#i just want her to have justice man like yeah it's better than ph's. but a. that's a bar in the pits of hell it's so low | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

black-emporium-exchange · 4 years

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2020 Pinch Hit #7, dawnstone - CLAIMED

This pinch hit will be due at 12 PM EDT on Friday, September 4th. Please leave a comment on this Dreamwidth post (comments are screened), send a message to one of the mods, or send an email to [email protected] to claim.

Requested relationships:

Lucanis Dellamorte/Zevran Arainai - Fanfiction

Caterina Dellamorte/Zevran Arainai - Fanfiction

Viago De Riva/Andarateia Cantori - Fanfiction

Sky Watcher/Female Trevelyan - Fanfiction

Frederic of Serault & Rylen - Fanfiction

Brother Ferdinand Genitivi/Philliam Trevelyan/Laudine - Fanfiction

Female Amell/Sten - Fanfiction

Female Cousland/Sten - Fanfiction

Female Aeducan/Sten - Fanfiction

Felassan/Solas - Fanfiction

Desire Demon(s)/Solas - Fanfiction

Solas/Wisdom - Fanfiction

Audric & Myrna - Fanfiction

Cole & Justice - Fanfiction

Jowan/Lily/Female Surana - Fanfiction

Hollix/Original Female Human Lord of Fortune - Fanfiction

Hollix/Original Male Human Lord of Fortune - Fanfiction

Hollix/Original Nonbinary Human Lord of Fortune - Fanfiction

Loghain Mac Tir/Female Surana - Fanfiction

Female Hawke/Loghain Mac Tir - Fanfiction

Loghain Mac Tir/Female Trevelyan - Fanfiction

PH 7 - dawnstone

Request #1:

Lucanis Dellamorte/Zevran Arainai

Caterina Dellamorte/Zevran Arainai

Viago De Riva/Andarateia Cantori

Fanfiction

The Antivan Crows have a big spotlight in the recent story collection Tevinter Nights, and I'd love to see what would happen if either Lucanis or Caterina interacted with Zevran, or if they have any history together.

-Lucanis is willing to go outside the bounds of his orders to help people, which is a big no-no in the Crows. I'd love to see what would happen if he and Zevran either had to work together, or became rivals somehow sexy rivals ;D.

-Caterina Dellamorte is the elderly matriarch of her house, First Talon of the Crows, and also a woman known for beating people to death with her cane. How does Zevran regard her (considering his appreciation for older women), and does she have any weakness to his wiles?

-I wonder if Zevran is actively trying to kill either of them or vice versa.

-As for Viago and Teia, how are they faring after the tumultuous events of Eight Little Talons, and have they come in contact with a certain former Crow?

Likes:

-mission fic/case fic where they solve a problem

-loyalty kink, kneeling

-ust, resolved ust, friends to lovers, enemies/rivals to lovers

-pwp smut, dubcon

-angst and hurt/comfort

-friendship, fondness, matured relationships

-slice-of-life, humor & general shenanigans

-wild escapes, daring rescues

-making camp together, cuddling up for warmth

-exploring or expanding on existing canon and lore; worldbuilding

-anything post-canon

DNWs: Rape/Noncon, Modern AU, Character Death, A/B/O Dynamics, Character Bashing, Unrequested Backround Pairings, Crossovers

Request #2:

Sky Watcher/Female Trevelyan

Frederic of Serault & Rylen

Brother Ferdinand Genitivi/Philliam Trevelyan/Laudine

Fanfiction

Genitivi/Philliam/Laudine - they're currently on the lam, running from the Qunari and potentially still sending back intelligence to the Inquisition. How does being in constant close quarters, bar-hopping across Thedas affect these literary luminaries? Philliam and Laudine are previous lovers, how does putting Genitivi (who has a very notoriously saucy pen name) into the mix change things?

Frederic of Serault & Rylen - being stuck out in the Western Approach with few opportunities for entertainment and the constant threat of death by monsters and bandits is an excellent reason to stay in a fortified position like Griffon Wing Keep. Frederic stubbornly continues on with his research even after all of his staff have perished, and Rylen decides to keep an eye on him (Heroes of Dragon Age has Frederic as a mage, but you are free to ignore that since it's not shown in Inquisition).

Sky Watcher/Female Trevelyan - F!Trevelyan is very curious about the Avvar and their traditions; after he's recruited, Sky Watcher (you find out his name is Amund in the Multiplayer) is more than happy to teach her. Feel free to use your own Trevelyan or the default.

Likes:

-mission fic/case fic where they solve a problem

-loyalty kink, kneeling

-ust, resolved ust, friends to lovers, enemies/rivals to lovers

-pwp smut, dubcon

-angst and hurt/comfort

-friendship, fondness, matured relationships

-slice-of-life, humor & general shenanigans

-wild escapes, daring rescues

-making camp together, cuddling up for warmth

-exploring or expanding on existing canon and lore; worldbuilding

-anything post-canon

DNWs: Rape/Noncon, Modern AU, Character Death, A/B/O Dynamics, Character Bashing, Unrequested Backround Pairings, Crossovers

Request #3:

Female Amell/Sten

Female Cousland/Sten

Female Aeducan/Sten

Fanfiction

(The Wardens are obviously not completely interchangeable, but for the purposes of fic what I want from the pairings is the same. I do think F!Aeducan would probably "get" Sten the best, but the conflict in him falling for a mage is also delightful, and Cousland treading carefully while subverting his expectations would be lovely too)

After a Warden gets his approval high enough, Sten starts to call them kadan, which denotes caring about someone deeply. I'd love to read a story where Sten is head over heels with the Warden, and is extremely confused by it. She is the antithesis of everything he believes about women and bas from what he was raised believing in the Qun. His admiration of her is related most to her control of her abilities and/or battle prowess, but also he loves how practical and dutiful she is. She might find his alien point of view fascinating, enjoy carefully drawing out of him more about himself and his people, and learning to understand him better... she's also just generally into how tall and muscular he is.

Sex in Qunari society is supposed to be divorced from love, and when the topic comes up (with Morrigan) Sten seems disenchanted with the act, as well as certain he would harm a non-Qunari partner. It's not important to me if the relationship is sexual (if you can make it work, of course, I would not complain), I'm more interested in displays of mutual caring and affection with these pairings, whether it be defending each other in battle, or sharing some cookies.

Likes:

-mission fic/case fic where they solve a problem

-loyalty kink, kneeling

-ust, resolved ust, friends to lovers, enemies/rivals to lovers

-pwp smut, dubcon

-angst and hurt/comfort

-friendship, fondness, matured relationships

-slice-of-life, humor & general shenanigans

-wild escapes, daring rescues

-making camp together, cuddling up for warmth

-exploring or expanding on existing canon and lore; worldbuilding

-anything post-canon

DNWs: Rape/Noncon, Modern AU, Character Death, A/B/O Dynamics, Character Bashing, Unrequested Backround Pairings, Crossovers

Request #4:

Felassan/Solas

Desire Demon(s)/Solas

Solas/Wisdom

Fanfiction

Desire Demon(s)/Solas - Solas might say he's not tempted easily, but we all know he crumpled like wet paper the first time he was shown affection. Lacking a friendly/romanced Inquisitor, perhaps he has friends in the Fade who don't mind keeping him company. Or maybe one of them is perfectly happy to help him work out an unrequited crush on someone in the Inquisition. If this is the case, I'd prefer they weren't named or described so that the person is kept ambiguous, and keep it about how he knows it's the spirit/demon feeding on his emotions but it also happily helps him deal. Also, what would happen if the Desire Demon took on a physical form just to pursue him in the Waking World? Would he get angry or feel like he has to guide them like he did with Cole?

Felassan/Solas - Yeah, so I don't mind if the story takes place before or after the events of Masked Empire, but if it's after, there has to be some mention of how Felassan survived (he'd have to have been Tranquil for at least a little while), and how he manages to forgive Solas. If it's before, something set right after Solas wakes from uthenera would be nice, or if you want to delve into their relationship during the time of Ancient Elvhenan and the Evanuris, and potentially their days as servants to Mythal or during Fen'Harel's rebellion, that would be cool.

Solas/Wisdom - Wisdom cared deeply for Solas, but the greatest thing keeping them apart romantically would have been their natures in that he was a physical man and she a spirit whom he wouldn't want to twist against her nature (likely into a Desire demon instead of Pride). They are both ancient, so it can be assumed that they found their roles satisfying enough, though it's suspected that Solas was once a Wisdom spirit as well, and perhaps wishes he could go back to being one. I'm generally just curious about how they would spend their time together. Just how long did they know each other? After she dies, Solas looks for her in the Void and finds stirrings of her remains - would he try to put her back together from memories?

Likes:

-mission fic/case fic where they solve a problem

-loyalty kink, kneeling

-ust, resolved ust, friends to lovers, enemies/rivals to lovers

-pwp smut, dubcon

-angst and hurt/comfort

-friendship, fondness, matured relationships

-slice-of-life, humor & general shenanigans

-wild escapes, daring rescues

-making camp together, cuddling up for warmth

-exploring or expanding on existing canon and lore; worldbuilding

-anything post-canon

DNWs: Rape/Noncon, Modern AU, Character Death, A/B/O Dynamics, Character Bashing, Unrequested Backround Pairings, Crossovers

Request #5:

Audric & Myrna

Cole & Justice

Jowan/Lily/Female Surana

Fanfiction

Audric & Myrna - I am still a bit confused about Audric's nature, and just how much of him is still him but I suppose so is Audric - Myrna seems to believe his mortal soul is still remarkably intact. Down Among the Dead Men is Audric & Myrna's origin story, so I guess tell me more about how he adjusts to his "afterlife" working with her and the Mourn Watch, and how she helps give him purpose.

Cole & Justice - Two spirits who had very different experiences once pulled into the Waking World. What would Justice think of Compassion, and vice versa, how would they interact and what would happen if they had to work together. What would Justice pick up on that Cole wouldn't, what would Justice think of Cole creating his own form instead of possessing something? I'm very curious about how they would bounce off of each other.

Jowan/Lily/Female Surana - Perhaps they came together while apprentices, or they were always close friends, but it became something more after the Fifth Blight and Surana tracked them both down again. Maybe she and Jowan have to rescue Lily from Aeonar and things develop from there. If she's not a blood mage, how does Surana come to terms with the dark power Lily and Jowan are willing to use?

Likes:

-mission fic/case fic where they solve a problem

-loyalty kink, kneeling

-ust, resolved ust, friends to lovers, enemies/rivals to lovers

-pwp smut, dubcon

-angst and hurt/comfort

-friendship, fondness, matured relationships

-slice-of-life, humor & general shenanigans

-wild escapes, daring rescues

-making camp together, cuddling up for warmth

-exploring or expanding on existing canon and lore; worldbuilding

-anything post-canon

DNWs: Rape/Noncon, Modern AU, Character Death, A/B/O Dynamics, Character Bashing, Unrequested Backround Pairings, Crossovers

Request #6:

Hollix/Original Female Human Lord of Fortune

Hollix/Original Male Human Lord of Fortune

Hollix/Original Nonbinary Human Lord of Fortune

Fanfiction

So who are the Lords of Fortune, you might want to know?

Well, without recapping Tevinter Nights too much, they're a faction of mercenary adventurers, treasure hunters thieves and seekers of wealth and fame based out of Rivain, who can be of any race or background. They take odd and dangerous jobs from anyone who can pay the fee and have standards, so no working with slavers or punching down against the common folk. A lot of fans believe that our next protagonist in DA4 will be a member of this faction. And well, Hollix is a Lord of Fortune, though don't be deceived by the "Lord" bit, their gender is fluid and they are confirmed as nonbinary by their writer.

Hollix gained their name from Dorian after Hollix crashed a card party he was holding while attempting to spy on him - read "Luck in the Gardens" from Tevinter Nights if you want their whole story.

Writing for one of these pairings is going to require an OC and you can make them however you like, as long as the OC is from Thedas and becomes romantically entangled with Hollix. Hollix is already taking jobs from Dorian and has met Maevaris, so it's not a stretch that the new character would meet via their patrons through another such job - or perhaps they simply met in a tavern much like the one where Hollix tell their story. Go crazy, do worldbuilding, make predictions about the next game, have them do a heist, I'm all ears. :D

Likes:

-mission fic/case fic where they solve a problem

-loyalty kink, kneeling

-ust, resolved ust, friends to lovers, enemies/rivals to lovers

-pwp smut, dubcon

-angst and hurt/comfort

-friendship, fondness, matured relationships

-slice-of-life, humor & general shenanigans

-wild escapes, daring rescues

-making camp together, cuddling up for warmth

-exploring or expanding on existing canon and lore; worldbuilding

-anything post-canon

DNWs: Rape/Noncon, Modern AU, Character Death, A/B/O Dynamics, Character Bashing, Unrequested Backround Pairings, Crossovers

Request #7:

Loghain Mac Tir/Female Surana

Female Hawke/Loghain Mac Tir

Loghain Mac Tir/Female Trevelyan

Fanfiction

F!Hawke/Loghain - In the very unusual instance that Loghain survives to see Inquisition, he can be Hawke's Warden contact. I'd love something about how they met and Hawke's feelings about this man who did so much damage to the country she grew up in, but also who has worked to make restitution in the Wardens. They're both a bit adrift and away from home, heroes whose stars have diminished or fallen. How do they come together, and who ends up staying in the Fade?

Loghain/F!Surana - What made Warden Surana spare Loghain, and when do they realize they're in love? Does she convince him to do the Dark Ritual, or does one of them die against the Archdemon? Do they fall for each other in Vigil's Keep, after she's Warden Commander, or do they end up travelling to Weisshaupt together after the events at Adamant (and having survived yet again against all odds, Loghain tells Neria he's in love with her)? I'm open to any of these scenarios or anything else you might come up with.

Loghain/F!Trevelyan - The Inquisitor's work is nonstop and Loghain has a small window where he's at Skyhold and then he's either lost to the Fade or on his way to Weisshaupt. When and where do they manage to squeeze in a relationship, and what happens to make them realize their attraction? I'd love to see the reactions of the other followers, and if they are apart maybe them teasing Trevelyan a bit about her DILF paramour.

Likes:

-mission fic/case fic where they solve a problem

-loyalty kink, kneeling

-ust, resolved ust, friends to lovers, enemies/rivals to lovers

-pwp smut, dubcon

-angst and hurt/comfort

-friendship, fondness, matured relationships

-slice-of-life, humor & general shenanigans

-wild escapes, daring rescues

-making camp together, cuddling up for warmth

-exploring or expanding on existing canon and lore; worldbuilding

-anything post-canon

DNWs: Rape/Noncon, Modern AU, Character Death, A/B/O Dynamics, Character Bashing, Unrequested Backround Pairings, Crossovers

#be_2020 #be_pinch

3 notes · View notes

randomwordprompts · 5 years

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If It’s Magic | Chapter 2

A/N: This is a bit longer than the first chapter, I’m not mad at it but I’m working towards something. No warnings...yet lol

Taglist: @great-neckpectations @wakandas-vibranium @bartierbakarimobisson @wakandan-flowerz @yaachtynoboat711 @oceanscorazon @babygirlofwakanda @storibambino @reaperdeldrunk Lucy huffed as she stood in line in the cafe, giving the barista a pleasant smile once she finally reached the front.

“Hi, I ordered a macchiato on the app under the name Lucille Owens. Is it ready?”

“I’m sorry but there’s no order here under that name,” the young man said with a bored expression on his face, signaling her to move over so he could help the person behind her. Lucy gaped at him and refused to leave the spot, much to the chagrin of the people behind her.

“Excuse me?! I’m gonna need you to check again because I know what I ordered!”

“I understand, but I don’t have your order here and there are others waiting. Either put in a new order or step aside, please.”

Lucy was about to rip into him before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked at Amira, who’d been quietly watching the two of them, and moved to make room for her in front of the barista.

“Listen, we have an Intro to Psych class to get to and it’s the first day. Could you put in two mocha macchiatos for me and my roommate, lease? She already paid and it’s only right.”

The male’s eyes seemed to glaze over a bit as Amira spoke, looking a bit dumbfounded. When she finished speaking he nodded and put the order in, letting the ladies know that they’d be called when they were ready. While waiting Lucy looked at Amira warily, unsure of what just happened.

Amira noticed and returned the look. “What?”

“You know damn well what. How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

Lucy glared at her and huffed. “Mira...the thing with the barista!! What was that?!”

“Oh, that. It’s a long story that I’ll explain later, when we’re alone. Please ask me something else.”

Seeming satisfied for the moment, Lucy decided to ask something that had been on her mind since their first night together.

“Fine, fine. Tell me about that fine ass dude that came to our place the other night! He was all tall dark and handsome. You said he was your friend?”

Amira silently wished she’d just answered the first question, she thought with a chuckle.

“Xavier is a lot of things. My best friend, business partner, ex-boyfriend, almost fiance-”

“Almost what now?! You not gone just speed past that like you didn’t just say he was almost your fiance. Explain, Canadian.”

“He proposed, I said no.”

Lucy’s eyes nearly bugged out through her glasses at that.

“Why the hell would you say no to that? He fine as hell, probably smart cause he goes here, and he look like he got money! Did he hit you?”

“Girl, no! It just wasn’t the right time. After some talking, we agreed to wait until after graduation.”

Lucy sat back and ended her interrogation for now, just when their orders were ready. With a wink to the barista, they left the cafe and headed to class, speed walking a bit so they wouldn’t be late.

“So you telling me she said no...and y’all are still friends? You’re better than me, dawg.”

Xavier and his roommate Daniel were in the gym exercising between classes. Currently, the latter was spotting the former in a bench press as they spoke.

“We’ve been friends since middle school, dude. Besides, it’s more of a not yet than a no. We talked and decided together that it would be better to wait until after graduation.”

As they continued to speak, Xavier finished his set and got up to switch places with Daniel, spotting him through his own bench press.

“Okay, that’s fair. But why not still be together while in school? From what I’ve seen you two still have chemistry.”

“Man, stop worrying so much about my love life and focus on yours. What happened with that cutie you took out last night? I didn’t expect to see you again until this morning.”

Daniel huffed a bit and rolled his eyes as he paused to meet Xavier’s gaze, “Dude, her friend ended up calling her crying right when we got back to her place. I feel like it was a set up but either way we said goodnight early.”

Xavier barked out a laugh as they continued their workout before hitting the showers and grabbing some food.

Amira sat cross-legged on her bed surrounded by notes and her laptop, hair pulled up into a loose top bun with a pen behind her ear as she typed away. She barely registered the front door opening and closing before Lucy was at her room’s threshold with an excited look on her face and a flyer in her hand.

“Mira, you would not believe what happened today!”

Without looking away from her laptop, Amira raised a brow as she spoke.

“You finally asked that dude out from psych?”

“What? No! I was heading back from buying my brushes and there were these women on 20th Street talking about something called ‘reproductive justice’. You ever heard of it?”

“Yeah, we learned a little bit about it in high school. Women taking charge of what happens to their bodies and shit. Why?”

“Apparently there’s going to be an event next week where they go more into detail on what it is. Would my roommate care to join?”

Amira paused her work and gestured for Lucy to give her the paper so she could look it over, shrugging a bit before she finally answered, “I don’t see why not, I like learning sometimes. Speaking of, I almost got kicked out of my Culture & Society class today.”

“It’s the second week, how the hell did you manage that?”

“I might have told the professor that he didn’t have any culture because he’s white...unless you count inbreeding, theft, murder, and beastiality.”

Lucy damn near fell over she laughed so hard, wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes as Amira shrugged once more with a laugh.

“I mean, you weren’t wrong. But you know you can’t say that to these professors! They already think they’re “aware” because they went backpacking in Denver on their parent’s dime, or decided to stop washing their hair.”

“White people wash their hair?”

“Ya know...probably not.”

They laughed once more until Amira’s phone rang, the contact name “Peachy Kins” over a picture of Jonathan popping up and not going unnoticed by Lucy.

“Wooooow. So you can talk about white people but you got one saved in your phone looking all yummy with a pet name?! Ma’am.”

“Eh, cut that shit out. That’s my brother, he’s basically off black.”

Lucy snorted as Amira answered the phone and ushered her out of the room. “Well introduce me to the black side cause he fine. Heyyyy big brother!”

“Who the fuck was that?” Jonathan’s voice hit her ear as she closed the door, shaking her head.

“My roommate. She thinks you’re cute, ignore her.”

“I mean...I like dick, so I will. Anywhore, are you by your laptop?”

“Yeah I am, why?”

“Oh, just got something you might wanna see. Call me on Skype.”

Amira made a face but hung up her phone as she pulled up Skype on her laptop, calling him right away. When he answered it was clear he was in the basement of their office building, his usual dress shirt’s sleeves rolled up before he turned the camera to face what he wanted her to see. It turned out to be one of her workers, tied to a chair and barely conscious as if he’d been drugged. She was prepared to ask what was going on but Jonathan spoke first as he walked towards the male.

“So it seems we have a mole in our midst. I had Kenneth here followed and apparently he’s been meeting with the Chief of Police when he’s not working. But apparently, he doesn’t work with you guys anymore?”

The man in question was slowly coming to, looking dazed and confused as to where he was currently. Amira leaned back slightly and shook her head, running a hand over her face.

“Oh, Kenny. Kenny, Kenny, Kenny. Nah, he doesn’t work for us anymore because he was stealing.”

“A snitch and a thief? Heavy stuff. How do you wanna handle this?”

“Given that he has nothing the cops can actually use...just put him in the hospital. I think that’s a fair punishment.”

“Alright, will do. Later babe.”

“Oh Jon, wait! Make sure he can’t have any kids? No one needs to have that burden in their lives.”

At those words, Kenneth came to slightly, struggling to get out of the chair he was tied to with increasing strength. Jonathan snorted at his attempts before looking back to his sister.

“I can see why you’d say that. On it though, I’ll keep you updated on the other shit.”

After exchanging ‘love yous’ and ending the call, Amira grabbed her phone and texted Xavier the situation to keep him in the loop. She was surprised when he opted to call instead of replying, but answered the phone regardless.

“You know I don’t like texting.”

“I know, but I figured you were busy. Actually, what is that sound?”

The sound in question was what slurping and gagging, but Amira thought she might be mistaken.

“It’s nothing important honestly,” Xavier began, prompting the girl sitting between his legs to pull her mouth from his semi-hard dick, irritation clear on her face as she inquired who the fuck he was talking to. He raised a brow at her and smirked before putting the phone on speaker and replying so that both women could hear him.

“I was talking to someone that actually knows how to suck a dick, you might wanna ask her for some pointers because your mouth is pretty sad.”

Amira’s voice floated from the phone laced with pure amusement.

“Damn, you called me while she sucked you off? That’s sad as hell. Do better, Mr. Rose.”

At this point the girl was fuming, standing and going on about how she didn’t need this shit and Xavier wasn’t that cute anyways before she let herself out. Xavier simply pulled his sweats back up as Amira cackled on the other end of the phone, no doubt wiping tears from her eyes.

“She was trying to be cute, who does that?”

“People that don’t know how to suck dick, but I digress. Did you read my text?”

“I did. Jon’s handling it right?”

“Of course. I just didn’t want to leave you out of the loop of information.”

“Mighty white of you, beautiful. Since I have you on the phone though, you got plans next week? Daniel and I are going to stage a sit-in on administration about having a BSU and it would mean a lot if you showed up. You can even bring your loud roommate.”

Amira chuckled and stood from her bed, stretching her legs and letting out a small groan.

“Lucy’s just passionate, give her a break. But let me see what my week is looking like and I’ll get back to you?”

“No problem. In the meantime, go eat.”

“How do you know I haven’t eaten?”

“Because you sound hungry. Now go eat or I’ll come over there and feed you.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time unless you plan to follow through. But fine, I’ll eat...you can still come to feed me though,” she said with a smirk as she left her room to head towards the kitchenette.

“The hell he can! I got an early class tomorrow...” Lucy interjected as Amira grabbed some ingredients for a quick stir fry.

Daniel tried not to laugh in Xavier’s face when he relayed how he was basically shut down by Amira’s roommate, but he quickly failed.

“I’m sorry dude, but it’s funny. Why don’t you do something cute, like ask her out?”

“Because she’s my girl and I don’t have to do that? She knows how I feel.”

“And? Nigga, the same shit you did for her to be your girl, you now have to do to keep her that way. Fuck around and be single by your sophmore year.”

Xavier looked at him for a moment before shaking his head, “Nah, it’s not like that with us. We’ve always been friends first since we were kids.”

“Key word there? Kids, my nigga. Y’all grown now, and she’s gonna want to know that you don’t see that same little girl anymore.”

“...you give a lot of advice for somebody that ain’t got nobody.”

“You don’t listen and you won’t have nobody either.”

Xavier thought about Daniel’s words but brushed them off, sure that Amira knew how he felt about her already. Besides that, they’re bonded. They can’t be in love with anyone else...right?

___________________________________

Daaamn, Daniel! Did he have a point though? Tell me what you think!

#if it's magic #random writing #random stories #Amira and Xavier #my writing #randomwordprompts #original work

4 notes · View notes

risingphoenixwriting · 5 years

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Phoenix Heart Update

I’m nearing the 20k word mark and I am excited, so here’s Chapter 2 for any of my followers who would be interested to read it. If you find any spelling/grammar errors that I or ProWritingAid may have missed, please let me know so I can get to it ASAP. I still appreciate constructive criticism of course as well as any questions about Phoenix Heart. In case there is anyone who has yet to read Chapter 1, the link is right here: https://risingphoenixwriting.tumblr.com/post/182066177549/being-brave

Here is Chapter 2

Element City, California was a coastal metropolis near the Bay Area. It had six distinct areas that Lance knew about. First there was the Downtown area where high-class businesspeople went to and from their corner offices in the impressive skyline. It was also where Element City University stood proudly. It took Lance two busses and a train to get to from the upper middle class neighborhood he lived in. Near to the Downtown area was Alamo Park, a place Lance took careful consideration to avoid entirely. It was the most crime-congested spot in the city and got its name for the frequency of shootouts around the park the mayor had built to “liven up the neighborhood.” In the westernmost part of the city was the Element Pier, which is where the city’s dock workers lived during the day. In the hilly area east of the city was where the richest of the rich lived in the aptly named Colinas de Oro. Between Downtown Element City and Lance’s neighborhood, there was the Shopping District which generated most of the business for Element City’s economy. Finally, there was the Residential District which was where Lance, Evelyn, and their families lived. It featured the cookie cutter homes in the tidy grid-like neighborhoods and then it featured the older homes for lower middle class in the less organized neighborhoods.

Lance had already taken the bus from school to the train station and was now waiting for the train. His father’s advice was ringing in his head and he contemplated whether dropping out of school for the semester at least was the wisest thing to do. Lance was afraid that if he took a break; however, he would never go back.

“Get your dirty hands off of me!” a voice shouted from near where Lance was waiting.

He looked up and saw a businessman clad in his suit and tie shoving an old homeless man to the ground. The beggar was a tall, lanky man who had long white hair streaked with grime. His beard was equally long, white, and grime-streaked. His tired gray eyes looked apologetically to the rage-filled businessman.

“S-Sorry, sir. I was just hoping you had the time,” he told him.

“It’s half-past go-kill-yourself-o’clock!” the businessman snapped, “You damned homeless are ruining this city!”

The businessman huffed, and departed for another part of the station. Lance shot him an unnoticed look of disgust and then approached the homeless man.

“You okay?” he asked.

The homeless man looked up at Lance. It was rare for someone to treat him with dignity or concern, so when he saw the outstretched hand of the much younger individual, he hesitated.

“That guy can go choke on his tie,” Lance commented, “It’s three-thirty.”

“Thank you, boy!” the homeless man exclaimed with glee, “It does this old heart justice to see the coming generation is not without kindness.”

He picked himself up off the ground and marched off proudly to another part of the station. Lance found his actions a tad bit weird, but wrote it off as him being wacky from living on the street. Lance turned back to waiting for his train and it soon appeared before him.

Another benefit that Lance would lose from dropping out of school this semester would be the loss of his public transportation pass that allowed him to take all busses and trains in Element City for free. Lance knew it would not be an easy decision to make, but he was glad he had the weekend to think it over.

He boarded his train and sat down in one of the last few remaining seats. Lance noticed a pregnant woman board the train right after him, so he quickly stood back up, and offered his seat to her. Experience told him how other people on the busses and trains would rarely give their seats up to the elderly and/or disabled passengers. Lance refused to allow himself to be anything like them, so he gladly stood for the ride back to his neighborhood.

He spent the majority of the train ride listening to music, but something compelled him to hit the button so the train would stop at the next station. He did so and waited by the exit doors while the train slowed to a stop at the station. Lance left the train and was now in the Shopping District. He did not want to be home, so he was looking for forms of distraction and thought of no better place for those than the Element City Mall.

The three-story brick of a building featured four department stores in each corner with a variety of other shops and kiosks along the walls and the first floor walkway between them. His mother took Lance there many times as a child, so there were areas he planned to avoid.

Lance caught a bus from the train station that would take him to the mall. He immediately entered the moment the bus dropped him off at the nearest stop. The mall was busy with teenagers just getting off from school on that Friday afternoon and Lance weaved through the crowd to the nearest escalator. He wandered blindly past shops and kiosks alike until he found himself at a bench.

Lance sat down and looked up at the shop before him, Phoenix Heart Collectibles. It was a fan shop that had been in the mall for the past thirty years full of collectibles inspired by Element City’s former super-powered heroine, Phoenix Heart. His mother often took Lance here, and he loved every second. She had seen Phoenix Heart in action and would often tell Lance stories of her heroics before bedtime. Unfortunately, Phoenix Heart has gone unseen in the city for twenty-five years. It amazed Lance that the shop remained open for as long as it had now that its market had dried up. Unfortunately, as evidenced by the ‘Closing Soon’ sign on the storefront, the dried up market had finally taken its toll.

“What?” Lance questioned as soon as he saw the sign, “No!”

He shot up from the bench and rushed into the shop. Its owner, Kent Clarkson, sat behind a glass display case playing Solitaire on his laptop when he noticed Lance enter. Kent was a pudgy Caucasian man with a brown ponytail and blue eyes. Uneven patches of facial hair adorned his face, and he boasted a septum piercing.

“Yo it’s Lancelot himself! How’ve you been, man?” Kent asked.

“You’re closing?” Lance questioned.

“Yeah, man. I figured I’d get out before my debt becomes unmanageable. I found a job at another comic book store and selling out will cover my debt,” Kent admitted, “The people just aren’t crazy about PH like they used to be. Can’t blame them. She hasn’t been around in forever.”

“But you can’t close!” Lance shouted.

His outburst took aback Kent, and he cocked an eyebrow. He closed his laptop and shrugged Lance’s shout off.

“I can, man. It ain’t fair for you to expect me to keep losing money,” he responded.

“But my Mom and I would… always come here. You can’t go too,” Lance explained.

It frustrated him. It felt like another slap in the face by the cruelness of life. How many other places he and his mother frequented would close as well? Would Slice of Life Pizzeria close next? What about One Scoop; Two Scoop? Kent moved from behind the display case and offered a hand on the younger man’s shoulder.

“Oh dude. So sorry to hear about your Mom. My condolences,” he told Lance, “I can give you something, dude. I got an autographed picture from Phoenix Heart with the certificate of authenticity and everything.”

“No,” Lance muttered in response, “You should sell it to help with your debt. Sorry for yelling.”

Without another word, he left the shop, and Kent watched him disappear out of sight before returning to his game of Solitaire. Lance dragged his feet throughout the Element City Mall, deaf to the chattering groups of shoppers he passed along the way.

He found a quiet spot to sit down out on the terrace next to the food court. Lance plugged in his headphones and set his head down on the table. He intended to wait here either until the mall closed or until his phone died.

Evelyn parked her white sedan in the driveway of her home across the street from Lance’s. She sat there in her car, still gripping the steering wheel, and reminisced on her and Lance’s earlier encounters. He was still so distant and refused to even look at her. It hurt her every time they ran into each other, which was often because of them being neighbors and her job as his father’s assistant at school. She moved her hands from her steering wheel and ran them through her hair to shake the stress out of her.

The “bloop-bloop” of a police car pulling up in the driveway next to Evelyn made her jump in fright. She shot a glare at her mother’s smiling face as the cruiser’s engine switched off. Veronica Sanchez exited the vehicle and approached Evelyn’s car. She was a tall, Latina woman made taller by her imposingly perfect posture. She had black hair she kept tied back in a professional bun and her dark brown eyes fiercely gazed upon her daughter as she tapped on the window.

“License and registration, Miss,” she requested jokingly.

“Hardy-har-har, Mom,” Evelyn responded, grabbing her belongings.

She opened the door, making Veronica step back, and exited her own vehicle. Evelyn looked at her mother while shouldering her messenger bag. It was odd for her to be home so early and to arrive in a police cruiser.

“Why’re you home?” Evelyn asked.

“I was on lunch and forgot the leftover enchiladas in the fridge, so I borrowed a cruiser so I didn’t have to wait at any traffic lights,” Veronica explained.

“Wow, you’re ridiculous,” Evelyn responded, leading the way to the front door.

“Don’t judge. I could abuse my power in worse ways and you know it, Mija,” Veronica countered.

Evelyn unlocked the front door, and both women entered their home. Evelyn kicked her sneakers off by the door and neatly lined them up beside other shoes the two women owned. Veronica hurried past her into the kitchen so she could heat the leftover enchiladas to take with her.

“Why’re you stressed out, Mija?” she asked her daughter, “The only time you sit in your car like that is when you’re stressed and you’ve been doing it often.”

“I’m fine,” Evelyn responded.

“Lying to a police officer now?” Veronica asked, “I thought I raised you better than that.”

Evelyn groaned in annoyance and entered the kitchen. Veronica was giving her knowing looks while rubbing her chin contemplatively. The older Sanchez woman was deducing what stressed her daughter out this time. It wasn’t because of being overloaded with classes and other activities to flourish her resume. It was Friday, which meant she was assisting Aidan Zimmerman the same day he had a class with Lance. There it was.

“Mija, you need to give that boy his space,” Veronica told her daughter.

“I am. We always run into each other, and I feel hurt when he refuses to acknowledge me,” Evelyn admitted, “I’m one of his best friends. He doesn’t give Ty any time either. I’m concerned for his well-being.”

Veronica smiled a little. She always admired her daughter’s loving personality and forcibly pulled her into a suffocating embrace. Evelyn groaned in response and looked up to the ceiling for divine intervention. The microwave beeped and rescued her from Veronica’s smothering nature. Evelyn took a few steps away from her mother and collected herself.

“Give Lance time. He is hurting, Mija,” Veronica suggested.

She put a lid over the steaming leftovers and marched out of the kitchen. She stopped by the front door and checked to make sure she had everything she needed for work.

“I’ll be home late,” Veronica informed, “Don’t wait up.”

“I never do, Mom,” Evelyn responded.

The front door opened and closed. She listened to the sound of the police cruiser leaving the driveway and then sighed in defeat. Maybe her mother was right, and she needed to be patient. Evelyn then went to her room so she could do her homework and study for an upcoming midterm.

Hours later that night, Lance’s phone finally died, so he ambled on through the emptying mall to catch the next bus home. Luckily, the Shopping District and Residential District were close enough to each other for the train to be unnecessary and a single bus would suffice. He watches stores race by as the bus drove its route through the city. Streetlights replaced the store lights as Lance now arrived to the outskirts of the upper middle class neighborhood he and Evelyn lived in.

He thought of Evelyn and felt guilty at being so cold toward her recently. She was just so coddling toward him ever since his mother passed away. Lance did not want coddling, so he pushed Evelyn away. He wound up pushing both of his closest friends away so he could buckle down and focus on school. Fat load of good that decision was. He was nearly failing or downright failing all of his classes this semester. He lacked the energy to do any of the work expected of him.

Lance signaled for the bus to stop at the next stop and disembarked through his neighborhood toward home. He saw the large oak tree with a tire swing hanging from one of its thickest branches. He reminisced on all the afternoons he and Evelyn would spend swinging on the tire. A brief smile appeared on his face, but that smile fell the moment he saw the beat-up Honda in the driveway in front of his home. Cole was there. The pickup truck beside the Honda informed Lance that his father was home. That meant one thing.

Lance slowly approached his front door and he could already hear the confirmation to his concerns. The three ceramic pots were still sitting beside the porch, but they held wilted and dying roses suffering from months without care. Lance opened the door and entered his home despite having not considered it to be home for several months now.

“You come into my house and eat the food I help buy and you don’t have the common decency to clean up after yourself!?” Aidan’s booming voice thundered from the kitchen.

“Oh, get off your high horse, old man! I’m cleaning the stupid dishes now!” Cole’s bitter and raspy voice responded.

“You need to show respect, Nicholas!” Aidan responded.

A plate shattered, and a yelp responded, so Lance knew Ashleigh was home. He did not see her car parked on the street because of being so focused on his brother and father’s vehicles.

“Don’t call me Nicholas! The only person I ever allowed to call me that is dead!” Cole shouted.

Lance sat himself on the large sofa and covered his ears to drown out the argument. This was a common theme in the Zimmerman household ever since the matriarch passed away. It was one reason Cole moved out, but all of his money went to the ridiculous rent he had to pay for a studio apartment, so he often stopped by for food. It was also one reason Lance avoided his home like the plague.

“Cole, please stop shouting,” Aidan begged, his voice growing considerably calmer.

“No! I’m so sick of you, Dad! Hell, I wish you had died instead of…!” Cole shouted in response before pausing upon realizing what he almost finished saying.

He had said enough; however, and there was an eerie silence coming from the kitchen. Lance could hear only the sink faucet. He waited for someone to say something.

“H-He didn’t mean it,” Ashleigh’s voice broke the silence.

Cole did not admit to this even though everyone knew he meant nothing behind the words. He shut off the sink faucet and left the house without even giving Lance any acknowledgment. Lance wondered if Evelyn felt the same way when he did not acknowledge her.

“D-Dad, wait…,” Ashleigh’s voice continued.

Aidan then appeared, followed by his daughter, and the former disappeared into the master bedroom on the other end of the front room. The door slammed and Ashleigh flinched before realizing Lance was there. She opened her mouth, but found herself rendered silent. Lance said nothing to her either and stood up from the sofa. He left for his bedroom, leaving Ashleigh amidst the remains of their broken family.

#my wip #my writing #writing #writers on tumblr #writeblr #Phoenix Heart

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