#and then I’ll do first drafts of the next three chaps | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

eugenesmorphine · 3 years

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Hi! Can I request for some Ronald Speirs with a women from an enemy side,like a german nurse/prisoner smth like that😁

AN: I have returned. I know, from the hole of depression and school. I hope to be more active, so imagines will be coming out more. This one isn't my best since i'm trying to get back into the swing of things. But, regardless, I hope you enjoy.

First Sightings // A Ronald Speirs Imagine

Words: 2,365

Taglist: @alienoresimagines @ricksmorty @punkgeekcryptid !@hellitwasyoufirstsergeant @valterras @adamantiumdragonfly

It was early within the morning when Easy Company quietly invaded a small town overtaken by the German army. About three in the morning to be exact. Hiding beneath the cover of the darkened sky, the moonlight shining down dully between the trees and clouds.

The town had been converted into a small base, or headquarters for the Germans. Most of the homes were clearly not in use as the enemy had forced the remaining habitants out from their homes. Just a few homes were being used at barracks, and it seemed like the small town hall had been used as their aid station.

Four officers took a knee on a hill whilst using the brush as cover. Winters, Speirs, Nixon, and Compton all kneeled within a small line, close together, staring down their own scopes. Ronald Speirs pulled his scope down first and let out a scoff. Causing the three other Paratrooper officers to lower their scopes to turn towards the officer.

“Only a few guards posted out on a few balconies. For being such a “strong force”, they’re situational awareness seems to be at an all time low,” he whispered. Winters let out a quiet chuckle and turned back to the front. Bringing the scope back up to his eye. Peering over to what seemed to be their aid station. Small jeeps continued to pour in and out hourly to drop off wounded Nazi soldiers. Two nurses continued to rush in and out. Same two nurses each time. Blood covered the aprons and dresses they wore, along with their hands. It was clear even from a decent distance away.

“Looks like that aid station is quite busy. Just two nurses it seems though, got to be careful of them,” Winters stated quietly. To which Ronald just scoffed again.

“Why would they ever decide to side with them? To nurse those son’s of a bitches back to health just to come and kill our men?” Ronald asked. His eyes now steadying on the nurses in the distance. Nixon was the one to pipe up this time.

“A lot of them don’t make the choice themselves. Some of them don’t have a choice. Kind of like how we draft men. They’re people just like us. They don’t want to kill our men, the soldiers do. They merely just want to get home. Just like us,” he told him. Nixon was right. And Ronald knew that, but he didn’t want to admit it. He wasn’t going to, because he wasn’t that type of man. So instead, he didn’t.

“They all have a choice. Just like us,” Speirs responded. Keeping his opinion voiced. Gritting his teeth. Nixon went to sarcastically respond, but Winters clapped a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back slightly. The location officer turned to look at his higher up. And Winters just shook his head. Knowing that his dear friend Ronald Spiers wouldn’t give up his opinion. Making the “come along” motion and quietly walking away. Nixon just sighed and followed his tail closely.

Speirs sat alone for a bit longer. His dark eyes staring down at that aid station.Watching the two nurses now standing outside as they washed blood soaked linens and bed sheets in old horse troughs filled with water. “Yeah, we all have a choice,” he repeated below his breath. Knowing no one would hear him. A small grunt came from his chapped lips and he stood up quietly. Grabbing his Thompson and turning around to follow his fellow officers back to their foxholes. They were to be invading soon, he just needed to prepare a bit.

///

It didn’t take long to take over the small base. Maybe an hour, and only minor wounds and just one fatal casualty. Speirs and the other officers had been working with the rest of the Paratroopers to take care of the prisoners and organize them to take them to the holding base.

Ronald had been hanging back a bit, just watching over the small process of everything they were doing. It was going smoothly. Until one thing popped into his mind. His back straightened and his head went up. He looked up at all the groups of captured Nazis, and even around at the bodies. They weren’t there. Where were the nurses?

In a flash he turned and began to briskly walk towards that aid station. He didn’t see their pale blue dresses and white aprons anywhere. Even as he searched while he walked. His eyes fell back towards the building where medical supplies had been being hauled out crate by crate. But still no nurses. He grumbled slightly and picked up his pace. Pushing past some soldiers and walking through the large wooden doors. Pausing when he saw a bunch of bodies laying down with sheets over their heads. Clearly the men the nurses were trying to save. He huffed and looked up. Seeing a group of men with their guns pointed at one of the nurses. The other one is still yet to be seen. The nurse with the soldiers around her all peered down at her. Her hands behind her head in surrender.

“Please, please let me see if I can help her,” she pleaded through a strong German accent. Ronald pursued closer. Wondering what she was bantering about. But as he walked closer, the officer was quick to understand. The other nurse, a pretty blonde woman, had been laying on her side. A pool of blood coming from her stomach. Ronald’s eyes widened. As much as he hated the Nazis, and what he had stated to the fellow officers, this was a war crime. And the sound of the other H/C nurse crying didn’t make him feel any better.

“Was this any of your bullets?” he asked sternly. Snapping his head towards the group of paratroopers, and weeping woman who still knelt on the wooden floor of the church. The woman was dead already, her body already beginning to turn ghost white, while the blood had stopped flooding from the wood. And her breath could not be heard. The downed nurse’s chest did not rise, nor fall.

The young paratroopers jumped at the menacing officer. Swallowing fast as they all shook their heads. One decided to finally speak up. “The woman was on the ground before we came in here, sir. We heard a gunshot and some German and rushed in here. The little lady was on the floor bleeding out, and a Kraut standing with a gun to this one’s head. He is over there,” he spoke, pointing to the dead German who was slumped against a wall. His head bent over, as he too was dead.

“They are speaking the truth, it was the German soldier that had shot her. I was next, they thought that we were the ones that had been giving information to you Americans when you first stormed here,” she paused as she tried to look away from her dead friend. Tears continued to pour down her face. “Please, I am not a threat. I had no choice but to be a nurse. I want nothing from this war. They would have killed me if I didn’t. Please, I do not want to die,” her English was broken. But so was her voice. Ronald stood there for a moment, wondering what he should do. She seemed sincere. And genuinely scared.

“I’ll bring her to Roe, he could probably use the help,” was all Speirs said. Leaving the men a little shocked. The woman slowly stood and wiped her eyes. Briskly walked past the corpses of her fellow nurse, and the rest of the bodies that were within the church. Following the paratrooper officer closely. Her flats hit the mud that was outside of the church, splashing up her legs and all over her shoes. She chose to ignore it for then, keeping silent as she walked behind the cold faced officer.

They walked in silence for quite a bit. The young nurse felt as if she was in fact a prisoner. The stares of the other Americans, her eyes stayed focused in front of her. Staring at Speir’s back.

Speirs had gotten sick of the silence. He was one for it, but sometimes it was boring. And with this woman, he felt compelled to speak to her for some odd reason. Just an itch that he wanted to at least learn her name. “What is your name, little lady?” he asked bluntly. To which the nurse perked her head up nervously yet quickly.

“My name is Y/N L/N. May I ask you yours, Army Man?” She responded. Ronald nodded to himself. Taking in her words and taking a deep breath. Rounding a corner of one of the run down buildings, continuing to head towards the aid station where the other medics had been stationed.

“My name is Ronald Speirs, Captain Speirs is what you can call me,” he responded. Y/N sat there and practiced the name under her breath. Repeating it quietly until she had gotten it right.

“You have a nice name, Captain Speirs,” she complimented. Making Ronald’s ends of his lips quirk upwards with a smile. He didn’t even realize he did it. “I wanted to thank you, and your men. For not killing me. You must know that it wasn’t our-” she paused for a moment and took a deep breath. “It wasn’t my choice to be this way and help the Nazi party. Many people were trapped under the work of the Nazis. Many men and women did sign up for the role for the fatherland, but many were forced, sir,” she tried to explain. Y/N was merely afraid of the worst. To be sent away and jailed, or killed. “All I wanted was my family to be safe,” she finished.

Ronald stayed silent for a moment. He remembered what he said to Winters, Welsh, and Nixon. He knew the truth, and he was just an angry type of man. But with how this young woman said certain things, how scared she sounded, how she wept and begged when they first entered that church. It made his eyes open just a little bit.

��Are you hungry?” he asked bluntly. Y/N just lifted her head a little confused at the question. She had been thinking that she was a prisoner of sorts. She didn’t exactly know how she would be treated, but definitely not like this. To be asked if she was hungry, unlike when she worked for the Germans. They pretty much told her when she was to eat, sleep, drink, use the bathroom. It was odd hearing the question after a while of just being given so many orders she was forced to do.

The young nurse didn’t understand the truth of the Americans. She wished for liberation. Prayed for it even. She was still scared she would be arrested or killed. Much like what the Russians did to the German forces. But with the company of the rather quiet, intimidating officer gave her a bit of comfort. Especially from the looks of all the men that the two walked by. The hatred filled the eyes of some, who just screamed out to blame her for helping the Germans. Y/N merely tried to ignore it, just swallowing hard and looking forward. Continuing to step through the mud.

///

When Ronald had brought Y/N to Eugene , Eugene stared up at her with surprise. “Doc, this is Y/N, she is a nurse. She is going to help you out with the wounded for now. I’m going up to HQ to figure out if we are sending her with the other prisoners or not,” he reported. Eugene just gave a respectful nod towards the officer. Y/N took a few steps towards the medic.

“I wish to help. My English isn’t the best, but I am good with my hands. I promise,” she said softly. It seemed her voice was almost permanently soft due to the harsh cold that attacked all of the soldiers. No matter what side.

Eugene just nodded and outstretched his arm to jester to the few wounded men that sat around. Y/N didn’t hesitate, she went. Kneeling in the mud and aiding a soldier that had a large shrapnel wound across the thigh and down the leg. Muttering soft prayers within her language as she began to suppress and wrap the wound.

The Officer had found himself staring. His mind was a mess. He was a close minded, but very smart man at times. Very wise for his young age. He wanted to understand. But he knew everyone had a choice. Though, he wasn’t as angry, just wanting to understand why it made her want to protect her family in a way to help the people she hated. It was a question for another time. Ronald glanced at Roe and back to the female. “If you have any problems, let me know. But other than that, keep an eye on her,” The officer spoke to the medic. Roe gave a stiff nod and looked back at his patient. A man with a bullet wound in the shoulder. And Spiers turned around and began to walk off.

As he walked, he quickly began to feel frustration bubble within himself. The image of fear etched across Y/N’s face when he had first seen her within the church, had remained burned within his mind. This was the first time he felt genuine remorse. He couldn’t tell if it was from how pretty he had found her, or the sincerity in her begging for her life. Or was it both. He hated it. He didn’t like feeling soft. Only hard and just his normal intimidating stature of an officer in charge. He wanted to brush it off, but the remorse filled his stomach with an odd feeling. He thought he was sick at first. But instead, it was butterflies. He hated it. He didn’t know why he was feeling it. But he was.

A story of love at first sight. And he didn’t know it. And neither did she.

#ronald speirs imagine #ronald speirs x reader #ron speirs #ronald speirs #bob imagine #band of brothers headcanon #incorrect band of brothers quotes #band of brothers imagine #band of brothers x reader #hbo headcanons #hbo imagines #hbo headcanon #hbo war imagine #hbo war headcanon

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poge-life · 3 years

Text

The Cut } Finn Shelby chap. 1

introduction prologue chapter 2

Never in a million years did anyone think Tommy Shelby, notorious gang leader, would be getting married. But here Penelope was, getting ready with Willow, Lizzie Stark, Ada Thorne, Polly Grey, and her mother.

"Willow, I swear if you pull my hair one more time, I'll cut you." Penelope threatened as her best friend was doing her hair.

The four older women let out a laugh at the two girls, used to their threats. Penelope and Willow had met after the boys came home from the war and had been best friends' sense; along with Finn and Isaiah. You never saw one without the other these days.

"I wouldn't have to pull so hard if you actually brushed your hair everyday." Willow defended, tugging on the blonde's hair again.

"Willow!" Penelope groaned, moving her head away from the girl. Audrey let out a chuckle, moving to stand behind her daughter, "Alright, Willow finish getting dressed. I'll do her hair."

Willow gave a final tug on Penelope's hair, quickly moving out of the way to avoid getting hit by her best friend. Audrey had gently brushed through Penelope's hair before pinning the front pieces back and bringing them together with a braid in the back. Audrey added a few hair pieces that Grace had loaned them and placed a kiss on top of her daughter's head.

Penelope looked at her mom in the mirror as Audrey wrapped her arms around her shoulders, "Had Finn seen your dress yet?"

Penelope let a smile make its way across her face at the mention of the red-haired boy. Her and the youngest Shelby were 6 months apart, the latter being older. They were thick as thieves growing up; as John and James went to school together and Tommy and Camden being the same age. Finn took pride in the fact Penelope chose him. Out of all the boys in Birmingham, she chose him.

"Not yet," She replied, "I've managed to hide it from him."

"I know he'll be speechless when he sees you." Audrey smiled at her daughter.

Audrey absolutely loved her daughter and Finn being together. Everyone often joked that Audrey preferred Finn over Penelope and Audrey has yet to deny it.

It was no secret to anyone that Penelope was Audrey and David's pride and joy. But that didn't mean they loved James and Camden any less. They knew it was because she was their little girl. Penelope got her mothers looks and her fathers brains. A dangerous combination. Penelope was often used as bait to get men to pay the money they owed her father and the Shelby's. She knew her father nor Tommy would let any guy touch her. And if they did, the would have to deal with not only her father, but her brothers and the Peaky Blinders as well.

A knock sounded throughout the room and Lizzie moved to answer the door, "Audrey. It's David and your sons."

Audrey motioned for them to be let in and Lizzie moved off to the side as they entered. David was followed by James and Camden as they greeted each lady with a kiss on the cheek before making their way to Audrey and Penelope.

"I do believe I am the luckiest man in the world." David smiled, wrapping his arms around his wife as Penelope turned to face her parents.

The Longfield siblings idolized their parents and the love they had for each other. Audrey and David met when Audrey's family moved from London to Small Heath and David had been the one to show her around the little town. Most women were expected to leave their jobs when they fell pregnant but not hers. David respected his wife. Treated her as an equal and higher. With him having many flourishing businesses, he stayed home for a while after Audrey went back to work after every child was born and he would stay home for as long as Audrey needed.

"We had to pay Isaiah and Michael to keep Finn away from here." James laughed, taking a seat next to Polly on the couch, sending her a cheeky smile as he wrapped his arm around her, "Boy is nearly going mental without you."

"They're in love," Polly smiled, nudging the blonde, "Leave them be."

"Besides, this is the longest they've been away from each other since they were born." Ada added as Polly and Audrey agreed.

"Oh come off it." Penelope groaned, walking over to the divider where her dress was. She signaled for Willow to come help her, as she wouldn't be able to do the buttons on her dress.

"I think it's adorable how much you two love each other." Willow smiled, nudging her best friend as she helped Penelope into her dress. The dress she would be wearing was from her mothers collection that wasn't out yet and Penelope was in love with it.

It was a velvet green dress that fell to just under her knees. It had a pink flower sheer lace over the entire dress and had slits filled in with green lace all around the dress and she paired it with white heels.

Willow and all the ladies were wearing something made by Audrey. Grace had even come to Audrey about making her wedding dress and Penelope was excited to see what her mother had come up with.

Despite everything that Grace had done to the Shelby family a few years back, they had all learned that Grace was pregnant and it was Tommy's. And two years later, Charles Michael Shelby was born and he was a beautiful little boy.

Willow helped Penelope fix her hair and her jewelry before they stepped out from behind the divider. The room had gone quiet, causing Penelope to look down at the ground.

"You look absolutely gorgeous, Penny." Lizzie smiled causing Penelope to lift her head. The other ladies agreed as David made his way over to the blonde, "Absolutely stunning, my shiny Penny."

David pulled Penelope into him as she wrapped her arms around her father. David Longfield was an exceptional man and an amazing father. He always gave to those who weren't as fortunate, offered hot meals and a place to stay for anyone who needed it. He played the father figure to the Shelby's after their father took off and David considered them his honorary kids. He was there when the three eldest Shelby boys and his boys were drafted for war and he was there to help them all find their way out of the dark.

"Alright," Audrey clapped, "the wedding starts in 15 minutes so we need to leave."

David placed a kiss on Penelope's head, pulling away from her as Penelope linked arms with Willow and Ada, making their way out of the room.

"I can tell you're nervous and there's nothing to be nervous about," Ada spoke, "Finn absolutely loves you. You could be wearing a sack and he'd still think you look stunning."

Penelope felt her face heat up at the older girls words. It was no secret to anyone on how much the two teenagers cared for each other. Even at a young age, the two were head over heels for each other. Penelope had made the first move, considering Finn was shy, but he was slowly breaking out of his shell.

They made quick small talk as they made their way to the front of Tommy's house, where the rest of the family was. Willow sent Penelope a wink and a smile before making her way over to her brother and father. Ada gave her arm a squeeze before making her way towards her brothers, turning Finn around to face his girlfriend.

Penelope took small steps as Finn did the same. He moved some hair out of her face, placing his hand on the side of her face, rubbing his thumb over her cheek, "You look...wow. You are so gorgeous."

Penelope let her eyes trail over his figure; he was wearing a dark brown suit under his coat with his peaky cap in his pocket. He had a red flower pinned to his lapel and she noticed he left his hair natural, his wild red curls were styled up with some gel, "You clean up well, Mr Shelby."

Finn smiled before leaning down to place a kiss on her lips. They pulled away with a smile and Penelope noticed the nervous look on his face, "What's wrong?"

Finn looked over her shoulder before looking back at her, "Your dad 'nd brothers have been watchin' me since I walked over 'ere."

Penelope groaned before turning around to throw a glare at her brothers, causing them and her father to walk over to the couple, "Any reason why you lot are terrifying my boyfriend?"

Camden shrugged, throwing his arm around Finn's shoulders, "Just making sure Finny Boy is being a gentleman."

Everyone knew Finn was terrified of Penelope's dad and brothers. Hell, so were the Shelby boys, well, they were scared of her father. Tommy looked up to David, as did his brothers. He had a beautiful wife, three wonderful children, and many successful businesses.

"Please," Penelope scoffed, glaring at her oldest brother, "You know Finn's a gentlemen."

Finn was the favorite Shelby, besides Ada, to the Longfield's. He was innocent compared to his brothers. He hadn't seen the troubles of war and he hadn't killed anyone. He always, well most of the time, used his manners and treated Audrey and Penelope with respect. But, there was a part of Finn that wished he could be like his brothers. Yes, he got respect only because of his last name but his brothers got respect because of the type of men they were.

"He better," James smirked, "because he knows what'll happen if he isn't."

Finn paled at his words and looked at Penelope, who elbowed her brother in the stomach, causing him to double-over, before looking over at her father, who was looking quite amused at his children. David chuckled before grabbing both of his sons, "Alright. Leave your sister alone. She can handle it."

Penelope stepped forward to straighten Finn's coat before pulling him down so she could kiss him. She pulled away when she realized he was stiff and shook her head, "At least act like you like me, Finn."

He placed a kiss on her forehead before offering her his arm. He led them over to the rest of the group before they all made their way to the church. Tommy and Arthur were already at the end of the aisle and Penelope smiled at the content look on Tommy's face. The same couldn't be said about Arthur's.

Penelope noticed the many red coats on Grace's side of the church and she quickly looked for her brother's and John. John, James, Camden, Arthur, and Tommy all held the same distaste for the red coats. When they went off to war, they were to dig tunnels to get into the enemies camp. The tunnels had collapsed and they waited for three days for the Calvary. For three days, they suffered in the dark, only with each other, waiting for the bloody red coats to help them.

Penelope made eye contact with her mother and motioned to the left side of the church, causing Audrey to look over before whispering to her husband. David looked around for his two kids before quickly grabbing them before they could leave the church.

Finn and Penelope made their way through the pew and Penelope stopped in her tracks when she noticed she would be sitting next to Linda. Arthur's very religious wife. She turned to look at Finn, who just sent her a cheeky smile. She quickly elbowed him before sitting next to her. Her parents were behind them with Isaiah, Willow, and her brothers sitting next to them.

Penelope put a little bit of space between her and Linda, sending her a smile. It's not that Penelope didn't like Linda, it's just that Linda had a very...strong opinion about the Shelby and Longfield's lifestyle. Yes, David's businesses were 100% legal but he did start sending some of his whiskey out with Tommy's when they did business with Alfie Soloman's. And Linda had a very strong opinion about all of it.

John and Esme were sat with one of their kids next to Finn with Ada, Karl, and Michael at the end. John was staring at the red coats and Finn was mouthing off to them. Penelope rolled her eyes and turned to look at her brothers who were in the same state as John.

She turned her attention back to Grace's side of the church and narrowed her eyes at the blonde who was making heart eyes at Finn. Penelope put her hand on his jaw, turning him to look at her before she pulled him into a deep kiss.

They pulled away after a bit and Penelope wiped her lipstick off his lips as Finn stared at her. She heard her mother and Polly chuckle at her action as Isaiah and Willow let out loud laughs, no doubt noticing the blonde staring at Finn.

"What was that about," Finn asked, "Not that I'm upset about it."

Penelope pecked his lips before smiling, "Just letting them know neither of us are available."

Finn smirked at his girlfriend before setting his hand on her thigh. Jeremiah, Isaiah and Willow's father, made his way up to where Tommy and Arthur were and she noticed how appalled Grace's family looked.

Her and Finn turned to look at their best friends, knowing that was something that they dealt with more than they liked. The twins sent the couple a reassuring look, letting them know they were okay.

Penelope met Isaiah and Willow after her brothers came home from the war. Audrey, Polly, and David had thrown a dinner for the return of their families. Finn had dragged Penelope with him to introduce her to his new friends; the four being inseparable since.

The Wedding March played throughout the church as all the guests stood up. Grace was wearing a beautiful purple silk dress with a dark purple veil that went over her head. She looked absolutely stunning. Audrey really out did herself.

"Here comes the fucking calvary. Late as usual." John mumbled, causing Penelope to bury her mouth on Finn's shoulder to hide her laughs. Penelope had smiled at the sight of Tommy and Grace and she wondered if that's how her and Finn looked at each other.

The ceremony was beautiful and none of them cared at the looks they received from Grace's family at the loud cheers they let out as Tommy and Grace kissed.

They all made their way outside for the pictures and Penelope let out a loud laugh as Finn twirled her around before setting her down. She noticed that all the boys, including James and Camden, had their peaky caps on and she rolled her eyes at the sight.

A few of the girls from Grace's family were fighting over the bouquet and Penelope and Willow shared a look before laughing. Arthur ushered the girls away so that they could take the picture. Finn wrapped his arm around her waist as she placed one of hers on his chest as she looked up at him.

Finn had grown up in the last two years. His freckles had darkened and he had grown considerably taller than her. He filled out in muscle and was close to catching up with Arthur and her father in height. Penelope realized how handsome he was and how she was lucky to have him.

"What?" Finn asked, pulling her from her thoughts as she smiled, "You're just so handsome."

Finn smiled at her before placing a kiss on her forehead before turning to face the photographer. She blinked a few times as the flash went off twice, causing her to blink rapidly.

"Sorry Finn," Willow called, tugging the blonde away from said boy, "I'm stealing your girlfriend."

Willow and Penelope quickly made their way through the crowd as Finn chased after them. The girls let out giggles as they ran through the grass, hand in hand, holding up their dresses with their free hand. They slowed to a stop as they neared Tommy's drive way, waiting for everyone to catch up.

"What was that?" Penelope panted, looking at her best friend. Willow looked at the group of people before looking back at the blonde," Michael was walking towards me and I don't want to talk to him."

"I thought you two were together?" Penelope furrowed her eyebrows at Willow who just shook her head, "We are. I think. We argued the other day and we haven't talked since."

"What did you guys fight about?"

"I told him I loved him but he didn't say it back." Willow whispered. Penelope pulled her into a hug. Ever since Michael came to Birmingham, he was infatuated with Willow. She happened to be the only girl besides Penelope that didn't fall for him. But once Isaiah took Michael under his wing to show him the ropes, Willow started feeling something for the boy.

"I'm sorry, Will."

Willow let out a few sniffles before pulling away, " 'Saiah's been trying to get me to talk to him but I don't think I'm ready."

"You can be my date for the rest of the night. Finn can put his big boy pants on and deal with it."

Willow giggled at the blonde's word and intertwined their hands, leaning her head on her shoulder. The two were often seen holding hands and touching in someway but no one ever dared to say anything about it due to their connections to the Peaky Blinders and because of Penelope's family.

Tommy and Grace were the first to arrive and Penelope and Willow pulled the two newly weds into a hug. The two girls were the only people that Tommy would hug besides his family but he rarely did it in public. The newly married couple made their way onto their house as the rest of the guests arrived.

Finn was walking with Isaiah and John before he spotted his girlfriend and his best friends sister. Penelope and Willow gave him a big smile before they made their way into the house, ignoring the looks from Grace's family at the sight of the two holding hands.

Penelope was halfway through her first glass of champagne when arms wrapped around her waist, "You're hiding from me."

She placed her glass on a tray before turning to wrap her arms around Finn's neck, looking up at him, "And you found me."

"This mean I get a reward." Finn smirked, giving her waist a squeeze. Penelope lightly ran her nails over the back of Finn's head, causing him to close his eyes, "Mm, come find me at the end of the night and we'll see."

Before Finn could respond, the two were pulled away from each other by Willow and James, "Tommy's called a meeting in the kitchen."

The four made their way to the kitchens, taking a few wrong turns but eventually finding it. Finn and her brother made a beeline for the food while the two girls made their way over to Tommy.

"Where are they?" Tommy asked as Johnny Dogs came through the side door, "Where's John and Arthur?"

Finn made his way over to Penelope with Arthur, Michael, and her brothers in tow as John and her father came through the servants entrance. Finn moved to stand by Penelope but Camden put him in a headlock, pulling him in between him and Johnny Dogs as James stood next to Camden. Penelope shot her oldest brother a glare as she moved to stand between Isaiah and Willow, Arthur and her father sitting on the end of the table as Tom stood in the middle of the room.

"Alright, boys, Penny, Willow, you're all here," Tommy started, "Today is my fucking wedding day."

"Yeah," John spoke, "And you said there'd be no bloody uniforms."

David sent his two sons a look as they went to agree but quickly shut their mouths.

"Nevertheless," Tommy said, "Nevertheless, John, James, Camden. Despite the bad blood, I'll 'ave none of it on my carpet. Now, for Grace's sake, nothing will go wrong."

"Those bastards, out there, are her family," he continued, "and if you fuckers, do anything to embarrass 'er, your kin, your cousins, your horses, you fucking do anything-"

"Tom." Isaiah spoke, causing Penelope to groan

"What?!?!"

"What about snow?" Isaiah asked

"Oh bloody hell." Willow groaned as John grabbed Isaiah by the back of the head, "yeah, their women are sport, I'll give them that."

"No, no," Tommy spoke, "No cocaine."

"No sport. No telling fortunes." He pointed to John

"No racing." Next was Arthur. Tommy moved to grab Finn's face, "No fucking sucking petrol out of their fucking cars."

With a smack, he turned to face the two girls, "No gambling with them to get their money." The two girls shared a smirk before agreeing. The two girls were often sent into David's casino's to try and get money out of potential dealers for David and Tommy.

Penelope noticed the dazed look on Willow's face and followed her line of vision to see her staring at Michael, who was staring back at her with a smirk. Penelope just raised her eyebrows at him before nudging Willow, snapping her back into reality.

"And you, Charlie," Tommy had turned to face his uncle, "quit telling yearns about me, eh?"

"I'm just trying to sell you to them, Tom."

Tommy rubbed his eyes in frustration and Penelope leaned forward to look at her dad, signaling for him to say something. David moved next to Tommy and patted him on the back, "If Tommy or myself hear that any of you bastards did anything to make Grace or her family upset, I'll personally see to that you are dealt with."

Now everyone didn't even think about fucking the night up for Tommy and Grace. David Longfield wasn't someone you wanted to cross.

"Thank you, David." Tommy nodded his head in appreciation at the older man before looking around the room again, "But, the main thing is, that the bunch of you fuckers, despite the provocation from the calvary, no fighting."

Tommy immediately looked towards the eldest Jesus sibling and Willow snorted in amusement as their father covered his mouth.

"No fighting." He pointed to Isaiah, "No fucking fighting." John was next, "No fighting." Arthur raised his hands in surrender as Tommy just pointed at Michael as he always kept his clean since he dealt with the legal side of the business. Tommy then turned to look at Finn and Penelope's brother, "No. Fucking. Fighting!"

They all let out sounds of agreement as Tommy nodded. David handed Tommy his as jacket as a waiter made the mistake of bumped into him, "Get the fuck off me!"

With that, the waiter was on the ground, the wine bottle shattered and Arthur threw his half eaten carrot at him. David placed his hands on Tommy's shoulders and led him out of the room before he actually killed one of them.

Finn threw his arm around Penelope's shoulder as they made their way up to the dining room, "is that what you and Isaiah do when you two go out?"

"Don't know what you're talking about, Penny." Finn answered, giving her a smile.

Penelope was sat between Lizzie and Finn with Michael on the other side of him. Tommy and Grace were at one end of the table with Penelope's parents at the other.

Finn had one hand on her thigh and the other was holding his whiskey while Penelope had one hand around Finn's neck, lightly dragging her nails over the short hairs. Penelope often cursed Tommy for their ridiculous haircut as she loved Finn's wild curls. Up until this year, he used to try and tame his curls by gelling them down but ever since he, Isaiah, and Michael were no longer 'junior peakey's' he opted cutting his hair shorter, losing almost all his curls. Most days he just styled his curls up and on days he attended events with his brothers, he would gel them down.

"There's a blonde girl who keeps undressing Finn with her eyes sitting across from you." Lizzie mumbled, bringing her glass up to her lips. Penelope turned to see the same blonde from the church doing exactly what Lizzie said she was doing.

She threw the rest of her drink back, turning to face the women, "She was doing the same thing in the church and I practically made out with Finn to prove he wasn't available."

"Girls like her are used to getting what they want," Lizzie spoke, "And since she knows Finn is with you, she'll try everything to get him."

"Not if I have something to do about it. She can try but she won't get very far." Penelope mumbled causing Lizzie to laugh. Penelope turned her attention back to Finn as he seemed bored and would rather be anywhere else. She grabbed his hand in hers and intertwined their fingers, "What's on your mind, love?"

"Just thinking about my reward later." He smirked, giving her hand a squeeze as she rolled her eyes. She leaned her head on his shoulder, looking at the blonde sitting across from them, "That girl is making it really hard for me to listen to my dad 'nd Tommy."

Finn looked up to see what girl she was talking about and the girl winked at him and Finn felt Penelope's grip tighten on his hand, causing him to look back at her.

After the most weird toast given by Arthur, the guests made their way into the ballroom.

Penelope had her arm linked with Finn's as they made their way through the crowd; trying to find someone their own age. Willow pushed people out of her way as she stepped in front of the couple, "Who's the whore with Michael?"

Penelope and Finn both looked over to see a girl with short brown hair in a white flapper dress standing very close to the boy.

"She tried getting snow off Isaiah when we got 'ere," Finn explained, turning to face the girl, "she's very eager to get it off someone."

"She's never done it," Penelope smirked, looking between the two, "If she had, she wouldn't be so obvious about getting some. Let alone being obvious about it at Tommy Shelby's wedding."

The two just looked at her in wonder, causing her to roll her eyes, "My dad owns casino's and pubs. I know snow and peoples behavior."

Finn and Willow both nodded in realization. Penelope knew when people were using snow; considering her and Finn had done it a few times. But being at her father's establishments, she knew when people had never done it and when they had. And this girl had definitely never done it before; being so obvious about it.

John and James had walked up to the trio, John whispering in Finn's ear as the boy nodded. Finn pulled Penelope with him as she grabbed Willow, following the two older boys.

"What's going on?" Penelope asked as they walked through the house

"There's something going on and Tommy wants us to make noise. So, Arthur and meself rallied together the fucking calvary to some racing and Finn boy will be riding."

Penelope perked up at the sound of Finn getting to race. She knew how much he loved horses and he took care of Tommy's and her father's any chance he got. Finn was an excellent rider and almost never lost a race. She loved watching him race and everyone knew it.

"What's that got to do with me?" Penelope questioned

Finn, who somehow ended up with his peaky cap, shrugged off his coat, putting it around his girlfriend's shoulders. He pulled off his jacket and handed it to her, quickly followed by his waist coat and his button up. Leaving him in his suspenders and undershirt. He pulled Penelope to him by her waist and tilted her head up to look at him, "Yer dad doesn't want you near the house when it's happening, so, you're going to stand there and cheer for me, while I show the fucking calvary, you don't fuck with the peaky blinders."

He placed a deep kiss on her lips and pulled away, following after his brothers.

Penelope blinked a few times, trying to process the last 30 seconds as she turned to face Willow walked up to her, "What?

Penelope pulled Finn's coat tighter against her, looking over at Willow, "I think Finn turned me on without touching me."

#peaky blinders #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinders imagines #peaky blinders imagine #finn shelby #finn shelby imagines #finn shelby imagine #finn shelby fanfic #harry kirton

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k-writesthings · 4 years

Text

Early Mornings

I wrote this because I’m in the mood for some happy Levi Content, especially after Chapter 133, where my man is just BROKEN.

(Also this is x Reader because I want to try my hand at writing these, please let me know what you think!)

(And it’s first person because I’m not comfortable writing second person yet)

Word Count: 1655

Warnings: Cussing, Intimate Touching (SFW)

The soldiers of the Survey Corps had either seen too much or not enough. There was no in-between, because just one Titan attack would change the cockiest bastard into a war-weary soldier. That’s what happened to me, and that’s what happened to every other scout, too. With that sudden shift came night terrors, hallucinations, and shell shock. You’d be lucky to wake up and not be in a cold sweat after seeing, smelling, and hearing what I and so many others have. It plagued you, haunting your dreams, your thoughts, your life. And often, you couldn’t escape.

But sometimes, when you were safe…

You could forget.

Lazy mornings would help me forget. The memories that weighed on my conscience would slip away, melting into the seams of what I understood as I snuggled under the covers. The warm morning light cascading over my face would remind me of where I was and nothing else. A warm body next to me would let me know that I am loved. And I was alive, carefree even, for however long we were nestled beneath those blankets.

This was one of those mornings. A particularly nasty dream roused me, yanking me from my sleep like a fish caught on a line. It was shocking and sent my senses into overdrive, making me gasp for air as my eyes shot open. And then I realized. I wasn’t in danger, not at that moment. And I wouldn’t be, not for a while.

My fear subsided quickly, dissolving into a low hum of adrenaline that was guaranteed to keep me awake. The air was chilly and there was a slight draft in the room, probably from small gaps in the old walls. I yanked the covers up and over my shoulders and shifted to my side to keep out the cool air. I was faced by the man sleeping beside me, causing me to lose interest in my slightly cold shoulders. His sleeping face was a look of pure peace, something I would never see grace his features otherwise. Always worried about something or another, always stern and expressionless; that was the way Levi went about his everyday life. And while I knew he wasn’t actually an uncaring bastard, mornings like these proved his humanity, and made me love him even more.

I rarely woke up before Levi. He was an insomniac and usually only stayed asleep for about three hours. It was a blessing whenever he slept until after sunrise. He was also a lot more tolerant of everyone and everything when he slept for a healthy amount of time. That meant less stress for him and more sleep the next night. That cycle might continue for a couple days or maybe even a week, and I’d love to just see him well-rested and calm. But mostly, my favorite thing was waking him up when he slept in.

Today, Erwin had planned a meeting with Premiere Zackly about funding for the Regiment, and then Hange scheduled a training session for our three respective squads. As much as I didn’t want to wake Levi, I knew I had to. I glanced outside to get a feel for the general time. The sun was already ascending into the sky and the rays danced across his skin in time with a wind-blown tree that stood outside our window. A small smile played on my lips as I brushed some stray locks of hair away from his eyes, which were still closed. My fingers wandered to the back of his head as I scratched the short hair of his undercut. He let out a soft, unconscious groan at the touch.

Surprisingly, Levi craved physical affection, just not in public. But, when we were alone and in bed, he was usually touching me in some way. Whether it was just resting his foot against my leg, or cradling me close to his chest, there was almost always contact. While I wasn’t complaining, I quickly realized this was because of a lack of affection in his childhood. Much like with his obsessive cleaning stemming from growing up in dirt and squalor, he needed affection to make up for what he didn’t have in the Underground. And I was always happy to provide it.

I peeled back the comforter a bit to expose Levi’s shoulders and back, marred by bruises and areas rubbed raw from his frequent use of the ODM Gear. I leaned over and pressed kisses along the strap indents. We both loved when the other would pay specific attention to these areas, and it was how Levi usually woke me up. I was just returning the favor. As I continued my affectionate assault on his purple and red skin, his breathing began to quicken, and I could tell he was waking up.

“Hey, baby.” I whispered into his ear and pressed a kiss to his temple. He groaned again and I felt his hand come up to stroke the small of my back. “I can’t believe you slept so long. I almost didn’t wake you, but Erwin planned that meeting at noon.”

Levi’s eyes opened slowly and met mine, his icy grey irises cutting me to my very core. He closed them again and tugged my body closer to him, nestling his head into the crook of my neck.

“Damn Titan-sized bastard…” He spoke lowly, his voice sending vibrations through my chest. I giggled at the sensation and brought a hand up to rub the back of his head again. Levi sighed in contentment before he pulled away and looked me in the eye. “Did you sleep well?”

“As well as I ever do, I guess. I can’t stop seeing last month’s expedition in my dreams, but that always seems to happen.” My voice shook as my thoughts suddenly ventured to that shit-show. It was the highest amount of casualties we’d had that year. There was a sudden fog bank, which separated my squad from the rest of the Regiment. We-

“(Y/N).” Levi’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. His hand was resting on my cheek as I met his eyes again. He still looked stern, but there was a specific sense of concern lacing his features. “Don’t think about that right now. There was nothing you could do.”

I let out a quick, huffing chuckle as I leaned my forehead against his. “I’ll never understand how you do that.”

“Do what?”

“Read my thoughts.”

The tiniest smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. “It’s cute that you think it’s hard. You have an expressive face.”

I rolled my eyes at Levi’s teasing and leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. They were usually chapped and rough, but I had been making him put on a salve before he went to bed to save his perfectly kissable lips. They were nice and soft against mine, now, as he deepened the kiss. Without breaking our connection, I flipped Levi onto his back and straddled his waist, cupping his face in my hands as my tongue broke through his slightly parted lips. He moaned softly and grasped my waist. I felt his lips quirk up in a smirk against mine and savored the moment with him, knowing I wouldn’t get to touch him like this for almost twelve hours.

I reluctantly pulled away from our make-out session and listened to Levi’s heavy breathing. My eyes slowly opened, though I didn’t realize I had closed them in the first place. Levi’s eyes were still closed and there was a deep blush on his usually pale cheeks. I smiled, knowing I was the only one who could do that to him. I rolled off of him and laid against his side, resting my ear against his chest to listen to his thumping heartbeat.

“Levi?” I raised my head to look him in the eye. He was still blushing.

“Mmm?”

“You’re blushing. I made you blush, Captain.” I whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

His blush deepened (if that was even possible) and he averted his eyes from my face. “Tch, shut up. I could make you blush.”

I raised my eyebrows in faux surprise. “Could you now? I don’t blush at much, you know.” Of course he could make me blush, but I was just having fun messing with him.

In a flash, he was straddling me and leaning down to trail his tongue along my collarbone. The sensation sent sparks to my stomach. But, instead of my face heating up, I just felt the need to laugh.

“Levi! You’re just tickling me!” I cackled as he continued his assault. He grunted against my skin and he suddenly switched to sucking and biting at different parts of my neck. And that did make me blush, but also sent waves of panic through me. Before he could do too much damage, I shoved him off of me and leapt off the bed, running to the bathroom.

“(Y/N)?” I heard Levi call from the bedroom as he followed after me. “Are you alright? Did I hurt you?”

I stood in front of the mirror and stared at my neck. It already was becoming mottled with purple bruises. Groaning, I dropped my head against the glass. Levi put a hand on my shoulder and turned me to face him.

“You got fucking marks on my neck, you bastard.” I leaned into him and buried my face in the crook of his neck. “I can’t hide this shit, you know that! And we have to see so many people today. You’re the worst.” I mumbled into his skin.

His arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me close. I expected an apology to grace those dastardly lips and I awaited it eagerly.

“I still made you blush.”

“Oh, you fucker.”

I wasn’t the only one with a marks on my neck after that comment.

(Alright, that made me feel better. Idk about anyone else, but I’ve always kind of headcanonned Levi as super submissive in bed because he craves contact. This was based off some rumor that Yams had said it in an interview, and I honestly think it’s really perfect for Levi. But that’s just me!)

(This was honestly just to indulge myself, but pleas don’t worry! I have not forgotten about my requests. They are on their way!)

(Also, please request more Levihan I love them)

#shingeki no kyojin #snk #levi ackerman #levi snk #levi aot #attack on titan #levi attack on titan #x reader #levi x reader #aot fanfiction #snk fanfiction #aot #aot x reader #fanfic #fanfiction

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wonnoy · 3 years

Text

life long besties (?)

the last part for haters to lovers with kageyama ! you can read part 1 and 2 for it to make better sense.

but, part 3 is going to be more spicy so if this is what you're here for lol

[][][

warnings: very light spice. like a bb sprinkle.

1 | 2 | 3

You were fighting again, what a big surprise. Hinata had long since stopped trying to get you guys to like each other, making the ridiculous claim every time you guys fight 'just admit you love each other'.

As if.

Your feelings for him, obviously hatred, had only been growing for these past years.

"You're clearly going senile," he said in a snide voice reeling you back into reality with a glare, "zoning out of the blue."

You pushed back away from him, moving further away from on the sidewalk. You two started fighting again, but this time outside and the both of you alone in the middle of the night. Hinata had long since jogged ahead, no wanting to hear you two bicker with him being the middle. You understood, it had to have been tiring when it's all you ever hear.

"Sorry," you looked at him from the corner of your eye, "I don't associate myself with anyone who has virgin lips," you finished. You smiled widely seeing the nickname take its desired effect on him. His shoulder bunching up and his death eyes staring right back at you.

He snuffed at you, "how do you know if I have virgin lips,"

"Because you have too big of an ego to kiss anyone on your own unless they begged to be kissed first," you answered immediately. You could see him huff next to you, crossing his arms roughly, "and you're ugly."

"I know I'm not ugly," he responded.

You scoffed at him, "your mom tell you that?"

Kageyama, though flustered, managed to call you a dumbass under his breath. You looked in front of you again, the sidewalk looked to be infinite with the way the darkness hugged everything. You slid your face deeper into the scarf around your neck, it was colder out tonight.

"Are you cold?" you looked over at him, his hands were stuffed into his pockets and he wasn't looking at you.

"Yea," you nodded and look forward again. Your jacket was not doing much against the cold.

"Should've worn thicker clothing then dumbass," he snickered next to you.

You turned your face up at him, "you act like such a child, you're 27. You don't look like you're much better off," you could hear him curse you under his breath again.

"I'm a volleyball player, I've been conditioned for temperature like this, you're the dumbass here," he replied. You looked down at the ground.

"Whatever you say virgin lips," you muttered. He still believed that you kissed someone before him and you were not going to tell him otherwise. This is best leverage you've had on him ever since you met him. Kageyama had thin lips, but they never seemed to be chapped.

You could feel your heartbeat speed up a little, just looking at him peeved you apparently. You continued to stare at him, the distant thought you pushed away nearly 6 years coming back up. Kageyama being an attractive guy.

"Why are you staring at me like a dumbass," Kageyama was looking at you now, but your eyes weren't on his. They were still on his lips.

"I'm not a dumbass you asshole," you looked away in a huff.

"You were staring at my lips weren't you," he said cockily and you quickened your pace, "oi, slow down dumbass," and he started walking fast too.

God, you started to jog away from him.

"You can't run from me, I'm a professional player," he said from behind but you didn't care and started to sprint away.

You were just caught staring at his lips. You hated him so much, yet why did you continue to hang out with him if you really disliked him as much as you did. You were running out of breath and looked behind you. Kageyama was only lightly jogging after you instead of full on sprinting like you were.

Hinata should have still been around here, you were bound to run into him at one point because he jogged up ahead not too long ago. You all three were heading home together, he wouldn't just leave you two.

As soon as you thought that, Hinata's orange head came into view.

"Hinata!" you cried out and he turned around to see you sprinting down the sidewalk directly into him.

"What is it, did you two stop love-fighting each other yet?" Hinata asked. You were on your knees, struggling to get some air into your system when you gave him an incredulous look.

"I'm running from Kageyama," you tried to say but it came out more like a wheeze. Your lungs burned while you stood up straight again, being wary for whenever Kageyama would come into view again.

Hinata sighed, "you both are childish. Just hash it out like you always do-" he was cut off when a male voice called out your name. You both turned in the direction from where it came from and it was Kageyama now sprinting in your direction.

"y/n!" he yelled out again and you turned, booking it in the other direction. You were already tired and running away from Kageyama was useless, so why were you doing it?

It wasn't long before Kageyama caught up to you, barely out of breath when he finally reached you. You however had to bend over again with your hands on your knees heaving again.

"Why are you such a dumbass, you kept running. Now look at you, bent over and breathless," if your ears weren't already red, they sure were now.

"Shutup, I don't want to hear you," you got off your knees and stood up straight against him again. He took this as a challenge and got up in your face too.

"Too bad then,"

You glared at him, puffs of air visible as you still struggled to get your bearings together, "I don't want to see you either,"

"Then look away," he responded and stepped closer to you. He was right, you could just look away and if you hated him so much you could have always just avoided him for years. But you didn't. You kept seeking out his company to bother him and say that you hated him.

Shit, maybe you didn't hate him. Your stomached clenched along with your heart when you thought of that. Had you been lying to yourself for the past decade just because he called you a dumbass? Hinata had long since cleared that incident up, but that didn't stop you from 'hating' him.

It felt weird but eerily calming to be glaring at the man who you believed you hated for the past decade. Him glowering right back at you as well.

"Listen, virgin lips-" he interrupted you with a snort, "- you don't stop talking and I'll shut you up,"

"That's not how-"

"Virgin lips," you took a step closer.

"No-"

"Virgin Lips," crossed your arms, cutting him off again. He was more than visibly irritated. His fingers were clenching by his side as he kept getting more pissed at you. You could care less.

"Dumba-"

"Virgin lips," you cut him off once more. By now he was in your face, grumbling all to heaven and back.

"-ass-"

"Virg-" you were cut off this time by Kageyama roughly grabbing you by the shoulders and slamming his lips into yours.

He was warm. Maybe he wasn't lying when he said he was conditioned. His lips were thin, but at least they weren't chapped like you speculated for them to be. He was firm against you, barely even moving his lips against yours.

You really were lying to yourself when you said you hated him. You weren't feeling hatred right now, but content. It felt weird to have your heart swell around in your chest, you used to associate it with hatred.

When he pulled away, there was a daze in his eye and a blush on his face that you knew didn't come from the cold.

"I no longer have virgin lips," he said, licking them as if for good measure.

"Me too," you said. When you did, whatever daze he was in was gone for good when he eyed you down. They were wide before they narrowed down into impossible slits.

"So you were lying huh? You damn dumbass," you stuck your tongue at him and he licked his lips again.

"You're the dumbass here for believing it dumbass," you turned away from him and started to walk again, "this doesn't change the fact that I still hate you,"

"You have a funny way of showing hate dumbass and I like it," he snickered behind you. Then came the infamous bickering you two shared constantly, but now you two knew neither of you actually ever meant it.

(in the distance hinata is standing with a shit eating grin on his face. he just won the betting pool between yamaguchi and tsukishima. he totally called it and everything)

[][]

i think i might have to edit this later but it was sitting in my drafts

#haikyuu kageyama #kageyama x reader #kageyamaxreader #kageyama tobio #haikyu x reader #haikyuu!!#haikyuu #haikyuu fluff #fluff

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thewriterowl · 3 years

Note

Do you have a standard writing process? Particularly with long fics? I start out plotting everything to some degree and then start writing but then usually what happens is I get too excited to share it so I start posting before I finish and then my mental health just kinda goes "and we're not finishing that"

Hello! Well I try to sort of do the same--that’s how I did it with Stars. But yeah, getting all the details out can burn you out quicker than what’s fair :/

So what I’ve sort of learned to do (especially coming out from What the Stars Let in, since that thing was nearly 500 pages in like three months) was the following:

1) I had major focus points already confirmed in my head: I knew Din and Luke would have an arranged marriage, I knew I wanted Luke to share his story to the Mandalorians, I wanted Luke to fight Dark Troopers, I wanted Din to have a moment or two of jealousy, I wanted there to be a “betrayal’ from Din, I wanted Luke to sacrifice himself by stopping and moving a cruiser, i wanted them to be separated, I wanted Din to have a moment facing darkness, and then I want them together. Besides a bare skeletal structor of a story (din and luke fall in love in an arranged marriage) i focused on story-points I wanted to see happen and made it a goal to get to one....and then get to another and it made me more excited for the plot point coming next rather than trying to rush to that ending.

2) For the scenes I was really excited about I wrote a rough draft instantly. I pretty much had a draft of Luke stopping the cruiser and then “dying” since chapter two because I knew I wanted that to happen. Same with the Dark Trooper chapter. Of course a lot of details were added or changed as the story progressed but i was able to really plan things because not only did I know I wanted those scenes, I had them written out so I could figure out how to foreshadow things in regards to them easier.

3) Although I am influenced by my readers and I try to keep things “Realistic” in the story (aka, why I didn’t turn Din dark though it was a temptation) I write what I want to read. This, of course, can hinder the writing process cause you’re putting a lot of extra love into it because, being honest, i want it to inspire others to write things like it so I can read something next so if it is not well received then it can be a bad sucker-punch...but I was just like, i gotta get these moments out there regardless of the response.

4) This isn’t the best advice...but I wrote when i wanted to...basically I am mostly working from home and in a job I loathe who has drained me of most all my happiness for the past three years and has used me something bad, but I’m shackled to them cause money. Well...I write on their time now (not on my work computer lol) so I sort of had this momentum of MASSIVE writer’s spite. “Oh, you’re gonna call me in to work on my day off AGAIN????? well, ok then...tomorrow from 8 till 5, I’m writing this space-dad fic and only answering some emails”. Maybe not risk your job for a fic...but i would recommend see if you can find some sort of spite to influence you case man, that stuff works maaagiiiic.

5) Push through the block but not necessarily in a way that burns you out. If you can’t write out the chapter you are currently on, then don’t. Skip five or more scenes ahead and just start there and then go back later and tie things in. You do not have to write your fic in chronological order, so don’t shackle yourself to it. You on a scene with Din and Luke talking about the Force, it’s needed and important, but eh, you’re not feeling it? Go on and write their love confession scene. Or their fight scene. Or something you actually DO wanna write. Go read fics, maybe go and talk to artists and writers about general things and chat. Talking to others about things, not necessarily in detail, can be huge.

6) Bringing in the things I’ve said before; this is not something you need to write chronological--so don’t. The writing can be a fun puzzle. Write the parts you want first (aka the corners as many start with as they do a puzzle) and then start connecting things. I found it a lot easier and a bit more fun to do that way.

7) If possible, and this can be hard, try to be a chapter a head of your updates. With a good chunk of Stars, I was like seven chapters ahead of myself. Not so much with this new one (and for sure not with Little Bird) but it sort of releases some worry and pressure off of you. If you have an idea for a fic, try to see if you can upload it once you have two or there chapters written (not edited, that can come as you get read to upload) and it makes you have a deadline but one that isn’t looming.

8) I also gave myself a deadline. I wanted to update at least once a week. This may not work for everyone, so it’s just about figuring out what works for you...but I think I would recommend you set up a realistic goal on how often you update.

9) Just focus on one chapter at a time as you upload. A multi-chap fic can be so easy to get lost in (I may not update some of my Avengers fic) and that’s fine. It’s disappointing and sad, for yourself, but it happens and it should not be a burden on you. You’re writing these things for fun and if it doesn’t work out, well sucks...but there was no harm or waste to it. Some free content just won’t get finished. Happens every day and it’s all good. You just take up the next wave of inspiration and try to get it finished.

10) Ensure you have fun and keep other fun projects available. That mental stuff loves to take away fun, passionate projects. it’s a miserable monster that just wants to suck you dry from it. Take yourself from the project on occasion and write a one shot (these things are miserably hard for me) and use it as an exercise. It challenges you in a different way, gets you to do something new, and can give you and your mental-monster some whiplash so that it can’t instantly take it away from you.

11) If you lose your hyper fixation/love for a pairing, don’t grip on to it for the sake of a fic. I love DinLuke now and I don’t see that changing anytime soon...but when/if it does, I’ll need to just step back and let it go and wait for it to hit in another wave later. Just enjoy the fandom as a fan and you should have a lot more joy and ease in taking part of projects that way.

Those are my little tidbits that’s helped me with stuff so far at least!

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pebblysand · 3 years

Text

[may '21] - the life update no one asked for (and some quick links)

Hello team! How are you? What a month it has been! But: we have had some proper sun, the days are getting longer, I have gin&tonic with me to give me fuel to write this and it is now the 30th of april - yay! I know I'm bending the rules of these monthly posts a bit there, by writing the may post by anticipation but I really want to focus on 'proper' writing this weekend, so I hope that you will forgive me :).

But, first, some quick links to different blog pages you might not see on mobile :

to read my fics [links to the hinny ficfest fics: one ; two ; three]

to read my original work

fic recs [new additions]

proper blog/site [that I never update but maybe one day I’ll bother]

[NOTE: i am currently accepting prompts for short ficlets on the hp fandom if you fancy. my ask box is open :).]

Everything else, under the cut (contains: ETAs for current WIPs - say, if you’re waiting for chapter 8 of castles, for instance... -, reading lists, and life update)

Currently, I’m writing:

**Castles [HP - post-war canon]**

links extended a/n-s: chapter v ; chapter vi

This is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT the priority for the coming days. We are having a bank holiday here in Ireland on Monday and the main objective now is to get the first draft of next chapter done. I have the outlines (both general and particular) and have - maybe - around 15% of the actual chapter done. Due to external factors (more on that below), I've had quite a hard time finding the time and energy to actually focus on this over the past few weeks which is why I kind of booked out this weekend to Get Shit Done. Hopefully, it works. ETA for next chapter: 30th May.

**R O A R series**

Harry&Hermione one-shot [ETA: July probably]

An original horror/thriller story [ETA: this is the next thing (after castles chap 8 on the agenda. Considering the ETA for chapter 8 of castles, we're probably looking at beginning of June for this.]

Something to fill this silk prompt [ETA: TBD]

That Peaky Blinders fic I started and never finished [ETA: TBD]

** Hinny Ficfest **

I am very happy to announce that I'll have not one but two short stories coming out for the upcoming hinny ficfest. I obviously can't talk about them too much on here but here's what I can tell you.

- the first one will be called: [like fire in the rain] and answers to prompt 78 - "truth or dare". It's a short three sentence story (a format I used to enjoy but haven't done on tumblr in aaaaages) that's a bit angsty (you know me) and is set within the 'sunlit days' in year 6.

- the second one, I'm not too sure of the title yet, but right now I'm thinking of a line from a song by passenger called 'holes': [she said the wolf's just a puppy and the door's double-locked (so what'd you gotta worry me for?)]. this is (loosely) inspired by prompt 27 (Molly finding out about Ginny/Harry) the summer after the war, but has kind of grown into a what-if-castles-wasn't-my-headcanon kind of fic. It's currently just shy of 3,000 words. I'm considering posting it on AO3/FF as well by the time it comes out on here but I'm not sure. We'll see.

They're both fully written but need a bit of polish but will definitely be ready by the 10th :).

Currently, I’m reading:

Calypso by David Sedaris: I've finished this! It was absolutely lovely - would highly recommend if you're looking for a nice, non-fiction read. I'd probably give it four stars. Not magnificent but definitely worth a read.

I’ve started re-reading the Divergent series because I have the attention span of a five year old atm. -- Update: yeah, still there. I don't think I've picked this up recently.

I've also started Watch Her Fall by Erin Kelly. I really loved her thriller He Said/She Said so thought I'd give it a try. For now, it's fine but I've found it sort of hard to get into it if I'm honest.

I’m still labouring through Troubled Blood, the JKR/RobertGalbraith book (ugh), but I have made significant progress on this. I'm on page 789 so almost at the end. I cannot wait to be finished with it. On top of everything else, it's just way too long. And, that's coming from someone whose favourite HP book is OOTP.

In other news:

I have to say, this month's been a bit of a struggle. Not in terms of mental health but just a lot of things happening at once. I had my exams at the start of the month, obviously, then I went home to France. Then, Ireland decided to introduce mandatory hotel quarantine so I had to change my tickets, come back early to avoid it. Then, the day before I left, my mother had a stroke. I just - I don't want to dwell on this too much. It's over, now, she's fine, has (from what the MRI showed) very little damage to her brain. She's at home and living her best life. Frankly, she's a bit of a miracle. This being said, I can't explain to you the stress and anxiety and heartache of last few weeks, and of not knowing what to do. Of not being able to fly home, having to be in Ireland because I was starting a new job and couldn't afford the hotel quarantine; it was just a lot. I think I didn't even have words to put on it at the time, which is why I didn't write about it before. It's easier now, now that it's over. In the thick of it, I didn't know where to start.

Now, I also didn't want to mention this because I don't mean it as a sob story. I just feel like I should explain why I haven't been the best at putting content out, lately. For that first week after it happened, when we were waiting for the medical exams to come through, I had to start a new job, pretend to be 'happy to be here' and 'excited' like everything was fine and that alone kind of sucked all the energy out of me. I was texting her every half hour at the same time, anxiously waiting for a reply. She lives alone, you see, and she's the only family I have left. I feel bad about not being able to write, but it's been hard. I just couldn't focus. On top of that, while the new job is interesting (and it pays money, yaaaay!), it's just a new routine to get back into, so I've also been feeling very tired.

Additionally, the extrovert in me has been begging to see more of her mates, lately. The weather has been really nice and I'm so eager to go out that I have struggled to keep my resolutions of 'no, I'm staying in and writing tonight.' I used to get plenty of social interactions at work, back in the day, but now that I'm fully remote, all I want to do on my days off is see people (especially with the easing of restrictions in Ireland). I feel like overall, it's fair, though. Introverts have struggled in our society for years, now, it's fair that we, extroverts, during the pandemic, bear more of the burden. It's just that this sudden return of my social life has also not truly catered to much writing time, haha. Hopefully, May will be more stable.

I am feeling better, now. Mum is doing good, the results of her MRI were very positive and the only real thing that's changed is that she says she's 'exhausted' which I guess can be expected after a stroke, haha. She's a warrior and I love her. This week, I've been feeling finally more able to focus and with the bank holiday, I really hope to get some proper writing done. I just need to escape in the magic of HP again, haha.

Anyways, sorry for this rather grim update. I suppose I also want to be honest and say that it's not always rainbows and butterflies. Here's to May, though. Hopefully, it'll treat us better :).

#writing #life update

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catboymingi · 3 years

Text

uncertainty - in this life and the next chap. 8

navi/masterlist

story masterlist

pairing: mingi x reader

genre: angst, some fluff; soulmates & reincarnation au

word count: 4.4k

warnings: insecurities, guilt, grief

when there’s new feelings and new fears, new uncertainties follow

the next morning your entire body hurt still, and you groaned and whined as soon as you woke up, shifting in mingi’s arms to find some kind of position that would be more comfortable. it was like a severe sunburn, you wanted to shed your skin, you wanted a new body, and you most of all didn’t want to be in pain.

“you’re up? how do you feel?”, you heard the man mumble into your neck before he sat up a little, looking at your face - which was still about as much of you as he was able to see - for signs of your condition having gotten worse. it hadn’t, but you didn’t look much better, either. the skin was a pinkish hue now, no longer bright red, but he could tell you were still in pain, and he hated that, in some way, he was the cause for this.

“it hurts”, an obvious answer, but you couldn’t think of much more to reply. you were in pain, you didn’t exactly feel much more.

“i know”, he told you calmly, though he wanted to cry at the thought of how much pain you must be in and that, in part, it was his fault, his fault for upsetting you with the soulmate thing and for not taking care of you and for not checking up on you earlier. and because he felt responsible and also because he wanted you to be okay he told you to get up, that he’d take care of you now, asking you if you wanted him to apply the lotion in the bathroom or here in the bedroom so you’d have to move less.

“here”, not wanting to move more than absolutely necessary, and he nodded. “i’ll be back soon, just wait here”, leaving to get the soothing lotion, and first now did you realise that he was going to put lotion on you, and first now did you realise you were only wearing his t-shirt, because getting decently dressed hadn’t been either of you’s priority the night before. you got flustered about this, not wanting to sit there butt naked when he was going to take care of you, even though he hadn’t cared last night. but then again you’d been in an incredibly sorry state and he might not even have registered, something you didn’t want to count on today.

“mingi”, you called out for him, voice still a little whiny from the pain any kind of moving caused, and his head immediately appeared in the door, seemingly having rushed back from the bathroom as soon as he’d heard you.

“what’s wrong?”

“i’m not wearing… i’m just wearing the shirt.”

now he realised, and it left him a little embarrassed, too.

“hold on, maybe i have something”, moving to her part of the closet because underwear was most definitely something you’d have to get from her, and he was delighted to find that there was a set of three panties that still had the tag, so they were most likely still entirely unused, something both he and you would prefer.

“i don’t know your size but hopefully these fit”, throwing them in your direction and grabbing some clothes for himself as he left you alone to get a little more dressed.

they were just a little bit too big, but not to a bothersome degree, and you felt much better now you were at least a little covered. you wouldn’t have been able to sit casually next to him after having realised that you were pretty much naked, and you were glad he was getting dressed, too.

“can i come in?”

“yeah”, and the brunette appeared just a second after, now entirely dressed and with some lotion and both a dry and a wet washcloth in hand.

“i’ll cool it a little first, okay? then dry it and then put the lotion so it won’t get too bad. you’ll have to take off your shirt for that, is that okay? i promise i won’t stare.”

as if there was anything to see.

“okay”, groaning as you moved because taking off a shirt required a lot more movement than you’d been aware of before every single movement hurt, and he was glad you weren’t looking because his face turned into a pained grimace for a second as he realised just how bad your burns must have been, even though they didn’t look bad enough for you to need medical attention.

“let me know if it hurts too bad”, starting to rub the wet washcloth along your back, to your arms and back up, your neck, over your chest to your legs, and while you flinched the cold was actually nice and somewhat soothing, and then he dried off any water that he might have left on you before he started to put the lotion on your body, the same way he’d cooled you with the washcloth, carefully and slowly to make sure you weren’t in pain.

“put on the shirt yourself or i do it?”, and because you had lost some of your shame and were in pain you let him do it, and of course he did, babying you as you deserved.

“do you want to talk now or do you want to sleep some more?”, seeing on the clock that it was seven in the morning, but you’d gone to bed around seven or seven thirty last night so you might not be tired anymore.

“we’ll have to sooner or later anyway”, you told him as you let yourself sink back into the pillow slowly, pulling the blanket back up.

“yeah. can i sit here or do you want me to sit on the chair?”

mingi was being so considerate and you sighed, though not entirely sure about which emotion had caused the sigh.

“here.”

he sat down on the bed next to your legs, looking at you fondly as your eyes wandered across the room because you were in pain and you were nervous and you didn’t want to look at him when he might be about to hurt you again.

“i’m sorry you didn’t find out from me”, he started, then stopped, unsure of how to continue, unsure what the best way to continue would be.

“why’d you not say anything?”

you still weren’t looking at him, but it was okay. where it brought him some feeling of security to be able to see your reactions it probably would be worse for you if you’d see anything in his face that you’d misinterpret or that he misexpressed.

“as yunho said, i didn’t want to fuck up again. i don’t want you to think i’m just talking to you because of that, or that that is why i’m taking care of you now, for that matter. i don’t want you to think it’s the most important thing for me. i can’t ignore it, of course, but i wanted to not let it affect anything until you knew i care about you and not just about that. i didn’t even realise your mark was going to disappear, i just wanted to comfort you.”

“okay”, trying to think of what to reply, but he continued already.

“you were so hurt by your parents’ behaviour, i didn’t want to hurt you even more. especially when it’d be for nothing. it wouldn’t make a difference for you, so why mention it right away? it doesn’t matter, and it shouldn’t matter to me, either.”

“hm”, acknowledging what he said while your thoughts were running wild, before you finally dared to look at him as you spoke.

“i don’t want things to be staged. i don’t know how it works, i don’t remember if i ever did know, so i just… i imagine it kind of like, i can’t control anything. everything’s already planned out, i can just play along and it’s going to happen sooner or later anyway. i don’t want to be controlled by someone else again, i don’t want to be controlled at all. i’m scared i won’t have any choice.”

those words were so honest and vulnerable that he wanted to hug you more than anything, wanted to comfort you, but he wasn’t sure if he could, if you’d let him.

“do you want to know how it worked for me? if you don’t that’s okay, you don’t have to, but maybe it would be less scary. it’s not staged, at least, that much i can promise. you still have a choice, about whatever you do.”

you weren’t sure what to say, uncertain if you’d want to hear his stories or if it’d only hurt you more.

“i don’t know.”

he hummed in acknowledgment, biting his lip as he thought about what to do.

“you’re scared?”

you nodded, even though it hurt your skin.

“i can tell you, and you just interrupt if you want me to shut up. would that be okay?”

you weren’t sure if you wanted to hear anything at all, but maybe it would help with the fear that was still making you feel bad, like at least part of your life was predetermined and you wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. you didn’t really have anything to lose, so you nodded again.

“okay. i’ve been thinking, and i remembered how you knew my name right away. and then i realised that i’ve felt a little… odd around you right from the start, but i obviously couldn’t place it, but that’s something that happens. feeling different even when you don’t know the person yet, and wanting to spend time with them. things are different, but that doesn’t mean it’s a shortcut to a relationship or anything, you know? or that you’d have to be with me or that i’m the only choice you’ll ever have. i know people who’ve been with others and have been really happy and never even looked for their soulmate because it didn’t matter to them anymore. it’s not predestined the way it probably sounds. for me, it kind of gave me a feeling of ‘finally, i know who i belong with now’, but then it got weird when you came in. i think it’s an individual thing, just like everyone’s an individual. of course it’s going to be different. you can make a choice, and that choice doesn’t have to be me, and it’s not like you’ll… i don’t know, upset fate or whatever. fate is more like a rough draft, but if you decide you don’t like it you can rewrite it all over.”

you looked at him with big, curious eyes, taking in every word he’d said.

“i get to choose? i could be with anyone at all?”, and he nodded even though he felt a tight knot in his chest because it sounded like you’d rather choose someone else.

“of course not if they don’t want to, but that’s a given. it’s your choice, yours and theirs, so if you want to ignore the soulmate thing no one’s going to stop you or be mad or anything.”

“okay. thank you.”

mingi was glad that you sounded relieved because it meant you were less worried, but part of him worried about how relieved you sounded. if you’d really rather be with yunho it’d be him who got his heart broken this time, but that wasn’t what you were thinking at all. you were just glad that he wasn’t in a way forced to like you, and that you weren’t forced to like him, either. that the two of you could still make choices. you never wanted to be someone’s only option, you wanted to be someone’s only choice. you didn’t think you’d be able to handle it if you constantly had to worry about the feelings you and the person you were with being forced, not being genuine, being there because some higher force didn’t leave you any other choice.

“it’s no problem. are you hungry? you haven’t eaten in ages.”

neither had he, which was how he’d even come to realise it, but he imagined you might feel worse, low on energy from crying and being in pain.

“a little.”

a massive understatement, but you didn’t exactly want to tell him that you were starving. you just wanted to eat a little, wanted a normal morning, wanted to be okay and to pretend that nothing odd had happened. wanted to pretend you were just with a friend getting breakfast for no reason other than that you wanted to. you wanted to pretend the previous day hadn’t happened at all, wanted to forget all about it.

“i’ll make us something. if you want to join me in the kitchen you can either borrow a pair of my sweatpants or i’ll get you a quilt so you won’t get cold.”

mingi was still kind of babying you, but you were also still kind of upset and definitely still in pain, so you didn’t complain about it. it was nice, having him take care of you. it made you feel cared about.

“pants might be better for eating, i don’t know?”

he got up and moved to the closet, getting out a random pair of sweatpants for you and throwing it your way before he left to the kitchen to start preparing breakfast. you took the chance to text yunho, whom you’d ignored and who seemed really worried, apologising for your lack of reply.

[yunho]: i swear if mingi fucked up AGAIN

he was most definitely protective over you, something you appreciated but that also made you feel a little guilty because you wouldn’t be able to reciprocate.

[y/n]: i think if anything i did, but were fine

[y/n]: i was overwhelmed but i slept and now its a little better

[y/n]: but yunho… you’re really nice, you know i really like you, but you were right when you said i care about mingi. i’m sorry, but it’s fair to tell you

his reply took just a moment longer than he usually took to reply, leaving you scared you’d hurt him, but he didn’t seem upset.

[yunho]: i know, dont worry about it. thats why i told you - he cares about you too but thinks hes not good enough

[yunho]: just try to make each other happy so i wont have to beat any asses

you smiled at that, knowing that he really cared about both you and mingi, grateful to have such a good friend.

[y/n]: ill try to be nice

[y/n]: thank you

then you joined mingi in the kitchen, sitting down at the table and cursing yourself for having been so stupid yesterday because a hard surface hurt your skin even more than the soft bed.

“i’m making some pancakes, i hope that’s okay. they’re not pretty either.”

“that’s fine. as long as they’re edible”, smiling at him even though he didn’t see it, focusing on the pan because he didn’t want to ruin your breakfast.

“no promises, but i’m trying.”

he was smiling, too, you could hear it in his voice, and you were glad that things seemed a little more normal again. you didn’t want to be awkward around him, you didn’t want your friendship ruined again, though this time for another reason, you just wanted to enjoy not being alone.

“i let yunho know i’m still alive and so are you”, you told mingi a little later, when the first few pancakes were piled up on a plate, to which he hummed in acknowledgment.

“i’ll message him later, as well. let him know i’m not angry, i bet he thinks i might be.”

you could imagine that, too, because he obviously hadn’t checked in with his friend before he’d sent those messages and it wouldn’t be weird if mingi would actually be angry, even though it didn’t seem like he was.

“let’s eat now.”

you did, eating the surprisingly good pancakes and drinking some chocolate milk because if he was going to treat you like a baby you might as well get chocolate milk like a baby, mainly remaining silent, except for you complimenting his pancake skills.

“i’m glad you like them”, smiling at you awkwardly, “so you won’t have to keep being hungry.”

“i’m good, thank you”, smiling back at him while you thought about yunho’s words. he knew mingi better than you, he did definitely still spend more time with him than you and he’d known him for much longer, so he probably knew better, and the brunette had told you that he cared about you. still, you weren’t sure what to do, weren’t sure how to go about things, and you just wished life would make a decision easier for you. wished that you didn’t know anything about soulmates and whatever else there was, because you just wanted things to be completely unaffected by anything that wasn’t your, or in this case also his, feelings.

“what are you thinking about?”

your smile had apparently faded and he’d noticed, still worrying about your breakdown yesterday, so he wanted to make sure you were okay before you’d sooner or later have to go back home.

“i’m just still thinking. i don’t really know what to do, you know?”

“i get it. let’s just not do anything, okay? just see how things go, and if we want to do something later we can still do that. we have time”, something that was hard for him to believe because the last time he’d thought that life had played a sick joke on him and taken the person he loved the most from him, but he was trying not to think about that, trying not to let it turn him into a bitter, hopeless version of himself that had given up on everything, not anymore, he was trying to reassure himself just as much as he was trying to reassure you.

“we have time”, you repeated, and you too were trying to reassure yourself. you were still young, of course, but you’d already lost so much time that you weren’t able to remember, part of you was desperate for new memories. and one memory would be spending time with your friends, something you were so desperate to do, see that things were okay and pretend like all the hard things that had led you to move back home hadn’t happened.

“if yunho wants, do you want to watch a movie tonight?”

“sure, i can ask him when i text him, kind of prove i’m not angry.”

you nodded at that suggestion, eating the last of your pancake before you spoke up again hesitantly.

“i think i should go home. maybe sleep some more, take a cold shower, i don’t know.”

“okay. just, if you feel… weird again, call me instead of getting hurt. please.”

“i’ll try”, because you couldn’t promise him any more, and he knew that trying was the most he could ask from you.

“thank you”, and “take care” when you left, hugging you carefully as a goodbye.

things were weird for mingi, because even though he’d told you that you shouldn’t do anything yet and even though he’d been the one to tell yunho to get with you he still felt somewhat jealous whenever he saw you be close to his best friend, whenever he felt like you preferred yunho over him, whenever your face lit up when you talked about the blond, not knowing that it was the same way just roles reversed whenever you were alone with the other man. they were both your friends, but the brunette found himself wishing he could be more than your friend, even though he knew he shouldn’t be, not now, at least, since he still had to deal with feelings of guilt whenever he found himself wanting to hold your hand or pull you close. he felt like he was betraying both her and you, because his thoughts were never with just one of you, something he talked to yunho about more than once, trying to deal with his guilt and figure out what would be the best way to go about things, figure out how he could get rid of the guilt eating away at him or even just figure out how to deal with it better so he wouldn’t feel like he was being unfair to you if he couldn’t focus on you only when you were alone.

neither man had an answer to that - there probably wasn’t even a good answer. it was something he’d have to figure out with you, through lots of talking, lots of crying too, probably, lots of sorting out all the hard feelings that made life so difficult. and it would be even harder when he wasn’t the only one with baggage, and when your baggage was the exact kind of baggage to get worse with his baggage, when he knew you’d feel like he didn’t care about you if she was on his mind when he was with you, so again, he tried to tell his friend to make you happy because he didn’t think he ever could. but his friend wouldn’t do that, wouldn’t let him ruin his chance at a second love just because he was so scared of hurting you, especially not since he knew that you wanted to be with mingi, too, something that got so obvious from the way you talked about him. so instead of giving in to what he wanted for himself yunho supported his friend, played free therapist, and collected evidence for the two of you liking each other in his brain.

“mingi, i know you’re scared, but so is she. except what she’s probably even more scared of than having to work through some issues with you is you not thinking she’s worth it”, the blond was trying to convince him again, but mingi just shook his head.

“she’s gonna think i don’t care about her if i tell her i’m not thinking about only her even when we’re alone. she’s gonna think she was right in thinking i only care about the soulmate deal and the reincarnation thing and all that. she’s gonna be hurt and i can’t do that”, trying to convince yunho about as much as himself, because, truth be told, he was horrified himself.

“she’s gonna think that you don’t care about her if you don’t even try to talk to her about this”, his friend countered, “if you keep your feelings to yourself and act weird, because you will, i know you, and she doesn’t know why. she’s gonna think you don’t like her.”

the brunette groaned, throwing his head back and burying his face in his hands; why did life have to be so hard? it wasn’t fair, neither on you nor him, and he wished there was an easier way.

“so what should i do? go up to her like ‘hey i have feelings for you but i still can’t focus on you only because i also have guilt eating away at me because i do see you as an individual, as more than a cheap copy of my first love whom i promised to love forever, and the fact that i like you for you and not for her makes me feel like i’m cheating even though there’s no one to cheat on’? i can’t really do that.”

his friend looked at him with soft eyes, because now he knew exactly what was going on in his friend’s mind, and now he knew that you really didn’t have to be worried and neither did mingi, because if he did explain that he felt this way you’d understand, without a doubt.

“maybe not with those words, but if you package it a little nicer?”

something he didn’t mean literally, but it gave mingi an idea. maybe he couldn’t say it, because he’d most definitely stumble over his words, but he might be able to write a letter and avoid fucking up with bad wording because he had the chance to rewrite it if he felt like it wasn’t appropriate, and he’d have more time to think about it. and maybe it’d hurt less if he was alone when he got the words out, the hardest words, and would only have to do the problem solving later, not the problem discussing.

“thank you”, getting up to give his best friend a tight hug because he’d just managed to (hopefully) solve an issue mingi’d had for about two weeks now.

when the man who you weren’t sure was your friend or something different had messaged you, asking how you were feeling and if you’d want to watch a movie with him and, if you still wanted to later, have him stay over that night, you were a little surprised, but told him that you did want to, part of you hoping for something more, part of you scared that you’d get hurt again, as you always found yourself feeling when you watched a movie with him and the two of you spent the night not exactly cuddling, but at least in the same bed. it made you anxious, but you wouldn’t want to miss it, just hoped he’d finally make some kind of move because you knew you certainly wouldn’t, wouldn’t risk him hurting you again.

the anxiety had only gotten less intense as you waited for the evening, spending part of your day in the shelter again, but it hadn’t fully vanished. so your heart skipped a beat when you heard the doorbell ring, knowing he was already in front of your door because he knew the code to the front door by now.

you walked to the door, nervous, though trying to hide it. and then he was standing there, in front of your door, flowers in hand and a big teddy bear squished under his arm - did he remember how you’d told him once that you hated never having someone to hold at night even though it would calm you? -, looking everywhere but you as he grabbed the teddy bear with the now no longer free hand and gave you the flowers.

“what’s this for, mingi?”, heart racing because maybe, just maybe, you weren’t getting your hopes up for nothing this time.

“y/n, i… i think i kind of fell for you.”

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dayas · 4 years

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1,3,20 and 25 for the writing ask, I wanna know it all!

First off, I wanna say thank you for giving me this ask because now I have something to think about instead of just being in a sad cloud ❤️ it’s nice to have a little break 💞

1. Tell us about your current project(s) – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it.

Not to expose myself but I have like 5 WIPS 😂

War Of Hearts (jiara reincarnation au), a not so secret combination Dimya fic (flower shop + mob au), an angsty gotham/the batman (fc wise djdjsjsn) BatCat one shot (selina meeting bruce after he left in a slightly unexpected way), and I’m trying to draft/spin ideas for a POTC Klonnie au (calypso and davy jones’ story). With WOH, I’m filling in the second chapter which is taking FOREVER (sorry y’all), but I’m actually super excited for it to drop! With the work entirely, I definitely love all the little hints and breadcrumbs. It’s gonna start coming together more in the second chapter and I’m super pumped to see what y’all think! I’m on Chapter 1 of the Dimya Fic and searching for my inspiration but I know how it’s gonna go and that makes me happy. I love the combo aspect of the fic and how it’s a mashup, plus there’s some not so subtle underlying themes that I think are cool to explore! With BatCat, I wrote some yesterday! It’s a songfic and I love that about it, but also just the angst and flashbacks included, I think it’ll be really cool! And for the Klonnie fic, I haven’t even started 😭 Someone was basically like ‘write this!’ so I was like ‘okay!’ but I don’t know them that well yet writing wise so I need to explore 😂 tbh it’s just a concept that I really, really love and I have some ideas for the melody that goes along with it. Unsure if it’ll be a multi chap or a realllyyy long one shot once it drops but I’m thrilled either way! The technical “fifth” wip is for everybody who asked me when Kie would find out JJ is Sarah’s bf’s friend so watch out for that 👀 y’all ask, I answer 😂

3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

GOD! THIS! Okay okay okay I’ve ALWAYS wanted to write a Jiara break up scene but there’s SO MUCH WORK THAT GOES INTO THAT LIKE THE SET UP AND THEN BUILDING INTO AN EXPLOSION SO here’s a no context, cliche, dramatic af breakup scene for jiara thank you for giving me the freedom to write this 😂

“We need to talk.”

That alone stops what she’s doing. JJ and Kiara don’t usually ‘talk’. They can have serious conversations, but they tend to reserve getting deep for when they’re either really really high, or the issue around them has to be resolved. They’re not in high school anymore, but old habits die hard. Still, she shakes off the pause, drying another dish as she says,

“About?”

“... stuff.”

“Stuff. Real eloquent there, JJ.”

His eyes are practically heating the soapy water up themselves. The kitchen at the Chateau isn’t exactly prime real estate as far as cleanliness goes, but since they’re around here more often than not, Kie decided to make an effort to spruce it up a little bit and dragged JJ into it.

Something’s wrong. He’s fiddling with his rings underneath the water at a faster pace than normal, leaning heavily against the lip of the sink.

“Dude, are you okay?”

Her voice is soft as she dries her hands off, coming up to him and slipping her arms around his chest, cheek pressed into his back. He tenses underneath her, shrugging her off and backing away.

“JJ,” Kiara’s voice is concerned now, “What’s going on?”

“Weneedtobreakup.”

His sentence is a blur that knocks into her, rattling around her brain as it spins like a top. As all tops do, the spinning eventually stops, leaving her with the capacity to space out the miniature word flood that left his mouth a few seconds ago.

We need to break up.

“What?” Kie says, panic creeping into her system, “Why?” She begins to think of what could have gone wrong, what could have prompted this.

“It’s not you, it’s — ”

“If you try to feed me one of your bullshit lines that worked on the ghosts of hookups past, don’t.”

He has the decency to shut up then and there, turning instead to lean back against the cabinets, hands gripping the edge of another counter.

“Is this about what my cousin said?”

A few weeks ago, they’d been invited to a formal family gathering on her mother’s side. Some crazy expensive week in Hawaii. Well, Kiara had been invited, and she brought JJ for two reasons. One, he’s her best friend which legally obligated him to help her out in a spot. Two, they were getting pretty serious (or so she thought), and she couldn’t hide in the OBX forever, so why not kill two birds with one stone? At an extremely over the top event, one of Kie’s drunk cousins approached JJ and started spewing some nonsense. Kiara intervened, of course, but later, she remembers, another one approached. Completely sober. She hadn’t been paying attention to that conversation, occasionally glancing over to make sure JJ wasn’t floundering. He’d been restless the entire night and a few days afterwards. But when they’d come back home, all was well. Or, again, so she’d thought.

She should’ve just chucked the damn stone at herself.

He grimaces, and it’s to her horror that she realizes it’s true.

“What the fuck did she say?”

Her voice is low and dangerous, a tiny sliver of a hint as to what’s hiding behind her eyes.

“Doesn’t matter,” JJ shrugs, eyes everywhere but her.

“Of course it fucking matters, JJ! What did she say?”

“Nothing!”

“That’s a lie.”

“I already told you it doesn’t matter.”

“If it doesn’t matter then just tell me!”

“Fine!”

They are two powder kegs on the verge of an explosion. Kiara lit the spark, jumping the gun to shouting. He followed, and and now they’re at a precipice.

“You really wanna know what she said? Fine. She said that I’ll never be good enough for you, and you know what? She’s right.”

They tilt on the edge, still caught in the middle, unsure of where to fall.

“No. She’s not.” How can he even say that, let alone believe it? Kie isn’t always a fan of the cheesy, but it’s a cold hard fact that the man standing before her is one of the best things in her life.

“She is, Kie. You know she is. You’re not a Kook, but your family... they can give you so much more than I can. Opportunities and shit, the chance to get out of here. What do I have going for me?”

“Everything! You know I don’t want any of that bullshit or the baggage that comes with it — I want you.”

“I’m not gonna be enough. One day you’re gonna look up and realize that you want out of this place. Or I’m gonna look up and realize I turned into my dad.”

A bitter laugh leaves him, slicing them both to ribbons in the process.

“You’re not him, J. You’re not your dad and you never will be your dad.”

“You don’t know that! I don’t know that!”

They step closer at the same time, spark relit on the fuse to destroy them.

“JJ — ”

“No, Kiara. We can’t keep doing this. I’m stuck, and I’m not dragging you down with me.”

“You’re not dragging me down if I want to be here!”

Four more feet and they are two steps away from each other. They’re both tired, oh so tired, yet neither one is willing to give up the fight for their cause. The frustration builds, coiling tightly around them as JJ steps forward and shouts,

“I’m gonna ruin your life!”

“Then ruin it!”

Kie’s scream is passionate, every emotion inside of her escaping in those three words as she steps up to meet him.

“Ruin my life, JJ Maybank. Because I’d rather be in ashes with you than anywhere with anyone else.”

He takes one look at her and the pause between them could stop a train. Then, his head ducks down and his lips crash against hers. She reciprocates, sinking both hands into his hair. He picks her up and she wraps her arms around his waist as he sets her against the counter. Dishes crash onto the floor but neither of them are even remotely half assed to care. His lips attach to her neck and she exhales sharply.

“Stay,” Kiara whispers. And she wishes he did. If she would have been controlling their story, they would have taken this to Big John’s room and the breakup talks would cease. But she put everything in his hands, as he’s making the decision here. So when she tells him to ruin her life, she watches him grapple with himself. For a second, she sees his head tilt ever so slightly forward. He reels himself back in a second later, and the fire in his eyes burns out.

“I’m sorry,” JJ whispers, shaking his head and backing away from her.

“JJ,” Kiara calls after him, “JJ!” She’s immobilized, feet stuck to the floor.

This isn’t happening. This is not happening.

Something inside her breaks and she runs, tearing through the house. He’s already on his bike as she gets to the front porch, and curse him, he looks back. He puts the helmet in his hands on (she bought him that for his birthday — “You’re not getting fucked up on my watch. Put the damn helmet on.”) and drives away.

Kiara doesn’t know what happens next. When her faculties return her knees are scraped up, blood trickling down. She’s still on the porch and her face is wet, cheeks marred by liquid pooling in her eyes. Someone is crying, loudly, like their heart was ripped from their chest. No, she thinks, like someone else’s heart was ripped from their chest, someone the person crying loved. Because if her own heart was ripped out, she would not be able to feel. What Kiara wouldn’t give to not feel a goddamn thing right now.

She calls Sarah. Her friend comes and picks her up, and they go to her place. Kie can’t bear to be in the Chateau or her own room. Sarah’s is devoid of memories, for the most part. She explains what happened through her tears as her friend holds her, gently carding her fingers through her hair comfortingly. They light up, and then get a little tipsy and Kiara doesn’t know if it’s better or for worse. But it’s something. She’s reminded of after the Phantom went down, that night on the beach when she discovered the freedom to be. In this moment, Kiara’s free to be something. Anything. Whatever she wants. But the one thing she wants removed himself from her life, so she settles for being a mess instead. Sarah settles in with her when they’re all worn out, falling asleep quickly. Kiara’s vaguely aware that the person next to her is not who she wants it to be, that this is wrong in the sense that someone else should be here. She’s too cold, unraveled.

“Stay,” she whispers, but this time to herself. If she can stay for tonight, she can stay for tomorrow, and the day after that until she eventually finds her way back to who she is without him in her life. She’s not the same Kiara as she was this morning. She’ll be a different Kiara when she wakes up tomorrow. The Kiara she is wraps her arms around herself to keep whatever’s left from pouring out. She will do what he refused to. When the morning comes, she will face the world. While the moon is out, she is free to dream.

She dreams one last dream of him.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

Okay LOOK 😂 there’s so much I wanna say on this but it would be so spoiler-y BUT for War Of Hearts, do some scanning! There’s a lot to unpack there, some obvious, some not! It becomes more evident in the chapters to come. I wish I could say more and I totally would if all of it was published 😭😭😭 OOO but I do enjoy referencing my works in other works (literally did that in the mini scene above lmao) so there’s a good chance that I riff off of previous concepts or something else across the stories/one shots that I write! There’s so many references I throw in too. For example, the ‘I hope you care to be recalled to life’ part in It Wasn’t Special Til I Met you is from A Tale Of Two Cities. I definitely love exploring concepts in my work, which I guess is why it kind of reads as flowery when I dig into it 😂

25. What part of writing is the most fun?

To me, I really love when I’m able to come up with good dialogue or a good scene and I’m like ‘OOO YES THIS IS IT!” It’s super fun to explore the underlying themes and symbolism in pieces; I totally love and live for weaving stuff together like Blues Clues 😂 I also adore dropping references to various works or songs because people will catch them and be like ‘wait is that xyz?’ and I’m like ‘yeah! yes it is! you get it!’ And that’s just a wonderful feeling 😊🥰

That’s all for me! Thanks for asking!

#k chats #k answers #ask #asks #jiara #batcat #klonnie #dimya #jiara fic #gotham #the vampire diaries #outer banks #anastasia

22 notes · View notes

nochuuuenthusiast · 5 years

Text

neighbor

hello everyone! i’m back with another post :) i’m sorry for not posting anything on jungkook’s birthday :( i was writing this scenario based on his birthday, but i didn’t have the time to finish it so i guess it’ll be in my drafts for the next couple of days... anyways, this was a request that was sent in a couple of weeks ago (?) i think (?) so thank you to @sgrnii for submitting! i hope this is the fluffy content you wanted! and if anyone else wants to send in a request please do so~

request from @sgrnii: Hii could you write a scenario like "Jungkook as next door neighbor" and how would he meet the reader? 🥰

plot: neighbor!jungkook is succesful in finding (y/n)’s lost puppy

genre: fluff (of courseee)

pairing: jungkook x reader (neighbor!jungkook, nonidol!jungkook, collegestudent!jungkook)

rating: pg-13; warning(s): few curse words

word count: 1213

You were so screwed.

It’s only been the second day of moving in to your new apartment in your college town and you had already lost your dog. Being a fairly new puppy, it wasn’t surprising that he had wandered off by himself with a mind of his own, venturing into the vast unknown. You were sweating excessively from the immense heat of the summer sun and the fact that you weren’t familiar with the apartment complex was not helping at all. It felt like you were walking up and down the same set of staircases over and over again, in a vicious cycle and frankly, you were starting to lose hope.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Your landlord had specifically told you that pets were not allowed in the complex and that if you were caught raising one, there was a possibility of getting evicted from the apartment. So yes... you were evidently stressed. Sitting down on one of the staircases and heaving as you wiped the new layer of glistening sweat on the top of your forehead, you had enough and closed your eyes. You decided that it might just be better to go back home and start printing some lost dog posters since it had already been an hour since you started looking for your dog. Sighing, you got to your feet and headed back downstairs.

[10:30pm]

Your head was spinning from all the stress that you were experiencing. You were currently sitting in front of your small printer, praying that you wouldn’t run out of ink while you were printing the last 50 “lost dog” flyers. Despite putting up the other flyers in front of the doors of the apartments in the complex, it had been nearly six hours since your dog ran away. Because you ran out of flyers to put up, you decided to continue printing and putting up more of them until someone was kind enough to call you about your dog.

Your head was down, resting on your limp forearm... and your eyes were starting to close, sleepy from your lack of energy. You felt yourself dozing in and out of sleep, surrounded by all the full moving boxes that hadn’t been unpacked yet. It was when you were about to fall asleep that you felt the small synchronized vibrations coming from your phone. Your head instantly jerked upwards and your eyes grew wide from the unexpected feeling in your hand.

Please, please, please, please, please.

You crossed your index and middle fingers as you nervously picked up the phone-- a habit that you picked up ever since you were in elementary school... believing that completing this action would actually bring you luck and good results. You bit your chapped, lower lips as you slowly swiped left, desperately needing to know whether your dog was safe or not.

“Hello??” you spoke softly into the phone.

“Uhh, hi... I found your puppy in an alleyway of the back of the apartment complex while I was taking out the trash... do you mind if I come over to drop him off?”

The voice on the receiving end of the phone was unfamiliar yet soothing... shy yet distinct.“AH! Of course! Thank you so much! See you in a bit!” You were thrilled. Not only were you glad that your puppy would safely be in your embrace soon, but you wouldn’t be faced with a death trial by your landlady. Your excitement and relief peaked as you hung up the phone and quickly stepped into the living room to wait for the glorious doorbell to ring, signaling the arrival of your lost puppy.It had only taken three minutes for your doorbell to ring and the instant you heard the repeated bell chimes coming from the main door, you practically jumped to your feet.... your anticipation built to its maximum. And right as you opened your door quickly, you were shocked by the sight.

A boy, who seemed to be around the same age as you (so you were assuming he was a fellow college student) and looked around 5′10. Maybe it was just the lighting from the all-too-bright LED light instilled on the ceiling hanging before your door or the delusion that seemed to cloud your mind from a day’s worth of stress, but you swore his irises glistened as if there were millions of stars within them. He stood there, gripping your small puppy in his arms... his shirt seemed loose yet accentuated his muscular biceps and small waist perfectly. His hair was parted straight down the middle and looked a bit too fluffy to seem true. You blinked several times, trying to stop yourself from drooling over this stranger in front of your doorstep, but you found it difficult to stop yourself from gazing at him. His eyes wrinkled and the corners of his mouth were upturned as he smiled as he unraveled his arms, trying to hand you your puppy.

“Hi.. we talked earlier on the phone?” His voice was a little shaky... Ah, so you’re shy...

“Yeah! Thank you so much, by the way... you don’t even know how worried I was the entire day...” you sighed, relieved as you received your puppy into your embrace.

“Don’t ever run away from me again...” you pouted as you proceeded in your failed attempt to scold your puppy and make eye contact with it.

He smiled, endearingly and you shifted your focus back to him.

I just want to know your name.

“You’re a student at (*insert university name here*), right? Well... I’m just assuming... because you look so young and hands---”

Shit.

Your eyes grew wide and your mind went fuzzy, knowing that you just humiliated yourself.

There goes my chance.

You smiled awkwardly and played with a few strands of your baby hair as your cheeks flushed bright red. You were trying to cover up the moment with something equally as awkward so that your crisis could be avoided. You were unable to make eye contact with him again and knew that the boy probably never wanted to talk to you again.

“Hahahaha, well what I meant was... I-- er,, you’re youth is evident, ummm.. haha... I just assumed that you were, uhh...”

He smiled as your stumbled with your words, trying to recover the damage that had already been done.

“You think I’m handsome?” he asked, eyes formed into crescents as a result of his faint smile.

“Umm... well, I--”

“Well good, because I think you’re pretty.”

Your eyes widened for the nth time, not expecting that response at all. You looked up at him, your cheeks still tinted with a reddish pinkish hue.

“Do I get a reward for finding your dog?” he asked calmly.

“No... sorry... but if there’s anything you want, I could get something for you...”

“Then it’s set!” His smile grew wider and those beautiful glistening irises seemed to disappear. “I insist a date... Saturday. 7pm. I’ll pick you up from your place.”

And with that, he was walking away from the door, leaving you even more flustered and shocked than you were when you first met him. You smiled to yourself as you slowly closed the door behind you.

So... I guess I didn’t fuck it up.

199 notes · View notes

a-third-attempt · 4 years

Text

Raising Bell (pt. 1)

* * *

Defamation, Libel. 8 cts: First Presbyterian, Chittenden County &c. (see Appendix C)

* * *

“We’ve got her”, I said.

“Jason. I’ve told you a million times not to barge in here after— Who?”

The boss’s desk is big, but he makes it look small. Tall and fat, he always wears a dark brown coat that somehow makes him an even more imposing presence. You'd never catch him during working hours without a cigar in his mouth, and even then you’d never catch him for more than a couple seconds at a time. He wasn't the easiest guy to get along with, but the only reason this operation was still in the black was because that man worked around the clock to make it go. At the moment he was busy with paperwork, a task that he never started until 7:00 at the earliest, because “the real work goes on when the sun is up, kid!”

“Dorothy,” I said.

“Dorothy McAdams?”

“Dorothy McAdams.”

His eyebrows raise and he offers a breathless “Dorothy McAdams...” in reply. “How the hell did you manage that?”

“She came to town because of her brother, and the word on the street is that she’s sticking around for a year or two. Besides that,” I smile broadly, “I suppose it’s just to your credit for hiring such a charming talent agent, that got her to call you back before St. Anthony.”

He grunts. That was a little too showy for any other day, but with Dorothy in my pocket he’d damn well better cut me some slack.

“How much did it cost me?”

“Well, sir...”

“Snap it out Jason, I haven’t got all night.”

“Sorry, sir. Salary isn’t worth writing home about, double what the other four-in-handers get. And no signing bonus, just a condition.” I pause. He removes the cigar from his mouth and waves it in a circle, annoyed that I'm talking so slow. “We have to take on a kid named Timothy Courtson.”

“Who the hell is Timothy Courtson?”

“Does it matter?” I say, confidently.

“It might,” he snaps back. I guess he's right. Could be an arsonist, he always says. That sure would be bad for business, you know. I glance down at the file in my hand, and swallow hard.

“It doesn’t.”

“He any good?”

I’m sure the millisecond of silence was answer enough, but I answered him. “He can play C and D4.”

He puts the cigar back in his mouth and smirks. “So, no.”

“Positively dire, sir. But it’s no bonus with the kid; 2.5 without.” A second of silence is all it takes to get the words spilling out of my mouth. I spent too much money on her and if I lost the cash back… “Look, we just double up Karen and shift down the bass. The kid can sound like a dying cat and nobody’s going to know the difference down there. Garrett can teach him to mart properly and he’ll get the rest in the extra lessons from Tanya.”

He waves away my explanation. “Yeah, yeah, Jason. You made the right call. Good work.”

I bow my head, and take the opportunity to collect myself, knowing that the goodwill won’t last long. “There— sorry, there’s another thing. Louis told me to give you this.”

I hold the file out to him, and he recoils. “Does it look like I've got the time to read this thing?”

“Please, boss. It's important.”

He snatches the file in one hand, and with the other he grabs a pair of comically undersized glasses. Plopping them on his nose, he opens it and starts reading. It takes about three seconds for the color to drain from his face and his mouth to twist into a bitter scowl.

“What the SAM HELL is this, Jason?” I shrug. Could have been worse, if we're being honest.

“Just a list of notes that Louis kept when he had her, and everything he could find about her past behavior.”

He starts to shout at me again, but thinks better of it and rubs his temples. “Jesus Christ.”

“Language.” It’s instinct, but I know it’s a bad idea from the instant the word comes out of my mouth.

“Jesus Christ have mercy on this woman’s soul,” he snaps back. “But judging by this rap sheet, there’s not much chance of that.”

“She’s a genius. Every genius has some quirks.”

“Hell with quirks, Jason. This is a problem.”

The words hang silently in the smokey air of his office. He tosses the folder to the side and turns away from me, looking out the window at the view of nothing, just a few yellow streetlamps and the broad side of the next concrete building.

“You still want her, though, right?”

He’s quiet, still facing away from me, but there’s no hesitation. “Yes.”

“We’ll just have to keep a tighter leash than Louis did.”

“Take your good-for-nothing file and get out of here,” he grunts softly, and I oblige. As frightening as Boss can be when he’s a swirling rage, I know he’s much scarier when he gets that quiet.

* * *

A/N: As usual, you can see the entire writing process below the break.

==========

Second Draft

See savefile-1 for suggested edits. I don’t think we need to do a full rewrite of this, but if you get inspired, this would be the draft to do it. I think the original was pretty inspired, though, and it went though a lot of revision with all the retellings.

* * *

Okay, I’m just going to let this one go through on the second draft. It’s fine and I’m too drunk to do real edits. Maybe if I can stay sober for a whole night I’ll make it work, but fuck Coronavirus, amirite?

==========

First Thoughts

Okay, let’s do the first person thing.

What does Jason notice in their narration? They notice Boss, first and foremost. Boss is tempermental and demanding, so this is a survival mechanism. And with such sensitive information that he’s bringing, he needs to be hypervigilant.

What does he miss? Emotions, for anyone except Boss— and even then, only as they’re written in his face and serve as tells toward his behavior in the immediate future, or things that he does(n’t) want to hear.

Also, it’s not that he misses it, but he’s not going to wax too poetic about the office; he works there, and he works long hours too.

From all these outbursts, especially with Boss— forgivable because of the situation, but not ideal— we can tell that Jason doesn’t have much impulse control. Even though I don’t like the ‘not even for’ line, this characterization might not quite come through without it. Play around.

Dropping the F bomb feels just a little off. It's not about the “Language” outbust (that's part of what makes the joke); it's just that Boss is someone who commands enough respect that they don’t have to lash out to get what they want. And yes, this McAdams’ rap sheet is pretty wild but it just seems like he would say it a tad more eloquently.

You should probably, at some point, actually draft this rap sheet. For the extended version I can easily see each chapter starting with an item from the sheet, when the chapter is about shenanigans in that regard.

If we’re going to call this Chap 1 instead of Prologue, I could easily see the line item here being:

Defamation, Libel. 8 cts: First Presbyterian, Chittenden County &c. (see Appendix C)

I mean obviously I’m making this citation style up wholesale, which is okay because the real citations are in the appendix, duhhhhh. Also obviously I don’t need it to be Chittenden County, Vermont; but wherever it is, is presumably where Louis runs his empire.

==========

First Draft (written over multiple sessions)

“We’ve got her”, I said.

“Jason I’ve told you a million times not to barge in here with— Who?”

[Exposition]

“Dorothy,” I said.

“Dorothy McAdams?”

“Dorothy McAdams.”

His eyebrows raise and he offers a breathless “Dorothy McAdams...” in reply. He looks up at nothing in particular, visions of fame and fortune surely filling his head. “How the hell did you manage that?”

He grunts. That was a little too showy for any other day, but with Dorothy in my pocket he’d damn well better cut me some slack.

“How much did it cost me?”

“Well, sir...”

“Snap it out Jason, I haven’t got all night.”

“Not even for Dorothy McAdams?” Probably shouldn’t have said that; my wit got the better of me. He glares.

“No.”

“Sorry, sir. Salary isn’t worth writing home about, double what the other 4-in-handers get. And no signing bonus, just a condition.” I pause. He removes the cigar from his mouth with his hand, that he then waves in a circle, annoyed at my slowness. “We have to take on a kid named Timothy Courtson.”

“Who the hell is Timothy Courtson?”

“Does it matter?” I say, knowingly.

“It might,” he snaps back. I guess he’s right. He always is.

“It doesn’t.”

“He any good?”

I’m sure the millisecond of silence was answer enough, but he’s clearly not in the mood for games. “He can play C and D4.”

He puts the cigar back in his mouth and smirks. “So, no.”

“Positively dire, sir. But it’s either 0 bucks with the kid, or 2.5 without.” He doesn’t answer, and my words start spilling out. “Look, we just double up Karen and shift down the bass. The kid can sound like a cat on meth and nobody’s going to know the difference down there. Garrett can teach him to mart properly and he’ll get the rest in the extra lessons from Tanya.”

He waves away my explanation. “Yeah, yeah, Jason. You made the right call. Good work.”

I swallow, knowing that the goodwill won’t last long. “There—there’s another thing. Louis told me to give you this.”

I pass over the file. He grabs a pair of comically undersized glasses, glaring sarcastically at me. Putting them on, he opens it and starts reading. It takes about three seconds for the color to drain from his face and his mouth to twist into a bitter scowl.

“What the SAM HELL is this, Jason?”

“Just a list of notes that Louis kept when he had her, and everything he could find about her past behavior.”

He starts to shout at me again, but thinks better of it and rubs his temples. “Jesus Christ.”

“Language.” It’s instinct, but I know it’s a bad idea from the instant I say it.

“Jesus Christ have mercy on this woman’s soul,” he snaps back. “But judging by this rap sheet, there’s not much chance of that.”

“She’s a genius. Every genius has some quirks.”

“These aren’t some fucking quirks, Jason.”

“You still want her, though, right?”

He’s quiet, but there’s no hesitation. “Yes.”

“We’ll just have to keep a tighter leash than Louis did.”

“Get the hell out of here,” he grunts softly, and I oblige. As frightening as Boss can be when he’s a swirling rage, I know he’s much scarier when he gets that quiet.

==========

Who needs Brainstorming or Freewriting?

What actually is happening here is that I wrote this almost four months ago so the writing process looks a lot different than I’m trying to do now. But I really wanted to get this polished up a bit, so I committed to posting it soon.

#bells #handbells #music #handbell choir #noir #i think?#cornering the handbell noir market #fiction #prompt response #from a real life friend #the pt. 1 in the title is what we call... aspirational #still not really in the mood to do longform fiction #but this absolutely needs a continuation #not sure about the title #i really want it to just be like the name of the church #or one of those cheesy band names #'Dorothy and the Carillons'#i have literally no idea how long it took to write this #it's been on and off for like four months

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maikatc · 4 years

Text

Black Sun Tale | Bread and Water

Remember that this is only a first draft with minor edits, but have fun reading! Comments and reception is greatly appreciated! --- “What I came up with today? Uh…,” Flipped some pages, “I came up with two new characters earlier?”

The city streets screeched with traffic noise and crowds chattering, smoke surrounding the air with a bar across the avenue.

“Gabriel’s story’s kinda sad. He killed this guy named Wren, but they were like brothers.”

Off between two aged buildings, an alleyway poked out with barely any notice.

“He hates Zero- or Hiro now though. He’s the reason why Wren went crazy.”

The interior of the alley carried a scattered mess of blankets, journals, calendars, along with other miscellaneous things. Though a single journal stuck to being held, firm by the grasps of a boy.

His sickly pale skin complemented his unkempt and grimy black hair. While his twig body shivered by the gentle cold. His boney fingers pointed at drawings from his one of many journals towards the girl next to him. “That’s Gabe when he got mad at Dannie after finding out.” His voice rasped.

Observing the girl’s reaction, her expression perked to something of confusion. “How did Wren and Gabe get to that situation though?”

He rolled his eyes to the side. “I haven’t gotten that much into the backstory. But all I know is that they both got into a mess like Evie or Lucia.” Blinked twice. “It’s just that while Evie was mad at becoming a slave, Gabriel was mad because his entire life’s purpose was taken away from him… and he’s in denial about it being kinda his fault too.”

Her cocoa hair blocked the faces she made from the boy’s slouched position on the ground. However, she chirped up quickly enough. “Ayu, I’m really digging Gabriel right now.”

“Really,” Ayu questioned, sitting back up a little the process. “I thought he was kinda basic.”

“Yeah,” she turned her floor seat towards him, revealing her fair complexion made out of light makeup. “From what you told me so far. I’m guessing he’s being ignorant of his past mistakes completely and letting out all his anger to someone else, right? At least from what I can tell in this picture.”

“I guess so?”

“Okay, I didn’t screw up on reading the comic panel,” making a small clap with her hands. “That can be realistic if you do it right, but you can also mix in a theme with that-”

“Annette. No,” Ayu interrupted her. “When you talk about ‘theme’ and that stuff, I get more of a headache than every other minute of life,” he groaned.

“Do you want me to get you some ibuprofens?”

“I’m fine.”

Annette nodded. “Well other than that, I still feel bad for Hiro,” she pouted.

Ayu lifted a brow and eyed her. “He’s the one who trapped ten kids in a death maze.”

“But he’s trying to get better!”

He scoffed, “He still did bad things, that’s why Evie treated him like shit afterwards.”

“You’re the one giving him a redemption arc though?”

“I’m just trying to stay close to the original idea.” Ayu closed the book and chuck it to the side. “Even if I don’t really believe in it.”

Annette’s lips twitched. “He’s just trying to be a better person than before…”

“He was still a dick. Out of anything, you should be feeling bad for Wren.”

“How so?”

Ayu set his arms back. “He was lied to for most of his life and he only got killed in the end for having a different opinion, pretty much.”

“So, he’s pretty much a pity party?” Annette eyed him. Ayu already knew what she was telling with her expression.

“No. He just go fucked over too much because of both Gabriel and Zero.”

Annette rolled a shoulder, pulling back her hair in the process. “I guess I like all of them, anyways. I’m just still hoping you can pull it off well.” Her lashes fluttered in the dim lights. “Did you come up with Gabriel and Wren from your dreams again?”

Ayu hummed. “Kinda. I had a random dream last night where a guy shoots another guy with an arrow but gets sad about it. That’s how I got Wren’s death.”

“Anything else from it?”

“There was a bit more, but it’s blurry.”

“Any others dream while I haven’t been here,” She asked.

Ayu blinked. “I just have that, some girl screwing herself over and getting her friend dead, then nothing.”

Annette hesitated with her words. “No dreams of Lillie?”

Ayu paused, seeing Annette flinch from her own question. He buried his hands in his hoodie pockets and looked down. “… None of those.”

She apologized with her eyes narrowed. The area went silent for the two. A minute? Two? Ayu couldn’t tell. He could barely count with patience.

“How long have you been here?”

“Huh? About an hour, I think…” She brought her phone to her view, checking the time. “God, we spent a lot of time goofing off.”

“You have homework, don’t you? You should go home, school’s tomorrow anyways.”

“… Right.” Annette stood up, her tall figure looming before Ayu. A second of standing still, she face-palmed herself. “Oh god, I have three projects to do.”

“Then get on to it,” Ayu joked.

“Yeah, yeah.” Annette grabbed back her already cleaned up board game and binder. “I’ll see you another time then.”

Before taking a turn back home, a “Bye” could be heard quietly over a car honking.

Ayu studied the outside of the alleyway in silence. Every second brought a new face passing by, and it brought the reminder that no one noticed him staring. A child, a couple, a group of teens, they all went their own ways, not even taking a glance of something that’s nonexistent for them.

The boy groaned, turning back and plopping his head to a pillow, gifted by Annette. As he slammed his body to the ground, the rough concrete hit him back. He winced like every other day when he fell over from exhaustion. Though, the routine of his ‘home’ was redundant.

He muttered in his own silence, “Ow.”

At least he had a pillow unlike the first two years of four when living in the alleyway.

Laying down, still and blank, Ayu sighed and grabbed his journal from the side again. He flipped through the thin paper, skimming past the art he made, and stopped at the next blank page. He crawled to grab the pencil he left on the other side of the alley earlier in the day, and crawled back to his pillow to write:

October 21st 201X

Came up with new caracters today, dont know what to do

Did noting else today, like usuel

I got a litle mad at Annette, probly was a bad idea

No monsters, No Akeldama

As Ayu moved his arms to store the book away, a voice halted him.

“Looks like you’ll be having an insipid time again.”

Ayu jumped, sitting immediately and twisting his head around. Finding nothing, he sighed, “Speak of the Devil…” He then crossed out the note of ‘No Akeldama’ for the day.

“Did you miss me from last time?”

Ayu leaned back to the rigid wall, conversing with the voice ringing across his head. “Just tell me what the hell is going on,” he groaned.

“Oh child, you won’t be getting that anytime soon for sure,” The voice mocked him.

“You’ve been telling that to me for how long?”

“I don’t know in all honestly, I’ve lost track of time after my first hundred years.”

Ayu leered at nothing. “Four years, Akeldama. Four years.”

“Ah right, you’re twelve now, correct?”

“Yeah. Turned twelve last June.”

“Well, aside from that, have you met any new people?”

Ayu sighed. “I haven’t, luckily.”

“What a pity,” Akeldama sneered, “You were the kid that pouted about being lonely, yet once you get a friend, you don’t even want another one anymore.”

“Shut up.”

“You’re just a greedy brat.”

“What do you want now Akeldama?” Ayu’s mind raced quickly, his heart beating rapidly.

“I was simply here to check if you were the same as before, which you are by the way,” he muttered. “Though I’m also here for something else on the matter of you.”

“Dear god, what now?”

“Funny calling me ‘god’,” he chuckled, “but I think you’ll soon meet somebody you’ll get along with.”

“Wait…,” Ayu murmured. His eyes widened. “Akeldama don’t tell me-”

“You’ll be having fun for the next few months. I promise,” he reassured him.

“You fucker,” Ayu yelled, slamming his fists onto the hard ground. Though, he brought both of them up immediately from the pain, gasping at the impact of the floor cracking. He held both tightly against one another as they both burned.

“God, damn it Akeldama…”

No reply.

Ayu placed his head down into his knees and closed his eyes. His boney joints pressed against his forehead. Two deep breaths, then hold.

He pulled his head back after seconds, groaning, “Why did I decide to go through with this…?”

Ayu’s eyes flutter back open as his stomach made a painful growl.

“Right…” He clicked against his chapped lips. “When was the last time I ate?”

The growl reminded him of the stomach pain from recent days, aching as he puckered. The pain bothered him, but Annette already left to his dismay.

“I need to get food now then,” he muttered to himself.

He hopped up from his sitting position, his bone-thin legs freezing up from the cold. Exiting the alleyway, Ayu turned to the grocery store route.

He pulled up his hoodie quickly, his tired eyes being protected from the soft light. And he ventured out to treat himself to food and water rations.

A jug of water and a bag of bread, Ayu repeated to himself multiple times.

The shop held multiple items to Ayu’s attention. Aisles carried shiny toys, colorful pencils and journals, to junk food and candy. Ayu stared at the chips bar, slurping up the slight drool dripping out of him. He shook his head. Bread and water. Bread and water.

How long had it been for the boy to have a nice meal? When was the last time he had the sweets he loved?

Bread and water.

When was his last chip binge? His coloring book sessions and playtime?

Stop being a bitch and get what you need already. He scolded in his head.

He dashed to an unfamiliar aisle so his mind wouldn’t get dragged elsewhere. Stacks and piles of paper towels and toilet paper surrounded him through his short walk to the bakery. His head bobbed in a sigh that he didn’t need anything of such thanks to shop bathrooms and recreation center showers.

However, as soon as he exited the aisle, aromas of pastries and baked goods filled his senses. He ignored it since the shop’s goods were usually too sweet for him despite his tooth. Walking down, he read through the brands of bread, squinted his eyes to spell and read out some words himself. It was only until his found a decent bag of bread rolls did he go off to the drinks section.

The sodas and fizzy pops caught eyes of most, though Ayu’s tongue had more of a distaste for it. He turned from the bright and dazzling colors to the row of water jugs. His memory of measurements buzzed in his mind, though not enough to remember how much a liter was compared to a gallon.

After staring, his mind boggling on which was which, Ayu gave up and choose which one seemed like the largest.

Ayu ended up carrying the bread rolls in one hand and the three-gallon jug of water with the other by his stick arms. He walked out of the aisle, closing in on the exit.

He stepped with hesitant feet. His head twisted and turned to assure nobody near him. A single bump from someone else and he could be done for the day.

He swept through the cashiers. His scattered gaze wandered through all of them left and right. But in a single heartbeat, his body already went passed them unlike his mind.

Ayu sighed and took a step towards the store exit. His guilt cultivated him like every other time he’s done this. It’s better for me. Even if I don’t actually need it-

A grip of a hand pulled him back from leaving. Ayu’s heart froze as his breath started to stutter immediately. He turned slowly, and echo of a voice ringing loudly to him. I’m fucked.

“Hey…” He saw the face of the one who grabbed him by the arm. He was around the same age as him, younger maybe, but shorter for sure. “Hey…” His light brown skin shined by the store’s lights along with the freckles dotted around his nose and cheeks. While his soft green eyes glared at him in confusion. His dark red hair was also a first for Ayu to see-

“Hey!” the kid repeated himself. Ayu blinked spastically, his breathing still frigid. “What are you doing with that?”

---

Ten Dollars | Next>>>

#writing #my writing #writeblr #writblr #writers on tumblr #black sun tale #bst #chapter 2 #starvation warning #swearing warning #emotional abuse #minor on the last part though #bst ayu #bst annette #bst akeldama

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suicidalcatz · 5 years

Text

DOG DAYS ARE OVER : CHAP 5

AN: Hello frens! Are you having a nice sunday? In this chapter we exchange some texts. But also we make fun of Josh just because. In the next chapter, things get complicated between the three of you... I hope you’ll like it. Please feel free to comment or send me prompts!

Pairing : Jake Kiszka x Reader

Genre : College AU

Previous parts : Prologue ; Chap 1 ; Chap 2 ; Chap 3 ; Chap 4

Masterlist : here

Chapter five : New number, who dis ?

Packing never made me feel weird before. It was friday afternoon so a majority of students were going home or, like me, to their parents' place for the week end. Most of the time I'd stay in my dorm with Mandy because we had so much homework there was no point coming home at all. I already knew for a fact that I'll be locked up in my room all week end painting, drawing, and cutting paper, but I promised I'd see them since it has been a while. My parents' cooking and comfy house usually made me impatient but not this time. I knew the boys were staying on campus because they lived far away, and it gave me mixed feelings. Part of me longed for Jake, and the feeling of his touch on my wrist was still so vivid I sometimes got the impression his hand was still here. On the other hand, he and Josh were big family guys, and seeing them missing their home so much while I was reluctant to see mine made me feel like a spoiled brat. That's why instead of calling to tell my parents I wasn't coming home this week end either, I went home to enjoy every bit of it.

My mom had already made my favorite dish, and dad was excitedly chatting about this new movie he saw on tv the other day. It felt good, I could allow myself to relax a little, take a bath, hang out with some friends for an hour or two after finishing an assignment.

Sitting at my desk, I dropped the pen and stretched my back, falling back onto the chair and looking at my work. I did good this week, so the teacher didn't make me redo any of my assignments, which was very fortunate because I still had a flyer design to create. I unfolded that one Jake gave to me and took a look at all the infos, preparing a draft of my first idea. Why they didn't let the Illustration department do the visual com design was a mystery. By the look of it I bet it was the Music and Architecture dudes who made it. There was a bunch of band names thrown in the middle, what looked like a pixelled stock image of a Santa hat in a corner, « with beer ! » in a really ugly comic bubble in another, and the worst was that they though Comic Sans was an acceptable font choice. Unbelievable. That's why we can't let Architecture dudes do anything.

Creating a decent design took me a solid two hours, which was way faster than I planned. Getting up, I studied it from a distance, looking for flaws. It wasn't the best I could've done but it was pretty cool and not printed with neon yellow paper. For now, I'll rest my head for a bit and see if I can sketch the few more ideas I came up with later on. Feeling proud of my work, I took a picture to send it to Jake. It was dark and quiet outside, and one glance at the clock confirmed my thoughts on how late it was already. Biting my lower lip, I struggled. Maybe he was sleeping.

I never texted him since he gave me his number. I mean he gave it to me so we could talk about the flyers, right ? I would've been uneasy using it for another reason. Pondering whether of not I should maybe wake him up, I started pacing in my room, tidying and touching things, stuff I did when I was nervous. My arm still had some black marker on it, faded shapes and symbols vaguely resembling numbers, like an old letter with smudged ink and discolored paper. At first I didn't wanted to wash it off. Mandy and I got so excited by it we cheered together right after school, and classmates seemed intrigued by it. The cold weather didn't allow me to show too much skin so it could look like a tattoo, or a hot guy gave me his number (which was technically true). It could look like I just wrote it myself, but it was totally lame so I didn't want to think about it. Although I really enjoyed that empowering feeling of being someone's interest, at least a little, I scrubbed it hard the same evening. I didn't know if Josh was aware of it and couldn't raise suspicion in case he wasn't. It looked like we were doing something bad, and maybe we were, I had no clue. Guys had that weird rule regarding friends dating brothers and according to Netflix romcoms I was walking on thin fucking ice so I wasn't taking any risks. To be honest I don't think Josh would mind us talking but Jake seemed like a secretive guys so if he told Josh then I'll talk about it and otherwise, I won't. I'll just go with the flow and follow his lead on this, it was safer.

It was almost 2AM when I sent the pic and left my room to get a nice cup of tea/coffee after all these efforts. By the time I got back I had one new message.

« Hi to you too »

I felt my heart jump a little when I saw his name at the top of the screen, and his first text made me smile. I got so pumped by all these design ideas that I forgot to tell him it was me. The picture made it clear enough, though, but maybe it was a bit rude of me. Taking a sip of hot tea/coffee before putting the mug on the night table, I sat on the bed, eyes still on my phone, thinking of an answer. It took me maybe too long because I kept on rereading it to be sure I wouldn't embarrass myself with a typo.

« Hi, sorry. So what do you think ? »

The phone was threwn on the blankets and I turned on the tv to make me think of something else than his future reply. Saying that I was confident would be half-true. The design was good or so I thought so, but then again tastes were all too subjectives and art was tricky. He had all the right to hate it, I wouldn't take it personally (well at least not a hundred percent...). Idly watching a re-run of some old sitcom, I continued to quietly empty my cup and switch channels without really paying attention when I heard my phone buzz and let everything down to grab it.

« I got to admit you were right, our flyers sucked, this one looks fantastic »

And maybe my cheeks started turning pink. Compliments on my art meant a lot, more than those on my personnality or physic. It was really rewarding to have someone enjoy something you created from your own hands. It felt better than any other flattery, so the reply came naturally.

« I'm so glad you like it. I had a few more ideas in stock just in case »

His next message came so fast this time that I didn't even put down my phone yet when I felt it vibrate in my palm.

« Thank you for this, I really appreciate it. I'll owe you one. »

His sweet personality made a smile spread across my face. I took the flyer in my hand again, studying it. The number of bands playing this day was surprisingly high. Some of them I knew because I either heard people talk about it, or knew the guys playing. One especially because they kept rehearsing their rap lyrics in the dorms for everybody to enjoy, which I didn't since they started loudly singing at three in the morning and ignored all my complaints about the noise of their boombox. But most of the bands, no, I didn't know. I continued watching intently the names of the bands playing as if I'll have an epiphany and guess which was Jake's. Giving up, I took my phone again to tap.

« Don't sweat it, I'm glad to help. So... which one are you... ? »

Again, the reply was faster than the first texts we exchanged, despite the late hour.

« You mean the band ? Guess you'll have to come and find out »

I raised an amused eyebrow at this. Getting cocky, aren't we ?

« Alright then, Mister Mysterious, I'll wait and see. »

« You won't regret it. », replied Jake, and for some reason my face started heating up again.

We didn't speak for several minutes, I didn't know what to say now that the topic was closed, and I had nothing to add to it. Switching channels and drinking tea/coffee didn't gave me much help either, at this hour it was either old re-runs, or tv shopping. My eyes looked at the digital alarm clock, and it was almost three in the morning. That's how I knew what to write next.

« I just thought about it, but didn't I wake you up ? »

He was fast as ever again this time, probably wide awake and without anything to do.

« No, don't worry. Rehearsing with my brothers. I'm taking a break until Sam and Josh stop arguing and find a compromise for the new song. Our friend Danny's being the peace keeper once again, I left him alone on the battlefield and went out for a smoke. »

The war metaphor made me chuckle lightly, causing my imagination to run wild. The thought went through my mind that I couldn't believe they would argue, but since they were brothers it was normal I guess, even if they seemed pretty close. Close enough to form a band together at least. I never saw Josh angry, but he had a very vivid temperament, so it wasn't really much of a surprise either. My mind wandered a bit, and I briefly wondered how Jake looked in a heated argument. Probably hot, but also intimidating. He had that kind of quiet aura that seemed like it could become suddenly agitated, like a spotless watercourse that got troubled by the rain or rocks that ricocheted on it. I couldn't explain it, but it was how my limited knowledge of him perceived it.

My phone buzzed again, and this time it was a picture that made me snort in the ugliest way possible. It was a very unflattering close up of a moody and clearly unamused Josh who looked like he was in the middle of scolding Jake for doing whatever he did that got him upset. More of it came, one after the other, for my greatest amusement, and by looking at them in order I could see his actions and movements, like a flipbook of ugly pictures of an angry Josh wearing a colorful dyed t shirt and ample pants that I assumed were his pajamas. The last one got me shaking with laughter, poor Josh looked awful, in a middle of what I assumed was a menacing speech for Jake to stop his bullshit, with an eye half closed and his mouth stuck the weirdest twist of the lips humanly possible. I saved this one as blackmail material, might be helpful in the future.

I didn't even know what to respond to that, they all radiated such chaotic energy it was splendid. Jake was quicker, and sent me a text this time, saying Josh threw his slipper at his face and that he was lucky he hadn't had the tambourine in his hands at that moment.

« I guess rehearsal is over for today, hopefully they'll make up their minds about the song tomorrow. Thanks again for the flyers, see you on monday, we'll print them. »

I never knew I'd be that impatient to go back to school before meeting him.

#gvf fic #gvf x reader #gvf imagine #gvf fanfic #jake kiszka x reader #jake kiszka fic #jake kiszka imagine #josh kiszka fic #greta van fleet fic #greta van fleet imagine #greta van fleet #jake kiszka

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eirist · 5 years

Text

Little Bits and Pieces of Heaven

THE IMPORTANCE OF NOT BEING NOSY

One-shot #: 13

Disclaimer: One Piece (and its characters) belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.

Reminder: I have no beta-reader. Any grammatical and spelling errors are solely mine.

Warning: OOC possible. One shot.

Rating: M (Not too much though)

Note: Because I always love Zoro-Nami-Usopp interactions, I went ahead placed them in one crazy situation where Usopp, obviously, takes the brunt of everything. And somehow I keep on hitting 7k words and up recently. Though I already toned this one down because the first drafts of this story would’ve ended in a two-shot or even a multi-chap fic and I don’t want to drag it that much. Anyway enjoy.

Summary: “Because poking your long nose in other people’s business, is never a good thing.”

Soft wind blew from the sea making the white curtains of the open window flitter lazily. The port and the nearby market started to come to life as the townsfolk poured into the street for their afternoon errands. Their noises drifted inside the rather inconspicuous room along with the lulling sound of the waves, making a smile appear on the lips of one engrossed observant.

“What’s amusing out there?”

Nami spun around to look at the speaker who—very obviously—had just woken up, as he sat up on the bed, sleepily running a hand through his disheveled hair.

“Hmm…” she hummed in answer. “Nothing really.”

“Aren’t you coming back to bed?”

The corners of her lips quirked up at that as their eyes meet. There was that familiar, mischievous glint in his that she always adored as it never fails to send a delicious shiver down her spine.

She smiled impishly at him and he in turn threw a cocky smirk her way.

“Now that you are awake, yeah,” she murmured before sauntering towards bed, never breaking their eye contact.

The moment she was near enough, he reached for her robe’s belt, yanking her brusquely to him and simultaneously untying the knot as well. The silky fabric immediately slid down her shoulders to pool at her feet.

His rough hands grabbed her waist, effortlessly lifting her, only to friskily push her down the bed. The mattress dipped from their movements and she laughed when he playfully trapped her underneath his well-built physique; the blankets tangling around their legs.

He grazed her lips with his teasingly, before kissing her fully.

“We still have time?” He asked huskily against her mouth, before moving to that ticklish spot just below her jaw.

“I think we do…” she breathed, angling her head to give him more access.

“Good.” He muttered before attacking the slender column of her neck with soft, tantalizing kisses.

She moaned when he nipped at her skin, and gasped his name when he deliberately traced the shell of her ear with his tongue. She ran both of her hands through his hair as she felt him grabbed at her thighs, urging her to wrap them around him as he settled comfortably between her legs.

A sudden commotion outside interrupted them as shouting and loud, running footsteps can be heard all over the street. There was an unmistakable sound of explosion somewhere. Followed by another and another.

“Uuuh…” the orange-haired woman groaned irritably.

The man above her stopped his ministrations and stared at her amusedly with a smirk on his face. “Duty calls?”

“I think my captain just got himself into trouble again,” she pouted. Planting a sweet kiss on his jaw, she looked at him slyly as she let her hands caressed his well-toned pectorals. “Too bad,” she said with a sigh as she lightly pushed him away from her so she could sit up.

His deep laugh filled the room and he leaned down to brush one last kiss on her lips. “It’s alright. We can always do this some other time.”

Nami smiled brightly at that. “Well… I guess see you on the next island then.”

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

The galley of the Thousand Sunny that night was startlingly at its quietest. Dinner was put on hold for the meantime as Nami all but bit off the heads of their two nakamas; who were both sitting soundlessly on the galley’s couch like two children being reproached by their mother.

“That’s it aho sencho!” Nami hissed furiously, gripping the front of Luffy’s red shirt tightly. “The next time you create a ruckus and gets us chased out of town again, I swear I will drown your sorry ass!”

Usopp watch edgily from the sidelines. He was one of the unlucky ones (aside from the cooking Sanji), who was in the galley the moment Nami entered while dragging Luffy and Zoro inside.

Luffy just grinned sheepishly in response to her. “Shishishi! But Nami, we did make it out of there!” He tapped her in the shoulder in an attempt to appease her. But that only served to ignite the orange-haired’s temper more.

“WE ALMOST DID NOT!” Nami roared and clocked him with enough force to plant his face on the galley’s floor, almost breaking it.

Everyone present inwardly winced at the sound it made.

Usopp’s eyes met Zoro’s. The green-haired man seemed unfazed with Nami’s anger. Most probably because he was used to it since he is usually the person at the receiving end of it.

But much to the sniper’s surprise, he was just silent all-throughout Nami’s outburst. Zoro kept his mouth shut with his arms folded across his chest. Not once did he answer back to the navigator.

Though Usopp had seen the way the corner of his mouth twitched slightly indicating that he was trying really hard to stop himself from snapping back at her.

From the way Zoro was looking, he was probably planning an absolutely painful demise for Nami right now… if he still hadn’t killed her a dozen times already inside his head.

He heard a huff from the kitchen. Sanji had busied himself with preparing their dinner, never once butting in like he usually did lest he join the other two morons on the couch.

“Serves you right, shitty gomu,” he finally muttered, peering at them from behind the bar counter. He lit a cigarette and took a drag. “Three times in a row. In every damn island. I can’t believe it.” He blew out the smoke with a slight shake of his head. “Wait I take that back. Actually I can since it’s you.”

Luffy lifted his head off the floor. “But Sanji. It’s not my fault!”

“Shut up Luffy!” Nami snarled. “I don’t care whose fault it is! I swear you piss me off so much right now!” She closed her eyes, fingers rubbing circles on her temples.

She was forced to run all over the town earlier looking for her doofus captain. Much to her trepidation, Luffy was being chased by two different pirate crews for reasons she doesn’t even want to know.

The navigator nearly got trampled when the idiot cheerfully ran towards her direction, waving at her enthusiastically, with the pack of enraged men still at his heels. If it wasn’t for Zoro suddenly appearing out of nowhere and sending a powerful attack towards Luffy’s pursuers that had them flying everywhere, she would’ve been flattened beyond recognition.

Relief washed over her but it was short-lived. Before she can stop him, Luffy drew his arms back and released a Gomu Gomu no Gatling on the remaining pirates who were luckily at the far back of the horde they were missed by Zoro’s attack.

She looked on in horror as other pirates arrived to help their fallen crew mates. Luffy and Zoro plus a horde of violent pirates in one place…

It was a disaster!

Nami can only watch in dismay as the two dove head first into an all-out brawl before she can grab them by the scruff of their necks.

A vein popped on her forehead, then another and another. Not only did Luffy put a stop to what was supposedly an intimate and enjoyable afternoon. But here he is with the other idiot of the crew, in a scuffle that will flatten this town in a matter of seconds. Summoning Zeus, she unleashed a powerful lightning blast enough to fry everyone in the vicinity into oblivion.

Then she dragged the two by their ears just as the townspeople, who weren’t caught in the crossfire, started amassing with clubs, wooden sticks and pitchforks (much to her surprise); eager to beat up the pirates who nearly destroyed their town.

The navigator let out an exasperated sigh and announced a bit wearily. “I’m going to take a bath,” she turned towards the blond chef. “Sanji-kun, you can go ahead and serve dinner.”

The cook nodded. “As you wish Nami-san but how about you?

“I’ll eat later.”

Sanji frowned slightly at that. “You know that I don’t like starting dinner if my lovely angel is not going to eat.”

“Uhm,” Usopp choose to intrude this moment or all the boys will starve. “Robin’s probably hungry. She did a lot of book shopping earlier.”

That swayed the cook into action. “Ah my Robin-chwan! Of course!” He cried out. “Go ahead Nami-swan. Take a relaxing bath first! Do you want me to prepare it for you?”

“It’s ok Sanji-kun. I can manage.” Nami said with a dismissive wave of her hand as she proceeded towards the ladder leading to the upper deck.

“I’ll prepare a special meal for you later my love!” Sanji called out after her. “Just take your time and wash away all the stress and worries these two dumbasses,” he glared at Zoro and Luffy. “Gave you!”

Zoro scowled darkly at him.

Luffy automatically pushed himself into a sitting position when he heard the word dinner. Glancing at Nami with a sulky pout he complained, “Nami! Why aren’t you also mad at Zoro?”

The green-haired man stiffened as Nami stopped in her tracks. Zoro glared at his captain for deliberately throwing him straight into the witch’s wrath. He was not in the mood to start a row with her… that is why he kept mum all throughout her rant.

“Luffy, I attacked to save her.” He reminded his captain flatly. “Not because I wanted to start a fight with them.”

“But you also attacked again to fight them.”

Zoro opened his mouth to retort but was interrupted by Nami clonking Luffy on the head. “It’s because I’ve exhausted myself too much on you! I will get to him later once I have enough energy again!”

As Luffy whined and nursed the bump on his head; Zoro grumbled curses under his breath, muttering that he should’ve let the enemy pirates flattened Nami to the ground.

She turned towards him and smiled sweetly. Too sweetly it was actually bordering to scary. “I heard that Zoro,” she said through gritted teeth. “Hold your horses. I will make your fucking ears bleed later.”

“That couldn’t be good,” Usopp mumbled from across the table. A re-energized Nami would definitely wage a verbal war with the swordsman no matter what time of the day it is.

Zoro stood up and met Nami’s gaze directly. “How about some gratitude for saving your ass onna?”

Nami scoffed. “Thank you for saving me Zoro! It should have ended with THAT instead of you two engaging in a fight! Argh!” She shrieked at the green-haired man. “I swear you and Luffy are absolute headaches! I’m not even halfway finished with my shopping…”

“How is that my fault woman?!” Zoro seethed. “You had all day today to—”

“Just shut up Zoro. I’ll deal with you later.” The navigator said exasperatedly. “Just know that your debt and Luffy’s went way past the roof today! Kami, I need a really warm bath to relieve all this stress!”

“You witch!” The tall lad finally snapped at her.

Usopp gulped. Zoro seemed to have reached the end of his rope. From the way the two were now glowering at each other, they’re gonna start quarreling in a matter of seconds. No thanks to their stupid captain and his big, rubber mouth.

He stood up suddenly and before he knew it his hands slammed down the table, louder than he intended. That got their attention. Though he balked a little when Nami and Zoro shifted their gazes to him.

“G-gu-guys! Please,” he stuttered. “Can we just eat? I’m already starving. Aren’t you all?” He swallowed the lump formed in his throat.

Luffy seconded his grievance. “Yeah! Sanji! Meshi! Meshi!”

Nami did not answer. Instead, with one final, furious look directed at Zoro then at Luffy; she turned her heel and headed towards the ladder again without another word.

Usopp exhaled in relief. That was close!

The door of galley opened and the other Mugiwaras started to pile in, probably aware that it’s already safe to venture inside.

A smiling Robin tilted her head slightly when she entered. “Ara… I’m glad we don’t have any fatalities tonight.” She giggled behind her mouth as her blue eyes settled on Luffy and Zoro. “I was afraid Nami will choke the life out of you two from the mêlée you’ve caused in town earlier.”

“Robin… you and your morbid thoughts.” Usopp grumbled.

“Well, disappointingly she didn’t, Robin-chwan.” Sanji said as he stepped out of the kitchen, balancing a tray filled with steaming dishes in one hand. He held out the other to take the archeologist’s own and guided her to her chair. “Anyway, dinner is served!”

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

“Nami?”

“Usopp?”

The sniper and the navigator ran at each other on the lawn deck a few hours after dinner. Or to be more specific, Usopp was on his way to the galley to sneak some midnight snacks for his watch duty later when he ran into Nami, who looked like she just got down from crow’s nest.

Usopp’s eyes shifted towards the nest then back at her. “Did you seriously climb up there to give Zoro a dressing-down?”

“So what Usopp?” Nami folded her arms across her chest. “You got a problem with it?”

He shook his head. “None actually. I’m just surprised that it didn’t end up in a spat.” He scratched his head. “Kami knows how you two can go all night yapping at each other…”

“I have my ways.” Nami muttered grumpily. “I told him if he piss me off anymore tonight, I’m gonna stab him with his swords while he’s sleeping.”

Usopp looked horrified and scared all at the same time. Nami can be really freaking scary.

“That’s horrible!” He gasped and stepped away from her. “Why are you so mad at them anyway? Are you still not used to them starting trouble everywhere we go?”

The navigator’s face scrunched up into a frown. “That’s not it Usopp! I’m just furious at them for ruining my afternoon!”

“Uhh ok…” Usopp scratched his cheek. “They ruined your shopping or something?”

“You can say that.”

Usopp nodded in understanding. He knows how Nami hates going back to the ship empty-handed whenever there is a chance to shop. “Uh, speaking of shopping… I haven’t seen you in the island earlier. Where were you?”

“Me?” Nami raised an eyebrow at him. “I was exploring the island. They have lots of shops and stalls after all.” She looked at him curiously. “Why are you looking for me?”

“It’s just that I haven’t ran into you. Not once!” Usopp explained. “I saw Robin twice and even she had not seen you!”

“I think I may have wandered a little off the beaten path to survey the island’s layout.”

This time it was Usopp’s turn to lift an eyebrow at her. “With no tools?”

Nami pursed her lips. “Why? Can’t I do an ocular first?”

“Well you can. Did you go alone?” His eyes were wide when he asked her that question. He doubts if she can fair pretty well exploring on her own knowing how much of a coward she is.

“What’s with the hundred questions Usopp?”

“Nothing! I just find it weird that I didn’t come across you earlier,” Usopp explained with a shrug. “I met everyone twice, even thrice, while looking around.”

“Why are you looking for me anyway? Do you need something?”

“Not really. I’m just wondering why no one has seen you on the island. It’s like you disappeared!”

Nami huffed. “Like I said, I was surveying and shopping. Our paths just didn’t cross. It’s no big deal.”

“Well I was worried something happened to you!”

“Don’t be such a drama queen Usopp. But thanks anyway,” The navigator smiled at him slightly. “I’ll just turn in early tonight. I’m tired from all that.”

Usopp nodded. “Alright. Good night Nami.”

“Good night Usopp.” She gave him a small wave as she started to walk away from him. “Oh and by the way, I’m charging you three hundred belis for every question you’ve asked!”

“Oi! You money fiend!” Usopp shouted. “Take that back!”

But his retorts fell on deaf ears as Nami bounded up the stairs and disappeared inside the girls’ room.

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

It was two islands later that Usopp confirmed something.

Nami was acting really odd whenever they dock.

Just like before, he didn’t run into her the whole time they were prancing around the island.

He didn’t see her anywhere. Literally anywhere.

The only time he laid eyes on her was when she got back to the Sunny a bit later than usual.

And when he asked her about it again, he received the same answer as before.

She was surveying the island and shopping and stated in a rather condescending tone that the island was big that it is possible not bump into each other.

It was rather strange because when he saw her return, she was not lugging any shopping bags nor did he saw her spend some time in the library to sketch a rough draft of the island they’ve been… something that she normally did whenever she does any visual map outs.

Besides, when did Nami window shop ever?

It was driving him nuts. What the hell is she doing? Why is she disappearing in every island they dock?

And more importantly, why is she not telling the truth?

He had been making lies all his life. The liar of course knows when someone is lying.

He made up his mind to find out.

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

The slight movement of the waves made the Thousand Sunny bobbed lightly above the water.

Up in the crow’s nest, Usopp can feel the lazy movement of the ship. Usually it lulls him to sleep even when he’s on watch.

But not tonight.

Tonight, a dozen questions were running inside his head. Questions that needed answers, it’s not giving him a moment’s rest. Questions that surfaced because of what he had discovered earlier.

“Usopp?”

The sniper jolted out of his daze at the voice. Zoro had just climbed the nest to relieve him of his shift.

“Oh hey Zoro.”

The swordsman dipped his head in response. He strode languidly towards the bench and placed his swords there. He was grasping a bottle of sake in one hand which he obviously filched from the Sunny’s stock.

“I’ll take it from here Usopp,” he said while removing his green robe. He threw it beside his precious katanas.

Usopp absent-mindedly nodded but did not move from his position.

“Usopp?”

Zoro tapped him on the shoulder and his head snapped up to look at him.

“Huh?”

“I said I’ll take it from here,” Zoro repeated, the impatience clear in his tone. He regarded him curiously. “Is there something wrong?” He asked when he noticed the sniper was not responding.

Usopp inhaled deeply. He doesn’t know how to begin explaining it.

But the swordsman is a really keen observant. Maybe he already noticed something.

“Say Zoro?”

“What?”

Usopp looked up to him again. Zoro was chugging down almost half the content of the bottle. “Have you noticed anything different with Nami lately?”

Zoro stopped drinking and was silent for a moment. Then he raised an eyebrow at him. “Different?”

Usopp nodded.

“I haven’t noticed anything different with that wicked witch.” He cocked his head to the side. “Why?”

“Nothing. It just kinda feels like she’s hiding something.”

The green-haired lad sat down beside him. “What do you mean?”

“It’s just that Nami’s acting a bit weird lately.”

Zoro scratched his head. “And?”

“She keeps disappearing whenever we dock in an island. When I questioned her about it, she said she was just out shopping and surveying.”

“What seems to be the problem with that?”

“She returns without any shopping bags Zoro! Nor is she drawing any maps as of late.” Usopp explained getting impatient himself.

“Maybe you just don’t see her doing it.”

Usopp stared at him as Zoro casually downed his drink. “Has she been pestering you to be her pack-mule-for-the-day lately?”

“No.”

“And don’t you find it strange?”

“Not really. Works for me.”

Usopp exhaled loudly. Figures. He had forgotten that Zoro have a soft spot for the navigator as big as an ant.

Silence hovered between them for a minute before Usopp choose to break it.

“I think Nami’s meeting with someone Zoro.”

That made Zoro pause with his sake bottle midway to his lips. “Meeting with someone?”

The black-haired lad nodded.

“That’s kinda, uh, vague?”

Usopp glared at him. “She’s meeting with someone. Meeting. Like she’s seeing someone.”

“Seeing someone?” Zoro repeated.

“Yes!”

Zoro let the information sink in before commenting. “First time I’ve heard of it,” he brought the bottle to his lips to drink again. “And what if she is? You jealous or something?”

“NO!” Usopp almost shouted. “No. I’m not!”

Zoro quirked an eyebrow at him.

“More of worried.”

“Worried?” The former pirate hunter looked like he was thinking. “Usopp, what’s it to us if she is seeing someone? It’s her life and her choice.”

“She’s keeping it a secret from us! She’d been lying about her whereabouts and what she’s doing!”

Zoro snorted. “And she can’t?”

“I’m worried Zoro!” This time Usopp pushed himself up and started pacing back and forth. “What if she’s seeing a bounty hunter in disguise or a marine undercover? She could be in danger and she and all of us are none the wiser!”

“Nami can handle herself well.” Zoro barely batted an eyelid as he said that. “You made sure of that when you made her that stick.”

Usopp frowned at him and the way he referred to his invention. “I know you two don’t usually meet eye to eye and that you couldn’t care less if something happens to her…”

“Oi,” Zoro said in a warning tone cutting him off.

Usopp back-pedaled. “Ok, maybe you care a little. She’s our friend after all. But Zoro, what if she can’t handle it like you’re saying? She’s not as strong as you or Sanji or Luffy!”

“Wait Usopp calm down. And stop pacing damn it!” Zoro rubbed a hand across his face. “How do you even know of this?”

That halted Usopp’s nervous outburst. “Uhm… I might’ve followed her?”

“Might have?”

“Alright! I followed her earlier! I’m worried!”

Zoro let out a ‘tch’. “And? Is there a reason to be?”

Usopp wiped his forehead with his hand frustratingly. “I don’t know! I’m not sure. That’s why I’m telling you! Maybe you can… help me?”

“Help you? How?”

“You know… that haki thing?

“Haki thing? But you also have it.”

“I don’t know how to use it!” Usopp confessed. “Unlike you, my haki’s not that developed. I can barely sense who she’s with inside the room.”

The swordsman held up one hand to stop him. “Who she’s with? Inside the room?”

Usopp bobbed his head up and down and started to explain.

“Like I’ve said, I saw her in town earlier and followed her. I saw her head towards an inn in the discreet part of the town.”

Zoro was now staring at him seriously.

“She went inside and I did too. I saw her head upstairs and knock on the door of one of the rented rooms. When it opened, she just went inside and that’s that.”

“So you didn’t see who was there in the room?”

“I didn’t.” Usopp shook his head.

The swordsman huffed. “You know, Nami’s business is her business,” he gulped down the remaining sake in the bottle. “If she wants to spend the day shacking up with someone, then she can without us meddling.”

Usopp blushed at that and Zoro shrugged at his reaction.

“You’re worrying too much Usopp.”

“And you’re worrying too little.”

Zoro look irritated at that. “I just don’t like prying in other people’s business. You know that. If you are really worried why don’t you just ask Nami about it?”

“Are you kidding? Usopp gasped. “I don’t want her to sic Zeus on me!” He grabbed Zoro’s arm.

“Have you tried asking Robin? That woman knows everything.” Zoro suggested. “Nami might have told her something.”

“Like she’d tell me if she does.”

“Ok. Point taken,” Zoro said, scratching his chin. “Though she might have an idea if Nami is seeing someone we should be wary of.”

Usopp pouted. “True. But I want to know myself.”

“Now you’re just being nosy.”

“I call that being protective!” The sniper retorted. “Zoro are we going to just wait for the day when she comes back here injured or she doesn’t come back at all?” Usopp argued. “I want to make sure that whoever the hell is that, he is not gonna cause her any harm!”

The former pirate hunter was quiet. As much as Nami always rubs him the wrong way, there’s no way in hell he would sit back and do nothing once she gets hurt.

“Usopp,” Zoro muttered his name with an edge on his tone. “Let me ask you again. You’re really sure she met with someone?”

“Uhm… yeah. I heard her talking to somebody while inside the room.”

“You heard?”

“I kinda tried to eavesdrop.”

“What did you hear?”

“It’s muffled. And they are talking in hushed tones I can barely make out what they’re saying.” His face colored suddenly. “Then I heard her giggle and there was a sound of the bed creaking or something…”

The expression on Zoro’s face was unreadable and they stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds. “Uh,” Zoro rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. “What did you do then?”

“I waited up for her in the bar downstairs. Until she came out of the room and went back here.”

“You didn’t think to wait up on who will come out of that room after her?”

Usopp cringed. Well he didn’t think of that. “It kinda slipped my mind,” he confessed sheepishly.

A snort came from the Supernova.

“That’s why I’m asking for your help!”

“Usopp…”

“We are crew mates! I just don’t want her getting involve with someone who might be dangerous!”

Zoro pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll talk to Nami.” He suddenly announced and Usopp panicked.

“No! She’ll have my hide if she finds out I’m suspicious of her and stalking her and her… I don’t know what to call it… lover?”

The Mugiwara first mate grimaced at the word. “Then what do you want to do Usopp?!”

Usopp grabbed both of his arms. “Just come with me and figure out who she’s seeing and if that man is dangerous or not! That way we can protect her if need be!”

The swordsman sighed. Nami will have their asses for this. “You know talking to her is still the best way Usopp.”

“Come on please! It will help me sleep at night! Besides I’m scared of her.” Usopp proclaimed firmly.

Zoro rubbed a hand on his face. “You’re a good friend Usopp. Even if you’re poking your long nose where it’s unwanted,” he then smirked. “Alright. I’ll help you.”

“Really Zoro?”

The green-haired man nodded. “Who else knows about this?”

Usopp looked startled at his question. “Uhm, just me. I don’t want anyone else to know,” he answered. “This is not the kind of thing you tell Luffy or heaven’s forbid, Sanji.”

“Keep it that way,” Zoro advised. “The next time we dock, we’ll see what this is all about.”

The sniper had tears in his eyes. He cannot help but wrap his arms around the tall lad. “Thanks Zoro! You’re the best!”

“HEY! GET OFF ME USOPP!”

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

“So?”

He was immediately at the receiving end of a sharp glare.

“I can’t sense anyone with her Usopp.” Zoro replied.

“Are you sure?” Usopp whispered.

Zoro’s good eye narrowed dangerously at him. “I’m pretty sure.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

They Straw Hats had just anchored in another island and Usopp all but drag Zoro to follow their navigator as she made her way into town. Honestly, he didn’t know if it was a really good idea to lug the tall swordsman who always gets himself lost after three steps but he needed help.

Just in case it ends in a confrontation and Nami’s lover is someone Usopp cannot defeat. He can just let Zoro do the honors.

And he gotta hand it to the green-haired man, even if he did managed to turn them around wrong corners and streets and almost lost the mapmaker they were tailing. Zoro was still able to find they place where Nami is.

Thank Kami for haki. Maybe Zoro should use it more often and avoid getting lost anywhere they go.

Usopp fidgeted nervously. They were in the inn where they saw Nami disappeared into. They headed straight upstairs, thankful that the innkeeper was preoccupied with a fight that broke out in the first floor bar.

“Maybe the guy she’s seeing found out we’re trailing her!” The sharpshooter remarked fretfully. “And since he doesn’t want to reveal himself, he just stood her up! Oh Kami! She’ll be in a pissed off mood later!”

“Well…” Zoro clicked his tongue. “If you suck at tailing someone then yeah that is possible.”

“I hate you!”

“Look Usopp,” Zoro ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly. “Maybe he’s just late or something. We better not be here in case he finally shows up.”

“But…”

“Tell you what. I’ll do the stake out here until Nami gets back to the ship.” Zoro suggested much to Usopp’s shock.

“You would?” Usopp breathed out.

“Yeah,” Zoro nodded. “But in return you buy me booze.” He pointed towards the bar with his thumb.

Usopp stared at him.

“Favor for a favor.”

The long nosed sniper sighed. He can’t very well stay. If the man Nami is meeting already discovered she’s being followed, then he might not show up in the inn.

Maybe leaving it to Zoro is a much better idea. The man has razor sharp senses and he can sit tight in one bar drinking the whole stock empty but still be aware of everything and everyone around him.

This would definitely burn holes in his pockets. But he made it his mission. So he has to see it until the end.

Besides, if Nami sees him, it would only look like Zoro just randomly ended up in this establishment after getting lost in his wanderings.

“Alright,” Usopp agreed. “But you have to tell me everything you’ll find out.

Zoro bobbed his head slightly. “Sure.”

“And don’t go picking fights with anyone.”

Zoro growled at him. “I’m not Luffy.”

“We have to find out who that man is ok?” Usopp gripped him on both shoulders.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever helps you sleep at night Usopp.”

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

The door of the room opened and Nami immediately swiveled around with a huff and marched towards the man who just entered the room.

“So?” She asked, raising one delicate eyebrow.

Zoro locked the door behind him and met her impatient gaze with an amused one.

“What happened?” The orange-haired woman placed both hands on her hips as she waited for him to tell her the details of his afternoon with Usopp.

“Told him I’d do the stake out and spy on you, the swordsman answered. “Then send him off his merry way.”

Nami pouted. Zoro told her that Usopp was getting suspicious of her and her activities and that he followed her on the last island and actually saw her go inside an inn. “I swear his long nose isn’t just for show!”

Zoro laughed as he removed his swords, resting them against the small bedside table. He approached Nami and wrapped his arms around her.

“Usopp’s just looking out for you,” he kissed her forehead. “Even I couldn’t get annoyed with him being nosy with that kind of reason.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “He’s a good friend that much I can say.”

“I know,” Nami mumbled. “And I appreciate his meddlesome self just this once.” She rubbed her hands on his shoulders tenderly. “He didn’t need to go this far though.”

“He just wants to know if you are seeing someone dangerous or a threat to your safety.”

Nami arched an eyebrow at that. Then a cheeky smile spread across her lips. “I am seeing someone dangerous.” She patted him on the chest.

“You are?”

She nodded and she pushed him towards the one arm chair available inside the room. He ungracefully plopped down on it and smirked when she sat herself on his lap.

“Yes,” she murmured as she brought her lips closer to his. “Former bounty hunter?” She kissed him light and fleeting. “Supernova?” She kissed him again, deeply this time. “More than 300 million bounty on his head?” She grinned. “Dangerous.”

His hands roamed across her body freely, liking the way her silk robe was clinging tightly against her body and how it feels against his calloused palms. “Guess he really have a reason to worry.” He said in a gruff tone before capturing her lips with his.

She pressed her body closer to his. Zoro’s one hand settled itself on the curve of her hips while the other grabbed at her nape so he can kiss her deeper.

Nami opened her mouth for him, coaxing him to slip his tongue inside and play with hers as her hands busied themselves undoing the sash that held his green robe.

She moaned in frustration when he pulled away to gaze at her. Her hands slid inside his clothing, pushing it down his broad shoulders as he started kissing her neck, his warm lips sending shivers all throughout her already heated body.

“Maybe he deserves a thank you something for this after all,” Nami whispered, raking her hands through Zoro’s green hair. As much as it was irksome, she can’t help but feel lucky that she have friends who looks out for her and has her back.

“Maybe he does,” Zoro agreed as he stopped showering her neck with kisses and instead moved to that ticklish spot behind her ear.

She grabbed a fistful of his hair and whimpered. That spot always drives her crazy.

Zoro suddenly pulled her closer to him, their nose almost touching as he stared at her with raw desire behind his gray eye. “Enough about Usopp, we’ll deal with him later,” his voice was rough that it almost came out as a growl. His hand was caressing her backside. “Are you naked underneath that?”

A Cheshire cat-like grin appeared on Nami’s face at his question. She playfully removed herself from his embrace and stepped away from him.

“Why don’t you find out?” She mischievously walked backwards to the bed as he continued to sit on the arm chair, watching her intensely.

“You take the fun out of undressing you.”

“Well maybe if you are here sooner you would’ve been able to take all my clothes off.”

Zoro just chuckled.

“Don’t fret,” Nami smirked at him, pulling at the knot of her robe. “I saved one for you.”

She turn around, letting the garment drop down the floor and climbed on the bed, giving Zoro a full view of her irresistible bottom in lacy red thong.

She heard his breath hitched and the sound ignited every single part of her body.

The navigator swiveled her head to look back at him, teasingly and sexily, as her wild orange locks fell on one shoulder. Zoro was now on the edge of the seat, his one eye trained on her as he took in the sensuous sight. He was almost devouring her with his gaze as he ran a tongue on his lower lip, looking almost predatory.

Oh she knows how he loves seeing her on all fours, just as much as he loves seeing her spread out deliciously in front of him.

“Come on Zoro,” she called out seductively. “Are you just gonna sit there and stare?”

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

Usopp grumbled as he trudged glumly towards his factory. The day had been an utter waste. And he was nowhere near getting any answers to his Nami-related questions.

He went back at the inn earlier to check on Zoro and the idiot swordsman disappeared on him.

How can one get lost while just sitting on the bar drinking? Gosh this is a whole new level of Zoro’s getting-lost-talent!

Strangely when he asked the barkeeper if he had seen a green-haired man drinking within the vicinity, he said he did not have any customer like that.

The idiot swordsman tricked him into paying for his drinks and probably went into another bar!

So much for helping him out!

But when he saw Zoro in the Sunny before dinner, the swordsman gave him back his money pouch.

“I wasn’t able to use it,” Zoro said, patting him on the shoulder. “Thanks anyway Usopp.”

“Why aren’t you in the bar earlier?” Usopp hissed at him. “I went back and you’re not there!”

“Well, no one showed up,” the green-haired lad explained with a shrug. “No use staying there waiting for nothing.”

“Oh,” Usopp mouthed. “Oh my god! Nami’s gonna be furious!” He grabbed Zoro by the arm. “Where is she? Is she back here already in the Sunny?”

“I don’t know,” Zoro grumbled.

Their conversation was interrupted by Sanji yelling ‘dinner’.

“I’ll talk to you later,” Usopp muttered and Zoro just yawned in response.

“If I’m sleeping don’t wake me.” The tall lad reminded him as he headed towards the galley.

“But…”

“Don’t worry. We’ll talk Usopp. I just have nothing to tell you about earlier that will be helpful.” Zoro grunted before leaving him on the deck.

Usopp sighed. Now he’s back into square one.

He pushed the door to his factory open and stopped short.

There was rectangular-shaped box, gift-wrapped with an orange bow, resting quietly on his work table with a note attached to it.

He warily approached the gift and studied it. It was kinda heavy. He shook it a little, hoping to get an idea on what was inside. He glanced at the note and was surprised to see what was on it.

It said ‘thanks’ in a very familiar handwriting. And as if to make sure he’s not going to be mistaken as to who it was from, a mikan was drawn on the bottom right part of the paper.

What the hell?

A cold, clammy feeling suddenly enveloped him. And he started to sweat profusely.

Nami had found out! She must’ve caught Zoro earlier. Damn it!

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

Usopp made his way up the rope ladder to the crow’s nest. He doesn’t care if Zoro’s asleep or not. He had some explaining to do.

He heaved himself up the metal rung and when he reached the top, he called out. “Zo—”

“Hello Usopp.”

The sniper’s eyes widened when he saw who was in front of him and he froze. What is Nami doing here? From the way she was standing near the hatch, Nami seems to be aware that he was on his way up.

His gaze shifted towards green-haired lad sitting casually on the bench, looking at him a bit smugly. Zoro must’ve sensed him and told the navigator.

Usopp all but stammered. “I-I-I’ll just return later.”

Nami suddenly grabbed him by the nose and pulled him inside.

“Hey ouch!” He cried out, slapping her hand away. “Let go!”

The mapmaker relented and placed her hands on her hips, smiling wickedly at him. “So did you like my thank you gift?”

Usopp gulped from his sitting position on the metal floor while rubbing his nose. “I haven’t opened it yet.” Actually, he did not have the courage to open it. He just stared at it as seconds turned to minutes before coming to a decision to head to the crow’s nest and talk to Zoro.

Nami pouted. “Why? You’ll like it. I promise!”

That sentence scared him even more than Nami who was right in front of him.

Zoro was watching them from his spot, the amused expression clearly visible on his face.

“Zoro!” Usopp suddenly yelped. “I can’t believe you told on me!”

The swordsman laughed at his accusation. “I had too.”

“You didn’t have too!” Usopp growled at him. “Did she caught you earlier and threatened you into confessing?”

Zoro scowled at that. “She didn’t.”

“That’s right. I didn’t. He went and told me on his own volition.” Nami suddenly leaned towards him so they were face to face. “So you were following me around recently?”

“Uhm…”

“Because you want to know what I’m doing and who I’m seeing huh Usopp?”

Usopp refused to answer. After all when this is over, they would probably be fishing his dead remains on the sea… that is, if the sea kings didn’t get to it first. He glared daggers at Zoro who was looking so calm for someone who was also involved with snooping on Nami’s afternoon tryst.

Then it struck him. Zoro must’ve sold him out! He cannot believe it! He cannot believe he is capable of that. Wasn’t he a man of honor?

Nami peered at his face when he did not utter any word. “Are you still in there Usopp?”

“I think I’m already dead.”

Zoro snorted at his response.

The navigator laughed. “You’re exaggerating.” She grinned cattily at him. “You really want to know who I’m seeing Usopp? From what Zoro told me, you already know what I’m doing…”

The sniper blinked at her, startled by her offer. Then he blushed at her statement.

“I will introduce you to him,” Nami offered. “So you don’t have to follow me around or exert too much effort spying on what I do. Kami knows what you might see.”

Zoro coughed at that as Usopp turned a darker shade of red.

Then his dark eyes shifted from Zoro then to Nami. And he realized something.

If Nami knows what he was doing because Zoro told her straight away…

…Zoro must’ve known what she’s been up to all along!

“I can’t believe you Zoro,” Usopp unexpectedly cried out, that Zoro was taken aback. “You should’ve just told me that you knew what Nami’s been up to!”

Zoro folded his arms across his chest, leaning back into the bench. “Why would I do that? Do you think I want her pissed with me?”

“Whatever happened to loyalty?”

The swordsman’s face scrunched into a frown at his accusation.

“Of course Zoro’s loyal,” Nami interrupted, huffing. With a roll of her brown eyes, she grabbed Usopp by the straps of his suspenders, dragging him towards where Zoro was sitting. “He’s loyal to me.”

“Huh?” Usopp was dumbfounded. When did Zoro gave precedence to Nami over him?

Nami’s grin was too mischievous for his liking.

“Say hello to the man I’m seeing Usopp.”

Usopp’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped off its hinges.

Zoro barely smirk and shook his head at their antics. He and Nami agreed that maybe it would be better to let Usopp in on the secret rather than watch him spiral down into anxiety.

The sniper spent the whole five minutes gawking at them. “But… but…” he managed to stutter after a long while. “You don’t even like each other! You always fight and never agree to anything! You actually cannot stand each other! How did this happen?!”

Zoro and Nami shared a glance.

“Well…”

“I’m so confused right now.” Usopp declared with a shake of his head. He studied his two nakama who never in his wildest dream would eventually get together.

“Sorry Usopp,” Zoro chuckled as he leaned forward. “But Nami and I agreed to keep this a secret. Though I really appreciate that you’re looking out for her.”

“And I hope this helps you sleep at night,” Nami winked at him before settling down beside the swordsman.

Usopp closed his eyes. It feels like someone’s playing a joke on him. Nami and Zoro? Of all the strangest things to ever happen in this side of the New World…

… THIS tops it all.

“And now that you know our secret,” Nami wagged a finger at him as she tucked her legs under her. “You are going to help us keep it that way!”

Usopp’s eyes widened. For heaven’s sake! How was he going to keep this a secret? It nearly drove him crazy when he was keeping his mouth shut about Nami’s strange behavior. And he actually went to Zoro to talk about it.

Because he cannot fucking keep it to himself!

Now THIS?

This is a nightmare!

And Nami seems to be aware of his dilemma because the grin on her face when she rested her head against Zoro’s shoulder was purely too evil.

This is what he got for poking his long nose into her business—their business—regardless of the reasons.

He’s now in on their secret.

And this secret…

He realized with a sinking feeling.

… Is gonna be hell to keep.

#zoro x nami #ZoNa #zonami #zonalove #zona one-shots #zoro nami fanfiction #one piece fanfiction #roronoa zoro #nami

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