#I’d win by a landslide | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

colourstreakgryffin · 1 year

Text

Yandere! Romantic! KNY Kanroji Mitsuri Headcanons

Second post ever! I’d figure I would do Mitsuri next since I’ve already had a idea for her! I’m sorry, this and most likely, every other post from now on with the Yandere Hashira probably won’t be as good as the Obanai one!

Mitsuri as a romantic Yandere has the Yandere traits of; Overprotective, Clingy, Overpossessive, Bratty, Delusional, Emotional, Obsessive and Dedicated

Kanroji Mitsuri is directly in the middle when it comes to how quickly she’d form into a Yandere. She does feel love easily but she has such strong morality and humanity, Yandere views directly clash with her sense of righteousness. Though, it does cloud everything else once she does become a full-fledged Yandere for her love interest, aka you the Ice Hashira

I personally cement on the idea that Yandere Mitsuri would be a full-on brat. To her, your hers now and she owns you. She’ll throw a huge dangerous fit if anybody is trying to take her love. She isn’t necessarily spoiled but she believes she is entitled to you for herself as a whole

Mitsuri abuses her Hashira position constantly so she can force herself into every mission you’re in. She’ll talk down the people who idolise her like some goddess to cling onto you with lies fumbling out of her mouth. She no longer cares for other people’s views of her, she only cares about you;

“Hey! Dokusha must stay with me for the mission! We can’t split up! I’m a Hashira! What I say is true! So, listen to me!”

Though, she has limits in what she must do to win you over. She doesn’t want to hurt and kill innocent people, sharing this Yandere trait with Kyojuro. But she has compromises, she’ll gladly blackmail, berate, intimidate or scare away potential love rivals

Mitsuri as a romantic Yandere is very different from ordinary Mitsuri. Her personality becomes a facade and every one of her fellow Hashira slowly become terrified of her, even Obanai. But again, she doesn’t care at all for how she seems now. She wants to marry you, give you her last name and settle down with you, adopt five children and adopt five cats!

Mitsuri fantasies about a future life with you, sharing this trait with Obanai. About how beautiful you’d look in a wedding dress! Or how adorable of a mother you’d make. She gets so swept up in her fantasies that she’s regularly distracted whilst on missions

She is clingy and possessive over her love interest. She wants all of your time and won’t tolerate sharing with anybody else. They don’t love you like she does, they can just leave!

Would Mitsuri kidnap you? It’d take quite some time until she decides to kidnap you since kidnapping is preserved as a final ditch effort. She’s confident in her abilities to win your heart without foul play but if she’s on thin ice, she’ll take you for herself and hide you away in her Estate

She is quite possessed by her obsession but she cares intently for you, you’re her love after all. Your happiness matters the most to her and it hurts her heart to see you so upset. She’ll do whatever she can to make you smile, though, it doesn’t work and it worries her

Are you mad at her?! She wasn’t trying to hurt you! She just doesn’t want anybody taking you away from her! She needs you! She’ll do whatever you ask, please don’t cry anymore

Mitsuri is a VERY overprotective Yandere, just like all the Hashira. You’re in danger constantly and it doesn’t matter that you’re just as strong as she is; she has the unique sword, the unique skills and a technique that out-speeds yours by a landslide. That makes her qualified and required to protect you in this mean, cold world. Basically, you’re under her protection by force

Mitsuri loses her cool whenever a demon manages to land a hit on you. Her rationality snaps on the spot out of pure fear and anger. Sure, she hasn’t lost anybody but even just the idea of losing you is her worst nightmare. She immediately attacks the demon with such deadly bloodlust that you know you’re in more danger than ever before

Don’t worry, though, Yandere Mitsuri may be twisted and corrupted but she’d never hurt you, her darling. She doesn’t even hurt the threats she despises. You’re the last person she’d lay her hands on, in-fact, she kisses you all the time whilst so delicately cuddling you

Yes, she learns everything she possibly can about you without evading on your privacy as she respects the need for privacy. Mitsuri is badly obsessed and happily falls deeper in her obsession, she wants to know all about the woman she‘s the more deeper in love with

You both may be girls of equal size but Mitsuri is very strong and she can easily break you… in which she has done before… and she beat herself up hysterically over it as she rushed you and your few broken ribs to the Butterfly Estate. She loves you too much that she has a raging hatred at herself for squeezing too hard. Hence why, she views you as her precious glass angel as you are glass in comparison to her

She’s very clingy and affectionate, if not the most out of all the Hashira. She loves kissing, she loves hugging, she loves the cute little gestures that express affection and she does all of it with you. Staining your cheeks with her lipstick so people know you’re hers. Gifting you a matching haori to hers to act as a symbol of her dedication and attachment

Nobody else can protect and love you like she can. Nobody, nor an Hashira knows you like the back of their palm! She is so much better than all those plebeians! Trust her

Mitsuri doesn’t understand why you’re so upset at her and really can’t handle it when you yell at her after ignoring her for so long. She cries. Not because she wants to be the victim but because she’s overwhelmed by concern. Do you hate her now? You can’t! She has bent backwards for you! She didn’t do anything wrong!

Mitsuri also doesn’t realise that kidnapping you and forcing you to live in her Estate as her partner is very wrong. She is just too blinded by you and her obsessive love for you as a whole that everything cruel or apathetic she does is flung over her shoulders

She wasn’t kidnapping, she is looking out for you and she isn’t keeping you at her Estate by cruel force, she’s had you move in with her. It’s like a big sleepover

Mitsuri is dedicated to you. Her world spins for you like you’re the sun and everything she owns becomes yours in a split second. She is like a very loyal baby puppy, she gazes lovestruck at only you and rarely talks to her fellow Hashira anymore as she much prefers your company

Her obsession stems entirely around the fact you’re her savourer. You’re the little mermaid who rescued her from drowning and she makes the world revolve around you in a worship-like thank you. It may seem a bit selfish but her entire being is devoted to you and she won’t fail as the perfect future wife. She’ll know everything, she’ll remember everything, she’ll do everything for you more and more

The Love Hashira is so poisoned by her love that she blissfully ignores everybody else in thought of you and pampers herself to look prettier so that she attracts your attention. She is the attention-demanding brat that wants your hands on her, your eyes on her and your words directed to her

“Oh my. Myōji-chan, it seems I forgot to do my braids! Could you help me, please? If you do help, I promise I’ll buy you a amazing treat at the new nice, quiet restaurant! Plus, it’ll be just us and that sounds wonderful, right? C’mon, let’s go!”

Mitsuri is quite delusional and her own head has twisted her into believing you’re truly in love with her too when in reality. You’re scared of her. No, you’re terrified of her. She’s kind and all but her clingy neediness makes you very uncomfortable and you need just one day away from the extremely eager and feely woman, rather she be a fellow Hashira or not. But that won’t happen

Once Mitsuri has you in her love-heart plagued sight, you won’t leave and she won’t stop chasing after you. No matter what may happen, she’ll have you and dice up the demons in her way into million pieces with a smile

Get a boyfriend(or I guess, a girlfriend in this situation specifically) and Mitsuri will intimidate/berate/blackmail nonstop or even draw her katana as a empty threat to make him/her run away so you’ll come crying into her arms. She does eliminate her love rivals in cruel fashions but you’re her world now so it doesn’t bother her

Mitsuri is prone to lying when she’s confronted, she’s a pathological but skilled lier. She lies a lot and often gets you to (at first) believe her by using her innocent looks and slid-in emotional manipulation. Forced crying or puppy-dog eyes. Of course, she doesn’t want to mess with your feelings but she’s more desperate to keep you with her

Mitsuri would eventually propose to you and guilt-trips you into taking her hand. It’ll be the most beautiful wedding, Mitsuri promises as she begins spoiling the everliving hell out of you whilst working up to her wedding. She’s so excited that she ignores any signs of your sadness

Overall. Mitsuri, when she becomes a Yandere, is so dangerous that it’ll be impossible to escape. Even if another Hashira tried to intervene to pry her off you for good, she’d bark them away with empty threats and sword-raising. You’re stuck and your freedom won’t return as Mitsuri’s rationality is rotting away. She manipulates herself into believing every choice stripping you off a human right is protecting you

Get use to this life, cause it won’t go away anytime soon. Not even Oyakata-sama can put a end to this catastrophe

“Dokusha! My love! My little glass angel! Aren’t you so excited? We’re gonna be married in a few more hours! I’m thrilled! It’s gonna be so beautiful, we will remember this day for the rest of our lives together! I’ve got everything ready and the rings that I know you’ll love, I will be the best wife ever!”

#kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #anime and manga #kanroji mitsuri #mitsuri kanroji #yandere #yandere romance #Yandere mitsuri kanroji #kny hashira #love hashira #yandere imagines #kny imagines #headcanons #mitsuri x reader #mitsuri kanroji x reader #kanroji x reader #yandere headcanons

67 notes · View notes

lostloveletters · 8 months

Text

Bruised Fruit Chapter 3 (Michael Corleone x OC)

Summary: An engagement party only sinks Gloria's roots deeper into the Corleone family and gives her a glimpse of what her future may hold.

Note: I plan to have chapter 4 posted next weekend! This fic has been so fun to write, and I appreciate the support on here and AO3 for it🖤

Warnings: Angst, canonical major character death, discussions of infidelity, emotional manipulation. Sexually explicit content which includes masochism.

Do not interact if you are under 18 or post thinspo/ED content. I will block you.

Chapter 2 | AO3 Link | Masterlist

“Looks like Senator Kennedy might run for president next year. They’re saying just because he’s Catholic, he’d probably lose the primaries in the South,” Gloria said, scanning the copy of the Boston Globe that room service had brought up with breakfast, along with that day’s editions of the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Post. “Can you believe that?”

Michael nodded from his spot next to her on the loveseat, using his toast to mop up the yolk from his poached egg. “I can believe it.”

She glanced at the photo of Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy printed on the Globe’s article. “He sure is easy on the eyes. Almost got my vote already.”

“Would you really vote for a candidate just because you thought he was attractive?”

Gloria shielded her face behind the newspaper, hiding her grin. “It sure helps. You’d win by a landslide.” She started giggling when she heard him scoff.

She knew the Senate hearings were still a sore spot for him, his family business being speculated about on the national stage. Throughout the hearings, she’d naturally kept an eye on the papers, amused by the various asides about Michael’s appearance. Intimidating, they called him, a powerful presence who commanded the attention of the room. She especially liked the article in a gossip magazine she indulged in that described him as handsome in a dark and dangerous way that almost inspires something primal in a woman.

“You’re funny.”

“I’m not allowed to give you a compliment?”

He acquiesced with the slightest smile on his face. “Thank you.”

She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You’re welcome,” she said as she flipped to the next page of the article. “My mom’s already chomping at the bit to volunteer for his campaign.”

Gloria’s mother, Julia, was especially active in the Queens branch of the New York Democratic Party, volunteering for every one of Franklin Roosevelt’s presidential campaigns. Gloria could remember canvassing with her mother during election years. After he was elected president a third time, Julia received a thank you letter in the mail from Eleanor Roosevelt. She had the letter framed, and as far as Gloria knew, it was still displayed in the living room of her childhood home.

“Have you heard from your parents about the engagement party?”

“They’re not coming. Dad can’t take the time off of work,” Gloria said.

When he had told her such, she knew it wasn’t entirely true, but she wasn’t about to tell Michael that she could hear her father pour himself a drink over the phone when she informed him that she would be marrying a gangster.

He nodded. “I’m sorry to hear that. I’d like to speak with your father soon.”

Gloria hummed noncommittally. “How many people are going to be there?”

“Just family, around thirty or so.”

“Thirty? Michael, you said it was going to be a small gathering.”

He grinned. “In my family it is.” He brushed some of her long black hair from her face. “You’ll know everyone soon enough.”

“Well, I already know your siblings. They’re going to be there, right?”

“Fredo can’t make it.”

“That’s a shame. He introduced us, after all.”

“It can’t be helped,” he said dismissively. “Connie will be there. I know you haven’t seen her in a while.”

Gloria liked all of Michael’s siblings, but she considered Connie a friend. Whenever Connie was in Vegas, which was quite often when she wasn’t jet-setting with her latest beau, Michael would ask Gloria to keep an eye on her. Of course, this would turn into nights of drinking, partying, and watching Connie win or lose astonishing amounts of money in the casino.

“You have nothing to worry about. They’re friendlier than I am,” he said, earning a soft laugh from her.

By the end of the week, she wasn’t so sure, but Michael had been the one who insisted on the engagement party, telling her that his family had never been involved in his wedding preparations in the past. They hadn’t even attended the ceremony. With his mother’s health declining, it was important to him.

If Gloria had been nervous to meet Michael’s children, meeting the rest of his family had her stomach in knots. She poured herself a drink to calm down before the car arrived to pick her up from her hotel. While Anthony and Mary could be shielded from the truth of Michael and Gloria’s relationship by virtue of their youth, she figured the rest of his family already considered her a homewrecker. Not entirely untrue, but she wondered how what tale had been woven prior to her arrival. Undoubtedly something to make her more palatable to his extended family.

As she crossed the threshold of his home for the first time, she felt a different warmth in his house than the kind that engulfed her in her childhood home when she had visited for Thanksgiving a few months prior. That warmth had given way to a love that wrapped around her like a blanket, a love she could dream in. The love that permeated the air in Michael’s home clung to her skin like summer sweat. Nevertheless, she supposed a sweltering love was better than none at all.

Though, when he squeezed her hand, his smile betrayed his fondness for her, and she couldn’t help but smile back. It almost made her wish that they were alone again, but there were introductions to be made. Namely, his mother Carmela, who was clearly being polite to Gloria for Michael’s sake and to set a good example for Anthony and Mary. Michael’s children barely left their grandmother’s side but seemed happy to see Gloria again. Taking the hint, Michael kept the conversation short.

“I have some business to go over with Tom. It won’t take long, but I think my sister’s about to steal you anyway,” Michael said softly, giving Gloria a gentle kiss on her cheek.

As he retreated into his office, Connie rushed over to Gloria.

Connie beamed, pulling her in for a hug. “Gloria! God, how long has it been?”

“Hi, Connie,” she said, returning her future sister-in-law’s embrace. “It’s great to see you again.”

“Congratulations! Now let me see that ring!”

Gloria moved back, holding out her hand so Connie could inspect the engagement ring Michael gave her. The night had been quiet, unceremonious if not for his presenting her with the ring, beautiful yet understated. After he slid it onto her finger, her hand burned, and she thought she was having some kind of allergic reaction to the metal until she noticed no redness or hives on her skin—psychosomatic, merely branded in her mind’s eye.

“Gorgeous, oh my god,” Connie gasped. “It suits you.”

Before Gloria could say anything more to Connie, a gaggle of younger relatives walked over to introduce themselves. All nieces and nephews, some older with their spouses and fiances of their own. Despite Connie reminding Gloria who was who, she felt her head spin at the amount of new names and faces she would be expected to know. It didn’t help that Michael’s late brother Sonny had twin girls, who were the spitting image of their mother, Sandra. While both of Gloria’s parents had a handful of siblings themselves, her extended family wasn’t nearly as close-knit as the Corleones were.

The line between business and family was almost nonexistent for them. Each son fated to take up some role in the volatile business, a Greek tragedy enacted by mostly Sicilian players–Sonny, the eldest son, dead by enemies taking advantage of his anger and hubris; Tom, the adopted son, a trusted advisor, though his heritage always left him the outsider; Fredo, the forgotten son, good-natured yet quietly resentful; Michael, the youngest son, who tried to escape his destiny but was instead doomed by a narrative greater than himself and even further corrupted by it. The chorus raged on with its warnings of the ruthless pursuit of power ignored, and Gloria shuddered to think what lay ahead for Anthony and the son Michael wanted her to carry.

Going forward, her life would be nothing short of a whirlwind of people. She wondered how Michael’s children could stand it, how he could stand it. For a family so guarded and secretive, they didn’t have much privacy. Everyone knew everything about each other. Corleone family associates filtered in and out of his house day and night.

“Why don’t you all give the woman a break so she can get something to eat?” Sandra finally said, putting her arm around Gloria’s shoulders and leading her into the kitchen.

“Thank you. I couldn’t eat before I got here. My nerves were all over the place,” Gloria said, taking a plate and helping herself to the antipasto that was set out on the table. She popped a few olives in her mouth as she piled the various meats and cheeses onto her plate.

Sandra stood next to her, taking a slice of prosciutto for herself. “No, I understand. We’re insular, guess it’s just easier that way.”

Gloria silently wondered how easy it really could be. Sandra had been a widow for at least a decade, with Sonny having been brutally murdered on the Long Beach causeway during the Corleones’ war with rival families. The details were all over the papers at the time, but none showed the photos of Sonny’s body, apparently too gruesome to be printed as he was riddled with bullets to the point where he was nearly unrecognizable. Still, Sandra was taken care of, her marriage all but secured that even after her husband’s death, an Old World life insurance policy.

“I don’t know what I expected. Everyone seems so…normal,” Gloria said, a blush spreading across her cheeks. “Ah, that’s not the right word. I mean—“

“This thing’s been going on longer than you and me,” Sandra said, gesturing vaguely. “I stopped trying to understand it a long time ago. It’ll drive you crazy.”

“I don’t even bother,” Gloria said through a mouthful of mozzarella. “He keeps me too busy to even think about it, anyway.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Sandra said, a sly smile on her face that Gloria couldn’t help but snicker in response to. “Believe me honey, I get mine.”

Tom appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. “I’m sorry to interrupt.”

She noticed the look Sandra and Tom shared as he walked over, albeit brief, it was all too familiar. The desire, the longing, the silent promise of later, despite Tom’s wife Theresa being just a room away. Interesting. Gloria had more in common with the Corleone women than she thought.

“Gloria, congratulations,” Tom said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you, Tom. I appreciate it.”

“Could you come with me to Michael’s office? I just need to go over a few things with you.”

Gloria nodded, following him out of the kitchen and through the labyrinth of people in the living room.

As soon as she stepped into Michael’s office, she nearly felt the urge to genuflect before taking a seat next to him on the leather upholstered couch, as if sliding into a pew during mass. His face lit up ever so slightly when he saw her, and he took her hand in his.

“It’s good news, darling. Don’t worry,” Michael said, reading her hesitation.

She gave him a weak smile before bringing her attention to Tom.

“The divorce is almost finalized, but I’ve sent Michael’s petition to the Vatican to have his marriage to Kay annulled,” Tom said. “Between our connections to the Holy See and the severity of what she committed, I don’t anticipate this taking more than two or three months.”

All Gloria could manage in response was a quiet, “Wow.”

Michael smiled, patting Gloria’s hand. The gesture meant to be reassuring, as if Gloria had asked for it, like she was the one who wanted Kay’s sin repaid pound for pound if not in blood, then in excommunication and eternal damnation. Kay’s decision was her own, but Gloria wasn’t without sin, and neither was Michael, yet he was more than willing to have his soon to be ex-wife formally damned. Knowing Michael, the most he believed in was the hierarchy, the institution. God was merely an irritating obstacle at best and outright competition at worst.

The revelation of Kay’s mortal sin to the Vatican would almost guarantee Michael an annulment. With that in place, there’d be nothing to stop them from having a formal wedding mass despite his being divorced from a consummated marriage. An otherwise long and tedious process to convince the Catholic Church to invalidate the eternal, holy bond of matrimony would be taken care of in a matter of months.

“Once that’s all sorted out, the two of you will be able to set a date. Obviously the situation isn’t ideal, but—“

“Thank you, Tom. I appreciate the effort,” Gloria said awkwardly.

He nodded, his tight-lipped smile slightly strained. He lacked the pleasure that his brother had in the situation at hand, but there was little else he could do as consigliere.

“I have one more thing to discuss with Tom, but I’ll join you again soon,” Michael said, walking her over to the door. “Won’t leave you with the sharks too long.”

He kissed the top of her hand before she made her exit. As soon as the door shut behind her, Gloria searched out Connie, who was helping herself to a glass of wine.

“Always business with them, huh?” Connie quipped.

“Something like that,” Gloria said. “Hey, did Michael tell you why Fredo couldn’t make it? You’d think he’d be here. He introduced Michael and me.”

“You know, I’m not sure myself,” Connie said, though her tone wasn’t entirely convincing. “Hard to keep track of everyone. I mean, Francesca and her fiance are god knows where, and Ma just went off to take a walk.”

Gloria sighed. “I don’t think your mother likes me very much.”

“Ma’s old fashioned, is all,” Connie assured her. “She hasn’t liked anyone I married.”

“Gee, thanks, Connie.”

“You know what I mean. Don’t let this keep you from being excited.”

“I’m excited, absolutely,” Gloria said, feeling that anxious was more appropriate. “The relationship feels so different now compared to when me and Michael were just fooling around.”

Connie’s laugh caught the attention of just about everyone within a few feet of them, turning to see what the commotion was about. “Gloria, you know as well as I do that my brother does not fool around,” she whispered.

That much was true. Michael had a sense of humor, it was one of Gloria’s favorite things about him, but even that was guarded, doled out sparingly to a select few. Nothing half-assed or left to chance, he was meticulous and calculated, necessary traits to earn wartime promotions and later lead the Corleone family. She should have realized sooner that his maintaining their relationship for so long would serve a greater purpose.

Conversely, Gloria never considered herself the marrying type, not finding the trappings of domesticity appealing compared to the independence she enjoyed as a single woman. None of her other dalliances ever lasted longer than a few weeks. While she never considered herself quite the party girl that her Las Vegas peers were, she was never one to deny herself pleasure, throwing caution to the wind in pursuit of a good time if she felt so inclined.

Perhaps her appeal as a wife to Michael was two-fold, what she could offer him as potential mother of his child, and an ego boost in conquering her, a woman half-feral whose worldliness coursed through her veins. A much needed triumph after the domestication of his sophisticated New Englandite ex-wife had regressed until she destroyed her cage, blood and iron reflected in her wild green eyes.

She looked at Mary and Anthony, playing with their cousins, seemingly unaware of the significance of the occasion. After the dinner a few weeks prior, Michael said that he had told them Kay had done something very bad, and so she left and wasn’t coming back, and they weren’t to ask him any more questions about it. She wondered if they actually believed him.

“I need some air,” Gloria said abruptly.

She rushed over to the sliding glass door that led outside, shoving a cigarette between her lips as she made her way onto the deck that overlooked Lake Tahoe. Lighting the cigarette with shaky hands, she almost didn’t notice her future mother-in-law standing just a few feet away from her.

“Mrs. Corleone—uh, hi,” Gloria said.

The matriarch was silent, save for a brief nod of acknowledgement.

“How are you liking the party?”

“It’s fine.”

“That’s good. Michael will be glad to hear it.”

Silence once again hung in the air. Gloria brought her cigarette to her lips, watching the smoke rise above them.

“I don’t approve of the way you and Michael conducted your relationship, contributing to his marital strife,” Carmela said, pausing briefly. “Maybe it would have ended up this way without you in the picture.”

Carmela and Kay were close, she knew as much. Connie had told her that the two would often go to Mass together. For all intents and purposes, Carmela had taken Kay under her wing. It made sense, Kay had taken up the mantle previously held by Carmela, and it helped that she was a nice, college-educated woman while still being a devoted wife and mother—until she couldn’t take it anymore. Gloria being Michael’s mistress was enough for her future mother-in-law to have already made up her mind about her.

“I understand.”

“What Kay did was desperate, a horrible thing after her cries for help weren’t heeded by my son.” Carmela side-eyed Gloria. “How often was he preoccupied with you?”

“Whenever he was in Vegas on business,” Gloria answered honestly. “We went to Los Angeles together twice, too.”

“My husband, God rest his soul, always used to tell our sons, ‘A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.’”

It was Gloria’s turn to be silent. She didn’t know the late Don Vito Corleone. Didn’t know whether or not he was a hypocrite. Michael admired him. The whole family spoke fondly of their dearly deceased patriarch. As far as Gloria was concerned, Vito was a myth, a superstition that existed in the whispers of every mafioso, spinning taller tales about their former Don with each passing year. For all she knew, people misquoted him the way they did Abraham Lincoln.

“I’m not going to pretend I haven’t been selfish and made a lot of questionable choices. I’m not exactly sorry for them, either. For some reason, Michael loves me in spite of all of that, and I do love him.”

“That’s all that matters now, isn’t it? The only thing that can keep the family together…what’s left of it, anyway.” She gave Gloria a wistful smile. “Michael looked happy when he walked in with you. I haven’t seen him like that in a long time.”

Gloria took a long drag on her cigarette, knowing Carmela would rather that happiness be with Kay, his wife, rather than with her.

“Am I interrupting something?” Michael asked, startling Gloria a bit. She hadn’t heard him open the glass door to go outside.

“No, I’m going to head back inside now,” his mother said. “Chilly out.”

Michael nodded. “Alright, Ma. Don’t want you to catch a cold.”

Michael and Gloria were silent as the Corleone matriarch made her exit. Gloria leaned against the railing, her back pressing against the hard wood as she took one last inhale of her cigarette before flicking it aside. She watched the ember glow faintly in the wet pile of spring leaves on the ground before going out.

“I didn’t see you inside. Connie told me you needed some air,” Michael said, standing in front of her.

“Just felt a little overwhelmed. So many people,” she said, as if that hadn’t been her job for five years. Except those were all strangers. Every person in that house was related to or worked for Michael, and soon she’d be part of it. “You really didn’t have to do all of this.”

“I wanted to,” he said.

“Like how you want to marry me?” she asked. “The way it all happened, I just—“

“You just what?”

Her attention drifted to her hands, playing with her engagement ring as she withered beneath his intense gaze. “I just wonder if you thought this through.”

“I’ve done the thinking for both of us. I know you’re nervous, darling, but this is what’s best for you,” Michael said, with all the conviction of a man who still believed she was formed of his rib. Silly woman, head full of glittering diamonds, champagne bubbles, and red lipstick. He placed a firm hand over her fidgeting one. “I won’t be as careless as I have been in the past.”

Gloria stared at him for a moment, thinking she liked him better careless, at least more so than the front he put on for everyone, including her. For how important he claimed his family was, there was always distance, if not emotional then physical. At the very least, she closed the few inches between them, kissing him with the ferocity of a woman who was still resisting the trappings of domesticity.

It didn’t matter to him. His hands found her hips as they always did, fingers pressing deep to claim her flesh as his own. His own instinct had momentarily clouded his reason, as he pulled away from her, albeit reluctantly. His eyes were trained on hers, pupils dilated when he finally glanced behind him, as if to make sure his family hadn’t seen this temporary lapse of control from their Don.

And they hadn’t. At least none of them indicated such as the night went on, and they slowly dispersed back to their respective homes on the vast Lake Tahoe compound or in the surrounding city, giving their congratulations and well-wishes to Gloria and Michael.

She was grateful he’d at least arranged for his children to stay over at his mother’s, though she could tell he was growing tired of her insisting they be given time to adjust to Kay’s absence and Gloria’s sudden intrusion into their life. They’d undoubtedly have questions about Gloria staying the night, in their father’s bedroom, no less.

All traces of Kay ever being there were long gone, but Gloria glanced at the bed, Michael’s initials embroidered on the linens, wondering how many nights Kay had lain awake in that very bed, knowing her husband was with her. Maybe it was a relief after a while, seeing as Kay’s tolerance for Michael only dwindled as time went on.

Gloria liked it better when those things were separate, when she could be the other woman without having to think too hard about the implications. But she hadn’t driven Kay away. Michael had. And that same man was dragging her in, his desperation not quite as raw as the night he made his proposal, but still evident, if only to her.

This time, he initiated the kiss, his lips claiming hers, payback for her daring public display of affection earlier. He sunk his teeth into her lower lip, fresh blood blending with the red lipstick she wore, no doubt smeared across her mouth as the traces of it were on his. Though his intensity scared her at times, she found it thrilling, perhaps addicted to the adrenaline that came with riling him up, the one time she felt like she had the upper hand on him.

She kissed his neck, knowing better than to leave a mark, but at least temporarily leaving a streak of crimson in her wake. Reaching between them, she rubbed his cock through his pants, feeling it harden beneath her until his hips just barely bucked.

“Jesus—fuck, Gloria,” he groaned.

She gently protested his attempt to guide her back onto the bed. “Missionary, missionary,” she teased against his lips. “You know I’m the type of woman who likes variety.”

His nostrils flared, eyes widened at her words, and she resisted the urge to smirk until he’d turned her around, forcing her ass-up on the edge of his marital bed. Only in her black satin slip and panties, the latter were quickly discarded. She licked her bruised lip when she heard him unbuckling his belt, the rustling of fabric preceding his hand slipping between her folds, his fingers feeling the slick that already coated her pussy.

She shuddered at the sensation of him rubbing her clit, and as she gripped the comforter she lay on, she silently determined that if she couldn’t get her pleasure from anyone but him going forward, she’d make sure it was on her terms. She loved sex, which was acceptable for mistresses but apparently not for wives, as the act was then relegated for procreation rather than pleasure. She didn’t see why they couldn't have both.

Michael grabbed Gloria’s hips, and she steeled herself as he pushed his cock inside her, his thrusts deep and slow until she growled, “Harder. I’m not gonna break.”

Her nails dug into the soft fabric beneath her, clawing at it as her back arched, cat-like as she took him deeper, his pace unforgiving, her cries of pleasure filling the room. He had jokingly accused her of being a masochist in the past. She never outright denied it.

“Is this what you wanted all night?” he forced out through gritted teeth.

Her moan wasn’t a good enough response, as he slapped her ass, sending a jolt through her.

“Answer me.”

“I always want you.”

“Only me.”

“Only you.”

With that, he came inside of her, and she humped the bed for that extra bit of friction on her clit, feeling her own orgasm achingly close as she felt his seed filling her. Biting her barely healed lip finally sent her over the edge, and she buried her face in the comforter, lifting it a few moments after riding out her orgasm on Michael’s cock to see a stain of blood, spit, and mascara.

She whimpered when he pulled out of her, her pussy still throbbing from her climax. With aching muscles, she crawled up the mattress, leaning against the neatly made pillows. He undressed, his gaze fixed on her he joined her on the bed, pulling her against his chest, still slightly heaving from the exertion.

“What got into you?” he asked, amusement in his eyes.

“Besides you?” she joked before speaking her next words carefully, ever so manipulatively, “I know we’ve been trying for the baby, but can’t it at least be fun?”

He smiled, kissing the crown of her head. “I don’t see why not.”

After that night, she increasingly split her time between the hotel and his house, slowly getting to know his family better. Carmela was still icy to Gloria when she was able to make it over to the house. Those instances became more scarce, until she could only take so many visitors at her home until one evening in late spring, she passed away.

Melancholy swept over the family at the loss of their beloved mother and grandmother. Gloria regretted not having the time to build a better relationship with the woman, but the more selfish part of her lamented that she would be expected to take up the matriarchal mantle so soon, something she neither desired nor felt prepared for.

“You look beautiful, darling,” Michael murmured, helping her clasp the gold necklace her grandmother had given her for her confirmation, the pendant of the Blessed Mother resting just above her collarbone.

They stood in his bedroom, preparing for the funeral mass and wake that were sure to bring in dozens of people to the cemetery and Corleone compound.

She turned around, forehead wrinkled in concern. “This is about you and your family. I’m not sure if I should even be there.”

“Enough of this, Gloria. You’re going to be my wife, that makes you part of this too,” he said. “There are going to be a lot of people here today, some very important. I need you with me. We need to show strength and solidarity right now.”

“Alright, I—you’re right, Michael,” she said.

Gloria grabbed her black, lace gloves off the dresser, carefully sliding them onto her hands, though she hadn’t noticed until later at the funeral mass that her engagement ring had torn through the delicate fabric.

#the godfather #michael corleone #michael corleone x oc #michael corleone imagine #michael corleone fanfic #the godfather part ii #the godfather fanfic #the godfather imagine #michael corleone x ofc #bruised fruit fic

25 notes · View notes

random-imagines-blog · 1 year

Text

Imagine teasing Ben Harmon by luring him into the shower, only to disappear when he gets in.

Moira and yourself had a little game going to pass the time - who can drive Mr. Harmon more insane than he already is - who can help him to reach his full potential?

And you were winning by a landslide. Moira was playing the onfusing game with the old maid / hot maid routine while you were just straight up coming out of his dreams, only letting him see you, intoxicating perfume, using every weapon in your arsenal to turn him from the stern psychiatrist to the submissive slave.

Right now, you were up to bat. Moira made him seem like a pervert in front of his wife, and now you were going to swoop in while his thoughts were all blurry. Staying in her peripherals, hiding just behind door frames, only showing little bits of leg, back, chest peeking through. He followed like a man starved. Just as he should.

You left clothes in the living room. They’d disappear when you did. Quick clean up. Leading him towards the bathroom. You stood in the doorway, shower turning on by itself, steam filling the space and flowing into the hallway, with your back towards him. Letting him admire the way that your back turned into ass, into thigh.

“Who are you?” He asked, stepping closer, closer. You looked over your shoulder. Caught his eye. You put a finger to your mouth, shushing him, and then beckoned him in closer. Closer. Closer.

He got lost in the steam. He was shedding his clothes. Sweat was erupting from his forehead against the heat. He saw your shape in the shower. He saw you beneath it. The water creating trails down your skin. Into your belly button. The fog covered below that. But he wanted to see. Pants off now. Shirt following. The door closed behind him. He hardly noticed. It got harder and harder to breathe with the oppressive heat. Another step and he’d find you. Another step and he’d finally touch you. He reached and -

His body hit the scalding hot water, and he jumped instinctively out of it, slipping on a puddle and falling back. He could no longer see you but you were laughing now, shaking your head at how easy it was.

“At least you were able to get his ass out,” Patrick appeared beside you, tilting his head to try to get a better look at what Ben was packing between his legs. “I’d say that’s a point to you.”

“Thank you, thank you,” You bowed.

Requested by: Anonymous

#Ben Harmon #Ben Harmon x reader #Ben Harmon imagines #American Horror Story #American Horror Story imagines #x reader #imagines #ahs #ahs imagines #request #benha

42 notes · View notes

alexiskk · 1 year

Note

the prompt with the guitar soemone sent in was adorable - i have another? maybe joel and ellie are playing boggle and ellie is winning by far and bragging and then eventually joel sees the word 'tickle' and ellie gets all nervous and he tickles her as revenge for winning ?

ANON THIS PROMPT IS EVERYTHING TO ME. i had sm fun with it and as always i get very carried away, pretty sure this is my longest fic yet lol

ALSO i literally had to look up the rules of Boggle bc I had never played so if you haven’t either I would maybe watch like a minute tutorial vid on yt just so you get the premise.

here is the one i watched!

https://youtu.be/BJAdXnGAb7k

that’s it enjoy🫶🫶🫶

tw: very mild underage drinking, swearing, lots of sarcasm and fluff

AGAIN I only write Ellie and Joel as a father-daughter relationship, no one be weird or ill punch u

Feelin’ like a Winner Yet?

“Tommy what the hell you have to stay for one more game!”

“Kid, I gotta get goin’ ”

“Ehem Stick in the mud ehm-ehem”

Joel held his fist up to his face and gruffled out a not so subtle cough as he shot his brother side eyes followed by a smug look on his face.

Tommy playfully shoved Joel in his shoulder as he stood up.

“You sir, are the real fuckin’ stick in the mud, and you,-” He raised his eyebrows and pointed at Ellie who was sat criss-cross applesauce across the table from the brothers.

“-you just wanna beat my ass again”

Thursday nights were the best in the Miller house. Often the only night both Tommy and Joel weren’t patrolling and no movie night until tomorrow for Ellie and her friends she’d made in Jackson, so the trio often gathered in the cozy downstairs living room of Joel’s house. The fireplace tucked away in the corner provided warmth throughout the floorboards where we would find the three sat upon surrounding a small coffee table. It also provided the homily cedar smell that lingered throughout the house that Ellie was always quiet fond of, it reminded her of nights camping in the woods with a certain someone. But tonight their was no camping for Ellie, only war against the two brothers in a Miller family classic-Boggle. Ever since Joel picked it up in Salt Lake City on their trek across the US, It had been a game he routinely pulled out whenever Ellie needed reassurance that she was better than Joel at something. Not to mention it it most often ended in laughter filled fights over all the words Joel cheated with. With no surprise, Ellie had dominated 6 out of the last 7 rounds they played tonight by a landslide, only to tie with Tommy in the first, mentioning that she was “just warming up”. But now, her only somewhat worthy competitor was walking out the front door, and she was doing everything in her power to keep from the rest of Boggle night being a snooze fest.

“If you stay i’d let you win!” Ellie pleaded sarcastically.

“Well im stayin’ why don’t you let me win”

“Shut upppp” The whine in her voice was evident as ever as she shot a look to Joel that meant exactly what she had said.

Tommy barked out an entertained scoff at the duo bickering as he slipped on his jacket that was hung on the coat rack by the door.

“Maria needs help with the baby El, you know how much I would love to stay and watch you kick that old man’s ass—again” He threw up apologetic arms.

“If you stay around much longer your ass might get more than just a kickin Tom”

“Anndddd that’s my cue, good luck kid, adios big brother” And with that, Tommy slipped out the front door into the freezing cold of night and headed off towards his and Maria’s house.

Joel leaded his back against the couch he was sat on the floor in front of. He picked up his beer bottle from the table and stared down into it as he swished the remaining liquid around the bottom of the bottle.

“Anddd then there were two” He took a pull from the bottle as he kept his eyes focused on Ellie across the table, who happened to be watching him emphatically.

She drew her eyes to her fingers which were tracing the grain of the dark wooden floorboards, eventually trailing her gaze to the half finished case tucked away on the side of the couch.

“So can I-”

“No” Joel’s stare hardened, this wasn’t the first time she’d asked and it sure wouldn’t be the last.

“One sip?” Ellie threw up her eyebrows as a cheeky little grin crept up on her. She had this man in her back pocket.

He mulled it over in his head for a few seconds while staring up at the ceiling. It always felt like their was no winning with her, in Boggle or argument.

“—Fine”

Ellie sniffed as tried to stifle her growing grin as she caught the bottle as it slid across towards her. What did I say, in her back pocket.

She took a pull of her own with Joel’s judgey stare searing into her but she didn’t care and made it last until she couldn’t fill her mouth any longer. She swallowed hard and grimaced but with the bottle still in hand shot eyes over at Joel, a classic myestvious grin appearing on her face.

“Elliee-Ellie no!”

Joel leaned across the table to snatch it from her hands but it was too late, she had leaned away in time to tip the bottle back and finish off the last of it, taking breaks with each gulp to manage the taste of the foul liquid. Cheeky bastard.

Joel just slumped his elbows onto the the table in defeat.

“What the hell am I gonna do with you”

“Hey, just think, you’ll have a better chance of beating me now-hic”

Her last word got caught in a hiccup from the chug as she slid the empty bottle back to him which he caught and placed with the others.

“Shall we?” Ellie made a grand gesture at the game sprawled on the coffee table.

Joel sighed and rubbed his temples.

“How many more?”

“10 rounds like always,, 3 more if your too old to do the math”

Ellie shook the board as she spoke while Joel rolled his eyes and very lazily grabbed the notebook and ripped two pieces of paper out for them.

“Annnnnnddddddd…..” Ellie held her hand over the cover in anticipation.

“Go!”

She removed it swiftly as Joel flipped the timer and the pair began studying the board.

Ellie pick up her pen immediately and began scribbling down words, Joel taking a few more seconds before following her. He always pretended to look over at Ellie’s words so she quickly put up a hand barrier to block his view.

“Asshat” Joel mumbled, directing his focus back to his own list.

“Says you”

The bickering was non-stop throughout the round until about the last 30 seconds, where both sides became frantic in the search for their final words to connect.

“Times up!” Ellie blurted out as she dropped her pen and began swatting at Joel to stop writing.

Joel swatted back as he finished writing a few last letters. Jesus he needed to practice at this game.

“Welllll how’d ya doooo?” She sat with her list held in her hands.

Ellie was smug as ever this round, with no Tommy there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she didn’t win, so she obviously needed to rub it in Joel’s face as much as possible.

“Don’t patronize me girl” His southern drawl was ever present.

“Fine, I’ll go first then”

She began listing off her words, stopping to cross one off whenever Joel blurted out a mumbled “mine”, to which they would both scribble out the word with their pens. Ellie was quiet surprised with the first 5 out of 8 words they matched on.

“Since when’d you get so smartttt?” Ellie shot him a smiley smug look.

“Don’t push it” Joel paid her no attention and kept his eyes on his list.

But, as Ellie went further down her list, the call outs from Joel became far more seldom, leading her to finish with a whopping 63 points. It was lower than her previous rounds, but her brain function seemed to be slowing down with the night growing later and the alcohol settling into her system.

Ellie twiddled the pen in her hands.

“Soooo you don’t even need to read yours I definitely won right? We can save you the embarrassment.” Ellie reached across the table and went to grab his list when Joel snatched off the surface.

“Uhhh no, not how it works, I could still kick your ass with my crazy good words.” Joel held the list up to the light and put on an imaginary pair of glasses as he squinted up and down at his list.

“Yeahhhhh these look like winners to me alright, buckle up for failure kid”

When in the right mood, Joel loved playing Ellie’s silly antics with her, especially with his brother now gone home he could bring out some of that vulnerability that Ellie always dug out of him one way or another.

“Alright alright start readin’ ya cheater” Ellie crossed her arms she was already for the slew of imaginary words that were headed her way.

To her surprise, Joel started mumbling out more words than he had said all night during this game. After the fourth consecutive actual word, Ellie scurried to her feet and sat over on her knees next to Joel peering over his shoulder as he read to make sure we wasn’t making shit up on the spot.

“Pool”

“Pools”

“Dool”

Ellie flicked him in the back of the head.

“Fix it”

Joel shot her eyes and leaned over to grab the pen from the table.

“can’t even get away with one goddamn word” Joel sarcastically mumbled under his breath as he scribbled out the word.

He went further down his list until he reached the end when he paused and looked back at Ellie once again.

“ I mighta beat ur ass huh?” A menacing grin appeared on Joel’s face as he shook the shoulder she was leaned up on.

“Just count the goddamn points” Ellie was getting a bit frustrated, Joel hadn’t even come close all night, but now he comes outta left field with all of these words? She stared at Joel as he counted up his score, watching to make sure he didn’t try to pull a fast one on her.

Ellie could feel the tension in Joel’s body as she leaned up against him. If the Millers were anything, they were competitive as hell.

All at once, Ellie felt the tension drop in his body as his shoulders slumped forward whilst writing in his final score.

“Awh shit”

Joel threw his pen across the room as he leaned back onto the couch hard. He had a gruff look on his face and turned his head away from Ellie, who had leaned forward to see that his final score had come 2 points shy of hers.

A grin so big she had to bite her bottom lip to keep if from growing couldn’t help but plaster across Ellie’s face as she stared down at the paper.

“Well well well Old man Miller. You talk a lottttt of shit for someone who just lost to a fourteen year old-again.”

Ellie was pulling herself to her feet as she bragged down to Joel who was trying very hard to ignore her, dawning only an angered deadpan stare at the Boggle board in front of him as she spoke.

“I declare, that on this divine night we dub me, thy champion of the Boggle!” Ellie put one foot up on the couch as she shook both her fists wildly in the air. The voice she had taken up reassembled that of a 17 century herald announcing the arrive of a king.

“Now, I see it only fit that thy loser must announce my trrrrriumphant title, as he was indeed, the smartest of asses and therefore-”

“shHHITT”

Joel exclaimed and threw his hands in the air before violently smacking his head with his palm and resting his fingers on his temples.

“What the fuck was that for?…motherfuckin sore loser” Ellie a bit irritated that her celebration was interrupted so quickly, she took her foot off the couch and slowly sat back down, puzzled as to what set Joel off so quickly.

Joel took his head out of his hands and shot her a look of irritated regret. He looked back at the board before pointing down at it.

“ I coulda’ fuckin’ spelt tickle”

Ellie looked over at the board as Joel spoke but when he finished his sentence she didn’t think she could move her body a single inch. She froze and involventarily gulped with her wide eyes glued to the outline of the word Joel had just uttered on Boggle board. She knew if she sat there much longer staring Joel would think something’s off, but there was not a single coherent thought floating in her head at that moment. Somehow with a simple word she had been shut down within seconds. So, she finally mustered up the courage to sit back, where she immediately looked down at the floor and began twiddling her fingers.

“Ahh..yep”

Jesus Ellie really? That’s it? Yep?

Ellie shook her head at her own ridiculously suspicious answer, luckily for her, Joel was in a whole other world, eyes still fixated on the board. He scoffed, absolutely infuriated that he hadn’t seen such an obvious word sooner. He sat back up and started tracing over more new words on the board with his right index.

“Shittt and tickles..and tickled..and-”

“Ok y-yeah we got it”

Everytime he said it Ellie could feel her entire body involuntary cringe. You could hear the shakiness in her voice underneath the irritated tone while she picked at the dirt aggressively from underneath her fingernails, never daring to look up at Joel, who’s attention and glare she could now feel on her due to the interruption.

Joel knew Ellie at this point, maybe sometimes more than she knew herself, and if there was one fact about her that he knew to be true, it’s that she was never shy. especially not with him.

“What’s with you? Seems like you were all hunky dory unti-” Joel cut himself off and stuck his tongue in the bottom of right cheek as his thoughts interrupted him. After a few seconds, his confused expression softened and developed hints at a devious smirk.

“Oh”

He pursed his lips and looked down at the floor as well, almost embarrassed at the knowledge he just acquired. buttttt unfortunately for Ellie, not embarrassed enough.

shit

Ellie stopped and looked up at him when silence filled the air, eyebrows furrowed but she didn’t dare say anything, she just waited. just waited and prepared to run.

Joel sat staring at the floor for a few more seconds when he finally broke the silence.

“Ya know kid,, you have done quite the job wininn’ tonight.”

His gruff nature made it seem like everything he said was truth, but Ellie could hear his familiar sarcasm laced within his words. Her eyes seared into him, meanwhile Joel was simply tracing the designs in the side of the couch.

This was all just a joke to him.

“I feel like I owe you some sort of compensation…whatayouthink?”

Joel finally looked up with the most shit eating grin you could imagine whilst Ellie’s cheeks began filling up with color out of embarrassment.

She was taking no chances. She scurried to her feet and bolted across the room looking for an escape down one of the hallways so that she could climb out a window run to Tommy’s and then-

Shlump

Without even making it halfway across the room, Ellie sealed her own fate. She slipped on the shag rug that sat by the fireplace and had now made friends with the floor.

Unfortunately someone not so friendly was headed her way.

Ellie attempted to return to her escape plan but Joel had jumped up and stomped his way over to her, he now looked down at the girl with one of her ankles in his grasp.

“Graceful”

Joel smirked as he mocked her while she flipped herself over to be facing upwards.

“Shut up”

“You aren’t quite in the position to be making demands El’. In fact you’ve been talkin’ a bittt to much for my likin’. Especially when you got a big secret like that.”

Ellie braced herself for what was coming although she couldn’t help but show her nerves as she twitched aggressively against Joel’s grasp.

“Don’t be an asshole please” nervousness once again settled in her usually snarky demeanor.

“Ehh no promises kid”

With that, Joel dropped her ankle to the floor and dove in with both hands, latching them around her torso. He began digging into the soft spots of her sides with his thumbs while his fingers danced on the backside and let’s just say Ellies composure didn’t last long.

“okokOkHOHOEHEheaoKk JOEHEHEEL” bubbly giggles erupted in the teen causing her to sway side to side across the warm floorboards. The electric ticklish shocks being sent through her body dumbfounded her, causing her to twitch and jerk consistently. She pushed down at Joel’s big calloused hands that was bunching up her t-shirt at the seams but there was no use, the lack of strength from being rendered into a pile a of giggles mixed with Joel’s determination for the task and strength was an impossible combo to beat. She threw her head from side to side as if she was trying to forget about Joel’s rhythmic squeezes that had made their way up to her ribs, but this too had no promising results other than putting a bigger smile onto Joel’s face. He briefly paused his torture but didn’t let up his grasp.

“Feelin’ like a winner yet?”

“Johoheoelllll weHE-we can TAahlk abohout tHiISI-AHAHHAH”

Unbeknownst to Ellie, Joel has pulled her t-shirt up so that it lay on her ribs so that he could bear down and give her the most brutal raspberry’s one had ever seen.

While Joel will admit he is quite shit when it comes to Boggle, this was one game he knew very well. Sarah was always the ornery type with her father, so while Joel hadn’t always been an expert at physical connection, he had plenty of practice at this game, enough to be able to drive Ellie insane.

Anything that Ellie had been holding back up until this point was out the window as Joel’s prickly scruff combined with the eruption of the raspberry on her stomach drove her to madness. Loud laughter and giggles poured out of her as her thrashing became more violent. Joel then pulled her shirt back down and grabbed her flailing arms and held them pinned to the floor at her side.

“JOHAOAHEL AM I FUFHUCKING TEHEEN” Ellie yelled, embarrassed by her flushed red face and post-attack giggles still flowing out of her as she looked up at Joel in anger.

“Nohot cool” She continued to squirm but there was no use, she was still completely stuck.

“N-Noho, what’s not cool is you thinkin’ your all that an a bag of chips for winnin’ ” Joel looked down at her trying to cover up his amusement with her struggles.

“Ever heard of uhhh bragging rights? ohhhh waittttttt you’ve never fucking won so I guess not ” A slightly angered but smug look dawned on her as she sarcastically sassed Joel directly to his face.

Another thing about Ellie that Joel knew was she never knew when to stop pushing, and right now was the not the time or place for her to flaunt her cockiness.

“Huh, so you just wanna get tickled is that it?”

Joel’s nonchalant tone and distracted gaze was met with tension in Ellie’s body at his utterance of that word. She reallly needed to learn to quit whilst she’s ahead.

“You see, cause I think yo-”

Joel’s far gaze was met with something, interesting. To his surprise, laying a few feet to the left of him and Ellie was the black pen he had launched earlier in frustration at his loss. Ellie turned to see the pen as well, but couldn’t quite put the pieces together. Meanwhile Joel’s gears were turning and already ready to put a final revenge attack in motion.

“Welllll since you seem to be so obsessed with titles tonight”

“Joel wha—AC HEY!”

Joel swiftly dropped the grasp on her arms, reached over to grab the pen whilst swinging an arm around to entrap her ankles in his grasp. Like I said, he’s had some practice at this.

“Let’s give you an official one hm?”

Joel removed one of her tattered socks and uncapped the pen with his teeth.

Ellie up until this point had genuinely been confused, but now panic was beginning to set in as she felt the harsh tip of the pen meet the top of the sole of her foot.

“noOH I dOHnT NEHeD it JOEL”

She tried to sit up and push him away whilst squirming her foot, but during her retaliation, Joel saw the resistance and scribbled harshly on the middle of her sole to combat her.

Ellie screamed in response falling back onto the floor and burying her face into her hands at the devilish sensation etched upon her foot. Joel seised the scribble fairly quickly seeing her response and looked back at her.

“Now hold still or this will take longer”

Ellie paused and went to lean back up, but knowing Joel and his word, she leaned back down and braced herself for the sensation.

To her surprise, the process wasn’t quite as torturous as she had expected. While a trail of giggles and “nohoho’s” did seem to escape her when Joel insisted the letters need to be colored in, plus a few complaints from Joel when Ellie couldn’t sit still for the letter positioned in the center of her sole, other than that it was a few minutes of smiley recovery and pure artistry for the pair.

Joel finally threw the pen to the ground and released her ankles from his grasp.

“Now we can show Tommy who won”

Ellie sat up and grabbed her foot to turn it around and look at Joel’s hard work.

“You motherfucker”

Ellie scoffed as she shoved Joel in the shoulder at the results on her sole.

joel miller

the bend of her heel read the old man’s name in the tiniest, scragglyist font imaginable.

“Surprise”

Joel threw up his hands in amusement while Ellie was now doing her best to rub off the very permanent reminder of tonight’s events.

Ellie sighed.

“He’s never gonna believe you beat me at Boggle”

“Who said anything about Boggle?”

#this one so cute #no one look at my spelling mistakes #tlou tickle #tickle fic #tickle fluff #ler!joel #lee!ellie #tickle #the last of us #tlou #tlou fic #the last of us tickle #the last of us fic #anon u rule

53 notes · View notes

captainsophiestark · 2 years

Text

Pub Trivia Dynasty

Kol Mikaelson x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober 2022!

Fandom: The Vampire Diaries/The Originals

Prompt: “It’s my name on the line!”

Summary: Y/N and their best friend, Erica, have an impressive win-streak going at their local bar's pub trivia night. Unfortunately, Erica's out of town this week, which means Y/N needs a new partner. Thankfully, a vampire boyfriend should be a pretty good substitute. Right?

Word Count: 2,809

Category: Angst, Fluff, Humor

A/N: There's kind of a weird amount of hate directed at the Medici family (of Renaissance-era Italy) in this fic. I know nothing about them, so if the shade is undeserved, then my bad. It was for the sake of comedy and the plot.

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"Are you sure you can't make it?"

"Yeah, there's no way I can get out of this trip. My company's already paid for it, and they're counting on me to go. I'm sorry, Y/N."

I sighed, trying not to sound too disappointed. "That's okay, I get it. Have a good trip, and I'll do my best to hold down the fort while you're gone."

"I've got complete faith in you. Just don't get any ideas about permanently replacing me with whoever you get as a stand-in this week, okay?"

"I'd never dream of it. I'll see you when you get back."

"See you then."

I hung up the phone, staring dejectedly at the now-blank screen. My best friend, Erica, was going out of town for a business trip, which wouldn't have been a problem a month ago, but was a very big problem now.

For fun and on a whim, we'd joined a Thursday night Pub Trivia competition at one of our favorite bars in New Orleans, since it was something we'd both enjoyed in college together. We'd absolutely cleaned up on our first night competing, winning by a landslide and scoring some free food and drinks vouchers, and we'd been completely hooked ever since.

We'd attended every week for the past four weeks, and we'd won every single time. Everyone else was starting to get a little annoyed with us, but we didn't care. We were building a dynasty and having the time of our lives doing it.

But now, I needed to find a replacement that could hold their own as my partner for tomorrow night's trivia. I had a four-time win streak that I wanted desperately to extend to five, but I couldn't think of anybody that would be able to do well as Erica.

"Y/N? Hello, are you there love?"

I snapped out of my funk to see Kol, my boyfriend of the last year, looking concerned and waving a hand in front of my face. I sighed.

"Yeah. Hi Kol."

"Darling, what's wrong?" he asked, taking a seat next to me and draping an arm across my shoulders. "Is there someone I need to kill?"

I rolled my eyes. "No. And I've never answered yes to that question, either."

"I know. I keep waiting for the day..."

"Mhmm. Erica's out of town for the week for a business trip, which means I'm stuck without my partner for trivia tomorrow," I said. Kol frowned and leaned back, holding his arms wide as he faced me.

"Well, I'm happy to tell you there's an easy solution to your problem." I raised an eyebrow at him, so he continued. "Right here! Me! I'll be your partner tomorrow."

"I don't know Kol..." I said, trying not to show just how much I did not like that idea. "You know I love you, but... trivia's not really your thing."

"Well, no, but spending time with you is. And hanging out in a bar is definitely something I can do, so... looks like you've got a new partner for tomorrow night!"

I huffed, really not too excited about the idea. But, I also couldn't think of anybody that would be a better option, except maybe Elijah, and I already knew he had stuff going on with Hayley tomorrow night.

"Alright," I finally said, giving in to the inevitable. "You can be my trivia partner, for one night and one night only."

Kol punched the air, then looked at me with a ridiculous grin.

"Darling, you won't regret this."

****************

"Look at them," said Kol, barely holding in a laugh as he spoke. I scowled as I stared down at our whiteboard, trying to think as Kol did literally anything but pay attention. "They're so invested. They're arguing to the point I think they might get in a fight, all about which one of them might have the correct answers. You humans are so strange."

I grit my teeth, holding in a retort as I tried to come up with the right answer. Erica was always the one who took the history questions, since that subject was not my strong suit, and while Kol could've carried some of the weight he'd chosen to people-watch instead of helping me.

Now, we were almost to the last round of the night, and the score was unnervingly close. I was only in the lead by a few points, and if I got this question wrong, I might very well lose the lead altogether.

"And... that's time! Let's see what you all wrote!" called the person running trivia as I frantically scribbled down the first thing I could. I flipped my board and tried not to huck it across the room when I saw my answer didn't match anyone else's.

I frowned as the MC added up all the scores from each of the correct answers. I'd officially lost the lead to a team of guys who'd been trying to take down me and Erica since our second consecutive title, and their cheers and high-fives made me see red.

I couldn't lose.

"Alright, with that, let's take a short break in case anyone needs to pee or get refills, and then we'll get started with our final round in ten minutes!" called the MC cheerily. Everyone stood and stretched, or went to go do something with their time, but I didn't move an inch.

"Well, this has been fun, but I can't say I'm not happy it's almost over," said Kol, stretching and staring around the bar with a grin. "I just don't see the appeal of trying to take a test in a bar while you could be doing just about anything else."

Kol turned to me, clearly looking to share the joke, but I just stared back with fury coursing through my veins. The smile on his face faltered, turning into a look of concern.

"Y/N? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Are you seriously asking me that right now Kol!" I hissed, keeping my voice low to avoid throwing a scene. With his vampire hearing, I knew he got every word even if I didn't yell.

"I don't understand-"

"No! You don't! Clearly!" I paused, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath before continuing. "This is important to me. You know this is important to me. And instead of helping me and at least trying to enjoy yourself, you're being a dick and making fun of the whole thing!"

Kol opened his mouth to speak, but I held up a hand to cut him off. I wasn't done with my piece yet.

"Kol, this might seem stupid to you, but the reputation I've built in this competition with Erica matters to me. It's my name on the line! And you don't have to like it, but dammit, if you really don't even want to try to enjoy this for my sake, then just go home. I'd rather lose by myself than with my boyfriend next to me, laughing at something I genuinely enjoy."

Kol gaped at me, clearly at a loss for words. I stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed and turned away. I needed another drink, especially if this last round ended up going the same way as the ones before it.

As I walked back to my table from the bar, the two guys who were now in the lead waved at me, confident grins on their faces.

"Hey, looks like you might finally lose your crown tonight!" one called, gesturing to the scoreboard. I grinned back at him, mustering a lot more confidence than I actually felt.

"In your dreams. I'm just trying to keep you coming back for more in the weeks to come. Don't want you both giving up after getting blown out of the water four weeks in a row, right?"

They laughed and waved me off, throwing a few more taunts my way as I went. I couldn't help a small smile at the interaction; our semi-friendly trash talk was one of my favorite parts of the night, although I had to admit, I'd probably enjoy it a little less if they beat me tonight.

When I got back to my table, I honestly wasn't expecting Kol to be there. To my surprise though, he was, sitting with the whiteboard in his lap and the marker in his hand.

"I'm sorry," he said, jumping in before I could ask what he was doing. "I convinced you to let me come, and then I just made fun of everything all night. I know this is important to you, and I'm sorry I didn't treat it that way. Let me make it up to you?"

I smiled at him, gently setting my drink on the table before moving over and giving him a kiss on the cheek. He smiled back at me as I pulled away, relief in his eyes.

"Make it up to me by helping me crush those fuckers over there," I said, nodding my head towards the two guys who'd officially become my archnemeses. Kol grinned at me.

"If I'd realized just how bloodthirsty you were for trivia, I would've gotten on board sooner."

****************

"Alright, final question of the night..." started the MC, drawing out the tension in the room. Kol and I had made one hell of a comeback with the last nine questions, and it had only taken a round or two of being competitive to a slightly insane degree to get Kol completely on board with trivia. Now, he was acting just like one of us dumb humans he'd been laughing at earlier.

Despite our combined success, the competition between us and our rivals still came down to this question. Whoever got it right would win the game.

"What..." started the MC, taking his time in answering the question to create the most suspense possible. I clenched the whiteboard marker tight in my first, and Kol was just as tense next to me. "...is the name of the man who ruled Florence in the second half of the fifteenth century? He was a poet, and a known supporter of such great names as Botticelli, da Vinci, and Michelangelo."

I swore and threw my head back, lamenting our inevitable defeat. I had no idea who that could be, because history was Erica's specialty, and I had forgotten most things I'd learned in history throughout my education as soon as the test was over.

"Give that to me," Kol ordered, taking the whiteboard and marker out of my hands. I frowned at him, confused, but he had a determined look on his face as he scribbled out a name.

"Kol... do you seriously know the answer to this?"

"Yes," he huffed. "Lorenzo de Medici was a self-important prick, and I wouldn't normally support modern humans remembering him, but we are not losing this damn thing, so it's worth it."

I laughed in disbelief, a smile slowly spreading to my face all the same.

"Wow. You are incredible. And also so old."

Kol shot me a teasing glare, then held the whiteboard to his chest protectively. He stared at the MC with incredible intensity, and honestly I was about two seconds away from grabbing the collar of his jacket and making out with him.

Before I could, however, the MC spoke again. He asked for a drumroll, then told us all to turn our whiteboards around. Kol flipped ours with force, a triumphant grin on his face, and when I looked at the whiteboard of our competitors I found the name "Cosimo de Medici" written there.

"Kol...?" I asked, looking to him and then nodding in the direction of our competition. He just scoffed.

"Wrong. Cosimo died well before Michaleangelo was born. Absolute prats."

"The guys over there or the Medicis?"

"Both."

I couldn't hold back a laugh as the MC finished checking all of our answers, then made a note on his score sheet. The whole bar waited for him to announce the winner with bated breath. I reached out to take Kol's hand and tried to keep from having a heart attack.

"Alright, and the correct answer to the question is... Lorenzo de Medici!" yelled the MC. I let up a cheer and jumped in the air, Kol joining me in the celebration. "And that means Y/N and Kol are the winners tonight! The undefeated streak continues, although it was a close one tonight! We'll see if next week anyone can take them down!"

I heard some cheers and grumbles from the crowd around us, but I ignored them all as I turned to Kol. This time, I didn't hold back, and I grabbed the lapels of his jacket to pull him to me tightly. He wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me off the ground as I kissed him, hard.

"We won," he breathed as we finally broke apart, his forehead still resting on mine as he held me close. "And it felt amazing."

"Damn right it did," I replied. "You did great, too. Thank you for giving pub trivia a chance."

"Of course. I'm just sorry I didn't do it sooner." We locked eyes then, and Kol gave me a crooked grin. "We would've blown those fools out of the water by a much better margin."

I smiled, happiness bursting in my chest as I kissed him again. Still, we were in the middle of a bar, so I didn't let it go on for too long. We pulled apart, and a few minutes later, we received our prize for winning: vouchers for free food and drinks.

"So, do you want to stay and use these tonight, or next week?" asked Kol, holding up the pieces of paper. I grimaced. "What?"

"Well, about that... uh... damn, I didn't think this was going to be so hard." I paused to take a deep breath, trying not to feel too guilty as Kol raised an eyebrow at me. "It's just... Erica's gonna be back next week."

"So?"

"So I'll be doing trivia with her." Kol's mouth dropped open in outrage, and I quickly put my hand on his arm as I tried to placate him. "I'm sorry! But it's been our thing since we were in college, and now that we're finally both in the same city again, I can't just ditch her-"

"Even for the love of your life?" Kol demanded.

"Even for the love of my life... I'm sorry baby!"

Kol scoffed and shrugged me off. He crossed his arms and looked across the bar, feigning nonchalance.

"Fine then. I guess I'll just have to come back with a new teammate next week, too, and take you and Erica down."

"Kol, come on," I said. "Don't be ridiculous. You didn't even want to do trivia until, like, twenty minutes ago!"

"No," he conceded, turning back to me with a truly evil grin. "But it ended up being fun. And I've realized just how much I love seeing you absolutely ruthless. What better way to see that again than challenging your reign?"

"Kol-" I stopped short, trying to think of something to say that would knock some sense into him. "Who the hell do you think you're going to be able to talk into doing this anyway, besides me?"

"Elijah," he said simply. My eyes went wide at the idea. Elijah would kill at trivia. "He's always wanting to do more family bonding nonsense, so if I frame it like that, he'll be here in a heartbeat."

I swore and turned, trying to think through some kind of training plan for Erica and I to get ready for our new challengers, but my planning was interrupted by Kol hugging me tight from behind. He kissed me on the cheek, and I could feel the smile on his face even though I couldn't see it.

"Relax, Darling. A little competition will be good for you. It'll help keep you from getting complacent." I huffed in annoyance, but Kol just chuckled. "Now come on. We just won against all the odds. I think that calls for a little celebration, don't you?"

I sighed, then turned as Kol loosened his grip on me and gave him a smile.

"Yeah, it does," I agreed. Kol and I shared a smile as he passed me one of the vouchers for a free drink, and I started heading for the bar as I continued. "Besides, you need to celebrate while you still can. Because, you know. This is the last win you're getting at this bar."

I glanced over my shoulder to find Kol grinning at me like a devil, and I felt a thrill go through me at the sight.

"Oh my love, you have no idea what you've just started."

102 notes · View notes

the-tripping-and-the-touching · 1 year

Text

Landslide (series)

Part Three

Pairing: Josh x reader

Word Count: 3.5k

Summary: You've lost something in a hiking accident... are you prepared for it to come back?

Warnings: cuddling, poor eating(?), argument

MASTERPOST

Playlist

A shrill ringing snapped your eyes open in the darkness. His string lights had shut off on their timer, so it took a moment to adjust to the pitch of the room as Josh quickly sprung from his sleep, leaning over you to shut off his phone and mess with it for a few seconds before settling back down next to you. The sharpness of the alarm had caused you to instinctively push yourself up onto your right elbow, which now gave you the vantage point of getting to look down at him from above. Despite the absence of light, he still seemed to shine, his teeth glimmering in the little light that did find its way to the bed and his cheeks a pale pink that was so pretty you felt determined to keep them that shade forever, if only in your memory.

“Josh, what time is it?” The words scratched their way through your throat as you let yourself fall forward, head positioned on his chest as his arm instinctively wrapped around your shoulders.

“It’s three.” He offered the information nonchalantly, like it was some obvious part of his routine that you should be accustomed to, as he brought his right hand to rest at the top of his stomach. Your left hand felt its way up his side, brushing over the array of raised but healing cuts on his own hand and landing across his body, a motion that made him clear his throat as the soft shirt he’d chosen to wear rode up a bit, exposing his navel.

“Why were you planning on waking up at three in the morning?” The sky outside was inky blue as the stars twinkled and the moon let some light into the room. A stuffed brown bear that you had won Josh at a fair years ago sat up on his windowsill, accompanied by candles and some sort of plant. The bear, who Josh had chosen to name Smokey, sported a red bow around its neck and a slightly burnt patch on its left ear, from which it earned its name.

You remembered the exact moment that you won Smokey for him: The two of you had been in a fight and hadn’t spoken for three days (a new record back then), but the tickets had been prepaid and your families weren’t going to change their plans over an argument. You had decided the tension was unbearable after an hour, so you set out for the easiest game you could find, which ended up being one of those where you had to toss ping pong balls into little bowls. When you’d handed the bear to Josh after winning it, the dumb smile he’d given you wiped the slate clean for both of you, evident from the way he grabbed your hand to lead you away towards the petting zoo. A warm feeling washed over you now as you came back to the present to find yourself almost dozing off into Josh’s chest. The room was silent again, so you decided to make sure that he was still awake, “Josh?”

“Yeah sorry, I… I’ve been waking up a couple times a night to come check on you. I turned the earlier alarms off because I figured I’d still be awake, but you kind of sent me straight to sleep with the warmth.” The rasp in his voice echoed through his chest in a way that was driving you crazy. Almost as crazy as the notion of him disturbing his own sleep to make sure you were alright. Multiple times. All of a sudden the dark circles and heavy eyelids made sense. “I should probably get back to sleep, I have to go back to the studio tomorrow morning.”

“Do they need me?” You were curious about your place of employment, especially after the way Josh had described it just a few hours before.

“No, no I called in and let our boss know what had happened, he gave you another week off. Either way it’s probably better for you to have time to gain some memory of the studio if you can, readjusting could be difficult without it.” His right hand moved up to rest on top of your forearm as you both drifted back to sleep in each other’s hold.

When you finally woke back up, the bed was empty, but the comforter and sheet had been pulled up to cover your shoulders. The sun was shining in at an angle that hurt your eyes, so you rolled over to face Josh's desk. Since there really wasn’t much else to do, you decided that the day would be spent looking around the house, refamiliarizing yourself with the space and hopefully gaining back some of the lost time.

A loud growl came from your stomach as you pulled the sheets down, making the kitchen the perfect place to start. As cereal poured into a little ceramic bowl, a rack of mugs in the corner caught your eye. They were definitely hand painted, one of them with your name brushed onto it and another with Josh’s. The others were decorated simply with flowers and leaves or plain block coloring. When you thought about where you could’ve made all of these without spending hundreds at one of those commercial pottery places, you recalled sneaking the items into the kiln at work one by one over the course of several months.

The resurfacing of the memory excited you so much that you felt the need to tell Josh about it immediately.

You • 9:48

Was it your idea or mine to use the art studio’s kiln for our mugs?

Knowing him, a response probably wouldn’t come for a while, so you opted to slowly walk around the living space as you ate. There were watercolor paintings of birds along with feathers framed above the sink, decor undoubtedly from the bird watching phase Josh went through when you’d first arrived in Oregon and he dragged you to the school’s activities fair. His Birding Club membership was short lived, but it was another thing you could add to your list of new recollections.

The hutch in the corner was filled with little jars, labeled on the lids with painters tape and marker. You opened the door and chose one that was filled to the brim with a red substance. The lid read “raspberry jam - june 30”, so you cracked it open. It wasn’t bad, but you accepted that owning a preserves business probably wasn’t in the cards for you or Josh as you set it back in its place and closed the glass paneled door gently.

A vase of sunflowers sat directly in the center of the round kitchen table, and it reminded you of when you’d first moved in and how Josh had gone hunting for plants until it got dark, because you had mentioned wanting to liven up the place. That certainly wasn’t an issue now. Greenery was everywhere, huge planters of succulents beneath the kitchen windows and small tins of herbs on the far end of the kitchen counter.

You placed your bowl in the sink and padded across the entryway to the living room. A plush green couch was the focal point of the area, paired with an orange upholstered coffee table. The bay window to your left let in so much light that the stained glass lamp on the table behind the couch glistened as you walked past it.

As you lowered yourself onto the plush cushions, you couldn’t help but think about how much sense the space made, for you and Josh. The two of you had sort of grown into hippies together, a fact that both of your guys’ parents made sure to gripe about often as possible during your teen years. But the house wasn’t like some teenager’s room. It was grown up, in the best way possible. You’d always imagined growing old with Josh, but seeing it starting to come to life around you was comforting to an almost overwhelming point.

Once you confirmed that each of the plants in the front room looked well taken care of, you made your way to your own bedroom. It seemed softer, more inviting, in the light of late morning. You didn’t have all of the posters that hung from the walls of your room back at your parents’ house, but the ones you did bring along were artsy, like you’d brought a Pinterest board to life.

There was a small amount of clutter on your dresser and bedside table, but what caught your eye was the photos on each of them. The dresser sported a framed polaroid of Josh, just facing the camera and giving a small smile. It was your bedside table that really held gems for you. Josh winked at you from the frame propped up on the surface, bringing a smile to you when your phone chimed beside it as you sat on the side of your mattress.

Josh • 10:16

All you

Really tapped into your mischievous potential with that one ;)

You • 10:17

You’re just a bad influence on me.

What do you have going on right now?

The other photos, on the wall above the bedside table, brought out a light laugh as your attention shifted back to them. One was so blurry it barely held any description of his form at all. In the middle, he held a finger to his mouth in faux contemplation. You reminisced about the reaction being to you asking if he’d like to go inside to watch a movie, which brought you to the third and final photograph on the wall. He held his hand to his face in embarrassment after seeing the camera’s flash go off during the previous pose. Your attention was once again taken by your phone.

Josh • 10:21

Influence? Yes. Bad? Debatable.

We’re on break right now, lunch will probably be in a couple hours

Not sure when I’ll be back, but I can bring us dinner if you want?

You • 10:21

Sounds great, get whatever you feel like

Just looking at these beautiful pictures of you up on my wall <3

Josh • 10:22

God I should’ve ripped those down while you were in a coma

Joking! (not)

Have fun, I’ll be home asap :)

You • 10:23

Coma jokes are sooo two days ago

Can’t wait for you to get back, see you then

You turned your phone off and stood, not entirely sure what to do next, until you spotted the huge bin of lavender on your windowsill. The connection instantly formed between the bin and the mystery plant in Josh’s room. His door stood open as you made your way out of your own room and into his, immediately resting your eyes on the small vase next to his candles. It was a little yellow pitcher that was heavier than you expected, and upon inspection you found the reason to be that it was filled with small pebbles and sand. The dried flowers made a pleasant noise as they shifted against each other with each small tilt of the container.

The pitcher made a soft clink as you set it back down and sat on the foot of the bed. Noticing the way the covers were bunched under you, you decided it was only fair that you could straighten up his bed after he’d tucked you in that morning. After the sheets were pulled taught and pillows fluffed, you let your eyes drink in the warmth of his room.

It was nice that you were able to keep the feeling that things gave you, even if you couldn’t exactly remember them. The comfort that radiated from everything in his room was enough to make you sleepy again, causing you to lay down on top of the duvet and turn to face his wall.

You smiled when you saw he’d used scotch tape to hang up some sketches, and it turned into a self satisfied grin when you realized that they were of him. By you. Last year you’d made him pose for you, due to your art class having a complete lack of male students willing to model for form practice. He’d asked you if he could keep them, and when you made a joke about being vain, he informed you quietly that he enjoyed collecting your art.

Now that you thought of it, he didn’t seem to be lying. For years he’d asked if he could take stray sketches or discarded pieces from you, even, no, especially when you seemed to have a distaste for them. You wondered where he could possibly have been keeping all of these as your eyelids grew heavy and closed on their own accord, the soft scent of him lulling you to sleep.

When a slam echoed through the house, you jolted up from your spot on the now mussed bed. The clock above his bed read 7:26 as you heard shuffling around the kitchen and the sound of a paper bag crinkling. You rose from the bed and made your way down the hall to find Josh unloading containers onto the counter in a disorderly line.

“Hey, you didn’t answer my text so I just stopped by your favorite place in town when I got off.” He gave you a smile as he explained the spread in front of him. You checked your phone to find three messages from him, spaced 5 minutes apart with the last one delivered 40 minutes ago.

Josh • 6:36

I was thinking the taverna for dinner

Josh • 6:41

See typically one would respond to an idea that concerns them and their sustenance

Josh • 6:46

If you wake up before I’m back at least you’ll know where I am

“How did you know I was asleep?” An amused smile spread across your lips as he let out a soft chuckle and shook his head.

“You always text me back within five minutes,” he folded the bag after pulling the last container of food out, “unless you’re sleeping. In which case I don’t get a response until I wake you up myself.” You reached past his hip to pull a serving spoon out of the drawer in front of him, flourishing it with a dramatic exaggeration you thought he would appreciate. And appreciate it he did. He tipped his head back in a laugh for a few seconds in a way that made you wish you had a camera in your hands at the ready.

Once the spoon was in his hand, he used it to point to each dish as he listed them off and then peel their to-go containers open. You let him fix both of your plates as you grabbed napkins and forks to set the table and a glass of water for each of you.

Yet when the time came to eat, you found yourself picking around the food with your fork as Josh regaled you with the tales of his first day back. “Everyone misses you, like an insane amount. It took a lot of convincing to stop them from coming over here and breaking the door down to check that you’re still alive.” He stopped, looking at you and then the plate of food that had barely been eaten. “Why aren’t you eating anything?”

“If I can be totally honest, none of it really seems good to me.” You gave him an apologetic half smile, but it wasn’t good enough.

“Did you try the halloumi? You love the way they fry it here. And I know their moussaka might not look the most appetizing, but I usually have to fight you for this stuff.”

“Josh I’m sure it’s great, I just don’t really like it. I’ll have something else, you can have the leftovers tomorrow or something.” The way his eyes tightened at the corners put a pit in your stomach.

“I just don’t get it. This is your favorite place that we go to eat.” Hopelessness was the leading note in his voice, though it stayed warm. The pitiful smile he paired it with was too much to bear in the moment.

“Yeah well maybe the fucking coma changed that Josh. I don’t really know.” As soon as you realized you snapped at him your face fell in regret. “Sorry, I just don’t want to have this right now. I didn’t mean to get angry with you.”

“No, it’s fine. I was pushing you.” A fond smile found its way to his face as he asked, “Maybe we could bowl on the Wii? I’ve been waiting to beat your high score.” The way he seemed to drop the tension dissolved the pit in your stomach, but his new suggestion puzzled you.

“Since when do we play Wii bowling? It’s like you barely even know me tonight.” You punctuated the sentence with a laugh, but seeing the new face he was making made you realize the joke fell flat. It was stony, his jaw set as he pointed his gaze down at the grain of the table.

“Or you just don’t know yourself anymore.” He pushed away from the table in silence and quickly walked to his room. The door didn’t slam, but the firmness with which he closed it echoed through the room for a moment. You hadn’t meant to make him upset, certainly not as much as he was.

TIme slowly ticked by as your fingers tore the pita in front of you into little pieces until they were too small to rip anymore, suddenly suffering from lack of appetite. You figured the least you could do was pick everything up for him, so you snapped the lids of the takeout containers shut once the leftovers were inside, putting them in the fridge.

The dishwasher was set to start a new load, so you made space for the night’s dishes and silverware and pressed the button. Your arms folded themselves over your chest as you looked around the empty kitchen, cold despite the soft yellow light that shone over the entire area. There wasn’t anything else to do all by yourself out there, so you made the walk to your room in silence, closing your door for the first time since coming back home.

It had turned into one of those nights where even getting into your pajamas was exhausting, but you pushed through. The words Josh said echoed through your mind as you made the risky journey to the bathroom to shower and brush your teeth, and remained there still as you crawled under your sheets for the night.

Falling asleep hadn’t been an issue in recent days, and wasn’t usually, but tonight a certain obstacle stood in your way. As you settled into your pillows, the sound of sobs infiltrated the walls. You couldn’t be sure what they were at first, but as soon as the distinct sound of muffled cries and desperate shaky breaths made themselves clear to you, nothing could seem to drown them out.

Going to see him wasn’t an option now, despite how desperate you were to hold him and apologize. Now that you actually had time to think about it, playing games on the cheap system the two of you had thrifted really was your favorite way to pass the time. He was right. It was like Josh knew you better than you knew yourself now. And you knew Josh well enough to know that going to see him now wouldn’t help either of you, even with your newfound clarity. There was no option but to push through the night.

The music you turned on couldn’t drown out the sobs coming from him, and either way every song you tried to play seemed to remind you of Josh one way or another. Placing a pillow over your head didn’t help in muffling the noise either. It sounded like he was laying right next to you, mourning the person you once were, though it felt like he may as well have been oceans away. Except he wasn’t on either account. He was one room over crying so hard the sound broke through walls and snaked through vents and under doors.

You tried not to, but all you could picture when you closed your eyes was how red his must have been. How his body must have been wracking and how his eyelashes must have been sticking together. He’d only cried like this in front of you a handful of times. It was how he cried when he experienced loss. Death. He was grieving the death of the person he had spent half of his life and moved across the country with. He was alone, in the dark, heartbroken over the loss of who he’d grown to know as his best friend. And that thought was what stuck with you as tears formed in your own eyes, dragging you down to sleep.

Note: I have some unfortunate news: Landslide is going on hiatus. More news here

#josh kiszka fic #josh kiszka x reader #josh kiszka #gvf fic #landslide fic

30 notes · View notes

groundbreakingdot872 · 1 year

Text

update on how my family’s managing after DotD

“tell them we’re devastated” HAHA

no joke christmas was ruined- felt the evil energy of the bbc merlin writers ten years ago, running through my veins, as I clicked on part 2 on prime video ;)

they soldiered through the first part like champs, only small comments on Arthur’s round table speech they wondered how Elyan’s seat had been replaced and immediately clocked Eira as a traitor bc ‘that’s something the show always does 🙄’

sisters were crying when Merlin was stuck in the crystal cave, and I was crying when he walked up the landslide of rocks after Balinor and disappeared into a halo of white light..

then the second episode started and I was

s h a k i n g

(still hearing the words ‘just really sad’ and ‘I can’t believe it’ and ‘she tricked us 😦’ in the living room as I type this up, and it’s been way more than 24 hours later…)

Gwen was so badass! 🥰 and Merlin was out there winning! And I remembered why this was so terrible the first time, the show works hard to give us this false sense of security.

I clicked on the episode knowing that within 5 minutes Arthur would be stabbed and I’d be able to retire from my long career as a loving older sister.

It was literally a ‘gasps hears around the world’ kinda moment, they all sat up and then, my second youngest sister the Mordred stan (she dressed up as him for our s2 finale costume contest) burst into tears! and I actually felt really bad.

But then the magic reveal!

It was deadly quiet when Merlin revealed his magic and there were a few long sighs when Arthur turned away to say ‘leave me’. I was pretty much inconsolable and this is my third rewatch personally. They did! make the connection between Merlin’s ‘fire dragon’ from ‘Moment of Truth’ and the one from this ep however :)

Then we had the long haul of waiting for the beginning of the real end really, and I was relieved to hear them giggle when Arthur and Merlin reminiscenced about their first market place fight, and Merlin’s ‘charm’.

then… The Real End

Of course my little brother (if you remember him from his story ‘Morgana’s Weak Quickening) had to gloat about how Merlin had ended her, just as he’d predicted, and everyone was shushing and glaring at him because it wasn’t the time lmao

I was already crying for real by the time Merlin had Arthur in his arms and they were exchanging their last words, and I was surprised to find later that they did! hear Arthur say ‘just hold me… please’ because I hadn’t heard it on my first watch.

There were no gasps or shouts when Arthur died, just silence…

No one jumped when the truck came on scene as a jumpscare (I was kind of mad at myself for getting startled even though I knew!), and then Merlin crossed our tv screen for the last time and I let the end credits play in full.

They shushed me after I attempted to speak in the two minutes after the credits ended, and it was so quiet for the next ten minutes I thought I broke them…

Their reactions:

Sister 1: ‘Wh-hat..?’

Sister 2: ‘HE DIDN’T DESERVE TO DIE’ (Mordred😵‍💫)

Sister 3: ‘But Gaius didn’t die?? I didn’t put ‘Arthur dies’ on my theory list…’

Brother: ‘I TOLD YOU SO. But… now I’m a little sad :(‘

Afterwards, I promised I’d let them all loose to look up any ‘spoilers’ for the show they wanted. (We have an unofficial rule that whenever we’re watching anything for the time, we can’t look up anything related for fear of spoilers. And I’m a very strict drill sergeant about this 🫡)

But they weren’t very interested…

Our Christmas morning was noticeably sadder. And I wondered again how families in 2012 had coped when their kids had struggled through the unfairness of the finale and still had to open presents the next morning… a mystery really…

They spent the whole. day. watching edits and playing sad music in the living room (to which my parents were very confused) and coming up to me to either rant or fight about the finale haha

Now my sister (the piano playing one) is learning how to play ‘Solas’ by Jamie Duffy on the piano bc she says it reminds her of Diamond of the day and she’s been very determined! All break, she’s been getting up to play ‘Solas’ and ‘Bond of Sacrifice’ and ‘The Love Theme’ and I’m proud of her, for getting this far and only a little concerned

- I think the kids are gonna be alright? lmao

They’ve made plans for fanart and fanfics and alternative endings and I think I’ve fully recruited them into the immoral fandom (if not happily) although I’m sure they’ll recover soon enough to join us in bittersweet reminiscence next year :)

oh! forgot to add one last thing

after rewatching ‘A Dragon’s Call’ last night my brother had one thing to say. “Arthur says ‘there’s something about you Merlin’ …but that something was that he would die in Merlin’s arms…” LMAO I almost died on the spot but I’m glad to see they’ve inherited the fandom’s morbid (or Mordred ;) sense of humor

#anyways that was the update that was longer than anyone asked for lol #but I’ve had so! much fun with them this year #from costume contests (where they all looked very accurate to the characters) sword replicas #photo shoots!#contests where we memorize lines #a ‘Camelot baking contest’ with a fake rat stew complimentary of me ;)#weird phrases we’ve made our own like ‘Ygrained in your brain’#and watching every comic con interview video diary and behind the scenes bloopers #we’ve had a VERY fun year #I’m glad I was able to make this an overall enjoyable experience for them and bond with them along the way #do I get an award for my recruitment efforts or what? lmao #:)#bbc merlin #diamond of the day #happy tenth anniversary

20 notes · View notes