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r0und3bitch · 2 years

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Twin Flames ❤️‍🔥 : Part 2 - Whiskey on Ice

Series Masterlist

Part 2 Soundtrack

Warnings: a ton of swearing, drug use, mentions of sexual content

Word Count: 13.4k (woof 🙃)

Notes: If you’re slightly confused about some parts of the story line...no worries besties, that’s the intent!! All will be revealed in due time. There’s a shit ton of hints and Easter eggs in here and along the way! Would love to hear your thoughts on what they could be! Love each and every single one of you who has taken the time to read TF thus far. 🖤

“Listen, I’m not asking you, I’m telling you!”

The hairbrush you’d been white knuckle gripping was launched at the wall, hitting hard against the surface with a loud bang.

“How fucking hard is it –”

The voice on the other end cuts you off but you’re not having it.

“It hasn’t even been a full day yet! I put you in charge to handle situations like this, not call me every five fucking seconds something pops up. I’m miles away. What the hell am I supposed to do? You’re the one –” when you’re cut off again, it’s the final straw.

“Fix it! Now. Right fucking now. And I want every fucking, penny? Do you hear me?” You knew better than to use his name over the phone. “Or the next time we talk, this conversation will end very differently.”

You angrily click the call end button on your phone as you consider launching that too at the wall.

“At least it was just your hairbrush this time and not your Chanel perfume.”

Noah, who you hadn’t noticed was leaning up against your door frame, steps into the room and picks your now broken hairbrush up from the floor.

“Couldn’t get that smell out of the apartment for weeks. Swear to god Y/N/N, to this day if a girl around me is wearing that, I want to gag. It haunts me.”

You laugh but you’re not exactly proud of the memory he’s recalling. One of your ‘rare form’ moments back in California. A one hundred percent “on one”, raging tantrum, fueled by a lethal amount of booze and adderall.

You wince playfully. “Not one of my shining moments….” Turning on your straightener as Noah flops down on your bed.

“I take it that was Sid on the phone?”

You don’t bother with a response, you know by him asking you that alone that he already knows it was. When he clocks your hardened stare downward and the way you run your fingers through your hair, he almost feels the intense energy radiating off of you.

“Shits gonna be fine, Y/N/N. He’ll keep a tight eye on things, it’ll just –”

“It’s my ass on the line if it doesn’t, Noah”.

You respect your brother's opinion and while he’s just trying to make you feel better, you won’t stand for his encouragement right now. Not when everything feels like it could come crashing down at any moment. Not when it’s his ass that will come out untouched, regardless of the outcome.

Noah licks his lips, biting back any response he wants to make. They’re all irrelevant. While you and him were twins, as you got older it was painfully obvious that very different paths in life had been carved for each of you. The weight of each of your responsibilities undoubtedly harbored trauma for you both. However, the depth and magnitude of that trauma felt between the two of you was violently partial.

You’d always blamed your father coming down hard on you and Noah due to the fact that he had Zack so young. Little information was shared within your family of the exact details; it happening long before either of you were born. Grandma Y/L/N had gotten so drunk and loose- lipped one of the last years she was alive that she had called Zack’s mother a whore at Thanksgiving. You had quite literally spewed red wine out of your mouth at her words. (Which did not bode well for your newly sixteen year old self who was trying to sneak drinks under the table with Noah) No one, and I mean no one, in your family ever mentioned Zack’s mother, not once in your entire life. He’d always been the spitting image of your Father, giving no hints or clues at the other half that made him.

In your mind, he was one hundred percent your father, through and through. Or rather… he tried so very hard to be your father, down to the identical callous attitude and the exact same pompous monogrammed cuff links they always wore. He followed in every single one of your fathers footsteps and failed miserably nearly every step of the way.

Which made Noah, in your fathers eyes, his golden child. His precious boy, at least to the world around him, the up and coming name to continue to lead your family to greatness. The one who could do no wrong, take no heat and never, by any circumstances, jeopardize his future potential. Zack was an ever constant reminder of what it’s failure could look like.

Which left just you…

It was mind bendingly painful at times to think about the total control the Y/L/N legacy held over you. The total submission you succumbed to when it came to sacrificing for this family. You’d naively pretend you’d do it for the sake of family in general, for the only family you’d ever have…. But deep down you knew it came to control. To the money. To the power. You knew this sickening wheel that had been spinning within the Y/L/N name had been going long before you were put on this earth and would continue to do so well long after you were buried deep within it. Without it, you had nothing. Without it, you were nothing.

“Listen, I wasn’t trying –” you look up into the giant mirror in front of you, reflecting Noah’s nervous glance back at you.

“It’s fine, Noah. I’m not trying to…” you trailed off, turning around in your makeup chair to face him. “I’m just stressed. If this shipment doesn’t go through I –”

Noah’s conviction leaves no room for doubt, at least for the moment. “It will.”

“I just need to relax…Sid is going to give me a fucking heart attack if he calls me one more time.”

“Well…I’ve got just the thing to fix that! Good thing the guys are picking us up at six. Your first ‘Kook Party’!” He says wagging his eyebrows.

He picks up your phone to change the song playing through your speaker, easily punching in your passcode he’s had memorized for years as he plays one of your favorite songs, obviously trying to put you in good graces.

“Okay!” You're swiveling back around again now, confused as ever. “Can you please explain this fucking ‘kook’ thing to me?!”

When he finishes, you’re sure you didn’t hear him right. Kooks vs Pogues?! Did he refer to Rafe as a “Kook King”?

“What are we five years old? Sounds pretentious.”

“Oh it is!”

He’s laying back on your bed now, body resting against the plush wall of pillows that you all but demanded in order to sleep comfortably.

“The way the guys talk about it, it’s not as much of a thing as they’ve gotten older… but you know how those old roots always have a way of coming out.” Don't you ever…

Your focus goes back to the mirror in front of you as you continue getting ready, adding the final touches on your makeup.

“So… Whitney texted me earlier.” Of fucking course she did.

“Ugh, Noah, not you too!”

“Told me she called you earlier and you –”

“Yeah while I was dropping Rafe and Kelce off, I just didn’t want to talk to her while I was –”

“Okay listen…I’m not getting into the middle of it but you know you can’t ghost people forever right?” Watch me.

But you’re already striding over to the connected walk-in closet that holds your prized possessions, not giving in even an inch to this conversation. Instead throwing him a mischievous grin over your shoulder as you happily open the giant double oak doors.

“So, what do people wear to these stupid Kook things anyway?”

Your phone vibrates, picking it up and reading the messages as you do a final once over in the mirror. Less than twenty four hours on this island and you’d already been added to the group chat.

“Kook Kings + Y/N”

Topper: on our way Y/L/N’s

Kelce: 😛

Noah: let’s gooooooooo

Boy Wonder: lol @ the chat name update 👌🏻

Kelce: it’s under construction

Kelce: taking suggestions…

You named the conversation “All My Bitches Love Me 😈”

Kelce: damn, she’s good….

Boy Wonder loved “damn, she’s good..”

——————————————————————-

Only moments later you heard the loud thrum of heavy bass that could only mean the boys had pulled up. As you meet Noah by the front door you take in the song playing and can’t help but laugh. They fucking would…

“Owww Owww” Noah shouts to them the second you’re both outside. “Whaddup boyss!”

You instantly wonder if the several shots you both pounded within the last hour were a good idea but toss the thought away. Noah’s a big boy and is more than capable of taking care of himself.

The second you step out into view, the boys nearly lose their minds, too many sets of eyes for your buzzed brain to compute.

One single look at you and your outfit (which he’s quite literally almost drooling over) confirms Rafes' thoughts. Neither him, nor any other person on this fucking island was ready for you.

“Holy fuck bro, tell me you’re seeing this…” Topper whispers as all of their mouths hang open.

“Y/N Y/L/N… girl, are you trying to give me a premature heart attack?” Kelce whistles as he fully gets out of the Jeep, opening the door for you and your brother. “Damn Noah, you cleaned up nice too. Her doing, I take it?”

“Obviously!” He goes to dap Rafe in the front seat before Kelce. “She’s always keepin’ my ass in check.”

“Aint that the fuckin truth” playfully punching him in the shoulder. Kelce grabs both of your hands and holds them up in the air. “Ooooooooooh girl, common. Do a little spin for me!”

This kid is wild! Why not…

Twirling on Kelce's finger, you throw your head back for dramatic effect as the music blares on.

He takes your hand, helping you into the Jeep after Noah. “Girl, you’re a dream!”

Rafe coughs loudly.

“Okay, enough!” Topper yells over the music from the driver's seat.

You’re giggling like crazy as your hand moves from Kelce’s to Noah’s as he helps guide you fully in, reading you perfectly as always.

“Yeah, common, DREAM GIRL…” breaking into his own fit of giggles.

It’s your favorite time of day. An hour or two before sunset. When that golden hour glow can hit your skin, forever putting you in a good mood. You take it all in as you feel the summer air hit you as Topper starts driving.

“Seems like you guys already got the party started, huh?” Kelce laughs as you and Noah sing out loud to the song playing.

“Well obviously, I had to prepare myself for the most magical night of my life. Popping my Kook Party cherry.”

Rafe laughs wildly at your words, catching his reflection in the rear view mirror. “Oh shitttttt….”

You beam further at his reaction, which Noah of course catches. That’s not the only thing…

“Who’s phone is playing the music?” You ask as Topper holds his phone up in the air. “Can I play a song?” You beam further at him.

Noah’s heart swells, seeing you fall back into your element, you asking for the music privilege a tell tale sign.

Topper’s intrigued as he enters his passcode, opening the Spotify app and handing it to you, the whole car eager to hear your choice.

The moment the beat drops every single boy in the car howls, almost going crazy.

“Yes!!”

“Holy shit…”

“Yeah, girl you’re gonna fit in just fine….”

“Full fucking Kook!”

You and the boys belt out the entire song word for word, only getting more out of control the closer you get to the party. All of them are surprised you know all the lyrics but Noah knows better by now, you taught him these songs.

There’s dozens of cars scattered throughout the premise as you roll up and even more people scattered about.

You hop out of the car as the typical pre-party nerves and excitement hit you… well that and the shots.

The house is huge, like every other one you’ve seen on the island so far. The boys lead you in, saying hi to a few people, all of which eye you widely as you’re introduced as the long awaited “Noah’s Sister”.

You all make your way inside toward the kitchen where a large group of what you’re assuming are their friends awaits.

“Eli! Logan!”

A couple of heads turn.

“Oh shit, Noah! What’s up, guys”. You follow them in, opening you up to the entire group before you. One of the guys takes you in immediately.

“Oh shit this must be her!” Throwing his hands up in shock over his backwards cap. “Y/N!!”

If little else, you already like this dude for the sole fact he’s referring to by name and not “Noah’s Sister”.

Behind him you hear “Wow, they really do look alike” for what has to be the millionth time in your life.

“I’m Eli!” He’s already bringing you in for a hug. “Dude, hell yeah it’s great to finally meet you. Heard enough about you from this one!” He says pointing to Noah.

“Ah, all good things I hope…” you say with an air of trouble to your voice.

“Nope!” Noah laughs.

“Whatever he says…it’s all true” you wink at him. (“Oh shit, I like her already!”) “Nice to meet you, Eli!”

Noah introduces you to a few others: Logan - the host of the evening and a whole slew of names you’re going to likely have to ask for more than once again.

“Can I grab you a drink, Y/N? White claw?” Logan asks opening up the huge refrigerator.

“Whiskey, actually.”

His head cocks. “Damn, whiskey girl, respect. Was not expecting that.”

“I got chu, Y/N/N.” Noah comments and he slides over to the island that’s littered with dozens of bottles of booze, grabbing your favorite amongst them, earning another shocked look from Topper.

“Damn, Y/N, you’re full of surprises!” He jokes, easily twisting the beer cap off and taking a sip of his drink.

You all make your way into the expansive living room, chatting it up with the new people you’d just met. A few others walk in and you recognize the girl who came out of Noah’s room this morning.

The moment she sees Noah, she’s making a wicked dash over, halting when she finally takes you in, standing amongst the group.

“Oh, this is your sister right?” She addresses Noah as if you’re not there.

“Uh yeah,Y/N.” He points to the girl.

“Emma.”

She’s ignoring you though, already moving to sit in Rafes' lap as you barely look her way. While he completely freezes, he doesn’t make a move to remove her. She turns inward towards him and laughs at something you can’t hear. You ignore the annoyance that you swear you catch radiating off of Rafe at the one quick glance you allow yourself to throw at them.

You hear your bother casually carry on the conversation and you instantly curse at his insistent need to make those around him feel good. In most other situations you’d say it’s one of your favorite traits about him but right now you’d really wish he’d stop because all you want to do right now is slap this bitch in the face, not only because she’s totally ignoring your existence and being a total utter cunt but also because she’s sitting in Rafes lap, unable to ignore or understand why it’s bugging you the way it is. You hadn’t realized how much of a trance you’d been until you felt a strong arm wrap around you suddenly. You gasp loudly, which turns the heads of those around you. Turning quickly, you see Kelce, roaring with laughter, attempting to hold two drinks in his other hand.

“You scared the hell out of me!” But you’re laughing now too. “Tsk tsk….. is this your thing? Scaring girls?”

“Whoa now!” He says, handing you one of the drinks he made, presumably something with dark liquor by the color, joking with you further. “YOU stepped on ME, this morning! Don’t get this thing twisted! Thought I was never going to be able to walk again…”

“Oh shut up!” As you punch his arm playfully. You frown, taking a sip of your drink. “That is kinda true though, huh? Think I owe you the next round, how’s that?”

“Deal, Y/L/N” as a firm handshake closes the deal. “You look like you know how to make a drink strong enough to knock me on my ass!”

Kelce's demeanor made it easy to joke around with him. He was one of those people that looked you in the face when they listened to you, genuinely taking it in. The quips always came quick and those around him were usually consumed with laughter. He was a lot like Noah that way and couldn’t help thinking that regardless of what factors pushed them together, that the two of them could have organically become friends in the real world.

“Yo, Y/N” Eli calls at you. “You play pong? Sarah needs a partner!”

“What the fuck! Y/N, YOU LOOK SO HOT!” Sarah’s voice squeals, figure coming into view behind Eli. “When did you get here?!”

The words have barely escaped her mouth before she’s wrapping her arms around you wildly, hugging you in that familiar way that only a girlfriend can.

“Not long ago, girl!” You grin up at her with a mischievous grin that she immediately matches as you see Topper come up behind Eli. “You ready to kick these guys asses?!”

The pong table is set up nearby, continually earning more stares the more people you pass over to it.

“Don’t worry Y/N, we’ll go easy on ya since it’s your first time!” Eli jokes as he rolls the pong balls to you.

He regrets his statement with each throw you take, making the first five shots easily. Topper is in equal disbelievement when Sarah takes the game winning shot, a single “swoosh” through the air, calling the game alarmingly early.

Typical, you and Sarah are nothing but giggles as you see the rest of your group file over.

“Bro, that was embarrassing…” Eli coughs.

“Yeah, let’s not talk about that!” Topper tries to move on from the subject, ego clearly hurt.

“Talk about what?” Rafe asks, his blue shirt lighting up his eyes an even paler shade.

“About how Y/N and I just whooped their asses at pong!”

Rafe, who knows that Eli, (with Kelce as his partner) has won the annual Beer Pong tournament two years running, looks up at you almost proud.

“Damn Y/N…”

Topper scoffs, unable to choke down the loss, sneering sarcastically “Yeah, she’s a real keeper…”

You see Noah in the corner, successfully brush off whoever this Emma girl is and make his way over to you. He notices your stare and braces for the torment coming his way.

“SPEAKING of keepers…”

He sighs, nudging you. “Don’t start!”

“No, I mean, personally she seems fantastic –” but Noah’s ready, alcohol in full effect.

“Oh yeah! Like your exes are anything to rave about…” You gawk at him, not expecting the conversation to take this turn. Rafes ears perk up.

“Ohhhhh say what!” Of course Kelce is the first to reply.

“Oh my god, DON’T start!” you throw a finger cautiously in Noah’s face.

It’s at that moment Sarah rejoins the conversation, drink in hand, clinking it with yours. “Oooooo what’re we talking about?!”

“Y/N/N’s exes.”

“Oh, Grant?! He was hot as fuck!”

You nearly spew out your drink, your surprise evident. Noah’s roaring with laughter and you know he’s not going to let up anytime soon.

“Oh, shit I forgot about him! No I was thinking –”

“Jake?!” Sarah nearly shouts.

“Yes!” Noah high fives her right as you go to clamp a hand over Sarah’s mouth.

Topper cat whistles, “Dayyyum Y/N”, grin wide at the conversation.

“He doesn’t count!”

Your cheeks are beginning to turn pink with embarrassment, not having been ready for these names, all but long forgotten or removed out of your life completely, from your past to be thrown at you so willingly.

Sarah ducks right before you can grab her face as she and Noah answer in unison.

“YES, HE DOES!”

You groan loudly. Confused on how this unlikely duo of Noah and Sarah is proving to be a rightful pain in your ass right now. Surprisingly it’s Rafe who responds.

“If we’re talking about exes, I mean Sarah’s exes are never far…. Ain’t that right Top!” You whip your head quickly to see Topper shrug easily.

“Wait, you two?!” You point between them. “When?”

“A while back” Topper replies easily. “It was only for a few months. Didn’t quite work out….” Sarah sticks her tongue out at him playfully but you don’t sense any bad blood between them. “Though she’s still a rightful pain in my ass most days, I’ll tell you that.”

“You’re not the only one.” Rafe laughs as he leans back against the counter, taking a drink from the beer bottle in his hand.

“Oh shut up! Both of you…. That’s my job.” She says matter of factly.

At that moment Emma walks back into the room and leans up against the counter close to Noah, the vibe of the room totally thrown off at her presence.

“Hey Noah, I was just thinking –”

Sarah rolls her eyes heavily, gulping the last few sips of her drink before slamming the glass down.

“Let’s go dance!” She yells to you over Emma, intending to be rude. You don’t bother holding back your fit of laughter when you see the irritated look on Emma’s face. Clearly, there’s bad blood there.

Sarah’s already lacing her fingers between yours, ready to pull you out onto the large patio deck that had been jam packed with people dancing. “Lead the way!”

Emma goes to open her mouth again when Topper interrupts.

“Yeah - I’m gonna…” Throwing a nasty look Emma’s way before following you and Sarah out of the kitchen.

You grab Kelce by the t-shirt, who had been talking to Eli nearby, “C’mon guys, you told me you would show me those dance moves…”

Your voice grows faint as you make your way out, leaving Rafe, Emma and Noah standing in the kitchen, the two boys sharing a quick smirk. Emma takes a sip of her White Claw as she slightly leans into Rafe.

The three of them watch from their view as you all make your way outside and begin to dance. A group of guys enter that Rafe recognizes from the mainland, chatting to Noah a bit, as voices fill the space again. Rafe shakes his head at Topper's horrible dance moves, poor guy could never hold a beat. The group begins to blend together, bopping heavily as the song is changed.

Topper (somewhat jokingly, he’s well aware he’s got two left fucking feet) grabs Y/N to dance as Emma finally decides to speak.

“Ya know... She’s got some dance moves”. Emma doesn’t reference who she’s talking about but from the inflection in her tone, Rafe knows she's talking about you. “Topper could use it….”

Rafe feels her place her hand atop his shoulder and lean further into him, her voice even louder than before though, even given the new proximity. Her laugh comes out more sarcastic than anything.

“She looks like the kind of girl who could show Topper a thing or two.” She gazes up and winks at him. “You know what I’m saying. At least from what I’ve heard…”

Rafe’s laugh is totally unintentional but he doesn’t regret it nonetheless. She can tell he’s laughing, but thinks he's laughing with her, and not at her.

“What…” she looks up at him pouty faced, lips puffed out, turning more into him as he drains what’s left in his beer bottle.

He was going to reply with something to the effect of “that’s rich coming from you” but Noah turns to both of them, flashing Rafe that famous grin.

“I’m going to go join em’ outside.” Nodding his head up at Rafe before turning to Emma, his eyes holding something Rafe can’t place.

“Oh and Emma?” His voice is slow, an obvious warning. When she turns her head in Noah’s direction, his eyes are cold as ice, burning right through her.

“Watch your fucking mouth…”

He throws one last menacing look her way before almost inhumanly shifting it back to that easy grin, a quick “See ya out there bud!” to Rafe before exiting.

Not many people can put Emma Conrad in her place. Rafe had seen many people go up to bat and fail miserably. The fact that such a reaction was brought on by Noah, so naturally loved and adored by everyone, is a true testament to his unwavering loyalty to his only sister.

Emma is stunned in her spot as she turns back to Rafe, mouth gaping, ready to speak to him.

“What –”

Rafe clocks you on the dance floor, looking like you’re having the time of your life and he instantly feels the pull to join the group.

“Later, Emma” not bothering to look at her as he makes his way too out of the kitchen, snaking his way through the thick groups of people until he’s out on the deck, feeling the sweet summer night air hit his face.

He took in the sea of people, rowdy as ever, party now in full blast. Even though Rafe had been in this exact situation what seemed like hundreds of times, your presence tinted everything in a new light. He witnessed his group of friends, mingled together tightly, belting out the lyrics long since committed to memory, drinks and hands held high in the air as everyone swayed to the beat.

Kelce slaps his hand over Rafes shoulder when he’s close enough and pulls him into the middle of their group, whispering something to him that he can’t make out over the music. Not that he’s paying much attention anyway, unable to look away from the way your dress is moving threateningly higher up your thigh as you dance. That is, until he glances up and sees it’s Sarah you’re grinding seductively against, his eyes darting away at an alarming rate. Yet it was hard for him to keep them away from you for too long as he glanced around his group of friends.

There you were, planted smack dab in the middle of them, seemingly glowing, as though you’d always been there. Having gotten to know Noah over the last few months, it shouldn’t have surprised him how quickly everyone, himself included, was pulled into your orbit. It was easy to see the similarities between you and Noah in that way. It was easier than ever in this exact moment as Noah danced next to you, completely in sync, doing some kind of moves that the two of you had obviously learned at an earlier time to the song playing.

You weren’t sure if it was the shots you’d taken with Eli and Sarah on the way out to the dance floor, or the way you caught Rafes blazing look as he made his way over, but the feeling settling into every fiber of your body felt almost foreign. It took far too long to place, as if you’d forgotten it completely.

You felt happy. Carefree, unkept, wild. As you bounced back and forth to the beat, Sarah’s arm circling your neck, you didn’t realize how badly you’d needed it, nor nearly how much you missed this feeling. You barely knew these people tangled together with you, but as you shifted your head back against Sarah’s shoulder, eyes closed blissfully, letting her guide your body to the song, you realized it didn’t matter... If there was one thing you knew, nothing stayed the same, ever. Instead you choose to close your eyes and try and hold onto this moment for as long as you could, a moment where you felt nothing but free.

The next several days faded to weeks as time passed on more or less the same. All of the stress and worry you’d sickened yourself with in Miami prior to coming seemed silly now that you were here. The ebb and flow of your family’s new lifestyle here in the Outer Banks quickly turned into a well oiled machine, like it always had with every move. This pretentious town was no different.

Your father and Zack had barely been around, usually only for a few days of the week before flying out of town, only to return a few days later with another slew of big names (old partners, family friends, relatives - you name it) to do business on the east coast.

The Kildare lifestyle was a “Work hard to your advantage, play hard” mindset. You each played your part for the business, and you each played it well. Rafe and Noah were always alongside your fathers for client meetings, dinners, and everything in between. The two of them together were starting to make a name for themselves amongst the high rolling names the two families kept being able to pull in.

You and Sarah join in occasionally, unintentionally outshining everyone or nearly causing a scene whenever in attendance. Sarah, who’d been worked hard by Ward lately, had been warned of her behavior, that much you’d known. She was always running around the office wild these days, lack of sleep or lack of empathy toward her father, completely and utterly not giving a shit what he thought.

While you played your part at the fancy dinners and talked your way through the meetings you needed to be at, your time needed to be spent focused elsewhere. You had your own ship to run, one your Father was more than aware of….

You’d slotted in almost too well amongst the boys and Sarah’s friend groups, seemingly allowing your life to somewhat intertwine with these people in a way you didn’t expect. You didn’t mind it exactly. It was easy for the days to blend together… the next few weeks continuing in the best way all summers do: chaotically, blissfully, each day and night chasing a high better than the last.

Days spent partying on huge boats or laying around at the beach until sunset, not a care in the world as the music raged on. Nights spent doing quite literally whatever the hell you wanted.

Weekend mornings spent nursing the most wicked of hangovers…. You’d been seated at the bar of the Island Club for a total of six minutes waiting for your food and a second longer felt truly impossible, clear pout forming on your face. Rafe had all but demanded your food be served within five minutes, one lone stare enough for the bartender to scurry back to the kitchen with your order at a near run.

An irritated little gruff escapes you as you check your phone clock for what has to be the tenth time in the last minute alone.

“You gonna make it, Y/N?” Rafe playfully bumps your shoulder and you throw him the most pathetic, playful puppy dog eyes. Omg she can’t look at me like that….

“Noooo” you’re fully whining now, full on hangry, full on ready to kick this server's ass if food isn’t placed in front of you, prono. “This is why I needed McDonald’s last night….”

“Y/N! None of us could even stand last night, let alone drive.”

“You could’ve –”

“Don’t even start with me, Y/N/N! Kelce and I spent like thirty minutes, cross eyed and inebriated, trying to work the door dash app while you and Sarah just danced to Arianna Grande!”

Rafes laugh, subconsciously becoming your new favorite sound, makes you momentarily forget about your stomach grumbling incessantly.

“Rafeeeeeeeee, I need a McChicken RIGHT NOW. Kelceeeeeeee, please get me chicken nuggets, please.”

His imitation of you is uncanny, the way he’s jokingly crossing his arms over his chest, identical to your stance less than ten hours ago, leaned up against Topper's patio railing to support your drunken state.

“I remember no such thing….”

He shakes his head at you as he orders you another Coke, your favorite hangover cure, from the bartender. You’d already sucked down the one he’d ordered you the minute you sat down, especially since you’d threatened to “stab someone” if not met with one immediately.

Right as minute seven approaches, a waiter sets your plates down in front of you and the sight of your giant breakfast sandwich is enough to have you literally singing to the heavens.

Rafes is already bringing his sandwich to his mouth as you clasp your hands together in praying formation, head tilting to the sky as you fake tears.

“I want to thank you, Jesus, almighty creator of the bagel…”

Next to you, Rafe belts out a laugh so intense that a piece of egg comes flying out of his mouth.

The most unlady-like, shrill laugh comes out of you as you try to catch your breath at the sight of Rafe choke-laughing. You full on snort, very loudly, sending you both into complete hysterics.

Rafe is clutching at his chest as tears almost spill from your eyes, each time you look at each other only resulting in a new fit of convulsions. Your abs are actually sore as you reach out and clutch onto Rafes arm to steady yourself as you both momentarily lean into each other, trying desperately to regain composure as all the other restaurant patrons around you shoot the two of you dirty looks.

You’re both so hysterical that you miss Kelce and Topper, who’d just arrived at the club, stumbling upon your close figures, having heard your laughs the second they approached the outside bar area. Both of them gawk at the sight but share a secret look between the two of them.

“Well well well…. What do we have here!” Topper can’t contain his smirk as he looks between you and Rafe. You both settle down as you return to eating.

“Breakfast! Duh!”

“At almost noon?” Kelce pipes up, taking the empty seat next to you. “Uh…..Long night for you two huh”? He chuckles, throwing a wink at you before nodding knowingly to Topper and throwing a meaningful glance between you and Rafe. You know what he’s insinuating…

He should know better by now than to play this game with you. You invented this game. As hangry as you are, it’ll have to wait just a tiny bit longer.

You look up at him playfully, bulging your eyes out as wide as they’ll go, resting your head in your hand as your elbow leans seductively against the bar, your voice nearly coming out as a soft, tantalizing moan.

“Sooooo long...” you play with the straw in your drink with your opposite hand, falsely alluding to more than how late you were up last night…

Kelces jaw falls open; clearly stunned and taken aback. It’s when you hear Topper scoff loudly that you burst out laughing again. You look to Rafe, worried he’s going to throw some kind of territorial bullshit your way but instead he looks beyond amused.

You beam at his reaction and turn to Kelce as a low “What the hell Y/N/N” leaves his lips, blush apparent.

“You guys are fun to fuck with!” grabbing a piece of fruit off your plate and plopping it in your mouth.

Some evenings spent playing your rightful part in the Family Business…. “Not another damn sip, Y/N!” Zack nearly slaps the drink out of your hand, groaning at your swaying figure.

While you can’t say you blame him (you did spend the entire dinner trying to cover up your hysterical laughing - failing miserably - as Noah incessantly made fun of Zack under his breath while he spoke to the crowd during his speech) you’re too relaxed to give a shit. Drunk, but not completely blasted, easily able to defend yourself but you’re loving the reaction it’s getting from him, completely losing his shit at the event he tried so desperately hard to plan and perfect, down to every last detail.

“She’s fucking cut off!” He whisper screams at you and your group of misfits as several of the wealthy island natives approach him, quickly careful to not show his temper.

You’re turned away from your brother completely as Rafe whips you around, pulling your back flush against his chest, blocking you from Zack’s view, only making his blood boil more. His arm wraps entirely too smoothly around your body for the amount of alcohol you’ve both consumed as he brings his Mai Tai to your lips, his own closer to your ear than you thought.

“Sip Time!” You take an enormous gulp of the drink as a laugh shudders through your body, picking up on the Michael Cera “This is the End” reference from the movie you’d watched days prior.

He only loosens his grip on you when he registers the song playing, instead grabbing your wrist and pulling you to the dance floor.

“C’mon, party girl… I feel like you love this song.” You do.

Special occasions where the other island natives got to know you better…. It was a sticky day on the island, the sun beating down hard as you and the boys made your way through 18 holes. Well, they made their way through 18 holes. You wore a cute outfit and drove them around in the golf cart, chugging back White Claws like your life depended on it, occasionally shotgunning one with the boys when one of them made a particularly nice swing.

Not that you weren’t good at golf, quite the opposite actually. If you got Noah drunk enough, he might on occasion be willing to admit that you might even be better than him some days. Golf in this sweltering heat though? Fuck that, Drinking sounded much better…

You hadn’t seen the cart girl come through in awhile and had offered to go back and grab a few more rounds of drinks considering you weren’t even playing.

You walked over to the bar of the club at a quick pace, getting the bartender's attention with ease.

“Hey (a name somewhat similar to yours), right?”

How long Emma and her friends had been seated there, you hadn't a clue, not even registering them as you walked up. One look at her told you all you needed to know, she’s not a nice girl. Good thing you aren’t either.

“Y/N.”

She waits for you to follow that up with something, clearly waiting for you to be fake and nice to her, falling in line with everyone else. When you just stare at her she shifts in her seat at the bar uncomfortably.

“How are you adjusting to the Outer Banks? I know it can be a lot…ya know, for an outsider.”

You want to laugh at her confidence, it’s applaudable to a fault, surrounded by no less than three other girls who are obviously ready to pounce at any moment.

Girls like her exist everywhere, in every town you’ve ever been to. Girls who want to open their mouths and use big words to try and stand tall but shrink back into their pathetic little lives when given the chance to prove themselves. She's no exception, she’s not special, painfully the same as every other single girl before her. She’s no different.

Your shrug, “Not much to adjust to if I’m being honest.”

She eyes you up and down before something off In the distance grabs her attention.

“So, I see you’ve been spending a lot of time with the Island Legacies…can’t say I blame you.”

She laughs but it’s about as fake as her smile that she paints on her face with her next words.

“Especially with Rafe…”

Here we go….

“Who wouldn’t, right? Like hello, look at him. I wouldn't get too attached though. Fair warning, he’s kind of a fuck boy…. tends to go for easier girls, ya know what I mean?”

“Is that why he fucked you?”

One of her friends' hands slaps over her mouth to cover the gasp she’d made and when Emma’s jaw falls open just as wide you know you have this bitch exactly where you want her. She can play her little games all she wants, but she’s about to feel the full force of what you’re capable of.

It’s your turn to plaster that fake smile on heavy, an air of terror behind it that slightly frightens the group of girls before you.

“I mean you guys have obviously fucked, right?”

She looks like you’ve slapped her across her face. Maybe one day….

“That’s clearly why you’re asking me about him…” you laugh at her when she doesn’t respond. “Was that what you expected to sit here and throw me off with? The fact that you’ve fucked Rafe? God, you’re gonna have to try harder than that. I imagine if I had a an issue with every girl Rafes fucked on this island, well….. I mean…”

You clock Boy Wonder at that exact moment, striding over to you across the grass, pushing those now sweaty blonde locks out of his eyes, face breaking out into a smile when he sees you.

“Like hello…” You repeat her exact words from moments ago, about the same boy walking directly over to you right at this second, mocking her all the same “Look at him…”

Rafe’s close enough to see you fully now, slightly puzzled as he watches you puff your bottom lip out flirtlingly before biting it between your teeth teasingly, big doe eyes gazing up at him, almost too heavy.

“Hi, Rafey.”

Rafe chokes a laugh, ready to question you at your choice of Emma’s favorite pet name, seeing her flinch only further fueling your fire. You throw a wink his way that the girls can’t see, telling him to play along.

“Wanted to come check on ya…you need help carrying those?” His arm reaches around your back before pointing to the tray of drinks the bartender just sat down.

“Yes please!” You’ve clearly made your point but are unable to resist throwing it back in Emma’s face more.

You twist in his arm, but look straight at her, your hand coming up to quickly stroke through his golden locks, as if dangling Emma’s favorite toy that she can’t have right in front of her.

“You’re such a sweet boy, Rafe….”

Days spent lounging the halls of Tanneyhill in the company of the other two Cameron siblings… “So what’s going on with you and John B?” You’re laying on Sarah’s bed next to Wheezie who’s texting on her phone, only half paying attention.

Sarah huffs, “I don’t know… we’ve been so on and off for awhile now…. I think we are both just confused.”

“I can see that…”

“…Do you think love should be this hard?” Her eyes are pleading with you.

“I….” You try to phrase the next words carefully. “Don’t have enough history of knowing you guys dating to give you an honest opinion of what I think…”. She’s frowning still. I hate seeing her upset.

“But, I can definitely see that you’re trying. That much is for sure.” You smile up at her and she slowly returns it.

“Thanks Y/N…” She’s perched up on the bay window that overlooks the backyard. She looks thoughtful, almost sad, so you’re not completely shocked by her next question. That doesn’t mean that it still doesn’t hollow you out as she asks it.

“Do you ever miss California?”

You take a second and notice Wheezie has put her phone down, gaze coming to you. A few more seconds pass and you’re unsure how to answer so you just decide for the shortest version of the truth.

“Yeah. I do.”

“You don’t talk about it as much as last time I saw you. Granted that was so long ago. It just seemed like from what I could tell you really loved it there and –”

“It’s just hard because I didn’t really want to leave...” You have absolutely no idea why you’re being so vulnerable right now. “Uh…kind of had to, you get it…”

“You went to school there, yeah?” Sarah’s gaze is heavy on you now as Wheezie eyes her sister suspiciously.

“Yeah, UCLA.” You can’t help the smile that forms. That time in your life seems so distant, yet still crystal clear in your memory.

“Going to school out there must be so nice…what’s it like?” She asks eagerly.

You think of how best to answer. “Being out there is… it’s hard to explain. It’s a lot different than anything out this way. It’s something entirely different.”

“It sounds amazing…”

You want to say “it is…” but you’re having a hard time forming words as more memories than you’d like to hash out come flooding back in waves.

You start to wonder if Wheezie shares in her brother's assumed trait of being able to read your mind when she quickly changes the subject.

“Y/N, do you still play the guitar?” She points to the acoustic perched up in the corner of Sarah’s bedroom, unbeknownst to you until now.

Both Cameron siblings see the way you light up.

“Let me guess, John B’s?” Sarah nods her head.

“Mhm!” She's all lit up now, seemingly moved on from the previous conversation. “He won't mind if you play it!”

Rafe parks his truck in the driveway, slowly making his way into the house, ready to get out of the suit he’s been forced to be in for the last ten hours. The sun is setting over the water now, casting shiny, crystallized rainbows through the glass windows of Tanneyhall as he makes his way to his bedroom, ready to breathe after the day he’s had.

He stops short when he hears the voices coming from Sarah’s bedroom, making him stop dead in his tracks as he catches onto it. He hears the guitar before he hears you, your voice filling the air in a way like never before, followed by Sarah’s and (as if his heart can’t possibly squeeze tighter anymore) Wheezies. He’s on autopilot before his brain can catch up, his footsteps taking him to the doorway of Sarah's bedroom.

You sing. He feels like he’s somewhat known that fact, heard it mentioned in passing between you and Noah but never hard enough for Rafe to stop and think twice about it. He didn’t think you meant like this.

Rafe had noticed that you’d been big into music since he’d first met you, now already at the point of beginning to clock your favorite artists to a T. It’s one more piece of you that clicks with him. The constant music playing, the shuffling between playlists, always arguing about which song is better between you and Noah. It’s one more piece of you he feels like he knows.

He can’t think of many times he’s felt this feeling he has right now. So little times though that he’s drawing a blank on what exactly to name it, unable to place it. If he thinks back long enough he can remember feeling it in the earliest memories. Christmas mornings when it was just him and Sarah or their family vacation to Hawaii right before Wheezie was born. What is it?

He feels like a fucking creep standing in the hallway, all but eavesdropping into his sisters room but this feeling he has listening to the three of you in melody is enchanting him. Are you guys singing Taylor Swift? He doesn’t know exactly how he registers that he knows that, thinking it must be the side effects of having two little sisters. This is definitely Taylor Swift…

The song ends all too soon and Rafe hears the three of you burst into fits of giggles, barely catching the words being spoken. When Rafe swears he hears the word “Bahamas” his breath quickens and he decides that’s his queue to start walking away from the door.

Slowly, he backs away, even though the distant hum of your voice is teasing him forward, careful not to make a sound as he heads to his room, still on auto pilot.

His mind is holding on to those last few moments as hard as he can, already becoming a memory, blushing crimson as he commits the sound of you singing permanently within his brain, wanting to forever remember the feeling that hearing your voice awakened within him…. unsure if he will ever feel that way again.

The following day you find yourself on Sarah’s bed again, this time laying next to the pile of outfits you’d brought over for her.

“Oh my god, you’re really going to let me wear these?”

You scoff “Are you fucking kidding me? This would look so good on you!” you say holding up one of the dresses you brought against her body.

“Ugh, I want your closet…”

You look up at Sarah earnestly, just as excited as she is. It's been way too long since you’ve had someone to gush over stuff like this with.

“When I say to you… anytime!” Sarah squeals. “I think you need to come over this weekend and we can play dress up.” You wink at her.

“God, you’re a dream. Can you be my sister, please?”

You smile up at her “Dream come true...”

Sarah had called you in a panic that morning, fretting over what she was going to wear to the party she was hosting at Tanneyhill later tonight. She was playing host to mainly her own friends, yet stressed over her already somewhat rocky situation with John B, knowing all his “Pogue” friends would be attending as well.

“You don’t think he’ll think this is too much?” She asks, taking the dress from you.

You’re almost insulted. “If this kid thinks this is too much then you can kick his ass to the curb and he can come fight me!”

Too much? That’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard.

You look around her room for the shoes you brought to go with it.

“Shoot hold on, I must have left the heels downstairs.” You’re already making your way out of her bedroom when you collide roughly with a hard surface “I’ll be right - ophhhhhh!”

You feel strong hands catch you, looking up to realize that the hard surface is actually Rafe. You break out into a huge smile, unable to control yourself at just the sight of him, let alone how close he is to you. His eyes widened at the action.

“What’re you doing here,Y/N?”

Sarah appears at the doorway, firm look planted on her face as she takes in the two of you.

“Rafe you can’t have her! She’s mine right now.”

You blush crimson at the thought of Rafe having you in any capacity, your thoughts jumbling.

“Besides, don’t you need to leave soon to meet Dad for your ‘oh so important weeekend’ on the mainland?” She questions.

Rafe releases you. “Yeah, I’m headed out now, just need to grab my suit.”

“Y/N” Sarah’s already trying to pull you away from her brother. “Are you sure I shouldn’t wear –”

“Listen, don't trash the house tonight just because Dad and Rose won’t be home!”

Sarah shoots him a menacing look. “Yeah because you’re one to talk!” With a severe eye roll she pulls you away from her brother, with a snarky, final “Bye Rafe!”

You throw your head quickly over your shoulder, your sweet smile bidding him farewell.

“Goodluck Tonight…”

He’d need it. Little did you know, good luck was not something that ever came easy for Rafe Cameron.

—————————————————————

“It’s the one thing I asked you to do, Rafe!”

Rafes chest deflated as his father screamed at him further. “And I can’t even count on you for that!”

“Dad, I’m sorry I –”

“Just leave, Rafe. Go home. You’re no use to me right now.” Ward shakes his head in Rafe’s direction, totally dismissive, unable to believe he’s his son sometimes. Someone enters the board room to alert Ward that their clients had arrived. He took no further look at his son as he strode out of the room, leaving Rafe to stand there feeling utterly pathetic.

This whole weekend on the mainland had been stressed to no end, Rafe and Noah having to endure a painful amount of lectures from both fathers about the importance of winning the clients they were bringing in, this weekend being pivotal to the next few steps of their plan. They needed the funds from this deal to spearhead the next phase of their development plan, starting in Maine and working down to Virginia.

Rafe had all but nearly blown everything when he’d screwed up some accounting details on the back end when dealing with the investors attorney earlier this week, the error just being noticed now, moments before they’d arrived. His father likely striding out of the room to do everything in his power to fix it, to always fix Rafes problems, as he’s constantly reminded.

He doesn’t bother going to find Noah, instead choosing to walk to his truck at a slow pace, in no rush to go anywhere, feeling utterly useless. He starts the truck, wishing he could be going anywhere but back to the one place he has to go, hating the chokehold his only home had always had on him.

He had a couple hour drive back to Kildare, one spent mostly in silence, letting his thoughts consume him completely.

He pulls up to Tanneyhill a little after midnight, surprised to see not many lights on. When he enters, there's only a small group of Sarah’s friends left, lounging around the living room, a couple of them sleeping. The house isn’t totally trashed but there’s beer cans and glitter everywhere.

Sarah’s fuckin problem, not mine.

He takes a glance around, wondering by some small miracle if you’d still be here but he sees no sign of you or his sister. Resigning to the fact that you’re probably asleep or went home, he climbs the long spiral staircase leading to his bedroom.

When he walks in, he quickly turns on the string LED lights to a soft blue shade, before his attention immediately is drawn to the figure on his bed.

He makes a move to yell at whoever’s sleeping in here, taking a step or two forward before the soft blue light illuminates your face.

He’s completely frozen for a moment, unable to gather his thoughts. You’re in his bed…

He takes a step or two forward and his chest feels tight when he sees how you’re cradling one of his pillows. It’s pressed against the entire side of your body, your arms wrapped tightly around it. His mind immediately stops the thoughts from fully forming…. (that he wants to be the fucking pillow, obviously)

He’s surprised you haven’t woken up, he wasn’t exactly being quiet when he came in, assuming you’re likely a heavy sleeper or even more realistic, probably just drunk.

He's still frozen lamely, towering over you like a weirdo watching you sleep.

What do I do? Do I wake her up? Do I just let her sleep in here and leave? There’s probably people passed out in the spare bedrooms though… Is she okay? Why is she in here?

The questions flood his mind, not stopping as he wills his body to move forward. He places his hand gently on your shoulder, your skin warming his finger tips.

“Y/N” his voice is as soft as possible, “Y/N/N”.

His brows furrow together when you don’t immediately wake, nervous to shake you any harder. Finally, after what feels like too long to Rafe, you begin to stir.

He sees little movements from you but it takes a full minute before your eyes open. Worried you’ve had too much to drink, he takes it easy on you. Your eyes finally flutter open, but he can’t fully make them out in the darkness. Eventually, they zero in on him and the room is well lit enough for him to see your face breakout into the biggest grin he’s ever seen on you, a deep heavy sigh leaving your lips, almost relieved.

“Rafe….”

Is she even awake?

Your face looks like it’s searching for his in the darkness. He’s unsure what to say, caught off guard by your voice saying his name.

“Hi…” your voice comes out the softest he’s ever heard it, further throwing him off.

Say something, Rafe. Say something.

“Hey….” He chuckles a little, realizing you’re making no intent of moving. “You good, Y/N/N?”

You stretch slightly and pinch your eyes closed. The room is so hazy and Rafes voice feels like it’s miles away. You want it closer.

“Mmmm….needed to lay down.” You simply state.

Rafe doesn’t think he’s ever seen you look more tired, eyes squeezed shut as you rub your head with your hand that’s not still wrapped around the pillow. Still trying to figure out what to do, Rafe moves closer to the bed.

“M’sorry, I shouldn’t have come in your room…” you stop and try and focus. “And slept in your bed….” Your head pounds again and the whole room begins to blur, what little of it you can make out. “While you’re not home….holy fuck thats creepy.”

You’re rambling hard. Using every ounce of energy, you try to sit up but it literally feels impossible. Are you even moving at all right now or is your body totally limp?

You are moving slightly but it’s messy, confirming Rafes assumption that you’re likely pretty drunk.

He laughs lightly, “You’re good, Y/N” his hand making contact with your shoulder again guiding you back against the mattress. “Lay back down.” One look at you confirms how badly you need it.

“Ya laughing at me, Cameron?” He’s surprised you have the wherewithal to joke around given your state.

“Not like that….”

He looks down at you again and feels his body sag, the events of the day, the situation with his father and the hours long drive back all weighing heavy. Taking a deep breath he walks over to the other side of the mattress. He throws his watch on the nightstand as he lets gravity lower him down to the mattress, keeping a respectable distance between you two.

However, as he looks over at you, he doesn’t miss the way your dress is slightly hitching up your leg and it’s what he needs most right now the last thing he needs right now. As he forces his eyes away, he feels your body shift so you’re facing towards him on the mattress, both of your hands cradled close under your chin, reminding Rafe of a young child momentarily.

“I’sorry though… are y’mad that I came in here”? You ask him tentatively, hoping your words are making sense but altogether deciding opting for honesty is the only option here.

He looks over with a serious look. “Why would I be mad that you’re in here?”

“I don’t know….” You’re growing more confused, especially considering….

“Well…s’YOUR room…” You continue after a minute of silence. “And…”

“Too many whiskey & diet cokes, huh?” He's smiling at you now but you don’t catch it. Fuck, you just said honesty is the only option….

“Uh…” Fuck, breathe. Get the words out, you can do this. “Actually….there’s ‘nother reason I came in here…”

“Uh…I uh… — I took something and it didn’t make me feel great….”

You look away from the blurry figure that is him next to you in the bed. It’s probably good your vision is out of focus so that you don’t catch the intense stare he’s shooting at you, his head that was already turned toward you, all but boring into your brain at this point.

Took something? She said she took something. Oh fuck…no….

You’re high.

On what, he doesn’t have a clue, but it’s certainly not the heavy blunts you’d been notorious to roll, that much is plainly clear.

Rafe’s having a hard time processing what’s happening. His own memories come painfully flooding back in horrible waves. Images of him in the bathroom just a few feet over with Topper and Kelce last summer blur his vision as he tries to remain planted in the present, refusing to let his demons pull him back.

Internally, he can’t help but laugh at the twisted irony of how his poor bedroom seems to just continue to be the crime scene of blatant drug abuse, for once however, it’s not him high within these godforsaken walls.

“Knew right away I needed to sleep it off….Hard t’tell if it worked”

Your words are clipped. “Came up here….I told Sarah I was…”

You finally move your gaze back to his, your eyes so big and bright but they don’t hold the same spark they usually do. Rafes heart sinks at the sight, the look on your face basically melting him, almost pleading.

“Didn’t want her to find out…” he nods slowly as you finish your words.

That’s when he finally sees it, the high written so clearly on your face. Your dilated, blown out pupils staring back, surely penetrating straight into his brain at this point with the stare you’re leveling at him. How the fuck can someone look like that - let alone look at him like that - while they’re high?

“Are you….uh, are you okay now?” He shifts just the smallest bit closer to you, trying to relax but internally he’s panicking.

Are you okay? She’d tell me if she wasn’t, right? Fuck, I don’t know. I’ve never seen her look like this. Shit, please be okay Y/N, I’m right here.

“I think so. Like I said s’hard to tell.”

His chest squeezes again but a stark comparison to the way it did when he walked into the room. The slurring, the drugs, the sleep. All reactions to whatever’s eating away at you enough that you needed just that little relief. The thought that you of all people shared in that wicked kind of torment in the same way he did literally pained him. His eyebrows furrowed together in a wince. Not her.

“How did it go? Stuff with your dad…” Rafe had a hard time tearing his attention away from anything that wasn’t you right now. “weren’t supposed to be back ‘til tomorrow…..” your voice brings him out of his thoughts. Wait, that's what she’s asking about right now? Him?!

“So, that’s why you’re sleeping in my bed?” He jokes. “Thought I wouldn’t be around, huh?”

You giggle and he instantly feels a small part of his body relax, realizing you’re not too high. Not too high to destroy the natural banter that seems to come so naturally between the two of you. Not high enough to not be you still, the you he’s gotten so frustratingly used to being around in just a few short weeks.

You’re still looking to him for his answer and when he doesn’t respond and instead gives you a look, you know.

“…. Well, I’m back” he says quietly, shrugging it off, casting his eyes downward.

“Thank God…”. His eyes raise to yours and he can see that pretty little smile of yours, natural as ever. It turns to a smirk with your next comment “kinda missed you...” What? WHAT?

Rafe instantly wonders if you would’ve gotten high off whatever it is you’re on if he was here... Your next words catching him by surprise.

“Rafe, do you want me to go?” Of course not.

“Y/N/N, I don’t think you’d make it very far and as much as I’d love to carry you, you –”

A sickening feeling settles into the pit of your stomach suddenly, the drugs really taking their course, as your eyes squeeze shut, a soft moan leaving your lips, the look on your face setting Rafes mind into lightspeed.

“Shit– come here, Y/N.”

It’s as if both of you are on auto pilot because neither of you can really register the next few seconds as you try to reach out towards Rafe at the same time as his strong arms pull you quickly into him, body’s melting together.

The moment you feel his arms circle around you, everything else fades to black, allowing yourself to get completely lost in him.

Rafe has been close to you plenty of times over the past few weeks. Dancing with you at parties, swimming in the ocean or one of the multiple infinity pools scattered around the island, even crammed into the backseat of multiple vehicles, on top of each other’s laps more than a few times, trying to get home after drunken nights with only one designated driver.

This however, feels entirely different. He can feel your soft breath tickle his neck as you bury your face deep into his shoulder. You’re clinging onto him hard, which just makes him hold you tighter, rubbing small circles into your back with his fingers.

He feels your breathing steady a little bit but your body hasn’t loosened an inch. Slowly, he brings his hand up to the side of your face, brushing the few strands back before running his fingers through the length of your currently curly locks, repeating the motion back and forth. Each time he brings his hand back through your hair he feels your whole body slowly release but not at all removing yourself from him.

It takes a moment for him to realize the state he’s currently in, the action not only calming you but allowing him to release all the built up tension he had felt building throughout the day, through the past several days. Fuck, weeks….

Your even breaths pull him back to you in the present as he registers that you’ve fallen asleep. He doesn’t stop repeating the motion, enjoying the way it feels to have your hair running through his fingers, the way your body feels so warm and secure next to his.

He’d known the feeling you were going through all too well. He’d known the sickening, overpowering feeling you’d succumbed to within its hold. Not you. Not her. Please.

He’d hold you for hours, he’d hold you for days, for however long it took for time to deal the damage.

He takes one final look down at you, your now peaceful face resting gently on his chest, face nuzzled deep into his neck.

His words barely come out as a sound, pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head. “I’ve got you, Y/N/N”

When Rafe wakes up again, he doesn’t open his eyes right away, but he can hear your phone vibrating against the nightstand.

He registers that your back is now flush against him, likely shifting at some point in the night. His arms are looped tightly around body still though, noticing you had one his hands cradled close to your face, tucked sweetly under your chin. He can feel your cheek pressed against it, can feel your soft breaths on his skin as you sleep, sending a fuzzy feeling all over his body. Holy shit. This feels so good.

The phone doesn’t stop vibrating, only getting louder as it threatens to fall off the nightstand.

Rafe can’t believe he’s about to interrupt this serene moment before he can even register it.

Your heads are on the same pillow, his own already close enough to his intended target. He shifts only an inch or two so he’s whispering right into your ear.

“Y/N/N…” The soft, almost too perfect for this world moan, that leaves your mouth makes him want to never let you go.

“Hmm…” making no move whatsoever, not even fully awake.

“Your phone…

“Mmm….” That one was more of a whine but it doesn’t make Rafe smile any less into your hair.

It stops vibrating for a few moments and you shift ever so slightly back into Rafe, sleep threatening to take over at how good it all feels, his arms around you, the sheets surrounding you, Rafe’s messy hair tickling your neck.

When it goes off violently again you know you can’t ignore it. Slowly, painstakingly slow, you reach for the phone to see Noah’s name on the caller ID.

Oh, thank god.

You click open the phone and whisper “Hello”, your voice coming out entirely more horse than you’d imagined it would.

“Fucking hell Y/N, I’ve been trying to call you for over an hour! Where are you?”

“Uh, I’m at Rafes.”

“Wait, I thought Sarah threw a party at Tanneyhill last night.”

“She did, I’m at Tanneyhill, what the fuck–” you’re too tired to be doing this back and forth.

Noah’s voice is entirely too perky and implicating considering what time it is as you pull your phone away from your ear briefly to check the clock.

“You said you were at Rafe’s…” you can almost see the annoying grin plastered on his face through the phone.

Considering the events that led to you being tangled in Rafes bed you’re really not in the mood to play around with Noah’s jokes right now, the fact that it’s barely daylight only further adding to it.

“Do you need something, Noah?” He catches the tone in your voice.

“Yeah I’m driving back from the mainland now. Dads been flipping his shit trying to get ahold of you since last night. He’s not happy...”

Shit….

“Some shit with the books not matching when he was looking at the numbers, he has people flying in and he can’t–”

“Alright I get it, too early. Shut up. I’ll call him.”

“No, that’s not it, Y/N/N. The Hargrove’s plane touches down in an hour. We’ve got the whole day planned…” he pauses. “We’re supposed to be on the tarmac in thirty minutes…. I’m on my way to Tanneyhill now.”

“Fuck.” Behind you, Rafe tenses, unable to tell what’s happening on the other end.

“I know. I’ll be there in less than five. Pulling up in a few. Be ready.”

You click your phone shut and stay perched up on your elbow, not wanting at all to do what you’re about to have to do. Referring to both getting out of this bed and carrying on with your duties for the rest of the day, preferring to rather bite your own hand off if it meant staying like this with Rafe and not facing reality.

Rafe…who’d found you passed out in his bed unexpectedly...while high on drugs. So high in fact that you needed to pass out in his arms to feel okay, only now waking up with that horrible realization as it settles into every part of you. What the fuck were you thinking. Maybe it is a good idea to get the hell out of this bed actually….

Rafe watches you process each part of that as he takes into account the small shifts in your face.

“Hey… you okay?”

No. Nope. Nope. Nope. Not in the slightest.

“Noah’s on his way, shit with my dad, we have clients - well, family friends - coming in and….shit. Not good”.

You pinch the bridge of your nose to quickly try and gather your thoughts about what you need to do within the next few moments.

“I’m sorry I have to go…” You step out of the bed and Rafe sees you fully for the first time in the soft glow of the morning light.

Your dress is a little wrinkled but still looks as cute as ever on you. Your hair is messy and your lips are still puffy from sleep. Seeing you like this, so loose and raw makes him want to pull you back.

You search around for your other shoe and Rafe suddenly feels nervous as he finally takes everything in.

The situation unfolding in front of him, completely foreign, that soft purple glow from the morning light having never touched another person's skin within these four walls. Rafe never permitting a situation where another person would be in his bed at this time of day, any guest long since removed by this time. You were the first girl to ever wake up in his bed.

Once your shoes are on, you grab your phone, realizing all of your other stuff is in Sarah’s room, which is currently still occupied by her and John B.

The luxury of being you. There was nothing in there you couldn’t replace. You’d grab it all later after you somehow survived whatever this day had in store for you.

Rafe realizes you’re looking at him now, unsure what to say. “I’m gonna get go –”

Finally, Rafe remembers how to move his body and quickly jumps out of bed.

“I’ll walk you out…”

You nod, grateful that he’s walking you out but still trying to choke down that bad feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Rafe stays behind you as you move quietly through the halls, his finger ever so slightly tracing behind your arm as you walk, the feeling, making you only want to run back, instead of out the door.

As you reach the giant front door, his mind begins to fill as thoughts and questions come swirling through his brain at an alarming rate. Surely he’s never felt like this. So impatient, so eager, the incessant need to know you.

“Y/N” he whispers for you when you reach the foyer. He has to know.

“…why my room?”

He knows you’ll know what he means. There’s guest bedrooms, couches, plenty of open places to sleep within this giant house.

Your pupils only travel down to his chest briefly, head shaking ever so slightly, “I honestly wasn’t even thinking about it as it was happening. I just remember stumbling upstairs...”

Your eyes are like lasers as they make their way back up Rafe’s face, burning into him every step of the way before meeting his in a blaze.

“I don’t know….when I woke up and saw you… I guess it just made sense.” His breath hitches at your next words. “I think I just needed you…”

Why did I say that? WHY DID I SAY THAT? WHY DID I JUST SAY THAT?!

“I just….” Trying to recover, he clocks the way you look so nervous, apprehensive. “I just felt like you would get it. You would understand it. That’s all.” He does. All too well.

“I get it, Y/N/N.” hearing him call you by your nickname again leaves you breathless. He pulls you in for a hug as you hear your phone buzzing, knowing it can only be Noah.

“I’d better go.” You get this odd feeling in the pit of your stomach that you can’t place, standing there awkwardly for a moment, choking the feeling down. “Thank you for being so sweet about it… Bye, Rafe”.

Your words, seemingly innocent, evoke such a head spin of deja vu for him that he’s momentarily left stunned, unable to form words. Did she really just say that? She has no clue.

When you take one last expectant glance back at Rafe before walking out the door, he quickly pulls himself together, feeling like his cheeks have to be burning red, but the words he says next are not at all what he intends.

“Hey wait….Y/N.” He’s whispering now, nervous beyond belief but feels that nagging sense to say something. Why??

“Uh, next time you feel like that….” Referring to last night. “Call me.”

Your fingers graze over the door handle and on a fucking whim, Rafe grabs for your hand, momentarily holding you back, needing you to understand how much he means this.

When you don’t respond he nods weakly. “Okay?”

You nod back at him, unsure what to say. Taking anything he can get, he accepts that much, opening the door for you, giving you a fleeting side hug before you’re out the door.

“Bye, Y/N/N”

You make your way out to Noah’s car, pulling open the door handle and stepping in as quick as you can, only to reveal that stupid grin that was promised from your phone call. He’s already pulling out of the driveway the minute you’re in the car.

You don’t bother asking what, you because you know what.

He takes a glance over at you, only clutching onto your phone and nothing else.

“Where’s all your stuff?” He’s toying with you and you know it. You click a few times on the screen in the center counsel, turning on a song to fit the mood.

“In Sarah’s room…”

“Which means you slept…” his tongue pokes at his cheek as his face twists and turns, unable to stop himself from trying to tease you.

“Noah.” you’re not even entertaining it. “Can you just stop at home really quick, I know we are late but I’ll be quick –”

“Relax Y/N/N, I grabbed you clothes.” He gestures to the backseat where you see an outfit (damn, he did pretty good) hanging on the hook. “Grabbed this too…”

He reaches back behind your seat and sets something in your lap that you recognize as your spare make up bag. You bless the fact that your brother, although he's driving you nuts at this moment, knows every little detail about you.

“Already went to the house… figured I’d give you and Boy Wonder an extra few minutes.”

You give him the biggest death glare you can muster for the early hour but don’t say anything back. You can’t, he’s right.

“Listen…” he knows the next words are going to launch you, but it’s about time he’s said it out loud. “Whenever you’re ready to admit that you’ve got some deep rooted feelings for Rafe mother fucking Cameron, and are ready unpack all that shit, you just let me know…”

Noah’s one hundred percent correct, his words do launch you. They thwart you so hard that you’re sure you’re about to choke.

“I do not!” Ignoring the fact that you were moments ago curled up in this man's bed, your arms wrapped tightly around him.

You push any kind of life changing, mind bending thought out of your brain, not ready to cross that bridge yet, knowing damn well you’re not sure if you ever will be. With anyone. Let alone Rafe “mother fucking” Cameron as your brother so eloquently put it. Kook “fucking” King is more like it.

Noah scoffs. “Yeah, okay. Whatever you say.”

His own mind floods with memories, all to do with Rafe Cameron. The way girls had always clung to him since the moment he’d met him. The way all of his habits seemed to shift the moment you came into play. The way Rafes eyes always shoot to yours when girls will approach him nowadays, thinking Noah can't catch on to the encounter every single time.

He thinks back to all the noticed habits…How Rafe started listening to more Drake songs. How he’d started asking Noah questions about you, little to begin with, sprinkled in here and there, starting before you even set foot on Kildare Island.

Noah had registered the way Rafe’s demeanor would shift, ever so slightly, whenever you were mentioned, comparing little to the change in him altogether when he was finally around you in person. Kelce, Topper and himself had already had a few drunken conversations on the subject as a matter of fact…

As the song plays, you lay your head out on the passenger door, feeling that deep misplaced nostalgic feeling that only that one certain emotion can give you. The lush, bright green scenery passes you in a blur as the sun peeks over the horizon, threatening the purple sky into a violent shade of pink.

“I barely even know him…..”

All of the changes Noah’s witnessed in Rafe paled in comparison to what he now saw in you, his only sister. If there’s one thing Noah knows most in the world, even better than his own self, it’s you. His response is so quiet you hardly hear him yet the words resonate just as hard.

“I think you know him a lot better than you think you do...”

.....

Taglist: @lurkymurker @mackenzielovee @mor-bs @totallynotkaibiased @aaleksmorozova @onlygetaway @itsalexwin

#Twin Flames ❤️‍🔥#rafe cameron #rafe cameron fanfiction #outerbanks #rafe x reader #rafe x y/n #rafe #drew starkey #outer banks #obx

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zarnzarn · 3 years

Text

Stolitz fic rec!!

I'm going to just drop my favorite stolitz fics here.

They run at night by @wearemisfortune

Blitzo is always moving because when his body stops, his mind races. This almost always leads to a terrible fucking idea.

Tonight is no different—but the result will be.

-lovely angst, lovely climax, and it captures Blitz's line of thinking in a serious tone but in a way still feels authentic to the character. And I'm ALWAYS a sucker for the sheer unconditional trust trope.

Junctures by @sluttycrimehat

To everything, there is a season.

-I still am in complete awe of how the author managed to fit so much in such little time. The bit at the end always fucking gets me, I love it so MUCH.

The last general by @curtailed

It's in a month after, with Stolas spent and lying on his side, that Blitzo finally musters up the courage to tell him.

-Hello??? BEAUTIFUL post-harvest moon fic, wonderful vibes, love how well they know each other in this one, the trust is amazing. Love it.

You got everything that I want by @bipridemoth

Stolas can’t recall a time where “love” wasn’t synonymous with “pain” for him.

With Blitzo, it’s not love. So, there’s no pain. Stolas doesn’t let there be pain, at least not emotionally, the physical pain is something he quite enjoys. When Blitzo leaves after their monthly night together, he doesn’t allow himself to feel pain, only anticipation of the next time. He likes that there’s always a next time, even though that’s because of his active incentive more than anything else. But that’s alright, he doesn’t want Blitzo to come see him without an incentive. He deserves favors in turn for what he’s giving Stolas.

-Stolas angst!!!! The angst really is delicious in this one, with just as nice of a happy ending. Blitz is confident about the relationship, which is Wonderful to read and the "I know where this is going" segment had me in TEARS.

Between fairy tales and realities by @coloringthegreyscale

Blitzo's a complicated imp and Striker and Stolas accept that. But what happens when the two worlds he's made for himself collide together for one night? Well...

-Okay, so yes, this is striker/blitz/stolas, but it's so good. All three of them have a lovely dynamic, managing to work out somehow, with powerful Stolas, wonderful Blitz and a HILARIOUS Striker. Go read the series, it's a lot of fun and has many cute interactions that made me smile.

The look by @seireileafy

Blitz has been noticing a change in Stolas.

-It's such a CUTE drabble, I adore when one person can tell the other is pining for them, and the LAST LINE FUCKING GETS ME EVERY TIME-

Instead I made my bed with apathy by @thebooklord15

Just like every night before this one, Blitzo glared at the form next to him, already lulled into the bliss of slumber. He had never meant for things to turn out this way-he’d gotten the grimoire already, he didn’t need this man and from the way Stolas treated him it was clear he did not need the imp either.

And yet.

-Jcjdkafj this one is so GOOD I love blitz being pissed off yet too deep in to stop, and like I've said for others already THAT LAST LINE, PLEASE-

Call and response by anon

It was a love story, maybe.

-short but deliciously angsty, with some beautiful imagery, really nice dialogue, and time-doesn't-exist-in-this-motel-room vibes. Love it.

Shovel proof by @kereea

Octavia tries to give Blitzo the shovel talk. He decides to help with that.

-FUCKING cute, love the Octavia/Blitz dynamic, and it has snappy fun dialogue!! Really sweet.

Reaching out, touching me, touching you by @allmightshipserasermic

Stolas hasn’t been able to preen sufficiently in quite awhile, since Stella refuses to do it for him anymore. Blitzo offers to help.

-PREENING FIC is there anything more I have to say?

The skin you could have by @coloringthegreyscale

Stolas catches Blitzo staring and it leads to some talk, some magic, and a little bit of fun.

-Again, BEAUTIFUL dynamic between the two, lots of angsty tenderness, and lovely body imagery.

Different shapes by @sirdust

“Before the exorcist, he taketh the image and shape of a man.”

Blitz catches a glimpse of Stolas’ human form.

-okay, practically a direct opposite of the previous fic, but SO GOOD, I can't describe it. Love the imagery and their comfortable relationship.

A helluva mess by @stratumgermanitivum

It’s not like Stolas isn’t a hot piece of ass, because he is.

And it’s not like Blitzo’s blind or anything, because he isn’t.

It’s just that there’s pleasure, and then there’s business, and never the twain shall meet. (Unless he finally gets Moxx on board with that threeway, in which case, Blitzo fully intends to christen every damn surface of the office except his precious Loony’s desk.)

-AMAZING, love the pining and denial on both sides it's so great especially since you can tell both sides know that they've messed up. Again, LAST LINE!!

Eat the whole cake (it's what you deserve) by @okoyik

"His Highness is on the phone for you, sir," Moxxie says.

Blitzo makes a face. "Who?"

"Stolas," Moxxie supplies, as if that's supposed to help Blitzo understand. His expression is surely one of complete confusion as he stares at the other imp.

"Who the fuck is Stolas?" Blitzo asks slowly, racking his brain for a face to put to the name.

Blitzo's memory starts to slip, and all he knows is he needs that owl that seems to haunt his nightmares to stay away.

-HELLO it's only on one out of four chapters for now but it's already SO GOOD I can't WAIT for the rest!!!

Stand tall, but your hands are shaking by @remymorton

It’s been a month since the Harvest Moon festival. Another full moon night arrived, and after that... Blitz ... He's not well.

-wordless cute comfort, truly very sweet, I love it.

Palaces and souvenirs by @cloudysonder

So Stolas is objectively. Objectively. Attractive. Kinda soft-looking, sometimes. Pretty. Whatever. Fuckin’ whatever. That’s always been a thing. Blitzo knew that, Stolas definitely knew that-- whatever.

"This is not," Blitzo thinks, sounding a little bit desperate even to himself, "some sort of revelation."

His flicks of the lighter get a little more unstable, a little more frustrated.

A clawed hand reaches over and takes hold of the lighter, lighting Blitzo’s cigarette with practiced ease, as if he’d done the same thing a thousand times before (He has, Blitzo realizes).

“Silly Blitzy,” he giggles quietly, giving Blitzo a soft pat on the head before curling up beside him, stretching one last time before closing his eyes to sleep.

Blitzo feels warm.

"This," Blitzo tells himself, and it sounds like a command, "will not be a problem."

-I saw the start of this fic on Twitter and have been following it religiously ever since. It's really a gorgeous fic, three chapters up, with the promise of a Great slow burn, fun dialogue and Octavia & Blitz bonding. The level of denial Blitz is in even as he moves comfortably around every aspect of Stolas' life cracks me tf up.

Can't by @hazbincalifornia

Blitzo realizes he feels something something that he doesn't want to feel. This was supposed to be simple.

-feelings realization fic, wonderful, amazing, lovely, also the exact same way I realized I was gay, funnily enough (girl fell asleep in my lap and I was like oh. Oh fuck.)

Too late to stop by @malkaviancake

Stolas spends some time with his thoughts, realizing that his feelings for Blitzo aren't as one sided as he presumed.

-GORGEOUS vocab, I'm truly very obsessed with it. Like most of these stories, LAST LINE!!!!

Itchy with want, thin on sleep by me

It happens in parts- both falling in love and having his eyes opened.

-I will,, finish this one day, but for now here's a few in between moments before they have The Conversation.

Heaven in hiding by me

Their nights together are good, they always are, both of their tastes lining up to be shockingly compatible, but on the days where they end early and they get to spend some extra time cleaning up in comfortable silence or playful banter- and Blitz would rather take a bullet than admit this out loud- but those nights are pretty great too.

-AFTERCARE FIC, I had to write an aftercare fic ft. Good dom Blitz, Stolas taking care of him in return and a comfortable relationship that they both know is going to cause Problems in the future :)

Love in the bones and sinews of this curse by me

Five times Stolas and Blitz needed the grimoire to break a curse + one time they didn't.

-self explanatory. I tried to make it as funny as possible, everyone bickers a lot and Blitz brings Stolas flowers and gifts, what more could you need?

Life is a curse (love makes it worse) by me

"Alright!" Blitz says, clapping his hands together, "Weapons out, and-"

Half pull out some gun or the other, but half just look at him blankly. Blitz wishes for death.

"Save me from this family," He mutters under his breath, "Okay. Take these then." He passes out the few weapons he'd brought along with him and doesn't ask if they know how to use them because if he hears a no, he's giving up and going back home. "Stick close and talk loudly so the others can hear us. Let's go."

They move out, Blitz taking the lead and the rest forming a circle close behind him, starting up a loud conversation about the neighbour's garden. It gives him enough time to wonder exactly what the fuck he's doing here, in a nightmare world with a bunch of pretentious snobs, searching for his stupid Ars Goetia boyfriend, instead of sleeping in his nice lumpy bed back at home.

-a sequel to the previous fic!!! I had to write some Octavia and Blitz bonding, and accidentally added in a bunch of teenage imps who work for Stolas who imprint on Blitz immediately. And there's Eldritch Stolas, protective boyfriends and found family!!! The whole shebang!!!

This ended up being Much longer than I'd expected, but genuinely every fic up there is really good, go check em out!!!!

#stolitz #blitz #blitzo #stolas #helluva boss #PHEW im exhausted #stolitz fic rec #stolitz fic recs #stolitz fic #helluva boss fic rec #my fic #i mean i put some of my fics up there so #also to all my mutuals in this post ily #stolas x blitz #stolas x blitzo

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written-beyond-the-grave · 3 years

Text

Mikaelsons Black History Month

First off, I’m starting by saying that even though it is no longer Black history month it will always be melanin everyday and black people every day. And everything else under the sun, and if you don’t like it then the exit is to your left. Everything you own in the box to the left

Being part of the Mikaelsons is very fickle business and be some bs. Like really, you’re here with supernatural beings who are over 1000 years old. Who have traveled the world, gained endless knowledge, seen a lot of bloodshed, but you know what they haven’t seen? Their token human (black ofc) being ignant for black history month, I mean who even fully celebrates? How does one even celebrate?

Granted, they’re not racist. But with the writing Julie Pleck did she was playing honestly. That was the worst writing I've ever seen since who knows when. Maybe the nine lives of Chloe king or something? But in my originals universe they were probably racist in the beginning to an extent then grew out of it.

Anyways, they never met someone who celebrated until they met you!

Now repeat after me: I’m black y’all, and I’m black y’all. And I’m black and black and black y’all! FYM

Now…. picture this: A moderately quiet day in the Mikaelson household. Kol is minding his business for once, Rebekah is trying to find the perfect pics for her next instagram post, Elijah is enjoying a good read, and Klaus is organizing his art materials. But then here comes you, the human, opening the door and walking right in like you pay bills (none of them do but you get the picture) in the midst of the most deadly people. Walking in and greeting everyone, walking in with the most hotep, Dr. Umar bullshit getup they ever seen. Coming to America headass.

They recognize your footsteps from a mile away, so when you walk into the kitchen and no one really looks up at first it’ll be a sight to see a whole ass pelted lion on your back. The kente cloth hat (no idea the actual name for it, sorry babes), a saber tooth necklace (for my mans T’Challa), and the red stiletto nails with the afro out here banging.

SHEEEEEEEEESH

Once Elijah is done with his page he looks up to greet you, but then stops… Bitch, fuck is you wearing? This was worlds away from the sweats, and skinny jeans you wore on the daily.

“Greetings Y/N you look…. Fashionable.” Mans didn’t know what to say. Did he miss something about your Africna roots? Was there a holiday he hadn’t heard of, doubt it, but what else was there?

“Thank you Elijah.” You fluff out your lion pelt for added effect, if there was ever going to be one time you outdo the Mikaelsons’ especially Elijah in being dramatic with a coat or cloak of somesort, it would be now.

At this point the Kol and Rebekah have already looked up and were confused. Why are you dressed like that?

Kol is the first one to speak up “Darling, Rebekah likes a fashion show more than anyone, but why do you have a lion… on your shoulder.”

Lifting up your large ass shades you supplied an answer: “Black History Month”

They all looked at each other… they didn’t get it. Like they know what it is, but never actually understood how to celebrate and all that nor did they ever actually give it mind. When you saw that they weren’t making a connection, you started phase 1.

“Alexa, you know what to do.”

And there goes their manor playing: NIGGA NIGGA NIGGA NIGGA NIGGA NIGGA NIGGA I’M ONE HUNDRED PERCENT NIGGA

LMFAOOOOO you got the white people shook. Klaus just dropped one of his expensive ass bottles of art sealants and is vamp speeding to the kitchen to figure out what the hell is going on. Elijah having a mid century crisis on how tf they even found you and deemed you worthy of being in their presence so casually. Kol is having fun in the back, still laughing at your get up. And Rebekah wishes she went to the mall instead, she wanted a girl bestie and got you instead rip

“WHAT IN BLAZES- Y/N WHAT ARE YOU DO- WHAT ARE YOU WEARING! ALEXA STOP THE MUSIC-” And the big bad wolf has arrived. You put your finger to Klaus’ lips which stuns him bc… you’re still HOOOMAN like damn, death wish much? And you look this man, straight in his mit and say “Looks at, look at me” and pause for dramatic affect, “I am the captain now”

Room silent as hell till Kol starts cackling

You’ve made Dr. Umar proud, the ancestors are shining on you once again

With that you lead into a whole speech about the black struggle and black history month, bottom line: REPARATIONS. Because being the only nigga in the Mikaelsons (we don’t claim Marcel) is exhausting, white people shit everyday that you complain about in their faces

TBH at this point they’re indulging you in this escapade.

First victim is Elijah, you ask for his wallet. He gives you a look, I mean he does technically give you what you want and whatever (when y’all dating, refer back to my dating Elijah post), so he ask you why. Reparations sis why, but then you stop yourself. This man gives you his wallet every other day, half the time you not even asking. What could you rob this man of…. Ah. You ask him for the deed of one of his estates in Prague, why? Because you bitches can’t even spell Prague. And under section S line 45 subsection Y it does state that estates are eligible for reparations. Fuck 40 acres and a mule, you got 300 acres, some stallions in the back, a quite possibly haunted mansion, and a heavy dicked (yeah I said it, a sis been trying to reality shift) original who will turn you out by the end of the day and the end of the month…. Wait till women's history month boo

We know his pockets figgity fat, and it would be figgity wack to not get some

Ngl you take Kol with you so he can buy you food. Granted, he knows what you’re doing, but if he’s going to spend money on anything it will be thawed and it will be music. However, one thing leads to another and you’re both at Wal-Mart waiting to find a parking spot. You stole one off a white minivan trying to move in. Not thinking anything of it because who in this small ass Mystic Falls ass, clown ass town really about it? Apparently Karen.

But you know who else what about it? Kol (tbh mans had nothing but time, and he claims you so why tf not.) he out here NY stomping on her and coming at her for badly glued extensions. Cheap ass bitch, ain’t even blend in correctly.

After that Kol and you left with some groceries, a new story to tell, and a chopped cheese.

With Klaus, he frfr wasn’t finna do shit. Being ordered my a human? Lmfao, go find another simp sis. But… once you suggest that his art skills may not be up to par on what you have in mind as a new family room piece for your house he’s all ears. He knows what you’re doing, but… he still wants to prove you wrong. But anyways, you give him a theme… reverse racism. IK y’all, it’s not a thing, but mans has ideas. And he outdoes himself. That and the recreation of the moorish chief bc that man...mmmmm that man was giving.

Ok so Google wanna hoe me, but there was a painting of a black man in a kkk cloak and behind him were white people being hung from a tree. Say what you want, but that photo was fire. If any of you seen it please share it below.

Anyways

Rebekah tbh wants no part in this, but I feel like she’d gave when you ask her to give you all the finest dresses bc it’s an excuse to exhaust Klaus’ money.

Through the month you give the Mikaelsons a run for their money, and maybe sanity. Klaus is in the back trying to research who tf Dr. Umar is and why is he your inspiration

They had to pull you back when the sheriff asked you for your ID. You ask why you needed white man paperwork!

You are pleasing the spirits, what bonnie could never do lmfaooooo. The powers of you enemies aren’t prospering this month nor next month.

You’re not poor this month, anything you poor of is pouring a little more (bars nigga)

LMFAOOOO imaging asking the fam to go to paris, like, they not invited it’s a self trip funded my the Mikaelson Y/N Trust Fund of Public Decency ™

Klaus would be the first one to speak because this man is TIRED, “Love, why do you need a trip to paris? What’s in Paris?”

Knowing better, you look to Kol to answer the question, “I don’t know, Kol, who’s in Paris?” Niggas b. Niggas in paris…. Lemme chill

LMFAOOO enjoy

#klaus mikealson x reader #klaus mikaelson #elijah mikaelson #elijah mikealson x reader #tvd x reader #the originals #black reader #black!reader #poc!reader #poc reader #niggasbelike

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kmclaude · 3 years

Note

Forgive me Father, I have no awful headcanons for you, only a general question on comic making. How do you do it, writing-wise/how do you decide what points go where, how do you plot it out (or do you have any resources on the writing aspect that you find useful?) Not to get too bogged down in details, but I attended a writer’s workshop and the author in residence suggested I transfer my wordy sci-fi WIP into graphic novel script, as it might work better. (I do draw, but I don’t know if I have it in me to draw a whole comic—characters in motion? Doing things? With backgrounds? How dare, why can’t everyone just stand around looking pretty)

I was interested but it quickly turned into a lot of internal screaming as I tried to figure out how to compress the hell out of it, since novels are free to do a lot more internal monologuing and such compared to a comic format (to say nothing of trying to write a script without seeing how the panels lay out—just for my own sake, I might have to do both concurrently.)

As an aside, to get a feel for graphic novels I was rereading 99RM and was reminded of how great it was—tightly plotted, intriguing, and anything to do with Ashmedai was just beautifully drawn. I need more Monsignor Tiefer and something something there are parallels between Jehan and Daniel in my head and I don’t know if they make sense but it works for me. (As an aside, I liked the emphasis on atonement being more than just the word sorry, but acknowledgment you did wrong and an attempt to remedy it—I don’t know why that spoke to me the way that it did.)

I thought Tumblr had a word count limit for asks but so far it has offered zero resistance, oh well. I don’t have much else to say but on the topic of 99RM, Adam getting under Monsignor’s skin is amazing, 10/10 (about the Pride picture earlier)

wow tumblr got rid of the markdown editor! or at least in asks which means the new editor probably has no markdown....god i hate this site! anyway...

Totally! So first, giant thank you for the compliments! Second, I have a few questions in turn for you before I dive into a sort of answer, since I can give some advice to your questions in general but it also sounds like you have a specific conundrum on your hands.

My questions to your specific situation are:

did the author give any reason for recommending a, in your words, "wordy" story be turned into a graphic novel?

is the story you're writing more, like you said, "internal monologuing"? action packed? where do the visuals come from?

do you WANT it to be a comic? furthermore, do you want it to be a comic you then must turn around and draw? or would you be interested in writing for comics as a comic writer to have your words turned into art?

With those questions in mind, let me jump into the questions you posed me!

Let me start with a confession...

I've said this before but let me say it again: Ninety-Nine Righteous Men was not originally a comic — it was a feature-length screenplay! And furthermore, it was written for a class so it got workshopped again and again to tighten the plot by a classroom of other nerds — so as kind as your compliments are, I'm giving credit where credit is due as that was not just a solo ship sailing on the sea. On top of that, it got adapted (by me) into a comic for my thesis, so my advisor also helped me make it translate or "read" well given I was director, actor, set designer, writer, editor, SFX guy, etc. all in one. And it was a huge help to have someone say "there is no way you can go blow by blow from script to comic: you need to make edits!" For instance, two scenes got compressed to simple dialogue overlaid on the splashpage of Ashmedai raping Caleb (with an insert panel of Adam and Daniel talking the next day.) What had been probably at least 5 pages became 1.

Additionally, I don't consider myself a strong plotter. That said, I found learning to write for film made the plotting process finally make some damn sense since the old plot diagram we all got taught in grammar school English never made sense as a reader and definitely made 0 sense as a writer — for me, for some reason, the breakdown of 25-50-25 (approx. 25 pages for act 1, 50 for act 2 split into 2 parts of 25 each, 25 pages for act 3) and the breaking down of the beats (the act turning points, the mid points, the low point) helped give me a structure that just "draw a mountain, rising action, climax is there, figure it out" never did. Maybe the plot diagram is visually too linear when stories have ebb and flow? I don't know. But it never clicked until screenwriting. So that's where I am coming from. YMMV.

I should also state that there's Official Ways To Write Comic Scripts to Be Drawn By An Artist (Especially If You Work For A Real Publisher As a Writer) and there's What Works For You/Your Team. I don't give a rat's ass about the former (and as an artist, I kind of hate panel by panel breakdowns like you see there) so I'm pretty much entirely writing on the latter here. I don't give a good god damn about official ways of doing anything: what works for you to get it done is what matters.

What Goes Where?

Like I said, 99RM was a screenplay so it follows, beat-wise, the 3-act screenplay structure (hell, it's probably more accurate to say it follows the act 1/act 2A/act 2B/act 3 structure.) So there was the story idea or concept that then got applied to those story beats associated with the structure, and from there came the Scene-by-scene Breakdown (or Expanded Scene Breakdown) which basically is an outline of beats broken down into individual scenes in short prose form so you get an overview of what happens, can see pacing, etc. In the resources at the end I put some links that give information on the whole story beat thing.

(As an aside: for all my short comics, I don't bother with all that, frankly. I usually have an image or a concept or a bit of writing — usually dialogue or monologue, sometimes a concrete scene — that I pick at and pick at in a little sketchbook, going back and forth between writing and thumbnail sketches of the page. Or I just go by the seat of my pants and bullshit my way through. Either or. Those in many ways are a bit more like poems, in my mind: they are images, they are snapshots, they are feelings that I'm capturing in a few panels. Think doing mental math rather than writing out geometric proofs, yanno?)

Personally, I tend to lean on dialogue as it comes easier for me (it's probably why I'm so drawn to screenwriting!) so for me, if I were to do another longform GN, I'd probably take my general "uhhhhhh I have an idea and some beats maybe so I guess this should happen this way?" outline and start breaking it down scene by scene (I tend to write down scenes or scene sketches in that "uhhhh?" outline anyway LOL) and then figure out basic dialogue and action beats — in short, I'd kind of do the work of writing a screenplay without necessarily going full screenplay format (though I did find the format gave me an idea of timing/pacing, as 1 page of formatted script is about equal to 1 minute of screentime, and gave me room to sketch thumbnails or make edits on the large margins!) If you're not a monologue/soliloque/dialogue/speech person and more an image and description person, you may lean more into visuals and scenes that cut to each other.

Either way this of course introduces the elephant in the panel: art! How do you choose what to draw?

The answer is, well, it depends! The freedom of comics is if you can imagine it, you can make it happen. You have the freedoms (and audio limitations) of a truly silent film with none of the physical limitations. Your words can move in real time with the images or they can be a narrative related to the scene or they could be nonsequitors entirely! The better question is how do you think? Do you need all the words and action written first before you break down the visuals? Do you need a panel by panel breakdown to be happy, or can you freewheel and translate from word and general outlines to thumbnails? What suits you? I really cannot answer this because I think when it comes to what goes where with regard to art, it's a bit of "how do you process visuals" and also a bit of "who's drawing this?" — effectively, who is the interpreter for the exact thing you are writing? Is it you or someone else? If it's you, would you benefit from a barebones script alongside thumbnailed paneling? Would you be served by a barebones script, then thumbnails, then a new script that includes panel and page breakdowns? What frees you up to do what you need to do to tell your story?

If I'm being honest, I don't necessarily worry about panels or what something will look like necessarily until I'm done writing. I may have an image that I clearly state needs to happen. I may even have a sequence of panels that I want to see and I do indeed sketch that out and make note of it in my script. But exactly how things will be laid out, paneled, situated? That could change up until I've sketched my final pencils in CSP (but I am writer and artist so admittedly I get that luxury.)

How do I compress from novel to comic?

Honest answer? You don't. Not really. You adapt from one to another. It's more a translation. Something that would take forever to write may take 1 page in a comic or may take a whole issue.

I'm going to pick on Victor Hugo. Victor Hugo spent a whole-ass book in Notre-Dame de Paris talking about a bird's eye view of Paris and other medieval architecture boring stuff, with I guess some foreshadowing with Montfaucon. Who cares. Not me. I like story. Anyway. When we translate that book to a movie any of the billion times someone's done that, we don't spend a billion years talking at length about medieval Paris. There's no great monologuing about the gibbet or whatever: you get to have some establishing shots, maybe a musical number, and then you move tf on. Because it's a movie, right? Your visuals are right there. We can see medieval Paris. We can see the cathedral. We can see the gibbet. We don't need a whole book: it's visually right there. Same with a comic: you may need many paragraphs to describe, say, a space station off of Sirius and one panel to show it.

On the flip side, you may take one line, maybe two, to say a character keyed in the special code to activate the holodeck; depending on the visual pacing, that could be a whole page of panels (are we trying to stretch time? slow it down? what are we emphasizing?) A character gives a sigh of relief — one line of text, yeah? That could be a frozen panel while a conversation continues on or that could be two (or more!) panels, similar to the direction [a beat] in screenwriting.

Sorry there's not a super easy answer there to the question of compression: it's a lot more of a tug, a push-pull, that depends on what you're conveying.

So Do I Have It In Me to Write & Draw a GN?

The only way you'll know is by doing. Scary, right? The thing is, you don't necessarily need to be an animation king or God's gift to background artists to draw a comic.

Hell, I hate backgrounds. I still remember sitting across from my friend who said "Claude you really need to draw an establishing exterior of the church at some point" and me being like "why do you hate me specifically" because drawing architecture? Again? I already drew the interior of the church altar ONCE, that should be enough, right? But I did draw an exterior of the church. Sorta. More like the top steeple. Enough to suggest what I needed to suggest to give the audience a better sense of place without me absolutely losing my gourd trying to render something out of my wheelhouse at the time.

And that's kinda the ticket, I think. Not everyone's a master draftsman. Not everyone has all the skills in every area. And regardless, from page one to page one hundred, your skills will improve. That's all part of it — and in the meantime, you should lean into your strengths and cheat where you can.

Do you need to lovingly render a background every single panel? Christ no! Does every little detail need to be drawn out? Sure if you want your hand to fall off. Cheat! Use Sketchup to build models! Use Blender to sculpt forms to paint over! Use CSP Assets for prebuilt models and brushes if you use CSP! Take photographs and manip them! Cheat! Do what you need to do to convey what you need to convey!

For instance, a tip/axiom/"rule" I've seen is one establishing shot per scene minimum and a corollary to that has been include a background once per page minimum as grounding (no we cannot all have eternal floating heads and characters in the void. Unless your comic is set in the void. In which case, you do you.) People ain't out here drawing hyper detailed backgrounds per each tiny panel. The people who DO do that are insane. Or stupid. Or both. Or have no deadline? Either way, someone's gonna have a repetitive stress injury... Save yourself the pain and the headache. Take shortcuts. Save your punches for the big K.O. moments.

Start small. Make an 8-page zine. Tell a beginning, a middle, an end in comic form. Bring a scene to life in a few pages. See what you're comfortable drawing and where you struggle. See where you can lean heavily into your comfort zones. Learn how to lean out of your comfort zone. Learn when it's worth it to do the latter.

Or start large. Technically my first finished comic (that wasn't "a dumb pencil thing I drew in elementary school" or "that 13 volume manga I outlined and only penciled, what, 7 pages of in sixth grade" or "random one page things I draw about my characters on throw up on the interwebz") was 99RM so what do I know. I'm just some guy on the internet.

(That's not self-deprecating, I literally am some guy on the internet talking about my path. A lot of this is gonna come down to you and what vibes with you.)

Resources on writing

Some of these are things that help me and some are things that I crowd-sourced from others. Some of these are going to be screenwriting based, some will be comic based.

Making Comics by Scott McCloud: I think everyone recommends this but I think it is a useful book if you're like "ahh!!! christ!! where do I start!!!???" It very much breaks down the elements of comics and the world they exist in and the principles involved, with the caveat that there are no rules! In fact, I need to re-read it.

Comic Book Design: I picked this up at B&N on a whim and in terms of just getting a bird's eye view of varied ways to tackle layout and paneling? It's such a great resource and reference! I personally recommend it as a way to really get a feel for what can be done.

the screenwriter's bible: this is a book that was used in my class. we also used another book that's escaping me but to be honest, I never read anything in school and that's why I'm so stupid. anyway, I'd say check it out if you want, especially if you start googling screenwriting stuff and it's like 20 billion pieces of advice that make 0 sense -- get the core advice from one place and then go from there.

Drawing Words & Writing Pictures: many people I know recommended this. I think I have it? It may be in storage. So frankly, I'd already read a bunch of books on comics before grabbing this that it kind of felt like a rehash. Which isn't shade on the authors — I personally was just a sort of "girl, I don't need comics 101!!!"

Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories that Resonate: this has been recommended so many times to me. I cannot personally speak on it but I can say I do trust those who rec'd it to me so I am passing it along

the story circle: this is pretty much the hero's journey. a useful way to think of journeys! a homie pretty much swears by it

a primer on beats: quick google search got me this that outlines storybeats

save the cat!: what the above refers to, this gives a more genre-specific breakdown. also wants to sell you on the software but you don't need that.

I hope this helps and please feel free to touch base with more info about your specific situation and hopefully I'll have more applicable answers.

#writing #making a graphic novel #writing a graphic novel #tutorial #writing tutorial

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thestarminstrel · 3 years

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as requested, i am now considering figure skater au. would love to hear more thoughts on said au 👀

ohohoho 👀 let me absolutely indulge you on my nonsense

so i do have a sketch page with this au but i'll briefly summarize it here:

(also! if anyone wants to borrow this au plotline or concept, please feel free to :D just credit me and send me what you make!)

- nick is a hockey player for kingston lions and seiji is an olympic level figure skater

- they both use the same rink at kingston, and this ofc is where our conflict arises

- seiji frankly believes that nick's team is terrible since they have won 0 championships and calls nick "zero". because of this, he often begins his own practice early or lets it run late -- cutting into the hockey team's time reservation

- nick has tried numerous times to get the staff to do something but like, tf are they gonna do? seiji is olympic level and they don't wanna be the idiots who denied seiji his practice space and loose revenue (tho it should be noted that seiji is competing for the grand prix in this one -- not the olympics). so nick begins calling seiji "princess" since he's a giant brat :)

- the two don't get along at all -- and i mean at all. they're livid whenever they run into each other and are at each other's throats

- however, coach williams thinks she can get the boys to the connecticut state championships. since nick is the center (position that plays both offensive and defensive), she calls in a favor with dmytro and asks him to work with nick on his form so he can be extra speedy fast.

- guess who dmytro also coaches? that's right. seiji :)))

- they both find this out when dmytro introduces the two and says he doesn't have time to be coaching them separately. they are pissed to say the least (when nick complains to williams, she makes him do suicides which stops him from complaining anymore).

- couple weeks pass, seiji and nick are still not happy but they just barely manage to exist on the same ice. the kingston lions have their first game soon and seiji has first set of qualifying competitions to get through. the hockey team is getting their full practices in, and seiji just goes for some extra practice after they finish up -- despite the ice not being smooth enough for his liking.

- one evening, nick stayed later to sharpen his skates using the rink's equipment. as he exits the locker room though, he hears the sound of skates against ice and assumes that it can only be seiji, so he decides to sneak a peek. he's only seen portions of seiji's routine since he's super secretive about it.

- and his routine is absolutely gorgeous. nick's jaw hangs open the whole time, and he can't deny that seiji really is a talented skater. like he's never really given a shit about the sport, but he can see seiji's passion for it with every turn and contouring of his body. his face too, usually scrunched up in one of displeasure or superiority, was lax and blissful.

- nick disappears quietly, seiji being none the wiser, and he goes home haunted by the images of seiji dancing and realizing that this giant prick is actually kind of beautiful.

- fast forward a week and nick has his first game. seiji is pissy bc it means that he won't get his evening practice, and nick makes the snap decision to invite seiji to his game. they're both surprised by it -- perhaps even more so when seiji accepts with a sneer. if only to prove his point that the lions are terrible.

- few hours later and seiji is in the stands: displeased at being jostled around so much by so many fans (which he is surprised that the kingston lions even have), but settles in to watch the game.

- nick is a speed monster on the ice, dmytro's coaching clearly having paid off, and the lions take home a 6-2 victory. and seiji isn't sure why, but for some odd reason, zero looks almost handome (in a rugged way) under the stadium lights with his wide smile and excited cheering with his teammates.

- he also goes home thinking of someone he was sure he would only think thoughts of malice of.

- another week passes by and seiji's first competition comes up. by some stroke of uncharacteristic brashness, he invites nick to come watch it. he fully accepts nick to reject the invitation, but surprisingly nick does accept it.

- seiji competes, places first, and nick sees the whole thing. even got seiji a bouquet of congratulatory roses and daphnes ("figured you'd win, princess. after all, there has to be some talent underneath that bratty and stuck-up personality of yours.").

- seiji immediately puts the flowers in water when he gets home -- if only to not let a gorgeous gift go to waste (he absolutely does not press a rose and a few daphnes when they start to wilt, not at all).

- more time goes on, the lions make it to the playoffs and seiji is preparing for the first competition of the grand prix series. the two of them are sort of warmed up to each other? def not best buddies, but they're not trying to tear each other's throats out with their skates. nick has been sneaking glances at seiji skating during that time -- his favorite time is during the evening when it seems that seiji skates for himself. seiji on the other hand, has gone to almost to every single one of nick's games without nick being aware of it.

- however, the plot must to go on, and seiji catches nick during one of those evenings nick stayed behind to watch seiji. nick fully expects seiji to blow up at him -- and for them to loose what tedious progress they had made -- but instead he gets an extremely rare blush out of the skater.

- for the sake of time, seiji is skating a different routine after hours and after being pressed about it, he reveals it is about a certain someone who he definitely likes a little more than just an acquaintance. and it's a routine he choreographed himself.

- nick's a bit "woah holy crap" with this information and it does pester his mind for a bit, wondering who tf this person is. but he does say that it's prob his fav routine of seiji's to watch (which proceeds to pester seiji's brain).

- then we get to the playoffs. the score is 7-7 and there's two minutes left on the clock. nick makes a final push through his stamina and get the last goal right before the clock strikes 0 -- making the score 8-7. however, nick falls on his arm, hard.

- nick breaks his arm, and he's out for the rest of the season. nick is obviously very, very upset about it.

- seiji does visit nick in the hospital before he hops on a plane to the grand prix final (since he made it there whee), and explains he saw what happened since he was there. nick interprets the visit as an act of petty charity and lashes out, taking out his anger and frustration on seiji.

- seiji lashes right back, and the two exchange some pretty hurtful blows. the thing that's important to take away is that nick essentially says that seiji's success as a skater only rests on the choreography of dmytro and his coaching. seiji storms out in a rage, and nick is left feeling like shit.

- a few days later, nick realizes that it's the free skate day of the finals and turns on the tv to the channel -- accepting that the reason he feels like shit is bc he misses seiji's skating.

- however, seiji's free skate is apparently very different from what was expected of him according to the announcers -- but nick recognizes it. it's the same routine that seiji does in his evening practices.

- seiji does place first and wins the grand prix finals (which he previously lost bc of a certain blond skater but that's a plot line for another time). nick realizes that he has to apologize, even if seiji said some nasty things, but what he said was seriously a d*ck thing to say.

- few days later, nick is discharged, and he spends every evening in the rink, waiting on the benches for seiji. who does eventually come after the grand prix final celebrations and resting for a few days. he decides to go for a quick evening skate to clear his mind of a certain hockey player.

- upon seeing nick, seiji is filled with rage and he gives nick the cold shoulder. whenever nick calls for him from across the rink, seiji pretends not to hear him. until eventually, nick decides to take matters in his own hands and make his way across the ice in his sneakers.

- obviously, this idea goes terribly, and he does fall a few feet away from seiji, who finally stops to give him the attention he's been asking for -- fully expecting an argument.

- nick apologizes for what he said and how wrong he was for saying it. he also mentions how lucky the person the routine is for must be. seiji is flabbergasted, not expecting this at all, and reveals that the routine was for nick, all this time. now it's nick's turn to be flabbergasted af :)

- nick starts laughing, which makes seiji extremely confused bc why tf is nick laughing since he was expecting rejection. but nick merely coaxes seiji down and kisses him softly -- and seiji understands.

- the lions do withdraw from the championship since nick is out of commission. they return the next season and do win first in a complete underdog fashion in case anyone is curious. seiji places first in the olympic figure skating event because he's seiji.

and just some other silly notes:

- eugesse is something that happens in this (much to nick's dismay)

- jesse and nick are half-brothers but they find that out down the line

- the lions are composited of the weight lifting bros and the one friend from nick's junior high who remains unnamed

#anyway yea! that's my nonsense for this au lmao. it's def one of my favs <3 #thank you for letting me talk about this au LMAO #always looking for excuses to do so #fence comic #fence skating au #nichoji #nicholas cox #seiji katayama

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sarahjtv · 3 years

Text

BNHA Chapter 319 Spoiler Analysis: Found Family

Holy crap what a phenomenal chapter! This arc in general has been great, but this chapter might be one of my favorites of the arc. Not just because it focuses on Class 1-A (I’m so glad to see the kids again), but because of the growth we see in these kids in general especially Bakugo and Shoto IMO. Like, holy shit ESPECIALLY BAKUGO! I stand by my opinion that Bakugo is one of the best developed characters in the series. There’s so much I want to say about this chapter and I’ll try my best to do so if my poor injured left hand will let me 😭:

The chapter starts off with the first of 3 colored pages we’re going to get over the next few weeks to celebrate 7 YEARS OF MY HERO ACADEMIA!!! CONGRATS, HORIKOSHI-SENSEI!!! This series revived my love of anime/manga and really helped me in some really rough spots in my life. I will forever be grateful towards Horikoshi for bringing this series to life and blessing us with such an incredible story full of beautiful characters. MHA may be a little overrated, but I still think it deserves all the love it can get.

Anyway, the color page. It shows Uraraka, Iida (who has red eyes here, so IDK why the anime gives him blue eyes though I do think they work better for him personally *shrugs*), Shoto, Tokoyami, and Bakugo after basically figuring out where Deku went. Bakugo is shown tearing up his letter (which says something like “Thank you for being there, Kacchan”; there’s more but I can’t translate it 😭) and you can kinda see some bandage wrap around his arm where he was stabbed. Also, both Bakugo and Shoto still have some visible injuries on their faces and Bakugo’s hands, so they’re still recovering from the War. It’s a really pretty page in general and I can’t wait to see what the next 2 color pages are going to look like. I also kinda want Horikoshi to take a break after this too again so he doesn’t overwork himself. Maybe he’ll treat himself to the MHA: World Heroes Mission movie 🍿.

So, Shoto and Bakugo have figured out that Deku is most likely with Endeavor, Hawks, and Best Jeanist. Problem is that none of them are answering their phones. I like that Bakugo calls Best Jeanist “Pair of Denim Pants” 😂 and Shoto’s image of Endeavor is still a very angry version of his old man. Shoto’s still making amends with his father, but he’s still not THERE yet. Regardless, these kids are smart enough to know that something’s up. Especially since All Might hasn’t returned to UA either.

It’s basically confirmed by Ojiro that because classes have been suspended, our Class 1-A kids are still 1-A; they haven’t moved into their second year yet. That clears up the confusion on whether we should still refer these group of kids as 1-A still or not.

Now Bakugo’s showing how much of a genius he really is despite his personality. Bakugo figures out that the Top 3 and All Might are working together as a group based on how they all connected with each other back at Central Hospital. Also, Bakugo concludes that All Might snuck Deku’s letters under their doors while Deku started running. Ultimately, Bakugo does know more about Deku and All Might more than anyone else does. He’s been around his childhood friend and he’s admired his idol longer than most people have. Bakugo understands how bad the situation is and he’s ready to take action.

As are the other kids. You can see how determined they are and you can see Kirishima’s black roots coming in 🥺! Even Uraraka gets some shine here by bringing up the idea to trick Endeavor to come via getting help from Principle Nezu as Endeavor was a UA student. It’s really interesting to see Ochako in a more serious roll than usual, but I actually like it. I hope she’s still as bubbly as she always was at the end of the day, but she’s definitely matured and grown a lot over the corse of the series. Even the simple things like her hair show it as it’s not as floaty as it was before. I love it when Horikoshi shows small details like this. It adds to the characters and stories a lot. Also, the art in this chapter is amazing.

And now it’s Endeavor vs. Class 1-A in a much needed conversation. All the kids are wearing their school uniforms to make this as formal and serious as they can. EVEN BAKUGO IS PROPERLY WEARING HIS TIE YOU KNOW SHIT’S ABOUT TO GO DOWN!!! And, I must say, Bakugo looks damn good with a tie 😳. You can also get a decent height measurement on the kids here if you want. Ngl, sometimes I forget that Shoto’s about 2 inches taller than Bakugo. It’s definitely the hair.

Shoto’s the first to step up and he scolds the hell out of his old man. Rightfully so tbh. Endeavor shouldn’t have ignored Shoto’s calls even though I kind of understood why. Shoto reminds Endeavor of their plan to stop Dabi though thankfully that’s what’s pushing Endeavor forward so he hasn’t forgotten. Shoto calls his father “Endeavor” and gets mad at him fro leaving Deku and All Might alone. The rough translations say he called Izuku “Deku” here too btw. Endeavor has no response. I think this anger Shoto’s unleashing is very justified and has been burning inside him since Deku left UA. His best friend just up and left him and his friends with nothing but a letter to kinda explain things. Also, Shoto and the rest of 1-A (minus Bakugo) have basically been lied to for about a year. I’d want answers too if someone did that to me.

Bakugo steps in by putting a hand on Shoto’s shoulder (🥺) to calm him down a bit and to say his piece. Ultimately, he thinks what Deku is doing is right, but that the way they’re all doing it is wrong. I love Deku and All Might, but they’re sacrificial idiots. They care more about others than they probably ever will themselves. That’s how All Might lost his OFA in the first place. It’s because of that that All Might doesn’t have it in him to stop Deku from going down this path. They shouldn’t have been left alone. Someone should’ve kept a closer eye on them. I know the Top 3 were all worried about getting too close to Deku before, but really, someone should’ve been watching them closer on the sidelines.

The next page is a really cool drawing of Endeavor flinging his phone to the kids to catch. The previous panels showed Endeavor with this face that’s regretful and I think he realized something: That Bakugo is right and that the kids might be better off finding Deku than he is. So he basically gives the kids his GPS on his phone. Those are just my thoughts, but it does look like that. I don't think Endeavor’s just going to up and give up though. He’s probably going to start rethinking things though.

As Sero manages to catch Endeavor’s phone, he and the rest of the kids think about how even though they’ve only known Deku for a year, they still think of him as family and cannot let him go down this thorny path alone. They’ll carry the OFA burden with him if they have to. They can’t smile without Deku around. These kids truly have become a family over the year. It’s amazing to see. Everyone’s like a brother and sister and it’s really nice to see. I just love Found Family stories, guys 😭❤️

And really quick, I want to focus on my ❄️🔥 boy, Shoto, really quick. As he’s thinking about Deku, he mentions how shocked he still is about Deku keeping OFA from them and how Deku thought just a letter would suffice. He has this sad look on his face like he’s trying to say: “I still can’t believe my best friend hid this from me for so long. Why? Did he not trust me?” That’s just my interpretation. Still, I can’t imagine how upset Shoto must feel. I think he still cares a lot about Deku enough to go out and find him, but he’s gotta feel some sort of betrayal. More so than the other students outside of Bakugo because, again, Deku was essentially Shoto’s best and closest friend 💙😭

Endeavor is rightfully worried about letting the kids out in the state of Japan right now, but now Principle Nezu speaks up and praises the kids on growing up so well. He’s also took into account Deku's feelings about his mission which is why he agreed to the team up. Also, Deku’s still welcome back to UA whenever he wants thank god ☺️. He’s a student who has to be protected. There’s a cute panel of Uraraka and her mom crying happily after getting her acceptance letter too. Not 100% why this is shown other than Acceptance Letter part, but it’s cute to see. Maybe Ochako realizes how much Deku needs to be protected or something.

As for the refugees, Nezu had the security system strengthened in time for the Cultural Festival earlier, but they never used it before. It’s call The UA Barrier. God, how strong is this thing? Is it strong enough to stop Shigaraki who was able to Decay the last barrier? This seems like something that’ll be used in the final battle TBH.

So, Nezu trust the 1-A kids to bring Deku back home. Which is exactly what they plan to do as all 19 of them enter Kamino in a badass full page. I actually wasn’t sure if all 19 of them were there at first since I couldn’t find Shoto for the life of me, but then my eyes saw the BIG-ASS ICE WALL IN THE BACK AND I THOUGHT “OH THERE HE IS!!!” LOL 😂

The next panel actually does show Shoto with Momo as they capture the villain from the last chapter. Momo politely calls Bakugo “Bakugo-san”, but Bakugo demands that he be called his insane hero name: “GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GOD DYNAMIGHT”! I CAN’T WITH THIS DUDE SOMETIMES WHY DO I LOVE HIM SO MUCH 💥🧡

Deku sees his friend and wonders why they came. Ochako answers because that they were worried about him, but Deku tries to convince everyone (including himself) that he’s fine. He’s obviously not and Bakugo calls TF out on him! He even drops a good F-bomb for good measure. Bakugo mocks Deku for trying to act like All Might and asks Deku if he can even smile right now. I actually really like it that Bakugo’s calling Deku out on his shit. I think Deku needs some good tough love right now to knock some sense into him. Who would be better to do that than Katsuki Bakugo himself?

As Deku is trying to convince everyone that’s he’s fine (while still looking like a demon btw), there’s a small focus on Iida. Actually, a few panels this chapter have focused on Iida. Maybe he’s remembering the time Deku saved him back when they went up against Stain. Deku saved him then so it’s now Iida’s turn to save Deku. Also, Iida hasn’t gotten much focus lately and I really like his character, so I’m glad he’s being brought back to the forefront again. Also, I like hearing Kaito-san’s voice in general so I’d be happy to hear him again (thanks for that one, Haikyuu).

The final spread shows Deku telling everyone to move away while Bakugo, Iida, and Ochako get ready to stop him. IT’S DEKU VS. CLASS 1-A!!! WE’RE ENTERING CIVIL WAR FOLKS!!! Seriously, though, this is great. I was thinking that it would be just Bakugo and a few other students finding Deku. Instead we got the whole class. And looks like that “helping hand” thing will happen later because we got a battle to fight first.

Bakugo’s become a damn fine leader and I love to see his growth every freaking time🧡! I like how Iida has his hand on Bakugo’s back to support him btw. It’s weird that Shoto’s not in this page though. He’s one of Deku’s best friends, so I would think he would be in this page along with Bakugo and his first 2 friends (Ochako and Iida). Maybe Horikoshi’s saving Shoto for a more 1-on-1 conversation with Deku. God, I hope that happens because I think along with Bakugo, Shoto deserves a good talk with Deku the most.

Honestly, I’m not sure who would win this battle. I’ve been going through scenarios in my head on who would win, but I can’t come to a solid answer. Class 1-A has 19 versatile Quirks under their belt and they have more energy than Deku to fight, but Deku still has 6 insanely powerful Quirks that he’s been practicing for a while. The kids could probably win if they strategize enough and use Deku’s exhaustion against him, but again, Deku has OFA and multiple other Quirks. If he could beat Lady Nagant, one of the best snipers around, he might be able to beat the 1-A kids. He could just escape with Smoakscreen, Black Whip, and Float if he wants to really. That would put 1-A on another wild goose chase. There’s also Deku’s Danger Sense which will be a pain to deal with. Also, Deku said that he’s as strong as All Might was in his prime with Fa-Jin and OFA combined. Only AFO and Shigaraki were strong enough to take on THAT. Plus, we still don’t know what the 2nd OFA Holder’s Quirk is yet. Deku might use it in this battle. God, I have so many theories in my head now. I think this battle will be awesome, but ultimately, I want Deku to come home 😭💚

Me reading and loving My Hero Academia:

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srirachvbi · 4 years

Text

Kageyama and Bokuto taking their kids to practice headcanons !

request: hihi i was wondering if you can do a continuation of the bringing their kids to practice with some of the other haikyuu characters? i’d love to see it with kageyama especially but honestly you can pick anyone! thank you :)

a/n: i AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG... I have no excuses, i was too sad about haikyuu e wording but i have read threads on how to write characters on twitter and i am thriving... so n e ways i was looking for a reason to write more of these because i just... love the idea of this so tsym for requesting!! if i write more parts, i might do hoshiumi, hinata, atsumu, and... maybe oikawa? i’m a huge bokuto stan so his might be longer than kageyamas im sorry <3 and and ik that kageyama goes to italy but for the sake of i want to write other characters, i will be using the adlers oops. i will also be only doing probably two characters per post for these because i write so much for it. LMAO ALSO these are super unrealistic this would NOT be allowed during pro sports practices but for the sake of entertainment, let’s just... do it warnings: manga spoilers

Bokuto Koutarou

He had been wanting to bring Kaori to practice for a while but each time he tried to, you would be like no bitch </3

heart been broke so many times

When you told him that you had to go into work and couldn’t schedule the nanny in time, he was like “I’LL TAKE CARE OF HER!!!”

Honestly you were only against him taking her because you were still mad at him for leaving her in the high chair for a while and you came home to her crying and him just knocked out

Like... Kou, pls <3

He had brought Kaori into post game interviews before but you were always there so this would really be the first time he’d take care of her by himself for a period of time longer than an hour

He’s a good parent dw !! he had just spent the whole night thinking about the most random shit and he ended up sleeping like three hours

He was thinking about horses cause Ushijima brought them up in an interview >:0

You were still mad tho

It had been a while and he had actually shown to you that he could take care of her by himself so you were fine with him taking her to practice

He was super pumped and was practically shaking in excitement (he was texting Akaashi the whole morning asdlfjskdf)

Bokuto-san AGHASHEE!!!!! Y/N IS LETTING ME TAKE KAORI TO PRACTICE!!!!!!!!! AGHASHEE Congrats, Bokuto-san.

That conversation but every two minutes

I’m sorry Akaashi <3

He also texts the whole group chat and Hinata’s equally as excited

Kaori and Hinata were best friends !!!! She literally loved him

Like he would put her on his shoulders and they’d run around for hours

How he has so much energy goes beyond everyone but it’s fun to watch

You lectured him for half an hour about what he should do in certain situations and unlike most times, he listened really well because :(( the baby cares about Kaori

Both Kaori and him actually walked with you to the train station and saw you off before heading to practice !!

He normally drives to practice because he has a super nice car and it’s easier to drive with Kaori instead of public transportation

When they get to the gym, he goes running in with Kaori on his shoulders

“WE HAVE ARRIVEEEED!!!!!!!!”

cue Hinata cheering super loudly

Kaori’s giggling and being all cute omg i love her

She was being carried in on her dad’s shoulders so Bo lets her down and she immediately runs (read: waddles quickly) to Hinata

“Hinata-nii!!!!”

Hinata starts crying-- jk, no

He goes “Kaori-chan!” and scoops her up in his beefy arms

BEEFY HINATA BEEFY HINATA BEEFY HINATA

Sorry

She’s giggling and she like kisses his cheek and everyone’s like “so cute...” ohmyogd babies

Similar to her dad, she’s super friendly!! and a bit simple minded

It’s literally in her blood to not actually hate anyone so she gets along with EVERYONE at practice

She even makes the coach super soft omg

Atsumu’s just watching her and being like “child. want. child-- oh god, i need a kid.” cause she’s just so god damn cute

Lol atsumu having twins cause it’s a gene or smth idk biology

I barely passed bio please spare me <3

I actually got an 80 smth on my final last year don’t listen to me

Sakusa being hesitant at first to be near her but she’s actually super sweet to him!!

CAUSE LIKE HER DAD SHE’S ACTUALLY REALLY EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT AND CAN READ PEOPLE REALLY WELL

like she saw Sakusa’s face and was like “oh!! I remember what dad said!!”

Kou talks about his teammates a lot and somehow Kaori remembered him telling her about how Sakusa’s a germaphobe so she’s like

“Sir!! I washed my hands!! I’m not dirty!!” and he

He just 👁👄👁

He thinks she’s cute and treasures her now

Suddenly Kaori has a whole team of dads

it’s okay

Bokuto itching to let her play volleyball but at the same time worrying about her if she does

It’s like the angel and the devil on his shoulders

One sides like

let her pLAY!!!!! LET HER PLAY (read it as if it’s the LEt ME INNN meme)

While the other sides like

👁👄👁 (y/n) will kill me if she gets hurt and i’ll kill myself if she gets hurt and hinata will kill me if she gets hurt-

In the end he gives her a volleyball after she asks once and he’s like ‘PFFT KAORI-CHAN IF YOU INSIST’ while she’s like

dude i asked to play once and normally someone disagrees with me tf are you on, sir?

she tries to pick the ball up but it ends up being half her size and it’s just... such a cute image

Bo takes a picture of it and sends it to you!!

You reply back in seconds lol

Kou-kun ❤💖 [image.jpeg] LOOK AT HER!! FUTURE PRO (Y/N)-CHAN!! (Y/N) MY LOVE ❤💕❤💕💕❤💕❤💕 be careful letting her hold that it’s too big!! but so cute!!! have fun taro <3

He ends up taking the ball away after a bit because she can’t walk while holding it

Eventually practice has to start tho so he asks her to sit on the bench and she’s an obedient angel and does so !!

The whole time she’s like swinging her legs and watching her dad practice

It’s fun for her to see him play

Okay but like I’ve said, she’s similar to her dad

At one point at practice during a break, she stole Atsumu’s water and was running around the gym with him chasing her

He was ofc not actually chasing her cause he found it cute that she was trying to steal his stuff

Lol Sakusa being like “oh, you can’t catch up to a child? are your knees getting bad, old man?”

Atsumu’s like “bro, we’re the same age”

Sakusa ignores him

She ends up TRIPPInG AND ATSUMU’s LIke “Oh fuck”

SHE CRIES

omg Bokuto’s like “tsum tsum-- do you want to die 👁👄👁🗡” because she just got hurt because of him

Atsumu picks her up and is apologizing so god damn much

This is the first time anyone’s seen Bokuto remotely irritated

Kaori: WAAAHHHH

Atsumu: please, child... i don’t want to die today... please... shhhhhhh

He lets her down and she walks (read: waddles) over to her dad and is giving him puppy eyes omg

Bokuto stops being mad and scoops her up and he’s like “did Kao-chan get a boo boo” and she nods, sniffling

Ohmygod dad bokuto dad bokuto dad bokuto stop

suddenly I actually want kids

Shion ends up getting a first aid kit since Meian asked (woah more black jackals players except I don’t really know how to write for them??? woahhh)

Shion roasts Atsumu with Sakusa for letting her fall and suddenly Atsumu’s the bad guy

lol

By the end of practice tho Kaori’s fine !!!

She’s back to her regular happy self so cute :(

She asks Bo to call you and when you pick up she shows you her bandaid on her knee and is like “Miya-san was chasing me and I fell!!”

Suddenly Atsumu feels a cold chill and knows you found out lol

Hi this is (y/n), and you’re watching disney channel-

good luck, atsumu *stops camera*

Kageyama Tobio

sigh

He would be equally as confused as a father as Ushijima

It’s okay, he’s trying his best

You normally work from home so you guys haven’t really hired a nanny!

And if you needed someone to watch your guys’ son, Sho (which can mean to fly oho see what I did there I’m so smart), you just drop him off at your parents’ house or Miwa’s!

WAIT SHO... SHOYO... WAIT I DIDN’T EVEN DO THIS ON PURPOSE IM LITERALLY

However, today was the only time you had to go in for like the next few months and both your parents and Miwa are busy

So, you enlist in your husbands help

“Tobio... I need you to watch Sho...”

He spits out his milk “wHAT” cause like,, he’s hardly taken care of Sho by himself and normally had either his sister or you around

He doesn’t actually spit out his milk-- you’d kill him if he did because it would be a pain in the ass to clean up <3

It takes a bit of convincing being he’s really nervous about taking care of Sho!!

Okay but he’s a great dad dw it’s just he’s nervous about having another human being literally rely on him completely

You also just remind him that Romero’s a father so he won’t be completely on his own while taking care of Sho

So he somehow gets to the gym with Sho in one piece but he’s literally so stiff like bro, i need you to relax

Hoshiumi yelling “KAGEYAMA SHO!!!!!!!” and Sho (who has actually met the team like two times) goes like “HOFIUMI-SAN!!!!!”

Sho’s a bit of an energetic bby-- he’s less emotionally constipated than his dad <3

He’s... he reminded you guys of Shoyo and well, you thought it would be nice to name him after his god father

No this isn’t a kagehina post i swear i love them but this is me saying that i love their friendship sm omg stop im gonna cry 402 really just popped into my head again

Hoshiumi getting mad when he sees that Sho has actually grown even though he’s a grown ass man and the little toddler would not, in fact, be catching up that soon

“KAGEYAMA SHO HAVE YOU GROWN >:0000!!!!!”

Sir, pls... sit down

The Adlers all love Sho since they’ve come into contact with him like twice at games before

Ushijima just... doesn’t know how to interact with Sho

He just stares down at him and honestly Sho stares back up without fear

Kageyama Sho: no (0) fears

I think it’s cause his father gives a similar stare sometimes and he just... got used to it

Ushijima gives him that stare and Sho just goes SIGH this again

Jk he’s a baby

He literally looks up at Ushiwaka and gives him this cute ass grin and Ushijima’s like “oh, children are very cute.”

Thank you, Wakatoshi-kun

Romero does, in fact, give Kags some tips about fathering and ends up showing pictures of Rubens to the team (love that)

OKAY BUT LIKE OFF TOPIC FROM THE PRACTICE BUT

Sho being such a big fan of Hinata and being like “woAHHH!!! I’M NAMED AFTER HIM!!!”

Hinata rubs it in Kags face because Sho practically idolizes him

anyways

Practice starts and Sho’s just sitting on the gym floor with a volleyball in his hands cause he

Kags just giving newborn Sho a volleyball and expecting him to become acquainted

It worked

Sho’s used to holding onto volleyballs and even tries to hit it but everytime he did, he’d fall backwards onto his lil bum and would be like :(

Kageyama watching from the other side of the gym and his heart just goes AHHHHHHHHHH

He’s about to cry that is the cutest thing he’s ever seen

Sho making sure he doesn’t interrupt practice!!! and like chasing after the ball to make sure it doesn’t go onto the courts!!!

Cute babs is so good :(

He ends up tripping tho and starts to tear up and Kags is watching during practice and goes “OH GOD”

He’s literally whipping his head from Sho to his coach and has this desperate look on his face

he’s saying “JUST ONE BREAK!! JUST ONE, SIR!!” with his eyes and his coach just gives in

Kageyama going from one side of the gym to the next at insane speed

Sho: dad :((( i hwurt my knee :(((

Kags just picks him up and cradles him to his chest (he does this after making sure there’s no blood or anything-- it’s literally just a little bit red)

Kags being a good dad just... WEAK

Only like two minutes later, Sho stops sniffling and is like “!!! go back to practice daddy!!”

Kags does and he can’t focus on Sho anymore cause his coach would yell at him asldfjlsf

At the end of practice, Sho is like “dad i wanna play voweyball!!!!!!” and Kags heart just CLENCHES

He grabs his heart like that meme or smth

You call them cause you know when practice normally ends and Sho’s just talking a lot and it’s so cute

He’s super excited and you’re like !!! My CUTE CHILD !!!!

Lol you tease Kags cause he was worrying about nothing

“Maybe I’ll let you take care of him by yourself more often Tobio” “Pls, I lost ten years of my life when I saw him fall pls not yet <3″

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bumackerman · 3 years

Text

DEAR ADULT READERS/CREATORS,

18+ (MINORS DO NOT INTERACT)

^ see that? there is absolutely no way you missed that disclaimer if you understand the proper way to read english. but, let’s say you did miss it... here’s this message;

if you are under the age of 18, do not interact with 18+ adult accounts, or content.

there. hopefully you got the memo. if not, then i guess, one day, you’ll have the great opportunity to be featured in this brand new series of exposing, purging, and reporting minors! i mean... yay you?

disclaimer!; do not send any unnecessary hate to any of these people! it does not solve anything, and it could get you in trouble. just report, and block. thanks.

featured today, we have (drumroll please)... @/matching-with-my-demons!

warning: this post is very long!

alright, so i don’t actually know for sure if he’s necessarily a minor, but i do know that he’s been lying his age, and many, many other details about his life, leading to him getting caught by yours truly.

from this point forward, i will be reciting a briefed account of what exactly happened from a collective point of view of all of the victims involved.

I. beginning.

so, (and i think all of the people involved can agree,) this person is a flirt. automatically. just giving everyone pet names, talking about doing stuff with us, role playing with us, you know. nothing too extreme. i wasn’t suspicious of him at this point. i mean, i was sure he was 18+. to be fair, he did mention that he was 21 turning 22. why wouldn’t we believe him? he was speaking like an adult.

II. little lies & suspicion.

now, i’m not saying that this is impossible, but at multiple times during our conversations, he’d mentioned that he was was fluent in seven languages. seven. it’s not entirely impossible, but you’d think that if english wasn’t someone’s first (of many) languages, they’d have some sort of accent, right?

not only that, but he stated that he was six years old when he moved to america from japan, and he hasn’t moved since. i know, i know, yeah, cool he knows a lot of languages, and he’s a foreigner. yadda, yadda. get to the point.

he said that he was of asian descent, and that his parents were both japanese, and they lived in japan their whole lives. where the hell is he learning all of these extra languages at the young age of 21?

if japanese is his first language, we can cut out the time needed to become fluent in it. next, i’m ignoring english, as he would’ve had from the age of 6 to 21 to become fluent in it, but somehow he claimed he wasn’t? (let’s not mention the obvious fake misspellings and misunderstandings of simple words.) how on earth would he have become fluent in (at least) five other languages in middle school-high school?

OTHER LITTLE LIES N DETAILS

- he claimed that he was a 6’7, 21 year old (cis) male.

- said he was a stripper, bartender, and a sex worker (we’ll come back to that later).

- sent a picture of “his” chest, but it was 100% from google or some shit.

- (not judging anyone who does) he said that his body count was 74, but literally no one asked?

- he texted us when he “got another body” tf? we don’t care. carry on, i guess. (said he went on for like 7 rounds but... what?)

- talked about getting a vibrator stuck in his ass n his roommate had to get it out for him, but once again, nobody asked. °-°

- said he could bench 200 lbs. not impressive, just thought it was worth mentioning.

- said he had the same birthday as bakugou, which, okay.. (4/20)

- he made multiple channels in the server where he could roleplay with certain people, which, i, and a couple other people never used.

III. the voice chat.

after a while of all of us messing around, the conversation started to get heated, and some of us were teasing him, including me. we decided to get on voice chat (his idea), and he started talking into the mic. all of us were very confused, as he did not at all sound like a giant of a grown man.

but, despite this, we all warily continued, until he left the call. when he left, everyone who was participating voiced their current concerns, and laughed out our nervousness. that is, until he re-joined and everyone muted. he continued doing what he was doing until he “broke character”, stating he was a voice actor and it was hard to keep up that voice because it hurt his throat. i would’ve believed him if he didn’t sound the exact same as he did when he was “in character”.

after that, we were a lot more concerned and on edge about his identity, and i started to focus more on the shit he was telling us, hoping to find out who the fuck this person really was. i stopped interacting with him in a nsfw way, and mostly observed what he was saying, just watching from the sidelines.

II. the pictures.

captions:

not only do the skin colors just not match up, the hands in each picture are totally different people. even if you take into account the lighting differences, the undertones should still be the same. these pictures are fake.

if you look at the fingers, you can see that the ones on the right are flatter, and shorter. if the hand on the left were to hold that phone, it would wrap all the way around the device.

from a common sense standpoint, we know that our palms are always lighter than our skin tone. the fact that the hand on the left is still darker, proves that these are different people. (not that we needed proof.)

also, if this guy is so muscular, why can he only bench 200lbs? and why is his wrist so skinny?

+ to me, the phone, (right image) and the quality of the picture, looks like a black iphone 4s. from what i can see, at least. meaning, if i’m correct, that picture is majorly outdated.

for both pictures, he flipped the image so that we wouldn’t be able to find it by just by reverse image searching. luckily, one of the people involved was able to figure that out, and told me immediately.

III. ID check.

like i said before, a lot of us were starting to get really suspicious, but at this point, i thought i was the only one that was sketched out, so i issued another ID check.

(be sure to click on the pictures. one of them is really long. also, when reading, read the date and times that messages are sent. i was trying to lighten the mood and be nice, but it was honestly so offensive that he thought i was legitimately dumb.)

so, obviously, these ID’s are fake. not only are the pictures the exact same, but the backgrounds are the same, the outfits are the same, the names are totally fake, and just, wow. i don’t really know how he thought that was gonna slip past me.

after i called both him, and @/yourmajesty-theking out, he went into his own discord and started ranting to some of the other people involved that he was freaking out because he didn’t have his ID.

remember how i said that he mentioned he was a stripper/bartender/sex worker? why the fuck don’t you have your ID on you if you claimed you were at work that day? you can’t get in without it. °-° just- everything he was saying didn’t come together cleanly. the timeline is all sorts of fucked up.

you can’t drive without an ID, how are you getting to work? you can’t get into a strip club without an ID, how are you getting in? you can’t serve alcohol without and ID, how are you a bartender? you can’t get an apartment without an ID, how are you living with a roommate?

he told us that he moved to america with his PARENTS, and somehow his grandmother is in america now? when did that happen? if you’re gonna lie, at least make it believable.

IV. conclusion.

anyway, do what you want with this information. the people in the discord all agreed that based off his voice and the evidence, that he couldn’t have been older than 15, and at most, 16.

though he hasn’t deactivated his account, the last time he was active was april 7, 2021 at 12:39am (EST) he claims he lives in cali, so i don’t know what time that is there.

thanks for reading. i’m sure i missed a lot of stuff, but for now, this is all i could put together. also, lmk if there are any spelling errors. i’m too tired to check.

like i said, if i get any hate for calling out a minor, you will be blocked/reported, and i will not hesitate to turn anons off for the time being. besides, saying dumb shit doesn’t affect me. just makes me laugh.

- bum <3

#18+ (mdni)#🍓. bum’s purge ࿐

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demenior · 3 years

Text

Dem’s Big Post About The Spn Fics Part 1/2

aka The Wrap Up to celebrate To Exist Again and To Become a Man now being finished!

(This will be a long post. This is your only warning.)

Admittedly this is a bit of a weird thing to be doing, but I wanted to try it out for 3 reasons:

I love talking about my own work and

It functions really well as a self-reflective tool for me to improve on, and

I can answer some big questions people might have because there was a LOT of worldbuilding in these stories.

We’ll start off with reflective stuff, and move into the juicier world-building focused stuff later into the post. There will be major spoilers for both fics to come!

To begin with a funny anecdote, Why Did I Write These Stories?

I was beginning to write and work out the story that I wanted to write for Spn (what will now be To Destroy a Man. As I was writing the scene, I realized I had a LOT of ideas and while I was trying to avoid as much exposition as I could, it became quickly apparent that I was needing to create my own au (this scene eventually became chapter 34 of To Become a Man). A short prequel seemed like a good idea, to quickly hash out the ‘prior’ events that I needed to go through so all the readers could be on the same page. While plotting out prequel points, I realized Sam and Dean were going to have drastically different experiences during the same time period, and I was trying to figure out who’s pov would be better for which scenes, and how to keep momentum when they’re going through such radically different types of changes. Ultimately I decided to split their povs, which I also thought would be a fun project! And I naively assumed each pov would take about 2 chapters each, rounding out to maybe 15k total.

I had my ending points: Dean n Cas soul-merged and (basically) married, Cas on the lam from heaven and a complete anomaly, and Sam juiced up full of powers and a weird mix of archangel and antichrist but still 100% human and ready to fight God.

Now I needed to add weight to these changes, so I wrote 200k of build-up.

Am I proud of these fics?

OF COURSE I AM!!! These are the longest fics I’ve ever written AND finished AND in the fastest freakin turnaround ever (both were finished writing, barring edits, in like 6 months holy shit)

I didn’t write a single scene that I “didn’t” want to write. If I had trouble writing it, as in it was fighting me, I scrapped it. Most obviously was the scene in Dean’s pov where he and Sam were intended to meet some other hunters and Dean declines working with them because he’s nervous about being outed as queer. It was meant to be a good scene! I wanted to introduce some new characters! But it just wasn’t working so I said ‘thank you, next!’.

But it means this story was an absolute joy to write. Because for a while all I was doing was ‘if I wanted to write one scene into supernatural, what would I write?’ and then just DID that!! It’s why there’s a lot of ‘Salmondean do dumb shit or have really dumb heartfelt conversations’ scenes.

Would I change anything?

If I’d been less eager to start sharing, I might have planned out the story beats a little tighter so there were less ‘soft’ chapters and a draw/pull for people to come back and keep reading. I felt Dean’s story specifically lagged at points and could have used some tighter editing (there was a noticeable lull in directed movement between Dean n Cas getting together, until Sam corrupts Amy).

I also probably would have held Sam’s story until I’d finished Dean’s so I could make the two line up better! Probably could have inserted more scenes into Sam’s fic that way, and made sure things were a little more consistent. In an ideal world one concept I had was to release 1 chapter from each pov every week that would correspond to the same time frame so we’d be getting real-time SalmonDean pov narrative. Unfortunately that didn’t work!

The biggest takeaway overall is for me to focus more on what moves the plot, and to make my scenes do more than 1 thing so I can cut down on wordcount and increase my efficiency.

Of course every writer will find things they want to fix in anything they’ve ever written, so these are minor “mistakes” at best. I’m so dang proud of these fics.

Onto more interesting things!

How Did I Put These Fics Together (because it’s different than anything I’ve ever done before)

Normally when I write a story, I plan out the beats I need to hit, see where I need to insert any kind of foreshadowing/buildup, and then write from A to B to C and so on and so forth. Hence, this is why I can normally post things as I complete chapters, because it’s all a linear progression.

For these two stories, rather than linear plot/a normal story structure, I just sat and free-wrote any and every scene that came to mind and then pieced them into a kinda-linear form like putting a quilt together. You’ll note that this is why there’s not a lot of internal callback or a feeling of sense of time flowing within the fic (save for points where I went back and specifically edited it in). How long does the story take place over? Hard to say! Your author has the barest grasp on linear time even on a good day (how many times did I say ‘see you on [wrong day]’ at the end of chapters lmaaoooo)

This also meant EXTENSIVE editing on the back end once I decided in what order I wanted my ‘quilt pieces’ to be. Hard to say if this is a bonus or a negative!

But I did want to try and capture the vibe of the lives they lead, as a bit of a ‘slice of life’-style story, when the slice of life is the profound weirdness of the Winchester roaming life, and how things are status quo- until everyone almost dies oh shit!! And then they have to keep living because no therapy we die/undie like Winchesters. Do I think I captured this effectively? Hmm. Good question.

Dem where the FUCK did the inspiration for a lot of the magic and creature weirdness even come from?

Honestly? Music, primarily. And completely mishearing lyrics!

Nightwish ‘Ever Dream’: the line is ‘my song can but borrow you grace’ and because my brain is scrambled eggs on a good day, I heard ‘grace’ ‘song’ and ‘borrow’ in that order and have had, for YEARS, the mental image of Cas borrowing Dean’s soul to power himself up for battle.

From there I’ve always been enamored with the ‘wavelength of celestial intent’ descriptor that Cas drops in s6 for “what he is”.

I also really like ocean metaphors mostly because I’ve been obsessed with the ocean and things in it since I was like… 5??? So really this was me just rolling with what I know lmao. I love using (somewhat) accurate scientific metaphors for very intangible things!

I was also finishing my degree in biology/ecology while writing these fics and I think it shows

Stars ‘The Night Starts Here’ gives us the series title and the fic titles. Except for ‘To Exist Again’. TEA was almost titled ‘The Upwards Fall’ because I wanted all 3 of the Main Stories to have titles from this song, but I couldn’t make anything else work in tandem with the series name ‘The Love It Takes’ while also working for Sam’s personal story. So Sam, as always, is the rebel <3

Stars ‘Up In Our Bedroom, After The War’ is basically the vibes of the whole story. TFW has been, literally, to hell and back!!! There’s a bit of melancholy and sadness, a lingering dark, but the chance of a bright new tomorrow and a soft start.

Let’s Talk About Themes in The Story! What were you looking to accomplish?

My earliest notes for TFW are, as follows:

Dean’s journey of self-discovery (who am I when I’m not trying to be Dad?)

Dean wants to settle down! He wants a big family! He wants to be domestic!

Basically: Dean doesn’t want to have a short life of hunting. He wants to live!

Dean’s journey of realizing he’s bi, and him accepting that

Dean’s relationship to Sam is both older brother/parent

And continuing Dean balancing these roles while also letting Sam be an adult

Dean’s Big Issues/Fears about never being good enough for people to want to stay with him (these are effectively highlighted in that Cas thinks he’s not useful enough to be wanted)

Sub Plot:

Castiel’s autonomy

Cas’ fall from grace, to trying to restore Heaven, to wrecking it further

He’s majorly depressed by the end of s7 (before purgatory)

Wants to stay in Purgatory but doesn’t tell Dean

Remains depressed after leaving, but resolved to keep living on because he’s clearly meant for something

After the seraphim reveal: does he have free will?! How does he grapple with this? How does he live in a way he can be proud of?

And lastly

Sam gets his powers back CAUSE THATS HOT

where tf did they go????

he got them from Lucifer?????

sleeper agent??????

Sam is The Chosen One

Accepts that he is More Than Human and to celebrate all parts of him

Lucifer and Sam friends?? Work together????

Sam needs autonomy in his choices/his life

If you compare these to the overall arc of TFW within the two stories, I think I got a lot of them! But you’ll also note a lot of these things aren’t concrete goals that are easily measurable (ex: Dean wants to learn to bake pie. In chapter 1 he starts a fire in the kitchen. By the end of the story he finally makes A Good Pie.) part of the lack of concrete milestones was why I felt it was important to tell Dean (and Cas’) story by going back to the point they meet, in s4! Dean’s gradual change towards his feelings for Cas, his relationship to Sam (heavily influenced by the s7 events of this fic) and then his own relationship with himself were such slow burns that I felt it would be a disservice to try and cram a change like that into a timeline like “1 year”.

I felt like these subtle changes and adjustments actually felt a lot truer to life-- people often change in very small, gradual ways over time, even without realizing it and often times not consistently! If only we could all gain skills like the sims, where we can easily level up and remain at that high level of performance!

So the Guy Who Ate Satan, A Celestial Nuke that Developed Sentience, and Dean walk into a bar…

Sam’s story in Spn The Show has always been a ‘chosen one’ kind of narrative. Sam is living with one foot in the realm of the monsters, and I wanted to bring that back full force! It really makes sense for him that he should only continue to grow in power, might, and magic!! As the story progresses.

Cas also got a power up! I do desperately love in the show that he was kind of a grunt/nothing angel, and so even when he defected to TFW he was a huge help for them, but in the scale of things he was an annoying fly to most other angels. It really worked for the underdog story of s4/5. In this I wanted to give him a power up, and originally it was actually going to be close contact with Sam that eventually changed Cas into something unknown (you can still see traces of this in ch34 of TBAM, where Death remarks ‘Castiel could be [Sam’s] first creation’. But for a combo of reasons: how Sam’s magic needed to have intent, the entire concept of free will and consent, and how much I wanted Dean and Cas to have their effect on each other, I decided to go with the route that Cas has actually always been something angel-adjacent rather than becoming something new. TFW/Supernatural has always been about free will and making your own story, so I amplified that with Cas.

Dean has always been A Normal Guy, which is part of the appeal of him and Sam (2 normal dudes!) taking on the Very Not Normal. As explained above, Sam’s story is ‘normal guy finds out he’s the chosen one’ and so, in a story about very large concepts and huge monsters and acts of magic, I felt it was very important to keep Dean as normal as possible. To the point it became a running gag to me, personally, in that ‘no matter what cool shit happens around him, Dean has to stay as Just A Guy’. And it’s a very humanizing role that allows the story to have the scale it does!

What were the most important themes in your story?

Sam’s Autonomy

I wasn’t even going to include the plot about Lucifer’s death in this story— that was going to come up in a later story, actually! And rather than Sam having ate Lucifer, the original idea was that they’d become a SamandLucifer entity (this harkens back to a concept I wanted to write when Swan Song first aired).

That storyline would have involved a lot of mental ‘Sam and Lucifer discuss what it means to live, which one of them is more worthy of life and if they do deserve to destroy the world for the pain they’ve been forced to go through, just to create the dichotomy of good and evil for everyone else’ discussions. There would be a lot of talk about how Sam hates and fears Lucifer for the pain Lucifer put on Sam, how Lucifer hates Sam because he and Sam are the same but Sam’s brother loves him anyways, etc.

Ultimately that was scrapped because Sam’s entire story in the show is always about how the world and everyone around him manipulates him and that he never actually gets to make choices about his own life or body that aren’t influenced or part of someone elses’ design. And that always bothered me that Sam was never allowed to be himself without having to be ashamed of it, and I wanted to make sure that Sam’s triumph of being proud of himself/proudly choosing to exist (again) was evident in his story

In the end I needed Sam to have this visceral win over his tormentor. As the story shows, in this case Lucifer was abused and put into a position where he was incapable of empathy and could only express himself in violence. Sam even understands this! But it doesn’t change the fact that Lucifer tortured Sam in unimaginable ways for thousands of years.

With that in mind I didn’t like the idea of Lucifer and Sam having “co-ownership” of their new identity, so I made the choice that Sam had to be the survivor. This tied in well with Sam’s new crusade to restore free will to the universe, because he’s breaking the narrative of his own story!

While Castiel wasn’t a pov character, his own autonomy and free will was equally as important. You’ll note that many, many paragraphs and conversations revolved around that theme and that in the end Cas followed himself (and love!) which ensured his freedom of self <3

The Brothers are WEIRD PEOPLE!!!! And Codependent to a Worrying Degree, but It’s Also How They Survive

It’s very hard to show “unusual” relationships when you’re writing from the pov of the two people who don’t think there’s anything weird about their relationship. Sure, they say ‘yeah it’s probably weird that we still share a bed’ but that’s kinda more in line with ‘I had a nightmare and I want to be close to the person who makes me feel safe’. Hashtag normalize co-sleeping when you need it!!!

From there I did try to point out how the boys have a weird perception of lifestyle in the little things they did.

From thrifting everything from clothes to appliances to books (thrifting is a valid lifestyle! It’s incredibly handy when you’re on a budget.)

To never actually having condiments or knowing how to use a dishwasher cause they’ve lived in a car, a motel room, or squatted in old houses their whole life.

I tried to have them wear each others’ clothes or casually swap things as much as possible. They live out of each others’ pockets!

Also the brothers are just weird people!! It’s hard to show from their pov, cause they don’t know how far off from normal they are, but like…

Everything about Sam and Amelia was NOT right like holy shit those two were wilding in their grief. They are very lucky things worked out for them and that they got to be hashtag Weird Girls together

Dean explicitly, in the story, gets horny after killing stuff!! Violence has done a number on his psyche and he’s gotten some wires crossed that maybe shouldn’t have been, or maybe could be worked out in a safe space but… uh… how likely do we think Dean is gonna go find a safe space to deal with any of his shit???

LOVE!!! Love is truly what this whole story is all about

If you’ve read the stories, you know how much emphasis I put on love. Love is the strongest force in the Spn Universe! It’s what averted the apocalypse and saved the world (Swan Song), it’s what created free will (Cas’ entire arc!) I love love!!!!

I went out of my way to not put any definitions on platonic love vs romantic love because I think love is love is love and how you express that is the difference. Neither is more powerful than the other because LOVE is powerful!! Sam and Cas are the most important people in Dean’s life and he loves them equally! He shows this by giving Cas kisses and stealing Sam’s socks.

It’s a personal pet peeve of mine when I have to hear explanations like ‘I love you, like a brother’ or ‘I love you, but like, as a friend because I’m a lesbian and you’re a man’ etc etc in media. If you have to continuously define how your characters love each other, then I don’t think you’re doing a good job of portraying their relationship. So you’ll see that I never put those parameters in any conversation. Dean DOES muse that he loves Cas differently than he loves Sam or Bobby, specifically because there is a romantic and sexual tone that his feelings for Cas takes, but not because he loves Cas more or less than he loves Sam or Bobby.

Which means, if you haven’t realized it yet, the Series + Fic Titles are meant to be a complete sentence because the power of love IS the thesis of this series:

The Love It Takes To Exist Again (Sam’s journey!)

The Love It Takes To Become a Man (Dean’s journey!)

The Love It Takes To Destroy a Man (TBA)

And now for fun stuff. Behind the scenes!!

What’s Something People Probably Don’t Know?

The demonic fungal/hydrothermal vent growth on Sam’s arm was thrown in literally as I was posting the chapter because I had just finished a 48 hour cram session of writing a report on tube worms for an ecology class (I was chanting my tube worm song as I wrote it) and it ended up being a HUGE hit with both readers and myself. But it was so last minute I had trouble fitting it in more throughout the rest of Sam’s story!

Cas’ orders? That may or may not have bound him to Dean and removed his free will? Were written into Sam’s story and I went ‘oh SHIT that’s compelling’ and then left them there as a ‘guess I’ll figure that out when I get to Dean’s story lol’

Originally Dean and Cas were supposed to get together after having their souls bonded, and have been in a UST limbo the entire time before that. Mostly because I think the entire concept of ‘we just got married of the soul I guess we should try dating?’ is very funny. CLEARLY the two of them were way more eager to fall in love than I anticipated (thank you Cas for your honesty) but you can still see shades of this original idea here and there (especially in ch35 of TBAM)

I never intended Dean and Benny to connect so well!! Benny was going to reunite with Andrea, she was going to live, and they were going to go off into the world and leave the story. And, uh, here we are. I’m still debating if I need to adjust the relationship tag or not haha. Polyamory is fun, especially when I was planning for Sam to be the polyamorous brother...

Speaking of, I can’t believe I forgot about Sam and his sexuality! If I rewrote TEA I would have had Sam contemplate more on his lack of sexual appetite due to trauma, up until he meets Benny and he gets to rediscover how he wants to be a sexual person

Many of Sam and Dean’s absolutely stupid sibling conversations were lifted near-verbatim from conversations I’ve had with my siblings

And lastly...

Dem where’s Kevin????????????? Where is our sweet baby boy????????

He’s SAFE!! He’s in the Hunter pipeline somewhere cause Sam handed him off to Bobby’s people. He and his mom are safe and at some point they probably got rib sigils like SalmonDean did against angels, but for demons. I didn’t have room in this story for him!!! But my baby boy is SAFE and I want to get him back to university because it’s WHAT HE DESERVES!!!!

To that point: god there were/are SO many characters that I just didn’t include in the story so far because I didn’t feel comfortable including them without stalling the story for them. To that point: pretty much everyone who is alive/dead in s8 is that way in this story, except Bobby who gets to live.

[Check Out Part 2 for reader questions!]

#the love it takes series #to exist again fic #to become a man fic #dem speaks

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