Tumgik
#i have another general ask about what i didn't like about book 3 and i'm definitely working on that – it'll just take a while
masonscig · 1 year
Note
Man. I won't say I'm disappointed with this book, but I think the series is a whole lot better when the focus is on things being done TO the mc vs random people suffering because x wants their blood
Like, book one was about Murphy going after the mc. Simple clear threat that fits the tone of the books. Sure some other people died but I don't think it hindered anything
i liked book 2 because it was just a genuine supernatural problem. The carnival guys who's name I can't remember rn were just having a simple conflict of interest with wayhaven. I'm not mad at the trappers coming in at the end but I think a simple low stakes ending where they sign the treaty or don't would have been just as fitting
But book 3 was absolutely not ready to actually handle the dark topics it wanted to devle into. The scope of the plot was way to wide and it still managed to feel slow. If it were up to me I would have just had the trappers going after addie with no connection to mc. It would be lower stakes than like. A dozen or whatever kidnappings and wouldn't have made the actual romance (you know the focus of the books?) Feel so out of place tone wise.
Sorry for rambling into your ask box lol I just have many thoughts about book 3 (like the fact that on steam it sits alphabetically between book 1 and 2 so my steam games list goes 1 3 2. That's going to bug me forever)
HI <3 before i respond, don't apologize for leaving a long ask in my inbox! i absolutely love getting asks and especially ones that open up discussions! <3 thank you for this !! answering below the cut
you're so right about the differences between books. it's so much better when it's contained – the story for this was just too big for her to get her hands around. and that's awesome that she was ambitious! the story quality just suffered a lot bc of it. dude i LOVE that it was just One Guy Versus Unit Bravo for a while, because it was just so much more focused and allowed for more romance to bloom – and a huge reason i liked falk so much is that, like you said, it was a conflict of interest. he's not evil – just from another world with another cultural standard for "judgment". in book 3, it's literally a human (or supernatural in this case) rights violation. these are children – being kidnapped and attempted to be sold. this isn't a story that should have any lighthearted plot beats in the slightest – unless they were organic, and none of them felt that way
it's funny (not funny haha, funny weird) you say that about addie, because i was having an in depth discussion with friends about how much better the plot would flow if less people had been kidnapped. even just the idea that there are supernatural youth existing in wayhaven and that it is in fact, not safe for anyone! human or supernatural!
this book is just lacking the emotional impact plot-wise that it should, in my opinion, because she tried to cram so much into one book. that doesn't mean any of the plot points are bad, per se, they just needed to be workshopped, edited down, saved for later books, cut out completely – whatever makes the series flow better! and that's not to say any of these ideas are bad ideas – it's just unrealistic to write literally every possible idea for twc! there's going to be a point where there's too much to call back to and it's going to affect the story if those things aren't mentioned again yk?
also STOP ITS OUT OF ORDER ON STEAM??? LMAOOOO the cherry on top to a shit sundae huh.
35 notes · View notes
littledovesnow · 5 months
Text
a growing family pt. 2
a/n: yay for part 2!! read part one here
word count: 1.8k
warnings: pregnancy, pretty canon-level violence and stuff i think. also i'm sorry in advance about this part <3
-----
"Now, Mr. Snow, you and your wife leave tomorrow for your District Tour." Lucky Flickerman spoke into microphone, eyes bouncing between Coriolanus and you.
Coriolanus nodded, not quite sure where this was going. He was briefed on the. main topics that Flickerman would go over during the interview and this was not one of them.
"Is there any worry about the twins? Congratulations, by the way! Twins! How lucky are you!"
You smiled, patting your husband's hand to signal that you would answer this question.
"Thank you, Lucky," you started, sweet smile on your face. "I've been in conversation with my medical team, and we've all come to an agreement that it's quite safe for me to travel with Coriolanus and the rest of his cabinet. I'm not due for another couple of months, anyway."
Coriolanus smiled at you, voicing his answer, as well. "We've also spoken to the OB/GYN, and she will be joining us on the latter half of the tour. We hope she can just enjoy the travel, not needed for any medical emergencies."
Lucky nodded, satisfied with that answer. "Now, Coriolanus, you've mentioned in some changes to the Hunger Games in the coming years. We've had questions coming in from watchers, but first, a few words from our generous sponsors."
The red light went off on top of the cameras, and you let the superficial smile fall from your face, hand going to rub your lower back.
"Your back still hurt, love?" Coriolanus asked, noticing your discomfort.
"I think our kids are going to be soccer professional, Coryo." You grumbled, one of the twins had been kicking mercilessly for a few weeks.
Coriolanus chuckled, removing your hand, using his palm to massage the area. "Well, you can tell them off when they're out here."
Lucky, who had been observing the couple from his spot on the seat across from them, wore a smile. "One thing that my wife asked I do when she was pregnant with Caesar was massage her back every night. Sometimes she still makes me do it."
You smiled at the TV host, humming. "Not a bad idea. Coryo, I think I know what your next job will be."
Coriolanus snorted, hand still massaging your back. "Anything for the mother of my children."
-----
The train car you were currently seated in was more luxurious than you remembered, seats having been upholstered from your last trip out of the Capitol.
You looked away from the mountain ranges decorating the horizon when the door opened, Coriolanus entering.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, coming to sit in the seat across from you, moving your feet from the seat to his lap.
Humming, you leant your head back as he began massaging them. "Better now. What was that meeting for? I thought you had travel days free."
Coriolanus pondered over how to answer, not wanting to tell you he had just had some rebels executed for a potential threat in Six. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with."
Opening an eye to look at him, you could read the man like an open book. "How many were there?"
There was a beat of silence before Coriolanus spoke up.
"Four. Would have been three but some things you can't avoid."
You didn't reply, simply wiggling your foot when Coriolanus' hands stopped massaging the arch of your foot.
He laughed, resuming the action as you two watched the mountain ranges and nature outside of the train.
-----
You yawned, staring at the ceiling of the Crane's hotel in District Three. It was nearing one in the morning, and you had gotten a sum total of about two and a half hours since you and Coriolanus crawled into the bed.
Moving as quietly as you could, you rose from the bed, waiting a beat to see if Coriolanus woke up.
His rather loud snore told you he was still off dreaming, something you were thankful for. He had a lot on his shoulders, and you didn't want to add onto the never-ending pile of worry and stress with the upcoming election.
Moving to the bathroom, you softly closed the door and looked at yourself in the mirror. The twins had been keeping you up at night more frequently, and your OB/GYN said it was just because while they were starting to get a regular sleep pattern, they couldn't tell day from night and often slept during the day.
When you opened the door, you frowned when you saw your husband sitting up in the bed, cheek still indented from the creases in the pillow.
"What are you doing up?" He asked, voice hoarse from sleep.
Rubbing one hand across your ever-growing bump, sleepily blinking at the man across from you. "Your children are wide awake, it seems."
Coriolanus smiled, patting the spot you had previously occupied. "Come here, I'll rub your back."
With the promise of that, you made your way back into the bed, stuffing one of the many pillows on the bed between your knees.
"Oh, well hello, little one."
You looked at where Coriolanus was staring at your bump, tiny foot barely visible. "Oh that's the most disturbing thing I think I've ever seen."
"Don't say that!" Coriolanus chided, though there was a smile on his face. "That's your child in there!"
"Coryo, you shouldn't be able to see their hands from outside!" You laughed, even though your OB/GYN said it was very possible to start to see little hands and feet as there became less and less free space.
Coriolanus pressed a kiss to your hairline, rubbing the place where the foot was. "Hi, babies. Please let your mother sleep, she needs to help me win over the hearts of Panem."
Rolling your eyes, you moved Coriolanus' hand to your back, letting your head fall back against a pillow. "Rub my back."
"Yes dear."
-----
Hand clasped tightly in Coriolanus' you two followed the Peacekeepers to the barracks to meet with the district's mayor and Commanding Peacekeeper.
You two had won the hearts over a majority of each District you've visited, but as you two traveled farther from the Capitol, you knew it would be more difficult and the chance of threats and rebels increased.
The number of Peacekeepers surrounding you two had grown within each stop, Coriolanus wanting to make sure nothing happened to his wife and mother of his children, his heirs.
"Mr. and Mrs. Snow, we're very pleased you two could be here!" The mayor smiled, shaking both of your hands.
You returned the sentiment, eyes locked on the plush-looking chair behind him. "Is it alright if I sit? My feet are killing me."
The mayor, who seemed to have just realized how large your bump had grown, nodded quickly, gesturing to the chair you had pointed to.
Coriolanus stood behind you, one hand smoothing your hair as he and the mayor discussed the afternoon's speeches and tour around the main hub.
"Will you be joining us, Mrs. Snow?"
"No, she's been feeling a little more tired." Coriolanus replied before you could speak up.
The mayor frowned, seemingly disappointed.
"Is there a problem?" You asked, feeling Coriolanus' hand still at the nape of your neck.
"Well, the children here have been so excited to meet you, but I'm sure seeing Mr. Snow will be just as fine."
Coriolanus knew you had a soft spot for children, how they still saw the best in everything. "Love, you barely slept last night. It's safer if you rest."
"Coryo, it won't be too long. And besides, we have a couple travel days I can catch up on sleep."
You ignored your husband's deep frown, instead smiling at the mayor. "We can't possibly let the kids down, can we?"
The mayor clapped happily, rising from his seat. "Well then, shall we go?"
You stood from the chair with some help from your husband, who placed a hand on your lower back, unable to keep his hands off of you.
"You're a spoiled brat, you know that?" He whispered, lips brushing the shell of your ear.
"And you love me for it." You replied, sharp smile on your face.
-----
Coriolanus watched as you followed a few of the schoolchildren around the classroom, letting them explain the backgrounds of their various posters and projects.
"She's going to be a wonderful mother." The mayor spoke, standing next to Coriolanus.
He nodded, watching you kneel down to listen more to a rather small girl, your eyes focused on her entirely. "She already is."
"Mr. Snow, Mayor, we're going to be late if we don't head for the town square now."
Nodding, Coriolanus walked over to your side, kneeling down next to you and the young girl. "Hi, love. Mind introducing me to your friend?"
You looked at your husband, and then at the young girl. "Coryo, meet Clementine. Her friends call her Clemmie."
Coriolanus saw the twinkle in your eye as you looked back at the girl. "It's lovely to meet you, Clemmie. You know, Mrs. Snow and I have a friend named Clemmie."
"Really?" Little Clementine asked, eyes wide.
Nodding, Coriolanus helped you stand up straight. "We do, but don't worry, we can have two Clemmies. Now, I do have to steal Mrs. Snow now, we have to go to town square."
Clementine pouted, but nodded. "It was nice to meet you!"
"You, too, Clemmie! Good luck with your new brother!" You smiled, squeezing Coriolanus' hand as the two of you followed some Peacekeepers out of the school and down to the town square and stage.
You've only seen the stage on television for the Reaping Ceremonies, it looked larger on screen. "She was so sweet, Coryo. She was telling me how her mother looked like me and now she has a little brother."
Coriolanus smiled, thumb rubbing your hand. "That's very sweet. I'm sure you made her ent-"
A loud explosion cut Coriolanus off, Peacekeepers immediately springing into action, separating the two of you to get you both to safety.
There were a few more explosions around the stage, sending debris and dirt in the air.
"Coryo!" You called, trying to wriggle out of the Peacekeepers' grip and find your husband.
You coughed as you inhaled smoke, eyes wide to spot Coriolanus. "Let me go! I need to find Coriolanus!"
"Ma'am, you need to come with us! We have orders to bring both you and Mr. Snow to a safe room, please cooperate."
You had a disdain for the Peacekeeper who spoke to you rather harshly, feeling his hands tighten their grip on your bicep.
Stumbling a few times, you had finally made it to the small bunker, heart hammering when you saw Coriolanus and the mayor already in there, dirt on both of their faces and clothing.
"Love," Coriolanus sighed in relief, though it was short-lived as he ran his eyes over your body. "Love, you're bleeding."
-----
a/n: oh how i love a good cliff-hanger
2K notes · View notes
talaok · 7 months
Text
A new lesson
Pairing: step-dad!Joel miller x step-daughter!reader
Summary: Your step-dad generously offers to give you another lesson. (this is part of a series but can be read alone)
Warnings: step-incest, manipulation, straight-out lying, hence dub-con, Perv!Joel, predatory behavior, very very naive and innocent reader |Smut| oral sex ( m receiving), face-fucking, dacryphilia, and daddy-kink. And please for the love of god read the warnings and just scroll if you don’t like what you see.
a/n: @thesummerpetrichor I believe we had an agreement…
Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3
Tumblr media
He'd been obsessively looking at those photos he'd taken of you yesterday every time he could.
It didn't matter if he was at work, or if his wife was right next to him, he needed to take a look at that pretty pussy of yours or he felt like he was gonna go crazy.
He'd always known that once he got a taste of it, it would never be enough, and yesterday just proved him right.
He was so lost in the picture on his screen that your mom's voice startled him.
"what have you been doing on there for 20 minutes?"
Shit
"nothing" he shrugged, quickly switching apps "Just work stuff"
"you sure?" she raised a brow, smiling "There's not another woman I should be worried about?" she joked
Only your daughter
"never" he forced a grin, leaning closer to her on the couch to kiss her.
"good" she nodded, patting his thigh "I'll go shower more serenely then"
He watched as she stood from the couch, and waited until he heard the water running before he quickly made his way to the only place he'd been wanting to go since he came home: your room.
His dick was already hard, so what better time for another lesson?
"Oh, hi daddy" you smiled at him as he closed the door behind him, noticing how he locked it.
You were sitting on your pink bed, resting your back against the headboard while you read a book. A big t-shirt draped over your body and some soft pajama shorts underneath it.
"hi sweetheart" he smirked
"do you need something?"
"no baby, but it's time for another lesson"
He watched you frown in confusion
"but mom's home... and you said you couldn't help me when mom was home"
"I know what I said" he nodded annoyed at your sudden need to ask questions "but I was feeling generous and I wanted to help you now." he explained "If you don't want my help anymore you can just say s-"
And just as he'd predicted, you interrupted him before he could even finish that sentence.
"No, of course I want your help daddy"
"good" he nodded "then come here"
You obliged immediately, setting your book to the side on the bed and standing up to walk over to him.
"take off your shirt" he said once you were right before him.
You did as told, observing his eyes fall to your naked tits, just for his hands to reach them, feeling them as his thumbs played with your perked nipples.
"you've got pretty tits sweetheart"
"t-thank you" you blushed, your eyes falling to where he was touching you.
"Today is gonna be different from last time" he explained softly 
"ok" you murmured
Oh how he loved how small your voice got every time
"get on your knees"
Once again, you obeyed.
He looked even bigger from down there, and you felt even smaller.
"now undo my belt and lower my pants"
You swallowed nervously, looking up at him
"go on" he urged
So you did. You took care of his belt, then of his zipper, and then as he said, you lowered his jeans, and they fell, pooling at his feet.
What was now in front of you, was the perfectly clear shape of his dick, hidden only by a pair of thin black boxers.
"take them off"
your fingers seeped through the waistband, and slowly, you took them off for him.
You still hadn't gotten used to it. He was just so big,
how did all of that even fit inside of me?
no wonder I'm sore.
"w-what do I do?" you asked, looking up at him with those innocent eyes of yours.
"spit on your hand, and then just like last time, wrap it around my cock"
You hesitated a moment, before bringing your hand to your lips and summoning some spit from your dry mouth.
You were so nervous your hand was almost shaking as it wrapped around him, and it might have had something to do with his expecting eyes looking down on you.
Your thumb didn't even reach the rest of your fingers, that's how fucking thick he was.
"up and down, like last time" he instructed, clearly getting impatient.
"l-like this?" you asked, gently stroking him.
"just like that baby" he breathed, his hips pushing forward a bit "Now use your mouth"
You tried to swallow some of the sand in your mouth, but all you could think of was how fucking huge he was and how he was never ever gonna fit, and how he was gonna be disappointed of you and-
"We don't have all day sweetie" he murmured 
"I-I'm sorry daddy, it's just that... I- I don't know if it's gonna fit"
He stifled a smile as he answered
"we're gonna make it fit sugar, don't you worry your pretty little head about it" he cooed, seeing some of the concern melt from your eyes "Now be good and suck my cock"
You nodded obediently, and just as he'd taught you last time, you widened your mouth and took him in, or better, you took his tip in.
"you can do better than that" he tilted his head, "go deeper"
So you did, you forced him more and more into your mouth until it was halfway in.
Your hands on his thighs balled into fists, and your face started to redden.
"breathe through your nose" he instructed, watching you do it "and hollow your cheeks for me, baby"
You did as told, and a loud breath fled his mouth.
"good girl" he whispered, making that weird feeling in your belly rise all over again.
"now- just like you did with your hand, go up and down"
Your mouth felt already incredibly full, but somehow, as you started bobbing your head, more and more of him started fitting inside of it.
"that's it" he groaned, his right hand moving some hair out of your face and fisting them in a makeshift bun at the back of your head.
You internally smiled at that, and you got so focused on trying to do even better that your eyes fell down to his groin.
"No look at me" he corrected you, using his leverage on your head to pull it back so your eyes were on his again "You look at me when you're sucking my cock"
You blinked in surprise, but before you could say anything he'd told you to "go on" and so of course, you did.
Up and down 
up and down
always fitting a tad more
"fuck" he murmured, trying to remind himself that he couldn't show you just how good you were making him feel, but fuck but that was a whole lot
Either he was an amazing teacher, or you were a natural. 
"A-am I doing good?" you asked, leaning away, while you tried to catch your breath.
"yeah baby" he breathed, seeing that need for reassurance in your iris
"really?" your eyes lighted up, as a huge smile spread on your lips
"yeah" he cut it short "but sweetie... less talking and more sucking"
"o-oh, right" You let out a soft laugh, slowly taking him back in, but before you could get back to your old rhythm, his hand at the back of your head, had pushed his cock all the way down your throat, making you gag and cough like a maniac.
Your eyes watered, and tears started flowing from your eyes as you looked up at him, confused and a little scared
But all you could see in his eyes was fun.
You looked so pretty choking on his cock...
"it's ok" he murmured, gripping your hair to guide your head up and down like he wanted, "just-" he forced you to gag on him again.
You looked up at him pleadingly as your hands tried to reach where he was holding your hair to try and get him to let go of you without succeding.
"fuck, that's good" he groaned, finally letting you go
You broke into a coughing fit, trying to get your lungs to work normally again, but he didn't even budge, actually, he was sadistically enjoying it.
"wh-why did you do that daddy?" you whimpered, sniffling
"oh baby" he murmured, "If you want Chad to make love to you you're gonna have to learn how to do that" he explained, stroking your wet cheek " Plus, I did it to prepare you for what we're gonna do next"
Your eyes widened slightly
"w-what are we gonna do?"
A grin pulled at his lips
"Now, darlin'," he spoke, "I'm gonna fuck that pretty throat of yours"
"Wha- I"
"shh" he shushed you, placing his thumb on your lips "it's ok" he calmed you down "Relax baby, I'm here, I'm only trying to help you"
"I know but-"
"But what?" he asked, frowning as he looked down at you.
"nothing" you immediately took it back.
"that's right" he nodded "Now open your mouth and stick your tongue out f'me"
And the moment you did... the moment you did, he realized he wasn't gonna last long
"You gotta stay like that ok, you don't wanna hurt daddy, do you?"
"uh-uh" you shook your head, your mouth still open 
"such a good girl" he smiled, before gently, (a gentleness that was gonna be forgotten in seconds) he placed a hand on the back of your head, and trusted his hips forward, making you gag softly.
"shit" he breathed, and then, as if he got possessed, he started going faster, and then faster, and then faster again until rivers were flowing from your eyes and the room filled with the filthy noise of your abused thoat.
"f-fuck" he groaned, forcing your head all the way down so that your nose was almost touching his crotch "Look at you... so fucking pretty like this"
You only had the time to remind yourself to breathe through your nose, and then he was already starting to push in and out of your mouth just like he'd done last time but down there.
You enjoyed seeing him breathe heavily and groan in pleasure because of you, so much so that your panties were drenched... but god it was hard to do as he asked.
"choking on my cock like a good little girl" he hissed, his hold on your head only tightening and his thrusts only fastening "Being so good f'me" he groaned "Always so good"
Your jaw was starting to hurt too much, and you just needed a little break, but the moment you tried to speak he stopped you.
"not now" he spoke, his voice hoarse and filled with pleasure "I'm about to cum baby" he explained, "you know what that means?"
You shook your head, eyes wider than ever.
"it means I'm gonna cum in your mouth" he breathed "and you're gonna swallow every single drop of what I give you," 
His chest was heaving, and you didn't think you'd ever seen him that blissed out
"but not until I say so, ok?"
"mh-mh" you hummed around his cock
"attagirl" he bit down his lower lips, trying to keep his grunts and groans down as much as he could "such a good, fucking, girl- fuck"
And looking down at you, ruined completely for him, he couldn't help but let go, filling your mouth up, until you were choking on the liquid and his cock combined.
He pulled out, his dick softening and his breathing calming down.
"show me" he ordered,
You widened your mouth even more and showed off its contents to him 
His hand grubbed your chin, tilting your head up more to him, as his fingers kept your mouth open.
His eyes were fully dark with lust as he grinned, stroking your bottom lip.
"Now swallow"
Your eyes never left his as you ingested his salty spent, and the moment you did, his dick threatened to harden again.
Fuck, he should have taken a picture
"good girl, now c'mere" he gestured, inviting you to stand up, which you gladly agreed to
Your knees were killing you.
He tucked himself back into his boxers and put on his pants again, while you stumbled to your feet.
"H-how did I do?" you asked, as he busied his thumb by caressing your pretty lips.
They were all puffy, just like his eyes, and the pleasure he got knowing that he was the reason for it, was unimaginable.
"you did good" he said, making you smile "But not that good" he cooed, lying through his teeth. he honestly didn't think he'd ever come that hard from just a blowjob, " If you want Chad to want to do this, you're gonna have to get better at it"
"o-oh"
"yeah" he winced, faux empathy tracing his tone "you really need some practice" he explained "so I think it's best if we do this once a day at least"
Your eyes widened in surprise
"Once a day?"
"at least" 
"y-you'd do that for me?"
"Of course baby" he smiled, before leaving a quick kiss on your lips "what kind of step dad would i be if i didn't help you?"
And at that, you couldn't help but hug him, intertwining your hands behind his neck.
"How are you feeling?" he murmured to your ear, kissing you neck, and forcing a whimper out of your mouth.
"M-my throat's a little sore"
He smirked, softly chuckling "That's normal sweetie, but what I meant was..." he explained, his right hand traveling lower on your body until he was cupping your clothed pussy "how are you feeling here?"
You moaned softly "I-I feel tingly, like last time"
"mhh, that's good" he hummed, inhaling your scent "that's real good sugar, but we don't have time for me to take care of you, so here's what we're gonna do" he said, leaning away, until you were eye to eye "I want you to take one of your pillows and hump it for me"
"h-hump it?"
"yeah sweetheart, hump it until come"
"I-I-"
"it's ok" he stroked your cheek "It's just me"
"Y-you right" You nodded
"that's my girl" he kissed you "and while you hump it real good, I want you to film yourself, and then send it to me ok?"
"why?" you frowned, a little bit confused
Again with the questions
"Because I need to know if you did it right"
Your mouth parted at that, as the realization hit you
He was just too nice
"of course" you smiled "thank you so much daddy"
1K notes · View notes
lazycats-stuff · 4 months
Note
Hello, hope you're having a good day/night
I was wondering if I could request Bruce x Bat Dad (and some bat fam)
What if reader knew about the darker things in the world like demons and horrors unimaginable from the time he was small and that's why he doesn't talk about things like growing up or his family.
What if reader gets captured by a cult that torture him in order to force reader to translate strange eldritch books and artifacts.
You can choose how long it takes for Bruce to find reader
(What if Bruce and the batfam find out that reader has been hunting and investigating the supernatural like a small base of operations that looks more like a library with hidden weapons)
Hi, I hope you have a good day or night too. Of course you can request. Hehe. Lets go. Also, I'm sorry for taking so long... I hope you like it! And yes, the ending may be rushed, but it's not that bad.
Summary: (Y/N) gets taken for his knowledge.
Warnings: cult, fight, implications of torture... Nothing is really direct per say.
Tumblr media
(Y/N) sighed as he closed his old leather book. He wished he didn't have this knowledge, this... (Y/N) swallowed as he put his book back and left the room, closing the fake bookcase. He rubbed his face as he was tired from this life. He wished he didn't have this knowledge. He knows the things that would turn the world upside down.
He met with hell's worst demons and he saw some of the other unspeakable horrors. (Y/N) never had a good life. He grew up in a satanic cult, the one who was genuinely believing that Satan is coming and that they are going to be his loyal servants.
He was apparently marked by Satan when he was born, but then again, when you are in a cult, you believe what they tell you. (Y/N) escaped when he was 16 years old, running like the devil himself was chasing him. (Y/N) came to Gotham with only clothes on his back.
Soon he met a nice guy who helped him. (Y/N) is smart and intelligent and he managed to start high school. He graduated after 3 years and went on to study history and religion at college. He was always interested in those things and soon enough, he found himself working in a museum.
It was a nice change of pace for once. Learning about old things and older religions and he liked it when he could teach someone something new. Of course, he was vigilant of new people and people in general. He was careful when meeting someone new, hoping that the cult didn't go after him. He could only hope so.
Dating after being in a cult it's difficult. Always suspicious of any one coming into his life romantically. Men or women, being suspicious from the get go was a certified way to see if someone was from the cult. It was also one of the fastest ways to get your relationship destroyed.
Then Bruce Wayne came into his life.
It was a coincidence. Bruce saw an interesting exhibition and decided to treat Damian to a little treat. (Y/N) was making his way through the museum, just enjoying his day and making sure every visitor was taken care of. He saw Bruce and Damian, looking in confusion.
(Y/N) walked over and asked if everything was okay and the rest was history. He lead the two through the museum, enjoying the fact that Damian knew a lot about history and it was actually fun to debate a child who knew something over a fact.
Bruce was quiet, enjoying the tour and well... Love at first sight for Bruce. He was chatting with (Y/N) and saw how guarded he was. Sure, everyone is guarded around strangers, but this is a whole another level of being guarded.
Bruce was rather intrigued, but he didn't want to push any boundaries. So he left (Y/N) his number, saying no pressure to say yes, but do call.
To say (Y/N) was a nervous wreck is an understatement. What the hell was Bruce Wayne doing with him? Was he just looking for a one night stand? Or was just flirting to keep with the playboy persona? He came home and stared at the card for 10 minutes, thinking about it.
Should he?
Should he not?
You know what? He's not made from glass. He will go for it and whatever happens, happens. He texted Bruce, he wasn't really brave enough to call. He really wasn't.
He jumped when he saw that Bruce responded.
To cut a very long story short, Bruce and (Y/N) are together to this day. The date went very well and (Y/N) was happy for the first time. He has never been happier. Together with a man who loves him and the kids who love him.
(Y/N) may love the kids more than Bruce, but Bruce won't complain. Anyone who accepted his kids, he was more than happy and if that person loved the kids more than Bruce...
Of course, in platonic way.
But there was something that bothered the family, well, not bothered, but it was interesting to them. It was (Y/N)'s past. It was something he hid and refused to talk about. He would get closed off and cold and soon enough they learnt to not ask about it.
Of course, in a family full of detectives, they wanted to investigate, but they knew that they shouldn't have because it was an invasion of privacy. So, they have decided to leave (Y/N)'s past alone.
Also, one thing that they loved about (Y/N) was the fact that he was teaching them history, something they all loved. Jason was a fan of Egypt and Sumerians. Dick loved European history, more so medieval times. Tim loved the Enigma and the making of a first computer?
And Damian? World War Two and Arabic history.
Alfred loved (Y/N) too and he would love nothing more for Bruce to marry that man. God knows that this household needs another emotionally stable person. Somewhat...
Alfred was not the one to complain.
He saw how (Y/N) and Bruce complimented one another and Bruce gave (Y/N) a push to write his book about history of religion. (Y/N) has always wanted to write that and Bruce gave him a push he needed. But not financially.
(Y/N) said he would do it all on his own. Bruce had no problem with that statement. He agreed to not pull connections with anyone or any publishing house. But he wasn't against getting (Y/N) his materials. He had no problem delivering the materials right to his door or at his work.
(Y/N) knew that Bruce was Batman so he knew that Bruce was in front of his apartment or in his office. (Y/N) enjoyed and was happy to see them.
(Y/N) entered his apartment and went to the kitchen. He was completely oblivious to the fact that there was a dark figure in his living room. (Y/N) took a sip of the water before he heard a creak on the floor board. He acted like it was nothing before throwing the glass in the direction on the sound. He hit the figure and (Y/N) grabbed a knife.
(Y/N) watched as the figure doubled down in pain, before recovering. The figure has stepped into the light and (Y/N) recognized the face.
" You motherfucker... " (Y/N) said as he gripped the handle of the knife tighter.
" That's no way to talk to your leader. " The deep male voice said and (Y/N) sized him up.
Maybe he can make it out. But the leader is strong and full of muscles. He has to evade him. Somehow.
That plan went down to shit when he saw two more figures. Sure, the leader needs to have protection. (Y/N) glanced between the trio. Someone is going to attack first.
Which one is the question.
(Y/N) ducked a punch and tried to stab the incoming one, but he was hurled over the couch, taking it with him. (Y/N) grunted as he hit the floor and he stood up after a few moments. He didn't have his knife with him.
Shit.
He nearly died when there was a fourth figure picking him up, before throwing him into his glass coffee table. (Y/N) grunted as he hit his head. He hissed as he tried to get up, but a kick to his face sent him flying back and he was dazed.
" I'm not coming with you. " (Y/N) said as he wiped the blood from his face.
" Oh you are. We know you can translate the demon transcriptions. And we need those translations. " The leader said and (Y/N) glared at them.
He won't go out without a fight.
" You are outnumbered. There is no way out. " The leader said and (Y/N) glanced at the other two. They were blocking the exit. They only way is to fight out or at least try.
But there was no weapon in sight. So he was screwed. Kicking and punching his way out can only take him so far.
But he had to try.
So he did just that. He tried to fight, but he was punched in the jaw quickly that he was nearly knocked. He fell down, hitting his head hard once more.
His vision was swimming and he couldn't see who was where anymore. His only hope now was Bruce. He knew Bruce would drop by later in the night and that he would find him. Bruce would never stop looking for him.
The kiddos too...
His jaw got punched once more and he blacked out. Now the cult had him where they wanted him. They could do what they pleased.
And if that meant torture... Well, then so be it.
Two fucking months. Bruce was losing his mind as he was looking for his boyfriend. He was horrified when he learnt of (Y/N)'s past, who wouldn't be terrified? Learning and growing up in a cult?
Bruce remembers the first time he entered the apartment and he will always wonder about a lot of things. More so that (Y/N) is somewhat normal.
Bruce was shocked that (Y/N) turned out normal. The trauma he must have went through... He was even more shocked when they found out the secret library in his apartment... Bruce had to call John Constantine to see what the hell was happening here.
John knew exactly what this was. (Y/N) was a hunter who hunted demons and banished them back to hell. Bruce was officially in the dark now. His beloved, his significant other was a hunter? Who went after demons?
Bruce didn't know how the hell he was going to explain this to his kids. How can you explain something like this? Bruce analyzed every part of the apartment, trying to figure out what happened.
He saw that (Y/N) had a knife, but was threw around the room. Then he was put through his glass coffee table. Bruce sighed quietly as John looked through the books.
" This is an amazing collection. " John commented as he looked through the books and the weapons.
" Is that really important right now? " Bruce snapped at the man and John just shrugged his shoulders.
" I guess not, but I know people who would kill for this collection. Bruce, he has knowledge of the single handedly one of the most ancient languages in the world. I can only count people on one hand that know this language. " John explained.
Bruce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
" I think I know why they kidnapped your partner. " John said as he picked up a book. Bruce raised his brow in question.
" The cult that took him wanted some translations it seems. " John said as he opened and old, leather bound book, more interested in the book at the moment.
" That's not good. I'm assuming he will resist... They are going to torture him. " Bruce said solemnly, eyes darting around the apartment.
" We will put the bookshelf the way it was. Maybe they were after the books and weapons. " Bruce said and John sighed as he put the book where he found it and then did what Bruce asked from him.
From that day, two months passed. Bruce and everyone else worked tirelessly to find their favorite person. Bruce his boyfriend, soon to be a fiancé, the boys their second dad, one that is more emotionally open and Alfred needed one person who is going to be somewhat normal.
Bruce nearly jumped out of his skin when he got a location. They boys and him piled into the batmobile and drove as fast as the car allowed it.
To say that they had to fight their way in was an understatement. Alfred was anxiously waiting in the cave.
Bruce nearly died when he saw (Y/N). Bloodied, bruised... Bruce didn't want to know the specifics. He picked his beloved up and moved to the car and he made sure to call the SWAT team from GCPD, alongside a few more organizations.
The cult deserves it, okay? Was he over reacting? Maybe.
But that didn't matter now. What mattered is the fact that (Y/N) is taken care of and is alive and well.
To say he drove like a madman... Would be the biggest understatement of the century. Once they came, they rushed their favorite person to Alfred.
Time was of the essence.
Bruce waited for his boys to finish talking to their second dad. (Y/N) had awoken and although still weak, he still talked to his sons. After 20 minutes, Bruce ushered them out, making them all protest a bit, but in the end they knew that they need to go.
Jason hugged his dad, very carefully and left. Dick kissed his dad's cheek and Tim squeezed his hand. Damian hugged his second dad before leaving and the two partners are soon left alone.
" I'm sorry for not telling you the truth... But it was too difficult. " (Y/N) said and Bruce kissed his cheek softly.
" Don't apologize. I understand that. "
" I'm assuming you found my base? " (Y/N) asked and Bruce nodded.
" John said you have a collection people would kill for... This is such shit timing, but would you like to move in? " Bruce said and (Y/N) snorted, but stopped because of his ribs.
" Yes, I would love nothing more. "
Bruce kissed (Y/N)'s cheek again. " Good. I'll leave you to rest. "
" Can you stay with me? "
Bruce smiled and nodded, changing into his PJs before gently laying down next to (Y/N), wrapping him into blankets and the two quickly feel asleep.
The two were finally reunited.
484 notes · View notes
deathbxnny · 9 days
Note
hello, aventurine blade and jing yuan with a teen reader thats like lynette from gi? (please do include lynette‘s backstory as well) :3
Hello there, Anon!! Thank you for the request, and I hope you'll like it!<33
Content: Platonic relationships, vague non-descriptive mentions of past child abuse/kidnapping, reader is a young teen, characters are older brother/father figures, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff, sfw
Reader has no set pronouns!!
((Not proofread))
Tumblr media
》AVENTURINE
Tumblr media Tumblr media
You and Aventurine found a lot of similarities in eachothers pasts, mainly because you knew how it felt like to suffer at the hands of greedy nobles. He saw a younger him in you, which made him initially, therefore, take you in when you first arrived in the IPC. You were quiet and extremely reserved at the beginning, which he respected in his own slightly teasing way.
He knew his patience eventually paid off when you'd ask him to join you for some tea, where you'd open up about your favorite books or interests. He'd calmly listen to you whilst enjoying that rare moment of relaxation you gave him.
He definitely also teaches you card tricks once he finds out about your little magician's assistant gig you had going on. Aventurine finds a sense of pride in watching you master new skills taught by him, as he silently wonders if all he does for you is enough to set you on the path of having a good life one day. Even if it is one without him around to guide you anymore.
Tumblr media
》JING YUAN
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Jing Yuan doesn't pry about your past more than what was necessary. You were brought to him after you killed the noble that had abused you, and at the sight of your rather young age, he decided that taking you in was a good idea. He didn't mind how cold and reserved you were to him, he was a patient man and had all the time in the world for you.
He eventually began inviting you for tea, where you'd play chess together and speak about topics he slowly found out you were perhaps into. Jing Yuan also definitely made you hang out with Yanqing as well, figuring that having someone of your age around would be helpful. And despite both of you being annoyed by it at first, you two grew to be a very strong team together.
The general makes sure you know that you can always rely on him if your past haunts you. He's not going anywhere and neither are you.
(He definitely also pats your head often, unable to hide his secret cuteness aggression from how adorable your cat ears and tail was. He finds your deadpans funny.)
Tumblr media
》BLADE
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Blade didn't care about where you were from or what made you end up joining the Stellaron hunters in the first place. You were uninteresting, just another kid with a dark past... until you were assigned to work for him, and he therefore became somewhat of your caretaker. Neither of you was thrilled, but you learned to move on and deal with it slowly. Your past was only brought up once, and despite being seemingly indifferent to it, Blade was somewhat impressed by how you were still able to be so calm and collected after all of it. It made him somewhat... easier on you.
As time went on, both of you grew closer as mentor and student in a way, both of you knowing that you can rely on the other when things got bad. He kept your back clear, and you kept his clear. That was the silent deal you struck. Blade definitely trained you to become a master assassin as well, figuring that you'd need it if you wanted to survive in this world. He didn't care if he had to be a bit sterner or even colder, but he knew you'd thank him one day.
Eventually, life would make you part ways one way or another. Whether it was through him finally being relieved of his cursed burdens or you moving on from him as a mentor, he knew it would come to an end. But until then, he figured your company wasn't too bad, as he simply decided to keep being your teacher until fate said otherwise.
Tumblr media
Alrighttt!! I'm sorry this took so long, but as everyone knows, life sucks. Anyhow, I hope this was okay, Anon, and thank you again for the request!!<33
219 notes · View notes
crystcrm · 1 year
Note
i share ur struggle.. i ACHE for gepard or welt content so hopefully i could request for something like that? im js gonna throw a bunch of ideas and you can choose whichever
relationship hcs (what he’d be like, how does he show his love etc)
sleeping together (take this whichever way you want)
cooking together in the kitchen (im a whore for this stuff idk why😭)
bedroom hcs (kinks, fav positions, literally anything i need it so bad)
KISSING IN THE SNOW W GEPARD😞
anon i hope you know this ask gave me like 5000 braincells. like suddenly i am THINKING. it's so insane how one little ask full of random blurbs gave me so much life to write even just the smallest things.
literally welt and gepard are my two faves rn, i'm fr just waiting for jing yuan to come out. jing yuan my beloved <3<3
but anyway, as for this little ask, i think we'll ease into the hsr content with some fluff ( i am all due for it anyway, i have Not been writing and i also need the fluff because my god does life hit hard ) so sit tight >:)
Tumblr media
love and cherishing you ♡ ;; various x gn!reader headcanons
content;- sfw , fluff , headcanons list , how some hsr boys show their love for you ♡♡ , overall just really fluffy because i need toothrotting stomach ache inducing head swirling sweet fluff sometimes... , nothing about getting together but just general hcs on what they'd be like in a relationship , reader is nooooot...? the trailblazer but could possibly be interpreted as such if you squint
characters inc:- welt yang , gepard landau ( includes post-belobog arc content, not extremely spoilery but take note that i chose after the jarillo-vi conclusion to open up more opportunities >:3 )
Tumblr media
together with welt yang . . .
welt has lived life longer than perhaps anyone on the express, being from another world and used to living as the first ( second generation ) herrscher of reason, a herrscher that sided with humanity. he didn't expect to get sucked into another adventure, one where he'll meet many companions, see unbelievable sights or even... fall in love.
he's an old soul, yet his heart still has a grand passion for what he does. the fire within him burns, and perhaps, you stoke the flames. a motivation unlike any other to show you the wonders of the galaxy— of every world.
his love is not the most openly shown, an old man can be embarrassed sometimes. especially in the face of his family of the astral express. his affections for you are for you two only. his touches, his words, the little things that make sparks fly are all special and meant for your ears and eyes only. be it in the privacy of his room, or late nights when everyone else is fast asleep, he'll always find a way to make his love for you known when nobody else is looking.
time together with you is always time well spent. he enjoys it perhaps just a little more than going on adventures with everyone. you could be doing anything, and he wouldn't mind simply sitting in silence together with you. it's comforting, relaxing. it's moments like these where he gets to unwind with you. it's essentially a recharge— he doesn't even have to hold you ( but if you'd like that, he'd be more than happy to ).
he used to be an artist— an animation storyboard artist. his skills on paper would definitely outmatch the rest of the crew. he already likes to have his experiences captured in little drawings in his notebook. well, you happen to be one big, long lasting experience. one that he can't wait to see what more comes while experiencing it. you swear that you can catch him gazing at you every other day, and you always see his pencil moving across the papers in his book. inside are sketches of you in all your beauty, how he adores you, even complete with little notes about the things you like.
he wishes to show you the world, all there is to be seen across the entire galaxy. he will be there, to guide you, to accompany you. it's not that he doesn't trust the rest of the crew, but really, this is the closest thing to a date you've ever gotten. taking in the sights of new worlds, creating new memories together, and maybe getting tossed in a bit of trouble along the way. sure, it may be tiring or troublesome, but he wouldn't want to face it with anyone else.
those that come across him know him as welt yang, but this is the name he has inherited. he doesn't tell it often, perhaps, but at least you know him. the real him. he's not just welt to you, but also joachim. it is something he entrusted to you, who he is, who he once was, who he shall become— everything about him.
he adores you, and all your entirety. you are like a burning star in the galaxy above, one that burns with him.
Tumblr media
together with gepard landau . . .
gepard, captain of the silvermane guards is a busy, busy man. between his duties as captain and his daily life, he does his best to find time for you. his lack of charm is exactly what makes him charming, some may say. he's no nonsense, stubborn, "famously uncompromising" ( as his sister claims ) with an unmatched loyalty. it sounds horrendous, but perhaps that's exactly why you love him.
you tell him he should prioritise his duty first and foremost, he is an important figure in belobog, after all. and he does, he stubbornly commits to it. even if he can see in your eyes that you're hesitantly letting him go again. it's in these rare moments that he gives you a small, warming smile and a gentle embrace— he tells you that he'll do his best, for the preservation of belobog, for its people— and most importantly, you.
bothering him on patrol isn't one of your favourite activites, there are definitely more enriching things out there, but you still do it from time to time. usually, it's when the nights are a little colder and you can't seem to sleep. it's the same old thing, each and every time. he tells you you should get home, but not after a quick walk together with him. you'd chat about the little things, and he'd even shyly try to hold your hand in such a moment. after that, he personally escorts you back to your residence, and never forgetting to leave without a kiss goodnight. it may be a simple kiss on the back of your hand, or you might get up for a quick kiss on the cheek. you don't know what you do to him.
gepard doesn't strike me as a type that knows a lot in this area. he was born and raised as a noble child, and then went straight into becoming a protector of the city he grew up in. he'd feel a little flustered at a few things, the ideas and thoughts that come to him while together with you. he's even more embarrassed as he goes to his sister for advice on how to deal with such emotions. he reads books, fiction of romance that he does best to turn into your reality. it's not perfect— he's still clueless on what's a really good date— but he's always trying harder just for you.
it's not often that he gets free time, but once he does, he's quick to seek you out... after his sister of course. for many good reasons, actually. other than the usual check in with his sister he loves so dearly, she is more helpful than most others despite her teasing. serval is a big source of support in his relationship with you, not to say you two can't handle it yourselves. he's just rather clueless about love as a whole sometimes, and she's there to give him a little nudge in the right direction. thanks to her, gepard brought you flowers once, and he does it every so often.
never underestimate the lengths he'd go for you. he may be constantly out there in the front lines trying to combat the antimatter legion and the fragmentum, and he may be busy with training the guards or some other silvermane business, but he would always keep you in mind. you're part of his motivation, and you've grown to be the biggest part of it. you could tell him it's nothing important, if you ask for something, like a favour or likewise, but because it's you, he'll put it right at the top of his priorities. you are his priority.
dates are difficult, especially when you're captain of the guards. walking around with him attracts more attention than any other thing, but it doesn't stop him from inviting you out. the luxuries of belobog would be easy for him to indulge in, as a landau and as captain, but truly, simply spending time with him is enough. your favourite dates are ones where you freely walk aimlessly in the day, perhaps after a bite to eat. fresh snowfall is light upon the city streets, unlike the eternal freeze. you find it hard to resist temptation, letting yourself be swept off your feet for a sweet kiss in the everlasting winter snow.
gepard landau has an immense lack of charm. he's stubborn, he's uncompromising, and maybe even a little dense or a little blunt. but the brighter side of these qualities always show around you. he'll find a way to see you, and he won't rest until he has. his lack of knowledge in this department has him cutely flustered from time to time, but also has him doing unknowingly romantic things. he loves you, and he wants you to know that.
2K notes · View notes
ooctlt · 1 month
Note
I think the etiquette of ask blogs is a forgotten art. what I'm saying is (imo) it's not that people don't want to play, it is they don't know HOW, and more importantly they don't understand that the game exists to begin with. obviously you do not have to teach people the rules because your time and energy is finite but idk. it feels like from some of your OOC responses that you assume people know the rules and are playing badly, but I genuinely think people (me) just don't know what you are wanting them (us) to do. and also they (i) don't know how to tell if they (i) are playing the game correctly.
An example I am genuinely confused about is, is inciting a "shut up" answer a signal that the game is being played correctly, because we are inciting a reaction from the character? or is a "shut up" answer a signal that we are playing wrong and need to do something different? I'm sorry. I really love your art and seeing the story unfold but I'm confused and I want to play and I don't understand how.
yeah ive had a couple people tell me this has been the first active askblog in a while and the concept of askblog etiquette has been forgotten- @thatneoncrisis and i made a diagram:
Tumblr media
link to full-res image
a "shut up" reaction will hopefully show whether or not it's a closed path of exploration: if you have gideon sweating, going "pshhh its nothinggg" it means there is something worth exploring. if you have harrow slamming the door in your face, that is an advance that wont work on her
transcript under the readmore:
DEAD END QUESTION ANON: CAMILLA DO YOU THINK HARROW'S HOT?
"Please stop talking to me."
This question is BAD because it's BLUNT, INCREDIBLY PERSONAL and founded on INCOMPLETE KNOWLEDGE of their relationship.
NOTE that its not that shitty questions will NEVER be answered, its that 1) they have a LOWER chance of being answered and 2) they have a HIGHER chance of being made fun of in character
gideon: haha who thinks harrow is HOT
DECENT INCONSEQUENTIAL QUESTION ANON: CAMILLA DO YOU LIKE TO DO ANYTHING FUN WITH HARROW?
"Sure. We run a lot of errands together."
This kind of question may not advance the plot, as it is INCREDIBLY BROAD yet NONINVASIVE. They're good for quick 1-3 panel answers. May generally be met with a less EXCITING answer.
It might also be DIFFICULT TO ANSWER because a broad question could include MULTIPLE ANSWERS - asking "do you guys go out" could not be answered SUSTAINABLY, because i cannot draw all the places they visit
ANON: EVERYONE, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CLOUD / WATER / MOLECULAR STRUCTURE / BONE / CAR / COFFEE BRAND/ BOOK CHARACTER?
me: "i have to do so much research"
NEAT QUESTION CAMILLA HAS HARROW EVER ASKED YOU TO DO SOMETHING WITH HER SHE WAS EXCITED ABOUT?
"Yes, actually. She once invited me to [REDACTED], I didn't know she liked that sort of thing."
This question is SICK AS FUCK because not only do you learn something SUBSTANTIAL about the characters, you have stumbled upon A NEW PLOT BRANCH, one that actively deepens character connections and their past within the world. It specifically remarks upon a MEMORY* rather than AN OPINION and will typically be LONGER.
Another good option is to PROMPT something following this:
ANON: CAMILLA, MAYBE YOU SHOULD TRY TAKING HARROW OUT TO DO [REDACTED] THAT SHE LIKES BEFORE XYZ?
and this can then spiral onward…
*DM, ONE TIME I ASKED ABOUT A MEMORY AND I GOT A RUDE ANSWER; WHAT DID I DO WRONG?
It's not that this topic can never be spoken about, it's about WHEN you asked it and HOW you said it, or even WHO you asked.
Some topics, like the nature of HARROW AND GIDEON'S UPBRINGING are too recent for them to talk about, it has only been TWO YEARS since they left and there are SPECIFICS about the situation that the AUDIENCE hasn't discovered yet. There are things like GIDEON'S PARENTS that she CANNOT answer because she DOESN'T KNOW and answering multiple asks with I DON'T KNOW becomes repetitive and dull for both the DM and PLAYER.
BUT! She can learn! Over time, when the time is appropriate and feels the most natural for STORY PROGESSION. Think of it like a BAD ENDING in a visual novel. You START OVER and ask a DIFFERENT QUESTION, or approach it from a DIFFERENT ANGLE. If Gideon reacts poorly to someone congratulating her leaving BAD CIRCUMSTANCES, consider talking to her about the FUTURE. Instead of trying to pry at Camilla to see if she had an INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP with Pyrrha, try to ask about other things in that period of her life, like how they met or what caused her to move out.
FINALLY, if you'd like an ask to be answered out of character, your best bet would be to goto @notedchampagne and send it there. If you'd like an ask to be answered SINCERELY or you don't want SNARK, you can specify this in the ask, but know this blog may not be your thing.
207 notes · View notes
chubsonthemoon · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Last Binderary book is DONE!!!! This is the incredible Maybe sprout wings, by @moorishflower.
This post is going to be a doozy, so gonna just skip straight to the cut!
INTERIOR
INTRODUCTION
I really wanted to model this bind after my own copy of the Odyssey, (which is all highlighted and bookmarked and annotated to hell from my Great Text courses in undergrad ehe, so this bind was such a fun trip down memory lane!). But beyond just the cover/general aesthetic, I also wanted to give the book a similar feel to these kinds of editions of classics--there's usually an introduction, translation notes, and other supplementary materials, right? Like, a physical manifestation of the work of many, many people, all having conversations with one another across time and space.
So that's what I did! I wrote a short introduction (I will also probably post it to my AO3/my blog as well, in the name of preservation etc. etc.) and began reaching out to folks in the fandom who I knew had created art and meta for the fic. The result? 18k words of analysis, comments, and meta, and nearly twenty pages of art!
Tumblr media Tumblr media
And this is what I love most about this bind, I think! This book is the work of several people--truly a collaborative work by the fandom--all of whom I will now be shamelessly calling out below :D
CHAPTER HEADER ART
First and foremost, this book would not be what it is without the gorgeous header art by @fancy-rock-dove! Thank you so much Dove for letting include your work, and for being so supportive and kind these past few weeks about this bind <3 You in particular have contributed so much to this book (which I will be getting more into in the next section ehe), and I'm so psyched I get to hold your art and words, too!
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
NOTES ON THE TEXT
This section was divided into four parts: Asks and Answers, Meta, Selected Comments, and Chapter Heading Art: Process
Tumblr media
For Asks and Answers, I trawled Heather's blog for meta she had written in response to questions and other meta about the fic. Asks came from @fancy-rock-dove, @quillingwords, @kulapti, and myself! (I THINK I got all of them--tumblr's search function is finnicky even on its best days, so so sorry if I missed something T_T) I first got hooked into reading this fic because of one of these asks, so I'm very fond of this section in particular :D
Tumblr media Tumblr media
For Meta, I included two wonderful essays written by @pastrypuppy (also known as @kulapti) about Hob as an author figure and the Disrupted Fisher King narrative in MSW. Her analyses were so fascinating and I just had to include them in the book! (And thank you as well for your permission, friend!) (also hello fellow Renegade comrade 🫡)
Tumblr media
For Selected Comments, I owe everything to (once again :3) @fancy-rock-dove, whose insights are the epitome of transformative fandom at work. I'd look for their comments after I read every chapter to see what their takes were on this or that element of the story, and every single time I would go "!!!!! I didn't even realize!!!" or "OOOOOOOH I hadn't thought of that!!" It was like being in a lecture hall and always whipping your head around when one of your classmates raised their hand, because you knew they were going to say something fascinating that you hadn't considered before.
Aside from one of my own comments, Dove's comments make up the entirety of this section (for which I owe you my life--your long-form responses to fics are a gift to this world) but GOSH was it also so much fun going through the comments section while typesetting and seeing all the keyboard smashing, yelling, and crying from the other commenters. Communal nature of storytelling and ongoing meaning-making of fanfiction, babey!
Tumblr media
And finally for Chapter Heading Art: Process: once again Dove coming in clutch with some wonderful insights into the design of each of the chapter heading art pieces! This kind of stuff is honestly my favorite: meta about art for a fic which is, in turn, a transformation of an existing story (not even to mention that The Sandman is its own kind of fanfiction of existing mythologies and histories)--I just!! Think it's all really, really neat :'D (for more coherent/polished thoughts on this pls see my introduction asjdfkls)
Tumblr media
ART
The art gallery!!! A million thanks to @fishfingersandscarves, @honeyseller, @jazzpsych, @doctor-rainbowfoxey, and (HI AGAIN DOVE) @fancy-rock-dove for granting me permission to include all of your beautiful pieces!
As usual for artworks in my binds, I printed each piece out on specialty photo paper to really make the colors pop, then sewed each page separately to the text block! Behold, everyone's beautiful beautiful pieces!
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
The art gallery also satisfies the certain "oooh shiny" part of my brain that always activates when I see pictures in a book, so am also very fond of this section :3
CONSTRUCTION
And now on to the nitty gritty stuff! I used the German Bradel binding technique again, my second time using it. Even though it's more complicated than the case bind, I really love how it gives you the full board space for the cover designs (~it's free real estate~). Keep it a secret but I kiiiiiiind of made a small goof in the last few steps (I did the turn-ins a step too early and so had to paste an extra sheet of cardstock to secure the spine to the boards, whoopsie), but it's a pretty small difference, aesthetically speaking, so it wasn't the end of the world XD
Edges are once again fake gilded, but this time I tried something new with the colors! I did two layers of acrylic paint--one watered down shade of red for the base, then one metallic gold on top of that. I really like the red/gold effect! I'll have to keep experimenting with this kind of layering:
Tumblr media
ALSO. Y'ALL! I think I'm finally getting the hang of endbands!!! Many thanks to the folks at Renegade who hosted all the endband workshops last month--I'm still working through them, but even the few sessions I've seen have been TREMENDOUSLY helpful. I learned that tension is Very Important, as well as thread thickness, so I tried doubling my thread and keeping a Very Close Eye on how I was holding the threads while doing the beads. And behold! I still have a ways to go (and one day I would LOVE to do the fancier designs), but I'm v happy with the progress I've made so far!
Tumblr media
And finally the covers!! ARCHIVAL MOD PODGE MY BELOVED. I printed on the same matte presentation paper that I used for the art, then did several coats of archival matte mod podge + a pass of gloss mod podge over the title strip to make it ~shiny~. Then once those had dried and I'd adhered them to the boards, I sprayed two layers of matte clear acrylic sealer (also mod podge!) to finish it off. I had some issues with the paper tearing when I handled it before it was fully dry, but luckily the blemishes were small enough that it was easy to do spot corrections with my black acrylic paint. And now I know to be more patient next time LOL
(some non-photoshoot shots that show the shine a little better!)
Tumblr media Tumblr media
FINAL THOUGHTS
Tumblr media
I had a lot of thoughts while I was binding this book--about Sandman fandom, about Dreamling fandom, about the Odyssey, about storytelling, about fanbinding, about Binderary, about Renegade, about my friends--but really what came to mind the most was gratitude!
Simply put, I'm so grateful to everyone I've met both in this fandom and throughout the years I've been active online--this is SO fun, y'all. It's so much fun to love stories together--to talk about them, to write them, and of course to bind them! I hope I've adequately conveyed that gratitude.
But of course, this book would not exist without the wonderful words of @moorishflower. Heather, thank you so, SO much for sharing your stories, thoughts, and time with us--it is always a happier, better day when I get an email notif from you and when I see you on my dash. I love your work so much, and I'm so happy I finally get to put it on my shelf! So thank you so much again, for everything <3
and OKAY THAT'S IT FROM ME FOLKS!!!!! Binderary 2023 is officially a wrap! I had SUCH a blast--will probably write up a reflection post on it uhhhh after I take a very long nap ajslkdfjslk _(:3」∠)_
all my love! <3
1K notes · View notes
pandorasprongs · 1 year
Text
JAMIE TARTT | and i don't even like you that much. wait, i do. f*ck.
PAIRING: jamie tartt x fem!reader
WORD COUNT: 5.8k
SUMMARY: jamie is actually a board game nerd and starts spending more time with one of the employees of a local shop.
WARNINGS: language
A/N: this idea came to me as someone asked me if i wanted to buy another volume of a board game we had HAHA if you can figure out what game i'm referring to in this story, hmu! alsooo i want to apologize for the length i swear i didn't mean for it to get that long, but still, i hope you all enjoy! title is from the song 'apple cider' by beabadoobee!
Tumblr media
It was another slow morning in the store, given that most of your frequent customers were forced to be in school at this time. You ended up continuing one of the readings for your class during your shift. Despite a wave of drowsiness hitting you the moment you opened the book, it was still better having free time to be tired than the afternoon rush when 13-year-old boys came in to get another booster pack of Magic: The Gathering cards.
You were practically setting all these children up for a gambling addiction the way they'd spend 20 pounds trying to get one of those shiny ones in their deck. You never bothered to learn the names really, because that wasn't part of your job description. When it came to those kinds of things, those boys probably knew more than you did.
When it came to board games though, that was your area of expertise. It was partly one of the reasons you applied to work here while you were finishing up your Master's, — and also because of how generous the owner was with your salary, — so you always loved helping people out for their board game nights. You didn't have regulars that would come in often, but here and there, there would be a person you recognize from before asking about another game.
You don't know how much time had passed, but after deciding that your brain could no longer take reading the word cognitive multiple times in a sentence, you end up shutting the book and resting your head on the counter.
Soon after though, you hear the bell at the top of the door ring, causing you to jolt up. You only catch a glimpse of the guy walking towards you before he drops his head, his cap completely blocking his face, and a loose black hoodie covering his frame.
For a second, you get worried that the store was about to get robbed but the man finally stops in front of you and speaks, in a thick Mancunian accent. "Do you have any suggestions for board games? Like for family and stuff,"
You swear you've heard his voice before. Maybe from school? Or a former customer? You decide to shake it off before replying. "Well, this is a board game store, so there's quite a lot to pick from. Do you have any specific theme in mind? How many players?"
"There'll be 3 of us, but I'm not really picky with the game. Not any of those monopoly type shit though, cause I'm sick of never winning."
You chuckle at the revelation and that's what gets the man to look up at you. It definitely wasn't his appearance he was worried about. His chiseled jaw and striking blue eyes almost draw you in, not to mention his hairstyle looks eerily like the one David Beckham had in the 90s, who you had to admit was a crush of yours as a kid. He could even pass as a contestant on one of those dating reality shows.
And then it hits you where you've heard his voice before. This guy was on Lust Conquers All and was immediately voted off. You remember it well because your sister was so pissed at him for joining the show since the football season had just started. Jamie something, but the show never mentioned his last name. You try to hide your realization by turning to the shelf behind you.
"Alright uh, I’d recommend this one." You turn back around and slide it across the counter as Jamie (?) starts looking at the box from all angles.
"Looks cool," is all he says in reply and he looks back at you, presumably for you to explain the game. You tuck a piece of hair behind your ear before going on your usual introduction to the game.
"Basically in the game, there are 4 characters you can choose to be your 'heroes.' Your main objective is to get your opponent's health to 0 using the different cards in your set. All the characters have different decks and skills you can use throughout the game, and some of them even have side kicks." You look back up for a second to see his expression and you can tell that you're still holding his interest.
"So for example in the one I gave you, you can battle Sinbad, Medusa, King Arthur, and Alice, who's fucking amazing, by the way."
"Alice? From fucking Wonderland?" You laugh at his surprise before nodding to affirm it. "She's your favorite then?"
"How'd you know?" You ask sarcastically. "But yeah, she's just really versatile and it's just really fun to shrink and grow every turn just to piss off the other players. I'm practically unbeatable using her." You admit though you're not really sure why.
Most of the time when customers come in here for a game, they don't ask questions and just buy the first one you suggest. That’s probably why you answered Jamie's question so earnestly. Cause he's the first one to ever ask you what you liked about the game.
You quickly run through the rest of the rules and mechanics of the game with Jamie chiming in occasionally. You describe the other editions as well and Jamie is tempted to buy the other one — "How is anyone supposed to beat fucking Dracula?" — before he ultimately decides to take home the one you offered.
"If I end up losing using Alice, you owe me a refund." He states as you ring up the game. You playfully roll your eyes as you scan the barcode on the box.
"Oh yeah, since you're the first customer of the day, you get a 7% discount on your purchase," you quickly inform him when you glance at the post-it note on the register screen reminding you about it in bold letters.
Instead of the usual gratefulness or blip of happiness from hearing that news, Jamie instead asks, "Is that really a thing or are you doing it because you know who I am?"
You look at him to check if he's serious and given his blank look, you assume he is. You don't know how to respond to that, so instead you just slowly shake your head.
"Wait, do you not know who I am?" His question itself comes off as arrogant, but given the genuine surprise in your voice, you're not sure how to feel about the guy after he says it.
You decide to answer him honestly. "I do, but given that you walked in here in clothes that make you look like a stalker who's about to rob the place, I didn't think you'd want me to make a big fuss about it, Jamie."
His shoulders seem to relax at your statement and once he goes quiet, he finally pulls out his wallet. You quickly place the game in a paper bag and hand it over to him.
He whispers a quick thanks and turns to leave, before pausing. He turns back to you, "Look, it's not like I'm dressed this way because I'm embarrassed to be in a store like this—"
"I didn't think you were," you answer blankly with a hint of sarcasm. You decide to mess with the guy a little bit because hey, when's the next time a famous footballer comes into your store again? "Why, is there something I should be embarrassed about?"
Jamie quickly shakes his head. "No, fuck no! I think it's cool, really. You know, being surrounded by all these games and cards and knowing so much about them. Especially someone like you,"
You tilt your head in amusement. "What do you mean someone like me?" Jamie's embarrassment only seems to deepen at that.
"Fuck I didn't mean it like that. Honestly, when I came in here, I was expecting some teenage boy to be at the counter. Wait no— I mean, girls can like all this stuff too! I just didn't expect someone attr—," he stops himself and shakes his head. "Shit, wait,"
You watch Jamie scramble for words and you decide to just put an end to his misery. "Look, look, I was just joking around. I don't give that much of a shit about what you said." The football player visibly relaxes and you hold in a laugh at that reaction. "And you're basically right about the kind of people who work here. Most of my co-workers can't work these hours right now 'cause they're off studying for their A-Levels."
"Yeah, well thank you for this," Jamie lifts the bag slightly and you give him a genuine smile.
"No problem. Hope you enjoy the game! And if you ever feel compelled to dress like a shitty robber again, you can come back and tell me what you think." Your sarcasm no longer throws Jamie off who instead, just playfully rolls his eyes and leaves the store.
You go back to your reading for your behavioral science class, putting your interaction with the football player in the back of your mind.
The next time you see Jamie is two weeks later, although this time, he comes in right before closing. Technically, you weren't the only one assigned for this shift, but you decided to let your co-worker go home early since he said he had an English exam the next day and still hadn't studied.
So, you were counting down the minutes to 8 pm when you hear someone come inside. Fucking hell. You force a smile, "Hi, welcome! We'll be closing in a few minutes, but please approach me if you need anything so you can have a speedier process."
"Are you really that desperate to get rid of me?" The person moves away from the shelves and turns out to be Jamie Tartt, you learn his last name is. He's wearing another grey hoodie but seems to have decided to ditch his hat. Good, because you weren't sure how much longer you could stare at the ICON written on it and not judge him. "I wanna know, did you think offering to help the customer would get them out of here quicker?"
"I had to try something," you defend yourself, shrugging. You notice Jamie carrying the bag you used to wrap the board game and slightly frown. "Didn't like the game?"
He follows your eyes and is quick to correct you. "I loved it, actually. First time playing a board game that Simon didn't win during the first round." You aren't sure who Simon is, but you laugh nonetheless. "And you're right, Alice is fucking unbeatable."
"I'm glad you liked it, and Alice," you start, but then glance at the time on your phone. "But, is that the only reason you came here?"
"Well no, I was wondering if you wanted to play. That's why I came so late, in case there would be too many people if I came at the usual time."
"Yeah, there was a fuck ton, actually, as you can tell from the fully stocked store." You say, pretending to look around the room. "But sure, if you want. I don't have anything going on tomorrow anyway," Now you're really glad that you didn't procrastinate that paper due tonight.
Jamie smiles as he starts to unbox the set and you grab one of the chairs behind the counter and push it to the other side for the footballer.
Never did you imagine you would spend a Saturday night with a hot football player playing one of your favorite board games, but here you were. In between one of the rounds, the topic of football is brought up and you admit that you don't know all that much about it despite your family being made up of fanatics.
"Everyone has their team they support. My dad loves Arsenal, my mum loves Chelsea, and my sister bounces between West Ham and Crystal Palace. Though, she fucking hates Rupert Mannion, so maybe this is the end of her West Ham support." You answer as you shuffle Jamie's deck.
"Shit, the season must be fun for you guys," Jamie remarks and you snort, though instantly regretting letting that sound out. The football player looks unfazed, so you decide not to apologize for it and answer his question instead.
"Yeah, I basically end up being their messenger till the finals, which ends up becoming World War 3 if their teams are competing," you hand him his deck back and start the round, but your conversation doesn't end there.
"What team would you support then, if you got into football?" He looks hopefully at you.
"Yours, probably." You confirm as you look through your first hand of cards. "I mean, I'm about to destroy one of their players at this game. It's the least I can do."
"We'll see about that," Jamie replies and you roll your eyes playfully, but you smile.
Working at the store meant you were surrounded by board game fans every day, but not even your regulars would come in here after your shift to play. You couldn't help but feel warm at how Jamie matched your enthusiasm about the game, something, you admit, you didn't expect from the player. You knew nothing would probably come from this harmless happy crush of yours, but if he decided to start coming in often to play, you wouldn't be opposed to it.
Your attention turns back to the game once Jamie picks his next move. He smirks at his decision until his expression suddenly shifts. "Wait, if you're not into football, how'd you know who I was the other day?"
You move your piece before looking directly into Jamie's eyes and respond, "I just really love trashy reality shows." Jamie playfully groans at the reminder and you burst into laughter before you continue the game.
True to form, whichever of the two of you uses Alice is the one to win that round. You finally decide on a tie-breaker with your favorite being banned from usage.
"Christ, if this is how you maneuver in a board game, I wonder how good you are at football." You tease, as you glance at his character being at only 4HP.
"I'm fucking amazing, actually. Ask your family, they'll tell you." Jamie moves a few spaces on the board, hoping to escape your Medusa, but instead, he falls into one of your traps.
You corner him and finally reduce his King Arthur's health. "And there you go, 3-2."
It takes Jamie a second to absorb everything before he slouches. "Fucking hell." You laugh before getting up from your chair and helping him keep all the pieces and cards.
"Better luck next time, Tartt."
Jamie, whose competitive side seems to be shining in this game, doesn't let it end there.
Almost every week, he would come into the store at night asking to play. He was definitely getting better, but after making a deal where the loser has to tell an embarrassing story after the round, you realize you know more about him than he probably does about you.
"God Jamie, how are you alive?" You ask as he shares a story from when he first started the league.
"How was I supposed to know doing multiple headers in one match could lead to a bloody concussion?" He retorts, only making your eyes widen even more.
"I'm pretty sure that's common knowledge to about 80% of the population," you say through your laughter.
It's almost 10 when you finish playing, so you grab your jacket and start heading to the door with Jamie. You lock the store up and notice that Jamie's still hanging around you.
It's dark outside, but it seems like his features were even more enhanced by the moonlight. The light hit his eyes just the right way that it made the blue more evident. You notice just then how his hair is neater today, mainly because of his sports headband. The front strands of his hair had fallen out it though, falling on his face in just the right way that it gave you butterflies. Did all footballers look this attractive?
You realize that you may have been starting a bit too long and as you tuck the keys in your jacket pocket, you decide to ask, "Need anything else?"
Jamie opens his mouth to say something, but instead, he just shakes his head. "Nothing actually, just good night," he waves and starts walking in the opposite direction, but you swear you hear him muttering something under his breath.
It had been a week since then and you had to start telling yourself to not be so excited when you hear the bell ring. Every time it did, you'd look expectantly at the door expecting to see Jamie again, asking for another or a new volume or even just game tips. Each time, you'd end up disappointed and would have to fake a smile to the customer approaching you.
This time you hear it ring, and you do your best to not look up. If it was Jamie, you knew that your boss George probably would be sounding an alarm. You only learned the Monday after that he was a major AFC Richmond fan when you mentioned that a football player had visited the store multiple times to play board games.
"Do you think we can get him to sign a picture and put it on the wall? Can you ask?" You quickly have to explain how those interactions were the only times you ever spoke to Jamie and had no actual way of contacting him.
As you close your laptop, — one more paragraph and that essay is done! — you look up to find two guys standing in front of you.
"Hi, do you have any board game recommendations?" the one on the right greeted, his accent quickly revealing him to be Welsh.
You don't have a chance to answer because the left one lightly elbows his friend before whispering (though loud enough for you to hear), "He already told us what to get, bruv."
You may not know who this 'he' is, but the guy pulls out his phone and shows you a picture of a board game, the same one you recommended to Jamie. Wishful thinking gets you to believe that they were friends of his and he liked it so much that he told them about it. And maybe about you, too.
You've never been so happy to be right.
You nod your head and as he kept his phone, you started pulling the same edition from the shelf behind you when you hear a screeching sound that almost made you drop the box.
"Oh my God, Colin Hughes, and Isaac McAdoo!" George exclaims and you wonder where you've heard those names before.
The owner joins you at the counter as you place the board game in front of you. Maybe you weren't pretending to be as peppy as you usually do, because George decides to ask, "How are you so calm? Do you know who these guys are? They're Colin Hughes and Isaac McAdoo!"
"I heard you the first time," you turn to the two guys once again, embarrassed on behalf of your boss.
"They're part of the starting team of AFC Richmond!" And that's when it clicks. On one of your all-nighters, you decided to take a break and search up Jamie Tartt just to see what you could find. You ended up at his club's website and saw the rest of the players as well. You didn't pay them much attention given that you were so focused on player number 9, but you saw enough pictures to recognize them, at least.
"So you guys do know Jamie," you think out loud and the two players turn to each other, before sharing looks of realization.
"Oh, you're the girl!" Colin exclaims and you can't help but feel butterflies in your stomach.
"Yeah, I guess so," you try and act as nonchalantly as possible, so neither of them picks up on anything. You turn back to the game and ask, "Is this the one you wanted?"
"Jamie said there were other versions?" Isaac asks and you nod your head to confirm it, which he smiles at. "We want the Sherlock one."
"Okay," you reach for that one on the shelf as George starts offering them discounts on the game.
When he almost offers to give it to them for free along with another set, you stop him by slamming the box on the counter. Why were you the one trying to keep his business alive? "Here it is, hope you enjoy it!"
You ring up their purchase, still trying to hold your boss back from scaring these footballers away before they can pay. You finally bag the whole thing and hand it to them. "Thank you!" you shout as they exit the store.
"Yeah, see you soon!" George says afterward and you look at him in confusion.
"What the fuck was that, George?" He only sighs, most likely the embarrassment only hitting him at that exact moment.
Once he goes back to doing inventory, you can't help but replay what Colin said. Oh, you're the girl! Why was such a simple phrase like that affecting you so much? For all you know, he might've mentioned you being a sore winner, which wouldn't be the first time you've been called that.
But you still hope he said good things about you and maybe even kept better things he thought to himself.
"Okay, time's up. Please pass your papers." You write one last word as you get up to give your exam to the proctor, sighing in relief that the semester is finally over.
You had asked for leave for the past few days and didn't have a shift until tomorrow, so you decide to treat yourself to some coffee and pasta for lunch at the campus cafe.
As you settle down at one of the tables, you get a phone call from George. He was more than happy to let you take the time off, so you wonder what emergency had to happen for him to contact you.
As soon as you pick up, George screams your name into the phone. You pull it away from your ear for a second, and respond, "What? What do you need?"
"Look, I'm sorry to disturb you on your day off, but you said that your test ended at 2:30, so I decided to hold off calling you till then. Anyway, someone came in a few days ago asking if we host board game nights."
"And we do," you answer for him as you chew your sandwich.
"Right, and then he said that he was from AFC Richmond." You flinch after imagining how your boss could've reacted at that revelation. "They wanted to hold it a few days ago," George pauses.
"Why didn't you say yes? You could've been game master."
"Yeah well, I wanted to, but they specifically asked for you to go." You put down your sandwich and straighten up. George continues, "I told them you were on leave, but they said they could wait till you were back at work. I said that your test was this morning and I would ask if you'd be willing to end your leave early."
"Okay, sure." You answer, a little faster than you intended. You couldn't believe that the team — and maybe even Jamie personally, — was willing to postpone their game night just so you would be the one to facilitate it.
The surprise was evident in George's voice. Normally, you would reject his idea the moment he mentioned board game nights, but something about this was different for you. "Oh okay, well, I'll send you the address. I'll be bringing the boards there since you don't have a car and I'll meet you there at 4 pm. It's a restaurant, so maybe you can get something to eat before 'cause shit can get crazy at those things and it's best to load up."
You don't know how a board game night could get crazy, but you decide not to comment on it. He sends you the details through text before you end the call and continues eating your sandwich. The place wasn't too far from campus, so you didn't have to rush to get there. But after 10 minutes, you consumed your sandwich and were out the door with your coffee in hand.
While walking, you decided to familiarize yourself more with the players trying to put names to face before you had to interact with all of them at once. You started to get the hang of it, — even looking at team photos and naming them one by one as a test — as you get to the venue at around half past 3.
You arrive at a restaurant called Ola's, and you remember seeing one of the Richmond players post about it. Your dad wanted to have dinner here once, but they were always fully booked so the four of you gave up trying to get a table there.
Because of that, you expected the place to be swamped with customers, but instead find an almost empty restaurant. You notice one guy standing in the middle of it and approach him.
"Hi," He turns around and you recognize him as Sam Obisanya, meaning he must be the owner. You introduce yourself quickly before asking, "Am I at the right place? I'm here to help host a board game tournament."
Sam's eyes widen as he seems to recognize you. "Oh yes, this is the place. Sorry, I didn't expect you to be so early. We already fixed up the tables, but I can also help in setting up the boards if you like."
"Ah no, it's alright. My boss is the one who’s bringing them. I came from my university, so I don't have any of them on me right now." You quickly explain and Sam nods as he leads you to one of the tables to relax, while he grabs some appetizers from the kitchen.
He makes his way back to the table, though he can't seem to stop looking at you. You subconsciously start fixing your hair, wondering if you should've gone to the bathroom before going in here.
He seems to pick up on this and is quick to reassure you, "Oh, I'm sorry for staring. It's just Jamie has mentioned you so many times, so it's nice to finally put a face to the name."
Your heart skips a beat at the mention of the football player. You grab some of the food he offered as you reply as calmly as you can, "Oh yeah, did he tell you how he is nowhere close to beating my number of wins?"
Sam lets out a short chuckle. "No, but I'm not surprised. He did say you're very good at it." You smile and decide to ask why they decided to do a board game night.
It takes a second before Sam replies, "Oh well, Coach always says to do team-building activities every once in a while, and seeing as Jamie has asked almost everyone on the team to play the game at least once, we thought it would be a good idea. I think Isaac and Colin got their own board too and they started bringing it to the clubhouse."
"Shit, I didn't realize that football players loved board games so much," you remarked as you hear the door to the restaurant open.
Both of you look up to see George, who is trying to carry 12 boxes of board game sets. You rush out of your seat to help him out and so does Sam. The sight of the player almost makes your boss drop all of them from his arms, but you quickly scoop four of them and Same takes another four.
"Sam Obisanya," George exhales, once some of the weight is literally lifted off him.
The player simply says, "Hello," and states that he'll start setting up the four boards on the tables near the back.
You snap your fingers to get George out of the trance and the two of your start setting up on the rest of your tables, dropping the character figurines at the bar table and putting the sign-up sheet next to it. Slowly, the restaurant starts filling up with players with George gradually losing his mind at the number of footballers from his favorite team.
You finally get him to leave, but only by promising to convince the team to take a picture with him when he came back to pick up the boards. You're pretty sure he's already making plans to put it on a canvas and hang it on his bed.
You settle yourself behind the bar table to be in charge of the players setting up, each time expecting it to be Jamie standing in front of you. You try and keep your focus on the task at hand every time you hear the boys greet someone new.
Isaac and Colin are the next to write their names and they give you a look that you can't quite decipher. Soon enough, Jamie finally gets here and you straighten up in your seat. He greets some of the players till his eyes land on you.
He approached the bench and once he looked up, he observed out loud. "You're here,”
"Aw, did you want to get rid of me that badly?" You mimic him before explaining that you finished your leave earlier, "just to see you, of course." — with some truth behind that statement. Jamie laughs — albeit, a little awkwardly, — and takes the clipboard. As he signs up, you decide to take the chance to tease him. "Heard you were talking about me to your teammates."
Jamie's eyes widen and he stops writing to shoot glares at the rest of AFC Richmond, not sure who told you. Jamie turns back to you and you laugh. "Don't worry, Tartt. I'm sure you just told them how I'm an absolute god at the game and you're glad I'm not playing tonight." The football player simply rolls his eyes as he joins his teammates.
Once the whole team is complete along with their kit-man Will, you decide to start the tournament. "Okay, hi everyone! Welcome to your board game night." The crowd cheers and you're startled by their enthusiasm. You quickly explain the rules of the night, — though they seem to already know most of it, — and the order of players. It's a draw lots method, so the players will be randomly given a character and an opponent.
Once everyone gets their characters and settles in, you start making rounds in case anyone had any questions. After a while, you start heading back to the bar when someone taps you on the shoulder. You find Jamie already done with his round.
"How'd you win that quickly?" You don't try to hide the surprise in your voice. "Even I take like 20 minutes minimum to win."
"Oh I didn't," Jamie clarifies, and you widen your eyes. "I just couldn't attack Dani. I mean, look at that face." You turn to their table and find Dani smiling at you — "This is fun!" — and waving using his Dracula figurine.
You laugh at his reasoning. "Alright then, guess you're done for the night." You walk back to the bar and Jamie stops on the opposite side of it.
"You hungry? Sam said there's prepped meals in the back and since none of the games are ending soon…" Jamie offers and you obliged, seeing as this might be the only time you might ever get to eat in this restaurant. He grabs two plates from there and settles down next to you. Surprisingly, he managed to grab one of your favorite dishes. You remember mentioning to him that you had tried it at another restaurant in the past and loved it, but you doubt he even remembers it and dubbed it a coincidence.
You decide to keep the topic off board games and instead let him talk about what he's doing since he last saw you. Turns out they had multiple back-to-back matches, so practice was tight and he didn't have time to visit you. He also said the next time he did, it was one of your teenage co-workers manning the counter.
"Oh, Chuck! Yeah, he's pretty shit at board games." You say blankly while you shove another spoonful of food into your mouth.
"I ended up just buying a card game and leaving." Jamie continues and you laugh.
"Sorry, you went all the way there for just that. I go to class on Wednesdays, so I don't have a shift then." The conversation then shifts to your degree and you explain that you plan on becoming a psychologist.
"There is another upside to getting that degree too," Jamie chimes in, and you tilt your head. "You can fuck with someone's head while playing."
"Okay, psychology isn't mind control." Though, you think about it for a second. "But it is pretty close. You’ll be my first victim.” You make your sound more ghostly in that last sentence and Jamie pretends to act terrified and faint.
There is a short silence between the two of you when you realize that most of the rounds are done. You start organizing the next round and once the games start, the other players start going around and rooting for their teammates.
It leaves the area near the bar much more isolated and Jamie lowers his voice. "About that card game I got, it's pretty fun, too."
"Yeah?" You ask as you bring your plate back to the kitchen.
"Yeah. I'd love to take you out and talk about it," you stop in your tracks before turning back to the footballer who adds, “If you want."
You turn around to see Jamie is much closer to you now. It's only then you realize how much taller he was than you, but despite that, you’re not intimidated, especially with him looking so expectantly at you.
It takes a second before your mouth turns into a smile. "I think I'd like that."
Jamie does this small bounce thing on his heels, before trying to tone it down. You only laugh and kiss him on the cheek before heading to the crowd of players. He follows suit and rests his arm on your shoulders.
Some of his teammates notice and start cheering. You look at them confused before deciding to ask Jamie, "Was this all an elaborate scheme to ask me out?"
He shakes his head, "No, 'course not. Was there a deal made after I lost a game to Jan? Possibly," The both of you laugh as you playfully push his head away. You start to accept that this unfairly attractive football player — whom you'll be going on a date soon — can be as much of a nerd as you.
If this is what George meant when he said game nights could get crazy, well, maybe you should’ve given them a chance earlier.
616 notes · View notes
maryhadalittlehobby · 20 days
Text
Recap of IWTV Screening and Conversation at 92stY
(Please dont repost/reupload my pics or vids from here or IG anywhere else. Sharing/linkinh is ok. Thanks!)
I started the day with a fang gang meetup hosted by Black Girl Talks Fangs. The restaurant was cute and the food great. I'm not a big wine drinker but got a blood red Chateau in honor of the occasion. After, we headed over to the event space.
Tumblr media
In my experience attending different events there, the actors typically come in just before the event starts or a few minutes into the screening.
In this case- it was both.
Eric strolled up super casual and had a convo with myself and a few other fans asking if we had read the books and what we were looking forward to. He gave a parting message that the season is amazing and he is not just saying that because he is part of it. I believe him. He was super personable and down to earth.
Tumblr media
Delainey arrived next and again kind and generous with her time. She has a very chill energy. Her outfit was more casual this day but I thought chic and the face card never declines. Her makeup artist does her right! And can we talk about that sleek ass ponytail
Tumblr media
She complimented my cosplay and said she thinks my beret might be the screen accurate one!
She asked to touch it and said mine was softer!
She also said Carol Cutshall gifted her the beret so she owns Claudia's.
I put this cosplay together in 3 weeks which is barely enough time. Thankfully I had the idea knocking around since October when we first saw this fit in the trailer that dropped at NYCC 23.
Myself and a few fans waited till about 15 minutes into the start of the screening before we gave up on waiting for Jam Reiderson.
While running to the screening I nearly literally ran into Rolin. I asked for a quick pic which he obliged.
Tumblr media
The episode was amazing. Very much on par of season 1 so far. Can't wait to see the full thing. Delainey fit into Claudia seamlessly.
The panel itself was great as well. I have a few vids in my IWTV highlight on IG and a few others in an upcoming youtube video I will make AFTER the episode drops. There are some spoiler bits plus 92Y is dropping the full panel too after the ep airs.
Highlights include watching Jam Reiderson literally communicate telepathically- what was the fun on set story?!
Tumblr media
Sam slapping Jacobs' lower inner thigh in front of god (Rolin) and everyone.
Working together is like putting on an old glove. An old sock?! Lol what. 'Is that dirty?'
Assad trauma dumping on main. "Armands lost...like me." "I'm intimidated by the cast" Sir please!
Tumblr media
Assad also being spicy saying he thinks Armands memory of Lestat is pretty accurate. Drag him king😄
Delainey and Jacob gushing about how they immediately bonded and established their father/daughter/sibling vibes.
Tumblr media
Eric calling Jam puppies and Jacob saying "I'm a grown man a parent"lol Sir you are a baby girl as evidenced by
Tumblr media
Rolin saying that's a book and this is a show. To me that said was book lovers have the book and you always will but this is a new thing that respects the source but isn't tied down to every single detail.
Tumblr media
Then Sam saying there are contradictions even within the series. Please lets talk about it.
And I love this new narrative everyone is spinning, even Sam, who seemed to be in the Lestat is right and Louis is lying boat last press go round. Now everyone is saying there is no right and wrong or truth and lies-the story is told by different people with different perspectives and that's all. Which yes! that's ALWAYS how I saw it! Just because Lestat became the main character and most favored doesn't mean he is infallible.
Jacob and that plushie. Who would have imagined he'd love it so much. Another fan was coming with their Lestat. I don't know if they had intentions of giving it to Sam but sadly they didn't make it.
After the panel I went back to the spot and aimed to get Jacobs signature on my Street of Immortality print which I managed.
I would have loved to get Sam's to but I also wanted to give other fans the chance to get photos and autos. I was already so lucky.
They signed for a loooong time. So long I thought our side wouldnt have a chance or only a few people would. Turns out fans were conducting mini interviews with them lol Someone needs to collect all the questions and answers.
Also they are the smallest cast you've ever seem. Pocketbsized. Everyone one of them is so unassuming.
Overall I had a super good time. The audience vibes were immaculate. The person beside me during the screening/panel was losing their shit then apologizing. But honestly I was here for it lol
Also you could 100% tell it was an audience full of the online fandom.
I ended the night checking out the Time Square ad. It was awesome to see our vamps represented. Hopefully we get a ton of new fans from all the amazing marketing this year.
Tumblr media
86 notes · View notes
lowkeyrobin · 3 months
Note
headcannons where quackity's s/o has tattoos? could also be nsfw, if you're comfortable with it :))
I don't write NSFW but I can definitely do the tattoo part! thanks for requesting!! I don't think I've actually posted a quackity focused thing yet which is surprising to me bc I have like 3 drafts for him LMAO
QUACKITY ; tattooed lover
summary ; you have tattoos and your boyfriend is head over heels
warnings ; language; talk of needles / pain of tattoos, use of quackitys real name (lmk if I should change it!)
word count ; 670
genre ; fluff
masterlist
Tumblr media
In general, he'll act normal about all your tattoos and whatnot, but inside every time he sees your arms (especially if you have sleeves or some sick ones around your wrists that trail up your arm even a bit) he'll just get a little red in the cheeks. He absolutely loves all your ink. He thinks it's so sick, but he's not committed enough to get any, and he doesn't think he has the pain tolerance.
he went with you to get a new tattoo on your shoulder/upper arm area
he learned you'd be there for like 5 hours and he groaned like a shitty iPad kid and took his phone out while he threatened to call Philza
once he saw the tattoo gun... oh lord it was over
literally whisper shouted at you while the artist got up to get gloves
"that's what you're getting jabbed with??? why are we here again???"
genuinely can't look
once he hears the buzzing he turns his music on and he's staring down while he sits on the couch across from you
"Alex, look!" you smile, "I'm fine"
"how do I know you're not a clone?"
"Holy shit. dude it's the quackityhq duck, that's why I brought you along"
"WAIT WHAT?"
it's not a big tattoo whatsoever, but it's a reminder that he's always with you, how you've grown together and how that's always going to be an era of your content you'd never forget about
literally gets emotional about it
"You didn't have-"
"I wanted to, for the millionth time"
he genuinely didn't know tattoos were so expensive, once you leave he questions why it was 450 dollars and you explain to him how tattoo artist income works
He's not the one to want to peel off the second skin or pop the ink bubbles or even touch the tattoo until the skin goes back to normal. He's just kinda freaked out for some reason, it's just one of those things and it honestly makes sense.
He takes some dedicated time to sniff all the lotions and numbing creams and comment on each and every one, though. All while you're trying to do some aftercare on it and shit, and you just watch.
"this one smells like buttercream icing"
"yeah?"
"ew, this one smells like badboyhalo's ass!"
"why would you even know that? 😁"
If you have any tats without color, Alex will gladly color them in with washable markers like you're a walking coloring book. He'll literally call for you and ask you if he can color on you again, it's cute, really.
"y/n/n, can I color your tattoos again?"
"aren't you streaming?"
"so?"
"yeah, fine"
he has a whole gallon sized ziploc bag filled with Crayola washable markers
like he goes from playing on the qsmp and hanging out with some people to coloring all over you while said people watch 😭
you wave to his friends like "Hello, I am his walking therapy coloring book"
he's like a little kid. You just look over at him like, "Holy shit I could love you forever wtf"
Sometimes, he'll just draw you new tattoos (with washable markers dw) cause he gets bored and wants to doodle on you. Most of the time it ends up being stick figures and dicks but it's okay, it's his way of showing affection.
He'll genuinely think of song that remind him of each of your tattoos. Somehow, some way, he does. He has a whole playlist titled 'Y/n's tattoos', and he rarely listens to it, but he thinks it's fun to think of a new song when you get another tattoo.
Although he is a little concerned because what's gonna happen when you're old and wrinkly? How do the tattoos last? Do they become old and wrinkly like the tattooed grandmas meme? Because if so, he'll rip on you til the end of time.
"well I have a long time before I look like a tattooed elderly person, but okay"
"So you will? Oh my fucking God! BAHAHAHA"
129 notes · View notes
gumycandyyy · 8 months
Note
OKAY IM FEELING BRAVE N NOT GOING ANON SO HI!!!
I love your writing n I was wondering if i could request a WK x Gn! Reader where the reader is like crashed into a cave or smthn, wk goes to investigate and they find the reader that (size wise) is like HUGE, like 16 feet tall!! BUT. once they see wk they shrink down to around his size, n they talk n find out they’re from like a diff planet in their universe?! N they can’t get back.
(idk where this idea came from I apologize:3)
୨♡ You're Something, Aren't you?" ♡୧
Tumblr media
I love this idea! I think I'm gonna combine it with another ask i got.
Tumblr media
(For those wondering why the gumlee fanart tag is here, it's because I put some of my art at the end of every fic. It just happens to be gumlee this time)
Gender neutral reader
Romantic
Type: Headcanons
Request: Yup! They're back open, too!
Some descriptions of the reader, nothing detailed, just dragon stuff.
Summary: Being a space dragon is cool. Except for when you're too tired to leave a planet.. Thankfully, you have help from a new friend.
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
-You're a space being.
-A celestial dragon, if you will.
-You're quite a majestic being, even having some of your own constellations named after you.
-Perks of being a beautiful immortal creature.
-While you're practically immortal, you can get tired, especially after traversing through the cosmos.
-So every so often, you gracefully land on a habitable planet, to regain your strength for a few days.
-You more or less crash landed on this one.
-It was called Ooo, if you recall correctly. You're sometimes allowed to name a few planets or stars, but this one has existed for longer than you have.
-It's a little embarrassing to be taking refuge in such an old planet.
-However, you had the funniest encounter while on Ooo.
-It was little more than twenty minutes after you crash landed in an icy forest.
-You had knocked down quite a few trees and stirred up quite the commotion in a town nearby, as they could see you flying in from the atmosphere.
-You were trying to take a few splinters out in your dragon form when you met...
-Him.
-It sounded so cheesy, but you had never seen a more beautiful thing in the universe.
-Safe to say you were floored.
-Literally.
-He and a few... What looked to be scouts and knights made of ice neared you cautiously.
-He seemed to recognize you, which was a little strange. You guessed there were history books of some sort written about you.
-He introduced himself as the Winter King, and welcomed you to Ooo.
-Yes, he had definitely heard of you.
-You decided to shift into your smaller form. It was still ethereal and god-like, but it was easier on the eyes than being a twenty-foot tall dragon.
-You kept your wings and horns, just parts of yourself that you thought to be enchanting.
-the Winter King spoke to you, a little shocked at your sudden shift. You were wearing clothes, what other mortal customs had you missed?
"Well, *ahem* it is my honor to meet a celestial being such as yourself! If I may ask, why choose this planet?"
-You explained that it was the nearest habitable planet, and that it didn't matter too much.
-You didn't think too highly of yourself, as you were quite low on the god-scale. Only a minor universal god, instead of being a multiversal god.
-If that made any sense.
-You politely asked Winter King if you could regain your strength in his kingdom.
"Oh, why of course! A- anything for someone such as yourself!" -His pale blue skin flushed in a pinkish tone, and his voice faltered ever so slightly.
-You tended to have that effect on people.
-However, he seemed to be handling your presence quite well, so part of you wondered if he were somewhat immortal, or was just a magic user in general.
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
-You stayed for a little less than two weeks, learning quite a bit as you took refuge.
-You were quite uneducated when it came to planets like Ooo, embarrassingly so, at times.
-But it felt nice to have Winter King explain things to you.
-He seemed so respectful, yet so interested in everything you did or said.
-It turned out he was an astronomy nerd, and stories of you were his favorite.
-He wrote down practically everything you said, but as time went on, it seemed less like worship and more like interactions between friends.
-You preferred it that way, to be honest.
-You learned not only much about Ooo, but also much about the Winter Kingdom as well.
-Whenever it snowed softly, you would always spend time outside, sometimes dragging Winter along with you.
-You did everything from nap, to play in the snow.
-It seemed childish, but the two of you had quite a bit of fun.
-Not to mention the food there was absolutely phenomenal.
-You swore that you would return the generous favor of the Winter King.
-When it eventually came time for you to leave the planet, the both of you were quite sad.
-However, you knew if you stayed longer, you'd never leave. And that wasn't good.
-You were out on the terrace, having said your goodbyes to Winter and the citizens, ready to shift to your ethereal form to take flight.
-However, you felt something nagging at you to stay for a few more moments.
-You were correct to wait.
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
Winter called your name, looking to have run all the way up here. He placed his hands on his knees and took a few deep breaths.
"Winter..? I thought you already said goodbye?" Winter cleared his throat and stood up, placing his hands behind his back. He'd regained his composure so quickly it was shocking. He cleared his throat once again.
"It just occurred to me that I never asked for that return favor.." You brought your hand up to your lips, ashamed you forgot your promise.
"I- Oh my word, I apologize. I forgot."
Winter assured you that it was no big deal, and that his favor was only a small one. He stepped towards you, almost shyly.
"Well, rest assured, I can do almost anything. There is a grey area in which I'm unable to give, but otherwise, I will do anything in my power to grant you what you seek."
Winter blushed, his gaze transfixed on the ground. He seemed to be at a loss for words. Your large wings twitched, and after a few moments, Winter seemed to have figured out what he wanted.
"If it's not too much to ask, I'd like to request..."
He looked up at you with the sweetest of smiles.
"A kiss."
You were taken aback for just a moment, but regained your composure as quickly as you lost it. You took a step towards Winter, returning his warm smile.
"Well, if that's all you seek, I would be more than happy to give you what you so desire."
Winter shifted in place with an almost giddy expression, and looking up at you, you could tell he had wanted this for quite some time.
You'd be a liar if you said you hadn't thought about it prior to today.
"I would much appreciate that."
He said simply. So making sure not to waste any more of your time, you bent down to Winter's height. Despite being in your smaller form, you were still quite a bit taller than anyone else.
You caught his lips in yours, holding the embrace for a few moments. His lips felt cold, and it was all you could have hoped for.
When you separated, you gently held his face in your clawed hands.
"I have truly cherished this time with you, and I wish I could have stayed longer. However, my higher duties must not be ignored."
Winter nodded in understanding, placing his small hand atop yours.
"I promise I will think of you often, and will call on you if I'm ever passing through this side of your galaxy. That I will swear." "But until then, my dear."
The only thing Winter could remember of that moment, was the feeling of your lips in his forehead, and the silhouette of your ethereal form, fading out of the atmosphere.
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
Tumblr media
your complimentary art ^^ (gumlee edition!!)
Sorry bout the whole hiatus thing, I had been sobbing for two hours straight. Anyway, rq's are open!
reblogs >>> likes
254 notes · View notes
Text
You Call It Madness But I Call It Love
Chapter 11: I Can't Think With You Yelling At Me!
Pairing: Soldier Boy x f!reader, Reader POV
Summary: When the reader left Payback 40 years ago after a falling out with her childhood best friend she never looked back, but when two men show up to her apartment and start asking her questions about the past, the reader begins to think those things can’t stay hidden and starts to question what’s real and what’s fantasy.  This is a re-telling of The Boys Season 3, where the reader is a supe who's known Soldier Boy since 1927. The chapters will fluctuate between past and present. This is chapter eleven of my "You Call It Madness But I Call It Love" series. (I'm so bad at summaries please forgive me!)
Word Count: 6.2K
Warnings: References to sex, Cursing, Drinking, Soldier Boy might be, is, really, absolutely, a little OOC, Angst.
Note: This is told from Reader's perspective. Any references to the reader is made using you or your. There is minimal use of y/n. I tried my best to proofread, but nobody's perfect. Reader is described as "curvy" occasionally. If you don’t like, don’t read, but if you do like, you’re my favorite!
Internal Monologue is in first person and is in italics
Series Masterlist
Main Masterlist
A/N: This one takes a bit of a turn guys, but I promise I know what I'm doing. :) Maybe? Probably?
********************************************
Previously:
Suddenly your phone rings, shattering the still silence in your apartment. For a second you hope that it's Butcher returning your call, but when you answer, it's not Butcher.
"Hello?"
"I need you." The familiar voice says.
Shit.
*********************************************
Present Day
“Thank you so much for coming!” Rosemary says dragging you through the front door of her two-bedroom apartment. “The sitter cancelled and I’ve got 5 minutes to make it to the hospital.”
Her dark brown hair frizzes out of a messy bun at the back of her head waving as she emphasizes her point with rapid hand gestures. The dusting of freckles across her cheeks catches in the light from the open windows at the back of her apartment as she traverses through the minefield of toys and children's books sprawled over the bright blue couches, the pastel rug, and the coffee table in the spacious living room.
As heartbroken as you were, you never regretted the night you and Ben spent together, because that meant you wouldn't have had Rosemary and you didn't want to imagine a world without her in it. She was the only good that came from that night. A surprise, but a welcome one. The years that followed losing Ben should have been empty, filled with an endless wandering of the world from someone who couldn’t age and couldn’t die, but they weren’t. Ben might have broken your heart, but he gave you the greatest gift. Rosemary filled the hole in your life and you wouldn’t change a thing. Even if it always ended up like this.
Well, besides the whole Ben possibly being alive this whole time and being tortured in a foreign country.
Rosemary was another reason why you had gotten out of being a supe. You didn't want that life for her and you were afraid that Vought would take her away. She was a second generation supe from two of the first and two of the most powerful supes. So for the early years of her life you lived on the coast of Maine in a small town, making sure that Rosemary had as normal a life as she could, despite having superpowers. At first you thought that she was like Ben, she was strong, faster than the average person, and had enhanced senses, but then you realized that her powers were more like yours except Rosemary did not have to die to obtain the powers of another supe. Rosemary could replicate any ability from a supe that she touched for one day, something you both realized when she was two and started to move things telekinetically around the house after she grabbed on to your arm and wouldn't let go. Which may have been fun for her, but not for you. Chasing around a two year old that could suddenly levitate sharp objects and throw them anywhere she wished was far from your idea of a good time.
When you moved back to NYC 10 years ago, the last time you saw Legend, you decided to introduce Rosemary as your cousin whenever anyone asked, including Stan Edgar, who showed up to one of your art shows as soon as you reappeared in the city, prepared to find out if you were Indigo.
You examine your daughter’s flustered expression, the wrinkled black scrubs, and the frantic beat of her heart that thuds loudly in your ears. Rosemary looked more like Ben than you. They had the same eyes, the same dark brown hair that turned into liquid honey in the sunlight, but you were the same height and had the same nose, your father's nose to be exact. And although Rosemary should be 39, she looked barely older than 27.
But despite her resemblance to Ben, it didn’t pain you to see her. You liked to think that she was a reminder of the boy you used to know, the one that you held on to for so many years when things got hard and all you saw was Soldier Boy and not the boy you loved.
She was the only person who knew everything about you and everything about Ben. She was the only family you had left, well, except for-
“Aunty y/n!” A small pink blur leaps towards your face from the end of the couch, to latch onto your upper body like a monkey climbing a tree.
You catch your four year old granddaughter, Lou, with a smile, twirling her around in the air.  Despite your relation, you made sure that Lou referred to you as aunt, as afraid as you were for exposing Rosemary to Vought, fear that they would take Lou away too haunted you at night. Rosemary also did not call you mom, except after Lou went to bed and only when she was upset.
You both figured that it was easier this way, at least until Lou was old enough to understand why you did things the way you did them.
Thankfully, Lou still hadn't presented any powers, which made you and Rosemary happy. It made finding a babysitter easier when you didn’t have to worry about a four year old picking up a couch and throwing it through a window.
Being with your family always made you feel better, despite everything that happened with yours, you always remembered what your father ingrained in you as a child- that the only real wealth in life was family.
Of course he also was the son of the man who owned more than half of the real-estate in Philadelphia and who personally invested with Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, so he had room to make generalized statements like that.
When you first got the injection and refused to marry Howard it strained the relationship you had with your parents, well, mostly your mother. She hadn't taken it well, thought you were throwing your life away on Ben. Meanwhile your father and you continued to send letters back and forth until the day he died, despite your mother's want for him to cut ties with you. He was always supportive of what you were doing, wanted to know how Ben was, how you were, and would meet you for dinner occasionally in New York whenever he could. Ben would make an appearance every once in a while, but your mother never came, and it was always like a giant purple spotted elephant was sitting at the table beside you.
You wondered how much grief she gave your father whenever he went to see you. You had tried several times to send your mother letters, telling her of all the good you were doing, but she would send them back unopened. When your father died, you showed up to the funeral and she refused to let you sit on the pews reserved for family. Ben had come with you, and you practically had to drag him away when he started to yell back at her because he knew that despite you being all grown up, he knew that you weren’t strong enough to stand up to her.
"Hey Lou." You smile at your granddaughter. She too had Ben's brown hair, but her eyes were like yours that shone with excitement and happiness.
When Rosemary’s husband died just after Lou was born, you stepped in whenever you could to help her, that meant occasionally babysitting so Rosemary could go to work her overnight nursing shifts downtown in the emergency room.
"I missed you!" Lou hugs you around the neck. She's wearing a floral long sleeve shirt and a pair of pink overalls. Pink was her favorite color and you tried not to be reminded of the dresses your mother forced you to wear when you were younger.
"You saw me three days ago." You brush back the tangled mass of curls from her smiling face.
"Too long." Lou replies.
Rosemary breezes back into the room, toting a large bag over her shoulder. "Okay. I'm so sorry-"
"Don't apologize again!" You wave a hand. "Just go. We'll be okay."
"What are you going to do?" She roots through the bag, looking for some unseen object.
"Oh the usual. Watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I've heard great things about the remake-" You wanted to test if she was listening.
"Y/n!"
She passed.
"I'm kidding Rosie." You put your free hand on her shoulder, noticing the wear in her eyes and the dark circles that frame them. You try to remember if things were as hard for you when you were her age. Given that you had already been injected with Compound V and were living as a superhero you figured that they were.
Maybe when everything calms down we can all go for a long vacation somewhere.
"Okay." She sighs. Her eyes search your face for a second, brows pinching together. "Are you okay?"
You always thought her ability to read you was almost supernatural, but Rosemary wasn’t psychic.
"Um. It's been a rough few days." You shrug, adjusting your grip on Lou.
"Do you want to talk about it?" She looks worried.
"Yes. There are a few things we need to talk about. But when you get home. Go on. I can take care of the little gremlin for a few hours."
You didn't like it when she worried about you. Rosie had enough on her shoulders, she didn’t need the 90 plus years of baggage you dragged around everywhere. But what had happened over the past few days deserved a conversation. You were going to go to Russia to find out what happened to Ben and you weren't sure when you would come back or if you could. Going to Russia might mean exposing your identity, which meant you might have to cut and run. You also weren’t sure how much damage had been done after what happened with Countess. When you killed her, you had expected Vought or the police to show up at your door, but you thought that you covered your tracks pretty well. There wasn't a piece of her trailer left and no evidence to convict you, well, aside from the burned jacket in your apartment that you needed to get rid of. You were still hoping that you could salvage it, but it was doubtful.
Your thoughts drift to Rosemary and Lou. The thought of leaving them behind destroyed you, but if it meant keeping them safe from Vought, you knew that you'd have to do it. But you also wondered if you could leave them behind. They were all you had left.
"Okay. I love you." Rosie half-hugs you with her free hand.
"Love you too. Be careful."
"I love you mommy!" Lou crows as Rosemary kisses her on the head and walks out the front door.
"Alright, what do you want to do?" You ask Lou putting her down.
"PAINT!" She raises her hands over her head like a triumphant gladiator.
"I like where your head's at kid." You smile down at her. "Go get your kit, I'll meet you in the kitchen."
******************************************
When Rosemary gets home twelve hours later, Lou is asleep, but you sit up on the couch with your sketchbook.
Painting with Lou had been enough of a distraction from everything that happened the past few days and the memories of the past that kept rising at the back of your mind, but when she went to bed they started to rush back. The sketchbook had started as a way of escaping the thoughts of what you did to Countess and what she said about you and Ben, but the only thing that you could draw was him. His strong jaw, arching brow, bright green eyes, and mischievous smirk haunted you from the page in front of you.
You hadn't drawn him in over thirty years, hadn't seen him in forty, but you still remembered everything about him, his voice, his laugh, his smile… You had to actively shut off your brain to stop from thinking about him, but none of the usual tricks were working. All you could think about was what if he was alive out there and if the Russians had been torturing him all these years. He was alone.
Did he think that no one cared about him? That no one wanted him?
Yes you hated what he did to you, and as much as you wished that you didn't care, you did. And as much as he hurt you, the Ben you knew would have never left you to rot, he would have come for you and you knew that was what you needed to do for him. The problem now would be telling Rosemary.
Your daughter knew about him. You’d never held anything back when she asked you about her father, including the reason why you two "broke up." In hindsight it was probably not the greatest decision you'd made to tell her exactly what happened, but it was nice to have someone to confide in. And the two of you didn't keep secrets from one another.
"Hey." She whispers with a heavy sigh, collapsing onto the couch beside you. Rosemary drags here eyes around the apartment. "Did you clean?"
"Yeah. It was a bit messy." You smile, shutting the sketchpad so she can't see the page. "Plus I figured it would be nice to be able to sit on the couch without getting probed by one of Lou’s toys."
"Yeah. Don't think I need another little mermaid toy 'exploring' the secrets of the cave, if you know what I mean."
You laugh at her. "How was the shift?"
"Bleh."
"That good?"
"Mhmm." She leans her head against your bicep.
"You know I've been thinking," You put your arm around her shoulders. "Maybe we should all just get away for a few days. We haven't been to the coast in a while. And Lou loves the beach-"
"Don't you have that big show coming up next month?"
"Yeah, but I’ve been feeling a little bit uninspired. I'm thinking about postponing.”
She sits up to look at you, suspicious. "Alright, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong-"
Everything is wrong and I have no idea how to tell you what I need to.
“You have never once postponed a show before.” She raises an eyebrow. "And you’re the worst liar.”
"I’m not lying I am feeling a little bit uninspired.”
"Mom."
"Fine." But you still have no idea how to start the conversation.
How do I tell her that it’s possible her father has been alive this whole time and that he’s currently being held against his will in a Russian Lab? Why is this my life? What did I do to deserve this?
"Is this about Crimson Countess?" Rosemary asks, nudging her shoulder into yours.
"What?" Your head snaps up.
"Her death was on the news. I figured that hearing her name again would make you feel a little-" She moves her head back and forth trying to decide on the word. "Weird."
"It's partly that." You bite the inside of your cheek. "I'm going out of town for a few days-"
Oh and I killed Crimson Countess.
"Where?"
"I can't tell you?" Your face scrunches up as you say it.
"What?"
You sigh and rise from the couch, pacing in front of it. How do I explain this? How do I tell her?
"Why can't you tell me where you’re going? Is this another retreat for your art again? Like when you went camping?“ She almost sounds hopeful, as if that will make any of this okay.
Nothing is okay.
"A few days ago some men showed up at my apartment looking for me."
"Really? Why?"
"They wanted to know about Ben."
Rosie frowns at the mention of her father’s name. “Why? He's dead. And it's been what? 40 years?" She pulls one of the multicolored pillows into her lap, smoothing her finger over the stripes. The shift in her mood is obvious.
"I don't know. They introduced themselves as government agents and I told them the usual lie about Indigo being my mother and that she was dead. And told them a limited amount of information-"
"I still don't see why you have to leave for a few days?" She interrupts.
You press your lips into a tight line.
This is not going to end well.
Rosemary frowns. “What did you do?”
How can she read me so well? I'm her mother, I should be the one doing the reading!
"Alright, I'm going to say something and you can't freak out." Your hands are clasped in front of your chest tightly, trying to think of a way to tell her that you killed Countess.
"What?"
"Promise me."
"I promise."
"I killed her." You say it slowly, gauging her reaction.
"Who?"
"Crimson Countess. I lost control and I killed her."
"What?" Rosie rises from the couch so quickly you think she's flying. "You killed Crimson Countess?"
"Shhh. You're going to wake Lou. And what happened to the promise-" You look down the darkened hallway where your granddaughter is asleep in her room.
Because that's just what the situation needs, for Lou to find out I'm a murderer.
"Fuck the promise! Why were you even with her?" Rosemary asks you, her eyes are still wide.
"That's why it's complicated-"
"Uncomplicate it now." She puts her hands on her hips looking ridiculously like your mother.
"I went there because I started to think about how Ben died, and I realized that I never heard it from her. I heard it from Legend and from Stan Edgar and I wanted to-“
"So you killed her?"
"She said a lot of things that upset me, but she also told me that-" The words catch in the back of your throat. "That Ben might not be dead."
"He's what?" She shouts.
"Rosemary I'm serious you have to stop shouting. Your neighbors are going to call the cops and that's the last thing I want right now."
"Well obviously because you murdered someone and covered it up!"
"Please get off the high horse. She wasn’t a good person.” You snap before you can stop yourself.
Guess the guilt is gone. Honestly, what guilt?
"Fine." She closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath. "Go on."
"The Russian army took him. Which means that there's a possibility he's still alive and I need to know." You didn't expect her to understand why you needed to go. You just hoped that she would let you.
"Are you kidding? This guy did terrible things to you and to other people! He said horrible things to you and you're going to go help him? I say just leave him to rot!” Her green eyes flash around the room, familiar in a way that makes your heart ache.
Her harsh words hurt. Rosemary only knew what you’d told her about her father and although you tried to tell her about the way Ben was when he was younger as she got older Rosemary wanted to know why you and Ben had a fight. And you didn't like lying to her. Now you consider that maybe you should have.
Because what if he was alive? Would she want to meet him? Would he care enough to want to meet her or Lou? I mean I can cut him out of my life, but if Rosemary wants to know him I shouldn't stand in her way...
You and Ben weren't exactly careful that night, but you weren't sure if he just never cared about that kind of thing before. You weren't sure if he actually wanted kids, the one time you'd asked him and he'd said it "maybe" sounded nice to have some kids. You didn't know if that was a good standard to hold him to or not, given that he was drunk when he said it.
Then again, Ben was always drunk.
"I know that you can't understand this, but even though I hate him, I can't leave him. If the roles were reversed, if it was me, Ben wouldn't leave me. Even with everything he said.” Your chest tightens. "And it hurts me to think that he's been there since 1984 with those people doing God knows what to him."
Rosie sighs. "Mom, I know that you love him, but maybe it's better this way. He’s out of you life. You’re doing better than you were. You said it yourself you felt trapped when you were a supe-“
"He might not even be there. I just need to know what happened. And that means I have to leave for a little bit and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to come back.”
"Wait what do you mean? You'd come back. You'd go over there, find out and then come back right?" She looks confused.
You press your lips together. "There's a possibility that if I do this, it will expose me, and I’ve already evaded Vought once. I’m not sure I can do it again.”
"So, what? You're gonna go over there and throw away everything for a guy that shit all over your heart and threw you away? Really? You're going to throw Lou and me away for him?" She's gesturing wildly with her hands now, eyes flashing around the room and again you're reminded of Ben.
"I'm not throwing you away-"
 It breaks your heart that she'd think that you'd do that, that you were willing to sacrifice them so easily.
Am I doing that?
"You're throwing away the life that you've built for yourself. You told me that you were more happy now that you'd been in the past. And now as soon as you hear about him you go right back? Just like how he made you leave your family-"
"He didn’t make me leave my family, it was my choice! I’m not throwing away the life that I have made and I'm not throwing away you or Lou. If you or Lou were taken, you better believe that I would fight for you, I wouldn't leave you to fend for yourselves for any amount of time. You are my family. And yes Ben is an asshole and I've hated him for the past forty years, but I can't leave him."
"I can't believe you're doing this." She pinches the bridge of her nose frustrated.
"I believed after all these years that the reason why Ben died was because I wasn't there. And Countess confirmed it."
"But he's not dead!"
"Maybe. But they made us fight so that I wouldn't be there. They wanted us to fight because they knew they wouldn't be able to stop me if they turned on him-" You try to reason with her, but you know she won’t listen.
She's just so damn stubborn. Just like someone else I know.
"That doesn't matter! That doesn't make what he did or said any less okay." Rosie snaps, before her gaze softens. “It doesn’t change anything. They may have caused you guys to fight, but Ben said those things to you. They didn’t make him say that or do that. He chose to. And I can’t believe that you’re going to forgive him-“
"I don't have to forgive him and I don’t want to. It’s not about forgiveness. I can't leave him. He might be able to turn his back on me, but I can’t stand back and ignore him if he needs help. Believe me I wish I could. I wish that after everything that happened I could walk away, but I can't.  And I know you don't understand that but-" You try to take a step towards her, but she steps back.
"That's not what I don't understand. What I don't understand is you playing with the possibility of losing this for him." She gestures around the apartment. "Do we really mean that little to you that you drop everything for someone that used you and treated you like you meant nothing?"
"You both mean everything to me. Trust me when I say that, but the fact that those two men showed up at my apartment and everything that happened with Countess means that I'm already involved. They already made this about me. I don't know why they needed to know about him, and I want to know why.”
“I can’t believe this.” She stalks past you into the kitchen to get down a bottle of tequila from the top shelf above the stainless steel refrigerator where she locks it away from Lou.
“Rosemary you’re so young-“
“Don’t make this about age. You’re older than me and you should know better.” She angrily pours a shot of tequila before knocking it back.
You try not think that the answer to all of your problems might lie in the bottom of that bottle. Sobriety definitely wasn’t getting any easier, not after you killed Countess or the revelation that Ben was possibly still alive. And especially not now in this fight.
“When you finally told me about him, it was the first time I’d ever seen you break.” Rosemary isn’t looking at you, she's looking down at the floor. “You’ve always been this strong independent figure in my life. You never needed anyone’s help to raise me. You’re so strong and formidable,  but then you told me what he did to you and I’ve never seen you look so small.”
The memories of what happened between you and Ben surge up again, but you beat them away with a stick. The last thing you wanted right now was to relive that in the middle of this fight.
She looks up, locking eyes with yours. “I don’t know why you would do this to yourself again, put yourself through that-”
“Because I still love him.” You mutter. As soon as you say it, you know it’s true. Ben did terrible things, said horrible things, but deep down you still loved the boy you grew up with. And maybe that was the problem, you imagined the boy you grew up being tortured and left to rot, and the thought broke you. “And I don’t know how to stop. Even after everything he did, we spent so many years together and the memory of them doesn't just vanish. I won’t be able to live with myself knowing that I could have helped him and I didn’t.”
Rosemary stands there halfway in the kitchen and the living room, the bottle hanging from her right hand. This time she drinks right from the bottle before answering. “If you really need to do this, then I'm going with you."
"No."
"Why not? I'm as powerful as you-"
"It's not about being powerful, I don't want this life for you, I've never wanted this life for you. I've worked so hard to keep you out of it-"
"But-"
"No. This is why I introduce you as my cousin, why you were homeschooled, why Lou is homeschooled, why Lou doesn't call me grandma, why you don't call me mom around other people. If Vought finds out about you or Lou, it won't matter. None of this will matter.”
"You don't know that." She says it softly.
"I do." You take her hand. "Rosemary, you are one of the strongest supes I've ever met and you're second generation. And Lou, we don't even know what her powers are, but I can guarantee that as soon as Vought finds out they will come for you both. There's a reason why I never told them what my real power was. I kept you both far from this and I don't want them to know."
"I don't want you to do this alone. What happens if you get taken over there?"
"What if you come with me and we both get taken? What about Lou then? What would happen to her? I don't want her to grow up without a family. Please. Just let me do this. It’ll probably take 2-3 days tops.”
Rosemary doesn’t look happy. “I don’t care how long it’s going to take. The only thing I care about is losing you.”
“They’re not going to take me-“
“Not just then.” She sighs. “I mean after. If you do have to cut and run-.” Rosemary shifts her eyes towards the hallway where Lou is asleep in her room before bringing them back to you. “I don’t care how complicated it is, we will go with you.”
“I won’t ask you to do that-“
“It’s what family does. It’s a sacrifice that I’m willing to make. I can always get another job, Lou can be homeschooled anywhere, and I don’t want Lou to live in a world where you’re not here. She needs her grandmother.”
Her words make tears prick in your eyes as you watch her determined stance. Rosemary and Lou were the only family you had left, the only two people that you cared about in the whole world. And maybe she was right, maybe you were throwing it all away for Ben. You hated yourself for wanting to help him, but you knew if the roles were reversed Ben would have come for you.
Well, the old Ben would have come to get me, maybe not Soldier Boy.
"You got another glass?" You ask with a sigh, looking at the bottle in her hand.
"You sure?" Rosemary raises an eyebrow.
"I'm gonna need it to get through the next few days. There's no way I can do any of this shit sober." You mutter following her into the kitchen.
Ten minutes later, you're both sitting at her kitchen table with a bottle of whiskey and a fresh bottle of tequila between you. The haze of alcohol is making you feel infinitely better given the past few days you've had.
The whiskey burns pleasantly as you take a drink from the bright green sippy cup in your hand. Rosemary hadn’t washed dishes so this was the best she had. You knew you probably looked ridiculous.
Rosemary eyes you. "I can't believe you're drinking."
"I really needed this." You snort. "Given the past few days I've had-"
"I also can't believe you killed her."
"She wasn't a good person." You frown remembering what Countess said to you. "Plus I never liked her even before everything that happened. I know that's not a god enough reason to kill someone, but I can't change that now." You run your fingers through your hair to push it back from your face, trying to lose yourself in the buzz, but Ben keeps flashing through your mind.
Damn it, he's invaded by subconscious again.
Another few minutes pass as Rosemary sits there taking a sip from the bottle in front of her. “Do you really miss him that much?”
You pause considering the question. “Yes and no. I miss the person he used to be, before all of this. I think that’s the problem. I’m holding on to the person I grew up with. That’s all I keep thinking. That boy I knew being tortured in that lab.”
“It’s why you stayed on Payback for so long?”
“Yeah.” You take another drag of whiskey frowning at the sippy cup. “Sometimes I’d get glimpses, shapes really and it would make me forget who he was as Soldier Boy and then when I woke up the next day, Soldier Boy was back and Ben was gone.”
There were always quiet moments when it was just the two of you, when you forgot who he became and all you saw was the boy you used to know. When the cameras weren't rolling, the team was gone, and Ben was crashing at your apartment, for some unknown reason. He would do that, continue to show up at your apartment like he had when you were kids. It never made sense to you, especially because he only slept in your room growing up to escape his father. You couldn't think of a reason why he slept at your apartment when you were adults.
Probably just didn't want to be alone.
“That’s why you slept with him?”
“Yes. That night all I saw was the old Ben. And then I woke up with Soldier Boy.” You bite the inside of your cheek as the memory of the morning that followed washes over your mind. You never understood why he ran to Countess, never understood how he could push you away after all the years you spent together. Why he lied and said that he didn't care, because he had to. After everything you’d been through Ben had to care. You remember what Countess said to you and your shoulders sink under the weight.
Or maybe he was just a better liar than I thought.
“Do you regret sleeping with him?”
You look up at your daughter. She really does look like Ben. She was strong, determined, stubborn, and the way she held herself was so confident. And even though she would have been one of the strongest supes she chose to be a nurse, chose to devote her life to helping people instead of the shock and awe of the superhero world. You were so proud of her. You wondered if Ben would be too.
“No.”
“Why? You say that you loved who he was and then he-"
“Because he gave me you. I wouldn’t change a thing. You and Lou are the only thing that matter to me. I know you hate it when I say this, but you’re so young, you have no idea what it’s like to live as long as I have without changing. And whenever it was just me and Soldier Boy I was so alone until Ben came back. I don’t think I would have lasted these years without you Rosemary, think I would have given in to Vought or maybe gone to the government-“
“Are you serious?” Her eyebrows pull together as a worried frown graces her lips. She knew what you were saying.
“Yeah. But I am happy. Happy for the first time in a long time. The problem now is dealing with everything over there.”
“How about I come with you and wait in a hotel-" Rosemary tries again.
“No. It has to be me. I have to go.”
She sighs. “I just hate the idea that you’re not going to come back.”
“I’m going to come back." You smile. "If you can remember I'm a supe too-"
“If they’ve been able to hold him all these years, that means they could take you too.”
“Don’t know if I should be scared or impressed.” You snort into the cup.
“It not funny.”
“Fine, if I’m not back in a week, then I give you permission to come. But I don’t think you’ll need to.”
"You're old and decrepit. Probably will need my help-"
"Low blow."
She smiles faintly.
You roll the glass in your hand for a moment, watching the amber liquid swirl against the green sides. "If he is alive, would you want to meet him?"
Rosemary takes a long pull of tequila, but doesn't answer for a long time. "When I was a kid, sometimes I'd imagine that he was still alive-"
"What?" You looked at her genuinely shocked. You hadn't realized that she ever thought about Ben.
"That he would walk up our long driveway at our house in Maine and we'd be a family. That was before you told me about that night." She runs one of her fingers down the label of the bottle frowning. "I don't know. After what he did to you, I don't know.  Plus I’m almost forty years old, don’t really think I need a father now.”
This time you reach for the bottle of Whiskey, not bothering with the empty sippy cup. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you what he did. Should have let you fantasize about him, see the good-"
"I'm glad you did." She squeezes your hand. “And you didn't just show me the bad, you told me about the good times too."
"Maybe too much bad."
"I don't hate him. I'm mad at him for what he did to you, but I don't hate him."
"So it's a maybe?"
"I guess. I say that now, but I think my reaction if I do ever meet him will probably be the complete opposite. I’m also not sure if he should be around Lou.”
“Ben wouldn’t hurt her.” You press your lips together. "I don't think he would."
“Maybe not intentionally.”
"He's not a bad guy, well-" You take a sip from the bottle, remembering the fight. “He’s just complicated. I guess.”
And I'm still making excuses for him. 
“Sounds like you’re going to forgive him.” Rosemary is frowning at you.
For someone who wants to maybe meet him, she’s acting like she still doesn’t want me to forgive him.
“Trust me, our story is over, finally. I’m just going to bust him out of wherever the hell he is and then I’ll never have to see him ever again.” You remember what you yelled at one another the night of the premiere and it strengthens your resolve. You didn't want to forgive him, you just wanted to get him the hell out of Russia and maybe slap him around a bit and then go home and finally move on with your life. Because you were slowly realizing you never did, you just packed it all away deep down and pretended to move on. "This isn't about forgiveness, it's so I can live with myself."
"I just don't think you should forgive him so easily."
"I don't want to and I'm not going to. He doesn't deserve that." You mutter that last part into the bottle, because it was true. Ben didn't deserve your forgiveness, hell, he didn't deserve you risking your life to find him, but you had to.  His death left such a big hole in your life and you beat yourself up about it for years, you not being there for him when he needed you the most. But now, going to Russia, getting him back, meant that you could finally move on, that you could close the hole and finally be at peace.
Rosemary leans back in her chair with a sigh. “Promise me,  you're going to come back."
"I promise. Not even Homelander can stop me." You smile at her. “Now I just got to figure out where Ben is.”
Easy. Yeah right.
***************************************************
Thank you so much for reading! If you'd like to be added to the taglist for this series let me know :)
Taglist: @roseblue373 @anundyingfidelity @cheynovak @cassiecasluciluce @muhahaha303 @deans-spinster-witch @kayleighmeister @demodemo909 @fruitfacess @bobbobbobinogs @bughill126, @simplyfixated @sleepjam, @tiredstrangerr @freefallthoughts,@onlyangel-444 @lov3vivian @mxltifxnd0m @mayafatimakhan
133 notes · View notes
luvring · 25 days
Note
Hi, I really love your headcanons for Touchstarved, they’re so great!! If it hasn’t been requested yet, may I please request Leander falling in love headcanons?
LEANDER FALLING IN LOVE
Tumblr media
gn!reader | thank u!!!! \o/ es leander time :-]
Tumblr media
don't know how to describe this. for ais + vere + kuras, romantic feelings develop somewhere in the process (ais and vere generally love being little shits so they could've liked you from the start.) but for leander, it's clear he's kinda into you from the beginning. LOL
this doesn't necessarily mean the relationship will develop super fast! leander pays attention and keeps a pace you're comfortable with, though he doesn't shy away from your flirtations (might be surprised, but then he'll smile/laugh and flirt back) or physical touch if you go for it. he loves it even!
one moment is him wooing you with magic...again... another flower! multiple, even! little fireworks! stars! a trail of flickering lights where you find him waiting for you at the end! you can show you're genuinely touched or tease him about it (is a lot of your job doing little magic shows? / is a flower the best you can do?) and he says he'll do something even bigger next time
another moment might be you taking charge in some way. telling him to back down/up, defending him, asking to take the lead for one of your adventures. it isn't often that leander's offered the option to be anything but a leader, much less told not to be. he offers advice but generally follows your lead, and is it weird for him to say that it was really attractive when you told that guy to pay attention to you, not him?
it all just seems too good to be true, he's too good to be true. so you're wary, even if you do really really want to get close or kiss him etc etc. and leander can tell, of course, so he'll just keep trying to prove himself to you
there has to be a moment where you find out how and why he does things for free—why he's the renowned leader of the Bloodhounds. that's not for me to figure out though! i am not a theorist [heart emoji]
But :3 I will offer :3 leander protecting his people above ground isn't a rare sight. leander getting super ticked off or cold is. he's all but mastered his charm and negotiations, until you're involved, and the bloodhound leader might resemble his rumors more in that moment :3c
he doesn't really run from his feelings? he knows he likes you, and that you like him too, so he doesn't see a reason to beat around the bush there. the problems lie with his gang business and possible necromancy if the theories are true, so we'll have to see about. That because there could definitely be some kind of fight or confrontation between you two depending on what he's doing
but anyway. when the time finally comes, he tells you being with him will put a target on your back, but he promises to protect you, even more so than he has been.
plus! he hasn't taken you on a proper date yet! you didn't think hanging out at the bar or looking for books or sneaking into buildings was the best he could do, did you?
! having a hard time choosing how everyone finds out he has a partner now. he could make an announcement at the wet wick if you're comfortable with it, making your spot in the gang official. it could be that people were already gossiping/betting on when it happens, and when he kisses your temple at the bar someone sees and cheers. it's really up to you! i think he's happy with whatever you'd like :3
so! leander's into you. when does he realize he's In Love with you
because i don't think he really had a Serious Relationship in his plans LOL. and that's nothing against you!! he regrets nothing!! it's just... there's things to figure out, priorities to be made, long term plans that have to be accounted for
i'm kind of imagining like. an oh shit moment. he may not say that but the emotional impact is that level
yes he was always interested in you, but it's obviously getting more serious, because he's thinking of the mundane? if that makes sense. like it isn't just that he likes holding your hand or kissing you, it's that he imagines it when he's tired and uses the thought of seeing you again as comfort. it isn't just that he'd love to wow you and take you on a date, it's that he's wondering if you'd mind going on some errands with him. he's fitting you into every area of his life in his head rather than trying to keep you separate
and at some point it just clicks in leander's head.
he can be the one to say it first! might even be the same day he realizes. you're taking a nap and he says "i love you," just to try it out. it feels a little weird but not unwelcome, and now he has to figure out when to say it while you're conscious LOL
if you say it he [ ! ] [ :) ]. maybe sighs and makes a joke about you beating him to it, but says it back sincerely :3
84 notes · View notes
yelenasdiary · 10 months
Note
These set pictures of Florence pregnant have me in my feels 🥹 Fic request of Flo and her wife on a last minute babymoon and her water breaks unexpectedly? Protective wife (Reader) gets mad at the paparazzi but does her best to help calm Flo while she has contractions? Fluff once the baby is born would be so cute! Thank you!
I Love You
Pairing: Florence Pugh x Fem! Reader
Summary: With Florence’s due date a few days away, the two of you decided to have one last outing before the baby arrives, just a small romantic dinner between the two of you, what would possibly go wrong?
Tiny Angst | Fluff | Mentions of Childbirth | Florence Bring Pregnant | Slight Language Warning | K | 
AC: I’m really excited to see my new favourite milf, Almut! Please note, I used a random generator to pick the sex of the baby, I hope you enjoy this & I’m sorry it took forever to post x 
Tumblr media
"Are you sure you're up for this baby?" you asked your wife as you pulled up into the parking lot of one of her favorite restaurants. Florence looked at you, her hands gently rubbing over her pregnant stomach as she smiled softly at you, "darling, I am craving some really good Greek food, so is our baby" she replied, once again using your unborn child as an excuse. How could you say no to her? She deserves this, after 9 long tiring but exciting months, this would be the last time for a while that Florence would want to do anything until the baby is born. 
"Alright then" you chuckled, "how can I say no to you two?" you added before kissing her lips softly. 
You helped your wife out of the car and carried her handbag as the two of you walked into the restaurant. The waitress greeted the two of you before showing you to your booked table where you pulled the chair out for your wife. "Thank you love" Florence smiled as she slowly sat down and shuffled in her chair to get comfy. 
"I can't believe our little love will be here soon, it still feels like we only found out yesterday" Florence spoke as she poured the two of you a glass of water each. Even though you could tell your wife was trying to hide the fact she was very much over being pregnant by now, you still smiled and let her soak up this moment of reminiscence. 
You couldn't help but take a moment to admire the beauty she truly was. Being married for 3 years and now about to add another member of your little family felt surreal to you, seeing your wife's happy glow while she could barely keep her hands from rubbing the bundle of joy that stole your hearts only brought a proud smile to your lips. 
"It's still a little crazy to me" you replied, "but a good crazy" you quickly added so she wouldn't get the wrong idea. Florence just chuckled, "thank you darling, for being so amazing and supportive through this entire pregnancy, our baby is so unbelievably lucky to have you has their mama" She reached for your hand, holding it gently before the waitress came to take your orders. 
Florence of course ordered the meal she had been craving all day and you ordered something lit as you weren't all that hungry. "Our baby has the world's greatest mother, even before we thought about bring this little cutie into the world, they already had the greatest" you replied once the waitress had wandered back to the kitchen to place the orders. As much as you were enjoying this one-on-one moment with your wife, you couldn't help but notice a couple of people snapping a few pictures of the two of you. Instantly, you felt a wave of protection wash over you and of course, Florence noticed the way you clenched your jaw. 
"Honey don't worry about them" her voice calmed you, "it's just a couple of photos" she added. Since Florence fell pregnant, you've been slightly overprotective of her but you were working on it and making sure it didn't get in the way of things, especially moments like these. 
"I'm sorry" you smiled softly. 
"Don't be, darling, I know you mean well" Florence replied, her thumb gently stroked your knuckles. 
----
After your main meal, you could tell Florence was eyeing off one of the cakes in the dessert display. "Would you like some cake little one?" you asked, looking at your wife's stomach. Florence raised a brow playfully at you, "we would love some" she replied before she grabbed the tablecloth in a harsh grip. Her face expression dropped and worry instantly filled your body.
"Flo, baby, what's wrong?" you asked in a panic, standing up from your seat. 
"Get the car darling, my water just broke!" she looked up at you with a faint smirk before closing her eyes and gripping the tablecloth even harder, if that were possible. Your eyes shot open at her words and suddenly you felt your mind go blank. "Darling, please!" Florence's grip on your hand reactivated your brain. "Right! sorry, okay, uhm, shit! Wait right here, I'll be back!" you replied in a scatter. 
As you rushed out the front door of the restaurant you were met with the sight of at least 10-15 paparazzi waiting with their cameras flashing across the road from you. "Guys! No photos! Not tonight, please!" you shouted as you turned around to walk back into the restaurant. Florence was lent over the table doing her best not to cause a scene, there was no way you wanted to let her leave the restaurant through the front door and asked a waitress in passing if there were a back door to the restaurant. 
"It's through the kitchen but we can't allow you back there, I'm really sorry" she replied to your question. 
"Please, my wife, over there" you pointed to Florence, "her water just broke, there are paparazzi outside, please don't make me take her out the front" you explained. The waitress looked at Florence then back at you, "okay, go ahead, I'll explain things" she smiled softly at you. With that, you walked back to Florence and explained the new plan. 
"Honey, I don't care, please just get me to the hospital!" Florence looked at you as she reached for your hand, you nodded, "come on" you replied softly before leading the two of you through the kitchen. 
Opening the back door to the parking lot, you saw a small group of paparazzi close by your car, already snapping plenty of photos of Florence and you as you helped walk your wife to the car. "Florence, over here!" , "Florence how was filming your next movie?" , "When's the baby due?!", so many questions were being shouted at the tow of you, it only boiled your blood to the max. 
"Come on guys! Back off! Let us get to the car!" You spoke, pushing your way through the group of paparazzi while keeping Florence close to you. "Babe!" Florence tried her best to whisper as her grip on your hand tightened, signaling that she was having another contraction. "I've got you" you reminded her, stopping for a moment to let the pain pass. The paparazzi doing nothing to give either of you space, which only added to your boiling rage. 
"She's in labour!" One guy shouted, alerting the others. 
"Back the fuck off!" you shoved one guy who was now standing in front of you, blocking the last few steps to the car. Quickly you finally made it to the car, opening the door for Florence and helping her to get comfortable as she could possibly get before getting in yourself. 
"They're so fucking crazy!" You sighed in anger. 
Florence placed a hand on the top of your thigh, "darling, don't worry about them. Let's just get to the hospital and meet our baby" she smiled softly. 
----
After hours of holding Florence's hand, helping her breathe through her contractions, wiping the sweat from her face and feeding her ice chips when she needed them, the two of you found yourself in awe as your new-born baby boy slept peacefully in Florence's arms. 
"He's beautiful" you whispered, placing a kiss on your wife's temple. Your eyes looked back at your son whom you had only just met but already loved with everything within you. He already had Florence's cute button like nose, and you were confident he would also inherit her beautiful eyes. 
"He's perfect" Florence replied before looking up at you, "and he's ours" she added with a proud and loving smile. You couldn't help but smile softly in reply before kissing her ever so gently, "I love you so much" you whispered softly, not to wake the sleeping prince. 
"I love you more than any words could ever describe" Florence kissed you once more. 
Looking at your little family, you forgot about anything else that was on your mind, you didn't even care about what tomorrow's headlines would say about you. All you cared about was the sight in front of you. Your wife and your son.
Tumblr media
Taglist: @red1culous | @bentleywolf29 | @jeyramarie | @lissaaaa145 | @high--power | @parkerdaramitzzzz | @mmmmokdok | @wackymcstupid | @kiwiana145  | @sophie-xox | @observeowl | @nattyolw | @ripofflizzie | @get-the-fuck-outta-here | @goofy-goonie | @makegoodchoices | @apollo2907 | @marvelfan98 | @wandaroman0ff | @dumb-fawkin-bitch | @lovelyy-moonlight | @santana1437 | @sophie-xox | @fluffyblanketgecko | @inluvwithfictionalwomen | @jaymieflorissssssss | @tita001 | @youralphawolf72 | @crescent-witch | @randomnessbecausewhynot | @natashamaximoff69 | @a-dorkier-book-keeper | @hehehehannahthings | @blue-serendipityy | @secrettoallofyou | @romantic-slaps-on-the-asss | @marvel-fan-2021 | @mmmmokdok | @riveramorylunar | @ripofflizzie | @toldthatdevil | @itsmv3 | @katiemay-025 | @livresjaunes | @maria-403 | @boredandneedfanfics | @wandamaximoffspuppup | @xox-little-troublemaker-xox | @shibugs | 
254 notes · View notes
uyuforu · 6 months
Text
Tumblr media
BTS Tarot: Does Jungkook know who is his Future Spouse?
Tumblr media Tumblr media
-> I had a lot of ask about this one, like does JK knows who she is, seems he seemed to already have seen details about her in psychic, dreams, etc. So I'm curious too! Let's ask the cards to see :)
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Cards pulled per decks
Ekta Oracle: The deer; The books; The paper plane + The kite
Celeste Astrokiff Oracle: Capricorn; Changment; Sky + The positive choc
Original Tarot de Marseille: 10 of pentacles; Ace of swords; The chariot reversed; Jack of pentacles; The popess reversed; King of pentacles + King of cups
Botticelli Tarot de Marseille: 7 of pentacles; 10 of cups; 3 of cups; The sun; King of pentacles, The wheel of fortune reversed + The strength
Lenormand: The bear; The key; The tree; The bridge; Death; The fish; The book; The birds + The storks
Tumblr media Tumblr media
-> Please don’t forget this is for ALLEGEDLY FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.
-> It seems like he has an idea, yes. He knows who she is. He doesn't know her yet, he didn't met her yet. But he knows about her. It's mostly intuition, or inner knowing. He could have seen her in a dream for example. He also knows because he searched for answers. So it means psychic, astrologers, tarot readers, etc. He is part of our team lol! He may have gone deep into wanting to know about her. I wouldn't be shocked if he actually tried all known technique to know about your future spouse. He was very studious about it, and very hard working into his researches. But he could have learned something that hurt him or someone? I'm gonna spoil you there but it seems like JK's FS being a foreigner will not please his parents, mostly his mom at 100%. I saw some astrological aspects of it and I'll explain in another post. I'm not saying his mom will not like his FS but she will be like "... for real? Why not a Korean?" something like that. Now, don't be too serious about this because I'm not 100% sure about this. It's more difficult for older generations to understand this. But it seems like JK doesn't care much lol he already loves her a lot.
-> The tarots are what actually made me understand he knows already a lot about her lmao. He achieve this knowledge already. He may have a good opinion of her or feel like "I can't wait to meet her and be with her" kind of thing. It seems like he knows they are not meeting now, so he can't do anything. To be honest, it seems like it will happen naturally, JK can't do anything but to wait for it to happen. So he is waiting but he feels very excited. He is very serious about that. He feels like he can give the world to her. But it seems like other details about her have been hidden from him. It is meant to be this way in order for JK to literally not pick her up at her house lmao. He could totally do it. He feels impatient, so he shouldn't know too much until it's the right time to meet.
-> It feels like the details he knows about her made him love her more. He loves her so much already. He thinks she is wonderful. He is very happy to know he will marry someone like her. He is over happy at this point. So much love here. He is trusting the universe a lot. He may be scared at time that it won't happened, but he knows he has to trust. He has to keep going.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Thank you for reading! Requests are open but make sure to read the rules first!
back to index ; ask ; requests ; schedule ; rules
88 notes · View notes