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#But I am just so happy y'all. At the very least I gave this piece my all. Stretch and rest your hands!!!
kodii-ak · 1 year
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Death's Guide 🌙
After nearly an entire year of struggling, I'm so, so happy to complete this piece for my senior thesis!!! I am very excited, ah!
[id: An illustration of a young teen, walking cane in hand, chasing after a crow with white feathers. The crow flies underneath a yellow moon surrounded by towering pines. A blue aura emanates off of its wings. White lilies are covering the ground. /end id]
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starsandhughes · 6 months
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Penalty Box Series— Quinn Hughes Edition (Six)
23-24 Season Masterlist
previous: five
next: seven
OCTOBER 27, 2023
i’m behind so remember that these stats mentioned are accurate for the day of the game!
shorty is john, the play by play guy for the canucks if y'all forgot/didn't know his nickname!
yourusername
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liked by _quinnhughes, trevorzegras, and 18,864 others
yourusername WELCOME BACK TO MY POST GAME PENALTY BOX UPDATE SHOW: MY BEST FRIEND IS HOCKEY GOD EDITION!
he was rightfully first star of the game again tonight with his two goal game! as shorty said, "hughes loves playing the blues!" the blues are now the only team that quinny has more goals scored on than assists!
and for those who are quinn's biggest supporters, a nation run by me, you'd know that one of quinn's goals is to work on his +/-! you'll be happy to know that quinn LEADS THE LEAGUE WITH A +10! that's just another piece of evidence as to why he's a hockey god, laideez!
to quinn, my favorite big brother, and my least favorite hughes, i’m so unbelievably proud of you! you've been working on shooting the puck more and you're doing so with flying colors. congrats on your third career multi-goal game! i love you way past infinity💙
p.s. shoutout to demmer for getting his fourth career shut out in this 5-0 win tonight ! i’m so proud of you! @/tdemko30
p.s.s. QUINN GOT HIS FIRST PENALTY AND I ALMOST FORGOT TO MENTION IT! RIP HIS 6 GAME STREAK!!
tagged _quinnhughes
view all 297 comments
_quinnhughes sissy? being mostly sweet? who are you? (i love you way past beyond)
yourusername you gave me two goals and a penalty, you could have my future CHILDREN if you wanted right now
trevorzegras @/yourusername don't... don't do that
_quinnhughes i’m okay, thanks for the offer though!
yourusername you sure? i’m feeling very generous towards you right now! i’ll give you anything!
_quinnhughes can i have a normal sister?
yourusername i cannot give you that, sorry!
user41 QUINN HUGHES NATION RISE
jackhughes i'm not your favorite big brother?!
yourusername we're twins that met at 5? do you not know how twins work?
jackhughes i’m older than you by 4 hours and 36 minutes!
yourusername you're my least favorite big brother🫶
jackhughes am i your favorite hughes????
yourusername no? i’m my favorite hughes?
colecaufield we love the self confidence
_alexturcotte queen shit!
jackhughes 🙄
tdemko35 you're too sweet, y/n! thank you!
yourusername i’ll always hype up my boys!!! i love you!!! stay golden, ponyboy
tdemko35 i love you, too😂
user57 sissy really made the "who's sissy's least favorite hughes?" game easy on us this time
user99 HIS FUCKING SMILE OH MY GOD
trevorzegras how can you be the biggest supporter of both me AND quinn?
yourusername i’m made of pure love, baby! i got lots of it to go around! and it does!
jackhughes wh*re
yourusername @/jackhughes bite me.
trevorzegras you're such a sweet girl🧡 i'm so ready to marry you, let's elope
colecaufield @/trevorzegras i'm her man of honor! don't you dare take that away from me, zegras
yourusername @/colecaufield i would never let him do that
yourusername i don't care how much i’m freaking out over a dress! we're having a wedding, zegras!
trevorzegras i feel attacked
yourusername with love <3
user78 THIS IS SISSY'S LEAST FAVORITE HUGHES'S YEAR!
yourusername and that is his preferred title!
_quinnhughes @/yourusername that's not even close to my preferred title
yourusername @_quinnhughes it literally is
user6 the blues got the blues over hughes
_alexturcotte @_quinnhughes have you gotten hit with a puck yet?
_quinnhughes nope
_alexturcotte who are you? does the c put a protective shield around you? what's happening with the balance of the universe?
yourusername somewhere, somebody is getting hit with a puck a lot more than ever before
_alexturcotte i can't believe quinn would do that to someone
yourusername some captain he is... smh
_quinnhughes @_alexturcotte @.yourusername you two are some real comedic geniuses
yourusername @_quinnhughes thanks, we know!
_alexturcotte @_quinnhughes we're here all your life!
user39 quinn hughes nation needs t-shirts, someone should get on this
lhughes_06 @_quinnhughes toques for the win!
yourusername toques for the LOSE
_quinnhughes @/yourusername win*
jackhughes @/yourusername win*
yourusername @_quinnhughes @/jackhughes @.lhughes_06 i’m burning them all. i have keys to your homes. they'll be burning in a pit by wednesday. @/trevorzegras so help me, if you ever put one on that fine head of hair of yours, i’ll burn you, too
trevorzegras @/yourusername roger that
jackhughes @/trevorzegras if we burn, you burn with us!
trevorzegras @/jackhughes hard pass
---
sorry it's short while i'm trying to play catch up! tell me what you think! <3
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bardicious · 2 years
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Umbrella Academy Season 3 Spoilers Thoughts:
(Okay, actually, this might be an Allison bitchfest in the notes. And well, some other general bitching - because some characters made me so annoyed - but generally speaking I really really REALLY loved this season)
Season 4 Five needs to go apeshit, seriously, all of his shitty little siblings give him so much shit like he's supposed to know everything. I wouldn't put it against him to just leave their asses if something else comes up.
Allison REALLY REALLY pissed me off this season. It's not that I don't get her trauma, but the constant belittling of everyone else's trauma? Fuck that. I don't know where I stand with her after this Season, while she was one of my faves in the last two.
NO, I'm sorry Harlen didn't deserve to die. And LMAO. Excuse fucking me, but if the Academies went after him after the vote, he would have killed them all. Seriously, so many of these characters pissed me off this season. And yes, I do give certain characters more of a pass to be murderous (ie. Five and Lila) but the rest of them? Like, holy fuck, y'all are BABIES at this time traveling thing. And Victor wanting to protect Harlan (BECAUSE HE PROBABLY SAW HIM AS A SON - is not fucking selfish and is not a BETRAYAL). Viktor was responsible for Claire's death by mistake. Allison murdered Harlan for not having control of something he didn't choose to have. The fact that she feels right and doesn't feel sorry? Yeah, fuck off with that, what a piece of shit. This whole season has been a testament to how little Allison cares about her family and that's very disappointing. (I'm liable to think the last time jump really fucked with her head because ??? This is just too much)
Allison just being so fucking manipulative. Using her love against her family, like fuck off, the amount of times Five has had to deal with that shit and hasn't murdered a family's loved one. Allison really gave me vibes that she would kill anyone for her kid, even if it's another kid. And I don't know what's going to happen with her but yeah. There's a lot she needs to apologize for.
At the end of it though, even though I get her (the events of her life after the first apocalypse seem unreal and it's easy how she could lose sight of whats wrong or right) I'm really mad at her.
I am happy she got her happy ending though. (Presumably)
omg, almost forgot. What she was going to do to Luther. Jfc. Like, holy shit. I really hope they acknowledge all this in the next season.
Okay, and another thing, that shit she said about Viktor betraying her trust? LMAO. What a laugh, as if the whole family hadn't done that to him his whole life???? Viktor lies ONCE? And oooooo, I can never trust you. Fuck off with that bullshit. (If I were Viktor I'd never trust her again)
Honestly the whole fam was being held by a thread, which this time was Klaus, the last two times it was Five. But you know what, old man, you do you, fuck these hoes, you deserve to retire.
The way that Five was just ready to accept death because at least he wouldn't be the only one alive.
Luther instantly falling in love with Sloan, is well... makes sense. Both of them are so lonely, smart, and naive. lmao They quite honestly deserve each other 10/10. Never did like Allison/Luther (just a boring relationship)
I also love Allison/Ray and thought they brought out the best out of each other, so if she gets to be with him and her daughter, then I'll accept it. (Hope it wasn't just an illusion or something)
Wish Five's relationship with Deloras wasn't a constant joke. And quite honestly happy that Sparrow chick (the one who does the spitting) died, cause -shrugs- what can I say, not impressive.
I was ready for all Sparrows to die. Glad Ben and Sloan lived, wish bird lady lived in the end, I liked her and she actually seemed to care about her family.
YO, REGGIE IS PURE EVIL. The man is just EVIL. I mean, I think he expected Allison to kill him, and somehow that gets him to be with his wife, but I wonder what his original plan was. LMAO. Really hope they have a new season.
That said, Reg and Klaus hanging out was hilarious, still fucked up, but lmao, I think Klaus is at least used to so much fucked up shit in his life where he can practice his power.
But also, why was Klaus dead in the apocalypse??? Did he just choose to stay dead and never knew Five was there? So sad.
There was just so much Five hanging out in ordinary situations. A+++ HIS SPEECH. (I'm sorry but Five just deserves a better family, ffs)
Five and Victor need more time together, because they are about the only sensible siblings and actually care about their family despite their issues...
I love my babe Lila, she reminds me of Vala mal Doran, same chaotic energy - same accent too. LOVE the idea of her and Five being besties. And LOVE that she found out about the Handler killing her and Five rewinding time.
Five being the Commission's founder???? So many questions???? I don't get it, I don't get why he would want Five to accept the apocalypse, maybe there's something even worse next season???? Because if Five did nothing than they'd all just be dead? Is that a better alternative than Hargreeve's owning everything?
Diego and his not kid, so cute. LMAO. And then Diego going to be a soon to be father anyhow! :D
These people never really learn. lmao. They spent how many episodes talking about the briefcase and Marcus, meanwhile, the man's been dead the whole time, and the briefcase has been with them forever. Hilarious when Luther comes back and no one's noticed he's gone.
All in all, this felt like a family breaks up season, which is sad. I hope next season (lord help me) is them coming together.
But as stated before, I NEED Five to go apeshit. And also for actual acknowledgment of HIS traumas. Like??? Same could be said for Klaus. I can totally see why fandom falls on these two, because the rest of the family literally just makes fun of them the whole time. Meanwhile I have to listen to Allison and Luther's issues the whole 3 seasons and want to throw something. Viktor's issues? Good shit. Transformative. Diego? Also transformative. Allison and Luther? I mean, probably, but meh.
I miss the Commission. I miss older Five. It's good to see Reggie in a bigger role. Cause I really fell for his manipulative bullshit. Which is nice! That seems to be a common villain in this story. Hardcore manipulation. I like that.
ANYWAY. Loved the trans rep. Viktor was placed in seamlessly. It was really beautiful. Loved Harlan, was super excited for him to have powers in the end of Season 2. Loved the wacky scenes where everyone is just partying and FIVE is involved.
Jessica who?
Don't like their Mom being cast aside, and it's so interesting how Pogo finally takes a stand against Reggie in this timeline. It just comes way later and at the end doesn't save anyone. Because he's just gone.
Can't think of anymore right now, so I'll leave it there. lmaooo. Lots of complaining, but complaints just stand out to me, and it's not really about the writing. Just SUPER annoyed at the characters. oof. The family dynamics just feel less this season. Granted, no one's had leisure time, so they're all prime assholes right now, hell even Five was keeping most shit to himself the first season. (But Five is at least progressing at quite a quick pace considering he's been fighting of apocalypse after apocalypse within a month, I believe?)
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mlmxreader · 8 months
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Hello, my dear! NEVER apologize for taking time to get through the asks!! Like I said, I'm very patient and I'd rather you look after yourself first, the requests come second, ALWAYS 💕. And I hope you're doing alright and that your animals are well 🖤. I'm glad that writing is able to provide you with a much needed distraction, hopefully the muse stays with you and continues to provide a reprieve. (As always, let me know if you would like requests, and I would be more than happy to send some in 🥰)
I'm not gonna lie, my brain has been so scattered lately that I cannot remember which was the last request I replied to 😓 um so apologies for that. So if you don't mind, I'm just going to start with Power Cut and work from there. If I missed others, I'm so sorry, just know that I honestly do love everything you write for the Tom Hardy characters and that I am forever grateful to you 🙏🏽. Also, some of these may be short replies but I love them all equally, I'm just a little laggy (is that a word?!) lagging at the moment (I'm so sorry!!) but I really don't want to leave you hanging for all the tremendous work you put into these so here we are.
×Power Cut×
[...] a lot of things just weren't the same when they weren't handled by you. But he couldn't bring himself to admit it, even when you pressed the mug into his hand and smiled so warmly at him. He never really felt home anywhere, but your smile always brought him there.
🥹🥹🥹
I'm sorry? Hello, cuteness overload? Yes. They make him feel like he's being rough home? ROBERT SAGINOWSKI!!!! And they cuddled in the bed 😫🫠🥰 and he's adding that to the things that wouldn't feel right if it wasn’t with them? What an unbelievably sweet and wholesome piece!!! I'm freaking gushing over here. It's beautiful!!
×Overworked×
The scent of your cologne confirmed it all immediately. He was real. Everything around him was real. It wasn't some dream. He relaxed a little, until your voice came out slightly muffled and distorted to his ears.
😟 My sweet baby Eames! My darling no!! Cobb you bastard! But I love that he has reader and that they atleast provide him with some form of grounding. The detail you put about Eames being able to discern (a little, at least) that he is in fact real when he feels them close, feels their presence, their scent just beautifully illustrates that point. I really do hope this poor man is able to find someone he can talk to that may be able to help him.
At least you knew that he wouldn't be treated like shit for going through something that seemed to be pulling apart the seams of his brain, picking away at the stitches and snapping the knots. At least you knew that he was somewhere he was loved.
😫😭😭😭😭 fuck. Let me give him a hug.
×Dream a Little Dream of Me×
My love, my life
🫠🫠🫠
Grabbing the chain around your neck, you gave it a firm tug to release the pendant from beneath your shirt; a sharp wolf's tooth, wrapped in strong metal and hanging from the chain. "Always. Do you have the chip?"
Eames patted his breast pocket. "Always."
Listen, listen... y'all are flipping cute as hell.
You nodded, holding onto him tightly as you sighed and closed your eyes. "I've missed you, y'know. Nowhere feels like home without you."
🥹🥰🥰🥰
The comment about the sides, hehehe! Listen, babe, we'll push it and you'll fold because you love us so 💕.
×Appointments×
"I won't," Bane hummed. "I'll be there every second of every day if that's what you want, little one."
Supportive and caring Bane..... yeah, he also has my heart 💓. Poor reader though! Honey, you did absolutely nothing wrong and quite honestly, I don't think you could do anything that would make him love you an less. But they'll have Bane there and hopefully they'll be able to get the help they need.
×Auguries of Innocence×
Bane quoting a poem to reader has me swooning. Big bear man, speaking ever so softly, lilting the sweet and soft sounds of prose... like damn. Holy shit, damn. That in and of itself is art.
You couldn't help but to laugh. A pink outline had formed around the contours of his mask. You made him blush; so long being together and you could still make him blush.
Ehehe! We made him blush!!! My darling, are you okay? Do you need some air?
Okay. For this one, I had to actually search this up because I was not familiar with either the poem nor the poet but let me tell you.... their prose is so fascinating! Thought provoking and it really hits you with some of these lines like:
He who replies to words of Doubt
Doth put the Light of Knowledge out
[...]
He who Doubts from what he sees
Will neer Believe do what you Please 
If the Sun & Moon should Doubt 
Theyd immediately Go out 
To be in a Passion you Good may Do 
But no Good if a Passion is in you
🤯, and also, I feel like I'm being called out right now😂!
The poem recited by Bane is: Song: Memory Hither Come by William Blake
And Robin Red Breast is a reference from Blake's poem: Auguries of Innocence
(I think I got all the references 🤔)
And yes, I will definitely be checking out more of their work, thank you very much for bringing it to my attention!
And now onto the works concerning my BELOVED!!!! (I love them all but only ONE of them rules my heart and that is Alfie Fucking Solomons)
×One Look×
Okay first, I freaking love the warnings you put for this chapter 😂. Yes thank you for letting me know that this would concern a very possessive bear man!
Did he appreciate you at all?
Umm. Of fucking course. Why the hell else would we be so fiercely loyal to this man. I also love that Alfie made sure that his s/o would now exactly how to take someone out if they even thought to touch them. Like fuck 😳😳 that's hot.
Luca fully ogling reader, scripting verse in his head about their beauty...
👀👀👀 My sir, how have you not been cut down by Alfie already?!?!? Like the man can see exactly what you are doing with that gaze of yours. But I love it, because being the man of actions that he is, Alfie will SHOW him, yeah, he'll show Mr. Changretta that in this house we only see, breathe, and live Alfie Solomons.
"My partner," Alfie barked out. "You touch even a fuckin' hair on their head - I will cut you down."
HAHAHAHA. YOU'RE KILLING ME! HOLY FUCKING SHIT 🙃🫠🥵 MY BLOODY WORDS!!! HI BABE. FUCKIN' HI BABE. OMG!!!!! Fuck.... I'm sorry but Alfie.... that's fucking hot. That kiss, ohhhohohiiiiiooo, I'm dead. Fucking obliterated. I hope you know that, you've bloody killed me. In the wise words of A. Solomons: fuck me. And also FUCK ME.
×I Want You to Stay×
You would snuggle into his side - always denying it the morning after - and he would hold you [...] and Alfie would feel you fall asleep almost instantly while he smiled and, for a moment, watched you sleep.
JSLSKSBFJKSKXBDKSJXBSLSJXHS!!!!! What I would give to be snuggled up to that little shit of a bear man....
Alfie groaned, daring to open one eye. He grinned. "You were watchin' me sleep."
Cheeky bloody bastard! We fucking love him!!!
"Fuck off, I was not," you huffed. "I was just making sure that you were still breathing… unfortunately you are."
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I'm a broken record but I don't care, I BLOODY LOVE THEM!! THEY HAVE MY WHOLE ASS HEART!
"I fucking hate you," you muttered, your gaze going to his lips. You swallowed thickly, unable to stop yourself, your body acting quicker than your mind as you closed the distance.
FUCK ME! YES, FINALLY!!!!! Oh my and the kiss was so soft and tender and the little "Please, give us another kiss, please." Oh lords. Oh gods. Holy fucking shit. Oh my words. Hahah🙃😳🫣🫠😍😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰🥰. I imagine he whimpered a little too and I'm..... I'm totally fine 🙂...
Okay, but when I tell you that I desperately needed Alfie for like this whole month, I'm not even exaggerating. My sweet murder bear!!! And for it to be the Feisty pairing ... come here, I know you don't like hugs, that's why I'm giving you several virtual ones 🫂 🫂 🫂 🫂. I absolutely adored how you had their relationship being build up from the small aspects (reader ensuring the puzzles were in place for Alfie when he got there) to Cyril, and the little dinner dates (cause that's what they were). I just love, love, loved it oh so very much!!!
Like literally, not gonna lie, if you're up for it, at this rate, my requests for Alfie may end up building an entire series around this, and some of your other Alfie pairings (AKA, the pairing where Alfie gets jealous of Cyril, definitely the My Lieutenant, maybe the Shock Troop pairing) bevause I literally CANNOT get enough of them!! I've gone feral with your Alfie writing, if you couldn't tell from before (but obviously creative liberties are always with you, if the pairing doesn't work out with the prompt, don't sweat it 💙) but yeah, i love the breath you give to the character of Alfie as well as the reader. Seriously, you are an actual gem, never forget that.
As always, I loved, loved, loved each of these so very much!!! Cannot express how grateful I am that you continue to write them, they are literally everything! Never fails to put a smile on my face. Thank you again and I saw your requests were up, so expect me on those soon, my darling! Probably tomorrow I'll have some time to gather up a list and spam you but until then, much love, stay safe, stay as well as you can be and I'll talk to you soon, my lovely writer! (Sorry for this ask turning into a miles long essay 😅)
🖤🖤🖤
🐍anon
hi!!!! thank you 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 genuinely, thank you for being so patient and understanding 🫶🏻 I'm doing as well as I can be, tbh, there's been developments but I'm not at liberty to discuss anything rn bc idk if it's gonna last, tbh. but hopefully if it DOESN'T, then I can update everyone on what's going on bc it's a lot and I'm tired bc I've been working as much as possible in order to get money 😭 writing is VERY MUCH proving to be a useful distraction from most of the shit going on rn ngl, so I'm thankful for what I can get. so you can always send more if you want to tbh.
I'm p sure the last one you read was the one before Power Cut, I THINK!!! I'm not 100% sure tho 😅 but the good news is that I updated my masterlists so if you want to, you can go through and see what takes your fancy!!!
Power Cut
THEY'RE SO CUTE TOGETHER 😭😭😭 Bob is literally so head over heels it's SICKENING, but reader feels the same so he's fine dhgkskfks they're happy, bless em.
Overworked
Cobb fucked up this time, massively. Eames is always so confident (bordering on cocky), and now he's second guessing almost everything except for the ONE THING that's always given him a reality check. reader is aware how people who experience dissociation can be treated and is gonna make DAMN SURE that Eames doesn't go through that.
Dream a Little Dream of Me
THEY KNOW EACH OTHER'S TOTEMS, THEY'RE SO ENTWINED THAT IT DOESN'T IMPACT ANYTHING 😭
Eames: don't push it
reader: hold my beer. I'm gonna push.
Appointments
SOFT!BANE!!!!!!!!!!! reader has had something happen to them that's completely fucking turned everything on its head, but BANE IS STILL THERE. he'll always be there. he loves them, he's LOYAL to them, if Dr. Frank talks shit, Bane will make sure that he gets his due for it.
Auguries of Innocence
BANE LIKES POETRY IDC WHAT ANYONE SAYS, THAT MAN LIKES POETRY, especially stuff by, like, Wilfred Owen and William Blake. anything along those sorts of lines. HE IS A POETRY FAAAAAAAN
Bane might be a big, beefy, "talk shit get hit" commie w the brawn AND the brain, but HE IS A SOFTIE AT HEART 🥺
YES!!! IT'S WILLIAM BLAKE!!!!
you're spot on w Memory Hither Come and Auguries of Innocence, BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT also Broken Love. 👀
I love Blake's work, if I'm honest, I love his poetry more than his art, but honestly, he was such a beautiful poet; London is one of his most famous for good reason, it's fucking great and if you're only JUST checking out William Blake's work and you're not familiar w his style, it's a WONDERFUL introduction to it!!!
One Look
"did he appreciate his s/o?" man, you tell me lmfao his s/o is so loyal that they don't even acknowledge Luca 💀💀 let alone acknowledge the fact that he is BLATANTLY checking them out.
Luca is in a really shit situation, bless him; his enemy has this magnificent s/o, and Luca clearly wants them and he's gotta sit there and just TAKE the fact that they won't even talk to him directly dhfosjfksjg rip my man Luca Changretta but Alfie won. big time.
Alfie doesn't give a single fuck who's in the room - if they even THINK about his s/o in a way he don't like, he's gonna make sure that they know who belongs with who.
PLEASE DON'T DIE, I STILL WANNA WRITE DHGKSJGKSKGJ AND YOU'RE FUELLING ME W THE REQUESTS!!!!
I Want You To Stay
"I hate him" my brother in Christ, you literally snuggle into him at night 💀💀 what kinda backwards hate is this
Alfie's cheek and the reader's snark is literally just the best thing. they're made for each other!!
something something intricate rituals that they're lying to him about, etc etc
Alfie was incredibly down from the SECOND reader burst into his office creating a direct challenge and basically going "you fuck around, you find out". and now he's FINALLY managed to get it out if them that they like him too 🥺🥺 brown bear and Bengal tiger vibes
shfksjfiajfjakfjak I'm so glad you enjoy it!!!! and that you love the pairing so much!!!!! it's all about the little signs of intimacy, baby!!!!! the little things that add up to SO MUCH bc it's the intimacy of being *known*, and being *seen* 🥺
honestly?? I wouldn't mind that AT ALL :D especially if you're gonna throw an excuse or two to write about the trenches in there dhgksjfksb I'd love it!!!
as always, I'm so, so glad that you enjoy them so much and interactions like these are what keep me inspired to keep posting my writing 🥺🫶🏻 tomorrow works for me, tho, I've got a day off so I can sit down and write!!!
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missinghan · 3 years
Text
cold sun ⤖ han jisung
❖ genre : soulmate au; fluff; angst
❖ word count : 2,6k.
❖ warning : slight swearing
❖ summary : in a world where one will lose something if their soulmate doesn’t reciprocate their words of love once they turn sixteen, jisung is willing to take the risk so you won’t have to bear the burden.
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❖ note : i just realized how i always tend to write for jisung when i'm down :')) anywho this piece is a little different than what i usually come up with but i hope y'all enjoy it ♡
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It’s the first day of the week.
“Hey, Y/N. I like you!”
And Han Jisung is really annoying.
Those words come out so easily. It's casual in a way that makes you bury your red nose deeper into the soft fabric of your scarf, which makes your footsteps quicken unknowingly as his voice chases after you loudly. Either way, this isn’t the first time Jisung has said so. In fact, it’s become a habit for him to remind you every other day.
There’s no particular reason why. Or at least that’s what you think.
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It’s the end of the week. Jisung decides to hang himself upside down on your bed while you’re stressing over a presentation. “Hey, Y/N.” A cold winter breeze comes rushing against the perplexing glass of your window, shaking the frame violently before all motions come to silence.
Until, “Y/N, Y/N, Y/N,” he creeps up from behind you and chirps into your ear.
“What?” you let out a groan of displease when tempting warmth embraces you whole, prompting you to drop your attention and looking over your shoulder.
Jisung pouts, “You didn’t answer me.”
“It’s because you’re annoying,” you sigh.
“Answer me when I call your name,” he pulls you in a fraction tighter, careful enough not to hurt you but firm to not let you slip away at the same time, and cradles your neck warmly, “So I’d know that you’re still here with me.”
“Alright, stupid.”
The all too familiar gummy smile returns instantly. “Hey, Y/N?”
And you can’t help but roll your eyes. “Yes, Jisung?”
“I like you,” he giggles into the hug, “I like you a lot.”
Han Jisung really is annoying.
He’s annoying because he talks too much. He’s annoying because of how he always asks for your notes after a gaming night with Felix just to nap in class. He’s annoying because he’d drop you in a heartbeat for a single slice of cheesecake from Jeongin’s mom’s bakery. He’s annoying because of how well he can get along with everyone.
Chatty, down-to-earth, easy-going with a lovable smile—attractive, very attractive.
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It’s the week after that. “What...happened?”
“He lost his voice,” Jeongin sighs, looking like he genuinely wants to facepalm himself against concrete while walking with an incoherent Jisung to school; expressive hands with his mouth agape and all.
You tilt your head, “...for real?”
“For real.”
After a few seconds of eyeing Jisung struggling with converting what’s in his head, you exhale deeply and quickly rummage through your backpack, “Just stop, you look ridiculous.” And he does just that, zipping his mouth metaphorically and giving you those typical puppy eyes. “Here, use this.”
His eyes light up like stars when you rip off a page from one of your notebooks and offer it to him along with a pen. Truth is, you’re expecting something as predictable as ‘I like you’ or ‘It’s alright it’s just the worst cold I’ve ever caught’. But then, what’s displayed on the piece of paper right now only baffles you.
Park is going to murder you if he sees some uglyass tear in your Ochem notes :)
A forced grin splits your lips open. “Not if I murdered you first and then the entire school and then myself.”
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The first genuine smile blossoms on his lips when you give him a mini-sized notepad and pencil the day after—his sixteenth birthday.
And Jisung decides this is it.
It happens when the sun hasn’t even come out yet and the irritating blue light from his phone reads 5:32 AM.
It happens when he sees your reclined figure leaning back against his mattress, his pupils tracing your delicate features. Perplexed emotions fill his eyes to the brim, fulfillment bursting within his chest when you stare right back at him with such purity. So pure that it seems you can do no harm to him and neither can he.
“Hey stupid,” you murmur quietly, shoving a notepad and pencil against his chest, “Happy birthday.”
Jisung gives you a bright smile, opens his mouth, and snaps it close mere moments later. Sixteenth birthday. Early in the morning. Tired grins. The fondness of being so disgustingly in love.
He can’t help but lean in and caves into the taste his soul has longed for as long as he can remember.
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Two weeks have passed since Jisung has lost his voice.
Nothing has differed if you’re being completely honest. Han Jisung is still annoying. His lack of ability to speak doesn’t appear to be a problem to him at all. He loves chatting with people even though he’s more of a listener now. But with the small notepad you gave him a few days ago, being socially active is the norm for him even now.
Thanks to his rather short-period experiences of observing people’s expressions and how their features contort in certain ways when they’re feeling certain emotions, Jisung catches onto your mood more quickly during bad days to help you release your inner turmoil by scribbling down something stupid on the notepad. It’s kinda nice like this, you’d think to yourself sometimes.
Other times, you’re more scared that you might have forgotten what his voice sounds like.
“No wonder you got a fucking cold. Stop taking midnight showers already.”
You wave Jisung over when he closes the wooden door to your bedroom, droplets dripping from his hair as he scratches his stomach tiredly. His hair is a mess when he lazily crawls onto your bed, the cushion beside you dips slightly.
His index finger pointing at his post-shower head and a shit-eating grin are all you need to snatch the white towel around his neck.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” you mumble while rubbing the cotton fabric into his hair, “But you’re awfully upbeat for someone who’s lost their voice. Can’t you at least pretend to be sad about it?”
A noise of protest escapes his throat like second nature as your eyes carefully read the quick movements of his mouth. “And can you not be so mean to someone who’s lost their voice?”
A faint smirk creeps its way up to your lips. “Still like me now?”
Jisung thinks hard for a few moments before jumping out of bed to snatch his notepad from your studying area. Of course, I like you. I like you a lot. Your heartbeat momentarily spikes at his scrawny handwriting. Just when your gaze is averted away to cool the blush on your cheeks, he tugs at your sleeve again and points at a different mess of scribbles. You’re more gentle when I’m like this. And you’d always find me if I ever got into trouble. What’s there for me to be sad about?
“Annoying little shit,” you swallow your pride and let him settle his head against your chest.
His presence melts into yours during the hardest hours of the twenty-four, heartbeats on heartbeats and warmth on warmth. Your one regret is that you’re unable to register his tears that night, only the incoherent, breathless hiccups almost as to desperately call out your name.
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It’s been a month since Jisung’s lost his voice. And the night when he kisses you for the second time, his notepad is long forgotten next to your pillow.
I-can’t-talk. Give-me-a-break.
Jeongin. Cheesecake. Please? Pretty please?
I’ll fucking kick you.
Wait, there’s homework?!
...so you’re telling me LMAO isn’t how French people laugh?
“This is what you’ve been doing during breaks huh…” you mumble under your breath while lazily flipping through the papers. The occasional ‘I like you’-s do pop up every two pages or so, which is more than enough to make you smile like an idiot. But that is until a peculiar paragraph yanks your attention by its neck and tosses it against a brick wall.
Mom, promise me you’re not going to cry.
He made auntie cry?!
I lost my voice for real now but it wasn’t supposed to be like that at first. I just wanted to mess with Y/N and freak her out for a day.
I’m seriously going to punch him.
She was a lot softer toward me after that, you know. I know it’s extremely selfish of me but I just can’t help being so happy. I’m sorry, mom. I really am.
Han Jisung you fucking idiot.
I was going to surprise her on my birthday by saying ‘good morning’ out loud but nothing came out. My voice was gone.
Guilt, anger, remorse take over you. You knew nothing of this. You never once questioned for a logical reason behind the loss of his voice and kept moving onward as if it’s not that big of a deal. You didn’t suspect it as a kind of prank, either. But you still care, all this time! You have been doing everything in your power as a way for both you and Jisung to treasure himself even if he can’t speak anymore.
I went to a check-up last week. Nothing came up. I’m sorry. Please don’t cry.
However, without fail, the obnoxious part of you will keep wandering back to the concept of soulmates that has been engraved so deeply into the society you’re living in. It makes no sense to you that Jisung lost his voice for no reason right before his sixteenth birthday. This explains it all now.
It’s going to be okay, mom. Because I have Y/N. I know she would come running toward my side over and over again even if she can’t hear me anymore. I really don’t know what I’d do without her in my life.
Jisung knew the penalty for being the first to exchange any words of love yet he still did it. And you were too busy overlooking that stupid pride of yours to say those three words back.
It’s getting to the point where I’m starting to forget what I used to sound like. I’m sorry. Please don’t cry.
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Jisung fixes the strap of his backpack, looking up at his mom after slipping into his sneakers. She ruffles his bed head and hands him a small white box with Jeongin’s bakery’s signature logo on it.
He tilts his head in faint confusion, peering at the box of pastry in his arms.
“Give it to Y/N on the bus, okay? Her parents aren’t home right now. You know how she would always skip breakfast when they’re out of town.”
His eyes light up instantly in realization and Jisung nods, preparing to bid her farewell. Just then, his front door comes flying open. It can’t be a mere acquaintance because there are very few people other than his parents and himself who know of the spare key hidden under the welcome mat.
As Jisung turns around, he’s keenly aware of your teary eyes already trained on him. Which in hindsight, makes no sense. As a result, panic rises within the hollowness of his chest, his lips falling agape but no coherent words come out.
“Y/N, sweetheart,” his mom flinches, slightly caught off guard, “Is everything okay?”
A scowl stretches over your contorted features as you shut the door loudly. “What the hell is this?” you question, shoving the familiar notepad into his chest. “A prank? A prank?! Do you think that this is funny?”
Jisung’s frantic eyes move to read the paper and every single color on his face drains tremendously. He easily recognizes the peculiar paragraph by how much lighter the ink is compared to the rest of the messy lines because his pen was running low and his hand couldn’t stop shaking.
Your voice.
His eyes avert back to look at you. His brows furrow timidly and shaky breaths burst from his lips almost like a desperate cry for help. There’s too much he wants to say, too many things to explain, and too many questions running through his head that he can’t process what to do next. He might just overwhelm both you and himself.
I need to hear it again.
And you might not stay by his side this time.
“Okay, don’t answer me then, I guess,” you chuckle lowly, dipping your head and turning around.
Jisung grabs at your sleeve instinctively and drops the pastry box, his gaze empty and all too knowing. Sorrow glazes over his starry eyes when it starts becoming hard to breathe properly. The outlines of his lips are moving non-stop yet nothing comes following after that.
“I don’t know what you’re saying,” you rasp out and tug at his hand. Then it hits you. He’s like this because of you. Jisung lost his voice because of you.
His mom cuts into the conversation, “Y/N, you don’t understand!”
“I’m sorry, auntie,” you smile sadly and take off running into the streets.
You, in the midst of your self-loathing and guilt, allow your feet to go wherever they want as your vision spirals into a blur. A single droplet threatens to fall when a forceful hand yanks you back to reality.
It takes Jisung a moment to regain his regular breathing pace. And when he finally gets it, all he can do is call out to you with the same inaudible sounds and the same desperation in his eyes. It seems as though he’s fully aware that the prank was the stupidest, most irrational thing he’s ever done. But there’s more to the ocean within his eyes than just remorse.
“I already told you,” you clench your jaw and slap his hand away, “I don’t fucking know what you’re saying!”
A deep sigh. “Why am I mad? Of course, I’d be mad! It’s because of me that you lost your voice! It’s because I like you, too! Yet I never said it back… You lost your voice because of me! Don't you get it? Why can't you just hate me for the sake of it?!”
You miss his voice. You miss it a lot.
You want to hear it again. You want to hear him call you by your name. You want to stay up late and talk about anything to the ends of the Earth and back with him. You want him to be the obnoxious, chatty Han Jisung you've always known.
You miss how annoyingly loud he is.
“Y-Y...Y/N…!”
Jisung collapses onto his knees, a hand on concrete while the other is on his neck. His chest rises and falls unevenly, muffled noises of discomfort echoing deep down from his throat. Despite that, what you heard just now, is his voice.
“Answer me when I call your name. So I’d know that you’re still here with me.”
“I promised you, didn’t I,” you spread your arms and smile warmly, “That I’d always answer when you call my name. As long as I can still hear you, I will come running toward you over and over again. Doesn’t matter what it takes, doesn’t matter where you are.”
Jisung lifts his head and tears come rolling down on his cheeks. His throat feels swollen when he stutters with difficulties, trying to convey what’s in his head, “Y-Y/N, don’t- don’t go! Please don’t leave me...!”
“Come here,” you close your eyes with the widest grin on your lips, “I’m not going anywhere.”
Only when Jisung grows closer and throws his arms around you, sobbing into your uniform do you convince yourself that all of this isn’t a hallucination. The hug is a lot stronger than what you’d expect. First of all, you nearly fell over from the impact and your arms are pinned so tightly to your sides that you feel like your ribs are going to snap.
Everything is so overwhelming that all you can say is, “Ow.”
“Sorry,” he mumbles into your hair and loosens his arms a bit so you can loop your hands to the nape of his neck and hair.
“You’re so annoying, Han Jisung.”
He purses his lips, sniffling, “You tried to make me snap on purpose. Meanie.”
You quirk a playful brow, “Still like me now?”
“Yeah,” Jisung smiles, “A lot.”
Because he knows that he has you. Until every last star in the galaxy explodes as a supernova, Jisung has you.
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ladydimitrescuspet · 3 years
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Just This Once, Your Ears Only
AO3 link! this is for my anon that just found out about miss d and the pallboys and wanted a fic about it so here you go! I hope y'all enjoy this and apologies for any grammatical errors!
Tag List (form to join): @lord-dimitrescu, @alwaysgoodnight, @paint-it-periwinkle, @lightspica, @ultimatebottom69, @sexyheisenbeast, @crazy-obsessed, @squid3, @inlovewithalcinadimitrescu, @the-obscurity, @sapphicalciee, @ladydimitresculove, @solemnnova, @itsyourgirlmalise, @the-little-shadow, @marvelwomen-simp,@rachelthefanfictionwriter, @d14n4ol, @peachesandlesbians
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Alcina didn’t talk much about her past and that was fine. You always cherished the things that she had told you about her time before Mother Miranda and the cadou. You never pushed her to tell you more than she was comfortable, but when you found that old jazz album in a box your curiosity was piqued. How had she not told you that she used to be in a jazz band called Miss D & the Pallboys? Honestly, you were pretty shocked that Alcina hadn’t told you about this part of her life. So when you brought it to her, your find, she was a bit hostile about it.
“Ali, come on. This is really cool.” You said. “I know you don’t often talk about your past, but I really want to know more about this.”
Alcina sighed, rubbing her temples to ebb away the oncoming headache. “Dear, I’ve already said that I don’t wish to revisit such a trivial time in my life.” Alcina replied.
“But I’ve never heard you sing.” You counter. “I’ve heard you hum, I’ve heard you play the piano, but I’ve never once heard you sing.”
“And I’m afraid you’ll never get the opportunity to. My singing days are long behind me and I’d like to keep it that way.” Alcina replied.
You frowned, but ultimately accepted your defeat. “Alright, Ali, I’m sorry. You win.” For now, at least. Time for Plan B. “Can I visit Karl this week?” You asked.
Alcina groaned. “I am not sure how you became friends with that annoying little imp, but I do need you out of the Castle tomorrow so I suppose you may go and visit him then.” Alcina responded. “However, when you leave, have him escort you home. As much as I despise that man-child, there have been lycans spotted around the village and forest more so than usual in the evening, so you’ll be safe with that little idiot by your side.”
You gave her a smile and nod as you did an internal happy dance. “I will call him now to let him know. I’ll even throw in a little threat so he knows you’re serious, Ali.” You teased. Alcina snorted at that. “Alcina?” She hummed in acknowledgment. “Have you ever tried to say something nice about Karl or even tried to be a little bit nicer to him?” You asked.
Alcina looked up at you. “When that insufferable idiot is nicer to me then I shall repay him in kind. Until then, if he keeps calling me lady super sized bitch, I will continue to refer to him as a child. Although, he really is a child regardless of what affectionate nicknames he has for our so called family.” Alcina replied. “But Heisenberg being nice to me will never happen in a million years.”
"Are you willing to bet on that?" You asked. Alcina whirled her eyebrow at you. "If Karl does something nice for you then you have to sing one of your jazz songs for me."
"And if he doesn't?" Alcina asked.
"Then you get whatever you want from me." You replied.
Alcina hummed. "And if I want you chained to my bed all day to do with as I please, I can have that?" You nodded your head. "Then I believe we have a bet on our hands, dear."
You gave her a nervous smile before excusing yourself from her study. After you left, you made your way to your own study. The thought of it made you smile. Alcina had realised that you didn’t have a room in the castle to call your own, so she allowed you to remake one of them into your own, so to speak. It was still decorated the way Alcina had, but now it had more of your things in it to keep you occupied if Alcina went out for a meeting or if you just needed a quiet space to be in.
The first thing you did upon entering your study was call Karl. You let him know that you’d be over early and you even mentioned the bet you had going on with Alcina. “Lady Super Sized Bitch is going down.” were his exact words and they made you laugh. After you said goodbye to him, you called Donna and asked her if she could sew some costumes up for you, the girls, and Karl. You were glad that she had agreed and accepted your invitation to Jazz Friday as opposed to Opera Wednesday. This week’s meeting had been moved from Friday to Wednesday so Opera Night had been moved to Friday. You really hoped that Alcina wouldn’t mind you hijacking her night with your plan and with only five days to get it all planned, you really didn’t have time to work yourself into a tizzy with worrying.
You spent the next day with Karl, telling him what instruments you’d need him to produce for the show. With that taken care of, you could talk to the girls about the surprise and the parts that they’d play for Jazz Night. You made sure all of the Lords had an invitation for Friday. You would’ve invited Mother Miranda, but she was out of the village on business. You were nervous when Friday finally came, making sure everything was perfect.
“Hey, kiddo, don’t worry. Alci’s gonna love it.” Karl said as he fussed over his tuxedo.
You let out a deep breath and smiled at him. “Of course. Or at least I hope she does.” You replied. You held the microphone in your hand when you heard Alcina’s voice.
“Donna, Moreau, it’s a pleasure to have you two with us tonight. I see Heisenberg has failed to join us for another evening.” That made Karl scowl. “Nevertheless, the show must go on. My wonderful daughters and my lovely partner, Y/N, have prepared something special for us tonight. So please sit back and enjoy the show.” Alcina said, finishing off her speech before sitting in her seat.
A couple of maids opened the curtain and you could hear the small gasp Alcina let out, your face starting to heat up. You’d had Karl make a saxophone for Bela, a piano for Cassandra that she could comfortably sit at, a cello for Daniela, and a trumpet for himself. Whilst Donna made tuxedos for all of you. The girls and Karl wore black tuxedos with white dress shirts, the only difference being that the girls had their gemstones on the collar of their shirts and Karl’s didn’t. Your tuxedo was white and you had a hat on with a feather like the one Alcina wore on the cover of the Miss D & the Pallboys album. You managed to not let your nerves get to you as you sang a Nat King Cole classic, Unforgettable. When the performance was over the five of you bowed before the curtain closed.
“Y/N, that was amazing!” Bela said. “I think I saw Mother tearing up out there so I’d say that she loved the performance!”
You scratched at the back of your head, laughing nervously. “Really? I just wish we could’ve sung a Miss D & the Pallboys original for her too, but you can’t go wrong with a classic like Unforgettable.” You replied. “Now you three go get changed, you still have to do that Italian opera piece your mother picked out for you.”
Daniela gave you a hug. “Thank you for putting this together.” Daniela said into your ear.
Cassandra gave you a smile. “And we completely understand if you want to skip the rest of the show. Putting together something like this sounds very tiring.” You nodded your head before wishing them good luck.
The rest of the night was purely opera, but you didn’t have it in yourself to join the others back out in the audience while the girls did their performance. So you had made your way back to the room that you shared with Alcina, putting on your pyjamas and curling up into bed with a book. And that’s how Alcina found you, except you were almost half asleep with the book lying across your stomach.
“Darling?” Alcina called out softly, rousing you from your sleep. You hummed in acknowledgment to let her know you were still with her. Alcina took that opportunity to put on her nightgown before slipping into the bed next to you, pulling you into her side. “Did you put together that whole thing just for me?” Alcina asked.
You nodded. “I did. Not alone though. Karl and Donna really helped out. And Moreau was the one that recommended the song I sang, Mother Miranda bless him for the suggestion.” You mumbled out slightly before yawning.
Alcina pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Thank you, My Love. Now, I do believe I lost a bet so I’ll give you your reward, yes?” You sleepily nodded your head against her side. “Alright, little one, but just this once and for your ears only. And only because you got that idiot oaf to do something nice for me.” Alcina said.
“Be nice, Ali.” You mumbled again, smiling at the grumbling noises that Alcina made at your words but you could faintly make out her saying “Fine,” before you let out a hum of approval.
After a few seconds of silence, you heard Alcina start to sing the words to a song you didn’t know. You could only assume that it was one of the songs she sang with her band and you smiled. Alcina really did have a beautiful singing voice.
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koishua · 2 years
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𝐊𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐔𝐀 𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 ! !
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IT HAS BEEN a long and perhaps quite a tiring year (for me, at least, and i am sure for many others as well, unfortunately) and i think we all should receive like,,, a participation or completion medal honestly :') i sincerely hope tomorrow (and the year 2022) will be a fresh new start for those who are in need of one and i hope each and every one of you have a lovely time :(
it's my second time celebrating a new year on this site so this is very weird haha i first created a random account bc i was so extremely bored during quarantine last august and i did not expect to find so many people who i have now become friends with ;-; y'all are so cool and cute i adore you :( and i am also very very grateful for those of you out there who read my works and follow me and stuff :') y'all are the best :( i enjoy interacting with you (also pls excuse my late answers istg my social battery is prone to draining very quickly so i hold messages and asks off sometimes ;-;)
anyways!! to all of my precious friends and followers: I WISH YOU A HAPPY GREAT NEW YEAR AND HOPE THAT YOU WILL BE TREATED BETTER BY LIFE STARTING FROM NOW!!
in particular though, i really want to just give a few moots a tight, tight hug ;-; fr my irl friends could not do half of the things y'all did for me even without y'all knowing <//3 moving on!!
@yourlocalhotgf when i tell you that i love you with all of my heart and soul :( my precious, i feel like you understand me so, so well it's crazy ;-; i always feel at ease with you and it hurts me whenever you aren't doing alright. thank you for being there like,, always :( im sorry that i will never be able to be as great and amazing of a friend as you are to me ;-; i love you i love you i love you ily >:(
@bloomingnono you little piece of sunshine i love you my first friend ;-; it's been like what?? eight months since i last talked to you bc you abandoned online life :') and i have no idea how you are doing now but i genuinely hope you're doing okay out there ;-;
@t-toodumbtocare pls can i cry i feel so emotional with you idek why 😭 just. idk. idk just thank you for existing bc you living your life just makes me feel so at ease :( i admired you so much and still do just as much ;-; may this new year be an absolute blast for you oml you deserve it.... mum :')
@blueprint-han hi dawnie it's been a while since our last convo but i will never forget how precious you are to me. thank you so much for everything you have done. when i couldn't tell anyone anything, you were the first person i opened up to and you talked me out of so many things and gave me so so much advice and i cherish you so much :( i hope you're doing well and have a great year ahead, really ;-;
@doiefy man my first tumblr mom if i might say so myself 😭 did you know that you were my second online friend?? legitimately. thank god i discovered you through rosie's blog, my faeiry istg you are a godsend. so precious very precious very talented i am happy you exist and i think you should know that :( —sincerely, 🦕 :')
@channoticedmeuwu you fucking menace pls i want to smother you in hugs let me smother you in hugs i will smother you in hugs ;-; we used to talk a lot bahaha and im so thankful that you trusted me enough to be all open with me ;-; and also vice versa ;-; kai ilysm i hope you are doing much, much better :( thank you for everything up till now and i hope next year is a wonderful year for you too :(
@fairyjunn my precious maria :( my soulmate and friend, first of all happy late birthday!! i wanted to celebrate it a few days ago but it somehow slipped my mind so im taking a little spot on this post to wish you a happy, happy (late bday ;-;) you encourage me like no other and i feel so overwhelmingly loved by you it's crazy :( thank you so so much for always bringing a smile on my face even just by the thought of you :') you're the sweetest and most caring and loving and i hope life treats you the way you deserve to be treated :(
@junityy bruh i feel like i want to both hug you and send you off to the moon 😭 happy new year you cutie and i wish you a great... sliiide.... into 2022 💀 i have THE most fun talking with you and we vibe and get each other so well i wish we were as close as before but yeah i will be bothering you a lot again soon so you better keep your eyes open and tysm for everything honestly :') you made my year so much more enjoyable :(
and to all of my moots that i interacted with before and now, i really do hope you have a nice nice nice year :(
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a little section for myself :')
so... this year was wild :') honestly hot damn the amount of things that went down this year is making me wheeze and cry at the same time :') i laughed a lot... but yeah i cried a lot negl this year was my crybaby year im hollering ;-; i started doing stuff i shouldn't do, did stuff i shouldn't have done and lost a good friend irl but ig that's life :') hoping that i get better this following year ✊
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mellometal · 3 years
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It seems like Dhar Mann has fucked up AGAIN. I'm pissed. He really thought that it would be cool to make ANOTHER video about ASD to spread the ableist, misinformed, harmful narrative that "autism isn't a disability, it's a different ability". LET'S TALK ABOUT IT.
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To sum up the video, an autistic man who uses a device to communicate with people gets hired at this restaurant. The boss says to the guy who brought in said autistic man that having a disabled person working at his restaurant would "make things worse". The guy tries to stand up for the autistic man by saying that he's smart and stuff, but doesn't bother to call out the boss being completely ableist.
The boss then tells the autistic man to not touch anything and to stay out of the way, which is underestimating what he's capable of. When the two cooks in the kitchen ask a genuine question about who their new coworker is and why he uses a communication device to speak, the boss doesn't introduce him to the cooks and says that he's "nobody".
Pretty much the ONLY person who bothered to do anything remotely positive with the autistic man (that was shown) was the pastry chef. She was teaching him how to decorate a cake, was very patient with him, and gave him praise along the way. She was interested in getting to know him. She wasn't mean to him or anything. She stood up for him when the boss was being an ableist bag of dicks. He even threatened to fire this guy, who did nothing wrong, just for being autistic and the boss had no idea how to help accommodate his employee in any way. He ended up discriminating his employee for being autistic. (Which he could get sued for in the United States, if this happened in real life. Disabled people are a protected class in the workplace under Equal Employment Opportunity, or EEO. Dhar Mann, this includes autistic people.)
Hell, even the autistic man stood up to the boss. He went into how nobody wanted to hang out with him and stuff when he was growing up, that he had to be hidden away from other people, and nobody bothered to give him a chance because he's autistic and uses a communication device to speak. He's good with people. He pretty much told his boss to stop being an ableist piece of shit.
When the cooks and the pastry chef all say that their new coworker fixed the fryer and decorated the cake, the boss then changes his tune. Happy ending, Whoop-dee-fuckin-doo.
First off, how does being nonverbal affect a person's intelligence in any way? How does a communication device affect a person's intelligence? Let me tell you, none of these things affect a person's intelligence whatsoever. To think that they would is misinformed at best, and ableist at worst.
There are people who genuinely don't know about all the different types of communication that people use, and that's okay! I'm not mad at anyone who doesn't know about different types of communication besides oral speech, writing, and sign language. (I've worked with and interacted with a few people who use some of these different forms of communication.)
Some people use a communication device like a tablet for Text-to-Speech (that was shown in the video). I worked with someone throughout school who used a communication device.
Some people use basic mands (expressive language) and/or basic statements. An example of that would be a person saying, "Me, walk." to mean they're going on a walk. Sometimes they'll make a gesture to show they're going on a walk when they do this. I work with someone who mainly uses this form of communication.
Some use books or wear something like a belt with pictures held on with velcro that they can take out and put back in their books or belt. I've worked with someone in school who mainly used this form of communication.
Alright, now that's out of the way....onto my response. I'm happy that I saved screenshots of my comments because I think Dhar Mann deleted them! (Edit: Scratch that, I commented these on Dhar Mann's other account for his behind the scenes shit instead of his main.) I might get blocked, but it'll be worth it. I have multiple accounts, so I'm not going down easy. He really can't handle being told that his narrative is wrong. (I've been wrong many times before, so this ain't about that "holier-than-thou" shit. I try my best to fix things, learn, and improve. I mean, it hurts sometimes, but I at least try to improve myself.)
This video hit home. I had to hide being autistic from my employer because I was afraid of being rejected for a job opportunity because of it and I was afraid of dealing with ableist people like these men shown above.
While I'm fortunate to be able to hold down a job, there are many autistic people who can't hold down a job or can't work at all. This shit doesn't help.
(For anyone who needs a description for my comments....I am calling out Dhar Mann for his blatant ableism and his fans in the comments for eating up this ableist, misinformed, harmful narrative and about the performative activism quite a few people on IG are about. It's way too long for me to go into extreme detail.)
(ETA: Yes, autistic nonbinary people exist. I didn't intentionally forget y'all in my comments! I love y'all! /p I wrote it while I was quite heated, plus the sleep deprivation didn't help.)
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The YouTuber I mentioned, for anyone who wants to know, is TheMysteriousMrEnter. He's an autistic creator who makes commentaries about cartoons (just animations in general), he has talked about his issues with @utism $p3aks, and a lot of other things. He's even talked about his own cyber harassment and how he had stalkers on a few occasions. Honestly, I can relate to him on a few things, mainly because I've been harassed on the internet and have had stalkers online. Plus the love for cartoons and anime. If you're into cartoon commentaries, check him out. He's underrated. (Also....some ace representation for all my ace people here.)
Dhar Mann's a real piece of human garbage! The fact that he still has supporters is sickening. Again, I feel bad for all the actors in his videos. They deserve better.
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Text
Paint My Spirit Gold
Dukeceit Week Day 2: Green/Yellow
Fans of the YouTubers "Deceit" and Remus "The Duke" Sanders start to suspect that maybe, just maybe, the two of them are more than simple internet pals.
AO3 Link: [here]
Word Count: 2187
Warnings: n/a
@dukeceitweek <3
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[ID: A screenshot of a Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It features a watercolor-style painting of a snake. The snake appears to be made of melting chocolate, and there is a large bite taken out of its tail. Cherries and jam are leaking out of the snake at the bite wound. The snake's expression of horror is overly-exaggerated to the point of comedy. The caption reads: "liked your snake boi, @SerpenThyme. thanks for the inspo." /end ID]
A notification ding cut Janus off mid-sentence. 
“Wow, someone left their cell phone on, so professional,” he said, giving the camera a dramatic eye roll. That someone was him, of course, because he was the only one in the apartment- just him and the running livestream- but that was no excuse not to be a drama queen about it. He finished wiping flour off his hands and grabbed his phone to silence it; but the notification made him pause. He flicked his eyes up toward the camera and gave a slight smirk.
“My goodness, I’m famous,” he drawled. “The Duke himself has graced little old me with some fan art.”
Most of the comments in the chat wanted him to show it, so Janus opened up Twitter to see the full post he’d been tagged in. It was a watercolor painting of the coiled-snake chocolate sculpture- lovingly named Jake by his viewers- he’d made for his YouTube video last week; it was wearing an expression of such comedic horror that Janus had to stifle a laugh. He flicked his phone screen toward the close-up camera on his counter so his viewers could see.
“How kind of you, Remus,” he said. “All of you should go scold him for what he’s done to poor Jake here.”
Most of his viewers would know he was joking- after all, they were the ones to nickname him Deceit when he provided neither a real or fake name for his online persona. They knew full well what he was like by now.
The oven timer dinged. Janus silenced his phone and set it aside.
“And our first batch of cookies is done. You know, why don’t we show the Duke some appreciation?”
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[ID: An Instagram post by user @SerpenThyme. The photo is an artistically-framed shot of a stack of sugar cookies with green, yellow, and pink icing. Propped up against the stack is another cookie, with an intricate icing-drawing of an octopus. The photo appears to have been color corrected to have high contrast, low saturation, and a dark vignette at the edges. The Instagram user @OctoDukie is tagged. No caption. /end ID]
“You know, I have often been accused of actually being a little old lady, what with my fondness for knitted jumpers, rocking chairs, and incredibly fucked up murder mystery books. Today I am doing nothing to dispel this accusation, by making soup.”
The studio was dark and empty aside from Remus' workspace. Everyone else had left long ago, even his own brother, which meant that it was officially ass-o'clock in the morning (or, as most people called it, somewhere between 1 and 2 a.m.) But Remus was stuck in hyperfocus, honed in on putting the last touches on a commission that he'd been putting off for weeks. It's not that it was a tough painting- once he'd gotten started, it was actually a very creatively satisfying piece- but man, executive dysfunction could go suck a dick
“French onion soup, specifically. Because while I do like to pretend I am a classy bitch, I am also, regrettably, a lazy bitch with a distaste for anything that takes longer than one bottle of wine to make.”
Remus hated working in silence. It was stifling, almost suffocating. His brain needed noise like his lungs needed air. So when the studio had grown still and silent, Remus had flipped open his laptop and queued up some YouTube videos. 
“So we have here three pounds of onions that we need to slice up, pole to pole. You’re going to cry no matter what, so if you have any memories you’ve been repressing since middle school, now is an excellent time to dredge those up.” 
And if it happened to be 90% SerpenThyme videos, well. Sue him. 
“Now the first rule of caramelizing onions: fast and sloppy is always better than slow and thorough… at least, that’s what every man I’ve ever slept with tells me.”
Remus choked and glanced over to his laptop screen just in time to catch Deceit's trademark smirk directed at the audience just for a moment. It was the deadpan delivery that always got him. Remus could barely hold onto a joke long enough to get through it without cackling mid-punchline, but this fucker could say the funniest shit like an off-hand comment. 
He wiped his hands off on his jeans (what use were clothes if you couldn't use them as paint rags?) and pulled his laptop across the table.  He typed out a quick comment, citing the timestamp of the joke, and after it was posted, he shut his laptop. 
'Cause ass-o'clock was short for "get-your-ass-home-or-I’ll-kick-it" o'clock. 
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[ID: A screenshot of a YouTube comments section. The first comment is by user TheDuke, and reads: "10:42 wow, rude." The second comment is a reply by user SerpenThyme, and simply reads ";)" /end ID]
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Janus plopped down on the couch with a slight groan. He didn’t need to stream today, but he really hated missing days. Besides… he was fine. Really. 
He adjusted the camera until he was happy with the framing, and then checked the settings on his streaming software. Satisfied, he started the stream, and watched as his usual viewers rolled in. 
“What do you mean I’m not in my kitchen?” Janus drawled, addressing the chat. He glanced around with an expression of faux-shock on his face. “My goodness, when did that happen?”
He chuckled, and then gestured to his surroundings. “Yes, we are in my living room today. If you must know, my closest and most trusted friend tried to murder me today- yes, Virgil, it was attempted murder and nothing less- and I survived with nary a scratch… and a broken foot, but that is beside the point. Anyway, I’m not allowed to stand for long periods of time, and I may or may not be somewhat inebriated by pain pills and couldn’t stand even if I wanted to. So we are cooking from my couch today.”
Janus paused for a few moments to read the chat messages as they popped up. A few get well soon’s, a few theories about the “attempted murder,” Virgil- who moderated his chat for him- vehemently denying the “attempted murder” but otherwise refusing to clarify the event, and a large volume of wtf why are you streaming today, take care of yourself comments, which made him smile. But one particular comment caught his eye, almost lost amid the torrent of an active chat: wait this kinda looks like the Duke’s living room?
“Oh, VampSuga,” he said, addressing that commenter in particular with a slight smirk. “I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about. Anyway, since I can’t reach my oven from here, I thought some no-bake cookies were in order. For these you will need-”
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[ID: A screenshot of a Discord conversation. The text reads:
“VampSuga: Ok ok hear me out. Dukeceit. 
Starstruck96: who?
IneffableSnek: lmao
FeralBeauYasha: lol
VampSuga: Deceit and Remus Sanders! They’re totally dating. I will die on this hill. 
FeralBeauYasha: Isn’t the duke w/ PatPat?
IneffableSnek: no thats his brothers bf
FeralBeauYasha: ohh
VampSuga: Did anyone see Deceit’s stream today? I swear that’s the Duke’s livingroom. 
StarStruck96: idk that seems like a stretch
IneffableSnek: no wait i kno what u mean
IneffableSnek: im watching the duke’s old videos and that one where he shows off all his old weapons he’s in a living room kinda like deceit’s 
FeralBeauYasha: They were acting all cute on twitter too
VampSuga: DUKECEIT”  /end ID]
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"Hey guys, been a while since you've seen my face and not just whatever my hands are busy with, when it's within YouTube's terms and conditions I mean. They used to be way more lenient…" Remus trailed off for a moment, then shook his head sharply and plastered on a grin. 
"Anyway! In June me and a few other creators did a fundraiser for the Trevor Project, and y'all smashed the goal, so I let you decide what video I'd make this month." He paused, and gestured to the mountain of clothes piled behind him on the bed. "And you had so many juicy ideas to choose from, but you decided to dress me up like a Barbie instead."
Remus paused to scroll through his phone for a few moments. "Ah, ok, here we go. Twitter user YoonIsMyCat- oh, BTS, nice- sent in this first outfit. Uh… future Remus, put up the post here somewhere." He gestured vaguely to his right. "Y'all went with either a fuckton more clothes or a fuckton less clothes, which I respect. Apparently this outfit is called…” He squinted at his phone. “Amish chic? I take it back, no respect at all.”
Remus cycled through the outfits his viewers sent in, which ranged from the aforementioned “Amish chic” to “2008 rave attire” to “ok now you guys are just fucking with me” (which consisted of one of those big puffy snow coats, lime green in color; booty shorts with the shrug text emoji across the ass; fuzzy pink boots; and a yellow cowboy hat to top off the whole thing. It was awful. Remus loved it.) The mountain of clothes on the bed gradually became a mess of clothes spread across the floor instead, until there was just one outfit left. 
“Ok so Twitter user VampSuga sent me this outfit that I’m gonna call ‘sexy librarian.’ I couldn’t find this exact sweater online, but-” he paused for dramatic effect, before brandishing a sweater toward the camera like a bullfighter. “My boyfriend had something that was close enough.”
Remus hopped up from the bed and switched off the camera so he could change.
“They’re going to lose their minds,” a voice drawled from the doorway. Remus threw his shirt at him.
“Shoo, I’m getting naked.”
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[ID: A Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It features a selfie of YouTuber Remus “The Duke” Sanders, a Hispanic man with his hair dyed green and styled into a spiked mohawk. He is wearing a yellow knitted cardigan over a black button-up shirt. He is grinning widely at the camera. The caption reads: “my viewers pick my outfits! now live on youtube. go see what i look like as a sexy librarian!” /end ID]
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DukeceitStan
first and only dukeceit shipper ig
DukeceitStan
wow there’s so many of you now! Hi!!
DukeceitStan
i want this to be canon so bad omg
DukeceitStan
i mean just look
[image]
how 
[image]
cute
[image]
[ID: A series of three gifs featuring Youtubers SerpenThyme, aka Deceit, and TheDuke, aka Remus Sanders. Deceit is a black man with long, dreadlocked hair, and vitiligo patches along the left side of his face. Remus is a Hispanic man with green-dyed hair styled into a mohawk, many ear and facial piercings, and tattoos covering both arms. Each gif is edited so that the highlights are tinged yellow when Deceit is seen, and tinged green when Remus is seen.
The first gif depicts a close-up shot of Deceit’s hands as he carefully decorates a cookie with green and yellow icing. The cookie art he is working on appears to be a half-finished octopus. The gif then fades into a mid-shot of Remus, with his back to the camera, facing a canvas. The canvas is blank, and Remus appears to be laying out paints on a table to his left. 
The second gif depicts Deceit seated at his couch, facing the camera. He has many ingredients spread across his coffee table (including oats, cocoa powder, and butter) and appears to be in the process of laying out several more. The gif fades to show Remus seated at a similar couch with a similar coffee table in front of him. The camera is angled slightly downward to better show the myriad of knives spread out across the table. Remus is gesturing wildly with a morning star held in his hand. 
The third gif depicts Deceit in his kitchen. He is pulling on a bright, yellow knitted cardigan, and smirking toward the camera. The gif fades to show Remus in his bedroom, seated on his bed. He is holding up a similar-looking cardigan toward the camera and grinning. /end ID]
“Remus, it’s almost two in the morning. Come to bed.”
“I’m coming, sorry. Twitter distracted me.”
“Mm. I can’t believe the bird app is more distracting than I am.”
“You should try harder.”
“Come to bed and maybe I will.”
“Ok, ok, I’m coming. Hang on though, is it cool if I post this?”
“Sure. They figured it out anyway.”
“Sweet. Ok, Jannie, I’m coming.”
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[ID: A screenshot of a Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It reads: “Dukeceit is canon.” /end ID] 
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nellie-elizabeth · 3 years
Text
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: New World Order (1x01)
Watching this show is going to be strange for me because I genuinely ship Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson with one Steve Rogers... so basically I just want to watch them sitting around being sad about him being dead the whole time. But I'm open to the possibilities, here, I really am...
Cons:
Positioning the bad guys here as... well, as communists who want a world without borders, and then making them into terrorists... let's just say I'm side-eying this pretty hard. You have that twist at the end, where the United States brings forth a new symbolic hero, a new Captain America, and my brain immediately started spinning forward as to where this is going to go. See, we've got anarchist baddies who want to destroy all the flags on one side, then we've got this pretender to the throne on the other side. But the issue won't be that there's something inherently flawed with the whole concept of a militarized heroic folk legend for Americans to idealize... it'll be about how it's the wrong man carrying the shield. At some point, in a moment of triumph, Sam will take the mantle on for himself, and then we can safely and comfortably cheer as our hero takes down the big bad commies who don't love 'Murica enough. I want to be wrong. I want them to mix things up, to challenge things, but all I can see is that the ultimate heroic conclusion is going to be "government control of Captain America is Bad, but Captain America himself, and what he stands for, specifically America, is good."
While I know this episode needed to set up a lot of puzzle pieces, I did think there were moments of somewhat clumsy exposition with both Bucky and Sam's story-lines. We've got Sam who's worried about his sister and her kids losing the family home and boat, and going to get a loan. There were some good moments in here, but it was a bit paint-by-numbers, and some of the dialogue fell into that "as you know..." trap where characters were having a conversation, then needed to stop and tell us it's a conversation they've already had a million times before. They're having the talk for our benefit as the audience only. That's a tough needle to thread, and they didn't quite thread it. The same thing happens during Bucky's therapy appointment. First off, the whole waking up out of a dream thing, cut to a therapist talking about nightmares... another cliché. And then we have the therapist walking him through the three steps, and restating them for the benefit of the audience, even though in the ordinary course they wouldn't lay it all out like that again, since Bucky would already know. It's a small thing, I'm nitpicking, but there were some rough aspects to the start of the show.
Pros:
First off, let's just acknowledge that the show looks great. That whole opening action scene with Sam rescuing the guy, flying around, helicopters blowing up, the base jumping tech... damn. It felt like I could be watching an action sequence on the big screen, in any standard MCU movie. Maybe not the climactic fight, but one of the shorter, introductory ones for sure. And that's what this was, wasn't it? A strong, exciting, high-energy start to the show.
I really love Sam Wilson, y'all. There's something so incredibly powerful about watching a show like this with a black man in the leading role. He's such a good person, he's charming and funny and bad-ass but compassionate. He's a little cocky but nowhere approaching an asshole about his power and fame. He's stubborn but that just shows that he really cares. The movies don't have a ton of screen-time with Sam, if we're being honest, but I already really liked him, and here I'm seeing the chance to flesh out the details and let Anthony Mackie do his thing on the silver screen. It's all really working for me so far.
I like the side characters we're folding in here - his sister seems like an interesting character with a lot to offer, and I love that Sam has these nephews in his life to care for, something to anchor him to the world in a way that Bucky, who I'll talk about in a second, kind of doesn't. It provides a nice contrast between them. I also really liked Torres, the man who helps teach Sam about the Flag Smashers (ugh, that name) and seems like a solid dude who wants to make a positive difference in the world. I hope we see more of him too.
(Also, while I'm sure Rhodey was just a brief appearance in this first episode, it was so good to see him too! I'll miss him in the MCU, if he doesn't keep popping up.)
The last thing I'll mention on Sam's side of the story is that bank loan scene. It was such a punch in the gut to see Sam denied the loan, and one of the reasons being "you don't have any income for the past five years." Well... Sam didn't exist. He got Thanos snapped. This feels so realistic to me, that the system would not pivot to adapt to the new situation, but instead leave more and more people out in the cold. Then you have the bank employee trying to get selfies with the Falcon, all excited to meet an Avenger, all while denying him and his family the money they needed to make ends meet. It was such a devastating scene, and you could see so much hope draining out of Sam's eyes. I'm anxious to see where this goes.
And then you've got Bucky Barnes... let me just say, that despite the fact that he's a super assassin, whenever I see Bucky on the screen I just want to wrap him in a blanket and protect him from all harm. When I saw how Sebastian Stan was debuting on the show, in a flashback to his Winter Solider evil days, I literally said out loud, "oh no, poor Bucky" as if I wasn't watching him murder a bunch of people in cold blood. I have such an intense desire for him to be okay, so seeing him not being okay, but trying in these small ways to atone for his past actions, makes me so proud of him already.
Despite my undying belief that Bucky Barnes is deeply in love with Steve Rogers and that nobody will ever take Steve's place in his heart... I thought the date scene was actually very cute. The flowers, the board game, just chilling in the restaurant... I don't know. I hope that woman is in the show moving forward. I want Bucky to be happy. I want him to make new friends, forge connections in the world. I also really liked the stuff with Yuri, and when the reveal happened about Bucky having killed his son, it was a severe punch to the gut. Maybe I was supposed to have guessed it before the show told me, but I didn't, and when I realized why Bucky had befriended this old grumpy man... oh god. It's all too tragic.
On the one hand, it makes me a little nervous that there are only six episodes in this season, and in the first one we didn't even see Sam and Bucky interact. On the other hand, it's a pretty smart move to keep us waiting, at least a little, for the duo to emerge and develop a rapport. I can't wait for the fun banter, as I think Sam and Bucky are both funny, snarky people albeit with different attitudes and ways of expressing said snark. And I also can't wait for some more serious content between them, as they ruminate on all they've lost in the wars they've fought, on how hard it is to be suddenly missing five years of your life... and on Steve Rogers, a great friend (*ahem* boyfriend *ahem*) that they've both recently lost.
They're also holding back on Sam taking up the mantle of Captain America. I wonder if that will be a point of contention between Bucky and Sam. Bucky was there, Bucky gave his blessing, honestly, when Steve handed over the shield, and it was the only thing about Steve's ending in Endgame that didn't make me insanely furious. I want this to be a point of conflict with them, I want them to argue about the best way to honor Steve. So much juicy material here! And I'm intrigued by this "new Captain America" concept, even though I'm wary about where they're taking it, in terms of theme... we shall have to see!
All in all, this was very standard Marvel fare. I like the characters, the action is creative and enjoyable to watch, there are some emotional gut-punches and some funny lines here and there. Nothing mind-blowing, nothing so innovative and fresh and new, but just more of the same... a same that I've come to really love over the past decade or so.
8/10
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crewhonk · 4 years
Text
Only Happy Accidents (11)
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YN is determined, on God, to let Steve have his day and not make it about herself for once.
Warnings: YN is dumb and in early labour, little smutty moment, Nat Knows Everything. y'all have had a fluffy lil series, but I'm about to angst it up and im not sorry
Only Happy Accidents (master list)
Songs: High As Hope Album— Florence and the Machine 
_______________________
July 3rd, Steve’s Birthday Party, Three Weeks and Three Days until due date, 9:15 AM
“You know. This view is something else.” YN piped up from the balcony of Steve’s old room at the tower. The room was massive and clean. The balcony was YN’s favourite besides the king bed, as it overlooked the treelike and training grounds that YN could watch the new recruits do morning laps or stretch out in the sun. “It’s nice to get out of the city for once.”
He hummed and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her torso and swaying with her, hands on her swollen belly. She was wearing the prettiest little number he’d seen her wear since her wedding dress, and god, he’d married the most beautiful woman in the world. All of the worlds, probably. It was a simple white sundress that plunged between her boobs and stopped at the top of her stomach. A thin white piece of fabric cinched at the waist allowed for the dress to flare over her stomach and ass, and Steve really, really didn’t want to leave this room.
It was odd being back here— a stranger to his past life. The too clean surfaces of the room and bare walls which had never been cluttered with pictures haunted him and reminded of a person who he didn’t like. He liked the person he was now, though. Kind, sentimental, husband, almost-baby-daddy. 
It was odd being here, but Dr. Cho and Natasha insisted— they both wanted YN to be close to the delivery room and medical office in case something happened, and Steve, for once, encouraged Natasha’s overprotectiveness. 
“Have I told you I love you today, Wife?” He mumbled, lips teasing the bare skin of her neck. Her hair was tied into a bandana and off of her neck, and he loved the access it gave him. Maybe his favourite part of her was, in fact, the back of her neck. 
“A few times, but I could be reminded, Husband.” YN snorted, liking the way the word tasted on her tongue and how Steve held her closer when she said it. He felt her stomach move under his hands and a thrill like no other filled him from his toes to his nose. 
“I love you,” he whispered, kissing her shoulder. “I love you,” kissing her neck. “I love you,” kissing her jaw and cheek and finally, turning her head to face him, kissed her lips ad smiled. “I love you.” 
YN smiled and kissed him back, stepping away quickly and backing away from him and into the bathroom. “I know.”
___________________________
12:07 PM
Natasha prided herself on being observant. She knew Bucky was hiding something from her— not normal for him, but she trusted him enough to know that he would tell her when he was ready. She knew that Sam had been the one eating her snacks she specifically labelled. She knew Cho was seeing someone inside the compound. She knew things, and it was her favourite quality. 
So when YN walked in with Steve’s hand wrapped in her own, Natasha knew today was the day. 
It had taken a few strategic words on her part to get Steve to leave his wife’s side, but when he finally succumbed and moped off to find Sam and Bucky, Natasha followed YN to the snack table set up for the guests about to arrive for Steve’s birthday party and waited. 
“YN.” She said, and YN shook her head, shoving three finger sandwiches in her mouth and gathering a handful of cherry tomatoes. 
“YN.” She tried again and YN swallowed her food, eating a lemon square, and upon debating it, ate another. She looked at Natasha who was staring her down and YN raised on finger. ‘wait’. 
So, Natasha waited, eyeing YN’s stomach nervously. It was lower today than any other day she’d seen it— YN had always carried the baby high, but today it looked to be a completely different bump. Steve was sure to be aware, but since the due date wasn’t for another three weeks probably convinced himself that it was the dress YN was wearing that made her appear different. Steve was never someone who made assumptions about things this big. 
YN finished the cherry tomatoes in her hand and gulped down some punch, ate the slice of fruit she’d picked up and turned to Natasha. 
“I’m not allowed to eat in the delivery room, and I’ve been having light contractions since 8 AM this morning.” YN said simply and Natasha’s jaw dropped. Her hands immediately fell to YN’s stomach and somehow the skin and muscle even felt different. 
“You’ve been having contractions?” And upon YN shushing her loudly, dropped her voice. “And Steve doesn’t know?”
“I told him that she’s sitting on my bladder and I’ve been going to the bathroom and leaving the room often so I can carry out the worst ones.” YN said, looking at her husband who was laughing loudly with his friends. God, his world was about to be shifted upside down. 
“How far apart are they?” Natasha asked, and YN looked at her phone, nodding. One minute to go.
“I’m about to have another one in a minute if they’re regular, but right now they’re all at eighteen minutes give or take.” YN said, grabbing Nat’s hand and pulling her from the room. She walked quickly down a few turns and leaned against the wall, rocking from side to side and looking as if she was concentrating very hard on a spot on the other wall. 
“What can I do?” Nat said hurriedly. 
“Keep watch. I’m not letting this ruin Steve’s birthday party.” YN snarled through her teeth. They weren’t bad— just really bad period cramps, but they still sucked.
“YN. You are in early labour, we need to tell him.” Natasha hissed and YN straightened up, leaning the back of her head against the wall and catching her breath. 
“No. These past few months have been about me, and I just want Steve to be the centre of attention for once. He deserves it. Plus, I only started having contractions at eight this morning, audit’s noon now— I still have a minimum of four hours before real labour starts.” YN tried to reason and Natasha shook her head. 
“Can we at least go see doctor Cho?” Nat pleaded and YN, after searching her expression for any way out, nodded. 
“Fine.”
____________________________
1:00 PM
“So, you are in early labour, but you’re only about two centimetres dilated, but I’m not going to keep you here since you’re not in active labour.” Cho beamed, having grown attached to both Steve and YN throughout this process. She’d been a huge part of this journey, and felt as if she and YN had become some odd form of friends. 
“Told you.” YN joked at Nat as she helped the pregnant lady out of the stirrups and onto her feet. YN slipped on her slipper-flats and bowed her head as a smaller contraction made her belly tense. 
“Hey, I’m this kids aunt, so I’m going to make sure they’re safe.” Natasha rolled her eyes and smiled, nodding towards Cho who looked thoughtful. 
“What do you think the baby is going to be?” Cho wondered. “I have my guesses but It’s not my place to say.”
Natasha looked at YN, then, and down to her belly. A small, pale hand rested on the swell and Natahsa cocked her head. 
“Healthy, I hope.”
____________________________
3:16 PM
The party was swinging, by now. The music filled the common room as Avengers from around the world and galaxy filled the room to celebrate Steve Rogers. YN smiled politely as Carol Danvers looked fondly down at you, shaking your hand. 
“He’s a lucky guy, that Steve Rogers.” Her voice was low and silky and if it was Halloween again, maybe, just maybe, YN would have flirted back. 
“I think I’m the lucky one, honestly.” YN blushed and Carol smiled brightly. The conversation was that of small talk and not much else, but YN did feel as if she was the only person that mattered when Carol spoke— a quality of Carols that YN quite admired. Eventually, Carol was beckoned by Nick Fury, who had chosen a casual pair of sunglasses over his usual eye patch. 
YN could feel pairs of eyes on her the whole time she wandered around the room, and found that Wanda Maximoff, Pepper Potts, as well as Natasha and Carol all seemed to be in the know about what was happening. Wanda, likely because she was in YN’s mind, Pepper, because she’d gone through the same thing (and been just as stubborn), and Carol, because maybe, just maybe, YN was being less subtle than she thought. 
The contractions had since lost their regularity— coming at intervals from anywhere between five minutes and half an hour. It was disheartening, frankly, but seeing the was Steve seemed to be glowing was bearable. YN was leaning against the counter, just watching him from across the room and nursing another finger sandwich and water when he looked over. Peter Quill and Thor were both chatting with Steve, but when Steve caught her eyes, he excused himself politely and wandered over to her. He walked up slowly, and leaned against her lightly, kissing her soundly and making her toes curl. 
“You’re pretty.” He murmured, dopey smile on his face. YN snorted, and cupped his cheeks gently, kissing him again and brushing the tip of her nose against his. 
“You excited?” YN asked nervously, and Steve grinned widely cupping the sides of her belly. 
“I just want to meet him now—“
“Her.”
“It’s going to be a boy I know it.”
“I’m sure she wants to meet you just as bad.” YN smiled, and as she felt another cramp tighten in her stomach, kissed the breath out of Steve Rogers to distract herself. 
____________________________
7:07PM
The dinner plates had been cleared, and the party had settled into the couches— only a few remained. Those with children or living off-planet needed to go, so now, only a small group remained. YN ignored the stares of Wanda, Pepper and Natasha as she curled up into Steve’s side, rubbing her belly every time a contraction made itself known. She glanced at her phone again and noted the time— they were getting more regular now— an easy 16 minutes and they were also at a consistent pain level which was manageable but still uncomfortable. 
“You okay?” Steve whispered into YN’s temple and she nodded, settling against him as the contraction subsided. He kissed the crown of her head and rubbed her shoulder which was hidden under her brown leather jacket. 
“I’m wonderful.” YN returned and she wrapped her arm around his middle, throwing her legs over his thigh and sighing. 
“You waiting for something?” Steve asked, looking down at her phone, and she played it off, shrugging. 
“You caught me, I have a mistress. She’s getting a private jet and we’re running away together.” YN grinned and Steve made a sound in the back of his throat— somewhere between a guffaw and a snort. “She’s really into pregnant women too.”
“Too bad I’m not, huh?” Steve crooned and she ignored the way her stomach turned at his tone. 
“Too bad, indeed.” YN agreed and suddenly, Steve stood, holding a hand out for YN to take and tired back to the group when she stood, blushing furiously. “We’re going to head to bed, it’s been swell.” Steve smiled and the small group of people booed. 
“Come on, man the night is still young.” Sam protested, offering Steve another beer as an offering. Steve waved him off and wrapped an arm around his wife shoulder, carting them off towards the door. 
“That’s why we’re going!” 
______________________
7:15PM
Steve wasted little time in pressing YN against the door of his bedroom, hands skirting under her dress and tracing up the sides of her thighs. His touch was hot on her, goosebumps erupting over her skin in distinct trails. His lips were seared to her in an intense kiss, and he bent down and scooped her into his arms bridal style, making her squeal and clutch him desperately. 
“Steve! What’re you—!” YN tried, laughing as he tried to sexily take off his shirt but failing and looking like a damn dork. 
“I’m about to ravish my wife, and make sure she doesn’t run away with her pregnant-woman-loving mistress.” He joked, crawling over YN and kissing her neck, making her sigh and scratch his scalp. She spread her legs easily for him, and he fit between them like a puzzle piece. 
“Love this dress, couldn’t keep my eyes off of you the whole night.” He mumbled, moving her thin strap down her arm and following its path with kisses. “It’s look better on the floor though.”
And so he urged her to sit up, kissing her forehead gently before lifting the dress over her head and making his breath stop in his throat— god, she was beautiful. She was braless— the dress made no room for one, and her tits were swollen and soft and waiting for him to get his mouth on them and give them the attention they deserved. His lips were gentle on her— her skin had been wonderfully sensitive these past few days, and it never took much time for her to become putty in his hands. 
“Steve.” YN said, and he grunted against her, the taste of her warm in his mouth. She wanted to continue this, really she did, but someone else int eh room had another idea. 
“Say my name again, Sweetheart. Love hearin’ you say it.” He replied, pressing her onto her back and letting his hands drift lightly across her belly and to the apex of her thighs where he cupped her sex, and moaned. “Wet for me, huh?”
“Steve, wait.” YN said and Steve was in his right mind enough to pull back a little, looking into her eyes. 
“You okay, babe? Did I do something?” He asked, worry making his tone thick. YN shook her head and smiled, brow furrowing a little and looking at the side table where she saw her phone. 
“Check my phone please, and tell me the time.” She said, and his heart dropped to his stomach— was there really someone else?
“7:37.” He replied and she nodded, grabbing a pillow and rolling onto her hands and knees. She buried her face in the pillow and let out a low moan, somewhere from deep in her body that Steve didn’t realize she could even make. She rocked back and forth into the pillow, and Steve watched helplessly as he watched his wife’s body tighten and tighten until he thought it would break. 
“YN? What— What’s going on?” He begged and her hand shot out, gripping his forearm hard enough for him to be concerned— it didn’t hurt, but usually she was always so gentle with him, even when she was frustrated. “You’re scaring me.”
Eventually, she let her breath go and she melted into the bed, pulling her red face from the pillow and resting on her cheek, looking up at him. 
“I didn’t tell you ‘cause I wanted you to have one day where you were the centre of attention, but I’ve been in early labour since 8 in the morning and that was a damn strong contraction.”
And Steve, a man who had seen death over the period of a century, a man who has killed and run from the government on more than one occasion. Steve, a man who has saved the world countless times over and a man who was the bravest she’d ever met let his eyes roll into his skull and fall off the bed in the most dramatic faint YN Rogers had ever seen.
______________________
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Survey #358
“i know the pieces fit, ‘cuz i watched them fall away”
Would you ever own a Great Dane as a pet? Oh Lord, my mom wants one so bad. She looooves big dogs. I wouldn't, though. I don't want another dog, period. What was or is your favorite quality about your recent ex? Her resilience, strength, creativity, loyalty, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. lol. Have you ever witnessed a human being giving birth in real life? No, and I NEVER fucking will. What about an animal? Yeah, cats. What kind of things do you enjoy reading about on sites like Wikipedia? I sometimes do that for straightening out game plots after watching a let's play if I have remaining questions. Wikipedia tends to do well with compressing it. Which country’s cuisine that you haven’t tried, would you be interested in sampling? (e.g. Moroccan, Thai etc.) I wouldn't know because I'm not educated enough on foreign cuisines. What’s the last movie you watched on your own? The Shining, I think, forever ago. Fried, poached, boiled or scrambled eggs? Scrambled. Have you ever got into a club, whilst being underage? I've never tried. Are you happy with your relationship with God, or do you want more from it? I don't have one. Do you struggle with boredom? Very, very severely. I have absolutely awful anhedonia; I'm pretty much constantly bored. Literally. I just... find things to pass the time, even if I'm not really enjoying myself. What famous person do you wish you could be friends with? I'm going to assume here you don't mean a significant other, because uh... y'all been known lmaooo. I would really love to be friends with Gab Smolders (I know that's not her real name, just using her YT name), because we have very similar interests. As well, Suzie Hanson is a fucking SWEETHEART. I miss her channel. :( At some point I want to purchase some stuff from her store to support the darling. Man, thinking of this question, there's really a lot. What would you do if you were famous? Hate it, haha. Do you wish you hair were shorter or longer? It's at a fine length right now. What photo editing website or software do you use? Lightroom and Photoshop. What hair color looks best on you and what’s your natural color? I think my hair looked best black. It's naturally brown. What is your favorite show to watch? Meerkat Manor. It is so, so comforting to me. Are your maternal/parental instincts strong? Not with kids, oddly enough. I've only ever really encountered strong protective instincts with significant others like when they're sick or something like that. In school, do you/did you work better by yourself or in a group? I absolutely worked better alone. I hated group work. Do you know anyone who has a collection of old records? My mom did, once upon a time. I feel like I know someone who does now... but idk. Do you go on any forums often? Just RP ones. Would you ever agree to an open relationship with someone? Nnnnope. Do people always say you’re too thin? Uh, I have the opposite problem. Could you design a whole web page yourself? Not from scratch, no. I've only done so on free sites that give you the bare bones and easy editing. Have you ever cooked an entire dinner for your family? Definitely not. Do you prefer piano music or violin music? Ohhhh, both are beautiful, but I have to say violin. Who do you tend to get in fights with the most? My mom, I guess, not that we fight a lot. Are you attracted to spooky and macabre things naturally? YEP. Have you ever bobbed for apples? Were you successful? No. It's disgusting if you're going after others, and besides, I HATE water up my nose and have never quite figured out how to block it out without plugging it. Hypothetically speaking, if you had a child [too young to make their own decisions], what would you dress him/her up as for Halloween? It would depend on what their interests were. Do you intend to take your children trick-or-treating, if ever you have any? I'm not having kids, but if I did, I definitely would if they wanted to go. What is the coolest jack-o-lantern you have ever seen? Now THAT'S hard, I really don't know. What was your favorite candy to get from trick-or-treating? What about your least favorite? Reese's was my favorite, and I never liked Tootsie Rolls. Did you ever receive anything that wasn’t candy? Maybe? I feel like I have... Have you ever carved a really extensive pumpkin, or were they always simple carvings? Yes; I once carved a pumpkin with a raven design with "and quoth the raven, 'nevermore'" written into the back. The raven wasn't just a flat cut-out, but rather carved in layers so the light came through differently at certain depths. Are you more interested in cute, funny, “sexy”, or scary costumes? For myself, absolutely the scary ones. In general though, I'm not gonna BS ya, I love me some sexy costumes, haha, but also still scary and particularly gory ones. Have you ever intimidated or made another person feel legitimately threatened? If not, do you think that you could ever be seen as scary? I seriously hate admitting this, but Mom has confessed that my yelling has scared her before when scolding our former dog that I fucking hated. In what ways do you or would you need to be validated by a partner? (For example, liking your posts/talking about you on social media, or perhaps by doting on your with gifts.) I absolutely need words of affirmation. I just need to hear a lot that you do still like/love me. Also, if you're unwilling to actually act like we're a couple in front of ANYONE, like you're ashamed of me or something, byyyyeeee. Do you tend to succeed by weaning yourself off of something or by quitting cold turkey? It depends, I guess. Is there a specific type of pet breed/size/etc. that you don’t want? Why not? Any that have underlying medical issues, like pugs, spider ball pythons, Persian cats, etc. etc... It's just a moral thing; I don't want to support the deliberate continuation of poor genes in animals for human monetary gain. It's just wrong to me. Away from breeds, I also don't really want free-roaming animals after my cat passes, because I don't want to endanger the reptiles and invertebrates I want as pets in the future. Have you ever lived in a notoriously dangerous area? If not, would it bother you to do so? I grew up in one, yes. I never want to again. Has a friend’s significant other ever interfered with or damaged your friendship? What about a significant other of yours damaging a friendship? No. What, if anything, is something that you put pressure on yourself about? What do you imagine would happen if you did not live up to this expectation? Getting a job nowadays. I do NOT want to imagine what my life will be like if I never find employment. If you have been in a serious relationship, have you and your partner ever discussed lifetime plans that clashed? Did you reconcile them or did you break up? If you have not been in a relationship, what are some issues that would be deal-breakers? This hasn't happened, no. If you were offered to smoke some weed right now would you accept? Honestly, I want to try weed to see if it would help my anxiety, BUT I'm unwilling to ever smoke something, so no. Have you ever changed clothes in a vehicle? Yeah. Do you listen to country music? No. Have you ever had a boyfriend your parents didn’t like? No. Were you ever a trouble maker? Not really, no. Do you shave your legs? Hell, that's debatable by this point. I haven't since this past October, but I *would* if for whatever reason someone might see my legs. I am not overexaggerating when I say I naturally have men's legs as far as hair goes, oof. Do you have any person in your family with an addiction to beer? That's what my dad always drank when he was an alcoholic. He doesn't touch alcohol now. Have you ever gotten sloppy drunk at a party? No. Have you ever slept naked? Accidentally. Could you ever be friends with the person who hurt you most in life? I really don't think I could be. Do you actually like going to school? I never did. Have you ever really been in a “complicated relationship”? How did that work out? In your opinion, what makes a relationship “complicated”? No. I don't care enough to go into what a complicated relationship means, I think it's pretty obvious. Who was the first person you’ve ever fallen in love with? Is this a person you’re still in contact with? How do you know you’re in love with someone? Jason, and no. And you just... know. It's a wordless feeling . Have you ever successfully broken a bad habit? How about conquered a fear of something? Uhhhh I don't know, really. Well, I used to be AWFUL at picking my eyebrows, particularly when anxious, but I have gotten better at that. I still kinda do it, though. Onto the next question, I don't believe I've "conquered" a fear, but rather they just faded with time on their own. Have you ever read a whole series of books? Yeah. Are you going to walk at your graduation or just pick your diploma up? I walked. Do you own a pair of brass knuckles? No. Have you ever tried to break a Guinness World Record? No. Can you sing your ABC’s backwards? I can't. Do you like Skittles? I love Skittles. Do you know how to read music? I used to. Who would you say has made the biggest impact on your life? Really, Jason. He ultimately led to me getting proper treatment for my depression, which changed my life. I'm in no way giving him credit for it, but you get what I mean. You can only listen to THREE CDs for the rest of your life. What are they? Black Rain and Ozzmosis by Ozzy Osbourne, and uhhh... perhaps The Black Album by Metallica. Do you own any shirts that have a year on it? Yeah, but it's way too small for me now. It's from Back To The Future, when we actually reached the date in the movie. Have you ever done another person’s make-up? Ha, I gave Jason a makeover once. Honestly, do you double dip? Not if I'm sharing the dip with other people. Who were you last on an elevator with? My mom. Do you know anyone that has a black belt in karate? Not to my knowledge. How often do you wear hats? Never. Who is the youngest gay person you know? *shrug* Have you ever watched an animal being eaten by another animal? I've seen cats eat mice and stuff as a kid. What is the strangest, most “out there” thing you believe? Some people I'm sure would consider the fact I believe the government was involved in 9/11 as "out there," but when you look into it, it's far from "out there." Do you get along with people who are especially religious? Why/why not? It depends on how they act about it, not what they keep in their head. Now if they have just purely hateful beliefs that demonize another's existence, then no, we can't get along. Have you ever drawn or painted a self-portrait? Painted, yes, for an art class. Do you have any interesting pillow cases? No. Are you more afraid of spiders or bees? Bees, generally. Especially if we're talking things like wasps, who are just demon spawns. Would you rather donate time, blood, or money? That's a really hard question, but I guess time? Like I'm thinking volunteer work and stuff, or listening to and comforting someone. Can grills be sexy on a guy? They're sexy on absolutely no one. Last strong smell you can remember smelling? Ugh, gasoline. This one car in front of my mom and me smelled awful. Last healthy thing you ate? Apples. Do you know anybody who was abused? Emotionally, yes. Do your parents volunteer anywhere? No. Do you have a steering wheel cover? Mom's car doesn't. What do you think of when you see sharp knives? This is really morbid, but I will immediately envision what it would be like to be stabbed. I'm very afraid of knives. The highway and back roads take you to the same place; choose your route. The back roads, of course. And let me bring my camera.
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og-danny-dorito · 5 years
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“ Anything?” PART 2 : SMUT
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(A/N: Nearly 100 notes on this(https://og-danny-dorito.tumblr.com/post/188443568230/anything) fic? Y'all are crazy. Some of y'all thirsty bitches decided that's you wanted MORE out of my sort of not intended to continue fanfic and I APPRECIATE your support. This doesn't have nsfw themes in it but it's not like fully smut tho, I'm sorry :((( there's no insertion of pp just insertion of like fingers I'm sorry I'm VERY out of practice with smut. Anyway I hope you enjoy, and both @grav3yard-gh0st​ and @sunsetsandbooks​ wanted to be mentioned, so here you go! Thank you for reading!)
- - -
“Alright, then fuck me.”
  It wasn't until he uttered the words that you registered a reaction, one which was mere surprise. You felt your face wash over with a hot wave, your body remaining unmoving. And in that instant you saw a look of dread on his face, one which symbolized disappointment or sorrow. Did he think you wouldn't do it? Was that it? Did he think he knew you weren't going to do it? A sudden anger was rising in your chest. How dare he assume that? At almost light speed, you moved upwards on your knees to be level with his hips. It seemed that his shirt was already partially unbuttoned, making it much easier for you to pry open the shirt to the expanse of flesh which was foreign land. He was just as pale underneath as he looked.
  It only caught Tommy a little bit off off guard when your fingertips made contact with his skin, but his tensed posture that looked in the verge of pushing you away dissipated when you glanced up in an affirmative sort of way. You seemed sure of yourself, at least to him, and he could feel a shiver up his spine as you grazed the tattoo on his heart. The ink was permanently embedded into his skin, drawing a design atop his chest that you knew not the meaning of. But that was unimportant right now.
  You could see his chest rising and falling with each breath, the severity of it becoming increasingly worse. He must've felt hot, just as you did from beneath your clothes at the moment. It was probably easier to just remove them now. The coat was partially off your arm now, showing some of the skin of your shoulder. As your fingers roamed his skin, he felt himself growing a familiar feeling in his pants, causing him to open his mouth to breathe. How had you gotten him so riled up in the course of a few seconds? He didn't want to rush you, but he was feeling more than desperate at the moment. He had gone so long without physical contact that it was early sickening, and being teased in such a way where your fingertips ghosted his skin and his muscles tensed to the slightest sound was torture.
  But you would make your way to spare him as your hands eventually went to this buttons closing his pants, for both his sake and yours. Touch-starved. That's the word Ada would call it. Completely and utterly touch starved. But the stubborn ass you called a boss wouldn't ever admit that to anyone in a million years. The fly of his pants came unbuttoned to reveal skin with freckles on it, revealing a slight drift of hair that lead downwards into the nether region. He looked down at you expectantly, and you knew what you needed to do.
  It didn't take you any time at all to grip the hem of the fabric guarding him, your touch gently guiding it down off his hips a small bit. Apparently he was almost fully hard from just a few touches. You were tempted to flatter yourself and say that it was out of sheer lust for you, but your mind wheeled back to the thing about being touch starved. He just hadn't been touched in a while. That was all. A slightly somber feeling rose up in your chest as you looked at him. Compared to you he was almost completely undone, the anticipation of it all making him restless as he moved to cup the side of your face. He looked like he was hyperventilating.
  You wouldn't say that your fear was completely gone at the contact, but it definitely eased it. You had done this a few times before, and were at least moderately skilled, but you would try to do better this time. Slowly, but surely, your mouth hovered towards the head of his member. It was warm against your lips, your tongue almost jumping out of your mouth from the sharp intake of breath he gave off at your own grazing against the sensitive skin. He was just as pale down here as he was everywhere else, enough for you to see the blood rushing to the tip as it twitched from the base. He could feel himself waiting, anticipating a longer touch or a greater feeling.
  It took you a moment or so, but there was a definite point when you decided to grow the balls to do it. Soon enough you found yourself with half of the shaft inside of your mouth, his hand feverishly snaking to the side of your head as he caressed your cheek with his thumb. "That's right, love, just like that.", he rasped, his eyes seeming to become hazy. It was almost fascinating how he could become so undone in a few seconds just from this alone. Perhaps you'd tease him a little, make him more desperate for it for a little longer.
  Where had this attitude of punishment begun? Was it when he surrendered himself to you? You wouldn't abuse this power you had been given, you knew that he rarely showed this side of himself to anyone. It was out of your realm of privilege, yet he'd given it to you. Not as a boss, but as a companion. As a lover, almost, just barely. And you'd keep writing poetry you didn't understand and making art you couldn't explain to yourself for as long as you'd stay under this spell he'd cast on you. As long as he held you under his control, you'd stay subjected to pointless wondering about the depths of his mind, making conclusions that were fact but ones which made you open up doors to new questions very time. This wasn't love, at least you had assumed. It was adoration and nothing else.
  But you didn't know the extent to which he craved you; longed for you. There were nights he couldn't sleep, plagued by the memories of a distant past and the thought of you swimming through his mind. It was a burden to feel so helpless and at the mercy of another person, by another person. Especially one who was meant to be underneath him. But he wouldn't treat you as property. You would be treated as you deserved to be treated; the one who made him feel a sliver of happiness just at the sight of you. And so when he made a move to stroke your hair affectionately as your mouth worked it's way down his shaft, he had no hesitation in encouraging you in your act.
  You had told him before you didn't do this sort of thing often, both out of lack of desire to others and bad experience, but your words betrayed you. He expected you to be an amateur, lacking in experience, but you were making him unwind with just your mouth at the moment, and you didn't appear to be trying. Was his admiration so great that he could find pleasure just at seeing you? You hummed around him as his hips suddenly bucked upwards, encouraging you wordlessly to bob your head. You did as commanded of you, your eyes closing a small bit as your hands moved over the clothed expanse of his thighs. He was breathing heavily now, a slight sheet of sweat coming over his brow as you worked it out of him, your eyes kidding over as you chocked a small bit.
  The sound itself made him nearly release right there, but he held himself back. You'd go slow this time, since it was more indulgent that way. Your hair feel upon your face in a way that made you look angelic, even like this, with your lips wrapped around his length and your eyes starting to tear a bit. You had always been quiet when you were focused, so it was no surprise to him that you weren't speaking. Your tongue had made its way to stroke at the underside of his skin, trailing up and down the rippled which seemed to pulse beneath your tongue. It was then that you stopped for a moment just as you were reaching the apex of the tip, resting your tongue's pressure to the most sensitive area as you sucked gently where you were.
  The warmth in the room was building to a conclusion that made his hips buck upwards, his arms tense, and his hand suddenly grip at the side of your head in a manner that could be considered painful. You drew back with an loud pop, your eyes flicking upward towards him. Even in a more sober state than before, you don't feel as if you weren't doing this against your will. You felt...safe. Maybe it was how he was speaking to you, or the fact that he looked like he was in complete euphoria at just the touch of your mouth. But Tommy had always had a gift of gaining your trust very quickly. You knew he wouldn't hurt you, not too bad at least.
  It was quiet as he moved forward, adjusting himself to gaze at how you were touching your lips which were stained of his cum. You looked anticipating, aroused even as you looked up to him with such an appearance. It was almost as if he had marked his territory in a way. But he would find time to do that better, right now he was all too fixed on admiring you.
  "Take a seat right here, hm?", he said patting his lap. You felt complied to obey, although you weren't sure what he was planning. You wiped his seed off your face with the fabric of the sleeve, causing you to shed the jacket entirely as it fell to the floor. You rose to your feet, adjusting a piece of the dress that had gotten caught on your skin. "That's right, up you go.", he coaxed, leaning back as you slowly made your way up. "Am I too heavy?", you asked, your words a bit clearer now that you had sobered up a small bit. You looked a little worried, but to that he just...chuckled. With your legs straddling his waist, you felt your heart speed up a bit. This was so...filthy of you two. What if someone walked in?
  The smile that graced his lips caused you to feel butterflies in your chest and your own muscles pulling taught to your eyes, feeling a little embarrassed at the question. "Think I'm weak, yeah? Open up your legs for me.", he said, tone almost too teasing for you. You did as you were told, seeming to speak your legs to drape over the arm of the chair on either side like an overflowing cup where the fluid would drop off in beads of liquid. You had to lean on your elbows a small bit as you did, causing you to feel a slight bit exposed at how much up skirt he could be seeing. You assumed he had seen people like this all the time, either by command or not, but you felt yourself growing a bit somber at thinking of that. It felt wrong, at least now.
  Slowly but surely, he made his way to snake his hand up your thigh, pale, scarred hand seeming to come into contrast with your own s/c skin. His fingertips were rough and scarred, his muscles seeming to move under the pale skin as he trailed his right hand up your right leg. He was careful in his movement, retaining eye contact the whole way as he did. His blue eyes were intense, the emotion and focus shining through the tired lids that made him look worn out most of the time. It was the gaze of a hawk staring you down. His fingers ghosted over the expanse of your inner thigh, eyes seeming to trail with the movement. Yet he stopped near the endpoint of your leg, looking up affirmatively.
You nodded a bit too eagerly at the unspoken question.
  As soon as he reached his permission, Tommy immediately flipped your dress up, seeing that in fact you were wearing a lingerie set that complemented your skin tone and figure more than anything. The color was most accented by the fabric, seeming to give off a slightly shiny glow in the candle light. He had hoped this wasn't out of expectancy of another encounter with someone else. His fingers trained to your right hip, left hand coming up to hook with the hem of your underwear almost teasingly. Your breath was speeding up at the warmth being drawn over your skin in circles by his thumb, his right hand seeming to go underneath the fabric of your underwear to rest there for a bit.
  Hesitantly, but sure enough, he moved forward, his head coming to rest into the crook of your neck. You made no move to resist him, frantic hands gripping onto his clothed shoulder as he breathed in your scent. His thumb was still making circles underneath your bare minimum of clothing as his hand moved to stroke you. It made you jolt for a second, but you felt calmed as soon as he shushed you quietly in your ear. Your eyes fluttered closed as he slipped a digit to rest between your folds. You barely held in a gasp at the sensation of him messing with the wetness between you, breath hiking up as you struggled to suppress a moan. But one came loose despite your hesitation. You were fairly certain he could react badly to that sort of thing, perhaps out of bad memory, but your feeling betrayed you.
  "A-Ah, Mr. Shelby-", you moaned, your breath catching in your throat. “Tommy.” You nodded quickly, letting the word drip from your mouth like honey. “Tommy, please...” At that he let out a slight huff, his movement becoming more erratic as he played with the nub of your heat. It felt as if you were going to collapse at the feeling alone. Your legs had begun to shake, eyes screwing closed as you but back moans. But he wasn't having any of it. "Don't hold them back, Y/n.” It sounded like a growl, one which you felt came from the depth she of him. He didn't care if someone heard, he wanted them to know. “Let me hear you. You can be loud.", he said, barely above a whisper. You could hear the rustle of leaves outside sound more distant than anything, everything other than what was happening in this room sounding like distant, white noise. You felt comforted yet strangely exited all at once, not helped by the soothing but hungry words coming out of his mouth.
  It took him almost no time at all to slip a finger inside of you, nearly catching you off guard as you quickly removed the rest of your dress. It didn't take you long to get it off with his reluctant departure for a second, but the fact that the flat of your stomach and  rivet of your ribs that hid underneath your skin were now exposed to the coldness of the room made him slightly more pleased to litter your skin with marks. Combined with the incessant thrusting of his hand, Tommy had begun to suck at your neck, using your clutching hands on his mostly undone shirt at motivation. You complied to his command almost too eagerly when he told you to moan for your mouth was ajar as you let out soft whimpers of pleading.
  The heat you felt was not from the candles or heating system, but rather the intensity of his movements and warmth of your own skin against his that had made you feel so overheated. You needed to get your clothes off soon, for a sheen of sweat was forming on your skin to glisten in the dim light of the room. You needn't feel embarrassed however. You could tell that he was almost at his wit's end. In his frenzy he inserted yet another digit, stretching you out a bit as you let out a soft, short plea at the intrusion. Your hips had resulted in grinding onto him for friction, mostly as a way to draw you to your end more quickly. There was a staggering pulsing inside of you that he could feel around him, his fingers moving a bit to curl inwards on you. It caused you to let out a moan that could wake the dead from their graves almost as it woke his arousal once more more intensely and violently.
  His mourn the whole time had made it self occupied by roaming your skin with kisses and slight beats of heavy breathing, but stopped when you whimpered something softly to him. "I-I can't stop it much longer...", you spoke, voice barely above a whisper. It was almost pitiful, but he had never been one to give mercy. Almost instantly, Tommy bit down, hard, on your neck, your back arching as you hissed in through your teeth. He was trying to draw it out of you more intensely than he would any other, and it was most evident how he began to whisper things to you that were more along the lines of harsh whispers and lamentations of his wants that you felt you were at his mercy. The tables had turned on a mere matte roof minutes, but no one would catch you complaining.
  "F-Fuck- oh god..."
  With an arch of your back and a familiar heat wash over your body, you felt the knot of electric pulsing unwind as your threw your head back. Tommy seemed to let out a satisfied sigh as he felt a wash of liquid over his fingers, letting the digits slide out of you more easily as he watched you come undone. By this point your hair was sticking to your face and your eyes had opened only slightly from their tight closure, but he didn't mind. With his clean hand he made his way to wipe your hair out of your face. You felt yourself lean into his touch.
  "Breathe.” He placed a soft kiss on your cheek. “You did a good job.", he said simply, stroking your face almost affectionately. But it was when his lips met your slowly that you felt yourself relax completely from underneath him. Your eyes fluttered close as he moved forward in that familiar way, his own thin lips meeting with yours for a long, lingering moment before moving away. You knew you wouldn't have to go past your limit, he wasn't seeking that out tonight. But your head filled with slight worries of the future. You hoped this wouldn't taint your work with him.
  Very slowly, you managed to smile as he moved to lean back into the chair, whipping off his fingers with a nearby rag. There was a long silence before you chuckled a little, causing him to raise a brow. "What?", he asked you, his expression barely even stoic anymore. He just looked tired, but completely vulnerable to you at the moment. Huh. "Nothing, I just never thought you'd tell me I'd done a good job after jerking me off.", you said nonchalantly, shrugging a little. He almost cracked a smile at that, but not quite. "We'll keep this quiet for now, I assume?" Tommy shook his head a little, resting his hand on your leg before smiling a bit and narrowing his eyes at you. "If you could keep your voice down for once, yeah. Let's keep it quiet." You smacked his arm playfully, causing him to roll his eyes.
   He would be sure to push you to your limit next time.
   E N D
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His Southern Belle 1
Masterlist Full book 1 summary in the link
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Chapter 1
Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC (face claim: Rose Leslie)
Word count: ~2450
Summary: Maddi starts her new school in Brooklyn and meets some new friends.
Warnings: none
Author’s Note: I started this fic when I was still in high school, and I have worked really hard on it since. I’m not a fan of some of my writing from earlier chapters, but I don’t want to change them until I at least finish writing the entire story. I will be updating this fic here on tumblr one chapter a day until I am caught up with where I am at on the other platforms I’ve posted it. If you’d like to read ahead of that schedule, you can check them out on from the links on my masterlist. I just also wanted to make the fic available here on tumblr with the rest of my fandom interactions, so this is the plan to do that!
Unless otherwise indicated, all date entries are from Maddi’s POV.
September 5, 1932
I stood in front of the small class while my new teacher introduced me. I was in my best knee length dress trying to make the best first impression but I quickly realized the style in my hometown was very different from that of teenagers in New York. The girls seemed to have a little more money than my family as they wore nicer clothes and styled their hair to the newest fashion. My long red curls were probably a little too messy and I didn't wear the same socks and shoes as the them. I tried not to show how uncomfortable I felt when our teacher asked me to say my name to the class. I smiled and said "My name is Madeline Bennett, but my Mama and Daddy called me Maddi." I immediately heard laughter from the students and it made me feel twice as self conscious. It must be my accent, people in Brooklyn definitely sounded different than those in Tennessee. As soon as the teacher let me sit, I chose the only empty seat next to small and skinny boy with blond hair. He smiled at me but it was not cruel like the other kids when I walked to my seat, so I gave a small smile back.
During lunch, I sat alone until I heard the sound of a boy talking in front of me, "hey new girl, you know I can show you around if you want. I know some great places we can sneak off to together." I politely declined as I could tell his intentions did not seem innocent. He continued to push "Come on, look I know a lot of people laughed at you in class, but I can keep you safe baby doll. Once you're with me, nobody will be laughing." I immediately looked back down at my food trying to ignore the group of boys as they snickered behind the nameless boy who talked to me. I could tell this was probably a trick considering they were clearly still mocking me like before, and I just wanted to be left alone. I tried to hold back tears as I thought about how much I wished I could go back home with my family. I didn't want to be in Brooklyn hundreds of miles away from the only home I ever knew. I didn't want make new friends or learn how to live with a new family I barely knew. I wanted my safe little town where everyone knew who I was and nobody would dare pick on me unless they wanted my brother going after them. I missed my brother more than I ever would have admitted to him.
Just then, two more boys came to my table and I thought it would only get worse. "Leave her alone Jason, she clearly doesn't want to talk to you right now," the smaller of the two said. I now recognized him as the boy I sat next to in class.
"Alright Rogers, what are you going to do to stop me?" It was a fair questions, the boy was half a foot smaller than Jason and clearly much skinnier than the already developing teen.
"Listen Gally, I know you can see me standing right next to Steve here so you clearly should know when to keep your mouth shut. Now the lady said no earlier so I think you should respect her wishes and take your friends and leave." Jason Gally stared at the taller boy, who looked more like a man, and finally decided to leave. I continued to remain frozen in place after everything that happened, until I saw the two that helped me start to walk away as well.
"Wait!" I called to them as I wanted to tell them I appreciated what they did. They turned around and looked at me and I gathered up all the courage I had left to keep talking despite knowing they will clearly hear my accent. "Thank you for that. I got your name, Steve, but I didn't really catch yours," I said to the taller one.
"James Barnes, but everyone calls me Bucky."
"Well Bucky, Steve, thank you again."
"It was no problem, Maddi right?" Steve questioned to make sure he remembered my name correctly. I was pleasantly surprised and nodded my head yes.
I took a leap of faith and suddenly asked, "would y'all like to sit with me?" They stared at me for a second and I tried to explain myself quickly, "It's just that I'm new and don't have any friends yet. You two were so kind to stand up for me and I just wanted to know if maybe you would want to sit with me." I prayed I didn't just scare the two nice people in front of me off, but then they looked at each other and sat down across the table from me. I started to smile as they began to ask me about where I was from and why I moved to Brooklyn. "I'm from Tennessee, and I moved here to live with my Aunt and Uncle. They're the only family I really have left." they stayed quiet knowing I didn't want to go too deep into that subject just yet. The two nodded and didn't push anymore about it. I was very grateful for that.
It was towards the end of lunch and Steve said "Well Maddi, I'm glad we met you. Bucky is a year older than us but we still hang out after school. Where do you live, maybe we can walk home together?" I told them the general area I moved to and they both eagerly said they lived near there. We made plans to meet after school and for a brief second I thought that maybe moving to the big city wouldn't have been as terrible as I initially thought. I wished I could be back home, but knowing that I would never get to go back, having a couple friendly people here was the best I could ask for.
September 24, 1932
“How has school been going, Maddi?” Aunt Lily asked as I ate dinner with her and Uncle Ryan.
“Alright. I made a couple friends, but I don’t really seem to fit in with the class. They dress and talk different than back home.” I played with my food a bit while I thought about how the last couple weeks have been. Steve and Bucky were definitely very nice to call friends and I liked spending time with them, but girls still gave me strange looks and boys would bother me if I wasn’t with my new companions.
“Well, our neighbors have a granddaughter on the other side of town about a year or two older than you. I’ll see if she has any extra dresses you can have,” Aunt Lily offered. I knew she and Uncle Ryan felt bad for not having enough money to spend on me, but I really didn’t mind. With their two children already grown and moved across the country, they didn’t exactly plan to pay for an extra mouth to feed. Times were hard enough as it was without unexpected expenses. I never actually met these family members before: we never had the money to travel, but I heard about them a lot.
September 30, 1932
I wore my new dress that seemed to match more with the girls at school and it made me feel a little less nervous, but I also felt sad to be giving up more and more from my life in Tennessee. I sat with Steve and Bucky at lunch like I did everyday, and we talked about frivolous things until I asked Steve what was in the book he always carried around.
“It’s a sketch pad, I like to draw,” he said shyly.
“Can I see?” I asked and he hesitantly handed me his sketch pad and I flipped through the pages in awe. Each piece of paper had beautifully drawn pictures of buildings and landscapes. He had a few with people, but one close up of a young woman and man who looked in their early 20s. “Who are they?” I curiously questioned.
“That’s my parents,” he said quietly. “It’s from a picture when they were newly married. I don’t really remember my dad, he died in the Great War.”
“I’m sorry,” I said hoping I didn’t make him feel sad as I knew how it felt to lose a parent. “I lost my ma when I was young too, not as young but still I was 5 when she got sick.”
“Is that why you moved?” Bucky asked me.
“No, I still lived with my daddy and brother, Alex, until this summer when a storm hit and they both died. I was with a friend when it hit and a tornado took down my entire house and my family inside.”
“Jeez, I’m sorry Maddi,” Steve said as I fought back a few tears thinking about what happened.
“Don’t worry about it. I was lucky to have Aunt Lily and Uncle Ryan to take me when they heard, and now I got to meet you two so that’s good I guess.” I tried to look towards the better things in situations but it was always hard.
“Well, you’re officially our friend so there’s no getting out of it now,” Bucky said with a smirk.
“Only now it’s official? What has been the last month then?” I asked with a laugh.
“A trial friendship,” Steve stated smiling.
“Yeah, just to make sure you weren’t crazy or anything” said Bucky.
“I’m glad y’all think I’m worthy of being your friend then!” I winked at them as I continued the joke. We all laughed as we finished our food and headed back to class for the day.
December 24, 1932
“The snow is so beautiful on Christmas,” I sighed as I walked through the park with Steve and Bucky like we sometimes did together.
“It sure is, but I’ve always wanted to see snow where there were no buildings in sight. Just miles of it with nothing else to mess the blanket of white up,” Steve told me as we saw children running through the already played in snow.
“That is a sight to see, but I think that's just wasted? Look at how happy all this available snow makes everyone, that’s something worth drawing.” I said this as I knew that was one of the reasons he probably liked the idea of untouched snow: to be able to draw the scene. “Draw me and Bucky!”
“What?” Bucky questioned, not sure what he had to do with this topic.
“Draw us playing in the snow,”  I requested with a smile. Bucky quickly got the idea and ran towards a clean pile. He made a snowball and threw it directly at me hitting me on the shoulder. “Alright Barnes, you have it coming to you now!” and I laughed while I ran to make a snowball as well except I missed when throwing it at him. He laughed at me until I made another and hit him square in the face. I heard a chuckle from Steve and I looked over at him sitting on a nearby bench watching us and making small rough sketches in his book. “Come one Steve, put it to memory and come play with us!” He looked slightly surprised for a second until he put his book down and came over to join our snowball fight. We did this for about an hour until we sat down on the bench to rest. Steve quickly went right back to his book to continue his scene he started on. We sat in silence for a while just taking in the day.
“What are your holiday plans, Maddi?” Bucky asked.
“I’m not sure. We haven’t really talked about it. We’ll probably go to Mass tonight and I got a small present for my aunt and uncle tomorrow. I don’t really expect much of a present for myself; besides, my favorite part has always been Christmas Eve Mass. My daddy and Alex and I would go and then always visit mama after. I guess I can’t see any of them this year since their all buried in Tennessee.” I had never really thought of that until now and it quickly took away all of my joy from playing in the snow before. “They would have liked you guys,” I added before they could reply. “You're both gentlemen and passionate about what you care for.”
“They’d like Bucky,” Steve tried to clarify as he continued to draw.
“No, they’d like you both,” I told him with confidence. “Especially you, your heart is much more kind than this silly guy sitting next to me,” I laughed as I sat between them and gestured towards Bucky.
“Hey!” Bucky said with a smile. “Just because it's true doesn't mean you have to say it!” Steve just stayed quiet and had a slight blush on his face.
I put my arms around both their necks and said “thank you for making Brooklyn more bearable.”
“You did that,” Steve said as he looked at me and I smiled back at him.
December 25, 1932
There was a knock on the door and I went to answer it. When I opened the door, Steve stood there waiting and I gave him a surprised smile. “Hey,” he started. “I know today is mostly spending with family so I’ll try to be quick. I just wanted to give you your present.”
“Steve, you didn’t have to get me anything!” I began to feel bad as I had nothing to give in return.
“It’s nothing, here.” He handed me a piece of paper and I saw it was a beautiful drawing of Bucky and I in the snow from the previous day. I just stared at it for a few seconds in awe before he continued, “Sorry it isn’t that detailed, I was trying to finish as quick as I could and the shading might not be-” I cut him off by hugging him.
“I love it!” I said as he wrapped his arms back around me. “I love the art you make, it’s so good. Thank you for giving me one, it really means a lot.” We both let go and and he was redder than I had ever seen him before.
“Well, I’ll keep that in mind,” he said with a chuckle. We then said our goodbyes and he went back home to spend the rest of the day with his mother.
Next Chapter
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Dinner Party at the Bishops || Wren, Chanel, Rory, Jonah
@chrysolites @missrory
Wren jumped up when he heard the doorbell ring and smoothed out his clothes before going to the door quickly, but his mother had already opened it. "Chanel Hampton, as I live and breathe" she said with a kind smile. She was happy that her son was finally together with the girl he never quite shut up about, even as a kid, but she wanted to know what this girl was like. She'd done her fair share of sleuthing online.
Chanel didn't realize how hard it was to find a family-friendly outfit in her closet until tonight. She picked out a cute pink, two piece set (she loved her two piece sets) and made sure to wear the new perfume she bought. Wren had told her to wear something new and she didn't think too much on it. Once she knocked on the door, she straightened out her skirt and took a deep breath in. She shouldn't have been so nervous, but she was. She hadn't seen them in so long so she needed to make a good impression. "Hi Chrys!" she spoke with a big smile on her face. "How have you been? How's work going?" she asked, before looking behind her to see Wren.
Jonah on the other hand was just a ball of stress. This was the first time he was ever meeting Rory's parents, the first time he was in a situation like this at all. Rory was his first and only girlfriend and though they had been seeing each other on and off for years, this news of her parent's coming to town scared him. He knocked on the door and said a little prayer in his head to the gods. Please don't mess this up. Please don't mess this up.
Chrys gave Chanel a tight hug and caught a whiff of the girl's perfume, not what she had been expecting. Wren's room smelled a particular way, and she assumed it had been the girl. She was very suspicious of all that Nana let go down here. "You've grown up so much!" she said kindly, "and work has been great, I just spent the last 3 months in the most interesting location. It was great for my writing and I really connected with the locals" said Wren's mom before Wren came over and took Chanel's hand to lead her into the living room along with his mother. "Mom, Chanel's team is heading to qualifiers soon" Wren added to the conversation, "Very exciting stuff, the teams really good".
Rory was upstairs when she heard the doorbell ring, she got up and saw Chanel at the door. Giving the girl a sweet smile she went to say hi. Wearing the scent Chanel usually wore she was hopefully not to feed any of her mother's suspicions. Then she heard the knock she ran to her fathers side as he opened the door so he wouldn't embarrass her in front of Jonah. "Hi." Rory smiled happy to see him." You must be Jonah." her father moved to the side to let boy in and fixed his glasses to get a better look at him.
Chanel hugged Chrys back with a smile on her face. She missed them a lot, they were always so kind to her when she was younger. Maybe they just felt bad for her cause her parents weren't exactly the best, but she pushed the thought out of her mind quickly. "It's must be so fun traveling everywhere! I'd love to do that someday. But I'm glad you're back, it's been so long since I've seen you both." she looked over at Wren as he grabbed her hand, and nodded once he mentioned cheer. "Oh yeah, super exciting. We won nationals last year, so hopefully we can deliver again. Wren's season just started too. You'll get to see him play, he's like, so good. The best on the team."
Wren blushed a little, "I'm not the best, it's just that no one can tell anyone on the team apart except for me" said Wren being modest. He had been working so hard to really kill it this season, he wanted to push himself. "Jonah!" said Wren going to give his buddy a good dapping up. It was nice that they were all together.
Jonah jumped a little when the door opened, but seeing Rory instantly relaxed him. She looked so beautiful. "Hi. Your hair looks really nice." he repeated back to her softly before looking over to her father. "Yes. Hello sir." he slowly put his hand out to shake her father's hand. "That's me, Jonah Keller. Nice to meet you." he said, hoping he didn't come off too awkward. Jonah smiled at Wren and dapped him up like good bros do.
Chanel smiled back at Rory and said hello. "Ooh you look so good!" she said excitedly to the girl. She turned back to Wren and nodded with wide eyes, "Oh yeah, everyone on the team looks a lot a like. Kinda confusing when you see them running around everywhere, but Wren's the tallest so you can spot him out easy. And he makes the most shots so he's totally the best." she nudged her boyfriend as she explained to Chrys. "It's a fun time."
Rory blushed as she touched her hair, she didn't know why she did that she knew it looked good but him noticing made her blush."Thank you I just got it done." She watched as her father took his hand and gave him his special handshake that's suppose to tell him everything he knows about a man. 'Chanel that outfit is everything." she complimented. Her mother making her way to greet Jonah."So this is the one huh?"she nudged Rory. 'Hello I'm Rory's mother it's nice to finally to meet you."
"I love it." Jonah said truthfully looking at Rory with a big, dorky smile on his face. He kept a smile on his face once her father shook his hand, but he was already mentally freaking out. Turning his attention to her mother, Jonah nodded his head in response, "Hello Mrs. Bishop. It's nice to meet you too." he spoke politely. "Thank you for inviting me tonight." It was nice to be around an actual family, it felt comforting.
Nana came in and pinched her son on the cheeks, "Oh my sweet baby boy is here, I am so happy to have all my favorite people in one place" she said looking around the room. "We have some good southern food, but also a little bit of savory kugel to keep with the Hanukah spirit" Nana announced to the room. "If y'all will join us in the dining room"
Chanel looked down at her outfit and smiled big at Rory, "Oh my god, thanks hun!" she said before Nana came in. She walked to the dining room with Wren and took a seat next to him as everyone was sitting down.
When Nana came in the attention went to her, both Rory and her Mother rolled their eyes at the interaction between him and his mother. "Yes let's go and get to know each other." Her mother said happily as she began to walk. Rory took Jonah's hand and followed suit. Sitting across from Wren and Chanel so they could silently communicate. Her hand still holding Jonah's under the table.
Alex was in blissful ignorance, he was just super happy to be home. He honestly did not even notice his wife or daughter roll their eyes, everybody loves Nana. They were all seated, "So, Jonah ... Chanel. What are your plans for college?" he asked as they started to pass food around. Chrys keeping a watchful eye on Wren's plate. They had been watching him like hawks the whole time they had been home.
Jonah smiled to himself once everyone was seated and he still had Rory's hand in his. The question shouldn't have really came as a surprise, but it did. College was honestly something Jonah didn't think about too much. He was too busy thinking about what was going to happen once he turned eighteen. His foster parent's were super sweet and he hoped they would actually adopt him and his brother one day but that wasn't certain. If they didn't, he'd have to move out and live on his own. He needed to make sure he had enough money. "College?" he asked, trying to come up with some kind of answer that was good enough. "I would like to be a writer." he said. "So hopefully if I have the money I'll be able to go to college and see that through." he answered, regretting how much he said.
Chanel looked over at Wren and Rory's parents and smiled, she also was little stuck when it came to the topic of college, but for different reasons. She just simply didn't know what she wanted to do. "I keep going back and forth with what I want to study. I wanna make sure it's what I love, you know?" she tilted her head to the side, "But I've sort of been thinking about culinary school. I've suddenly got this passion for cooking. Who would've thought!" she said, leaving out the part where she was sort of forced into cooking for herself back at home. Luckily she actually started to enjoy it, but she hadn't talked to Wren about her plans of culinary school. It wasn't for certain.
''Oooh A writer and a possible chef in the family hun, we could be so lucky." Chrys nudged her husband."Mom please." Rory whined. She could see the wheels in her moms head turning and planning their whole life together. "Oh hush, ignore her she's cranky." Chrys never let her smile falter. "Would you guys like wine? or tea to go with this delicious food." Rory gave Wren a what is she doing look before shaking her head and putting food on her and Jonah's plate.
Wren moved his hand to Chanel's knee and looked up at her and gave her a look that said please dear god do not fall for it. He prayed that Rory shot Jonah the same look, and he returned his gaze to Rory. "Nana the food is delicious" said Wren as he picked at what was on his plate, taking a big bite for everyone to see.
Chanel knew what was up. Her own parents would have asked the same question, but they would be serious about it. Or at least her mother would have. But Chanel knew not everyone was like her parents. "Oh I don't drink, but thank you for the offer. Tea for me please!" she said casually. She looked over as Wren took a bite and smiled. Jonah nodded his head in agreement with Chanel, "No thank you. I'll have tea as well." he smiled as he looked down at the food. "It does look delicious." he said before taking a bite.
'Tea it is." Chrys said getting up. Rory was relieved but that lasted a few seconds as Alex decided to speak."So how did these friendships." he did air quotes. "Happen. I want all the deets. I'm saying that right or is it tea, never mind I want the tea guys." he fixed his glasses as nana and Chrys came back with tea and more food.
"Dad" said Wren with a laugh, what a quirky man. Him and his sweaters. Wren smiled at the question though, "I thought Wren and Chanel were going to date when he moved here" said Nana, "and I thought those two were going to get back together. But it seems ... the Bishop children are a little slow paced" Nana added as she tried to put more food on Wren's plate from her seat. Wren shook his head to the food, "Hey now, it's not that we're slow. It's that we like to wait for the right moments" said the boy as he defended the fact that they were both total weenies.
"Look at my little baby of course she was smitten, look at that face." Chrys smiled pointing her fork at Wren. "Rory is absolutely stunning no way he could stay away from my sweetness." Rory shook her head at the comments that were being made." We had to do it with style, you know unforgettable moments?" she wasn't wrong the hoops they had to deal with wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon.
Chanel laughed along with Wren as Alex spoke. He hadn't changed one bit. "He is a cutie." she said with a single nod. "I was a little slow though. Guess I just thought he saw me as just a friend, but I feel really lucky. He's been nothing but sweet to me." she spoke truthfully. "I mean, he's always been sweet to me but he's an amazing boyfriend! Best I've ever had." she let the last comment slip and quickly took a bite from the food. Hopefully they didn't think too hard on that. Jonah looked over at Chanel, feeling nervous for her. "Huh? Oh yeah, Rory's amazing. She was one of my first friends when I got moved out here. I-I guess I was just too nervous to ask at first." he said, keeping out obvious details as to why they just started dating again. "She's incredible. I'm really happy I met her."
Wren smiled when Chanel said he was the best boyfriend she had ever had. It made him feel really good about himself. "Oh, so the Rorster made the first move? That's my girl" said Alex with some pride. He had raised a headstrong daughter, he could not exactly say the same about his son. They were all looking at Wren picking at his food, he had eaten a fair amount for him. "Wrennie, do you want seconds?" asked Chrys with the sweetest smile, "You had a big practice earlier" she added. She looked over to Rory for a little support. "I ate a late lunch, but I'm gonna go refill the water pitcher" said Wren as he got up from the table and went to the kitchen with the water pitcher to avoid having to talk more about his food. "Chrys" said Alex sternly, "We're not doing this right now, we have guests" he said quietly.
"Babe." Rory smiled at Jonah, before groaning internally at the nickname he let slip. Rory had also been watching how he would handle the food. She looked over at her mother then dad before speaking."We were pigging out at the salon, I don't even know how I'm making it through this first place." she lied. "See leave the boy alone." her father spoke waiting for Wren to come back." So are we in love or just infatuated?" he asked trying to put on his serious voice.
Chanel kept quiet once Wren left the room, she didn't know what to say. She didn't like to bring up that subject to Wren, she didn't want to upset him if everything was okay. Chanel believed what Rory was saying and tried to think positively on the situation. 
Jonah smiled at Rory once she said babe, but actively chose not to look at any adults in the eye. At least not right now. He started to become incredibly confused when Wren left and it seemed like he was the only one that felt that way. He just sat and awkwardly continued to eat the food before Alex asked that question. He could tell his face was heating up as he chewed on his food. He had just told Rory he loved her at the ski trip, but was he supposed to say it out loud right now? "I-I-I... Yes." he answered, completely flustered. Idiot! 
Chanel looked over at the parents and stayed quiet for a moment, "Love? Oh, we... we haven't... I mean I really like him, of course. But yeah, ya know?" she let out a forced laugh.
Wren came in at what felt like the worst time, Jonah was clearly flustered. Chanel was word vomitting about how they hadn't said that yet, "Chanel and I have only been dating like two weeks" said Wren as he put the water pitcher back down on the table and poured himself a glass. Why did his dad have to ask this right now? "Wow, these are some exciting developments" said Chrys as she took a sip of her wine. Jonah and Rory had said I love you, this was ... interesting information. She wondered why she had not heard more about this already. Wren ate some more of his food to please everybody at the table and put his hand under the table to hold hands with Chanel and smiled at her. Nana thought about how excited she was for a nightcap at the end of all of this, a stiff drink seemed very much in order.
Rory sighed eating some more food on her plate. She had lied about eating and she was starving but she knew if she ate too much her mother would catch on. She could already see the conversation about how she didn't tell her about being in love.  "May I ask about your parents? What are they like? Where are they from? Is a family dinner with all of us in a future  I make a delicious lasagna." Chrys prided. " she does, its what she made for the first date and I was hooked. I knew I was going to marry her then."
The mention of parents instantly made his stomach knot up. He hated bringing the mood down with his problems, but he wasn't even sure what to say. "P-Parents?" he repeated back, feeling pressure on his chest. "Uh right yeah, so Corey and Melissa are really nice. My... my foster parents." he specified, the words just kind of came out. It felt wrong to call them his parents. Jesse had already started calling them mom and dad, and he had been here less than Jonah. He wished he was that comfortable to call them that, but it still felt weird. "I'm um, not exactly sure where they're from... but Corey is the principal of the school and Melissa is a therapist. They've been amazing the whole time, I'm very grateful for them." he said truthfully, trying his best to make eye contact with everyone at the table. 
Chanel also wasn't too excited to bring up her parents. Chrys and Alex knew her parents already, but she didn't exactly want to talk about them. There wasn't anything good to talk about. "Oh they're doing good. Mom and dad are the same." she lied. More like a half-lie. They pretty much were the same, but things had been very different. "I'm sure my mom would love to see you guys again." she forced a smile on her face, hoping they wouldn't bump into each other while Chrys and Alex were in town.
Chrys and Alex felt instantly bad for what they had asked when Jonah was answering. "Well, your foster parents sound lovely" said Chrys kindly. No one was going to ask any more details from Jonah, they had clearly taken the conversation in the wrong direction. They had no clue. He seemed well adjusted though, clearly he had been through a lot, but he didn't show it too much. Luckily Chanel came in with the distract, "Well, any time your parents want to come by there are welcome here. They've always been excellent company" said Alex in response, was it necessarily true? Not exactly, but they had no idea about the ongoings of the town right now. It hadn't been something Wren had mentioned in their phone calls. "Jonah is an excellent writer, mom" said Wren, "the school paper is great, and it's all thanks to him" Wren added to gas up his pal.
Rory sighed pushing her plate looking at her parents. She knew they meant well they usually did but sometimes they missed the ball. "Mmhmm I have a few issues upstairs if you want to take a look."She was sure her mother had been through every nook and crannie to see what she was up to maybe she read one of the papers. "Chanel is killing it as a cheerleader and with Wren they are the ultimate power couple." Rory said proudly  making herself aware that she didn't participate in any school activities and if she caught on. Her parents were already planning a speech of being more social in their head.
Jonah awkwardly laughed and waved his hands from side to side, "I wouldn't say excellent." he shook his head. "Oh but thank you." he corrected himself. Jonah appreciated the compliment, but he never viewed himself as a great enough writer. It's why he put himself as an editor for the school paper. "I'm more of an editor, but I write up some issues every now and then." he explained to Chrys and Alex with a small smile on his face. "But I mean if we're talking about talent, Rory is the best at designing clothes! I wish I could do that. She's so creative, but I'm sure you all know that already." he said, more relaxed. He could gush about Rory all day. 
Chanel nodded her head and continued to eat, "I'll let them know." Another lie. She did not want her mother embarrassing her, she'd already done enough of that. She then smiled at Rory once the girl complimented her, "Aw thanks!" she said cheerfully. "You and Jonah are super cute though. Just a bunch of power couples here." she said, hyping up Rory. If Rory was into Jonah, he must be great.
"Mom, I showed you that jacket that Rory made me the other day. That's just the tip of the iceberg" said Wren thinking about the dope jacket that she had made. Rory was so talented. Sure, Wren had a full resume of high school experiences but Rosy was just so talented in something that could actually be used beyond a resume. "Well, I'm glad you all get along so well, happy that the twins still have such a good bond" said Chrys extending her hand to squeeze Alex's. Nana smiled, "They've really taken well to returning to White Lake" she said confidently. She felt like she was doing a good job, and proud of herself that two very successful parties had been thrown here with no one going to the hospital, thank the Lord himself.
For the most part they were right on the outside it looked like they were striving and adjusting well. "Of course the only time we fight is when he eats my  food that he knew I was saving for later.' Rory sighed dramatically. Chrys nodded happy to hear Wren being associated with food. " It's a Bishop man thing your father does that to me also. You got to be quick dear." She smiled. "So what plans do you have for the winter vacation? Or any hopping parties that are happening?" Alex sat back proud of his lingo even though his daughter looked less impressed.
Chanel wasn't sure if she was doing anything with her parents for Christmas. It was one of few holidays they sort of celebrated together, and that was only because it involved gifts, and Chanel's mom loved gifts. "You know my parents, they love to live in the now." she said, putting it nicely. "I'm not exactly sure what we'll be doing, but I do love a good party." she said without too much thought. Hopefully they wouldn't think she's some kind of crazy party girl, even though she sort of was. 
"Corey and Melissa like to go all out for the holidays. The kids really love it." Jonah explained with a small smile on his face. This was also going to be the first Christmas in a while that he was spending with Jesse. "I'm sure they have a bunch of family stuff planned for Christmas day." He then turned to Rory, "I'm sure they'd love if you came over during the break. They've been asking about you like crazy these past few days."
Chrys and Alex knew that Chanel was putting it very kindly that her parents were the flakiest people of all time. They had had their fair share of cancelled plans with the Hamptons. "Yeah the Hampton's big Christmas party" said Nana, going in for that fun correction so that Chanel could save a little face, "I go every year" because Nana also liked to have a good time. "How many kids are your parents fostering?" asked Chrys as she took another bite of food. Alex also turned to Jonah, very interested in his living situation.
Rory nodded, she didn't know what to say and if she didn't say anything then she  couldn't incriminate herself or anyone else. "Have they?" She was a little surprised. "Whenever you want me to come over I'm there. " she smiled before scanning the room, everyone was almost  finished eating and if she knew her parent's that meant they would separate them and talk to them privates.
Chanel looked over and nodded her head, "Yep. It's always a fun time when you're around." she responded to Nana, giving her a face to show she was grateful for the comment. It was always so hard to make her parents look good. 
Jonah was pretty much finishing up his meal when he got asked about Corey and Melissa. "The number changes every now and then, depending on if someone get adopted." he started to explain. "Jesse and I, oh my brother, we're the oldest. But there's always a pretty big group of kids there. Kinda feels like Cheaper by the Dozen." he chuckled. This house was the best one he had been in so far. He nodded his head at Rory, "You can come over sometime this week?" he suggested.
Wren was also nervous about everyone being separated and talked to, so he devised a plan for himself. "Chanel will you help me clear the table?" he asked as he started picking up plates for people and heading to the kitchen with a stack. Chrys corrected him, "Chanel's a guest" she instructed her son. "Mom, she eats here like 3 times a week. She's basically family" he said, he almost let it slip that it was like she lived here. She had been basically for weeks. There was a ton of her stuff that he had just dropped off at her house before his parents got home. Chrys allowed the two to head off to the kitchen with plates to start cleaning. Wren put the plates down and gave her a quick kiss, "You look really pretty tonight, I meant to tell you that earlier. Sorry my parents are ... well them" he said looking down at her.
"No problem, im Christmas shopping Monday and mom daughter day is Wednesday so any other day works." She glared at Wren when he took her idea. Rory couldn't think of anything else they could do. "Do you want to get some fresh air before my dad and you have a talk?" Rory said getting up. " Be back in 10 minutes." Chrys stated and keep the backporch light on." She wasn't sure if Jonah and Rory had started having sex but she wasn't going to take any chances
Chanel nodded her head instantly, she was already so used to helping with the dishes, "Don't worry! I don't mind help out at all." she said with a sweet smile on her face. Once she set the dishes down, Chanel got on her toes as she kissed Wren, "Yeah? I haven't worn this in like, forever! Forgot I had it. Wish you could take it off of me." she spoke quietly before giving him a wink. "What's to apologize for? They're great. Everything good with you?" she asked, trying to make it casual as she referred to him leaving for a bit when his eating became a subject at the table. 
"Maybe Friday?" Jonah asked before he got up from the seat, "Uh yeah." he smiled and walked outside with Rory. By the time they were outside, he let out a sigh of relief. "Oh god, I feel all shaky. Do I look shaky? Are my palms sweaty? Sorry that's a weird question. I just hope I'm doing fine." he rambled as he paced a bit back and forth. "Do you think they like me? Or, oh shit, do you think they hate me? Don't answer that. Wait no, maybe you should. Be honest."
Wren wanted to take the outfit off her too, he preferred their casual dinners with Nana where they weren't stuck at the table for so long. He put his hand on her waist but didn't say anything, he knew once he opened that door it would be impossible to shut and his parents were in the next room. But then, then she asked about how he was doing. She totally meant the food thing and the little outburst at the table about seconds, and who knows what his parents said when he was refilling the water. "I could be better" he said, moving her against the fridge and kissing her more deeply and moving his hand down from her waist onto her ass. It was a fool proof way to keep Chanel distracted from whatever his parents had said about food at dinner.
Rory watched him as he started rambling, he had done so well at the dinner table she was sure he was nervous on the inside but he hid it so well. She took his hand and pulled him closer to  her,fixing his hair. " I love you and my parents adore you and you look so good tonight." She wrapped her arms around him. "You're doing amazing babe,really." She kissed him softly. Jonah was a good guy and she was sure her parents saw that. " I hope they haven't made you uncomfortable in any way?"
Wren knew Chanel too well. She'd take any opportunity to get a little physical and this was no exception. She smiled against his lips as he began to kiss her, moving his hand down her ass and up her skirt. Once she got started, she didn't exactly know where to draw the line. She wasn't thinking about how they were literally in an open kitchen with his family in the next room. 
Jonah blinked a couple times as Rory pulled him closer to fix up his hair. "I love you too." he said with a genuine smile, practically forgetting everything he was thinking about before. Jonah just wanted to make a good impression, this was such a big deal for him. He couldn't mess this up. Hearing Rory's reassurance did help though, he trusted her. If she felt like he was doing a good job, then he'd take her word. Jonah kissed Rory back before shaking his head at her question. "No, I like them." he answered. The only question that caught him off guard was about his parents but that answer was bound to be a little awkward. It shouldn't have even surprised him. "Your dad's pretty funny." he said with a smile.
"Chanel Hampton, the things I am going to do to you later" whispered Wren into her ear as he moved down to kiss on her neck. A few moments later Nana came in and Wren immediately removed his hands from Chanel and went over to the kitchen island, "Nana, hi" he said with a deer in the headlights look. "You two better keep it together, your mother is nothing like she was when they were young. She's forgotten, so keep your hands to yourselves" she warned. Chrys walked into the kitchen, "Keeping our hands to ourselves?" she teased almost. "Mom, it was just a kiss. Nana's just making sure we're not grossing anyone out" Wren lied.
It was nice to have a minute alone with him, she was on edge hoping her parents didn't totally embarrass her, or catch him up with a question that would land them in hot water. Jonah was doing an amazing job with her parents, and they seem to like them so it seemed like the hard part was over. She let her lips touch his once more." Aww young love." Alex interrupted clasping his hands over his chest. "Is it really love or lust, They may mirror each other sometimes." He said." i know i have to..what do kids say curve the ladies." he said with a corny smile.
Chanel quickly straightened her skirt out and stepped away from Wren, unsure of what to say. All she did was nod at Nana in response. She had known Wren's parents since she was young, but a lot has changed, she's changed. She didn't want them to hate her. Chrys's voice made her jump a bit. "Yep. Uh, oh right! I should finish cleaning these dishes." she quickly said as she turned around to the dishes they placed on the counter. 
Jonah kissed Rory back before instantly turning his attention to Mr. Bishop as he came by. "Lust? Nonono. Just... love." he said awkwardly. He of course did really love Rory, but he wasn't sure if talking about love the first day he met her parents was right. Was there even a right answer to any of this? Jonah chuckled and nodded his head, "Ah right. It's that winning personality of yours, can't be beat." Maybe complimenting was the right answer.
Wren was deeply uncomfortable to say the least, and he was hiding the most poorly timed boner behind the kitchen island. "Oh Chanel, you don't have to do the dishes, we can just hangout" said Chrys, "I'm still fun old Chryssie" she said with a smile that was all too kind. She was trying way too hard, "Nana and Wren would love to do the dishes, wouldn't you two?" she asked. "Wren would love to do the dishes, of course" said Nana as she was poured herself some whiskey and sat down, "My old bones, ya know" Nana joked and Wren laughed. He felt bad that Chanel was about to be whisked away. 
 Chrys took Chanel on her arm and led her to the living room, "So Chanel, that instagram of yours" said Wren's mother, "you're such a pretty girl" she said. She meant it as a compliment, but it all came off as vaguely threatening.
Alex nodded," Good love is always better." He said proudly before looking over at his daughter and smiled. " I'm going to let you in on a little secret." He paused and Rory had already started rolling her eyes. " sweater vest, woman love them. Got one for everyday and my wife loves every single one of them." He boasted and rory rolled her eyes again. " im going to go help nana." She excused herself after kissing jonah's cheek.
Chanel smiled back at Chrys, her wanting to hangout must be a good sign. "Sounds good to me." she said, trying to move on from what just happened. It wasn't like his mom actually saw anything. As she walked to the living room, her smile slowly faded. "My instagram?" she asked softly. This was definitely not what she wanted to talk about with her boyfriend's mom. Yeah, she showed a lot, but she was Chanel. Of course she would. "Uh, thank you." she said, forcing the smile back on her face. "That's very nice of you to say."
Jonah relaxed a bit when he got the response he was given. He was doing good. Once Mr. Bishop said he had a secret, Jonah raised a brow, unsure of where this was going. He hadn't even noticed Rory rolling her eyes. "Oh wow, very fashionable." he said with a small smile. Jonah did like this man. He was a goober, in the best possible. "I'll have to make a mental note. Guess you'll be seeing me some sweater vests." he turned to Rory, but that was a lie. He was not going to do that. "O-Okay, yeah. See you soon." he smiled before looking over at Mr. Bishop, the nerves kicking back in. "Um, thank you for inviting me." he said automatically, even though there was a good chance he had already said that. He couldn't remember in this moment.
Chrys was being kind, and Chanel was a beautiful girl .. but there was something to be worried about. "I'm just concerned what colleges are going to think, no shaming or whatever. I'm just saying ... those archaic bastards are not exactly empowering" said Chrys. There was a reason she had chosen writing instead of teaching. 
Wren was doing dishes when Rory came in, "Guess we both have to do dishes. I tried my best to get you out of it" said Wren laughing as he tossed her the dish rag to be on drying duty. "So did Dad catch you too? Because Nana had the delight" he joked.
"Don't worry She'll never admit it but she gets her fashion sense from me." He stood in front of the younger man. "I wanted to have a little chat." Alex said not really sure how to do the questioning thing. "I see that you love my daughter and I know she loves you, but are you both past the problems that caused your previous breakup?"
"We were just kissing, no grinding." She smiled. " You lucky it was mom, I can see her now. Oh Lawrence what is going on here..then 2 hours about the birds, bees and everything in-between."
Chanel crossed her arms around her chest, feeling uncomfortable in the outfit she was wearing. Maybe this was even too revealing. Chrys and Alex must have already talked about her before she came, they must feel so disappointed in Wren for being with her. "I didn't really think of that..." she spoke softly. "I guess I do some things without really thinking it through." she shrugged, feeling embarrassed just talking about this. "I must get that from my mom." the words came out before she could stop it. She hated thinking about any kind of similarities between her and her mom, and she did not want to talk about her mom with Chrys, so she simply tried laughing it off.
Jonah's eyes widened a bit but tried to keep his composure. He wasn't expecting Rory's father to bring up their previous breakup, he wasn't even sure how much he knew. Thinking about it made his heart start to race. He just hoped he didn't look as nervous as he felt, "Um yeah, y-yes." he corrected himself. "We're... uh, we're working on our communication." he tried to explain. "I was really in my head about our relationship, but I'm just like that." he tapped his forehead, trying to laugh it off. "We're doing really good. Yeah."
Chrys and Alex had most definitely talked about Chanel before she came over, and they had been keeping up with her through the years online. How could they not? They worried about her, her parents were not exactly inspiring role models. They wanted to see Chanel succeed. "Well, we don't need to talk about your mother. We can just talk about Wren" said Chrys taking a deep breath, changing out one hard conversation for a harder one, "How much had Wren told you about his recovery?" she asked, doing her best to pry in an unrevealing way. It was not working that well, but at least she didn't ask outright how much Chanel saw him eat or when. She was deeply worried about him, especially getting into a relationship which could be another stressor.
"I think she might be giving Chanel the birds and the bees talk right now" said Wren, his heart rate picking up. "I love having them here, but why are we doing this? This is so stressful. They're being interviewed. We're not some book mom is going to write or some seminar that dad is going to teach for gods sake" Wren added with a laugh. Their parents were well meaning but also absolutely ridiculous sometimes.
Alex nodded as he listened. He knew his children and he knew them well they both developed a habit of keeping everything to themselves or just between them. Must be a twin thing because he always talked about everything to his mother and Chrys. "I'm glad that's very important. And are you to intimate? Like having sex?" he threw the question in there like his wife asked him to.  He hoped his angel was still pure, most girls didn't stay virgins this long but she had, 
"I could see the title now. How to relate to your teenage twins, school, clothes and sex." Rory grabbed a rag and dried a few of the dishes." I have no idea what dad could be saying, you know he tried to make sweater vest cool." she couldn't belover her father sometimes, she just wantedvto hang out, eat and make out maybe.
"Dad just doesn't understand that we are a turtleneck family" said Wren with a laugh, he did enjoy a good turtleneck. "We should go check their room for a manuscript. I really wouldn't put it past mom at all" said the boy as they finished up the last of the dishes, "Shall we... go snoop?" he asked with a grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows.
"Our heights and length of our necks make us look so sophisticated. "  she raised her brow with a devious smile. "Yes and they left their phones upstairs, we can see what they've been up to." she folded the rag and put in the counter confident they won't get caught.
Chanel almost sighed from relief once Chrys said that they could just talk about Wren instead, but then she heard the question and it felt like a punch to the gut. She couldn't catch a break. "His recovery?" she asked back, only to get more time to answer the question. Chanel didn't know how to answer this. The past few times she wanted to bring the topic up to Wren, she didn't. Maybe she should have talked about this with him. "We don't really talk about it. He told me he went to a clinic." she answered, still pretty flustered. "He's been doing good. I mean, I think he has." she had to add in the last comment, Chanel should have been more on top of this but she didn't want to seem overbearing. "I haven't noticed anything since that time he came over my house after one of those workouts." she let it slip out, referring to the time when Wren came over to "fight" with Chanel but only resulted in him almost passing out. Fuck, why would she bring that up? She didn't want to have any problems with anyone, especially not with Wren.
Jonah stared at Mr. Bishop in silence for a quick moment. What do I say? Did Rory already tell them? Maybe she didn't. Unless this is a test. She might have told them and he's asking me to see if I'll lie or not. Oh god oh god oh god. his mind was racing. "Sex? Oh no, sir." he answered, hoping he was convincing enough. Jonah wasn't the best at lying, especially when he was internally panicking. But he couldn't possibly say yes. They had sex when they weren't even together, and then the rest of that night got him in a lot of trouble. As it should have. "I haven't uh, brought that up yet. We just got back together so... you know." he laughed nervously. Please believe me, please believe me. I don't want to get my ass kicked.
Wren and Rory raced upstairs to their parents room and started opening cabinets. Wren slammed a door shut, "Ew, sex toys drawer" said Wren faking a gag. It was deeply unfortunate, "Why was that the first one, and why isn't it in a bedside table drawer like a normal person??" Wren said as he looked at his sister. 
Chrys put her head in her hands before pulling up and pushing her hair back, "Just keep tabs on him, he takes everything so seriously but this" said Chrys. They had been good parents, they had really done all they could to build him up, but it wasn't enough. "It's something he's going to have for the rest of his life, but that doesn't mean that it's always going to be bad" Wren's mother added, "And it's by no means your responsibility. Just be patient with him and tell Nana or a hospital if things get really bad again" she warned.
Rory was happy she wasn't the one to open the cabinets she was sure that's not what she wanted to see. "I don't even..." she shook her head. "Our parents don't know what normal is." She said looking under the bed and pulling out a suitcase. "I'm scared to open this." 
Unlike Chrys, Alex was a bit more trusting. If the boy said he didn't deliver his daughter then he believed  him. More importantly he wanted to believe, he didn't want to think of her as anything less than his little girl. And if Jonah was lying he was happy to hear it. He wasn't like  Chrys when it came to that part of his daughters life" Good you guys should wait until never, you know just to be safe." He said half jokingly. " no but seriously  as long as my daughter is happy and you're happy i approve  the relationship."
Chanel was feeling overwhelmed by the conversation. She wanted to make sure Wren was okay but she didn't want to piss him off either. She needed to find some inbetween but all of this was so much. "Was it like, really bad? Back in California?" she asked softly. 
Jonah relaxed a bit once Mr. Bishop spoke. Maybe he shouldn't have lied about it, it felt weird to already be lying about something. But it was sex. It would have been weird either way. "I am happy. Very happy with her." he spoke truthfully with a genuine smile on his face. "I want to make her happy too. I really care about her." Jonah nodded, he really wanted this to work out this time. "She is in good hands, promise."
Chrys could see the care and concern in Chanel's face, "Yeah, he passed out during one of his srping basketball games and we had to take him to the hospital" said Wren's mom, "But he can tell you that story in his own time" she added. She put her hand on Chanel's shoulder, "Just watch him but don't make him feel like he's watched, me and Alex are pretty bad about it" she admitted.
Wren was now more curious than ever for Rory to open the suitcase, "If it's bad then you just shut it and put it back seconds after opening it. How bad could it be?" said Wren as he kneeled down next to her, "Just open it, I have to know now" the boy said as his heart rate started picking up for no reason. He had no idea what was in there.
Rory nodded her curiosity usually got the best of her so why would this time be different. Undoing the latches she opened  it."Drug test." she groaned handing her brother a box.   What do they think we do here, party and get super lit." she said a little annoyed. "I wonder if all parents do this or is it just ours?"           
Alex could tell he was telling the truth which made him all warm and fuzzy on the inside."Good because I will do absolutely nothing but my wife, she's the scary one out of us and you don't want to have to go against her because of her children." he said softly."I have one more inquiry if you don't mind young man.
Chanel nodded slowly once Chrys explained a bit. Thinking about how they were in basketball season right now made her panic a bit. These were already stressful times for Wren. "Watch him but don't make him feel watched. Right, okay. Got it." she forced a smile on her face. That seemed way easier said than done. "So I shouldn't ask him about it? Maybe not... He seemed good on Thanksgiving which is nice." Oh was she wrong about that.
Jonah could already feel the nerves coming back, "Oh okay... I-I-I'll make sure not to get on her bad side." she nodded a bit frantically. "I uh, don't mind at all." he responded back, but he very much minded. He thought the worst was over, but how bad could the question really be?
"He'll talk when he's ready to talk" said Chrys, her guard coming back up. She didn't need to divulge all her son's secrets to his girlfriend. "And make sure you keep up with Rory and Nana, I've read a lot about eating disorders and lying is a huge part of keeping up appearances. So if he says he ate with Rory, or Nana gave him dinner. Just check up later" she suggested. "Other than that, please don't get pregnant. You both have a lot going for you right now, and I'm just going to put that thought out there". 
"Drug tests? What are they going to test Nana too? What the fuck" said Wren rolling his eyes. "This is so annoying" he said, "If anything they should be happy I get high and have the munchies".
"I would love to see that exchange between those three." she chuckled." I really don't see the point of these." she shook her head, Rory knew some kids their age had drugs problems but they had to know the twins weren't like that.
"How is Wren, is he doing well?" Alex wanted to see without asking, he didn't want to push their son but if something was wrong he highly doubt Wren would come to him or Chrys would be the first ones to know, shit he might be surprised if he was the last one to know]
Chanel listened carefully, trying to take in everything at once. She knew she could go to Rory or Nana about it, but she always felt kind of weird doing that. It was like she was going behind Wren's back, but everyone just cared about him. "I will." she promised. Chanel couldn't help but laugh after Chrys's last statement. "My mom already told me the same thing, and my now my dad. A few times." she sighed. "That's definitely not gonna happen, trust me. Gotta keep my body like this a little longer. More like a lot longer."
Jonah furrowed his brows at the question, he wasn't expecting to be asked about Wren. "Wren? Oh yeah, he's great." he answered with a smile. Jonah had no clue what was going on with Wren and he was still thinking about what happened while they were all eating. It seemed like he was the only person that was confused about it. "He's really good with basketball from what I've seen and is class president. Oh he's also in a band, he really good on the drums." he went on, not sure if this is what Mr. Bishop meant by his question. "Is everything okay with him?"
"I always liked your parents" Chrys half lied, they were fun but they were not the best people. She should probably get coffee with Tiffany anyway, "I'll try to catch up with your mom while I'm here, but Chanel you know you are always welcome here. I know your parents aren't home often and Nana is more than hospitable to you and Taron and all Wren's new friends that he magically made when he got here. Not that he isn't great, but the kids here were so mean to him when he was little" said Wren's mom, "I'm so happy to hear he is doing as well as he is" she added with a kind smile. She was thankful her son had so many people looking out for him, it made her feel better about being away all the time.
Wren got up and looked out the window carefully to check on Jonah and Dad, "We need to wrap it up" he said as he double checked that everything was back in place. "Getting caught isn't going to go well" Wren added nervously, "they're probably not even going to test us".
"Of course, im just checking in on him to making sure he's doing well. He seems very active in school I just want to make sure he's not overdoing it. He needs to have fun too." Alex smiled. The twins were the independent types of something was wrong they never knew until it was too late and he didn't want that to happen again...especially with Wren. "Thank you for looking out for them. We should head back my mom made brownies."
Rory nodded closing the suitcase and pushing it back under the bed and getting up. "I really hope not." She made her way out the room. Closing the door. "Let's go save our beaus."
It was nice to hear that someone liked her parents, even if it was a lie or not. They definitely brought mixed feelings out of people. But even though Chanel had a complicated relationship with her parents, it hurt when she heard people talk negatively about them. She could cause they were her parents, but it was different when it came out of someone else's mouth. "They like you too." she said back. Chanel parent's at least remembered Chrys and Alex after all this time, that meant a lot in itself. "Thank you, that means a lot. Really." Once Wren left, all she had were Taron and Sophie's family. She appreciated everything they did for her, but she knew she had to be such an annoyance to the Bishops and Hayworths. "Everyone loves him, I can't think of one person that has a problem with him." she shook her head, it was about time people saw how amazing Wren was.
"I understand. We have a little friend group that hangout and play video games." Jonah explained with a smile, hoping that would somehow show that Wren was having fun and not overworking himself with school. "Oh you don't have to thank me. I just really care about them." he said truthfully before heading back inside the house. "I do love brownies."
"That is so good to hear, really" said Chrys with a smile across her face, not that Wren being liked was difficult. It was just a worry when they sent him back to White Lake. "Well, Nana made brownies" she said getting up, "So grilling session is over" she said with a laugh, "Just be careful with him, he's ... delicate" said Wren's mom as she led them back to the kitchen where Nana was waiting with a whole plate of brownies.
Wren and Rory headed down the stairs and into the kitchen before anyone came back, "Oooh, brownies" said Wren enthusiastically picking one up and taking a bite before putting it down and distracting people with conversation, "So, Chrismukkah?" he said to the room, "What are we thinking? Divide the house in half this time? Or mix the decorations?" he asked.
Rory followed her brother and picked two up  but she actually ate the first one.She closed her eyes and enjoyed the chocolate goodness"I say we mix the decorations. Last time we did half and half everything clashed." Rory said putting the rest of the brownie in her mouth. 
Alex made his way to his wife and whispered the information he found out. " Wren is doing well here and Rory is still a virgin but most importantly someone thinks my sweater vest are cool. So its obvious you and Rory were wrong."he said happily  grabbing  a piece of brownie.
Chanel smiled and followed Chrys to the kitchen, "I will." she answered with a single nod. "Brownies!" she exclaimed as she skipped over to Nana. "Your brownies are the best!" she said cheerfully as she took one of the brownies from the plate.
Jonah walked into the kitchen and smiled at Nana, "Thank you." he said as he grabbed a brownie and took a bite. He turned over to Chanel and gave each other a look. They were both winded from the separate conversations they just finished having.
Wren put his hand around Chanel's waist at they had the discussion, worried about whatever his mother had said. "Mixed decorations for sure" he nodded in agreement.
Chrys gave Alex a look, "Wren is doing well, Rory ... I'm on the fence about that virgin claim but he looks nervous enough, and ... do not get me started on the sweater vest. That is coming off as soon as we are upstairs" said Chrys with a quiet laugh as the two conferenced.
"You okay?"Rory whispered as she moved closer to Jonah. She wasn't sure what her father had said but she wanted find out. "We can go tree shopping...and find a theme." She said excitedly.
" I'm too scary to lie to babe." He shot a her a smile." If you want me naked then thats all you have to say." He turned his attention back to the kids. " Okay.  Okay you two or more than welcomed to join so they don't go overboard.
Chanel wrapped her arms around Wren for a moment, hugging him from the side before taking a bite out her brownie piece. "Rory's great with decorations, but I can't pass up an opportunity to tag along. It helps me get into the holiday spirit!"
Jonah placed his hand on the small of Rory's back and leaned in closer to her to speak, "Yeah, I'm fine." he answered with a smile. "But I told him we didn't have sex so if they ask you, right now, we're holy virgins." he whispered quickly, looking around to make sure no one heard. "I'm happy to join." he told Mr. Bishop politely.
The evening ended with decorating and Christmas music. A lovely evening at the Bishop house.
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someonefantastic · 4 years
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I Think I need a Doctor
Fun fact, I started this whole month out with a mini bucket list and this fic was one of two things on there. I really wanted to do some Karen whump since she is so underrated and this idea spawned during a convo about Deez Nups with the psych discord. It's a little different from my usual but I hope y'all enjoy it nonetheless! Summary: Fun fact, I started this whole month out with a mini bucket list and this fic was one of two things on there. I really wanted to do some Karen whump since she is so underrated and this idea spawned during a convo about Deez Nups with the psych discord. It's a little different from my usual but I hope y'all enjoy it nonetheless! Warnings: hospitals, miscarriage, nausea, blood also on ao3 (recommended cause this gets long) ___ Karen sighed. The women’s restroom in the police department wasn’t the most ideal place but it had been an extremely long day and she needed answers. All week she had been feeling tired and nauseous- frankly, she would have chalked it up to sickness but then she remembered that she had also missed her period which caused her thoughts to go elsewhere.
That was at 8 am and since then, she had been called down to a murder scene, the victim turned out to be an old police chief, had to deal with two ex-cops butting heads with her consultants, and comfort her detective after some sexist remarks. So she shoved the thought to the back of her head- or at least tried to. But the curiosity remained growing bit by bit. Eventually, the anticipation became too great and she had used much of her break running to the drug store and waiting in the women’s restroom.
Glancing at her watch for what felt like the millionth time, she took a deep breath noting that the three minutes were finally up. Her hands shook as she picked up the small piece of plastic, stilling herself for what answers it might hold. Her eyes widened as she saw the results.
Two clear pink lines.
She was pregnant.
Naturally, she’d have to confirm it with a doctor first but judging by all of her other symptoms, she was pretty sure it was true.
Leaning heavily against the stall door, reality started to sink in. A smile began to spread across her face, her breath coming out in huffy laughter.
“Holy crap, I’m pregnant.” She breathed, staring at the results, her heart beating rapidly. Her smile had turned into a full out grin, joy rising in her chest. She and Richard hadn’t exactly been trying but they weren’t being safe either. They had always wanted another kid but due to both of their ages, had never really thought it would happen. But now…
She resisted the urge to jump up and down. She couldn’t wait to tell Richard. ___ Walking through the front door, she barely paused to throw her keys in the bowl and shed her heels before seeking out her husband. She found him tucking Iris into bed and paused in the doorway to watch them. He was reading the four-year-old a story- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, her favorite- but the peaceful atmosphere was short-lived as her daughter saw her.
“Mommy!” She yelled, reaching out with grabby hands and Karen smiled, pushing off of the doorway to sit on her bed beside her.
“Hello sweetheart, I’m sorry I’m late.”
“Isokay.” Iris shrugged before giving her a gap-tooth smile. “Did you catch any bad guys?”
“Tons of them.” She leaned forward, placing a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. “Did you have fun with daddy?”
“Mhmm,” She nodded vigorously, “We went to the park and had hot dogs and I fell off the swings!”
Karen raised an eyebrow at her husband who smiled sheepishly, “It was just a small fall, she’s okay.”
“I got a Wonder Woman bandaid, wanna see?” Karen didn’t have time to blink before the covers were pushed back and her pajama pants leg was rolled up, revealing a red bandaid on her knee. “Can you kiss it better?”
After exchanging amused looks with Richard, she bent down, pressing her lips against the wound. “There… all better.”
“Thank you,” Iris beamed, settling back into bed. “You can read more daddy.”
Richard laughed, “Sure thing pumpkin.”
After two more books- because of course, Iris needed her mom to read also- she and Richard gave their daughter one last kiss. Bidding their goodnights, they shut the door a little behind them, finally alone. Karen was suddenly very aware of just how nervous she was. It was big, life-changing news and while she was excited, it still made her stomach clench with anticipation and anxiety.
They made their way into the bedroom, out of earshot of their little one, before Richard turned around, arms crossed as he leaned casually against the bed. “So, how was work, really? I mean, obviously, you had to work late.”
“Yeah,” She sighed, shedding her suit coat and tossing it in the hamper. “An ex-police chief got murdered and now he’s suspected of laundering drugs. You can imagine the kind of PR nightmare this is gonna be.”
He frowned nose wrinkling, “That does not sound fun. I’m sorry.”
She shrugged, “Well hopefully our detectives and consultants come up with something.” She shook her head, giving a little wave. “But enough with work, I have something I need to tell you.” Shifting a little, she bit her lip.
Sitting up straighter, he raised an eyebrow, clearly picking up on her mood. “Yeah? What?”
“Well…” She started, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the pregnancy test that had weighed heavily there for most of the afternoon. “I’m pregnant.”
His jaw dropped, eyes going wide and she thought for a brief second that he may have been upset. But his face quickly broke out into a smile, leaping off the bed and pulling her into his arms.
“Holy crap, we’re gonna have another kid.” He gasped, burying his nose into her hair.
“Yeah…” The tears of joy that had been threatening to fall all afternoon finally did fall, slipping down her cheeks to land on his shirt.
They were going to be parents again, their family was going to grow. It was amazing and wonderful and she just couldn’t wait. ___ The next few weeks were a whirlwind of babies and cases. An appointment with her doctor confirmed that yes indeed she was pregnant, putting her at about four weeks along. She half-listened to his warnings about overexerting herself since miscarriage at her age was so common but she waved away those doubts. There was no use worrying over something that hopefully wouldn’t happen.
Shortly after that, they sat Iris down and told her the news. She was elated at the idea that she was going to be a big sister almost instantly berating her parents with an onslaught of questions about the baby. For the next two weeks straight, all her drawings were of her and her brother or sister.
As for her and Richard, they were thriving. They both decided to not tell any of their coworkers or extended family until the second trimester, not wanting to get any of their hopes up in the off chance that something went wrong. But they didn’t have any fear. Keeping the knowledge just to their little family made the whole experience feel more intimate. Sure they did have a few slips ups- especially since Iris couldn’t keep a secret- and she noticed her detectives giving her a few odd looks every now and again, particularly when she left early for a doctor’s appointment- but for the most part, the knowledge stayed between the three of them.
Between pulling Iris’ old baby stuff out of the attic, taking vitamins, working, and getting morning sickness, it felt like Karen’s life had gone to a new level of crazy. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t love it. The idea of having another baby was exciting and fun and caused her to seek Richard out and steal a kiss or two on several occasions. Of course, some days weren’t as great, like when she’d feel sick all day or wouldn’t get home until late or Richard had to travel for work, but regardless, she was still happy.
Truth be told though, she barely had enough time to focus on the baby or any preparations due to her job. It seemed like lately the crazies were just getting crazier. Not only did she have to deal with a hostage situation- on a boat of all things- two convicts wound up escaping, launching a manhunt. Then after that, there was a serial killer who was picking off people from a liver donation list, her consultants started acting weird, and somehow they wound up implicated in aiding an enemy agent. Of course, the Feds had to be called in which was a nightmare in of itself, and then her detective asked for two weeks off- which she was more than happy to give to her considering everything O’Hara had been through as of late- which was shortly followed by a retraction and a request to aid her partner in extraditing a convinced criminal back to the states.
So to say life was crazy may have been an understatement. It was downright insane.
On top of all of that, she had started feeling worse and worse and she worried for her unborn baby, fearing that getting sick could cause problems. But, luckily, she had a rare Saturday off and she was insistent on using it to relax and spend time with her daughter and husband.
And she did exactly that.
Sitting outside in the warm fall Santa Barbara air, she smiled, watching Iris run around the yard. Her daughter was playing her new favorite game, doggy princess, which basically was her running around and doing dog-like things. Laughing, Karen sent a content smile at her husband who exchanged the look and reached out a hand to cover hers.
“I can’t wait for Iris to have a sibling.” He squeezed her hand and her smile grew.
She glanced down, her hand rested on her stomach, fingers brushing the very small bump. “Me too, it’ll be good for her to have a playmate.”
He hummed in agreement, picking up her hand to press his lips against it. “I love you, dear.”
“I love you too.”
Turning back to their daughter, she frowned as her stomach clenched for what felt like the hundredth time that day. She had felt crampy pretty much all morning and well into the afternoon but had shaken it off. She worried that it would turn into morning sickness- after all, it had been a few days since she last got sick and she wasn’t looking forward to that again. She was never one to feed into her worries though and figured that if it continued into the next day, then she would call her doctor.
She turned her head, looking at her husband through tired eyes and he frowned. “Still feeling bad?”
She nodded lazily, “I guess I forgot how much being pregnant can suck sometimes.”
He gave a short laugh, leaning forward to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’ll all be worth it though.”
“You bet your butt it will.”
She closed her eyes, letting the sun warm her. She wasn’t planning on taking a nap- after all a four-year-old made that particularly difficult- but resting her eyes seemed like a good idea. With a sigh, she relaxed, letting her stress and worry ease away.
She didn’t get very far into her quiet time before she felt a warm wetness between her legs. Groaning, she stood up and started walking towards the house.
“Where are you going?” Richard asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I think I wet myself.” When his eyes widened, she rolled hers. “Remember? It happened all the time when I was pregnant with Iris. It’s just my luck that it’d happen with this one too.”
He frowned, “I’m sorry darling.”
“It’s fine,” She shrugged, “I’ll meet you inside for snack time?”
“Of course.”
She sighed again as she headed into the living room and snagged a clean pair of underwear from the laundry basket- thankful for once that she put off doing chores. Wandering into the downstairs bathroom, she stripped out of her pants and peeled back her panties, blood running cold. They were stained with a dark red.
She quickly changed, hands moving of their own accord as her mind raced. Exiting the bathroom, she made wide-eyed contact with her husband who paused his trek into the kitchen, picking up on her distress.
“What’s wrong?”
Swallowing heavily, her hands gripped the doorframe, knuckles turning white. “I think I need a doctor.” ___ The wait in the ER had been quick- only lasting about ten minutes- but to Karen, time crawled by. Waiting for the test results was even worse, the nurse had hastily taken blood, asked a few questions, then rushed off. Iris had been dropped off at her nephew’s house with little explanation which left the two of them to their thoughts and worries.
She wrung her hands, a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. It felt weird sitting on a hospital bed, after all the last time she had been in the hospital was when Iris was born and those memories did little to quell her nerves. Richard stood behind her, hands working her shoulders and she was grateful for his presence. If he had been on a business trip… she shook her head, now wasn’t the time for what-ifs.
“It’ll be okay.” She heard him say, though she wasn’t sure if it was to her or himself.
She didn’t have the heart to reply nor did she need to as a knock sounded on the door.
“Come in,” Richard called and a doctor walked in, holding a clipboard close to his chest.
“Chief Vick, Mr. Vick,” He greeted with a nod of his head. “My name is Dr. Phillips, I’m sorry for the wait.”
“It’s okay,” She replied, “Thank you for seeing us so quickly.”
“Well with something so-” He waved his free hand, “Serious, we wanted to get you in fast.”
Her stomach clenched. “Serious?”
He nodded solemnly. “Yes. I’m terribly sorry for this news but your blood work- and symptoms described- indicated that you’re having a miscarriage.”
Even though she had her suspicions, the words still hit her hard, knocking the air from her lungs. Her blood ran cold and she felt like she might throw up. Their child- the kid that they had been so excited about- was gone.
“In addition to your miscarriage,” He continued and she glanced up, barely registering his words, “Due to your age, I’m afraid you won’t be able to have any more children without serious complications. I’m very sorry.”
It felt like a punch to the gut, except she had experienced those before and this was so much worse. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think straight. The world was falling apart around her, crashing to pieces. Her fingers found Richard’s, holding his hand as if her life depended on it- right now it felt like it did.
“Do- do you know the gender?” Richard spoke up, his voice sounding distant and shaky.
Dr. Phillips nodded, “While it’s not one-hundred percent accurate, the results of some blood tests indicate that the baby would have been a boy.”
“A boy.” He whispered, and her heart twisted again. They could have had a boy.
“I’ll give you two a few minutes.” The doctor said, though she barely registered his words.
Once he left the room, Richard climbed onto the bed, legs on either side of her, and wrapped his arms around her stomach, burning her face into her neck. She couldn’t even relax into his touch though, her body too stiff, too shocked to even move. Numbness felt all-consuming aside from the constant ache in her abdomen, stomach cramping with broken dreams- a signal that what they had longed for had officially come to an end.
She didn’t even realize she was crying until he wiped at her tears with his thumb and suddenly, all her emotions couldn’t get out fast enough. Her face crashed into her palms as sobs wracked her body. Behind her, she felt Richard tremble, his own tears beginning to fall. Her chest ached, lungs heaving as she grieved- because that’s what this really was, it was grieving. Grieving the loss of their unborn son, grieving the opportunity to have another child, grieving the joy that would have come with it.
They sobbed for what felt like hours until tears no longer fell and her cries turned to dry heaving. Her sleeves and back were wet, soaked by their combined tears but she didn’t care, too focused on the ache inside her chest. Leaning against him, she took a shuddered breath and he wrapped his arms across her chest, her hands coming up to grip his forearms.
“I’m sorry.” She whispered. “I lost our baby.”
She could feel him shake his head. “Absolutely not Karen.” His voice was scratchy from unuse. “You didn’t lose anything. It happens.”
“It happened to us.” She took another shaking breath. “We were going to have a son.”
He sniffled. “I know.”
The pain increased as a thought crossed her mind, “How do we tell Iris?”
His breath hitched, “I don’t know… oh gosh this sucks so much.”
Nodding mutely, she closed her eyes, letting stray tears slip down her cheeks. “How are we going to get through this?” She mumbled.
“I don’t know,” He repeated, “but we’ll get through this together. We always do.”
Swallowing roughly, she nodded. “Thank you for being here… I love you.”
“I love you too. For better or for worse remember?”
“For better or for worse.” She echoed. ___ Two years later and the pain had faded, though not completely. Some days seeing mothers with new babies or families with lots of kids brought her back to that hospital- to pouring her emotions out on that bed and feeling that pain. But time had gone by, Iris was 6 now having recently started first grade, she was still chief and loving it. Life was still moving forward, and definitely for the better.
Her head detective was getting married and she sat in a dressing room, watching his bride-to-be get ready for her big day. She talked about how excited she was to be marrying him and Karen smiled, reflecting on her own wedding day all those years ago. She knew first hand that marriage had its ups and downs and she didn’t hesitate to tell the woman exactly that- about her occasional dreams of running away to the South of France, about Richard’s failed attempts to make eggs florentine or how he knew exactly what she needed on a stressful day. Her heart twisted and she yearned to tell them all about her miscarriage, that even in the hard times, it would all be worth it but she stopped, knowing that now wasn’t the time.
Instead, she began talking about what might have been. About her dreams of Richard being there for the birth of their child- about their son. “Oh, or that day when he walks into your hospital room holding your newborn son, and he will lay him gently on your chest, and he tells you that you look beautiful, even though you know you look like hell frozen over…” They chuckled and she smiled fondly, “And it all will be worth it.”
The moment was cut short as the maid of honor began complaining about her parole officer but she didn’t mind, jumping on the opportunity to help out- and thankful for the distraction. And later, when her detective cornered her, asking about why she said son when Iris exists, she didn’t hesitate to share what happened, reminding her that all relationships had pain but often the pain was worth it.
Watching her detectives dance and party, she smiled. Yes, she didn’t get to have more kids but her family wasn’t small. While the pain was still there, there was also hope. She had found her family and while it was unconventional, she wouldn’t have had it any other way.
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