#I think this may be one of the best doodle collections I’ve ever done | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mapileonxputellas · 6 months

Text

Beckham II: 1 New Beginning

Please find instagram aesthetic here.

Post here explains how I've wrote it, I think it's quite simple.

This is the first part of my new series and I hope you enjoy xx (3k words)

“Do you ever think about how crazy it is that you’re an icon in Barcelona and yet your dad played for Real Madrid?”

“I try not to think about that. I think that bothers him more than me.”

“Does he have any Barcelona shirts?”

“Of course he does.”

…..

“David, how does it feel watching your daughter play for Barcelona?”

“It’s the best feeling in the world. I’m guessing you were expecting some kind of rivalry but I’ll always support my daughter.”

…..

Barcelona, February 2023.

One down, nine to go.

It was like clockwork in your brain. Training would finish, everyone else would rush to get back into the training room and get back to their everyday life. Yet here you were, on your own, just how you like it. You and the ball. Free kick after free kick after free kick. Ten in total, all from different areas, all with different aims but each one just as equally important in your brain.

Barcelona was a dream. You were here with the best players in the world but you hated letting anyone down. Every little mistake was over-analysed, picked at all because of who you were. At the weekend it was a wonder save which stopped one nestling in the top corner but that didn’t matter. It hadn’t gone in and therefore didn’t meet your expectations.

The expectations you put on yourself, multiplied by that moment four years ago.

You loved your father but many people probably didn’t understand that there wasn’t a gene for taking good free kicks.

Unbeknownst to you, all of this was about to change. “You’ve got a visitor.”

“If it’s another journalist, tell them I’m not interested.”

You couldn’t be bothered with whatever reply the press officer would tell you. It was the same every day. Someone wanted to speak to you, you said no. They came back the next day.

You’d think they’d get bored after four years of consistent turn aways but that was never the case. You did the press conferences, the interviews after games but a sit-down full-length interview was not something you felt like you could ever handle.

So you carried on, resetting the ball in the correct spot. Back to just you and the ball.

For February it was a sunny afternoon in Barcelona, the sun was still shining for the mid-afternoon with minimal wind. Perfect conditions to practice and as your teammates had pointed out you hadn’t needed any more persuasion to get that training vest on, your tattoos on full show. Along with football they were your biggest passion, your phone was full of tattoo inspiration and little doodles you did when you were bored, they were a big part of you and maybe the image you wanted to create for yourself.

You took inspiration from everything, football, the environment, your father. Growing up many would say you were already a carbon copy of him but the tattoos were the icing on the cake. Your mother may not have been as happy about them but they promised to accept all your passions and that included turning up every few months with a new collection of tattoos to show off.

…..

“Maria, is she copying you?”

“You’ll have to ask her. No of course not, I would say we take great inspiration from each other. We’ve got a few matching ones, I’ve done a few on her and she’s done the same to me. That’s kind of what started our friendship.”

“You both have ‘looks can be deceiving’ on your necks, is that true for her?”

“Depends on what you think of her. Maybe some find her scary but you have to find out if that’s true yourself.”

…..

You could hear someone approaching you, watching as you took the next kick nestling it into the bottom corner underneath the imaginary wall.

“Y/N, have you got five minutes?” The unmistakable voice of Sarina. Many people would love Serena Weigman to turn up at their training session, not you. Not now.

Shit. You almost didn’t want to turn around. Maybe if you stayed facing the other way she would leave. Leave you be in the bubble you’d created for yourself, nothing good could come out of this conversation.

But of course the Dutch woman wasn’t going to leave that easily, edging closer to you. “I only want to talk.”

“I gave you my answer a year ago.”

“Lots can change in a year. Five minutes. If you still want me to leave after, I’ll leave.”

Maybe it was worth hearing what she had to say. Nothing could change your mind anyway, you’d hear whatever she had to say and then she could leave.

You knew what she was here for and it didn’t surprise you what came out of her mouth next. “I want you back, I name my squad next week and I want you ready to play for us at the World Cup.”

“And I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“The fans are not that accepting, the players don’t deserve to be drawn into that drama because of me.”

“There’s always drama in football.” Maybe she had a point but off the back of the Euro’s success the lionesses have had nothing but positivity from the media and public. “We’ve lost Beth, we’ve lost Fran and I think the players would welcome your experience in that position. It’s your decision but I know deep down you want to prove people wrong and I want to give you that opportunity.”

“Some would say I don’t deserve that.”

“It will be different this time.”

“How?”

“It’s been four years, everything’s changed. We protect you guys, you have support systems in place, we have support systems. It’s not individuals anymore, it’s a team.”

“I made that decision to protect myself.” Almost four years ago you’d sent that letter, asking not to be selected for international duty again. They had no choice but to accept it and when Serena came into the role she approached you but you told her a tournament on home soil was not something you could mentally cope with. Not yet. “Why would now be different?”

“I’ve watched every game you’ve played in the last 18 months. I know you may not see a difference in yourself but I do, the interview after you lost to Lyon showed your spirit, your drive. I need players like you, it won’t be easy but I don’t want something that happened four years ago to stop you showing the world how talented you are.”

You were conflicted. Of course you’d love nothing more than to prove all those who bashed you before wrong, to make a difference on the world stage after winning every trophy you could with Barcelona. On the other hand it was just opening a can of worms you’d hidden all those years ago. Although you were only in Spain it felt like a different world, you turned your comments off on social media and they never came back on. Interviews were a no-go and your former friends were now distant acquaintances.

“Can I think about?”

“Of course you can. Like I said, the squad goes out on Tuesday so I need an answer by Monday. Any questions, I’m coming to the match on Sunday, maybe I can speak to you after?”

“Thank you.” With a soft squeeze to your shoulder she was off, except now you couldn’t focus knowing you were about to make a decision which would change everything.

…..

“You seem distracted.”

In hindsight it probably wasn’t the best idea to accept the dinner invite from Maria and Ingrid but you knew your best friends wouldn’t take no for an answer. The three of you along with Frido were sat at their dinner table, tucking into the tapas you’d ordered from your favourite restaurant and it wasn’t lost on any of them how your mind was elsewhere. Casually picking through your food was a total opposite to the way you usually devoured this.

“Y/N?”

You’d been debating on the way whether to speak to someone about it.

Maybe your dad? He’d gone through something similar but he was in Miami and would only just be getting up.

Your mum? She was the most rational option but she would never understand that pride of pulling on your national shirt.

Your therapist seemed the best option but the earliest session she had for non-emergencies was tomorrow.

“Y/N!” In your own little world you’d even forgot to answer their questions. “Are you alright?”

It could help speaking to them, couldn’t it? “I had a visitor after training. Sarina Weigman.”

“Shit man, I thought you said no.” Maria Leon was your best friend from the moment you stepped foot in that training room, you bonded over everything from tattoos to food. You’d been her wingman in getting with Ingrid and had a mutual understanding of each other’s situations with your respective national teams even if the circumstances were very different.

“She wants me back but I don’t know, this feels different from last year.” If Bonnie, your 5-year-old beagle, adopted 3 years ago to signify a new chapter in your life, wasn’t by your feet they would definitely be anxiously tapping the floor right now.

“They probably feel your absence more because they’ve lost other players.” Frido added some context. “Not that you wouldn’t have always walked into that team but now you definitely would. You’d be their main player.”

“I can see you’re considering it.” Ingrid pointed out. “When she came last year I could see you were like, definitely no, now you haven’t turned it down immediately.”

“There’s no right or way wrong to feel,” Maria tried to comfort me. “Only you can decide if you want to go back there.”

“I miss it.”

“Of course you do.” Ingrid agreed. “You wouldn’t watch all their games if you didn’t.”

“It’s just the fact that I’m comfortable here, I have been for so long and now I’m going to throw myself back into four years ago.” Four years ago when you’d been forced to move away from your club at the time in Chelsea and accept the fact that one mistake had changed everything. “Plus the media attention, no-one wants that in the lead up to the world cup.”

“They were your friends, I’m sure they’d understand.” Frido tried to make you see that side of things. “Shit happens in football but what happened to you when completely over the top of that.”

“I isolated them.” Of course you had friends in the squad at the time, in fact best friends. But as soon as you made the move to America you slowly distanced yourself from them as they did to you. You hated letting them down and completely understood that being associated to you meant unnecessary exposure where perhaps they would not want it.

“So you’ll make friends again.”

You’d changed as well, grown into a completely different person in that time. Your appearance and attitude on the pitch were a distinct opposite to the crippling shyness you had yet to shake off. “Maybe.”

“You will,” Maria assured you. “Plus I think Bonnie told me she wanted a sleepover with me.”

“Oh did she?”

“I’m not swaying you either way but if that’s what you want, I’ll support you all the way.”

“We all will.” Frido added wrapping her arms around you to bring you into her side. “We love you.”

“Thank you, I love you all too.”

“Speak to your dad, maybe even your mum. I’m sure they’d want to help.”

One of the funniest moments in your life had to be watching your teammates introduce themselves to your parents when they came out to watch your first match in the Blaugrana. Watching their nerves dissipate when they realised how down to earth, especially your mother was, when it came to their children. Of course their name brought so much extra attention to you but you couldn’t have asked for a better upbringing.

Maybe it was their words that made you do it but subconsciously you knew the best thing to do was to ring them. So as you got into bed that night, once you got back, Bonnie at your feet watching, you rang the number you’d had memorised for years.

“Hi baby.” His voice almost brought tears to your eyes. Although you tried to be as independent as possible, wanting to be your own person, you sometimes wished you could just go back to spending every night in his arms.

“Hi dad.”

“What’s wrong?” You hated how easily he could read you, how those two words were enough for him to know something was wrong.

“It’s nothing.”

“You know you can tell me anything.”

“I know dad.” Out with it. “Sarina Weigman came to visit me today, she wants me to go and join them in the next international break.”

“And what do you want?”

“I think I want to.”

“You think?”

“I just know that if I do I’m just going to be brought back to that moment.”

“Then you’ll go back to a moment where the referees made a terrible decision. Football fans are fickle you know that as much as I do but you’ve watched it back enough to know that nine times out of ten nothing happens. The commentator did you no favours, Phil didn’t stand by you as he should have and the media hung you out to dry.”

“I know.”

“But as awful as it was it made you the person you are today and your stronger now then you’ve ever been before. If you want to go back then you’ll make it work. I know you will.”

“Thanks dad, now how is…”

,,,,,

“How many times have you watched that tackle back?”

“Over a thousand times.”

“Do you think you should have been sent off?”

“Of course not.”

……

You loved Barcelona, from the moment you stepped through those doors 3 years ago you’d been welcomed in and never looked back. In 2019 you moved to America but your year out there was plagued with depression and homesickness resulting in a lack of game time, when Barcelona came calling it was a difficult decision with your family ties but they had a project, they had a good set up and you knew the onus wouldn’t just be on you. The first six months were still tough, working out Spanish football to both play with your teammates and counter the opposition but by the end of the season you felt at home for the first time in 2 years.

Your role this year had been heightened by the loss of one of your midfield partners in Alexia, but you were adaptable and that’s probably how you found yourself 4-0 up, having just scored a second goal in the second half.

“It’s almost like you’re trying to impress someone.” Mapi whispered giving you a half hug as you walked back into your own half.

“Shut up.”

“I bet she’s panicking that you might turn it down now.”

“She’s got other players Maria.”

“But none of them are you.”

The match stayed at 4-0, some of the youngsters coming on to see the game out.

You’d never been in a team like this, of course you had little arguments and there were small groups within the team, but everyone worked so hard for each other. And with that came the protectiveness, when you joined you were only 21, now 24 and the older ones took you under their wings. You’d been daunted a lot at the fact of playing fellow English players in the Champions League but they’d been your shield for those moments.

It blew your mind when the younger age groups joined you and they speak about that moment. Most of them staying up late to watch it making you feel old. But that meant they came to you for advice a lot of the time. Maybe this time though it was time to get advice from them.

“Hey little one.” Maria Perez was the first one you spotted in the changing room. “You played really well today.”

“Thank you.”

“How are you feeling about being called up?” It was only yesterday that the Spanish squad had been leaked and she was once again in it.

“Excited, another opportunity to prove myself.”

“I like that you see it that way.”

“Everyone should, it’s no different to playing here, as long as you be yourself you can never be disappointed.”

…….

@jillsmithjournalist: Serena Weigman is present at the Barcelona match. No current England players are playing however star player Y/N Beckham scored twice. Beckham has not played for England since she withdrew from selection in August 2019 amid public backlash and a rumoured feud with England manager Phil Neville. Could a return be on the cards?

@newlionesses_x: Surely she can’t just pick and choose when to come back.

@wslfan: Fine without her last year

@england123: Liability for England

@barcelonafan: All you hating on Beckham are crazy, one of the best players in the world and you don’t want her back because of something that happened 4 years ago, grow up. Could tell she struggled when she joined us but this past year she’s been exceptional, people change, mistakes happen (even though she should never have been sent off in the first place)

…..

You’ve known your decision for a long time but you still delayed giving it as long as possible before you could wait no longer. You could see she was the only one left in the hospitality area as you entered, the table she had chose overlooking the pitch you’d just performed on.

This was what you wanted and now it felt only right to give yourself that opportunity again.

“I’ll do it.”

#woso imagine #woso #woso x reader #woso imagines #barcelona femeni #lionesses #engwnt #david beckham #beckham #football

712 notes · View notes

coldalbion · 4 years

Text

THINGS WOT I HAVE LEARNT AFTER BEING VIRTUALLY HOUSEBOUND FOR 3 YEARS THAT MAY BE HELPFUL TO THOSE IN SELF ISOLATION AND/OR LOCKDOWN DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

(Background: I have a lifelong disability and am a wheelchair user. After surgery I’ve basically been stuck living and sleeping in one room for three years. These are things I have learnt which may help, though with the caveat that everyone is different, and baseline mental health varies.)

1. YOUR MENTAL HEALTH WILL PROBABLY SUFFER - and although humans are social creatures, even the most introverted will chafe against boundaries enforced upon them by circumstance. The degree to which it suffers will be related to your mental health baseline and physical health. Understand that this IS NOT YOUR FAULT. Stimuli and enrichment methods are required. It’s why animals need such things in zoos and conservation parks. This leads us on to my next point.

2. COMPREHEND WHICH ACTIVITIES ARE ACTIVE AND PASSIVE FOR YOU Spending your confinement solely doing passive things (watching TV, Netflix, browsing the internet, scrolling through the internet) will take a load off your brain and make the time pass quicker. But if that’s all you do, the sense of disconnection increases over time. Activities which require you to *do* something, even if it’s just engaging your motor skills via video games, or lifting some cans of beans, or actively reading - these deliberate acts foster a tiny sense of achievement which gives your brain a dose of helpful chemicals. If you want to consider your activities, look up the work of Marshall McLuhan as regards “hot media” and “cold media” (See https://mediawiki.middlebury.edu/MIDD…/Hot_versus_cool_media for basic premise.) Balancing out your media intake with hot and cold activities keeps your brain active and pumping tasty neurotransmitters.

3. LIMIT YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE TO SOCIAL PURPOSES. Infinite scrolling as found on many social media platforms is a hot medium, as per McLuhan. The reason Likes exist is to give that little spike of interactivity. It’s not a conspiracy to say many platforms are designed to keep you on them so they can show you more ads. (See also https://www.theguardian.com/…/has-dopamine-got-us-hooked-on… which explains the brain chemistry angle) However, DM’s and other messaging faculties are supremely useful. Use them to interact with your friends, indulge your fandom theories. Person to person interaction requires and enhances deep-seated neurological and biophysical reflexes. Text your mates. Skype/Facetime or otherwise call them. Use the technology of the 21st century for genuine social ends, deliberately. Catch up with their lives one to one or in groupchats.

4. PICK TIMES TO CHECK THE NEWS AND STICK TO THEM. This relates to point 3 - unfortunately we live in a 24hr news cycle, with constant liveblogging of important issues. This means that we’re constantly streaming anxiety inducing situations into our brains JUST IN CASE. That’s not helpful, particularly when you can’t actually DO anything about those events - the urge to DO something is why people are panic-buying. It’s a very basic primordial need to grab resources for defence. By picking times of the day to check news, you are again, making a DELIBERATE CHOICE, enacting some small level of agency, while at the same time limiting anxiety-inducing stimuli. If the news gets too much, then don’t check it as much - or at all - and do something else.

5. IF YOU DO THINGS WITH FRIENDS, SEE IF YOU CAN DO THEM ONLINE. Run that game of DnD/Other TTRPG you’ve been meaning to. Hold your book club online. Have a few drinks online over voice-chat if you are missing the pub. Hold watch parties for your favourite shows. The key, as ever, is to be engaged rather than passive. It’s harder if you’re ill, yes, but it can be done.

6. USE YOUR IMAGINATION TO CREATE THINGS. Write that fanfic. Start that novel. Design that game. Doodle. Paint. Humans have been creating since the day we became human. Consider things from the perspective of a pre-modern person. Make handprints on your own personal cave wall - contact each other and tell spooky stories. Build a complex fantasy world. Write an account of your confinement for some person to find pieces of years after you’re gone from the world. Think about a problem, and learn how to solve it via taking online classes (See http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses) Write an essay on your chosen passion or hyperfixation - nobody needs to read it but you. Treat yourself to intellectual stimulation, if that’s your thing.

7. IF YOU HAVE A SPIRITUAL. RITUAL, OR MEDITATIVE PRACTICE DO IT. It doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect, or limited in scope. This also includes atheists and those who despise woo - you have personal rituals, things you do that have Meaning to you as a person. Maybe it;s alphabetizing your music collection, or spring cleaning or cooking your favourite meal like grandma used to make. Humans have patterns they perform. When you perform them DELIBERATIVELY (or dare I say MINDFULLY) you become aware that these are the scaffolds that structure human life.

8. STRUCTURE YOUR TIME. Following on from 7, we often don’t realise the structure of our lives until it is disrupted. When that’s removed, our minds can go into freefall. If you’re isolated/in lockdown, oftentimes you won’t be able to access those structures. Rather than wait for them to to become accessible again and risk a period of feeling lost and directionless, which can enhance depression and anxiety, it’s best to develop a new structure based on the resources you have. It can be as loose or as strict as you like, but sticking to it allows us to develop a rhythm which makes time pass in recognisable fashion and gives us a sense of being-in-the-world as some sort of engaged process.

9. KEEP YOUR SLEEP PATTERN REGULAR AND LONG ENOUGH. The key here is REGULAR. Following on from 8, it’s important to keep your body well rested, as this aids your immune system and cuts down on the possibility of your body having to deal with stress . If you’re ill it’s harder to keep this regular, because sometimes your body just needs sleep to regenerate NOW. Equally in isolation, particularly if you’re feeling mentally low, it can be tempting to sleep forever, because y’know, you’re feeling low and what’s the point. (Of course the point is why we have 8 in particular, along with all the rest.)

OBVIOUSLY EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. Particularly for those with disabilities or chronic illnesses, we may be even more limited in our activities while isolated than able bodied folks. That said, the key is to remember that certainly during this pandemic, and otherwise YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE FEELING THIS WAY. Rubbish as it may be, many are in the same boat. If it pleases you to, seek them out - see what commonalities you have, what hopes and dreams and fascinations you may share. FIND THE OTHERS - it’s what humans have always done.

Be well.

#coronavirus #disability #cripkult

22K notes · View notes

thebeautyoffanfics · 3 years

Note

Hey! I always loved your writing and you actually inspired me to write some myself so I want to request if it’s alright…

Can I have Hanako x f!reader who doesn’t believe in love (this having to due with her parents never getting along). She says that it’s just a little word people say to make them feel better about themselves and it’s a waste of time.

But she can’t help but fall in love with Hanako and gets on flustered when he’s around but tries to tell herself it’s not love. Oneshot please!

Thank you and feel free to ignore if you want!

hanako x f!reader

a/n: hello hello!! thank you so much for the compliment- that’s really sweet, and it genuinely means the world to me;; but, sure thing! (ahh, the fact that i wrote a rengoku fic about the reader feeling that way not long ago- this is a topic I’m familiar with, so I hope that it makes it turn out even better? haha) thank you so much for requesting, and I hope this turns out alright!!! <333 also, if you ever want to share your writings, do feel free to tag me/let me know somehow! I’m sure they’re amazing, and I’d love to read them, should you be comfortable with it!! :DD

bro i guess this request resonated with me bc i genuinely like,,, went off. So it’s,,, pretty long- i hope that’s alright haanofnaoinf-

warnings: implied parental issues?

word count: 2,363

Love was ridiculous. It was a stupid idea. An overused word, thrown onto any situation in which you felt something other than anger, fear, sadness, or disgust. If something made you even a little happy, you’d claim to love it. If someone showed you basic human decency, you’d claim to love them.

You hated it. It made you feel sick.

It’s not like you could control what everyone else did, you supposed. So, you’d continue on normally. If you didn’t fall in love, then there was no worry about falling out of it- that’s what you figured. That’s what you told yourself. Love wasn’t real in the first place- how could such an overused word hold any true meaning? It was like a 1st grade pinky promise. It was easily broken, as if it held any truth to it when the kids exchanged a deal. No matter how much either part of it trusted the promise, it made it no more real or true.

Yep… love was best put as a 1st grade pinky promise.

Maybe not-

Still, such a strong opinion on love, an unmoving opinion, with your own “proof” to back it up… made it hard when you thought that it may be put to question. You walked near the bathroom, the girls’ bathroom, and heard a girl from your class shout something. You couldn’t tell what, but you did notice her slightly annoyed expression as she left the bathroom.

Ah, the girl who seemed to be constantly head-over-heels for boys- particularly Minamoto-senpai, you had noted. It wasn’t like he’d return the feelings, you figured. It’s not like her “love” was anything more than an obsession.

Still, you figured there must have been some other girl in the bathroom. Yashiro probably had friends- she talked to Aoi a lot. Maybe the school’s princess was teasing her friend. You pushed open the door, noticing that all the stalls were empty. The only other entity in the bathroom was… a floating, slightly-transparent boy. He was laughing, and you went ahead and assumed it was at Yashiro’s annoyance.

You sighed, running a hand through your hair. Honestly, you just needed to pee, but it shouldn’t have surprised you. Little mokke running around the school constantly, weird things happening, a boy in the girls’ bathroom wasn’t life-changing. Or so you figured.

You grumbled, making some comment you weren’t even sure you got, as you stepped into a stall. Not acknowledging him would surely be best. You were fairly new to the school, and it wasn’t like you were insanely fond of public restrooms anyway. You’d never have to see him again. Plus, if he was anything like the other supernaturals, you were sure he’d be a handful. That was your thought process, as you washed your hands, glimpsing up at the mirror hung above the sink- you caught another glimpse at him.

An old uniform. Brown, almost shaggy, hair. His eyes were amber, and rather large- the way he held his hands, you silently compared him to a puppy. Innocent face, playful eyes- almost too alive for a ghost. He turned his head, nearly making eye contact, but you continued to study his appearance. A white… bandage? Sticker? Something- stuck to his face, the kanji for “seal” written in red.

Weird.

“My, you look as if you’ve seen a ghost,” He spoke, bringing a hand to his mouth, as a mischievous smirk came to his face.

A pain in the neck.

Your eyebrows furrowed, as you looked back down, turning off the sink and drying your hands.

“Oh? Gonna pretend you didn’t see me? How cruel,”

Still, you ignored him. He couldn’t be serious. How was he so sure you didn’t simply think you caught something out of the corner of your eye? Was he messing with you, or trying to lighten the mood?

“I don’t think I want to associate with a pervy ghost,” You said, shutting the door behind you. As if right on time, the bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. With that, you made your way to class, hoping to not have to deal with any more paranormal things.

…

Unfortunately, things don’t always go as planned. As the rest of the day took it’s sweet time to pass, you sat, spacing out as you thought about that boy. He was one of the first humanoid supernaturals you had seen at the school- honestly, you half-hoped that all of them were cute little bunnies. Not… strangely eye-catching boys… how weird.

You sighed, clicking your pen, letting the quiet sound drown the teacher’s ramblings out a bit. Ca-click, click-click, ca-click, click-click.

“Y’know, people find that little sound annoying sometimes. It never bothered me, but teachers seem to be so sensitive about it.”

Jumping, you turned your head a bit, only to be practically nose-to-nose with the boy from the bathroom. Your heartbeat increased from the surprise, but you placed your hand on your chin, pretending to not have seen anything. Not only did you not want to give him much of your time or energy, but you definitely didn’t want to attract negative attention from the normal kids around you. Your eyes scanned the room, and you noticed Yashiro looking in your direction, most likely at the boy. Yes, she definitely saw him too.

“Waaah, Yashirooooo, the new girl’s totally ignoring me!” He sighed, floating over to her. She looked away as well, focusing intensely on whatever the teacher had to say. You weren’t even sure by this point, watching the two out of the corner of your eye. You stopped clicking your pen, watching as he stood behind Yashiro, leaning against her as he peered at her notes.

He glanced at you again, and you looked away. The boy, who you were now curious as to what his name could be, floated back over to your desk, glancing at your notes.

“You really aren’t paying attention, huh! Yashiro’s not much better- her page is mainly doodles. How on earth do you plan to pass like this, haha?”

You glared at him slightly, before lifting your pen, and clicking it open. Annoyed, you flipped to another page, and scribbled something down. He leaned forward a bit, looking at whatever it is you wrote.

“Leave me alone, toilet boy.”

He laughed, patting your back. “Toilet boy? What’s with all the insults, I barely know youuuuuu- plus, I have a name. I’m Hanako. School Mystery Number 7, Hanako-san of the toilet! Not ‘toilet boy’, nor a pervy ghost.”

You raised your eyebrows, writing once more.

“Wonderful. Now leave me alone, ‘Hanako-san of the toilet’.”

Days passed, and he certainly didn’t leave you alone. In fact, you grew to find yourself spending more time than you expected to with him. You assisted with supernaturals from time to time, even meeting his two other friends properly- Kou Minamoto and Yashiro Nene. You all slowly, but surely, became friends.

“I’m done wiping the mirrors,” You said, tossing the dirty rag into the bucket.

“I’m done mopping!” Yashiro exclaimed, sighing as she leaned against the mop.

“I’ve finished dusting too,” Kou added.

Hanako nodded, clapping cheerfully. “Great job, everyone! Can’t wait to see the same enthusiasm tomorrow!!”

The three of you collectively groaned, rolling your eyes. “Yes, yes, just like that,” Hanako laughed, moving his legs to sit in the air in a criss-cross fashion. Light conversation picked up, Kou talking to Yashiro, and Hanako throwing in a comment every so often. You stood, leaning against the sink, watching your friends look so happy. Hanako glanced at you, closing his eyes as he grinned.

Your heart rate picked up, and you felt your face grow warm. Your eyebrows furrowed just slightly, as you glanced away. It wasn’t the first time a little action like that made your heart go haywire. Not just your heart- your stomach, your legs, your arms. The moment Hanako grinned at you, hugged you, or emptily flirted, you felt as though you lost the ability to function. It couldn’t be love… no, you didn’t want to fall in love.

“Right, but it's getting late, guys. I should really head home,” Yashiro spoke, putting the mop up as she did so. Kou nodded, glancing over at the clock. “I’ve got to get home and work on dinner,” He said, putting the duster away, and grabbing his things.

Hanako glanced at you.

“I don’t really have any plans. I finished homework in class, so I think I’ll linger around for a bit more.”

“Alright! Be safe when you head home, (Y/N)! I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Yashiro spoke, waving as she left the room. “Bye guys! Be safe!” Kou added, leaving not long after she did. Silence filled the room for a moment, the only thing breaking it being the sound of your shoes as you made your way to the window seal. Taking a seat, you looked at Hanako expectantly.

“Well? Any more stories of the things I missed out on?”

...

“The Confession Tree?” You questioned, the other two humans long gone by now, leaving Hanako to recount to you previous adventures they had gone on.

“Yep! Yashiro and I took care of that one- it was honestly easier than most of them were. He’s still around, just nothing bigger than one of those pre-cut broccolis. The rumor was, you’d confess under him, and he’d make the feelings mutual~, buuut, it obviously got way out of control.”

“That’s so stupid.”

Hanako raised his eyebrows, not expecting such a distasteful tone of voice. “What is?”

“A supernatural forcing some kids to ‘fall in love’,” You made air quotes, before continuing, “it’s pretty gross. Love’s nothing more than some overused word. It’s tagged onto everything, and it’s basically used to make you feel better. It’s all a waste.”

For once, he was silent. Several questions began to circulate in his mind, but a part of him was… somewhat hurt.

“But what if I love you?” He questioned, tilting his head. His face felt warm, but he tried to steady his heartbeat. It wasn’t a direct confession. No, just a question. A ‘what if.’

You blinked, your face feeling warm. You understood- of course, it was nothing more than a ‘what if.’ “It wouldn’t be love. You’d be interested in me, only for the interest to go away eventually- even if it took a week. Even if it took years. Just… trust me, Hanako. I’m not the smartest person in the world, but- once you see it happen to the two people who are supposed to be there for you forever, you get the memo. It isn’t love. Never was, never will be.”

Those words you spoke… you didn’t like the fact that you questioned their sincerity. Especially when you were blushing, the boy who made you question those words looking at you with his big, rather beautiful eyes. “Or… that’s… what I think,” You added, the heat rising to your face only making you feel worse, as he blinked. His undivided attention on you- on what you said- made your heart beat much faster than you wished it would.

And suddenly, he was closer. Too close. Way too close. His eyes began to shut, as his face drew closer to yours. Your heart began to beat quicker than it had before- your face grew hotter than it already was- your eyes widened, as you silently questioned what on earth he was going.

One of his hands grabbed your wrist, and you looked over at your arm he was holding, then back up at him. His face was still close, so close you were sure you’d smell him if he still had a scent. So close he could probably feel the heat radiating off of your face, if he could still distinguish hot from cold.

“Then why is your heart beating so fast?” He finally questioned, thumb pressed against your radial artery, as if the warmth of your face wasn’t enough of a sign.

“Because- you’re… way too close.”

“But you aren’t pushing me away? I’ll scoot back if you want. I’m not a mind reader though, so just use your words.”

Your mouth felt dry. Why weren’t you saying anything? You could speak. Open your mouth and tell him to move. Take your free hand and shove him.

But… a part of you didn’t want him to move.

Hanako smiled once more, his eyebrows drawn together slightly, as if he were saddened by something. “I’m sorry that you were dealt a hand like that in life. It’s easy to look around and find all the negatives in life. But,” He leaned forward a bit more, nose nearly touching yours, “you aren’t your parents. You don’t need to follow in their footsteps. Don’t let their problems influence you so heavily to where you miss out on potentially great things. It’s okay to be sad about it. It’s okay to be scared. But it’s still your life, not theirs. If everyone’s overuse of it bothers you, then only say it when you mean it. Still, if you feel love, embrace it.”

Your eyes felt slightly prickly, as they watered up a bit. His sincerity… your racing heart. Maybe, just maybe… you were in love.

“I… think I love you, Hanako,” You muttered. You were scared. You were scared that he’d tell you he was joking- or that maybe this wasn’t love. Scared of so many things, stemming from one little word. Yet, you tried to embrace it.

“I love you, (Y/N). And nothing will change that,” He said, his smile widening. Quickly, he closed his eyes, closing the distance between the two of you. His lips were… cold. His touch was the only thing that reminded you that he wasn’t alive. Still, the warmth of his words made up for it, as you closed your eyes into the kiss.

His encouragement wouldn’t drown out the fear completely. He couldn’t take the memories away. But he tried… he told you that he loved you, so… you’d believe him. After all, you hadn’t heard him overusing the word. It only made that moment feel that much more genuine.

#anon #request #x reader #f!reader #x f!reader #oneshot #tbhk #jshk #toilet bound hanako kun #jibaku shounen hanako kun #hanako #tbhk x reader #jshk x reader #toilet bound hanako kun x reader #jibaku shounen hanako kun x reader #hanako x reader #amane yugi x reader

45 notes · View notes

onlyhereforangst · 3 years

Text

WWR

this may be my latest one (aside from those that never saw the light of day), but sorry life calls sometimes. enjoy the rollercoaster of emotions at the end 😘

Oh Carl, poor Carl. How on earth is he going to survive with Nick? 🤣 Honestly though, Jack so sneaky with her therapy despite being halfway across the globe. I love McGee’s “obviously she thinks you need it Nick” because HAHA nail on the head right there Timmy, he definitely needs it. Needs it to prove to himself a living thing can depend on him and he won’t let it down.

They clearly still don’t believe in personal space, Nick does NOT need to get that close to look at a simple picture of a body on the camera 👀 broooo you so hooked on her she’s like a magnet pulling you in. Alsooooo them both officially switching to first names even in the field is so key. They might not even realize they’re doing it but at the same time they’re so (relatively) comfortable in their feelings of each other that they’ll say it in front of everyone, no qualms about it. I will also never get tired of hearing Nick call her Ellie. For someone so closed off initially, to now have slowly grown to call her on a first name basis when not a single other soul (sans Toby apparently) gets that sort of treatment 🥺😍 Plus he’s teasing her about food just slightly and it’s like old times again. Ellie getting back into her foodie status is perfect, thank you NCIS for finally giving us that.

Were back to Carl and I’m chuckling at Nick’s worry for killing it. That is all, it’s hilarious like Gibb’s creepy laugh.

Ok and now it’s Nick almost making fun of Ellie again, just barely and then he just…listens to her 😩 he just says, oh shit she’s really into this and borderline obsessed and I think that’s actually really f-ing adorable so let me just quietly take this all in because I can’t get enough of this woman and when she’s excitedly rambling about something I’m just going to soak it in because she doesn’t do this often so instead of teasing let me just look, listen and smile like the idiot in love that I am. He’s even kind of holding back a smile when she corrects herself about Kosmic vs Killer Korn. Like goddamn this woman does things to my insides even when she’s just talking about corn and poking me with her finger. Also we’re back to Nick taking a step back and letting Ellie take lead with questioning the food truck people- I love that he respects her so hard that he’ll follow her lead and knows she is a BA with this stuff.

Some more cute partner stuff as per usual, and I’m sorry Nick do you not have your own computer and desk??? I mean, I don’t mind and I know Ellie doesn’t either but Gould you BE more obvious??? Plus he just nods along when she’s talking because his woman knows what is up y’all and you should listen and bow down.

Nick calling Fornell, Toby is hilarious to me- such growth. “Emily is finally squared away” FUCK YOU NCIS. FUCK YOU. THE MOST POINTLESS LAZY STORYLINE EVER OKAY. AND I REFUSE TO DIVULGE THIS SHIT MORE BECAUSE IT PISSES ME OFF TOO MUCH. IF THEY DON’T HAVE THIS AS A LARGER PLOTLINE I WILL BE RIOTING. And yes I knew something major was going to happen but good lord that was so unnecessary. I digress. Ellie pondering out loud about Gibbs’ sad personal life and Nick and McGee’s reactions had be ugly cackling. Like dyyyyyyyying. I can’t with her 🤣🤣🤣 she saying what’s everyone is thinking. Nick giving her a little grief is also so perfect for them “yeah you DID say that out loud.”

Ok now to my favorite part, Nick once again following Ellie’s lead and being initially like oh you writing an article ok we’re going with that ok cool. And then Ellie says hold my earrings we getting crazy but at the same time this is rolling off my tongue like I’ve said it a million times and doodled it in cursive in my diary, my HUSBAND and I can help so like you know let us on your truck mister we’re vaccinated anyways. AND NICK I MEAN HIS FACE. The initial surprise of oh no did she *actually* just say that??? Did she??? why yes she did and I’m sorry why do I like the sound of it so much??? What is this bubbling feeling inside my chest of oh damn I would very much like to be her husband and have her babies and have her announce to random strangers on the street that I am hers??? Is this normal? Do I need to call a medic?? Can she say that again is there a reason she would need to? Prove our cover one more time baby, give me a quick kiss, serious it’s for the good of the case. But ok fine no kiss but yeah I’ll roll with this and call you smoothly with your first name and just play into it. I love them both so much in this whole moment. I love them undercover together and just being all cutesy and Ellie’s deepest desires coming out while she’s just you know, investigating the case.

Ok I am going to completely ignore the reason we are somber in this bullpen in fear of losing my shit again (see above) but we’ll break down the ellick part of it. Nick near her desk because he needs to be by her side even if it’s just her proximity 🥺 And then he takes a long look at Carl before looking at Ellie and man that is poignant even if it seems like just a fish. This living being that he’s been so stressed about keeping alive, realizing he HAS kept it alive. Realizing that he CAN be a person that someone (or a fish) depends on. Realizing he is built for long-term, he is built for the interdependency of a serious relationship. And looking up to Ellie and seeing that need for comfort, for strength, for a person to depend on. He knows her own strength and independence, knows yeah- she could do it on her own if she had to. But he also acknowledges he can be there to help her, he won’t break and he won’t let her down- just like he hasn’t let Carl down. So what does he do? He takes the corn he’d most definitely picked up *before* the news of Emily’s death (and oh good lord is that not the cutest fucking thing? He’d listened to her gush and obsess over Kosmic Korn (and yes if you freeze frame, he got her favorite because he’s observant) and he said, let me take notes, let me get my wife I mean girlfriend I mean partner some corn because it makes her happy, and if I can do even the smallest thing to make her smile goddamnit imma do it. I’m going to show her that any little teasing I give her is for show and I listen and I love this woman enough to go back to Kosmic Korn BY MYSELF—willingly Nick Torres will go back to a food truck—and get this lady some damn corn). But yes he got this before Emily’s death and now not only is it just to make her smile, but it’s a shred of “I hope I can bring you some comfort because otherwise I’m not sure how even though I desperately want to give you comfort.” And Ellie, the small smile of recognition at what Nick did is so sweet. And it morphs into a hesitant, yes corn is great but I really need to feel you, I need to touch you and know you’re still here. Feel you in my arms, feel your chest rise and fall as you breathe me in and I breathe you in. Feel you being alive after all we and this team have been through. McGee might go hug his kids but god I need to hug you Nick. I need to nestle my head even closer to get as physically close to you as possible, feel every inch of your warmth while I wrap my head around how short life truly is. And Nick looking down and stutter slightly at the overwhelming emotion he feels having her in his arms. The peace it brings him and the peace it brings her all-consuming. The realization this is where he was always meant to be and the same to her. How even in a somber moment he’s grateful to be her strength and yet he knows she’s also his strength. That hand that didn’t need to but came up all the same to cradle her head and stroke her hair- holding her head right at his heart. His heart that’s inevitably thumping in his chest for all the right reasons. Pressing her into him, doing everything he can to keep her from shying away and retreating behind those walls they both have. Wrapping his other hand around her upper back, shielding her from the hurt that is the world the best he can. If she never leaves his heart, she can’t be hurt. And he can’t lose her. He’d do anything to never leave that spot, that embrace he so desperately craves and needs. The grounding embrace of finally being in one another’s arms for more than a brief adrenaline-induced second. Neither wanting it to end, and yet knowing it will have to. And honestly I can only picture Nick’s hand still gently brushing her hair as Ellie leans back ever so slightly to look up at him, his warmth still radiating over her as he looks down. Wordlessly they both collect their things to go, never wanting a sound to break that moment. Hands maybe even brushing as they enter the elevator- the unspoken shift between them refusing to be broken if words aren’t muttered. They’re still locked in that embrace if the world stays silent. And that last look of longing at car doors, knowing the moment they step in and drive away it does have to sever- the shift is there but the embrace is split. Both swirling with thoughts as they drive their separate ways home as to where to go next…

Aaaaand then cue a Gibbs-centric episode with trash references to how vets do their job, I’m not bitter. She says as she ruins a sweet emo moment at the end of the wwr with her bitterness 🙄 ANYWAYS I’m gonna leave it with no side notes because honestly I don’t remember any and also it is literally the day of the next episode I’m so terrible at getting this done how do y’all keep waiting for me & reading this trash 😅❤️

#ellick #ncis #torres x bishop #wwr #18x09

29 notes · View notes

weeklyfangirl · 4 years

Text

Frat Boy Pt. 21

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7 (1), part 7 (2), part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13 , part 14, part 15, part 16, part 17, part 18, part 19 , part 20

HI LOVIES. Please enjoy a Friday update on the Frat Boy universe. This one is a bit of a breather after the TUMULTUOUS ANGST of the last chappie. Shorter than my usual, but it’s all the chapter needed. Tons more y/n and Harry interaction on the way in the next! Have a safe and happy day loves xx

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

Things I want:

Live a life that helps others

Financial freedom

Experience a great love

Visit the the Pincio Gardens in Italy

To have more dreams and fewer nightmares

Doodle more

Acquire a first edition book, either because an old friendly man who owns an antique bookshop decides to give it to me in a bonding moment, or because I have accomplished #2 and I am celebrating being a Boss Bitch

To be happy

Please note: not necessarily in that order

It was taped above my desk, waiting for me to bring it in to the next session. I hesitated to write number 6. It was a dream I hardly entertained after committing my scholarly life to pursue medicine. I used to love to doodle. All the time. Since elementary school. I doodled so much my mom dedicated a wall in the house to my illustrations. She hung a sign above it that affectionately said “Y/N’s Doodles.” Seriously, you couldn’t get me to stop. Even if it was gross sappy sketches of my crush Billy who I would NEVER show on the playground at recess.

My doodling stopped how these things normally do. Because life grew busier than anything else, and the sketchpad and easel my dad had bought for me at a garage sale became ignored, collecting dust in the corner of my room. At some point, it’d become a year since I’d drawn anything, and then it was two, and three, and by this point I’d realized I was the one who’d need to create her own stability in life and medicine was the more logical fit. It wasn’t that I didn’t see the value in drawing anymore, I just had other things take up my time. It became a comfort just knowing I used to draw. Paul had paved his way, and now I was on my way to do the same. At least with medicine, my soul felt fed. It was almost comfort enough.

“oH WE GOT A ROGUE ONE.”

A flying toenail hit my eye.

“WHAT THE-” I flailed my arms, as though there were a thousand more coming. Renny’s mouth opened in shock, her guilty body hunched over her bent leg. Clippers in hand.

“Sorry!!” Renny burst up laughing.

“oH MY GOSH CAN YOU DO THAT OVER A TRASH CAN OR SOMETHING?!”

“IT HAD A MIND OF ITS OWN!!” she screamed back.

I blinked rapidly, my left eye watering up and spilling painless tears. “Well I’m going to have conjunctivitis at the studio later. Or I’ll be stumbling in blind.” I wiped it away.

I heard another clip and she put up her hands with another giggle.

“All done. And you won’t stumble, I’m going to be there.” Renny extended her leg, her perfectly trimmed foot nearly touching the ceiling.

“You’re just going to solicit Zayn to be his next subject.”

“Maybe,” her grin grew devious. “But also because I want to see if he captured the angelic beauty and complex nymph nuances of my best friend.”

I put a hand to my chest, still aching from uncertainty. “Honored.”

“Want to watch another episode until it’s time to go?”

This whole lazy morning had been an OC Housewives bingefest. She’d seen it on my homepage and had a complete spazz, twitching whilst proclaiming but i’ve been trying to get you to watch this show for YEARS!! When she saw the old season I was on, though, she didn’t have to question why her pestering had miraculously worked. She didn’t mention him aloud besides giving me a pointed look. And so, we watched it, even though I wasn’t really in the mood to see anything about Harry right now. It’d hurt more than I thought to walk away from him last night, and to see how sad he looked when I did.

After last night, he hadn’t posted anything to social media. He’d called, twice, but I knew he was drunk, or worse, and I was tired, and whatever he would say he could tell me in the morning. Even though I knew he wouldn’t.

And he didn’t.

And therein lay the problem.

It hurt to see his family on my little box of a computer screen, weird to see his life and get glimpses of his childhood. I felt like a hacker spying on home videos. But then I reminded myself that thousands of people had already done the same. At this point, it was just… morbid curiosity.

“Nah, I don’t know if I can handle any more of that right now. Dr. Rhinecuff is going to yell at me if I don’t return these scanned copies to him by Monday.”

“Ew, he smells like meat.”

“RENNY!!”

“I’m just saying. That one time I went with you it smelled like pastrami in his office. He has a PhD, but isn’t with-it enough to buy air freshener.”

“He likes pastrami sandwiches, let him live.”

She scrolled on her phone, not bothering to respond, and my gaze turned to the window.

“Hey Renny?”

“Hm.”

A bird flew close to the glass, halting just before it hit it, then zooming off in the opposite direction. “What’d you do when your parents were fighting?”

“Ummm…” I knew the question registered in her mind when she stopped scrolling, suddenly concerned. “Are your parents okay?”

“Yeah. I mean, kind of.” I glossed over it, not caring to get into the bitter details. “I was just curious.”

“Uhh..” She plucked at the soft cotton of her cotton candy pajamas that were fraying at the knees. “I lost my virginity to Zach,” she half-laughed.

“Zach? Neighbor boy Zach?”

Renny nodded. She always sounded a little sad when she talked about him. Zach was the hot college boy who shared a backyard fence with Renny, the girl who may or may not have used her kitchen stool to peak over and see him workout on the grass every summer he came home. I’d known they’d slept together. I just didn’t think he was her first.

“I just tried to be out of the house as much as I could,” she said. “Found my true love Mary J.”

“Oh.”

“It was shitty, but I’m glad I got it over with.”

“The divorce or your virginity.”

“Both,” she chortled. “Why what’s up? Are you sad or something? I have a j in my drawer.”

“No, no, I’m fine.” Mostly I was just wondering what it must be like to feel so sexually liberated. In my house sex wasn’t talked about. At all. The inevitable sex scene in every other movie would result in my dad blaring out “WHAT KIND OF MOVIE IS THIS!” in an attempt to make it less awwkard, but having it backfire and only make it horrendously more awkward. I wasn’t saving my virginity for anyone in particular, but after all those romance novels, I wanted it to be… something. I wanted to feel something towards the person where it would justify something I’ve kept to myself for so long. I wanted it to be intense. I wanted it to be like the books. Like a Frank Sinatra song that swept up your heart and transported you back to a time of gentlemen and cigars and women in long evening gowns with fur coats and martinis.

“I wish I could just get it over with,” I confessed. One half of me screamed YOU’RE IN YOUR TWENTIES HAVE ALL THE SEX while the other half said YOU’VE WAITED THIS LONG DAMN IT HOLD OUT A LITTLE LONGER. I didn’t know which part of me was compromising more.

Renny leaned in, quick. “Would you do it with Harry?”

Like the flip of a switch, I remembered the sensuous heat of his body against mine, wrapping me up and pressing me against him where we just fit. And I couldn’t imagine how much better it’d feel to be even more connected to him.

“Maybeeee…?”

But then there was last night.

I cringed. No matter how with me he’d seemed… he couldn’t have been present after mixing whatever the hell he took and a handle of alcohol. Did I really want someone like that? Someone who could only give a shell of themselves?

“No, I wouldn’t. Or- ugh, I don’t know. I don’t know if it could ever mean as much to him.”

Renny nodded. “I mean, don’t let him pressure you, obviously. If he does, I’ll kick his baby maker smack into his prostate. Prostate. See, anatomy. You taught me that.”

“Haha, no, he’s not like that.” My brows stitched. I was confused why he wasn’t more like that, actually. We’d known each other for several months now and he hadn’t even put a finger in me. When I thought about it, it actually frustrated me. Don’t pressure me to do anything, but I wanted to be pushed to do something. I was never the bold one in areas like this.

Not that I should be so willing to do anything with him anymore anyways. Something shifted in me when I’d seen him last night. It wasn’t a shift I could easily describe, but it’d set me a foot apart from my heart. A bit of me was shocked that it had happened so suddenly.

But this shift was new, and my heart still wanted what it wanted. I knew that if I watched any more OC Housewives with Harry’s toddler curls and surfer tan, I’d be sucked right back into speculating about what our future kids could look like. And if I saw him?

You were right, Harry. You are fucked.

I cringed again. That was harsh. That was very very harsh.

I didn’t know if I’d have the courage to apologize. What if my pheromones went berserk and magnetized me to his side??

Renny was right.

I needed therapy.

The clippers were tossed back on my desk.

“Thanks,” she said. “Have you started on your DG Double P yet?”

DG Double P = Renny Speak for DG Pretty Please.

I groaned. “No. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, honestly. I have to-”

“NO!!! Don’t tell me. We’re not supposed to tell each other.” Her hand extended in panic.

“Fine. I can keep a secret.”

I was getting a little too good at that lately.

She moved onto her belly, splaying her arms out in a dramatic fashion, face squished against the comforter. “Isn’t it just killing you inside.” She was dead serious.

“Yeah, more than you know.”

And I was serious, too.

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

I wasn’t expecting people to dress up as much as they did. Donned in my only pair of yoga pants and a chunky white sweater, I walked arm-in-arm with Renny past girls in cocktail dresses and guys in button-downs.

Something that sounded like a baby’s cry filled my ears, but it was gone as soon as we walked through the doors to the on-campus gallery. .

“Woah did you hear that?”

Renny nodded, tossing her head back. “There’s a baby somewhere.”

It reminded me of the bodiless screams in my nightmare. In my chunky sweater, I shivered undetectably.

The on-campus gallery rotated exhibits throughout the year, but this time, student sculptures were on pedestals, nightmarish portraits hung on the walls, and red and orange tapestries swooped down and across the ceiling in a cirque-du-soleil moment as if to secure us beneath fire. Some students had separate booths, but other pieces of work trailed seamlessly into the next.

A tree made from photographs and newspaper took up the center of the space. Zayn had been so adamant about his muse having life, I wondered if that was the focus of this exhibit - to capture natural life. But I suppose all art did.

“It’s the circle of life exhibit,” Renny stated, as if reading my thoughts.

“How’d you know that?”

She held up a pamphlet she must’ve grabbed from the entrance.

I quickly scanned the room, hoping to find Zayn quickly so I could skip out just as quick.

Several of my professors were here, including Dr. Rhinecuff. When he saw me, I raised my hand, but he raised his cup of red wine awkwardly and looked away.

My hand wavered.

Odd.

Zayn was standing by the tree, speaking with an older woman. Her skin was a rich brown, short hair hidden beneath a chic scarf. The man beside her looked around the same age with graying facial hair, a pocket hanky, and beaded bracelets. Art professors.

I caught his gaze, and he gestured me over.

“Y/N, these are my instructors. David and Ebony.”

Their eyes lit up in recognition. “He did you a great justice,” David said, gray moustache twitching with the words.

Ebony beamed. “Oh yes, a piece was already sold. He’s going to be the next big wig before he graduates,” she gushed. “Zayn, I’m sure you’ll be splitting the profits with the heart of the piece.”

She gestured to me and his smile widened, but my stomach sank faster.

“I didn’t know these pieces were going to be sold.”

Ebony sensed my concern. The wine in her glass swirled. “We thought allowing the pieces to be shown and auctioned was a good way to replicate what many of them should be doing once they graduate. The whole department gets involved, and these kids put in a lot of work, and the reputation of starving artists isn’t something we want to buy into here.”

I nodded. “I mean, that’s great. That’s… really amazing.”

Zayn couldn’t meet my eyes. He knew. He could sense my hesitance, too.

“Now he can finally afford a nice dinner to take you out!” David proclaimed.

We were all quiet for a minute. “You know, for a thank you dinner,” David covered up. Zayn’s brows scrunched and he shook his head a bit, not knowing where David’s comment came from.

“Do you do this regularly?” Ebony asked, steering the conversation away from an awkward moment.

My ears pricked up when I realized she was looking at me. “Excuse me?”

“Well I was just thinking…” a light laugh lifted as if her idea would be outrageous. “Would you mind sitting in for one of my classes on Monday? Our model had a sudden death-”

“My God,” David proclaimed.

Ebony waved her hand. “-in his family. I haven’t called to replace him yet.”

It quieted as they looked at me, waiting for a response. “Oh, I don’t… I don’t usually do this. At all. It was a chance thing.”

“Luck be the artist.” David raised his glass.

Ebony followed suit, looking at my empty hand. “You just going to let her stand there without a drink?”

“Yeah, Zayn. What kind of treatment is this?” I teased.

He did a slight bow. “Apologies. We’ll walk to drinks, immediately.” He pulled us away, leading us further into the showroom as his head dipped low to my ear. “Renny just passed us to meet Felix and them. They’re through here.”

We stepped under an archway that led into a darker-lit room, but his hand stopped me beneath the nook. “Did yeh notice anything?”

Yeah. I was noticing how close we were in this archway. He saw my eyes start to squint in thought and he turned me around to face the room we’d just left.

“Look closer.”

My eyes roamed the crowd, trying to find some sort of person, or pattern he could be referring to. With a brief seize of my heart, I expected to see somebody from the gang.

“Look at the artwork, Y/N.” His breath warmed my skin.

The paintings all seemed to be bright, though sticking to red, orange, blacks, and grays. Wait, forget a pallette pattern. The next painting had blue and purple, too. One sculpture looked like a writhing ghost, twisting and reaching for something above. Or maybe it was an unearthed tree root. Despite all the bold colors, there was something off-putting about how bright they all were. It wasn’t a soothing brightness. It was almost violent. The orange and red writhing tapestries warped the ceiling into something hot.

“Is it hell?” I chortled, but quickly quieted. I expected him to take offense, but his hand went lightly around my waist with a small smile.

“Could be. See-” his arm extended out to scan the perimeter “-all this art is supposed to represent death, but challenge the notion of it through color.”

“How so?”

“Yeh know it’s usually your blacks, and your grays, s’depressing shit. But we’re born from death. Before life, there was nothing, but something. It’s bold and necessary and there, and no one really knows whatever comes before. Or after.” He looked at the room, taking a sip of wine. I watched as he swallowed, and I imagined the wine running down. “What is death but an uncertain existence.” He said the thought almost happily, looking at me with a slight smirk. “Could be anythin’.”

He took a deep breath, letting his hand touch the top of the archway. It was then that I noticed it wasn’t just plain drywall. A collage of photographs ran all along the inside.

He wasn’t as tall as Harry, but his hand still reached the top, scuffing across a picture of an African landscape taped over a toddler eating fruity pebbles.

“They’re pictures. Everyone donated one,” he said.

A strand of words were painted over the collage, running from one end of the archway to the other, and I tilted my head back to read it. “Things... that…. make... m..e …...feel alive.”

“Everyone was able to design their space in order to control, to some extent, how their art was perceived. Everyone was a part of the transition space.”

“Very nice,” I noted, slightly put-off. I hadn’t been expecting this art show to be so… professional. “Zayn, this is amazing. Like, really, truly, professional-grade stuff is happening. The presentation, the pieces, everything.”

His smile grew wider, putting cool hands over my eyes. I flinched, but let him.

I felt him come closer.

“Listen now,” he urged.

I listened, but I wasn’t sure for what. There was the familiar busy rumble of people mingling, parents visiting their kids, and professors droning on about the talent of their students. But it was chatter. I couldn’t make out one conversation over another. I shrugged up against his other hand that was atop my shoulder.

“Sometimes you need to change where you’re planted to understand.”

I hoped he could see my cross expression because I couldn’t tell if he was bullshitting me right now. It’d been a day. It’d been a night. And I wasn’t in the mood for more philosophical ramblings - especially about death. “I don’t know what you mean,” I sighed.

“Meaning I have to move you closer to the speakers.” He let out a breathy laugh. “Jus’ keep your eyes closed, okay?”

I nodded. His hand moved, tilting my head to its side. Eyes still closed, I became self-conscious imagining people trying to move past me, and here I was, planted, eyes closed in the middle of the archway. My cheeks heated. It was unnerving knowing people could see me when I couldn’t see them. And anyway, I must’ve looked ridiculous.

“What do you hear?” he urged.

“I hear a lot of people talking,” I griped.

But right when I was about to open my eyes-

I heard a familiar chirping through the chatter.

“Birds?” I opened my eyes.

“Observance can be taught, sometimes.” Zayn leant back, looking mighty proud of himself.

“Why are there birds?”

“We’re entering life,” he smiled, backing into the space. I tipped my wine back, several long gulps lightening my step as I followed him. Immediately, I noticed much more natural, earthier tones. For being a room of life, it was surprisingly darker than the prior room.

Renny, Felix, and Andre were huddled in the center where a makeshift wall-on-wheels covered in vines divided the room in half.

My eyes widened, trying to adjust to the dimness. “It’s a lot darker in here.”

“All intentional. They decided to play with light in here. People usually think of life being bright ‘n that, but it’s also when we experience varying degrees of darkness. There’s a balance to things and the trouble is finding it.” Understanding laced his voice as his dark eyes bore into mine, almost completely black. One look from Zayn and I was reminded of all the weight I’d been carrying. I fidgeted, uncomfortable seeing myself in his eyes.

“Y/N, get over here!” Renny called. My shoulders visibly relaxed. My saving grace. “You didn’t tell me you did this,” she said lowly as soon as I got close enough, shocked excitement barely contained. Her giddy smile gave it away though. “Miss sexy secret keeper over here.”

“What do you mean?”

She playfully poked my sides, but Andre and Felix avoided my gaze. Something wasn’t right. And it stirred my stomach, my body already knowing, somehow.

I turned in slow motion, the charcoal drawings in my peripherals stopping me in place. Framed amidst the vines, my face was etched onto paper, scrunching and twisting in various expressions. But my body was attached and twisting, too. And it was bare, bent over, spread out, laying down… My eyes scanned over them a dozen times in a second.

I was naked.

In all of them.

One was titled “21st Century Love.” In this one, I faced the viewer, but looked past them, sorrowful eyes, brows furrowed, breasts I’d never shown on full display. A hickey or two on my neck. A painful sting gripped my chest. I looked sad. I looked so sad.

Tunnel vision, a blurred Renny rushed down to the floor, and a distant part of me registered something wet splatter on my feet.

The wine had dropped.

I’d dropped it.

I was trapped in a shell. My body was numb.

“Babes, you okay?” Renny asked, her voice somewhere far away. Somewhere outside the shell, her voice drowned in the busy rumbling, with the birds, with the watchers. People were watching me now. I was being watched. “Felix, grab some towels!” she barked.

I looked horrified, towards Zayn, but changed my mind just as fast. I couldn’t look at him. I couldn’t even breathe.

He didn’t know me at all. He could stare at me for a thousand sessions and paint every crevice, sunspot, blemish, and mole and still not see me. How was an artist this blind? How could he not know that this was the last thing I could ever want? How could he picture me so… intimately?

The paintings seemed to swirl into one before bouncing back out into their separate exposees.

Because that’s what it was.

An exposure.

A stranger could pay to have me in their home.

The floor spun, vision spotting.

My lungs tightened, tearing me away from Renny, from Felix, from Andre. From Zayn, the artist who painted a confused girl so unashamed. So honestly. Savagely and Unabashedly.

“I didn’t want this.”

And it was when I was halfway out the door that I realized the voice had come from me, a mantra pushing my shell all the way home.

part 22

237 notes · View notes

zahra-kha · 3 years

Text

Dear Diary 32

The weekend was a blast! Well, up until I nearly bled out in the middle of the forest.

I was late to Hanami so I missed out on the fortune-telling which was sad about, but I did manage to get a good luck charm. I’m not sure how well it’s working, but I didn’t die, so I guess it’s doing something. I was really hoping to get my fortune told, I enjoy that sort of thing, but I guess I’ll have to wait for another festival.

I ran into Tamala, Nivaar, Vivien, and Arashi while I was there, oh! Before that though, a strange person bumped into me and handed me off a letter from Lord Thiji Higuri from the Regalia sending his regards. I responded to her giving a formal greeting from house Kouris and infomed her that I’d try to visit the Regalia to give proper respect and greetings to the Mythrite Sultan at some point. It’s not exactly often or common for someone of his standing to reach out to someone of my position, so I should at least give him due respect.

Some of the folks from Ebonheart were there and I chatted with them for a bit before I gave them space to enjoy the festival. I didn’t want to crowd them.

So there was a ritual and a blessing sort of thing. I didn’t really understand it, but it involved lining up to drink sake. I wasn’t sure if that was a religious thing or not, but I didn’t feel very comfortable jumping into something like that when I have my own beliefs and I pray to my own gods. That’s not to say accepting blessings from another belief set is bad, it’s just that I’d like an understanding of what I’m accepting before I accept it. I’m probably overthinking it, I doubt the priests would have offered a blessing to all if it was harmful or insulting. I’m not sure why I felt so apprehensive about it.

After everyone went up to accept the blessing, it was time for the performances. Everyone was so amazing! There was such a variety of performers celebrating the beauty of spring and from different cultures too!

I was performing as well. I did two songs, one on the blossoming of a new love after heartbreak (Yes, it was a personal song, and I don’t often sing about my feelings, but I also feel my songs won’t reach anyone if I don’t try to reach out and touch their hearts with my own). The other was about the powerful bonds of an unshakable love, and I think that moved some people. I really tried my hardest with that song.

The Sword Princess Zenos one was inspiring, I wanted to go home and write some friend fiction featuring Trystan as the warrior of light and Vin as Sword Princess Zenos. I wonder how badly I can bastardize this? I won’t be satisfied until I’ve upset some people (in a good/bad/funny way!)

After the performances, someone named DJ CARVI came out. He had this amazing car thing and started playing this awesome music while playing on the guitar! We danced and danced until we nearly passed out! He looks so cool, and I love his personality! The music was unique and flowed well and just....

[There’s a series of hearts and little doodles of CARVI’s helmet along with little notes saying ‘I ♥ DJ CARVI’ written on the margins. Zahra is clearly a fan]

I tried to see if Tamala could get me an autograph but she already had one so I politely asked if he had signed autographs after his show. He did us one better and give us illegal copies of his album and signed them! I’m not supposed to listen to it but that’s okay! I’ll just try and check out another showing of his and see if I can find places where there’s orchestrion scrolls of his work. And maybe some posters. Or other merchandise.

He was really cool.

So anyway, the next day was Lucky Sparrow’s 4th anniversary! We had a wonderful turnout, so many showed up in green and gold. That was so nice to see, I loved the support, it just goes to show how much people love Lucky Sparrow and how much they’ve given to everyone. I’m proud and honored to be a part of them.

The performances were ama-zing! We practiced and practiced and everything turned out well! Suki and I got to do our solo acts, and I even saw some familiar faces in the crowds! I think I heard Kaito, Vel, Koh’a, and S’aeil out there! I think one of them was celebrating their own anniversary! Scorpius showed up too and wished me luck, that was kind of him.

We all got a bit sappy after, which made me happy. I love the environment with the troupe, it helps me feel a little less alone. It’s warm and comforting, which I think I needed after everything that’s been going on.

Speaking of...

After the show I went back to the encampment and found it empty. I thought it was going to be my best chance of investigating everyone so I tried to hurry.

I went through Sahrin’s things first. I admit I was still upset Cecilia even insinuated that Sahrin may have tried to kick her out. Even if we cleared the air on it, I wanted to prove his innocence. I didn’t find...much? A locked jewelry box and a bunch of really raunchy letters to Fitaan. Gross.

Fitaan’s tent was...strange. It was like going into a room felt like someone was trying too hard to show it’d been lived in. Things that looked normal upon first glance, but then didn’t make sense as you really thought about it. A bedroll but no pillow, sheets or blankets to be found. Cooking utensils but no traces that food had ever been in the room. Not even dried herbs or meat. Thrown away parchment in a trash bin, but no writing utensils to shown he’d been writing anything. Sure, he could have taken some of the items with him to track down Armand but...the room feels too neat, clean, and off for that. It’s like it has the appearance of a normal room but there’s enough bits and pieces once you look around to know otherwise.

Esila’s tent was normal. Smelled of metal and polish but that’s likely from all the blades she has laying about. She has a hobby of collecting axes and swords. I tried to be careful, but she really didn’t have anything that I could find.

Armand’s room had been cleaned out by Sahrin already, he took everything of relevance with him. I didn’t find much of anything outside of letters he’d saved from old lovers and a letter from Sahrin congratulating him on job well done on his first solo performance at a village he was at in Thavnair.

It was when I went to Sai’s room that everything went downhill. I’ve been to her tent countless times. She’s been training me with how to use daggers, she’s taught me how to be a better songwriter. Sai is...the calmest of the group. The quietest. But when she speaks she always has kind or profound things to say.

I’ll be honest, there was a part of me that didn’t believe Cecilia, either. She’d just come to the troupe and suddenly she disappears and then reappears and starts saying Sahrin kicked her out, then that Armand was behind it, and suddenly I’m just supposed to believe the people I’ve cared for since childhood are trying to hurt me?

I went to the encampment to...

I wanted to prove everyone wrong. Myself wrong. I didn’t want to believe my family would betray me. Sahrin. The troupe. And I was angry with myself for doubting them. Angry for not doubting them more. I was angry at my friends for doubting my family, and I was angry at myself for being unreasonable about it. I just wanted the truth. Mostly, I was angry that this was happening at all.

So when I heard something click after finding a letter in Sai’s drawer, I think my mind went completely blank. I stopped thinking, I didn’t move, everything just went white.

I don’t remember too much of what happened, only that instinct told me I had to go. I had to leave, I couldn’t be found. I don’t know if that was out of fear or just a sense of survival, but it started raining heavily so I lost my bearings quickly. It’s fuzzy, but I don’t even think I realized the trap had been a knife until I finally found a spot to sit down because I felt really tired suddenly.

I needed a healer, and I could only think to call Gail. She came and I don’t remember much of our conversation after she arrived, but I think she brought me to her apartment somehow and I got shoved into her bath. I told her as much as I could as I tried to warm up, I don’t remember how long I was out in the rain, and I didn’t feel much pain, just exhausted.

Oh, but after she healed me and got some food in me, godsdamn did the pain come in full force! I think the blade had been poisoned, because after I got back to my apartment I felt feverish and weak from the after effects. I’m still recovering, the fever is gone and I was able to take a look at the letter.

Gail got a good look at it too, seems like it was a letter from Sahrin to Sai, a really old letter too. I guess from the days before the troupe was formed. I know Sahrin is very anti-Imperial, but I guess Sai is too, looking over the letter’s contents. I’m not sure what this all means, but I guess when Sahrin was thinking of making the troupe, he had some grand designs and made some promises to Sai about it. I wasn’t able to find out much else since I triggered the trap, but the letter was well taken care of even after all these years. It must have been important to Sai.

Sai, was it you? Did you put Armand up to killing me? Deceiving Cecilia? How much of everything going on is you? You were like a sister to me, I don’t understand. I don’t understand.

#ic #Zahra's diary #Zahra Kha #Zahra Kouris

4 notes · View notes

gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights · 4 years

Link

Rating: G

Summary: Kagami and Nino plan a surprise party for Adrien's seventeenth birthday. With help from their friends, nothing can go wrong this time. Nino's even invited an extra special guest who's sure to make Adrien's night. (Nino & Kagami & Adrien friendship, with a side of Ladrien)

Word Count: 3101 | Chapter 1/3

Notes: written for @marinetteplztakeabreak through the @mlbforblm charity drive! The donations go directly to Color of Change, an online organization for racial justice centered on the Black Lives Matter movement. I highly recommend checking them out and reblogging/donating the mlbforblm posts if you’re able! I have one fic slot left as of 7/23/2020, and many other talented writers and artists are offering incentives as well! There’s even a giveaway going on; see the mlbforblm blog for more info!

XXX

“Hmm.” Kagami’s brow furrowed as she stared at Nino’s Operation: Totally Swank Party binder. The two of them sat on a bench in the park, where she had agreed to meet him after slipping away from her fencing lesson. “Bribing the bodyguard is a proven technique. Get me a list of action figures his collection is missing, and I’ll have them by tomorrow.”

“Way ahead of you, dude.” Nino tore a piece of notebook paper out. He’d done his research last night after a long phone call with Adrien. “Glad I can count on you.”

“Of course.” She neatly folded the paper and slipped it into her jacket pocket. “I’ll have them shipped to your apartment. Do you have a plan to dispose of his babysitter?”

Nino sighed and flipped to the page with a doodle of Nathalie with horns at the top. It was a much more tentative outline than what he’d prepared to deal with the Gorilla. Hopefully Kagami would be able to help him with that.

“Nathalie’s whole job is to suck out all the fun in my bro’s life. We’ll never be able to throw this party with her in the picture.”

He’d tried the past three years. From Hawkmoth transforming him into the Bubbler, to Nathalie locking him in a closet, to Gabe himself nearly arresting him for trespassing, each had been a total bust. At this point Adrien probably wasn’t expecting Nino to try.

But Adrien was his best bro. Nino would never give up on throwing him the most poppin’ party ever.

Plus, this year, he had a secret weapon. One that even Kagami didn’t know about.

“You seem quite prepared.” Kagami squinted at the page. “You’re sure Max can play his part? The Agrestes use my mother’s security technology.”

“Positive. He and Markov can hack anything.”

Max had already wired into the speaker system last time they threw a party for Adrien. Of course, on Adrien’s birthday, the mansion would be too obvious a target. That’s why the plan just required getting his bro out of the house altogether.

“I’ll trust you, then. What exactly is my role?”

Nino grinned, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You, my good bro, will be sneaking Adrien away from his fake fencing lessons. Adrien says you’ve done it a thousand times, and his pops still barely knows who you are. You’ve got like, some kind of invisibility superpower.”

“I simply have practice. That’s all.” She took his pen and began making notes in his binder. “Nathalie will realize we’re gone approximately forty-five minutes after we leave. The Gorilla has set patrol routes for finding Adrien when he goes missing, which I can map out for you.”

“If he takes the bribes, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Kagami was already sketching out a map of the city on a clean sheet of paper. Geez, how did she remember all that? He doubted he could even draw the path from his apartment to Alya’s.

“I don’t want to take any chances. We cannot fail Adrien. Do you have a venue reserved already?”

“Huh?” Nino scratched under his hat. Kagami was pretty rad, but it was hard to follow her train of thought sometimes. “Oh, right! I was thinking the hotel. Now that Chloé’s not a total jerk—”

“No. Too obvious. Nathalie will find us within the hour.” Kagami frowned and tapped the pen against the back of her hand. “The ice rink will be our best option. It’s out of his bodyguard’s patrol zone, and it can accommodate all of Adrien’s friends. We hid there all the time when we were dating, and no one ever found us.”

“Sure, sure, there’s just one problem.” He grinned nervously and tapped his fingers together. “I, uh, don’t know how to skate.”

Kagami tilted her head and. “Really? No matter. His birthday is twenty-one days away. You have plenty of time to learn.”

Over her shoulder, he watched her write “Teach Nino to ice skate” in her crisp print.

“Uhh… well, I guess that works.” Hopefully everyone else knew how to skate already, or they could just enjoy the food and cake from the seats surrounding the rink. Nino could technically do that too, but he didn’t want to miss hanging out on the ice with his best bro.

“I’ve seen you parkour with Alya. You seem like you’ll learn quickly.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Nino chuckled. “Just get ready to watch me starfish out there.”

Her lips pursed thoughtfully. “If it proves too difficult for you, I can try to find a backup location. I doubt one exists that will fit everyone you’ve listed, though.” She flipped back to the guest list, which included all of their classmates from the last few years, Adrien’s whole fencing team, and a few other friends like Luka and XY. Pretty much everyone Adrien had ever interacted with was on the list.

Except for one special guest, but Nino had left her out on purpose.

“No, no, it’ll be fine! I’m just joking, dude.”

“Oh.” Her face pinked a bit. “How are we going to deliver the invitations without alerting Nathalie or Adrien’s father?

“I’ve started planning that too.” Nino flipped forward a few pages. “The most important guests—ones who aren’t gonna snitch on us—will get their invites a week in advance. The rest will get theirs by text on the day of. If they can’t come, they can’t come.” It was the best solution he’d been able to come up with. He was sure that even if people did have plans, most would drop them for a chance to party with Adrien Agreste.

“Hmm. It still feels too obvious. The fencing team in particular may give us up.” She frowned before scratching a few names off the list. Well, she was on the team herself; she would know better than anyone who could be trusted. “You’re right though. This does seem like the best plan.”

Nino grinned. One nice thing about Kagami was that when she gave a compliment, he knew it was sincere. If she agreed with his birthday plan, then it was as close to foolproof as it could be.

“Sweet. I think that covers everything for now.”

“A very productive planning session.” Kagami nodded before holding out her fist.

Nino laughed and bumped knuckles with her. After a year of hanging out with him and his bro, Kagami was finally getting the hang of fist bumps.

“Meet me at the ice rink at eighteen hundred on Saturday. We’ll begin your lessons then.”

She closed the binder and handed it back to him, then stood and walked away.

“Skating lessons with Kagami, huh…”

This was either going to be a legit time, or he was going to make a total idiot of himself.

XXX

“Come on, Nino, you’ve got this!” Alya called encouragement as she and Marinette lapped him again. He frowned at their backs. How was it that even Marinette, certified clumsiest girl in Paris, could be a better skater than him?

“Focus, Nino.” Kagami snapped her fingers. She stayed near him, slowing her pace even though she could’ve skated rings around him. “Your girlfriend’s praise will only become reality if you practice proper technique. Keep your weight centered.”

“Right, right.” He pushed off from the handrail and tried not to flap his arms. This time, he made it a solid twenty seconds before he slipped and went skidding across the ice. His hat slid off in the opposite direction, but Kagami quickly retrieved it.

“Don’t try to go so fast. Catching up to Marinette and Alya isn’t your goal.” Kagami’s advice was blunt, but helpful. Nino didn’t mind her getting to the point. He knew his skating needed work, and no matter how many times he fell, she didn’t lose patience with him.

It was nice that Alya was so far ahead, honestly. It meant she didn’t see him look like a total dorkasaurus every time he fell.

I’m doing this for Adrien, he reminded himself each time. He didn’t need to be a pro skater. He just needed to be able to stay upright.

“You make it look so easy.” He frowned as Kagami glided backwards.

“I’ve been skating since I was six. It makes a relaxing hobby.”

He snorted. “How is anything about this relaxing?”

“Hmm. Perhaps you’re thinking too hard. It makes you hesitate, place your weight incorrectly. You’re a musician, aren’t you?”

“Huh? Yeah, you know I’m DJ-ing for the party.” He had no clue why Kagami was asking, though.

“Skating has a rhythm. Maybe you’ll feel more comfortable timing your strides with music.”

He tapped his chin. “Y’know… that’s not a half bad idea.”

“Not half bad? Does that mean only half is good?”

“No, no, the whole idea’s good! It’s just an expression.”

He slipped his headphones over his ears and picked one of the slowest songs on his playlist. It was a waltz in ¾ time; hopefully that wouldn’t trip him up.

“Alright, here goes.”

He took a deep breath and pushed off from the wall.

One-two-three, one-two-three. The music was smooth as the ice under his skates. Kagami kept pace with him, smiling as he counted the beats under his breath.

Something about it did feel different. Maybe it was that he stopped overthinking; maybe it was just the magic of music. Either way, he went the whole six-minute song without falling on his butt.

“Not half bad.” Kagami smiled. “...Did I use that right?”

“Heck yeah, dude.” They fistbumped.

“Way to go Nino!” Marinette gave him a high five as she and Alya caught up.

“Thanks for teaching my boyfriend, Kagami. I owe you one.”

“You owe me nothing, Alya.” Kagami’s cheeks turned red. “We’re all working together to ensure Adrien’s birthday is perfect. Teaching Nino is just one step in that plan.”

“Well, I still think it’s really cool of you. Oh! And speaking of the party, my mom says she can cater. I’ve already sworn her to secrecy.”

“Awesome! What about you, Marinette?” Nino took his headphones off to better hear the conversation, but his legs still knew what to do. “Are you gonna get Adrien a totally rad birthday cake or what?”

“Yeah, absolutely!” She nodded. “I’ll just have to drop it off before the party.”

“You’re still sure you can't come, girl?” Alya asked her.

“No, sorry. I promise I would if I could, but I—I’ve already made a commitment. But I’ll have the cake here on time, I swear!”

“And one of his fifty birthday presents, right?” She nudged Marinette with her elbow. Marinette nearly fell, but Nino wasn’t sure if that was from Alya’s bump or her words.

“I—I don’t have those anymore!” Her shoulders slumped. “It turns out, planning presents fifty years in advance works a lot better if you can see the future. They’re all out of style by now.”

Alya laughed at that. Nino couldn’t help noticing that Kagami had gone silent, though, her gaze locked on the ice in front of them.

“Something wrong, bro?” He asked her.

She shook her head. “Adrien’s party won’t be perfect if Marinette isn’t present. I thought she of all people would understand how much she means to him.”

Marinette gasped. “I… I’m sorry, Kagami. Adrien does mean the world to me, and… I promise, I’ll make it up to him.”

Nino was forced to stop as Kagami grabbed the handrail and locked eyes with Marinette. Some kind of silent conversation seemed to pass between them. He looked to Alya for help, but she just shrugged. By now he thought he’d understand the girls, but maybe some things would always be a mystery.

“See that you do. He deserves that much.”

This wasn’t some kind of love triangle over Adrien again, was it? Kagami had stayed good friends with all of them after she and Adrien broke up. Marinette was probably still crazy in love with him, but that was nothing new.

“It’s okay, dudes. The party’s still going to be perfect. I’ve got a special surprise planned for our favorite bro.”

He winked at Alya, who grinned back. She’d been the one to help him pull it off.

“A surprise?” Marinette clapped her hands together at the same time Kagami raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t factor any surprises into our plans. Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“It’s not much of a surprise if everyone knows, is it?” Nino said. “But you’re right, I should have told you, Kagami. I just wasn’t sure if it would be awkward for you, knowing who Adrien’s crushing on now and all…”

“It’s not an issue. Adrien is a wonderful friend. That is more than enough for me,” Kagami replied.

“Adrien’s... crushing on someone?” Marinette asked, her eyes wide.

Oops. Kagami might have taken it well, but Nino should’ve waited until Marinette was gone.

“What’s the scoop, babe?” Alya raised her eyebrow, and Nino threw his hands in the air.

“I thought you already knew! Why do you think we worked so hard to get Ladybug to show up for his party?”

Marinette caught hold of the hand rail before her legs slipped out from under her.

“Adrien has a crush on Ladybug?”

“Oh. That’s all?” Kagami asked. “I’ve known that for months.”

“You have?”

“Was it supposed to be a secret? He keeps posters of her in his fencing locker.”

Marinette still looked like she was blue screening. Alya glared at Nino, and he gave a nervous smile. What was he supposed to do? Kagami had a point; the dude wasn’t exactly subtle.

“Anyway.” He coughed. “Our bro likes Ladybug, and she’s coming to his party, so he’s going to have a totally cash money time.”

“Cash money? You’ve been hanging out with Luka and XY too much, babe.”

Marinette giggled at that. She got her feet back under her, and they started skating in unison again. So… she wasn’t that upset? Whew.

“Oh, speaking of XY, I gotta get him here to help set up the special effects,” Nino said. “I already got permission from Phillipe. We’re going all out, courtesy of the actual cash money Kitty Section and XY’s last collab made.”

“How did we end up friends with so many rich people?” Alya mused under her breath.

“It sounds like the plan is in motion, then,” Kagami said.

“Yeah, it’s going to be perfect! Adrien will love it.” Marinette grinned. “Thank you two for putting all this together.”

“Anything for my best bro.” Nino shot her finger guns.

“He deserves a party worthy of his friendship,” Kagami added.

And he was going to get one. This year, of all years, Nino refused to let anything go wrong.

XXX

Three weeks later, on the night of September twenty-first, Nino paced the blue chairs surrounding the perimeter of the ice rink. His friends wove between the chairs, setting up tables of food and games. His turntables were already in place at the head of the rink, and XY was hooking them up to the speaker system.

“Nathalie’s schedule?” Nino asked as he passed Max.

“Hacked and adjusted.” Max flashed a thumbs up.

“Great job, dude.” He clapped him on the shoulder before moving on to Rose and Juleka’s station.

“Presents?”

“Stacked and organized!” Rose saluted.

“Sweet. Make sure to leave some extra space, there’ll be more where those came from.” He continued his path to where Chloé was lounging in a chair and scrolling through her phone.

“Chloé, status report.”

“No trace of Adrikins on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, or YouTube.” She flipped her ponytail. “You should check your tone, though. I’m not some peon you can just order around.”

“Right.” He rolled his eyes. Classic Chloé. At least she was taking her job seriously, though. “Thanks for all your hard work.”

“You’re welcome.” She smirked.

Her job was one of the most important. If the media caught wind of Adrien’s location, the party would have to split before he even got here. To prevent that, Max had jammed the wifi and cell service so that only his computer, Chloé’s phone, and Nino’s phone had wifi. If anyone wanted to post about the party on social media, they’d have to wait until after it was over.

Everything was looking perfect. There wasn’t much else to do but wait for updates from Kagami.

19:00. Arrived at the court. No sign of Adrien.

19:04. Adrien has arrived. Bodyguard bribed and driving away.

19:05. En route to ice rink. Adrien was suspicious, but believed my excuse of buying him birthday orange juice.

Nino shook his head with a smile. How did Kagami type all that without Adrien noticing? At least everything seemed to going smoothly on her end, too.

He started pacing again. According to Kagami, a casual stroll from the school to the ice rink took twenty minutes. It was longer than Nino wanted to wait, but the location had to be far enough away to avoid notice.

His phone beeped again. He unlocked it to see a selfie of Kagami and Adrien smiling wide, though Adrien was practically unrecognizable in the oversized hoodie and bright blue wig Kagami had borrowed from Juleka.

Alya’s chin rested on Nino’s shoulder. “Aww, look at them. All grown up and ready to rebel.”

“Psh, Kagami’s been rebelling for ages. Adrien could still learn a thing or two from her.”

“Oh look, she sent another one!” Alya clicked his phone.

In this photo, the two of them were pulling funny faces. Adrien stuck out his tongue, while Kagami puffed out her cheeks and gave him bunny ears.

Nino laughed and put an arm around his girlfriend. “We did a great job with them, didn’t we?”

“Absolutely.” She smiled before zooming in on the background. “Looks like they’re in front of the parking lot. They’ll be here any time now.”

Sure enough, Kagami texted, 19:25. Two minutes away.

“Right!” Nino gave her cheek a quick kiss before running to his turntables. He snatched up the microphone, and his voice blasted through the speakers. “Alright, dudes! Adrien’s about to walk through those doors, so everyone hide!”

Their friends dove behind tables and chairs. All of them except XY, anyway.

“What’s the point, dude? He’s gonna see all our sick lights.” XY pointed to the laser lights next to the turntable.

“That’s why we switch them off,” Luka said, pressing the button. The rink fell into darkness.

“Ohhhh.”

Nino pulled the two of them under the table with him just before the double doors opened.

#what an ice surprise #fic tag #miraculous ladybug #kagami #nino lahiffe #nino #tali writes #mlbforblm

33 notes · View notes

marsupials-of-mars · 4 years

Text

Regicide

(A little bit of inspiration drawn from @sweetest-honeybee s Kingceit doodles)

What do you MEAN you won't?!" Deceit stood cold, frozen, immobile. He seemed to refuse to believe what they had just requested. "You can't just STOP! What about me?! About us?! What about what we had?!"

Roman attempted to avoid eye contact, but found it difficult once Remus had shoved him forward and ducked behind him.

"We just... we've been doing this so long now, and we all know it's not what anyone wants."

"Who knows that?! Who said I know that?! It IS what I want! It's what he wants!" Deceit bared his fangs as he shouted, a hiss from deep within his throat mixing with his words.

"But..." Remus peered over Roman's shoulder. "It's NOT what he want's. It's not because of you, he just doesn't want to BE anymore. He almost isn't him, and it's about to feel like an act to keep going."

"Then let him act!" Deceit gritted his teeth at his own words. They tasted sour in his mouth, but the thought of losing him for good was even worse. "I love him!"

Roman shook his head and reached out for Deceit's arm, but he quickly jerked it away. Roman sighed. "You won't love him. You loved him. But he's not gonna be the same anymore. I know it, Remus knows it, he knows it. And I know you know it. Trust us, it's less painful for everyone this way."

"Nothing could be more painful than this!" Tears sprang to Deceit's eyes. "You're KILLING him! You're MURDERING my King! And you expect me to just accept that?" The anger in his voice quickly drained until nothing was left but grief. "Please... I need him. I'm begging you, you know I don't beg..."

"I am partial to begging..." Remus met Roman's eyes and wiggled his brows.

"Cut it out! Not the time!" Roman sharply shoved his brother. Remus coughed and looked at his feet.

"Yeah sorry I uh... it's how I lighten the mood..." his voice was uncharacteristically soft and apologetic. He looked back up at Deceit. "We do care... but it hurts to be King. Like the bad kind of hurt, painful hurt. It's like trying to hold your head together as it's splitting down the middle." Remus demonstrated, a crack running down his skull and his head falling open to expose red goo and grey matter. Deceit jerked back. "But way less fun."

Roman chimed in: "Every time you see him, he's in pain. He hides it because he loves you but... it's getting unbearable. Remus and I, we're not parts of a whole in the slightest, and King can tell. We used to be the good and the bad, we could click together like puzzle pieces. But we're... rounded. And the pieces don't fit anymore."

Deceit clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut. "I... undersss.. ssstand. But.. pleasss..sse... at leassss-ss-st let me ssse-sssee him one lasss-st-st time? To sssay goodbye?" His voice broke. His hiss had worsened in his hysteria, each S a struggle, slowing his sentences to a sluggish pace, but the brothers were patient. It was the absolute least they could do.

"Um..." Roman wrung his hands nervously. "I-uh... we don't... I mean..."

"Of course we will! Ain't that right Lame-miserables?" Remus elbowed Roman sharply in the ribs without breaking eye contact with Deceit. "The least we can do!"

Roman looked up at Remus. He finally noticed something he hadn't before. Unmistakable love. His smile was anxious but soft, his gaze warm and sympathetic. It wasn't quite clear what kind of love it was, but Remus cared immensely, more than Roman had seen him care for anything in a long time. It clearly changed Roman's heart, because before he could stop himself he was agreeing.

"Yeah, of course we will, we want this to be as painless as possible for everyone."

"How long do I have?" Deceit grabbed Roman's shoulders. Roman had never seen him this emotional, without his usual calm collected exterior.

"Um..." Roman looked at Remus, who shrugged. "Ten..." Remus frantically gestured to raise the number. Roman grimaced but complied. "Twenty minutes. Twenty minutes to say what you need to say."

Roman had never known exactly what Deceit and King talked about. All he retained was a feeling, a distinct lack of the fear regarding Deceit that the other lights seemed to have. When Deceit acted tough or collected, Roman couldn't quite take what he was saying at face value, could feel his more personal motivation, the feelings Deceit had about his contributions.

He was overall more quick to open himself to Deceit's side, and from that he'd realized that Deceit must talk often with King about his deeper feelings and ideas. He would only open up like that to someone he felt extremely close to. He was very secretive in general, and the act of revealing even the smallest bit of personal information seemed incredibly intimate to him. Roman wasn't quite sure what Remus experienced from King, but he always assumed it might be similar.

"And then...?" Deceit gripped Roman's sash and twisted it around white knuckles. His eyes were pleading, hopeful.

"And then we're done." Roman gently lowered Deceit's hands. "I'm sorry."

"Monthly! How about monthy?! Every other month? Yearly?" Deceit looked to Remus.

"We... will think about it." Remus's smile was strained. He couldn't operate on the spot, pinned by Deceit's desperate stare. Roman had to be the bad cop, no matter how backwards it seemed.

"NO. We won't think about it. Do you REALLY want a relationship monthly, or every other month, or yearly, where you get twenty minutes with an in pain and slowly fading shell of who you really want to be with? You need to let him go, rip off that bandaid rather than slowly peeling it off over... who knows how long you want to keep this up?"

"But Remus just said-!"

"Remus is an idiot! You're hysterical if you're hung up on what he said!" Roman took Deceit's shoulder. "Look, don't think about this now. Just enjoy your last bit with him."

Deceit slowly loosened his grip and the desperation faded, replaced now by a sort of empty acceptance. "I... okay. Let me sssee him."

Roman nodded and looked to Remus. "Ready?"

Remus fell into Roman without a second thought, eager to give Deceit closure. His tentacles wrapped Roman's waist and shoulders and Roman resisted his instinct to recoil. He leaned in and touched their foreheads together. His brother's breath smelled awful and he could feel himself getting more disgusting by the second. His final thought, before he lost himself, was how relieved he was that would never have to bare a fusion again.

King woke with a splitting headache. He rubbed his temples as he slowly opened his eyes, the light sending more piercing pain through his skull.

"King!" He looked down in time to see Deceit barrel into him with open arms, knocking him to the ground.

"Woah! You're hardly a hugger..." He rubbed Deceit's back.

"I am when you're DYING jackass!"

King winced at the volume. "Aw, cmon, I'm not dying. I'm just... not gonna be around anymore."

"That's no different!"

Deceit pushed his face into King's sash and flicked out his tongue, drawing in his scent while he still could. King was the only one who knew most of Deceit's "embarrassing" habits and reflexes, though he tried to convince Deceit that they were adorable. In turn, Deceit was the only one who knew some of King's secrets, such as;

"I don't know what I'm going to do without you Tiberinus..." Deceit spoke softly and gripped King's sash.

"You're going to be the best goddamn side in the mindscape, you're going to get your points across, you're going to open yourself up, you're going to SMILE and you're going to do anything else you damn well please because you're DECEIT and your your own wonderful amazing sexy person."

Deceit scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure..."

King stuck him with a stern look. "You're going to SMILE. Because you have the most radiant smile and the sickest fangs i've ever seen, and it's not fair that I'm the only one who gets to see that with any regularity. It's absolutely sinister."

"I'm sinister." Deceit hissed.

"No, honestly right now you seem pretty sniffly and cuddly. And in any case sinister people still gotta smile from time to time. Look at the joker."

"Oh, the joker! What a fun and convincing comparison!" Deceit rolled his eyes.

"You get what I mean though, I don't want to be the only one you can talk to because then you'll stop talking altogether. You have so many amazing things to say, and as much as I love being your outlet, if you keep plugging everything into a single outlet your house is bound to burn down. And if you only trust that one outlet and it burns out, you'll be some idiot sitting in the dark surrounded by perfectly functional outlets upset that you can't read your book. Comprendo? "

Deceit let out a lengthy sigh. "What if my lamp can only reach one outlet?"

"Then you move the lamp. You may get some weird shadows and you might have to sit at the other end of the couch. But you'll still be able to read."

Deceit slapped King's knee in frustration. "See?! You can come up with these perfect metaphors and figure out feelings so easily. I'm not good at that."

"Patton is good at that. And Logan, and sometimes even Roman and Remus. I don't get it from nowhere. You're gonna be okay."

"Who's going to act with me?"

"Roman."

"Who's going to help me when I'm sick?"

"Patton."

"Who's going to make me laugh?"

"Remus, Roman, Logan... they're funny if you ever tried talking to them. You need to think outside your tiny me-centered box. You just have to try a little. Honestly... this might be for the best."

Deceit bolted upright. "How can you say that?! How could this possibly be for the best?! You're DYING!"

"Okay, yknow what? I'm breaking up with you."

Deceit paused. "What?"

"I'm breaking up with you. Looks like you have to move on now. And you're not going to see me anymore. Because we're broken up."

Deceit blinked. "What are you doing?"

"Look, what's harder? Your beloved dying, or never again having to see that awful ex you hate? So I hate you, and we're through."

Deceit stared a moment before breaking into laughter. King relished the last time he'd hear that laugh.

"Fuck you!" Deceit shoved his shoulder.

"That's the spirit! I hate your guts!"

"Go to hell!"

"See you there!"

"I hope I do so I can kill you again!"

"You gotta kill me first you coward!"

Deceit fell into King's arms in fits of laughter.

"God I'm gonna miss you Tiber...I dunno if-"

"Nah. Not allowed. Chin up, Scales. You got this."

King suddenly felt a dampness on his chest. Deceit shook with sobs, gripping King's waist until it was almost painful. He placed a hand on Deceit's trembling back and trailed his fingers down his spine, softly, slowly, as he got it all out.

"Shhh... yeah, I know..." He wiped Deceit's wet cheek with his thumb.

"I don't want you to go... I know you think I can handle it, and I probably can I just... I still don't want you to leave me."

"I'm not going anywhere. I keep saying, it's not like I'm dying. I'll still be with you, and not even in a cheesy spiritual way, all that makes me up is still inside Roman and Remus. I know it doesn't seem like me, and I know it's way different from talking to me, but I'll always be there. I'll know what you're up to and I'll be watching. In the creepiest way possible. So you'd better not mope around once I'm out of here because I see all."

"Comforting..." Though it was sarcastic, King could tell that he'd managed to calm Deceit a good amount. His head ached from being together so long. He looked up at the clock on the wall.

"Twenty minutes. Looks like it's time to- Ow! Shut up! We agreed- You're disgusting!" He gripped his head. Deceit looked up at him anxiously.

"Tiber? What's going on?"

"Ah, just... bickering." King forced a smile. "Twenty minutes is up and they really want to split."

"Oh." Deceit took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. "About that... does it really hurt you? Have you been hurting? And keeping that from me? I would have wanted you to tell me... this might have been less unexpected."

"Oh so you're the only one who gets to keep secrets?" Deceit pulled back at the jab and King felt immediately guilty.

"Sorry, I'm just... headache. I wanted to hold it together. I wasn't planning this, I thought I could handle it. Because I love you, and I didnt want to do this to you. But I finally realized that it would be unfair to both of us if I ended up something that... wasn't me. I know it was selfish...I had some warning, I helped make the choice, so I got a head start on the mourning. But you only get... twenty minutes..." King hissed at the sharp pain in his skull. Deceit studied his face.

"Honestly... truly and honestly... I wouldn't have wanted you to tell me sooner. That would have just prolonged the inevitable. I wouldn't have been able to enjoy what I did have with you without worrying that everything we were dojng would be for the last time. And there's no use being mad anyway, I've lost any time I would have had to teach you any lessons."

"Eh, I don't learn anyways. uGH SHUT UP!" King covered his mouth and squeezed his eyes tightly shut to ward off his headache. "Sorry... I need to go."

"I know." Deceit helped King to his feet and wrapped his arms around his waist. He stared a moment. "Know that every second I spent with you makes up for this moment."

"You sappy snake..." King leaned his forehead against the top of Deceit's head. "One more for the road?"

"Like I'd let you go without it."

King tipped Deceit's chin up with a knuckle. He savored his last look into his lover's eyes, one a radiant yellow and the other a warm honey brown. He tried to burn the image into his mind, wherever it would end up. Only once he was convinced that he had it did he lean down to meet Deceit's lips with his own.

For that moment, he forgot about the pain, and he could ignore the taste of salt on both their lips. It was bliss, the kind he would never have again, the kind that was so perfect that he didn't need to.

He felt his body begin to warm, then a buzzing, a tingling throughout his skin. His headache built to a dull pulse. He pulled Deceit tighter, for what he could tell was his final second.

And then he was gone.

Roman woke with tears on his face and a rapidly beating heart. He looked up, first at Remus, who was no better off then he was, then to Deceit.

He was trembling, fingers poised over his lips as though he were afraid to touch them directly. His eyes were vacant and upturned, as if he hadn't quite noticed that whatever he'd been looking at had since left his line of sight.

Roman debated, for a moment, whether to speak or to leave him to his own thoughts. After weighing his options, he decided on the latter. He looked to Remus, who had already lunged forward to wrap Deceit in a hug, and had been returned with a shaky hand slowly closed onto his back.

Roman gulped and made his way over. He let his knuckles brush Deceit's as a gentle invitation. Deceit quickly accepted, intertwining their fingers and squeezing tightly.

"Can you feel him?" Deceit's voice was nearly inaudible. "Is he there?"

Roman stared at Deceit's soft profile. A warmth grew in his chest, a feeling that could have been his, but not quite. And it was clear.

"Yes. And he loves you a whole lot."

A ghost of a smile pulled at Deceit's lips.

"I know."

#deceit sanders #king creativity #sanders sides #thomas sanders #creatwins #angst

163 notes · View notes

amuseoffyre · 4 years

Text

Five Fave Fics (or Works)

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favourite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world. Tag as many writers/artists/etc as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

Reblog and then write your own! I was tagged by @oabsalom Y’all don’t need to, but if you want to jump in, I’ll tag @jadetyle, @ashfae, @summerofspock and @mia-ugly :)

1 - The Inverse Omens collection (Generally PG rating with a couple of M/E chapters - 216k)

This all sprang to life after seeing other peoples’ reverse-role AU doodles. I stupidly let myself ponder how I would do it if I did it and what I would change and now, not only do I have 216k of fic including all of show canon and expanded universe with departments of backstory, frontstory and sidestory but a novel well in progress and a fire under me I haven’t had in ages. I don’t know what it is about these versions of the characters, but I have never enjoyed writing any characters half as much and they never stop surprising me. Also, the Hastur arc in the expanded universe? I did not see that coming and screeched when it happened.

2. Going Overboard (PG - 43k)

Look, sometimes the world goes horrifically tits up and you need to do something soft and warm and happy. A few weeks into the lockdown, I wrote this. I took one of my favourite (although very morally questionable) 80s romcoms - Overboard - and rewrote it as a human AU of Good Omens. It has memory loss! It has social commentary! It has gentle romance! It has more GO references than you can shake a flaming marshmallow sword at! It has a happy, happy ending! And I dare you to say it’s not one of my best GO fics. I love it with all my squishy sappy heart.

3. Anatomy 101 (E - 38k+)

It was meant to be a one shot! A jokey one-shot based off @gingerhaole‘s “What do you think they’re doing down there?” drawing! And now, it’s sprouted legs and is following canon and I’m chasing it down, trying to catch it in a net before it gets carried away! It has feelings and emotional growth and Aziraphale being an absolutely clueless muppet about Crowley’s true intent!

4. The Hunger series (E - 108k)

It’ll be a one-shot, she said. A study in sensuality instead of sex, she said. I don’t think there will ever be genitalia involved, she said. She was very deluded. Still sensual af, yes, but good lord, this series has more kink than I ever expected to write and every bit of it tied intricately up (along with Crowley) in layers of intimacy, growing trust and love. Also, Nanny Ashtoreth may step on me at will.

5. Crossing Paths (G - 69k)

Take two immortal characters, add one research-hungry history nerd who has travelled quite a lot, mix in random interesting historical events from onthisdayinhistory.com and you have Crossing Paths. Let me lob my geekery at you! Let me splatter you with it! Come! Look! History! Facts! Events! NESSIE!

And yes, that is five, but I would like to make an honorary mention to the compilation fic which I do purely for my own amusement and indulgence:

The Bookshop (G - 41k)

Wherein I, a doyenne of many fandoms, attempts to write as many of those fandoms as possible crossing into Aziraphale’s bookshop. Each chapter is a different fandom (or different era of a previously done fandom) and the only rules I have are that the fandom a) has to be set in London and b) happen after the year 1800, when the Bookshop came into being. So far, I’ve hit Harry Potter, Buffy, Narnia, the Bartimaeus trilogy, Doctor Who (twice), Rivers of London, Fleabag, Kinky Boots, Sherlock Holmes, Leverage and more.

#good omens fic #fanfic ho!

21 notes · View notes

writer-k-pop · 4 years

Text

Since When?

난 사실 좀 좋아해. I actually kind of like it.

Description: Yunho and you have had crushes on each other for some time but a semi planned night reveals those secret crushes to light. Warnings: NONE Genre: FLUFF Word Count: 1.6k

Ateez Masterlist | Masterlists

“Yes! I won!” Wooyoung yells happily and giggles, “I won.”

Yeosang throws his cards down on the table. “Why do you always have to win so quickly?”

I smile and place my own cards on the table while my roommate, Sophie, collects the cards and shuffles them.

“Yunho,” Sophie sticks out her hand towards the boy sitting across from me, “Cards please.”

“But I like these cards.” Yunho whines, clutching them closer to his chest. His child-like antics make me laugh slightly.

Sophie raises an eyebrow at him and he immediately relinquishes his cards to her. The power my roommate has over our friends is astonishing. Would make sense as to why she’s the mom of the group.

“What time is it?” Yeosang asks, looking around for a nonexistent clock.

Taking a peek at my watch, I answer while he still looks around. “It’s almost midnight.”

“Midnight?” Yeosang repeats. “Since when did it get that late? We’ve only been here for like an hour tops.”

“You guys have been here for like 6 hours.” Sophie replies. “Where have you been?”

“Look here.” Yeosang snap backs, “You guys are distracting.”

“More so for some of us than others.” Wooyoung says under his breath.

I look at him, confused. “What does that mean?”

Wooyoung shakes his head, “Nothing.”

“We should get going.” Yeosang says standing up. “We have 8am’s tomorrow.” He emphasizes ‘we.’

“Why did I let you convince me to take that stupid class?” Yunho asks, putting his head in his hands.

“Oh, before you guys go, can I take a picture?” Sophie asks, making all of us stare at her with puzzled looks.

“My photoshop class is making us use only our photos for a project.” Sophie tries to explain though this is the first time I’m hearing of such a project and she always tells me everything that goes on in her classes. “Just, please? I only need one.”

“Fine.” I say and stand up to move towards the couch. Sophie pulls out her phone and prepares to take the photo. Wooyoung and Yeosang crowd a corner of the couch as if I have a deadly disease they don’t want to contract.

Just as I sit down next to Yunho, he stops me.

“No, sit here instead.” He says and pats his leg.

I feel the heat rise to my cheeks, “O-okay.” I hesitantly sit on his lap afraid that he’ll change his mind and I’ll look like a creep.

As I settle down, he wraps a protective arm around my waist to keep me in place. My heart is pounding away in my little chest and I almost don’t want to look towards him. But before I know it, my body moves against my mind’s will. Yunho from this close is astonishing. Breathtaking even.

From my left, I hear Yeosang and Wooyoung giggling like school girls.

“You boys can’t do anything right, can you?” Sophie asks, slightly annoyed and lowering her phone.

“They’re just so cute.” Wooyoung giggles happily, making my heart skip at least 7 beats. I try so hard to keep my smile at bay.

I’ve always thought Yunho was cute and all but it’s different hearing it from someone else, especially one of our mutual friends.

“Woah, look at how red their cheeks are!” Yeosang jokes, pointing at the two of us.

My hands immediately fly to my burning cheeks as I feel Yunho stiffen up slightly. Glancing at Sophie, I beg for rescue from the other two.

Taking my silent hint, she starts walking away.

Not what I-

“Yeosang, Wooyoung, come help me.” Sophie calls, “I have a date tomorrow and I need help picking out an outfit.”

“Oi!” Yeosang immediately stands up with Wooyoung right behind him, “Who is this dude? Is he nice?”

“Where did you meet?” Wooyoung asks, walking to Sophie’s room, “Do we know him? He better not be like the last three!” Sophie’s door slams shut but neither Yunho or I move.

“So, uh,” Yunho clears his throat, “Don’t you just love our friends?” He asks, attempting to clear the stuffy air around us.

“I, I guess.” I nervously laugh. “They know how to pull good jokes.”

It’s then that I remember Yunho’s arm is still around and that I’m still sitting on his lap. I slowly try to move off of him when his grip on my waist tightens.

“Are you uncomfortable?” Yunho asks, super concerned. “I knew my thighs were too bony.” He rambles. “Oh no, that sounded wrong. Ah, I meant, ah.” Yunho stutters and facepalms himself.

I try so hard to stifle my laugh but no to avail. The laughter comes out and he looks up at me.

“What’s so funny?” He asks.

“Nothing.” I say, “I’m not uncomfortable, I just thought you were cause I was, am, still sitting on your lap.” I explain.

“I don’t mind.” Yunho quickly reassures me, “I actually kind of like it.” He mumbles. My heart swells hearing this and immediately my courage creature crawls out of hiding for a moment.

“Wanna know a secret?” I ask, putting an arm around his shoulders.

“What?” He looks up.

“I kind of like it too.” I smile at him.

“You, no, wait, you like, wait.” Yunho stops himself from stuttering further. “Since when?”

I think back to the moment he refused to leave my mind. “I think it was the second day we met? The one where Sophie gathered us for bubble tea and the promise of photos for days.”

Yunho nods, “Okay but what exactly about that day?”

“No, no. That’s not how this works.” I shake my head at him, “You asked for when, not what. And now you have to answer the ‘since when’?”

“Do you ever remember taking a stupid class called ‘Intro to Chem’?” He asks and I nod, remembering spending everyday doodling instead of paying attention. “I sat behind you in that class and literally wanted to talk to you every day but never did. That class is my since when.”

My eyes widen, “Yunho, I took that class like two years ago.”

“(Y/n), and we’ve been friends for like a year and we’re only now having this conversation.” Yunho feigns shock and covers his mouth with his hand.

I slap his shoulder, “You know what I meant.”

Yunho grins wide like a child who’s just been given the best compliment.

“Ah, that reminds me.” Yunho says, opening his eyes. “You have to do what Sophie’s doing.”

I scrunch my eyebrows together. “What is Sophie doing?”

“Picking out an outfit.” Yunho states.

“Why do I need to do that?” I ask, looking down at my clothes, “The one I’m wearing is just fine.”

Yunho looks at me with another wide smile, “For tomorrow night. For our date.”

“That was one hell of a way to ask out a girl, Jeong Yunho.” I smirk, realizing what he’s just done.

“And to think, you’re the only one it would probably ever work for.” Yunho says smugly.

“So when can I be expecting a dashing date tomorrow night?” I ask, playing along with him.

“Mmm, well since you’re an early eater, how does 5:30 sound?” He asks, rubbing his chin.

“5:30 sounds awesome.” I smile and he squeezes my waist.

Suddenly, I hear Sophie’s door open and sounds of a struggle float down the hallway.

“No, Wooyoung.” Sophie strains.

“What if they haven’t confes-“ Wooyoung’s voice is cut off.

“Let them have their moment, stop ruining it.” Sophie says through gritted teeth.

“But-“ And the door slams shut again.

I look at Yunho who just looks at me.

“Did they-“

Yunho nods, “I think they did.”

“Remind me to kill my roommate.” I say, leaning further into him.

“But you do have to thank her, otherwise we may not have said anything to each other for another whole year..” Yunho says with wisdom while wrapping his free arm around me.

“I hate that you’re right.” I mumble.

“As much as I love this right now, I actually do have an 8am class that I can’t miss.” Yunho says with a sigh.

“I thought you hated 8am’s?” I ask, pulling back.

“I do.” Yunho agrees, “But this class fills a requirement for my major and it’s only offered at the crack of dawn. Yeosang begged me to take it with him.”

“Oh, I hate when classes do that.” I tell him and remove myself from his lap.

He stands up, “There’s only a few more weeks left so I can suffer through it.”

“Yes, you can.” I encourage him then turn towards Sophie’s room.

“Yunho’s leaving!” I yell, “Can he take the other two children with him?”

The door swings open and Yeosang strides out, “For the record, we are not children.” He defends himself.

“Speak for yourself.” Wooyoung says, happily skipping towards the door.

“Get home safe, you guys.” Sophie says, leaning against the wall.

We all say goodbye and the guys walk themselves out of our apartment.

“Well?” Sophie asks, following me to my bedroom.

“Well what?” I ask, playing dumb.

“You have a date tomorrow night, don’t you?” She asks, giddily.

“What I have is a need for a less nosey roommate.” I roll my eyes.

“But you do, don’t you?” Sophie asks again.

“Yes.” I mutter annoyingly, knowing she had some part in it.

Sophie squeals and skips out of the room. “You’re welcome!”

“Sleep with one eye open, Sophie!” I call after her, the smile on my face betraying the annoyance in my voice.

“Oh, honey,” She pops her head in the doorway, “That’s impossible because they’re already nonexistent.”

“Your eyes are not that small.” I roll my eyes at her over-used joke, “Hey, can I have the photos you took earlier?” I ask her, hoping she actually took photos.

Sophie smirks and disappears from my doorway, “You’ll see them on your wedding day!”

#ateez #ateez imagine #ateez yunho #ateez yunho imagine #yunho #yunho imagine #jeong yunho #jeong yunho imagine

67 notes · View notes

klaus-is-the-real-number-1 · 5 years

Text

This Is How It Feels (number five x reader)

A/N: i made it into a fic,, like a highschool au,, hope you enjoy like,, idk, u know them typical fics where its like ‘i dare you to graft them’ or ‘pretend to date’ and then then end up liking each other or,, i dunno. I got pure carried away sorry.(ok so i made some names up for people so, your best friend is: Beth and Beths older brother is: Dante) i havent proof read sorry :(

spazclaiire said: hii could i request headcanons or a fix of excuses five has used to hold your hand or ‘four times five had an excuse to hold your hand and the one time he went for it’ please? thank youu

words:3350

Books weighed down your arms as they spilled over the threshold of your carrying limits, they were heavy, a mix of ring binders and oversized textbooks were making you sway like a drunk man. People barging past in steady streams didn’t help your balancing act either, stumbling every few seconds hoping that the library got closer quicker.

Swinging open the door to the library your eyes scan the room for the table you and your friends usually sit at and by ‘usually’ you actually mean every single break you get, whether its just for 5 minuets or the full hour you get for lunch or free periods. The table in question even had all your names written on the underside along with other random scribblings and doodles. You make eye contact with a few people on your table as you get closer.

“Y/n, I’ve got some tea to spill, and it involves you!” Beth excitably suggests. Beth always had some new tea to spill, she was a see all hear all person, it also helped that her older brother was in the year above and in the group of the schools self proclaimed ‘bad boys’. She always knows what they’re planning, the who, what, why and where, she had it down to a T.

Speaking of ‘T’, any tea involving you wasn’t good, there had been drama circulating about you before and it took long enough for that to die down. You sigh, hoping it’s got nothing to do with the group of ‘bad boys’. “Go on then, spill.”

“Five Hargreeves has his eyes on you.” Of course, Five was the year above and one of the smartest students in the entire school. The only reason he even knew who you were is because his best friend is Beth’s brother and you were in his AP physics. He was also classed as the fittest boy in school with the worst reputation yet the cleanest slate.

“For god’s sake, why?” The last thing you wanted was for Five to actually care about who you were, he was a heart breaker, something that you just didn’t need.

“I’m not too sure, I haven’t heard much about the plan, but there is a plan so just be cautious. He’s probably after you because you’re fit.” You smile at her words. “Are you in the art building for lunch again?” You just nod in response.

You had been spending an increasing amount of time in the art buildings, it was just a soft and aesthetically pleasing environment to be in and it meant you’d actually get your work done. You could sit and draw for hours but with how hectic life was the art buildings was a safe getaway. So at lunchtime that’s where you found yourself, aimlessly painting the view out of the window, fields and trees and streams filled the canvas. You were in your own world, minding your own business.

“Your painting is really pretty, but not as pretty as you.” There it was, not only half a day after being warned about Five Hargreeves he was already trying to chat you up. He was leant against a wall behind you, scanning your figure and the painting. “And I was here thinking you were just a brain and a pretty face.” It was a pitiful, low effort attempt and a half-arsed compliment.

“What do you want, Hargreeves?” It may of sounded harsh but you didn’t want to deal with his bad attempts at flirting.

“Harsh much,” He jokingly placed a hand over his heart. “Listen I need a favour, all you have to do is walk out of this building holding my hand and pretend to date me for about 2 days maybe.” A shockingly fake smile spread across his face as he held his hand out.

“So let me guess,” You tapped your finger on your chin, mockingly thinking. “I’ll pretend to date you, you’ll win some sort of bet and then the best part is when you tell everyone we shagged then you dumped me right after!” You returned his bittersweet fake smile. “I’m going to have to pass Hargreeves, I’d rather not be apart of one of your silly little games.”

With a tut, he turned around to leave the block not before having the last word. “You’ll fall in love with me eventually y/n, they always do.” You could help but to scoff as he walked out of the room, he was too cocky, all the years he always had any girl he ever wanted to drop at his feet but not you.

Time ticked away slowly until it came to AP Physics, it was a brutal way to end the day often ending with being completely worn out. You were concentrating on rearranging the equations that needed to be used, it was going well until a piece of scrunched paper landed where you were writing. You simply brush it to the side and continue with your work, you had a faint idea who it was from seen as Five sat on the opposite side of your table of 4, ideal, you know.

“y/n.” His foot playfully tapped yours, causing you to roll your eyes. “Open it.”

So you did, only to be met with the more than classy words ‘my offer still stands ;)’ You couldn’t believe it, looking him in the eyes you pretended to ponder his decision, swiftly followed by tearing the note up and sliding it back over to him. Fives mouth hung open, you smugly go back to what you were working on.

Five was relatively quite for the rest of the class, resulting in it going much quicker than it normally would. He would sometimes answer questions but other than that there was no more chew from Five. In a blink of an eye it was time to go home to rest and recuperate from a long day of lessons, to prepare for the exact same the next day, the same as you do every day.

Five paced around his room, he hadn’t lost a bet yet and he wasn’t going to start losing them now. It was a simple bet, make y/n fall for him. Five didn’t particularly want to follow through with this bet, it wasn’t fair on y/n seen as she hadn’t done anything wrong to Five. Dante had only made Five do the bet as he knew Five used to have a slight thing for y/n, it was almost comedically convenient that Dante’s younger sister was best friends with y/n, Dante couldn’t help himself whenever y/n was around his house with Beth to make a comment about it. But despite all this, he couldn’t lose the bet.

The next day, Five had a plan, he knew that in AP Physics the teacher was about to set a new project to be completed in pairs, so naturally he went straight to the teacher. “Sir, for that paired project I really think I should work with y/n, we’d work so well together.” He practically begged his teacher.

“I’ll think about it Five, but if I do place you together, please make an effort to improve your behaviour. It’s your last year and you have such great potential, don’t waste it.” The spiel was met by a roll of Fives eyes followed by a muttered ‘sure’. Five regularly got this talk all the time, everyone says that he needs to focus his academic knowledge into something, anything, but he’s just not motivated by anything. Everything had either been invented or is being invented so there was just no point in trying.

The weekend drew closer with every ticking minuet, teasing you with every small movement of the hands, counting down like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. You were sat in your last lesson, AP Physics, took your seat and took out your supplies. You lazily observed as the rest of your class walked in, you gave and received a few smiles to and from various classmates until last person the last person in, Five Hargreeves, he waltzed into the room with confidence oozing from him.

Before Five had a chance to speak the teacher was already up and writing the title on the board ‘electromagnetism’. As soon as the words appeared on the board a collective groan of despair was heard throughout the room.

“So,” The teacher started, clearly enjoying the sudden drop in mood. “I know how much you all love electromagnetism, so what were going to do is work in pairs to create a powerpoint and a poster covering all the aspects of electromagnetism!” The room livened up a bit at the prospect of working with a friend, that was until the teacher continued. “I have put you in pairs, so listen in as I call the pairs out and then move next to your new physics partner.”

People moved about the room to sit next to their project partner, you listened closely to hear who you’d be partnered with this time. “Y/n?” “Sir.” “You’re with Five Hargreeves.” You see Fives face light up as he slides his books across the desk the the seat next to yours, the smug grin never leaving his face once.

You begin to write down what you had to do for the presentation, feeling Fives eyes stare into the side of your head. “So over the weekend can you do as much research on magnetic flux, flux density and field strength and I’ll cover BH curves and permeability, does that sound good?”

“Why don’t we just meet up over the weekend and make a start together?” He nudged your elbow, your pen run up your page, ruining the word you were writing.

“Can’t. I’m working all weekend.” Which was met with a small ‘o’ from Five, he turns way and messily scribbles on a sheet of paper and then slides it back over to you.

“Well if you can’t meet up this weekend then at least have my number.” You slightly smile and fold the piece of paper up and slip it into your notebook. Before Five could slip in another word the bell rang, signalling the end of the day. You say your goodbyes and begin the walk home, it was a fairly long walk home maybe reaching around 30 minuets but it was always a pretty sight to walk through the woods during the spring, pink petals from the cherry blossoms littered the ground, colouring the dull world waking up from winter.

Once home you stared at the crumpled paper with Fives number on it, also noticing the smaller scribbled snapchat username. It felt like a smarter decision just to add him on snap for now but save his number in your contacts, just in case. As soon as you added him he accepted within a matter of seconds, followed by a picture message ‘hey x’ it read. You simply send a picture back of your blank wall and place your phone down, you let a small laugh as your phone buzzes again.

Sitting at your desk, you pulled out your books and your laptop to make a start on the physics work. You just couldn’t help but check what Five had responded, clicking his name you were met with his face in a pout. You respond with a picture of you sticking your tongue out, which got a response quickly. This stream of photos carried on until the early hours of the morning not even realising the time and that in a mere 6 hours you had to go to work, you send ‘night’ to Five and place your phone on the side, a small smile on your face as you drifted to sleep.

Five laid awake, considering calling the bet off all together. Hours of talking to y/n only felt like minuets, Five wanted to get to know y/n on his own terms not on the terms of a bet. He shouldn’t of accepted the bet to begin with, his competitiveness got the best of him.

The weekend went far to quickly for your liking, mixed with work and school work. Five was also non-stop messaging you throughout the weekend, he found a way to talk to you about everything and anything, often sending long video messages of him walking round his giant house, you could always hear the shouts of his siblings in the background.

Monday nights were the one night of the week that you enjoyed, Monday was movie night at Beth’s house. The night usually went that straight after school you’d take over the living room, bringing out the blankets and extra pillows, you would both then decide what films to watch and what food to get. Once that was all done you’d both bunker down and start the movies, getting ready for a long night.

About halfway through the first movie Five and Dante slowly made their way into the main room, stealing some of your pizza before sitting down on the sofa to join you. Five took a seat next to you while Dante sat on an armchair, Five pulled your blanket so it was covering both of you, leaning back into the sofa you could feel physically how close he was to you and it was driving you mad.

Beth caught your eyes and wiggled her eyebrows, you responded by sending a cheeky wink with a joking smile. As the night moved on and the movies continued, you and Five slowly moved closer throughout the movie marathon, it couldn’t of been helped, you were both like two magnets.

The final scene in The Breakfast Club was playing, both Beth and Dante had already fallen asleep, you felt Fives hand touch the side of yours. You slightly push your hand back against his, welcoming the warmth as his touch, your reaction invited him to link his fingers with yours. Light from the TV bounced off the features of his face, defining his angled lines of his face, you couldn’t deny that he was handsome, very handsome.

The screen of the TV turned dark as you used the remote to switch it off, a dim glow of the moon shone through the open windows, the moment was romantic, overly romantic but it was the sleepiness making you ignore the voice that was screaming that he didn’t mean it, he had an end game and you couldn’t forget that.

You pulled your hand from Five and lean over to Beth and lightly shake her shoulders. “Beth, its 20 past 1, I think it’s time to go to bed.” She responds by making some unclear noises and began to sit up, you smile and stand up pulling her with you. You spare a glance back at Five before continuing upstairs, unable to stop the tingling feeling in your hand.

Eventually, you had to meet up with Five to work on the physics project, you both hadn’t spoken since Monday night. Well not exactly, Five had been messaging you a lot but you just hadn’t been responding because all you could think about was if he had a possible end game. You didn’t want to get played by Five.

You heard soft steps getting closer, you look up to meet Fives eyes. “Hey.” He spoke in a soft voice in the quiet library. He pulled a chair out from besides you and sat down, pulling his textbooks out of his bag. You both made small talk during your work, it was a nice atmosphere in the library, a nice atmosphere between you and Five with no looming pressure after what happened Monday night.

A breeze drifted through the large room, causing you to break out in goosebumps and shiver. You decided that morning that you could just wear a T-shirt with no jacket as the sun was out, how wrong you were when dark clouds swarmed over.

“Do you want to borrow my hoodie?” Five asked, but he was already taking it off to give to you.

“Oh no Five it’s okay, it’s my own fault I forgot my jacket. Anyways what would you wear?” Despite how cold you were you really didn’t want to borrow Fives hoodie, he would be just as cold as you were.

“No please y/n, take it. I’ve got an extra jacket in my locker anyways.” He pushed his hoodie into your hands. You could tell he was probably lying about it but you sheepishly took his hoodie and put it on, it was warm and you couldn’t help but smile a little bit.

You mutter your thanks, a warm flush coming over your face as you continue to work on your project until your next lesson. Once the bell rang, you both left to opposite directions, you completely forgot that you had Fives hoodie on until you sat next to Beth in english to be passed a scrap piece of paper with scribbled writing ‘That’s not your hoodie???’ you smile at the sheet and just write back ‘Five’s’

You didn’t see Five for the rest of the day until you got a message during the last lesson. ‘meet me near math class at the end of the day x’ It wasn’t a question, he was telling you. You send an ‘ok’ and continue with your lesson, constantly distracted by the ticking arms of the clock, counting down it’s last minuets.

As the clock strikes 3 you make your way to the math department, you were fighting against the tide as everyone rushed to get out of school. As the crowed begun to thin you saw Five standing outside the maths classroom, standing hoodie-less. He made his way towards you, smile present on his face.

“Where’s this jacket that was meant to be in your locker?” He just laughs and shrugs his shoulders.

“I mean my hoodie looks better on you than it did on me so I don’t mind.” You smile at him and begin your decent through the school. “So I was thinking we could just like, go for a walk? It’s just nice spending time with you.”

You both aimlessly wandered around town until finding a small cafe to reside in when the weather started to turn, Five had a black coffee and you had a hot chocolate. The room was filled with noise from others in the cafe and also from the outside world that couldn’t reach you in your own little world.

“Five, not to sound daft or anything but are you still trying to do this for the bet or are you being genuine?” You didn’t want to sound harsh but you were still unsure if this was genuine or just an oscar winning act.

“y/n,” He reached over and took your hand. “I called the bet off just before Monday night, as soon as I came to the school and saw you I knew straight away I wanted to be with you.” He ran his thumb gently over your knuckles. “I know you wont trust me right away but I want to make you trust me, I want you to feel the same way about me as I do for you.”

“Okay.”

All it took was that one word to kickstart your time with Five. It started small, handholding any chance he got, he seemed to always need to be close, holding and hugging you. He was so affectionate and almost touched starved, begging like a stray puppy. Five slowly gained your trust and love for him, he had an infinite amount of hoodies and oversized T-shirts, truth be told you were pretty sure Five just loved to see you in his clothes.

You and Five were cuddled up on your bed, he was running his fingers through your hair as light cut through the curtains, lighting the room in a heavenly glow. Five placed a kiss on the side on your head, pulling you closer as he did.

“Y/n, I think I’m in love with you.” You smile and lean into his embrace.

“I think I’m in love with you too, Five.”

797 notes · View notes

elena-reina · 5 years

Text

Shut Up and Kiss Me - Draco Malfoy x Reader

Request: I have a request and this is my first! I'd live to say I love tour writing, though. May I get a super fluffy story where draco knows this Ravenclaw and begins to crush on her from afar? They end up having a bunch if classes to gether and he always sees her writing some sort of notes. Then he ends up finding out she's only a half-blood and becomes really conflicted with his feelings. Then, after a while he begins to find little notes with snake and bird doodles then confronts her? Plz and thx - Anon

Warnings: FLUFFFFF

"Look there she goes.”

Draco’s eyes traveled across the room, following where you went. He had developed a crush on you ever since he started paying attention to how fiery of a person you are.

“Listen, Professor. I understand what you are saying about Hippogriff’s, however they are beautiful creatures and should not be discriminated against,” you spoke out toward that pink-dressed maniac commonly known as Professor Umbridge.

The whole class has quieted down, now staring at the scene unfold. Draco, amused, leaned back in his seat and folded his arms loving the conversation at hand.

Even though, a hippogriff did try and attack him once.

“Now you listen here you-”

“And I know, I know! The half-horse, half-eagle creatures are immensely proud and can extremely dangerous. BUT! They are only prone to attack with their razor-sharp beaks and foot-long talons if they are not shown respect,” you continued, “But, if you refuse to show them respect, of which I’m sure won’t be very hard for you Professor with all due respect, you will get attacked.”

You smiled innocently, knowing that she is beyond pissed off.

“That is ENOUGH! I do not want to hear anymore of your mouth, Y/L/N you will report to my office this afternoon, are we understood?” Umbridge’s shrilling voice yelled aloud.

Draco’s stomach began to knot. Whatever Professor Umbridge had planned would not be good. He’s heard rumors about what goes on in her office and he would hate to hear any of it happen to you.

You stood your ground, and sat down calmly.

“I have not said nor done anything wrong, so I will NOT be joining you in your office, Professor.”

Biting his lip, Draco wanted to step in and do something. He knew things were only going to escalate for the worse, but he also knew stepping in would put him on Umbridge’s bad side. So it was a lose-lose either way.

If it were even possible, Umbridge’s face got even more red than before.

“MISS Y/L/N!”

Draco quickly stood up.

“Professor, Y/L/N is feeling a bit under the weather and becomes snippy when so. Please excuse her, she does not mean to be disrespectful.”

Your eyes glanced towards his, as he shot you a look to shut up. You turned back towards Umbridge and forced a cough out.

“It’s true. I’m terribly ill,” you sighed,” I’m barely getting over it.”

There was a long silence until she spoke up.

“Very well. You will be cleaning the halls then when you are feeling better. I expect them to be done within a week at most,” she glared and stormed out.

From that moment on, Draco knew you were something special. He even went out of his way to get the same classes as you. But you guys have not ever spoken, and if so it was as quick as saying excuse me to pass through.

Sometimes you would glance his way, but quickly divert your eyes when you sensed him about to look up. There was definitely chemistry between you two. Everyone else saw it and felt it. Knowing you’d never have the courage to speak to him directly, you did what you do best.

Draw.

You loved to draw, and what better to draw than yours and his houses together. The raven and the serpent. You’d draw them on little pieces of paper with different styles and textures each time and throw them inside of your notebooks for safe keeping.

And what’s even better is that Draco took an interest into what it could be you’re writing. Given, he would not care if he saw you writing every once and a while, however this was not the case. In every class he’s walked into with you in it, you always had your head down writing whatever it was in your notes.

Day by day, Draco’s infatuation grew. He was beginning to get the courage to ask you out, however nothing is ever that easy. With Draco being the Slytherin King, there were bound to be a few obstacles, and by obstacles I mean jealous people.

And who might that be?

Take a guess.

“Drakey! Drakey!” Pansy’s voice yelled through the halls. She noticed how Draco’s attention span would focus less on her and more onto you. This blew her over the edge, especially the moment she found out not only are you not from the same house, but you are a half-blood.

And there’s no way he would ever get with you, Pansy was sure of it. She had to be.

Draco rolled his eyes and kept walking.

“What do you want Pansy, I’m trying to get to class,” he sneered, not stopping once to meet her pace.

“I have something extremely important to tell you,” she said, tugging on his arm.

“Well out with it,” he said.

“I know you are beginning to like that Ravenclaw girl,” she began.

“Her name is Y/L/N, and none of that concerns you,” he spat, stopping in his tracks and turning to face Pansy with a glare.

“I know it doesn’t, but I just thought you’d like to know that she isn’t your type. She’s not pure, like you Drakey and doesn’t deserve you. She’s only a half-blood,” she giggled, batting her eyes innocently.

Draco took a pause and continued walking, shaking Pansy off his arm.

You were a half-blood. He would have never guessed.

The next day, Draco didn’t know what to think. He still did very much like you, but due to your status he was conflicted.

A pure blood dating a half-blood? It didn’t make any sense!

But somehow, a little part of him wasn’t completely opposed to the idea.

Still lost in his thoughts, Draco wasn’t watching where he was going and crashed into something soft making him stumble a bit.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going-”

In front of him was you. While he stumbled, you completely fell to the ground, papers surrounding you everywhere. Groaning you sat up on your knees and began to collect your papers.

Regretting what he just said, he also bent down on his knees and began to help you collect your papers.

“O-oh, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t see- I wasn’t watching where I was going,” he quickly apologized.

You nodded, trying to quickly grab all your drawings before he could see them. And then as you stuck out your hand to grab one of the last papers, you instead touched the top of his hand.

Draco grabbed the paper and turned it around, peering at the drawing on the paper. On it was a beautifully drawn black raven with a scaly serpent surrounding it.

“Did you draw this?” he asked. Your cheeks flushed pink, nodding.

“It’s amazing, truly. All the detail is very keen, why’d you choose to draw these in particular?” he asked, looking into your eyes.

Deep down, he kind of knew, but he wanted to hear you say it.

“I guess... I just... I wanted to draw the house’s mascots,” you spoke flustered.

He let out a little chuckle.

“Okay, so where’s Gryffindor and Hufflepuff?”

“Well, you see-”

“As a matter of fact,” he paused and grabbed the other papers out of your hands and began to look at them,” All of these are a raven and serpent together.”

You were at a loss for words.You only knew that speaking any more would just dig yourself into a bigger hole.

“You like me, don’t you?” he suddenly spoke aloud. Actually hearing those words, made you feel numb.

You did, but how was he gonna take it. Especially with you being a half-blood. You knew his status, you knew how cruel the Slytherin’s could be.

However before you could comprehend anything, your eyes widened as Draco leaned over pressed his lips to yours. The kiss was soft, sweet, and hesitant. It was like he was expecting you to pull away, but you didn’t.

Instead, you closed your eyes and kissed him back. You’ve wanted to do this for the longest. Your heart was pounding hard against your rib cage and you could feel butterflies going crazy in your stomach. Draco pulled away, resting his head against yours as your eyes lightly fluttered open. He was looking at you nervously through his cloudy grey eyes.

You were beyond ecstatic, but you knew it would never work.

“I... Malfoy,” you said, emotionally pained, “I’m.. not a... pure blood like you.”

You turned away, defeated at what could have been. He reached out, gripping your chin and turned you back to face him.

“I know and I appreciate your honesty, Y/L/N. And believe me, I’ve thought about it, but I don’t care,” he spoke.

Your body began to turn numb again.

Was this really happening?

Did those words actually come out his mouth?

“You’ve had no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that to-”

“Shut up and kiss me,” you grinned, throwing your arms around his neck, confidently pulling him close to you, and kissed him.

#Draco Malfoy #Draco #draco malfoy fanfic #draco malfoy fanfiction #draco fanfiction #malfoy #draco malfoy one shot #oneshot #one shot #Harry Potter #harry potter imagines #harry potter imagine #harry potter oneshot #imagine #imagines #draco malfoy imagines #Tom Felton #draco malfoy oneshots

382 notes · View notes

velvetgons · 5 years

Text

yedam as your boyfriend;

yedam x reader

word count; 3.6k (ish i think)

requested; yes!! thank you both for requesting

so i just have this big idea with yedam where he’s got the vibe of like. pining??

i feel like if he liked someone he’d be too nervous to ever tell them so he’d end up having that aesthetic of cute boy in your class that you occasionally catch staring at you but you never really know why

you think ‘eh maybe he’s just zoning out and i happen to be sat in the spot he looks at when he does that :// no big deal’ lowkey you’d wish he was staring at u because he liked u but u just feel that’s unrealistic because omg it’s bang yedam

but no. no. omg does he like you a whole lot.

he’d write you lil dated letters whenever he was having a lot of feelings about anything (example: he’d get stressed out by training and so he’d write you a letter about how he was feeling and how he wished he could be with you to help him feel better, or he’d get some really good news and he’d write you a letter about how happy he was and how he wished he could share that feeling with you)

and they’d go between being like lil notes that just said “dear ___, i’m really stressed and i wish you were here with me.” and being like two double-sided pieces of paper long that included him going off on 40 different tangents

after a while he’d have to start keeping them in a lil box because there’s just so MANY of them and he’s all ‘omg this is the most embarrassing thing i’ve ever done’ as he continues to add more of them to his collection

honestly? he’s not entirely sure why he keeps them because he’s convinced he’ll never ever tell you that he likes you. he thinks maybe he’s doing it so he can look back on it when he’s older and be like ‘wow remember that crazy time!’

and then he starts writing songs about you and then he realises that oopsie maybe this isn’t something he’s gonna just gradually get over

his songs abt you are either so sweet and cute and are like ‘i am: in love’ or they’re ANGSTY and are pretty much just him artistically saying that he thinks you don’t even know he exists

which i mean?? you definitely do. he’s Bang Yedam Himself. you know you’ve had a crush on him since you first got into the same school as him. you just assume he’s way too cool n pretty n smart n talented to ever even realise you exist

your pining level might be a tad bit lower than his to be honest?? you know you like him, you probably doodle his name in the corner of your notebooks with lil love-hearts around them sometimes, you know, to cope. and maybe you’ve daydreamed about him for a vast majority of the time you’re supposed to be focusing in any given class. but it’s all very contained, only you know you do this

but with yedam it’s like. all of his friends know. every single one of them has noticed or been told that yedam is absolutely whipped for someone he’s spoken to about four times

he writes you songs and people who know him ask who they’re all about, and he never knows what to say. he writes you letters almost daily but at the very least weekly, and keeps them hidden away that he would defend with his life if someone tried to read them. he gives you heart eyes in class that your classmates just kinda look at like ‘?? how have they not noticed’

speaking of him getting a chance to talk to you,, he’s so flustered he probably only says a maximum of two sentences

and it’s always his friends who’re like “___! hi! this is my friend, yedam, you remember yedam, right?”

every single time you get a lil bit flustered (but you’re keeping it #well hidden (even if everyone but yedam can gather that you totally like him)) but you say that “yeah!! of course, how could i not?” yedam swears his heart stops beating for a second

tbh, your conversations have never really gotten past that point, which really upsets yedam because he wants to know so much more about you!! he wants to hear you talk about things he’s asking about instead of just hearing bits of your conversation from classes and when he ‘accidentally’ passes you five times in the hallways

and he knows that if he likes you this much from just the things he’s gathered about your personality from this and subtly asking different people about you, then his ‘little’ crush is gonna get so much worse once he actually works up the courage to befriend you

but he’s just so :(( because he doesn’t know how to get to that point with you so he just avoids it altogether and goes about his daily life thinking he’ll have to eventually get over it

then. he’s walking down the hallways one day when everyone’s getting out of class to move to their next one and he sees you with your friends and you look. incredibly distressed

so he swerves to walk a lil bit closer bc his heart just went ‘:( hhhhh’ at the idea of you being upset. and he hears you talking to your friends about how you’ve just been feeling pretty down recently and you can’t manage to cheer yourself up and how it’s really bothering you

and even though yedam can hear your friends actively attempting to comfort you over this he’s still panicked because :(((( he hates the idea of you being upset and feeling like that and he just ?? doesn’t know how he could help you feel better

so when he gets home that day, he writes another one of his usual letters, except he really goes off in this one. it gets pretty long and he ends up, a. confessing his feelings for you, and b. going off about how perfect you are and how you deserve all the happiness in the entire universe

except, he doesn’t sign this one off with his usual, ‘all the love, yedam.’ and instead chooses the anonymous version of this with just, “all the love.”

the next day, he’s gonna rush to school to make sure he gets there nice and early, and he drops it into your locker and would probably literally run away

so you’d open your locker when you got to school and you’re all ‘??!! wowie’ when a piece of a paper with your name written in cute lil handwriting on is right there

and you’d open it and read it right there, but then you’d get a lil embarrassed because now you’re blushing and maybe your eyes are watering a little bit too

you know, obviously, that it’s like omg secret admirer!! because there’s no name saying who it’s from. but you really wanna know!! you’re all soft for them already and you don’t even know who it is yet!!

yedam, who has been very inconspicuously pacing the hallway near your locker until you got there and read it is like aha!! mission achieved they’re smiling and they look happy!!

and so, much to your surprise, this becomes a daily occurrence. you get to school, open your locker, and there’s always another lil note, sometimes a whole letter!! and they’d be so sweet and cute and he’d probably write one where he’d be like “is this weird?? i get so nervous about making you uncomfortable sometimes :///” and you’d be like? well how am i supposed to tell them that it’s not at all weird if i can’t respond to them

so, in a lil bit of a risk, you write them a letter back, and you leave it hanging out of your locker just enough for it to be visible if someone was in front of it. and you don’t know who to address it to, so you just write, in the tiniest handwriting possible, ‘all the love,’ on the edge so they’d know it was for them

and when yedam goes to leave you another note he sees and he’s like xovofeiv so he takes it and reads and he swears he’s having a real heart-attack this time

the letter would really just be you saying, “this whole pining, slow-burn thing is real romantic and all but i wanna know who you are :/// i think i really like you too and if you’ve liked me for this long you should totally just tell me!!”

so yedam scraps the note he was gonna leave you, and instead gathers every single ounce of courage he has inside of him to write a really messy one that just says, “ok so this is gonna sound really weird but trust me!! can i have your address? i have a gift for you”

n you find it so you’re like ‘ok…..hm….ok well let’s just do it and hope for the best’ so you leave them another lil note with your address on and then head on home at the end of the day

and you’re pacing around your room wondering if you should take a sneak glance but then you think they’re gonna tell you who they are whenever they’re ready so :// you should just wait

so yedam just gets the box of letters from his house. and leaves it by your front door. he knocks and then literally sprints away.

and so you open your door to see this box?? and it’s got a lil note on the top that says your name and has his classic ‘all the love’ written on the top so you’re like ‘????!!!!! ok we’re doing this huh’

so you take it inside and go to your room and get yourself comfortable for this experience. and, oh my god?? you read every single one of those letters, and you realise the dates go back for ages, and they’re all signed off from yedam. by the time you’re done tbh you’d probably be crying because he’s just so lovely. and you’re literally getting to see different emotions and events in his life all at the same time that he’s expressing this Big Love for you and you’re just like. ok. this: hurtS

and so when you go to school the next day you immediately go and find yedam, obviously. and he’s with his friends so you’re like “hi uh yes please may i talk to you :)”

for a second i think yedam would think he’s done something wrong but he’d still agree because!! he wants to know what you’re thinking about it

when you tell him that you’ve actually liked him for a while, too, he’d be so excited but he’d also be a lil bit sceptical,, like he doesn’t want it to feel as if you’re being pressured into liking him back because of it

so you’d show him one of your notebooks with his name doodled on and he’d dsfpvob have a genuine, serious heart-attack like you’d be a tad bit concerned really because he’d visibly react and look so!!! shocked

however, yedam does say that he wants to still do things properly because you deserve so much!! so he’s immediately like “can i take you on a date??? a whole date???”

and so! (after he has discovered a romantic and cute way to do it) he’ll ask to officially be your boyfriend because he has a big soft spot for classic romance things. like. they just. have a very special place in his heart

and hhhhh omg he’s such a great boyfriend??

so empathetic and caring he just has this magicians trick of understanding your emotions on a whole other level

you’re sad?? he can just Tell whether you wanna talk about it or whether you’d rather just be comforted by his actions instead

you’re stressed and tired?? he knows you want your space and he’s completely okay to give it to you

at first i’m not sure if he’d be great at expressing his own feelings though? i just feel he’d struggle to be cohesive and exact about it instead of getting upset

but if you sat him down to explain that it’s okay to not know how he feels all the time, and it’s even better if he wants to consistently talk about what he’s thinking and how things make him feel, he’d be so, so grateful

keeping to his new-found aesthetic, he’d keep writing you little notes and he’d write you long-ass letters on special occasions

he’s also just super chilled out in general when it comes to your relationship? he knows that it depends on both of yours respect and effort for one another and he also knows he has plenty of both for you so he’s not really concerned

might have some issues with getting jealous at first but just because he’s actually pretty insecure when it comes to you. he’d have the belief for quite a while that you could do better and eventually you would just find someone better than him

and he’d really try and express this to you (even if it made him emotional) so you wouldn’t think being jealous was a big part of his personality

but he really would work so hard on bettering that aspect of himself!! he’d make sure to communicate with you what was bothering him so you could either go through it and help him rationalise it or if it seemed like a legitimate concern then you’d talk about what the both of you could do to change it

and i mean he’s all for doing that when you get jealous too but honestly it’s so clear to you now that he is, a. not the type to ever do something to break your trust and b. ?? so, so in love with you

however! once he got over his insecurities, he would really rarely ever get jealous lol

as soon as he learns to understand that it’s him!! you love him!! and even better, you love him because he’s himself!! what a concept

but yeah as soon as he learns that he’s just so unbothered by the things that used to make him nervous or worried

i mean someone could literally flirt with you in front of him now and he’s just like “:) lol anyway” because he gets it now,,,

i also don’t think he’d be an overly protective type? he’s just concerned about how you’re feeling in every situation so he’ll check in with you when you’re out together and stuff but overall he’s quite a big believer in letting you solve your own problems

and that’s not to say he’s dismissive because if you came to him with an issue and wanted his help then he seriously wouldn’t hesitate to give you advice/do what he could to help

but if you didn’t come to him, he’s gonna try and let you work out for yourself because he knows you can do it !! and he doesn’t want you to feel at all like you’re being underestimated by him

yedam’s 100% the type to do the lil shoulder nudge thing to get your attention and then lean in to give you the teeniest tiniest cheek kiss before he’d mumble a lil, “you okay?” when you were out in public together

yedam is just That Boyfriend too!

he loves the idea of wearing matching clothes!! he’d get matching shirts and colour-coordinate with you before you’d go out to make sure it was a Cute Look even if it was just a matching print jumper and black jeans

traces lil circles and love-hearts on your hand with his thumb when you’re holding hands with him in public and in private

in private though, he’d routinely kiss your knuckles if you were holding his hand because oh boy!! he hasn’t reminded you that he’s thinking abt you in a couple minutes he doesn’t want you to forget

takes candid pictures of you ((does yedam have a phone yet sodfbdi)) and has a folder of them in his phone that he looks at when he misses you

has a picture of you as his lock-screen too

all of your friends are like ‘??? where tf did you find him??? he’s so Good???’

and tbh you honestly don’t know. like. he’s like ridiculously perfect in a relationship. you feel like something bad was gonna have to happen because it just doesn’t feel like he can be real

if you ever wore his clothes, he’d freak out so much because !!! wow that’s his baby!! and he’d think you looked so cute. he’d like ‘wowie picture time :,)’

ok and full offence his favourite types of kisses ever are forehead kisses. you have like fifty (50) forehead kisses every hour because you do anything and his first reaction is “you know what you deserve for that? a kiss!”

but he’d be too shy to initiate kissing you on the Lips for quite a while lol

even after you’ve had your first kiss he’d be a little nervous about because it still makes him blush afterwards

so forehead kisses are an easy alternative ((even if you’re taller than him. he’s not afraid to lean up to kiss your forehead. he’s a bad bitch.))

also for a while after your first kiss (which again, he’d make romantic and extra) he’d always ask before kissing you like that because he doesn’t wanna make you uncomfortable with him

and. tbh. arguments with yedam just seem literally impossible to picture? the boy is so fuckign nice and sweet and considerate that he’d struggle to argue with you….

i mean when he gets in bad moods it’s mostly because he’s tired or stressed and he’s already gone off in length about how wants to be with you when he feels like that so he just seeks you out to be like ‘it’s your favourite boy and he’s in need of Affection :-///’

and he doesn’t really get angry,,,, he gets frustrated but you can never really make him angry and + why would you try to, u know

if you snap at him, it just upsets him because he’ll think he’s annoyed you or done something wrong, he isn’t gonna argue with you about it

he honestly just hates, hates, hates arguments and tries so hard to avoid them at all costs, even if he’d end up not voicing something because he’d be worried it would cause you to get angry with him

you’d notice this though!! and always try to remind him that he has to tell you things and if he communicates it with you like he always does you’re not gonna be angry with him over it!!

and, like everything else, he works? and puts serious, genuine effort into making sure he does this.

after dating him for a while, he’d probably notice little behaviours like his own more ‘negative’ ones in you sometimes and he’d talk to you about them to so you could work on them!!!

everyone around would think your relationship when you first started dating was impressive, but it just…keeps improving…it never stops getting better….

yedam also really loves just Talking about everything with you. he likes to know about what you’re thinking and what your future plans are. he likes to know about weirder things too like what your opinions on aliens and ghosts are. he just loves to sit, be really comfortable, have soft music playing, and ask you about every single thing he can think of

i think a relationship with yedam would just very quickly turn into something you could tell was never going to hurt you?

like. sure. maybe some time in the future you and yedam could break-up. you don’t want that but you understand that it happens. but you can just tell that you’re never going to regret being with him you know?

you’d probably mention that to yedam at first and i mean, he’d be glad that you knew he was never gonna be a heartbreaker for you. but he’s also :( because he doesn’t want you to ever believe that you two weren’t In It To Win ItTM

tbh you really couldn’t picture ever having a reason to break-up with yedam either because?? you just never seem to be able to get bored with him, and you ((to be honest, if you’re honest)) feel like you’re falling a bit more in love w him every day

n he’s really just your biggest fan. he just adores you so much in everything he does.

you two are attached at the hip!! if you don’t particularly want there to be time when he gives you your space then omg you’re gonna be with him pretty much 24/7

yedam, as secretly as it is, loves having his hair played with and loves playing with your hair

he tries to do something cute w it sometimes but usually he just plaits different sections together or just runs his fingers through it really

also, yedam, cuddling enthusiast, remains the almost completely consistent little spoon

he is babey!! he loves being curled up next to you and feeling all warm n safe!! especially adores when he gets to wrap himself up in a blanket and be cuddled by you bc he feels like he’s on a cloud :,((

side note: if you give him nose kisses while he does this. he’ll just combust. he genuinely cannot handle the Feelings.

the only time he isn’t a little spoon is when you two are like. lazily cuddling when watching tv. he’ll just have his arm draped around you so you can have your face smooshed against his chest

also, don’t test him. if you’re sprawled across the sofa and he wants a cuddle and you won’t move. he’ll just lay on you. what r u gonna do about it other than move so he’s the little spoon again? nothing!

i think. i should stop here before i Go Off too much about what dating yedam would be like so hmmm

to summarise, i think any relationship with him would really just be the purest softest most healing experience there is?

and it’s so detached from reality too because he’s genuinely just such a good person,,, no one understands how he’s just so pure,,, and too good for this whole world,,, pls treat this boy Right it’s all he deserves

#hi bang yedam has my heart #ygtblbr #ygtb scenarios #ygtb imagines #ygtb reactions #yg treasure box reactions #yg treasure box imagines #yg treasure box scenarios #bang yedam #yedam scenarios

503 notes · View notes

clothingbrand1 · 4 years

Text

Guidelines for Anybody Who would like to Start out a Clothes Brand name

youtube

how to start a clothing brand

In this article are a few strategies to any person all set to or considering about launching their own individual clothes line.

Idea # 1. Don't Rush

What I signify by that is choose your time when it comes to the start of your respective line. There may be a great deal of levels of competition to choose from these days, establishing some social media marketing web pages using a t-shirt coming shortly is not really likely to cut it. Have you ever ever received excited about a Fb site with twelve likes and "a clean new apparel brand coming soon"in the about me part? Me neither.

Tip # two. If you cannot style and design, then shell out someone that can.

A lot of street don start-ups launch their model with just their title inside a script font, screen printed over a black t-shirt. Now I am all for supporting a manufacturer, however, you want to no less than put some thought and creativity into your apparel, usually individuals will see that you'll be much like the rest of the clothing brands that have started off and failed. If you can't draw or style and design, pay someone who can. You happen to be gonna want stable types if you prefer to stand out and it will not have to be expensive. An awesome web-site for style and design do the job is called Designcrowd. This website makes it possible for you to put up your style and design brief, set your spending plan, then wait around for designers from everywhere in the entire world to write-up their entry and also you can opt for the best one particular.

Tip # 3 Really don't rip-off other folks!

Just about every brand wishes to be as productive as Obey, Stussy and Hype, but blatantly copying their strategies, style and ripping off their designs will not be planning to get you there. In reality, It really is much more likely to have a negative result simply because these models are very well known, highly regarded as well as their hundreds of fans will know that your outfits models usually are not primary.

Suggestion # four Imagine outside the box.

You've got most likely heard this stating right before and although it is much easier stated then done, a great method to start off will be to do a good bit of exploration to collect your own personal ideas. Check with you which kind of clothes do I would like to create? What are my favorite brand names? What do I appreciate in life? When you finally know the solutions to these thoughts then you can start to study brand names, jot down tips, choose photographs and doodle to actually make an image with the style of street don things you would like your brand to be manufacturing. But make sure you never dismiss idea selection 3 whilst doing your investigation!

Idea # five Analysis your product or service.

Given that you have got a handful of layouts or concepts that you would love to see printed on the t-shirt, it can be time for you to look into what organization you may use to supply your blanks. There are many companies which make blank outfits ready for printing so this component might be a little bit overwhelming, but choosing your funds and who your focus on industry is will seriously assist to slender down the choice.

Gildan and Fruit on the loom are at the most affordable end of the scale however they are likely to possess a boxier in shape and you're not likely to seek out a lot of reputable apparel brand names printing on them.

Tultex and Anvil print a great high quality tee for a fair selling price if you prefer a high-quality come to feel but your spending plan will never extend to high-priced blanks.

And on the greater finish are American Attire and Alternate Attire. Although these might be highly-priced, the quality is phenomenal and so they also have a range of colours and items which will make your model stand out through the rest.

Tip # 6 Don't lower corners.

If you want being taken severely being a brand name, creation will be the 1 position you need to do not need to rush or slice corners. Firstly, choose a good printing business. It'll cost you a great deal extra time, cash and energy inside the prolonged run should you commit to print having a man in his bedroom who prints your layouts wonky and gets chocolate stains on the t-shirts when he's printing them.

You will find numerous respected firms by typing in "Screen printers" in Google, and don't forget to shop all over. Octomuffin and Woven Inc are rated highly during the United kingdom.

Secondly, think about your brand name graphic. Would you like to generally be thought of being a experienced brand? In the event you do, then your going to want custom neck labels, swing tags and some neat packaging. This doesn't ought to be high-priced, but little touches like that will possess a long lasting impact on the client.

Lastly, don't print a lot of. Any time you initially release a structure, you'll have no clue how it will provide, so it truly is most effective to purchase a lesser quantity at the beginning to test the h2o. Really don't fret about promoting out swiftly, it's going to make your manufacturer appear common when you do so you can constantly just re-order far more.

Idea # seven Website, and pics.

You don't require a massive finances for making a good looking and practical web-site, there are so many e-commerce platforms readily available now which supply fantastic looking web sites for any minimal regular monthly price tag. Significant cartel, retail store envy, volusion and shopify are only the tip of your iceberg in terms of these.

As soon as you have selected your world wide web platform, get a domain. Domains are so affordable in recent times apparel manufacturers haven't any justification to not buy one particular, and it helps make you glimpse much a lot more professional whenever you arrive to start.

Now you are ready to upload your items and pictures. It's important to help make absolutely sure you can get some specialist searching pictures taken of your respective items and not types which look like they may have been taken on a three mega pixel mobile phone digital camera. Your shots tend to be the only way your consumers can connect with your merchandise over the web, should the pics are little, blurry or don't demonstrate adequate of the items depth, you happen to be possible not to receive a sale.

Idea # eight And now we wait.

After you to start with launch, the joy might be a bit as well a lot and you happen to be likely being expecting huge things inside of within a shorter duration of time. Try to remain grounded, things take time, a lot of time, so don't get disheartened if you have not offered out inside your initial thirty day period and just retain likely. It truly is also an excellent idea to test and acquire feed-back from family and friends to view should the merchandise are literally nearly as good when you think they may be.

And that's it, I really hope your observed this article appealing and hopefully a little practical, as I discussed before I'm not an expert while in the avenue have on market, but individuals are just a few of the points I've learnt along just how.

References Clothing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing

1 note · View note

chuffyfan87 · 4 years

Text

Boxes Of Memories. Part A

Cowritten with @fairheads. Set during Series 31 not long after Chuffy got married.

-x-

Charlie and Duffy lay in bed, it was their day off and they were basking in the afterglow of their morning love making.

“So Mrs, now that you’ve worn me out... What shall we do today?” Charlie chuckled.

"Well you promised me that we'd clear out the spare room on our next day off together."

“Did I?”

"You did. I've performed my part of the agreement, now it's your turn!"

“But... There's so much stuff in there! Wouldn’t you rather just stay here instead?” Charlie suggested with a grin.

"Well you never know what we might find in there. Some of that stuff looks like it goes back decades!"

“Maybe they’ll be some treasure...” Charlie laughed.

"From your secret past as a pirate?" She giggled.

“Shiver my timbers! Don’t you go all heave ho-ing with my booty missus!”

"I'll heave ho you in a minute if you don't get out of bed!" She laughed as she sat up and retrieved her nighty from the floor next to the bed.

“That sounds fun! Okay, okay... but can we have regular breaks?”

Standing up she slipped the nighty back on. "What exactly did you have in mind for these breaks?" She asked as she turned around, her hand resting on her hip.

His eyes couldn’t help but wander over all of her curves. He stepped towards her, putting his arms around her waist. “I’m sure we can think of something... Don’t you?” He winked.

She shook her head fondly. "You have a one track mind!"

“I know... but it’s not my fault... you have that effect on me!”

"Still? I'd have thought you'd be bored of me by now." She chuckled.

He smiled, even after all this time, she still didn’t quite believe that anyone would find her desirable in that way. It was her own personal battle, but he tried his best to reassure her. “Never! You’re too damn sexy for me to ever get bored!”

She blushed as she stepped out of his embrace. Moving over to the dresser she threw a pair of boxers and a tshirt at him.

He looked at her, as she avoided his gaze, but decided to leave it. Pulling on the clothes she had thrown, he walked towards the door. “Come on then, let’s get cracking!”

Entering the spare room Duffy bit her lip as she gazed at the stacks of boxes contained within it. Maybe Charlie had a point, this was going to take them forever!

Charlie didn’t know where to begin, but knelt down next to the box nearest the door. Their combined stuff from different houses had lead to this collection of boxes.

Duffy walked across the room and picked up a box from another pile. "Might as well divide and attempt to conquer." She explained.

While she busied herself, over the other side of the room he opened his box. Inside, he found a stack of notebooks. Definitely not his, he flicked through some of the pages and recognised her writing. “These must be yours Duf."

She looked up briefly before doing a double take as she realised what box he had in his hands. Shit! Why had she left that so near the door? She quickly got to her feet. "Um, yes. I'll just take those." She stuttered, reaching out for the box.

Surprised by her sudden reaction, he was now intrigued. He hadn’t had long enough to read any of the writing. “Old diaries?”

"Just the silly ramblings of a foolish young girl." She replied dismissively.

“Oh yeah? Do I feature?” He teased, although by her face, he wasn’t sure if he had pushed his luck.

"Wouldn't you just love that!"

He looked up at her, a little taken aback, she avoided his gaze - he seemed to have hit a nerve. Sitting down, he opened a different box, this time he pulled out some things from his own childhood. He turned over a well- loved teddy bear in his hands.

"He looks like he's seen some adventures." She remarked from across the room.

“Hasn’t he just! I don’t think I can get rid of him...”

She held up a threadbare pink rabbit. "Its ok, I won't tell if you don't!" She giggled.

“They can be friends!” He laughed, positioning them together on the carpet.

"So long as they're not the kind of friends we were!"

He laughed. “You hear that rabbit, no funny business!”

"I think you'll find that Miss Rabbit is a well behaved innocent girl!"

“Yeah... right!” He rolled his eyes. Reaching for another box, he found loads of crockery. “I’ll take this downstairs, if we don’t need it, it can probably go to charity.”

"Maybe we can claim its vintage and make some money from it?"

“Maybe!” When he returned, Duffy was looking pensively at something she had found. She sighed and placed the items back in the box, not realising she was being watched.

“You okay?” he asked softly.

She sighed and reached back into the box. She held the items up towards him. "Wedding photos." She sighed.

Knowing that she wasn’t referring to their wedding as the album was sitting on the shelf in the living room, he knelt behind her and put his hands on her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm surprised by how happy I look. I clearly didn't realise what a huge mistake I was making."

“We got there in the end though hey...” He smiled, reaching for her hand and squeezing it.

"I don't really know what to do with them. Do you still have yours?"

He shook his head. “Baz... I imagine they were chucked out a long time ago. But you can keep yours if you want? We can box some of this stuff and put it in the loft.”

"I feel like I should keep them for the boys but..." She shrugged.

“Let’s keep them, I’ll pop them in the loft,” He smiled reassuringly at her.

"You're OK with that?"

“Of course love, it’s okay,”

"I know you two never really got along. Not really."

“Maybe not, but I had my reasons...”

"I wonder what those could have been..." She smiled. "Is it true what Josh told me?"

"None of them treated you like they should have done Duffy... What did Josh tell you?”

"That you threatened to break Ryan's legs."

Charlie’s face flushed red. “I... I may have said that, I was just trying to protect you.”

"I'll let you in on a little secret... I entertained the idea of giving Baz a good hard slap on several occasions."

“What are we like!? I think you’d have won...” He mumbled.

"You think?" She laughed. "She seemed like the type to have a mean right hook."

He smirked, knowing she was right. “But if it mattered to you enough...”

"That smirk better not be from you imagining that particular scenario!" She tried to keep the smile from her face.

He laughed, she knew him so well. “That obvious? You got me!”

"I suppose its good to know you would've backed me."

Charlie smiled at her as she passed him the box ready for the loft. They had managed to clear quite a bit already. “We’re getting there!”

Duffy handed him another box. "You can put this in the loft too. It's some of my mother's things, I'll sort them another day."

“Okay, I’ll take them up now.” He knew that that job would take a lot more emotional energy than Duffy had left today. “Is it time for a break now?” He shouted from the step ladders.

"I suppose. I'll make us a cup of coffee." She called up to him. She turned to leave the room but her attention was drawn back to her old notebooks. She was so engrossed in them that she didn't hear Charlie re-enter the room and come to stand behind her, peering over her shoulder.

He noticed his name a few times on the page and was intrigued. He hadn’t realised she’d kept a diary. “When did you write these?” He asked, making her jump.

"It started as a... um... way of tracking all the new skills I was learning..."

“Oh yeah? Nursing skills?”

"Yeh, so I'd have a list to show at interviews."

“And then?”

"And then I ended up not leaving the department." She joked, clearly misunderstanding his question on purpose.

“Read me a bit,” He said, settling down onto a cushion he found in the corner.

"Really?"

“Yup, I’m all ears!” He joked.

"Its really not that interesting..." She could tell by his face that he wasn't gunna let this go. "Most of the procedures are so outdated now."

Charlie wanted to know why his name had appeared multiple times on one page if it was all procedures. He didn’t want to push her too much but tried one last time. “I’m interested, the inner workings of the mind of younger Duffy...”

She flicked forward a few pages and held the book out to him. "Fine, try not to fall asleep..!"

He took the book from her. The page she had opened was a list of medical procedures that she had performed that day. Flicking backwards a few pages he found a page with heart doodles and some writing about a party they had both been at.

"Like I said - the silly ramblings of a foolish young girl."

Charlie lifted the book up to read aloud... “When I’m around him, I get butterflies. Last night, we spent the whole night talking in the kitchen at this party, he makes me feel so relaxed and yet equally excited. Small problem is he’ll never go for me, I’m too young and he’s my boss but I can’t stop thinking about him.” Charlie looked up. “I didn’t know you felt like that...”

"Maybe I should have insisted you get your eyes tested sooner if that's the case!"

“Okay, maybe a little! Well, I think it’s lovely and you should keep them."

"I intend to." She blushed a deeper shade of red. "That's not even the worst of it."

“Oh yeah..? Did you write about when we first slept together in there? Where’s that?” He laughed, flicking through the pages!

"That's not in that book!" She reached into the box and pulled out a book with a lock on the side.

His eyes widened, he had only been joking. “Well, I hope it says how earth-shattering it was!”

"I can't remember what I wrote and I think I've lost the key." She laughed.

“Perhaps it’ll turn up in the rest of this.” He pointed to the remaining stuff.

"Either that or I'm sure you'll take a pair of bolt cutters to the lock!" She giggled.

“You know me so well,” Charlie laughed, reaching for her waist and pulling her towards him.

"You're getting distracted..." She chided.

He nodded, staring directly into her green eyes, the tension between them electric, even after all this time.

"Once all the boxes are sorted you can have all the fun you like." She promised with a cheeky smile.

“But there are sooo many boxes,” He moaned “And you did say we could have regular breaks...” He ran his hand up her back as he reached down to kiss the side of her neck.

"I know I did but I really don't want to spend all day in here."

Charlie realised his usual powers of persuasion were not working. He stuck out his bottom lip, pretending to be sad before turning towards another box.

"You really think I'm gunna fall for that face after all these years?" She smirked as she also grabbed another box.

“I hoped you might anyway.” He smiled at her. Turning back to the box, he struggled to open the lid, the thick parcel tape making it impossible to open with his hands.

"Want me to fetch the scissors?" She suggested.

“No worries, I’ll get them. What's in here?”

"I don't know. Is it one of my boxes?"

“I imagine so.” He laughed. When he returned with the scissors, he found her kneeling next to a box, looking puzzled.

"What are these? They're not mine."

Looking at what she was holding in her hands, he felt his face flush red.

"Well..?" She pressed.

“Are you sure they aren’t yours? I...” He looked flustered.

"I'm sure I'd know if they were." She asserted, a small grin pulling at her lips as she watched his discomfort grow.

“Duffy, I honestly don’t know what, who, where.” He stuttered, uncomfortable.

"Well there's been so many over the years I guess it's not surprising that one of them accidentally left something behind." She laughed.

“Hey! There wasn’t that many... I just don’t understand where they’re from...” He was still puzzled.

"There were enough for me to lose count..."

He wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear, “But only one you, Duffy.”

"Charmer." She chuckled.

“I mean it,” he kissed her ear.

She dropped the item in the bag to be binned. "At least they appear to be clean. Well I really hope they are." She pulled a face.

Charlie pulled the same face back, attempting a smile at her, but she was on a mission.

"Anything else like that in there?" She asked.

“I better take a look...” He took the box from her. His eyes widened, when he realised what else was in there.

Seeing the look on his face Duffy attempted to peer over his shoulder but Charlie blocked her view.

“I think we’ll just put this box in the bin.” He said shutting the lid, he’d seen enough.

"No, come on, what else is in there. I didn't get further than the pair of lacy knickers." She pouted.

#chuffy #charlie and duffy #charlie fairhead #lisa duffin

4 notes · View notes