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muninnhuginn · 8 months

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Season Two Link Click Thoughts

I've put this below a cut because it gets long, but these are just my assorted thoughts on s2 in general. It's going to be waaaay more opinions than my usual speculationy kinda deal and contains spoilers for all of season two.

I hit character limit on my bullet points so I think that's my cue to leave it at that even though I have more thoughts honestly. I didn't even know that was a thing.

Pacing. I think pretty much everyone can agree that the pacing was... dubious. This series could have easily been shorter or had different meaningful content rather than repeated footage reuse for flashing back and overly extended fight scenes (episode 7? I think it was, was particularly egregious about this). I get there's presumably a fanbase for fight scenes and I won't contest that they were really nicely choreographed, but sometimes it felt like you'd take a break from actual events to spend ten minutes on a fight scene that didn't really... further anything else? I do enjoy recontextualisation and I recognise that that does require reusing some aspects of footage rather than entirely reanimating scenes when there's no need to, but at the same time, this is a series that is lowkey set up for binging. Flashing back so frequently when it's a series specifically engineered to make you binge it (hi constant cliffhangers) seems an odd recipe. I almost wonder how much of this was for production reasons, though maybe I'm overreaching here.

Linked to this is the overuse of cliffhangers. Season 1 had some cliffhangers, yeah, but it at least had breaks between arcs and more importantly, didn't repeatedly move the chronology of scenes purely to service an artificial cliffhanger.

Art and animation was mostly very nice. There were two episodes that did suffer art-wise (episodes three and eleven) with various off-model faces, but for the most part it was all pretty solid and I don't have any complaints about the animation. My favourite part of the art is still the almost rainbow outlines you get around objects. It made scenes like the Lu Guang speedboat one look gorgeous with the lights and colour on the water.

Mystery. Okay, so for all my qualms I genuinely think the mystery aspects were almost perfect. There were a couple of places I feel they somewhat 'cheated' but otherwise (the twin with the photo in the hospital doorway looking like tianxi in a close up shot. and then cxs/wj acting possessed in ep 6 but having their eyes appear normal at first and only having them changed the next episode. I'm fine with false negatives on the eyes when the audience isn't yet cued in on a possession, but in this case it looked like they were possessed up until the eyes showed otherwise)? Everything made total sense and tied together by the end. Even going into episode 12 we had a couple of gaps in scenes in Chen Bin and Liu Lan's death that I think it would be incredibly easy to overlook considering we "knew" what happened in them, but the hints were there in both cases that there was more to it and those hints paid off. Even Liu Xiao's identity worked just fine without the hat guy visual. All the hints were there about a younger favoured brother of the Liu family, Li Tianchen's new friend being a rich "Master Liu", him being abroad studying but stated as "soon to return" (which he then did). There are so many threads and they all tied together by the end such that even if I didn't always agree with the delivery, I do think this season is worthy of being called an excellent mystery.

Characters. So, okay, we introduced a whole host of new characters this time which was a choice. This sorta worked sorta didn't. The arcs of Qian Jin and the twins all tied together thematically and episode 9 was pretty explicit drawing the parallels together. However, we had characters like Qiao Ling not getting much new material at all despite a hopeful start with her scene about "wanting to be trusted".

Unfortunate implications (my head automatically goes to TV Tropes with this :V). Mainly surrounding the use of female characters as devices to propel the male characters. LTX is the most obvious instance (I shouldn't have to explain why), but Wang Juan was also treated as though she would be important and then largely shunted off to apply more pressure to XL; Liu Min's mum taking the hysterical role. On their own they may not be too bad, but I guess it's that it's combined with the stuff around Emma from s1 where the big 'twist' in the finale is killing her once there's a hope spot, and also added to how the mother in the Doudou episode is the one who's reverted to a younger age, whilst the dad is exhausted. Just a whole load of stuff that individually on their own don't necessarily mean anything but when put together forms a pattern I'm not super comfortable with? I do get the impression that show is well-meaning in terms of this stuff (QJ and LF especially point that way) but feel like it still fell down in a few places and could have done better with these aspects.

Lu Guang going back to save CXS confirmed. Admittedly I am incredibly biased to this type of plot, but I'm so glad they confirmed it. We haven't been given many specifics around when he went back from/to and I imagine we'll get more next season so I'm holding off judgement on all that for now (the paradox implications have me a bit worried but until we know more about the mechanics I can't judge). That said, I really liked the scene where it was comfirmed (the darkened shot of Lu Guang covered in blood my beloved) and am thinking that Qiao Ling having knowledge of Lu Guang's memories will mean she has to play a bigger role next season. There's no point in giving her that knowledge if it won't go somewhere. Relatedly, it seems like dying does pass on the powers and that's how we got LTX->QL and CXS->LG. It doesn't seem like Qiao Ling fully realises though if she has got Tianxi's powers (and it's been two months), but I suppose it's not exactly something you *would* realise if you didn't know what you were looking for or had previous experience with these powers.

I do genuinely think that this season was a case where the new characters were written around the existing ideas of the story and the themes which means they're interesting to analyse but I didn't feel like moments hit anywhere near as emotionally as season one? I think the parts where season two was able to approach season one's level of emotion were mainly around the twin's backstories. Meanwhile Qian Jin and Xiao Li's whole deal is interesting in theory but in practice I didn't have much reason to care for Xiao Li. Suffering to make the audience empathise only really "works" if there's more beyond that.

Lu Guang-Li Tianchen parallels make me sad. There are plenty of similarities in how they treat CXS and LTX respectively but I keep thinking of how their final choice in s2 is to either commit to preserving the past (Lu Guang with CXS) or to let go of the past (Li Tianchen with LTX and his mum). And how typically, clinging to the past is seen as a bad thing and letting it go a good thing. But in this case it's almost the opposite? I'm not saying it's healthy for Lu Guang to deny Cheng Xiaoshi's death, but I do think the story will eventually align behind him on this choice. And I think that Li Tianchen leaving the past behind in this case is more about trying to forget his trauma and in the process just digging himself deeper, deliberately choosing to forget the very person he fought to protect.

General s3 spec (keeping it brief). Li Tianchen confirmed that he obtained Liu Min's phone for Liu Xiao and it has info on it Liu Xiao needs but we still don't know what's on it beyond Qian Jin's comment about "family secrets". In terms of Liu Xiao himself, he didn't get much airtime but what he did have he made count. He mentioned about wanting to make "uncertainties into certainties" and the idea that there are "parallel lines". This pretty much sets him up against Lu Guang in terms of aim and seems to suggest our understanding of time travel mechanics is about to get a serious update next season. Also, the new "paranormal section of the police force" seems incredibly pointed. I don't really want it to get a huge focus honestly but with the way the scope has widened each season I don't think I'll get my wish.

#link click #link click spoilers #shiguang daili ren spoilers #long post #sorry I've just been sorta adding to this in a fugue state without checking any of the actual episodes for reference #so please forgive if my memory is blatantly lying to me. it does that.

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writing-for-life · 1 year

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Why The Order Of The Last Three Issues Of The Sandman Matters...

... at least to me (I totally appreciate that people might see it differently. Maybe that’s the whole point, and where we come full circle when we talk about “stories”).

And as always: Send me asks about everything Sandman-related!

Major comic spoilers… I know that the question: “What happens to Morpheus after he dies?” is one of the ones most frequently asked. And I also know that a lot of people want him to walk off into the sunset with Hob (especially the Dreamling shippers, but I’m not going to go into that).

I personally think that the last three issues of The Sandman (#73-75) are in this order for a reason

I find it really hard to take Sunday Mourning/Hob’s dream and say: ”This is it, this is the end, he is a dream entity now and wanders off into the sunset with Hob” (and Destruction, but I’m not even go into that right now because I have too many thoughts on that one, so that might be a diff post altogether).

Yes, he (in one way or another) lives on in Hob’s memory/dreams. And also yes, it is the epilogue to The Wake and concludes it, but if what comes after didn't matter, it wouldn't exist. Everything matters when Neil Gaiman writes ;)

He also lives on because time is warped and not linear (#74, “Exiles”). You need to read it to understand it, and I won’t go into too much detail here because it will get too long. Suffice it to say that in Exiles, two things set in very different timelines happen at the same time for a person. So Morpheus can live on like that. Even if he is dead.

But I personally think the most important truth is to be found in The Tempest (#75). In my opinion, it is the last issue for a reason (otherwise, we could have just left on the note of Sunday Mourning). It’s about STORIES, and that stories live on forever. We come from them, and we RETURN to them. And Morpheus, the Prince of Stories himself, is now also a story - something he never wanted to acknowledge, but I'll get to that in a minute.

The Tempest is about the parallels between Morpheus and Prospero. Prospero gets to leave his island. Morpheus says he will never leave his.

From the epilogue to The Tempest (you can also read it on the last two pages of #75):

I think this is the most important bit (bold by me): “Now I want spirits to enforce, art to enchant And my ending is despair, Unless I be relieved by prayer, Which pierces so that it assaults Mercy itself, and frees all faults. As you from crimes would pardoned be Let your indulgence set me free."

Dream IS Prospero here (although he tells Shakespeare he cannot/MAY not recognise himself in stories. The sad thing is that he won’t acknowledge he also has a story because he is so wrapped up in his sense of duty and responsibility). Even after death (I repeat, this is the LAST ISSUE for a reason, and IMHO, we do not need to worry about when this takes place), he feels guilt. Just like Prospero in his epilogue.

In my view (personal as it may be), existing as a dream entity, no matter in whose dream, with his memories intact (because that’s what I read so often when it comes to him having some sort of future in Hob's dream) would be absolute torture for Morpheus. It is largely what led him to give up in the first place. That’s why it leaves me… uncomfortable? Dissatisfied? I can’t quite put it into words, and I also totally get that these feelings are my problem.

I know some people like to see Sunday Mourning as a confirmation that he ultimately does leave his island, and maybe that’s also true in a way. But I personally cannot get over Shakespeare saying “All MEN can change”, and Morpheus replying that he is not a man (as in a mortal human). That men have stories, that men can change, but he cannot. Or even if he has changed ("I was no longer the same" #69), he still has obligations, so it ultimately can never be unless he dies. It is what he staunchly believes in, until the end.

This is how we leave the story in #75 - again, it doesn’t end in #73.

And while all three ways of “living” on (memories/dreams, warped time and story) are true in a way, the ultimate way he lives on is as a story in my view.

He lives on as someone who matters as the protagonist, who makes us feel, who isn’t just the narrator. And that's beautiful - to me even more beautiful than some straightforward, flat happy ending. But I appreciate that mileage might vary, and that people will see things differently, depending on their own experiences. (I first read the comics when they came out in the 80s/90s, and no matter how many times I re-read, I always find something new, I see things differently with the passing of time, and it never loses its grip on me).

We are the ones who forgive him - he will only be free if we do. We see that he has changed, no matter if he believed he did or he didn't. We, the audience (who were even at his wake; we are the last dreamer to wake up), are the ones who decide if it was “worth it”.

That’s how he leaves his island, and That’s why “It is never just a dream” in my opinion…

I think @onehundredandeleventropicalfish also wrote on the topic a while back if I remember it correctly, but I can’t seem to find the post in question right now. I just remember I related a lot.

#sandman meta #sandman spoilers #sandman #morpheus #dream of the endless #the sandman #the wake #exiles #the tempest

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darklydeliciousdesires · 1 year

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Edge of Seventeen - Chapter Seven.

It’s bonus chapter time, besties! Thanks for all the reads and reviews, I appreciate you all so much. Now, onto the chapter... shit, as they say, is about to hit the fan...

Previous chapters - One Two Three Four Five Six

Tag list - In the comments

Words - 4,403

Warnings - 18+ content throughout, minors DNI!

Hank refused to do it.

As soon as his brother’s discovered his request, they told him not to do it.

Angel had never been one to pay mind to the opinions of others.

“So, does she know you’re having this done?” the tattoo artist inking Bella’s name above his heart asked, as she finished the first loop on the B.

Angel shook his head. “Nope, she has no idea. I told her I was getting something on my arm, so when she turns up, she’s gonna freak out. Hopefully in a good way!”

The artist smiled. A lot of people refused to put names on someone, but she herself was a hopeless romantic, and never objected to doing so. “How long have you guys been together?”

“Not long,” he confessed, wincing a little. “It’ll be fourteen weeks in two days, and I know, it’s really quick to be getting her name tattooed on me, but she’s the one. When you know, you know.”

“Awwww, that’s so romantic!” she cooed, smiling while wiping away the excess ink. “And you’re absolutely right. I’d been with my husband for three weeks when I knew I’d be with him forever. We celebrated our fifteenth anniversary last December.”

Angel smiled, thinking about having the same with Bella. He’d fifty-one and she thirty-three. Would she be famous by then? He hoped so. Would they be married, maybe have kids? Again, he hoped so, although he wouldn’t rush her for either of those things. He understood that such thoughts were his mind running away with him, his desire to settle and start the family of his own he so desperately craved and recognised he’d unhealthily sought in almost every woman he’d previously ended up in a relationship with, but Bella would be different. He might have fallen for her quickly, but he wouldn’t rush a moment of it.

He didn’t have to. In his mind, and hers, they had all the time in the world ahead of them.

By the time Bella arrived, Ami had just taped a piece of saran wrap over Angel’s chest, leaving one side un-taped so he could show off the surprise for his girlfriend.

“Oh, changed your mind over the arm piece, then?” she asked, greeting him with a kiss.

“Yeah... I might’ve lied a little, so I could surprise you with this.” Lifting the edge of the wrap, he pulled it back to reveal the tattoo, Bella gasping, covering her mouth with her hands as she jiggled around, stamping her heel with excited disbelief, beginning to cry. There it was, her name, right above his heart.

“Oh my god! Oh... my... god!” She couldn’t speak, kissing him, squeaking a little, hiding her face in her hands, Ami cooing softly at how sweet her reaction was, offering her a tissue. “Angel, this is so bloody adorable! I mean... bloody hell! You have my name tattooed on you!”

He grinned, kissing her forehead. “So, you like it?” he teased, making her laugh.

“I love it!!” she then looked thoughtful for a moment, biting her lip. “Excuse me, do you have any free time coming up?” she asked Ami.

“I do, actually,” she confirmed. “My appointment after your guy here cancelled last minute.”

“I want the same, his name, right here.” Ten minutes later, and she was sitting wincing as her love’s name was etched at the top of her left breast, holding his hand and sharing kisses with him. Some might’ve called it crazy, in fact, most would, but that’s just what they were; crazy about one another.

Once finished, he took her out for dinner before heading to the clubhouse, his brother shaking his head at their tattoo choices.

“You’re both insane, but whatever. As long as you’re happy.” Underneath, EZ feared that Angel was repeating his usual form of becoming completely wrapped up in the girl he was dating, but this time, much more than before. Whenever he wasn’t attending to club business, he was with Bella, and while EZ did see quite clearly that for once, he’d actually found someone who was good for him and seemed to settle rather than exacerbate his slightly childish and dramatic nature, he still felt concerned. What could he do, though? He was thirty-seven, old enough to be making his own decisions regarding his life.

It was confirmed further to him later that night, just as it was to the rest of his club, too, over how much of a positive effect Bella had on the often-volatile Angel.

“So, you here with anyone tonight, pretty girl?” Hector, a member of the Stockton charter asked, coming over to where Bella was sitting at the bar, having a conversation with Amelia, Gilly’s girlfriend who she adored, Angel over playing pool.

Bella covered her mouth politely, pointing to indicate she was still finishing the mouthful of peanuts she’d taken, trying not to laugh as Hector encouraged “chew, mami, chew!”

“Sorry,” she giggled, clearing her mouth with a swig of beer. “Yeah, I am. I’m Angel’s girl.”

“Oh! Well, didn’t he just do very well for himself with a fine assed looking lady like you. One with hella good taste in boots! Are those the whiskey brown?” he asked, pointing at her cowboy boots.

“Yep! Limited edition, all sold out on the Loblan site now. I’m still trying to break ‘em in a little, get the leather softer,” she nodded, lifting her foot to show off her new purchase.

“You wanna know what’s best? Neatsfoot oil. Wash ‘em down with saddle soap, and when they’re almost dry, coat ‘em in the oil and let the leather drink it in. You gotta feed it almost, it’ll help preserve them and care for the leather while making it supple as well. I’ve done it with my boots for years now, same for all my horses’ saddles and bridles, too. It works,” he advised.

“You have horses? Oh, I love horses!” she enthused, thinking how nice it was that as soon as he’d heard she wasn’t available, he’d changed his demeanour entirely, going from giving her the come on to now simply making friendly conversation. Angel, however, wasn’t convinced.

“Yeah, I got Bob, great big Clydesdale cross thoroughbred, and Mack, who’s a pure-bred quarter horse. He’s only three so still a barely broken, living fucking nightmare of an animal,” he laughed, just as they were joined by a terse looking Angel.

“Yo, Hector. Back up off my girl, man,” he warned, Hector holding up his hands.

“I’m just chatting to her, homie. No harm done, no damage,” he replied brightly, Angel snorting.

“You keep on at her, and there will be damage. Trust me.”

Bella interjected there, Hector’s face darkening as they neared one another.

“I ain’t caring for your tone at all, bro,” Hector warned, Bella shoving herself right against Angel when he made a lunge for him.

“Hey, hey!” she yelled, pushing him backwards. “Angel, look at me, Angel.” She grabbed his face, turning him to make him focus on her. “We’re talking about boots and horses; he isn’t coming onto me. He asked if I was here with anyone, I told him I was your girl, and he backed off. He’s just being friendly. You need to settle down and hear that.” She stroked his face, watching him visibly calming a little. “Baby, you can’t fly into a fit at every bloke who talks to me, especially when I’m telling you I don’t have a problem, so you shouldn’t either, alright?”

Angel looked between her and Hector a few times, Bella focusing on him again, her thumbs stroking her beard as she leaned in close. “Don’t be totes emosh.” He snorted then, unable to prevent the quiet ripple of laughter that came, his anger dissipating in a second.

“Sorry, man. I’m just protective over her,” he explained to Hector, watching him nod.

“I would be, too. We’re good.”

“Did she just...” Bishop asked quietly as he stood next to EZ, watching the scene unfold from across the room.

“Completely deflate his rage in about ten seconds? Yep. She did that.” Through clear communication, setting her boundaries of what she found acceptable and didn’t in how he chose to behave, Bella had done what few ever managed to with Angel; she’d made him listen to her. Few women had that power over him. Yes, Bella most certainly was a very good fit for his brother. Perhaps their decision to have matching name tattoos done wasn’t as bad as he’d first thought.

The same opinion wasn’t held by Deborah Thorpe, though, once she saw her daughter’s new tattoo a few days later.

“Sweetheart, please don’t... oh, god!” Pushing back Bella’s open shirt, she shook her head at seeing it there, the name of the boyfriend she was yet to meet, right there on her chest. After just a few weeks shy of four months. “Bella!”

“What?” she asked, raiding the fruit basket for an orange and a couple of kiwi fruits, beginning to construct a fruit salad for their breakfast. “I’m in love with him. He got my name done as a surprise, so I decided to get his done, too. He’s the one, mum. I know it.”

Deb shook her head. “I think you’re both too bloody young to know whether that’s the case, especially after only three and a half months.” Oh no, her mum didn’t know how old Angel was, and Bella had good reason for that. She wouldn’t approve of such an age gap, so she’d told a white lie and said Angel was her age. She also knew that her mum would worry about her only daughter dating an outlaw, too. Bella knew she had to come clean eventually, that one day she’d have to introduce him to her, but she wasn’t willing for her little love bubble to be burst with her mother’s concerns and objections just yet. “It’s your mistake to make, though, I suppose.”

Bella put the knife down on the chopping board with a loud clang, taking a deep breath, her lips pursing. “Mum, what if it isn’t? What if this is the guy I’m going to be with forever? You and dad started going out when you were fifteen, and you two were meant to be.”

She had her there, of course, Deb pausing, closing her eyes momentarily. There he was, right there in her mind’s eye, her beloved Nick. God, how she still missed him. Smiling, she softened, nodding. Moving to her daughter, she stroked her hair lovingly, kissing her forehead. “Alright, belly-boo. I still think the tattoo is a little extreme, but I support your choice. Shall we add berries to the fruit salad? I bought just about everything they had at the farmer’s market yesterday.”

Bella smiled, pleased that she saw things from her point of view. She didn’t expect her mum to be thrilled about something as permanent as a tattoo, but that was okay. As long as she saw Angel as permanent, that was all that mattered. Anything else could wait. “Yeah, good idea.” She spent the day with her mum, hanging out, walking the beach, eating an early dinner together before Deb dropped her at the train station, Bella heading down to Santo Padre to spend the night with Angel.

As soon as they were through his front door, the fact that hadn’t seen one another for three days played out in the way you’d expect.

“Fuck, I missed you,” Bella announced through their steamy kisses, pushing him back against his front door, her fingers rapidly undoing the buttons of his black denim shirt.

“I missed you too, B, and damn, I’m gonna spend the rest of the evening showing you just how much.” Picking her up, his mouth found its way between her breasts as he carried her to the bedroom, Bella kicking off her sandals on the way, giggling as she was thrown onto the bed, having the big, gorgeous body she’d craved covering hers as second after.

He made short work of removing her dress, but took his time with her underwear, pausing to undress himself before moving back between her legs kissing and stroking her all over with sensual focus as he rendered her just as naked as him. His lust spiralled greater than his need to tease, leaving hot, open-mouthed kisses full of longing over her body, avoiding her still healing tattoo, but kissing around it, sucking her nipple, loving seeing it right there, his name, her love for him matching his for her. And god, how he loved her.

His mouth glided lower, tongue swiping over the small line of remaining pubic hair, settling where he’d craved to taste, slowly starting to probe her opening, using movements so light he hardly touched her, drawing soft gasps as her hips pushed out further towards his mouth. Her hands kneaded his thick shoulders as he explored her slit, tongue seeking her clit and beginning to trail over it with long, firm strokes, Bella feeling as if she had tiny comets of pleasure streaking beneath her skin.

“Fuck!” she gritted, his lips encircling her bud and sucking, his hands smoothing over her stomach, chasing goosepimples, holding her still when lustful quakes caused her to be anything but.

She cried out in total rapture, his tongue flicking rapidly as he inserted one, then two fingers into her molten core, driving them into her slick heat hard as she groaned deeply, her nails raking across the back of his neck. Fuck, he was just too good. Whether he was born with it or learned it, she didn’t care; she got to enjoy it, the fact that Angel was thoroughly adept in driving a woman out of her mind with pleasure.

She squeezed his biceps as he gripped her thigh, preventing her from sliding across the bed with the strong pounding from his other hand, a third finger joining the other two, alternating between thrusting and circling them around, massaging her cunt thoroughly, raking wetness from her with his incredible skill.

Pleasure skittered through her, heat glimmering as the coil in her belly grew tighter, his fingers driving hard, tongue quickening in its flicking, chasing her headlong towards a magnificent undoing. If her release was a wave, his mouth was the shore, crashing against him as she wailed, tingles pulsing as her legs closes around his head, Bella completely lost to the force.

He brought her back from the cloudy, warm haze, his long, thick cock filling her plentifully, his mouth closing over her nipple as his hands bracketed her ribcage. They exchanged kisses of fire and honey, his mouth muting her lust filled gasps, fingers coming through her hair. He bottomed out, pulling back and then driving forth again, her body being sent to erotic heaven with just one thrust.

She wrapped arms and legs in a tight clutch around his hard, well-defined body as they began to move in fluid unison with one another, gazing into his gorgeous, dark eyes between kisses, her hands beginning to roam. The feel of him was arousing to her in itself, how his body completely blanketed hers, making her feel tiny beneath him, the bulk of his muscles imposing upon her lithe frame.

Her nails dragged his shoulders, kissing his neck as the acerbic lust began to fizz, Bella turning him onto his back, not losing the tangency between them. Sitting up, she sank all the way down on his cock, each blood engorged vein standing out on his shaft stimulating her walls as she clenched around him.

With every last inch of him snugly within her hot, dewy centre, she began to rock up and down on him, stroking his chest and sighing contently as his hands moved to cup her breasts and pinch at her nipples. Rolling her hips into him, she stared down at him lustfully, taking one of his big hands and sucking his fingers with a soft, sensual moan, her other hand pressing into his chest to steady herself as he began to quicken beneath her.

“You’re going to buck me off!” she gasped through her giggles, hanging onto his arms.

“I ain’t a fucking horse, B! Well, one part is pretty similar,” he replied smugly. He had good reason to be, she thought. “You’ll just have to hang on, won’t you?”

They moved together perfectly, Bella crying out as his cock filled her rapidly, throwing her head back and wailing in utter bliss. He pulled her down, arms locking around her as they shared fervent, feverish kisses, turning her again onto her back and pushing her legs up until they touched her chest.

She pressed her knees together to make the penetration tighter, her cunt tingling as he slammed into her, the slick wetness he invaded so mercilessly dripping, lewd noises echoing through the room as he fucked her voraciously, his deep groans making her arousal spiral. Opening her legs and resting them over his shoulders, he leaned down to kiss her torridly, his fingertips trailing the back of her legs as his hips pounded against her body, making her cry out helplessly.

Easing his weight up off her, he continued to hold her legs close to his chest, covering them in kisses as he groaned deeply, invading her with long strokes, thumb rubbing over her clit at speed as she felt those familiar, tight contractions of her inner walls beginning to quiver and lock around him.

“Come on, beautiful. Cum hard for me.” He panted through each ragged breath, pounding her rigorously, making Bella feel as if she were being turned inside out, gasping for air as fire licked her spine. Their movements become climatically frantic until they both almost simultaneously crested, breathing ragged as their hands clenched together and the white heat burned, waves breaking through them in an intense rolling, until it ebbed away, sinking back to the sea, leaving them breathless.

“Mmmm,” he groaned, softly kissing her. “You always look so pretty when you cum.” They lay there stroking and nuzzling one another for a long time afterwards, basking in affection, in the adoring luminosity they felt from one another. She was utterly perfect for him, Angel only continued to realise, especially a few further months on from then, upon the anniversary of his mother’s death.

With no gravesite to visit, Angel came to the same place now upon the date, the spot at the border fence where his father had returned her ashes through the gap and back home onto Mexican soil. He saw that Felipe had already visited that morning, a bunch of sunflowers, his mother’s favourites, propped against the fence, the same within Bella’s little woven rucksack which she pulled out. He’d been his usual forgetful self and neglected to purchase flowers, thinking he’d go and collect some on the way after picking Bella up from the train station, touched to see her carrying them when she’d exited the train.

She’d even wrapped them in a purple ribbon, his mom’s favourite colour, which he must have only ever mentioned to her once in passing, same with the flowers, and she’d remembered. They stood sombrely, Angel reflective as he remembered her at her happiest, singing in the kitchen while she cooked, tending to her garden, pulling him close to tell him how much she loved him.

Taking the flowers from her bag, Bella walked to the fence, propping them against it next to Felipe’s bunch, kissing her fingers and touching them against the yellow petals tenderly. “We love you, Marisol. Fly free.”

He could have cried in that moment, turning away for a second, pinching his nose as his eyes filled with tears at her words, her tenderness and regard for his mother, a woman she’d never even met. It wasn’t because he was sad, though, turning back, Bella approaching, reaching for him.

“It’s okay to be upset, you know,” she soothed, Angel smiling widely, stroking her cheek.

“I’m not,” he began, wrapping his arms around her. “I’m really happy, because finally, I’ve met someone who loves me just as much as she did. I just wish she could be here to see it, how happy you’ve made me.”

Emerging from beneath his chin, she smiled, stroking his face and kissing him. “She sees it.”

She said all the right things, her gentle nature so soothing on his tattered soul, breathing light into him by just being her. She was his little slice of heaven, he realised, holding her in his arms.

“Can you do something for me?” he asked, stroking her hair, the apple scent of her shampoo flooding his nose, comforting to him.

She looked up at him, her fingernails stroking his neck. “Anything.”

He kissed her forehead, his arms tightening around her. “Never leave me.”

“No.” She shook her head, kissing the tip of his nose. “I never will.”

Because of her busyness at college, getting all of her work wrapped up before she broke for the end of term, ready to spend the festive period with her love for as much of it as she could, Bella only stayed in Santo Padre until the evening, Angel running her home.

“Sure you don’t wanna let me stay? I’ll just go hangout in the bath or something while you get your assignment done,” he asked, shaking kisses with her as he leaned back against his bike, Bella shaking her head.

“Nope, because then I’ll be distracted by that thought and come and join you. Friday is only four days away, though, and mom doesn’t get back from her conference until Sunday night, so we have all weekend here together.” He was looking forward to it, too, but damn, letting her go. He never enjoyed it. It wasn’t ideal, the fifty-minute journey each way to La Jolla, but he hoped that one day, perhaps when she’d finished at college, things would be different. There’d be no running her home, because his home would be hers, too.

Meanwhile, over in the Losa household, college was the subject of discussion between Bishop and his eldest, Hadleigh sitting at the kitchen island, working away on a drawing. The light was best in there, so once her mom was done clearing up after dinner, she usually absconded to there.

“It still amazes me, how you draw like that,” Bishop spoke, taking a seat adjacent to her with his coffee, Hadleigh handing him a coaster.

“Mom just wiped up, she’d freak if you don’t use that!” she winced, her mother suddenly appearing from the basement stairs, shoving the door closed with her hip as she carried two large jars of preserves.

“You bet your butts, I will. No mess, now!” Julia warned, pointing at her husband in particular with a stern finger after placing the jars down. She might have been austere, but the hands that reached for him were loving as she passed him by, kissing his cheek, grabbing a diet Coke from the large refrigerator behind where he sat and heading back into the lounge to help their youngest, Cece with her homework.

“Oh, and thanks too, pops. I just have to hope they’re good enough,” she sighed, looking at her sketches again, not entirely too sure. She was studying fashion and textiles, and had to submit her final project of the year project in five days, with both hand drawn and digital renderings of her proposed garments that she would then go on to actually craft, come the resumption after Christmas.

He scoffed lightly, sipping his coffee. “Of course, they’ll be good enough. I won’t sit here for long, disturbing you. I just wanted to spend a bit of time with you, since I’m actually home early enough to do so for once.”

Hadleigh smiled, loving that he was there at a reasonable hour. He always was when possible, even if he did go out again later, it meant a lot to him, being able to sit and eat dinner with his family. “I need the break, to be honest. It’s making my eyes go weird.” Taking off her glasses, she stretched, rubbing her face with a little groan, the very same one he always mumbled whenever he was exhausted.

“All you kids getting your end of year out of the way are really up against it right now, huh? Angel’s girl is the same. I think you know her, actually. Bella Thorpe?” Bishop spoke, Hadleigh looking at him slightly stunned.

“Angel is dating Bella?”

Bishop was surprised at her widened eyes. “Yeah, they’ve been together for, oh, I dunno, five months, something like that?”

“Jesus,” Hadleigh began, puffing out her cheeks. “That’s dicey.”

Her dad frowned. “Why?”

“Well, because of the obvious, her age!”

Again, Bishop was befuddled. “She’s eighteen?”

Hadleigh snorted, sliding off the stool to go and retrieve a soda from the fridge. “Is that what she told him?”

He had a sinking feeling beginning to weigh down in his gut. “Yeah, why?”

Returning to her stool, she shook her head. “She isn’t, daddy. Bella’s sixteen.”

He gaped slightly, confused. “Nah! You can’t have that right! She’s taking her BA, she’s just begun her second year!”

Her head shaking continued “Bella’s on the foundation course, because again, she’s only sixteen. They wouldn’t let her take her BA until she’d taken that introductory course first, which she’ll begin next fall, after she’s turned seventeen.”

He winced, biting his lip, hating that he’d found out about this, but thinking it lucky that he had, too. He hated it, because now he had to go and shatter Angel’s world by telling him the girl he was in love with had been lying to him, but lucky because truly, he needed to know. She was underage. Still, though, it filled him with dread later that night, heading back to the clubhouse after checking with Taza that Angel was there, having to go pull him aside and deliver such news.

Wondering how he’d react filled him with much trepidation, because he knew Angel, and he knew what his reaction would be. He’d be absolutely livid. Angel Reyes might have been a lot of things, but Bishop knew that he most definitely wasn’t a man who’d be cool with the revelation that he’d been in a relationship with a girl who was underage. Not at all.

This was going to break him completely.

A/N - And now you all know the other reason why this is titled Edge of Seventeen!

#angel reyes #angel reyes fanfiction #angel reyes smut #angel reyes imagine #angel reyes x ofc #angel reyes fanfic #angel reyes fic #mayans mc #mayans mc fanfiction #mayans mc fanfic #mayans mc fic #mayans mc imagine #mayans mc smut

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capsulesys · 10 months

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No one in my system can really believe that it’s been an entire year today since we first realised that each other existed. Happy Syscoversary to us! I just wanted to get a few notes down to remember this first year, as it’s been one of the strangest but most empowering years of our life.

<Spirit here! I want to preserve Lex’s words as they were written. If you see anything written like this, in “<>” marks was an edit or addition by me, later on. You all know how editing works.>

Our experience before realising we were plural felt incredibly bland. We had no sense of identity at all, and just felt like we were treading water. We struggled to find new things to do, and if we tried, none of them would ever stick. Those just weren’t things that “I” would do. If we didn’t do them before, then they weren’t for us, and we had discovered everything we’d already liked. Besides, it would be weird for other people if we suddenly started getting into something new! Of course, that isn’t true. People change all the time, and can pick up and drop hobbies on a whim. Doing things based on other people’s perception was how we understood our own identity, which almost led to a build-up of rules and expectations for how we were supposed to act. It felt like a prison!

There were signs we were plural though. Our internal dialogue was always very conversational, and an opposing viewpoint would bubble into our head for every opinion or thought we seemed to have. We would give ourselves pep talks internally, using our name or “we”, but never using “I”. Looking back now, I’m surprised how long it took us to realise, but I’m glad we did eventually.

We first started to entertain the idea of being plural on the 9th August 2022. Initially, we found a split between “Poet” (who turned out to be a large group of headmates), and “Troll” (who turned out to be a smaller subsystem that still considers themselves that way, even if the name changed). The system certainly didn’t stay that small for long.

Over the next few months, more and more folks started making themselves known. Our method initially for finding our headmates was to be very openly accepting of anyone or anything inside us. No questioning why certain headmates are the way they are, no judgment of behaviors or personality traits. This was massively helpful, as even the most unusual feeling headmates felt more okay to make themselves known.

However, we started to hit a problem. Some felt an attachment to what we now consider our deadname. Some didn’t have much drive to choose their own name. In order to be able to think about each other properly, we bought a small box of differently coloured silicon wristbands. The same type as those ones that were all over the place at school in the early and mid 2000s. Each of us chose one of the bands and wore that band whenever we fronted. This really helped us to recognise switches, as we could look at our wrist and see whether the colour felt right. If it didn’t, we’d work out which was correct and change it. Some of us still have attachments to these colours today! For example, the three who wanted to use our deadname now go by Yellow, White and Red, after their band colours.

By learning to distinguish each other, we started to recognise that each of us had different ownership of each of our memories. It’s not obvious to us who owns which, but sometimes we can have a memory and clearly be able to think “That was me!”. We can’t do it for each other, so still a lot of memories remain unclaimed. I don’t think we’re going to be able to pinpoint the owner for every single memory we have, and that’s okay. So much of this journey has been about understanding what's going on overall, rather than specifics, even if knowing the specifics feels comfortable to us.

We started finding more and more headmates until we ran out of colours. We needed a new solution. Thankfully by this time, most of us had names, so we moved over to Simply Plural. We could set the colours we were already used to, but put our names and picrew avatars into! I definitely recommend the app to any system who wants to see, long-term, patterns and trends in how your system functions. I’d write a recommendation, but that’s for another post.

Things were starting to settle a little, until we realised one headmate was really starting to take most of our fronting time. This wasn’t directly a problem, but it meant we had to start adapting our shared life to her more seriously. She was out the most, and so got the most say in how we live. This strategy will not work for some systems, so make sure to check in with your non-fronting headmates and ensure they’re okay with changes! This can be a long and hard process, as anyone who’s dealt with transitioning will understand, and it’s still going on for us.

In the last month, we’ve come to realise how our “host” pattern works. It seems like we have a main fronter, and a backup. The backup definitely doesn’t front anywhere near as much, and doesn’t even need to be the second most frequent fronter, but does provide support and advice to the main fronter. Sometimes, these pairings can change. We don’t know when or why, but it does happen, and trying to cling onto the old pairings can be very harmful to us.

So that leaves me to introduce myself. I’m Lex, the current main fronter. My backup is named Spirit <Hi, lol>, and she’s been such an incredible help, especially with everything transition related. Before us, the tag-team was Yellow as main fronter, and White as backup. While neither of them were really aware of the dynamic for the vast majority of their run as system managers, looking back, we can definitely see how it seemed to work. We’re not sure who was before them, but I reckon The Jazz Club (the group formerly known as Troll) had a stint for a while.

<It’s pretty interesting being the backup. I get the comfort of not being in-charge of everything, but it’s nice to pay attention and cover for things when Lex needs it. Being at front all the time is very tiring, and I’m glad to take some of the load when required.>

We’re still learning so much about each other, ourselves, and how to best fit into the world around us and I hope to be able to make another post like this next year just to compare how Year 2 compares with Year 1!

To any newly discovered systems, don’t lose hope. It does get so much easier over time, but you definitely need to set the tone right with each other. Judgments can harm each other. Doubting systemhood is very natural, but try not to dwell on them too much. Easier said than done, especially if your system doesn’t share memory as much as we do. My last bit of advice is to not rush anything. You have your entire lives together to work it all out.

<Here, here!>

Sparkle on!

#pluralgang #actually plural #plural system #syscovery #syscoversary

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devotionalsex · 2 months

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What would a male do with an eager sex 'slave'?

This is part one of a thought experiment.

Imagine if there was a pill that your partner would willingly take which for a week turns them into your eager and happy sex 'slave'. For this week they will always feel slightly aroused, and as soon as there is the possibility of activity they will quickly become very aroused. This pill also makes them eager to do whatever you wish. It also prevents them from having an orgasm until the last night of the week. They retain enough body sense to be able to say no to anything which would be damaging, but otherwise they are eager to please you. If you are single then imagine having a friend be willing to do this with you.

This post considers what a male is likely to have happen. If you are male, what would you do? If you are female, what do you think your partner would do? And for all, what do you think other men would do?

As you might have guessed, a following post will examine what a female would do if they gave the same pill to a willing male.

I'm sure that if lots of males told us what they would do during this week of having an eager sex slave then we would get a wide range of answers. I suspect that these would fall into different groupings. And some of these groupings would have lots of men, and some groups very few.

I wish I knew a magic word that I could put here which resulted in an urge in the reader to have their say, and so I then get lots of responses. Unfortunately I don't know such a word yet, and so even though hundreds will read this post, I'll be lucky to get a few replies.

It would be great to hear what you (or you think your partner) would do. But if writing this is too personal, please feel free to respond with "I think most men would ...".

As I may be the only one willing to give an opinion, here are my first thoughts of what would happen if a typical male had a partner/friend who was willing to take this pill ....

Perhaps the cliche activity for when the pill first takes effect is for him to sit down, have her stand in front of him, tell her to undress, then have her kneel in front of him and give him a blow job.

I think there would be a splitting into groups. One group are those men who recognise that they have a whole week in which to explore, and that part of this will have to be managing their own energy ie if they ejaculate too quickly or too often they won't have the energy to enjoy the whole week. The other group will be those who don't think of the long term and immediately jump into enjoying their eager sex slave.

What he has happen will be a mixing of three categories:

1 - Activities which you normally do, but now happening as often as he wants and lasting as long as he wants.

2 - Activities which only happen sometimes or for just short amounts of time. So, for example, if he usually doesn't get oral sex, or when it happens it's quick, now he can enjoy it as much as he wishes.

3 - Fantasies which he has never done with his partner or only tried a few times (and she wasn't into it).

My guess is that most men will think most about the possibilities of doing new fantasies, then about getting much more of things that don't happen often, and not think that much about doing their usual activities other than it can now happen more often.

For the activities which he usually and sometimes does the pill now makes her eager to do this in the way he wishes. So a big change might be how things are done.

So how are things likely to change and what is most likely to be the source of his fantasies?

For the majority of men I think they will be wanting to do things they way they see in porn, and their fantasies will be to be able to do things that they have seen in porn but never had their partner keen to do before.

In another forum a man wrote "I'm only allowed to make love with my wife. I'm not allowed to have real sex."

So for most men I think the pill will enable them to experience and enjoy what many/most men think of as 'real sex'.

The extent to which the men inspired by porn go will vary significantly - some will only want to go a little in this direction, and maybe only a few will want to go all the way to very rough sex / extreme sex. I also suspect that what happens will vary between young and old, but I think the porn inspiration will apply across all ages for most.

I would love to hear from some men who would use the pill to explore more porn style sex to know what they would do.

BUT not all men will want to head of in the standard porn direction. It would also be wonderful to hear from any men who would have a very different week from that inspired by porn.

As I said earlier I would love to know what you think most men would do. Do you agree with me that most men would be inspired by porn? If not, what do you think most would do?

In a few days I'll create a post for discussing what women are likely to do if they have a partner who willingly takes this pill. But first I hope for some feedback on likely male behaviour.

#devotional sex

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jabbage · 11 months

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#Letters from Watson #lettersfromwatson

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litgwritersroom · 2 years

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A Friendship Thing

Emily - 5100+ words - @tammyisobsessedwith

It's been years since Love Island ended, and Emily has long since moved on (or tried to). Then an opportunity and an old face make their way into her life unexpectedly.

“Hey, I think I recognise you from somewhere! Were you on TV or something?”

Oh wow, the unexpected Scottish accent smack in the middle of Essex from whoever had said that brought a welcomed wave of homesickness, but those were some words Emily Paisley hadn’t heard in a while. Even in the heyday right after her short participation on Love Island three years ago, she’d never been one of the faces most recognised by the public or the media alike; something that in all honesty she was more than fine with. After all, when they did remember who she was, it was only to harass her for having had sex with a man she barely knew on national telly.

Yeah, sleeping with Jakub Zabinski right after meeting him hadn’t admittedly been her best decision, although, if she were honest, it was quite on par with the type of decisions she’d usually make out in the real world. The only difference was that if she chose to sleep around with virtual strangers the only people hearing about it normally would be her friends (and, presumably, that virtual stranger’s friends) whereas under the watchful cameras of Love Island she’d had to contend with the whole of Britain weighing in with their opinions on everything that had happened at the Villa in Mallorca.

And frankly, she’d told them all they could suck it. Basically it was her life, her choice ─ and Jakub’s, of course. If she wanted to sleep around and be a slag, then that’s what she was gonna do. Emily had always been unapologetic about her sexuality and being able to express it in whichever way she chose to, and she’d be damned if she would let strangers and their unnecessary or unwelcomed opinions dictate what she could or could not do.

Rolling her grey eyes a little to herself, Emily turned around with a sweet (and completely fake) smile to answer whoever it was that had the misfortune of recognising her right in the middle of her shift. As she’d been working at the top nightclubs circle for the past few years now she’d been subjected to all kinds of shit and was practically a master at indirectly telling people to fuck off while mixing them cocktails and dismissing them away all under the same breath.

However when she directed her gaze to whoever it was that had called out, she was met with a boyishly handsome face dotted with freckles, bright hazel eyes and a cheeky smile she would recognise anywhere in the world. Her fake smile melted into a genuine one before morphing into a smirk.

“You know, your pretty face is really familiar too.” Emily commented loudly over the music blasting through the nightclub, her own Scottish accent coming out more strongly than usual and accompanying a cheeky raised eyebrow as she continued mixing the cocktail shaker in her hands. “Did we happen to share a bed together one time or something?”

“One time?” Bobby McKenzie gasped in a mock offended tone. “Try multiple times, woman!”

“Soz, I can’t really keep track.” She replied with a careless shrug as she poured the drink in a cocktail glass and garnished it before handing it to someone next to him. “Y’know, ‘cause I’m such a slag.”

Bobby snickered at that as he leaned forward over the bar and gestured at their surroundings with one hand. “So when do you get a break?”

“A break? What’s that?” She asked, the sarcasm in her voice pairing nicely with the dry eyebrow she raised at him as she already turned to make the next drink in her order line.

“C’mon, Em!” He said, laughter in his voice. “Get someone to cover for you, come out here and give me a proper hug.”

She shook her head, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her lips. “Hold on, let me see if I can find someone.”

It took a while, as she needed to get through the peak of drink orders for the night and wait for movement to slow down a little bit before she could get her somewhat regularly scheduled cigarette break. Her eyes scanned for Bobby across the dwindling dance floor and she found him chatting and laughing with a group of girls, but as soon as he saw her looking he broke off with some quickly exchanged words as he followed her head tilt towards the outside smoking area.

“So what are you doing here, McKenzie?” Emily asked after he gave her one of his bear hugs as she leaned against the outside wall and gestured at the cigarette pack in her hand.

Bobby wordlessly shook his head at the offer. “Ah you know, night out on the town, checking out the hotspots. How have you been?”

“Fabulous, as you can see.” She said with a smile after lighting up her cigarette. “Enjoying the life of the bartender extraordinaire to the fullest. And you’re certainly in the right place if you were looking for the best night out.”

“Yeah, I heard this was where I’d find all the buzz.” He said, looking up at the nightclub’s facade and neon sign.

She took a long drag before speaking. “How’s the bakery doing?”

“Business is thriving. So much that I’m actually expanding my portfolio a bit.” He said it with waggling eyebrows.

She reflexively rolled her eyes. “Oh god, you’re one of those people who use the word ‘portfolio’ now.”

“Hey, I’m still the same old Bobby!” He protested, but there was a smile on his face.

“Hardly. You’re a proper famous person.” She gave him a pointed look. He may like to downplay his fame sometimes, but with the exception of DJ Tim “Big T” Davies, Bobby was probably the most famous and successful of all former Islanders. “I’m surprised one of your fans hasn’t tackled me yet out of demented jealousy or something.” A smirk pulled at her lips, as she reminded him of an old incident when one of his rabid fans had literally tackled Lottie when they’d been walking in the streets a couple of months after they’d come back from the show.

“Ugh, that was one time.” He said, a groan in his voice accompanying an exasperated and somewhat embarrassed roll of his eyes.

“Still, you’re never gonna live that down.” Emily insisted with a grin, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow. “Let me say that’s one of the upsides of the fact that almost nobody even remembers I was in that show anymore. I really couldn’t care less for all of that attention.” She made a pointed tap to her cigarette, watching the ashes float down to the ground as if they carried her words with them.

“Yeah, you really had it rough there for a while.” He commented, his hazel eyes looking softer as he looked back at her.

“Not sure why I was the one who got all the flak seeing as Jakub was the one actually sleeping around.” She said dryly with a raised eyebrow.

“If that ain’t the truth.” He rolled his eyes then grimaced a little. “Sorry I never spoke up about it when it was all going down.”

“It’s fine.” She said easily with a dismissive hand. “I know you guys are friends.”

“We are,” he agreed with a matter-of-fact shrug, as Bobby was literally everyone’s friend, even the people not everyone got along with at the Villa or those the public or media didn’t really favour. “But I still think he was a fuckin’ numpty.”

A smile broke out on her face. “Aww Bobby McKenzie, the Love Island player with a heart of gold.”

He snorted at that. “Still not sure where I got that reputation.”

“It’s your face.” She explained, inhaling on her cigarette before elaborating, watching in delight as he blinked his eyes in a perplexed manner. “It’s too pretty, everyone automatically thinks you’re a fuckboy. Like you’re gonna ‘love them and leave ‘em and ruin ‘em for all other men’ type of shit.”

Bobby let out a bark of laughter as he shook his head. “Where do you come up with this stuff?”

“It’s not me, it’s your fans!” She insisted, laughter also bubbling up with her words. “They’re the ones coming up with it.”

His hazel eyes narrowed playfully back at her. “Oh so you’re saying you’re not a fan then?”

“Definitely not.” She volleyed back immediately, her lips twisting into an impish grin before his exaggerated gasp at hearing her words. “Sorry mate, I can see you for all you are, the good parts and the flaws.”

“Unbelievable.” He shook his head. “And here I was, coming all the way over to Essex just to make you a proposition only to be treated like this?”

“Oh?” Emily raised an eyebrow. “So are you proposing? Or propositioning? Not sure which one of those is the more terrifying prospect, actually.” She faked a shudder for effect.

“Oi! I’m actually serious here for once.” Bobby said, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face or the laughter off his voice.

A smirk pulled at her lips as she put out the end of her cigarette and threw it away. “Then use more serious words or at least put on a serious face, ‘cause right now it’s still seriously hard to take any of this seriously.”

“That word has lost all meaning now.” He shook his head again, but made a show of taking a deep breath in and trying to put on a serious face. “Okay, here goes: I’m opening up a restaurant and I want you to be my cocktail person.”

“What?” She blinked her eyes in surprise before she recovered herself a little. “I mean, great news about the restaurant! Congrats!” She enthused, wrapping her arms around him for a quick hug before she pulled back with a frown. “But what is even a cocktail person?”

“You know, the person in charge of creating cocktails for the menu.” He explained with a shrug. “Yeah, there’ll be the classic shit in there, but it’s a fusion restaurant and I want to have a cocktail menu that’s innovative as well. And I think you’re the person for the job.”

“Oh wow, I dunno what to say.” Emily said, unusually lost for words as she took in what he said. She’d always been one to give rapid fire responses, especially when talking to Bobby as they vibed since they’d first met during Casa Amor, but she had definitely not been expecting that.

He seemed somewhat delighted at having surprised her and laughed a little. “That’s easy, say ‘yes Bobby, I’ll be your cocktail person’.”

She crossed her arms and frowned. “Is this you doing one of your charity things?”

Emily thought that was a valid question. Bobby was not only everyone’s friend, he was also always showing up, supporting and posting on his platforms about whatever the former Islanders were doing over the last three years: Lottie’s new makeup brand, Priya’s new collab with an up and coming designer, Hannah’s new novel, Hope’s new toy line. Catching one of Kassam’s shows on his tour, watching one of Rahim’s tournaments, cheering on at Jo’s races, checking out Noah’s project with kids at the library. Celebrating Marisol’s graduation from law school, doing a spot for Elisa’s socials, being a special guest at one of Chelsea’s parties, or even just retweeting Jakub’s photo shoot or sharing one of Gary’s reels about the new big crane he got to operate on at work.

“What are you even on about now?” He asked with a bemused twist to his lips.

“You know, you doing your rounds, keeping up with the gang and putting a marginal spotlight on what they’re up to through your social media and shit?” She said with a slight roll of her eyes and somewhat vague gesture with her hands. “‘Cause I told you already, I don’t really care for the attention. And I’m not a charity case.” She added the last part a little under her breath, looking away.

“I know, I agree. You’re actually one of the best in the business and that’s why I’m here.” He replied at once before dramatically placing one hand over his heart. “Honest to God, Em. I didn’t even know it was you, I thought you were still up in Edinburgh!”

“I didn’t really tell anyone other than my immediate family that I was moving.” She said with a careless shrug. “Just needed a fresh start, I guess.”

Bobby just stopped and looked at her for a few silent beats. “Yeah, I get it.”

The unexpected concern in his eyes made her suddenly uncomfortable as it was so at odds with their normally playful banter, so she looked away and cleared her throat. “Anyway, how did you manage to stumble into my playing grounds tonight then, that is if you weren’t actually stalking me?” Emily looked back at him while arching a teasing eyebrow.

He playfully tapped the side of his nose with a grin before shaking his head as she laughed. “Nah, jokes. I was putting together a list of experts to scout and I was told to come check out this place by a mate who works in the area and knows what’s what.”

“You’re having me on.” She said, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe she was good at her job, because she knew she was. But the idea that people would be actively pursuing her was a little baffling. It wasn’t like she was a drinks connoisseur or entrepreneur like Allegra D’Annunzio ─ self-proclaimed or otherwise.

“No, for real. He said your cocktails are one of the reasons people love this place and I could see that. Plus I remember back at the Villa how great you were when you taught me how to make a jellyfish.” He grinned, waggling his eyebrows up and down.

“Don’t you mean a Bobbyfish?” She asked cheekily and they shared a chuckle at that. “So you were looking at potential candidates and now that you saw it was me working here you’re just offering me the job, just like that?”

He nodded back at once. “Yeah, absolutely.”

He just left it at that and Emily looked back at him for a moment as she thought it over. “Alright. I’m in.” She shrugged her shoulders and gave him a quiet smile.

A wide grin spread over his lips. “You are?”

“Yes!” She exclaimed, suddenly feeling just as excited about it as he seemed to be. “Bet you weren’t expecting me to agree so fast, huh?”

“No way, I’m buzzing! This is gonna be amazing, Em!” He wrapped her up in another of his bear hugs and they laughed together for a moment before going back inside as apparently she wanted to give her notice right away.

The next few weeks were a whirlwind. Emily negotiated her exit from the staff at the club in Essex even as she worked out the details to get on board with Bobby’s new restaurant. It may have been a hasty decision even for her standards ─ though in all honesty she’d always been more of a ‘leap before you look’ kind of gal; it was how she’d ended up on Love Island in the first place after being scouted back in Edinburgh then how she’d impulsively moved out of Scotland to Essex after all. But after sitting down with Bobby for a proper meeting where they went over his plan and the vision that he had for the restaurant, she knew it was a solid business endeavour.

As it should be. Ever since the Villa, everything that boy touched turned to gold, and it was one of the things that had prompted her to take his offer.

The other was that she never really got over the teeny, tiny (minor, really) crush she’d developed on Bobby during the Casa Amor days ─ but if asked, Emily would deny it to her very last breath. She’d gone through enough humiliation back then, going from fucked (by Jakub) to friendzoned (by Bobby) faster than anyone could say, “whiplash much?”

“You’re gonna be working with him now, Em.” Blake commented when they were out for drinks one night after she’d told her the whole story. “Day in, day out. You working at the bar, him in the kitchen then working the room to greet important people. Your eyes meet across the crowded room. You guys stay out late to close the books or something like that…” She trailed off, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow before bringing her cocktail glass up to her lips.

“You’re reading too many trashy romance novels, love. You know we’re just friends.” Emily replied in a dry tone. “That’s all Bobby’s ever wanted with any of the girls.”

“Not true.” Blake retorted. “He was shagging Lottie by the end of the season.”

“Yeah, but it was always a more friends-with-benefits type of thing.” Emily countered with a frown. “They barely carried on once they were back home. I don’t think he ever saw anything long-term with anyone at the Villa, to be honest.”

“Except the new Mrs. Rennell.” Blake replied, rolling her eyes a little. “I couldn’t believe he wouldn’t save you at that recoupling even if just to keep you in the Villa because he was so ridiculously besotted with her, even after she dumped him to get back together with crane boy. D’you think he ever got over his crush on her or is it like extremely awkward if he ever hangs out with Gary and the missus?”

“I don’t think it’s awks, because that’s not Bobby.” Emily shook her head, as she knew he was always making sure everyone was comfortable and having their best time if they were out together. “But if he still has feelings for her… Who knows?” She finished with a shrug.

Blake was right about one thing: Emily did get to spend a lot of time with Bobby now, especially as they started working on the new cocktail menu. As the licences and other business and legal requirements were underway for the new restaurant, she spent several nights in a row at his apartment as he cooked her what would be his signature dishes and she experimented with different cocktails, the two of them workshopping to see which flavours would go best together.

It was also a lot more fun than she’d been expecting. She’d created a few signature drinks for past employers, but she’d never got to think about a whole menu like this ─ plus having someone else to bounce off and who knew so much about food made a world of difference.

Yet as things started ramping up for the big opening and Emily watched Bobby spending more time training his kitchen staff, she realised it was just the way he did things. He was the total opposite of the classic, clichéd head chef yelling his head off and terrorising his sous chefs. He treated everyone nicely, huge smiles all around and good humour, good vibes surrounding the whole kitchen and supporting staff.

She’d never seen someone working as hard as he was. And honestly she’d never worked as hard either, as she now had staff under her and needed to train the bartenders so they’d be as skilled as she was in making those drinks that they’d created after so much joint effort.

It seemed like in no time at all the grand opening was upon them and everything went off without a hitch. Emily wasn’t really surprised, given the amount of effort everyone put into it, but it was also one of those things where it seemed like everything magically aligned together and it went so smoothly that it was almost too good to be true. But it was the sort of thing that just happened around Bobby, either as a direct result of his actions or the way he seemed to be such a great boss and uplift everyone around him that they all wanted to do their best for him, too.

She realised that went for her too, one afternoon between shifts at the restaurant when she was checking the bar for supplies and doing inventory and he hurriedly walked out of the kitchen, heading straight towards her.

“I need you to take tonight off.” He said without preamble when he was still halfway across the salon. “I know it’s not in the schedule, but I called Samantha and she’s coming ‘round to fill in for you.”

“You don’t want me working tonight?” She turned to him with a frown. “Why?”

He made a half resigned, half exasperated hand gesture, but there was still a smile on his face. “I squeezed in Gary and Julie for a last minute reservation late in the night and they want us to join them for dinner.” He reached the bar and braced his hands against it, leaning forward. “Say ‘yes’ to this, please?” He asked with one of his charming smiles.

“Well, what choice do I have?” She asked with a teasing eyebrow. “The boss is telling me to take the night off. I can’t very well say ‘no’.”

“You’re a lifesaver.” He said with a grin before shaking his head. “And I thought I told you to stop with this whole ‘boss’ nonsense already.”

“Bobby, you are the boss.” She insisted with a smirk. “It’s literally your name on top of that door.” She pointed at their front door with the clipboard in her hand.

“I’m pretty sure it says ‘The Melting Pot’.” He countered with a raised eyebrow.

“‘By Bobby McKenzie.’” She volleyed back with a pointed look.

They bantered back and forth for a bit as she kept doing inventory until he took the clipboard away and handed it to one of the bartenders on staff, saying she was off for the rest of the day.

She took the opportunity to dress up, doing her dark hair half-up, styling it to come down in gentle waves over one shoulder. She also got one of the nicer cocktail dresses she had out of her closet, which made a nice change from the usual dark trousers and blouse she’d wear for work.

It was a very nice evening, but it was so surreal at the same time: getting to the restaurant with the other patrons instead of being there hours before to open things up. Being seated by the maitre then waited on by people who were her colleagues and personal friends. She imagined it was the same for Bobby, as he split his time being in the kitchen overseeing their plates then sitting down with them to enjoy the meal and the drinks.

Gary and Julie were delighted they were all able to spend the night together, drinking and eating and chatting away. Emily could see the lads were still as silly and easygoing around each other as during their time back at the Villa, as even if time had passed they were still the same jokesters as before. Their sense of humour and easy banter was one of the things she most liked about them, and it was the same for Julie, who gave it back as good as she got.

They’d been done with the main course and chatting away before moving on to dessert when Emily got a little sidetracked in her conversation with Julie about her new research project for her doctorate at the university as she peripherally noticed an exchange of sorts happening between Gary and Bobby, the latter shaking his head and laughing away at something the blonde man had asked in a low voice.

“Alright, it’s time for my fave part.” Bobby said, almost as if he were trying to distract his friend from whatever they had been talking about. “Just wait here as I get the finishing touches on the desserts.”

As he got up and walked back towards the kitchen, Emily noted how his ears were red and that a light blush spread across his face under the freckles. “What was that about?” She asked with a bemused frown.

“What?” Gary said in a distracted manner as he turned to face her. “Oh nothing, Em.”

“Oh! I think I know.” Julie said, a slow grin taking over her lips. “Was it─?” She raised her eyebrows as she looked at her husband, and it was like they were sharing a whole silent conversation at that moment.

“C’mon, Gary.” Emily insisted with an easygoing smile. “Is it a secret? Why can’t I know?”

“Nah, it’s not a secret.” He replied with a shrug. “I was just asking Bobby if you two are a thing now.”

She felt as if the smile was frozen on her face. “What?”

“Yeah, the whole group thinks you are together and we’ve been dying to know.” Julie said, as if that had been the most normal thing in the world as she brought her glass up to her lips.

It took her a couple of seconds before she could properly react, but then Emily was laughing dismissively. “Oh no, we’ve always been just friends. Why would you even think that?”

“I dunno.” Gary commented, a sly smile forming as he rubbed a hand on his jaw. “There’s been a vibe, lately. The way he talks about you sometimes. That sort of thing.”

“Yeah, the way he looked at you when you were talking about the cocktail menu and how you two came up with all of that together…” Julie added, leaning her chin on her palm as she looked at her across the table. “I don’t know, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Bobby looking that happy.”

“He’s just excited about the restaurant.” Emily countered with an easy shrug.

“Oh yeah, don’t get me wrong.” She said, waving away a hand. “I know it was a lot of work to get this all going and I’m sure that’s part of it.”

“Just saying…” Gary chimed in then, as if he were continuing on his wife’s train of thought. “He wasn’t this happy back when he opened up the bakery.” He gave her a wink as Julie nodded emphatically next to him.

Soon, Bobby brought back the desserts and the group enjoyed the rest of their evening together, but Emily couldn’t stop those words from rattling around inside her brain and what it could all mean ─ if it even meant anything at all.

Then desserts led to more drinks, and more drinks led to the group just chatting away the rest of the night. Before they knew what was happening it was actually closing time and while they could’ve stayed put and just spent more time together having drinks as the dining room emptied out, Gary and Julie said they were in the mood to go dancing and insisted they needed to go together, for old time’s sake. The staff at the restaurant insisted they should all go and enjoy themselves and that was how Emily found herself in a nightclub with her friends instead of working behind the bar. Sure, even back when she was bartending at clubs she still went out on her free nights, especially with Blake or if Shannon happened to be in town, but with all the work recently it had been a while since she’d been out like this.

To be honest, the more surprising aspect was that she was out with Bobby and how different things felt between them. She couldn’t tell if it was the many drinks they’d had, the fact that they were letting out some steam on the dancefloor after weeks of stressing and working so hard or even if it had been Gary and Julie’s comments and questions about their current status quo. Whatever it was, something definitely felt different.

And she might’ve thought it was all in her head, some sort of shyness or awkwardness which had never been in her nature but that somehow had been brought to life at being confronted with a possibility that she’d never thought was actually possible. But she kept catching Bobby stealing glances at her, an almost-there smile on his lips as he danced a little too close, his fingertips brushing against her waist in a way that could’ve been innocent if not for the gleam in the warm hazel of his eyes.

Ah fuck this, Emily thought as she felt the familiar thrill running down her spine whenever she was about to do a ‘leap before you look’ as she pulled him by the hand and led him away towards a back wall. He followed her with no resistance, a grin pulling at his lips, almost as if he’d been expecting her to pull that move.

It was reckless and impulsive and maybe even foolhardy, considering he was not only her friend who had put her in the friendzone some three years ago but her boss nowadays. But it was also the only way Emily Paisley knew how to be and as she pressed him up against the wall and leaned into his personal space, she paused as if to give him an out, give him a chance to put a stop to this, tell her he didn’t mean for her to get things the wrong way and that they were in fact nothing more than friends.

Then she looked up, her gaze locked with his and she felt almost naked before him, feeling the buzz in the air between them and she knew it wasn’t all in her head. With a smirk pulling at her mouth, she threaded her arms around his neck and leaned in, moving her lips to brush up against the shell of his ear.

“Your move, McKenzie.”

She could feel a shiver run down his back with her hands pressed against his shoulders. She leaned back a little to look him in the eye and saw the smile forming as the words almost tumbled out past his lips. “Shit, Em. Let’s fuck up the friendship.”

Emily barely heard the words before she felt his lips capturing hers, the taste of his lips more intoxicating than any drink they’d had that night. She pulled his body flush against hers as her hands ran over his back and neck and she practically melted under his touch.

If this was just a drunken mistake or something to just get out of their systems or something else entirely, she was willing to wait and figure it out in the morning. Right now, feeling his lips and his touch igniting her whole body, she couldn’t quite understand why they’d never done this before. But she was gonna make damn sure it’d be a night to remember.

At least there were no TV cameras around this time.

#litg #litg season 2 #litg writers room #writers room #litg fanfic #love island the game #litg bobby #prompt #tammyisobsessedwith #litg casa amor #casa amor #character spotlight #litg character spotlight

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jasminedragonart · 1 year

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Oooooh ok opinions on Luca

Luca is an interesting one. I didn't hate it, let's get that out of the way. But it didn't wow me. Like, it was fun, it was cute, there were some emotions in it. But it was missing the spark, like a lot of modern disney films, that make them disney films. (I can explain this separately since it's a very long rant)

It was cute though. I thought the fact that Luca and Alberto were foils to each other. Luca wanted to escape his family and their expectations while Alberto was putting on this front that he was doing the same but he was desperately yearning for what Luca had. It was interesting.

I loved that you could see Alberto and Giulia's father's relationship actually start to blossom early on. Like you could see this guy has noticed that one of his daughter's friends needs a parental figure, which is interesting because it leads into speculation on whether he knows this from experience, maybe he didn't have a good parental figure growing up especially considering his disability, or maybe because having a disability would automatically separate him from the crowd that he's outside of it enough to recognise someone else who's there too.

To be honest, Alberto and Giulia's father's relationship was one of the reasons I kept watching it. I thought the rest of it, the triathlon and Luca's storyline was pretty meh. For a main character he didn't go through a lot of growth. Mainly because he didn't have to. Alberto is the one who got all of his character growth, Alberto, I would argue, should have been the main character here and not Luca.

The thing about movies are that, yeah, Luca's cute, but Alberto's story is more interesting and in terms of storytelling, you tell the more interesting story. Luca's problems are solved as easily as they are created. Like yes, he's hiding from his parents and the town, but as soon as they're revealed the town is pretty quick to accept them and his family is pretty quick to agree to send him to a human school too. Whereas Alberto did have to fight for his happy ending. He did learn about the human word properly through Guilia's father's guidance. He did have to fight to be accepted and look after himself because he was abandoned. His story is more hard won and I would have liked to see more about him and less about Luca.

Their friendship was good though. All three of them blended well together. My only problem is, yeah, wrong main character. It would have been more interesting to see Alberto from the start. Alberto figuring life out and then Luca coming to him and we see this mask come over him. It would have been more interesting to the watcher, especially if we don't know he's been abandoned, maybe we just see him making his hidey hole, and slowly figuring things out because we get more focus on Alberto and not on Luca.

I feel like Pixar and Disney do that a lot these days where they pick the wrong character to be their main. They did this with onward as well. like, yes, the little brother did have an interesting story, but I would have liked to see it more from his older brother's point of view than his.

i haven't got a lot more to say about Luca. Like i said, it didn't make that big of an impact on me.

#disney #luca

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ffion451 · 1 year

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Chapter Six: The Break In | The Centre Cannot Hold: KTH (m)

Chapter characters/pairings: Taehyung x reader | AU/Genre: non idol au, angst, smut (see warnings below) see series m.post for fic summary etc.

Rating/Chapter warnings: ⚠️🔞 M - Adults only! 🔞⚠️ Foul language, references to alcohol and being drunk, mild threat, some smutty thoughts.

Word count: 3.9K

<<< Chapter Five | Chapter Seven >>>

A few months later finds you at a busy party at Hyungsik’s; his home is huge, a sprawling, three floor villa on the outskirts of the city. The house may be modern, clean and elegant, but now, in the early hours of a Sunday morning, the party within it is a mess. You’re exhausted, it’s been a long, tiring week and you long for the comfort of your own home and warm bed: you’re desperate to leave.

“Ellie,” you whine quietly to yourself, seeing your housemate at a distance and hoping you could persuade her to go home with you. A furtive look around you suggests nobody would see if you made a quick, sneaky exit. Mind made up, you put your glass down on the table beside you and move towards her.

“Oh no you fucking don’t!” comes a low chuckle in your ear as you are pulled back into the room you’d been sneakily trying to escape. In moments you are gently manhandled to the seating area and down into his lap as he collapses into an arm chair. As ever, as with everything with Taehyung, you submit.

An hour later, and Taehyung is waking you with the same delicate gentleness, the back of his fingers stroking your cheek. Your eyes flicker open to realise that you’ve tucked yourself into his shoulder and fallen into a deep sleep.

“What?” you grumble, annoyed at being woken.

“Who’s better looking?” Taehyung asks you.

“Your Mum,” you smirk, clueless to what is happening, but pulling yourself together as you realise that in the time you’ve been asleep all the seats around you have been filled.

Taehyung groans and explains the debate. You look over at the man who he’s being compared to who’s blushing desperately. You recognise Siwon, he’s a little older than you and your friends, but you’ve run into each other enough times to know each other’s names if nothing else. His reputation precedes him: suave, handsome, clever, generous, funny and kind. Nobody knows why he isn’t yet married, though most attribute it to his massive success in business and his habit of upping sticks and moving across the world for months at a time.

You unwrap yourself from Taehyung and try to distance yourself a little, embarrassed to be so entangled in public, but he holds you close to him, keeping you on his lap.

You smile at Siwon as you stretch, “I don’t think anyone really cares for my opinion,” and Siwon smiles back at you. To your surprise, your stomach gives a little flip and you quickly look away. You’re rapidly reassured by the group of drunken men and women that you need to cast the deciding vote.

You look at Taehyung, trying to read the answer he wants you to give. You smile and address the group, “It’s ridiculous. They’re both good looking, just in different ways. There’s no sense in comparing them.”

There’s uproar from the group who demand an answer.

“Siwon is undoubtedly a classically handsome guy, right?” you say, now carefully avoiding looking at the man himself, though the blush creeps up your neck regardless. Accidentally though, you meet his eyes and something definitely passes between you. The smile he gives you is generous but also loaded. He gives you a little nod that almost seems to give you leave to choose Taehyung, it is full of understanding of the tough spot you’re in.

It’s a strange moment but you feel like you understand him perfectly and something passes between you that causes the both of your hearts to flutter. Taehyung doesn’t seem to notice or even flinch; he doesn’t doubt your loyalty for a second.

“But,” you say, gently needling Taehyung, “this idiot hates to lose and is my best friend so I have to say he is!”

Taehyung grins into your neck, his lips pressing into your skin as he smiles as the conversation moves on, “My girl,” he smirks against your throat and you feel the rumble deep in your core and try to hide your flushed reaction.

You sit there a while longer, fully awake now but with the same longing to go home. When Taehyung is distracted in conversation, movement draws your eyes across the room and you catch the eye of Minho; he’s moving oddly, he looks at you in a silent plea and your flicker up the staircase, eyes indicating for him to find somewhere quiet. Shambolically, he stumbles away.

Moments later, you ease away from Taehyung subtly and follow. You don’t think Taehyung notices after you’ve got up, but his eyes follow you from the room, tracing your journey up the staircase.

Only a little while later, he traces your steps. There was a strange purpose in the way that you moved that confused him and, trusting his instincts, he followed. He hears your voice from one of the bedrooms, it’s a low whisper, but it’s definitely you, “It’s ok, it’s just you and me. There’s nobody else here.”

His curiosity and suspicion is piqued, and he edges to the sliding door that isn’t quite closed, the gap is mere millimetres, but it’s enough for the narrowest sight into the room. In the tiny sliver that he can make out, he sees you and, to his amazement, Minho: your back is to the door, you’re on your knees on the floor beside the bed. Minho is in front of you, his arms are around you, his hands fisted tightly into the material of your tee. His forehead is pressed to yours as he pants.

It’s only a brief glance, but the image is seared into Taehyung’s brain and he’s sickened as he staggers back, desperate to unsee what he’s just seen: minutes later, he leaves the party in a blind daze, his head spinning.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

You don’t understand why, but Taehyung is ignoring you: you’ve text him multiple times and nothing. It’s been at least a week, usually he blows up your phone every day and so his silence is noticeable.

You have no idea what’s happening; the last time you saw him was a party at Hyungsik’s house and nothing out of the ordinary had happened: you suppose you’d lost Taehyung somewhere during the night and hadn’t seen him to say goodbye to, but that was it. You know he doesn’t like it when you two don’t go home together but surely that couldn’t be the reason he was now not speaking to you at all?

Ellie tells you that the talk of the party was about you and Siwon: apparently he’d been keen to find out more about you after your all too-brief interaction. Like all good gossip, it had spread around the party like wildfire. She argues that Taehyung’s silence is sulky jealousy based on some stupid rumour he’s heard, you’re far less sure though - it’s not like him at all. You think of the time you argued about Jimin, knowing he’s more likely to confront you about it than seethe silently. You’re confused and nothing helps you make sense of it.In fact, you know if it was the other way around and you were ignoring him that he’d be at your door, demanding entry and a conversation. Yet, you can’t do it - it’s not in your nature to pursue an issue; you feel in your gut that if Taehyung is ignoring you it’s because he wants space so you give him it.

You know he can’t avoid you forever, though; you think you’ll see him at the party your having at your house tonight, at least you hope you will.

It’s not that you want to host it, house parties are not, and have never been, your thing, no matter the number you seem to find yourself at. Tonight’s is not your choice either: Aera had been planning one for ages but because of Minho’s recent work spilling from his studio into his home, their place was a no-go; she needed a new venue and it was the least you could do. With Ellie out of town it was perfect, Aera could also stay over comfortably in her room.

Yes, you’re fairly certain Taehyung won’t dip and that you’ll see him, yet for some reason you can’t really understand, you’re a little nervous of that.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

Fuck this party and fuck you: these are Taehyung’s main thoughts when he finally finds you at the party. You’re stood in a corner of your kitchen, deep in conversation with Aera. She seems upset and you’re obviously supporting her, both her hands are clasped in yours while she smiles at you through watery eyes. Taehyung feels sorry for her, and disgusted with you for being so shamelessly two-faced: you are not the woman he thought you were. The weight of his disappointment with you is only slightly lighter than the anger he feels.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

Taehyung manages to avoid you most of the night after that. You see each other, but neither of you make a move to approach each other or to speak. As the party drags on and his frustration increases, he decides he can’t avoid you anymore. He has things to say and he wants to be heard.

Its a surprise to him that as much as he is disappointed with you and angry, he can’t seem to stand to see your big, hurt doe-eyes on him. The thought of you so unhappy hurts him as if the pain was his own and he can’t fathom why. So, when he sees you curled up on your couch immersed in your phone, finally alone and apart from your friends, he sits next to you.

“Hey,” he says, more coldly than he intended, noticing you jump slightly in surprise, “What are you doing?”

“Nothing, just checking in with Minho,” you say waving your phone slightly as you lock the screen. You bite your lip for a moment but clearly decide that there’s no point in avoiding things any longer.

“What have I done?” you ask, clearly frustrated with him but also obviously upset.

Instinctively, in response to the sad knot of your eyebrows Taehyung reaches out to you, despite himself, and gently squeezes your bare thigh.

“I saw you,” he says angrily, his voice not matching his soft gesture.

‘What?’ you ask, clearly confused, “Saw what, exactly?”

He scoffs, and twists to face you, “how could you cosy up to Aera tonight after what I saw between you and Minho? I didn’t think you were such a…”

His voice trails off but it’s too late. His gestures and voice match now and he is squeezing your thigh much harder than he should be; the unspoken word is hanging in the thick air between you.

You breathe deeply through your nose, closing your eyes. When your eyes open they fix on his with a withering stare that he does not expect and when you speak your voice is deeper and slower than usual.

“Take your fucking hand off me,” you spit coldly and Taehyung releases you in shock; you’ve never spoken like this before, not ever, and he is surprised. He’s about to apologise, but before he can open his mouth, you’re speaking again.

“I know what you saw. Us, I mean me and Minho, in one of the upstairs bedrooms, yeah?” the question is purely rhetorical though as you plough on, “That was a very private moment between two very close friends and I am not explaining it to you. Aera knows all about it and it’s not what you think it is. I’m not going to explain anymore than that, you can believe me or not. It’s up to you. Whichever way you look at it it’s none of your fucking business. I’m sick of this shit with you,” you hiss.

He opens his mouth to speak, but before he can you’re speaking again, your eyes fixing him with an icy stare of pure, controlled anger, “…and Taehyung, don’t ever fucking touch me like that again,” the tiniest tremble in your voice underneath the anger betrays your real feelings.

His jaw hangs open in shock and he can only watch as you get up, leaving the room swiftly.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

As you pass Aera on the stairs, you wave her away as she sees the tears in your eyes, it doesn’t take her long to piece together what’s happened. She knows Taehyung’s been ignoring you and as she enters the living room he’s glowering on the sofa.

This fucking guy, she thinks.

Aera sighs to herself before sitting beside him and forcing him into a conversation she really doesn’t want to have.

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

In your room, you turn the flimsy door lock and lie on your bed, facing the wall. About half an hour has past when you hear soft knocking at the door, which you ignore. You also ignore the soft voice then asking you to open it, then the firmer voice insisting you do. Finally, you notice the door rattle softly as he tries to get in.

You don’t even recognise your voice as it comes out of you, “If you come through that fucking door, Taehyung, I will not be held responsible for my actions,” you growl.

The door stops rattling and there is only silence outside your room.

An hour later, he’s back. This time when the door rattles as he tries to get in you don’t react at all. You only react, your whole body tensing, when he jimmies the feeble lock from the other side, enters the room, and re-locks the door behind him.

You feel him standing behind you and say nothing. Taehyung has always been good at making you feel uncomfortable and right now, you could crawl out of your skin.

“I brought you water and something to eat,” he says, putting a glass and plate on your bedside table before laying beside you and spooning around your back, he doesn’t miss that your already tense body seems to coil into itself further.

“Didn’t I say I wouldn’t be held responsible for my actions if you came in this room?” you threaten but you don’t move and you keep your eyes fixed on the wall.

“What are you going to do?” he asks, a teasing lilt to his voice as he wraps more tightly around you, desperate to dispel the tension between you.

Your tone is not teasing though and you clearly don’t care for his attempt to brush it all away, “I won’t lay a hand on you, don’t worry,” the insinuation is enough and it causes him to loosen his grip on you.

“I shouldn’t have squeezed your leg that hard, I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry,” he says genuinely and earnestly.

“I don’t want your apologies,” you lie, “but if you ever do it again it will be the last time we ever speak. Do you understand?” you question firmly.

“I’m sorry -,” he begins to plead.

You cut him off, “I said,” your voice is low and dangerous, “do you understand?”

“I’m sorry. Yes, I understand, of course I do, it will never happen again, I promise,” he says rapidly. In this moment, despite his shame, your assertiveness is turning him on and he feels embarrassed. His shame only extends as you lie silently, making no response.

“Babe -,” he begins, but again finds himself cut off as you shut him down and out.

“Don’t call me that,” you say coldly, “I am not and never have been your ‘babe’ thank you and that’s not what you wanted to call me earlier.”

Taehyung sighs, “I’m sorry,” he breathes against your neck and he can’t help but enjoy how gooseflesh erupts over you. It reassures him; he doesn’t know why but your declaration stung, he feels weirdly rejected and it pains him.

He steers the conversation back to what he needs to talk to you about, “Aera explained a lot about what happened -” again though, you shut him down.

You sigh, “I don’t care, Taehyung,” you snap and he can hear the frustration in your voice, “You’re my best friend, not my fucking father. I’m getting pretty fucking fed up of you thinking you have the right to tell me what I should do and who I should talk to… and don’t even get me started on how you think you have the right to know every single thing I think or do,” you rant, before you seem to run out of steam a little.

“I’m tired and I haven’t got anything left to give right now…” you say, taking a shaky breath as the anger that coated your pain wears out. He can hear the trembling in your voice as you continue and he knows you’re crying, he knows you can only maintain your firmness for so long before you’re your usual soft self with him.

He wants to pull you closer, he wants to kiss your neck, but he holds himself back as you continue, “I am trying so hard to be there for people who need me right now, I can’t deal with this bullshit from you too. Please just leave me alone.”

Taehyung actually gasps in shock; he won’t ever leave you and he’s surprised you don’t realise that. He chooses his words carefully, and laces them with as much truth as he dares to, “I’m sorry, jagiya,” he rumbles into your neck, “I’ve been a dick about it and I should never have thought that of you. I guess I’ve always been jealous of your friendship with Minho, especially when I was trying to be your friend and you and him are so easy with each other. It’s all so effortless. I knew it was a really close connection, I’m sorry that I was stupid enough to think that could only be a sex thing when I saw you two. It was pathetic of me.”

Your voice is small in reply, “What did Aera tell you exactly?” you ask.

He admires that even now you’re looking to protect your friend’s privacy above all else. He’s not jealous of that, after all you’d done the same in defending him to a stranger even when he himself was no more than a stranger to you. When he thinks back to you at that party so long ago, refusing to be lead into insulting him with Jimin’s friend, his heart swells.

“Don’t worry, she spoke with Minho first, he was cool with me knowing,” he breathes into you, “I know he has what you have ba -”, he catches himself, he was going to call you babe, but he realises you don’t want that anymore. He is silent for a moment while he processes that unpleasant realisation.

He continues sadly, “I know he has the same trouble you have with anxiety and panic. I know why you two need each other’s support. I am so fucking sorry for being so jealous. I’m glad you have him to support you. I’m embarrassed that I claim you’re my best friend and yet I’m clearly shit at it.”

He feels a bit guilty for making it about him but he knows it will get a reaction from you. He knows it’s wrong to manipulate you, but he’s afraid; he’s never seen you like this and he feels in danger of losing you.

“You’re not shit at it,” you mutter, almost as though you don’t want to say it but are compelled to through your affection for him to do so.

“I’m sorry,” he says deeply, and he is, for everything, including making you feel sorry for him. He presses his lips against your neck, and breathes another apology into your skin.

Your entire body stiffens and he realises he’s gone too far.

He holds his breath and waits for the reaction to come, when it does, it’s not what he expects. Instead of turning on him, you instead turn to him, your frame wracking with the sobs escaping you. You make eye contact and both of you look at each other softly, understanding no more needs to be said. He holds his arms open to you, wordlessly inviting you into them.

You gulp quietly as he kisses your forehead and entangles his long legs with yours, pulling you as close to him as he can without cutting off your breath, or grinding on you. You comply with his gestures, tucking your head into his chest as soon as he removes his lips from your forehead, wrapping your arms around him. He settles for kissing the top of your head instead whilst tracing shapes on your back, which he knows you love, and he feels you relax into him.

“Thank you,” he says gently.

“What for?” you question.

“Everything,” he says passionately, “for being you, for being my friend, all of it. I don’t want to be another person who asks something from you, I want to be the person who supports you. I want it to be me that you turn to when you need someone. I know you have Minho and Ellie and the others and I know it’s selfish, but I want to be like that for you too.”

You squirm slightly in embarrassment, “You do support me. I rely on you more than I should -”

Taehyung interrupts, “There’s no such thing as too much between us,” he states firmly.

It feels like there’s more to those words than you want to consider; you try to navigate the conversation to safer waters, “Thank you for being my friend,” you say softly.

“I always will be,” he says, and he holds you so close that you start to feel like you’re just one person.

You stay that way for a long time, just lying together and breathing. Eventually though, when your tears stop Taehyung sits you up and makes you drink the water and eat some of the crackers he brought you.

He leaves you to change whilst he goes to explain to Aera that you’re going to sleep so she can take responsibility for the party. He doesn’t leave you for long before he returns, joining you. You’re passed out cold, exhausted from all the emotion. He strips to his boxers and gets in bed with you, wrapping your frame into his.

He presses a kiss into your hair, “I’ll do better babe, I promise.”

⍟ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⊛ ⍟

Within days, Taehyung is grateful that your relationship is back to normal; he’s back to his usual routine of dropping by unannounced and calling you all hours of the day and night. He’s careful to be sensitive about the way he behaves and tries to show you through his warmth and affection how much he cares about you; he’s so grateful that things are fixed between you that he doesn’t want to do anything to risk that again.

The trouble is, though Taehyung doesn’t realise it, for you, nothing is fixed. Instead, you have only just realised how broken you really are and you’re not sure of how to put the pieces back together again.

<<< Chapter Five | Chapter Seven >>>

Note: Any feedback greatly appreciated! Please let me know what you think. As this is a repost/reworking (see masterpost for details) I don’t want to presume that anyone would want to be tagged that has before, but if you do - let me know!

#taehyung fanfic #taehyung x you #taehyung x reader #taehyung scenarios #bts fanfic #bangtanwhq #btswritersclub #no minors please #taehyung smut

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immortallindemann · 1 year

Text

A Review on ✨ Swixxz ✨

As part of the ‘owns more Swixxz than I know what to do with it’ club, I feel like it would be pretty useful to write about my own personal experiences with Swixxz clothing, zumiez.com and ordering Swixxz outside of the United States.

Under the cut, you’ll find my thoughts, experiences and honest reviews on each style of clothing that I own, (e.g: hoodies, which ones I personally have, size).

Disclaimer: I am by no means boasting about the collection that I have. I am writing this as a guide for other fans so they know what expect when buying Swixxz items. Please do not take this as me flaunting my collection.

Baby Tees

I have: Monster Baby Tee, Skull Baby Tee, Spider Baby Tee, Love or Lust Cinch Top, Patchwork Mock Neck Top

Some of these aren’t baby tees per-say, but they all have the same fit, so they’re grouped together! Honestly, I wear these a lot. They’re simple, but the designs stand out, which means that I get compliments on them whenever I wear them! I’ve found that the sizing on these is a bit small, so when Swixxz say ‘slim, cropped fit’ they really mean it! I’m usually a size small in Australia, but with the Swixxz baby tees, I feel that buying the next size up is definitely the way to go. All of mine are mediums, and they still fit pretty tight, but the fabric is stretchy, so it's not suffocating!

Tees/Tops

I have: Beautiful End Short Sleeve Tee, Wish I Was Human Short Sleeve Tee, In My Head Stripped Long Sleeve Tee, Maggie Lindemann (Suckerpunch) Logo Short Sleeve Tee

The Wish I Was Human short sleeve tee was the very first thing I bought from Swixxz back when it was first announced!! It’s honestly my favourite out of the three tees that I own simply because it has a more direct link to Maggie’s music than her other designs do. I weirdly received three Beautiful End short sleeve tees when I ordered one from Zumiez; and have since sold one, I wear one as a sleeping top, and the third is just in my collection. I’m also counting the Maggie Lindemann Logo tee that I got with my Suckerpunch box set collection because, well, it's kind of related. It just says ‘Maggie Lindemann’ in that pink + green writing on the front in print, and my goal is to get someone to recognise the name when I wear it out! The In My Head stripped long sleeve tee is the perfect layering top underneath oversized shirts, in my honest opinion! The Wish I Was Human short sleeve tee was bought in size medium, and I really wish I bought it in large or extra large. Beautiful End was weirdly bought in a small as an impulse buy, and again, I wish I got it in a bigger size. The In My Head long sleeve tee was bought in medium, and I believe it's a good size! The Maggie Lindemann Logo tee was bought in a medium, and fits just like the Wish I Was Human tee.

Skirts

I have: Anime Plaid Skirt

The only Swixxz skirt I currently own is the Anime Plaid Skirt, which to me, is such a simple but cute design! The belt is detachable!! Which means you can take it off and wear it with whatever else you want!! The only downside that I have with this skirt is that it's slightly too small on me- I bought a medium- but the next size up would be too big.

I have: Trouble Flared Sweatpants

Trackies

The Trouble Flared Sweatpants have the coolest pattern design in my opinion. Every time I’ve worn these pants, people compliment the pattern! They’re super comfortable, even though- again- I wish I could’ve bought these in the next size up. I got a medium, and they fit perfectly fine, but I like a bit of a baggier look for my trackies, so a large would’ve been awesome. They wash really well, and they’re still super cozy after a few washes in the machine.

Sweaters

I have: Spider Black Distressed Sweater, Flash Sheet Crewneck Sweater

Every. Time. I’ve worn the Flash Sheet crewneck sweater, people compliment it! Some think it looks like Dennis The Menace’s sweatshirt- which yeah, it does- and they think it's pretty cool! The material is a thick knit, but I’ve worn it on summer nights and it doesn’t feel too heavy. I only just got the Spider Black Distressed Sweater in the post a few days ago, and it’ll be perfect for the upcoming winter this year! It appears to be double layered (black knit on top of red so the holes have a bit of red peeking through) which is a pretty cool design too.

Hoodies

I have: Paranoia Live From The Roxy Hoodie, Tear Drop Cropped Hoodie

My dearest Paranoia Live From The Roxy hoodie, how I love you so... I wore that thing every day since I got it in the mail after the Paranoia Livestream concert. It’s been everywhere. And sadly, the print on the hoodie really shows how much I wear it. It’s starting to peel off, a lot of the smaller print is just orange flakes now, which sucks, but I guess thats what I get for wearing it to death. The Tear Drop cropped hoodie was part of the first order of Swixxz that I ever got, and while I regret buying it in large (a medium would’ve been great) its honestly the best quality Swixxz item that I own. The print on the back hasn’t aged a day, and the Swixxz logo was stitched on the back. I really wish Swixxz would come out with a similar collection to this cropped hoodie again!!

Coats/Jackets

I have: All Over Print Sherpa Jacket, Backstage Zip Windbreaker

The Backstage windbreaker is my most worn Swixxz item in my closet. I really didn’t think I would wear it as much as I have- I bought a large and thought it was just a bit too big at first, but now it's perfect! It’s a great top layer in winter (it gets pretty cold in Australia) and it's been everywhere. I packed it in my suitcase when I went to Scotland last year, and I wore that damn windbreaker every day. It's the perfect jacket to keep you warm over the top of a hoodie! My only issue with it is: it's definitely not rain-proof. The one I own is now permanently water stained at the shoulders, but thankfully you really can’t see it unless I point it out. I recently got the All Over Sherpa Jacket in the mail and haven’t worn it yet because it's still the middle of summer in Australia, but my god it's so FLUFFY! Definitely a good addition to my winter wardrobe!

My Experience with Zumiez.com

When I first started buying Swixxz, swixxz.com’s international shipping fees were more expensive than Zumiez was, so I bought a lot of my first Swixxz stuff from there! Their postage prices have definitely gone up since Swixxz first started, and I’ve moved to buying from swixxz.com instead because of it. They don’t ship to post office boxes, so whenever I do order from there, I stress myself out because I’ve had a few shipping issues with them.

My first issue was when I bought the Beautiful End tee, and the tracking for the parcel never worked, so I contacted customer service thinking that the parcel got lost. They sent out two more tops before all three arrived on the same day, so that’s how I got three tops for the price of one (I feel so bad for that).

My second issue is buying Swixxz items on sale. I’ve learnt that when you buy Swixxz stuff on sale at Zumiez, you should definitely expect some kind of fault with the product. I’ve bought two items on sale, first one being the In My Head Long Sleeve Tee and Love or Lust Cinched Top. Although it's small, the In My Head tee arrived with a small yellow mark on top of one of the patches, and I’ve had no luck getting the mark out. It's not all that noticeable, because the mark is small and the patch covers it (sort of), but it really bugs me anyway. The Love or Lust top came with a bigger fault that really irks me. The main graphic is two different colours for a 3-D effect, and has clearly been printed twice. One colour is perfectly centred, while the other is off, and it's not on purpose. I still wear the top regardless, but that small detail that people don’t notice stops me from wearing it more often.

However! I do have major pluses when it comes to buying from Zumiez.com! Their shipping is fast. Like, I’m amazed at how quick I get things, considering they ship from somewhere in the middle of America all the way to my tiny ass city in Australia. Usually that takes weeks- from swixxz.com it takes up to a month- but for Zumiez, I only really have to wait up to two weeks. I ordered the Spider Black Distressed Sweater on the 6th of January, and received it yesterday (the 16th). Only counting business days, that took a week to arrive on my doorstep! Another plus: their customer service. I mentioned getting three of the same top, and because I contacted customer service, they shipped out the other two free of charge. Their customer service team are friendly and really responsive, so!! Major bonus!!

My Experience with Swixxz.com

The true downside that I have with swixxz.com is that it seems that their stock is smaller than Zumiez, and for the official website, that seems really strange to me. Sizes can go pretty quickly if the item is popular, so if you want to buy from Swixxz directly: be quick! Other than that, their international shipping is pretty expensive, but that’s just standard for American websites regardless of where you buy from. I wish they’d have more pictures of people wearing the Swixxz items- like what Zumiez do- or maybe just Maggie wearing those items so people can see how she’d style them. Other than that, after the website upgrade, swixxz.com has become easier to navigate! And it looks better now too!!

Overall 💞

Honestly, I love Swixxz. If I didn't, I wouldn't have bought all of that! I buy things a few times throughout the year- mostly for Christmas and my birthday- because its so expensive to ship all the way to Australia. But, in my opinion? Its worth it! The items are great quality, easy to style as statement pieces in outfits, and most importantly: comfy!! I love the direction that Maggie is going with the company, and while I wish they would branch out a little more on the accessories side of things, the collection that they have going is impressive!

#swixxz #maggie lindemann

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boyfhees · 2 years

Note

Just read your Ayato fic and I'm in love with it! Do you have any tips for writing longer works? Thankyou!

hi omg thank you for reading that thing help. also i may not be the best person to ask for tips regarding long fics but let's try :

1. PLANNING — even if you want to freewheel your way through the fic, having an outline actually helps, or if it won't help then it certainly wouldn't ruin things either. you don't need to have a super detailed analysis, just bullet points about important events is enough ( unless you're willing to elaborate, of course ) even if you don't have an outline, at least make sure you have a clear picture of what you're trying to write, especially an end and a major event that joins the beginning and end ( that is, an event that, when narrated with the beginning and the ending, can sum up the whole plot )

2. WRITING ORDER — everyone who claims that having an order is necessary has gone crazy. you don't need to follow any order. start with beginning, jump to your favourite scene, then to scene two— whatever you like. however, writing an ending first makes it easier to write the rest of the story ( since you have a goal in your hand, you just need to make your way towards it ) writing dialogues first without any context boosts up word counts ( because when you write the raw plot, say approx 10k, your dialogues will take around 1-2k. now keep on adding, deleting and refining ) writing in chronological order offers a clearer view of where your plot is going, except this one is pretty hard to follow through as your words count increases. you can have your own order, no need to follow the ones i mentioned

3. MULTIPLE REVISIONS — the long in long fics stands for long drawn process of writing. usually, lengthy works are a combination of multiple scenes and it's important that all of them have a transient flow, even after substituted with time skips / breaks / dividers. which is why, you should read the previous scene everytime you start writing a new one and go through the whole thing once you're done adding 2-4 new scenes. try to write the whole thing in three steps : rough draft, editing sheet, final draft. rough draft is your raw plot, editing sheet is the stage where your draft will go under heavy editing and plot changes, final draft is your final product and is usually up for beta-reading to get a reader's opinions on your fic. as always, you're allowed to run these at your pace. you don't need to make 3 drafts but it's usually helpful when writing something above 10k

4. TIME — longer works are supposed to take time so don't fret if you're taking 2 months to write something. it's fine, that's how it works. give it some time, don't force yourself to write, things will gradually fall into place. if you feel the motivation inside you leaving, listen to songs that fit the theme of your work. read poetry, research topics, make mood boards, do everything that can help you get back into the writing process

5. OMISSIONS & EXPANSION : one thing about long fics is that you should know what to keep and what to delete. writing 250k will do no good if the readers feel that you're dragging the plot with little to no development. on the other hand, writing 3k is enough if you're showing the progress. it's hard to maintain this as the word count goes up and that's is why you should revise your draft multiple times. anything that doesn't contribute to the plot, directly or indirectly, is irrelevant and needs to be deleted. the same way, you can expand certain points that you feel may contribute to the key points in your plot ( for example, someone's relationship, look into someone's life before a particular incident happened, etc. ) again, the only way you can recognise the relevance of a point is through reading and re-reading

BONUS : if you have someone who can listen to your rambles about the fic, reach them out and make their life a living hell. pester them with all the ideas you have and y'all can brainstorm together. don't worry about getting on their nerves because usually, the writer and their closest writer / reader friend are at the same level on insanity scale

this is all i can think of rn help. good luck if you're planning to write !!

#—help menu.#visitor. — anon.

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casspurrjoybell-27 · 6 days

Text

Moving Forward - Chapter 2

*Warning: Adult Content*

Shopping

Max rolled out of the pallet of blankets he'd made on the floor, the bed made him feel like he was falling and climbed to his unsteady feet, yawning wide enough to catch flies.

He spent long moments stretching out his tired body and then scratched the nape of his neck.

It didn't take him much longer to make his way downstairs to the kitchen cupboards and, as his stomach growled, he discovered they were bare.

As was the fridge, much to his annoyance.

It shouldn't have been that surprising.

Since he'd arrived, all he'd done was weed the driveway and repaint the porch, living off cereal and a few tins of beans.

It was barely near enough food to keep his hunger growls at bay but he'd been more focused on his tasks, focused enough to completely forget his stomach but now, there was no avoiding it.

He had to get out of the house and restock the fridge.

His truck purred once he'd started the engine, dressed simply in a pair of dark jeans and a grey hoodie.

Joggers would've been enough but he didn't want to look like a complete slob on his first outing into the town.

According to the map, Max's house was on the outskirts, which was why he'd chosen to drive.

It wasn't as if he could just pull a trolley along for the forty minute walk either, even if the sound of the tires kicking up the occasional pebble made him wince.

It didn't take him long to figure out where the supermarket was.

The town was organised, to say the least.

The post office and town hall were in the middle, with a dirt car park at the back and surrounded by the main road, which was surprisingly empty.

On the other side of the road were the smaller businesses, the library, a few clothing shops, one or two bars, a motel on one corner, the supermarket and a few others that Max probably wouldn't recognise without looking in.

They all seemed to just share the parking lot behind the town hall, too, which didn't even raise an eyebrow.

Why have your own parking lot when there was one perfectly situated?

Plus, there probably weren't that many people in need of it in the first place.

Most of the buildings looked to be two stories, so there were probably people living above the shops.

Max liked it.

Although, at the moment, it did have that barren ghost town feel to it, that was likely because it was eight on a Sunday morning and almost nobody would need to be up at this time.

He was kind of wishing that he'd stayed in bed a little longer.

Oh well, if there was no one at the till, he'd make a list of what he had and pay for it.

Hopefully, they wouldn't mind.

Inside the supermarket and it was a supermarket, despite how small the town was, there were a few people milling around but they were mostly the older crowd who appeared happy enough to spend their time chatting with everyone they came across.

Including Max, actually.

"Oh dear, no," one older lady commented as he picked up a slab of steak.

"That brand will leave you picking beef from out your teeth for days."

Max hummed and put it back, willing to let the lady assist.

"What do you recommend?"

She smiled warmly, lines appearing on her tanned face.

With wrinkling fingers, she picked up three packets of different kinds and handed them to him.

"Here, try these. They're all as good as each other in my opinion but Graham says they're not the same at all."

As Max continued walking, he found others giving him random bits and bobs of what was good and what was downright disappointing.

Small town hospitality, he guessed.

In the junk food isle, he came across a woman tugging along a child that looked to be about nine.

"Come on, Fin, you can't have everything. You'll get sick," she grunted.

Fin looked at her mutinously and then ran ahead, not taking care of where he was looking, only to run into Max.

Of course, Max had seen it coming, and rather than move out of the way of the child, which would no doubt bring the mother's wrath down on him, he steadied the boy before he could fall.

Big startlingly blue eyes started up at Max from a chubby face with big cheeks.

Immediately, he ran back to his mother.

"I'm sorry, he gets a bit excited sometimes, I'm Amelia."

Amelia appeared to be in her late-thirties with the same blue eyes as her son and dark brown hair that was in a neat bun atop her head.

Her long floral skirt and pale pink top did nothing to hide that she wasn't exactly in the best of shape but Max supposed he had no right to judge, the woman could be whatever shape she wanted to be.

Like Kyle Rivers, Amelia also had an odd scent, slightly different but again, not unpleasant.

"I suppose he takes 'don't talk to strangers' quite seriously."

Max offered on seeing that Amelia was still waiting for a reply.

She chuckled and nodded, lightly holding Fin's hand, who seemed to be gripping hers tightly.

"Probably because we don't get many down here. What might your name be?"

"Max Waters," he said.

"I just moved in a few days days ago."

"Mommy," Fin called.

"Why does he speak funny?"

Of course, the words were all slurred with the incoherence of a ten-year-old with his thumb in his mouth.

"Take your thumb out your mouth," she admonished gently and then glanced up Max.

"You're from England, aren't you?"

Max nodded.

"Yeah but I was in New York a few months ago."

"What made you move to the middle o' nowhere Evergree?"

Had she just missed the 'n' in 'evergreen' or was that the actually name of the town?

Max had thought that the name was 'Evergreen' but that was probably because he hadn't looked too closely, just copied the post code into the SAT NAV and left.

Of course, he wouldn't ever mention any of that to Amelia.

"Bad breakup, needed a change of scenery," Max answered, voice as soft as it always was.

"Well," Amelia didn't try to comfort him in the slightest, which might've actually comforted him more.

"Welcome to Evergree."

Max thanked her, dumped more than a few packets of crisps into his trolley and made for the checkout.

The employee was a young lady, early-twenties probably, who looked tired and bored and so done with this.

Until Max walked up.

"Well, howdy," she muttered to herself once she noticed him.

When he got within human hearing range, though, she was strictly friendly.

"That's a whole lotta meat you got there."

She chuckled and Max shrugged, was there any point in coming up with an excuse?

It wasn't as if she'd shove a finger in his face and shout 'NOT HUMAN' at the top of her lungs.

At the most, she'd probably pass him off as weird.

"A guy's got ta feed himself, I guess," she muttered.

"Though I gotta say, it honestly looks like you're preparing to feed an army."

"If my intestines count as soldiers, then I guess," Max replied.

After helping him bag his groceries, the girl allowed him to get away and Max gratefully loaded his shopping into his truck, happy to leave the neighbourly conversations alone.

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