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fl3shm4id3n · 11 months

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Dₐₜₑ ₙᵢgₕₜ

𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬: 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲/ 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧. ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: ᴍɪʟᴇꜱ ᴍᴏʀᴀʟᴇꜱ x ꜰᴇᴍ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Tw: dates, spiderman kiss.

A/N: I had the idea about putting this two requests together, I thought they'd make sense, hope you like it. 🎔 I'm starting taglist, if you want to be added, just comment that you wish to be added.

Masterlist

It was the weekend, so that means you and Miles will go on a date night. You had got ready and waited for him on the fire escape. Miles was busy at the moment, he was fighting some crooks and he'll be over to get you. You were scrolling through your phone, until you heard someone get on the fire exit. It was the one and only spider man, aka your boyfriend.

"Hey y/n/n" he said while holding at bag of what you assumed was food. "Hey Miles, how was your day?" you asked, as you climbed onto his back. Once you were on his back, holding onto him tight. You both took off by the use of his web. "It was alright, had to fight some guys, nothing special." He said, as he swung through the city using his spiderwebs while you were on his back. "Are you going to need me to patch you up?" you asked. "Nah, I'm good." He said.

It was a long way to get to a private roof top, you didn't mind since you really enjoyed the wind hitting your face as your boyfriend swaged with you on his back and he knew it. Finally you had arrived at a roof top. You both sat near the edge of the building and ate the food Miles brought. Also talked about both your day.

You both spend hours talking and eating the food, sometimes you wished that you could do this every day, but it wasn't possible. Miles went to a different school and he couldn't just sneak out all the time. He tried, but was grounded by his parents for sneaking out. So you had made it official that you both would go hang out on the weekends, if you both could. "It's getting late, we should head back, you know how my parents get" You reminded Miles, as you got up from the floor, followed by him. "Yeah, let's go" he said, after you both threw away your trash in a small trashcan on the roof. Then you both took off back home once you were holding tightly onto his back. The whole way back, you had an idea.

You had finally arrived back home, Miles had set you on the fire escape as he hanged upside down on the railing. "You're home, safe and sound M'lady" he said jokingly, making you giggle. "Yeah yeah." You said, then you stopped and looked at the part of Miles masks where his lips are suppose to be. "Can I try something?" you asked, making Miles getting curious on what you had planed. "Sure!" he said, then you got close to him.

Bringing his mask off from his chin and moved it down to exposed his lips. This made Miles eyes widen under the mask, but he just went with it. You held both sides of his face, then you leaned in, closing your eyes. Then both your lips touched one another's softly. The kiss was a long one, it was both passionate and loving, not only that but this was your first kiss with Miles, which made it extra special.

Taglist: @sorryi-mtrash, @call-me-nev

#miles morales x reader #miles morales x you #miles morales x y/n #miles morales x fem reader #miles morales fic #miles morales fluff #female reader #female y/n #girlfriend reader #girlfriend y/n #aphrodite's writing #aphrodite's requests

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secr3tlover · 11 months

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Dancing with You

pairing: 1610!miles morales/fem!latina!reader

genre: fluff

word count: 1,058

warnings: nothing that i can think of tbh?

summary: reader and miles are in an established relationship, there’s a roof party happening at miles’ house and they sneak out to a more private area :)

fyi: i’m latina so all the spanish should be absolutely correct 👍 i didn’t translate but google translate is only a couple clicks away for any non-spanish-speaking readers

“Ay! Mierda.” You exclaimed as you accidentally tripped over your shoelaces, climbing up the stars to the roof of the Morales’ building. You had gone downstairs to get a drink, only to find out that they were out of Coca-Cola, so you figured you’d just settle for the punch they had back on the roof—although you had a sneaking suspicion Tia Marta had spiked it.

Tying your shoes quickly you burst open through the door, out onto the fresh air of the roof. You were glad to get out of the tight staircase, filled with cob webs and bad energy. Not that you were doing much during the party anyways. You were waiting for Miles, your boyfriend, who was running a little late due to being held up by his Spider-Man duties.

He had revealed his identity to you a couple months ago, your immediate reaction being shock but then settling. You were very understanding, and when he confided in you that he was nervous about how his parents would react, you encouraged him to tell them. They’d reacted similarly to you at first, shocked, then a bit angry at the deception, but accepting. Telling them was better for him anyways, they understood his tardiness at times and his responsibilities not only as a student but as the caretaker of the city.

You were brought back out of your reverie by a buzzing coming from your back pocket. Pulling your phone out as you were walking to the drinks table, you saw the incoming message.

Almosr therd, ser yiu soom

Shaking your head at your boyfriend, you replied back.

oye! no swinging while texting!

As the message finally sent through, you heard the door bursting open behind you. Turning around, you saw Miles still fidgeting with his shoe, hopping on one leg in your direction.

“Miles!” You beamed happily, smiling and rolling your eyes at his foolishness.

“Hey baby.” He piped as he finally caught up to you. He slipped his hands around your waist and lower back, giving you a chaste kiss before pulling away.

“Where are our parents?” He questioned, looking around for them while still keeping his hands on your waist.

“They’re over there, making conversation I guess. Do you wanna go say hi to them?” You replied, offering the option.

He looked down at you, “I probably should… or,” He leaned in close to your ear, his breath tickling you, “we could sneak away?”

“Sneak away? Miles acabas de llegar!” You chastised.

“Not that far! Just up there. Cmon…” He pointed up to to a little area covered by a bulky-looking roof, away from everyone, trying to convince you.

Well… you guys didn’t have to be gone for that long, just a little while. Plus, once everybody saw he was here you’d never get any alone time with him…

“Fine.” You sighed, shaking your head at how easily you caved. “Awesome! Dale cmon, let’s go.” He grabbed your hand, interlocking your fingers and pulling you through the crowd of people as quickly and discreetly as possible. As you were walking you saw him sneakily swipe a plate of croquetas and galletas de soda. Grinning and rolling your eyes, you continued to be pulled by him until you finally arrived to the little secluded area.

It was way quieter up here, although the low bustle of the party and the music could still be heard pretty clearly.

He set the plate of food down on the railing and leaned against it, pulling you into him. You placed your hands on his chest as he wrapped one hand around yours.

“You look pretty today, I mean-“ He stumbled over his words. “You look pretty everyday, but you look extra pretty today.” You smiled, your face getting red and leaned your head against his chest, your arms going to wrap around his middle.

“I missed you today.” You mumbled into his sweater. “Me too mi sol, me too.” He replied, sighing in content at having you in his arms, pressing a kiss onto your head. You stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other’s presence.

Eventually you pried yourself from his arms, leaning against the railing next to him and munching on the food you brought. For a while you both talked about your day, making jokes about the people at the party, teasing each other, having an easy conversation.

“Wait why didn’t Ganke call dispatch again?” You reiterated in question.

“Something about not wanting to be my ‘guy in the chair’ because the old Spider-Man’s ‘guy in the chair’ turned into a lizard… I told him I wouldn’t let that happen but he just said Peter Parker said the same.” He said, frowning, obviously still a little salty about the situation.

You snorted, “Poor baby,” Going up to him to pinch his cheeks, you shot him a sympathetic smile “It’s okay, you don’t need a guy in the chair anyways. You’ve got me, and your parents.” He grabbed one of your hands, placing a light kiss on it. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

He leaned forward and placed his forehead against yours, opening his mouth to say something before, “Oh my gosh! Miles! I love this song!” You shouted in joy as ‘Ven Devorame Otra Vez’ flooded your ears.

You grabbed his hand and pulled him to the center of the area, “Dance with me! Please…” You pleaded.

“Okay, okay!” He chuckled, letting you pull him. He placed one hand on your waist and held your other next to your shoulders, in the typical couple position for salsa. You guys started dancing to the simple salsa steps, him performing them with ease now as you had taught him not long ago, that whole day spent in your room with salsa music blasting, you both laughing and correcting his missteps.

As the song got more lively you started doing more intricate but fun turns and spins, laughing and dancing to the beat of the music. You continued dancing, him missing a couple steps every now and then but you just shaking your head at him.

“I think your salsa teacher wasn’t very good…” You joked, as he missed another step by accident.

As the end of the song approached, you did one last spin, him ending it with a dip, surprising you. “Nah, fue perfecta.”

#miles morales x reader #miles morales #fluff #salsa #dancing #revealed spiderman to parents #healthy relationship #cute #Spotify

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wh0reforcoriolanussnow · 2 years

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The Other Sister || D. Targaryen x oc

GIF by @hopemikaelsongf DIVIDERS by @straywords

Summary: In which Elys’ older sister is to be wed to the Rogue Prince Daemon himself, however, the Prince’s gaze finds itself on her, and her only.

P.t 1 P.t 2 P.t 3 P.t 4

Clutching Daemon’s hand, the two navigate their way around the pleasure house. The room smelt of sex and alcohol.

“I must say I’d rather be killed by Caraxes than my father if he ever finds out I was here” The brunette chuckles, resting her arms on the rail as she overlooks the people below enjoying pleasure.

“Why?” Daemon turns his attention to her, “This place is nothing to be shamed of, it is simply a place in which you can satisfy your needs” He shrugs, a light scoff leaves Elys’ lips.

“Easy for you to say, my Prince, you are the King’s brother and no one dares to say anything that may lead to their death,” She stares out once again, watching the performances.

“I do hope once you marry my sister that you don’t find yourself here again,” She gives a look to Daemon as he studies her face before scoffing and gazing somewhere else.

“I’m serious, Daemon, I don’t want my sister to end up the same way Rhaenyra’s mother did” Elys steps closer to him, her finger at his chest before he takes a hold of her hand roughly, pulling her even closer to him.

“If your sister’s presence does not give me any satisfaction then I cannot promise anything” He says lowly against her ear as her breathing staggers.

“I only want whats best for Elaena, I truly do, I only want her to live a happy life and to be the mother of your children” Elys looks up at him, he scoffs at her words.

The proximity of their faces were barely an inch, she could feel his breath fanning over your face as she search his eyes. Watching how his gaze lowers from her irises to her lips makes her internally squirm.

She couldn’t stand how she wasn’t pushing away from his touch which clearly had an intention, one that would ruin you. Noticing how Elys wasn’t pulling away he lowers his head, his eyes flickering between her left and right eye.

The girl hesitantly places both hands on his chest as his arm snakes around her waist for support. The simple hand placement to Daemon was like a green light, his lips smashing against hers in a hot, passionate kiss.

Their tongues fought for dominance before Elys falters as he explores her mouth. Moving her hands up to the back of his neck, Elys plays with his hair before giving it a light pull making him ever so slightly pull back.

“If you care about your sister, then why aren’t you telling me to stop” His words linger in the youngers’ head, his gaze darkening as he watches her open her mouth to speak.

“Because I am selfish” Elys whispers before grabbing the back of his hand to pull him in again. A moan eliciting her lips, she could feel the corner of his lips rising.

Elys truly meant what she said to the Prince. She were selfish, she wanted Daemon to herself. Daemon and Elys were similar in some ways, more than your sister.

Elaena was obedient who was taught growing up to keep her mouth shut and obey without any questions. Only knowing Daemon for some hours, Elys could tell that the two of them would clash.

Daemon is known for making irrational choices, he’s ruthless and doesn’t care if his hands get messy. Speaking plainly, Elys’ sister would not last a day with Daemon, let alone their wedding night.

Elaena is Elys’ older sister, her blood, but anyone could tell from miles away that she’s just a fragile girl, an easy target for Daemon Targaryen.

“Follow me,” His lips leaves Elys’ plump ones as he pulls her with him. Still out of breath from the previous make out session, Daemon leads her into an unknown building down the alley from the brothel.

“My prince,” The man by the door bows his head, his gold cloak noticeable under the moonlight. Daemon opens the door as he leads the brunette up to a room.

Once Elys stood inside, he immediately pushes her body up against the door. He began to place hungry kisses down her neck making her let out a soft moan.

“W-why did you take me here” Elys breathlessly let out. She honestly couldn’t care less if the two fucked at the brothel, the thoughts of being ratted out to her father were both thrilling and exciting.

“I can be a gentleman you know, I want you to be comfortable” He says in between kisses as he gazes up at her. Smiling, she tucks his hair behind his ear before pulling him up to her face.

“Fuck me” Elys whispers lowly as he smirks. Without uttering another word, his lips start assaulting her once again, his hands moving to her back to skilfully undo the laces of her dress.

Letting the dress fall down, Daemon’s eyes focus on her body as she steps out of it. “You’re fucking perfect” He shakes his head in disbelief , his hands massaging your hips as Elys smiles up at him.

“Jump” He commands as she does so, his large hands now resting on her ass as he moves to the bed in the corner of the room. Letting Elys’ body drop on the bed, she leans back on your elbows as her eyes darkens.

He starts removing his items of clothing before standing bare infront of her. Elys bit her lips as her eyes wandered down his body, taking notice of his scars from battles.

Daemon climbed on top of her as he starts sucking on her nipple, his other hand playing with the other. “Oh my god” Elys moans, her head thrown back at the sensation.

He removes his mouth before blowing on her sensitive nipple making her shiver. His lips started making their way down the valley of her boobs, his eyes still fixated on her.

Elys’ patience was getting tested so she grabbed his chin to pause his actions, “Daemon, now” She assertively say as he grins, “So fucking impatient, I love it” He kisses her lower abdomen, inches away from her throbbing heat.

He teased her entrance with his tip, “Daemon” She whines, frustrated by the teasing. A short chuckle leaves his mouth before he pushes his erection inside of her without warning.

Elys screamed his name as he doesn’t let her adjust to him, soon enough the slight pain started to ease as waves of pleasure come through.

Moaning his name in his ear as he grunts in her neck, her hands come to his back as she starts scratching his skin from the pleasure he was giving her. Elys could feel his tip repeatedly against your g-spot.

“Qogralbar” He moans, she pulls him closer to her, the bed creaking underneath her at each thrust. “Ao feel sīr sȳz” the high valyrian words rolled hotly on her neck as she places kisses on his shoulder. (fuck) (you feel so good)

“I’m gonna cum-“ “Do it, fucking do it Elys” He says loudly as she felt her knot unraveling, he fucks her through her high before his came soon after. Both out of breath, he rolls next to Elys.

She leans her head against his chest that rapidly moved up and down. “The maesters will prepare you moon tea once we go back” He says quietly, his finger tracing random shapes on the girl’s thigh.

“Elys!” Elaena stands up from her seat at the table as the younger smiles giving her a hug, “Your graces,” she curtsies at Viserys, Rhaenyra and Alicent as they nod in acknowledgment.

“Where have you been at this hour?” Her sister questions as she takes a seat, Rhaenyra watching her. “I was uh- training” Elys sheepishly say as Elaena’s mouth forms an ‘o’.

“You really should stop training Elys, what if you injure yourself” She says, placing her hand on her shoulder. It felt so wrong thinking about how Elys fucked her soon to be husband just a few minutes ago.

Glancing at her hand, she takes her hand off of her to hold in her lap. “I can manage sister” She says to her as she frowns. Before she could reply, the door opens revealing Daemon.

He walks in with confidence as a smirk rests itself on his face. Rhaenyra watches her uncles as he takes a quick glance at Elys who looks down almost immediately.

Rhaenyra wasn’t stupid, she knew what had happened, so she stayed quiet knowing not to put herself into other people’s business.

“And where have you been brother?” King Viserys raises an eyebrow at his younger brother who pulls the chair out next to Elaena, Elys on the other side.

“Out” He simply says without elaborating. Elaena looks at Daemon as the prince keeps his eyes infront of him, his finger tapping the table.

Awkward silence lingered in the room, it was unbearable before you decide to break it. “I will take my leave, good night” Elys says as she stands up.

Making eye contact with Rhaenyra made Elys pause. She knew. Of course she did, she was smart. She ever so slightly shook her head as Rhaenyra smiles, a confirmation that she wouldn’t utter anything to anyone.

taglist! (let me know if you want to be added)

@sweetybuzz25 @sebastian025 @mirandastuckinthe80s @khaleesihavilliard @thelastcitysposts @anginoguera @sakuramadae @sithapprentice @piceous21 @yujyujj @shanzeyxsyed @missvillainfan @hnybitches @stitchattacks @vermillionwinter @nyctophilic0vitnir @disneydaddyevans @queenofshinigamis @-the-ruler-of-death @mariamyousef702 @morpheus-sturridge @zenathebeautiful @ren-ni @justaproudslytherpuff @fallingforunrealisticromance @shmaptainevans @paprikabadger @01-angela @hoshi-hoshot @mariaclaravargas18 @kaitieskidmore1 @gtxbitch

#daemon targaryen x reader #daemon x reader #house of the dragon #daemon targaryen #fanfiction #house targaryen #matt smith #hotd smut #house of the dragon spoilers #daemon targaryen smut

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niki-phoria · 1 year

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pairing: chishiya x male!reader genre: fluff ?? word count: 3.2k

a/n: i wanna keep writing for chishiya (and aib as a whole) but i have NO ideas so requests are always welcome please

warnings: s2 spoilers (kinda), reader gets shot, canon-typical violence, chishiya is a little ooc, blood, mentions of stitches, bad summaries of the scenes i'm referencing, might edit and repost later idk, cussing

“can you see anything?” arisu’s voice is staticy through the radio. you pull your hood further over your face, hiding your body behind the tree.

“no, nothing yet,” usagi replies. “i’ll try to go over and talk to them like i’m joining the game.”

“wait,” you squint a little, trying to see the people better. “there’s something on their wrists.”

“he’s right,” arisu sighs, leaning a little closer. “they have the same wristbands as those people from tag.”

“shit, they’re leaving.” you rush to follow after them, chasing after their car. you’re sure they can see you but you don’t really care. you’d never catch up anyways.

after a few minutes, they pull off the road and drive into a building. you pant, leaning against a railing. the night air feels good against your skin. on the front of the building you can see one word written in red graffiti- beach.

“l/n,” arisu sighs, jogging over to you. usagi is quick to follow, leaning against the railing with you.

“beach?” she reads.

“it looks like we found it.” the beach’s lights are the only thing you can see for miles, golden hue illuminating the entire building.

“how do they have electricity?” usagi wonders aloud. your response is cut off when you feel a tight grip around your neck, choking you. you cough, trying to fight back, but your vision goes blurry and eventually the world goes black.

you wake up sitting on a wooden chair. you’re surrounded by people staring you down. you anxiously shift, noting the lack of restraints around your wrists or ankles. why didn’t they tie you up? “welcome to the beach!” a man yells. he raises his hands up, twirling around the room. he’s shirtless, just like all of the other men in the room.

the man- hatter- opens the sliding doors, revealing a map of every playing card in a deck. most of them are crossed off with black x’s. “the way to win the games is to get every card,” he says, leaning down next to you. you try not to flinch at the alcohol on his breath. “once we win one of each card, we’ll be able to send one person back to the normal world.

“we have two rules. first, everyone wears swimsuits everywhere. you can’t hide a weapon in a swimsuit,” hatter says, dancing around the room.

“and second?” arisu asks.

“second… the beach kills all traitors. we stand as a united front. if anyone dares to go against that, the beach will show no mercy.” you stiffen at his words. he drops the theatrics for a moment, turning back to face you. “you won a seven of hearts,” he smirks, tapping the card against his hand. “we didn’t have that one. we will consider promoting you. until then, enjoy the beach.”

silently, a woman comes to stand before you. “follow me,” she says. she’s silent as she leads you into a different room, giving you new clothes to change into and the same wristband you saw on people earlier. you put it onto your wrist, tugging at the string so it’s pulled taut. you awkwardly pull your jacket back over your shoulders, shifting uncomfortably in your swim trunks.

the music is loud, shaking the ground as you make your way further into the beach. you can see usagi standing across the room, quickly putting her jacket back on. the crowd goes silent when hatter and the same people from before step out onto a balcony. “the beach stands untied! we will send someone out of here!” he yells. “follow your numbers to your games! let’s go!”

“we’re in different games,” usagi murmurs. arisu leans over to look at yours. you have the same one.

arisu turns back to usagi. “be careful, okay?”

she nods. “you too. both of you.”

you give her one last reassuring nod before following arisu through the crowd to where ann is already waiting for you. “we’re testing both of you,” she says, leading you down a staircase to the game’s entrance. the same white table is sitting in the corridor with four phones. it feels heavier in your hand than the others. “they’re waterproof?” you mumble. you share a puzzled look with arisu before continuing to follow ann into the game.

you stand in an empty dark room with a few inches of water at the bottom. it reaches about halfway up your shins. there are wires hanging from the ceiling. every now and then sparks fly from them. there’s a separate room attached to the main one with a single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. a sliding door that reads “open/close” is next to it. on the wall next to you, three switches have been ingrained into the cement, reading “A,” “B,” and “C.”

ann stands across from you in the center of the room, arms crossed over her chest. in the corner, a woman you recognize from the beach, kuina, stands next to the man arisu saved during tag. another woman stands on the opposite side of the room.

you shift uncomfortably in the cold water. “difficulty: four of diamonds,” your phone chimes. “rules: there is one switch that connects to the light bulb. with the door closed, players may flip any switch. when the door is opened, players may only flip one switch once. the door will not close if there are people in both rooms or if a switch is flipped. game clear: if players can answer which switch turns on the light. game over: if water level rises and the surface touches the wires. game start.”

“wires?” kuina asks. the other woman reaches out to touch one, yelping and then falling to the ground. dead. you flinch a little as she falls, turning away from her body and focusing on the switches.

“why don’t we just flip one now? and then if it doesn’t turn on, we have a 50/50 shot,” the man says.

“66%,” ann corrects. you can feel her staring at you as you glance between the light and the switches. “l/n, what should we do?”

“why are you asking him?” the man protests. “it should be a unanimous decision!”

“we’re testing them,” ann answers nonchalantly. your mind races as water continues to fill the room. a million possibilities fill your head. you look over at the light again.

“it’s a regular light bulb?” you ask. kuina leans into the room, looking up at it.

“it looks like it,” she shrugs.

“close the door,” you instruct. the man rushes to help as they slide the door so it’s shut. you bite your lip, pushing the “A” switch so it turns on.

“what now?” the man asks.

“we wait,” arisu says, joining you by the switches. “we let the water fill up a little more and then we test another switch. if it doesn’t turn on, then we check the bulb to see if it’s hot.”

“and if it is, then it’s the first switch,” kuina nods. “makes sense.”

the water filling the room is agonizingly slow and incredibly fast. it feels suffocating as it soaks your shirt, filling up to submerge your chest and shoulders. “open the door!” arisu yells after you turn the switch off. you push down on the “B” switch. the light doesn’t turn on. “kuina, check the bulb!”

she makes her way into the room, reaching up to touch the light. she flinches, pulling her hand away.

“it’s hot!” you wait for her to make her way back into the main room before pushing down on the “C” switch. after a few seconds, the water stops.

“game cleared,” your phone chimes. “congratulations.” you sigh, shoving it back into your pocket. ann smirks, satisfied as you make your way out of the room and back to the beach.

"i'm not sure about this," you whisper to usagi.

"it'll be okay," she replies. "arisu just needs to find the safe."

you swallow your nervousness, retreating back down the hallway to your place to keep watch.

it's silent for a few minutes until two men walk over to you, grabbing your arms. "hey! what are you doing?" you fail to fight against them as they drag you into aguni's room where the cards are kept. arisu is kneeling on the ground next to a locked safe hidden inside of a closet. usagi stands next to you, also held back by two men. chishiya nonchalantly pulls the radio out of his pocket, holding it up. kuina stands next to him with a worried expression. "arisu!" usagi yells.

"and him?" niragi gestures to you.

"l/n wasn't a part of this," chishiya barely glances at you before looking back to arisu. "you can let him go."

you stumble a little when the men push you down. one of them kicks you away, blocking your view of arisu. "leave," he orders. with one last nervous glance towards your friends, you scramble to your feet and rush out of the hotel.

you follow along with the crowd as they gather around in the center of the hotel’s lobby, anxiously awaiting more instructions from the announcer. a table with stacks of phones sits in the center with the same sign that always accompanies them- ‘01 per person.’ you follow along with the group, grabbing one of the phones and registering into the game. you shift onto your toes to see over the people in front of you. a girl lays on the ground with a knife sticking out of her chest.

another girl gasps, running towards her body. “momoka,” she pleads, shaking her. “momoka!”

“momoka has been murdered,” the announcer speaks. “a ‘witch’ stabbed her in the chest with a knife. the witch who took her life is hiding among the members of the beach. witch is only a title, the murderer can be a man or woman. goal: find momoka’s killer and burn their body along with their wretched soul in the fire of judgment. game over: the witch survives for 120 minutes.”

you can hear anxious murmurs from the people among you. you need to get away from them, out of the crowd. you slip away, running through the hallways of the hotel.

gunshots ring out from all around you. you need to find arisu. the walls are covered in blood as you pass them, bodies almost everywhere you look. you bite back the nausea from the sight and smell, trying to find anywhere safe. anywhere to hide.

“l/n!” someone yells. you trip over your own feet, turning to look back. usagi runs over to you, followed by the man from tag and the girl who ran to momoka’s body. you let usagi help you up, ignoring the sting of rug burn on your knees. “are you alright?”

“yeah,” you sigh. “what’s going on?”

“they’re killing everyone to try to find the witch,” the man sighs, taking off his hat and running a hand through his sweaty hair.

“where’s arisu? we need to find him.”

“i don’t know,” usagi sighs. “we need to keep moving,” she grabs onto your arm, leading you away from the approaching gunshots. you desperately pull on different doors, hoping to find one that leads back to arisu.

“this is it?” usagi asks, looking back down at asahi's phone.

“it looks like it,” arisu sighs, putting it back into his pocket. “here,” he tosses you a flashlight before you make your way through the station.

you pull your jacket further around your body, as you search. it fills you with an odd sense of nostalgia to walk through an area that should be so familiar. you pause when you find an opened door. the same door that asahi and momoka had shown in the video. hesitantly, you walk forwards and pull the door open. arisu and usagi follow behind you. inside, people in business suits lay sprawled across different tables and in chairs. the blood looks fresh, like they haven’t been dead for very long.

“i’m surprised it took you so long to find this,” chishiya says, stepping into the light. "it's good to see you, l/n."

"how long have you known about this?" arisu asks.

chishiya holds up a piece of paper- a circle with seemingly random lines going through it. "it took some time, but i finally figured out that this is a map to the shibuya station." as soon as he finishes speaking, the monitors light up all around you. they shine a blinding white before mira's face appears.

"congratulations, you have beaten all of the numbered card games. now, you will move onto the face cards," she says. chishiya and kuina walk over to stand next to you. when you glance at chishiya, he simply shrugs. "we look forward to seeing you soon!"

"there are more games?" kuina asks.

"she said we were moving onto the face cards. maybe if we win every game corresponding to each card in a deck we'll be able to return back to our world," arisu says.

"hopefully," usagi nods. you follow behind chishiya out of the station, sitting beside kuina on the ground.

"i wonder when the games will start," you say. "they usually take place at night."

"they've always given us some sort of instructions. i'm sure we'll hear something soon," usagi reassures. you hum, stretching.

the silence is interrupted when a group of cars pull up. you scramble to your feet with kuina, watching as people from the beach begin to step out.

"what's going on?" a woman yells. you aren't given time to respond before something hits her. you stand in shock, staring at the now dead body falling to the ground. another shot rings out, sending another person down- a woman this time. you’ve just barely caught your breath when someone yells out “run!”

you’re quick to follow, turning on your heel and beginning to leave. gunshots continue to ring out behind you, almost drowned out by the screams of their victims. you follow usagi behind the wall of a building, hesitantly peeking over the edge. in the sky, an airship flies though, carrying a giant king of spades flag. in the distance you can see even more of them, carrying the other face cards.

“shit,” you whisper.

“we need to move!” arisu yells. more bodies fall to the ground as you run, desperately trying to keep pace with the others.

“let’s split up!” chishiya shouts, ducking behind a car. you hide behind the wall of a building, hiding in the shadows as you watch more people run by. you can see arisu nod a little, rushing to a wounded man on the ground.

you yelp as you suddenly feel a sharp pain in your leg, harshly hitting the asphalt ground. scrambling to your feet, you push yourself behind a wall, hiding away in the shadows. your leg burns when you try to put pressure on it, pain stinging throughout your body. hesitantly, you reach a hand down to touch it. blood gushes from the wound, dripping down your leg.

with a hiss, you push yourself off the wall, following after the hoards of people running from the gunshots. you make it a little farther down the street when someone grabs your wrist, pulling you down and pushing you against a car. “dumbass,” chishiya curses. “you got yourself shot.”

you hope your adrenaline is covering how flustered you are, biting back a bitter laugh. “sorry. i didn’t really expect to almost die today.”

“come on,” he says, wrapping his arm around your waist. “can you walk?” you hiss when you put your foot on the ground but nod.

“it hurts, but i can move.” chishiya sighs, shifting your body weight onto him. you can hear a car approaching before suddenly screeching to a stop. you look out from the side, seeing tatta and ann.

“get in!” she yells. chishiya helps you to your feet as arisu, usagi, and kuina pile into the backseat of the car. you limp a little closer before something hits the ground, rolling out from underneath the car. chishiya starts pulling you back, grip tightening around your waist.

“go!” he yells, pushing you back behind the car for shelter. usagi slams the car door shut as tatta begins driving.

“you should run,” you say, moving so you’re not leaning on chishiya. “i can handle myself.”

he doesn’t move, shaking his head. “no. i’m not leaving you now.” you sigh, letting him wrap his arm back around your waist and helping you run behind a building. “i need to find something to stop the bleeding.”

“chishiya!” you hiss, pulling your jacket off, pressing it against your leg. the sound of gunshots gradually fades until you’re left in complete silence.

with the king of spades gone, you start to feel the adrenaline wearing off. your hands shake as you press down even harder on your leg. you aren’t sure how long you’ve been sitting there when chishiya returns, replacing your hands with his. your chest heaves as you watch him check the wound over. “it’s pretty bad. you’re gonna need stitches.”

“just make it quick.”

he nods, slowly beginning to treat the wound. you bite back a scream before the pain becomes unbearable and the world goes black.

the ground is hard underneath you when you wake up. your leg aches as you shift, forcing yourself to sit up. “welcome back,” chishiya says.

you groan, leaning back against the wall. it's dark outside now. a fire burns in front of you. you shift to move closer to it, desperate for the warmth. “how long was i out for?”

“not long. you passed out from the adrenaline and shock.”

you hum. it's silent for a few minutes. the only noise is the cracking of the flames. you move back to lean against the wall, sitting next to chishiya. you're so close that your hands are just barely touching. “why did you save me?”

he looks over at you. "because i don't want you dead."

"are you saying you care about me?" you tease.

chishiya turns his attention back to the fire. "i do." you freeze for a second, surprised by his answer. he glances back up at you. "did you think i didn't?"

"honestly? i didn't think you would go out of your way to save me." you pull your good leg up to rest your chin against your knee. "so why did you?"

"because i have feelings for you." chishiya is uncharacteristically quiet when he says it, still staring straight ahead at the flames.

"i have feelings for you too," you whisper. he looks over at you, almost surprised. chishiya reaches over to grab your hand, intertwining your fingers together. you move even closer, laying your head against his shoulder. "will you be mine?"

chishiya smiles a little, pressing down to press a kiss against your forehead. "i already am."

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ashcal99 · 1 year

Text

Certain Things : Leah Clearwater I

Chapter One

"Something about you, It's like an addiction, Hit me with your best shot honey, I've got no reason to doubt you, 'Cause certain things hurt, And you're my only virtue"

Summary: Conner Swan moves to Forks Washington in hopes to help his sister Bella through her breakup with Edward. In hopes to find happiness again. He finds much more.

Warnings: Eventual smut (18+ only), mentions of death, depression, loss, antidepressants, general angst, slow burn

Words: 3.5k

A/N: Comment if I missed any warning or anything plz thnx.

Soundtrack

Previous Chapter

Series Masterlist

!!!There is a prologue linked above if you're interested. You don't need to read it, but it does explain a lot of what's written later on.!!!

——————

December 18th, 2005

Traveling to Forks all the way from Phoenix was a long and boring trip. One that Conner had never driven before as he typically flew when traveling to visit his father. Unfortunately, seeing as he had about 20 moving boxes crammed in and strapped down under a tarp in the bed of his truck, he couldn’t exactly travel by those means this time. He supposed could’ve shipped his belongings and truck up the country, but he didn’t even want to think about how much money that would have cost. Being an accountant didn’t exactly support a lavish lifestyle by any means. Moving was never fun, especially when it was almost 1,600 miles away. But he knew that when he agreed to his father’s request to relocate north.

The twenty-one year old had been driving for about nineteen hours now, so doing a quick calculation in his head, he figured he had about four and a half hours left of the drive. He had refused to stop and pay for a hotel that he couldn’t afford and tiredness had long started to eat away at his mind. Looking at the small fluorescent numbers on his dashboard, he saw it had reached dinner time. In almost comical timing, his stomach growled out a borderline demonic sound, demanding to be fed. Giving into hunger, he pulled the old dull blue chevy truck to the nearest exit, deciding he would stop at the first restaurant he drove past. Much to his dismay, the only signs of life were an old gas station that looked like it was straight out of the 1950’s and a diner to match. Sure, 50’s diners had their appeal, but let’s just say, this one seemed a bit too authentic. He could get back on the interstate and drive further to see if there was anything else, but he knew for a fact that there wouldn’t be another exit for miles and he wasn’t about to backtrack south. He would just have to hope and pray that the food tasted better than the place looked.

Driving up to the almost empty parking lot, he pulled the transmission into park and un-clicked his seatbelt. Pausing for a moment he glanced again to the dirty windows and rusting railing of the building and grimaced. Did he really need food this bad? His stomach answered almost immediately with a low gurgling groan. Okay, that would be a yes then. Throwing his door open, he stepped out, stretching his long limbs for what felt like the first time in years. Reluctantly, he stepped back from the pick-up, manually locking the vehicle with the key, and began trudging stiffly to the dull chrome rimmed door. Once inside, his hopes for a decent meal demolished to ash as the odor of grease and burnt toast hit his sinuses. His nose wrinkled in disgust, as he choked out a cough in protest, earning the attention of a middle aged woman wearing a stained white apron who was sat directly in front of the doors, at the diner’s bar. Looking almost shocked to see a customer, she slid off the stool to her feet. Stepping over to greet Conner at the “wait to be seated” sign.

“Well hello, how can I help you?” She asked confused, the crease between her brows deepening. This couldn’t be a good sign, right? Surly it was bad that she was questioning why he would step into a diner around dinner time.

Taking a quick breath, trying not to breath through his nose too much, he answered. “Um yeah, table for one?” He needed food and a break from driving to wake up, he told himself. He could muster through this and get back to driving soon.

Quirking an eyebrow at the young man, the woman answered. “Are you sure about that? The only people we ever really serve are the farmers around here, and they clearly have incredibly low standards when it comes to the definition of food.”

He grimaced as another strong wiff of something burning hit his nostrils, seeming to singe the hairs. “Yeah, I can see that, well… smell it I guess.” He stated, wincing from the stench. “Unfortunately though, yes, I am afraid I do need to have something to eat as soon as possible or I think my stomach may start eating itself. Which I’m starting to wonder if that is the better of the two options here.” He half joked, earning a small slanted grin from the waitress.

“Right this way sweetie.” She said, ushering him to follow her to the furthest booth from the open kitchen. She slid into the booth quickly, reaching forward to unlatch the ancient window. She swiftly pulled the metal frame upwards, it groaning in protest. “Sorry about the smell sweet pea, our cook Earl gets a bit overzealous with the toaster.” She apologized, sliding against the old creaky booth to stand upright.

Conner smiled slightly, leaning down to sit on the cracked worn leather. “No worries, I just need something to eat to get me by for the rest of my drive.” He stated, pausing a moment to get a nice breath of fresh air from the now open window. “What would you recommend that’s least likely to give me food poisoning, a heart attack, or a stomach ulcer?” He half joked, a lop sided grin forming on his mouth.

The woman let out a bark of laughter, throwing her hand to her chest. “Honey, I wouldn’t touch any food here with a ten foot pole myself, but if you’re that desperate, I would recommend a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup considering the soup comes from a can-“ she paused, taking in a breath from her nose, and continued. “But, on second thought, maybe just some soup would be best.” She smiled apologetically.

Agreeing to the soup with a glass of water to drink, Conner leaned back into the creaking booth, stretching his legs as much as the space below the short table would allow. Running his fingers through his hair, he let out a deep sigh, as his thoughts began to wander.

He didn’t know what to expect when seeing his sister again after almost a year with little to no contact. The last time he had seen her had been after her accident and she had been too drugged up on pain meds to really hold much of a conversation. As far as he knew, she had no idea he was moving up, as him and Charlie decided it would be best kept a surprise.

Conner wasn’t too sure how she would react considering she had willingly stopped her daily conversations with him. He did know that after starting his antidepressants he had gotten a bit better with handling his trauma, and he could only hope that he was less of a burden to her because of it. Because, that’s what he was, right? Clearly there was a reason she had stopped talking to him after years of having a tight knit relationship with each other.

Really, he didn’t blame her, not too much anyway. He didn’t want her to feel trapped into comforting him through his depression, no matter how much it hurt him to be pushed away. She was the younger sibling and he had made the promise to protect her, not the other way around. He couldn’t expect to be coddled by her. None the less, the thought made his chest ache.

He slumped forwards, elbows resting on the table, dropping his head into his hands. The dull ache in his forehead grew. His thoughts continued grow more and more dismal, the ache turning into a pulsing behind his brow. He let his eyes shut as he kneaded his thumbs on his temples, trying to relieve some of the pain.

Before he knew it, he was jolting awake to a small shake of his shoulder. Looking around frantically, it took him a moment to remember where he was. The diner’s fluorescent lights burned his sleepy eyes as tried blinking them to attention. Turning to the waitress that still had her hand on his shoulder he asked, slightly panicked. “What time is it? How long was I asleep?”

She gave him a soft smile and replied. “Don’t worry sweetheart, you were only out a few minutes.” She paused, setting the bowl of steaming soup she had been holding down on the table, completely unbothered by the obvious heat of the ceramic bowl. “I am, however a bit concerned about your state of alertness and getting back on the road.” She continued.

He let out a small awkward laugh in reply, brushing his fingers through his hair once again, it being a bit of a nervous habit of his to do so. “Yeah-“ He said, letting out a deep yawn. “I guess I needed a bit of a power nap. I should probably get a cup of coffee to go and hope my stomach doesn’t put up too much of a fight at the food and drink combination.” He laughed.

She chuckled in reply, resting her hands inside the stained apron pockets. “Well, I’ll go ahead and start brewing that for you then.” She said smiling, turning, and walking behind the bar.

——————

Conner sipped on the coffee that had long lost its’ warmth, trying to keep himself alert. It had been a while since he had been in cold like Washington during December, and of course, he had forgotten that his truck’s heating had gone out. It was just his luck that this happened. He hadn’t exactly forgotten, but he had been so used to driving around phoenix, no matter the time of year, with his window rolled down to compensate for the fact that the heating and ac had stopped working. Arizona didn’t exactly come with the issue of trying to stay warm over half of the year. So, of course, when the sun had set just as he crossed over the Washington state line, he instantly regretted not fixing the truck previously. He knew he would have to find a mechanic to fix it asap, but for now, he was screwed.

So there her was, bundled in as many layers as he could fit on his body, sipping on cold coffee, shivering while his teeth chattered in his mouth. His cheeks had to have been bright red, he was sure. He was almost there though. In fact, hd was even starting to recognize familiar buildings on his way into town, and he knew he was only a few minutes away. Sure enough, he rounded the corner and instantly spotted the old police cruiser out front.

Not much had changed with the house since he had last seen it. The same old trees out front. Same chipped white paint. The only difference was a clunky ancient looking orange truck that now occupied half of the cracked driveway. This, he knew to be Bella’s. She had gotten it on her first day in town, back when she was still speaking to her brother.

Putting the truck in park for its’ final time of the night, he sighed, pulling the key from the ignition. Grabbing a few things, his keys, cell phone, and backpack full of overnight items, he slid out of the cab of the truck into the cold air. He closed the car door softly, trying not to make too much noise in hopes to not wake Bella, assuming she would be sleeping by now. He knew she had been having trouble sleeping and didn’t want to interfere with what little sleep she did get.

Walking up to the front door, he knocked softly. As he stood there, blowing on his hands, trying to warm them the best he could, the door swung open. And there stood Charlie. Not a thing had changed, minus maybe a new wrinkle here or there. Still the same warn out flannel shirt, bushy mustache, and warm brown eyes. "Conner!" His father whisper-shouted. Grabbing his son and wrapping him in his arms. God, he missed his dad’s hugs. Sure, the man was socially awkward as hell, but damn, did he hug with his whole heart. “I missed you so much, Son.” He said, the words muffled by Conner’s shoulder. His son had gotten taller since he had last seen him, that was for sure.

“I missed you too, Dad” He said, his voice cracking. “I’m sorry that I didn’t come to visit sooner.” He felt his eyes begin to water, trying to push back the building emotion behind his voice.

The older man pulled away, keeping his hands on his son’s shoulders, looking deep into the blues of his eyes. “Stop that. You don’t have to explain yourself or apologize. You’ve been through hell and back, Con. I understand, and I just hope that I can be there for you when you need me.” He said, tears filling his eyes as well. “You and Bells are the most important things in my life and that’s never going to change, okay?” He asked.

As Conner looked into the deep brown of his father’s eyes, the tightness in his chest that had been there for over year, slightly loosened its’ grip. He felt the comfort of home embrace the shards of his broken heart for the first time since Mia had left him. A small smile graced his lips as he nodded lightly, excepting his father’s love.

Charlie let out a deep sigh, letting his hands drop from his son’s shoulders, ushering him inside the warmth of the home. Closing the door and locking it, he turned to Conner. “I put sheets on your bed upstairs. I’m sorry, I only had your old sheets that fit, so you may want to get new ones once you get settled.” He said, giving his son a small smile.

“Thanks, Dad. I’m sure they’re fine. I’m just ready to knock out for ten hours straight.” He said, laughing lightly.

Charlie smiled. ”Okay, I'm going to go to sleep now, have to get up early in the morning. I assume you’ll still be asleep when I leave for work, but I’ll be home around seven, if you want to wait up and have dinner with me?” He asked hopefully.

"Will do, goodnight dad.” Conner replied, smiling softly.

"Night, Con. Glad you're here." Charlie took one more glance at his son before walking down the hall and into his bedroom.

He knew his aching limbs and head would have to wait until tomorrow to unpack the bed of his truck, so he didn’t bother waiting any longer before he trudged up the narrow stairs to his childhood bedroom. Trying to open the old creaky door quietly, he reached in, flipping the light on.

Warm light flooded the room revealing a small dresser, and an old mattress lying on the floor. It wasn’t the best set up, seeing as he was six foot two and would probably find some difficulty getting out of bed from so low, but this was how it was set up when he was a kid. Charlie hadn’t had time to change much of anything with such short notice and that was made clear by the power ranger posters that littered the wood paneling of the walls and the sheets that were stretched tightly across the mattress that were covered in looney tunes characters.

He sighed, knowing he would need to purchase a bed frame eventually, as he left his old one back in Phoenix, not exactly having the room for it in the bed of his truck. But that was okay, he had at least packed his sheets, and they were tucked away somewhere with the rest of his things. He would worry about that tomorrow though. For now, he just wanted a warm shower and a good night’s rest.

Setting his keys and phone down on the dresser, he turned, making his way to the small shared bathroom down the hall. Turning the water on, he dug through his bag, finding his soap and shampoo, and setting them on the edge of the tub. Peeling layer by layer off, he tossed them into the laundry hamper that occupied the far left corner. Finally, he discarded his last piece of clothing, the cool air hitting his bare skin.

Goosebumps rose on his arms as he stepped over the edge of the tub, letting the steady stream of water run over his rigid frame. He took in a deep breath, feeling the steam enter his lungs. Slowly letting the air back out, he felt his body relax under the warmth of the water. His body ached in protest of his day’s journey, the heat gradually easing the tense muscles. His mind blurred through the motions of his shower routine, wanting to finish quickly, so that he could enjoy the warmth for a bit longer. Finishing, he leaned his head back, letting the water droplets run freely down his face.

It was then that he allowed his thoughts to overcome him. It had been an overwhelming day to say the least, and after over twenty-four hours of distracting himself with music or books on tape, he was finally alone with his mind. He didn’t know what to expect from the move. It had been so long since he had set foot in the small town, and suddenly he was picking up and moving here? Sure, he had always missed his father and was happy to be around people he loved once again, but everything had progressed so quickly, he hadn’t been given time to process anything. He had gone over a year after the accident going by a strict schedule he had set in place in order to distract himself from the agonizing pain in his heart.

Now, he had been ripped away from his job, from his apartment, and from the life he was used to living day by day, and suddenly it was hard to breath. He felt his chest begin to raise quickly, up and down as he tried to catch is bearings. The sound of the water beating down on the porcelain tub began to drown out, the pounding in his ears numbing everything but the panic building in his chest.

Was he screaming? Maybe? Surely not. No, definitely not. Snapping out of his thoughts, he quickly shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. Grabbing a towel, he rushed to dry himself and wrap the cloth around his waist. Pushing the door open, cool air rushed down his spine, bringing the goosebumps back to his skin. Following the screams, he found himself lead to what he remembered to be his sister’s room.

Sure enough, there she was. The light of the hallway pouried in through the doorway, illuminating her thrashing body. He rushed to her side, shaking her urgently, trying to wake her from her nightmare. With a sudden gasp of air, she shot awake. Squinting through the light at the hazy silhouette before her, she blinked rapidly. Her voice cracked. “C-Conner?” She asked confused. Was she still dreaming? She couldn’t be. Her dreams hadn’t consisted of anything as pleasant as seeing her brother for a while now.

But her heart sunk as realization hit her. She had deliberately avoided him for over a year. Of course she had a good reason to do so in the beginning, but eventually it just turned into her not knowing how to come back and fix the mess that she had made of their relationship. And now he was here to taunt her in her dreams? This had to be a nightmare.

Panic began to fill her chest once again. Conner saw this in the brown of her eyes, and he quickly laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Bells, it’s okay. It’s me, I’m here.” He said reassuringly.

The space between her eyebrows creased as she finally got a good glimpse at him. Water dripped from his tousled hair onto the soft lavender of her sheets, darkening the shade slightly. She blinked. It was really him. She wasn’t too sure if that was much better than him being a part of her nightmare. “H-How?” She breathed out.

Conner sighed, “It’s late Bells, and I’ve been driving all day. I’ll explain in the morning, I promise. But, for now, you and I both need sleep. Okay?” He asked. After receiving a nod in repose, he stood, assuring his towel was secure around his waist, and walked forward to leave the room.

“Con?” Bella croaked. Turning his head back to the girl, he hummed in question. “I love you.” She answered softly, her voice trailing off slightly towards the end of her sentence.

The corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly upward. “I love you too, Bells. Goodnight.” He said, not waiting for a response as he walking into the hallway, shutting her bedroom door behind himself.

After going back to the bathroom and grabbing his backpack, he sauntered back to his room. Dressing quickly in black sweatpants and a plain grey t-shirt, he climbed down into bed silently. Wrapping himself in the warmth and comfort of his childhood bed, he let himself succumb to sleep.

Next Chapter

#leah clearwater x reader #leah clearwater #Leah clearwater smut #twilight smut #twilight #Bella swan #Charlie swan #Edward cullen #eventual smut #slow burn #Leah clearwater x m!reader

39 notes · View notes

sunshinelulusplatoon · 1 month

Text

4 months ago:

Lilia.

At first she was confused.

Then tears seeing Orca again.

And then questions.

She was surprised to hear life had continued on Earth and that we had advanced so far to be able to reach here.

We were surprised to hear what happen to the humans.

Typical really; at least for me.

Population growth, different opinions that broke out into civil war, Obo got the idea to turn everybody into robots to protect the survivors of the depleting oxygen levels as the atmosphere they once created to let them live was now dying due to their actions.

Yet people put their fate into Obo and his terrible thirst for control let them all down a grim path. Stuck in a cruel hive mind, any left who had converted to wires and steel were being hunted down by Obo’s men.

And sadly, they got to the last of them.

As Lilia gave their graves blessings in hope for a peaceful afterlife, there was business still attend to.

Obo was building a rocket.

He wanted the hive mind to head back to Earth.

With the threat looming over us, we had no choice.

Target: heart of the colony to destroy Obo.

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

“I’m so surprised the ink is effective,” Lilia remarked in complete shock as the squidbeaks were taking soldiers down one by one.

“Squid Ink is a funny thing. Texture and Strength makes it quite stronger than typical bullets and seeing the change of the atmosphere here and from Earth after so long, typical metal composite won’t stand a chance to it. It’s just get int the systems and gunk things up before it breaks,” Lutarna explained.

“And we Squidbeaks are quite use to combat,” Joey boasted.

“Our grandfather is military trained. So us, Joey, and Lutarna’s sister have been trained under him,” Marie explained.

“I’m from Octarian military as well. I was a top solider under King Octavio and have position in the palace guard,” Pixie replied.

“Octavio is my sister and I’s grandfather and we are also combat trained,” Lutarna remarked.

“And I..um..have been trained a little under my friends...I’m a good shooter,” Marcy hesitated.

“Marcy’s one of the best charger users I’ve seen. Can hit a mark miles away,” Joey chuckled.

Marcy just blushed in embarrassment.

“My mother and aunt have trained me as well as my grandfathers and cousins,” Jr. replied.

“So one big unit. Impressive. I hit the jackpot with sending out my help signal,” Lilia replied in relief, “I know we can stop Obo. We must. He can’t reach Earth.”

“And he won’t. We won’t let him. Right?” Joey replied sternly.

“RIGHT!” the rest of the Squidbeaks replied.

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

Lilia giving us the floor plans of the colony, it wasn’t safe just walking in. We needed to take a back route. Sending in a squid drone, a project Joey asked me to work on, it went unnoticed as we got footage of the place; so low to the ground the robots couldn’t spot it.

Sure enough, although a long wrap around, we could easily take the back corridors and access the rail systems to go directly to Obo without being detected. We just had to be careful, sneak around, knock solders out to let Lilia through, and once there, deal with Obo.

Over the years in secret, Lilia had been devising a virus to inject into Obo’s main motherboard to destroy him and destroy the hive mind. The attack we had found her and the humans in, was an attempt to get to Obo to execute this virus into him.

So with getting all supplies we need, we made way on foot to the entrance of the corridors to make our journey.

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

“You hear it...don’t you,” Lilia whispered as she noticed Lutarna tugging at her ears in annoyance.

Lutarna blinked; a look of confusion before sighing.

“Is it what I think I’m hearing?” Lutarna asked.

“I’m afraid so…..Their pain...crying out for freedom...sadly on a frequency most can’t heard,” Lilia sighed.

“….I’m glad they can’t hear it….” Lutarna replied.

“May I ask how?” Lilia questioned.

Lutarna looked at her for a moment before speaking.

“Head’s not all squishy,” Lutarna replied.

“I can tell from the phone pieces,” Lilia chuckled.

“Was once a phone,” Lutarna explained, “The became a octo.”

“I see….” Lilia replied.

Then the walk went silent again.

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

Taking a rest, things have been quite so far. As we figured, Obo has abandoned this pathways. With humans practically gone, he feels no need to bring robots here. I have a feeling he has caught on to our presence yet either.

That being said, I’m not sure if Lilia has caught on to what I am yet.

Or if I should even tell her.

#commander lutarna talks

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feralmoonlight · 2 years

Text

I'm having early morning feelings about building this pirate au as well as an almost normal au.

For pirates y/n would end up as a stowaway, possibly accidentally, and start with a not so warm welcome with the usual M/O being to just toss you overboard and wish you luck getting back to shore. Though two things, you're amusing enough to moon and the night crew that they hesitate (also they haven't actually managed to catch you yet, a slippery little shit and moon would lie I'd he said he wasn't having some fun tailing you through the rigging and across the deck) AND the fact that unlike finding you nearish to port still, they've gone a few dozen miles out to sea and a sorta fair bet you could swim back to dry land has turned into a watery death sentence. GRANTED Moon and Sun aren't above doing a murder, cutting someone down In battle is a little different than chucking someone possibly useful and not hostile over the railing. They do have a brig and another set of hands can be helpful. If you're gonna live to see the next port you're gonna work for your cruise vacation. Even harder if you wanna make the whole trip until they bring you back to your home. Though by the end of it would you really wanna go back?

Other AU is sorta more normal but more... Um... Well I'm being mean to the boy(s) and letting their protocol keep them trapped in an abandoned daycare for... X years. In a world where Fazbear Entertainment doesn't just have the pizzaplex but has smaller locations, some being just the restaurant and arcade, some being just a daycare, etc. Though the one in your small town, one you used to attend as one of it's little superstars, got shut down right as you were outgrowing it. Now you're (ambiguous age somewhere either late highschool or early college) and the building still stands, sort of, but rumors have been popping up of something still there. The hobos avoid it, the kids avoid it(still having most of its outdoor equipment set up) and the big Corp that own the land hasnt bothered to demolish the place, as condemned as it looks. There's a wall near the front that's threatening to topple and another window that looks like maybe a car ran through it once upon a time, but there's minimal graffiti, and honestly if you didn't know it had been dead for ages one would think it was this more recent damage that shut the place down. What's all this mean? What the heck,let's go check it out. Urban exploration is kinda cool,yeah? And you're pretty sure you remember most of the layout still last time you were there you were like 11 or 12 or something so your memory can't be that bad.... Oh. Uhm. Turns out the building wasn't the only thing left behind. Enjoy a totally feral/unhinged DCA where neither side of the coin is really safe to be around! Levels of unsafeness tbd~ gonna be a slow burn befriending with lots of ohshit moments!

Feel free to drop me asks about these any time! Im still throwing ideas for it around and organizing so actual writing may not happen for a bit but I'm excited to talk about them~

#sb sun #sb moon #security breach #fnaf #feral rambles #pirate au #abandoned au #need good au names

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charmsandtealeaves · 7 months

Text

Seriously questioning the NZ general public for their vote to install National. Here’s some highlights of what our new government plans to do (how much they will actually manage who knows, but several of these are listed in their first 100 days plan):

Stop free prescriptions

Scrap Fair Pay Agreements, which allow unions to strike industry-wide deals that establish a “floor” in terms of pay and conditions

Stop benefits from being index to median household wages (except for superannuation) so; unemployment, jobseeker, and disability payments. People on job seeker payments are $50/week worse off while those on disability are worse off $60/week

Will allow landlords to once again evict tenants without cause, alongside scrapping a range of other regulations it argues have decreased rental supply and pushed up prices 🙄

Axe the $14.6 billion light rail project in Auckland (as they plan to spend a similar figure on seven highway projects instead)

Cancel the $7.4b “Let’s get Wellington Moving” project. Two of LGWM’s most significant projects included the introduction of light rail in Wellington from the city centre to the south coast and the “pedestrianisation” of the Golden Mile precinct. National want to instead… build another traffic tunnel….

Eliminate the Māori Health Authority, Te Aka Whai Ora.

Scrap Health Star Rating for food.

Repeal Labour’s Resource Management Act reforms, and introduce a fast-track consenting regime…. Because making rash decisions around resource consents sounds like a solid idea 🙄

Get rid of The Clean Car Scheme, which subsidises part of the purchase of electric vehicles and hybrids.

Remove the Medium-Density Residential Standards (the 3x3 “sausage flat” law) that are designed to prevent urban sprawl….

Axe taxpayer funding for Section 27 cultural reports that are used in sentencing. Section 27 of the Sentencing Act 2002 provides an avenue for lawyers and defendants to explain personal circumstances that can influence a just sentence outcome, such as social failures faced by the defendant or any support available to them.

End funding for Labour’s “Community Connect” programme, meaning many of the public transport discounts that currently exist will be axed.

There’s more but I am just about done. WTF NZ 😭

#Ray rants

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cannibalcoyote · 1 year

Text

Balto's Sister Ch.1: The Big Race

Ch.2

"3 mile marker!" Balto exclaims in excitement as he pulls Boris up onto the railing of the balcony we've climbed onto.

_______

Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Luko, I'm a wolf/ husky mix like my brother Balto. I have black fur, and two white patches on my face, one above each eye.

I live in Nome, Alaska with Balto, the whole town seems to hate him because he's part wolf. I don't live with my brother though, he lives too far away, so I live in the town, usually with my friend Jenna, or under a building; no one knows that Balto and I are siblings though, probably because of how different we look.

_______

"Come on Boris, we can cut around the back and watch the end of the race!" I hear Balto voice in excitement as he ignores Boris' complaining.

We both proceed to jump from balcony to balcony until we reach a clothes line, to which I choose to travel by ground whilst Balto continues via buildings. I've never really liked traveling on the ground, but it's safer than whatever the heck Balto does.

Anyways, I jump off the balcony into the fresh, powdery snow, and take off down the alley, dodging the trash on both sides until I see the crowds of people who have gathered around to watch the end of the race. I can hear the sound of a sled team's paw steps eating up the ground as they sprint at full speed to the finish line; I see a flare going off, and someone shouting it's the two mile mark.

Now I'm really excited, I weave through the crowd quickly as I want to see if a different team will win this time; all the other races, Steele always wins, and I'd like to see some change. Of course this is mainly because Steele and his group are always mean to Balto, and that really gets to me most of the time while Balto on the other hand manages to keep his anger in check.

I continue through the crowds and soon spot my favorite human, Rosie, and she's with Jenna. I jump in happiness as I practically bound over to them in joy; they're the only two that don't hold it against me that I'm a wolf, and for that I will always be grateful.

However as I get closer I see two other dogs that both hate me, and they made it clear that they didn't like me when I first met them; so as I try to slowly sink away back into the shadows, Jenna spots me, and barks out,

"Hey Luko! Want to join me, Rosie just got a new sled!" I look over, swallowing my irritation towards the other two dogs, striding over to Jenna with confidence. As soon as I reach them the other two look at me in slight disgust and quickly say a goodbye to Jenna before walking off. I shake my head in annoyance, but I quickly calm down since we're in public.

"Thank God you came to see the race, If you hadn't, I might've been stuck with those two for the rest of the day!" Jenna states in relief as she looks over to me.

"Yah, I'm just glad I spotted you, you looked like you were about to die of annoyance when you were with them." I bark back as I let out a little laugh at the end of my sentence.

"Hey, where's Balto, usually you two always watch the race together?" Jenna voices her confusion as she looks around to see if she missed him.

"Oh, I don't like Balto's method of traveling, so I split off and went my own way." I explain as we sit in an open area near the fence blocking off the street for the racers.

Just as we sit down, we hear the racers make the last turn, I hear Rosie tell us to stay, and as I look down I see Steele once again leading the race. I sigh in annoyance, until I see my brother down the line of the crowd, it seems like he's got a crush on Jenna.

I simply smirked at the thought of seeing him even try to talk to Jenna, it almost made me laugh out loud, he'd try and act tough, but I know he's so shy and sensitive sometimes.

Rosie hurries back, breaking my line of thoughts as she hugs Jenna, she notices I'm here and gives me a hug as well as she says that she's happy I'm here, and that maybe she can get her dad to allow me to join her sled team with Jenna.

As soon as she's done, she immediately turns her attention back to the race and waves her hat in the air as she cheers in Steele, but as she does this her hat gets picked up by a strong gust of wind, and blows straight into the middle of the race track.

I'm looking over as Rosie tries to get her hat, but she is quickly held back by Jenna. I'm about to make a leap for the hat, but I already see Balto in action.

Balto is sprinting after the team, and he catches up pretty quickly seeing as he is already beside Steele; I'm hoping Steele doesn't hurt Balto, but I also can't wait to see if Balto manages to get the hat. I'm soon set at ease as I see Balto have a burst of speed, grab the hat, and slide off to the other side safely.

I visibly relax my tensed muscles as Balto makes his way to us sheepishly with the hat in his jaws. I shake my head and smirk as he drops the hat down and gets bombarded by a hug from Rosie. I hear everybody cheering for Steele, but I ignore it, well, I ignore it till I look over and hear Steele's owner say,

"I don't know, do you think maybe Steele's losing his edge?" I practically almost burst out laughing as I saw how angry that made Steel. He looks like he's about to tear his owner apart; that is until he hears Rosie congratulating Balto on getting her hat.

I see Rosie beginning to put the sled gear on Balto until her father swoops over and grabs her away from him, as well as kicking some snow at Balto as he says for her to stay away from him, and that he's part wolf and might bite her. I can visibly see that he's hurt from the fathers actions, and I would be too. I glare at her father and have to hold back a growl at him. Rosie looks over to me and then back at her father saying,

"See, now you've hurt both of their feelings!" Her father looks at me, and then back at Rosie,

"Listen sweetie, I don't fully trust Luko either, and that's why I always want Jenna with you when she's around. Not to mention Balto is part wolf, he might bite you honey." He picks up the sled and starts walking away as Rosie follows. I begin to follow them, or at least until Steele blocks my path.

"So, you girls enjoy the race." He questions as his tongue glides obnoxiously across his large teeth after finishing his sentence. I walk next to Jenna as she replies. I don't hear her though since I was looking back to see Balto looking even more hurt.

"Hey Jenna, I'm going to go catch up with Balto." I state as I turn around, only to be blocked by Steele.

"You didn't answer my question." He states as he continues to block me. I'm getting annoyed now, so I jump over him with ease, and then start to speedily stride over to Balto.

"So, how're you doing?" I know it's a stupid question, but I had to see if he was alright.

"Oh, I'm doing fine, I got yelled at because I'm part wolf, and then Steele swoops back in and steals Jenna away from me, again!" He explains sarcastically as we continue down an alley-way where Boris then joins us. Boris looks as though he is about to say something, but seems at a loss for words, as am I.

We hear Rosie though, and that quickly perks Balto up as he races through the alley, only to slide right up against Jenna, their noses practically touching. Rosie calls her, and as she looks to them I watch Balto speedily sprint back through the fence and hide. I shake my head as I see him walk out in disappointment after Jenna runs to her people.

"Balto, there's somethings I can't teach you, I'm goose not Cupid." Boris states in exasperation as we walk back through the alley.

Ch.2

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skvaderarts · 1 year

Text

Petrichor Chapter 42: Sunrise

Chapter 42: Sunrise

Note: Google autocorrect has been getting on my last nerve lately. Nothing drives me up the wall worse than when you write something and then it’s auto-corrected into the wrong word right in front of you only for the program to then tell you that you made a grammar mistake. No, I didn’t. Maybe tell your hyper-aggressive AI to stop putting words in my mouth. Or, in this case, my story. I know what I wrote. Clearly, you don’t. GAH!

(-~-)

Sirrus stood atop the train car, reaching his hand down to help pull his companion upwards and onto the ever so slightly rounded top of the last car on the train. The young summoner gripped his hand tightly as the man with the mostly red hair shifted his body weight, holding onto a maintenance railing in order to keep from tipping forward, knocking them both off of the high-speed train. He pulled V towards him as the man with the white hair clambered up the side of the train, a flurry of rapid movements insuring that he reached his destination smoothly.

Once atop the locomotive, the young summoner let out a sigh of relief, shivering slightly as he hunkered downward. The air up here was bracing and chilly, his eyes watering slightly as the cool air hit them and his vision became blurry temporarily. He shuddered, pulling his coat close to his body. He’d expected the air to be cold up here, and it was something that he could adjust to, but it still took him by surprise.

But as his eyes adjusted to the rushing wind around him, he slowly took in something that he’d neglected to notice previously. The sky around them. It was pale and faint, but the variety of colors and hues was breathtaking as they mixed with the deep, fading blue of the night sky, that blue transitioning to the soft blue of the morning sky as the clouds radiated magnificent shades of purple, pink, orange, and yellow. V felt his breath still as he beheld it, the bright colors reflecting in his eyes as he looked out over the tree-covered horizon, the icy lake off in the distance and the powdery covering of snow atop the trees and the distant mountains simply a sight to behold. It was like something out of the prettiest postcard he’d ever seen.

“This view is… absolutely breathtaking.” The awestruck tone in his voice wasn’t lost on Sirrrus, the other man looking over at him with an eager look of excitement on his face as he realized that their trip up here had most certainly been worth it. That was the kind of child-like wonderment that he’d hoped he’d seen on his friend’s face. He wanted to give him that kind of simple joy, especially after how awkward their interaction had been back in the train cabin. He didn’t want to start the day off sitting in awkward silence in the train cabin. No, he much rather sit up there on the roof in imminent danger of losing his life should they approach an unexpected tunnel. That was much better.

“It is.” He allowed the cool air that blew in from the mountains to blow through his hair as he closed his eyes and savored its crisp embrace. The train was in the foothills now. They could both see the station from here, only a few miles off in the distance, glimpses of it visible through the trees and shrubbery as they approached it. And on the far side opposite the tracks in front of the building was yet another lake, this one smaller but seemingly connected to the one they’d seen yesterday via a snaking river. It was hard to be sure without an overhead view. “I’ve always loved the mist in the air at dawn. It’s just so…”

Sirrus trailed off, not sure what to say to describe it. He knew the word that he had in mind, or, at least the sensation associated with it, but it escaped him at this moment in time. All he had was the feeling it gave him, and he didn’t really mind that, in truth. Sometimes words weren’t necessary and only served to complicate and uncomplicated matters. He subscribed to the notion that silence was indeed golden. Something to be treasured in this world filled with far too much noise.

“Reinvigorating. I believe that might be the world you’re looking for.” V said simply, joining him at his side as they both took in the morning sky, the brisk air becoming just another thing they hardly noticed anymore. Just a small obstacle that they had long since overcome. Like so many before it.

“You may be correct, yes. I think that’s the word I’m searching for.” Sirrus said as he slowly sat down atop the train. Standing wasn’t the safest option, and it wasn’t as though lowering his body position was going to compromise the view. Not in an advantageous position like this. You could see some of this through the interior of the fogged-up windows inside of the train car, but this was far better. Clearer. “We should be arriving soon. In perhaps the next forty-five minutes or so.”

There was a short pause in conversation as V nodded his head in recognition of what his friend had just said. The two of them just sat there in silence again, enjoying the view for a solid minute or two before V glanced over at Sirrus, his friend noticing this but not acknowledging it by moving or speaking himself. He didn’t need to. He knew that V knew he was paying attention.

“I feel like we shouldn’t be up here,” V said in an amused tone, clearly not ready to climb down just yet. But it did seem that the reality of the situation had fully seeped into him and he was really registering for the first time that they were sitting together on the top of a train relaxing, doing perhaps one of the most patently stupid and dangerous things imaginable just because they could. And they both knew that and were indifferent to it. In fact, they were enjoying it. The little thrill it brought them mixed with the simple pleasure of what they were doing up there was hard to explain, but it was a welcome feeling.

Sirrus chuckled at the notion. It wasn’t that he disagree, it was simply the casual, dismissive way that V had spoken those words into existence. “What gave you that idea? How we had to climb up here or the lack of any meaningful hand railings. Or perhaps the fact that we’re on a train with no designated viewing platform?”

V shrugged almost playfully. Those were all good points. The statement hadn’t really required an answer, but he wasn’t bothered by the one he’d received from his friend. It was actually pretty funny when he thought about it like that, even if he wasn’t particularly sure why. “We're going to get arrested.”

“You have my assurances that we won’t,” Sirrus said shaking his head as he actually laughed a bit. As if anyone would be out of their mind enough to even attempt to arrest them. That would be a profoundly troublesome thing to attempt for little to no reason. And no one could see or hear them up here anyway. He’d made sure of that. He liked to take risks, but he wasn’t quite that careless. Yet. “This isn’t my first time up here.”

V shook his head, a soft smile on his face as the two of them fell silent again. They stayed that way for a long while, simply enjoying the atmosphere and the natural splendor around them. It truly was beautiful. That was something that couldn’t be ignored. Fall was perhaps V’s favorite time of year, if only for the way it looked and felt alone. He loved winter, but there was just something about the colors in fall that filled him with… it was hard to say, really. Hope? Optimism? He wasn’t sure he knew the correct words to describe the feeling, but there was something that he wanted to say.

“May I say something important with impunity?” V said in a slightly more serious tone, a tinge of reluctance in his voice. This caught Sirrus’s attention almost immediately, his daydream interrupted by the unexpected question. He didn’t get the impression that something was wrong or that V was upset, but he did get the feeling that whatever V was about to say was important since he’d asked in such a manner. And that alone was enough for him to have the man with the mostly red hair’s undivided attention.

“Of course. What’s on your mind?” Sirrus said simply, looking out at the morning sky. He seemed content with how things were at the moment, and V was hesitant to interrupt that bliss, but he didn’t know what the rest of the day would bring, and this was perhaps the best opportunity he would get to bring this up.

V seemed almost hesitant as he remained quiet for a minute or so, obviously trying to think of the best way to phrase what he was about to say. And that in of itself made Sirrus more cautiously fascinated by what his friend might have to say.

“... I don’t do well with physical contact. It’s something I’ve been working on, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be comfortable with it. I’m not sure it’s something I can learn to tolerate. Or if I even should, for my own sake outside of momentary situational acceptions to the norm.” He paused to make sure that he was coming off the right way toward his friend. He wanted to be sure that his tone was coming across properly. He wasn’t upset or anything of the sort, and he wanted to make sure that he didn’t sound too harsh or unsympathetic. That wasn’t his goal in the slightest. “Your request took me off guard. Looking back, I’m not sure what my answer should have been or how I should have reacted, but I wanted you to know that. But I don’t blame you. Not at all. You only did what I gave you permission to. It’s something I’m just not comfortable with. I’m not upset with you, but I just wanted to be honest with you about that. I’m just not sure if I’m communicating that effectively.”

Sirrus blinked in surprise, taking in what his friend was telling him. He lingered on the statement, genuinely trying to process what he’s just been told. He got the impression that V was worried about how he would react. That he might be upset or think he was accusing him of something. That he might be concerned that he was punching Sirrus away. But he wasn’t, and he wanted him to know that. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and looking V in the eyes, an understanding present that he could tell V was relieved to see. He knew how that felt.

V had never truly doubted that his friend understood, but the fear that there might be a misunderstanding was always there, and they both knew that deep down. Maybe he was scared that Sirrus would become annoyed by him. But the fact that he was still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt when he’d clearly been hurt before by doing the very same thing was something that Sirrus treasured. He was still willing to take the leap and give him the chance to disprove the fears that he had, not because he believed that was Sirrus’s responsibility, but because he knew in his heart that those fears were just that: fears. They were not founded on anything that his friend had done, and he knew that. The reality was that Sirrus wasn’t like that, and he knew that deep down without any doubts, and he felt no desire for Sirrus to prove that to him.

V believed in him. And Sirrus knew that.

“I appreciate you saying that. Honesty is difficult. It invites judgment. Retaliation. Resentment. But please… always know that you can tell me no. To anything. You have a right to tell me no. I value our friendship over all else, and would never put it in jeopardy over something as petty and foolishly immature as becoming upset over something I have no right to become upset about. And I will endeavor not to put you in situations that make you feel that you have to ask in the first place. Or worse, that you feel uncomfortable refusing.” The look of genuine displeasure at the very idea of that was evident on his face. V got the distinct feeling that Sirrus had been in that situation before, perhaps more than once. And he wasn’t sure why, but he felt a chill crawl up the base of his spine at the thought. Call it intuition, but something about that statement simply felt too personal to him. To relevant to Sirrus personally. “I apologize. I had an inkling that I might have overstepped and that you were simply too petrified to properly respond. Please, consider forgiving my misstep. And please, never feel the need to learn to tolerate something for my benefit. You have the same right to comfort in any given situation that I do.”

“I do not need your apology. I don’t want you to apologize. I never doubted your intentions. Not even for a single moment. I know that you’re only doing what you think is right. And that’s all I want you to do. I simply wanted us to come to a mutual understanding on the matter so that there were no misgivings or misinterpretations going forward. Because you cannot make an informed decision about a problem you do not know exists.” V nodded, a small smile on his face. He was glad that they could talk freely and openly like this. It was… such a welcome relief. He felt that he could be honest with his family, but there was just a special kind of freedom that he only felt with Sirrus. And that was something he truly treasured. He’d always wanted that: a companion who he could share his thoughts and feelings with. He’d wanted that so much growing up that he’d lost sleep over it. And now he had that. And he didn’t want to lose it, but he also refused to allow any fears about that possibility to rule him. He owed that much to himself. He owed that much to Sirrus. “And for my part, I shall make an effort to be clearer on my limitations if I believe clarification is needed. It rarely is when it comes to you. You understand me very well, and I’m not blaming you for anything. Everyone makes mistakes. You’ve not permanently marred me in any way whatsoever. I just thought we could both benefit from more transparency. But at the same time, please don’t cater to me. I’m alright. Really. Don’t agonize over it. You have absolutely nothing to prove to me.”

“And you were correct in that assumption. I’m happy that we can talk like this. It’s refreshing to be able to just… express myself around someone without fear of being judged for doing something wrong. To be understood. I can’t learn from mistakes I didn’t know I made in the first place.” He chuckled softly as he blinked slowly, a small smile on his face as the both of them turned to look at the sky ahead of them. He hadn’t expected to have this conversation today, but he was glad that they had. He felt closer to V, the two of them both mutually sure that they had a better understanding of one another. “Thank you, V. From the bottom of my heart.”

“Thank you for taking the time to listen to what I had to say. And for waking me up to see this.” V said softly, scooting a bit closer to his friend. He… he didn’t mind being closer to his friend right now. And the gentle look of kindness from his friend as he gestured with his arm as if to ask if he could drape his arm over his shoulder and give him a gentle squeeze was a welcome one, the young summoner nodding in approval. He didn't have a problem with that.

“Thank you for being here to see it with me, V. The view is better when I get to share it with you.”

(-~-)

It was pointed out to me in the comments of the last chapter that V could’ve had a more profound reaction to his interaction with Sirrus in the previous chapter considering how uncomfortable he is with being touched in general, and I totally agree with that. But instead of going back to “fix” it, I thought this would be better. I’ll always take an opportunity for a meaningful conversation! So thank you for your constructive criticism, Ooze! I’m a lot more pleased with how this turned out :D I hope you are, too!

I’ll see you all next Friday and in the comment section. I hope I did this topic some justice! Truly, I do. Take care!

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chaos-event-horizon · 2 years

Text

Home

New home, old men.

~~~

Rian smiled stiffly, gently petting Hinata's hair as he calmed himself. "Toshinori."

A smirk. "Yes, Kitten?"

"Who the fuck did you murder in order to get this house?"

Rian stared up at the literal mansion before them. A mansion that somehow happened to be nestled discreetly in the mountains, surrounded by hundreds of acres of woods and wilderness. Nearby was a greenhouse, large dish-shaped solar panels, and a detached three car garage. Renovating had been the work of a few months, and this was the first time Rian had seen the property with his own eyes. The picture they'd used to let him generate the portal to get here only showed the driveway and garage.

"I'd tell you to pick your jaw up off the ground… but you'll just drop it again once you see the pool."

"Toshi…"

The tall blonde chastely kissed his nervous young husband, then also the top of his daughter's head. "Calm down, hot stuff. Nobody died… this place is legit. All bought and paid for, with paperwork and everything."

"I was there as a witness, I can vouch!" Izuku said, looking excited as he pulled things from the back of the moving truck they had rented. They'd driven into a secluded alleyway after going a few miles, then put Rian's portalling quirk to use after ensuring that the truck's gps was jammed. His recently blonde-ified hair gleamed in the sunlight.

The brunette sighed, gently bouncing Hinata and getting a few giggles out of her. "I know, I trust you guys, this is…" he glanced back at the building. "...just a very nice house."

Toshinori smiled softly, tweaking the baby girl's nose and reassuringly squeezing Rian's shoulder. "I know… if it makes you feel any better, there's only one pool. And I think we all intend to use it," The older villain said, then paused. "...I even made sure there was a gate built around it, since this little one will start walking eventually. And the security system is military-grade."

The shorter of the two grinned. "Okay… you've convinced me," he said, smiling at their daughter. "Let's go inside and see what your dad and big brother have done with the place."

Rian would admit, this was threatening to give him flashbacks. The entryway was fancy, two sets of stairs leading from the ground to a balcony-esque landing The front door was solid and a bit hefty, and upon opening it he realized that was because it had a metal core.

"Your dad isn't kidding around with the defensive measures…" he said softly to Hinata. "I guess he really does expect us to be attacked."

They continued in.

The entryway was spacious, with plenty of room for shoes and things between the door and yet another short set of stairs. To his left, there seemed to be a room divided from this open space by railing. Above, there was a walkway connecting two halves of the upper story together; a bridge with yet more railing to keep the area open.

"Toshi's a fan of open floor plans, it seems," the brunette murmured, his skin prickling slightly as he took in the number of windows he could already see. "Guess he wants this to feel different from the literal bunkers we've lived in before."

He carried Hinata up the three steps in front of them, and looked around the large great room. Directly across from the foyer was a set of sliding glass doors leading to a balcony. To the right was an open doorway, and a bit further away was a set of open French doors. Looking to the left, he saw a large and amazingly well designed kitchen that had him instantly excited to cook.

"We'll save that and go this way first!" He said, twirling the little girl and causing her to giggle. As he spun, he noticed stairs leading both up to the second story and down to a basement.

First was the doorless room, which appeared to be a parlor with a raised fireplace surrounded by stone bench, and yet another open doorway that led to what he assumed was either more parlor, or some kind of office or study. Turning back around, he realized the parlor had windows peering into the room with french doors… which had more windows than Rian had ever seen in one space. A sunroom? Or was there a different word for that?

"Holy shit, he really went all out," he murmured, then walked out of the parlor and into that room, smiling. "You'll have a lot of fun playing in here, sweety. Nice and sunny, just like you are!"

He twirled Hinata again, getting her to laugh, then went to explore the other half of the first floor.

The kitchen was still awesome, open to both the great room and a little breakfast nook that overlooked the backyard… which he refused to look at yet. Instead, he carried Hinata towards a door on the opposite end of the kitchen, which led to an enclosed Butler's pantry. On the other end of that was the downstairs bathroom, complete with a shower, and there was also a doorway into the room with the railing that overlooked the Foyer. A dining room? It seemed like it, being attached to the pantry and great room, with a great view of any guests coming in…

Just as Rian and Hinata entered the dining room, Izuku came through the front door carrying entirely too many boxes for his frame, earning a snicker from Rian. "Careful not to trip!"

"I won't!"

Toshinori came in, then, just a few steps behind, carrying some grocery bags… and two thirds of the new sectional couch. The brunette couldn't help his lingering stare at his husband's very fine muscles. And ass.

Hot damn…

Hinata babbled a little bit, causing Rian to look down, seeing her make grabby hands toward Izuku. Rian chuckled. "Let them finish carrying a few things, sweety… let's explore a bit more~"

He took his young daughter through the pantry and back out into the kitchen, once again marveling at the open counter space, large stovetop, and plenty of cabinets.

"Mmm… what's cookin', good lookin'?"

Rian snorted, turning to see his husband set the groceries down on their new counter. "Nothing yet, pretty boy… want me to start now, or should we pull out the furniture first?"

"Nah-ah-ah, leave the heavy lifting to the muscle heads. I'm considering it a part of the kids training."

Rian laughed, adjusting his grip on their daughter so she could turn and see her other dad. "You're just trying to give me time to adjust to the house…" he murmured, then blushed with a soft smile. "... Thank you for that, by the way. The big space is… a little strange for me."

"It's different enough, right?" Toshinori asked softly. Reaching over to give the little girl his big hand without looking away from the brunette. "I want our family to have plenty of space… but if this is too big for you, we can work something else out. We're well hidden in the woods, so I thought the windows would be alright, but—"

"Shhhhhhhh," Rian said, laughing slightly, gently sitting Hinata on the counter to lean over and kiss the blonde on the nose. "This is wonderful… it's a little big but…" the younger man smiled softly. "If you're around, what could I possibly be afraid of? The scenery looks beautiful here, and I'm glad I get to see so much of it with you."

Suddenly, Toshinori gave the younger man… the look. That soft smile, where his eyes crinkled at the edges, and the piercing blue calmed with unabashed affection. A look that was simultaneously enthralling and familiar, but also so rare and precious. A look that didn't suit his dark, ruggedly punk clothes and his willingness to kill and maim. A smile that belonged in another time and place… yet was somehow, regardless of such a contrary fit into reality, was meant for Rian and not another single soul.

"Kitten… you really know how to make this old man happy."

The hazel-eyed young man winked. "What, like it's hard? You smile just cause I enter a room."

"Of course I do…" Toshinori said, kissing Rian's cheek, then Hinata's forehead. "To make up for all the rooms I've been in without you."

The younger adult stifled laughter, shaking his head, just as Izuku appeared with Hina's highchair. He let the teen take charge of the giggling little girl, then started sorting out the groceries while speaking in english. "You're silly, honey-bunny."

"Only for you."

Rolling his eyes, the brunette waved the older man off. "Just hurry up and get the furniture squared, muscle-head. I'll get the meatloaf started… but then I'm going upstairs, so you better be ready to give a tour by then!"

"Of course, babe," Toshinori snickered, clapping Izuku on the shoulder and steering him back to work, much to Hinata's apparent disappointment.

#smitespace #this counts as lore.

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cockatrice-writers-guild · 2 years

Text

Siren Song

here’s something a little different. this takes place in the lighthouse au, fairly early on in jax and mia’s relationship

warnings: swearing, food mention, mentions of sex but only in a ‘i have no connection to this word or what it entails’ kinda way, near death experiences (she’s fine though), internalized aphobia

I grasp the cool metal railing as I lean out and look into the sea below, squinting into the dark depths as I search for…anything really. A too-large tail or a distant, fog cloaked figure or a flash of something that could almost pass as gold. Shimmering scales and flowing fins and a stupid smile I’ve grown to look forward to.

The endless magnificent, unforgiving ocean is laid out before me and the breeze ruffles my hair and blows my scarf back and there’s absolutely nothing out there. Not another living soul for miles and miles. The solitude is both a blessing and a curse. It’s beautiful and horrible, peaceful and infuriating and right now I…

I think I want to try something.

There’s no doubt in my mind that it will fail but all the same, I take some time to properly clear my throat and test out my voice before leaning forward and cupping my hands over my mouth.

This is not a good idea.

Even so, I take a deep breath and-

“JAX!”

I wait.

The waves crash against the side of the cliff and I wait some more. And

Nothing.

Of course.

I let out a breath and lean back to look out at the view.

The sea is infinite as ever and as the mist obscures the atmosphere, I take a deep breath of the salty air laced with the distinct smell of rusty metal and in this moment, I can’t help but feel…lonely.

Well, lonelier anyway. It’s stupid really. I took this job for a damn reason and still, I just can’t seem to get it into my thick skull that it’s supposed to be this way. To feel this way. This slowly eating away from the inside, far from the eyes of anyone who ever knew me. This was inevitable. It always was. I just decided to do it on my own terms. And so it was; Emilia Markov, destined to die alone, on a long lost island with a failing building that no longer serves a purpose, both forgotten and-

“Mia!”

Jax?

I have about half a second to pull away from the railing before something massive rises from the depths of the sea, the view of the ocean replaced with a black pupil so huge it doubles as a fucked up full body mirror before I can so much as accidently bite down on my tongue in fear.

I subconsciously take a few steps back but otherwise just stare at him. He wasn’t supposed to actually show up.

“You, uh…you called?”

He sounds surprised. Happy though. And as he pulls away slightly to give me some room, I realize I have no idea how to explain myself. I called him. Why did I do that? Because I wanted to see him? Because things were too quiet around here? Because, God forbid, I was lonely? I couldn’t tell him that.

“Mia?” The loud whisper snaps me out of my thoughts and makes me jump. “Did you need something from me?”

“I-” need to think of something. Now. “…Jax can I ask you a question?”

Jax cocks his head slightly. “Sure?”

Silence.

…Fuck.

“I…what…uh, what are you…?” I trail off, not exactly sure how to finish the sentence.

“…what am I?”

Shit.

“Yeah! What are you? Like…what…what species are you?” Because what? Why would I care? My brain desperately searches for anything of use here and I latch onto a fuzzy memory without a second thought. “…I…heard in this old folktale once before that there’s this humanoid aquatic species that lures sailors to their deaths by singing. …and then they eat them. Would you happen to know anything about that?”

Jax coughs awkwardly. “…well, I mean, I can sing. …and I’ve been told that my voice is very…alluring.”

“Jax?”

“Yes, Mia?”

“Do you eat people?”

“No, Mia.”

Silence.

Jax shifts slightly, moving to drum his fingers on the cliffside before he realizes I’m not going to say anything else. “…is that all?”

…SH-

“So you’re a siren?”

“…I guess so?”

“Could you sing for me?”

Jax pulls back so the alarm in his eyes is in full view. “What?”

What indeed. The words just slipped out and as I stare at the man before me, an idea slowly begins to take form. He could sing for me. In all those legends I’d heard, sirens always lure sailors by singing about their…desires. And if that was actually true then…

“Could you sing for me. Please? I want to test something out.”

“I…guess I could try?” Jax frowns for a moment. “…but I’ll only do it under the condition that you stand somewhere I can reach you in case things go wrong, alright?”

I nod and Jax nods back. Once I move to a better position and give him a thumbs up, Jax looks me over once before taking a deep breath and opening his mouth.

And all at once, the most beautiful, most mesmerizing thing I’ve ever heard surrounds me, decorating the very atmosphere with its mere presence. I’m only vaguely aware of the way the surroundings seem to blur, how it’s finally clear to me that nothing matters but the one singing before me. The sweet notes fill the air, blind and deafen me and pull me forward. My body sways with the notes. It has to. And my heart wants so badly to join in, it desperately needs to harmonize with the melody but I keep my mouth shut all the same, afraid of ruining the song with my meager voice. Another step forth. The singer’s eyes widen but it’s okay. I just need to get closer to him. To that song. To what it entails. I’m standing precariously on the railing now, hundreds of feet over the rocky abyss of the ocean below me, as it waits with bated breath to take me into its’ cold embrace. But it doesn’t matter. The song will carry me. It promised it would. I take a step into the empty air and-

I’m falling.

My head feels fuzzy and as the wind whistles past me and causes my eyes to sting, I realize that that whole thing with the jagged rocks is actually a much more pressing matter than I remembered it being. The fall is cut short, however, when I instead land on a much warmer, much softer surface than the cold, wet spikes I’d been expecting.

But my head…the fall…the song…it worked? So I wasn’t…? But I thought…. There’s disappointment now. Along with a weird, quiet, almost rotten sense of relief that I hate more by the second. I’m normal, then. I’m…normal? So all that I had to go through, that I fled from, did it all amount to nothing?

Once I get my bearings, I look up and meet Jax’s concerned eyes. And the small smile on his lips.

“What?”

Jax just shrugs, the resulting movement making me realize that I’m currently in his palm. “Oh, nothing. It’s just…,” the smile grows playful, “you skipped breakfast again didn’t you, M.”

How did he- “What do you mean?”

Jax holds up a finger before opening his mouth and that…wonderful song bursts forth once more. I can feel the pull but something is holding me back this time, pushing me down into the plush surface below so I am forced to just listen. Still, my head sways in time with the rhythm. Something is…different though. The singer is not giving it his all this time, instead putting a greater emphasis on the words he sings. And just like that, I can hear it too. The incomprehensible splendor now laced with meaning and intent. And so, I close my eyes and concentrate, to try to understand what the singer is trying to tell me. The thing that I want, that I so desperately crave, that I need more than anything else is

Beans! Rice! And maybe a fresh fruit if the budget allows for it! Fresh meat! And sweets! And for the love of God, something warm to eat. And-

Wait what?

I’m back again. The weight that had me pinned down moments earlier slowly lifts and I turn to see one of Jax’s fingers retreating before turning to face him. Jax is full on grinning now. I just frown at him before sitting up.

“What was that all about?”

“What do you mean?”

“You were singing about food.”

“Yes?”

“Why were you singing about food?”

“Because that’s what you want most right now?”

“But what about the lust?”

“THE WHAT?”

“The old tales I’ve heard. They said that sirens lure sailors to them with…desire.”

“Desire?”

I wave my hands at him in exasperation. “Sex? Romance?”

Jax just slowly shakes his head. “I think you might have heard wrong, M. Our songs lure people based on what they want most at the moment. And you were hungry.” He raises a brow. “I can only assume because you skipped breakfast again.”

The sinking feeling in my chest is hard to ignore but I try to anyway, nodding instead. “I guess that’s that then. …thanks for trying though.”

Jax nods back before something seems to dawn on him. “…Mia?”

“Jax?”

“Did…you want me to sing about desire?”

“…can you?”

“I mean, I could try? I’ve never really tried singing about something intentionally before. …Let me just-” Jax experimentally mutters a little jingle about sweet rich wine and smiles when he sees it pull me forward slightly. “Alright then! So…desire. Anything specific?”

It doesn’t even take me a second to think about it. “Try men first.”

“Sure. Like…men in general?”

I nod and Jax prepares himself.

And once the verses finally break through the floodgates and rush through the air, I close my eyes to brace myself for the impact and it’s…well it’s a nice song, I guess. But I don’t budge.

Euphoria. Fear.

“Try woman. Please.”

Once again, the notes spring forth and…nothing.

There’s desperation now. Relief.

“Anyone?”

Not even a twitch.

I…don’t know how to feel about this. If those tests were accurate then…I was…

I was right the whole time.

But that means…were they all right too? Am I useless? Heartless? Cold? Is there’s nothing, absolutely nothing in there. Am I…what am I?

I can feel the tears building up in my throat as my breathing hitches but I turn to Jax once more, doing my best to force the croak out of my voice. “Please. Jax, could you try to sing again? Maybe we weren’t specific enough? Try…try kissing. Or…or yearning or…jealousy? Butterflies, warmth, intensity, lust, beauty, the human experience…just anything. Please, Jax. Please, I can’t…this isn’t…I can’t be…”

“You can’t be…?” He prompts quietly.

I hug my knees to my chest as the tears start to fall, opting to hide my face. “Broken,” I mutter.

I’m almost certain it’s too quiet for the giant to hear but a few seconds later, something nudges into me. Something warm.

“Well,” Jax murmurs, his voice much closer than before, “you’re not broken, Mia. Of course you’re not broken but…what makes you think you are?”

I try to find the words to answer but Jax gets there first. “…is this about that thing you wanted to test out? Desire?”

I just nod.

“Hmm.”

The warmth pulls away and I feel air rush past as Jax lifts me higher and higher into the air. Once it stops and a few seconds pass, I finally look up and meet his massive grey irises once more. There’s something shining in those pupils that I can’t quite place. “Well, Mia, if you think not feeling desire makes you broken, then…what the hell does that make me?”

What?

I cough to clear my throat. “…what do you mean?”

I can see Jax’s eyes crinkle with the start of a smile. “Sex. Romance. Desire. It doesn’t do shit for me either, M.”

What?

“Oh, and about that whole human experience thing? I know several sirens that can classify as human if that’s the passing criteria. And seahorses, …certain turtles,” he snaps his fingers a few times as he looks away, “uh, some shrimps too, I think.” He looks back at me with a gleam in his eyes and shrugs. “Oops.”

WHAT?

I have to open and close my mouth a few times before I can even begin to articulate again. “You…YOU’RE LIKE ME?”

Jax nods eagerly. “And you, Mia,” he reaches out with a free hand to poke me, “You are like me.”

And so we just…talk. About anything and everything and nothing at all. Surprisingly similar experiences despite how ridiculous the chances are, absurd expectations and loneliness and alienation and just…listening as the words pour out of us and mingle together and finally come free, things we’ve never brought up before or learned not to. Things we’ve buried deep within and tried not to think about, bottled emotions finally finally breaking loose. Words overlapping over and over until there’s nothing left to hide and it’s…it’s just…nice.

“It’s like,” Jax waves a hand, “I’ve been on my own for so long, but I could never really get used to it, you know?”

“Could?” I ask. “You mean you learned to live with it in the end? Or did the feeling fade away or something?”

“Mmm? No, it’s more like I just…I don’t have to deal with it anymore.”

That gets my attention. “How?”

Instead of answering this, Jax just looks incredulously at me and I lean back defensively.

“…what?”

“Mia. Seriously?”

When I don’t reply, Jax just shrugs and puts up his free hand theatrically.

“Let me tell you a story then, M. The story of a very large siren who finds himself all alone. Those around him have moved on and only he remains because he can’t feel how they do. He goes to this island he thinks is uninhabited to sunbath, fully unaware the nearby building might have humans in it.” He breaks character for a moment. “…maybe it’s not too late to apologize to that other guy. Do you still know him?”

The old keeper. I nod. “He moved back to town after I took the job. I can go check on him later if you want.”

Jax smiles at that. “Thank you. So, anyway, one fine day, a woman becomes the next caretaker of that building and the siren…scares the life out of her by accident.” He cringes a bit before continuing. “…sorry about that. But for whatever reason, this woman comes back. Tends to the lighthouse like nothing happened. The siren returns. She remains. They start talking. Become more comfortable around each other. And now-” he smiles warmly, moving me closer to his face, “-now she’s sitting in the palm of his hand and asking him how he’s not lonely anymore.”

Oh.

As the sentiment sinks in, it brings a fresh wave of tears to my eyes before I can stop it. Jax leans forward and presses the tip of his nose into me once more, using a finger to press me into him. “I…can come by more often if you want,” the proximity makes the words vibrate through my bones but I smile and bury my face into him all the same. “I don’t want to disturb you but-”

“Nonono. I…I’d like that, Jax. Thank you.”

I wrap my arms around his nose and with a sigh, he leans into the touch.

A few minutes pass before he speaks again. “Mia?”

“Yeah, Jax?”

“I…hate to have to ruin a moment like this but I can literally feel you starting to collapse. Eat something before you pass out.”

#writeblr #original writing #original story #Jax and Mia #lighthouse au #ocs #the rooster crows

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princesswithabraidedcrown · 1 year

Text

I posted 4,343 times in 2022

48 posts created (1%)

4,295 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@dimondlite

@biconic-rosa-diaz

@softcannoli

@lynati

@vyther15

I tagged 330 of my posts in 2022

#for future reference - 17 posts

#the blogger rambles - 16 posts

#the blogger watches - 15 posts

#kinnporsche - 14 posts

#about the blogger - 9 posts

#kinnporsche the series - 8 posts

#the untamed - 6 posts

#anyway - 6 posts

#jeff satur - 5 posts

#wow - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 133 characters

#anyway my mom’s thing makes me twitchy because i mostly just try to remember to eat enough in a day and don’t fuss about the contents

My Top Posts in 2022:

The streaming session of the KinnPorsche world tour I was participating in kinda fell off the rails during the English version of Why Don’t You Stay, which was very sad. Hopefully it turns out okay for the rest of it tomorrow.

My thoughts in no particular order:

Dang, Slot Machine is awesome and I should go look them up. (We amazed a random discord member who randomly wandered into the stream about Mile having previously been just a filthy wealthy dude that played the guitar)

Oh my goodness, Jeff!!! Said multiple times, by multiple people.

The VegasPete scene was chef’s kiss. Gonna wax dance show critic here but Bible has some amazing physicality and charisma. Like I’m pretty darn ace and I still can tell that he’s hot and does amazing work as Vegas. I’m in the middle of episode 10, so I haven’t fallen headlong for Pete/Build yet…but it’ll probably happen.

So highly amused that Barcode made up for the clothing deficit amongst everyone else singlehandedly. Pretty sure I missed the main brouhaha about the song he performed to, but nobody mentioned it was a cover of a Blackpink song! I love Blackpink!!!

The chat punched the air when Tay slapped Time. It’s possible to do polyamory ethically. Whatever Time’s deal is…isn’t it. On a sidenote: more Tay centric fics please.

I was highly amused that the mom got a sarong for her little thing with Chay/Barcode. The subtitles were on a horrendous delay, so I don’t actually know what all went on, but it’s cute that she was momming him.

As for the KimChay…I don’t quite see how that ending was horrible? Slightly more open ended than it could have been. But the flipside of forgetting the bad times is remembering the good ones. Obviously there were some good times or else Chay would not have been devastated by Kim’s betrayal. And…then there were technical difficulties and we had to stop the stream in the middle of Jeff’s performance. So that was lame. But Jeff did a good job before technology decided to pitch a hissy fit.

I concur with the person that said they hoped Jeff had gotten cleared to sing by a doctor. I’ve only listened to a few of his live performances and I could tell his range was a little rough. Don’t let them force you back into singing before your vocal cords have healed!!! That’d be awful if you permanently damaged them.

Anyway. Looking forward to the final half and all the Magic Mike bits.

14 notes - Posted July 31, 2022

I’d like to give Jackson Wang and whoever else is on his creative team congrats for having an excellent track record on music videos. I just watched the one for Cruel and my gosh that was neat. I like the through line of vapory lifeforce from Blow. That was cool.

My writing fingers might be slightly inspired…so who knows what’ll come.

17 notes - Posted August 5, 2022

Finished the second half of KPWT!!!! Once again in no particular order.

Would it have killed them to fix the subtitles before releasing the rerun tickets??? Like seriously, I thought youtube subs could be iffy, but these were…special. They could have held off on letting people do the rerun viewings long enough for them to fix the timing and the quality. Yeah, live subtitling is super labor intensive…but afterwards…you get to pause and rewind to make sure you’ve got it correctly.

Anyway. The Minor family thing was entertaining. I would probably strain something in my back if I had to do flips in the air. It’d be fun…but yeah…I’m not nearly as athletic as Bible.

Build playing the saxophone amused me to no end.

I’m excited for the MileApo flick and hopefully they plunk it on iqiyi or something so I can support BOC with my watching.

I’m very impressed at how many parents were there…because if mine were at such an event…I’d change my name and move to the Southern hemisphere.

I must give JJ’s arms and shoulders an honorable mention because he has obviously worked hard on them. I certainly would not want to get tackled by him.

I snickered when I saw how tall the heels on Jeff’s boots were during the final…clubbing moment…or whatever we are calling it. Finale of some sort. Anyway…Jeff is tiny and Barcode is definitely taller than him and I am delighted. I say this as if Jeff isn’t possibly taller than me by a couple inches. Crap. I’m gonna have to look that up. Anyway, Jeff is all the gender in a pint sized package. Except for where he’s still probably above average height.

Ahem. Lovely experience, would watch again if they fixed the subtitles.

22 notes - Posted August 1, 2022

Oh dear lord, if the infantilization of Apo that’s going on on twitter by some people also has a side of ableism…I will riot.

I haven’t exactly watched a lot of interviews with him but the ones I have watched screamed possible adhd. He could just be very energetic. But if he does have adhd…infantilizing the grown man is doubly aggravating.

Anyway, glad I don’t go searching for stuff on twitter.

24 notes - Posted August 23, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I wish I remembered who wrote the fic with Kinn comparing his accent in English to Vegas’ and lamenting the fact that nobody was gonna send a second son to an international school and that’s why there’s a difference. Because it lives in my brain rent free and I wish I’d made a note of the fic.

26 notes - Posted July 25, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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dankusner · 9 days

Text

Don’t let the commuter rail pass you by

Here in North Richland Hills, TEXRail has spurred growth If cars are the only option, our roads and highways have no chance of keeping up.

Building more and more traffic lanes is impractical, unsustainable and cost-prohibitive.

Commuter rail is a necessary alternative that will continue to shape the Dallas-Fort Worth region.

“Where the rail goes, the communities flourish. Where it passes them by, they wither and die.”

My good friend Grapevine Mayor William D. Tate spoke those words at the groundbreaking ceremony for TEXRail in 2016.

As TEXRail is celebrating its fifth year of operation, his statement rings true.

Areas up and down the TEXRail line are flourishing.

The 27-mile TEXRail commuter rail line between downtown Fort Worth and DFW International Airport has provided nearly 3 million rides and is growing an average of 25% each year.

In 2026-27, ridership will increase exponentially as TEXRail is extended to the Fort Worth Medical District and connects with DART’s 26-mile Silver Line at DFW Airport, creating 53 miles of commuter rail between Fort Worth and Plano.

Reviving passenger service made sense in a Dallas-Fort Worth region experiencing continuous growth and is now the fourth-largest metro area and is expected to add another 3 million people over the next 25 years.

The railroad first came to our community in 1887 when the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Co.’s Cotton Belt Train made two stops per day in Smithfield.

In 1925, the Cotton Belt carried 75 million passenger miles, but by 1970 there were zero passenger miles.

However, the train tracks and right of way remained.

The actions taken by cities like Grapevine and North Richland Hills to add TEXRail stations were based on the long-term needs of our residents, looking decades into the future. Commuter rail in North Texas is only getting started.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments is developing a plan for what regional transit should look like for the next 40 years.

More collaboration between transit authorities, extending service beyond the existing areas and infill development are all part of this plan.

In North Richland Hills, a development is well underway with 150 acres surrounding TEXRail’s Iron Horse Station undergoing a building boom.

In the last few years, $250 million in private investment has brought new homes, multifamily units and commercial space to this district, all within a five-minute walk of the station’s platform.

Approximately 20 acres remain vacant, primarily zoned for office and commercial uses.

This area, just north of Loop 820, sat vacant or underutilized for decades.

Much of it was once zoned to be an industrial park, but only a few businesses came.

With TEXRail as the catalyst, the city renamed Industrial Boulevard to Iron Horse Boulevard and a new vision took shape for a mixed-use, pedestrian and bicycle-friendly community integrated with transit.

A vision for revitalizing Main Street in the historic Smithfield area of North Richland Hills is also taking shape.

With a $2.2 million Complete Streets grant from the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the city of North Richland Hills will reconstruct Main Street, Snider Street and Center Street and add new pedestrian connectivity to TEXRail’s Smithfield Station.

Along with wide sidewalks, streetlights and trees will be added and aging water and sanitary sewer mains will be replaced, making the area ready for new businesses to come in.

The city intends for new development along Main Street to have an architectural design that complements existing historic buildings and embraces Smithfield’s railroad heritage.

It’s true that Texans are fiercely independent and some will never give up their cars, but we have to offer alternative ways to move people around and relieve road congestion.

As North Texas continues to grow, commuter rail service will become increasingly important.

Located 15 minutes west of DFW Airport, 15 minutes northeast of downtown Fort Worth and 15 minutes southeast of Alliance, North Richland Hills is no longer a rural community.

Rather, it’s located right in the middle of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with hundreds of thousands of cars passing through the community each day.

As commuter rail continues to grow and expand in the coming decades, it would have been very shortsighted had North Richland Hills let TEXRail just pass us by.

Oscar Trevino is the mayor of North Richland Hills.

Amtrak exec sees 'golden opportunity' for high-speed rail in Texas

Imagine hopping on a train in Dallas and, 90 minutes later, stepping off in Houston.

It's a scenario Andy Byford, Amtrak’s senior vice president for high-speed rail projects, hopes to see come to fruition in the coming years.

A partnership between Texas Central Partners LLC, founded in 2014 to build and operate high-speed rail between the state's two biggest cities, and Amtrak was announced in August to further study the proposed line's viability.

The partnership was formed after the Texas Supreme Court agreed in 2022 that Texas Central has eminent domain authority.

Bringing on Amtrak, a major train operator, was the latest sign of life for an effort that has seen a dizzying number of twists and turns in the past decade or so.

Now supporters of the project are hoping to capitalize on that momentum and a glut of federal funding.

Byford spoke April 16 to rail advocates at the Southwestern Rail Conference in Hurst, northeast of Fort Worth, about the opportunities and challenges ahead.

“If we're ever going to introduce high-speed rail to the U.S., now's the time,” Byford said. “I think the environment’s right, that desire is there. I'm not underplaying the challenges that remain. But there is a golden opportunity if we're going to do this.”

Below are a few important updates that emerged from conversations with Byford.

Influx of federal dollars puts Amtrak in 'unusual position'

President Joe Biden’s bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided Amtrak with $22 billion for projects and fleet acquisition and provided $44 billion to the Federal Railroad Administration for grants to states, Amtrak and rail projects.

For Byford, that’s a huge deal.

He said Amtrak is in the "unusual position" of being reasonably well-funded.

Byford said he views Texas as a huge market that is underserved. Outside of possible high-speed rail projects, Amtrak is also looking to extend the Heartland Flyer track that runs from Fort Worth to Oklahoma City to Wichita and Newton, Kansas.

Progress has been made — here is what's next

Some preliminary steps have been taken toward the goal of high-speed rail in Texas.

The Federal Railroad Administration has already outlined the technology that will be used — it will be similar to the Tokaido Shinkansen "bullet train" in Japan.

JR Central Eyes California, Texas For Bullet Trains

A Shinkansen bullet train traveling in Japan in January 2010, operated by Central Japan Railway Co.

Similar high-speed trains are supposed to be used in Texas.

In addition to the Texas Supreme Court's decision about eminent domain power, the project also has environmental approval.

But it's not a done deal, either.

Amtrak's still evaluating the Dallas-to-Houston project.

Currently, Amtrak is on the second step of its "Corridor ID" planning, which will help determine next steps for the project.

Byford expects Amtrak will be done with the second phase of that planning, which includes its own environmental review, by mid-June.

That will lead to a "service development plan" — which outlines the when, where and how of the project.

Amtrak could also apply for a federal-state partnership grant via the Federal Railroad Administration to speed things along further.

More challenges ahead

Byford knows any high speed-rail project will generate pushback — and when it comes to this proposal, he's met with opposition groups such as Texans Against High Speed Rail.

Navigating the political currents of both urban and rural Texas will continue to be a challenge for Texas Central and its allies.

It's worth nothing that some of the recent animosity directed toward high-speed rail in Dallas was specifically about plans to extend the service from Dallas to Fort Worth.

Hunt Realty Investments Inc. opposes an extension of high-speed rail connecting Dallas and Fort Worth, saying the rail could disrupt its $5 billion development plans near the Hyatt Regency Hotel by cutting through 20 acres of land the business owns.

“We're not allowing that project [to Fort Worth] to hold up what we are proposing to do from Dallas to Houston,” Byford said.

Another big challenge will be funding.

High-speed rail from Dallas to Houston could cost more than $30 billion.

Those dollars would have to come from multiple sources, Byford said.

Texas Central has already acquired around 30% of the land necessary to make the Dallas-to-Houston rail line a reality, Byford said.

Byford's goal is for that to happen in the early 2030s.

He said time is of the essence as cities like Dallas and Houston continue to grow.

"I think your alternative is to condemn Americans to evermore crowded interstates," he said. "To condemn taxpayers to just paying for ever widening of highways, and potentially using evermore crowded airports."

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catsnuggler · 11 months

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I like the Earthship concept. It's brilliant, arguably revolutionary, for off-grid, rural living. It's a brilliant hodgepodge of the good side of Euro-American thinking - if you braid your problems in just the right way, you might come up with a fantastic new solution - with Indigenous Turtle Islander technology (let's not forget that Mr. Reynolds started in Taos, by the Taos Pueblo and the Taos, er... The Taos Pueblo as in the settlement, and the Taos Pueblo as in the Taos nation of Pueblo Native Americans, and was inspired by their adobe buildings, a fact which I wish he would mention more. It wouldn't diminish his brilliance to admit it, it's not like anyone would believe he was the first to use adobe (which, to be fair, he has never claimed).

However, fantastic as it is, I wonder what it would be like to convert the concept to an urban one, where, unlike the current concept, the many connected dwellings would be connected to a shared system; although a localized one, not a humongous grid; but, like the Earthship system, they would still rely on low-space green energy and natural water filtration processes - to go from, I suppose, the Earthship, to the Earthfleet. I feel it is an idea worth exploring, particularly in desert cities - except, unlike the tradition of more than 5 centuries of "exploring", this would "explore" how to reduce sprawl, moce away from suburbs and return to community, use less water, and how to live in harmony with our Mother, as well as our fellow human beings. Not like it would be THE solution, lmfao, no, Hell no. No, it's just that I can certainly see it being PART of the solution.

Also, as they would essentially be fireproof, they would be a salvation to so many people living in the Fire Corridor of the American West.

We'd also have a lot more tires to build with if we virtually replaced all of our cars with buses, light rail, and trains. Maybe the occasional truck (lorry), still, but we need to expand our railroads - though only insofar as it is just to do so, and "No" means "Never" - or be content with less. A little bit of both, I guess, though I suspect more of the latter. So long as needs are met, of course - food, water, shelter, medicine, accessibility, community, autonomy, purpose (chosen by the self).

I'd really like to see us get away from cars, for a lot of reasons. A locally-important reason is the presence of 6PPD-Quinone, which is toxic to salmon. It's not the only thing killing salmon, but it's a big factor. It poisons them before they can spawn, when so few survive, compared to how many hatched in the first place, to return to their home rivers. The sooner we can get these tires out of the watersheds, the better. Landfills aren't the answer. Sitting around, going to waste, releasing who knows what into the water around the landfill, when those tires could, instead, form a solid wall for a home once filled with dirt and covered with adobe, concrete, and/or limestone, which would keep them out of the water table.

Of course, the suburbs necessitate cars. The suburbs. The damned suburbs. I almost got ran over at a commercial intersection recently. Busy day, rush hour, folks flying back home to their suburbs, or to get a bite to eat first, or whatever they do, driving miles and miles here and there and everywhere to do it, doing whatever they damn well pleased to do, even if it was against road laws. Fucker wasn't even in a right turn lane, but nearly hit my ass when I had the right-of-way to cross. Motherfucker. Some of the crossing signal buttons didn't even work, and there were poor, homeless people standing around, begging, because our society doesn't give a damn about them, and certainly not suburbanites. Building our houses 15-20 feet, or even more than that, away from each other, because we aren't gay. Ha! "No homo"'d our way out of communities, but, hey, at least the White Anglo-Saxon Protestants got to keep to their miserable selves. Oh, eye-fucking-roll. 🙄

'Course, no matter how many ideas I come up with, they may be good, or they may be bad, but they're ideas which, while they may have been influenced by outside observation of Indigenous peoples and their ideas, ultimately are espoused by a random settler. No matter what we do on stolen land, stolen land is stolen land. We came in, we stole our Mother, and we stole her from those who lived according to her dictates, and didn't own her, but stewarded her. Then, we went about selling her, all while oppressing and isolating those we should have, instead, treated as kinfolk - with love, respect, compassion, and, most importantly, with open ears and patience.

Just some imperfect thoughts of mine. All thoughts are, of course. I don't mean "all thoughts are imperfect, except that of The Perfect God," as I do not believe that even the gods are perfect. Perfection is a pipe dream. That said, it is no excuse not to improve when necessary. These thoughts are half-formed, but hopefully, they will see further refinement and, if they are beneficial to life on Earth, application, to whatever great extent they can reach.

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