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sugarcoated-lame · 8 months

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Life’s A Beach | Bradley Bradshaw x Reader

Single Dad!Bradley x Reader

This is the second installment of my single dad Bradley miniseries | part one | library blog

Summary: A few weeks have passed since meeting Bradley and Caroline, and what better way to spend time with the adorable father-daughter duo again than a day at the beach?

WC: 6K

Warnings: all of my works are 18+ minors DNI, shirtlessbradleyshirtlessbradleyshirtlessbradley, reader wears a bikini but there are no descriptions of body size/shape, mentions of food/eating, mutual pining, like one tiny mention of smut towards the end if you squint, I don’t really think there’s much else this is literally just straight up fluff, dilf Bradley just being the absolute sweetest, this part is much longer than the first bc I already had it written and then couldn’t help myself from adding almost 3k words while editing oops, once again I suck at titles and summaries :)

a/n: the header for this chapter was my first attempt at making a mood board, I hope y’all like it :) I love Dadley Dadshaw™️ and little Caroline so much, I couldn’t stop smiling while writing this chapter of pure fluff! If you enjoy it, please comment/reblog feedback is always appreciated. Thank you for reading! <3

•

You’re checking yourself in the mirror for probably the twentieth time when your phone buzzes with a text alerting you that Bradley is outside. You’d spent an embarrassing amount of time this morning trying on countless swimsuits in an attempt to find the perfect one.

It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon and with Bradley having the day off, and Caroline done with school for the weekend, he’d invited you to join them for a day at the beach. Since meeting them at the mall a few weeks ago when you’d helped reunite the father-daughter duo after the little girl had gotten lost, you’d maintained pretty regular communication.

The two of you had been texting almost daily, chatting about your days and getting to know each other a little better, and you were delighted to find out that Bradley did not, in fact, have a wife. He’d send you silly pictures of him and Caroline that never failed to make you smile even after a shitty day, and left you wondering how someone could still be so attractive while making the stupidest faces.

He told you a bit about his job — as not just a pilot like his daughter had told you when you met, but a fighter pilot, a naval aviator — and you told him about yours. You talked about your respective hobbies, favorite movies and your tastes in music among other things. Anything and everything that had come to mind, really.

Talking to Bradley was always easy. And there was definitely a bit of flirting. Okay, maybe a lot of flirting.

You’d also talk to Caroline too. She and Bradley had FaceTimed you a few times over the weeks and she’d update you all about how she was enjoying preschool so far, telling you that her daddy cried when he dropped her off on her first day — though, Bradley insists that he didn't — and about the new friends she’s made, before always asking when she’d get to see you again. You’d promised her, soon.

You’ve been pretty swamped with work, but you’re excited — if not a little anxious — to see them again. Though you hadn’t gotten another chance to see Bradley in person since that first day at the mall, your crush on him had grown exponentially. He was funny, charming, an amazing father to the sweetest little girl, and not to mention incredibly good looking.

Even through an iPhone camera, Bradley always looked so effortlessly gorgeous, his boyish smile and pretty eyes never failing to give you butterflies. You’d have to actively try not to swoon all the times he’d called you ‘sweetheart’ or said you looked pretty over FaceTime.

You could tell the mustached man liked you too, if his shameless flirting was anything to go by. He was too charming for his own good and he never seemed to fail to paint a blush on your cheeks. So, you want to make sure you look good when you join him and his daughter at the beach today.

You’d settled on a black bikini, the longline triangle top big enough to cover you up with enough cleavage to still be sexy, and the bottoms a little high waisted, the side strings pulled up high on your hips to accentuate your curves. You’d let your hair fall loose and flowing, and put on a light dusting of makeup.

After receiving Bradley’s text, you quickly throw on a matching black cover-up that ties at the front, your favorite pair of shorts and some flip flops, grabbing your bag and heading out the door.

Bradley’s waiting for you, leaned up against the side of his classic blue Bronco in a white and baby blue floral Hawaiian shirt — which you’ve learned over the last few weeks that he seems to own quite an array of, a pair of dark gray swim trunks that show off his muscular calves, and a pair of aviators shielding his eyes from the early afternoon sun.

His tanned features only seem to glow in the bright light of the sun, and as you watch Bradley’s face light up with a grin when he sees you, sandy curls blowing in the slight breeze, you have to clench your teeth to keep your jaw from dropping. God, he’s gorgeous.

“Hey, sweetheart. How are you?”

Bradley pulls you into a hug as soon as you reach him, and you happily wrap your arms around him. Inhaling his delicious scent and relishing in his warmth as you tell him that you’re doing good, before asking how he’s been too.

“I’ve been good, thanks. You look beautiful.” Bradley compliments you with a growing smirk once he releases you. You’re going to have to get used to the blush that seems to permanently reside over your cheeks whenever you are in his presence.

“You look– good too…” You trail off shyly, lips lifting into a sheepish grin as you push back some strands of hair that had blown in your face from the breeze, looking down at your sandal-clad feet.

Flirting with Bradley was much easier over text. You’re just thankful that his eyes are currently covered by his sunglasses, unsure if you’d be able to handle his deep, honeyed gaze on you right now without your knees buckling.

Bradley chuckles at your shyness, he loves how easily he can make you flush.

“Come on, I know someone is very excited to see you.” He places a gentle hand at the small of your back and leads you to the passenger side of the Bronco, opening the door for you. Your skin tingles with warmth where his hand had touched you as you climb into the passenger seat and Bradley closes the door for you.

Immediately upon entering the truck, you’re met with a high-pitched yell of your name. You turn around to see Caroline, all tucked into her car seat, sandy curls tied up in pigtails, and a tiny pair of aviator sunglasses that match her dad’s over her eyes. She really is Bradley's mini-me and you don’t think she could get any cuter.

“Hey, sweet pea!” She’d told you when you called her that on one of your FaceTime calls that that was her favorite nickname because peas are her favorite vegetable.

“You ready for a beach day?” You inquire happily, to which Caroline replies with a toothy grin and excited squeals of affirmation. She lifts her little aviators up onto the top of her head as she talks excitedly to you, while Bradley chuckles and begins to drive.

The two of you spend the entire drive to the beach chatting animatedly, Bradley chiming in here and there, but mostly just enjoying listening to the way you happily field the kind of questions and roundabout rambling that can only come from a four-year old.

He swears that his heart is going to explode out of his chest seeing how great you are with his daughter. How much Caroline already seems to love you, and how much you seem to love her too.

***

Upon arriving at the beach and finding a spot for the Bronco in the moderately crowded lot, Bradley quickly leaps out of the driver’s side to open your door for you, eliciting a bashful smile and quiet ‘thanks’ from you as he takes your hand in his much larger one to help you down.

When your feet are safely on the ground and he’s closed the door behind you, Bradley makes his way to the back door to help Caroline — who is bouncing her little legs and practically vibrating with excitement – out of her car seat.

The three of you make your way up to the beach, Bradley carrying a large cooler that he procured from the trunk. And while you try your hardest to not drool over his impressive arms, you hold a large tote that’s filled to the brim with a blanket, towels, Caroline’s countless beach toys, and an umbrella sticking out of the top in one hand, and Caroline’s smaller hand in your free one.

It’s only a short walk, and the second your feet touch the sand, Caroline’s little hand releases yours as she bounds ahead of you and her father in search of a good spot to set up.

Bradley lets out an exasperated sigh and lifts up his sunglasses, sharp eyes trained ahead to follow his daughter’s bouncing pigtails as she runs along the busy beach. “God, she’s really gotta stop doing that.”

Holding back a giggle — because you know firsthand that Caroline wandering off is a fairly common occurrence — you look up at Bradley with a sympathetic pout.

“Yeah, but if she didn’t do that, you never would’ve met me.” You shrug matter-of-factly, lips tugging up at the corner on their own accord.

Bradley can’t help but chuckle at that.

“I guess that’s true,” the playful smirk growing on your face draws a matching one onto his lips. “But, sooner or later, she’s gonna give her old man a heart attack.”

You join him in his laughter as you continue walking toward the empty spot where you see Caroline has stopped, bouncing on her feet and waiting for the two of you with an adorable toothy grin.

“You’re not that old.” With a playful roll of your eyes, you lightly smack his shoulder.

Once everything is set up – the blanket laid out along the sand and held down at the corners by the heavy cooler and the tote, the large beach umbrella creating a nice bit of shade, and Caroline’s various toys already scattered about — Bradley kicks off his flip flops and reaches up to begin unbuttoning his Hawaiian shirt. Dropping his aviators onto the blanket along with it, leaving him in just his dark gray swim shorts with his torso bare.

Whoa. You thought he was hot with his clothes on, but you nearly went into shock upon seeing him without them. You knew Bradley was obviously in shape — you could see that even under the Hawaiian shirts and soft looking Navy tees he always wore over Facetime – but you didn’t know he was that muscular.

All golden skin and rippling muscles, broad shoulders and strong arms. Almost ridiculously toned abs and thick thighs leading down to shapely legs, Bradley looked like he was sculpted by the gods. Though he was a father, he certainly did not have a ‘dad bod’. You guessed that his elite naval training must be to thank for that.

In the hopes of distracting yourself — and to stop yourself from frothing at the mouth over Bradley’s physique, you decide to focus on applying the sunscreen that you also found in Bradley’s beach bag. You remove your cover-up and shimmy out of your shorts, already enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun blanketing the newly exposed skin.

Holy shit, Bradley has to stop himself from saying out loud as he catches a view of you in your bikini.

The way that the black fabric fits your body perfectly, just a hint of your plush breasts visible in the triangle top and the high-cut bottoms with little strings that cinch in at your waist accentuating your curves in all the right places, has Bradley’s heart beating faster and his cheeks heating up with a flush that he knows is not just a product of the bright sun.

He feels like he might start drooling at any moment as he takes in the sight of your skin – so much skin, and he wants to know if it would feel as soft as it looks, under his fingertips.

He watches in awe as you begin to apply your sunscreen, delicate hands smoothing over planes of skin, and Bradley wishes he could replace them with his own. He needs to stop ogling you before his swim trunks begin to show the evidence of just how much you’re affecting him.

When you’re finished lathering yourself in sunscreen, Bradley’s heart starts clenching in his chest for a whole different reason as you offer to help Caroline apply hers. She accepts your offer without hesitation, head nodding a mile a minute and that big grin that never fails to make Bradley’s heart melt on her sweet little face, and he swears she’s never taken to anyone — not even the Dagger Squad — so quickly.

He gazes on, eyes with wide adoration as you kneel down to meet his daughter’s height, gently – and oh so patiently – rubbing the cream onto the baby-soft skin of her arms and legs as she jumps and squirms around, her golden brown curls bouncing, the impatient four-year old ready to take off like a tornado down the beach.

Bradley can’t help but admire the sweet smile that overtakes your face and your soft laugh as Caroline scrunches up her adorable little button nose while you apply the sunscreen to her face, and he swears his heart grows three times its size when he hears the giggles bubbling out of his little girl’s mouth as you playfully pinch her nose and let her know that you’re done.

“What do we say, Caroline?” Bradley asks his daughter before she has a chance to run off in her excitement. His tone is slightly stern and his hands are on his hips, though a smirk is tugging at the corner of his lips as he squints against the bright sun to look at his daughter who returns his gaze with a wide-eyed, almost caught-out expression.

“Thank you!” Caroline turns back to you and wraps her arms around your neck in a quick hug that makes your heart melt.

Before you can hug her back, she races over to her dad and hugs her arms around his hips, her little head resting on his taut belly as she looks up at him with those big, brown puppy dog eyes that rival his own.

“Can we go in the ocean, Daddy?”

When Bradley lovingly strokes the crown of her head and grins down at her, you swear you could cry from how adorable the two of them are. “Of course we can, Bug.”

Then, Bradley lifts his little girl off the sand – and she looks so tiny in his arms – and you can’t help but giggle at the two of them as he leans down to blow raspberries on Caroline’s tummy through the fabric of her ruffly lilac bathing suit, high-pitched squeals and shrieking giggles leaving her as she flails in his hold, breathlessly yelling, “Daddy, stop!” while he continues to tickle her.

“Alright, alright. I’m done.” Bradley chuckles, only stopping when one of Caroline’s flailing limbs nearly hits him in the face. He presses a kiss to one of her flushed cheeks, and then the two of them are looking at you with matching grins.

“You comin’, sweetheart?” The term of endearment makes your heart flutter. You glance between the two of them, holding back a laugh at the four-year old that’s buzzing with excitement in her father’s arms.

“I think I’m just gonna relax here for a bit and soak up some sun, but you two go ahead!”

Bradley looks down to where you sit on the beach blanket with an appraising look as you smile at the two of them, a hand hovering above your squinting eyes to shield them from the sun, and you could swear you catch his eyes trailing down the line of your body for just a second before returning to yours. “You sure?”

“Yeah, you two go! Enjoy some father-daughter time.” You nod, a pretty smile on your face, and the playful wink you send his daughter has Bradley’s swim trunks feeling the slightest bit tighter again. Yeah, maybe a few minutes apart from you would do him some good.

Little does Bradley know, your reasoning for staying back is similar to his for not arguing with that. You need a moment to yourself to refrain from doing something stupid – like trying to lick his abs or climb him like a tree – if you have to be up close to him and his gorgeous body for one more second.

You relax onto the blanket, your face hidden under the shade of the umbrella as you watch Bradley take off toward the ocean with Caroline still in his arms, the little girl giggling the whole way there.

You watch on adoringly as Bradley plays with his daughter, chasing her around on the wet sand and scooping her up in his strong arms, spinning her around and dunking her partially into the water. The two of them run through the waves, splashing each other, all smiles and laughs the entire time.

In just the brief time that you’ve known them, it’s very easy to see that Bradley’s daughter is his whole world.

When they return a while later, Caroline sprints ahead of her dad to reach you on the blanket where you’re already waiting with a smile to hand her her beach towel that has cute little frogs printed all over it.

Bradley reaches the two of you a few moments later and your arm freezes mid-air as you reach up to hand him a towel as well, too distracted to even ogle over his glistening, wet skin as you notice the red shade that’s beginning to take over the skin of his cheeks and his broad shoulders.

“Bradley, you’re all red! Did you put on any sunscreen?” You question with a breathy laugh, though Bradley can see the concern in your eyes as he takes the towel from your outstretched hand and begins to dry the water droplets on his tanned skin.

Before he can respond that he had, Caroline chimes in. “Daddy says he burns if he even looks at the sun!” She exclaims through her giggles.

You laugh along with her for a moment before fixing him with that cute, sympathetic pout again that makes Bradley’s heart flutter in his chest.

Before he knows it, you’re reaching into the beach bag for the tube of sunscreen and standing to be closer to his height – though he’s still got quite a few inches on you.

“Here, let me-” You squeeze some of the sunscreen out onto your fingers, and then your delicate hands are working the cream into the skin of Bradley’s face and his cheeks are, again, warming even more and not because of the sun.

His skin tingles where your light touch had been, and Bradley thanks whatever gods are out there that Caroline jumps in and insists that you build a sandcastle with her before you get a chance to start working the sunscreen onto his shoulders. He doesn’t know that he could handle you touching him any longer without saying or doing something stupid.

“Thanks, sweetheart. I think I can take it from here.” Bradley’s tone is flirty as he holds a hand out for the tube of sunblock, fingers grazing yours, and his lips turn up in a smirk at the flush developing on your own cheeks as you nod back at him. And he can’t suppress the quiet chuckle at the stumble in your steps as you make your way back over to Caroline to get to work on your sandcastle.

After applying the sunscreen to his own shoulders, Bradley sits down in the sand to join you and his daughter.

“Daddy! We’re building the world’s biggest sandcastle!” Caroline exclaims, filling up her bucket with sand. “It’s gonna be bigger than you!”

Bradley lets out a throaty laugh, “Yeah, I’ll bet!” He looks to you and the two of you grin at each other conspiratorially. “Can I help?”

Once the three of you have built – and demolished, a la Caroline jumping straight onto it – the “biggest sandcastle she’s ever seen”, she and Bradley convince you to get in the water with them.

You all play a game of tag in the shallows, Bradley stopping to lift his daughter out of the water every so often when there was a large wave, before you and Caroline decide to gang up on Bradley to splash him with salty seawater until he’s soaked and looking at the two of you with a pout that you want to kiss right off of his lips.

Then, Bradley’s pout quickly morphs into a mischief-filled grin, a matching one growing on his daughter’s face as you look between them, the two of them seeming to have a sort of silent conversation.

“What are you-” Before you can finish asking the question, you let out a yelp as a strong pair of arms wraps around your waist and lifts you into the air, both Bradley and Caroline laughing like hyenas as the four-year old begins splashing you with water, and you can’t help but laugh along with them as you squirm under Bradley’s very strong grip.

All too soon, Bradley’s arms are releasing you, but he keeps a steadying hand on your waist as he settles you back onto your feet. His whiskey-hued eyes peering into yours and you can only gaze back, left a bit breathless, your skin set alight with butterflies where his large palm had been even when he’s no longer touching you.

“Daddy, I’m hungry!” Caroline announces, tension in the air dissipating as she jumps up and down between the two of you, tugging on the hem of her dad’s swim trunks.

You can breathe again as Bradley chuckles at her and finally shifts his gaze away from you, pushing back some of the wet curls that are stuck to her forehead. “Yeah, me too. Lead the way, Bug.”

The three of you make your way back up to your little setup on the beach, the little girl tugging you along with a hand wrapped in yours.

Bradley produces a few little packs of apple slices and the three sandwiches he’d packed earlier that morning from the cooler, peanut butter and jelly – Caroline’s favorite, as you’ve learned over your many facetime calls with the father-daughter duo and giggled at the four-year old’s jelly-covered face, where you let them know they were one of your favorites too.

“Bon appetit.” Bradley chuckles, holding out one of the plastic wrapped, diagonally cut sandwiches to you, a slightly sheepish smile coming over his mustached lips. “I know it’s not much, but-”

You cut him off with a shake of your head before he can finish his statement, and meet him with a sincere grin. “It’s perfect.”

He hands Caroline the one sandwich that has the crusts cut off and a packet of apple slices, and then pulls out an ice cold bottle of water for each of you, and a juicebox for his daughter.

While Caroline sweetly asks you to put the straw into her juicebox for her, Bradley pulls out one last thing from the cooler that has your heart leaping in your chest when you turn to notice him place something down in front of you.

A bottle of your favorite iced tea. Something you’d never explicitly mentioned to him, but that Bradley had noticed you always seemed to be drinking on your video calls with them. It’s such a simple gesture, and yet you feel like you could cry at the sweetness of it.

Bradley’s chest swells with pride as you pin him with a bright smile, eyes full of adoration. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you, sweetheart.” Bradley sends you a wink that sends your heart into overdrive as he takes a bite out of his sandwich.

Bradley admires the two of you as he sits and eats his PB&J. His daughter is once again talking at you a mile a minute in that adorable, roundabout way that only little kids do as you follow along enthusiastically with a smile, you gently wiping jelly from Caroline’s face with a wet napkin and making sure that she drinks her water when you notice her cheeks getting a bit flushed.

“Just like her daddy.” He listens to you tell Caroline with a playful shake of your head, and the wink you send in his direction has Bradley swearing internally that he’s going to die, and he can’t help but think that he’d be more than happy to do this all the time.

After spending a while longer on the beach – you and Bradley sat on the large blanket chatting and watching Caroline play and build her own little castles with her pail and shovel, the three of you jumping in the water one more time, and you hiding your snickers behind your hand while Bradley tries to convince Caroline that it is not a good idea to bury him in the sand – the sun is just beginning to set.

And though he doesn’t want this day to end, Bradley decides it’s time to head home when he notices his four-year old rubbing her eyes and starting to yawn every couple of minutes.

You help him pack everything up and then the three of you make the trek back to the car, Caroline half asleep on her dad’s broad shoulders, while you walk close by Bradley’s side in a peaceful silence.

Caroline falls asleep almost instantly once Bradley gets her settled into the Bronco in her car seat, and you can’t help but coo at the adorable little girl when you turn back to look at her from the passenger seat.

The drive back to your apartment is a peaceful one, the sun still setting and bathing everything it touches in its dying golden glow — including Bradley — and you find it hard not to stare at his exquisite side profile as he bops his head along to the classic songs that play quietly from the radio as the two of you chat idly, low enough to not wake up the sleeping little girl in the backseat.

When the Bronco comes to a stop in front of your apartment, the sky has almost fully darkened and neither you or Bradley move for a long few moments, neither one of you really wanting to say goodbye, not quite ready for this perfect day to end yet.

Bradley clears his throat and turns his gaze to you with that boyish, mustached grin that sends butterflies coursing through your system and the smile you meet him with is an easy one.

“Thank you for coming today,” Bradley’s voice is quiet, raspy and deep and heat pools in your tummy as he continues to speak. “Caroline had a blast. She really likes you.”

His statement has you glancing back at the sleepy four-year old and beaming with adoration when you turn back to reply, “I really like her too. And, I had a great time. Thanks for inviting me.”

Bradley’s smile turns more playful as he nods his head, his honey brown eyes peering deep into your own as he quietly speaks again. “I really like you too.”

With the pulsing in your ears from your heart practically beating out of your chest, it takes you a few long seconds to reply and all you can manage to get out is a whispered “Yeah, me too…”

Your voice trails off and and your smile turns sheepish, gaze tilted down toward your lap to hide the obvious flush you know is blooming on your cheeks.

Bradley’s grin only broadens, eyes full of mirth at your sudden shyness.

“Can I walk you to your door?” His deep voice sends a shiver down your spine and you don’t really trust yours to be steady with him looking at you like that, so you simply nod in response.

After Bradley checks behind him to see that his daughter is still sleeping soundly in the backseat, he unbuckles his seatbelt and quietly hops out of the Bronco. He quickly makes his way over to the passenger side to open the door for you and help you down from his truck.

With one last look through the window at Caroline, Bradley locks up the Bronco and you begin the short walk to your door. The two of you are trailing along the concrete path slowly, Bradley’s palm hovering at the small of your back to guide you and warming your skin through the thin fabric of your cover-up.

You hesitate when you reach your front door, leaning your back against the hardwood to face Bradley, still not quite ready to cut your time with him short.

Peering up at him through your lashes, you thank Bradley before letting him know again, “I really had a great time today.”

“Yeah, me too, sweetheart.” You could swear he’s really trying to kill you every time he uses that nickname. “We should definitely do this again sometime.”

Your voices are both still quiet, as if to not disturb the peaceful, but intense atmosphere that’s built around the two of you.

“Yes, we should.” You nod your head, bottom lip caught between your teeth as Bradley’s eyes peers into yours, pools of molten honey searching your expression.

Whatever he’s looking for, he seems to find it. One of his big hands reaches up to cup your cheek, large palm splaying across the smooth skin and long fingers reaching into your hair, and he loves the way you instantly lean into his warm touch.

Bradley just admires you for a long moment, his heavy gaze trailing down from your pretty eyes to your plush lips, further to where your chest is rapidly rising up and down under your sheer cover-up as your breath quickens, and then back up again to see the look of want in your dilated eyes.

When he can no longer take the tension that’s been building up between you all day, Bradley takes a step closer, leaving only a few inches between the two of you. He leans down and the hand on your cheek guides your lips up to meet his in a kiss that’s sweet, but firm, and all-consuming.

Your lips move softly against his, one of your hands lifting up to wrap around the wrist of his hand that still cups your face. His pulse under your fingertips grounding you as you sigh into the kiss, and you think you could get lost in him.

His lips, gentle and languid as they press against your own, the hairs of his mustache tickling your skin, and the comforting scent of him surrounding you — the spicy cologne that still lingers on his clothes, a hint of sweat mixed with the fresh, beachy scent from a day spent on the sand and sea, and something that’s just Bradley.

When Bradley deepens the kiss, lips moving more fervently against your own, your resulting whimper has him crowding you against the door, no longer an inch of space left between your bodies as his broad chest presses against yours, his free hand coming to grip at your waist.

Bradley’s tongue trails the seam of your lips, begging for entrance that you grant him without resistance, swallowing his deep groan as your free hand reaches up to his hair. Your fingers tangle into the strands, his waves extra defined from the salty sea water, fluffy from the beach and now, you.

As your tongue glides along with his, Bradley’s strong hands now both squeeze at your waist, trailing down your sides until they reach the backs of your thighs. He effortlessly lifts you into his strong arms, never breaking the kiss, and your legs wrap around his waist as the weight of his body presses you harder into your front door.

Things continue on like this — for minutes or hours, you’re not quite sure as you completely lose yourself in the feeling of Bradley’s kiss — only getting deeper, hungrier, more frenzied. Your lips never parting from Bradley’s despite the burning that’s beginning to grow in your lungs, thighs clenching around his hips in search of even a hint of friction to curb the arousal that’s building in your core.

Bradley finally pulls away when the lack of oxygen gets to be too much. Your lips chase his, the little whimper you send him when his mouth is no longer on yours, going straight to his cock that’s pressed against your hip, straining against his already-tight swim trunks, and his head is spinning from the way your lips trail down to press gentle kisses to his jaw.

He wishes he could take you inside your apartment — to your bed, and he would have, but it’s then that he remembers his four year-old daughter is asleep in the backseat of his car.

Bradley’s forehead presses against your own and he breathes in deep before exhaling a deep sigh to steady himself. After pressing one last peck to your lips, he sets your feet back down on the ground. He takes a step back to look at you, hands hesitating to leave your waist as he doesn’t want to stop touching you yet.

Your expression is dazed, lips are swollen and eyes blown wide, your heaving chest matching his own as you take the oxygen back into your lungs, and Bradley can’t help but pull you in one last time with a hand on the back of your neck to kiss you breathless — again.

When he pulls away this time, Bradley hardly gives himself a moment to catch his breath before he pants out, “Can I please take you on a date?”

You nod your head near-frantically and you laugh just as breathlessly. “I was starting to think you’d never ask.”

Bradley chuckles, gazing down at you in adoration, his thumb that reaches up to caress your cheek and his next words draw a blush to your cheeks.

“Believe me, I’ve wanted to for weeks. Since the first day that we met you.”

You turn your head to press a sweet kiss to Bradley’s thumb.

“You could have. I definitely would’ve said yes.” You reply with a bashful smile.

“Yeah, I’m a bit off my game. I haven’t really done this in a while if I’m being honest.” Bradley admits a little sheepishly and you nod along, encouraging him to continue.

“I haven’t dated much since Caroline. She’s kinda become my whole world.” He scratches the back of his neck, feeling a bit awkward and hoping you don’t think that’s pathetic.

You take his hand in yours and smile at Bradley, eyes shining bright in what can only be described as admiration.

“You’re an amazing father, Bradley. You're so dedicated to Caroline and that’s one of the things I love most about you.”

You give his hand a gentle squeeze as you gaze up at him, leaning up on your tiptoes to place a gentle kiss on his sun-reddened cheek. “And I definitely want to go out with you.”

“Thank god.” The pair of you let out relieved laughs at his words. Bradley’s hands reach out for your waist once again. “Come here.”

Bradley leaves you with one more passionate kiss that ends way too quickly for either of your liking and a ‘Goodnight, sweetheart’ that paints a blush on your cheeks.

After making sure that you’re safely inside your apartment, Bradley strides back to the Bronco, unable to wipe the grin from his lips. With a glance in the rearview mirror at his baby girl still sound asleep in her car seat, he begins the short journey back to their home, a goofy smile on his face for the entirety of the drive as he thinks about how he’s going to take you on the perfect date.

•

Thank you for reading! x

Don't forget to comment/reblog if you enjoyed, feedback is always appreciated! I've got one more part planned for this little series, it's not written yet but I hope to get it out to you guys soon <3

tag list: @wkndwlff @sebsxphia @chaoticassidy @dempy @ohgodnotagainn @shanimallina87 @mavrellover91 @memoriesat30 @that-bitch-bri @classyunknownlover @hisredheadedgoddess28 @foreverrandomwritings @lt-spork @princess76179 @gigisimsonmars @kidd3ath @averyhotchner @sammyrenae68 @tv-fanatic18 @one-sweet-gubler @kmc1989 @avengersfan25 @fictionalmenloversblog @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby @praline357 @girlsclub2004 @misshoneypaper @diorrfairy

also tagging some people who reblogged/commented on part one: @bitter-post-millennial @rhettabbotts @hangmanssunnies @milestomaverick @becks-things @indynerdgirl @perfectprettypisces @annathesillyfriend @southpawbitch @colourfulsuitwonderland @wildxwidow @roger-that-cap @ineedtosusoutmyreadinglist @valhallaas @mayari-tala @teacupsandtopgun @dorothychxca @fangirlvoice @jjenjoysthings @kmc1989 @rosiahills22 @je-suis-prest-rachel

#bradley bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x reader #rooster bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw x female reader #top gun maverick #bradley bradshaw fluff #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #bradley bradshaw x y/n #Bradley Bradshaw x you #rooster #rooster bradshaw x female reader #rooster bradshaw x you #top gun fanfiction #miles teller #dad bradley #single dad bradley #my writing

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princesse-de-ravenclaw · 1 year

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Champagne Problems (i)

summary: Y/N Y/L/N has everything: a wealthy family, a famous last name, and the most eligible bachelor in the wizarding community as her soon to be husband. What happens when she’s reunited with a forbidden friend from the past?

tw: angst if you squint??

word count: 3,990

Y/N Y/L/N thought she had everything. A lavish lifestyle, many admirers, a hefty inheritance, and a wealthy man she was promised to marry. Granted, she didn’t know him very well, and had only spent a few minutes with him here and there, he seemed nice enough- definitely the kind of fellow she could learn to fall in love with. Y/N couldn’t really care less about falling in love, anyway. She’d never experienced it, never wanted to. Maybe she would fall in love with her fiancé, maybe they would only go through life together as partners in society. Either way was fine with her. As soon as she said “I Do,” she would gain even more money and an even higher social status. This marriage would make her basically royalty in the wizard community.

An engagement party was being thrown, and all of the noble wizard families were invited to celebrate with Y/N and her fiancé. Y/N’s parents had Amelia Rosehart, the most famous stylist in the Wizarding world, come to create a gown for Y/N for the evening and style her hair and her makeup. “Nothing but the best from here on out!” They declared jovially. They were the most excited for the marriage, as being tied to the Williams family would bring them an even higher social standing as well. They had decorators come in to enchant the ballroom, and caterers apparating in from France- the only event that would be more extravagant than the engagement party was the actual wedding.

Guests started arriving right as Y/N finished getting ready. The elaborate chime of the doorbell began as Amelia put the finishing rouge on Y/N’s lips. The dress was gorgeous- champagne colored, coated intricately with rhinestones. It had a v-shaped neckline with delicate spaghetti straps and fell beautifully into a modified a-line. It really was a masterpiece. Her hair was put into an elegant half-up do with a thin hairpiece made to match her dress, and her eyeshadow was painted on with shimmering neutrals and the most beautiful eyelash extensions money could buy. All of this topped off with a deep red lipstick, Y/N looked like something out of a work of art. Looking in the mirror, she could hardly recognize herself. Reckon I ought to get used to looking like this. This is what the future looks like, Y/N told herself. She held her chin a little higher, looked at herself one last time, and then headed downstairs to greet the first guests to arrive.

Of course, the Williamses were the first to arrive. Mr. Williams, Gerald, was not a tall man. He was rather stout with white hair and white mutton-chop sideburns, and a very stern face. He was extremely interested in politics, and completely unafraid of voicing his opinions. Y/N had only met him twice and she knew to hold her tongue around him. His wife, Margaux, emitted an aura of elegance that was unmatched. Her hair was a light brown, peppered with grays that she wore proudly, unlike Y/N’s mother who fussed over every little silver hair that showed up on her head. Margaux Williams was a beautiful woman, who looked much more youthful than her actual age, but there was something about her face that radiated wisdom and knowledge, she seemed to have lived a thousand lifetimes. Together, they seemed like royalty.

Peter Williams looked like his mother, but in a charming, boyish way. He had short blond hair, naturally wavy and styled back with a copious amount of gel. He had big eyes, a deep blue in color that always seemed to sparkle. He was always clean shaven, with a sharp jawline and prominent cheekbones. He was tall, with an athletic build, and Y/N couldn’t help but notice that he had the whitest teeth she’d ever seen. He was handsome, there was no denying that. Peter was the poster child for perfect boys- he had graduated from Durmstrang the year before, played quidditch from his second through seventh years, and since completing school, he had taken a job at the ministry of magic, just as a formality, of course. It was evident that he didn’t need the money. He was polite and cordial, as far as Y/N knew. She had only spent scattered minutes with him up until now.

“Mr. and Mrs. Williams, Peter, it’s lovely to see you. Please, come in,” Y/N bowed her head politely before stepping aside to let her soon-to-be family enter. “Mimkey will take your coats,” Y/N informed them, motioning to the house elf standing to the left of the entrance. And thus, the small talk began. The weather, Y/N’s upcoming school year, how marvelous Peter was doing at his job in the ministry. It was all very charming and polite, and Y/N wondered for a moment when she would actually get to know these people, other than exchanging small pleasantries. She supposed it wouldn’t matter, maybe she would go the rest of her life only exchanging shallow chitchat with these people, and that was fine. She had been tutored in small talk since before she started at Hogwarts, it was nothing she couldn’t handle.

Shortly after the Williamses arrived, more guests began to show up, and the evening began. Extravagant gifts were brought and set on display: rare wines, expensive candles, intricate bouquets of flowers, among other things. It was all very posh. Y/N tried to greet everyone when they arrived, but after the tenth family showed up, it became nearly impossible. Everyone wanted a chance to chat with the happy couple. As soon as one person was done asking questions, another person would come in and swoop Y/N and Peter away to answer more. Questions about the wedding, did they have plans for a honeymoon yet, were they already thinking about children, it seemed like they answered the same handful of questions hundreds of times over and over. Y/N wondered if Peter was as tired of answering them as she was, and he was just doing a good job of not showing it, or if he actually didn’t mind it at all. If the former was true, Peter was even better at handling formalities than Y/N was. She added that to a mental note of assets that Peter possessed. She was sure that would come in handy in their future.

After a particularly intrusive conversation about their plans for having children, Y/N couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. She was only 17, she wasn’t ready to have children yet. These people were expecting her to finish her 7th year at Hogwarts and immediately get married and start having babies. Her whole life, she knew that when she graduated, she would be married to Peter and her life as a Williams would begin. She had never stopped to think that that meant that she would have to become a stay at home mother at 18. Y/N excused herself from the conversation to get some fresh air. She kept a polite smile on her face as she passed guests, and swept a glass of champagne off of one of the trays that was being passed around as she made her way to the main staircase.

Y/N rushed upstairs and down the hall to the second floor balcony. Thinking she was alone, she let out a deep sigh and gulped down half of her glass. “Small talk can be exhausting,” a voice spoke up, causing Y/N to jump and nearly lose her glass. She knew that voice. She hadn’t spoken to him since they were 11, but his reputation at school preceded him. “Jesus, Sirius, what are you doing out here?” she asked, “What are you doing here at all, actually?” Y/N and Sirius were the best of friends when they were children. The Y/L/N’s and the Blacks were close, but when Sirius got sorted into Gryffindor and started rejecting the Blacks’ family values, Y/N was forbidden from being friends with him, as her parents didn’t want him to taint their perfect proper little girl.

“I was invited. You sent the letter to the whole Black family,” Sirius shrugged. “I assumed they wouldn’t bring you, seeing as none of them really speak to you,” Y/N told him honestly. Sirius cracked a playful smile, “Are you trying to tell me I’m not welcome here?” Y/N rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but smile back. “Of course you’re welcome here,” she told him, “But if any of my family sees you and tells you to leave, I didn’t tell you that.” Sirius leaned over and clinked his glass to hers. “You’ve got a deal,” He smiled. “Anyway, I’m out here because I simply cannot stand any of these people,” Sirius answered Y/N’s previous question. “What’s got you out here avoiding your own party?” he asked. “I-ugh- I am not avoiding my own party! I just-“ Y/N sputtered, but Sirius just quirked a brow at her.

“Look,” Y/N sighed, “I can handle the ungodly amounts of small talk. It’s boring, and even a little bit stupid, but I’m good at it, and I can do it. But in there... these people are planning my whole future out for me and I don’t have a say. I always knew my options were going to be limited, I knew that I was going to have to marry Peter and I accepted that. But now that it’s so close, I’m being pressured to drop everything I’ve been looking forward to, just to become a housewife. And a mother. A mother! Can you imagine, me? Leaving school, immediately getting married and then having a baby at 18? I don’t know, I guess I always thought I would have some time to live my life at least a little bit before I had to give everything up,” Y/N shook her head before gulping down the rest of her glass of champagne.

“Yeah, I can see where that might get to be a bit unbearable,” Sirius agreed. “It’s just... I don’t know. I want this. Of course I want this. I just, wanted other things too, I guess. And before tonight I thought I could have it all, but I suppose that was unrealistic to think,” Y/N told him. Sirius could tell that Y/N was ready to change the subject, so he didn’t press. “Well, on the bright side, you look ravishing,” Sirius gave her a wolfish smile. Y/N laughed and rolled her eyes, “Thank you.” It occurred to her then that Sirius’s comment might have been the first genuine compliment she’d gotten all night. Of course, she looked good. With how much money her family had spent on her dress, hair, and makeup, she would certainly hope she looked good. But everyone that had complimented her throughout the evening, it was all about how nice the expensive things looked. The expensive dress, the expensive shoes, the professionally done makeup. Sirius was the only person who had actually complimented her, not even Peter had done that. Sirius didn’t care about all of the fancy extras, and Y/N knew that.

“Earth to Y/N?” Sirius asked, snapping Y/N out of her thoughts. “Sorry, I just...” Y/N trailed off, shaking her head. “Where’d you go?” Sirius tilted his head slightly to the side. “Just...” Y/N sighed, “Just thinking about how shallow all of these people here are. Everything is about money,” she admitted. Sirius nodded silently. He knew, as much as he tried to reject it, he grew up in the same community she did. “And don’t get me wrong, I like money. I enjoy being wealthy and all of the privileges that come with it. But that’s the difference, isn’t it? I know that they are privileges, perks, I understand that I’m fortunate enough to be born into a wealthy family. I’ve seen how some of the kids we go to school with live. I know that I’m lucky, and I never intend to let that go to my head, or forget that it could have easily been me that was born into a lower middle class family. Everyone here, they just take it all for granted. They’re so entitled, they think that they actually deserve everything handed to them on a silver platter. It’s just...” Y/N trailed off.

“It’s sickening,” Sirius finished for her. “It makes you want to take them by the shoulders and shake them and yell ‘get your head out of your arse! You are no better than anyone else, money means nothing in terms of character.’” “Yes, exactly!” Y/N exclaimed with a laugh. “How exactly did you come to have the ideals of a decent person when you grew

up surrounded by all of this bullshit?” Sirius asked her, almost incredulously. “I guess I just like other people too much,” Y/N shrugged. “Most of them go through school only talking to people in our community. I talked to everyone, made friends with everyone, heard everyone’s stories. I guess I took a little bit from all of them and became my own person,” Y/N stared up at the night sky. “Kind of, my own person,” she corrected herself. “Mostly, your own person, I think,” Sirius told her, “I think you’re just holding onto this one last thing that’s going to keep you here forever,” he said honestly.

“No, you’re right. There are so many things I disagree with, so many things I don’t care about. But I love my family, and this is what they’re asking of me, so this is what I have to do,” Y/N nodded, almost to convince herself. Sirius stayed silent. “I um, I ought to get back in there. I can’t be a very good host if I’m hiding out here, can I?” Y/N laughed lightly. “No, I don’t suppose you can,” Sirius smiled, and Y/N thought she saw a bit of disappointment in his eyes. She shook the thought out of her head and turned to walk back inside, but paused at the door. “Hey, Sirius?” she asked, turning to him. “Yeah?” he replied. “Do you think.. do you think it would be okay if we said ‘hi’ to each other, like in the halls at school?” she asked sheepishly. Sirius chuckled and grinned brightly, “I think I would like that.” Y/N grinned back. “Me too. Have fun, don’t get thrown out,” she quipped. “Can’t make any promises. You try not to get brainwashed in there,” he gave her a wink, and with a smile, Y/N returned to the party.

After another hour or so of mingling, it was time for dinner to be served. Y/N was grateful for all of her training in hosting, as she was able to mindlessly chatter away while her mind was lingering on her conversation with Sirius. She discreetly looked for him, while everyone was gathered to eat, but if he came inside for dinner, he was seated in a different room, because Y/N didn’t see him. Peter didn’t talk much, only answered questions he was asked directly, and Y/N did the same. Their parents did most of the talking, and for that, Y/N was grateful. The longer she sat at the dinner table, the more drained she felt. After dessert was served, Margaux clinked her spoon to her glass and everyone fell silent. “Everyone, if you would please gather in the ballroom once you have finished your dessert. Peter has an announcement he would like to make,” She announced. “Mimkey, will you please relay the message to the guests dining in the other rooms?” Y/M/N instructed the house elf. “Of course, master. Mimkey will go now!” she exclaimed, running off to the next room.

Y/N knew what was about to happen. She swallowed her nerves and dabbed her mouth one last time before gracefully standing up, pushing her chair in, and making her way to the ballroom. She stopped in the hallway for just a moment, looking in a decorative mirror to check her makeup one last time before the main event. It was in pristine condition, of course. Magical makeup was charmed to not budge, only coming off with a charmed facecloth. Y/N knew that, but she enjoyed the opportunity to stall, if just for a few seconds. As she made her way down the hallway that lead to the ballroom, Y/N found her thoughts drifting back to Sirius. She wondered if his parents dragged him here to save face and show a united family, or if he had snuck in under the guise of his family’s invitation. Of course, if he had snuck in, he would have to have a reason for why he even wanted to be there. He said himself, he couldn’t stand these people. Why would he want to come to a formal party and be surrounded by them? No, his family must have brought him along.

Once all of the guests were gathered in the ballroom, all but one, it seemed, Peter cleared his throat. “I appreciate everyone’s attendance tonight, it means a lot to my family as well as the Y/L/N’s. As you all know, Y/N and I have been promised to each other since we were children. We have spent the last few months beginning the process of planning for the wedding, but we missed one important step that I would like to take tonight,” He announced. Peter gracefully sank down onto one knee and pulled a dark blue velvet box out of his pocket. “Y/N Y/L/N, we were chosen for each other long before we got the chance to meet. But now that we have met, and had the opportunity to spend some time together, I would like you to know that I am choosing you, for myself. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?” Peter took the ring out of the box and held it up to Y/N.

The wave of “awww!” and “oh, how sweet!” reminded Y/N that this whole evening was about theatrics. It was all fake, of course, all for show. Tonight was the most amount of time they had spent together, and they had been so busy talking to guests, they barely had the opportunity to talk to each other. But of course, the show must go on, so Y/N put on the most dazzling smile she could. “Yes, I will,” She agreed, loud enough for all of the guests to hear. Everyone broke out in a polite round of applause as Peter slipped the ring onto Y/N’s finger and stood up. The photographers were ushered to the front of the crowd to take pictures of Y/N and Peter, and from then on, the night was a blur.

Soon, the Williamses and the Y/L/N’s were waving the guests goodbye, until they were the only six people left. “Darling, the adults have planning to do, why don’t you take Peter to the conservatory, show him all of those plants you’ve been working on?” Y/M/N suggested. “Of course, mother. Peter, come this way,” Y/N offered Peter her hand, and he gently took it, letting her lead the way through the massive house to the room with glass walls. The pair were silent until they reached their destination and Y/N spoke up. “This is our conservatory, although over the last two years, I’ve turned it more into a glorified plant room,” Y/N announced. “I wouldn’t call herbology a passion of mine, but I do enjoy taking care of the plants when I’m stuck at home for the summer,” she admitted. Peter gave a small smile and a light nod. “Due to how delicate some of the plants are, this room is always strictly off-limits to guests, but I guess you’re family now, so...” Y/N trailed off. Peter squeezed her hand gently before letting it go.

“They’re lovely,” he assured her. The two were silent for a few minutes as Peter walked around, admiring Y/N’s plants. “I got a dog,” he finally spoke up. “I’m sorry?” Y/N raised an eyebrow. “When I was in school,” he clarified. “I didn’t have the patience for plants, so I convinced my parents to let me get a dog,” He told her. “I know how insufferable summers can get in between school years. You go on a vacation for two weeks, and then your father is expected back to work and you’re stuck sitting at home for the next six weeks. It’s painfully boring,” he admitted. Y/N laughed, feeling almost relieved that he could relate to her. “Yes!” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe they let you get a dog, I tried that when I was thirteen all the way to when I was fifteen and my mother would not budge. She refused to have a ‘smelly, loud, fowl beast’ in the house,” she shared. “I had so much energy, all the time. I think they just wanted me out of their hair,” Peter told her. “During school, I had quidditch and parties, and whatnot to keep me occupied but when I came home, there just wasn’t enough to keep me active. I would have so much pent up energy, I thought I was going to explode,” Peter laughed fondly.

“Damn, if I had only been more hyperactive,” Y/N joked. “That’s the key to it, should have known,” Peter shrugged playfully. “No, in all honesty it’s okay. For me, it was more about companionship. I would feel terribly lonely at times, and I just wanted a friend to have around at all times. Eventually I talked her into letting me get a cat, but I had to train it not to jump on the counters. Do you know how hard it is to train a cat?” Y/N laughed. “That sounds like one of the most difficult things I’ve ever heard,” he agreed, and then he spoke up softly, “I didn’t know you had a cat.” “Oh, uh, yeah. Her name is Desdemona, after the character in ‘Othello’. Her nickname is Mona,” Y/N told him. “Didn’t know you liked Shakespeare, either,” Peter admitted. “Don’t get me wrong, he had a few plays that I wouldn’t care to read twice, but for the most part, yeah, he’s brilliant,” Y/N smiled faintly.

“Excuse me if this is out of line, but...” Peter hesitated. “Isn’t it just a little bit ridiculous that our parents threw this whole party with the expectation of us to act like we know each other at all? I’m prepared to marry you, and get to know you in time, but all of these theatrics? For what?” he asked. Y/N couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “That’s... not out of line at all,” Y/N assured him, “I’ve been asking myself that same question all night. But... It’s really comforting to hear that you feel the same way.” “I don’t know about your parents, but mine love a good dinner party,” Peter suggested. “Oh, mine do, too. They love to play the role of welcoming hosts. But I have a good feeling your parents just like to have an excuse to brag about you,” Y/N told him. “What can I say?” Peter shrugged dramatically. “They were blessed with the perfect child,” he declared. “Yeah, alright. Don’t get too far up there on your high horse,” Y/N laughed, nudging him playfully.

“Peter, it’s time to say goodbye!” Margaux’s voice rang down the hall, herself and Gerald appearing in the doorway moments later. “I’ll be seeing you,” Peter smiled, and Y/N smiled in return. “Peter!” his mother scolded, “That is no way to leave your financée!” Peter stood facing Y/N with his back to his mother. He playfully rolled his eyes to Y/N and she had to stifle a laugh, before Peter obeyed his mother and took a few steps toward Y/N and leaning down to press a kiss on her cheek. “Have a good night,” he told her. “You, too, Peter. Goodnight, Mr. and Mrs. Williams,” Y/N called to the family. “Goodnight, Dear,” Margaux replied, and with that, the three of them left and the night was finally over.

#champagne problems #sirius black #sirius x reader #sirius black imagine #sirius black fanfiction #sirius black x reader #young!sirius black #harry potter fanfiction #marauders #young!sirius black x reader #marauders imagine #star crossed lovers #star crossed sirius black #star crossed sirius #arranged marriage au #harry potter fandom #young! marauders

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gayleviticus · 1 year

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8 years after watching the TV ending of FMA 03 for the first time, I finally watched Conqueror of Shamballa for the first time. Tbh I was a little scared of what I’d find – fma 03 was a super special series to me back in 2015, but rewatching it the TV ending felt way more inconclusive and unsatisfying than I remembered.

I knew what would happen in Shamballa from years of scrounging through tv tropes entries and Wikipedia plot summaries, but I didn’t know what it would feel like in practice. I needed something that fulfilled the melancholy, dark, emotional, but hopeful promise of the series. I needed angst and loss and sadness, but not grim-darkness and cruelty just for the sake of it.

Thankfully, I enjoyed Shamballa on the whole. Now, to be sure, it’s undeniably very, very messy. Unlike, say, End of Evangelion or Madoka Rebellion it doesn’t feel like a movie except perhaps towards the end; the new characters introduced like Alfons, Noa, and Eckhart are more interesting thematically than because they’re afforded any particular depth, and the plot mechanics aren’t especially well-crafted (but granted this has always been the case for 03).

It feels like there’s also a ton of incredibly character dynamics they could milk but just don’t have room for – how did it feel for Ed to live with someone who looked so much like his baby brother but just wasn’t the same person? How did Winry feel being left behind forever by her best friends after being locked out of the loop for so long? How did Al losing his memories of the past 5 years and embarking on a quest to bring Ed back shape his relationship with everyone else in Amestris? Did Ed feel guilty that Al ended up throwing his whole life in Amestris away to come be with him on earth? There’s just so many possibilities this movie throws out that could have been explored, and emotional beats (like the brothers reuniting!!) that aren’t used to their full potential.

These are all pretty noticeable flaws. But I also kindve think… it doesn’t matter that much? Don’t get me wrong, I would’ve loved to see an actual proper 13-episode second season fleshing out Shamballa’s boatload of cool ideas, but I think there’s something just as captivating about the huge range of possibilities the movie can’t possibly hope to contain. There are plenty of stories I’ve experienced that do an objectively better job of fleshing out their characters, but it's like… well, you’ve already exhausted their depths. There’s not much left to mine. 03 + Shamballa might not use its characters to their maximum potential, but I think it’s impressive it creates such a firm foundation for its characters that they have that kindve potential in the first place?

(On that note this just makes me curse the fact the 03verse in general has been so neglected by FMA fans even more, bc it just feels like its begging so much for fans to plug these gaps and analyse and dissect and headcanon these characters? But anyway)

Something I was a little torn about at first was the ending – it was more satisfying than TV 03’s awkward mix of open-ended sadness with sickeningly saccharine optimism, but I couldn’t help but feel this awkward sense of hollowness. It was tragedy on the brink of cartharsis, but not quite there. I wanted to cry and mourn everything the Elrics had lost, I wanted angst and conflict between the two of them, I wanted to experience the weight of everything they’ve gone through.

But after thinking about it, I realised that the thing about Shamballa is that it’s not about pain, as such, but specifically ache, and loss.

Doomsday, a Doctor Who episode that aired about a year after Shamballa, is a similar tragedy of people separated forever across parallel world. But it’s a very different type of pain – it’s sharp, acute, sudden. It’s having someone you loved so much so deeply snatched out of your life with no warning, no buildup, barely any chance to say goodbye.

Superficially, Shamballa is similar. In the chaos of Eckhart’s invasion Ed and Al disappear forever into the other side of the gate. But I think it’s very different in that the Elrics aren’t really leaving a specific person behind?

Of course, there’s Winry, and obviously it must hurt for her to lose her best friends since childhood so suddenly. But even then, her life goes on. She loved them so much, and she’ll always remember them – but she’s not a widow sitting at home mourning the death of her husband in the war. She has friends, she has family, she has her career as an automail engineer. Life goes on for Winry. It hurts, but it’ll go on.

Aside from her – well, Izumi’s gone. Rose was friends with Al but didn’t really know Ed. Mustang’s crew clearly care for the boys, but I think for the most part their relationship in 03 is relatively professional. In the end what the boys are cutting off isn’t any individual person in particular, but their past.

And so what Shamballa is about isn’t the sharp, shocking pain of losing a loved one, but the dull, heavy ache of grieving your past. As Ed says at the end, Earth is their world now – not Amestris. They’ve resigned themselves to losing their past, to leaving behind the childhood world of miraculous alchemy and friends and carving a path in the here and now.

It’s the pain of mourning a past that can’t come back, the people you once loved who just aren’t in your life anymore, the innocent childhood you’ll never be able to reclaim. The brothers who once tried to reclaim their stolen innocence through resurrecting their mother have made their peace with living in the here and now – and though they’ve finally found happiness, and paid the price for their original sin, they’ll never forget everything it took to get to this point.

It circles back to what Ed told Rose all the way back at the beginning. Stand up and walk on your own two legs. Keep moving forward. Fight against tragedy, but remember that you cannot rewrite your own past.

The Thule Society and Noa mistook Amestris for Shamballa – a perfect world, a homeland – in their longing for heaven. But no such promised land exists. There’s only the here and now. The Elrics give up their longing for something they never had, accepting heaven is lost, and find their home in themselves.

#fma 03 is so good....#fma 03 #fma #fullmetal alchemist #fullmetal alchemist 03 #conqueror of shamballa #fma 03 conqueror of shamballa #edward elric #my posts #alphonse elric #fma 03 spoilers #long post

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k-dokja · 2 years

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Summary: Old friends reunite in strange ways.

Samuel eyed the girl. Cautious and tense compared to her nonchalance.

He had seen her before, not often, but he noticed her the few times he communicated with Gun. She was there, too, when the two boys came by to vet out which crew would qualify for the big four. What happened at that time didn't leave him with a good impression of her or her of him.

Maybe he did slight them with his trickery, but she also poached you from Big Deal.

He had always thought of her as an accessory, nothing more. That was often the case with gang business, they didn't have women handling the transaction often. Stranger to see them manning the helm. But after she lifted you from the crew, he had more than enough reasons to be wary around her.

It had been a while since he last thought about you.

He didn't like to do that often, brought up more bad memories than good. Maybe that was simply his pessimism. Everything happy that happened between the two of you was eclipsed by your departure. It also added to his final straw of leaving Big Deal.

With you and whatever respect he had left gone after his defeat, he saw no point in staying.

All the steps he took after that led him down this path. More downtrodden and depressed than ever, but he was alive and he had a purpose. A purpose which can be assisted by Jonggun's and Joongoo's mutual associate.

It befuddled him when Joongoo mentioned that she could help. Worse when he didn't clarify what help he would get, only that it'd assist with Samuel's goal. He had decided that Joongoo would be trustworthy on this, but he lacked truth for the other boy overall.

Strange place to be in.

Stranger when said place took the shape of an unassuming office, where he sat across his newfound source of help. Ever since his arrival, they had spent time in bated silence. Nothing but a promise of another arrival. Joongoo was nowhere in sight and Samuel found that he had been doing a lot of waiting lately.

A bit more couldn't hurt.

"She's running late," his companion picked up her phone with a secretive smile, "didn't expect to head out today, apparently."

Finally, a single crumb of information. "She?"

"It's a friendly face," she said, "with your position, I think you'll be relieved to have one."

What she said to shed light on his confusion and clicked a few things into place in his mind. Turned out he didn't think of you for no reason. This would the only manner in which this meeting would make sense. Even then, Samuel experienced no reassurance. Tension squeezed at his muscles. It had been nearly a year since he last saw you.

Too much had happened. What would the two of you even say?

"Figured it out already?"

Suddenly, he was shocked out of his contemplation. Samuel neutralized his expression before he could give anything away. He eyed the girl again, keeping his face carefully blank.

"Yes," he replied, "I can't see who else you'd mean."

She nodded, "The two of you had changed a lot, I expected there'd be plenty to catch up on."

Samuel pushed aside the tightening in his chest. Not only at the easy read of his thoughts, but also the prospect that was being proposed to him.

"Did she agree to this?"

His companion replied airily, "There's not much of a choice, is there?"

Samuel narrowed his eyes. Instinctively, he knew even with further prodding, he would get nothing else from this conversation. The two of them ebbed back into silence again. At least, until Samuel heard hasty footsteps approaching.

"Sorry, I'm late," the presence of a newcomer immediately captured their attention, "didn't want to come."

He'd not say he was a sentimental person. Yet with your reappearance in his life, Samuel was hit by an indescribable wave of nostalgia. Neither of you was the same person you were back then, but it couldn't help but remind him of the simpler time all the same.

"Well, it's time I leave," the other girl pushed up from her seat and took an easy stride towards you, "take your time talking. I hope you'll work it out."

You stepped aside for her to squeeze past you out of the door, nodding with a secretive smile on your lips, "Boss."

And then there were two. Again. Yet, this time around, Samuel could feel the tension hung up in the air.

Easily, you slid down on the previously vacated seat. Fatigue plagued your eyes despite the easy grin you put on, but he couldn't discount the confidence of your poise.

Neither of you talked for a moment, taking time to reassert the changes in the other. Whether you disapproved of his or not, you didn't show. He didn't feel compelled to ask either.

"So," you began first, "I heard you need help."

Samuel frowned, "I don't need help, but having it would be beneficial," and cautiously, he asked, "did you agree to this?"

"Does it matter?" Again, a non-answer. "Let's cut to the chase, I know you don't like small talk."

Samuel nodded, "Speak."

"Because of our past history, I'll be transparent," you said breezily, "you're going to use me," then, with a suspended pause and an enigmatic smile, "and, I'm going to use you."

"Ah," he said, "that easy?"

"That easy." You confirmed. "We shouldn't have to dance around each other. Neither of us is here to play nice or make friends, I know what you want, and what I want won't affect you in any way."

"What you want?" Samuel asked.

And there it was, the slight slip of your relaxed mask, "The same thing I did back then," then you forced it back again, "but I heard you've found a new goal to work towards, anything to do with our old friends?"

"No," he said firmly, "have you always been this nosy?"

You shrugged, "We're supposed to work together, I think sharing some of our thoughts is healthy. Besides, if you found that too troublesome, there's always the option to turn this alliance down altogether. I won't take it personally... promise."

Ah, if only all it took was a promise from you to make him believe everything.

"Will you report to her?" Samuel nodded at the door.

"Only what is necessary," you hummed, "I'm meant to be her "in" with the Workers if you agreed to this. I don't know the full of her goal but I do know it wouldn't conflict with anything you want. Arguably, she's not doing anything to hamper Jonggun either. Which meant if you wanted to aim that direction, whatever assistance I provide will be my own. Quite the situation to be in, everyone have their own motives and expecting loyalty is foolish."

"Better to deal with someone upfront about stabbing you in the back, you meant."

You only smiled back. It was answer enough for him.

He frowned. Capability aside, Samuel had more than enough to worry about with their current president. Not to mention whatever Eugene had in mind would be worrisome in due time, too. It was best that he had someone in his corner. Pawns were easy to collect and sacrifice, but he couldn't win in chess with only pawns.

Indeed, he needed to think bigger if he wanted to win this. He knew what you were capable of back then, there was no saying what your skill had gotten you to, now. With you around, maybe one of those pawns could be a Bishop in disguise.

A Queen, even, if he played his card right.

That settled it. "...Forward me your dossier," Samuel pointedly stared down at you, "you'll have my answer once I finished reviewing your documents."

The corner of your mouth twitched, "Picky, picky, but fine." You chimed. "I'll send them to your personal email then, is that enough?"

Samuel reached into his breast pocket for his business card, but you waved him away. "No need, I already know how to contact you," you grinned, "I even know where you live, if you wanted a physical copy."

He narrowed his eyes, "Email is fine."

"Roger that," you made a mock-salute before standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, now that we've established our potential partnership. I have work to do and money to make~"

Belatedly, he called out once you reached the door, "When will I hear from you?"

Your laughter rang with a condescending cackle, "Soon, Sammy-boy. Don't miss me already."

Before he could say anything, you closed the door behind you with a resounding click, leaving him alone with his thoughts again. That was... something. All he could muster after that interaction was emitting a long, tired sigh.

He should prepare for when this inevitably bit him in the ass.

#samuel seo #samuel seo x reader #lookism #lookism x reader #fics

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aphilosopherchair · 11 months

Text

Omniposition—An ice dessert café inspired by Silent

Would Tsumugi say this? Bard is a mischievous ball that grows more and more humongous as you spellbindingly roll it along the contours of your mental snowscape. The latest offspring is Omniposition, an expression of the vision that kindred spirits will be able to see beyond all the clouds of differences in our daily lives and sense one another when so desired from anywhere. Spoilers ahead.

Food Menu

Tsumugi's Dreams: This is a milk confection made with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and peach sauce and topped with raspberries and a small music note. Found in numerous desserts, milk is primed for association with dreams as it contains the sleep-promoting molecules tryptophan and melatonin. This particular confection represents Tsumugi Aoba's dreams of a career in the music industry and of a life with Sō Sakura. The music note represents the collective wish for her dreams to come true.

Sō's Chocolate Cherry Sundae: This sundae is made with chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and cherries, including a cherry on top. Chocolate is often associated with love and passion and has a rich and complex flavor, which can be seen as a metaphor for the beauty and complexity of music. In the drama, Tsumugi and Sō share a love of music, often listening to music together. The chocolate ice cream represents their love of music, and the whipped cream and chocolate sauce represent the sweetness of their relationship. The cherry on top represents the hope that they will one day be reunited.

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Tsumugi's Strawberry Shortcake: This shortcake is made with strawberry ice cream, whipped cream, and fresh strawberries. It is a light and refreshing dessert that represents the beauty of the world around her.

Mint Ice Cream Float: The mint represents their hope for a fresh start.The mint ice cream is topped with club soda and a splash of chocolate syrup that symbolizes their sometimes awkward, sometimes sweet bonding over music after their reunion.

Snowy White Chocolate Mousse: This mousse is made with white chocolate, heavy cream, and egg yolks. It is light and fluffy, and it has a subtle sweetness that is perfect for a winter day. "It's quiet when snow falls." "It's noisy. You're noisy."

Snowy Berry Sorbet: This sorbet is made with fresh berries, sugar, and water. It is refreshing and tart. This is the sweet, hopeful Tsumugi on the first day of snow one winter.

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Sun Marshmallows: This bowl of dessert is made with vanilla, milk and oranges. It is topped with a sun-shaped cookie, which is made with yellow sugar and sprinkles, and edible gold dust. Back in his college days, Tsumugi's sign language instructor glumly took on transcription volunteer work for the sake of his CV, only to melt at the sight of Sō's deaf friend's sun-like smile. It's a sad story if our aged selves will not remember that forever changed his life.

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Drink Menu

Eternal Morning Smoothie: This smoothie is made with vanilla, yogurt and frozen apricots and bananas. J-rock band Spitz is heavily featured in the series. The colors of the smoothie represent the colors of Spitz's logo, and the whipped cream represents the band's music.

The Silent Gesture: This is a glass of transparent yet berry-flavored beverage served with a straw bent in the shape of a heart.

The Unspoken Agreement: This is a frozen drink made with ice, water, and the ordering customers' favorite fruit. It is served with a straw decorated with a small piece of paper with a message of reminder written on it. This frozen drink represents the unspoken agreement of friendship, the promise that we will be there for each other no matter what.

Design & Services

Blue silk and Japanese primrose welcome sign: Tsumugi is a type of silk fabric, while Sakura Sō (the order of the name in Japanese) means Japanese primrose, which in turn can stand for youth dreams and first love.

Sign language and translation software: Naturally, this is an inclusive café. But more than that, it does not content itself with starkly contrasting double standards for staff treatment and customer treatment. To facilitate smooth interactions with colleagues and customers who are deaf or hard of hearing, all staff members will be signed up for a comprehensive sequence of sign language courses and equipped with a speech-to-text translation app. The values and café reputation circulated as a result of staff turnover probably inevitable in most F&B outlets are likely to last longer than the most pleasant taste memory anywhere in the world.

Spitz music that is soft and instrumental: Yes, it exists. This will echo the couple's bonding over the J-rock band while creating a relaxing atmosphere that will not be too distracting for customers who are trying to talk. Lights in the translucent stems of the baby's breath decorations below will pulsate in natural shades of colors according to the music rhythms.

Shush! room: This would be a great place for customers who want to enjoy their ice cream in peace, as long as kid-reproached adults like Nana and Sō don't burst into complacent laughter over their signed conversations again. It would also be a great place for customers who are deaf or hard of hearing to feel comfortable by naturally blending in, if they need this type of quiet break from stares.

Knitted pastel and white furniture and rugs that are comfortable and inviting: These will make customers feel at home. Tsumugi's brother is into sewing.

Baby's breath decorations: Towards the end of the story, the five main characters gift and re-gift one another baby's breath flowers. Not all of them end up with who they want to end up with, but they can choose to turn their various corners of a romantic polygon into pulsating components of a life-giving, uplifting network.

Moon-shaped lamps which lighting is soft and calming: The lighting in the café should be soft and calming. This will create a relaxing atmosphere. The couple walk and share jokes viewers are not privy to under the Moon in the last scene.

↑『silent』最終話でかすみ草“花言葉”が話題にヒゲダン「Subtitle」とセリフがリンク (Article on link between lyrics and baby's breath scenes)

Top image generated through WOMBO

#サイレント #Silent #japanese drama #jdrama #j drama #dorama #ai #ai chatbot #dessert #desserts #food #snow man 目黒蓮 #目黒蓮 #ren meguro #川口春奈 #haruna kawaguchi #Youtube

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danganronpasurvivoraskblog · 11 months

Text

The Sky is Beautiful...

*pant!* *pant!* *pant!*

KAEDE!

*Everyone exclaims in surprise as Kaede, limp and drained of energy, staggers down the hallway towards the now pried open door, and finally...finally...

Gah...!

*...escapes from the lab!

Yes! She’s out! We did it!

Kaede! G-Gonta so glad you ok!

Guys...wh...where’s Miu...!? Where’s Hibiki!?

Hibiki’s fine. She passed out basically as soon as she got out.

Believe me, it was a shock to see her for sure.

As for Miu...She’s...

KAEDE!

*Miu runs from the research station over to the group, desperate to be reunited with her best friend.

*GRAB!*

Hnngh...!

*She wastes no time in giving her friend a big hug, but then pulls away as she suddenly notices the large bulge cradled in her arms.

W-Wait a sec...wh-what is that?

Miu...please...help him!

...

*Kaede unfolds her arms, and everyone gasps to see the figure of Monodam in her arms.

Isn’t that-!?

That’s one of the Monokubs!

Miu! You’ve gotta fix him! Please!

F-FIX HIM!?

What the hell happened to Monodam!? How come he looks so beat to hell!?

Wait, Sora, what’s going on!?

PLEASE! We don’t have much time, just...PLEASE HELP HIM!

I...Uh...!

Miu...!

...?

You heard her! Is there anything you can do?

...Kaito...!?

I have no clue what’s going on; not a one. I’m as stumped as everyone else.

But there is one thing I do get. Kaede cares a lot about this Monokub, and the fact that she’s protecting him means he’s probably not one of the bad guys!

And he DOES look in pretty bad shape...You’re the only one here that can do anything. We’re counting on you!

...

...Miu...

...Fine, put him on the table, I’ll see what I can do!

Th-Thank you...!!

Seriously, what is going on!? Why did you bring that thing out with you!?

That “THING” is Monodam, and he’s basically the only damn reason Kaede and I are still alive!

Kaede saved his life, and he repaid the favor by turning on his siblings and Zetsubou, and he’s saved our lives on more than one occasion!

A Monokuma did all THAT?

He’s more than just that! HE’S OUR FRIEND!

Why didn’t you tell us!?

Because we knew you’d panic like you are now!

Alright, everyone SHADDAP! Come on, hurry and put him here!

...!

*Kaede desperately hurries Monodam over to a workbench, and gently puts him down. Miu immediately removes his chest-plate, and inspects the machines inside.

Th-This is bad...I don’t know if I can fix this...

...!?

B-But I’m damn sure gonna try!

GUYS! I’m gonna need some shit, go grab all my stuff!

Right! Gonta come on! Between us, we can carry it all!

R-Right! Gonta right behind you!

Hey, wait for me, I’ll help too!

...I...AM-HAPPY...TO-SEE...THAT-YOUR-FRIENDS...ARE-AS-NICE-AS-YOU...*COUGH!* *SPLUTTER!*

They’re the best...right...Now come on, just lay down and let us help you!

Yoruko...Bring me over to them...

...Ok...

*Hesitantly, Yoruko carries Sora over to the table, ss Kaede and Miu tend to Monodam. The rest of the Foundation look onward at them, unsure of what to do or say.

I’m glad we got Akamatsu out of the lab, but...I didn’t think for a second it would turn out like this...

What do we even do here? I can’t even begin to think.

I say we just let them be and keep watching. I’m not completely sure about the idea of fixing a Zetsubou goon, but...

*Sayaka looks back towards Kaede’s desperate and crying face.

I’m going to trust Kaede’s judgement.

...So will I.

Alright...The Chairwoman has decreed...

...

Damn...

...That one...Monodam...Could he really have...?

*Seiko, Ando and Eden also watch the spectacle quietly.

YOU...DO-NOT...NEED-TO-WORRY...ABOUT-ME...*COUGH!* WE...HAVE-ALREADY-WON...

Wh-What?

OUR-GOAL-WAS...TO-GET-YOU-OUT-OF-THE-LAB. WE-HAVE...SUCCEEDED...

But...I...

Look, can you just stop talking...! This’ll make it harder...!

We brought the stuff.

Good, hand me that thing! I’m gonna see if I can patch this hole!

*Even though the holes pierce straight through Monodam’s body, Miu tries her best to reattach each of his pieces one by one.

KAEDE...

Y-Yes...!?

WHEN-YOU-FIRST...PROMISED-ME...TO-HELP-ME-SURVIVE-IN-THE-HUMAN-WORLD...YOU-SAID-THAT-I-WOULD-BE-ABLE-TO...FIT-IN-DESPITE...EVERYTHING-I-HAD-DONE, AND...WHAT-I-WAS...

DID-YOU...MEAN-THAT...?

What? O-Of course I did!

HA-HA-HA-HA-HA...

What’s so funny?

YOU-TWO...ARE...THE-BEST...

What...!?

WE...KIDNAPPED-YOU...TRIED-TO...KILL-YOU...MULTIPLE-TIMES-IN-FACT...

AND-YET...NOT-ONLY-DID-YOU-SAVE-MY-LIFE...BUT-YOU’RE-LETTING-ME-DOWN-EASILY...NOW-THAT-I-AM-ABOUT-TO...*SPLUTTER!*

No...No no NO! Don’t you dare finish that sentence!

ALRIGHT...I-WON’T...INSTEAD...CAN-I-TELL-YOU-SOMETHING?

I-THINK-I-FIGURED-OUT...WHAT-I-WANT-TO-DO-WITH-MY-LIFE...

R-Really!?

I...THOUGHT-ABOUT-MAYBE-OPENING...A-NOVELTY-THEMED-RESTAURANT...

OR-PERHAPS...EVEN-HAVING-MY-OWN-TALK-SHOW...?

I-HAVE-ALWAYS-HAD-A...FLAIR-FOR...SHOWBIZNESS...AND-EITHER-WAY-I...COULD-TAKE-ADVANTAGE-OF...MY-APPEARANCE...

DO-YOU...LIKE-IT...?

It sounds AMAZING...! I’m so proud of you for figuring that out!

Me too pal...Me too...

Shit...! Hold on, I-I can fix this...! I can...

Come on Miu!

...

*Monodam quietly looks up towards the sky, clear even through the trees and leaves.

YOU-KNOW...THIS-THE-FIRST-TIME-IN-ALL-MY-LIFE-THAT-I-HAVE-SEEN-THE-REAL-SKY...

R-Really?

Yeah...It’s not much...But hey, it’s the only one we’ve got.

IT...IS-BEAUTIFUL...BETTER-THAN-ANY-HOLOGRAMS-OR-MAPS-I-HAVE-SEEN...IT-IS...REAL...

*He raises a shaky paw upwards, as if reaching out to touch it.

I...WISH...I-COULD-SEE-MORE...OF-YOUR-WORLD...

...!?

BUT-I-KNOW-I-DO-NOT-NEED-TO.

I-DOUBT-THERE-IS-ANYTHING-OUT-IN-THE-WORLD...BETTER-THAN-SPENDING-TIME-WITH-THE-TWO-OF-YOU...

Monodam...!

*Kaede grabs him.

MONODAM! DON’T! PLEASE!

Oh shit, oh shit!

...

*Monodam moves his paw, and gently strokes Kaede’s hand.

THANK-YOU...SO-MUCH...FOR-BEING-MY-FRIEND...

NO! DON’T EVEN TRY! COME ON, PLEASE!

!!?

...

*Monodam’s arm goes limp...and he rests his head back...

it-really...is...beautiful...

... ... ... ... ...

...!

*Miu slowly removes her goggles.

...

I’m sorry Kaede...

...!?

*Kaede...falls to her knees...helpless...

//Monodam...has died...//

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foxgirl-fluff · 11 months

Note

WOE ASK BE UPON YE..

for ignazio........🍋🍎🍾🍕

for aewryn..........🍍🌽🍪🍒

Ignazio

🍋: What is your OC's most painful memory?

There are huge chunks of their backstory I still haven't touched but intend to get to at some point, but so far I think it would be whatever led to them being raised by a family friend. Maybe his family died of a preventable (if they had the money) illness and they were the only one spared? I'm not sure on that one yet, but I one thing set in stone that could be the answer to this question would be her memory with their childhood friend that they grew apart from. They were promised that they'd always be friends, but eventually said friend dumped him once he grew popular and eventually bullied them for being worse at singing than he was. Led to an inferiority complex which eventually they will heal from, with Aerwyn's help.

🍎: Do they share any features or traits with any family members?

Uhhh, her beautymark? Probably an affinity for stealth? Pessimistic outlook on life? Idk yet, haven't thought too much about what his family would be like... They had a sister, that's all I know.

🍾: Does your OC believe in luck? If so, do they have any charm or ritual they do before a stressful event?

He was a devout follower of Calistria before becoming Aerwyn's herald. Well, he still is, but obviously as Aerwyn's herald he's devoted more of his time now to them instead of Calistria.

In honor of both, he uh, spends some "alone time" with Aerwyn before a dangerous job. Calistria is a goddess of lust, after all. (Thanks for the idea, @ritunn! hehe)

🍕: How does an OC spend a lazy day?

Probably drinking and shooting the shit with Andrés, the guy who raised him after his family died. He's also the guild master of the Oilbird's Nest. That or loafing around in the forest with Aerwyn.

Aewryn

🍍: Where does your OC feel most comfortable?

In their dreamscape! While it can take whatever shape she wants it to, her favorite that she keeps coming back to is a tiny island in the middle of an ocean with white sand beaches, and the sort of buildings you would find in Santorini. She even has her own house in it with a combination bedroom/sensory room. It's really empty as Aerwyn just wants it all to herself and would rather not have to imagine what people living there with her would be like. It's like that first episode of the Twilight Zone where there's signs of people being there, just no actual people. She's usually the only one who gets to see it, but Ignazio gets special privilege access as her Herald. Also because he's a lucid dreamer and he gets to do what he wants in her dreams. The first time he stumbles into it (completely on accident) she chases him with a broom as she's spooked by the situation.

🌽: How does this OC feel about acts of affection? What's their favourite act of affection, physical or emotional?

Absolutely loves it!

Has always and will always love getting a head massage. A good ol' head scritch is nice, too!

🍪: What is something that's sentimental to your OC?

Aerwyn has a soft spot for foxes, and they love her, but she can't figure out why they give her such a nostalgic feeling.

If, by some miracle, they ever reunited with whoever Fia's soul reincarnated into...

"I may have been Caelyn then, but I'm someone entirely different now. That's Caelyn's love, not mine. ...I'm sorry."

🍒: Has Your OC had their first kiss yet? If so, with who?

Absolutely has. Both as Caelyn and in most, if not all, incarnations. Surprisingly Caelyn's first kiss was *not* Fia, Just some random character I don't care to ever establish.

#Fia's soul would've gone to Nirvana #I couldve easily made Ignazio her reincarnation #but I'm not a fan of the reincarnated lovers trope #sorry!#Caelyn Dewflower #fiammetta amante #Ignazio Venturi #Aerwyn the Dreamweaver

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oldxenomorph · 4 months

Note

ALL OF THE IVY. also. ALL OF THE BIRCH. ask meme be UPON YE

winter greenery oc questions

IVY

1. Has your OC ever been unfaithful in a relationship? Could they ever be tempted by the physical charms of another? Or have they ever been surprised by how little they are tempted by others, at least once they embraced their current lover?

The Great Family are a famously non-monogamous bunch. Even though most of them are married and have had children with their spouses, they still take on lovers or engage in relationships that both further their plans and for fun. (Some of these unions have resulted in children that become integrated into the family.) So they don’t necessarily see it as being unfaithful, especially if their spouse doesn’t object to the person they have their eyes on.

That being said, the Emperor and Nyx have literally been together since the beginning of the universe. But 8 million years ago, during the Late Miocene epoch, the Emperor entered her deep sleep in the Black Palace and the Great Family began their work to prepare the Milky Way for when she inherited the Reapers. 8 million years is a long time to wait. Honestly, the Great Family would have been surprised if either the Emperor or Nyx didn’t seek someone out for companionship during the time they were apart.

The only person the Emperor deeply desires is Nyx, but she did romance Liara during her time as Shepard. Liara was able to glimpse at the Emperor-as-Shepard's true nature when she entered the her mind to help decipher Prothean Beacon's vision from Eden Prime. Liara's scientific curiosity became affection, and then affection became eternal devotion to her and the Great Family. The Emperor genuinely cares about Liara and is thankful for her friendship and companionship. She is glad to have chosen a remarkable person to spent time with, to ease the pangs of loneliness and constant pain she was in.

Liara always knew that she was not the one for the Emperor. After all, she had seen into her mind and knew that at the end of this journey, the Emperor would be reunited with Nyx, the one she truly loves. But she is glad that she is still part of the Emperor’s life as the Shadow Broker, as a friend, and as a lover to both the Emperor and Nyx. (She first met Nyx in person on Alchera, when she went to retrieve the Emperor-as-Shepard’s body. Nyx was holding onto her, wrapped her body in the Black Shawl, keeping her safe on this empty, cold planet. When Liara eventually took Shepard's body from Nyx, the goddess made the asari promise her that she would keep her beloved safe and then used her powers to conceal them from the galaxy.) That being said, Liara is by no means the only person the Emperor and Nyx both have affections for. The list is not very long, but it is a cherished collection of people who's love and company they like to enjoy together.

2. What inspires loyalty in your OC? Will they follow someone purely based upon duty or rank? Or are there certain qualities towards which they are drawn? Or perhaps there are ways by which another person must prove themselves before earning their loyalty?

The only ones that the Emperor is truly loyal to are the Great Family, Nyx, their loves, her children, the old crew of the Normandy, and the strange, sentient buildings (the Black Palace, the Yellow Palace, the Ziggurat, the Oldest House, the Oceanview Motel). The Reapers are an extension of her body and consciousness, so by default they are loyal to her in the way a healthy heart is loyal to the body it's in. Harbinger is her flagship, her eyes, her emissary, shaped in the image of her soul; it is loyal to her because it is the Emperor and the Emperor is Harbinger.

Even the Board, which she is a member of, hasn’t quite earned her entire loyalty. She’s stayed as a member because she is loyal to the Oldest House and cares about its well being. It’s the main reason why she hated Trench in the end, because he let the Hiss in and caused the Oldest House to become sick. It is also the reason why she is so hard on Jesse Faden. She knows Jesse has the potential to be a much better director than Trench.

Respect is probably the best thing the Emperor can offer to those outside of her inner circle of family and old friends. She respects those who maintain their humanity, their human essence, in an age where the very definition of “humanity” is constantly changing. She respects those who serve their communities, who try to make their worlds better places. She respects the people who dedicate their lives to scholarship, artistry, and creativity. She respects the private who has better ideas than the general, the low-level bureaucrat who knows how to directly help people, the Spectre that refuses a bad order from their Councilor. She respects people who try to live their lives to the best of their abilities, the people who make history quietly.

3. Has another person ever offered to leave their spouse or lover for your OC? What was it about them that this person found so hard to resist? How did they feel about it at the time?

Persephone’s never offered to leave Hades, but I think it’s pretty clear that she has a Thing for tall, powerful goths.

She just thinks they’re neat.

Anyway, the Emperor wanted to thank Persephone for providing Nyx with companionship during the time of her deep sleep. So both she and Nyx took her to bed and properly showed her their appreciation for her love. Besides, having the affections of both the Great Lord of Extinction and the Eternal Night have plenty of other benefits like protection and invitations to events the Great Family puts on. The Queen of the Underworld has a lot of love in her heart for multiple people, a trait that clearly got passed down to Zagreus (and hopefully Melinoe). At this point, I don’t think Hades minds. It’s pretty clear that he’s comfortable with his wife being attracted to others.

Much like Liara, her attraction to the Emperor was at first curiosity, informed by Nyx’s descriptions of her. For as long as she’s known Nyx, she’s known that the Night has a beloved, waiting to awaken from a deep sleep. She could tell when her mind was elsewhere, but that never bothered her. Nyx would tell her about the Black Palace, about what the Emperor looks like; she would tell her about the Great Family, about how they care for her. (Like the times when they sent their midwives to help her when she had her children on her own. They always did things to remind Nyx that they would always be there for her.) Persephone was enthralled by Nyx's stories.

Then she met the Emperor in person and was immediately attracted to her. It wasn’t just the Emperor’s physical attributes like her size or even her appearance. The Emperor loves Nyx; she worships her, she respects her power and independence, she is protective and caring, she is not shy about showing her affections. More importantly, they trust each other as people and as spouses. Persephone thinks that's incredibly romantic. She's happy that Nyx is happy.

Being on the receiving end of Night and Extinction's affections is always very nice.

4. Does your OC feel any abiding connection to their place of birth? Has this ever been challenged by conflicting loyalties? How are they viewed by those currently living in their society of origin?

The Emperor is extremely protective of The Black Palace in the Eridanus Supervoid. It's her sanctuary, her cradle, the place that houses her true form. It is the place where she and Nyx first met, where they first kissed, where they first made love. The Black Palace will always exist, it is the true throne of the Emperor.

At the same time, the Emperor also has a deep fondness for Chicago. It's the reason why she still continues to live there, why she placed the Ziggurat there. (It might also have something to do with the city being next to Lake Michigan. Wonder if all these sentient buildings being near lakes/bodies of water is important.) She has very fond memories of her childhood in the city, she wants to make sure her children have the same experiences and connection to a place, its history, and its culture.

Chicago is proud to be the birthplace and home of the Reaper Emperor. After her ascension, a fifth red star was added to the city's flag to represent her. The six points on the star refer to: the city's status as her birthplace, the Ziggurat, the Reapers, Earth, humanity, and evolution.

5. Does your OC remain steadfastly loyal to those who have helped them on their journey? Or are they quick to dispense with those who are no longer of use to them?

When the Emperor was Shepard, she used to mostly think that Normandy and the crew she acquired were merely a means to an end. She needed them in order for her to reach her goals in order for her to finally become the Reaper Emperor. When she was younger (like around the time of ME1 younger), she was planning on leaving them as soon as she shed her human body and inherited the Reapers. But as she got older and by the time the war ended, they became her dear friends. They may not entirely understand what she is (with exception of Liara and Miranda, they knew from the beginning) or still feel hurt and angry that they were used in some way, but she’s still Shepard to them.

While she isn’t heavily involved in all of their lives, she tries to remain available for them and their descendants if they need her. Of her old crew, the ones she remained most involved with were:

Liara. (Reasons stated in one of the above questions.)

Miranda. (Who was given Cerberus and made its head. She also became a lover to both the Emperor and Nyx.)

Garrus. (Becomes the Primarch, is personally vouched for by the Emperor to the Turian Hierarchy.)

Ashley. (Spectre, promoted to Commander, and made Commanding Officer of the Normandy SR-2.)

Joker and EDI. (Still the pilot and AI of the Normandy. The Emperor also gets dozens of messages a day from EDI. Some of them are updates, some of them are just questions.)

Tali. (Gets her dream house built on Rannoch.)

Jack. (Remained a teacher at the Grissom Academy and likes to use her “I served with the Emperor when she was Shepard and we’re still totally friends” influence to bypass school admin to get new equipment/supplies. Still deeply conflicted about the whole Reaper Emperor thing, but it does have its perks.)

Samara. (Retires, spends most of her time looking after her remaining daughter, Falere. The Emperor visits occasionally.)

Wrex. (Personally asks the Emperor to bless the first child he has with Bakara on Tuchanka.)

Of the people who were not part of the Normandy, but still remained important to her:

The Rachni Queen. (Probably the deepest friendship she made next to Liara and Miranda. The Rachni Queen knew what the Emperor-as-Shepard was and has remained grateful for all the time she never gave up on her. It is believed that the Rachni are in tune with the Ziggurat. The main Rachni Hive and the Xenomorph Hive found ways to connect to one another, forming a unique relationship. Sometimes, the Rachni Queen can be seen in the lower levels of the Ziggurat.)

Aria T’Loak. (Aria is at first, like many, deeply conflicted about the Emperor. But what Aria values most of all is loyalty, respect, and competence. The Emperor-as-Shepard has always respected her, it is the reason why she did not question Aria’s actions or decisions when taking back Omega. After the war, Aria requested that there be no Reapers in Omega air-space. She didn't want them hovering around her station. The Emperor agreed. While there may be Reaper agents on the station, they make sure not to cause trouble for Aria and willingly hand over information they believe she may find useful. The Emperor promised that Aria would always be in power on Omega.)

The Emperor is there with them until the end, even those who she did not remain super close to after her ascension. She is there when they are old, when they are about to pass, making sure they are not in pain, comforting them, and letting them look at her face one last time. She respects that they do not want to be Harvested and attends each of their funerals. 600 years later, there are only a few who remain and the Emperor watches as their children and descendants grow to fulfill their potentials, add to their legacies, keep the spark of their ancestors alive. The Emperor is not sad when her friends pass, but the Milky Way feels a little emptier without them.

BIRCH

1. Has your OC ever experienced something that changed them irrevocably? If so, then how do they view the person they were before?

There were a few.

2172 CE. The cutting of her hair at the age of 18. The end of childhood. When she was accepted into the Alliance academy at Annapolis, she had to cut her long hair. The Great Family all gathered around her to watch as Lilith cut the Emperor-as-Shepard’s hair to a length acceptable within Alliance regulations. This was also the beginning of her hunger, as she was longer allowed to eat stars until her transformation was complete.

2176 CE. The Skyllian Blitz. The beginning of her pain and the decay of her body. She comes back with a hero with a body broken by shrapnel, gored by falling ship parts, her jaw completely burned. While the Alliance sorted out the situation and prepared her N7 recommendation, she was sent home to recover. As Lilith helped lower her into a special healing bath, the Emperor-as-Shepard cried from the agony and called Lilith "mother" for the first time.

2183 CE. The devouring of Saren. The first taste of her inheritance, of Azathoth’s gift to her, billions of years in the making. The Reapers are hers, they were made just for her, only for her. They were made for her to fulfill her duty as Extinction. It was the first time she felt full in years, she felt her great relative's love for her. After she ingested all that was left of Sovereign, Azathoth parted the veil that separated it from everything. It entered her dreams, blessing her with gentle kisses on her cheeks, on her forehead, in the space between her eyes. You were born for this, Precious Emperor, it told her. We are waiting for you.

2185 CE. The Lazarus Project. death, rebirth. She carved a timeline of the universe, of every extinction event onto her face. A map of her pain, a map of her hunger, a map of the end of everything. Organics were not meant to look upon the face of the Emperor. Thou shalt not gaze upon the Mouth of God.

2189 CE. The Crucible. The end of Shepard, the beginning of the Reaper Emperor. Nyarlathotep placed behind her head a crown made from the event horizons of primordial black holes. She and Nyx married underneath a chuppah woven since the beginning of the universe. The Emperor wept, overwhelmed with pure joy: the joy of being in her own bodies, the joy of no longer being in pain, the joy of being wedded to her beloved, the joy of being with her family. Welcome home, Precious Emperor.

Even though the Emperor was glad to be rid of her human body, the essence of humanity continues to linger inside her. She may no longer be in pain or have to suffer a vessel she abhorred, but she appreciates having been amongst organic life, even if only for a brief moment. That time has informed her about how to use the Reapers to their fullest potential, adjusting and optimizing the Harvest. In the past, she was just an entity waiting for her inheritance. Now she is someone with a history, experience, and a fuller understanding of organic life. Granted she still operates in ways that are incomprehensible to organics, but she understands them more. She watches them grow and evolve, observing and waiting for the right time to harvest them.

2. Does your OC believe that sometimes a person needs to hit rock bottom before they can begin to rebuild their life? Has this ever been their personal experience? Or would they rather spare someone suffering, even if it meant they failed to learn from their mistakes over and over again?

Not necessarily. She’s seen people who have turned themselves around just before they reach the bottom. Her history and trajectory as Shepard was so unique and wildly different from any normal human/organic that she doesn't really apply her own experience to some universal belief about how people should live their lives.

But like, you should learn from your mistakes. You don't need the Emperor to tell you that, man.

3. Does your OC recover quickly from injuries? Or has it got harder for them to keep bouncing back as they’ve got older? If so, is this something they would ever admit?

Early on in her military career, she could recover from pretty bad injuries fairly quickly. The worst was the Skyllian Blitz, which was the start of the intense pain that she never recovered from until her ascension. (Not even the Lazarus Project could deal with the pain, simply because of the nature of her body as a temporary human vessel.) As she got older and during the war, recovery slowed down because of the amount of stress she was under and the fact that her body was barely holding on, to the point where even Dr. Chakwas had to consult Nyarlathotep for help. When she reached the Crucible, she was glad to finally be rid of her human body.

Now in her Reaper Emperor form, she rarely if ever gets injured. Both her biomechanical body and her tentacles are incredibly sturdy, it's very hard to inflict any kind of damage or breakage to them. But if she were to get injured, the xenomorphs would help patch her up. The resin they produce is the medium through which her body can rebuild itself if need be. Tfw you have to 3D print your mom back together. But like I said, this rarely happens.

4. Has your OC ever made a heroic or unexpected comeback from a dire situation? What helped them to do so?

I would say that surviving going through the Omega-4 Relay and completing the Suicide Mission with no one dying should count as a pretty amazing comeback. Also coming back alive alone after escaping Project Base, but not before slamming the asteroid into the Alpha Relay. It got rebuilt again, elsewhere. Also oops, war crimes.

5. Has your OC ever been part of a wider cultural or spiritual renaissance? Perhaps following the defeat of an occupying force? Or the rediscovery of long-lost wisdom? Or even a reinterpretation of existing traditions?

Her ascension as the Reaper Emperor has irrevocably changed the entirety of the Milky Way. People still remain afraid of the Reapers, but they have also become a fact of life. They are everywhere, the Emperor always watching, always listening, everywhere all at once. The Harvest is a perpetual one, never ending, slow and steady for 50,000 years until the next one that devours entire species and civilizations. 600 years later, there are entire generations that only know the Reapers and the Reaper Emperor.

The Emperor's favoritism towards Earth has led to some intense changes on the human homeworld. More and more humans on Earth are blurring the line between organic and machine. Some may only do very limited augmentation, but many others have replaced their entire bodies in order to transcend human flesh. Some even agree to undergo high-level Indoctrination in order to serve the Emperor and the Reapers.

Perhaps the biggest development is the veneration of Ardi and Lucy. Humans on Earth will make pilgrimages to Ethiopia, to the place where they are kept, leaving offerings and prayers in every language and religion. Humans on Earth believe that doing so allows them to honor human evolution and remain in touch with their humanity. Once a year, the Emperor and her children will visit in person to leave stones and flowers at the shrine to Ardi and Lucy. (Stones for eternity, flowers for beauty.)

The first time the Emperor visited, the keepers opened up the protective glass and she removed her veil to carefully place two kisses next to their bones, next to the areas where their cheeks would be. Gentle blessings for the first mothers of humanity, because they were truly marvelous and special.

#messages from the deep #the reaper emperor #night and extinction #echthr0s #cracks my back while getting up from my desk #i did say that i am incapable of shutting up about my blorbo and her family

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legendreign-archived · 1 year

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Saya's Connections

Family

Báixuě Wáng : Saya’s grandmother. In other verses, she is her primary guardian.

Méi gui hóng Wáng : Saya’s great aunt. In her Miraculous Ladybug verse, she is the one who passes the mantle of the Dragon Miraculous holder onto Saya.

Jolie Wáng : Saya's third cousin. A Red Chiropteran Queen. Her spirit resides inside a magic mirror.

Cybersix: In her Cybersix verse, Saya is Cyber-71 and the younger sibling of Cyber-6. Cybersix initially distrusted her motives although Saya yearned to reunite with her only family member and was very hurt as a result of her elder sibling's actions but the truth between them has been revealed.

Friends

Kanako Ryuuzaki: Saya’s mom friend and her best friend. Saya calls her “Mama Kanako."

Noburu Makoto: Saya’s best friend who is like a big sister to her. She influenced her to get into punk fashion ie. Vivienne Westwood. She works as a part-time waitress at Noburu’s bar, Dahlia Kiss.

Masaru Kato : Saya’s dad friend who is protective towards her. She calls him “Masa” and depends on him.

Kanaria : One of Saya's best friends. In her Kuroko's Basketball verse, she is her basketball team's manager.

Shinku : In Saya's Rozen Maiden verse, she is Shinku's medium. Although Shinku criticizes her tea making skills, they both support one another.

Lovers

Hagi: Saya's first chevalier who has followed her, served her, and protected her for many years. After Saya awakens from hibernation, they begin to explore a relationship with one another.

Phoebus de Châteaupers: A man who Saya encountered in 1482 France and helped her out of tough spots. He protected her, even at the cost of his life and became her chevalier.

Sebastian Michaelis: ( Thanks to the mun behind @shxttered-sou1s for providing the image. ) In another dimension where Diva was the one raised with love and Saya is the one trying to shape the world to her will, the demon appeared before her and offered her a contract to grant her wishes. He became her imperial guard and butler. She promised her soul to him long ago.

(This post will be updated if needed.)

#Saya's Connections #Saya Relationships

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rockislandadultreads · 2 years

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More Read Alikes: Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

Lime green plastic flower-shaped hair bobbles - Found, on the playing field, Derrywood Park, 2nd September. Bone china cup and saucer - Found, on a bench in Riveria Public Gardens, 31st October. Anthony Peardew is the keeper of lost things. Forty years ago, he carelessly lost a keepsake from his beloved fiancée, Therese. That very same day, she died unexpectedly. Brokenhearted, Anthony sought consolation in rescuing lost objects - the things others have dropped, misplaced, or accidentally left behind - and writing stories about them. Now, in the twilight of his life, Anthony worries that he has not fully discharged his duty to reconcile all the lost things with their owners. As the end nears, he bequeaths his secret life’s mission to his unsuspecting assistant, Laura, leaving her his house and all its lost treasures, including an irritable ghost. Recovering from a bad divorce, Laura, in some ways, is one of Anthony’s lost things. But when the lonely woman moves into his mansion, her life begins to change. She finds a new friend in the neighbor’s quirky daughter, Sunshine, and a welcome distraction in Freddy, the rugged gardener. As the dark cloud engulfing her lifts, Laura, accompanied by her new companions, sets out to realize Anthony’s last wish: reuniting his cherished lost objects with their owners. Long ago, Eunice found a trinket on the London pavement and kept it through the years. Now, with her own end drawing near, she has lost something precious - a tragic twist of fate that forces her to break a promise she once made. As the Keeper of Lost Objects, Laura holds the key to Anthony and Eunice’s redemption. But can she unlock the past and make the connections that will lay their spirits to rest?

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

The summer that Nixon resigns, six teenagers at a summer camp for the arts become inseparable. Decades later the bond remains powerful, but so much else has changed. The kind of creativity that is rewarded at age fifteen is not always enough to propel someone through life at age thirty; not everyone can sustain, in adulthood, what seemed so special in adolescence. Jules Jacobson, an aspiring comic actress, eventually resigns herself to a more practical occupation and lifestyle. Her friend Jonah, a gifted musician, stops playing the guitar and becomes an engineer. But Ethan and Ash, Jules's now-married best friends, become shockingly successful - true to their initial artistic dreams, with the wealth and access that allow those dreams to keep expanding. The friendships endure and even prosper, but also underscore the differences in their fates, in what their talents have become and the shapes their lives have taken. Wide in scope, ambitious, and populated by complex characters who come together and apart in a changing New York City, The Interestings explores the meaning of talent; the nature of envy; the roles of class, art, money, and power; and how all of it can shift and tilt precipitously over the course of a friendship and a life.

Girls They Write Songs About by Carlene Bauer

We moved to New York to want, undisturbed and unchecked. And what did we want? New York, 1997. As the city's gritty edges are being smoothed into something safer and shinier, two girls meet at a music magazine. Rose - brash and self-possessed - is a staff writer. Charlotte - hesitant, bookish - is an editor. First wary, then slowly admiring, they recognize in each other an insatiable and previously unmatched ambition. Soon they're inseparable, falling into the kind of friendship that makes you better, makes every day an adventure, and makes you believe that you will be extraordinary. Together, Charlotte and Rose find love and lose it; they hit their strides and stumble; they make choices and live past them. But then the steady beats in their sisterhood fall out of sync. They have seen each other through so much - marriage, motherhood, divorce, career glories and catastrophes, a million small but necessary choices - what will it mean to give up their dreaming together? That the friendship that once made them sing out shuts them down? And even if they can reconcile themselves to the lives they're living, can they survive the ones they didn't? As smart and comic as it is gloriously exuberant, Carlene Bauer's Girls They Write Songs About takes a timeless story and turns it into a pulsing, wrecking, clear-eyed tale of two women reckoning with the lives they've chosen and the countless ways they - and all the women they've known - have made them who they are.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . . Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life - steady boyfriend, close family - who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life - big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel - and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is. Will is acerbic, moody, bossy - but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

#fiction #book recs #readalikes #book recommendations #reading recommendations #TBR pile #tbr #library books #to read #booklr #book tumblr

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hey-michael-young-history · 1 year

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About Chiyoko

Anonymous: Hey again, I saw you reblogged a post about curious anonymous people, so I'll take this opportunity to clear one more question, hehe. About Chiyoko, what was her childhood like? Did her parents accept her right away or did they want her to be an Alpha? That question keeps hitting my head, lol. By the way, I really loved the story of this character, she might as well appear in the next game, right?

Anon, please. Without questions, I might actually have to try to sleep.

Join me under the cut.

She was born in a small village where her mother was taken in when she came seeking sanctuary while pregnant. Her parents were Betas. Her dad left them, and her mom was a simple woman who didn’t fully understand what having an Omega child entailed. Betas are kind of like, “I don’t see why secondary sexes are such a big deal” because it isn’t… to them. Secretly, she would have preferred a Beta child. Her mom loved her, but she was young, unprepared for single parenthood, and very busy working to provide. Fortunately, her village was very much “it takes a village,” so Chiyoko’s childhood was uneventful.

She was very much a girly girl and nurturing Omega. She didn’t dream much beyond wanting to find an Alpha who would care for her.

She found that in her wife Chiaki, a warrior class Alpha. All children of this village had to learn basic survival skills and self-defense. Older children spread rumors that it was because there was a clan lurking in the shadows, targeting children to torture and send back as brainwashed monsters.

Anyway, they were teenagers and became best friends. When they both finally presented, they were crushing on each other, but Chiaki was pulled quickly for her pathway as an warrior. Before she was taken to a secret training camp, Chiyoko confessed to her, and being a hormonal teenager, Chiaki proposed. Chiyoko promised to give her an answer when she returned.

Chiyoko wrote letters to Chiaki, although she couldn’t send them. She kept them in a box to present. In the meantime, she learned domestic work. She was a beautiful girl, and her love for Chiaki caused her to freely produce a joyous scent that her elders scolded her for. She didn’t care. She turned down proposals from other people who warned her that she was going to wait for Chiaki, just to get abandoned and be too old to find a suitable partner.

Chiyoko didn’t care. She wanted to honor Chiaki’s proposal.

Chiaki returned ten years later, in the best shape of her life. The ladies reunited, Chiyoko presented her letters, and it turns out Chiaki had the same idea! They laughed at how seriously they took Chiaki’s proposal back then and promptly got married and had a nice dinner.

It was rough at first because they were young and were infatuated with each other. But they were friends first and in a matter of years, they settled into happy domestic life. They had six children and eventually Chiaki worried that she would not be able to protect her family while she was out on missions for the village.

Chiyoko took it upon herself to look for a new place and discovered that the Shirai Ryu was being rebuilt and seeking people. The rumor was that the grandmaster was a reformed wraith.

They were accepted and things were wonderful. But in the safety of the Shirai Ryu and her children growing, Chiyoko decided to search for something to define herself outside of being a wife and mother. She loved being able to relieve her family’s injuries and heal them when they were ill so she studied under the healers of the Shirai Ryu, then decided to seek out a shaman, to learn even further.

She was nervous about leaving her family for so long but they all encouraged her to follow her dreams and do something for herself.

So, she set out.

And idk if you’ve read the MKX comics but around this time, the kamidogu that Raiden asked Hanzo to guard started… talking. I would post what happened but I honestly try not to look at that section >_>

The blood demon got ahold of Fox, one of the students, and he slaughtered the entire Shirai Ryu, save Takeda and Hanzo. It was a mess.

She returned to find her entire family, her community DEAD. And if she hadn’t found Takeda, and Hanzo, she would have withered away right then and there. Hanzo, who was still recovering from losing his family, and Takeda, who’s mother was murdered, helped her. She wanted to use her new medical skills to help rebuild the Shirai Ryu. This motivation helped her power through the abandonment scars and her mating gland hardened for a few years. Eventually, it healed, though she never had another relationship or any more children, to honor the memories of those she lost.

She single handedly trained just about all of her staff and built a hospital that treated all Shirai Ryu, not just the ninjas.

She sees all of her patients as family and Hanzo is her dearest friend. She never interacted with Takeda in the series but he values her greatly and always visits her. She started replacing the sweets that Hanzo would take from him for Kuai Liang and Bi-Han.

She empathized greatly with Kuai Liang because her youngest son was an Omega. Male Omegas are rare, so she felt blessed to have him, even though she knew that life would be a little more challenging. She sees Kuai Liang as an Omega boy without his Omega mother, just as she is an Omega mother without her Omega boy.

December 29th, 2021 7:08am

#mk omegaverse #i regret not writing more scenes of her mothering Kuai #mk oc

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wilderebellion · 2 years

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Notes I took from re-watching episode 1:

"Breath is yours but also a stranger's. Like someone is using your body to breathe."

"Something is wrong in the spirit."

Explosions so fast, and then slow down

"Moments in time, disconnected."

Everything else is momentarily subsided.

"Are you there now, Ghor Dranas?"

"My child I fear I am too late. There are secrets they did not tell you."

Secret about evandrin? Or secret Evandrin kept?

Amulet

Tree

Falls to his knees - a sacrifice? Tricked into giving his life? 'Something's wrong' and looking up

Cathmoíra

Toramundan Nexus

Celestial Solstice will be an Apogee solstice.

20-30 yrs 100-150 yrs

Powerful enough to re-shape/shift leylines

"I clock that we are super magic right now"

Ring of a city - Cathmoira

Mountain peak - Avalir

Librarium Incantatum

Golden Scythe - order of merchants

Sailor-Marines of the Harvest Moon

The dragon of Avalir

Stormbringers helped with that 'thing on the coast of Issylra'. Business there is not completely resolved so it would be nice to use them again.

Magister Milus Phren

Octorthurge

Archsept

Guardian of the Seventh

Continent of Dominas/Domunas

Archsept, home of the Septarion, seven mages of Avalir

Toramunda became Avalir and Cathmoíra

Loras of the Weaver's Mask

Ring of gold = 14 apprentices to the Septarion

Eldamir the Wise, one of the Septarion. One of the "true" seven, from the beginning of Avalir.

Druids of Old Toramunda - Gau Drashari, who argued with Imyr Por'Co about his intentions to tear the city in half (brumestone also likely part of the contention?)

Volucia of the Heart's Emblem - to retire to Cael Morrow in Marquet, means an

Eldamir concern: Aeor planning an attack on Lathras to test their weapon

Hall of Prophecy is shut down. Issues with return to Domunas, great amount of output from there.

Eldamir concern about Vespin Chloras and recreating ritual. Loras asks Patia to bring Cerrit's findings in the Chloras case to him first.

Seriously wtf is an Octothurge

7 - Silver

14 - Gold

6 - Brass (the PCs)

Avalir and Cathmoíra were once one city, known as Toramunda and located on the continent of Domunas.

Rosohna was once Ghor Dranas, Tal'Dorei was once Gwessar....Issylra is still Issylra.

Domunas now is ???

For one month every seven years Avalir reconnects and releases its store of ether (raw magical energy) rejuvenating the continent and fulfilling a promise made to the druids of Old Toramunda, that a new age will come, a flourishing of magic. (THE REPLENISHMENT)

Crops, magical children, fey will flourish, portals and doors to other lands. (Important to the MANY cultures Domunas)

Reuniting the mountain that once was a very historically important mountain

Octothurge=guildmasters? Signjficant chairs of the Magisterium

Court of Workings, Court of Owls

Hierophants of the Eight Guilds

Mentions Sun setting "behind thr continent of Domunas" indicating it's in the west

Imyr is the mage who finished the enchantment on the brumestone that made Avalir take flight

Xerxez

Hypatia

Midas

Seelie

Laerryn is doubly employed in the Abjuration Guild and the Court of Working

Bolo the Black Widow of Aeor

This is Zerxus's first return as The First Knight

Eadaleus and Irmé

Romar and Ramira

"Evandrin should be here in this place, in this position of honor" - was Evandrin originally part of the Brass circle of friends and was betrayed

Founding of Toramunda is rooted in The Schism

Emperor of Fire, Empress of Earth (primordials

Mount Ygora

Gau Drashari

Zerxus last saw his son (briefly) when Elias was 7, but seems like 5 was the age when

Maya 7

Kir 5

Speaker of the Fourth

First Knight serves the Septarion directly

Dean Hollow states that the Matron of Ravens

Knowledge won by my mistress was hers and hers alone

Patia has a planetary/celestial theme, Hypatia was a an astronomer/mathmetican/philosopher from Alexandria. "wisdom exceeding all bounds...especially in things concerning astronomy." Widespread misconception that she existed or had any connection to the Library of Alexandria.

#exu: calamity

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kurt-wagner-official · 1 month

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Post #111: XF issues 27-29 and XF Annual issue 3

Happy endings never last long, something X-Factor will be soon reminded of. But at the start of this issue, everything seems to be fine. The battle with Apocalypse happened right before Christmas, and to celebrate both the holiday and their new level of celebrity, X-Factor take their students to the top of the Empire State building, where Bobby replaces the spire with a festive ice sculpture. The kids then introduce themselves to the gathered reporters, and Rusty still has a mask on, which makes me realize that the woman he burned who then forgave him and ran off to teach the Morlocks about Jesus (I wonder how that's going?) never dropped the charges against him, so he's just gonna be a fugitive forever. Warren watches from a distance, talking about how Christmas is for idiot idealists and they live in a world of monsters, which is one of my new favorite edgy monologues. They then take the kids to downtown New York to look at decorations, and Scott sees the news from Dallas- including Madelyne's goodbye message to him. One issue after he finally moved on, he learns his wife wasn't dead, but now she is, along with his brother and half of his best friends, and his son is also not dead but just missing somewhere. He tells Jean he needs some alone time and runs off. Jean, heartbroken at the death of her friends who didn't even know she was alive, takes comfort in Bobby, who automatically assumes this is some fakeout superhero death and they'll be back soon. She also takes off to have some alone time, deciding privately that she'll offer to help find Scott's son. It makes her realize how much her parents must be hurting this Christmas, so she finally goes to visit them. They talk for a few hours off panel, and she promises that she'll find her sister, who's been missing since her house was firebombed. This leaves Bobby as the responsible adult taking care of the kids and Hank, who's regressed to an adolescent state of cognition. He takes the group back to their ship, where some of their new cop friends have brought them a Christmas tree and a whole buncha people have donated gifts to the kids. Leech suggests they bring most of the gifts to the kids in the hospital, and other than Tabitha, they all think it's a great idea. Not wanting to wake their exhausted teachers, they sneak out with the presents, but Jean comes back, finds they're gone, and chases after them with Bobby and Hank. They catch up and, proud of their students' kindness, help them transport everything. They have a little Christmas party in the children's ward until Scott arrives and tells Jean that he's leaving tonight to go hunt for his son. Far away, Apocalypse tells his Horsemen that the ship is actually an evil Christmas present that'll have evil surprises for X-Factor. This was a sweet issue. I think seeing the X-Men die made Jean finally come to accept her own "death" and how much it's been making her live in fear. Reuniting with her parents was a big moment for her, and I'm glad she's finally allowing herself to embrace living without constant fear of losing it all again. Also, field trip chaperone Bobby is one of my favorite Bobbys. Poor Scott still can't catch a break, but he will soon before his life turns to shit again. I do like that Simonson has been writing him trying to open up, but he still refuses any help from his friends on this next mission. It shows that growth is never linear, especially for someone as traumatized as Scott.

Scott takes off to the airport, leaving Jean and Bobby the only functional team members when Apocalypse's revenge plan starts to make itself clear. The ship has a mind of its own, and starts changing shape and attacking both our heroes and other boats in the harbor. Scott, sitting in the airport waiting for a flight to be scheduled to Dallas, sees the news of what's happening and runs back. He arrives in time to save his team from a rocket launcher that the ship makes to attack them, but Jean is acting cold towards him, saying they need to learn to live without him. I really admire the way Simonson wrote this conflict, which is very in line with their characters. They built their relationship on the basis of Jean's telepathy. It gave Scott an excuse to not learn to communicate and made Jean believe she would always be able to understand Scott. But now that that's gone, they need to actually learn to understand each other, and neither one wants to admit that. Jean as a person is usually pretty confident that she's right, and she very often is, but when she's not she won't admit it and takes it pretty hard. Jean losing her telepathy was introduced by Layton to be a cheap source of drama and make things as similar as possible to early sixties comics, but Simonson turned it into a great allegory for how these people have changed since high school without their relationships changing too, and now they can't figure out how to connect. Anyway, back to the book. Across town, Warren goes to find Candy and discovers she's missing, the only clues being a poison dart on her carpet and a letter from Trish Tilby. Meanwhile, the kids are in the run inside the ship until they find its brain, which has been enslaved by Apocalypse. They free it, and the ship thanks them and stops fighting. But then it says Apocalypse planted a bomb, which X-Factor defuses just in time. Scott and Jean both apologize and explain where their heads are at, taking an important step towards actually healing their relationship, although they're still lost as to what to do next. But they now have a sentient flying ship on their side, so things are looking up a little.

In issue 29, we're introduced to the new villain Infectia, who made a teaser appearance on the last page of the previous issue. She can give humans superpowers, but the first one we see her do it to burns out his power and disintegrates pretty quickly. Across town, reporters have come to ask about the ship and the bomb that almost blew up the city. Bobby takes point on this press conference, which is nice to see and a good use of his talents. He, and the ship itself, assure the reporters that X-Factor will soon be taking to the sky in order to attract less violence to the city and to be better prepared to respond to crises anywhere else. Infectia sees this on the news in a bar and gets upset, wanting the ship for her own mysterious purposes. A sleazy guy says he'd do anything to help her, so she takes him back to her apartment and zaps him to turn him into a powerful monster. Inside the ship, Scott storms away from the press conference to have a breakdown, and Jean follows him and tells him directly that she and the rest of the team will be taking the ship to go find Scott's son with him. This is actually a huge step forward for them. Jean is pretty rarely this honest and up front with Scott, because she never had to be when she could talk to his brain. And Scott needs that kind of clear communication because he can only see the worst when he tries to read between the lines. Of course, the moment is ruined when the news replays Maddie's message to Scott and Jean yells that she's a hypocrite for not contacting Scott before this. I've been on Jean's side for most of this book, but now she's hurling petty insults at Maddie out of jealousy, so fuck you Jean. Bobby walks into the middle of this lovely scene from his press conference and makes a joke about their lover's quarrel. Bobby is becoming my favorite character in this book, which I did not expect before I started. I've read a lot of the big arcs in this book before but never in order and never with all the filler issues. And Bobby's arc is the most subtle; you can't see it in the big moments, but when you read the whole thing you see him slowly become the only chill rational adult in the soapiest X-book. Just then, Infectia shows up with a whole lotta monster minions, which she throws at the ship. Up on a nearby rooftop, Hank and Trish Tilby were having a conversation, their first in a while. It's interrupted by Warren, who learns from Trish that Candy was her informant on Hodge and the Right until she stopped calling. Warren flies off to go find Hodge, even though Trish tells him he died in a plane crash (which we saw in New Mutants but Warren doesn't believe). Back to the fight on the ship, Jean's inner monologue lines up exactly with what I was saying earlier about her and Scott's relationship, which makes me feel very good about my own literary analysis skills. Our heroes beat up all the monsters and Jean and Scott embrace. I know Jean cares about Scott, but this whole issue, including their reunion conversation here, she's been bashing Maddie and calling her selfish for not tracking down Scott. I really don't like the presentation of Maddie as Scott's crazy ex. They had a deeper and more real connection than Scott and Jean ever really did, and the breakup was almost entirely on Scott. But I am glad Jean isn't holding it against Scott's son. To wrap up this issue, Infectia watches from afar and schemes about how she's gonna use Bobby to steal the ship. This has been a great run, proving that Simonson can keep up the momentum the book has had lately even in the aftermath of a big event.

This annual is part of the Evolutionary War, an event that happened when Marvel realized they could turn all theirs annuals into crossover issues to sell a bunch of copies without the scheduling headaches that come with crossovers in ongoings. But the event doesn't interrupt the plots of the main books and each issue is pretty standalone so it's pretty inoffensive. It's about the High Evolutionary and some big plan he has to... I don't know, evolve the Earth? I've never been super clear on his motivations. Anyway, it affects X-Factor when his minions are exterminating the subterrestrial creatures that live with Mole Man and one of them lets out a psychic scream that both Jean and Caliban feel. One of the subterraneans is a mutant with psychic powers, and he's rallying his people to fight back. X-Factor goes to investigate and is attacked by the frightened and confused creatures. Meanwhile, alerted by Caliban, Apocalypse goes to confront the High Evolutionary. Apocalypse doesn't like people who force evolution, preferring to nurture it and fan the flames of war, so he and the Evolutionary start fighting. They have some philosophical debate which is fun but kinda nonsense because they're both insane. There is kinda an interesting dichotomy; Apocalypse sees himself as a force of nature motivating change, like a classical god. The High Evolutionary wants to be an Abrahamic God, in complete control and using his own judgement to change the world. Eventually they teleport down to see the subterraneans and are surprised to see X-Factor has made contact with the psychic subterranean, who's rallying his people against the would be exterminators. Apocalypse laughs at the Evolutionary, saying that by trying to control evolution he's actually pushed it forward the way Apocalypse likes. The Evolutionary leaves in a ponderous mood and the psychic guy thanks X-Factor. It was an okay story. It was nice to see Apocalypse's philosophy a little more fleshed out. I don't get what happened with the subterraeans? Anyway, after I finished there were still like 20 pages and lo and behold, there's another story in this annual! It's about the kids. Or so I thought when I started reading it. They're just hanging out on the ship when they find Hank's old photo album and narrate the history of the original X-Men for each other. It's a cute little story. I know these recaps used to be important before the internet, but I know all this stuff so I'm not getting much out of it. Then there's one more backup story that's some Evolutionary War thing that appears in all the annuals, which I'm not reading. And we're done!

#wes reads xmen

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