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dduane · 7 months

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The Young Wizards series turns 40!

...And yes, we're having a sale to celebrate. But that can wait. :)

I'm sitting here looking at the date and considering how amazing it is that, despite the changes in the publishing world, anything can stay in print nonstop for forty years.

But this book has. Here's how it started:

...Well, not how it started. It started with three things:

A newbie YA writer being deeply annoyed with a non-newbie one for (as she thought) stripping their teenage characters of their agency without good reason.

A suddenly-appearing joke involving two terms or concepts that wouldn't normally appear together: the 1950s young-readers' series of careers books with titles that always began So You Want To Be A..., and the word "wizard."

And the idea immediately springing from that juxtaposition. What if there was such a book? Not a careers book, but a book that told you how to be a wizard—maybe some kind of manual? One that would tell you the truth about the magic underlying the universe, and how to get your hands on it... assuming you felt you could promise the things that power would demand of you, and survive the Ordeal that would follow?

Six or seven months after that confluence of events, there was a novel with that joke-line as its title. A month or so after that, the novel was bought. So You Want To Be A Wizard came out as a Fall 1983 book, as you can see from the Locus Magazine ad above (from back when Locus was only a paper zine). The first reviews were encouraging.

And by the middle of 1984, the publishers were asking, "So, what's next?" A question I'm still busy answering.

There's been a lot of water under the wizardly bridge since. In SYWTBAW's case, this involved a couple/few publishers, a surprising number of covers, a fair number of awards here and there; and lots more books. (I always knew there'd be more, but how many more continues to surprise me. Which is a bit funny, considering how much stuff that universe has going on in it.)

So here we are at forty, and looking ahead to The Big Five-Oh with some interest. More books? Absolutely. Young Wizards #11 is in progress at the moment, and YW #12 is in the late concept stages. More covers for So You Want To Be A Wizard? Seems inevitable. A TV series, perhaps? (shrug) Stranger things have happened: we'll keep our fingers (or other manipulatory instrumentalities) crossed. The New Millennium Editions in translation? and in international paperback? Working on that right now. The sky's the limit.*

And meanwhile, to celebrate, just for today we'll have a sale. (Except in the UK. To our British friends, the usual sad apology: the expensive bureaucracy of Brexit has made it impossible for us to sell directly to you any more. Details here, with our apologies.)

As has been mentioned before, changes are afoot at Ebooks Direct, so this kind of sale won't be happening again for the foreseeable future. (In fact I thought we were all done with them already. But the number 40 suggested one last opportunity that wouldn't be recurring, so I thought, "Aah, what the heck? Let's.")

New things first! Today, to mark this occasion, we're introducing the "All The Wizardry" Bundle. This is Ebook Direct's entire inventory of Young Wizards works; the contents of the bundle are listed on its product page. The $29.99 price listed there is for today only, to celebrate SYWTBAW's birthday, and will go up as of 23:59 Hawai'ian time tonight. As always, should you ever lose your ebooks or need to change reading platforms, we'll change your formats as necessary, or replace the books, for free.

Just click here, or on the image below, for the "All The Wizardry" Bundle. (Please ignore the category listings under the "Pay Using..." icons on the product page: they plainly think they're in a different universe. Kind of an occupational hazard around here...)

The other, older kind of sale folks will have seen here is on the "I Want Everything You've Got" Bundle, which is the whole Ebooks Direct store—obviously including all the Young Wizards books as well: more than 2.5 million words in 36 DRM-free ebooks. Just for today, in honor of the birthday book, we're dropping the whole-store price to USD $40.00. This, too, will go away just before midnight Hawai'ian time tonight... and it will never be lower. So if you want everything we've got at that price, don't wait around.

Make sure you use this link or the one associated with the image to get the baked-in discount at checkout. (If it fails to display correctly, use the discount code "40FOR40" in the checkout's "discount code or gift code" field.)

Meanwhile? Onward into the next decade. The new A Day at the Crossings novel unfortunately won't make it out before the end of 2023; other work in-house currently has taken priority. But as for early 2024... stay tuned.

And for those of you who're Young Wizards readers, and have kept this book, and its sequels, alive for pushing half a century?

Thank you, again and always!

*Though actually, it's not, is it? As the proverb has it, "Wizardry doesn't stop at atmosphere's edge..."

#Young Wizards series #Young Wizards meta #So You Want To Be A Wizard #ebooks #Diane Duane

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rafesslxt · 4 months

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rafe cameron ff ⎥secret bunny

part 2 ⎥bunny 🐰

summary: 𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞.

JJ‘s cousin, also sarah‘s best friend is coming back to obx for the summer break after 4 years. Oh and how Rafe remembers her

word count : 3k

warning: sexual tension, language, ghostface!rafe, alcohol, best friends brother, English is not my first language

pt. 2:

Full of anticipation, I walked through the city in hope of finding a good costume. After I woke up, Sarah called me and apologized for Topper's behavior where I told her that I was also a little bit ashamed of JJ's actions.

She asked me if I would like to come earlier and get ready together. Of course I agreed. She recommended a store in town where they sell costumes, which I was now standing in front of.

I went in and had a look around. I didn't want anything too flashy but still something that would be recognizable. I found myself standing in front of a bunny costume. It consisted of a headband with big fluffy ears, a furry nose and a flower for the bottom.

I paid for it and left the store. I quickly called a cab to take me to Sarah's.

When I arrived, I looked at the Cameron's estate. Now that I was older, I realized for the first time how huge Tanny Hill actually was. I walked slowly through the front garden, which was bigger than John B's entire home. Sometimes I wondered how fair this world really was. Why can Sarah and I live in big houses and John B and JJ live in small huts and have to fend for themselves?

I rang the doorbell and waited a moment before it opened and two arms wrapped around my waist. "Wheezie! How big you've gotten!" I looked down in amazement and looked at Sarah's little sister. "Sarah is upstairs in her room waiting for you. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." "Thank you." I smiled at her before going upstairs to Sarah's room. Everything felt so familiar but so strange at the same time. As a child, I had never thought about what happens when I wasn't in outer banks.

But now, especially after last night, I wondered more and more what I had missed.

I opened the first door in the hallway. " Hey Sarah." I smiled at her as she came towards me. " Hey." She hugged me tightly and exhaled deeply. " Sorry again for the mess yesterday. This is not how I had imagined our reunion." " It's all right. As I said, JJ wasn't entirely innocent either." " How is John B? Is everything all right with him?" " Yes, a black eye and a few bruises. Nothing he can't get over." " Good good." She nodded. " So? Did you find a costume?"

I unpacked my things, including my costume, and showed her my options. " Hmm.. the pink satin dress would look super cute together with the bunny ears. "

"Yes, that was my favorite too. I think I'll leave out the nose though." We laughed and held them in front of each other's faces.

" Who is actually coming to the party?" " Pretty much everyone. I just hope everything stays a bit more peaceful today than yesterday. " She sighed and put on her costume. She had a headband with a halo on it and big white angel wings that she put on over a short white dress. We got ready for the party together, put on our make-up and styled our hair. I left mine down with my natural waves.

I was putting on my lipstick when Sarah came into the room and spun around. "And? How do I look?" She looked really great. Almost like an real angel.

" Fantastic. If you weren't with Topper, I'd almost say you were taking someone home with you tonight. " Her cheeks flushed and she looked into the mirror. "You know that feeling when something just doesn't feel right? Like it shouldn't be."

I stood up slowly and stepped behind her. " Are you thinking about Topper?" I asked cautiously. " She shrugged her shoulders. " You know, I've only been in one relationship so far, but what I do know is that the right one never makes you doubt whether he's the right one or not.", I told her.

"He tries so hard, but I always have the feeling that it's more about appearances. The most important thing is that we look good together and show up everywhere together. I don't know if that's what love is supposed to feel like." Without wanting to tell her anything wrong, I hugged her from behind and rested my head on her shoulder. "I have a feeling you already know the answer to that."

2 hours later

The first guests arrived an hour ago and the house was getting fuller by the minute. After we'd finished, Sarah and I decorated the house and got everything ready. She took care of the snacks and I took care of the drinks. Sarah took Wheezie to a friend of her's.

Like us, most of the guests had masks on or were wearing light make-up.

The party went great. Sarah introduced me to a few of her friends and I caught up with some old faces. " Hey Scar I know you probably don't like Topper very much now, but he's just coming through the door." she whispered to me before he stood next to us with Kelce. He kissed her and pulled her close to him. He was wearing a black costume with some blood and 2 small horns on his head. Kelce next to him was dressed as a vampire. "Ah, good and evil I presume?" I pointed between Topper and Sarah, whereupon Sarah looked sheepishly at Topper. "Yes, we wanted to be recognizable as a couple," Topper said, hugging Sarah from the side.

"The most important thing is that we look good together and show up everywhere together. I don't know if this is what love is supposed to feel like." Sarah's words replayed in my head.

"So, did you bring any of your friends with you?" Topper asked me, looking down at me cocky. " Why? Do you want to die again?" I knew I was going a bit too far, but if there was one thing I didn't like, it was arrogance. Whether it was wrong or right of JJ to hold a gun to Topper's head was one thing. But running your mouth the next day after almost wetting your pants is beyond crazy to me.

" Excuse me?!" He was visibly angry and took a step towards me, letting go of Sarah. " Topper..." Sarah intervened but I also took a step towards him. "No, that's okay Sarah. He's welcome to learn that even a girl can beat his ass up." I could see the red color rising in his face. " Oh yeah? How about we- " before he could continue, he was interrupted by a male voice.

" Hey hey hey, why don't we all calm down first?" Someone said with a foreign voice, dressed as ghostface. He was wearing black jeans, a black shirt and the mask. He put his hand on Topper's shoulder, where I immediately noticed the golden rings on his fingers. They looked familiar but I just couldn't think of who they belonged to.

"How about you two lovebirds and Kelce get out of here and I'll take care of our little bunny?" He let go of Topper and put an arm around my shoulders. " Ra-" " Like I said, I'll take care of it," he emphasized again.

They just nodded and disappeared. Sarah turned around and whispered "I'm sorry" to me. "So that's how you greet old friends in the Outer Banks, huh?" I turned my attention to Ghostface next to me. " Old friends? I don't know when I've ever been friends with Topper," I said, walking along with him. He walked me out of the house, into the garden, where only a few people were standing to smoke or talk.

We sat down on a bench with a table in front of it and a tarp over it. His arm was still around my shoulders, so he pulled me closer and whispered in my ear, "Maybe not with Topper, but I would have thought my greeting would be a little sweeter." His voice was deep and somewhat muffled by the mask. Nevertheless, goose bumps formed all over my body. "Why should I greet a stranger?" "Am I? Am I a stranger?" He confused me more and more. "Who the hell are you?" " Oh bunny, I didn't think you would forget your first kiss so quickly."

My first ki- "Rafe?!" I looked at him, startled, and pulled the mask off his face. " Did you miss me?" There was a big grin on his lips as he scanned my shoked face. "I almost didn't recognize you when you were standing next to my sister last night. " " You were there last night too?" " Yes, but not long enough to see the fight. "

I didn't know what to say. He was the first person in a long time to leave me speechless. I also had no idea what he wanted from me. " What do you want from me?" I asked straight out.

He pulled me closer again and looked down at me. His eyes were always to fall in love with. Wait. Pull yourself together Scar. It's still Rafe. I took a closer look at his face and quickly realized how grown up he had become. He was incredibly handsome and only now did I realize how good he smelled. I looked into my cup and thought about how much I had to drink.

"Why do I have to want something? Isn't it possible that I just want to chat with you and find out how you are?" I've always been good at reading people and I knew straight away that he was lying and wanted something. "I'm fine Rafey, how are you?" I started to grin because I knew how much he hated it when I used to call him like that. He rolled his eyes and straightened up a little. "Now that you're here, I couldn't be feeling better, bunny. And I see you're just as cheeky as you've been for the last few years."

"Hmm, I'm beginning to think you've missed me," I replied. He softly put his hand on my knee, brushed his fingers over my skin and looked me in the eyes. Why couldn't I move? Why did his gaze captivate me so much? He lowered his head to the level of mine until his lips were right next to my ear again. " Would that be so bad? The last time I saw you, you were 14 and you just got your first kiss from me. " I tried to look away as my cheeks got hot but he took my chin between his fingers and turned my head around. " How 'bout trying again? You can't imagine how much better I am now."

His hot breath bounced against my skin. I bit my lower lip and tried to breathe normal. "Why so shy now hm?" he whispered. "Or didn't you like our first kiss as much as I did?"

We all sat in a big circle and waited excited until Chalsey had finished with the notes. After what felt like an eternity, she came into the room and placed an empty bottle in the middle of our round. "The rules are simple. Everyone takes a piece of paper from the bowl and reads out loud what it says, then spins the bottle and has to do what it says with the person the bottle is pointing at."

I was 14 at the time, as were most of the others in the room. The oldest were 16.

Linda next to me pulled a piece of paper out of the bowl first. She unfolded it and read out loud "kiss". A chorus went around the room as everyone waited to see who the bottle would land on. She crumpled up the scrap of paper again and put it back before taking the bottle in her hand, spinning it vigorously and waiting tensely. The bottle slowed down and stopped at... Kelce. Everyone looked up at the two of them and cheered.

Linda stood up shy and walked over to Kelce, who was sitting nervous in an armchair. His boys pushed him towards Linda. He stood up and slowly approached her face. When their lips touched, everyone started cheering and whistling again. They both sat back in their seats and looked sheepishly at each other.

"Scar, it's your turn." Chalsey said, holding out the bowl of notes to me. Excitedly, I took one out and opened it carefully. There it was and I couldn't believe my eyes. "Tell us, what did you get?" Sarah, who was sitting opposite me, asked me excited. "7 minutes in heaven."

My heart was beating incredibly fast as I took the bottle and spun it. I hoped it wouldn't be someone I didn't like. The bottle slowed down and my heart beat faster by the second. It stopped and my gaze followed the direction it was pointing at. Now my heart dropped in my pants. "Uuuhhh" everyone started giggling and whispering. Rafe. The bottle stopped at Rafe.

"My brother? Ew!" Sarah looked at her brother in disgust and shook her head. " You can use the wardrobe at the end of the hall. There are usually only umbrellas in there. We both stood up and walked towards each other. Rafe took my hand and pulled me behind him to the closet. He opened the door and let me in first. It wasn't really big, so I was slightly pressed against Rafe's torso as he got into the closet and closed the door.

Some light fell in through the crack in the closet and I could see Rafe's face. "Hi." I said shy. "Hey." He smiled a little and carefully put both hands on my hips. " We don't have to do this if you-" " No no no- I mean- it's okay Rafe. I'm not a kid anymore." The truth was, I'd always had a little crush on Rafe. I knew he was Sarah's brother, but I couldn't help it. Besides, I was sure he saw me as nothing more than his little sister's girlfriend. And I was only a year younger than Rafe.

I didn't want him to think I was a little girl who was scared, so I placed my hands on his chest. I could feel his heart beating fast under my palms. Was he nervous? His face moved closer to mine until I could feel his breath against my lips. " Have you ever kissed anyone?" I shook my head. " No." A smile formed on his lips before he brushed them against mine.

My heart felt like I was about to have a heart attack. "You smell good." Rafe whispered and looked me straight in the eyes. I got goosebumps as his grip on my hips tightened. "You too."

His lips finally touched mine and he closed the distance between us. He placed a hand on my cheek and stroked it with his thumb. His lips were soft and he tasted of the popcorn we all ate earlier. His second hand slowly stroked my stomach, which was exposed by my crop top. It startled me briefly, causing my mouth to open slightly. Rafe took his chance and ran the tip of his tongue over my bottomlip and then into my mouth.

I didn't know what to do so I did the same as he did, whereupon his grip on my cheek tightened a little and he pressed his body against mine. He let go of my lips and breathed just as quickly as I did. "You're a really good kisser," he moaned.

Out of breath, I could hardly answer and just nodded shyly. "Hey! Seven minutes are up!" Chalsey's voice rang out from behind the wardrope. "Too bad you're going home tomorrow," Rafe whispered in my ear and kissed my cheek.

I snapped out of my thoughts when Rafe stroke my cheek. " I think you did." he smiled and looked at me. "My question is still open though, what do you really want from me?" His eyebrows furrowed and his expression became a little more irritated. "Bunny, I told you I don't want to -" "Hey! Get your slimy hands off her!" I jerked my head to the side. " JJ?" Now I was the one who was irritated. "What are you doing here?" " I wanted to talk to you, to find out how you're doing. We haven't spoken all day." Rafe stood up next to me and looked at JJ. "Are you surprised she doesn't want to talk to you after you put a gun to Topper's head yesterday?" "You stay out of this Rafe!"

I stood up and put a hand on Rafe's chest to hold him back. "Rafe, please go inside. I'll sort it out." " Are you sure?" I nodded and smiled at him briefly. " Okay, I'll be inside if you need me." " Thanks, Rafe." He went inside and left me and JJ alone.

"JJ...what were you thinking?" I sat back down on the bench. "I don't know. I just saw him almost drown John B and then, well... that was the first thing that came to my mind." "Why did you even have a fucking gun on you?" " It's a long story but John B and I found it a a few weeks ago." I shook my head and eyed him. I could tell he was really sorry, but that didn't really change anything for now.

" JJ, I'll be home tomorrow or tonight. I'll write to let you know. But please go now." He sighed but listened to me." Love you, Scar. See you later." "Love you too, JJ." I watched him leave the property and then went back inside myself.

" Scar! Is everything all right? I'm so sorry I left you alone with Rafe, it was so stupid of me." I smiled and looked at my hands. " It's all right. He wasn't that bad to be honest." " Wow. Are you sure we're talking about the same person?" " Uhm, Sarah.. can I sleep here tonight?" " Yes, of course. When the party's over, we'll make ourselves comfortable and it'll be just like old times." I could tell she was happy and I hoped she was right.

At least one thing was going to be like it used to be. • thank you so much for reading, let me know If you want part 3 xoxo Sarah

Secret Bunny Masterlist

#rafe cameron smut #rafe cameron imagine #rafe x reader #rafe cameron #rafe cameron fanfiction #rafe cameron series #drew starkey #drew starkey smut #drew starkey x reader #obx fanfiction #obx imagine #obx fic #secret bunny rafe cameron

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 6 months

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AITA for not giving my brother my old gaming consoles?

So I (28m) love video games. Nintendo's handheld consoles in particular (I also own my parents old '98 computer and some of the PC games). They were a crucial part of my childhood and I strived to save every console and game that I could, and still keep them now for sentimental value and the sake of preserving them. My brother (30m) was never really into video games, but because we came from a lower class family, the gaming consoles and all subsequent games were typically gifted to "the whole family" and by extention, my brother, as he was the older child, but they all ended up becoming mine in the end, as I was the only one who would use them beyond the first week of owning them.

As we got older, my brother lost all interest in video games, so games started to get gifted to me directly, while the consoles remained "for the family". None of them were ever "officially" handed over to me, except for my father handing me his old grey Gameboy and going "here, you like this more than me" (that Gameboy and the Metroid game in it are my ultimate treasure). But again, I was the only one who cared about them, so everything I could beg my parents to not sell got added to my collection.

Now that we're all adults and my brother has kids and said kids are now old enough for video games (both are 6yo) they both have taken an interest. Which is awesome! I let my niece and nephew play on my Switch when they come over, and sometimes they watch me play games on my PC. They also have tablets that they play games on too, so there's no shortage of access, and my SIL is thinking about getting a Switch for at home (they love Kirby).

Just a month ago though, my brother randomly asked me for "his consoles back". When I asked why, he told me it was because he wanted to give them to his kids. When I asked which ones, he wanted them all. From the grey Gameboy up to the Gamecube.

I flat out told him no. First off, the Gamecube was sold in a yard sale after my parents "persuaded" me to let them sell it. The Gamecube I own now was gifted by a friend, so that one is 100% mine. My brother doesn't believe me on that. Second, none of these handheld consoles are being made anymore, they can be hard to find depending on where you are, and the price of the games for them are even higher. I love my niece and nephew, but they are little kids, and it would be devestating to see or hear that one of those old consoles got snapped in half or crushed. Also, again, these consoles are my entire childhood. These are the ones I held in my hands as a kid, and those games are the ones I had for years, and contained my save files on them. They mean way too much to me.

My brother got mad at me, claiming that I'm being selfish and that I can just "buy another one online" and that "they sit in a storage bin all the time", and got even angrier when I asked him why HE couldn't just buy them online. We apparently are on the same page that these consoles hold sentimental value to us, but I'm having a hard time seeing his side of it when he barely touched them.

He hasn't brought it up since, but apparently my brother's been complaining to our parents because my mother called me a few days ago to tell me that I am being selfish and to "just give him the games already". She hates seeing us fight and tends to pick the side of the kid that complains to her first, so IDK if I believe her. My dad doesn't care, and my SIL thinks spending the money on a Switch would be money better spent.

I do feel a little bad, I know I would be steaming mad if the roles were reversed, but I just do not see how he suddenly cares so much about these consoles all of a sudden, and I absolutely do not trust that he would make sure his kids are careful with them.

So, AITA? Am I being selfish? I already was thinking about letting my niece and nephew try out the old consoles when they're older and I get them all set up in a proper display case, I just do not want to lose ownership of these consoles. I already lost the Gamecube, Wii, and so many games (including PC games) to my parents "convicining me" to sell them. I don't want to lose any more.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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loveephia · 1 year

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:¨ ·.· ¨: atsumu miya's valentine special.

`· . ꔫ sypnosis: in which you wanted to confess to atsumu, but as the school's beloved vice president, you've been too busy helping out with the limited valentine's day events. because of how often you were pulled away from atsumu, he decides to entertain his fangirls to try and make you jealous

content: (🦷) tooth-rotting fluff, hurt with comfort, osamu is in two clubs (volleyball and culinary), kita is mentioned, reader has glasses, you cry because of atsumu, but don't worry, he calms you down toward the end.

⚠ warning/s: atsumu being atsumu none.

my HQ masterlist. (valentine's edition)

"hello, ms. vice president. yer lookin' prettier than usual today. did ya do somethin' with your hair? you smell like a meadow." atsumu teased you non-stop. you were one (if not, the only) girl he'd stop by to bother during school hours. you don't even know if he truly means his teasing or if he's just messing with you.

whatever it is, it worked because you silently crushed on the faux blond.

"cut it out, miya. i'm trying to sign a few papers of allowances for the upcoming valentine's event." you stated sternly, making sure to emphasize the miya. you knew how much he disliked being called that, especially from you. "still on the last name basis?! i have a twin brother who's also named miya, y'know! how'll you call us if we're both present?" atsumu whined.

you thought for a moment, "i'll call you 'the-more-annoying-miya.'"

"no way, call me 'the-hotter-miya' instead! it's got a better ring to it." atsumu winked

"you and osamu have the same face." you factually deadpanned. "wait—! yer callin' 'samu by his first name but not me?!" atsumu said at a loud volume, taking no notice of the rest of your statement.

"whatever.. i have to go now." you said, slipping away from atsumu to head to the afternoon student council meetings.

valentine's is coming, meaning a lot of booths, a lot of food, and potentially, a lot of heartbreak. you can't even imagine the headache atsumu will be by then.

sure you had a crush on him, but he could be a bit of an annoyance sometimes.

time skip.

the meeting came to an end, and you huffed. you skim over your clipboard to see the busy schedule ahead of you.

1. help the botany club sell roses.

maybe one of those roses have a thorn magical enough to prick your finger and put you into a deep sleep until valentines is over; kinda like sleeping beauty with a few details changed.

2. deliver the anonymous love letters.

at this point, all the enveloped confessions should just go straight to the miyas. those two always end up getting the most every year anyway.

3. give each and every schoolmate a pouch of specially made chocolates from the culinary club.

you only like this one because you were told that you get to keep the leftovers.

"hey, ms. vice president!" atsumu greets you with the familiar nickname he specially made. you look up to see the setter, and your eyes widen. "miya.. it's late in the afternoon. what are you still doing in school? i don't think you guys even have volleyball practice today." you said.

"yeah, i know, but i wanted t'walk you home! i didn't know that the meeting would last up to two hours, though." atsumu said, "still, it was time worth waitin'." he smirked at you.

disregarding the flirty comment, your heart swelled at the fact that he was thoughtful enough to wait and walk you home. you smiled softly, "thank you for being so considerate. just let me get my bag, and we can get going."

atsumu was expecting you to roll your eyes or even sigh restlessly, but to his surprise, you didn't.

"okay." he replied quietly, watching you go jog to your own classroom. atsumu sighed longingly.

osamu, who unwillingly witnessed the scene before him, could only cringe. "why is he still at school?" one may ask. he couldn't go home because his older twin of three and a half minutes was entrusted with the keys to the house. atsumu also refused to let him go by himself due to stubbornness.

"i hate it here." osamu murmured.

time skip.

on the walk home with the twins, you all shared your day almost peacefully (not without the twins bickering every now and then, of course). you didn't even realize osamu was there earlier outside the meeting room..

the sun had set, and you were finally at the foot of your house. osamu was standing by your house's gate while atsumu was right next to you. "i'll see ya tomorrow, ms. vice president." he said, patting your head and messing up your hair.

you let it slide since it's the end of the day anyway. you lean close to kiss his cheek, "thanks, atsumu." you quickly expressed your gratitude before going inside your house, leaving atsumu to malfunction outside.

"did— did she just call me by my first name?!" he thought, puffs of smoke cartoonishly coming off the top of his head. his fingers came in contact with his blazing cheek, the cheek that you kissed.

finally going back home with osamu, atsumu couldn't think straight. he even fumbled with the keys to simply unlock their door. the younger twin who's too tired to deal with atsumu's behavior, takes the keys, and unlocks the door himself.

time skip.

valentine's day was here, and your feet were aching from the number of times you had to run up and down the stairs to help out with booths.

the duties of being inarizaki's virtuous vice president were ample. every year, it truly never gets easier. but you enjoy seeing the satisfied expression on your schoolmate's faces from your helpfulness, so you'll continue to run for a spot on the student council if it means—

"y/n!" atsumu calls out. you turn around to see the boy. just as you were about to come up to him to say hi, a female voice cuts you off. "y/n! the president is looking for you, he says it's urgent." your classmate said. you nod, excusing yourself from atsumu's sight to see what the matter is.

atsumu understands. you're a busy girl, so he lets it slide.

until the fourth time, that is.

"y/n, can you please help me carry these boxes of flowers to class 2-E?" the head of the botany club sweatdropped. you nod, helping him out.

"y/n, my adorable underclassmen, would you be a dear and send this to kita shinsuke from class 3-A?" the student council treasurer asks playfully, "i don't want him to know it's from me~" she whispers with red cheeks. you nod, running off to the third year's classroom.

"y/n, can you head to the kitchen with me? we made a new variety of chocolates, and we need your thoughts." osamu said, a sheet of sweat glistening on his forehead from the heat in the kitchen. you nod, "of course, osamu."

atsumu can't believe this.. his own brother?!

"y/n this, y/n that. i just wanna be with her on valentines!" atsumu grumbles, kicking a pebble on the ground, feeling like a defeated puppy.

"excuse me, atsumu?" a hesitant voice disrupts atsumu of his thoughts. "t- this is for you." she bravely hands him a letter. this is the seventg time today that he's received a confession. un-anonymously, that is.

"thanks." atsumu mumbles half-heartedly, though he knows he won't read it.

wait.

this just gave him a brilliant idea.

time skip.

you finished your duties. everything is going great; sales are booming for the botany club, all of the love letters have been delivered, and you even got a few leftover chocolates.

you're off to find atsumu, excited to see him.

only to see the one and only setter surrounded by plenty of fangirls.

"can i have a selfie, atsumu?" a girl asks. "sure, darlin'." atsumu replies. did he just call her by a pet name? and, more importantly, is he actually entertaining his fangirls? this is odd..

your heart starts to feel heavy, and before you know it, atsumu eyes land on you. just one look, and he's forgotten all about his fangirls. "y/n!" he exclaims.

atsumu is so happy to finally see you unoccupied.

then he sees your nose tint a shade of red and your eyes all glassy.

you run off in a weak attempt to hide your tears, and atsumu is quick to run after you. "no— wait, y/n!"

you keep running until you reach a more deserted spot in inarizaki high. you're not athletic. your legs were sure to give out soon, especially when the one chasing after you is a part of a volleyball club.

you try not to sob aloud, very hurt by atsumu's actions. you don't even turn to look at him, and he knows he messed up big time. you sniffle your nose, and atsumu pulls you in for a warm hug. you let him pat your back and hush you quietly.

"..m'sorry. i was actin' like a jerk all because i didn't get to talk to you the entire day." atsumu apologized, "i know my words aren't gonna cut it, but i want t'make it up to you because.." he reaches for both your hands. "i really, really like you."

your breathing is choppy, "d- do you mean that?" you look up at him. your glasses were foggy, and your red cheeks stained with tears. hair a bit disheveled from the run. atsumu smiles at you, "there's my pretty vice president." he says before pressing a kiss to your forehead, "i do." he confirms your earlier question.

you giggle at yourself for falling for a dumbass like atsumu. how silly. "i- i like you too." you stuttered quietly between your sobs.

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sgiandubh · 7 months

Note

I’m reading the new Clanlands book. I was hoping it would be a fun read like the first one, no narrative. I’ve now read two different passages in the book where Sam talks about running into a woman he finds attractive whether it’s a hotel patron, hotel staff, or shop worker, including this passage about Valentines Day. He hoped to ask the woman making his smoothie on a date and instead ended up alone in his hotel room on Valentine’s Day dreaming about a romantic night in his hotel room with the fantasy date that never came to fruition.

I wish for once we shippers could get a win instead of taking one step forward and two steps back if you know what I mean. It’s hard to hold out hope of Sam and Cait ever coming out publicly when there’s interviews and books filled with the narrative.

Dear Valentine's Day Anon,

You start with a lie. You are not reading that book. You have read someone else's (dutiful Marple, as always, all hands on deck) choice of salacious/commercial/crappy sentimental passages of a 150 to 200 pages book chock-a-block full with other things. You, therefore, have an F- from me for laziness and naïveté. When you speak about a text, any text (and this, Anon, scarcely is literature), please be honest with yourself and wait until the end. The same way you should never judge a book by its cover, do not judge a book by some excerpts someone picked up in order to show you how desperate the author is to sell it.

Reading is a personal affair. Buy the book. Read it all. And then you'll be qualified to have a grounded opinion. I am not in a hurry to read it and I certainly had no hopes he would give us a single ounce of his reality or truth in a commercial companion to a TV show, as this book clearly is.

Then, there's also that: it is a ghostwritten book and not a very good one. Travel books are also always rife with false self-references and I hope, for one, you do not believe there is anything remotely objective in Marco Polo's Book of the Marvels of the World (some say he never got where he told all the Western World he did!). And if Marco Polo himself lied shamelessly, why wouldn't SRH do exactly the same, for the needs of a scantily cobbled show where he is playing the decoratively fit clown along his older, wiser, nerdy companion?

I was shown the reactions to those dutifully poisonous posts. A mob, cackling and the host gleefully throwing gasoline on that fire (but oh, no: she is not a hater - my foot she isn't). The only comment that truly broke my heart, Anon, is this one:

What a terrible person must the woman who wrote that be! What a horrible, empty life she must have! Please, for the name of everything holy, leave Chrissie Heughan out of your putrid pettiness! She raised her boys by herself and with very little. Whoever wrote this comment should really, really be ashamed of herself. She can even say whatever she wants about SRH, but she should leave his family out of her hatred. Not a single woman in that thread corrected or challenged her. Not. A. Single. One.

You also tell me you are tired with the tango. I also think no real shipper could fall, by now, for these tired tricks. And if you do believe the interviews and books more than they should be, you are the perfect fodder for those interviews and books that can and should be questioned, as anything else in this strange story is critically questioned every single day.

So you see, Anon, I will perhaps be interested in your grounded opinion the day you will come back after reading the whole book, not Marple's Reader Digest version. If anything, your uninformed, gluttonous curiosity backfired. Unless you came here to spread the holy shite on this doorknob, too. But that is your problem, Anon. Not mine.

#Anon #fandom

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lemonmaid · 1 year

Text

Fast food jobs I think Dorm Leaders have worked.

I'm at work so I thought of this while making food, but send in request!

Riddle Rosehearts : Dairy Queen and Trey's family Bakery.

I feel like after his overbolt he wanted to explore and experience things he couldn't before. So he got a job to try things out.

"Riddle how was Dairy Queen?"

"It was alright for a first job, I hated making blizzards though".

"Yeah when Riddle came to work at the bakery, his muscle memory was the worst".

"How so?".

"Let's say when he was making milkshakes for customers he was flip them upside-down".

Leona Kingscholar : Waffle House

During his teenage angst years he was badmouthinh servants and food workers, so his mom has enough and decided to get him a job so he will understand how hard it is being a worker.

"Leona?"

"..."

"You know that stigma around waffle house? The fights? Let's just say he ran a fight club!".

"WHAT"

"Ruggie cut the shit, I didn't start them, but I did finish them".

Azul Ashengrotto : Family Restaurant

Since it is said his family owns their own restaurant, I can imagine him as a child coming from school and doing his homework in the corner of the restaurant and when he got older (old enough not to break child labor laws ) he worked as a host/server or dishwasher.

"How do you feel about tipping Azul?"

"Well my family pays our workers above minimum wage in the Atlantic, so tipping isn't necessarily but it is seen as a complement".

"PSST Yuu/Name, people tip there more because there's rumors that their family works with the mafia"

"Floyd, stop."

Kalim Al-Asim : Sonic

He saw an ad where the employees got to Rollerblade to cars to being food. He begged for weeks just to have a job. His family complied but he was only allowed to do it for a week with Jamil's help.

"Yeah! It was super fun!! But I wasn't allowed to rollarskate, they said 'we don't do that anymore'. So Jamil took me to Roller-Rink after work!"

"He would pout everytime we passed it on the way home...."

Vil Schoenheit : Starbucks

A video circled around of a blond Karen who looked kinda like Vil (maybe or maybe not it was him, PR teams worked hard) bitching about her Chai latte not being hot. So Vil decided to work at Starbucks for two weeks just to bring up his reputation and "be humbled".

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Kinda, it was a nice experience but so many people came in asking just for autographs to the point where the manager had to put a sign up saying if you bought 20 dollars worth of food or drinks they get a free autograph".

"So we're you the karen?"

"... listen we all have our bad days, but now I get free Starbucks for life. Now what do you want to drink?".

Idia Shroud : McDonald's

Remember when BTS meal was available at McDonald's and workers got shirts are started selling them for hundreds of dollars? I feel like Idia would do the same thing for like a game collaboration or a popular idol group. Literally only applies for the merch.

"Did you enjoy working there?"

"No. The social interaction was awful, people are so fucking rude. I'm sorry that I misheard you when you said you want a fucking mcnugget".

"Damn, salty much?"

"You know how many rude customers got spit in their food? Alot. That's why I will never eat there again" *shivers*

"Welp atleast you got this cool shirt".

Malleus Draconia : None.

I'm sorry but I can not see this man working a day in his life unless he was told to do the dishes as a punishment, but even then he didn't finish doing them because Lilia felt bad

"Child of Man, I don't understand why you have to leave to work".

"Some of us aren't from old money or have a whole ass castle decaded to their "hoard"".

"I don't like your attitude".

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gadriezmannsgirl · 1 year

Text

It's Our Thing - P.G

Hope you like it, guys! It's a bit long but it's really cute.

Please, remember English it's not my first language! So, sorry if there's any misspell

When you first met Gavi, it wasn't in the best of terms. Your best friend, Andrea, was and still is a huge fan of the Barcelona team, meanwhile you, you did knew a bit of your rookies, about football and stuffs because of your two older brothers, you learned to like the game and understand every single thing of it. You just never really went all in into it and never really looked for a favorite team, to cheer on and suport.

So, when she announced herself at your parents, saying she got you a number 6 Gavi jersey and showed you a pair of tickets for Barcelona vs. Cádiz, in LaLiga, you didn't complain.

You didn't complain about the tickets but you left in her hands the Barcelona jersey, sitting once more in the couch, in your previous position.

"C'mon, Y/N/N" She whined "This is the cute guy I was talking you about. I truly think you'd like him"

"And why would I like him if he doesn't know me?"

"C'mon, don't be that way. Just because Louis Tomlinson had a kid without you doesn't mean, you can't have it with Ga-OUCH!"

"That fucking hurt, you know?" You said pointing a finger at her after throwing her one of the cushions next to you

"Sorry" She sat down next to you "He's our age and he even shares the same birthday date as you"

"That's nice to hear. A lot of people was, is and will be born in August 5th, you know?" You said going back to your phone "I accept the invitation, I'll never turn down a good match but I won't be using anyone's name on my back but mine. So... Unless you've a Y/LN jersey, I'm going in normal clothes"

She sighed throwing her head back "Fine" She agreeded "But we are so cheering for Barcelona"

And that was it.

The day of the match came in and you girls were at Camp Nou, looking for your seats. Andrea had gotten the best seats, nearly close the pitch, being separated only by the bench and the guards, from where you girls where you could hear everything the players, directors and coaches could yell at perfection.

It was great.

After a little while, a selling guy passed and you bought some mango juice while your friend had a Coca-Cola and asked for a few snacks to have while the game was on.

Right now, the players were warming up for the match

"Is it possible for someone to look so good as Eric García is looking?" You laughed while taking your drink to your lips to have a sip of it

"You're crazy for that man, aren't you?"

"¡CUIDADO!"

Someone in the pitch, had yelled out, before you felt a strong hit at your jaw and hand, causing the drink you were having to spill all over you and the straw go up to your nose

"¡Maldición!" You yelled out while your friend quickly hurried up and gave you some napkins for your bleeding nose

"¡Ay díos mío!" You could hear people gasping and being worried about you.

The blood wasn't going easy

"Somebody help, please" Your friend yelled panicked

"Put your head up!" You heard someone in the back say and you did what you were told

"Oye, lo siento muchísimo" You heard a male voice say but couldn't quite recognize the owner of the voice

"Let's take her to the dressing rooms and have her checked out"

You, along with the help of your friend where scorted to the dressing rooms, even tho, you didn't feel anything besides the straw still on your nose even tho it wasn't there anymore and the hardcore pain, you didn't even know how were you walking around the insides of the Camp Nou

"Here" You heard someone say and Andrea made you sit down. And the doctor started to check your nose and do his job.

Some minutes later, you don't know how many, the players came in. The blood had stopped and you had a napkin on top of your nose

"How's she?"

"She'll be fine" The doctor said and explained a few things, for you, for your friend and for the guys who were worried.

"I'm so sorry" A brunette with big brown eyes said instantly "I was the one who hit you"

"Nice kick, bud" That's all you said before groaning a bit

"I'm truly sorry. I'm Pablo Gavi" You stared at his hand for a bit before handing him yours

"Y/N Y/L/N" You said simply.

"How can I make it up to you?"

"Practice at home your shoot" You said making the entire team laugh a little

"No. I mean, really, how can I make it up to you? I feel so bad" You shake your head a bit before hissing

"Just win. And that'll be it" You said trying to pull out the bloody napkin out of your nose "Can we go and see the game?" You asked lightly

"Of course" He said quickly nodding "Do you maybe want to watch it with the rest of the players in the bench?"

And that was the start of how Pablo got into your life.

The cheeky bastard, knowing your name, searched your Insta and slided into your DM's, soon developing a friendship and after a three months of friendship, he asked you out on a date.

August, 5 came in; and Pablo didn't quite knew that it was also your birthday, so when he invited you at his house to celebrate with his teammates and some of his friends of La Masía and his family; you asked if your best friend could come with you. Of course he said yes and off you went.

You didn't wanted to make a big thing for your birthday, you've already celebrated it with your friends at Uni, your fam did a little cake for you and they already (Even with your protest) gave you some presents.

"THE BIRHTDAY GIRL IS HERE ALREADY!" Your best friend shouted when you came into view and you quickly shushed her up

"Birthday girl?" Pedri asked

"No" "Yes"

You both looked at each other "It's Y/N's birthday"

"Lies"

"Is it your birthday?" Pablo asked in surprise

You sighed and nodded "It is"

"Why didn't you tell me that?! THIS IS AMAZING!" He said hugging you and giving you a cute kiss on your lips "¡Feliz cumpleaños, mi amor!"

And the wave of congratulations started to sorround you. Belén, Pablo's mother even went ahead and bought another cake just for you. And when the candles were blew out, Pablo turned to give you a kiss on your cheek and hug you tightly

"August 5th is our thing now, love"

Years passed by, six to be exact when he got down on one knee and proposed to you. On August 5th.

And now, two years later, already married and with two newborn babies. Natalia Alexia and Nicolás Martín Páez Y/L/N.

"They are so beautiful" Pablo said while having Natalia in his arms while you had Nicolás "She looks just like you"

"And he, like you" You replied "I never imagined falling in love with a football player, y'know?" You laughed "Andrea from the beggining told me that she thought you were fit for me. And you are" You giggled

Pablo with a smile on his face, walking over to you and leaning over to kiss your lips sweetly.

"And you are. You are fit for me, just like how I am fit for you" You smiled at him and kissed him once more "You look beautiful, señora Gavira" You laughed

"I look like I just gave birth to twins"

"Extremely sexy, may I add"

You shaked your head smiling and when you turned your head to watch the hour, it hit you.

04:29am

"Cariño" You said with a smile on. August, 5th "Happy birthday"

Pablo smiled looking at the clock as well "Happy birthday to you too, mi reina" He kissed you once more "Te amo"

Three hours ago you had given birth. On August, 5th.

"I love you too" You both smiled at each other before, Natalia moved in Pablo's arms making him look down at her "You know..." Pablo lifted his head from our baby girl "August, 5th is really our thing"

Pablo smiled and nodded "It really is our thing"

°°° °°° °°° °°°

@gaviypedrisbride

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mxlktxa · 1 year

Text

ᴅᴇᴄᴇɪᴠɪɴɢ ʟᴏᴏᴋꜱ

ᴍᴏᴅᴇʀɴ!ᴀᴜ (ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴏꜰ)ᴄᴏʟʟᴇɢᴇ!ᴀᴜ

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ(ꜱ); ᴍᴏᴅᴇʀɴ!ᴇʟʟɪᴇ ᴡɪʟʟɪᴀᴍꜱ x ꜰᴇᴍ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ; ᴇʟʟɪᴇ ᴡɪʟʟɪᴀᴍꜱ*, ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ, ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀꜱ ᴘᴀʀᴇɴᴛꜱ, ᴅɪɴᴀ ɴᴏʟᴀꜱᴛɴᴀᴍᴇ (ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴᴇᴅ), ʀɪʟᴇʏ ᴀʙᴇʟ (ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴᴇᴅ), ᴊᴏᴇʟ ᴍɪʟʟᴇʀ (ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴᴇᴅ)

ᴄᴡ; 18+ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ, ʟᴀɴɢᴜᴀɢᴇ, ᴇʟʟɪᴇꜱ ᴘᴏᴠ, ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ/ᴛᴀʟᴋꜱ ᴏꜰ ꜱʜ (ꜱᴇʟꜰ ʜᴀʀᴍ), ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ/ᴛᴀʟᴋꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴅʀᴜɢꜱ(/ᴅʀᴜɢ ᴜꜱᴀɢᴇ), ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ/ᴛᴀʟᴋꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴀʟᴄᴏʜᴀʟ (ᴜꜱᴀɢᴇ), ɴᴏᴛ ᴘʀᴏᴏꜰʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴀᴛ ᴀʟʟ, ᴘᴇᴛ ɴᴀᴍᴇꜱ (ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇꜱꜱ, ᴅᴏʟʟ, ᴇᴛᴄ)

ᴡᴄ; 1.2ᴋ, 6.8ᴋ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ

'✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ 🀦 '✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ '✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ 🀦 '✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ '✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ 🀦 '✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

I had known this girl all my life. Since we were kids, really. She was just a sweet, innocent, happy girl. She could never do anything wrong. Even her appearance came off of such, definitely wouldn’t hurt a fly. Made friends easily— not with me, I was an ass—, super creative, and very talented. She was an angel, anyone would agree. You could love her oh-so easily.

Back when we were younger, she always came up to me whenever she saw me isolated from anyone else, wanting to hold conversations or just sit in a comfortable silence. As we got older, conversations were held much better and longer. She ended up giving me gifts out of the blue, begging me to accept them even when I told her to stop spoiling me. Drawings, little candy baskets, sweet notes, invitations for a sleepover or dinner at her parents.

I’m telling you. She’s the sweetest.

Later down the line, sometime between seventh and eighth grade, I would see her personality falter here and there, see her have her bad days, yet act like she was having such a fantastic one. Behind closed doors she would break down, screaming and crying her lungs out, verbally considering self-harm. I talked her out of it, thankfully, I didn’t want to see her so deep in an endless void.

Highschool rolled around, we were very, very different people. I ended up getting into substances I shouldn’t’ve gotten into, lots of fights, loads of rumors, and plenty of quick and unreasonable relationships. But her? She stayed the same. Perfect, gorgeous, happy, so very happy-go-lucky. Of course, she had her bad days, thats a given. But they were because of that stupid path I decided to walk down. And yet, that peachy little angel stayed by my side.

Fucking angel.

Around graduation, I was only smoking weed, selling some every now and again, taking time off of being in relationships. Fights were drastically reduced but rumors… Not so much. We went back to having sleepovers and little lunch dates. Mainly sleepovers as she said she enjoyed staying up with me and sleeping on top me more than sitting down and eating for what felt like ten minutes. She even encouraged me to go to college with her, move into a nice little home with her. As friends.

Moving in was wild. We would go out four times a week, constantly stay up late, and drink as if alcohol poisoning wasn’t a thing. That’s when I found out her appearance and personality was definitely not her default behavior. She was a total… let’s just say she’s not so innocent. She’s a wild dancer, crazy dirty talking, so flirtatious, highly sensual. That’s how she ended up basically admitting she’s always liked me and been dying to fuck me.

“Y’know, Els, I’ve always liked you. Love you, even. And I hated all those girls y’got with. Except that Riley girl. She was a sweetheart. M’but not Dina. ‘Specially Dina. Fuck her. Speakin’ o’ which, I would give anything to fuck you. To watch my sweet Ellie through half shut lids as she— …Mmph, nevermind. Sorry, m’sorry.”

“No, no. Tell me. Tell me what you want your ‘sweet Ellie’ to do. Hm? What do you want from me, princess?”

“Yeah? Y’wanna know?”

“Tell me, baby. No one’s around to judge.”

“I wanna watch you eat me out until I’m nothin’ but a crying, shaking mess. My legs, over your shoulders, our eyes filled with nothin’ but lust and pure love. Get me high beforehand, m’curious about what it might feel like.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Mhm… Better yet, buy a strap and let me sit on it. I’d let you do whatever you wanted to me. No complaints.”

“You’re so fuckin’ nasty.”

“Tell me about it.”

That entire interaction is what led me to actually laying her out and having her beyond fucked stupid. She asked and she received. Soon, we just labeled ourselves as a couple, she took me to meet her parents— as if I didn’t know them already— and I took her to meet mine. That includes Joel, even if he was just a really cool babysitter I had when I was younger. They love each other, platonically, of course.

“You? You’re the one that gave ‘er that bruise on ‘er arm?”

“Yep!”

“Y’seem so sweet, though. You’re also quite tiny. I reckon you could take ‘er in a fight, huh?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. Our play fighting does not do her justice, Joel.”

“Hey! You cheat! All the time!”

“I do not.”

“Joel!”

“I believe you, don’t worry, kiddo.”

We rarely ever fought. If we did it was either over something stupid— which resulted in talking it out—, or for valid, genuine reasons— those resulted in building up tension for a few hours, fucking, then talking it out. Terrible, I know but lord was she so filthy and rough.

I loved this girl and everything we’ve ever been through. She dealt with me for so long, she helped me through everything, she changed me. Of course, she would say I did the same for her but I would harshly disagree. I haven’t done nearly as much as she has for me. Except proposing and marrying the girl.

Oh, boy was she crying and passing out for the next few days.

Now present day, here we were, married and going through old photos we had and the notes she gave me back then. She was sat in front me in her nightgown, giggling at every photo she found from middle school. The picture was handed to me, both of us in our halloween costumes from that year.

“Remember this? Our little pirate and princess phase?” her eyes met mine, sending shivers up my spine and some wild butterflies in my stomach. I could only nod and stare at her in silence, too hung up on her giddy expression. “We were so cute. We still are, don’t get it twisted, but… This is a different kind of cute.”

“You’re so gorgeous,” I spoke without really thinking, watching the love of my life perk up at the small compliment. God she was the cutest.

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning forward to kiss my cheek, "I think you're very handsome."

"Handsome?"

"Mhm."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," she giggled, scooting back from me, "so handsome that I could die."

We stared at each other in a comfortable silence, slowly starting to smile and puff up our cheeks with air. Within seconds we blew raspberries and began laughing like crazy. While she was in the middle of laughing, I grabbed the nearby polaroid that she had beside her, aiming it at her laughing expression and taking the chance to snap the photo.

"Got 'cha, pretty girl," lowering the camera, she gasped and snatched the photo from the device in my hand, sliding it off to the side. Those eyes I adored so much landed on me, holding an idea we both knew I couldn't confuse.

"Y'know, Els," she started, having me roll my eyes immediately and nod to her, "why don't we start a little private collection?”

As per usual, she came up with something I never expected to leave her mouth. My head tilted to the side, surprised at the suggestion meanwhile she just shrugged while reaching for the camera, “here. I’ll start.”

Just like that, her dropped the straps on her nightgown over her shoulders, her breasts on full display to me… And the camera. I watched as she made up various poses, snapping numerous pictures. She even stared directly at me a few times as the flash had gone off. I’m definitely fucking her after we put this stuff up.

“You’re something else, y’know that?”

“And yet,” she crawled over to me, straddling me, chest now against mine as she hugged me tightly, “you absolutely adore it. Don’t you?”

'✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ 🀦 '✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ '✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ 🀦 '✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ '✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ 🀦 '✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹

ᴀɴ; ʀᴇʙʟᴏɢꜱ, ᴀꜱᴋꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇᴘʟɪᴇꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ᴀʟʟ ᴡᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇᴅ!! ̤̮

#the last of us #the last of us part 2 #tlou #tlou2 #reader insert #x reader #ellie williams the last of us #ellie williams x reader #ellie williams imagine #imagines #the last of us fanfic #ellie williams x you #tlou fanfic #𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 ⋆˚✿˖°

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madangel19 · 6 months

Note

hi bff i cant remember if u have reqs or anything open rn but i wld sell my soul for some sweet snowy cozy raindrop fluff

Sweet and cozy Raindrop fluff coming right up, boss!

Warnings: None, but there is some very brief implied spice

Word Count: 1110

The snow fell heavily outside, turning the church courtyard into a frozen winter wonderland. Siblings of sin, both young and old, were outside throwing snowballs at each other and having the time of their lives. Even some ghouls had joined them, pelting the older siblings with snowballs and making snow angels with the younger siblings.

Dewdrop took one look out the window and decided it was the perfect time to stay inside. There was no way he was going to go out in the cold when it was nice and cozy by the fire in one of the many living rooms. The books were ignored as he scrolled through his phone. He kept getting pictures from the ghoulettes with updates on what was going on outside. They kept asking him to come out, but he told them no each time.

He only liked the snow when he was inside. It was pretty to look at, but he wasn’t going anywhere near it. He was better off bundled up inside, but it sucked being alone when most everyone was having fun outside. Sure, his beloved pack members would come back inside and he would warm them up if they asked, but being away from them for just a short period of time made him unhappy.

Dewdrop got another video of Cumulus being bombarded by neverending snowballs by Swiss and he grumbled, tossing it to the side and pulling his fuzzy blanket closer to him.

“Those snowballs would melt in my hands,” he grumbled, picking up a remote and turning the TV on. He might as well pass the time with a movie.

“Oh, there you are. I’ve been looking all over for you, Dew,” a familiar voice said from the doorway.

Dewdrop perked up and turned his head to see Rain walking into the room. The water ghoul was bundled up in his comforter, looking beyond miserable, but upon seeing Dewdrop, the misery melted away into relief.

“Hey. You slept in,” Dewdrop said, smirking as he scooted over to give the water ghoul space on the couch.

Rain never slept in unless it was too cold. Whenever it got cold like this, the water ghoul would rarely ever leave his room unless it was to get food. Dewdrop could recall the many times he had to heat up the poor ghoul on many cold nights.

“It’s fucking cold and no one was in the den,” Rain grumbled as he went to sit next to Dewdrop.

“Yeah, most everyone is outside having fun,” Dewdrop replied, pulling the water ghoul closer to him. Rain sighed and cuddled close to him, keeping the comforter on top of them both as he wrapped his arms around Dewdrop’s middle.

“So it’s just us two inside then?” Rain asked, adjusting himself so that he laid comfortably on top of Dewdrop. The fire ghoul grunted and laid back on the couch. The water ghoul was cool to the touch but after a few moments of being held, he warmed up.

“Yup. Just us. I’m sure the rest of the pack will need warming up whenever they get inside,” Dewdrop said, running his fingers through Rain’s silvery hair. Still cool to the touch, but so pleasant to feel. The water ghoul purred happily, resting his head on his chest.

“They can lay by the fire. I’m not letting you go anytime soon,” Rain murmured, wrapping his tail around Dewdrop’s waist for good measure.

There was no arguing with that. Dewdrop chuckled softly as he held the water ghoul close to his body. Having him here made him feel all the better. The others could play outside for as long as they wanted, but once they came asking to be warmed up, he was just going to direct them to the fireplace or they could help each other warm up.

“You gonna sleep over tonight, Dew? You know how cold it gets in the den when it snows,” Rain said, giving him a knowing look that made Dewdrop’s cheeks grow warm.

“You don’t have to ask me twice, babe. A sleepover sounds amazing,” he replied, pecking Rain on the cheek. The water ghoul sighed happily and nuzzled him back.

There was a notification from Dewdrop’s phone, but he ignored it. Another video of the ghoulettes losing at a snowball fight most likely. Instead, he grabbed the remote again and put on a random movie. Frozen.

“How fitting,” Rain crowed.

“I’m not like Elsa. The cold bothers the fuck out of me,” Dewdrop replied, making the water ghoul laugh before getting comfortable in his arms and the nest of blankets again.

“Is that Frozen I hear?” Copia asked no one in particular as he walked through one of the many hallways in the ministry. He had just come in from being outside and had gotten into a dry change of clothes. After making a visit to the kitchen where a large batch of hot chocolate was being made, he decided to walk around with his cup.

Most of the siblings and ghouls were still outside, but he noticed a few were missing. Rain and Dewdrop had to be somewhere in the ministry. Knowing them, they were probably curled up in front of a fire, but where they together?

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a familiar song from that Disney movie and he decided to investigate. Some younger siblings were probably watching it together. Joining them wouldn’t hurt.

He came across an open doorway where the music was coming from and the smell of a fire. He smiled and looked in, taking a sip from his hot chocolate. He paused when he saw the sight before him.

Dewdrop and Rain were cuddled up on the couch, fast asleep in each other’s arms. Rain was on top of Dewdrop, his head poking out from the comforter that engulfed them both. Dewdrop looked crushed, but there was a pleasant smile on his face. Both ghouls looked so comfortable as they slept together, their purrs drowning out the movie. It would be a grave mistake to interrupt them to let them know about the hot chocolate.

“Ahh, how sweet,” Copia whispered. He wished he had his phone on him to take a picture of the ghouls, but he had left it with Sunshine who wanted to take pictures and videos when they were outside

He noticed the lights were still very bright in the room and he turned them off. The only light came from the fire that was slowly dying. Dewdrop could easily reignite whenever they woke up.

“Sogni d'oro. Sweet dreams, you two,” he said, turning to leave the ghouls alone.

#the band ghost #ghost band #nameless ghouls #rain ghoul #dewdrop ghoul #rain x dewdrop #papa emeritus iv #papa copia #ghost fanfiction #fanfiction

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somethinginthewayiam · 1 year

Text

A new home

pairing: Chibs Telford x plus-size reader

words: 3377

warnings: there is 18+ content throughout (minors DNI), mentions of ptsd, smut

Summary: After the explosion, Chibs just cut all communication and didn’t show up again. He didn’t even tell you that the club bought the ice cream shop on mainstreet. You found out by chance walking by...

link to my masterlist and previous parts

You startled awake in your bed. Your heart and your breathing raced each other. You had dreamed about the explosion again. It had just been a few days ago and you relieved the moment every night since.

Your hand reached over automatically, looking for Chibs but the bed was empty. He was a no-show since the night of the explosion, when he had brought you home and held you until you were asleep.

You pulled your hand back and put in on your chest over your heart, trying to breathe slowly and calmly until you were able to get up.

You took a cold, short shower to clear your head and then got dressed to drive over to Diosa.

With Nero in jail, you, Lyla and Gemma were basically keeping the business alive. You were taking care of more than just the books by now. You dove into the work to keep yourself distracted from everything; the explosion, Chibs cutting contact and your mental state going downhill.

In the early afternoon, you left work to run some errands but you would be back in the evening to help out with Diosa’s rush-hour. Your bartending skills came in handy again.

Carrying two big, stuffed bags with groceries, you walked down the street.

“I can’t believe they let those bikers buy the old ice cream shop. If Carl would see this, he’d turn in his grave”, you overheard two older ladies talk to each other as you passed them on the side-walk.

Your body came to a sudden halt and you turned around to them. “Excuse me, which ice cream shop are you talking about?”, you asked. The ladies looked at you a bit startled. They hadn’t noticed you until now.

“Scoops & Sweets around the corner, on main street”, one of them told you. “Thank you”, you mentioned and changed your direction to the ice cream shop. It was really right around the corner, actually just a block away from your yoga studio.

When you came to the big shop window, you saw three people in kuttes sitting at the counter and Chucky behind it, seemingly running the place. None of them were Chibs. In fact, the only one you knew was Chucky.

Chibs hadn’t told you that the M.C. had found their new headquarters. Well, Chibs hasn’t said anything to you in the past couple of days, not a single fucking word.

You decided to go inside. Besides the counter, there were booths and a few tables with chairs, all empty. You guessed, a shop full of bikers wasn’t very inviting to the people of Charming, especially after the explosion.

“Hey Chucky, got your own place now?”, you asked as you entered. You placed the bags of groceries on the counter. “Ha, it’s cool, isn’t it? I’m selling sweets”, he told you and gestured at the filled glasses with all kinds of candy. “Oh man, I would have loved this place as a kid. You would have gotten all my pocket money”, you told him and sat down on an empty bar stool at the counter.

You looked over to the three bikers at the bar who were following your conversation with Chucky. All three were wearing SAMCRO patches.

“I think we haven’t met yet”, you said and extended your hand. They introduced themselves as Quinn, Montez and West. They told you that they had recently transferred from other charters.

You kept chatting with the men and lost a bit track of time. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw the Sons coming towards the shop through the big windows. You clocked Chibs right away and he spotted you, too. He stopped in his stride for a second before he entered the shop behind Tig.

But another man caught your attention as he entered the shop as the first one.

“Oh my god, Bobby!”, you exclaimed as your old boss walked through the door. You jumped off the bar stool, got over to him and gave him a big hug. You were so happy to see him again, you thought he had left Charming for good.

Chibs just walked around the two of you and hopped up on the counter, reaching into the glass of gummy worms and throwing some into his mouth.

“Hey, doll”, he greeted you with your old nickname and you immediately felt nostalgic. “I didn’t know that you’re back. How are you?”, you asked him when you pulled back. “I’ve been shopping for the club”, he said and pointed at the three new members at the counter.

“How have you been? I’ve heard you were at the clubhouse when it happened”, he asked and looked honestly worried about you. He still had his hands on your upper arms and squeezed them reassuringly.

“I’m okay, I’m pulling through. Thank you for asking, I’m glad that someone cares”, you told him. You heard Chibs snorting at your words behind you but not saying anything. You rolled your eyes and clenched your jaw at his reaction.

Bobby looked at you with a raised eyebrow and you just shook your head. “Don’t get me started”, you simply said.

“I think the two of you should talk”, Bobby advised. Then he looked over your shoulder and directly at Chibs. “And soon”, he said to his fellow SAMCRO brother. “I’ve only been back three days and he’s already getting on my nerves with his bad mood. Make me wanna ride off again”, Bobby told you.

“I’m not the one going radio silent. He stopped talking to me the day after the explosion”, you told Bobby.

“Aye, could ya stop talking like I’m not even here?”, Chibs called over from his spot on the counter.

“Oh, look who found his words again?”, you mocked him as you turned around and narrowed your eyes at him. Chibs rolled his at you and now it was your turn to snort instead of using your words.

“Alright. Not that I want to play marriage counselor here, but you kids seriously need to talk”, Bobby intervened. “Chibs, you bring Y/N home and talk about whatever is going on between the two of you. Doesn’t matter how long it takes”, he said, picked up your grocery bags and handed them to Chibs, making him come down from the counter.

“My car is right around the corner, I don’t need him”, you told Bobby. “Great, he can drive you”, he said, deliberately ignoring your objection. “Now go”, he added and motioned both of you over to the door. “Let me take those”, you said and wanted to take the bags from him. “I got it”, he just grumbled and turned his upper body away as he walked past you and out the door.

To say it was a tense ride home, would be an understatement. None of you said a word. The silence continued until you were in your apartment. Chibs put the grocery bags on your kitchen counter while you put your purse in its spot by the door.

Just a second later, Chibs was coming towards you again and wanted to walk around you and out of the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?”, you said and stepped in his way. “Back to the shop”, he just said and narrowed his eyes at you as you wouldn’t get out of his way.

“I thought we were gonna talk?”, you asked honestly confused. “Just because Bobby said so?”, he asked mockingly. “No, because I want to talk to you but you never showed your ass here again”, you countered and crossed your arms in front of your chest.

“I don’t have time for this”, he mentioned and attempted to push past you again, but you were quicker and got in his way. You stepped in front of the door, blocking it.

“No, you’re not leaving again”, you said and put your hands on his chest, shoving him back. “Don’t make me put my hand on you, woman”, he threatened. “You wouldn’t dare. That’s not you”, you countered.

Chibs charged at you and had you caged between him and the door in two seconds. You looked up at him, lifting your chin, defying him. His eyes wandered over your face, hectically.

You could see in his eyes that both of you, at the same time, remembered the last time you stood like this at your door. When he had picked you up from that bar just a few weeks ago and had fucked you against it.

His facial features softened a little bit only to twist in anger again a moment later and he slammed his fist against the door above your head. You winced at his action. He turned around and walked a few steps into your apartment.

“What the hell is going on, Filip?”, you followed him. “Why did you just leave that morning and never came back?”, you asked. He still had his back to you, his hands on his hips. “You didn’t even call me. And I would have needed you. I was scared”, you told him further, your voice becoming shaky at the emotion that was washing over your body like a wave.

“I wanted to protect you”, he finally said. You were almost surprised when he spoke. “From what? The shit had already happened”, you replied. “You think that’s the only shite we’re dealing with?”, he turned around and his brows were furrowed in anger.

“Being involved with the club comes with consequences and I will not be responsible for you getting hurt”, he said. “It’s a little late for that”, you countered.

“What’s a little heartbreak for saving ya life?”, he asked and to your ears it sounded like he was mocking your feelings.

“You know what? Fuck you!”, you shouted at him and made a few steps in his direction, pointing your finger at him. “I’m already involved with the club, I’m working for the Sons, remember? And just because you decided that we stop fucking doesn’t resolve any involvement. It only tells me what a coward you are”, you spat at him.

“Watch it”, he warned you, but you would have none of it. “You watch it”, you threw back at him. “I’m allowed to feel scared after what happened to me but I will get over it eventually”, you told him.

“You still have those nightmares?”, he asked like he already knew the answer and that it would explain everything.

“It’s been 5 days! Sorry for not having more experience of being blown up”, you spat at him. His so-called arguments made you furious.

“How do you even know about my nightmares? It’s not like you stopped by or called for that matter”, you countered. He at least had the decency to look a little bit ashamed before he answered. “Lyla”, he finally admitted. He didn’t have the guts to talk to you but he asked Lyla how you were? Are we in fifth grade?

“Even if I do, why is it your concern? Didn’t seem to bother you the past couple of days”, you taunted him. “You’re always my concern”, he said and clenched his jaw like he was mad about that.

“Then why the sudden silence? I thought after all the sex we’re having and the time we spent together, you would at least have the decency to tell me when this is over”, you said.

“I thought it would be easier like this”, he finally admitted and his voice was lower, softer. “Well, you thought wrong. And could you please stop thinking that you could make decisions for me? I’m a grown-ass woman who is very capable of making up her own mind. You don’t get to decide what’s best for me”, you told him. He just looked at you in response, not saying a word. You would have hoped for some kind of reaction, positive or negative. But that silence again enraged you. Maybe he was actually done with you.

You walked over to Chibs and made yourself as tall as possible in front of him, putting your hands on your hips.

“If you can honestly look me in the eyes and tell me that you want to end this, that you don’t want to have sex with me again and despise my company then there is nothing I can do about it. But don’t believe for a second that you can just keep your distance and annoy me out of whatever this is. I grew up with 3 brothers. I’ve been annoyed by men my whole god-damn life”, you told him with a stern voice and poked your finger at his chest with every syllable of the last few words.

You said what you wanted to say. You looked up at him waiting for his reaction. His dark-brown eyes bored into yours, but he didn’t open his mouth. You almost felt overwhelmed by the wave of disappointment washing over you. You lightly shook your head in defeat and wanted to walk away, get some distance between the both of you.

Chibs grabbed your wrist just as you wanted to turn around. He spun you towards him and your body collided with his chest. His hands cupped your face and the next moment his lips were on yours.

It was a hard, hungry kiss, making up for lost time. You could also feel that he was fighting himself, hating himself even that he couldn’t just let this end. But you were glad that he couldn’t because if this ended, it would be worse than after that explosion. A little heartbreak, my ass. Chibs Telford owned your heart by now.

He maneuvered your bodies over to the thick carpet by the couch, you starting to undress each other. The clothes went flying, shoes were kicked off. You both got on your knees as soon as you felt the soft fabric underneath your feet.

You pushed him down on his back and pulled off his underwear. Your panties were long gone. You climbed on top of him, reaching down to align his member with your center and sank down on his hard cock until he was fully inside you.

“Ah, fuck”, you breathed out when you felt him stretching you. You had both of your hands on his chest as you started to move your hips back and forth, increasing the pace quickly. Your nails were digging into his skin as you rocked back and forth, leaving marks of your own on him.

Chibs’ hands grabbed your breasts with such a tight grip, it almost hurt. Your hips slammed down on his pelvis with force. It was a hate-fuck at its finest.

You were both moaning loudly and cussing into the air. Chibs was slapping your ass to spur you on even more.

He put his hand around your throat and pulled you down to him. He held you there while he kissed you and started to fuck up into you, digging his heels into the carpet.

You bit down on his bottom lip and he pushed you back at the pain. You shot him a devilish grin and bent down to kiss him again.

His arms snaked around your upper body, pressing you against him and holding you in place as he picked up the pace you had lost for a moment and pushed you right to the edge of your orgasm with that angle.

You buried your face at his shoulder and moaned loudly against his skin. “Fuck, I’m gonna come”, you whined and pushed yourself up on your elbows to come face to face with him.

When your orgasm washed over you, you were staring into his dark-brown eyes, your mouth falling open. Your breath got stuck in your throat before you exhaled with a loud and deep moan, your hips jerking against him and your pussy clenching hard around his cock. Chibs followed with his climax just a stroke of your hips later, growling against your collarbone.

You rolled off him and lay on your back next to him on the carpet. Your breathing was hectic and your bodies covered in sweat.

“So, did I make myself clear?”, you asked, still out of breath, looking up at your ceiling. “Crystal”, Chibs confirmed. After just another moment, he got up and grabbed his pants.

“You’re not seriously gonna leave now?”, you asked in disbelief as you moved up to your elbows. He grabbed the flip phone from his left pocket, checked it and put it back.

“I’m gonna take a shower. Am I allowed to do that?”, he asked and his voice had a mocking tone. You rolled your eyes at him and got up.

“No”, you told him. “Not alone. We’re in California. There’s always a drought somewhere”, you added as you walked past him and over to your bathroom.

You heard his footsteps coming closer rather quickly and the next second you felt his fingers grabbing your sides and tickling you.

You squealed and ran into your bathroom with a giggle.

After the shower, you moved to the bed, laying down and cuddling up to each other. You must have dozed off because when you opened your eyes again, the bed next to you was empty and your heart sank into your stomach. Not again.

When you sat up, you found Chibs sitting on the foot-end of the bed, smoking. He was in thoughts and hadn’t noticed you had woken up.

You wrapped the sheet around your upper body and moved over to him. You pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades and wrapped your arms around him from behind, putting your chin on his shoulder. He looked over at you out of the corners of his eyes and then turned forward again, taking a drag of his cigarette.

“I can hear you think”, you mumbled after another few minutes of silence, when you realized that he was not going to say anything soon. He exhaled and got up. You now saw that he had put on his underwear again.

He paced in front of the bed, a stern look on his face, his jaw clenching and his brows knitted together. You watched him, tilting your head to the side. He stopped and put the cigarette between his lips.

“You’re not just worried about me, are you?”, you said when you saw his face. He looked down at his feet, taking a long drag of his cigarette. His eyes darted up to you, lingered on your face for a few seconds and then looked down at his feet again.

Something made him nervous and that wasn’t an easy thing to do. And that made you nervous. But that wasn’t what he needed right now.

“You don’t have to tell me any details, I know you won’t, but I wanna be here for you. Tell me as much as you feel comfortable or nothing at all. I won’t ask any questions”, you suggested and held your hand out to him.

He stood there, contemplating. His eyes wandered over your face, then to the floor, then your face again. He sighed deeply and took a last drag of his cigarette before putting it in the ashtray.

He grabbed the hand you were still holding out to him. You moved backwards until your upper body was resting against the headboard of the bed. Chibs climbed back on the bed and followed you. He moved his body between your legs and rested his head on your belly. Your fingers started combing through his greying hair, your thumb caressing his forehead and temple.

He didn’t tell you anything, you weren’t really expecting him to. But you felt his body easing up a bit and his breathing calming down.

You reached over to the nightstand to text Lyla that you couldn’t come in tonight, but it was empty. Your phone was still in your purse by the door. You didn’t dare to move as it seemed that Chibs had fallen asleep.

You kept running your hand through his hair, your other hand stroking his back in a soothing motion.

You would have to apologize to Lyla tomorrow for not showing up but you wouldn’t trade this moment right here for the world.

next part Maybe baby

#sons of anarchy #soa #chibs telford #chibs telford x plus-size reader #chibs telford x reader #chibs telford smut

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 2 months

Note

AITA for giving away my sisters fish?

This is a dumb and very long story (i could probably shorten it somehow but I don't know how) and I know the title makes me look bad.

Ok so, one evening my mom and my little sister(let's call her Jess) brought home a container of four fish that mum said she saw a guy selling on the road for about 2 dollars (I'm not american so I just calculated and it comes out to around 2 dollars)

This was during the end of year break when Jess was home (usually we all go to boarding school) None of us had ever had pet fish before and we didn't know what kind of fish they were, they looked different from each other and their size difference was pretty big too(the largest was about the size of three nail clippers stacked on top of each other and the smallest was about the size of 1/2 of a car key). So we weren't sure of the species of any and bought the most nondescript pack of fish food we could find, they ate it so we thought things were ok.

About 1 month into the break though (the end of year break where I am is 2 months), 1 of the fish died for reasons we still don't know (we changed the water every 3 days) and two weeks later a second one just disappeared, it wasn't in the bowl, and no one knew what happened. So by the time school started there were 2 fish left (Jess was sad but we also have dogs so she wasn't too sad)

All of us go to different boarding schools but ive been going to a day-school this past year because I'm scheduled for a surgery, so when everyone went back it was just me with the fish.

My elder sister (let's call her Kat) came home from university for a while and she thought the fish were cool so she asked my mom if she could tell her where she got them so she could get some for her dorm. My mom told her she just got them from some guy on the road who didn't have a stall and probably wouldn't be there if she drove to the place she found him. So she went back to uni without any fish

Flash forward, 4 weeks into the term, my mom comes to get me from school and she says was passing the area she saw the guy and he was there with another container of fish this time with about 10 fish also of various muddy and sandy colours, about length of the diameter of a soda-bottle cap (my mom said they also cost her about 2 dollars). I said we could split the fish in half, keep 6 and give Kat 6 for her dorm.

So I'm sitting in the car, holding the container of fish my laps and my mom suddenly stops the car because a person walking on the sidewalks falls into the trenches on the sides of the road. The person is ok but the car stops so suddenly and I'm not holding the container securely so it falls from my laps.

The container has a lid so the car is ok but the guy added some small rocks and a fake plant to the container so they kind of bury the some of fish and 6 of them die. I look on like an idiot while mom tries to settle the rocks but another fish is buried when the rocks are settled.

By the time we get home and transfer all the living fish into the bowl we already have, we have 5 fish in total. We move them to a new, slightly bigger bowl and feed them but by the next morning when I'm going to school i see 3 fish left.

When I get home, I tell my mom that maybe we aren't ready for fish and we should give them to Kat whose dorm may be less of a safety hazard (during the end of year break we used to play with the fish a lot, trying to touch their tails etc so we're definitely the reason the first batch died anyway. We're also 8 kids and there are kids older and younger than me so it would be hard to stop EVERYONE from being rough with the fish). I also had exams coming up and I was starting to put of changing the water and cleaning bowl until i saw algae growing on sides.

Kat has a roommate who thinks the fish are cool too so incase one of them forgets maintaining the fish the other can do it. (I also kind of secretly hoped the all fish would just die a week or two into being with them so it wouldn't bother them anymore I feel bad about it)

Anyway, 3 weeks later when Kat came home she took the fish with her. It's around the middle of the first term so it was Visitation Day at Jess's school yesterday (I think the name is self explanatory) and the first thing she asked about was the fish. I didn't know what to say so I told her the truth and she was so SAD!!(I mean obviously she'd be sad but visitation day is supposed to be a good day) because we named the fish and everything(the first batch, not the second) . I tried to tell her how Kat and her roommate were nice and would give the new fish good name but she said that was dumb I knew that was dumb and I wish had just lied about the whole thing and asked my mom to buy new fish but I feel like Jess would know so said nothing else

My mom kind of cheered her up by saying that during the holidays they could go get a good tank and actual goldfish from a better place but she was mad at me because I suggested that the fish be given to Kat and I feel like she's right because it would be stupid to ask Kat to bring the fish wish her the next time she came home.

All my other siblings not just Jess also got attached to the fish so I'll just be breaking the news to everyone for the next three weeks (because all schools where I am schedule visitation day in the same month) and just generally ruining the mood.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole #pet death cw

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blade-that-was-broken · 1 month

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In your soldier on au does branch ever think about signing up for the military? When he’s the age he can do it but this au got me thinking about how my older brother was in the military and how that influenced me to want to be in the military too but my family has a history with the military so idk if John Dory be in the military has influenced branch a little because they seem to be getting along.( sorry if doesn’t make sense but I just had some thoughts about it but this is a really interesting and cool au and I’m only 14 so I don’t really know how a 16 year old will think about this😅)

Oooooooohhhhh... okay, okay, okay I got this lol

This is entirely possible. Especially since John was 17 when he signed up and Branch is not that much younger now. I think he would probably consider it at some point, at the very least, although if John knew, he'd probably be like... now I know what Dickory was trying to do with his brother lol so it might be a theme lol.

I think Branch might consider it at some point; especially when John talks about the good things, the places he's been, the people he has met, the squad that became his family. And since Branch has a kind of disconnect from his brothers, he might think this is kind of a good idea. However, on the other hand, with John's new predicament and disability, Branch also gets a bit of a seat into what can - and even often does - happen when in that type of environment.

John lost his leg. And no matter how strong and capable he is or becomes, that is something he does have to struggle with because it is a huge, huge adjustment, especially at his age. So Branch could also very well be faced with what if John hadn't survived? Branch would have never have met him. What if Branch did the join the military and didn't survive?

In the end, he might consider even have a phase of daydreaming about it for a bit. But at the end of the day, he won't. He ends up gaining that family and relationships that he was longing for, mostly when he is in Hawaii with John (and by proxy, Bruce). Rosiepuff might even sell her house and end up moving them there because of it.

Branch gets friends and close relationships. Not just with John, but with other people too. Tresillo and the rest of John's squad actually get close with Branch too. He ends up having a better relationship - although a little awkward - with Bruce. He has some friendship/relationship with his nephews and possibly even Clampers and Hickory as well. Eventually Poppy will probably make an appearance as well and well, we know I ship Branch and Poppy.

Branch having that moment of wanting the military, part of it is because he was unfulfilled in his life and relationships and in the beginning, before things get better, he sees the good in John's life but he doesn't quite realize that good came out of some really painful loneliness that he didn't have the choice to find in his own family. Branch and John's loneliness are not exactly the same but very, very similar, even though their circumstances are a bit different.

Military backgrounds definitely influence a family, whether or not the family tries to. One of my high school friends, despite her small stature, was determined to get in because that was in her family. It wasn't that her parents told her she had to or even expected her to, but it was something she really wanted and she did. I don't know if she is still here or not, but I know she got in.

And don't worry, your ask made total sense. I'm sorry I went a bit above and beyond.

#ask #soldier on au

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x--daughters-of-darkness--x · 5 months

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"It’s more than sales – it inspired an entire generation of young girls to know they had a place in heavy music." Inside Fallen: the album that turned Evanescence into instant 21st century metal superstars

No rock band had an explosive a rise in the 2000s as Evanescence. This is the story of their classic debut album

Evanescence’s Amy Lee was at one of the many awards ceremonies she attended back in the first half of the 2000s when she was approached by a fan. This wasn’t unusual in itself, except this fan happened to be rapper and mogul P. Diddy.

“He said, ‘I love your album, I listen to it when I work out’,” Amy tells Hammer today. “And I was like ‘Really? That’s awesome!’ That was surprising to me. You know who I am? That’s weird.” Weird is right. Just a couple of years earlier, Amy had been a shy, aspiring singer and songwriter who had played no more than a handful of times with the band she’d co-founded as 13-year-old almost a decade earlier. And now here she was, getting star-spotted by hip hop A-listers at swanky awards ceremonies.

“What do they call that thing? Imposter syndrome!” she recalls today. “I definitely felt like I’d snuck in the back door and somehow got to go to the Grammys. Like, ‘I’m not supposed to be here and people do not know who we are and this is a prank.’ I think part of that is just it all happening so fast and being so young.”

The reason for the attention was down to the blockbusting success of Evanescence’s debut album, Fallen. Originally released in March 2003, and about to be reissued as a deluxe 20th anniversary edition, Fallen appeared at the tail-end of the nu metal boom. It offered a gothier, more dramatic take on that sound, which bridged nu metal and both the rising symphonic metal and emo scenes. It would go on to sell more than 10 million copies in the US alone, turning Amy Lee into an icon and role model for a generation of young, female fans.

Amy describes the young, pre-Evanescence version of herself as “a little bit shy”. Earlier this year, she told Hammer’s sister magazine, Classic Rock, that the death of her younger sister, Bonnie, when Amy was six, was a catalyst for “this soul, spirit- searching, expression mode”, which would eventually manifest itself in music. She wrote her first song aged 12, and others quickly followed. “I wrote plenty of songs that were crap,” she says with a laugh. “You just haven’t heard them.”

Things became more serious when she met future Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody in 1994 at a Christian Youth Camp in Little Rock, Arkansas, where her family had moved to a few years earlier. She was 13 and Ben a year older, though the two decided they could make music together. Amy describes their initial endeavours as “more like an electronic duo, like Massive Attack” than an actual band, though some of their early songs would end up on Fallen, including Imaginary, Whisper and My Immortal.

The nascent Evanescence didn’t play a gig for nearly six years, partly because of their youth, and partly because they wanted to concentrate on honing the songs they were writing. “The live part for me at that time just wasn’t my focus,” she shrugs. “I wanted to make stuff.”

Their first release was a self-titled debut EP that came out in 1998 via local label Bigwig, followed by another EP, Sound Asleep, the following year (both featured songs that appeared on Fallen). They’d played a few a low-key acoustic shows in their early days, but their first proper, plugged-in show was at a bar named Vinos in Little Rock on January 2, 1999, less than a month after Amy turned 17.

“It was difficult to be on stage at first,” she says. “I had to really work at being a good performer. I remember the first time we played a gig and four people knew the chorus to one of our dumb little songs,” she adds, self-effacingly trailing off.

It was an early version of My Immortal that caught the attention of Diana Meltzer, head of A&R at Wind-up Records, in 2001. Amy had just enrolled in college to study music theory composition when she got the message that Wind-up were interested in Evanescence - essentially herself and Ben.

“I still wanted to make music, but I was going to study so that maybe one day I could work on film scores as a backup plan,” she says. “We got signed three months in. I had one semester of school. I literally went from graduating high school to moving to LA and making our album in a year and a half.”

Producer Dave Fortman can remember the first time he heard Amy Lee sing Bring Me To Life in the studio. The guitarist in 1990s rockers Ugly Kid Joe pivoted to production after the 1997 break-up of that band, working with the likes of Superjoint Ritual and Crowbar before signing on to produce the debut album by an unknown band from Arkansas called Evanescence. After listening to their demo, he jumped at the chance to work with them. And then came the moment when Amy began singing in the studio.

“Amy was in the booth and this voice just came out,” Dave tells Hammer. “My engineer, who has worked with some of the biggest names in music bar none, turned to me with his jaw on the floor and said, 'Goddamn! This girl can sing.’ You just forgot where you were, you weren’t working anymore, you were just in awe of her. They were the most talented people in their age I’d ever been in contact with.”

The Evanescence that recorded Fallen was Amy and Ben, plus keyboard player/string arranger/co-songwriter David Hodges (who joined the band in 1999) and an array of session musicians, including future Guns N’ Roses/Foo Fighters drummer Josh Freese. Dave Fortman estimates the album cost around $250,000 to make – a sizeable sum now, but relatively modest at a time when seven-figure budgets weren’t uncommon (Korn’s 2002 album Untouchables reportedly cost $4 million). Some of that budget went on the real-life orchestra that Amy insisted on using for many of the songs – a bold move for a new band, when an electronic recreation would have been cheaper.

“None of us were ever going to back down on that,” says Dave Fortman. “It had to be that way or it wasn’t going to work. We recorded the orchestra in Seattle where they have no union, so it was cheaper. If we’d have known it was going to smash in the way it did, hell yeah, we would have just recorded them in LA!”

Evanescence didn’t get everything their way. Bring Me To Life, which addressed Amy’s feelings of numbness while in an abusive relationship, was augmented by the inclusion of rapper Paul McCoy in an attempt to appeal to the nu metal market - a decision that went against the band’s wishes. “I was so scared in the beginning that we were going forward with something that wasn’t a perfectly honest picture of who we were,” Amy told Metal Hammer earlier this year. “But it didn’t last long. After a few songs, the mainstream was able to hear more than the one song and it was like, ‘OK, they at least sort of get what we are.’”

Advance expectations for Fallen were modest when it was released on March 4, 2003. “If it had gone gold [500,000 copies], we’d have A all been delighted with that,” says Dave Fortman. As it turned out, the album smashed it, selling more than 140,000 copies in its first week of release alone and reaching No.7 in the US Billboard charts. Bring Me To Life was a huge factor in that success. Like My Immortal, the song made its first appearance on the big- budget, Ben Affleck-starring Daredevil movie, which hit cinemas a few months before Fallen came out.

When it was released as a single in its own right, accompanied by an expensive-looking urban-gothic video that saw a nightdress- clad Amy somnambulantly climbing the side of a tower block, like a cross between a character from an Anne Rice novel and a comic book superhero, Wind-up reps had to beg radio stations to play it (“A chick with piano on a rock station?” was a common response). Those that did air it soon found their phone lines jammed with people who wanted to know what it was that they’d just heard. It entered the US Top 10 and did even better in the UK, where it reached No.1.

Bring Me To Life and subsequent singles Going Under and My Immortal put wind in Fallen’s sails. Those 140,000 sales shot upwards at a vertiginous rate: within a month, it had sold more than a million copies in the US alone. By the middle of 2004, it had reached seven million (in 2022, Fallen was awarded a diamond certificate for US sales of more than 10 million). The speed of the ascent left Amy Lee dazed. “There was just so much going on,” she says, exhaling. “I don’t know if I got to focus on it that hard at the time.”

The label wanted to get Evanescence out on the road to capitalise on that initial success. A touring band was assembled around Amy and Ben – guitarist John LeCompt, drummer Rocky Gray and bassist Will Boyd were recruited to back them. Their rise as a live band was equally dizzying. The day Fallen was released, Evanescence headlined the 200-capacity Engine Room in Houston, Texas. Three months later, they made their first UK appearance playing the Main Stage at the inaugural Download festival, sandwiched between Stone Sour and Mudvayne. Two weeks after that, they returned to the UK to headline a sold-out show at London’s prestigious Astoria.

Inevitably, given the scale and velocity of Evanescence’s success, it didn’t take long for the backlash to kick in. Amy was the focus of much of the criticism, with the barbs ranging from the petty (one magazine questioned her goth credentials) to the outright misogynistic (she was painted as a diva with absolutely nothing to back it up other than the fact she was a woman). Evanescence themselves were perceived by some of their detractors as nothing more than a cynical marketing experiment; the phrase “Linkin Park with a girl singer” appeared a depressing number of times back then, which diminished the decade or so Amy and Ben had invested in their band and music.

“I felt a lot like people wanted to see me fail, especially in the beginning,” Amy says. “I think it’s partially that they want to see if you’re the real thing, and when you shoot up so fast and you have a lot of success really quickly, I think there’s a little bit of a human nature thing that wants to poke a hole in that. I felt on the defence, I felt misunderstood – I’ve got a badass, bitchy look on my face on the album cover, so obviously I must be some kind of bitch.”

Amy was just 21 when Fallen was released, and the criticism took a toll on her. “It was hard as a young person to feel misunderstood,” she reflects today. Things became even more complicated when Ben left acrimoniously in October 2003, just six months after the release of Fallen, with creative differences cited at the time as the reason for the split (in 2010, he admitted to trying to force the singer out of the band they had founded together).

“I felt frustrated,” says Amy. “I wanted to hide a bit in that initial aftermath. People always wanted to attach me to drama, like Ben leaving the band. All of that was trying to be made to make me look bad, like it’s my fault or, ‘Well now it’s going to suck because she didn’t actually do any of the work, obviously all the men behind her did all the writing and the creation.’ It just made me angry a lot.”

The criticism and fractured personal relationships may have been difficult to deal with, but the impact Evanescence had was undeniable. Fallen landed at a transitional time for metal. By 2003, nu metal was on a downward trajectory creatively and commercially, with scene heavyweights Korn and Limp Bizkit both releasing dud albums in the shape of Take A Look In The Mirror and Results May Vary respectively. The New Wave Of American Heavy Metal was bubbling up, but it didn’t possess the same kind of mainstream crossover potential.

Fallen was different. Nu metal may have been in its DNA, but so was goth and electronic music. It was heavy enough for metal fans but it was also dramatic and heartfelt enough to draw in the emo crowd and pop fans alike. The soaring piano ballad My Immortal, with its narrative of a grieving relative haunted by the spirit of the family member they’re mourning, and Going Under, another song detailing the feelings of hopelessness that come from suffering in an abusive relationship, were unquestionably dark, but Evanescence wrapped them up in ear-worm hooks and gothic allure, while Amy’s presence imbued them with a distinctly feminine spirit that was a world away from nu metal’s over-testosteroned aggro.

The broad-church appeal of Fallen was reflected in the range of musicians who garlanded it with praise. Over the years, it’s been cited as an inspiration by everyone from Lzzy Hale and The Pretty Reckless’s Taylor Momsen to pop star Kelly Clarkson. Björk praised Evanescence and so, more surprisingly, did Lemmy, a man not known for his love of goth-tinged ballads.

“They’re fucking excellent,” said the late Motörhead frontman when asked for his view of the band. Even more significant – and noticeable – was the devotion Evanescence, and Amy in particular, almost instantly inspired among fans, especially female ones. The look she sported in music videos, magazine photo shoots and TV interviews – goth-style corsets, black and red eye make-up - was taken up by countless rock club kids up and down the country.

But arguably the most lasting impact Fallen has had is musical. It marked a changing of the guard: not just the end of nu metal, but the beginning of the rise of symphonic metal. Bands such as Nightwish and Within Temptation released albums before Fallen, making sizable waves in mainland Europe, but Evanescence put a distinctly American spin on it, turbocharging symphonic metal’s rise on the back of Fallen’s success. Even now, Amy’s too modest to acknowledge the influence that Fallen had.

“People are always asking me that question: ‘What is it about that album that resonated with people so much?’” she says. “I don’t know. Some of it’s just out of your control. At that age and that time in my life, I don’t think I would have given myself that credit.”

Dave Fortman is far more forthright on the subject. “Did I notice it?!” he says. “How could you not?! That’s what happens when you become, not just a big band, but an icon. She truly changed things. All those symphonic bands that came in their wake? They’re all Amy’s children.”

Fallen helped turn Evanescence into one of the biggest bands of the 21st century. They beat superstar rapper 50 Cent to the award for Best New Artist at the 2004 Grammy Awards (Bring Me To Life also took the trophy for Best Hard Rock Performance). To date, the record has sold more than 17 million copies worldwide – only Adele, Eminem, Norah Jones, Lady Gaga and Linkin Park released albums that have sold more during that time.

Dave calls Fallen “a life- changing album”. He explains: “It’s more than sales – it inspired an entire generation of young girls to know they had a place in heavy music. To show they didn’t have to ever compromise.” It’s a sentiment Amy shares as she looks back at the shy 21-year-old of 2003.

“It was crazy, it was awesome,” she says. “But there was a lot for me that was going on personally, turmoil and relationships within our band. It was just this wild time where so many things that felt huge were happening at the same time. Did it change the musical landscape? I don’t know. But it inspired somebody for something good, it made them walk back from the edge, feel their self-worth in some way. I think it’s truly a gift and a blessing in my life.”

Originally printed in Metal Hammer #381

#amy lee #evanescence #fallen #2023 interviews

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jungle-angel · 9 months

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farmer’s market prompt, my beloved!! lmao could we possibly get 2, 18 and 19 with the floyd bunch, please? 🧡

Ooooooooh my God yes!!! My mouth is watering at the thought honey!!! (lol).

The smells of apples, cinnamon and pumpkin made your mouth water as you, Bob and the rest of the Daggers all worked at the stall, selling whatever had grown on the Floyd land along with a ton of baked goods that Bob's mother and grandmother had made. You hadn't eaten anything all day and still had a baby and two older children to feed which would most likely be sooner than later based on the way four month old Deidre, stirred in her little wicker sleeping basket under the counter.

"Baby?" Bob asked when he noticed you rubbing your temple. "You ok?"

"I need something to eat really badly or I'm gonna pass out," you told him.

Bob held up a finger, signaling for you to wait while he ran to the next stall over where Mr. and Mrs. Alessi were busy selling hot lunches, big pots of pasta smothered in marinara sauce, bowls of steaming hot wedding soup, grilled fish and meatballs that were as big as a fist.

"Hey Vinny," Bob greeted.

"Bobby! Bobby my boy!" the husky New Jersey man greeted cheerfully, kissing Bob's cheek. "Mio figlio, how are you?"

"Couldn't be better," Bob chuckled. "I came to see what was on the menu for today, we're starving over at our end."

"Ah you're in luck kiddo," Vinny told him. "Remember when you were a kid and you'd stop by the restaurant after school?"

How could he forget? Vinny Alessi had taught Bob everything he knew about the kitchen, second only to his own grandparents.

"I put it on the menu especially for you and (y/n)," Vinny told him, handing Bob two small boxes. "Made the Pizza Napoletana fresh this morning."

"Oh Vinny you're a lifesaver, I owe you," Bob told him.

"You don't owe me nothin," Vinny insisted with a wave of his hand. "Although, now that I think about it, I'll take some of your gram's and your ma's fresh apple donuts when you get a chance."

"Will do Vinny," Bob answered. "How many?"

"Baker's dozen if you can swing it," Vinny answered. "We've got the grandkids for the day and they haven't eaten either."

"I'll take two dollars off," Bob said. "That ok by you?"

"Perfect!" Vinny declared proudly. "You get on back over there. You're wifey's probably lookin for her lunch."

Bob bid Mr. Alessi farewell and returned with the lunches, the pizza fresh and steaming out of the little oven. While you ate yours, Bob packed up a little brown box full of apple cider donuts for Vinny, taking two dollars off the order as payment for lunch.

"You doin better baby?" Bob asked.

"Now that I've eaten I am," you answered.

The whimpers that came from your waking daughter signaled that it was lunchtime for her as well. "You mind taking over so I can go to the truck and feed her really quick?"

"Don't mind at all baby."

You gave him a quick kiss and thanking Bob before gathering your daughter and heading off to the truck to feed her. By the time you came back, Bob had a little plate of apple cider donuts and a mug full of hot, fresh cider waiting for you.

"Oh baby thank you so much," you said, placing your daughter back in her little basket.

"No worries my sweet," Bob said, kissing your lips.

You and Bob went about your day, selling the goods and bartering for others in return. You couldn't have imagined a better day than this and getting to spend it with the ones you loved the most.

#top gun maverick #robert bob floyd #bob floyd x reader #dagger squad #dagger squad fall prompts

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xxavengingangelxx · 5 months

Text

Somewhere Only We Know 9/9

Notes: This chapter is a little bit different from all the others :) It takes on someone else's point of view. There's going to be an epilogue after this but it'll only be about a paragraph. I just couldn't fit it in this post.

Taglist: @shepgurl, @unicorngirly1, @bellgraves, @lily-lily131313, @sharksausages

Triggers: Lots of triggers in this one. Mentions of torture, dubcon, mentions of suicide/self-harm, brainwashing, mentions of harm during pregnancy, physical abuse, etc.

-1 year later

This is going to be a burn after writing kind of thing. And believe me when I say that I will burn after writing. I just need to get this all out. I don’t have anyone to really talk to about this kinda shit. I sure can’t talk to Val about it. She’s got more than enough on her plate. Shepherd I could talk to but he’s dead.

We have a 3-month old little boy. His name is Everett Lucas Graves. 8 pounds 8 ounces when he was born. I thought about making him a junior but I would rather not make him easy for my enemies to find.

I never thought I’d ever have kids. I certainly never really planned on it. Sure it had crossed my mind. But not in detail. But anyway it’s three in the morning and Val is asleep. So is Rett. He loves to sleep and he must get that from his mother because I have the worst time sleeping. I figured this would be the best time to get all this out.

It's been a journey and while right now it’s gorgeous it hasn’t always been pretty. I know a lot of people look at me as a bad person and that’s because I am. I’m a mercenary and I kill people for money. My company and I, Shadow, just do it within the confines of the United States now. No more overseas missions. For now, anyway. I miss the overseas stuff. Maybe when Rett is older. Maybe.

The main topic of this…whatever this is…is gonna be Val. We met when I was first introduced to 141 and I honestly can’t describe what I felt when I first saw her. I fucking wanted her. I wanted to tell her “Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life” because she was gonna be mine. Forever. And she still is going to be. I’m never going to let her go. I can’t explain it. It was an instant connection. I had to have her. And a weird thought popped into my head. It was the first time I even thought about having kids: that woman is gonna be the mother of my children if I want them.

I probably should have used better judgement and shouldn’t have had sex with her for the first time when she was halfway drunk. I wasn’t sober either, to be fair. But as soon as I tasted her…as soon as I was inside her…it was instant addiction. There’s no other way to describe it. She was American, like me, but just so fucking exotic. Valdez, wherever that last name came from. She didn’t know. She grew up in foster care. I yanked her records. I know she’d probably smack me if she ever found out but do you know why she grew up in foster care? Her parents had a habit of fucking selling her.

Anyway, At least a few times a week we’d meet up. Deep down my values and morals would whisper and tell me I was halfway raping her because I was her superior. But she wanted it just as much as I did. You’re just gonna have to take my word for it. Hell, she sought me out a couple of times. She was just as hooked as I was.

That’s one of the things that made Las Almas so damn difficult. But I had to follow orders. I had to. I didn’t have a choice. I still remember that earlier that same day Val had come to me. I wanted to tell her. I wanted to tell her what Shepherd had told me: that I was to take control over the mission from 141 later that night.

But I couldn’t. I looked into her eyes and I couldn’t. And I remember that that afternoon was the first time I made love to her. Up until then it had been just…fucking.

Later that night after I had told 141 about me taking over she’d looked at me with such disgust and anger that…to be honest I wanted to fucking smack that look off her face and tell her to respect me, that this was all for the better, couldn’t she see?

I’d been planning on taking her with me anyway but she toppled over that barrier and into that wooded area before I could get my hands on her. My men were told to find all of them. But to bring Val, on her fucking knees, back to me. I was so fucking livid she’d walked away from me.

And when she put up a fight as I tried to ask her questions that stormy night in Las Almas I got even more irritated and felt even more betrayed.

I shouldn’t have done what I did. I shouldn’t have tortured her. Shepherd hadn’t even really given any orders outside of recapturing 141 at the point we started interrogating Val in that torn up warehouse. I just wanted to scare her. I was so sure she’d come to my side and just give me an idea as to where 141 was.

And when she didn’t, I lost it. God, I lost it. I started humiliating her in front of Shadow. They already knew we’d been sleeping together but I’d made her sound like a slut. And then she called me a war criminal. Which I’ve come to realize since then I am. But back then I didn’t want to come to terms with that.

It was the first time I’d hit her. Ever. It was the first time I’d ever hit a woman. And it only got worse from there. I asked…well no…if I’m honest…I demanded she call 141. She said no. And…

Ugh it’s so hard to go through all this shit again. But if it’s hard for me I can’t imagine what it must have been like for Val to have to go through it, experience it, live it, suffer it. Sometimes she still wakes up screaming.

But when she said no I used my gun to hit her across the face so hard I left a scar on her face. It’s a scar I can still see. Even in low lighting. It reminds me of all the fucked up shit I did to her. I shot her. Though to be fair, it hit her vest. I know it broke ribs. Because that’s what bullets do when they hit a vest.

And then I literally used a knife to cut her.

Is it supposed to be this hard writing this stuff out?

And the most fucked up thing was that back then, I liked hearing her scream.

I threatened to kill her, torture her further, to have her raped. But she still didn’t break. And you know what? With her childhood I’m realizing just how messed up that was. Her parents would sell her. Any woman is terrified of rape. But to Val it must have been like reliving a nightmare.

It only got way worse from there.

Something happened mentally in my head, though. When Shepherd gave official orders to “break that bitch…make her talk” I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go hands on. I could barely watch. But I had to be there to keep things from going overboard. My men would have ripped her to pieces if I had left them in charge. They would’ve killed her. My men are…far more brutal than most people realize. They would’ve murdered her. But not before making her beg to die.

And the order was to keep her alive. So while I had figured out I couldn’t go hands on with her, we were still ordered to hurt her.

I tried keeping her uncomfortable to see if that would help. The more days that passed, the colder I’d set it in that room she was in. Ok, cell. I know she probably doesn’t remember all of it but I do. Every mind-numbing detail. I’d do anything just to make her as uncomfortable as possible. Then I’d let her be comfortable and attempt to ask what we needed to know.

Still nothing.

So sometimes I used handcuffs latched one latch too tight. She fought them so hard she bled. I’d use zipties, duct tape, anything to restrain her in stress positions. Still nothing. She screamed that she would kill me one day and I’d laugh it off. One night we tried borderline drowning her for hours. When I leaned down next to her, there was so much pain and fear in her eyes. And I was hoping this was it, that she was going to break, but she didn’t.

It got to the point to where she was swinging on my soldiers. And I didn’t like that. I couldn’t hit her again. But my men sure could. They beat her until I told them to stop. Still nothing. And she still kept picking fights. We were running out of ideas.

I know she had that information. She did. She was just refusing to give it up. And in my head, now and back then, I wondered if she wanted to give it up, knowing that the codes to the homing beacons had probably changed by then and they were useless, but she refused, wanting to control that tiny part of her life.

We tried anything we could think of that wouldn’t kill her. Wateboarding, beatings, keeping her awake, further threats of rape. Hell, several times we brought a Taser. It was around that time that I stopped liking hearing her scream. She’d gone from whimpers, trying anything she could to hold back a scream to screaming bloody murder.

And then came one thing that scared me half to death.

I remember I had decided to check in on Val, to play a little good cop/bad cop. I’d been planning t bring her a blanket. I found her slumped against the wall, face whiter than usual, her left wrist laying next to her and bleeding heavily.

She had tried to fucking kill herself.

I asked her what the hell was wrong with her. And I remember applying pressure to her wrist. That blanket I had brought for her ended up around her wrist tied tight.

I remember she was out of it when I picked her up and carried her to medical. I brought her to 10-4, a Shadow who specialized in trauma medicine and was also a nurse practitioner. He stitched her up no problem. No serious blood loss noted.

But the attempt had been real. She had tried to take her own life. A part of me wanted to stop it all there. So later that night I called Shepherd. I told him it was too much, that we needed to lighten things up a bit. I even asked if we could stop, saying those codes were probably outdated anyway. He told me to stop letting my feelings get in the way and that this stopped being about the codes a long time ago. Shepherd told me that he needed me to break Val and bring her to Shadow. There was no other way.

So when Val woke up from her drugged sleep, I berated her even though it honestly hurt me, too. I wanted to stop. So bad. To take her and disappear. But go where? They would’ve found us and killed us both. So I kept making her feel stupid and when she asked me if she was in hell, I told her she was.

And it was seeing her drugged and so out of her mind, talking to people that weren’t there, that gave me an idea.

It took days. Days of trying different cocktails. Days of further inflicting pain. Of stitching up those long-forgotten, close-to-infection cuts on her chest with no anesthesia while she screamed. Days of endless drugs being pumped through her system.

She was laughing at one point and I honestly wondered if she’d lost it. If she was going to end up in a psych ward for the rest of her life. She said she knew how to piss me off and it was at that point that she told me that Soap had fucked her better than I ever did.

I had no fucking idea they had ever hooked up. So even though she was drugged and restrained and helpless, I grabbed her by the hair and told her that if she didn’t give me those codes, we were going to start giving her something that was going to make her scream.

She didn’t break.

So in my anger I gave the all clear to use IV drugs that, when dosed a certain way, inflicted pain. 10-4 had described it as feeling like you were on fire inside.

And scream she did. And when we gave her a break, and she was somewhat lucid, she yanked the IV out of her arm and told me to kill her.

Not sure why but that shook me to my core. That had been her second attempt at her own life.

They sedated her.

Shepherd and I talked again. And I almost begged him to let us stop. I couldn’t do it anymore.

But that was when Shepherd said that if we didn’t break her he would.

Shepherd would make what we did to her look like child’s play. And I know Shepherd would kill her after. Because if she couldn’t break and join Shadow, then she was useless to him. She was worse than useless to Shepherd. She was a living witness that could testify that she was tortured at the hands of Shadow.

I don’t know what did it. To this day I don’t know. I walked up to her in her semi-conscious state and told her that if she didn’t give me those codes in the next 5 seconds, we would restart that horrible IV and then hand her over to Shepherd. 5, 4, 3…

And surprisingly, she opened her eyes fully for the first time in days. She looked at me. And she cried. At first, her voice sounded like it was spewing nonsense. But then I realized they were the codes.

At long last, we finally had those codes.

It took Val a few days to recover. But because we hadn’t inflicted physical pain, she recovered quicker than I expected.

It was time for me to start the second half of my assigned duty: make Val mine and Shadow Company’s. It wasn’t hard because she was craving, she was desperate for a gentle touch. That night when I undressed her I was reminded of just how much I had hurt her. Of just how many commands I had given to have my men hurt her.

She was covered in bruises and stitched lacerations. So I remember taking it easy on her. It was so close to making love…just not quite.

Val went through a metamorphosis after that. She was…docile? Not sure if that’s the right word. I think she was just scared of being put back in that tiny cell and hurt all over again. Maybe her brain made connections that made her realize no one else cared about her and that no one else was coming for her. She had been abandoned. And that this was going to be her home for the rest of her life.

She had fully broken and it was my job to rebuild her just like I wanted her.

She did whatever I asked her to do. It was simple stuff at first. Translation. And she did it without question, without a second thought. A good sign. And I played on that and played some mind games with her. I was honest, though. 141 wasn’t going to take her back.

She started going through these anger outbursts. Even as she started gaining more privileges. I figured she was just coming to terms that the 141 part of her was dead and a new identity was being born. We all mourn when we lose a part of ourselves, right?

I remember that it was around this time that we changed her categorization in our system. We first had her listed as a captured enemy combatant. Her sub-classification was prisoner of war. It was changed after the first time we took her into the field. We gave her a new callsign: Phantom-80. 80 because that’s the number on some parts of my uniform. I wanted to make it clear she was…is…mine. Phantom? To mock 141’s Ghost.

I began trusting my men to keep Val safe when I wasn’t around. I made it clear they were not to touch her. I didn’t have to worry about them disobeying despite the fact that quite a few of them had a crush on her. They knew and still know the consequences of what would happen if they were to so much as look at her wrong.

Val went through another episodes of having these rages and actually started having these physical outbursts of anger after I told her 141 thought we were both dead. She directed that anger into her fieldwork and she actually surprised me when her body count reached 15. She was so angry during that time. I remember even I was kinda scared of her. I remember asking myself just what I’d created. I recall being nervous she’d tried to find her way back to 141 so I told her 141 would kill her slow if they found her and she believed me. And even if they didn’t I told her she’d just end up in prison for the rest of her life. She saw me as God as far as I knew.

She went through this…phase where she hid her face from everyone but me. I knew she was self-conscious about the marks and scars on her face. I felt kinda bad about it. But then again…would any of it have happened if she had just told us what we needed to know immediately? It kinda made me feel special, to be honest. Here she was wearing a mask and long sleeves around everyone else but me. Taking off her clothes was like unwrapping a present.

I didn’t show Val or let Val see it on my face but I was scared when I realized we were going to have to team up with 141 again. I was terrified of losing her. I knew they were going to try to take her from me.

And when they did, my heart sank. When I was told she had been taken by them and there was no telling where she was, I remember punching several holes in drywall. I demanded she be found immediately. Now. I felt like every minute she was going was just another minute further away they moved her.

She was gone for a couple days but it felt like a month to me. I called Shepherd in a panic. Shepherd told me not to worry about it and that he had it under control.

Shepherd didn’t know but when I found out she was pregnant, the first thing that came to mind was how far along and did I interrogate her while she was pregnant?

Turns out I did. She was pregnant through all of it. And that made me feel like an absolute piece of shit. We captured Val in October. Rett was born in July. You don’t need to be a genius to figure out that’s a 9-month time period. I didn’t know. But that still doesn’t take away from the horrible fact that she was already pregnant. Barely but still. I mean how fucking horrible is that? At the same time it’s a miracle isn’t it? That little boy survived all of that. I realize she might’ve gotten pregnant right after but something deep down tells me she already was.

I looked at the hospital records. Some of them. I couldn’t make it through all of them. Broken, healed and re-broken ribs. A ruptured eardrum from when I hit her in the face with my gun that first night. Hairline fractures. I couldn’t make it past that.

I still can’t bring myself to say I’m sorry. The words just won’t come out. So until I’m man enough to put it into words that Val can hear:

Val, I’m so fucking sorry. I was under orders. No excuse, I know. I’m sorry you still wake up screaming from nightmares of what I did and had done to you. Even though you’ll never tell me what you’re dreaming about I know. I’m sorry I left scars on your body that will always remind you of the torture I put you through. And Jesus Christ, I’m sorry and I’ll never forgive myself for doing it to you while you were pregnant. I’ll never forgive myself. Just please, don’t tell Rett. I don’t deserve you and if I was any better of a person I would give you back to 141 with Rett and let myself go to prison. I know they’d take care of you and our son. But I just can’t. I can’t take back what I did. But I can focus on the future. And I promise that neither you nor Rett will ever want for anything. Anything you or he want, it's ya’ll’s. Let's go somewhere only we know and raise our family.

God forgive me for all I've done.

#phillip graves #phillip graves x reader #cod mw2 #cod mw3 #graves x reader #longwayfromhome #somewhere only we know

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