#its astounding how many opposite corner couples there are here

[mercutiotakethewheel]

denya are the only ones who can drink out of their partners cup without screaming “ive been poisoned 🤢 oh my god”

#its astounding how many opposite corner couples there are here #grishaverse #shadow and bone #nikolai lantsov #david kostyk #genya safin #fedyor kaminsky #aleksander morovoza #malyen oretsev #alina starkov #ivan kaminsky #zoya nazyalensky #alina drinks put of any of her partners but zoyas cup and immediately threatens divorce #aleksander just doesnt know how to use his phone #which gives everyone a heart attack all the time #hes a dinosaur #mal is the driest texter youve ever met in your life #yes i know zoyas canonically a tea person #i dont care #its about the vibes

[imagines-hoarder]

House Warming - Bucky Barnes

Summary: Hopping through some standout moments in making Bucky's apartment a place worth coming home to. (This definitely could have been a headcanon but I refuse to do headcanons at this time.)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Word count: 2.6 k

Warnings: fluff with a lil angst

A/N: I have finished all the assignments left for my degree and decided to sit down and write today. This is probably trash but idc because it has been written and therefore I may as well release it. It's been a while since I've written and years since I've truly tried dipping my foot into a different fandom, but I figured I'd give it ago. Please don't forget to leave comments, I love interacting with y'all. Thank you @bwbatta​ for the dividers! xoxox

Masterlist

It all started with a damn candle. A ‘sandalwood & vanilla orchid’ candle tucked away in a reused cyan jar.

“I found it at the art market down the street last weekend,” you said as you placed it in the corner of the living room window. “You know we have to support local business.”

“And I shouldn’t assume this is your way of telling me my place smells, right?” Bucky quipped from the kitchen island, a cup of coffee in his hand and a lazy smile on his face. He’d just gotten back from a 12-day mission with Sam, and the last thing he had on his to-do list was to buy candles.

The smile grew firmer as you put yourself into his arms. “Complete opposite, actually. I bought it cause I thought it smelled just like you.” You hid your face within his chest, and he thanked the stars that you couldn’t see the warmth rising in his cheeks. His barren apartment felt a little bigger with a candle in the windowsill.

From there it became decorative pillows… and a couch to hold them. The small living room had quickly become a mess by the time you both had brought it up to his fourth-floor apartment, furniture wrap and packing peanuts strewn everywhere.

“I still don’t know why you needed to buy a sofa this big,” Bucky grumbled as he leaned over the back of the beige three-seater, looking down at your splayed out across its cushions.

“Don’t get me wrong, babe. I love the transient bachelor look you’ve got going on here, but you need more furniture than an armchair,” you mumbled between heavy breaths as you tried to regain control from maneuvering the couch into the apartment.

“And the pillows?” A laugh fell from your lips as you watched him look at the indigo cushions with a remarkable amount of disdain. Who buys pillows made just to look nice on a couch?

“They add character.”

“I didn’t think character was an area we were lacking in. Transient bachelor, remember?” He walked around the couch and shifted you over so he could lay beside you. You instinctively curled into him as you both closed your eyes. For a second the place felt like home. “I also don't know how you plan for us both to fit on this couch every day along with the pillows.”

“Don’t worry about it,” You looked up from his chest with a mischievous glint that made his heart skip. “It’s a pullout bed too. I’m sure it’ll be firm enough even for you.”

The home improvements didn’t stop there, but Bucky refused to admit how much he enjoyed them.

He liked having a place and person to come home to. After you had bought neutral bedding for his room, you’d spent an evening putting together ‘his and hers’ trestle bookcases for either side of the bed. He’d try to keep up his crabbish demeanor as you argued that ‘you needed a place to set your books for when you slept over,’ and a side table could no longer contain the small collection you had spilling over. Even still, he couldn’t find it in himself to banter much about the minor changes you made to make the place feel lived in.

And God, did he love living with you around. Between missions, his continued therapy, and trying to find his place in a world that had tripled in opportunity since his youth, he knew that he never had to question who he was and where he fit in when he walked through that door. You still occasionally slept at your own apartment when he was away, but he could always count on you being asleep in his bed by the time he came home.

One toothbrush in a glass became two, and from there, hand creams, face masks, and cotton pads cluttered the bathroom counter, packed away in their clear containers. You had made sure to keep lavender bath salts on hand for the late-night baths you took together when he woke up in a panic, unable to close his eyes again for fear of falling back into a nightmare.

It took time and working through plenty of hesitation before Bucky could progress from sleeping on the pull-out sofa to the bed, but ever since, you found your nights attended by restlessness whenever you weren’t wrapped in his arms.

Once your lease was up and you had a lengthy conversation about your inability to rest without him, you quickly filled the apartment with brown boxes. Bucky had been no less than astounded by how much you fit into them. From then on, no nook or cranny was without a vase or shelf.

“How many mugs does one house need,” Bucky asked skeptically while he continued to carefully pull them from their paper wrappings.

“Oh, come on! They’re fun!” You exclaimed, wrapping an arm around his waist as you took the Charlie Brown mug from his metal palm. “Plus, we go through enough coffee around here to justify some extra mugs.”

After you put the mug into the lowest shelf of the cabinet, you busied yourself with filing away the spices one cabinet over. No matter how much he tried, Bucky couldn’t pull his eyes away from you, lost in your own world as you chipped away at unpacking your belongings, making yours his, and vice versa. The domesticity in the little things you did was something he could get used to, and he wanted to return the feeling of normalcy as much as he could. He was far from the average boyfriend, but you remind him that could be a good thing. You never wanted to be average, but in these small moments, as you both did what normal couples do, he felt that he could create a new normal with you.

“So your Christmas gift came in already, and it’s too big to hide.” Your awkward tone carried over the phone as he exited a station ten minutes away from the apartment. Even though his neck ached and the cold nipped at the top of his ears, he couldn’t stop himself from releasing a breathy laugh.

“I thought you said you were good at this gift-giving thing, doll,” he teased you as he maneuvered his way to your shared apartment.

“Oh, don’t you fret, baby. I am the best gift-giver in all of New York City. I just slightly miscalculated how big this thing was and have realized it won’t fit into our closet.”

He tsked with a smirk on his face. “If you say so.”

“Hey, you gave me my Christmas gift a week ago.”

“Yeah, that’s because I didn’t know if I’d be back before Christmas.”

“Well, you will be, and I’m glad you are,” your voice softened lovingly as he pulled out his keys to the front of the building.

Bucky had gotten used to your love, but he’d vow to never take it for granted. All the pain he’d endured had somehow led him to you, the person who didn’t see his broken pieces as a burden or a project but as a potential to be whatever he desired.

When he hung up the call and unlocked the apartment, his brows furrowed into one; the apartment was pitch black. It was only when he heard your soft footstep walking towards the entrance that his face relaxed.

Before he could even kiss you, you had your palms firmly placed over his eyes. “No peeking; your gift is in the living room.”

The uncertainty in what you could have got him made his stomach clench. “Is it an animal?”

You slowly dragged him through the front hallway, making sure to avoid crashing into the entryway storage table. “I’m sorry to say it’s not alive.”

“Is it a nice welcome-home spread with candles, fruit, and the pullout bed all set up?”

He could feel your eyes roll to completion. “Easy there, sergeant. That’s for later.” You pulled him down to sit on the couch, and he kept his eyes closed as you pulled your palms away, moving to turn on a lamp. “Okay, Buck. open up.”

When he opened his eyes, it took him a moment to understand what he was seeing nestled against the wall; when he did recognize it, he could only form two words “Holy shit.”

“Holy shit indeed.”

He was quick to stand up and cross the room, eager to get a good look at the walnut centerpiece. “Does it work?”

You scoffed as you moved to kiss his cheek. “What kind of girlfriend would get her ancient boyfriend a broken phonograph console?”

He didn’t even attempt to answer as he bent down to wrap his arms around you, his lips eager to find yours. “A fucking Magnavox radio and phonograph,” he mumbled against your lips.

“A working Magnavox radio and phonograph, you mean.” When you pulled away and saw that his face held a glow reserved only for special occasions, you knew you had made the right choice. “I’ve got some records wrapped up if you want to open those now too.”

You yelped in surprise as he picked you up and made his way towards your bedroom. “I’ve got something else I’d like to unwrap first.”

Bucky Barnes had grown up in a period when the average family could seldom afford nice things or much of anything at all. The Great Depression has resulted in the slogan ‘Make it do or Do without,” being ingrained into what memories he still had, and 'doing without' had become commonplace for the Barnes household.

That’s why every gadget and gizmo you added to your household left him in awe. For much of his life, including the decades he spent as a weapon for Hydra, he hadn’t been allowed to call anything his own; he was still getting used to living so plentifully, both in love and in life. But now, he could barely move and he thought it had all been taken away from him.

The attack was supposed to have been contained, at least three miles away from the apartment. Anything less, and he would have made you visit your family upstate instead of just suggesting it. By the time Sam had told him that there’d been some confirmed damage within a block of the apartment, Bucky was already on his way home. He couldn’t think of anything but the worse: you trapped in a collapsing apartment building or pulling up to find no building there at all.

He felt his lungs fill with air again as he pulled up to your building, completely intact regardless of the severe damage less than a five-minute walk away. It felt like both seconds and hours between when he parked his outside and unlocked the front door.

“He doesn’t have his phone on him, mom. How am I supposed to…” you trailed off from your call as he walked into the living room, turning your head away from the Breaking News report you’d been glued to for the last hour. “Wait, I’ll call you back. Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll call you back.” Your eyes never left his as he walked over to you, hanging up the phone with worry in your eyes. “Buck, are you oka-”

You couldn’t even finish your sentence before he pulled you off of the couch and into his arms. His grip was less reserved than he usually kept, but he made sure not to hurt you, eager to keep you in his arms, where he knew you were safe. A single tear fell from the corner of his eyes as he realized the real possibility that he could have lost you if you lived even 5 minutes closer to the attack. You stayed like that for a while, gathered tightly in his arms as you both settled onto the floor You didn’t push him to verbalize his fear; you already understood it. And it took this occurrence for him to realize he never wanted to experience this feeling again.

Bucky was quiet for the rest of the evening, and while it worried you, his fear had been evident enough not to require questioning. The city-wide cleanup had lasted all hours of the night; for the first time in all the years you had lived in the city, the sounds of the whirring of vehicles clearing debris off the street had been too close to ignore. The sun was rising before a single word was said between you and Bucky, tangled together on the sofa as the first ray of light made itself known.

“You’ve spent so much time piecing this place together, doll.” His voice was raspy. You know he hates when you see him cry, but his pain was always evident in his voice. “And it could have been all wiped away in seconds.” You let a heavy silence settle between you as you traced a pattern into his shoulder. He couldn’t bear to say it, but you knew what he meant: You could have been gone within seconds. “I just… I don’t ever want to feel like this again.”

You’d both gone through so much to make your relationship work. Nearly normal was as close as you would ever attain to being an average couple. The distance, the days without contact, and the ever-present fear that anything could pull you away from one another was something that had taken time to work through.

You looked around the living room and saw the place you had built together. There were photos and books scattered on any flat surface, a leftover mug half-filled with cold tea, and a record left out on the phonograph. The apartment looked like what love felt like; a messy combination of everything you and Bucky. But this apartment could not contain everything that ‘home’ was; only Bucky could do that.

The words fell from your mouth before you could restrain them. “Maybe we should move.”

Your eyes found each other, and you both sat in silence, though it felt lighter, invigorated with the new proposition.

Before he even responded, you could see tension dissolve from his shoulders. “Where do you want to move?”

You hadn’t thought that far ahead, only being able to provide him with a shrug. “I don’t know… maybe upstate, maybe somewhere else.”

“Your mom would like you being Upstate.”

“My mom would love us living next door too, but I don’t see that in the cards anytime soon.” You got a ghost of a smile for that.

“We could probably afford a house if we moved out there,” he said as he moved his lips to meet your forehead.

“Buck, I’d move anywhere with you. As long as we have each other, then we have all we need to rebuild this place.”

He pressed soft kisses to the crown of your head, and you swore you felt his chest flutter. “Tomorrow, I’m gonna look for some places, bigger ones too.” He tilted your head up to find your eyes, and you were sure that all of the love you carried for each other was incredibly visible at that moment. “You have made this apartment something worth coming home to. Now let me give you a house to make a home.” Your skin tingled with adoration as you pulled him as close as possible, burying your face into his neck.

You didn’t want to let go. You wanted to lay in this room, in this bed, and in this moment until the end of time, but you knew that something bigger and better was on the horizon for you and Bucky.

“All I heard is that you’re buying me a house.” His laugh was music to your ears.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes oneshot #bucky barnes drabble #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes fluff

[amoristt]

Grazing the Fire | IV

well hello. here i am, four years later, once again enamored with nathan enough to finally dust this baby off and pick up where i left it. im a little rusty so bear with me this chapter! much more to come <3

reblogs + tags and replies will make my entire day as i put a lot of effort into this :)! it also helps motivate me!

story continues beneath the read more. let me know if you can’t access it!

Warning: language, very vague s/a mentions

want to support me? heres my kofi!

__________________________

“Alright class, who can tell me,” A board stick clacks against the chalkboard. “Who can answer problem four?” 

A few hands raise in the corners of your eye, but yours remains atop your desk. Eyes far away, mind in a murky haze and almost completely unaware. All you could focus on were the memories playing on repeat within the confines of your tired, tired brain. Hours ago, you were warm, you were comfortable. Safe.

Cheeks heated to a dusting blush when you remind yourself just how you had awoken that morning. At some point in the night, an angel had blessed you. Allowed you to wake up wrapped around none other than big, bad, Nathan Prescott. Your face nuzzled into his chest, broad but wiry hands pressed firmly over your shoulder and his arm slung over your waist to keep you against him. Thankfully you had been the first to wake up, blinking away the morning sun blazing through his blinds and painting the room stripes of gold. At that moment, before your headache came crashing down onto your skull, you were astounded by him. 

Eye lashes brushing the top of his cheeks, his lips parted ever so slightly, chest rising and falling rhythmically. In that moment, there was no anger, no bitterness. Just a soft and peaceful slumber. It was like being the sole viewer of a magnificent painting- each stroke and detail placed just there just for you to pick out, to remember the curves and sharp edges down to the very foundation. From his unkempt hair down to the way his hand flattened onto the mattress where your indent still lived. Nathan was so beautiful like this. 

For a long time you stayed there. It was as though you were afraid to move- you couldn’t bear to disturb him. You had wondered, if he was always like this, so at peace, what would he be like? Likely soft voiced, mild mannered. He’d do his school assignments without hassle and donate to the charity board. He would wander the town with his friends and listen to music in a beat up truck flying down the stretch of highway overlooking the bold, blue, and beautiful ocean. An entirely different version of himself- carefree, and a fair blue as opposed to a burning flame of red. 

But, if that were the case, you’d never have gotten here. You’d never been both the outsider, and the only seeing eye. A lucky, albeit firstly unwilling witness to the display of depth before you. 

It never hit you like it had quite in that moment how lucky you were.

But- just then- an alarm disturbed what serendipity existed. You nearly leapt out of your skin, clutched your hands to your chest at the sudden sound. A headache wove its way into your once untouched temples. Nathan groaned, mumbled, ‘god damn it’, under his breath, and thus his body was reanimated into life. He rubbed his eyes and he stretched, that familiar scowl coming over his eyes and lips as he took in the sunlight damn near blinding him. A polar opposite to the being you’d appreciated just moments earlier.

“Ugh, fuck, how the fuck is it seven already.” He groaned. “I feel like shit.”

“Well good morning to you too,” You started, welcoming Nathan into the world. “‘I’m feeling pretty shitty as well.” 

You said that, but really… You were more than alright. Your head had hurt, slight nausea crept into the wells of your stomach, but other than that you’re sure you were phenomenally better than you’d have been waking up whereverTate would have left your ass.

“You need to get outta here, before everyone gets up.” Nathan drawled, but he didn’t sound as urgent as you expected him to be. You’d expected him to be angry that you were still in his room, but instead he just… accepted it. 

You snickered, climbing out of his throne of a bed. “Wow, you’re giving me the morning after treatment?” 

“Sure am. Get outta here, whore.”

“Oh fuck you.” 

You located your heels from last night, resting upright near his dorm room door. Heels didn’t sound like the most  practical to sneak out of a dorm with, so you instead opted to grappling them by the straps and carrying them at your side. Hair a mess, outfit riddled with wrinkles and makeup smudged under your eyes, you stood before Nathan in all your glory. He stared at you for a long, odd moment- and you for some reason felt exposed, or even, shy. 

“What?” You ask expectantly, placing a hand on your hip. 

His eyes trail to your line of vision. He shakes his head. “Just thinking about how now you really do look like my morning after.”

“Yeah?” You hummed. “Find it hard to believe you get a lot of those.”

Nathan shoots you a suggestive glance. “You’d be surprised. Everyone wants a piece of Prescott.”

Surely, he was joking, or maybe he wasn’t, but you… Didn’t like hearing that. It made your stomach feel odd, uncomfortably heavy.  As he stood up, reminding you how many inches he had over your size, you swallowed and cleared your throat to flush out that crappy feeling. “Well,” you started, mood having dropped. “I’m gonna go, then.” 

“What got your panties in a twist all the sudden?” He asked, raising a brow and pulling some clothes from his closet, tossing them onto the bed.

The bed you two had shared.

You hated the idea of his morning afters- whoever they may be. 

“Not feeling great. Probably a side effect of the roofies.” You mumbled.

Nathan breathed a laugh. “Probably.”

He seemed so calm, right now. Perhaps due to it being so early, before the outside world had a chance to remind him just why he was so uptight all the tight. Before he needed to be so uptight all the time. He really did have so many versions of himself- all of whom you were slowly becoming familiar with. Compared to the person you’d believed him to be before your run ins, you’d never have assumed someone so dangerous could be so soft as last night, as this morning. In the beginning, you’d feared him. Avoided him like a plague, or a wild animal. Even when you were enraptured in the existence of him, you still wanted to keep away. You’d never have believed someone like you could wake up clutched to his chest, as though he were afraid if he released you, you’d be gone long before he woke. 

Then, a sudden thought struck your mind. 

He’d held you so tight. He’d welcomed you in the morning. No anger, no annoyance. His soft laugh at your banter and taunts. How your heels were standing upright instead of tossed haphazardly into some random corner, where he’d watch your struggle to find. 

How he’d stayed awake to ensure your sleep.

“So are you just gonna stand there?” Nathan called you back to reality, hands gripping the hems of his shirt. “I gotta get ready and you need to wash up so you don’t look like a five dollar stripper.” Cruel words, but with absolutely no bite. You rolled your eyes.

“Yeah. But, hey,” You started. “Thank you for last night.” 

“Yeah, yeah. You gotta start learning to watch your own back.” He says. “There’s gonna be times I won’t be there to drag your ass out of the fire.”

If you’d been charged, if you’d been stricken with a strange defensiveness, you’d have retorted, ‘than stop helping me’, but… Instead you allowed yourself the comfort of protection. You allowed Nathan Prescott to watch you.  

“I know,” You reached for the door. “Thank you.”

With that, you bounded out of the dorm silent as a mouse. 

-----------

In hindsight, you should have left earlier. Class was merely 15 minutes away when you slipped out of Nathan's room and bounded towards the women's dorm. Albeit not exactly a long walk, by the time you discreetly snuck back into your own dorm, you had roughly twenty minutes to somehow pick an outfit from your countless unopened boxes and make yourself even slightly presentable. 

Wiping off whatever make-up you could get and reapplying it, brushing out the tangles of your hair and nearly tearing off your scalp in the process, scattering your nightclothes over your floor and managing to scrounge out a semi-decent outfit for the day… You still looked a mess. If the mirror could laugh, it would have. Black mascara smudges under your eyes and frizzy untreated hair. What a lovely look. 

You’d made it to class just five minutes late, but those five minutes were all it took for all eyes to be on you as you tried to slide into the classroom unnoticed. A couple classmates whispered to their table mates as you passed by, smelling of oversaturated cherry blossom perfume to hopefully cover the scent of alcohol. You sauntered to your seat and sank down with all your weight, suddenly exhausted. You’d made it with just five minutes tainting your record of attendance. The teacher greeted you with a disappointed sigh, and thus, the day began. 

But, it was so hard to focus. All you could think about was Nathan. 

“Alright class, who can tell me,” A board stick clacks against the chalkboard. “Who can answer problem four?” 

You lowered your head. 

“Ah, how about, ___?”

You snaked back into reality, blinking up at the chalk board that was somehow already riddled with math equations. Since you hadn’t been paying attention even in the slightest, your mouth gaped wide open, eyes scanning for something you understood even slightly so you didn’t look like a total idiot. 

Sadly, you were out of luck. The teacher shook his head. “I’m shocked,” He said. “You're normally so on top of things. Oh well.”

“Oh, I’m sure she was on top of things,” A female voice sniggered behind you “Last night.”

Your face flushed a red, hot, ruby. What the hell was she talking about? How had they found out you were with Nathan? You were so sure of being sneaky, there was no way-

“Her and Tate totally got it on last night.”

You whipped around in your seat, facing girls who looked to be clones of some sort. Both with the same dark eyes, short brown hair, and freckles. “What?”

“Alright-” Your teacher blurted. “That's enough. April, May, enough. Let’s not discuss things outside of the classroom.”

The two girls batted their eyes. “Sorry sir.” One spoke, twirling a hand through her hair. Her sister's wide toothy grin never fumbled. 

“Back to it then. Kate, can you help out __ with number four?” 

The small, blonde girl nodded quickly, brushing a lock of hair behind her eyes and offering an empathic nod. 

As you turned around in your seat, her answer fell on deaf ears. Your heart was racing in your chest, hands balled into fists while you stared ahead blankly.  

They couldn’t seriously think that you chose to leave with Tate, could they? Surely someone must have seen the state you were in. Someone other than Nathan.

The clock ticks forward but time feels like it's passing almost unnaturally slow. With just 10 minutes left, you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket.

‘Nathan: consider ur favor officially returned 

Your tongue poked from your lips, the tiniest of smiles taking over your once sullen features. Terrible thoughts and worries flew out the window while you type back, ‘damn. here i was gonna to ask you to do a backflip off the roof with me. there goes my plans.’

Nathan types for a moment. Typing, stopping, typing again. 

‘Nathan: soundz like a blast. where and when?’

A small blush heats your cheeks. ‘very funny. thanks to last night i have an entire 24 hour session of studying to catch up with.’

His response is almost instant. ‘Nathan: boringgg. txt me when ur fun.’

Rolling your eyes, you shove your phone back into your pocket. It seems you’ve been able to secure enough of a friendship with him for some mindless banter even outside your little visits. You smile. He’s… Fun to talk to. Surprisingly. 

Class comes to an end and you start to pack up the books and papers you’d hardly even glanced at the whole period. Whatever had been upsetting you before is lost in your mind while you think of the morning, the night before. All the things in-between. But, your happiness doesn’t last long. As you get up, you’re almost forced right back into your seat as a weight shoves into your shoulder. Your books scatter to the floor. April, the one who’d remarked about you earlier, glares at you in what looks to be disgust. 

“Careful April,” Her sister hums as she saunters past you, keeping distance and raising her already shrill tone of voice. “Might wanna watch where you’re walking- I’d hate for you to catch something from this slut.”

You absolutely gawk at her. “What the fuck did you just say to me?”

April scoffs. “Oh come on, like everyone doesn’t know what you were up to last night.”

“Sleeping around isn’t a good color on you.” May hikes her bag over her shoulder and snickers at you. They both leave the class together, sickeningly in sync. You’re left stunned where you stand, unsure how the hell your life came to this so quickly. How you’ve stooped so low that the daughters of the world's most uncreative parents are able to bully you based on something that didn’t even happen.

Next class goes no better. The person to your right, a jockey looking brunette guy, asks, ‘have you ever heard of a Tate?’. You say no, that that’s the dumbest name you’ve ever heard. The idiot grins and goes back to marking down likely wrong answers on his test sheet and you debate kicking the leg of his chair out- but you don’t to avoid even more eyes on you. It makes you sick to your stomach- even more than recovering from the roofies does. How can everyone believe it? You barely even knew the guy and you were clearly uncomfortable with his advances. No one saw that? 

After everything you’d worked for to build a reputation, trying so hard to not call out peoples shit for the sake of seeming friendly, tainted over something that didn’t even happen? And the kicker was that it hadn’t even been your fault! He’d drugged you, he’d have taken advantage of you! Yet you were the bad person? 

Class came and went in the blink of an eye this time. Your mind wrapped up in the situation, your stomach churning. You wanted the day to be over with but you still had 4 more classes to suffer through. Why was this happening to you? Was Tate being treated just as horribly, or was he getting pats on the backs of his unaware friends?

Wandering down the halls to your locker, you noticed Lance and Kaz hanging around one of the drinking fountains. Your nerves quelled- your friends would surely make you feel much better. Especially since they had witnessed how awful you were feeling as you left. You approach with a relieved smile, ready to say your truth and finally have someone on your side.

“Hey guys.” You smile, but Lance looks down at his feet while Kaz places her hands to his hips. Your smile fades.

“You could have told us you were gonna spend the night with Tate,” Kaz snaps. “You didn’t need to lie like that just to leave. We were all worried about you and it was for nothing.”

“What?” You feel like you could cry. “No, Kaz, I really did try to leave. Tate tried to drug me and take me home, and-”

“He wouldn’t do that.” Lance interrupts, with a frown. He looks back down at the floor with knitted brows. “I’ve known Tate since before time. He wouldn't do something like that, especially not to one of my best friends. Plus he told me he was really into you. Why would he even try?”

“Are you serious?” You sputter. “You think I’d lie about something like that?”

“You’ve been lying about all sorts of things!” Kaz huffs. “What’s going on with you lately? You’ve been so distant, and secretive. What are you hiding that’s making you lie like this? We’re supposed to be your friends and then you lie to our faces just to go and fuck the first guy that shows you attention.”

“What…?” It was like acid. It was like the rug had been pulled from your feet sending you spiraling down the unending cliff. Kaz, your best friend, all that venom. How could they turn against you like this? What the hell is going on? You felt your throat tighten. “Look, I’m sorry if I’ve been distant, but I’m not lying to you, I-”

“We gotta go.” Lance isn’t in the mood to hear it. “We’ll catch up to you.. Some other time.”

Kaz says nothing as she pushes past you. Lance, at least, spares a short glance over his shoulder. You stood there alone in the hallway, your bag falling off your shoulder and clattering onto the floor with a thud echoing off the walls. Everything you had, all gone at once. 

No one believed you.

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With nowhere to go where you felt like you could truly allow yourself to process the day's events, you went to the only place you knew. 

Just outside of campus, where rocks lined the edge of the boundary, overlooking the outskirts of the town and the ocean stretching as far as the eye could see. You settled yourself there, staring at the vast waters and wondering how this had all happened. Unlucky didn’t even begin to cover how it felt. Not only did you feel violated with Tate attempting to do unthinkable things with your unconscious body, but you also felt alone, and walked on. Your best friends hadn’t believed you. While Lance seemed saddened, Kaz was so… Angry. Her words cut like knives into your skin. 

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair. You didn’t deserve this.

You want to talk to Nathan, but knowing him, he’d see your state and bounce instantly. After all, this isn’t exactly very fun of you.

As the sun began to fall, splaying orange and blues over the wide open sky, behind you, you could hear voices. A group of them, some male, some female. Memories of when your notebook had gotten snatched by those two horsed face assholes came flooding back and with all your alertness, you stood up, and decided that this sitting place was no longer safe. Nothing was.

Before you even made it ten feet away, the group had found their way to your spot and gotten comfortable, one of the girls cheering, ‘this’ll be our hangout! look at how pretty the view is!’

You took a short drive down the stretches of road and decided that if you were going to lament in your own sadness, you were at least going to do so in a place that had something to cover the sound of your tears. Plus a nice view.

The beach, littered with its picnic tables and the sounds of crashing waves would suffice just fine. So, you pulled in the desolate parking lot and wandered down the sandy shores until you stumbled upon a picnic table shaded by a large willow cascading lushious branches to block out the sun- a perfect canopy for you to wallow under. 

You had nothing at that moment. No friends, no reputation, no one to believe your tragic tale. And now, you’d just lost the one spot that made you feel comfortable when stress was building into your body like concrete. Tears pricked into the corners of your eyes and you bit your lip, dreading that feeling of a lump in your throat. Why you? Everything had been going so well. How could not even a single person believe that Tate had tried to hurt you?

Well, actually, there was one person.

Of course Nathan believed you. He’d been the one to rescue you, after all. Time and time again it seemed.  How was it that even the ones closest to you would turn their back so fast, yet Nathan seemed to be there even when you didn’t want him to be? Even when you yelled at him, and he yelled right back, fire and sparks falling into embers around the two of you. 

In that moment, you almost felt like you could finally relate to him. A reputation based on lies and things out of your control, paired with a hardheaded attitude to try and combat all the assumptions. 

No wonder he was so angry. 

“Hey bitch,” A voice suddenly called, and you had a split second moment where you were terrified of once again being the victim of a cruel prank or some classmates boredom. “How about next time you have a pity party you don’t fucking call me in the middle of it.”

You blinked away your tears and through the blurriness saw a figure coming towards you. All that sass, the tone...

“Nathan?” You breathed. It only takes moments before he’s in front of you, holding his phone in view, seeing that the call that had been running for nearly ten minute. You flush in embarrassment, pulling your phone from your back pocket. “How did that happen?”

“Well, can your ass dial numbers?” He taunts, ending the call. 

“Damn it, dumb phone must have butt-dialed you. I knew I should’ve gotten a different one.” You mentally kick yourself. “It must have unlocked in my pocket.”

“You don’t have a password on your phone?” He taunts. When you shake your head, he whistles. “You are just begging for a robbery. I’ll keep that in mind when I’m in the mood to send random messages to all your buddies.” 

“Fuck off.” You scowl, and he grins, hopping up on the picnic table next to you. The sun flatters his skin. He’s almost glowing. 

“Speaking of buddies, how the hell did it pick my number out of your sea of friends?”

You shrug. “Probably cuz’ it’s a priority contact.” 

“Oh lala, I’ve been upgraded to priority huh? Does it display a superman logo whenever you give it a ring?”

“Nope. When I press call it rings the nearest asshole in my vicinity. The fact that it’s you is your own problem.”

“Haha, fucking ha.” He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. He stares out at the water, watching waves pull and crash onto the beach. It’s almost beautiful, until he ruins it. “Yknow, you’re a really ugly crier.”

“Wow, thanks.” You shake your head. “That's exactly what I needed to hear right now. Why did you even stay on the line?.” Wiping your eyes, you start to forget your tears. “Couldn’t have been that wild of a conversation.”

Nathan shrugs. “Between the crying and the sound of the waves it was pretty nice.” He grins. “Very educational.” 

“Awesome. Glad I was able to make your day.” It doesn’t feel like your usual bitey remarks. You’re tired, you’re still a little hurt and you can’t stop thinking about how such an amazing morning had turned into such a horrible day.

“So what’s got you all fucked up? Never seen you act like this big of a baby before.”

“Nothing. You already paid off your debt to me per this morning, so feel free to resume our regularly scheduled mutual hatred.” You say, lying through your teeth. You know you’re both past the point of hatred, but you’re feeling jaded, you can’t help it. 

“Oh shut the fuck up,” He groans. “I didn’t drag my ass all the fucking way out to this shit hole of a beach just for you to give me that bullshit. What, did you fail a test? No one matched you on tinder?”

“Everyone thinks me and Tate slept together last night.” You blurt. “I think he’s telling people me and him had sex.”

Nathan tenses his shoulders and grimaces. “Fucking werido.”

“I told my best friends that he tried to take advantage of me and they don’t believe me. One of em’ even said he wouldn’t do something like that.”

“Fuck em’. Who needs best friends.”

“And to make everything so much better, these two bitches that I share four of my classes with harassed me all goddamn day. I mean, fucks sake, how the hell are girls named April and May of all things able to get to me. It’s bullshit. And to make matters worse, Tate is just… Getting away with it.”

“Yeah well, something tells me that Tate’s gonna get a real nice fucking taste of medicine eventually. I just gotta find him first. He’s got a lot of nerve spreading shit around given I knocked his ass onto the pavement.” Nathan brows knit at the memory.

You test the waters. “Why would you do that for me?”

He seems caught off guard, or maybe, surprised that you’d ask. Maybe he thinks you’re both beyond that point. He grumbles, “Why does it matter.”

“I’m just curious. We don’t owe each other anything, remember?”

“Yeah, well,” He huffs. “Don’t ask me questions to shit I don’t know the answer to.”

“You say that an awful lot.” You tease.

“Yeah well you ask dumbass questions an awful lot. Not everything I do has to have some weird ass motives behind it, ___. Maybe I’ve got beef with Tate that’s outside of you.”

“Uhuh. Sure.” You’re about to say something else, when your phone lights up with a text. The display makes your heart fall all over again. 

Unknown Number: you should just pack up and go somewhere else. no one wants std’s from breathing your air xoxo

You don’t even know who that is. Now absolute strangers are on your case. You want to throw your phone into the ocean and leave.

Nathan scoffs. “Don’t even bat a fucking eye for that bitch, whoever the hell they are. Half the hoes you’ve mentioned have slept with half the football team,” he pinches his jacket, “and I would know.”

“Ew, Nathan,” You grimace, that same feeling from the morning returning. It feels, oddly, like jealousy.  He nudges your arm with his elbow and grins playfully. It’s cute.

“Chill, I’m just fucking with you. You gotta know even I wouldn’t fuck girls that desperate. I’m a man of class.”

That last comment actually forces a laugh from you. It’s soft, but it’s real. The first laugh you’ve genuinely had all day. “That’s horrible.” You remark, giggling again.

It's almost like the slight restoration of your mood puts him at ease as well. He leans back on his hands and stares off into the ocean, those sparkling waters under the setting, orange sun. “I’m for real though. Those hoes aren’t worth your time. One day when we blow this shithole of a town they’re not even gonna matter.”

Your brows knit, eyes blinking up at him. Had you heard that right? 

“We?” You ask, perplexed, albeit a little… Hopeful.

Nathan sputters. “Well- Like, when everyone’s older and-”

“You know what, it's fine.” You interrupt. “Fuck it. You’re right. We’re gonna blow this town and they’re just gonna be some shitty memories.”

He sucks in a shaky breath. You’ve never heard him scramble like that, like he’s been unmasked. The look he casts you when you agree, when you don’t tease or patronize and finally hop on the idea that yeah, what if the two of you really didn’t have to deal with it anymore.

What if the two of you could just exist, without the anger. 

You look up at him. “Would you actually do that though?” You start. “With me, of all people?”

He swallows. His expression is tense, but he’s not upset. He appears nervous, caught off guard. Nathan tries, “I-”

Your phone rings. Shrill, piercing. Mood destroying. 

“Jesus Christ, it’s my mom.” You grab your phone and Nathan looks forward, stone faced and silent as you hop off the table and answer. It’s your mother, who all but shouts into the phone that her and your father are taking a surprising visit to Arcadia Bay while they’re traveling by on their vacation. She insists that you be ready in about an hour for dinner, and likely there will be family photos. 

Which means if you still look as wrecked as you did this morning, you’re gonna have a lot of washing up to do. With a quick goodbye, a short and sweet, ‘love you’, you hang up and sigh. 

“You still tell your mom you love her?” He teases. “What are you, five?”

You frown. “You don’t tell your parents you love them?”

Nathan side eyes you, and just shrugs. It is all the answer you need, really, and for his sake you decide it wouldn’t be best to press the issue. Not now. But- it still makes your heart hurt just a little. You wished that he’d had it better growing up. 

“Right… Do you want a ride home?”

“Fuck no, what am I,” He shoves his hands into his pockets. “a fucking girl scout?” 

“I was just offering, weirdo.” When he doesn't get up, you feel like you’re missing out. Like if you stayed, maybe, just maybe, you’d get to know him a little better. “Hey, if you want, I can stay for a bit longer.”

He rolls his eyes. “You’re needed elsewhere. But,” he shrugs. “I don’t know. Fuckin’... Text me or something. Or not, I don’t care either way.”

There’s a small warmth in your chest that rises to your cheeks. He wants you to text him. “Yeah,” You say. “If I’m feeling fun.”

And with that, you bid him farewell, beginning your descent to the parking lot. 

“Hey,” He calls, and you turn just in time to catch a small item he’s tossed right at you. A tiny key resides in the palm of your hand. “Spare. If shit hits the fan again-...” He shrugs, and actually looks away. “Just don’t be too fucking loud of I’ll kick your ass out myself. No Madison needed.”

The widest grin plays over your lips. “I’m gonna re-decorate your room while you’re gone.”

“Ah, you fucking better not.” He shouts. “Actually- you know what, give it back.” 

“No, no! I’m sorry.” You play with the key between your fingers. “Thanks for this.”

“Yeah, whatever. Don’t lose it and remember- emergencies only. I don’t need you watching me sleep like fucking freak. We’re past that stage.” 

“How many times will I have to say I was never watching you. Christ… But, alright. See ya, then.” The key is heavy in your palm. 

You place it into your pocket and give him one last glance before you take off, leaving him to enjoy the sound of waves, birds, and the absence of your tears.

#nathan prescott #nathan prescott x reader #life is strange #grazing the fire #scenario #fanfic #fluff

[kass-storycorner]

An unpleasant surprise

I should definitely do my coursework instead of writing this fic, however the idea just came into my head and I couldn’t focus until I wrote this down. Writing this took waaaay longer than I anticpiated and it was way more spontanious... so it’s not proof read or anything, still hope you’ll enjoy it.

The idea/prompt: character is secretly in love with you, but won’t tell you because you are already in a relationship with someone else. Character however finds out that your partner is cheating on you – this is how they would react/act upon finding it out

Word count: 3637 Words (I’m sorry)

Character: Kaeya x gn!reader (in this it’s still very platonic and one sided love) Genre: Angst (?), Hurt, Comfort, even a bit of humour but maybe not, idk haha

Content warnings: cheating, threats, mention of blood and a major injury, mentioning of Dilucs and Kaeyas past, but nothing to explicit (tried to avoid the major spoilers)

Format: The first part / backstory is written in bullet points, but at the end you’ll find a fic written in the normal text format 

He just wanted to drown his sorrows in peace at the Angel’s Share, but no. He had to be witness to that disgusting display of infidelity of your (hopefully soon to be ex-) boyfriend

Kaeya has known you for several years now, both of you started around the same time in the Knights of Favonius. The early years of your training were some of the most fun times Kaeya had- thinking about it always made him smile. Both of you were known from the beginning as rule benders, mostly breakers, within the Knights and if it weren’t for the influence of Kaeyas adoptive family none of you both would’ve gotten that many chances to stay until each of you proved their own worth without familiar ties.

However, in the last few years you both grew a bit more distant. Kaeya blamed himself entirely for it, after Crepus death he knew he should not have any emotional ties to anyone in Mondstadt, at first he ruined the relationship with his brother by telling him the truth. He then just tried to avoid you more and more, which wasn’t easy, because after Diluc quit his position as a Cavalry Captain Kaeya rose up to his position – only to have you as his subordinate.  

It was not until you were on a mission with Kaeya that went horribly wrong, that Kaeya realised his feelings for you never were platonic, he was in love with you since the early days of training.You are his first love.

That mission was more of a secretive one, a few months after Diluc had left Mond and Crepus died, and one of the first bigger outings Kaeya had to lead as a Cavalry Captain. And the first mission without his brother by his side. The dragon Ursa resurfaced and continued to cause harm to the people of Mond, so Grand Master Varka gave Kaeya the responsibility to find that Dragons lair.

Instead of finding the hiding spot of Ursa, Kaeyas troop stumbled into a hiding spot of the, at that point not known as, Abyss order. That was the last time Kaeya went into a mission without information he himself collected and checked, because looking back it was so obviously a trap. How did he not notice it back then?

The fight was brutal and exhausting – somehow it was a miracle that the only Knight dangerously wounded was you. At least that is what the other Knights who were on that mission too would say, thankful that the worst they had to suffer from back then were a few scars at most. Hearing anyone talk about it enraged Kaeya, though he would never show it. It was because you were the most skilled fighter in that troop, even without a Vision Kaeya was sure that at your peak back then you could’ve bested him even now. But because of one of his mistakes, he did not care to watch his own back, maybe because he knew you would protect him, it was you who was injured and not him.

In that moment, seeing you unconscious on the floor laying in your own blood because you protected him, Kaeya understood his feelings for you.

After bringing you back safely to Mondstadt, and you thankfully not dying because of the injuries, Kaeya became even more distant. At first he wished to be able to tell you his true feelings after you’ve woken up, but he just couldn’t. When the healers and doctors gave the news that the injury was so severe that you would never be able to fight again, or even walk down the streets of Mond without being in pain – Kaeya thought the guilt of keeping that secret from Diluc and Crepus for years was unbearable, but the guilt he felt from being responsible for this? It pained him even more.

You stayed in the Knights, taking over administrative tasks and helping every other department of the Knights in the best ways you possibly could.

What surprised Kaeya is that you were never bitter about it. You never said it was Kaeyas fault, even went out of your way to constantly reassure him after you got the news that he shouldn’t blame himself for it (until this day he refuses to listen to you). Your smile and laughter didn’t stop after it, which he never could understand.

How were you able to be so happy and kind when your dream of leading your own troop just – vanished. To travel around Teyvat, see the world. When you weren’t able to do the things, you loved on your own, like going to Windrise to pick some of your favourite flowers.

Somehow, Kaeya thought, it was because of that guy. He never liked your boyfriend to begin with, but Kaeya thought maybe it was his jealousy that clouded his judgement.

He came into your life shortly after the incident and Kaeya remembered the first time he saw you two together – holding hands, you looked so smitten and the way you laughed when he leaned down to whisper something into your ear. After seeing that Kaeya knew he could never have something like this in his life. Not if its not with you.

Kaeya didn’t spend much time with you outside of the Knights anymore, though he would always have a conversation with you when you came up to him or he had to visit your office. Whenever he saw you outside of the Knights, you were always with your boyfriend, sometimes stopping and having a quick chat with Kaeya. Sometimes he wished you would stop being so nice to him.

Now seeing that disgusting piece of shit of a boyfriend sit in the corner of the Angel’s Share, with his hands all over some young thing made Kaeyas blood boil.

How dared he, the man who should be so lucky to have you, have his eyes and hands on another woman.

Also it’s a good thing that Diluc is not at Angel’s Share today, he was also a close friend of you back in the day and even though the friendship with Diluc didn’t survive his three years absence, Diluc would definitely throw that bastard out

Kaeya was astounded by the audacity your boyfriend had. He never had a high opinion of him but seeing that man openly flirt and make out with a woman that was not you, so obvious for everyone to see… in a bar that was frequently visited by your colleagues and friends. If it weren’t for the fact that he was cheating on you Kaeya could maybe muster up some respect for a man who had so clearly a death wish. Eyeing him from the corner of his eye, Kaeya kept observing that situation. How the hands that always held yours in public were touching all over the body of that unknown woman. How the mouth that told you sweet nothings over and over, told you that he loved you, was occupied with kissing the neck of another woman. That whole display just filled Kaeya with disgust. The loud giggles of that woman in his lap filled the Tavern and that was the moment Kaeya decided he had enough. Calmy, he finished his drink, stood up from the bar and made his way over to the table. “You surely don’t mind if I join you two”, Kaeya said in a nonchalant manner, sitting down opposite to the couple. “Oh, Sir Kaeya!”, the young woman giggled, clearly intoxicated, and embarrassed by the way Kaeya eyed the two. Quickly they both shifted, so the woman sat now besides your boyfriend. The way the cheater looked at Kaeya, it was quite amusing. A mix of fear, shock and uneasiness filled the eyes of him. It filled Kaeya with a weird sense of pride, knowing that being caught by him was something that scared him. “Seemed like you two had quite some fun back here”, Kaeya smugly started his interrogation. It was not unusual for Kaeya to use the Angel’s Share as his interrogation room – the casual setting and the alcohol made it so much easier sometimes for people to spill all their secrets. Especially when Kaeya could just be so charming. What Kaeya interested the most was if this was the first offense of the cheater or if that behaviour was a more… regular occurrence. It was at least for him the first time he caught that man red handed. Getting some information out of the girl was quite easy, she was so eager to tell the Cavalry Captain all about the two. Though from what Kaeya gathered the whole thing between her and your boyfriend was quite fresh. “You two really seem like a fitting pair”, Kaeya replied after a long ramble of that woman on how she was just so in love with your boyfriend. His voice sweet and smooth as silk, not showing how the anger inside him grew. It was just not fair, not fair to you. “Hey,” Kaeya began and eyed the empty glasses on the table, looking then back at the woman. “How about another round of drinks, it’s on me. Would you be so kind and go to Charles and order a few?”, again his voice was charming as ever.  “No, no, Sir Kaeya, that’s too kind, but another drink won’t be necessary. It is quite late; don’t you think flower? We should get going”, the cheater chimed in and Kaeya nearly lost his cool when he heard him call the woman ‘flower’. Whenever Kaeya met you and him on his patrols around Mondstadt he always heard him call you ‘flower’. Fucking bastard, is all Kaeya could think before the voice of the woman protested the cheaters concerns. “Nooo, just one more round. How can you turn down Sir Kaeya, love? Just one more, please”, she looked at him with pleading eyes and he just sighted. “Fine”, he said and with that the woman was on her way to the bar. Kaeya now hoped that Charles would keep her occupied long enough so he could find out everything he wants to know from that cheater. His eye shifted from the woman who made her way to the bar to your boyfriend who sat directly across Kaeya. Now completely alone and vulnerable, for his shield left his side. The tension in the air seemed to be unbearable, Kaeya could see how uncomfortable the silence and his curious glance made the cheater. But Kaeya knew – sometimes saying nothing says it all. Helplessly your boyfriend looked over to the bar only to see that the woman he was with was now totally engrossed in a conversation with Charles. After a few minutes, that might have felt like hours to that cheater, he broke the silence. “So,” he tried to start a conversation, clearly not knowing that he fell right into Kaeyas trap. “What gives us the honour to be invited by the Cavalry Captain?”. “Oh, I think you might be smart enough to come up with an answer yourself,” Kaeya replied, keeping up a smile. Though the look in Kaeyas eye was just as cold as the top of Dragonspine, causing the other man to shiver. “As much as it honours me that you think of me this highly, I sadly have no idea what would make the renowned Sir Kaeya sit down at my table tonight.” “Oh, so this is how you want have this conversation”, now his voice was just as cold as his look. “I don’t understand what you mean.” ‘Bullshit’, Kaeya thought. “I’ve been just curious about that woman that just sat so prominently on your lap earlier this evening, she seems to be not the same I saw you hold hands with earlier this day.” “As nice at it is that the Cavalry Captain seems concerned for me, it isn’t one of the Knights duties to pry into the lives of citizens, now, is it?” Oh, how confident the cheater now sounded, thinking he was winning that conversation. Kaeya couldn’t deny that the entire situation made him furious and that he handled it a bit differently than he usually would if he were to talk with drunk treasure hoarders. “Oh, we’re awfully bold now, are we? Believe me the Knights don’t care about your infidelity, though I guess a certain one might find it awfully interesting to know how you spend your nights.” There was a short moment of silences between the two men, the tension just rising. “Well, they wouldn’t believe you. But if you want to go and be a telltale go, I won’t stop you”, the man gave as an answer. His words did not fit his body language – bold words, but his body was tense and Kaeya could see the fear behind the eyes of the man. But it was not fear of losing you, no he seemed to be quite confident that this would not happen. Kaeya said nothing, he just looked at that man, piercing him with his ice cold look. “You see”, he continued, “I wouldn’t be sitting here in Angle’s Share with that lovely company if I thought they might believe the words of any low-rank Knight coming in their office, believing their lies. Quite sad what pranks some people want to play on them, don’t you think?” Slowly, but surely, Kaeya understood that this tonight was definitely not the first offense of that man. And he now understood why most of the Knights here tonight just looked away from the scene, not batting an eye at what was going on. Kaeya could kick himself in the ass, how did he not notice the behaviour of that rodent before him earlier? If he was so open about cheating on you that even most of the other Knights knew, how come that he did not? “And I think its just so sad, that one of the people they hold in such high regards would join in on those baseless accusations, don’t you think Sir Kaeya? I mean it would be so disappointing for them to find out that you tell them such a lie, only because you just don’t like me.” If Kaeya wasn’t a Knight, if he weren’t Kaeya right now, if he hadn’t to uphold a certain image… the floor of the Tavern would be painted with the blood of this absolute bastard. Oh, how Kaeya wished he could lose his cool. “If you say it like that, then I guess I won’t tell them a word,” Kaeya replied. “I’m glad you understand”, the cheater smiled, the fear in his eyes now subsided and he seemed to relax a bit. At that Kaeya just leaned forward, his look cold and his voice even colder. “You are telling them.” The man just scoffed, looking confused at Kaeya. “Why should I?” Kaeya now coming closer, his voice more threatening than before. “Do you really want to find out, if you don’t?”. Kaeya leaned back, smiling and at that moment the woman came back with the drinks. The face of the man was just pale as snow, the fear back in his eyes. “Oh, thank you dear”, Kaeya said when she places his drink before him, and he took a sip. If your boyfriend is smarter than he seemed to be after fooling around with that woman in public, it would do him good to do as Kaeya said.

                                                             -

Dealing with the pain in your leg was something you were used to now for a few years, but the pain in your heart today… you somehow would prefer a broken leg over your shattered heart. Your eyes were fixated on the documents before you, though trough the tears in your eyes you could barley make out what they said. What they were even for. How could you ignore it for so long, that he cheated. That he fooled around with any woman in Mondstadt willing to be with him. This sleezy asshole. The tears fell down on the paper, you couldn’t care right now what important piece of documents you ruined with your tears. How, how, how??? Why were you so stupid to believe him when he always said that all the people that came to you with their concerns must have been mistaken. Why did you believe him over and over again. You couldn’t stop thinking about how the first person coming to you was Outrider Amber, so nervous to even say anything. How you just laughed her worries away, saying she definitely was mistaken. How after Amber again and again told you how sure she was. Had you just listened to her. Then maybe you wouldn’t feel so humiliated. If you just hadn’t listened to that damn liar. In that moment you heard a knock on the door. Quickly you wiped your tears away with your sleeves, clearing your throat. “Come in,” you said, though you were shocked at how hoarse you sounded. Stepping into your office was Kaeya, but when he saw your red eyes and tear stained face, he quickly closed the door behind him. “Are you alright?”, he asked in such a soft and kind voice. Since you woke up in the infirmary all those years ago you hadn’t heard him talk in that voice. You couldn’t help it, it made you immediately tear up again. Throwing your head into your hands you just couldn’t stop the uncontrollably sobs that took over you. You didn’t even notice that Kaeya was kneeling beside your chair until he felt his hand on your back. “Hey,” you heard him say, again in this soft voice. “It’s alright, let it out.” And you did. For a while you just sat there, crying and sobbing until you ran empty. The whole time Kaeya was on your side, saying nothing. He was just there and somehow, even after you two grew apart in the past years, after all that happened – Crepus death, Dilucs disappearance and return, your injury. Even after all it did not feel awkward to just cry and look for comfort at his side. After all, you still were friends. Slowly you calmed down, looking up to him. “I was so stupid, Kaeya. So many people came to me, told me what they saw, who he was and I- I just ignored it. I ignored it all, my feelings and-“, you felt the lump in your throat, making you stop speaking. It was just too much. “You’re not stupid,” he said, taking you in his arms. It felt so good to just melt into the hug. Just trying to forget the pain for a few seconds, slipping back into the familiarity of Kaeya you haven’t felt in such a long time.

Kaeya on the other hand couldn’t stop asking himself if what he’s doing here was alright. Was it okay to comfort you, he asked. If he hadn’t basically threatened your, obviously now, ex-boyfriend last night to tell you the truth, he might have been met with your bright smile today and not that painful expression. But it was the right thing to do, you deserved to know. You deserved for that guy to tell you, although he should have told you the truth out of his own free will. Not because Kaeya got involved. “Thank you”, he heard you mumble into his chest. “For what?” he asked, both of you now parting from the hug. “For just… for being here. And for being a friend”, you answered, again wiping tears away. Kaeya couldn’t help himself and chuckled at that statement. A friend, yeah. That is what he was and what he must be fine with. However, he didn’t really expect you to view him as one, after all that happened and how much he tried to avoid you in the past. “Well, I have been an awful friend the last years, haven’t I?”. Your eyes shot up, looking directly into his eye. “No, what makes you think that?”. You genuinely looked surprised at his statement. “Well,” he gestured towards your leg. Before he could even say anything, he felt your hands cup his face and looking at him sternly. “Kaeya Alberich, how often do I have to tell you this. What happened to my leg is not your fault, please stop taking blame for it. It was my choice to join you on that mission.” For a short while you both just looked into each other’s eyes until Kaeya couldn’t stand it anymore, a sigh leaving him, and he looked away. “How come that I want to comfort you and you just end up telling me something I just can’t seem to learn.” He stood up and then he saw it. You smiled at him. A sad smile, but a smile, nonetheless. “One day you’ll hopefully learn it”, you said. “Now, to make up for this”, pointing at your leg, trying to joke, “and for threatening a Mondstadt citizen, I think you should get me something from Good Hunter.” Kaeya was surprised. How did you know? He couldn’t even ask you, you already gave him the answer to the question that was so clearly written all over his face. “He literally begged me, after telling me the truth and breaking up with me, that I made sure you wouldn’t hurt him.” Now Kaeya gave out a small laugh, partially because he felt a bit embarrassed by you knowing, but also the thought of that arrogant asshole being so afraid of him amused Kaeya. “And, what did you tell him”, he asked, now back with his more playful tone. “Mmmmmh, I told him I’ll think about it.”

#genshin impact fan fiction #genshin #genshin fan fiction #kaeya x reader #kaeya fanfiction #genshin angst #kaeya angst #genshin hurt #genshin comfort #how do you tag fan fiction help #reader insert #gender-neutral reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #genshin x reader #angst #hurt #comfort #kaeya alberich

[mmvalentine]

The Bargain Pt 5 | Feysand

Modern AU. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 6

Rhys hadn't seen Feyre in a year.

He knew that, because his social media sent him a reminder that he had posted a photo of her finished tattoo a year ago, and he had not heard from her since.

Not that she had any obligation to contact him, of course. In fact, this was why he made the six month rule with his clients- he knew how easy it was to become attached to someone who you have been vulnerable around. And he didn't want to influence anyone like that, particularly not Feyre, who seemed to be having a tough enough time as it was. So although he thought about her often, after she left the shop that last time, for the most part he tried to let her fade into a pleasant memory, and not to dwell too much on whether she was okay out in the world.

But Rhys knew he'd never forget Feyre, because after she was gone he had actually started to paint again. Had locked the door of the studio behind her, arrived back at his apartment and stayed up all night with his crusty old oil set. Paper had never been particularly interesting to him, so he had painted his coffee table. Swirls and eddies of colour like Feyre had drawn on his arm in the gaps between his black line tattoos.

Over the next few weeks, Rhys' plain and understated flat became a frenzy of line and pattern and colour. He started posting photos on his instagram and to his great surprise, they garnered more attention than some of his better performing tattoo posts. He was even commissioned to paint shop fronts and feature walls in restaurants.

By the end of the year, Rhys was still in the studio most of the time but spent a week out of every month painting murals around the country, like he had always wanted to do. So no, he would not be forgetting Feyre, ever.

In May, Rhys got a contract in Berlin. It was one that he was slightly apprehensive about, since apparently it was a team effort and he didn't have much experience collaborating. He didn't love the idea that several people who had never met would be trying to create something cohesive in a short amount of time. On the other hand, it was an all-expenses paid trip and he was about due for a holiday.

Rhys landed in Berlin early in the morning, and had a couple of hours to kill before his meeting. He spent some time wandering around the strangely grey, concrete world, and found these amazing rainbow bursts popping up unexpectedly on street corners and in alleyways. Rhys found he rather liked it.

When eventually he walked through the tall glass doors of the building he'd been directed to, Rhys wondered about the team he'd be working with. There were a number of very well respected German street artists, and if he had to collaborate, he hoped it would be someone who he might recognise.

He was utterly unprepared to walk into the room and see Feyre sitting at the table, deep in conversation with a man with dark skin and white hair.

"Ah, here he is. Feyre, this is Rhys," the man said, while Rhys stood with one hand still on the door handle and gaped.

Shock registered on Feyre's face, but then it settled into an easy, broad daylight grin.

"Thank you Tarquin, we've actually met." Feyre's fingers trailed over her tattoo as she spoke, not taking her eyes from Rhys'. "Remember me?" she asked, with a little tilt of her head.

"I, uh, yeah of course I do," Rhys said. "I wasn't expecting to see you here." "Nor I you," she said.

"Rhys, good to meet you in person," Tarquin said, extending a hand. "I know we've only spoken on the phone before now, and I'm so glad you could come over for this project."

Rhys shook the contractor's hand, and settled into the chair that was pulled out for him. He nodded and smiled at Tarquin, but then found his gaze snapping back to Feyre like a magnet. A rose petal blush stole over her cheeks.

"I am so excited to finally have the two of you here," Tarquin said. His voice was slightly accented, and very warm. "As you know from the brief, my company has just settled its headquarters here in Berlin and we want a summer themed mural."

"I'm sorry," Rhys interrupted. "It's just the two of us?" Tarquin nodded. "Originally I wanted a whole team of artists, but then we redid the budget and it was decided we'd just hire two." "I'm curious, you have so many wonderful artists here in Berlin, why did you fly us out from New York?"

"Actually," Feyre said. "I live in Berlin now." Rhys blinked. "Oh," was all he could think to say.

Tarquin prattled on for another forty minutes about his company, the 'feel' they were going for, their target audience and so on. When Tarquin had first approached Rhys, Rhys was genuinely interested in his work but now that Feyre was here sitting opposite him, he couldn't take in a damn word. Couldn't even remember what he already knew about the business, just sat there wondering what had happened in the year since he had last seen Feyre.

How was she? Was she still with that whatshisname boyfriend? Had she been tattooed by anyone else this year?

Finally Tarquin stopped talking and told them he'd take them on a tour of the building, show them the mural site, and then let them settled in. He stepped out to take a phone call, and left them with a mood board he had collated for the painting. Then Rhys was left alone with Feyre.

And for the life of him didn't know what to say to her.

He just sat there, swallowed, and tried to stop staring at her. She noticed, and blushed.

"What are you looking at?" Feyre said, looking down self-consciously. A curl fell over her face. "I'm sorry," Rhys said. "I just didn't expect to see you." "Me neither," Feyre told him. "I mean, I moved cities, I moved continents and yet here you are."

Rhys nodded. "Here I am." He cleared his throat. "So ah, when did you guys move over?" "Just a few months ago," Feyre said. "And it's just me. I broke up with Tamlin." She shifted in her seat. "You were right. It got worse, and then better." "Oh, good," Rhys said. "I mean- not good, I'm sorry to hear that."

Feyre laughed. "No," she said. "It is good. And I'm really enjoying living here. I can't believe you're here." "I thought I'd never see you again," Rhys said. Feyre's eyes flickered. "You thought about seeing me?" she asked.

Now it was Rhys' turn to colour. "I... I just wondered if you might get in contact later in the year. You know, let me know how your tattoo's healing and all. Is it alright?"

"It's great," Feyre said, holding out her arm for Rhys to inspect. "I know I said I might call, but I just couldn't," she confessed. "As the months went on I got so embarrassed."

Rhys cocked his head. "Why?" he asked. "Because I had such a crush on you!" Feyre said. "And I bet every girl you tattoo falls in love with you, I didn't want to be one of them." She laughed, and looked away. Rhys just stared at her.

"You... had a crush...?" he started to ask, but then Tarquin breezed back into the room.

"Sorry folks!" he said. "Important call, but terribly rude of me. Now. Let's get on with that tour huh?"

And then he ushered them out of the room, and didn't leave them until they were all saying goodbye and Feyre was heading toward home in one direction and Rhys was going to his hotel in the other.

No matter. They had all week to get reacquainted.

****

Thank you so much to everyone who has been commenting, I've been astounded by the love you guys have been giving this story and I appreciate you all very dearly!! I thought it would be a little niche one, I wrote it because I like art and tattoos, and I really didn't think it would do this well. Would love to know what's working for you, so I can keep bringing it to you :)

MASTERLIST

TAGLIST: @ghostlyrose2 @highladysith @stardelia @feysand-loml @tillyrubes10 @ratabrasileira @live-the-fangirl-life @maybekindasortaace @annejulianneh111 @thebonecarver @rowaelinismyotp @loosingdreams @whythefuckdoiexist @inejsarrow @swankii-art-teacher @sjmships @courtofjurdan @teddytdr @positivewitch @thalia-2-rose @darling-archeron @rapunzel1523 @fairchildjace

#feysand #feysand fic #acotar #fluff #mine

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Halloween Prank Gone Wrong | Luke Patterson

Request: hi! firstly i love your series & imagines! they are so wonderful! <3 okay secondly can i request a luke patterson x reader where reader is friends with julie and it’s Halloween so Julie decides to prank reader with an ouija board and has the boys behind everything but reader can see them? sorry if this doesn’t make sense ):

Pairing: Luke Patterson x reader, JATP x reader, Julie x Flynn x Reader

Warnings: Use of OUIJA board

Words: 2,239

Songs used: Time Warp - Glee Cast Version 

Y/N: Your name Y/L/N: Your last name Y/M/N: Your mother’s name

You and Julie have been friends since you were both in diapers, along with Carrie. The three of you used to be inseparable, and then even Flynn joined your Squad in Middle School. People used to call you the Los Feliz Four. Then came the worst year of your squad’s year. Julie lost her mom and with it, her love and connection to music, one of the many things that connected the Los Feliz Four. Carrie stopped hanging out with Julie after a humongous fight, and when Flynn picks Julie’s side, you’re stuck between the two fires. You love Julie with all your heart and help her wherever she needs it, but you also still hang out every now and then with Carrie. Though the drama in Dirty Candy sometimes gets a little much. 

On the day of the spirit assembly, you’re on the sidelines, cheering on Dirty Candy and Julie herself when she takes her spot behind the keyboard, starting a song you don’t know. Her voice echoes through the gym, capturing every student’s attention. Even more so when a band flashes onto the stage, joining her into the song. You have to blink a couple of times, to make sure you’re really seeing things correctly. These are three of four boys from Sunset Curve. Your mother used to be the biggest fan of their music back in the 90’s and showed you all of their work. She even told you about Bobby, who now goes by the name of Trevor Wilson and how he used to be part of the band as well. You never told Carrie what you knew. But seeing the boys up there, knowing they died, only means one thing. These are ghosts. The ghosts of a 90’s band. You can’t help but jam along with them, though the song is completely unfamiliar to you. And, once the song is over, you can still see the boys on the side of the stage, talking amongst each other whilst Julie explains the hologram-thing. You witness the dark-haired boy run up the steps and shake his booty, checking if no one can see them. You’re somewhere at the back of the crowd, hidden behind the tallest guy in your class. He can’t see you, but you can see him. You have to ask Julie what’s going on. There needs to be an explanation to this. You don’t know how to tell her you know. It might be weird to just go up there and tell her ‘hey! I know about your ghost band!’. Besides, how fun would it be to know about her secret and catch her in each lie she comes up with as an excuse for their behavior? You hold it out until October. Halloween, to be exact. It’s been hard, trying to keep this from Julie, but it has been fun seeing the boys squirm whenever you looked straight into their eyes as if you could see them. The hardest part was trying not to laugh whenever they said something dumb or funny, but you just about managed. You managed enough for Julie to believe you didn’t know about her ghost band and to come up with a scheme to prank you this Halloween. You didn’t know, at first, since she just asked to hang out on Halloween, watch some horror films and just enjoy the holiday you both loved so much, along with Flynn. The three of you had decided to dress up for your little get together. Dressed as Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls, you make your way to Julie’s garage. To no surprise, finding the boys there too, along with Flynn -- dressed as Buttercup -- and Julie -- dressed as Blossom. “Hey,” you greet as your eyes land on the Ouija Board, surrounded by dozens of candles. “Playing a game, are we?” You already have a hunch what’s going to happen, but decide to play along anyway. “Yes! No better moment than Halloween to break this bad boy out, right?” Flynn exclaims as she sits down on the floor at the coffee table where Julie had set up the board. “Sure,” you agree with a shrug before taking a red cup from Julie. She’d gone all out with decorating the studio with cobwebs and pumpkins and skeletons. She really went to town, even on the beverages and snacks. All of them Halloween-themed. “Are we ready?” Julie asks ominously whilst sitting down next to Flynn and extending her arms, so they’re resting on the plaque in the middle of the board. You bite your bottom lip, trying your hardest not to start laughing at your best friends, and sit down with them. The three boys surround you, placing their hands onto the plaque at the same time you and Flynn do. “It’s really important you keep your hands on the plaque at all times,” Julie warns you and Flynn. It’s really hard to concentrate on the board and not on the extremely cute guy on the opposite side of the table, staring at you with a grin on his face. “Let’s do this,” you state, your eyes flicking from Julie to Flynn, stopping briefly at the lead singer of Sunset Curve. You catch a flicker of confusion in his eyes, but decide to ignore it and focus on Julie and Flynn for now. “O Fortuna, Velut luna, Statu variabilis, Semper crescis, Aut decrescis; Vita detestabilis.” You furrow your eyebrows at Julie’s sudden outburst in Latin. You don’t need much to recognize it though. That’s from O Fortuna by Carmina Burana. The most famous choral number in existence. You feel a little offended Julie thinks you wouldn’t know that. “Are you ghosts out there?” she asks in a menacing voice, trying to build up the tension. You can feel the boy next to you go through you with his shoulder as he pushes against the plaque to slide it over to the ‘yes’. You press your lips together to keep you from laughter, your eyes widening in fake shock. “Who are you?” you ask as you look into the lead singer's eyes, pretending to look ahead into the abyss. The boy now leans forward and starts moving the plaque to the L, then U-K-E. You glance at Julie and Flynn, who exchange glances too. “Were you in a band?” Luke’s eyes widen at this, frantically glancing at his best friends in need of help. The blond one, who’s sitting next to Flynn, cocks his head to the stereo before getting up from his spot and moving to the corner. He presses the play button, a song you recognize as Now or Never by their very own band. You nod your head, impressed by the lengths these boys are going to keep up this prank. “Hey, Luke,” you’re still looking at him instead of Julie or Flynn. “Are your bandmates here too?” “Bro, she knows,” Luke scoffs, which makes you burst out laughing. You can’t handle it anymore. The disappointment in Luke’s face is just too much. “I’m sorry guys, but I can literally see you…” you tell the three guys, leaving them and your two best friends in complete and utter shock, laced with a bit of disgruntlement over their prank failing. “My mother used to be a really big fan of yours. She showed me all of your music and told me about Bobby-slash-Trevor.” Julie’s head snaps up at this. “You knew?” she asks, eyes wide and bewildered at this new information. “Yeah, I never told you or Carrie because one, I didn’t think it mattered, and two, there must be a reason why Bobby hasn’t told his own daughter about his past band.” You shrug, letting your eyes dart over to the boys again. They’re all sat on the floor, frozen in shock. “How do you see us?” the darker-haired boy with the rosy cheeks asks. “I guess my mother being such a fan of Sunset Curve gives me a connection to all of you?” you offer them your best guess. Luke’s eyes widen, clearly realizing something as he gets up from the floor to start pacing the garage. “What’s her name?” he asks, remembering one girl he had a real connection with. “Y/M/N.” He visibly swallows a lump in his throat, and scratches the back of his head awkwardly. “Yeah… Let’s say I know her very well…” Your mind immediately jumps to a conclusion that leaves you a little weirded out. “Remember that one girl our age at the book club we played at?” He directs this question to the boys. “Right! She was the daughter of the hostess!” the brunette, who you’re guessing is Reggie by the way he expresses himself, remembers. “No, you didn’t!” His eyes widen at the sudden realization, he then turns to you. “You’re her daughter?!” You nod your head slowly, trying to comprehend what’s happening. “It doesn’t matter who Luke had a special connection with,” Julie interrupts, “Why didn’t you say anything? It killed me not telling you!” You shrug your shoulders. “I guess I thought it would’ve been weird to just come up to you and say ‘yo, Jules, I can see your ghost band!’ Besides, it was fun seeing these boys squirm whenever I looked at them a little too long.” Your lip turns upwards on one side. “I knew you saw me!” The blonde guy narrows his eyes at you. So, that must be Drama Queen Alex… “Can we just drop it and enjoy the rest of our night together?” you exclaim, raising your hands in defense for ever lying to your best friends. “I heard…” you start, glancing at all three of the boys, “You guys are very good at jamming whatever song is thrown at you.” “Yes! Please! Sing! So I’m not the only one not seeing you!” Flynn groans in frustration, walking through Luke, not realizing he’d gotten up from his seat earlier. “I just stepped through someone, didn’t I?” Julie and you simply nod your head, amused smiles stifled. Luke and Reggie grab their instruments whilst Alex makes his way behind his drum kit. “Y’all know Time Warp, from the Rocky Horror Picture Show?” you ask. As an answer, Alex counts all of you in before the band starts playing and Luke’s voice fills the studio.  “It's astounding, time is fleeting Madness takes its toll But listen closely,” You, having received a microphone from Julie, walk over to the lead singer your mother had a fling with once -- apparently -- and chime into the song.   “Not for very much longer” “I've got to keep control” He shoots you a wink before changing to his head voice to go into the chorus. “I remember doing the time warp Drinking those moments when The blackness would hit me And the void would be calling” Then, all of you join into the post-chorus together, singing at the top of your lungs. “Let's do the time warp again Let's do the time warp again” Reggie then takes the next part whilst all three girls do the choreography from the musical, and alternating lines with Reggie. “It's just a jump to the left” “And then a step to the right” “put your hands on your hips” “You bring your knees in tight But it's the pelvic thrust That really drives you insane Let's do the time warp again! Let's do the time warp again!” You dance your way to Reggie whilst taking the next verse, all while Julie’s behind the keyboard, getting some melodic notes into the jam. “It's so dreamy, oh fantasy free me So you can't see me, no not at all In another dimension, with voyeuristic intentions Well-secluded, I see all” Reggie looks into your eyes as he uses his best seductive voice to sing the next line. “With a bit of a mind flip” And then you imitate that tone on your next line. “You're into the time slip” “And nothing can ever be the same” Flynn then takes the next line, dancing in front of Alex’s drum kit, facing him with a wide smile on her face. She’s glad she can see the boys now too. It makes her feel a little less left out. “You're spaced out on sensation” Alex then sings one line before the rest of you join in again for the chorus. “Like you're under sedation” “Let's do the time warp again! Let's do the time warp again!” “It's just a jump to the left” “And then a step to the right” “put your hands on your hips” “You bring your knees in tight But it's the pelvic thrust That really drives you insane Let's do the time warp again! Let's do the time warp again!” The boys play their last chords or hit their last cymbals while Julie plays her last note. All six of you giggling like crazy, oozing happiness and contentment. This is probably the craziest and most fun you’d ever had on Halloween. “Oh, man!” Flynn whines, a pout on her face. You don’t know why at first, but then remember she can’t see the boys like you and Julie can, which sends all of you into a fit of laughter. If your life is going to be this fun and crazy with these boys in your life, you’d never want to die. Or maybe you would, if that meant spending even more time with them. 

Taglist: @hannahhistorian92 @marinettepotterandplagg @thequirkybookaholic @bookdealer5 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @hemmingsness @iainttakingshitfromnobody @ifilwtmfc @angryknightstatesmantrash @kiss-themoongoodbye @rudysbay @thedarkqueenofavalon @caitsymichelle13

#julie and the phantoms #julie and the himbos #jatp #luke patterson #luke patterson x reader #reggie jatp #jeremy shada #alex jatp #owen joyner #owen patrick joyner #halloween #requests

[isingonly4myangel]

Lionel goes over the line, and Monty just straight up punches him in the face.

Alright folks, it’s the 11th of May again, and that meant I had to fight my brain to do The Writing Thing to post my annual story! Anyway, this is a combination of this fantastic prompt request that I’ve had for ages and the fact that I just watched all of Big Little Lies in about 3 days. In the style of the show, the italicized passages are the police interviews after the fact, and the rest is self-explanatory. Sorry if I’m a little rusty, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve written much of anything! 

“Mrs Lionel Holland? I never met her when she was Sibella Hallward,” spoke Lady Jane Sitwell. “I often saw her at the theatre or the Albert Hall, especially in the company of Lord and Lady Navarro. And at a handful of dinner parties where she and her husband were in attendance and I accompanied my aunt.”

Lady Jane did not particularly care for the man sitting across from her, nor did she care for the room they sat in. Dim lighting cast shadows in the corners of the grey stone floor, worn down in places after being tread on over the years, with a rickety wooden table and chairs. She feared dirtying her rather expensive skirts merely by sitting there. Having been offered tea, she had foolishly accepted, soon finding that it was terrible. The police inspector seated across the table from her sported a rather bushy moustache and a brown coat, clearly several years out of fashion and somewhat worn in places. She noted the excess of vowel sounds and occasional intrusive ‘r’ in his speech, so sharply contrasting her own precisely rounded and clipped way of forming words.

“Did you ever converse with her at these functions, dinner parties?”

“Never about anything of consequence, for if you believe things of consequence are ever said at dinner parties you are sorely mistaken, but she always seemed good for conversation on fashion or art or theatre, even literature sometimes.”

“And did you ever note anything else about her?”

“Like what, may I ask?”

“Well, perhaps there was something that stood out to you about her. The way she acted, or how she spoke to her husband, the way she dressed…” The inspector trailed off, giving the woman an opportunity to answer.

“I did note that she was always very well dressed, with a face and figure like that, she could pull off anything.” The slight edge of envy in her voice said more of Lady Jane’s thoughts on the matter than she would have cared to speak aloud. “Even that night, she looked wonderful.”

Sibella’s hand shook as it squeezed Phoebe’s. The blonde’s grip was tight and felt almost desperate, though her face showed nothing of the sort. Her smile was as dazzling as ever, her lips painted and her eyes sparkled. Only her fingers betrayed her as they wrapped around Phoebe’s own.

When Lady Sitwell hailed her young niece with a wave of her hand, the somewhat tedious conversation had come to a polite end, and Phoebe led Sibella gently to the side of the room, under the guise of using the fireplace for warmth.

“What is it, my darling?” Phoebe murmured, as the question was for Sibella’s hearing only. The blonde took a quavering breath before answering.

“Lionel and I are… in the midst of a… disagreement, I suppose you could say. One that has continued on from this afternoon.”

“And it was because of this disagreement that he decided to accompany you this evening?” Lionel’s attendance of the soirée at Highhurst had not been planned for, but when he had arrived with Sibella in his own motorcar it was clear that he would be staying.

“I believe so.”

“What happened this afternoon?” Phoebe questioned, half dreading the reply.

“He umm… I-“ Sibella stopped to gather her breath and wrestle back the tears that had sprung up in her eyes. “I can’t talk about that here,” she said with a smile that was clearly more for herself and the room than for Phoebe. The brunette nodded in acquiescence, though a small crease of worry drew her brows closer together.

“Yes, I saw their little 'tête-à-tête’ after I left to join my niece. They both looked highly conspritorial, if you ask me. Mind you, I’m not suggesting- but they looked as though they- that is, I could tell they were hiding something. Huddled together, the Countess holding her hand, it made one wonder- well, surely you’ve heard the rumours about their- with the Earl that is- and sometimes I wonder if they aren’t true, especially now after what’s happened you know- well I always thought she looked a tad too- and there was always something in her eyes I did not trust.”

The older Lady Sitwell finally paused to draw breath, leaving Inspector Jameson regarding her with wide-eyed bewilderment, astounded at her ability to never pause her speech and yet never follow a thought to its end.

“Ah,” the Inspector began, clearing his throat to spur himself back into action. “I- er- you say in your written statement of your account of the evening that you witnessed the beginning of the… altercation between Mr and Mrs Holland?” He opened the field for Lady Sitwell to speak again, rather trepidaciously.

“I did indeed. Can you imagine the sheer audacity it takes to start a marital row in the middle of a social gathering like that? Only a politician and his social-climbing chit of a wife would have the nerve.”

“Many people seem to blame Lord Navarro for the events in the parlour.” Mr William Sanderson sat opposite Inspector Jameson in the dingy interrogation room, equally as well-dressed as the women had been, but significantly more agreeable in his manner than the Inspector had anticipated.

“But you do not, sir?” asked Jameson.

“No indeed. I rather think most of the blame lies with Mr Holland. He said some highly objectionable things to Lord Navarro, and to his own wife as well. I can’t imagine speaking to or about a woman in such a fashion. If he had behaved in a more gentleman-like manner, he wouldn’t have had his nose bloodied. I wished after the fact that I had been nearby, that I might have come to Mrs Holland’s defense, and if Lionel Holland had spoken to a dear female friend of mine that way, I would have hit him myself.”

Inspector Jameson nodded solemnly and lifted his pen to add this declaration to his notes.

Monty watched the entirety of Sibella’s body stiffen as Lionel stepped up behind her, taking her elbow in one hand. Her smile never faded, but Monty had spent enough time studying Sibella’s every expression that he could tell her husband had surprised her.

“Lionel,” she spoke, bringing her husband into the circle of conversation. “You remember Lady Jane Sitwell, and of course Lord Navarro, and Mr William Sander…” She trailed off as her husband spoke in her ear, too low for the company to hear, and she nodded graciously with a soft, “Please excuse us,” before allowing herself to be led away by her husband.

Monty made a valiant effort to revive the conversation, dutiful to his role of host, all the while keeping one eye on Sibella and Lionel. “Mr Sanderson, you were beginning to say something about a vineyard tour?” As the conversation took a few halting steps towards normalcy, Monty remained distracted by the couple now hovering near the doorway to the hall. Sibella had extricated herself from her husband’s grasp and now stood facing him. She seemed to be struggling to curb her temper, a mannerism of hers that Monty was intimately aquainted with. Lionel, however, soon became visibly agitated, and as Sibella reached to her left to set the glass she held on a side table he seized the opportunity to take hold of her right arm again. This time he held her just above the elbow, exerting more control over her movement with a tighter grip, and he tugged her towards him. The moment Monty glimpsed the flash of fear across her face- however brief- he had bowed out of the conversation murmuring a half-hearted apology and was striding towards the couple.

“Come with me,” Lionel was saying, his volume increasing so that several people nearby threw glances over their shoulders as they shifted to be farther away. “Outside, this instant.” He tightened his hand around her arm and Sibella had to bite the inside of her mouth to keep from flinching.

“Mr Holland,” Monty began with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. “It was very kind of you to join us for our little soiree here, however, if you insist on manhandling your wife in my parlour I will have to ask you respectfully to depart.” Lionel turned Sibella and brought her into his side, forcing her to move with his hand still on her arm.

“Lord Navarro,” Lionel spoke with the same false cordiality. “I would be only too glad to depart, but it seems my wife will not agree to accompany me.”

“Well then, perhaps you would consent to Mrs Holland remaining here for the duration of the evening. I can send her home in our car when the rest of the compay departs.”

“No, Lord Navarro.” Lionel pronounced the title with such disdain that Monty raised an eyebrow. “My wife will be coming with me.” Monty glanced to Sibella for some hint as to a course of action, but she only gave him a small, terse smile before casting her eyes off to the side. Monty gave a subtle look to the room and realised that a number of people were beginning to pay more and more attention to the three of them.

“With all due respect, Mr Holland,” Monty tried his utmost to keep his tone even and calm. “She is not your posession, she is your wife, and if Sibella wishes to stay you cannot rightfully force her into going when she does not want to.”

“You have no right to call her by her Christian name, and as she is my wife I have every right to order her to come home with me,” Lionel snapped at him.

“She is not a servant, you have no right at all to order her to do anything.” Monty fought to keep his volume down, noticing that they were steadily attracting more attention. “And before this conversation continues I would ask that you remove your hand from her, she is clearly uncomfortable.” Sibella shot him a warning look, but he ignored her caution.

“She is my wife and I will lay hands on her any way I see fit.”

“You may choose to do so within the privacy of your own home, and it is my greatest regret in life that I am powerless to stop you there, but you will not do so on my property.”

“And what precisely are you insinuating with that last remark?” Lionel raised his voice to question Monty.

Sibella, now apprehensive of what the exchange might come to, gently attempted to free herself from her husband’s grasp, to no avail. She tried a second time, pulling away from him strongly enough that she was able to take a step back towards the room. However, before she was fully separated from the two men, Lionel’s hand reached out and took her forcefully by the wrist, wrenching her back around to face him and she cried out in pain and surprise.

Hearing Sibella’s gasp of pain was the last straw for Monty, and he hardly knew what he was doing as he pulled his arm back, but when it flew forward it was suddenly a fist, and the next moment it connected with Lionel’s face. Lionel stumbled backward, knocking Sibella’s discarded drink off the table as he fell into it, and raised a hand to press against his aching lip and nose.

Not a moment after he looked up at Monty in angry shock, every one of the men nearby sprung into action. Strong hands steadied Lionel and other pairs held Monty in place, fearing he would throw another punch. As two additional gentlemen stepped between the pair with arms outstretched, calling a halt to combat, Sibella felt a gentle and distinctly feminine hold on her shoulder and waist, and she was quickly pulled away from the men. Upon turning, she saw that it was Phoebe and Lady Jane Sitwell whose hands were upon her, and that Lady Eugenia seemed to be clearing a path ahead of them. She allowed herself to be hurried outside and through the French doors before being placed in a chair on the terrace.

“My sincere apologies, Mr Holland,” Monty was saying as he saw Sibella being whisked away. Holding up his hands in surrender, the men released him and he straightened his waistcoat. “Do allow me to fetch you some ice for your injury.” Without waiting for an answer, he turned on his heel and was striding across the room in the opposite direction when Lionel called after him.

“Filthy Spaniard son of a bitch!” the other man was shouting. “You’re as common as they come and have no claim to the D'Ysquith family name!” But Monty never turned and never faltered, though his blood boiled in his veins.

“Four socialites and a member of staff stand at the top of garden stairs while the husband of one lies dead at the bottom of them.” Inspector Pickney, Scotland Yard, paced up and down the length of his office while Inspector Jameson stood nervously near the desk chair.

“Indeed, sir. Several superficial wounds were presumably sustained in the altercation, not including the bruising of the lip and bloodied nose, which were a result of his earlier skirmish with Lord Navarro in the parlour. Broken neck was the direct cause of death, and all five people seem to agree on the idea that Mr Holland simply fell. But personally, sir, I find that difficult to believe.”

“As do I, Jameson. All of them had motive, and evidently there was a physical altercation at the top of the stairs. Reportedly, he attacked Mrs Holland first.” At this, Pickney momentarily halted his pacing to flip open the file on his desk to a group of photographs documenting Mrs Holland’s injuries. Taken at the police station later that evening, they showed quite clearly her hair falling from its elegant design, a cut and bruising at the corner of her mouth and a similar mark just above her eye. Additional photos showed bruising around her wrist, where he had forcibly laid hands on her in the parlour, and the notes from the doctor’s exam noted similar bruising on her upper arm and two cracked ribs on her left side.

“If all those present witnessed his violence towards Mrs Holland, it’s entirely possible they came to her defense, and that his more minor injuries were not inflicted by his wife,” Jameson contributed.

“Entirely possible,” Pickney echoed. “Especially if he was kicking her in the ribs at the time.”

“But sir, if he didn’t fall… who pushed him?” Pickney gave a deep sigh before replying.

“Mrs Lionel Holland, Lady Phoebe D'Ysquith Navarro, Lady Eugenia D'Ysquith, Miss Marietta Shingle, and Lord Montague D'Ysquith Navarro himself, who already has a rather notable arrest for murder, though charges were dropped. All of them present at Lord Navaro’s trial back in 1909, all of them with conceivable motive for the murder of Mr Lionel Holland. That is indeed the question, Jameson. Who pushed him?”

#gglam #a gentleman's guide to love and murder #writings #prompt response #11th of may #anniversary #big little lies #quarantine writing #sibella hallward #phoebe d'ysquith #monty navarro #lionel holland #being a dick as usual #i do love to kill this man in stories

[eddycurrents]

For the past few years, you could argue that the X-Men franchise has been working on trying to rediscover its identity. Since reality reasserted itself coming out of the Secret Wars event, they’ve been in a kind of flux. The initial relaunch set up the mutants in opposition to the ascendant Inhumans. When that was brought to a head, Marvel’s merry mutants then redefined themselves in part through nostalgic “back to basics”. In the past year and a bit, the mutants through a series of endings in “Disassembled” and Uncanny X-Men, while the Age of X-Man event traumatized them in a loveless utopia. It’s been an interesting ride.

You don’t really need to know any of that, or anything at all of recent or past history of the X-Men, in order to jump into House of X #1. This hits the reset button on the franchise and, while I expect that the past will inform some elements, it can largely be enjoyed coming in blind.

This is arguably the largest, most dramatic change to the X-Men since Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Tim Townsend, Brian Haberlin, and Comicraft took over back in New X-Men #114. Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia, Clayton Cowles, and Tom Muller kick off a new era that is firmly built on a science fiction grounding. It frames the mutant identity in a new understanding and begins a new conflict with the rest of humanity as human governments and organizations react to the new status quo.

Without going into any details in this section, I can say that House of X #1 takes many of the common themes and elements of decades of X-Men stories and gives them a new spin, both familiar and strange at the same time. All of it is brought beautifully to life through astounding artwork from Larraz and Gracia, taking it to a completely different level. It’s brought together nicely through the design work of Muller, implementing a number of text pieces yielding further information, making it decidedly feel like a Hickman comic. 

The digital edition on Comixology is also another instance of having “Director’s Cut” material, including Hickman’s redacted script for the issue, a wide array of the variant covers, and process pages of line art and coloured pages.

It’s a bold new era starting point for the X-Men and I’m excited to see what else is in store.

There will be spoilers below this image. If you do not want to be spoiled on House of X #1, do not read further.

SPOILER WARNING: Below I’ll be discussing the events, themes, and possibility of what’s going on in House of X #1 and beyond. There are HEAVY SPOILERS beyond this point. If you haven’t read the issue yet and don’t want to be spoiled, please stop reading now. You’ve been warned.

PREAMBLE | First Impressions

I had high expectations for House of X #1. 

Jonathan Hickman is easily one of my favourite writers currently working in comics. He’s full of mad ideas that you look at and wonder why no one has implemented them in quite the same arrangement before. He’s great at execution and construction for the long game. While each story usually works on a micro individual story-arc/issue level, they also build a large tapestry that tells an even larger tale. One merely needs to look at his previous outing for Marvel telling one grand story that began in Dark Reign: Fantastic Four (with elements you could say were seeded even in Secret Warriors) and ended in Secret Wars. It was wonderful.

Pepe Larraz has been wowing me with his art since Uncanny Avengers. There’s a fluidity of motion and design that evokes the spirit of Alan Davis, Neal Adams, and Bryan Hitch, while adding what feels like an even more gargantuan attention to detail and sense of design. He elevated that even further with stellar showings on Avengers: No Surrender and Extermination. He’s easily become one of Marvel’s premiere artists to me.

When you combine Hickman and Larraz, and couple it with a marketing machine hyping this as the next big thing in the X-Men evolution, expectations were huge.

House of X #1 exceeded those expectations.

This first issue feels like a sea change for the X-Men, in terms of the team’s status quo and in the approach to storytelling. This is a science fiction story with heavy political leanings. With Xavier pushing the lead, Marvel’s mutants have staked a claim on a new mutant nation on Krakoa, with tendrils through Earth and beyond.

And it’s breathtaking. The artwork from Larraz and Marte Gracia is beautiful. The landscapes and vistas, the designs for the characters, the page layouts, and more, this is a visually stunning book. Larraz has truly outdone himself with the line art, but it’s taken even higher by the sheer beauty in Gracia’s colours. It’s very rich, emphasizing the beauty and wonder of this new world being birthed into existence.

There’s also an interesting choice here in Clayton Cowles’ letters, it’s mixed case. These days it’s not necessarily as unusual not to be in ALL CAPS, but it is different from what we’ve seen in Uncanny X-Men as of late and helps to foster that idea of this being something different. Similarly the text pages scattered throughout from Hickman and Muller that give this the stylistic feel of a Hickman comic and enriches the depth of this new world with more information.

ONE | X Nation

The idea of a mutant nation isn’t a new one. Magneto broached it before and attempted a kind of compound with Asteroid M. Genosha was set up as a mutant paradise for a while. The fallen remnants of Asteroid M served as the X-Men’s home repurposed as Utopia. A corner of Limbo was briefly carved out as a haven for mutants. There was that enclave with Xorn. And Jean Grey kind of set up mutantkind as an amorphous nation within nations given central home in Atlantis during X-Men Red.

More often than not the nation merely serves as a backdrop for the X-Men’s interactions in the rest of the world. I mean, when mutants had their own homeland in Utopia, more stories took place in San Francisco even before the schism that drove half of them off to the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning in New York.

What’s presented in House of X #1 feels different.

Ostensibly, the new mutant nation is headquartered on Krakoa itself, but the implication is that it’s so much broader. The X-Men have seeded Krakoa flowers all over the Earth, on the Moon, and Mars and have grown what feel like embassies and external outposts of the fledgling mutant nation. And it’s the fact that these outposts are within other nations, with the potential of moving a superpowered army unseen and seemingly instantaneously, that has the government representatives met this issue nervous.

While it is a home and a haven for mutantkind, it’s also actively being treated as a political entity. Similar to how Jean argued her case for mutantkind in X-Men: Red, we’ve got ambassadors of sorts checking in with Magneto and two of the Stepford Cuckoos. There are some intrigue elements that sync up with other aspects of the story, but the fact that it’s being used as a tour, a show of force, and an ultimate in order to broker a deal recognizing Krakoa as a nation is an interesting development. It takes it from a place of superheroes playacting at being politicians to actually being politicians. Abrupt as it may be to have Magneto as the face of the operation.

But that’s part of the genius of this play. Like with Magneto siding with Scott upon the founding of Utopia, Xavier and Krakoa is a further fulfillment of Magneto’s dream. A mutant homeland with mutants in control. Every previous time this has happened it’s come to ruin, but it’s always fun while it lasts. 

Also, it’s an impressive show of power to have Magneto as the liaison to the rest of humanity. Where Kitty Pryde or Jean Grey would likely be more diplomatic, that isn’t the intent here. Sending out not only one of the most powerful mutants as your face, but also someone who has been in direct conflict with humanity over the years, pushing a mutant independence angle, is a statement that the new mutant nation isn’t something to be trifled with.

TWO | Who are these X-Men?

With the release of titles, creative teams, and team line-ups for the forthcoming “Dawn of X” reboot following House of X and Powers of X, there have been a lot of questions about what’s going on. Characters who have died during recent issues of Uncanny X-Men are alive and well. Characters who were in different configurations and statuses seem to have been changed to more familiar versions and attitudes. So it raises the question for House of X, who are these X-Men?

This first issue doesn’t answer that. I don’t know if we’re going to get an explicit answer that, but I think we’re given a clue on the very first page.

A key element in this first issue is the utilization of the mutant island Krakoa, both as a new home for the X-Men and as refined and adapted through application as portals, habitats, and medications. But in the opening scene, we see a central tree essentially acting as a birthing matrix overseen by Xavier.

The first born being Jean and Scott, I’d guess, then maybe that’s Bobby on the second page with some others. It’s possible that the one guy is even Gabriel Summers. It could be that they’re being rejuvenated, refreshed, and refined through healing properties heretofore unrevealed of Krakoa, but it may be more sinister. There’s a reaching, a yearning towards Xavier that makes me suspect. Are they the characters that we know? Or are they something else? I don’t even know if that’s a question we’re supposed to be asking.

Other than Magneto working front and centre with the team, they’re also working with a number of other traditional villains/antagonists like Sabretooth, Mystique, and Toad. All three have had their dalliances back and forth between the sides of good and evil, but it’s interesting to see them in the fold here. One the one hand, it reinforces the idea that this initiative of Xavier’s is for all mutants and that they’ve come together. But it also raises the question further, how?

I think it’s worth noting that every X-Men character we see fully interacting in the real world has been a villain at one point. Cyclops included, since the last time the world at large saw him before his resurrection he was “Mutant Terrorist Most Wanted #1″.

With characters seemingly back from the dead, characters changed to different versions, characters rejuvenated and healed as it appears that both Cyclops and Banshee are, characters who’ve previously been at one another’s throats, there’s a lingering doubt of how Xavier achieved this. There’s also a happy Wolverine playing with kids, so just think on that for a bit.

THREE | Master of Puppets

Professor Charles Xavier died (again, but who’s keeping track?) during Avengers vs. X-Men back in 2012. Then was brought back in Astonishing X-Men, first as a disembodied psyche caught in the Shadow King’s web and then through the personality sacrifice of Fantomex, inhabiting his body. He referred to himself as “X”, as something new, despite repeatedly claiming that he is the one, true Charles Xavier. His actions, both in his initial appearances and in the subsequent Astonishing X-Men Annual wherein he reunited with the remaining original five X-Men (Cyclops was dead at this point), could be considered manipulative, possibly even evil, callous, and villainous. We’ve not seen him again until now.

With the uncertainty of the origins of the wide cast of characters on the team, whether or not they really are our X-Men we know and love, doubt is cast on Charles Xavier as well. And it’s not just because we only see part of his face. Larraz’s design for Xavier’s new large, portable Cerebro deliberately distances us from him. It’s alien and off-putting, and I believe that’s the idea. I’m unsure whether or not this was the intention, but it also evokes the memory of another villain that Hickman enjoyed using, The Maker. The visual similarities and implication of another hero turned villain can’t be missed.

Consistent with that idea is the portrayal of Jean here. From a real life perspective, there’s an argument that all of the X-Men in House of X and beyond are taking on the costumes and behaviours of their most popular incarnations. In that regard, it would kind of make more sense that Jean would be in a more Phoenix-inspired get up or something similar to her blue and yellow outfit from the ‘90s.

Instead, we get Marvel Girl. Which seems odd to me. It’s not only regressive, but it represents a time period that in-canon Jean supposedly hates. It was, however, a time where Xavier’s somewhat lustful intentions towards his student were more apparent (creepy and disturbing as they are). It further reinforces that maybe not everything is on the level with what’s going on.

FOUR | A New Religion

Religious symbolism and outright textual substance are rife throughout this issue. From the beginning of Xavier acting as a kind of god to the newly reborn mutants beneath a Tree of Life through to Magneto’s proclamation at the end of the story, this first issue is planting the seeds of a new mythology for mutantkind. It’s something that sets them apart from the rest of the superheroes on Earth, giving them an explicit framing as the overseers of the world, but with it, there’s a tie back to how this new nation feels different.

There’s a definitive feeling from House of X #1 of building an entire society. Religion as an aspect of that, both real and implied, but we also get a new language of Krakoan (the glyphs we’ve seen before and again in this issue) and the idea of a broader organizational structure to Krakoa. It’s not just a school any more.

FIVE | Dangerous Beauty

There’s an interesting dichotomy set up in this first issue as well between the mutants and humanity. Of nature versus technology. It’s one we’ve seen before in mutants being the natural evolution of mankind coming into conflict with the sentinels constructed in order to prolong mankind’s grip on power. It tends to lead to the kind of nightmare scenarios of post-apocalyptic futures as we see in Days of Future Past.

Krakoa is an inspired choice for the catalyst of mutant change in the world, delving into some of what was explored in Wolverine and the X-Men, but going steps even further. Creating pharmaceuticals, creating properties similar to Man-Thing’s ability to transport throughout the world, and the various habitats. It’s like the Weapon Plus application of The World in that everything is grown, organic, nature-based objects all ostensibly pieces of the greater Krakoa entity. I wonder if this gives Xavier and the X-Men effective “eyes” all over the world?

It’s also important to recall how dangerous Krakoa has been throughout X-Men history, acting as an antagonist that kickstarted the all-new, all-different era in Giant Size X-Men #1, built out even in Deadly Genesis with the lost team, and the problems had at the Jean Grey School with the baby Krakoa.

And then there’s the flip side.

Orchis is a new organization introduced here comprised of a number of former agents of Marvel’s intelligence community, good and bad, ranging from SHIELD to AIM. And we’re brought aboard the Forge. There’s a fearful symmetry to it, a station close to the Sun building machines to counteract whatever it is that Xavier is ultimately doing. At the Forge’s heart what appears to be a new kind of Master Mold sentinel, decked out in some of the same colour schemes that we recently saw with the golden sentinels of ONE in Uncanny X-Men.

I can only imagine that this is going to wind up well.

We’re shown a face that we’ve not seen for a while (outside of solicitation covers), since I thought she was an “ordinary” human again, in Karima Shapandar. It’s kind of sad, though, as her Omega Sentinel protocols seem to have been reactivated.

SIX | We Can Be Heroes

The presence of the X-Men within the broader Marvel Universe framework can be problematic at times. It’s one of the reasons why they’ve often been shuffled off to parts unknown, set up as a rag tag band of fugitives, and limited in number to the point where they’re culturally, socially, and politically insignificant. Because the heart of mutant existence within the Marvel Universe is one of intolerance.

Mutants are feared and hated, hunted down, enslaved, or executed. While it works extremely well as an analogy for real life racial and sexual bigotry and prejudices, it takes on a different level of problem in the face of a world filled with superheroes. For superpowered people who aren’t mutants, you wonder about a couple of things, such as why the general populace even makes a difference and why non-mutant heroes don’t seem to care about mutant prejudice.

That latter one has been approached a few times previously, as recently as this latest volume of Uncanny X-Men, and it always seems strange. It’s like the question that you see raised in Swamp Thing and Marvelman and later The Authority of the realistic application of near limitless god-like powers as a force for change; if you’ve got these powers, why don’t you do something to change the world’s ills?

It really undercuts the heroism of teams like the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, because it eliminates them as defenders of a universal justice, but merely teams that fight for the status quo. And so eventually the X-Men get shuffled off to Chandilar.

I think it’s great that House of X #1 goes straight for that jugular. Cyclops’ confrontation with the Fantastic Four beautifully displays his integration and friendliness towards the other heroes, that he’s happy for Ben’s wedding, but still at odds with them when it comes to overall mutant rights. Including those of Sabretooth, who admittedly just robbed a place and probably killed a few dozen people. So, it’s not like the Fantastic Four are in the wrong in trying to apprehend Sabretooth, but it’s reinforcing bits of the laws of the state versus possible ethical or moral concerns.

This scene also reminds us that mutants are everywhere. They can be anyone within society, anyone’s husband, wife, mother, father, friend, daughter, family, neighbour...anyone’s son, including Franklin Richards, son to Reed and Sue. It helps underline that compassion, understanding, and fighting for what’s morally right is something that really should be at the forefront here. And that Cyclops and the rest of Xavier’s new nation of Krakoa are making it known that they’re not going to accept the intolerance any more.

It’s also interesting the incorporation of the broader Marvel Universe as a catalyst for this confrontation in that Sabretooth, Mystique, and Toad were stealing information from Damage Control. It’s a neat bit of the shared universe and presents something potentially nefarious about Damage Control appropriating broken Stark and Richards tech. Though, we are left wondering, what did they steal?

SEVEN | Nothing As It Seems

One of the central themes we’re presented with in the ambassadors’ tour through Krakoa as led by Magneto is that nothing is quite as it seems. It’s even mentioned explicitly through the dialogue when the ambassadors are discussing the deal as lain out by Xavier. Worrying about the drugs, but even more about the amnesty. The terms of the amnesty aren’t actually stated here, but the gist seems to be that all mutants, criminal or otherwise, need to be set free (and presumably allowed passage to one of the gateways to Krakoa), if the country is to take part in the life-saving drug aspect.

Now, there’s an in-story payoff to the ambassadors statement, in that they’re all plants of one form or another, working for different organizations in order to gain information or surveillance on one thing or another and in Magneto’s ulterior motive for gathering them, but it feeds back into that tingling suspicion from the first page.

Something feels off. Something feels wrong. But that could well be the point. The seeds of doubt may well be planted intentionally for Xavier’s plan and the appearances of the characters. It could well be that we’re supposed to think that something hinky is going on, just to keep us in suspense. And that everything we’re seeing, everything we’re being told, really is the truth.

CONCLUSION | A More Perfect Union

As I said previously, House of X #1 exceeded my expectations.

Hickman, Larraz, Gracia, Cowles, and Muller came together to produce what is one of the most exciting and intriguing first issues that I’ve read in a very long time. Every single element from dialogue to line art, colour to letters, to cover to design gels into one massive stroke of storytelling. Every single thing within the comic adds another layer to immerse yourself into this brave new world of mutant merriment.

This is an incredible start to this new era and I am very excited to see what comes next week in Powers of X #1. Especially in how it relates back to House of X #1. These issues are apparently meant to be paired, but how exactly remains to be seen. I find that interesting, since PoX is apparently set in a different time frame.

d. emerson eddy is not an island.

#Examinations #X-Men #House of X #1 #Jonathan Hickman #Pepe Larraz

[elane-in-the-shadows]

Drabbles... #8 Shade and any of his family not Farley or Mare. :)

#8 - “Forget it. You fucking suck.” 

Fade Modern AU  - A NewPlace

A/N: I’m so sorry this took me so horribly long. I can’t excuse myself saying I didn’t know what to write since the basics of the story were in my mind for a while. I can only hope the long time means I made the best version of it. As this is a modern AU, there’s a lot of real lfe stuff (as in my other AUs), but please don’t take it too seriously, I don’t have reliable personal experiences in every regard ;-)

As most of my stories, my Modern AUs are related/taking place in the same story at different times. Here are the other parts:

A New Place

Growing Up

The Dinner

Roman Holiday

The Wedding

Find this on wattpad and on AO3

Shade POV

When I wake, all I seeis her face. I blink, too tired even to just move my hands and rub my eyes. Itfeels like the middle of the night.

Only the small bedside lamp fights the darkness, itsreddish sheen gentle to my senses as it reveals Diana’s widely open eyes. Shecrouches beside the bed, her hand on my shoulder.

“Sorry,” she says, because she woke me up. “Justtelling you I’m leaving for work.” She bites her lip, seeming insecure. “Andthen I’ll be at the uni, so until later … the afternoon.”

“Bye,” I whisper with a yawn.

She smiles faintly. She lingers, undecided whether tostay or go. I don’t want her to go, want to fix her with my eyes although I canbarely keep them open. I can only feel her fingers squeezing my shoulder oncemore, and her lips brushing a kiss on my temple. Then she rises and I wish tostay awake even more and to give her a real goodbye. But I barely notice herwhispered “sleep well,” and neither when she turns off the lamp and closes thedoor, leaving me behind to rest on in this cold and dim early morning.

I don’t remember what I dream afterwards, but when I’mconscious enough, I see Diana’s beautiful face, illuminated by the warm, redlight.

The secondtime I wake today, I’m hit by Diana’s absence. Theharshness of aloneness unsettles me, indeed so much I wonder where I am. Ittakes me a minute to recognize Dee’s flat. Our flat now, since I moved inyesterday. It doesn’t feel that way, like my home. When I stayed the nightbefore, it was at days when we both had the same schedule. On a free day, itmeant sleeping late, cuddling in each other’s arms, and a big and longbreakfast. If not, we woke together and left together. I thought that werecouple things to do. How wrong I was. Only now, alone here for the first time,I learn that Dee made it a welcoming place for me. Without her, I’m a fish outof water.

Between my bags and boxes, most still unpacked, andthe few things we’ve already found space for, the herness of the placespeaks to me. Her smell and phantom shape left on the bed, the book and waterbottle beside it. There’s the rack by the door, with my coat hanging ungainlynext to her bi scarf, her summer jacket and the empty space where her coat hasbeen, and a couple of clothes lying here and there. She doesn’t bother to putaway all of them, although the closet is just a meter away from them, from thebed, from the desk filled with her papers in progress. Everything is soclose to everything, the space made even tighter with the onslaught of myboxes. Separated from the “bedroom” only by an open wall, I can see the kitchencorner and its table from the bed, where some food or drink always lie readyfor a quick snack of the single inhabitant. The bathroom, invisibly on theother side of the wall, would be even worse, organized thoroughly utilitarianto see to Dee’s needs.

She left in a rush today, I remember, too fast andquiet for having cleaned much. Yet I find no stains of a breakfast at all andinadvertently, I ball my fists. Did she skip breakfast so she wouldn’t disturbmy sleep even more? Or was it a bout of morning sickness that killed herappetite? If so, it’s another thing I failed to notice. I moved in to be therefor her now that she’s pregnant, and all I feel is out of place and useless.

I let myself fall down onto the chair at the kitchentable and stare at the bread instead of eating it. I don’t know how we’llmanage. I can’t imagine how a child should grow up in this little den where Ican hardly find space for myself. I snort at the silly thought, as I didn’tgrow up a mansion either.

I promised Diana.

Yet I know the difference between wishing andbelieving and I feel anything but certainty.

While Dee’sday is scheduled with duties, I have the day off. We eventalked about this before, making it a reason for when to move in. “You canunpack and clean a bit,” she proposed, and I agreed, thinking nothing aboutstaying “home” alone for the first time. But the cleaning reminds me this isnot my home, and unpacking of how much more work and re-shelving the nextmonths – no, years – will bring.

After one bag of clothes, I give up. I grab twolecture books I’ve littered on the floor and snatch my messenger bag to getout.

I hesitate at the door, thinking what a horribleboyfriend am. I’m running away, I realize. But not really, I want tobelieve. I run to shake loose the looming dread, wishing to get one gaspingbreath outside of here. I hope.

I can’tconcentrate on the books while riding the train taking me to myhometown. My thoughts keep on revolving around that specific personal problemthat leaves no entry way for neither Socrates, nor Plato, nor Aristotle. Afterall, I know it isn’t nice to run to my family, about to tell them about its newmember without Dee present. She’s alluded to the matter before, vaguely, butnot decidedly. I let it rest in my uncertainly. Probably, she didn’t thinkabout it that much. She doesn’t have many people to tell, unlike me.

She needed some time before she told me about herfamily, but when she did, her relief in sharing her story was palpable. Almostlike she’s glad to have me as a family now.

I’ve felt proud about it, to be honest, as I suspectedshe trusted her college friend Tristan as much as me. They seem so close,having made me wonder what exactly went on between them. But as I got to knowhim better, my suspicions dissolved piece by piece. They’re friends, and godsknow she needs them, having come here to study as a foreigner. If she toldTristan her personal history, good for her. But I stick to the honour of havingbeen the first she trusted with her family’s fate.

Her mother and younger sister died in a car crash,mere months before her high school graduation. Her father wasn’t even home butoff on a military mission at the time.

His return for the funeral and to take care of thingsdidn’t improve the situation, least of all the relationship to his daughter. Hestayed with Dee until she left the house, the country, to study abroad and live with her aunt Rosa, hermother’s cousin.

Although Diana relied on family when she came here, itstill astounds me she needed to get away from her home, her family, hermemories in the first place. I’m going to all of them, at least for today, hopingto find my way. My dad’s been a soldier too, until he was gravely injured andforced into an early retirement. He still struggles with his past and his newlife, so I can imagine some of Dee’s problems with her father. I don’t pressher about contacting her father as it’s not my decision to make. I’m here tosupport her once she knows how to treat him. But I’d never be able to cut awaymy family from my life.

I doubt that’s Diana’s wish either. She misses the peopleshe’s lost and she’s grateful for Aunt Rosa. We told her about the baby a fewdays ago, when we started to prepare my move-in. While Dee just spat out thetruth after some hesitation, I hardly know what to say and Rosa hardly knewwhat to reply. But that awkwardness, the accidental eye contacts, pauses andhand-wringing, bonded us in a weird way.

Rosa’s cool, obviously, from what I’ve seen of her.She travels often due to her work, so Dee fends for herself most of the time,which gives me hope it’ll work out in the future too, when Rosa’s small housewill have not only one, but two new inhabitants. So far, Diana’s been hesitantto ask Aunt Rosa to take more rooms for herself – for us – although she doesthink we’ll need a study room for one of us to work alone without infantdisturbances. It’ll happen eventually, and this is why I’m moving in after all. Dee’s livings are easier to adapt for couple with a baby than collegedorms or a new flat.

The roads of the Stiltsare as wet as in the city, and as I walk the three kilometers to my old house,I pull up my hood against the wind and occasional raindrops. Yet rays ofsunshine break through the heavy grey clouds every now and then, giving onefalse expectations for a nicer weather. A tiny spot of warmth doesn’t drive offthe cold, or the winter settling in. Thus when I see the transporter at ourhouse, I don’t hesitate to ring the doorbell to get in.

I rue it immediately. I wasted my time not thinkingabout what to say. And while I crave just to jump into Mom’s arms, I don’tdesire to break Dee’s trust and spill out everything without her. I take a stepback like a coward, intending to re-consider my options. But before onepresents itself, the door opens, with my brother Tramy on the threshold, a mugin hand.

He smirks. “Hey, where do you come from!” he exclaimsand pulls me in. I follow without resistance. My brothers and I have ourquarrels, but I’ve missed him too much. The sight of the corridors, crammedwith our stuff, the smells of the rooms, the sounds … no, there are nosounds besides our shuffling feet.

I blink. “Is … no one here?”

“I’m here.” He laughs as we reach the kitchen. I rollmy eyes and sit down. Tramy chuckles as he refills his mug, obviously withcoffee, and raises his eyebrows suggestively when he takes the seat oppositemine. “Maybe you’ve forgotten in your fancy college life,” he says, “but it’s aweekday?”

I give him a shove although I do blush at his correctassumptions. I prompt only more chuckling. “What, it’s true,” Tramy says. “Thegirls are in school, Mom’s at work and Dad is at physio. Remember?”

I nod, blushing harder. And our oldest brother Breehas moved out, too. Yet I cross my arms obstinately and lean back. “And you?”

He takes a long sip from his mug and rises from hischair. “I should offer you a drink too, huh?”

“Like a good host?” I smirk. “Don’t worry, I don’tthink I count as a guest yet.”

He nods along and gets a coke from the fridge, andfills a glass that he shoves to me. I raise it in thanks.

“Finished the job in the neighbourhood early,” Tramyexplains. “I thought that’s the perfect chance for a good lunch at home.” Hewinks. “Don’t tell my boss.”

“You have lunch?” I ask.

“Sorry, too late.” He pats his belly and laughs whileI shake my head in jested accusation. The idea of our parents’ homemade food ismouth-watering. I down my coke instead.

“Why don’t know tell me why you’re really here?” Tramyasks, all jokes and amusement gone from his demeanour.

I freeze, startled and at loss for words, but Tramy’sseriousness doesn’t falter. It’s me who skittishly breaks eye contact to stareat my hands, knowing Tramy’s gaze remains on me. “I wanted to get some stuff,”I say with a shrug, lifting my head without looking anywhere. “I, uh, moved outof the dorm.”

“You what?!” he cries out. “Shade, you didn’t fuck up,did you? Didn’t leave college? Or got expelled? Tell me you aren’t ruining yourlife!”

“No! Tramy, please.” He’s rather morebewildered. I realize I’m again in the corner I wanted to avoid. And didn’t I‘fuck up’, in a way? “Maybe,” I concede, before a cackle overtakes me anddestroys any inklings of composure. I laugh so hard I start coughing, swallowit out, and laugh more, until my eyes tear up. So it takes me a moment tonotice Tramy’s aghast face, but even that doesn’t help me calm down quicker.The chuckles are still dying slowly as I hide my face with my hands, wiping myface.

“Don’t worry,” I manage to say eventually, “I moved inwith my girlfriend.” I lower my hands when Tramy sighs and in this second offalse relief, the words slip out, to never be taken back. “She’s pregnant.”

The following set of Tramy’s expressions are imagesfor the gods. Relief switches to shock, into disbelief and then amusement thatfreezes as it, finally, shifts into the appalled realization that I meant whatI said. He stares at me, with compassion and helplessness.

I wonder what I’ve looked like in these last seconds.I’ve no idea.

Tramy doesn’t ask more. He takes my hands, then he’sbeside me, hugging my head to his stomach, for I don’t know how long. I relaxinto is presence. He isn’t Mom or Dad, not my best friend, but he gives mesomething I need right now.

Shouldn’t Dee and I give that to one another?

The thorn of the sudden doubt cramps my heart. But I dowant this with Diana. We had it, and we’ll have it again. I won’t let stress,demands, responsibility, money, fucking life, take it from us.

“Have you thought about buying her flowers, Shade?”says Tramy, and pulls me out of my thoughts – as I pull away from him.

“What?”

He smiles. “A bouquet of flowers for congratulation.Roses – or whatever she likes. We have quite a variety at the workshop,especially for occasions … like this.” He shrugs. “Of course, I’ll give you‘uncle discount’,” he finishes with a wink.

M chair scrapes the floor as I jump up. Suddenly, Ican’t deal with teases. “Forget it, you fucking suck,” I snort, throwing up myarms and then grapping my bag to leave.

He runs after me, full of apologies. He clasps myshoulder and I turn, wanting to apology myself, to explain that Diana isn’tinto flowers. I can’t. Because Tramy’s more than sorry or concerned, he’sashamed.

“Sorry,” he says oncemore in an unsettlingly coarse voice. “I shouldn’t have … I mean, if you don’t… want …” He swallows, and I understand before he has to go on with hisstruggle for words.

“That’s not it,” I sayquickly. “That’s not it,” I repeat, quieter now, and let my head sink.

Tramy gestures to thecouch and I follow suit without resistance. Again, I sit down as he crouches infront of me, keeping silent to wait for me.

“We’ve having thebaby,” I state. He nods. “And I thought, uh, I don’t know what exactly. To askMom and Das about … stuff. Or for stuff.” I look up into Tramy’s eyes. “To behonest, I was uncertain whether to tell you all yet, without Diana. I guess, Icame without a plan.” I cackle, and I’m grateful Tramy doesn’t remark theobvious – although his creased brow speaks by itself.

But as I don’tcontinue, he swallows the words on his tongue, finding something better to ask:“What do you want, then?”

I snort. The decisivequestion. As if it didn’t chase me everywhere nowadays. “You don’t have to pityme, Tramy. I know what I’m getting into. I hope. I mean, we, Dee and I, we doour best.”

“I didn’t imply theopposite, but that’s not what I’ve asked about,” he retorts, his eyes boringinto mine. “Is it what you want? Because you don’t seem … elated.”

“I want Dee, okay?!” Isnap. “I love her, and I’m not letting her alone with it.” I gather the energyto dart one fierce glare at him before I fall back onto the couch.

“She asked me the samething, you know,” I begin. “But what should I have said? I couldn’t tell herwhat to do, and it was obvious she didn’t want an abortion. I don’t know whetherI would’ve wanted that, but …” I shrug. I lean farther back, so I face theceiling. “After a while, she told me why. She couldn’t imagine doing it. Not ingeneral, but for herself. She’s … lost too many people she loved to give up another.”

Silence. “And do youthink that’s unfair?” Tramy asks eventually, trying to tread carefully.

I jerk up anyway.“Unfair? That I support her in what concerns us both?” I shake my head. “It’sunfair it’s happening now. Unfair we couldn’t plan to have a child at our pace.Unfair that our situation is so insecure. Unfair that our child will have togrow up with this insecurity too.”

I’m afraid. So, soafraid. But I also wish to meet this new person that’s both Dee and me andsomeone entirely their own, and see them grow up. Sometimes, I dare to thinkabout how it’ll be, and not only to wonder about the problems it’ll bring. Iimagine their smiles and wobbly tries to stand, their first words and theSpanish I could teach –

“But it’s not unfairthat it exists, nor that the woman I love wants to … ah …” Heat creeps up myface. “That she wants a family with me,” I manage to conclude.

Tramy, having listenedattentively to my declaration, starts to grin like an idiot. “My little bro’sbecoming a dad,” he says. “Congratulations.”

I give him a shove. Hissmile becomes broader, and I feel my eyes starting to wet. “You could say‘thanks’,” Tramy reminds me, but instead of doing so, I fall forward andembrace him.

He returns the hug, hishands stroking my back during my sobs. I’m shocked this happens for the secondtime today, with him, but I’m not complaining. After the doubts plaguing metoday, I finally find my ground.

“Don’t tell the others,okay?” I rasp. “As I’ve said, I’m glad to have talked to you, but Dee and Ishould tell you all together. We’ll visit soon, or something.”

He pulls away to lookat me, his silly grin still plastered on his face. “Sure,” he agrees. “But canyou tell me before you come? I might get you something.”

I sigh, “Tramy …”

“No, listen. I’ll getyour girlfriend a plant, a nice little orange tree from the workshop.” Hewinks. “Then you can train to look after someone.”

“What? I don’t think –“

“And whenever Dianasees the tree, she can think of the us Barrows, welcoming her into the family.”

I’m too stunned forwords. I believe Diana will be too, if Tramy actually does it. But even so, Iknow he’s absolutely right. It’s a gesture she’ll cherish.

“That’s … cool. I mean,thanks,” I reply, awfully helpless, and wipe my face.

He accepts my gratitudewith grace.

I forgo my intention to searchthrough whatever baby utensils we might still have in attic; as the ones who’dknow, our parents and Gisa, aren’t here and Tramy has to return to his job. Inthe end, I guess I didn’t come to find some old blankets I won’t need formonths, but for something else. And I believe I’ve found it.

My brother offers tobring me to the train station with his transporter and I agree. When we arriveand I’m about to jump out of the cabin after a half-hug-handshake, Tramy pullson my sleeve. “Wait a sec,” he asks, and then we both go out to round thetransporter form different sides. Tramy rummages through the cargo area untilhe can produce a tiny bouquet of three red flowers that look like oversized daisies.

“Gerbera,” Tramyinforms me.

I raise an eyebrow.

“Well, I still think youshould give Diana a little present. It’s a treat from me, of course,” he adds.

“Okay, thanks, butactually, I didn’t go along with your bouquet idea because Dee isn’t intoflowers. At all.” He laughs. “What?!” I snap.

He pats my shoulder.“Shade, I won’t go on telling you that all women secretly love flowers becauseI know you’d only say I’m repeating florist ads, but see it like this:” Hetakes a breath and spreads his arms wide. “These are something nice andpretty,” he begins, and holds the bouquet toward me. “And before we talked, youdidn’t appear to feel nice and pretty at all.” When I frown, he adds, “nooffense, I don’t mean your face. But I’m just saying, put these in your flat,look at them, smell them, and think of today. Of anything you enjoy. Let themcheer you up for a second, okay?” He winks and hands me the flowers.Begrudgingly, I take them.

“You make adisturbingly good gardener-florist,” I admit.

He waits.

“And I’m glad of it.”

“You’re welcome,” heanswers, and we go on our ways.

Back at home, Dee’s home, I getback to settle myself in, to unpack and re-order, with more vigour than in themorning. I shove down my doubts about whether she’ll like changes in theclutter as they’re necessary. The sinking feeling remains, and it still nearpanics me to imagine a child and their things fitting in here as well. A baby, I remind myself, as in the end,we can always search for a bigger place in a few years. If we can afford one –

Still, while the weighton my heart has lightened, the prospect of thinking in years pulls me down to earth, every time again. But that isn’t abad thing. I won’t let it be.

With what I find in thekitchen, I prepare myself a late lunch, one also large enough to serve asdinner for Diana and me, once she comes home. Indeed, her absence tells me howlong this day has been. I make the best of being alone, starting with my ownpapers and homework after eating. The understanding and the words arrive fasternow with my new determination, while the sight of my phone poses a temptation totext or call Dee to feel closer to her.

I think I only refrainbecause while cleaning up, I saw she’s currently attending a lecture; thus Idon’t want to disturb her. I get back to writing.

I’ll have to learn herschedule by heart fast.

Darkness falls early thislate in the year. It doesn’t assist me in staying concentrated forever, so I’myawning for the fifth time and finally shut down my laptop when the dooropens. I sit up immediately and get up when Diana enters. She looks tired anddishevelled.

Instead of greetingher, I take her into my arms and she doesn’t hesitate for a second to leanagainst me. “I missed you,” I say softly, brushing her hair and loosening itsbraid even more by doing so.

“Missed you too,” shemumbles, before turning her head to kiss my cheek. I feel goose bumps at hertouch, while she’s wearing a thick coat that rustles at our movements.

She’s out of itquickly, tossing it and her bag aside in a motion so natural she must’ve doneso hundreds of times. Her fingers play with mine as she leads me to the bed tolay down. I rush to slide my laptop away. She groans as she let herself sinkinto the bed. “You didn’t have to stop working because I’m home,” she says.

“I did already. I’mjust making space.” When she raises her eyebrows, I add, “oh come on, we are still adjusting to living together.”

“We are,” she admits,smiling faintly. “But honestly, I’m too tired to work on it tonight.” She yawnsin demonstration, although it makes me worry a bit. Dee’s so energetic most ofthe time, is it the pregnancy that tires her? And if not directly, shouldn’tshe be careful not to exhaust herself either way? But I don’t tell her so.“Surely you’re hungry?” I ask instead.

“Later,” she mumbles,“give me a moment.”

I do. She splays on thebed she’s still used to sleep alone in on most nights, looking peacefulhalf-dozing and as gorgeous as when she laughs or argues.

I find a space tolounge beside her, stroking her thigh where I can feel the pulse of her blood.Has her pulse changed now that her body nurtures someone else, too?

Dee isn’t a thin woman.At a random meeting, a person would think nothing of the roundness of her bellyyet. But I know it’s new, the first sign she’s starting to show. It’s humbling,really, to glimpse our child come into existence.

I rest my head next tothe curve of her waist. As she isn’t fully sleeping, I’m not surprised when herhand finds its way to my head and begins to play with my hair.

“Sorry I didn’t reply,”she says eventually.

“Hmm?”

“When you texted. Ishould’ve replied.”

“No matter.”

“No – ” She gets up alittle, and so do I, slightly confused. “I know I implied I had no time tospare, but I did – well.” She blushes and her other hand moves closer to her,brushing her belly. I don’t think she notices. “I made an appointment with anobstetrician next Wednesday. I believe you’re free then?”

She appears genuinelyuncertain. I nod to relieve her. I’ll make time if anything gets in the way.

“Good. I thought it’sabout time, to find out if the little one’s alright.” She bites her lip and inthat moment, her composure shifts. “I’m afraid, you know. Really afraid. Idon’t want anything to happen to it. And also …” She hesitates, lowering herhead as her hand takes mine and holds tight.

“I just hope it’shealthy. If it wasn’t … if it was sick, I’d have no idea how we’d manage. Ourbudget’s tight. Probably will get only tighter after the birth. It’ll be sohard, Shade, and if we had to care for a sick child, nothing will – ” shestops, wiping her eyes. I inch closer to her, to embrace and calm her, althoughI fear the same. And I can’t promise her worries away.

“I’m so afraid, Shade,all the time. It’ll only get worse.”

“I know,” I utter,taking her other hand as well, squeezing and kissing it. I meet her eyes. “Iknow,” I repeat in a coarse voice. “I’m afraid too. And I’m grateful you speakabout it. We can’t pretend everything will be alright, can we?” She blinkswildly as a tear rolls down her cheek. I pull her closer still and she sagsagainst my chest. I don’t let go for a long time, rubbing her back and, finallymumbling some reassuring nonsense. The words aren’t the point. I’m here, withher, and I won’t leave, even though – or because – I might cry myself.

“Now I am hungry,” Dee says with asniff as we disentangle.

“Good.” I smile at herand start to get up. “I hope you like – “

“Shade?” She hasn’t letgo of my hand and her blue eyes staring at me tether me similarly. “Would youlike to know …”

“What?”

“You know …” She rollsher eyes.

“What?”

She snorts. “When we goto the ob/gyn, would you like to know if it’s a girl or a boy?” her playfulexpression vanishes as sudden as it came. Likely because my face fell.

“No,” I answer.

“That’s determined.”She lifts an eyebrow.

I sit down in front ofher and cup her face with my hands. “Dee, don’t you think that’s oneinformation we really don’t need yet?”

“Well …”

“And if theobstetrician is wrong? That would be worse. Not that the kid won’t know best intheir time…”

“Sure,” she agrees, andshifts onto her knees to kiss me on the mouth, her fingers soon on my cheek, myneck, my hair. Not that I can keep my hands off her. I love the feel of herwaist, the soft flesh above her hips contrasted by her strong back muscles.“I’m proud of you, Shade Barrow,” she whispers between kisses. “You make mebelieve we won’t be awful parents.

I laugh against herlips. “Ditto. And if worst comes to worst, I have a great family for help.”

@inopinion @lilyharvord @mareshmallow @sarcasm-and-procrastination @redqueenfandom @clarafarleybarrow @elliemarchetti @eurydicel @marecalrandomstuff @a-scarletguard-member @selenbean-beany @choosemarecal @bookworm0123 @dansilvery @gisabarrovv

#red queen #red queen fanfiction #red queen fan fiction #shade barrow #mare barrow #victoria aveyard #diana farley #shade x farley #fade modern au #clara farley-barrow #clara farley #tramy barrow #red queen one-shots #a new place #baby fan fiction #request #ask #inopinion

[peraltasames]

until the night turns into morning

Amy has a bad day and realizes even the worst days aren't quite as bad with Jake Peralta.

Notes: canon divergent, set post-2x21 (det dave majors) but before johnny and dora. jake supports amy so much and i have a lot of feelings about it. based on the song new york by ed sheeran

read on ao3

Usually, after a particularly bad day, Amy will go home immediately after work, run herself a hot bath and read one of her favourite books. The familiarity of the words and the effortlessness of comprehending them soothe her brain until she begins to forget about her troubles.

Tonight, though, she only makes it a couple blocks from the precinct before she’s parking her car again, almost in a trance as she walks across the street and into Shaw’s.

She doesn’t want to read. She wants to drink.

“Heisler, please,” she says in a gravelly voice, muttering a quick “thank you” to the bartender and heading off to the darkest, quietest corner of the bar.

Unfortunately, the corner booth, her envisioned destination for at least two or three more drinks, is occupied (even more unfortunately, by her coworkers).

“Amy, hey!”

She knows the moment she hears Boyle’s voice that it’s too late to down her drink and head elsewhere. Her colleagues, her friends, would never allow her to drink alone on a Friday night.

“Hey, guys.” She plasters on a fake smile, begrudgingly sitting next to Gina, across from Rosa and Charles.

“You seem a little down in the dumps, did the stationery store close?”

She doesn’t have the energy to reply to Gina’s snark (the last thing she needs is to think about losing Quills and Things), taking another long sip of her drink.

“Don’t wanna talk about it,” she mumbles, setting the already half-empty drink down in front of her. “Actually, guys, I should probably just go home.”

“Whatever’s wrong, it might help to be with people who care about you,” Charles suggests with an encouraging grin, raising his beer.

As much as she appreciates the support, she really doesn’t feel like seeing any more looks of sympathy like the one Holt gave her half an hour ago after getting off the phone with the chief.

“Thanks, Charles, but I should really-“

“Hey, Santiago!” The unmistakeable voice from over her shoulder makes her freeze in place. Of course, it was foolish to think that he wouldn’t be here on a Friday with all of their other coworkers, but given her disaster of a day, she thought maybe the universe would cut her some slack. No such luck. “Did Holt find out if you got the task force?”

She stares down at her lap to avoid the looks of comprehension from her friends as they piece the situation together, to avoid Jake’s faded smile as he meets Charles’ gaze and everyone is now acutely aware of her failure.

“They decided to give it to Kyle Gregory.”

Jake is speechless for a second (a rare occurrence) and she hopes and prays that maybe he’ll just drop it and start talking about one of his cases or his ranking of the Die Hard saga. Of course, he won’t do those things, because completely notwithstanding her own will, he is probably her best friend. He cares about her and supports her - it’s the very reason that when she proposed her task force idea to the chief with Holt’s support and he said he would strongly consider her to take the lead on it, her first instinct was to call Jake and enthusiastically ramble to him in the hallway outside the chief’s office for twenty minutes.

“You are way more qualified than him.” Rosa breaks the silence, looking slightly more pissed than normal.

“Yeah, and the chief’s a sexist jerk,” Gina pipes in, “he calls me sweetheart when he calls for Holt. I usually transfer his call to Hitchcock instead.”

Amy cracks a small smile at her friends’ benevolent remarks, but it’s nothing she didn’t already know, nothing that really eases the dull ache in her heart. She knows all about the bigotry that runs deep in the NYPD, but it doesn’t make it any easier when things like this continue to happen.

Jake slides into the spot next to her, the booth now crowded enough that his thigh is touching hers, even when she shifts closer to Gina to make room for him. She doesn’t know if it’s the physical contact or the soft smile or him sliding his own beer that he just bought over to her and drinking from the one that was probably meant for Charles instead, but she feels a little bit warmer inside.

The warm feeling grows ever so slightly as she sits back silently and listens to Rosa and Gina rant about the patriarchy while Charles and Jake nod and mutter agreements, occasionally getting up to get another round of drinks.

She isn’t sure how many hours pass, but eventually she has enough to drink that she can feel herself getting caught up in her own irrational thoughts of not being good enough and never reaching her goals. It must show in her face, because Gina pauses during a story about herself to ask if Amy’s okay in a rare, genuine tone and Jake’s hand inconspicuously grabs hers where it rests on her lap.

“It’s just not fair,” Amy mumbles in response to Gina’s question.

“It’s not fair,” Jake agrees, squeezing her hand (god, she hopes the blush creeping on her face can be blamed on the six beers she just had). “You’ll show ‘em when you’re the youngest captain in the history of the NYPD though, right Ames?”

Amy’s brain shifts its focus from disappointment and anger to replaying Jake’s sentence on an incessant loop, breaking it down into facts: he listens to her goals, he believes in her, he called her “Ames” again…

She really doesn’t know if it’s just the alcohol or a result of every emotion of the past year since he told her he wanted something to happen between them and promptly disappeared for six months, but being with Jake - just Jake, despite how grateful she is for the support of her friends - is now her number one priority.

“Can we go somewhere?” Her lips are close to his ear as she whispers the question, trying to avoid being overheard.

Something flashes in his eyes and she’s worried for a moment that he’s misinterpreted what she wants - she doesn’t even know what she wants -but he just nods wordlessly and smiles.

“Wait here, I’ll go pay the tab.”

They make their exit as discreetly as possible, Jake muttering some halfhearted excuse about them splitting a cab even though everyone in their group knows they live in opposite directions from the bar.

The warm breeze of the mid-summer night embraces her as she steps out of the doors, Jake’s hand firmly placed on her upper back keeping her steady.

“Do you want me to take you home?” he offers, attempting to hail a cab as they approach the street. “Or we can get something to eat, are you hungry? You haven’t eaten since lunch, right?”

It’s true, and she tries not to overanalyze how closely he pays attention to her. He’s a detective, it’s in his nature…right?

“Not hungry,” she murmurs, following his lead as he opens the back door of the first taxi that pulls over, sliding in next to her.

“Where to?”

Jake looks blankly at her while the driver taps his fingers impatiently against the wheel.

“Can we just…” She thinks for a moment. She doesn’t want to go home yet - home means being alone and letting her thoughts consume her. At two o’clock in the morning, though, she isn’t really sure where else to go.

“Just drive around for a bit, please,” Jake tells the driver.

She looks over Jake, but unlike her typical stolen glances and quiet longing, she lets her eyes linger on him: brown hair, a little messy, not much more so than normal; a dark grey t-shirt, navy blue hoodie, black jeans, white sneakers; the lights of the city reflected in deep brown eyes, still looking at her; lips slightly parted, lips that she’s been dying to feel on her own for months, years probably-

“What are you thinking about?”

She gulps, diverting her gaze elsewhere. “I…I love this song.”

It’s not a complete lie. The Cyndi Lauper song playing in poor quality through the cab’s radio brings back fond memories of her mother cooking dinner with the sound of her record player flowing softly from the next room. It brings her a feeling of security and warmth that only grows when Jake begins to sing along dramatically, completely off-key, basking in the eighties cheesiness.

“If you’re lost you can look and you will find me…time after time!”

“Jake, you’re ridiculous,” she says, a grin spreading across her face of its own accord.

“C’mon, Santiago, don’t leave me hanging…” he says as the song builds to the final chorus, his hand falling against her leg. “If you fall, I will catch you, I’ll be waiting…”

“Time after time,” she joins in, harmonizing terribly with him and creating a sound that makes the cab driver wince a little, a genuine laugh rising in her chest for the first time all day.

Both of them laughing out loud, she clumsily drops her head to his shoulder and lets it stay there. After a few moments of comfortable silence, she feels his arm wrap around her shoulders and tug her entire body closer, her right leg crossing over her left one and resting on his.

The fact that this is the most intimate they’ve ever been is not lost on her, the weight of his arm around her pulling her down to earth and sobering her up more than the glass of water he made her drink before they left (he’s always taking care of her in some small way, it seems).

Nobody else in the world could find her when she’s broken and make her feel more whole than she has in her entire life. Nobody else in the world is like him.

“Hey, Jake?”

“Yeah?” His breath, smelling of beer and mints, is hot against her cheek as he speaks.

“Today sucked. But…you made it a lot better, so, thank you” she murmurs. “You’re the best.” She doesn’t add partner or friend or colleague, they’re past the point of pretending that’s all he is to her.

She smiles as she says it, waiting to see the astounded look on his face before burying her face in his shoulder again. He grips her even tighter, and her heart nearly jumps out of her chest when he kisses the top of her head. This is uncharted territory.

A few more old, familiar songs play as they drive through the streets of Brooklyn, which are gradually emptying as most people find their way home. When she starts to think about how high of a cost they’re racking up on the meter, she casually gives the driver her address, remaining placid in Jake’s arms until they park.

He pays the driver despite her protests - New York cab fares are a nightmare and he already spent enough on drinks - and slips his hand into hers as soon as he closes the car door behind him.

“I’m just gonna walk to Charles’ and crash there,” he says, gesturing in the general direction of their friend’s apartment, only a few blocks east. “But, um, call me if you need anything, okay? Like, if you want to talk or go see a movie or egg the chief’s house or-“

He staggers backwards a little bit as she grabs his face and presses her lips firmly against his, which quickly part and kiss her back with equal fervor. His hands slide around her back and pull her into him as she runs hers through his hair like she’s wanted to for longer than she cares to admit.

They separate much more slowly than they came together, his eyes still closed when hers open, their arms still wrapped around each other.

“Don’t go to Boyle’s,” she breathes, hands resting lightly on his chest.

He nods slowly, a million emotions passing over his face as he holds her gaze with the same intensity.

“Okay.”

They walk up the steps to her apartment with joined hands. It’s not his first time here, but it’s certainly his first time here at three in the morning after she’s kissed him passionately and officially abandoned any attempt to conceal her feelings for him.

She pours them each a glass of water and passes one to him, taking hers into the bedroom so she can change out of the pantsuit she’s been in for way too many hours and try to wrap her head around the events of the last few minutes. She pulls on tiny silk pajama shorts and a black tank top, only slightly sexier than what she may normally sleep in, because freaking Jake is in her kitchen at three in the morning. She would be flat-out lying if she said this exact scenario hadn’t occurred in her dreams, paralyzing her with guilt while she was still dating Teddy and making her terribly uncomfortable a few different mornings at work. She even dreamt about him last week after coming home from a date with one of the most attractive, charismatic men in the NYPD. Dave Majors was charming and intelligent, but unfortunately had the same critical flaw as every other man she’s dated recently - he isn’t Jake Peralta.

“Amy.” His voice is a little steadier than before as he walks over to meet her when she re-enters the kitchen and gently grabs her waist. Some combination of him being much taller than her now that her heels are off and his loving stare makes her melt against him. “I know you’ve had a really tough day, and you’ve had a few drinks, so if all of this is just, you know-“

“Jake,” she cuts him off, surprising even herself with her certainty. “I like you. I’ve liked you for…a long time. This is real.”

He exhales and flashes her a relieved smile, his eyes shining even in the dim light of her kitchen.

“Is this okay?” he asks, bowing his head down so their noses are almost touching. His thumbs brush the small strip of skin exposed between her top and shorts.

She kisses him instead of wasting their time with words, her lips a little softer and less urgent this time as they move against his. This kiss doesn’t just appease her burning desire for him, it sets an entirely new fire in her soul that she hopes never goes out. It electrifies every inch of her body.

She kisses him until she loses all concept of time, only aware of the fact that she is kissing him, and until her body can no longer keep up with her desire to continue kissing him for the rest of her life. She lets out a small yawn as they separate.

“Am I boring you already, Santiago?” The teasing is very typical, the awestruck grin and lips a little red from kissing her so much are not.

“I���ve been up for twenty-four hours.”

“You wanna go to bed, then?” he suggests casually, like them going to bed together is an everyday occurrence.

She smiles again - she never imagined today would end with so much smiling - and pecks his lips one more time before dragging him to her bedroom. It feels even more natural than she expected when she climbs into bed with him next to her and he flings an arm around her waist. They fit together so perfectly that part of her thinks this whole thing is bigger than the two of them, that this was bound to happen eventually.

Very soon, the sun will creep through her curtains and shine on her sleeping figure, still tightly wrapped around his. She will be dreaming of him, not of her fears of failure or lack of approval. When she wakes several hours later, she will talk to him about those things and he will listen and stroke her back, and then he will kiss her because they finally, finally get to do that. Tomorrow, the world will be brighter.

#otp: you're not allowed to fall in love with me #b99 fic #peraltiago #its almost 3am so this is probably ~jake peralta voice~ riddled with spelling errors #will i ever stop writing amy obsessing over jake? no #myfics

[thenickelportrust]

Mambo’s Clinic

I realized I talk a lot about Mambo’s gang yet they haven’t really shown up in the story yet. Since I have already spoken about most of them there’s no real spoilers in saying who (at least alias wise) works with him and give a little bit of info on each of the ones you’ll actually meet.

The most important two (Mambo and Foxtrot) are already on the Cast and Characters page (and I’ve copied their personality descriptions here, with some added bits), but I figured it’d be fun to make a little something-something with a couple others as well (even if they won’t play as big a role- or even appear in name-, they’ve all got characteristics and personalities of their own.)

The Leader

Mambo - (he/him) Mambo is the leader of the clinic. He’s direct, cuts no corners, and honest, as well as calm- nearly unshakeable, really. Mambo is hard to read, however, even if he means what he says he almost never shows it on his face. Business-minded and stoic, Mambo is well known for his harsh restrictions on who he’ll treat and who has to search for care elsewhere. He’s also known for being damn good at what he does. He’s earned a reputation in Nickelport for what he does, and as a result many have tried to get close to him, either to find out his secrets or to learn from him (or, in the case of heroes, to try and get access to his care) but he’s also extraordinarily closed off, and isn’t exactly a fan of “socializing”. Not to say he’s unkind, but his focus is on his work, and he knows who are his friends and who aren’t, and he’s not looking to change that any time soon. He’s been running his clinic for quite a while now, and it’s expanded exponentially from its humble beginnings. Mambo’s power I’m still keeping under wraps for right now, as you’ll see it in-game.

Second in Command

Foxtrot - (they/them) Foxtrot met Mambo when his clinic was just beginning, and they were his first employee/partner-in-healing-crime just as he was their first friend in Nickelport. As a result the two of them are practically inseparable, despite the fact that they seem like polar opposites. Where Mambo is direct, Foxtrot almost never means what they actually say. Where Mambo is quiet and stoic, Foxtrot is expressive and talkative, where Mambo is serious and focused, Foxtrot is mischievous and always looking for the next new thing. Despite this they are exceedingly loyal to him, and have always helped with whatever it is Mambo needs doing. As a result they are his second, the one he can trust with that which he won’t entrust to anyone else, and they always get the job done. Foxtrot’s power is best defined as being able to turn into mist. This allows them to become incorporeal or move through tight spaces that otherwise wouldn’t be humanly possible to squeeze through.

Tango - (she/her) Tango met Mambo a while after he met Foxtrot and started the clinic. She was the third member and thusly became his other second for her dutiful, quiet, professional personality. Tango has never really explained why she decided to start working with Foxtrot and Mambo, but the three have grown fairly close over the years, and she considers them like her family- and would do just about anything to protect the two of them. She’s also very close with the rest of the clinic members, and something of a leader within the small community- though Mambo has the final word he rarely interacts with much of his workers outside of what’s necessary, while Tango is in charge of teaching new recruits and handling most of the internal problems. She’s also head of security for the clinic, and will take care of most trouble among those receiving care as well- which happens a lot when you’re working with villains. Tango doesn’t talk... ever. Which mostly has to do with her power, which can be... unpredictable. As a result, when she does speak to someone, it’s usually through sign language. So she also teaches that to most of the people who work under Mambo, as well. Tango’s power is in her voice. Her words cause intense damage, usually in the form of tactile hallucinations- bugs crawling beneath your skin, fire in your veins, knives cutting at your brain, if she whispers it- then you’ll feel it.

Minor Members

Rhumba - (she/her) Rhumba is one of the two new recruits along with Jive. Like Jive, she is a guard, and therefore works under Tango. Rhumba is serious about her job- perhaps too serious. She has a fairly intense personality with little patience for anyone who isn’t 100% focused (likeFoxtrot) and doesn’t understand why Foxtrot some people are trusted or ranked as highly as they are. She takes any mess up, even small ones, as a personal failure and won’t accept anything from herself that isn’t absolute perfection... which is honestly not the healthiest attitude to have and she’ll often end up in a deep spiral over just tiny mess ups that are easily fixed. How Foxtrot some people are able to screw up in what she sees as major ways and keep going is... astounding and not something that she understands. She’s also extremely competitive and thinks of Jive and Foxtrot as a rival because he’s the other newest member and they really don’t deserve the position they were given why does Mambo trust them so much they don’t take anything seriously and-. Rhumba's ability is kind of... strange. She doesn’t get tired. Ever. The last time she slept was the day before she got her powers, and since then she’s never run out of stamina or energy. She just doesn’t need rest or breaks, which is useful in a fight or chase, since she can outlast anyone.

Jive - (he/him) Jive is one of the two new recruits along with Rhumba. Like Rhumba, he is a guard, and therefore works under Tango. Jive has a bad habit of assuming the situation before he really understands what it is that’s going on. That being said his heart is usually in the right place, and he’s fairly new to this world of heroes and villains so he has to be forgiven the occasional misunderstanding as he really just doesn’t understand a lot of what goes on in this world. As a result he relies a lot on the experience of those who have been around for longer, like Tango as his boss and Bachata since they’re much easier to approach than someone like Foxtrot, who he doesn’t fully trust to tell the outright truth, and Mambo, who he’s fairly intimidated by. He has an easy laugh and a more relaxed attitude, which is good, especially being new, since though he definitely isn’t shaken very easily. Although a bit on the airy side he’s a hard worker and loyal to Mambo and the rest. Though he might seem perhaps a bit too laid back in stressful situations, its his cool head that has gotten him out of quite a few scrapes. Jive’s ability is to switch places with any one person at any given time, so long as he knows exactly where they are. This can be useful in fights since it’s an easy way to throw your opponent off guard or, if pinned or being choked, turn around a sticky situation.

Bachata - (they/them/she/her) Bachata takes up the surgical knife whenever Mambo can’t make it, they generally can’t be found at the clinic but rather will go where Mambo and the others can’t, handling cases that are so bad they can’t make it to the clinic. Bachata is known for being a tad bit more cheerful and reassuring than Mambo, often sticking around after she’s completed her job and making sure her patients are fine, unlike Mambo who just kind of... sends people off after and hardly ever sticks around for a chat. As a result Bachata is almost more popular than Mambo, though they look up to him as a kind of mentor figure and will deny any of her own popularity as a doctor. Many wonder why Bachata ended up working for villains when she seems far more suited for heroism. Bachata’s power is a little odd, they’re something of a human painkiller, able to absorb other’s pain and turn it into a kind of emotionally based energy. (The best comparison/way of understanding would be the idea of an incubus or succubus feeding off of attraction, Bachata can feed off pain, but in doing so nullifies it.)

Balboa - (she/her) Balboa is something of a scout- she finds news of recent battles and, if possible, will carry anyone otherwise unable to get themself to Mambo’s care over to the clinic (or bring Bachata there if they won’t make it back to the clinic). Balboa is bubbly when you get to know her, but shy around people she doesn’t know well, and can turn from a gushing waterfall of words about whatever it is that so happened to catch her interest in that specific fleeting moment to stone cold silence in the blink of an eye if someone new enters the room that she’s not comfortable with... which can make it hard for her to get comfortable with others if she never talks to them. Even within Mambo’s work she’s not close with very many people, just Mambo, Tango, and Bachata, really. She also doesn’t get along very well with Foxtrot because she doesn’t know whether or not they’re making fun of her or trying to get along with her. Jive is... ok in her book but he’s new and thusly she doesn’t know him very well. Rhumba snapped at her when she started talking too much so she really, really doesn’t like Rhumba. Balboa can be fairly sensitive and overthink things too much which makes her anxious about a lot of minor things. Balboa’s powers are fairly identical to your run of the mill teleportation, but she can only teleport between two places at a time (which she calls her ‘markers’), and it takes a lot of energy out of her and whoever she teleports with, so she can’t do it very often or with others who are very injured.

#model citizens unmasked #mambo #foxtrot #mambo's clinic #List of characters

[consumerhuaweide]

Huawei pronounces 12.12 Super Sale with up to 50% discount!

Huawei introduced that up to 50% off pick gadgets is up for grabs in the course of its 12.12 Super Sale this Christmas season. Read on for extra info!

Until December 15, you can get up to 50% off pick gadgets consisting of the 64GB variant of the MatePad 10.4, MatePad T10 WiFi, Band 4e, and MateBook D 15 2021 with a tenth Gen Intel Core i5.

huawei 12.12 

The Huawei GT Runner Will Present You Serious Smartwatch Envy

Huawei's GT Runner places pro-grade health tech in a smartwatch that appears like a sports activities car. However, it may not be as low-priced as its predecessors.

Huawei's GT Runner is a smartwatch that combines pro-grade fitness-monitoring technological know-how with the glossy styling of a sports activities car. It provides several improvements over its predecessor, however additionally comes with a greater rate tag, at the identical time. Despite being specifically recognized for its smartphones. Huawei's enhancing vary of smartwatches has genuinely been stirring up the opposition lately.

The Huawei Watch GT 2, in particular, got here with adequate pizzazz to take on the likes of Apple and Samsung's flagship wearables, even coming with a variant designed in collaboration with Porsche Design, the agency at the back of the iconic Porsche 911 sports activities car. It supplied masses of top-class facets such as a blood oxygen (SpO2) tracker, sleep monitoring, luxurious titanium exterior, and two-week battery life, to title a few. However, it used to be finally succeeded by way of the Huawei Watch GT three returned in October, which improves on most of its predecessor's super features, consisting of a bigger, higher-resolution display screen and higher health-monitoring software program accuracy.

huawei 1212 sales

Huawei MateBook D 14

The MateBook D 14 provides top-notch fee for money, beating most mid-range opposition each in phrases of overall performance and design.

Huawei’s MateBook D 14 shares many plan similarities with the high-end MateBook X Pro barring compromising on the less costly nature of the laptop. Couple that with effective mid-range internals and all-day battery life, and you’ve bought an astounding mid-range laptop.

Verdict

The Huawei MateBook D 14 is the superstar of the company’s mid-range offering, boasting effective mid-range internals that can compete with extra high priced laptops and provide fundamental gaming capabilities, amazing 10-hour battery life, and speedy 65W charging that offers around forty-three percentage of cost in solely half of an hour. The show is brilliant and crisp, with thinner bezels enhancing the normal top-class appearance that Huawei has crafted for the D Series.

huawei 1212

HUAWEI MATEPAD T10 - A excellent tablet, however a higher Learning associate for toddlers

The MatePad T10 LTE has been developed following the well-loved DNA of the MatePad line-up. The effective performance, immersive viewing and audio experience, and clever interactions. It has the identical massive HD+ display, stereo loudspeakers, and successful chipset, however, is complemented with the aid of 4G LTE cell facts connectivity in addition to Wi-Fi.

KIDS COMPANION

As I said, the MatePad T10 is a machine you ought to use for work and online learning, however, it is certainly an even higher mastering accomplice for babies and younger children due to the fact of the built-in KIDS CORNER.

It is now not simply an app or sport but a committed location for your kids. It includes 4 preinstalled Apps–a Recorder, Camera, Multimedia, and Kids Painting. It additionally points to Parental manipulation that lets approve app management, content material administration, and even time management.

Once you open Kids Corner, it is the sole vicinity they can play around with and they can’t get entry to any exterior apps.

At 7,999 the Huawei MatePad T10 is one of these inexpensive and dependable capsules you can get to praise your work from domestic or research from domestic setup. Just as lengthy as you don’t want something with high-end specs.

It is something that the complete household can use for staring at films or studying books and notwithstanding the lack of Google Apps, you can discover a lot of selections with the aid of truly the use of the Petal Search widget.

But for me one of the great motives to get it is Kids Corner which creates a separate area for your infants that will hold them entertained so you should end your duties barring interruption.

huawei 1212 sales Malaysia

Huawei Freebuds 4i

Huawei may have bothered in the smartphone field, however, it is doing an extraordinary job with audio wearables. We’ve had the hazard to evaluate the company’s flagship TWS, the Huawei Freebuds Pro, and now we received the Freebuds 4i - an extra low-cost alternative that retains the Active Noise Cancellation and brings a wonderful battery life.

Design and comfort

The Huawei Freebuds 4i we acquired have been in Carbon Black, however, you can additionally have them in Red or Ceramic White (no proper ceramic included). We determined the one we acquired is the excellent preference of all due to the fact it can be matched with any outfit except being an accent (like the purple version) or have the AirPods lookalike vibe, like the white option.

The buds are an enhancement over the Freebuds 3i with barely thicker stems, and there are rubber pointers for a higher fit. One fascinating factor that Huawei is doing is transporting the special measurement rubber guidelines in separate labeled packages, making it a bit quicker to discover the dimension you want.

Verdict

The Huawei Freebuds 4i is without difficulty amongst the greater stunning wi-fi ANC earphones in their fee category. The enterprise did a splendid job fixing the whole lot that used to be incorrect with the Freebuds 3i whilst retaining the aggressive fee - higher plan for each the bud and the case, proper lively noise cancellation, and handy navigation.

The 10-hour non-stop playtime is a godsend when we have to work barring being distracted at home. The rapid charging and the stable sonic trip make for an average wonderful package.

#huawei 12.12 #huawei 1212 sales #huawei 1212 #huawei 1212 sales Malaysia

[sadedtgtg]

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[finn-nelson-for-the-win]

Finn + Rae 25? like them meeting thanks that one of them leaves a message in a book?

Hello love! Thank you for sending me this ficrequest nearly a month ago haha! (It’s related to this post, in case any of youforgot because it took me forever to finally post this) Once I wrote this Irealized that it’s not exactly what you asked for and it sort of took on a lifeof its own, but I hope you still like it nonetheless! :)

25. “I could tell it was your favorite bookbecause of all the notes you wrote in the margins.”

***

Finn looked around hesitantly as he tried tofind a sign that would point him in the direction of where he was trying to go.He never considered himself to be a studious person—he got decent grades whenhe was younger and he was able to at least pass his classes with the grades hewas getting in college—but as Finn stood in the entryway to the librarysurrounded by more books than he had ever seen in one place, to say he was outof his element would be an understatement.

“Good afternoon! Is there anything that I canhelp you find today?”

Finn turned around and was briefly startled tosee a petite old woman with large glasses resting low on the bridge of her nosestanding beside him with a large stack of books in her arms.

“Oh! Sorry, ma'am, ya startled me a bit,” Finnreplied with a nervous chuckle, “I’m here to find a book that I need for aproject I’m doing for college and well, I have no idea where to start…”

“You’re in luck then! I’m the head librarian,Trudy, so I’m just the right person to ask! Follow me to my desk over here,son, and I’ll help get you all sorted.” The woman used a small hand to signalfor Finn to follow her, which he did after only a brief moment of hesitation.

Trudy set the large pile of books that sheseemed to be carrying with ease down on the metal cart beside her desk with aquiet grunt before taking a seat in her chair on the opposite side of the deskfrom where Finn still stood awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other.

“So…what book can I help you find today?”

“Er, it’s by Emily B…Emily B-something,” Finnpulled a small folded scrap of paper from the pocket of his jeans and noddedbefore continuing, “Sorry, it’s called ‘WutheringHeights’, I think?”

“Ah, yes, Bronte! A true classic, indeed. Ithink most of your classmates came by about a week or two ago to check out thisbook…”

“Oh, so does that mean that…”

“But you just so happen to be in luck, becauseone of the copies we have was just returned earlier this morning!” Trudyreplied before turning in her chair to search through the stack of books shehad placed on the metal cart minutes ago.

“Oh, that’s a relief! Thank you for your help,ma'am”

Trudy opened the front cover of the book andused her date stamper to fill in the date that this book would be due beforehanding the book across to the desk to Finn.

“You’re welcome, son. Just let me know if youhave any other questions…I should be walking around here re-shelving allthese books.” Trudy gave Finn a polite smile as she walked away from the deskpushing the cart full of books in front of her before stopping at a nearbysection with rows upon rows of nonfiction books.

Finn examined the worn-looking novel in hishands, taking note of the way that the paperback cover was frayed on thecorners and there was clearly some damage to the spine of the book that made itlook like it had been read and checked out by many people before it ended up inthe hands of Finn Nelson.

Finn opened the front cover of the book andpulled the checkout card out of the sleeve attached to the inside to write hisname in the next available spot and he noticed that every other row above hisname had been filled-in by the same name written in narrow, delicatehandwriting: Rae Earl.

***

After finding the book at the library, Finn hadto hurry to footie practice—which he was already running late for before heworked up the nerve to go into the library—and it was a couple hours before hewas back in his bedroom and debating whether or not he should get a head starton his assignment for college.

Well, technically thiswas assigned nearly a month ago, so calling it a “head start” would be a bit ofa stretch…

But then again, I stillhave two weeks to read this book and write an analysis on it…I have plenty oftime, so do I really need to start it today?

When Finn got home from footie practice, he hadtaken a quick shower to freshen up, changed into comfortable clothes, and evenfixed himself a snack—doing basically everything that he could to waste timeand delay doing what he knew he had to start inevitably.

Finn now sat in the chair in front of his deskwith his school notebook open to a new page and his cross-body bag openedslightly so he was just barely able to see the book he had borrowed from thelibrary within his bag.

Wow…who knew that 323pages of paper bound into a pastel purple novel could be so intimidating.

Finn sighed deeply and shrugged before reachinginto his bag, pulling out the small book, and opening it to the first page.

“1801—I have justreturned from a visit to my landlord—the solitary neighbour that I shall betroubled with.”

Finn had read a few pages, but his progress wasslow moving as he often got distracted or lost track of what was happening andhe had to reread a number of passages more than once.

“It is astounding howsociable I feel myself compared with him.”

Finn set the novel aside and began making noteof anything from that first chapter that seemed worth remembering; however,even in those few short pages, Finn had found himself struggling to keep trackof the characters and details being introduced and that did not seem to bodewell for his success with reading the rest of the novel.

Fuck it…it’s just oneassignment. What’s the worst that could happen if I skip this?

Finn had perfected the art of getting by incollege—earning grades that weren’t exceptional nor cause for concern—but hisEnglish Literature teacher had recently pulled him aside after class to talk tohim about all his “wasted potential” and threatening that Finn’s father may becalled in for a meeting if she didn’t see Finn “take charge of his learning”.Finn rolled his eyes at the memory of that brief conversation the prior daywhich ultimately led him to the library this afternoon, but he picked the novelback up and continued to read and take notes to the best of his abilities as hewent.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Finn groaned ashe placed the book back on his desk and ran his hands over his face infrustration.

As Finn continued to read and continued tostruggle to keep the details clear and understand what was happening throughthe dialects and confusing writing style that Emily Bronte used, Finn alsobegan to notice that a number of the pages had markings on them to drawattention to specific phrases or quotes. He also noticed that in the margins ofcertain pages, there were notes and commentary written.

Initially he brushed it off a nothing more thanvandalism caused by prior people who had borrowed this book, but when Finnfound himself particularly stumped by what was happening, he shrugged anddecided to go back and read some of the notes written on previous pages.

Well I’ll be damned…

Finn copied the quotes that had been underlinedwithin the book into his own notes and decided to keep reading the notes leftby the previous readers, since he finally felt like he was beginning tounderstand what was going on.

When Finn’s dad returned home from work andcalled upstairs to Finn to let him know that there was pizza waiting for him inthe kitchen if he got hungry, Finn was too engrossed in reading to take noticeor respond back will anything more than just a quick greeting to his dad and a“thank you” before he went back to what he was doing.

Finn laughed aloud on more than one occasion ashe read the notes left behind by the person who he assumed had written all thenotes in the book—since the ink colors varied but the handwriting was the same—andhe quickly developed an appreciation for this person’s understanding of thisstyle of writing and their wit and sense of humor that was conveyed throughthese notes.

Finn’s own notes had easily filled up an entirepage in his notebook, but as he began to better understand the story throughthe notes in the margins he found it easier to stay focused on what he wasdoing. For the first time in a long time, Finn realized that he was actuallyenjoying reading a book for college, but he decided not to dwell on the factfor fear of messing up the good thing that he had going.

Finn was unsure exactly how much time hadpassed, but as he looked outside the window of his bedroom and saw that the sunhad long since set, he closed the novel after placing an old beer mat that hefound on his desk inside as a bookmark, and finally made his way downstairs tograb a few slices of pizza that had gone completely cold inside the cardboardbox on the kitchen counter.

***

Finn had finished reading Wuthering Heights and writing his analysis of the novel well beforethe project was due—much to the satisfaction of his teacher, Mrs. Edwards—andalthough Finn would likely never admit it out loud, he felt extremely proud ofhimself and accomplished when he turned in his essay knowing that he hadactually put effort into this assignment.

The book wasn’t due back into the library for acouple more days, but since footie practice had been cancelled and Finn hadalready completed his assignment, he decided to take a quick trip over to thelibrary to return the book.

The library seemed to be slightly more livelytoday than the prior time he had been there, but as he walked up to thelibrarian’s desk with the book in-hand, he no longer felt quite as out of placehere.

“Oh! Well speak of the devil! Are you here toreturn the book? How did your project go, son?”

“Good afternoon, Trudy! Yeah, I’m all done withthe book now and the project went very well, thanks!”

Finn placed the paperback novel on the counterof Trudy’s desk and stood a short distance away from the girl that had beentalking to Trudy before he had walked up.

“Oh, how nice of ya to finally decide to returnthis book,” she mumbled in Finn’s general direction, which caused him to lookaround briefly to ensure that she was in fact talking to him and not someoneelse.

“Are you trying to check it out too?” Finnlooked over at the girl who was reaching to grab the book from where Finn hadset it down on the counter and he noticed first and foremost that she wasincredibly pretty.

“It’s not late or anything, I promise…” Finnadded in an apologetic tone even though he was aware that he had done nothingwrong.

I don’t know what I did,but this beautiful girl is mad at me for some reason, so odds are I probablydeserve it…

Finn looked over to see her filling out thecheckout card for the book before shooting him a brief glare and walking awayfrom the counter quickly, leaving Finn at a loss for words.

“What was that all about?” Finn asked Trudy whenhe was finally able to understand what had just happened.

“Oh, don’t take it too personally. She’s beenthe only one that checked out that copy of the book for the last few monthsuntil you…she’s never had to wait for the book and she’s been coming in everycouple days hoping that you would have returned it.” Trudy explained, givingFinn a kind smile that he found to be surprisingly reassuring.

“Aren’t there other copies of the book?”

“Yes, of course! What kind of library would thisbe if we only had one copy of a book?” Trudy asked with a laugh that made Finnquestion whether he had missed the joke, but she soon shrugged and continued,“Almost all the other copies are currently in stock, too! I think she just hasa bit of an attachment to that specific copy.”

“I see…well, thank you for your help Trudy!”

Finn gave the librarian a small smile beforewalking away from the counter. He had started heading in the direction of thedoors to the library, but when he saw the clock on the wall beside him, herealized that he still had some spare time to waste before he had agreed tomeet his mates Archie and Chop at the Chippy. With nothing better to do withthis time, Finn decided that this was the perfect opportunity to wander aroundthe library and explore.

Before long, Finn realized that he had snakedhis way through every aisle of nonfiction books on one side of the library andhe found himself nearing a section along the back wall of the library where thereare displays of assorted records, cassette tapes, and CDs.

Ah, perfect! Books maynot be my thing, but music? I definitely know my music…

Finn began looking through all the music andcouldn’t help but notice that there were a few cassette tapes that were stackedvertically so that the track listings on the tapes were facing upwards, unlikethe other cassette tapes in the same section.

“Huh, these seem a bit out of place,” Finn saidto himself as he lifted the small stack of cassette tapes to review them further.

What do we have here?Nirvana, Oasis, Oasis, and the Stone Roses…all top-notch bands!

“Oh this is just fucking great…” Finn heardsomeone say behind him and he quickly turned to notice the clearly annoyed butstill beautiful girl that stood behind him with her arms crossed over herchest, “first you hold my copy of WutheringHeights captive and now you’re trying to steal the music I was about tocheck out too?”

“Sorry…I—uh, I didn’t see your name written onthem or anything…and this is a public library, so I don’t really think youcan stake a claim to anything in here,” Finn replied with a slight smirk,hoping that a bit of humor could have diffuse some of the tension.

“Most people can’t, but I can,” She replied in asimilar tone as the one he had used.

“And why is that?”

“Because I do whatever I want to,” she statedmatter of factly.

“Ah I see, but if I were to, for example, checkout these tapes as well…you’d have no other choice but to wait until I returnthem. Isn’t that right?” Finn decided to keep playing along with the jokingtone he used before, but he punctuated his question with the most flirtatioussmirk he could manage and hoped that this bold move would work out in hisfavor.

Finn watched as it took a brief moment for thebeautiful girl to realize that he was trying to flirt and within a matter ofseconds her cheeks blushed a pretty shade of pink before she squared her jawand cleared her throat slightly before speaking.

“Ugh, whatever…just do whatever yawanna…fucking prick,” she spun on her heels and began walking away, but notbefore Finn caught her rolling her eyes at him.

Finn stood in place, trying to decide what itwas he said or did that had turned their fun banter into frustration towardshim.

Did I take it too farwith the smirk? Was that little bit of flirting really that out of line?

Finn reached forward to grab the stack ofcassette tapes he had set down when the pretty girl from earlier had approachedhim and walked around the library for a couple minutes until he saw the samegirl sitting at a table in the far corner of the library—away from the other peoplewho were talking and studying in groups—reading Wuthering Heights.

Finn knew that what he was about to do couldeasily backfire just as easily as their prior conversation had, but heproceeded to walk up to her table and take a seat in the chair across the tablefrom her. When she finished reading the page that she was on, the girl set thebook down on the table and looked up at Finn with an eyebrow arched in silentquestion.

Rather than speaking just yet, Finn placed thestack of cassettes on the table and slid them over to the girl sitting acrossfrom him as a peace offering.

“I just wanted to apologize if I came off asrude or anything. I was just joking, but I think I may have taken it too far,so I’m sorry, Rae.”

“It’s fine. I’m sor—wait, how do you know myname?”

Fuck…how DO I know hername?

“Oh, uh…sorry…I just assumed because thelibrarian said you’re the only one that checks out that copy of Wuthering Heights and I saw your name onthe checkout card…” Finn rambled as he struggled to find a response that wouldmake him seem like he was not a total creep for knowing her name when they hadnever even met in-person prior to just less than an hour ago.

“Oh, right, of course…I’m sorry if I seemedrude as well,” Rae replied with an embarrassed chuckle that she tried to playoff as a cough, “You can check out these cassettes if you want to…I willallow it, but just this once!”

Rae slid the stack of cassette tapes that sat onthe table in front of her back to Finn’s side of the table and gave him a smallsmirk.

“Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve already heard allof these on vinyl or on tape, I was just looking at them when you walked up tome over there. I had no intention of checking them out, I just thought it couldbe funny to get you a little worked up…sorry.”

“Ah, I see”

“You should definitely borrow them though, Oasisand the Stone Roses are mint!” Finn replied as he slid the stack a bit closerto Rae yet again.

“Oh, I’m well aware,” Rae straightened herposture and gestured to her black Oasis t-shirt beneath the red flannel she waswearing to prove her point.

Finn glanced briefly at her shirt but realizedimmediately that not allowing his gaze to linger on the way that the Oasis logoon the shirt stretched tightly across her chest proved more difficult that Finnwould care to admit.

For fuck’s sake Finn! Donot stare at her boobs…even if they are great, which they are…it’s stillnot polite to stare.

Finn was pulled from his thoughts by the soundof Rae clearing her throat and staring at him with a slight trace of disbelief,which immediately caused Finn’s face to flush bright red in embarrassment atbeing caught staring at her chest.

“Oh, sorry…I didn’t mean to stare or make yauncomfortable, it’s just I, uh, have that same shirt. I got it when I went toKnebworth with some mates this summer.”

“That’s where I got mine too!” Rae replied witha wide smile.

Pleased to see that he was able to recover fromhis unintentional ogling of her chest, Finn decided to launch further intoconversation with Rae about Knebworth and music.

By the time Rae stood up to leave the libraryand Finn followed shortly behind her, he was relieved to see that he was onlygoing to be a little bit late to meet his mates at the Chippy.

***

As Finn walked into the library—taking a quickdetour after his last class of the day and before he needed to meet his matesin the park for footie practice—he chuckled lightly to himself as he thoughtback to the apprehension he had felt entering the same library just over amonth ago.

Finn glanced over to the librarian’s desk andfound that the desk chair was currently empty. Though he had never had tonavigate the library to find the particular book he was searching for today, hefound the small section dedicated to “Literary Classics” and was able to findwhat he was looking for by the alphabetically arranged authors with ease.

He approached the librarian’s desk and set thebook on the counter, waiting patiently for the librarian to return, when heheard a familiar voice behind him.

“Fancy seeing you here! I certainly didn’texpect to see you in here checking out this book so soon, so it must have leftquite an impression on ya, huh?”

Finn smiled as he saw Trudy set the large stackof books down on the metal cart behind her desk before taking a seat in herdesk chair.

“It’s nice seeing you again too, Trudy! AlthoughI did enjoy Wuthering Heights morethan I had thought I would, I’m actually here to borrow it again ‘cause theyadded a second part to the ‘Classic Literature’ assignment for college and Iwanted to check out the book and get the assignment done sooner rather thanlater.”

“Oh, how responsible of you! I’m sure yourteacher would be so proud to hear her student say something like that!”

“Uh, ‘suppose so,” Finn chuckled nervously atthe unexpected praise, but he felt proud of himself for being responsible andnot putting off this assignment as well, though he’d never admit it out loud.

Trudy picked up the copy of Wuthering Heights that Finn had set on the counter, but when Finnglanced at the stack of books that was sitting on Trudy’s desk, he cleared his throataudibly to get Trudy’s attention.

“If it’s not too much trouble, ma’am, could Iactually borrow that copy of the book again?” Finn pointed to the copy sittingon the top of the pile that was noticeably more worn and tattered-looking withslight hesitation, “I think it’s good luck for me because that’s the best gradeI’ve gotten on a college assignment…well, ever!”

Trudy picked up the book he was referring to andheld it in her hands for a moment, clearly considering his request, beforeopening the front cover and using the stamp on her desk to indicate the duedate beside the next open line on the checkout card.

“I don’t see why not!” Trudy replied with abright smile, which Finn returned as he reached for the book she is handing tohim.

“Can I ask a question?” Finn asked as he wrotehis name in the checkout card beneath two rows containing Rae’s name.

“Of course! What can I do for you, son?”

“You do know how much Rae has marked and takennotes in this copy of the novel, right? Can’t she get in trouble for doingthat?”

“Technically, yes. We didn’t notice anything fora while, but the first time Rae wrote in it and we saw about a month or twoago, we let her know that if the book got damaged she’d have to pay for it.”

“And?”

“And she asked how much she’d owe us to just buythe book and she said that she’d buy it the next time she came in, since shedidn’t have the money on her that day. The next time she came in to buy thebook was when you had it checked out the first time, but she hasn’t tried tobuy it since then,”

Finn nodded thoughtfully as he flipped open thefront cover of the book to the checkout card where he saw that it had only beenRae checking out the book for what looked like months prior to when he firstborrowed it from the library.

“I had decided not to check it out to anyone,since it seemed like Rae would need to purchase the book based on how heavilynotated it was, but when you came in looking for a copy, I could tell that youreally needed a copy of it and I decided to accept the risk of you complainingabout the poor condition the book was in by allowing you to check it out,”Trudy explained when she followed Finn’s gaze to see what he was looking atwithin the book.

Nearly at the bottom of the checkout card, Finncouldn’t help but notice that beside where his name was written the first timehe checked out the book in delicate handwriting was the word “twat”; however, in a different color ofink it had been messily scribbled out and was now surrounded by doodles ofhearts and smiley faces.

“Thank you again for the help and for the book,Trudy,” Finn replied with a contemplative smile, “Have a nice day!”

As Finn made his way to the doors of thelibrary, Rae’s copy of Wuthering Heightstucked safely inside his bag as he walked quickly toward the park to avoidbeing much later to footie practice than he already was, it was impossible forhim to ignore the additional pep in his step and the smile on his face that hemade no attempts to conceal.

***

“The library? Are you serious right now, Finn?”

“You’re bailing on joining us at the Chippy forthe fourth time in less than two weeks…to go to the library? What—or should Isay ‘who’—brought this change upon so suddenly, Finney boy?”

Archie and Chop had been walking alongside Finnas they walked the short distance from college to the library where it seemedthat Finn had been spending the majority of his time as of lately, askingquestion after question to try to understand why their mate had been so distantand had been opposed to joining them at the Chippy or the pub like he used todo.

“Try not to sound so surprised, Arch,” Finnreplied with mock hurt as they kept walking, “I may not be a genius like you,but I do know what a library is.”

“Finn, you know that’s not what I meant,”

“I know, Arch, I was just joking. I just reallydidn’t want to fuck up this Classic Lit assignment when I know that Mrs.Edwards is scrutinizing every little thing I do. I don’t want her to make goodon her threat to bring my da in for a meeting…he already has enough on hisplate…”

“Finn, mate, we get it. We really do,” Chopreplied softly, his voice almost completely void of his usual brashness, “Wejust think you deserve to have a bit of fun from time to time as well, you know?”

“Exactly! Look Finn,” Archie added, “We don’twanna force you to join us, but at least say you’ll think about it?”

Finn turned to both of his friends, consideringtheir offer, before giving them each a nod and a tight-lipped smile.

“I finished my assignment already, so I’m mostlyjust here to return the book. How about you lads head to the Chippy without meand once I’m done doing what I need to here, I’ll meet you two at the pub for adrink later tonight?”

Archie and Chop agreed to Finn’s suggestion beforecrossing the street to head in the direction of the Chippy while Finn keptwalking along the familiar path to the library.

As Finn walked through the door to the library,he noticed that someone was walking towards the library a short distance behindhim and he decided to hold the door for them.

“Finn?”

Wait…I know thatvoice…

“Hiya, Rae! Fancy seeing you here today! Whatare the odds?” Finn replied in surprise as she walked through the door that hewas still holding open.

“Yeah…It’s been a while! How are you, Finn?”

“It has been a while! I’m doing well. I’massuming you’re here for this?” Finn pulled the book from his bag and held itup to show it to her.

“Yes, actually! That and some new music tolisten to…”

“Perfect! Well I’m just returning it now, so youcan grab it from me as soon as it gets checked in.”

The pair walked side-by-side to the librarian’sdesk and made casual conversation as they waited for the person sitting behindthe desk to finish up with the parent and young child that were checking out afew books when they approached.

When the bored-looking young woman behind thecounter gestured for Finn to step up to the desk, he let her know that he wasgoing to check in the book but before handing the book over to her, Finngrabbed a pen from the counter and scribbled something quickly on one of thepages.

Finnturned around after handing the book to the library employee and was met withRae standing behind him with her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised inquestion, which made the sheepish smile and subtle flush of his cheeks a bitmore prominent.

“I guess I’ll see you around? Have a nice day,Rae!” Finn replied quickly and walked away from Rae before he could embarrasshimself any further under her questioning gaze.

With no intention of joining his mates at theChippy and nowhere else to be until he met Chop and Archie at the pub laterthat night, he walked to the periodical section of the library and beganlooking at anything and everything that caught his attention.

A short time later, as he was looking though oneof the latest copies of NME magazine, he was surprised to hear somebody walk upbeside him and clear their throat to get his attention.

“Oh, uh, hi…” Finn mumbled, glancing away fromthe magazine only briefly to acknowledge Rae’s presence beside him.

“Hey Finn…uh, yes.” Rae replied after a momentof hesitation as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other and held hercopy of Wuthering Heights with herarms crossed close to her chest.

“Yes, what?” Finn asked distractedly as hecontinued to flip through the pages of the magazine idly.

Rae chuckled lightly under her breath beforeopening the front cover of the book and using a finger to point to the line onthe checkout card where Finn had scribbled “Rae-wouldyou like to go out with me sometime?” in the margin beside where he knewshe would be signing her name to checkout the book

“Oh, uh, that…” Finn replied nervously when helooked over to see what Rae was showing him until her response to the questiondawned on him, “and you’re saying ‘yes’?”

“Yes?” Rae said, phrasing it as more of aquestion than a statement in response to Finn’s surprise at her initial answer.

“Great! I mean…uh, cool,” Finn began a bit tooeagerly before he was able to contain some degree of his initial excitement.

Rae kept one arm crossed over her chest but sheused her other hand to cover her mouth and hide the smile tugging at her lips.

“Are you free now? There’s a coffee shop downthe road that I think you’ll like…” Finn added, gesturing vaguely towards thedoors to the library.

“Yeah, I’m free now and I’d love a cup ofcoffee!” She replied with a smile that made her eyes sparkle, a fact thatcertainly did not go unnoticed by Finn.

She stepped aside and gestured for Finn to leadthe way, but as they walked past the librarian’s desk and out of the librarytogether, he couldn’t help but notice the satisfied grin on Trudy’s face whenshe saw the two walking past from where she stood behind her desk.

***

“Just a minute,” Finn called loudly in responseto the repeated knocking he could hear coming from the front door of his houseas he made his way down the stairs as quickly as he could.

Finn unlocked the door, already knowing whostood on the other side, but grinned widely nonetheless when he opened thedoor.

“Come on in!” Finn said as he held the door openand stepped aside for Rae to walk in.

He shut the door and locked it before turning tolook at Rae as she removed her scarf and thick winter coat and hung them on thecoat tree beside the door.

Regardless of how many times Finn looked at Raeand simply admired the beautiful girl in front of him—which he does as often ashe possibly can—he never failed to be in awe of her breathtaking, effortlessbeauty.

Every time he glanced at Rae when she assumedthat no one was looking at her, he saw the way that everything about her lit upwhen she was happy and when she was around him. Every time he looked at her Finnwas always reminded of the same quote that was underlined in Rae’s copy of Wuthering Heights, a quote that healways felt was appropriate to describe his opinion of Rae since the first timeher had met her: “I have to remind myselfto breathe—almost to remind my heart to beat!”

“Ugh! It’s bloody freezing outside,” Rae mumbledas she removed her snow-covered boots and set them near the door to avoidtracking snow any further into Finn’s house, “I damn near froze my tits offjust walking from my car to your door.”

“Hiya girl,” Finn greeted her with a chucklebefore pulling Rae into a hug and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, whichcaused her to blush slightly and look away as she greeted him with a simple “hello”.

Fuck…I’m never gonnaget tired of seeing the way that I can make this lovely girl blush like that.

Finn looked Rae over from head to toe andchuckled slightly when he meet her eyes and knew that she had caught himstaring for the umpteenth time.

“How does a nice hot cup of tea sound? It’llhelp warm you up…” Finn asked but he began heading toward the kitchen withoutwaiting for her reply.

As they waited for the kettle to boil, Finn lookover at Rae and could tell that she seemed slightly sad, but he knew betterthan to press her to talk about what was on her mind.

If she wants to talk tome about it, she’ll bring it up on her own accord…

When their tea was ready, Finn led both of themupstairs to his room and Rae took a seat on his bed as he walked over to therecord player on the other side of his room to put on some music.

“Happy birthday, by the way, Rae!” Finn said ashe looked over his shoulder for a brief moment before turning his attention togetting the record started, “I know you tried to keep it a secret, but I’m yourboyfriend and I know all!”

Behind him, Rae sputtered and coughed loudlywhen the gulp of tea she had inadvertently taken did not go down smoothly. Finnput the needle on the record and turned around to grab his mug of tea beforetaking a seat on his bed beside Rae and patting her back in a soothing gestureas her coughing subsided.

“Alright, girl?” Finn asked in concern when Raehad all but stopped coughing.

“Ugh…please don’t say that! You can’t justcatch me off-guard and say something like that! I could’ve died, Finnley…”

“Don’t say what, Rae-Rae? That it’s yourbirthday or that I’m your boyfriend?”

“Both?” Rae replied raising her hand that wasnot currently holding her cup of tea in frustration, as if the answer shouldhave been more obvious to Finn.

“Why? It’s the truth! Today is your birthday andunless I’ve misunderstood your signals from the last 2 months and youmisinterpreted when I asked you to be my girlfriend officially last week, I amin fact your boyfriend!”

“No, you’re right. I just…I don’t know, it’sstill weird to hear you calling me your girlfriend and you my boyfriend…”

“Well, Rae, you should get used to it. You aremy beautiful and amazing girlfriend and I have no intention of letting yourforget that fact.”

Rae rolled her eyes in response when Finn endedhis statement by giving her arm a playful nudge with his shoulder and turned togive her a peck on the cheek. Rae reached over to grab Finn’s face and gentlyturned it towards her so she could place a gentle kiss on his lips.

“Well then, thank you for the birthday wish, ohlovely boyfriend of mine.” Rae replied in the most artificially sweet voice shecould muster.

“I don’t appreciate the sarcasm, Rae, but it’s astart at the very least and I’ll take what I can get. What have you been up totoday?”

“I spent most of the day with my family and thena couple of my mates met me at the pub for a birthday drink. After that Iwalked to the library because I got some money from my mum for my birthday andthere was something I’ve been meaning to buy, but that didn’t work out…” Raetrailed off slightly as she gave Finn a sad smile before taking another sip ofher tea.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I have a little something foryou that may brighten your day though,” Finn said as he stood up and set histea down on his desk before grabbing a decorative bag overflowing with tissuepaper and returning to his seat on his bed beside Rae.

“I’d say start with the card,” Finn said ashanded Rae the bag and gestured to the small gift tag attached to one of thestings of the bag.

Finn watched intently—his focus shifting betweenthe small gift tag in Rae’s hand and the look on her face to gauge her reaction—asRae opened the small, folded gift tag and read what was written inside: For my favorite girl on her birthday…herfavorite book and the reason we’re together today. xxFinn

“No…you didn't…” Rae replied after reading thenote attached to her gift multiple times to ensure that she was interpreting itcorrectly.

“I didn’t what? You haven’t even opened it yet!”Finn replied, but his feigned ignorance was immediately betrayed by the widegrin he was currently giving Rae.

She rolled her eyes at Finn, but proceeded toremove the paper on top of the bag before pulling out a worn, pastel purplepaperback book.

“Oh, Finn! Thank you!” Rae said as she leanedover to wrap her arms around Finn with the book still held tightly in one ofher hands.

“It’s nothing girl,” Finn replied as he broughther closer and tightened the embrace, “Icould tell it was your favorite book because of all the notes you wrote in themargins, and I just simply had to buy this specific copy for you.”

Rae pulled away from Finn slightly and hisdoubts began to sink in about whether or not she truly liked the gift.

“Do you, uh, do you like it?” He askedhesitantly before shifting his gaze towards where the discarded gift bag sat onhis bed between where he and Rae were sitting.

“Finnley, of course I like it! This gift isperfect, it’s…it’s…”

Rae seemed to be at a loss for the right wordsto describe how thoughtful his gift had been and how much she appreciated it,but she decided to try her best to put everything that she wanted to convey toFinn and everything that she wanted to tell him into a passionate kiss, whichthoroughly caught Finn by surprise and elicited just the response she had beenhoping for.

“So…I guess I’ll take that as a ‘yes’, inresponse to my question about whether or not you like the gift,” Finn repliedbreathlessly after he was forced to break the kiss with Rae in order tobreathe.

“Of, course that was a ‘yes’ you dickhead!” Raereplied with a flirtatious smirk, “Or would you like another demonstration tohelp further clarify things for you?”

The End!

A/N: Holy shit…this started out as a simplefic prompt request and it somehow spiraled out of control into a 6700+ wordbehemoth of a story…oops! I have no deep-rooted emotional attachment to EmilyBronte’s work or Wuthering Heights, it just happened to be one of the firstbooks I saw on my own bookshelf in my apartment and I decided to run with thatidea (tattered pages, underlined quotes, and notated margins and all since Itruly did use this book for a project I did for school roughly 4 years ago). Ialso love a little bit of storytelling from Finn’s perspective, since it is aPOV that I feel is seldom explored.

As always, thanks for reading and until nexttime: Stay awesome, my friends! :)

#my writing #mmfd #my mad fat diary #mmfd fanfic #my mad fat diary fanfiction #Finn-Nelson-for-the-win #requested fanfic prompt

[fangqueen]

congrats on 200, you utter gem!! i gotta request our beloved ship of dron (is anyone surprised?) and them being in a fluffy established relationship (preferably at hogwarts but idm if it's after) but anything else is completely up to you - i trust you completely!

(Thank you so much for the request, hun! @acciovodka​, as you two just so happened to ask me for the exact same thing. x’D Love you both! Hope you enjoy it!)

Read on AO3

It was the first day of winter break, and Hogwarts’ halls were mostly deserted. In less than an hour, the scarlet Express would depart from Hogsmeade station, transporting them all back to the comfort of their loved ones. Normally, there would be several students remaining behind for those couple weeks, but not this year. No, this time it seemed they’d all silently agreed that after everything that had happened barely six months prior, there was no more important place for them to be than home.

Except for one.

As soon as he had finished packing, Ron had excused himself from Harry and Hermione’s company and set out on a mission to find him. Tucking a brown paper package under his arm, he set out down the shifting staircases, past a gaggle of second-years hurrying along with their trunks, and descended into the castle’s dungeons, till he came upon the familiar blank stretch of stone. There, he provided the latest password that he was sure his boyfriend hadn’t realized he’d memorized and slipped through the arch that formed in the wall into the common room. Pansy had smiled knowingly as he’d passed her by, her luggage floating behind her as she made her way out, bound for the train home. She appeared to be the only Slytherin around; the corridor that led to their dorms was empty, right up until he reached the last door on the left―the room that had been specially added for the eighth-years.

Draco was right where Ron had assumed he would be. His legs were pulled up to his chest where he rested in the furthest window seat, his hands folded in his lap. He leaned back against the cushion behind him as he gazed out into the Great Lake’s murky depths. Something unseen zoomed through the foliage growing just outside the glass, disturbing the water and casting his pale features in alternating shades of blue and green.

He looked up as he heard the door click shut, and when he saw it was Ron standing there, a glimmer of a smirk passed over his lips.

“Who let your sorry arse in?”

“I have my ways.” Ron winked as he crossed the room to press a kiss to the top of Draco’s platinum blonde head. The boy chuckled quietly to himself, a hand reaching up to clutch absently at a sleeve of Ron’s jacket.

The Gryffindor glanced around them, spying Draco’s trunk at the foot of his bed. It was still latched and shoved up against it. The drawers of his dresser were still shut as well, and there were no clothes folded neatly on top of the comforter, as he would’ve done. Ron had expected as much, and yet…

“You packed?” he asked, gesturing towards it.

Draco’s expression darkened. “I told you I’m not coming.”

“Why, because you’d rather stay here alone and sulk?”

It was telling of just how far they’d come in the past couple months that Draco merely fought a smile and rolled his eyes at the comment.

It had never occurred to Ron until recently that he might ever be standing where he was at that very moment. That this particular person’s well being would ever matter as much as it did now. But so many things had changed, so many people had changed, and if he’d learned nothing else from war, he’d learned that when it came to the aftermath of that life and death sort of existence they’d been tolerating for so long, it didn’t help anything at all to hold a grudge. It had been astounding to him what he had seen that first time he’d truly opened his eyes and looked at Draco Malfoy. And he’d decided pretty quickly that he never wanted to stop looking.

Today, when he looked at him, he thought he saw the same gloomy boy he’d never bothered noticing much back in their sixth year. There was a sadness in his cloudy eyes that Ron didn’t like. He couldn’t blame him, all the same; the idea of either of his parents, let alone both of them, being locked up in Azkaban for the holiday…It was unfathomable. The Weasleys had of course offered for Draco to come to the Burrow, but he’d refused. Politely. He was still a pureblood, after all. Ron―along with Harry and Hermione―had decided he wasn’t going to allow him to be all by himself on Christmas, no matter what the little git had to say about it. And that was why he had come there that morning.

“I thought you might still say that, so…I got you a little something.”

Draco hesitated, raising an eyebrow at the offered gift, then pulled it into his lap. As he did so, Ron slid into the unoccupied space at the opposite end of the window seat and coaxed the other’s long legs to stretch out and cross over his own. Draco ran his hands along the rough paper before slipping a finger under one loose corner and tearing. The second a tuft of wool peeked out, Ron saw recognition light up his boyfriend’s eyes.

“Is this…?”

Draco’s voice was barely above a whisper, but Ron could still hear it crack. He swallowed against the sympathetic tugging in his chest as he replied, “Well, if you did decide to come, you’d have to have something to wear, now wouldn’t you?”

Draco ripped the package open with fervor, now, his fingers trembling above the dark fabric as he lifted it and let it unfurl before him. Ron watched the blonde’s face contort for a moment, his eyes misting. He it set back down and rubbed his hand across his mouth in a manner that the Gryffindor had come to recognize as an attempt to keep himself together. Now that it lay unfolded over his lap, the emblem the jumper bore was clear: a large, capital D, stitched with golden thread.

“I’d thought she might’ve gone with green and silver,” Draco joked, laughing lightly even as his voice tightened with emotion.

Ron shook his head, grinning even through his own physical response. “Nah, too obvious. I mean, outside of your uniform, pretty much your entire wardrobe is black, so we figured why not go with something you’d actually wear.” Draco laughed again as he brushed a stray tear from his cheek. “And gold for the letter because, well, we know you like the finer things.”

It looked like Draco was attempting to smile at that―but as his brow creased and a fresh flood wet his lashes, Ron suddenly found himself with a lapful of boyfriend as the blonde crawled across the small space between them to bury his face in the crook of his freckled neck. Ron wrapped his arms and legs around him, holding him close.

For awhile, the only sound in the room was Draco’s muffled sniffling. He didn’t make much noise beyond that, but Ron could feel his tears dripping into the collar of his shirt. They lay there for some time, the jumper and its discarded packaging pressed between their thumping hearts.

Eventually, Draco gathered enough of himself to say, “Well, it’ll certainly look good with those really tight…what-do-ya-call-‘ems I have. Janes? The Muggle ones. I know you like those.”

There was no denying that, but Ron wasn’t much bothered with the idea for the time being. Instead, he listened to Draco’s breaths as they gradually calmed and circled his arms tighter around him. The blonde squeezed him in return, before pushing himself up onto his knees and wiping the back of his sleeve across his reddened eyes.

“I’ve changed my mind,” he suddenly announced, a cocky grin lighting his features, “and just you try and keep me away.” When he leaned in to press a firm kiss to his lips, Ron thought he could feel the old Draco again in his touch, and it made his belly flip with joy. “Now, are you going to help me pack, or what? The train should be leaving soon.”

Ron was grinning, too, as the Slytherin scrambled out of his lap and bounded towards his trunk, quickly throwing it open and beginning to toss his belongings inside. He got up to help as well, and when they were done and ready to head out, Draco pulled the jumper over his head with a smirk of pride that Ron hadn’t seen him wear in a very long time.

#200 follower celebration #gay!draco challenge #padfootd #acciovodka #habababa #dron #ron x draco #ron weasley #draco malfoy #harry potter #hp #fanfiction #harry potter fanfiction #hp fanfiction #fangqueen writes fanfiction

[raywarham-blog]

Liverpool Squad troubles

Mignolet – Been at the club since 2013. Never in my eyes been good enough. Comes across as a decent shot stopper but when you dig deeper that just isnt true. Can’t come for crosses, isnt commanding of his defence and his kicking is comparable to that of a 10 year old on Buckley Hill. Saved a fair few pens as a highlight but overall not good enough, never has been and never will be. The fact Klopp picks him as his number one completely baffles me, as I think it does many fans.

VERDICT - SELL

Karius – People where delighted when he signed. Another sign that fans don’t rate Mignolet. He came in and made some terrible errors. Bournemouth away was a shocker for him, especially so early on. Got a couple of games after that but never looked confident. One of the only keepers I’ve ever seen kick a goal kick out for a corner. As with Mignolet he cant come for crosses and although he looks confident on the ball he has every fans heart in their mouth as he tries to turn every striker rushing at him. What ever happened to just getting rid. Had a couple of cup games here and there inbetween lsoing his place. I think he done well against Southampton in the league cup but chances have been few and far between since. Given the chance again in the Champions League this year but terrible positioning in the Away leg at Moscow highlighted that he probably isnt the answer.

VERDICT – Keep for now but easily repleceable.

Ward – Not seen much of him in a Liverpool shirt to comment. He made an unbelievable save pre season, only for the defence to be asleep and it cost a goal anyway. Ward has had two excellent loan spells at Aberdeen and Brighton. All of the reviews seem to suggest he has the talent to become Liverpool and Wales number one but we all know the pressure that comes with that. Capped a couple of times for Wales and played their first game of the Euros, limited club time probably preventing him getting the number one slot. In my opinion should be given a run of games in the side after both Mignolet and Karius have shown their incompetence on many occasions. Klopp deciding to keep him as a 3rd keeper when he could have been playing for Huddersfield in the Premier League is another truly baffling decision by our manager and won’t have gone down well with Ward I’m sure.

VERDICT - KEEP

Clyne – I was probably one of his biggest critics going into this season, always thought he done okay defensively apart from the odd lapse at the far post but struggled going forward. In the modern game we expect our full backs to be good at both and if they arent we label them as not good enough. In all truth I cant wait for Clyne to return from injury. Never thought I’d see the day I thought that. With our attacking options, especially with Salah playing on the right this season I think Clyne being more reliable defensively will only help us. Less pressure on him to produce in the final third is something I think he will be happy with. We had Glen Johnson who was decent going forward and awful at the back. Clyne is opposite of that in my eyes and I’d prefer it that way. Maybe not good enough if you want to win leagues and go far in champions leagues year on year but for now Clyne is a decent and usually relaiable option.

VERDICT - KEEP

Trent – Youngster with bags and bags of ability, comfortable on the ball and doesn’t lack in confidence. Can deliver a wicked cross and we have already seen he can be deadly from set pieces. Takes a decent corner too, which is something we havent seen at Anfield for a few years. Beating the 1st man has been our achilles heal all too often. Needs a good few pans of Scouse and sessions in the gym to beef up but that will come with age. Signs looks really good for Trent and being a scouser we all want him to do so well.

Only downside for me is his defending. Maybe this is why a lot of people talk about Trent playing further up the field as he matures. Seems to switch off and lose his man a lot and has a tendency to turn his back on crosses. Again this could be down to age and I wouldn’t be too worried about this for now, but if he wants to be starting games he will need to learn this quickly. Gomez has been preferred to him in the bigger games this season and I’d put that down to him being better defensively. Fingers crossed for Trent he seems to have the right character to adapt and learn.

VERDICT - KEEP

Gomez – Looked great when he first came in. I rememebr him playing away to Arsenal and marking Walcott out of the game at left back. Walcott is no world beater but he is pacey and away at Arsenal in a rookie season can be daunting. Suffered two terrible injuries after this and many thought he wouldn’t return to the 1st team at Anfield. Credit to him he’s worked tirelessly at his recovery and is now playing regularly for both England U21’s as captain and Liverpool. Sometimes looks immature in his defending but hasn’t played many games at the top level and when he does its usually at full back when his preferred position is in the cernte of defence. Was great against Man Utd a few weeks back and Lovren’s latest gaff will hopefully provide Gomez with an extended run in his favoured position to show he’s got what it takes to make it.

VERDICT - KEEP

Matip – When we signed he came with a decent enough reputation. Played in the Champions League for Schalke, was a huge figure who likes to play out from the back. In reality he is sluggish, not commanding and for the size of him is bullied all to often both on the floor and in the air. Doesn’t look to have great positional sense and can often be found wondernig back when we are conceding goals. Been a huge disappointment for me, although he did come on a free which is something I guess. Definitely not good enough moving forward, he has been terrible this season and if it wasn’t for Lovren being worse he would be at the centre of fans abuse.

VERDICT - SELL.

Lovren – Hard not to go to town on Lovren here. Completely inadequate and not good enough for Liverpool Football Club. It’s at the point now where although I blame him for errors its not his fault Klopp continues to pick him nor failed to replace him in the summer. He makes mistake after mistake. Again like Matip nowhere near commanding enough for the size he is, often pushed aside.

Has complete lapses in concentration all too often to play at the top top level and his ball playing skills leave a lot to be desired. His passes to the full backs can often be found in the lower centenary. Had problems off the field which have been well documented and can’t have helped his performances. He once got my nephew a ticket for the game so I’ll always know he’s a decent human being and be thankful for that. Can’t see how he has a future with the Reds after his horror show at Wembley though.

VERDICT – SELL

Klavan – Came in knowing he would be 3rd or 4th choice CB. Had a couple of opportunities and played okay on a couple of occasions. Simply not Liverpool standard and no point wasting time evidencing why.

VERDICT – SELL

Moreno – Been at the club from 2014. Feels like 1914. Made a bright start scoring a cracker against Spurs away. Been pretty much downhill from there. Words probably can’t describe how bad his defending has been. Was one of the worst performers in the defeat to Seville in Basle. Dropped last season for Milner a midfielder playing left back yet has been brought back into the fold this season. Another of Klopp’s astounding decisions, how this has happened is beyond me. Many feel that Moreno has performed well this season, I just don’t think he’s been as truly woeful as he usually is. Blessed with blistering pace and it’s a good job because it gets him out of trouble at least twice a game due to his positioning incompetence. He was found closing the goalkeeper down the other week when we conceded away at Hoffenheim. Apparently has an excellent attitude and is clearly a favourable member of the dressing room but as a fan I couldn’t care less how many times he walks his dog on a hover board.

VERDICT – SELL

Robertson – Not seen enough to comment. Performed impressively on the few outings he’s been awarded by Klopp, MOM in one. Not sure if this was a committee signing or Klopp is bedding him in but I can’t understand why he hasn’t played more minutes. Bet he can’t either.

VERDICT - KEEP

Henderson – I’ve always liked Henderson I think he has the right attitude and adores the club. Came with a big(ish) price tag at the time and was a big move for him coming from his boyhood club. Hard one this as I think he is a talented footballer and the fact he’s always been picked by any manager he plays for even England backs this up. But I just don’t see it anymore. I’m not sure if injuries have hampered him, they certainly can’t have helped but he hasn’t lived up to anything near what he promised to be. Became our skipper after Gerrard retired, maybe by default in many eyes. I’m certain now that he’s not the right captain for us moving forward. I think as soon as we sign a commanding centre back they will get the armband or maybe Keita when he arrives.

Henderson isn’t a good enough leader, he is fine shouting abuse at the liner or referee but can often been seen head bowed walking towards the centre spot after conceding. He isn’t strong enough in the tackle when we need him and hasn’t got the ability of a Gerrard or Alonso to dictate the pace of play. Goals are another issue, I know he plays a lot of games as the deep lying midfielder but he simply doesn’t score enough. He threatening to a few seasons back but nothing since. He often snatches at good chances which is a same as he seems technically gifted. Too often sideways or backwards and that chipped cross to the far post is infuriating. Huge shame as like I say I like Henderson and wanted him to prove the doubters wrong, however I just don’t think he has it.

VERDICT – SQUAD PLAYER

Gini – Was a star performer in a relegated Newcastle side. Not sure if this should have been the writing on the wall. Came in and was solid, some really good displays and he bagged us some important goals in big games. City, Arsenal and Chelsea to name a few. Got about the pitch and at times looked like he could keep a ball in a phone box. It all looked good for him in his first season although his away form was a worry. Just a few months later and it’s the complete opposite. Away form is horrendous, carrying on where he left off last season, at times if I was Klopp I wouldn’t even bother naming him in the squad. That’s how bad he has been. For a box to box midfielder not to score away from home for Liverpool in more than a season is nothing short of pathetic in my eyes. We get enough possession and chances for him to have broken his duck. If we had better players or less on the injury table he wouldn’t be in the 11, its that simple. Time will tell for him but on the face of things not one for the future.

VERDICT – SQUAD PLAYER

Can – Where to start. Came over in 2014 as a youngster with huge potential having left Bayern Munich for game time at Leverkusen. Can has been hit and miss, more miss than hit. Played out of position by Rodgers at central defence and sometimes right back and struggled to find his form. Looked at the end of last season like he would kick on and played well in the last few games helping us get 4th. Like Gini and Henderson has struggled massively this term, a decent game against Seville at home his only stand out performance.

He should at 6 foot and a big unit dominate games through his sheer size and strength but too often is found out. Often caught in possession wanting too many touches on the ball and as a number 6 this often leads to attacks baring down on our already woeful defence. Linked with Juve which might suit him as the play in Italy in slower than that of the premier league. Believes his own hype and spends far too much time in front of a mirror to ever to Liverpool’s hard man. Would personally drive him to Turin.

VERDICT – LET GO to JUVE – Maybe leave out until then also. Not helping our cause.

Milner – Came on a free on huge wages. Joke wages if reports are true. Good honest pro, no nonsense and many managers have said you need players like Milner in your squad. He performed to the best of his ability at left back last season and a credit to him for that. However he was shocking for the final 4 months of the season and maybe this is why Klopp tried Moreno again? Been a decent enough signing and will play a part this season as and when called upon. Don’t think he will last beyond next summer as a Reed. Wish him luck.

VERDICT – SELL/RELEASE next Summer.

Coutinho – Another hard one to write. I said I wouldn’t let myself love a player after Torres broke many of our hearts a few years back and not many players have come close. Suarez was close and then this summer Coutinho was also. He’s a magician, a true game changer. One people pay to watch. Fans love him and managers love him. First name on the team sheet and maybe our only world class player.

That being said he won’t be a Liverpool player come next summer and we need to plan our spending well, IF we get the money. After trying to force his way to Barcelona in the summer he’s lost his place in many fans hearts. Rafa rescued him from Inter reserves and we have developed him into a star. He threw all that in our faces this summer and some of his antics where despicable. Never to be forgiven from me.

This season he has got his head down, like Suarez a few years back and has been a star performer again. Scoring or assisting in most games. He does go missing sometimes in games and for weeks on end but the quality is there and this season it’s been more regular than not. Will be greatly missed when he leaves but I won’t spend too much time worrying about it after what he done. Good riddance.

VERDICT – Be gone next summer anyway.

Lallana – Felt he struggled in his first season at Anfield. In and out of the side and had a couple of knocks. Became an automatic choice since then. His energy is vital to our press and winning the ball high up the pitch. He has a great first touch and the way he accepts a ball makes me think he can’t be English. Often overplayed by both club and country and has picked up injuries as a result, halting progress and action this season. We’ve badly missed him in the side. Should score and assist more for a man with his ability and will eventually see him replaced in the side for someone who does. Again great attitude and always leaves it all on the pitch.

VERDICT – KEEP

Firmino – Been a good signing in my opinion although his goal tally now he plays up front is not good enough. Don’t solely blame him for this and I don’t think he’s ever been a goal scorer or a number 9. Work rate is terrific and he is rated highly amongst a lot of Reds fans although doesn’t seem to get much acknowledgement outside of Liverpool. Can be breath-taking but can be frustrating also, something I suppose you get with Brazilians. Loves the club and loves playing for Liverpool. I think he needs to play as a midfielder again to fulfil his maximum potential to Liverpool as playing upfront he will never score us the goals we need.

VERDICT – KEEP

Salah – Been outstanding since signing. A snip in today’s market. Goals and assists galore and a terrific work ethic to boot. We need to add pace to our attack for when Mane is out and he’s provided just that. Looks fit and a fiddle and without tempting fate he’s played a lot of minutes already but seems up to the pace. Had a lot to prove after his Chelsea spell but has gone a long way to proving Mourinho was wrong back then. Terrific addition and hopefully be here a long time.

VERDICT – KEEP

Mane – Again an absolute snip at the price we got him for. Would possibly go for double now. Pace to burn and knows where the net is. Lots of energy and the biggest compliment to pay him is that we don’t look the same side without him, even with Coutinho and Salah. Glides past players after slowing them down. Having a frustrating season with both injury and suspension this term. Hopefully won’t be out too long and can get us firing again as soon as possible. I think we will struggle to keep Mane next summer if we finish outside the top 4.

VERDICT – KEEP

Sturridge – Such a shame. Used to say outside of Aguero he was the best in the league. Injuries have ruined his career, has all the talent in the world but will never be fit enough to show it. Used to be deadly given one chance, seems to have lost this now as well as a yard of pace. I don’t think Klopp has given him a good run of games in fairness to him. Many believe a lot of problems are in his head, unfortunately we may never know. One things for sure is that we won’t have him here beyond next summer to find out. Be astounded if Klopp doesn’t sell next year, on massive wages too.

VERDICT – SELL

Solanke – Too soon to pass judgement on him. Looked okay in his cameo’s. Needs a goal badly for some confidence.

VERDICT – KEEP

Chamberlain – Too early to tell in his Liverpool career. Massively overpriced for 35m and if he wasn’t English I don’t think we would have signed him. Hoping he gets a fair crack of the ship under Klopp, not going to judge before he does.

VERDICT – KEEP

Woodburn – Touted as the next big thing. Head and shoulder above at times at youth level when I’ve watched him. Done brilliantly for Wales in the two qualifiers and is always in the squad. He’s another one I don’t understand why Klopp doesn’t give more minutes too. Even as last sub, he never seems to get on. I know he’s young but so what. Gerrard and Owen were 17 when they started Okaying regularly, Woodburn’s just turned 18 and our midfield isn’t setting the world alight. He been playing more centrally lately so maybe we are bedding him in for that role in the future.

VERDICT – KEEP