, grinding up against you. He’d never wanted anybody as much as he’d wanted you in that moment.

When he sees you in the precinct he doesn’t know what to say, the two of you are alone in the locker room. You’re coming off shift because you’ve just finished a stake out with Vestri and he’s in early because he can’t sleep.

“We should talk about it.” He says softly as you close your locker.

“We should just forget about it.” You counter as you shrug your way back into your leather jacket.

Your necklace tangles in the collar and you growl in frustration. He knows this version of you, exhausted, temperamental. You’ve been working back to back shifts the last couple of days, trying to get out of your own head.

He reaches out to help you, his fingertips lightly drawing the chain away from the fabric before it comes to rest against your collarbone. He realises too late that he’s made a mistake. His body brushes against yours and he feels that stirring again, that undeniable chemistry he feels whenever he’s with you. His thumb ghosts along the curve of your jaw as his forehead comes to rest upon yours.

“Becca,” He whispers before he kisses you. “How am I supposed to forget how good this feels.”

Your fingers thread through his hair and he’s drowning all over again because being with you, it’s like nothing he’s ever felt before.

The door slams open and the two of you break apart. He sees the look in your eyes and he knows what you’re going to do the instant before you do it.

“Becca…” He says but you’re already slipping out of his arms and hurtling away from him. He doesn’t try to stop you, no matter how much he may want to because right now you’re in pain and its on him, he's the one that caused it.

Love John? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

#john nolan #john nolan x reader #john nolan x you #the rookie #nathan fillion

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sin-djarin · 6 months

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Becca's Brunch

Alas, another week has came and went and you made it. Pull up a chair, grab some proverbial treats and a cup of something. I left out some extra water, thought you may need after SNL.

Take a minute for yourself and let's get into it. ☕️

Or, what I've gotten round to checking off my tbr this week that I will gleefully add more to.

A quick reminder that what I may like, you may not and that's okay! Most, if not all of the below are 18+. Please heed individual warnings on fics! Leave an author a comment and reblog if you enjoy their work!

Joel Miller:

Five Days by @morallyinept (new chapter)

Dieter Bravo:

Goodwill Hunting by @secretelephanttattoo

Working Title by @rhoorl (new chapter)

Dieter Bravo x Marcus Moreno:

Pretend Alleyways by @radiowallet

Javier Pena:

Paranoid Heart by @goodwithcheese (new chapter)

Dave York:

Eat You Whole by @wannab-urs

Marcus Pike:

Oct 19th's Kinktober by @absurdthirst

H I M by @morallyinept

Tim Rockford:

oct 21 x acorns by @trulybetty

Frankie Morales:

in another life by @chronically-ghosted

If you've tagged me in one of your fics, I see you and you're all on my tbr. I'm getting there and appreciate you for tagging me!

Or, other bits and pieces that made me smile this week.

We got an insight as to what Rockford and Pena are going to get up to...or down to from @for-a-longlongtime . Check that out here.

Pedro in yellow by @iamdesibell. I have a lotta love for that outfit and glasses.

@morallyinept 's lovely lament on this fandom. There's always a lot of love and appreciation floating around here and it makes my heart soar to have been welcomed into such a community. There are so many talented people here, whether you make fanart, graphics, write fics, make memes that make us smile or strip a character down with analysis. It blows my mind that we get to consume such amazing content for FREE!

These wallpapers by @sp00kymulderr

AKA, what I've dished out this week.

Art:

Frankie got a deal at the print shop for his flying lessons. This one looks like it got him a good deal of business though. Maybe ask for a new one...

Fic:

in fiction - Dieter Bravo x gn!reader

Buttons. It's buttons. That's all you have to worry about. See? Buttons.

Or, the personal stuff.

I think I answered most NSFAQs last week. But as always, you can ask me anything (within reason!) in my ask box.

Nothing too exciting over here other than the usual stuff; drinking coffee, working, sleeping, dabbled in some writing and repeating. I did up my reading game this week but I am still so behind. I see so many wonderful fics everyday. I have set up a document for myself in an effort to feel a little more organised because I'd hate to miss any.

Despite getting soaked three or four times this week, I'm in my element in winter. It's beanie and hoodie season and I'm buzzing about it.

Here's the soundtrack to my week:

I'm still a little emo, okay?

The music video for this um...something. Proceed with caution if YouTube is your thing.

If you've made it this far, thank you! Thanks for continuing to be my neighbour despite me being a little menace with the polls this week and bearing witness to me floundering in the Rockford Rockpool. (seriously though, he is everywhere I can't help it)

I wish you a week of creativity and rest when you need it. Be kind to yourself and each other.

Becca. 🤍

Now if you'll excuse me...

#becca's brunch #fic recs #joel miller fanfiction #frankie morales fanfiction #dieter bravo fanfiction #tim rockford fanfiction #marcus moreno fanfiction #marcus pike fanfiction #javier pena fanfiction #pedro pascal fan art #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal fandom #Spotify

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fangirlfrom-hell · 6 months

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A Day Full Of Emotions (Also the first time Jay sees Becca dance) || Jay Halstead x Healstead Sister || Healstead Sister one shot

*re-posting this because I'm stupid and accidentaly delated my blog 🫠

Summary: There is a big art festival happening in Chicago and Becca will dance a solo for the first time in front of people. Jay has to work as a cop and can't be with her all the time as he wished. A bomb explodes in the event and everything becomes a mess. Bomb references to Season 5, episode 2.

Becca is Halstead sister. Remember she's a theatre girl. I might write something short about Hailey and Kim trying to do Becca's hair, because that's cute.

The song Becca is dancing is In- A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly, but only the part of the drums. Minute 6:29, for a better reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCkHanF4v1w

It was finally Saturday and the weather was perfect to be outside. It seemed like luck was on Becca's side, but she wasn't feeling very happy. In fact, she was feeling sick, nauseated. She laid on bed staring at the ceiling, until someone knocked at the door.

-"Morning, kiddo!" It was Jay. -"I'm sorry to wake you, but it's getting late and I need to get ready to work, so...".

Becca used to sleep in Jay's room whenever she stayed at his place. He always preferred to sleep in the couch, so she could be confortable in a proper bed.

-"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. It didn't crossed my mind". She said while standing up.

-"Don't worry. I'll just grab some clothes and get dressed in the bathroom. You can get ready in here...in fact, why are you still in bed? I have to drop you at your teacher's house on my way to the bullpen".

-"Yeah, about that...". Becca said scratching her eye. -"I don't think I'm going...".

-"What do you mean you are not going?" Jay didn't even let her finish the sentence. -"You've waiting for this day to come".

-"I'm not feeling so good. I have a stomachache and it feels like I'll throw up".

Jay instinctively touched her forehead to feel if she was irritated or had temperature, but everything felt normal. He immediatly knew what was goinng on.

There was a big art carnival happening in Chicago that day and Becca was going to participate in a dance group that would be moving around the park performing in different spots Mobile Dance, they called it. Her teacher gave her a solo and she was ready to do it, but it would be her very first time performing in front of an audience and the idea suddenly freaked her out.

-"You're good. You are just nervous". Jay said smiling.

About an hour later, Jay was helping Becca to put her backpacks inside of the truck, getting ready to leave. She was unusually quiet, but he didn't want to force any conversation.

-"Is Will coming?" Becca asked in the co-pilot seat.

-"I don't think so". Jay sighed. -"He has a shift at the hospital". Jay lied to Becca, not knowing if that last statement was true. He was mad at his brother for always puting their sister aside. He was also tired of lying for him, but he did it to protect Becca's feelings.

There was no reaction from Becca. The silence among them took over again.

-"I'm so sorry I can't go with you through all the stations. Since it is a huge event for the city, Platt asked us to be there patrolling. There's never enough cops for these things".

-"For the millionth time, Jay: don't worry, It's ok. I understand for real".

-"It's just that I don't feel confortable changing plans with you like this". -He continued with guilt.

-"Well, it's not like you won't see me, anyway...".

-"No. I'll be there in the third stop you make, that's the part of the park I'll patrol. I have my event map with the exact place and hour. I'll be in the spot a few minutes after you arrive to make sure to be in the front when people start to gather around".

-"And you won't get in trouble for that?"

-"I asked Platt, she agreed...in fact, she got a bit excited, don't be surprised if you find her among the crowd too". That made Becca blush in embarrassment. She hadn't tought there would be so many known people around. -"I'll be in my uniform, just rememeber that if you look for me".

That made Becca giggle, she always thought her brother looked funny on his police uniform.

-"All right, Bec. We're here". -Jay said while parking the truck. -"Is there any other of your friends coming here before the show?". He tried to ask casually. He didn't like the idea of leaving his little sister alone with someone he barely knew, even though it was her teacher. Anyway, he didn't have any other option, he had to go to work.

Above all, he didn't have the hability to do her artistic make up, nor to comb her hair as it was instructed: to braids up, one on each side. They should stick back to the head forming a circle. The idea was that they looked like horns. He tried, but failed miserably. Kim and Hailey wanted to help and gave it a try but ended up cursing whoever had the idea of that hair style. That's when Becca talked to her teacher and she proposed Jay to take care of her. She knew about Becca's family situation and was genuinely glad to help that little joyful kid.

-"No". Becca answered her brother's question. -"They all are going with their moms". That last piece of information was unnecesary, but she couldn't help it. She had certain grudge inside her chest, though she probably wasn't aware of it. Jay knew better and remained silent, thoughtful.

-"Hey! I will be there!". There was no more he could say.

-"I know". She smiled. That made Becca get out of her own mind.

The carnival was already full of people when Becca and her teacher arrived. They gathered with the dance group a few minutes before it was time to start. She looked around and found Kim among the cops, they waved hello when their eyes met. Burgess immediatly send a text to Jay: I just saw her, everything's ok. She looks fine . As the overprotective brother he was, Jay had his own security plan and the team was helping him to keep on eye on his sister.

As the hour drew near, Jay started to feel a mixure of excitement and nervousness. Involuntarily, he started to approach the place his sister would dance.

-"Isn't a little bit early?" Hailey asked following him.

-"Yeah. I don't know, I guess I don't want to miss it".

-"And you need to make sure she sees you". She guessed.

-"She needs to know someone is here with her, for her".

-"Well, she has a whole elite squad looking after her around the park and waiting to see her perform. She's not precisely alone...but I know what you mean. You are a good brother, she's very lucky to have you".

Jay just stared at Hailey, not knowing how to react or what to say, since he wasn't good dealing with these kind of feelings. The distant voice of a woman caught their attention before the moment became unconfortable. It came from a microphone afar: "...Come, everyone. Follow us to the mobile dance...". She was carrying a speaker.

-"It's them". Jay said looking at the horizon, searching for his sister among the heads of the group that was approaching them. He was nervous and couldn't hide it.

"...We are a dance group created by several institutions, dedicated to spread this art to every corner..."

-"There!" Hailey said pointing at Becca when she found her. -"So that's how the hair was supposed to look, uh". She laughed.

Becca was wearing a black leotard and black tights, nothing more. Her ballerina shoes were color red. She looked relaxed, but Jay didn't buy it, he knew how good she was to hide her feelings and emotions.

A lot of people began to gather while the woman with the microphone invited them to the show. Becca was moving her head from one place to another, eyes wide opened: "He said he would be here!", she said to her teacher. And he was right in front of her, on the other side of the circle that was now formed around the pallet where the dancers would perform. When their eyes met she greeted him effusively.

There was a ballet performance first, something classic with four teen ballerinas; then there was a tap number, a cheerful piece. All of the girls were presented as part of Becca's school, but Jay wasn't really paying attention to any of them, he just applauded by inertia at the end of each song. His anxiety for Becca grew after each number and Hailey noticed, thinking that was a cute gesture coming from a man like him.

-"Now..." -The woman on the microphone spoke. It was time for the third number. -"...presenting a choreography by Martha Bennett...".

-"That's Becca's teacher". Jay tensed up, touching Hailey's shoulder.

-"...Becca Halstead".

Jay's applause was considerably louder than everyone else's while the girl got into position. The music started to play, it was a psychedelic mix with drumbs. She was moving with very precise and abrupt movements, very mesmerizing.

-"Wow!" Hailey expressed. -"I've never seen her like this. She's usually so tiny, cute and shy".

-"I didn't...knew she could do this". Jay answered without taking his eyes off his sister. Many feelings began to form inside of him.

-"She's a whole different person".

When she finished, the public applauded in a normal way. It was Jay and Hailey who did it most effusively, even shouting with excitement. Becca turned to them a little bit embarrased and gave them a forced smile.

"Thank you for staying with us, this is Mobile Dance..." They announced through the microphone when all of the numbers were over. "...Please tag us if you post our dances online...".

As soon as she could, Becca ran to her brother's arms and he hugged her tight, lifting her a little bit.

-"You killed it!" Hailey said to the little girl.

-"Thanks...I actually messed up in like a lot of parts...".

-"Don't be so hard on you! You did great!" Her teacher yelled from a few steps far.

-"I think you were perfect. I'm actually very...impressed". Jay said with pride.

-"You are?"

-"I'm really proud of you". Becca smiled with teary eyes at her brother's statement.

-"Hey! Why don't we take a picture of you two?" Hailey proposed with her cellphone in hand. -"Seems like a day to remember".

Jay and Becca posed to the camera, both showing a bright smile.

-"You should take one with us too". Becca invited her brother's partner.

-"Uh--". She hesitated looking at Jay, who nodded in agreement. -"Sure".

-"There you go!". The lady who helped them take the photo said. -"Sush a beautiful family".

-"I-- should go back to our spot". Hailey said before running away.

At the same time, the dance group was ready to move to the next station. Becca's teacher called her to go.

-"I'll see you later, ok? I'll take you to dinner, whatever you want". He said as Becca was walking to her group. Jay's heart started to beat very fast as he saw his sister depart. -"Be careful, all right?".

The girl just answered with a thumb up. One of the moms in the group noticed the scene and addressed Jay: "Don't worry, Detective. She's not alone. We are taking good care of her!"

At the other side of the festival, Burgess, Atwater and Ruzek were walking the place.

-"So where am I getting these pastries for the boss?" Kim asked with a laugh.

-"Uh, Voight likes Ferrara's". Kevin answered. -"I personally think that Scafuri's better".

-"Is that what you think?"

-"Of course".

-"Ferrara's it is". She concluded.

-"Ferrara's it is". Adam repeated.

Kevin got apart from the group for a few seconds and noticed something strange: a van parking in a closed alley. His instincts told him that something was wrong.

-"Hey, we got a dark van with no plates, 5 o'clock". He said in the radio.

-"All right". Adam answered the call. -"That alley was supposed to be closed to traffic".

Two man got out of the van and started o walk way fom the place.

-"Hey, yo, genteman!" Kevin yelled trying to stop them, but they started to run. The officer ran after them.

-"Kim, you seeing this?" Adam asked.

-"Go! Go!" She said as they reached the van. There was smoke coming from the inside, as soon as they looked out they knew it was a bomb.

-"Son of a bitch! Clear this area and go". Adam ordered. -"I got Kev!".

-"50-21 Eddie. 10-1, 10-1. Roll us a bomb squad. We've a van with a possible explosive device.

Jay and Hailey listened to the call on their radios as an explosion sounded in the distance, alarming averyone around.

-"Shit!". Jay said. -"Let's clear the area".

-"Move! Move! Everybody get out!". Hailey started yelling.

-"Sergeant?" Jay talked to his radio as he was moving people with his free arm. -"My sister was heading to the North part of the park, do you have eyes on her? I need to know if she's ok".

-"Negative" -Platt answered. There was a lot of noise in her background. -"Don't worry, Halstead, I will find her".

As soon as she ended the conversation, she started to look around for the girl, but everything was a mess. People was running around in all directions, it was hard to see their faces. At that point, most of the 21st knew who Becca was, so it was easy for Platt to order some of the cops to be aware in case she crossed their ways.

Minutes later, one of them called on the radio "Sergeant, we found the girl". The crowd had already thinned, as most of the civilians had been evacuated, so it was easy for Platt to find them.

-"Thank God!" She exclaimed when she saw the little Halstead sitting under a tree.

-"We found her on the floor. She's a bit hurt, but nothing to worry about. She must have fallen while running, some people stepped on her". The cop informed. -"She wasn't alone, she was with her teacher. It was hard to convince the lady to go".

-"All right". Platt sighed. -"I'll take care of this now. Thank you, guys!"

-"Becca, it's Trudy. Do you remember me? Your brother sent me to find you. Are you feeling all right? I heard you were a bit hurt".

-"I feel a little bit dizzy, but I'm ok".

-"I think we should go to the hospital to check you, just to make sure everything is really ok".

-"No, I---Where's Jay?"

-Your brother is working right now. They got a heavy case and he needs to be there with the team. He's very worried about you, and I promised him I would find you and take care of you. So, would you let me take you to The Med? I will be right to your side all the time, I promise".

The next thing Becca knew was that she woke up in a different place. She was lying down in a sofa, facing the wall. As her eyes began to slowly open, she heard a distant conversation: "The doctor was worried for the hits in the head, but she said there is no damage, appart from some bruises and scratches she's completely fine. She asked me to call your father to know if he was home, and also to let him know she was fine. She didn't want him to pick her up, tough. She waited for you."

She turned around when she heard a door open and some foot steps approaching. Thet's when she noticed she wasn't wearing her dance clothes anymore. Instead, she was wearing a gray sweater with the CPD logo printed on the front. That's when she realized she was in the bullpen, the coffee room to be precisely, it looked so different at night with the lights off.

-"Hey there, sleepy beauty". Jay said crouching down to her level. -"I was told you were waiting for me. Sorry for the delay".

-"What time is it?" Becca asked standing up.

-"Hey, hey, hey, slow down. You hit your head, you gotta take it easy. How are you feeling?".

-"I'm fine, I'm just sleepy and tired. Sergent Platt took me to the hospital, The Med. Guess what: Will wasn't there". She said simply, while stretching her arms. Jay stared at his sister with sorrow.

-"Come on. I'll take you home, you need to rest properly". He stood up, but the girl didn't follow him. She just stared at the floor, immersed in her toughts.

-"Bec...".

-"Yeah, sure. I'm coming".

It was strange for Becca to see the building that empty. There was not a soul in the reception, except for Trudy, who was already leaving, and Hailey who was waiting for Jay to give her a ride.

-"Look at you, girl. Rocking the CPD sweater". Hailey said hugging her with one arm as they walked to the exit.

-"Can I keep it?"

-"Of course you can, sweetheart. It suits you well". Platt said with a smile.

-"I can't thank you enough for today, Trudy. Really, thanks for taking care of her".

-"Don't worry. It was my pleassure, Jay".

Jay was at the wheel driving unusually slow, Hailey was his co-pilot. Becca was in the back seat, her head agains the window. The road was dead silent. It could be because it was late and everyone was tired, but Jay knew her sister was holding something, that she wanted to say it but didn't know how to.

-"It was a day full of emotions, uh?" Hailey threw the question into the air. She was also feeling the tension between the siblings.

-"Yes it was". Becca answered with a dry tone.

Hailey turned to look at Jay, as he looked at his sister through the mirror.

-"Ok, Bec. Talk to me, what's on your mind?" He asked tenderly, not caring about his partener's presence.

-"He was there, Jay". Becca spit it out.

-"Who?" He was very intrigued.

-"Dad". She answered after a few seconds of silence.

-"Where?"

-"In the park. Dad was in the festival. He saw me dancing, Jay". Becca frowned. She had to wipe away a few tears before they rolled down her cheeks. She didn't want them to see her cry about it.

Without noticing, Jay started to drive even slower, his mind going in circles. Hailey passed her hand to the back part of the truck to touch Becca's knee in a reassuring gesture.

-"Here we are". Jay sighed as he parked the truck in the usual spot, away from the house. -"Hey, today's plans were ruined, but we can have luch tomorrow". He turned to his sister. -"You choose what you want. We can also have a movie day if you wan to".

-"I like that". She smiled. -"Can I stay with you tomorrow?".

-"Sure. Just make sure you grab your uniform. For now, let's go, you shouldn't be out of bed. I'll walk you to the porch". When he got out of the car, he turned to the co-pilot seat: "Sorry for the waiting. It won't take long, Hails".

They were in the middle of the street when the door of the house suddenly opened. Both of the siblings freezed, their dad was there, standing in the door frame. Jay felt a heat inside of him that didn't let him move, he only reacted when Becca touched his hand.

-"It's ok. I can carry my bags". She said as she took them carefully from her brother. -"You don't have to say or explain anything. I know".

Becca hugged her brother goodbye: "See you tomorrow. Don't forget!". And she walked to the entrance, nervously.

Unwittingly, Jay was giving small steps back, until he made sure that the little girl crossed the fence and he turned back straight to the truck. Hailey saw everything, and even when she was not so sure of what was going on, she felt sympathy with his partner.

The two detectives stared to the front, watching how Becca was received by her dad. She stopped in front of him, they were having a small conversation. Jay was in a defensive position, ready to act if he needed to. Unexpectedly, they witnessed how Mr. Halstead hugged his daughter for a fragment of sencond. From the distance, Jay could tell Becca was crying. He was also submerged in a sea of feelings.

-"A day full of emotions indeed, wasn't it?" Hailey broke the silence when the door of the house closed. She had a very strong impulse of hugging him, as if she knew he needed that kind of containment.

-"Yes is was". Jay answered swallowing his tears.

-"Want a beer and talk/not talk about it?" She offered.

-"Yeah. That would be helpful".

Thanks for reading. If you liked it, it would help my soul if you give it a like, comment or share 😌♡

#Jay Halstead #Jay Halstead x sister #Halstead sister #Jay Halstead x Halstead sister #Chicago PD #Chicago PD Fanfic #One Chicago #Hailey Upton #Kim Burgess #Trudy Platt

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bixcaleen · 4 months

Text

CREATOR TAG GAME

bringing this back bc i think it's fun 🤭

pick your 5 favorite gif sets of 2023 that got less than 1k notes and then pick 10 gifsets of someone else's that got less than 1k notes.

mine:

this alicent hightower set bc i love the guts album for her and the cassette tape effects along with the ripped paper effects were super fun to play with

my beloved ladies (phoebe, rachel, & monica)!!! i just love them sm

natasha romanoff's tinder page was a random thought that came to my head and v proud of how it turned out :D

this yennefer set is one of my most prized possessions. the blending alone took me so long and i'm happy w the way it looks

the blending of this anidala set nearly killed me...and this is one of the only times i've ever done a quadruple blend

others:

i am OBSESSED with this star wars set by @edwards-teach...the coloring is just so stunning and i love the simplicity of the quotes in a box!

this star wars set by @padme-amidala is probably the best thing i have ever seen. the amount of blends and transitions and coloring is just mind blowing! seriously a piece of art work. still can't get over that erika made this set for me <3

becca's (@yenvengerberg) gifs always leave me speechless but this yen and tissaia set just has a special place in my heart..the quote, the colors, the blending, the transitions are all just perfection and capture the relationship so well 🥹

this alicent set by @saws2004 lives in my mind rent free. i absolutely ADORE the way the quote flows through the layout, so well done. the blending and the use of b&w is just superb. honestly one of my fav sets ever i could just stare at it all day

i LOVE the typography in this anidala set by @cal-kestis...nik is just a photoshop wizard and her creativity always blows me away. the blue and orange go so well together and nik's ability to combine multiple fonts is perfection.

this yennefer set by @ughmerlin is so so pretty!! the colors are so soft and the song matches yennefer perfectly. i also love the transition from b&w to color chefs kiss. & the font choice is just lovely.

umm hello??? this shang chi set by @simoneashley is gorgeous. the amount of time this must have taken was so worth it bc the colors are so so vibrant. i always love a good rainbow set esp when the coloring is this amazing!!

this house of the dragon set by @lady-arryn is so beautiful. the coloring and sharpening is just so soft and ethereal. and this particular blue/orange combo is wonderful. i am particularly obsessed with the blending of second gif..its just SO pretty.

my beloved triss!! this triss merigold set by @genyazafin is amazing i love it sm. i love the blue and orange and the way the coloring captures the darkness of the show. also the blending of the last gif is just so satisfying

screeeeeaaaaam this natasha and yelena set by @rosamndpike is just pURE pAin and is also rly rly pretty. the blending is flawless and i love the song + scene pairing choices. the typography alignment and placement is also super unique and satisfying

+ one more because i can – this regina set by bestie @morgana-pendragon is just teehee amazing. i love the trio of term idea and those three words fit regina perfectly (esp the 1st and 3rd lol).. the purple coloring is so her and is so well done

no pressure tagging all the people above & @singularities @moirainesedai @rebecca-weltons & anyone else who wants to do this !

#tag game

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firstelevens · 3 months

Note

hi zainab!!!! 2, 3, 6, and 29 for the fic writer ask???

Hi Mak! Thank you for sending these in!

2. Do you read/reread your own fics?

Yes, because I am absolutely my own biggest fan!

On a much more practical note, sometimes I reread because it's part of a series and I'm checking a canonical detail (although if it's in the Bake Off AU I'm better off just asking @sesamestreep, who is the official lorekeeper and knows that universe's canon better than I do.) Other times, there's a fic where I just really like what I did with a character's voice or the general tone of a scene and I'll go back just to get a feel for what I did the last time.

3. What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

I mean, the Bake Off AU has my whole heart and there's so much of me in it that it will always be special to me BUT!!! I really love the Thunderbolts-era epistolary fic counted days, counted miles because I think it's an exercise in me managing to show writerly restraint, which is a skill I'm still working on. (And also I got to come up with so many fun spy tricks for hiding letters; it was great.)

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

How fortuitous that you picked this question when I have reread wish that i could wind (like a spiral stair through time) FIVE TIMES in the past month. That fic is a work of art. I am also never far from rereading and never ever watch the ten o'clock news, which is Emma's phenomenal Psych AU of Rogue One which is just so wonderful and funny and it continues to hold up. Oh also! There's don't read the last page, which is a Brooklyn Nine-Nine fic that is short and sweet and just so warm and cozy and I go back to that one a lot just for the mood of it.

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic.

Okay so this question reminded me that there's a 1200 word scene from the Formula 1 AU that was originally going to be the epilogue but got canned which SUBSEQUENTLY reminded me that there's a whole scene that I wrote for the Bake Off AU that got cut from Chapter 6 because things ended up going another way!

The beginning will looks familiar if you remember anything from that chapter, but then there's a sharp left turn that involves the lost plot point of Becca Barnes creeping on Joaquín's thirst trap and restaurant review filled Instagram in order to figure out where Bucky could go for dinner. I was sad to lose it tbh but the restaurant still made it into the fic as the place where Sam and Bucky go out on their definitely-not-a-date in Chapter 10.

A peek at the alternate timeline under the cut!

Bucky is starfished on his bed, trying to muster the energy to get up when his phone rings. His eyes are squeezed shut, but he opens one to peer at the screen. He only answers because it’s Becca, but he’s too tired to do more than grunt into the phone when he picks up.

“Good day, huh?” she asks, laughing when he just groans in response.

“Hope yours was better than mine,” Bucky says, when he finally manages to talk. “How’s day shift treating you?”

“I’m discovering that there’s this thing in the sky called the sun, and it provides light? And makes people happy? Do you think other people know about it? Should I be telling them?”

He laughs tiredly. “You can use all this newfound energy to make a TikTok about it.”

“I’ll get on that,” Becca says. “What about you? You okay?”

“Yeah,” says Bucky, bringing his hand up to his face. “I just need to lie down for a while.”

Not that lying down for the past half hour has helped, but he’s got high hopes for that sixty minute mark.

“No, what you need to do is eat something,” Becca says, sounding remarkably like their mother. “Tell me your head isn’t hurting right now.”

Bucky freezes, his fingers still pressed into his temples. “It’s creepy when you do that, you know.”

She laughs. “I know. Hey, why don’t you go to that place that you and Steve went to all the time, the one with the waffles?”

The last time Bucky had been there, four years ago, he’d spent the entire evening bickering companionably with Sam while Steve dealt with a work emergency. It had felt remarkably like flirting, and he’d even thought about asking Sam to get a drink sometime—and then Bucky had been eliminated after the next day’s Showstopper, and that put an end to that.

He shakes his head to clear it. “I’m tired, Bec, and they pick us up at like, six AM. I think I might just grab something from the convenience store.”

“Buck, I spend half my time listening to newborn babies cry and that is still the most pitiful thing I’ve heard this week. You are not eating yogurt for dinner alone in your hotel room.”

Bucky huffs. “Well, I’d grab a random stranger off the street to join me, but I’m not looking to get murdered today, Rebecca.”

He can hear the sound of Becca typing, doing the thing where she studiously ignores his asshole behavior until he comes around and starts acting a more like a person. It’s annoying how well it works.

After a minute or two of typing and what he assumes is scrolling, she lets out a, “Huh.”

When he waits for her to elaborate and she doesn’t, Bucky sighs. “What is it?”

“Do you know a Joaquín Torres?”

It’s far from the question he was expecting but Bucky answers in the affirmative. “He’s a baking consultant on the show.”

More typing. “Does he have good taste?”

There’s a tiny, childish part of Bucky that wants to say no, because Torres is chirpy and bright-eyed and his unfailing enthusiasm is exhausting at times, but that would be a lie. “Yeah, he knows his stuff. Why?”

“He lives in Atlanta; he posts about a lot of local hidden gems. There’s a Tunisian restaurant a couple blocks from your hotel, apparently? Kind of looks like a hole in the wall but he says the food is amazing.”

“I don’t know, Bec. It’s late and eating out alone is depressing.” His limbs feel heavy, and his shoulder is starting to hurt from having the prosthetic on for so long, and he knows that food would make his headache go away, but he just can’t drag himself off the bed.

Like Becca knows what track his mind is on—and honestly, she probably does—, she chooses this moment to go for the knockout. “Come on, Buck; it’s my job to look out for you, and you’re too far away for me to drag you out to dinner and make sure you eat. Throw a girl a bone here.”

She’s too powerful for her own good.

Bucky drags a hand down his face, sighing again. “You know, I hear some people don’t let their baby sisters tell them what to do all the time.”

“Poor them,” says Becca.

“Poor them,” echoes Bucky, and asks her to text him the address.

When she does, he looks it up and realizes that it really is only two blocks away: completely walkable, even in Atlanta’s late spring heat, and only a little further than the convenience store where he’d planned to grab his apparently pathetic dinner.

It’s only when he gets to the door of the restaurant that he remembers it’s a Saturday night and he probably should have thought to make a reservation. The place only has a handful of tables to begin with, and they’ve all got people at them. The host already has an apologetic look on his face as Bucky walks in, but they both turn in surprise when they hear someone inside the restaurant call out to him.

“Bucky!” says Joaquín, as brightly as ever. “Come sit with us.”

Because the universe has a sense of humor, ‘us’ is of course Joaquín and Sam, who are having dinner together. Alone. On a Saturday night.

It can’t be a date, Bucky reasons. No one would invite a random acquaintance to third-wheel their date, right?

He realizes that he still hasn’t responded when the host assures him that of course they’ll be able to add another place setting to the table, and before he knows it, Bucky is being whisked over to their table.

Whatever mood had settled over Sam after the signature today seems to have dissipated, and he turns to Bucky with a grin on his face. “I hope you trust Torres over here, because he ordered way too much food for us and didn’t let me see the menu.”

Joaquín shrugs. “I come here a lot,” he says. “Not enough people know about it, but it’s amazing.”

“Which is why he’s on a mission to be their one-man marketing team,” says Sam. “We got here half an hour ago and he’s already posted on Instagram like, ten times.”

Bucky thinks of the sound of Becca on her computer as she’d talked to him earlier, how she’d pivoted from suggesting the diner he’d probably have ended up at to this specific restaurant, and suddenly, this coincidence feels markedly less like a coincidence.

He’d probably feel more annoyed about it if he didn’t spend the meal close enough to Sam for their shoulders to constantly be brushing. Torres is right; the food is great, but if anyone asks, Bucky’s pretty sure the only thing he’d be able to recount is how many times Sam touched his arm to ask him to pass things, or dished some more food onto his plate, or gently nudged him while telling Joaquín stories of their time filming season two.

When the check comes, Bucky insists on paying, to make up for crashing Sam and Joaquín’s dinner, and as they stand on the sidewalk outside the restaurant, Joaquín offers to drop them off at the hotel on his way home. He’s about to accept when Sam waves it off.

“I think we’ll just walk back,” says Sam. “It’s so nice out, and the hotel’s probably closer than your car is.”

There’s a moment where all three of them silently commiserate over the trials of city parking, and then Joaquín says he’ll see them tomorrow and heads off.

Bucky glances sidelong at Sam, whose eyebrows are knitted together as he looks down the street towards their hotel. He can see the entrance from where they’re standing, but Sam gently touches his elbow and nods down the street to their left—the long way, Bucky realizes, a moment too late.

#bisamwilson #zainab does ask meme things #thank you for these Mak!#I had COMPLETELY forgotten that I had this little bit of the Bake Off AU lying around; I hope it's an entertaining what if

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folkloresthings · 8 months

Note

CONGRATS ON 1K BECCA IM SOOOOO HAPPY FOR U BB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🫶🫶

JANE EYRE — would it be okay to ask for a male gender preference ship for the gossip girl fandom (since i notice you write for nate and dan)? that being said, im she/her. i have curly brown hair. olive green eyes n blushy cheeks. im a v artsy person. future graphic designer (hopefully) <33. spent my entire childhood sketching and painting and making a bunch of little crafts. even so i do love me some sports (specifically watching more than playing but being latina means youre down to play a soccer match here and there). hockey is super big for me, but i also kinda dig football. i’ve never watched f1 fully but i would definitely get into it if i had someone to guide me through! other things include the fact that i come across as shy and quiet but once i’m comfortable with my friends, i’m jus a silly little goose hakdjekw. much more loud and i’ll always try to make u laugh (purposefully or not)! i’m very loyal, i just want snuggles and forehead kisses is that too much to ask?! love languages are physical touch and words of affirmation. i’m a homebody and love to be warm at home but i can never say no to nighttime city core. also eating things we definitely shouldn’t at 3am is a VIBE. mwah love uuu and again, congrats!

yes gossip girl!!! i write for dan and nate but ships will include all characters! that being said

i ship you with: dan humphrey! growing up with rufus, his love for writing, working in the gallery — he really appreciates all kinds of art. he’d LOVE if you would design little things for him and his writing, it really gets his inspiration going. we know he loves football so he’d be more than willing to go to games with you. he especially loves when you come to support him when he’s playing for st jude’s soccer team. being so giggly and outgoing when you’re comfy, he loves to bring you around to the loft, because rufus and jenny just adore your company. you fit right in with them. he loves nights in with you there, movie nights and board game nights, or just snuggling on his bed. but he’s great at finding new places in the city to take you late at night, only to get back to the loft and try to be quiet as you snack on whatever you can find. he’s definitely a physical touch kind of boy. loves a hand in the back pocket.

#🍾 ﹐ becca hits 1k!#💒 ﹐ ships.#gossip girl #gossip girl imagine #gossip girl ship #dan humphrey #dan humphrey x reader #dan humphrey imagine

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storiesofsvu · 2 years

Text

A Redemption Earned Ch 28

Heather Dunbar x reader Warnings: language, i think that's it?

It was only a few days later when you were making dinner and heard a quiet shriek from Heather’s office, Lily had sent a group text to her and Rob about meeting for a coffee over the weekend. While she had Cody with a sitter, the day still soared above expectations for all parties, a little bit of awkward conversation at first until everyone was relaxed and laughing and comfortable. A few days after that, they cleared schedules to grab coffee again, this time with Cody in tow and to walk through the park, probably stopping at the playground and Cody’s insistence.

You joined Heather this time, to give Cody more comfortability with a group of adults that he didn’t know yet. Becca had nothing better to do and wanted to burn off a little bit of energy, figuring that she could at least play kid with Cody if the older adults needed him distracted if a tricky subject came up. As much as you would always believe that chosen family bonds could be far stronger than actual family, you would say that it was the blood bond that made Cody so instantly comfortable with the Dunbar’s. He greeted you with a giant hug, and politely shook Heather and Rob’s hands, giving Heather an inquisitive look, trying to remember where he’d seen her before. Becca joined you at the entrance to the park and Cody instantly noticed her Frozen phone case, shrieking something about Olaf and the two of them were thick as thieves quoting the movie and discussing theories within minutes.

You were pleased to see that it wasn’t just a ‘grill Heather about making growth’ day and an actual every getting to know each other day. Lily talked about her past, her work, her family, some of the struggles of being a single mom. She asked about Heather and Rob’s careers, smiling at the work Rob had done with the clinic after Jordan’s death. Having someone else who knew Jordan around ended up bringing up a handful of stories about him as well, both him as a young adult, and as a child, and everyone agreed the childhood stories were far superior. Cody would jog back to the group every so often and ask a couple of questions, tell a little story, or even just to show them a really cool bug he found before running off again. He dragged Becca out onto the playground – much to Lily’s relief— for multiple rounds of tag and other fun while the adults finished off their coffees and watched. By the end of round four he’d hopped up onto Becca’s back in a piggy back and instructed her back over to the group.

“Mom can we have pizza for dinner?” He asked with a pleading smile and Lily chuckled.

“We had pizza last night.”

“Chicken nuggets?”

“Only if it’s with veggies.” She replied and he seemed to be thinking it over for a minute before he accepted the deal.

“Okay!” He proceed to climb off Becca’s back and scrambled into Lily’s arms as she propped him on her hip.

“Are you hungry now? You wanna go?” She asked, tickling at his back and he nodded.

“But one more thing first.” He requested and she let out a little sigh, thinking he was about to try to rope everyone into a round of tag or the floor is lava. Instead, he turned to the other adults, “Ms. Heather, you were at dad’s grave last week, did you know him?”

“Uh…” Heather glanced toward Lily who gave her a soft smile and an encouraging nod, signifying she was okay with the truth right off the bat, “I did. Your dad,” she gestured between herself and Rob, “was our son.”

Cody’s brow furrowed for a moment before he glanced to Lily, “I know how family trees work, we did them in art class. Your mom and dad are gramma and grampa.”

“Yup.” She gave him a little squeeze, “and these are your dad’s parents. And Becca was your dad’s sister.”

“So I have two grammas and two grampas like Parker does?”

“You do.” Lily nodded, “but just so no one gets confused we’re gonna call these guys Mimi and Pops, if you like that?”

“Yeah!” He beamed, scrambling down out of her arms to race across and give a big group hug to Heather and Rob. Neither of whom could help the misting in their eyes at the entire exchange and how smoothly things were going.

When you left the park that day, there was a plan for a visit to Rob’s house the following weekend, Cody had heard something about a dog in passing and was in dire need to meet it. With the help of you and Becca, Rob did a quick shopping trip to make sure that he had enough stuff to keep Cody occupied. He already had a couple of video game consoles from playing with Jordan and Becca but picked up some more child friendly games and a couple of extra remotes. He went a little all out in the play sports section, thinking it would be nice to spend some time in the yard, and made sure to pick up a couple of new toys and treats for Steve as well. The day was a smashing success, Cody showing off some of his t-ball skills while Steve played catcher, thankfully Cody didn’t care at all that the ball got covered in dog slobber. In general there was just a lot of running and playing to burn off energy in the back yard before dinner, made by Lily and Heather. Becca managed to get there right in time to get a plate before a couple rounds of Mario Party got played and somehow Cody came out the champion of two outta three rounds.

The entire process was repeated the next weekend at Heather’s. You’d tried your best to convince her she didn’t need the entire backyard playset, saying they were a huge pain to put up and take down and she reminded you she had people to do that for her. She did do her best to not go overboard on the books, toys and movies though, reminding herself that this wasn’t some kind of competition with Rob, it was just to make sure Cody was comfortable and had fun. He spent most of the afternoon playing outside, it was clear that he was an only child, a vivid imagination and he was totally fine being by himself. Though that didn’t stop him from dragging you into a couple of sword matches, and he was more than happy to settle down in the living room to colour with Heather while he rambled on telling her any and all stories he could think of. You took the lead on dinner this time, giving Heather as much grandson time as you could before setting the table. Becca showed up in time for dessert, helping you with the dishes before everyone regrouped to watch Toy Story before dispersing for the night.

There were a few quick dinners, park dates, movie theatre trips throughout the next couple of weeks. Rob, Lily and Cody took a nice trip to the zoo filled with lots of laughs, fun pictures, ice cream and far too much time in the petting zoo. Cody requested the aquarium with Mimi the next weekend and had a blast looking at everything and running through the space. It varied on who was involved, not every meet up was an entire family occasion, breaking up the time accordingly and with who Cody wanted to see and who else was available. You were around for what you could be, but also wanted to give Heather the more solo time for Cody to really get to know her.

Your presence, without an official title or connection to Jordan did pique the curiosity of Cody and while at home eating dinner with Lily one night he asked about why Mimi and Pops didn’t live in the same house. She reminded him about the talks they’d had about different families, how Carter’s mom and dad didn’t live together, but he still spent weekends with his dad a couple of times a month. Cody then mentioned something about how you and Heather held hands and Lily explained that you were partners. He asked if you were in love and she said you were to which he said ‘that’s good. Ms. Summers is my favourite teacher, I’m glad she’s in love.’ Lily couldn’t help but smile, feeling extra proud of her son and made sure to give him extra chocolate sauce on his ice cream for dessert.

Heather was sat at the dining room table as she tied up some loose ends on a case, working through paperwork with a glass of wine. You’d disappeared upstairs after dinner; she figured you just needed a bit of time to yourself after a long day at work and hadn’t questioned it. She heard you coming down the stairs and was ready to put away work but you crossed the living room to dig through your purse for your keys, picking up a cardigan from the back of the couch.

“Going somewhere?” She asked and you nearly jumped, figuring she was in the home office.

“Yeah.” You let out a sigh, “I refilled my meds last week, but I grabbed the wrong bottle when I packed. They’re sitting on my kitchen counter, I’ve gotta run home quick. You need anything while I’m out?”

“No. Thank you though.” She smiled softly and you couldn’t help but return one to her. You let out another little sigh, moving towards her, wrapping your free arm around her and dropping a kiss to the top of her head. Her free hand rubbed at your arm as she hummed happily turning her head to kiss your shoulder. You stayed there for a moment, lingering to delay your leaving, even temporarily.

“Isn’t this getting a bit redundant?” You asked and she paused in her work.

“You’d be surprised just how much seemingly useless paperwork lawyers have to do.” She replied and you let out a huff of a laugh, dropping into the chair beside her.

“No. I mean this constant back and fourth between houses. I know we agreed on it so we could each be in our own ‘space’ on a regular basis but we’ve started waiting longer between switching, and our stuff is so scattered between places it’s hard to remember where things even are now.”

“What are you saying?” Her brow furrowed, hand sliding across the table to hold yours.

“I’m finished with my renos, I’ve upgraded that place and could probably get more than it was originally worth on the market. Why don’t I just sell and move in here? I’m here all the time and we’re always together anyways. Cody’s comfortable here, he’s got his toys and that treehouse thing in the yard, it just makes the most sense.” You explained and she practically beamed at you.

“I think that’s an absolutely lovely idea.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” She leant in to steal a kiss from you, “though as much as I adore the thought of truly living with you, I’m not sure if I want you moving in here.”

“Why? Your house is way nicer.”

“More like I want to live somewhere with you that is ours. Somewhere that’s uniquely and equally both of ours together.”

“This part of that whole making sure you’re not in total control thing from therapy?”

“That.” She laughed, “and the fact that I do want it to be something we choose and own together.”

“I dunno if my bank account can keep up with your lavish tastes.” You teased and she rolled her eyes, “Heat… the first family home you ever bought was an eleven million dollar mansion…”

“Point taken.” She chuckled, “I’m sure we’ll be able to find some middle ground, and we can work out the finances then. When do you think you’d want to move?”

“Summer would be best.” You thought for a moment, “it’s not that far off and would give us the time to go through things and decide what we’d keep for a new place. Most of the furniture I have came with the place, I wouldn’t be offended to sell or donate it.”

“Alright.” She smiled, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to your lips, “I’ll call my real estate agent in the morning, see what they’ve got on the market. Are you alright staying in the Chevy Chase area?”

“Yeah, course.” You nodded, “everyone lives up here already, it’s nice to be close to family, and it’s a pretty quick drive to the school.”

“Perfect.” Heather smiled once again and you could feel the love radiating off her.

Before you could say anything else, both of your phones pinged at the same moment. Yours was across the room, so you looked to Heat for which of the group chats was going off. It turned out to be the ‘parental’ one, shared with the two of you, Rob and Lily.

Lily:

‘Cody is asking if it would be possible to sleepover at Pop’s place this weekend? Well, he actually asked for a massive sleepover with everyone at Mimi’s, but everyone includes Steve and I wasn’t sure that was going to happen.’

Heather:

‘Yeah this is an animal free zone. But I am more than happy to head to Rob’s to play some games and help out.’

Rob:

‘I’m so on board! And so is Steve! Becca’s in Europe right now though, so there will unfortunately be no auntie to hangout with.’

Heather:

‘Yn says she thinks she can kinda fill that role?’

Lily:

‘Okay! Perfect! I’ll get him packed and fed after school, what’s the best time to drop him off?’

Rob:

‘Let’s say seven?’

Lily:

‘Sounds great. I’ll pick him up Sunday around noon?’

Rob:

‘Sounds good.’

Heather:

‘Enjoy your solo weekend.’

Lily:

‘oh believe me, I will!’

Heather put the phone down and turned to you with a small smile, “do you think it would be too much if I arranged a maid service for her? To make sure she doesn’t spend her first weekend without Cody in years cleaning?”

“Maybe ask her first?” You shrugged, “she might not want anyone else in the house. Or get them to come Friday when Cody’s at school and she’s at work, so she’s got a clean house to come home to?”

“That’s a better idea. I’ll call her tomorrow.” She nudged at your side gently, “now you get going. I don’t want you to get too tired to drive home and not pick up your meds and deal with a migraine tomorrow.”

“Alright, alright. I’m going.” You chuckled, stealing one last kiss before you scooped up your keys and darted from the house.

________________

@ms-calhoun @naturalxselection @yesterdaysgone @hbkpop @giftedchildturns40 @anya-casablanca @svulife-rl @swimmingstudentchaos891 @alexusonfire @jamiethetrans @red1culous @oliviaswifey @mysticfalls01 @cmmndrwidw @bumblebear30 @svushots @yourtaletotell @cerberus-spectre @emskisworld @ex-uallyactive @addictedtodinosaurs @imaginaryoperagloves @multifandomlesbianicc @annegilletteslostwh0r3 @bookpillows @drduckthief @whimsicallymad @mmmmokdok @ladysc @momlifebehard @mmemalwa @holycrapraewth @poisonedcrowns @wannabe-fic-reader @when-wolves-howll @dead-of-niight @fighterkimburgess @lannister-slings-and-arrows @borg-queerr @godard-muse @itisdoctortoyousir @brooklynmhm @nobody-important1212 @emilyprentiss4life @httpjupiterbby

#heather dunbar #heather dunbar x reader #house of cards #a redemption earned

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mercerislandbooks · 5 months

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The Thursday Murder Club: A Full Staff Rec

We have something a little bit different for you this week. As a start to our series of posts about our favorite books of the year, we want to talk about The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. This delightful book should work as a present for almost anyone on your list. Why do I feel I can say that? Because almost everyone on staff has read it, and we all loved it! From the fantasy and romance readers to the literary fiction and nonfiction readers, we've all found ourselves recommending The Thursday Murder Club time and time again.

Lil gave me her elevator pitch for the book earlier this week: "What happens when a former spy moves into your fancy retirement community? Murder, that's what. But who did it and why? More importantly, which community room is available to reserve so you and your friends can meet to solve the crime? If this doesn't sound like a great set up for a book, you should probably still give it a try. Based on the wide variety of readers here who loved it, you're probably going to love it too. There's humor, friendship, love, suspense, and a satisfying conclusion. There's not much more I look for in a cozy read." And cozy it is. This is the type of book you pick up when you want something warm and comforting and kind that has substance.

Lori is "...one of those people who likes mysteries despite the dead bodies — for [her] it is all about the relationships of the recurring cast of characters. The Thursday Murder Club has a delightfully quirky cast of amateur sleuths, all retirees in assisted living, who jump at the chance to get involved in a real murder when someone turns up dead. Perfect for fans of Louise Penny!"

Like Lori said, it's the characters that populate this book (and the rest of the series) that make it such a favorite here at the store. Nancy agrees. "This series has such rich characters - not cute and cozy seniors but adults who have lived full lives (with some serious faults and rough edges!) It explores serious issues with charm and warmth and the capers move at a quick pace. Just a great entertaining read!"

Cindy was the first person at Island Books to pick it up and give it a go. "I read The Thursday Murder Club very early on and chose it like I always do—by the cover art, by title, and by plot: A group of super-smart seniors happily solving old crimes and cold cases in a retirement home turn their attentions to a murder most local. That sounded like it might be interesting and inspiring (edging toward retirement myself) and, when I noted that Kate Atkinson called it "a little beacon of pleasure", I turned to the first page and just kept on reading. I liked the many characters and I like stories told from different points of view. It made me laugh and smile and it was a complex mystery with well-constructed characters. I don't typically read feel-good mysteries and I never went further with the series but I suspect I will one day."

Her recommendation—as well as the enthusiastic follow-up reviews from my other coworkers—was what put it onto my TBR (to-be-read) list in the first place. I eagerly grabbed the excuse of "it's for book club" to vault it up to spot number one, and then proceeded to devour the rest of the series in blatant disregard of the other poor books that have been on my list for...some unspecified amount of time...

Brad summed it up well: "This book is very funny. It's very kind. The characters are great, and the actual murder plot is really good." So if you have someone that you don't quite know what to get, The Thursday Murder Club comes highly recommended by the booksellers (and extended family) of Island Books. And if they've already read it and loved it, there are three other books for them to play catch up with.

— Becca

#island books #becca oman #the thursday murder club #richard osman

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lunarcovehq · 5 months

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DILAN SELVI (BAHAR ŞAHIN) & LEYLA SELVI (BURCU ÖZBERK) HAS FOUND.

Connection: Crime Family/The Money

Suggested Name: UTP

Age Range: 28-35

Species: Any species but fae

Suggested FCs: UTP, but some suggestions are Alex Landi, Francois Arnaud, Berk Cankat, Jacob Elordi, Jordan Calloway, Apo Nattawin, Cody Christian, Sinqua Walls, Michael Trevino, Mason Gooding

Connection Description:

The Selvi sisters are criminals/thieves. Your character would be apart of their make shift family and they currently work together on different crimes/heists. Up to plotting how they met and became involved.

For this character they very much met after Dilan and Leyla were on the run together and probably became the first member of the crime family.

They met when Dilan and Leyla were trying to break into their house vacation house to steal food, art, and etc. They had broke in late at night thinking everyone had left, only to find your character alone in the house. Rather than rat them to the police your character let them take what they came for, then proceed to follow them.

They were a rich teenager bored with their life and the fact their parents never paid them any mind. Rather than stay in a world that bored them, they joined the girls along for their cons and heists.

Whenever there is legal trouble or anything is needed money wise your character is the one who shows up to bail people out via their connections or cash. They come from old money, but the money is only used when needed. This way your character doesn’t feel used.

They would be the most attached to the girls overall and probably have followed them everywhere expect for when they are doing things to appease their parents so they fund the lifestyle that your character has (which they likely lied to the parents and said it was a party or gaming lifestyle). They always look out for the girls and make sure they always had food and a place to stay.

If they have been in Lunar Cove or are just arriving is completely up to you.

Please be sure to contact the player before applying:

Becca & Kourtney is available for DMs on @lunarcovehq !!

#mason gooding fc #Michael Trevino fc #Sinqua Walls fc #Cody Christian fc #Apo Nattawin fc #Jordan Calloway fc #jacob elordi fc #berk cankat fc #francois arnaud fc #alex landi fc #human wc #witch wc #vampire wc #werewolf wc #familial wc #closed wc #closed connection

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davidmariottecomics · 6 months

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Tools of the Trade

Hello hello!

I'm *hoping* this'll be a pretty quick blog today because I have a lot of ideas kicking around my head and want to focus on trying to write some of 'em! But inspired by the new Creator's Guide to Comics Devices (we'll get to that in a sec), I want to talk about some resources that I've accumulated over the years that can help with everything from the fundamentals of comics storytelling to good reference to software and fonts and printers and distribution platforms and more!

As a disclaimer right up top, some of these resources I have not personally used--I haven't done a lot of crowdfunding, I haven't worked with some of these smaller printers, etc--though I will say that these are things that're coming recommended to me and I'm passing along that recommendation. If you've had a really bad experience with one of these, or know some dirt, let me know! I'm always happy to stand corrected on this sort of thing.

Lastly, a number of these things I'll point out specifically as an alternative to other software or expected resources. Alright, let's boogie!

Making Art Not being an artist, I can't speak exactly to what tools will work best for you! The good news is, as an artist, you probably already know that and don't need me to tell you what sort of pencils, pens, brushes, inks, etc work best for your style. However, I will say, I've seen some glowing recs for Eon paper. If you're working traditionally in any way (I know some people work hybrid), good paper is important.

If you are working digitally, I think the two sort of biggest contenders outside of Photoshop right now are Procreate and Clipstudio. Becca uses Procreate and really likes it. The downsides are that I believe it is Apple exclusive (and not on desktop) and while I've seen plenty of pages come out just fine that were in part or fully produced in Procreate, it does sometimes lack some of the functionalities for what you might need--I know folks who've had trouble doing clean flats, for example. I know a lot of folks use Clipstudio with great success, but I also know there's a bit of controversy around some of their 2.0+ updates including only working on a subscription fee if you want to use it on a tablet or non-desktop device (and/or want the updates they release) and something about like, it not working if you aren't on wifi?

I personally have had good experience with Affinity's Designer and Photo. But I am not an artist, so while I think they're good for doing some of the production side of art--I've used them for lettering and prepping files and making little social graphics and stuff--I can't speak to how helpful they are as a full art tool. I will also say, as long as I'm talking about Affinity, their Publisher tool is pretty good too and with the Affinity suite, you can get a lot of what you would want out of the Adobe suite.

Art Reference

Look, you're smart. You don't need me telling you where and how to find reference. It's all over. There are hundreds of books and websites and resources for artist reference. You can go find some live models or pose one of those weird little wooden dolls or turn around a toy or whatever.

But! With that said, here're a couple big ones. Blender is itself an art tool! It's a lot less common for comic art to be fully produced in Blender than, say, animation, but Blender can be a really helpful way to put together thumbnails or consistent backgrounds. You can build a room and move it around for what you'd need to see in a panel and have that as a base when doing your art. You can use it for lighting studies. Lotta possibilities!

If you can be cool, you can maybe get access to Fat Photo Ref. It's what the name says, an archive of photo reference by and of fat people, who unfortunately are often not included in your standard art reference collections and books. I'll also plug that the Morpho art book series has a very well regarded Fat and Skin Folds volume. Linking specifically to that one, but you can find the whole series from the link and get it from an indie bookstore!

And as someone who has long pointed people to things like Wally Wood's 22 Panels that Always Work and Steve Lieber's 12 point portfolio critique without even looking (which I riffed on for writers here and also talk about like... finding agents) and all the thoughtful analysis on the craft and creation of the medium from Scott McCloud (I'm not linking Understanding Comics... you probably already have it), I think that the aforementioned Creator's Guide to Comics Devices is the logical progression of all of that. It is a free collaborative resource about the way comics storytelling works.

Writing, Lettering, and Additional Craft

I believe I've shared this before, and have said it's not my actual preferred format when I write, but Steenz and Camilla Zhang created a standard script template for comics. I think this is very helpful for people who don't know what a script looks like and, obviously, if you find yourself wanting to modify it to better suit your needs, you can! But this gives a really clear picture of what the general form will look like for maximum sharability with your collaborators.

Comicraft and Blambot are two of my favorite font houses (and lettering houses)! They have fonts that you see in your favorite comics for reasonable prices, including often big discounts or fonts that are free for indie use (though obvs read the terms and conditions). They have packs including like premade balloons that can help ya get started easier. Both of their books on comic lettering, Comic Book Lettering the Comicraft Way and The Essential Guide to Comic Book Lettering, are excellent and should be considered the tomes they are. Sara Linsley's fonts are also great, particularly if you're doing more manga or webcomics inspired books. And if you don't want to be a person who has to spend a lot of time thinking about fonts and getting MainType or another font management software (I don't do a lot of it, but I've gotten really into teaching myself lettering and I do think it's pretty fun), do us both a favor and just hire a letterer.

But if you want to learn more about lettering, Todd Klein also has a really amazing blog!

Printing

There are a lot of professional printers that print comics. Many of them that are printing for publishers have a very high threshold for minimum orders. If you aren't printing 2K copies, they aren't going to print your book at all because that's how they have to ration their paper and run their business.

But I know of a couple of printers that do smaller print runs for indie comics. I've heard really good things about RA Direct and about Comix Well Spring. Something I'll flag right here and now is that whether it's one of these or another printer, early in the process--before you pay for anything--you should take some time to email the printer about any potential issues you might have. This can be anything from confirming your specs are correct and you've got the right overprint on your blacks to checking if the printer has any sort of issue printing 18+ sexual material or dismemberment or if you have anything that might be on the line of fair use. Like, it'll help you both out to get that sorted early and easily.

As a brief detour, I've also heard good things about both Alibaba and have used Vograce with Becca, if you're looking for merch for shows--y'know, keychains and pillow covers and pens and pins and whatever else you may want to create with your art that is not strictly comics themselves.

Distribution - Subscriptions

I'm talking specifically digital subscription platforms that are not webcomics hosting sites and that are subscription sites of any sort, not just stores/places your art lives. So no like Webtoon or Artstation or Shopify or whatever. Basically, your Patreons (you know Patreon, but you could sub to mine) and uhh... Substacks. But maybe better than those options...

I host this blog on Patreon, that's true. I also have it on Tumblr and on my website. And I sent it out as a newsletter through Buttondown! They are super friendly and concerned with making the service work! It's awesome and I highly recommend it over Substack which, as you may recall, I have some issues with. My Buttondown is free, but you can have paid subscriptions. I've also heard some folks say good things about Ghost as a similar sort of alternative. I can't speak to that the same as I can Buttondown, which, again, I really like, but I know some people who use Ghost.

In terms of Patreon alts, options are not great, TBH. Kofi has memberships (plugging mine which is membership-less). But I believe Kofi is also a lot stricter about what sort of content you can post and host--similar to the sorts of questions I was suggesting you ask a printer about earlier. Fanbox through Pixiv is something I see some folks use. I think it's largely international folks. I also, again, think it has some content restrictions though I'm not entirely sure how enforced they are. I feel guilty enough using Patreon (lol this being posted there), but I really can't recommend Subscribestar. I've heard good things about them as an alternative--like, I hear they're maybe the closest in practical functionality and are a lot more adult material friendly than some competitors, but I have a lot of the same problems I have with Substack and Patreon with them. Like, Patreon isn't perfect, but some of the more horrific elements of humanity that cannot operate on Patreon have found a home there and that stinks.

The one non-subscription option I will highlight is, and again, I don't think it's perfect, but I know people who have had good experiences with itch.io. If you're looking for a place to sell some digital comics outside of your own website, there are far worse options.

Crowdfunding

I think we've all ceded IndieGogo to the worst parts of comics. Obviously, Kickstarter is still the big one that people really think of and like many of these prominent versions of the service, it has its good and bad. There is name recognition and a track record of projects getting funded and paid and completed, and there are criticisms. But that's true of lots of things.

There are also a few options that're a bit newer in the space. Backerkit has been a part of a lot of fulfilment of Kickstarter campaigns for a long time and now operate their own crowdfunding platform. I know Iron Circus uses them. I've heard a little bit about Crowdfundr and am pretty sure I know some folks who've given that a shot. And I know one of the co-founders of Zoop and they've been helping get a lot of really cool projects made recently.

Final Recs

BLEH! This ended up taking a lot longer than I expected! Oh well. You don't know. You're reading this and it is not happening in the realtime it took to write it. So, final resources I'm going to throw your way as jumping off points for more!

1. Cartoonist Cooperative! Guess what, for basically everything I just said, they have EVEN MORE RESOURCES! They also do mutual promotions and support and are a really great community based initiative!

2. Creator Resource! Similarly, they also have even more resources! Their database/articles include a lot of stuff like more about finding agents and publishers and page rates and marketing and this that and the other thing. Between the two of those, you're going to have a lot of whatever you would need to get started and have not just a rounded out knowledge, but access to a knowledgeable community.

3. Curiosity's Corner from Wildstar Press! Wildstar's mission is really cool. They're an indie publisher that focuses on helping new creators get their first publishing credits and work they can share to get more jobs. And they've recently started a guide that's not dissimilar to this blog on how to get started on having a comics career.

4. This is just a general reminder. Make a website that has a way to contact you. Make an email that maybe can be public facing but that you're comfortable using for work and dedicate it to that. If you're going any place where you think you might make industry contacts, bring business cards. We live in the future and you can put your portfolio or samples on a QR code on your card. Find or make communities. I'm not great about it myself, TBH (and that's a little intentional because being an editor, working at a publisher, there are reasons on both sides to create this distance), but like... I dunno. Get on Discord or something. Have a group text. Like, have a way to reach out to your peers.

Like I said earlier, if you have corrections to be like "nah, this thing sucks, don't recommend it" or if you have additional recommendations, please share them! Don't DM me because I've been very bad about answering those because I am going to be shuttering Twitter soon, but y'know, if it's something you can share publicly, reply on post where you saw it or on the website (comments in a rare move are open on this unless something happens). If you want to share anonymously (or like... invite me to a Discord or something), there's always my contact page.

Okay, I'm off to write fiction now! And should probably reach out to some folks to draw it soon.

L8rs!

What I enjoyed this week: Blank Check (Podcast), Solve This Murder (Podcast), One Piece (Manga), Sonic Superstars (Video game), The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon (Book), Reverse 1999 (Video Game), Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Links (Video game), Last Week Tonight (TV show), The Simpsons (TV show), I said Thirsty last week, but I meant Steamy, the last book in the trilogy from Space Between, but it did make me go back and read Thirsty and Cheeky again too (Comics - Adults only), Five Nights at Freddy's was fine but like... I don't think I'm the target audience and we only saw it because we pay for Peacock and didn't give additional money to the bad man creator (Movie), Phantom of the Paradise (Movie), Scream 3 & 4 (Movies), Batman: The Brave and the Bold (Cartoon), Joe Pera Talks with You (TV show), Witch Watch (Manga), Halloween, Godzilla Day, Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion (Video game... well, until I got too spooked), wanting to write.

New Releases this week (11/1/2023): No new books from me this week. Don't worry, next week makes up for it.

Final Order Cut-Off next week (11/6/2023): Godzilla Rivals: Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon (Editor)

New Releases next week (11/8/2023): Godzilla Rivals: Round Two (Editor on most of it) Sonic the Hedgehog #66 (Editor) Sonic the Hedgehog: Knuckles' Greatest Hits (Editor) Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Art Collection (Editor)

Announcements: I might be done for the year? If you'd like to have me on your podcast, Twitch stream, at your convention, signing at your store, talking to your students, whatever, feel free to hit me up, but I don't think I have anything else public for the rest of the year, though knowing us, Becca and I will probably a local market or something.

Wanna support me? Visit my webstore, the previously linked Patreon or Kofi, or my eBay. And you can always visit Becca's portfolio/shop/Patreon/Twitch streams too. Streams will be returning soon. Been having technical difficulties of late.

And of course, things are bad. Call for a ceasefire and urge your reps to stop the Palestinian genocide. Fight back against whatever terrible policies are currently up in your local or national area--from trying to ban books to criminalizing transness to further criminalizing homelessness to whatever. Support SAG-AFTRA as they're still on strike, and support all the other strikes and union actions happening across the country and across the world. Just be kind to people.

Pic of the Week: It's my favorite green heroes, the Warrior Mans!