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javierpinme · 3 years

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Part One: New Beginnings

Pairing: Frankie Morales x f!reader

Word count: 3.4k

Warnings: Infidelity, angst, friends to lovers, mentions of alcohol

Rating: M (might change)

Summary: You’ve lived in a small town for half of your life and nothings really changed until it did. Moving halfway across the country you find lasting friendships and a love you needed at the exactly the right time.

A/N: There is not a ton of Frankie in this one since I wanted to set the tone for the reader before they meet! They don’t see/meet each other until near the end (or do they?) I wanted to build the reader’s relationships with the people in her life as there will more parts.

AO3

Masterlist

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It’s hard to build friendships as an adult without being under the pretense of school or college. It’s especially difficult when you decide to move across the country. Away from your family and friends, but it’s what you needed. Seeing the same four walls you lived in, that same greasy diner that was always your go-to after one too many tequila shots the night before, and that one ex from high school that you’d really rather forget while running errands were making you feel complacent. Wake up. Drink. Eat. Work. Sleep. Repeat. You’ve spent most of your life here. You weren’t about to spend the rest of it here. So, you did something completely unlike you. You packed up your life and moved. The house was beautiful. You’d never owned anything in your life; just rented so this is a major upgrade for you. The first sight that greets you is the stairs after living in a first floor unit for most of your life. The house isn’t in perfect shape, but it’s yours which is all that matters.

The movers have left so you finally had the place to yourself. You couldn’t help the defeated sigh that fell from your mouth at the sight of all the boxes. If your sister and friends were here you’d probably be knee deep in pizza and wine while attempting to build furniture. You gave your brain the space to let that thought sink in, but you craved the freedom so you didn’t let that sit too long. You came here to build your own memories; no room for regrets now. So, the first thing you decide to acclimate yourself with is the closest liquor store and that is how you met Hannah.

The first thing you hear after getting lost reading a wine label is a loud oof before slamming into somebody. You only barely managed to catch the bottle before it became one with the outdated tile.

“I am SO sorry! I’m not even going to lie to you I was not watching where I was going. Are you okay? You didn’t drop anything did you?”

You manage to form a sentence between your scrambled apologies in between. The first thing you notice when you look at the face standing in front of you is how pretty she is. That typical blonde hair and blue eyes type that reminds you of the girls you went to high school with. You wince. Stop it.

“Oh, I’m okay! It was more the residual shock of it really. You must really need that bottle because you were just about ready to run me over in your pursuit to the cash register. Cheating ex or bad date?”

She says with a laugh while pointing at the wine still in your hand. Oh, she’s nice. You immediately feel guilty for that initial judgment when first looking at her.

“Oh, neither. I just moved here and need sustenance to unpack. Who knew you could fit your entire life into boxes?” You mirror her laugh.

“I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone. Walk around the neighborhood and find the necessities which is how I ended up here.” You say with a twirl in your finger.

"Ah, the one down the street that's just begging to be demolished?" She says while snapping her fingers with a mischievous smile.

"Hey, don't talk about her like that. She's old, but she's got character." You can't help the lopsided grin you give her. She hasn't even seen the dream kitchen with those beautiful green cabinets.

“Hey, well if you need help with that-“ her eyes shifting to the bottle, “I live right down the street so I can come over. I know moving somewhere unfamiliar can be a little daunting especially if you’re alone.” You can’t help the wide smile forming at her sweet gesture.

“And to help me unpack right?” You raise an eyebrow.

“I mean I’m better at draining a bottle, but if it’s necessary I will work for food and drinks. But, if I’m going to help you we are going to need way more than that.”

She finishes her sentence grabbing more bottles while traveling through the aisles. The sound of you’ve got to try this one and this one’s local in between aisle changes filling the store. You assure her that she is not off the hook with helping even with the promise of the “best merlot you’ve ever had in your life.”

Bags filling both of your hands and way too much alcohol for just two people to consume you make your way up the steps. Hannah pauses and looks up at the house.

“I was right. It should have been demolished. Will the porch cave in before I make it inside?” She says with skepticism at the foundation of your new home.

“Probably eventually but-“ you turn around to face her, “she’ll last for now. Come on, I haven’t even showed you the best part!”

You open your door and make your way inside leaving the door open for her to follow. You faintly hear from the kitchen “I seriously doubt that”, and you can’t help your chuckle at the remark.

You’ve always wanted a fixer upper; probably from all the HGTV shows you immersed yourself in as a child and the fact you’ve only ever lived in apartments. The first and only thing you managed to unpack first was your wine glasses. You definitely made a point to label them in big writing while packing up back home. A decision you are patting yourself on the back for now.

“So, do you like pizza? I know a good place. Pizza and wine should always be paired with move-in days. Oh, you’re right. This is probably the only good part of your house.”

Hannah leaned on the counter next you before shifting to test the weight taking in the scene of your kitchen.

“Love pizza. It’s not there yet, but I definitely have some plans with it; starting with keeping the color of those cabinets.”

In between sips of your glasses of wine you start to collaborate over your ideas of making it functional and aesthetically pleasing.

It didn’t take very long to start building friendships with the people in your area. You even started joining Sunday brunches and you were overly ecstatic finding out that bottomless mimosas existed. They didn’t have these at the diners back home. They even started assisting you with choosing paint swatches and going to Home Depot because you just had try that DIY project of making your own lounge chair that you found scrolling on Youtube.

“I think your measurements are a little off.”

Alex, probably one of your favorites of the group, mirrors the tilt of your head with his arms crossed. He co-owns a woodworking business with his husband so you wanted him there for any adjustments and moral support. Unfortunately for you, he wanted you to learn first which really meant fail.

You grimace at your handiwork and say, “yeah, I think maybe I should stick with what I’m good at.”

With a breathy laugh he adds, “give yourself some credit. You managed to tear up the carpet in the living room AND still able to keep the original hardwood. That’s no easy feat.”

You’ve somehow managed to create a whole support system in the little time that you’ve spent here. You’ve finally had the time and resources to create your own little touches that make your house now a home.

“Hannah, can’t we just stay in tonight? I’ve already been defeated twice by the light fixture in the living and my fingers are still tingling from the faulty power box. I’m really not in the mood.”

You give her the biggest puppy eyes you can manage while exaggeratingly lifting you fingers.

“Oh no, you’re going out to the bar tonight. You’ve been here for months and you really need to get yourself out there. You’re hot. Own it. Besides, it’s just you and me so there’s no pressure.”

She says with a swat to your ass and a push towards your closet. The only response you can add to that is Hmph.

The bar is nice enough with the dim lighting and it’s not so loud that you can’t hear yourself talk. Hannah insisted you wear one of your nicer dresses, but you wanted to feel like yourself so you opted for a t-shirt tucked into light wash jeans. If you were going to meet anyone tonight you wanted to set the standard for anything that could happen at the start. You’re still nursing your second beer while Hannah is on her third shot of the night. You feel a presence to your right and a sharp pinch to your thigh on your left. Hannah is of course attempting to alert you to the attractive man on the other side of you as if you didn’t notice. You turn around with a pained look on your face to her which she just shrugs off before making herself scarce.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

Your attention is brought back to the man to your right. He is very cute in a boyish kind of way and you briefly wonder if he’s talking to someone else. He’s dressed like he just got out of a business meeting, but his rolled sleeves are definitely doing something for you.

“Sure. What’s your name?” You say with the flirtiest smile you can muster.

“Joey. Nice to meet you.”

God, his smile must do wonders for his conquests. It’s working for you quite honestly. You completely lose track of time talking to him and see out of the corner of your eye Hannah leaving the bar holding onto a man with salt and pepper hair and scruff. Looks like she got lucky too. She gives you a wink as she walks out the door and you look to see where he was sitting in case you need to remember faces. Seems like he was out with some of his friends, but you didn’t get a thorough look because your attention is immediately brought back to Joey. You set a reminder for yourself to check in with her before you go to bed tonight.

It’s been a constant date after date and you were really beginning to develop feelings for him. Sure, you always tried to convince him you didn’t need to be wooed with all these extravagant dates. You were just happy to spend time with him. You didn’t need to go to a fancy restaurant to tell you that. It just wasn’t your style, but it made him happy so you went along with it. You had initially assumed him to be a one night stand, but you were pleasantly surprised to hear from him the next day asking to take you out dinner.

Your muscles in your stomach are straining from how hard you’re laughing at America’s Funniest Home Videos on the TV. Joey is sitting next to you on the couch with takeout cartons loitered all over your coffee table. The living room is starting to lose its natural lighting due to the day coming to a close; the only light source in the room being the lamp sitting on the end table next to the couch and the glow from the TV. You notice Joey looking at you with a far off look.

“What’s wrong?” You ask with a furrow in your brow. “Nothing.” His face shifting to a more pleasant tone once he turns back to the TV. The two of you had settled into a routine at your house. You had even introduced him to your friends and they really seemed to enjoy spending time with him. It was easy for them to fall for his charms as you did.

“Come on, hurry up. You’re supposed to be helping me pick out an outfit for tonight!”

Hannah still continued to see the man from the bar, Santi, his friends called him.

“If I’m supposed to be helping you pick an outfit then why are we in the lingerie section?” You ask with a sly grin on your face.

“That’s for after, of course. Gotta keep it interesting.”

Her laugh followed by her adding some bras and panties to her hands. You agreed to come with her tonight to officially meet him and his friends. You’ve heard enough about him from her. Some very intimate details as well. They weren’t exactly exclusive to each other and as far as you knew they were dating other people which you respected. You were nervous about meeting them, but you knew it was only a matter of time until Hannah would want to do this. You trusted her judgment and you were already comfortable that it was going to be in the bar you usually ventured out to.

In her words, “your only forms of entertainment can’t just be your home projects, Joey and me, you know? You deserve to have fun too and these guys will show you a good time I promise” while ringing up her purchases.

You barely manage to make it through the door of the bar before you feel a breeze next to you from her speeding to Santi with a kiss. You lovingly shake your head at her dramatic antics and make your way over to the table. It’s a little awkward at first since Hannah still had yet to let go of the man sitting next to her and you didn’t know how to start a conversation with these men with what was going on next to you.

“Sorry. I’m Santi, but everyone calls me Pope.”

He reaches over to shake your hand with a tone that is definitely not apologetic at all, but you find it amusing. You like him already. You can definitely see why Hannah was interested, but not your type.

He starts introducing his friends off to you. Will. He seems like the more mellow type of the group and his call sign is Ironhead. Benny is just Benny since he’s the baby of the group.

“He’s the menace of all of us so watch out for this one.” Will ruffles his brother’s hair for added measure which Benny recoils from.

Then, Frankie, they call him Catfish. Oh he’s handsome, but not in the boyish way that Joey is. He’s handsome in a more ruggish kind of way and you can’t seem to break eye contact from him. Your eyes don’t know where to go first so they travel from his deep brown eyes, to the bare patches on the beard he can’t seem to grow that you find yourself wanting to kiss, and to the curls peeking out of his standard heating oil hat. You find yourself itching to take that hat off and run your fingers through the nape of his hair. Stop. He’s the more reserved one in the group which makes sense since he really hasn’t fully spoken more than a few words at a time to you. You can’t control the side glances you keep shooting at him throughout the night. You’re just appreciating the view and maybe conjuring up a few very much domestic fantasies in your head. Liar.

You excuse yourself to go to the bathroom to get a grip on your emotions. Tilting your head at your reflection you point an accusing finger “get yourself together. You ca—.“ You jump at the intrusion of an elderly woman walking into the otherwise empty bathroom; a quizzical look forming on her face from your actions. Your nervous laugh gets the best of you. “It isn’t what it- I don’t always do this.” You’re not sure why you feel the need to explain yourself since she’s already closed the stall before you even got the chance to finish your sentence. You find yourself even more flustered leaving the bathroom than before going into it. This is going to be a long night.

***

Frankie was nervous when Santi first told him that Hannah would be bringing a friend. He remembers you from the night Santi first left with her. How could he forget? You had his attention the moment you stepped into the bar, but by the time he finally worked up the nerve to talk to you another guy had already swooped in. It wasn’t that surprising considering and it was probably for the best. He really wasn’t in any headspace to be in a relationship. His eyes followed you when you left to go to the bathroom in a hurry and he could just feel Santi’s eyes burning into him. He knew. You were exactly his type and he hoped to whoever was up above that he would just leave him to his hopeless crush without interfering.

***

You sit down at the table preparing to come up with some segway into the conversation between everyone when Santi breaks it with a loud clap calling your name out. “So, are you seeing anyone?”

You miss the glare that Frankie shoots him and the embarrassed groan he makes. You don’t miss the warning tone Will gives when calling Santi’s name out, but you get the feeling you’re not entitled to know what that’s about.

“Yes, I am.” Why does it feel so wrong to say that? “His name is Joey.” Hannah chimes in while rubbing Santi’s shoulders.

You also miss the sight of Frankie’s shoulders deflating at that piece of information. Your answer seems to satisfy Santi since he drops it after that and moves on to a different topic. “Benny, when’s your next fight?” It’s Friday apparently and all the guys along with Hannah are going to support him.

Will shifts towards you and says, “you can come if you want.” You cringe on the inside; your insecurities getting the best of you. If you want. They’re only inviting you because you’re there at the moment. “Maybe.” You won’t.

Somehow, Hannah has convinced you to go out with them a second time. “Come on, you can bring Joey since you’re so nervous! Please bring him,” she says with pleading eyes.

“I’m not nervous!” Liar. There is a sliver of truth to her statement, but you don’t want to tell her the reason for your nerves is seeing Frankie again. Yet here you were sitting in a booth with Joey across from Hannah and the rest of the guys.

“Jesus Hannah, he’s not going anywhere.”

You say with a loud laugh at her not so subtle PDA with Santi. “Sorry.” She said with a swipe of trying to remove her lipstick from Santi’s face; her smile never leaving her face. Frankie hasn’t looked at you at all tonight and you can’t help but wonder what you did wrong. You see those eyes crinkle and that cute dimple when he’s dedicating his attention to everyone else at the table, but disappears when his eyes go in your general direction.

At some point the guys and Hannah walk off to buy more drinks leaving you with Joey. He’s hasn’t hid his disinterest of the night at all even when the guys were trying to include him.

“Why are you so grumpy?” “I’m not.” His deep sigh a dead giveaway to his sour mood. “I’m just not vibing with them that’s all.” His eyes following the guys by single file line as he said it. You assure him that you can leave soon which after an hour or so you do.

Tonight’s events must have tired you out more than you thought because you’re fighting yawns the entire ride to Joey’s apartment. You don’t usually spend time here since he prefers staying at your place, but his place was a lot closer to the bar. The minute you walk inside you walk straight to his bedroom so you can promptly pass out as Joey showers. As you start to pull back the blankets something catches your eye. That’s not mine. Your heart rate is starting to speed up at the thought that’s forming in your mind. You reach down and grab a bra that was haphazardly thrown on the floor. The thing is you’d recognize that bra anywhere because you were there when she bought it; the day you were meeting Santi for the first time. You almost didn’t hear the water being shut off in the bathroom and the footsteps coming into the bedroom.

“Hey, what’s goin o—“

His eyes follow where you’re looking and then back up to your face. He’s not even trying to defend himself or come up with some shitty excuse that wouldn’t work anyway.

“How long?” Your voice is barely managing to stay steady while still staring at the incriminating evidence of your betrayal.

“How long, Joey?” His hesitation gives you your answer. It’s been a while.

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deafeningdreamerthing · 3 years

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Traveler is a space orc

Since in the voiceline conversations from the traveler talking to Paimon agknowlages the fact the traveler’s sword can float behind them, I started getting creative with the game mechanics being part of their power. (I’m using Aether for these since I play him in game, but can also be applied to Lumine).

- Aether has the ability to gain other people’s forms and thus their powers. He doesn’t use this ability in front of anyone besides Paimon or Hillichurls because he’s keeping it as a secret ace card in case he’s in a tight spot.

- He sometimes will go out in other people’s forms just to be discreet, but that can cause even more confusion sometimes. Amber swears up and down she saw Klee gliding down into stormterror’s lair while Diluc will never let the fact go that he saw Kaeya messing with the frost slimes around dawn winery. Aether tries his best to sneak around, but at least ten people saw Diona climbing the windmill to get to a chest. Thank god nobody can link it back to him.

- He gains these forms by collecting primo gems, small but ultimately useless trinkets which people trade around for fun. People have started noticing he’s seemingly hoarding them for some reason. Paimon figures out he can be bribed with large amounts of primogems and told Kaeya, who abused this information. What he’s really doing is taking them up to star snatch cliff to wish for new forms and weapons.

- Speaking of weapons, every single one of his forms needs it’s own weapon. Aether tries his best to get the materials himself, but Sucrose has been questioning weather or not he’s planning on becoming a weaponsmith because he has so many powerful weapons yet only uses one. There’s only so many time he can say he need stuff for weapon upgrades before it starts sounding suspicious.

- Has the ability to zone out, anywhere, for hours at a time. He’ll literally just stand in one place, blank stared, for hours upon hours, without response. He did this once in the middle of the knight’s headquarters, and snapped back into place with 3 guards, Kaeya, Amber, and Barbara trying to get him into the medical bay. Considering he wasn’t moving- barely even blinking, they assumed nothing short of a stroke.

- Doesn’t eat or sleep for days on end. Everyone assumes he camps out in the woods but no, Aether doesn’t stop the grind. He’s always fighting bosses, chest hunting, or even just helping a girl successfully communicate with hillichurls. The only reason he stops is so Paimon can sleep, even then he mostly just sorts out which artifacts need to go to which form.

- Clothes that somehow always stay perfect? Nobody’s ever seen him in anything else, dispite him being in teyvat for over a month. Dispite the amount of fighting, there’s no holes, no burns- hell they don’t ever even get soggy.

- Always prefers climbing to stairs. It baffles everyone to no end to see Aether just climbing up the side of a perfectly useable set of stairs. After a few weeks of this, both Jean and Keaya tried to talk to him about it, nope. His response is always “but climbing is faster” and any other reasoning is obsolete. Everyone’s noticed Aether seems to be a bit of a wall crawler, he never goes anywhere without running and always climbs anything even remotely vertical.

- Stories are starting to go around about this golden haired traveler who sticks out in any crowd. Of course people are gonna talk about the guy who not only helped save both Liyue and Mondstat, but is also so nice they’ll help anyone out with anything. If Aether sees so much as a person tripped over a loose floorboard, he’ll help them to the doctor and see to it the floor is fixed by the end of the day.

- Eats Mid-battle. To Aether, food doesn’t serve any other purpose than healing, which food he eats will also give him different statuses. Some make him more durable and harder to break skin, some make him stronger, others give him more stamina. During their fight in the golden house, Childe was so confused to see Aether shove 4 whole jade parcels in his mouth and then it was all over from there.

- Teleportation. Aether doesn’t know how nobody’s noticed the “fancy red statues” turn blue whenever he gets there, but he’s glad. He was a little nervous though, seeing Albedo examining them in an attempt to figure out why all the statues across teyvat were suddenly active, and what they even did. Nobody thinks he can teleport per say, but they do notice he’s nearly everywhere at once. Some people have started joking that he’s a second Noelle.

- Speaking of everywhere at once, (for multiplayer fun) Aether can split himself into 4 forms. And then those 4 forms can each have 3 separate other forms to switch between. It makes bosses very easy, sometimes he’ll have one running errands while the other’s do stuff and help people. Some question how he gets so many rare materials in such short amounts of time, but all of it is chalked up to him being good at fighting. He’s really glad Liyue and Mondstat aren’t in close contact though, because if the people he knew crossrecorded the times they were with him, they’d began to realize he’s sometimes in two places at once.

#Genshin impact #Genshin Impact Headcanons #Aether #Genshin Impact traveler headcanons #Genshin Impact Traveler #Video game mechanics #Traveler is a space orc

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spencers-renaissance · 3 years

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baby, you’re my new years’ eve

Summary: You and Emily are hosting a New Years’ Eve party for all of your friends, but she’s acting a little weird. You finally find out why when the clock strikes midnight.

Tags: fluff, nye fic, proposal, getting engaged, domesticity, romance, flirting, day in the life

Pairing: Emily x Reader

Word Count: 3.6k

Masterlist // Read on AO3

It’s almost 10am by the time you get back from your morning errands, laden with bags and a dusting of snow decorating your coat. You shrug out of your coat and scarf, peel off your gloves, and kick off your boots as you venture further into the house you share with your girlfriend, a warm safe haven from the frozen wind outside. All the Christmas lights the two of you had put up together a few weeks ago are turned on, and the warm and happy feeling settling in your chest only intensifies when you shoulder the kitchen door open to see Emily awake and drinking a cup of coffee at the table.

“You’re up,” you smile, knowing that Emily likes a lie-in on her days off, and she damn well deserves it, too.

“You’re back,” she echoes, a matching bright smile lighting up her face. She’s still in her pyjamas, a dressing gown thrown around her shoulders, and her hair has been let down from its bun, a slight curl to it after having slept with it up. She looks absolutely beautiful, naturally.

“I am.” You walk further into the room and put your bags down on the kitchen counter, beginning to unpack them. “I picked up some stuff for the party tonight, but I also got you breakfast.” You grab a plate from the cupboard and load it up with the pastries you’d bought from the local bakery, sold to you by the baker who knows both you and Emily by name.

“Oh,” she gasps in delight. “Have I told you lately I love you?” She reaches eagerly for the plate to place it on the table before reaching around for a kiss.

“You have,” you confirm, amused, “you tell me every day, Em.”

“Because it’s true,” she nods with wide eyes through a mouthful of almond croissant.

Laughing, you grab yourself a plate and a few pastries before joining Emily at the table. “Did you sleep alright?”

“Mm, it was a bit broken,” she admits, not quite meeting your eye for some reason. “But I made up for it with a little lie-in this morning.” Emily never sleeps badly at home. She’s always said that sleeping in her own bed with you wrapped around her is the best sleeping tablet she’s ever tried, but you don’t dwell on it too much.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” you say sympathetically. “You could always have a nap early this afternoon. Need to be in the best shape for partying the night away.”

“Yeah, I might do,” she says, looking back up at you. “If I start to feel tired I’ll try and sleep. Anyway, how did you sleep, Y/N?”

“Like a baby,” you smile. “Woke up early so I thought I’d beat the New Years’ Eve rush to buy up the rest of the snacks. Plus, pastries for breakfast… can’t beat that.”

“You definitely can’t,” Emily says, a smudge of icing on her lip. “Thank you for doing that, sweetheart.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you say, leaning over to wipe the icing off with your thumb, kissing her for good measure. “Icing,” you explain with a grin as you pull away.

“Ah,” she says knowingly, winking at you before leaning back in for another kiss. “Right, come on. Finish your breakfast and we’ll get on with the day.”

The rest of the morning is spent in the kitchen. You’d decided that as much of the food on offer at the New Years’ party the two of you had planned should be homemade as possible, which meant a fridge full of baked goods you’d already prepared but a short list of items that still needed to be made. It was a bit of an undertaking, but it kept you busy. Despite having known the rest of the BAU for years and having been fully incorporated into their family, you still get nervous before each gathering. Being surrounded by powerful, smart, successful FBI agents was always going to be intimidating, no matter how much you considered them your friends.

“Emily, please don’t stick your finger into the butter and then plunge it into the sugar,” you sigh, a little exasperated as your girlfriend shoves her greasy finger into her mouth for the third time.

“What?” she asks, pretending to be insulted. “It tastes good.”

“Yeah, it’s also not very hygienic,” you point out, rolling out the cookie dough.

“Oh, please, what’s a bit of my saliva when you kiss me everyday anyway?” she asks.

“Well, I might think that,” you reason, “but I’m not sure our guests will. Unless you’ve been running around kissing them, too?” You point your rolling pin at her accusatorily as you wait for her response.

“No!” she cries, kissing you in promise of her devotion. “I only have eyes for you, baby. By the way is it too early to have a glass of wine?”

You roll your eyes at that, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a fond laugh. “It’s 11am Emily,” you giggle. “What’s got into you this morning?”

“Nothing,” she says defensively. “I’m just… excited for the party later.”

“Hmm, okay,” you say dubiously, raising an amused eyebrow in her direction. “In that case, you get started on the samosas. Fry up the filling I prepared and roll out the pastry for me? Then all we need to do is put the chips in later on and set it all up.”

“Anything for you, baby,” she smiles, kissing your cheek before getting on with her assignment.

You work together with your ‘happy’ playlist playing over the kitchen speakers for the next hour and a bit to get all the food ready, and by the time the samosas are being fried, you’re both in desperate need of a sit down. “Right, let’s order something to eat and watch an episode or three of Parks and Rec before we need to get ready and set up, how does that sound?” Emily asks as you both begin the mammoth task of cleaning up the bombsite of a kitchen.

“I don’t know, Em, we have so much food in the fridge,” you say, worrying your lip at the decision.

“Yeah, but it’s all for the party tonight, you don’t want to eat it now,” she says, reaching for your hand and squeezing it comfortingly. “Come on, we’ll tidy up afterwards. I’ll order in some UberEats and we’ll relax for a little while. We deserve it after all this.”

“Okay,” you relent, offering her a grateful smile and letting yourself be guided to the sofa by Emily’s hand.

“You’ve done an amazing job at making all this food, sweetheart,” she says warmly, running a hand through your hair. “You should rest for a bit now so you can properly enjoy tonight, yeah?” She tucks a blanket around you and hands you the remote before she pulls out her phone to order you both some lunch.

Sandwiches eaten and two extra coffees polished off, you get started on setting up the house for the party. The leftover decorations from Christmas make the house bright and pretty enough, so it’s fairly easy to make the house look welcoming, but you still have to sort out the food and drink, move the furniture, and put away the valuables. Not to mention getting yourselves ready.

“Everyone’s arriving at 8, right babe?” Emily calls from the kitchen as you move the coffee table to the side in the living right.

“That’s right,” you call back. “But Spencer and Penelope will probably be here early.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” Emily says, walking into the living room and leaning against the doorframe as you finish pushing the table aside to make the room more accessible.

“Does this look okay?” you ask, putting your hands on your hips as you survey your living room.

“It looks great, baby,” Emily reassures you, pushing off the door and pulling you into a side hug as you both look at the decorated room. “The Christmas tree is still up which makes the whole room look lovely, and the New Year banner is nice, too. It’s absolutely perfect for what we need it to do.”

“Okay,” you agree, turning to the side to press your face into her neck, kissing her briefly before pulling away again. “Let’s tidy away the expensive stuff and then go and get ready, yeah?”

“Y/N, there are like 15 people coming and nobody’s gonna get off their tits; we don’t really need to put this stuff away,” she promises, but it’s to no avail.

“Well, I’d rather be safe. Even tipsy people can do some damage,” you point out, putting Emily’s mother’s vase in the cabinet along with a few decorations from the mantle.

“Fair enough,” she agrees, heading into the kitchen to continue tidying up after your earlier cooking adventures. You join her a moment later and the two of you work quickly to do the washing up, tidy the counter, and put the dishwasher on. You’re soon looking at a spick and span kitchen, nearly party-ready, and you smile at your girlfriend in satisfaction. “Looks amazing, doesn’t it?” she smiles back at you.

“It does indeed,” you nod. “It’s only 4. You wanna sit down for a bit before getting ready?”

“Absolutely I do,” she says. “Wanna nap with me?”

“Please,” you sigh, grabbing her hand to lead her down to your bedroom. The two of you ditch the trousers and bury under the covers, setting a timer for an hour before promptly falling asleep.

“Want me to wash your hair?” Emily asks as you both stand under the hot jet of water. Your favourite part of moving in with Emily was definitely the shower; you’d moved from a flat with a from a tiny bath and shower combo unit to a beautiful house on the outskirts of DC with a large walk-in shower and the best water pressure you’d ever experienced; it was quite the upgrade.

“Only if I get to do yours afterwards,” you grin, leaning in for a rather wet and soapy kiss.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” she says, spinning you round and pouring a generous dollop of shampoo into her palm, lathering up your hair as she massages her fingers into your scalp in a delicious massage. You can’t help but lean into the touch, just as you always do with Emily, making her chuckle fondly. “Feel good?”

You just let out a happy moan in response, sighing as the water washes the shampoo away and Emily quickly applies some conditioner. “Your turn,” you say, doing the same for your girlfriend as she sighs appreciatively.

You both shave your legs and underarms quickly before finishing up in the shower and towelling off next to one another in the spacious bathroom. “Right, it’s 5.30,” you say, checking your phone while Emily wraps her hair up, “so we’ve got like… two hours, probably, until Pen and Spencer show up.”

“Plenty of time,” Emily says breezily, waving her hand in your direction as you open the bathroom window to air out the humidity.

“Still, better to be early rather than late,” you say pointedly, grabbing Emily’s hand and dragging her away from her perch by the radiator and into the bedroom.

She hums as she drops her towel and peruses her wardrobe. When she turns back around with the dress she plans on wearing, you don’t bother to hide your blatant appreciation. After all these years you’re still somehow blown away with how sexy Emily manages to be. “Naughty girl,” she gasps in mock admonishment. “We don’t have time for that. Your words not mine.”

“Life’s tough,” you sigh heavily, walking over and squeezing her ass lightly, taking great pleasure in making her jump as you pull out the dress you’d decided on earlier in the week. “What do you think?” you ask her.

“It will look absolutely gorgeous, Y/N,” she promises, kissing your cheek. She passes you your bathrobe and pulls her own on as you both head to your adjoining dressing tables to sort out your hair. “Straight or curly?”

“Hmm, straight, I think,” you reply, “you know I love your natural hair. I’m gonna go curly though, so we’ll compliment each other perfectly.”

You put on some music and get ready together in tandem, and it goes about as simply as it can when Emily’s involved. You only have three make-up brushes chucked at you and her desk isn’t a total disgrace by the time you’re finished, so you take it as a win. It’s just gone 7 by the time you’re both dressed up to the nines and ready for the party.

“You look… breathtaking,” Emily says dreamily as she drinks you in, kissing you gently so as not to smudge either of your lipsticks.

“Thanks, Em,” you say shyly. “You look absolutely beautiful, too.” She’s wearing a gorgeous full-length black dress with a deep v neck line and a slit in the right leg. She’s a vision next to your colourful outfit and bright makeup, always complementing one another in just the right ways.

“Right, well, if we both look amazing, it’s time to set out the food, isn’t it?” she asks, winking at you as she leads the way out to the kitchen, shutting and locking the door behind you to prevent any stray party guests from wandering in.

The next hour passes quickly and soon guests are spilling through the door, brightening the whole house with their chatter and laughter, getting started on the wine and party food. Emily is marginally quieter than usual, but you brush it up to her just being tired, especially when she’s roped into a conversation with Hotch and Rossi and immediately perks up.

The whole of the BAU team is here, along with your best friends and the few Couple Friends you and Emily had made over the last few years that made you both feel far too grown up and sophisticated. Your friends quickly mingle in with the rest of the guests, though, which was your biggest worry, so with that relief you let yourself relax and enjoy the party.

Spencer and Penelope snag you into a conversation, plying you with champagne and the samosas you’d made with Emily earlier until you properly let go and enjoy yourself. “Wait, Emily made these?” Spencer asks, slightly incredulous at the idea of his most chaotic friend being even somewhat capable in the kitchen.

“She was supervised, don’t worry,” you laugh, biting into one delicious samosa after another.

“I wish I could cook,” Spencer says as he accepts another one from Penelope’s proffered plate.

“Aw, I’ll teach you baby genius,” Penelope grins. “But I once watched you try and put a croissant in the toaster, so you may be a lost cause.”

“Hey, that was when I’d first joined the BAU,” Spencer protests. “It was the first time I had a salary and could afford such luxuries, you can’t blame me for not knowing what to do with it.” His defenses fall on deaf ears, though, as you and Penelope laugh loudly at his expense. “Derek will defend me,” he eventually mutters before running off to find his boyfriend.

You and Penelope chat easily for a while, introducing her to a few of your friends as you orbit around the downstairs of your house. Eventually, you cross paths with Emily again, who still looks a little tense and quiet. “Hey,” you say, catching her arm and subtly drawing her to the side. “Is everything okay, baby?”

“Yeah, of course,” she says, plastering on a smile you know is fake. “I’m fine, sweetheart. Just enjoy the party, okay? We’ll talk later.”

You can’t really enjoy the party when the back of your mind is continually worrying about your girlfriend, but you’re able to circle around the house a few more times, chatting with all of your guests as everyone tucks into the alcohol and food. Before you know it it’s nearing midnight and Emily’s in the corner of the kitchen having a serious-looking conversation with Hotch.

Tentatively approaching, you tap Emily on the shoulder. “Everyone’s gonna watch the ball drop in the living room,” you say. “You coming?” You try and smile as encouragingly as possible, taking her soft hand in yours.

“Yeah,” she says, looking a little flustered and you can see a little sheen of sweat on her forehead, “yeah, of course, baby. Let’s go.” She hands her glass of champagne to Hotch in a sort of weird gesture that has you furrowing her eyebrows, but nevertheless she grips your hand firmly and you swan into the living room which is already housing most of the guests, everyone chatting and laughing loudly. The sight of so many people you love and adore has you smiling warmly, and you press your arm up against Emily’s, resting your head on her shoulder as the 2 minute countdown begins.

“I love you so much, you know,” you whisper, just for her to hear in the loud, excited room. “I can’t wait to spend a whole other year together. I feel so lucky to have you.”

She moves her neck slightly causing you to lift your head and you’re met with a happy, excited smile, all traces of the nervous Emily that had been swanning around the party all night disappeared. “I feel even luckier to have you, sweetheart,” she murmurs. “You have no idea.”

You both lean in for a kiss which is quickly interrupted by Derek. “Bit early, ladies,” he calls across the room, “it’s not midnight yet.” He’s got Spencer curled up under his arm on the sofa, resting comfortably next to JJ and Penelope who have also cuddled up together. Hotch and Rossi are standing by the Christmas tree rolling their eyes fondly at their agents.

Emily responds with a purposeful middle finger and a well-practiced sneer, but Derek can’t reply because soon the room fills with a swell of noise as everyone starts to count down.

Everyone cheers as the new year is rung in, but as you turn to kiss Emily, you’re instead faced with her on one knee, offering an absolutely beautiful engagement ring. You gasp loudly, gaining everyone’s attention and everyone stops their celebration as a happy, expectant hush falls on the room, the TV’s celebration the only sound.

“Y/N, I can’t express how much I love you,” Emily starts, voice confident but you can hear the undercurrent of emotion written all over it. “All I want to do for the rest of my life is be with you. Ring in each new year with you, celebrate every Christmas with you, come home from every hard case to you, eat pastry for breakfast with you. You’re all I need to be happy, and you’d make me impossibly happier if you’d do me the honour of being my wife. So, Y/N, will you marry me?”

“Yes, oh my God,” you reply tearfully as soon as she’s finished, tears spilling down your face as she carefully pushes the ring onto your finger and stands up to hug you. Everyone around you is clapping and cheering and celebrating your love but your whole world is shrunk down to the two of you, Emily’s hands on your lower back, her ring on your finger, the press of her body up against yours.

Eventually though, you pull away and kiss her, turning to face your guests with the happiest smile on your face. Hotch is smiling proudly and all the events of the evening slip into place, so you turn to kiss Emily on the cheek fondly. Penelope is crying, naturally, as are most of your friends and everyone crowds round in excitement, congratulating the two of you.

When you finally get a bit of space later in the night, you ask Emily where she’d kept the ring all evening.

“In my bra,” she answers, grinning widely.

“God, how did I not guess that,” you smile fondly, rolling your eyes. You kiss her anyway, though, because she’s hot and you’re very much in love.

“I’m so fucking happy you said yes,” she whispers, keeping her head pressed closely to yours.

“Did you seriously think I would ever say anything else?” you ask, surprised that Emily could possibly think you’d say no.

“Well, I obviously had a feeling,” she admits. “But you can’t help but feel fearful of the tiny probability you’re wrong.”

“Well I didn’t,” you say happily, leaning forward slightly to kiss her softly on the nose.

“No, you didn’t,” Emily replies, gripping her hand. “I seriously love you so much, Y/N.”

“And I seriously love you so much, Emily,” you grin. “I can’t wait to call you my wife, but I’m dead happy with fiancée. That will definitely suffice for now.”

The guests slowly trickle out as the hours tick on, eager to leave the newly engaged couple to themselves. Penelope and Spencer make you promise to have a catch-up brunch in the next few weeks to which you eagerly agree, and Hotch and Rossi both congratulate you like they’re both you and Emily’s dads. Derek gives you both massive hugs and JJ follows up with much gentler hugs and congratulations.

“Tidy up in the morning?” you propose, making Emily’s eyebrows shoot up; you usually insist on tidying up there and then, but she quickly understands as you start to unzip your dress and walk backwards towards the bedroom.

“Tidy up in the morning, indeed,” she agrees, running after you.

“My fiancée,” you sigh happily as you enter your cosy bedroom, pausing to kiss Emily softly.

“Your fiancée,” Emily agrees with a wide grin gracing her lips, leading you to the bed as you both start off this next exciting chapter of your lives together in the most appropriate way you can imagine.

@strippersenseii @criminalmindsvibez

#criminal minds #my writing #criminal minds writing #criminal minds fic rec #emily prentiss x reader #emily prentiss x y/n #criminal minds reader-insert #emily prentiss #emily prentiss fluff #criminal minds fluff #emily prentiss x reader fic #emily prentiss x y/n fic

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random-imagines-blog · 3 years

Text

King of the Wasteland {Tech Boy x Reader}

Requested by: Anonymous Wordcount: 1745 Summary: Tech-Boy finds it hard to tell you how he feels. It’s a good thing you’re a master of communication. Notes: Language. It is Techboy after all.

Technology is meant to be cold. It’s meant to be used for your purposes and then upgraded, and then thrown away. It wasn’t supposed to develop any sort of feeling. It’s representation as one of the ‘New Gods’ wasn’t like the others, who things were sacrificed to in order to incite favor. It was just supposed to work. And so it did for many, many years. Doing the thing that it was just supposed to do - until Mr. World had come into play, and stirred things up. And you. You had been the last thing that the Technical Boy had expected to come into his life and shake it like James Bond’s martini.

One of the New Gods yourself, you were on the fence about the war, having friends on both sides. Tech-Boy had been sent to try to lure you over onto his side. The winning side, he had promised. And with that charming tongue, he enticed you and you moved from neutral onto the new side, but preferred the sidelines because all of this violence and taunting was not your style.

It was his, so he did it on behalf of both of you.

“Irrelevant, medieval,” He ranted as you sat on your couch, sipping at a glass of wine. He had been turned down again by one of the other Gods, and turned to you in order to bitch about it. You didn’t speak, knowing that it was much better to let him get it out of his system. Shadow Moon - Wednesday - Bilquis. He would talk about all of them while you listened. He didn’t need advice. He wouldn’t have welcomed it, not even from you. He knew best.

He managed to get most of it out of his system, and then collapsed next to you on the couch. He brought his vape out of his pocket, and took a puff. It exuded a smoke that smelled of watermelon. Your favorite. You lightly tapped against his knees in a morse code pattern, telling him that everything was going to be okay.

“What in the fuck are they doing to me? Sending me as their errand boy,” He said, leaning his head back, exposing his long neck. “If I didn’t have you, I’d fucking explode.”

That wasn’t altogether new, but it was an unexpected compliment from him.

“All I do is listen,” You said, making little circles over his knees now. Communication was your talent, your gift to the world - made more prevalent by the psychiatrists of the last century and a half who found new ways of doing it. Body language. Different types of love languages. You even worked with technology on many things - morse code, binary. Media was your sister in many ways, and combined you created social media. That was the thing about Gods - they could merge. They became many things over time. Developed new skills as humanity became more and more creative about what they wanted and what they needed. “You’re more skilled than you realize. You’ve brought me and others onto your side. You just need to ... find the right language.”

He looked over at you, and seemed to evaluate what working with you on this would bring him. And then he nodded, agreeing with you. He paced around the couch and then settled down beside you, pulling his bony knees up to sit cross-legged. Such a Tech-Boy thing to do. He had troubles sitting still. He always felt the need to evolve. To be better. Restlessness was his demon.

“I-” He started. You turned your head to look at him, eye to eye. Whatever he was going to say didn’t come out. He looked like he had lost his nerve. You tilted your head to the side, patiently waiting for him to continue with it. “I...”

He’d never lost his words like this before. Been interrupted and stopped speaking, sure. But when all was silent, he always managed to fill it, even if it wasn’t in the most eloquent way. He was probably about as elegant as a gigantic elephant, stomping around, but instead of loud footsteps, he had his foul language. Not your greatest achievement in language.

“I appreciate it,” He finally managed to say. You nodded, and finished off your glass of wine, setting the goblet onto the table, and stretched out, your legs going over his body. It was hardly the first time. In fact, you were the only person that he allowed to get so close like this. His arm settled on top of your leg, and he had his thinking expression on. There was always something going on behind those dark eyes of his. And it was rare that he stuttered like that. Below his dignity, you would have thought.

“You seem like you want to say something else,” You said, speaking aloud what you were picking up on. He was tense. He was stressed quite a bit, but rarely tense. Of course you were going to notice. And of course you were going to grow worried. “What is it?”

“Fuck,” He said, rubbing the space between his eyes, breaking off the contact. That alone told you something. It was something about you. He was having trouble saying it.

“Just say it, boy,” You said, nudging him in the stomach with your knee. He held your leg down now, so you wouldn’t be able to do it again. He was stronger than those little twig arms would have you believe.

“I really fucking hate it when you call me that,” He said, glaring at you then looked away quickly. You sighed, and started to massage your own neck.

“Well, we’re going to be joining the old Gods by the time that you finally say whatever it is,” You spoke a bit dramatically. But that was what it was going to take. He was worrying you. But if you showed that to him, he would just revoke whatever it was. He wouldn’t say it. He’d go on ranting so he would seem normal again.

“I never speak properly to you,” He said, like this was some sort of revelation.

“What do you mean?”

“All I do is talk about this fucking war, how annoying media is, how much I hate Shadow...”

“Well, yes, but those are big parts of your life, our lives right now,” You said, reaching over and putting a hand on his shoulder. “Though you do seem really focused on Shadow Moon for some reason. You would feel a lot better if you just left that to Mr. World. You aren’t the only soldier in his army, after all.”

“Fucking right I’m not,” He grumbled.

His hands started to rub at your leg. It didn’t seem like he knew that he was doing it. His fingers made any tension that you were holding under your skin disappear. You weren’t about to start complaining. You smiled lazily, and moaned through your nose, enjoying it. He kept his eyes on you, watching you. “I need to tell you something,” He said, emphasizing the word need. You nodded, and decided to wait patiently this time. Clearly the pressure of earlier hadn’t worked.

He started to look like a fish that had been taken out of water. Or like a child in a school choir who forgot the words and was miming singing. “A little to the left,” You whispered, and his hands moved of their own volition, getting the sweet spot.

The room was preternaturally quiet. You did not keep clocks around in your house, so there wasn’t even the sound of one ticking.

“I -” He started, but then failed again. “Why do you have to make communicating so fucking hard sometimes? Isn’t it your job to make it easy?”

“I’m not trying to make it hard for you,” You said, watching him struggle. It hurt you a bit to see him that way. “Is there any other way that you could tell me?”

“What do you think I’m fucking doing here?” He asked. You pursed your lips and looked over all that he was doing. You took in all of those visual cues to try to understand what he was getting at. When it hit you, it hit you fast and by surprise. You hadn’t been expecting this message, let alone for it to be so loud and clear.

“And yet you still cannot say it?” You teased. It might have been malicious, he certainly thought that it was, but he smirked and looked away from you, focusing his attentions on the table.

“I ... love wine., He picked up your abandoned glass. There were still a few drops, clinging onto the bottom. Not enough to swirl but he attempted it anyway. You laughed lightly, and shook your head. Well, some people were better at other forms of commuication than others. Tech-Boys wasn’t verbal, as was becoming abundantly clear. But it was physical.

“Silly boy,” You said, moving in closer to him.

“Don’t fuckin-” He was going to complain about you calling him that once again, but you stopped him with a bit of physical communication of your own. A kiss, put on his lips from yours. It was enough to make him shut up for a moment. Right in the middle of a swear too, which was no small feat.

He kissed back with a hunger that had been growing in his stomach for weeks. It had started off with a small craving, like one that he got whenever he discovered a new drug out there. But then when he had tried to brush it off, wipe it out of his mind, focus on work, it grew and it grew. It became so large, that he didn’t even have the room to develop the words to make it happen. His body went on autopilot, doing the work for him.

There were sparks flying during this kiss - both literally and figuratively. Little bits of electricity shocked the skin of both of you, until it became almost too much to bear and you pulled away, giggling at all of these sensations.

“Are you always this premature, or am I just lucky?” You asked.

“You and your fucking teasing.”

“What can I say? It’s how I communicate.”

#Tech Boy #Tech Boy x reader #Tech Boy oneshot #American Gods #request #oneshot #techboy #x reader #American Gods oneshot

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champhangman · 3 years

Text

Recipe for a Perfect Christmas - Part 8

Title: Recipe for a Perfect Christmas Part: 8/12 Theme: Day #8: Fireplace / Stockings Fandom / Character(s): AEW / Nick Jackson x OFC Warnings: Explicit unprotected sex (finally, some people probably say) Word Count: 5,681 Soundtrack: Spotify Previously: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Summary: In the space of six months, Natalie Gibbs lost her fiancé, her job, her apartment, and what little bit of cheer she had. Moving back home after being on her own for years, she hopes to get back on her feet after the holidays. But a nosy best friend, a stubborn coot of a father, and a handsome new neighbor might change her plans, her holidays, and her life. Notes: My entry for day 8 of @12daysofchristmas

The Tag Crew: @adampage / @cowboyshit / @lilmisswhiskeygypsy / @bigpixiefoot / @mindofasagittaruis / @kalliravenne / @sadlittlecountess / @baronsbelleevangeline / @brie-mode-activated / @xbreezymeadowsx / @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch / @wardl0w / @hotyeehawman / @waywardwrestlewritingwaif / @drewshoneybadger / @mysteryoflovve / @knnyomega / @rampagewriting / @hurricanranabaybay / @linziland13 / @bastardkingbrutalizer / @snarkandsarcasmftw / @rubyred1980 / @champnick / @edgecution / @nething4perfection / (please drop me an ask/send me a message/reply to my post if you’d like to be tagged)

***

Part 8 – And Then I Fell

"The number you have called…"

Natalie groaned and ended the call, scowling as she leaned to plug it into the charger. "He still won't answer."

"I'm sure he's fine," her father said, not looking up from his book.

Turning to scowl at him, she softened when she saw Penny curled up next to him on the couch, her head resting on his lap. During the week she had forced him to stay home and rest, he had discovered he liked stretching out on the couch, especially when the dog came for a visit. He had said the uncomplicated company of the dog had helped him feel better. Natalie wasn't sure if it was Penny or the rest, but he had bounced back to almost normal, resuming his morning duties at the bakery and not being quite as grouchy in the evenings.

"He always answers, though," she pointed out. Feeling restless, she crossed to look out the front window. Though it was past sunset, she could see the trees swaying in the increasing winds and the steady fall of snow. The across-the-street neighbors had put their exterior lights up that day and she watched them bounce and sway as the cedar they were wrapped around bent with the wind. The storm was supposed to have only lasted the afternoon but it had stalled after passing Halifax. She could see the cars starting to turn white, as well as the driveway and walk. The sky lit above and she gasped as, seconds later she heard the faint rumble of thunder.

"Thundersnow?" Leonard asked, glancing up from his book.

"Yeah," she said, letting the curtain fall back. The wind seemed to pick up, straining against the windows, and she shivered despite the warmth of the living room. "I hope it ends soon."

"The thunder? Or the snow?"

"All of it." Natalie picked up his empty mug. "Do you want more coffee?"

"Make a pot of tea," he requested, slipping the postcard from Hawaii he'd gotten from his cousin between the pages of his book. He set it aside and reached to rub Penny when she squeezed closer to him. "And you should probably check the soup."

"Right." She should probably check other things, too. If the storm got bad, the power would go out. She wasn't worried about the cold. Years ago when her parents had upgraded their heating from the baseboard propane heaters to central heating, her father had kept the baseboard heat installed and had it regularly serviced to make sure it was in proper working order. They wouldn't freeze. But she had to go down to the basement and make sure the furnace was working, and she had to slip outside to get some firewood for the fireplace in the living room. And she had to get out the candles and kerosene lamps. And—

Her phone began to ring and she nearly threw the coffee mug aside. Grateful it was empty, she tightened her grip on it and rushed to get her phone from the end table. She hated that she sighed, disgruntled, upon seeing it was Ashley and not Nick. Unplugging the phone, she answered the call and headed into the kitchen. "Hey, Ash."

"Just checking in. You guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Things okay out there?" she asked, setting the mug in the sink and reaching for the kettle.

"The horses are all cozy in their stalls, the barn is battened down, and Adam's pacing like the nervous wreck he is." Ashley let out a soft laugh. "He's really not, he's outside triple-checking the generator."

"Does he think the power's gonna go out?" Natalie filled the kettle and carried it to the stove.

"It's blinked here a couple times, so it probably will. If this stupid storm would just go away…" Ashley groaned. "We'll be fine. Adam said he can come out there if you need help getting Lenny's furnace going."

Natalie opened her mouth to say she was sure it was already working, and sighed when her father called out from the living room.

"Tell Adam the furnace is already on, we won't freeze!"

"Dad said to tell Adam—"

"I heard him. I won't keep you, I just—"

"Have y'all heard from Nick?"

Ashley paused. "I haven't. I'll ask Adam when he comes in. Why?"

"He came by this afternoon with Penny and said he'd be back to get her before dark." Natalie switched on the stove before lifting the lid off the pot of soup she'd made for dinner. "He had to run errands, but we haven't heard from him since he left."

"I'm sure he's fine," Ashley said automatically.

"I know, I am too, I just…"

"Worry about him because you're a little bit in love with him."

Natalie set the lid down with force. "I'm not—"

"Gonna tell me the sun's shining, too?"

"If you guys hear from him can you let me know?" she requested.

"Of course. But I'm sure he's fine. The traffic is probably bad because of the snow so he's being careful. I doubt he has his phone in his hand the whole time he's in the car. Y'know, like I do."

Natalie snorted on a laugh. "How many tickets have you gotten for that now?"

"That's not important," Ashley said quickly. "Okay, I'll – Hey babe, have you heard from Nick?"

She could heard Adam's negative reply, muffled, then Lucas chattering. Deflated a little, she moved to gather mugs and the tea. "I figured he hadn't."

"Adam said don't worry."

"I'm not worried."

"Adam said stop lying."

"I'm not—"

"Adam said yes you are."

"Adam ain't said shit," Adam protested in the background. "All I said was what's for dinner?"

Natalie laughed. "Go feed your husband."

"The feminist in my wants to say he can feed himself, but the realist in me knows he'd destroy the kitchen in the process. I'll call you tomorrow. Give Lenny our love."

The call ended before Natalie could reply. While waiting for the kettle to start whistling, she tried Nick again, worry increasing when it rolled to his voicemail. She thought about texting him, but he wasn't big on texting. Sighing, she typed out a quick one to him anyway, keeping the message short and trying not to come across as a worrywart.

It's getting pretty bad here. Just checking to make sure you're okay. Call me?

After she sent it she realized she definitely sounded like a worrywart. Sighing, she pushed the phone into her jeans and drummed her fingers against the countertop.

She and her father ate dinner in the living room. A rare occasion, but the crackling fire was warming and the old Christmas movie playing on TV was comforting. The soup and rolls were filling, and she brought out the brownies she had baked that afternoon. She whipped together some bland chicken and rice and vegetables for Penny, who had followed her to and from the kitchen with an eager expression on her face.

The winds rose, rattling the windows, and she had just finished the dishes when the lights went out.

"It's okay," she crooned softly to Penny when the dog whined. "Everything's alright."

Still no word from Nick. She hadn't been really worried, just a little concerned, but now she truly began to worry. What if he'd had an accident? What if he were stuck in a ditch, injured and not seen because of the snow falling?

Everything's alright, she told herself while lighting candles and two hurricane lamps in the living room. Her father got up and turned on the baseboard then went upstairs to change into pajamas and take his nightly medicine. Natalie busied herself with getting blankets and pillows for the couches, knowing they would camp out in the living room. She tried to get Penny to go outside but the dog shied away from the gust of wind that sent snowflakes swirling through the back door. Standing there, starting to shiver, she looked out at the dying storm and her worry increased.

"I'm going to see if Nick's at home," she announced when her father came downstairs. She had already added an extra layer of clothes and put on her thickest, warmest coat, her boots, and was wrapping a scarf around her neck.

"Natalie, sweetie…" Her father frowned.

"I won't be able to relax until I do." She jammed a hat down over her head and reached for her gloves. "His phone might have died and he can't call."

Leonard sighed. "Take your phone."

"I've got it. I'll call you when I get there."

He nodded. "And be careful."

"I will." She picked up the thermos of coffee she'd prepared. "Penny doesn't want to go out in this, so—"

"She's a smart girl," he said, smiling fondly at the dog waiting for him in the doorway of the living room.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "There's coffee if you want some. I made a pot right before the lights went out."

"Hurry along," her father said. "Call me."

"I will," she promised, heading for the door.

The winds had died down but the snow was still falling. It hit her cheeks like shards of glass and she realized there was sleet mixed in. Her boots crunched through the snow and she twice considered turning back to the warmth of home, but her worry drove her forward. There was absolute silence, broken only by someone's generator, and she had to use a flashlight to see her way along the two blocks to the yellow Victorian. It and the rest of the houses along Halifax Street were dark, though through some windows along her trek she could see the faint glow of candles or camp lights. Nick's house – Matt's, she corrected – was completely dark. She was relieved to see his truck in the driveway and ignored the light in the back yard of the house next door, climbing the snow-covered steps to the front porch.

Next door she heard a chainsaw roar to life. Looking over while knocking on the door, she saw that the back yard was lit by car headlights, illuminating a tree that had fallen, some of its thick branches crumpled against the roof of the detached garage. Knocking again, louder, she winced as the saw began to grind through limbs, accompanied by the crackling as the heavy limbs and branches fell to the ground.

"Come on," she muttered under her breath when her knocks remained unanswered. There was no way he was asleep. She tried to peer through the beveled windows on either side of the door but could see nothing of the interior.

The saw died and she heard male voices. Recognizing one, she nearly dropped the thermos and spun to face the house next door. Of course he was next door, helping his brother's neighbor. She left the thermos by the door and headed over, suddenly understanding and knowing what he had done.

And when she rounded the back corner of the house and he saw her, grin obvious in spite of the scarf shielding the bottom half of his face, she felt weak with relief.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, breathless, after crossing the yard to her. His brow furrowed with worry. "Is everything okay with Lenny?"

"He's fine," she promised, reaching to brush sawdust from the sleeves of his coat. "I was worried about you when you didn't answer my calls."

He sighed. "My phone died on the way back from Fairview. I don't have a charger in the truck. Then when I got here, the power was out, and then George's tree fell, and—"

"And you were only worried about lending a hand," she finished with understanding.

"We're working to get it off the garage." Nick glanced over his shoulder. "Won't be much longer, then I'll take you home, okay?"

"I can—"

"Can you start the fire in the living room for me?" he asked, pulling off a glove and reaching into his pocket. His keys jangled as he handed them over. "It's already set, you just need to light it."

"Of course. I brought you some coffee."

His eyes crinkled. "Great. I'll be over in a few minutes." His bare hand grazed her cheek briefly. "Get inside and warm up."

She nodded, then waved to George before heading back next door.

She took off her boots after getting inside then felt like a burglar, tiptoeing in her socks through the house in the dark. After lighting the fire she began peeling off her gloves, hat, and scarf, holding her hands close to the flames before venturing into the kitchen. She got a mug, sugar and creamer to carry to the living room, then found a jarred candle to light. Wondering if he'd eaten dinner, she was about to check for something she could warm by the fire when she saw a crumpled fast food bag on the counter, next to his dead phone and a stack of receipts.

There was a thump at the back door and she rushed to open it, stepping back as Nick entered. "The fire's going," she said, taking his scarf and hat as he removed them. "I'll fix you a cup of coffee."

"Thanks," he whispered, unzipping his coat.

He smelled of snow and wood. After he tossed his coat over the back of the old chair near the door the faint scent of gasoline disappeared, and she walked in front of him to the living room.

***

The fire gave off heat that warmed his chilled hands and face. The coffee was still hot, warming his stomach, and he chuckled when she got up to get herself a cup from the kitchen. While she was gone he found the bag of candles Shayna had brought down to go on the dining room table, making a mental note to replace them before she came down again. The silver candelabras were wrapped in bubble wrap and the sound of the plastic ripping sounded obnoxiously loud to his ears.

"You did eat, didn't you?" Natalie asked as she returned, empty cup in hand.

"Yeah, I had a burger and fries." Though he had a standing invitation to dinner at the Gibbs house, his plan had been to stop home and plug in his phone then go pick up Penny before the storm got worse. But he had got caught in the worst of it on the highway, forced to drive at a snail's pace. "I'm sorry. I should have stopped somewhere and bought a charger or—"

"It's fine," she promised, kneeling in front of the fire to fix her coffee. She moved the sugar, creamer, and thermos to the side of the hearth and sat back on her heels. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Worried I was in a ditch, huh?" He chuckled, intending it to be teasing, but felt her tense from across the room. Frowning, he carried the candelabras to the coffee table and picked up the matches to light the candles. "I'm sorry, Natalie."

"No, it's fine," she said softly, looking at the fire. "I just… Yes, I was worried about you."

He nodded and lit the candles, tossing the spent match into the fire. They gave off plenty of light, but he couldn't let himself focus on how the glow of them made her hair lustrous, or how when she looked at him her eyes were luminous with the flames from the fireplace. Sitting next to her on the plush rug he'd put down that morning, he watched her sip her coffee carefully. "How did your mother—"

"Car accident." Her grip on the handle of the mug grew white-knuckled. "She was on her way to Halifax to do Christmas shopping."

No wonder the holidays were so hard for her. Sighing, he looked at the glowing logs. "I'm sorry."

"Another driver hit a patch of ice and skidded, and…" She looked down, as though the coffee in her cup held the secret of how to not hurt over the memory.

"I shouldn't have joked about being in a ditch," he murmured.

"You didn't know." She lifted her head and he heard her draw a breath. "You know where the interstate goes over the White Beck? And just before you get to it there's the drop-off?"

"Yeah."

"She went through the guardrail right there." She took a sip of coffee then set the mug on the hearth. "I always close my eyes when I drive by that spot."

"I don't blame you."

"The police and medical examiner… They said she was gone before the car got to the bottom. I know they meant it to make me feel a little better or whatever, because she didn't suffer, but…"

"It's okay," he murmured when she broke off into a sigh.

"I miss her. They always say time heals wounds but it doesn't. Like, I know she's gone. I saw her. In the casket. But when I go downstairs in the morning and step into the kitchen a part of me expects to see her there, pouring orange juice or making bread. When I go to the bakery, I wait for her to come out of the back wearing her dirty apron and smiling."

"I do that," he said softly, warmed when she moved closer and he could slip his arm around her. Drawing her to him, he pressed a kiss into her hair once her head nestled against his chest. "My grandma. I loved her. Still do, really. I was close to her, closer than Matt was or any of my cousins. I'd go stay at her house on weekends, even when I was a teenager. It was… Nice there. It was nice at home, too, but just a little bit nicer there."

"Was she one of those grandmas that cooked all day and knitted?" she asked. Her arms tucked around his middle and he felt her smile.

"No." He laughed softly at the memories of his unique grandmother. "She ran a motorcycle shop."

"You're kidding." Natalie laughed. "Nanny's Cycles?"

"Actually it was Sadie's Cycles," he corrected. "Her and my step-grandpa did custom work."

"I'm picturing a total badass older lady in all leather."

"Yeah, that was her. The anti-nanny." Grinning now, he squeezed her close briefly. "She ran the shop and was the queen of takeout. I was a shy, quiet kid, and she taught me everything I know."

"Everything?"

"Everything about engines and plumbing and wiring. Her second husband didn't know how to do anything but the stuff in the shop, and she taught herself how to fix things around the house. She taught me as I got old enough to hold the tools."

"She sounds amazing."

"She was. The point is… I still look for her when I'm back home. I go out to my parents' and wait for her to roll up on her Harley. I drive by her old shop and look for her, even though it's a tire place now. And if I get a pizza, I wish she was there to share it with."

"I wish I could have met her, she sounds amazing."

"Do you knit?" he asked suddenly.

She pulled back, looking up at him with confusion etched in her features. "I do. Not much, usually scarves, and last year I knitted a pair of socks for Dad. Why?"

"She would have loved you." Because she had been fascinated by anyone who could do the quintessential domestic duties. Cooking, baking, knitting, decorating… She really would have loved Natalie for her ability to do all that. She would have loved her for other reasons too, he thought, smoothing a lock of hair behind her ear.

"How did she pass?" she asked in a whisper. "If it's too painful, you don't have to—"

"She died in her sleep. Heart attack." He sighed, recalling the dread and anger and shock that had set in when his mother had called to tell him the news. He couldn't remember telling his boss at the burger joint that he had to go, or the drive home, just walking into his house and into his mother's arms. The subsequent days would forever be a blur of family and friends and flowers. Sadness, but also the joy of sharing memories. "She was probably mad about it. She always said she wanted to go out in a blaze of glory."

Natalie's lips curved. "How long ago?"

"I was sixteen, so it's been almost fifteen years. I wish I could tell you the pain goes away. I know it's not the same – she was my grandmother, you lost your mother. But it gets easier."

"It's been ten years. It's gotten a little easier, but I still want to call her or hear her voice when something goes wrong or I'm excited."

"That doesn't go away," he whispered sadly. Even now, so many years later, he would reach for his phone to call his grandmother to ask her opinion on a job he was doing. Sometimes he got so far as to scroll through his contacts looking for her name before he remembered. Once in a while he would call his mother with the intention of getting his grandmother's number, only to remember when he heard his mom's voice that Sadie was gone.

"Sorry I brought up depressing things," she murmured after a moment. She squeezed his middle. Then leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek. "I just – Oh god, I forgot!"

"What?" he grunted, wincing when she pushed away briskly. Reaching for his coffee, he watched her crawl over to the couch, where her coat was.

"Dad. I told him I'd call him when I got here. He's probably worrying—" Pulling out her phone, she snorted when it began to ring. "And there he is! Hey, Dad, sorry…"

Nick half-listened as she explained the reasons behind his not showing up. He thought she exaggerated a little about the tree on George's garage and lifted his eyebrows when she said they were still working and that she was going to start a fire. Keeping silent as she ended the call with a groan of laughter, he waited until she had tossed her phone back onto the couch. He leaned against the hearth, eyes watching her every move as she unzipped the thick hoodie she wore and shrugged it off, then followed her hand when she reached for the buffalo plaid blanket draped over the back of the couch.

She brought it back over with her, spreading it over her lap after she set, and looked at him with a soft smile. "He's glad you're okay."

"Am I okay? I thought I was still outside helping George," he said, flicking the corner of the blanket towards her.

Her cheeks colored. "Yeah… Sorry about that." She cleared her throat and picked up her cup. "I'm just not ready to leave."

"Oh?" He smiled.

"It's nice. Sitting in front of the fire with you and talking? It's more than nice. And if I told him things were fine he would have started—" Natalie cut off with a brief scowl. "Actually he said…"

"What?" he chuckled when she groaned.

"He said to tell you I like my eggs scrambled," she muttered.

"Well…" He cleared his throat, tongue darting over his lips when she tossed the edge of the blanket over his legs. "…Do you?"

"I prefer them over easy, but he can't cook them that way without busting the yolks." A giggle escaped when he caught her hand and pulled her to him.

"I can do sunny side up," he offered.

"Mm, perfect." She moved into his lap and their sigh was mutual as their lips met in a quick kiss.

"I can't cook bacon worth a damn though," he warned, hands sliding to her waist.

"I'll cook the bacon?" Her fingers swept over his jaw and cupped the back of his neck.

"Perfect," Nick agreed with a grin.

***

She had no idea how much time, exactly, passed as she and Nick kissed. Long enough for the fire to die down just a little. Long enough for her to grow overly warm. Long enough for her to push the blanket away and begin tugging the hem of his plaid flannel from the waistband of his jeans. She slipped her fingers beneath once it was free, nudging them beneath the soft cotton of his undershirt so she could feel the heat of his skin.

"I didn't plan this," he whispered between kisses. Hands sweeping down her sides, he caught her by the hips and brought her closer, sighing against her lips when her arms wrapped around him.

"Neither did I." Her skin was warm but goosebumps rose on her arms as his fingers danced to the small of her back. "I really came just to check on you."

"I'm glad you did." He broke his mouth free of hers and dipped his head to kiss her throat, clutching her to him while he guided her down onto the rug.

She had hoped their first time together would be in a bed, but she was too impatient to wait even the few moments needed to get candles and go upstairs. Later, she decided, fingers finding the band holding his hair back. They could go upstairs later. Pulling the band free, she sighed as his silken hair spilled forward, briefly shielding her from the light of the fire. His lips were on hers again and she forgot about beds entirely, sandwiched between him and the plush rug.

He pulled back, gently shushing when she whined. She stared up at him, licking her lips as the firelight danced on face skin. His left side was in full light, the glow of the candles flickering along his right. She enjoyed the contrast and was about to sit up for another kiss when he began unbuttoning his shirt. She boosted up enough to wriggle out of her sweater and tossed it aside, hands moving to his waist and guiding the long-sleeved shirt he wore up his torso. He yanked it over his head then his lips were on hers, fingers slipping beneath the waistband of her fleece-lined leggings. She reached to push them down, getting them just past her hips when one finger traced the band of her panties.

The kiss grew desperate. Natalie gripped his shoulders, his back, her urgent cries dying against his tongue as he teased and delved. The logs in the fire shifted and she heard them snap and crackle. His fingers dipped lower, and when his thumb began to strum her clit she broke the kiss with a needy cry. "Nick…"

"Off," he whispered, pulling his hand from her pants with a groan. She watched, panting, as he sucked the wet from his fingers, and fell back on the plush rug when he reached for the waistband of her leggings. Her hips lifted and she let out a shaky gasp as they were peeled down then tossed aside. Then he was reaching for his belt.

She sat up, pushing his hands away so she could do it. Her lips met his in a needy kiss and though she wanted to, she found she couldn't pull away to drink in the sight of him after she unfastened his jeans and pushed them down. Settling on exploring with her hands, she hummed into his mouth while her fingers wrapped around his cock, swallowed his little groan as she began stroking him gently. His hands tugged at her bra and she whined when she was forced to let go of him long enough for him to drag the straps down her arms.

"Fuck," he breathed, hands grasping her thighs and squeezing.

"Yeah," she gasped. Her hips squirmed closer. She was slick – his fingers had made sure of that – and when she had wriggled close enough to feel the tip of him glide along her slit, she moaned.

He whispered his name, a faint plea, fingers digging into her flesh as he shifted so she straddled his lap fully. He leaned back, breath hissing between his teeth, his eyes blazing brighter than the fire.

"Oh god," she moaned raggedly as she sank down on him, hands flying to his shoulders. He filled her, stretched her, sending ripples of delight through her that made her toes curl and her thighs shake. Nick didn't rush her, hands gripping and stroking as she shivered through the sensations. She unclenched her fingers from his shoulders and found his lips for a kiss, rolling her hips slowly.

"Yeah, nice and slow," he whispered. His palms glided up her sides, thumbs reaching to stroke the outer curves of her breasts. She watched his tongue dart over his lips as he leaned back slightly. Then his fingers were gently pinching and pulling at her nipples, tugging until she was whining.

"Nick," she gasped, grasping his wrists. Her hips rolled faster and she pushed down hard, need beginning to take over. She felt and heard herself grow wetter, then his low grown that signaled he'd felt it, too. Letting go of him, she focused on keeping her motions slow, ignoring the urge to bounce wildly.

His hands dropped to her thighs, landing heavy, stinging lightly. He squeezed, nails scraping, then pushed her thighs further apart. He released a harsh breath and she waited for him to lie back and continue giving her full control. One hand drifted upward and his eyes lit as the tips of his fingers grazed her clit and she squeezed her thighs together, pushing her hips forward to increase the pressure.

Then, in a blur, she was on her back. He was over her, expression intense and strained, her name a faint growl just as his lips met hers. In the brief moment of clarity she registered the juxtaposition of his tender kiss and the frantic, almost rough thrusts of his hips. Delight ripped through her, lifted her hips from the rug, sent one of her arms straight above her head, fingers clawing for purchase. A shriek tore from her throat, died in his mouth as his hand found hers. His fingers wedged between hers and squeeze, his hips never faltering their rhythm. Strumming her clit, he moaned when she trembled. Following as she shook and squirmed, he pushed harder, lips sliding to her cheek.

"C'mon," he whispered, hot and breathless. "C'mon, honey…"

"Yeah… I'm close," she panted, tightening her hold on his hand. Squeezing her legs around him, she tipped her head back, trying to snatch in a breath.

His hips shifted, sending him deeper, and his resulting moan made her weak. Head tipping back, she rolled beneath him, the faint understanding that it never felt this intense and wonderful before slipping to the back of her mind. The stubble on his jaw scraped her skin as his lips dragged down the side of her neck and she gulped in the bit of air she could manage, drinking in the scent of him.

"Oh my god oh my god oh my god," she whined. Her legs locked, muscles straining, and she heard his small sound of delight as her hips shoved upward. One second ecstasy was just out of reach and the next it was ripping through her, constricting her body then shaking it, forcing her lips to part and yanking a disjointed cry from her throat.

"Oh god," he moaned, low and deep, in her ear as she continued to shake. His thrusts grew irregular, harder, then suddenly he was a bundle of tension above her. She could feel the delight flow throughout his body, felt his cock pulse as he panted and moaned. Humming as he flooded her with searing heat, she parted her lips for his fervent kiss. A whine escaped when his fingers slid, trembling, to her hip, felt the shaking in his arm as it slipped around her, holding her to him.

Once the pulse in her ears slowed, she could hear the crackling of the fire. There was a distant, steady hum, and as the kiss grew tender she realized her ears were ringing. Her body was weak, covered in their sweat, and after his hand released hers she painstakingly lifted it to drape it around him. "Mm," she hummed when he sighed.

Nick lifted up slowly, still panting, hair shining in the glow of the candles and the fire. Moaning as their flesh peeled away, he swept his hand from her hip to her face, thumb tracing her bottom lip. He didn't speak, merely stared into her eyes, and she thought she could read the emotion in his gaze. Licking his lips when she lowered her legs to the rug, he eased his hips back with a soft hiss.

She rolled to face him as he lay next to her, watching the firelight play on his face and highlight the sheen of sweat on his chest. He pushed his hair back, lips tilting into a smile, and she felt her heart skip at least four beats.

"Yeah?" he whispered when she smiled.

"Yeah," she echoed.

"You're beautiful, by the way," he murmured, stretching out his arm to grab the blanket.

"So are you," she said honestly, sighing as he brought the blanket over their bodies. His arm slipped under her, cradling her neck and she wiggled closer, enjoying the sensation of him smoothing her hair back.

"You are staying all night, right?" he asked after a moment.

"Mmhmm." She couldn't move if she wanted to. And she didn't want to. Ever, really, but more urgently, she didn't want to move right then. She wanted to feel the heat of his body against hers. The steady pounding of his heart beneath her ear. His hand in her hair. His lips on her forehead.

"For breakfast?"

She laughed, slow and with a groan, and lifted her head. "For you."

He grinned and it took her breath away all over again.

#aew #nick jackson #aew fanfiction #nick jackson fanfiction #my fics #multipart: RPC #proofread? i don't know her #edit? i don't know her either #12daysofchristmas

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caithyra · 3 years

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Aspirations and Aspersions

Y’know, writing that ramble about the Volume 8 OP made me realize that James Ironwood gave/offered RWBY everything they wanted out of life as huntresses as per Ruby talking to Ozpin about becoming a huntress in the interrogation/entrance room and the other three in Mountain Glenn’s camp.

Ruby: “My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, Hey, I might as well make a career out of it! I mean the police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool and really, gosh, you know!” - Volume 1: Ruby Rose

Ironwood: “Ruby, I feel it's appropriate to let you know that I think what you did last night is exactly what being a Huntress is all about. You recognized a threat. You took action. And you did the very best you could.” - Volume 2: Field Trip

Weiss states that she wants to fix public perception of the Schnee Dust Company by being a heroic huntress, and that her father has been bad, and we know he’s been abusive towards her now and that she specifically went to an academy in another kingdom to get away.

Ironwood publicly defends her at the gala and assures her that if she cannot stand living with her father, she can join his academy and be safe there and a huntress to boot.

Blake’s entire character is about the (botched) racism arc against faunus, and more broadly, about prejudice (since she also fights against faunus she finds “prejudiced” against humans). She states that she became a huntress to fight the good fight as part of regular society, instead of the unlawful acts she committed before and her mentor (yes, she calls Adam a mentor and partner in this episode, never boyfriend or even “guy I liked”) still does.

Ironwood, in super-racist Atlas, as the headmaster of the academy has the entire kingdom represented by a flamboyantly perky faunus who is not ashamed to show what she is, and a man from impoverished circumstances, at the most important international event in the entire world, that symbolizes friendship and harmony (it is played out in the Amity Arena for goodness’ sake!). As the general he also has a faunus on his most famous top team in the military. In short, he’s using his institutional power for good as much as he can while staying within the boundaries of societal rules so that he wont lose those powers and abilities to help.

(Also, there’s that whole “running away” thing... I wonder how Blake would have liked it if she was trapped with Adam immediately following the Fall of Beacon instead of on her way to her tropical paradise palace family home...?)

Yang just want an adventurous life where she is free to do as she wishes. After she lost her arm and fell into depression, that was threatened. And society is not built for one-handed people, so even if she pulled out of her depression without a prosthetic, she would have to face the frustration of moving about in a world made for two-handed people and her diminished fighting ability, since she would need to learn an entirely new fighting style to compensate.

Ironwood, when global communications are down and people are panicking because a kingdom has fallen on the last international broadcast, manages to get a state-of-the-art, custom-made for Yang’s semblance (or it would break), prosthetic arm to the other side of the world for her, no strings attached and for free, which means that she has a choice whether or not to go through the physical frustrations of losing an arm (have to tie a ribbon? A zipper that wont close unless you hold the edges together with another hand? There are many, many little frustrations to remind Yang of her loss in everyday life), and to keep her usual fighting style.

And yet, once they all are reunited with Ironwood, they are not happy to see him as he is to see them, they are not his allies but present themselves as if they are, and so he gives them even more gifts; upgraded tools of their trade, training by masters of their trade, clothing, gear, a place to stay and food and a job (these are things, btw, we usually only expect parents to give children and even then, if the children are adults like RWBY, many would say that it shouldn’t be an expectation, but just a nice thing to do. RWBY aren’t even citizens of his beleaguered kingdom and he goes this far for them).

And RWBY’s conclusion is that he cannot be trusted.

Here’s the thing, I could see JNR argue it because they could blame Ironwood in part for Pyrrha’s death. Especially if Weiss describes the machinery around the Winter Maiden that Winter took her to see (sharing top secret info with RWBY just because they love and support them, and Winter is loyal to Ironwood and he clearly likes her, so Winter’s trust is also reflected in Ironwood’s trust), and Jaune recognizes it as the same type of thing around Amber and Pyrrha.

But RWBYOQ? If so, they should have mistrusted everyone else as well. No suddenly thinking Robyn’s cool (unless Robyn does something more than Ironwood to personally win over Yang and Blake), and no happy smiles when they train/work with other people because they would feel tense and mistrustful.

No Clover and Qrow bonding. No Marrow babysitting the kids. No happiness at Penny being rebuilt (which should have won Ruby over alone, since it was Ironwood who enabled it) without hesitation. Weiss should have started picking fights with Winter with snide comments as she did with Whitley, as that is common when trust issues suddenly manifest in a close relationship and there’s no fear of retaliation.

But we don’t get that. What we get is that Ironwood is specifically considered untrustworthy by RWBY without any of them dissenting or even raising the argument that “hey, he actually helped us out a lot in the past, and he seems happy to see us, maybe we shouldn’t outright lie to him? I’m not saying tell him everything, just the bits he needs to know right now before he wastes valuable resources and time on a fool’s errand.”.

That’s why it is so jarring, and why the villainization of Ironwood is so suspect to many of the audience; by the rules of the world before he shot Oscar, RWBY weren’t in the right to do what they did, but now when he shot Oscar and the councilman, it is supposed to show us how right they were.

Except that unless silver eyes gives Ruby the ability to look into the future, it doesn’t work that way.

And don’t get me started on how Ruby is treating Penny in Volume 8...

#rwde #anti-rwby #james ironwood #protagonist centered morality #and the lotor was evil all along and went crazy #so that voltron never had to grapple with their unethical treatment of him #or their treatment of the shiro clone #there is actually a distressing amount of this #even in small pinches #in many modern works of fiction #in rwby alone there is also the white fang vs racism

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benichi · 4 years

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I played Chou no Doku (so you don’t have to) - Mizuhito’s Route Part 4

The Finale. Let’s finally get this over with. Here’s the link to the [last part].

Yuriko made her way to Majima’s quarters in order to ask him about going to the Brothel in Mizuhito’s stead. Majima remarks that it would be better to just let her Brother know about what’s going on, but Yuriko starts freaking out and acting like a jealous child again. She sure got a lot of trust for her beloved Brother. Ultimately Majima agrees to go and Yuriko ends up reminiscing about the feelings she used to harbor towards him

Sure, it’s his fault now.

On the next day Kyoko decides to pay the siblings a visit, however, she requests to only speak with Yuriko. With just the two of them she reveals that Kyoko’s well aware of the things that are going on between our Brother and Sister.

Her “romance senses” were tingling apparently. Though to be honest considering how the two of them are acting you don’t need to be a genius to figure out what’s going on. Kyoko also reveals that she a... relationship dealer? Basically she arranges fake marriages that allow cover ups for illict relationships of whatever sort. Mizuhito eventually shows up and pretty much kicks Kyoko out. Which has Yuriko frantically going after her, since she does consider her offer. Outside she meets Majima who’s back from his “errand”, stating that the Geisha did in fact not have one of Mizuhito’s belongings but simply wanted to get him to visit. She gave Majima a comb that he’s supposed to pass on to Mizuhito. Yuriko goes inside to hide the comb but meets Mizuhito on the way

She slips it into her... Ouch. That’s dedication.

They have another painting session, but Mizuhito soon starts asking questions about their current situation.

Romantic. Obviously she doesn’t tell him that though, but the following:

Me avoiding my responsibilities. She literally dodged his question because she knows she wouldn’t have. While trying to get up Yuriko ends up dropping the comb and Mizuhito immediately recognizes it. Though not mad he does confront her and Yuriko laments that she was scared of losing him forever.

No, he doesn’t talk about eloping Yuriko. It’s coming guys: close your eyes, hide your children. The moment this game has been building up for has come: The smex. And while we don’t get the full smex we do get enough to count our lucky stars that we don’t have to sit through the entirety of the “act”.

Things you should say before smex:

Things you should not say before smex:

Followed by things you should not say during smex:

Concluded by things you should not say after smex:

Kinda? Luckily that’s it (for now at least).

The following day Mizuhito holes himself up in his room to finish the painting. When Yuriko calls him for dinner he suggests they go out to eat something. On their way they run into the Proprietress of the Brothel he used to frequent. She remarks that she noticed something odd about Majima when she saw him a few days ago and that he may be involved in dangerous affairs, such as dealing with Opium. After the Proprietress excused herself Yuriko noticed that Mizuhito did not introduce her as his sister.

Because these two go so well together.

They conclude that confronting Majima head on is a bad idea. Mizuhito eventually tells Yuriko to head back without him first. She decides that this is the time to play Detective and find out more about Majima. Fujita says that he actually doesn’t know much about Majima either. Apparently he does fequently take time off however, so Fujita says it’s not impossible he’s doing something on the side.

Yeah mess with the potentially dangerous guys room. Great idea. So Yuriko starts sniffing around (quite literally) .

So apparently Yuriko goes around sniffing men’s rooms in her pastime if she’s got that much ground for comparison. But moving on, obviously she doesn’t find anything just lying around. What a shocker. Her “I’m the Heroine of this story” genes kick in however, so as she knocks one of his Kimonos to the ground something falls out of it. Mind you, that is a pretty dumb hiding spot so I guess she wasn’t that far off after all. We don’t get to find out what she found yet though, because she’s interrupted by a loud noise.

Once outside Yuriko finds that the entire Manor is on fire. Majima magically appears and seems rather calm as Yuriko freaks out. He steadies her but is quickly interrupted by Mizuhito who screams at him to let her go. Majima taunts him by saying that he didn’t even think it possible that Mizuhito can run.

Hello 911. There’s a fire and a murder.

Mizuhito reveals that all of the things the Proprietress said are true. In fact he’s not just any Opium dealer, Majima is referred to as the “King” (agshskdl sorry I had to laugh). He got the information from one of his previous clients, revealing that Mizuhito would sell his body a times in order to protect his sister and help with the debt. Majima comments on the relationship between the two “siblings” and becomes super mad about it.

Tbh when I read this for the first time I had to read it twice to check if it’s really Majima speaking. His reaction makes more sense if you know the grand scheme of the game (I’ll add a link with my verdict later). But yeah moving on Mizuhito exclaims that the only filthy one is him and that Yuriko is a pure Maiden (are you sure about that.png). She concludes by telling Majima that they’re not biological siblings (why didn’t you just say that from the start lol) which seems to soothe Majima. He exclaims that “the curse never touched” her and yeets himself into the fire with these words.

And dead. But that’s beside the point apparently.

Some time later we see Yuriko who’s currently in Paris (paint me like one of your french girls coming full circle). She’s looking out on a balcony while thinking about the past. After the fire some random “stranger” got rid of their debt, which gave Mizuhito the opportunity to study art. His creations were not well received in Japan however (you mean people DIDN’T like him painting pictures of his Sister 24/7) so he went to France. For some magical reasons his art became a big hit over there and now they’re living a luxurious life.

Also the thing she found in Majima’s Kimono was a Chinese Bellflower. Yuriko still wasn’t sure if Majima killed her parents or not despite stating herself that these don’t grow where they live (girl wut).

What’s with that random paranthesis. Mizuhito says that there are always a lot of people looking at Yuriko during the parties, and that they want to “own” her by buying his paintings (which is not weird at all).

You’d think that they would see this as a chance to get out of this “sibling” relationship but apparently not. Also HER HAIR IS NOT BLACK FOR FU-...

Anyways. Yuriko says that she ran into Shiba which makes Mizuhito grrr horny so he throws her onto the bed.

Is it cringe? Yes. Is it an upgrade to “my little sister”?... Maybe. I’ll take it I guess.

Bruh. But Mizuhito wouldn’t be Mizuhito if he didn’t have an excellent plan, he even has two: either pretend you adopted the child from an Orphanage OR from distant relatives. Whta a grand idea that child will be so happy being lied to in order to hide their parents relationship.

That’s not how marriage works. Anyways that’s the end, thanks for sticking around. I hope you had a good time, I’ll be adding a small “review” like thing as a reblog later. I’d like to end this post with the following words:

NEITHER OF THEM HAVE BLACK HAIR I HATE THIS.

#chou no doku #choudoku #mizuhito #ripple effect stories #otome game #thank god I'm finally done

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toxiccaptain · 4 years

Text

Bully OC Meme

[template by @video-space ]

Name: Jackson Bianchi

Pronouns: He/Him

Sexuality: Bisexual

Clique: Greasers

Personality: loyal, genuine, good-natured, hardworking

Weapons/fighting style of choice: brick / pocket knife

[Dialogue]

Greetings:

-Aye man, what’s up.

-How’s it going dude?

-Hey.

-Oh hey there

-Hello ma’am

-Hello sir

-What’s up

-Heya

-How is it?

Saying Goodbye:

-I gotta go, see ya

-Bye dude.

-See ya later

-Ah, I must go.

-I’ll catch you later

Chasing:

-I’ll catch up eventually!

-You can’t run forever!

-Get back here coward!

-Running won’t save your face from my fist!

-A game a chase, fun!

-You can run, but you can’t hide!

-I’ll hunt you down!

-Where do you think you’re going!?

Out of breath:

-Maybe,, smoking isn’t ,,the way to go

-Damnit dude,, I feel out of shape

-I,, could’ve swore this was easier,,

-Guess,,I gotta lay off the smokes,,

-Holy hell,,

-I’ll get you,, later

-I’m getting too worked up on a shrimp

-Maybe if I wasn’t in this jacket I’d get you

-I shouldn’t be outta breath this quickly

Walking around talking to themselves:

-Maybe if the prefects weren’t around, I could’ve done more damage to the kid.

-I wonder what peanut thinks of me.

-The Harringtons will get what they deserve, eventually.

-Wonder if the greasers enjoy my upgrades.

-I need to buy more parts, or steal them.

-I need to sharpen my knife.

-Johnny needs to leave that tramp Lola, she has nothing to herself.

-Lola shouldn’t call herself a cheap slut if she even opens her legs for Hopkins.

-Maybe being rich has its perks, but that shouldn’t be known.

-Those stupid preps make me wanna light their stupid house up.

-Everything is boring, why can’t there be more blood.

-This school should get new parts for the cars.

-Gotta upgrade my ride.

-Peanut is a charming dude, wonder is he thinks the same with me.

-Gotta visit dad soon.

-Stupid prefects, always have to ruin the fun.”

-If crabblesnitch really cared for security then why’d he get a bunch of kids to do it.

-Id choke him out if I got the chance.

-I’ll break their face if they got near him.

-If I picked up peanut, would he be mad?

-I forget Larry doesn’t like the nickname peanut, but I think it’s cute.

-I enjoy being around girls but I like peanut more.

-Vance is kinda cute, is that too gay to say?

-I surround myself with guys that are good looking, and I’m not complaining.

-If johnny likes guys, I’d take him off lolas hands

-Being tall sucks sometimes, but it’s fun to pick people up.

-The girls in this school aren’t that half bad looking

-Beatrice isn’t that ugly, I wonder what everyone sees

Conversing:

-Did you hear about the new kid? Thinks he’s the toughest kid here.

-Smith is someone to stay away from, he really can piss people off.

-Heard burton flirts with the girls, surprised that bastard isn’t in prison.

-Poor Galloway man, all he wants to do is drink.

-Something’s going on between crabblsnitch and Danvers, and it’s weird.

-Danvers doesn’t like me, which makes it harder to get away with some things.

-Did you hear about the jocks? How they like to play with their balls, hate to be in their position

-This school is filled with nothing but morons. No offense

-Ms.phillips likes to be friendly with me, should I be weirded out?

-The prefects in this place suck.

Conversation responses:

-Damn man

-Yeah dude, I hear ya

-That sucks man

-I feel you man, but stuff happens.

-All we gotta do is let it slide for now.

-Once we get out of here, maybe things won’t be as bad.

-Wouldn’t doubt it dude.

-You said it man.

Complaining:

-ah man, everything stinks in the dorm

-dude, what the hell is up with everyone, you either love em or hate em

-hate that I can’t have what I want around here

-what does Lola have that gets so much attention, Shes so fake

-I’m attractive and smart, why are the idiots getting the good stuff

-can’t have fun, I bring up how much I love seeing dead animals and all of a sudden they think I’m mental

Unknown/cut dialogue:

-they can’t put me on meds, I’m not mental.

-at least I’m not the one taking medication

- do you get lost in the color red too?

-ever wanted to hear how a bone sounds when it breaks?

-I was invited to a party by tad himself, I think it’s a setup but I kinda wanna risk it and go

-keep barking at me and I’ll bite your head off

-people like to test the waters, only to regret it soon after

-I’m not gay but I’d totally make out with him

Starting fights with cliques:

[bullies]

-cmon you hardheaded punk, let’s go

-you’re gonna get a beat down

-let’s see how much blood comes out your skull

-you’re too weak to push me around loser

[preps]

-c’mon rich kid, can’t buy your way outta this one

-put your money where your mouth is preppy

-I’ll dirty your damn vest with your blue blood punk

-might have money but I’m sure you can’t fight

[nerds]

-your glasses are gonna need a repair when I’m done with you

-you supposedly know it all, let’s see how true that is

-you nerds can’t handle the heat

-you’ll get more than a wedgie when I’m done with you

[jocks]

- cmon meatheads, let’s see how much you can handle from a real challenge

-you idiots are really asking for it

-you’re not tough, you’re just all talk

-your helmet won’t save you from that you got coming to you

[townies]

- you guys aren’t even smart enough to stay in school

-why you even trying? You got nothing to your name!

-you think you scare me? I got a knife with your name on it idiots

-you act more like animals than people, no wonder you’re away from the school

-I’ll call the pound on you losers

Requesting an errand:

-hey hopkins, you got a minute?

-yo jimmy, I’ll give you a 20 if you get me something

-aye, dude help me real quick, I’ll pay

-do me a solid and I’ll give you cash back for it

-Help me out, I’ll give something in return, I swear

Friendly comments:

-hey there dude, how are things holding up for ya?

-it’s good to see you’re doing well

-you look good today

-you’re a cool dude, I enjoy talking to you

-looking sharp Hopkins

Unfriendly comments:

-who let the rat out of its cage.

-smells like someone left the trash out

-best keep it moving or else we’ll have problems new kid.

-does it hurt moron?

-guessing they had no room with the freaks for ya

-you gonna cry loser?

[Extra]

Demanding Flowers:

-would be nice if you showed some interest

-words can only go so far

-you gonna give me something for memory?

-a gift would be nice

After receiving flowers:

-look at you, prepared and such

-awe, for me? Aren’t you a sweet thing

-how cute, making me feel all special

-you’re very charming

Before kissing:

-wanna see how far it’ll go?

-Ya know, I can give something else back if you’d like

-I’d like to see if you’re as sweet as you seem

-you expecting something in return?

Post-kissing:

-not bad for someone of your standards

-This doesn’t make us anything

-Sweep me off my feet why don’t you

-can tell this isn’t your first rodeo

-you got guts for doing that

-I won’t lie, I enjoyed that

[i have no friends so I ain’t tagging anyone]

#bullworth academy #my art #bully: canis canem edit #bully: scholarship edition #canis canem edit #bully canis canem edit #oc #bully oc #jackson bianchi #bully scholarship edition #bully #scholarship edition

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reylofanfictionanthology · 4 years

Photo

Authors have now been revealed for For one is love and both are one in love!

Over 170 fics were posted to our Exchange this month and we are so excited to finally share the authors with you! Thank you so much to all of the writers who wrote for this event!

For one is love and both are one in love collection on AO3 | Gift Fic Master Post Part One | Treats Master Post

Gift Fic Master Post Part Two:

In Other Words, Hold My Hand by Cwenphy for MBlair

Stargazing and waltzing on the lake.

Meet Me in the Meadow by Miranda13 for MeadowHayle

Ben was not the typical Alpha. Rey was not the typical Omega. Utterly indifferent to other people, only in their fantasies or dreams would they experience desire. After many years of loneliness, they meet in a support group for struggling demi-humans, and everything changes. Ben and Rey embark together on a healing journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance. Maybe, they don’t need to be alone, anymore. Maybe, they were never alone, to begin with.

The Rise of Ren by Ayrith for Merixcil

For the last seat in the Knights of Ren, there are two candidates. The first, a powerful scion of a great Force legacy, formally trained by the last Jedi. The second, a force sensitive urchin with no past, nurtured by the cut-throat criminal underworld. Kylo or Kira. There can only be one.

Legion by Tiara_of_Sapphires for midwinterspring

The war was over. Across the galaxy, hundreds called out in one voice: “I need a teacher.” A fic for midwinterspring for the RFFA Valentine’s Day 2020 Exchange Prompt: Rey and Ben train new Force users and fix things

All That Glitters by PalenDrome for MintyCel

The Kingdom of Exegol holds the key to Kylo's future. All he needs to do is to get past the omega guarding it.

Thaw My Frozen Heart by DarkSideOfMe for Miranda13

“A bounty hunter decides that the former Supreme Leader would make an excellent prize and manages to get the jump on Ben while he is on a mission for the Resistance, encasing him in carbonite. Rey is quick to mount a solo rescue mission and helps Ben recover from the hibernation sickness when she eventually gets him back." - Reylo-Prompts

Good Boy by rissanox for MissCoppelia

Ben adopts a dog who needs some training. Thankfully, he gets help (and a little bit more) from Rey, a dog trainer.

the world's not perfect but by aNerdObsessed for misszeldasayre

What would happen in a galaxy where the New Republic never got off the ground and the First Order choked before it started? Maybe a scavenger girl would become a foundling under the care of a Mandalorian bounty hunter. Maybe a troubled child would shake off a burdensome legacy to follow his father's less-than-lawful profession. Maybe a cocky flyboy would find himself using his charm to win gigs delivering spice for the syndicates. Maybe a mechanically-minded girl would start taking off-the-books jobs for the occasional criminal. Maybe a boy with too many questions would leave his parents to learn about this thing called the Force. Turns out the galaxy is a lawless place with every sentient for themselves.

like roses and clover by notkellymarie for mrstater

" There is no comfortable position. No matter how he laid down on his cot, his bones feel brittle, his skin itching all over with the sensation of a thousand ants crawling all over his body. His stomach swirls like a maelstrom, and he blames it on the caf he had in order to stay awake through one of his lessons. Pathetic. You can’t even sleep right. He promises to skip the caf the next day, and his consciousness floats on the surface even as he wishes to be pulled under." -- Ben Solo has never had a single good night's sleep in his life. Rey of Jakku never wanted one. The Battle of Exegol rang and wants to know if this is still the case.

It never gets easier, you just get better. by PoliticalPadmé for MyJediLife

Ben is an addict working through his pain. Rey is a counselor assigned to his care. They weren't supposed to fall in love.

Dreamscape by cuddlesome for Nebulous Bounds (RainonyourBack)

Kylo mostly worsens and occasionally betters Rey's visions while she sleeps.

Why we can't be by MedowHayle for newseptembers

When old Maz forsaw a dyad, Rey never thought it would be a soulmate bond between her and the First Order coven member Kylo Ren. Desperately trying to undo her connection to the enemy, she seeks out ancient texts and meets Ben, a bookshop owner and crafter, who seems to catch her attention every time they meet.

Beside the Lake by elegygoldsmith for Ngoc12thefangirl

“Ben…” It’s half groan, half laugh, all ache — and he wants to reach out to her but he doesn’t trust himself to stop at only holding her hand. Rey’s gaze softens, and that grief she’s been feeling comes roiling out of her like a thunderstorm. It’s too much for him to take. “Tell me.” “I want kids.” She says the words so softly that he might not have known what she was saying if he hadn’t seen her lips moving and heard the syllables echoing in his mind. “Oh.” It’s stupid, but he doesn’t know what else to say. “I mean…” She fumbles again, but this time she doesn’t even bother finishing in words. I want kids now. A short, smutty one-shot in which Ben and Rey grapple with the next step in their life together.

You Need A Teacher by andabatae for ninecrimes

After the events of TROS, Rey returns to Ahch-To... and a healed Ben Solo. There, she plans to consummate their relationship. Too bad she has no idea what she's doing.... Luckily, Ben is happy to teach her everything he knows. ----- “Okay.” Rey took a deep breath, preparing herself for the strange, mortifying experience to come. “So what do I do?” “Well,” he said, “first you let me kiss you some more. Then, when you’re ready, you take your clothes off. Then you sit on my face.” “Just like that?” “Just like that.”

Grey Skies Ahead by Lightningpelt for NiriKeehan

She took his hand—not in the name of the Light, or the Dark. They were a dyad, the embodiment of balance—an Alliance of Grey.

Ever as before and ever just as sure as the sun will rise by Cairdiuil_Paiste for OccasionallyCreative

The war is over. On a peaceful estate in Naboo's Lake Country, Rey and Ben prepare for their wedding and think of how they got here. Using lyrics of title song of 'Beauty and the Beast'.

swish of the bumblebee by qotsisajakk for OptimisticBeth

She should get the sand - and gravel, and rocks - and run all the way home and make things right for him. Although, the fish had gotten her into this mess in the first place, however inadvertently, so maybe she should move him to Finn’s room where she wouldn’t have to look at his little fins swishing away ever again, reminding her of- Rey's betta fish needs an upgrade in living conditions. When she posts a question asking for help, she gets a little more than she bargained for.

Dissolver of Sugar by Apricot for optimus_pam

“Rey...what could anyone do, to make up for what Kylo Ren did?” Or: Redemption isn't supposed to be easy. A TROS fix-it fic, of sorts.

Delirium by TearoomSaloon for PalenDrome (nerdherderette)

That was the trouble with these things, wasn't it? Every once in a while the drugs backfired and they both got a dose of what was really, probably, very potent pheromones. Excerpt: He heard the edge of anger in her voice, the snarl she tried so desperately to conceal. The powder was getting to her. "You're jealous, aren't you?" "No!" "You are." Against his better judgement, he stalked to her, backing her to the wall. "You can't stand the fact that you're not my first partner." "I'm not your partner!" He leaned in, lips almost to her ear. "You want to be though, don't you?" She barreled into him with a scream, head connecting with his chest as she tackled him to the floor. Faster than he could react, she had his arms pinned over his head, knees firmly pressing into his breastbone. "I don't want to be anything to you. Not your friend, not your ally, and especially not your lover."

Renewed by DrPearlGatsby for patig_00

The world between worlds is neither hot nor cold. So when Ben feels his arms break into gooseflesh, when his shoulder aches with not a remembrance but an actual twinge of pain, when he tries to rouse himself from meditation and realizes that he’s fighting the need to fall back asleep, he opens his eyes—in a room on the Millennium Falcon. [[Something in the Force allows Ben Solo to be resurrected on the Millenium Falcon during a little Resistance mission. Expected hilarity ensues. Angst WITH A HAPPY ENDING.]]

a million miles (cross the ocean) by bittersnake for persimonne

in which the Force tries to pay back some of the debt it owes the Skywalkers.

All that's best of dark and bright by ArdeaJestin for persopilliankore

Rey had big plans for Valentine's Day: laundry, errands, and an evening of fantasizing over her impossibly sexy building manager, Ben Solo. That was before she found an anonymous love poem in her mailbox.

Wherever There is You, I Will be There Too by optimus_pam for politicalmamaduck

According to Greek mythology, Tartarus is the deep abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked. Rey journeys there in search of a lost soul.

Laid To Rest by mrstater for PoliticalPadmé (magnetgirl)

Ben wants to show Rey the galaxy, to see it with her. First, they have business on Naboo.

What Was Lost Is Now Found by Ceallaigh for punkeraa

"Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." The Parable of the Prodigal Son, New International Version

Be With Me by tmwillson3 for qotsisajakk

TROS Fix-it. When Rey asks the Jedi of the past to be with her, the bond she shares with Kylo Ren also opens. He is forced to come to terms with his growing feelings for her, and together, they take down the greatest evil, those words continue to bring them together.

Always in Motion by maq_moon for QueenOfCarrotFlowers

Dr. Rey Jackson, archaeologist, is mistaken for a celebrity and given an upgrade to Business Class on her incredibly long flight. Unfortunately, she's been seated next to the douchebag who's been pestering her for the last two hours. More unfortunately, she finds a letter in her carry-on bag telling her that their plane is about to go down. The worst part? The letter was written by Luke Skywalker, a man who has been dead for years.

we might be the outsiders by UndergroundValentine for radioactivesaltghoul

As though, in a blink, the cavern becomes light, and he sees the pale cream and gold shimmer of the creature, with a dark brown pattern across the head and hood.

Between the Sun and the Moon by radioactivesaltghoul for redbelles

The Force demands that Rey and Ben pay a price for the power they gained in their preparation to take down Palpatine, but they don’t learn what they paid until it disturbs the peaceful life they’re trying to build together after the war is over.

Starless Sky, Black by dustoftheancients for RedPaladin465

“Why did you change your mind?” It takes a long time for her to answer. “I didn’t want to be alone.”

The Girl From The Tower by itsnotillegal for ReyloBrit

Prompt: "Quiet and obedient Rey lives a godly life with her grandfather, until the family hire a new gardener Ben, a mysterious and deeply attractive man. Sparks fly between the two."

The Falcon and the Wolf by ClockworkCrow for reylotrash711

On the fifth anniversary of the destruction of Starkiller Base the Senate is throwing a masked ball and invited members of the old Resistance. Still trying to rehabilitate his image, Senator Ben Solo has no choice but to attend. Written to fulfill this prompt: Ben and Rey dance at a masked ball, unaware of who they are dancing with. Until the masks are taken off at midnight. Romance and Sexual Tension ensue, will they be able to refrain their urges? Hell no. But I also mixed in a healthy dose of this prompt as well: Prompt 2 - What if Ben was unable to bring Rey back and had to call on the help of the Skywalkers that came before him? Is he ready to pay the price of losing his force sensitivity for the women he loves?

and we'll live a long life by LRRH17 for ReyloTrashCompactor (NextToSomething)

When Rey heals him on Kef Bir, Ben has a vision. He and Rey must work together to prevent it from coming true.

Found Belonging by apisa_b for rissanox

Rey joins her friends and former comrades in arms on Chandrila for the festivities around the anniversary of the battle of Exegol. To everyone’s surprise she is accompanied by two mysterious Mandalorians.

Loathe Thy Neighbor by ReyloTrashCompactor for SaintHeretical

Rey's neighbor is the worst. He listens to terrible music, he's impolitely large, and he smells incredible. She hates almost everything about him. Especially the smelling good bit.

Can You Feel The Love Tonight? By ElleRen31 for shiiera

Ben Solo travels to Takodana National Park in South Africa on a research mission where he meets fellow researcher, Rey. While they might get along as well as lions and hyenas at first, perhaps they have more in common with each other than they think.

He's Just Not That Into You(r) Scent by SaintHeretical for shipperofdarkness

Rey is a young and single Omega who hasn't had a lot of luck so far finding a nice Beta guy who isn't a total flake. They say they've had a great time with her, but seem to have a difficult time with calling her back. Ben is an Alpha bartender who is tired of hearing about her dating difficulties, and is ready to drop some truth bombs. An ABO He's Just Not That Into You AU

The Purest Love by MyJediLife for six4au

When a deeply scarred and traumatized Ben Solo is placed in a program to try and pair him with a canine helper, he finds that he gets more than he ever imagined with the therapist assigned to him.

The Monster in Skywalker Manner by datswatutink for solikerez

Rey marches up the walk, takes hold of the door knocker, and bangs it sharply three times. Nothing. She rattles the door handle. Nothing. Absurdly, she checks the address (is this the right creepy-and-probably-abandoned-Skywalker-Manner on Alderaan street?). It is. -Or- Rey takes a shady job to clean the old Skywalker Manner and discovers that there's something much scarier than dust and spiderwebs living there. But maybe that's not the whole story, because what kind of monster loves roses and books?

Stargazing by FangirlintheForest for SpaceWaffleHouseTM

“I wish they would go blind, stop whispering: he’s lying, he’ll leave. I hate that they know what I don’t want to hear. Their poison passes my lips, harmless. Call me Faith, not Medusa, no one need become stone.”

through the darkness to the dawn by redbelles for starfleetjedi

She couldn’t breathe. Spots danced in her vision, black as the nothingness yawning behind her breastbone. Ben was gone. No. The plea tore out of her, wild and broken, racing through the vastness of the Force, past stars and planets and distant moons to the far edges of the universe. There was only silence. She tried again. Ben. Ben, please. Answer me. Or: Rey, after.

Tabula Rasa by Chthonia for suchlostcreatures (godfmischief)

Ben survives the battle on Exegol. That was the easy part.

Intro to Love by abbytheatre08 for TheStolenQuill

Rey and Ben are music students, put together to work on a final that, surprise isn't in a music class. They hadn't really known each other much before that but will that change as they keep working together?

I met you once — ( In a dream ) by persopilliankore for thewayofthetrashcompactor (BriarLily)

He sucks in a deep breath and exhales, a pout forming on his plump lips and it's so distracting the way they- "Just Ben," He closes his eyes. "see me no more than that, 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚." Or Where Ben and Rey are soulmates and Ben is more than meets the eye

Supernova by LueurdeLaube for Tiara_of_Sapphires

“She loved him so much she was going to smother him with it until there wasn’t a molecule of doubt left in his heart.” After the war Rey and Ben settle into an uneasy life of peace, followed by judgment and resentment. Ben Solo may have decided to remain behind to atone for his sins, but the people won’t forget Kylo Ren so soon.

Happy Accident by crossingwinter for tmf

A baby. Her baby having a baby. She’d given up dreams of grandchildren when Ben was fourteen, and not even his having a steady girlfriend had let her change her mind about it. “So yeah, we need to talk,” Rey mumbles at last. Ben doesn’t say a word, and Leia can imagine him clearly, sitting there, staring off into space, dazed—like when she’d told Han that she was pregnant. One fun night at the Yub Nub Club and a little bit of carelessness with the condom... Not that she’d ever tell Ben that he’d been an accident. He’d guessed it for years, but she’d go to her grave asserting he hadn’t been. “You want to keep it,” Ben says at last—a statement, not a question. — Or: Leia watches her son and his girlfriend prepare to become parents.

Crafting A Connection by LostInQueue for tmwillson3

Rey and Ben have been friends forever, so much so that Ben never dreamed that it something as small as getting that manager's position he'd been gunning for would get in the way of it. Now that it has, Rey's been distant. So... so distant and he has no idea how to get her back. Rey has only been trying to be a good friend and not use him for his status, which means instead of accepting rides from him like she had, she hasn't. She isn't trying to push him away but things are different, and he's difficult now. What on earth can she do about it? Mother nature has something to say about these two, that's for sure. The snow storm of the year is coming, stranding the two together the Friday before Valentine's Day weekend to give them the time to work things out.

this tangled light by hxllosweetie33 for TolkienGirl

The war is over, but at what cost?

Welcome to the Fire by KitsuShel for trasharama

Rey is competing on the reality television show, First Order Inferno, for a chance to become Head Chef at Benjamin Solo's latest restaurant. What happens when the competition gets a little too hot in the kitchen?

as certain dark things are to be loved by politicalmamaduck for tropixo (ursaminors)

Lady Rey, Master of the Knights of Ren, makes a choice. She chooses Ben Solo.

Bend or Break by Biekewieke for tweis24

It's been six months since the Battle of Crait. Both sides of the war have been continuing down their path, both sides struggling with loss. For some, it's just business. But for others, it's personal. For Rey of Jakku and Kylo Ren... it most certainly is personal. Once again, the Supreme Leader of the First Order and the Jedi, Hope of the Resistance confront each other and clash. How will they react and what will transpire when Bonds are blocked and unexpected events are thrown their way? Will either of them bend? Or will they break?

Heaven, let me through by Crimson_Alchemistress for Twisted_Mirror

No matter how hard they try, they can't get each other out of their heads.

Osmosis by suchlostcreatures for viajeramyra

“I don’t need Ben Solo,” Rey states, rising from the throne. Her steps are slow and deliberate as she stalks towards him. “I need Kylo Ren.” Distantly, she notes the irony. And then she offers him her hand. ------ In which Ben doesn't reach Rey in time. (And the one time he does.)

Tell the World I'm Alive by Crysania for VirtualMadness

Rey returns to Exegol to retrieve all she has left of Ben Solo: his shirt. But what she finds there isn't at all what she expected to find. (Title comes from the song Who Will Save You Now by Les Friction. The lyrics are just so Reylo and it's a beautiful song.)

Sunset by reylotrash711 for Vivien

Rey has news. Ben has a question.

Good Morning, Mrs. Solo by Amy326 for walkingsaladshooter

Just a sweet one-shot about a really good morning for Ben and Rey. Modern AU.

After the End by ReyloBrit for witchsoup

Ambassador Organo-Solo is asked to attend a celebration to mark the anniversary of the end of the war, and is reunited with the woman whose life he saved. The woman he once loved.

getting the best of your opponent is easier if you smooch them first by persimonne for wombathos

A few months after the Battle of Crait, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren orders a ceasefire and asks to meet a delegation from the Resistance to negotiate the end of the war and the future of the Galaxy far, far away. But our heroes Finn and Rose notice straight away that their friend Rey is behaving strangely��

Borne Aloft by BensLostTookaCat (CJWritesAgain) for Xochiquetzl

A mysterious voice has called Rey to Tatooine after the death of Ben Solo and the defeat of the First/Final Order. Once she's there, a ghostly guide offers to take Rey through the Underworld to save Ben and return him to the world of the living.

You can view the other two masterposts for this exchange in this tag.

#reylo #reylo fanfiction anthology #rffa writers #for one is both and both are one in love #master post #mod post #moodboard

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zachsgamejournal · 3 years

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PLAYING: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Despite some picky complaints, I enjoyed chapter one of Fallen Order. It was fun. But level 2 was like waking up on a deflated air mattress after the first night of a week-long camping trip.

The game is well made. It’s very pretty. The music is excellent. The combat is functional. Level 2 is boring. I remember trying to watch a playthrough of this on Youtube, and something about the first 30 seconds of the second level made me say, “F-this.” I’ve thought about that feeling every now and then, and it resurfaced full-force when I actually played level 2.

Level 2 (Bogano) is frustrating because you clearly see where you need to go, but you don’t see all the mazes, obstacles, and contrived distractions that are gonna waste your time. Those are literally hidden underground. So instead of steadily making your way forward, they artificially install length with “this door is locked” scenarios.

This is not unlike problems I had with Breath of Fire 3: the objective is clear, but obtaining it is disrupted by hidden, contrived obstacles. In a sense..this is storytelling: Frodo needs to take the ring to Mt. Doom. It takes 6 books to accomplish that. But it’s more linear, Frodo is always getting closer to his goal. While in Fallen Order I’m wondering why we didn’t just fly over there?

Where The Last of Us makes this wandering more tolerable is that much of the game is about scavenging. Exploring twisty levels isn’t as much a nuisance as an opportunity to rack-up on supplies. Plus you can upgrade your weapons. So you’re thinking, “Oooh, new area: what can I find??”

Contrarily, Fallen Order has nothing of substance to collect. I found parts to customize the aesthetics of my light-saber. Cute, but hardly worth the effort. One can level up from experience (grinding, that’s another issue), but it’s not quite as meaningful as an actual RPG. Take Borderlands: the plot was thin, and I barely knew why I was going anywhere. But every mission was an opportunity to level up, find new guns, and enjoy the basic gameplay loop. Most of Bogano is just running around murdering animals.

I think I would have found it more tolerable if they were more up front about the objectives. I mean, we have a space ship but I’ve gotta use bridges to get to the temple? We need a better reason than the bridge is out. Maybe the ship sustained damage and we crash land. Sure, we could have landed closer, but we need you to scout for replacement parts. We could also come with you, but you’re the only one with a light saber. Then early on you find your robo-friend and three parts are revealed on your map. Now all the goofy hoops you gotta jump through are motivated by necessity.

But there’s another issue: the lack of character. Uncharted has really long obstacle courses with shooting galleries. It’s not mind blowing. But it is beautiful to look at. So is Fallen Order. But Uncharted makes it bearable through character development. The characters banter, reveal history, and problem solve in entertaining ways. You’re spending time with people while you run errands. Unfortunately, Fallen Order has a boring protagonist that’s only pal in level two is a beeping robot. Not very exciting.

Speaking of the our boring protagonist, while the cutscenes are well animated and expertly voice-acted, the story is weak sauce. Cal wakes up, finds a “guitar” starts to play it. He closes his eyes as he does in the annoying “I brought my guitar to a college party to pick up girls” way. It’s then revealed that he “learned the song” through the Force imbuing the object (or some shit). Then he has a mild panic attack thinking about the past...but we don’t go into it.

As he steps off the ship, Cere says “I know you don’t trust me, but I also don’t know if I trust you.” Sure. This is annoying cause I, the player trust Cere. There’s nothing to make me think I shouldn’t. She did save Cal life. You know how to create doubt--you create it, not just say it. In Uncharted 1, we don’t know Sully. When we see him murdered by the bad guy, we’re sad. Later, when we see Sully alive working with the bad guy, we’re pissed! Did Sully betray us?! The game and story haven’t convinced us to doubt Cere.

Alternative Scene: Cal has a nightmare about the murdering of Jedi at the capital. He’s a boy and a person holding “the guitar” hides him. We see from Cal’s hiding a robed figure with a blue light saber. The robed figure asks about a young Jedi running through but the person claims ignorance. The person is struck down by the robed figure and we do a close up on the guitar that’s dropped to the ground. A gloved hand breaks through and grabs kid-Cal.

Cal awakes and pulls out his lightsaber, Cere backs off--having just woke him. Cal expresses trust issues (and we know why from the nightmare) and Cere offers to knock next time. As the pair walkout, Cal sees the guitar. Cere catches his glance: “Have you seen one before?” “Once,” Cal says. “Can you play?” “No.” “Pick it up.”

Cal, begrudgingly picks up the “guitar”, and after some mild insistence, he begins to play. It’s awkward at first, but Cere insists he close his eyes and play from feeling. He does and there’s a blue glow. Cere then explains that he’s able to pick up on the “memory” of objects, or whatever she says in the game.

I feel here, we have a dramatic display of distrust, and we give more meaning to the guitar. Also, we show Cere as a potential new Master for Cal after he lost his last one.

And then Cere should have come with us while we looked for the temple.

The skill point system. I was so disappointed by this. I didn’t want to have to worry about “unlocking moves”. For a game this linear, I’m not sure a level-up system was necessary. I’d rather unlock moves by story moments and not have to worry about grinding.

I’ve started level 3...I think it’s already better, but I mostly just rushed to find a save point. I wish this game had stealth.

#Zach's Game Journal #PLAYING #Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order #Stadia #video games #i'm too picky

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strawberry-sundaze · 4 years

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I saw the matchup thing and what to give it a try!! I have light brown/blondish color hair; I’m 5’2, I’m not a big fan of crowds (it kicks up my anxiety really bad) and can get very Impatient at times; i love to sketch a lot or play video games to past the time; plus when meeting new people I overthink and feel like they are judging me (I don’t know how the matchup thing works, so have at it!!)

Hi!!!! Okay this is super exciting because I HIGH KEY stalk your blog 🙊 all the time... and I live off of all the Shiggy things you reblog/post. I’m a shameless Tomura worshiper simp, smh. I’m trying not to be biased because I know you really like Shigaraki, so I got a second opinion from someone unfamiliar with your blog (thanks @endeavwh0re) and they agreed. It’s canon. You’re stuck with Shiggy now <3

**Honestly, this is a bit of a strange combo, yes, but I picked people I think you’d be compatible with for reasons listed below. Here we go!

Starting with the (aged up!) UA Student we have...

Fumikage Tokoyami!

Chivalrous, daunting, and understanding, Tokoyami is a book waiting to be opened and read. Not many people are close to him or know him well, but he has proved himself time and time again to be one of the most unique people you’ll ever meet.

Much to your delight, Tokoyami is a homebody. He won’t try to drag you all around town or take you to big events; he hates crowds too. He would prefer to spend his days at home (with you). He would LOVE to play video games with you, watch you sketch, and he may even draw something for you, too. He’s not even a sore loser! “You won fair and square. Nicely done!” This is random, but I think Tokoyami might sketch really edgy pictures that seem to burn holes into a notebook, or spend his time working on an intricate scenery painting. It’s hard to say which, but he seems like he’d be artistic. That being said, he would have an eye for art and admire anything you created. No matter if it was something simple or something elaborate, Tokoyami would be your number one fan. He DOES have mad guitar skills, so there’s another fun thing to do at home.

Fumikage is one of the least judgmental people at UA, maybe even in all of Musutafu. While you may not be able to tell what he is thinking based on his facial expressions, his open, calm presence would help you feel at ease and less worried about whether or not he dislikes you. Spoiler alert though: he would really, really like you. Affectionate in subtle ways, this boy would keep you on your toes and wanting more (but never too much; he doesn’t want to worry you any because he’s considerate™️ like that).

The best part about Tokoyami is that he would not keep you waiting. He likes to be early when he is supposed to be somewhere, and he likes to plan ahead (he’ll order food to be ready at a specific time so you don’t have to wait). He’s patient when you’re impatient, although he knows and tries his best to keep you out of situations where you’d have to wait. He’d treat you like royalty, that’s just how it be. No waiting for his s/o, nope.

Alright! A pro hero for youuuu!

Your pro hero is match is...

Taishiro Toyomitsu! (Fatgum)

He is SO damn lovable. Wow. What a guy. Where do I even start? Taishiro is a bit more outgoing than your first match, but that’s okay! Here’s why he’s such a good match for you:

He may be a hero and therefore constantly in the spotlight, but Taishiro would want to keep those he loves safe. The best way to do that is most likely by not exposing you to public events (though he’d love to show you off if he could) and keeping his circle of people who know about you tight. He constantly worries about your safety and health. Would always, always check up on you, making sure that you have everything you need and more; Sugar Daddy™️

You like to play games? So does he!!! Well... he’s no pro gamer or anything, but he’ll put forth his best effort. He’s SO down and enthusiastic about your interests. Sketching?? How amazing!! He’d love it. High key would put all your art on the wall or frame anything you drew for him, even if it was something childish and silly, like a cartoon dick.

Please, don’t ever worry or feel anxious as long as he’s there. He is honest and at times a bit blunt, but never would he ever be judgemental. He is used to being judged; why would he do that to somebody else? Actual king. The sweetest. He is also very patient. Would NOT make you wait or hold you up, and would throw hands with anyone that gives you a hard time. He cares too much about your feelings. He would also be so generous- physically, verbally, emotionally, ask and you shall receive. Cuddles with Taishiro would be heavenly. He would shower you with kisses, hold your hands, just... wow. ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ .・゜゜・　　・゜゜・

This is it... this is the moment I mentioned several hours ago ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Your villain matchup is none other than the infamous

Tomura Shigaraki!!

oh, you lucky, LUCKY tumblr user. SKSKSKS

The villain king himself would choose you. Maybe it’s because of how much of himself he sees in you (that just means you have things in common... calm down, Tomura), or maybe it’s because he tolerates you more than most people. Either way... buckle up, buttercup.

Tomura is not one that trusts easily. In fact, you would have to break through a figurative wall that’s *almost* as thick as the prison ones holding in AFO. But once you’re in... you’re stuck. There’s no escaping Shigaraki’s grasp. He will hold on tight and expect you to do the same.

Now, why on earth do I think you might actually be GOOD for this man? First of all, as I mentioned earlier, he could relate to you. He hates everything, but he really despises crowds and lots of unnecessary people. The fact that you feel the same way makes him kind of comfortable with you. You also are a bit shorter than he is, so he’d probably enjoy standing next to you. What? It makes him feel powerful. It’s totally not like he thinks it’s cute. Nah.

Y-you like... video games? That’s like, his only legitimate hobby aside from plotting to topple hero society. If you’re any good at video games, he’d want to play together. If you aren’t, Tomura would try to avoid playing the super intense competitive games with you to lessen the hostility he’d feel towards you if he lost. Sorry, he’s a sore loser. Good luck with that one. He would enjoy playing less intense video games, too. Minecraft? He’s down. Animal crossing? Sure. Honestly I could see the whole LoV playing something like Jackbox Games on Shigaraki’s Xbox and having a hella fun time.

You both are impatient. While it would irritate most others, you two have a special way of subtly (or not so subtly depending on the situation) expressing your annoyance *together*. It may even help lighten the mood.

Shig: “I never should’ve asked that bozo to run an errand for me. Next time, I’ll do it myself. He’s taking far too long.”

Y/n: “Yeah. I’ve been sitting here starving while he’s probably trying to schmooze one of the waitresses. Dabi can suck a lemon.”

Shig: “...huh?” Confused Tomura is slightly less irritated. Good job :)

Show 👏 this 👏 man 👏 some 👏 love. Please. He honestly needs it. Shigaraki would never say it, but he would probably love some affection. Just a little. Kiss his face and touch his hair; give him a hug or two million. He’d be really careful when it came to his hands, but after he gets all buff™️ and has wardrobe upgrade, he doesn’t have to worry about it as much. After that, you can expect him to grab you more and touch you more in general, and his hugs would feel so full. If you continue to follow his lead as his trusted companion, then maybe someday, he’d trust you enough to rule by his side.

#bnhamatchups #my hero academia #mha matchup #kittyanswersasks #strawberry sundazemha #strawberry sundazemhatchups #bnha #mha #tomurashigarakimatchup #fatgum matchup #tokoyamimatchup

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guiltiest-gear · 4 years

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Japan is an island by the sea filled with volcanoes and it's ♪♫ beautiful ♫♪.

In the year negative a billion, Japan might not have been here. In the year negative forty thousand, it was here, and you could walk to it, and some people walked to it. Then it got warmer, some icebergs melted, it became an island, and now there's lots of ♫ trees ♫. Because it's warmer.

So now there's people on the island; they're basically sort of hanging out in between the mountains eating nuts off trees and using the latest technology. Like stones, and bowls.

Ding dong, it's the outside world, and they have technology from the future. Like really good metal, and ♪ crazy rice farms ♪. Now you can make a lot of rice really really quickly. That means if you own the farm, then you own a lot of food, which is something everybody needs to survvvvive. So that makes you king.

Rice farming and rice kingdoms spread all across the land, all the way to here. The most important kingdoms were here (Hi), here (Chikushi), here (Izumo), here (Kibi), here (Yamato), here (Koshi), and here (Kenu). But this one (Yamato) was the most most important, ruled by a heavenly superperson, or emperor for short.

Knock knock, get the door, it's religion. The new prince wants everyone to try this hot new religion (Buddhism) from Baekje. "Please try this religion," he said. "No," said everybody. "Try iiiiit," he said. "no..." said everybody again, quieter this time. And so the religion was put into place and all the rules that came with it.

Then, the government was taken over by another clique (Taika). And they made some reforms , like making the government govern more, and making the government more like China's government, which is a government that governs more. "Hi China," they said. "Hi dipshit (wa, dwarf)," said China. "Can you call us something else, other than dipshit?" said Japan. "Like what?" said China. ♫♪"How about sunrise laaand?"♪♫ said Japan. And they stole China's alphabet and wrote a book. About themselves! And then they made lots of poetry and art and another book about themselves.

Then they stopped moving the capital every time the emperor died and kept it in one place for a while, right here (Kyoto, Heian Palace). And they conquered the north finally, get that squared away. ✓

A rich hipster named Kūkai is bored with modern Buddhism and visits China, learns a better version which is more ♫♪ spiritual ♪♫, comes back, reinvents the alphabet, and causes art and literature to be ♫♪ great ♪♫ for a long time. And the royal palace turned into such a dreamworld of art that they really didn't give a shit about running the country.

So if you live outside the palace, how are you supposed to protect your shit, from criminals? ♫♪ Hire a samurai.♪♫ Everyone started hiring samurai. (Rich important people hired samurai. Poor people who could not afford to hire samurai did not hire samurai.) The samurai became organized and powerful, more powerful than the government. So they made their own military government, right here. They let the emperor still be emperor, but the shogun was actually in control.

Breaking news, the Mongols have invaded China. "W̛e҉'ve i͟nv̕aded ̵Chi͠na̸," said the Mongols, "Pl͘e̶a̷se̵ ͝res͢p̛ȩc̷t u͢s҉,͜ or͜ el̕se w͞e ͟m̛igh͟t ͠i͝nvade͡ ̕y͜o̕u̕ ͡a͡s̕ ̡well̀.̢" "Okay," said Japan. So the Mongols came over, ready for war, and died in a tornado. But they tried again, and had a nice time fighting with the Japanese, but then died in a tornado.

Then the emperor overthrows the shogunate, then the shogunate overthrows him back and moves to Kyoto, and makes a new shogunate. And the emperor can still dress like an emperor if he wants, that's fine.

♫♪ Now there's more art. ♪♫ Like painting with less colors, collaborative poetry, plays, monkey fun, tea parties, gardening, architecture, flowers.

It's time for who's going to be the next shogun. Usually it's the shogun's kid, but the shogun doesn't have a kid. So he tries to get his brother to quit being a monk and be the next shogun. He says okay. But then the shogun has a kid. So now who's it gonna be? Vote now on your phones. And everyone voted so hard that the palace caught on fire and burned down. The shogun actually didn't care, he was off somewhere doing poetry. And the whole country broke into pieces. Everyone is fighting with each other for local power, and it's anybody's game.

Knock knock, it's Europe. No, they're not here to take over, they just wanna sell some shit. Like clocks, and guns, and ♫♪ Jesus ♪♫. So that's cool. But everyone's still fighting each other for control. Now with guns! And wouldn't it be nice to control the capital, which right now is puppets, with no one controlling them? This clan (Imagawa) is ready to make a run for it, but first they have to trample this smaller clan (Oda) which is in the way. Surprise, smaller clan wins! And the leader of that clan (Oda Nobunaga) steals the idea of invading the capital, and invades the capital. And it goes very well.

He's about halfway through conquering Japan when someone who works for him kills him, then someone else who works for him (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) kills them, and that guy finishes conquering Japan. And then he confiscated everybody's swords. And he made some rules. "Ąnd͟ n͟ow I'̛m̶ goińg̡ to ͘inva͞d̨e ͝Kor͟e͡a,̵ an͝d͢ ̶the̴n h͜op̷ef̕ull͏y ̵Chin͢a̛," he said, and failed, and also died. ☠️ But before he died, he told these five guys to take care of his five year old son until he's old enough to be the next ruler of Japan. And the five guys said yeah right, it's not gonna be this kid, it's gonna be one of us. 'Cause we're grownups. And it's probably gonna be this guy (Tokugawa Ieyasu) who happens to be way more rich and powerful than the others.

A lot of people support him, but a lot of people (Ishida Mitsunari) support not supporting him. They have a fight, and he wins. And starts a new government, right here. ♫♪ Edo ♫♪ And he still lets the emperor dress like an emperor, and have very nice things. But don't get confused, this (Tokugawa family) is the new government. And they are very strict, so strict they close the country. No one can leave, and no one can come in. Except for the Dutch, if they wanna buy and sell shit, but they have to do it right here (Dejima).

Now that the entire country was not at war with itself, the population increased a lot. ✓ Business increased, ✓schools were built, ✓ roads were built, ✓ everyone learned to read, ✓ books were published. There was poetry (haiku), plays (kabuki), sexytimes, puppet shows (bunraku), and Dutch studies. People started to study European science from books they bought from the Dutch. We're talking geography, skeletons, physics, chemistry, astronomy, and maybe even electricity.

Over time, the economic and cultural prosperity began to gradually slow do- impending doom music Knock knock. It's the United States. With huge boats. With guns. Gunboats. "O͜pe͡ņ,̨ t͡he͏ ͘c̷o̷ưntry. ͠S̛t͜o̡p̛,̵ ҉ha͠v̀in͜g̷ i͝t̀ ͝be̴ ́clo͞sed.̢" said the United States. music ends ¯\_(ツ)_/ ¯ There was really nothing they could do, so they signed a contract that lets United States, Britain, and Russia visit Japan anytime they want.

Chōshu and Satsuma hated this. "That sucks!" they said. "This sucks!!!" And with almost very little outside help, (from Britain) they overthrew the shogunate. And somehow made the emperor the emperor again, and moved him to Edo, which they renamed eastern capital (Tokyo). They made a new government, which was a lot more Western. And they made a new constitution, which was.. pretty Western. And a military that was... pretty Western (large).

And do you know what else is Western? That's right, it's conquering stuff. So what can we conquer? Korea! They conquer Korea, taking it from its previous owner, China, and then go a little bit further (Liaodong Peninsula). And Russia rushes in out of nowhere and says, "Stop no you can't do that we were gonna build a railroad through here to try to get some warm water." And Russia builds their railroad, supervised by a shitton of soldiers. Then, when the railroad was done, they downgraded to a fuckton. Did I say downgrade? I meant upgrade. And Japan says, "Can you maybe chill?" And Russia says, "How 'bout maybe you chill?"

Japan is kind of scared of Russia. You'll never guess who's also kind of scared of Russia. Great Britain! So Japan and Great Britain make an alliance together so they can be a little less scared of Russia. Feeling confident, Japan goes to war against Russia, but just for a moment, and then they both get tired and stop.

♫♪ It's time for World War I ♪♫ The world is about to have a war. Because it's the 1900s, and weapons are getting crazy, and all these empires are excited to try them out on each other. Meanwhile, Japan has been enjoying conquering stuff and wants m̵͡͝͝o͏̨̨̢͢o͏͏̵̧̕ơ̢̢͜͜o͠͏͢ó͘o̶̢̧ó̷͝͠o͝͡o̧͘r̨̢̕ȩ̸ and the next thing on their list is this part of China (Qingdao) and lots of tiny islands.

All that stuff belongs to Germany, which just had war declared on by Britain, because Britain was friends with Belgium, who was being trespassed by Germany in order to get to France to kick France's ass because France was friends with Russia who was getting ready to kick Austria's ass because Austria was getting ready to kick Serbia's ass because someone from Serbia shot the leader of Austria's ass. Err, actually, he shot him in the head. And Britain is currently friends with Japan. So you know what that means, duhhh.

♫♪ Japan should take the islands. ♪♫ Which they wanted to do anyway. So they sort of called Britain on the tele(gram) to sort of let them know, and then they did it! And they also helped Britain here and there with some errands and stuff. bell rings

Now the war is over, and congratulations Japan, you technically fought in the war which means you get to sit at the negotiating table (Paris Peace Conference), with the big dudes, where they decided who owns what. And yes, Japan gets to keep all that shit they stole from Germany. And you also get to join the post-war mega alliance ♫♪ the League of Nations ♪♫ whose mission statement is to try not to take over the world.

The Great Depression is bad, and Japan's economy is now crappy. But the military is doing just fine, and it invades Manchuria. And the League of Nations is like ♪"No don't do that if you're in the League of Nations you're not supposed to try to take over the world."♪ And Japan said, ♫♪ How bout I do, anyway? ♪♫ And Japan invaded more and more and more of China, and was planning to invade the entire East.

You've got mail. It's from Germany, the new leader of Germany, he has a cool mustache and is trying to take over the world and needs friends. This also got forwarded to Italy. They all decided to be friends because they had so much in common.

♫♪ It's time for World War II ♪♫ (the sequel) Germany is invading the neighbors, then they invade the neighbors' neighbors, then, the neighbor's neighbors' neighbors, who happen to be Britain, said "Holy shiiit" and the United States started helping Britain because they are ♫♪ good friends ♪♫ and started not helping Japan because ♫♪" Their friends and our friends are not friends. Plus they're planning on invaaading the entire ocean."♪♫

The United States is also working on a large, very huge bomb. Bigger than any other bomb, ever™. Just in case (Germany). But they still haven't joined the war, war looks bad on TV, and the United States is really starting to care about their image.

But then Japan spits on them, in Hawaii, and challenges them to war. And they say yes! And then Germany, as a symbol of friendship, declares war on the United States also. And they help the gang chase Germany back into Germany. And they also chase Japan back into Japan. And they haven't used the bomb yet, and are curious to see if it works, so they drop it on Japan.

They actually drop two.

(You win.) The United States installed a new government, inspired by the United States government, with just the right ingredients for a ♫♪ post-war economic miracle ♪♫ and Japan starts making TVs, VCRs, automobiles, and camcorders as fast as they can. And also better than everybody else. They get rich, and the economy goes wild. But then the miracle wears off, but everything's still pretty cool I guess. ♪♫ Bye. ♫♪

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kimberlyharris5769-blog1 · 4 years

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Source: The Estimating Group

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Sum assessors manage the costs and budgetary arrangement of a structure adventure from start to satisfaction. You'll ensure the costs of the errand don't outperform the money related arrangement. You'll require a nice working data on the advancement business and brilliant numeracy capacities.

Bit by bit guidelines to transform into a sum assessor:

Source: The Estimating Group

There are a couple of courses to transforming into a sum assessor. You can get the capacities you need by doing a school course or an apprenticeship. If you starting at now have appropriate experience you may have the alternative to apply really to a business or train at work. You should explore the choices to find which is the right one for you.

Along these lines, with that outside of what might be expected, let us keep on portraying the activity.

Pretty much, sum assessors manage all costs related with building and auxiliary structuring errands. Their work is both office and site-based and the fundamental target is to confine expenses (and keep them inside the limitations of a spending plan). Likewise, they attempt to do it without choosing the idea of definite items or fail to hold quick to the structure, prosperity, and security rules.

Besides, they take an interest in adventures and work with transitory laborers/clients legitimately from the earliest starting point, preparing thorough assignment checks. Routinely, they furthermore collect fragile and agreement documentation, lead plausibility looks at, and grasp danger control. At the point when the structure technique starts, sum assessors keep close tabs on any assortments that may incite cost changes.

Having a specialist managing your advancement adventure money related issues is something that should reliably be on the table. You can choose to do by far most of the stuff yourself, yet what you pay for an assessor is nothing appeared differently in relation to the bounty of favorable circumstances that envision not far-removed. Using one can now and again achieve more wickedness than anything. Believe it or not, in case you play it sagacious and put time in research, you should have the choice to take viability to the accompanying level. It is time you got the most incentive for your cash!

Sum assessors manage the costs on an improvement adventure. They help to ensure that the improvement adventure is done inside its foreseen spending plan. Elective occupation titles for a sum assessor join 'cost master', 'business boss', 'cost manager' and 'cost engineer'.

The tasks sum assessors complete will differ as showed by whether they are managing the structure or the advancement period of an endeavor (and thusly whether they are working for a consultancy – which revolves around the arrangement stage – or the impermanent laborer, who amasses the undertaking).

Name : The Estimating Group

Address: 28 Anna Pavlova Cl

Zip Code: OX14 1TE

City: Abingdon

Country: United Kingdom

Phone No.:+44 7512 587400

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://theestimatinggroup.co.uk

Sum assessors who work for consultancies will by and large be office-based and work ordinary accessible time; the people who are used by legally binding laborers will when all is said in done be arranged in short working environments on building regions and go out close by habitually. They will by and large work longer hours and may be required to work shifts.

Source: The Estimating Group

What They Do?

Sum assessors administer advancement adventure accounts. They figure a spending plan subject to their client's requirements, and prepare quick and dirty assessments to ensure the monetary arrangement is sufficient for each period of advancement as the errand makes.

Their tasks may include:

Assessing and watching advancement costs from the endeavor feasibility stage, through fragile game plan, to the improvement time span and past.

Ability:

To transform into a Quantity Surveyors you must have a New Zealand Diploma in Construction (Quantity Surveying) or a Bachelor of (Construction Economics or Quantity Surveying).

Though the two capacities grant graduates to take on section level employments, those with a Bachelor of Construction become acquainted with additional organization capacities.

Various understudies concentrate low upkeep while working in the business, especially during the most recent year of study. This suggests understudies can get money while they study, and their chief will every so often pay for the assessments. This moreover gives understudies noteworthy experience.

The Estimating Group

Address: 28 Anna Pavlova Cl

Zip Code: OX14 1TE

City: Abingdon

Country: United Kingdom

Phone No.:+44 7512 587400

Email: [email protected] Website: https://theestimatinggroup.co.uk

Quality Surveyors calling is despised in specific countries, for instance, the USA. Nevertheless, in the worldwide improvement field, sum assessors have famous advancement abilities and are commonly drawn in with improvement adventures. They have different names in different countries ‒ for instance cost engineer, building money related expert, cost manager, or advancement accountant. In spite of the different names, they have gigantic aptitudes that have progressed to meet the extending and changing needs of clients, especially in the all inclusive advancement field. This assessment investigated the occupations of sum assessors and the complexities they may find in overall turn of events. A composing review and outline survey were used to investigate the employments, complexities, and the level of contention from other advancement specialists. The results exhibited that sum assessors had various employments being developed, with a bigger piece of them going about as specialists of clients being developed endeavors. Also, they experienced changed complexities and faced contention from other improvement specialists. It is essential that they had frameworks to shield the continuance of the calling and had space for future augmentation and upgrade of their occupations in worldwide turn of events. The investigation gives accommodating information to those specialists and clients wishing to participate in general turn of events.

Estimators Online are the UKs driving provider of neighborhood structure assessing organizations. We give point by point work and materials assesses that show the real cost of your structure adventure. Engineers, producers merchants, property holders and self designers use our assessing organization to find a careful, fair and broad breakdown of building costs. Our evaluations contain a total work and materials breakdown alongside a point by point line by line materials diagram.

What is Estimator Online?

An estimator online is subject for surveying the costs of a colossal extension adventure, and ought to at first accumulate and explore adventure express data that will help them with preparing assessments. They start by get-together budgetary data and use it to make a measure of the money, work, materials, and creation time it will take to complete a given endeavor.

These specialists are consistently found in thing creating, where they are called manufacturing cost estimators, or being developed, where they are known as advancement cost estimators. With the right scope of capacities and experience level, they can work for creators, advancement firms, building associations, or pariah transitory specialists.

In every working environment, their ability to correctly assess gathering and improvement costs is particularly noteworthy to the boss — from pioneers in the C-suite to advancement chiefs and adventure directors. These specialists use an estimator to help ensure the cost-practicality of some irregular improvement assignment or gathering process.

In collecting, estimators online could empower their association to choose the sum of the cash related obligations essential for making another thing. This consolidates everything from the unrefined materials and work required to make the product, to the cost of picking up, taking care of, and appropriating the fragments and finished things. A cost estimator managing a structure site would have an equivalent objective, yet they would survey costs related to a gigantic extension collect, for instance, an office amazing, raised structure, or framework.

An entirely amazing cost estimator's thought is focused on discovering, separating, and translating assessing data that will help them with making exact projections. They may review specific chronicles and charge plans for cutting edge figures and timeframes and use gathering or improvement cost assessing programming to process the data.

As any cost estimator set of working obligations will illustrate, the activity incorporates a ton of correspondence. Capable estimators talk about cost data with suppliers, engineers, and various accessories. They moreover keep up relationships with bargains gatherings to convey cleanliness, clients standing up to reports and staying next to each other in advancing endeavors. A great part of the time, they are at risk for examining progress and spending activities to make adjusted examinations that think about new information. As adventures push ahead, they scan for ways to deal with cutting down the costs related to these ceaseless undertakings.

The Estimating Group

Address: 28 Anna Pavlova Cl

Zip Code: OX14 1TE

City: Abingdon

Country: United Kingdom

Phone No.:+44 7512 587400

Email: [email protected] Website: https://theestimatinggroup.co.uk

The sum you can make in this calling?

Source: The Estimating Group

The estimators online occupation can be a remunerating one for the people who secure long stretch work in such a position.

First of all, employers typically look to see that an applicant’s highest level of education includes a bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as finance, engineering, accounting, business, or industrial distribution. They will also look for the right combination of technical capabilities and soft skills.

Technology drives modern commerce, so employers seek candidates with the aptitude for navigating a variety of computer programs and digital platforms, including accounting programs, analytics software, databases, project management tools, and sophisticated cost estimating software. Some experience with industry-specific software, like computer-aided design (CAD) and building information modeling (BIM), may also be important to some employers.

Furthermore, according to the BLS and O*Net, analytical skills like critical thinking and quantitative reasoning, as well as communication skills, are essential to success in this position. Cost estimation isn’t always a straightforward process, so professionals in this role should also demonstrate the persistence and detail-oriented approach it takes to develop well-researched and informative reports.

To successfully pass through the hiring process, applicants will need previous work experience in either the construction or manufacturing sector. A few years of experience in a lower-level position will allow emerging professionals to receive on-the-job training and increase their knowledge about the cost factors that estimators need to navigate to be a Estimators Online.

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