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druidshollow · 5 months

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HI HELLO WHO ARE ALL YOUR ITERATORS AND WHATS GOING ON HSHFKSKD . i want to be interested but my brain requires at least a simple explanation to understand things /silly /genq

also do you have any Slugs . any strange cats perhaps

OH LORDY LMAO.... right now im actually working on a doc with a simple timeline of events and all the comics in order buuut as for slugs yeah theres a few! this is a slugcat post >:)))

this is the vanisher (they/he), lovingly named shifting shades by phrases! their colony originally lived on top of adamant dune's can, but after the iterator begins becoming increasingly violent towards the slugcats their colony flees. but they are not furred or terribly well adapted to the cold, so they need to live atop or near iterator cans to escape the cold. in an attempt to save their family, the vanisher journeys over the mountains of the great divide to find a safer home for their colony. instead they find themself very much entangled in the corners' group's issues with rivers. oops! when they reach phrases the consuming (rivers' rot lizards purposed specifically for killing iterators) is already destroying glass incident, and phrases agrees to let the slugcats move into their city Bastion, while campaigning the slugcat to kill the consuming and save their little sister's life.

they manage to defeat the beast using the power of being very slimy and slippery, and on the way back to phrases' can they run into our next slugcat, the juggernaut (she/they), later named mighty compassion by phrases!

compassion is one of two slugcats purposed by eleven rivers for the purpose of delivering the consuming to his targets, the twins, and stealing their mass rarefaction cells to render them too weak to defend themselves. she was sent to glass incident and was Very much successful in her mission. on her way back to eleven rivers she runs into shifting shades, and at first the two quarrel over what to do with the cells. compassion wants to complete her mission and bring them to rivers but shades is very much "NO YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD GO GIVE THEM BACK. IM HEADING THAT WAY ANYWAYS. JUST COME WITH ME" compassion is convinced and they return to glass incident with shades, but glass asks them to instead bring the cells to phrases, whose cells had also been stolen. she reasoned that the damage had already been done and she was dying no matter what anyone did, but since phrases was unharmed they could still be saved if their power was returned. phrases is incredibly grateful and very touched by glass' sacrifice, and gifts compassion with her name as well as the mark of communication

after everything goes down and is done going down mighty compassion is welcomed into Bastion of Warmth by phrases and shades' colony

this is red/brave triumph (he/him), rivers' other slugcat and mighty compassion's brother. (he doesnt get a title name because he wouldnt be playable lol) he steals four falling phrases' rarefaction cells, originally i was going to have this be a mistake (went to the wrong iterator fucking ioops) but i think i'm going to have rivers do it intentionally so that phrases cant use their senior privilege to stop him and also because they were already meddling by sending shades to kill the consuming. not sure yet. havent decided yet. anyways he steals phrases' cells but when he is sent back out to release the consuming in rivers' other target no long nights, he abandons his mission, feeling dejected by rivers' increasing unfeeling nature and aggression towards him. he runs into his sister atop phrases (this is when phrases gives him the name brave triumph even tho he doesnt have mark and cant understand. they just love naming slugcats. i think he probably finds some way to gesture an apology and phrases feels quite moved by it) but he doesn't stay, feeling ashamed because when they were pups he was violent towards glass incident.

this is the eulogist (they/she), lovingly named fuzzling by glass incident, lmao. its a character trait of glass' that shes bad at naming things sdghsgd fuzzling finds their way into glass' chamber a short time before the consuming is released into her structure, when they are still just a pup. glass, a BIG lover of slugcats, takes the pup in and raises her. they grow very close. right before glass' collapse, she urges the pup to flee as to not get hurt, but still young and afraid fuzzling refuses to go. glass does her best to shield the slugpup through the fall and luckily she is mostly unscathed. glass however, wasnt so lucky. although she actually remained conscious after her collapse for some time, after some time the cold was too much for her systems to cope with and she passed away. she could feel this coming and wrote one last message for her brother no long nights in a pearl, urging fuzzling to bring it to him. fuzzling however is afraid and doesn't leave until they are fully grown. i have a lil comic of fuzzling returning from finding food to find glass dead. i cant remember if ive posted it but i dont think i have so im attaching it lmao

the message fuzzling brings no long nights includes a goodbye from glass, and a slideshow of her favourite memories of nights and fuzzling. she began saving these memories on the pearl as soon as she started losing them (massive :(((( ) so she could eventually give them to nights. fuzzling stays with him after delivering the pearl, and nights suspects that glass really sent the message so that him and the slugcat could be together, that glass wouldnt want either of them to be alone.

god thats fucking heavy. uhhhh the rest are all root's slugs i think!!!

these guys arent relevant until far after glass and rivers have collapsed, after the world as a whole is plunging into an ice age. feeling lonely, isolated, and afraid for the future, ten silver roots purposes the frequencer (they/them) to travel around and send out a sos message that basically said "DEAR VOID SOMEONE PLEASE MESSAGE ME BACK I AM SO LONELY AND SAD I DONT KNOW WHAT IM GONNA DO" and eventually it reached phrases, who was also desperately lonely and afraid, having lost half their siblings including their best friend. the two quickly become very close, and create the lovers, who are basically vr slugcats that they can tap into so they can play together and also hug they both just really wanted to hug eachother

#druid draw #oc posting #slugcat oc #rain world oc #rain world #sequential

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kurooo-is-here · 5 months

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May I request a romantic headcanon for Kieran with a soft-spoken S/O who sings when there’s no one around?

Waaaaa Kieran consumes my brain again....

Been listening to that one Pokemon song called Acacia, especially the English covers !! So I put the lyrics in this one because why not lol (Song link here! There's also an original animation on the Japanese version of the song, in case anyone hasn't seen that!)

You and Kieran already get along pretty much instantly since you're both rather shy and soft-spoken, so it's only natural he develops a massive crush on you and thinks about you all the time.

He's doing the school trip activity with you, going around taking pictures at every sign board. He's been following you from a distance for awhile now, but then he notices that you take a break a bit off the path by a river.

As you and your dragon lizard companion sit by the river, you start to sing a melody he's never heard before:

"We're still a long way from where we must go, but I could spend all my life here if it's with you..."

Kieran feels.. oddly at peace listening to you sing. Your voice is so soothing, so beautiful... He doesn't even realize he's been staring at you this entire time until you start to get up to leave.

He basically fades away on the spot when you realize he's been watching-- but you just giggle and extend your hand to him.

"Did- Did you like my singing?" You ask him shyly. "It's one of my favorite songs."

He nods, unable to hide his flushed cheeks as he puts his hand in yours. "...Y-Yeah. It was beautiful, Y/N."

You let him listen to you sing for awhile after that, and although you're a bit embarassed to have a bit of an audience now, something about his soft smile and his shining eyes as he watches you... it makes you feel warm inside.

He's absolutely smitten with you after that. You're so special to him, his one and only. He considers your singing a secret that he wouldn't want to share with anyone else.

#pokemon #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon teal mask #pokemon kieran #pokemon kieran x reader #acacia is such a good song #it makes me very nostalgic :)#kuro writes

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gunpowder-arti · 5 months

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you know, i'm unable to see saint as an ending, any more than it is a beginning.

gh--alright. i'm going to preface this by saying it is after 3am where i live and i am on enough melatonin to sedate a horse, which is probably why i've been possessed to write this post to begin with. all of this is up to interpretation, half of this is shit i made up in my brain, and maybe (probably) i'm finding meaning that wasn't intended to be there and maybe (probably) i'm grasping at straws (haha jusr like

but. okay. if you know me, you might know that I am a Paleontology Nerd. and you might know that I quite enjoy waxing poetic about it. bear with me here i promise this is connected

within rain world, there are multiple lines of dialogue that I would like to bring up--

Ah, in the end, everything reaches the conclusion of its journey. I'm not sure how many of us are even left in this world. A new cycle is already unfolding, one we need not be a part of. We've long outserved our purpose. (Looks to the Moon, Rivulet's campaign)

A little beast! Come to join me in this great undoing. The old world will soon vanish, wiped from history, to pave a path for the dawning of a new era. How many have been consumed so far? Were we the tenth civilization, or the thousandth? Amusingly, they thought their small struggles bore such great significance. All was naught but to serve the void. (Two Sprouts; Twelve Brackets, Saint's campaign)

even the title of the credits theme--Reclaiming Entropy--seems to speak to my point. which is:

there is one thing the world proves, time and again, and that is that life cannot end. it is a cycle in and of itself. entropy reclaims, epochs end. volcanoes erupt, meteors fall, glaciers melt. few can change fast enough to accommodate. 83% of genera went extinct during the Great Dying.

and yet, as entropy all-but-guarantees massive destruction, so too it all-but-guarantees that destruction is not absolute. that remaining 17% grow and spread and diversify. the world ends. the world lives. the world is changed. the world is new. the world is alive.

any that cannot change with it, die.

as Moon states in the dialogue shown above, the Iterators have outserved their purpose. this is their flaw. they cannot change, and they cannot reproduce, and they cannot perpetuate themselves forever. they live for a long time, yes, but time and entropy claim all.

and that time and entropy, indeed, is named as Saint.

I... do not interpret Saint's campaign literally most of the time, unless I'm thinking about them as a Character TM. but I think that to see them as an ending, as an absolute--it goes against this world's very nature.

the Saint is not absolution. the Saint is the psychopomp for an era. the Saint is the turning of the epoch.

I would like to point out the Scavengers. they have grown and spread and changed.

The scavengers never cease to adapt, even in this weather! (Looks to the Moon, upon being brought a lantern as Saint)

they are widespread and ever-adaptable. they will live, i would hazard a guess, even when most do not.

even the lizards! they have grown fur (or feathers--i personally hc it as feathers. but it's not clear) in an adaptation to the cold. the strawberry lizards have developed unique and beautiful adaptations. the orange lizards have spread throughout the land. undergrowth grows lush and warm, even as the world is carpeted in tundra (it is not a wasteland! look! they're alive, they're changing!).

how can you look at this world and say it is dying?

how can you look at this world and say it is dead?

the saint is an ending, but so too--perhaps even moreso--the saint is a beginning.

the saint is the impact winter. the saint is entropy. the saint is change.

the saint is a mass extinction event.

#lore pearl #saint #analysis #rain world #< this gets the main tag #if you've made it this far: thank you for listening to my conspiracy board ramblings!#consider reblogging to expose more people to my madness!

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oh-hell-help-me · 11 months

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OKAY! I admit that YouTube has been addicting with the plethora of reptile videos!

It started with research for certain details of cute reptile facts (you know why). I came upon the concept of weird reptile pets and then ended up 'aw'ing over an Emotional Support Alligator an old man has bonded with him in Cheetos and chicken legs. It's so wholesome!

And then I was searching the depths of the chocolate and alligator debate.

Like, there is a long-standing argument of whether or not alligators can consume chocolate safely, and the debate is topsy turvy with cases of other alligators/crocodiles who have lived off chocolate-containing foods and SURVIVED, but that tells me nothing about immediate or long-term effects!

Like, I know they literally can eat anything from how I've seen some go after car tires (don't ask), but this whole thing has been setting off my brain for possibilities in how this applies to Bowser (and Koopas in general).

They're reptile-ish turtle-dragon-things that seem to have some gator-croc features. SO-

Let's talk about dietary restrictions, and how that can translate to the split of palates between Bowser and Luigi!

Canonically, Bowser is omnivorous, with the same tastes as humans if the cookies, meat, and other various foodstuffs seen in-game and official art are to be believed.

But otherwise? There isn't any info that would dispute the need to eat rocks like a chicken to grind food in a special organ (for Bowser to have an excuse for why he eats otherwise questionable objects in "Bowser's Inside Story"). I would LOVE to see Luigi be utterly flummoxed by the sight of Bowser taking bites out of boulders or casually shoveling in gravel!

There isn't a direct dispute for Bowser to not also include insects to that diet, like a lot of small lizards do! People also eat insects (usually crickets, spiders, and the rare scorpions), but I assume that either Luigi would be too squeamish to watch any Koopa eat it, or maybe make the effort to accept it (like, using Cricket Flour for baking)!

There is no fact that goes against Bowser actually liking raw/scrambled eggs instead of fried eggs, which he explicitly states to hate in "Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door"! Heck, it could be like Movie!Mario's thing with mushrooms, but in a way where Luigi will thoughtfully accommodate him for family-cooked meals!

Anyone could also fit in some restrictions for Luigi! Like, for sickfic/angst reasons, maybe an allergy that shows up when he does his best to eat 'normally' at first but has it backfire (as things do for him)! And Bowser could encourage him (yell at him with love) to ask for alternative food because gosh dang it Luigi you are now bedridden-!

Anyone could also give the Koopa's a high metabolism, so calorie-packed meals are the norm and the constant craving of a lot of food can add to some kitchen bonding with high-calorie meals! And the fact that some Italian dishes (i.e. not all) are considered calorie dense can be a thing to add to the roster of meals that don't overload the Koopa palette!

Just- a lot of things to do with food! In a fluffy way!

#bowuigi #and #dietary restrictions #but fluffy #luigi x bowser #bowser x luigi #bowigi

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sorenblr · 5 months

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Now that you've completed the SMT V stream, I (and I'm sure some other folks, too) would love to hear what you think of it compared with the other main Megaten games you've played on stream. I think you've done SMT 1, SMT IV and SMT IV:A so far. Include Persona 1 too if you'd like.

And that dreadful Tokyo Mirage Sessions: pound sign Fire Emblem, too

SMTV is hard for me to discuss because there's very little about it that compels me to deeper thought. It really, genuinely bores me to think about, and anything I do have to say about it only evinces an incredibly cynical read of the series. I'll just put whatever I have left to say here, so that I don't feel the need to revisit.

It's just, you know, this bloodless cultivation of recycled semiotics from Nocturne. We ragged on IV for being overly invested in derivation and homage, but it looks almost daring coming off of V. The only really original idea that it brings to the table, the notion of Nahobino as the 'true' form of these divided and depreciated myth images, is almost offensive in the way it reframes designs that at least try to approximate real cultural attitudes towards religion as lesser, enervated reflections of yet more Tokusatsu tripe. Apart from that, it's a very inert piece of storytelling. I feel like a joke is being played on me whenever the game presumes an emotional investment in characters like Tao or Yuzuru.

I generally think highly of all the little design wrinkles that were implemented under Komori's stewardship, and that owe to his experience directing the more balance-intensive affairs of Etrian Odyssey. The new utility of consumables, dampeners as a limited means of addressing weakness in party structure, the need to attend to enemy and player Magatsuhi gauges etc. All necessary supplements to a battle system that was beginning to wear thin by 2016. Only my opinion of everything that enfolds it, the exploration, was diminished on this second playthrough. The layouts are still compelling, with a novel emphasis on managing layers of verticality, but they're populated with so much idiot open-world cruft. Vending machines, chests, glory crystals, health orbs, Miman. An overabundance of piddling incentive to keep you in a state of compulsion, and which I believe contributes to the exhaustion that many players feel come Taito. I still like the Miman, but they essentially exist in a continuum with the fucking feather collectables in Assassin's Creed.

(All the colored orbs littered around the sands are the perfect wedge to that design sensibility. They're almost totally inconsequential and only worth pursuing for the feeling of having absorbed more bright bobbles into yourself. They whisper to your lizard brain so that you don't feel too unstimulated navigating the space, which is never deigned to be worth the doing for its own sake. I'm out here picking up orbs and I can't even use them to extend the duration of Spartan Rage. Videogames are fucking stupid.)

It also made me more conscious of the ways the game fails to leverage art direction against what were probably non-ideal production conditions. It's never easy to forget that you're in a world of economically distributed UE4 assets, with no less than four brilliant hues of sparkling sand and ruined structures that have largely forfeited the Tokyoite specificity of previous games in favor of the same vending machines and multi-floor apartments and office buildings repeated ad nauseam. Daat never feels more like a hostile environment than a self-conscious playground. The concept art backdrops and rudimentary 3D textures of IV/IVA, and the claustrophobic interiors of I- all more lively by far. Pretty good skyboxes, though. No complaints there.

I think the series has moved into the sort of tired self-pastiche that every franchise turns to after decades of iteration. Time and chance happened, and now it's Angus Young crawling out of his mansion and into his boy-clothes to duckwalk across the stage while his grapefruit-sized prostate wages war against him from within.

If I were to rank just the main series from what we've streamed thus far, it would be something like I > IV > V > IVA. The only sense in which TMS has it at a disadvantage is that it emulates more cleanly. I'm glad that we're done with the latter half of the series and can finally move on, but I'll never forget that big huge enormous ass...

#ask #smt #megaten #atlus #smtv #streaming knowledge

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superficialcinema · 2 months

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⋆༺ MY TUMBLR :3 ༻⋆

༺ Hello! My name is KC (she/her), and this is my blog! ༻

༺ I love most films and music I consume. I scarcely have a bone of critique in my body, to be honest - and my personal favourites lists suffer as a result. That’s why I started this blog! Alongside the John Waters movies, I enjoy a good mix of 70s, 00s and misc. metal music: Cannibal Corpse, P!ATD, Korn, Simon & Garfunkel…

I've never actually watch a lot of the films I know of, usually my dad watched them and I just hear him repeat the notable parts. Most of the films I choose to watch are bad because my process consists of falling in love with ugly old men and looking up their repertoire in post. I also can't handle actually watching beautiful cinematic films because I will go lizard brain and starting gnawing at the bars of my enclosure.

༺ I welcome you to join my little pursuit here as a mutual - and I thank you for exploring this corner of the simblr! I hope to see you on my dashboard soon. ฅ^.⩊.^ฅ ༻

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madneedshelp · 1 year

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Redemption - Josh Kiszka x FReader

Summary: After an accident leaves you on the brink of death, the images of your life flash by while you’re in this limbo state. All the moments with the best friend you never got the courage to confess to consume you at the end. Now, all you can do is beg and plead for one last chance with him. Words: 3.3k

Warnings: Description of accident, language, mentions of death, alcohol use

Note: Ok so I know this fic is just super out of pocket, the idea came to me at like 2 am during finals week when my brain was fried, but I wrote it anyway. Also, I tried to not insinuate any religious afterlife specifications just because obviously not everyone has the same beliefs, so I promise I don’t want to offend anyone. I hope you all enjoy my weird fic!

There was no way to describe the way you were feeling except as saying you felt nothing. It was almost as if you were nothing. You were in an abyss of nothingness, but in a warm and bright way. It was comforting, not terrifying.

Still, you were vaguely conscious of the fact that this was…odd. Time didn’t seem to affect you, so you weren’t sure how long it took you to remember what happened to you.

There was an accident. It had poured so heavily the day before, but you and your two friends were on a hiking trip and determined to do a trail anyway. There was a small break in the rain and both you and Josh decided you should seize your opportunity. Jake had tried to be the voice of reason, but the two of you pulled him along anyway.

You were about halfway done when it was like the skies opened up and rain swamped you all. There weren't any good options for shelter, so you pushed ahead as fast as you could. By the time you made it to the final stretch, the downpour was thick enough that you couldn’t really see and mud kept trying to take hold of your shoes, but all you had to do was make it uphill and you’d be at the parking lot.

Jake and Josh were ahead of you, just far enough to be out of reach when you slipped. The path was narrow and slick. There weren’t any trees of substantial size along the edges. The combination of all those things ended with you sliding right off the edge of the cliffside.

The last vague memory you had is the sounds of screaming and the flash of fear as you plummeted toward a boulder below.

Despite the warm place you seemed to be in, cold panic started to seep into your veins. Were you dead? You must’ve hit your head on the way down, and now you were…no, no, no, you couldn’t be. You were a year away from finishing your undergrad, you had future trips planned with friends, and you hadn’t even told your best friend that you loved him yet.

Josh. What about Josh? You couldn’t die before you got to tell him how you felt. You had so many opportunities, but you never took any of them because you didn’t want to lose him if he didn’t feel the same. Hundreds of chances, but you always banked on there being a next time. Now you might've run out.

—--8 Years Ago—--

“Josh, I swear if you don’t put that back where it belongs, I will shave your eyebrows while you sleep!” You shouted, taking a good ten steps back from the curly-haired boy.

You should’ve known better than to agree to go to the creek with Josh. He and Jake had been begging you to come down here with you for weeks, but the weather hadn’t been very warm so far. Now that it was summer break, the three of you had ventured out here.

Not that you minded the extra time with Josh. Yeah, he was your best friend, but something was different lately. Though you had never talked about the feelings with anyone before, you knew it was a crush. You really liked this boy, even if he was kind of annoying and a bit of a weirdo.

He looked between you and the newt in his hands with false innocence. “What’s wrong? It’s not gonna hurt you. Don’t you like lizards?”

You held out an arm to signal for him to stay back. “I don’t love them, and also that’s not a lizard. Now please, just put him down.”

“It’s not? Here, why don’t you take a closer look just to check.” A mischievous grin spread across his face as he lunged toward you with the small creature.

You let out a small shriek and took off down the creek. He followed after you instantly while laughing maniacally.

At some point, he either dropped or let the newt go, but it turned into him just chasing you. With the threat of the best gone, your competitive streak started to come alive and you would be damned if you let him beat you. Your legs were just a bit longer than his and you were fast. However, Josh was a ball of energy and he was rapidly gaining on you in the rocky terrain.

Just as his hand closed around your arm you tripped on a slippery rock and the both of you went down with a splash. The two of you kept laughing for a minute until if faded as a silent realization fell upon both of you.

Josh had fallen to where he was on his hands and knees hovering over where you lie on your back. His face was only inches from yours.

Neither of you were sure why the other didn’t move. Whether it was due to actual feelings or simply the curiosity of 13 year old kids starting to wonder about what it would be like to kiss someone, you couldn’t tell. You were stuck with your eyes locked on each other.

Unfortunately, you never got to find out what would’ve happened. You both hesitated a moment too long and Jake’s shouting grabbed your attention. He must’ve returned from his trip back to grab some water.

“Josh! Y/N! Dad said lunch is ready!”

“Coming!” Josh shouted back, scrambling up from his position.

He offered you a hand, which you took shyly, and started to brush yourself off. Neither of you said a word as you made your way back to the grassy lawn where you left your stuff. Jake was already gone by the time you two climbed up the bank.

“Hey, uh, do you want my shirt?” Josh held up the article of clothing.

He was smart enough to have shed it before you played in the creek. Still, his question took you aback.

“What?” You felt your face warm slightly.

He seemed to get a bit more embarrassed as he explained. “Well your shirt got soaked when we fell, so I just wondered if you wanted to borrow it.”

“Oh, um, yeah thanks.” You grabbed the shirt from him with a small smile.

As soon as it was in your hand, it hit you that you’d have to take off your shirt to change. And you were pretty far from the house. And there were very few trees along the creek.

Even at 13 Josh was a good guy. His manners kicked in when it mattered. Without you asking, he swiveled to face the field away from you so you could change and made a playful remark about keeping watch, even though it was highly unlikely that anyone would turn up.

You quickly swapped out your wet t-shirt for his dry one and poked him on the shoulder. “I’m done now.”

“Great, let’s go.” He smiled at you.

He was still quiet on the walk back. Normally, you could handle a comfortable silence with Josh, but this afternoon things were different. The two of you nearly kissed in the creek, you were wearing his shirt, and now you were noticing that he smelt oddly good for a teenage boy.

You would never tell anyone how much you regretted not kissing Josh. He would’ve been your first kiss. You ended up wasting it on some boy at a school dance the following school year, and you didn’t even really like him. But how could you have kissed Josh back at the creek when you didn’t think he wanted the same thing?

—--3 Years Ago—--

“Babe, you look absolutely stunning!” Jake’s girlfriend beamed at you after she finished doing your hair.

You flushed and blew a playful kiss at her. “Stop it, you look gorgeous! I can’t wait to see the look on Jake’s face!”

You and her had become good friends in the time she’d been dating Jake. She’d offered to do your hair for prom if you would do her makeup, and the two of you even went dress shopping together. It was kind of refreshing considering most of the time you hung out with the twins.

“I’m more excited to see Josh’s face. Seriously, there’s no way he’s just gonna sit there all night and keep calling you his best friend. He’s got it bad for you and this is gonna break him.” She smirked at you.

You rolled your eyes at her. “Not true.” It was, though. She had figured out your crush on him a while ago, but you would never admit it.

You and Josh were going to prom together, yes, but just as friends. You broke up with your boyfriend a few weeks ago, and Josh and his girlfriend had ended things around the same time too. That left both of you single and in need of prom dates. It felt only natural to go with your best friend, especially when you’d planned on going with Jake and his girlfriend as a group anyways.

“You know I don’t believe you, but I’d rather go see the proof now, so let’s go.” She winked and pulled you out of her room and downstairs.

As expected, Jake found his girlfriend to be extremely pretty and told her so at least four times. If you hadn’t been paying attention to their goofball romance, you might’ve noticed that Josh was looking at you like you were a shooting star, bright and rare, like if he blinked he would miss you entirely.

Once you stepped over to him, he blinked and cleared his throat nervously. “You look really nice.”

“Thank you, you do too.” You smile at him, trying to keep your voice even. He really did look good. He’d done his best to tame his wild hair and he even got a vest for his suit that matched your dress.

He offered you his arm and the two of you followed behind Jake and his girlfriend to the front yard to take pictures. Everyone’s parents were present, and millions of pictures of everyone and every combination of each were taken. For the next few years you kept a picture of you and Josh from prom in your room, along with your other favorites.

After pictures and dinner, the four of you finally made it to prom and everyone scattered periodically to mingle. Jake and Josh went to talk to some of their other friends, and you and Jake’s girlfriend did the same. Eventually, you all snuck out the back and drank a bit from the flasks you snuck in and returned to repeat the cycle of talking and dancing.

Of course it wouldn’t have been prom without the cheesy slow song thrown randomly in the mix. The four of you happened to have already been on the dance floor dancing to the upbeat song previously played, so Jake and his girlfriend almost immediately switched into slow-dance-mode. That left you and Josh. You were just thinking it would be the perfect time for a drink break when Josh held out his hand.

“Dance with me?” He asked with a grin.

You returned it and nodded. “Of course.”

As the steady ballad crooned from the speakers, you and Josh drifted together. His hand on your waist, your arms around his neck, you looked like every other couple on the dancefloor.

“Crazy to think we’re already here and graduating in like a month.” He chuckled.

“Oh, don’t go getting all sappy on me now, Joshy.”

“Can’t help it, I guess this music is just getting to me. Can I be honest with you?”

You narrowed your eyes at him and nodded. “Yeah?”

He chuckled under his breath for a moment before he sobered up a little. “Relax, it’s nothing bad. I’m just glad that I’m here with you.”

You felt the seriousness creep back into you then. “Me too. There’s no one I’d rather be here with.”

The thoughts you had been trying to push away for the past few months were threatening to surface. Graduation in May. Summer break in June and July. Then you’d leave for college in August. After that you’d be states away from your best friends and family.

Just tell him. Say it now while you have the courage. The small voice inside you was screaming, but there was enough of you too terrified to act. You couldn’t ruin prom and the whole summer together if things went south.

Instead, you settled for laying your head on his shoulder and mumbling “I’m going to miss you.”

—--Your 21st Birthday—--

Nashville was a fun place to celebrate your 21st birthday. Since you didn’t get to see your friends often, the three of you splurged on the event and decided to take a trip. While you had all been drinking way before it was legal, being able to go bar hopping was still exciting.

Needless to say, you were all drunk and having a blast. You’d spent the earlier part of the day sightseeing and exploring the city, but tonight was the real reason for the trip.

At the last minute, you invited your college roommate out of nerves. You had gotten lucky to have been matched with Katie, she was now a close friend of yours. That’s why you asked her to come. You hadn’t seen Josh since your last break from school and you were more than a little nervous. You kept in touch over the phone, but in person was different. You were still in love with him, despite the fact that you’d tried to fall for other people, so you brought Katie in case you freaked.

Unfortunately, you forgot about Katie’s weakness for long-haired men and Jake’s tendency to be a bit of a hoe (which you meant completely lovingly). The moment Jake started tipsy-flirting with her, her buzzed self folded. They had been talking for a good part of the night.

However, things between you and Josh were good. You two were cool. You were friendly for the whole day, and now that you were on the drinking portion of the trip, your crush was scaring you less and less. It was definitely the liquid courage in your veins.

It was the dancing at a club that took you all out. The alcohol finally developed its depressant effect and tiredness was beginning to seep over all of you. Thankfully, the Air BnB you rented wasn’t far and you all were able to walk back home safely.

Katie and Jake were dangerously close to making out on the couch once you’d returned, so you and Josh escaped to the balcony. The night air was chilly and the two of you snuggled close to keep warm.

“This is nice.” You murmured, a dreamy smile on your face.

“What is?” Josh mumbled.

“You being here. With me.”

“Hmm I like being with you too, baby.” He hummed happily.

You snuggled into his side. “I love you, Joshy. I wish you were with me all the time.”

He wrapped his arm tighter around you. “I love you too. You’re my best friend, just don’t tell Jake.”

Even in your inebriated state, his words hit you. Best friend. Nothing more. You suddenly felt less buzzed and giggly. You were starting to remember that you were just a girl who had loved her best friend since she was 13 and he didn’t see you as anything else.

Except that he did. You didn’t know it, but he loved you so much. He wanted to tell you that too, but you looked so sad when he said it back that he got too scared to say more.

The trip ended two days later and you all went your separate ways, no closer to the closure that you so desperately wanted from him.

—--Now—--

You wanted to kick yourself as your life flashed past you. So many chances with Josh. Now he would never know that you loved him and you would never know if he loved you.

This couldn’t be it. It couldn’t end like this.

Please.

Anything.

I’ll do anything for one more shot.

I’ll be brave this time.

I’ll make it count.

Please.

“Y/N?”

It was fuzzy, like you were underwater, but you definitely could hear it.

“Can you hear me?”

You couldn’t quite form the words, but you could hear more clearly now. There was a woman speaking.

“Can you hear us?” Another woman spoke.

This time you formed a hum that you hoped was audible enough to be taken as a ‘yes’.

“Do you think you can open your eyes for me?” The woman asked.

Everything was so heavy, but you tried so so hard. You felt someone brush your arm lightly, and realized you could feel it. You could hear and feel and holy shit that meant you weren’t dead. That was the little push you needed to open your eyes.

You were in what was definitely a hospital room and two women in scrubs were watching you carefully.

“Glad to have you with us, Y/N.” The older one smiled. “I’m Dr. Jones and we heard you stirring a couple minutes ago. You’ve had a lot of people pretty worried.”

“Where…” Your voice was thick and raspy, but after a moment it came back enough. “Where are they?”

The nurse answered as she was checking your vitals. “One of the two boys that brought you in went to the cafeteria a few minutes ago. They said your family was on their way. You’ve been out for almost two days.”

That thought made you nauseous, but then your mind went back to her first words. “Josh?”

The nurse smiled at you. “Yes, I believe that’s him.”

“Y/N?”

You looked over at the doorway to be met with the sight of Josh. He looked exhausted. His eyes were rimmed in dark circles and he just looked…sad. But he was your Josh and it was the best sight you’d ever seen for that reason.

“Looks like you’re stable and doing well, so we’ll give you two a moment. Just take it easy.” Dr. Jones said before stepping out of the room with your nurse.

Josh was at your side in an instant, tears in his eyes. “Oh God, I’m so sorry. We should never have went out there. They didn’t know if you were going to make it. We were so scared. I was so scared. I’m so fucking sorry.”

You placed your hand gently on his arm and shook your head. “It’s not your fault. I made the choice to go. It was just an accident.”

“An accident on the trip I planned. On the hike I suggested. Baby, I’m so sorry.” The tears were falling down his face now.

You slowly lifted a hand to his face. “You didn’t do this, Josh. You actually saved me.”

“No I didn’t. Jake’s the one that carried you in. I…I was too hysterical, I couldn’t calm down.”

“No, not that. I kept seeing you. I had to get back to you. I think that’s what brought me back.” You smiled.

“What?” He wiped at his eyes.

“I couldn’t go, Josh. Not without telling you that I love you. I’ve been in love with you for so many years, and I know this isn’t a great time to say it, but I’m too scared to wait for something else to happen.”

“You mean that?” He croaked.

“I mean it. I love you.”

A fresh wave of tears slid down his cheeks. “God, I should’ve told you sooner. I love you too. I love you so much, and I never want to lose you. I need you.”

This time you took your chance. You pressed a light kiss to his lips and he leaned into it. Sure, you wished the circumstances were different and you could really kiss him, but you would absolutely take this moment over the alternative.

You would spend the rest of your life making the most of your second chance.

#josh kiszka #greta van fleet #writing #x y/n #imagines #jake kiszka #danny wagner #sam kiskza #greta van fleet fan fiction #fanfic #josh kiszka x reader #josh kiszka one shot #josh kiszka angst #josh kiszka x y/n #second chance at life #josh kiszka x you #josh gvf

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calciumcryptid · 5 months

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ShinOjiRin Headcanons

This is a ship between Shinsou Hitoshi, Ojiro Mashirao, and Rin Hiryu from Boku No Hero Academia that has lived in my brain for years now and I need to post these headcanons.

Relationship Timeline

Rin had a small crush on Ojiro from the start of his first year, but it didn't cement until Ojiro stepped down from the Sports Festival. He immediately goes to ask Ojiro out who agrees. They date for the entirety of their first year.

Shinsou developed a crush on Ojiro after he stepped down, or at least paused for a moment. He asked Ojiro during the first semester into their second year, and Ojiro rejected him.

Shinsou tried to not like Rin out of principle, but gave up due to the man being too polite.

Despite this, Shinsou and Ojiro kind of get pushed into a close proximity kind of situation when Shinsou needs to catch up on the physical training. Rin tags along, and before they know it they are all dating by the second semester.

Outside Perspective Headcanons

They are so low-key about their relationship, like, ridiculously low-key about their relationship to an absurd degree.

Even the ones who knew about it never knew the full details. Ojiro told Hagakure about Rin asking him out but he never told her about Shinsou. The IzuCrew encouraged Shinsou to ask Ojiro out, only to sympathize when he was rejected despite never learning why. The Common Sense Kings hyped Rin up about asking Ojiro out but did not know about Shinsou. The TokoFlock (minus Hagakure) knew Shinsou and Ojiro were together, but overlooked the Rin variable.

(Except for Shouji, Shouji knows all but minds his business like a regular person.)

It isn't until graduation the rest of their classmates learn about it in its entirety, and they only learn about it because Mina overheard their future plans including moving in together and bothered to ask about it.

Since Rin and Ojiro become public heroes, they are the pair in the public eye. Shinsou insists it doesn't bother him, but it bothers Rin and Ojiro because they have a whole other husband.

(Seriously the amount of times they request for an extra spot is ridiculous. You would think Shinsou's name wasn't on the certificate.)

Aizawa nearly had a heart attack when a fellow teacher told him they caught Shinsou kissing a blonde, and demanded Shinsou bring his boyfriend to dinner. He was so hyper focused on the blonde detail he was caught off-guard when there was a second significant other.

Mutant S/Os Headcanons

Due to his quirk, Rin has a lot of dragon tendencies like hoarding significant others' clothing, and dressing them jewelry despite them not wearing any normally. Luckily, the other two find it endearing.

Since Rin is a Chinese dragon, he'll sit outside in the middle of storms. It never fails to give his significant others' heart attacks. Though his tendency to dance with them in the rain makes up for his otherwise horror film shenanigans.

He will also just sit on his significant others and cuddle with them, and has been affectionately called a 'lap lizard' by Ojiro.

Due to his quirk, Ojiro has mutant tendencies like grooming his significant others or constantly touching them. He will rub heads and purrs too. Shinsou nearly exploded from heart palpation when he first experienced it.

(Asiatic Lion/Black and Gold Howler Monkey hybrid Ojiro Mashirao supremacy!)

Depending on the temperature, Shinsou will cling to one over the other. He will cling to Rin when it is warm and Ojiro when it is cold. Regardless, Rin will have a protective grip on them and Ojiro tucks his tail around them.

They have to accommodate mutant diets, so Shinsou has learned to use his lunches to balance out the immense amount of meat they consume on a daily basis.

Other Headcanons

In terms of pet names, Rin is the only one who uses them as he calls them Bao Bèi (with the 'my treasure' meaning). Ojiro sometimes calls them babe, but mainly joins Shinsou in calling his s/o by their first names.

Somehow, Shinsou is the one with the best sleep schedule despite working at night and otherwise being an insomniac. He often has to drag the other two to bed because they are up training or working on paperwork.

Due to their different schedules, dates are a pain to schedule to the point their colleagues look at them funny when they look forward to a night of takeout and whatever bromance series Rin brought from his last trip to China.

They need to train separately or they will flirt like they are in leads in an action movie. They have one love language and it is throwing hands, and their friends are tired.

They don't have wedding rings, they have wedding gauntlets and their friends are tired. (Hatsume was ecstatic about the commission.)

Seriously, they are the battle triad.

There is nothing funnier than Rin's rich energy colliding with Shinsou's grunge lifestyle. Ojiro often has to serve as a tie breaker.

They are the triad who leave food out for animals, both wild and strays, and Rin may or may not be building a crow army.

They all get equally embarrassed when their friends share pining stage stories. Hagakure especially takes immense joy from dramatically reading her and Ojiro's old text conversations.

#ojiro mashirao #shinsou hitoshi #rin hiryu #shinoji #shinrin #rinoji #shinojirin #bnha

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jennyandvastraflint · 1 year

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Tag nine people you'd like to get to know better!

I was tagged by @accidentallyadorable thank you so much!

1. Three ships?

Jenny/Vastra. Aka who's been my special interest for years. The premise of a lizard woman and a lesbian in Victorian England who are kind of like Sherlock and Watson but in canonically married? (altho with Sherlock being public domain he is now married to John)

Caithe/Faolain because they're absolutely terrible, but sometimes you have to have a ship like that. Also, 13 year old me sensed they're exes when I first played Guild Wars. Without actually knowing.

Thasmin because they permanently altered something in my brain.

2. Last song?

As of writing this I'm listening to The Doctor is Dying by Chameleon Circuit. XD (damn, I've been listening to the EPIC: The Troy Saga songs for days and now my answers are very Doctor Who centric XD)

3. Last movie?

I watched Ponyo on Sunday! 🥰

4. Currently reading?

Doctor Who Molten Heart. I'm about halfway through and it's so good. I particularly love the LOTR-references in it. Ryan is just like me, such a nerd. 💕 Love him, and Yaz had some Very Heterosexual (not) thoughts about the Doctor in the beginning.

5. Currently watching?

Willow on Disney+. Butch lesbians??? Fantasy??? Sign me the fuck up! I'm just praying it doesn't get cancelled like Every Other Show with sapphic (and esp. sapphic WOC) rep.

6. Currently consuming?

At the point of writing this, nothing but air. And in the general time around now, water.

7. Currently craving?

Holidays, I don't wanna do exams. Other than that, pasta, per usual.

Thank you so much for tagging me!!

@marvellouspinecone @thirteensfavoritetoy @theglasscat @autisticraptor @starfleetwitch @smaugonfire @shippingsincebeforeyouwereborn @bogwaterrr @paternostergays No pressure, and everyone else who wants to!! 🥰

#jenny x vastra #doctor who #thasmin #willow 2022 #tanthamore #guild wars 2

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fishing-wizard · 1 year

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Humans are Strange

As I drift through the Astral Sea, I shall recant one of the strangest encounters I’ve ever had in my many years of travel.

So, it was a fairly usual day to begin with. The intellect devourers were kept in their little jars, along with the grell, both primed for when the next ship comes along in my path. The quaggoths were doing all the menial labour, scrubbing the ship of space barnacles and cleaning the deck, when on my radar I spot a fairly small ship.

It looked like some sort of half/sized galleon, with no sails, floating and driving with use of its wings. One of the quaggoths spotted humans aboard through a telescope and we prepared to shoot over the devourers so they could strike first. They hit the side boat, got out, and I assumed they were successful since I didn’t see or hear any commotion going on. How wrong I was.

After a few minutes I got us closer and we boarded, myself and four of the quaggoths. They’d make the labour of taking the humans back to the ship a lot easier. So, getting on-board, I hear below… noises. It sounded like a quiet flock of pigeons, with this ‘cooing’ nonsense; assuming the humans dead I thought this was just some cargo and didn’t care much.

But when I descended down to the galley, and then into the crew’s quarters, I did not see a group of paralysed humans ripe for the taking. I saw them fucking cooing and petting my intellect devourers. They found a fucking brain on legs CUTE. I’ve taken elves, space dwarves, gnomes, and even fucking bug and lizard people who look at them and instinctively want to either run away from them or kill them, but not once have I ever seen someone want to pet them, let alone an entire ship.

I was so shocked and stunned that I just wanted to leave. Whatever possessed their minds to do that, I do not want being consumed. I just turned around and made my leave, when one of them started to approach. I thought that one of them had finally had a bit of sense, but they went up to the quaggoths and started petting it, too. It’s a seven foot tall hulking idiot covered in white fur and they disregarded, no, completely turned around on any sense of danger just to pet it.

I was so freaked out that I just left the quaggoth and the devourers, and went back to my own ship. We left with haste, obviously, lest their lack of danger became infectious.

#story #mind flayer #humans are space orcs #dungeons and dragons

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cthulhusstepmom · 1 year

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Price is so right for chucking soaps freezer meal those things are crimes against humanity also love that gaz is an accessory to the crime 😂

BUT IMMA BE HONEST REPTILE GUY SOAP IS OCCUPYING A NOT INSIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MY BRAIN!! Do you think hes a snake guy? A lizard guy? Turtle dude maybe? Dude is 1000% in love w crocs and gators tho. Probably what sparked his love of all things scaly when he was younger. What do you wanna bet he was one of the kids chasing frogs and looking for tadpoles throughout childhood? Probably stumbled over a common lizard basking in the sun while glomping thru a park or something and spent the afternoon falling more and more in love.

Consumed any and every morsel of age appropriate reptile info, eventually became a dinosaur kid etc. but also carried that love of them into adulthood. Imma bet he always wanted one as a pet, but bc he enlisted so young he never got the chance. Maybe he gets inspired by the communal tank to start looking into it 👀👀

Anyways i love ur fish lore so much ❤️❤️❤️

You are(as always) right on my wavelength!!

In my head Soap's dad is a reptile person and his mom is an animal person so he definitely gets it from somewhere. When he was young, Soap's parents kept all the herps locked up, both for his safety and the reptiles' God knows Soap was an exuberant and curious kiddo. It's only after they find him in the backyard flat out on his stomach at 4 years old, hand outstretched and a wild little lizard sitting in his palm that they realize just how empathetic he is. After that he gets to play with the reptiles more, always supervised of course. But he grows up surrounded by scaly critters, the equivalent of his childhood dog is a black and white Argentine tegu named Buddy who's turning 23 this year. He spends his days running around and getting into everything, carefully bringing back his catches to take pictures of before running them back to put exactly where he found them.

One day he comes home from primary school with a bloody nose and a black eye, discipline slip clutched in his hand. At recess some of his classmates had been throwing rocks at a little frog that had wandered into the playground and, when Soap had told them to stop, threw a book and ended up killing the little amphibian and little Soap beat the shit out of them with limited success(it was four against one you gotta give the little man credit). Soap's parents show up to the meeting with the headmaster and the parents of the other students with Primrose: a 17 1/2 foot reticulated python. After that meeting they go to the zoo and little Soap declares that one day he's going to have a crocodile that he can feed bullies to.

Having enlisted at such a young a young age Soap doesn't have many animals to his name, just two. A 14 year old ball python he rescued named Martha and a 3 year old bearded dragon named Bowser, both left in the capable care of his parents.

While he doesn't have the facilities to have a reptile on base and, despite popular belief, he does have impulse control....sometimes, he somehow ends up with quite the collection. The thing about soldiers, especially stupid ass new recruits, is that they make a lot of bad decisions (I mean they are soldiers so their track record is already in the negative). And Soap can't bear to see any animal suffer from improper care so he ends up operating a rescue out of his quarters. He's taken in everything from corn snakes to baby asian water monitors and on one very memorable occasion a surprisingly chill sidewinder.

He keeps it all very top secret, the only one he trusts is Laswell she takes care of feeding everybody when he's gone. It's not that he doesn't trust his team but it wouldn't be the first time he'd had a usually rational CO go ballistic. One time when he'd first enlisted and he was missing home, he'd found a little garden snake and was playing with it when his lieutenant at the time had seen, ordered him to attention and shot the poor snake in the head laughing as he did. He's learned the hard way that machismo doesn't mix well with his hobby.

Right now he's lined up a home for a little leopard gecko and a bearded dragon both with pretty bad mbd. A little more difficult to find a place for is the lavender false water cobra he's named Hugo and the 7 foot albino labyrinth burmese python he's calling Wee Man.

With the fish tank he's starting to get comfortable with the idea of bringing the team in on his escapades. But then Ghost shares his trauma with him and it terrifies him. He cannot let Ghost see his snakes, not because he's worried his Lt will hurt them, but because they'll hurt Ghost.

#nudibranch you know my soul #theres two types of toxic masculinity when it comes to reptiles #1: weird lack of respect for the sanctity of life #2: “to show my mastery over nature i shall now keep this black mamba in a ten gallon tank”#and of course im going to add angst to the silly little animal story thats what I'm here for #its now cannon that not only do Laswell and her wife havw monster fish they also breed cornsnakes and have a leachianus gecko #ill still be doing fish person gaz but theres so much reptile person soap runnig arohnd my head rn #cod mw2 #ghost x soap #ghostsoap #fish person gaz #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #kate laswell #john price

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princessmisery666 · 1 year

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About Last Night - Part 5 - No One's In The Room Mini Series

Series Summary: Jake and Ryleigh find themselves stranded in a remote location when a mission goes sideways. Injured and dependent on his help, she gets a glimpse of the man beneath the façade of ‘The Terminator’. Once they are rescued, the bubble of their personal Vegas bursts, and Jake struggles with new emotions while Ryleigh hopes he will finally see the man she came to know when no one else is in the room.

Summary: Jake can’t comprehend why Ryleigh’s so willing to help him - frustrations and mistrust cause an eruption that may cost them their friendship.

Warnings: fluff, angst, Jake is an asshole.

W/C: 2.6k

Characters: Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin, Ryleigh ‘Rodeo’, and other OCs'.

Betas: @deanwinchesterswitch

Graphics: made by me on canva.

Catch up here.

About Last Night

Going to the airport was always bittersweet for Jake. He looked forward to seeing Maddie and his sister, Julia, but he hated the prospect of seeing his father. Add to that the apprehension of his actions the previous night; he was about ready to curl into the fetal position and never move again.

What the hell had he been thinking? It was as if something had possessed him. The urge to kiss Ryleigh had been almost preternatural. The flashback of the kiss had excitement bubbling in his gut.

He’d been by Ryleigh’s house, but it was locked up tight - no car in the driveway and no lights on. He’d dropped her a text to ask if they could talk when he returned. He was going to apologize and tell her to forget the whole thing. Perhaps blame it on being drunk - though he wasn’t - and lying that her assumption had been correct, he’d struck out, and he had just tried his luck with her. But his phone had remained silent during the forty-five-minute cab ride to the airport.

He rechecked it as he entered the terminal on the off chance he’d missed a vibration. All that greeted him as the screen lit up was his wallpaper and the reminder of his upcoming flight.

“So you’re one of those last-minute people, huh?”

Upon hearing her voice, he froze to the spot and slowly raised his head to make sure his Ryleigh-consumed brain wasn’t playing a cruel trick on him. But there she was, sporting a gray tracksuit, a large duffel bag at her feet, brow raised and hip cocked.

She continued, smiling, “Get to the airport with seconds to spare before check-in closes?”

“My flight doesn’t leave for another two hours,” he said, checking his watch unnecessarily, “plenty of time.”

“One hour, thirty-eight minutes,” she corrected.

“What’re you doing here?”

“Well, I figured you’d need this,” she said, handing him a Walmart bag. He peeked inside and saw a gift-wrapped box. “For Maddie. It’s a singing Elsa doll with outfits and the little lizard thing. Thought they might be waiting at the airport for you, so you’d need to be prepared.”

She was right; his sister usually picked him up from the airport. Had he told her that? He didn’t remember. In the three days of isolation, they’d covered a lot of subjects, so maybe he had. The gift explained her presence but not the bag at her feet. Nodding toward it, he asked, “And the bag?”

“Well, firstly, I was invited to the Princess Pajama party, remember?”

“I do.”

“Secondly, doctors say you probably saved my leg from a nasty infection, so I figured I owed you one,” she explained. “After a bit of digging on Facebook to find out your niece's favorite Princess, I stumbled into the life of Jake Seresin. While I was there, I noticed it’s your high school reunion this weekend. Organized and hosted by the one and only Amber.”

Jake bristled at the name. He thought that was supposed to have stayed in Vegas. “I’m not going.”

Ryleigh didn’t notice his irritation and opted to ignore his statement. “So I figured I would accompany you to said reunion and brag about all your accomplishments. Make Amber hella jealous and thus pay my debt.”

He dropped his gaze, staring at his feet, unable to hold her eyes because he knew she’d see the uncertainty he felt. What was she doing? What was her play here? Why was she being so nice to him? They’d shared a moment at the cabin; then he’d kissed her and left without explanation. Why wasn’t she pissed at him? Why wasn’t she demanding an explanation?

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, interrupting his silent preoccupation. The PA announcement nearly drowned her apology, and Jake watched as she bent to grab her bag, her words slightly clearer as she straightened. “I’m overstepping. Sorry I shouldn’t have.”

“No, no,” he said, catching her arm in the crook of her elbow as she passed him. He held her eyes for a moment waiting for the announcement to end. “You’re not overstepping.” He really didn’t feel like she was; he was more than happy to have her company for the weekend. And perhaps she’d serve as a good buffer between him and his father. Although, the fact that spending a few days with her made him stupidly happy scared him a little. “If this is about last night…” he cut himself off and unnecessarily cleared his throat. What if it was about last night? Would that make him tell her no?

“Do you want it to be?” she asked, and couldn’t deny the hope that bubbled in her chest that he’d say yes.

“Can it not be?” he asked sincerely.

She knew he was bricking up the wall to avoid talking about their kiss. She hoped she hid the disappointment she felt, realizing he really had just been trying to get his dick wet with her last night stung more than the stitches he’d pierced into her leg days ago.

Still, to be sure, she asked. “If that’s what you want?”

He barely thought about it, too hasty to just be done with it and not have to worry about revealing his excitement about her showing up or the fear that his family would drive her away. “It is.”

She spoke to her feet, masking the discouragement she felt. “Don’t read too much into it. I bought my ticket days ago,” she said. “I didn’t say anything because I was waiting for the doctors to give me the all-clear. I’ve booked a hotel. I wasn't going to impose myself on you or your family at the last minute.”

“Okay,” and his enthusiasm finally got her to raise her gaze again. His charming smile grew wider, “but just to be clear, it’s a salamander,” Jake corrected matter of factly. “Maddie will not be impressed if you refer to Bruni as a lizard.”

He took her bag from her, and they walked toward the check-in desk, “Exactly how many times have you watched that movie, Seresin?”

“Enough to know Bruni is a fire salamander,” he said, “don’t worry, I’ll give you the footnotes on the plane.”

Jake saw Maddie before she saw him. She bounced on the balls of her feet, trying to see above the crowd of people looking for him. He called her name, and she spun at the sound. Her face broke into the biggest of smiles, and she immediately sprinted toward him. Dropping to a knee, the little girl almost knocked him over as she leaped into his arms.

“Ah, I’ve missed you,” he cooed.

Ryleigh stood behind them, watching the encounter, smiling as brightly as Maddie. Julia, his sister, grinned down at them as she approached. Jake rose to his feet, taking Maddie with him to embrace his sister.

“I want you to meet someone,” Jake said, lowering Maddie to her feet. “I made a new friend. Princess Maddie of Maddisonville,” he said very cordially, bowing as if she were royalty. “I wish to introduce you to Princess Ryleigh of….”

“Roloville,” Ryleigh supplied when Jake looked to her for help. She shook the small girl's hand and curtseyed. “It’s a pleasure to meet a fellow Princess.”

“Does this mean Jake is your Prince?” Julia asked, looking suspiciously between the two.

“More like my butler,” Ryleigh joked, shaking her hand too.

“Roloville sounds cool,” Maddie said, taking the focus off the suggestive question. She took Ryleigh’s hand and led her away. “Tell me about your Kingdom.”

“Oh, it’s magical. Our houses are made of cotton candy, we have an endless supply of jelly beans, and everyone has a pet fire salamander.”

“Like Bruni?” she asked excitedly.

“Exactly like Bruni,” Ryleigh explained, looking back over her shoulder at Jake, who winked.

The inquisitive girl didn’t miss a beat, “why are you limping?”

“Well, you see,” Ryleigh explained, “I was flying around on my Dragon, and a witch knocked me off. But Uncle Jake swooped in on his Dragon and saved me.”

Maddie turned around and looked at her uncle in wide-eyed wonder, astonished that he was an honest hero to another princess. Ryleigh smiled softly at the young girl before launching into another story from her fictional town of Roloville, adapting actual stories from her childhood to be more whimsical.

Jake watched as his WSO and partner entertained his niece as they walked to the baggage claim. His arm rested comfortably on Julia's shoulders as they followed a few paces behind. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but with Maddie looking back at him like he was a real dragon-slaying, princess-saving hero, he knew Ryleigh was talking him up.

Julia watched as his face softened, noticing how he kept his eyes on the woman he'd brought home with him. "So. Baby brother," she started, shaking him out of his thoughts, "who is this girl, and why does it look like you want to take her to Makeout Point?"

"She's my partner. At work, Jules," he clarified, "so don't go getting any ideas."

“That wasn’t a denial, Jake,” she rolled her eyes, “but you’ve never brought any of your work friends, or girlfriends, for that matter, home. And I’ve never seen that look before.”

“What look?”

“The one that says she just took your niece’s place as your favorite person in the world, that you couldn’t stand to go a day without talking to her, that you might actually let yourself fall for her,” Julia detailed, her lips pressed in a tight line and her eyebrows raised as she watched for his reaction.

“Firstly, no one can take Maddie’s place in the number one spot.” Jake rolled his eyes, “and secondly, calm down, cupid. We’re just friends.”

Jake watched Ryleigh from across the room, talking animatedly to a group of his high school classmates, including Amber. Ryleigh looked exquisite. The sparkling gray figure-hugging dress with a slit up to her thigh looked amazingly tasteful. Amber looked decidedly disgruntled about Jake not being alone, her glances toward him not going unnoticed.

Ryleigh had paid her debt and then some. Not only was she the prettiest woman in the room, but she’d also spent the entire evening proudly boasting about Jake’s accomplishments. Perhaps exaggerating slightly in ‘having saved her life,’ but everyone lapped it up, and she was an excellent storyteller.

He’d felt every set of eyes on them as they entered, and he knew it wasn’t just that the illusive Jake Seresin had made an appearance at a reunion. It was because of her. Even if he’d wanted to, he wouldn’t have been able to take his eyes off of her. His gaze followed as she crossed the room and spoke to the deejay before making her way over to him at the bar.

“Hey, handsome,” she said.

“Hey yourself, beautiful,” he smiled, handing her a glass of white wine. “Having fun?”

“I actually am,” she laughed, “Mom moved me around so much I never really had close enough friends that I’d want to go to a reunion. But who knew spending my night bragging about Jake Seresin would be enjoyable.”

“You can’t get enough of me,” he winked.

“No, I can’t,” she admitted, and the sincerity in her eyes made him think she wasn’t joking. Before he could read too much into it, the up-tempo song faded into a slower tune, and she smiled knowingly, “dance with me.”

He let her lead him to the center of the dance floor, spinning to face him. He slipped his hands around her waist, and she wrapped hers around his neck, pressing herself firmly against him.

They swayed to the beat, and after a second or two, the room seemed to fade away. He was back in the cabin, waking up next to her, just the two of them. No words passed between them, but he felt it again, that surge of energy, the flutter of something beginning, something he wanted to explore.

She pulled back enough to look up at him from under her lashes. “If we really wanna sell this thing,” she whispered, “I think you should kiss me.”

Sell this thing?! The energy that moments ago had begged for action transformed into disbelief. Was this all a game to her? He wanted to kiss her, wouldn’t deny it, could feel the desperation in his expression but not like this. He didn’t want to kiss her to make someone he didn’t even care about jealous. What he wanted - needed - was for her to want him just as much as he wanted her. If all she was doing was trying to make Amber jealous, he couldn’t; he wouldn’t let himself do it.

He shook his head, “I need some air.”

She called after him as he marched from the room, but he didn’t stop. The anger, mostly at himself, propelled him forward. Why couldn’t he kiss her? Maybe if he did, he’d get her out of his system. So why didn’t he do it? After all, she’d asked him to.

“Jake,” she called again, heels clicking louder as her pace increased, but she didn’t catch up to him until he was partway across the parking lot. “Jake, would you stop?”

Why? Why should he stop? The whole thing was ridiculous - bringing her home to meet his family and being his date to make an ex jealous. An ex he had absolutely no residual feelings toward. This wasn’t who he was, and he resented that she was trying to make him that guy.

“Jake, stop!”

“I’ll stop if you do,” he spat, spinning to face her.

“Stop what?”

“Stop trying to fix me!”

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are! You're trying to make me be someone I’m not. I'm not the guy you rely on. I'm not the guy that sits by the phone and waits for your call. I'm the guy who forgets I was supposed to call; too busy trying to get my dick wet with whoever’s available at that time!”

“Jake, I wasn’t… I’m not trying to make you into anything you're not.”

“So let’s go fuck,” he challenged, brow raised, “right now, let’s go back to your hotel room and fuck. Casual, no strings attached.”

“No!”

“Why not, huh?” he asked, anger controlling his mouth. “You wanna fuck me. I can see it. And don’t give me the ‘over casual sex’ shit. You know that's all I’m good for, so if you don’t wanna fuck me, what do you want?”

“Nothing.”

“So why are you here? If you don’t wanna screw me, Ryleigh, why the hell are you here?” he didn’t wait for a response, “God, you can’t even see it,” he threw his arms in the air, frustration and annoyance blowing out the only way he knew how. “You don’t want me. You want the guy you want me to be. Going after the ‘emotionally damaged’ guy you think can change.”

She stared, mouth agape for a long moment, but no words came out. Was he right?

Oh, Jesus, he is! She realized as tears distorted her vision.

No. No, he was wrong.

She didn’t want to change him. She wanted him to see his worth, and maybe for a hot minute, she’d believed he could and that he wanted to find something more than meaningless sex. She tried to find the words to explain that she saw something in him, past the bravado and the facade, and that all she wanted was for him to let her in. But before she found the words to explain, Jake spoke up again.

He delivered the blow with absolute vitriol, “You’ve been trying so hard not to turn into your mom that you can’t see that’s exactly who you’ve become.”

Tears stung her eyes, and she let them fall. As she crushed the first between her lips, she turned and walked back toward the hotel entrance.

Part 6 - Too Late

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