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spanishskulduggery · 2 years

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50 random words in Spanish

Surprise vocab list, why not?

el nacimiento = birth / source, origin / nativity (religious settings) de nacimiento = from birth [e.g. sordo/a de nacimiento “deaf from birth” as opposed to deafness caused by something else]

destacar = to emphasize, to make something stand out

sombrío/a = grim, dismal, somber

el ayuntamiento = town hall (building) / local government, municipal government, city council

el comportamiento = behavior

atar = to tie desatar = to untie

pudrir = to rot, to decompose pudrirse = to spoil, to become rotten

abordar = to address (an issue), to tackle, to deal with

(mirar/ver) de reojo = to look sideways, to look to the side, to look (at someone/something) askance, to give someone a sideways glance, “to side-eye” or “to give someone the side-eye” mirar/ver de reojo = “to see/watch/look at out of the corner of one’s eye”

a lo largo de = throughout, “over the course of”

la estrofa = stanza

la flecha = arrow

el alboroto = uproar, racket, noise

el edil, la edila = councilman/councilwoman, alderman, local city councilor in government [also “edile” or “magistrate” in Ancient Rome if you’re watching/reading a historical thing]

anhelar = to yearn for, to long for

aleatorio/a = random / randomized

el lucro = profit ánimo de lucro / fines de lucro = for profit [lit. “spirit / goals of profit”] sin ánimo de lucro / sin fines de lucro = non-profit, not for profit

medir = to measure, to take a measurement, to take a reading (of machinery etc) / to gauge, to calculate / to consider

la etiqueta = tag, label, price tag / etiquette

el trébol = clover, shamrock / clubs (a suit in cards)

el muelle = dock, wharf, pier los muelles = the docks

escoltar = to escourt, to guard el/la escolta = escort, follower, companion / bodyguard, security detail, escort

el pueblo = a town el pueblo = people, population, “citizens” or “inhabitants” [e.g. el pueblo francés “the French people”, el pueblo mexicano “the Mexican citizens”; in some contexts it can translate as “nation” or “tribe” particularly for indigenous peoples or nomadic groups]

mayúsculo/a = upper case, capital / great, very large, important la letra mayúscula = upper case letter, capital letter en mayúsculas = in capital letters [sometimes used as “very important”, like un problema en mayúsculas is “a huge problem” or like “a problem with a capital P” idiomatically, but literally “a problem in capital letters”]

minúsculo/a = lower case / miniscule, tiny la letra minúscula = lower case letters en minúsculas = in lower case letters

el aprendizaje = learning / apprenticeship, training

la cuerda floja = tightrope en la cuerda floja = on the tightrope [can also be understood to mean “walking a thin line” or “skating on thin ice”; meaning the situation is dangerous and “one wrong step” could be disastrous]

de bruces = “face down” / “flat”, “flat on your face” caerse/darse de bruces = “to fall flat on one’s face”

marginado/a = marginalized los marginados = outcasts, people who are ostracized, people who are treated badly by people/society, pariahs

el oído = inner ear / hearing, sense of hearing [if you know Spanish anatomy words, la oreja “ear” is the outer structure or shape, and el oído “inner ear” is related to anything “hearing” related and the inner structure]

partidario/a (de alguien/hacer algo) = in support of, supporting (someone/doing something), a follower of (someone), in favor of [ser partidario/a is often “to be a proponent of”.... but in politics or with a person it means “a (someone)-supporter”]

la zarza = bramble, briar, thornbush el zarzal = bramble patch, patch of thorny bushes / blackberry patch la zarzamora = blackberry bush [lit. “dark berry thornbush”]

hacer malabares = to juggle hacer malabares (con algo) = to juggle (something) [could be objects could be tasks; el malabarismo is “juggling” as a noun though]

la infancia = childhood, infancy

el trastorno = disorder (in a medical sense)

a la deriva = adrift / aimless, aimlessly, without purpose

comprobar = to prove, to verify, to confirm

aislar = to isolate, to alienate, to keep separate

el paraíso = paradise / heaven

el afán = zeal, eagerness, effort con (el) afán (de hacer algo) = “in the hopes of (doing something)”, “with the intention of (doing something)”, “with the goal of (doing something)”

la presión = pressure, strain / blood pressure bajo presión = under pressure

ataviarse = “to be dressed up (fancy)”, “to be dressed to the nines” / “decked out”

el/la testigo = witness

agotado/a = exhausted, tired / exhausted, depleted, drained

los escombros = wreckage, rubble, debris

el casco viejo = historic center, historic district, old town [lit. “old quarter”; generally you’re going to see el casco as “helmet” or “headphone”, but it can also mean “outer hull” of a boat, or “quarter” of a city/town]

la ilusión = illusion / happiness, excitement / “dream”, “desire” [used with tener]

el traje = a suit (like a business suit) / style of dress, regional dress, garb

renunciar = to quit, to step down, to leave

el esmero = care, effort, “time and effort”, attention con (mucho) esmero = painstakingly, “going to great lengths”, “(taking) great pains”

#Spanish #spanish vocabulary #learning Spanish #languages #langblr #language #espanol #vocabulario

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justkeeponsimming · 11 months

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Ashe: “You did it, Hexy! I knew you could do it!”

Hex ducks her head as her cheeks darken to a deeper shade of blue at her sister’s encouragement. Ice skating was fun! Hex is a naturally nervous sim, so trying something new was daunting! She’s glad that she had such support from her siblings and their mums. She thought they’d tease her for her uncertainty, but they’ve encouraged her each foot forward on the ice.

Thorne: “You’re not as good as me, but you’ll be a pro in no time!”

Hex frowns, but just about keeps her cool when she sees the playful smirk on her brother’s face. He’s teasing her. This is friendly competition. He’s not calling her out for being worried about making a fool of herself on the ice rink!

Hex: “You’re not a good sport, Thorny. Where are our Mums? Have we missed -“

Ashe: “They’re by the fountain! Quick! We can’t miss it!”

Thorne grabs his sisters’ hands, tugging them towards their parents. This is a huge surprise - they can’t miss this!

#the sims 4 #ts4 #sims #simblr #sims 4 #differences in the family tree #ditft #quick legacy gen 7 #reed quick #legacy challenge

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boyslit · 7 months

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Hyacinth

Redid her hair and added color and detail and filled out much of her character template so I feel more confident sharing :3

Name: Hyacinth

Rarity: 5★

Pronouns: She/They

Species: Long-life human

Title: Flower of the Fanghu

Path: Preservation

Element: Wind

Combat Type: Shields/Retaliation

Faction: Xianzhou Alliance

Introduction: As the architect and keeper of the gardens aboard the Xianzhou Fanghu, Hyacinth is a steadfast caretaker, a landscaper with a keen eye for beauty and symmetry, and a truly gentle soul. It's said that even thorny and poisonous plants take care not to harm her while she tends to them.

— Ability

Basic ATK - Necessary Restraint - Directs roots below the enemy to grow upwards and crush them into the dirt for X% of ATK.

Skill - Silk Hiding Steel - Unleashes a fierce gust of wind, turning normally soft, harmless petals into razors to strike the enemy. Does x% dmg/ATK and causes Bleed for 1 turn.

Ultimate - Fortress of Thorns - Obedient thorns grow up around the party, shielding them from harm and doing damage to the enemy when a shielded ally is attacked. Shields x% of Hyacinth's (def?hp?) for 2 turns and enemies take 45% dmg when attacking a shielded ally. Enemies receiving damage from Thorn Fortress have an additional 30% base chance to acquire Bleed for 1 turn.

Talent - Thousandfold Blossom - When an ally's health drops below 40%, Hyacinth shields them with a temporary wall of blooming plant life for two turns ( that also heals a small amount of health. - Eidolon addition)

Technique - Sanctuary - Creates an area of effect and enemies caught within the area are ensnared by thorny vines, taking damage and being afflicted with Bleed for 1 turn at the start of the battle.

— Eidolons

1. Morning Mist - Increases Hyacinth's Energy Regen Rate by 6%

2. A Time For Growth - Shields applied by Thousandfold Blossom restore a small amount of health to shielded ally as long as the shield lasts.

3. Hardy Cultivar - Increases Hyacinth's base def by 12%

4. Careful Pruning - +2 to skill and basic

5. Shears of Justice - Extends duration of Bleed applied by skills by 1 turn.

6. Steadfast Protector - +2 to ult and technique

— Character Lines

First Meeting: It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Hyacinth, Architect of Gardens upon the Fanghu. If you've come for a tour of our many beautiful gardens, I can arrange one of our best guides to lead you.

Greeting: It's good to see you again. I was about to take my breakfast in the Five-Corner Garden. Would you care to join me? The mist over the ponds and the unfurling morning blossoms are exquisite at this hour. We might even see some water-skating insects if we're lucky.

Parting: Oh, dear… it's quite late, isn't it? Time seems to fly at your side. (giggle) Don't worry. Plants do not rush to grow, nor should we. We will meet again soon, I promise.

About Self - [Gardens]: Most of the gardens you see aboard the Fanghu were designed by my hand. When I was younger, and there were fewer areas in need of my care, I tended everything by hand. These days I need a fleet of assistants to keep every garden flourishing.

About Self - [Lifetime]: I'm quite glad to be a long-life species. Imagine if I had to reincarnate every several hundred years, and someone else took over managing my gardens meanwhile? (shudder) … it simply doesn't bear thinking about.

Chat - [Flowers]: Are you familiar with night-blooming toad flower? No? It's a fascinating sight. If you're free some evening, I'll gladly accompany you to view it.

Hobbies: Do I do things besides gardening? Well, of course! One must have a balanced schedule, after all. I enjoy a bit of painting when I have the time. My watercolor technique leaves much to be desired, but it's a relaxing hobby nonetheless.

Annoyances: (quietly) They want how many wirebloom stems for the festival? I've told him time and time again those are in extremely limited quality because they only bloom every five years! … (clears throat) I'm very sorry, I didn't see you there. Can I help you with anything?

Something to Share: I know there's a rumor that the plants themselves refuse to harm me, but the truth is I simply have several hundred years' experience with handling them. That, and very high-quality gardening gloves.

Knowledge: There are over seventy species of trees aboard the Fanghu, alongside 47 species of shrubs, 168 species of flowers, ten types of vining plants, and 56 varieties of crops. There are, however, still some species of fruiting vines I've yet to get my hands on that will flourish well alongside our current crops.

About [Sushang]: Sushang… Ah, yes, the Cloud Knight girl. I know her parents better than she, but I do recall seeing her chase butterflies around the Mirror Pond Garden as a child. She seemed a sweet girl.

About [Luocha]: When I see him in the market, he's usually found a new plant or seeds to offer me. Now, often they aren't compatible with the ecosystem here, but I'm flattered he remembers to set something aside for me with so many other, better-paying customers around.

— Combat Lines

Battle Begins - Weakness Break: Stay your advance.

Battle Begins - Danger Alert: On your guard!

Turn Begins I: It is time to prune the rot.

Turn Begins II: Root and Vine, heed my call.

Turn Idling: (humming peacefully)

Basic ATK: Hmph! Not another step!

Skill: You should have run when I gave you the chance.

Hit by Light Attack: No matter… it will heal.

Hit by Heavy Attack: Ugh!

Ultimate: Activate: I believe that's quite enough. (2x: That's quite enough.)

Ultimate: Unleash: It is time to taste the nectar of retribution! (2x: Taste the nectar of retribution!)

Talent: I will not let you fall!

Downed: (weakly) To the soil I return…

Return to Battle: You will not get the best of me again.

Health Recovery: Thank you, my dear.

Technique: These grounds are off-limits to your kind.

Battle Won: Thank goodness… is everyone alright?

Treasure Opening: My, what a lovely selection… are you… sure it's alright to take these?

Successful Puzzle-Solving: (delighted chuckle) Child's play.

Enemy Target Found: Hmm, an invasive pest.

Returning to Town: Ahh… I could do with a cup of tea underneath my favorite wisteria tree.

#my oc stuff #my art stuff #oc tag #honky Stars #oc: hyacinth #do i maintag. I'm scared lol #ok here we go #honkai Star rail #hsr

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freydismoon · 1 year

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kye lovato + with a vengeance ⇢

◖ nonbinary (they/them) ◗ black sheep of the family ◖ mexican ◗ ex-stripper ◖ sufferfest ◗ unlikeable mentally ill babe ◖ catholic guilt but make it sexy ◗

excerpt from chapter one:

The Haunted

A Spanish moth burned itself on a dim bulb, bouncing relentlessly against the curved, moon-like surface. Kye Lovato imagined what it might sound like, small and hopeful, chanting light, light, light, and wanted to ask about its journey—the flight from there to here—but logic kept their mouth firmly shut. What if we share an answer? Four hours, fifty-eight minutes. What if they’d arrived on the very same evening a displaced moth had decided to die in search of somewhere sunnier? They sipped a menthol cigarette. What if they’d bargained with God after all?

The old order of things has passed away.

Starlight skated swampy autumn fog and a second generation of lightning bugs winked through the blackness, hovering above Virginia willow busheled near the mailbox. Kye leaned against the cracked doorframe.

The house probably didn’t remember them—couldn’t, really. Too many years had come and gone. But their bare feet still fit neatly on the warped porch, and they knew how the soggy balustrade might bend beneath their palm. They recognized thorny wire looped through notches in faraway fenceposts and the chew-stains underneath the lamp where their granddad used to spit.

Kye flicked their cigarette into a marshy puddle and watched a toad leap from the shadow beneath the first step, swallowing the hot filter whole. “You and me both,” they said to the toad. Seconds later, the sad, lost moth hurled itself at the bulb. Its wings splayed, then it dropped, seizing pitifully. Kye clucked their tongue.

“Sorry,” they offered—as if either creature understood—and imagined hosting a funeral. Tiny caskets, and cabernet communion, and do not let your hearts be troubled.

But funerals were for the living and Kye wasn’t sure they counted as alive anymore.

The screen whined on rusty hinges. They set their shoulder against the door, smacking it once, twice, a third time. Finally, it gave way and they stumbled into the musty darkness.

Home—scented like moss crawling upward form the cellar—home—an open cadaver, every door, every hall—home—unstitched and post-mortem.

They inhaled the balmy air and felt for the switch underneath the window. Once illuminated, the foyer yawned like a mouth saddled with staircase teeth; throat gummed with embossed wallpaper. They touched the chipped knob on the closet door, dragged their fingertips over crooked family portraits, and walked into the kitchen.

Their childhood had reeked of guajillo and tomato, wet masa and slippery stone, and for a moment, they saw their abuelita swaying in front of the stove, and their mother rinsing a dish in the shallow sink. When they blinked, the long-gone Sunday morning vanished, and they were left with nothing but their inheritance: an unsellable house in an underfunded parish.

You shall blush for the gardens that you have chosen.

If their father could’ve passed the house to anyone else, he would’ve. But Kye was the only Lovato left to take it.

They pulled the cord on a cheap chandelier, washing the wobbly mahogany table in ugly yellow light. A paperback rested face-down next to the saltshaker, and a grimy plate scaled with dried syrup filled a placemat in front of a pulled-out chair. The glass slider held their reflection like a fist.

Fuck, look at you, they thought, and scraped their fingers through their shoulder-length hair. They laid their hand over the viper inked onto their neck, its sleek, crimson head split for white fangs and a pink tongue.

Mom would call you devil. She would’ve. She did.

The house leaned into Louisiana silence. Stubborn cicadas hissed, hounds hollered from the neighbor’s outdoor pen, and Kye searched for the overgrown cypress in the backyard. They could hardly see the gnarled arms and long trunks. It was too dark to decipher much more than their translucent reflection: thick waist, ripped denim. Purplish circles hollowed their eyes, and a dark hand circled the naked side of their throat.

They’d felt it before, that weight on their windpipe, but they’d never seen it. Never watched it spread and squeeze, halting their breath the same way a panic attack did. They thought of the toad and the moth and swallowed against mindful suffocation. A voice filled their skull.

Have you come here to die?

⇢ buy the book

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stinkb0mber · 5 months

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List of nicknames

Vector = Leatherhead, LH, Headphones, HP, Croc, Sherlock, Inspector Gadget,

Charmy = Stinger, Buzzaroo, Buzz Lightyear, Buzzbee, Honeycomb, Bee Movie, Sting-a-ling, Honeycrisp, Buzzer

Cream = Hoptimist, Little Hoptimist, Thumper, Cream Puff, Cotton Ball, Cotton Tail, Buttercream, whipped cream, Floppy ears

Vanilla = Pure Vanilla, PV, Van, Vanilla ice, Bunzilla, Vanzilla

Gemerl: G-Bot, Robot Butler, Baymax, Clunky McBotface, Sweeptron 5000, Roomba Raptor, Robotler, G

Cheese = Cheesecake, Cheesy-Wheezy, Cheddar, Parmesan cheese, cheeseburger

Espio = Naruto, Sasuke, Dattebayo, Shikamaru, anything Naruto related, Kung Fu Lizard, Espionage, Shadowstrike, Ninja Gear

Amy = Hammerhead, Cherry Blossom, Pink Rose, Pinky, Pinkie Pie, Kirby, Primrose, Strawberry

Zik = Blueberry shortcake, Potato, Master Shifu

Zavok = Big Z, Spikes, Slash, Spitfire, Pyro, Thorny Devil

Tangle = King Julien, King J, Ringtail

Knuckles = Lego shoes, Chuckles, Red

Sonic = Speedy Gonzales, Flash, Pricklepants, Pinecone, Pin Cushion, Quills, Prickly Pear, Swift Blue, Zoom Boom, Rush Hour, Hyperspeed, Haystack, Pine Tree, Thorn Bush, Flashlight (Super Sonic)

Fiona = Foxy, Fi. Fio, Sassy Pants, Foxglove, Ginger, Vulpix, Swiper

Tails = Brain, Kowalski, Tod, Kyuubi

Zazz = Beanpole, Lanky Z,Chomper, Rocktrumpet, Snapdragon

Zor = Mr. Doom and Gloom, Dark Z, Gloomy Donkey

Starline = Freakline, Toothpaste Hair, Dr. Fashion Disaster, Brainiacs, Einstein

Blaze = Fire Fly, Firestorm, Starfire, Kitty Burnpaws, Espeon, Furblaze, Blazing gear, Scorchwhisker,

Zeena = Queen Z, Blizzard, Frostbite, Ice Queen, Ice Age, Matcha

Zomon = Slowpoke

Smithy = Mufasa

Claire = Rafiki, Mindmuffin

Mimic = Tentaclehead, Hank, Butterfly Knife, Shapeshifter, Sea Spider, Squidward, Killermari, Switchblades, Swiftblade, Slice ‘n Dice

Whisper = Sniper, Watchful Eye

Slinger = Gunslinger, Taco Gunslinger, Swinger Slingshot, Simba

Surge = Sparky, Sparkster, Megavolt, Sparkplug, Zippy, Thunderbolt, Sparkletoes, Sparklezap, Stir fry, Pikachu, Palm Tree, Pineapple

Kit = KitKat, Squirtle, , Fennekin, Liquidator, Aquaboy,

Belle = Tinker Belle

Marine = Rocky, One Piece, Tom Nook, Rascal, RJ, Trash Panda, Captain Quirky, Muddy Mudskipper, . Lootin' Lizalaroo, Skipper, Cannonball, Papaya

Sole = Headlines

Scoop = Scoops, Scoop-a-doodle, Knife Chao, Scooper-Looper, Scoodeloo

Silver = String Gummy, Silverbolt, Timezone, Silverweed

Jet = Skeight, X-Treme

Eggman =, Baldy McNoseHair, Eggnog, Humpty Dumpty, eggshell , omelette, Scrambled Egg, Mustachio, Squirrel Whiskers, Crustache, Whisker Whimsy

Shadow = Starfishhead, Rocket Skates, Shades, Sombra, Nightspeed

Omega = Squash Racket, Gearloose

Bill = Cipher, Perry, Agent P

Walt = Walt Disney, Joey, Boomerang

Barby = Barbecue

Honey = Sunmmerdew, Honeydew

Cassia = Cass Shard = Shark

Cosmo = Sprout

Larry = Jinx

#;striped stinker (rough)#Rough headcanons #nicknames #will update them once i have more

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madelineserenity · 1 year

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Reaper Nurse Christmas Prompt Countdown | Day 1: Mariah

(This one is with a reader in a polygamous relationship with the nurses. As Christmas is a time for family, I'll be writing some with a child, girlfriend/wife/fiancée, etc. reader. Play Peer Gynt in the background for best effect)

Birds flew playfully in the morning sky.

Insects bathed happily in the cool dew that dripped from leaves and made spider webs glow like the sun.

The sunlight shone gently through your curtains as the breeze tickled them awake.

The entire hospital was bathed in the morning light.

You drowsily sit up and stretch your arms up, straining until you hear a small pop in your shoulder. Even though the day was so calm and peaceful, and you were more than willing to lay back into your soft and squishy pillows, it was too beautiful a day to be wasted. You pulled out the little yoga mat tucked into one of your little box shelves, before rolling it out on the cool marble floor. You pulled yourself into an upward-facing-dog position, hearing another loud pop in your back. The nurses had given you your yoga mat after learning you had trouble waking up in the morning. You used to need two or three prompts from the nurses to get out of bed for breakfast, and even then, you'd be lethargic and rather quite grumpy. Now, you felt like you had so much energy and you felt ready to take on the world in the mornings.

As you shifted positions, lying on your side, and pulling your right leg up to your back, you wondered what lovely breakfast they'd organised for you today. The nurses loved to spoil you, even if some of them were... a little wild, to say the least.

That was when you were startled to hear the sound of an upcoming announcement. What could it possibly be at this time of day?

(turn off your Peer Gynt, it all goes downhill from here, folks.)

🎵 I 🎵

A song? Just as it started, your phone's morning alarm began to chime, lighting up its screen.

7:45 AM 1st Dec

🎵 Don't want a lot for Christmas... 🎵

No. No no no no NO. You immediately flung yourself up, almost tripping as your mat shifted under the sudden movement. You threw open your closet and pulled on your baby blue dressing gown, pulled your door open and ran into the halls.

🎵 There is just one thing I need... 🎵

There was nobody around. Your room was on the fourth floor, far away from the soul shards, and thus, away from any men who could take advantage of your mortality, who could kill you to get you out of their way...

🎵 I don't care about the presents... 🎵

The nurses were probably downstairs, definitely very confused as well. They knew you would prefer to have the freedom to wake up and come down by yourself, they coddled you so often it was the least they could do. Right now though, you wished there was a nurse around. They knew where the PA room was and turn that bloody song off. You had been able to keep the memelord nurses from playing it yesterday, "It's not even December!", but what could you do now!?

🎵 ...underneath the Christmas tree... 🎵

A door opened behind you.

🎵 I just want you for my own... 🎵

"...Who's there? I know one of you jackasses is there. Can y'all stop cloaking and trying to give me an aneurysm?"

🎵 More than you could ever know... 🎵

She appeared.

You could see under her bag, she was smirking.

🎵 Make my wish come true... 🎵

It was Caroline, a professional shitposter and absolute anarchist.

"Merry Christmas, love. I bought a little padlock Matron wasn't aware of - attached it to the public address system room door -"

"YOU DID THIS?!"

🎵 All I want for Christmas is.... 🎵

"Mhm! And here," she pulled a shiny, new key out of her pocket. "is the only key to it!" She skated to the side of the hall and unlocked the window, but before you could get to her, she'd skated away from you - backwards, just to be a show-off - chuckling.

As you tried to grab it, she tossed it out of the window, down four levels, directly into a massive bush of thorny roses, just as the

🎵 You 🎵

rang through the halls.

You screamed at the top of your lungs, frightening the life... death? out of the nurses below, who immediately panicked and skated like hell to the elevators, some couldn't bear to wait for the lifts while you were in danger, so they ripped their skates off and started gunning it up the long, painful flights of stairs.

This was going to be hell...

#this was inspired by my recent adhd diagnosis #got new meds and theyve changed everything #I CAN FINALLY DO SHIT #reaper nurses #torment therapy #dark deception #reaper nurse #x reader #christmas #all i want for christmas is you #mariah carey #shitpost #I FEEL SO AWAKE #I CAN WRITE WITHOUT TAKING SIX HOURS #IM NOT TIRED AFTER WRITING THIS #IM MORE AWAKE THAN EVERRRRRR

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quweary · 8 months

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There’s a smooth stretch of road below Montgomery Park. The only cars there in the evening are parked; they double as houses, and there’s a pleasant hum coming from most of them. Music, propane stoves, and chatter.

The first time we skateboarded there together, I skinned my knee, and called it a knee tap. When they saw the blood in the light, they chastised me for downplaying the damage, while I worried about whether they thought I was tough. That was a short enough time ago that I still have the scab.

But this story is about tonight, which was the third time we skated there. They’re leaving town soon, and everything has felt bittersweet lately.

The sun was sinking gold over slabtown, the first overcast evening in weeks. We rolled through a few puddles and over speed bumps and cracks in the sidewalk. We passed pedestrians and fancy bar patrons. A security guard glared at us. They hardly stopped at 4-way intersections, just carving lazily between both lanes. I tried not to flush as I fumbled my board at crosswalks, or leaned too far forward. I kept my expression steady as I occasionally careened into an abrupt run, the board flying out of my body’s orbit.

We took the gentle crest below the looming neon sign. I felt the vibrations of the board on the pavement dull to a single note as I accelerated. Trying not to think about the hardware in my once-broken leg, I watched them ahead of me. Their fingertips reached out to brush along the length of an idling bus. I copied their graceful, relaxed leaning the best I could. Light broke through the wispy clouds ahead of us, refracting a patch of kaleidoscope sky. “WHOA DUDE, A RAINBOW!” I shouted over to them, and they smiled at me over their shoulder. Suddenly feeling clumsy, I stomped out with my pushing foot, and each nerve in that calf reminded me that my bones were absorbing the impact.

They stopped at the foot of this street, in a flat parking lot full of weeds; time’s fingers creeping through the neglected surface. “Wow, this place is just asking to be a DIY spot, man!” I realized that I sounded like a dork, but they agreed with me anyway. There was a bounty of perfectly ripe blackberries, juicy and falling from their thorny vines. I picked a few, but they didn’t. “I had some this morning, with my girlfriend. We went for a walk after the food bank.” They said. The berries stained my fingers violet as I pulled them from the thicket. We were at a relative high point, looking over the pearl. Directly below us, a razor-wire fence surrounded a few dozen shiny, new electric trucks.

They asked if I wanted to try a block further north, towards the Schoolies with hand-stitched curtains and steel recycling warehouses. The sidewalk looked surprisingly smooth. We took it to a busy cross-street. I pressed the crosswalk button but didn’t wait for the light to change, because there was a break in traffic and they were already halfway across. There was a steep drop on the other side, and a long, winding tar slope with a double-yellow line snaking right below it.

“I think that after this hill it tapers off. You know, follows the river.” I offered, hoping this didn’t mean we’d turn around just yet. “Yeah I think so. This is where it gets all cool and industrial,” They confirmed. I started walking down the hill with my board on my shoulders. “I’m not doing it.” They hesitated, but then grinned. “I will.” They lifted their toes from the tail of their board, and their front wheels clattered to the ground. I smiled with them. “Don’t die.” “I’ll do my best, man.” They giggled as they pushed off, rolling slowly at first. “I mean it! If you die, I’ll be really pissed at you.” I hoped silently that they didn’t read that statement the wrong way.

Following them on foot, I watched them stretch their fingers to the sky. They leaned to carve curves into their path, and I thought of poplar trees arcing flexibly in the breeze. Their sweatshirt whipped around them as they picked up more speed. Their board began to wobble ominously. I held my breath as they zipped out of sight, around the corner and behind a fence. I jogged to catch up with them.

When I saw their face (upright and over their board) I felt relief wash over me. They shouted something I didn’t quite understand. I thought of the way that they like to whoop and howl when they’re in the ocean, or the woods, or feeling particularly alive.

“WHAT?” I shouted back. “BRO, DID YOU SEE MY SPEED WOBBLES?” They repeated, rolling back uphill towards me.

“YEAH I DID!” I ran towards them for a high five. “You know, I knew logically that you’d be okay, but I thought for sure for a second that you were a goner.” They pivoted back downhill as I dropped my board and held it under my toes. “See, this is the amount of hill that I have in me.” I stepped on the board for the final few feet of the hill.

“Fuck yeah, man! That’s progress,” They beamed at me.

We cruised another few minutes, until we reached a long row of extra-large concrete blocks (marked NO TRESPASSING) at the border of a warehouse lot. There was a marine paint shop across the street with an explosive mural, swirling with colors and faces. “This seems like a good spot to stop and smoke a J.” They suggested, and I lifted myself onto the crude cast fence without hesitation, my board leaned beside me. They hopped up next to me, and the block we sat atop was just narrow enough that our thighs were almost touching. I tried not to notice that.

“Thanks for not dying,” I managed. They chuckled. “Man, that was crazy! I thought, ah, naw man! I’m gonna crash, and Charlie’s gonna be mad at me.” “Damn right I would! I don’t want to scrape you out of the road.” I grinned at them. “Hey, I have to get you back sometime. For passing out on me.” They nudged me. “Thanks for not letting me hit my head. It’s your turn next.”

We tittered about karma and injury for a moment. I reminisced about how they dropped everything they were doing when my leg was broken, and showed up to bring my girlfriend to the hospital. I thought about how they brought me home and cared for me in those first days of recovery. How they stuck around to keep me company while I moped about not walking. They chose to keep coming around long enough to teach me to skateboard.

“Thanks for being there for me. I mean it.” “No, thank you. You’ve returned it tenfold.” They said softly. I pointed to their cigarette, “Can I hit that?” “Yeah, can I hit that?” They pointed to my joint. I tried not to flush again as we traded, and our fingers brushed.

I tried not to think about how both of our worlds could be blown apart in minutes. How much I could ruin if I just leaned in to kiss them. I tried not to think about whether they’d thought of it.

We waited for the orange near-full moon to dangle above us before we moved. We skated back in near-darkness. We claimed the streets in that agile state between pedestrian and vehicle. When we rolled back to our cars (including the one that doubled as their home) I was surprised to be back so soon.

They loomed near my hatchback as I tucked my board into a thin fleece blanket. “Well. Thanks for hanging out.” They looked down at their feet as they addressed me. “Yeah, this was fun.” They held out their arms for a lingering hug. “I love you,” They said. “I love you too, dude. Man.”

I watched them wander away in my rearview mirror, and made sure to play the song they showed me as I drove off.

#short story #pining #portland #pdx #skateboarding #n

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theliterateape · 2 years

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Compassion and Deference Rarely Mix Well...

by Don Hall

Real-world ethics question: In a well-used city park, a man with a history of erratic behavior attacks a dog and its owner with a stick; five days later, the dog dies. The man is Black, the dog owner white; the adjoining neighborhood is famously progressive, often critical of the police and jail system. At the same time, crime is up in the neighborhood, with attacks by emotionally disturbed people around the city putting some residents on edge.

In a dog-loving, progressive enclave, where pushing law and order can clash with calls for social justice, what’s the right thing to do? How do you protect the public without furthering injustice against this man?

SOURCE

As we all do our level best to progress through progress, thorny issues are certainly going to pop up and challenge the narratives (rather than facts or truth) we adhere to with such quasi-religious belief. This is not one of them. Nothing thorny about this nor is acquiescing to the most idiotic of feeble minded perspectives required.

Issues are always more complicated than they seem at first blush. In the immediate reaction to Amy Cooper calling the cops on the black birdwatcher, it seemed that obvious racism was present but if you bothered to dig just a few inches beneath the headlines, it was almost nothing like the white vs black narrative presented. The birdwatcher had a history of antagonizing dog owners, threatened her in a section of the park where she was isolated, and she called the cops on him with a crappy signal that required her to repeat herself.

In this case, it really is pretty simple even with the complexities. Black man with known mental issues and a history of threatening violence to passers-by strikes out at white woman and her dog while ranting about immigrants in the park. He hits the dog hard to severely injure the dog. The dog dies. The fact that she's white and he's black has fuck-all to do with the killing of the dog, right?

I find a strange kind of switch going on with the Edgecase Left lately. Watching the Season 2 premiere of The Problem with Jon Stewart I hear Jon and others suggest that children are developed and smart enough to determine their own genders and therefore must be treated as functioning adults while those focusing on race seem to insist that black American adults are simply too simple-minded to be held accountable for their own actions because of racism as if if racism rendered poor blacks into childlike creatures unable to decipher the complexities of right and wrong.

Sure, the man in the park is mentally ill and an obvious danger to anyone around him. Certainly, his tirade about immigrants taking over the park is deranged and racist. Absolutely, he killed a woman's dog for no reason whatsoever. But he's black and thus, due to slavery and Jim Crow, he isn't to be held accountable because he just can't help himself and white people are just awful. What a crock of shit.

The compassionate thing for Jon Stewart's gender dysmorphic children is to provide counseling, give the children a place to experiment with gender without altering their bodies, work with the parents to give them gender affirming strategies, and promote the basic dignity of all humans to the mainstream community. Deference to children is not compassionate nor is it pragmatic. Kids have neither the capacity to understand what permanence feels like nor the maturity to effectively deal with what is, at least in current medical parlance, a mental health issue. Gender dysphoria is not a fad but a genuine condition but not one to be taken at face value anymore than a kid who decides to become a world record holder for wearing roller skates without actually knowing what the record he's challenging is in the first place.

The compassionate approach to the mentally unstable black dog killer is not to excuse his behavior by posing a faux ethical dilemma but to fund and require medical intervention for all homeless with mental health issues with little to no regard for race. Rather than throwing up our hands and accepting crime as a natural byproduct of a lack of resources and, you know, whiteness, perhaps working to provide those resources is more compassionate and pragmatic.

If the black mutt eradicator is not to blame for his actions due to cultural issues then neither are the poor white racists in Alabama. Cultural issues as an excuse for violent behavior is the ultimate moral relativism and facetiously exonerates everyone from being held accountable for crimes against one another.

Let's approach the real world ethics question this way:

An Asian homeless man, known to be mentally unstable and frequently threatening, is seen howling about immigrants taking over the park. A Pakistani woman tries to move past him, he hits her and then hits her dog, mortally wounding the dog. The ethics dilemma is gone. Arrest that fucker or at least get him off the streets and into some sort of programmed rehab or treatment center. No question. Deference to him is the least compassionate thing we can do. If the man needs help, allowing him to continue menacing park-goers is simply avoiding giving him assistance because assistance requires a bit more skin in the game.

Another real world ethics question:

A black homeless man is rummaging through a dumpster and a white woman with a rabid, rabies-laden dog approaches. The dog attacks the man and he dies a few days later from the bites. Society loves dogs, right? Is there an ethical dilemma here? Not a chance. The dog gets put down, the woman gets arrested or fined for walking a dangerous animal around a city park, and the NYT will publish an opinion piece about white people’s dogs proliferation white supremacy.

For the same reason elevating the status of children to functioning adults in deference to some need to validate ideology it is likewise counterproductive to infantilize racial minorities as if they are simply too burdened by historical horrors to know the difference between good and evil. The mentally ill need help not deference.

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dragonageficrecs · 2 years

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Ship rec list: Fenris/Hawke, AU

Fenris/Hawke fandom is massive. Loquaciousquark, theherocomplex, the_tevinter_biscuit and queenofkadara are especially prolific for this pairing, to this reader's joy. Fics marked with "^" are ones that have been completed during the modern plague (or recently completed fics).

It was hard to sort between AUs that felt like they could take place in Canon (and add to the expanded draft of FenHawke Canon and Canon AU fic rec list) and the AUs that felt like they should belong with the other fics here. Is there a method to this madness? Who knows.

Fic rec submission box and ask box are open.

WC <10k

^Water is Taught by Thirst by loquaciousquark. Fairy Tale / Merman AU. Merman Fenris and F!Hawke. A sequel to the lovely oneshot that's linked in the author's summary.

Time Unbound, Anew by theherocomplex. Reincarnation fic? For a Tumblr prompt from loquaciousquark: kissing so desperately that their whole body curves into the other person’s."

^Katzenjammer by cadaverum. Modern College AU, M!Hawke. For want of a lost cat... I enjoyed the appearances of the various DA2 companions.

WC 10-25k

^The Respite Hollow (or, The Ice Was Cold and So Were Their Hearts Until They Fell In love) by loquaciousquark. sequels are An Ice Like glass (or, While You're Waiting for Closure, Try the Gelato) and Compulsory Figures (Or, What To Do When the Cold Front Blows Through). Figure Skating AU! The shadow of Danarius looms large. As the winter Olympics approach, it might be a good idea to refresh your skating terminology :D

^Family is what you make of it by Elveny. Modern AU, pretend relationship. Fenris is a tattoo artist (the irony!), Hawke is a social worker. Family expectations abound in here. #and they were roommates.

Unbound by VikingEggplant. Pirate AU. Separate fic rec post here.

^Theodosian Idol by theherocomplex. F!Hawke, Pop Idol AU, which is... I don't think I've read any fics with this premise in other fandoms. Mad props for creativity and for implanting Gideon Emery's singing voice in my brain. As if his voice wasn't alluring enough already.

WC 25k-50k

^Pathetic in Love by KnightOwl725. Modern AU, no magic. This fic delves into the whole thorny tangled mess that a Hawke can be when chasing after Anders, even in the canon universe. Who hasn't wished to be first in someone's heart?

A Convincing Affair by kellbelle. Modern AU, College/Uni AU, pretend relationship. Fenris is threatened with deportation.

The Broken Binding by loquaciousquark. Fairy Tale AU. F!Hawke. Quark wrote this 10 years ago. What was I doing ten years ago?! Not writing a fic like this, that's for sure.

WC 50-100k

Champion by Vashoth. Royalty AU. The fic where Princess F!Hawke is trying to protect her sister while a tournament is being held for her hand, and Fenris is an escaped slave posing as a knight. A+ fight scene writing, which is notoriously hard to get. Separate fic rec post here.

Swan Song by Nenalata. Modern Ballet AU. Author summary:

What's the point of having perfect technique and graceful movements when the thought of dancing makes him sick to his stomach? Art is meaningless without passion, without emotion, without intent. Modern, city, dance AU featuring F!Hawke/Fenris and all your favorite denizens of Kirkwall and some of your least favorites.

My Heart Is Big by kihadu. Farm AU. Author summary: Nat Hawke is an ex-assassin living out his days teaching kids how to ride horses when a strange tattooed man appears on his doorstep with no shes but the most wondrous voice Nat has ever heard. So Nat gives him a job.

Notes: I never thought I would enjoy a Farm AU, but I did. Learned quite a lot about horse-keeping through this fic. Separate fic rec post here.

^Damned Spot by queenofkadara. Author describes it as "Crack Modern AU" where Fenris is newly hired as a bouncer at F!Hawke's pub. Standalone fic in a series.

Invicta, Invictus by loquaciousquark. F!Hawke. Tevinter AU in the canon universe. Marian Hawke takes Tevinter by storm, and meets our favorite broody elf. Satisfying worldbuilding.

>100k

Spire by loquaciousquark. F!Hawke. Another Tevinter AU by the above author, but with the premise that Fenris and Hawke are already in an established relationship. That implication is beautifully explored during Hawke's entry into Tevinter. This fic also has a very satisfying concluding arc.

^Night Shift by ghostbunny. Vampire AU. If you ever wanted to ship FenHawke and Handers in one fic, this fic is for you. Separate fic rec post here.

Through Your Eyes by Regen. Soulmate AU. Similar to the Voiceverse concept where only one soulmate perceives the other in dreams.

^Where the Winds of Fortune Take Me by queenofkadara, Shoute. F!Hawke, Pirate AU! I am quite not sure if Cullen/Lavellan or Hawke/Fenris is the main pairing, and haven't finished reading this 300k+ word epic, but it's an enjoyable, fluffy read with some steamy art *fans self*. Queenofkadara also has a cute Hawke/Fenris series if you want to check it out.

---

Note: I didn't recommend fics like Milk Carton kid because they're just too sad for me.

Also haven't yet read Skyhold Academy, Denerim Confidential, etc. A Lesson in Drowning by theherocomplex looks fantastic, but I'm a wuss so avoiding horror for now...

#Tevinter AU #modern au #fenris x hawke #hawke x fenris #ship rec list #vampire AU #royalty AU #fairy tale AU #dragon age fic recs #da2 fic recs #mutual pining #Mermaid au #pop idol au

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pen-observing · 2 years

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stars make us

synopsis: close to his birthday, kaeya thinks about you.

word count: 830 warnings: mentions of soulmates and breakups a/n: happy birthday kaeya ily thank you for carrying me so much + thanks @shinestrue for having immaculate brain cells and introducing the idea and helping me work it out

the stars are always above you. they exist among dark nights and infinities; they follow the mortal kind with predestined endings and paths. you cannot escape them – kaeya knows that there is no possible way to do so. he has tried after all.

being the chosen one that paradoxically has to make a choice, being the start and end of it all while knowing that there is no avoiding such fate – the stars set that thorny path for him. his blood, his legacy, his nation did. if kaeya had any way of trading places, of not being who he is, he would grasp it so quickly that the god of time would find offence in his actions.

kaeya hates the stars and he hates reminders of himself. the stars wrote out his fate and they brought him to mondstadt – the town of freedom and the place that provided him with warmth no matter how cold his hands or his heart were. yet, in this town, he remembers his mission and the choice he will eventually be forced into, he remembers your smile and he curses the stars once again. he is not free while he walks these paths, his heart clings to his duty and to you.

the truth is, kaeya hates his birthday because it is just another reminder the parts of fate that the higher power influenced. he has to wonder – how much of oneself belongs to mortals?

tomorrow is his birthday and the first snow of the year has already fallen. it taunts him. time does not wait, his years pass now and they will lead to one side or another.

the only thing kaeya does not hate is when he remembers the usual ways you would celebrate his birthday. once – that meant showing up to his front door and forcing him to make a snowman with an eye-patch. the year after that, he remembers you forced him to ice skate with you on a frozen lake. he still hasn’t told you how he had to use some of his powers to ensure the thin ice would not crack and ruin your fun. then there was the time you gifted him matching gloves and he didn’t have the heart to tell you he did not need any because of his vision.

ah yes, that darn thing. when you walked shoulder to shoulder next to him, stealing glances, it seemed like he was looking towards the future. the statues around mondstadt, the vision attached to his hip, his reluctance to look at the starts... it all seemed to overwhelm him because of something the future held that he refused to speak to you about. he did hold you in his arms while dancing under the stars in windrise; he did say all the stars he wanted to see would be reflected in your eyes, but, it still seemed distant.

because of that – you decided that his next birthday would be a surprise trip to liyue. there – kaeya had no reminders of running through the fields as a child, he had no reminders of birthday cakes with botched handwriting when diluc and crepus decided to surprise him; no reminders of places where he collected shells or collected back pieces of himself to remain sane – all he had was you. and that was enough.

kaeya swears that was enough. he would swear it to the stars just to prove a point, no matter how much he hates them. he would swear it to you, if you would let him. with you – he started to look forward to his birthdays. and that is why it hurts even more. he can no longer gaze at you as the snowflakes fall down. he can no longer hold your hand or laugh at the snowman’s crooked nose.

all he has are memories and moments, slightly fragmented, where you are in his world and making him realise that love is all around. kaeya once read a poem, he no longer remembers the name or the author, but he will never forget what it said: ‘true lovers are born on different ends of the same star.’

it looks like you were not born on the same one as him. the stars were always above him and you – wearing someone else’s engagement ring around your finger – is just one more way that the stars toyed with him.

his birthday is tomorrow and all kaeya can think about is you. the two of you broke up but if kaeya could hold your hand right now in those matching gloves while witnessing snowflakes falling down around you – he would. kaeya believes that if you were not on the other end of his star; it must be a reminder that he is broken, this time and every other time too. it must mean that the loneliness he carries will always be there – nobody else could be his soulmate but you.

#genshin impact #genshin kaeya #kaeya x reader #genshin x reader #kaeya birthday #not obey me #heheheheh #sorry but its the only thing on my mind #genshin writing #genshin imagines

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volchi · 3 years

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Sea Witchery Ideas

The sea offers many potential charm vessels. Sea snail shells, skate eggs, etc can be stuffed with herbs, sigils and spices and sealed with beeswax to be carried or buried to charm or hex people or places.

When making your witch bottles, put broken seashells in. You live in New England? You ever walk on broken clam shells hidden in the soft silt and had your feet sliced up? Plus, when combined with the piss/vinegar it fizzes up and makes it hiss. (take care so the bottle doesnt explode)

Salt water is good for you!

Spend time near the ocean during off season -- during the winter especially, it doesnt get quite so cold, you can find more things and you can reach more meditative states without worrying about other people being there.

Leave offerings to the ocean but don't go bringing your baking soda cakes and plastic flowers and parrafin wax candles and shit. Trail mix, fruits, flowers, etc. Just to make friends with the spirits a bit.

You can put a REAL mean curse by lowering a burlap poppet stuffed with bait and a taglock into some rocks and letting the crabs rip it apart. Or seagulls, or anything -- lots of ravenous and vengeful spirits especially in places where the beaches are polluted.

Witchballs and antique glass fishing floats make for good wards if you're trying to keep spirits out. Witchballs in particular are the best because spirits are drawn to the colors and get lost in the strands; fishing floats are just plain glass spheres so you could bewitch it to trap the spirits until the sun comes up.

Beach rose; the petals are excellent for glamours and love magic, and any thorny plant is good for "fuck off" magic.

#sea witch #my shit #rare witch types #sea witchcraft #kitchen witch #ocean gothic

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jemmahazelnut · 3 years

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Two broken hearts with matching sides - Chapter 8

Link: AO3

Here you can find Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven.

Like old times

Freed, Laxus, Bickslow and Evergreen entered the apartment and Freed immediately hurried to his room. Before he could lock himself in, however, Laxus put a hand on his shoulder.

“Can we talk for a moment?” he asked. Freed nodded and opened the door waving him inside. Then he locked them both in and sat on the bed. Before he could ask what he wanted to talk about, Laxus anticipated him. “You can’t stand Rufus, do you?” he asked. Freed looked up at him, considering whether to ignore it or be honest. He didn’t want to admit that he was jealous.

“Well, we never got along very well in high school,” he then said. “And I didn’t get to know him better.” Honestly, he wasn’t even interested in getting to know him better.

“Yeah, well, anyway… he’s not that bad,” Laxus said, peering at him. Freed narrowed his gaze. Wasn’t he bad? He would have had a lot to say. Rufus was haughty, presumptuous beyond belief, he thought he was the best just because of his fortune of having an eidetic memory, he shot bullshit just to be told how clever and cultured he was, but the truth was that despite his fucking memory he couldn’t make a reasoning that would take him from A to B.

Of all the things he had in mind Freed said the stupidest.

“I still remember that time he told the professors he saw us playing truant,” he said. Laxus laughed loudly.

“Yeah, I remember. However, he looks like you, I thought you’d get along with him,” he said. Freed looked at him skeptically and honestly very offended.

“That’s the worst insult you can give me,” he said between his teeth and Laxus chuckled slightly. That made Freed even more nervous. “Where would we look alike? Explain yourself” he told him even though he didn’t want to listen.

“Well, you’re both refined, you’ve similar tastes, you like to read and...”.

“Ok, no,” Freed snapped. He didn’t really want to listen. “He’s a fucking conceited, and all night he has been flirting with you and he has also been instigating me to fight, with those fucking questions and those shitty jokes. And we don’t have similar tastes, he doesn’t like to read. He just likes to boast that he’s the best when he clearly feels inferior to everyone because his only ability is to have a memory that he cannot use to make the most elementary reasoning” he blurted out without being able to restrain himself. Laxus looked at him amused.

“You’re jealous,” he said. Freed stiffened.

“No,” he grunted.

“No?” the blond asked, arching an eyebrow.

“No,” Freed repeated. “After all we’re just friends. What should I be jealous of?” he hissed then nervously. Laxus’ smile disappeared and the blond came over and placed a hand on his knee.

“Hey, I’m sorry.”

“You’ve nothing to be sorry about,” Freed growled.

“Well, I’ve some. I didn’t push Rufus away because I wanted to know if you were really interested in me, and I pushed that too far,” he admitted. Freed looked at him in surprise. “Look, I’m sorry, I don’t want to mess things up between us. I just wanted… it was stupid,” he said, shaking his head. “And I wanted to tell him that there was more between the two of us but... I couldn’t have explained exactly what is between us. You’re not just a friend, but… I don’t know how to define us,” he explained. “It’s… I’m sorry, really,” he said genuinely repentant.

“Ok,” Freed said calmer this time. Laxus wasn’t completely wrong, it was difficult to explain to people what was between them. They were trying to recover a friendship and build a relationship. Not even he would know how to define them. “Next time maybe avoid flirting with him in front of me,” he added. Laxus smiled and tightened her grip on his knee.

“Actually, he flirted with me. Anyway, I already told him at the end of the night that I’m dating another guy. Not that there was ever anything between me and Rufus, it was a disengaged relationship, we only dated twice,” he reassured him. Freed nodded feeling better and Laxus smiled. “All right?”.

“Sure,” Freed replied honestly, smiling at him to reassure him.

“Good,” the blond said. “So you’re not angry?”

“No, that’s okay,” Freed said. Laxus nodded and pulled his grip off his knee. He stood up and went to the door, but at the last he turned to him and resumed his arrogant smile.

“You weren’t jealous, huh?” he asked ironically.

“Oh shut up,” Freed snarled and Laxus left the room giggling.

***

Freed and Laxus had passed out of town to Freed’s mother’s house. The woman had wanted to see Laxus, since the blond had spent so many afternoons at their house. Beverly had remembered with them all the damage they had done to her. Such as the time the two had disconnected the car antenna, or the time they broke the microwave, or the time when they had destroyed several flower pots while playing football. They had done quite a few when they were little, but remembering them now was fun.

“And that time you took me home a stray dog? Really, I didn’t know what to do with you two,” Beverly said, leaning back comfortably on the sofa.

“It wasn’t a stray dog,” Freed objected. “And we weren’t doing that much damage.”

“Anyway, it was all Freed’s ideas,” Laxus defended himself with a polite smile as he took another cookie.

“This is not true”.

“Yes, I know that Freed dragged you into his follies, but you weren’t a saint either,” the woman said, giggling. Freed rolled his eyes but smiled. The idea of going to see her with Laxus hadn’t been bad at all. Though he still thought it was more Laxus who drove him to bullshit, rather than the other way around.

“It’s getting late, I think we’re going home,” Freed said glancing at his watch. They had been there for lunch and all afternoon. His mother nodded and got up from the couch. She hugged them both in a hug, leaving them two kisses on the cheeks and then escorting them to the door.

“I’m really happy to see you again, Laxus,” she told the blonde.

“Me too,” he replied and went out into the driveway, passing the gate and reaching the car. Freed started to leave but his mother hugged him again in a hug.

“Mom, we saw three days ago,” he pointed out.

“You’re really cold” she said, loosening her embrace and then smiled broadly. “You know, Laxus has become such a handsome boy.”

“Oh god, no,” Freed said ready to escape.

“I’m serious. He was a beautiful child, and now he’s even better. And then you’ve always been so close”.

“Bye mom,” Freed greeted not wanting to talk about that at the moment.

“Just tell me if there’s something new I need to know,” his mother insisted. Freed hesitated for a moment whether to tell her they were going out, then he thought his mother was too pushy and gossipy and he changed his mind. When it would become serious, he would tell her.

“There’s nothing, we’re friends”.

“Mm... I’m not convinced” commented the woman. “Oh, if you care, I found your old skateboards in the garage.” Freed greeted her for the umpteenth time and joined Laxus near the car.

“What was she telling you?” the blond asked.

“Old skateboards, she found them in the garage,” Freed said. “I didn’t know I still had yours,” he then added. The blond shrugged.

“Anyway I was only going to skate with you” he said “Let’s go and see them?”.

Freed nodded and the two boys walked to the garage. They entered and immediately saw the two skateboards leaning in a corner. They approached and removed the dust from above, gazing at them with two smiles on their faces and a little nostalgia. The color had faded a little, but they were still in good condition.

“Damn, I still remember the afternoon I finished decorating them,” Freed smiled.

“I remember it too, because then I got to the bar first,” Laxus said, turning the black one in his hands.

“You remember badly, I was first,” Freed retorted.

“No, you cheated because you left without warning me” Laxus objected. “So I won.” Freed laughed slightly and put the skateboard on the ground, climbing onto it. “Do you remember how to go?”

“It’s like riding a bicycle, isn’t it? You never forget” the boy replied.

“So, another challenge? Up to the square and then back to Magnolia” Laxus suggested. Freed laughed and nodded, then the two boys left, darting like in the old days to the center of town.

***

Laxus glanced at Freed as the boy chatted with Makarov. In the last few days they had been out a lot and that weekend they had decided to go to his grandfather. Anyway Laxus would go see him and since he had asked him about Freed, he had taken advantage of it.

He was happy to spend some quiet days with his old friend, even though he noticed how their relationship had changed since high school. As much as they got along and as easy as it was to talk to Freed, Laxus knew there were some thorny topics. Like Rufus. Although Laxus felt a certain warmth in his stomach knowing that Freed was jealous, at the same time he feared that talking about him might piss Freed off.

Besides, Laxus had a great desire to take him in his arms and kiss him. Or to get a little closer, share some food or find any excuse to be closer to him. But he was afraid of making mistakes and going too far, as he had done in high school. And the last thing he wanted was to repeat the mistake and screw everything up again.

“Ah, so it was you who let the rabbits escape,” Makarov said suddenly.

“Well, it was an accident,” Freed said.

“You told me it was the neighbor!” exclaimed the old man. “All this time I accused him and I hated him for something he never did,” he blurted out.

Laxus and Freed exchanged a knowing glance, smiling. They still remembered how it had happened, it had actually been an accident. They had crashed into with Makarov’s old moped and opened the cages, and then all rabbits had escaped. They had searched for them for hours trying to bring them home, but they had fled.

“Anyway, the neighbor is unbearable all the same,” Laxus commented.

“I really hope you two got your head right,” Makarov told them. “Are you staying for dinner?” he then asked. Laxus and Freed looked at each other again and understanding each other instantly nodded. “Well, now I’m going to talk to Polyushka for a moment. You see not to do any more damage in the meantime,” he said greeting them and leaving the living room.

“We’re no longer children,” Laxus objected, but as soon as his grandfather was outside, he suggested Freed go upstairs.

So they went up the stairs and into Laxus’ old room. It had changed a lot from years ago. There were no more posters of his favorite bands, and the old stereo was full of dust. On the other hand, all the CDs were still on top of the shelf in order. Freed walked over to the shelf and grabbed one.

“You still keep them,” he observed.

“I’ll never throw them. I don’t care if in a few years no one will listen to more songs on the stereo,” he replied as he approached Freed. He opened his desk drawer and found what he was looking for under some papers. An album that Makarov had made for him and that Laxus hadn’t seen for years. He opened it and Freed approached curious.

“You have... all our photos?” he asked surprised.

“Yeah,” Laxus smiled wistfully as he watched two eleven-year-old boys eating on a blanket lying on the lawn. “At the time I hated that my grandfather took pictures of us,” he commented.

“I remember that,” Freed said, reaching out and turning the page. The gesture brought their hands together and Laxus tried not to dwell on that contact. They both sat on the bed and began to browse together, remembering what they had done together.

There were the photos Freed’s mother had taken of them when they were in Hargeon, on the beach, or at a water park. There were the photos that Makarov had taken of them when they were taking walks in the woods or in the countryside. Photo of the two of them in the snow. There was everything and they were easily lost in memories, laughing together at the funniest ones.

“Sometimes I wish I could go back to those times,” Freed revealed. Laxus looked up at him and smiled.

“Me too,” he admitted. Those times were completely different, they didn’t have the stress of exams, or work, they didn’t have thoughts. They had fun and their relationship was genuine.

Well, more or less, Laxus thought as he moved his gaze to the bed and remembered how they’d made out there once too. They had taken a bottle of their grandfather’s wine and drank it in two, just to have the excuse to kiss and touch. Maybe that was where Freed had made the first one ... he banished the thought before he even finished it, feeling himself flush and looked away. It really wasn’t the time to think about it. Not with Freed nearby.

He glanced at his friend, lingering on his lips and wondered once again if it was too soon. After all, they both admitted they were in love, right? He could close the gap and rejoin their lips. He didn’t ask for much, just a little contact. Laxus was about to place a hand on his friend’s knee when they heard the doorbell ring.

Laxus snorted in annoyance as Freed looked up in surprise.

“Your grandfather?” he asked.

“Probably yes,” Laxus commented, getting up from the mattress and leaving the room to go and open the door.

#fraxus #freed justine #laxus dreyar #freed x laxus #fanfiction

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