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callboxkat · 4 years

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Second Chances part 8: The Visit (1 of 2)

Author’s note: Very excited to finally bring you guys this next installment of Second Chances! The second half should be out in a few days. Until then, enjoy this one :)

Summary: Between some difficulty getting along with his coworkers and his quickly approaching visit with his parents, Roman has a lot on his mind. He can only hope that things will turn out well.

Warnings (for part 1) : fear of being rejected, food mention, arguing, panic attack

Word count: 6134

Second Chances Masterpost!

Writing Masterpost!

...

Roman received his first paycheck on the Friday of his first week at the Sanders Café. He didn’t have an account set up yet for it to be directly deposited into—he and Logan were planning to take care of that over the weekend—so this first one was a literal paper check.

Roman was very excited, practically jogging back to the house. When he arrived, he immediately tried to give the check to Patton, in return for letting him stay at the house.

Patton turned him down, cheerfully saying that Roman didn’t owe them anything, and he wasn’t going to take his money. Roman probably should have expected that. He knew that Patton had benefited a lot from the kindness of strangers in his past—of course someone like him would try to pay that forward.

So, when Logan got home, Roman went to him instead and tried again to hand over his check, figuring that Logan was more likely to agree to the exchange. However, Logan just shook his head and pushed it back to him. “That’s yours, Roman. Maybe you can contribute something with future checks, but you should build up some savings for yourself, first.”

Roman had tried to insist, but Logan wasn’t budging, so he’d finally given up. He did have one more idea.

Maybe Patton and Logan had flatly turned him down, but surely there was one person who wouldn’t refuse some compensation for him being there. She hadn’t wanted him there to begin with, after all, and even though she had accepted him now, he still felt that she was the most likely to accept his offering.

This was how he found himself outside Val’s bedroom that evening, his paycheck clutched in one hand. He knocked with the other.

“It’s open,” she called.

Roman opened the door, staying in the hall. Val was sitting at her desk, painting her nails.

“Oh, hey, Roman,” she said, putting the brush back in the bottle and inspecting her handiwork. “What’s up?”

“Hey, Val,” he responded. He looked down at the check in his hand. “I wanted to ask… Pat and Logan wouldn’t take it, but….” He held out the check. “For uh, rent, I guess.”

“Is that your first paycheck?”

Roman nodded.

Val shook her head. “No, I’m not taking your money. Even if I wanted to, Patton would kill me. Or make my brother kill me.”

Roman sighed. He’d gotten this job in the first place so that he could help out and stop being a freeloader, and now not one of them was letting him do that!

“You know what you should spend some of that on?”

Roman looked up. “What?”

“You’re going to see your parents, right? You should use that for your ticket.”

“Mamá already paid for it,” Roman said. “She won’t let me pay her back, either.” She’d probably throw a fit if he tried.

“Okay, Plan B.” Val got up, stepped out into the hall, and closed the door behind her. “Let’s go get your parents a present. What do they like?”

“Weren’t you painting your nails?”

“Just finished. They’ll dry on the way. Now what do your parents like?”

Roman hesitated. “My mamá likes to garden.”

“Okay. Let’s go get her a plant. I bet she’d love something with flowers. What about your dad?”

“He… I don’t know. He’s really into birdwatching, I guess? But I don’t know what you’d get someone for that.”

“What else does he like?”

Roman dithered uncertainly. “Well, he used to collect a bunch of really old coins… but I don’t know where we’d find something like that.”

Val looked thoughtful. “I came across a site a while back where you can buy old Roman coins for like ten bucks each. Does that sound like something he’d like? If we ordered it today I’m sure it’d be here by the time you leave next week.”

“I—yeah, I think so,” Roman said, having the sudden urge to hug Val. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “No problem. Let’s go downstairs; we can pick one out, and you’ll pay me back once you deposit that check of yours.”

…

They ended up choosing a coin that was about $15, with positive reviews, guaranteed to arrive well before he left. Val placed the order, and then she took Roman to a garden store.

“Sure, you could wait and go with Patton and my brother, but my brother has no taste in plants, and Patton’ll probably buy whatever plant looks the saddest because he feels bad for it. Or end up accidentally getting a plastic one. You think I’m joking, but he literally did that once.”

So, Val and Roman went to the garden store alone. They picked out a little plant with small blue flowers, in a cute ceramic pot that had been glazed a darker blue.

Patton and Logan were sitting at the kitchen table when they walked in.

“What’s that?” Patton asked when he saw the plant in Roman’s arms.

“Present for my mamá,” Roman explained. “Val took me to get it.”

“Oh, she’s going to love that, kiddo!”

Roman smiled. “You think so?”

“Of course! It’s so pretty. What kind is it?”

“It’s…” Roman checked the label. “It’s a… myositis. Forget-me-nots.”

“Oh, cool!” Patton said.

“That can’t be right,” Logan said, frowning. “Myositis is a term for muscle inflammation.”

Roman blinked, then checked the tag again. “Sorry, it’s myosotis.”

“That does make more sense,” Logan said. “Interesting. Were you aware that that name translates to “mouse’s ear” in Ancient Greek?”

“Why do you know that?” Roman asked, staring at him. “Who just knows things like that off the top of their head?”

Val started snickering. Logan shrugged, looking embarrassed.

…

Roman was starting to think that being homeless and unemployed hadn’t been so bad. At least then he hadn’t had to deal with this hell spawn.

“I can’t do it!” Roman wailed as he flung open the door (while still making sure it didn’t smack the wall). “I can’t do it! He is the worst!”

Patton, who had been standing at the kitchen counter, cutting up vegetables, set down his knife, looking concerned.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Roman sighed, walking over to him. He put his elbows on the counter and hid his face in his hands. “It’s this guy I work with.”

“Your manager? Thomas?” Patton guessed.

“No, not him—he’s great. The other one.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He hates me, and I don’t know why!”

“Come on, kiddo, I’m sure that’s not true.” Patton picked up the knife and started slicing carrots again, still watching him between cuts to show he was paying attention.

“It is! He acts like every time I mess up, I’m doing it just to spite him, and then he gets on my back about it, which only makes me mess up more, and then he gets even more annoyed at me….”

“Could it just be growing pains? It’s only your second week. Maybe he just needs some time to get used to you.”

“I thought so too, but…” Roman sighed heavily. “It is not working.”

Patton paused. “If it’s really so bad, maybe you could look into possibly working somewhere else? Tons of places would be lucky to have you.”

Roman looked up sharply. “No… no, I’m not doing that.” He shook his head. “I do that, he wins.”

Patton bit his lip uncertainly.

“At least tomorrow is his day off,” Roman sighed. “So I get a break.”

“Well, that’s good,” Patton said. He pushed the carrots into a bowl with the potatoes he’d already cubed, and he picked up an onion. As he started to peel the skin off of that, he said, “Maybe it’ll be nice for both of you to get a break from each other. It could be you’ve just spent too much time together lately.”

“Yeah. Could be. I just don’t know what his problem is.”

Patton glanced up, humming thoughtfully. “Do you think any of this has anything to do with your visit coming up?”

Roman hesitated. “Maybe,” he admitted.

A major source of stress for him at the moment—maybe the main source of stress—was the fact that he was set to visit his parents at the end of the week, for the first time in a long time. If you considered five years to be a long time.

It certainly didn’t help that at the start of those five years, Roman had lied to them about heading to college and basically vanished off the face of the earth, leaving them with no idea where he had gone or if he was even still alive. That is, until Patton and Logan had convinced him to call his mamá the week before.

Ever since then, he had been calling her every evening before dinner, to talk. Mostly, they talked about unimportant things. How their days had been (Roman always sugar-coated things if they hadn’t gone well), what they were up to (you know, besides the homelessness), and how much they were looking forward to seeing each other when Roman was able to get enough time off for a visit.

Getting the time off he needed had turned out to be easier than expected. Roman’s schedule already gave him weekends free, so he had only requested one additional day—a Monday.

He hadn’t been sure whether to be relieved or sad that he had had to wait an additional week to go, since they’d been understandably reluctant to give him a day off in his second week on the job.

Of course, both Thomas and V, all that Roman knew his other coworker by, knew that Roman was taking the day off. Thomas hadn’t seemed to mind coming in on that Monday—since he usually took that day off—but V hadn’t seemed all that enthused. The fact that Roman was taking a long weekend after only working at the Sanders Café for two weeks hadn’t helped the barista’s opinion of him.

As one might imagine, Roman’s stress about the upcoming visit did not go well with the attitude V took with him, and it had already lead to several clashes.

As exemplified by today.

“Want to help me cut up some veggies?” Patton asked. “We’re going to roast them for dinner later tonight. Maybe it’ll help to take out some of that stress on an onion.” He picked up the newly peeled onion and offered it to Roman.

Roman sighed. “Sure.” He went to the sink, washed his hands, and took the onion and knife from Patton. “How do you want this cut?”

“However you like, within reason!” Patton said. “How about I heat up some leftovers for you, for lunch, while you do that? We’ve still got some spaghetti.”

“Sounds good. Thank you, Patton.”

…

Patton sat curled up on the sofa with Logan, only half-watching the news that his boyfriend had put on. After a while, he stretched and sat up.

“I’m going to go check on Roman. He seemed pretty upset when he came home from work today.”

Logan frowned, turning to look at him. “Did he say what was going on?”

“Some kind of disagreement with someone he works with. But I think he’s really just stressed about this weekend.”

Logan nodded. “That seems reasonable.”

“Anyway, I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” Logan reached out, held his hand for a fraction of a second, and then let Patton go. Patton got up, walked past Val, who was reading, and went upstairs.

He stopped outside Roman’s room, whose door was slightly ajar, and knocked softly. “Roman?” he asked.

He waited, but he didn’t get an answer, so he tried again. When that still went without a reply, Patton gently pushed open the door, wondering if maybe Roman had fallen asleep.

The room was empty.

“Hm.” Patton leaned forwards to look around inside the room, but unsurprisingly, Roman wasn’t hiding in any corners.

He backed up, returned the door to how it had been before, and looked around.

Finally, he realized that he could hear something, faint, but not so faint that he thought it was coming from downstairs. Patton followed the sound.

Was that singing?

He stopped outside the bathroom, which was dark other than the light let in through the tiny, curtained window, but whose door wasn’t quite closed.

Roman stood in front of the sink, singing a song that Patton didn’t recognize. He was singing very quietly, but it was like he was serenading himself, complete with acting.

He also looked like he’d been crying.

Patton, who had been about to knock before he caught a glimpse of Roman in the mirror, stepped back before Roman could spot him. He did want to stay and try to help, but he really felt like he was intruding. Whatever Roman was doing, it seemed to be some kind of self-soothing method. Maybe it was a little unusual to serenade oneself in the mirror, but if it helped cheer Roman up, then Patton wasn’t going to judge him.

Patton quietly padded back down the hall and went back downstairs.

He settled himself back against Logan, who took his hand again. Patton read a headline on the TV screen about that week’s tragedy and sighed, turning his head so his face was against Logan.

“How’s Roman?” Logan asked, subtly changing the channel to one showing reruns of an old sitcom. “Did you talk to him?”

“He didn’t seem like he wanted to be bothered,” Patton replied, looking up again.

Logan nodded in understanding, although he was frowning.

“Is he okay?” Val asked as she turned a page in her book.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “He’s really nervous about this weekend.”

Logan fiddled with the remote without actually changing any settings. “I’d assume he’s afraid that his parents will reject him,” he said.

Val gave him a look. “Please don’t say that when he’s down here.”

“I don’t think it’s likely,” Logan quickly clarified. “They’ve seemed eager to talk to him thus far.”

“They’d better not turn him away,” Patton said. “I’ll fight them.”

“I thought we agreed you wouldn’t be fighting anyone. Besides, if they were going to turn him away, I’m sure it would have happened by now.”

Val closed her book, resting her head on one hand. “Whether it’s realistic or not, he’s obviously upset. And it’s probably not helping him, locking himself away upstairs with his thoughts. We should ask him to come downstairs in a few minutes. He likes to help with dinner, right?”

Patton glanced at the time. “That’s true. We should probably start cooking soon.”

“You cut up the vegetables like I asked?” Logan checked.

“Yep! Roman and I did.”

“Thanks. It shouldn’t take too long, then.”

Val set her book to the side. “Should I go grab him then, or…?”

“I’ll give him a few more minutes and then I’ll do it,” Patton said.

“Okay.”

A few minutes later, Patton walked back up the stairs. He was relieved to see that the light was on in Roman’s room now.

He knocked on the door, and waited for an answer.

A moment later, the door opened, to reveal Roman. He smiled, and if Patton hadn’t seen him before, he might not have known Roman had been so upset. “Hey, Patton. What’s going on?”

Patton smiled back, deciding not to bring it up. “We were planning to start dinner soon. Want to help?”

…

Roman had been making a point of getting to work early ever since his mistake the week before. So, it was no surprise that he was the first employee to arrive at the café that morning. It was a surprise, though, when neither V nor Thomas showed up. Instead, two younger employees, probably 18 years old or so, took their places: Talyn and Joan. Roman had worked with each of them before when they occasionally joined his shift, but never at the same time.

“Is Thomas not coming?” Roman asked, watching as the pair approached. He’d known it was V’s day off, and that Thomas didn’t come in every day, but usually their manager worked whenever V didn’t.

“He’s sick,” Talyn said, pulling on their apron. Joan went into the back to put their things away.

“Oh. Is he okay?”

Talyn shrugged. “He calls in sometimes. He asked me to take his place today.”

“Okay.”

“Joan and I can finish getting everything set up back here. Want to take the chairs down?”

“Sure.” Roman walked out from behind the counter to do just that.

“So how are you liking this place so far?” they asked as Joan returned from the back.

“It’s alright,” Roman shrugged. When V wasn’t getting on his last nerve, at least.

“Just alright?” Joan asked.

Roman flushed slightly. He didn’t want to complain about his job, not at his job, to his coworkers. That didn’t seem like a good plan at all.

Joan laughed. “Relax, I’m just teasing. It can be tough, at the start. Customers are something else. Plus I know Virgil can be prickly.”

Roman blinked. “What?”

“Virgil?” Joan looked confused. “The barista you work with?”

“Oh, right, sorry. I didn’t quite hear you,” Roman lied. He had a feeling he’d get teased if he admitted he’d gone nearly two weeks only knowing Virgil as V, or as the numerous aliases of the other worker’s name tag collection. “Glad to hear it’s not just me.”

“Has Virgil been treating you okay?” Talyn asked.

“Yeah. He can be kinda pushy, but he’s okay… most of the time. I do like his name tag collection.” Roman had tried to compliment Virgil on one of the name tags, pointing out that it was funny that the barista chose to wear one that said “Mary Lee”, and had only gotten even more hostility in response. Maybe Virgil didn’t want Roman to acknowledge that the name tags didn’t have the barista’s actual name on them? Maybe Virgil misunderstood, and thought Roman was making fun of whoever the actual Mary Lee was?

Whatever the case, trying to be that creepy cookie’s friend was proving rather difficult. Thomas’s “Storm Cloud” nickname made a lot of sense.

Talyn bit their lip, glancing at Joan, then looked back at Roman. Roman blinked, unsure what that was about. “Virgil can take a while to warm up to people, sometimes,” they said. “It’s probably nothing to worry about.”

Not long after, it was time to open up the café, and the attention of the three baristas was diverted to the grumpy swarm of early morning coffee-seekers.

It was a busy morning, with a lot of disgruntled people who thought they were entitled to their caffeine before anyone else and didn’t even tip well (if at all), but at least Talyn and Joan didn’t get mad at Roman for spilling a few coffee grounds, or for nearly forgetting the whipped cream on one of the orders. That was a welcome change.

Still, that afternoon, Roman spent most of his time holed up in the former guest room, trying not to stress too much about the next day, which was, of course, his last day of work before he got to go see his parents for the first time in years and hope they wouldn’t turn him away.

…

The following day, Virgil was back at work. And as tired of Roman was of his coworker hounding him like every little mistake he made would bring on the apocalypse, he did have some new information at his disposal, and he was going to take advantage of it.

Roman looked up as the barista came in, reluctantly lowering the headphones that had doubtlessly been blasting some sort of emo music moments before.

“Hey, Virgil,” he said pointedly, grinning.

Virgil hardly bothered to glance up, grabbing one of the aprons that still hung on the wall. “Hey, Princey.”

Roman was almost offended by that lackluster response. “How’s it going, Virgil?” he tried again, louder and with more emphasis.

“Fine?” Virgil said, giving him a strange look. “How’s it going, Roman?”

Roman sighed. “Disappointing.”

“What?”

Whoops. Virgil wasn’t supposed to actually hear that. He scrambled for an excuse. “…I said disappearing. The sun is gonna be disappearing sooner. The days are getting shorter again. You know.”

Virgil glanced outside, at where the sun was just beginning to rise, bemused. “I guess?”

“Aaaanyway. How was your day off?” Roman asked, tying his own apron in place.

“It was great. I actually got to miss the sunrise, for once.” Virgil started taking down chairs from the tables, putting them in place on the floor. “It was over pretty fast, though. Sure would be nice to take three days off in a row.”

Roman frowned.

“What are you doing this weekend, anyway? Video games? Binging Lord of the Rings or something?”

Roman let out a long sigh. “I’m visiting my parents,” he reluctantly admitted. “I haven’t seen them in a while.” Ever since Virgil had found out about Roman’s days off so soon after starting the job, Roman had skirted around answering the question of why he was taking that break. And while it still wasn’t really any of Virgil’s business, Roman was getting tired of this, and really didn’t want to deal with passive aggression when he was already worried enough. Today was Friday, and Roman was getting on the bus to go see his family that very afternoon.

Virgil’s mouth thinned. “Oh.”

The other barista turned away without another word, and didn’t bring up Roman’s days off again that shift. Roman felt that this was worth the admission. It would have probably been nearly unbearable otherwise, since Thomas was apparently still not feeling well, so it was just the two of them for the entire shift. As it was, other than Thomas being gone, Roman might have said that things were going… at least sort of well. Virgil wasn’t getting on his back too much, he wasn’t messing up as much as he’d expected, given how much he was thinking about that weekend (although he still messed up quite a bit more than usual). But of course, his luck couldn’t last.

He took a break during a lull in customers, and he came back, opening his mouth to tell Virgil to go ahead and take a break in the back, now.

But no words came out of his mouth. Instead, he froze.

Standing in the middle of the café, reading the menu, was a familiar figure. His dark hair was swept to partially cover his face, and he wore a black faux leather jacket over a band t-shirt.

Jay.

Roman felt dizzy.

“Roman?”

Roman shook his head, took a step back, and then sat down hard on the tile floor.

“Roman! F*ck, okay, hold on—Sorry, sir, get out, please! The store’s closed! Bye!”

“What the hell are you talking ab—”

“Store’s closed!”

Virgil herded the guy out, and as he disappeared out the door, Roman got a better look at his face. It wasn’t Jay at all. Just some guy who looked ridiculously like Jay.

“Dammit,” he whispered, wishing this realization would stop his heart from pounding, would erase the way he’d just embarrassed himself, was continuing to embarrass himself.

Virgil knelt down in front of him, hovering uncertainly. “Hey. Hey, Princey, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

Roman shook his head, his attempts to breathe only strangled gasps. It was all just too much. The stress of this new job, and the visit this weekend, and thinking he’d seen Jay, who’d been a catalyst in all of this— It was too much.

“I think you might be having a panic attack.” Virgil shifted uncertainly, hovering around him. “Does that sound right?”

Roman shakily nodded.

“Okay. Okay, good. No ambulance, then. That’s great. I mean, not great that you’re panicking, that—never mind. Can I help?”

“Yeah,” he gasped. Please make this stop.

“Cool. Cool, cool. Try breathing with me. It’s an exercise I use when I get anxiety attacks.” Virgil started with a long inhale, counting off a pattern.

“In, 2, 3, 4… hold, 2 3, 4, 5, 6, 7… out, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.”

Roman did his best to follow the pattern, with difficulty at first; but soon enough, rather than freaking out, he was a more reasonable amount of mortified, and this time more about the fact that he’d freaked out in the middle of the café, in front of Virgil, than about anything else.

Virgil seemed relieved when it was clear that Roman was no longer panicking. The barista looked him over for a moment, then offered him a hand up.

“I think maybe you should go in the back for a little longer,” Virgil suggested as Roman was pulled to his feet. “I can take my break later.”

“…Yeah, maybe,” Roman admitted, not meeting Virgil’s eyes. “Might be a good idea.”

Virgil led him to the back room, shoved a plastic cup of tea in his hands, and promised to return in a bit.

Roman sat there, sipping his tea, wishing he could sink into the floor.

Several minutes later, Virgil returned.

“Sorry,” Roman said as soon as he saw that distinctive purple hair, gripping his cooling cup of tea tightly. “I didn’t….”

Virgil sat down on the arm of the sofa. “What was that about?”

Roman shook his head.

Virgil sighed, glancing back towards the main area of the store. “Fine, don’t tell me. But are you, like… good? You’re not going to freak out on me again?”

“No, I’m… I’m fine.”

Virgil looked at him doubtfully. Roman set his jaw, and then Virgil nodded. “Alright. Maybe clean yourself up a bit, though.”

Roman felt his cheeks burn. He nodded.

As Virgil turned to leave, Roman cleared his throat.

“…Thanks, Virgo.”

Virgil paused, turned, and said, “I’m a Sagittarius,” before leaving the room.

Under different circumstances, Roman might have laughed. As it was, he simply took a deep breath, set the remains of his tea to the side, got to his feet, and went to the employee bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he had to admit he looked rather… disheveled. He’d definitely seen worse days, that was for sure; but his hair was a mess, and his eyes were red and watery like he’d been crying.

(Had he been crying? He suddenly wasn’t sure.)

Roman reached over for a paper towel, folded it over, and ran the water over it for a second. He stood there at the sink for a while, the cool, damp paper towel held against his eyes. Once the redness had died down, he combed his hair with his fingers until it was back to its normal groomed appearance. Finally, he took a deep, steadying breath, washed his hands, and returned to the front of the store. Virgil looked up when he appeared, in the middle of making a cappuccino, and nodded.

Roman resumed his post without a word, and they both pretended like nothing had happened.

When Roman went back to the house that afternoon, he didn’t complain about Virgil, for once. Of course, he did have other things to think about. Like the little detail that he was leaving in only a couple of hours.

…

“Are you sure you have everything?” Logan asked as the trio walked to the bus station. They’d parked a couple of blocks away, since the parking spots at the station itself were metered, and rather expensive. Logan had offered to park there anyway, but Roman had insisted that he was fine with parking farther away. It was a nice day, anyhow; and he would be spending quite a while on a bus. “There’s still a little time, if we have to stop somewhere.”

“I think so,” Roman said, adjusting his grip on the handle of the small, baby blue suitcase Patton had lent him. It rolled behind them, occasionally bumping over an uneven patch of sidewalk. “I don’t have a lot of stuff.”

“And you’re sure you’ll be okay by yourself?” Patton checked. He held the small potted plant that Roman and Val had picked up as a present for Roman’s mamá. He almost seemed more nervous than Roman. Almost.

Roman swallowed, then nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure. It’s just a bus ride. My parents are going to pick me up at the station.”

Patton reached over to squeeze his hand. “They know what time you’re getting in?”

Roman nodded. “And I can always call, if I need to…. Thanks again for the phone, by the way.” They’d picked him up a cheap, prepaid one for emergencies, since Roman hadn’t had a phone of his own in a very long time.

“It’s no problem,” Patton said. “Just be safe, okay?”

Roman gave him a shaky smile.

“There’s the station,” Logan said, gesturing across the street. “Which bus are we looking for?”

“17,” Roman provided. He didn’t even need to check his ticket. He’d spent long enough staring at it the night before.

Logan glanced to make sure no cars were coming, then started across the street. He and Patton were already scanning the busses collected at the station, looking for the correct one.

“I don’t think it’s here yet,” Logan said. “That’s not surprising. We are early, after all.”

“Let’s find a bench to sit on,” Patton suggested.

Logan didn’t exactly look enthused, but he went along with Patton’s suggestion. They found an empty bench, and Roman and Patton sat down. There was still room on the bench, but Logan stayed standing.

“Perhaps I could pick us up some coffee from inside,” he suggested.

Patton giggled. “Only if Roman’s not sick of coffee yet.”

Roman cracked a smile. “Maybe just water for me. Lemonade if they have it. But water’s okay.”

Patton requested whatever coffee drink was the sweetest, iced.

Logan nodded and walked off towards the station’s building.

“He just doesn’t want to sit down,” Patton said, leaning over conspiratorially. “Logan hates public benches.”

“Logan hates public everything.”

“You’re not wrong!” he laughed. He set the plant at his side. “So, do you and your parents know what you’re going to do this weekend?”

Roman thought for a moment, then shrugged. “I hadn’t really thought about it.” He’d been too busy worrying.

“You don’t always need a plan. Maybe it’ll be nice to just get to hang out with them, catch up.”

“Or awkward as hell.”

“Ehh.” Patton shrugged. “Maybe at first, I won’t lie to you.”

“Yeah.”

“But they’re going to be really happy to see you. I’m sure they’ve missed you a lot.”

“…Yeah.” Roman knew they had. But he couldn’t help the terror bubbling up inside him, just under the surface, at what they would think when they saw him. At how angry they would be.

Apparently Roman’s silent dread had not been as hidden as he’d hoped.

“Don’t make me hug you,” Patton threatened, pointing at him.

Roman let out a startled laugh.

“I’ll do it! You know I will!”

“I do,” Roman agreed. He watched as another bus pulled up. Number 33. Still not his.

“They did have lemonade,” a voice said. Roman glanced up to see Logan, holding out a bottled lemonade. He took it. It was cool and already slightly damp with condensation.

“Thanks.”

Logan offered Patton another drink from the carrier in his arms. His was a very pale brown, mixed with ice and with whipped cream and drizzles of caramel and chocolate on top.

“Ooh, thank you!” Patton said. He hopped up, kissed Logan on the cheek, and then sat down, sipping loudly from his straw.

Logan coughed, his face slightly red. “You’re welcome. Has his bus arrived?”

“Not ye—oh! There it is!” Patton pointed. A new bus had just pulled in, the number 17 in its window.

“Excellent.”

Roman leaned over to look at a clock on the station wall. He still had ten minutes before he had to be on the bus. Reassured, he sat back and opened his lemonade, taking a sip. Then he recapped it and put the lemonade in his lap, tapping on its sides with his fingers. “You guys don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. I’ll be fine.”

“No, no,” Patton insisted. “We’re going to make sure you get on your bus alright.”

“It would be rather unfortunate if we left early, and something happened,” Logan agreed.

Roman exhaled through his nose. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

“Yep! Besides, I can’t finish this in the car.” Patton took another loud sip of his drink. “So we’ve gotta stay!”

“True.” Logan was generally pretty insistent about there being no open drinks in his car. Or at least, that was the idea Roman had gotten so far.

Logan took a drink of his own iced black coffee and shrugged. “Coffee would be difficult to get out of the upholstery,” he justified. “Like any darkly colored beverage. One time, one of Val’s friends spilled fruit punch in her car. It was a figurative nightmare to get that out. I refuse to go through that again with my own vehicle.”

Roman glanced at Patton, who looked amused. “That’s fair.”

A few more minutes passed, with the three of the just enjoying their drinks, before Patton glanced at the time on his phone. “We should probably get you on that bus, don’t you think, Ro? You don’t want to get a bad seat.”

Roman shifted. “…I guess.”

Patton looked at him sympathetically. “Don’t worry. You’ll be okay.” He stood up, grabbing the plant; and Roman reluctantly followed, pulling the suitcase along behind himself.

In no time at all, they stood in front of the bus door, and Patton was handing the plant off to Logan and pulling Roman into a tight hug.

“Don’t be afraid to call us if you need anything at all, okay? I’m serious.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. Now go see your parents.”

“Have a pleasant trip,” Logan said as Patton released him. He offered a hand, and Roman accepted. Logan shook it.

“Thanks. I’ll… see you guys.”

“Good luck.”

Roman took a deep breath, picked up the suitcase and took the plant back from Logan, and stepped up onto the bus before he could change his mind.

“Hello, sweetheart,” the driver said, smiling kindly at him. She was probably in her fifties, and had clearly noticed how apprehensive he was. She held out a hand. “Have you got your ticket?”

“Yeah—um,” Roman pulled it out of his pocket, quickly did his best to smooth it out, and handed it over. “Here.”

The woman looked at it for a second, smiled, and handed it back. “Welcome aboard. Usually, we have everyone put their luggage in the storage area under the bus, but I think yours is small enough that you can keep it up here, if you’d like. We don’t have a full bus today. Do you have a preference?”

“Could I keep it?” Roman asked. It was Patton’s suitcase, and he was afraid that it might get damaged—or worse, disappear—if he let it out of his sight.

“Of course. You can go ahead and pick whatever seat you’d like.”

“Thank you,” Roman said. He turned to the rest of the bus, which was about a quarter of the way full with other passengers. He picked a seat about a third of the way from the front, beside the window, and put Patton’s suitcase and his mamá’s gift at his side.

He looked out the window, and saw Patton and Logan there, on the sidewalk. Patton noticed him and perked up, waving and batting at his boyfriend to get his attention. Logan waved as well, with significantly less energy, looking amused.

Roman hesitantly waved back.

He spent the remaining time until the bus departed just trying to keep calm, reminding himself that he did in fact want to do this, that it was a little late to back out even if he wanted to, and that even if his visit went about as horribly as it could go, Logan and Patton had promised that they wanted him to come back.

Finally, the bus driver stood up. She reminded everyone of which bus this was and the route they were taking, just in case someone was on the wrong bus, and how long the trip would take. Then, she sat back down, and they left the station.

Patton and Logan waved until they turned a corner, and then Roman was alone.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then turned to the suitcase. He unzipped it and pulled out a book, which Logan had lent him for the trip. He settled in, doing his best to focus on the story rather than on his fear over what was to come.

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katy-l-wood · 5 years

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Welcome!

Hello new friends!

Well, I was GONNA make this welcome post once I crossed 4,000 followers, but then y’all fell in love with the Corner Bed and pushed me from 4,000 to 4,300+ in a couple of days. So. Slightly later in the scheme of things than intended, but I’m certainly not objecting!

As you probably guessed my name is Katy. I am a...25? Yeah, 25-year-old ace author and illustrator out of Colorado. Before switching to just using my real name I was known as Katara-Alchemist and spent most of my time on deviantART, so if you’re thinking “hmm, this weirdo seems familiar” that is probably why. Also spent a ton of time in the Shadowhunters (books) fandom and wrote a shit ton of Malec fanfiction. Still love them but I just haven’t been able to get into the recent books so I’ve fallen out of the fandom. As for other fandoms I’m not hugely into anything in particular right now. Bits and bobs of different ones will crop up on this blog from time to time, but mostly it’ll just be random nonsense around these parts. That said, I am always down to talk about stuff! I love Good Omens, Stranger Things, The 100 (though I haven’t seen the newest season yet), horror, YA, comics, Wynonna Earp, Avatar The Last Airbender, Korra, and a bunch of other stuff.

Also, I spend a lot of time in the woods. A lot. I have a large sharp stick, a chainsaw, and a lot of ground to cover. Recently I found a very mysterious, unguarded, government tower in those woods so if I suddenly vanish in a black helicopter that is why. Just. Ya know. FYI.

I do my best to tag things well on this blog, including trigger warnings, but if I ever miss something please don’t hesitate to let me know! My ask box is always on, including anon most of the time. Also feel free to send me any sort of non tag question, or just drop in to say hi or say something funny!

Here’s some of my major tags and projects:

#Glory is Poison:

Glory is Poison is my in progress post-post-apocolyptic three novel series. 5/6 of the main characters are queer, including a train robbing ace-couple. Follows Shae Lockwood and her older brother Dustin as they clash over their sibling ties in a world that one wants to destroy and one wants to save. Includes vampires, train robberies, and a grumpy mountain woman named Vivian who is everyone’s favorite character so far. The first book is releasing in...probably May/June 2020. Haven’t set a solid date yet. But soon!

#Gunpowder and Pine:

The ongoing prequel comic to Glory is Poison. Chapter 1 is complete and can be viewed on the tag, and Chapter 2 is starting NEXT WEEK! (I’ll make a more formal post about Chapter 2 before it starts posting.) The comic is the story of how Dustin and Vivian met. It involves a very fluffy puppy and a near drowning.

#Pretty Lady Series:

The Pretty Lady Series is an illustration project involving drawing pretty ladies. I’ve always had a problem of getting WAY too bogged down in backstory when drawing which really slows me down, so I’ve set myself a challenge of drawing 15 ladies without giving them ANY backstory, or even a name. I’ll be doing 15 pieces of them just standing on a solid color background, then another illustration of each one in some sort of scene. Eventually all 30 illustrations will be collected in an art book and maybe a coloring book too.

#My Art:

The place to see all my illustrations and such! Lots of random stuff from other projects in there.

#Inadvisable Life decisions:

This is the tag where I stick all my weird true life stories. Like that time one of my cousins went at a deer with a kitchen knife because it was not as dead as they thought when they put it in the back of their truck. Or that time I chased a bear with my dad when I was three.

I haven’t shared many stories lately, but I do have a new one finished that I need to remember to put up, so keep an eye on this tag! The new story involves lightning, coyotes, and bad decisions involving oatmeal and empty fields.

#Real Estate:

My ongoing search for an eventual house, during which I have discovered a lot of WEIRD shit.

#Rumble and Rebel:

My cats. Very important. Very fluffy. The large gray one is named Rumble because she likes to meow at thunderstorms and looks like a tiny, angry cloud. The black one is named Rebel because she is very bitey.

Wait. Where did that useful little divider line go? WHERE DID YOU TAKE MY DIVIDER LINE, TUMBLR? I WANT IT BACK.

Whatever. That’s the end of the tags section.

If you like my art, stories, and general nonsense there’s a few ways you can support this blog! I have a Redbubble, Ko-Fi, and Gumroad!

The Gumroad is a bit empty right now, but I’ve got some more stuff that’ll be going up there over the next few months. Tutorials, brush packs, coloring pages, etc. If there’s some sort of art or writing resource you’d like me to put on there, please let me know!

Also, if you like my work please consider giving it a reblog along with a like. With tumblr’s weirdness reblogs really help bring attention to original content.

So...yeah. Welcome! Enjoy your stay.

#About Me #Welcome #Welcome Post

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heartfeltheart · 4 years

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Alchemy: Tiny Steps

Chapters: 5/45 Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist/Harry Potter Rating: T Relationships: Edward/Winry, Lan Fan/Ling, and May/Alphonse. Primary Characters: Edward Elric, Severus Snape Additional Tags: Crossover, Teacher!Edward, BrOtp Edward/Severus. Sassy beyond measure. Pro!Snape Series: Part 2 of 9. Summary: Part two of the Alchemy Series. Politics. Either you love it, hate it or you live it. For Alchemy Teacher Edward Elric, he lives it, hates it and loves it when he gets the upper hand. Here is to another year of hell… D/C: I do not own Harry Potter or Fullmetal Alchemist. Discord: La Red(Mesh Mash of… stuff.): https://discord.gg/KYjmVAb Alchemy Series: https://discord.gg/DejEYNJ

"Those curtains just to do match the décor!"

"Gasp! How dare you! I’ll have you know they are the latest in style!"

"Hah! I've seen better."

"How about you! Look at that outfit! So outdated!"

"Sniffle... that's a low blow...dear Mother-in-law."

"What are they doing?" Cornelius Fudge whispered to Alphonse.

"They are playing Mother-in-law vs. Daughter-in-law." Alphonse facepalmed at the scene before him. Of course, out of all the times, those two will play their mind games are during times, they should not play the games. It didn't help how him, Edward, Mei, and Mustang Unit had just arrived at the Palace and half of their expected guest from Great Britain arrived too. Very early. All he wanted to do is take a long luxuries bath... and get rid of all the sand inside his clothing. All the sand has started to shave him badly. "Welcome to Xing... ignore the bickering. It will become background noise once you get used to it."

"Alphonse-sama... we have to get ready for dinner." Mei tugged on Alphonse's sleeve to get his attention. She ignored the stares from Fudge's guests, those stares grew voracious from the younger ones when it is noted that she is a princess. Those stares are not any different from her former power hungry suitors.

"Of course." Alphonse nodded in agreement. He glanced over at the Mustang Unit to see them not see discreetly trying to get rid of the sand from their uniforms. "Take Ms. Hawkeye and I'll take the others."

Mei nodded in agreement, she pulled Alphonse's arm hard enough to catch him off guard. Once Alphonse at Mei's eye level, Mei kissed him on the cheek before she ran off leaving him hanging. Alphonse thanked his training for being able to quickly recover to prevent himself from falling, not so much on becoming a sputtering mess and his face turning bright red. He glared at Roy and Jean when they whistled at him. They stopped when Ms. Hawkeye grabbed them by their ears and yanked them down harshly.

"GASP! You didn't bring your famed leather boot soup! How could you!"

"Bah! I do not wear leather boots anymore."

-.-

"When will Madam Bones arrive?" Edward whispered to Ling once they headed to one of the many guests waiting rooms in the Palace. He is still shaking the sand out of his hair and would occasionally flick some to Ling's way.

"About that..."

They along with Fudge and his following came to a stop to an open doorway that leads to the main garden. They're sitting in the garden is Madam Amelia Bones sitting on a stone bench with two Aurors standing at either side of her drinking tea. "Hello, Madam Amelia!"

Amelia glanced over to see Ling, Edward, and Fudge, along with his ever-dwindling entourage at a short distance. She gave a curt wave before returning her attention back to the water fountain, her niece is playing around in the water laughingly.

"She's here!" Fudge sputtered out, his eyes wide in befuddlement. He had thought he was the only one, important, that was invited to this inclusive dinner. The invitation he was given did not even mention that...woman... as going to be here.

"Of course, I invited her." Ling replied naturally. He waved for his guest to follow him down a different location of the palace. "Madam Bones is here with a few guests of her own. An admirable woman, great mind."

"Are you in talking terms with, Madam Bones?" A sickeningly sweet voice asked out from within Fudge's entourage. That voice made Edward shiver up his spine, of course, that woman will be here. Glancing over, he saw Ling's expression turned to his typical comical façade. The same façade he always uses to hide his true intentions behind his emotions.

What Ling said made Edward trip over his own feet and had to bite harshly on his tongue to prevent himself from laughing out loud. Leave it to Ling to insult someone without making it obvious he is insulting them. The cherry on top is the fact none of the idiots even know they were being severely made them look like complete buffoons.

From what Edward had heard from Alphonse, Ling attempted to do the same thing to Madam Bones, but the Emperor of Xing was schooled in his own game. To the point that it made Ling put the woman on a pedestal. Truth, Madam Bones reminds him so much of Captain Hawkeye and Major General Armstrong. Every time he thinks about it, it causes Edward to shiver in horror. The woman will make an amazing Minister, once their plans go through.

-.-

10-year-old Susan Bones used the wooden sticks, from what she heard are called chopsticks, and stabbed her food. She wasn't given a fork or spoon, but this is far more fun than using them. Her aunt hasn't mentioned anything about it and even better. The food is amazing, the garden is completely astonishing and everything else exceeds everything she could ever imagine of a Palace. Emperor Ling, Mr. Edward, Mr. Alphonse, and General Roy are going on about their past adventures. The only one that remained primarily quiet is Lady Lan Fan, the beautiful fiancé of the Emperor himself! She is wearing sky blue, purple and yellow dress and her jewelry!

"Then... Then... we had somehow ended up stuck in a cave... just me and Emperor Idiot over here." Edward couldn't contain his laughter of the story is he about to tell. "We not no provisions vat so ever."

"Oooooh, I remember that one! This was when you had horrid taste in wearing nothing but leather."

"Oi! I'll have you know... I looked amazing!"

"Right... your elevated boots were such a fashion no-no."

"Shut-it Colonel Bastard!"

"It's General!"

"Eh, tomatoes, tomatoes. Whatever!"

"Hem-Hem."

Susan munched on a dumpling as she watched Ms. Umbridge coughed into a cloth napkin. Everytime the old woman coughed, the volume of the banter grew and grew. It was as if they are doing everything they could do to ignore the Ministry Official, no matter how many attempts to interrupt the proceeding conversation. That is until Mr. Umbridge used her chopstick to repeatedly tap them against her glass. It was only then she had everyone's attention.

"How exactly did all of you know each other... to this degree?"

"Stupidity." Captain Riza muttered into her cup of tea, and that brought out a whole round of laughter and denial.

"Oi!"

"Not fair!"

"Hawkeye..."

"...She kind of has a point..."

"I want leather boot soup now."

"Oh truth, Ling..."

"No cursing in front of the children, Daughter-in-law~" Ling chided his 'Daughter-in-law'.

"Bite me!" Edward huffed out, glaring at his 'Mother-in-law' challengingly.

"Is that a challenge?"

"My Lord..." Lan Fan whispered warningly to Ling.

Ling paused before he proceeded to act out his next semi-planned action. He already on Lan Fan's shortlist after forcing into a royal gown (which fits her perfectly, the original measurements he wrote down are the right ones) and having her sit next to him. A spot that is usually reserved for someone of a very high standing. It doesn't help that the aura she is spewing out is anything but tranquil and the normal level of hostility. She now has an aura that could only be described to the calm before the storm. A very... deadly calm before the storm.

"Yes, Lan Fan?"

"Eat your dinner."

"Of course, of course..."

"What kind of desserts do you have here?"

"Susan..." Amelia whispered her niece to be quiet.

"Desert?" Alphonse entire expression sprang up at the mention of said course of the dinner.

"Not yet, Alphonse-sama."

-.-

Cornelius, for the life of him, does not know what to add to the conversation without making himself look like an idiot. He couldn't stop giving out a gobsmack expression that seemed to now be permanently stuck on his face. The topic of the conversation? Military, Law Enforcement, Public Safety, and other related topics. Every time he attempted to add in something, his words were met with criticism, disgust, and so on. Even some of his following appeared to be siding with them and are sharing their thoughts on his own thoughts. He could see they are turning against him.

"Hem-Hem."

Ah, perhaps Dolores could level the playing field.

"Do you need a cough drop or something?"

"Or honey?"

"We do have honeyed tea..."

Or not...

Dolorous smile grew at the fact she finally had the spotlight. "It is noted that, Lord Li-" "Emperor Ling!" "Emperor Ling... You are planning on creating a Magical School here in Xing? We could help you create the school a-"

"Eh, don't worry about it." Ling waved excessively at the woman, his own smile rivaled the woman. "I am planning on hiring magical users to help us guide with the magical portion of the school. The school will be implementing a Magical, Alchemic, and Standard education."

"Standard?" Cornelius questioned.

"For those that are not studying magic or alchemy. People who are not capable of doing magic or have no intentions of learning Alchemy or Alkahestry."

"Muggles in a magical school...?" Cornelius attempted to hide his disgust but it was too late.

"I find it admirable for creating such school." Amelia inserted back into the conversation, as much she attempted to avoid having all tension sorted of her rival but it appears the damage is done. From the time, she had spent in Amestris and Xing, the term 'Muggle', depending on the context it is used, is a bigotry word. "If you need any sort of assistance, do not hesitate to ask."

This dinner did not go as planned... for Cornelius. For everyone else, it is going amazingly well.

-.-

"Well... this turned out better than anticipated."

"Fudge is completely out of his league."

"Do you think this will cause him to truly see he is incapable?"

"Maybe, why don't we turned it up just a notch."

"...Considering that this is going to be coming from you, Al... its' going to scare me."

"All I wanted to say is having another Battle Royal?"

"...After dinner entertainment?"

"I'm just going to hide now..."

-.-

By Merlin's Beard... they are not even human.

#Alchemy Series #Tiny Steps #HP #FMA #FMAB #HP/FMA #HP/FMAB #Crossover #AU #Pro!Snape

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gaylortruther · 5 years

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(many) tag games

saw someone else do this so i figured i’d go through all my tag games in one looong post instead of spamming you all with a bunch of separate posts!

i’m gonna tag everyone now and yall can choose which tag games you want to do or whether you want to do them all (or whether you want to do any)!!

thanks to everyone who tagged me in all of these! i LOVE being tagged in tag games and i am always up for more! <3

tagging THE SANCTION (including ppl that i haven’t gotten up on the page yet im sorry abfjffsdhsjbjsdf it will happen SOON): @newdivinities @wolvesofarcadia @maskedlady @victoiirres @sancta-silje @bumblebeesonpaper @wasting-ink-not-youth @horrorspell @ya-lady-tauriel @awritinglen @purpleshadows1989 @ivonoris @theforgottencoolkid @the-ichor-of-ruination @grotesqu-e @lucacangettathisass @tea-ndi @hazeywrites @lunar895 @thewordsinthesky-andstars

[LAST LINE TAG]

TAGGED BY @melwrotethat AND @hazeywrites

thank you both for the tags! these are the last few lines of the prologue-excerpt-thing i wrote for the page i’m working on for WHERE THE CELLAR MEETS THE SKY

Somehow, Collin hears them. Silently, she rolls up her sleeve, and Rowan feels the Collin Sutherland they knew is somewhere far, far away. The tattoos are black, geometric in design, two on each arm, and eerily similar to the ones Rowan has just discovered on their own left arm. They're sure if they were to roll up their right sleeve, they would find more.

"I should have told you a long time ago," Collin whispers. "I didn't know you were a part of it, but I should have guessed. I didn't want to put you in danger."

"I'm not- I don't- in danger of what?"

The waves crash onto the shore, and in the distance, a seagull cries, sending Collin into action. She grabs Rowan's hand and starts pulling, dragging them back behind the house.

"Come on. We don't have a lot of time, we have to get going. I can tell you everything on the way. I don't know why he brought me here instead of straight to the veil, damn it-,"

"Wait!," they say, wrenching their hand out of her grasp. "Just- stop! Where are we going?!"

Collin's eyes flash bright, despite the lack of sunlight. "Home."

yeah, a bit long, a bit unedited, but *shrugs*

[SPELL OUT UR URL USING SONG TITLES]

TAGGED BY @tea-ndi

thank you sage!!! <3

hard feelings/loveless | lorde

another one of those days | cavetown

let’s fall in love for the night | FINNEAS

ocean eyes | billie eilish

honey and milk | flower face

i know | king princess ft fiona apple

dreamz | sara king

iloveyou | BETWEEN FRIENDS

nobody’s home | gnash

greek god | conan gray

sycamore girl | rex orange county

and there you have a small sample of my music taste! add in literally every taylor swift song (dont judge me), some lo-fi tunes without ANY words whatsoever, and the occasional fall out boy or panic at the disco goddamn absolute banger, and you have my XANDERS JAMS playlist on spotify. ENJOY

[11/11/11 TAG]

TAGGED BY @awritinglen <333333333333333333333333

thank you for tagging me len!!! your questions were so fun!! i’m doing this for WHERE THE CELLAR MEETS THE SKY

Name all OCs in your WIP

OMFG okay,,, wait do you mean full names?? POV characters as of rn are Collin Aisling Sutherland, Rowan Tilley (doesn’t have a middle name) and Avery Bristol Charter. then the next most important one is Isaac Michael Rosewell, even though he’s the antagonist. then the side characters that are still very featured are Noah Rosalyn Pratten, Reese Iseul Radley, and Sage Emarosa Delgado. THEN we get into the very very side characters, Willa Robinson and her son August Robinson. then we have Avery’s parents, Alaric and the late Octavia Charter. and thennnnn we have Beldane Moreno, Avery’s uncle and Collin’s grandfather (undecided abt that last name but going w it for now). i promise it all makes sense. i promise anfnfsjnfdjsfd

Name at least one hobby your Main character love

i’ll give this one to Collin, she is a musician! Avery’s mother always taught her music before The Accident (dun dun dunnn) and after Collin was abandoned in the Nigh she threw herself into music. she plays guitar mostly, but she secretly loves piano the best out of every instrument she knows

3 sentences about your current WIP

OOF. im so bad at summaries why would you do this to meee abfhshjbsbshfjsbf. “A determined believer wants to return to a home that never wanted her. Almost 4000 miles away, an incisive, intellectual outcast of a dreamer muses over getting out of their hometown. And infinities away from them both, a teenage revolutionary disappears into thin air, on his way to bring back his past and fix his (and everyone’s) future.”

Is there a romance in your WIP and did you plan it from the beginning?

yes! there are three! they are definitely a main focus of the plot, but not THE main focus. Reese and Rowan were definitely planned from the beginning. Collin and Noah were, too, but they weren’t originally enemies to lovers, and they are now (hehehehehe). and Isaac and Avery were DEFINITELY not planned from the beginning. in fact, Avery was originally paired up with Sage, but it’s literally so much better this way and i’m so glad it’s been changed. Isaac and Avery has been planned since about when Isaac’s character was thought up, one year into planning WTCMTS.

What genre(s) is it?

a mix of dystopia and urban fantasy. and it’s YA, borderline NA because some of the characters are 19-20, but i still think YA is appropriate because of the style of writing.

What’s the aesthetic of two of your characters?

fun question! Collin’s aesthetic is very emo-punk, with a splash of yellow towards the end of the series. piercings, blue hair, rips on clothing, dirty converse, smudged eyeliner, safety pins. the yellow comes in as part of her character arc, as she learns to accept that her childhood memories are tainted and not actually perfect utopia. Rowan is way more minimalist (sometimes). they’re into the bookstagram type aesthetic, and mom jeans with sneakers, jean jackets, plants against a white wall, colorblocked windbreakers, rain against a car window.

When did you start your current WIP?

WTCMTS was started in august of 2017

How far along are you in the process (i.e 1st/2nd/3rd draft, worldbuilding)

still worldbuilding, unfortunately, for personal reasons

Who’s the hardest character for you to write?

OOOOOOF. sage or rowan?

What music genre best decribes your main character(s) and whats their favorite?

Collin - alternative (favorite band would be like twenty one pilots, p!atd)

Rowan - ichillwave (clario, rex orange county)

Avery - emo (fall out boy, all time low)

Isaac - indie alternative OR instrumental lofi (jaymes young, birdy)

Noah - electropop (lorde, halsey, charlie xcx)

Reese - folk rock (the head and the heart, of monsters and men)

Sage - indie pop (lana del ray, florence + the machine)

Are you working on more than one WIP?

yes! i have four currently but only two are important lol, ILLUNIUS and WHERE THE CELLAR MEETS THE SKY (this one). WIP PAGE

MY QUESTIONS

how did you come up with the title for your WIP?

is there anything you want to change about your WIP but you are hesitating on?

do you have a favorite character? a character that is your baby?

write a tinder bio for one of your characters.

how do you feel about epilogues? does your wip include an epilogue?

what changes does your MC go through over the course of the story?

what is the most significant insignificant thing that happens in your story? don’t explain why it is significant if it spoils things ;)

do you know what will happen after the ending of your wip, or would you rather not picture it?

how long does your wip span? is it a novel? a series? does it have prequels or spin-off wips?

what is a major internal conflict for your MC?

do you include flashbacks in your wip? do you like writing flashbacks?

[HOW TO KNOW YOU’RE IN A ______ NOVEL TAG]

TAGGED BY @writevevo AND @wolvesofarcadia

thank you both for this tag! it’s so much fun and both of your novels sound like novels that would be very interesting to be stuck in :D

inspired by this post

HOW TO KNOW YOU’RE IN A HALOHIDINGS NOVEL

you’re an older sibling and you have a younger sibling. you’re extremely bitter towards your younger sibling for stealing opportunities from you, damning you to a life you never truly wanted. your younger sibling adores you and just wants to please you. they never meant to do it.

you’re stuck in constant, wistful wanderlust, never feeling like you truly belong, never fitting in anywhere, not with friends, not with family, and when you finally find the place you’ve been looking for, you realize it’s nothing like you dreamed or remembered.

you’re not heterosexual. no one around you is. no one is cisgender either. where are they? no one knows.

you have a peculiar capability dancing under your skin. it trickles from your pores and muddles with your mind. maybe you asked for it, maybe it was predestined, maybe you never wanted anything to do with it. whatever the reason, it’s there, and you don’t know what’s you and what’s it. maybe you’re not meant to ask. maybe you’re meant to succumb.

your memories are as fickle as the rain, coming and going and breaking through the clouds, shattering the fog and disappearing with the sun. you can’t recall what you’re doing here, or where you’re meant to be instead. what’s your name?, they ask. you don’t know.

there are two worlds. one world is blissfully unaware of this, or at least, as unaware as any world of millions and millions of people can be. no secret can be kept forever, they tell you. you are desperately trying to keep the secret.

the one closest to you, despite your abhorrent denial of this fact, the one you would trust with your life, will betray you. because of their decision, their selfishness, you will either lose them, or lose yourself.

THOSE WERE SO FUN OMG. they all mostly apply to both of my major wips, which is probably bad. oh well LMAO

SORRY THAT WAS SOOOOOOOO LONG hope at least someone does one of these tag games lol <3

xander out

#taggedin

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writefasttalkevenfaster · 6 years

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Rafael Barba / Green Green Dress

Prompt: “Green Green Dress” from Tick Tick . . . Boom

“Deep dark velvet/Hugs your silhouette Black silk stockings/You're my Juliet The green green dress/Twenty buttons and a strap The green green dress/What a pleasure to unwrap”

I’m a little too addicted to “Green Green Dress.” Is it that obvious? Please enjoy this fluffy little mess. I got to use my Shakespeare knowledge for this fic, which makes me so happy as an English major (Hamlet’s my fav though).

Tags: @mrsrafaelbarba

That dress should have been illegal.

Deep, dark velvet hugged your silhouette, deep emerald material pulled taut against your body by the twenty buttons lining a trail down your back, leading his gaze to the black, silk stockings wrapped around your legs. Temptation personified, that even Narcissus wouldn’t be able to resist and Rafael wouldn’t be able to for much longer, even if he was the very gala he had coerced you into attending. You were making it no easier for him. Trapped in a conversation with a colleague, he found his eyes perpetually wandering to you, a flicker of jade he kept in the corner of his eye. Resting your elbow propped on the railing of the balcony, your drink perched next to you, your eyes cast downward as if you were Juliet awaiting your Romeo to appear, the sun lying in wait, the moonlight cast down upon you in envy as green as your dress.

Ah, your dress.

Rafael remembered when you first pulled the material over your head, smoothing the velvet over your body just as he just about to step out of the door earlier this evening. And you looked over your shoulder, a devious smile on your face, as you asked him to button you up. The exact opposite of what on his mind at the moment, and as his fingers glided the buttons into place, he couldn’t help but think again how good it’d feel to slip the dress off your skin. Right now, you were practically a gift wrapped in green velvet and ribbon just for him, a gift he would have the pleasure to unwrap. He pressed a kiss to your neck, lips tasting your skin for a moment, before you stepped back from his grasp with a giggle, twirling to show him the dress in all it’s green glory, and as you did, a part of him was glad he had to leave.

So he could cool down, and before he jumped somewhere he shouldn’t.

At least, not right now.

Oh that green dress, what it does to him, and what could do to him? He would soon learn, as he stepped toward you, his arms wrapping around your waist, pulling you flush against him, “Missed me?” His lips found your neck once again, his warm breath making you shiver in the cool, crisp air of the night. He always found it surprising how your body always melded so perfectly with his own, as if you were plucked out of his very own fairy tale, a story he had long given up on, the chapters tossed aside for case files, until you picked up the pages. “Because I missed you.”

“Mm, I can tell,” You turned to face him, a smile pulling at your lips, as your arms moved to rest on his shoulders, pulling him closer.

“You look really beautiful in that dress,” As his lips trailed up, leaning away only for him to attempt to capture your lips, you slipped from his grasp, your hand finding his own.

“Let’s find a chair where we can sit and talk,” Judging by the smile you had, talking was the last thing on your mind.

His arm slid around your waist once again, after you led him back into the main room of the gala, speaking to you in a low tone as you both made your way to a more private area. He pulled you into a secluded corner, pushed flush against a pillar. “I rather do something else than talk,” His tone was playful, but his words were a promise, one he would make good on.

You gasped, your breath caught in your throat, his hand hiking up your dress, devious fingers finding their way to their inevitable destination. You squeaked, but that wasn’t the only noise present in the vicinity, the clicking of heels grew closer and closer.

“Rafael, someone’s coming,” You squealed, as you pushed him off when they came around the corner, burying your red face in his chest. Cheeks burning, as you checked again to make sure they were gone, to see Rafael grinning like a schoolboy. You scowled at him, before huffing playfully, turning on your heel. “I think we need to take a walk, you need to cool down a bit, counselor.” He fell silent, allowing you to led him outside, hand in hand, down the street. He’d follow you anywhere in that dress.

The street was surprisingly desolate, but he wasn’t too shocked. The air was chilled and ready for the arrival of snow later that night, the clouds pitch black, and the moon’s envy now tucked away, just as your dress was underneath your coat. The only illumination were the streetlamps, providing little light in the darkness. He smiled, as he stole a glance of you from the corner of his eye. The air, the empty street, the night, all of it reminded him of the night he had first kissed you. It was innocent enough, he had walked you home after a long night in the office, a night much like this. He had stayed at the office much too late. It had turned 2 AM by the time he was packing up, and 2:30 by the time he stepped out of the building. It was a hard case. One he would much rather forget, and forget he did as soon as he saw you standing outside.

A legal assistant to one of the other A.D.A.s, he had recognized you from around, but hadn’t made your acquaintance beyond a few hellos and a couple held elevators. But that night he wasn’t sure what had made him offer, whether it was the sight of you shivering, or the slight hint of fear in your eyes, or how lovely you looked in the dim lights of the street, but he offered to walk you home. And to his surprise, you said yes. Because of you, he didn’t think have to think about his case for a single moment you were beside him, and that was enough for him.

But not for you, as the next day you had brought him coffee as a thank you. A bright spot in his day turned into the very sunlight that illuminated his day. Your charm had enraptured him from the moment he saw you, and hadn’t let go of him since. You were truly something else; someone he was grateful to have.

Deep in thought, Rafael hadn’t realized you had spoken when you did. “Penny for your thoughts?” Your words didn’t register, until you squeezed his hand to get his attention, returning to reality. “Come on, tell me what your thinking, talk about your day,”

“You know, you’re the only one who ever asks me that,” These were the little things that made him love you, in his world of horrors and depravity, you weren’t afraid to brave the shadows beside him, nor did you ever hesitate to ask about it. His colleagues didn’t ask about his personal life, nor did he want to burden his mother with problems, and he didn’t have his grandmother to speak to either, not anymore. He only had you, as he pressed a kiss to your knuckles, and you, and your little green dress, were more than enough. “Rafael?”

God, your voice was more than enough to break him completely and then put him back together. He simply shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about work right now, let’s go home, change,” He pressed a kiss to your lips, your desire burning like alcohol through his veins: intoxicating and incredibly addicting. “Slip into bed,” His lips were burning a dangerously low trail around your collarbone. “Me on you.” And as he pulled apart from you, your lips slightly puffy from the kiss, eyes fluttering open, his hands still sliding up and down the velvet. “How’s that sound?”

“I’ll do anything you say,”

“Rafael,” You warned as you stood in front your vanity, taking off your earrings, or rather as you attempted to do so as he made it very difficult to focus on the task at hand when he was pressed flush to your back, pressing butterfly kisses to your neck. He sat back onto the ottoman in front of your vanity, pulling you into his lap, and you gave in, tilting his chin up with the tips of your fingers, your lips melding over his in a moment, until your fingers trailed down to his stomach, and now it was his turn to warn you.

“Y/N,” He already knew what you were up to, but you seemingly couldn’t resist. Your fingers continuing on their devious path, until he grabbed them in his own.

“I just wanna hear you laugh,” An innocent smile pulled at your lips, as you tried to get him to release his gift, both of you stumbling to your feet, “Is that so bad, babe?”

“Illegal in fact. Unfortunately, the courts don’t have a remedy for it, so…” He pretended to ponder, as you squirmed, the two of you making your way to the bed. “I might have to tie up for it, love, then maybe I’ll unbutton every button on that dress,” He remarked, a devilish smirk settling on his lips, as your mouth opened, and you rolled your eyes. “Hey, you said you would do whatever I wanted,” He plopped you on the bed, his body perched over yours, like a tiger in wait. “It was an oral agreement.” You gasped as he choose that time to nibble at the pulse point of your neck.

“Hearsay,” You retorted, “not admissible in court.” He chuckled, rolling his eyes, as he then settled beside you to stare at you.

“Since when did you know so much about law?” He propped his head up on his elbow, as you giggled at his apparent befuddlement, before giving a nonchalant shrug.

“Read it somewhere,” He raised his eyebrows, moving above you again, your arms pinned to the bed. He was poised for an attack, though you were simply grinning, before finally relenting. “Okay, okay, I’ve been secretly reading your cases, I know you don’t want me to hear about your work, but I do. And from what I’ve learned you’re the same damn drama king in the courtroom as you are in the bedroom.”

He ignored your remark, as he stared at you meaningfully, gaze softening. “You wanted to know more about what I do?” You nodded, eyes shying away from his intense stare, cheeks flushing oh-so beautifully.

“I want to know everything about you, Raf,” He cupped your cheek, leaning in to press your forehead to his. “I love you,” He hadn’t even kissed you yet and you were already breathless, desperate for him, for his touch. His hands slipped around your waist, fingers digging into the dark velvet, slipping under to feel the silky stockings. You truly were his Juliet.

“I love you too,” He whispered, a reverent prayer that you would remain his.

His lips pressed softly against your own, and he felt a mischievous smile grow on your lips. “And now why don’t you make good on your promise?”

Oh, he did. And he was right: you were a pleasure to unwrap.

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