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yastaghr · 4 years

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The Hunt for the Nest

I don’t usually post twice in one day, but @lythecreatorart needs some cheering up and I just finished this fic! It’s some SFW Errink fluff!

Summary: Error wants to leave a mark on the Doodle Sphere that his boyfriend, Ink, has just shown him. He comes up with a cheeky scheme to not only leave one, but tease Ink at the same time.

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26565958

Error dusted off his hands happily, staring up at his handiwork. A giant nest of strings hung between two of the doors in Ink’s Doodle Sphere. Ever since the artist had invited him into his zone, Error had been trying to think up the perfect way to leave his mark on the island-filled space. His mind had kept wandering back to his strings. What else could be more him than that? The problem was what to do with them. Eventually, one day when he was visiting Birdtale, Error had the idea. Why not build a nest? He had seen non-sentient birds build them, and the bird-brains here did, too. Surely he could make something similar with string. And here it was!

The whole thing was easily big enough to hold both of them, even with the sprawl that artist mistakenly called sleeping. There were soft blankets inside and pillows, too. All, of course, were blue. Blue was his favorite color. Besides, Error wanted to use his own strings for this for… reasons. Someone else’s simply wouldn’t do.

Now came the fun part of building this: using the thing to tease Ink with. His plan was foolproof. It needed to be. Ink was definitely a fool.

Error opened up a quick portal out of the Doodle Sphere and into a random universe. He then jumped through about fifty other portals, sometimes opening up multiple holes or jumping back through the one he’d entered with, to muddy the trail. Only after he was starting to get tired did Error open the portal to the world he really wanted; it was the one that Ink was in. Why that idiot spent so much time in this universe was beyond him. There was nothing here except darkness. There wasn’t even a Sans. It was just empty, boring black everywhere you looked. A blank that its creator had abandoned long ago.

Ink spun around to face him even though Error knew he hadn’t made any noise. At first his face was just… blank. Blank just like this universe was. But then his eye lights, a blue heart and a green question mark, returned and a smile lit up his face. “Hey, Error! I was just thinking about you! Isn’t it weird that you would show up right after that?”

Error, thoughts derailed by the skatterbrain of the monster he loved, said, “i dOn't kNoW. wHy wErE YoU ThInKiNg aBoUt mE, oR Do i wAnT To kNoW?”

Ink grinned. His eye lights changed to an orange diamond and a yellow exclamation point. Uh oh. That wasn’t good at all. “Oh! I was just thinking about how I’ve never seen you eat sushi. Do you like sushi?”

“WhAt-” Error started to say.

“I don’t like sushi because the little white thingies they use always get stuck up my nose,” Ink carried on talking, oblivious.

“yOu'rE NoT SuPpOsEd tO-” Error tried again.

“But at the same time I do like sushi because that little green stuff they put on the side makes my nose run! It’s really nice when I’ve got a cold. Just a drop of that and I’m cle-”

It was Error’s turn to interrupt. “INK!!!!”

Ink closed his mouth and looked at him, his left eye light shifting from the diamond into a blue heart. “What is it, Glitchy?”

“i'vE GoT A PrEsEnT FoR YoU.”

Those magic words had Ink’s full attention. He practically quivered with it. It was pathetic (definitely not impressive, no way) how much Ink gave off the impression that he was an exclamation mark in a skeletal body. “Gimme!”

“iT'S NoT HeRe, DuMbAsS,” Error said, rolling his mismatched eye lights fondly, “iT'S HiDdEn. If yOu wAnT It yOu hAvE To fInD It."

Now both of Ink’s eye lights were exclamation points: one green, one yellow. “Ooh! A puzzle gift! Those are the best kind! Where did you hide it? And don’t say “the multiverse” this time. That was almost impossible!”

Error chuckled. That had been a good one. Ink had been searching for weeks for that special easel Error had… acquired for him. He’d finally found it in Chocotale #021. “i dOn't kNoW WhAt yOu'rE TaLkInG AbOuT. i'm nOt gOiNg tO SaY ThAt. I WaS GoInG To sAy iT'S HiDdEn iN ThE DoOdLe sPhErE.”

Ink pouted. “That’s almost as bad! The Doodle Sphere has an island for every universe in the multiverse! You know that! It’s huge! It’ll take me days to search it all!”

Error’s grin was definitely cheeky. He was a glitch! What fun could a glitch have if there wasn’t a little cheek in his life? “yOu'd bEtTeR GeT StArTeD, tHeN, sQuId. ThAt pReSeNt iSn't gOiNg tO FiNd iTsElF!”

=====

Several days later, Ink panted and leaned against the door to Ketotale. He’d been searching non-stop all this time, and he still couldn’t find that damned gift. He felt like he’d searched everywhere at least once, and it wasn’t nearly as much fun anymore - now it was just frustrating. So, Ink did the best thing he could think of doing, his default when a problem grew boring; he searched for someone to pester into helping him. Lucky for him, there was one monster who could be guaranteed to be helpful right now: Error.

Ink found him in Chocotale, which wasn’t that surprising. Error loved chocolate, so an entire world made out of nothing else was bound to appeal. He was munching on the shutters of someone’s house. Ink would have chastised him, but he knew for a fact that most of the inhabitants of Chocotale now had Destroyer Insurance™. That was absolute genius.

Ink poked the monster he wanted in his life more than any other in the back. Error glanced over his shoulder, an unimpressed expression on his face. He finished chewing the chocolate in his mouth with agonizing slowness. Ink stuck his tongue out at him. Rude. “i tHoUgHt yOu wErE SeArChInG FoR My pReSeNt. DiD YoU GeT BoReD AlReAdY? iT'S OnLy bEeN FoUr dAyS. yOu uSuAlLy lAsT LoNgEr tHaN ThIs.”

Ink huffed. “I have been! I’ve been looking nonstop all this time! I swear I’ve searched the entire Doodle Sphere, but I can’t find anything out of place! At least give me a hint, Error. Please~!”

Error rolled his eyes and turned back to his meal. The shutters were more than half destroyed at this point. Oh, well. “tHaT SoUnDs lIkE A PeRsOnAl pRoBlEm tO Me. I'M NoT GoInG To gIvE YoU AnY HiNtS UnTiL It's bEeN At lEaSt a wEeK.”

Ink’s pout was really something to behold. He had no idea what it looked like, but it usually worked on Error like nothing else would. Of course, for it to work Error would have to actually see it. Right now he couldn’t. Thus, the pokes would begin. They were spaced just far enough apart and just firm enough that Error couldn’t ignore them. Ink also moved the spot he was poking all around Error’s back at random so he couldn’t get used to the sensation in a particular place.

Error groaned and spun around to face him, annoyance in his eyes. “fInE! wHaT Is iT YoU WaNt tO KnOw, SqUiD?”

Ink grinned. Yes! Score! He won, and now he could ask… what’d he want to ask again? “Um…”

The glitch rolled his eyes. “tYpIcAl. HoW CaN YoU SaY YoU'Ve sEaRcHeD ThE EnTiRe dOoDlE SpHeRe iF YoU CaN'T EvEn rEmEmBeR WhAt wE'Re tAlKiNg aBoUt fOr tEn mInUtEs?”

A lightning bulb went off in his head. “Oh! Yeah! How is it that you can hide something in the Doodle Sphere that I know like the back of my hand? You’ve only spent a little bit of time there before, and it’s huge!” Error looked down. Ink followed his eyes to see his gloved hand. Oh, yeah. He didn’t exactly know what the back of his hand looked like, did he? “Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best metaphor, but you know what I mean!”

Error chuckled. “yEs, I Do. Do yOu, tHoUgH?”

It was Ink’s turn to glare. “Wow, rude. What have you been doing while I’ve been searching alone, hanging out with the Bad Sanses again?”

“wHo sAiD YoU WeRe sEaRcHiNg aLoNe?” Error said, and then he froze. Ink grinned triumphantly. Ah hah! Error had been following him, had he? “...CrAp, I ShOuLdN'T HaVe sAiD ThAt.”

“Too late, Mr. Stalker! What were you even doing following me around? Making sure I didn’t find it?” Ink asked, not really expecting an answer.

“mAyBe…” Error admitted.

Ink narrowed his eyes. “And how were you doing that? You weren’t distracting me because I didn’t see you there, so what…?”

“oKaY, oKaY! i wAs mOvInG It, OkAy? AnY TiMe yOu gOt cLoSe tO ThE PrEsEnT I WoUlD MoVe iT SoMePlAcE ElSe. I DiDn't wAnT YoU FiNdInG It tOo sOoN, dId i?” Error finally admitted the infuriating truth.

“Cheater!” Ink accused the monster he loved, “That’s cheating! No fair!”

Error rolled his eyes. “oH, tHaT'S So mAtUrE, iNk. It's nOt lIkE YoU DiDn't cHeAt lAsT TiMe, EiThEr. ReCrUiTiNg yOuR ViSiTiNg dOpPlEgAnGeR In oRdEr tO MaKe mE ThInK YoU'Ve fIgUrEd oUt hOw tO BrEaK PhYsIcS WiThOuT MaGiC Is sO ChEaTiNg.”

Ink huffed. “Fine then. I still think this is too much. You owe me a favor for this!”

“fInE,” Error huffed back at him, “wHaT KiNd oF FaVoR DiD YoU HaVe iN MiNd? dId yOu wAnT Me tO KnIt yOu sOmEtHiNg? PuT AnOtHeR UnIvErSe oN ThE UnToUcHaBlE LiSt?”

Ink’s triumphant grin returned. “I want you to show me where this present is!”

Error blinked at him. Ink knew that expression. It was one of bewilderment. “tHaT'S AlL? yOu jUsT WaNt mE To hElP YoU FiNd mY PrEsEnT? rEaLlY?”

“Yeah!” Ink said with a smile. “I didn’t say it was going to be a big favor, and I want to know!”

“Do yOu wAnT Me tO Do tHaT NoW?” Error asked, still stunned.

“Yeah! Come on, Glitchy, let’s go!” Ink said, grabbing Error’s hand and pulling out Broomy. He was just about to spill some ink for a portal when Error pulled his hand out of Ink’s. The artist eyed Error with confusion in his eyes.

“tHeRe's nO FuCkInG WaY We'rE TaKiNg oNe oF YoUr pOrTaLs. ThEy mAkE Me sIcK To mY StOmAcH,” Error complained, sticking his tongue out and cocking his hand to act. “i'm gOiNg tO OpEn mY OwN PoRtAl. If yOu sTiLl wAnT To uSe yOuR MoNsTrOsItY YoU CaN. i'lL MeEt yOu aT ThE HoUsE.”

With that, Error stepped through a glitching portal into the gold-tinted landscape. Ink quickly dove in after him. He had intended to roll to his feet, but he misjudged the height of the portal off the ground and ended up planting face-first into the dirt. He spat out a mouthful of dirt and grass. It didn’t taste too bad, honestly. It was just… weird. Granulated and chlorophyll-y. Yep, definitely weird.

“aRe yOu dOnE EaTiNg tHe fUcKiNg dIrT Or aRe yOu gOiNg bAcK FoR AnOtHeR MoUtHfUl?” Error’s glitchy voice asked from above him. Ink jumped up, spat out another piece of grass, and smiled at the monster who fascinated him more than any other. As was typical for him, Error said, “wOw, YoUr tEeTh aRe aLmOsT A PrOpEr cOlOr nOw! StIlL ToO BlUe, BuT ThAt's tO Be eXpEcTeD. yOu nEvEr cOuLd mAnAgE A PrOpEr yElLoW, eVeN ThAt tImE YoU TrIeD To dReSs uP As mE FoR ThE CoStUmE BaLl. ReAlLy, WhAtEvEr mAdE YoU ThInK My tEeTh aRe tHe sAmE CoLoUr aS MaRmAlAdE?”

Ink tapped his chin, trying to remember whatever event Error was talking about. He couldn’t. “Did that really happen, or are you making something up again?”

Error grinned, “i'm mAkInG SoMeThInG Up.”

“Oh. Yay.” Ink said it with as little emotion as he could get without taking paint thinner. “Can we go find my present now?”

Error rolled his eye lights, but he couldn’t hide the smile on his face. “yEaH, yOu rAiNbOw bAsTaRd. We cAn gO FiNd yOuR PrEsEnT. fOlLoW Me.” He turned on his heel and walked to the edge of the island. Then he leapt up to the next one.

Ink rolled his eye lights and just used his paint. It was so much faster! He could just use the puddles of paint that every island had and teleport without needing to jump.

They went between enough islands that Ink had forgotten what they were searching for. All he knew was that he was following Error somewhere. When he saw it, though, he knew exactly what it was. The nest was hanging between Pediatale #002 and Underhood #410. It looked amazing! It was huge, and it was full of pillows, and it was cool!

Ink found himself getting so happy that he started floating. He giggled, the extreme amount of happiness he was using overriding any fear that he might drift away. Then that teeny bit of fear vanished when Error’s strings wrapped around his ankle.

“dOn't fLoAt aWaY NoW, sQuId. GeT BaCk dOwN HeRe aNd cUdDlE WiTh mE!” Error demanded.

Ink giggled some more and complied. He let Error’s strings tow him into the nest, where he floated down to Error’s side. He nestled into the soft, fluffy bed of the nest and sighed. This was just about perfect.

#errink #errorink #error sans #ink sans #sanscest #fluff #undertale #yastaghr

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formeandmyfics · 3 years

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Jugenea Fan Fiction ‘LOCKED IN’

Because Judy & Gene are having ‘marriage on the rocks’, Sinatra & Bacall decide to do something about it. But, will their plan work out?

Spring 1956

Gene stood at the end of the Bogart's driveway, next door to his home, as he took one last drag of his cigarette. He could hear the sounds of steel drum and ukulele music echoing from the back yard, along with sounds of his rowdy friends, and many familiar cars lined the Beverly Hills street in front of their houses. Exhaling the smoke into the night sky, he then dropped the cigarette the the ground, and stepped on it before heading up the driveway.

When he walked through the gate, he saw that the Luau was in full swing. With strings of yard bulbs lit up over the party, he could see everyone was dressed in Caribbean attire, with women wearing flowered lei's, as they hung around the tiki bar or the large buffet table.

Gene's eyes scanned the crowd for one particular person, but didn't see her. There were many people, and being so short, sometimes it was hard to find her. It was, however, never hard to hear her, but right now that voice of hers was non-existent over the music and chatter.

"Hey, bud, you made it," Van said walking up next to him in a bright yellow shirt with palm trees all over it.

"Hey, hey," Gene said smiling wide as they gave a hug and pat on the back.

"Here," Van said reaching for one of the sea-shell lei's on the welcome table, "Lazar said entry into his birthday party is that everyone has to wear one."

"That's fine," Gene said as he bent so Van could place it around his neck, "I haven't been laid in a while."

"That's 'cause you were on the other side of the pond for 5 weeks."

Yeah, add three weeks on top of that five, Gene thought a little irritated, as they joined the crowd.

"His birthday was last month. Why are we having it 3 weeks late? Not that I'm complaining. I'm happy to be here."

"He was over in Australia, I think. Bogie wanted to throw him a party with all of us."

"Where is Swifty?"

Van motioned, pointing back and forth behind Gene. Gene turned around and saw the familiar 5'2 bald man in glasses in a serious conversation with Moss Hart, another client of Paul's, or 'Swifty' as they called him. 90% of everyone here was, or had been, a client of Swifty's at one time or another, including himself.

"Look at him," Van said, "He's at his Luau and he's still over there discussing work."

"And with Moss, too. They're probably closing some business deal."

"And it's probably regarding your wife," Van teased as Swifty was Judy's current agent and Moss was her last film director.

Gene took the cold beer that Van offered and scanned the crowd again when Lauren walked up in a halter top and grass skirt.

"How ya doin' suga," she said in her best Mae West accent.

"Hi, doll," he chuckled giving her a friendly peck on the lips, "How are you?"

"I'm good. We've missed you."

"Oh, I've missed you all, too. It's good to be home."

"How good," she asked cautiously raising her eyebrow.

"Haven't made it that far yet," he said taking a swig of his beer.

"I'm glad your back. My husband's been taking me on the boat in your absence. He's says I'm not as good of a skipper as you are."

"Oh, being on the boat again sounds amazing. The weather over in England is shit."

"Cloudy?"

"Rainy and cloudy. Imagine spending over a month in that."

"Well, it definitely hasn't been like that here. It's actually been quite warm for this time of the year."

"Good. Maybe I can take a dip in your pool tomorrow if it's warm enough."

"Oh, yeah, anytime."

"Where is your other half, by the way," Gene asked.

"Over there at the Tiki Bar," she said, and in perfect timing the group of men there burst out in a roar of laughter, "They've just started doing the Jack Daniels."

"Oh, it's about to get fun then," Gene laughed.

"You know it. Oh, and your other half is in the house with Junie if you're wondering. I'll be right back."

Gene looked at the back patio door, as if he expected Judy to come walking out at that moment. When she didn't he started walking to go in, but he suddenly heard his best friend's unmistakable, but slightly intoxicated, voice.

"Gene!"

The other men joined in seeing him, as it'd been over a month, and he couldn't help but get pulled into their welcome circle.

Judy sat at the island in the large kitchen as June made them both another Mai Tai and discussed 'You Can't Run Away From It', a movie she was almost done filming at Columbia.

"As much as I love my husband, I gotta tell ya, it's been a little annoying working with him like this, as the producer and director, and then coming home together. I don't know how you did it with Vincente."

"During The Pirate, it was hard. It was really hard. I wasn't in the best shape, mentally, but I think working together like that put a lot of strain on our marriage. That's why I wanted him replaced on Easter Parade. I didn't want it to make our marriage worse, but it didn't matter in the end, anyways. I didn't understand it because I loved working with him on St. Louis and The Clock."

"That's because you two weren't married then. You didn't have to come home together afterwards."

Judy giggled, "That's true."

"Do you think if Gene directed you in something right now, you'd be as annoyed with him as I am with Richie?"

Judy put on a smile. She heard her friend's frustrated tone, and knew it was a hypothetical question, but it hit pretty good.

"Well, I don't have to work with him to get 'annoyed' at him, but actually, it's the opposite with us. We work so well together, you know? He knows the way I work. He directed me in all the dance choreography for the last two films we shot together, and we weren't married then, but it always brings us closer together when we work. It's been hard going in two different directions, professionally. Working together is all we've known, it's how we met. And even after I left Metro, he was there helping me when I started my concert career and he was there to help me when I went over to Warner Bros for A Star is Born."

"And now you're away doing concert tours and he's making films."

"Yep."

"Or, he's away making films and you're here doing albums."

Judy sighed, resting her cheek in her hand, "Yes, June."

"But you always come back to each other. You're back from that small tour up north and he's finally back from London. Didn't he get back yesterday?"

"Yeah. Yesterday morning. He spent the afternoon with the kids when I was at the recording studio."

"I spoke to Pete on the phone this morning. He said he is subletting his Wilshire Terrace condo to Gene for a little while."

"That's what I've been told," Judy said licking her lips before taking a sip of her fresh cocktail.

"It's convenient, as it's literally right down the road, but...what the hell, Judy?"

Judy nudged her shoulders, "It's his decision."

"I know you, my friend, and I know Gene, which means I also know that you have a lot to do with that decision of his," June said in a motherly voice as she waved a skewer of sliced oranges and grapes at Judy.

Judy huffed and grabbed the skewer before June poked her in the eye, "Give it."

"Have you seen him yet since he got back?"

"Not yet. Frank said he was going to stop over here tonight, though.”

Just then there was a roar from a bunch of men followed by laughing. Junie turned to look out the window behind her.

“What’s going on out there,” Judy asked.

“I don’t know. Looks like the guys are up to something.”

“My gosh, they’re making a lot of noise,” Judy said getting up to follow behind her friend out the door.

They walked to where the group of men stood but first saw Lauren cracking up pointing.

“What is going on,” Judy giggled to Lauren.

Just then the crowd parted and there stood a few of the men in straw hats, bare chested, with coconut bras on. When Judy saw this, she laughed hysterically, grabbing onto Lauren’s hand for support, as the two women almost doubled over.

When Gene saw Judy happily laughing, it made him smile. He hadn’t seen her like that for a while. When their eyes finally met, they were both chuckling, and he took that opportunity to walk up to her. But he did so in a sexy stride and tilted his straw hat on his head, the way she does with her fedora in her Get Happy number.

“What do you think,” he asked smiling proud.

Judy giggled and placed her fingers on her lips as she looked down at the bra covering part of his naked torso, “I think you look ridiculous.”

“Good, just was I was going for.”

“This the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe you’re all wearing those.”

“Touch em,” he said playfully grabbing her wrist but she quickly pulled her hand away laughing.

“Get out of here.”

“Wanna try em’ on,” he said untying the back.

When they were off, she took it from him and examined the petite, wooden cup, “Darling, I’m afraid they’re a bit wee small for my liking.”

“Let me see,” he laughed and took the bra back. He was about too place it up to her chest when she pushed him away, crossing her arms.

Gene laughed and took his big, straw hat off and placed it on top of her head.

“This is not what I was expecting once you got back home, but it’s pretty damn funny,” she said adjusting the hat.

“What were you expecting,” he asked, his tone a little more serious.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she said taking the hat off, “Can you please put your shirt back on, we’re at a party.”

“Yes, dear,” he said in the all-too-familiar husband voice.

After Gene grabbed his shirt that was sitting by the tiki bar and put it back on, he found Judy sitting at a vacant picnic table. He immediately sat next to her, beer in hand.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t home yesterday when you got back.”

“It’s okay. I know you were working.”

“The kids were so happy to be with you again. They couldn’t stop talking about it,” she smiled.

“I gotta tell ya the truth, I got teary eyed. I missed the all so much. I’m glad Liza was there, too.” “You handled all four of them alone, huh,” she asked with a raised eyebrow as she needed help doing it herself.

“Oh, sure, but they were on their best behaviour, just because it was my homecoming I’m sure.”

“Kerry spent the night for a few days.”

“She told me. She said you took her to Capitol Records with you. She thought it was the coolest thing ever, her words.”

“Well, I promised to take her shopping and out to eat, but I had to record a song up at the tower first. She insisted she wanted to go with. I thought she’d be bored.”

“Oh, no. I think it’s thrilling to her. You know how excited she gets whenever she gets to come to the studio or one of your shows.”

“For a few hours, it was just the two of us. I’ve only been able to do that a few times with her since we got married, but now that she’s a teenager, it’s a different kind of bonding. I really enjoyed it.”

“I really appreciate you doing that for her, and treating her like your own ever since we moved in together. I cannot believe it’s been six years already.”

“I know, and I can say the same thing about you and Liza.”

“How’s the album coming along?”

“It’s going really great. I love the playlist.”

“Is there a title yet?”

“Oh, yes, one that I think beats my last title.”

“What can be better than ‘Miss Show Business’,” he asked dramatically.

“Judy.”

“Judy,” he repeated and she nodded with a gleam in her eye, “Well, damn, that does beat it. That’s not original at all.”

She laughed, genuinely, and reached down to scratch the bandage over her ankle. He remembered her telling him about her ankle sprain. They hadn’t spoken much over the phone while he was away. When they had, it was distant and cold and only about the children. The one time they actually spoke like a married couple was when their daughter had told him that Mama broke her ankle. When Gene had gotten Judy on the phone, worried, she told him about the sprain while she was in Frisco. He was happy that she was okay and at least didn’t break it. Judy reminded him that their daughter had an affiliation for over-exaggeration but thanked him for caring.

“How long do you have to keep the bandage on?”

“Two more weeks, just so I don’t sprain it again. It’s just a wrap. I don’t have to walk like a toy soldier or anything.”

“Does it hurt,” he asked taking her ankle gently and lifting it on his lap.

“It’s sore if I’m on it for long periods of time, but doesn’t hurt. It developed a nasty bruise though.”

He undid the bandage and there he saw her a large bruise over half of her foot now fading.

“Shit, Judy.”

“I don’t even know how I did it,” she giggled.

“Probably falling down while you’re sleepwalking,” he said putting the bandage back on.

“I don’t sleepwalk.”

“Whose that walking around the house at 3 a.m., a ghost,” he teased.

“Yeah, the ghost of Dorothy’s past.”

He looked at her as she smiled, looking down as she stretched her bare legs straight. His eyes traveled up them to the tight, and short, high-waisted white shorts she wore. A yellow, mid-drift shirt was tied around her waist, with a matching bandage holding up her hair, and a pink lay of flowers was around her neck. She looked very cute, and more radiant, than she had the last time he saw her. Of course he had watched her GE performance on television like everyone else, and noticed she had lost about 10 pounds, but now in front of him, she looked younger as well.

When her eyes didn’t meet his, he knew that she knew, that he was staring. So, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You look so beautiful.”

Across the way, Lauren nudged Frank with her elbow, to get his attention. When she had it, she motioned for him to look at their two best friends. When he did, it was just in time to see Judy look up at Gene, smiling, flattered by his comment.

“They’re getting along,” Frank said.

“Let’s hope it stays that way. I’m not looking for a repeated performance of what happened last time they were at my place.”

“What happened,” he asked.

“It was a few days before he left for Europe…” she said trailing off.

“Judy! Open the door! Judy! I swear, I’ll break it down!” Gene’s yelling caused the dog next door to start barking as Lauren walked around the bushes that separated their yards. “You’ll huff, and you’ll puff, and you’ll blow the house down,” she said, her arms crossed in front of her. “Oh, Jesus,” he slurred. “May I ask what you’re doing?” “She locked me out. She took my god damn keys and now all the doors are locked.” “Why did she take your keys,” she responded calmly. “Because she didn’t want me going out even though I had these plans for the past few weeks,” he smiled with his finger up like he was smarter, “So, I had Frank come pick me up. Ah ha, she couldn’t stop me then.” “She took your keys because you were probably drinking before you left,” Lauren responded matter-of-factly. Gene swatted his hand and shook his head, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He turned back to their front door trying the knob as if it was going to miraculously open again, “OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!” Lauren slightly jumped and placed her finger on her temple,“Dear, she isn’t home.” “Yes, she is. Her car’s right there.” “She . isn’t . home,” she slowly stated in aggravation. “Then where the hell is she?” Lauren pointed to her own house and Gene rolled his eyes before heading that way. Judy was singing at the piano, as Kay played, when Gene entered the living room, Lauren on his heels. It was a small group, as Bogie, June & Richie watched. Gene was ready to have words, but seeing Judy singing, he sighed and composed himself. No one interrupted when Judy Garland was singing, not even her own husband.

When Judy saw Gene, singing loudly through a long note, she nonchalantly lifted her left hand giving him the bird. The room turned to look whom she was flipping off and Gene looked at Lauren who smiled, putting her finger up to her lips to shush him. “Whatever you did, maybe you should apologize,” a man in his late 20’s said with a chuckle, as he walked up to Gene out of nowhere. “Why are you immediately taking her side…‘cause she’s got the tits,” Gene asked as if talking to a friend, but then when he looked, he didn’t recognize the guy. “Yeah,” the man chuckled. “Who are you?” “And if you don’t make up, maybe I’ll end up having the tits, too. Hi, I’m Robert,” the man’s voice was full of sarcasm, clearly joking, and he extended his hand happily to introduce himself but Gene turned red. In his current state, with the current circumstances, Gene took the comment the wrong way and saw red. He suddenly grabbed the guy by the collar with his fists and baked him up to the wall startling everybody. “Don’t fucking talk about my wife,” he shouted. “Oh, Jesus,” Judy said and quickly ran over. Robert put his hands up, “Whoa, I was joking! BACK OFF MAN!” “Gene!” Lauren shouted. Bogie grabbed Gene from behind, calmly, to back him off but Gene just stared at the man, still in a hold. Suddenly Judy was next to them. “Gene, that’s Lauren’s cousin, now BACK OFF,” she hissed. Hearing her voice, suddenly brought him back to reality, and he let go. He looked at the man with complete remorse, helping him smooth his jacket. “I’m sorry.” They watched as Gene walked out of the room, running his hand through his hair. When he passed Richie & Junie, the two looked at one another shocked. “I am so sorry, Robert. Please do forgive my husband. He’s not himself right now,” Judy pleaded. “He’s not usually like that,” Lauren added. “I thought we were joking around. I guess it got misunderstood.” “He’s a walking bottle of whiskey right now, hey, Judes,” Bogie asked a bit amused but she didn’t find it funny. Judy shook her head, looking at Lauren, before she walked the opposite direction that Gene went.

* Lauren handed Frank his fresh beer, “Judy really locked him out of the house that night. He spent the night in our guest room. I had never seen Gene’s temper like that.”

“Yeah,” Frank chimed in, “Even when drinking, he isn’t like that.”

“Judy really wasn’t lying about his temper becoming a problem.” “But from what he told me, Judy’s mood swings are a huge problem as well. With his temper like a short fuse, and her bi-polar moods, that ain't good. Do you know what they've been fighting about?"

"No clue. But Judy did tell me they had a blow out the day before he left. She said it was the worst fight they ever had. I guess they both said things that were pretty hurtful, attacking below the belt, and all. She doesn't know where their marriage stands right now."

“Well, maybe they’ve made up, or will later,” he said wickedly.

Judy turned her head away when Gene had leaned in to kiss her and it really pissed him off. He didn’t say anything, but his face said it all as he slowly leaned back from her.

“Gene, don’t,” she said. She wasn’t playing hard-to-get, she was serious.

Gene exhaled, not wanting to get into an argument, especially here at the party, “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“I have no definite plans.”

“Good. We need to talk.”

Judy didn’t like his tone one bit, “I’m not sure I’ll be in the mood to talk tomorrow.”

Hearing her actress voice, he whispered, “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but that thing you sent in the mail, is full of shit. Just know that.”

Without another word, Gene got up and walked away. Judy’s eyes followed him until he sat down in a chair by the pool.

Back across the way, Frank and Lauren looked at each other.

“Well, that didn’t last long,” Lauren said.

“I wish we could do something to help ‘em, you know?”

“What we ought to do is lock them in a room together until they figure things out.”

Frank nodded and took a swig of his beer but suddenly his eyes widened.

“Betty.”

“Hm?”

“I got an idea.”

Debbie Reynolds sat next to Judy, and playfully nudged her shoulder as she did so. Judy acknowledged her friend’s presence with a gentle smile, but that not-so-like-Judy welcome alerted Debbie.

“Alright, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing for you to worry about, darling.”

“Man problems?”

“If you want to call it that, sure,” she giggled.

“Is it that time of the month for Gene,” Debbie joked.

“Yes, but for both of us, and has been that way for more than just a week, let me tell ya.”

“Oh, it’ll be okay. Every marriage has ups and downs.”

“I know,” Judy said a bit frustrated, “I’ve had my share of downs with my past two marriages, but not with Gene, at least not like this.”

The seriousness in her friend’s voice altered Debbie’s smile and she took Judy’s hand, “You’ll be okay, I promise.”

“How are you so sure?”

“Because it’s you two.”

They were quiet a moment before Debbie spoke up again, “Now, I have some exciting news to tell you that might turn that from upside down.”

“You’re pregnant,” Judy said joking.

“How’d you know,” Debbie answered gleefully.

“Wild guess,” Judy giggled back, still joking, but when she saw the look on Debbie’s face, her eyes grew wide, “Are you really?”

“October.”

Judy gasped, with a huge smile, before putting her in for a big hug, “Oh, darling, that’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you.”

“Thank you. We haven’t announced it to everyone yet, but I’m so thrilled.”

“Oh my goodness, I bet Eddie is excited.”

“Oh, he is. It’s not for another six months, but I think he’s already gone and bought cigars for when the baby’s born.”

Both girls laughed.

“Hey, Judes,” Frank said walking up.

“Yah, honey,” she asked turning to look at him over her shoulder.

“Can you stand up a moment?”

“Why?”

“Can you stand up a moment,” he repeated.

“No. Why?”

“Come on, come on.”

Judy and Debbie gave each other strange looks before Judy stood up, a little self conscious. Frank walked up arms length, and put his hand up so she would place her hand in his, which she did. He kept a hold of it and looked at her, as if observing her outfit.

“What the hell are you - what are you doing,” she asked now trying to get her hand away but he kept a hold of it.

“Mm hm, mm hm,” he said then all of a sudden yanked her to him and picked her up over his shoulder.

Judy gasped and grabbed onto the shirt of his back so she wouldn’t fall, “Frank,” she yelled, “Put me down!”

“No can do, babe,” he said as he started walking down the small hill.

“God dammit, Frank, put me down,” she continued and kicked her legs. Instead of a verbal response, he gave a small slap to her behind. Judy leaned up, angry, and hit his back in response to this. Everyone pointed and laughed as they watched Sinatra carry Judy over his shoulder down towards the pool.

Gene just lit his fresh cigarette, sitting on a poolside lounge, when he heard commotion coming his way. He turned to see Frank walking towards him as his wife angrily wiggled over his shoulder yelling vulgarities.

“What the fu--,” he mumbled as they got close but he was interrupted by Judy.

“Don’t you dare,” she said hitting Frank’s back again as she saw the pool in front of her. When Judy saw them about to pass her husband, he reached her hand out, “Gene!”

Gene immediately put his cigarette in his mouth, so he wouldn’t burn her as she almost violently reached to grab his hands. Laughing, Gene was able to grab her arms hanging off the back of Frank, and pulled. Frank kept a hold and took a few more steps. This alarmed Judy, and she gasped, wrapping her arms around Gene’s neck, his chest now pressed up against Frank’s back.

Gene lifted his chin up to the sky, holding Judy, the cigarette dangling back and forth between his lips as he spoke, “Come on, man, let her go, she’s gonna choke me.”

“And I’ll choke you to death if you let go, Gene,” she warned kicking her legs.

“Ow,” Frank said as she nearly kicked in him the face, “Ok, ok,” he said and loosened his grip.

With that, Judy slid off, and clung onto Gene. Near the edge, Frank then tackled Gene’s side, giving a huge push.

“Oh my God,” Lauren said, but not surprised, when she heard Judy scream before seeing the big splash as the couple landed in the pool. She placed her hand over her eyes, stifling a giggle. Frank hadn’t been kidding.

Judy and Gene walked into the master bedroom soaking wet.

“I can’t fucking believe he did that,” Judy stated furiously.

Gene chuckled, “The little shit.”

“Why are you laughing,” she asked untying the wet bandanna from her hair.

“It’s just water, baby, lighten up,” he said starting to unbutton his shirt.

“Lighten up,” she asked with a shriek and was about to go on when the door opened.

“Hi,” Lauren said smiling, “If you don’t mind, I just have to…” She trailed off as her eyes landed on the bedside table and she walked across the room.

Judy and Gene both just stood there, confused, as they watched her pick up the phone. She fiddled with it before the cord was no longer plugged in.

“Ah ha, there we go,” she said and head back towards the door.

“What the hell are you doing,” Gene asked.

“Why are you taking our phone,” Judy added completely flabbergasted.

When she went out the door, Frank appeared with a tray of veggies in one hand and fruit in the other, obviously from the party.

“Here ya go, something to hold you over til’ morning. You’re good with just water til then, ya?”

“What are you talk--what the hell is going on,” Gene said taking a step towards him, his arms out confused.

Frank smiled, gave him a thumbs up, before shutting the door behind him.

Gene looked at Judy, who was making a strange face, before he walked back to the doors. But, they wouldn’t open. He tried again.

“What the fuck,” he said and tried again.

On the other side, Frank had tied one of the kid’s jump robes around the double door’s handles like a tourniquet. Lauren stood by smiling when she heard Gene and Judy mumbling inside.

“Frank! What the hell are you doing,” Gene yelled.

“Locking you both in.”

“What do you mean,” they both answered at the same time.

“Now, darlings, don’t get mad…” Lauren started.

Judy interrupted as she stomped to the door, “Darling’s going to get mad if you don’t open the god damn door!”

Frank looked at her eyes wide hearing that rare, but intense, yell, “I think she means business.”

Lauren went on, “Now, listen, you two are going to stay in there together, and work on whatever shit you’re going through, no ‘if’ ‘and’s’ or ‘but’s’ about it.”

“We are not going to stay in here, now OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR,” Gene yelled and hit hit fist against the door which made Frank back away startled.

“Stop it,” Judy said pushing Gene away and put on a calm and sweet voice, “You cannot just leave us in here.”

“Sure we can. You have a bathroom, you have snacks, you have water, you have a bed, you have each other, you’ll be fine until morning,” Frank added.

“We’re not joking,” Lauren said walking closer to the door, “We’re not letting you out until you can work out your problems.”

“Great,” Gene said, “We’ll die in here.”

Judy gave him an evil glare before trying the door herself, but of course it didn’t open, “Betty, I love you, I really do, and I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but you don’t know anything about what we’re going through, and quite frankly, it’s none of your business.”

There was silence a moment before a piece of paper was slid under the door. The couple didn’t even have to pick it up to know what it was: Deposition for Divorce. Gene sighed, running his hand through his hair, as he started to pace.

“Found this on the table in the foyer on my way up. Frank and I planned this little charade before I even saw this. I may not know why this exists, but, as your friend who knows you both very well, I do know that it shouldn’t exist.”

“I agree,” Frank said matter-of-factly.

“You’re really going to keep us in here,” Judy asked, trying to avoid Gene’s gaze.

“Just until morning.”

“What about my children?”

“Oh,” Lauren said cheerfully, “I’m taking them over to my house for a sleepover. Won’t that be fun?”

“You’re going to wake them up, to take them over to your place, just to go back to sleep,” Gene added ridiculously

“They’ll be fine.”

“Have fun with that one,” Gene added.

“I have kids of my own, remember. I’m well aware how they work.”

“You guys need anything before we leave,” Frank asked exuberantly.

“How about for you to let us out of here,” Judy called out frustrated.

“Cannot process that request. Anything else?”

“Well, I do know one thing, I’m going shopping for a new best friend after this,” Gene stated.

“Ok, well, if you don’t need anything, have a good night.”

“Tata,” Lauren added.

Gene pressed his ear up to the door and heard the footsteps fade away. He then looked at Judy shocked, “They’re really leaving us in here.”

Judy just gave him a look and walked into the bathroom slamming the door loud behind her, the picture rattling on the wall.

Gene exhaled through his nose, “This will be fun.”

When Judy emerged from the bathroom, she was wearing a black, silk robe that came to her knees, and her face was freshly washed, damp curls framing it.

Gene, who had changed into a pair of dry pants and a t-shirt, was standing on their bedroom’s small veranda looking down at their enormous backyard. As Judy walked over, she could hear the echo of the party still going on next door.

“Might be a bad idea, Gene,” Gene mumbled to himself, “you might break something if you jump.”

“Are you insane,” Judy said ridiculously, “You’ll break your damn neck.” She looked over the side at the vines that covered the back of the house, “What if you, you know, shimmy down the vines?”

Gene was the one to look at her ridiculously now, “This isn’t The Pirate, Manuela,” he emphasized and Judy looked at him insulted as she placed her hands on her hips. He went on, “Besides, even then I was harnessed to a safety wire.”

Judy followed him inside, shutting the veranda doors behind her. He walked over to the large, white mahogany, double doors and placed his hands on his hips.

Judy looked at him warningly as she saw the determined expression on his face,“No.”

“No, what,” he asked, but was preoccupied with turning the door handles gently to see if whatever was locking them in would come loose.

“Whatever you’re thinking about doing, it’s a big fat no, buster.”

“What am I thinking?”

She placed her hand on the door in front of his face, leaning on it, “You’re not going to try to break my door down, Gene.”

“Your?”

“Our,” she corrected rolling her eyes, “These are brand new doors that I had specifically made to match the carvings on last ones. That hole you kicked in them was there for a month before I could get it fixed.”

Gene sighed. She knew exactly what he had been planning…kicking the door through enough to unlock it.

“Is it really that horrible to have to be stuck in a room with me for a night that you’re willing to break down the doors?”

“Of course not. I just don’t like to be a prisoner in my own fucking house and I know you don’t like this either, so don’t even try arguing with me.”

“Look, you can’t jump off the damn balcony and I’m not letting you break the door down, we don’t have a phone, so we’re just going to have to make the best of it. Besides, the doors are heavier than the last. You might hurt yourself in the process.”

“Oh, so you still care,” he exaggerated but Judy took offense.

“Don’t be silly.”

Gene walked over to the veggie tray and picked around as she turned on the radio and grabbed a magazine.

“Well, at least they left us food, though I wish Frank woulda left me some bourbon.”

“I bet you do,” she sassed back with her eyebrow raised as she head for the lazy boy chair in the corner.

“What,” he said with a warning tone that told her that he knew exactly what she said but was challenging her to say it again.

“Nothing,” she half sung as she curled her legs up underneath her and opened her magazine.

“Can we at least try to get along,” he said out of frustration, “I mean, you know Judy, I’m back home after being gone over a month and…”

She cut him off sharply, “You wouldn’t even be here right now if they hadn’t locked us in. You’d be down the street at Petey’s apartment.” Gene was silent a moment as he bit into a baby carrot, “Do you have a problem with that?”

She ignored his question, “Why did you decide to stay there?”

“I told you over the phone, Peter was looking for someone…”

“...to sublet the apartment to,” she finished for him, “Yes, I know. But he has lots of friends who could do it. Why did *you* decide to do it?”

“Because I wanted to help him out. Besides, it’s only a couple minutes down the road.”

Judy blinked as she slowly turned a page of her magazine, avoiding his eyes, “Is that the only reason?”

“Well, this has something to do with it, too, but I’m guessing you already knew that,” he said dropping the divorce paper in her lap and walked away.

Judy placed the paper on the table beside her and went back to her magazine. Gene walked back out onto the balcony as he lit a cigarette. He exhaled only once before he spotted Richie and Junie start down the Bogart’s drive way.

“HEY! Powell! Up here!”

“Oh, hey,” Richie waved.

“Junie, come up and help us!”

“Help you what,” Rich called back.

“We’re locked in!” “What do you mean?!”

“Lauren & Frank locked us in!”

For a moment Richie started to walk towards the house but June quickly grabbed his hand. She spoke to him briefly before she smiled and waved pulling her husband with her. Richie put his hand out as if to say sorry and followed his wife down the driveway.

“OH GO TO HELL, POWELL!”

Judy was sitting up straight, obviously alerted to the fact they almost got out of ‘jail’, when Gene walked back inside slamming the door behind him.

“I assume they were told not to help us,” Judy said amused.

“Yeah, nice friends, huh?”

With a new Bing Crosby show starting, Gene laid on the bed to listen and finish his cigarette. For the entirety of the show, the two didn’t talk. Any show of Bing’s was a favorite of theirs and they both chuckled in almost all the same spots. For how uncomfortable their situation was, the atmosphere never felt uncomfortable when they were together, even in silence.

When guest singer Jo Stafford sang one of her most requested songs, ‘You Belong to Me’, Gene lifted his head up to look at Judy.

“Did you sing this song before, I can’t remember.”

“Mm hm, a few years ago, on his show, coincidentally.”

Gene dropped his head back down, “You sing it better.” Judy giggled, “How do you know if you don’t remember me singing it?”

“Because,” he said stretching before sitting up, “you sing everything better.”

“Oo, even ‘Singing in the Rain’, hm?”

“Ok, maybe not everything,” he teased and got up walking into the bathroom.

About fifteen minutes later, he re-merged wiping his now freshly shaved face with a towel. He noticed Judy staring out the patio door, resting her head on her hand, deep in thought.

He switched off the radio, which he knew would tick her off, but he wanted to talk without corny laughter or cheery music in the background. When Judy didn’t even glance his way, he found it a little irritating.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Things,” she mumbled.

“What things?”

Judy sighed and looked up at him impatiently, “Things that are none of your business.”

“None of my business?”

“Gene, my thoughts are my business. Always have been, always will be.”

“Oh, well, considering you’re my wife, that’s my business. And this is half of my bedroom that we’re both stuck in, that’s my business, particularly in a house that I mostly paid for. Anything, and anyone, in my house,” he pointed to himself, “is my business.”

“You sound like a prick right now, stop it,” she said disgusted, and then stood up, “You know what, while you ran off to Europe, I have been here for over a month alone running *your house* and taking care of *your children* while I was also working. Since this is *your house*, maybe I will go stay at Peter’s and you can take a crack at it for a while.”

She stormed past him, but when she got to the doors, and they didn’t open, she yelled in frustration, hitting her palm against the door. In the heat of the moment, she forgot.

“How’s that working out for you, hun,” he said sitting down in the chair she was just in.

“Shut up,” she chuckled placing her hands on her hips, and looking up at the ceiling trying to calm down.

Hearing her laugh made him smile a bit and he continued, “I mean, I would call Peter myself to see if he would be okay with the switch but…” he motioned to the empty spot on the bedside table where their phone used to be, “Bacall.”

Judy knew he was trying to make light of it, but if he wanted to talk, then fine he would get it.

“You knew I wasn’t comfortable with you being away for 5 weeks, but you took the job anyways.”

“Because I loved the script and I am under contract still. I’m not fighting about this again. It’s was a job. I didn’t tell them to film in another country. And you weren’t alone. You have help and I took care of everything before I left. So, don’t play the ‘abandoning’ game with me, Judy.”

“I begged you not to go,” she continued, “A wife shouldn’t have to beg her husband to do anything.”

“Well, the last time I saw you, when you told me to get the hell out of your life, I thought, maybe, you changed your mind,” he said in a very sarcastic undertone.

“It seemed fitting to say after you yelled that maybe we shouldn’t be together anymore,” she said tilting her head at him, reminding him of his words.

Gene stood up in rage and walked over to her, “I only said it because you told me that this, us, wasn’t working out the same anymore.”

“It wasn’t! It isn’t. I meant that we have to change something. I didn’t once say we should not be together anymore. Those were your words,” she yelled, tearing up.

Gene took two strides to the dresser grabbing the piece of paper and held it up to her face, “THEN WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!”

Judy pushed it out of her way and walked past him.

“I know exactly what you’re doing, and I want you to admit it,” he said standing in the same place she left him.

“Admit what,” she said, her back to him, her hands resting on her elbows.

“Why you sent me this stupid thing.” Judy didn’t respond, but when he saw her try to flick a tear away, without being too obvious, he clenched his jaw, looking down feeling bad.

His body relaxed and he sat on the end of the bed speaking calmly, “If you won’t be honest about the divorce papers, then at least have the decency to apologize for what you said to me and I’ll do the same. You know what I’m talking about.”

She nodded but still didn’t turn to look at him.

“Judy, it’s out of my fucking hands! I’m under contract, or do you not remember what that’s like? The schedule and on-location can be hell, but I love the business, and being in movies, and I’m not changing my mind.”

“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even be in movies.”

Her comment hit him so hard, and was so shocking to him, Gene couldn’t help but what came out of his own mouth, “And if it weren’t for me helping you to get into a stage career, and A Star is Born, you’d still be an MGM has-been!”

Gene spoke a little emotional, remembering it like it was yesterday, “I’ll start. I’m sorry for what I said to you, sweetheart. It was beneath me.”

Judy let out a sob before she sat back down on the lazy boy chair. Her expression killed him, but so did her comment.

“You really hurt me, Gene. You know you’re the one person I trust with all my insecurities and then you just sweep the rug from under my feet.”

“Honey, I only said it in retort from what you said to me. It was like a god damn punch to the gut. You know how grateful I am to you for…”

“I know,” she cut him off not needing to hear it and lowered her voice calmly repeating, “I know. I’m sorry, truly.”

Gene nodded, hearing the guilt and sincerity in her voice. Gene scooted back on the bed and rest his back against the headboard. Even though they both apologized for the blows, it didn’t change the situation

For, what seemed like an eternity, the two sat in complete silence lost in their own mind. The stress was heavy hanging over them like a dark cloud. After a while, Gene couldn’t stand the stillness any longer.

He got up and walked past Judy, who was hugging her knees to her chest, her face hidden. He thought she looked smaller than usual as he glanced at her before looking out the window. The Bogart’s party had ended and now it was pitch black in the backyard.

“The first movie we saw together was Casablanca.”

Judy lifted her head up and looked at the back of him, curiously, as he had his back to her, with one hand up resting on the wall, the other on his hip.

“It was only like a week after we first got together. Do you remember that,” he asked looking at her over his shoulder and she nodded, a little taken back by his random memory. “We snuck into a night showing at some theater on Hollywood Boulevard and sat in the back row so no one would see us. I held your hand the entire time. I was so enamored by what was happening between us, it didn’t matter that I was thirty-years-old, when I was with you, I felt like a love stuck teenager. And so much so, I even made love to you in my car afterwards. Even though we had already slept together, a few times before that night if I remember correctly,” he joked which made Judy giggle and he went on, “You said to me that you were usually not that easy on a first date.”

Judy’s smile had disappeared by then as she stared at him, as he stared out the window, a slight curve on his lips. She remembered that night fondly and, because of it, the movie had always been one of her favorites. It almost shattered her heart to think about it. Not to mention that the star of the movie lived next door.

“Why are you thinking about that now,” she asked in almost a whisper.

“I don’t know. I suppose it’s normal to think about the beginning of something towards the end of it.”

Judy felt her heart flutter, in a bad way, when she realized that she just heard Gene’s confession about where he thought their marriage stood. She hadn’t signed the divorce papers, because she wanted to know how he felt on the situation. If he sent the papers back to her signed, then she knew. But he hadn’t signed them, and that gave her some hope, though she was not going to admit it until he did. But now here he is, thinking of the end of them. This was not a game. It was real.

“I’m getting sleepy,” she said sounding as casual as she could as she got up.

Gene watched as she walked over to the bed, tossing the throw pillows on the ground, before getting under the comforter. He checked his watch before heading into the walk-in closet to change into pajama pants.

When he returned, he walked over to the bed respectfully, “I don’t want to sleep on the floor.”

“I don’t care if you sleep in the bed, Gene,” she said coldly, “Besides it’s your house, your room, *your* bed, right?”

Without another word she turned off the light. As he got into bed, he noticed she rolled on her left side, away from him, something she never had done in the past, ever. As Gene turned out the light and rolled onto his back, he stared up at the shadows of the palm trees dancing on the ceiling. It was a new, but odd feeling, he suddenly felt. Judy was there with him, but the room felt very empty.

Stop

That was the word that went through her sleepy head, but she didn’t dare say it out loud. It felt too good. Her body was betraying her mind as an aching arousal was building between her legs. It had been so long since they had sex. She wasn’t thinking about anything that had transpired before they went to sleep, and she didn’t even know what time it was, all she was focused on was how her body was feeling.

Still on her side facing away from him, Gene’s left arm was slid under her neck, resting on her breast though her silk robe, his thumb moving against her nipple back and forth slowly through the fabric. His other hand was also moving slowly, up and down her thigh, knowing how much that always turned her on. She couldn’t help the pleasurable whimper escape her mouth as his sucked gently against her neck. And the sound of his lips against her skin, the only sound in the room, just heightened the sensation.

In their dark room, the bed made a slight sound as Gene pressed his body closer to the back of her. She could feel his hard on, which always excited her, but the warmth of his body cascading hers always made Judy feel safe. Feeling safe wasn’t what was going through Gene’s mind. It had been about 6 weeks since they had sex, and even though they were fighting, it didn’t matter. They never failed to get turned on, and God o’mighty, he was horny. And he missed her, he missed the feel of her. And judging by the sound she made, he knew she felt the same. He also knew he wasn’t going to last long. It had been a long time…a long, stressful time.

Gene’s hot breath tickled her ear as he breathed heavily, rolling his hips gently against her as he pulled her closer. The sensation suddenly engulfed her body with pleasurable shivers and she slightly gasped at the feeling of it, her nipples also tingling in the process. She leaned her head back against him and Gene took that opportunity to leave hard, wet kisses along here neck as his hand slid between her thighs, which were pressed tightly together. He had trouble reaching the spot he wanted, and tried to nudge her legs open but she quickly grabbed his wrist stopping. Instead she rolled onto her back and lifted her bum, quickly shimmying out of her undies.

Seeing this, he let out a breathy groan in anticipation and tugged his pajama pants down. Crawling between her open knees, he jerked himself a few times before grabbing her hips. He scooted her towards him and lifted her a bit, the perfect angle, before pressing into her. He gave off a moan as he did so, she was so wet and there was absolutely no resistance. Wish he could say the same for her attitude sometimes, he actually thought, as he reached all the way in. But then her muscles immediately snugged around him, and he forgot about any attitude. As he slid in and out all the way a few times, he really knew he wasn’t going to last long. So he willfully adjusted himself, and her, knowing all-too-well where her spot was and started a rhythm. And she didn’t disappoint. Her sighs quickly turned into mewling cries which each thrust. The arousal he created for her earlier, was now growing, forming into one spot feeling better and stronger each time the head of him pushed up on it.

Her tiny screams, his desperate moans and the sound of his pelvis hitting her skin, getting louder and faster, was so erotic to both their ears.

Gene was so lost in the sensation of being inside of his wife again, he barely heard her whimper that she was coming, until he felt her body tighten, and her moans stop. He slowed down, but hit her with rough strokes when all of a sudden she let out a loud gasp. Gene stopped moving when her orgasm milked him hard, wanting to feel the sensation around him. He almost came then. When her body relaxed, she gave off a little ‘mmm’ and he started moving again. It only took him a few more strokes until he started panting and then gave off a loud groan, his body jerking into hers. It seemed endless as he kept coming into her hot warmth.

When Gene stirred out of sleep, he heard the quiet sound of some commercial playing over the radio and the sounds of birds chirping. Opening his eyes, he noticed the patio door open, the drapes blowing in from the spring breeze, and the sky was blue.

Sighing relaxed, he turned over and noticed the bed was empty, her robe laying where she had slept. He was about to call out for her when he heard the sound of the shower running. Gene threw on a white t-shirt before he grabbed his smokes and walked out onto the veranda. It was a gorgeous morning he thought as he lit the cigarette. Leaning on the banister, he took a drag, when he heard familiar sounds of children. He couldn’t see all the way into the Bogart’s backyard, but he could see a few kiddos running around, and he knew one of the was his baby girl, as a dog also barked obviously playing with them. He smiled a moment, at the peace, and had a sudden urge to kiss Judy and tell her everything would be okay.

After finishing the cigarette, he smashed it out before walking back into their bedroom. As he passed the dresser, he did a double take before stopping. Slowly, he picked up the piece of paper.

Judy wrung her hair out, and was about to turn the shower off, when the door suddenly banged open and the shower curtain was ripped aside.

She jumped, startled, “Jesus, Gene!”

“Get out of there,” he said and motioned for her to come out.

She gave him a funny look before speaking irritated and turned off the water, “I was about to. What the hell’s wrong with you barging in here like that?”

He tossed her a towel, “Come on.”

She secured it around her body and stepped out, “Do you mind?”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her out, though she tried resisting, “It’s cold. What are you doing?”

“I want you to see something.”

He stopped at the dresser and took the paper. Staring her dead in the eyes, he slowly tore the deed, the divorce papers, that now had her fresh signature on them.

Judy looked a little surprised, “Why did you do that?”

“Why did you sign it,” he asked her back.

“Because you made it clear last night that our marriage is over.”

Gene looked at her ridiculously, but also trying to understand her, as he placed his hand on his hip, “By making love to you?”

Judy laughed, “We did not make love,” her voice got almost venomous, “We both just got off, and you know it.”

“What the hell does that matter? I didn’t want to fuck Betsy, even just to get laid, at the end our marriage. Where did I make it clear last night that I want our marriage to be over?”

He placed his hand on her cheek, being very serious, but she quickly moved out of his way afraid of the sudden affection, “You were thinking about when we first got together. You told me it’s because it was the end of us.”

“Judy, it was just my mind getting sentimental because we were sitting there locked in a fucking room together with divorce papers under our nose. Look at me,” he demanded, but with a soft voice.

She looked at him and he stared at her a moment, biting down on his jaw a few times, “I know you’ll have no trouble getting another set of papers drawn up, but I’m telling you right now, I’m not signing. I’m not giving you up that easily. It took me nearly a decade to make you my wife, I’m not giving that up from one fight. And if you think I am, you’re a damn fool.”

“I don’t want this either, Gene, but we obviously aren’t working out the way we used to. Look at us, we’ve been locked in a room together and all we’ve done is argue. If this was before, we would’ve spent the time playing games or dancing or…”

“It’s just a stressful time and stressful situation, Judy, we will get through it.”

“Are you really sure about that? We’re changing as people, and our careers have changed. We’re not the same people we use to be.”

“No one is. But we’ll work through the changes,” he reiterated, “I’ll do anything…even marriage counseling if that’s what it takes. You know how the thought of that makes me ill but I’ll do it. But you need to help, too. It takes two to tango, baby.”

He took her hands desperately, “Tell me, what do *you* need?” When she didn’t answer, only looking down with sorrow, he sat them down on the bed, “We need to communicate or we won’t get anywhere. Tell me.”

“For you to be home more. For you to not drink as much, no matter how stressed you get, because your temper scares me. And I need you to understand why I don’t want you to be away from me so long. I know I’m selfish about that, but it is for my mental health. Please no more 5 weeks away.”

“If, and I say if, either of us are going to have to be away for long for work, we will travel together. I’ll make sure it’s in our contracts. But you have to understand, that some things are out of my hands and I never do anything to purposefully upset you or hurt you. And I promise to work on not drinking like that anymore, but you need to be calmer with me as well. Your erratic behaviors scare me, sometimes.”

Judy’s voice cracked, “You know sometimes I can’t help that.”

“But you can control the intake, especially when *you’re* stressed,” he said referencing to her medication. It was something she often relapsed with, but when she did, he was in control of it. But it had been harder with him away working so much, and she wasn’t good at that kind of control, especially since it was her own body. To Judy, it was like money, it was something she needed but always relied on other people to control or take care of.

Judy squeezed his hands, “Do you really think we can go back to how things used to be?”

“No, because like you said, we’re not the same people we used to be. We can certainly grow together and change together but still be us. We just have to find a new way to make things work. And instead of arguing right away, we should talk through it and consider our options.”

“Except when picking a television show,” she said wickedly.

“King of the house, I own the remote.”

“We’ll see about that, buster,” she said playfully elbowing him.

Gene chuckled before getting serious again, “Judy, I love you. I love you more than life itself, but you’re fucking mad sometimes.”

Judy laughed gleefully, “Good. I feel the same way about you. You drive me insane.”

“Come here, sweetheart,” he said cuddling her damp body to him.

She rest her cheek on his chest and sighed, feeling like a weight was lifted from her shoulders. When she felt his finger lift her chin, she looked up at him.

“I’d like to kiss you hello,” he said remembering how she ignored it when he tried kissing her at the party.

His lips almost touched hers when she leaned back, placing her hand on his chest, “On one condition.”

“Name it.”

“That you make love to me.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he breathed as his lips met hers in a passionate kiss.

She purred, practically melting into him, as his tongue pushed its way into her willing mouth. Judy didn’t even realize her back was on the bed until Gene suddenly lifted himself off of her as the bedroom doors opened.

Lauren was walking in when Judy and Gene both yelled, “Get out!”

Her eyes opened wide as she quickly retreated, shutting the doors, a huge grin on her face as she walked down the hallway.

#Judy Garland #jugenea #gene kelly #fan fiction #jg fans #gk fans

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tamakisuwu · 4 years

Text

— make a wish. | tamaki amajiki.

Tamaki Amajiki x Gender Neutral! Reader.

Summary : you were supposed to invite Tamaki over but that changed when you and Tamaki walk together after school.

Warnings : none !!

Content : fluff, fluff, fluff uwu, short-ish one shot

taglist : @kingtamakimurder , @kbakugouwu , @shoutogepi , @katsukisprincess , @bleach-your-panties !! 💘

notes : hAppY hAppY biRthDay to tAmaKiiIi !! its been a few months since i watched bnha season 4 and the moment i watched it tamaki caught my interest immediately cause he’s just so precious like my heart can’t take it 🥺. i was so interested in him that i made my first story about him which was all about jealousy in january !! so happy birtday to this baby, i love him and ya’ll so so much ❤❤❤ happy readings and enjoy !!!

Sunlight hits your bed, yellow and orange setting in your bed-- you groaned loudly as it hits your eyes, softly opening them and blinking them, adjusting them to the freshly exposed sunlight. Turning over to your side, you picked up your phone that was once charging and unlocked it, your eyes immediately setting them on the date.

March 4, 2020. You gasped, it was your best friend’s birthday! your best friend meaning Tamaki-- basically sprinting yourself out of bed, you ran towards your shower, quickly getting ready for the day while you thought of what you could do for the shy, cute, birthday boy.

As you were getting ready for the day, an idea popped up in your head ; a small light bulb appearing on top of your head-- it wasn’t the best idea but it was decent, to say the least. Walking out of your dorm, you walked towards the living room-7 immediately seeing Mirio who, in fact, was eating breakfast. “Morning Mirio!” You shouted, catching the attention of the blonde male while you walked towards the cabinets, opening them and getting a cereal for yourself.

“Hey y/n! how was your sleep? I bet you’re looking for a specific birthday boy.” Mirio said, wiggling his eyebrows while you rolled your eyes at his response, sitting in front of him before putting your cereals and milk together in one bowl. It was true that, in fact, you had the biggest crush on the shy male for awhile now, especially since he’s been your best friend since your first year at UA.

Sighing softly, you shook your head to remove those thoughts out of your head-- grabbing your spoon and shoving it to the bowl of cereals, mixing the milk and the cereals together. “My sleep was fine but actually, yes I am looking for that specific someone! I was planning to invite him to my room and celebrate if he wasn’t busy.” You said, smiling happily as you dragged the spoonful of cereal towards your mouth.

Mirio smiled back at you, feeling happiness bubble up inside him as you explained your plans for yours and his best friend’s birthday. “I think he’s available today but I’m not sure, his parents are out I think so.. take your chance!” Mirio says, smiling his signature smile that made million’s of people smile. You smiled back and nodded in response before going into a very peaceful silence and started to finish your meals.

──────

Walking over to school with your best friend, Mirio, you glanced at him. “Hey.. I didn’t see Tamaki earlier in the dorms, did you see him when you woke up?” You asked, your eyes showing that one emotion ; curiosity. “Mhm, I did, he did say that he’ll go a bit earlier cause he has some errands to do with Fat Gum.” Mirio says, chuckling slightly as he remembered how Tamaki was running around in a rush.

Finally, arriving at school, you adjusted your bag that was on your shoulder-- walking more slower when you realized Tamaki might not even be in class or school at all today so how the hell were you supposed to ask him? Mirio seems to have noticed your slight change of mood due to him putting his big hands on your shoulder, smiling his heroic smile, like always. “Don’t worry, you’ll be able to ask Tamaki, maybe after school or something? I know Fat Gum wouldn’t keep Tamaki stuck at work on his special day.”

Smiling at this, you nodded, Mirio smiled at your response before letting go and walking over to his class, his bag slung over his shoulder nicely. “See you later or tomorrow y/n and have fun with Tamaki tonight!” Mirio shouted, winking while you blushed. You then realized that Mirio practically screamed that out loud-- making everyone look at you, whispers heard while you blushed even more than before, running over to your classroom, embarrassed as ever.

“I’m so gonna kill you later on Mirio..” You muttered out, grumpily walking over to your desk and setting your slightly heavy bag down. Sitting down, you propped your elbows up, already going into a sleepy mode as you stared at the empty bored that was in front of you. “U-um.. y-y/n..?” A voice muttered out behind you-- your body stiffened as you recognized that voice.

Turning around slowly, your chair moving slightly as slight chattering was heard in the background but you didn’t pay any mind to it, you only payed a mind to him. The guy that was supposed to be with Fat Gum, the guy who was supposed to be working right now. “T-tamaki! I-I thought you were gonna be working with Fat Gum today..” You exclaimed, not expecting that you would be facing your best friend right now-- you haven’t even made a speech on how you should invite him or a script!

“O-oh.. i-it turns o-out F-fat G-gum just g-gave me a-a discount c-card for m-my f-favorite restaurant as a.. b-birthday g-gift..” Tamaki stuttered out, his voice going incredibly low once he said the word birthday gift. Your mouth formed an ‘o’ shape in response before you regained your composure. “U-um Tamaki, I wanna ask if--” You were about to ask him the question before the door slammed open revealing Nejire who was happily walking towards Tamaki.

Nejire reached out her arm, slinging it over Tamaki’s shoulder while you watched, chuckling as you saw Tamaki’s reaction. “Happy Birthday Tamakiiiii!!~” Nejire screamed out, making almost everyone in the classroom look over at you guys while Tamaki’s face went bright red. “N-nejire.. n-not so l-loud!” Tamaki shouted out, stuttering in the process while he covered his face with his hands. “Hmmm, sorry, didn’t mean to!~ so what’s your plan for today? got any speciallll plans with you knoww~” Nejire said, nudging Tamaki in the stomach when she specifically said someone.

Tilting your head in curiousity, you looked over at Tamaki, who was visibly shaking, his ears bright red from embarrassment. “W-well you s-see I-I wanna--” Before Tamaki could even finish his sentence, the door flew open once more. Expecting to see Mirio, you turned around which was followed by everyone in the classroom who was met face to face with your teacher. “We will now begin our new training! now put on your outfits and lets go!” Your teacher says, watching as everyone roamed around the classroom, getting their costumes.

Dressing yourself up in your costume, you sighed. Today was gonna be a long day for sure.

──────

Groaning loudly, you smiled happily as you realized that school was now over, you stretched your back, immediately hearing your bones cracking. Sighing loudly, you groaned once more, now realizing that you haven’t even asked Tamaki the question yet. You slowly gave up, ‘I mean.. Tamaki must’ve left school already so there’s no point..’ You thought, slowly getting your bag and slinging it over your shoulder.

Turning around your heel and walking out of your now empty classroom, you sighed sadly-- ‘I guess next year, I can try if ever..’ You thought, glancing around your surroundings which was the corridor ; doors were still open while a few students were walking to the dorms-- you frowned, kicking into invisible air before walking away, now walking towards the school entrance.

Step, step, step..

That was all that was heard as you walked towards the dorms, still gloomy due to the fact that you wouldn’t even get to spend the birthday of Tamaki all alone. ‘I wonder what he’s doing now? is he with his friends and--’ before you could even finish your train of thought, a loud, stuttering voice that you knew all too well, yelled out to you while footsteps were heard from behind you.

“y-y/n! w-wait!” Your eyes widened, turning around quickly-- you were met with a sight that you could never, ever forget and that was Tamaki, running over to you, sweat dripping, cheeks flushed, and with him panting. He always looked so... gorgeous and that wasn’t fair. At all. Finally, Tamaki caught up to you-- well he would have anyways, I mean he was in the top three so you wouldn’t even have a chance to beat him in speed nor strength.

Chuckling slightly at this scene, you ruffled Tamaki’s indigo hair before turning around and walking away, making sure that Tamaki is following you as you follow the path. “Whatcha want Tama? I thought you were busy today?” You asked, softly swaying your hands back and forth, slightly brushing over Tamaki’s skin making him blush to which, you didn’t seem to notice. “W-well.. I-I.. I have a q-question for y-you..” Tamaki stutters out, visibly shaking as he feels the nervousness build up.

You smiled happily at him, now realizing that now was probably your best chance at asking him. It’s worth a shot anyways. “Oh! well I also have a question for you too Tama!” You said, giggling once you saw Tamaki’s face become even more red. You sighed happily, wishing that this moment could last forever but then stopped as you realized that you haven’t said that word yet. “O-oh.. t-then you c-can go f-first..” Tamaki says, nervously fiddling with his fingers as he looks at you.

Rolling your eyes in response-- which he doesn’t see since you’re in front of him, you looked around, making sure that you and Tamaki were secluded before turning around quickly and grabbing onto Tamaki’s shoulders like how Mirio does. “Tamaki! if we both have a question for each other then we should both say together okay?” You said, grinning cheekily at him. Letting go of his shoulders, you waited for his response, the both of you now standing still. “O-okay.. l-let’s count o-on t-three..” Tamaki said, his whole face exploding into a shade of red while you nodded in response.

“One..”

“Two..”

“Three!”

“Make a wish!”

“I-I wish for y-you to b-be m-mine!”

Staring at each other in shock, silence was filled in the air, the wind flowing along making your hair as well as Tamaki’s hair fly smoothly while other people’s footsteps were heard, cars passing by, and people muttering, it was all cliche but.. you liked it for some reason.

Being the first one to break the silence, you laughed, laugh after laugh coming out of your mouth while Tamaki stared at you in shock-- were you rejecting him? were you saying no? are you making fun of him for his stu-- before Tamaki could finish that thought, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him tightly, her face burying itself deep in his chest. “It’s so irony how we both said it at the same time and how its basically a question to an answer.” You said, grinning widely as you saw Tamaki’s confused gaze on you.

Deciding that you should be the one to make your move, you looked up at him, smiling still. “Happy Birthday Tama, I don’t have the best gift but I can always buy you next time but I hope this makes up for it.” You said, finally saying the words that you’ve always wanted to say before slightly tip toeing to meet his height and capturing his lips onto yours into a soft but sweet peck.

Parting away slowly, you gazed at Tamaki lovingly, your hand going up to rub his cheek while his hands nervously went around your waist-- his hands visibly shaking-- well.. who wouldn’t? its in public but there weren’t many people around anyways. “And for your information, your wish has been granted!” You said, immediately cuddling yourself into his chest while Tamaki stayed still as you listened to his rapid heart beat.

“y-y/n.. c-can we do t-this at the d-dorms p-please?” Tamaki said, pulling away from you softly while you nodded, grabbing his wrist and dragging him away to go to the dorms. “Of course we can since I love you so much!” You said, making sure to say the 3 lettered word softly and lovingly as you wanted to express your feelings, you wanted to say it and you did. Tamaki’s face went beet red once again, looking down to avoid your loving gaze before muttering out softly but loud enough for you to hear. “I love you too y/n..”

Who knew everything would start out with one simple phrase that was called ; ‘make a wish’ ?

──────

ending notes : waaa im really happy with how this turned out and i still wanna say happy birthday to this cute ass baby boy like if he was real-- bitch, im gonna cuddle his ass all day while giving him endless food like he’s too precious and now its his special day ? what 🥺. this is a bit more special than any other birthday special due to tamaki being my ultimate bean also the next story will be a new character for my blog which is tomura uwu but anyways i hope you enjoyed still !! requests are open so feel free to request !! 💗💗

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restlessmaknae · 4 years

Text

still disastrous

Gu Dasom thought that nothing was more disastrous than going on a holiday with her best friend - Namjoon. She was wrong. Living with him - now best friend turned boyfriend - was way more disastrous.

♦ Characters: boyfriend!Namjoon x girlfriend!OC (Gu Dasom)

♦ Genre: comedy, fluff, slice of life, established relationship (it’s all sfw)

♦ Words: 4.5k

♦ Warning: -

♦ A/N: This is a sequel to my story called Disastrous which is about the first holiday Namjoon and Dasom spend together on their own (and it turns out to be disastrous, needless to say), but the two stories can be read separately, so don’t worry if you haven’t read it! 💖💖💖

Gu Dasom learned to appreciate the differences they shared with Namjoon, and actually, if she thought about it, there was some beauty about having so many unexpected events to happen in her life. Beside Namjoon, she could never get bored.

On the other hand, she always needed to be alert because from one moment to another, something could happen and Namjoon ended up breaking a bone or walking into a door frame or such mishaps. He was so (cutely) clumsy, but it resulted in her always worrying about him because she could never know when the next disaster would take place.

Growing up beside each other and spending enough time together as best friends had taught her a lot about him and about the ways one could handle such situations, but after they had officially become a couple, she had learned even more about him. Not to mention when they had moved together after graduating university and finding jobs for themselves because that had been when things had started going even more off track than usual.

The first little bits about living together came when she realized that they had a very different definition about placing things, and if she put something on the glass table in the living room, it would be somewhere on a shelf in their bedroom. Namjoon kept putting things in different places, and she needed to remind him so many times that the objects had certain places if they wanted to find them in a hurry, and even though it took some time, he actually listened to her, and took her words seriously.

Then, the next one was anything regarding grocery shopping and just running out of basic necessities such as toilet paper and not realizing that those were the last ones they were using, ending up in not only just one uncomfortable situation. Not to mention food and leftovers going bad because they didn’t remember when they had left them in the fridge in the first place or who had actually left it there. Or Namjoon not letting her know when he had used up something and didn’t buy another one instead.

So these were the first obvious difficulties they faced in the first few weeks, then came - of course - the things that neither of them could do or figure out on their own or with the help of articles online such as changing light bulbs. Maybe it wasn’t rocket science, but Namjoon almost fell off the chair while trying to reach the light bulb in question, and she couldn’t get it out of its frame either.

As talkative as she was, when a new neighbour moved in next door and they started chattering about life, the light bulb incident came up, and this was how their handsome brand new neighbour - Kim Seokjin - ended up in their living room, helping with the light bulb because he insisted that he would do so in exchange for the warm welcome (basically just the two of them introducing themselves with a box of cookies, nothing more).

However, there was one person who didn’t appreciate his presence as much as Dasom did so.

“I still don’t get why we couldn’t just call someone else,” Namjoon whispered into her ears as they were watching over Jin getting on the chair.

“Should I remind you that you weren’t willing to call someone else?” Dasom raised an eyebrow challengingly, exchanging a glance with her boyfriend who looked as defeated as one could be in such a situation. “Besides, he offered his help. It would have been rude if we declined him,” she pointed out, not getting why her boyfriend was so worked up. She might have been referring to Jin as the cute neighbour with an even cuter dog, but it was true, and he shouldn’t have been too hung up on it.

“Okay. I’ll show you how to do it, just watch!” Jin prompted them to walk closer to him as he carefully twisted the bulb counter clockwise because he explained that it was the safer way since the socket had a screw fitting. It seemed so easy when he did so, so Dasom asked about little tricks, and he was willing to answer her questions patiently and all with a kind smile.

Her whole face lit up when the new bulb was implemented and when they turned it on, the light indeed filled the room.

“Thank god! We’ll remember how to do it next time, thank you, really!” Dasom explained joyfully as she directed a beaming smile at their neighbour who just shrugged his shoulders, insisting that he didn’t do anything much, just what a good neighbour would do. Besides, he had had similar struggles in the past, so it was all good.

“Thanks, man. We really won’t keep you up any longer,” Namjoon added in a friendly manner, yet she could feel the impatient edge to his words, and even if she wanted to hide her disappointment, she merely gave her boyfriend a slight smack in the chest.

“Oh, you aren’t keeping me up.” Jin dismissed such assumptions, smiling from ear to ear which reassured Dasom that he didn’t detect or didn’t want to detect the jealousy behind her boyfriend’s words.

So she offered him a glass from the jug of tropical lemonade she had made beforehand, and the young man took it gladly, complimenting the taste for its balanced combination of sweet and savory.

“He doesn’t know when to go, I see,” Namjoon mumbled under his nose so that only she could hear it, but she heard it nevertheless, so she lightly stepped on his left foot, giving him a glare and turning back to Jin with a brighter version of her smile.

Their neighbour chuckled to himself, drinking the glass of lemonade gulp by gulp while keeping his eyes on the couple much to Namjoon’s dismay who impatiently tapped on his chin, a habit that he always displayed whenever he was nervous. Dasom had no idea what to do about his jealous boyfriend when he shouldn’t have been jealous in the first place, but it seemed like Jin caught on their little act, and excused himself to go back to his flat after drinking down the whole glass.

As soon as he left, she was quick to turn around and face her boyfriend.

“What was that about? Are you really going to keep on acting like this around Jin?” She furrowed her eyebrows, hands on her hips. She didn’t want to look intimidating, but she really didn’t know why Namjoon had made such a fuss over literally nothing.

“Well, he seems like a better boyfriend than I am, and yeah, I got a bit jealous, you know. He even has a dog!” Namjoon stated a bit ashamedly, but he also seemed a bit dramatic that usually didn’t work on her given his clumsy self, but she couldn’t help but pout hearing his words.

“Yah! You should never think that I would choose anyone over you! You are my boyfriend, and you have your own strengths and weaknesses, but you are Kim Namjoon, and that’s exactly why you are the perfect boyfriend to me!” Dasom confessed straightforwardly, a bit of frustration lacing her words.

Yet, at least her boyfriend seemed to realize that she was indeed being honest, and that she didn’t think that Jin was anything more than a cute neighbour.

“O-okay,” Namjoon stuttered a bit, his cheeks tinted burgundy by the nervousness that was going through him. He was clearly ashamed that he had ever thought about something else, but Dasom merely shook her head with a knowing smile and smacked him in the chest when she passed by him.

Gosh, what a way to see Namjoon jealous! Thank god communication worked well between the two of them.

Usually, household chores were divided up between the two of them, so that either of them could have their own responsibilities and duties, and the workload wouldn’t be unbalanced. That meant cooking for Dasom while washing the dishes for Namjoon (because he was usually a disaster in the kitchen, and she didn’t want him to cut his hands either with a knife or the edge of a mere can because he had already done so, and it hadn’t been a nice sight), cleaning the rooms including the bathroom and the toilet for her while taking out the rubbish, checking the mailbox and taking care of the recycling for Namjoon. Once he had been very eager to take on ironing the clothes, but after burning a hole into one of her favourite blouses, she had been quick to tell him to take up another task instead of ironing.

It was also her who did the washing up, and it had seemed to work just fine until she once asked her boyfriend to take care of laundry instead of her while she would be helping out her mother at her workplace.

Needless to say, when she got home and looked at the pile of clothes, she didn’t expect to see her plain white shirt in a stronger shade of pink.

“Oh my god, Namjoon! Have you washed all of the clothes together?” Dasom shrieked with her mouth slightly agape, her eyes widening the more clothes she looked at. Her grey sweatpants now tinted a bit blue, her black and white socks in yellow, her otherwise orange shirt in a burgundy shade… Everything but the black clothes had seemed to be reborn in whole new colours.

“Well…” Namjoon gulped, looking from one shirt to another, scratching the back of his neck. “You didn’t tell me to separate them, so I’ve thought that I could put them into the laundry machine together,” he reasoned, letting out a nervous laughter seeing her disapproving glance.

Dasom needed a moment to gather her patience, counting up to a few seconds before she was ready to ask him another question. He was right about not telling him beforehand, but it was because she had been sure that it was common sense to wash the lighter and darker colours with two different programmes. Not to mention the fact that they were always separated before doing the laundry, so all he had needed to do was to put the content of one basket into the machine, and then the other. One after another.

“Then why do you think we put our clothes into two different laundry baskets in the first place?” Dasom inquired with a raise of her eyebrows, eyeing the boy for his answer. He was usually a very intelligent and sensible guy, so she had assumed that he would be smart enough to figure it out. Or to ask or look things up on the internet if he hadn’t even seen his mother doing the laundry, not even once.

Namjoon looked back at her with a bit of an ‘oops’ leaving his ever so tender lips, then he let out a nervous chuckle.

“Actually, I have never thought about it. I’ve just thought it was a way to tell how many dark and light coloured clothes we wore during the week,” he admitted semi-guilty and hearing that, she felt like all her frustration was replaced by second-hand embarrassment.

“You really thought so?” Dasom asked back, amusement lacing her voice, and when he nodded, she bursted into laughter, giggling to herself for a solid minute while Namjoon tried to tell her that it wasn’t that funny, he really didn’t think that much of it, but she merely threw a now green-turned-pink shirt at him and continued laughing.

Gosh, what a way to make it seem like she had a whole new wardrobe of clothes!

Namjoon was really bad in the kitchen, and both of them knew that perfectly well. It had always been that way, and even his mother had tried to keep him away from the kitchen for obvious reasons.

However, he still made an attempt to cook for Dasom when their fourth anniversary as a couple arrived and the first one they could share in their new home, so he really wanted to try his best.

He followed the recipes as much as he could, though expressions like a pinch of salt or ‘add pepper to your liking’ and a handful of veggies confused the hell out of him because weren’t recipes supposed to apply to everyone? Then, why did they say such things? A handful was different for everyone, a pinch could be a bigger portion or a smaller one, so it really did confuse him a lot. Not to mention when he tossed the veggies into the pan, and the recipe called for caramelized ones by the end, but he couldn’t tell the difference between caramelized ones and burnt ones, so he ended up with either too raw or too burnt pieces.

The rice was thankfully edible and his mother’s homemade kimchi could save the day because it had been previously prepared, he only needed to put it into a bowl and present it, but even his attempt at a brownie turned into a stone-hard and dry mass of chocolate and flour, not properly mixed well. Though at least his homemade cocktail turned out to be good, or at least she said so.

“I mean, I really appreciate your efforts, you know,” Dasom spoke up after having a taste from the veggie stir fry, trying to keep her laughter to herself.

“I’ve really tried my best. The recipe said it was supposed to be quick and easy, but I already got stuck peeling the carrots,” Namjoon huffed as he looked at the mess on his plate. Even he had to admit that this wasn’t supposed to look like that. He couldn’t even call it a meal, how could she still put it into her mouth, munching on it still?

“I can see your efforts, really. Besides, it’s not that bad. There are parts that aren’t burnt, and raw veggies are just as good as cooked ones. They are actually said to be healthier than cooked ones,” she blurted out matter-of-factly, hoping that she could soothe her boyfriend’s nerves a bit, but he looked as under the weather as one could be after they had failed a big test or they had been told horrible news.

She pouted, her heart breaking at the sight of his expression, reaching out for his hands, holding it tight and squeezing it once and then twice, waiting for him to look her in the eye. When he did so, she gifted him with a soft smile, one that was genuine and bright, a ray of sunshine lightening up the meadow of hopelessness. He slowly - like the sunflower turning to the sun - reciprocated her smile, feeling her sincerity.

“Look, it’s already big enough of a gift to me that you are in my life. Not to mention the fact that you’ve really tried your best to step out of your comfort zone and do something for our anniversary that you normally wouldn’t do. So please, don’t feel bad! I really, really appreciate that you’ve decided to cook for me, and it’s really not as inedible as you think so,” she reasoned gently, pinching his cheeks with her free hand that wasn’t holding onto his much larger hands that still fitted to hers like a missing puzzle piece.

“What did I do to get a girlfriend like you?” he mused out loud with a much more reassured tone and a light chuckle.

“Well, you’ve been there for me ever since we were 6 years old, and technically, you needed to sprain your right wrist for me to get mad at you, so that you can shut me up with a kiss, and so that I would confess to you,” she responded with a playful glint in her eyes, though thinking back to their first holiday together - just the two of them, still as best friends - was pretty funny. Such a disastrous holiday, but they might not have been here today if it hadn’t been for that disastrous holiday.

“We can say so,” Namjoon agreed nostalgically, and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before turning back to his own plate of food. Well, if Dasom could eat it, he had to do so.

What people can do when it comes to love...

Luckily, both of them were quite healthy, so apart from runny noses or a few worse winter days, there weren’t a lot of times they needed to ask for a sick leave or pack up on medication to cure themselves from something. So when it came to Dasom’s first sickness that was more than a runny nose, Namjoon was all over the place as expected.

It started with her having a horrible night, tossing and turning in bed while having a stomach ache that she thought would signal the beginning of her period. However, that stomach ache didn’t go away in the morning either, and it was accompanied by diarrhea, cold shivers frequently going through her body and a very unpleasant fever later on. Needless to say, she didn’t have an appetite either even though she knew she would need the energy, but she didn’t feel like she could force down anything.

Namjoon was all panicky in the morning, checking her symptoms on the internet, his mind spinning with more and more horrible scenarios, the online articles referring to life-threatening diseases and serious conditions, making him wonder if something more could be behind her being sick.

Even when they were waiting outside of the GP’s ward, Namjoon couldn’t stop biting his lower lip, his legs shaking just as restlessly as his eyes were darting between the different parts of the room as if something could jump on them.

“Namjoon, don’t worry that much! It’s probably nothing serious,” Dasom tried to reassure him with a faint smile, hoping that her voice and words could bring him back to reality. He did look at her, breaking into a somewhat ashamed smile, but the seed of uncertainty had been planted in his jet-black orbs and it hadn’t yet left. It didn’t help either that she wasn’t feeling all too well, but she was far from being on her deathbed, that was for sure.

As empathetic as her boyfriend could be, he really looked like he was the one who was suffering, and he wouldn’t have let her go to the doctor alone either. He just felt like he needed to be there with her, no matter what they say, and even though Dasom had tried to talk him out of it, he wouldn’t budge. Him and his persistence… Just another reason she loved him so much.

“It’s because of all those articles online. I shouldn’t have searched for them in the first place,” he blurted out honestly, his regret evident in his slumped shoulders and hesitant expression.

“They always state the worst online,” Dasom pointed out knowing all too well that she had fallen into this trap a few times before. “The doctor will be able to say something more anyway,” she reasoned gently, exchanging a knowing glance with him. He must have known the same, but his worryful personality got the worst out of him.

Thankfully, there was really nothing serious going on with her, she had just come down with something, but Namjoon took it upon himself to watch over her for the rest of the day, making her the kind of soup the doctor had recommended, buying her some herbal tea that was also stated to help with her condition, making sure she took her medication and sitting by her side, looking at her as if she could break down in any minute.

“Don’t stare at me like that! I’m doing better,” Dasom called him out when they were watching a movie together, her sipping on her herbal tea and Namjoon glancing in her direction instead of focusing on the movie.

When her words reached him, he looked away, ashamed. He really felt like he had been caught even though he didn’t even realize what he was doing. It felt like an instinct to watch out for anything that might signal her condition worsening.

“I’m just worried,” he admitted, scratching his nape out of uneasiness.

“I can see that,” Dasom agreed with a knowing smile, taking another sip from her tea before continuing. “I would give you a kiss to reassure you, but that wouldn’t be ideal right now,” she added, letting out a giggle.

Even though she didn’t intend to make him laugh with such a statement, Namjoon’s shoulders immediately easened, and he let out a wholehearted laughter. It seemed like her remark helped him to let go of his anxiety a bit.

“I’ll take your word for it when you get better,” he warned playfully, but it didn’t really feel like a warning. If anything, it was the best kind of warning.

So she merely shrugged her shoulders, a lopsided smile hiding in the corner of her lips. She turned back to the laptop, Namjoon following her example, and finally, it seemed like he believed her. Though it couldn’t stop him from checking on her every 10 minutes once she drifted off to sleep and to ask her every now and then if she was really okay after she had recovered and went back to work. She had never doubted, but she could always see it for herself time and time again that Namjoon really did care for her and loved her despite everything.

Christmas had always been an interesting time together. Not to say that it hadn’t been fun. It had been just that… Interesting. Beside someone like Namjoon, things had sometimes gotten out of control, not to mention when they were spending this time with friends or family.

Namjoon’s friends were characteristic one by one and his family was lovely, but Dasom also had her best friend - Hyerim - who couldn’t shut up around anyone really, and she liked to have the time to herself to be as much of a storyteller as one could be. It usually meant that the time with her turned out to be an hour-long session of her reminiscing about funny and awkward stories about her high school and childhood days. They had already heard most of them, but it was almost impossible to make her stop while she was so enthusiastically talking about something, so they just let her be.

Of course, each one of their friends were amazing and supportive and understanding in their own ways, but when they got to meet all of them during Christmas and New Year, it seemed like some kind of a comedy skit. Not to mention the gifts they had usually received from them ranging from best boyfriend and best girlfriend mugs from Hyerim to handmade candles from Jungkook and pillows printed with each other’s faces from Taehyung. Their parents had usually gifted them with coupons for concerts or some kind of classes - needless to say, the pottery one hadn’t turned out to be very successful in the end and even though the Lotte World tickets had been used, to save themselves from further inconveniences, they had rather not sat on anything too scary or high or fast, so they had stuck with entertainment opportunities for little kids and live fairytale performances -, but at least they had chosen something that would mean that they could spend more time together.

This year, Christmas started with their brand new neighbour - Jin - coming over with the special festive season meals he had made (and he had made a lot even though he was living on his own) much to Namjoon’s dismay, but it was really kind of the young man to do so, and it was free food, so Namjoon didn’t want to protest either. Not to mention that the more he got to know their new neighbour, the less hostile he seemed, thus they actually got out of this time better than they would have expected.

Then, the time to themselves meant decorating the Christmas tree that looked like something out of a child’s drawing yet again, wrapping gifts that yet again resulted in Namjoon cutting his fingers with the scissors and having glue stuck on his hands, trying to wash it off fervently. Dasom made less fancy but still delicious treats for them and she even prepared the cake with colourful candles, but they almost managed to burn down the Christmas tree with its candles, so it was better to just eat them on their own without having to decorate the dessert even further.

“Gosh, it wouldn’t have been us if we hadn’t had such calamities,” Dasom mused out loud while she was digging into the chocolate sponge cake, smiling in a childish way, thinking back to all those Christmases they had spent together. Not only as a couple but also as best friends back in the days. With braces and questionable fashion choices. With wishes for their first very own laptop or a kpop album by a beloved boy band crush of theirs. With stuffing their mouths with food until they had gotten sick of the meals. With carefree laughter, eye smiles and bittersweet nostalgia.

Namjoon displayed the same kind of smile she did so, his eyes telling hundreds of tales of the past and sparkling with hopes for the future.

“At least, you can’t say that you are getting bored of me. Something always happens when we are together,” he pointed out with a lopsided grin, making her chuckle. Gosh, she really couldn’t disagree with him!

“If I were cheesy, I would say that I wouldn’t be able to get bored of you…”

“But?” Namjoon raised an expectant eyebrow in question, stopping the fork in his hands halfway between his plate and his mouth. Sometimes he was so innocently oblivious. As if she could ever doubt his love or care or regret the time they had spent together.

This time was no different, and Dasom didn’t have the heart to tease him when he looked at her with such wide puppy eyes.

“Even if I weren’t cheesy, I would say the same,” she admitted as she pinched his cheeks, earning a smile from him that was like the sun rising on the horizon; just as beaming, bright and hopeful.

She hoped that them and those precious smiles and exchanged glances would stay the same no matter how many more mishaps they would share and no matter how disastrous life would be beside the love of her life.

#bts scenarios #namjoon scenarios #kwritersworldnet #bts imagines #bts fluff #namjoon imagines #namjoon fluff #bts comedy #namjoon comedy #rm scenarios #rm imagines #rm fluff #rm comedy #my story #restlessmaknae

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toruhalo · 4 years

Text

Psychotic (2/?)

Pairings: Ledger!Joker x Female OC

Wordcount: 1578

Warnings: explicit language, murderous thoughts, manipulation?

previous chapter: 1

next chapter: 3

A/N: ngl the last paragraph got me a little hot under the collar whew and i also threw in an actual quote he says in the movie who can guess it? lol

Violet woke up to the distinctive sound of a keypad beeping and metal door creaking. Flashing her sleep-heavy eyes completely open, thinking it was her door, she abruptly sat up in the bed. She blinked wearily to see a flashlight beam in the cell across from hers, which in hand occupied the infamous Joker. The tall grimy dark blonde-green haired man stepped into the hallway with his hands bound together in handcuffs, followed by an officer. The Joker's brown eyes briefly met her broad blue ones before looking ahead. The unique pair hastily shuffled out of the quiet hallway, and into the therapy ward.

The night before after her conversation with the Joker, they had naturally fallen into a comfortable silence. She felt as if there was a weight lifted off her shoulders, as cliché as it may seem. He didn't criticize her, because he had his flaws as well. She knew the Joker was manipulative, but something about him reeled her in.

The sun began rising on the horizon, causing rays of orange light to gleam through the barred window. As if on cue, there was an insistent knock on the metal door frame.

"Stand up, hands on the wall where I can see 'em," A security guard grumbled.

She hastily jumped up and promptly placed her palms on the brick wall. The uniformed man carefully approached her and secured her small hands together behind her back into handcuffs. Coincidentally, he guided them within the same hallway Joker was led into. Passing several empty rooms, there was only one occupied. Violet peeked inside while passing to see Joker handcuffed to a chair, sitting comfortably in front of a blonde psychiatrist. She felt a slight ache in her chest at the unwelcome sight. It faded instantly after the guard had tugged her to keep moving forward in the unnerving hallway.

She was placed in a room similar to the one she saw Joker in, also being handcuffed to the chair.

"I don't think those are necessary, Lyle," a new voice spoke.

A dark-skinned woman with a white lab coat walked into the room, taking a seat across from Violet. The guard, Lyle, slowly took off the cuffs and backed into the hallway.

"Hello, Miss Wilde. I'm Doctor Joan Leland, but you may call me Joan if that makes you more comfortable," the doctor smiles, "I'm your psychiatrist from now on." Violet felt suspicious, as all her past psychiatrists or therapists were not as nice as this woman.

"H-hello."

Joan smiles politely, "You've been here for almost a week now, how do you feel about Arkham?"

"I-It's okay, but s-some people scare m-me."

"Like whom, if I may ask?"

"S-scarecrow, and other p-people."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but rest assured they can't harm you," she flips through her notes, "Have you made any friends yet?"

"I-I think so," Violet pulls her striped sleeves over her hands.

Joan notices the action and writes on her notepad. "Who are these potential friends?"

"A-a man named S-Sharpener... and the Joker."

Doctor Joan's pen stops mid-sentence on the paper. She lifts her eyes, "Pardon?"

"T-the Joker?"

The doctor sighs and sets her pen down. "Miss Wilde, if you wish to recover from your sickness, I recommend you not speak to that man. I detect no signs of him changing. My colleague has been attempting to spark a light but to no avail... he stays the same."

"Y-yes ma'am." Violet could feel tears forming and hung her head. She genuinely did not know if she wanted to become a better person; she often dreams about killing her mother and anyone who stood in her way. As for the Joker, she felt she had a connection with him beginning to form. The thought of not talking to him again makes her furious.

"Okay. I apologize for getting firm with you." Joan flips through her notes once again. "So, the first step for your rehabilitation is to understand and come to terms with why you're here..."

The security guard named Lyle escorted Violet back to her cell from her session with Doctor Leland. Violet noticed before walking inside that the Joker's room had lightened up a bit, maybe the overhead light bulb was fixed, she thought. Settling into her bed, she saw the Joker lounging on his own. His arms were behind his head, eyes closed, and humming to himself. He was a strange, happy man... and handsome.

"How was therapy, V?"

Violet shook herself out of her thoughts to see him sitting cross-legged and staring intently at her. Her face flushed red and pulled her knees to her chest.

"F-fine. How w-was yours, J?"

He smirked and leaned back on his hands.

"Same old, same old. I wish I had more... excitement around here. Guess I uh... have you."

Violet smiled behind her kneecaps.

"Who's your psychiatrist?" Violet asked.

"A lovely woman named Harleen Quinzel..." the Joker paused after seeing Violet's face drop, "It's called sarcasm, dollface. You uh ever heard of it?" He smirked after licking his scarred lips.

Violet softly let out a laugh, "I know, I'm just n-not very fond of her I-I guess."

"You've uh... never met her, doll," Joker said with a knowing look on his perfectly sculpted face.

"There's just s-something about her that I don't like, I c-can't explain it."

"Fair enough." He sits back up, stretching his back. "Ya know, there's something about you too... that I like."

Weeks passed of Violet following the same routine within the asylum. Therapy in the wee hours of the morning, talk to Joker, optional showering, recreational activities, eat lunch or dinner while conversing with Sharpener, and talk to Joker again before falling asleep. Violet rarely saw the Joker out of his cell, because he 'preferred being alone, but you're an exception'.

Violet wasn't one to anger easily, but one fateful morning on her way to see Doctor LeLand, she witnessed something that made her skin boil. Doctor Quinzel was hugging the Joker, and he was hugging back. Violet barely said a word to anyone the rest of the day, not even to Joker or Sharpener. Tears would form every time the unforgettable image would appear in her head, instantly making her even more frustrated. Why was she behaving like this? Why couldn't she be the one hugging him?

Later in the evening, Violet was keeping to herself, trying to make sense of her feelings. The Joker had tried gaining her attention, yet she always brushed him off with an excuse. She felt as though her brain was going to implode from overuse and intense emotions. She desperately wanted to believe he felt the same for herself, yet that was impossible; he remained a notorious manipulator who harbors no emotion.

Then why did he hug Doctor Quinzel back?

"I can uh... see smoke coming out of your pretty little ears, dollface."

His comment made her blush intensely. Was he watching her this whole time?

"Care to share with the class on what uh happened today to turn you into Oscar the Grouch?" He chuckled.

"Nothing happened..." Violet mumbled.

The Joker smacked his lips and made no further comment. Violet laid within her bed, tugging the covers over her head. She could hear shuffling and footsteps, yet didn't look to see the source of the noise. The keypad to her door beeped, followed by her door opening and closing. Violet ripped the covers away, only to see the Joker standing inside her room.

"Hello..." The Joker smiled widely.

Violet's heart was thumping so loudly within her chest, she knew Joker could hear it. After all, he was only three feet away from her.

"H-how'd you get in here?" She whisper-shouted.

"Never ask a magician his secret, V," he said while sitting beside her, never breaking eye-contact.

Violet swallowed loudly and looked at the floor, "A guard might come..."

"Nobody's coming. I uh... have this place wrapped around my greasy finger."

The Joker brought his legs up on the bed, to sit criss-cross, head resting on his hands to look directly at Violet.

"W-what?" Violet tried containing her smile.

"Oh... nothing important..." he said while looking around the cell walls.

Violet gently shoved the Joker's shoulder but turned her head after realizing what she did. She could hear him giggling to himself. "Don't tease me, sir," she laughed along with him.

"Ooh sir? That's new," he cackled while revealing his laugh lines around his eyes, "Will you tell me what was uh making you so crabby?"

"W-why do you want to know?"

He slowly leaned in, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. "It's just... annoying." He broke out into a fit of laughter after seeing the astonished look on Violet's pale face. "I'm just uh...poking fun, dollface."

After his chuckles began to dwindle, Violet decided to come out with it. "She hugged you... and y-you hugged her back."

The Joker squinted his eyes, "That's what's been uh bothering you? It wasn't even real... so uh, no need to worry your pretty little head, doll," he said while leaning back on the bed and closing his eyes.

"Not real?" Violet questioned.

Joker sat up and looked deep into Violet's blue eyes once more. He lifted his hands and squeezed her cheeks together, her chin in his palm. "I'm uh... waiting. Waiting for the right moment to reel us out of this... prison. And she... she is just a stepping stone to achieve this. Now, when I say it's nothing personal, you should know... I'm telling the truth."

#Heath Ledger Joker #joker #joker x reader #joker x oc #ledger joker x reader #ledger joker x oc #joker x female reader #joker fanfiction #the dark knight #batman

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clownsgobeepbeep · 4 years

Note

🎎older Atlas and Ula X3

Our muses sit close enough to brush knees/lean against yours

So this turned out a little longer than planned, ‘cause I was trying to write tiny dork and her two big dorks ^^’ Hope it’s good-ish

It was a breezy, autumn evening: a perfect day to spend at the carnival.

With skies that ever so slowly turned into a violet hue after remaining orange for a while, the ground was quite the contrary. There were lights all throughout, whether they be tiny bulbs on booths and food stands, or large signs reading the names of rides placed all around.

All around, upbeat music was heard as people made their way through whatever to get to their favorite rides as fast as possible. Every now and then, there was the sound of a scream piercing through the air and sometimes the sobbing of a child scared out of their mind, but everybody was far too focused on their own enjoyment to take notice.

Below on the ground, was a group of eyes that all stared into the bright, multicolored lights on the moving monument before them. Every little bulb glistened in their eyes that were wide with astonishment if not fear.

“That’s fucking insane.”

“I don’t think I could go on that.”

“I don’t think Princess could go on that.”

“Oh, fuck you Dante.”

Despite the conversation, the group soon tilted their heads upwards to follow the huge object that now swung over the crowd before swinging back continuously.

“I think I’m gonna go with Ama and Henry.”

“I specifically made them go to the other side for a reason Robyn, and you sure as heck are not going to ruin it.”

So many screams now rang through the group’s ears as they continued watching, the giant pendulum before them finally swinging high enough to remain upside down for a moment to then make a full circle.

Two of the group members soon felt their hands be held by smaller ones that gripped onto them tightly, no doubt somewhat nervous.

On the left was the only member with green eyes, these now looking down at his girlfriend who nervously looked up at the ride titled “Freak Out”. On her right was her other boyfriend, this one also looking down at her short figure.

“Uh...how about we go on another ride instead?”

“Are you wussing out Atlas?”

“Rayden, leave him alone. If anyone’s wussing out it’s you.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“I actually agree with Atlas.” the girl of the group spoke up, hands still gripping onto her partners’. “Maybe we should go eat something.”

“Any ideas?” Atlas asked to the group who remained quiet, seeing as the pendulum slowed down, eventually coming to a complete stop. “Schrader? You know this place more than we do.”

“Um.” Schrader looked away from the ride, returning Ula’s squeeze before turning to Atlas. “There should be a cool potato stand nearby, as well as a funnel cake one.”

“Oooh! I want potatoes!”

“Me too!” Robyn and Rayden exclaimed in unison after Dante licked his lips, the other trio slightly shrugging.

“Well, I really want some funnel cake.” Atlas chuckled, his eye now following a pair who walked in front of the group with a large funnel cake. “Oh yeah, I definitely want some.”

“Same.” Ula nodded before looking over at Schrader. “What about you?”

“I’ll go with the funnel cake as well.” he replied with a smile. “They top them with your choice of ice cream or whip cream, and even berries if you want.”

“That sounds so freaking good.” Ula bit her lip before turning to Dante and the twins. “You guys go get your potato chips or whatever, and then we’ll meet back here in twenty.”

“Got it!” the twins soon grabbed Dante’s arms, dragging him away to then leave Ula alone with Atlas and Schrader, an awkward atmosphere surrounding them like previous times throughout the day.

“Alright.” Ula nodded with a sigh, smiling at each of the boys. “Funnel cake time.”

“Yup.” Atlas gave a small nod, then hearing as Schrader cleared his throat.

“Uh, come on.” he motioned to the side. “Stand’s this way.”

After having walked away from the pendulum ride, the trio soon arrived to a seating area already quite filled with other guests that enjoyed their own carnival snacks.

“Since you guys are bigger than me,”Ula started with a bit of a laugh. “How about you find us a place to sit at while I order?”

“Sounds…”

“Good…” Schrader finished for Atlas.

“Alright. Anything you guys want? Individual cakes?”

“I’m okay with sharing.” Schrader stated before slightly nudging Atlas. “The cakes are pretty huge, especially if they’re on an elephant ear.”

“Oh, okay.” Atlas nodded before Ula smiled at them, soon enough making her way to the stand itself as Schrader and Atlas stood in an even more awkward atmosphere. “There’s a table over there.”

“Great.” Schrader followed after Atlas, both now sitting on a single side of the table for the other had been occupied by a family who thankfully had their backs turned to them. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“Yeah?”

“How’s your day been?” Schrader asked as he fiddled with one of his piercings. “Been having fun?”

“Oh, yeah, totally.” Atlas nodded as he now adjusted his glasses, looking around the area to find Ula who he saw was still in line. “The roller coaster was especially fun.”

“The wooden one?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.” Schrader nodded, then giving a chuckle. “We always thought Ula was the screamer, but as it turns out, it’s Robyn.”

“That was pretty funny.’ Atlas quietly laughed, remembering that even with such high speed and music blaring into everyone’s ears, Robyn could clearly be heard shrieking throughout the ride. “The picture was a lot funnier though.”

“Totally. You know, I saved the code, so maybe I could buy it later.” Schrader shrugged. “As a memory and all, but also something to laugh at.”

“Hm, yeah.” Atlas hummed, now looking down at his hands that he had folded in front of him.

“If we don’t go on the pendulum, where would you wanna go?”

“Uuuh, maybe...the bumper cars? Tilt-a-whirl? If there even is one.”

“Oh there’s one. Three in fact.”

“Three?”

“Three what?” Ula’s voice was now heard, the pair looking behind to see her holding a large board containing quite a large snack that made Atlas’ eyes widen.

“What is that monstrosity?” he scanned the treat that Ula had now placed on the table, the latter soon sitting between Atlas and Schrader who realized how tight the space was, knees all brushing against each other.

“This is the one Schrader mentioned.” Ula giggled as she handed them each a fork. “Elephant Ear topped with funnel cake, topped with ice cream, topped with strawberries and chocolate drizzle.”

“Jeff and Bubbles could eat this entire thing in a single bite.” Atlas poked the cake with his fork, seeing as Ula and Schrader began to dig in. “No, they would each eat one in a single bite.”

“Thankfully, there’s one of this thing and three of us.” Schrader popped a strawberry into his mouth before shutting his eyes, no doubt pleased.

Atlas then took his own piece of the funnel cake, smiling as the flavor hit his tongue before spreading through his mouth.

“So what were you guys talking about?” Ula spoke once again as she took a strawberry and dipped it in ice cream. “How many prizes you guys were gonna win for me at the booths?~”

“I saw some axolotl plushies on the way here.” Atlas mentioned, Ula’s attention fully on him now. “I think it was a throwing game, where you hit milk bottles.”

“Those are always so rigged.” Ula blew a raspberry before taking a piece of the funnel cake. “However, we have a secret weapon named Schrader. You should see all the prizes he’s gotten for Cordie.”

“I can just imagine.” Atlas continued to eat as did Ula and Schrader, the former then turning around when he heard an especially loud scream. “Is that…?”

“Robyn.” Schrader nodded as he and Ula also turned. “Those assholes went on the pendulum without us.”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t really complain.” Ula watched with wide eyes at the attraction that swung high enough to somehow make that one specific scream sound even louder. “I kinda prefer to go to a haunted house.”

“You know,” Atlas looked down at his phone. “We technically still have about ten minutes before we’re supposed to ‘meet up’.”

_____________

“It looks pretty silly.” Atlas commented as he and Ula were lead towards the haunted house attraction, everybody staring up at the dark building that had all sorts of animatronics no doubt purchased at Halloween stores.

“Which in the end gives you a good laugh.” Schrader chuckled as he paid the employee in front of the house the required ticket amount, all three then being allowed inside where they were met up with a four-seat car. “And the breeze is fantastic, in addition to the break from walking.”

“Exactly what I need, because these heels are actually killing me.” Ula stepped into the car, sitting in the front before Atlas and Schrader looked at each other. “Right.”

“You go.” Schrader motioned to Atlas. “I’ll go in the back.”

“You sure? I sat with her on the roller coaster.”

“It’s fine.” Schrader nodded, then sitting in the back as Atlas seated himself beside Ula. “I can sit with her on the next ride. Unless we go to the haunted maze.~”

“Thanks.” Atlas smiled, all three of them feeling the lap bars be lowered which further tightened the spaces. “Well then.”

“I’m short and I’m still smooshed.” Ula laughed as the ride began, shifting around as her knees continuously brushed against Atlas’. “But that only gives me an excuse.”

“Excuse for what?” Atlas looked down at her, then feeling as she leaned against his chest with her arms wrapped around his much bigger frame. “Ah.”

Atlas felt Ula snuggle right into his body, even as Atlas jumped due to an animatronic popping out with a loud sound on his side.

“And that’s why you get to sit with her this time.” Schrader leaned in to tell Atlas, chuckling to himself as he leaned back in his seat.

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theonewiththefanfics · 6 years

Text

The One That Got Away (part 11)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 12- END

Pairing: Cassian x Reader; Platonic!Poe x Reader

Warnings: idk any more, read at your own risk

Genre: still angst but fluff is appearing

Word count: 5097

Y/N couldn’t breathe. She was suffocating. The girl tried to claw at her throat, to get the foreign object out, but strong hands gripped at her wrists, pushing them down. Everything was too bright and too loud and too much. She gasped for air but pain shot through her lungs. What was happening? Where was she? Who were those people? All rang through her head but then one question made her still, only tears and ragged attempts at breathing made her body move. Who was she? The doctor started to explain something. The tube, the thing that wasn’t allowing her to breathe, was meant to help her do so while she had been in a coma. “Coma?” she tried to ask, but gurgling sounds escaped once again robbing her of air. “Don’t talk, not yet. I’ll remove the tube. First, you’ll just have to try and take a breath on your own. Then you’ll try and talk. Okay?” She could only nod. He had called her that name, the name the girl had heard in that weird place in between life and death. Y/N. Was that her name? The doctor gripped one end of the tube and started to pull it out of her throat. Instantly her gag reflex tried to switch on, but she pushed all of those down so he could take the plastic out. Y/N had thought she’d be relieved to be able to take a breath of fresh air but found herself unable to do so. He had brought her up into a sitting position making her cough out mucus and other disgusting things, yet none of that seemed to be helping. It felt like her throat all of her airways and lungs had been tied off with a string, not letting the much-needed oxygen in.

“Breathe, try and remember how to do so. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth.” And she tried, but every time she pulled a tiny bit of air in, it got stuck on its way to her lungs. The tightening in her chest kept growing and growing, painful tears sliding down her cheeks until she pulled the air in a bit stronger and it broke the dam. Air rushed in her body and with a gasp she shuddered as the oxygen found its way through her veins. “There we go, good girl,” the doctor pulled from the side another tube. This time it had two smaller openings in the middle of it. “It’ll make it easier to breathe,” he reassured the girl as he hooked it behind her ears and placed the two nozzles in her nose. Pure oxygen entered her body and she closed her eyes, relishing in the feeling of being able to breathe again. A nurse made her bed into a sitting position and helped Y/N lie down, fluffing up the pillows behind her back to make it a bit more comfortable. “We’re just going to check on your vitals. We’ll try and keep it as short as possible, you must have a lot of questions.” A raspy “okay” was her response. “At least I have a voice,” she thought to herself because the number of things she needed clarifying on was insane. She allowed them to take her blood, its pressure and listen to her heartbeat. He checked out her joints and her muscle deterioration, but everything seemed to be normal. The doctors next instruction was just to take it slow for the next couple of days, to do minimal exercise slowly increasing the intensity and she’d be released within a week. “I can see you have many questions,” he said while removing his gloves, “so hit me.” “Who am I,” was the first thing that escaped the girl's mouth, “and why can’t I remember anything?” He sighed sitting down on the edge of her bed. His hand reached for something strapped to the footing of it and pulled back a board with pieces of paper strapped to it, handing it to the girl sitting on the bed. “Your name is Y/N L/N and you are one of the best commanders the rebellion has ever seen.” Her eyes widened in shock as she looked up at the doctor. “I’m a what now?” “You’re a commander of the Gold squadron, serving under General Leia. That is right now. Before that, you were stationed on Yavin4. There too you had made quite the name for yourself.” “How-umm- how do you,” she emphasised the last word, “know me?” “You were a regular back on Yavin and we became good friends,” a sad smile appeared on the man’s lips. “I got you out of trouble more times than I’d like to say. If I hadn’t stitched you up or bandaged you, Mon Mothma would’ve never allowed you to set foot on a ship ever again, let alone with your friends.” He chuckled to that while Y/N scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. Her Y/E/C eyes scanned the first page in front of her. It provided the most basic information- name, age, height, weight, any lasting medical traumas, where she was stationed. “Where is D’Qar?” “Umm, it’s- uh- it’s gone.” “How is it gone?” “It got blown up. There was a mole in the Resistance, which because of you, there is none,” he cleared his throat. “I don’t have much detail, I’m a doctor, I don’t sit in on the big meetings, but Kylo Ren,” that name sent shivers down her spine. She didn’t know why but hearing it made her angry and fear flood through her veins. “He sent a Dreadnought and blew up the base while you were on a mission. So everyone from that base evacuated and headed for Yavin4, but things happened and now- umm- now we’re on Akiva, another base, which should be safe for the time being.” It was a lot of information to process, let alone what was written on the next page as she flipped it over. Most of the words didn’t mean anything. Some stuck out like the Force or Force-sensitive. Something in her blood answered as she muttered the words under her breath. Her eyes landed on two names that sent a weird warm feeling through her, like a friend assuring everything would be fine. “What is Rogue One? And umm, who is this Cassian Andor? He is listed as the first person to be contacted if I ever got hurt.” The doctor looked towards the blinds which had been closed by one of the nurses at some point because Y/N was pretty sure they had been pulled up when her eyes shot wide open. And she was almost a hundred percent sure that is where the majority of the light had come in, why her eyes had had such a hard time adapting to the sudden brightness of hospital bulbs. “Rogue One,” he kept looking at slits as if he could see through, “is a group of people, it’s a team, with probably the most remarkable, brave and smart people in the Resistance. And you were- are- a part of them.” Again her eyes felt like they would pop out from shock. “I am?” “Yeah. And Cassian Andor is the captain and he also was your fiancé.” “I am- was- engaged?” He could only nod in response. There was pity in his eyes, which sent a sour taste up to her mouth and sort of grief on his face. “I’m probably not the best person to tell you all of this. Listen,” he turned to look the confused girl in the eyes as her mind still tried to wrap around the bombshell of the decade, “there are some people out there that want to see you. Your friends. I’m gonna go and brief them that you are fine and should be okay. Then, if that is all right with you, I’ll allow them to come inside. Not all of them together,” he saw the girl tense up, “but two, three maximum at a time, okay?” She gulped. Y/n didn’t know what to expect when she saw and met these strangers that supposedly she had known for years or had become incredibly close to they considered her family. “We’ll start off with the people you’ve most recently met. Maybe that will jog your memory, okay?” He had a kind face, Y/N noted. The face of a man that can only be seen as selfless and caring. The job of a doctor suited him. She also noted that he was married, a golden band wrapped around his left ring finger. Tiny details like that seemed to be working. She could feel memories pressing against her mind, trying to break out from this invisible jail, so Y/N released a shuddering breath before she nodded once again. “Okay,” she said in hopes that seeing or hearing voices that were supposed to be familiar would allow her to find out who she was instead of spending the rest of her life as a blank piece of paper.

The first two, no three, no four people that entered the room through all of the doctor's protests sent a safe feeling through her body. There was a ginormous smile stretched out on the more rugged man’s face, his chocolate brown eyes crinkling at the corners, the deep-set smile lines becoming prominent as he ran a hand through the brown mop of hair, trying to smooth back some curls that didn’t want to stay in their place. A girl with hair that fanned out and framed her face looked incredibly excited as she couldn’t stop bouncing on her feet and her slanted eyes kept looking at her. There were two other people right next to the pair- a dark-skinned man, who had worry lines etched across his face. He looked very young, still the boyish chubbiness evident in his cheeks, but his stance, the way he carried himself, despite a small smile playing upon his lips, made Y/N see a man, rather than a teenager. And then to the back there kept a girl. Her hair was tied half up and her features were pulled in a reassuring grimace. Somehow looking at the quartet or such a diverse group of people made her want to smile, so she did. “Hello,” Y/N voice was quiet. The girl expected them to reply, but instead intense cheery beeping from somewhere down by the side of the bed rang through the silence. To her own surprise, she understood what the little orange and white droid was saying. “Yeah, I feel good BB,” a hand immediately shot to her mouth, the rest of the people’s faces matching her own shock. “You remember BB-8?” it was the man with the stubble, who asked that, hope evident in his voice as he made himself comfortable on the edge of the bed. “I- I don’t, it just… came out… is that his name?” “Yeah,” the grin stretched bigger across his face, “that’s BB-8.” Y/N looked up at him, questions shining through her eyes. “Are you Cassian?” “What? No, no, I’m not Cassian, I’m Poe. Poe Dameron.” A warm smile spread across his face, yet Y/N could spot mischief glinting in his eyes. “Your best friend and the best pilot in the whole galaxy.” She couldn’t help herself as a snort escaped. “The best pilot in the galaxy? Really?” “Yeah, well since we’ve known each other and when you got appointed as a commander you have been trying to prove me wrong. Without succeeding, might I add.” “I guess someone has to keep you on your toes, right Flyboy?” Poe once again grinned, pure happiness on his face. “You called me Flyboy.” “Yeah, I-umm- I’m sorry, it ju-“ “No, that’s great!” enthusiasm seeped out of the man and Y/N for whatever reason couldn't help herself and smiled at him with the same amount of joy. “You always called me that, a nickname of sorts. Especially when we were racing while on a mission.” Hope ebbed in her bones. Maybe it wouldn’t be that hard to remember things…

But boy, was she wrong. Not only did it prove to be hard, it was also incredibly frustrating. While talking with whom she learned to be Poe, BB-8, Finn, Rose and Rey Y/N caught glimpses of her past, but only in brief flashes. She couldn’t place the time or where it happened or what the scene meant. It was like a movie you’ve watched years ago and can only recall bits and pieces, yet it was more than nothing, so Y/N clung to them like a lifeline. They talked a lot. All of them. Even though she didn’t remember pretty much anything the feeling Y/N got was like she was an old friend or even a family member. But even the good things have to come to an end as she realised how tired she’d become. The Sun had set and starts started to shine through the now open window, even though her eyes could see just a particularly shiny one, the rest were drowned out by the lights of the base and ships coming and going. The doctor had come in twice to check up on her, also telling her friends that they needed to get going, as he changed a bandage on her injured shoulder, to which the rest had replied with a “yeah, we’ll leave soon”. That had been four hours ago and when the doctor popped his head in once more Y/N started to fear he wouldn’t allow the colourful bunch come back if they didn’t listen to them. “Go. I ain’t leaving here,” she chuckled as her eyes caught BB-8 rolling out of the room before quickly coming back to say goodbye. Rey, Finn and Rose also gave their farewells and quietly exited. “Will you be okay?” Poe’s brows were furrowed in concern, but content was spread across his facial features. “I don’t know,” she replied honestly, “but what I’m sure of is that you will be there to help me through it. All of you.” He grabbed the girls hand, lightly squeezing it, aware of the tubes and needles stuck into her soft flesh. “That I will. We all will. And trust me when I say this, I will not let you do anything so stupid anytime soon.” “How can I do anything stupid if you’re taking all of it with you?” Poe squinted as he overlooked the girl. “Are you sure you have amnesia? Because that is almost the exact same thing you said to me a little bit more than a week and a half ago.” Y/N only chuckled. “What can I say, I guess my brain even though it doesn’t exactly know anything, can still decipher who is the smart one in the relationship.” He hung his head, but his shoulders shook with laughter. “Night, Bubbles.” “Night, Flyboy.” Poe pressed a soft kiss to the girl's forehead and put a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll be fine,” she whispered and to reassure the man, squeezed his palm, “go, get some sleep.” “You sure?” “Yes! Now go before they forbid you from coming at all.” “Okay, but if you need anything, all you have to do is just call. I’ll drop anything that I’m doing.” Y/N wanted to say a sarcastic remark, but opted for a small “thank you”. With a last glance, he smiled at the girl and closed the hospital room’s door. Y/N leaned her head back on the pillow. It had been an eventful day, so she took a deep breath. There was so much information to process, so much detail, but even then, they had been only able to talk about the small stuff, few missions and mostly Y/N just listened to them conversing. She still didn’t know pretty much anything. Only those first small flashes and then couple more had appeared, but the girl couldn’t really decipher anything. “It can take years to fully regain back memories,” the doc had said in one of the checkups, “but the fact that you are showing signs already and it hasn’t even been full 24h of you being awake is amazing. If the progress continues and hopefully speeds up, by the end of the year you should be back to your old self.” “A whole year without knowing who I am, let alone other people,” Y/N thought to herself as she closed her eyes preparing to drift off to sleep. She was baffled that she felt this exhausted even though she’d spent almost a two weeks in a coma. As her senses started to fade and her mind was about to drift off to sleep, Y/N was startled back awake by a person entering the room. She didn’t know him, not that she could remember at least. “Sorry,” his accented voice rang through the room sending pleasant shivers down her spine. He felt so familiar, like a song she used to love or the content smell of home. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.” “It’s all right. I wasn’t asleep. Not yet.” She observed the man in the doorway. He was even more rugged than Poe. His beard looked unruly and his hair was messy like he'd been running his hands through it a lot. A white long-sleeved V-neck clung to his chest, showing off his toned abdomen and simple black pants adorned his legs. His eyes went to a brown leather jacket that had been thrown over one of the chairs. Y/N hadn’t even noticed it before. “I just came in to take this,” he pointed to the jacket and shuffled towards it, his brown eyes not leaving her. It was like he was looking for something in Y/N’s eyes. “Are you Cassian?” “What?” “Are you Cassian? Cassian Andor?” she repeated the question again. He cautiously stepped forward and sat down at the very edge of the bed. He was acting like Y/N was a frightened animal. “I am. Do you remember me?” Hope laced his voice. “No, sorry,” she shook her head and it was as if Y/N could feel her own heart drop watching his face fall. “I just saw your name on my charts. You were put as the first person to contact if something happens to me. And apparently,” she huffed out a breath, “we were engaged…?” it came out more like a question rather than a statement. “Yeah, we were…” “Why were?” “You-umm- you left.” Her own heart plummeted. Cassian seemed like such an incredible and kind man, Y/N couldn’t help but feel only anger towards the person she used to be. Now the girl didn’t even want to find out about her past. “But it wasn’t your fault.” “How can it not be my fault, when I left? Did... did you do something?” “No, well yes… There were a lot of people and things involved in the circumstances, but the only thing that matters is that you must know, I don’t blame you, I never did, and now that you are safe and awake, that is all I need.” He moved to take the jacket and pulled it on. She saw Cassian walk towards the door, but her voice stopped him in his tracks. “Tell me about… me. About us.” Y/N looked at Cassian’s brown eyes, not really able to distinguish the emotions swirling beneath the man’s skin. “Please.” He looked through the glass door. “You should get some sleep. I’ll come back tom-“ “Please,” she interrupted him. “I don’t think I’d be able to fall asleep anyways.” His brown eyes looked straight into Y/N’s Y/E/C ones. She didn’t want to say it out loud, afraid of the implications her words could carry, but Cassian made her feel safe and she wasn’t ready to let that go. “Okay,” he gently shrugged off the jacket and draped it over the chair once again, making himself comfortable in it. He leaned forward resting his elbows on the bed right next to Y/N. “Where would you like me to start?” She smiled a bit, trying to encourage the man. A sort of inexplicable thread wove between them and Y/N hoped that by having him tell her about what they had meant to one another, she could understand why her heart started to race and a blush crept on her cheeks just by looking at Cassian. “From the beginning I guess.” He chuckled and Y/N could swear it was the most adorable sound in the universe.

Cassian talked for hours with little interruption from Y/N. His heart pounded in his chest throughout the whole story. Maker, did he hope some of it would jog the girl’s memories and slowly help her build their life back, but if they did, Y/N didn’t show any signs of it. He had heard from Poe and Rey, that while they had talked Y/N had remembered bits and pieces, but nothing much. They did warn him about that. When the doctor told him he recommended starting with the people she’d most recently met and didn’t have that much history with, as her mind might be blocking the memories with the most baggage on purpose, Cassian wanted to scratch the man’s eyes out because it would mean the captain would have to go last. He’d sat behind the door the whole time the rebels under Leia’s command talked with Y/N. At some point, the General after receiving an update on Y/N’s condition had left with her husband and Chewie. She might see Y/N as a daughter, but she still had a Resistance to run, missions to hand out and keep the base safe. With a promise to come back the next morning and words for Cassian to get some rest, though accompanied by a knowing glance, the ex-princess left the hospital. Bodhi, Baze and Chirrut had all fallen asleep in the chairs at some point and as the sky grew darker Cassian made them get to their quarters and have a good night’s sleep. They had protested, as per usual, but he reassured them that if anything was to happen they’ll be the first people he’d notify. Bodhi had been the last to leave. He still feared, that if he himself didn’t see Y/N up and awake this would all turn out to be a wicked dream. When he closed his eyes he could still see Y/N’s bloodied up and almost lifeless form, Cassian’s arms tightly clutched around her. “She’ll be fine. You know how strong she is.” “And what if she isn’t?” he argued against his captain. “What if she never remembers me or you or any of us again?” “Then,” Cassian tried to search for words. He couldn’t allow himself to think that way, he couldn’t think that way. Not when happiness was so close he could stretch his hand out and grab it. “Then, if she wants to, we’ll make new memories. We’ll get to know each other once again. Or she’ll start a new life, one without us…” he didn’t want to think that way, but Cassian had to take into account that such possibility existed. Bodhi had hung his head in defeat. The rebel didn’t want his life to be without Y/N. Not again. Those two years where she had fled, had been horrible. His nightmares, though they had never fully gone away, Y/N had helped to ease him out of the hallucinations. The man was able to distinguish what was real and what was a dream, yet when she left, they came back ten times as hard, so to think that he’d have to go through that again, this time for the rest of his life, completely alone, shook him with fear. He hung his head in defeat before standing up and exiting the place. That left Cassian alone. Or so he had thought. Jyn rounded the corner, two steaming cups of caf in hand. “You look horrible,” she commented on Cassian’s disheveled look. “Thanks. You really do know how to cheer a person up.” The woman only shrugged her shoulders. “Just stating the facts.” She glanced around the place, noting they were the only two left. “Has everyone gone home?” “No,” Cassian shook his head and pointed his chin to Y/N’s room while taking a sip of the bitter beverage, “Poe and his friends are still in there.” “Didn’t the doctor make them leave like three hours ago?” “Yeah, but to be fair, if I was in their place, I wouldn’t really care about that either, as long as she herself didn't throw me out. And you know, when Y/N gets tired, Stars, have mercy on the poor soul that tries to disturb her sleep.” Jyn snorted in agreement, having experienced the wrath of the girl when woken up from a nap. “Or at least the Y/N we knew had that kind of a reaction,” he grimly added. The fellow rebel looked over her captain. He really looks bad, but more so than that he looked simply exhausted. She wasn’t sure that combined together he’d had 24h hours of sleep during the week and a half Y/N had spent lying there unconscious. “She’s strong, she’ll get through it,” Jyn squeezed his shoulder, “but most importantly she’s stubborn and Maker forbid if she lets Kylo Ren win. That day will only come when the universe runs out of stars for her to explore.” Cassian didn’t quite know what to answer but as he was about to conjure up a reply the doctor once again came to Y/N's room, this time annoyance clearly written across his features as he gave the final warning for the group to get out. Almost all of them had exited immediately, yet Poe had stayed behind for a couple more minutes. When he emerged he didn’t have that much of good news, but the fact that Y/N had gotten some flashes and the fact that the doctor did believe if she improved her memories would come back and in a year she would be back to her old self made a tiny bit of hope rise in his chest. Jyn had squeezed his hand and left with Poe. A year of waiting and hoping for someone he loves to regain her memories and hopefully her feelings towards the man. It would be torture, a slow one at that, and even then only if Y/N decided to stay. The General had granted all of them, including Rogue One six months off of missions. But the thought of having to look at the woman he loved, yet her not actually being there, and having nothing to do for half a year made Cassian want to rip his own hair out. And even though his heart told him not to leave, he wouldn’t be able to stay still. People had filtered out of the hospital, night shift workers replacing them. When he was sure no one was around, he slowly opened up Y/N’s room to take his jacket and have one last glance before he went to his quarters to try and decide how to get appointed to a mission. Only to his surprise Y/N had shot up in the bed, startled by his entrance.

So here they were. As he looked to the window, through the slits of the shades he could see rosy pink and orange rays of Sun come through. Cassian didn’t know what to expect. Had she remembered something? Anything? The girl looked deep in thought. The only thing he could hear was his own blood rushing through his veins in anticipation. “So yeah,” he tried to clear the growing tension, “that is our story I guess…” “Do you still love me?” Cassian was not prepared for that kind of a question, but the answer was immediate. “I never stopped, nor I ever will.” “Even after everything sh- I- did to you?” He couldn’t quite understand the emotions swirling inside of the girl. “I don’t blame you. I never did. I just needed an answer and now that I have it… the rest is in your hands.” “What do you mean?” He took a deep sight. “I mean that if you want… us… I’ll, of course, wait for you, no matter how long it takes, but if you don’t…” it pained Cassian to say this, but Y/N’s happiness was more important to him than his own, “I won’t stand in your way of creating a new life.” She looked into his brown eyes. Y/N felt safe with the man here. She didn’t know exactly how to feel, some flashes had come back, but they once again were only a second long and she didn’t really know what to do with them, but as Cassian dropped her gaze, she covered his palm with her own. “I don’t want you to leave. I don’t know what is going to happen to me, you… to us. I have no clue how much memories I’ll regain if I'll remember anything fully at all, but what I do know, is that you make me feel safe. And I don’t want to lose that, so… if you’re willing to wait, I’d just like to have you around. To help me.” He smiled at the girl, a breath of relief filling his lungs. “Always.”

Tags (crossed out couldn’t be tagged): @thechandlerbingdance @chunkymonky11 @irreplaceable-spacexual @sweetimagines @redhairedoddity @paulinka97 @nerdy98 @bookishaficionado @gigglesforme @yana-yana-meow @captainpxe @aseasyasdeanspie @thebi-valkyrieofvalhalla

A/N: sorry for the delay, guys. I’ve been really stressed about my grades as I’m not doing as well as I’d like to be and I’ve been a bit bummed about that. But anyways, I hope you enjoy this. There is a bigger possibility that there will not be two more parts, rather one really long one, like longer than this one :D but don’t fret, I’m thinking already about a second installment in the series :)

P.S. any feedback is always appreciated :)

P.S.S. if you wanna be tagged in future works or have any requests drop a message

P.S.S.S. please don’t repost without credit

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fearofaherobrine · 7 years

Text

Roleplay Server Log #212

“Dress Fitting, Mouse Hunt, Judge and Painter”

-The next day-

[Doc] Is standing on a block in the vine room hanging a poster on the wall. The main image is three birds inside a bulb of glass, but there's lots of small things in the background too.

[Deer] Comes up from the lab- Doc? What is that?

[Doc] Steps down and backs off to look at it proudly- I have no idea! But I got it while I was irl and it just spoke to me for some reason. I've seen mideavil artwork online plenty of times and it looks like it must be a very old image.

[Deer] - It is certainly pretty, hey did Lie ever tell you what CP got her?

[Doc] No, I hope it was worth the trip though, what a miserable mess.

-HerobrineCP has left the server-

[Doc] Hmph. Let's hope he's just running errands. I certainly don't feel like I'm missing anything- Xe turns to look at Yaunfen, who's dozing lightly on the bed near the stairs and then returns hir gaze to Deerheart, touching the corner of her cheek lightly with one gloved hand - Everything I need, is right here.

[Deer] - Aww, you are my everything as well

[Doc] Makes a rather sappy contented face, but it's geniune. - OH! I have something for you too. - rustles around - close your eyes and stick out your hands.

[Deer] Gives them a curious look before following their directions-

[Doc] Puts the string of star- shaped lights in her hands, the little battery pack is glowing faintly orange from the mix of red and glowstone dust inside of it. The stars themselves are each lit and cycling slowly through a rainbow of different colors. - You can look now.

[Deer] Looks and makes a small happy little gasp- They're so pretty!

[Doc] Not as pretty as you, but I thought you'd enjoy them all the same. I think you're supposed to string them along the walls or drape them over tihings.

[Deer] - Ooh! We could make some copies to hang in Lie's green house! I bet that would look pretty as well!

[Doc] With all her colorful flowers? That is a really good idea, and maybe some on the porch by the mushroom umbrella? Make a regular garden party out of it.

[Deer] - Oh absolutely!

[Doc] But this string... I was thinking... could maybe be in our bedroom? A bit of mood lighting for playtime? - Eyebrow wiggle-

[Deer] - Of course, or maybe it would look better around me?

[Doc] Makes a very low noise that's purely sexual-

[TLOT] Is in the next room and takes a deep breath. - Ahhhh, that's nice... My lamb?

[Steve] Yeeess?

[TLOT] Perhaps you should do our housemates a favor and volunteer to watch Yaunfen for a bit?

[Steve] fake put-upon look - Oh must I?

[TLOT] I think I can make it worth your while later. I'm going to go give Lie her dress and make sure it fits. I'll be back in a bit.

[Steve] Oh all right-

[TLOT] Love you.

[Steve] Love you too.

[TLOT] Walks outside and takes a nice breath of air and rolls down into his cat form in a burst of fog. With a happy little roar he goes dashing through the sunlight dappled grass towards Lie's home.

[Endrea] Is lounging out front while her children play-

[TLOT] Playfully sneaks up on her in the grass.

[Endrea] Is too focused on Willow and Oak to notice-

[TLOT] Jumps onto her shoulders and gives a small triumphant roar

[Endrea] Looks and snorts at him- Hello TLOT

[TLOT] Gives her a big lick on the nose-

[Endrea] Rolls her eyes- If you're looking for CP you just missed him

[TLOT] Nope! Not after the sour puss today. I'm looking for Lie.

[Endrea] - I believe she's tending to an injured dog...

[TLOT] Then I may be of help. Thank you dear lady. - Does a little bow, switching his tail around, and then leaping to the ground. - dog pen? Or in the house?

[Endrea] - Dog pen

[TLOT] Ah, curses. I guess I need to shed my fur - He pofs up in the fog again and goes striding down the yard with his cloak flowing in his wake- Hey Lie?

[Lie] - In here! Stay still!

[TLOT] Goes to the gate. - Do you need any blood Lie? Is it bad?

[Lie] - Oh, this one just ended up playing a bit too hard and got bit

[TLOT] Silly dogs- leans on the fence- I brought you something when you're done. Though you may need to clean up first if you've been doing chores all day

[Lie] - Probably- She stands up after wrapping the dogs legs and she's covered in dirt, manure, and a bit of blood

[TLOT] Yeeeah, you may need a bath first....

[Lie] - I'll go set one up

[TLOT] How come you don't have one as part of your house Lie? I know you have some issues with the lava hardening on you.

[Lie] - Because normally CP is here and he'll usually toss me into the lava pool and then help me get it off

[TLOT] Get it off huh....? I presume that's a prelude to other things? - grins

[Lie] Freezes and blushes- Shut up

[TLOT] Pffft! I brought you your dress for the coronation, you should tidy up a bit and try it on.

[Lie] - Oh, okay- Lie quickly throws down some stone bricks and fills the space between them with water. She also puts up some banners so she has privacy, but TLOT doesn't have to leave

[TLOT] Pulls out a block to sit on and faces away from her- For the queen's modesty, of course.

[Lie] - I'm not a queen TLOT

[TLOT] Smiles softly- You're Cp's queen.

[Lie] Embarrassed noises-

[TLOT] I'm god to my mate, it's just a thing. It's nice to feel special.

[Lie] Slips into the tub- I'm not sure he has a term for what I am for him yet... Well, other than his

[TLOT] What do you consider him? The same?

[Lie] - My mate, my love...- Then jokingly- My constant project

[TLOT] Snorts - That he is! What's the saying? No work of art is ever finished, only abandoned?

[Lie] - Perhaps, oh, by the way, could you give me some Nether rack?

[TLOT] Sure! - He opens the creative and pulls out a stack- Do you have a new project? Or just planning on refacing some walls and floors?

[Lie] - Some more plants, I created a tree for the Nether some time ago, but I want to try and make some more

[TLOT] Ah, some potted plants for his office at least. Doc told me it's huge.

[Lie] - More for like outside, if I have to end up spending time over there, then I will add more foliage

[TLOT] What kind of theme are you going for? Things that match the surroundings? Or contrast?

[Lie] - Mostly just seeing what will grow, the one thing I have gotten to grow is a tree

[TLOT] You need hardy stuff that likes the infernal heat... maybe like cacti? Without the spiky bits?

[Lie] - Maybe, like I said, we'll see what springs up

[Lie] Finishes her bath and redresses herself before removing the bath and the banners-

[TLOT] Is still facing away and tosses the stack of netherrack over his shoulder so it bounces into her inventory- Can I look now?

[Lie] - Yeah, I'm done

[TLOT] Swivels around and takes a sniff of the air- Much better.

[Lie] - Hey! I didn't smell that bad!

[TLOT] sniggers- I'm just sensitive- he pulls out the dress- here you go-

[Lie] Takes the silk item, it's a long strapless white dress that has a short jacket which covers her neck shoulders and arms. The jacket sleeves end in a light flair. The jacket is a periwinkle blue and the edges of the actual dress are too, as is the mesh which covers her back which dips in a sharp v. The entire outfit should fit her form well once it's adjusted-

[TLOT] Pull it on and I'll nip or tuck anywhere you need it.

[Lie] Turns away and hesitates before quickly switching clothes-

[TLOT] Well? Is it okay?

[Lie] - Yeah, I mean the shoulders are a little tight, but I think it's supposed to be like that, it's not like my movement is inhibited though

[TLOT] I can give it a little slack if needed...?

[Lie] - I think it will be fine, thank you, now to work on those plants...

[TLOT] Well go ahead and shuck it off so you don't get it dirty.

[Lie] - Oh, right- Starts hurriedly changing back

[TLOT] Fumbles around and drops something, - ah dammit! - The spawn egg breaks on the floor and a very tiny mouse scurries away from him-

[Lie] - Er, was that a mouse?

[TLOT] Yes! Sorry Lie! I was carrying it to give to Grinny. Dammit, it went under your armor stand!

[Lie] - Don't worry, either the Vulpix's will get it, Hope, or one of the barn cats

[TLOT] You know... maybe you should get it.

[Lie] - Me?

[TLOT] Yes, try out your cat-like reflexes. I bet you could nab it easy.

[Lie] Blushes- Um... Uh...

[TLOT] You're already half undressed anyway, give it a shot. It doesn't have hardly any programming, all it can do is run from you.

[Lie] - Mmm... Oh alright- She concentrates and shifts into her cat form

[Mouse] Peeks out from under the boot on her armor stand and scoots back underneath.

[Lie] Crouches down and focus' on the boot-

[Mouse] Moves a little bit behind the stand and makes a break for the bookcases, wiggling between two volumes.

[Lie] Takes off after it and sticks her paw between the books-

[Mouse] Scuttles up the back of the bookshelf and tries to run past her-

[Lie] - Get back here!

[TLOT] laughs- Sounds like me when it's Karen's bathtime.

[Mouse] runs up the side of the butts pumpkin and tries to wiggle under the sign with no luck-

[Lie] Leaps at it, getting into the hunt-

[Mouse] Panicky squeak as it jumps off the pumpkin and tries to go under the bed instead -

[Lie] Tears after it-

[Mouse] Climbs the sheets as fast as it can-

[TLOT] Go Lie go!

[Lie] Jumps on top of it-

[Mouse] Poofs into a morsel with a bitty squeak-

[Lie] There's a tiny bit of blood on her fur now- Oh!

[TLOT] Good job! That was some nice leaping and pouncing!

[Lie] - I... I got a little caught up in it...

[TLOT] Hehe, I do some of our hunting the same way. Chickens are nicely challenging, and they taste good to boot.

[Lie] Bats the morsel towards TLOT- Yeah... You can keep this

[TLOT] Ah, no taste for the prize, Lie is only about the challenge. - He flips it into his mouth like a mint. - Your loss.

[Lie] Can't get to the bit of blood on her- uuuuuuuuungh

[TLOT] Little floof is fussy about her white fur huh? - He takes the damp towel from her bath and cleans off the little bit of blood. - Perfect.

[Lie] - Thank you- She stretches a little and flops

[TLOT] So where did Cp jet off too? You seem relaxed, so I'm presuming it was something mundane?

[Lie] - He went to get the ingredients Sam asked for, he'll probably stop here first to check over with Sam what he got to make sure it's all correct before taking it to his server

[TLOT] Ah okay. So still no on the plumes for Cp's armor? -grinning-

[Lie] - He'd burn it before you could even add it

[TLOT] I know. But it's a fun thought. I know a little secret too.... - conspiritorial wink-

[Lie] Perks- What is it?

[TLOT] I saw Doc's outfit...

[Lie] - Share the secret?

[TLOT] It's a dress...

[Lie] - CP won't be happy about that

[TLOT] Too bad. I think it looks nice.

[Lie] Giggles- Now where did my clothes get to...

[TLOT] Points-

[Lie] - Thanks- She jumps down and rubs against TLOT as she passes him

[TLOT] Reaches down to scratch her ears. - Little huntress

[Lie] - Mind opening the door to my room for me?

[TLOT] Reaches for her- of course.

[Lie] Let's herself be picked up and purrs-

[TLOT] Happily pets her and takes her to her room, he squeaks open the door and sets her daintily on the bed.

[Lie] - Thank you, she pulls her dress out of her inventory- Will you put this in that chest under the window?

[TLOT] Sure - He walks over and squeaks open the chest, pausing there for a moment with the lid open - wanted me to put it in your toybox huh?

[Lie] Freezes as her shape becomes indistinguishable from glowing so brightly-

[TLOT] Blinks in consternation- That's a bit blinding!

[Lie] Whines and tries to hide under the blankets-

[TLOT] Takes out a vibrating egg and it buzzes in his palm. - That's a bit weak though. I think I could juice it up a bit... - He tips out the batteries and lets them clunk back into the box. He pulls out a bit of restone and picks a few pixels off it before slipping some inside.

[Lie] - What are you doing?

[TLOT] Just some minor repairs. - He twists the vibe to high and the buzzing increases a lot- that's better...

[Lie] Tries to slip under the bed-

[TLOT] Aww don't hide. I have something nice for you.

[Lie] - So I can hear...

[TLOT] I can feel that curiousity radiating from you....

[Lie] - Shut up... I can't hear you!

[TLOT] Turns the little device off. - can you hear me now?

[Lie] Grumbles and her head pokes out from under the bed-

[TLOT] You're adorable.

[Lie] - So everyone says- She darts to the other side of the bed and crawls out, transforming back once she's clear of the bed and without her clothes

[TLOT] Eh, if you've got it, might as well flaunt it. Did you need anything else while I'm here?

[Lie] - No, I think I'm good- She pulls on her shirt

[TLOT] Maybe you should have some fun while you wait for Cp to come back? - with a quick twist he turns the vibe back on and reaches around to poke it up inside her-

[Lie] Shrieks and falls back onto the bed- TLOT!

[TLOT] Backs off quickly. - Just a thought.

[Lie] - Ngh!

[TLOT] I'm headed back. Take your time Lie, have a nice afternoon.

[Lie] - I hate you right now...

[TLOT] Wipes his upper lip with his forked tongue- that tastes like a bit of a lie...

[Lie] Groans and buries her face into the blankets-

[TLOT] Feels her growing arousal and sends a bit of it back to her -I'll just leave you to it. - waves cheerfully and departs

[Lie] Is muttering "I hate you" into the blanket over and over again. However her legs clamp tighter as her pleasure grows, but it's not quite doing it for her leaving her in a state of frustration-

[Splender] Perks as he receives a message from his brother and he rushes off to Doc's-

[Doc] Is talking to Alexsezia about the poster-

[Alexsezia] It is really interesting. What's with the green cat eating the sun?

[Doc] It's a lion. I don't know why it's green.

[Splender] - Doc? Are you here?

[Doc] Splender? I'm in the vine room.

[Splender] Teleports in- Oh, I didn't know you had a guest, am I interrupting anything?

[Doc] Nah, just a bit of chatting about art.

[Alexsezia] I've been doing lot of embellished stuff lately. Doc got me into looking at really old illuminated books on the internet.

[Splender] - Oh, okay, um, I have a message from my brother...

[Doc] Oh dear... not more bad news I hope? I saw Cp go out earlier...

[Splender] - No! Not at all! He's decided to send Judge and Painter here under the pretense of them checking on the others...

[Doc] They're okay in a digital enviroment? Mostly human?

[Alexsezia] There's a Painter? Judge sounds a bit serious though.

[Splender] - If it's brief they'll be fine, we've done it many times with the other pasta's when we needed to get them quickly from one area to another

[Doc] Okay... Splender? You're the expert, do I need to do anything in advance? Topics to avoid?

[Splender] - I think brother mostly just wants them to get used to this place and meet you before introducing them to the idea of having a child. Those two can get pretty defensive around strangers...

[Alexsezia] Can I stay? Or will they attack me since I'm obviously digital/human?

[Splender] - So long as you don't offend them it should be alright...

[Doc] Offend?

[Splender] - Like harsh criticism, violence towards children...

[Doc] I'll be gentle.

[Splender] - Then are you ready for me to get them?

[Doc] Gives hir coat a bit of a tug and fluffs hir hair- Ready

[Alexsezia] Tries to brush some of the cat hair off her, but it's hopelessly woven into her chainmail shirt - I hope they aren't allergic to cats....

[Splender] - Not at all- He creates an opening and steps through, quickly returning with two in tow

[Doc] Hello.

[Alexsezia] Cheerful wave-

[Judge] Is a young looking girl with short blonde hair in a short white dress with tall white boots, She carries a white sword but the thing which stands out about her are her eyes, they are deep and black with small specks like stars-

[Painter] Is taller than Judge with messy short black hair, he has a blue jacket and jeans on with sneakers. His white mask has a blood painted smile on it-

[Splender] - Judge? Painter? This is Doc and Alexsezia!

[Alexsezia] Looks only slightly unnerved by Painter's mask.

[Doc] Nice to meet both of you. I understand you wanted to check up on the others?

[Painter] - That's what Slender told us to do, he's starting to get a bit antsy what with so many people gone from the house

[Doc] Well the pokemon trainers are mostly downstairs if you want to come with me. Strangled has taken to crashing in Lost Silver's room, and Glitchy is often hanging out with them too. I've offered Strangled his own space but he usually tells me to go die in a fire or something similar.

[Judge] - I suppose we could start with them...

[Alexsezia] Opens the lab door for them

[Doc] Thank you-

[Alexsezia] So you're an artist? I am too.

[Painter] - I doubt we think of the same thing when we think of painters

[Splender] Teleports off to warn BEN-

[Alexsezia] Oh... do you only do walls and houses or something? I work mostly on canvas-

[Painter] - Oh no, I use canvas, it's my paint that's different

[Alexsezia] Neat! I make all my own pigments and dyes too!

[Doc] Watch out for the button at the bottom of the steps.

[Painter] - I gather my own paint

[Judge] Is getting a tad irritated at Alexsezia-

[Alexsezia] cheerfully- We're all crafty around here. Doc built this house.

[Doc] Blushes slightly-

[Painter] - I gather blood

[Alexsezia] Oh, so you just do monochrome work?

[Painter] - In a sense

[Silver] Is feeding his smaller pokemon-

[Doc] Hey Silver! Hows the team faring?

[Judge] Narrows her eyes at Silver-

[Alexsezia] Oh the little pink critter is adorable! I mean they're both cute but still!

[Silver] - Good, just feeding the smaller guys now, Strangled's taking care of the others

[Sylveon] Looks at Alexsezia- Syl!

[Alexsezia] Holds out a hand to see if it's okay to pet them-

[Doc] Silver has been a huge help with my own pokemon too.

[Espurr] Comes over and puts a morsel of food in her hand-

[Silver] - Er, Espurr? She can't eat that...

[Alexsezia] No, I can't, but thank you little one.

[Espurr] Takes it back using telekinesis-

[Alexsezia] Psychic kitty...

[Doc] So how's the Zweilous? Do you need another helmet for the second head or is it behaving better now that you have the badge for it?

[Silver] - It's doing better now, I don't think it needs another helmet

[Doc] Excellent. Any progress with MissingNo?

[Silver] - Not really... But it's not so loud anymore

[Doc] Hopefully it's because it's more relaxed now that it's not trapped? Poor thing might be a tad traumatized.

[Silver] - Maybe...

[Painter] - to cut down on time, mind telling us how Strangled and Glitchy are Silver?

[Silver] - Oh! Well... They're pretty good, I think Glitchy is exploring outside...

[Doc] I take it Strangled is still holed up in your room pouting?

[Silver] - Not right now, he's holed up down there feeding the larger pokemon and his

[Doc] Looks at the group - Up to you guys, bug him or leave him be?

[Painter] - I don't think we need to see everybody, that would take too long, just so long as we can get the general idea of how everyone is... That should be good enough

[Doc] Okay. - Looks at Silver- Do you need anything while I'm down here Silver?

[Silver] - No, I'm good

[Doc] Alright. last I saw Grinny he was in the kitchen. Smile is outside somewhere probably playing with Liu-

[Judge] - Liu? Oh, that's right, Jeff's brother's, right? He was somehow brought back?

[Doc] A bit proudly- I had a bit of help from a friendly witch. She helped me reclaim his soul. So yes, he's alive, in a sense.

[Painter] - Can we continue now? I'd like to get back to my projects...

[Alexsezia] Perks up a little - What are you working on? Subject-wise?

[Doc] Let's go then.

[Painter] - This and that

[Alexsezia] Been doing illuminations myself. Really old school. TLOT made me some gold ink so it really pops.

[Judge] Her hand is getting closer to her sword-

[Alexsezia] Trots ahead to hold the outside door politely-

-It's a lovely day outside with the sunlight sparkling off the deep blue waters of the bay and the sugarcanes bending lightly in the breeze.

[Judge] - It is bright out here...

[Doc] Yeah, it's nice. I prefer a good lightning storm though. - Leads them up the steps towards the road to the spawn

[gem] -is standing outside at spawn with eddy and Edward and her guardians-

[Doc] Hi Gem, got the whole group today huh?

[Alexsezia] Kneels and offers her arms to hug the little enders-

[gem] yea it's a nice day

[eddy and Edward] -hug alexsezia-

[Painter] - Who are they?

[gem] I am just you friendly space angel brine with my guardians and baby Endermen out for a day on this server.

[Doc] She's a digital glitch much like I am. Anyone with unusual eyes you encounter will likely be either a type of Herobrine or one of your creepypastas.

[Judge] - So many...

[Alexsezia] She's also a very nice neighbor. And BEN and Aven's roommate.

[gem] -sees judge angel's eye- wow your eyes are pretty

[Judge] Is surprised by this compliment-

[gem] they remind me of the beauty of space

[Judge] Has no idea what to say-

[Alexsezia] Looks at her straight on- Yeah! They do look like they have stars! I thought they were just black.

[Judge] Starts to hide behind Painter a little-

[Doc] Ah, don't be shy. we don't bite.

[gem] -makes a small cluster of stars and offers it to judge angel-

[Judge] Shies away-

[Painter] - She doesn't really like having her eyes talked about...

[gem] oh sorry I didn't know

[Doc] Oh, I see. It's just a thing around here. Lots of people with unusual eyes. - shows off hir own subtle green glow- Your housemate Cp's glowing white is almost the norm on this server.

[Painter] - Speaking of, he's been gone from the manor for some time...

[Doc] You guys don't know? He got married.

[Painter] Laughs a little- Yeah, that's a good one

[Doc] Honestly, I have a picture! Hang on- flips around in hir files

[Alexsezia] Nonono, I can do you one better - She pulls out a screenshot attatched to a bit of paper. It's Cp looking annoyed on the floor with Lie to one side and Notch and Stevie on the other. - The brine with the pretty white hair is his wife Lilinthia.

[Painter] Scrutinizes the picture, trying to remember details for later paintings- Interesting...

[Doc] Where did you get that?

[Alexsezia] I know people...

[eddy and Edward] -go over to judge angel-

[Judge] Looks down at them- Such strange little creatures...

[Doc] Ah, they're a miniature version of a common mob around here. The big ones are called Endermen, they're harmless unless you look directly at them, eye contact makes them go ballistic. But the designers who coded them were inspired by stories of Slenderman. - gestures at the little enders- Imagine those, but three blocks high; as tall as Cp.

[Painter] - Yeah we'll not mention that to him...

[Doc] Minecraft is a super popular game. I bet he already knows. It's not like it's an unflattering reference. Endermen are extremely formidible foes if you anger them. If they weren't deathly allergic to water, the players would be quite outmatched.

-There's a bit of laughter and the sounds of children playing a game up the hill-

[Doc] Ah, that reminds me. Lj's circus is down the coast. Our friend Herabrine and him worked super hard to repair everything. If you don't want to make the hike I can call for him in chat. If he's outside the woods he should hear me.

[Judge] - Please, the sooner we can get home, the better

[eddy and Edward] -wiggle there arms-

This message has been removed.

[Painter] - Such odd anatomy...

[gem] they are my cute little sweeties

[Doc] One of their game functions is to take random blocks, so the proportions were likely chosen to accomdate the block size. -types- Hey Lj? Two of your housemates are here to check on you. Can you come to the spawn for a minute?

[LJ] Pops into the air above them- Yeeees~?

[Doc] Gestures to Painter and Judge -

[Alexsezia] Hi Lj! You look great.

[gem] hey LJ how is the weather up there just as good as down here?

[LJ] - Well hello you two!

[Painter] - What happened to you?

[Doc] I removed his Insanity and... - xe turns to Lj can't see and points to the children playing nearby- a few other things got fixed too.

[Judge] - How odd... I think you looked better monochrome

[gem] doc fixes a lot of things I swear xe is the best at it

[Alexsezia] I'm suprised... I'd think Painter would prefer the monochome considering his artistic mein.

[Doc] Blushes- Thank you Gem

[Painter] - No, I prefer a bit of color

[Judge] - He'll paint in normal colors if the mood strikes him

[Doc] Hey Lj, hows the candy crop coming?

[LJ] - Alright, I'm not much of a gardener though

[gem] -starts to make a tiny nebula-

[Doc] If you need any help, let me know. Can't wait until those ice cream cone trees start 'fruiting' Haha.

[LJ] - Nor can I

[Alexsezia] Wants to poke Gem's nebula-

[gem] -notices alexsezia looking at the nebula- do you want to see it?

[Doc] Turns to Painter and Judge- Should I try and find Jeff? He tends to avoid me. But he might want to go back with you guys.

[Alexsezia] Please?

[Painter] - Sure, it's him, Jane, BEN, and Herobrine left I believe...

[gem] -hands it to alexsezia-

[Doc] Uses hir pinpoint to look for Jeff before calling out to him over the chat- Hey Jeff? Judge Angels and Bloody Painter are here. Did you want a ride back to the manor?

[Jeff] - Nah, I'm good

[Doc] Calls out to Jane in a similar way-

[Jane] - Not right now

[Doc] I presume you can read the chat? Jeff and Jane say they're good.

[Painter] - Chat?

[Doc] Oh, I guess technically you're not signed in. Hang on - Xe takes out a command block and turns on the chat for them - Just think about what you want to type and do the hand motions-

[Judge] Puts in garbled gook-

[Alexsezia] Good effort, keep trying!

[Painter] - It's okay Judge, I know you have to look at the keyboard usually...

[Doc] Jeff? Jane? Can you repeat? I've got Judge and Painter in the chat now.

[Jeff] - We're staying for now!

[Jane] - For once I agree with the moron

[Doc] Anybody seen Liu? I'm sure he's got Smile.

[Jeff] - How the fuck should I know? Although I'd like to have my dog back...

[Doc] It was just a general question for anyone to answer.

[Steve] Over chat - I saw him yesterday?

[TLOT] also chat - Not helpful Steve

[Steve] chat- Sorry....

[liu] -in chat- I am at my house

[Jane] - I don't know, maybe somebody should keep track of their damn dog!

[Jeff] - Bitch

[Jane] - Cunt

[LJ] Is snickering-

[Alexsezia] Chuckles and speaks aloud. She's holding the nebula gently- He's just mad that his brother played the hero last week and Jeff was nowhere to be found.

[Painter] - I don't understand...

[gem] -puts on her star crown-

[Alexsezia] One of our more belligerent Herobrine's kidnapped Jane for a lark and Liu battled valiantly to save her. MB just likes to rumble and if you kill him he'll usually just admit defeat and go home.

[LJ] Bursts out into raucous laughter-

[Alexsezia] You know Mix right? She delivered the killing blow!

[LJ] - You mean the little female brine?

[Alexsezia] Yeah! She has some kind of... of... power glove that shoots energy stuff!

[Judge] - I don't mean to be rude, but can we move onto the others?

[gem] -makes a rainbow planet crown and puts it on lj's head-

[LJ] - Ooo! Pretty!

[Doc] Well... we can go by Lie's house if you want to meet her. It's on the way to BEN's place and I think that's everybody.

[Painter] - And why wouldn't we be seeing Herobrine?

[gem] which herobine

[Judge] - Ours

[gem] ah cp you mean

[Doc] He stepped out for a minute. Lie probably knows why. He's free to come and go and he still has loyal mobs on his home seed.

[Painter] - Then lead on

[gem] -pick up eddy and Edward- adventure

[Gk] Flaps down from the sky and lands near them - More pastas?

[Alexsezia] They're just visiting-

[Painter] - The hell is that?

[Gk] I'm a dragon, duh.

[Doc] He's also a Herobrine.

[gem] hey gk

[Judge] - So odd...

[Gk] Minces along, obviously in a good mood-

[Doc] Herobrine's are as varied as the seeds that generate them.

[Lie] took the vibrator out but is now a bit frustrated sexually and is heading outside to work on more plants for the Nether-

[Gk] Gallops a bit ahead and startles her intentionally-

[Lie] Yelps- GK!

[Gk] a bit too loud- Hey Lie! Have you seen Endrea? I'm supposed to help her babysit.

[Lie] - She and the kids moved to the back of the house where there's a bit more shade

[Gk] Okay! Goes trotting around the back of the house-

[Doc] walking up the path with the group- I swear helping Cp's dragon Endrea take care of her babies has taken 100 years of cynicisim off his shoulders

[Lie] - Perhaps, out for a walk Doc?- She starts putting down some Nether rack

[Alexsezia] We have guests Lie!

[Doc] This is Bloody Painter and Judge Angels, guys this is Cp's lovely wife Lilinthia. Lie for short. She's also a Herobrine.

[gem] -is flying just above the group- are you bringing the nether out of the nether lie?

[Lie] - Hello

[Judge] Steps uncomfortably close to Lie, scrutinizing her-

[Lie] - Er...

[Judge] - Innocent

[Doc] I guess that's accurate?

[Painter] - It means she has Judge's approval

[Doc] Ah. She's Cp's everything. His queen.

[Alexsezia] chuckles - The keeper of the little red cat.

[Judge] Backs off-

[Painter] - Well, at least we'll have something to report back about Herobrine and his mate...

[Doc] He's happy. Things aren't always perfect, but he's got a rather volatile personality, even without his Insanity, and a lot of pain inside that he has a hard time expressing.

[Painter] - No shit

[Alexsezia] At least he's not trying to randomly grief us all the time anymore.

[Lie] - That's true

[Doc] So why did he jet out again Lie? Painter and Judge came partially to check on him.

[Lie] - Oh, he's getting the food supplies Sam requested

[Doc] Almost time for the party huh?

[Lie] - I suppose so, TLOT just brought over my outfit for a final fitting

[Doc] Do you like it?

[Lie] - Yes, I do

[Doc] Okay, as long as you're happy Lie.

[Alexsezia] Ooooh! I want to see! I'll catch up with you guys.

[Lie] - But... But my plants...

[Alexsezia] You don't have to equipt it! I just want to see! Real quick.

[Painter] - Onto BEN?

[Lie] - Oh alright

[gem] yay to the house

[Doc] It's a ways away, would you like a ride?

[Judge] - A ride?

[Doc] Oh yes. I get creative with a lot more then just my patients.

[Painter] Frowns beneath his mask- How so?

[gem] -is flying above the group in the circles with her guardians-

[Doc] Takes a few steps back and does a little flourish with hir lab coat; uncurling into hir dragon shape. Xe shakes out hir mane and tail, luxuriating in being essencially naked in the sunshine.

[Painter] Stumbles backwards- What the!?

[Doc] I needed to be bigger, there's plenty of things that would like to get in here and wreck this sanctuary. Cp and I are the strongest brines on this seed.

[Judge] - Well we know our Herobrine is strong

[Doc] And adaptable. Happily, so am I. It came in super handy when he was still being randomly violent. - Xe lays hir head down - just climb on and I'll carry you-

[Painter] Helps Judge on before climbing on himself-

[Doc] Ready Gem? We probably shouldn't race this time so I don't lose my riders.

[gem] we are ready

[Doc] Prances up on the air blocks and runs along, xe skims over Lie's horse pen to give them a good view and snakes around the roots of the gigantic tree.

[Painter] - So many painting subjects...

[gem] -is following close her guardians right behind-

[Doc] Look down there, some of our imported wildlife.

-Some of the mammoths are happily grazing-

[Judge] - So big...

[BEN] Is waiting out front-

[gem] -lands near ben- hey ben

[Doc] Makes a point of running near Aqua's pen to see if they'll pop out-

[Aqua] Looks at them from beneath the water-

[BEN] - Hey

[Doc] Makes a spiral down to the ground and loafs in Gem's yard. - Hi BEN, brought some old friends to visit.

[BEN] - Oh joy

[Judge] - Well hello to you to

[Doc] Clucks hir tongue- Better a friendly visit than a fight. I've had enough nonsense lately.

[BEN] - Whatever, you two have seen me, now get lost

[Splender] Comes out from inside the house where he had been playing with Hyrule- BEN that's not nice

[gem] oh splenderman I didn't know you where over would you like a cookie I made sugar cookies resently

[Doc] Twitches hir tail a bit- I had one, Snake gave it to me. They're quite good.

[Splender] - Oh yes! Absolutely!

[gem] I know I gave one to snake because he wanted to go over to your castle I wanted to make sure you guys had some -goes inside and come out with a stack of sugar cookies- if anyone wants of do take some

[Doc] Leans over and flicks out hir tongue like an open hand - pwese?

[gem] -puts a cookie on hir tounge-

[Painter] - Well, I suppose this is good enough for now, Splender? Can you take us back?

[Splender] - Certainly, Doc? I'll be right back

[Doc] Slurps it up and munches happily- Thank you-

[Splender] Takes the two pasta's and creates an opening, shepherding them through-

[Doc] At BEN - Well that went smoothly.

[BEN] Slumps a little- I'm just glad they didn't find out about Hyrule...

[gem] why?

[BEN] - Because Judge would have my head if she found out I had achieved something they had been trying for for so long

[gem] that makes it ironic because you weren't trying

[Doc] Well if they want to have a baby, I mean they'll find out eventually. But I'll protect your family as well.

[BEN] - Thanks

4 notes · View notes

diet-lemonade · 6 years

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Google Analytics: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly Missing Link

Google Analytics is a staple for websites, but ol’ reliable just isn’t what she used to be.

Most – if not all – businesses depend on it on some regular basis to understand how their websites are doing. Is traffic up today? How many visitors are bouncing?

It’s popular, handy, filled with data, and free to use –but today’s websites require more insight than just what Google Analytics can muster.

As great as the platform is for businesses, it’s just not enough these days to really dive into what the customers are truly experiencing when they land on your website.

A Brief History of Google Analytics

First, it’s important to understand how Google Analytics came to be the analytic giant it is today.

Back in 1995, Jennifer Aniston rocked “The Rachel” haircut, Amazon sold its first book, cell phones were only used to make calls, and a company called Web Depot, a web consulting and hosting business in San Diego, was founded.

According to Attendly, a few years after it was founded, the company’s CEO and technical guru Paul Muret was developing the first version of Urchin, their analytics software when the classic “a-ha” moment struck.

As Paul explained to Attendly, “One of our large clients was struggling with the fact that it took 24 hours to process a single day’s worth of website tracking results. We tried out our new analytics tool, and it took 15 minutes to process the same data.”

“That’s when the light bulb went off – that Urchin was for real,” he added.

Urchin was a hit, to put it mildly. It quickly became the standard analytic software for thousands of websites.

Fast forward to 2004 and a trade show. Google representatives approached the Urchin team and before they knew it, an offer was on the table and negotiations were underway.

By 2005, the software – Urchin on Demand – was acquired by Google, and with that acquisition, Google Analytics was born.

Within its first week, Google Analytics saw 100,000 new accounts created and by its tenth anniversary in 2015 as many as 30 to 50 million websites used it. !

Let’s take a look at why.

The Good: What Google Analytics Will Do For You

Its history aside, Google Analytics is like the grand-daddy of analytics. It’s a true behemoth of information.

In many ways, diving into Google Analytics feels like Scrooge McDuck diving into his vault of money.

via GIPHY

There is just so much information! For example, with Google Analytics you can:

Create custom reports Integrate with other tools (such as Lucky Orange!) Show real-time traffic data Understand where your traffic came from Rank your pages by popularity Track campaigns Export to Excel

Not only is it powerful, but it’s all something that more people, especially those working within a digital marketing agency, should be learning how to use. Megalytic put it best:

“In a digital agency, web analytics is everyone’s job, whether they realize it or not. […] You need it for your own insight, but also to help clients to understand their data and how it applies to their businesses.”

How can Google Analytics in particular help agencies? Search Engine Land has a great list of seven reports every marketer should know:

Report

Why

Mobile Performance

Mobile matters and you know it. In the fourth quarter of 2017, 24% of all digital eCommerce dollars were spent via mobile devices. Understanding how a client’s site performs on the smaller mobile screen is crucial.

Traffic Acquisition

This report is likely your first step in creating reports. After all, you want to know if an SEO strategy or PPC campaign is working. Traffic Acquisition will give you a breakdown of your traffic sources and referring sources.

Content Efficiency

You’ll need to be a little more Google Analytic savvy to get this report set up, but it tracks entrances, pageviews, bounces, and goal completions. Click here to learn more from Avinash Kaushik, author of “Web Analytics 2.0.”

Keyword Analysis

Google has been encrypting search data since 2012, which accounts for about 80% of organic keyword data. However, a lot can still be gained by tracking unencrypted keywords.

New vs. Returning Visitors

You probably already know that generating traffic isn’t enough these days. New visitors are important, but it’s also necessary to see what percentage of visitors return to your client’s website. Returning visitors are bae.

Landing Pages

Use this report to see which pages your client’s visitors land on when they first visit the website. If the report shows higher bounce rates on certain web pages, use this information to make these web pages more engaging.

Bounce Rate vs. Exit Rate

Compare the bounce rate (the percentage of visitor who didn’t take action after viewing just one webpage) with the exit rate (the percentage of visitors who browsed 2+ pages on a website before leaving) to isolate UX problems or find pages with lower engagement.

Click here to read more from Search Engine Land.

Even if you don’t have a report to prepare for a client, you can still use Google Analytics to answer questions for yourself like:

How many people are visiting my website? Which websites are sending traffic to my website? What content/web pages do my visitors like the most?

Click here for a beginner’s guide to Google Analytics from Moz.

Now, it’s a shock to – well – no one that Google Analytics is an essential of websites of all shapes, sizes, and niches — but that doesn’t mean it should be the only tool in your digital toolbox.

The Bad: What Google Analytics Won’t Do For You

Google Analytics excels in telling you the beginning and end of a visitor’s journey, but the middle gets a little fuzzy.

Sure, it can tell you how many people visited your website, where they left, and even tell you which campaigns were the most successful.

That’s all useful information, but it doesn’t really explain why visitors do what they do.

Many people use Google Analytics to try to uncover this.

Yes, if one page has a high exit rate, it can be assumed that something is wrong with that page, but what? Once again, you may have isolated the problem page, but there’s still much work to be done.

Was it your call-to-action? Was it your not-so-“mobile-friendly” design? Did you just have a broken link? Were they looking for contact information?

The fact is that you cannot really know for an absolute certain if any of these issues were the ultimate cause of the higher exit rate using Google Analytics.

For example: Let’s say you live in this lovely little abode at 742 Evergreen Terrace in Springfield.

Credit: Andrew Delong

You’re hosting an open house and want to know what people are really doing while there.

So, you put a person at each door to count visitors. By doing this, like Google Analytics, you would know roughly how many people entered the door, how many traveled to a different room, how many went upstairs, etc. It could even tell you your most popular rooms.

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be able to tell you:

What made your rooms popular; Which room was accidentally locked and unable to be accessed; or If visitors avoided the living room because the rug had dog poop on it.

It cannot provide you much context or explanation for why visitors did what they did or specifically what they were doing.

Now, let’s say instead you used a tool like Lucky Orange.

Instead of just having a person at the doors counting visitors coming and going, you would now have security cameras in every room feeding real-time video directly to you.

You’ll see everything – where visitors touched, how many kept trying to open a closed door, and what areas of the living room were the most popular.

Furthermore, if you saw someone struggling to find something (say the bathroom), you would be able to chat with said visitor to know exactly what they were looking for and lead them directly to the right room before they left your house.

Okay, so the world of websites isn’t quite as homey as the Simpsons’ house. It does offer an excellent illustration of why Google Analytics isn’t enough.

For a website – whether your own or your client’s – you need to know more than just the numbers and charts.

It’s about so much more. We’ll talk more about that in a little bit.

The Ugly Missing Link

Look, I have nothing against Google Analytics. There’s a reason it’s a popular tool, but too many brands make the mistake of only using Google Analytics.

For one, it’s not really “free.”

IMPACT’s Iris Hearn broke down Google Analytics’ “freemium” service in an excellent article here. On the free side, Google Analytics is fine for small businesses that don’t want to pay a monthly charge.

However, those wanting more advanced features or the ability to do more should be prepared to pay up (and I mean pay up).

Google Analytics 360 will cost roughly $150,000 annually in licensing.

Ouch.

You get plenty of additional perks such as emergency 24/7 support and technology recommendations, but with a $150,000 price tag, it’s still a tough upsell to swallow.

In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sort of benefit to Google Analytics 360, though, is unsampled reporting.

Sampling is exactly what it sounds like – instead of providing a complete data set, the data is aggregated and delivered in a smaller, bite-sized nugget.

It’s not even unique to website analytics. If you’ve ever been called to take part in a research or political poll, you were among a sample size of participants.

For websites, the free version of Google Analytics reports a sample, or percentage of overall traffic, rather than all of the traffic. Let’s say your website had 5 million sessions during a select time period. Instead of showing you 100% of these sessions, Google Analytics shows you 400,000 sessions or 8% of the total.

In this Supermetrics article, Ruben Ugarte discussed one of the most obvious issues of this – you can end up jumping to conclusions.

Yes, sampling gave you the faster response, but you’re still missing 92% of the data needed to make an informed decision.

In a data-driven world, this accuracy matters.

So, that being said, What percentage of sampling is an accurate reflection of the complete dataset?

Sayf Sharif with Lunametrics argues that even 50% sampling may not be enough to get an accurate look at data.

“I once described the Google Analytics sample rate as akin to my personal confidence in the data. At 90% sample, I’m 90% confident that the data is close to correct. At 50%, I’m 50% confident. At 1% sample, I’m 1% confident.” Sayf wrote. “I don’t generally base opinions on things when I’m as close to a coin flip in regards to my confidence.”

There are workarounds, but it still doesn’t hide the elephant in the room.

IMPACT’s Kyle Bento asked if Google fails digital marketers and their audience. While it’s not directly related to Google Analytics, one portion, in particular, stood out to me:

“If your business is like IMPACT, however, your job isn’t just to gets clicks. Your job as a marketer is to drive business and you do this by answering the questions of your buyers.”

That’s where Google Analytics fails – it does not and cannot answer all of your buyer’s questions.

It can show you data that can help you guess what your buyers’ questions, but it leaves much open to interpretation.

As good and mighty as Google Analytics may be, it can’t do everything. No matter how hard you try, at some point, you have to go beyond the data.

Light at the End of the Analytic Tunnel

Google Analytics isn’t a necessary evil, but it’s not enough for your website. You need more than just data, especially sampled data.

Brian Massey with Conversion Sciences said it best in 2013:

“The ability to make decisions based on data is powerful. In five years, marketers will be prized for their insight, not their creativity.”

Now it’s time to not only ask what insight you need to grow your website but also how you will get said insight. If Google Analytics isn’t the answer, what is?

The light at the end of this analytic tunnel is simple – conversion optimization tools.

I know “conversion optimization” can seem exotic, expensive, and difficult to use, but really it is just tools such as visitor recordings, live chat, form analytics, and polls (to name a few).

These tools complement Google Analytics data in the best way possible. In many ways, it makes data come alive to answer the questions you have about your website and visitors.

Here are three ways conversion optimization tools, in particular, can make a difference with your website.

1. They Measure interactions

As I mentioned in the Simpson house illustration, Google Analytics really fails at detailing what someone does on your website.

You need to see it in action.

For example, a dynamic heat map can help show you where visitors are clicking. You can see where visitors are clicking in a drop-down or which elements are being ignored.

You can also segment the dynamic heat map to show just Facebook traffic or PPC traffic to isolate issues with your campaign or landing page:

As you adjust the “segments” to filter through your data, you can see traffic instantly populate to the filter. You may find that Facebook traffic tends to prefer to stick only above the fold while direct traffic is more likely to scroll to the bottom.

You can then follow up with visitor recordings to see what exactly is going on before and after they clicked on a specific call-to-action.

Pair this insight with a conversion funnel, and all of a sudden you have a new way to look at you or your clients’ visitors and how they are really interacting.

Since nothing is sampled, you get a full look at all interactions and understand where (and why) they left.

2. They Can Connect with Visitors

Google Analytics wouldn’t necessarily be able to tell you which visitor on your client’s website right now is struggling, but tools like Lucky Orange can.

For example, a check of the live visitor recordings would easily let you watch someone interacting right now on your website or on a client’s website.

You could then “ask to chat” to pop up a chat to stop visitors from leaving in real-time by leading them to the right product page or information.

You can also take it a step further by creating a poll that will engage visitors to give their opinion on visitor sentiment, find out what is driving them nuts, identify what visitors are really thinking, and even capture leads.

3. Get Unbiased Feedback

As much as we would like to think that Google Analytics data is absolute, it’s not. We’ve already talked about data sampling, but there’s one other aspect that can hurt websites – biased reporting of Google Analytics data.

Perhaps marketers or designers may misinterpret Google Analytics, other times, it may be that we skew data to meet our own bias expectations. Whatever the reason, ignoring performance issues can only hurt brands by preventing them from understanding what’s working and what’s not.

The answer lies in conversion optimization insight which can’t be manipulated or misinterpreted.

For example, take TaylorMade, one of the leading makers of golf products and accessories. Even though millions of people flock to TaylorMade.com on a monthly basis to get the latest products, tips, and golf news, TaylorMade’s design team struggled.

They were discovering issues too late and becoming reactive. After some deliberation, the team used Lucky Orange dynamic heat maps to see exactly where visitors were clicking on the website before and after designs were implemented.

Clicks don’t lie. Recordings can’t be twisted.

Whether or not changes were effective, dynamic heatmaps and recordings would quickly show what visitors are doing instead.

Maybe it’s not even your changes that went wrong. Was a form field error tripping them up? Maybe they don’t want to be contacted by phone?

Run form analytics to see if there’s something wrong with your forms that could be sending visitors away.

Added bonus: You don’t need to spend $150,000.

Warning: Shameless plug ahead.

If you want to pay $150,000 for Google Analytics 360, by all means, go for it, but there are cheaper methods that can show you more dynamic data – such as Lucky Orange – that start as low as $10 per month.

Not only is it more budget-friendly, but Lucky Orange also integrates with HubSpot. When integrated within HubSpot, recordings, dynamic heat maps, and chat logs are automatically loaded directly for each contact.

And, to put the cherry on top, we also have integrations with Adobe DTM, Magento, Shopify, Unbounce, and a host of other options.

The Bottom Line

Google Analytics belongs in your digital toolbox, but it shouldn’t be the sole tool used on your website or for your clients’ websites.

Conversion optimization insight from tools like Lucky Orange used in conjunction with data tools like Google Analytics can open new doors to improve conversions, impress clients, and make the digital world a better place for all.Featured Image Created Using Placeit.net